THE DRAWER BOY[/caption]
The 2018 Oxford Film Festival celebrated the best of the fest with an entertaining awards ceremony emceed by Crooked Marquee’s Eric D. Snider, and handed out Hoka awards to Arturo Perez Torres and Aviva Armour-Ostroff’s THE DRAWER BOY for Best Narrative Feature, Nick Taylor’s THE ORGANIZER for Best Documentary Feature, Itako’s BOYS FOR SALE for Best LGBTQ Feature, and the presentation of the Lisa Blount Memorial Acting Award to Catherine Eaton for her performance in THE SOUNDING.
Jeff Dennis’s THE PROCESS: THE WAY OF PABLO SIERRA won the Hoka Award for Best Mississippi Feature Film, and Sacha Jenkins’s WORD IS BOND took the top prize for Best Music Documentary.
Receiving “Special Recognition” in the Narrative Feature Film Category were Catherine Eaton for her film THE SOUNDING with Astin Rocks receiving the same in the Mississippi Films Category for her film LOVE SOLILOQUY: A VISUAL ALBUM. Also cited in the documentary film category was a Special Jury Mention for “Creative Storytelling” to Aaron and Amanda Kopp for their documentary, LIYANA.
A special Editing Award was presented to director Mark Potts for the film, COP CHRONICLES: LOOSE CANNONS: LEGEND OF THE HAJ-MIRAGE. The Pat Rasberry Emerging Mississippi Filmmaker Award was given to Kelly Buckholdt (TRUTH RISES). The Alice Guy-Blaché Emerging Female Filmmaker Award (and check for $1000 from the Louis M. Rabinowitz Foundation) went to Amanda Kopp, who co-directed the documentary LIYANA with her husband Aaron Kopp.
In the Short Film category, Best Narrative Short went to Clark Duke’s HOME, with a Special Jury Prize for “Creative Vision” going to Alejandro Damiani’s M.A.M.O.N. (MONITOR AGAINST MEXICANS OVER NATIONWIDE), and an “Honorable Mention” going to Jessee Kreitzer’s BLACK CANARIES. The winner of the Hoka for Best Documentary Short was Peter Byck’s ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND BEATING HEARTS. A Special Jury Prize for “Personal Vision” went to Daniel Robin’s ALL THE LEAVES ARE BROWN, with an “Honorable Mention” given to Dana Nachman‘s WASHED AWAY.
Nathan Willis’s COWGIRL UP was named Best Mississippi Short Film, with E.J. Carter’s TRUTH RISES receiving a Special Jury Prize for “Filmmaker to Watch,” and David Ross’s HAND MADE getting a “Honorable Mention” Vincent Jude Chaney’s music video for “Manna” by King Woman took the Hoka in that category with Michael Williams’s music video for “Royal” by Lost in Constellation receiving an Honorable Mention. Mark C. Smith’s TWO BALLOONS won the Fest Forward animation category, and Quentin Haberham’s HOMEGROWN received an “Honorable Mention.” The Best LGBTQ Short winner was Joseph Sulsenti’s FISHY.
John Matthew Tyson picked by his previously announced Hoka Award as the winner for the Oxford Film Festival’s first Screenplay Competition for his script, “Twirling at Ole Miss;” and Liam Hendrix’s NATION DOWN is the winner of the inaugural Artist Vodka Award.
Terry P.
VIMOOZ is for lovers of independent films + foreign film + documentary + film festivals. We love championing the little films.
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2018 Oxford Film Festival Winners – THE DRAWER BOY and THE ORGANIZER Win Top Awards
[caption id="attachment_26962" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] THE DRAWER BOY[/caption]
The 2018 Oxford Film Festival celebrated the best of the fest with an entertaining awards ceremony emceed by Crooked Marquee’s Eric D. Snider, and handed out Hoka awards to Arturo Perez Torres and Aviva Armour-Ostroff’s THE DRAWER BOY for Best Narrative Feature, Nick Taylor’s THE ORGANIZER for Best Documentary Feature, Itako’s BOYS FOR SALE for Best LGBTQ Feature, and the presentation of the Lisa Blount Memorial Acting Award to Catherine Eaton for her performance in THE SOUNDING.
Jeff Dennis’s THE PROCESS: THE WAY OF PABLO SIERRA won the Hoka Award for Best Mississippi Feature Film, and Sacha Jenkins’s WORD IS BOND took the top prize for Best Music Documentary.
Receiving “Special Recognition” in the Narrative Feature Film Category were Catherine Eaton for her film THE SOUNDING with Astin Rocks receiving the same in the Mississippi Films Category for her film LOVE SOLILOQUY: A VISUAL ALBUM. Also cited in the documentary film category was a Special Jury Mention for “Creative Storytelling” to Aaron and Amanda Kopp for their documentary, LIYANA.
A special Editing Award was presented to director Mark Potts for the film, COP CHRONICLES: LOOSE CANNONS: LEGEND OF THE HAJ-MIRAGE. The Pat Rasberry Emerging Mississippi Filmmaker Award was given to Kelly Buckholdt (TRUTH RISES). The Alice Guy-Blaché Emerging Female Filmmaker Award (and check for $1000 from the Louis M. Rabinowitz Foundation) went to Amanda Kopp, who co-directed the documentary LIYANA with her husband Aaron Kopp.
In the Short Film category, Best Narrative Short went to Clark Duke’s HOME, with a Special Jury Prize for “Creative Vision” going to Alejandro Damiani’s M.A.M.O.N. (MONITOR AGAINST MEXICANS OVER NATIONWIDE), and an “Honorable Mention” going to Jessee Kreitzer’s BLACK CANARIES. The winner of the Hoka for Best Documentary Short was Peter Byck’s ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND BEATING HEARTS. A Special Jury Prize for “Personal Vision” went to Daniel Robin’s ALL THE LEAVES ARE BROWN, with an “Honorable Mention” given to Dana Nachman‘s WASHED AWAY.
Nathan Willis’s COWGIRL UP was named Best Mississippi Short Film, with E.J. Carter’s TRUTH RISES receiving a Special Jury Prize for “Filmmaker to Watch,” and David Ross’s HAND MADE getting a “Honorable Mention” Vincent Jude Chaney’s music video for “Manna” by King Woman took the Hoka in that category with Michael Williams’s music video for “Royal” by Lost in Constellation receiving an Honorable Mention. Mark C. Smith’s TWO BALLOONS won the Fest Forward animation category, and Quentin Haberham’s HOMEGROWN received an “Honorable Mention.” The Best LGBTQ Short winner was Joseph Sulsenti’s FISHY.
John Matthew Tyson picked by his previously announced Hoka Award as the winner for the Oxford Film Festival’s first Screenplay Competition for his script, “Twirling at Ole Miss;” and Liam Hendrix’s NATION DOWN is the winner of the inaugural Artist Vodka Award.
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“Call Me by Your Name” and “Jane” Win 2018 Writers Guild Awards
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Call Me By Your Name[/caption]
The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) held the ceremony for the 2018 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for film, television, new media, videogames, news, radio/audio, promotional, and graphic animation categories at concurrent ceremonies at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles and the Edison Ballroom in New York City.
Emmy and Grammy-winning actor-writer-comedian Patton Oswalt (Happy!, A.P. Bio, Annihilation) hosted the WGAW’s West Coast ceremony and the WGAE’s East Coast Ceremony was hosted by writer and comic Amber Ruffin (Late Night with Seth Meyers).
Call Me by Your Name, Screenplay by James Ivory won the award for Adapted Screenplay, Jane, Written by Brett Morgen won the award for Documentary Screenplay, and Get Out, Written by Jordan Peele won the award for Original Screenplay.
In addition, the WGAW presented several honorary awards during its West Coast ceremony: Emmy-winning Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story star Glenn Close presented the WGAW’s Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement to Emmy-winning writer-producer Alison Cross (Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story, Roe vs. Wade, S.W.A.T.); Doug Wick & Lucy Fisher presented the WGAW’s Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement to Writers Guild and Academy Award-winning screenwriter-director-producer James L. Brooks (Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News, As Good As It Gets); When We Rise co-star Ivory Aquino presented the WGAW’s Valentine Davies Award to Writers Guild and Academy Award-winning screenwriter and LGBTQ rights activist Dustin Lance Black (Milk, When We Rise) for his social activism which has positively impacted the LGBTQ community; Washington Post Executive Editor Martin “Marty” Baron presented the WGAW’s Paul Selvin Award to The Post screenwriters Liz Hannah and Josh Singer, whose Post screenplay embodies the spirit of constitutional and civil rights and liberties, including the First Amendment and freedom of the press.
The WGAE presented three honorary awards at the East Coast ceremony. It was a reunion for Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock alums as Tracy Morgan and Rachel Dratch presented Tina Fey and Robert Carlock with the Herb Sargent Award for Comedy Excellence and Mentorship. Ken Burns presented the Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement to his long-time collaborator Geoffrey C. Ward (The Vietnam War, The Roosevelts, The Civil War). Courtney Simon (As the World Turns) presented the Richard B. Jablow Award for Devoted Service to the Guild to Hamilton Nolan (Splinter News/Gizmodo Media Group).
FILM WINNERS
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Get Out, Written by Jordan Peele; Universal Pictures ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Call Me by Your Name, Screenplay by James Ivory; Based on the Novel by André Aciman; Sony Pictures Classics DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY Jane, Written by Brett Morgen; National GeographicTELEVISION AND NEW MEDIA WINNERS
DRAMA SERIES The Handmaid’s Tale, Written by Ilene Chaiken, Nina Fiore, Dorothy Fortenberry, Leila Gerstein, John Herrera, Lynn Renee Maxcy, Bruce Miller, Kira Snyder, Wendy Straker Hauser, Eric Tuchman; Hulu COMEDY SERIES Veep, Written by Gabrielle Allan, Rachel Axler, Ted Cohen, Jennifer Crittenden, Alex Gregory, Steve Hely, Peter Huyck, Erik Kenward, Billy Kimball, David Mandel, Ian Maxtone-Graham, Dan Mintz, Lew Morton, Georgia Pritchett, Will Smith; HBO NEW SERIES The Handmaid’s Tale, Written by Ilene Chaiken, Nina Fiore, Dorothy Fortenberry, Leila Gerstein, John Herrera, Lynn Renee Maxcy, Bruce Miller, Kira Snyder, Wendy Straker Hauser, Eric Tuchman; Hulu ORIGINAL LONG FORM Flint, Written by Barbara Stepansky; Lifetime ADAPTED LONG FORM Big Little Lies, Teleplay by David E. Kelley, Based on the Novel by Liane Moriarty; HBO ADAPTED SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA “Starboy” (Zac & Mia), Teleplay by Allen Clary and Andrew Rothschild, Based on the novel Zac & Mia by A.J. Betts; go90.com ANIMATION “Time’s Arrow” (BoJack Horseman), Written by Kate Purdy; Netflix EPISODIC DRAMA “Chicanery” (Better Call Saul), Written by Gordon Smith; AMC EPISODIC COMEDY “Rosario’s Quinceanera” (Will & Grace), Written by Tracy Poust & Jon Kinnally; NBC COMEDY/VARIETY TALK SERIES Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Writers: Tim Carvell, Josh Gondelman, Dan Gurewitch, Geoff Haggerty, Jeff Maurer, John Oliver, Scott Sherman, Will Tracy, Jill Twiss, Juli Weiner, Ben Silva, Seena Vali; HBO COMEDY/VARIETY SKETCH SERIES Saturday Night Live, Head Writers: Chris Kelly, Sarah Schneider, Bryan Tucker, Writers: James Anderson, Kristen Bartlett, Jeremy Beiler, Neal Brennan, Zack Bornstein, Joanna Bradley, Megan Callahan, Michael Che, Anna Drezen, Fran Gillespie, Sudi Green, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Erik Kenward, Rob Klein, Nick Kocher, Michael Koman, Dave McCary, Brian McElhaney, Dennis McNicholas, Drew Michael, Lorne Michaels, Josh Patten, Katie Rich, Pete Schultz, Streeter Seidell, Will Stephen, Kent Sublette, Julio Torres; NBC Universal COMEDY/VARIETY SPECIALS 39th Annual Kennedy Center Honors, Written by Dave Boone; CBS QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION Hollywood Game Night, Head Writer: Grant Taylor; Writers: Michael Agbabian, Alex Chauvin, Ann Slichter, Dwight D. Smith; NBC DAYTIME DRAMA General Hospital, Head Writers: Shelly Altman, Jean Passanante; Writers: Anna Theresa Cascio, Suzanne Flynn, Charlotte Gibson, Lucky Gold, Kate Hall, Elizabeth Korte, Daniel James O’Connor, Dave Rupel, Katherine Schock, Scott Sickles, Christopher Van Etten, Christopher Whitesell; ABC CHILDREN’S EPISODIC AND SPECIALS “An American Girl Story – Ivy & Julie 1976: A Happy Balance” (American Girl), Written by May Chan; Amazon DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS “Confronting ISIS” (Frontline), Written by Martin Smith; PBS DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS “The Great War, Part II” (American Experience), Written by Stephen Ives; PBS NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT “White Helmets” (60 Minutes), Written by Scott Pelley, Nicole Young, Katie Kerbstat; CBS News NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY “Chief of Chobani” (60 Minutes), Written by Steve Kroft, Oriana Zill de Granados; CBS News DIGITAL NEWS “The Super Predators,” Written by Melissa Jeltsen, Dana Liebelson; Huffingtonpost.comRADIO/AUDIO WINNERS
RADIO/AUDIO DOCUMENTARY “CBS Radio 90th Anniversary,” Written by Dianne E. James, Gail Lee; CBS News Radio RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT “World News This Week: June 9, 2017,” Written by Tara Gimbel Tanis; ABC News Radio RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY “Dishin’ Digital on WCBS-AM,” Written by Robert Hawley; WCBSPROMOTIONAL WINNERS
ON-AIR PROMOTION (RADIO OR TELEVISION) “CBS Comedy,” Written by Dan Greenberger; CBS TelevisionVIDEOGAME WINNER
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN VIDEOGAME WRITING Horizon Zero Dawn, Narrative Director John Gonzalez; Lead Writer Benjamin McCaw; Writing by Ben Schroder, Anne Toole; Additional Writing by Dee Warrick, Meg Jayanth; Guerrilla Games
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2018 Santa Barbara International Film Festival Award Winners – SKID ROW MARATHON Wins Audience Choice Award
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Skid Row Marathon[/caption]
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) announced the highly anticipated winners for its 33rd year at a ceremony held in their honor, with the coveted Audience Choice Award, going to Mark Hayes’ SKID ROW MARATHON. On LA’s Skid Row, a criminal court judge organizes a running club comprised of homeless, recovering alcoholics, and paroled men and women who seek to rediscover their sense of self-worth and dignity.
