Helen Hunt in DECODING ANNIE PARKER
The 21st Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) will take place this year from October 10th to 14th, 2013, and announced its lineup of signature programs which includes “A Conversation With…” Helena Bonham Carter and Bruce Dern, The Alfred P. Sloan film prize awarded to DECODING ANNIE PARKER, the Conflict & Resolution Award winner PLOT FOR PEACE, and the Golden Starfish competition line-up.
Below is the complete list of films.
FILMS OF CONFLICT & RESOLUTION
ANA ARABIA (Israel/France)
US Premiere
Director: Amos Gitai
Beautifully and masterfully shot in one 81-minute take, ANA ARABIA follows Yael, a young journalist, as she meets a family of Jews and Arabs in a forgotten shanty enclave on the “border” between Jaffa and Bat Yam in Israel. Originally sent to interview Yussuf, the Muslim widower of a Jewish woman, Yael becomes engrossed in the man’s personal stories and the endangered, fragile balance of their physical space, orchard included. Renowned filmmaker Amos Gitai captures lyrical moments of connection and revelation while depicting a sublime metaphor of coexistence.
GOD LOVES UGANDA (USA)
Director: Roger Ross Williams
Through vérité interviews and hidden camera footage, GOD LOVES UGANDA takes viewers inside the evangelical movement in Uganda, where American missionaries have been credited with both creating schools and hospitals, and promoting dangerous religious bigotry. The film, deftly directed by Academy Award® winning documentarian Roger Ross Williams (MUSIC BY PRUDENCE), follows evangelical leaders in America and Uganda along with politicians and missionaries as they attempt the task of eliminating “sexual sin” and converting Ugandans to fundamentalist Christianity. Shocking, horrifying, touching, and enlightening, the film raises complex issues about religion, sexuality, and their uneasy intersection.
PLOT FOR PEACE (South Africa)
North American Premiere
Director: Carlos Agullo
A true story of intrigue, PLOT FOR PEACE traces the behind-the-scenes diplomatic maneuverings to release Nelson Mandela from jail in South Africa in the 1980s. For the first time, heads of state, generals, diplomats, master spies and anti-apartheid fighters reveal how Africa’s front line states helped end apartheid. One man stood at the center of the whirlwind, a mysterious French businessman dubbed “Monsieur Jacques.” Jean-Ives Oliver, a native of Algeria, gained the trust of the leaders and diplomats in the region as well as abroad, and Director Carlos Agullo gives us exclusive insight to this fascinating, determined and enigmatic man.
SLEEPLESS NIGHTS (Palestine/Lebanon)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Eliane Raheb
Eliane Raheb’s directorial debut is an incisive look at the psychological aftermath of the Lebanese Civil War. Assaad Shaftari was a high-ranking intelligence officer for an extreme right Christian faction during the war, and Maryam Saiidi is a mother still relentlessly seeking answers as to why her son, a student and Communist Party member, disappeared. Not only does Raheb bring their stories together, she instigates meetings between the two. We witness a soldier’s attempts at atonement and a mother’s rage, and learn that even after 30 years, Lebanon is a country not completely healed from its past.
THE SQUARE (Egypt/USA)
Director: Jehane Noujaim
“As long as there’s a camera, the revolution will continue,” says one of the young subjects of THE SQUARE. It does continue, and two years of struggle (right until the summer of 2013) are shown through the eyes of a group of protesters from all walks of society that first came together in Tahrir Square during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. The documentary follows these unlikely companions as they face violence, religious oppression, the assumptions of their elders, and the gap between their expectations and the reality of trying to change the country they will inherit.
Below is the complete list of narrative, documentary and short films in competition for the Golden Starfish awards.
GOLDEN STARFISH AWARD: NARRATIVE
2 AUTUMNS, 3 WINTERS (France)
US Premiere
Director: Sébastien Betbeder
Cast: Vincent Macaigne, Maud Wyler
Arman has just turned 33. He longs for change. Maybe he’ll eat healthier? No, he decides to go jogging and, as he turns a corner, he bumps into the beautiful Amélie. The first meeting is a shock; the second will be like a stab in the heart. Benjamin is Arman’s best friend. Unlucky in life, his fortune is destined to change. Over the course of two autumns and three winters, the lives of the three intermingle and are filled with meetings, accidents, love stories, and memories in this stylish, original French romantic comedy.
BLUE RUIN (USA)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Cast: Macon Blair, Devin Ratray, Amy Hargreaves, Kevin Kolack, Eve Plumb, David W. Thompson
A classic American revenge story, BLUE RUIN follows a mysterious outsider whose quiet life is turned upside down when he returns to his childhood home to carry out an act of vengeance. Proving himself an amateur assassin, he winds up in a brutal fight to protect his estranged family. Writer/director/D.P. Jeremy Saulnier, lauded for his work as cinematographer on provocative recent indies like PUTTY HILL and SEPTIEN, unspools his second directorial effort with stark economy and unnerving potency, crafting a guttural neo-noir that packs a mean, lean punch.
MISTER JOHN (Ireland/Singapore/UK)
North American Premiere
Director: Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor
Cast: Aidan Gillen, Zoe Tay, Michael Thomas, Claire Keelan
John was, in many ways, an enigma to his brother Gerry (Aiden Gillen). After John’s sudden and somewhat mysterious death, Gerry travels to Singapore to settle his brother’s shady business affairs and check on the man’s family. It’s also a convenient reason for Gerry to escape in the wake of his crumbling marriage. From its onset, MISTER JOHN dashes our dramatic expectations and––in the sure-footed hands of filmmakers Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy and Gillen’s brilliant performance––remains consistently surprising as both a character study and a meditation on identity.
MOTHER, I LOVE YOU (Latvia)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Janis Nords
Cast: Kristofers Konovalovs, Vita V?rpi?a, Mat?ss Liv??ns, Indra Bri?e
Twelve-year old Raimonds lives with his single mom and does what he can to make her proud, like playing the saxophone in the school band. But his mischievous side lands him in trouble at school. He decides to hide a school note from his mom––and the lies escalate from there. He runs away from home with the help of his friend Peteris, who gives him the keys to an unoccupied apartment, an act that has unforeseen consequences. Janis Nords’ second film is a soulful story of friendship and truth set against the cool hues and the nightlights of Riga and featuring a 400 BLOWS-esque performance by newcomer Kristofers Konovalovs.
THE SELFISH GIANT (UK)
US Premiere
Director: Clio Barnard
Cast: Conner Chapman, Shaun Thomas, Sean Gilder, Rebecca Manley, Siobhan Finneran
The arresting sophomore feature from Clio Barnard (THE ARBOR),THE SELFISH GIANT is 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. Barnard imbues her remarkable film with an unparalleled poetic touch and a keen perspective on adolescent yearning.
GOLDEN STARFISH AWARD: DOCUMENTARY
BEFORE THE REVOLUTION (Israel)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Dan Shadur
For a certain group of Israelis in the 1960s and ’70s, Tehran, Iran was a utopia. Enjoying close relations with Shah’s regime, their paradise was built on construction contracts, weapons sales, and oil. Then the Iranian Revolution arrived. In what begins as a nostalgic quest to understand his family’s glory days, Dan Shadur’s tale becomes a thrilling documentary filled with rare home footage and interviews, revealing a new perspective on the 1979 overthrow. BEFORE THE REVOLUTION reminds us that memory can be deceptive and, in a world of constantly shifting political dynamics, often manipulated.
BEHIND THE REDWOOD CURTAIN (Belgium)
International Premiere
Director: Liesbeth De Ceulaer
Imbued with a mesmerizing, dreamlike quality, Liesbeth De Ceulaer’s confident first feature takes us to the majestic Redwood Forest and introduces us to people who have strong personal connections to this once isolated region of California. Through seamless vignettes and stunningly saturated cinematography, we meet activists, scientists, loggers, tree dwellers, and Native Americans who share their compelling stories and their bond to these impressive ancient woods, which are now being threatened by excessive logging. De Ceulaer’s bold documentary transports us to this unique and fabled land.
CHIMERAS (Finland/Sweden/China)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Mika Mattila
Cast: Liu Gang, Wang Guangyi
At the height of his career as one of China’s most successful contemporary artists, Wang Guangyi is settling into middle age with increasing ambivalence, a frontline witness to his scene’s contradictory commercial impulses. Meanwhile, Liu Gang is a supremely promising new face on the scene, plucked from art school and thrown into the high gloss world of corporate-sponsored gallery openings and fawning from largely Western curators. In CHIMERAS, Finnish director Mika Mattila weaves the lives of these two men in subtle yet enthralling blend of cinéma vérité, art biography, and prescient cultural analysis.
CODE BLACK (USA)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Ryan McGarry
“C-Booth,” the trauma bay at the Los Angeles County Hospital, was the toughest and best training facility for ER doctors in the country. In 2008, the County Hospital moved from its historic structure to a modern facility, catapulting the medical staff into an institutional identity crisis. 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. Director Ryan McGarry––a full-time resident doctor at County while making this film––poses the question: can they change the system?
DESERT RUNNERS (USA)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Jennifer Steinman
Any single race in the 4Desert Ultramarathon Series is a life-threatening challenge. DESERT RUNNERS is a thrilling documentary about ordinary people who endure the 150 mile ultra-marathons through the world’s four most treacherous deserts in one year: the Atacama Desert in Chile, the Gobi Desert in China, the Sahara in Egypt, and Antarctica. Filled with physical and emotional highs and low, the film goes beyond the terrain to reveal their personal obstacles and determination. This captivating story combines stunning scenery with an intimate view into the complex way human beings deal with heartbreak and triumph.
GOLDEN STARFISH AWARD: SHORT FILM
THE RUNAWAY (France)
New York Premiere
Director: Jean-Bernard Marlin
THE HORSE AND THE NIGHTINGALE (Netherlands)
International Premiere
Director: Nazli Elif Durlu
KUSH (India/USA)
North American Premiere
Director: Shubhashish Bhutiani
GYPSY (Portugal)
North American Premiere
Director: David Bonneville
WHALE VALLEY (Denmark/Iceland)
US Premiere
Director: Gudmundur A. Gudmundsson
Jeff, Who Lives at Home[/caption]
The 2011 Hamptons International Film Festival runs from Thursday, October 13th through Monday, October 17th in East Hampton with additional venues in Southampton, Sag Harbor, Westhampton and Montauk, announce its Southampton opener, Spotlight Films, the World Cinema Section and the films in this year’s Competition.
HIFF will kick-off in Southampton, on Friday, October 14th with The Weinstein Company’s dark comedy Butter starring Jennifer Garner, Olivia Wilde, Ty Burrell, Yara Shahidi, Hugh Jackman and Alicia Silverstone.
