Film Festivals

Durban International Film Festival to Celebrate 100th Anniversary of President Nelson Mandela’s Birth

[caption id="attachment_30777" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] An Act Of Defiance[/caption] 2018 marks the 100th anniversary celebrations around the globe of President Nelson Mandela’s birthday, and the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) will present three films that provide fascinating insights into one of the most celebrated statesmen to have ever lived. The DIFF, which is organised by the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts and takes place from July 19 to 29, will feature Celebrating Mandela One Hundred, An Act Of Defiance and The State Against Mandela and the Others. Celebrating Mandela One Hundred, is a documentary feature produced and conceptualised by Anant Singh, and made with the support and endorsement of the Nelson Mandela Foundation. The film traces Mandela’s life from his roots in the rural village of Mveso, to becoming one of the greatest leaders the world has ever seen. Celebrating Mandela One Hundred takes us beyond the political and into the personal, and features exclusive interviews with family members, close friends, comrades, politicians and international celebrities, telling us the story of a man who became an international icon. An Act Of Defiance directed by Jean Van De Velde, tells the story of Bram Fischer who managed to reconcile his white Afrikaner roots with his desire for justice, joining the struggle against apartheid out of principle. He defended Nelson Mandela and his comrades in the Rivonia Trial of 1963 and 1964 – playing a crucial role in preventing the ANC-leaders being sentenced to death – and was an underground guerrilla at the same time. [caption id="attachment_30778" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] The State Against Mandela and the Others[/caption] Linking in with this film The State Against Mandela and the Others directed by Nicolas Champeaux, Gilles Porte, is a documentary based on recently recovered archival recordings of the Rivonia Trial hearings. Although Mandela took centre stage during the historic trial, there were nine others who, like him, faced the death sentence and were subject to pitiless cross-examinations. The film transports us back into the thick of the courtroom battles and attempts to redress the historic balance by putting Mandela’s comrades centre stage. State Against Mandela and the Others is a reminder, says co-director Gilles Porte, “that all great things that happen in this world are achieved collectively.”
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Films by Claire Denis, Simon Jaquemet, Kim Jee-woon and More to Compete for Golden Shell at 66th San Sebastián Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_30771" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] The Black Book (Le cahier noir)[/caption] The latest films by Claire Denis, Simon Jaquemet, Kim Jee-woon, Naomi Kawase, Benjamín Naishtat, Valeria Sarmiento and Markus Schleinzer are the first films confirmed to be competing for the Golden Shell at the 66th San Sebastián Film Festival. Claire Denis (Paris, 1946), the director of Beau travail or White Material, will be competing for the first time for the Golden Shell with High Life. In this science-fiction film, Denis is working once again with Juliette Binoche, after Un beau soleil intérieur (Let the Sun Shine In) -which won the SACD Award in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes ex aequo last year with Philippe Garrel- and Robert Pattinson. For Naomi Kawase (Nara, Japan, 1969) this will be her second time in the Official Section, after she presented Genpin, which won the Fipresci Award, in 2010. Now, after taking part in Un Certain Regard and in the Official Competition at Cannes with her last two films, An / Sweet Bean and Hikari / Radiance, respectively, she will be coming to San Sebastián with Vision, shot in her native province. The film also stars the French actress Juliette Binoche and the Japanese actor, Masatoshi Nagase (An, Hikari, Paterson). Kim Jee-woon (Seúl, 1964) will also be competing for the Golden Shell for the second time. After presenting Ang-ma-reul bo-at-da / I Saw the Devil in San Sebastián in 2010, the South Korean director will be taking part withIllang: The Wolf Brigade, the Korean remake of Jin-Roh, the anime written by Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell) about the Keberos Panzer Cops, a violent police force. This is also the second time that Valeria Sarmiento (Valparaíso, Chile, 1948) will be competing as a director in the Official Section, after presenting Elle more than two decades ago, in 1995. But Sarmiento’s links to the Festival go back to a previous decade, at the beginning of her career, when she won the Grand Prix Donostia for Best New Director in 1984 with Notre mariage, her first fictional feature film. The last time that she took part in the Festival was in Zabaltegi, where her film As Linhas de Torres / Lines of Wellington was programmed in 2012. The French/Portuguese coproduction Le cahier noir / The Black Book is inspired by the novel Livro Negro de Padre Dinis, by Camilo Castelo Branco, who also wrote Mistérios de Lisboa, which was edited by Sarmiento and which won Raúl Ruiz the Silver Shell for best director in San Sebastián (2010). El Livro Negro de Padre Dinis can be considered to be a prequel of the character that also appears in Mistérios de Lisboa. Rojo is the third feature by Benjamín Naishtat (Buenos Aires, 1986), whose debut film, Historia del miedo (History of Fear), was one of the films chosen in Films in Progress 24, competed in Berlin in 2014 and was also screened in Horizontes Latinos. With his second film, El movimiento (The Movement, 2015), he formed part of the official section in Locarno. Rojo, with a cast including Darío Grandinetti, Andrea Frigerio and Alfredo Castro, is set in Argentina in the 1970s, on the eve of the military dictatorship. Markus Schleinzer (Vienna, 1971), who competed in the official section at Cannes with his debut film, Michael, will be presenting his second feature film, Angelo, in San Sebastián. Schleinzer, who wrote together with the director, Michael Sturminger, the screenplay for Casanova Variations, which competed for the Golden Shell in 2014, now focuses on the story of an African who is Europeanised by force in a story starring Makita Samba, Alba Rohrwacher and Larisa Faber. In 2014 Simon Jaquemet (Zurich, 1978) premiered his award-winning first film, Chrieg / War, in the New Directors section at the Festival. With his second film, Der unschuldige / The Innocent, he is back in San Sebastián in the Official Section, with the portrait of a woman trapped by her past in a religious community. The other films that make up the Official Section will be announced in the next few weeks. [caption id="attachment_30770" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] ANGELO[/caption] ANGELO MARKUS SCHLEINZER (AUSTRIA – LUXEMBOURG) Cast: Makita Samba, Alba Rohrwacher, Larisa Faber The story of Angelo, an African born in the 18th century, who is brought to Europe at the age of 10. Becoming a servant at the court of enlightened nobility, he is able to use his otherness to be an appreciated guest and attraction for the members of high society. Being close to the emperor he decides to marry Magdalena, a young maidservant, with whom he falls in love. Doing so, Angelo inevitably suffers from the rejection from the court. On the height of his prestige, he has to realize, that his otherness will never be erased. He will never know a normal life, and he will always remain an outsider. Based on true events. DER UNSCHULDIGE / THE INNOCENT SIMON JAQUEMET (SWITZERLAND – GERMANY) Cast: Judith Hofman, Christian Kaiser, Thomas Schüpbach, Urs-Peter Wolters Ruth works in a neuroscience research lab, as much as she’s part of an extreme traditionalist and conservative Christian family. She suddenly finds herself facing her own past when her former lover reemerges after disappearing twenty years in jail, putting into question her feelings, her life and soon her faith. HIGH LIFE CLAIRE DENIS (FRANCE – GERMANY – UK – POLAND – USA) Cast: Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, André Benjamin, Mia Goth Deep space. Beyond our solar system. Monte and his infant daughter Willow live together aboard a spacecraft, in complete isolation. A solitary man, whose strict self-discipline is a protection against desire –his own and that of others– Monte fathered the girl against his will. His sperm was used to inseminate Boyse, the young woman who gave birth to her. They were members of a crew of prisoners: space convicts, death row inmates. Guinea pigs sent on a mission to the black hole closest to Earth. Now only Monte and Willow remain. And Monte is changed. Through his daughter, for the first time, he experiences the birth of an all-powerful love. Willow grows, becoming a young girl, then a young woman. ILLANG: THE WOLF BRIGADE KIM JEE-WOON (SOUTH KOREA) Cast: GANG Dong-won, HAN Hyo-Joo, JUNG Woo-sung, KIM Mu-Yeol, HAN Ye-ri, CHOI Min-ho, HEO Joon-ho In 2029, after the governments of North and South Korea announce a 5-year plan to reunify the country, strong sanctions by the world’s powerful nations cripple the economy and lead to a hellish period of chaos. With the appearance of an armed anti-government terrorist group called The Sect which opposes reunification, the President creates a new police division called the Special Unit which amasses significant political power. However the intelligence service Public Security, which sees its own influence drop, hatches a plot to annihilate the Special Unit. Amidst this bloody struggle between two ultra-powerful institutions, rumors emerge of a secret ‘Wolf Brigade’ being formed within the Special Unit. The human weapons who are called wolves, ‘Illang’ (The Wolf Brigade). LE CAHIER NOIR / THE BLACK BOOK VALERIA SARMIENTO (FRANCE – PORTUGAL) Cast: Lou de Laâge, Stanislas Merhar, Niels Schneider, Jenna Thiam, Fleur Fitoussi, David Caracol, Vasco Varela da Silva, Tiago Varela da Silva The story of the adventures, in the twilight of the eighteenth century, of a singular couple formed by a little orphan with mysterious origins and his young Italian nurse of a similarly uncertain birth. They lead us in their wake, from Rome to Paris, from Lisbon to London, from Parma to Venice. Always followed in the shadows, for obscure reasons, by a suspicious-looking Calabrian and a troubling cardinal, they make us explore the dark intrigues of the Vatican, the pangs of a fatal passion, a gruesome duel, banter at the court of Versailles and the convulsions of the French Revolution. ROJO BENJAMIN NAISHTAT (ARGENTINA – FRANCE – NETHERLANDS – BRAZIL – FRANCE) Cast: Dario Grandinetti, Andrea Frigerio, Alfredo Castro In the mid-1970s a stranger arrives in a quiet provincial town. At a restaurant, for no apparent reason he starts to assault Claudio, a well-known lawyer. The community supports the lawyer and the stranger is humiliated and gets thrown out. Later on the way home, Claudio and his wife Susana are intercepted by the stranger who is determined to take terrible revenge on him. The lawyer then starts out on a road of no-return, of death, secrets and silences. VISION NAOMI KAWASE (JAPAN – FRANCE) Cast: Juliette Binoche, Masatoshi Nagase Jeanne, a French journalist, comes to Japan in search of ‘Vision’, a rare medicinal herb said to strip away all spiritual anguish and weaknesses in human beings. She knows that ‘Vision’ only appears once every 997 years under special conditions and that time is near. Aki, a wise villager who knows the forest well, prophesies the arrival of the mysterious ‘One’ and then disappears. Tomo, who was devoted to Aki, works as a keeper of the forests and is beginning to sense, instinctively, recent changes in the mountains. Is there a connection between the disappearance of Aki and the changes taking place in the forest? Will Jeanne succeed in finding the phantom herb Vision? A millennial event is taking place in the Yoshino mountains of Nara, opening a door to the One and the true potential of human existence.
