Terry P.

VIMOOZ is for lovers of independent films + foreign film + documentary + film festivals. We love championing the little films.

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

[caption id="attachment_29341" align="aligncenter" width="1023"] 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 & Adam
Short 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 Suburbia
Episodic Awards
Short Form – The Passage Long Form – Tammy’s Tiny Tea Time – The Full Series
VR | 360
Grand Jury Prize – I Am a Man, created by Derek Ham Honorable Mention – MicroGiants, created by Yifu Zhou
Graveyard 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 Demon
Tennessee 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, Pilots
Song
Best Original Song – “Talk to Me,” from Blindspotting. Written by Anthony Hamilton
Audience 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 You
Non-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 Broadway
Sponsored 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

[caption id="attachment_29305" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] 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

[caption id="attachment_29297" align="aligncenter" width="926"] 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
[caption id="attachment_29298" align="aligncenter" width="926"] 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 GARRONE
BEST DIRECTOR
ZIMNA WOJNA (Cold War) by Pawel PAWLIKOWSKI
BEST 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 DVORTSEVOY
SPECIAL PALME D’OR
LE LIVRE D’IMAGE (The Image book) by Jean-Luc GODARD
SHORT FILMS

PALME D’OR
ALL THESE CREATURES by Charles WILLIAMS
MENTION DISTINCTION BY THE JURY
YAN BIAN SHAO NIAN (On the order) by WEI Shujun
CAMÉRA 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

[caption id="attachment_29152" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] 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.
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‘SEARCHING’ ‘MINDING THE GAP’ ‘IN THE LIFE OF MUSIC’ Win Audience Awards at 34th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_29286" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] John Cho stars in the LAAPFF Audience Award Winning film SEARCHING – directed by Aneesh Chaganty. Photo Courtesy of Screen Gems[/caption] The 34th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) came to a close this past weekend and announced their audience awards for best films at this year’s film extravaganza that began on May 3 and ended on May 12, 2018. The thriller, mystery film “SEARCHING” – directed by first time feature filmmaker Aneesh Chaganty – won the LAAPFF Audience Award for Outstanding North American Narrative Feature Film. The film, starring John Cho and Debra Messing, was a double award winner at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, as well. Audiences at LAAPFF were impressed by the cast, the screenplay, and the direction of the film that centered on a father’s search for his missing teenage daughter and has to turn to the Internet to try and find her. Audiences were abuzz about the film throughout the eight-day festival. “SEARCHING” will open nationally in August in theaters through Screen Gems. The personal documentary “MINDING THE GAP” – directed by Bing Liu – won the LAAPFF Audience Award for Outstanding North American Documentary Feature. Audiences were moved by the filmmaker’s intimate story of three friends who come of age in their twenties and have to face growing up and possibly giving up their skateboarding days. The film also won the LAAPFF Special Jury Prize for Best Director and was an award winner at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, as well. In the International Narrative Feature category, the LAAPFF Audience Award went to “IN THE LIFE OF MUSIC” – directed by Caylee So and Visal Sok – for telling a powerful inter-generational tale that explores love, war, and a family’s relationship to the song Champa Battambang, made famous by Sinn Sisamouth, the King of Cambodian music. The film depicts the lives of people whose world is inevitably transformed by the emergence of the Khmer Rouge. The film also won the LAAPFF Special Jury Prize for Best Director in the International Narrative Feature category. In the International Documentary Feature category, the audience gave the award to “LATE LIFE: THE CHIEN-MING WANG STORY” – directed by Frank W. Chen. This moving film chronicles the life of Taiwanese pro-baseball player Chien-Ming Wang, who was once so dominating on the mound that he was named New York Yankees’ starting pitcher for the inaugural game at New Yankee Stadium in 2009. But after a terrible ankle injury, Wang’s pitches lost their effectiveness, and he soon fell off major league rosters. LATE LIFE follows Wang through his grueling workout routines and unglamorous minor league pit stops as he mounts his remarkable comeback. He is helped along the way by his loyal agent, trainers, Yankees fans, and his family, creating a de-facto support network that keeps him going.
2018 LAAPFF AUDIENCE AWARD WINNERS

