Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF)

GETT: THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM

GETT: THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM, directed by Ronit Elkabetz and Shlomi Elkabetz won The Golden Starfish Narrative Feature Award at the 2014 Hamptons International Film Festival. The Golden Starfish Award for Best Documentary was awarded to THE SPECIAL NEED directed by Carlo Zoratti. The best documentary Short Film goes to THE QUEEN (La Reina), directed by Manuel Abramovich.

The Narrative Jury awarded a special jury prize for Outstanding Performance by an actress in a film to Ronit Elkabetz in GETT: THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM. The jury also gave a Most Promising Performance By A Newcomer to Jacob Lofland in LITTLE ACCIDENTS and Evocative Cinematography to Arnaud Potier for BREATHE. The jury has awarded the short film TZNIUT, directed by David Formentin, an award for raising awareness of a socially relevant issue.

The documentary jury awarded a special prize to Tamara Erde for her achievement in Visionary Filmmaking for THIS IS MY LAND. The jury also awarded a Special Mention For Artistic Merit to Pavol Pekarčík, Ivan Ostrochovský and Peter Kerekes for their film VELVET TERRORISTS. The short film ONCE UPON A TREE was given an award for Artistic Merit for director Marleen van de Werf.

Joel Schumacher was in attendance joined by actor Keifer Sutherland and People Magazine’s Editorial Director Jess Cagle and presented with a Lifetime AchievementAward in Directing. Hilary Swank was presented with Variety’s Creative Impact in Acting Award Presented by Montblanc.

The Tangerine Entertainment Juice Award has been awarded to LITTLE ACCIDENTS directed by Sara Colangelo. This award honors an outstanding female narrative filmmaker.

Prior to the Festival, E-TEAM, directed by Ross Kauffman, Katy Chevigny, was awarded the 2014 Brizzolara Family Foundation Award for a Film of Conflict and Resolution, presented in partnership with REACT to FILM. This includes being a part of REACT to FILM’s “Influencer Series” in spring 2014 at a high profile cultural organization, as well as the opportunity to be featured across REACT to FILM’s College Action Network, comprised of over 40 campuses nationwide.

VIRUNGA, directed by Orlando Von Einsiedel, has been awarded The Victor Rabinowitz and Joanne Grant Award for social justice. This award is given to a film that most exhibits the values of peace, equality and global justice.

The Wouter Barendrecht Pioneering Vision Award, which recognizes an emerging filmmaker who is a creative risk taker and is fearlessly dedicated to their craft, was presented to THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY’s Peter Strickland.

Zelda Penzel Giving Voice to the Voiceless Award is presented to a film that raises public awareness about contemporary social issues, including the moral and ethical treatment and the rights of animals as well as environmental protection. This year the award has been presented to VIRUNGA, directed by Orlando Von Einsiedel.

Also previously announced was the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize which was awarded to THE IMITATION GAME, by Morten Tyldum.

HAMPTONS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL WINNERS:

The Wall Street Journal GSA Narrative Feature Winner
Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem, directed by Ronit Elkabetz and Shlomi Elkabetz

The GSA Documentary Feature Winner presented by A&E Indie
The Special Need, directed by Carlo Zoratti

GSA Award for Best Documentary Short Film
The Queen, directed by Manuel Abramovich

GSA Narrative Short
Tzniut, directed by David Formentin

The Victor Rabinowitz and Joanne Grant Award for Social Justice
Virunga, directed by Orlando Von Einsiedel

The Tangerine Entertainment Juice Award
Little Accidents, directed by Sara Colangelo

Zelda Penzel Giving Voice to the Voiceless Award
Virunga, directed by Orlando Von Einsiedel

The Wouter Barendrecht Award
Duke Of Burgundy, directed by Peter Strickland

Suffolk County Next Exposure Award
Gabriel, directed by Lou Howe

The 2014 Brizzolara Family Foundation Award for a Film of Conflict and Resolution, presented in partnership with REACT to FILM
E-Team, directed by Ross Kauffman, Katy Chevigny

The 2014 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize
The Imitation Game, directed by Morten Tyldum

2014 VARIETY 10 ACTORS T0 WATCH
Kaitlyn Dever, Laggies
Eve Hewson, This Must Be The Place
Dakota Johnson, 21 Jump Street
Lola Kirke, Gone Girl
Zoe Kravitz, X-Men: First Class
Caleb Landry Jones, Low Down
Jack O’Connell, Skins
Tye Sheridan, The Tree of Life
Jenny Slate, Obvious Child
Miles Teller, Whiplash

Read more

 THE IMITATION GAME

The 2014 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize of the Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) will be awarded to Morten Tyldum’s THE IMITATION GAME, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode and Mark Strong. The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation chose the film for its sensitive and moving portrait of the complex, brilliant mathematician who not only created the model for the early computer and for computer language, but whose code breaking skills helped the Allies win World War II. As part of the Festival’s Spotlight section, the film will screen on October 11th at Guild Hall in East Hampton.

 Benedict Cumberbatch delivers a monumental performance as British mathematician Alan Turing in Morten Tyldum’s stirring historical drama. Told via flashback, THE IMITATION GAME tracks the young, brilliant, and socially awkward Turing in the early days of World War II as he applies for a top-secret position tasked with decoding the “unbreakable” Nazi cipher machine called Enigma, used to encrypt all military radio transmissions. His work was famously labeled by Winston Churchill as “the greatest single contribution to victory,” but after the war he suffered great personal and professional turmoil as he dealt with his homosexuality in a time when it was illegal. The Weinstein Company will release the film on November 21, 2014.

In addition to the film prize award, HIFF will present the Sloan Screenplay Readings on Sunday, October 12 at 4pm. PALIMPSEST written by Ben Nabors & Michael Tyburski and Evan Schwartz’s TELEVISIONARIES are this year’s featured selections. Avram Ludwig will direct the readings of a terrific cast including Richard Kind, Michael Nathanson, Harris Yulin, Lois Robbins, Tom Brangle and Robert Mobley. PALIMPSEST and TELEVISIONARIES were bothfeatured in HIFF’s Sloan Screenwriters Lab last April.

 The October 11th Festival screening of THE IMITATION GAME will be followed by a panel discussion about the use of cryptography and computer science in a historical context, as well as Turing’s impact in the field. The panel will include Janna Levin, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Barnard/Columbia, and Dan Guido, co-founder and CEO of Trail of Bits, an information security firm, and the Hacker in Residence at NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering.

The 22nd Annual Hamptons International Film Festival will be held over Columbus Day Weekend, October 9-13, 2014.

