My Country No More[/caption]
Between 2011 and 2016, oil drilling in rural North Dakota reached its peak, setting off a modern-day gold rush in Trenton, North Dakota, population less than 1000. With billions of dollars to be gained in an industry-friendly state with a “reasonable regulation” climate, small towns like Trenton became overwhelmed by an influx of workers, and countless acres of farmland were repurposed for industrial development. My Country No More, a new documentary produced and directed by Rita Baghdadi and Jeremiah Hammerling, follows the rise and fall of the oil boom in North Dakota and paints a portrait of a rural American community in crisis. Through the voices of Trenton’s residents, the film challenges the notion of “progress” and questions the long-term human consequences of short-term approaches to land use, decisions that ultimate affect all Americans, rural and urban alike. My Country No More premieres on Independent Lens Monday, January 7, 2019, 10:00-11:00 PM ET (check local listings) on PBS.
Kalie Rider and her older brother Jed are striving to return to a life of farming after having suffered the loss of their parents’ farm during the 1980s farm crisis. Their uncle’s decision to sell a piece of land for a planned ethanol plant sets off a chain of consequences from which there is no turning back. With the Trenton church being eyed for a diesel refinery, the community becomes divided, with some favoring development and jobs, and others bemoaning the loss of their rural way of life.
“Although the media frenzy surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline has faded, My Country No More reveals how small communities like Trenton, North Dakota are forever changed by the rise and fall of the oil boom,” said Lois Vossen, executive producer of Independent Lens. “Rita and Jeremiah have created a contemplative, beautifully shot film about a town caught between economic opportunity and personal regret. As the foundation of life and identity shifts beneath their feet, the people of Trenton are left asking what is the value of community history and what sacrifices are they willing to make to preserve a vanishing way of life.”Terry P.
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MY COUNTRY NO MORE Docu on Rise and Fall North Dakota’s Oil Boom to Premiere on PBS Independent Lens
[caption id="attachment_33014" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] My Country No More[/caption]
Between 2011 and 2016, oil drilling in rural North Dakota reached its peak, setting off a modern-day gold rush in Trenton, North Dakota, population less than 1000. With billions of dollars to be gained in an industry-friendly state with a “reasonable regulation” climate, small towns like Trenton became overwhelmed by an influx of workers, and countless acres of farmland were repurposed for industrial development. My Country No More, a new documentary produced and directed by Rita Baghdadi and Jeremiah Hammerling, follows the rise and fall of the oil boom in North Dakota and paints a portrait of a rural American community in crisis. Through the voices of Trenton’s residents, the film challenges the notion of “progress” and questions the long-term human consequences of short-term approaches to land use, decisions that ultimate affect all Americans, rural and urban alike. My Country No More premieres on Independent Lens Monday, January 7, 2019, 10:00-11:00 PM ET (check local listings) on PBS.
Kalie Rider and her older brother Jed are striving to return to a life of farming after having suffered the loss of their parents’ farm during the 1980s farm crisis. Their uncle’s decision to sell a piece of land for a planned ethanol plant sets off a chain of consequences from which there is no turning back. With the Trenton church being eyed for a diesel refinery, the community becomes divided, with some favoring development and jobs, and others bemoaning the loss of their rural way of life.
“Although the media frenzy surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline has faded, My Country No More reveals how small communities like Trenton, North Dakota are forever changed by the rise and fall of the oil boom,” said Lois Vossen, executive producer of Independent Lens. “Rita and Jeremiah have created a contemplative, beautifully shot film about a town caught between economic opportunity and personal regret. As the foundation of life and identity shifts beneath their feet, the people of Trenton are left asking what is the value of community history and what sacrifices are they willing to make to preserve a vanishing way of life.”
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Yorgos Lanthimos’ THE FAVOURITE Wins a Record 10 Awards at 2018 British Independent Film Awards
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Emma Stone and Olivia Colman in the film THE FAVOURITE. Photo by Yorgos Lanthimos.ʩ 2018 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation[/caption]
The Favourite was clearly that at the 2018 British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) in London winning a record ten awards including Best British Independent Film and Best Director for Yorgos Lanthimos. Other major awards include Evelyn won for Best Documentary, Ray & Liz‘s Richard Billingham won The Douglas Hickox Award for Best Debut Director, and Roma won for Best International Independent Film.