The Best Documentary Film Award went to Grant Korgan and Geoff Callan’s THE PUSH. The jury remarked that “We chose THE PUSH as the best feature documentary because it was a riveting, well told story with excellent camera work, and superb editing that kept us engaged the entire time.”
Gjorce Stavreski’s SECRET INGREDIENT (Iscelitel) is the recipient of the Jeffrey C. Barbakow Award for Best International Film. The Jury remarked that “It’s outstanding direction and the terrific performances of all the cast make it hard to believe that it’s a directorial debut.”
Molly McGlynn’s MARY GOES ROUND took home the Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema. The Jury remarked that “Aya Cash’s performance beautifully depicts the intense, painful descent into alcohol addiction and its consequences. “
The Nueva Vision Award for Spain/Latin America Cinema went to Pablo Solarz’s THE LAST SUIT (El último traje) for it’s for its theme, mise-en-scene, and great performances. The Jury also had a special mention for Denny Brechner, Alfonso Guerrero and Marcos Hecht’s GET THE WEED (Misión no oficial) for it was a great surprise, full of humor and made with great effort, that every single person in the audience enjoyed.
The Valhalla Award for Best Nordic Film was awarded to Antti-Jussi Annila’s THE ETERNAL ROAD (Ikitie). The Jury remarked that the film “told a fascinating story about an unknown period in history, featuring excellent performances, a gripping narrative with wonderful cinematography and production design.”
The ADL Stand Up Award went to Talya Tibbon and Joshua Bennett’s SKY AND GROUND. Sponsors Santa Barbara and Tri-Counties ADL remarked that “in furtherance of our mission ‘to secure justice and fair treatment for all,’ ADL is pleased to stand up with SKY AND GROUND, a film that stands for respecting human dignity amidst fear and bigotry.”
The Social Justice Award for Documentary Film went to Ludovic Bonleux’s GUERRERO. They Jury remarked that this is “an essential story about the fallout from a mass kidnapping in a historic Mexican city that takes its time making the viewer feel a region’s collective pain and determination; the people of this city seek not just justice from a corrupt government, but also answers as to what happened to their children. It’s a film everyone should see—and one we won’t soon forget.”
Three awards were handed out for short films. The Bruce Corwin Award for Best Live Action Short Film went to Richard Van’s AUDITION. The Bruce Corwin Award for Best Animated Short Film went to Randall Christopher’s THE DRIVER IS RED. Best Documentary Short Film was awarded to Kyle Morrison’s MOTT HAVEN.
2018 Santa Barbara International Film Festival Award Winners
Audience Choice Award: Mark Hayes’ SKID ROW MARATHON Best Documentary Short Film Award: Kyle Morrison’s MOTT HAVEN Bruce Corwin Award – Best Live Action Short Film: Richard Van’s AUDITION Bruce Corwin Award – Best Animated Short Film: Randall Christopher’s THE DRIVER IS RED Best Documentary Award: Grant Korgan and Geoff Callan’s THE PUSH Jeffrey C. Barbakow Award – Best International Feature Film: Gjorce Stavreski’s SECRET INGREDIENT (Iscelitel) Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema: Molly McGlynn’s MARY GOES ROUND Nueva Vision Award for Spain/Latin America Cinema: Pablo Solarz’s THE LAST SUIT (El último traje) Special Mention: Denny Brechner, Alfonso Guerrero and Marcos Hecht’s GET THE WEED (Misión no oficial) Valhalla Award for Best Nordic Film: Antti-Jussi Annila’s THE ETERNAL ROAD (Ikitie) ADL Stand Up Award: Talya Tibbon and Joshua Bennett’s SKY AND GROUND Social Justice Award for Documentary Film: Ludovic Bonleux’s GUERRERO
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BATTLE OF THE SEXES to Open and THE POST to Close 2018 Athena Film Festival
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BATTLE OF THE SEXES[/caption]
Athena Film Festival (AFF) will open their 2018 edition on Thursday, February 22nd with BATTLE OF THE SEXES, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. Emma Stone and Steve Carell star in this dramatic retelling of the legendary 1973 tennis match in which tennis star Billie Jean King faced off against 55-year-old former Wimbledon champion, Bobby Riggs who boasted that he could beat any woman player. Billie Jean King will participate in a post-screening conversation.
Prior to opening night, the festival will host a special presentation premiering the first episode of Season three of Lifetime’s critically-acclaimed series UnREAL.
The Centerpiece film, documentary MANKILLER, directed by Valerie Red-Horse Mohl, will screen on Saturday, February 24th. The documentary tells the tale of a true American legend, Wilma Mankiller (1945-2010), a community organizer who became Chief of the Cherokee Nation and defied all odds to make a difference for her people. The film will be followed by a conversation with director Valerie Red-Horse Mohl, executive producer Gale Anne Hurd, and journalist and activist Gloria Steinem. Ann Hornaday from the Washington Post will moderate.
The festival will close on Sunday, February 25th with the Academy Award®-nominated THE POST, directed by Steven Spielberg, and starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks. In this thrilling drama, the Washington Post’s Katharine Graham, the first female publisher of a major American newspaper (Meryl Streep) and Post editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) race to catch up with The New York Times’ publication of the Pentagon Papers, which expose a massive cover-up of government secrets about the Vietnam war.
Additional films announced include 9 TO 5, directed by Colin Higgins and starring Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin; PATTI CAKE$, directed by Geremy Jasper and starring Athena’s 2018 Inaugural Breakthrough Award honoree Bridget Everett and Danielle Macdonald ; THELMA, directed and co-written by Joachim Trier and co-written by Eskil Vogt; NORTH COUNTRY, directed by Niki Caro and starring Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand, Jeremy Renner, Woody Harrelson and Sissy Spacek; and the classic documentary MISS SHARON JONES!, directed by two-time Oscar® winner and 2018 Athena Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree, Barbara Kopple.
Additional panels include Master Class: Alexa Junge ’85 and Spotlight on Women and STEM, sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which will follow the screening of Bombshell, the Hedy Lamarr Story. This panel of illustrious filmmakers will focus on the stories of powerful women in STEM fields and discuss the challenges of bringing these rich, and sometimes complicated scientific stories to life on the big screen.
The festival will feature a program of narrative, documentary and short films, including: WONDER WOMAN, directed by Patty Jenkins and starring Gal Gadot; LADY BIRD, the directorial debut of Greta Gerwig ’06 and AFF ’11 Honoree and starring Saoirse Ronan; MEGAN LEAVEY, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite and starring Kate Mara; WAITING FOR HASSANA, directed by Ifunanya Maduka; BOMBSHELL: THE HEDY LAMARR STORY, directed and written by Alexandra Dean; I AM EVIDENCE, directed by Trish Adlesic and Geeta Gandbhir and produced by Mariska Hargitay; the New York City premiere of IT’S CRIMINAL, directed by Signe Taylor ’87; and the international premiere of MY YEAR WITH HELEN, directed by Gaylene Preston; FRONTIER, directed by Jillian Banner; and the New York premieres of AL IMAM, directed by Omar Al Dakheel; BEADS, directed by Rachel Byrd; CON MADRE, directed by Clancy McCarty; THE FAN directed by Mohammad Ghanefard and Ali Delkari, among others.
The 2018 Athena Film Festival Awardees include two-time Academy Award®-winning documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple who will receive the Laura Ziskin Lifetime Achievement Award; BAFTA-winning writer and director Amma Asante who will receive the Athena Award; world-renowned cabaret artist and actress Bridget Everett who will receive the inaugural Breakthrough Award; and director, producer and screenwriter J.J. Abrams who will receive the Athena Leading Man Award. Awards will be presented at the Athena Film Festival Awards Ceremony on Friday, February 23rd.
The Athena Film Festival showcases films and TV series about strong, bold women leaders in real life and the fictional world; it is a weekend dedicated to elevating female voices and stories that inspire and empower a new generation of filmmakers and individuals. The eighth annual festival, co-founded by Barnard College’s Athena Center for Leadership Studies and Women and Hollywood, will take place February 22 to 25, 2018, at Barnard College in New York City.
FULL INFORMATION ON NEWLY ANNOUNCED FILMS AND PROGRAMS:
FEATURES
9 to 5
Director: Colin Higgins
Writer: Colin Higgins, Patricia Resnick
This office satire about three female secretaries—Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin—who decide to get revenge on their tyrannical, sexist boss was an instant classic. Featuring a depiction of women agitators well ahead of their time and a score that doubled as anthem, 9 to 5’s impact has resonated for the thirty-plus years since its release and remains iconic in 2017’s #MeToo era.
North Country
Director: Niki Caro
Writer: Michael Seitzman
This classic feature, based on a true story, centers on Josey Aimes who takes a job at a local iron mine in Minnesota in 1975. She and other female miners endure unyielding harassment from male co-workers, ranging from verbal taunts to pornographic graffiti and physical abuse. Ignoring advice from family and friends, Josey files a ground-breaking lawsuit and wins a landmark decision that is still protecting women today. Directed by Niki Caro, North Country’s all-star cast includes Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand, Jeremy Renner, Woody Harrelson and Sissy Spacek.
Battle of the Sexes – OPENING NIGHT FILM
Director: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris
Writer: Simon Beaufoy
Emma Stone and Steve Carell star in this dramatic retelling of the legendary 1973 tennis match in which women’s tennis star Billie Jean King faced off against 55-year-old former Wimbledon champion, Bobby Riggs who boasted that he could beat any woman player. Riggs hyped the contest with a slew of misogynistic comments, including that “the best way to handle women is to keep them pregnant and barefoot.” In the period leading up to the match, King, a champion athlete and social justice pioneer, found herself beset with both personal and professional challenges as she sought to face her sexuality and fight for pay equity in tennis.
Patti Cake$ – Awardee Spotlight Film
Director and writer: Geremy Jasper
First-time writer/director Geremy Jasper showcases his music chops in this brash and bombastic story of unlikely rapper Patti “Killa P” Dombrowski. Breakout talent Danielle Macdonald plays Patti with the magnetism and stage presence of a seasoned musician, and is matched by the talents of the 2018 Athena Award winner Bridget Everett as Patti’s disillusioned mother, who missed her chance at stardom.
Thelma
Director: Joachim Trier
Writers: Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt
Writer/director Joachim Trier crafts a haunting tale of Thelma (Eili Harboe) a shy college student who has just left her religious family in a small town Norway and finds herself intensely drawn to her classmate Anja (Kaya Wilkins). But in a surprising twist to this coming of age tale, first love and self-discovery arrive with uncontrollable seizures and supernatural powers, that forces her to confront the terrifying implications of her powers.
The Post – CLOSING NIGHT FILM
In this thrilling drama directed by Steven Spielberg, the Washington Post’s Katharine Graham, the first female publisher of a major American newspaper (Meryl Streep) and Post editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) race to catch up with The New York Times’ publication of the Pentagon Papers, which expose a massive cover-up of government secrets about the Vietnam war that spans three decades and four U.S. presidents. This movie shows the importance of the free press to the life of a democracy, but it’s also a very personal story about a woman who was trained to be a wife who becomes the main character in her own story. The Post is a movie about a woman who finds her voice and saves democracy in the process.
DOCUMENTARIES
MANKILLER – CENTERPIECE FILM
Director: Valerie Red-Horse Mohl
Executive Producer: Gale Anne Hurd
MANKILLER examines the legacy of the formidable Wilma Mankiller, who defied all odds to become one of the most influential leaders in the United States. Mankiller overcame rampant sexism and personal challenges to emerge as the Cherokee Nation’s first woman Principal Chief in 1985. Through rare archival footage and intimate interviews with activists including Gloria Steinem, as well as with Wilma herself, MANKILLER gives us insight into how this remarkable woman successfully navigated through the minefield of bipartisan politics.
Miss Sharon Jones! – Awardee Spotlight Film
Director: Barbara Kopple
This documentary, directed by the two-time Oscar winner and 2018 Athena Honoree, Barbara Kopple, tells the stirring story of Sharon Jones, a true soul survivor who’s been called “the female James Brown”. The film follows Sharon Jones on an emotional journey as she battles cancer, struggles to keep her band together and mount a comeback show at New York’s Beacon Theater.
