Netflix today released the new trailer for the psychological cyberworld thriller CAM starring Madeline Brewer, set in the world of webcam porn.
It follows Alice (Brewer), an ambitious camgirl, who wakes up one day to discover she’s been replaced on her show with an exact replica of herself. As this copy begins to push the boundaries of Alice’s internet identity, the control that Alice has over her life, and the men in it, vanishes. While she struggles to regain what she’s lost, she slowly finds herself drawn back to her show and to the mysterious person who has taken her place.
Daniel Goldhaber directed the pic, which was co-financed by Blumhouse Productions and Gunpowder & Sky and produced by Divide/Conquer. Goldhaber also co-wrote the story with Isabelle Link-Levy and Isa Mazzei, who penned the script from her experience as an ex-camgirl, making CAM a rare film about sex work openly written by a sex worker. Link-Levy, Adam Hendricks, John Lang, Greg Gilreath produced.
CAM premiered at this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal and stars Madeline Brewer (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), Patch Darragh (“The First Purge”), Melora Walters (“Venom”), and Devin Druid (“13 Reasons Why”). The film took home the best first feature and best screenplay awards from Fantasia and recently won best actress, a special jury prize for production design, and the audience award at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN8xZ5WDonkTerry P.
VIMOOZ is for lovers of independent films + foreign film + documentary + film festivals. We love championing the little films.
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Watch Spine-Tingling Electrifying Trailer for CAM, Set in World of Webcam Porn
Netflix today released the new trailer for the psychological cyberworld thriller CAM starring Madeline Brewer, set in the world of webcam porn.
It follows Alice (Brewer), an ambitious camgirl, who wakes up one day to discover she’s been replaced on her show with an exact replica of herself. As this copy begins to push the boundaries of Alice’s internet identity, the control that Alice has over her life, and the men in it, vanishes. While she struggles to regain what she’s lost, she slowly finds herself drawn back to her show and to the mysterious person who has taken her place.
Daniel Goldhaber directed the pic, which was co-financed by Blumhouse Productions and Gunpowder & Sky and produced by Divide/Conquer. Goldhaber also co-wrote the story with Isabelle Link-Levy and Isa Mazzei, who penned the script from her experience as an ex-camgirl, making CAM a rare film about sex work openly written by a sex worker. Link-Levy, Adam Hendricks, John Lang, Greg Gilreath produced.
CAM premiered at this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal and stars Madeline Brewer (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), Patch Darragh (“The First Purge”), Melora Walters (“Venom”), and Devin Druid (“13 Reasons Why”). The film took home the best first feature and best screenplay awards from Fantasia and recently won best actress, a special jury prize for production design, and the audience award at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN8xZ5WDonk
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Miami Film Festival to Host Fashion in Film Program for 2019 Festival
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Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco[/caption]
Miami Design District (MDD) will partner with Miami Dade College (MDC) to present the acclaimed Fashion in Film Festival in the Miami Design District as part of the upcoming 36th edition of Miami Film Festival, March 1 to 10, 2019. The Fashion in Film Festival will be curated by Marketa Uhlirova, University of the Arts London, Central Saint Martins.
“Cinema at its best takes us to places of wonder, and for our next edition Miami Film Festival will take cinema to a new place of wonder: the Miami Design District, one of Miami’s coolest neighborhoods,” said Miami Film Festival executive director Jaie Laplante. “We are thrilled to be expanding the 36th edition of the Festival into this oasis for culture, art, food, fashion, and film.”
“Every year Miami Dade College’s Miami Film Festival puts on an extraordinary and surprising program. This year, the Miami Design District is honored to co-present and host the Fashion in Film Festival through this collaboration and partnership with the Miami Film Festival and Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts, London. We are grateful to Cathy Leff for helping bring Fashion in Film to the District and this new and exciting partnership with the Miami Film Festival,” said Craig Robins, President & CEO of Dacra, the real estate development company behind the Miami Design District. “The District serves as a center for high fashion, luxury and design. It also is a vibrant cultural hub where creative and enriching programming comes to life that serves our community. I couldn’t think of a better place for Fashion in Film to take place. Get your tickets early.”
