The Push by Grant Korgan[/caption]
Michael Franti’s Stay Human tied with Grant Korgan’s The Push for the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at the 5th annual ILLUMINATE Film Festival, in Sedona.
Stay Human takes viewers on a journey through music and the stories of some of the most inspiring individuals on the planet chronicling Franti’s experiences with people that he’s met on his travels who have chosen to overcome cynicism with optimism, hope, tenacity, music, and love. Directed by Grant Korgan and Brian Niles, The Push tells Korgan’s inspiring tale of triumph after becoming paralyzed in a snowmobile accident where he focused on 120 percent recovery to do the impossible: push his way over nearly 100 miles in Antarctica, spinal cord injury and all.
Franti also was the recipient of the festival’s inaugural Voice for Humanity Award. “It’s important to be able to see each other as human beings above all else,” noted Franti. “I believe that there is no one in the world that you wouldn’t love if you heard their story.”
The Audience Award for Best Short Film went to Black Star, directed by Akira Chan. This short documentary explores art as a healing modality to stop the VICIOUS cycle of addiction.
In a feature competition section consisting of seven world and US Premieres, You Are What You Act took home the coveted 2018 Debut Feature Competition Jury Prize. The documentary proposes a revolutionary new health trend by asking what influences us more: our minds or our bodies. Director Albert Nerenberg and other leading psychologists in embodied cognition demonstrate fascinating psychological exercises with amazing results. Honorable Mentions were also given to Calling All Earthlings for unearthing a hidden truth and to From Shock to Awe for social impact.
Living Music, directed by Libby Spears, took home the jury prize in the Debut Short Film Competition. When a promising young musician’s career is almost cut short after he loses his voice to a rare medical condition called spasmodic dysphonia, he goes on a rehabilitative journey of artistic experimentation. Vision: Seeing is Believing received an Honorable Mention for cinematography.
From Shock to Awe captured the inaugural Mangurama Award for Conscious Documentary Storytelling. Including a $5000 cash prize, the Mangurama Award goes to to the most transformative non-fiction film that exhibits a strong story arc, compelling subjects and high production value. From Shock to Awe follows THE JOURNEY of returned U.S. combat veterans as they abandon pharmaceutical drugs to seek relief through the controversial, mind-expanding world of cannabis, ayahuasca and MDMA, known as ecstasy.
Documentary 3100: Run And Become captured the Director’s Choice Award. This sweeping examination of running’s spiritual nature, follows long-distance runners in Arizona, Finland, New York City, the Japanese highlands and Africa’s Kalahari Desert.
The ILLUMINATE Film Festival Impact Award went to Secret Ingredients by Amy Hart and Jeffrey Smith, which highlights through both personal stories and scientific input the role that pesticides and GMO’s are playing in compromising health on a large scale.
Film Festivals
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2018 Illuminate Film Festival Awards: STAY HUMAN And THE PUSH Tie to Win Audience Award
[caption id="attachment_29849" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The Push by Grant Korgan[/caption]
Michael Franti’s Stay Human tied with Grant Korgan’s The Push for the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at the 5th annual ILLUMINATE Film Festival, in Sedona.
Stay Human takes viewers on a journey through music and the stories of some of the most inspiring individuals on the planet chronicling Franti’s experiences with people that he’s met on his travels who have chosen to overcome cynicism with optimism, hope, tenacity, music, and love. Directed by Grant Korgan and Brian Niles, The Push tells Korgan’s inspiring tale of triumph after becoming paralyzed in a snowmobile accident where he focused on 120 percent recovery to do the impossible: push his way over nearly 100 miles in Antarctica, spinal cord injury and all.
Franti also was the recipient of the festival’s inaugural Voice for Humanity Award. “It’s important to be able to see each other as human beings above all else,” noted Franti. “I believe that there is no one in the world that you wouldn’t love if you heard their story.”
The Audience Award for Best Short Film went to Black Star, directed by Akira Chan. This short documentary explores art as a healing modality to stop the VICIOUS cycle of addiction.
In a feature competition section consisting of seven world and US Premieres, You Are What You Act took home the coveted 2018 Debut Feature Competition Jury Prize. The documentary proposes a revolutionary new health trend by asking what influences us more: our minds or our bodies. Director Albert Nerenberg and other leading psychologists in embodied cognition demonstrate fascinating psychological exercises with amazing results. Honorable Mentions were also given to Calling All Earthlings for unearthing a hidden truth and to From Shock to Awe for social impact.
Living Music, directed by Libby Spears, took home the jury prize in the Debut Short Film Competition. When a promising young musician’s career is almost cut short after he loses his voice to a rare medical condition called spasmodic dysphonia, he goes on a rehabilitative journey of artistic experimentation. Vision: Seeing is Believing received an Honorable Mention for cinematography.
From Shock to Awe captured the inaugural Mangurama Award for Conscious Documentary Storytelling. Including a $5000 cash prize, the Mangurama Award goes to to the most transformative non-fiction film that exhibits a strong story arc, compelling subjects and high production value. From Shock to Awe follows THE JOURNEY of returned U.S. combat veterans as they abandon pharmaceutical drugs to seek relief through the controversial, mind-expanding world of cannabis, ayahuasca and MDMA, known as ecstasy.
Documentary 3100: Run And Become captured the Director’s Choice Award. This sweeping examination of running’s spiritual nature, follows long-distance runners in Arizona, Finland, New York City, the Japanese highlands and Africa’s Kalahari Desert.
The ILLUMINATE Film Festival Impact Award went to Secret Ingredients by Amy Hart and Jeffrey Smith, which highlights through both personal stories and scientific input the role that pesticides and GMO’s are playing in compromising health on a large scale.
