Film Festivals

  • Charlamagne Tha God Exec Produces Bakari Sellers Documentary WHILE I BREATHE, I HOPE [Trailer]

    [caption id="attachment_32426" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]While I Breathe, I Hope While I Breathe, I Hope[/caption] What does it means to be young, black, and a Democrat in the American South? While I Breathe, I Hope follows South Carolina politician and CNN political analyst Bakari Sellers as he runs to become the first African American candidate elected statewide in over a century. The film from award-winning director Emily Harrold who is making her documentary feature directing debut, and from Executive Producer Charlamagne Tha God, the radio personality who co-hosts the nationally syndicated iHeartRadio program The Breakfast Club will have it New York Premiere screening at DOC NYC on Sunday, November 11. In 2014, Bakari Sellers–one of the youngest sitting members of the South Carolina House of Representatives–campaigns to be the first African American elected to statewide office since the 1870s. He runs for Lieutenant Governor, the second highest office in the state. The son of Cleveland Sellers, a prominent 1960s Civil Rights activist who was a leading member of SNCC, Bakari understands the difficult race relations in the American South. “Our race is not about what South Carolina was, it’s not about what South Carolina is, but it’s about what South Carolina can be,” he says. But as a Democrat in a red state, Bakari has a tough race ahead. News media consistently place Bakari behind his Republican opponent, Henry McMaster. Moreover, South Carolinians have not elected a Democrat to state office since 2006. Bakari doesn’t help his electability among white voters when he makes removing the Confederate Flag part of his campaign platform. But he refuses to give up. “I can’t win if I don’t run,” he states. But, in the end it seems South Carolina isn’t ready for the kind of change Bakari wants to bring to his state. Just months after the election, racially motivated shootings in Charleston in June of 2015 throw Bakari back into the spotlight. As he struggles to deal with the brutal death of his friend Clementa Pinckney, he finds thousands of faces turn to him for leadership. Bakari rises as a spokesperson for the community while also trying to unravel and understand the strained race relations of his beloved state. As the Confederate Flag drops from the State House grounds, he is on national television explaining the momentous nature of this event. In one of the most significant moments of his life, Bakari addresses the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. He brings audiences to their feet as he proclaims “Stand up for progress. Stand up for justice. And stand up if you know like I know that we’re stronger together!”

    NEW YORK PREMIERE SCREENING AT DOC NYC

    Sunday, November 11 at 4:15 PM IFC Center 323 6th Avenue, New York, NY 10014

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  • Judith Helfand’s Disaster Preparedness Documentary COOKED: SURVIVAL BY ZIP CODE to Premiere at DOC NYC 2018

    COOKED: Survival by Zip Code In COOKED: Survival by Zip Code, peabody award winning director Judith Helfand melds her unique brand of investigative reporting and respectful humor to make a potent argument that the best preparation for a disaster may start with actually redefining disaster and preparedness. COOKED: Survival by Zip Code will World Premiere at DOC NYC, screening November 11 and 14. COOKED: Survival by Zip Code is a searing yet quirky investigation into the “natural” disasters we’re willing to see and prepare for and the “unnatural” ones we’re not. Adapted from Eric Klinenberg’s ground-breaking book HEAT WAVE: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago. In her signature serious-yet-quirky connect-the-dots style, Peabody Award winning filmmaker Judith Helfand takes audiences from the deadly 1995 Chicago heat disaster deep into one of our nation’s biggest growth industries — Disaster Preparedness. Along the way she forges inextricable links between extreme weather, extreme disparity and the politics of “disaster”; daring to ask: What if a zip code was just a routing number, and not a life-or-death sentence? Chicago suffered the worst heat disaster in U.S history in 1995, when 739 residents ― mostly elderly, poor and disproportionately black―died over the course of one hot week. COOKED: Survival by Zip Code is a connect-the-dots investigation into extreme heat, the politics of disaster and survival by zip code. Helfand uses her quirky investigative lens to ask a radical yet obvious question: what if we reframe the long-term impact of structural racism, systemic inequity and climate change as an official disaster?

    WORLD PREMIERE SCREENINGS AT DOC NYC

    Sunday, November 11, 2018 at 1:30 PM SVA Theatre Wednesday, November 14, 2018 at 2:45 PM IFC Center Director Judith Helfand, producer Fenell Doremus, and author Eric Klinenberg in-person for post-screening Q&A’s after each screening.

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  • Mahaliyah Ayla O’s MASKS and Kevin David Lin’s MONDAY Sweep Major Awards at 13th NBCUniversal SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

    [caption id="attachment_32414" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]“Masks” by Mahaliyah Ayla O “Masks” by Mahaliyah Ayla O[/caption] The six finalist films and filmmakers of this year’s 13th Annual NBCUniversal SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, were honored with a finale screening and awards ceremony at the Directors Guild of America in Hollywood. Comedian-actor Zainab Johnson (“Late Night with Seth Meyers,” HBO’s “All Def Comedy”) kicked off the evening with screenings of the six finalist shorts, “B.U.T.S: Spanish Class,” “Kyenvu,” “Masks,” “Monday,” “Rani” and “We Know Where You Live,” before an audience of industry professionals including network, cable and film executives as well as managers, producers and agents. “I’m proud that over the past 13 years, our short film festival has not only celebrated those voices, but advocated for them beyond the festival to provide them with opportunities in the industry,” said Karen Horne, SVP of Programming Talent Development & Inclusion, NBC Entertainment and Universal Television.