This special Miami edition of the London festival takes place during the final weekend of Miami Film Festival, March 8 to 10th.The program will consist of a specially curated program comprising screenings, performance, panel discussions, and chats that explore the intersection between fashion and cinema. The program will be presented at Nite Owl Theater and in Paradise Plaza, a popular convening place within the District.
“For Miami, I am interested in staging a speculative dialogue between cinema, fashion and art – as three areas of creative practice that are normally seen as separate – to consider different kinds of intersections and continuities among them. Looking at the entire history of cinema it is evident that fashion and dress have been among major concerns for filmmakers and artists working in the medium of moving image. There has been great interest in the rituals of dressing, undressing, and posing; in self-fashioning and physical transformation; in the decadently pleasurable qualities of decorative surfaces, in the poetry and uncanny tension between the organic and the artificial body – and that of disembodied clothes that assume a life of their own,” commented curator Marketa Uhlirova, co-founder and director of the annual London festival.
While the full line-up of Fashion in Film will be unveiled in late January, Uhlirova, Laplante, and Leff divulged details of the program’s opening event taking place on March 8th. In collaboration with London composer, music producer, and filmmaker Rollo Smallcombe, Uhlirova will present The Inferno Unseen, their own assemblage of rushes from the kinetically experimental visuals of Henri-George Clouzot’s The Inferno, starring Romy Schneider, one of the most tantalizing uncompleted projects in film history. Smallcombe will accompany the presentation with live music. A Festival party on the rooftop deck of Paradise Plaza will complete the evening.
Miami Design District and Miami Film Festival’s announcement was unveiled at a reception in one of the future venues for the program, Nite Owl Theater, and was accompanied by a screening of James Crump’s new fashion documentary Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex, Fashion & Disco, courtesy of Film Movement.
Miami Film Festival is the only major film festival produced and presented worldwide by a college or university. MDC is also home to the renowned Miami Fashion Institute which has also used film as a teaching tool with its popular film series.
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First Films Confirmed for 2019 International Film Festival Rotterdam
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The Day I Lost My Shadow[/caption]
As the 48th edition of International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) fast approaches, the festival is announcing the first 26 confirmed titles, including new films by Claire Denis, Jia Zhangke and Garin Nugroho. IFFR 2019 will take place from January23 to February 3, 2019.
The confirmed titles include the world premiere of Simona Kostova’s Dreissig and the international premiere of Fabienne Godet’s Nos vies formidables. Other filmmakers on the selection list so far are Nadine Labaki with her new film Capernaum and Khalik Allah with his Black Mother, a piercing reflection on Jamaican identity which won the Yellow Robin Award at Curaçao IFFR in April 2018. BNK48: Girls Don’t Cry, a European premiere, is a remarkable documentary feature by Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit chronicling the intense lives of a group of pop singers living together in Bangkok. And with I diari di Angela – Noi due cineasti Yervant Gianikian has created a moving portrait of his partner in cinema Angela Ricci Lucchi, who passed away in 2018.
Three of the films selected so far received support from IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund (HBF) in previous years: The Day I Lost My Shadow by Soudade Kaadan and Rafiki by Wanuri Kahiu in 2016, The Load by Ognjen Glavonić in 2013.
IFFR celebrates film art from all over the world and presents its program within four sections, each with its own distinct character: Bright Future (including the Tiger Competition and the Ammodo Tiger Short Competition), Voices, Deep Focus and Perspectives. Short films are strongly represented throughout all sections.
Festival director Bero Beyer: “We’re delighted to present an appealing and rich first selection of titles to screen at our upcoming festival. There are names we’ve seen before in Rotterdam, and ones that are brand new. Together they exemplify the type of bold and daring cinema we like to celebrate at IFFR.”
