Film Festivals

Mike Leigh’s PETERLOO to UK Premiere at BFI London Film Festival [Trailer]

Mike Leigh’s Peterloo will premiere in UK at 62nd BFI London Film Festival, live from HOME in Manchester, on Wednesday October 17 – the first time the BFI London Film Festival has premiered a film outside of the capital. Peterloo tells the story of the Peterloo massacre, which took place 199 years ago today, on August 16, 1819, and stars Rory Kinnear, Maxine Peake, Neil Bell, Philip Jackson, Vincent Franklin, Karl Johnson and Tim McInnerny. Written and directed by Mike Leigh, Peterloo is an epic portrayal of the events surrounding the infamous 1819 Peterloo Massacre, where a peaceful pro-democracy rally at St Peter’s Field in Manchester turned into one of the bloodiest and most notorious episodes in British history. The massacre saw British government forces charge into a crowd of over 60,000 that had gathered to demand political reform and protest against rising levels of poverty. Many protestors were killed and hundreds more injured, sparking a nationwide outcry but also further government suppression. The Peterloo Massacre was a defining moment in British democracy. Peterloo reunites Mike Leigh with his regular team of Oscar® and BAFTA winners and nominees, including Dick Pope (cinematography), Suzie Davies (production design), Jacqueline Durran (costumes), Christine Blundell (hair and make-up), Jon Gregory (editing) and Gary Yershon (music). Georgina Lowe produces for Thin Man Films, with Gail Egan serving as executive producer. Mike Leigh, Director of Peterloo says: “It’s always an honor to be included in the glorious London Film Festival, but how inspired and generous of the Festival to screen Peterloo in Manchester, where it all happened! I’m truly delighted!” eOne will release Peterloo in cinemas across the UK on November 2nd, 2018. The 62nd BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express takes place from Wednesday October 10 to Sunday October 21 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj5h1kKjVYc
Read more
THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER Starring Maggie Gyllenhaal to Open 2018 Hamptons International Film Festival [Trailer]

[caption id="attachment_25705" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The Kindergarten Teacher[/caption] The 26th Hamptons International Film Festival will open with writer/director Sara Colangelo’s The Kindergarten Teacher on Thursday, October 4, at Guild Hall in East Hampton. The film stars Maggie Gyllenhaal, Parker Sevak, Rosa Salazar, and Gael García Bernal, telling the story of a kindergarten teacher who seeks to cultivate the poetic talents of one of her students with questionable methods. In 2013, Sara Colangelo attended the HIFF Screenwriters Lab, and she returned to HIFF in 2014 with her debut feature, Little Accidents. The Kindergarten Teacher is her second feature film. The Kindergarten Teacher Opening Night Film East Coast Premiere Writer/Director: Sara Colangelo Lisa Spinelli (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is a kindergarten teacher in Staten Island who yearns to live a life of art and intellectualism. She takes an evening poetry class but, despite her best efforts, her work is mediocre. When she overhears Jimmy (Parker Sevak), one of her five-year-old students, reciting an original poem in her classroom, she is floored. Convinced he is the equivalent of a young Mozart, she becomes obsessed with the child and embarks on a dangerous journey to nurture his talent. As Lisa continues down this increasingly desperate path, she seems ready to throw away everything to chase an impossible dream. A tense psychological thriller, The Kindergarten Teacher stars Maggie Gyllenhaal, Parker Sevak, Anna Baryshnikov, Rosa Salazar with Michael Chernus and Gael Garcia Bernal. Sara Colangelo wrote and directed. Talia Kleinhendler, Osnat Handelsman-Keren, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Celine Rattray, and Trudie Styler produced. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n1NP6w5lXs
Read more
BEAUTIFUL BOY, IN FABRIC, A FAITHFUL MAN to Compete for Golden Shell at San Sebastian Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_31455" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Beautiful Boy[/caption] L’homme fidèle / A Faithful Man (Louis Garrel), Baby (Liu Jie), Alpha, the Right to Kill (Brillante Mendoza), In Fabric (Peter Strickland), Beautiful Boy (Felix Van Groeningen) and Blind Spot (Tuva Novotny) will compete for the Golden Shell at the 66th San Sebastian Film Festival. These six films join the latest works from Icíar Bollaín, Claire Denis, Simon Jaquemet, Kim Jee-woon, Naomi Kawase, Isaki Lacuesta, Benjamín Naishtat, Valeria Sarmiento, Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Markus Schleinzer, Juan Vera and Carlos Vermut in the running for the Festival’s official awards. The French actor and director Louis Garrel (Paris, 1983) will present his second feature as a moviemaker after Les deux amis / Two friends (2015), selected for the Semaine de la Critique at Cannes. Garrel, who has worked as an actor with Bertolucci, Bonello, Hazanavicius and Honoré, stars in L’homme fidèle alongside Laetitia Casta and Lily-Rose Depp. Liu Jie (Tianjin, China, 1968), winner of the Orizzonti Award in Venice for his first film, Mabei shang de fating / Courthouse on Horseback, addresses in Bao bei er / Baby the tale of an 19 year-old girl determined to save a sick girl in the context of the birth control imposed by the Chinese Government. After competing in Cannes, Berlin and Venice, Brillante Mendoza (San Fernando, Philippines, 1960) will do so for the first time in San Sebastian with Alpha: The Right to Kill, set against the backdrop of the Philippine Government’s crackdown on drugs. Last year, Mendoza’s production Pailalim / Underground, Daniel Palacio’s debut, competed in New Directors. The Swedish actress Tuva Novotny (Stockholm, 1979), who recently starred in Annihilation (2018) and Borg / McEnroe (Pearls 2017), makes her directorial debut with Blind Spot, looking at the blind spots of the mind through the relationship between a mother and daughter. Peter Strickland (Reading, UK, 1973) has become a cult author with only three movies: Katalin Varga (2009), which competed in Berlin and was recognised with the European Discovery of the Year award, Berberian Sound Studio (2012), a competitor in Locarno, and The Duke of Burgundy (2014). His fourth feature film, In Fabric, follows the trail of a cursed dress. Beautiful Boy is the first film shot in English by Felix Van Groeningen (Ghent, Belgium, 1977), who presented De helaasheid der dingen / The Misfortunates (2009) at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs and Alabama Monroe (2013) in the Panorama section of the Berlinale, where he won the Audience Award. The film was also nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award. Beautiful Boy, based on the true story of a father’s struggle to rescue his son from drugs, stars Steve Carell and Timothée Chamalet and is produced by the winners of the Academy Award for Moonlight and 12 Years a Slave (Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner). Now, a month before the Festival, we have already announced the eighteen competing films, as well as those to participate out of competition (Gigantes) or as special screenings (Tiempo después and Dantza). The closing film will be announced in the coming weeks. ALPHA, THE RIGHT TO KILL BRILLANTE MENDOZA (PHILIPPINES) Cast: Allen Dizon, Elijah Filamor, Baron Geisler Set against the background of the government’s crackdown on illegal drugs, the SWAT-led police force launches an operation to arrest Abel, a major methamphetamine distributor, with PO3 Moises Espino and his informant Elijah providing the intelligence. A violent battle breaks out in the slums between the SWAT and Abel’s gang. Abel flees the scene with his bag full of money and methamphetamines. The SWAT kills him, but before the investigators arrive at the crime scene, Espino makes off Abel’s bag. BAO BEI ER / BABY LIU JIE (CHINA) Cast: Yang Mi, Guo Jingfei, Lee Hong-Chi, Wang Yanjun, Zhu Shaojun, Yan Surong Born 19 years ago in Nanjing with the VACTERL syndrome, Jiang Meng was abandoned by her parents. With the help of her foster mother and Director Wang, today Jiang works in a hospital as cleaner. One day, Jiang encounters a man coming into the hospital with a newborn baby. She learns that the baby is a girl who also has the VACTERL syndrome, and that the father has decided not to care for her. BEAUTIFUL BOY FELIX VAN GROENINGEN (USA) Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Steve Carell, Maura Tierney, Amy Ryan Based on the bestselling pair of memoirs by father and son David and Nic Sheff, Felix van Groeningen’s film chronicles the heartbreaking and inspiring experience of survival, relapse and recovery in a family coping with addiction over many years. BLIND SPOT TUVA NOVOTNY (NORWAY) Cast: Pia Tjelta, Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Oddgeir Thune, Per Frisch, Marianne Krogh Blind Spot centres on a mother as she struggles to understand her teenage daughter’s crisis, when tragedy strikes the whole family. IN FABRIC PETER STRICKLAND (UK) Cast: Gwendoline Christie, Hayley Squires, Marianne Jean-Baptiste In Fabric is set against the backdrop of a busy winter sales period in a department store and follows the life of a cursed dress as it passes from person to person, with devastating consequences. L’HOMME FIDÈLE / A FAITHFUL MAN LOUIS GARREL (FRANCE) Cast: Louis Garrel, Laetitia Casta, Lily-Rose Depp Marianne leaves Abel for Paul, his best friend and the father of her unborn child. Eight years later, Paul dies. Abel and Marianne get back together, arousing feelings of jealousy in both Marianne’s son, Joseph, and Paul’s sister, Eva, who has secretly loved Abel since childhood.