    13th Annual NBCUniversal SHORT FILM FESTIVAL Awards

    HARNESS Social Impact Award: “Kyenvu” “Kyenvu” writer-director Kemiyondo Coutinho was awarded a $10,000 cash grant for her short film about a young Ugandan woman who struggles to find her footing in a patriarchal society that entitles men to women’s bodies . https://vimeo.com/250220907   Outstanding Comedy: “B.U.T.S: Spanish Class” “B.U.T.S: Spanish Class” co-creators Irene Lucio and Emma Ramos were presented with a $5,000 cash grant and a DJI OSMO+ Handheld Gimbal 4K camera with full accessory kit for an episode from their sketch comedy web series that parodies and satirizes the many ‘afflictions’ of the modern-day woman told through a Latina lens. In “Spanish Class,” a couple gets way more than they bargained for when they set out to learn Spanish in a week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC_7xSn5vIw Outstanding Drama: “Masks” “Masks” writer-director Mahaliyah Ayla O was presented with a $5,000 grant and a DJI OSMO+ Handheld Gimbal 4K camera with full accessory kit for her film about a closeted Persian woman’s experience after surviving a mass shooting. https://vimeo.com/264696824 Outstanding Writer: Hammad Rizvi, “Rani” Writer-director Hammad Rizvi was awarded a $5,000 cash grant in addition to final round placement in NBC’s Writers on the Verge program that prepares talented writers for staff writing positions on scripted series. He also received the newly released Final Draft 11 software on all platforms and a Fire TV Cube, the latest hands-free streaming media player with Alexa voice command. Rizvi’s short film “Rani” centers on a socially outcast transgender Pakistani woman who sets out to take care of an abandoned child. The short stars trans activist Kami Sid as the titular character in her first acting role. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6wTh9Ifw_c Outstanding Actor: Kevin David Lin, “Monday” Actor Kevin David Lin from the short film “Monday” was awarded a talent holding deal with NBC, a premiere headshot package with JeanPaul SanPedro, a fund for unlimited private audition coaching and advanced acting classes and a $1,000 wardrobe allowance. Lin starred as the central character in “Monday” about a conflicted young hustler who’s forced to confront the immorality of his occupation. Outstanding Director: ­Dinh Thai, “Monday” “Monday” writer-director Dinh Thai received a studio production services package courtesy of Universal Operations, including one day of shooting on the Universal Studios back lot and an $8,500 valued package including lighting, grip, props and costumes as well as one day of sound mixing. He was also awarded a $60,000 camera package from Panavision’s New Filmmaker Program, a longtime festival sponsor, and final round placement in NBCUniversal’s Emerging Directors Program that provides a pipeline for ethnically diverse directors to break into television by offering shadowing opportunities and an in-season commitment to direct an episode of an NBCUniversal scripted series. Next Generation Filmmaker Award: Dinh Thai, “Monday” Writer-director Dinh Thai won the festival’s inaugural Next Generation Filmmaker Award for his short film “Monday” about a conflicted young hustler who’s forced to confront the immorality of his occupation as he ‘code-switches’ through various cliques in his daily dealings throughout Los Angeles . https://vimeo.com/280413643   Critics’ Choice Award: “Masks” “Masks” was chosen as the most impactful short by a jury of 25 film and television critics and entertainment writers. This year’s jury included journalists from The Advocate, Brown Girl Magazine, Essence, CNN, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, Her Campus, The Hollywood Reporter, Huffington Post, Kore Asian Media, Latina, the Los Angeles Times, Moviemaker Magazine, NewNowNext, Screen International, Slate, The Teal Mango, TVGuide, USA Today, and Vanity Fair, among others. Los Angeles Film Critics Association President Claudia Puig presented the award to “Masks” writer-director Mahaliyah Ayla O. She received a DJI Phantom 4Series Quadcopter Drone with 4K Digital Camera and corresponding accessories. Audience Award: “Masks” The audience at the finale screening voted “Masks” as its favorite film amongst the six finalists. Writer-director Mahaliyah Ayla O received a $1,000 cash grant and a 4 TB external hard drive for her next project. The festival’s finalists and semifinalists also received an array of prizes including a limited run on COMCAST’S XFINITY to 29 million viewers across the world starting December 1 as well as the opportunity to stream their film on the NBCU SHORT FILM FESTIVAL Hulu Channel and EVERYBODY DIGITAL, a mobile app exclusively for short film content created by actor-writer Allen Maldonado (“The Last O.G.”). They also all received a copy of newly released Final Draft 11 on all platforms from the festival’s returning sponsor.