Bright Future
Black Mother, Khalik Allah, 2018, Jamaica/USA Core of the World, Natalia Meshchaninova, 2018, Russia/Lithuania The Day I Lost My Shadow, Soudade Kaadan, 2018, Lebanon (supported by HBF in 2016) Dreissig/Thirty, Simona Kostova, 2019, Germany, world premiere The Load, Ognjen Glavonić, 2018, Serbia/France/Croatia/Iran/Qatar (supported by HBF in 2013) Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Bi Gan, 2018, China/France The Proposal, Jill Magid, 2018, USAVoices
BNK48: Girls Don’t Cry, Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, 2018, Thailand, European premiere Knife + Heart, Yann Gonzalez, 2018, France/Mexico Memories of My Body, Garin Nugroho, 2018, Indonesia The Mountain, Rick Alverson, 2018, USA Nos vies formidables/Our Wonderful Lives, Fabienne Godet, 2018, France, international premiere Tel Aviv on Fire, Sameh Zoabi, 2018, Israel/France/Luxembourg/BelgiumVoices: Limelight
Ash Is Purest White, Jia Zhangke, 2018, China/France De Camino – Een feature-length selfie, Martin de Vries, 2019, Netherlands, world premiere Capernaum, Nadine Labaki, 2018, Lebanon Leto/Summer, Kirill Serebrennikov, 2018, Russia/France Rafiki, Wanuri Kahiu, 2018, Kenya/South Africa (supported by HBF in 2016)Deep focus
High Life, Claire Denis, 2018, Germany/France/USA/United Kingdom/Poland I diari di Angela – Noi due cineasti, Yervant Gianikian, 2018, ItalyShort films
Anteu, João Vladimiro, 2018, Portugal/France Lost Tune, Reetu Sattar, 2019, Bangladesh, world premiere Primeiro ato/First Act, Matheus Parizi, 2019, Brazil, world premiere Pwdre Ser (the rot of stars), Charlotte Pryce, 2019, USA, world premiere Salt, Pepper to Taste, Teymur Hajiyev, 2019, Azerbaijan, world premiere Van ver staat het stil/Still from afar, Eva van Tongeren, 2018, Belgium, international premiere
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CREATING A CHARACTER: THE MONI YAKIM LEGACY Releases New Clip + Poster
A new video clip and poster debuted today for the new documentary feature Creating a Character: The Moni Yakim Legacy that highlights the incredible legacy of Moni Yakim – a groundbreaking acting teacher whose techniques have influenced many of the most known actors in the world.
Creating a Character: The Moni Yakim Legacy is presented by former students Jessica Chastain and Anthony Mackie, featuring interviews with alumni such as Oscar Isaac, Laura Linney, and Kevin Kline; and will have its world premiere on Sunday November 11 at 9PM at the SVA theatre in New York at DOC NYC.
Using verite coverage, archival footage, and mime, the film portrays Moni’s journey as a young artist from Jerusalem to France in the 1950’s where he studied with the fathers of Mime, Marcel Marceau and Etienne Decroux. Discovered by Stella Adler, he became one of the founders of the Julliard Drama Division and the only one there 50 years later. The film also explores the experience of actors training at Juilliard, where an emerging star named Alex Sharp is followed from his very first year in Moni’s class to landing a leading role in a Tony Award Winning Broadway show.
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CLARA’S GHOST, MR. SOUL!, NEW MONEY, WAITING: THE VAN DUREN STORY Win at 2018 Indie Memphis Film Festival
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Cinematography Award Winner James Laxton (Photo Courtesy of Indie Memphis)[/caption]
Indie Memphis Film Festival held its annual awards ceremony on Saturday, November 3rd announcing awards for all competition films. For the Narrative Competition, the winner was CLARA’S GHOST by Bridey Elliott and the Duncan Williams Script Writing Award went to JINN by Nijla Mu’min; for Sounds (music-centric films), the winner was the feature documentary MR. SOUL! by Melissa Haizlip and Samuel D. Pollard, as well as the short “Gomenaki” by Someone Who Isn’t Me (directed by Alkis Papastathopoulos); for Hometowner (Memphis-centric films), the feature winner was RUKUS by Brett Hanover, with Hometowner music video “I’m Yours” by Faith Evans Ruch (directed by Melissa Anderson, Sweazy), as well as Departures Hometowner short “Windows” by Jason Allen Lee; the Documentary Competition Feature winner was SHAKEDOWN by Leilah Weinraub, along with an Indie Grant for the short doc “Getting By” by Jordan Danelz.