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Ground Breaking Immersive Documentary FACE TO FACE to World Premiere at Sheffield Doc/Fest
FACE TO FACE, the ground breaking immersive story/documentary/installation directed by the award-winning photo journalist, Michelle Gabel and co-directed by immersive storyteller/filmmaker Michaela Holland will world premiere at the Sheffield Doc/Fest beginning June 7 to 12, 2018.
Imagine if a shotgun blast took away your eyes, nose and upper palate leaving you permanently blind and unable to smell. FACE TO FACE is the true story of Michelle, who was the victim of this accidental shooting and is currently raising her two daughters. A shotgun blast took away Michelle Fox’s eyes, nose, and upper palate, leaving her permanently blind and unable to smell. Years of photojournalism and audio interviews work in tandem with a virtual reality piece as viewers explore an immersive, three-act installation.
FACE TO FACE is an intimate look at gun injury and human resilience. The film is an immersive documentary that blends years of photojournalism with virtual reality to create a three-act installation. This intimate look at gun injury and human resilience is based on the life of a woman who wears a facial prosthesis after a near fatal shooting accident. The installation will bring the viewer up close and personal, as we experience only a fraction of a day in the life of the main character. Years of photojournalism and interview audio is the foundation and cornerstone of this project. These traditional mediums work in tandem with a virtual reality piece as guests explore the film/installation.
FACE TO FACE was chosen from a record number of highest quality entries to be awarded the 2018 Alternate Realities Commission . It was awarded due to the project’s ability to push the boundaries of what is possible within factual storytelling and its strong commitment to innovation in the realm of non-fiction.
FACE TO FACE is a part of Sheffield Doc/Fest’s Alternate Realities programme, which is a leading forum for interactive, augmented reality, and virtual reality projects. Here, the festival explores game-changing forms of storytelling through experimenting with technology, for fully immersive experiences.
Image: Michelle in her daily ritual just before she puts her face on – in a scene from FACE TO FACE – an immersive documentary directed by Michelle Gabel and co-directed by Michaela Holland.
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Documentary AFGHAN CYCLES to East Coast Premiere at Brooklyn Film Festival [Trailer]
Following a new generation of young Afghan women cyclists, the documentary Afghan Cycles uses the bicycle to tell a story of women’s rights – human rights – and the struggles faced by Afghan women on a daily basis, from discrimination to abuse, to the oppressive silencing of their voices in all aspects of contemporary society. These women ride despite cultural barriers, despite infrastructure, and despite death threats, embracing the power and freedom that comes with the sport. Afghan Cycles will have its East Coast premiere at the Brooklyn Film Festival, screening on June 7 and 8, 2018.
Focusing on local impact, Afghan Cycles is partnering with local organizations Women for Afghan Women, Get Women Cycling, Bicycle Habitat, BikeStyle and Girls on Bikes. On Thursday, June 7, Get Women Cycling will be hosting a group ride to the screening, and following the screening on Friday June 8, the partner organizations will join Afghan Cycles Director Sarah Menzies for a panel discussion following the film.
“The women in this film represent the positive impact that sports can have in oppressive societies. Cycling has empowered these women to get around more freely and independently when they would otherwise have to rely on a man. This is not unique to Afghanistan. In fact, in many countries women do not have the freedom of mobility and are dependent on men to travel safely,” says Menzies. “This brave group of Afghan women are challenging that type of traditional thinking that is quite prevalent throughout the world, and by telling their story, we hope that it inspires more women to get on bicycles internationally.”
Panel participants:
Fatima Rahmati, Women for Afghan Women
Fatima was born in Kabul, Afghanistan and at the age of four, she and her family fled as refugees from Afghanistan to Australia. Fatima traces back her experiences of being raised in the projects of Australia and her father’s legacy of educator and social activism as the path which paved the way to philanthropy. Moving to New York City 13 years ago, Fatima found herself naturally gravitating towards education, social justice, and philanthropy. When deciding on how to best serve her father’s legacy and her own passions, Fatima decided a school bearing his name in the country he loved would be fitting – a project she is currently working on. She joined Women for Afghan Women in 2015 as the Program Assistant for a brief period, she then took on a leading role in WAW’s Junior Board. Starting January 2018 she took on the role of Coalition and Outreach Coordinator at WAW. Fatima is fluent in Dari and EnglishLydia Moore, Bicycle Habitat/BikeStyle
Lydia works as a bicycle mechanic in brooklyn, with a belief in the need to redistribute resources, knowledge and access to bicycles. In the white cis male dominated bike industry she has created a workshop and ride series called BikStyle. Sharing the resources and space of Bicycle Habitat, BikeStyle centers queer and trans cyclist of color. Lydia is passionate about the bicycle as a tool for change. She is a founding board member of the Bike Worker Advocacy Project. A worker Center with a mission to organize the work force of bike messengers and bike shop workers in NYC.Kala La Fortune, Girls on Bikes
Kala grew up and currently resides in Newark, NJ. A graduate of Rutger’s University Newark with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Kala founded Girls On Bikes as a Senior in college while pursuing a career in Fashion. Her initial goal was to get more girls in her community to cycle as a way to get connected, have fun, and exercise. Now the organization has worked with over 150 students in the Newark Public Schools teaching them how to build bicycles from scratch and discussing the negative stigmas they may encounter while cycling in the urban community.Screening times:
Thursday June 7, 2018 @ 7:30 pm, Wythe Hotel Friday June 8, 2018 @ 6:30pm, Windmill Studios NYC, panel discussion to follow
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Romantic Hip-Hop Comedy THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN THE WORLD Starring Luna Wedler to World Premiere at Munich FilmFest
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Luna Wedler[/caption]
Aron Lehmann’s romantic hip-hop comedy “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World”, featuring rising star Luna Wedler, newcomers Aaron Hilmer and Damian Hardung, and preeminent German actresses Anke Engelke and Heike Makatsch will world premiere at the Munich International Film Festival.
