LET THE CORPSES TAN[/caption]
With little more than two weeks to go, the 6th Ithaca Fantastik (IF) taking place November 3 to 12 in Ithaca, NY, unveiled its full features and short film lineup of 37 films from 20 countries.
In LET THE CORPSES TAN, Belgian duo Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani pay visual homage to Italian gangster films. Marc Meyers’s award-winning MY FRIEND DAHMER, based on the graphic novel of the same name, follows the teenage years of the budding serial killer. Ryan Prows’s mesmerizing and gritty LA tale LOWLIFE takes viewers on a high-energy organ-harvesting misadventure. And Deborah Haywoods’s beautifully disturbing and deeply personal PIN CUSHION explores intergenerational bullying in a small but toxic English town.
Playing to a full range of IF6’s retrospective theme—Italiano Psichedeliko—with a contemporary eye, Rupert Jones’s murder-mystery, KALEIDOSCOPE, mesmerizes with lush visuals and amazing performances from Sinead Matthews and Toby Jones. Rainer Sarnet’s NOVEMBER plunges vanguard film-lovers into a surrealist maelstrom of faith, witchcraft, and love, while German tale FREDDY/EDDY ushers in a doubled and troubled soul from the mind of Tini Tüllmann.
Any pure horror lovers in the room? Giddens Ko’s MON MON MON MONSTER blows minds with its thoughtful subtext on bullying dressed with gory violence. A Taiwanese echo to Haywoods’s PIN CUSHION, this film takes no prisoners. The same can be said about Gabriela Amaral’s FRIENDLY BEAST: What starts out as a classic social drama makes a sharp turn into more graphic territory demanding self-reflection. And for undead action, Robin Aubert’s LES AFFAMÉS – an art house Zombie film full of deep social commentary—is a brilliant homage to maestro George Romero’s ghoul metaphor.
Sometimes, real life is more Fantastik than fiction. Brad Abrahams’s documentary, LOVE AND SAUCERS, tells the improbable story of David Higgins’ intimate love for an alien and the art that followed. For sheer genre joy, Australian mockumentary TOP KNOT DETECTIVE is Aaron McCann and Dominic Pearce’s madcap love letter to late-night Japanese television—from Lone Wolf and Cub and Mute Samurai to Message from Space and Space Sheriff Gavan.
IF completes this year’s smorgasbord with the crazies: Adolfo Kolmerer and William James’s SNOWFLAKE, the prodigal son of Pulp Fiction and Synecdoche NY, with producer Eric Sonnenburg here for the sceening; Thomas Berg and Frederik Waldeland’s super-weird, laugh-out-loud VAMPYR VIDAR; and Jimmy Henderson’s JAILBREAK with its roots in HK martial arts cinema, Jean Paul Ly’s choreography, dynamic camerawork, and the incisive power of a Tony Jaa elbow strike.
IF also shines a spotlight on BLUE UNDERGROUND, Bill Lustig’s distribution company, with the 4K restoration of Gary Sherman’s DEATH LINE, a direct transfer from the camera negative—as close as you can get to a director’s true vision! Another new 4K transfer, Bob Clark’s DEAD BY NIGHT, offers a deep meditation on the effects of war …with a zombie trope.
Along with this incredible lineup, IF will also present its 2017 art show: THE STRANGE COLORS OF GILLES VRANCKX featuring the work of the Belgian poster genius behind art for Amer, The Strange Colors of Your Body’s Tears, LET THE CORPSES TAN, and more.
Film Festivals
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6th Ithaca Fantastik Announces Lineup, LET THE CORPSES TAN, MY FRIEND DAHMER and More..
[caption id="attachment_24807" align="aligncenter" width="1023"] LET THE CORPSES TAN[/caption]
With little more than two weeks to go, the 6th Ithaca Fantastik (IF) taking place November 3 to 12 in Ithaca, NY, unveiled its full features and short film lineup of 37 films from 20 countries.
In LET THE CORPSES TAN, Belgian duo Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani pay visual homage to Italian gangster films. Marc Meyers’s award-winning MY FRIEND DAHMER, based on the graphic novel of the same name, follows the teenage years of the budding serial killer. Ryan Prows’s mesmerizing and gritty LA tale LOWLIFE takes viewers on a high-energy organ-harvesting misadventure. And Deborah Haywoods’s beautifully disturbing and deeply personal PIN CUSHION explores intergenerational bullying in a small but toxic English town.
