This Israeli psychological drama Shelter, a film directed by Eran Riklis (The Lemon Tree, The Syrian Bride), will open in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre, Monica Film Center and Town Center 5 on April 6. Other cities will follow.
A subtle thriller set in Germany involving Mona, a Lebanese woman (played by Iranian-born, Paris-based star Golshifteh Farahani), and Naomi, an Israeli Mossad agent (Neta Riskin) sent to protect their informant who is recovering from plastic surgery to conceal her identity. Together for two weeks in a quiet apartment in Hamburg, the two women take us into a complex, multi-dimensional labyrinth of trust and mistrust, of honesty and deception, of loyalty and betrayal.
The intimacy of the relationship that develops between Mona and Naomi is exposed to the threat of terror that is engulfing the world today. In this game of deception, beliefs are questioned and choices are made that are not their own. And yet their fate takes a surprising turn in this suspense-laden, elegant neo-noir.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHHQ89_ldqI&feature=youtu.beTerry P.
VIMOOZ is for lovers of independent films + foreign film + documentary + film festivals. We love championing the little films.
-
Israeli Psychological Drama SHELTER Releases Trailer + Sets Release Dates
This Israeli psychological drama Shelter, a film directed by Eran Riklis (The Lemon Tree, The Syrian Bride), will open in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre, Monica Film Center and Town Center 5 on April 6. Other cities will follow.
A subtle thriller set in Germany involving Mona, a Lebanese woman (played by Iranian-born, Paris-based star Golshifteh Farahani), and Naomi, an Israeli Mossad agent (Neta Riskin) sent to protect their informant who is recovering from plastic surgery to conceal her identity. Together for two weeks in a quiet apartment in Hamburg, the two women take us into a complex, multi-dimensional labyrinth of trust and mistrust, of honesty and deception, of loyalty and betrayal.
The intimacy of the relationship that develops between Mona and Naomi is exposed to the threat of terror that is engulfing the world today. In this game of deception, beliefs are questioned and choices are made that are not their own. And yet their fate takes a surprising turn in this suspense-laden, elegant neo-noir.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHHQ89_ldqI&feature=youtu.be
-
2018 San Francisco International Film Festival Announces Lineup, Opens with “A Kid Like Jake”
[caption id="attachment_27573" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Claire Danes, Jim Parsons, and Leo James Davis appear in A Kid Like Jake by Silas Howard[/caption]
The complete lineup was unveiled today for the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival, running April 4 to 17. The festival will open with independent filmmaker Silas Howard’s drama A Kid Like Jake, starring Claire Danes, Jim Parsons, and Octavia Spencer; and Closing Night will be Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot, Gus Van Sant’s biopic of cartoonist John Callahan, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, and Jack Black. Van Sant.
A Kid Like Jake, directed by Silas Howard and adapted from Daniel Pearle’s lauded Off-Broadway play, is the most exceptional and timely of social dramas, exploring issues at the heart of multiple national debates with great intensity and sly humor. Pregnant Alex (Claire Danes) and her psychiatrist husband Greg (Jim Parsons) are anxiously navigating the minefield of New York’s exclusive private schools. Their young son Jake’s intelligence and imagination have helped him win impressive test scores, but he is also expressing a preference for what Judy (Octavia Spencer), the proprietor of his preschool, delicately describes as “gender-variant play,” ranging from imaginative cross-dressing to a slavish devotion to all things “princess.” While at first encouraged to play up their son’s possible transgender leanings so he might be considered a “diverse” candidate for a progressive school, the parents begin a round of self-questioning once Jake begins acting out when confronted with bullies and teachers looking for more normative behavior. A Kid Like Jake will be released theatrically this summer by IFC Films.
In the caustic and wickedly funny, Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot, celebrated quadriplegic Portland cartoonist John Callahan had a knack for depicting taboo subjects—especially people with physical disabilities—without political correctness. With an engrossing and shape-shifting performance by Joaquin Phoenix as Callahan, accompanied by scene-stealing support from Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, and Jack Black, Gus Van Sant’s (Milk, My Own Private Idaho) newest film follows the life of this troubled alcoholic who journeys from rock-bottom to an oddball AA group to ultimately channeling his demons into sometimes shocking and always humorous profane art.