Special Jury Awards went to Graham L. Carter’s SHOOT THE MOON RIGHT BETWEEN THE EYES and HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING by RaMell Ross.
For the Shorts Competition, the winner for Hometowner Narrative Short was “Minority” by Will Robbins and the winner for Hometowner Documentary Short “Bonfire” by Kevin Brooks; the winner of the Documentary Short was “Black 14” by Darius Clark Monroe; and the winner of the Narrative Short was “Magic Bullet” by Amanda Lovejoy Street.
On the festival’s Closing Night, the Audience Awards were announced at Downtown Memphis’ Halloran Centre by Executive Director Ryan Watt. The Narrative Feature winner was NEW MONEY by Jason Kohl; the Hometowner Feature winner was WAITING: THE VAN DUREN STORY by Greg Carey and Wade Jackson; the Sounds Feature winner was MR. SOUL! by Melissa Haizlip and Samuel D. Pollard; the Doc Feature winner was WRESTLE by Suzannah Herber and Lauren Belfer; and the Departures Feature winner was THE WASHING SOCIETY by Lynne Sachs. The Documentary Short winner was “Life on the Line” by Lea Suzuki; the Music Video winner was “Faithful” by King Kwofi (directed by Benjamin Stark); the After Dark Short winner was “Hair Wolf” by Marima Diallo; the Hometowner Narrative Short winner was “Best Wedding Gift” by Mark Jones; the Narrative Short winner was “Under Mom’s Skirt” by Sarah Heitz De Chabaneix; and the Hometowner Doc Short winner was “You Must Believe” by Lauren Squires Ready.
In addition, The Black Filmmakers Pitch Rally (presented with crowdfunding partner Seed&Spark) took place on Friday, November 2nd, when twelve selected black filmmakers pitched their prospective film projects in hopes of receiving prizes including a $10K Bounty Prize provided by Epicenter Memphis, high-end color package from Apache, and much more, if they were to begin production on their film in Memphis by August 1st, 2018. Local Memphis filmmaker Dave Godbout was named the winner of the first Indie Memphis Film Festival Black Filmmakers Pitch Rally, as well as its $10K Bounty Prize, for his surreal comedy CHARMAINE. The coming-of-age sex comedy by Amanda Willoughby and Jessica Chaney, HOW TO MAKE LOVE TO A MAN, will receive a $1,000 donation to its crowdfunding campaign via Seed&Spark, and BLACK CHERRY by Amanda Layne Miller received an honorable mention.
This year, Oscar-nominated cinematographer James Laxton (MOONLIGHT, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK) was honored with Indie Memphis’ inaugural “Indie Memphis Cinematography Award,” presented to him by Miriam Bale, Indie Memphis’ Artistic Director (newly promoted from Senior Programmer). His frequent collaborator Barry Jenkins congratulated him via a heartfelt video message at the ceremony; the two have been friends since they were students at Florida State University, where they became fast friends and kindred spirits. Jenkins said, “In these modern times that we live in, the work of the cinematographer goes unappreciated. I remember [Laxton and I] fusing in this way that we both had this visual idea of what the film was going to be. Sometimes I don’t know what I want, but I want it to be beautiful. And James understands what I want.”
This award kicks off the awards season buzz for Laxton, whose work in Jenkins’ IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK (Indie Memphis’ Centerpiece Presentation) is highly lauded. Laxton also appeared at the “New Ways of Seeing: Cinematography Workshop” alongside MADELINE’S MADELINE and THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST rising star cinematographer Ashley Connor. Laxton said of his award, “To be here in Memphis and accept this is very special. Memphis has clearly been an influence on Barry and me for a long time.”