Playing to a full range of IF6’s retrospective theme—Italiano Psichedeliko—with a contemporary eye, Rupert Jones’s murder-mystery, KALEIDOSCOPE, mesmerizes with lush visuals and amazing performances from Sinead Matthews and Toby Jones. Rainer Sarnet’s NOVEMBER plunges vanguard film-lovers into a surrealist maelstrom of faith, witchcraft, and love, while German tale FREDDY/EDDY ushers in a doubled and troubled soul from the mind of Tini Tüllmann.
Any pure horror lovers in the room? Giddens Ko’s MON MON MON MONSTER blows minds with its thoughtful subtext on bullying dressed with gory violence. A Taiwanese echo to Haywoods’s PIN CUSHION, this film takes no prisoners. The same can be said about Gabriela Amaral’s FRIENDLY BEAST: What starts out as a classic social drama makes a sharp turn into more graphic territory demanding self-reflection. And for undead action, Robin Aubert’s LES AFFAMÉS – an art house Zombie film full of deep social commentary—is a brilliant homage to maestro George Romero’s ghoul metaphor.
Sometimes, real life is more Fantastik than fiction. Brad Abrahams’s documentary, LOVE AND SAUCERS, tells the improbable story of David Higgins’ intimate love for an alien and the art that followed. For sheer genre joy, Australian mockumentary TOP KNOT DETECTIVE is Aaron McCann and Dominic Pearce’s madcap love letter to late-night Japanese television—from Lone Wolf and Cub and Mute Samurai to Message from Space and Space Sheriff Gavan.
IF completes this year’s smorgasbord with the crazies: Adolfo Kolmerer and William James’s SNOWFLAKE, the prodigal son of Pulp Fiction and Synecdoche NY, with producer Eric Sonnenburg here for the sceening; Thomas Berg and Frederik Waldeland’s super-weird, laugh-out-loud VAMPYR VIDAR; and Jimmy Henderson’s JAILBREAK with its roots in HK martial arts cinema, Jean Paul Ly’s choreography, dynamic camerawork, and the incisive power of a Tony Jaa elbow strike.
IF also shines a spotlight on BLUE UNDERGROUND, Bill Lustig’s distribution company, with the 4K restoration of Gary Sherman’s DEATH LINE, a direct transfer from the camera negative—as close as you can get to a director’s true vision! Another new 4K transfer, Bob Clark’s DEAD BY NIGHT, offers a deep meditation on the effects of war …with a zombie trope.
Along with this incredible lineup, IF will also present its 2017 art show: THE STRANGE COLORS OF GILLES VRANCKX featuring the work of the Belgian poster genius behind art for Amer, The Strange Colors of Your Body’s Tears, LET THE CORPSES TAN, and more.
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28th Stockholm International Film Festival Announces Lineup, THE SHAPE OF WATER, DOWNSIZING and More
[caption id="attachment_25167" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Sally Hawkins and Octavia Spencer in the film THE SHAPE OF WATER.[/caption]
150 films from 60 different countries have been selected to be screened at the 28th Stockholm International Film Festival that takes place from the November 8th to the 19th.
A third of the films in this year’s festival program are directed by first-time filmmakers, the festival is also joined by legends such as this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award-winner Vanessa Redgrave.
After a long and successful Hollywood-career 80 year old Vanessa Redgrave makes her debut as a director with the documentary Sea Sorrow. The film focuses on the global refugee crisis and is a part of this years Spotlight – Change.
This years Visionary Award recipient is the director Pablo Larraín. Larraín is the director behind the Academy Award-nominated Jackie (2016); he is now attending the Stockholm Film festival with his latest film Neruda.
The premiere movie of this year’s film festival is the critically acclaimed film The Shape Of Water by the director behind the Academy Award-winning Pan’s Labyrinth Guillermo del Toro. Del Toro also won the Gold Lion at the Venice Film Festival earlier this year.
A selection of other films that will be screened are: Thelma by Joachim Trier, Call Me By Your Name by Luca Guadagnino, The Party by Sally Porter, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri by Martin McDonagh and last but not least Downsizing by Alexander Payne.