Read more

WILD

Academy award nominee Jean-Marc Vallée’s WILD will have its East Coast Premiere as the Southampton opener of the 2014 Hamptons International Film Festival, on Friday, October 10th. Academy Award-nominated actress Laura Dern will be in attendance for the Kaufman Astoria Studios sponsored premiere and will also participate in HIFF’s signature program “A Conversation With…” on Saturday, October 11th at Bay Street. Vallée will attend the festival on behalf of the film as well. Academy Award® winner Reese Witherspoon stars in this superb adaptation of Cheryl Strayed’s best-selling 2012 memoir. Devastated by the death of her mother (Laura Dern), Strayed spirals toward self-destruction, ending her marriage and eventually becoming addicted to heroin. Four years later, seeking to leave her scars behind, she embarks on a life-changing journey: a solo, 1,000-mile plus hike along the Pacific Crest Trail. Vallée’s follow-up to DALLAS BUYERS CLUB is an inspiring voyage of pain and discovery, anchored by Witherspoon’s great performance and aided by a terrific supporting cast that includes Laura Dern. The film will be released by Fox Searchlight on December 5, 2014.

FOXCATCHER

Bennett Miller’s FOXCATCHER is Saturday’s Centerpiece Film, playing at Guild Hall in East Hampton on Saturday, October 11th. The film’s star Mark Ruffalo will attend the festival premiere along with taking part in “A Conversation With…” on Sunday, October 12th at 2pm at Bay Street, which will be sponsored by NYU Langone Medical Center. Based on true events, the film follows Olympic Gold Medal-winning wrestler Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) and his revered brother Dave (Mark Ruffalo) as they fall into the orbit of an eccentric multi-millionaire, John du Pont (Steve Carell), with the ambiguous goal of pushing Mark to fame and glory. Nothing quite prepares you for FOXCATCHER, as this riveting stranger-than-fiction tale turns dark and tragic. Sony Pictures Classics will release the film on November 14, 2014.

Now entering its 15th year at HIFF, this year’s Films of Conflict & Resolution (C&R) program consists of a fantastic lineup of four documentaries and a narrative film. The C&R program recognizes and celebrates films that, in creative and enlightening ways, deal with the complex issues and the human dramas associated with war and violence. It also recognizes one of the films in the series with a cash prize of $5,000 and a panel discussion after its screening, encouraging dialogue about the topic and providing a platform to learn, react and engage in worthy causes and issues. 

The 22nd Annual Hamptons International Film Festival, which will be held over Columbus Day Weekend, October 9-13, 2014.

FULL LIST OF FILMS OF CONFLICT & RESOLUTION

VIRUNGA
Director: Orlando Von Einsiedel
The breathtaking Virunga National Park, a UNESCO world heritage site in eastern Congo, is under attack from many sides. With its rich bio-diversity, Virunga is home to the last mountain gorillas and holds a wealth of natural resources. From sweeping vistas to pixelated images of secret meetings, Orlando von Einsiedel fashions together a thrilling first feature documentary, introducing us to the brave people protecting the park: a Belgian conservationist leading the army of park rangers; an ex-child soldier and a young French journalist who covertly film local politicians and international businessmen; and a ranger who has become a surrogate parent to orphaned gorillas. The film is also the winner of the Zelda Penzel Giving Voice to the Voiceless Award, recognizing a film in the Festival that brings attention to the suffering of animals.

E-TEAM
Director: Ross Kauffman and Katy Chevigny
Anna, Ole, Fred and Peter, members of the Emergency Team (E-Team) for a respected international human rights organization, are the first people on the scene when there is suspicion of human rights abuses. Entering areas of conflict like Syria or post-Qaddafi Libya, they gather evidence to determine if further investigation is warranted, and often what they find challenges decision makers, holding them accountable. Award-winning filmmakers Ross Kauffman and Katy Chevigny take us behind the scenes and on the ground with these very different, yet fearlessly committed individuals as they balance their personal and family life with their intense work life in the field.

CHARLIE’S COUNTRY
East Coast Premiere
Director: Rolf de Heer
Tired of the constant policing, Charlie – portrayed by the regally gray-maned David Gulpilil – stubbornly copes with the encroaching “white man’s laws” into his remote Aboriginal community in Australia’s Northern Territory. He goes back to his roots to live the “old way,” only to set off a chain of events he didn’t see coming. Director Rolf de Heer crafts a subtle portrait of a man caught between two cultures and creates an exquisite showcase for his co-writer, veteran actor Gulpilil (WALKABOUT, RABBIT PROOF FENCE), winner of the Un Certain Regard Best Actor Prize at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.

THE LOOK OF SILENCE
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer
While Joshua Oppenheimer’s groundbreaking documentary, THE ACT OF KILLING, cast a light on the victors of the mid-1960s Indonesian genocide, his equally devastating follow-up, THE LOOK OF SILENCE, focuses on one family’s struggle to understand the horrific murder of their loved one. Adi, a humble optometrist in a rural village, stoically stares at clips from the first film before deciding to confront his brother’s executioners, many of whom are still in power. Opening old wounds, asking the hard questions, and receiving veiled threats, he attempts to start a dialogue between victims and killers who for generations have lived side-by-side in silence.

THIS IS MY LAND
US Premiere
Director: Tamara Erde
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,” said Nelson Mandela, and artist-filmmaker Tamara Erde’s first feature length film examines how the shared, complex and charged history of Israel and Palestine is taught to the next generation in this volatile region. Does it fuel conflict or encourage peace? How much freedom does the Ministry of Education give teachers? Through dialogues, debates, celebrations and field trips at six independent schools, this fascinating documentary observes how young minds are shaped by what is said and, just as importantly, by what is unspoken.

Read more

GETT: THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM

The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) announced more of its extensive lineup of signature programs for the 22nd annual festival. Since the festival’s inception, “A Conversation With…” has been an integral part of HIFF, and this year Hilary Swank and Joel Schumacher will participate in individual talks as part of the annual program. In another signature program, 20 films have been selected for this year’s Golden Starfish competition, including the US premieres of Melanie Laurent’s BREATHE, Gabriel Mascaro’s AUGUST WINDS, and Tamara Erde’s THIS IS MY LAND, and the East Coast premieres of Peter Strickland’s THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY and Ronit Elkabetz and Shlomi Elkabetz’s GETT: THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM. HIFF will take place on Columbus Day Weekend, from October 9-13.

“A Conversation With…” Joel Schumacher will take place on Saturday, October 11th at 11:00am at Bay Street in Sag Harbor. Jess Cagle, Editorial Director of People and Entertainment Weekly, will lead the talk and will present Schumacher with the Golden Starfish Lifetime Achievement in Directing Award. Hilary Swank’s “A Conversation With…” will be held on Sunday, October 12th at 3pm at Bay Street. Along with this Master Class discussion moderated by Variety Executive Editor, Steven Gaydos, she will also be honored with Variety’s Creative Impact in Acting Award. Swank is attending on behalf of the Corcoran-sponsored Sunday Centerpiece film, THE HOMESMAN, which will mark its East Coast premiere at HIFF.