Watching streaming movies on a laptop alone is an everyday experience for any teenager. Cinema can offer so much more: a shared live experience. At the film festival, this even includes meeting stars as well as other fans. Once again, Munich International Film Festival is offering big-screen entertainment to young people between the ages of 14 and 24. The festival started in 2016 with the successful fantasy gem trilogy “Ruby Red”, “Sapphire Blue”, and “Emerald Green”. Last year, with the world premiere of Ute Wieland’s “Tigermilch” and an exclusive sneak peek at “Windstorm and the Wild Horses”, directed by Katja von Garnier, the focus was on brave girls. In 2018, the festival is pleased to continue this tradition by presenting, in cooperation with Tobis Film, the youth event “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World”. With his new film, director Aron Lehmann puts in his third appearance at Munich International Film Festival. His first feature-length film, “Kohlhaas oder die Verhältnismäßigkeit der Mittel”, opened the New German Cinema series in 2012, while “The Last Pig” was shown as part of that series in 2016.
New pupil Roxy, played by Luna Wedler, is turning all the boys’ heads. The quick-witted 17-year-old has just flunked out of her old school and is not at all interested in going on a trip with her new classmates. On the bus to Berlin, however, she soon befriends sensitive outsider Cyril (Aaron Hilmer), who quickly falls for her even though he doesn’t believe he has much of a chance with her. Roxy is interested in pretty boy Rick (Damian Hardung), who — unlike Cyril — isn’t very eloquent. And pick-up artist Benno (Jonas Ems) is also in the picture. This sounds tricky, and it is: In a daring matchmaking attempt, Cyril aims to protect Roxy from the player Benno, even if it means helping Rick to score with Roxy. He writes cool song lyrics and romantic text messages, and Roxy really goes for it. At first. But who will, in the end, win the heart of the most beautiful girl in the world?
In the comedy “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World”, European rising star Luna Wedler (“Blue My Mind”) as Roxy impresses not only newcomers Aaron Hilmer (“Sex, Pity and Loneliness”) and Damian Hardung, known from the VOX series “Red Bracelets” and the remake of “The Name of the Rose”. Director and screenplay co-author Aron Lehmann uses fresh hip-hop beats and clever turns of phrase to help narrate this turbulent and intricate romantic adventure story. This modern version of “Cyrano de Bergerac”, the famous play by Edmond Rostand from 1897 also features Anke Engelke as Cyril’s mother, Heike Makatsch and Johannes Allmayer (“Jesus Loves Me”) as teachers, and YouTube stars Jonas Ems and Julia Beautx as classmates.
The world premier of “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” will be on Friday, June 29 at 4.30 pm at the Mathäser cinema. The national film release will be on September 6, 2018 (distribution: Tobis Film).
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‘The Best of All Worlds’ ‘Jamaica Man’ Among Award Winners of 9th NYC Independent Film Festival
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The Best of All Worlds (Die Beste aller Welten) by Adrian Goiginger[/caption]
Congratulations to the winners, nominees, and all the participants of the 2018 NYC Independent Film Festival. Winners include The Girl in The Woods by Sebastian Sdaigui taking the awards for Best Director and Best Short Film; Jamaica Man winning the awards for Best Cinematography plus Best Documentary Feature; and Adrien Goiginger’s The Best of All Worlds, winning the award for Best Narrative Feature.
The Girl In The Woods is a short film which explores crime, honor and violence in a post truth, hyper real world. It follows two social outcasts, Beatrix and Charlie, who find solace in one another while facing quirky characters they meet on the way from brothel girls to art dealers. In the quest to save the orphanage where they not only met but had the only sense of home, they find the money to pay off the orphanages debt by stealing from a Snuff director, Mr Sunshine. Triggering a showdown between between bad and not as bad. This short combines crime, comedy and a splash of blood.
Jamaica Man is a subjective documentary profile of British expat Nigel Pemberton. A biographical picaresque, inspired narratively by Spalding Gray and visually by Slim Aarons, the film is a highly stylized and unconventional portrait of a raconteur nearing the end of his life.
The Best of All Worlds (Die Beste Aller Welten) is a kid’s true story of his life in the unusual world of his heroin addict mother and their love of each other.
Award Winners of 9th NYC Independent Film Festival
The Girl in The Woods Best Director Sebastian Sdaigui, The Girl in the Woods Jamaica Man Best Cinematography Laura Hudock, Jamaica Man Best Narrative Feature The Best of All Worlds, Adrien Goiginger Best Short Documentary My Indiana Muse, Ric Serena, Jen Serena Best Documentary Feature Jamaica Man, Michael Weatherly Best Short Film The Girl in the Woods, Sebastian Sdaigui Best Super Short Film Strawberries, Donggyun Han Best Animation In a Heartbeat, Esteban Bravo, Beth David Best Music Video Closer, Luke Slattery Best Art/Experimental Film EGO, Kaya, David-Simon Dayan Best Short Sketch Comedy There’s Something About My Sister, Rebecca Shaw Best Web Series Saaba, Brandon Kramer TV Pilots Greenport, Shannon Goldman Best Actor Obi Abili, Forgotten Man Best Actress Marama Corlett, Afterword Best Short Script Finalist Graphic Best Short Script “Magic Trick”, Gerald Teaster, Kelley Cantrel Rone Best VR Video Rone, Lester Francois
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Marta Prus’ OVER THE LIMIT is Big Winner at 58th Krakow Film Festival
“Over the Limit” directed by Marta Prus, is the big winner of the 58th Krakow Film Festival taking the Silver Horn for the best feature film in the International Documentary Film Competition and the Silver Hobby-Horse for the director of the best documentary film in the National Competition. The film about the remarkable Russian gymnast Margarita Mamun and the emotional costs of professional sports, received also the award for the best producer of Polish short and documentary films funded by the Polish Audiovisual Producers Chamber of Commerce (KIPA) and the Best Cinematography Award under the patronage of The Polish Society of Cinematographers.
