• Sony Pictures Classics to Release High Profile Documentary WEST OF MEMPHIS from Sundance Film Festival

    Sony Pictures Classics have acquired worldwide rights to Academy Award®nominated filmmaker Amy Berg’s (DELIVER US FROM EVIL) high profile documentary WEST OF MEMPHIS, which premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. 

    WEST OF MEMPHIS is a powerful documentary that chronicles the new investigation surrounding the “West Memphis Three,” which ultimately broke the case open and led to the freedom of three innocent men: Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr. Beginning with a searing examination of the fatally flawed police investigation into the 1993 murders of three, eight year old boys in the small town of West Memphis, Arkansas, the film goes on to reveal personal insight into Echols’ fight to save his own life; how he survived eighteen years on death row and eventually freed himself from the hatred and ignorance of those who had tried to destroy him.  The film asks the question that still haunts Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley to this day – what value do we, as a society place on the truth?

    “In 2009 Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Lorri Davis approached me to make a film which documented the defense’s battle to overturn the guilty verdicts in the case of the West Memphis Three. After spending more than two years on the ground filming in Arkansas, the blatant injustice of the case was very apparent; my hope is that WEST OF MEMPHIS will lead to full exoneration for Damien, Jason and Jessie. In addition, I hope the film will serve as a platform for a broader discussion about the failures of our criminal justice system nationwide. I’m very excited for this powerful story to be making its way to theaters and know that having Sony Pictures Classics as our partner is the surest way to catapult our film to the widest possible audience,” says Director Amy Berg.

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  • 2012 Florida Film Festival Announces Narrative and Documentary Feature Films and Selects Renee as Opening Night Film

    [caption id="attachment_1580" align="alignnone" width="550"]RENEE[/caption]

    The 2012 Florida Film Festival, announced that a record-breaking 167 films were selected to screen at the festival, with 144 having their Florida premiere (or higher) at the Festival. This year’s Festival runs April 13-22, 2012 and is located in Central Florida.

    The Narrative and Documentary Feature Film selections for the 2012 Florida Film Festival American Independent Competition were announced.

    Among them, DeLand based director Sylvia Caminer unveils her documentary on pop star Rick Springfield. The Zellner brothers, whose bizarrely funny films are regulars at the Festival, bring something quite unexpected and different. FSU graduate Ken Adachi makes his feature film debut. Among recognizable faces on screen this year are Penelope Ann Miller (The Artist), Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under), Andrew McCarthy (St. Elmo’s Fire), Robin Tunney (TV’s The Mentalist), Scott Glenn (The Silence of the Lambs), and newcomers including EJ Bonilla and Veronica Diaz-Carranza. 

    The opening night selection was also announced today.  The prestigious pole position belongs to RENEE, which will have its East Coast premiere at the 2012 Florida Film Festival.  Based on the life of Renee Yohe, the film tells the story of a 19-year-old who received national and international attention when her courageous story was posted on MySpace. The film deals with the cycle of self-injury which plagues many teenagers and young adults worldwide.  Her experience was the inspiration for the “To Write Love on Her Arms” movement. The Orlando-based production skillfully blends gritty reality with rich fantasy as the film powerfully visualizes this young girl who grew up loving fairy tales but lived through a considerably darker truth.  Kat Dennings (TV’s 2 Broke Girls, Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist) is a knockout as Renee, and Chad Michael Murray (TV’s One Tree Hill), Rupert Friend (The Young Victoria), and Corbin Bleu (High School Musical) lend superb support along with a great music score and appearances by Rachael Yamagata and Travie McCoy of Gym Class Heroes. It is directed by Nathan Frankowski.  Deeply rooted in its own community with people on both sides of the camera whose investment is both personal and passionate, RENEE is a vivid reminder of how the independent film can generate incredible power out of its own reality and bring a story so effectively to life using the support mechanisms available around it.

    AMERICAN INDEPENDENT NARRATIVE FEATURES COMPETITION

    THE BROOKLYN BROTHERS BEAT THE BEST / USA (Director:  Ryan O’Nan)A failing singer-songwriter (Ryan O’Nan) decides to hit the road with a self-appointed music revolutionary and rediscovers his love for life and music. This inspired musical comedy also stars Andrew McCarthy (St. Elmo’s Fire) and features pitch-perfect cameos by Wilmer Valderrama (TV’s That 70’s Show), Jason Ritter (TV’s Parenthood), Christopher McDonald (Happy Gilmore), and Melissa Leo (The Fighter).

    DEAD DAD / USA (Director: Ken J. Adachi) WORLD PREMIEREIn the highly accomplished feature debut of FSU graduate Ken Adachi (Picture Day, FFF 2010), three estranged siblings reunite for their Dad’s funeral and end up leaving with way more than they bargained for: his remains. 

    DOG YEARS / USA (Directors: Warren Sroka and Brent Willis) WORLD PREMIEREAn emotionally withdrawn Japanese-American is working in Japan and struggling with the unwanted  arrival of his needy American half-brother. Skillfully shot and boasting terrific performances, the film is at once haiku poetry and psychological monograph. 

    DREAMWORLD / USA (Director: Ryan Darst) EAST COAST PREMIEREIn this refreshing romantic comedy, an animator finds himself on an adventure of self-discovery. A talented cast led by Whit Hertford and Mary Kate Wiles gives the script just the right balance of dreaminess and weight. 

    KID-THING / USA (Director: David Zellner) EAST COAST PREMIEREThe Florida Film Festival has been home to many of the Zellner Brothers’ uniquely bizarre short films and screened their acclaimed feature Goliath in 2008. KID-THING is a haunting fable that will surprise even their most die-hard fans. A troubled ten-year-old girl (Sydney Aguirre) with a part-time demolition derby driver and goat farmer father (Nathan Zellner) hears the distress call of a woman coming from an abandoned well and takes matters into her own immature hands. 

    MAGIC VALLEY / USA (Director: Jaffe Zinn) SOUTHEAST PREMIEREA high school student in the small town of Buhl, Idaho, returns home early one brisk October morning bearing the burden of a terrible secret.  Meanwhile, members of the community go about their day completely unaware of how their lives are about to be changed forever.  A strong and powerful cast of actors (led by veteran Scott Glenn, The Silence of the Lambs) reveals this haunting story.

    MAMITAS / USA (Director: Nicholas Ozeki) FLORIDA PREMIEREA coming-of-age romance rooted in Los Angeles Mexican-American community, MAMITAS introduces two wonderful young actors, EJ Bonilla and Veronica Diaz-Carranza, and first-time feature filmmaker and Independent Spirit Award nominee Nicholas Ozeki. 