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  • IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK, GREEN BOOK Among 2018 Award Finalists for Twin Cities Film Fest

    [caption id="attachment_31277" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]If Beale Street Could Talk If Beale Street Could Talk[/caption] More than 30 finalists will compete for the top awards at the 2018 Twin Cities Film Fest, including among the top contenders for Best Feature Film are the new Barry Jenkins drama “If Beale Street Could Talk,”  Peter Farrelly’s “Green Book,” which recently won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, and two lauded Minnesota productions: Barry Andersson’s “The Lumber Baron” and David Buchanan’s “Black.” Other notable 2018 finalists include Joel Edgerton’s harrowing drama “Boy Erased” and Marielle Heller’s thriller “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”, both nominated for this year’s Indie Vision Award for breakthrough performance, recognizing Lucas Hedges and Melissa McCarthy respectively. Tina Brown and Dyana Winkler’s documentary “United Skates,” selected as this year’s closing night film, received two nominations — for Best Documentary and Indie Vision Special Achievement, recognizing Tina Brown, Matthew Peterson and Dyana Winkler’s electrifying cinematography. Rounding out this year’s Best Feature Film nominees were Kendall Goldberg’s comedy “When Jeff Tried to Save the World,” which also received nods for director Kendall Goldberg and lead actor Jon Heder, and Ben Zuckert’s drama “Noah Wise,” which received a second nomination for musical score. Actor Bill Murray is serving as a special guest judge for this year’s Comedy Shorts Award. Murray will be choosing his favorite comedic short from the three finalists listed below. This year’s TCFF slate, which continues to screen in St. Louis Park through Saturday evening, is comprised of more than 130 short and feature films. In addition to staff and audience awards, this year’s Changemaker Award is being bestowed to Rachel Mairose, founder and executive director of the animal rescue nonprofit Secondhand Hounds.

    2018 Twin Cities Film Fest FINALISTS

    Best Feature Film: “If Beale Street Could Talk,” directed by Barry Jenkins; “Black,” directed by David Buchanan; “Green Book,” directed by Peter Farrelly; “The Lumber Baron,” directed by Barry Andersson; “Noah Wise,” directed by Ben Zuckert; “When Jeff Tried to Save the World,” directed by Kendall Goldberg. Best Documentary: “93Queen,” directed by Paula Eiselt; “Finding Hygge,” directed by Rocky Walls; “Fire on the Hill,” directed by Brett Fallentine; “Time for Ilhan,” directed by Norah Shapiro; “United Skates,” directed by Tina Brown and Dyana Winkler; “Who Will Write Our History?” directed by Roberta Grossman. Best Short Film: “The American Wake,” directed by Kevin Quinn; “12 Sips to Glory,” directed by Matt Hirst; “Claire Means Well,” directed by Aaron Gervich; “Lunch Ladies,” directed by J.M. Logan; “Two Black Coffees,” directed by Michael Discoll; “Sexpert Franzen,” directed by Kaitlyn Busbee. Indie Vision — Breakthrough Performance: Adam Christian Clark (“Newly Single”); Jon Heder (“When Jeff Tried to Save the World”); Lucas Hedges (“Boy Erased”); Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”); Toussaint Morrison (“Black”); Sophia Mitri Schloss (“Sadie”). Indie Vision — Debut Director: Erik Bloomquist (“Long Lost”); Kendall Goldberg (“When Jeff Tried to Save the World”); Jenna Laurenzo (“Lez Bomb”); James Ojala (“Strange Nature”); Mark Taylor (“Saving Flora”); Kulap Vilaysack (“Origin Story”). Indie Vision — Breakthrough Achievement: Sam Boyd (screenplay for “In a Relationship”); Tina Brown, Matthew Peterson and Dyana Winkler (cinematography for “United Skates”); Roxanne Paukner (art direction for “The Lumber Baron”); Vanessa Powers (animation for “Witch”); C.J. Renner (director of “American Tender”); Ben Zuckert (composer of “Noah Wise”). Comedic Shorts Award: “12 Sips to Glory;” “Deep Dish Apocalypse;” “Lunch Ladies.” 2018 TCFF Changemaker Award: Rachel Mairose, founder and executive director of Secondhand Hounds.

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  • WOMAN AT WAR Wins Best Film at 2018 Byron Bay Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_32394" align="aligncenter" width="2000"]Woman at War Woman at War[/caption] Woman at War, the Cannes award-winning follow-up to Icelandic director Benedikt Erlingsson’s Of Horses and Men, took both Best Dramatic Feature and Best Film at the 12th Byron Bay Film Festival.  The film follows a 50-year-old independent woman and passionate environmental activist who secretly wages a one-woman war on the local aluminum industry. Woman at War was selected as Iceland’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFxz4oNfBV0 Jirga, a redemption tale set in Afghanistan, won the Best Byron Film – the Locals Award, for its director, Bangalow-based Benjamin Gilmour. The film which was in the spotlight at the Festival’s closing gala, Sharkwater: Extinction, won BBFF2018’s Best Environmental Film Award. The film was the last work by the late shark conservationist Rob Stewart, who was well known and widely loved in Byron Shire and along the North Coast. In honor of the work that Rob Stewart achieved, Ms Skippon-Volke announced that from 2019 the award would be known as the Rob Stewart Best Environmental Film Award – giving further gravitas to the importance of recognizing Environmental Films and the strong impact they have in changing minds and behavior. An audience favorite, Backtrack Boys, set in Armidale, won the festival’s Best Documentary Award, beating four international nominees and the Taree-based autobiographical doco Teach A Man to Fish, made by Grant Leigh Saunders. The award for Best Music Documentary went to Michael Franti’s Stay Human, which opened the festival and set its informal theme of nurturing hope over cynicism. Best Surf Film went to Big Wata, set in Sierra Leone; Best Animation went to the French short Bavure; and the Best Cinematography Award went to Cielo for its entrancing photography of the sky above Chile’s Atacama desert. The Best Young Australian Filmmaker Award went to Melbourne-based Greta Nash for her film The Locker Room. The festival had another trophy added to its 2018 awards list – an Encouragement Prize sponsored by Canon, gifting a professional camera to a deserving Young Australian filmmaker. This year’s prize went to brothers Jay and Shaun Perry, for their work creating their short film The Intentions of F Scott Fitzgerald. Byron Shire band Parcels took home the Best Music Video Award for their film, Tied Up Right Now, and the coveted InteractiveVR award was awarded to a unique Virtual Reality Music Video Experience – Chorus.