TELEVISION
Lifetime’s UnReal
Join us for the premiere of the first episode of UnREAL, season 3, Lifetime’s critically-acclaimed series from A+E Studios. UnREAL takes place behind the scenes of the fictional dating competition show Everlasting, as the show’s producers manipulate the contestants to get the footage they need. Caitlin FitzGerald (“Masters of Sex,” “Rectify”) takes the reins in Season 3 as Everlasting’s female “suit
PANELS AND SPECIAL EVENTS
Master Class on Producing and Writing for Television: Alexa Junge – Sponsored by Stephens College
Come learn from Alexa Junge, a 1985 Barnard alumna, and accomplished showrunner, screenwriter, T.V. writer and producer whose credits include Friends, The West Wing, and Grace & Frankie.
Spotlight on Women and Stem – Sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Following the screening of Bombshell, the Hedy Lamarr Story, a panel of illustrious filmmakers will focus on the stories of powerful women in STEM fields, and discuss the challenges of bringing these rich, and sometimes complicated scientific stories to life on the big screen.
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Kate Bosworth and Michael Polish’s Sex Trafficking Film NONA to Open 2018 Richmond International Film Festival
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NONA[/caption]
Nona, a narrative feature film written and directed by filmmaker Michael Polish (Twin Falls Idaho, Northfork, The Astronaut Farmer) and co-produced by Kate Bosworth will be the Opening Night film at the 2018 Richmond International Film Festival (RIFF). Together Bosworth and Polish will present the film on opening night Tuesday, April 24th at 7:15 p.m. at the historic Byrd Theatre with a Q&A to follow.
Bosworth will also be distinguished with the festival’s 2018 Founder’s Award. The Founder’s Award honors a filmmaker whose work champions stories of truths often untold or overlooked. It seeks to recognize artists on the frontlines, creating necessary yet artful thought and dialogue in their work.
Nona puts a face to Central America’s sex trafficking industry. It follows the harrowing path of a young Honduran girl from her home in San Pedro Sula, across four countries, into a living hell of servitude in a world of modern day sex slavery. Nona is an acronym, of sorts, for “No Name.” This is the first feature co-produced by the husband and wife producing team through their newly formed production company, Make Pictures Productions.
“We are thrilled to present Nona as the opening night film, which captures the heart and spirit of the festival,” said RIFF Founder and Producer, Heather Waters. “We are proud to offer a platform for brave, socially-conscious filmmakers like Michael and Kate to shine a light on a dark space impacting women and young girls around the world and establish dialogue that can pave the way towards change.”
image: via screengrab
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Portland International Film Festival Unveils 2018 PIFF After Dark Lineup | Trailers
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Five Fingers for Marseilles[/caption]
This year’s 41st Portland International Film Festival will once again include the popular, boundary pushing fare that constitutes the PIFF After Dark program, showcasing late night movies like Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani’s (Amer, The Strange Color of Your Body’s Tears) giallo-inflected, spaghetti western Let the Corpses Tan, Joseph Kahn’s (Torque) caustic, rap battle comedy Bodied, Can Evrenol’s (Baskin) riff on 1970s Italian horror Housewife, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s (Spring) looping, sci-fi thriller The Endless, Lukas Figelfeld’s folk-horror tale Hagazussa: A Heathen’s Curse, and Michael Matthews’ western set in South Africa Five Fingers for Marseilles.
All PIFF After Dark at PIFF 41 screenings are at the Northwest Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium, located in the Portland Art Museum (1219 SW Park Ave.)
2018 PIFF After Dark
Bodied (Dir. Joseph Kahn) – United States A UC Berkeley grad student whose thesis explores the use of racial slurs in rap battles finds himself drawn into the ring in this Eminem-produced feature directed by hip-hop/pop music video director Joseph Kahn and written by battle rap legend Alex “Kid Twist” Larsen. Winner of the Midnight Madness Audience Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, “Bodied is pure zany fun disguised as a pure provocation, and sometimes vice versa, mainly because any attempt to characterize its narrative as problematic proves its point.”—IndieWire. (120 mins.) https://youtu.be/YgpL6R-X5Ng PRECEDED BY: Tickle Monster (Dir. Remi Weekes) – United Kingdom A wannabe rapper doesn’t believe his girlfriend’s claim that her apartment is home to a tickle monster. (4 mins.) Let the Corpses Tan (Dir. Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani) – France/Belgium A gang of ne’er-do-wells rob an armored truck, getting away with the gold bars. Hiding out, trouble ensues when unexpected guests AND the cops arrive, resulting in epic and complexly staged action. Cattet and Forzani (Amer, The Strange Colour of Your Body’s Tears) continue to channel their love of giallo cinema, but stretch in new directions, gloriously borrowing from spaghetti Westerns and Italian crime films. “Boiled down to a blurb, it’s like Alejandro Jodorowsky (El Topo) directed Ben Wheatley’s Free Fire.”—Birth. Movies. Death. (90 mins.) https://youtu.be/8Cx48AN5_y8 PRECEDED BY: Manila Death Squad (Dir. Dean Colin Marcial) – United States/Philippines A journalist embeds herself with a violent vigilante group leader during the Philippine drug war. (13 mins.) Housewife (Dir. Can Evrenol) – Turkey A woman who experienced a tragic loss as a child comes under the spell of a mysterious and charismatic cult leader. Pivoting (mostly) from the H.P. Lovecraft and Anton Levay influences of his debut film (Baskin), Evrenol instead projects a mélange of cosmic horror and giallo influences mixed with a 1980s European soft-core production aesthetic. “Evrenol shows that he’s more than a one-trick pony. Housewife is an intriguing and strangely sensual tale of the descent into madness.”—The Hollywood News. (82 mins.) https://youtu.be/IuBs3WtYnLY PRECEDED BY: Setaceous (Dir. Tel Benjamin) – Australia A neighborhood is terrorized by a car alarm in the dead of the night. (11 mins.) Five Fingers for Marseilles (Dir. Michael Matthews) – South Africa A recent parolee returns to his hometown, vowing to turn his back on his criminal ways. Before long he finds that some of his friends from the Apartheid era have internalized and recreated the tyranny they struggled against. “Director Michael Matthews and scripter Sean Drummond skillfully employ recycled genre elements to enhance the mythic qualities of their slow-burn narrative and reinforce the underlying sense that their archetypical characters are fulfilling destinies as inescapable as the fates that might befall major players in a conventional Wild West saga.”—Variety. (120 mins.) https://youtu.be/vaWV8YhoYCQ PRECEDED BY: Catherine (Dir. Britt Raes) – Belgium An animated look into the origins of a crazy cat lady. (10 mins.) Hagazussa: A Heathen’s Curse (Dir. Lukas Feigelfeld) – Austria/Germany In a small Austrian mountain village in the 15th century, a single mother is ostracized by the other residents, who claim she is a witch. With his debut feature, director Lukas Feigelfeld has constructed a folk-horror tale that hews more closely to a black metal aesthetic than any other film in recent memory. “It looks and feels far more substantial than most indie debuts, confidently bending genre rules with its minimalist dialogue and hallucinatory plot, which owes more to David Lynch or Lars Von Trier than to more orthodox horror.”—Hollywood Reporter. (102 mins.) https://youtu.be/ctr9g-9gVkU PRECEDED BY: Möbius (Dir. Sam Kuhn) – United States/Canada Following the death of her true love, a high school poet describes what led her there in this highly textured, neo-noir short film. (15 mins.) The Endless (Dir. Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead) – United States After receiving a cryptic video in the mail, two brothers return to the Southern California cult they left a decade ago. They discover that no one they left behind has aged, and the event that the cult’s doctrine foretold has yet to happen. The directors make the most of the sci-fi tropes at the center of their micro-budget film, which has more in common with My Dinner With Andre and Primer than it does with the Hollywood-produced spectacles that pass for science fiction today. “The Endless isn’t just terrific—it’s poised to be that breakout genre hit that It Follows and The Babadook were.”—Slash Film. (111 mins.) (111 mins.) https://youtu.be/pcdTcGRJJRg PRECEDED BY: Zarr-Dos (Dir. Bart Wasem) – Switzerland Two giant heads blow shit up. (7 mins.)
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Moving Documentary A BOND UNBROKEN Sets February 13th Release Date | Trailer
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A Bond Unbroken. Nguyen Hoang Minh, at his home in My Tho.[/caption]
The moving documentary A Bond Unbroken narrated by Renowned Broadcast Journalist Bob Woodruff which traces the emotional 40-Year journey of Navy SEALs to reunite with their Vietnamese combat interpreter will be released starting February 13, 2018, across digital, On-Demand and DVD via Cinedigm.
In the deadly jungles of Vietnam over 40 years ago, the Navy SEALs forged an enduring bond of friendship with their Vietnamese combat interpreter. Through brutal fire-fights and night-time ambushes, Nguyen Hoang Minh fought as a member of the SEAL platoons in the Mekong Delta and helped keep them alive. Though wounded numerous times, he never backed down or gave up the fight, and the SEALs began to feel that Minh was “one of us.” When the Communists overran Vietnam, Minh could not get out, and the SEALs’ brave comrade was lost to them forever. Or so they thought. Until one Navy lieutenant’s relentless search found him and the SEALs brought him to America for a reunion. A Bond Unbroken captures that remarkable reunion decades in the making, and presents another side of the battle-tough, covert warrior SEALs. Their actions change Minh’s life and dramatically impacted his family and the Vietnamese-American community.
“A Bond Unbroken” is narrated by veteran broadcast journalist Bob Woodruff and features the song “The Great Unknown,” written and performed by three-time Grammy Award® winner Rob Thomas (“Smooth”), who in addition to his solo career is also the lead vocalist for Matchbox Twenty.
“The emotional threads in this story were just so compelling that I knew it needed to be told,” says director Mary Ann Koenig. “We wanted to demonstrate intrinsic parts of the SEAL credo that we had come to understand, those of honor and integrity and fidelity. Along the way it became clear that these SEALs have hearts of gold, and that was an element I didn’t anticipate. Their ongoing efforts to raise money to support their old colleague and his family in Vietnam and to bring him to America for a reunion, have made it a privilege to take the four-year journey and make the world aware of this story.”
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Documentary LIVES WELL LIVED Celebrates Wit, Wisdom and Experiences of Seniors | Trailer
Lives Well Lived, the award-winning documentary by Sky Bergman that celebrates the incredible wit, wisdom and experiences of people aged 75 to 100 years old, will open on April 20th at the Laemmle Monica Film Center, Town Center in Encino and Playhouse 7 in Pasadena, California; other cities will follow.
Through their intimate memories and inspiring personal histories encompassing over 3000 years of experience, forty people share their secrets and insights to living a meaningful life. These men and women open the vault on their journey into old age through family histories, personal triumph and tragedies, loves and losses – seeing the best and worst of humanity along the way. Their thoughtful perspectives reveal a treasure of life lessons and a reminder of the greatest role models in our own families.
“My inspiration for the Lives Well Lived project was my 103 year old grandmother who enjoyed exercise, making the best lasagna you’ve ever tasted and being with family. She showed me by example, that age is truly just a number. In our society, the elderly are often overlooked and I wanted to bring that generation to the forefront. Our greatest role models are those living full and meaningful lives in their later years. It has been a six-year long labor of love to see this film to fruition: from the first days filming in my grandmother’s kitchen, to the moment of the final edits, it is a great honor to share the stories of the amazing people featured in the film.” – filmmaker Sky Bergman.
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2018 SXSW Festival to Close with Wes Anderson’s “Isle of Dogs” + Midnighters, Shorts, VR Lineup
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Isle of Dogs[/caption]
The North American premiere of Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs will close the 2018 South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festivals. The film tells the story of Atari Kobayashi, 12-year-old ward to corrupt Mayor Kobayashi. When, by executive decree, all the canine pets of Megasaki City are exiled to a vast garbage dump, Atari sets off alone in a miniature Junior-Turbo Prop and flies to Trash Island in search of his bodyguard-dog, Spots. There, with the assistance of a pack of newly-found mongrel friends, he begins an epic journey that will decide the fate and future of the entire Prefecture. The film features an all star cast including Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton, Bob Balaban, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Kunichi Nomura, Akira Takayama, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Akira Ito, Scarlett Johansson, Harvey Keitel, F. Murray Abraham, Yoko Ono, Tilda Swinton, Ken Watanabe, Mari Natsuki, Fisher Stevens, Nijiro Murakami, Liev Schreiber, and Courtney B. Vance.
The South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference and Festivals also announced the remainder of its Film Festival program, including the Midnighters, Shorts, Virtual Cinema, Music Video, Title Sequence and new Independent Episodic lineup, plus late-addition Features for the 25th edition of the Festival, running March 9-18, 2018 in Austin, Texas.