The Festival’s Opening Night Film on Thursday, October 13th is the Jason Segel and Susan Sarandon heartwarming comedy Jeff, Who Lives at Home, Closing Night Film is the Cannes Film Festival critics’ darling The Artist and the Centerpiece Film is winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Picture at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival Like Crazy.
The full slate for the Festival is listed below.
OPENING NIGHT, CENTERPIECE & CLOSING NIGHT FILMS
JEFF, WHO LIVES AT HOME
Opening Night Film
East Coast Premiere
Directors: Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass
Cast: Jason Segel, Ed Helms, Susan Sarandon, Judy Greer, Rae Dawn Chong
Directors Mark and Jay Duplass take on brotherly dynamics as well as fate and love in this delightfully authentic and moving comic gem. Thirty-four-year-old Jeff (Jason Segel) spends his days steadily unlocking the profound mysteries of the universe … from the comfort of his mother’s basement. A call from his exasperated mom (Susan Sarandon) begging him to complete a simple errand shakes a begrudging Jeff off the couch. Suddenly, the universe begins to deliver important signs that could unlock his destiny. Jeff crosses paths with his disgruntled older brother (Ed Helms), who is embroiled in a crisis of his own. A hysterical, madcap journey ensues, forcing the two very different brothers to face earth-shattering challenges side by side. The Hamptons International Film Festival is thrilled to present JEFF, WHO LIVES AT HOME as the Opening Night Film of our 2011 Festival.
LIKE CRAZY
Centerpiece Film
East Coast Premiere
Director: Drake Doremus
Cast: Felicity Jones, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlie Bewley, Alex Kingston, Oliver Muirhead
It is rare for sweet, implacable first love portrayed on screen to connect wholly with the heart. LIKE CRAZY is a dazzling exception, featuring two brilliant young actors, Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones, with remarkable screen chemistry. A modern twist on star-crossed lovers, Jones plays Anna, an undergraduate from the UK studying abroad in Los Angeles. A crush on classmate Jacob (Yelchin, HIFF Breakthrough Performer) turns into an exceptional love affair. Rash, youthful decisions and a visa debacle threaten to separate the two indefinitely, and they are thrust wide-eyed into a world of confounding adult decisions. A smartly wound love story with a soul, LIKE CRAZY is magical, as well as sincere, in its approach to newfound love. The Hamptons International Film Festival is honored to present LIKE CRAZY as our 2011 Centerpiece Film.
BUTTER
Southampton Opening Night Film
East Coast Premiere
Director: Jim Field Smith
Cast: Jennifer Garner, Olivia Wilde, Ty Burrell, Yara Shahidi, Hugh Jackman, Alicia Silverstone
Art, politics, and food collide in this star-studded dark comedy. Bob Pickler (Ty Burrell) is the undisputed king of butter carving throughout the Midwest. His artful carvings of Newt Gingrich and scenes from SCHINDLER’S LIST have earned him the title, “The Elvis of Butter.” Now that he’s decided to withdraw from the world of competitive butter carving, the championship title is up for grabs. His wife, Laura (Jennifer Garner), will stop at nothing to keep the title in the family, but first she’ll have to beat working girl Brooke (Olivia Wilde) and the young orphan Destiny (Yara Shahidi). When Laura teams up with her former flame, sleazy car salesman Boyd Bolton (Hugh Jackman), all bets are off in this uproarious and outrageous comedy.
THE ARTIST
East Hampton Closing Night Film
Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Cast: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope Ann Miller, Missi Pyle
Travel back to a golden age of cinema in this enchanting, comedic tribute to silent films. It’s 1927, and handsome, witty, and beguiling George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is Hollywood’s biggest movie star. Unhappily married, Valentin has unwittingly stolen the heart of a nobody-turned-extra named Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo), who dreams of becoming a great actress in her own right. When the studio converts to the “talkies,” Valentin balks at the prospect: who would want to hear actors speaking? Valentin takes it upon himself to keep the silent era alive, risking his career and his fortune, and stiff competition from his former allies.
SPOTLIGHT FILMS
ANOTHER HAPPY DAY
Director: Sam Levinson
Cast: Ellen Barkin, Ezra Miller, Kate Bosworth, Demi Moore, Thomas Haden Church, George Kennedy, Ellen Burstyn, Michael Nardelli
Ellen Barkin gives a stunning lead performance as Lynn, a once-divorced, twice-married mother of four, returning home to Annapolis, Maryland for the wedding of her eldest son, Dylan. There are no shortages of demons in the closet in Lynn’s immediate family, and the antics of her defiant teenage son, and impossibly toxic relationships with her mother and ex-husband, threaten to derail the weekend. Memorable performances capture the humor and hardship of family living: Ellen Burstyn, Demi Moore, Ezra Miller (HIFF Breakthrough Performer), and Kate Bosworth round out the stellar ensemble cast.
COLLABORATOR
East Coast Premiere
Director: Martin Donovan
Cast: Martin Donovan, David Morse, Olivia Williams, Melissa Auf der Maur
Director and star Martin Donovan (INSOMNIA, THE SENTINEL) takes on class, celebrity, and writer’s block in this tightly wound psychological drama. Donovan plays Robert Longfellow, a New York-based playwright whose latest failures seem to signal the end of an otherwise successful career. After a string of soul-crushing meetings during a brief visit to his native Los Angeles, he has two strange encounters: the first with a celebrity actress and former flame; the second, his ex-con former neighbor. When an unthinkable scenario endangers his return trip to his wife and children, the tools of Longfellow’s craft may surface as his rescue device.
CORIOLANUS
Director: Ralph Fiennes
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Brian Cox, Vanessa Redgrave, James Nesbitt
Ralph Fiennes’s directorial debut CORIOLANUS transforms one of Shakespeare’s bloodiest, most imposing tragedies into an intensely modern cinematic experience. A skilled and brutal war hero of the Roman army, Coriolanus (Fiennes), is persuaded to take political office by his mother (Vanessa Redgrave) and other bureaucrats after a successful campaign against Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler) and the Volscian army. Soon though, political machinations and Coriolanus’ own pride enrage the public. Forced into exile, Coriolanus exacts his revenge alongside the unlikeliest of allies. Anchored by searing performances, CORNIOLANUS will leave you on the edge of your seat.
THE GOOD DOCTOR
Director: Lance Daly
Cast: Orlando Bloom, Riley Keough, Troy Garity, Rob Morrow, Taraji P. Henson, Michael Peña
Suspenseful medical dramas are a dime-a-dozen, but Lance Daly’s THE GOOD DOCTOR is a rare exception, an enthralling mix of psychological thriller and intense character study with a riveting (and against-type) Orlando Bloom performance at its center. Bloom stars as Dr. Martin Blake, an initially unassuming first-year medical resident. Failing to achieve approval and confidence from both his superiors and the hospital staff, Blake soon becomes close with an alluring Diane (Riley Keough) whom he has recently cured. This intimacy transforms into something more disturbing as Blake grows more and more infatuated with his former patient. Taraji P. Henson, Rob Morrow and Michael Peña add to the impressive cast.
MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE
Director: Sean Durkin
Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, Brady Corbet, Hugh Dancy, John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson
Good luck finding another feature-length debut this year as startlingly assured as Sean Durkin’s MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE. This masterfully wrought psychological drama concerns a troubled young woman who flees an upstate New York cult and seeks refuge in the quiet home of her sister and sister’s husband. Durkin boldly floats between past and present, lodging viewers firmly inside Martha’s troubled mind. Featuring a magnetic performance by newcomer Elizabeth Olsen, as well as standout supporting turns from Sarah Paulson and John Hawkes, Durkin’s haunting thriller is one of the finest American films of 2011.
MELANCHOLIA
Director: Lars von Trier
Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlotte Rampling, John Hurt, Alexander Skarsgård, Stellan Skarsgård
When does the end of the world become a welcome event? Lars von Trier’s magnificent apocalyptic epic explores the darkest corners of self-destruction in the face of terrifying planetary events. MELANCHOLIA is a twisted fairytale in two parts: the first, the story of a wedding that begins to go mysteriously awry; the second, a family struggles with the realization that life as they know it will soon come to an end. Together, these stories form a powerful, personal saga about pain, sabotage, and survival, one that will certainly be talked about for years to come. Kirsten Dunst’s arresting lead performance garnered her the Best Actress award at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.
ORANGES AND SUNSHINE
US Premiere
Director: Jim Loach
Cast: Emily Watson, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham, Richard Dillane, Tara Morice, Tammy Wakefield
In this stirring drama based on a true story, Margaret Humphreys (Emily Watson) is a British social worker who stumbles upon one of the largest scandals in the United Kingdom in recent memory. Humphreys uncovers the heartbreaking “home children” program, which deported 130,000 youths from the country without the knowledge or consent of their families. In the face of bureaucratic opposition, Humphreys embarks on a journey to unite these lost sons and daughters with their loved ones, often risking her own safety. ORANGES AND SUNSHINE is the story of a seemingly ordinary but truly courageous woman.
PINA in 3D
Director: Wim Wenders
Featuring: Pina Bausch, Ensemble of the Tanztheater Wuppertal
In this mesmerizing 3D experience, world renowned director Wim Wenders (WINGS OF DESIRE) and the late iconoclastic choreographer Pina Bausch team up to bring you one of the most extraordinary cinematic events of the year. Starring Bausch’s own Tanztheater Wuppertal ensemble, this performance-driven documentary film features many of Bausch’s most acclaimed pieces of modern dance performed in school gyms, industrial parks, and, in one riveting sequence, a water-logged stage. The strange-yet-powerful art of Bausch stunned audiences for over 35 years and has now found its perfect compliment in Wenders’ sumptuous, lively fusion of film, movement, music, and spectacle.
THE RUM DIARY
East Coast Premiere
Director: Bruce Robinson
Cast: Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, Aaron Eckhart, Giovanni Ribisi, Richard Jenkins
Thirteen years after FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS, Johnny Depp once again channels the gonzo exploits of Hunter S. Thompson in THE RUM DIARY, the long-awaited fourth feature from filmmaker and novelist Bruce Robinson, best known for the cult classic WITHNAIL AND I. Depp (a real life friend of Thompson) stars as Paul Kemp, a freelance journalist in the ‘50s who travels to Puerto Rico for a story. Soon, he finds himself enmeshed in a love triangle with an American woman whose fiancé who is deeply involved with illegal business practices. Fueled by lust, corruption, and rum, and set amidst stunning Caribbean landscapes, THE RUM DIARY is a wild ride that could only come from the inimitable imagination of Hunter S. Thompson.
