Wildlife[/caption]
The first films of the 2018 Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) were revealed today along with big announcement that the 67th edition will open with the Australian premiere gala screening of Paul Dano’s directorial debut Wildlife – starring Carey Mulligan, Jake Gyllenhaal and Australia’s Ed Oxenbould. The First Glance selection of 32 films demonstrating MIFF’s expansive reach was also uncovered.
Based on the 1990 Richard Ford novel of the same name, Dano’s debut directorial outing (co-written by Zoe Kazan, seen alongside Dano at MIFF’s 2012 Ruby Sparks) tells a tender and empathetic story about a teen dealing with his family falling apart in 1960s Montana.
A hit at Sundance and Cannes, Wildlife is a bittersweet and elegant debut that represents a major coming-of-age – both off screen and on – for Oxenbould, an actor who broke out in MIFF 2014’s Paper Planes and last year’s MIFF Premiere Fund-supported The Butterfly Tree. Buoyed by exquisite cinematography from Diego Garcia (Neon Bull, MIFF 2016; Cemetery of Splendour, MIFF 2015) the film’s fine-tuned attention to period detail underscores its exceptional performances.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gSi0Qvki3o
“We are thrilled to announce Wildlife for this year’s Opening Night Gala. Paul Dano’s debut as a director provides a glimpse into a successful shift in his career from on screen to off, and the cast including Australia’s very own Ed Oxenbould (a special name here at MIFF) is an impressive way to kick off proceedings,” said MIFF’s Artistic Director Michelle Carrey.
“This in addition to the sneak peek of the rest of the program is an exciting time. Finally we can start talking about the most important thing…the films!”
This year’s MIFF program will feature more than 500+ screenings, including:
Ethan Hawke features with both on and off-screen contributions: he portrays a troubled priest experiencing a ‘crisis of faith’ in cinematic legend Paul Schrader’s latest feast of brooding menace, First Reformed; in Blaze, Hawke directs a daringly unconventional biopic of an unsung country music legend, featuring newcomer Benjamin Dickey in the title role (which won him a Sundance acting award) and Alia Shawkat.
Chloë Grace Moretz turns in a career-best performance in Desiree Akhavan’s sophomore feature The Miseducation of Cameron Post, winner of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize (US Dramatic); Cannes 2017 best actor winner Joaquin Phoenix features in Lynne Ramsay’s vengeance feature You Were Never Really Here, playing a war vet and ex-FBI agent whose new job includes rescuing children from paedophile rings; meanwhile, Bodied is the result of an unlikely pairing between Grammy-winning director Joseph Kahn and rapper turned producer Eminem who present their satirical story about an accidental battle-rap star.
In a variety of filmmaking firsts, acclaimed TV director Michael Pearce makes his feature debut in the sly, unsettling Beast – an impressive British crime drama love story wrapped in an intriguing psychosexual thriller; veteran slow-cinema auteur Tsai Ming-liang makes his debut foray into virtual reality with The Deserted, a 55-minute experience with a wordless, near-feature length tale of ghosts, grief and fish; and a little closer to home, Nash Edgerton’s TV series directorial debut Mr Inbetween brings The Magician’s charismatic killer-for-hire Ray Shoesmith back to our screens. MIFF will screen all six episodes before its television premiere on Foxtel’s Showcase channel.
The 2018 program delves deep into three iconic names spanning fashion, sport and Hollywood, starting with McQueen, a flamboyant portrait of one of the world’s most revered designers, Alexander McQueen – a man who once said “My shows are about sex, drugs and rock’n’roll. It’s for the excitement and the goosebumps. I want heart attacks. I want ambulances.” This biographical documentary by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui represents nothing less.
Julien Faraut’s John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection serves up a fascinating combination of instructional clips and exquisite 16mm footage of tennis bad boy John McEnroe at the height of his career at the 1984 French Open; and looking into the life of another legend, Tommy Avallone’s Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned from a Mythical Man follows the trail of the star’s alleged appearances musing on the interconnection of pop culture and ordinary life.
An Elephant Sitting Still takes us on a four-hour journey as Hu Bo paints a compelling, empathetic portrait of contemporary China in this FIPRESCI Prize-winning debut; and winner of SXSW’s Grand Jury Prize for documentary, People’s Republic of Desire is Hao Wu’s unsettling and fascinating look into the online world of live-streaming, social media and virtual relationships.
Turning impending loss into a poignant, poetic dreamscape, The Seen and Unseen is the second feature from Indonesia’s Kamila Andini and winner of best youth film at the 2017 Asia Pacific Screen Awards; Tigers Are Not Afraid is a stunning contemporary fairytale that does for Mexico’s drug war what Guillermo del Toro did for the Spanish Civil War. Praised by Stephen King, the film saw Issa López become the first woman to win Fantastic Fest’s Best Horror Director award.
Denmark’s Gustav Möller makes his directorial debut with the Sundance and Rotterdam award-winning The Guilty, an edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller told entirely in real time.
The UK’s Daniel Kokotajlo makes a devastating debut with Apostasy, a daring study of an all-female Jehovah’s Witness family riven by religious conflict starring Siobhan Finneran (Downton Abbey and Happy Valley); Babis Makridis proves he is coming into his own as a star with a second feature, Pity. A follow up to L (MIFF 2012), the quintessentially bleak and absurdist Greek New Wave comedy from the co-writer of The Lobster and Dogtooth was co-written with Yorgos Lanthimos’ key collaborator Efthymis Filippou (The Killing of a Sacred Deer, MIFF 2017).
Irreverent Iranian director Mani Haghighi (A Dragon Arrives! MIFF 2016) presents his latest meta-comedy magic, Pig – a riotous Iranian film industry satire about a serial killer; and Vivian Qu continues to interrogate crime, corruption and control in modern-day China in Angels Wear White, which won her the Best Director award at the Golden Horse Film Festival.
Based on Anna Seghers’ WWll novel of the same name, Transit is the slow-burn thriller from revered auteur Christian Petzold – a discomfiting fable of trans-European displacement that channels both Hitchcock and Casablanca; and one of contemporary cinema’s most esteemed directors Lucrecia Martel makes her long-awaited return with the historical fiction Zama, centred on an 18th-century Spanish magistrate marooned in a far-flung South American outpost where he’s losing touch with civilization and sanity.
Spaghetti Western, ’70s Euro-pulp and delirious psychedelia collide in Let the Corpses Tan – a glorious homage to cinema’s seedier retro fringes from genre connoisseurs Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani; audiences will step back in time to the French fashion scene with legendary fashion photographer William Klein’s award-winning black and white mockumentary that is now a groovy cult classic, Who are you, Polly Maggoo? and nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 2018 Academy Awards, The Insult is the multi-award winning new work from Lebanese visionary Ziad Doueiri (The Attack, MIFF 2012).
Delving into the complex emotions of passionate pop-music appreciation, emerging local director Jessica Leski presents I Used to be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story – an empathetic documentary exploring why we hold pop music so dear to our hearts.
The NSFA-restored The Cheaters offers viewers a rare big-screen treat of a pioneering silent-era classic. A major landmark of Australian cinema, this is not just one of our earliest feature films – it’s one of the first by women filmmakers, the McDonagh sisters. The remaining fragments of the sisters’ popular first feature Those Who Love will screen alongside.
An exhilarating debut feature from Australian director Jason Raftopoulos, the Venice-premiering West of Sunshine stars Pawno’s Damian Hill alongside his real-life step-son Ty Perham and Offspring’s Kat Stewart (Sucker, MIFF 2015). Shot in Melbourne, it explores fatherhood, trauma and second chances.