    AN ORDINARY FAMILY / USA (Director: Mike Akel) SOUTHEAST PREMIEREA funny, bittersweet family reunion at a lake cabin centers around two brothers in conflict.  Director Mike Akel (Chalk, FFF 2006 Special Jury Award winner) has created a world where love, faith, and reason are brought together with such gentleness that it still seems possible to believe that America is a nation of tolerance and forgiveness.

    SEE GIRL RUN / USA (Director: Nate Meyer) FLORIDA PREMIERENate Meyer (FFF 2007 Special Jury Award winner, Pretty in the Face) returns to the Florida Film Festival with a different style of love story starring Robin Tunney (TV’s The Mentalist, The Craft), Josh Hamilton (The Bourne Identity), and Adam Scott (TV’s Parks and Recreation, Step Brothers.) 

    THINK OF ME / USA (Director: Bryan Wizemann) SOUTHEAST PREMIERETHINK OF ME tells the gripping story of Angela (Lauren Ambrose, HBO’s Six Feet Under and Best Actress Independent Spirit Award nominee), a jobless single mother doing her best not to fall apart. This disturbing drama, co-starring Dylan Baker (Happiness) and Penelope Ann Miller (The Artist), raises important questions about the claims of parenthood, privilege, and the complicated and powerful ethics of familial love.

    AMERICAN INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY FEATURES COMPETITION

    AN AFFAIR OF THE HEART / USA (Director: Sylvia Caminer) WORLD PREMIERELocal filmmaker Sylvia Caminer explores the life, fame, and fans of pop idol Rick Springfield. The film reveals a behind-the-scenes portrait of hard-working Springfield and his devoted, obsessive fans.

    BERT STERN: ORIGINAL MADMAN / USA (Director: Shannah Laumeister) EAST COAST PREMIEREPhotographer Bert Stern revolutionized the world of advertising, changed the taste of America during the post-war boom years, and convinced Marilyn Monroe to reveal her deepest heart during what turned out to be her last photo session. 

    BURY THE HATCHET / USA (Director: Aaron C. Walker) SOUTHEAST PREMIEREBURY THE HATCHET takes the audience behind the scenes and through the vast history of the Mardi Gras “Indians” and their great Chiefs and shares the culture as well as the extraordinary music that underscores this captivating and hidden corner of New Orleans.

    GIRL MODEL / USA (Directors: David Redmon and Ashley Sabin) FLORIDA PREMIEREDirected by the filmmaking team that brought us Mardi Gras: Made in China (FFF 2005 Grand Jury Award for Best Doc Feature), Kamp Katrina (FFF 2007), and Intimidad (FFF 2008), GIRL MODEL takes the viewer deep into the underbelly of the international modeling industry by following the paths of both model and scout.  

    GIVE UP TOMORROW / USA (Director: Michael Collins) SOUTHEAST PREMIEREPaco Larrañaga’s arrest and trial were a media circus reflecting schisms of race, class, and political power in a Philippine legal system marred by corruption. GIVE UP TOMORROW is the gripping result of over a decade of filming, on three continents and four countries, a Kafkaesque trial and conviction where justice was abandoned.

    JOBRIATH A.D. / USA (Director: Kieran Turner) NORTH AMERICAN PREMIEREIn the 1970’s music scene, the vastly talented Jobriath, nabbed one of the richest deals in rock history and openly proclaimed his homosexuality by declaring himself “The True Fairy of Rock & Roll.”  Now, nearly 40 years after his solo debut the bizarre, tragic, and nearly forgotten mystery that was Jobriath is ready for its close-up. 

    KUMARE USA / (Director: Vikram Gandhi) SOUTHEAST PREMIERETo make a point about blind faith, filmmaker Vikram Gandhi grew out his hair, adopted a kooky accent, and presented himself as Kumare, a perpetually grinning guru recently arrived from India.  Setting up shop in Phoenix with a pair of lithe yoga babes, Kumare recruits a cadre of followers. KUMARE starts as an indictment of religious beliefs but ends up a weirdly sincere ode to the true power of faith.  

    NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT / USA (Director: Sabrina Lee and Shasta Grenier) FLORIDA PREMIERE Retired Marine Colonel Eric Hastings knows first hand about the reality of war and the disconnection soldiers feel when they return home from battle. Beautifully shot and featuring music by Sean Eden (ex-Luna), this moving and powerful look at the human cost of war is the work of Sabrina Lee (Where You From, FFF 2009) and Emmy winner Shasta Grenier.  

    SALAAM DUNK / USA (Director: David Fine) SOUTHEAST PREMIERENightly news coverage of Iraq typically offers a monolithic vision of violence, fanaticism, and repression. SALAAM DUNK reveals a different reality—intelligent young women developing leadership skills as well as tolerance for diverse religious and ethnic groups via the most American of pursuits, basketball. 

    THE SHEIK & I / USA (Director: Caveh Zahedi) EAST COAST PREMIERECinematic provocateur Caveh Zahedi (I Am a Sex Addict) is commissioned by the Sharjah Biennial to make a film on the theme “art as a subversive act.” Similarly hilarious yet far more disturbing than the mega-hit Borat, THE SHEIK & I is a breathtaking display of filmmaking chutzpah.

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  • The Five-Year Engagement Starring Emily Blunt and Jason Segel to Open 2012 Tribeca Film Festival

    The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF) today announced that The Five-Year Engagement will open the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival. Director/writer/producer Nicholas Stoller and writer/star Jason Segel of Forgetting Sarah Marshall reteam for the irreverent comedy, which also stars Emily Blunt, Rhys Ifans, Chris Pratt and Alison Brie. The premiere will take place on Wednesday, April 18, and the Festival will run through April 29.

    Beginning where most romantic comedies end, The Five-Year Engagement looks at what happens when an engaged couple, Segel and Blunt, keeps getting tripped up on the long walk down the aisle. The film, also produced by Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin) and Rodney Rothman (Get Him to the Greek), was written by Segel and Stoller.  It opens on April 27.

    The 2012 Tribeca Film Festival will announce its feature film lineup on March 6 and 8, 2012.

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  • 1st inaugural Montclair Film Festival Official Poster

    The Montclair Film Festival has chosen Chris Gash’s submission as the winner of the poster contest for the 2012 Festival. Chris is a Visiting Specialist at Montclair State University in New Jersey.

    The 1st inaugural Montclair Film Festival is scheduled for May 1 thru 6, 2012 in Montclair, New Jersey.