THINK OF ME
US Premiere
Director: Bryan Wizemann
Cast: Lauren Ambrose, Audrey Scott, Dylan Baker, Penelope Ann Miller, Adina Porter, David Conrad
Beyond the money, glamour and lights of Las Vegas, the city’s invisible families teeter on the edge of abject poverty and its underlying dangers. THINK OF ME plunges us into this world. Lauren Ambrose (best known for her award-winning work on HBO’s SIX FEET UNDER) shines as Angela, a struggling single mother failing to make ends meet for her little daughter. Regular drug and alcohol use clouds her already questionable judgment. Desperate for cash, Angela plunges into short-lived moneymaking schemes. Pushing the limits of safety and sanity, Angela’s best-laid plans endanger the welfare of her daughter.
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
East Coast Premiere
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Cast: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller, Siobhan Fallon
Eva (Tilda Swinton) must cope with her confusion, anger, and guilt in the wake of a horrific school massacre perpetrated by her son Kevin (Ezra Miller). Acclaimed director Lynne Ramsay (RATCATCHER) sifts through Eva’s tangled feelings about her deeply troubled son and her now estranged husband (John C. Reilly) through a chilling reverie of scenes from Eva’s life. From Kevin’s birth through the long-term aftermath of the tragedy, Swinton’s tremendous performance evokes Eva’s conflicted state of mind with gut-wrenching precision. Powerful, gorgeous, and haunting, KEVIN addresses the uncomfortable subject of parental indifference, challenging audiences and their notions of parenthood.
THE WOMAN IN THE FIFTH
“La femme du 5è”
US Premiere
Director: Pawel Pawlikowski
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Kristin Scott Thomas, Joanna Kulig, Samir Guesmi
Ethan Hawke delivers a career-topping performance in Pawel Pawlikowski’s eerily captivating new film. An American writer, Tom Ricks (Hawke, in a French- and English-speaking role), moves to Paris to be closer to his young daughter, though Ricks’ ex-wife forbids him to visit. Wandering about the city, he’s eventually robbed and left penniless. He stumbles upon a run-down inn where the proprietor offers him a room and a shady job in an underground bunker. With its evocative lensing and elliptical rhythms, THE WOMAN IN THE FIFTH casts an unsettling spell on the viewer, suggesting a mysterious undercurrent to the film’s events and foreshadowing a shocking climax.
GOLDEN STARFISH AWARD (GSA) NARRATIVE COMPETITION
BULLHEAD
“Rundskop”
East Coast Premiere
Director: Michaël R. Roskam
Cast: Matthias Schoenaerts, Joroen Perceval, Jeanne Dandoy, Barbara Sarafian, Sam Louwyck
BULLHEAD plunges us into the corrupt underbelly of a mafia-run meat industry, where illegal use of growth hormones on cattle runs rampant. After a detective is murdered, Jacky (Matthias Schoenaerts)––a grotesquely muscular man supped-up on steroids––becomes suspicious of a potential partnership with a rival manufacturer. Compounding his weariness is the presence of Diederik (Joroen Perceval). Flashbacks into Jacky’s childhood soon reveal the two men are linked by a physically traumatic, life-altering tragedy. At center of this startling feature debut is Schoenaerts, whose astonishingly layered performance as, and physical transformation into, the hulking Jacky culminates into one of the most searing portraits of a scarred male psyche in modern cinema.
CRACKS IN THE SHELL
“Die Unsichtbare”
US Premiere
Director: Christian Schwochow
Cast: Stine Fischer Christensen, Ulrich Noethen, Dagmar Manzel, Christian Drechsler, Ronald Zehrfeld
The tension between actors and directors is painted in explosive dramatic detail in Christian Schwochow’s edgy, thrilling CRACKS IN THE SHELL. Stine Fischer Christensen stars as Fine, a struggling theater student whose lackluster stage performances result from a difficult home life. Fine is therefore shocked to receive an invitation to audition for, and to be subsequently cast in a famous director’s newest production. Her new director encourages self-discovery in order to connect with her difficult role, but Fine’s lack of boundaries prompts the full-scale excavation of her latent dark side. Christensen (AFTER THE WEDDING) gives a stunning performance that won her a top acting prize at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival.
THE FAIRY
“La fée”
US Premiere
Directors: Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, Bruno Romy
Cast: Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, Philippe Martz, Bruno Romy, Vladimir Zorano, Wilson Goma
THE FAIRY is the latest irreverent gem from the team behind L’ICEBERG and RUMBA. A man prone to comic mishaps, Dom works the late shift at a motel in a sleepy seaside town. One night, a strange and slender “fairy” checks into the hotel and grants Dom three wishes. Caught up in her topsy-turvy world––a head-spinning series of foot chases, underwater dances, and hospital breakouts––Dom can’t help but fall in love. This gloriously silly romp pays homage to film greats like Chaplin, Keaton, and Tati, and stands as one of the most delirious comedies in years.
THE FORGIVENESS OF BLOOD
East Coast Premiere
Director: Joshua Marston
Cast: Tristan Halilaj, Sindi Lacej, Refet Abazi, Ilire Vinca Celaj
With his piercing and compassionate storytelling voice, director Joshua Marston follows his breakthrough film, MARIA FULL OF GRACE, with this equally riveting drama, winner of the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay at the 2011 Berlin International Film Festival. Set in a small, present-day Albanian town, where horse-and-cart transportation co-exists with cars and cell phones, a blood feud erupts when a father is accused of slaying a neighbor over a road dispute. The family’s life is now dictated by the strictures of the Kunan, a 15th-century Balkan code of traditions, which maintains that all men in the family, old and young included, must remain under house arrest for the unforeseeable future to atone for the crime.
WITHOUT
New York Premiere
Director: Mark Jackson
Cast: Joslyn Jensen, Ron Carrier, Darren Lenz, Piper Weiss, Bob Sentinella
WITHOUT is a daring, provocative, and uniquely sensitive look at the intersection between technology and social isolation. A young woman travels to a secluded, wooded island to be the temporary caretaker of an ailing and mute elderly man. Deprived of the Internet and phone reception, the woman makes desperate attempts to connect. Mysterious clues surface, and point to a recent tragedy that might be eroding her sanity. Actress Joslyn Jensen delivers a remarkable performance that fully explores the boundaries between connectivity and isolation in a story confronting the timely issue of Internet privacy.
GSA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
FAMILY PORTRAIT IN BLACK AND WHITE
East Coast Premiere
Director: Julia Ivanova
A tender and tragicomic tale of unusual family dynamics, generational gaps and cultural anachronisms, FAMILY PORTRAIT IN BLACK AND WHITE is a captivating study of modern dilemmas in the former Eastern Bloc. In Ukraine, reigning ethnic xenophobia has resulted in a number of Caucasian mothers abandoning their unwanted bi-racial children in orphanages. Mrs. Olga Nenya is a hearty, fierce foster mother who shelters sixteen mostly bi-racial children in an old Soviet farmhouse with few modern conveniences, and puts all of the children to work. Already outsiders in their own country, the children struggle to adopt Mrs. Nenya’s Soviet-era mentality.
LAURA
World Premiere
Director: Fellipe Barbosa
Imagine if GREY GARDENS’ Little Edie had actually realized her dream of moving into a studio apartment on 10th Avenue: her life might have resembled that of Laura’s, a Brazilian immigrant in New York City who lives two contradictory lives. At night she crashes the most glamorous and exclusive parties, while each day she struggles to cheat poverty and eviction. Director Fellipe Barbosa follows Laura from a film premiere at MoMA to the New York subways at night, and soon becomes a character in his own film, completely enchanted with this fabulous and mysterious woman.
MY REINCARNATION
US Premiere
Director: Jennifer Fox
Two decades in the making, the story of exiled Buddhist Dzogchen master Chögyal Namkhai Norbu and his Italian-born son, Yeshe, is both a riveting family drama and a chronicle of an intense spiritual journey. Yeshe, acknowledged to be the reincarnation of a great Buddhist monk, struggles to reconcile the expectations placed on him with his desire for a normal life, finally making a revelatory decision. Capturing a father-son relationship evolving before crowds of students hungry for the master’s spiritual wisdom, director Jennifer Fox creates a tribute to the life-altering complexity of true faith.
SCENES OF A CRIME
New York Premiere
Directors: Blue Hadaegh, Grover Babcock
Winner of the Grand Jury Award at the 2011 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, SCENES OF A CRIME deftly navigates the case of Adrian Thomas, a young father in Troy, New York accused of killing his four-month-old son. Directors Grover Babcock and Blue Hadaegh masterfully edit ten hours of interrogation footage into a suspenseful documentary rift with plot twists and changing conclusions. What at first seems like a film about an open-and-shut case against Thomas becomes in this riveting documentary a subtle investigation of the interrogation process itself and questions the viewers’ own assumptions of guilt and innocence.
VODKA FACTORY
“Vodkafabriken”
US Premiere
Director: Jerzy Sladkowski
Like many of the residents in the snowy Russian town of Zhigulyovsk, young single mother Valetina works full-time at the local vodka factory, mindlessly packaging bottles off a conveyor belt. But unlike her co-workers, Valentina dreams about leaving her job and moving to Moscow to pursue a career in acting. VODKA FACTORY, the award-winning documentary from director Jerzy Sladkowski, compassionately explores the dissatisfaction that seems a requisite for life in Zhigulyovsk. As Valentina plots her escape, her mother, friends, and coworkers wrestle with the dreary ennui built into their provincial lifestyle.
WORLD CINEMA NARRATIVE
BOY
East Coast Premiere
Director: Taika Waititi
Cast: James Rolleston, Te Aho Eketone-Whitu, Taika Waititi, Waihoroi Shortland
Like any eleven-year-old kid in 1984, Boy’s idol is Michael Jackson. Unlike most others, he is growing up in rural New Zealand on a farm with his “gran,” cousins, and brother––the latter claiming to possess special powers––in a town full of “aunties” and “uncles.” When gran goes on vacation, Boy’s father shows up fresh from prison. With a dose of magical realism, Boy imagines his father as a Jackson-esque hero, only to learn the man is an ex-con hunting for a long buried bag of money. BOY is a fresh comedy that makes light of life’s darker moments.
THE COLOR OF THE OCEAN
“Die Farbe des Ozeans”
US Premiere
Director: Maggie Peren
Cast: Alex Gonzalez, Sabine Timoteo, Hubert Koundé, Friedrich Mücke, Nathalie Poza
German writer/director Maggie Peren positions herself as a filmmaker to watch with this tense and powerful film about a chance encounter in the Canary Islands. José is a hardened Spanish border patrol officer. He has little compassion toward impoverished African refugees who have washed up by the boatful on the shores of the island. Nathalie, a German tourist, witnesses one such boat landing, the refugees on-board nearly dying of thirst. She involves herself in the fate of a desperate Senegalese man and his young son who are attempting to escape the detainee camp from which José has ordered their deportation.
