Terry P.

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

2015 TIFF Kids Program Incl. World Premiere of Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant with Jennifer Aniston

The Toronto International Film Festival will present an international selection of family-friendly films as part of the 2015 TIFF Kids program. The lineup opens a world of cultural perspectives for young festival-goers, presenting everything from animated adventures to touching coming-of-age stories. The 2015 TIFF Kids program boasts the world premiere of the remastered and expanded Brad Bird classic The Iron Giant with performances from Jennifer Aniston and Harry Connick Jr. The Boy and the Beast (Bakemono no ko) Mamoru Hosoda, Japan International Premiere A young boy in modern-day Tokyo stumbles into an alternate dimension and becomes the apprentice to a bearlike warrior, in this stunning animated fantasy from writer-director Mamoru Hosoda. Cast includes Koji Yakusho and Aoi Miyazaki. Recommended for ages 11 and up. My Skinny Sister (Min lilla syster) Sanna Lenken, Sweden/Germany Canadian Premiere Just as Stella enters the exciting world of adolescence, she discovers that her big sister and role model Katja is hiding an eating disorder. The disease slowly tears the family apart. A story about jealousy, love and betrayal told with warmth, depth and laughter. Starring Rebecka Josephson, Amy Deasismont and Annika Hallin. Recommended for ages 11 and up. Phantom Boy Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli, France/Belgium North American Premiere From the Academy Award-nominated directors of A Cat in Paris comes a thrilling new adventure. An 11-year-old boy named Leo, becomes an unlikely superhero when he discovers that he has the ability to leave his body and fly through walls. When a nefarious gangster takes control of New York’s power supply, only he can save the city. Cast includes Audrey Tautou, Édouard Baer and JeanPierre Marielle. Recommended for ages 10 and up. The Iron Giant: Signature Edition (pictured above) Brad Bird, USA World Premiere Remastered and enhanced with two new scenes, the modern animated classic about a young boy befriending a gigantic space robot returns to enchant a new generation of audiences. Cast includes Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick, Jr., Vin Diesel and Eli Marienthal. Recommended for ages 7 and up.
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7th Milwaukee Film Festival Lineup for Art + Artists Program; Incl. U.S. Premiere of Nicola Costantino: The Artefacta | TRAILER

The 7th Milwaukee Film Festival, announced its lineup for Art + Artists. Now in its second year, the Art + Artists program features a selection of films that explore and celebrate creativity in the performing and visual arts. “Milwaukee art lovers are going to have a lot to choose from at the festival this year—from visual art, opera and experimental film to cartoons and stand-up comedy,” explains Kristopher Pollard, Milwaukee Film Membership Manager and Art + Artists Programmer. Art + Artists will feature the U.S. Premiere of the Argentinian film Nicola Costantino: The Artefacta (pictured above). One of the most controversial artists in Latin America, Costantino’s photography, sculpture and performance art utilize unconventional materials to evince social commentary. Film Subject Nicola Costantino and Director Natalie Cristiani are scheduled to appear at the Milwaukee Film Festival for the U.S. Premiere screening of the film. “Costantino is a vital presence in the South American art world, and this film will introduce a U.S. audience to her life as well as her provocative and sometimes controversial work,” says Pollard. An additional highlight of the program is Bobcat Goldthwait’s new film, Call Me Lucky, a documentary about comedy icon Barry Crimmons. A longtime friend of the legendary comic, Goldthwait interviews some of Crimmons’ biggest fans including Marc Maron, Patton Oswalt and David Cross. “Crimmons is a loud, pissed-off and important voice, not only for the world of stand-up, but for the country in general,” explains Pollard. New this year to the program is a single artist showcase of work from media artist Jesse McLean, who is scheduled to appear at the festival. The program, Mediated Realities: Videos by Jesse McLean, will feature her latest film, I’m in Pittsburgh and It’s Raining, which recently won first prize at the Onion City Experimental Film & Video Festival. 2015 MILWAUKEE FILM FESTIVAL ART + ARTISTS Go into the studio, around the work, and deep into the visionary mind with these films featuring iconic artists, artistic mediums, and everyday creative explorations. Almost There (USA / 2014 / Directors: Dan Rybicky, Aaron Wickenden) A thought-provoking documentary about outsider art perfect for fans of MFF14’s Art and Craft, Almost There is the eight-year Midwestern odyssey of two filmmakers and the 83-year-old artist they’ve discovered. Peter Anton is as outside as an artist could possibly get — living in a home literally crumbling around him and surrounded by personal diaries of collage art. It takes the efforts of filmmakers Dan Rybicky and Aaron Wickenden to secure him his first gallery show. But controversy follows when information about Anton’s complex history comes to light, secrets that whisk him out of his childhood home and into elder care. https://vimeo.com/109723683 Call Me Lucky (USA / 2015 / Director: Bobcat Goldthwait) A loving documentary tribute to an acerbic comedic voice ahead of its time, Call Me Lucky is an insightful portrait of comedian-turned-humanitarian Barry Crimmins. Known for politically incisive satire (his two main targets: the U.S. government and the Catholic church) and the formation of the Boston comedy scene where he helped break numerous comedic talents, Crimmins’ tortured past led him out of the world of comedy and directly to Capitol Hill. Directed by close friend Bobcat Goldthwait and filled with comedians he influenced (Marc Maron, Patton Oswalt, David Cross), this is a personality profile of a comedic legend who channeled his pain into humor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FChmOC-Qjw Iris (USA / 2014 / Director: Albert Maysles) One of the last works from the legendary documentarian Albert Maysles (Grey Gardens, Gimme Shelter) allows an intimate glimpse into the private life of the vibrant, energetic nonagenarian fashion icon Iris Apfel, now 93 years young and still going strong. A character study of a genuine character, the film follows Iris from gala art events to the flea markets where she makes her finds, all the while finding rich insights into her philosophy on life and fashion — a philosophy that values individuality and creativity above all else. After all, as Iris says, “It’s better to be happy than well dressed.