FEATURES
MIDNIGHTERS
Scary, funny, sexy, controversial – ten provocative after-dark features for night owls and the terminally curious. Ajin: Demi-Human Director: Katsuyuki Motohiro, Screenwriter: Kouji Seko Endless battle between human being and immortal demi-human “Ajin”. A stunning, strikingly original action masterpiece! Cast: Takeru Satoh, Go Ayano, Tetsuji Tamayama, Yu Shirota, Yudai Chiba, Rina Kawaei, Minami Hamabe (North American Premiere) Blood Fest Director/Screenwriter: Owen Egerton In Blood Fest, fans flock to a festival celebrating the most iconic horror movies, only to discover that the charismatic showman behind the event has a diabolical agenda. Cast: Robbie Kay, Jacob Batalon, Seychelle Gabriel, Tate Donovan, Barbara Dunkelman, Nick Rutherford, Zachary Levi (World Premiere) Untitled Blumhouse-Bazelevs Film Director/Screenwriter: Stephen Susco A 20-something finds a cache of hidden files on his new laptop and is thrust into the deep waters of the dark web. From the makers of Unfriended, this thriller unravels in real-time, entirely on a computer screen. A warning for the digital age. Cast: Colin Woodell, Betty Gabriel, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Andrew Lees, Conor del Rio, Stephanie Nogueras, Savira Windyani (World Premiere) Field Guide to Evil (Austria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Poland, Turkey, U.S.) Directors: Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, Peter Strickland, Agnieszka Smoczynska, Katrin Gebbe, Can Evrenol, Calvin Reeder, Ashim Ahluwalia, Yannis Veslemes They are known as dark folklore. Created to give logic to mankind’s darkest fears, these stories and others laid the foundation for what we now call the horror genre. (World Premiere) Ghost Stories (United Kingdom) Directors/Screenwriters: Jeremy Dyson, Andy Nyman An arch skeptic debunker of the supernatural embarks upon a terror filled quest when he stumbles across a long lost file containing details of three cases of inexplicable ‘hauntings’. Adapted from the Olivier Award Winning hit stage play. Cast: Martin Freeman, Alex Lawther, Jill Halfpenny, Andy Nyman, Paul Whitehouse(North American Premiere) Hereditary Director/Screenwriter: Ari Aster When Ellen, the matriarch of the Graham family, passes away, her daughter’s family begins to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry. Cast: Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Ann Dowd, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro A Prayer Before Dawn (United States, France) Director: Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire, Screenwriters: Jonathan Hirschbein, Nick Saltrese Based on the international best-seller, A Prayer Before Dawn is the true story of Billy Moore, a troubled young British boxer sent to one of Thailand’s most notorious jails. Cast: Joe Cole, Vithaya Pansringar, Panya Yimmumphai, Nicolas Shake (North American Premiere) The Ranger Director: Jenn Wexler, Screenwriters: Jenn Wexler, Giaco Furino Teen punks, on the run from the cops and hiding out in the woods, come up against the local authority—an unhinged park ranger with an axe to grind. Cast: Chloë Levine, Granit Lahu, Jeremy Pope, Bubba Weiler, Amanda Grace Benitez, Jeremy Holm, Larry Fessenden (World Premiere) Upgrade Director/Screenwriter: Leigh Whannell In a utopian near-future when technology controls everything, a technophobe avenges his wife’s murder and his own paralysis-causing injury with the help of an experimental computer chip implant – STEM – that turns out to have a mind of its own. Cast: Logan Marshall-Green, Betty Gabriel, Harrison Gilbertson, Benedict Hardie (World Premiere) What Keeps You Alive (Canada) Director: Colin Minihan, Screenwriters: Colin Minihan, Brittany Allen Majestic mountains, a still lake and venomous betrayals engulf a female married couple attempting to celebrate their one-year anniversary. Cast: Hannah Emily Anderson, Brittany Allen, Martha Macisaac, Joey Klein, Charlotte Lindsay Marron(World Premiere)HEADLINERS
Big names, big talent: Headliners bring star power to SXSW, featuring red carpet premieres and gala film events with major and rising names in cinema. Isle of Dogs (United States, United Kingdom) Director/Screenwriter: Wes Anderson Set in Japan, Isle of Dogs follows a boy’s odyssey in search of his dog. Cast: Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton, Bob Balaban, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Kunichi Nomura, Akira Takayama, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Akira Ito, Scarlett Johansson, Harvey Keitel, F. Murray Abraham, Yoko Ono, Tilda Swinton, Ken Watanabe, Mari Natsuki, Fisher Stevens, Nijiro Murakami, Liev Schreiber, Courtney B. Vance (North American Premiere)NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT
High profile narrative features receiving their World, North American or U.S. premieres at SXSW. Brother’s Nest (Australia) Director: Clayton Jacobson, Screenwriter: Jaime Browne With their Mother dying of cancer, intent on changing her will to benefit her “new” husband before she dies, two brothers go to extreme and deadly lengths to protect their inheritance from being signed away before it’s too late. Cast: Shane Jacobson, Clayton Jacobson, Lynette Curran, Kim Gyngell, Sarah Snook (World Premiere) Galveston Director/Screenwriter: Melanie Laurent After surviving a setup by his criminal boss, a hitman rescues a young prostitute and flees with her to Galveston, Texas, where the two find strength in each other as dangerous pursuers and the shadows of their pasts follow close behind. Cast: Ben Foster, Elle Fanning, Beau Bridges, Adepero Aduye, Robert Aramayo, Lili Reinhart, Maria Valverde (World Premiere) Most Likely To Murder Director: Dan Gregor, Screenwriters: Dan Gregor, Doug Mand Billy, the coolest kid in high school, comes back to his hometown 15 years later to find he’s no longer cool and the girl he still has feelings for now dates the former town outcast. Billy becomes obsessed with proving the outcast is a murderer. Cast: Adam Pally, Rachel Bloom, Vincent Kartheiser, John Reynolds, Didi Conn, Ethan Phillips, Doug Mand, Hasan Minhaj, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Julia Goldani Telles(World Premiere)DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT
Shining a light on new documentary features receiving their World, North American or U.S. premieres at SXSW. They Live Here, Now Director/Screenwriter: Jason Outenreath Austin based refugee house, Casa Marianella, is one of the most prominent refugee houses in the United States, providing life saving services for thousands of immigrants each year. Meet the people who live here now. (World Premiere)EPISODIC
Episodic tunes in to the explosion of exciting material on non-theatrical platforms, including serialized TV and beyond.24 BEATS PER SECOND
Showcasing the sounds, culture and influence of music and musicians, with an emphasis on documentary. Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story (United Kingdom) Director/Screenwriter: Steve Sullivan The hilarious and bizarre story of Frank Sidebottom, the cult British comedian in a papier mâché head, and the secretive life of Chris Sievey, the artist trapped inside. (World Premiere) Hearts Beat Loud Director: Brett Haley, Screenwriters: Brett Haley, Marc Basch A father and daughter become an unlikely song writing duo before she leaves for college. Cast: Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemons, Ted Danson, Toni Collette, Blythe Danner, Sasha LaneGLOBAL
A diverse selection of international filmmaking talent, featuring innovative narratives, artful documentaries, premieres, festival favorites and more. Jeannette, The Childhood of Joan of Arc (France) Director/Screenwriter: Bruno Dumont France, 1425. In the midst of the Hundred Years’ War, the young Jeannette, at the still tender age of 8, looks after her sheep in the small village of Domremy. Cast: Lise Leplat Prudhomme, Jeanne Voisin, Lucile Gauthier, Victoria Lefebvre, Aline CharlesFESTIVAL FAVORITES
Acclaimed standouts and selected previous premieres from festivals around the world. Blindspotting Director: Carlos Lopez Estrada, Screenwriters: Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs Lifelong friends Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal co-wrote and star in this timely and wildly entertaining story about the intersection of race and class set against the backdrop of a rapidly gentrifying Oakland. Cast: Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casa, Janina Gavankar, Jasmine Cephas Jones Science Fair Directors: Cristina Costantini, Darren Foster, Screenwriters: Jeffrey Plunkett, Darren Foster, Cristina Costantini Nine high school students from around the globe navigate rivalries, setbacks, and of course, hormones, on their journey to compete at the international science fair. Facing off against 1,700 of the smartest, quirkiest teens from 78 different countries, only one will be named Best in Fair. Sorry To Bother You Director/Screenwriter: Boots Riley In an alternate present-day version of Oakland, telemarketer Cassius Green discovers a magical key to professional success, propelling him into a macabre universe. Cast: Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Armie Hammer, Terry Crews, Steven Yeun, Omari Hardwick, Jermaine Fowler, and Danny GloverSPECIAL EVENTS
Live soundtracks, cult re-issues and much more. Our Special Events section offers unusual, unexpected and unique one-off film events. Cartoon Network Screening at SXSW For the third year in a row, Cartoon Network presents a fun-filled family event open to all fans. Be among the first to watch upcoming adventure series, Craig of the Creek plus catch brand new episodes of favorite shows Ben 10 and Unikitty! And fans are in for a special treat with a never-before-seen look at Teen Titans Go! to the Movies, coming to theaters this summer. Doug Benson Master Pancake and Doug Loves Movies Podcast Doug Benson returns in the continuing tradition of our annual St. Patrick’s Day screening of the Leprechaun series. On March 17 we present Leprechaun 5: In The Hood, directed by Rob Spera. 20th CENTURY FOX PRESENTS ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL SXSW OPENING NIGHT PARTY For the first time ever, 20th Century Fox welcomes SXSW Platinum and Film badge holders to Iron City, the movie set where Alita: Battle Angel was filmed. SXSW Platinum and Film badge holders are invited to join the cast and filmmakers at Robert Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios for the 2018 SXSW Opening Night Party in celebration of the upcoming Alita: Battle Angel. Attendees will be picked up at the 5th Street side entrance of the Hilton Hotel in Downtown Austin by Alita: Battle Angelbranded shuttles and will be transported to the futuristic Iron City movie set. From 9:30 pm to 12:30 am on Friday March 9, guests will enjoy cocktails, bites from local food trucks and great music, all within an immersive film set, featuring props from the film.SHORTS PROGRAM
NARRATIVE SHORTS
A selection of original, well-crafted films that take advantage of the short form and exemplify distinctive and genuine storytelling. Allen Anders – Live at the Comedy Castle (circa 1987) Director: Laura Moss, Screenwriter: Tony Grayson Footage of Allen Anders famed 1987 performance at the Comedy Castle. (World Premiere) Are We Good Parents? Director: Bola Ogun, Screenwriters: Hailey Chavez, Bola Ogun When Lauren and Bill’s 14-year-old daughter says she’s going to her first dance with her classmate Ryan, they question their preconceived notions of her sexuality and their openness as parents. (World Premiere) The Big Day (United Kingdom) Director: Dawn Shadforth, Screenwriter: Kellie Smith Jess is super excited to attend her step-sister’s wedding and truly become part of the family, but after only recently finding out about her existence, her stepfamily are less than delighted about her presence on the big day. (World Premiere) Brian and Charles (United Kingdom) Director: Jim Archer, Screenwriters: David Earl, Chris Hayward A comedy about two friends who share a cottage in the English countryside. Brian is a poorly groomed, gravelly voiced farmer who struggles with depression and loneliness. Charles is a robot. Caroline Directors/Screenwriters: Logan George, Celine Held When plans fall through, a six-year-old is faced with a big responsibility on a hot Texas day. (World Premiere) Carro (Brazil, United States) Director/Screenwriter: Gustavo Rosa An undocumented Brazilian immigrant living in the Boston area decides to buy a car in an effort to better his life before returning home. (World Premiere) Emergency Director: Carey Williams, Screenwriter: K.D. Dávila Faced with an emergency, a group of young Black and Latino friends weigh the pros and cons of calling the police. Guilt (Mexico) Director/Screenwriter: Moisés Aisemberg Guilt is a direct window into the undeniable violence experienced by children today and the involuntary repression that they must undergo within a society that tolerates abuse. (World Premiere) Haven (Canada) Director/Screenwriter: Kelly Fyffe-Marshall When a little girl finds solace in between her mother’s legs, biggest fears become reality. (North American Premiere) Intercourse (Sweden) Director/Screenwriter: Jonatan Etzler “I’ll give you 100 bucks” he suggests, and jokingly she agrees, and neither of them see the gravity of the situation. When a sexual boundary is crossed and the balance of power is shifted – what will happen to their peaceful and normal relationship? (North American Premiere) Jay-Z – ‘Moonlight’ Director/Screenwriter: Alan Yang The One Where No One’s Ready Kimchi Director/Screenwriter: Jackson Kiyoshi Segars As his family argues about his end-of-life care, an elderly Korean man reflects on his life with a stranger. (World Premiere) Kira Burning Director/Screenwriter: Laurel Akira Parmet Teenage Kira attempts to take revenge after a heartbreaking betrayal by her ex-best friend. (World Premiere) Krista Director: Danny Madden, Screenwriters: Danny Madden, Will Madden In a high school theater class, Krista uses her scene study as catharsis. (World Premiere) Men Don’t Whisper Director: Jordan Firstman, Screenwriters: Charles Rogers, Jordan FIrstman After being emasculated at a sales conference, gay couple Reese and Peyton set out to do the most masculine thing they can think of – sleep with some women. Pink Trailer Director: Mary Neely, Screenwriters: Macey Isaacs, Jenny Leiferman Best friends Lucy and Julie are spending their summer hiding from a terrorizing neighbor until Lucy runs out of her antidepressant, and they’re forced to fight for their lives. (North American Premiere) Shiva Baby (Canada) Director/Screenwriter: Emma Seligman At a Jewish funeral service with her parents, a college student runs into her sugar daddy. (World Premiere) Tangles and Knots (Australia) Director/Screenwriter: Renée Marie Petropoulos An intimate, unique bond between mother and daughter becomes threatened when the mother helps her teenage daughter throw a party to impress new, more popular friends. The Things You Think I’m Thinking (Canada) Director: Sherren Lee, Screenwriter: Jesse LaVercombe A black male burn-survivor and amputee goes on a date with a regularly-abled man. Tooth and Nail Director: Sara Shaw, Screenwriters: Sara Shaw, Amanda Verwey A sister makes a bargain with her terminally ill brother. He agrees to let her use his sperm for future use with a partner if she comes out to her family that night. (World Premiere) We Forgot to Break Up (Canada) Director: Chandler Levack, Screenwriters: Steven McCarthy, Chandler Levack After a few years absence, Evan unexpectedly returns one night to face his now-famous former bandmates. The surprise reunion is bittersweet, in this intimate depiction of the knotty complexities of relating to old friends after everything has changed. (U.S. Premiere) We Win Director: Michael Stahl-David, Screenwriters: Ana Nogueira, Michael Stahl-David A happy couple’s relationship unravels during a game of “Mafia.” (World Premiere) Wren Boys (United Kingdom) Director: Harry Lighton, Screenwriters: Harry Lighton, John Fitzpatrick On the day after Christmas, a Catholic priest from Cork drives his nephew to prison.DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