CORPO CELESTE
Director: Alice Rohrwacher
Cast: Yile Vianello, Salvatore Cantalupo, Pasqualina Scuncia, Anita Caprioli
A thirteen-year old girl navigates the precarious crawlspace between childhood and adulthood in Alice Rohrwacher’s striking fictional debut. Marta (Yile Vianello) has just moved from Switzerland to Calabria, Italy with her mother and older sister. Often left to her own devices and constantly berated by her bratty sister, Marta must also endure daily catechism classes in preparation for her upcoming confirmation. Rohrwacher examines Marta’s crisis of faith and adolescence with her finely attuned and immersive direction, giving vivid, intimate dimensions to both Calabria’s Catholic community and one girl’s search for answers amid the confusion of coming of age.
SPECIAL SCREENING: ELECTION (1999)
Director: Alexander Payne
Cast: Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon, Chris Klein, Jessica Campbell
Alexander Payne’s ELECTION is not only one of the funniest movies made about high school, but also one of the most insightful and intelligent. Matthew Broderick is at his comedic best as Jim McAllister, a devoted, well-meaning history teacher whose personal and professional life is thrown into a tailspin over a school election. Vengeful overachiever Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon) desperately wants to be Student Body President, and doesn’t care how many lives she ruins in order to realize her dream. As hilarious as it is tragic, ELECTION is a certifiable modern-day classic. Broderick will sit down with Alec Baldwin in A CONVERSATION WITH discussion of his life and work on Saturday, October 15 at 3:15PM at Guild Hall.
THE FIFTH HEAVEN
“Barakia Ha’ Chamishi”
US Premiere
Director: Dina Zvi-Riklis
Cast: Yehezkel Lazarov, Amit Moshkovitz, Alena Yiv, Guy Adler, Aki Avni
A sensitive coming-of-age drama, THE FIFTH HEAVEN begins during the last days of WWII as thirteen-year-old Maya is abandoned by her father at an orphanage for Jewish girls in Palestine. The orphanage is so isolated that the few British soldiers patrolling nearby and a handyman in the Jewish Resistance are the only evidence that the war is drawing to a close. But the traumas of wartime show on the faces of the malnourished girls and in the lonely routines of their adult supervisors. Director Dina Zvi-Riklis deftly weaves together the lives of orphans and exiles into a portrait of a world on the brink of transformation.
HAPPY NEW YEAR
New York Premiere
Director: K. Lorrel Manning
Cast: Michael Cuomo, JD Williams, Monique Gabriela Curnen, Tina Sloan, Alan Dale
Based on his award-winning short, K. Lorrel Manning’s HAPPY NEW YEAR vividly portrays the heartbreak and the humanity in the story of a young American soldier, Sgt. Cole Lewis, admitted to the psychiatric wing of a stateside VA hospital following a botched military operation in Iraq. As the narrative unfolds, we meet a colorful cast of personalities, all with their own horror stories of loss and of pain, who aid Sgt. Lewis on his quest to find inner peace––at any cost. HAPPY NEW YEAR is a tender, moving portrait of what it means to be willing to sacrifice one’s own safety (and sanity) in pursuit of protecting the American dream.
LE HAVRE
Director: Aki Kaurismäki
Cast: André Wilms, Kati Outinen, Jean-Pierre Darroussin
Finnish auteur Aki Kaurismaki is known for his unique cinematic style and offbeat sense of humor. LE HAVRE, one of the most talked about films of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, is Kaurismaki at his best, displaying an original blend of satire, sincerity, and slapstick comedy that is a recipe all his own. Marcel is an aging shoe shiner in the French port town of Le Havre. He makes an accidental discovery of a young African refugee escaped from a shipping container. Their unlikely friendship awakens new life in Marcel’s otherwise idle, self-centered, and hopelessly aloof existence.
HELL
US Premiere
Director: Tim Fehlbaum
Cast: Hannah Herzsprung, Stipe Erceg, Lars Eidinger, Lisa Vicari, Angela Winkler
HELL is a stark, post-apocalyptic thriller in the tradition of THE ROAD and NO BLADE OF GRASS, a rare horror film that relies on character and atmosphere instead of gore. Five years from now, the world as we know it ceases to exist. Water and food are scarce. The sun has turned Earth into a scorched world. Yet three people have not yet given up hope. Sisters Marie and Leonie drive their car into the mountains with Phillip in hopes of finding water. But after Leonie is kidnapped, their loyalty and faith are put to the test. Executive Produced by Roland Emmerich (INDEPENDENCE DAY), HELL is an eco-conscious disaster movie driven by strong human emotions.
THE KID WITH A BIKE
“Le gamin au vélo”
Directors: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Cast: Cecile de France, Thomas Doret, Jeremie Renier, Fabrizio Rongione, Olivier Gourmet
Celebrated master filmmakers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (Palme d’Or winners ROSETTA and L’ENFANT) deliver a staggeringly profound drama about parenting in their latest tour de force, THE KID WITH A BIKE. Recently abandoned at an orphanage, young Cyril embarks on a string of runaway attempts in the hopes of finding his missing father and moving back home. He meets a lovely salon owner named Samantha (Cécile de France), who falls for Cyril’s charms and offers to be a part-time foster parent. When Cyril’s behavior begins spiraling out of control, their relationship enters confusing terrain, causing Samantha to question her motives, and abilities, as a parent.
MY BEST ENEMY
“Mein bester Feind”
North American Premiere
Director: Wolfgang Murnberger
Cast: Moritz Bleibtreu, Georg Friedrich, Ursula Strauss, Uwe Bohm, Marthe Keller
On the eve of WWII, the disappearance of a priceless Michelangelo drawing in Austria sets the plot of MY BEST ENEMY in motion. A Jewish family of art collectors is forced to hide the drawing after their son Victor (Moritz Bleibtreu) shows it to his friend Rudi, who has secretly joined the Nazi party. When Hitler decides to use the Michelangelo to cement the Axis alliance with Italy, Victor embarks on a picaresque journey through an absurdist maze of Nazi bureaucracy, grappling with Rudi for survival during the darkest days of the Third Reich.
NATURAL SELECTION
New York Premiere
Director: Robbie Pickering
Cast: Rachael Harris, Jon Gries, Matt O’Leary
NATURAL SELECTION is a quirky comedy that follows the sexual and emotional awakening of Linda (Rachel Harris). Linda’s sheltered, devoutly Christian life is shaken to the core when her husband, Abe, has a stroke at a sperm bank, where––unbeknownst to Linda––he has been a donor for over a decade. Setting out across the country, Linda finds Abe’s biological son, a mullet-headed ex-con named Raymond, and together they form an unlikely relationship. With a strong performance by Harris and a pitch-perfect script, this unique film finds a way to humanize even the most unfortunate of characters.
OK, ENOUGH, GOODBYE
“Tayeb, khalas, yalla”
US Premiere
Directors: Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia
Cast: Daniel Arzruni, Nadime Attieh, Walid Al-Ayoubi, Nawal Mekdad, Sablawork Tesfay
OK, ENOUGH, GOODBYE is as much a striking portrait of Tripoli, Lebanon, as it is the offbeat story of a helpless middle-aged man who lives at home with his elderly mother. When his mother, fed up with cooking and cleaning for her grown son, leaves without notice, he seeks out the company of an unusual mix of characters: a prostitute, a six-year-old boy, and an Ethiopian maid. This astonishing feature film debut is a coming of age story of an adult on his own amidst the landscape of a multi-cultural, modern day Lebanon.
A QUIET LIFE
“Una Vita tranquilla”
Director: Claudio Cupellini
Cast: Toni Servillo, Marco D’Amore, Francesco Di Leva, Juliane Köhler
For the past twelve years, Rosario (Toni Servillo, IL DIVO) has run a restaurant-hotel in a small German town where he lives unassumingly with his wife and child. But the sudden appearance of two young Italian men threatens to expose a criminal past Rosario has worked hard to leave behind. Servillo’s brilliant turn explores the complexity of Rosario’s relationship with one of the men––soon revealed as his estranged son. His captivating performance shows a man torn between the guilt over abandoning his eldest son and the knowledge that a close relationship with him will be the end of his quiet life.
SLEEPING BEAUTY
East Coast Premiere
Director: Julia Leigh
Cast: Emily Browning, Rachael Blake, Ewen Leslie, Peter Carroll, Chris Haywood
Featuring a riveting performance from former child actress Emily Browning, Australian novelist Julia Leigh’s psychosexual drama was one of the most hotly debated films at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. College student Lucy’s life is split between the ennui of her days and the unexplored territory of her nights in an unusual high-end brothel. Delving the murky territory between sex and death, SLEEPING BEAUTY proves that the most compelling works of art are often the ones that most drastically divide audiences.
SMALL, BEAUTIFULLY MOVING PARTS
East Coast Premiere
Directors: Annie J. Howell, Lisa Robinson
Cast: Anna Margaret Hollyman, Richard Hoag, André Holland, Mary Beth Peil
In this charming comedy, a pregnant “freelance technologist”, Sarah Sparks, questions her readiness to become a parent. Passionate about gadgetry, technology, and mechanical problems, Sarah is at a loss when faced with questions lacking an empirical solution. As her due date draws near, Sarah traverses the Southwest visiting her zany family along the way in search of her long distant mother, who now lives off the grid in the desert. Filmed amidst the beautiful landscapes of California and Arizona, this film is a sweet and delightful tale of a technology whiz confronting motherhood. For its unique look at technology, SMALL, BEAUTIFULLY MOVING PARTS is this year’s recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Feature Film Prize.
STOPPED ON TRACK
“Halt auf freier Strecke”
US Premiere
Director: Andreas Dresen
Cast: Milan Peschel, Steffi Kuhrnert, Bernhard Schutz, Talisa Lilly Lemke
What would your life look like if you realized you had only six months to live? In the Cannes award-winning film STOPPED ON TRACK, director Andreas Dresen paints a compelling, sincere, and honest portrait of an ordinary man facing brain cancer. Frank and his wife Simone grimly bear the earth-shattering news about Frank’s illness, but they are at a loss when sharing it with their young children and aging parents. As Frank’s health declines, terminal illness becomes a part of everyday life for the family. The film delivers a distinctly raw depiction of human emotion in the face of devastating tragedy.