Director Jeremy Sim’s (Last Cab to Darwin, Beneath Hill 60) Wayne is a must-see for moto-GP fans. Here, Sims explores a defining piece of Australian sporting history that saw Wayne Gardner conquer the world of motorcycle racing and return home a hero; while Island of the Hungry Ghosts takes audiences on a unique and moving cinematic journey through the intersection of Christmas Island’s migrating land crabs, lost souls caught in limbo and political detainees.
Sundance award-winner, Stephen Loveridge digs deep into the life of his good friend Mathangi ‘Maya’ Arulpragasm in MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A, demonstrating her pull-no-punches personality and focus on political activism, and how this caused her career to suffer; and rounding up the First Glance lineup, directors Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown dive wholeheartedly into the African-American roller rink scene, circling around racial profiling, the roots of rap and communities in crisis with Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award winner, United Skates.Terry P.
VIMOOZ is for lovers of independent films + foreign film + documentary + film festivals. We love championing the little films.
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WILDLIFE Starring Carey Mulligan, Jake Gyllenhaal to Open 2018 Melbourne International Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_29567" align="aligncenter" width="1259"] Wildlife[/caption]
The first films of the 2018 Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) were revealed today along with big announcement that the 67th edition will open with the Australian premiere gala screening of Paul Dano’s directorial debut Wildlife – starring Carey Mulligan, Jake Gyllenhaal and Australia’s Ed Oxenbould. The First Glance selection of 32 films demonstrating MIFF’s expansive reach was also uncovered.
Based on the 1990 Richard Ford novel of the same name, Dano’s debut directorial outing (co-written by Zoe Kazan, seen alongside Dano at MIFF’s 2012 Ruby Sparks) tells a tender and empathetic story about a teen dealing with his family falling apart in 1960s Montana.
A hit at Sundance and Cannes, Wildlife is a bittersweet and elegant debut that represents a major coming-of-age – both off screen and on – for Oxenbould, an actor who broke out in MIFF 2014’s Paper Planes and last year’s MIFF Premiere Fund-supported The Butterfly Tree. Buoyed by exquisite cinematography from Diego Garcia (Neon Bull, MIFF 2016; Cemetery of Splendour, MIFF 2015) the film’s fine-tuned attention to period detail underscores its exceptional performances.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gSi0Qvki3o
“We are thrilled to announce Wildlife for this year’s Opening Night Gala. Paul Dano’s debut as a director provides a glimpse into a successful shift in his career from on screen to off, and the cast including Australia’s very own Ed Oxenbould (a special name here at MIFF) is an impressive way to kick off proceedings,” said MIFF’s Artistic Director Michelle Carrey.
“This in addition to the sneak peek of the rest of the program is an exciting time. Finally we can start talking about the most important thing…the films!”
This year’s MIFF program will feature more than 500+ screenings, including:
Ethan Hawke features with both on and off-screen contributions: he portrays a troubled priest experiencing a ‘crisis of faith’ in cinematic legend Paul Schrader’s latest feast of brooding menace, First Reformed; in Blaze, Hawke directs a daringly unconventional biopic of an unsung country music legend, featuring newcomer Benjamin Dickey in the title role (which won him a Sundance acting award) and Alia Shawkat.
Chloë Grace Moretz turns in a career-best performance in Desiree Akhavan’s sophomore feature The Miseducation of Cameron Post, winner of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize (US Dramatic); Cannes 2017 best actor winner Joaquin Phoenix features in Lynne Ramsay’s vengeance feature You Were Never Really Here, playing a war vet and ex-FBI agent whose new job includes rescuing children from paedophile rings; meanwhile, Bodied is the result of an unlikely pairing between Grammy-winning director Joseph Kahn and rapper turned producer Eminem who present their satirical story about an accidental battle-rap star.
In a variety of filmmaking firsts, acclaimed TV director Michael Pearce makes his feature debut in the sly, unsettling Beast – an impressive British crime drama love story wrapped in an intriguing psychosexual thriller; veteran slow-cinema auteur Tsai Ming-liang makes his debut foray into virtual reality with The Deserted, a 55-minute experience with a wordless, near-feature length tale of ghosts, grief and fish; and a little closer to home, Nash Edgerton’s TV series directorial debut Mr Inbetween brings The Magician’s charismatic killer-for-hire Ray Shoesmith back to our screens. MIFF will screen all six episodes before its television premiere on Foxtel’s Showcase channel.
The 2018 program delves deep into three iconic names spanning fashion, sport and Hollywood, starting with McQueen, a flamboyant portrait of one of the world’s most revered designers, Alexander McQueen – a man who once said “My shows are about sex, drugs and rock’n’roll. It’s for the excitement and the goosebumps. I want heart attacks. I want ambulances.” This biographical documentary by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui represents nothing less.
Julien Faraut’s John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection serves up a fascinating combination of instructional clips and exquisite 16mm footage of tennis bad boy John McEnroe at the height of his career at the 1984 French Open; and looking into the life of another legend, Tommy Avallone’s Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned from a Mythical Man follows the trail of the star’s alleged appearances musing on the interconnection of pop culture and ordinary life.
An Elephant Sitting Still takes us on a four-hour journey as Hu Bo paints a compelling, empathetic portrait of contemporary China in this FIPRESCI Prize-winning debut; and winner of SXSW’s Grand Jury Prize for documentary, People’s Republic of Desire is Hao Wu’s unsettling and fascinating look into the online world of live-streaming, social media and virtual relationships.
Turning impending loss into a poignant, poetic dreamscape, The Seen and Unseen is the second feature from Indonesia’s Kamila Andini and winner of best youth film at the 2017 Asia Pacific Screen Awards; Tigers Are Not Afraid is a stunning contemporary fairytale that does for Mexico’s drug war what Guillermo del Toro did for the Spanish Civil War. Praised by Stephen King, the film saw Issa López become the first woman to win Fantastic Fest’s Best Horror Director award.
Denmark’s Gustav Möller makes his directorial debut with the Sundance and Rotterdam award-winning The Guilty, an edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller told entirely in real time.
The UK’s Daniel Kokotajlo makes a devastating debut with Apostasy, a daring study of an all-female Jehovah’s Witness family riven by religious conflict starring Siobhan Finneran (Downton Abbey and Happy Valley); Babis Makridis proves he is coming into his own as a star with a second feature, Pity. A follow up to L (MIFF 2012), the quintessentially bleak and absurdist Greek New Wave comedy from the co-writer of The Lobster and Dogtooth was co-written with Yorgos Lanthimos’ key collaborator Efthymis Filippou (The Killing of a Sacred Deer, MIFF 2017).
Irreverent Iranian director Mani Haghighi (A Dragon Arrives! MIFF 2016) presents his latest meta-comedy magic, Pig – a riotous Iranian film industry satire about a serial killer; and Vivian Qu continues to interrogate crime, corruption and control in modern-day China in Angels Wear White, which won her the Best Director award at the Golden Horse Film Festival.
Based on Anna Seghers’ WWll novel of the same name, Transit is the slow-burn thriller from revered auteur Christian Petzold – a discomfiting fable of trans-European displacement that channels both Hitchcock and Casablanca; and one of contemporary cinema’s most esteemed directors Lucrecia Martel makes her long-awaited return with the historical fiction Zama, centred on an 18th-century Spanish magistrate marooned in a far-flung South American outpost where he’s losing touch with civilization and sanity.
Spaghetti Western, ’70s Euro-pulp and delirious psychedelia collide in Let the Corpses Tan – a glorious homage to cinema’s seedier retro fringes from genre connoisseurs Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani; audiences will step back in time to the French fashion scene with legendary fashion photographer William Klein’s award-winning black and white mockumentary that is now a groovy cult classic, Who are you, Polly Maggoo? and nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 2018 Academy Awards, The Insult is the multi-award winning new work from Lebanese visionary Ziad Doueiri (The Attack, MIFF 2012).