Slices of life from across the documentary spectrum. The Earth is Humming Director: Garrett Bradley In Japan, earthquake preparedness is a way of life—and a full-blown industry. (World Premiere) The Coffin Club (New Zealand) Director: Briar March, Screenwriter: Kim Harrop, Nick Ward, Briar March A group of rebellious, creative Kiwi seniors give death the finger, one crazy coffin at a time. (North American Premiere) Dead. Tissue. Love. (United Kingdom) Director: Natasha Austin-Green Dead. Tissue. Love. is an intimate experimental documentary exploring the character of a female necrophile, as she recounts her life experiences and sexual awakening. (U.S. Premiere) Death Metal Grandma Director: Leah Galant, Screenwriters: Sean Weiner, Leah Galant Death Metal Grandma follows 97-year-old Holocaust survivor, Inge Ginsberg, who has decided to break out as a singer of Death Metal music. (World Premiere) Lonesome Willcox Directors: Ryan Maxey, Zack Wright Willcox, Arizona is a country music town that isn’t what it used to be. The town’s only radio station has but one employee – a local pariah who lives in the studio, and has a complicated and difficult relationship with the music he plays every day. (World Premiere) My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes (Canada) Director: Charlie Tyrell, Screenwriters: Josef Beeby, Charlie Tyrell Filmmaker Charlie Tyrell seeks to better understand his emotionally distant late-father through the random objects he left behind, including a stack of tacky, 1980s VHS pornography. A Night at The Garden Director: Marshall Curry Months before the start of World War II, 22,000 Americans gathered in New York’s Madison Square Garden to rally in support of Nazism. On My Way Out: The Secret Life of Nani and Popi (Canada) Directors: Brandon Gross, Skyler Gross Ruth (Nani) and Roman (Popi) are Holocaust survivors married for 65 years. After six decades of marriage, a painful truth tests their enduring union. Brandon and Skyler Gross’ moving portrait of their grandparents raises more questions than it answers. (U.S. Premiere) Roadside Attraction Directors: Patrick Bresnan, Ivete Lucas Palm Beach International Airport’s newest snowbird has become one of the fastest growing roadside attractions in the United States. Santa Ana Director: César Pesquera, Screenwriters: Kako Mendez, Christian Lopez, César Pesquera Part art-film, part documentary, Santa Ana aims to elucidate the link between evil and the famed Santa Ana winds, extremely dry down-slope winds in Southern California supposedly responsible for a tense, uneasy, wrathful mood among the people. Sister Hearts Director: Mohammad Gorjestani Maryam Uloho spent thirteen years in prison in Louisiana. After her release in 2013, she was homeless and lived as a squatter for over 2 years. This experience led her to discover her lifelong mission: To help incarcerated women re-enter society. (World Premiere) The Terrorist Hunter (Canada, United States) Director/Screenwriter: Ann Shin The Terrorist Hunter follows controversial spy Rita Katz, lauded by some for her work fighting terrorism, and criticized by others who say she creates terrorist plots where none exist. The film explores how fear and terror play out in our society. (World Premiere) Xavier Corbero: Portrait of an Artist in Winter (Spain, United Kingdom) Director: Nathalie Biancheri The first and last glimpse into the universe of iconic Spanish sculptor Xavier Corberó. A kaleidoscopic life and career that traversed a turbulent moment of Spanish history. (World Premiere)ANIMATED SHORTS COMPETITION
An assortment of stories told using traditional animation, computer-generated effects, stop-motion, and everything in-between. Abnie Oberfork: A Tale of Self-Preservation Director/Screenwriter: Shannon Fleming A 12-year-old girl pickles herself to escape the malaise of childhood. (World Premiere) Agua Viva Director/Screenwriter: Alexa Lim Haas A Chinese manicurist attempts to describe feelings she doesn’t have the words for in a language she does not speak. (World Premiere) Intimity (Switzerland) Director/Screenwriter: Elodie Dermange As she is showering, dressing, putting on her make-up, a woman bares her soul. She speaks of her fears, her complexes, and the process of accepting – even loving – herself. Jeom Director: Kangmin Kim A father and a son both have the same big birthmark on their butt. Believing that the two birthmarks are connected, the son scrubs his father’s birthmark to remove it – but he just can’t get rid of it. Manivald (Estonia) Director: Chintis Lundgren, Screenwriters: Chintis Lundgren, Draško Ivezić Tinged with typically absurdist Estonian humour, Manivald mixes the surreal and the heartfelt in its timely tale of an emotionally unnourished generation that continue to live with their parents well into their adult lives. Octane Director: Jeron Braxton A street race that reflects America’s genocidal history and the parallels between slavery and the private prison system. (World Premiere) People of Color Director: Raghav Arumugam An animated documentary about race and perception in America. (World Premiere) The Shivering Truth Directors: Vernon Chatman, Cat Solen, Screenwriter: Vernon Chatman An omnibus of painfully riotous daymares dripping with dream logic; a slate of emotional parables from the deepest caverns of your unconscious, lovingly animated in stop-motion. In other words, it is the Truth. Sog (Germany) Director: Jonatan Schwenk, Screenwriters: Jonatan Schwenk, Merlin Flügel The dystopic drama Sog is about the cruel efforts of a people of humanlike creatures to lash out viciously against a shoal of fish that had unintentionally entered their desolate land. Solar Walk (Denmark, Hungary) Director/Screenwriter: Réka Bucsi Solar Walk shows the a cosmic journey of individuals and their passion for creation, through the unique and playful texture of the animation craft itself. (U.S. Premiere) Undiscovered Director: Sara Litzenberger Sasquatch has always remained elusive in photos–but not for the reasons we think. (World Premiere) MIDNIGHT SHORTS Bite-sized bits for all of your sex, gore, and hilarity cravings. Asian Girls (Australia) Director/Screenwriter: Hyun Lee Chan is a Chinese factory worker who lives alone. Every night, she suffers from horrific nightmares involving the woman in the apartment next door, a Japanese office lady. (World Premiere) Brendan Maclean – ‘House of Air’ (United Kingdom) Directors: Brian Fairbairn and Karl Eccleston An exploration of hanky codes and visual signifiers in 1970s San Francisco. Inspired by Hal Fischer’s Gay Semiotics, House of Air humorously investigates a clash between coded and explicit representations of gay sex. Crying Bitch (Japan) Director/Screenwriter: Reiki Tsuno Crying Bitch is a dark tale about a woman’s grudge, mixed with comedy, horror, and a homage to 80s cinema. A dark tale about a man who discovers his wife’s dark side after having an affair with a young girl. (U.S. Premiere) Hair Wolf Director/Screenwriter: Mariama Diallo In a black hair salon in gentrifying Brooklyn, the local residents fend off a strange new monster: white women intent on sucking the lifeblood from black culture. (World Premiere) Lil Dicky – ‘Pillow Talking’ Director: Tony Yacenda, Screenwriters: Lil Dicky, Dave Burd A story about a man, a woman, and a brain. Long Distance Relationship (Brazil) Director/Screenwriter: Carolina Markowicz A brief story about a gentleman who’s obsessed about having sex with ETs. (U.S. Premiere) The Mangina Exit Director: Byron Brown, Screenwriters: Byron Brown, David James Ward Two people. Zero broken hearts. One harmless little mangina. (World Premiere) Milk (Canada) Director/Screenwriter: Santiago Menghini On a late night, a young teen goes into the kitchen for a glass of milk. Upon encountering his sleepless mother, he quickly realizes things are not as they seem. (World Premiere) Neverlanding. A Bad Thriller. (Belgium) Director/Screenwriter: Wim Reygaert A reclusive Michael Jackson impersonator dedicates his whole life to the perfection of his act. (North American Premiere) Perfect Town (Switzerland) Director/Screenwriter: Anais Voirol In search of perfection a city obeys to selection. A constant struggle. Trying and trying again. Where is the difference between endurance and madness? Who’s the daddy (Hong Kong) Director/Screenwriter: Wong Ping A journey finding my root of shame. (U.S. Premiere)TEXAS SHORTS
An offshoot of our regular narrative shorts program, composed of work shot in, about, or somehow relating to the Lone Star state. An Uncertain Future Directors: Iliana Sosa, Chelsea Hernandez In Austin, Texas, two expectant mothers—one undocumented and one US citizen—must contend with increased ICE raids and mounting hostility towards immigrants under President Trump. Come & Take It Directors: Ellen Spiro, PJ Raval Come & Take It captures Jessica Jin’s transformation into one of America’s most inspired anti-gun violence leaders creating what some people are calling The Great Texas Dildo Revolt. (World Premiere) Don’t Be a Hero Director/Screenwriter: Pete Lee Lizzy Jo still lives with mom at 45 and battles her loneliness and boredom by robbing banks in the guise of a cowboy on her lunch break. After the adrenaline rush wears off, she still has to deal with her deeply unhappy life. Based on a true story. Ghosted Featuring Kamille – ‘Get Some’ Director/Screenwriter: Fidel Ruiz-Healy A story about youthful animalistic lust and how it presents itself under the glow of the full moon light. The answer is it’s messy and there is lots of biting. Heavy Chemistry Director/Screenwriter: Blair Rowan Feelings get complicated and oddly mutual amongst a trio of friends in Heavy Chemistry, a short comedy about love, friendship, attraction, hunger, lust, and other complex chemical reactions. (World Premiere) Maude Director/Screenwriter: Anna Margaret Hollyman Teeny thought it was just another routine babysitting job—until she’s shocked to meet the client. As the day goes on, Teeny decides to become the woman she had no idea she always wanted to be … until she gets caught. Nice Ass Director: Carlyn Hudson, Screenwriter: Jeff Whitaker After a failed date, Jake maintains a friendly connection with a part of Brooke no one saw coming. (World Premiere)TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL SHORTS
A preview of the next filmmaking generation, as Texas High Schoolers present shorts of 5 minutes or less. #RefugeesWelcome Director/Screenwriter: Ramiro Cantu In order to survive, a young Syrian woman leaves her home, family and country behind to seek refuge in the United States. The Art of War Director/Screenwriter: Cal Etcheverry There are only two realms in which rules are broken – art and war. This film explores the deontological ethics of war through the deep contrast of the utopian life of a painter and the chaotic life of a battle-bruised soldier. CCISD Strong Director: Sofia Rasmussen These are the stories of people who stepped up in the tough times after Hurricane Harvey and brought hope to the people who needed the support of their community in and around Clear Creek Independent School District. Confined Directors: The Zavitsanos Brothers When Myles is held at gunpoint in crime-ridden Baltimore, his life is forever changed… Contact Director/Screenwriter: Lindsay Wolf Contact follows two awkward teenagers on a movie date, struggling with whether or not to show their true feelings for each other through subtle physical contact. Escape Directors/Screenwriters: Jada Harbin, Karina Harchandani A 19-year-old drunk is triggered to drink when her boyfriend fails to keep his promise. A friend cleans her up and is her shoulder to cry on, maybe even more. Is it too good to be true? How You See Us Director/Screenwriter: Susannah Joffe How You See Us is my way of giving a voice to all the women who are done with being disrespected, and I hope it encourages men to rethink the over-sexualization of women in society. Hunned Effort Directors: Nicholas Luna, Alan Lawson High School Music Video for Alan Lawson’s Hunned Effort. Shot and edited by Nicholas Luna. Kopecke Director: C. Fears Koepcke is an experimental animation about the experience of a 17-year-old girl in 1971. Loveless Director/Screenwriter: Weston Bering A couple who meets at a masquerade ball is interrupted by another couple’s plan to heist them. Molly and Me Directors: Colton Vanlandingham, Collin Grant, Screenwriters: Sydney Sexton, Mary Patrello, Gaby Fernandez Party animal Bryce and sweet Molly meet each other at a party and decide to get to know each other better. They start to find out that neither one of them are who they seem. The Night I Lost My Favorite Jacket Director/Screenwriter: Jenna Krumerman A girl tells her friend about her Saturday night. She loses her favorite jacket and a little of herself while meeting new characters and trying to get by. Pursuit of a Dream Director/Screenwriter: Scott Larson A man working a dead end nine to five has to let go of his past in order to pursue his future. Pursuit: 21XX Director: Ben Phillips, Screenwriters: Ben Phillips, Billy Nguyen, Edward Nuno A cybernetically enhanced man must track down the criminal who stole his wallet by chasing the masked thief through a futuristic city, and will have to make the ultimate decision between what is right and wrong. Puzzle Pieces: Living Life on The Spectrum Director/Screenwriter: Georgia Puzzle Pieces: Living Life on The Spectrum explores children and teens that have autism spectrum disorder. Return Policy Directors: Demar Gunter, Victoria Hartson, Screenwriter: Demar Gunter In a dystopian future, where life holds monetary value, a family must make a tough decision. The Risk For Freedom (Vietnam) Director: Alex Le This documentary follows the early life of a Vietnamese immigrant, the director’s grandmother and her struggle to get to America. Roommate Director/Screenwriter: Jinho Rhee Everyone has roommate problems at one point; However, none is like the one Nayeon has to face. Silent Fist Directors: Jose Martinez, Nana Achempong, Screenwriters: Jose Martinez, Nana Achempon, and Brandon Mai A silent Buddhist prays for peace when a loud, angry boxer next door challenges him to enter the ring. What It Takes Director: Kourtney Williams This documentary was created to help express the point of view of a male gymnast. There’s a lot that goes into the sport of gymnastics and what it takes to be successful. The story takes you through 3 different perspectives to show their passion.INDEPENDENT EPISODICS