Read more
New York Film Festival Reveals 2018 Convergence Program Lineup of Virtual Reality and Immersive Cinema

[caption id="attachment_31448" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Rone[/caption] The seventh edition of the highly anticipated Convergence program returns to the 56th New York Film Festival delving into innovative modes of storytelling via interactive experiences, featuring Virtual Reality, Immersive Cinema, AI, and more. Over the course of NYFF’s final weekend, audiences can experience wide-ranging selections of Virtual Reality and Immersive Cinema with several World Premieres including: What Goes Up/Must Come Down, a combination of VR and video installation that takes viewers through the gorgeous Instagram sensation of the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival and the environmental destruction the lanterns cause once tourists leave; Blue Bird, an immersive animated VR film that feels like a painting come to life; and Hope Against the Haze, a journey into the citizen-led effort to rid the once pristine beaches of Mumbai of the trash that overwhelms them. Additionally, Convergence will present the U.S. premiere of Cycles, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ first ever VR short, a brilliant meditation on what makes a house a home. Convergence includes virtual cinema works, a program of VR documentaries, and a special “Arcade,” giving participants the opportunity to experience several VR stories from multiple creators in the same space. In addition, there will be a live Columbia Digital Storytelling Lab, where participants can engage with an AI system through conversation and see how the AI uses their conversations to create its own “human” story. Other highlights include Battle Scar, an animated VR experience featuring Rosario Dawson, which brings to life the Lower East Side’s ’70s punk culture; Fire Escape, an interactive thriller set on a Brooklyn fire escape that leads to an adventure filled with deceit and murder; and the documentary My Africa, a journey into the daily life of a young Samburu woman, narrated by Academy Award-winner Lupita Nyong’o.
VIRTUAL CINEMA PROGRAM
Fire Escape Virtual Reality/Google DayDream Dir. Navid Khonsari, USA, 2018, 45m It’s impossible not to think of Hitchcock’s classic Rear Window during the opening moments of this sleekly rendered, interactive thriller. Cast in the role of an urban voyeur, our nightly sojourns onto a Brooklyn fire escape give us a front row seat to the dramas unfolding in the apartment across the street. The familiar—and safe—distance between audience and action is shattered when your “in-game” phone chirps; soon, we are not just watching events, but are thrust into a world of deceit and murder via text, chat, and immersive audio. This cutting-edge adventure from inkStories (Hero and 1979 Revolution), shown for the first time in its entirety, blurs the lines between game, film, and episodic storytelling, all while creating something entirely new. What Goes Up/Must Come Down Virtual Reality & Video Installation Dir. Eline Jongsma and Kel O’Neill, USA, 2018, 10m World Premiere Each year as the celebration for the Lunar New Year winds down, tourists converge on a village just outside of Taipei to launch thousands of lanterns into the night sky. They represent the hopes of their owners, and as they soar into the darkness they make for one hell of an Instagram post. But what happens when dawn breaks, the tourists leave, and those thousands of wishes fall out of the sky? Ingeniously weaving virtual reality and conventional 2D filmmaking, Jongsma and O’Neill fuse two discrete documentaries about the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival into a singular whole, and suggest that our dreams may have staggering, real-world consequences.
VIRTUAL REALITY DOCUMENTARY PROGRAM
The Drummer Virtual Reality – Documentary Dir. Ana Kler, USA, 2017, 3m An intimate portrait of Jesus, a street musician who performs every day in Manhattan’s Union Square. Hope Against the Haze Virtual Reality – Documentary Dir. Tiffany Hill, India, 2018, 12m World Premiere Mumbai is on the verge of crisis: thousands of pounds of trash are poured onto the city’s once vital beaches every day. This piece helps you join the citizen-led effort committed to reclaiming a paradise in the heart of the city by removing 12 million pounds of garbage. My Africa Virtual Reality – Documentary Dir. David Allen, USA/UK, 2018, 10m Academy Award–winning actress Lupita Nyong’o narrates the story of a young Samburu woman, Naltwasha Leripe, who takes audiences through her daily routine, from caring for livestock to saving a baby elephant from poachers.