Delving into the complex emotions of passionate pop-music appreciation, emerging local director Jessica Leski presents I Used to be Normal: A Boyband Fangirl Story – an empathetic documentary exploring why we hold pop music so dear to our hearts.
The NSFA-restored The Cheaters offers viewers a rare big-screen treat of a pioneering silent-era classic. A major landmark of Australian cinema, this is not just one of our earliest feature films – it’s one of the first by women filmmakers, the McDonagh sisters. The remaining fragments of the sisters’ popular first feature Those Who Love will screen alongside.
An exhilarating debut feature from Australian director Jason Raftopoulos, the Venice-premiering West of Sunshine stars Pawno’s Damian Hill alongside his real-life step-son Ty Perham and Offspring’s Kat Stewart (Sucker, MIFF 2015). Shot in Melbourne, it explores fatherhood, trauma and second chances.
Director Jeremy Sim’s (Last Cab to Darwin, Beneath Hill 60) Wayne is a must-see for moto-GP fans. Here, Sims explores a defining piece of Australian sporting history that saw Wayne Gardner conquer the world of motorcycle racing and return home a hero; while Island of the Hungry Ghosts takes audiences on a unique and moving cinematic journey through the intersection of Christmas Island’s migrating land crabs, lost souls caught in limbo and political detainees.
Sundance award-winner, Stephen Loveridge digs deep into the life of his good friend Mathangi ‘Maya’ Arulpragasm in MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A, demonstrating her pull-no-punches personality and focus on political activism, and how this caused her career to suffer; and rounding up the First Glance lineup, directors Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown dive wholeheartedly into the African-American roller rink scene, circling around racial profiling, the roots of rap and communities in crisis with Tribeca Film Festival Audience Award winner, United Skates.
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Musical Drama SAINTS REST to Kick Off Summer at First Tuesdays at Midwest Independent Film Festival [Trailer]
The Midwest Premiere of Saints Rest, from director Noga Ashkenazi (The Grey Area: Feminism Behind Bars) will kick off summer at First Tuesdays at the Midwest Independent Film Festival.
An intimate family drama shot on location in Grinnel, Iowa, Saints Rest tells the story of two estranged sisters, who over the course of one summer, form a connection through their shared love of music as they grieve the recent death of their mother. Interweaving striking original music with an authentic and affectionate portrayal of a rural Midwest town, the film sweetly captures the tension between individual dreams and family obligations. Alternately funny and emotionally raw, Saints Rest serves as “musical comfort-food” for those who miss home, their childhood and their families, regardless of how imperfect it all may seem from a distance.
Saints Rest recently won the Audience Award at RiverRun International Film Festival, where it screened to 3 sold-out shows.
Co-written by Noga Ashkenazi and Chicagoan Tyson Stock, the film was co-executive produced by Rebecca Green (one of Variety’s 10 Producers to Watch and producer for two of the top-grossing and critically acclaimed independent films of 2015, It Follows (Cannes 2014) and I’ll See You in My Dreams (Sundance 2015). The director will be attending the screening along with select cast and crew.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjU_WVgDFfg
First Tuesdays: Saints Rest at the Midwest Independent Film Festival
Date: Jun. 05, 2018
Time: 6:00pm – 9:30pm
@Landmark’s Century Centre Cinema, 2828 N. Clark Street, Chicago, Illinois
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My Name Is Myeisha, Buddha.mov, Rock Steady Row, Crime + Punishment Win Top Awards at 4th Mammoth Lakes Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_27273" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
My Name is Myeisha[/caption]
The winners of juried and audience awards of the 4th Annual Mammoth Lakes Film Festival (MLFF) were announced at the Closing Night Award Ceremony at the Sierra Event Center in Mammoth Lakes on Sunday, May 27, 2018. The festival, held from May 23-27, screened over 70 films, including 63 in MLFF’s competition categories. Each of the festival winners received an Orson the Bear Award, handcrafted by Josh Slater of Bear in Mind Carvings located in Mammoth Lakes.
“This year’s festival exceeded our expectations on many levels. We welcomed more filmmakers, audience members, and media than in any of our other three years,” said Festival Director Shira Dubrovner. “Against the backdrop of our beautiful city, we were honored to host such an artistic collection of films that continues our commitment of bringing dynamic storytelling to our appreciative community.”
“The number of attending filmmakers from all over the world and the quality of their work, combined with the involvement of the Mammoth Lakes community, brought to life a series of scintillating events and thought-provoking discussions at this year’s festival,” said Festival Programmer Paul Sbrizzi.
“It has been my privilege to be a part of the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival since it’s conception,” said Documentary Features jury member Allison Amon (EVP Sales & Development, Bullitt). “The festival continues to grow both in scope and reputation, and it is incredibly inspiring to be here in the most beautiful landscape and surrounded by the creativity the festival attracts.”
The 2019 festival is slated for May 22 to 26, 2019.
The full list of Juried and Audience Awards is below:
Juried Awards
Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature, with a $1,000 cash prize, $10,000 Panavision Camera Rental Grant and $10,000 Light Iron Post Production Package, goes to My Name Is Myeisha. Jury Award for Best International Feature, with a $500 cash prize, goes to Tower. A Bright Day. Special Mention goes to writer, director, actor Thomas Aske Berg for his performance in Vidar the Vampire. Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature, with a $1,000 cash prize, goes to White Tide. Special Mention goes to Buddha.mov. Jury Award for Best Narrative Short, with a $500 cash prize and $5,000 VER Rental Grant, goes to Shadow Animals. Special Mentions go to Babies and In A Month. Jury Award for Best Documentary Short, with a $500 cash prize, goes to David and The Kingdom. Jury Award for Best Animation Short, with a $500 cash prize, goes to Cocoon, Cocoon. Special Mention goes to Nevada. Special Jury Award for Bravery, with a $500 cash prize, goes to Minding the Gap.Audience Awards
[caption id="attachment_25678" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]
Rock Steady Row[/caption]
Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature, with a $1,000 cash prize and $5,000 Panavision Camera Rental Grant, goes to Rock Steady Row.
Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature, with $1,000 cash prize, goes to Crime + Punishment.
Jury
Narrative Features Jury: Tim Rhys (MovieMaker Magazine), Nicole Sperling (Vanity Fair) and Rachel Winter (Producer). Documentary Features Jury: Allison Amon (EVP Sales & Development, Bullitt), Lindsey Bahr (Associated Press) and Peter Baxter (Filmmaker; President/Co-Founder, Slamdance). International Features Jury: Shalini Dore (Variety), Alonso Duralde (TheWrap) and Vincent Spano (Actor). Shorts Jury: Ana Souza (Sundance Film Festival) and Scenery Samundra (Tru Thoughts, NTS Radio).
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Film Projects by Manuel Abramovich, Grigory Kolomytsev, Elena López Riera, Arantza Santesteban, and Nele Wohlatz Selected for 4th Ikusmira Berriak
[caption id="attachment_29451" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]
CHUPACABRA[/caption]
Filmmakers from Germany, Argentina, Spain, and Russia will develop their audiovisual projects within the framework of the Ikusmira Berriak program, which is celebrating its fourth edition this year.
The selection committee, which is comprised of members from the Tabakalera International Centre for Contemporary Culture, the San Sebastian Film Festival and, for the first time, Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola, has selected the following projects out of the 155 offerings received from 31 countries: in the international category, El oasis, by Argentine filmmaker Manuel Abramovich (Buenos Aires, 1987) and Dormen os peixes de olhos abertos, by Nele Wohlatz (Hannover, Germany, 1982); in the Spanish filmmaker category, El agua, by Elena López Riera (Orihuela, Spain, 1982); among filmmakers residing in the Basque Autonomous Community, 918 gau, by Arantza Santesteban (Pamplona, Spain, 1979); and among Nest alumni (International Film Students Meeting), Chupacabra, by Grigory Kolomytsev (Krasnodar, Russia, 1990).