2018 British Independent Film Awards Winners
Best British Independent Film
THE FAVOURITE Yorgos Lanthimos, Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara, Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee MagidayBest Director
YORGOS LANTHIMOS The FavouriteBest Screenplay
DEBORAH DAVIS, TONY McNAMARA The FavouriteBest Actress
OLIVIA COLMAN The FavouriteBest Supporting Actress
RACHEL WEISZ The FavouriteBest Actor
JOE COLE A Prayer Before DawnBest Supporting Actor
ALESSANDRO NIVOLA DisobedienceMost Promising Newcomer
JESSIE BUCKLEY BeastThe Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director)
RICHARD BILLINGHAM Ray & LizDebut Screenwriter
BART LAYTON American AnimalsBreakthrough Producer
JACQUI DAVIES Ray & LizThe Discovery Award
VOYAGEUSE May Miles ThomasBest Documentary
EVELYN Orlando von Einsiedel, Joanna NatasegaraBest British Short Film
THE BIG DAY Dawn Shadforth, Kellie Smith, Michelle SteinBest International Independent Film
ROMA Alfonso Cuarón, Nicolás Celis, Gabriela RodriguezBest Casting
DIXIE CHASSAY The FavouriteBest Cinematography supported by Blackmagic Design
ROBBIE RYAN The FavouriteBest Costume Design
SANDY POWELL The FavouriteBest Editing
NICK FENTON, JULIAN HART, CHRIS GILL American AnimalsBest Effects
HOWARD JONES Early ManBest Make Up & Hair Design
NADIA STACEY The FavouriteBest Music
JONNY GREENWOOD You Were Never Really HereBest Production Design
FIONA CROMBIE The FavouriteBest Sound
PAUL DAVIES You Were Never Really HereThe Richard Harris Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Actor to British Film
Judi DenchThe Special Jury Prize
Horace Ové CBE
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THE FAVOURITE Leads Nominations for 2018 Washington DC Area Film Critics Award
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The Favourite[/caption]
The Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) which comprises of 60 DC-based film critics from the District, Maryland and Virginia announced their nominees for the 2018 awards. The Favourite lead with 10 nominations including Best Film and Best Director for Yorgos Lanthimos. Other films nominated for Best Film include A Star Is Born, Green Book, If Beale Street Could Talk, and Roma.
The nominees for Best Documentary are Free Solo, RBG, Science Fair, Three Identical Strangers and Won’t You Be My Neighbor? The nominees for Best Foreign Film are Burning, Capernaum, Cold War, Roma and Shoplifters. The nominees for the special category The Joe Barber Award for Best Portrayal of Washington, DC are The Front Runner, RBG and Vice.
The 2018 WAFCA Award winners will be announced on Monday, December 3, 2018.
2018 Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) AWARD NOMINEES
Best Film:
The Favourite Green Book If Beale Street Could Talk Roma A Star Is BornBest Director:
Ryan Coogler (Black Panther) Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born) Alfonso Cuarón (Roma) Barry Jenkins (If Beale Street Could Talk) Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite)Best Actor:
Christian Bale (Vice) Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born) Ethan Hawke (First Reformed) Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) Viggo Mortensen (Green Book)Best Actress:
Glenn Close (The Wife) Toni Collette (Hereditary) Olivia Colman (The Favourite) Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born) Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)Best Supporting Actor:
Mahershala Ali (Green Book) Timothée Chalamet (Beautiful Boy) Sam Elliott (A Star Is Born) Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther)Best Supporting Actress:
Cynthia Erivo (Bad Times at the El Royale) Nicole Kidman (Boy Erased) Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk) Emma Stone (The Favourite) Rachel Weisz (The Favourite)Best Acting Ensemble:
Black Panther The Favourite If Beale Street Could Talk Vice WidowsBest Youth Performance:
Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade) Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie (Leave No Trace) Milly Shapiro (Hereditary) Millicent Simmonds (A Quiet Place) Amandla Stenberg (The Hate U Give)Best Voice Performance:
Bryan Cranston (Isle of Dogs) Holly Hunter (Incredibles 2) Shameik Moore (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) Sarah Silverman (Ralph Breaks the Internet) Ben Whishaw (Paddington 2)Best Motion Capture Performance:
Josh Brolin (Avengers: Infinity War) Tye Sheridan (Ready Player One) Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Solo: A Star Wars Story)Best Original Screenplay:
Bo Burnham (Eighth Grade) Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara (The Favourite) Paul Schrader (First Reformed) Nick Vallelonga & Brian Currie & Peter Farrelly (Green Book) Alfonso Cuarón (Roma)Best Adapted Screenplay:
Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman) Ryan Coogler & Joe Robert Cole (Black Panther) Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) Barry Jenkins (If Beale Street Could Talk) Eric Roth and Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters (A Star Is Born)Best Animated Feature:
Incredibles 2 Isle of Dogs Mirai Ralph Breaks the Internet Spider-Man: Into the Spider-VerseBest Documentary:
Free Solo RBG Science Fair Three Identical Strangers Won’t You Be My Neighbor?Best Foreign Language Film:
Burning Capernaum Cold War Roma ShopliftersBest Production Design:
Production Designer: Hannah Beachler; Set Decorator: Jay Hart (Black Panther) Production Designer: Fiona Crombie; Set Decorator: Alice Felton (The Favourite) Production Designer: Nathan Crowley; Set Decorator: Kathy Lucas (First Man) Production Designer: John Myhre; Set Decorator: Gordon Sim (Mary Poppins Returns) Production Designer: Eugenio Caballero; Set Decorator: Bárbara Enríquez (Roma)Best Cinematography:
Robbie Ryan, BSC (The Favourite) Linus Sandgren, FSF (First Man) James Laxton (If Beale Street Could Talk) Alfonso Cuarón (Roma) Matthew Libatique, ASC (A Star Is Born)Best Editing:
Yorgos Mavropsaridis, ACE (The Favourite) Tom Cross, ACE (First Man) Alfonso Cuarón, Adam Gough (Roma) Jay Cassidy, ACE (A Star Is Born) Joe Walker, ACE (Widows)Best Original Score:
Ludwig Göransson (Black Panther) Justin Hurwitz (First Man) Nicholas Britell (If Beale Street Could Talk) Thom Yorke (Suspiria) Hans Zimmer (Widows)The Joe Barber Award for Best Portrayal of Washington, DC:
The Front Runner RBG Vice
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A COLONY Sweeps Borsos Awards, Wins Best Canadian Feature at 2018 Whistler Film Festival
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A Colony (Une colonie) by Geneviève Dulude De Celles[/caption]
Geneviève Dulude-De Celles first feature A COLONY, a touching and heartbreaking coming of age story, swept the Borsos Awards of the 18th annual Whistler Film Festival with three wins including Best Canadian Feature, Best Director in a Borsos Film for Geneviève Dulude-De Celles, and Best Performance in a Borsos Film for Emilie Bierre taking the $15,000 cash prize and $15,000 post production prize. The jury stated: “We awarded A COLONY the Borsos awards for its strength of vision and raw authenticity.
The Borsos Award for Best Screenplay went to Robert Budreau, writer and director of STOCKHOLM, for the complex emotional clockwork that balances action, suspense and romance.
Best Cinematography in a Borsos Film went to cinematographer Michel La Veaux for his work in THE FIREFLIES ARE GONE. The jury said they presented this to the movie that they felt showed an elegant authenticity and strong visual storytelling through classic use of framing color and choreography.
The World Documentary Award went to MOMENTUM GENERATION. The jury stated that “This documentary provides unparalleled access to the events that shaped its iconic subjects, presenting a powerful story of the bond between friends throughout profound personal struggle. An uplifting coming of age film that nails its slick and engaging execution, our award winner delivers undeniable audience impact and critical potential. The Jury awards the World Documentary Award to this memorable tribute to hardship and friendship, MOMENTUM GENERATION” directed by Jeff and Michael Zimbalist.
The jury also gave an honorable mention to Jordan Manley, director of TREELINE, ”for its original choice of subject matter, striking imagery and masterful visual storytelling, the Jury wishes to recognize this film for its poetic approach to filmmaking and ability to open our minds to a world never before seen.”
The Best Mountain Culture Film Award went to FREE SOLO directed by Jimmy Chin and E. Chai Vasarhelyi. The Jury stated “ It’s pretty incredible when a film has you totally gripped from beginning to end, despite already knowing the ending. FREE SOLO did just that and we chose it as our Mountain Culture winner for many reasons. Its ability to deeply humanize a character who is quantifiably “crazy” by most definitions, its technical filmmaking commitment and prowess, and its ability to open the sport of climbing to a wider audience in a relatable way. We felt its storytelling and entertaining portrayal of this unparalleled athletic achievement embodied the Mountain Culture award.“
The $1,000 Canadian ShortWork Award went to BROTHERHOOD, directed by Meryam Joobeur; the International ShortWork Award went to MISS WORLD, directed by Georgia Fu; and the $500 ShortWork Student Award went to THE BUS STOP directed by Kama Sood. The MPPIA Short Film Award, presented by MPPIA and Creative BC, was awarded to Alayna Silverberg for B-SIDE. The award consists of a $15,000 cash award plus up to $100,000 in services. The completed project will have its world premiere screening at the 2018 Whistler Film Festival.
Jen Araki with her “Slip Into Darkness” project won the WFF Power Pitch $41,000 prize package that included a $1,000 cash prize and a $40,000 production package featuring a $10,000 post production credit from Encore Vancouver, and a $10,000 studio credit, $10,000 lighting and grip credit and a $10,000 camera credit from Sim. WFF’s Power Pitch had seven Canadian producers with feature projects in development participating in the program designed to set them up for success by fine-tuning their project packages and pitching skills.