The Festival’s 2018 award and tributes include honors for Wayne Wang (A Tribute to Wayne Wang), Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (George Gund III Craft of Cinema Award), Annette Insdorf (Mel Novikoff Award), and Nathaniel Dorsky (Persistence of Vision Award), along with the previously announced Tribute to Charlize Theron.
Special live events include Blonde Redhead performing live with Yasujiro Ozu’s I Was Born, But… , A Thousand Thoughts – A Live Documentary by Sam Green and Kronos Quartet, A Celebration of Oddball Films with Marc Capelle’s Red Room Orchestra, and the 2018 State of Cinema Address by Canadian iconoclast Guy Maddin.
-
THE ART OF THE SHINE, Documentary on World of Professional Shoe Shiners, to Premiere on PBS Independent Lens | Trailer
[caption id="attachment_27569" align="aligncenter" width="960"]
The Art of the Shine[/caption]
Stacey Tenenbaum’s joyous and quirky new documentary film, The Art of the Shine, that celebrates the art of shoe shining and the men and women who have chosen this unique career, will premiere on Independent Lens on Monday, April 9, 2018, 10:00 – 11:00 PM (check local listings) on PBS.
The Art of the Shine travels from Toronto to Paris to New York to La Paz and beyond, introducing viewers to shiners who share their feelings about their work. In Bolivia, where shining is looked down upon, shiners wear masks so their classmates and neighbors won’t know what they do for a living. In Sarajevo, we meet Ramiz, the last shoe shiner in the city. Ramiz inherited his job from his father, who was beloved — during the Bosnian war, the simple act of getting one’s shoes shined was seen as an act of resistance and a statement of hope.
With a renewed interest in all things ‘retro,’ shining is slowly becoming hip again. In cities like New York, Toronto, and Tokyo, the job is attracting younger people who are working to elevate the profession and give it a newfound cachet. Some are turning the trade into an art form, hand-painting luxury shoes to create custom patinas and designs. In Tokyo, the dapper Yuya purveys a seriously high-end shine that takes an hour and is accompanied by a flute of champagne. Others, like Vincent in Toronto, find shoe shining an effective form of therapy.
In New York, we meet Kevin and his crew, all recovering alcoholics, who he calls his “sober shoe shine gang.” Together they’ve found not only sobriety but a way of life that’s artistically and socially fulfilling. Says Kevin: “I feel like I have the secret to life.” Don, who works from a cart on Fifth Avenue, would probably agree. A former accountant and baker, he gave up the stressful 9-to-5 routine for shoe shining and has never looked back. Joking with people on the street and chatting with his harried customers, Don wouldn’t trade his life for theirs. “This is freedom. It pays the bills and I’m free. I think I live a happier life – I stopped chasing my tail.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7GqRJduyPo
-
Tamer El Said’s Arab Uprising Drama IN THE LAST DAYS OF THE CITY Gets Release Date | Trailer
[caption id="attachment_16180" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
In the Last Days of the City – Tamer El Said[/caption]
In The Last Days Of The City, the debut feature of filmmaker Tamer El Said, tells the fictional story of a filmmaker from downtown Cairo played by Khalid Abdalla (The Kite Runner, The Square) as he struggles to capture the soul of a city on edge while facing loss in his own life.
Winner of the Caligari Award (Berlinale Forum), the film has screened at over 120 film festivals worldwide and will open at MoMA in New York on April 27 and at Laemmle Monica Film Center in Los Angeles on May 11th. Other cities will follow.