     

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  • Chris Kennedy is New Programmer of TIFF Free Screen

    Noah Cowan, Artistic Director, TIFF Bell Lightbox, announced the appointment of Chris Kennedy as the new programmer for The Free Screen, TIFF Cinematheque’s renowned ongoing free series that features independent and avant-garde works.

    “Chris has long been a champion of Canadian and international experimental film and video,” said Cowan. “His commitment and experience within the local and international experimental film and video community as well as his active participation in artist-run culture in the city make him a great asset to our Programming team. We are thrilled to have him on board.”

    Kennedy is an accomplished programmer, curator and filmmaker with over a decade of experience programming experimental film and video. He was part of the programming committee for Toronto’s Pleasure Dome for six years, where he was instrumental in programming the Jack Smith retrospective and topical programs on Culture Jamming and the Second Gulf War. As Programmer for the Images Festival, he played a key role in organizing the Canadian Spotlights of Vincent Grenier and Robert Lee, introducing local audiences to Renzo Martens and Egyptian video art, and bringing in live performances such as Aki Onda and the show-stopping mash-up, Hop-Fu! He has also been guest curator for the New Nothing Cinema and the San Francisco Cinematheque, as well as a Board member for the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre. Kennedy’s films have shown in many national and international film festivals including Media City, the Berlin International Film Festival and the Hong Kong International Film Festival.

    “This is a crucial time for experimental media in general as the definitions and formats continue to be challenged,” said Kennedy. “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to build on The Free Screen’s reputation of bringing experimental work to a curious and engaged audience, and plan to keep on exploring its connections with global cinema and contemporary art during this exciting time.”

    Since its inception, The Free Screen has showcased work by established and emerging artists engaged in fields ranging from avant-garde film and animation to visual arts, essay films and video art, often with leading artists in attendance to discuss their work. The series has been overseen by some of the country’s most important programmers, including its founder Susan Oxtoby, Toronto-based filmmaker and programmer Chris Gehman, and Andréa Picard, Wavelengths curator and curatorial head for the Visions programme at the Toronto International Film Festival.

    Kennedy’s first season as The Free Screen programmer will launch on March 21 with a salute to Jan Peacock. One of Canada’s most important video artists and one of the winners of this year’s Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts, Peacock has influenced and guided successive generations of artists in their explorations of the video medium. Jan Peacock: Using Clouds for Words is a survey of her oeuvre that includes gems such as her early video, California Freeze-Out (1980), made while a graduate student at UC San Diego and included in the influential California Video show curated by Kathy Rae Huffman for the 1980 Paris Biennial; Wallace & Theresa (1985), in which she memorializes her friend Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, an artist and writer whose life was cut brutally short; and (Bliss) (Dread) The Road Rises to Meet You (1987), a key piece made during the maelstrom of the AIDS epidemic. The screening will be preceded by a looped version of her most recent work, touch 1.0 (2012). Peacock will be in attendance to introduce the film and for a Q&A session after the screening. 

    On April 11, The Free Screen, in co-presentation with the Images Festival, will feature the Toronto premiere of American collage-artist and filmmaker Lewis Klahr’s The Pettifogger (2011). A narcotic mixture of noir-driven intrigue and brooding, contemplative passages driven by strong mood music and found dialogue from radio potboilers, Klahr’s longest piece to date is an elliptical narrative of a year in the life of an American gambler and con man (the “petty fugger” of the title), circa 1963. The filmmaker will be in attendance to introduce the film and to do a Q&A session after the screening.

    Tickets to The Free Screen are free and are available as of 10 a.m. on the day of the screening in person only at the TIFF Bell Lightbox box office.

    via press release

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  • 2012 Tumbleweeds Film Festival for Children in Utah Film Lineup

    [caption id="attachment_2506" align="alignnone" width="550"]AURELIE LAFLAMME’S DIARY[/caption]

    The 2nd annual Tumbleweeds Film Festival for Children in Utah announced this year’s line up includes 11 feature films and 14 short films films from 7 countries, in 5 languages.  Many films will be screened in their original languages, with a reader narrating the subtitles for younger audience members. In addition to the 18 film presentations, the festival includes four film related workshops presented by Spy Hop Productions. Screenings and workshops will be held March 23-25 at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, Spy Hop Productions and The City Library.

    Opening and Closing Night films will be announced within the coming weeks.


    2012 Tumbleweeds Film Festival Film Program:

    AMAZING ANIMATIONS!Recommended for children 6+
    Don’t miss this international collection of colorful, clever and creative animated short films. From four sisters trying to pass the time on a long trip, to a pigeon that sabotages a secret mission, to a dog that finds a new best friend – its own tail! – this wonderful set of films features a variety of stories in a range of animations styles.  Fun and inventive, these animations are sure to entertain and delight audiences of all ages!

    AURELIE LAFLAMME’S DIARY // LE JOURNAL D’AURÉLIE LAFLAMME
    Director: Christian Laurence (Canada, 2010 – 108 min)
    Screens in French with English subtitles – Recommended for children ages 12+
    Feeling out of place the world, Aurélie Laflamme wonders if she might be an alien in this funny and touching look at a girl navigating the path to adolescence.


    BACALAR
    Director: Patricia Arriaga-Jordán//Mexico, 2011 – 96 min
    Screens in Spanish with English subtitles – Recommended for children 9+
    With a little help from some mystical animal spirits, best friends Santiago and Mariana attempt to rescue endangered wolf cubs from ruthless animal smugglers in this exciting Mexican action-adventure.


    A CAT IN PARIS // UN VIE DE CHAT
    Directors: Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol (France/Belgium, 2011 – 70 min)
    Screens in French with English subtitles – Recommended for children 8+
    Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Film, this stunning hand drawn and richly colored animation, with a jazzy soundtrack, is a charming, action-packed adventure set in the moonlit rooftops of Paris.


    CIRCUS DREAMS
    Director: Signe Taylor (USA, 2011 – 80 min)
    Recommended for children 8+
    Join charismatic young jugglers, acrobats and clowns as they spend the summer performing with Circus Smirkus, the only travelling youth circus in the United States.


    FRIENDS FOREVER // MULLEWAPP
    Directors: Toney Loeser and Theresa Strozyk (Germany, 2010 – 77 min)
    Recommended for children 4+
    When Cloud the Lamb is kidnapped, it is Johnny the Mouse, Charlie the Rooster and Percy the Pig to the rescue in this delightful animated adventure about the importance of friendship.


    THE LETTER FOR THE KING // DE BRIEF VOOR DE KONING
    Director: Pieter Verhoeff (The Netherlands, 2008 – 100 min)
    Screens in Dutch with English subtitles – Recommended for children 8+
    Travel back to medieval times for an exciting adventure about a teenaged squire who must evade his enemies and deliver a letter that carries the fate of an entire kingdom.