Projects on daily life in prison, the porn industry, legends, childhood, and alienation inspire the five chosen offerings. The fifth project was chosen thanks to Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola’s partnership in the audiovisual residency program organised by the Tabakalera International Centre for Contemporary Culture and the San Sebastian Film Festival.
Several of the filmmakers chosen have enjoyed considerable success at international festivals. Abramovich has premiered his films in Berlin and Karlovy Vary, where he received a special mention, and last year Soldado, his latest film, was shown at Zabaltegi-Tabakalera; López Riera has presented two of her productions at the Director’s Fortnight in Cannes and Locarno; and Nele Wohlatz won the award for Best First Feature in Locarno and Zinebi with El Futuro Perfecto. Kolomytsev was selected two years in a row (2016 and 2017) at Nest, and the Arantza Santesteban’s latest work, co-directed with Irati Gorostidi, was shown at the last Festival in the Zinemira selection, at the Kimuak catalogue sessions for professionals.
PROJECTS
918 GAU
ARANTZA SANTESTEBAN (SPAIN) In the minuscule cell of a police van, a woman that has spent many years in prison told me: to be able to explain what prison is like, you need to have slept in one. Nearly a decade ago, I spent 918 nights in prison. This film is about what it means to live in an isolated world without images. Director’s bio/filmography A history graduate of the University of the Basque Country. She holds a degree in Creative Documentary from the Centre de Dones Francesca Bonemaison (2012, Barcelona). Likewise, she has trained in Documentary Film Writing with Carmen Ávalos (2013, Barcelona). She has carried out specific training with Víctor Erice (2015, San Sebastian) and Patricio Guzmán (2016, Madrid). In 2012, she began to work as a director in various documentaries, including the noteworthy Passatgeres, her first work. Together with others, she curated the GORPUTZ_GRAFIAK exhibition at the Koldo Mitxelena cultural centre (San Sebastian) in 2015. This work brings together genealogy and research work from the Basque Country’s feminist movement. Together with Irati Gorostidi, she directed Euritan in 2017, which was selected in the 2017 Kimuak catalogue. She has made the rounds at festivals such as San Sebastian, Punto de Vista, Miradas Doc, and the Malaga Film Festival. In 2017, she was selected by the Huarte Centre of Contemporary Art to carry out a curatorial research residency, through which she will curate the Imágenes a través: reflexiones sobre imágenes en conflictos (‘Traversing images: reflections on images in conflict’) international seminar in June of 2018. She is a researcher of the Communication, culture, society, and politics master’s program (UNED-Spain), and studies questions that relate to cinematographic representation, feminism, and contemporary political conflicts. Director’s note There are numerous cinematographic narratives about prison, however, in my opinion, they are always missing something. What these images reflect are not daily conditions in prison, but ways in which the popular consciousness about them works. Cells, yards, fences, organised crime, terrorism, and drugs… These are elements that are a part of our prior characterisations. However, it is practically impossible to represent questions that are fundamental to understanding daily life in prison: the passing of time, isolation from the outside world, the physical and psychological consequences of confinement, opaque spaces of domination, etc. This film will address those topics.CHUPACABRA
GRIGORY KOLOMYTSEV (RUSSIA) Nine years old Andrey lives on the outskirt of a small village near the White Sea. Nervous, tired of poverty and fatherlessness mother keeps Andrey in constant tension and beats him. She threatens to send his son to the orphanage at the slightest misconduct from his side. Once Andrey finds a dead dog on the seashore in a storm – he decides that it is a mystical beast “Chupacabra”, a goat vampire, which will save his mother from ills and help them to reunite. Andrey heard on TV that whom Chupacabra bites at the full moon will become Chupacabra himself. Andrey scratches his hand the dead fang. Director’s bio/filmography Grigory Kolomytsev (1990, Russia) graduated from the Russian State University of Cinematography (VGIK) in 2017 (workshop of the Kott brothers). His debut short film Three Sisters (2015) was Semifinalist of the 43d Student Academy Awards. His next short work Mary was shown at more then 60 festivals including San Sebastian, Cairo, Camerimage, ZINEBI, etc. In 2017 he shooted his diploma film I’m Staying on the Black sea shore where he spent his childhood. It was shown at San Sebastian, Premiers Plans – Festival D’Angers, Winterthur etc. Chupacabra will be his debut feature film. Director’s note For me it is very important to make a debut picture about childhood – the necessary distance has already been passed, but feelings and memories are still hot. I was born near the sea. There was my first death experence. Sound of waves and wind is the sound of my childhood, tears of mother is my main humane feeling. Andrey, this small autistic boy, sincerely believes that there is no death, that he can find love by sacrificing himself. This is a film about the ordeal of a little Holy child. It is a “Life of Saint Andrey”.DORMEN OS PEIXES DE OLHOS ABERTOS
NELE WOHLATZ (GERMANY) Three outsiders in a tropical city, passing through places that could be anywhere. A condominium tower with white, empty rooms, made in China bric-a-brac stores, a shark-infested beach, the sea. Lixue, Ah, and Bo live in a reality that sometimes seems like fiction and, perhaps, a prediction of the future for the world’s cities. Three verses in an incomplete song, but who is speaking through whom? The alienation of the tree, who are so different, yet so similar. Director’s bio/filmography Nele Wohlatz (1982, Hannover) studied art and film in Karlsruhe and Buenos Aires. She created the short films La mochila perfecta and Tres oraciones sobre la Argentina, and co-directed Ricardo Bär. The first full-length film she directed on her own was El futuro perfecto, which was shown at more than 60 international festivals and won numerous awards, including such as the Best First Feature award at Locarno. Director’s note Recife is a city with a great deal of history, yet it seems that urban development is focused on erasing its mark and replacing it with the feeling of an airport: generic towers with private security surrounded by high walls, shopping centres, and urban highways that connect these locations. I want to make a film could take place anywhere, because it is about people that came for different reasons, but do not belong in their new city. After my first visit to Recife I thought, why not here? Behind its anonymous face, the city is full of ruptures, warmth, and peculiarities.