 FULL LIST OF GOLDEN STARFISH COMPETITION FILMS

 GOLDEN STARFISH AWARD: Narrative Feature

AUGUST WINDS “Ventos de Agosto” (Brazil)

AUGUST WINDS “Ventos de Agosto”

US Premiere
Director: Gabriel Mascaro
On a tiny coastal village in Brazil, Shirley and Jeison pass the time by working on a coconut plantation. On their spare time, he dives for seafood while she sunbathes and dreams of being a tattoo artist. Their restless but tranquil life is provoked as intense tropical storms approach, washing ashore a corpse. Drawing on his documentary roots, Gabriel Mascaro deliberately eschews a traditional narrative in favor of an atmospheric and lyrical approach. Weaving the textures of the landscape with superb, natural performances, Mascaro delicately reveals a thoughtful and, sometimes humorous, meditation on life and death.

BREATHE “Respire” (France)
US Premiere
Director: Melanie Laurent
Famed actress Melanie Laurent (INGLORIOUS BASTERDS, ENEMY) steps behind the camera for BREATHE, an assured and refined look at fragile adolescent friendships.  Entering the private world of Charlie and Sara, whose raw attraction quickly makes them inseparable, we see tenderness turn sour as Sarah shifts her attention to a young pilot, leaving Charlie heartbroken. Superbly acted by Josephine Japy (Charlie) and Lou De Laage (Sara), BREATHE is an honest look at young friendships, where passion can easily turn into obsession and the harsh reality of trying to find your voice means you may be left lost, wounded, and devastated. 

THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY (United Kingdom)

THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY

East Coast Premiere
Director: Peter Strickland
Similar to a larva transforming into a caterpillar only to cocoon and bloom into a butterfly, Peter Strickland’s THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY shifts and twists from a classic melodrama into a perverse and psychedelic sadomasochistic lesbian experience – all done with an artists eye for mood and detail. Both the gothic scenery and haunting score envelop the senses and manipulate the viewer into a feeling of frenzy. Elevated by powerful and sensual performances by the two leads, Strickland’s strange film achieves a unique beauty and profundity somewhere between David Lynch’s MULHOLLAND DR. and Luis Buñuel’s BELLE DE JOUR.

GETT: THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM “Gett” (Israel, France, Germany)
East Coast Premiere
Directors: Ronit Elkabetz, Shlomi Elkabetz
This final piece of the trilogy by Israeli siblings Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz explores the unfolding of a marriage under the jurisdiction of a rabbinical court in which a Jewish marriage may only end if the husband presents a “gett,” a divorce document, to his wife. Calling attention to a male-dominant process that can take years, sometimes decades, and set entirely in the courtroom, this brilliantly written and acted film reveals the slow dissolution of a marriage between Vivane (Ronit Elkabetz) and Elisha (Simon Abkarian). Balancing the seriousness of what’s at stake with an often-humorous tone, GETT offers a deeply moving take on an otherwise painful process.

LITTLE ACCIDENTS (United States)
New York Premiere
Director: Sara Colangelo
A haunting portrait of the unintended consequence, LITTLE ACCIDENTS follows the wake of tragedy in small town America where a mining disaster leaves 10 dead and the delicate social fabric of a community in tatters. When the son of the chief executive goes missing, his wife; the lone survivor to the disaster, Amos; and Owen, a local boy left fatherless by the tragedy, become bound to one another by their shared grief and through a series of shocking revelations. A stunning work by first-time feature filmmaker, Sara Colangelo, it features a stellar cast, including Elizabeth Banks, Boyd Holbrook and Chloe Sevigny.

GOLDEN STARFISH AWARD: Documentary Feature

THE GREAT INVISIBLE (United States)
New York Premiere
Director: Margaret Brown
On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded devastating communities throughout the Gulf Coast of the United States. Eleven lives were lost, the natural ecosystem was destroyed, and the pollution forced countless local businesses to shut down. Margaret Brown’s THE GREAT INVISIBLE, winner of the Grand Jury prize at SXSW, is a thought provoking and complex human drama that lifts the curtain on a corrupt and negligent industry driven by greed. With harrowing testimonies from survivors, families, local fisherman, an others perpetually effected by the disaster, Brown seeks to tell a sobering and layered account of a tragedy still unfolding.

KILLING TIME (The Netherlands)

KILLING TIME

New York Premiere
Director: Jaap Van Hoewijk
On June 12, 2013 in Huntsville, Texas, preparations take place for the lethal injection of Elroy Chester, a man convicted of the rape of two teenage girls and the murder of their uncle. After 15 years on death row, Chester will be executed at precisely 6:00PM. While his family prepares to say goodbye, the victims and their family prepare for closure. KILLING TIME is the emotional follow up to the 1995 film, PROCEDURE 769, WITNESS TO THE EXECUTION, which examined those who came to Chester’s court sentences. Returning to Texas once more, director Jaap van Hoewijk turns his lens on the people most affected as they pass the final hours.

THIS IS MY LAND (France)
US Premiere
Director: Tamara Erde
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,” said Nelson Mandela, and artist-filmmaker Tamara Erde’s first feature length film examines how the shared, complex and charged history of Israel and Palestine is taught to the next generation in this volatile region. Does it fuel conflict or encourage peace? How much freedom does the Ministry of Education give teachers? Through dialogues, debates, celebrations and field trips at six independent schools, this fascinating documentary observes how young minds are shaped by what is said and, just as importantly, by what is unspoken.

VELVET TERRORISTS (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Croatia)

VELVET TERRORISTS

US Premiere
Director: Pavol Pekarčík, Ivan Ostrochovský, Peter Kerekes
Charged as terrorists, but now hailed as heroes three Czechoslovakian’s recount and reenact their odd and fascinating tales of armed resistance against the old communistic powers. Three portraits by three directors. A presidential assassination foiled through sheer laziness, a botched political tribune bombing due to alcoholism and a notorious bulletin board bomber who wanted nothing more than to blow up…you guessed it. Each story may be different, but the sentiment is the same: actions are what define you and even if you don’t hurt anyone or change anything, they still may be recognized for better or for worse.

GOLDEN STARFISH AWARD: Narrative Short Film
Featuring brave, innovative and remarkable stories, the Golden Starfish Award for Best Narrative Short Film honors new talent in the field. The winner will receive a $500 cash prize and qualify for consideration at the Academy Awards for Best Live Action/Animated Short Film.

CUTAWAY (Canada)
US Premiere
Director: Kazik Radwanski
Told through close details of hands and objects, this film intimately portrays uncertainty and loss.

THE BABY “LA BAMBINA (BACHE)” (Italy, Iran)
North American Premiere
Director: Ali Asgari
Narges and her friend are calling everyone they can think of with an unusual request.  They urgently need someone to look after her baby for a night or two…

ALL WE SHARE “ALLT VI DELAR” (Sweden)
North American Premiere
Director: Jerry Carlsson
Two arborists, Samir and Sara, are hired to cut down a perfectly healthy tree. This, and the urgency with which it needs to be done, surprises them but they agree and as they work, comprehension dawns.

TZNIUT (USA)
East Coast Premiere
Director: David Formentin
A Hasidic woman in Brooklyn discovers she has an STD. Although limited by her social standing in a deeply Orthodox community, she seeks the origin of her illness.