Actor/rapper Shayna McHayle (aka Junglepussy) was awarded with the “Indie Memphis Actor of the Year” award for her work in Andrew Bujalski’s SUPPORT THE GIRLS, Indie Memphis’ Closing Night selection, a comedy that portrays the pratfalls of women working at a female-run “sports bar with curves.” Bujalski presented McHayle with the award while singing her praises, saying, “From her first take on her first day, I knew we had something special.”
McHayle’s award also puts her into the awards conversation, in a critically-acclaimed performance that garnered praise such as The New York Times describing her as delivering a “delightful, contrapuntal comic performance.” McHayle was overwhelmed with thanks for her win and dedicated her award to the women in her life. She said, “I want to give a special shout out to all the women in my family who have overcome adversity.”
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Watch First Video Clip + Official Poster for ARCTIC Starring Mads Mikkelsen
Bleecker Street released the official poster and an extended video clip from Arctic directed by Joe Penna and starring Mads Mikkelsen. Arctic will be released in selects theaters on February 1st, 2019.
A man stranded in the Arctic after an airplane crash must decide whether to remain in the relative safety of his makeshift camp or to embark on a deadly trek through the unknown in hopes of making it out alive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EmpeUw36u4&t=2s
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TOMORROW and THE HUMAN ELEMENT Win Top Awards at 2018 SCAD Savannah Film Festival
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Tomorrow[/caption]
A key stop on the Oscar festival circuit, the SCAD Savannah Film Festival today announced the award winners for the 21st anniversary celebration during an awards brunch held at The Olde Pink House. The top awards went to The Human Element for Best Documentary Feature, and Tomorrow for Best Narrative Feature.
Twenty-seven awards were announced from the 105 films that competed in the categories of narrative features, documentary features, professional shorts, animated shorts, and student shorts selections.
SCAD also honored 17 masters of their craft including Emily Blunt, Icon Award; John Krasinski, Vanguard Award; Maggie Gyllenhaal, Outstanding Achievement in Acting and Producing Award; Hugh Jackman, Legend of Cinema Award; Armie Hammer, Outstanding Achievement in Cinema Award; Kayli Carter, SCAD40 Prize; Stephan James and KiKi Layne, Discovery Award; Chloë Grace Moretz, Lumiére Award; Amandla Stenberg, Rising Star Award; and John David Washington, Distinguished Performance Award. Entertainment Weekly’s Breakout Award honorees included SCAD alumna Kayli Carter (Private Life), Raúl Castillo (We the Animals), Winston Duke (Black Panther), Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade), Thomasin McKenzie (Leave No Trace), Hari Nef (Assassination Nation) and Millicent Simmonds (A Quiet Place).
Kalyli Carter also received the SCAD40 Prize. Awarded at signature events throughout this 40th anniversary year, the SCAD40 Prize is presented to graduates who give all of themselves — hand, head, and heart — to their creative careers in the highest ranks of culture and business.
2018 SCAD Savannah Film Festival Award Winners
PROFESSIONAL COMPETITION
Best Narrative Feature – Tomorrow Best Documentary Feature – The Human Element Best Narrative Short – Geoff Best Directing – Will Kenning & Michael Rouse – Geoff Best Editing – Hold The Night Jury Award for Acting – Skyler Samuels – Spare Room Jury Award for Screenwriting – One Cambodian Family Please For My Pleasure Jury Award, Unheard Voices – Facing The DragonSTUDENT & ANIMATION
Best Animated Short – Grands Canons Animation Jury Award – The Likes and Dislikes of Marj Bagley Best Student Short – Blue Christmas Best Student Animation – Creature From The Lake Silver Screen Society – Best Short Film by a SCAD Student – $30 To Antarctica Student Jury Award – CinematographerGLOBAL SHORTS FORUM
Best Global Short Overall – Period. End of Sentence. Best Global Short: Narrative – Believe Her Best Global Short: Documentary – Period. End of Sentence. Best Global Short: LGBTQ & You – Conway Pride Best Global Short: Woman Walks Ahead – Period. End of Sentence. Best Global Short: Don’t Dis My Ability – Take Me To The Waves Best Global Short: A Sporting Chance – The Conqueror Global Shorts: Jury Award – Boy Saint Global Shorts Jury Award – Marie’s CrisisSHORTS SPOTLIGHT
Shorts Spotlight: Best of Show – My Indiana Muse Shorts Spotlight: Best Animated Delight – One Small Step Shorts Spotlight: Best LOLz Short – Bertie Shorts Spotlight: Best Bump in the Night Short – Other Side of the Box
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NARCISSISTER ORGAN PLAYER Riveting Doc on Enigmatic Performance Artist to Open in NYC [Trailer]
Narcissister Organ Player is as an eye-opening self-portrait by Narcissister, the Brooklyn-based performance artist whose work explores race, sexuality, and body image with infinite candor and grace. The documentary will have a 2-week engagement, November 7 to 20, at Film Forum in New York City, 209 W. Houston St., presented with support from the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation Fund.