ARCADE PIECES
Awake: Episode I Virtual Reality – Narrative Dir. Martin Taylor, Australia, 2018, 20m The mysteries of time, obsession, and the self are examined in this cinematic virtual reality experience. Harry is a prisoner, not only of his own home but also of his obsession with a recurring dream of his lost love, Rose. Audiences step into the character’s dream world, shaping the story as it unfolds around him. Participants’ actions will reveal layers of story, artifacts of the past, and vital clues necessary to save Harry, as well as reveal the hidden potential of humanity. Thought-provoking and entertaining, Awake: Episode I combines an engaging narrative with cutting-edge technology, showing the power of this immersive form of storytelling. Battle Scar Virtual Reality – Narrative Dir. Marin Allais and Nico Casavecchia, USA/France, 2018 Any mention of the New York music scene of the late 1970s conjures images of the Ramones and Talking Heads, crowded clubs like CBGB, and neighborhoods such as the Bowery and the East Village. When the fates of wide-eyed lyricist to-be Lupe (voiced by Rosario Dawson) and budding frontwoman Debbie collide, the two women form a friendship that leads them through the unique crucible of the Lower East Side’s punk subculture. A coming-of-age tale of two artists, this animated, episodic piece plays with point of view and perspective to filter New York’s past through today’s technology. Blue Bird Virtual Reality – Narrative Dir. Armando Brown, Miranda Conway, Seth Greenwood, Vinod Krishnan, Allie Perdomo, Parnaz Rad, Belen Saenz de Viteri, Nicole Tylor, Chuzhong Xie, USA, 2017, 3m World Premiere A bluebird struggles to escape the caverns of a withered heart and find its way through the history of a scarred life in this expressive animated piece. Cycles Virtual Reality – Narrative Dir. Jeff Gipson, USA, 2018, 3m U.S. Premiere Churchill said, “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.” There’s a profound difference between a house and a home: the first is a structure made up of four walls, a roof, and a floor; the second is much more than a place. This experimental VR short from Walt Disney Animation Studios centers on this distinction. Inspired by director Jeff Gipson’s childhood recollections of spending time with his grandparents, this is a bittersweet meditation on memory, emotion, family, and all that goes into making a home. Rone Virtual Reality – Documentary Dir. Lester Francois, Australia, 2017, 15m In the early 2000s, muralist Rone became a driving force within Melbourne’s street art scene. His distinctive large-scale portraits of female faces comment on both gentrification and the masculinity that dominated his artistic circle. His pieces can be found inside decaying buildings and on crumbling walls from New York to Tokyo, as well as in the National Gallery of Australia. Lester Francois’s vivid 360-degree film plunges viewers into Rone’s process and philosophy. Where Thoughts Go Dir. Lucas Rizzotto, USA, 2018 Virtual Reality – Experimental Documentary, 24m In our hyper-connected world, technologies that should bring people together often seem to push them further apart; meaningful interactions feel scant, and emotions can be liabilities. Where Thoughts Go seeks to change that. Viewers take part in an ever-evolving social experience that is intimate in scale but vast in scope. While guided through a series of questions, players are invited to explore the thoughts, dreams, and memories of previous visitors to this poignant digital landscape, and in so doing, reflect on their own lives.
SPECIAL EVENT
Frankenstein AI: A Monster Made by Many Live Prototyping Experience Presented by Lance Weiler, Columbia Digital Storytelling Lab, 120m It was an innocuous challenge, issued by Lord Byron 200 years ago, that sparked Mary Shelley’s imagination to bring Frankenstein to life. Join Columbia University School of the Arts’ Digital Storytelling Lab as they bring this spark to NYFF Convergence with a special lab session mixing story, play, design, and AI. Working with lab facilitators, participants will prototype an immersive dinner party, where guests will interact with a custom-made “Frankenstein” AI through voice and text. The AI will engage in conversation, surfacing audience fears and hopes through personal stories. Those same fears and hopes will become the “body parts” that the AI will use to craft its own ghost story, questioning the act of creation and reminding us all what it means to be human.
Read more
SMUGGLING HENDRIX, BIRDS OF PASSAGE Among Films Added to 2018 Calgary International Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_28552" align="aligncenter" width="1392"] Smuggling Hendrix[/caption] The Calgary International Film Festival added twelve more films, some from as far away as India, Columbia and Sweden, others closer to home, including one from a Calgarian first-time feature director, to the 2018 lineup. In a film that will resonate with many festival-goers, Director Gillian McKercher paints a portrait of life working in an industry with looming layoffs in CIRCLE OF STEEL, all to an Albertan soundtrack. Other films with buzz to watch for include the winner of Tribeca Film Festival’s Best International Narrative Feature: SMUGGLING HENDRIX, directed by Marios Piperides, and BIRDS OF PASSAGE. Directed by Ciro Guerra and Cristina Gallego, this visual feast takes us into the heart of the drug trade in the Guajira desert. “These films shine a light on those defining moments that set us on a new path,” said Stephen Schroeder, Executive Director of the Calgary International Film Festival. “Whether that moment is about moving past invisible borders, tangible walls or simply embracing different mindsets, the subjects in these films are all about to make that leap.” AMATEURS directed by Gabriela Pichler When the German low-cost superstore Superbilly considers opening shop in the small Swedish community of Lafors, the local government office makes a commercial to sell Lafors as the prime location. Aida and Dana, two high school kids, decide to turn their mobiles and selfie sticks toward everyone that isn’t allowed to take part in the commercial. A quirky narrative film, with subtitles. BIRDS OF PASSAGE directed by Ciro Guerra and Cristina Gallego This visually stunning narrative feature takes us to the origin of the drug trade in the Guajira desert of Colombia, from the perspective of the indigenous Wayuu population who end up trading their traditional farming for marijuana. CIRCLE OF STEEL directed by Gillian McKercher The first feature from Calgary director Gillan McKercher, this narrative feature is a satirical yet sympathetic portrait of life in the oil and gas industry. New engineer Wendy Fong works for an energy company with rumours of upcoming layoffs. Long days in the field and long nights alone begin to take their toll. Wendy navigates personal ethics and corporate interest, with an Albertan soundtrack and stunning visuals of the Western landscape. CLARA directed by Akash Sherman Isaac Bruno (Patrick J. Adams, SUITS, ROOM FOR RENT) is an astronomer obsessed with searching the cosmos for signs of life beyond Earth, despite the collapse of his personal life right in front of him. His relentless research of the night sky leads him into the path of an unqualified but confident amateur astronomer named Clara (played by Troian Bellisario, SUITS, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS). Working together, their effort ultimately leads them to a shocking and profound scientific discovery. This is Canadian director Akash Sherman’s second feature film. GIANT LITTLE ONES directed by Keith Behrman This Canadian feature tells the tale of two best friends since childhood. High school royalty, the boys are handsome, stars of the swim team and popular with girls. They live a perfect teenage life – until the night of Franky’s epic 17th birthday party, when Franky and Ballas are involved in an unexpected incident that changes their lives forever. ISLAND OF THE HUNGRY GHOSTS directed by Gabrielle Brady On a remote tropical island, forty million crabs migrate through a dense jungle and rocky shores to the freedom of the sea. Christmas Island is also a temporary home to refugees seeking passage to Australia but confined to a high security detention centre deep in the jungle. With a brilliant score, lush cinematography and keen attention to detail, this award winning documentary focuses on the detention centre’s trauma counselor as she and her young family navigate local mythologies that surround them. MEGA TIME SQUAD directed by Tim Van Dammen A small-town criminal finds an ancient Chinese time-travel device that can help him pull off a heist and start a new life – but he may not survive the consequences of tampering with time. This Late Shows feature is a study in high-meets-low, combining elements of the sci-fi, the crime thriller and the comedy to make a comedy heist film with a time-traveling twist. ROOM LAUNDERING directed by Tomoo Ezaki Shy and preferring to keep to herself, Miko has with the perfect job – a “room launderer.” When a previous tenant dies of unnatural cases, such as murder or suicide, the “room launderer” purifies it. This is done by staying on the property long enough to clear its manager from legal requirement to inform future tenants of the tragedy. Miko’s only problem is she can see and talk to the dead. This Japanese first feature blends quirky comedy and light-hearted drama. SIR directed by Rohena Gera Ratna works as domestic live-in help with Ashwin. Although Ashwin is wealthy, Ratna can sense that he he’s given up on his dreams and is somewhat lost. On the other hand, Ratna who seems to have nothing, is full of hope and works determinedly towards her dream. This narrative feature depicts the social structure in India and the restrictions that prevent people from following their dreams. SMUGGLING HENDRIX directed by Marios Piperides Yiannis, a fading musician, is planning to leave crisis-ridden Cyprus for a better life abroad. His plans are put on hold when his dog Jimi runs away and crosses the UN buffer zone that divides the “Greek” from the “Turkish” side of the island. Since animal exchange between the two “sides” is prohibited, Yiannis reluctantly joins forces with Hasan, a Turkish settler, and a cast of unexpected characters to smuggle his best friend back. SOULS OF TOTALITY directed by Richard Raymond Lady 18 and Guy 3 have a secret. They are members of a cult that believes if they die during a solar eclipse, their souls will be taken to paradise. But that’s not their secret. They are also profoundly in love. An American short film. THE UNICORN directed by Robert Schwartzman When an engaged couple, Caleb and Malory are forced to go to Palm Springs for a weekend to celebrate Malory’s parents’ 25th wedding vow renewal, they discover the secret to the parents’ happy marriage – threesomes. Horrified but intrigued, and determined to properly celebrate their own ‘re-engagement,’ they set out on a wild night in search of a threesome of their own.