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Billy Wilder’s SOME LIKE IT HOT and More in Venezia Classici Lineup of 75th Venice International Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_30765" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] SOME LIKE IT HOT[/caption] Since 2012, the Venezia Classici of the Venice International Film Festival has been presenting the world premieres of a selection of the best restorations of classic films conducted over the previous year by film libraries, cultural institutions and productions all over the world. Curated by Alberto Barbera in collaboration with Stefano Francia di Celle, Venezia Classici also presents a selection of documentaries about cinema and its filmmakers. The Jury, chaired by Italian director Salvatore Mereu (Three Steps Dancing, Pretty Butterflies), is composed of 26 cinema history students – nominated by their professors – from Italian universities, DAMS performing arts courses, and Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, and will award the VENEZIA CLASSICI AWARD for the BEST RESTORED FILM and the BEST DOCUMENTARY ON CINEMA. The numerous restored masterpieces in the Venezia Classici section of the 75th Venice International Film Festival include: The Night of the Shooting Stars (1982) by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, Il posto (1961) by Ermanno Olmi, The Ascent (1976) by Larisa Shepitko, The Place Without Limits (1977) by Arturo Ripstein, The Brick and the Mirror (1964) by Ebrahim Golestan, Adieu Philippine (1962) by Jacques Roziers, Last Year in Marienbad (1961, Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival) by Alain Resnais, Some Like It Hot (1959) by Billy Wilder, Street of Shame (1956, Special Mention at the Venice International Film Festival) by Kenji Mizoguchi, The Night Porter (1974) by Liliana Cavani and Love, Thy Name Be Sorrow (1962) by Tomu Uchida. The 75th Venice International Film Festival will be held at the Lido from August 29 to September 8, 2018; it is directed by Alberto Barbera and organized by the Biennale chaired by Paolo Baratta. The list of the films selected for the Venezia Classici section of the 75th Festival:
VENEZIA CLASSICI
THEY LIVE [ESSI VIVONO] by JOHN CARPENTER (USA, 1988, 94’, COL.) restoration: Studiocanal IL PORTIERE DI NOTTE (THE NIGHT PORTER) by LILIANA CAVANI (Italy, 1974, 120’, COL.) restoration: CSC-Cineteca Nazionale and Istituto Luce – Cinecittà THE NAKED CITY [LA CITTÀ NUDA] by JULES DASSIN (USA, 1948, 96’, B/W) restoration: Brook Productions and Master Licensing KHESHT O AYENEH (THE BRICK AND THE MIRROR) by EBRAHIM GOLESTAN (Iran, 1964, 130’, B/W) restoration: Ecran Noir production (Mitra Farahani) and Ebrahim Golestan in collaboration with Cineteca di Bologna AKASEN CHITAI (STREET OF SHAME) [LA STRADA DELLA VERGOGNA] by KENJI MIZOGUCHI (Japan, 1956, 86’, B/W) restoration: Kadokawa Corporation IL POSTO by ERMANNO OLMI (Italy, 1961, 95’, B/W) restoration: Cineteca di Bologna and Titanus L’ANNÉE DERNIÈRE À MARIENBAD (LAST YEAR IN MARIENBAD) [L’ANNO SCORSO A MARIENBAD] by ALAIN RESNAIS (France, Italy, 1961, 94’, B/W) restoration: Studiocanal with the support of Centre National du Cinéma et de l’image animée and Chanel EL LUGAR SIN LÍMITES (THE PLACE WITHOUT LIMITS) [IL LUOGO SENZA LIMITI] by ARTURO RIPSTEIN (Mexico, 1977, 110’, COL.) restoration: Cineteca Nacional México and Imcine ADIEU PHILIPPINE [DESIDERI NEL SOLE] by JACQUES ROZIERS (France, Italy, 1962, 103’, B/W) restoration: Cinémathèque française and A17 with the support of Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée. In collaboration with Les Archives audiovisuelles de Monaco, La Cinémathèque suisse and Extérieur Nuit. VOSKHOZHDENIYE (THE ASCENT) [L’ASCESA] by LARISA SHEPITKO (Russia, 1976, 110’, B/W) restoration: Mosfilm (producer of the restoration Karen Shakhnazarov) THE KILLERS [CONTRATTO PER UCCIDERE] by DON SIEGEL (USA, 1964, 102’, COL.) restoration: Universal Pictures THE KILLERS [I GANGSTERS] by ROBERT SIODMAK (USA, 1946, 95’, B/W) restoration: Universal Pictures LA NOTTE DI SAN LORENZO (THE NIGHT OF THE SHOOTING STARS) by PAOLO E VITTORIO TAVIANI (Italy, 1982, 107’, COL.) restoration: CSC-Cineteca Nazionale and Istituto Luce – Cinecittà KOI YA KOI NASUNA KOI (LOVE, THY NAME BE SORROW aka THE MAD FOX) [LA VOLPE FOLLE] by TOMU UCHIDA (Japan, 1962, 109’, COL.) restoration: Toei Company, Ltd. MORTE A VENEZIA (DEATH IN VENICE) by LUCHINO VISCONTI (Italy, France, USA, 1971, 130’, COL.) restoration: Cineteca di Bologna and Istituto Luce – Cinecittà in collaboration with Warner Bros. and The Criterion Collection NOTHING SACRED [NULLA SUL SERIO] by WILLIAM A. WELLMAN (USA, 1937, 74’, COL.) restoration: The Museum of Modern Art SOME LIKE IT HOT [A QUALCUNO PIACE CALDO] by BILLY WILDER (USA, 1959, 121′, B/W) restoration: Park Circus in collaboration with Metro Goldwyn Mayer and The Criterion Collection The Venezia Classici section will also feature the presentation of a selection of documentaries about cinema and its filmmakers. The complete list of the section will be announced during the press conference presenting the program of the Venice Film Festival, on Wednesday, July 25th at 11 a.m. in Rome (Cinema Moderno). Salvatore Mereu – Biography Salvatore Mereu was born in Dorgali in 1965. After graduating in film directing from the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, he made several short films including Notte rumena (1996), Miguel (1999), Il mare (2004). Starting with his first feature-length film, Ballo a tre passi (Three Steps Dancing, 2003), distinguished by its particular four-part structure, each corresponding to one season of the year, he explores the relationship between tradition and modernity in his native land, Sardinia. For Ballo a tre passi, Mereu won the Settimana della Critica award in Venice in 2003, as well as the David di Donatello and the Ciak d’Oro as best emerging director. He was also nominated for three Nastro d’argento awards including Best Screenplay. His second film, Sonetàula (2008), was presented at the Berlin Film Festival in the Panorama section, and was awarded the Globo d’oro of the Foreign Press, as well as the FIPA d’Or at the Biarritz Film Festival for Best Screenplay. He returned to the Venice Film Festival in 2010 with Tajabone, set among the young students of the middle schools on the outskirts of Cagliari, and in 2012 participated in the Orizzonti section with Bellas mariposas (Pretty Butterflies), from the eponymous book by Sergio Atzeni, the story of two adolescent girls who live in a working-class neighbourhood in Cagliari. The film won him the Schermi di Qualità award at the Venice Film Festival, the Big Screen Award at the Rotterdam Festival. For the same film, he won the Premio Suso Cecchi D’Amico for Best Screenplay and the Premio Tonino Guerra for Best Screenplay at the Bif&st. In 2013, again for the Venice Film Festival, he made the collective film Venezia 70 – Future Reloaded along with 70 directors from around the world, to celebrate the Festival’s 70th edition. For years he has alternated his work as a director with his teaching of image education. He has taught film in various schools around the island, producing several short films with his students (Il mare, La vita adesso, Scegliere per crescere, Futuro prossimo), selected for the most important Italian and international film festivals. In recent years, in collaboration with CELCAM, he has taught a course in film direction and screenwriting at the Department of Humanities and Philosophy at the University of Cagliari. Since 2004, he has been a member of the Accademia del Cinema Italiano.
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Marjan van der Haar Named New Managing Director of International Film Festival Rotterdam

[caption id="attachment_30797" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Marjan van der Haar and Bero Beyer[/caption] Marjan van der Haar, an experienced film industry professional, has been named the new managing director of International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) as of October 1, 2018. Most recently, she was the managing director of Film Producers Netherlands (FPN) from 2010 until 2018. Working alongside festival director Bero Beyer, Van der Haar will be charged with the organization and day-to-day operational management of IFFR. This includes financial policy-making, branding and communication, and solidifying subsidies and sponsorships programs. IFFR’s 48th edition takes place from Wednesday January 23, to Sunday, February 3, 2019 Van der Haar, on her new position: “My connection to IFFR goes way back. I fondly remember volunteering at the last festival edition having Hubert Bals at the steering wheel. This great adventure sparked my career in the film industry. Ever since, I’ve been a vigorous defender of the type of soulful and remarkable films IFFR is known for – as a program coordinator at IFFR, in the world of film sales and in representing Dutch producers for FPN. I’m honoured and excited to return to IFFR, a festival that plays an important role in the international film scene while simultaneously being closely intertwined with the thriving city of Rotterdam, both through its audience and local partnerships. I look forward to working together with the team to strengthen IFFR’s position even further as we roll up to the 50th anniversary edition.” Pieter Broertjes, chairman of the board of IFFR: “Marjan brings a lot to the table. Her experience in the film industry and her extensive network are sure to be of high value to the festival. But her open personality is equally important. We’re confident she’s a great fit for the IFFR team and as one half of the festival’s two-person leadership set-up.” Festival director Bero Beyer: “Marjan will be a great asset to IFFR! I’ve known her for quite some time as an ambitious film professional with a heart for our kind of cinema. Together we will continue doing what the festival has always done: giving a voice to daring cinema, promoting innovation and spearheading new distribution models.” He adds: “IFFR’s 50th edition is only a few years away. I look forward to working with Marjan to reach the aspirations we have formulated for our anniversary edition and to consolidate and build on the adventurous festival expansions we have achieved in recent years.” About Marjan van der Haar After finishing her studies in Theatre Science, Film and Television and Cultural Management in Utrecht in 1991, Marjan van der Haar started working at IFFR’s program department. In this role she coordinated the research of films and was responsible for the program’s budget and logistic planning. In 1995, Van der Haar left IFFR and started working in film sales – first as a sales executive at Fortissimo Films from 1995 until 1999, and later as Fortissimo’s general manager from 2000 to 2010. The distribution agency was known for its good taste in arthouse cinema and international reach. During her time at Fortissimo, Van der Haar had a close connection to IFFR, often visiting the festival’s co-production market CineMart as a film professional. From November 2010 until 2018, Van der Haar served as managing director of Film Producers Netherlands, the Dutch association set up to stimulate a dynamic, creative and internationally oriented film industry in the Netherlands. FPN represents the majority of Dutch producers and advances their opportunities worldwide by collaborating with international co-production and distribution partners, among other things. Van der Haar (1964) has two sons and lives in Amsterdam.