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIG2AoiHszY Magicarena (Italy / 2014 / Directors: Niccolò Bruna, Andrea Prandstraller) A performance being held in the remarkable Verona Arena (an awe-inspiringly gorgeous first-century Roman amphitheater) must be equal to its setting, and Spanish theater group La Fura dels Baus’ production of Verdi’s Aida on the bicentennial of Verdi’s birth certainly fits the bill. Mimes, musicians, accomplished opera singers and a flotilla of set, costume and prop designers set forth to bring this sweeping vision to life, and we’re with them every step of the way. From initial auditions to opening night, this fascinating documentary shows the blood, sweat and tears involved in such a massive undertaking, with set disasters threatening to unravel the epic production at every turn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3YenwP_c_Y Mediated Realities: Videos by Jesse McLean (USA / 2008-2015 / Director: Jesse McLean) This special presentation of works by leading avant-garde filmmaker Jesse McLean showcases her deep curiosity about human behavior and relationships, especially as presented and observed through mediated images. Through deft use of collage, each of McLean’s videos subtly questions viewers’ associations with the information we consume daily, while reimagining a world in which everyday media tropes are reclaimed and transformed. Clip from I’m in Pittsburgh and It’s Raining https://vimeo.com/130942011 Nicola Costantino: The Artefacta (Argentina / 2015 / Director: Natalie Cristiani) One of Latin America’s most celebrated and controversial visual artists is the subject of this fascinating cinematic tribute: Nicola Costantino: The Artefacta. Following this provocateur as she prepares her work for the 55th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, we’re given a behind-the-scenes look at the process behind her macabre works of genius — be it turning her own liposuctioned fat into bars of soap or her series of fetal animals compressed into perfect spheres. Join us for the U.S. premiere of this documentary on an artist whose work reckons with Argentina’s violent history and provokes responses both thoughtful and visceral. https://vimeo.com/121268676 Station to Station (USA / 2015 / Director: Doug Aitken) A runaway train barreling through concepts of modern creativity, Doug Aitken’s Station to Station is a cross-country journey divided into 62 individual one-minute films, featuring an ever-mutating landscape of artists, places, and perspectives that all converge in this wild panoply of artistic expression. Be it Beck performing alongside a gospel choir in the Mojave Desert or other performers such as Cat Power, Thurston Moore, Patti Smith, or Kenneth Anger, this documentary is a must-see for fans of music and art alike, an amazing cross-section of people and places. https://vimeo.com/79329869 Very Semi-Serious (USA / 2015 / Director: Leah Wolchok) The New Yorker has been a cultural institution for over 90 years, combining journalism, cultural criticism and literary fiction in a dazzling blend that has captivated readers. But perhaps most famous of all are its cartoons, single-panel salvos fired at the myriad absurdities of modern life from icons such as James Thurber, Charles Addams and Roz Chast. With editor Bob Mankoff (himself the spitting image of a loosely drawn single-panel character) as our tour guide, the hilarious documentary Very Semi-Serious takes us through the hallways of this venerable institution and introduces us to the quirky creatives behind the cartoons. https://vimeo.com/67244072
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24 Feature Films Selected for 26th New Orleans Film Festival Competition Lineup

The 26th New Orleans Film Festival (NOFF), taking place October 14 to 22, 2015, revealed the 24 feature films selected for competition: eight films in the Narrative Films in Competition category, seven films in the Documentary Films in Competition category and nine films in the Louisiana Features category. NARRATIVE FEATURES (IN COMPETITION) “Cover Me” (dir. Garrett Bradley | USA | 2015 | 60 min. | Louisiana Premiere) A young musician grapples with isolation in a changing landscape as it permeates her romantic relationships and artistic career. This film is the result of a remarkable artistic collaboration between director Bradley and avant-garde artist Tameka Norris, who plays the leading role in the picture. (Also in competition as a Louisiana Feature.) “Cowards Do It Slow” (dir. Sean Loftus & Michael Padraic Scahill | USA | 2015 | 99 min. | World Premiere) A love letter to American films of the 1970s and late-night bar culture, “Cowards Do It Slow” looks into the funny, dark heart of an aspiring country singer, a Kentucky boy trying to take his career to the next level as he drunkenly stumbles through the Chicago nightlife and holds on to the spoils that come with it. “Driving While Black” (dir. Paul Sapiano | USA | 2015 | 94 min. | Louisiana Premiere) A dark comedy about racial profiling, “Driving While Black” follows Dimitri (played by Dominique Purdy, who also co-wrote the script), who delivers pizzas for a living in Los Angeles. But as a young black man, he is faced with more than his fair share of unnecessary attention from the cops. “Embers” (dir. Claire Carré | USA, Poland | 2015 | 86 min. | Southern Premiere) After a global neurological epidemic, those who remain search for meaning and connection in a world without memory. Five interwoven stories explore how we might learn, love and communicate in a future that has no past. “French Dirty” (dir. Wade Allain-Marcus & Jesse Allain-Marcus | USA | 2015 | 72 min. | Southern Premiere) Against the skyline of Los Angeles, Vincent ruminates on his parents’ failed marriage, his own arrested development and the choice he must make to become a better man. “It Had To Be You” (dir. Sasha Gordon | USA, Italy | 2015 | 83 min. | Louisiana premiere) Surprised by a sudden proposal and subsequent ultimatum from her boyfriend, Sonia has three days to decide which path her life will take. A whimsical romantic comedy that’s raunchy and yet gentle, “It Had To Be You” explores the choices women face today, while satirizing cultural expectations of gender and romance. “Jackie Boy” (dir. Cody Campanale | Canada | 2015 | 87 min. | World Premiere) This gritty character drama centers on Jack, a self-destructive womanizer who substitutes his emotional insecurities with drinks, drugs and one-night stands. It’s only when he meets fiery, spirited Jasmine that he decides to change his ways. Little does he know she has something different in mind. “Jason and Shirley” (dir. Stephen Winter | USA | 2015 | 79 min. | Louisiana Premiere) (pictured in main image above) “Jason and Shirley” imagines what went on behind the scenes during the filming of the landmark 1967 documentary “Portrait of Jason,” as Jason Holliday regales filmmaker Shirley Clarke with stories of racism, homophobia, abuse and prostitution in pre-Stonewall New York City. DOCUMENTARY FEATURES (IN COMPETITION) “Deal With It” (dir. Shamira Raphaëla | The Netherlands | 2014 | 58 min. | Southern Premiere) In this intimate family portrait, we enter the chaotic and colorful world of director Shamira Raphaëla’s loved ones: her drug-addicted father, Pempy, and her brother, Andy, who is following in his father’s footsteps. “Deal With It” is a raw and personal film about destructive family patterns and unconditional love. “Hotel Nueva Isla” (dir. Irene Gutierrez | Spain, Cuba | 2014 | 71 min. | Louisiana Premiere) Despite the building’s imminent collapse, the last inhabitant of a once luxurious hotel in Old Havana refuses to leave: he remains convinced that treasures—hidden by the hotel’s original owners—lie waiting within its walls. The film is a meditation on a country that exists in a state of permanent resistance. “Missing People” (dir. David Shapiro | USA | 2015 | 81 min. | Louisiana Premiere) This tense, nonfiction mystery unfurls around Martina Batan, the director of a prominent New York City gallery who investigates her brother’s long unsolved murder, while obsessively collecting and researching the violent work and life of Roy Ferdinand, a self-taught artist from New Orleans. “Portrait of a Lone Farmer” (dir. Jide Tom Akinleminu | Germany, Nigeria, Denmark | 2013 | 76 min. | Louisiana Premiere) When filmmaker Jide Tom Akinleminu returns to his father’s chicken farm in Nigeria, his initial intention is to create a film about his parents’ marriage. But life, as is often the case, has other plans. “Scrum” (dir. Poppy Stockell | Australia | 2015 | 54 min. | Southern Premiere) In the lead up to the 2014 Bingham Cup, the lives of a self-assured Canadian jock, a chubby Irish backpacker and a stoic Japanese outsider change when they vie for a position on the Sydney Convicts, the world’s premiere, gay rugby team. “The Seventh Fire” (dir. Jack Pettibone Riccobono | USA | 2015 | 78 min. | Louisiana Premiere) Terrence Malick presents this haunting and visually arresting nonfiction film about the gang crisis on Indian reservations, through