    LOUDER THAN A BOMB
    Directors: Greg Jacobs and Jon Siskel (USA, 2010 – 99 min)
    Recommended for children 13+
    Exhilarating and inspiring, this documentary follow the fortunes of four diverse groups of high school students as they prepare for, and compete in one of the country’s leading youth poetry slam.


    THE MAGICIANS // HET GHEIM
    Director: Joram Lürsen (The Netherlands, 2010 – 94 min)
    Screens in Dutch with English subtitles – Recommend for children 7+
    Aspiring magician Ben learns not everything is as it seems when he must solve the mysterious disappearance of his best friend Sylvie in this charmingly entertaining family film.


    MOONBEAM BEAR AND HIS FRIENDS // DER MONDBAER
    Directors: Thomas Bodenstein and Mike Maurus (Germany, 2008 – 69 min)
    Recommended for children 4+
    When Mr. Moon falls from the night sky, it’s up to Moonbeam Bear and his friends to return him back home in this delightful and enchanting animation ideal for younger viewers.


    TIGER TEAM
    Director: Peter Gersina (Germany, 2010 – 90 min)
    Screens in German with English subtitles –  Recommended for children 8+
    Join the Tiger-Team, Bigi, Luk and Patrick, on a dynamic action filled adventure in China as they race to be the first to unlock an age-old palace of riches hidden deep inside a mountain.

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  • Iraqi director Oday Rasheed to be San Francisco Film Society 2012 Spring Artist in Residence

    The San Francisco Film Society announced that Iraqi director Oday Rasheed will be in San Francisco for the Film Society’s third Artist in Residence program, April 2 – 16. Rasheed’s schedule will include programs in each of the Film Society’s core areas — education, exhibition and filmmaker services — including visits to Bay Area high school and college classrooms, a screening of his feature Qarantina and networking events with the local film community. Rasheed’s residency is funded by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation.

    “We are thrilled to have this opportunity to bring one of the few working Iraqi filmmakers to San Francisco for our next residency,” said Joanne Parsont, SFFS director of education. “Oday Rasheed’s films and personal experience will undoubtedly provide a unique perspective and learning experience for hundreds of local students, filmmakers and filmgoers. We also look forward to fully engaging him with the Bay Area filmmaking community during his two-week stay with us. We are grateful to our community partner, Global Film Initiative, for connecting us with Rasheed and to the Kenneth Rainin Foundation for providing the funding that has allowed us to continue this enriching program for the second year in a row.”

    Oday Rasheed was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1973. He founded the production company Enlil Film and Arts and cofounded the Iraqi Independent Film Centre, an educational center in Baghdad for young filmmakers. His first feature film, Underexposure, received the Best Film Award at the Singapore International Film Festival in 2005, the Golden Hawk Award at the Arab Film Festival Rotterdam in 2005 and the Best Script Award at the Oran International Arab Film Festival in 2007.

    Rasheed’s melancholic, beautifully shot sophomore feature Qarantina (Iraq/Germany 2010) plays Tuesday, April 3 at 7:00 pm at San Francisco Film Society Cinema (1746 Post Street). The screening will be followed by a discussion with the director and a special guest moderator.

    A broken family under patriarch Salih lives uneasily within the gated courtyard of a dilapidated house in Baghdad. Meriam, Salih’s daughter, has fallen silent, refusing to tell her father what’s wrong. Salih’s young second wife, Kerima, and his preteen son, Muhanad, provide Meriam with some protection from her father. Meanwhile, with the family hard up for money, Muhanad must work in the street shining shoes and, more ominously, the entire household must cohabitate with a sullen and imperious boarder, a man who works as a hired killer and has taken Kerima as his mistress. In Qarantina Rasheed gorgeously captures today’s Baghdad, a moody and colorful place in the grip of a brooding listlessness. This stunned atmosphere is furthered by the performances of the formidable cast, who suggest unexpected sources of resilience in the wake of catastrophe. Written by Oday Rasheed. Photographed by Osama Rasheed. With Asaad Abdul Majeed, Alaa Najem, Hattam Auda. In Arabic with subtitles. 90 min. Distributed by Global Film Initiative.

    Visiting artists are selected based on their filmmaking experience, compelling body of work and desire to share their knowledge with emerging filmmakers and film students. Under the auspices of the Film Society’s Education department, Rasheed is scheduled to visit several middle school, high school and college classes during his residency. In collaboration with Filmmaker360, the Film Society’s filmmaker services program, Rasheed will also have the opportunity to meet and network with Bay Area filmmakers.

    Prior Artists in Residence have been Federico Veiroj of Uruguay and Ido Haar of Israel.

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  • Author Jonathan Lethem to Deliver State of Cinema address at 2012 San Francisco International Film Festival

    Author Jonathan Lethem will deliver the ninth annual State of Cinema address at the 55th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 19 – May 3).

    Each year, the Film Society invites a public figure to discuss the intersecting worlds of contemporary cinema and visual arts, culture and society, images and ideas. This year, New York Times bestselling novelist, essayist and short story writer Jonathan Lethem investigates the “ecstasies of influence” constituting the cinematic experience. From Motherless Brooklyn to The Fortress of Solitude to Chronic City, Lethem’s body of work displays incredible range and (among other things) a deep attention to cinematic genres and aesthetics. His recent monograph on John Carpenter’s underappreciated cult film They Live is affectionate and energizing, revealing the ways that B movies can burrow subversively into everyday consciousness. For his talk at SFIFF, Lethem will revisit his earlier insights on the gift economy and what critic Manny Farber called “termite art” in order to explore the ways cultural movements such as Occupy Wall Street, new media revolutions like YouTube and loosely-defined (and often derided) grassroots art movements like mumblecore can, in their various ways, unearth utopian possibilities for reciprocal transformations in film culture and our daily lives.

    “Jonathan Lethem is the perfect person to explore current social and cultural movements and their possible aesthetic, political and commercial influences,” said Film Society director of programming Rachel Rosen. “An insightful thinker and an enormous movie fan, Lethem is sure to deliver a lively and thought-provoking address.”