The Alliance of Women Film Journalists presented this year’s EDA Award for Best Female-directed Feature to two films, HONEY BEE directed by Rama Rau and FAMILY FIRST directed by Sophie Dupuis; and the EDA Award for Best Female-Directed Short Film to BROTHERHOOD directed by Meryam Joobeur.
“The Alliance of Women Film Journalists is honored and proud to partner with the Whistler Film Festival for the 5th consecutive year to present EDA awards recognizing women filmmakers. WFF, in our experience, has a uniquely successful record in programming women’s films, not only for screenings, but also in programs that open opportunities for women,” said Jennifer Merin, President of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists. “We applaud Shauna Hardy Mishaw for her singular efforts in this regard. This year’s nominees were extraordinarily good, and it was difficult for us to single out one in each category.”
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7 Indie Films Awarded $240,000 in Fall 2018 SFFILM Rainin Grants
Seven indie narrative films will receive a total of $240,000 in funding in the latest round of SFFILM Rainin Grants to support the next stage of their creative process, from screenwriting to post-production. SFFILM Rainin Grants are awarded twice annually to filmmakers whose narrative feature films will have significant economic or professional impact on the Bay Area filmmaking community and/or meaningfully explore pressing social issues.
SFFILM, in partnership with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, is the largest granting body for independent narrative feature films in the United States. The SFFILM Rainin Grant program has awarded over $5 million to more than 100 projects since its inception, including Boots Riley’s indie phenomenon Sorry to Bother You, which was released in theaters nationwide this summer; Reinaldo Marcus Green’s Monsters and Men, which won a Special Jury Prize at Sundance earlier this year; Geremy Jasper’s Sundance breakthrough Patti Cake$, which closed the 2017 Cannes Director’s Fortnight program; Chloé Zhao’s Songs My Brothers Taught Me, which screened at Sundance and Cannes in 2015; Short Term 12, Destin Cretton’s sophomore feature which won both the Narrative Grand Jury Award and Audience Award at SXSW 2013; Ryan Coogler’s debut feature Fruitvale Station, which won the 2014 Film Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, the Un Certain Regard Avenir Prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, and both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the narrative category at Sundance 2013; and Ben Zeitlin’s debut phenomenon Beasts of the Southern Wild, which won Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize and Cannes’ Camera d’Or in 2012 and earned four Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture).
The jury noted in a statement: “We are thrilled to support these seven ambitious projects and the voices—both lyrical and incisive—of these talented filmmakers. This cohort of SFFILM Rainin grantees are grappling beautifully with questions of how we define ourselves and our homes in a world that is constantly changing. We very much look forward to playing a part in elevating their visions in the months ahead.”
FALL 2018 SFFILM RAININ GRANT WINNERS
18+ Ceylan Özgün Özçelik, writer/director/producer; Armagan Lale, producer — screenwriting – $25,000 On the feast of the sacrifice, a family gathering of women turns into a tragicomic night of bloody vengeance. all dirts roads taste of salt Raven Jackson, writer/director; Maria Altamirano, producer — screenwriting – $25,000 In lyrical, non-linear portraits evoking the texture of memories, all dirt roads taste of salt viscerally and experientially explores the life of a Black woman in the American South, from her youth to her older years. Cicada Matthew Fifer, writer/co-director; Kieran Mulcare, co-director; Jeremy Truong and Ramfis Myrthil, producers — post-production – $40,000 Some things are worth waiting 17 years for, others should have come out sooner. Colewell Tom Quinn, writer/director; Craig Shilowich, Alexandra Byer, and Matthew Thurm, producers — post-production – $50,000 For 35 years, Nora Pancowski has been the postmaster of Colewell, Pennsylvania. She runs the office out of her home and has become the center of this community, which has no other common space. When Nora receives word that her office will be closed, she must decide whether to relocate and take a new job or face retirement in Colewell. Freeland Kate McLean and Mario Furloni, writer/directors; Laura Heberton, producer — post-production – $50,000 Aging pot farmer Devi suddenly finds her world shattered as she races to bring in what could be her final harvest. KEE-kay Pedro González Kuhn, director; Rodrigo Ordoñez, writer; Vanessa Perez and Laura Irene Arvizu, producers — development – $25,000 Enrique is deported to Mexico, a country he has never called home. As he struggles to integrate, survive, and force his way back to the US, he meets Rita, who provides shelter and protection that he has never had before, which makes him question where home really is. Sandy Song, The High Priestess of Souls Pete Lee, writer/director — screenwriting – $25,000 Sandy Song, a grumpy middle-aged grifter, becomes the sole defender of Oakland’s Chinatown in a battle against loan sharks, white saviors, and demons.