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Steve McQueen’s WIDOWS Starring Viola Davis to Open BFI London Film Festival [Trailer]

[caption id="attachment_30734" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] L-R: Michelle Rodriguez, Viola Davis, and Elizabeth Debicki star in Twentieth Century Fox’s WIDOWS. Photo Credit: Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox.[/caption] The international premiere of Academy Award-winner Steve McQueen’s Widows will open this year’s 62nd BFI London Film Festival on Wednesday October 10 at the Cineworld, Leicester Square. Co-written by McQueen and best-selling novelist and screenwriter Gillian Flynn and starring Academy Award-winner Viola Davis, Widows is a complex thriller about a group of women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands’ criminal activities. A star-studded ensemble cast includes: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Colin Farrell, Daniel Kaluuya and Jacki Weaver with Robert Duvall and Liam Neeson. From Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) and co-writer Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl) comes a blistering, modern-day thriller set against the backdrop of crime, passion and corruption. Taking place in contemporary Chicago, amid a time of political and class turmoil, tensions build when Veronica (Oscar-winner Viola Davis), Alice (Elizabeth Debicki), Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) and Belle (Cynthia Erivo) take their fate into their own hands and conspire to forge a future on their own terms. Widows also stars Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Daniel Kaluuya, Lukas Haas and Brian Tyree Henry. Based on the TV series “Widows” by Lynda La Plante, the film sees Steve McQueen serve as producer, together with Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Arnon Milchan. Widows will be released in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on November 9, 2018. The 62nd BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express takes place from Wednesday October 10 – Sunday October 21, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S3phVSi0tI
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13 Filmmakers to Compete for Kutxabank-New Directors Award at 2018 San Sebastián Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_30728" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Apuntes para una película de atracos (Notes for a Heist Film).[/caption] Thirteen first or second films by European, Asian and Latin American directors that will be competing for the Kutxabank-New Directors Award at the 2018 San Sebastián Film Festival. Koldo Almandoz (San Sebastián, 1973) has had an intense career in the world of short films, linked to the Kimuak programme and to the San Sebastián Festival, which programmed his first short, Razielen itzulera (The Return of Raziel), in 1997 in Zabaltegi, the section in which two decades later he presented his first full-length film, Sipo Phantasma (Ghost Ship), after premiering it in Rotterdam. Oreina (The Deer) is his second feature film. Elías León Siminiani (Santander, Spain, 1971), nominated for a Goya for Mapa (Map), is now presenting Apuntes para una película de atracos (Notes for a Heist Film). For her part, Nataliia Meshchaninova (Krasnodar, Russia, 1982), who competed in Rotterdam with her first full-length film, Kombinat ‘Nadezhda’ / The Hope Factory, focuses on the vet on a farm in Serdtse Mira / Core of the World. And after Ama Doren / Hold my hand, Ismet Sijarina in Nëntor i ftohtë / Cold November returns to the War in the Balkans, in this case to its background, when Kosovo’s autonomy was suppressed. Hadrian Marcu (Brăila, Rumanía, 1976) will be presenting Un om la locul lui / A Decent Man, about a man who is torn by an emotional conflict, that was selected last year in the first Glocal in Progress, the industry activity at the Festival aimed at European films in non-hegemonic languages. It stars Bodgan Dumitrache, who won the Silver Shell for best actor last year for his performance in Pororoca. The selection also includes the first film by Francisco Marise (La Plata, Argentina, 1985), Para la Guerra (To War), coproduced by the filmmaker, Javier Rebollo, who also takes part in the editing process, and the first film by Hiroshi Okuyama (Japan, 1996), the award-winning music video director, who makes his debut with Boku wa Iesu-sama ga kirai / Jesus. The short by Inés María Barrionuevo (Córdoba, Argentina, 1980), La quietud (2012), competed in the official section at Locarno, and her first feature film, Atlántida (2014), was selected at the Berlinale in the Generation 14plus section. In Julia y el zorro (Julia and the Fox) she deals with a woman and her twelve-year-old daughter who are going through a mourning process. The director, producer and actress Lila Avilés (Mexico, 1982), after working in theatre and presenting shorts at international festivals, in her first full-length film, entitled La camarista (The Chambermaid), describes the everyday life of one of the so-called ‘chambermaids’. After winning awards in his short-film career (with films like Teneriffa), Hannes Baumgartner (Männedorf, Switzerland, 1983) has been inspired in his first feature film Der läufer / Midnight Runner, by the true story of an athlete who starts to commit robberies and lead a double life. Snow, the graduation film by Laurits Flensted-Jensen (Aarhus, Denmark, 1985), was selected at Rotterdam and was chosen as best documentary short by the Danish Academy. His fictional short Melon Rainbow was once again programmed at the Dutch festival and won the most important award at Odense. Neon Heart is his first full-length film. After taking part in the Short Film Corner at Cannes with Grasshopper, the Vietnamese director Ash Mayfair (Ho Chi Minh City, 1985) is presenting her feature-film debut at San Sebastián with The Third Wife, whose screenplay was chosen by Spike Lee as the winner of his Spike Lee Film Production Fund Award in 2014. The short film Luisa no está en casa (Luisa is not Home) by Celia Rico Clavellino (Seville, 1982) was chosen in the Short Film Corner at Cannes and at Venice and won the Gaudí award for best short. Her first full-length film, Viaje al cuarto de una madre (Journey to a Mother’s Room), whose screenplay took part in the Berlinale Talents Script Station Lab, stars Lola Dueñas and Anna Castillo. The remaining titles making up the New Directors section will be announced in the coming weeks. APUNTES PARA UNA PELÍCULA DE ATRACOS (NOTES FOR A HEIST FILM) LEÓN SIMINIANI (SPAIN) Elías is a film director who dreamed of making a heist movie. During the summer of 2013 he reads a news story about the arrest of ‘The Vallecas Robin Hood’, the leader of ‘the sewers gang’. He then feels that he has found the opportunity to make his dream come true. He sends him a letter to the prison where he is serving his sentence. Against all odds, Elías receives a reply three weeks later. Robin Hood agrees for him to come and visit him in prison. BOKU WA IESU-SAMA GA KIRAI / JESUS HIROSHI OKUYAMA (JAPAN) Cast: Yura Sato, Riki Okuma Yura is a young boy whose family leaves Tokyo to live with his grandmother in the snowy countryside. Not only must he fit in at a new school, but it’s a Christian one. At first he is puzzled when he and his classmates are called to ‘worship’, but he gradually adjusts to his new environment. One day, in the middle of a prayer, he sees a very small Jesus appear before him. Each wish Yura makes to Jesus comes true, and he starts to have faith in the power of the Lord. DER LÄUFER / MIDNIGHT RUNNER HANNES BAUMGARTNER (SWITZERLAND ) Cast: Max Hubacher, Annina Euling, Luna Wedler, Sylvie Rohrer, Christophe Sermet, Saladin Dellers Jonas Widmer is one of the best runners in Switzerland and his focus is to attend the Olympic games. Besides the sport Jonas is a successful cook and plans to move in with his girlfriend Simone. But Jonas perfect life gets disturbed by the increasing memories of his late brother. He starts a tragic double life by robbing young women at night. After a true story. JULIA Y EL ZORRO (JULIA AND THE FOX) INES MARÍA BARRIONUEVO (ARGENTINA) Cast: Umbra Colombo, Pablo Limarzi, Victoria Castelo Arzubialde Julia, an ex-actress, and her daughter Emma move into a mansion in a village in Córdoba, Argentina. It is winter and Julia needs to fix up the house so she can sell it. Quite a while has gone by since the death of her husband and Emma’s father, but they are still in mourning. The days go gloomily by. Grief has made Julia quiet and cool with her daughter. One night Julia meets Gaspar, a life-long friend of hers. Gaspar tries to convince Julia to take part in a theatre competition. Julia, Emma and Gaspar find a way to rebuild their lives by starting a rather uncertain project to form a new type of family. LA CAMARISTA (THE CHAMBERMAID) LILA AVILÉS (MEXICO – USA) Cast: Gabriela Cartol, Teresa Sánchez Eve is a young chambermaid working in one of the most luxurious hotels in Mexico City, an exclusive glass tower inhabited by guests so wealthy she can only imagine their lives through intimate fantasies of the belongings they’ve left behind. Long, laborious shifts prevent Eve from caring for her child while she helps guests with their own children, but she believes her situation will improve if she gets promoted to work at executive-level suites, for which she accepts a grueling schedule. In keeping with this goal, she also enrolls in the hotel’s adult education program… NËNTOR I FTOHTË / COLD NOVEMBER ISMET SIJARINA (KOSOVO – ALBANIA – FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA) Cast: Kushtrim Hoxha, Adriana Matoshi, Emir Hadzihafizbegovic, Fatmir Spahiu, Majlinda Kosumovic, Bislim Mucaj, Lum Veseli, Aurita Agushi In the beginning of the ’90s, Yugoslavian Government cancelled the autonomy of Kosovo, dissolved its Parliament and closed down the National Television. Whole institutional life was reorganized by new authorities, while the majority of citizens responded with peaceful demonstrations. During this evil time, Fadili who is working as an archivist has to choose between two options, being aware that both of them are wrong. In this way, he involuntarily and unwillingly, ‘swallows’ the shame, endures the pressure coming from all sides and deals with the bad reputation for just one reason: to provide welfare for his family. NEON HEART LAURITS FLENSTED-JENSEN (DENMARK) Cast: Victoria Carmen Sonne, Niklas Herskind, Noah Skovgaard Skands Neon Heart is a story about three people chasing life and each other. Laura is on her way to a porn film casting. Niklas is trying to take care of two men with Down’s Syndrome, and Frederik is out to gain respect as a hooligan. In glimpses and fragments of past and present, we follow the three characters on a journey full of taboos and desires. With a cast of mainly non-actors in authentic environments, Neon Heart confronts its audience with a world we would rather not look at. OREINA (THE DEER) KOLDO ALMANDOZ (SPAIN) Cast: Laulad Ahmed, Patxi Bisquert, Ramón Agirre, Iraia Elías, Erika Olaizola Khalil is a rootless young man who lives on the edge of town, where the industrial estates merge into the river and the marshes. Khalil gets by as best he can and spends his time with an old poacher, who shares a house on the riverbank with a brother who he hasn’t spoken to in years. On the banks of the marshes, the tides mark the time for love and heartbreak, friendship and revenge. PARA LA GUERRA (TO WAR) FRANCISCO MARISE (CUBA – ARGENTINA – SPAIN) Para la guerra explores the memory and loneliness of a Cuban former internationalist soldier by observing his body and (extra)ordinary gestures. This is a bloodless war film without any shooting; a film about a wound, that ‘Sledgehammer’, ‘ El Rayado’, Andrés, has, this special forces veteran who tries to find his colleagues from the commando that survived their last mission 30 years ago. [caption id="attachment_30730" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Core of the World (Serdtse Mira[/caption] SERDTSE MIRA / CORE OF THE WORLD NATALIIA MESHCHANINOVA (RUSSIA) Cast: Stepan Devonin, Dmitriy Podnozov, Jana Sekste Egor is a veterinarian on a rural farm which doubles as a hunting dog training center. He is a grown man, but deep inside he is a child who has been hurt and abandoned by everyone, including his own mother. All he wants is to care for the animals and to feel part of the close-knit family he works for. When animal rights activists invade this fragile microcosm, throwing off its delicate balance, Egor’s world begins to crumble… Or so it seems. THE THIRD WIFE ASH MAYFAIR (VIETNAM) Cast: Trần Nữ Yên Khê, Mai Thu Hường, Nguyễn Phương Trà My, Nguyễn Như Quỳnh In 19th century rural Vietnam, 14-year-old May becomes the third wife of wealthy landowner Hung. Soon she learns that she can only gain status by asserting herself as a woman who can give birth to a male child. May’s hope to change her status turns into a real and tantalizing possibility when she gets pregnant. Faced with forbidden love and its devastating consequences, May finally comes to an understanding of the brutal truth: the options available to her are few and far between. UN OM LA LOCUL LUI / A DECENT MAN HADRIAN MARCU (ROMANIA) Cast: Bogdan Dumitrache, Ada Gales, Madalina Constantin, Iulian Postelnicu, Adrian Titieni Petru is a drilling engineer living in a community of oil industry workers. Petru is quite conflicted. On one hand he is about to get married to his pregnant girlfriend Laura, on the other he is involved with the wife of one of his colleagues, Sonia, who had a serious work-related accident. His new life seems to begin while she feels hers is ending. Everything is thrown into chaos when Laura finds out about his relationship with Sonia. He feels guilt-ridden but also responsible for the upcoming baby. Participant in the first edition of Glocal in Progress. VIAJE AL CUARTO DE UNA MADRE (JOURNEY TO A MOTHER’S ROOM) CELIA RICO CLAVELLINO (SPAIN- FRANCE) Cast: Lola Dueñas, Anna Castillo, Pedro Casablanc Leonor wants to leave home, but she doesn’t dare to tell her mother. Estrella doesn’t want her to leave but is unable to keep her by her side either. Mother and daughter will have to face this new stage in life in which the world that they share starts to fall apart.