SUL MARE
Director: Alessandro D’Alatri
Cast: Dario Catiglio, Martina Codecasa, Nunzia Schiano, Vincenzo Merolla, Raffaele Vassalo
With its bittersweet treatment of young love and heartbreak, and bolstering two beautifully wrought lead performances by Dario Catiglio and Martina Codecasa, SUL MARE affirms director Alessandro D’Alatri’s place as one of the most beloved filmmakers in contemporary Italian cinema. Salvatore (Catiglio) works summers at home on Ventotene, taking tourists on boat tours around the sun-soaked island and flirting with pretty young women. Off-season, he works dangerous construction jobs, undocumented and paid under-the-table. Searching for stability and purpose in his life, Salvatore meets Martina (Codescasa), a charming yet distant young women vacationing on Ventotene while on leave from university.
SWERVE
North American Premiere
Director: Craig Lahiff
Cast: Jason Clarke, Emma Booth, David Lyons, Travis McMahon, Vince Colosimo, Roy Billing
Shot in the hot, rocky, Australian outback and featuring a talent-packed cast, this neo-noir thriller hits the ground running and never lets up. Colin (David Lyons) is driving cross-country when he witnesses a fatal car crash and finds in its wake a distressed blonde (Emma Booth), a dead drug trafficker, and a cash-filled suitcase. Our hero does the honorable thing, turning in the money to the local cop (Jason Clarke), but his good deed triggers a series of fateful events, drawing him into a deadly game of survival. Writer/director Craig Lahiff keeps the adrenaline pumping in this sexy, gripping actioner from down under.
THIN ICE
East Coast Premiere
Director: Jill Sprecher
Cast: Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, Billy Crudup, David Harbour, Lea Thompson, Bob Balaban
In this Midwestern comedy, Greg Kinnear stars as Mickey, a smooth-talking insurance agent with a knack for alienating the most important people in his life. Less the everyman than a failed confidence man, his luck seems to shift when he makes the acquaintance of a farmer (Alan Arkin), a cantankerous man with no idea he owns of a very valuable violin. Mickey’s new luck, however, is short-lived thanks to a less-than-fortuitous arrangement with a local locksmith (Billy Crudup), forcing Mickey to make the kind of tough decisions he’s spent his entire life running from.
TOMBOY
Director: Céline Sciamma
Cast: Zoé Héran, Malonn Lévana, Jeanne Disson, Sophie Cattani, Mathieu Demy
Laure, a ten-year-old tomboy living with her family outside of Paris, reinvents herself as Mikael, allowing her to at last explore her masculine curiosities. As Mikael strikes up friendships with the neighborhood boys and finds a romantic interest in another young girl, Mikael’s secret becomes increasingly close to being exposed to those around her––including her parents, who remain oblivious to their daughter’s hidden life. The heart of this beautifully realized coming of age tale lies squarely in Zoé Héran’s multilayered, remarkably controlled performance that effortlessly captures the simultaneous confusion, heartache, and joy of one young girl’s moment at a crossroads.
VOLCANO
“Eldfjall”
East Coast Premiere
Director: Rúnar Rúnarsson
Cast: Theodor Juliusson, Margret Helga Johannsdottir, Thorsteinn Bachmann
After spending 37 years as a school custodian, Hannes should be looking forward to retirement, but lately everything makes him grouchy. He hates the car his daughter just bought, his son doesn’t want him to smoke, his wife serves the wrong soup, and his boat leaks. But after his wife suddenly falls ill, Hannes is forced to confront the future as never before, and he must make amends with his family before it is too late. A profound work of quiet tragedy, VOLCANO is a universal story about family and aging that is sure to resonate with viewers’ own lives.
WE HAVE A POPE
“Habemus Papam”
East Coast Premiere
Director: Nanni Moretti
Cast: Michel Piccoli, Nanni Moretti, Jerzy Stuhr, Renato Scarpa, Margherita Buy
The Pope is dead. Cardinals walk in a solemn procession through the Vatican. The media place odds on whom among the robed will be elected the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church. Throngs of the faithful descend upon the Apostolic Palace. The stage is set for Italian master Nanni Moretti’s deeply satisfying satire, starring the inimitable Michel Piccoli as Cardinal Melville, the surprise choice for successor so paralyzed by fear he refuses to greet the public. At wit’s end, the Vatican’s spokesperson calls in a psychoanalyst (Moretti), pitting Melville’s existential crisis against the responsibilities of a divine calling.
WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY
77 STEPS
East Coast Premiere
Director: Ibtisam Salh Mara’ana
A politically charged self-portrait from acclaimed documentary filmmaker Ibtisam Mara’ana, 77 STEPS centers on Mara’ana’s relationship with Jonathan, a Canadian-born Jewish immigrant. Against the backdrop of increasing Israeli and Palestinian hostilities, Mara’ana trains her camera inward, capturing her personal struggle as she attempts to reconcile her Muslim heritage with her current life in Tel Aviv. Equal parts intimate love story and wide-reaching social commentary, 77 STEPS is more than just a compelling study of one couple’s quest towards mutual understanding: it’s a tense meditation on one of the world’s most heated political quagmires.
ALL ME: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF WINFRED REMBERT
World Premiere
Director: Vivian Ducat
Subject: Winfred Rembert
For Winfred Rembert, art is autobiography. Sprung from the scenes of his turbulent life, Rembert’s work evokes his memories with a beauty and boldness all their own. ALL ME traces the progression of Rembert’s painted leather work as he parlayed this craft into arresting portraits of his life in the segregated Georgia of the 50s and 60s. Now an acclaimed artist at the age of 67, Rembert transforms his most harrowing of trials–extreme poverty, brutal Jim Crowe encounters, civil rights rallies, and even years spent on a chain gang–into vibrant and ultimately triumphant works of art.
APPLE PUSHERS
World Premiere
Director: Mary Mazzio
Narration: Edward Norton
Narrated by Edward Norton, APPLE PUSHERS profiles five New York City immigrant push-cart vendors with a common goal: to find success in America. As part of the “green cart initiative” started by the City Council, these vendors achieve this dream by selling fruits and vegetables in the “food deserts” of the Big Apple. These vendors are not only carving out an economic niche for themselves but are counteracting the high rates of obesity and diabetes in the City’s low-income communities. APPLE PUSHERS is an uplifting story, which shows how passionate small business owners can be part of the solution to one of the nation’s biggest problems.
SPECIAL SCREENING: BEATON BY BAILEY (1972)
Director: William Verity
Producer: David Bailey
“Sir Cecil Beaton influenced the course of modern photography with his emphasis on lush set design and staging. David Bailey, a giant of 20th century photography, was highly influenced by Beaton’s work. In his light-hearted biography, Bailey captures Beaton in all of his delightful idiosyncrasies and high brow wit. Featuring many cultural icons of the era, including a soft-spoken Twiggy, a smirking Truman Capote, and even Mick Jagger in a priceless cameo, BEATON BY BAILEY is a glorious portrait of an era, and raises fascinating questions about the legacy of the two photography luminaries. BEATON BY BAILEY will be presented at Watermill Center, during the conversation program between photographers David Bailey and Bruce Weber.”
BLOOD IN THE MOBILE
“Blod i mobilen”
US Premiere
Director: Frank Piasecki Poulsen
In this searing investigative documentary, director Frank Piasecki Poulsen blows the whistle on the traffic of rare “blood minerals” used to build nearly every cellular device known to man. He traces these minerals to the civil war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, the beleaguered nation home to the UN’s largest peacekeeping operation of all time, a closed airspace, and a death toll surpassing WWII. In his investigations, Poulsen discovers a universal refusal––by Nokia, Congolese bureaucrats, and UN officials, among others––to verify claims of the minerals’ peaceful harvest, adding fuel to a seemingly unquenchable fire and threatening a people already torn apart by war.
THE BULLY PROJECT
Director: Lee Hirsch
Capturing the experiences of the victims of America’s overlooked bullying crisis, THE BULLY PROJECT sounds an alarm on the harassment and violence taking place among children in the US––and right under our noses. The film chronicles five families whose children have been severely bullied, with the consequences often tragic: prolonged school absences, academic hardship, and, most catastrophically, suicide. For its attention to this crucial issue, as well as its illustration of the vital movement concerning reconciliation and change, the Festival is pleased to announce THE BULLY PROJECT as the honored recipient of the 2011 Brizzolara Family Foundation Award for a Film of Conflict & Resolution.
CARIS’ PEACE
World Premiere
Director: Gaylen Ross
Collaborating Director: Rebecca Nelson
What is an actress without her memory? Caris Corfman was forced to confront this strange question when, at the height of her acting career, an operation on a brain tumor eradicated her short term memory. Once at the top of her Yale School of Drama class, and subsequently a leading Broadway actress of the 80s, Caris had to give up the theater and struggled to remember even small tasks. But one day, out of sheer frustration, she began to write a one-woman show. CARIS’ PEACE chronicles her triumphant and deeply moving return, against all odds, to the New York stage.
CRAZY HORSE
Director: Frederick Wiseman
Acclaimed documentarian Frederick Wiseman, best known for his landmark films TITICUT FOLLIES, HIGH SCHOOL, and more recently LA DANSE: THE PARIS OPERA BALLET, turns his camera on the women of the Crazy Horse cabaret in Paris. With beautifully intimate cinematography, Wiseman details the preparations and rehearsals for the new show DÉSIR, staged by Philippe Decouflé, a celebrated French choreographer. The production is a humorous and colorful spectacle that, the pinnacle of “nude chic” and the embodiment of this legendary Parisian cabaret.
FIRST POSITION
New York Premiere
Director: Bess Kargman
Featuring dazzling and moving performances by six young ballet dancers (ages 9 to 19), FIRST POSITION reveals the struggles and successes, and the pain and extraordinary beauty of, an art form that children across the globe are determined to dedicate their lives to. Providing an exclusive and unprecedented look behind the scenes, the documentary follows the yearlong, inspirational journey of these talented dancers as they fight to maintain form in the face of injury and personal sacrifice on their way to the most prestigious international student ballet competition: Youth America Grand Prix.
HARD TIMES: LOST ON LONG ISLAND
World Premiere
Director: Marc Levin
Before spreading to the rest of the country, the suburban dream was born in Levittown, Long Island after World War II. What began as an eight thousand dollar housing market evolved into today’s four hundred thousand dollar home. But with a dwindling economy and the average term of unemployment longer than ever before, homeowners struggle to make their mortgage payments. HARD TIMES: LOST ON LONG ISLAND follows a group of Long Island residents as they courageously describe the effect that their long time unemployed status has had on their families, finances, and ultimately their American dream.