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Northern Banner Releasing to Release THIS IS NORTH PRESTON Documentary
This Is North Preston, the remarkable documentary film by Jaren Hayman which will have its world premiere at Whistler Film Festival on Friday November 30, will be released in Canada by Northern Banner Releasing.
Northern Banner will have a limited theatrical release in Canada starting in the new year, and the film has been picked up in the US by Virgil Films, who will release digitally, also in the new year.
North Preston is the largest black community in the country and started as a safe haven for escaped slaves but has more recently been painted as one of the biggest hubs of pimping & human trafficking in the nation.
This Is North Preston explores how the town of 4,000 has dealt with generations of pimp culture, violence, economic struggle, and constant systemic racism through the eyes of the pimps, trafficking victims, politicians, police, and community members looking to change the narrative.
This Is North Preston not only tells a truly unique story, but also an incredibly important one. While the community has several deep rooted issues it’s facing including an accepted pimp culture and high levels of gun violence, the film explores how and why this is now a reality. The movie also looks at the decades of systemic racism that the town has experienced and continues to experience.
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EIGHTH GRADE, THE RIDER, TRANSMILITARY Among Finalists for 44th HUMANITAS Prize
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EIGHTH GRADE[/caption]
The HUMANITAS Prize which honors film and television writers whose work inspires compassion, hope, and understanding in the human family, has named fifty-eight film and television writers as finalists for the 44th Annual HUMANITAS Prize. All Prize winners will be announced at The 44th Annual HUMANITAS Prize event on Friday, February 8, 2019 at The Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA.
Six college students have also been named as finalists for The David and Lynn Angell College Comedy Fellowship and The Carol Mendelsohn College Drama Fellowship. The winning writers in each category will be awarded $20,000 in prize money.
HUMANITAS will also honor Marta Kauffman with The Kieser Award and Kenya Barris with the VOICE FOR CHANGE Award.
Marta Kauffman is a critically acclaimed writer/director/producer. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series for Friends, a series she co-created. She also co-created HBO’s Dream On, was the co-producer for NBC’s Veronica’s Closet, and is the co-creator of Netflix’s Grace and Frankie.
Kenya Barris is also a critically acclaimed writer/producer and the creator of ABC’s Black-ish and Grown-ish. He won The HUMANITAS Prize for Black-Ish: “Hope” in 2017. He won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series in 2016/17. He has received three nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series at the Primetime Emmy Awards.
Since its inception in 1974, The HUMANITAS Prize has awarded over $3.5 million to more than 360 deserving television and motion picture writers whose work examines what it means to be a fully realized human being in a world struggling with racism, terrorism, sexism, ageism, anti-Semitism, political polarization, religious fanaticism, extreme poverty, violence, and unemployment. By deeply exploring the cultures, lifestyles, sexual orientations, political views, and religious beliefs of people who are very different from ourselves, we can dissolve the walls of ignorance and fear that separate us from one another.
All winners, except for those in the Independent Feature Film and College Fellowship categories, designate a non-profit focused on nurturing the next generation of writers to receive their earnings. Past recipients have included Young Storytellers, Film2Future, P.S. Arts, The Heidelberg Project, Rosie’s Theatre Kids, International Documentary Association, and Inside Out Writers.
“HUMANITAS enjoyed an embarrassment of riches this year,” said HUMANITAS President Ali LeRoi, “There were so many incredible submissions from such gifted writers.”