NORTH AMERICAN NARRATIVE FEATURE
SEARCHING Directed by Aneesh Chaganty
NORTH AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
MINDING THE GAP Directed by Bing Liu
INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE FEATURE
IN THE LIFE OF MUSIC Directed by Caylee So and Visal Sok
INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
LATE LIFE: THE CHIEN-MING WANG STORY Directed by Frank W. Chen
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THE CASE AGAINST ADNAN SYED, New Docu Series Based on Popular Serial Podcast, to Debut on HBO

THE CASE AGAINST ADNAN SYED, is a four-hour documentary series directed by Academy Award(R) nominee Amy Berg (“Deliver Us from Evil,” “West of Memphis”), that will explore the 1999 disappearance and murder of 18-year-old Baltimore County high school student Hae Min Lee, and the subsequent conviction of her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, a case brought to global attention by the hugely popular “Serial” podcast. The docu series will debut on HBO in the U.S. and on Sky Atlantic in Europe. THE CASE AGAINST ADNAN SYED will offer a cinematic look at the life and 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee and conviction of Adnan Syed, from the genesis of their high school relationship, to the original police investigation and trial, through to the current day, when Syed faces a new trial after serving 18 years in jail. With exclusive access to Adnan Syed, his family and his lawyers, director Amy Berg has been closely following their efforts to obtain justice, with the outcome still to be determined – and possibly shaped by the investigation pursued within the series itself. In production since 2015, THE CASE AGAINST ADNAN SYED closely re-examines the events leading up to Hae Min Lee’s disappearance, from high school romance, forbidden love and cultural conflict, to the aftermath of her disappearance, the original police investigation and the present day, when Syed awaits a new trial. Presenting new discoveries, as well as groundbreaking revelations that challenge the state’s case, and featuring exclusive access to Syed, the defense team, the Syed family, friends and teachers of Hae Min Lee and Adnan Syed, and members of City of Baltimore law enforcement, the series traces how the rush to justice and Syed’s conviction in 2000 raised more questions than answers about what happened to Hae Min Lee, underscoring the instability of memory and conflicting eyewitnesses. In June 2016, Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Martin P. Welch vacated Adnan Syed’s conviction and granted him a new trial after new evidence challenged the reliability of cell phone data linking Syed to the crime scene, and a long-awaited alibi witness finally had her day in court. The State of Maryland appealed the lower court judge’s ruling, but on March 29, 2018, the Court of Special Appeals also ruled to vacate Syed’s conviction and granted him the retrial he has been waiting for.
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VIANEY, Documentary on Hip Hop Artist Vianey Otero/So Icey Trap, to Premiere at Mammoth Lakes Film Festival [Trailer]

“Vianey” is an intensely personal documentary portrait about the life and hardships of the New Jersey and Bronx based underground hip hop artist Vianey Otero, also known by the stage name So Icey Trap. The U.S. West Coast Premiere of the film will be held at the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival in Mammoth Lakes, CA, on Fri May 25th. The film reveals the raw reality behind growing up on the streets, the lure of escorting, everyday life in jail, and being a female artist in the music industry. Visually, the film takes the viewer on a meditative journey through the important locations of Vianey’s life. “Vianey” is an unlfiltered coming-of-age story, and also a story about the struggles of the low-income working class in modern day America. When rent is due, the body becomes a commodity. Marko Vuorinen, the director of “Vianey”, is a Helsinki-based and internationally awarded documentarian, artist and writer. Vuorinen works in the borderland between film and visual arts. He approaches filmmaking as a form of contemporary art. Mammoth Lakes Film Festival showcases the work of emerging, innovative filmmakers. Our past juries have included Andrew Lazar (Producer of AMERICAN SNIPER), Allison Amon (Producer of THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES), and John Feidler (Producer of SERIAL MOM and PECKER). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPnecaZq5ws
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16 African Feature Films and Documentaries Projects Selected for 9th Durban FilmMart