In The Last Days Of The City is a haunting, lyrical chronicle of recent years in the Arab world where revolutions seemed to spark hope for change and yield further instability in one stroke. Khalid Abdalla (The Kite Runner, The Square), plays the protagonist – a filmmaker in Cairo attempting to capture the zeitgeist of his city as the world changes around him – from personal love and loss, to the fall of the Mubarak regime. Throughout, friends send footage and stories from Berlin, Baghdad, and Beirut, creating a powerful, multilayered meditation on the meaning of homeland. Shot during the two years before the outbreak of revolution in Egypt, the film’s multi-layered stories are a visually rich exploration of friendship, loneliness and life in cities shaped by the shadows of war and adversity.
-
Tribeca 2018: James Gardner’s JELLYFISH Acquired by Bankside Films
[caption id="attachment_27560" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Liv Hill as Sarah Talor in JELLYFISH. Photo credit: Dan Atherton.[/caption]
Jellyfish which will have its world premiere screening in the View Points section at the forthcoming Tribeca Film Festival in New York, has been acquired by Bankside Films.
Directed by James Gardner, from a script which he co-wrote with Simon Lord, Jellyfish tells the story of a teenage carer who discovers a hidden talent for stand-up comedy. James Gardner’s previous work includes short films Barry Glitter and Ferris and The Fancy Pigeon.
Between being bullied at school, put upon by her overbearing boss at the local amusement arcade and having to look after her younger brother, sister and emotionally unstable mother, life isn’t easy for Sarah Taylor. However, when Sarah’s drama teacher channels her ferocious and volatile energies in to a stand-up comedy routine for the graduation showcase, Sarah discovers that she may have a hidden talent. As her love for comedy grows and the showcase draws nearer, the delicate balance in her life becomes increasingly difficult to maintain. Little by little the walls start to close in, ultimately forcing her to choose between her responsibilities as a carer and her newfound passion for comedy.
Jellyfish stars newcomer, Liv Hill (The Little Stranger) who delivers a mesmerizing performance as Sarah which is bound to announce her as one of the UK’s most exciting new talents. Additional cast includes Sinead Matthew (Mr. Turner) and BAFTA award nominee, Cyril Nri (Cucumber).
Nikolas Holttum serves as producer and arranged production finance.
James Gardner, the director, said “Little films can do big things and little films matter. Since finding us on the Edinburgh works-in-progress lab last year, the team at Bankside have shown nothing but unrelenting enthusiasm for Jellyfish, respecting the integrity of my vision for the film, while enabling it to find its biggest possible audience. To be working with such a well-respected sales company on my first feature film, and for it to be premiering at Tribeca, still feels a bit surreal, but I’m thrilled it’s happening and I look forward to continuing to develop our relationship with my next feature-film projects.”
Stephen Kelliher, Director at Bankside Films, added, “We were blown away by James Gardner’s intensely moving debut feature which announces him as compelling new voice in British cinema as well as introducing a super star in the making in Liv Hill. The film speaks directly to the times in which we live and we are thrilled to be introducing the film to the world at the forthcoming Tribeca Film Festival.”
-
SXSW 2018: “Thunder Road” and “People’s Republic of Desire” Win Top Jury Awards
[caption id="attachment_27557" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Thunder Road – Jim Cummings[/caption]
The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival last night announced the 2018 Jury and Special Award winners of the SXSW Film Festival Awards at the awards ceremony hosted by actor and comedian Jim Gaffigan. Thunder Road directed by Jim Cummings won the award for Best Narrative Feature Film, and People’s Republic of Desire directed by Hao Wu won the award for Best Documentary Feature Film.
SXSW continues showing films through Saturday, March 17.