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THE TALE Starring Laura Dern to have South African Premiere at Durban International Film Festival [Trailer]

The Tale, starring Laura Dern will have its South African Premiere at this year’s Durban International Film Festival. The director Jennifer Fox will be in attendance at the DIFF to present her film, and at the Durban FilmMart where she will be participating in a panel session entitled The Medium is the Message, where she will be discussing the transition from documentary film-making to narrative film-making. The Tale will screen on Saturday, July 21 at 14:15 at Suncoast CineCentre followed by a screening on July 23 at 16:00 at Musgrave Ster Kinekor. The Tale chronicles one woman’s powerful investigation into her own childhood memories, as she is forced to reexamine her first sexual experience – and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive. The film is written and directed by Sundance Grand Prize winner and Emmy® nominee Jennifer Fox, who based it on her own true story. Starring Laura Dern (Oscar® nominee for “Wild” and “Rambling Rose”; Emmy® winner for HBO’s “Big Little Lies”; Emmy® nominee for HBO’s “Enlightened,” “Recount” and “Afterburn”), together with Isabelle Nélisse (“Mama”), Elizabeth Debicki (“The Night Manager”), Jason Ritter (“Kevin (Probably) Saves the World”), Frances Conroy (Emmy® nominee for HBO’s “Six Feet Under”) and John Heard (Emmy® nominee for HBO’s “The Sopranos”), with Common (Oscar® winner for “Selma”) and Ellen Burstyn (Academy Award® winner for “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”). An accomplished documentarian working in New York, Jennifer (Laura Dern) is completing her latest project about the lives of women around the world. She receives a series of phone calls from her mother, Nettie (Ellen Burstyn), who has found a short story Jennifer wrote at age 13, in which she describes various encounters with her riding instructor, Mrs. G (Elizabeth Debicki), and her running coach, Bill (Jason Ritter), while at summer camp. Nettie is unnerved by the implications of her daughter’s writing, but Jennifer is nonplussed. She has always looked back with fondness on the time she spent with these two charismatic adults. Egged on by Nettie and encouraged by her supportive fiancé (Common), Jennifer yearns to know more and sets out on a journey, 30 years later, to find those people from her past – the children, now adults, who also attended the camp back then – and eventually the coaches themselves. But the more she learns, the more her memories shift and the more questions she unearths. As Jennifer’s frustration mounts, she finds herself turning inward to get to the truth, imagining conversations with her 13-year-old self (Isabelle Nélisse) and even Mrs. G and Bill in an effort to understand how and why events occurred so long ago. An unforgettable meditation on the elusive nature of memory, The Tale is the first narrative feature from Jennifer Fox, whose documentary films have earned international acclaim for their groundbreaking artistry and unflinching honesty. Based on Fox’s own life story, THE TALE sees the filmmaker bravely pushing forward the boundaries of conventional storytelling, creating a dialogue between past and present to illustrate the interplay between memory and trauma. “My goal was not to ask, ‘Did this happen?,’ because I always remembered it,” explains writer and director Fox. “It was, ‘How and why did it happen, and how and why did I spin it as a positive story?’ There was a lightbulb moment when I was making another film about women all around the world, and it seemed that every other woman – regardless of class, culture or color – had an abuse story to tell. Their stories just floored me, because they had a system or a paradigm that looked like my story. Suddenly, I couldn’t see it as my own private little narrative and knew that it was time to investigate what happened in the open space of a fictional film.” [caption id="attachment_30723" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The Tale Director Jennifer Fox[/caption] The Tale is produced by Jennifer Fox, Oren Moverman, Laura Rister, Mynette Louie, Simone Pero, Lawrence Inglee, Sol Bondy, Regina K. Scully, Lynda Weinman and Reka Posta. Julie Parker Benello, Dan Cogan, Geralyn Dreyfous, Wendy Ettinger, Abigail E. Disney, Robert & Penny Fox, Jayme Lemons, Amy Rodrigue, Ali Jazayeri, Jason Van Eman, David Van Eman, Ross Marroso and Ben McConley are executive producers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXpYsr3AL4U
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MIDNIGHT RUNNER – First FOCUS Competition Film Confirmed for 14th Zurich Film Festival

Based on a real-life crime that took place in Berne, Midnight Runner (2018) will screen at the 14th Zurich Film Festival. The Swiss production is one of twelve films to compete for the Golden Eye in the festival’s FOCUS competition section. Director Hannes Baumgartner and the producers Stefan Eichenberger and Ivan Madeo from Contrast Film will be in Zurich to present their film. Midnight Runner tells the story of successful long-distance runner Jonas Widmer, who, in addition to training for the Olympic marathon, is a hard-working chef and forms one half of a stable relationship. Jonas becomes increasingly haunted by memories of his dead brother after failing to defend a home-race title. Unable to express his inner suffering in words, the protagonist’s growing despair leads him to live a tragic double life. Zurich-born director Hannes Baumgartner based his feature film on a real-life Swiss crime. Transposed to the present day, Baumgartner’s interpretation of the actual case is subjective. He presents an ambivalent on-screen character, the actions of whom he attempts to understand as a result of a densely woven network comprising formative experiences, repressive processes and inner turmoil. Midnight Runner is Hannes Baumgartner’s debut feature film. Baumgartner worked on the screenplay together with author Stefan Staub. Actor Max Hubacher, recent winner of the Swiss Film Award for Best Actor for his role in MARIO (2018), plays the lead. Luna Wedler can be seen in a supporting role. This up-and-coming Swiss actress was a guest at last year’s Zurich Film Festival with the winning film BLUE MY MIND (2017). Midnight Runner celebrates its world premiere screening at San Sebastian Film Festival, the Zurich Film Festival’s partner festival. The film hits Swiss cinemas on October 4, 2018, distributed by Filmcoopi Zürich.
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Sarajevo Film Festival Announces 2018 Feature Film Competition Program Lineup

[caption id="attachment_30801" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] LEMONADE[/caption] The Sarajevo Film Festival announced the lineup of its 2018 Feature Film Competition Program. The lineup includes the World Premieres of ALL ALONE, LOVE 1. DOG, ONE AND A HALF PRINCE and THE PIGEON THIEVES.
WORLD PREMIERES
ALL ALONE / SAM SAMCAT Croatia, Netherlands, Serbia, Montenegro, B&H, 2018, 88 min. Director: Bobo Jelčić LOVE 1. DOG / DRAGOSTE 1. CÂINE Romania, Poland, 2018, 103 min. Director: Florin Șerban ONE AND A HALF PRINCE / UN PRINȚ ȘI JUMĂTATE Romania, 2018, 103 min. Director: Ana Lungu THE PIGEON THIEVES / GÜVERCIN HIRSIZLARI Turkey, 2018, 82 min. Director: Osman Doğan
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
MALI Croatia, 2018, 90 min. Director: Antonio Nuić
REGIONAL PREMIERES
ÁGA Bulgaria, Germany, France, 2018, 96 min. Director: Milko Lazarov HORIZON / HORIZONTI Georgia, Sweden, 2018, 105 min. Director: Tinatin Kajrishvili LEMONADE Romania, Canada, Germany, Sweden, 2018, 88 min. Director: Ioana Uricaru ONE DAY / EGY NAP Hungary, 2018, 99 min. Director: Zsófia Szilágyi THE LOAD / TERET Serbia, France, Croatia, Iran, Qatar, 2018, 98 min. Director: Ognjen Glavonić
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Documentary THE FUN’S NOT OVER on South African Musician James Phillips to Premiere at Durban International Film Festival

Durban filmmaker Michael Cross’ award-winning documentary film, “The Fun’s Not Over – The James Phillips Story” will have its local premiere at the Durban International Film Festival on Saturday July 21, 2018. The film, which recently won the Audience Award when it premiered at this years 20th Encounters South African International Documentary Film Festival, tells the story of the life and untimely death of James Phillips who died aged 36 in July 1995. He was a composer, musician, bandleader and the voice and conscience of a generation of white South Africans. Cross’ film examines his extraordinary journey and his multiple musical incarnations. Phillips’ Afrikaans alter ego Bernoldus Niemand’s 1983 single, “Hou My Vas Korporaal” (“Hold Me Tightly, Corporal”) became an anthem of the End Conscription Campaign and spawned “alternative” Afrikaans rock music and the Voëlvry movement. In 1985, with his beloved Cherry Faced Lurchers, he recorded the gut-wrenching “Shot Down” that addressed both white privilege and the violence of the apartheid state. James Phillips’ legacy is that of one of this country’s most aware, articulate and passionate artists. He was a genius, a satirist, a poet and probably one of the most accomplished songwriters that South Africa has ever produced. “The Fun’s Not Over” tells James’ story in his own words and through the voices of journalists like Max du Preez, satirists Zapiro and Pieter Dirk Uys, his musical collaborators and label-mates like Koos Kombuis and Vusi Mahlasela, contemporary artists like Jack Parow and his friends and family. [caption id="attachment_30690" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Filmmaker Michael Cross of “The Fun’s Not Over – The James Phillips Story”[/caption] “The Fun’s Not Over – The James Phillips Story” will screen in competition, for Best South African Documentary Feature at the 39th Durban International Film Festival on Saturday July 21, 2018 at Musgrave 3 at 20:00 and Wednesday July 25, 2018 at Musgrave 3 at 18:00.