44th Annual HUMANITAS Prize Finalists
Drama Feature Film Category
BLACK PANTHER Written by Ryan Coogler & Joe Robert Cole, Based on the Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby BOY ERASED Screenplay by Joel Edgerton, Based on the memoir Boy Erased by Garrard Conley ON THE BASIS OF SEX Written by Daniel Stiepleman WHAT THEY HAD Written and Directed by Elizabeth ChomkoComedy Feature Film Category
BOUNDARIES Written and Directed by Shana Feste CRAZY RICH ASIANS Screenplay by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim, Based on the Novel Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan EIGHTH GRADE Written and Directed by Bo Burnham LOVE, SIMON Screenplay by Elizabeth Berger & Isaac Aptaker, Based on the Novel Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky AlbertalliFamily Feature Film Category
CHRISTOPHER ROBIN Screenplay by Alex Ross Perry and Tom McCarthy and Allison Schroeder, Story by Greg Brooker and Mark Steven Johnson, Based on the characters created by A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepard INCREDIBLES 2 Written and Directed by Brad Bird ISLE OF DOGS Screenplay by Wes Anderson, Story by Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, and Kunichi Nomura MARY POPPINS RETURNS Screenplay by David Magee, Screen Story by David Magee & Rob Marshall & John DeLuca, Based upon the Mary Poppins stories by P.L. TraversIndependent Feature Film Category
BRIAN BANKS Written by Doug Atchison LAUGH OR DIE Screenplay by Heikki Kujanpää and Mikko Reitala SORRY TO BOTHER YOU Written and Directed by Boots Riley THE GRIZZLIES Written by Moira Walley-Beckett and Graham Yost THE RIDER Written and Directed by Chloé ZhaoDocumentary Category
TRANSMILITARY Concept by Fiona Dawson, Written by Jamie Coughlin and Gabriel Silverman, Directed by Gabriel Silverman, Co-Directed by Fiona Dawson STOLEN DAUGHTERS: KIDNAPPED BY BOKO HARAM Written and Produced by Karen Edwards, Directed by Gemma Atwal THE FOURTH ESTATE, “Part 3: American Carnage” Directed by Liz Garbus and Jenny Carchman, Produced by Liz Garbus, Jenny Carchman, Justin Wilkes THE PRICE OF FREE Story by Davis Guggenheim, Derek Doneen, Sarah Anthony, Directed by Derek Doneen, Produced by Davis Guggenheim and Sarah Anthony60-minute Drama Category
GOD FRIENDED ME, “Pilot” Written by Steven Lilien & Bryan Wynbrandt ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, “Be Free” Written by Brian Chamberlayne THE GOOD DOCTOR, “More” Written by David Shore & Lloyd Gilyard Jr. THIS IS US, “This Big, Amazing, Beautiful Life” Written by Kay Oyegun30-minute Comedy Category
DEAR WHITE PEOPLE, “Volume 2: Chapter VIII” Written by Jack Moore ONE DAY AT A TIME, “Hello, Penelope” Written by Michelle Badillo & Caroline Levich THE GOOD PLACE, “Jeremy Bearimy” Written by Megan Amram THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL, “Mid-way to Mid-town” Written and Directed by Amy Sherman-PalladinoChildren’s Teleplay Category
ALEXA & KATIE, “Winter Formal, Part 2” Written by Matthew Carlson MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC, “Surf and/or Turf” Written by Brian Hohlfeld MUPPET BABIES, “You Say Potato, I Say Best Friend” Written by Laura Sreebny Z-O-M-B-I-E-S Written by David Light & Joseph Raso, Based on Zombies & Cheerleaders Written by David Light & Joseph RasoThe David and Lynn Angell College Comedy Fellowship
BAND OF MOTHERS – Sabrina Brennan (USC) FERNANDO – Adam Lujan (NYU) HEAD CASE – Ellie Goodman (Northwestern University)The Carol Mendelsohn College Drama Fellowship
RUE PIGALLE – Jessica Shields (Columbia University) THE BARGEMAN – Joe Hemphill (Boston University) WILCOX PARK – Omar Willis (USC)
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30th Anniversary Screening of WHEN HARRY MET SALLY to Kick Off 10th TCM Classic Film Festival
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WHEN HARRY MET SALLY[/caption]
Who would believe it’s 30 years already – the 30th anniversary screening of the seminal romantic comedy When HARRY Met Sally… with stars Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan and director/producer Rob Reiner in attendance, will kick off the 10th annual TCM Classic Film Festival on Thursday, April 11th
Celebrated director Rob Reiner had no idea he would strike such a chord with audiences by posing the simple question: “can men and women really be friends?” The charming and TIMELESS film explores this idea by following the characters of HARRY (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) over the course of twelve years through a series of chance encounters. When HARRY Met Sally… was an instant hit with audiences and critics alike: the film grossed more than $90 million at the box office and Nora Ephron’s taut, hilarious script garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Orginal Screenplay. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan were also both nominated for Golden Globes for their performances, along with director Rob Reiner.
“There are romantic comedies – and then there’s When HARRY Met Sally…” said Ben Mankiewicz, TCM primetime anchor and official host of the TCM Classic Film Festival. “The chemistry between Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan makes them part of a legacy that includes the greats of classic movies: Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn; Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell; and Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. And Rob Reiner – utilizing Nora Ephron’s word-perfect screenplay – follows in the rarefied air of the filmmaking giants who made those earlier pictures.”
The 2019 TCM Classic Film Festival, held in the heart of Hollywood Thursday, April 11 – Sunday, April 14, 2019, marks the 10th annual celebration of classic films on the big screen from TCM. The TCM network will also celebrate its 25th anniversary on closing night of the festival.
TCM Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz will serve as official host of the TCM Classic Film Festival. The festival’s official hotel and central gathering point for the tenth consecutive year will be The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, which has a longstanding role in movie history and was the site of the first Academy Awards® ceremony. The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel will also offer special rates for festival attendees. Screenings and events during the festival will be held at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres and the Egyptian Theatre, as well as other Hollywood venues.