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  • AFI FEST Announces 2018 Shorts Lineup, Winners Eligible for Academy Awards

    [caption id="attachment_32390" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]God Never Dies (Dios Nunca Muere) God Never Dies (Dios Nunca Muere)[/caption] The Shorts lineup at AFI FEST 2018 presented by Audi will feature 47 films from filmmakers from all over the world, showcasing their distinct international viewpoints. As the only juried section of the festival, the Grand Jury Award winners for Live Action and Animated Short will be eligible for the 2019 Best Live Action Short and Best Animated Short Academy Awards®. The Shorts jury is comprised of Alison Becker (actor on PARKS AND RECREATION, CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM), Chinonye Chukwu (director/writer), Alicia Malone (host on Turner Classic Movies), Michael Mohan (co-creator of the Netflix original series EVERYTHING SUCKS!), Eliza Skinner (comedian and writer on THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN) and Sasheer Zamata (comedian, actress, writer and former SNL cast member).

    AFI FEST takes place November 8 to 15, 2018, in the heart of Hollywood. Screenings, Galas and other events will be held at the TCL Chinese Theatre, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and The Hollywood Roosevelt.

    SHORTS

    III – A sudden meeting of a man and a woman begins a hypnotic act — a game of pleasure and discomfort. III is a portrait of a woman in an exhausting relationship with a man, which allures and repulses at the same time. DIR Marta Pajek. SCR Marta Pajek. Poland 49 MILE SCENIC DRIVE – The compelling and amusing story behind one of San Francisco’s most visually arresting signposts and the design change that tarnished a legacy. DIR Bradley Smith, Tyler McPherron. USA ADA – Ada is an unlikeable competitive walker who makes a dress out of toilet paper and has an unfortunate run-in with a hose. DIR Eleanore Pienta. USA ALL INCLUSIVE – Under the spell of mass entertainment on the high seas. DIR Corina Schwingruber Ilić. Switzerland APPLIED PRESSURE – Ease the pain from past physical and mental distress. The body remembers. Aches may linger. Lay prone, breathe deeply, release tension, let go of the pain. DIR Kelly Sears. USA BABY BROTHER – My baby brother moves back in with our parents. DIR Kamau Bilal. USA BIRDIE – A casual gesture of friendliness quickly spirals into a paralyzing moment for a woman on a train. DIR Shelly Lauman. Australia BLOOMSTREET 11 (BLOEISTRAAT 11) – As summer progresses, the bodies of inseparable best friends start to morph and shift as puberty interrupts their bond. DIR Nienke Deutz. Belgium, Netherlands CAT DAYS (NEKO NO HI) – Jiro, a little boy, feels sick. His father takes him to the doctor. She diagnoses a harmless condition, but it shakes the core of the boy’s identity. DIR Jon Frickey. Germany, Japan COME ON MANDY – A wheelchair-bound woman trying to get her dog to come when she calls. DIR Joshua Wilmott. USA CONCUSSION PROTOCOL – By the end of the 2017-18 season, more than 250 players in the NFL will have sustained concussions. For his latest project, data artist Josh Begley tracked these injuries. DIR Josh Begley. USA COUNTERFEIT KUNKOO – In a city that houses millions, Smita discovers a strange prerequisite for renting a house in middle-class Mumbai. She would make an ideal tenant, except for one glaring flaw — she is an Indian woman without a husband. DIR Reema Sengupta. India CYCLISTS (BICIKLISTI) – During the final race of the cycling season, two men in the lead compete for more than the Grand Trophy. DIR Veljko Popovic. Croatia, France DESERT RATS – Out in the Salt Flats, people think nothing can survive, but Lily did. DIR Shaz Bennett. USA DOWN THERE – A blissful night is unexpectedly interrupted by a sound from downstairs. Different reactions are triggered as well as indifference. DIR Zhengfan Yang. China, France DULCE – In coastal Colombia, a mother teaches her daughter how to swim, so that she may go to the mangroves and harvest piangua shellfish with other women in the village. DIR Angello Faccini, Guille Isa. Colombia, USA EGG – A woman is locked in her home with an egg. She eats the egg, she repents. She kills it. She lets the egg die of hunger. DIR Martina Scarpelli. France, Denmark FAUVE – Set in a surface mine, two boys sink into a seemingly innocent power game with Mother Nature as the sole observer. DIR Jeremy Comte. Canada GINGERBREAD – In 1862, during the bloodiest days of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln reluctantly agrees to join Mary Todd in a séance to contact their recently departed son. DIR Kendell Courtney Klein. USA GOD NEVER DIES (DIOS NUNCA MUERE) – Living in hidden