The winner of the International Documentary Film Competition is Talal Derki’s film “Of Fathers and Sons”. The 2014 winner of the Silver Horn once again confronted Krakow audience with the sheer terror of the Syrian war. Four years after the horrifying, successful and widely discussed “Return to Homs” – the opening film of the 54th KFF – the director visited a family of a radicalized ISIS member and followed the process of forming of jihadist fighters. In “Of Fathers and Sons” the camera focuses on little boys who are being prepared the join the ranks of ISIS by their beloved fathers, for whom family is especially important. The film received this year an award for best documentary at Sundance. Jury led by Péter Forgács (Hungary) handed out the prestigious Golden Horn award for “the director’s courageous penetration into the world of extremism”. The film was also awarded by the International Federation of Film Critics Jury (FIPRESCI).
The Silver Horn for the director of the best medium-length documentary went to Pablo Aparo and Martin Benchimol for their film “The Dread” (Argentina).
The winner of the oldest festival competition – International Short Film Competition – is Armelle Mercat for her film “Keep Your Hair On, Oliver” (France).
The jury, whose chairman was Iranian director and screenwriter Merhard Oskouei, gave the French director the Golden Dragon award emphasizing that the story presented in the film was only possible to tell through animation.
Silver Dragons are the awards given to the best short films representing all three competition genres. The Silver Dragon for the best documentary film went to Michał Hytroś for his film “The Sisters” (Poland). The film received also the special mention in the National Competition. The best animated film is “Obon” (dir. André Hörmann, Samo (Anna Bergmann)). Silver Dragon for the best short fiction went to Emmanuelle Fleytoux for her film “Release the Dogs” (France/Belgium). The Krakow Film Festival also gave this film the nomination for the European Film Award in the short film category (PRIX EFA KRAKOW 2018 for the best European film).
The best music documentary and the winner of the Golden Heynal award, chosen by the Jury led by Marcin Borchardt (Polska), is an American-Japanese documentary Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda” (dir. Stephen Nomura Schible). In this moving documentary a story about the roots of music turns into a film meditation, which talks about the human fight with inhibitions. The protagonist, an Academy Award winner for his original score for the film “The Last Emperor”, this time shows his other faces: as a music experimenter, an activist fighting against environmental degradation and a man struggling with serious illness. The film received also the Student Jury award.
The Golden Hobby-Horse in the National Competition went to “Unconditional Love” by Rafał Łysak (Poland). The Jury led by Tadeusz Sobolewski appreciated the film “for a story about an intimate reality of people from different generations, which escapes a stereotypical judgment. If we watch the world so closely it can actually be tolerant as love is unconditional”.
The best Polish animation is “III” by Marta Pajek (Poland). It is the second Silver Hobby-Horse in the artist’s career. After two years Pajek came back to the idea of an impossible figure, which this time in a sensual and full of eroticism way portrays relations between men and women.
The award for the best Polish short fiction was handed out “for an accurate, comedic attempt to encapsulate the madness of the contemporary world” to Maciej Kawalski for his film “Atlas” (Poland).
The special mention went to the last year’s winner Damian Kocur for his film “1410”.
The audience award went to the Polish director Marta Prus for her film “Over the limit”.
For the fourth time the Krakow Film Festival, being among Europe’s most important film festivals, recommends feature documentary films for the European Film Award. This year the official recommendation was given to “White Mama” (Zosya Rodkevich, Evgeniya Ostanina).
The 59th Krakow Film Festival will take place May 26th to June 2nd, 2019.
59th Krakow Film Festival AWARDS
DRAGON OF DRAGONS AWARD
for the contribution into development of the world documentary film: SERGEI LOZNITSA RECOMMENDATION TO THE EUROPEAN FILM AWARD: WHITE MAMA, dir. Zosyia Rodkevich and Evgeniya Ostanina (Russia)INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
THE GOLDEN HORN for the director of the best film – Talal Derki for the film Of Fathers and Sons (Germany, Lebanon, Qatar, Syrian Arab Republic). For the director’s courageous penetration into this world of extremism that digs under the surface of a world we talk about but never have access to. With extraordinary cinematic language, it shows the tragedy of being raised in a situation where hate, violence and killing are the norm. We witness it as it is being transferred from generation to generation, from father to son. THE SILVER HORN for the director of the best medium-length documentary film – Pablo Aparo i Martin Benchimol for the film The Dread (Argentina). This delicately composed film portrays the remote village of El Dorado where local healers appear to have far more authority than normal doctors. Their hard-working daily life is saturated with mystical happenings and hopes. THE SILVER HORN for the director of the best feature-length documentary film – Marta Prus for the film Over the Limit (Finland, Germany, Poland). For a self-assured and consistent first feature that shows – with a calm observational eye – the complex relationships between three highly-strung characters all of whom are at the edge of their limits. With notable sensitivity, this films approaches these personal dilemmas and the extreme high price of winning. SPECIAL MENTION – Anastasiya Miroshnichenko for the film Debut (Belarus) By creating engaging visuals this first feature gives a sensitive insight into the convicts’ daily routines, the pains, the dreams and the hopes. The FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) Jury awarded the International Film Critics Prize to Talal Derki for the film Of Fathers and Sons (Germany, Lebanon, Qatar, Syrian Arab Republic), for the powerful, complex and nuanced depiction of the poisonous legacy of patriarchy and for the director’s remarkably courageous approach to filmmaking.INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION
GOLDEN DRAGON for the director of the best film – Armelle Mercat, for the film Keep Your Hair On, Oliver (France). With a childlike drawing the film paints an adult love and its shame. Like a poem, using only few words, it tells the story of subtle and complex emotions which would take a whole novel to express. It could only be made as an animation. SILVER DRAGON for the director of the best documentary film – Michał Hytroś, for the film The Sisters (Poland) A young filmmaker looks at an old world, and in the process shows a keen eye for the little things of everyday life. The film is very funny, but never at the expense of its fundamental seriousness about the fact that we may well be watching an endangered species. It invites us to visit a world that most of us will never experience, in the process revealing a common humanity. SILVER DRAGON for the directors of the best animated film – André Hörmann, Samo (Anna Bergman), for the film Obon (Germany). With the images as beautiful as traditional woodcuts, in a very contemporary way, an old woman recollects her youth and the difficult relationship with her father, for whose love she had to wait for a very long time. SPECIAL MENTION for Fundamental by ShihChieh Chiu (Taiwan) SILVER DRAGON for the director of the best short fiction film – Emmanuelle Fleytoux, for the film Release the Dogs (France/Belgium) At times we have to let go of things, in order to build something new. In this surprising and touching film, characters visibly change, and we never know where each passionate and sometimes violent encounter is going to lead. The suspense is maintained to the very end when the female power and with it the literal and metaphorical dogs are finally released. SPECIAL MENTION for Users by Jakub Piątek (Poland) PRIX EFA KRAKOW 2018 for the Best European Film (nomination to the European Film Award in the short film category) – Emmanuelle Fleytoux (France/Belgium) for the film Release the Dogs The International Federation of Film Societies (FICC) Jury granted the Don Quixote Award to the film Detainment directed by Vincent Lambre (Ireland). A well-known crime story we have read about for 25 years. The brutal murder of a baby boy affects us all, and this film was emotionally stressing to watch. Based on the original tapes from the police questioning, and without showing any graphic details, the horror of the crime hits you like a sledgehammer. The audience is like a fly on the wall when the truth is revealed. Despite the awful crime, we feel the director has managed to bring humanity into the portrait of the young killers, which were brilliantly played by Ely Solan and Leon Hughes. It is a heartbreaking story and it has changed the life of so many people in a very sad way. The Special Mention to the film: Joe Boots directed by Florian Baron (Germany, USA). The narrative is plain and simple, but it went straight to our hearts. It’s just one guy telling his story, but it is the story of every soldier coming home from war. He is changed but nobody can see it and most of us don’t care. The film is a tribute to every veteran.INTERNATIONAL DocFilmMusic COMPETITION
GOLDEN HEYNAL for the director of the best film – Stephen Nomura Schible for the film Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda (USA, Japan) For a skillfully crafted an intimate portrait of an unique and outstanding composer SPECIAL MENTION – Jukka Kärkkäinen and J-P Passi for the film Punk Voyage (Finland) For a life story bigger than music – Keep on rocking guys because PUNK’S NOT DEAD!NATIONAL COMPETITION
GOLDEN HOBBY-HORSE for the director of the best film funded by the President of the Polish Filmmakers Association – Rafał Łysak for the film Unconditional Love (Poland). For a story about an intimate reality of people from different generations, which escapes a stereotypical judgment. If we watch the world so closely it can actually be tolerant as love is unconditional. SILVER HOBBY-HORSE for the director of the best documentary film – Marta Prus for the film Over the Limit (Poland, Germany, Finland). In a suggestive way the film brings the viewer deep into to the world of dramatic choices made by a sportswoman and an artist. SILVER HOBBY-HORSE for the director of the best animated film – Marta Pajek for the film III (Poland). For spectacular drawing of the living shapes portraying an intimate experience of a woman and a man. SILVER HOBBY-HORSE for the director of the best fiction film – Maciej Kawalski for the film Atlas (Poland). For an accurate, comedic attempt to encapsulate the madness of the contemporary world. SPECIAL MENTION in the documentary category for Michał Hytroś for the film The Sisters (Poland). For presenting the comedic potential of the world behind the monastery walls. SPECIAL MENTION in the feature film category – Damian Kocur for the film 1410 (Poland). For the courage to ask naive questions and laugh at important matters. The Award of the Polish Filmmakers Association for the best film editing – Grażyna Gradoń for the film Notes on Life. A Movie about Edward Żebrowski (dir. Maria Zmarz-Koczanowicz) Maciej Szumowski Award for remarkable social awareness funded by the National Broadcasting Council – Tomasz Knittel for the film Universam Grochów (Poland). The Award for the best short and documentary films producer in Poland funded by the Polish Audiovisual Producers Chamber of Commerce (KIPA) – Anna Kępińska and Maciej Kubicki (Telemark) for the film Over the Limit (Poland, Germany, Finland). Best Cinematography Award under the patronage of The Polish Society of Cinematographers funded by Coloroffon Film – Adam Suzin for the film Over the Limit.THE AWARD OF THE STUDENT JURY
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda (USA, Japan) directed by Stephen Nomura Schible. For showing how the most destructive forces can inspire the clearest sounds.THE AUDIENCE AWARD
Marta Prus for her film “Over the limit”.KFF INDUSTRY AND DOC LAB POLAND AWARDS
ANIMATED IN POLAND:
SOUND MIND AWARD – for the project of the film “The land of Whim”, dir. Betina Bożek, prod. Animation Film Studio, Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow AUDIOVISUAL TECHNOLOGY CENTER SPECIAL MENTION – “Red light train”, dir. Alicja Kot, prod. Animation Film Studio, Academy of Fine Arts in KrakowDOCS TO START:
HBO AWARD – for the project of the film “Scandal!”, dir. Bartosz Paduch, prod. Maciek Ostatek, Kacper Jaroszyński / „W To Mi Graj” Foundation KRAKOW FILM KLASTER AWARD – for the project of the film “Walk with Angels”, dir. Tomasz Wysokiński, prod. Tomasz Wysokiński /Ayahuasca Project LIGHTCRAFT AWARD – for the project of the film “The Last Expedition”, dir. Eliza Kubarska, prod. Monika Braid /Braidmade Films EUROPEAN DOCUMENTARY NETWORK SPECIAL MENTION (EDN) – project of the film “Lessons in Democracy”, dir. Michał Helwak, prod. Marcin Wierzchosławski / Metro Films DOK LEIPZIG SPECIAL MENTION – for the project of the film “Ambulance Poland – Syria”, dir. Aleksander Zalewski, prod. Anna Kubik Sobala / AksamitDOCS TO GO!:
COLOROFFON AWARD – for the project “Lessons of Love”, dir. Małgorzata Goliszewska, Katarzyna Mateja, prod. Anna Stylińska / Fundacja Widok INSTITUTE OF DOCUMENTARY FILM SPECIAL MENTION – for the project of the film “An Ordinary Country”, dir. Tomasz Wolski, prod. Anna Gawlita / Kijora Film
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World Premiere of BIG LEGEND to Open the 2018 Portland Horror Film Festival [Trailer]
The World Premiere of Justin Lee’s heart-pounding sasquatch movie Big Legend, will open the Portland Horror Film Festival on June 13th.