the stories of a Native American gang leader recently sentenced to prison for a fifth time, and his 17-year-old protege. “Touch the Light (Tocando La Luz)” (dir. Jennifer Redfearn | Cuba, USA | 2015 | 72 min. | Southern Premiere) In this intimate, character-driven film from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Jennifer Redfearn, three blind women from Havana, confront their heartbreaks and hopes, and navigate their profound desire for independence. LOUISIANA FEATURES (IN COMPETITION) “Consequence” (dir. Jonathan Nguyen & Ashley George | USA | 2015 | 81 min. | World Premiere) The lives of three college coeds are shaken after a weekend camping trip results in the accidental death of a fellow student. Instead of reporting the accident, they decide to conceal the student’s death, a decision that seems logical at first, but slowly begins to eat away at their friendship—and their sanity. “Delta Justice: The Islenos Trappers War” (dir. David DuBos | USA | 2015 | 48 min. | World Premiere) “Delta Justice” gives a true account of St. Bernard Parish’s violent fight over land rights in the mid-1920s. The film sheds new light on an important, yet little-known part of Louisiana’s history. “Dog Man” (dir. Richie Adams | USA | 2015 | 57 min. | World Premiere) “Dog Man” recounts the life story of world-renowned trainer Dick Russell, who worked with an estimated 30,000 dogs through his basic obedience class in South Louisiana and introduced the pivotal training technique of Large Field Socialization to North America. “Forgive and Forget” (dir. Aaron Abdin | USA | 2015 | 101 min. | World Premiere) Brian believes that he has a loving wife, brothers and grandmother but, after a tragic accident claims the life of one of his brothers, the entire family collapses into a mass of secrets, lies and emotional turmoil. Brian is led down a road of discovery, which forces him to choose between holding onto the past or striding towards the future. “The King of New Orleans” (dir. Allen Frederic | USA | 2015 | 83 min. | Louisiana Premiere) In pre-Katrina New Orleans, Larry Shirt is an aging taxi driver whose fares include the city’s hustlers, tourists, socialites, musicians, housekeepers, weirdos and reporters, as well as an aimless student, with whom he shares a special bond. “Love Me True” (dir. Kirby Voss | USA | 2015 | 85 min. | World Premiere) A debilitating fetish for blond-haired women constantly thwarts any chance that Eric has for happiness, until a hairless man named Stanley enters his apartment and claims to be the reincarnation of Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky. “The Mourning Hills” (dir. R. Todd Campbell | USA | 2014 | 81 min. | New Orleans Premiere) Mattie and Kate are sisters. They’re also orphans. Their mother died in a tragic accident, while their father took his own life in the beautiful and terrifying wilderness known as “The Mourning Hills.” When Mattie convinces Kate to run away with her, they decide to head for the very place where their father made them orphans. “The Phantasmagorical Clarence John Laughlin” (dir. Gene Fredericks | USA | 2015 | 88 min. | North American Premiere) This documentary explores the enigmatic life of New Orleans native Clarence John Laughlin, considered the father of American Surrealist photography and often described as “Edgar Allan Poe with a camera.” The film includes the only known video footage of this unique individual, taken in 1977. “Yazoo Revisited: Integration and Segregation in a Deep Southern Town” (dir. David Rae Morris | USA | 2015 | 84 min. | Louisiana Premiere) This film examines the history of race relations and the 1970 integration of the public schools in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Featuring interviews with local citizens of many ages and backgrounds, “Yazoo Revisited” paints a fascinating picture of the triumphs and failures of the Civil Rights Era.
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CMT to Premiere Original Documentary JOHNNY CASH: AMERICAN REBEL on September 12

CMT will air the original documentary, Johnny Cash: American Rebel that celebrates the life and artistry of the late Man in Black as captured through the unique perspective of his greatest songs. The film combines original interviews with his family and friends featuring John Carter Cash,Rosanne Cash, Carlene Carter, Eric Church, Sheryl Crow, Rodney Crowell, Clive Davis, Merle Haggard,Kris Kristofferson, John Mellencamp, Kid Rock, Rick Rubin,Willie Nelson and more. For the first time, Cash’s children, John Carter Cash and Rosanne Cash, along with June Carter’s daughter Carlene Carter, will appear together in a film about Johnny Cash. “Johnny Cash: American Rebel” premieres on the 12th anniversary of his passing on Saturday, September 12 at 9 pm ET/PT. Johnny Cash: American Rebel is built around 12 essential Johnny Cash tracks spanning four decades that each deliver the passion, musicality and messages against war, injustice, racism and prejudice, including “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Jackson,” “San Quentin,” “Man In Black,” “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” “Ring of Fire,” “Hurt” and more. Each song illustrates a chapter in his life, as well the story of an ever-changing America from the 1950s to modern day, as told through interviews, archival concert footage, photographs and personal artifacts from the Cash family. “Country music to me is not beer drinking, you done me wrong, darling, I’m going to bust your head kinda songs. It does have a social conscience. My songs do. It’s the music of the people, so it’s got to point out from time to time some of the problems of the people.” – Johnny Cash “The way he related to an audience and who he was on stage, was his best self. He had an intimate relationship with his audience and he worked out a lot of his problems under the spotlight.” – Rosanne Cash “There were so many different facets to him, such an undefinable depth to his character. You could see it in his eyes and it brought on mystery, and it brought on a need for, perhaps, understanding him in a deeper way and this is part of the appeal of who the man was.” – John Carter Cash “All he had to say, ‘Hello I’m Johnny Cash’ and you knew there was no one else in the world. You don’t have any question if you heard him on radio, if you heard him on television. You don’t say ‘Who is that?’ It’s not that kind of artist that can be duplicated, fungible. You knew it was Johnny Cash.” – Clive Davis “I’ve always felt like Johnny Cash was such a great influencer on my life. He is the one who changed my life. If I hadn’t shook hands with him backstage at the Opry, back when I was still in the army, I’d have never got out of the army.” – Kris Kristofferson “He was a poet, he was an activist, he was an American, he was a Patriot, he was a military man, he was an outlaw. He was a voice I think for the collective.” – Sheryl Crow To see a sneak peek of “Johnny Cash: American Rebel,” click on the trailer here. Derik Murray and Paul Gertz from Network Entertainment executive produce. Jordan Tappis directs and Derik Murray co-directs. Jayson Dinsmore, Lewis Bogach and John Miller-Monzon executive produce for CMT. Johnny Cash: American Rebel marks the latest in a series of original documentaries from CMT. The first, “Urban Cowboy: The Rise and Fall of Gilley’s” premiered to critical acclaim has been seen by more than 9 million viewers. Over 5 million viewers tuned in for “Morgan Spurlock’s Freedom: The Movie, which premiered last month.
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Horror Film THE HALLOW from Sundance Sets November 6th Release Date | TRAILER

Horror film, THE HALLOW directed by Corin Hardy, and an Official Selection of the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, will be released in theaters on November 6th via IFC Midnight. THE HALLOW stars Joseph Mawle, Bojana Novakovic, Michael McElhatton, and Michael Smiley.