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71st Locarno Festival Announces Complete Film Program Lineup, Jury + Tributes

[caption id="attachment_30681" align="aligncenter" width="1023"] I FEEL GOOD by Benoît Delépine, Gustave Kervern[/caption] The official program of the 71st edition of the Locarno Festival was announced at a press conference today, Wednesday July 11, 2018. The line-up for the official juries was also announced as were tributes to Wolf-Eckart Bühler, Pierre Rissient, Francis Reusser and Claude Lanzmann. The 71st Locarno Festival will take place from August 1 to 11, 2018. In the program introduction, Carlo Chatrian, Artistic director, notes “This year’s program also includes films that, instead of portraying the conflicts raging around the world, concentrate on private stories, while allowing the present to resonate like the echoes of a thunderstorm. Examples are Yara by Abbas Fahdel, who following his epic Homeland (Iraq Year Zero) has left the war zone to plunge into the Lebanese countryside; or the portrait which Ethan Hawke – Excellence Award 2018 – dedicates in the eponymous film to the musician BLAZE, conflicted but charming hero, a rebel against the system and a profoundly free spirit, fated for a tragic end. These are just two films that create a bond between the self and the world, between the details of an individual life and the universal truths revealed by their story. Another of their common traits is also found in many other titles: the courage shown by their protagonists when faced with an insurmountable obstacle. Perhaps that’s why these and so many other films this year simply take a name for their title (Diane, Alice T., M., Menocchio, Sibel, Ray & Liz, Siyabonga). It may well be a sign of renewed trust in film as an art form capable of telling the stories of men and women without filtering them through symbolism, proof that the human face may be back as the be-all and end-all of a film. If so, I should like to present this year’s program as a single, magnificent and very long portrait gallery of unique faces, disarming even when well aware of the artfulness of their fiction. From Stan Laurel to the young Israeli Menahem and his disturbing statements in M.; from Mae West’s opulence to the sublime beauty of Julio Bressane’s muse in Sedução da Carne; from the discreet charm of Ingrid Bergman to the appeal of Noée Abita in Genèse; from the madcap elegance of Irene Dunne to the disenchanted appeal of Mary Kay Place in Diane.”
Official Juries

The Jury of the Concorso internazionale
President: Jia Zhang-ke, Filmmaker (China) Emmanuel Carrère, Writer (France) Sean Baker, Filmmaker (United States of America) Tizza Covi, Filmmaker (Italy/Austria) Isabella Ragonese, Actress (Italy)
The Jury of the Concorso Cineasti del presente
President: Andrei Ujică, Filmmaker (Romania) Ben Rivers, Filmmaker (United Kingdom) Lætitia Dosch, Actress (Switzerland/France)
The Jury of the Pardi di domani
President: Yann Gonzalez, Filmmaker (France) Deepak Rauniyar, Filmmaker (Nepal) Marta Mateus, Filmmaker (Portugal)
The Jury of Signs of Life
Emilie Bujès, Festival Director (Switzerland) Josh Siegel, Curator (United States of America) Tiziana Finzi, Curator (Italy)
The Jury of the First Feature
Funa Maduka, Creative and Acquisitions Executive (United States of America) Susan Vahabzadeh, Film Critic (Germany) Kieron Corless, Film Critic (United Kingdom)
Piazza Grande
BLACKKKLANSMAN by Spike Lee USA – 2018 – 135’ with John David Washington, Adam Driver, Topher Grace, Corey Hawkins, Laura Harrier, Ryan Eggold, Jaspar Pääkkönen, Ashlie Atkinson Production: Focus Features Swiss distributor: Universal Pictures International Switzerland BLAZE by Ethan Hawke USA – 2017 – 128’ with Ben Dickey, Alia Shawkat, Josh Hamilton, Charlie Sexton Production: Under the Influence Productions, Ansgar Media/Village Studios, Cinetic Media Swiss distributor: Look Now! Film Distribution International Premiere COINCOIN ET LES Z’INHUMAINS by Bruno Dumont France – 2018 – 4×52’ with Alane Delhaye, Bernard Pruvost, Philippe Jore, Julien Bodart, Christophe Verheeck, Alexia Depret, Lucy Caron, Marie-Josée Wlodarczack, Jason Cirot, Nicolas Leclaire, Priscilla Benoist Production: Taos Films Co-production: ARTE France Cinéma World Sales: Doc & Film International Swiss distributor: Praesens-Film World Premiere Closing Film I FEEL GOOD by Benoît Delépine, Gustave Kervern France – 2018 – 103’ with Jean Dujardin, Yolande Moreau Production: JD PROD, No Money Productions Co-production: ARTE France Cinéma, Hugar Prod World Sales: Wild Bunch Swiss distributor: Praesens-Film World Premiere LE VENT TOURNE by Bettina Oberli Switzerland/France – 2018 – 86’ with Mélanie Thierry, Pierre Deladonchamps, Nuno Lopes, Anastasia Shevtsova Production: Rita Productions Co-production: Silex Films World Sales: Be for Films Swiss distributor: Filmcoopi Zürich World Premiere Opening Film LES BEAUX ESPRITS by Vianney Lebasque France – 2017 – 93’ with Ahmed Sylla, Olivier Barthelemey, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Camélia Jordana Production: Monkey Pack Films, M.E.S Productions World Sales: SND Distribution Swiss distributor: Impuls Pictures World Premiere LIBERTY by Leo McCarey USA – 1929 – 23’ – Intertitles English with Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Tom Kennedy, Sam Lufkin, James Finlayson Production: Hal Roach Studios L’ORDRE DES MÉDECINS by David Roux France – 2018 – 93’ with Jérémie Renier, Marthe Keller, Zita Hanrot Production: ElianeAntoinette, Reboot Films World Sales: Pyramide International World Premiere, First Feature L’OSPITE by Duccio Chiarini Italy/Switzerland/France – 2018 – 94’ with Daniele Parisi, Silvia D’Amico, Anna Bellato, Thony ., Sergio Pierattini, Milvia Marigliano, Daniele Natali, Guglielmo Favilla Production: Mood Film Co-production: House on Fire, Cinédokké, Relief World Sales: Urban Distribution International Swiss distributor: First Hand Films World Premiere MAYNILA SA MGA KUKO NG LIWANAG (Manila in the Claws of Light) by Lino Brocka Philippines – 1975 – 126’ with Hilda Koronel, Bembol Roco, Lou Salvador Jr., Joonee Gamboa Production: Cinema Artists PÁJAROS DE VERANO (Birds of Passage) by Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra Colombia – 2018 – 125’ with Carmina Martinez, José Acosta, John Narváez, José Vicente Cotes, Juan Martinez, Natalia Reyes Production: Ciudad Lunar Bogota World Sales: Films Boutique Swiss distributor: trigon-film RUBEN BRANDT, COLLECTOR by Milorad Krstic Hungary – 2018 – 94’ with Gabriella Hámori Hámori, Iván Kamarás, Csaba “Kor” Márton Production: Ruben Brandt LLC. World Premiere, First Feature SE7EN by David Fincher USA – 1995 – 127’ with Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, John C. McGinley Production: Cecchi Gori Pictures, Juno Pix, New Line Cinema World Sales: Park Circus SEARCHING by Aneesh Chaganty USA – 2018 – 101’ with John Cho, Debra Messing, Joseph Lee, Michelle La, Sara Sohn Swiss distributor: Sony Pictures Releasing Switzerland First Feature THE EQUALIZER 2 by Antoine Fuqua USA – 2018 – 121’ Swiss distributor: Sony Pictures Releasing Switzerland with Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo, Jonathan Scarfe UN NEMICO CHE TI VUOLE BENE by Denis Rabaglia Italy/Switzerland – 2018 – 97’ with Denis Rabaglia, Diego Abatantuono, Antonio Folletto, Mirko Trovato, Sandra Milo, Roberto Ciufoli, Annabella Calabrese, Gisella Donadoni Production: Falkor Production Co-production: Turnus Film Swiss distributor: Filmcoopi Zürich World Premiere WAS UNS NICHT UMBRINGT by Sandra Nettelbeck Germany – 2018 – 110’ with August Zirner, Johanna Ter Steege, Barbara Auer, Oliver Broumis, Jenny Schily, Christian Berkel Production: Sommerhaus filmproduktion Co-production: Zdf, Cine Plus Filmpoduktion, RuhrsoundStudios World Sales: Beta Cinema World Premiere
Concorso internazionale
A FAMILY TOUR by YING Liang Taiwan/Hong Kong/Singapore/Malaysia – 2018 – 107’ with An Nai, Zhe Gong, Pete Teo, Xin Yue Tham Production: Taiwan Public Television Service, 90 Minutes Film Studio, Potocol, Shine Pictures World Sales: Golden Scene World Premiere A LAND IMAGINED by YEO Siew Hua Singapore/France/Netherlands – 2018 – 95’ with Peter Yu, Xiaoyi Liu, Luna Kwok, Jack Tan, Ishtiaque Zico Production: Akanga Film Asia, mm2 Entertainment, Films de Force Majeure, Volya Films World Premiere ALICE T. by Radu Muntean Romania/France/Sweden – 2018 – 105’ with Andra Guti, Mihaela Sîrbu, Cristine Hămbăşanu, Ela Ionescu, Bogdan Dumitrache Production: Multi Media Est Co-production: Les Film de l’apres-Midi, Chimney, Film i Väst World Sales: Films Boutique World Premiere DIANE by Kent Jones USA – 2018 – 94’ with Mary Kay Place, Jake Lacy, Andrea Martin, Estelle Parsons, Deirdre O’Connell, Joyce van Patten, Phyllis Somerville, Glynnis O’Connor Production: AgX, Sight Unseen Pictures World Sales: Visit Films International Premiere GANGBYUN HOTEL (Hotel by the River) by HONG Sangsoo South Korea – 2018 – 96’ with KI Joobong, KIM Minhee, SONG Seonmi, KWON Haehyo, YU Junsang Production: Jeonwonsa Film World Sales: Finecut World Premiere GENÈSE by Philippe Lesage Canada – 2018 – 130’ with Noée Abita, Théodore Pellerin, Édouard Tremblay-Grenier, Pier-Luc Funk, Émilie Bierre, Maxime Dumontier, Paul Ahmarani, Jules Roy Sicotte, Antoine Marchand-Gagnon Production: Productions l’unité centrale World Sales: Be For Films World Premiere GLAUBENBERG by Thomas Imbach Switzerland – 2018 – 115’ with Zsofia Körös, Francis Meier, Milan Peschel, Bettina Stucky, Morgane Ferru, Nikola Šošić, Ilayda Akdoğan, Gonca De Haas, Erol Afşin Production: Okofilm Productions World Premiere LA FLOR by Mariano Llinás Argentina – 2018 – 815’ with Elisa Carricajo, Pilar Gamboa, Valeria Correa, Laura Paredes Production: El Pampero Cine International Premiere M by Yolande Zauberman France – 2018 – 106’ with Menahem Lang Production: CG Cinema, Phobics World Premiere MENOCCHIO by Alberto Fasulo Italy/Romania – 2018 – 103’ with Marcello Martini Production: Nefertiti Film Co-production: RAI Cinema, Hai Hui Entertainment World Premiere RAY & LIZ by Richard Billingham United Kingdom – 2018 – 108’ with Ella Smith, Justin Salinger, Patrick Romer, Deirdre Kelly, Sam Gittins, Joshua Millard-Lloyd Production: Primitive Film World Sales: Luxbox World Premiere, First Feature SIBEL by Çağla Zencirci, Guillaume Giovanetti Turkey/France/Germany/Luxembourg – 2018 – 95’ Production: Les Films du Tambour Co-production: Riva Filmproduktion, Bidibul Productions, Mars Production, Reborn Production World Sales: Pyramide International World Premiere TARDE PARA MORIR JOVEN by Dominga Sotomayor Chile/Brazil/Argentina/Netherlands/Qatar – 2018 – 110’ with Demian Hernández, Antar Machado, Magdalena Tótoro, Matías Oviedo, Antonia Zegers, Alejandro Goic, Mercedes Mujica, Eyal Meyer, Gabriel Cañas, Andrés Aliaga Production: Cinestación, RT Features Co-production: Ruda Cine, Circe Films World Premiere WINTERMÄRCHEN by Jan Bonny Germany – 2018 – 125’ with Thomas Schubert, Ricarda Seifried, Jean-Luc Bubert Production: Heimatfilm World Premiere YARA by Abbas Fahdel Lebanon/Iraq/France – 2018 – 101’ with Michelle Wehbe, Elias Freifer, Mary Alkady, Elias Alkady, Charbel Alkady Production: Stalker Production World Premier
Concorso Cineasti del presente
ALLES IST GUT by Eva Trobisch Germany – 2018 – 93’ with Aenne Schwarz, Andreas Döhler, Hans Löw, Tilo Nest, Lisa Hagmeister, Lina Wendel Production: TRIMAFILM Co-production: Starhaus FilmproduktionInternational International Premiere, First Feature CEUX QUI TRAVAILLENT by Antoine Russbach Switzerland/Belgium – 2018 – 102’ with Olivier Gourmet, Adèle Bochatay, Delphine Bibet, Michel Voïta, Pauline Schneider Production: Box Productions Co-production: Novak Prod World Sales: Be For Films Swiss distributor: Outside the Box World Premiere, First Feature CHAOS by Sara Fattahi Austria/Syria/Lebanon/Qatar – 2018 – 100’ Production: Little Magnet Films World Premiere CLOSING TIME by Nicole Vögele Switzerland/Germany – 2018 – 116’ with KUO Chung-Shu, LIN Li-Jiao Production: Beauvoir Films Co-production: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg World Sales: Taskovski Films Swiss distributor: Xenix Filmdistribution World Premiere FAMILIA SUMERGIDA by María Alché Argentina/Brazil/Germany/Norway – 2018 – 91’ with Mercedes Morán, Marcelo Subiotto, Esteban Bigliardi, Diego Velazquez, Laila Maltz Production: Pasto Cine Co-production: Bubbles Project, Pandora Film Produktion, 4 1/2 World Premiere, First Feature FAUSTO by Andrea Bussmann Mexico/Canada – 2018 – 70’ with Victor Pueyo, Fernando Renjifo, Ziad Chakaroun, Alberto Núñez, Gabino Rodríguez World Premiere, First Feature HATZLILA (The Dive) by Yona Rozenkier Israel – 2018 – 90’ with Yoel Rozenkier, Micha Rozenkier, Yona Rozenkier, Claudia Dulitchi, Miki Marmor, Daniel Sabag, Shmuel Edelman Production: Gaudeamus Productions World Sales: Stray Dogs International Premiere, First Feature JIAO QU DE NIAO (Suburban Birds) by QIU Sheng China – 2018 – 118’ with LEE Mason, HUANG Lu Production: Chan Films Co-production: Flash Forward Entertainment World Sales: Luxbox, Flash Forward Entertainment International Premiere, First Feature L’ÉPOQUE by Matthieu Bareyre France – 2018 – 94’ Production: Artisans du Film Co-production: Alter Ego, ADF L’Atelier World Sales: BAC Films World Premiere, First Feature LIKEMEBACK by Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli Italy/Croatia – 2018 – 80’ with Angela Fontana, Denise Tantucci, Blu Yoshimi, Goran Marković Production: Nightswim, Essentia, RAI Cinema, Indiana Production Co-production: Antitalent World Sales: Media Luna World Premiere NEBULA (DEAD HORSE NEBULA) by Tarık Aktaş Turkey – 2018 – 73’ with Barış Bilgi, Ali Beyazit, Ömer Bora, Serkan Aydın, Dilara Topuklular, Hasan Türker, Mümin Süren Production: Hay Film World Premiere, First Feature SIYABONGA (We are thankul) by Joshua Magor SouthAfrica/United Kingdom – 2018 – 93’ with Siyabonga Majola, Sabelo Khoza, Xolani Malinga, Percy Zulu, Amanda Ncube, Ntokozo Mkhize, Sibusiso Nzama, Luthando Ngcobo, Mancane Dlomo, Nkanyiso Ndumiso, Nonduh Zuma, Mondli Ndlovu, Joshua Magor Production: Other People World Sales: Other People World Premiere, First Feature SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS by Virgil Vernier France – 2018 – 98’ with Dewi Kunetz, Sandra Poitoux, Hugues Njiba-Mukuna, Bruck , Lilith Grasmug Production: Kazak Productions World Sales: mk2 Films World Premiere TEGNAP (Hier) by Bálint Kenyeres Hungary/Germany/France/Netherlands/Morocco/Sweden – 2018 – 119’ with Vlad Ivanov, Feodor Atkine, Jo Prestia, Rainer Kühn, Djemel Barek, Nadia Niazi, Amine Ennaji, Salah Bensalah, Gamil Ratib, Oussama Oussous, Mohamed Rabiaa, Abdelhamid Ait Abbou Ali, Milhoudia Nassih, Toulou Kiki, Johanna Ter Steege, Issaka Sawadogo, Jacques Weber Production: Mirage Film Co-production: One Two Films, Les Films de l’Après-Midi, Film i Väst, Chimney, La Prod, Saarländischer Rundfunk, Eye-Lite, Travissss Film, Rotterdam Films World Premiere, First Feature TEMPORADA (Long way Home) by André Novais Oliveira Brazil – 2018 – 112’ with Grace Passô, Russo APR, Rejane Faria, Renato Novaes, Juliana Abreu, Hélio Ricardo Production: Filmes de Plástico World Sales: FiGa Films World Premiere TROTE by Xacio Baño Spain/Lithuania – 2018 – 83’ with María Vázquez, Celso Bugallo, Diego Anido, Tamara Canosa Production: Frida Films Co-production: M-Films World Premiere, First Feature
Pardi di domani

Concorso internazionale
3 ANOS DEPOIS by Marco Amaral – Portugal – 2018 – 13’ A COLD SUMMER NIGHT by Yash Sawant – India – 2018 – 21’ D’UN CHÂTEAU L’AUTRE by Emmanuel Marre – Belgium/France – 2018 – 40’ EL LABERINTO by Laura Huertas Millán – France/Colombia/USA – 2018 – 21’ FRASE D’ARME by Federico Di Corato – Italy/France – 2018 – 30’ FUCK YOU by Anette Sidor – Sweden – 2018 – 15’ GRBAVICA by Manel Raga Raga – Portugal/Bosnia and Herzegovina/Spain – 19’ HEART OF HUNGER by Bernardo Zanotta – Netherlands – 2018 – 29’ HI I NEED TO BE LOVED by Marnie Ellen Hertzler – USA – 2018 – 11’ JE SORS ACHETER DES CIGARETTES by Osman Cerfon – France – 2018 – 13’ KAUKAZAS (Caucasus) by Laurynas Bareisa – Lithuania – 2018 – 14’ LA CARTOGRAPHE by Nathan Douglas – Canada – 2018 – 34’ LA MÁXIMA LONGITUD DE UN PUENTE by Simón Vélez – Colombia/Argentina – 2018 – 13’ LAST YEAR WHEN THE TRAIN PASSED BY by HUANG Pang-Chuan – France – 2018 – 17’ LUNAR-ORBIT RENDEZVOUS by Mélanie Charbonneau – Canada – 2018 – 15’ MALO SE SJEĆAM TOG DANA (I Can Barely Remember the Day) by Leon Lučev – Croatia – 2018 – 21’ MY EXPANDED VIEW by Corey Hughes – USA – 2018 – 8’ OUT by Alon Sahar – Israel – 2018 – 27’ PATUL LUI PROCUST (Bed of Procustes) by Andrian Împărățel – Romania – 2018 – 17’ REKONSTRUKCE (Reconstruction) by Jiří Havlíček, Ondřej Novák – Czech Republic – 2017 – 16’ RENEEPOPTOSIS by Renee Zhan – USA/Japan – 2018 – 9’ SARAS INTIME BETROELSER (Sara’s Intimate Confessions) by Emilie Blichfeldt – Norway – 2018 – 22’ SASHLELI (Eraser) by Davit Pirtskhalava – Georgia – 2018 – 18’ SMERT MENYA (The Death of Father Men) by Mikhail Maksimov – Russia – 2018 – 12’ THE SILENCE OF THE DYING FISH by Vasilis Kekatos – Greece/France – 2018 – 19’ TOURNEUR by Yalda Afsah – Germany – 2018 – 14’ VIOLETA + GUILLERMO by Óscar Vincentelli – Spain/Venezuela – 2018 – 6’ WORDS, PLANETS by Laida Lertxundi – USA/Spain – 2018 – 11’ ZHI SHUO YI CI (Dream Speaking) by CHAN Paine – China – 2018 – 19’
Concorso nazionale
ABIGAÏL by Magdalena Froger – Switzerland – 2018 – 20’ CIRCUIT by Delia Hess – Switzerland – 2018 – 8’ EVA by Xheni Alushi – Switzerland – 2018 – 15’ FAIT DIVERS by Léon Yersin – Switzerland – 2018 – 17’ HIER by Loïc Kreyden – Switzerland – 2018 – 4’ ICI LE CHEMIN DES ÂNES by Lou Rambert Preiss – Switzerland – 2018 – 22’ IN LOVING MEMORY OF THE FUTURE by Laurence Favre – Switzerland/Germany – 2018 – 8’ LA SOURCE by Yatoni Roy Cantù – Switzerland – 2018 – 16’ LE SENS DE LA MARCHE by Jela Hasler – Switzerland – 2018 – 9’ LES ÎLES DE BRISSOGNE by Juliette Riccaboni – Switzerland – 2018 – 23’ LOS QUE DESEAN by Elena López Riera – Spain/Switzerland – 2018 – 24’ MONTE AMIATA by Tommaso Donati – Switzerland – 2018 – 22’ SELFIES by Claudius Gentinetta – Switzerland – 2018 – 4′
Signs of Life