A former dancer, Narcissister’s live shows amuse, shock, confound, and enchant in equal measure. With familial roots that are Moroccan, Jewish, and African-American, she explores the intimacies of her relationship with a mother whose influence and support were critical in shaping the artist she is today. The double-ness of Narcissister’s stage personality (mostly naked, but with her face fully or partially masked) has its origins in the intensity of her identification with her mother.
Narcissister Organ Player deconstructs and contextualizes the artist’s celebrated stage shows – which combine dance, elaborate costumes, pop music hits, unabashed eroticism and heavy doses of humor – as well as her higher-visibility public outings with Marilyn Manson, collaborations with Marina Abramovic, and stint on AMERICA’S GOT TALENT. Smartly edited by Taryn Gould, the film has as much to say about self-love as self-loathing in women’s lives.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hVEJ1VEBNo
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Irish Film Festival London Announces Biggest Ever Line-up, Opens with Romantic SMITHY & DICKIE
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Smithy and Dickie[/caption]
Back for its 8th year, the Irish Film Festival London with Colin Farrell as its latest patron, presents Ireland’s latest mainstream and independent films over 5 days across London.
IFFL 2018 opens on a romantic note with Smithy & Dickie, Hannah Quinn’s delightful short about Irish 1940’s love letters, followed by Under the Clock, directed by Colm Nicell, which tells the enchanting stories of a generation of people whose relationships began under one of Ireland’s most iconic landmarks, Clerys clock.
The closing film is We Ourselves starring Aidan Gillen, Catherine Walker, Declan Conlon, Paul Reid, Seána Kerslake, Gavin Drea, and Caitríona Ennis. Paul Mercier’s second feature is an intimate and intense journey into the minds and hearts of a group of idealists and careerists as they go their separate paths in life, though are still bound together through a shared experience, a shared culture and a shared nation.
Irish Film London Patron and Academy Award-winning director Lenny Abrahamson returns to London for the festival, providing a pre-festival teaser with an appearance on Mark Kermode Live in 3D at the BFI (MK3D) on Monday 19th November. He then joins his long-term musical collaborator Stephen Rennicks for a talk on music and sound in their films (Sounds Guys, Thurs 22nd November), which will be followed by a screening of his latest film The Little Stranger, starring Domhnall Gleeson and Ruth Wilson.
IFFL 2018 has plenty for the curious mind, with documentaries including Poc na Gael, in which Irish sporting legend Ger Loughnane traces the origins of Canadian ice-hockey all the way back to the Irish emigrant hurlers, and celebrates their legacy across the country today, and The Lonely Battle of Thomas Reid, (screening at Bertha Dochouse), in which a small Irish farmer goes head to head with US microchip Manufacturer Intel in a land battle.
Part of Irish Film London’s mission is to support Irish filmmakers from the beginning of their careers, and this year’s line-up includes two programmes of Irish Short Films (Thursday 22nd & Friday 23rd November), full of up and coming Irish filmmaking talent. There will also be a panel discussion aimed at shorts filmmakers at The Union Soho as part of the festival, which reflects on the challenges and rewards of developing from shorts to feature films.
For family audiences, the heart-waring Grace and Goliath, from Cinemagic and Tony Mitchell, screens on Saturday 24th November at 2pm, in which an arrogant Hollywood big shot, Josh Jenkins sweeps into Belfast to make a movie, but before long he finds he needs the help of the very people he’s been overlooking.