Deep within the darkness of secluded forest land in rural Ireland dwells an ancient evil. Feared by the nearby superstitious villagers as cursed creatures who prey upon the lost, their secrets have been kept from civilization and remain on their hallowed ground. But when a conservationist from London moves in with his wife and infant child in order to survey the land for future construction, his actions unwittingly disturb the horde of demonic forces. Alone in a remote wilderness, he must now ensure his family’s survival from their relentless attacks. With his feature debut, acclaimed visual stylist Corin Hardy displays an innate talent for the macabre, approaching the medium with a cocksure confidence in his construction of the modern horror fable. Relying upon a precise and layered technical elegance, The Hallow seethes with an uncommonly sophisticated terror that uncoils effortlessly into an atmosphere of disquieting intensity and primal dread. Corin Hardy is an award-winning filmmaker, whose live action and animated work mixes the macabre, the beautiful and the epic to visually dazzling results. Corin studied Special Effects at Wimbledon School of Art before making his award-winning stop-motion short film Butterfly in 2003. This led into directing music videos, beginning with Keane’s ‘Somewhere Only We Know’ and ‘Bedshaped’ and continuing with films for a mix of mainstream acts including The Prodigy, Biffy Clyro, Olly Murs, Paolo Nutini and The Rizzle Kicks as well as underground indies The Horrors, Dry The River, The Horrible Crowes – and recently the 9 minute crime epic for Devlin and Ed Sheeran’s Watchtower, all produced with Academy Films. For the past 10 years Corin has been writing and developing four of his own horror-based feature film projects with production companies in UK & US these include: The Hallow with Occupant Films, Refuge with Big Talk Films, Frogz Legz with Brilliant Films and F E S T with Pari Passu. Corin is also attached to direct Element Pictures teen thriller Where There’s Darkness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL5WfklIB-o
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53rd New York Film Festival Convergence Completes Lineup, Incl. THE DOG HOUSE Virtual-Reality Dinner Party

The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced the complete details for the 53rd New York Film Festival Convergence, which will take place on September 26 and 27. The highly anticipated annual program delves into the world of immersive storytelling with a mix of unique films, panels, and live interactive experiences. “This is our fourth year as part of the New York Film Festival and I couldn’t be more excited about the lineup for 2015. There’s a lot of attention focused on virtual reality right now so we are really pleased to feature the U.S. premiere of The Dog House, a 360-degree film that’s going to start a lot of conversations. The program isn’t restricted to virtual worlds either, with several incredible live experiences like Temping, an immersive theater piece designed for one audience member at a time,” said NYFF Convergence programmer Matt Bolish. “The hope as always is to give our audience a chance to experience a wide variety of participatory storytelling projects.” Audiences can explore a multitude of non-traditional film experiences, such as playing a selection of indie storytelling games in the GameScape arcade, assuming the role of master detective Sherlock Holmes to help to solve a string of crimes around the Lincoln Center campus in Sherlock Holmes & the Internet of Things, or attending a performance of filmmaker/writer/singer Cory McAbee’s Small Star Seminar, an anti-motivational event featuring optimistic songs about quitting, accepting our limitations, and the power of sitting quietly. Immersive theater piece Temping, which will be showcased only a few times, will take lucky sole audience members on a strange and comedic journey. Complementing the experiential programs is a series of talks and panels—all free and open to the public—featuring notable storytellers of all stripes (from Lucasfilm, StoryCode, Storyline Entertainment, Pixar, NPR, and more) discussing their work and the evolving state of storytelling in the interactive age. The presentations will also include the World Premiere of the interactive presentation of The Deeper They Bury Me, which plunges audiences into the world of Herman Wallace, who was held in solitary for over 40 years at Louisiana’s notorious Angola penitentiary. NYFF53 CONVERGENCE EVENTS AND DESCRIPTIONS Experiences and Installations The (Dis)Honesty Project Presents The Truth Box Created by Dan Ariely & Yael Melamede Step inside and tell us the truth… about a lie. The Truth Box is a traveling story booth and part of the larger (Dis)Honesty Project, a collaboration between behavioral scientist Dan Ariely and filmmaker Yael Melamede that aims to improve our behavior and ethics. The Truth Box explores the complex impact dishonesty has on our lives, asking participants to sit inside and come clean, on camera, about a lie they have told. Excerpts of stories recorded will be shared on http://thedishonestyproject.com and through social media. The Doghouse Created by Johan Knattrup Jensen, Mads Damsbo & Dark Matters (pictured in main image) Few technologies have elicited as much debate as virtual reality. How will this powerful technology change the way we make and consume films? Audiences can get a taste of a possible future with The Doghouse. A table is set for five, and on each plate rests a virtual-reality headset. Slipping them on plunges the viewer into a fully immersive experience—one of five unique points of view within the same film. Mom and Dad are meeting the older brother’s new girlfriend for the first time while the younger brother just tries to avoid an inevitable disaster. This unique 360-degree cinema experience places its audience right in the middle of a home-cooked family drama and challenges our notions of what short films are… and what they may be in the very near future. U.S. Premiere Gamescape Human beings are hardwired to tell stories. We spin tales about everything in our lives from the mundane to the extraordinary. Some of the most compelling stories being told today are coming from game designers blending sharp narrative and gameplay in new and exciting ways. This selection of gripping, engaging, and even revolutionary independent storytelling games was co-curated by the NYU Game Center and is free and open to the public. Presented with Support from the NYU Game Center. Sherlock Holmes & the Internet of Things Created by Lance Weiler & Nick Fortugno Step into the shoes of Sherlock Holmes for this collaborative storytelling experiment in which participants attempt to solve a string of crimes unfolding throughout Lincoln Center. Do you have what it takes to become a 21st-century Sherlock Holmes? A prototype developed and run by the Columbia Digital Storytelling Lab, Sherlock Holmes & the Internet of Things is part of a massive connected crime scene taking place in over 20 countries this fall. For more information, visit sherlockholmes.io. Presented in partnership with the Columbia Digital Storytelling Lab. Temping Created by Wolf 359; Directed by Michael Rau Somewhere in a filing cabinet in Delaware or Indiana, there is a chart that breaks down how long we’re expected to live. Most of us will never see it… nor would we want to. But what if your job was to update these charts, to record the beginnings and ends of thousands of lives? What if you found the formula to predict your own lifespan? Sarah Jane Tully, a 50-year-old actuary, is taking her first vacation in years, and you’ve been hired to take her place. Temping, the strange and comic tale of an employee’s inner life written by Michael Yates Crowley, is performed for an audience of one by a Windows PC, a corporate phone, a laser printer, and the Microsoft Office Suite. Filling in at Sarah Jane’s cubicle, you’ll update client records, send e-mails, and eavesdrop on intra-office romance. Each performance is unique, depending on which tasks you accomplish and which of your co-workers you decide to trust. Congratulations, you’re the new temp! Get ready to work. Panels and Presentations Brand Meets Story: How Filmmakers and Brands Are Reinventing Digital Content (Panel) Moderated by Bob Garfield The digital-video era has opened up vast opportunities for audiences to enjoy powerful short-form content. Some brands have responded by recruiting professional filmmakers to work in the story-focused new arena of “content marketing.” Bob Garfield, Host of NPR’s “On The Media,” will moderate a discussion with Marjorie Schussel, Corporate Marketing Director for Toyota, along with Academy Award–nominated filmmakers Steve James (Hoop Dreams) and Kief Davidson (Open Heart) and Oscar winner Ross Kauffman (Born into Brothels). They will discuss the partnership and process they established to develop a form of marketing that marries the freedom of creativity with meaningful brand communication goals in order to tell “stories that matter.” Includes World Premiere screenings of three compelling new short films, and a cocktail reception to follow. A Conversation with Diana Williams (Talk) Featuring Diana Williams (Lucasfilm, Roller Coaster Entertainment) The camera opens on a field of stars before revealing a pair of spaceships locked in a deadly chase. Inside the pursued ship, a pair of iconic droids scuttle between rebel crewmen. “We’re doomed,” says C-3PO. “They’ll be no escape for the princess this time!” That exchange stuck with a young Diana Williams—what else had Princess Leia been up to?