Stockholm International Film Festival – Program 2017
Stockholm XXVIII Competition
A Ciambra by Jonas Carpignano (Italy, France, USA, Germany, 120 min) Ava by Léa Mysius (France, 106 min) Beach Rats by Eliza Hittman Co (USA, 95 min) Beast by Michael Pearce (Great Britain, 107 min) Falling by Marina Stepanska (Ukraine, 105 min) Gabriel And The Mountain by Fellipe Gamarano Barbosa (Brazil, France, 127min) God’s Own Country by Francis Lee (Great Britain, 104 min) I Am Not A Witch by Rungano Nyoni (Great Britain, France, 92 min) Insyriated by Philippe Van Leeuw (Belgium, France, Liban, 85 min) Jeune Femme by Léonor Serraille (France, 97 min) King Of Peking by Sam Voutas (USA, Australia, China, 88 min) La familia by Gustavo Rondón Córdova (Venezuela, Chili, Norway, 82 min) Los Perros by Marcela Said (Chile, France, 94 min) No Date, No Signature by Vahid Jalilvand (Iran, 100 min) One Thousand Ropes by Tusi Tamasese (New Zealand, 98 min) The Rider by Chloé Zhao (USA, 105 min) Son of Sofia by Elina Psikou (Bulgaria, France, Greece, 105 min) Where The Shadows Fall by Valentina Pedicini (Italy, 95 min)Stockholm XXVIII Documentary Competition
A Gray State by Erik Nelson (USA, 93 min) Copwatch by Camilla Hall (USA, 99 min) For Ahkeem by Jeremy S. Levine and Landon Van Soest (USA, 89 min) The Force by Peter Nicks (USA, 93 min) Lots of Kids, A Monkey, And A Castle by Gustavo Salmerón (Spain, 90 min) The New Radical by Adam Bhala Lough (USA, 120 min) Step by Amanda Lipitz (USA, 83 min) Tarzan’s Testicles by Alexandru Solomon (Romania, France, 107 min) This is Congo by Daniel McCabe (Democratic Republic of Congo, USA, Canada, 91 min) This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous by Barbara Kopple (USA, 91 min) True Conviction by Jamie Meltzer (USA, 84 min) The Venerable W by Barbet Schroeder (France, Switzerland, 100 min)Stockholm Impact
Cardinals by Grayson Moore and Aidan Shipley (Canada, 84 min) The Last Verse by Ying`Ting Tseng (Taiwan, 100 min) My Pure Land by Sarmad Masud (Great Britain, 92 min) Searing Summer by Ebrahim Irajzad (Iran, 83 min) Wild Roses by Anna Jadowska (Poland, 89 min)Open Zone
A Fantastic Woman by Sebastián Lelio (Chile, USA, Germany, Spain, 104 min) A Man Of Integrity by Mohammad Rasoulof (Iran, 117 min) Amant Double by François Ozon (France, 110 min) April’s Daughter by Michel Franco (Mexico, 102 min) Based On A True Story by Roman Polanski (France, 110 min) Call Me By Your Name by Luca Guadagnino (Italy, France, 130 min) Free And Easy by Jun Geng (Honk Kong, 97 minutes) Gisslan by Rezo Gigineishvili (Russian Federation, Georgia, Poland, 103 min) Have A Nice Day by Liu Jian (China, 75 min) Ice Mother by Bohdan Sláma (Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, 105 min) Mr. Long by Sabu (Japan, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Germany, 129 min) On The Beach At Night Alone by Hong Sang`Soo (South Korea, 101 min) Our Time Will Come by Ann Hui (Honk Kong, 130 min) Radiance by Naomi Kawase (Japan, France, 101 min) Thelma by Joachin Trier (Norway, France, 109 min) The Shape Of Water by Guillermo del Toro (USA, 119 min) The Wandering Soap Opera by Raúl Ruiz and Valeria Sarmiento (Chile, 80 min) The Workshop by Laurent Cantet (France, 113 min)American Independents
Band Aid by Zoe Lister`Jones (USA, 94 min) The Boy Downstairs by Sophie Brooks (USA, 91 min) Brigsby Bear by Dave McCary (USA, 100 min) Crown Heights by Matt Ruskin (USA, 99 min) The Endless by Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson ( USA, 111 min) The Florida Project by Sean Baker (USA, 115 min) Gemini by Aaron Katz (USA, 93 min) Ingrid Goes West by Matt Spicer (USA, 97 min) Kings by Deniz Gamze Ergüven (France, Belgium, 86 min Life And Nothing More by Antonio Méndez Esparza (USA, 113 min) The Lovers by Azazel Jacobs (USA, 98 min) Keep The Change by Rachel Israel (USA, 94 min) Most Beautiful Island by Ana Asensio (USA, Spain, 80 min) Permanent by Colette Burson (USA, 97 min) Sollers Point by Matthew Porterfield (USA, France, 101 min) Who We Are Now by Matthew Newton (USA, 99 min)Icons