EL AGUA
ELENA LÓPEZ RIERA (SPAIN) It is summertime, and the threat of a powerful storm hangs over a town in the Spanish Levant. Ana is 17 years old and has grown up in the shadows of her mother who disappeared in the last flood, becoming phantasmagorical legend, a character for the townswomen who say that the water there is always mixed with death. In this electric atmosphere before the storm, Ana meets Jose, her first love. Director’s bio/filmography Elena López holds a doctorate in Audiovisual Communication and is a filmmaker. She has directed Pueblo (2015), which debuted at the Director’s Fortnight in Cannes, and Las vísceras (2016), which premiered at the Locarno Festival. She is a member of the Lacasinegra collective, through which she co-directed Pas à Genève. She has also worked as a producer for the Seville, Belfort, and Visions du Réel festivals. Director’s note I was born in Orihuela, a town in the Spanish Levant divided by the Segura, one of Europe’s most polluted rivers. I grew up with my mother, my grandmother, and my aunts, surrounded by women that used to tell all kinds of stories to take the ease off the long afternoons of asphyxiating heat. These stories almost always had a true origin (based on events, secrets whispered between neighbours, or family stories), but changed with each new version until some of them became truly fantastic tales. This is surely why I decided, one day, to make films. It was my way of participating in this popular, collective tale that does not distinguish between history and poetry.EL OASIS
MANUEL ABRAMOVICH (ARGENTINA) “Why do you want to do porn?” they ask at the casting. “Because I love to feign pleasure”. How does pleasure itself become a performance? If an adult film actor transforms their sexuality into a show, where do they find true pleasure? Director’s bio/filmography Manuel Abramovich (Buenos Aires, 1987) is a director, producer, and directory of photography. His work challenges the limits between reality and fiction, and reflects on the concept of an author in so-called ‘documentary filmmaking’. He has directed La Reina (2013), Las Luces (2014), Solar (2016), Soldado (2017), and Años Luz (2017). His works have received numerous awards, and have been shown at festivals and artistic institutions such as the Berlinale, Venice, San Sebastian, MoMA, Cinéma du Réel, IDFA, Tribeca, Tabakalera, Film Society of Lincoln Center, BAFICI, and Documenta Madrid. He was selected for various grants and residencies, including the Fondo Nacional de las Artes (Buenos Aires), Tres Puertos (Mexico and Chile), EMARE (Germany), and others. Currently, he is developing a trilogy focused on sex work and pornography in three cities: Berlin, Mexico City, and Buenos Aires. Años Luz, 2017, Argentina/Spain/Brazil, 72′. Soldado, 2017, Argentina, 73′. Solar, 2016, Argentina, 75′. Las Luces, 2014, Argentina, 6′. La Reina, 2013, Argentina, 19′. Director’s note El Oasis is a film on the construction of intimacy as a show. This is also the second piece of a trilogy that I am producing on the male body used as a business, focused on pornography and sex work in three cities (Berlin, Mexico City, and Buenos Aires). I am interested in the porn industry as a context to talk about sex in a world where the self is constructed by others, where we must be connected to exist and be seen. How does the body itself become a performance? How does pleasure act? The five filmmakers will enjoy a residency of six weeks in San Sebastian from 20 August. In the first four, the filmmakers will develop their projects at Tabakalera’s Creator’s Space, and will receive master classes and guidance from members of this edition’s expert committee, which includes Irish producer Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly, Brazilian filmmaker Sergio Oksman and TorinoFilmLab director, Savina Neirotti, who have guided the judges panel in their selection. In the fifth week of the residency, the participants will prepare the pitching session, which involves a project presentation to the industry during the sixth and final week of the residency. The session is part of the San Sebastian Film Festival. The residents will have the opportunity to arrange meetings with attending professionals who are interested in collaborating in their projects, and will receive an access pass to screenings and the Festival’s other industry activities. Ikusmira Berriak will also provide financial support amounting to 25,000 euros, which will be distributed among the projects selected. In addition, REC Grabaketa Estudioa will offer its feature film post-production services as a prize, which is valued at 35,000 euros. Ikusmira Berriak is a program that seeks to involve new talent as well as producers and people from the audiovisual industry who support innovation and new languages. It is organised by Tabakalera, the San Sebastian Film Festival and Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola in collaboration with REC Grabaketa Estudioa and the Basque Film Archive, and is part of the San Sebastian 2016 European Capital of Culture legacy.
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Watch First Official Trailer for Dark Comedy THE SISTERS BROTHERS Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal
Brothers by blood. Sisters by name. Here is the first official trailer for dark comedy The Sisters Brothers. The film, written and directed by Jacques Audiard, stars Joaquin Phoenix, John C. Reilly, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Riz Ahmed; and will be released in theaters in Fall 2018.
Based on Patrick Dewitt’s acclaimed novel of the same name, follows two brothers – Eli and Charlie Sisters – who are hired to kill a prospector who has stolen from their boss. The story, a genre-hybrid with comedic elements, takes place in Oregon in 1851. The film is Jacques Audiard’s follow-up to his Palme D’Or Winning DHEEPAN, which premiered at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OwvqKwTKmE
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Documentary LOVE MEANS ZERO on Controversial Tennis Coach Nick Bollettieri to Premiere on Showtime [Trailer]
The documentary Love Means Zero, which tells the story of celebrated yet controversial tennis coach Nick Bollettieri and explores the cost of his all-consuming drive for greatness, will make its television premiere on SHOWTIME on Saturday, June 23 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Love Means Zero features interviews with his former students and tennis prodigies, including Jim Courier, Kathleen Horvath, Carling Bassett and Boris Becker. The documentary made its world premiere to critical acclaim at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.
Now 86, Bollettieri is a living legend. At his academy in Florida, he raised a generation of champions: Courier, Monica Seles, Andre Agassi and many more. No other coach has matched his success, his dominance or his fame. His greatness, though, came at a price. Eight marriages, financial upheaval and a dramatic break with his surrogate son and cherished student, Andre Agassi. Love Means Zero tells the intimate and complex story of how Bollettieri became arguably the most famous tennis coach of all time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz5xyeSFODE
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Edinburgh International Film Festival Reveals Full 2018 Program incl. World Premiere of THE PARTING GLASS
THE PARTING GLASS Artistic Director Mark Adams today unveiled details of the program for the upcoming Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), taking place next month 20 June to 1 July, 2018.
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PRISON LOGIC, MINDING THE GAP, WEED THE PEOPLE Among Winners of 2018 Nashville Film Festival
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Prison Logic[/caption]
The 49th Annual Nashville Film Festival concluded its 10-day festival on Friday with the highly-anticipated announcement of the 2018 Award Winners. The top feature film awards went to Prison Logic directed by Romany Malco, winning the Narrative Competition Grand Jury Prize, and Minding the Gap directed by Bing Liu taking the Documentary Competition Grand Jury Prize.
Feature Film Awards
Narrative Competition Grand Jury Prize – Romany Malco, Prison Logic Documentary Competition Grand Jury Prize – Bing Liu, Minding the Gap Belmont University New Directors Competition Grand Jury Prize – Jim Cummings, Thunder Road Animation Compeition Grand Jury Prize – Benjamin Renner & Patrick Imbert, The Big Bad FOX and Other Tales Music Films/Music City Grand Jury Prize – Scott Balcerek, Satan & AdamShort Film Awards
Live Action Short – Grand Jury Prize – Cyril Aris, The President’s Visit US Narrative Short – Julio O. Ramos, Debris International Narrative Short – Nicolas Boucart, Icarus Animated Short – Grand Jury Prize – Trevor Jiminez, Weekends Documentary Short – Grand Jury Prize – Gordon Quinn, ’63 Boycott Experimental Short – Grand Jury Prize – Douwe Dijkstra, Green Screen Gringo Student Short – Grand Jury Prize – Maria Eriksson-Hecht, Schoolyard Blues Young Filmmakers Short – Alex Alford & Zak Denley, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to SuburbiaEpisodic Awards
Short Form – The Passage Long Form – Tammy’s Tiny Tea Time – The Full SeriesVR | 360
Grand Jury Prize – I Am a Man, created by Derek Ham Honorable Mention – MicroGiants, created by Yifu ZhouGraveyard Shift Awards