    Born in New York City in 1964, Jonathan Lethem is the author of eight novels, including The Fortress of Solitude, Girl In Landscape and Chronic City. His fifth, Motherless Brooklyn, was the recipient of the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Macallan Gold Dagger, and was named Book of the Year by Esquire Magazine. He is also the recipient of, among other honors, a Pushcart Prize, a Crawford Award, a World Fantasy Award and a MacArthur Fellowship. Lethem’s stories and essays, including his film criticism, have been collected in five volumes, including 2011’s The Ecstasy of Influence: Nonfictions, Etc., which is currently a nominee for the National Book Critics Circle Award in criticism. Adaptations of Lethem’s novels for feature film are currently in progress by a host of filmmakers including Edward Norton, David Cronenberg, Steph Green and Alfonso Gómez-Rejón. Lethem is celebrated as an advocate for the public commons in the arts, and for his interrogation of remix and appropriation culture in his celebrated essay “The Ecstasy of Influence,” as well as in his internet collaborative-media “Promiscuous Materials” project. He currently lives with his family in Claremont, California and in Maine.

    Previous State of Cinema speakers have been film producer Christine Vachon, film editor Walter Murch, photographer Mary Ellen Mark, Wired publisher Kevin Kelly, actress Tilda Swinton, writer/director Brad Bird, cultural commentator B. Ruby Rich and longtime editor of the influential French film magazine Positif Michel Ciment.

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  • Australia’s Fantastic Planet Film Festival Announces Lineup and The Divide as Opening Night Film

    [caption id="attachment_2500" align="alignnone" width="550"]The Divide[/caption]

    Australia’s Fantastic Planet Film Festival kicks of on March 22, 2012, for 11 days of horror, fantasy and science fiction films.

    Opening night of the Festival will see the Australian premiere of the post-apocalyptic science fiction thriller and nominee for ‘Best New International Feature’ at the 2011 Edinburgh International Film Festival, THE DIVIDE; followed by the science fiction drama ANOTHER EARTH, winner of the prestigious Sloan Award at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

    The Festival’s program also includes numerous award-winning films including ‘Best Horror Movie’ at the 2011 American International Film Festival BELOW ZERO; ‘Best Film’ at the 2011 Toronto After Dark Film Festival FATHER’S DAY; ‘Best Feature Film’ at the 2011 Sci-Fi London Film Festival PIG; and UNICORN CITY which received official selection at the 2011 San Diego Film Festival.

    Fantastic Planet Film Festival 2012 Program

    Thursday, March 22rd 

    7:00pm
    THE DIVIDE
    Dir: Xavier Gans – 110 min / Germany/USA/Canada / 2011
    AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
    When an atomic bomb devastates New York, eight strangers take refuge in the basement of their apartment building. The residents soon succumb to cabin fever as fear of radiation and dwindling food and water plays on their mind. However Julie, the only young woman, has her own worries as the men begin to regress into dangerous packs. She quickly learns to be ruthless if she wants to survive, aware that her sanctuary is becoming her hell.

    9:20pm
    ANOTHER EARTH
    Dir: Mike Cahill – 92 min / USA / 2011
    Rhoda Williams (Brit Marling), a bright young woman accepted into MIT’S Astrophisics program, aspires to explore the cosmos. A brilliant composer, John Burroughs (William Mapother), has just reached the pinnacle of his profession and is about to have a second child. On the eve of the discovery of a duplicate planet Earth, tragedy strikes and the lives of these strangers become irrevocably intertwined.

    Friday, March 23rd

    7:00pm
    YAKUZA WEAPON
    Dir:  Tak Sakaguchi and Yudi Yamaguchi – 105 min / 2011 / Japan
    SYDNEY PREMIERE
    YAKUZA WEAPON is like taking a bite from a Hollywood actioner, another from a Yakuza crime flick, chewing em’ up, spitting em’ out and microwaving em’ on high. A yakuza in exile returns to Japan to exact revenge, with a machine gun arm, a rocket-launcher leg and a naked woman weapon who shoots from her um….well, use your imagination! YAKUZA WEAPON defies description, stunning, hilarious, razor sharp and totally original.

    9:00pm
    PENUMBRA
    Dir: Adrián García Bogliano, Ramiro García Bogliano – 85 mins / 2011 / Argentina
    SYDNEY PREMIERE
    Marga, a savvy young real estate agent discovers that some strange clients haven’t been exactly honest with her about their plans for an inner city apartment that they want to rent. Trapped in the building – on the day of a solar eclipse – Marga finds herself locked in a battle of wits against the tenets from hell.

    Saturday, March 24th

    12:00pm
    VAMPERIFICA
    Dir: Bruce Ornstein – 95 min / 2012 / USA
    AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
    Carmen McCoy, is a flamboyant, twenty-something, sometime student at a small community college, who wants nothing more than to hang out with his best friend Tracy, be in a musical production at school, and maybe, one day, be a star. Instead, he discovers that for him, destiny has something else in store: he is the reincarnation of the 200 year old vampire king, Raven.
Now, Carmen must choose between his friends and that destiny. The films is a mix of comedy and tenderness, drama and action, friendship and isolation, even a musical number… and blood… lots of blood…VAMPERIFICA is a campy horror comedy with bite: Overflowing with laughs, gore and scares.

    3:00pm
    SHORTS 1: SCI-FI

    5:00pm
    THE WHISPERER IN DARKNESS
    Dir: Sean Branney – 103 min / 2011 / USA
    AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
    Celebrated author H.P. Lovecraft’s classic tale of alien horror bursts onto the screen in the style of the classic horror films of the 1930s. Folklore professor Albert Wilmarth investigates legends of strange creatures in the most remote hills of Vermont. His inquiry reveals a terrifying glimpse of the truth that lurks behind the legends. Filmed in the style of the classic 1930s films such as Frankenstein, Dracula and King Kong, The Whisperer in Darkness returns us to the golden age of movies for a thrilling adventure of supernatural horror. Filmed on location in New England in Mythoscope™ by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, The Whisperer in Darkness treats audiences to a cinematic thrill not felt since the Hoover administration.

    7:00pm
    BELOW ZERO
    Dir: Justin Thomas Ostensen – 94 min / 2012 / Canada/USA
    AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
    Facing writer’s block and a crucial deadline, screenwriter Jack “The Hack” (Edward Furlong) decides to remove himself from all distractions by locking himself in the freezer of an abandoned slaughterhouse, where fiction and reality blur. Inspired by true events, method writer Signe Olynyk’s BELOW ZERO is a beautifully-shot and perfectly-cast feature film (also featuring Michael Berryman and Kristen Booth), that is a twisty story within a story, within a real-life story.

    9:00pm
    UNDERWATER  LOVE
    Dir:  Shinji Imaoka – 87 min / 2011 / Japan
    SYDNEY PREMIERE
    Announcing itself as a ‘pink musical’ UNDERWATER LOVE combines the talents of revered Aussie cinematographer Chris Doyle, French-German electro-pop due Stereo Total and Cult Pinku director Shinji Imaoka. Asuka is a 35-year-old fish factory worker who begins to question her recent engagement after she is visited by formerly deceased lover in the form of a half-man, half-turtle entity known as a Kappa. Alternating bizarre sex scenes with glorious musical numbers, this is a hilarious, stunningly photographed, one-of-a-kind oddity. Truly unlike any other film ever made.