THE BIGGER PICTURE (United Kingdom)
North American Premiere
Director: Daisy Jacobs
Using seven-foot-tall characters in life-size sets, THE BIGGER PICTURE uniquely animates a stark and darkly humorous tale of caring for an elderly parent.

GOLDEN STARFISH AWARD: Documentary Short Film
Our inaugural Golden Starfish Award for Best Documentary Short Film highlights some of the year’s most interesting opinions and viewpoints and is sure to capture your imagination. The winner will receive a $500 cash prize. 

THE QUEEN “LA REINA” (Argentina)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Manuel Abramovich
Memi is 11 years old, and she is going to be Queen of the Carnival. It’s a dazzling honor, but you have to suffer to be beautiful.

ONCE UPON A TREE “HET MEISJE EN DE BOOM” (The Netherlands)
North American Premiere
Director: Marleen van der Werf
Sitting in her favorite oak tree, 11-year-old Filine encounters little wonders in the natural world around her. Filine doesn’t like changes that much. She sometimes wishes she could be a tree and everything would stay the same.

JUTRA (Canada)
US Premiere
Director: Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre
Through the ingenious repurposing and animation of archival footage, a remarkable and revealing documentary homage to filmmaker Claude Jutra pulls us deep inside the life, times and imagination of the artist.

ABANDONED GOODS (United Kingdom)
North American Premiere
Directors: Pia Borg, Edward Lawrenson
From 1946 to 1981 a psychiatric hospital in the UK allowed its patients to create art. After the dissolution of the asylum only around 5,500 pieces survived. This is their story.

AN IMMORTAL MAN (USA)
US Premiere
Directors: Josh Koury, Myles Kane
Baseball legend Ted Williams lived his life in the public eye and his death, like his life, will be forever frozen in time – however this time (contrary to the instructions in his will) via cryostasis. 

Read more

THE HOMESMAN starring Hilary Swank will be the Centerpiece film  of the 22nd Annual Hamptons International Film Festival held over Columbus Day  Weekend, October 9-13, 2014.  Hilary Swank will attend the film’s premiere and will participate in the festival’s signature program “A Conversation With…”  The festival revealed its “Views from Long Island” section, which focuses on local filmmakers and films with geographic ties to the Hamptons, along with one of its most famous local filmmakers, Bob Balaban, who is this year’s Honorary Chairman.

Directed by Tommy Lee Jones, THE HOMESMAN is based on the novel by Pulitzer Prize nominee Glendon Swarthout. When three women living on the edge of the American frontier are driven to the brink, the task of saving them from their surroundings falls to the pious, independent-minded Mary Bee Cuddy (Hilary Swank). Transporting the women by covered wagon to Iowa, she soon realizes just how daunting the journey will be, and employs a feisty low-life drifter, George Biggs (Tommy Lee Jones), to join her. The unlikely pair and the three women (Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto, Sonja Richter) head east, where a waiting minister and his wife (Meryl Streep) have offered to take the women in. But the group first must traverse the harsh Nebraska Territories marked by stark beauty, psychological peril and constant threat. Roadside Attractions and Saban Films will release the film on November 14, 2014.“Beginning our 22nd annual film festival announcement with the highly acclaimed film from Tommy Lee Jones as our Centerpiece and having Hilary Swank be a part of our Signature program Conversation with… is the tip of what HIFF will showcase this year,”says Anne Chaisson, Executive Director of the festival.

The Hamptons International Film Festival unveiled the first three films screening in its “Views from Long Island” section.  Set against the beautiful backdrop of the eastern end of Long Island, the upcoming SHOWTIME® series “The Affair” explores two marriages and the emotional and psychological effects of the affair that disrupts them. The provocative drama stars Dominic West, Ruth Wilson, Maura Tierney, and Joshua Jackson and premieres on Sunday, October 12, at 10:00pm ET/PT on SHOWTIME.

Lou Howe’s GABRIEL, much of which was filmed in the Hamptons, stars Rory Culkin as Gabriel. Longing for stability in the throes of mental illness, Gabriel will stop at nothing until he proposes to his high school girlfriend – never mind the fact that they haven’t seen each other in years. A sure-footed portrait of a young man on the edge, Howe’s debut feature examines our fixation with the nuclear household, and whether or not it’s all it’s cracked up to be.

The festival will hold the New York premiere of Amagansett resident Volker Schlöndorff’s DIPLOMACY. At the end of World War II, General Dietrick von Choltitz, the governor of Nazi-occupied Paris, received an order to destroy the city if the Nazis were to lose it to Allied Forces. Adapted from the stage and directed by legendary German filmmaker Volker Schlöndorff, DIPLOMACY is deeply connected with its moment in history, yet resounds with timeliness in its study of diametrically opposed ideologies and the necessary search for common ground.

The short film WEENIE will mark its world premiere at the festival. WEENIE was filmedin East Hampton, and filmmaker Dan Roe lives in Sag Harbor, teaching at the Ross School. The film’s main character Weenie is 16. Weenie wants to go to a party. Weenie has just been grounded. Weenie’s mom just doesn’t understand. What will Weenie do?

Returning for the sixth year, the Suffolk County Film Commission will present their annual Next Exposure Award, with a cash value of $6,000, to one of the full-length features in the “Views From Long Island” section.

Read more

THE SELFISH GIANT, directed by Clio Barnard

THE SELFISH GIANT, directed by Clio Barnard is the winner of the Golden Starfish Award for Best Narrative Feature Film at the 21st annual Hamptons International Film Festival. THE SELFISH GIANT is described as a contemporary fable about 13 year old Arbor (Conner Chapman) and his best friend Swifty (Shaun Thomas). Excluded from school and outsiders in their own neighborhood, the two boys meet Kitten (Sean Gilder), a local scrapdealer––the Selfish Giant. Arbor emulates Kitten, keen to impress him and make some money. However, Kitten favors Swifty, leaving Arbor feeling hurt and excluded and driving a wedge between the boys. The Golden Starfish Award for Best Documentary Feature Film went to CODE BLACK, directed by Ryan McGarry, M.D. CODE BLACK follows a group of young doctors as they grapple with the divide between their idealistic expectations and the realities of a heavily bureaucratic system.The 21st Annual Hamptons International Film Festival took place October 10 to 14, 2013.

Golden Starfish Award for Best Narrative Feature Film
THE SELFISH GIANT, directed by Clio Barnard

Golden Starfish Award for Best Documentary Feature Film
CODE BLACK, directed by Ryan McGarry, M.D.

Golden Starfish Award for Best Short Film
WHALE VALLEY, directed by Gudmundur A. Gudmundsson. 
*WHALE VALLEY will also qualify for an Academy Award in the category of Best Live Action Short Film.

Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature
PHILOMENA, directed by Stephen Frears

Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature
DESERT RUNNERS, directed by Jennifer Steinman

Audience Award for Best Short Film
ONE LAST HUG (… AND A FEW SMOOCHES) THREE DAYS AT GRIEF CAMP

Tangerine Entertainment Juice Award which honors an outstanding female filmmaker 
FREE RIDE, directed by Shana Betz.