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Brian Welsh’s BEATS to World Premiere at 2019 International Film Festival Rotterdam
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Beats, a film by Brian Welsh[/caption]
Beats, a film by Brian Welsh about an unlikely friendship set against a backdrop of illegal raves in the 90s will world premiere at the 2019 International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). Beats is part of IFFR’s Limelight program, which features the cinematic highlights of the year. Emmy Award-winning fimmaker Clara van Gool’s The Beast in the Jungle and Martin de Vries’s Camino, A Feature-length Selfie also world premiere within Limelight.
Beats is a raw, black-and-white portrait of a bankrupt United Kingdom in which music and drugs are the only things of interest. In summer 1994, with rave culture on the rise in a Scottish village, teens Johnno and Spanner have a final night out together before each going their own way in life.
In addition to Beats, IFFR’s Limelight program boasts two other world premieres, both by Dutch filmmakers: The Beast in the Jungle by Clara van Gool is a poetic adaptation of Henry James’s 1903 novella with a major role for dance and movement; and Camino, a Feature-length Selfie is Martin de Vries’s account of his hike to Santiago de Compostela.
Four Limelight titles were previously supported by IFFR: A Land Imagined by Yeo Siew Hua, Rojo by Benjamín Naishtat and Rafiki by Wanuri Kahiu were supported by IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund and Birds of Passage by Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra was presented at IFFR’s CineMart.
Other confirmed Limelight titles include Gaspar Noé’s Climax, Brady Corbet’s Vox Lux, Alice Rohrwacher’s Happy as Lazzaro and Hamaguchi Ryūsuke’s Asako I & II.
All confirmed 2019 International Film Festival RotterdamLimelight titles to date
Un amour impossible/An Impossible Love, Catherine Corsini, 2018, France
Asako I & II, Hamaguchi Ryūsuke, 2018, Japan/France
Ash Is Purest White, Jia Zhangke, 2018, China/France
The Beast in the Jungle, Clara van Gool, 2019, Netherlands/Luxembourg, world premiere
Beats, Brian Welsh, 2019, UK, world premiere
Birds of Passage, Cristina Gallego/Ciro Guerra, 2018, Colombia/Denmark/Mexico
Camino, een feature-length selfie/Camino, A Feature-length Selfie, Martin de Vries, 2019, Netherlands, world premiere
Capharnaüm/Capernaum, Nadine Labaki, 2018, LebanonClimax, Gaspar Noé, 2018, France
Donbass, Sergei Loznitsa, 2018, Germany/Ukraine/France/Netherlands/Romania
A Land Imagined, Yeo Siew Hua, 2018, Singapore/France/Netherlands
Lazzaro felice/Happy as Lazzaro, Alice Rohrwacher, 2018, Italy/Switzerland/France/Germany
Leto/Summer, Kirill Serebrennikov, 2018, Russia/France
Rafiki, Wanuri Kahiu, 2018, Kenya/South AfricaRojo, Benjamín Naishtat, 2018, Argentina/Brazil/France/Netherlands/Germany
Vox Lux, Brady Corbet, 2018, USA
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MAN ON FIRE Documentary on Race and God in Smalltown Texas, to Premiere on PBS Independent Lens
The haunting new documentary Man on Fire explores how a community dealt with the shocking public suicide of Charles Moore, an elderly minister who self-immolated in a Texas Parking Lot. Man on Fire premieres on Independent Lens on Monday, December 17, 2018, 10-11:00 PM ET (check local listings) on PBS.
On June 23, 2014, a 79-year-old white Methodist minister named Charles Moore drove to an empty parking lot in his old hometown of Grand Saline, Texas, and set himself on fire. He left a note on his car’s windshield explaining that this act was his final protest against the virulent racism of the community and his country at large. Joel Fendelman’s Man on Fire goes back to Grand Saline – population 3,266 – to try to uncover the truth about the town’s ugly past and the fervor for God and justice that drove Moore to his shocking final act.
Grand Saline, home to one of Morton’s largest salt mines, has always had a reputation as a town unhospitable to African Americans. Oral tradition has it that there were signs at each end of the town warning African Americans to leave before sunset, and stories of lynchings and beheadings are well-known. Although the town fathers claim the stories are just rumors, African Americans from neighboring towns still avoid passing through. The shroud of secrecy ended when Charles Moore self-immolated and the media took note.
Although he was raised in Grand Saline, Moore’s religious devotion and quest to make a difference had led him far from his small hometown. A committed Methodist, Moore attended Southern Methodist University and became a preacher, first in Texas and then on the west side of Chicago, where his passion for social justice flourished. A fierce supporter of racial equality, LGBT rights, the abolition of the death penalty and more, his parishioners and colleagues marveled at the depth of his commitment. Even before his death, they understood that Moore was willing to die for what he believed.