Innovative and new independent web series, pilots and docs aimed squarely at the small screen. Beast Director/Screenwriter: Ben Strang When his father mysteriously goes missing at sea, a teenager rallies the help of his small fishing-island town to find him and figure out once and for all why people keep disappearing on Smith Island. (World Premiere) Cleansed Directors/Screenwriters: Flora Birnbaum, Sarah Scarlett Downing A jaded Los Angeles thirty-something goes on a magical juice cleanse to fix her life. (World Premiere) Everything is Okay: Robot Director: Adam Sacks, Screenwriter: Cirocco Dunlap A better you is just a click away. First World Problems Director/Screenwriter: X. Dean Lim Harold, an Asian-American, comes to realizes his family are apathetic douchebags. But when a mysterious crisis starts a ticking clock, he alienates them all to prove they’re more than Amazon, Audi and Autopay. The question is: can he be wrong? (World Premiere) Hold To Your Best Self Director/Screenwriter: Emily Hagins Over the course of a prom night, young adults tackle big questions concerning identity, relationships, self-esteem, and the future – their adolescent ideas and expectations are fundamentally challenged by high school coming to an end. (World Premiere) My Dead Ex Directors: Joe Lynch, Zoe Cassavetes, Screenwriter: Drew Hancock A little thing like death can’t stop these two teens from falling in love. Or maybe it can. (World Premiere) Night Owl (Canada) Directors: R. Miskin, Gillian Muller, Screenwriter: R. Miskin One Girl’s quest to face her fears, step outside her comfort zone and make some real friends!… in the middle of the night at a 24-hour grocery store. Well?… What do you do when you can’t sleep? (World Premiere) One Eye Small Director/Screenwriter: Jane Stiles Two female strangers become affectionate friends over the course of a frenetic evening in NYC. (World Premiere) Otis Director/Screenwriter: Alexander Etseyatse A young calm, mentally unstable man attempts to convince his new buddy that they don’t belong at a Psych ward by inciting an uprising while trying to win back the affection of his ex-fiancée and daughter. (World Premiere) Polar (Denmark, Greenland) Directors: Natalia Anna Ciepiel, Alexander Ohrt, Screenwriter: Morten Mortensen Terrorized by an unbearable sound a group of teenagers commit suicide in the habour of Nuuk. After being declared dead, Ivik, awakes again. As the phenomenon returns to haunt the young population of Nuuk, Ivik sets out to find the nature of the sound. (World Premiere) She’s the Ticket Director: Nadia Hallgren Five different women from around the country see Donald Trump get elected to the presidency on November 8th, 2016 and decide to do something about it. Run for office. Unspeakable Director: Milena Govich, Screenwriter: David Cornue A young woman in a desperate situation averts authorities by claiming to be a girl who disappeared years ago as a child. But when the missing girl’s family welcomes the impostor home, she’s forced to keep the deception alive or face the consequences. (World Premiere)MUSIC VIDEOS
A range of classic, innovative, and stylish work showcasing the scope of music video culture. Aisha Badru – ‘Mind on Fire’ / Director/Screenwriter: Thoranna “Tota” Sigurdardottir Amanda Palmer & Edward Ka-Spel – ‘The Clock At The Back Of The Cage’(Australia) / Directors: Chris Bennett, Christy Flaws, Luke O’Connor The Blaze – ‘Territory’ / Director: The Blaze Capital Cities – ‘Vowels’ / Director/Screenwriter: Remy Cayuela CATHEDRALS – ‘Try To Fight’ / Director/Screenwriter: Jesse Fleece Chris Lake – ‘I Want You’ / Director/Screenwriter: NORTON COM TRUISE – ‘Propagation’ / Directors/Screenweriters: Karrie Crouse, Will Joines Cray – ‘Lotus’ / Director: Ariel Fisher, Screenwriters: Ariel Fisher and Cray Every Time I Die – ‘Map Change’ / Director: Kyle Thrash JAY-Z – ‘Smile’ / Director/Screenwriter: Miles Jay JIL – ‘All Your Words’ / Director: Anton Tammi Moses Sumney – ‘Doomed’ / Director: Allie Avital Oly. – ‘Growing Young’ (Poland) / Director: Katarzyna Sawicka Oren Lavie – ‘Second Hand Lovers’ (Israel) / Director/Screenwriter: Oren Lavie Peejay – ‘NA B YA’ (Republic of Korea) / Directors: Jinwoo Lee, Jungsu Lee POLO & PAN – ‘Coeur Croisé’ (France) / Director: PABLO MAESTRES salute – ‘Storm’ (United Kingdom) / Director: Raine Allen Miller The Shins – ‘Half A Million’ / Director: LAMAR+NIK siyyu – ‘stop us’ (United Kingdom) / Director: This is Felo Sue the Night – ‘Mind Dear’ (Netherlands) / Director: Thessa MeijerVIRTUAL CINEMA
The immersive arts are finding new ways to enhance our ability to perceive the world that surrounds us, and in many instances they are redefining how we experience the world. The 27 projects presented in our new Virtual Cinema emphasize storytelling, ingenuity and also showcase how other industries are embracing this new medium. Aeronaut Discover an ever-changing virtual landscape created by Viacom NEXT and Isobar (with Tilt Brush art by Danny Bittman), where a volumetric 3D model of two-time Grammy award winning artist Billy Corgan sings and plays the piano to his single Aeronaut. (World Premiere) The Atrium Director: Brian Solomon, Screenwriters: Brian Solomon, James Longmire The Atrium, Meow Wolf’s first mixed reality installation, builds on the story of the acclaimed immersive exhibition, House of Eternal Return. Voyage through the surreal lullaby of the multiverse — and unravel a mystery spanning multiple dimensions. (World Premiere) Awake: Episode One (Australia, United States) Director: Martin Taylor, Screenwriters: Martin Taylor, Mike Jones, Christian Cantamessa Harry is a prisoner in his own house, obsessed with discovering the truth behind a recurring dream and a cryptic message within it. The arrival of a new presence promises to save Harry from his darkness and unlock the potential of humanity’s future. (World Premiere) Beethoven’s Fifth (United Kingdom, United States) Director: Jessica Brillhart, Screenwriters: Jessica Brillhart, Esa-Pekka Salonen Journey into interstellar space with a performance of Beethoven’s Fifth by the Philharmonia Orchestra, London – conducted by Principal Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. The film was inspired by content on Voyager’s Golden Record, launched by NASA in 1977. (U.S. Premiere) Chorus Director: Tyler Hurd Transform into fantastical female warriors in this social virtual reality experience. Six people can band together to battle evil in this epic journey of empowerment, all orchestrated to the song “Chorus” by Justice. (World Premiere) Dinner Party Director: Angel Manuel Soto, Screenwriters: Charlotte Stoudt, Laura Wexler Dinner Party, the pilot episode for a true-life supernatural anthology series The Incident, is a 3D virtual reality experience based on the true story of Betty and Barney Hill, an interracial couple who in 1961 reported the first known UFO abduction. Everything Flows (China, United States) Director: Yumeng Du Everything Flows is a VR film experience that presents time and space in an artistic way. It invites you to a journey of Director’s hometown, Wuhan, China. It is a mixture of painting, video capture, sounds, dreaming, memory, and reality. (World Premiere) The Evolution of Testicles (United States, Ireland, United Kingdom) Director: Ryan Hartsell A testicular romp through the evolution of man told via CGI, a giant testicle-shaped hot air balloon, and narrator Chris O’Dowd—all in the name of bringing awareness to male cancer prevention. (World Premiere) The Four Worlds (United States, Australia) Directors: Jonathan Zawada, Mark Pitchard The Four Worlds consists of four installations comprised of looping VR experiences augmented with extra sensory stimulation IRL. Each scene is a microcosm of a different environment, accompanied by an exquisite soundtrack by Mark Pritchard. (World Premiere) GFE Director: Michael Jacobs An immersive 360 experimental film that offers a first-person experience of going on a date with a sex worker. (World Premiere) Greenland Melting Directors: Catherine Upin, Nonny de la Peña, Screenwriters: Catherine Upin, Nonny de la Peña, Julia Cort, Caitlin Saks, Carla Borras NASA scientists are studying a troubling cause, Greenland is melting faster and faster. Using cutting edge VR technology, people can experience standing in front of a glacier, traveling underwater, and flying over some of the world’s stunning scenery. (North American Premiere) Hold The World (United Kingdom) Director: Dan Smith Hold the World (“HTW”) is a world-first interactive VR entertainment experience hosted by Sir David Attenborough at the London’s Natural History Museum. (North American Premiere) The Journey (United States, Chad, Ethiopia, South Sudan, United Kingdom) Director: Charlotte Mikkelborg The Journey through childhood in three of the toughest environments on Earth. Our three children will take you on a sensory journey into their worlds – where not only sight and sound but taste, smell and touch immerse you in their past present and future. (World Premiere) Living With Jaguars (Canada) Directors: Patrick McGuire, Jeff Orlowski, Screenwriter: Kate Lunau Living With Jaguars is an interactive virtual reality film documenting wild jaguars in Brazil. Users explore the complex and interconnected perspectives of four key stakeholders: jaguars, ranchers, conservation researchers, and ecotourism operators. (World Premiere) MONO – Blackwater Director: Ben Wolstenholme, Screenwriters: Ben Wolstenholme, Felipe Marino, Anthony Brock MONO, the former assassin to the queen and legendary ape-man, returns from exile to save his daughter, and reluctantly, Mankind. (World Premiere) One Eighty (United States, India) Director: Eren Aksu One Eighty is the story of an Indian mother, Vijai Kumari, who spent 20 years behind bars, and her son, Kanhaiya Kumari, who was born in prison…and their quest to clear their names and live in freedom. (World Premiere) Parragirls Past, Present – unlocking institutional memories of ‘care’ (Australia) Directors: Media artists and Parragirls, Parragirls/Parramatta Female Factory Precinct Memory Project, Screenwriters: Bonney Djuric, Lily Hibberd, Jenny McNally Parragirls Past, Present is a deeply moving immersive experience presenting former residents’ contemporary visions of Parramatta Girls Home to unlock memories of institutional ‘care’ within the punitive Australian child welfare system. (North American Premiere) RONE (Australia) Director: Lester Francois A distinctive portrait in VR of street artist Rone, whose stunning large-scale portraits are often seen in forgotten spaces. A mix of 360′ video and a virtual art gallery to explore, RONE will draw you into the world of street art like never before. (North American Premiere) Sanctuaries of Silence Directors: Adam Loften, Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee Sanctuaries of Silence is an immersive listening journey into Olympic National Park, one of the quietest places in North America. Space x Girl (Republic of Korea) Director: Minhyuk Che A story about a girl and her space. The girl has a special sense of feeling the heart of the space. One day the space of the girl begins a conversation. It is about her memories that she was not aware of. (World Premiere) Spheres: Songs of Spacetime Director/Screenwriter: Eliza McNitt Dive into the heart of a black hole and uncover the hidden songs of the cosmos. In this VR experience, the breakthrough discovery of gravitational waves transforms how we see the Universe. Fall into the darkness, and you will find the light. Summation of Force (Australia) Directors: Trent Parke, Narelle Autio, Matthew Bate, Screenwriters: Trent Parke, Narelle Autio In a moonlit suburban backyard, two brothers battle one another in an otherworldly game of cricket in this stunning black and white live-action study of the motion, physics, and psychology of sport. Created by photographers Trent Parke and Narelle Autio, in collaboration with filmmaker Matthew Bate, this VR artwork offers a cosmic, darkly beautiful, and dreamlike metaphor for life. Sun Ladies VR Directors: Celine Tricart, Christian Stephen In 2014, ISIS invaded Iraq and targeted the Yazidi community. The men were killed, and the women taken as sex slaves. Some of the ones who escaped decided to join the Kurdistan army and started a female-only fighting unit called the Sun Ladies. Tiniest Tremor Directors: Nicholas Manting Brewer, Megan Simon An emotionally immersive and visually poetic journey into the issue of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome through the story of a woman who suffered from substance abuse disorder to Opioids and her child. (World Premiere) Together Director: Terrence Malick Together is a VR experience about the power of human connection. The piece fuses dance and technology, putting the viewer in the middle of an emotional narrative about breaking down barriers and bringing people closer. (World Premiere) We’re Still Here Director: Jesse Ayala Aiden Short Cloud, a Two-Spirit artist and historian in Boise, Idaho, struggles to preserve and revive his heritage in a race against time. (World Premiere) Wonderful You VR (United Kingdom) Director: John Durrant Wonderful You VR, a Virtual Reality experience narrated by Academy Award nominee Samantha Morton, is a journey through the strange world of your developing senses: sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. (North American Premiere)EXCELLENCE IN TITLE DESIGN
Inspired by an essential part of the theatrical experience, these are works of art in their own right. The 21 sequences selected represent the very best and most original of the past year. Big Mouth / Company: Titmouse Inc. / Designer: Mike Roush Book of Henry / Company: Imaginary Forces / Creative Director: Alan Williams Britannia / Company: Me & the Bootmaker / Designer: Manija Emran Comtes de Barcelona (Counts of Barcelona) / Company: Freelance / Designer: J. A. Duran Counterpart / Company: Imaginary Forces / Creative Director: Karin Fong Dark / Company: Self employed / Designer: Lutz Lemke Divide / Company: Ringling College of Art and Design / Designer: Ioana Oprescu Exhalación / Company: Mordisco Films / Designer: Alberto Díaz López Godless / Company: Method Studios / Designer: John Likens Narcos Season 3 / Company: Digital Kitchen / Designer: Harshit Desai National Geographic Breakthrough / Company: Imaginary Forces / Creative Director: Karin Fong OFFF CDMX Opening titles / Company: Diecinueve36 / Designer: Maribel Martínez OFFF Barcelona 2017 / Company: Sailor Productions / Designer: Vallee Duhamel Orient City: Ronin & The Princess / Company: Spoke Lane Entertainment / Designer: Zsombor Huszka Paa Joe & The Lion / Company: Bottletop / Designer: Mark Pyper Semi Permanent Festival / Company: Framestore / Designer: Akira Thompson SOLO / Company: Plexus Post / Designer: Vijesh Rajan Taboo / Company: Method Studios / Designer: John Likens TEDx Sydney / Company: Substance / Designer: Scott Geersen ZARAH / Company: Bakery Films / Designers: Florian Meimberg, Izzy Acar Also, a special viewing of SXSW Gaming Awards Open 2017 / Company: Imaginary Forces / Designer: Jeremy Cox
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Berlinale 2018: “U – July 22” and Ed Sheeran Documentary “Songwriter” Finalize Competition and Berlinale Special Lineups
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Ed Sheeran in “Songwriter”[/caption]
The addition of two new films Utøya 22. juli (U – July 22) by Erik Poppe, and Songwriter by Murray Cummings complete the lineups of the Competition and Berlinale Special programs of the 68th Berlin International Film Festival.