The Zelda Penzel “Giving Voice to the Voiceless” Award presented to a film that raises public awareness about contemporary social issues, including the moral and ethical treatment and the rights of animals, as well as environmental protection
EMPTYING THE SKIES

The Victor Rabinowitz & Joanne Grant Award for Social Justice, given to a film that most exhibits the values of peace, equality, and global justice
SQUARE, directed by Jehane Noujaim.

The Views From Long Island Award, presented by the Suffolk County Film Commission to a a film that features local/resident filmmakers, the area’s unique landscapes, and the important issues—both social and political—facing Hamptons communities
THE MAID’S ROOM, directed by Michael Walker.

The 2013 winner of the Brizzolara Family Foundation Award for a film depicting positive Conflict & Resolution
PLOT FOR PEACE directed by Carlos Agullo and Mandy Jacobson
Jejane Nouhaim received an Honorable Mention for her film THE SQUARE.

The Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize, which goes to a narrative film highlighting a realistic and compelling portrayal of science and technology
DECODING ANNIE PARKER directed by Steven Bernstein

Read more

 ABOUT TIME

More films announced for the 2013 Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF). Director Richard Curtis’ ABOUT TIME will be the Southampton opener on Friday, October 11th and Saturday’s Centerpiece Film is AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY directed by John Wells.  The Spotlight films include: BREATHE IN, FREE RIDE, HER, LABOR DAY, LOUDER THAN WORDS, MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM, THE PAST and CAPITAL.This year the festival will pay special tribute to Oscar Award winning director Costa-Gavras before the screening of his latest film CAPITAL.

The Festival will host the World Premiere of AMERICAN MASTERS –MARVIN HAMLISCH: ONE SINGULAR SENSATION as well as the U.S Premiere of Oscar Winner Alex Gibney’s latest doc THE ARMSTRONG LIE about Lance Armstrong. Additional World Cinema highlights include the World Premiere of GERALDINE FERRARO: PAVING THE WAY, the North American Premiere of A FRAGILE TRUST and the Palme d’Or prize winner from the 2013 Cannes film festival, BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR.

For World Cinema feature films, HIFF boasts five foreign titles in the lineup that are in contention for Academy Award consideration including THE ROCKET (Australia), THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN (Belgium), IN BLOOM (Georgia), THE NOTEBOOK (Hungary), and MOTHER, I LOVE YOU (Latvia). HIFF will also present special screenings of THE SHORT GAME, the SummerDoc Audience Award winner at the Southampton Center, and ABSOLUTE WILSON.

SPOTLIGHT FILMS

BREATHE IN (USA)
East coast Premiere
Director: Drake Doremus
As summer turns to fall, music teacher Keith (Guy Pearce) privately reminisces about his days as a starving artist in the city. When his wife Megan (Amy Ryan) and his daughter decide the family should host foreign exchange student Sophie (Felicity Jones), the British high school senior soon rekindles an impetuous aspect of Keith’s personality. Director Drake Doremus, last seen at HIFF with his stunning coming-of-age film LIKE CRAZY (also starring Jones), penetrates the family’s dysfunction and Keith’s mid-life crisis with a sensitive eye for detail.

CAPITAL “Le capital ”(France)
Director: Costa-Gavras
The acclaimed master of political thrillers such as Z and MISSING, Oscar winning director Costa-Gavras unfurls his latest nail-biter in the dog-eat-dog world of high-stakes international banking. Cutthroat corporate climber Marc Tourneuil becomes the CEO of France’s important Phenix Bank, appointed by the company’s board of directors as an interim leadership solution—or so they think. Tourneuil wields his new power with Machiavellian daring, stunning the old guard, producing dramatic financial results, and ultimately catching the scheming eye of Dittmar Rigule (Gabriel Byrne), an American hedge fund honcho and stakes holder at Phenix.

FREE RIDE(USA)
World Premiere
Director/Screenwriter: Shana Betz
Set in the 1970s, FREE RIDE stars Academy Award® winner Anna Paquin (THE PIANO, HBO’s TRUE BLOOD) as a single mother who moves to Florida with her daughters in search of a better life but gets pulled into the perilous drug-trade business. This accomplished, gritty directorial debut, based on writer/director Shana Betz’s life story, delivers as both a provocative crime thriller and a powerfully rendered family portrait. Paquin’s dynamic star turn and a vivid supporting cast, including Cam Gigandet and THE SOPRANO’s Drea De Matteo help make FREE RIDE an unforgettable trip.

HER(USA)
Director/Screenwriter: Spike Jonze
Written and directed by Spike Jonze, HER is an original love story that explores the evolving nature—and the risks—of intimacy in the modern world. Set in Los Angeles in the near future, it follows Theodore, a complex, soulful man, heartbroken after the end of a relationship, who becomes intrigued with a new,advanced operating system promising to be an intuitive and unique entity in its own right. Upon initiating it, he meets “Samantha,” a bright voice who is insightful, sensitive, and surprisingly funny. As their needs and desires grow in tandem, their friendship deepens into an eventual love.

LABOR DAY(USA)
Director/Screenwriter: Jason Reitman
LABOR DAY, from writer/director Jason Reitman (UP IN THE AIR, JUNO), centers on 13-year-old Henry Wheeler, who struggles to be the man of his house and care for his reclusive mother Adele (Kate Winslet) while confronting all the pangs of adolescence. On a back-to-school shopping trip, Henry and his mother encounter Frank Chambers (Josh Brolin), a man both intimidating and clearly in need of help, who convinces them to take him into their home and later is revealed to be an escaped convict. The events of this long Labor Day weekend will shape them for the rest of their lives.

LOUDER THAN WORDS(USA)
World PremiereDirector: Anthony Fabian
John Fareri (David Duchovny) and his wife Brenda (Hope Davis) live an idyllic suburban life. After the sudden death of their young daughter, and deeply shaken by the less than ideal conditions of her hospital, the couple decides to build a premier children’s hospital, with the help of consultant Bruce Komiske (Timothy Hutton). Inspired by true events, this touching film portrays a family who instead of being gripped by loss created an extraordinary place of healing for thousands of ailing children and implemented a national standard for family health facilities.

MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM(South Africa)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Justin Chadwick
The great Idris Elba, best known for his roles on TV’s THE WIRE and LUTHER, transforms into the legendary Nelson Mandela in this exhilarating screen adaptation of the political leader’s autobiography. Director Justin Chadwick’s (THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL) portrait charts the incredible true story of the many struggles that took Mandela from South Africa’s rural Cape region to armed struggle and arrest, and then to the president’s mansion as his nation’s first democratically elected leader. More than just a historical biopic, the film also tracks the incredible love story between Mandela and his wife Winnie, soulfully embodied by Naomie Harris.