Read more
World Premiere of Andrew Slater’s ECHO IN THE CANYON to Open 2018 LA Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_31436" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Echo in the Canyon[/caption] The World Premiere of the documentary Echo in the Canyon by Andrew Slater, which features some of music’s biggest names reflecting on the sustained influence of Laurel Canyon’s historic music scene, will be the Opening Night film of the 2018 LA Film Festival, followed by a live performance. The festival also announced today the titles in Premieres section, the Future Filmmakers Showcase, the Music Video program and the Indie Pilot program. “I’m so proud to be opening the Festival with a love song to Los Angeles via Andrew Slater’s Echo in the Canyon,” said Jennifer Cochis, Festival Director. “We are committed to showcasing documentaries, and premiering this work at the Ford Theatres to be followed by a live musical performance is going to be a once in a lifetime experience.”
Opening Night Film
Thursday, September 20, the Ford Theatres Echo in the Canyon, dir. Andrew Slater, USA, World Premiere Echo in the Canyon is a look at how The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, The Mamas & the Papas birthed the beginnings of the Laurel Canyon music scene and how the echo of these artists’ creations reverberated between each other and ultimately across the world with a timelessness that continues today. With appearances by Tom Petty, Brian Wilson, Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Michelle Phillips, Jackson Browne, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Roger McGuinn, John Sebastian, Lou Adler, Jakob Dylan, Norah Jones, Beck, Regina Spektor, Cat Power, and others. The film was executive produced by Jakob Dylan.
Premieres
World and US Premieres of fiction and documentary films featuring noteworthy talent. American Dreamer, dir. Derrick Borte, USA, World Premiere Ashes in the Snow, dir. Marius A. Markevicius, Lithuania/USA, World Premiere Brian Banks, dir. Tom Shadyac, USA, World Premiere The Chaperone, dir. Michael Engler, USA, World Premiere The Clovehitch Killer, dir. Duncan Skiles, USA, World Premiere Good Girls Get High, dir. Laura Terruso, USA, World Premiere Kate Nash: Underestimate the Girl, dir. Amy Goldstein, USA, World Premiere Ride, dir. Jeremy Ungar, USA, World Premiere Tea With the Dames, dir. Roger Michell, UK, US Premiere We Have Always Lived in the Castle, dir. Stacie Passon, USA, US Premiere
Music Videos
Celebrating the marriage of music and visuals in these groundbreaking works. Apartment, dir. Ellis Bahl, USA Art in Motion, dir. Hayk Matevosyan, USA, World Premiere Bones, dir. Hunter Brumfield, USA Camisa Al Reves, dir. Andrew Vasquez, USA Clutch, dir. Christopher Ripley, USA Dis Generation, dir. Hiro Murai, USA Dreams, dir. Elliott Sellers & Erik Ferguson, USA Found, dir. rubber.band, USA Half a Million, dir. Lamar + Nik, USA Hard World, dir. Mike Hollingsworth, USA Heart Attack, dir. Mimi Cave, USA Indie, dir. Angel Kristi Williams, USA I Want You, dir. NORTON, USA Land of the Fairies, dir. Amiel Kestenbaum, Israel Lost Angeles, dir. Evanston Moore, USA Loving is Easy, dir. Chris Ullens, United Kingdom My Way, dir. WATTS., USA Pleader, dir. Isaiah Seret, United Kingdom Side by Side, dir. Bohdan Zajcenko, Czech Republic Terraform, dir. Sil van der Woerd & Jorik Dozy, Spain True Love Waits, dir. Adi Halfin, Israel
Future Filmmakers Showcase: High School Shorts
Made by incredibly accomplished high school filmmakers from across the country and globe, 43% of the short films in this diverse slate are directed by young women and 47% are directed by filmmakers from diverse backgrounds.
Indie Pilots
In this section, each pilot stands on its own and navigates the full hour of an episodic show. Storytellers bring an independent sensibility to these original series. 2 Kawaii 4 Comfort, co-dirs., Luke Palmer, John Bickerstaff, USA 40 And Single, dir, Leila Djansi, USA/Ghana Mulligan, dir, Steve Parys, USA
Read more
Tribeca Film Festival Announces 2019 Dates + Call For Submissions

The Tribeca Film Festival, today announced that its 18th edition will take place April 24 to May 5, 2019 in New York City. Tribeca celebrates storytelling in all its forms from film to TV, VR to gaming. Submissions will open on August 20 for feature and short films; episodic and online storytelling; virtual, immersive, and augmented reality; as well as branded entertainment. The 2019 Festival will introduce Critics Week, the first for a North American film festival, as a sidebar to the main program. Tribeca is collaborating with New York-based film critics to curate the section including Eric Kohn (IndieWire Chief Film Critic and Deputy Editor), K. Austin Collins (Vanity Fair Film Critic), Bilge Ebiri (Village Voice Film Critic), Alison Willmore (BuzzFeed News Film Critic and Culture Writer), and Emily Yoshida (New York Magazine and Vulture Film Critic). The inaugural Critics Week will highlight a slate of 5-7 feature films and screen throughout the Festival. Tribeca also announced that the Tribeca X Award, which debuted in 2016 to honor the best in branded entertainment, will expand with new juried award competitions for feature length film, short film, episodic, and VR. Past Tribeca X winners include works for Samsung (Hearing Colors, directed by Greg Brunkalla), Smirnoff Ice (Chris Fonseca: Keep It Moving, directed by Zachary Heinzerling), and Square (For Every Kind of Dream Series, directed by Mohammad Gorjestani). Tribeca is a longstanding champion for female filmmakers – last year 46% of the feature films were directed by women. The 7th annual Nora Ephron Award will again recognize a female writer or director whose work embodies the spirit and vision of the legendary filmmaker and writer Nora Ephron with a $25,000 prize. In addition to honors for films playing In Competition, Tribeca continues to focus on the discovery of new filmmakers with juried awards for best new narrative and documentary filmmakers. “The New York critical community has long been our compatriots in championing the most exciting new voices and trends in cinema, so we are thrilled that Tribeca will officially partner with them with this inaugural Critics Week program,” said Tribeca’s Director of Programming Cara Cusumano. “We look forward to discovering the new work they select, along with all the upcoming features, shorts, TV, VR, and online work from around the world as we officially open for submissions for Tribeca 2019.” “We have been impressed with the caliber of stories and creators submitting to Tribeca X to the point where we see a need to increase visibility for the work being done in branded entertainment by expanding with additional awards opportunities,” said EVP Paula Weinstein. Last year’s Festival celebrated storytelling and diverse voices with a slate of feature films; acclaimed shorts programming; TV including the world premiere of National Geographic’s Emmy®-nominated Genius: Picasso, the second season of the series which world premiered at the 2017 Festival; in addition to Tribeca N.O.W.’s (New Online Work) showcase of innovative digital storytellers. Tribeca Immersive expanded with the debut of VR theater Tribeca Cinema360, and its acclaimed line-up included projects like Vestige, one of the first VR experiences to be acquired at a major festival. The Festival debuted the first film funded through Untold Stories, the Festival’s premier program awarding $1M to an underrepresented filmmaker, in collaboration with the Festival’s Title sponsor AT&T and the Tribeca Film Institute. Submissions open on August 20 for all sections of the Festival – feature and short films, TV, Immersive, N.O.W., and the Tribeca X Award.