Battle Of The Sexes by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Great Britain, USA, 121 min) Breathe by Andy Serkis (Great Britain, 117 min) Downsizing by Alexander Payne (USA, 135 min) The Final Journey by Nick Baker`Monteys (Germany, 100 min) Final Portrait by Stanley Tucci (USA, 90 min) Hannah by Andrea Pallaoro (France, 80 min) The Hero by Brett Haley (USA, 96 min) Let The Sunshine In by Claire Denis (France, 94 min) The Party by Sally Potter (Great Britain, 71 min) Reinventing Marvin by Anne Fontaine (France, 115 min) Rodin by Jacques Doillon (France, 119 min) Suburbicon by George Clooney (USA, 105 min) Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri by Martin McDonagh (USA, UK, 115 min) You disappear by Peter Schønau Fog (Denmark, 118 min) Wonder Wheel by Woody Allen (USA, 101 min)Discovery
Axolotl Overkill by Helene Hegemann (Germany, 94 min) Daybreak by Gentian Koçi (Albania, Greece, 85 min) Disappearance by Ali Asgari (Iran, Qatar, 88 min) Don’t Swallow My Heart, Alligator Girl! by Felipe Bragança (Brazil, Netherlands, France, Paraguay, 108 min) If You Saw His Heart by Joan Chemla (France, 86 min) Killing Jesus by Laura Mora (Colombia, Argentina, 100 min) Menashe by Joshua Z Weinstein (USA, 82 min) Oh Lucy! by Atsuko Hirayanagi (Japan, USA, 97 min) The Testament by Amichai Greenberg (Israel, 88 min) Vazante by Daniela Thomas (Brazil, Portugal, 116 min)Documania
Chavela by Catherine Gund and Daresha Kyi (USA, 90 min) Dina by Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini (USA, 101 min) Hondros directed by Greg Campbell (USA, 93 min) The Paris Opera by Jean`Stéphane Bron (France, 110 min) Return Of A President – After The Coup In Madagascar by Lotte Mik`Meyer (Denmark, South Africa, France, Madagascar, 78 min) Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World by Catherine Bainbridge and Alfonso Maiorana (Canada, 103 min) Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda by Stephen Nomura Schible (USA, 102 min) Served Like A Girl by Lysa Heslov (USA, 93 min) Shadowman by Oren Jacoby (USA, 83 min) Take Every Wave: The Life Of Laird Hamilton by Rory Kennedy (USA, 118 min) Walk with me by Max Pugh and Marc J. Francis (Great Britain, 94 min)Twilight Zone
A Day by Sun`Ho Cho (South Korea, 90 min) Blade Of The Immortal by Takashi Miike (Japan, 140 min) The Cured by David Freyne (Ireland, Great Britain, France, 95 min) Double Date by Benjamin Barfoot (Great Britain, 90 min) Les Affamés by Robin Aubert (Canada, 100 min) Jailbreak by Jimmy Henderson (Cambodia, 92 min) Lowlife by Ryan Prows (USA, 98 min) The Merciless by Sung`Hyun Byun (South Korea, 120 min) Ugly Nasty People by Cosimo Gomez (Italy, France, 87 min) The Villainess by Byung`Gil Jung (South Korea, 129 min)Spotlight
An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power by Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk (USA, 99 min) Human Flow by Ai Wei Wei (Germany, 140 min) More by Onur Saylak (Turkey, 115 min) This Is Our Land by Lucas Belvaux (France, Belgium, 118 min) Wasted! The Story Of Food Waste by Anna Chai and Nari Kye (USA, 85 min) Zagros by Sahim Omar Kalifa (Belgium, 100 min)Stockholm XXVIII Short Film Competition
A Gentle Night by Qui Yang (China, 15 min) Aria by Myrsini Aristidou (Cyprus, France, 14 min) Atelier by Elsa María Jakobsdóttir (Denmark, 30 min) Bonboné by Rakan Mayasi (Lebanon, Palestine, 15 min) Hombre by Juan Pablo Arias Muñoz (Chile, 21 min) Into the Blue by Antoneta Kusijanovic (Croatia, Slovenia, 22 min) Kudzu by Connor Simpson (USA, 15 min) Lost Property Office by Daniel Agdag (Australia, 10 min) Marlon by Jessica Palud (France, Belgium, 19 min) The Ogre by Laurène Braibant (France, 10 min) Retouch by Kaveh Mazaheri (Iran, 20 min) Signature by Kei Chikaura (Japan, 13 min) Superpower Girl by Soo`Young Kim (South Korea, 24 min) Time To Go by Grzegorz Mołda (Poland, 15 min) You Will Be Fine by Céline Devaux (France, 15 min)Special Event