THE PAST “Le passé”(France/Iran)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Family secrets and domestic strife lurk under the surface of this riveting new drama from Asghar Farhadi, the writer/director of A SEPARATION, the 2011 Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film. Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa) travels from Iran to France at the behest of his estranged wife Marie (BéréniceBejo, THE ARTIST) to finalize their divorce. Further escalating their immediate tension, Marie insists Ahmad stay in her home with live-in boyfriend Samir (Tahar Rahim, A PROPHET), and Samir’s children from his own stalled marriage. With this latest film, Farhadi cements his status as one of the world’s preeminent filmmakers.

The full slate of World Cinema films for the Festival is listed below.

WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY

AMERICAN MASTERS – MARVIN HAMLISCH: ONE SINGULAR SENSATION (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Dori Berinstein
This hugely entertaining documentary tracks the supernova career of one of our most beloved modern composers. Touched with an extraordinary musical gift, Hamlisch went from a Julliard-enrolled protégé at age of six, to the young film composer of such classics as THE WAY WE WERE and THE STING, to writing Broadway’s then most successful show of all time, A CHORUS LINE. A real showman with a love for theatrics, Hamlisch became a household name, a rare distinction for a composer. Don’t miss this rousing biographical portrait, bursting with Hamlisch’s hit music and featuring interviews with dozens of performing legends.

THE ARMSTRONG LIE (USA)
US Premiere
Director: Alex Gibney
After years of avoiding doping allegations, Lance Armstrong admitted to lying about his use of performance-enhancing drugs, an admission that led to one of the most notorious defrocks in sports history. Alex Gibney, the Academy Award®-winning documentarian behind TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE, ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM, and MEA MAXIMA CULPA, masterfully pieces together raw, unseen footage and interviews from the 2009 Tour de France, documenting Armstrong’s post-cancer return to cycling and the deafening controversy surrounding his current cultural status as a shamed athlete and role model.

EMPTYING THE SKIES (USA)
North American Premiere
Director: Douglas Kass, Roger Kass
Based on a New Yorker article by best-selling writer Jonathan Franzen, EMPTYING THE SKIES chronicles the poaching of migratory birds in southern Europe and introduces us to the intrepid volunteers trying to stop it. Trapped at “pinch points” near the Mediterranean, these globetrotting songbirds are considered culinary delicacies and reap big bucks on the black market, yet many species are endangered and some face extinction. Directors Douglas and Roger Kass skillfully bring the spirit of Franzen’s words onto the screen and deservedly win this year’s Zelda Penzel Giving Voice to the Voiceless Award. Preceded by the short film, TODAY 

GERALDINE FERRARO: PAVING THE WAY (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Donna Zaccaro
In 1984, New York attorney and US representative Geraldine “Gerry” Ferraro made history by accepting the Democratic Party nomination and becoming the first female vice presidential candidate. Featuring interviews with political luminaries and with Ferraro herself before her death in 2011, the documentary traces Ferraro’s journey through the peaks and valleys of political success, providing insight into the outlook of a feminist icon. Compelling and genuine, GERALDINE FERRARO paints a portrait of the woman who inspired countless future trailblazers—including Hillary Clinton, whom Ferraro assisted in the 2008 presidential nomination campaign.

THE HUMAN SCALE (Denmark)
New York Premiere
Director: Andreas Dalsgaard
After one of the worst earthquakes to hit New Zealand, the people of Christchurch took a different approach to rebuilding their city. They studied how their city could serve humans better. They studied car culture, bike lanes, and pedestrian walkways. They studied the work of Jan Gehl, the Danish architect who for 40 years has been analyzing the symbiosis of cities and their inhabitants. With emerging countries and their economies looking at the viability of urban growth, director Andreas Dalsgaard takes us around the world to see how Gehl’s seminal work is being translated within modern city centers like New York, Copenhagen, Chong Quing, and Dahka.

IF YOU BUILD IT (USA)
New York Premiere
Director: Patrick Creadon
In the poorest county in North Carolina, activists Emily Pilloton and Matthew Miller work with students to introduce design and creativity as a tool for community improvement. Barely getting by on grants and loans, Pilloton and Miller are committed to their yearlong initiative to empower their students to reinvent themselves and their struggling community. Culminating with a final project to build a new farmers’ market pavilion, IF YOU BUILD IT, from the director of WORDPLAY, offers a vision for a new kind of classroom and examines design’s power to be an engine of civic transformation. Family Film: Ages 12 and up

HE LAST SAFARI (Kenya/USA)
World Premiere
Director: Matt Goldman
When renowned photojournalist Elizabeth L. Gilbert returns to the Rift Valley in Africa to visit the tribes she photographed just a decade earlier, she bears witness to the changes wrought on the region. After her book is published, she hires a crew from Nairobi to assist her in screening a cinema slideshow to tribes-people, like the Masai, in their remote villages. But her ambitious safari is fraught with inclement weather, security issues, and self-doubt. Matt Goldman’s first feature captures the reunions, the dramas, and ultimately the triumphs of this remarkable journey. Preceded by the short film, SKINNINGROVE 

MISFIRE: THE RISE AND THE FALL OF THE SHOOTIING GALLERY (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Whitney Ransick
The Shooting Gallery was one of the premier production companies for independent film in the 1990s, responsible for art-house hits like LAWS OF GRAVITY, SLING BLADE, and YOU CAN COUNT ON ME. After the success of fellow alum Hal Hartley, a cabal of grads from SUNY Purchase decided to start a fast-paced company with a can-do, DIY attitude. But success came at a cost. Many of the original founders left, as business self-interest replaced the earlier common purpose and expansion into “new media” came to the fore. Director Whitney Ransick, one of the original crew, retells a fascinating, universal story about the “Enron of independent films. Director Whitney Ransick will participate in a Rowdy Talk on Sunday, October 13 at 10am.

RUNNING FROM CRAZY (USA)
Director: Barbara Kopple
Hopeful and heartbreaking, RUNNING FROM CRAZY opens with a vision of perfection: a blonde modeling in the wilderness. This particular pretty face, however, belongs to Mariel Hemingway, Ernest Hemingway’s youngest granddaughter, famous for her role in Woody Allen’s MANHATTAN. Hemingway’s family history of depression, substance abuse, and suicide is not limited to her legendary grandfather. Two-time Academy Award® winner Barbara Kopple uses fascinating archival footage of the Hemingways to explore mental illness as one of the last American taboos and the family’s struggle to heal while communicating honestly about the past. Barbara Kopple will be featured at Rowdy Talk on Friday, October 11 at 10am.

THIS IS WHAT THEY WANT (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Brian Koppleman, David Levien
When Jimmy Connors arrived at the 1991 U.S. Open, the one-time tennis superstar was eight years removed from his last Grand Slam title, ranked 174th in the world, and approaching his 39th birthday. But on the verge of a first-round exit, Connors unexpectedly re-captured his magic, embarking on an extraordinary run than included an epic contest with Aaron Krickstein. THIS IS WHAT THEY WANT not only illuminates this improbable march past a series of talented and youthful adversaries, but also explores how Connors became a provocative personality who helped make tennis a high-octane spectator sport.