[caption id="attachment_29193" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] 9th Durban FilmMart : Zinder, The Seeds of Violence, (Niger) – Director: Aicha Macky. Producer: Clara Vuillermoz, Ousmane Samassekou,[/caption] A total of 16 fiction feature films and documentaries projects from Africa have been selected to pitch at this year’s Durban FilmMart (DFM), which takes place from July 20 to 23, 2018 during the 39th Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) (July 19 to 29 ). A joint programme of the eThekwini Municipality’s film industry development unit, the Durban Film Office (DFO) and the DIFF, the Durban FilmMart aims to showcase and increase awareness of African cinema through stimulating film production on the continent by encouraging collaborations amongst African filmmakers. “We are thrilled to announce the 2018 DFM Official Project selection,” says Toni Monty, Head of the Durban Film Office. “These sixteen projects were carefully picked from over 130 applications and will join the DFM team in Durban to partake in a two-day preparatory workshop, followed by two days of public pitching, round tables, and individual meetings, where they will face industry professionals (Broadcasters, funds, festivals and distribution and production company representatives) to negotiate support for their projects.” The eight documentaries and eight feature fictions this year have been selected from Egypt, Zimbabwe, Tunisia, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Libya, Niger and South Africa representing a dynamic range of work-in-progress and collaborations between the various countries and nationalities. “This year’s selection profiles an eclectic mix of stories from across Africa, bringing some new talents to the Durban FilmMart that we are excited to present to attending industry professionals,” says Monty. “We would like to congratulate all the selected projects on their success and thank all directors and producers who took the time to apply with their projects.”
Durban FilmMart 2018 Official Project Selection

Fiction
Blood & Honey, (Egypt) – Producer: Mohamed Siam, Guillaume de Seille, Director: Mohamed Siam Insila kashaka, (South Africa) – Producer: Sibongile Nene, Director: Brian Khawula, Sibongile Nene, Country Nyanga / The Horn, (Zimbabwe) – Producer: Sue-Ellen Chitunya, Brett Michael Innes, Director: Brett Michael Innes Snake, (South Africa) – Producer: Paul Egan, Stanford Gibson and Mustapha Hendricks, Director: Meg Rickards Streams, (Tunisia) – Producer: Moufida Fedhila, Director: Mehdi Hmili Of Virtue, (South Africa) – Producer: David Horler, Director: Imran Hamdulay Plunderer, The, (Nigeria) Producer: Ikechukwu Omenaihe Director: Didi Cheeka Porta-Retrato, (Mozambique) – Producer: Aldino Languana, Osvaldo Lupini Bambamba, Director: Orlando Mabasso Jr.
Documentaries
At Dawn, (Nigeria) – Producer / Director: Adeyemi Michael Cheese Girl, (South Africa) – Producer: Batana Vundla, Marion Isaacs, Director: Milisuthando Bongela Fitrah: To Be as God Created You, (South Africa) – Producer: Kelly Scott, Director: Richard Finn Gregory How to Steal a Country (And win it back.), (South Africa) – Producer: Zivia Desai, Rehad Desai, Director: Mark Kaplan, Rehad Desai Master’s Plan, The, (Cape Verde) – Producer: Hanne Phlypo, Director: Yuri Ceuninck Mother City, (South Africa) – Producer: Pearlie Joubert, Miki Redelinguys, Director: Pearlie Joubert, Miki Redelinguys Searching for Kikhia, (Libya) – Producer: Desert Power / Christina Carvalho, Director: Jihan Kikhia Zinder, The Seeds of Violence, (Niger) – Producer: Clara Vuillermoz, Ousmane Samassekou, Director: Aicha Macky
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Las Vegas Film Festival Reveals 2018 Shorts, Labs and College Shorts Showcases Lineup