The Norwegian film Utøya 22. juli (U – July 22) by Erik Poppe completes the Competition program, which features 24 films, 19 of which will be competing for the Golden Bear and the Silver Bears. The documentary Songwriter by Murray Cummings completes the Berlinale Special program. The film follows British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran as he creates his latest album and provides an intimate look at the musician’s work.
Competition
Utøya 22. juli (U – July 22) Norway by Erik Poppe with Andrea Berntzen, Aleksander Holmen, Brede Fristad, Elli Rhiannon Müller Osbourne, Solveig Koløen Birkeland, Sorosh Sadat, Ada Eide World premiereBerlinale Special Gala at the Friedrichstadt-Palast
Songwriter – Documentary United Kingdom by Murray Cummings World premiereCompetition films:
3 Tage in Quiberon (3 Days in Quiberon) by Emily Atef (Germany / Austria / France) 7 Days in Entebbe by José Padilha (USA / United Kingdom) – Out of competition Ága by Milko Lazarov (Bulgaria / Germany / France) – Out of competition Ang Panahon ng Halimaw (Season of the Devil) by Lav Diaz (Philippines) Black 47 by Lance Daly (Ireland / Luxembourg) – Out of competition Damsel by David Zellner and Nathan Zellner (USA) Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot by Gus Van Sant (USA) Dovlatov by Alexey German Jr. (Russian Federation / Poland / Serbia) Eldorado by Markus Imhoof (Switzerland / Germany) – Documentary, out of competition Eva by Benoit Jacquot (France / Belgium) Figlia mia (Daughter of Mine) by Laura Bispuri (Italy / Germany / Switzerland) Las herederas (The Heiresses) by Marcelo Martinessi (Paraguay / Uruguay / Germany / Brazil / Norway / France) – First Feature In den Gängen (In the Aisles) by Thomas Stuber (Germany) Isle of Dogs by Wes Anderson (United Kingdom / Germany) – Animation Khook (Pig) by Mani Haghighi (Iran) Mein Bruder heißt Robert und ist ein Idiot (My Brother’s Name is Robert and He is an Idiot) by Philip Gröning (Germany / France / Switzerland) Museo (Museum) by Alonso Ruizpalacios (Mexico) La prière (The Prayer) by Cédric Kahn (France) Toppen av ingenting (The Real Estate) by Måns Månsson and Axel Petersén (Sweden / United Kingdom) Touch Me Not by Adina Pintilie (Romania / Germany / Czech Republic / Bulgaria / France) – First Feature Transit by Christian Petzold (Germany / France) Twarz (Mug) by Małgorzata Szumowska (Poland) Unsane by Steven Soderbergh (USA) – Out of competition Utøya 22. juli (U – July 22) by Erik Poppe (Norway)Berlinale Special films:
AMERICA Land of the FreeKS by Ulli Lommel (Germany / USA) – Documentary Form The Bookshop by Isabel Coixet (Spain / United Kingdom / Germany) Gurrumul by Paul Williams (Australia) – Documentary, debut film The Happy Prince by Rupert Everett (Germany / Belgium / Italy) The Interpreter by Martin Šulík (Slovak Republic / Czech Republic / Austria) Monster Hunt 2 by Raman Hui (People’s Republic of China / Hong Kong, China) RYŪICHI SAKAMOTO: async AT THE PARK AVENUE ARMORY by Stephen Nomura Schible (USA / Japan) – Documentary Das schweigende Klassenzimmer (The Silent Revolution) by Lars Kraume (Germany) Songwriter by Murray Cummings (United Kingdom) – Documentary Unga Astrid (Becoming Astrid) by Pernille Fischer Christensen (Sweden / Germany / Denmark) Usedom – Der freie Blick aufs Meer by Heinz Brinkmann (Germany) – Documentary Viaje a los Pueblos Fumigados (A Journey to the Fumigated Towns) by Fernando Solanas (Argentina) – DocumentaryBerlinale Special – Berlinale Series:
Bad Banks – Director: Christian Schwochow – Head writer: Oliver Kienle, based on a concept by Lisa Blumenberg (Germany / Luxembourg) Heimebane (Home Ground) – Creator: Johan Fasting – Director: Arild Andresen (Norway) Liberty – Creator: Asger Leth – Director: Mikael Marcimain (Denmark) The Looming Tower – Creators: Dan Futterman, Alex Gibney, Lawrence Wright – Director: Alex Gibney – Written by Dan Futterman, based on the book by Lawrence Wright (USA) Picnic at Hanging Rock – Director: Larysa Kondracki (episodes 1-3) – Written by Beatrix Christian, Alice Addison (Australia) Sleeping Bears – Creator and director: Keren Margalit (Israel) The Terror – Showrunners: David Kajganich and Soo Hugh – Director: Edward Berger (episodes 1-3), (USA)
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LOVE, GILDA, Documentary on Comedian Gilda Radner, to Open 2018 Tribeca Film Festival
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Love, Gilda[/caption]
The 2018 Tribeca Film Festival will open with the world premiere of the documentary Love, Gilda on Wednesday, April 18, 2018. Love, Gilda opens a window into the world of celebrated Emmy® and Grammy® award-winning comedian Gilda Radner who became a cultural icon the moment audiences first laughed with her on Saturday Night Live’s debut episode. A trailblazer for female comedians, her impact on the entertainment industry has endured almost four decades. The film will premiere opening night of the Tribeca Film Festival at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, the city she called home when she catapulted to fame. The 2018 Tribeca Film Festival runs April 18-29.
Love, Gilda is directed and produced by Lisa D’Apolito with the support of the Gilda Radner estate. The film is a true autobiography of a pioneering woman, told in her own words and in her own voice. It weaves together audiotapes, rare home movies, diary entries, and interviews with her friends and those inspired by her including: Bill Hader, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and Cecily Strong; SNL original cast members Chevy Chase, Laraine Newman, and Paul Shaffer; as well as Lorne Michaels (SNL creator and producer), Alan Zweibel (SNL writer), Stephen Schwartz (Broadway composer); Andrew Alexander (CEO of Second City), and long-time friend and actor Martin Short.
Gilda Radner captivated millions of television viewers as an original cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1975-1980. The popularity of her now classic comedic characters Roseanne Roseannadanna, Emily Litella, and Lisa Loopner fueled the young talent to meteoric fame in television, movies, and on Broadway. After finding happiness in love with Gene Wilder she received the cruelest joke of all, cancer. Her fight against the disease served as an inspiration to people impacted by the illness to stay positive and to keep laughing no matter what challenges life brings you.
“As a Festival that has always supported women’s voices and is largely run by women we are incredibly proud to celebrate the inimitable voice of Gilda during the opening night of our Festival,” said Jane Rosenthal, Co-Founder and CEO of the Tribeca Film Festival. “Gilda Radner was a powerful comedic force of nature who opened doors and thrilled audiences while becoming one of the most prolific comedians of a generation. Her cutting edge humor was only second to her dedicated leadership in cancer care with her eponymous Gilda’s Club.”
“Love, Gilda is the right film at the right time and the perfect way to open our Festival,” said Paula Weinstein, EVP of Tribeca Enterprises. “Gilda is a woman for the ages, an extraordinary talent in film, television, and theater who overcame her personal struggles to make us laugh, to make us cry. She understood the healing power of laughter not simply for her audience but in her own life as she struggled with cancer and lead the way for all of us to make the world a better place.”
First time feature filmmaker Lisa D’Apolito commented, “I fell in love with Gilda Radner while doing pro bono work at Gilda’s Club, the cancer support organization Gene Wilder founded in honor of Gilda, in Greenwich Village where I grew up. This started my journey to discover who Gilda was as a person and as a performer. Gilda inspired me and many other women with her remarkable spirit and unique talent that changed the world of comedy. I’m grateful and honored to share the extraordinary legacy of Gilda Radner at the Tribeca Film Festival.”
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Jason Reitman’s TULLY Starring Charlize Theron to Open 35th Miami Film Festival | Trailier
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TULLY[/caption]
Jason Reitman latest film Tully, written by Diablo Cody and starring Charlize Theron, will premiere as the Opening Night film of the 35th edition of Miami Film Festival, on Friday, March 9th at the Olympia Theater.
“Charlize Theron’s fearless performance as a struggling suburban mother on the brink of losing mental control is made possible by another brilliant collaboration by the creators of Juno and Young Adult,” said Festival director Jaie Laplante. “Tully is both a parable and a salve for our stressed-out times – it reminds us all of who we are, and there is no more beautiful way to open our 35th edition than with this film.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRtBP07gIHY
The Festival will give its Precious Gem – Icon Award to the great French actress Isabelle Huppert, recent Oscar nominee for Elle and the most nominated actress in César Award history – a total of 16 nominations from France’s Academy – winning twice. She has also twice won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival, in a career that has seen her work with some of the greatest directors of contemporary times. Huppert will be honored on Friday, March 16th at the Olympia Theater.
“Isabelle Huppert has made profound contributions to cinema over the course of her illustrious career,” Laplante said. “With her recent performances in Things to Come and Elle, as well as Souvenir and Claire’s Camera, both of which we will be screening in conjunction with her Festival appearance, Ms. Huppert reaches ever-new pinnacles that continually astonish us, and add to her iconic status.”
The Festival will give its Precious Gem – Master Award to Spain’s greatest living filmmaker, Carlos Saura, on the occasion of a new documentary about the master’s career and family life, Félix Viscarret’s Goya-lauded Saura(s), on Sunday, March 11th at the Olympia Theater.
“Carlos Saura returns to Miami after receiving the Festival’s Career Achievement Tribute Award at our 20th edition in 2003,” said Laplante. “At that time, he was 71. Now, he’s 86 and has made eight more brilliant films since his last visit to Miami – but with Saura(s), we see him in a new light, as both a filmmaker and a family-maker. He is a peerless master, and we celebrate the life that continues to nourish his art.”
In all, the Festival will present 148 feature narratives, documentaries and short films of all genres, from 50 different countries, including three countries being represented in the Festival’s Official Selection for the first time– Benin, Georgia and Swaziland. The 35th edition of the Festival runs March 9th – 18th. Thirty-eight of the films are directed or co-directed by women filmmakers. The Festival will wrap up with an Awards Night Gala screening at Olympia Theater of the International premiere of Curro Velázquez’s smash hit Spanish comedy Holy Goalie (Que baje Dios y lo vea), with star Alain Hernández in attendance. All Olympia Theater screenings are part of the Festival’s CINEDWNTWN GALA series, sponsored by Miami Downtown Development Authority. A KORBEL Awards Night Party at The Historic Alfred I. Dupont Building will follow the Awards Night ceremony and screening.
Academy Award winning filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) and revered American screenwriter and director Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, Affliction) will attend the Festival for Marquee presentations of their newest films. The Festival’s Marquee series features screenings accompanied by on-stage conversations with major film personalities of the moment, discussing their career and sharing an exciting new work. Hazanavicius will present Godard Mon Amour, his serio-comic look at Jean-Luc Godard’s love affair with the actress Anne Wiazemsky during the shooting of his classic films La Chinoise and Weekend. Schrader will present First Reformed, a dramatic thriller starring Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried and Cedric The Entertainer. They join (previously announced) Mateo Gil and Jean-Marc Barr in the Marquee section.
Ten finalists were selected for the Festival’s signature $40,000 Knight Competition, open to feature films directed by filmmakers who have presented at least one feature in a previous edition of the Festival. Three of these films will also screen as CINEDWNTWN GALAS at the Olympia Theater.