TIM’S VERMEER (USA)
Director: TellerTim
Jenison, a Texas based inventor, attempts to solve one of the greatest art mysteries: How did 17th century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer (“Girl with a Pearl Earring”) manage to paint so photo-realistically 150 years before the invention of photography? The epic research project Jenison embarks on is as extraordinary as what he discovers. Spanning a decade, the astounding documentary TIM’S VERMEER tracks Jenison to Delft, Holland, where Vermeer painted his masterpieces; on a pilgrimage to the North coast of Yorkshire to meet artist David Hockney; and eventually even to Buckingham Palace to see the Queen’s Vermeer.

WORLD CINEMA NARRATIVE

BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR “LA VIED’ADÈLE, CHAPITRES 1 & 2” (France)
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche
Based on a graphic novel, BlUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR follows the story of Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos), a high school junior who locks eyes on Emma (Léa Seydoux), a blue-haired college student. They soon ignite a complicated and passionate love affair. Stricken with the stress of homophobia and a turbulent relationship, their lives begin to unravel, revealing the difficulties of growing up together. Winner of the prestigious Palme D’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, this controversial feature has garnered international critical acclaim as a gritty, realistic tale of love and loss. Contains scenes of a sexually explicit nature. Featuring Léa Seydoux: Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch

BOB BIRDNOW’S REMARKABLE TALE OF HUMAN SURVIVAL AND THE TRANSCENDENCE OF SELF (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Eric Steele
Bob Birdnow is a curious candidate for a motivational speaker. Balding, crippled, and past middle-aged. He does have something no one else has though: a remarkable tale of human survival and the transcendence of self. When asked by his old friend to speak at a conference, he avoids the subject, opting for a more traditional speech. However, when forced off the script and desperate, Birdnow takes the audience on an outré, radical, and unforgettable journey that brings us face-to face with one of life’s biggest questions. Based on the hit one-man play/experimental theatre piece by HIFF alum Eric Steele. Preceded by the short film, BALANCE

THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN (Belgium)
Director: Felix Van Groeningen
When Didier and Elise meet, they instinctually know they have both found their match. While his true love was once was reserved only for American bluegrass music, this fiery tattoo artist plucks away all semblance of the brutish bachelor he once was. They bond over music and culture, and dive headfirst into a sweeping romance that plays out on and off stage. When an unexpected tragedy hits, everything they know and love is tested. An intensely moving portrait of a relationship from beginning to end, THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN has been hailed by audiences internationally as a must-see film.

CAMILLE CLAUDEL 1915 (France)
New York Premiere
Director: Bruno Dumont Academy Award® winner Juliette Binoche stars as the troubled French sculptor Camille Claudel, confined to a mental institution after her doomed love affair with painter Auguste Rodin. This immersive, austere film follows the ill-fated artist over the course of a week, early in her incarceration at the Avignon asylum where she will live for the rest of her life. Director Bruno Dumont and Binoche, in a career-topping performance, channel Claudel with heartbreaking clarity, detailing her struggle to maintain her intelligence and dignity amid grueling conditions and her gnawing paranoia.

CHARLIE VICTOR ROMEO (USA)
Director: Robert Berger, Patrick Daniels
With dialogue taken from actual black box transcripts of six real-life major airline emergencies, CHARLE VICTOR ROMEO is a haunting, riveting theatrical experience superbly translated to film by directors Robert Berger and Patrick Daniels. Started on stage in 1999 at the Collective: Unconscious Theater on the lower East Side, this compelling, almost experimental piece recreates the tense cockpit scenes word-for-word based on the CVR, or Cockpit Voice recorder. With unsparing truthfulness, the film has been embraced by the aviation community and used as a training video for pilots. It is truly unique cinema, stretching the boundaries of film, theater, and the traditional documentary.

EXIT MARRAKECH (Germany)
US Premiere Director: Caroline Link
When 17-year-old Ben visits his divorced dad Heinrich in Morocco for the summer, he realizes his dad is as foreign to him as the country itself. Struggling to reconnect, their old conflicts bubble up and eventually push Ben to leave the luxury confines of his father’s world for the wonders the exotic country has to offer. From the colorful streets of Marrakech to the Atlas Mountains, with deserts and oases in between, Academy Award®-winning director Caroline Link (NOWHERE IN AFRICA), takes us through the unexpected twists and turns of Ben’s adventures and Heinrich’s search for his son.

IN BLOOM “GRZELI NATELI DGEEB” (Georgia)
US Premiere
Director: Simon Groß, Nana Ekvtimishvili
Early Nineties, in Tbilisi, the capital of the newly independent Georgia after the collapse of the Soviet union. The country is facing violence, war on the Black Sea coast, and vigilante justice plaguing their society. But for Eka and Natia, 14-year old inseparable friends in bloom, life simply unfolds around them in the streets and at school. It rolls about as friends or elder sisters deal with the brutish dominance of the men, early marriage, and disillusioned love. With two startling lead performances by its young actresses, IN BLOOM is an evocative slice-of-life drama with the capacity to shock. Georgia’s Oscar entry.

JIMMY P. (USA)
Director: Arnaud Desplechin
WWII veteran and Native American Jimmy Picard (Benicio Del Toro) returns from France and is admitted to the Menninger Clinic, a Kansas military mental health facility. He suffers from dizzy spells, temporary blindness, and hearing loss; yet when doctors can’t find anything wrong with him physiologically, he’s labeled a schizophrenic. In a bold move, the hospital decides to seek the opinion of Georges Devereaux (Mathieu Amalric), a French psychoanalyst and specialist in Native American culture, to try the “talking cure.” A showcase for Arnaud Desplechin’s measured direction, JIMMY P also features beguiling performances by two actors at the height of their craft.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON (Japan)
Director: Hirokazu Kore-Eda
After learning their six-year-old sons were switched at birth, two families struggle to adapt to their new lives and deal with the emotional roller coaster that ensues. This powerful story explores issues of class and parenthood in modern day Japan and what lengths one will go through to keep their family together. Portrayed through moving performances and gracefully realized by master director Hirokazu Kore-Eda (STILL WALKING, NOBODY KNOWS), this stunning evocation of family dynamics and relationships was awarded the Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival 

THE MAID’S ROOM (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Michael Walker
Drina, a young immigrant from Columbia, is hired by the Crawford family as a live-in maid for their second home in East Hampton. When the Crawfords’ son Brandon comes home from college one weekend, something horrible occurs; Drina unwittingly becomes the only person outside the family to know. But before her conscience gets the best of her, the Crawfords have something to say about it. Annabella Sciorra, Philip Ettinger, and Paula Garces star in Michael Walker’s haunting psychological thriller that explores the complex relationships between truth and justice, hubris and power, wealth and fear.