America, Paula, a Mexican farmworker, struggles to raise her two children on her own. DIR Barbara Cigarroa. USA, Ireland GOOD PEOPLE – Overwhelmed by guilt after an intense affair, Emma returns home to her family hoping to reconnect with her husband. An AFI Conservatory thesis film. DIR Gregory Kohn. USA HAIR WOLF – The staff of a black hair salon fend off a strange new monster: white women intent on sucking the lifeblood from black culture. DIR Mariama Diallo. USA HALF A CHICKEN – Bryan struggles to keep to his chicken alive. DIR Sarah Ginsburg, Will Lennon. USA INSTINCT – A psychosexual thriller about Isabelle, a lonely gallery owner, who meets a dangerously seductive performance artist and discovers they have more in common than expected. An AFI Conservatory thesis film. DIR Maria Alice Arida. USA IRISH PRINCE – When an older Irish gentleman reveals to his pals how he met his wife, the story turns out to be a lot more familiar than expected. DIR Joey Garfield. USA JEOM – A strange and wonderful story about a special connection between father and son. DIR Kangmin Kim. USA A LITTLE BREAK (LES PETITES VACANCES) – While on their summer break, two young women explore their sexuality. DIR Louise Groult. France MAGIC ’85 – During the height of the AIDS epidemic in LA, Gabriel, a lonely hospice worker, helps lead his patients to a conscious death. An AFI Conservatory thesis Film. DIR Annika Kurnick. USA MAGIC ALPS – An Afghani refugee arrives in Italy with his goat and seeks political asylum for both of them. DIR Andrea Brusa, Marco Scotuzzi. Italy MATRIA – Faced with the challenges presented by her daily routine, Ramona tries to take refuge in the relationship that ties her to her daughter and granddaughter. DIR Alvaro Gago. Spain METEORITE – Bird men suffer mysterious falls in the search for where the sun rises. An altered reality through rites that converge in one objective: die to generate life. DIR Mauricio Sáenz. Mexico NORMAL APPEARANCES – An unsettling supercut of the women of #BachelorNation watching themselves being watched. DIR Penny Lane. USA THE ORPHAN (O ÓRFÃO) – Jonathas is adopted but then returned due to his “different” way. Inspired by true events. DIR Carolina Markowicz. Brazil PERIOD. END OF SENTENCE. – In an effort to improve feminine hygiene, a machine that creates low-cost biodegradable sanitary pads is installed in a rural village in Northern India. DIR Rayka Zehtabchi. USA PIU PIU – A restless young woman yearns to escape the confines of romance in order to find her superpower. DIR Naima Ramos-Chapman. USA REBIRTH IS NECESSARY – A video-art film exploring the magic and dynamism of Blackness in a realm where time and space are altered. DIR Jenn Nkiru. UK SHE (AJO) – To escape an early marriage arranged by her father, Zana has to make a courageous decision. DIR More Raca. Kosovo A SIEGE (OSTROM) – A lonely woman in war-torn Sarajevo embarks on a journey to find water, and neither her neighbors nor sniper fire can stop her. DIR István Kovács. Hungary THE SUMMER OF THE ELECTRIC LION (EL VERANO DEL LEON ELECTRICO) – Hidden in a house far from the city, Alonso accompanies his dear sister, Daniela. She expects to become the seventh wife of The Lion, a prophet who (according to stories) electrocutes you when you touch him. DIR Diego Céspedes. Chile UMBRA (TARIKI) – A few minutes after midnight, a young woman realizes that her partner has disappeared after sex. Worried, she goes out to find him in the dark streets. DIR Saeed Jafarian. Iran WAR PAINT – A young, South LA black girl experiences a series of events that intersect racism and sexism during the Fourth of July holiday. An AFI Directing Workshop for Women film. DIR Katrelle Kindred. USA THE WATER SLIDE – Tragedy strikes the world’s tallest water slide. DIR Nathan Truesdell. USA WHERE THE WATER RUNS – During the most drastic and prolonged drought in California history, a water truck delivery driver uses his resources to return water to the communities that need it most. An AFI Conservatory thesis film. DIR DuBois Ashong. USA WHILE I YET LIVE – Five acclaimed African-American quilters from Gee’s Bend, Alabama, talk about love, religion and the fight for civil rights as they continue the tradition of quilting that originally brought them together. DIR Maris Curran. USA X – X, a young black kid, wanders through Los Angeles while confronting the difficult realities of adolescence while being black in America. DIR Yara Shahidi. USA YAEL (CONCEPTION: YAEL) – Becoming a mother is one of the most transformative life experiences. DIR Margaret Cheatham Williams, Jordan Bruner. USA YASAMIN – Amid the Iranian Hostage Crisis, Yasamin moves to the USA and navigates the trials and tribulations of assimilation through the waxing of a unibrow. DIR Julia Elihu. USA