    11:00pm
    FATHER’S DAY
    Dir: Astron-6 – 99 min / 2011 / Canada/USA
    AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
    The urban legend known as ‘The Father’s Day Killer’ began some years after the demise of serial rapist/murderer Chris Fuchman. Since the 1970s, the use of contraceptives has tripled in North America alone and a generation of fathers fell asleep with the covers pulled tight, buttocks clenched. The story has become a fire-side cautionary ritual on camping trips, often used by fathers to warn their sons of the dangers of unplanned pregnancy. That deep seeded fear of penetration, violation and eventually death waned as the murder and rape of fathers continued to decline all over the world. Unfortunately those numbers didn’t remain low, and it would seem that the legend is not yet complete…Ahab, a man obsessed with exacting a brutal, violent revenge on the man who murdered his dad, joins John, an eager priest and Twink, a hot-headed street hustler on an epic quest to find and defeat this mythical monster known as Chris Fuchman AKA The Father’s Day Killer.

    Winner Best Film, Toronto After Dark

    Sunday, March 25th

    1:00pm
    THE COLOUR (DIE FABRE)
    Dir: Huan Vu – 87 min / 2010 / Germany
    AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
    Arkham, 1975: Jonathan Davis’ father has disappeared. His tracks lead to Germany, to the Swabian-Franconian Forest where he was stationed after the Second World War. Jonathan sets out to find him and bring him home, but deep in the woods he discovers a dark mystery from the past. A visually haunting adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s short novel ‘The Colour Out of Space’.

    3:00pm
    SHORTS 2: A NIGHT OF HORROR: LOVECRAFT

    7:00pm
    UNICORN CITY
    Dir: Bryan Lefler – 101 min / 2012 / USA
    AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
    Voss (Devin McGinn, THE LAST LOVECRAFT) is a gamer who is unemployed and looking for work. When a management position opens up at a gaming company, he interviews but lacks evidence of the leadership abilities necessary to land the job. Given a week to prove himself, Voss does the only thing any rational adult would do; he creates a Utopian society for gamers. Voss convinces his gaming guild to follow him into the mountains and has Marsha, his best friend, document his abilities. However things get complicated when Shadow Hawk (John Gries, NAPOLEAN DYNAMITE), his gaming nemesis, arrives to overthrow Voss’ kingdom. UNICORN CITY is a hilarious adventure into the world of gamer culture. Think MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL meets NAPOLEAN DYNAMITE!

    9:00pm
    THE BOOK
    Dir: Richard Weiss – 92 min / 2011 / USA
    AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
    They come from another dimension. They have an agenda we are not aware of. They are already here and they look just like us. How would you react if you encountered your double and you knew that only one of you could remain? In the year 2284, best-selling author Alexis is confronted by look-alike aliens who want to take over his identity so they can use his name to publish THE BOOK, their means for “saving” humanity. Unpredictable, but often playful, these visitors engage Alexis and his family in a wild and provocative chase. The alien’s book, a potent instrument of alchemy, neutralizes all negative emotions in whoever reads it. No more greed. No more anger. No more fear. No more war.  Harmony on the planet. A formula for Utopia? A secret group of dissidents determined to remain “unchanged” thinks otherwise. 

    Monday, March 26th

    7:00pm
    SHORTS 3: A NIGHT OF HORROR: ZOMBIES

    9:00pm
    THE ARRIVAL OF WANG (L’arrivo di Wang)
    Dir: Antonio Manetti and Marco Manetti – 80 min / 2012 / Italy
    AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
    Gaia, a Chinese language interpreter is called on an urgent and top-secret job. She meets Curti, a govt. agent devoid of scruples who needs to interrogate the mysterious Mr. Wang. But due to the need for secrecy, the interrogation takes place in the dark and unnerved, Gaia has trouble doing her job properly. When the light is finally switched on, Gaia discovers why the identity of Mr. Wang is being covered with so much secrecy. Facing her is a creature from another world. An encounter that will forever change her life. And that of the entire planet.

    Tuesday, March 27

    7:00pm
    DEADBALL
    Dir:  Yudi Yamaguchi – 99 mins / 2011 / Japan
    SYDNEY PREMIERE
    Playing like some acid-tinged cross between ROLLERBALL & BATTLE ROYALE, this Sushi Typhoon production gleefully obliterates all notions of good taste. Centering its action on a kamikaze baseball game between a team of Nazi trained high-school girls and a bunch of death row inmates, DEADBALL redefines the term ‘over the top’. Be prepared for exploding baseballs, MSG-Infused vomit masquerading as food, and general depraved shenanigans you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else.

    9:00pm
    SHORTS 4: A NIGHT OF HORROR: AUSTRALIAN HORROR SHOWCASE

    Wednesday, March 28th

    7:00pm
    EXIT HUMANITY
    Dir: John Geddes – 114 mins / 2011/ Canada
    AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
    EXIT HUMANITY is a story told through the written and illustrated journal of Edward Young as he battles his way through an unexplainable outbreak of the walking dead. Set a decade after the American Civil War, Edward returns home from a hunting trip to find a horrific re-animation of his wife Julia, and that their son Adam has disappeared. Edward starts to record his experiences amongst the living dead that has torn his family apart, and threatens all of mankind. Throughout his harrowing journey Edward finds friendship, guidance and love amongst chaos and despair, when all else seems to be lost in a world robbed of its humanity.

    9:00pm
    SHORTS  5: AUSTRALIAN SCI-FI / FANTASY SHOWCASE

    Thursday, March 29th

    7:00pm
    PIG
    Dir: Henry Barrial – 90 min / 2011 / USA
    AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
    MEMENTO meets P. K. Dick in this mind-trip of a psychological / sci-fi thriller. 
    A man wakes up alone in the middle of the desert with a black hood on his head and his hands tied behind his back. He has no idea who he is or how he got there. The only clue to his identity – a piece of paper in his pocket with the name “Manny Elder” written on it – sends him to Los Angeles where things are not what they seem and clues lead to something bigger and more unusual than he could have ever imagined.