Neruda by Pablo Larraín (Chile, Argentina, France, Spain, USA, 107 min) Varg by Frida Kempff and Erik Andersson (Sverige, 11 min) Sea Sorrow by Vanessa Redgrave (Great Britain, 74 min) Surprise film1 Km Film
Förebilder by Elin Övergaard (Sweden,13 min) In Love by Ville Gideon Sörman (Denmark, 29 min) Intercourse by Jonatan Etzler (Sweden, 10 min) Mephobia by Mika Gustafsson (Sweden, 24 min) Min Homosyster by Lia Hietala (Sweden,15 min) Push It by Julia Thelin (Sweden, 8 min) Skuggdjur by Jerry Carlsson (Sweden, 21 min) Stay Ups by Joanna Rytel (Sweden, 11 min) Stranded by Viktor Johansson (Sweden, 11 min) Turkkiosken by Bahar Pars (Sweden, 7 min) Image: Sally Hawkins and Octavia Spencer in the film THE SHAPE OF WATER. Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures. © 2017 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved
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30th IDFA to Open with World Premiere of Egyptian Documentary AMAL
The 30th International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) will open on November 15 with the world première of Amal by Egyptian director Mohamed Siam. This coming-of-age documentary follows an Egyptian teenager during the revolution and its long resonating aftermath until today.
Panning through 6 years, we see how Amal searches for her identity in a country in transition. Amal is fierce and undaunted. But, as a young woman among men, she has to fight to survive and to find her own place in the streets and in all other areas of life. Amal has been selected for the IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary and the focus program Shifting Perspectives: The Arab World.
Artistic director (interim) Barbara Visser: “In its choice of Amal as its opening film, IDFA has been able to combine almost everything it considers important: cinematic depiction of reality, an intimate story, and showcasing work by up-and-coming film talent from all over the world.” Siam (1982) is a fiction and documentary filmmaker from Egypt whose first work Whose Country? (2016) was amongst others selected for the New York Film Festival, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and won the Silver Hugo at the Chicago Film Festival. He has previously won the Robert Bosch Film Prize, Durban FilmMart Afridocs Prize and Thessaloniki Award. For Amal, he took on the roles of writer, director, cinematographer and producer.
This film was made with support from the IDFA Bertha Fund (IBF) and attracted finance at the IDFA Forum. This year, 57 projects have been selected from 23 countries, for IDFA Forum Selection 2017, including new projects by Victor Kossakovsky, Nino Kirtadze, Jian Fan and Maite Alberdi.
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NAILA AND THE UPRISING, Story of the Role Women Played in First Intifada, Premieres at DOC NYC
Naila And The Uprising
Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Julia Bacha (Budrus, My Neighbourhood), Naila And The Uprising tells the remarkable story of Naila Ayesh, who played a key role in the First Intifada, the most vibrant, nonviolent mobilization in Palestinian history.
Naila And The Uprising will World Premiere at the eighth annual DOC NYC festival on Sunday, November 12 at the SVA Theatre, 209 East 23rd Street.
When the uprising broke out in the late 1980s, Naila was living in Gaza. Faced with a choice between love, family and freedom, she embraced all three, joining a clandestine network of Palestinian women in a movement that forced the world and Israel to recognize the Palestinian right to self-determination for the first time. The film focuses on the power of women’s leadership in building a united front in the struggle for self-determination, equality and freedom in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It inventively combines animation with archival footage to explore this hidden history.
Naila And The Uprising premieres in the month leading up to the 30th anniversary of the start of the First Intifada on December 9, 1987 and, following its DOC NYC screening, will launch internationally at IDFA in Amsterdam.