As always, the festival’s Friday night film will be a special preview screening, from one of Ireland’s rising star directors, with details available only via the festival brochure or newsletter.
A duo of films highlighting the current Irish homelessness crisis screen on Saturday 24th November. Shelter Me: Apollo House, produced by Jim Sheridan, follows the world-renowned director, and a motley crew of inadvertent activists including Glen Hansard, Hozier, Damien Dempsey and Dean Scurry who were involved in the takeover of NAMA building Apollo House over the Christmas of 2016 to house Dublin’s homeless. It is followed by Rosie, a poignant moment in the life of a family displaced, with a show stopping performance by Sarah Greene. The creation of Roddy Doyle and Paddy Breathnach, two of Ireland’s leading storytellers, Rosie is ‘inspired by too many true stories.’
In keeping with the political times, IFFL 2018’s Sunday 25th November includes an afternoon focused on Northern Ireland, and the tensions arising around the border. Brexit: The Border Issue comprises a collection of short films on the topic, including the Financial Times’ recently commissioned Hard Border from Juliet Riddell and Clare Dwyer-Hogg which opens with Stephen Rea’s “Jacob Rees-Mogg you’re right. You don’t need to visit the border… you need to have lived here.” Later that day Tom Collins’ bi-lingual drama Penance reveals just what living in Derry felt like through the twentieth century, as a 1916 firebrand preacher priest later faces his demons during the 1960s era of The Troubles.
In the first collaboration of its kind, IFFL 2018 includes a joint event with the UK Jewish Film Festival, the Irish Film Institute, and the Barbican, with The Cohens and the Kellys, an uproariously funny 1926 silent film based in New York’s poorer quarters, accompanied by a live quartet of award-winning Irish and Jewish musicians.
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Over 100 Films to Screen at 2018 London International Animation Festival
The London International Animation Festival (LIAF 2018) returns to the Barbican for its fifteenth year with over 100 films selected to screen in ten International Competition Programs, including the British Showcase, Into the Dark (scary shorts), From Absurd to Zany (comedy shorts), Animated Documentaries and the Abstract Showcase.
The LIAF will also present two programs of animation specifically for children – Amazing Animations for three to seven-year-olds and Marvelous Animations for eight to fifteen-year-olds. There’ll be talking animals, seriously fun adventures and tales that spark young imaginations.
The opening night gala celebrates the work of the dynamic Scottish duo Will Anderson and Ainslie Henderson. Graduates from Edinburgh College of Art’s animation degree course in 2012, Will and Ainslie’s worldwide reputation is a testament to their talent, including two BAFTAs, two McLaren Awards, a British Academy Award, a nomination for the Cartoon D’Or and almost 50 awards at festivals around the world.
London based animation director Jonathan Hodgson has been making award winning animated films since the early 1980s. An established director of commercials, Hodgson has explored almost every animation technique and in recent years has specialized in documentary animation. The LIAF is pleased to present an evening with him focusing specifically on his documentary work where he will present highlights from his early sketchbook-based animation, to his documentary feature work, which will be followed by an onstage Q&A.
Female Figures returns to LIAF for a second year, championing female animation talent in a program of extraordinary works exploring female desire by contemporary animators and their predecessors.
These films present a range of perspectives on the female body and female sexuality, reveling in fantasy, desire and intimacy, as well as sharing experiences of abuse and trauma. Abigail Addison at Animate Projects will lead a post-screening conversation with animators Kate Jessop, Jenny Jokela and Thalma Goldman Cohen and with BFI National Archive Curator (Animation) Jez Stewart.
A further special screening and panel discussion is Aftermath, a program of 13 short films inspired by I’m OK, a new film by Elizabeth Hobbs about the expressionist artist Oskar Kokoschka and his experiences as a soldier in the First World War. These films explore the Great War at its centenary, including themes of conflict and loss and date from the early 1970’s to present day.