The finalists are:
Another Story of the World (Uruguay, directed by Guillermo Casanova).
April’s Daughter (Mexico, directed by Michel Franco).
In Love & In Hate (Argentina, directed by Alejandro Maci). *CINEDWNTWN GALA
The Laws of Thermodynamics (Spain, directed by Mateo Gil). *WORLD PREMIERE
My Love or My Passion (Argentina, directed by Marcos Carnevale). *CINEDWNTWN GALA
Sergio and Sergei (Cuba/Spain, directed by Ernesto Daranás).
A Sort of Family (Argentina, directed by Diego Lerman).
The Summit (Argentina/Spain, directed by Santiago Mitre). *CINEDWNTWN GALA
Time Share (Mexico, directed by Sebastián Hofmann).
The Warning (Spain, directed by Daniel Calparsoro).
Eleven finalists were selected for the Festival’s inaugural $10,000 Knight Made in MIA Competition, which is open to any film – short or feature, documentary or narrative – in the Festival’s Official Selection that features a qualitatively/quantitatively substantial portion of its content (story, setting and actual filming location) in South Florida, from West Palm Beach to the Florida Keys, and that most universally demonstrates a common ground of pride, emotion, and faith for the South Florida community. The new award was inspired by the international success and 2017 Best Picture Oscar win by the Miami-set Moonlight, directed by former Miami resident Barry Jenkins and co-written by Tarell McCraney. The finalists are:
“#THECONNECTEDMAN”, directed by Fabián Cárdenas.
“Ayita’s Dream”, directed by Isis Masoud, Roger Ingraham.
“Fight Like a Girl”, directed by Agustín Gonzalez, Nicole Wulf.
Gladesmen: The Last of The Sawgrass Cowboys, directed by David Abel.
Latinegras: The Journey of Self-Love Through An Afrolatina Lens, directed by Omilani Alarcón. *WORLD PREMIERE
Love in Youth, directed by Quincy Perkins. *WORLD PREMIERE
Make Love Great Again, directed by Aaron Agrasanchez.
“Noa”, directed by Angel Barrota. *WORLD PREMIERE
Operation Odessa, directed by Tiller Russell.
“Roadside Attraction”, directed by Ivette Lucas, Patrick Bresnan.
“Supermarket”, directed by Rhonda Mitrani. *WORLD PREMIERE
Two significant Soiree nights will pair a major film event with one of Miami Film Festival’s world-famous parties. An Evening with Tim Clancy, the showrunner of HBO’s acclaimed Vice series through six seasons, will present a big-screen return look at three significant Vice episodes, followed by an in-depth, on-stage conversation about Vice’s Emmy Award-winning approach, philosophies and techniques. “HBO NIGHT” continues with a party at downtown Miami’s newest hotspot, The Wharf. Greg Berlanti’s Love, Simon will have its Festival premiere at the Regal Cinemas South Beach and continue with a Light Box Love Story soiree at Miami Light Project’s Goldman Warehouse in Wynwood.
The fiercely-contested, audience-voted $10,000 Knight Documentary Achievement Award, sponsored by Knight Foundation, returns with 24 finalists, including 4 world premieres, and new films from Oscar winner Morgan Neville (20 Feet From Stardom), Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond, In America), Goya winners Félix Viscarret and Gustavo Salmerón, Emmy winner Rene Balcer (Law & Order), Sundance 2018 prize winners Tim Wardle and Maxim Pozdorovkin, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist David Abel and the late Oscar winner Jonathan Demme, as executive producer on The Foreigner’s Home. Subjects featured in the films include Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Edwidge Danticat, Toni Morrison, Mr. Rogers, Andre Agassi, Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds in the Live Nation production Believer, Cuban-America playwright María Irene Fornés and Miami’s Rene Lecour. The finalists are:
6 Weeks To Mother’s Day (USA, directed by Marvin Blunte).
Above The Drowning Sea (Canada, directed by Rene Balcer, Nicola Zavaglia).
Amigo Skate, Cuba (USA, directed by Vanesa Wilkey-Escobar). *WORLD PREMIERE
Believer (USA, directed by Don Argott).
Cuban Food Stories (USA, directed by Asori Soto).
Dolphin Man (Greece/Canada/France/Japan, directed by Lefteris Charitos).
Foreign Land (Israel, directed by Shlomi Eldar).
The Foreigner’s Home (USA/France, directed by Rian Brown, Geoff Pingree).
Gladesmen: The Last of The Sawgrass Cowboys (USA, directed by David Abel).
In Search of Voodoo: Roots To Heaven (USA/Benin, directed by Djimon Hounsou). *WORLD PREMIERE
Liyana (USA/Qatar/Swaziland, directed by Aaron Kopp, Amanda Kopp).
Lots of Kids, A Monkey and a Castle (Spain, directed by Gustavo Salmerón).
Love Means Zero (USA, directed by Jason Kohn).
The Music of the Spheres (Cuba/USA, directed by Marcel Beltrán). *WORLD PREMIERE
Nuyorican Basquet (Puerto Rico, directed by Julio César Torres, Ricardo Olivero Lora).
The Oldies (Cuba/USA/Venezuela, directed by Rosana Matecki).
Operation Odessa (USA, directed by Tiller Russell).
Our New President (USA, directed by Maxim Pozdorovkin).
RBG (USA, directed by Betsy West, Julie Cohen).
The Rest I Make Up (USA, directed by Michelle Memran).
Saura(s) (Spain, directed by Félix Viscarret).
Three Identical Strangers (USA, directed by Tim Wardle).
When The Beat Drops (USA, directed by Jamal Sims). *WORLD PREMIERE
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (USA, directed by Morgan Neville).
HBO returns as sponsor of the Festival’s $10,000 Ibero-American Feature Film Competition, this year featuring 25 finalists, including three world premieres. Three of the films in this section star Argentine actress Dolores Fonzi, prompting Festival organizers to declare Monday, March 12th “DOLORES FONZI DAY” at Miami Film Festival. The finalists are:
Al Berto (Portugal, directed by Vicente Alves do Ó).
Another Story of the World (Uruguay, directed by Guillermo Casanova).
April’s Daughter (Mexico, directed by Michel Franco).
Ashes (Ecuador/Uruguay, directed by Juan Sebastián Jácome). *WORLD PREMIERE
Bingo: The King of the Mornings (Brazil, directed by Daniel Rezende).
Candelaria (Colombia/Cuba/Argentina/Germany/Norway, directed by Jhonny Hendrix-Hinestroza).
Cocote (Dominican Republic, directed by Nelson Carlo de Los Santos Arias).
The Eternal Feminine (Mexico, directed by Natalia Beristáin).
The Future Ahead (Argentina, directed by Constanza Novick). *DOLORES FONZI DAY Film
Hunting Season (Argentina/USA/Germany/France, directed by Natalia Garagiola).
In Love & In Hate (Argentina, directed by Alejandro Maci). *CINEDWNTWN GALA
Killing Jesus (Colombia/Argentina, directed by Laura Mora).
La Familia (Venezuela/Chile/Norway, directed by Gustavo Rondón Córdova).
The Last Suit (Argentina/Spain, directed by Pablo Solarz).
The Laws of Thermodynamics (Spain, directed by Mateo Gil). *WORLD PREMIERE
On The Seventh Day (USA, directed by Jim McKay).
The River (Bolivia/Ecuador, directed by Juan Pablo Richter). *WORLD PREMIERE
Sergio and Sergei (Cuba/Spain, directed by Ernesto Daranás).
The Skin of the Wolf (Spain, directed by Samu Fuentes).
A Sort of Family (Argentina, directed by Diego Lerman).
The Summit (Argentina/Spain, directed by Santiago Mitre). *CINEDWNTWN GALA
Tigre (Argentina, directed by Silvina Schnicer, Ulises Porra Guardiola).
Time Share (Mexico, directed by Sebastián Hofmann).
The Warning (Spain, directed by Daniel Calparsoro).
Wind Traces (Mexico, directed by Jimena Montemayor Loyo). *DOLORES FONZI DAY Film
The highly sought-after $10,000 Jordan Ressler Screenwriting Award, won in recent years by Oscar nominated Theeb, Venice Golden Lion winner From Afar and Chilean world premiere launch Little White Lie, has 20 diverse and intriguing first-produced screenplays in competition. All but two of the finalists also directed his or her screenplay. The finalists are:
Michael Pearce for Beast (UK).
Cory Bowles for Black Cop (Canada).
Taylor Allen, Andrew Logan for Chappaquiddick (USA).
Nelson Carlo de Los Santos Arias for Cocote (Dominican Republic).
Xavier Legrand for Custody (France).
Feifei Wang for From Where We’ve Fallen (China).
Constanza Novick for The Future Ahead (Argentina).
Sonja Maria Kröner for The Garden (Germany).
Lucien Bourjeily for Heaven Without People (Lebanon).
Natalia Garagiola for Hunting Season (Argentina).
Christian Papierniak for Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town (USA).
Blake Jenner for Juvenile (USA).
Quincy Perkins for Love in Youth (USA). *WORLD PREMIERE
Molly McGlynn for Mary Goes Round (Canada).
Ziyang Zhou for Old Beast (China).
Juan Pablo Richter for The River (Bolivia/Ecuador). *WORLD PREMIERE
Ana Urushadze for Scary Mother (Georgia).
Samu Fuentes for The Skin of the Wolf (Spain).
Silvina Schnicer for Tigre (Argentina).
Hlynur Palmason for Winter Brothers (Denmark).
Films showing out of competition include selections by Oscar-nominee Michaël R. Roskam (Bullhead), Oscar-nominee and Emmy-winner Armando Iannucci (In the Loop, HBO’s Veep), and a US premiere starring retired NFL veteran and South Florida resident, actor/producer Thomas Q. Jones (A Violent Man). The films are:
Ali’s Wedding (Australia, directed by Jeffrey Walker).
Darling (Denmark, directed by Birgitte Stærmose).
The Death of Stalin (UK, directed by Armando Iannucci).
“The Driver is Red” (USA, directed by Randall Christopher).
Grace and Splendor (Panama/Dominican Republic, directed by Arturo Montenegro).
The Journey (Iran/UK/France/Qatar/The Netherlands, directed by Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji).
Kiss Me Not (Egypt, directed by Ahmed Amer).
Life is a Bitch (Brazil, directed by Julia Rezende).
Racer and the Jailbird (Belgium/France, directed by Michaël R. Roskam).
Sollers Point (USA, directed by Matthew Porterfield).
Three Peaks (Germany/Italy, directed by Jan Zabeil).
Under The Tree (Iceland/Denmark/Poland/Germany, directed by Hafsteinn Gummar).
A Violent Man (USA, directed by Matthew Berkowitz).
Wajib (Palestine/France/Germany/Colombia/Norway/Qatar, directed by Annemarie Jacir).
The Festival takes a special look at the Chinese film market this year in Cinema & China. This section features the Florida premiere of the Cannes Film Festival 2017’s Palme d’Or winner for Best Short Film, “A Gentle Night”, directed by Yang Qui, and the documentary Above the Drowning Sea, a historical look at an amazing story of European Jews being safeguarded by Shanghai and Chinese diplomats during World War II. A day-long symposium on the trends and markets will be held, in conjunction with the Festival screening of four Chinese-produced features:
From Where We’ve Fallen, directed by Feifei Wang.
Love Education, directed by Sylvia Chang.
Old Beast, directed by Ziyang Zhou. *KEYNOTE FILM
Walking Past The Future, directed by Li Ruijun.
The Festival’s exceedingly popular Reel Music section returns with five outstanding selections, including a world premiere from Panama and a feature about famed flamenco star Diego “El Cigala” as he explores the world of salsa in Cuba and beyond:
Guaco: Semblanza (Venezuela, directed by Alberto Arvelo).
I Tita, A Life of Tango (Argentina, directed by Teresa Constantini).
Indestructible: The Soul of Salsa (Spain, directed by David Pareja).
Me, My Father and the Cariocas: 70 Years of Music in Brazil (Brazil, directed by Lucia Verissimo).
A Night of Calypso (Panama, directed by Fernando Muñoz). *WORLD PREMIERE
MIFFecito, the beloved Films for Families section, returns with four new feature films for film fans of all ages. This section includes Fishtronaut The Movie (Brazil), Home Team (Uruguay/Brazil/Argentina), Lila’s Book (Colombia/Uruguay) and Zombillenium (France/Belgium). An animated short film winner from MDC’s Miami Animation and Gaming International Complex 2017 MIA Animation Conference & Festival will also be shown in this section.
South Florida’s college film students will again battle it out in Cinemaslam 2018. The nine finalists include films from Center of Cinematography, Arts & Television’s Lidia Rosa Hernandez; Miami Dade College’s Armando Stephano Rivero, Robert Requejo Ramos, Christopher Foode and Fernando Dumas; and University of Miami’s Chantal Gabriel, Jorge Martinez and Vasisth Sukul.
The Festival’s parallel industry activities include a French film market sponsored by Unifrance, and a Producing in South Florida panel moderated by Kevin Sharpley.
The Festival will co-present three special events during this year’s event. A “From The Vault” of Todd Haynes’ classic Velvet Goldmine will be held on Sunday, March 11th in partnership with Flaming Classics. On Friday, March 16th, in partnership with The Black Lounge Series, a screening of In The Morning with filmmaker Nefertiti Nguvu in person. In celebration of the Festival’s Tribute to Carlos Saura, one of Saura’s greatest classics, Cría cuervos, will screen on Sunday, March 18th at Miami Beach Cinematheque.