Kevin Makely stars as an ex-soldier who ventures into the Pacific Northwest to uncover the truth behind his fiance’s disappearance and finds more than bargained for after teaming up with a local hunter. The powerhouse cast includes Todd A. Robinson, Summer Spiro, with horror-icons Amanda Wyss (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Adrienne Barbeau (The Fog), and Lance Henriksen (Aliens).
Director Justin Lee, actors Kevin Makely, Todd A. Robinson, and Amanda Wyss, Executive Producer Shawn Nightingale, and Producer Drew Garrettson will be in attendance for the World Premiere.
Filmed on location in the Pacific Northwest, Big Legend is a Papa Octopus Production headed by Kevin Makely, Shawn Nightingale and Justin Lee.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeAuKeB70mM
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EIGHT GRADE and HALF THE PICTURE Win at Sundance London
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EIGHTH GRADE[/caption]
Sundance Film Festival: London ’18 wrapped after four days, with the Audience Favourite award going to Eighth Grade directed by Bo Burnham; and director Amy Adrion was awarded a special Picturehouse #WhatNext Prize.
Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school — the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year — before she begins high school.
Eighth Grade had its International premiere at Sundance Film Festival: London following its World Premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, U.S.A. Festivalgoers voted in the thousands for their favourite films across the four-day event at Picturehouse Central for this Audience Favourite Award.
The special Picturehouse #WhatNext prize was awarded to Amy Adrion for the way her documentary Half the Picture represents key female voices and helps amplify the conversation around the treatment of female directors in Hollywood. With seven out of the twelve films presented in the main programme directed by women, the 2018 Sundance London festival celebrated female talent and asked #WhatNext for a fairer film future.
Half the Picture had its European premiere at Sundance Film Festival: London following its World Premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, U.S.A. At a pivotal moment for gender equality in Hollywood, successful women directors tell the stories of their art, lives and careers. Having endured a long history of systemic discrimination, women filmmakers may be getting the first glimpse of a future that values their voices equally.
Over 30 filmmakers and actors attended the festival to introduce their films and participate in audience Q&As, including Toni Collette and Ari Aster for the Time Out Gala film Hereditary; Ethan Hawke for First Reformed; Idris Elba and cast members from his directorial debut Yardie; and Crystal Moselle and the cast of Skate Kitchen.
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16 German Films to World Premiere in New German Cinema Section of Filmfest München
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Mackie Messer – Brechts Dreigroschenfilm[/caption]
16 German film productions are celebrating their world premiere in the New German Cinema section of the Filmfest München – Munich International Film Festival. Starting things off is Joachim A. Lang’s “Mackie Messer – Brechts Dreigroschenfilm“, the opening film of the 36th Filmfest München, whose message is Brecht’s aphorism “In the contradiction lies the hope.”
Against the backdrop of historical circumstances, Oliver Haffner’s feature film “Wackersdorf – Be Alert, Courageous and Solidaric” raises a sensitive question about political activism: as personal as it is suspenseful, the film depicts opposition to the construction of a nuclear reprocessing plant in 1980s Bavaria.
“Safari – Match Me If You Can” by Munich director Rudi Gaul is about love in the digital age. A new dating app, Safari, makes the Bavarian capital a vehicle for self-promotion. Arthur Schnitzler’s stage play “La Ronde” is catapulted into the present day, with hilarious consequences.
Robert Bohrer and Emma Rose have submitted a most unusual “Love Movie”. An apathetic thirtysomething falls in love with a war photographer, and together they experience all the highs and lows of a relationship.
Jakob Lass, whose “Love Steaks” earned the Förderpreis Neues Deutsches Kino in four categories in 2013, is back in Munich. In his latest film, “Right Here Right Now”, we live through the last night of a Hamburg club and everything that a good farewell party entails. Partying is also a theme in Henning Gronkowski’s “Yung”. The film portrays Berlin teenagers on their (often wrong) way through the city and through life. Naturally this includes hedonism, sexuality, and drugs.
Several of the films in this year’s New German Cinema section broach the issue of relations between the sexes. Linus de Paoli’s thriller “A Young Man with High Potential” is the shocking story of a highly intelligent but prudish student of computer science who turns to chemical substances when rejected by the object of his affection. By contrast, in Leonel Dietsche’s “The New End”, only the men survive in a post-apocalyptic world in which might makes right.
Philipp Eichholtz’s comedy “Everything Always All the Time” is a bit more playful and lighthearted. In, Kim would like to be a man. That isn’t such an easy thing when others must first get used to this kind of new identity.