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  • 2018 IDFA to Open with Afghan Documentary KABUL, CITY IN THE WIND

    [caption id="attachment_32383" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Kabul, City in the Wind Kabul, City in the Wind[/caption] Kabul, City in the Wind by Aboozar Amin, a sobering, intimate and warm account of daily life in Kabul during the silent intervals between suicide bombings, will open this year’s 31st International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) on Wednesday November 14th.
    The bombings that happened, and those that will, define life for the film’s characters; a father who works as a bus driver, and two young boys whose policeman father is away due to murder threats.
    Kabul, City in the Wind “Amini introduces himself as an original uncompromising artist of film, he absorbed the work of Abbas Kiarostami and made it his very own,” Artistic Director Orwa Nyrabia comments. Aboozar Amini (Bamiyan, Afghanistan, 1985) arrived in the Netherlands as a teenager and graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in 2010. Amini returned to reside in Afghanistan after his studies in the Netherlands. Kabul, City in the Wind is a co-production between Afghanistan, Japan and the Netherlands and was made with support from the IDFA Bertha Fund. IDFA also revealed the the complete list of nominees for the Feature-Length Documentary, First Appearance and Dutch Documentary competitions. IDFA’s main competition consists of 12 titles by established filmmakers; the IDFA Competition for First Appearance consists exclusively of first films, including opening film opening film; and 11 unique films – both in terms of subject matter and form – compete in the IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary.

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  • DOCNYC 2018: Syrian Women Find Strength Through Theater in WE ARE NOT PRINCESSES [Trailer]

    We Are Not Princesses With intimate footage and stunning animation, We Are Not Princesses follows how a theater workshop group of Syrian refugee women, living in a Beirut refugee camp, find laughter and purpose behind the scenes,  as they come together to perform the ancient Greek play, Antigone. This film focuses on the strong, resilient, and often hilarious Syrian women who are moving forward in spite of the ever-worsening situation back home. We Are Not Princesses directed by Bridgette Auger and Itab Azzam will World Premiere at DOC NYC on November 14, 2018. We Are Not Princesses In 2014, the Open Art Foundation put together a theater workshop with Syrian women refugees in Beirut to create a space for community and to provide tools to help the women process their trauma as a result of the ongoing conflict in Syria. We Are Not Princesses focuses on the strong, resilient, and often hilarious Syrian women who are moving forward in spite of the ever-worsening situation back home. With intimate footage and stunning animation, the film follows how this group of women find laughter and purpose behind the scenes, as they come together to perform the ancient Greek play, Antigone. Whether they are gossiping at a seaside café or engaging in long-forgotten pleasures at a night-time fairground, these poignant scenes are where intense discussion and transformation take place. Smoking cigarettes and wearing makeup become acts of rebellion against societal and patriarchal authority. And never far from the surface are the horrifying backstories which brought the women to Beirut. Mona tells of the death of her child; Fedwa hyperventilates as she attempts to rehearse the story of her son whom she was unable to bury; Heba remembers her starving brother’s last wish for noodles and yogurt. These stories provide context for the Syrian war, and also establish the women’s point of access into the story of Antigone, a story through which the women begin the work of processing their personal and national traumas. We Are Not Princesses focuses strong Syrian women picking up the pieces of their broken society and moving forward. WORLD PREMIERE SCREENING AT DOC NYC Wednesday, November 14, 2018 at 7:45 PM – Cinepolis Chelsea

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  • THE HATE U GIVE, UNITED SKATES Win Audience Awards at 54th Chicago International Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_32085" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]THE HATE U GIVE THE HATE U GIVE[/caption] George Tillman, Jr.’s powerful and moving The Hate U Give has been voted winner of the Audience Award for Best English-language feature at this year’s 54th Chicago International Film Festival.   Amandla Stenberg stars as Starr Carter, a young woman who is constantly switching between two worlds: the poor, mostly black neighborhood where she lives and the rich, mostly white prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Now, facing pressures from all sides of the community, Starr must find her voice and stand up for what’s right. Pernille Fischer Christensen’s Becoming Astrid, a biopic about Astrid Lindgren (author of the Pippi Longstocking books), takes home the best foreign-language feature Audience Award. Variety called the film “a gorgeous piece of heritage filmmaking,” and it played to packed houses at ChiFilmFest! [caption id="attachment_29156" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]UNITED SKATES UNITED SKATES[/caption] Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown’s United Skates, a rousing tribute to roller skating’s pivotal role in the African American community, wins the Documentary Audience Award honor. Facing discriminatory policies and rink closures, committed skaters from around the country—including Chicago’s own Buddy Love—fight to preserve a space for people to come together and express themselves in sliding, bouncing, snapping glory. The Audience Award for Best Short Film goes to Darius Clark Monroe’s Black 14, a reflection on power and control in 1960’s America that uses archival footage to tell the story of a racial protest at the University of Wyoming.