IN HEAVEN UNDERGROUND: THE WEISSENSEE JEWISH CEMETERY
US Premiere
Director: Britta Wauer
IN HEAVEN, UNDERGROUND explores the Weissensee Cemetery, the historic Jewish cemetery in the center of Berlin, through the eyes of the workers and the Jewish community who continue to cherish it as a sacred place and a link to German Jewish life prior to the Holocaust. Explored from every angle, the history of the cemetery is profoundly rich: it has served as a place of work and refuge, a playground, a wildlife sanctuary, an artist’s retreat, and even a home. Charming, moving and inspiring, this visit to the Weissensee is one you’ll never forget.
INSIDE LARA ROXX
US Premiere
Director: Mia Donovan
A Montreal bad girl turned X-rated movie actress, Lara Roxx moved to Los Angeles at the age of 21 to become a star in the American adult film industry. Within two months after arriving in Los Angeles, Lara discovered that she had been infected with HIV while having sex on camera. A short-lived media sensation, Lara Roxx’s story soon faded from the public eye and the porn industry’s consciousness. Documentary filmmaker Mia Donovan tracked down Lara Roxx to investigate her story and the events leading up to her infection, and discovered a young life dramatically altered by the sex industry.
JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI
Directors: David Gelb
JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI is an exquisitely shot documentary about 85-year-old sushi master Juri Ono. Ono owns and operates the world’s smallest three-star Michelin restaurant in the basement of a Tokyo office building. Although Ono’s survived a recent heart attack, he is reluctant to have his oldest son take over the business. While critics question whether Ono’s culinary style will die with him, Ono reflects on a life spent in the obsessive pursuit of culinary perfection. His own story is juxtaposed with the history of sushi itself and its fragile future as global fish stocks deplete.
THE LOOK
US Premiere
Director: Angelina Maccarone
Subject: Charlotte Rampling
With her alluring screen presence, Charlotte Rampling blossomed in roles as an object of desire by such maverick directors as François Ozon, Woody Allen, Sydney Lumet, and Luchino Visconti. Throughout her career, audiences have regarded Rampling as a taboo-breaker and style icon. THE LOOK offers a different perspective. Rampling’s undeniable talents and intelligence take center stage in this fascinating documentary. Described as “a self-portrait through others,” this cinematic exploration of Rampling’s career uses insightful conversations between the actress and artists (such as Peter Lindberg and Paul Auster) to discuss her views on age, love, death, and taboo.
THE LOVING STORY
Director: Nancy Buirski
Director Nancy Buirski’s insightful new film follows the poignant journey of Richard and Mildred Loving through their historic lawsuit, Loving vs. Virginia. In 1958, Richard and Mildred, an interracial couple, wed in Virginia, where “mixed” marriages were not only illegal but punishable by permanent exile from the state. Removed from their home and families, the Lovings fought their case all the way to the Supreme Court, culminating in a triumphant legal victory. As told through extensive archival footage and home recordings, THE LOVING STORY provides a personal panorama to this landmark civil rights case, chronicling the Lovings’ resilience and courage with incredible intimacy.
MATCHMAKING MAYOR
“Nesvatbov”
East Coast Premiere
Director: Erika Hníková
In the Slovak village of Zemplinske Hamre, Mayor Jozef Gajdos has improved living conditions substantially. Now, he’s turned his attention towards a nobler cause: “(stopping) our planet from dying out.” His plan? To make sure all the lonely, unwed citizens in his village find love. In MATCHMAKING MAYOR, Mayor Gajdos’ actions oscillate between patriarchic and overbearing, while director Erika Hnikova trains her camera on several of Gajdos’ loneliest constituents. Wryly funny and emotionally generous, Hnikova has crafted a big-hearted, hilarious documentary about small-town isolation and the elected official who vows to overcome it.
PARADISE LOST 3: PURGATORY
Directors: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky
Subjects: Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, Jessie Misskelley, Jr.
Culling footage from PARADISE LOST and its sequel, filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky revisit “The West Memphis 3,” Arkansas men who as teenagers were charged with killing three young boys in a trial motivated more by frenzy than fact. Nearly 17 years later, the men have exhausted almost every appeal, but new forensic evidence leads to one last court date. Like Errol Morris’ films, the PARADISE LOST trilogy transcends the screen to create a perceptible change in the real world, culminating in an astonishing coda that made headlines around the world.
PELOTERO
World Premiere
Directors: Jonathan Paley, Ross Finkel, Trevor Martin
Narration: John Leguizamo
Baseball is a way of life in the Dominican Republic. Major League Baseball has wisely invested in recruiting Dominicans with a training program that has the world’s largest number of future major leaguers per capita. Each year, a handful of Dominican players, almost always from low-income families, are selected to begin their careers in the United States. That invitation comes with a signing bonus and the promise of a secure future for their families. The system, however, is flawed. A must-see for fans of baseball, PELOTERO tells the story of two of the nation’s most talented hopefuls, and their long, rocky road towards achieving their dreams.
THE PRICE OF SEX
Director: Mimi Chakarova
THE PRICE OF SEX is Bulgarian-American photojournalist Mimi Chakarova’s first-person investigation of the modern slave trade ravaging the countries of the former Eastern Bloc. Sex trafficking is an international crisis of staggering proportions: hundreds of thousands of women, many of them from the poorest of former Soviet countries, are subjected to abuse, poverty, imprisonment, and rape while living illegally (and against their will) in developed countries as prostitutes. Chakarova’s incisive film investigates the bigger picture of this global affliction in which poor women are treated as commercial commodities by the people and governments of some of the most powerful countries in the world.
RETURN TO THE AEOLIAN ISLANDS
“Fughe e Approdi”
Director: Giovanna Taviani
Nestled off the coast of Sicily, the Aeolian Islands possess a fertile history, their jagged Mediterranean landscapes attracting both movie stars and political exiles. RETURN TO THE AEOLIAN ISLANDS is a personal journey though the history of the islands by Giovanna Taviani, daughter of the legendary Italian filmmaker Vittorio Taviani. With extensive archival footage, the film interweaves her memories of the islands with the many films shot there, including Antonioni’s L’AVVENTURA, Rossellini’s STROMBOLI, and the Taviani Brothers’ masterpiece, KAOS. Scenes from these cinematic touchstones, and interludes from other historical events, reverberate against the remote splendor of the islands today, bringing Taviani’s recollections to life.
SING YOUR SONG
Director: Susanne Rostock
Subjects: Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poiter, Tony Bennett
Harry Belafonte shot to fame in the ‘50s and ‘60s as a remarkably versatile singer and actor on Broadway, television, and the silver screen. On top of his career achievements––which include Emmy, Tony, and Grammy Awards, and a National Medal of Arts––Belafonte ranks as one of the most passionate, outspoken, and tireless activists and humanitarians to come out of the American Civil Rights Movement. Director Susanne Rostock takes a pointed look at Belafonte’s life and work in this expansive, moving biographical documentary, and finds Belafonte, at 84, still fighting vigorously for many global humanitarian issues.
SOMEWHERE TO DISAPPEAR
East Coast Premiere
Director: Laure Flammarion, Arnaud Uyttenhove
Photographer Alec Soth’s 2008 project, “How to Disappear in America”, captured middle American loneliness through stark still-lives and telling portraits of men and women living on the outskirts of society. Now, directors Laure Flammarion and Arnaud Uyttenhove present SOMEWHERE TO DISAPPEAR, a documentary chronicling the 20,000 mile road trip Soth undertook to complete his project. As Soth travels the country, capturing a distinct humanity in his colorful backwater subjects, Flammarion and Uyttenhove replicate his vision, presenting one artist’s attempt to connect with the outliers of the American equation.
TO BE HEARD
Directors: Roland Legiardi-Laura, Edwin Martinez, Deborah Shaffer, Amy Sultan
Shot with casual immediacy over four years, this inspiring and poignant documentary follows three high school friends as they overcome the challenges of daily life in the Bronx through poetry, expressing their personal hopes and frustrations. Empowered by the message of a radical poetry workshop whose motto is, “If you don’t learn to write your own life story, someone else will write it for you,” Anthony, Pearl, and Karina emerge as a group of accomplished, self-aware artists. These teenage friends––the “Tripod,” as they call themselves––use their creativity to alter their circumstances and, ultimately, write their own life stories.
THE TSUNAMI AND THE CHERRY BLOSSOM
US Premiere
Director: Lucy Walker
Directed and produced by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Lucy Walker (WASTE LAND), THE TSUNAMI AND THE CHERRY BLOSSOM is a breathtaking visual haiku about the ephemeral nature of life, with a beautiful score by Moby. Survivors in the areas hit hardest by Japan’s recent disaster struggle to revive and rebuild their communities as cherry blossom season begins. A fable about the healing power of Japan’s most beloved flower and the courage to move forward after loss, the film opens with devastating footage of the March 11, 2011 tsunami, and climaxes with the trees reaching full bloom six weeks later.
UNDEFEATED
East Coast Premiere
Directors: Dan Lindsay, TJ Martin
They were more than underdogs: the Manassas High School Tigers football team were the butt of many jokes in Memphis, having never won a playoff game in 110 years and rumored to sell regular season games to other local schools. In 2004, filmmakers Dan Lindsay and TJ Martin went inside the inner city school to document an unexpected sea change: Bill Courtney volunteered to coach the befallen, under-funded team, and, through dedication and determination, the Tigers found themselves on the brink of rewriting their history. Zeroing on the lives of three players during this landmark season, UNDEFEATED is an inspiring and deeply moving testament to the power of perseverance.
SPECIAL SCREENING: WARHOL (1973)
Director: William Verity
Producer: David Bailey
Provocative and untamed, legendary photographer David Bailey’s avant garde meta-biography of Andy Warhol caused a veritable circus of controversy in 1973 when it was to be released on television in the UK, declared by authorities as, “likely to offend millions.” Attempting a Warholian portrait of Warhol himself, Bailey’s ease with the famous faces of the Factory bring out their humor, candor and reverence for unknowable Andy. A gem both for its filmmaking style and the history it captures, Bailey’s WARHOL is essential viewing for lovers of 20th century art and culture. David Bailey will be present for a discussion following the screening of WARHOL.
YOU’VE BEEN TRUMPED
New York Premiere
What happens when an American billionaire celebrity developer tries to displace Scottish villagers to build, “the world’s greatest golf course?” YOU’VE BEEN TRUMPED passionately documents the fight that ensues after the Scottish government gives Donald Trump permission to bulldoze one of Europe’s most environmentally sensitive stretches of coast to make way for a luxury resort. Troubling, amusing, and rousing all at once, this film documents the clash between a deeply rooted Scottish community and the jet-set, media-hungry, and controversial tycoon, while a growing eco-disaster looms on the horizon.