In Eva Trobisch’s drama, the protagonist tells herself things will be “All Good”. Since being raped, she does everything she can to keep up appearances — in order not to lose her job. Ann-Kristin Reyels’ “We Were Just Playing” is another film in which a character has a dark secret. Miro and Jona come from different worlds and want to be friends nonetheless.
Damian John Harper’s “In the Middle of the River” is about a traumatic incident: a young man returns to his home town to kill his grandfather. At the moment of truth, his plan is thwarted and the two men are forced to spend the rest of the day with each other. Family situations with a potential for conflict are also at the root of Michael Klier’s chamber play “Family Idiots”, about a mentally disabled girl whose family must decide whether to send her to an institution. It’s a moral question that threatens to pit the family members against each other. Katinka Narjes’ film “Sirens” is also about family ties: the bond between two sisters is indestructible, yet they must learn to let go.
Two documentaries are part of the New German Cinema section in 2018. In “The Brasch Family”, Annekatrin Hendel tells the story of three generations of a German family full of history, conflicts, and twists. In the meantime, Lola Randl, a previous guest at Filmfest München, offers a subjective and personal exercise in self-experimentation with “The Bees and the Birds”, moving to the countryside and exploring alternative ways of living both in front of and behind the camera.
As usual, the best achievements by new directors in the New German Cinema section will be awarded the Förderpreis Neues Deutsches Kino. The FIPRESCI Award will also be given for the fourth time to the best film in the section.
All the films in the New German Cinema section:
“A Young Man with High Potential”
by Linus de Paoli, Germany 2018
starring Adam Ild Rohweder, Amanda Plummer, Paulina Galazka, Vanja Bajdarova, Pit Bukowski Schattenkante, Hahn Film
“Alles ist gut” (“All Good”)
by Eva Trobisch, Germany 2018
starring Aenne Schwarz, Andreas Döhler, Hans Löw, Tilo Nest, Lina Wendel
TRIMAFILM GmbH, Starhaus Filmproduktion, BR
“Ende Neu” (“The New End”)
by Leonel Dietsche, Germany 2018
starring Sylvester Groth, Georg Friedrich, Milena Tscharntke, Samuel Schneider, Mick Morris Mehnert
Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, SWR, Paxfilm
“Familie Brasch” (“The Brasch Family”)
by Annekatrin Hendel, Germany 2018
starring Marion Brasch, Katharina Thalbach, Christoph Hein, Bettina Wegner, Florian Havemann
IT WORKS! Medien GmbH, von Vietinghoff Filmproduktion, RBB, SWR, MDR
“Idioten der Familie” (“Family Idiots”)
by Michel Klier, Germany 2018
starring Lilith Stangenberg, Jördis Triebel, Hanno Koffler, Florian Stetter, Kai Scheve
Michael Klier-Film, almost famous UG, RBB, Arte
“In the Middle of the River”
by Damian John Harper, Germany/USA 2018
starring Eric Hunter, Max Thayer, Nikki Lowe, Matthew T. Metzler, Ava Del Cielo
Weydemann Bros., ZDF – Das kleine Fernsehspiel, Arte
“Kim hat einen Penis” (“Everything Always All the Time”)
by Philipp Eichholtz, Germany 2018
starring Martina Schöne-Radunski, Christian Ehrich, Stella Hilb, Matthias Lier, Lana Cooper
Von Oma gefördert
“Liebesfilm” (“Love Movie”)
by Robert Bohrer, Emma Rosa Simon, Germany 2018
starring Eric Klotzsch, Lana Cooper, Hartmut Becker, Sabine Vitua, Gerdy Zint
BASIS BERLIN Filmproduktion, Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (DFFB), ZDF – Das kleine Fernsehspiel
“Mackie Messer – Brechts Dreigroschenfilm”
by Joachim A. Lang, Germany 2018 starring Lars Eidinger, Tobias Moretti, Hannah Herzsprung, Joachim Król, Claudia Michelsen
Zeitsprung Pictures GmbH, SWR, Arte, Velvet Films
“Nixen” (“Sirens”)
by Katinka Narjes, Germany 2018
starring Odine Johne, Lucy Wirth, Emelie Harbrecht, Roland Bonjour
Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (DFFB)
“Safari – Match Me If You Can”
by Rudi Gaul, Germany 2018
starring Justus von Dohnányi, Sunnyi Melles, Elisa Schlott, Juliane Köhler, Max Mauff
Rat Pack Filmproduktion GmbH, Tele München GmbH, Martin Richter Filmproduktion
“So was von da” (“Right Here Right Now”)
by Jakob Lass, Germany 2018
starring Niklas Bruhn, Tinka Fürst, David Schütter, Mathias Bloech, Bela B. Felsenheimer
C-Films Deutschland GmbH, DCM Pictures GmbH, Tatami Films GmbH
“Von Bienen und Blumen” (“The Bees and the Birds”)
by Lola Randl, Germany 2018
starring Lola Randl
DETAiLFILM GmbH, Tohuwabohu GmbH
“Wackersdorf” (“Wackersdorf – Be Alert, Courageous and Solidaric”)
by Oliver Haffner, Germany 2018
starring Johannes Zeiler, Anna Maria Sturm, Peter Jordan, Fabian Hinrichs, Sigi Zimmerschied
if… Productions, BR, Arte
“Wir haben nur gespielt” (“We Were Just Playing”)
by Ann-Kristin Reyels, Germany 2018
starring Finn-Henry Reyels, Roman Bkhavnani, Silke Bodenbender, Godehard Giese
kurhaus production Film & Medien GmbH, ZDF – Das kleine Fernsehspiel
“Yung”
by Henning Gronkowski, Germany 2018
starring Janaina Liesenfeld, Emily Lau, Joy Grant, Abbie Dutton
G.G. Production GmbH, deutschfilm GmbH
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Rooftop Films to US Premiere EXIT MUSIC Cameron Mullenneaux’s Docu-Portrait of Ethan Rice Dying with Cystic Fibrosis
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Ethan Rice, Subject of Exit Music[/caption]
On Saturday, June 16, Rooftop Films will present the U.S. Premiere of Exit Music, Cameron Mullenneaux’s intimate and emotional docu-portrait of Ethan Rice, a 28 year old with Cystic Fibrosis, during the final months of his life. Filmmaker Cameron Mullenneaux will be in attendance and will participate in a special conversation along with Green-Wood Cemetery’s Death Educator Amy Cunningham after the film.’