Graveyard Shift Grand Jury Prize for Feature Film – Mickey Reece, Mickey Reece’s Alien Graveyard Shift Grand Jury Prize for Short Film – Bo MaGuire, Socks on Fire: Uncle John and the COPPER Headed Water Rattlers Graveyard Shift, Best Actress – Cate Jones, Mickey Reece’s Alien Graveyard Shift, Best Actor (tie) – C.J. Jones, Door in the Woods Graveyard Shift, Best Actor (tie) – Jacob Ryan Snovel, Mickey Reece’s Alien Special Jury Prize for Imagination Philosophical and Scientific Rigor and Visual Inventiveness, Graveyard Shift – The LaPlace’s DemonTennessee Awards
Tennessee First Grand Jury Prize Feature – Brett Hanover, Rukus Tennessee First Grand Jury Prize Narrative Short – Hillary Bell, Hunter Tennessee First Grand Jury Prize Documentary Short – Karen Bullis, Kathy Lee Heuston, Clarksville, 1937 Tennessee First Grand Jury Prize Student Short – Jason Luckett, PilotsSong
Best Original Song – “Talk to Me,” from Blindspotting. Written by Anthony HamiltonAudience Awards
Narrative Competition – Prison Logic Documentary Competition – Weed the People New Directors Competition – Mountain Rest Music Films/Music City Competition – If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film About Lynyrd Skynyrd (tie) Music Films/Music City Competition – Stay Human (tie) Special Presentations – Sammy Davis Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me Spectrum – Into the Okavango Graveyard Shift – The Odds Tennessee First – Other Versions of YouNon-Cash Awards
Honorable Mention, Narrative Competition – Robert Machoian, Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck, When She Runs Best Actor, Narrative Competition – Romany Malco, Prison Logic Best Actress, Narrative Competition – Elise Van’t Laar in Craving Best Screenplay – Vivien Qu, Angels Wear White Best Music – Carl Thiel, Prison Logic Special Jury Prize for Breakout Performances by a Young Actress – Meijun Zhou & Vicky Chen in Angels Wear White Honorable Mention, Documentary Competition – Laura Nix, Inventing Tomorrow Special Jury Prize for Openly and Honestly Expressing Love at a Critical Time – Ron Yassen, Crossroads Honorable Mention, New Directors Competition (tie) – Bierta Zeqiri, The Marriage Honorable Mention, New Directors Competition (tie) – Takashi Doscher, Still Honorable Mention, Music Films/Music City Competition – Stephen Kijack, If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film About Lynyrd Skynyrd Honorable Mention, Graveyard Shift Competition – Christopher Kirkley, Zerzura Honorable Mention, Best International Short – Estefania Cortés, Miss Wamba Honorable Mention, Best U.S. Short – Carey Williams, Emergency Honorable Mention, Best Animated Short – Florian Brauch, Kim Tailhades, Matthieu Pujol, Romain Thirion, Yohan Thireau, Hybrids Special Jury Prize, Actor in a Narrative Short – Tom Doran, Time Traveller Special Jury Prize, Actress in a Narrative Short – Shaquita Lopez, Audition Special Jury Prize for Unique and Important Storytelling – Fabien Gorgeart, The Devil is in the Details Honorable Mention, Documentary Short – Shelby Hadden, Tightly Wound Honorable Mention, Documentary Short – Maris Curran, While I Yet Live Honorable Mention, Experimental Short – Eve Duhame, Julian Vallée, Strangers Honorable Mention, Best Graveyard Shift Short – John Boisen, Björn Fävremark, Paralys Honorable Mention Colleg Student Short – Alireza Ghasemi, Lunch Time Honorable Mention, Best Tennessee Narrative Short – Chad Cunningham, The Order Special Jury Prize for Best Tennessee Animated Short – John McAmis, QWERTY Special Jury Prize for Cinematography – Luca Caruso-Moro, Every Grain of Rice Special Jury Prize for Music Films/Music City – Bathtubs Over BroadwaySponsored Awards
VER Prize for Cinematography – Ashley Connor, Mountain Rest Lipscomb University Prize of the Ecumenical Jury – Nicolo Donato, Across the Waters
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5 Indie Films Win $100,000 in Funding from SFFILM and Westridge Foundation
Five filmmaking teams will receive a total of $100,000 in funding in the inaugural round of SFFILM Westridge Grants to help support the screenwriting and project development stages of their narrative feature films. SFFILM Westridge Grants, which are awarded twice annually, are designed for US-based filmmakers whose stories take place primarily in the United States and focus on the significant social issues and questions of our time. The next application period is now open.
SFFILM Westridge Grants provide film projects support in their critical early stages, safeguarding filmmakers’ creative processes and allowing artists to concentrate on thoughtfully developing their stories while building the right strategy and infrastructure to guide them through financing and production. In addition to cash grants, recipients will benefit from SFFILM’s comprehensive and dynamic artist development program, SFFILM Makers, as well as support and counsel from SFFILM and Westridge Foundation staff and the 2018 FilmHouse Mentor Advisory Board. All grantees will spend one week in the Bay Area attending a retreat geared towards honing their craft, strengthening their scripts, and making connections to other filmmakers and industry professionals.
The panelists who reviewed the finalists’ submissions were Noah Cowan, SFFILM Executive Director; Lauren Kushner, SFFILM Senior Manager of Artist Development; Nicole Perlman, screenwriter (Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel) and 2018 FilmHouse screenwriting mentor; Shelby Rachleff, Westridge Foundation Program Manager; and Caroline von Kühn, SFFILM Director of Artist Development.
“The Westridge Foundation is an incredible new ally in empowering US-based filmmakers grounded in Bay Area values,” said Caroline von Kühn, SFFILM Director of Artist Development. “This grant supports artists grappling with important topics in our country’s culture. This group of inaugural winners, through their valuable perspectives and historically underrepresented voices, will shape how we engage in conversations about these topics, collectively and with one another.”
“We are proud to provide resources to these filmmakers in the crucial early stages of telling their unique, important stories,” said Shelby Rachleff, Westridge Foundation Program Manager. “Westridge is thrilled to partner with SFFILM both in supporting these five outstanding projects, and in helping to amplify the powerful and nuanced voices of the filmmakers who are bringing them to life.”
SPRING 2018 SFFILM WESTRIDGE GRANT WINNERS
Back Seat Lana Wilson, writer/director; Shrihari Sathe, producer – screenwriting – $20,000 An immigrant woman leaves her young son alone in the back seat of a car, setting off a firestorm of controversy in the liberal community where she lives. As the town’s latent xenophobia bubbles to the surface, and the woman’s parenting abilities are scrutinized in increasingly disturbing ways, she fights to prove that she’s a worthy mother — to the town, to her children, and to herself. Mandeville Russell Nichols, writer – screenwriting – $20,000 A traumatized Black boy, whose brother was killed by a cop, volunteers for an experiment that tests his powers of prediction to prevent future murders. Miss Juneteenth Channing Godfrey Peoples, writer/director; Neil Creque Williams, producer – development – $20,000 Turquoise, a former beauty pageant queen turned hardworking single mother, enrolls her rebellious daughter, Kai, in the “Miss Juneteenth” pageant to compete for the grand prize — a college scholarship. Determined to keep Kai from making her same mistakes in life, Turquoise saves her tips from working at a juke joint to buy her daughter the grandest pageant dress of all. However, Kai is more interested in her school’s dance team and chasing her high school crush. Stay Awake Jaime Sisley, writer/director; Kelly Thomas and David Ariniello, producers – development – $20,000 For years, teen brothers Ethan and Derek Reynolds have tried to help their mother, Michelle, overcome her prescription drug addiction with little success. When Michelle goes missing after another binge, Ethan and Derek begin to question whether they should continue trying to find and help Michelle, or move on with their lives at the expanse of saving her. Taliesin Maya Perez, writer – screenwriting – $20,000 Based on actual events, Taliesin tells the story of a young Black couple hired to work at the infamous Taliesin home of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The remote location becomes a pressure cooker, and tensions around race and gender boil over with tragic consequences — the most horrific mass murder in Wisconsin history.
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Sundance Institute Awards Over Half a Million Dollars to Groundbreaking Documentary Projects
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Central Airport THF[/caption]
The Sundance Institute will award $585,000 in targeted grants to twenty-three projects from independent nonfiction storytellers. 57% of the supported projects are helmed by women, and 48% are from outside the U.S.; 34% of grantees are first-time feature filmmakers.
“These artists are hard at work on projects that capture the world as it is, as well as imagining it as it could be,” said Hajnal Molnar-Szakacs, the recently-appointed Director of the Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Fund. “The stories here deeply reflect my team’s collaborative vision for this fund and we are thrilled to highlight voices with richly diverse sensibilities and perspectives. In our current cultural and political moment, independent storytelling is vital: to help make meaning and present a layered, complex interpretation of truth.”