2018 SXSW Film Festival Awards:
Feature Film Grand Jury Awards
NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION Winner: Thunder Road Director: Jim Cummings Special Jury Recognition For First Feature: The New Romantic Director: Carly Stone Special Jury Recognition for Writing: Jinn Director/Screenwriter: Niljla Mu’min DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION Winner: People’s Republic of Desire Directors: Hao Wu Special Jury Recognition for Best Cast: This One’s For The Ladies Director: Gene Graham Special Jury Recognition for Best Feminist Reconsideration of a Male Artist: Garry Winogrand: All Things are Photographable Director: Sasha Waters FreyerShort Film Grand Jury Awards
NARRATIVE SHORTS Winner: Emergency Director: Carey Williams Special Jury Recognition for Acting: Actor: Shirley Chen from Krista DOCUMENTARY SHORTS Winner: My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes Director: Charlie Tyrell MIDNIGHT SHORTS Winner: Milk Director: Santiago Menghini ANIMATED SHORTS Winner: Agua Viva Directors: Alexa Lim Haas Special Jury Recognition: JEOM Director: Kangmin Kim MUSIC VIDEOS Winner: “Second Hand Lovers” – Oren Laviev Director: Oren Lavie Special Jury Recognition for Acting: “Territory” – The Blaze Director: The Blaze TEXAS SHORTS Winner: An Uncertain Future Director: Iliana Sosa & Chelsea Hernandez TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL SHORTS Winner: The Night I Lost My Favorite Jacket Director: Jenna Krumerman Special Jury Recognition: CCISD Strong Director: Sofia Rasmussen INDEPENDENT EPISODICS Winner: Beast Director: Ben Strang Special Jury Recognition: She’s the Ticket Director: Nadia HallgrenSXSW Film Design Awards
EXCELLENCE IN POSTER DESIGN Winner: The Gospel of Eureka Designer: Matt Taylor Special Jury Recognition: A Little Wisdom Designer: Adam Zhu EXCELLENCE IN TITLE DESIGN Winner: Counterpart Director: Karin Fong Special Jury Recognition: Godless Director: John LikensSXSW Special Awards
SXSW LUNA® Gamechanger Award – Narrative Winner: First Match Director: Olivia Newman Special Jury Recognition: Unlovable Director: Suzi Yoonessi SXSW LUNA® Chicken & Egg Award – Documentary Winner: On Her Shoulders Director: Alexandria Bombach Special Jury Recognition: ¡Las Sandinistas! Director: Jenny Murray SXSW Louis Black “Lone Star” Award To honor SXSW co-founder/director Louis Black, a jury prize was created in 2011 called the Louis Black “Lone Star” Award, to be awarded to a Texas film in content, filmmaker residency, or primary shooting location. (Opt-in Award) Louis Black “Lone Star” Award Winner: Daughters of the Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Director: Dana Adam Shapiro SXSW Adam Yauch Hörnblowér Award In honor of a filmmaker whose work strives to be wholly its own, without regard for norms or desire to conform. The Adam Yauch Hörnblowér Award is presented to a filmmaker from our Visions screening category. SXSW Adam Yauch Hörnblowér Award Presented to: Prospect directed by Zeek Earl & Chris Caldwell Vimeo Staff Picks Award In celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the Staff Picks channel, Vimeo Staff Pick Award here at SXSW. Films featured in the Narrative, Documentary, Animation, and Texas Shorts competitions are eligible for this award, which includes a $5,000 cash prize and, of course, a Vimeo Staff Pick. The Winning film will be released on Vimeo on Wednesday, March 14. Vimeo Staff Picks Award Presented to: Krista directed by Danny Madden SXSW Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship Presentation The Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship is a year-long experience that encourages and champions the talent of an emerging documentary editor. Awarded annually, the fellowship was created to honor the memory of gifted editor Karen Schmeer. Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship Presented to: Kristin Bye for X
-
SFFILM Launch Program to Feature World Premiere of 5 Documentaries on 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival Lineup
[caption id="attachment_27553" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
The Rescue List[/caption]
SFFILM’s Launch program returns to the San Francisco International Film Festival to provide a platform for a select group of exceptional films just beginning their distribution journey.
In Launch’s second year, five documentary features within the official lineup of the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival have been selected to have their world premieres.