GSA SHORT FILM COMPETITION
The Golden Starfish Awards Short Film Competition represents the finest achievements of the year in short form filmmaking. The winner will be announced at the awards ceremony on Sunday, October 16 and will qualify for consideration for the 2011 Academy Awards.
PIONEER
Director David Lowery
A little boy awakens from a nightmare, his cries waking his father. Entering the boy’s room, the father proceeds to narrate a dark, epic bedtime story: one part history, two parts make-believe, and riddled with the honest-to-goodness truth.
THE EAGLEMAN STAG
Director: Michael Please
Entomologist Peter has an obsession with a very peculiar beetle, in this award-winning and groundbreaking animated short film.
Swimsuit 46
“Badpakje 46”
US Premiere
Director: Wannes Destoop
Chantal, a chubby girl of twelve with few friends and a tough mother, is training intensely for an upcoming swimming competition. When her goggles break in the days before the match, she finds that she will do anything for a new pair.
CROSS
US Premiere
Director Maryna Vroda
Set in the woods of Ukraine, CROSS follows a teenage boy who cuts a physical education class, only to witness an horrific event. Winner of the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.
THE STRANGE ONES
Directors: Christopher Radciff, Lauren Wolkstein
A man (David Call, TINY FURNITURE) and a boy stumble upon a small roadside motel after their car has broken down. The motel manager (Merritt Wever, NURSE JACKIE) offers to help them, but an unseen tension begins to mount between the three of them, leading to a startling discovery.
BABY
New York Premiere
Director: Daniel Mulloy
When a young Bosnian woman interferes in a petty robbery, she forms an unlikely, brief relationship with the young thief. Each one is hiding a devastating secret, unbeknownst to the other.
SCREAM OUT LOUD: COMEDY SHORTS
Odd encounters are the setting for this collection of hilarious and eccentric short films.
SUGAR
“Suiker”
Director: Jereon Annokkeé
When Bert’s scantily dressed downstairs neighbor comes by to borrow a cup of sugar, destiny strikes.
HANDS & EYES
North American Premiere
Director: Michael Meredith
In this wonderfully succinct comedic short, an eccentric art critic visits a painter’s studio and carries on a three-minute rollercoaster diatribe on the artist’s work. When at last the critic requests a word from the artist, the painter finds himself embarrassingly speechless.
THE INTERVIEW
New York Premiere
Director: Michelle Steffes
Sam survived the pigeon-borne apocalypse, but his career is going nowhere. When he hears about an available position at his favorite radio station, he makes the trek across LA to show the KPOW President that he’s the man for the job.
THE SECOND BAKERY ATTACK
East Coast Premiere
Director: Carlos Cuarón
Newlyweds Nat (Kirsten Dunst) and Dan (Brian Geraghty) awake one night with an overwhelming hunger. With their cupboards bare, they fight and are eventually pushed to commit petty larceny at fast food burger joint. Will this be enough to quell their hunger and save their marriage? Based on a Haruki Murakami short story.
Worst Enemy
Director: Lake Bell
After being wooed by an infomercial, lonely and insecure Wooly (Michaela Watkins) purchases a full body girdle only to find herself stuck in the spandex suit.
BukowskI
Director: Daan Bakker
While on holiday with his family, a young boy spends the night befriending the hotel staff and posing as the age-inappropriate author Charles Bukoski.
THE FIVE STAGES OF GRIEF
Director: Jess Brickman
Daniel’s father died yesterday. He seems to be totally fine. Luckily he has friends to teach him to be miserable. Your friends are always there for you, when they need you.
Las Palmas
Director: Johannes Nyholm
This comedic short casts a one-year-old baby as a middle-aged woman on holiday and a group of marionettes as fellow travelers watching in dismay at her disruptive antics.
The Unquiet Ones: Dramatic Shorts
Something’s a little off in these films that deal with uncomfortable situations. These shorts are bound to make you look at everyday encounters in a whole new light.
HENLEY
Director: Craig Macneil
Living with his father in a rundown hotel, Ted Henley is a budding nine-year-old entrepreneur who earns an allowance by collecting roadkill littering the highway. When the motel’s cash register starts to run dry, Ted decides to turn his attention to bigger game.
Animal Love
East Coast Premiere
Director: Mollie Jones
In a near-future of environmental degradation, a man (Jeremy Davies) arrives at an animal lover’s (Selma Blair) apartment for an anonymous hook-up arranged on the Internet.
STEVE
New York Premiere
Director: Rupert Friend
Steve, the neighbor, has come to tea, and he won’t leave without it. Starring Colin Firth and Keira Knightley.
LOFT
New York Premiere
Director: Elizabeth Wood
A young pretty woman in New York City, living with an emotionally and physically absent boyfriend, forms a brief attachment to the charismatic homeless man who lives on her street.
THE WHOLLY FAMILY
New York Premiere
Director: Terry Gilliam
A dreamlike journey between reality and imagination throughout the most hidden places and symbols of Naples, captured by director Terry Gilliam (BRAZIL, THE FISHER KING, FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS) with all its contradictions.
THE LOST EXPLORER
New York Premiere
Director: Tim Walker
In this coming of age story, a young girl discovers an explorer from Africa dying of malaria at the foot of her garden and manages to keep his existence, death, and burial a secret from her parents.
LIFE UNSTILL: DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
Inspirational portraits of individuals who refuse to sit back and let life pass them by make up this collection of documentary short films.
LIVING FOR 32
Director: Kevin Breslin
LIVING FOR 32 follows Colin Goddard, a survivor of the shooting massacre on the Virginia Tech campus in 2007, as he goes undercover to gun shows across the country, proving how easy it is to buy a gun without identification or a background check.
FLYING ANNE
“Anne Vliegt”
New York Premiere
Director: Catherine van Campen
Eleven-year-old Anne suffers from Tourette’s syndrome and copes with her various frustrating “tics” by flying through life. Whether climbing a rope or navigating a matrix of old shipping containers, Anne is most at home when in motion.
GOODBYE MANDIMA
“Kwa Heri Mandima”
New York Premiere
Director: Robert-Jan Lacombe
Through home-movies discovered at his grandparents’ home in Bordeaux, Robert-Jan Lacombe recounts his childhood in Mandima, a little village in northeast Zaire.
JIM DENEVAN: LAKE BAIKAL
New York Premiere
Director: Meredith Danluck
Artist Jim Denevan is on a quest to create the world’s largest artwork on Siberia’s frozen Lake Baikal and struggles to stay sane while doing so.
NEW YORK WOMEN IN FILM AND TELEVISION
We are pleased to continue our partnership with New York Women in Film and Television for our eighth annual showcase of outstanding achievements by female filmmakers.
ANYTHING FOR YOU
East Coast Premiere
Director: Laura Belsey
A lunch between two women veers unexpectedly off the menu, as Lynette reveals a secret that forces her best friend, Gail, to drop a bombshell of her own.
SMILE
Director: Lauren Elmer
A young, adolescent girl forms a crush on her handsome-yet-arrogant orthodontist. The girl becomes crestfallen when the day arrives to get her braces taken off.
SNOWBALL
World Premiere
Director: Mary Gillen
Leo loves his wife, Sylvia. Sylvia loves her goat, Snowball. Snowball has an agenda of his own.
WANTLESS
“Wunschlos”
World Premiere
Director: Kat Rohrer
This highly personal film exposes a woman whose daily struggle has become a life and death decision. Can the weight on her shoulders be lifted?
THE WIND IS BLOWING ON MY STREET
“Dar kouche baad miayad”
Director: Saba Riazi
A girl in Tehran gets stuck outside of her apartment without her headscarf on.
THE SEA IS ALL I KNOW
Director: Jordan Bayne
Melissa Leo and Peter Gerety star as as two estranged parents struggling to balance their spiritual beliefs with their dying daughter’s last wishes. THE SEA IS ALL I KNOW paints a brutally honest portrait of a family coming to terms with death.
SHORTS FOR ALL AGES
This collection of family-friendly short films appeals to viewers of all ages and includes creative and hilarious animations, quirky comedies, as well as the World Premiere of a new short by Bill Plympton!
Hinterland
New York Premiere
Directors: Jost Althoff, Jakob Weyde
A domesticated bear buys an iPod for some easy listening at home. When a crow breaks in and steals the bear’s new contraption, it unleashes his animal instincts.
The First Anders
“Den Forste Anders”
New York Premiere
Director: Kristian Ussing Andersen
When a little boy is teased at school, his father sits him down and tells him the story of the first male descendant in their family, who proved it might be better to be bullied than the other way around.
BOTTLE
Director: Kirsten Lepore
Animated on location at the beach, in snow and underwater, BOTTLE is a stop-motion short detailing a trans-oceanic conversation between two characters via objects.
The Maker
New York Premiere
Director: Christopher Kezelos
In this beautifully animated tale, a strange creature races against time to produce the most important creation of his life: a mate.
LAIKA
Director: Avgousta Zourelidi
LAIKA is an animated re-imaging of the true story about the first dog launched into outer space by Russian scientists in 1957.
APOLLO
New York Premiere
Director: Felix Gönnert
More than 40 years after the first step on the moon, and almost 50 years after the first manned space flight, finally comes an answer to the question why boys love rockets.
FLYING HOUSE (1921): Remastered
World Premiere
Directors: Winson McCay, Bill Plympton
Winsor McCay’s 1921 classic, Dream of the Rarebit Fiend: The Flying House, follows a woman’s dream about escaping foreclosure, taking to the skies with her husband, using their own house as a vehicle. In 2011, Bill Plympton remastered the neglected film, digitally cleaning each frame of damaged footage, and added color, voices, and a new score in hopes of bringing the genius of Winsor McCay to the attention of a new generation of animation fans.
EAST END SHORTS
The East End of Long Island is home to many wonderful filmmakers and this exceptional collection of short films showcases not only the region’s talent, but also its beautiful settings.
TWO’S A CROWD
Directors: Jim Isler, Tom Isler
The key to Allen and Collette’s midlife marriage has been keeping separate apartments, twenty blocks from each other, in New York City. Soon, financial pressures force the couple to take the plunge and cohabit in Collette’s one-bedroom apartment in Greenwich Village.
How It Ended
New York Premiere
Director: Gabriel Nussbaum
A terminally ill wife (Debra Winger) spends her last night with her husband (Larry Pine) and their friend (Hallie Feiffer). When her plan to end her life that evening doesn’t go according to plan, she discovers a painful truth. Based on a James Salter short story.
THE SHORE
New York Premiere
Director: Terry George
Directed by Terry George (HOTEL RWANDA), this is an inspiring story of two boyhood best friends, Joe (Ciarán Hinds, THE DEBT) and Paddy, whose lives took very different paths after the escalating conflicts in Belfast shattered their friendship.