Awards The Jury awards the following prizes: Signs of Life Award ELECTRONIC-ART FOUNDATION to the Best Film 5,ooo CHF to the director. Casa Wabi-Mantarraya Award Fundación Casa Wabi and Mantarraya Productions, in partnership with Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia, will support the Fundación Casa Wabi – Mantarraya Award, consisting in a residence at Casa Wabi – Puerto Escondido (Mexico) lasting between 1 to 1.5 months. These prizes can not be awarded ex aequo. A ROOM WITH A COCONUT VIEW by Tulapop Saenjaroen Thailand – 2018 – 28’ Production: Electric Eel Films World Premiere COMMUNION LOS ANGELES by Adam R. Levine, Peter Bo Rappmund USA – 2018 – 68’ World Premiere COMO FERNANDO PESSOA SALVOU PORTUGAL by Eugène Green Portugal/France/Belgium – 2018 – 27’ with Eugène Green, Carloto Cotta, Manuel Mozos, Diogo Dória, Alexandre Pieroni Calado, Ricardo Gross, Mia Tomé Production: Les Films du Fleuve, Noodles Production, O Som E A Fúria World Sales: Agencia – Portuguese Short Film Agency International Premiere DULCINEA by Luca Ferri Italy – 2018 – 66’ with Vincenzo Turca, Naomi Morello, Dario Bacis Production: ENECE FILM World Premiere GULYABANI by Gürcan Keltek Netherlands/Turkey – 2018 – 32’ with Zeynep Kumral Production: 29P Films BV World Premiere HAI SHANG CHENG SHI (The Fragile House) by LIN Zi China – 2018 – 81’ with ZENG Xiaolian, WOO Hye Kyung, XIAO Jie, SANG Guosheng, REN Yue World Premiere, First Feature JING LI DE REN (Man in the Well) by Hu Bo China – 2017 – 16’ with ZHANG Xiaoqian, QU Yiyi, GAO Tieguang Production: FIRST International Film Festival World Sales: Rediance World Premiere LA CASA DE JULIO IGLESIAS by Natalia Marín Spain – 2018 – 12’ World Premiere LE DISCOURS D’ACCEPTATION GLORIEUX DE NICOLAS CHAUVIN by Benjamin Crotty France – 2018 – 26’ with Ragnar Arni Agustsson, Alexis Manenti, Pauline Jacquard, Caroline Deruas, Antoine Cholet, Rei Yazaki Production: Les Films du Bal World Premiere SEDUÇÃO DA CARNE by Júlio Bressane Brazil – 2018 – 70’ with Mariana Lima Production: TB Produções World Premiere SOBRE TUDO SOBRE NADA by Dídio Pestana Portugal – 2018 – 90’ Production: Kintop World Sales: Kintop World Premiere, First Feature THE GRAND BIZARRE by Jodie Mack USA – 2018 – 60’ World Premiere, First Feature TIRSS, RIHLAT ALSOO’OUD ILA ALMAR’I (Erased, Ascent of the Invisible) by Ghassan Halwani Lebanon – 2018 – 74’ World Sales: mec film World Premiere, First Feature VESLEMØY’S SONG by Sofia Bohdanowicz Canada – 2018 – 9’ with Deragh Campbell, Joan Benac, Steve Benac World Premiere
Fuori concorso
AMUR SENZA FIN by Christoph Schaub Switzerland – 2018 – 91’ with Rebecca Indermaur, Bruno Cathomas, Tonia Maria Zindel, Beat Marti, Murali Perumal, Marietta Jemmi, René Schnoz Production: Zodiac Pictures, SRG SSR World Premiere DE CHAQUE INSTANT by Nicolas Philibert France/Japan – 2018 – 105’ Production: France 3 Cinéma, Longride, Archipel 35 World Sales: Doc & Film International World Premiere INSULAIRE by Stéphane Goël Switzerland – 2018 – 92’ Production: Climage World Premiere MUDAR LA PIEL by Ana Schulz, Cristóbal Fernández Spain – 2018 – 89’ with Juan Gutierrez, Frauke Schulz Utermöhl, Ana Schulz, Mingo Rafols Production: Sr. y Sra. Co-production: Labyrinth Films World Premiere, First Feature MY HOME, IN LYBIA by Martina Melilli Italy – 2018 – 66’ with Mahmoud , Antonio Melilli, Narcisa Bertipaglia Production: Stefilm World Sales: Deckert Distribution World Premiere, First Feature NARCISSISTER ORGAN PLAYER by Narcissister USA – 2017 – 92’ with Narcissister , Sarah Lumpkin, Oscar Lumpkin, Bernard Lumpkin, Carmine Boccuzzi Production: Narcissister International Premiere, First Feature ORA E SEMPRE RIPRENDIAMOCI LA VITA by Silvano Agosti Italy – 2018 – 94’ with Bernardo Bertolucci, Dario Fo, Franca Rame, Nuto Revelli, Massimo Cacciari Production: Edizioni l’Immagine World Sales: Edizioni l’Immagine, Istituto Luce Cinecittà World Premiere RŪGŠTUS MIŠKAS (Acid Forest) by Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė Lithuania – 2018 – 63’ Production: neon realism World Sales: neon realism World Premiere, First Feature SEMBRA MIO FIGLIO by Costanza Quatriglio Italy/Croatia/Belgium – 2018 – 103’ with Basir Ahang, Tihana Lazovic, Dawood Yousefi Production: Ascent Film Co-production: Caviar Films, Antitalent World Sales: True Colours World Premiere THE SENTENCE by Rudy Valdez USA – 2018 – 87’ Production: Park Pictures World Sales: Cinetic Media International Premiere, First Feature WALKING ON WATER by Andrey Paounov USA/Italy – 2018 – 100’ with Christo, Vladimir Yavachev Production company: Kotva Films C-production company: Ring Film World Sales: CAA (Creative Artists Agency) World Premiere
Shorts
SHORT POLAR COLLECTION CANAL+ / SO FILM 4 “thriller” short films from the Canal+ / So Film genre À NOUS DEUX ! by Marie Loustalot – France – 2018 – 20’ DIVERSION by Mathieu Mégemont – France – 2018 – 23’ LA BELLE AFFAIRE by Constance Meyer – France – 2018 – 23’ TOMATIC by Christophe Saber – France/Switzerland – 2018 – 20
Open Doors Screenings
The Open Doors Screenings (1 – 11 August 2018) will present to the Locarno audience a selection of shorts and feature films that are particularly representative of the world of contemporary cinema in a particular area of the South and East world. This year, the section will end its three-year cycle on South Asia, bringing to Locarno films from the contemporary scene of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Full-length features
DEMONS IN PARADISE by Jude Ratnam – Sri Lanka/France – 2017 – 93’ LAILA AT THE BRIDGE by Gulistan Mirzaei, Elizabeth Mirzaei – Canada/Afghanistan – 2018 – 97’ LIVE FROM DHAKA by Abdullah Mohammad Saad – Bangladesh – 2016 – 91’ MUNMO TASHI KHYIDRON (Honeygiver Among the Dogs) by Dechen Roder – Bhutan – 2016 – 132’ SETO SURYA (White Sun) by Deepak Rauniyar – Nepal/USA/Qatar/Netherlands – 2016 – 89’ THE ROAD TO MANDALAY by Midi Z – Taiwan/Myanmar/France/Germany – 2016 – 108’ THUNDENEK (Her. Him. The other) by Asoka Handagama, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Prasanna Vithanage – Sri Lanka – 2018 – 153’ ZINDA BHAAG (Run for your Life) by Meenu Gaur, Farjad Nabi – Pakistan/India – 2013 – 115’
Short films
298-C by Nida Mehboob – Pakistan – 2018 – 15’ – World Première A SONG OF SILENCE by Kelzang Dorjee – Bhutan – 2016 – 16’ DADYAA: THE WOODPECKERS OF ROTHA by Pooja Gurung, Bibhusan Basnet – Nepal/France – 2016 – 17’ DEATH OF A READER by Mahde Hasan – Bangladesh – 2017 – 9’ DIA by Hamza Bangash – Pakistan/United Kingdom – 2018 – 24’ – World Première SILVER BANGLES by Roshan Bikram Thakuri – Nepal – 2017 – 15’ SORKHE TIRAH (Dark Red) by Diana Saqeb – Afghanistan – 2017 – 19’ – World Première SUPERMONK by Shenang Gyamjo Tamang – Nepal/Taiwan – 2018 – 19’ – World Première THE LAST POST OFFICE by Aung Rakhine – Bangladesh – 2018 – 20’ – World Première THE OPEN DOOR by Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk – Bhutan/United Kingdom – 2018 – 15’ – World Première TRADITION by Lanka Bandaranayake – Sri Lanka – 2016 – 11’ WITT YONE (The Robe) by WeRa – Myanmar – 2016 – 19’ YAR-THI MOE (Seasonal Rain) by Aung Phyoe – Myanmar – 2016 – 30’
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1st North Bend Film Festival Is Ready, Unveils Lineup, SHIRKERS is Centerpiece Film

[caption id="attachment_27266" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Shirkers[/caption] The North Bend Film Festival is right around the corner and yesterday announced the full line-up for its inaugural edition, including Cinema Vista and Something Strange feature and short film programs. In addition to the films, the weekend of August 23rd to the 26th will be rich with events that embrace the town of North Bend, once the original shooting location for David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, such as a special Twin Peaks Tour, a scenic mountainside hike (offering attendees a rare chance for excursion!), and ‘Damn Fine Coffee’ mixers to kick off the mornings just right. Cinema Vista offers a spectrum of vanguard cinema with centerpiece screening SHIRKERS and retro screening of the iconic Pacific Northwest queer feature MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO. Centerpiece Film Shirkers (Washington Premiere) USA | 2018 | 96 Min | Dir. Sandi Tan Cinema-loving teenager Sandi Tan and two friends had a big idea in 1992: They’d shoot their own super-low-budget assassin thriller on their native streets of Singapore, along with help from an American mentor named Georges. Then, one day, Georges disappeared along with all of their work. Twenty-five years later, Tan has turned her investigation into Georges’ motives, using newly recovered footage and firsthand accounts, into one of 2018’s best documentaries, an autobiography turned love letter to filmmaking dreams, especially those that have gone unfulfilled. My Name is Myeisha USA | 2018 | 84 Min | Dir. Gus Krieger A bold and visionary musical unlike anything on screen today, Gus Krieger’s MY NAME IS MYEISHA blends hip-hop, beat-boxing, dance and spoken word lyricism to tell the heartbreaking story of a teenage girl killed by police while she sat unconscious in a locked car. It’s essential filmmaking in a dynamic and energetic combination of storytelling methods precisely executed from beginning to end. Sarah Plays A Werewolf (West Coast Premiere) Switzerland/Germany | 2017 | 86 Min | Dir. Katharina Wyss Off the stage, 17-year-old Sarah drifts through her community in anonymity. But on her high school’s theater’s stage? The shy girl unleashes torrents of fiery passion, stemming from personal secrets mostly involving her unpleasant home life. As Sarah falls deeper into her performances, though, her loneliness intensifies, causing the troubled teenager to lose herself in multiple ways. Drenched in an overriding sense of despair, Swiss filmmaker Katharina Wyss’ devastating feature-length debut is a coming-of-age stunner. My Own Private Idaho (1991) USA | 1991 | 104 Min | Dir. Gus Van Sant Set in the 1990’s runaway-dominated streets of the Pacific Northwest and loosely based on Shakespeare’s Henry IV, this seminal film by