Submission deadlines for the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival:

Feature and Short Films, Tribeca TV, Tribeca N.O.W., and Tribeca Immersive:
August 20, 2018 – Submissions Open September 26, 2018 – Early Deadline October 31, 2018 – Official Deadline November 28, 2018 – Late Deadline
Tribeca X Award:
August 20, 2018 – Submissions Open November 28, 2018 – Early Deadline January 9, 2019 – Official Deadline January 30, 2019 – Late Deadline
Read more
Toronto International Film Festival Unveils 2018 Wavelengths Program of 43 Experimental Films

[caption id="attachment_31419" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?[/caption] The Toronto International Film Festival unveiled the 18th edition of it’s Wavelengths program showing adventurous and carefully curated lineup of shorts and feature films from around the world. This year’s selection of 43 films, comprises 4 programs of experimental short films, 2 curated pairings, and 10 features, each contributing to an exciting, diverse lineup of moving-image art. Wavelengths ’18 offers trenchant reflections on home, memory, and a world in flux through artistic narratives produced by a mix of emerging talent and contemporary masters and working across a variety of inventive styles. Fiction highlights include Bi Gan’s dazzling and mysterious Long Day’s Journey Into Night, a dreamy neo-noir about memories, passion, and the malleability of time that received critical acclaim at Cannes; the beautiful and intimate RAY & LIZ, the searing debut feature by Richard Billingham, Turner Prize–nominated photographer-turned-filmmaker, inspired by his family and his own Thatcher-era childhood memories; and Mariano Llinás’ epic 14-hour drama La Flor — the longest film in Argentine history — which took nearly a decade to produce and which explores the possibilities of cinematic narrative through impressive and ingenious experiments in acting and genre. Wavelengths will showcase several astonishing and sure-to-be landmark documentaries, including master Chinese filmmaker Wang Bing’s powerful Dead Souls, a momentous, eight-hour documentary that offers sobering testimonials of experiences in China’s forced re-education camps in the 1950s; the World Premiere of the stunningly shot The Stone Speakers by Igor Drljača, a compelling documentary about faith, tourism, shifting industries, and competing historical narratives in Bosnia and Herzegovina; the provocative and powerful What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire? by the returning Roberto Minervini, a fiery portrayal of Black life in the American South; the gripping found-footage film The Trial by Festival mainstay Sergei Loznitsa, which assembles original material from a show trial conducted under Stalin’s Soviet government in 1930s Moscow; and the elegant, moving Erased,___Ascent of the Invisible by Ghassan Halwani, a personal-essay film by the animator of The Lebanese Rocket Society (Wavelengths 2012) inspired by the distorted image of a mysterious man thought to have disappeared many years ago in Beirut. Andrea Bussmann’s solo debut, Fausto, and Jodie Mack’s The Grand Bizarre are two of this year’s most exhilarating cinematic experiments; they defy categorization as they meld documentary inquiry with inspired audio-visual expressions, ranging from the mythical to the musical. Short-film highlights include new works by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Abraaj Group Art Prize winner Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Nathaniel Dorsky, Mary Helena Clark, Laida Lertxundi, Ben Rivers, Kevin Jerome Everson, Laura Huertas Millán, and more. The programme also features the World Premiere of artist-filmmaker Beatrice Gibson’s I Hope I’m Loud When I’m Dead, a KW Production Series co-commission with Mercer Union (Toronto), Camden Arts Centre (London), and Bergen Kunsthall (Bergen), which is supported by the Julia Stoschek Foundation and Outset Germany_Switzerland and which features appearances by poets Eileen Myles and CAConrad. Wavelengths will also present a number of historical restorations and rediscoveries. This year’s archival selections include the previously unseen 1986 Summer (1986), by Japanese avant-garde titan Toshio Matsumoto; Lisa Baumgardner’s punchy Girl Pack (1981), recently restored by the Museum of Modern Art in New York; and the fascinating and idiosyncratic portrait film Alice (1974), directed by Austrian painter and filmmaker Maria Lassnig as part of her Soul Sisters series. The 43rd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 to 16, 2018.
WAVELENGTHS SHORT FILM PROGRAMS

Wavelengths 1: Earth, Wind & Fire
Polly One Kevin Jerome Everson | USA | Canadian Premiere Blue Apichatpong Weerasethakul | France/Thailand | International Premiere Fainting Spells Sky Hopinka | Ho-Chunk Nation/USA | International Premiere Prologue to the Tarot: Glenna Brittany Gravely, Ken Linehan | USA | World Premiere Hoarders Without Borders Jodie Mack | USA | World Premiere ante mis ojos Lina Rodriguez | Colombia/Canada | World Premiere ALTIPLANO Malena Szlam | Chile/Argentina/Canada | World Premiere
Wavelengths 2: Another Brick in the Wall
Ada Kaleh Helena Wittmann | Germany | World Premiere The Glass Note Mary Helena Clark | USA | North American Premiere mumok kino Philipp Fleischmann | Austria | International Premiere TREES DOWN HERE Ben Rivers | United Kingdom | International Premiere 1986 Summer ( 1986夏) Toshio Matsumoto | Japan | International Premiere Words, Planets Laida Lertxundi | Spain/USA | Canadian Premiere The Invisible Cinema 3 Philipp Fleischmann | Austria | International Premiere Walled Unwalled Lawrence Abu Hamdan | Germany | North American Premiere
Wavelengths 3: Centerfold
Girl Pack Lisa Baumgardner | USA | International Premiere Please step out of the frame. Karissa Hahn | USA | Toronto Premiere The Air of the Earth in Your Lungs Ross Meckfessel | USA/Japan | World Premiere Sira Rolla Tahir | Canada | World Premiere Slip Celia Perrin Sidarous | Canada | Toronto Premiere Alice Maria Lassnig | USA | Canadian Premiere Fallen Arches Simon Liu | United Kingdom/USA/Hong Kong | World Premiere I Hope I’m Loud When I’m Dead Beatrice Gibson | USA/Italy/United Kingdom | World Premiere
Wavelengths 4: We’ve Only Just Begun
Colophon (for the Arboretum Cycle) Nathaniel Dorsky | USA | World Premiere A Return James Edmonds | Germany | North American Premiere The Labyrinth ( El Laberinto) Laura Huertas Millán | Colombia/France | North American Premiere Île d’Ouessant David Dudouit | France | North American Premiere Julio Iglesias’s House ( La casa de Julio Iglesias) Natalia Marín | Spain | North American Premiere Man in the Well ( Jing li de ren) Hu Bo | China | North American Premiere
PAIRINGS
L. COHEN James Benning | USA Canadian Premiere preceded by Arena Björn Kämmerer | Austria International Premiere The Grand Bizarre Jodie Mack | USA North American Premiere preceded by Those Who Desire ( Los que desean) Elena López Riera | Switzerland/Spain International Premiere
FEATURES
Dead Souls ( Si Ling Hun) Wang Bing | France/Switzerland North American Premiere Erased,___Ascent of the Invisible ( Tirss, Rihlat Alsoo’oud ila Almar’i) Ghassan Halwani | Lebanon North American Premiere Fausto Andrea Bussmann | Canada/Mexico North American Premiere In My Room Ulrich Köhler | Germany/Italy North American Premiere The Flower (La Flor) Mariano Llinás | Argentina North American Premiere Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Di qiu zui hou de ye wan) Bi Gan | China/France North American Premiere RAY & LIZ Richard Billingham | United Kingdom North American Premiere The Stone Speakers (Kameni Govornici) Igor Drljača | Canada/Bosnia/Herzegovina World Premiere The Trial Sergei Loznitsa | Netherlands North American Premiere What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire? Roberto Minervini | Italy/USA/France North American Premiere Previously announced Canadian titles in the Wavelengths Program include Lina Rodriguez‘s ante mis ojos, Andrea Bussmann’s Fausto, Rolla Tahir’s Sira , Celia Perrin Sidarous’ Slip, and Igor Drljača’s The Stone Speakers.