—and it set her on a course to become a storyteller in her own right. Williams has produced the acclaimed films Our Song and Another First Step; developed The Gatecrashers, a cross-platform storyworld, and Chinafornia, an animated Web series; and collaborated on motion comics for Torchwood, among others. In 2014, she joined the Lucasfilm Story Group, the team charged with developing narrative cohesion and connectivity within the Star Wars universe. Williams will take the stage to discuss her career and personal evolution as a storyteller, from feature filmmaker to cross-platform storyworld builder. The Deeper They Bury Me (Interactive Presentation) Written and directed by Angad Singh Bhalla & Ted Biggs; Produced by Anita Lee for the National Film Board of Canada, Storyline Entertainment An interactive encounter with one of America’s most renowned political prisoners, The Deeper They Bury Me plunges users into the universe of Black Panther activist Herman Wallace, who was held in solitary for over 40 years at Louisiana’s notorious Angola penitentiary. Within the time allotted for a prison phone call—20 precious minutes—users navigate between his tiny cell and his dream of freedom, a fantasy home he envisions through a collaborative art project with artist Jackie Sumell. Sparse, poetic animation evokes his segregated New Orleans childhood and his courageous efforts to build community within a prison system that keeps over 2.3 million citizens behind bars. Join the creators of this compelling portrait of defiance for an immersive live presentation of the interactive experience and a panel discussion featuring leading activists and thinkers. World Premiere. Immersive Storytelling Goes Global: A Live StoryCode Dispatch (Panel) Moderated by Mike Knowlton (Co-founder, StoryCode) StoryCode’s growth into six continents over the past three years has been fueled by an international appetite for new storytelling methods, tools, and experiments. Though still in its infancy, this worldwide phenomenon takes on myriad forms in each region it conquers. StoryCode chapter organizers will share happenings and breakthroughs around the country and the world, and discuss where we are headed in terms of emerging genres, cross-pollination of disciplines, technology, and artistic achievement. Panelists include Kel O’Neill (StoryCode LA), Diliana Alexander (StoryCode Miami), Michael Epstein (StoryCode San Francisco), and Kelli Anderson (StoryCode Washington DC). The Making of a Connected Crime Scene (Talk) Presented by Lance Weiler & Nick Fortugno Join Lance Weiler and Nick Fortugno for a special collaborative think-and-do session. Over the course of 90 minutes, attendees will see and experience the inner workings of what it takes to build a massive collaborative effort like Sherlock Holmes & the Internet of Things. The presentation will pull back the curtain on a yearlong experiment with 1,000 collaborators working in 20-plus countries. Learn methods and solutions that can help you design and build immersive, engaging storytelling projects. Producing for Impact: Finding the Story (Panel) Moderated by Colin Fitzpatrick (Guardian Labs, WNET, Al Jazeera America) As nonfiction crosses platforms, producers have more options than ever to reach, inspire, and activate audiences. The way a production is presented allows producers to realize specific audience end goals previously unobtainable without immense budgets. Tactics using comprehensive data visualization, compelling personal narratives, and sourcing from social media allow journalism and documentary producers today to appeal to emotion as well as the facts when creating issue-driven stories. Producers on this panel will discuss their own projects—from documentary film and interactive docs to social programs and digital newsrooms—and how to create meaningful and moving stories with goals beyond business as usual. Presented in partnership with The Producers Guild of America New Media Council & PGA East Documentary Committee. Pry Created by Danny Cannizzaro & Samantha Gorman (Performance) Danny Cannizzaro and Samantha Gorman will perform excerpts from Pry, an app experience that fuses cinema, video game, and the novella into what the LA Weekly calls “Charlie Kaufman by way of an acid trip.” Six years ago, James, a demolition expert, returned from the Gulf War. Explore James’s mind as his vision fails and the past collides with the present. What happens to story when instead of turning a page, readers open or shut the protagonist’s eyes, pull apart his memories, or read his thoughts infinitely scrolling in every direction? For more, go to prynovella.com. Small Star Seminar (Performance) Presented by Cory McAbee For the first solo music project created by Cory McAbee (Crazy and Thief, The American Astronaut), the filmmaker/musician takes the stage as a motivational speaker who urges people to give up their goals, stop reaching for the stars, and start looking for the stars within their own minds. “Small Star Seminar” features optimistic songs about quitting, accepting one’s own limitations, and the power of sitting quietly. McAbee will address the theory of “Deep Astronomy” and answer questions from the audience. Part of a larger storytelling project, the performance will be documented for an upcoming feature film written and directed by McAbee. The Working Screenwriter (Talk) Presented by Mike Jones (Pixar) Big dreams, wild risks, and seven-figure sales are all part of the typical screenwriter mythos. Yet most of these writers have had a different career, one where a few highs barely make up for the many lows. Working screenwriters must look at the long arc of a career where no models exist. How does a life in the screen trade fit into an everyday life? How do writers maintain their spark among constant rejection, wide financial fluctuations, and family stress? How does failure affect style? And how does a writer change? Mike Jones has never made seven figures. Yet for 15 years he has maintained a screenwriter’s turbulent life while writing for independent producers, major studios, and now Pixar. In this talk, Jones will outline how he built a steady career through checkered success, but became a better storyteller through failure.
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Mexican Director Arturo Ripstein to Be Honored at 2015 Venice International Film Festival

Mexican director Arturo Ripstein will be honored at the upcoming 72nd Venice International Film Festival as celebration of his fiftieth year as a filmmaker. The ceremony will take place on the night of the presentation of his latest film, La calle de la amargura. The Director of the Venice Film Festival Alberto Barbera stated: “Arturo Ripstein is the most vital, tenacious and original director of the generation that made its debut in the mid-Sixties, the heir of the golden age of Mexican studio films and the forerunner of the new generation of contemporary authors such as Carlos Reygadas, Guillermo del Toro and Nicolas Pereda, each of whom in their own way, recognizes the profound debt that they owe to his work. In his so many unforgettable films, most of them co-written with Paz Alicia Garciadiego, Ripstein has brought to life a restless and afflicted universe, populated with characters pathetically on the verge of the abyss into which they are destined to fall. The strange blend of beauty and brutality, compassion and violence, irony and sadness, adds a wholly personal dimension to his cinema, which delves its roots into popular tragedy and the atmospheres of melodrama, which he cleverly re-elaborates. These elements are also to be found, their power and beauty intact, in his latest film, which the Venice Film Festival has the pleasure of presenting in its world premiere screening”. The awards ceremony for this honor will take place before the screening of the film, which is scheduled for Thursday September 10th, in the Palazzo del Cinema’s Sala Grande.