LAUNCH TITLES AT 2018 SFFILM FESTIVAL
The Human Element (Matthew Testa, USA, 80 min) – World Premiere American photographer James Balog has been tracking human-caused changes to our planet for over 35 years. Disturbed and motivated by what he has seen, The Human Element documents how the earth’s four elements–water, air, fire, and earth–have all been impacted by a fifth element, homo sapiens. With breathtakingly rich and innovative photography, he illustrates issues ranging from rising sea levels to pollution’s impact on asthma cases to focus us on a call for change. The Rescue List (Alyssa Fedele and Zachary Fink, USA/Ghana, 80 min) – World Premiere Lake Volta in Ghana is the largest man-made lake in the world; it is also notorious as a locale for forced child labor. Bay Area filmmakers Alyssa Fedele and Zachary Fink’s beautifully shot documentary charts the courageous efforts of a local safe house to rescue the kids, give them schooling and therapy, and prepare them for reintegration into their families. Though it contains many intimate and moving moments with the children, the star of the film is real life hero Kwame, who initiates several dramatic rescues. Tre Maison Dasan (Denali Tiller, USA, 94 min) – World Premiere Tre, Maison, and Dasan are three boys who all share something in common–one of their parents is in jail. Following their separate lives through boyhood and weaving their stories together, first-time documentary filmmaker Denali Tiller tenderly observes each youngster’s life, as the kids come to understand more about the world around them. Capturing loving, frustrating, and heart wrenching moments between parent and child, Tre Maison Dasan approaches the issue of mass-incarceration by exposing the effects of the criminal justice system on young men. Ulam: Main Dish (Alexandra Cuerdo, USA, 80 min) – World Premiere For lovers of food documentaries like Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011) and the Chef’s Table series, Ulam: Main Dish will come as a welcome and fresh addition. The film centers on the honest struggle for authenticity and respect for a cuisine often marginalized by the food world. Deploying rousing interviews with owners, restaurateurs, top chefs, as well as mouth-watering dishes placed front and center, filmmaker Alexandra Cuerdo follows the heartaches and triumphs of contemporary chefs that seek a place for their culture at the dinner table, one dish at a time. Wrestle (Suzannah Herbert, USA, 96 min) – World Premiere Jamario, Jaquon, Jailen, and Teague are teammates on the J.O. Johnson High School wrestling team in Huntsville, Alabama. Led by their passionate coach, they are trying to qualify for the State Championships but the pressures outside of the ring–emotional breakdowns, racial profiling by the police, teenage pregnancy–are mounting for each of the young men. Over the course of the season, director Suzannah Herbert gracefully follow each of them, showing that the sport is what keeps them focused and in control of their lives.
-
FILMWORKER -Documentary on Stanley Kubrick’s Long-Time Assistant Leon Vitali, Sets Release Date
[caption id="attachment_24418" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Filmworker[/caption]
Filmworker, a documentary film directed by Tony Zierra about Stanley Kubrick’s long-time assistant Leon Vitali, will open at the Metrograph in New York on May 11th, and at the Nuart in Los Angeles on May 18th, followed by a national rollout. The film world premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and went on to screen at numerous international film festivals including Telluride, the New York Film Festival and the AFI Fest.
It’s a rare person who would give up fame and fortune to dedicated himself to someone else’s creative vision. Yet, that’s exactly what Leon Vitali did after his acclaimed performance as ‘Lord Bullingdon” in Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon. After appearing in Barry Lyndon, prestigious job offers poured in from film, television and stage, but Leon turned them all down to take on the role of assistant to the master filmmaker. It would prove to be an extraordinary, intense, often arduous journey that would push Leon to his limit and beyond. The young actor surrendered his thriving career to become Kubrick’s loyal right-hand man.
For more than two decades, Leon played a crucial role behind-the-scenes helping Kubrick make and maintain his legendary body of work. In Filmworker, Leon’s candid and often funny experiences in the company of the notoriously private Kubrick are woven together with rich and varied elements including previously unseen photos, videos, letters, notebooks, and memos from Leon’s private collection of Kubrick artifacts. Insightful, emotionally charged anecdotes from actors, family, crew members, and key film industry professionals who worked with Kubrick and Leon add an important layer of detail and impact to the story.