Read more
Toronto International Film Festival to Spotlight 48 Films in 2018 Contemporary World Cinema Program

[caption id="attachment_31415" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Look at Me[/caption] The Toronto International Film Festival will spotlight 48 films from international filmmakers in this year’s 2018 Contemporary World Cinema roster with a strong presence from Latin America and Eastern Europe — telling stories of identity, depicting family dynamics, and making bold political statements. Several of the the impressive 27 World Premieres in the program are from TIFF veterans, including Belmonte from Uruguay’s Federico Veiroj, The Other Story from Israel’s Avi Nesher, Stupid Young Heart from Finnish Academy Award nominee Selma Vilhunen, Quién te Cantará from Spain’s Carlos Vermut, and Look at Me from Tunisia’s Nejib Belkadhi. The program also highlights film selections that have already captivated audiences worldwide this year, including “I Do Not Care If We Go Down In History As Barbarians” by Radu Jude, Birds of Passage by directing duo Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra, and Border by Ali Abbasi.
2018 Toronto International Film Festival Contemporary World Cinema Program
The Accused ( Acusada) Gonzalo Tobal | Argentina North American Premiere Angel (Un Ange) Koen Mortier | Belgium/Netherlands/Senegal International Premiere Asako I & II ( Netemo Sametemo) Ryusuke Hamaguchi | Japan/France North American Premiere Before the Frost ( Før Frosten) Michael Noer | Denmark World Premiere Belmonte Federico Veiroj | Uruguay/Spain/Mexico World Premiere Birds of Passage ( Pájaros de verano) Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra | Colombia/Denmark/Mexico/France Canadian Premiere Black 47 Lance Daly | Ireland/Luxembourg North American Premiere The Black Book Valeria Sarmiento | Portugal/France World Premiere Border ( Gräns) Ali Abbasi | Sweden/Denmark North American Premiere Bulbul Can Sing Rima Das | India World Premiere Core of the World Natalia Meshchaninova | Russia/Lithuania International Premiere The Dive ( Hatzlila) Yona Rozenkier | Israel North American Premiere Donbass Sergei Loznitsa | Germany/Ukraine/France/Netherlands/Romania North American Premiere El Ángel Luis Ortega | Argentina/Spain North American Premiere EXT. Night ( Leil Khargi ) Ahmad Abdalla | Egypt/United Arab Emirates World Premiere The Factory (Завод (Zavod)) Yury Bykov | Russia/France/Armenia World Premiere Florianópolis Dream ( Sueño Florianópolis) Ana Katz | Argentina/Brazil/France North American Premiere “I Do Not Care If We Go Down In History As Barbarians” ( Îmi este indiferent dacă în istorie vom intra ca barbari) Radu Jude | Romania/Czech Republic/France/Bulgaria/Germany North American Premiere Jinpa ( Zhuang Si Le Yi Zhi Yang ) Pema Tseden | China North American Premiere Let Me Fall (Lof mer ad falla) Baldvin Z | Iceland/Finland/Germany International Premiere Look at Me Nejib Belkadhi | Qatar/France/Tunisia World Premiere Minuscule – Mandibles From Far Away ( Minuscule – Les Mandibules du Bout du Monde) Thomas Szabo, Hélène Giraud | France World Premiere The Most Beautiful Couple (Das schönste Paar) Sven Taddicken | Germany/France World Premiere Museum (Museo) Alonso Ruizpalacios | Mexico North American Premiere One Last Deal (Tuntematon mestari) Klaus Härö | Finland World Premiere The Other Story (Sipur Acher) Avi Nesher | Israel World Premiere Quién te Cantará Carlos Vermut | Spain/France World Premiere The Realm (El Reino) Rodrigo Sorogoyen | Spain/France World Premiere Redemption (Geula) Boaz Yehonatan Yacov, Joseph Madmony | Israel North American Premiere Retrospekt Esther Rots | Netherlands/Belgium World Premiere Roads in February (Les routes en février) Katherine Jerkovic | Canada/Uruguay World Premiere Rosie Paddy Breathnach | Ireland World Premiere Sew the Winter to my Skin Jahmil X.T. Qubeka | South Africa/Germany World Premiere Sibel Çagla Zencirci, Guillaume Giovanetti | France/Germany/Luxembourg/Turkey North American Premiere Stupid Young Heart (Hölmö nuori sydän) Selma Vilhunen | Finland/Netherlands/Sweden World Premiere Styx Wolfgang Fischer | Germany/Austria North American Premiere The Sweet Requiem (Kyoyang Ngarmo) Ritu Sarin, Tenzing Sonam | India/USA World Premiere That Time of Year (Den Tid På Året) Paprika Steen | Denmark World Premiere Ulysses & Mona Sébastien Betbeder | France World Premiere The Vice of Hope (Il Vizio Della Speranza) Edoardo de Angelis | Italy World Premiere Winter Flies (Všechno bude) Olmo Omerzu | Czech Republic/Slovenia/Poland/Slovakia International Premiere Working Woman (Isha Ovedet) Michal Aviad | Israel International Premiere Previously announced Canadian titles in the Contemporary World Cinema program include Darlene Naponse’s Falls Around Her, Bruce Sweeney’s Kingsway, Renée Beaulieu’s Les Salopes or the Naturally Wanton Pleasure of Skin, Thom Fitzgerald’s Splinters, Sébastien Pilote’s The Fireflies Are Gone, and Maxime Giroux’s The Great Darkened Days.