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  • Glenn Close to Receive Maltin Modern Master Award at Santa Barbara International Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_32359" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Glenn Close in The Wife Glenn Close in The Wife[/caption] Glenn Close, most recently gracing the silver screen in Sony Pictures Classics’ The Wife. will receive the prestigious Maltin Modern Master Award at the 34th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival. “Glenn Close is one of the great actresses of our time. Versatility is her hallmark, and there is clearly nothing she can’t do. She became a star with her first feature film, The World According to Garp, and has gone on to play everyone from Cruella de Vil to aging silent-film star Norma Desmond in the stage musical of Sunset Blvd. I can’t wait to spend an evening with her onstage at the Arlington Theater,” states Maltin. Directed by Berlin Silver Bear-winner Björn Runge, The Wife is adapted by Jane Anderson from the Meg Wolitzer novel of the same name. After nearly forty years of marriage, JOAN and JOE CASTLEMAN (Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce) are complements: Where Joe is brash, Joan is shy. Where Joe is casual, Joan is elegant. Where Joe is vain, Joan is self-effacing. And where Joe enjoys his very public role as Great American Novelist, Joan pours her considerable intellect, grace, charm, and diplomacy into the private role of Great Man’s Wife, keeping the household running smoothly, the adult children in close contact, and Joe’s pills dispensed on schedule. At times, a RESTLESS discontentment can be glimpsed beneath Joan’s smoothly decorous surface, but her natural dignity and keen sense of humor carry her through the rough spots. The Wife debuted in theaters this summer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d81IM0loH7o The Modern Master Award was established in 1995 and is the highest accolade presented by SBIFF. Created to honor an individual who has enriched our culture through accomplishments in the motion picture industry, it was re-named the Maltin Modern Master Award in 2015 in honor of long-time SBIFF moderator and renowned film critic Leonard Maltin. Past recipients include Denzel Washington, Michael Keaton, Bruce Dern, Ben Affleck, Christopher Plummer, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, Clint Eastwood, Cate Blanchett, Will Smith, George Clooney and Peter Jackson. The 34th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place from Wednesday, January 30th through Saturday, February 9th.

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  • Specials Program of 60th Nordische Filmtage Lübeck to Feature Provocative Cinema + Ingmar Bergman Retrospective

    [caption id="attachment_32353" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Bergman – a Year in a Life Bergman – a Year in a Life[/caption] Provocative cinema, historical film epics, and an homage to Swedish master director Ingmar Bergman are the hallmarks of the Specials section of the 60th Nordic Film Days Lübeck,  which runs from October 30 to November 4. In honor of the centenary of Bergman’s birth, the festival, which showed the maestro’s classic “Sawdust and Tinsel” at the very first NFL in 1956, will this year screen two relatively unknown Bergman gems – “From the Life of the Marionettes” (GER/SWE 1980), and “The Touch” (SWE/US 1970), in some cases newly digitized. In addition, the documentaries “Bergman – a Year in a Life” (SWE/NOR 2018), “Ingmar Bergman” (SWE 1971), and “The Memory of Ingmar Bergman” (FIN 2018) use personal remembrances, or special times in the director’s life, to take a look back at his life and work. Another film takes a very different approach to Bergman’s oeuvre. “Bergman revisited” (SWE 2018) is a compilation of short films – some irreverent, some experimental, some classic – by six Swedish filmmakers that completely reinterpret motifs from Bergman’s life and art. The Specials section also has a showcase for another world-renowned Swede. Pernille Fischer Christensen’s film “Becoming Astrid” is a complex portrait of beloved children’s and young adult author Astrid Lindgren, with Alba August giving an outstanding performance in the title role. The film focusses on the author’s early writing years, which were formative in her later life and work. The Specials section is also screening “Border”(SWE/DEN 2018), directed by Ali Abbasi, which won the main prize in the “Un Certain Regard” section at Cannes, and Sweden’s submission for the 2018 Oscar “U – July 22” (NOR 2018), Erik Poppe’s controversion treatment of the massacre at a Norwegian youth camp. Two period dramas from Denmark will take audiences back to the past: Bille August’s “A Fortunate Man” (DEN 2018), an adaptation of the eponymous Danish book classic, and the German-Danish co-production “In Love and War” (DEN/GER/CZE 2018), which was the first production to benefit from the new German-Danish Coproduction Development Initiative. The Specials section is rounded out with the newest film adaptation of a Jussi Adler Olsen book – “The Purity of Vengeance” (DEN/GER 2018), directed by Christoffer Boe, was shot partially in Hamburg. It’s another thrilling case for Detective Carl Mørck and his Department Q team.