Sundance Institute has a long history and firm commitment to championing the most distinctive nonfiction films from around the world. Recently-supported films include Hale County This Morning This Evening; I Am Not Your Negro; Last Men in Aleppo; An Insignificant Man; Casting JonBenet; Strong Island; Hooligan Sparrow; Newtown and Weiner.
Sundance Institute 2018 Documentary Fund grantees
DEVELOPMENT
Body Parts (United States) Director: Kristy Guevara-Flanagan Producer: Helen Hood Scheer Body Parts (working title) is a documentary feature exploring the nude female body in Hollywood media—hyper-sexualized, under attack, exploited on- and off- screen. From a wide range of perspectives, the film examines how actresses protect their bodies, how studios push back, and how unions have fought for better standards. The film also looks at how the female and queer gaze are redefining desire and sexuality. From the first body doubles in the 1920s to the digital enhancements of the internet age, the film asks: when scenes are about sex, to whom are they sexy? By what standards? How do race, age and body type factor in? The Hunt (United States) Directors: Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw Producers: Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw The Hunt is an immersive, cinematic documentary that will explore the mysterious and magical world of Italian truffle hunters and their quest for the world’s rarest and most valuable ingredient. The film will follow an ensemble of spirited old truffle hunters and their prized dogs who lead them through secret Piedmont forests during the yearly “gold rush” when the elusive white Alba truffle is in season. The narrative will capture their struggle to hold onto a centuries-old tradition in the face of globalization, climate change, and their own mortality in a place where mystery and magic still flourish. Mars (Switzerland, France) Director: Dea Gjinovci Producers: Britta Rindelaub, Jasmin Basic and Sophie Faudel Ibadeta and Djeneta Demiri have been in a coma for several years, victims of the “syndrome of resignation”. Traumatized, their bodies mysteriously stopped working. In central Sweden, the whole family is still trying to rebuild a normal life, far from their native Kosovo. But so far, their asylum applications have been refused one after the other. Furkan, 10, is the youngest in the family. He tries to escape this situation by building his own rocket to fulfill his dream: to go live on Mars to save his sisters. The Mole Agent (Chile) Director: Maite Alberdi Producer: Marcela Santibañez Romulo is a private investigator who has been hired to do a study of a retirement home where residents are thought to be victims of abuse. To this end, he trains an 83-year-old man, to live as The Mole Agent inside the home. Once the mole has infiltrated the facility, he struggles to assume his role as he gradually becomes more familiar with the residents and the routine at the home in pursuit of the truth. Untitled Religious Activism Documentary (United States) Director: Penny Lane Producer: Gabriel Sedgwick A wildly entertaining and surprising look at the intersection of faith and activism, that follows one of the most controversial religious movements in modern American history. Third River Film (United States) Director and Producer: Robb Moss The third of a trilogy, the film explores the lives of five friends over forty years, from being young to becoming old–a film about time, friendship, and the mysteries of aging.PRODUCTION
Enemies of the State (United States) Director: Sonia Kennebeck Producer: Ines Hofmann Kanna An average American family becomes entangled in a bizarre web of espionage and corporate secrets when their hacker son is targeted by the U.S. government, making them all Enemies of the State. Mississippi Red (United States) Director: Kelly Duane de la Vega Producer: Jessica Anthony In Mississippi, women have fewer rights or protections than in any other part of the country. Mississippi Red looks at the status of women in the deep South through the lens of race, religion and the political establishment with a constellation of close-to-the-bone stories that revolve around the fight to pass an equal pay law through a resistant male dominated state legislature. Untitled Safe Schools Project (United States) Director: Todd Chandler Producer: Danielle Varga Untitled Safe Schools Project explores the landscape of 21st century school safety in the United States, illuminating the complex ways in which we as a nation struggle to understand and prevent violence, and endeavor to create safer schools. Scheme Birds (United Kingdom, Sweden) Directors: Ellen Fiske, Ellinor Hallin Producers: Ruth Reid, Mario Adamson Scheme Birds is the story of Gemma, a teenage troublemaker, growing up in a world of violence and pigeons. From childhood to motherhood, her life unfolds on screen as childish games turn towards serious crime. The Silhouettes (Iran, Philippines) Director: Afsaneh Salari Producers: Jewel Maranan, Afsaneh Salari At the height of the USSR’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1982, 1.5 million Afghans took a long journey to the border of Iran to flee war. Taghi, born after that generation and unwilling to inherit the limitations of his parents’ refugee status, navigates outside the protective walls of his family to trace his identity and the doors to his future in the homeland he never knew. As war continues to rage in Afghanistan, what future awaits him in which land? TransFormed (United States) Director: Lisa Leeman Producers: Lisa Leeman, Thomas G. Miller What are the costs of living an authentic life? Twenty-six years after intimately chronicling artist Gabi P.’s gender transition in the groundbreaking film Metamorphosis (Sundance’s Filmmakers Trophy; POV), Lisa Leeman reconnects with Gabi. Now age 65, one year sober, and a devout Christian, Gabi stands at a new and unexpected crossroads. Probing universal themes of aging, faith, and identity, TransFormed is a story of struggle and resiliency- against the backdrop of society’s persistent transphobia. When Claude Got Shot (working title) (United States) Director and Producer: Brad Lichtenstein Three strangers are tragically united and changed forever by a weekend of gun violence in When Claude Got Shot, an intimate and unflinching personal documentary that investigates the problem of gun violence in America’s black communities. Made possible with support from The Kendeda Fund Untitled (United States, Kenya) Director: Daphne Matziaraki Producers: Toni Kamau, Maya Craig This feature documentary explores land use in Africa. It examines the ubiquitously 21st Century question of who controls natural resources, and at what cost?POST PRODUCTION
Caballerango (Mexico, United States) Director: Juan Pablo González Producers: Jamie Gonçalves, Makena Buchanan, Ilana Coleman A family reflects on a young man’s disappearance in a Mexican village under the watchful eyes of the horse who saw him last. Central Airport THF (Germany, France) Director: Karim Aïnouz Producer: Felix von Boehm Co-Producers: Charlotte Uzu, Joana Mariani, Diane Maia Berlin’s historic defunct Tempelhof Airport remains a place of arrivals and departures. Today its massive hangars are used as one of Germany’s largest emergency shelters for asylum seekers, like 18-year-old Syrian student Ibrahim and Iraqi physiotherapist Qutaiba. As they adjust to a transitory daily life of social services interviews, German lessons and medical exams, they try to cope with homesickness and the anxiety of whether or not they will gain residency or be deported. The Gospel of Eureka (United States) Directors: Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher Producer: Charlotte Cook Love, faith and civil rights collide in a southern town as evangelical Christians and drag queens step into the spotlight to dismantle stereotypes. Gospel drag shows and passion plays set the stage for one hell of a show. Narrated by Mx Justin Vivian Bond. In Real Life (United States) Director: Liza Mandelup Producers: Bert Hamelinck, Lauren Cioffi This intimate contemplation on modern youth follows 16-year-old Austyn Tester as he flirts with the world of social media fame. Driven by a wide-eyed desire for stardom, Austyn cultivates a singularly positive online persona that’s at odds with growing up in small town Tennessee. After trading in a high school education for management and devoted fangirl followers, Austyn confronts his own motivation and questions whether he’s cut out for the business of virtual connection. Kids (Australia) Director: Maya Newell Producers: Sophie Hyde, Rachel Nanninaaq Edwardson, Larissa Behrendt, Maya Newell Like many Indigenous kids before him, 10-year-old Dujuan is fighting an enemy he cannot see, which makes him strike out at everything. When he cannot run, nor fight alone, he realises that not only has he inherited the trauma and dispossession of his land, but also the resilience and resistance of many generations of his people which holds the key to his future. Made with and alongside those represented, this feature doc by Australian filmmaker Maya Newell (Gayby Baby) is the second in her series about child perspectives. Midnight Family (United States, Mexico) Director: Luke Lorentzen Producers: Kellen Quinn, Daniela Alatorre, Elena Fortes, Luke Lorentzen In Mexico City’s wealthiest neighborhoods, the Ochoa family runs a private ambulance, competing with other for-profit EMTs for patients in need of urgent help. As they try to make a living in this cutthroat industry, they struggle to keep their financial needs from compromising the people in their care. Midnight Traveler (United States, Afghanistan) Director: Hassan Fazili Producer: Emelie Mahdavian Midnight Traveler follows a family of Afghan filmmakers on the run from the Taliban. Told from refugee-Director Hassan Fazili’s unique first-person perspective, their story provides unprecedented access to the complex refugee encounter with the West. The Seer and the Unseen (United States) Director: Sara Dosa Producer: Shane Boris The Seer and the Unseen is an unexpected environmental film about invisible elves, the free market and the surprising power of belief told through the story of an Icelandic woman’s quest to save a threatened landscape and the beloved home her family has lived in for generations. Unfolding through vérité magical realism, the film explores the unseen forces that shape our visible worlds and transform our natural landscapes – and, the profound meaning of home.