Read more
Toronto International Film Festival to Spotlight 11 Films by International Legends in 2018 Masters Program

[caption id="attachment_31411" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Peterloo[/caption] The Toronto International Film Festival today unveiled the lineup for the 2018 Masters program, comprised of 11 daring new films by acclaimed, established auteurs with remarkable bodies of work. Included in the 2018 Masters lineup are new works by three acclaimed European directors that unwaveringly address contemporary adversities: the debut of the single-installment version of Italian maestro Paolo Sorrentino’s corrosive comedy, Loro, which stars Toni Servillo as infamous politician Silvio Berlusconi; legendary French—Swiss auteur Jean-Luc Godard’s The Image Book, winner of the inaugural 2018 Special Palme d’Or at Cannes; and German director Christian Petzold’s daring Transit, an adaptation of Anna Seghers’ World War II novel set in an era resembling the present day, which offers subtle and timely reflections on rootlessness and exile. Among the auteurs in the lineup are: Algerian visionary Merzak Allouache, who explores religious radicalization with Divine Wind, the latest in a remarkable filmography that spans over four decades; acclaimed Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, who is known for his distinct cinematic use of landscape and who returns to the Festival with The Wild Pear Tree; Mexican master Carlos Reygadas, who delivers an existential meditation on a couple’s open relationship in Our Time; South Korean director Hong Sang-soo, who returns to the program with Hotel by the River, a black-and white-drama set in an isolated hotel during a cold winter; British director Mike Leigh, who explores the history of British parliamentary reform in Peterloo; and Iranian maverick Jafar Panahi, who presents 3 Faces, a thoughtful examination of traditional gender roles and artistic independence. Chinese pioneer Jia Zhang-ke will introduce his largest production to date, Ash Is Purest White, a look at the rapid evolution of Chinese capitalist society explored through the romance between two mismatched people, while veteran Japanese director Shinya Tsukamoto will present Killing, an ambitious samurai genre film set in mid-19th century Japan. The 43rd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 to 16, 2018.
2018 Toronto International Film Festival Masters Program
3 Faces Jafar Panahi | Iran North American Premiere Ash Is Purest White ( Jiang Hu Er Nü) Jia Zhang-ke | China/France North American Premiere Divine Wind ( Rih rabani) Merzak Allouache | Algeria/France/Qatar/Lebanon World Premiere Hotel by the River ( Gangbyun Hotel) Hong Sang-soo | South Korea North American Premiere Killing ( Zan) Shinya Tsukamoto | Japan North American Premiere Loro Paolo Sorrentino | Italy/France World Premiere Our Time ( Nuestro Tiempo) Carlos Reygadas | Mexico/France/Germany/Denmark/Sweden North American Premiere Peterloo Mike Leigh | United Kingdom Canadian Premiere The Image Book ( Le livre d’image) Jean-Luc Godard | Switzerland/France North American Premiere The Wild Pear Tree ( Ahlat Ağacı) Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Turkey/France/Germany/Bulgaria North American Premiere Transit Christian Petzold | Germany North American Premiere
Read more
2018 Toronto International Film Festival Adds More Gala and Special Presentations Films

[caption id="attachment_31408" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Green Book[/caption] The Toronto International Film Festival today unveiled its second batch of titles premiering in the Gala and Special Presentations programs in September. Four Gala Presentations and 22 Special Presentations have been added to the selection of titles already announced. “We’re rounding out the lineup of Galas and Special Presentations with some of the most exciting films of the year,” said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of TIFF. “Audiences won’t want to miss these premieres from a mix of newcomers and global heavyweights.” This second announcement brings the total for Galas and Special Presentations to 44 World Premieres, 9 International Premieres, 12 North American Premieres and 11 Canadian Premieres. The 43rd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 to 16, 2018.
GALAS 2018
Green Book Peter Farrelly | USA World Premiere Closing Night Film Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy Justin Kelly | Canada/USA/United Kingdom World Premiere The Lie Veena Sud | Canada World Premiere Opening Night Film Outlaw King David Mackenzie | USA/United Kingdom World Premiere
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 2018
22 July Paul Greengrass | Norway/Iceland North American Premiere American Woman Jake Scott | USA World Premiere Baby ( Bao Bei Er) Liu Jie | China World Premiere Boy Erased Joel Edgerton | USA International Premiere Driven Nick Hamm | Puerto Rico/United Kingdom/USA North American Premiere Duelles (Mothers’ Instinct) Olivier Masset-Depasse | Belgium/France World Premiere A Faithful Man ( L’homme fidèle) Louis Garrel | France World Premiere Gloria Bell Sebastián Lelio | USA/Chile World Premiere Hold the Dark Jeremy Saulnier | USA World Premiere Kursk Thomas Vinterberg | Belgium/Luxembourg World Premiere Legend of the Demon Cat – Director’s Cut Chen Kaige | China/Japan World Premiere Mid90s Jonah Hill | USA World Premiere A Million Little Pieces Sam Taylor-Johnson | USA World Premiere Never Look Away ( Werk ohne Autor) Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck | Germany North American Premiere The Quietude ( La Quietud) Pablo Trapero | Argentina North American Premiere Skin Guy Nattiv | USA World Premiere Teen Spirit Max Minghella | USA World Premiere Tell It To The Bees Annabel Jankel | United Kingdom World Premiere Viper Club Maryam Keshavarz | USA World Premiere Vision Naomi Kawase | Japan/France International Premiere Vita & Virginia Chanya Button | United Kingdom/Ireland World Premiere Wild Rose Tom Harper | United Kingdom World Premiere
Read more
BLACKKKLANSMAN, FIRST MAN, A STAR IS BORN to Compete for Audience Award at San Sebastian International Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_29297" align="aligncenter" width="926"] BlacKkKlansman[/caption] Ten new films including the latest by Damien Chazelle, Alfonso Cuarón, and Spike Lee will compete for the City of Donostia / San Sebastian Audience Award at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. A Star Is Born, the directorial debut of Bradley Cooper will bring the section to a close. Jacques Audiard (Paris, 1962), the author of Un prophète / A Prophet (2009), Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, will present The Sisters Brothers, to have its premiere at the Venice Festival. This western based on the novel of the same name by Patrick deWitt stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly, who is also involved in its production. The latest film from the winner of last year’s Academy Award for Best Director, Damien Chazelle (Providence, USA, 1985), once again directs Ryan Gosling in First Man as Neil Armstrong, the first astronaut to walk on the Moon. The film by the creator of La La Land, in which Claire Foy (The Crown) also has a part, will open the Venice Festival. Alfonso Cuarón (Mexico City, 1968) competed in the Official Selection at San Sebastian with his second film, A Little Princess (1995). Since then, he has won a Best Director Academy Award for Gravity, while his films Y tu mamá también (And Your Mother Too) and Children of Men have enjoyed widespread international success. With Roma, to have its premiere in Venice, he portrays the life of a maid working in a middle-class district of Mexico City in the early 70s. In this new take on the iconic love story, A Star Is Born, Bradley Cooper (Philadelphia, USA, 1975) makes his directorial debut and portrays seasoned musician Jackson Maine, who discovers and falls in love with struggling artist Ally, played by Lady Gaga. Ally has given up on her dream to become a successful singer until she meets Jack, who immediately sees her raw talent. This intimate story takes us on a journey through the beauty and challenges of a relationship struggling to survive. After its premiere in Venice, A Star Is Born will bring Perak to a close in San Sebastian. Lukas