The event will take place at Green-Wood Cemetery, in Brooklyn and will feature a live musical performance by Samuel R Saffery.
Exit Music
Born with cystic fibrosis, 28-year-old Ethan Rice has been preparing to die his entire life. His father Ed, a Vietnam veteran with PTSD, immersed him in a world of imagination and documented it on camera, a hobby that provided relief from the fear of his son’s prognosis and his own painful past. Equal parts comedy and darkness, Exit Music is the last year, last breath, and final creative act of Ethan as he awaits the inevitable. Interweaving home movies with Ethan’s original music and animation, his story is an unflinching meditation on mortality and invites the viewer to experience Ethan’s transition from reality to memory. In a culture that often looks away from death, this film demystifies the dying process, a universal cornerstone of the human experience.
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THE SILENCE OF OTHERS To Have NY Premiere At Human Rights Watch Film Festival
The award-winning documentary The Silence of Others is a beautiful, cinematic, and poetic film about the people who are fighting for justice and a reckoning in Spain on crimes committed by the Franco regime during its brutal 40 year rule. It won the two prizes – Audience Award (Panorama) and Peace Prize at the Berlinale – 2018 Berlin International Film Festival. The Silence of Others will have its NY premiere at the 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New York City this month
The Silence of Others reveals the epic struggle of victims of Spain’s 40-year dictatorship under General Franco, who continue to seek justice to this day. Filmed over six years, the film follows victims and survivors as they organize the groundbreaking “Argentine Lawsuit” and fight a state-imposed amnesia of crimes against humanity, in a country still divided four decades into democracy.
Synopsis: The Silence of Others offers a cinematic portrait of the first attempt in history to prosecute crimes of Franco’s 40-year dictatorship in Spain (1939-1975), whose perpetrators have enjoyed impunity for decades due to a 1977 amnesty law. It brings to light a painful past that Spain is reluctant to face, even today, decades after the dictator’s death.
Filmed with intimate access over six years, the story unfolds on two continents: in Spain, where survivors and human rights lawyers are building a case that Spanish courts refuse to admit, and in Argentina, where a judge has taken it on using the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows foreign courts to investigate crimes against humanity if the country where they occurred refuses to do so.
The implications of the case are global, as Spain’s transition from dictatorship to democracy continues to be hailed as a model to this day. The case also marks an astonishing reversal, for it was Spain that pioneered universal jurisdiction to bring down former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, and yet now it is an Argentine judge who must bring Spain’s own past to light.
The Silence of Others tells the story of this groundbreaking international lawsuit through the voices of five survivors who have broken Spain’s “pact of silence” and become plaintiffs in the case, including victims of torture, parents of stolen children, and family members who are fighting to recover loved ones’ bodies from mass graves across Spain. Guiding this monumental effort are Carlos Slepoy, the human rights lawyer who co-led the case against Pinochet, and Ana Messuti, a philosopher of law.
The case is making history: what started as a small, grassroots effort has yielded the first-ever arrest warrants for perpetrators, including torturers, cabinet ministers, and doctors implicated in cases of stolen children. It has brought the nearly forgotten case to the front page of The New York Times and has stirred a flurry of international attention.
Through this dramatic, contemporary story, The Silence of Others speaks to universal questions of how societies transition from dictatorship to democracy and how individuals confront silence and fight for justice. What happens when a country is forced to reckon with its past after so many years of silence? Can justice be done after so long?
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Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar[/caption]
Directors’ Statement: In 2010, the story of Spain’s “stolen children” began to come out. The story of these crimes, with roots in the early days of Franco’s rule, led us to explore the marginalization and silencing of victims of many Franco-era crimes, ranging from extrajudicial killings at the end of the Spanish Civil War to torture that took place as recently as 1975.
As we began to learn more, we were baffled by basic questions: how could it be that Spain, unlike other countries emerging from repressive regimes, had had no Nuremberg Trials, no Truth and Reconciliation Commission, no national reckoning? Why, instead, was a “pact of forgetting” forged in Spain? And what were the consequences of that pact, 40 years into democracy, for the still-living victims of Franco’s dictatorship?
When we began filming the process of the “Argentine lawsuit” in 2012, which challenged this status quo, few thought that it would amount to much. But as we filmed those early meetings, we could see that the lawsuit was stirring up something vital, transforming victims and survivors into organizers and plaintiffs and bringing out dozens, and then hundreds, of testimonies from all over Spain.
As the number of testimonies snowballed, the case was building into a persuasive argument about crimes against humanity that demanded international justice. We thus discovered that The Silence of Others was going to be a story about possibilities, about trying to breach a wall, and that, rather than focusing on what had happened in the past, it would be all about what would happen in the future. We also saw that the film would embody great passion and urgency because, for many of the plaintiffs, this case would offer the last opportunity in their lifetimes to be heard.
Even so, as we set out filming those early meetings, we could scarcely have imagined that we would follow this story for six years and film over 450 hours of footage.
Screenings at HRWFF-NY
Tuesday, June 19, 2018 at 6:30 PM
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center
Wednesday, June 20, 2018 at 9:00 PM
IFC Center