    9:00pm
    SHORTS 6: A NIGHT OF HORROR: EXTREME

    Friday, March 30th

    7:00pm
    THE DEVIL’S ROCK
    PLUS: Q&A with international guest, the film’s co-writer/director Paul Campion
    Dir: Paul Campion – 83 min / 2011 / New Zealand
    AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
    On the eve of the D Day landings, allied commandos set out to raid enemy positions in the English Channel. Approaching a German bunker during a night-time raid they hear mysterious noises and are compelled to investigate. Inside they find dismembered corpses strewn across the floors and occult symbols covering every surface/ Only tow beings remain alive – a Gestapo officer tasked with raising the forces of Hell to fight for the Nazi cause and his demon slave, hungry for human flesh. What ensues will test the bravery and sanity of the men, pushing them to the very limits of fear, belief and life in a terrifying battle between the forces of good and evil.

    9:00pm
    THE YELLOW SEA
    Dir: Hong-Jin Na – 140 min / 2010 / South Korea
    SYDNEY PREMIERE
    Na Hong-Jin stunned us in 2009 with THE CHASER, he now returns with this tale of ambitious scope for which he has just received a nomination for ‘Best Director’ at the Asian Pacific Screen Awards. THE YELLOW SEA tells the story of Gu-Nam, a taxi driver in China with huge debts. He is offered a way of his problems – travel across the Yellow Sea to Korea and make a kill. He accepts and so begins a journey of violence, double-crosses and some intense hand-to-hand hatchet action you are likely to see!

    Saturday, March 31st
    1:00pm
    TOMIE: UNLIMITED
    Dir:  Noboru Iguchi – 85 Mins / 2011 / Japan
    This film is seriously weird, seriously creepy and seriously fantastic. Part Lynch, part J-horror, pure Iguchi. Gravure idol Miu Nakamura plays Tomie to perfection, creating a truly sinister schoolgirl character. Tomie is the embodiment of lust with the power to make anyone fall in love with her – don’t let her next victim be you! Based on Junji Ito’s famous manga, this fiendish tale drips with the darkness and dread.

    3:00pm
    SHORTS 7: FANTASY

    5:00pm
    SKEW
    PLUS: Q&A with film’s writer/director Seve Schelenz
    Dir: Sevé Schelenz – 82 min / CAN / 2010
    When Simon, Rich, and Eva head out on a road trip, they bring along a video camera to record their journey. The carefree adventure slowly becomes a descent into terror as unexplained events threaten to disrupt the balance between the three close friends. Each one of them must struggle with personal demons and paranoia as friendships are tested and gruesome realities are revealed…and recorded.  This film is like PARANORMAL ACTIVITY on steroids. Genuinely terrifying.

    7:00pm
    CRAWL
    Plus: Q&A with the films writer-director / producer team: The China Brothers (Paul and Benjamin)
    Dir: Paul China – 80 min / Australia / 2011
    SYDNEY PREMIERE
    Crawl is a character-driven thriller set in an unknown, rural town. A seedy bar-owner hires a mysterious Croatian to murder an acquaintance over an unpaid debt. The crime is carried out, but a planned double-crossing backfires and an innocent waitress suddenly becomes involved. Now a hostage in her own home, the young woman is driven to desperate measures for survival. A suspenseful, yet darkly humorous chain of events builds to a blood-curdling and unforgettable climax.

    9:20pm
    THE THEATRE BIZARRE
    Dir: Douglas Buck. Buddy Giovinazzo, David Gregory, Karim Hussain, Jeremy Kasten, Tom Savini, Richard Stanley.
    114 mins / 2011 / USA/FRANCE/CANADA
    Down a seedy city street, a young woman is obsessed with what appears to be a long abandoned theatre. One night, she sees the front door slightly ajar and impulsively decides to sneak inside. But there in the vast, eerie auditorium, a show unlike any other unfolds before her eyes. Its host is an odd marionette-like man who will introduce her to six tales of the truly bizarre: A couple traveling in a remote part of the French Pyrenees crosses paths with a lustful witch; A paranoid lover faces the wrath of a partner who has been pushed to her limit; The Freudian dreams of an unfaithful husband blur the lines between fantasy and reality; The horrors of the real world are interpreted through the mind of a child; A woman addicted to other people’s memories gets her fix through the fluid of her victims’ eyeballs; And a perverse obsession with sweets turns sour for a couple in too deep. But as the stories unfold, something strange is happening to the woman. Something irreversible and horrific. Something that awaits its next audience in THE THEATRE BIZARRE.

    Sunday, April 1st
    3:00pm
    SHORTS  8:  ANIMATION

    5:00pm
    THE CORIDOOR
    Dir: Evan Kelly – 98 min / 2011 / Canada
    SYDNEY PREMIERE
    They’ve been the best of buddies for more than a decade, but now they’re changing – getting married, getting fired, going bald, going crazy. During a male-bonding weekend they will discover a spectral corridor through the woods, an impossible hallway where none should be. It will lead these five men into fear, into betrayal and into the biggest change of them all: by weekend’s finish… they’ll be dead.

    7:00pm
    LOVE (ANGELS & AIRWAVES)
    Dir: William Eubank – 90 min / 2011 / USA
    AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
    After losing contact with Earth, Astronaut Lee Miller becomes stranded in orbit alone aboard the International Space Station. As time passes and life support systems dwindle, Lee battles to maintain his sanity – and simply stay alive. His world is a claustrophobic and lonely existence, until he makes a strange discovery aboard the ship.
    The film festival circuit hit LOVE is a hauntingly beautiful science fiction masterpiece, which brings to mind such classic films as 2001: A SPACE OPERA, SOLARIS and MOON. Produced and scored by Angels and Airwaves, this is the must see sci-fi film of the year.

    Followed by award ceremony and closing night party.

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  • Wild and Scenic Film Festival on Tour in Lousiville This Weekend

    [caption id="attachment_2497" align="alignnone" width="550"]A River Runs Through Us[/caption]

    The Wild and Scenic Film Festival on Tour returns to the Clifton Center’s Eifler Theatre in Louisville on Saturday, March 3, 2012, from 8:30-11:00 p.m screening inspirational and motivational films, hosted again by Kentucky Waterways Alliance .

    “The Wild & Scenic film festival is a great opportunity to bring our community together around local environmental issues, inspire advocacy and offer people a direct way to get involved locally,” said Judith Petersen, Kentucky Waterways Alliance executive director. “And this year is particularly special because we’re celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act. We hope you’ll join us to commemorate this landmark piece of legislation.”

    [caption id="attachment_2498" align="alignnone" width="550"]YERT – Your Environmental Road Trip[/caption]

    The program (with a 10 minute intermission) offers a mix of films addressing environmental issues. The festival will be showing an exclusive compilation for the Wild & Scenic  Film Fest of YERT – Your Environmental Road Trip by local director (and emcee for the festival) Ben Evans. The selections from this award winning documentary take a fun substantive look at solutions to the challenging water crises around the country – from the desert Southwest to the Gulf Coast to Appalachia. 