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World Premiere of Mika Kaurismäki’s THE GIRL KING Added to 2015 Montreal World Film Festival | TRAILER

The Montreal World Film Festival has added the world premiere of The Girl King, directed by Mika Kaurismäki to its official competition. “I was seduced by Michel-Marc Bouchard’s script,” says producer Arnie Gelbart. “It’s an unusual story of an extraordinary woman. The characters are very contemporary, young, ambitious and full of passion, torn between duty and desire, and it’s all been brought to the screen by a great director.” The international cast features Swedish stars Malin Buska and Michael Nyqvist, Canadians Sarah Gadon and Lucas Bryant, Finnish actress Laura Birn, French actor Hippolyte Girardot, veteran Belgian actor Patrick Bauchau and German actors Peter Lohmayer and Martina Gedeck. The Quebecer François Arnaud is also part of the cast and Guy Dufaux was the director of photography. The English version of the script has been written by awarded Linda Gaboriau. The Girl King was scripted by Quebec playwright Michel-Marc Bouchard who had great success in 2012 with his play on the life of Queen Christina of Sweden when it was staged in Montreal TNM and later at the Stratford Festival. It’s the 1600s and Queen Christina is set on making Sweden the most sophisticated country in Europe. Having been raised as a prince under strict Lutheran control, the enigmatic, flamboyant, and unpredictable queen faces powerful resistance in her quest to educate her subjects and end the bloody Thirty Years War between the Protestants and Catholics. Amidst all this, Christina struggles to come to terms with an irresistible passion for her lady in waiting, the stunning Countess Ebba Sparre. Her quest to understand love runs parallel with her quest to understand humanity and the violent and restrictive forces conspiring against her. Torn between the conflict of political and personal aspirations, Christina chooses to make one of the most controversial decisions in history. Born in Orimattila, Finland in 1955, Mika Kaurismäki studied film in Germany and his first film, his graduation production, THE LIAR (1980), was an overnight sensation; it marked the beginning of the cinema of the Kaurismäki brothers and started a new era in the Finnish cinema. Eventually, Mika established a base and second home in Brazil and concentrated on international co-productions, among them, CONDITION RED (1995), L.A. WITHOUT A MAP (1998), HONEY BABY (2004), BRASILEIRINHO (2005, shown at the MWFF), THREE WISE MEN (2008), BROTHERS (2011) and ROAD NORTH (2012). The MWFF runs from August 27 to September 7, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ags39i275ro
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8 Films to Screen in Zinemira section of 2015 San Sebastian Film Festival

The 2015 San Sebastian Film Festival will present eight feature films in the Zinemira section, dedicated to films produced in the Basque Country. Four world premieres and another four titles from this year’s production make up the selection. All of the premieres compete for the Irizar Basque Film Award, alongside the remaining productions with a minimum of 20% Basque production presented as a world premiere in any of the 2015 San Sebastian Film Festival sections. UN OTOÑO SIN BERLÍN LARA IZAGIRRE World premiere – Basque Film Gala June returns to the town of her birth by surprise after spending time abroad. The return home will be painful: her family and her first love, Diego, have changed. She too has changed, and repairing the broken ties won’t be easy. But just like the autumn wind, June will take the place by storm. DISTRICT ZERO JORGE FERNÁNDEZ MAYORAL, PABLO TOSCO, PABLO IRABURU ALLEGUE What’s in a refugee’s mobile phone? Their recollections, their memory, their identity, contact with the world they’ve left behind. This film narrates everyday life in a mobile phone repair shop in the Zataari refugee camp. GURE SOR LEKUAREN BILA JOSU MARTÍNEZ World premiere Hasparren, 1956. Amid great expectation, a documentary in the Basque language about the Basque Country was released in the local cinema. In the following months it was screened in other Basque and French towns on both sides of the border, and even in Paris, San Francisco and Dakar. But suddenly it disappeared from sight and everyone forgot about it. Sixty years later, filmmaker Josu Martinez sets out to find it. JAI ALAI BLUES GORKA BILBAO RAMOS World premiere A documentary narrating the incredible story of the Jai Alai through its most iconic characters. A great many similarities can be drawn between the biography of our characters and the actual history of the Jai Alai. Beginnings in humble surroundings, huge successes all over the world in pelota courts packed to the hilt with distinguish publics, losses of identity due to adapting a traditional game to societies with completely different values… #JAZZALDIA50 CARLOS RODRÍGUEZ The San Sebastian Jazz Festival looks back over its 50 years of history in this documentary with comments from some of its leading figures and images of extraordinary concerts forever engraved on the memory. POS ESO (POSSESSED) (pictured above) SAM ORTI MARTI Feature film directorial debut from the animation movie director, Sam. La Trini, a world-famous Flamenco dancer, leaves the tablaos in deep depression after her husband’s death. Damian, her 8 year-old son, is possessed by an evil demon who prompts him to commit horrendously cruel and bloody acts. SANCTUAIRE / SANCTUARY OLIVIER MASSET-DEPASSE A film about two adversaries who will learn to know and respect one another, despite their differences: Domingo Iturbe, “Txomin”, head of the ETA military apparatus, and Grégoire Fortin, adviser to Mitterrand’s Minister of Justice. WALLS PABLO IRABURU ALLEGUE, MIGUELTXO MOLINA AYESTARÁN World premiere The world is increasingly more divided by walls. There are human beings on either side of them. The question is not whether their existence is absurd or logical, whether they can be avoided or not, but to demonstrate that the people on both sides are basically exactly the same.
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New Films Featuring Susan Sarandon, Drew Barrymore, Robert Redford + Closing Night FIlm MR. RIGHT Added to 40th Toronto International Film Festival

The Toronto International Film Festival has added 5 Galas and 19 Special Presentations to its highly anticipated international lineup including the Closing Night Film, Paco Cabezas’s Mr. Right. Toronto audiences will be among the first to screen films by directors Rob Reiner, Catherine Hardwicke, Pan Nalin, Lorene Scafaria, David Gordon Green, Matthew Cullen, Gaby Dellal, James Vanderbilt and Marc Abraham, and the latest onscreen appearances from Susan Sarandon, Gary Oldman, Drew Barrymore, Tom Hiddleston, Naomi Watts, J.K. Simmons, Robert Redford and Cate Blanchett. The 40th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 10 to 20, 2015. Disorder (Maryland) Alice Winocour, France/Belgium North American Premiere In this masterfully engineered thriller, a young ex-soldier suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder protects a beautiful woman and her child from a brutal home invasion. Starring Matthias Schoenaerts and Diane Kruger. Man Down Dito Montiel, USA North American Premiere (pictured in main image) In a savage post-apocalyptic America, U.S. Marine Gabriel Drummer searches desperately for the whereabouts of his estranged son and wife. Accompanied by his best friend, a hard-nosed Marine whose natural instinct is to shoot first and ask questions later, the two intercept Charles, an apocalyptic survivor carrying vital information about the whereabouts of Gabriel’s family. By revisiting the past, audiences are guided in unravelling the puzzle of Gabriel’s experience, and what will eventually lead to the origin of this war-torn America. Starring Shia LaBeouf, Kate Mara, Gary Oldman and Jai Courtney. Miss You Already Catherine Hardwicke, United Kingdom World Premiere This honest and powerful story follows two best friends, Milly and Jess, as they navigate life’s highs and lows. Inseparable since they were young girls, they can’t remember a time they didn’t share everything — secrets, clothes, even boyfriends — but nothing prepares them for the day Milly is hit with life-altering news. A story for every modern woman, this film celebrates the bond of true friendship that ultimately can never be broken, even in life’s toughest moments. Starring Toni Collette, Drew Barrymore, Dominic Cooper, Paddy Considine, Tyson Ritter and Jacqueline Bisset Mississippi Grind Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden, USA Canadian Premiere Gerry is a talented, but struggling poker player about to be swallowed up by his unshakeable gambling habit. But his luck begins to change after he meets the young, charismatic Curtis. Gerry convinces his new lucky charm to hit the road with him, towards a legendary high stakes poker game in New Orleans. The highs and lows unveil the duo’s true characters and motivations, and an undeniable bond forms between them. Starring Ben Mendelsohn, Ryan Reynolds, Sienna Miller, Analeigh Tipton and Alfre Woodard. Closing Night Film. Mr. Right Paco Cabezas, USA World Premiere Martha is unlucky in love, but when she finally meets her Mr. Right it seems like she’s found her match — even if he’s an international hitman on the run from the crime cartels who employ him. On the bright side, as long as Hopper or Shotgun Steve don’t kill them first, these two may actually have a chance at happily ever after. Starring Sam Rockwell, Anna Kendrick, Tim Roth, James Ransone, Anson Mount, Michael Eklund and RZA. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 45 Years Andrew Haigh, United Kingdom Canadian Premiere While preparing for their 45th anniversary, Kate and Geoff’s marriage is shaken with a discovery that calls into question the life they’ve built together, in this emotional tour-de-force. Starring Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay. About Ray Gaby Dellal, USA World Premiere The touching story of three generations of a family living under one roof in New York as the life-changing transformation by one ultimately affects them all. Ray is a teenager who realizes that she isn’t meant to be a girl and decides to transition from female to male. His single mother, Maggie, must track down Ray’s biological father to get his legal consent to allow Ray’s transition. Dolly, Ray’s lesbian grandmother, struggles to accept that she now has a grandson. They must each confront their own identities and learn to embrace change and their strength as a family, in order to ultimately find acceptance and understanding. Starring Naomi Watts, Elle Fanning, Susan Sarandon, Tate Donovan, Linda Emond, Sam Trammell and Maria Dizzia. Angry Indian Goddesses Pan Nalin, India World Premiere A comic drama about a group of Indian women finding their hearts and losing their heads! A wild bunch of girls from all over India descend upon Goa. Their closest friend Frieda has invited them to her family home for a surprise announcement: she’s getting married. Thus begins an impromptu bachelorette. Starring Tannishtha Chatterjee, Sandhya Mridul, Sarah Jane Dias, Pavleen Gujral, Anushka Manchanda, Rajshri Deshpande and Amrit Maghera. Being Charlie Rob Reiner, USA World Premiere Being Charlie is based on a compilation of real-life experiences written by two friends who lived through being stuck in the cycle of rehab. Eighteen-year-old Charlie Mills is a sharp-mouthed addict fighting to get back home, while his father constantly stiff-arms him to limit the distractions during a big election for governor of California. Charlie’s parents are at odds about their son’s return to rehab. Following a feeble attempt at an intervention, he agrees to work the program at a new adult rehab facility where he meets a handful of misfit personalities; among them is Eva, a beautiful but troubled girl, and Travis, a supportive house manager. Charlie’s internal struggle with his addiction is confronted by the envy for his best friend and his separate addiction with Eva. Starring Nick Robinson, Morgan Saylor, Devon Bostick, Cary Elwes, Susan Misner, Common and Ricardo Chavira. Body (Body/Cialo) Małgorzata Szumowska, Poland North American Premiere Set in Poland, this absurdist dark comedy follows the intertwined stories of a criminal prosecutor, his anorexic daughter, and her therapist who claims she can communicate with the dead. Starring Janusz Gajos, Maja Ostaszewska and Justyna Suwala. Equals Drake Doremus, USA North American Premiere In a futuristic, utopian society known as the Collective — where inhabitants have been bred to be peaceful and emotionless — a man and a woman discover that they have feelings for one another. Together, they attempt to understand this connection. Starring Kristen Stewart, Nicholas Hoult, Guy Pearce and Jacki Weaver. I Saw the Light Marc Abraham, USA World Premiere This film tells the story of legendary country western singer Hank Williams, who in his brief life created one of the greatest bodies of work in American music. The film chronicles his meteoric rise to fame and its ultimately tragic effect on his health and personal life. Based on Colin Escott’s award-winning biography. Starring Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth Olsen, Bradley Whitford, David Krumholtz Cherry Jones and Maddie Hasson. London Fields Matthew Cullen United Kingdom/USA World Premiere Set in 1999 London, this noir crime thriller based on Martin Amis’ novel of the same name features a star-studded cast, including Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, Cara Delevigne, Theo James, Billy Bob Thorton and Jim Sturgess. ma ma Julio Medem, Spain/France International Premiere This is the story of Magda. Confronted with tragedy, she reacts with a surge of life that flows inside of her, from the imaginable to the unimaginable. Accompanied by her closest circle, she will live the most unexpected situations filled with humor and delicate happiness. Starring Penélope Cruz, Luis Tosar and Asier Etxeandia. The Meddler Lorene Scafaria, USA World Premiere Marnie Minervini, recent widow and eternal optimist, moves from New Jersey to Los Angeles to be closer to her daughter. Armed with an iPhone and a full bank account, Marnie sets out to make friends, find her purpose, and possibly open up to someone new. Starring Susan Sarandon, Rose Byrne and J.K. Simmons. Mr. Six (Lao Pao Er) Guan Hu, China North American Premiere With his son captured, Mr. Six and his old pals stand up to the new, younger generation of hooligans, defending their dignity as once respected gangsters in the neighborhood. Starring Feng Xiaogang. Mustang Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Turkey/France/Germany North American Premiere It’s the beginning of the summer in a village in the north of Turkey; Lale and her four sisters come home from school, innocently playing with boys. The supposed debauchery of their games causes a scandal with unintended consequences. The family home slowly turns into a prison, classes on housework and cooking replace school, and marriages begin to be arranged. The five sisters, driven by the same desire for freedom, fight back against the limits imposed on them. Starring Gunes Sensoy, Dogba Doguslu, Tugba Sunguroglu, Elit Iscan, Ilayda Akdogan, Ayberk Pekcan and Nihal Koldas. My Mother (Mia Madre) Nanni Moretti, Italy/France North American Premiere Margherita is a director shooting a film with the famous American actor, Barry Huggins, who is quite a headache on set. Away from the shoot, Margherita tries to hold her life together, despite her mother’s illness and her daughter’s adolescence. Stars Nanni Moretti, Margherita Buy, John Turturro and Giulia Lazzarini. Our Brand Is Crisis David Gordon Green, USA World Premiere A Bolivian presidential candidate enlists a management team led by damaged but brilliant strategist “Calamity” Jane Bodine, who seizes the chance to beat her professional nemesis Pat Candy, coaching the opposition. But as Pat zeroes in on every vulnerability, Jane faces a personal crisis as intense as the one her team exploits to boost their numbers, in this drama revealing the machinations of political consultants for whom nothing is sacred and winning is all that matters. Starring Sandra Bullock, Billy Bob Thornton, Anthony Mackie, Joaquim de Almeida, Ann Dowd, Scoot McNairy and Zoe Kazan. A Tale of Love and Darkness Natalie Portman Israel/USA North American Premiere Based on Amos Oz’s international best-seller, this is the story of his youth at the end of the British Mandate in Palestine and the early years of the state of Israel. The film details young Amos’s relationship with his mother and his birth as a writer, looking at what happens when the stories we tell become the stories we live. Starring Natalie Portman, Gilad Kahana and Amir Tessler. A Tale of Three Cities (San Cheng Ji) Mabel Cheung, China International Premiere Based on the miraculous true story of Jackie Chan’s parents, this film is about the unbreakable bond of love between an opium peddling widow and a former spy on the run. Together they witness love and humanity in the face of war, famine, and overwhelming danger. Starring Tang Wei and Sean Lau. Truth James Vanderbilt, USA World Premiere In the vein of All the President’s Men and The Insider, this is the incredible true story of Mary Mapes, an award-winning CBS News journalist, and Dan Rather’s producer. The film chronicles the story they uncovered of a sitting U.S. president that may have been AWOL from the United States National Guard for over a year during the Vietnam War. When the story blew up in their face, the ensuing scandal ruined Dan Rather’s career, nearly changed a U.S. presidential election, and almost took down all of CBS News in the process. Based on Mapes’s book Truth and Duty. Starring Cate Blanchett, Elisabeth Moss, Robert Redford, Topher Grace, Dennis Quaid and Bruce Greenwood. The Wave Roar Uthaug, Norway International Premiere Experienced geologist Kristian Eikfjord accepts a job offer out of town. As he’s getting ready to move from the city of Geiranger with his family, he and his colleagues measure small geological changes in the underground. Kristian worries that his worst nightmare is about to come true, when the alarm goes off and disaster is inevitable. With less than 10 minutes to react, it becomes a race against time in order to save as many people as possible, including his own family. Starring Kristoffer Joner, Ane Dahl Torp and Jonas Oftebro. The Witch Robert Eggers, USA/Canada Canadian Premiere A colonial family leaves plantation life and attempts to reap their harvest on a fledgling farm at the edge of an imposing ancient New England forest. Superstition and dread set in as food grows scarce, a family member goes missing, and the children’s play takes on a frenzied and menacing undercurrent. As they begin to turn on one another, the malevolent machinations of an ethereal presence from within the woods exacerbate the growing corruption of their own nature. Starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger and Lucas Dawson.