MYSTERY ROAD (Australia)
US Premiere
Director: Ivan Sen
A brutal crime. A rookie cop out of his depth stands alone between two worlds, where the mystery lies just below the surface. In this incendiary and impeccably shot noir-meets-Western by writer/director Ivan Sen, an indigenous cowboy detective, Jay Swan, returns to his Australian outback hometown to solve the murder of a teenage girl, whose body is found under the highway out of town. Alienated from both the white-dominated police force and his own community, including his teenage daughter, Jay stands alone in his determination to fight back for his town and his people.

THE NOTEBOOK “LE GRANDECAHIER” (Germany/Hungary/Austria/France)
US Premiere
Director: János Szász
This stunningly shot tale follows the adventures of 13-year-old twin brothers sheparded by their mother to the Hungarian countryside towards the end of World War II. Once pampered, they must discipline themselves to be tough and emotionless to survive. They write everything down in a notebook, keeping a written record of all they have witnessed during the war and following a strict code: prose free from emotion, notes precise and objective. Yet over time they are initiated into the horrors of a war-torn world, and, after brief post-war visits from each parent, must face their own ultimate separation. Selected as Hungary’s entry for the 2013 Academy Awards.

OH BOY (Germany)
Director: Jan Ole Gerster
The smart aleck Niko drifts through his twenties content to let life (and responsibilities) chug on by. But over the course of a single day, the cosmic balance shifts, imperceptibly at first, and a series of unfortunate and surprising encounters snowball into what could only be described as an existential crisis. If only he could grab a cup of coffee. Jan Ole Gerster’s hilarious and brilliant first feature swept the 2013 German Oscars, and rightfully so: with its sly subversion of Generation Y clichés, assured direction, and timeless black-and-white photography, OH BOY represents one of the most confident debut films in recent memory.

THE ROCKET (Australia)
Director: Kim Mordaunt
When his mother passes away during his family’s forced exile from their village, young Ahlo is branded as a bearer of bad luck by his father and grandmother. Traveling the picturesque countryside with orphan Kia and her uncle Purple (an alcoholic ex-soldier with a James Brown obsession), Ahlo and this destitute group of misfits might be able to afford a new home if they win an annual rocket building competition in a distant town…but first they must get rid of their self-doubts. This spirited drama was the Audience Award winner for Best Narrative Film at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

SARAH PREFERS TO RUN “SARAH PRÉFÈRE LA COURSE” (Canada)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Chloé Robichaud
When Sarah has a chance to go to a first-class university and to join its premiere athletic club, her suburban mother is fearful of the change and refuses to help financially. But Sarah’s roommate knows that they will get a grant if they marry. Sarah agrees, only to discover that her true heart lies elsewhere: Sarah prefers to run. A smart, incisive, and charming chronicle of one young woman’s blossoming passions, SARAH PREFERS TO RUN announces two great new voices in Quebec filmmaker Chloé Robichaud and actress Sophie Desmarais.

A SHORT HISTORY OF DECAY (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Michael Maren
Brooklyn hipster wannabe writer Nathan Fisher (Bryan Greenberg, HOW TO MAKE IT IN AMERICA) has a lot of growing up to do. He’s a writer who doesn’t write and a boyfriend who won’t commit. When his father suffers a stroke, he heads to Florida where he also has to deal with his mother’s Alzheimer’s. Nathan gets a crash course in love, loyalty, family, and forgiveness in this dark comedy about stepping up when your parents are going downhill. A terrific supporting cast includes veteran stage and screen stars Linda Lavin and Harry Yulin as Nathan’s stricken parents.

STEPHANIE IN THE WATER (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Ava Warbrick
Pro Surfer Stephanie Gilmore won her first World Title at 17, on a day off from high school, during her rookie season. She led the World Tour for the next four years, spending most of her life at press events or traveling from beach to beach. She never lost a match, despite little formal training. Then, following a terrifying attack, for the first time in her life, she didn’t win. STEPHANIE IN THE WATER is an intimate documentary portrait about the culture of pro surfing, growing up a professional athlete, and what it means to be the best.

TANTA AGUA (Uruguay)
Director: Ana Guevara
Curtains of rain spoil the vacation that divorced dad Alberto has eagerly arranged at a hot springs; because he seldom sees his kids, he refuses to allow anything to ruin his plans. Nothing could be worse for teenage Lucía than to be cooped up indoors with Dad and little brother Frederico. But the springs are closed until further notice, and Lucía’s adolescent rebellion clashes against her father’s efforts toward quality family time. A taught, wondrous gem, TANTA AGUA captures the emotions of this universal domestic transition in the most naturalistic sense, even given the meteorological impediments.

TASTING MENU “MENÚ DEGUSTACIÓ” (Spain/Ireland)
North American Premiere
Director: Roger Gual
A year ago, married couple Marc and Rachel made dinner reservations at the world-famous restaurant Chakula on the Catalan coast. By the big night, however, they’d already spent several months divorced, living in different countries. Upon discovering Chakula is closing its doors forever, they both decide to show up—as do an eccentric Irish widow, a solitary man of mysterious origins, Rachel’s new fiancé, and two Japanese businessmen competing for the head chef’s attention with their overeager translator. An enjoyable ensemble film, TASTING MENU is a love letter to fine dining and fleeting connections.

UNDER THE RAINBOW “AU BOUT DU CONTE” (France)
US Premiere
Director: Agnès Jaoui
Laura meets her prince charming in aspiring composer Sandro… at least until her aunt Marianne’s neighbor Maxime puts an end to her childish fantasies about love. In turn, Marianne, a divorced single mother/actress, finds companionship in her driving lessons with Pierre, Sandro’s father, who is secretly planning his life around a fortuneteller’s prophecy about his date of death. Set in Paris, the world’s most romantic city, and full of characters reminiscent of those in fairy tales, UNDER THE RAINBOW is, refreshingly enough, about everyday life and how it fails to meet (and yet somehow exceeds) our expectations.

VICTOR YOUNG PEREZ (France/Israel/Bulgaria)
International Premiere
Director: Jacques Ouaniche
In the early 1930s, flyweight Tunisian Jewish boxer Victor Young Perez moves to Paris with his coach and older brother Benjamin to become the youngest world champion in boxing history. Their rags-to-riches story takes a tragic turn when Victor and Ben are imprisoned in Auschwitz and forced to box Aryans for the Nazi’s amusement. Based on a true story, VICTOR YOUNG PEREZ features a beautiful, remarkable physical performance from first-time actor (and record holding athlete) Brahim Asloum, the first Frenchman to win both a light Flyweight World Championship and an Olympic Gold at the 2000 Sydney Games.

WALKING WITH THE ENEMY (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Mark Schmidt
Inspired by a true story, WALKNG WITH THE ENEMY follows the heroic lives of a world leader and a young man during the horrors of WWII in Hungary. Regent Horthy (Academy Award® winner Ben Kingsley) is faced with ceding power to German adversaries or witnessing the execution of his son, while countryman Elek (Jonas Armstrong) watches as his family is ripped away from him. Determined to be reunited, Elek takes on the German enemies by becoming one of them. Disguised as a Nazi Officer, he embarks on an unforgettable mission to save his family and thousands of others. 

Read more