On what would turn out to be Kubrick’s final film, Eyes Wide Shut, Leon was stretched to the limit carrying out double duties. Not only did he attend to countless production tasks, he also gave a stellar performance as the imperious ‘Red Cloak’. Kubrick’s sudden death in the midst of putting the final touches on Eyes Wide Shut left chaos in its wake. Without Kubrick’s unassailable leadership, confusion reigned. Exhausted, ill, and grief-stricken over the loss of the man whose dynamic presence had been his driving force for decades, Leon threw himself into a tough and constant battle to keep Kubrick’s uncompromising standards alive.
Filmworker enters the world of Leon Vitali and Stanley Kubrick from a unique perspective that highlights the nitty-gritty of the creative process. By experiencing Leon’s journey we come to understand how the mundane gives rise to the magnificent as timeless filmmaking is brought to life at its most practical and profound level. Leon’s story is uniquely his own, but this chronicle of one artist who chose to serve another stands as a testament to the legions of unsung heroes whose names shine for a brief moment as the credits roll.
-
“Ice Mother” and “Science Fair” Win Top Audience Awards at 41st Portland International Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_27542" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Ice Mother[/caption]
Ice Mother (Czech Republic) directed by Bohdan Sláma and Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster’s Science Fair (United States) snagged the top audience accolades at the 41st Portland International Film Festival. Ice Mother won the award for Best Narrative Feature and Science Fair took the Best Documentary Feature award.
Director Ryôta Nakano is the winner of this year’s Best New Director award for his debut feature, Her Love Boils Bathwater (Japan). Tehran Taboo (Austria/Germany) director Ali Soozandeh takes home the Audience Award for Best Animated Feature. This year’s Best International Short Film Award goes to director Britt Raes for her film Catherine (Belgium). Portland-based director Dawn Jones Redstone’s film We Have Our Ways is the recipient of the Best Oregon Short Film Award.
Best Narrative Feature
1. Ice Mother / Czech Republic/France/Slovakia / dir. Bohdan Sláma *winner Best Narrative Feature 2. A Taxi Driver / South Korea / dir. Hun Jang 3. Foxtrot / Israel/Switzerland/Germany/France / dir. Samuel MaozBest Documentary Feature
1. Science Fair / United States / dir. Cristina Costantini, Darren Foster *winner Best Documentary Feature 2. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? / United States / dir. Morgan Neville 3. Soufra / Lebanon/United States/Singapore / dir. Thomas A. MorganBest New Director
1. Her Love Boils Bathwater / Japan / dir. Ryôta Nakano *winner Best New Director 2. Bad Genius / Thailand / dir. Nattawut Poonpiriya 3. The Rider / United States / dir. Chloé ZhaoBest Animated Feature
1. Tehran Taboo / Austria/Germany / dir. Ali Soozandeh *winner Best Animated Feature 2. The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales / France / dir. Benjamin Renner, Patrick Imbert 3. Big Fish & Begonia / China / dir. Xuan Liang, Chun ZhanBest International Short Film
1. Catherine / Belgium / dir. Britt Raes *winner Best International Short Film 2. World of Tomorrow Episode Two / United States / dir. Don Hertzfeldt 3. Edith & Eddie / United States / dir. Laura CheckowayBest Oregon Short Film
1. We Have Our Ways / Portland, OR / dir. Dawn Jones Redstone *winner Best Oregon Short Film 2. Lovely Legs / Portland, OR / dir. Abby Thompson 3. Two Balloons / Portland, OR / dir. Mark SmithBest of Masters sidebar
On Body and Soul / Hungary / dir. Ildikó EnyediBest of PIFF After Dark sidebar
Bodied / United States / dir. Joseph KahnBest of Ways of Seeing sidebar
The Nothing Factory / Portugal / dir. Pedro PinhoBest of Films for Families sidebar
Science Fair / United States / dir. Cristina Costantini, Darren FosterBest of Global Panorama sidebar
A Taxi Driver / South Korea / dir. Hun Jang
-
2018 Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival in NYC Announces Lineup, “Men Don’t Cry” “Birds Like Us” and More…
[caption id="attachment_25619" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Men Don’t Cry[/caption]
A total of 15 films will screen at the 2018 Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival (BHFF), along with a series of Q&A and discussion panels with filmmakers. The festival will run from Wednesday, April 11 through Saturday, April 14 at two Manhattan venues.