    60th Nordische Filmtage Lübeck Specials

    A Fortunate Man / Lykke-Per / Per im Glück Dänemark / Österreich / 2018 / 167 Min. Director(s): Bille August Bille August’s brilliant film adaptation of the classic Danish novel “A Fortunate Man” features young star Esben Smed Jensen in the title role. Becoming Astrid / Unga Astrid / Astrid Schweden / Dänemark / Deutschland / 2017 / 123 Min. Director(s): Pernille Fischer Christensen It’s the kind of life you’d expect to find in an Astrid Lindgren story – her life story, in fact. This biopic covers her early years and first stabs at writing. Bergman – A Year in a Life / Bergman – ett år, ett liv / Bergman – ein Jahr, ein Leben Schweden / Norwegen / 2018 / 116 Min. Director(s): Jane Magnusson Based on the fateful year of 1957, documentary film maker Jane Magnusson unfurls master director Ingmar Bergman’s fascinating work and life. Bergman Revisited / Bergman Revisited / Bergman Revisited Schweden / 2018 / 84 Min. Director(s): Pernilla August, Tomas Alfredson, Jane Magnusson, Linus Tunström, Lisa Aschan, Patrik Eklund Six contemporary short films that present surprising new interpretations of Ingmar Bergman’s life and work – some lyrical, some surreal, some uproariously funny. Border / Gräns / Border Schweden / Dänemark / 2018 / 101 Min. Director(s): Ali Abbasi Sweden’s entry for the 2019 Foreign Language Oscar. Customs officer Tina has a unique sense of human emotions – until she has an encounter that changes her life. From the Life of the Marionettes / Ur Marionetternas Liv / Aus dem Leben der Marionetten Deutschland / Österreich / 1980 / 104 Min. Director(s): Ingmar Bergman A galvanizing trip into the evil within humanity, filmed by Ingmar Bergman with Robert Atzorn and Gaby Dohm for German television in 1980. In Love and War / I krig og kærlighed / In Love and War Dänemark / Deutschland / Tschechien / 2018 / 135 Min. Director(s): Kasper Torsting An injured soldier returns from the frontline and becomes a deserter for the sake of love.  Epic tale about the fragility of emotions in World War One. Ingmar Bergman / Ingmar Bergman / Ingmar Bergman Schweden / 1971 / 55 Min. Director(s): Stig Björkman This fascinating and restored Ingmar Bergman portrait was shot during the American coproduction of “The Touch” in 1971. The Memory of Ingmar Bergman / Minnet av Ingmar Bergman / Erinnerung an Ingmar Bergman Finnland / 2018 / 57 Min. Director(s): Jörn Donner Producer and documentary filmmaker Jörn Donner takes a highly personal look back at his friend Ingmar Bergman. The film includes rare archive material. The Purity of Vengeance / Journal 64 / Verachtung Dänemark / Deutschland / 2018 / 119 Min. Director(s): Christoffer Boe Chief inspector Carl Mørck is back. “The Purity of Vengeance” is the thrilling film adaptation of the bestseller by acclaimed Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen. The Touch / Beröringen / Die Berührung Schweden / USA / 1970 / 115 Min. Director(s): Ingmar Bergman Ingmar Bergman’s restored love story from 1971 with Elliot Gould, Max von Sydow and Bibi Anderson hadn’t seen a public screening for over 40 years. U – July 22 / Utøya 22. juli / Utøya 22. Juli Norwegen / 2018 / 95 Min. Director(s): Erik Poppe Controversial drama about an 18-year-old girl during the July 22, 2011 mass murder on the Norwegian island of Utøya. The film was shot in real time in one take.

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  • CANNIBAL CLUB, FAMILY and CAM Win Top Awards at 2018 Brooklyn Horror Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_32342" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Perry Blackshear, Best Director winner for THE RUSALKA - 2018 Brooklyn Horror Film Festival Awards Perry Blackshear, Best Director winner for THE RUSALKA – 2018 Brooklyn Horror Film Festival Awards[/caption] Following what is considered the biggest year yet, the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival announced the 2018 award winners, with the top awards going to Cannibal Club, winner of the Best Film – Horror Feature,  and Family, winner of the Best Film – Head Trip. CAM was voted the winner of the Audience Award. “Watching our festival grow in ways we never could have imagined is such an exciting experience. Enormous thank you to the entire staff and volunteers, you are a dream-team and congratulations to our award winners. We’ll be back again next year bigger and better than ever before!” says festival director Justin Timms.

    Horror Features:

    Best Feature: Cannibal Club Best Director: Cannibal Club – Guto Parente Best Actor: Possum – Sean Harris Best Actress: Knife + Heart – Vanessa Paradis Best Cinematography: Possum – Kit Fraser Best Editing: Antrum – UNKNOWN (David and Mike to accept the award on the original filmmakers behalf) Best Score: Boo! – Jon Natchez Best Sound Design: Luz – Jonas Lux Special Jury Award: Possum – supporting actor Alun Armstrong

    Head Trip:

    Best Feature: Family Best Director: The Rusalka – Perry Blackshear Best Actor: The Rusalka – Evan Dumouchel Best Actress: CAM – Madeline Brewer Best Cinematography: Holiday – Nadim Carlsen Best Editing: The Rusalka – Perry Blackshear Best Sound Design: Starfish – Multiple Special Jury Award: Production Design and Set Decorator on CAM

    Audience Award:

    Audience Award: CAM

    Shorts:

    Best Short Film: Acid Best Director: Helsinki Mansplaining Massacre – Ilja Rautsi Best Actor: Acid – Sofian Khammes Best Actress: The Sermon – Molly Casey Best Cinematography: Hair Wolf – Charlotte Hornsby Best Editing: Milk – Catherine Villeminot & Santiago Menghini Best Effects: Special Day – Ayush Jain Best Score: Le otto dita della morte – Frank Rideau & Orgasmo Sonore Best Sound Design: The Girl in the Snow – Luca Brügger & Dario Voirol Best Locations: Voyager Special Jury Award: Welcome to Bushwick

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