Gus Van Sant (GOOD WILL HUNTING, MILK) tells the tale of a narcoleptic street kid named Mike (River Phoenix) who befriends a fellow hustler (Keanu Reeves) on his journey to find his estranged mother. Film presented in collaboration with Three Dollar Bill Cinema Closing Night Film Anna and the Apocalypse (West Coast Premiere) United Kingdom | 2018 | 92 Min | Dir. John McPhail For Anna and her friends, high school graduation can’t come soon enough. Unfortunately for them, they must face a horde of yuletide undead creatures before passing on to adulthood. A zombie apocalypse-Christmas-comedy-musical (yes, you read that right), “Anna” is a salute to a genre you didn’t think you needed, while keeping you on the edge of your seat with its hilarity and heart. Piercing (Pacific Northwest Premiere) USA | 2018 | 81 Min | Dir. Nicolas Pesce After kissing his wife and baby goodbye for a seemingly normal business trip, Reed (Christopher Abbott) checks himself into a hotel room to accomplish something he’s always dreamed of: the perfect murder. As his sinister plans unfold, he soon realizes he might be in over his head with a mysteriously unhinged call girl named Jackie (Mia Wasikowska). Relaxer (Washington Premiere) USA | 2018 | 91 Minutes | Dir. Joel Potrykus Joel Potrykus’ latest film follows an obsessive couch potato slacker taking on his most epic challenge yet: to beat the impossible final level of PAC-MAN without ever leaving the couch. His desperate quest is fraught with gross-out humor and darkly comedic perils as all sense of time is lost and takes a turn towards downright mania in a satisfyingly exhilarating conclusion. Don’t Leave Home (Pacific Northwest Premiere) USA | 2018 | 86 Min | Dir. Michael Tully For her latest exhibition, American artist Melanie Thomas is focused on an old Irish myth surrounding Father Alistair Burke, whose portrait of an 8-year-old Siobhan led to the little girl’s unexplained disappearance. After receiving an invite from the enigmatic Burke to visit him in Ireland, Melanie finds that reality and myth aren’t mutually exclusive. Drenched in classical Euro-horror dread and other strange flourishes, writer-director Michael Tully’s genre hybrid is a delightfully unnerving head trip. Director Michael Tully in attendance. Screening presented by Snoqualmie Valley Real Estate. Time Share (Washington Premiere) Mexico/Netherlands | 2018 | 96 Minutes | Dir. Sebastian Hoffman A father’s holiday from Hell begins when a clerical mix-up forces his family to share their vacation home with another family. But lurking beneath the paradise resort is a shady organization with designs far worse than double bookings. Director Sebastian Hoffman’s psychological thriller expertly juxtaposes terror and surrealist comedy through weaving stories of the family man and a beaten down employee setting out for revenge from within. Screening presented by Snoqualmie Valley Real Estate. Billy (North American Premiere) Netherlands | 2018 | 90 Min | Dir. Theo Maassen Ventriloquist Gerard de Groot and his puppet Billy have been inseparable for the last ten years. Until the moment they fall in love with different women and Gerard decides to take a break from his wild dummy. Easier said than done. Theo Maassen’s promising debut is a sharp tragic comedy mixing raunchy humor and deep thoughts about a career as an artist.
CINEMA VISTA SHORTS BLOCK
Boundaries are made to be pushed. This visionary group of shorts showcases the work of some of today’s most innovative and forward-thinking filmmakers. Across all genres, these films represent the vanguard of cinema with stories of life, death, justice and injustice, monsters both real and imagined, and the horror and beauty that reside inside the human heart. At times tragic, fantastical, terrifying, rousing, but always exhilarating, these shorts are at the forefront of filmmaking. MOBIUS, dir. Sam Kuhn In the wake of her lover’s death, a high school student comes to terms with her suburban malaise in this dreamlike and TWIN-PEAKS-esque dose of small-town oddness. BIOPHILIA, dir. Marina Michelson Rachel and her boyfriend, a pair of Brooklynites, decide to try their hand at farming. But when a sheep dies on their watch, Rachel must make a tough decision. EUPHORIA, dir. Wynter Rhys Too focused on his adoring followers and eager paparazzi, a famous artist constantly neglects his 6-year-old daughter. His rabid fan base is ready to change that. JOUSKA, dir. Wynter Rhys A man’s dark past and guilt-ridden thoughts come to a head as he navigates a nightmare land that’s like ALICE IN WONDERLAND laced with PCP. BAILAORA, dir. Rubin Stein Clearing out bodies on the streets of a war-torn Spain, a group of soldiers encounter a young dancer whose moves have an effect beyond explanation. THE DAY MUM BECAME A MONSTER, dir. Joséphine Hopkins Divorces are extremely tough on all children, but especially for young Candice. As if being abandoned by her father isn’t hard enough, her mother begins exhibiting some very troubling new behavior.
SOMETHING STRANGE SHORTS BLOCK
Sometimes stories are told to make sense of a nonsensical world, to impose logic on life’s confusion. Sometimes stories celebrate this bewilderment, utilizing the strange and unexpected instead of explaining it. These surreal short films feature superheroes, tampon monsters, vengeful robots, hungry forests, ghastly futures and purgatorial loops. Collected together, this block captivates as much as it challenges convention. END TIMES, dir. Bobby Miller After randomly stumbling across a dying squirrel in a public park, a man’s day goes from odd to WTF in this delightfully morbid comedy from the director of THE CLEANSE. LOVELY LEGS, dir. Abby Thompson In an isolated forest, a young man is ready to finally part ways with his female sex robot. As they say, though, it’s always hard to say goodbye. OVUM, dir. Cidney Hue Undergoing a mind-altering medical procedure, a woman is forced to make the toughest decision of her life. A FOREST, dir. Thomas Geffrier Ready to keep the good times going, Marie leaves a party with a couple en route to a hot threesome. She’ll soon wish that she’d have just gone home alone. CIRCLE, dir. Martin Melnick Loosely based on the myth of Eurydice, this off-kilter, genre-bending allegory follows a woman whose past traumas send on a fateful and dangerous trip through Purgatory. ALLEN ANDERS: LIVE AT THE COMEDY CASTLE – CIRCA 1987, dir. Laura Moss During an infamous on-stage performance in 1987 at New York City’s Comedy Castle, stand-up comic Allen Anders lost his mind. This is the uncovered footage. BFF GIRLS, dir. Brian Lonano A trio of nerdy American girls transform into powerful and fearless Japanese superheroes in order to take down a villainous tampon monster. A coming-of-age tale like none other.
JURY

FEATURES JURY: Cinema Vista Program
Haleigh Foutch Horror Editor, Collider Matt Ralston Producer, LOVE AND SAUCERS Vanessa Meyer Programming Manager, Frontières
FEATURES JURY: Something Strange Program
Shannon McGrew Owner, Nightmarish Conjurings Nick Bruno, Programmer, Portland Int’l Film Festival
SHORTS JURY
William Day Frank Producer, PSYCHOPATHS, MODEL HOME Ryan Oliver Journalist, The Playlist Emily Von Seele Journalist, Bloody Disgusting
VR JURY:
Dumeetha Luthra Founder, Take Pause VR Jesse Damiani Journalist, VR Scout, Forbes
Previously announced titles for 2018 include:
Profile (West Coast Premiere) Cyprus, Russian Federation, UK, USA | 2018 | 103 Min | Dir. Timur Bekmambetov Amy, a struggling freelance journalist looking for her next big story, pitches her editor on investigating the recruitment of European women by ISIS. Pretending to be recently converted to Islam and using an alias, she creates an incriminating Facebook profile where she begins to like and share posts themed around Islamic extremism. It doesn’t take long for Bilel, a Jihad fighter in Syria, to set his eyes on this seemingly vulnerable prey. Black Mother (Pacific Northwest Premiere) USA | 2018 | 77 Min | Dir. Khalik Allah Powerfully hypnotic and formally singular, filmmaker/photographer Khalik Allah’s second feature is documentary storytelling at its boldest. Fueled by reflective voiceovers and dreamlike visuals, presented in digital, Super 8mm and black-and-white Bolex, BLACK MOTHER transports the viewer into a Jamaica populated by clergymen and prostitutes. The result is an examination of religion, sex, and national identity that’s one truly unforgettable cinematic meditation. Braid (West Coast Premiere) USA | 2018 | 82 Min | Dir. Mitzi Peirone Two fugitive women elude capture and seek refuge at the estate of their rich and very much psychotic childhood friend where they enter a terror fueled game of make believe. A candy color, hallucinogen-fueled lunacy binge, writer-director Mitzi Peirone’s feature debut takes you on an entrancing journey of insanity through its gorgeously framed imagery, vibrant palette and cryptic narrative riddles. Model Home (World Premiere) USA | 2018 | 82 Minutes | Dir. Patrick Cunningham For a Latina single mother and her imaginative young son, being allowed to live in a dream house rent free seems too good to be true. As the mother’s obsessive and unstable mental state emerges, so too does living the American Dream devolve into a waking nightmare. Director Patrick Cunningham’s fascinating debut is a horrifying singular vision that speaks to Hispanic American identity.
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