Told through interviews with Moore’s friends and family members as well as residents of Grand Saline and surrounding towns, Man on Fire seeks to understand what drove Moore to his shocking final act — and what if anything, it changed.
“Joel’s disquieting film explores the length one white preacher was willing to go to remind us of our racist history,” said Lois Vossen, Independent Lens executive producer. “Some see his act of self-immolation as a radical protest, like the Buddhist monks whose suicide by fire raised awareness for their cause. Others believe it’s a sign of mental illness. At a time when we’re grappling to define a collective history, this story illustrates how difficult it is to find common language, let alone common ground.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfHOMkM-C4c
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Watch Natalie Portman Shine in New VOX LUX Trailer
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Vox Lux[/caption]
The new trailer dropped today for Vox Lux starring Natalie Portman and Jude Law, that opens in theaters on December 7, 2018. Vox Lux follows the rise of Celeste from the ashes of a major national tragedy to pop superstardom. The film spans 18 years and traces important cultural moments through her eyes, starting in 1999 and concluding in 2017.
In 1999, teenage Celeste (Raffey Cassidy) survives a violent tragedy. After singing at a memorial service, Celeste transforms into a burgeoning pop star with the help of her songwriter sister (Stacy Martin) and a talent manager (Jude Law). Celeste’s meteoric rise to fame and concurrent loss of innocence dovetails with a shattering terrorist attack on the nation, elevating the young powerhouse to a new kind of celebrity: American icon, secular deity, global superstar.
By 2017, adult Celeste (Natalie Portman) is mounting a comeback after a scandalous incident that derailed her career. Touring in support of her sixth album, a compendium of sci-fi anthems entitled “Vox Lux,” the indomitable, foul-mouthed pop savior must overcome her personal and familial struggles to navigate motherhood, madness and monolithic fame in the Age of Terror.
In Brady Corbet’s second feature, following his 2015 breakout debut The Childhood of a Leader— winner of the Best Director and Best Debut Film prizes at the Venice Film Festival — Celeste becomes a symbol of the cult of celebrity and the media machine in all its guts, grit and glory. Featuring original songs by Sia, an original score by Scott Walker, and a transcendent performance by Natalie Portman, personifying and pummeling the zeitgeist, Vox Lux is an origin story about the forces that shape us, as individuals, nations, and gods.
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Watch Trailer for TOUGH GUY : THE BOB PROBERT STORY, Documentary on Late Hockey Player
The new trailer is released for Tough Guy: The Bob Probert Story, the story of late NHL tough guy Bob Probert, who died at age 45, directed by 28-year-old documentary filmmaker Geordie Day. The documentary premieres on Superchannel in Canada on December 4 and will hit the U.S sometime next year.
On July 5, 2010, legendary NHL tough guy Bob Probert collapsed on his boat on Lake St. Clair, near Windsor and died of a heart attack. He was only 45 years old.
Bob was on his third glass of coke and eighth pill of OxyContin that day. He’d routinely take the two together to deal with his aching body. Seventeen years as the NHL’s toughest enforcer had taken its toll. As the undisputed, “heavyweight champ,” he finished his career fifth in all time penalty minutes. He averaged 40 brutal, bare-knuckled hockey fights a year.
Bob’s death wasn’t all that surprising. He lived hard. Chain smoking, alcoholism, snorting cocaine even in a jail cell while under arrest, cavorting with nurses during his many trips to rehab.
He said people always wanted to know, “Why do you struggle with drugs and alcohol?” He’d shrug off the ques, “I just got a little addicted to the fun.” But Bob’s life was often far from fun. In a rare moment of vulnerability, he wrote a letter to his disease while in rehab in 2003.
“You have taken away my freedom to make healthy choices. You have taken away my valuable time from my wonderful wife Dani and my four kids. You have taken away my self-respect and dignity. You have turned me into someone I am not.”
The film features Bob Probert, Dani Probert, Joe Kocur, Tie Domi, Don Cherry, Jeremy Roenick, Chris Chelios, Stu Grimson, Sheldon Kennedy, Troy Crowder, Steve Yzerman, Tony Twist, Ptr Klima, and Marty McSorely.
Tough Guy is based on the book Day’s real-life mother Kirstie McLellan Day wrote with the late Probert. Bob’s wife, Dani is EP.
It’s Geordie Day’s second hockey film. He co-directed Goalie, a film on former NHL goaltender Clint Malarchuk. This year, he produced Charles Manson: Final words, which contained the last ever recorded interviews with Manson. The film aired on REELZ.