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San Sebastian Festival to Honor Original KING KONG Directors Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack with a Retrospective

The 63rd San Sebastian Festival will dedicate a retrospective to directors Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, masterminds of the iconic King Kong (1933). Merian C. Cooper (1893-1973) and Ernest B. Schoedsack (1893-1979) were, in the golden age of Hollywood, one of the strangest and most exciting creative twosomes ever to come out of Hollywood. The coming edition of the San Sebastian Festival will recover their work in a cycle dedicated to their films. Acclaimed for generations as the masterminds of the iconic King Kong (1933), Cooper and Schoedsack’s contribution to cinema didn’t stop at this masterpiece. Their career began with two masterpieces in the history of documentary filmmaking, Grass; A Nation’s Battle for Life (1925) and Chang (1927). They later made fantasy, drama, adventure and mystery movies, some of which are now cult titles: The Four Feathers (1929), The Most Dangerous Game (1932), The Last Days of Pompeii (1935), Dr. Cyclops (1940), Son of Kong (1933) and Mighty Joe Young (1949). GRASS; A NATION’S BATTLE FOR LIFE MERIAN C. COOPER, MARGUERITE HARRISON, ERNEST B. SCHOEDSACK (USA) 1925 Cooper and Schoedsack’s debut behind the cameras took the shape of this anthropological documentary classic shot in the spectacular landscapes of Iran. The everyday life of the Bakhtiari tribe, in the former Persia, and their migration in search of pastures for their livestock: 50,000 people and their flocks must cross natural obstacles and overcome harsh atmospheric conditions to find food for their animals. CHANG MERIAN C. COOPER, ERNEST B. SCHOEDSACK (USA) 1927 Cooper and Schoedsack’s second cinematic adventure took them to the forests of Thailand. A documentary with elements of fiction where the directors give free rein to their passion for exotic settings and sense of spectacle thanks to this fascinating tale of a man’s struggle against the beast. THE FOUR FEATHERS MERIAN C. COOPER , ERNEST B. SCHOEDSACK , LOTHAR MENDES (USA) 1929 Schoedsack and Cooper made the first sound adaptation of the famous colonial novel by A.E.W. Mason, taken to the screen on several occasions. The Sudanese adventures of Lieutenant Faversham, accused of cowardice by his friends, are the perfect excuse for the directors to impress upon the original narration the verve and dynamism so typical of their films. This was their first collaboration with a recurring actress in their filmography, Fay Wray. RANGO ERNEST B. SCHOEDSACK (USA) 1931 Two years before shooting their masterpiece, King Kong, Cooper and Schoedsack fantasized about relations between men and monkeys in this tale of adventures set in the Sumatran forests with its anthropological vocation. However, as was usual in their films, their ability to narrate fables always imposed itself upon the simple observation of reality. THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME ERNEST B. SCHOEDSACK, IRVING PICHEL (USA) 1932 Adaptation of a classic tale by Richard Connell, Cooper and Schoedsack used this film as a testing ground for the mind-boggling nightmare atmospheres that would culminate in King Kong the following year, since both titles were shot on the same sets. Adventure cinema merges with a gothic tale in a cruel, savage film of frenzied scenes that still raise eyebrows even today. BLIND ADVENTURE ERNEST B. SCHOEDSACK (USA) 1933 Cooper and Schoedsack abandon the exotic settings so often found in their films to take us to the London of detective mysteries. Here, their fetish actor, Robert Armstrong, plays an American lost in the London fog ensnared in a complicated plot that feels like something out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. KING KONG MERIAN C. COOPER, ERNEST B. SCHOEDSACK (USA) 1933 The best known monster film in the history of cinema, a mythical title that gave us one of the most lasting icons of the seventh art. The sad tale of the giant gorilla who loses his kingdom for an impossible love is not only a dreamlike take on the Beauty and the Beast myth, recovered by intellectuals and artists all over the world, but a fabulous display of special effects, spectacle, imagination and poetry in its purest state. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0WpKl2A_2k
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Cate Blanchett to Receive BFI Fellowship; TRUTH Added to BFI London Film Festival

Cate Blanchett will receive the BFI’s highest honor, the BFI Fellowship, at the BFI London Film Festival’s annual Awards Ceremony. TRUTH, starring Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford, will have its UK Premiere on the same night and, in honor of the award, is screening as the Fellowship Special Presentation film. Based on the book “Truth and Duty” by Mary Mapes, TRUTH tells the incredible story of Mary Mapes, an award-winning CBS News journalist and Dan Rather’s 60 Minutes producer and the risks she took to expose a story on the then President George W. Bush. TRUTH, which screens as the Fellowship Special Presentation, is directed by James Vanderbilt, based on the book “Truth and Duty” by Mary Mapes, played in the film by Cate Blanchett who stars with Robert Redford as Dan Rather. The film chronicles the story Mapes and Rather uncovered that sitting US president, George W. Bush, may have been AWOL from the United States National Guard for over a year during the Vietnam War. When the story blew up in their face, the ensuing scandal ruined Dan Rather’s career, nearly changed a US Presidential election, and almost took down all of CBS News in the process. Blanchett is also starring in Todd Haynes’ Carol, the festival’s American Express Gala, as an alluring woman trapped in a loveless marriage who falls for a young woman (Rooney Mara) working as a department store clark in 50s Manhattan. Each year at the LFF Awards Ceremony a BFI Fellowship is awarded to an individual in recognition of their outstanding contribution to film or television. Previous BFI Fellowships have been presented to Stephen Frears in 2014, the late Sir Christopher Lee – given the honor by his friend Johnny Depp – in 2013, Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter in 2012 and Ralph Fiennes, who was presented his BFI Fellowship by friend Liam Neeson, in 2011. In the last year, Al Pacino and Mel Brooks were also awarded BFI Fellowships.
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