SPECIAL FREE SCREENING: LOCAL STUDENT FILMS
A free program of award-winning short films by local students. Featuring the Guild Hall Award winner Saving Caroline by Ross School senior Devon Leaver and more to be announced.
Saving Caroline
World Premiere
Director: Devon Leaver
A psychological thriller about a young boy who finds a diary at a yard sale and falls in love with the writer.
SHORTS PLAYING BEFORE FEATURES
BROKEN DOORS
Director: Goro Toshima
Rico and Starr are a young, homeless couple struggling to survive on the streets of Hollywood.
DECLARATION OF IMMORTALITY
“Deklaracja niesmiertelnosci”
Director: Marcin Koszalka
With stunningly amazing cinematography, Declaration of Immortality is as much a beautiful portrait of rock climbing as it is an art film about the passage of time, told by Piotr “Mad” Korczak, a legend among Polish climbers.
Good Luck, Mr. Gorski
New York Premiere
Director: Arron Shiver
GOOD LUCK, MR. GORSKI is a love story based on an urban legend about Neil Armstrong, his neighbors, and the day the “kid next door” walked on the moon.
Harmonium Mountain
World Premiere
Dir. Clifford Ross
Set to a score by Philip Glass, HARMONIUM MOUNTAIN is a lyrical odyssey through an unlikely mixture of natural and digital landscapes.
JESUS WAS A COMMIE
New York Premiere
Directors: Matthew Modine, Terrence Ziegler
This avant-garde short, co-directed by actor Matthew Modine (FULL METAL JACKET), follows “John Doe” (Modine) around New York City as he examines history and science and poses the question: Was Jesus a utopian communist?
KNIFE
Director: James Johnston
Set in rural Texas, a nameless man returns home from an unknown place, unable to shake the memory that his family’s land has been stolen and plundered in the name of greed. With a knife in his hand, the man sets off to the home of the one person who represents all that has been destroyed.
Sun city picture house
Director: David Darg
After the earthquake in Haiti, a group of people comes together to help bury the dead and rebuild the first movie theater for a community that has lost everything.
THE THIRD ONE THIS WEEK
New York Premiere
Director: Felix Thompson
A doctor only has one chance to deliver bad news… or does he?
LA TOMA
New York Premiere
Director: Paola Mendoza
The people of La Toma, Colombia, face displacement, death threats, and the extinction to their way of life because of the rich gold deposits they live on. A young woman speaks out against the government and one of the world’s largest corporations, demanding that her human rights be respected.
You Have the Right to an Attorney
Director: Matt Bockelman
Contrary to the popular stereotype of a lawyer, this short documentary follows two young public defenders in the South Bronx with little time to clear their caseload and odds always stacked against their clients.
STUDENT AWARDS PROGRAM
These six student films showcase all the passion and imagination emerging filmmakers should demonstrate. From fantasy-tinged films to animation, stark dramas to terrific crowd-pleasers, this year’s program will transport you around the world.
Clear Blue
Director: Lindsay Mackay, American Film Institute
The haunting story of Simon, a young lifeguard working his first few days at a community pool. The mundane becomes mysterious when he notices Flova, an older woman with a capacity to stay submerged.
Solstice
Director: David Stoddart, National Film & Television School, London
The lives of a young schoolgirl and a woman in rural Scotland become inextricably inked in events linked leading up to a fateful night on the summer solstice.
Pinion
Director: Asuka Baskett, Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne, Australia
Suffering from a mysterious affliction, a young boy is taken to a secluded hospital by his fearful parents. He soon learns that more harm is being done than good.
Night at the Dance
“Noc Na Tanecku”
Director: Annie Silverstein, University of Texas-Austin
A profile on the last days of a Czech dancehall in rural Texas, and the old-timers who come there to polka.
The Birds Upstairs
Director: Christopher Jarvis, New York University
Frustrated attempts to bear children overwhelm the lives of an aristocratic, avian couple in the early 19th century.
Rolling On the Floor Laughing
Director: Russell Harbaugh, Columbia University
Two grown brothers return home for their widowed mother’s birthday, only to find themselves competing with a strange man for her affection.
SPECIAL PROGRAMS
Films of Conflict & Resolution
This year, the Hamptons International Film Festival recognizes seven stellar films under the esteemed banner of Conflict and Resolution. As previously announced, THE BULLY PROJECT has been selected as this year’s Brizzolara Family Foundation Award Winner for a Film of Conflict & Resolution. Additionally, six films throughout the program will be recognized for their creative and enlightening portrayal of the complex issues and effects of war and violence, and the attendant human dramas.
The Advisory Board for the films of Conflict & Resolution section includes the following filmmakers and industry experts:
Maria Cuomo Cole (Producer, LIVING FOR 32 & founder of HelpUSA) Sandi DuBowski (Films That Change The World), Terry George (HOTEL RWANDA). Philipp Engelhorn (Cinereach). Nancy Gerstman (Zeitgeist Films), Tamara Gould (ITVS), Kim Snyder (WELCOME TO SHELBYVILLE), Ricki Stern (THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK), Marc Urman (Palladin).
The films in this program include:
THE 77 STEPS, by Ibtisam Mara’ana
BLOOD IN THE MOBILE by Frank Piasechi Poulson
THE BULLY PROJECT by Lee Hirsch
THE FORGIVENESS OF BLOOD by Josh Marston
HAPPY NEW YEAR by K Lorrel Manning
IN HEAVEN, UNDERGROUND by Britta Wauer
THE PRICE OF SEX by Mimi Chakarova
Views From Long Island
A selection of films by Long Island Filmmakers:
HARD TIMES: LOST ON LONG ISLAND directed by Marc Levin
TO BE HEARD, directed by Roland Legiardi-Laura, Edwin Martinez, Deborah Shaffer, Amy Sultan
THE SEA IS ALL I KNOW, directed by Jordan Bayne
HOW IT ENDED, directed by Gabriel Nussbaum
THE SHORE, directed by Terry George
TWO’S A CROWD, directed by Jim Isler, Tom Isler
PITCH IN For Social Justice Documentaries In Progress & Hot Docs Presents
PITCH IN returns to HIFF for a sophomore season in continued partnership with the Hot Docs Toronto Documentary Film Forum. Two documentaries in progress will be presented at an invitation only pitch session. This year’s projects are HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE, directed by David France, and UNSTABLE ELEMENTS, directed by Madeleine Sackler.
In addition to PITCH IN, the festival will continue its partnership with the Hot Docs Film Festival by presenting two Canadian documentaries from this year’s Hot Docs in our official program. This year’s selections are INSIDE LARA ROXX and FAMILY PORTRAIT IN BLACK AND WHITE.
Per Piacere: Italian Cinema
HIFF celebrates Italian cinema with six excellent new films, which introduce some of Italy’s most talented artists to the Hamptons audience.
CORPO CELESTE, directed by Alice Rohrwacher.
A QUIET LIFE, directed by Claudio Cupellini.
SUL MARE, directed by Alessando D’Alatri.
RETURN TO THE AEOLIAN ISLANDS, directed by Giovanna Taviani.
WE HAVE A POPE, directed by Nanni Moretti.
THE WHOLLY FAMILY, directed by Terry Gilliam.
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMERS PROGRAM
The Hamptons International Film Festival is proud to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of its Breakthrough Performers Program, which honors the work of stellar young actors and presents their brilliant performances in films highlighted throughout the Festival. The following actors will be recognized as Breakthrough Performers, attend the festival with a new film and receive an award:
Emily Browning, appearing in SLEEPING BEAUTY
Stine Fischer Christensen, appearing in CRACKS IN THE SHELL
Ezra Miller, appearing in ANOTHER HAPPY DAY & WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN.
Anton Yelchin, appearing in LIKE CRAZY
A CONVERSATION WITH
This year, the Hamptons International Film Festival welcomes the following guests to their In Conversation Series, a live, moderated conversation with actors and the public.
David Bailey with Bruce Weber, 10/15 at 7PM Watermill Center
Harry Belafonte, moderated by Dick Cavett, 10/15 3:30 PM Bay Street Theater
Matthew Broderick, moderated by Alec Baldwin, 10/15 3:15 PM Guild Hall
Susan Sarandon, moderated by Bob Balaban, 10/15 5:30 PM Bay Street Theater
Rufus Wainwright, 10/16 12:00 PM Bay Street Theater
SCREENPLAY READINGS
Selections from the Alfred P. Sloan Screenwriter’s Lab
10/16 4PM First Presbyterian Church Hall, East Hampton
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Hamptons International Film Festival read hundreds of science- and technology-themed screenplays each year, searching for the most exciting and promising work on these topics. Just two of these scripts are invited for table readings at the Hamptons International Film Festival each year. This year, = (“Equals”) by Sheryl Glubok and NEWTON’S LAWS OF EMOTION, by Eugene Ramos will be read. Screenplay Reading Director: Jay Anania (SHADOWS & LIES, HER NAME IS CARLA, DAY ON FIRE). Producer and Casting: Amy Devra Gossels, C.S.A.
PANELS & MASTER CLASSES
Amnesty International 50th Anniversary Panel Discussion: The Legacy of the American Civil Rights Movement
10/15 2PM First Presbyterian Church Session House, East Hampton
For 50 years, the Amnesty International global community has worked to end grave human rights abuses around the world. Amnesty’s vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and other international human rights standards. On the occasion of this important anniversary, the Hamptons International Film Festival looks at the 50-year legacy of the American Civil Rights Movement as witnessed by three feature films in our 2011 program: SING YOUR SONG, THE LOVING STORY, and ALL ME: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF WINFRED REMBERT.
Kodak Cinematography Master Class with Edward Lachman
10/15 12:15PM East Hampton Regal
Each year, the Hamptons International Film Festival and Kodak partner to present a Master Class with a leading cinematographer. This year, Edward Lachman veteran cinematographer and Director of Photography on the recent mini-series MILDRED PIERCE, will participate in an insightful, hour-long discussion about his tremendous career. The Master Class will feature clip presentations, trade secrets, and in-depth conversations about technique.
Rowdy Talks
Morning coffee talk style conversations will take place at the festival Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the brand new Rowdy Talks series at East Hampton’s Rowdy Hall. Each morning, a guest artist will be featured in a moderated conversation. Coffee and light breakfast items will be served free of charge to attendees.
Guest Speakers at Rowdy Talks include:
Carter Burwell 10/14
Bingham Ray 10/15
Jennifer Fox & Khyentse Yeshe from MY REINCARNATION 10/16
The Artist[/caption]
Like Crazy[/caption]
The Bully Project[/caption]