The BHFF will kick off with a special event on Wednesday, April 11, with a screening and discussion panel at Anthology Film Archives before moving to the SVA Theatre for three exciting nights featuring screenings, events with with filmmakers, and much more.
This year’s program will feature the work of 7 women directors, and brings to New York City both innovative young filmmakers, as well as established regional names including renowned director and screenwriter Aida Begić, and legendary actor Emir Hadžihafizbegović.
The fifteenth annual BHFF and will consist of five narrative feature films, four narrative shorts and six documentary films. All films selected to screen at the 15th Annual BHFF program are eligible to win a number of honors including the Golden Apple audience and jury awards. Films in competition are:
FEATURE FILMS
Birds Like Us | Faruk Šabanović, Amela Ćuhara | 84 min A group of birds are unceremoniously evicted from their home tree after a brave couple attempts to disrupt the community’s unique and unsettling social contract. Featuring Oscar winners Jeremy Irons and Alicia Vikander, and music by Peter Gabriel. The Frog (Žaba) | Elmir Jukić | 78 Minutes Zeko, a barber and a veteran, finds himself prone to violent fits resulting from post-traumatic stress disorder. Zeko attempts to reassemble the pieces of his life by reaching out to his brother Braco, who struggles with his own demons. Men Don’t Cry (Muškarci ne plaču) | Alen Drljević | 98 Minutes Twenty years after the conclusion of the Bosnian War, a diverse group of men meet to discuss their experiences and process the events that shaped their lives decades ago. Never Leave Me (Bırakma Beni) | Aida Begić | 97 min A group of young Syrian children try to overcome war trauma, and adjust to refugee life in Turkey. Nothing but the Wind (Ništa, samo vjetar) | Timur Makarević | 87 min If home is where the heart is, Bosnian-born Swede Vedran is conflicted about both. Forced to revisit his hometown of Sarajevo 18 years after departing, he must accept the changes the visit brings to him.SHORT FILMS
Great Wall of China (Kineski zid) | Aleksandra Odić | 36 min The legacy of the conflicts of the 1990s lurks in the background of a family gathering in the Bosnian countryside, as experienced by Maja, a young girl. Hedgehog’s Home (Ježeva kućica) | Eva Cvijanović | 10 min An interpretation of Branko Ćopić’s story of the same name, this animated short focuses on a hedgehog who is both envied and respected by other animals. Hedgehog’s Home is narrated by Rade Šerbedžija of Eyes Wide Shut, and Mission impossible: 2. Pink Elephant | Ado Hasanović | 17 min A secret suddenly breaks open when a daughter returns home from abroad, in this laugh-out-loud funny short about generational clashes. Stalemate | Amir Karagić | 13 min Mike, a middle-aged chef from Amsterdam, sits down to a game of chess with his estranged millennial son. A power battle ensues. Winter Sun (Zimsko sunce) | Pilar Palomero | 37 min Nana, who is eighty years old, is in need of a surgery. To have it, she and her husband must leave their home in the small village of Hrsa, in this an intimate look at this couple’s struggles to navigate a daunting healthcare system.DOCUMENTARY FILMS
Što te nema | Rialda Zukić | 8 min This documentary reflects on the recent incarnation in Boston’s iconic Copley Square of Što te nema, a “nomadic monument” held each July 11 that is dedicated to the 8,372 victims of the Srebrenica genocide. Scream for Me Sarajevo | Tarik Hodžić | 95 min A look back at the 1994 Iron Maiden concert in Sarajevo and what it took to make it happen as the city and its inhabitants were struggling through the three-year siege. To Be Far (Biti daleko) | Samira Kameli, Sajra Subašić | 9 min Samira, a documentarian from Iran, has traveled to Sarajevo to make a film. Attempting to connect with the country and its people, she seeks out others who have traveled great distances to be there, but encounters difficulties upon attempting to film at a refugee center. Two Schools (Dvije škole) | Srđan Šarenac | 43 min This documentary explores the Travnik Gymnasium, which, following the war in Bosnia, has been divided into two separate schools that share the same building. The annual Christmas football tournament is the only time when children from both sides of the school get a chance to interact with one another. [caption id="attachment_27539" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
Undercovered[/caption]
Undercovered | Nejra Latić Hulušić, Sabrina Begović-Čorić | 53 min
Undercovered deals with six young Bosnian women from different spheres of life who decide to wear the headscarf as expression of their religion and identity.