    Other films screening include Beaver Creek Episode 4, by young animator Ian Timothy, who is a junior at St. X High School in Louisville. Ian’s film was an official selection in the national 2012 Wild and Scenic film festival in Nevada City, California. Beaver Creek Episodes are funny stop motion animation shorts featuring Twigs the beaver and Drake the duck. Each episode blends witty cartoon antics of natural beaver activities, which casts a good light on nature’s keystone species. Both filmmakers will be there that night for a short Q & A session with the audience.

    In Marion Stoddart: the Power of 1000 chronicling an important episode in U.S. environmental history, this inspirational story examines the human side of acclaimed environmental pioneer Marion Stoddart who proved that with vision and commitment, an “ordinary” person can accomplish extraordinary things.

    Click here for entire line-up

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  • Winners of the 84th annual Academy Awards

    [caption id="attachment_2493" align="alignnone" width="550"]Thomas Langmann and Michel Hazanavicius – Best Picture – THE ARTIST[/caption]

    No surprise here, The Artist was the big winner at the 84th annual Academy Awards, taking home the big award of the night, Best Picture along with Best Actor for leading actor Jean Dujardin.

    The list of the winners from the 84th annual Academy Awards:

    Best picture: “The Artist.”

    Actress in a leading role: Meryl Streep, “Iron Lady.”

    [caption id="attachment_2494" align="alignnone" width="394"]Jean Dujardin wins Best Actor for THE ARTIST.[/caption]

    Actor in a leading role: Jean Dujardin, “The Artist.”

    Actress in a supporting role: Octavia Spencer, “The Help.”

    Actor in a supporting role: Christopher Plummer, “Beginners.”

    Directing: Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist.”

    Cinematography: “Hugo.”

    Art direction: “Hugo.”

    Costume design: “The Artist.”

    Makeup: “The Iron Lady.”

    [caption id="attachment_2495" align="alignnone" width="550"]Asghar Farhadi – Foreign Language Film – Iran, A SEPARATION[/caption]

    Foreign language film: “A Separation,” Iran.

    Film editing: “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”

    Sound editing: “Hugo.”

    Sound mixing: “Hugo.”

    Documentary feature: “Undefeated.”

    Animated feature film: “Rango.”

    Visual effects: “Hugo.”

    Original score: “The Artist.”

    Original song: “Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets.”

    Adapted screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, “The Descendants.”

    Original screenplay: Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris.”

    Live action short film: “The Shore.”

    Documentary (short subject): “Saving Face.”

    Animated short film: “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.”

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  • The Artist, Pariah, The Descendants Win at 27th Film Independent Spirit Awards

    [caption id="attachment_2176" align="alignnone"]Best First Feature – Margin Call[/caption]

    The Artist, as expected, was the big winner at yesterday’s 27th Film Independent Spirit Awards, winning awards for Best Feature, Best Director, Best Male Lead and Best Cinematography. Other winners included My Week With Marilyn, which won Best Female Lead; The Descendants, which won Best Supporting Female and Best Screenplay; Beginners, which won Best Supporting Male and Pariah, which won the John Cassavetes Award; 50/50, which won Best First Screenplay; Margin Call, which won Best First Feature; A Separation, which won Best International Film; and The Interrupters, which won Best Documentary.

    The 5th annual Robert Altman Award was given to one film’s director, casting director, and ensemble cast. J. C. Chandor’s Margin Call received this award, along with casting directors Tiffany Little Canfield and Bernard Telsey and ensemble cast members Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore, Zachary Quinto, Kevin Spacey and Stanley Tucci.

    The Spirit Awards was the first event to exclusively honor independent film, with artists receiving industry recognition first at the Spirit Awards include Joel & Ethan Coen, Spike Lee, Oliver Stone, Ashley Judd, Robert Rodriguez, David O. Russell, Edward Burns, Aaron Eckhart, Neil LaBute, Darren Aronofsky, Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, Hilary Swank, Marc Forster, Todd Field, Christopher Nolan, Zach Braff, Amy Adams and many more.

    The following is a complete list of 27th Film Independent Spirit Awards winners:

    Best Feature – The Artist             

    Best Director – Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

    Best Screenplay – Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, The Descendants

    Best First Feature – Margin Call, Director: J.C. Chandor

    Best First Screenplay – Will Reiser, 50/50

    John Cassavetes Award (For the best feature made under $500,000) –  Writer/Director: Dee Rees, Pariah                                                        
    Best Supporting Female – Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

    Best Supporting Male – Christopher Plummer, Beginners

    Best Female – Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

    Best Male – Jean Dujardin, The Artist

    Best Cinematography – Guillaume Schiffman, The Artist

    Best Foreign Film – A Separation, Director: Asghar Farhadi

    Best Documentary – The Interrupters, Director: Steve James


    Two new filmmaker grants were awarded during the ceremony. The 2012 Chaz and Roger Ebert Fellowship, which recognizes a social-issue documentary and includes a cash grant of $10,000, was given to Katie Fairfax Wright and Malika Zouhali-Worrall, co-directors of the documentary Call Me Kuchu. The film was developed in Film Independent’s 2011 Documentary Lab and has its world premiere at the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Teddy Award for Best Documentary.

    The 2012 Giorgio Armani Directing Fellowship, which includes a cash grant of $10,000, was awarded to Grace Lee, director of the documentary American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs. The film, currently in post-production, is in Film Independent’s 2012 Documentary Lab.

    On January 14th, the following winners were honored at the Spirit Awards Filmmaker Grant and Nominee Brunch at BOA Steakhouse in West Hollywood:

    The 18th Annual Audi Someone to Watch Award was given to Mark Jackson, director of Without. The $25,000 unrestricted grant, funded for the first time by Audi, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not received appropriate recognition.

    The 17th Annual Nokia Truer Than Fiction Award was given to Heather Courtney, director of Where Soldiers Come From. The $25,000 unrestricted grant, funded by Nokia, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.

    The 15th Annual Piaget Producers Award was given to Sophia Lin, producer of Take Shelter. The $25,000 unrestricted grant, funded by Piaget, is presented to an emerging producer who, despite highly limited resources demonstrates the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films.

    The 2nd Annual Jameson FIND Your Audience Award, which helps one low-budget independent film find a broader audience, was given to Benjamin Murray and Alysa Nahmias, co-directors of Unfinished Spaces. The $40,000 marketing and distribution grant, funded by Jameson® Irish Whiskey, was designed to meet independent filmmakers’ biggest challenge today: How to get their films out into the marketplace.

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