The Las Vegas Film Festival followed up its impressive initial programming lineup with even more programming for the upcoming 11th edition of the festival – including shorts, labs and college shorts showcases. The 2018 Festival will take place June 6 to 10 at Brenden Theatres and Palms Casino Resort.
SHORTS
[O] (Director: Mario Radev) – A film that imitates nature in its manner of operation, depicting animated cycles in a world entirely based on sound frequency and vibration. After Her (Director: Laura Heberton) – A wayward teenage girl goes missing and her friend is haunted by her disappearance. An atmospheric sci-fi about first love and the lost girl. Counterfeit Kunko – In a city that houses millions, Smita discovers a strange prerequisite to renting a house in middle-class Mumbai. She would make an ideal tenant, except for one glaring flaw—she is an Indian woman without a husband. Emergency (Director: Joenique C. Rose) – Faced with an emergency situation, a group of young Black and Latino friends carefully weigh the pros and cons of calling the police. Footprint (Director: Laura Heberton) – FOOTPRINT is a purely observational meditation on how different people engage with the World Trade Center Memorial, exploring the ways we choose to commemorate tragedy in the age of technology, social media, and changing attitudes toward patriotism. Grandma’s House (Director: Savanah Joeckel) – Carol returns to a familiar position. Milk and Cookies (Director: Andrew Ramsay) – Grace is five. She wants milk and cookies. Everyday. Real bad. Nevada (Director: Emily Hoffman) – A young couple’s romantic weekend getaway is interrupted by a birth-control mishap in this stop-motion animated comedy. Painting with Joan (Director: Jack Robbins) – Are you curious about Minnesota’s #3 public-access painting show? Satellite Strangers (Director: James Bascara) – A strange cacophony. Symphony of a Sad Sea (Director: Carlos Morales) – Hugo, a Mexican child and victim of violence, flees his hometown with one single dream: crossing to the United States to meet his father and leave his past behind. The Blazing World (Director: Andrew Carlberg) – Margaret has been plagued with dreams of a strange world since she was a little girl. After a mysterious man with a map visits her one night, she decides to give in to the incessant calls of The Blazing World. THE PASSAGE (Director: Kitao Sakurai) – Phil, wide-eyed and mute, is on the run after escaping captivity. Three Course (Director: Noah Pitifer) – A server struggles with a three course meal. Thrifters (Director: Jake Pepito) – In the fiercely competitive world of second-hand chic, a loyal “thrifting duo” faces drama and challenges. We Summoned A Demon (Director: Chris McInroy) – They just wanted to be cool. Instead, they got a demon. Yule Tidings (Director: Charles Cantrell) – Trying to land their places in Hollywood royalty, two dudes prepare for their Christmas party. But when danger presents itself next door, they quickly get lured into a rabbit hole full of black magic and bunnies.
COLLEGE SHORTS SHOWCASES
The Festival’s three college showcases feature a collection of short films produced by students from UNLV, CSN and NSC. The College Shorts Showcases will be held Wednesday, June 6 and will feature the following: UNLV Showcase: Programmed by Francisco Menendez, UNLV Professor and Artistic Director CSN Showcase: Programmed by John C. Aliano, CSN Program Director and Instructor NSC Showcase: Programmed by Adam Davis, NSC Assistant Professor and Interim Department Chair
FESTIVAL LABS
Returning this year, for the fifth time, is a program that has become a community favorite, the Music Video Lab. Local filmmakers are given a $400 grant to produce a music video for a local band that premieres at the Festival. Participating bands this year include Paige Overton (Directors: Danny Chandia and Rachel Johnson), OLAN (Director: Engie Herrera), The American Weather (Director: Tony Clifford), Sonia Barcelona (Director: Savanah Joeckel), Cameron Calloway (Director: Brett Levner) and Indigo Kidd (Director: Zachary VanTilborg). The Music Video Lab screening will take place Sunday, June 10. Another favorite local program, the Young Cinema Lab, returns for a fourth year. Children are taught how to write a screenplay with the assistance of UNLV film students, who each receive a $300 grant. The Las Vegas Film Festival then helps the UNLV filmmakers bring the screenplay to life with a special screening event at the Festival, to be held Saturday, June 9. This year’s films include: Cat Ear Trio (Director: Patrick Gonzales; Screenwriter: Hayden Balino, age 9) Rise of the Carrots (Director: Diana Sheik Yosef; Screenwriter: Ava Trundle, age 10) The Doge (Director: Sam Rodriguez; Screenwriter: Constantine Holmes, age 7) The Four Square King (Director: Aaron Lockheart; Screenwriter: Aces Umlauf, age 9) The Game (Director: Blake Gilmore; Screenwriter: Kane Trundle, age 11) The Power Dangers (Director: Brandon Mowles: Screenwriter: Raffi, age 6) Trouble over Time (Director: Rose Nordberg; Screenwriter: Paige, age 10) Weird Things (Director: Shane Gallo; Screenwriters: Olivia Runco, age 7 and Xander Peachey, age 9)
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