Winter Sun (Zimsko sunce) | Pilar Palomero | 37 min
Nana, who is eighty years old, is in need of a surgery. To have it, she and her husband must leave their home in the small village of Hrsa, in this an intimate look at this couple’s struggles to navigate a daunting healthcare system.
The BHFF also presents a jury award for Best Acting Performance, awarded to an actor or actress in a lead or supporting role in any of the narrative short and feature films. The festival extend the following nominations for the BHFF 2018 Jury Award for Best Acting Performance to:
Emir Hadžihafizbegović, lead actor in the role of Zeko in The Frog
Ermin Bravo, lead actor in the role of Ahmed in Men Don’t Cry
Elena Matić, lead actress in the role of Maja in Great Wall of China
Boris Glibusić, lead actor in the role of Vedran in Nothing but the Wind
Izudin Bajrović, supporting actor in the role of Sead in Pink Elephant
Jasna Žalica, supporting actress in the role of Zlata in Pink Elephant
Isa Demlakhi, lead actor in the role of Isa in Never Leave Me
Emir Hadžihafizbegović, lead actor in the role of Merim in Men Don’t Cry
-
5 Scientists Explore Some of the Most Spectacular Places on Earth in Trailer for “The Serengeti Rules”
[caption id="attachment_27521" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
“Bob Paine (played by Matthieson McCrae) explores the Pacific Northwest in search of a natural laboratory.” From THE SERENGETI RULES. Photo credit: Nicolas Brown.[/caption]
Check out the beautiful and breath-taking trailer for The Serengeti Rules, a film that follows five pioneering scientists exploring some of the most remote and spectacular places on Earth.
Directed by Emmy and BAFTA award-winning filmmaker Nicolas Brown, The Serengeti Rules, will world premiere at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.
Beginning in the 1960s, a small band of young scientists headed out into the wilderness, driven by an insatiable curiosity about how nature works. Immersed in some of the most remote and spectacular places on Earth—from the majestic Serengeti to the Amazon jungle; from the Arctic Ocean to Pacific tide pools—they discovered a single set of rules that govern all life. Now in the twilight of their eminent careers, these five unsung heroes of modern ecology—Bob Paine, Jim Estes, Mary Power, Tony Sinclair, and John Terborgh—share the stories of their adventures, and how their pioneering work flipped our view of nature on its head. Across the globe, they discovered that among the millions of species on our planet, some are far more important than others. They called these species “keystones,” because they hold the natural world together. The role of keystones is both revelatory and surprising: sea otters help kelp forests flourish, supporting everything from salmon to eagles; wolves enable rivers to run clear and help forests thrive; and the humble wildebeest controls the numbers of trees, butterflies, elephants, and even giraffes on the savanna.
Unfortunately, these deep connections also work in reverse. When keystones are removed, ecosystems unravel and collapse—a phenomenon no one had imagined—or understood until their revolutionary discoveries. But with new knowledge also comes new hope, and these same visionaries reveal the remarkable resilience of nature—and how the rules they discovered can be used to upgrade and restore the natural world. They give us the chance to reimagine the world as it could and should be.
Based on the book by Sean B. Carroll, The Serengeti Rules will forever change the way we see nature. The film will be accompanied by a media and impact campaign to shine a light on restoration projects across the world.

Today the Florida Film Festival announced the program lineup of 183 films representing 38 countries, for the 27th Annual Festival, taking place April 6 to 15, 2018, in Maitland and Winter Park, Florida. The festival will open with