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Cannes Film Festival 2018 Awards – SHOPLIFTER Wins Palme d’or, Spike Lee’s BLACKKKLANSMAN Wins Grand Prix
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BlacKkKlansman[/caption]
The 71st Cannes Film Festival came to a close today, with the announcement of the 2018 winners, decided by the Feature Film Jury presided over by Cate Blanchett. Shoplifters (Manbiki Kazoku directed by Kore-Eda Hirokazu was awarded the Palme d’or and BlacKkKlansman by Spike Lee won the Grand Prix.
FEATURE FILMS
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MANBIKI KAZOKU(Shoplifters) by KORE-EDA Hirokazu[/caption]
PALME D’OR
MANBIKI KAZOKU (Shoplifters) by KORE-EDA Hirokazu After one of their shoplifting sessions, Osamu and his son come across a little girl in the freezing cold. At first reluctant to shelter the girl, Osamu’s wife agrees to take care of her after learning of the hardships she faces. Although the family is poor, barely making enough money to survive through petty crime, they seem to live happily together until an unforeseen incident reveals hidden secrets, testing the bonds that unite them…GRAND PRIX
BLACKKKLANSMAN (BlacKkKlansman) by Spike LEE Ron Stallworth, an African-American police officer from Colorado, successfully managed to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan and almost became the head of the local chapter.JURY PRIZE
CAPHARNAÜM (Capernaum) by Nadine LABAKI INT. COURTROOM ZAIN, a 12-year-old boy, faces THE JUDGE. THE JUDGE: Why are you suing your own parents? ZAIN: For giving me life.BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR
Marcello FONTE in DOGMAN by Matteo GARRONEBEST DIRECTOR
ZIMNA WOJNA (Cold War) by Pawel PAWLIKOWSKIBEST SCREENPLAY (tie)
Alice ROHRWACHER for LAZZARO FELICE (Happy as Lazzaro) Jafar PANAHI for SE ROKH (3 Faces)BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS
Samal YESLYAMOVA in AYKA by Sergey DVORTSEVOYSPECIAL PALME D’OR
LE LIVRE D’IMAGE (The Image book) by Jean-Luc GODARDSHORT FILMS
PALME D’OR
ALL THESE CREATURES by Charles WILLIAMSMENTION DISTINCTION BY THE JURY
YAN BIAN SHAO NIAN (On the order) by WEI ShujunCAMÉRA D’OR
GIRL by Lukas DHONT presented at UN CERTAIN REGARD The CST Jury decided to award the VULCAIN PRIZE FOR ARTIST-TECHNICIAN to: SHIN Joom-Hee artistic director, of BURNING for his exceptional contribution to the portrayal of his characters.
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Cannes Film Festival 2018: ‘BORDER’ ‘SOFIA’ ‘GIRL’ ‘DONBASS’ Win Un Certain Regard Prizes
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GRÄNS (BORDER) by Ali Abbasi[/caption]
Un Certain Regard 2018 at Cannes Film Festival presented 18 films in competition. 6 of them were first films. The Opening film was DONBASS by Sergei Loznitsa which went on to win the prize for Best Director.
Under the presidency of Benicio Del Toro (Puerto Rican-American actor), the Jury was comprised of Annemarie Jacir (Palestinian director and writer), Kantemir Balagov (Russian director), Virginie Ledoyen (French actress) and Julie Huntsinger (American executive director, Telluride Film Festival).
“We feel that out of 2000 films considered by the Festival, the 18 we saw in UN CERTAIN REGARD – from Argentina to China – were all in their own way winners. Over the past 10 days, we were extremely impressed by the high quality of the work presented, but in the end we were the most moved by the following 5 films.
“UN CERTAIN REGARD” PRIZE
GRÄNS (BORDER) by Ali Abbasi Customs officer Tina is known for her extraordinary sense of smell. It’s almost as if she can sniff out the guilt on anyone hiding something. But when Vore, a suspicious-looking man, walks past her, her abilities are challenged for the first time ever. Tina can sense Vore is hiding something she can’t identify. Even worse, she feels a strange attraction to him. As Tina develops a special bond with Vore and discovers his true identity, she also realizes the truth about herself. Tina, like Vore, does not belong to this world. Her entire existence has been one big lie and now she has to choose: keep living the lie or embrace Vore’s terrifying revelations.PRIZE FOR BEST SCREENPLAY
SOFIA by Meryem Benm’Barek Sofia, 20, lives with her parents in Casablanca. Suffering from pregnancy denial, she finds herself breaking the law by giving birth to a baby out of wedlock. The hospital gives her 24 hours to provide the father’s papers before informing the authorities…PRIZE FOR BEST PERFORMANCE
Victor Polster for GIRL by Lukas Dhont Determined 15-year-old Lara is committed to becoming a professional ballerina. With the support of her father, she throws herself into this quest for the absolute at a new school. Lara’s adolescent frustrations and impatience are heightened as she realizes her body does not bend so easily to the strict discipline because she was born a boy.PRIZE FOR BEST DIRECTOR
Sergei Loznitsa for DONBASS In the Donbass, a region of Eastern Ukraine, a hybrid war takes place, involving an open armed conflict alongside killings and robberies on a mass scale perpetrated by separatist gangs. In the Donbass, war is called peace, propaganda is uttered as truth and hatred is declared to be love. A journey through the Donbass unfolds as a chain of curious adventures, where the grotesque and drama are as intertwined as life and death. This is not a tale of one region, one country or one political system. It is about a world, lost in post-truth and fake identities. It is about each and every one of us.JURY SPECIAL PRIZE
CHUVA É CANTORIA NA ALDEIA DOS MORTOS (The Dead and The Others) by João SALAVIZA and Renée NADER MESSORA There are no spirits or snakes tonight and the forest around the village is quiet. Fifteen year old Ihjãc has nightmares since he has lost his father. He is an indigenous Krahô from the north of Brazil. Ihjãc walks into darkness, his sweaty body moves with fright. A distant chant comes through the palm trees. His father’s voice calls him to the waterfall: it´s time to organize the funerary feast so the spirit can depart to the dead´s village. The mourning must cease. Denying his duty and in order to escape a crucial process of becoming a shaman, Ihjãc runs away to the city. Far from his people and culture, he faces the reality of being an indigenous in contemporary Brazil.