Dhont (Belgium, 1991) will also present his first feature in San Sebastian, Girl, winner of the Caméra d’Or for Best First Film in Cannes and Fipresci Prize in Un Certain Regard. Dhont tells the story of a young girl born as a boy and who dreamt of becoming a ballerina. Ciro Guerra (Río de Oro, Colombia, 1981) shares the helm of Pájaros de verano (Birds of Passage) with Cristina Gallego (Bogotá, 1978), producer of his earlier films. Guerra started his career in Films in Progress, where he won a prize in 2003 for his first work, La sombra del caminante. His third film, El abrazo de la serpiente (Embrace of the Serpent) screened in Horizontes Latinos, was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award. In Pájaros de verano, which premiered at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, he uses a true story to explain the origins of drug trafficking in Colombia. The first animated film to compete in San Sebastian’s Official Selection was Bakemono no ko / The Boy and the Beast (2015), by Mamoru Hosoda (Nakaniikawa, Japan, 1967). The author of Toki wo kakeru shojo (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, 2006) and Okami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki (Wolf Children, 2012) now presents in San Sebastian Mirai, which premiered at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. The participations of Nadine Labaki (Beirut, 1974) in San Sebastian are counted in awards. In 2007, with her directorial debut Sukkar banat / Caramel, she landed the Audience and Youth Awards, and in 2011, with her second film, Et maintenant on va où? / Where Do We Go Now?, she earned the spectators’ vote as Best European Film. With Capharnaüm, winner of the Jury Prize in Cannes, she once again competes for the City of Donostia / San Sebastian Audience Award. Although his films have been programmed in different retrospectives –When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts in .doc – New paths of non-fiction and Summer of Sam in American Way of Death: American Film Noir 1990-2010– and the collective film Ten Minutes Older – The Trumpet screened as part of the Zabaltegi-Specials selection, this is the first time that Spike Lee (Atlanta, USA, 1957) will have competed for an award in San Sebastian. The author of Malcolm X, winner of honorary Academy and César awards, will compete for the Audience Award with BlacKkKlansman, a dramatic comedy about an Afro-American policeman who infiltrates the Ku Klux Klan, winner of the Jury Grand Prix at Cannes and the Audience Award at Locarno. Jia Zhangke (Fenyang, China, 1970), however, has enjoyed wide presence at the Festival in recent years. In 2013 he won the Best Screenplay Award at Cannes for Tian zhu ding / A Touch of Sin (2013), screened as part of Perlak, the same section which saw the selection in 2015 of Shan he gu ren (Mountains May Depart), winner of the Audience Award for Best European Production. His short film The Hedonists was screened in Zabaltegi-Tabakalera in 2016, the same year as he sat on the official jury presided by Bille August, which gave the Golden Shell to Wo bu shi pan jinlian / I Am Not Madame Bovary by Xiaogang Feng. Now he will endeavour to win the spectators’ award for a second time with Ash is Purest White, a film selected for the Cannes official competition, in which he describes the changes transforming his country through a violent love story. These films join those already announced in Perlak: El ángel (Luis Ortega), Petra (Jaime Rosales), Leto / Summer (Kirill Serebrennikov), Zimna wojna / Cold War (Pawel Pawlikowski), Un día más con vida / Another Day of Life (Raúl de la Fuente and Damian Nenow), Netemo Sametemo / Asako I & II (Ryusuke Hamaguchi) and 3 Rokh / Three Faces (Jafar Panahi). A STAR IS BORN BRADLEY COOPER (USA) Cast: Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Andrew Dice Clay, Dave Chappelle, Sam Elliott CLOSING NIGHT FILM Not in competition In this new take on the tragic love story, a seasoned musician discovers—and falls in love with— a struggling artist. She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer… until Jack coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as Ally’s career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Jack fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons. ASH IS PUREST WHITE JIA ZHANGKE (CHINA – FRANCE – JAPAN) Cast: Zhao Tao, Liao Fan Qiao is in love with Bin, a local mobster. During a fight between rival gangs, she fires a gun to protect him. Qiao gets five years in prison for this act of loyalty. Upon her release, she goes looking for Bin to pick up where they left off. A story of love, betrayal and loyalty set in China’s underworld. BLACKKKLANSMAN SPIKE LEE (USA) Cast: John David Washington, Adam Driver, Topher Grace, Laura Harrier Spike Lee helms the true story of the first Afro-American cop to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan at its highest levels in the ‘60s, with the help of a colleague who passed himself off as a radical racist. CAPHARNAÜM NADINE LABAKI (LEBANON) Cast: Zain Al Rafeea, Yordanos Shiferaw, Boluwatife Treasure Bankole, Kawthar Al Haddad, Fadi Kamel Youssef, Cedra Izam, Alaa Chouchnieh, Nadine Labaki International Courtroom Zain, a 12 year-old boy, faces the judge. Judge: Why are you suing your own parents? Zain: For giving me life. FIRST MAN DAMIEN CHAZELLE (USA) Cast: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke The film tells the story of the most dangerous mission in the history of Humanity to date. A tale of how NASA sent Neil Armstrong to the Moon and the sacrifices and the cost it represented for many. GIRL LUKAS DHONT (BELGIUM – NETHERLANDS) Cast: Victor Polster, Arieh Worthalter, Katelijne Damen, Valentijn Dhaenens Lara, aged 15, dreams of becoming a ballerina. With her father’s help, she pushes herself to the limit in the interminable endeavour. But her body doesn’t lend itself easily to the discipline imposed upon it, because in fact she was born a boy. MIRAI MAMORU HOSODA (JAPAN) A spoiled and pampered little 4 year-old who finds himself being ignored on the birth of his little sister Mirai. Kun struggles to cope with the new situations thrown at him in his home. But suddenly the teenage version of his sister travels back in time from the future to share with Kun an extraordinary adventure of unimaginable proportions. PÁJAROS DE VERANO CIRO GUERRA, CRISTINA GALLEGO (COLOMBIA) Cast: Carmiña Martínez, Jose Acosta, Natalia Reyes, Jhon Narváez, José Vicente Cote, Juan Bautista Martínez, Greider Meza Based on a true story explaining the origin of drug trafficking in Colombia, the film takes place in the ‘70s when North American youths are embracing the hippie culture and, with it, marijuana. The upshot is that the local farmers almost instantly morph into “entrepreneurs”. In the Guajira desert, a Wayuu Native American family finds itself forced to assume a role of leadership in this new enterprise. Wealth and power combine with a war between brothers which will seriously endanger their family, their lives and their ancestral traditions. ROMA ALFONSO CUARÓN (MEXICO) Cast: Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira The most personal project to date from Academy Award®-winning director and writer Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity, Children of Men, Y Tu Mamá Tambien), Roma follows Cleo, a young domestic worker for a family in the middle-class neighborhood of Roma in Mexico City. Delivering an artful love letter to the women who raised him, Cuarón draws on his own childhood to create a vivid and emotional portrait of domestic strife and social hierarchy amidst political turmoil of the 1970s. THE SISTERS BROTHERS JACQUES AUDIARD (FRANCE – BELGIUM – ROMANIA – SPAIN) Cast: John C. Reily, Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riz Ahmed Charlie and Eli Sisters live in a wild and hostile world. They have blood on their hands: the blood of criminals and innocent people alike… They have no scruples about killing. It’s their job. Charlie, the younger brother, was born to kill. Eli, however, dreams of living a normal life. They are hired by the Commodore to find and kill a man. From Oregon to California, a ruthless hunt begins, an initiatory journey that will test this insane bond between the two brothers. A path that leads to their humanity?
Read more