The festival ends with the Best of the Festival on Sunday December 9 featuring the best films of LIAF 2018 as chosen by the panel of industry judges and audience votes.
Image: Mogu and Perol
Two friends live on Yummy Island, where delicious food can be found everywhere!
Japan 2018 Dir Tsuneo Goda 8min
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Documentary NORTH POLE, NY Chronicles Story of the Historic Christmas Theme Park [Trailer]
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North Pole, NY[/caption]
North Pole, NY, a documentary film directed by Ali Cotterill, chronicles the story of a historic Christmas theme park and the dreamers who fight to keep it open against all odds. North Pole, NY will premiere at DOC NYC on Friday, November 9th and Monday, Nov. 12th.
North Pole, NY is a revealing look at the battle for survival of one of the first theme parks in the U.S., Santa’s Workshop, located in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. The film examines the park’s legacy, the dedicated staff and loyal residents, and its current struggles to survive, despite technological shifts and economic realities, while placing it in the larger context of the history and decline of the American roadside attraction.
The film follows the development of Santa’s Workshop, founded in 1949 by visionary entrepreneur Julian Reiss, who was inspired by the beauty of the Adirondacks to build “Santa’s summer home.” In the 1950’s, following national media attention, Santa’s Workshop becomes a cultural fixture with families and tourists who flock from all over the U.S. to the Adirondack Mountains. From the immersive, village-like setting and interactive holiday attractions, complete with song and dance, Santa’s Workshop created an enchanted land of make-believe for both adults and children alike.
As area development and cultural shifts alter the landscape of the Adirondacks, Santa’s Workshop struggles to remain relevant. When a would-be businessman proposes what looks like a life-saving deal to save Santa’s Workshop, the heritage and the spirit of the historic theme park is jeopardized. Santa’s Workshop becomes a casualty of a power struggle between an opportunistic businessman and the owner. With help from local residents and town council, the community rallies around Santa’s Workshop to restore the park to its greatness.
Through it all, Santa’s Workshop remains a place where past and current staff, and generations of families remember simpler times, irony-free kitsch, and the celebration of imagination. Santa’s Workshop links us to an important time and place in history– a time of innocence. For over 65 years, Santa’s Workshop, which has its own zip code as North Pole, NY, has served as the economic driver of the small community of Wilmington, New York. North Pole, NY is a portrait of small town America. It shows both the beauty and struggle of the Adirondacks.
Director Ali Cotterill says, “My vision in creating North Pole, NY documentary was to investigate the rise and decline of theme parks and roadside attractions, which were central to my childhood development and creativity. I discovered that Santa’s Workshop was part of larger story about economic dislocation in small town America, and the ceding of childhood imagination to corporatized and digitized fun. Theme parks, and Santa Claus himself, are fueled by the magic of believing, North Pole, NY asks the question, “What will we lose as a culture if we let places like Santa’s Workshop disappear? “
North Pole, NY had its World Premiere at IFF Boston 2018, where it opened to critical acclaim. It was the Official Selection at SF DocFest 2018 and NH DOCS 2018. North Pole, NY recently won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at Indie Street Film Festival 2018.
North Pole, NY will premiere at DOC NYC during the following dates/times:
Fri. November 9, 2018 at 5:15pm at IFC Center
Mon. November 12, 2018 at 12:15pm at Cinepolis Chelsea

Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind[/caption]
One hundred sixty-six features have been submitted for consideration in the Documentary Feature category for the 91st Academy Awards®. Several of the films have not yet had their required Los Angeles and New York qualifying releases. Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements and comply with all of the category’s other qualifying rules in order to advance in the voting process. This year, for the first time, films that have won a qualifying award at a competitive film festival or have been submitted in the Foreign Language Film category as their country’s official selection, are also eligible in the category. A shortlist of 15 films will be announced on December 17.
Films submitted in the Documentary Feature category may also qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture.
Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 22, 2019.
The 91st Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
The submitted features, listed in alphabetical order, are:
“Above and Beyond: NASA’S Journey to Tomorrow”
“Active Measures”
“Amazing Grace”
“American Chaos”
“Andy Irons: Kissed by God”
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