Julia Bacha said the film was a long-anticipated Just Vision production: “The First Intifada is an iconic moment in Palestinian history, when women took the helm of leadership positions at the grassroots and guided a civil resistance effort that was highly strategic, effective and creative and, in many ways, is an example of what civil resistance can achieve in the face of overwhelming repression. It’s a story that the media at the time missed—a trend that continues today as communities organize across the region for equality, freedom and justice—and we’re thrilled to finally bring it to light.”
As part of a newly announced deal with Fork Films and THIRTEEN/WNET, Naila And The Uprising will be included in the four-part Women, War & Peace II series, which is slated to have its exclusive US broadcast premiere on PBS in 2018, as well as broad international distribution. This is the second installment of the Women War & Peace series, which highlights how women in contemporary conflict zones risk their lives and lift their communities in pursuit of freedom and justice. The first installment of the series in 2011—which included groundbreaking films like Pray the Devil Back to Hell—exceeded the expectations of PBS and the series producers.
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New Auteurs and American Independents Films Announced for AFI FEST 2017
[caption id="attachment_25151" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
I AM NOT A WITCH[/caption]
The American Film Institute announced today the films that will be featured in the New Auteurs and American Independents sections at AFI FEST 2017 presented by Audi.
Highlighting first- and second-time feature film directors, New Auteurs is the festival’s platform for upcoming filmmakers from all over the world to showcase their new films. This year, the section is comprised of 11 films, nine of which come from female directors.
The American Independents section represents the best of independent filmmaking this year. Pushing boundaries of form and content across narrative and documentary cinema, this section includes 11 films from both fresh new voices and filmmakers returning to AFI FEST.
“The New Auteurs and American Independents programming speaks to a singular mandate of AFI FEST: ensuring that emerging filmmakers from around the globe have a world-class venue to present their stories to an eager audience,” said Lane Kneedler, AFI FEST Director of Programming. “These films embody the promise of women and men who strive to lift our spirits through comedy, documentary, drama, science fiction and even a great American western.”
NEW AUTEURS
AVA – After an adolescent girl discovers she will soon go blind, she confronts the problem in her own way in this disturbing, visually bold debut. DIR Léa Mysius. SCR Léa Mysius, Paul Guilhaume. CAST Noée Abita, Laure Calamy, Juan Cano. France CLOSENESS (TESNOTA) – Controversial and beloved in equal measure, the film centers on a young woman eking out an existence in a remote region of Russia, and the choices she must face when her brother and his fiancée are kidnapped. DIR Kantemir Balagov. SCR Kantemir Balagov, Anton Yarush. CAST Atrem Cipin, Olga Dragunova, Veniamin Kac, Darya Zhovnar, Nazir Zhukov. Russia HANNAH – Charlotte Rampling gives another career-defining performance in this taut and layered film as a woman dealing with the fallout of an abhorrent crime committed by her husband. DIR Andrea Pallaoro. SCR Andrea Pallaoro, Orlando Tirado. CAST Charlotte Rampling, Andre Wilms. Italy, Belgium, France HAVE A NICE DAY (HAO JI LE) – This morbid, hilarious animated noir cuts deep into the greed fueling the Chinese economic miracle. DIR/SCR Liu Jian. CAST Zhu Changlong, Cao Kai, Liu Jian, Yang Siming, Shi Haitao, Ma Xiaofeng, Xue Feng, Zheng Yi. China HIGH FANTASY – Four South African friends on a camping trip discover they’ve switched bodies in this found-footage sophomore feature that cathartically examines racial and gender issues. DIR Jenna Bass. SCR Jenna Bass, Qondiswa James, Nala Khumalo, Francesca Varrie Michel, Liza Scholtz, Loren Loubser. CAST Qondiswa James, Nala Khumalo, Francesca Varrie Michel, Liza Scholtz, Loren Loubser. South Africa I AM NOT A WITCH – A nine-year-old girl ignites a rebellion in the witch camp where she’s been imprisoned, in this bold debut that beautifully mixes satire, superstition and ambiguity. DIR/SCR Rungano Nyoni. CAST Margaret Mulubwa, Henry B.J. Phiri, Nancy Mulilo. France, UK, Germany MILLA – The happy but impoverished life-on-the-fringes of a young French couple is captured with observational care and quiet grace in this striking new work. DIR/SCR Valérie Massadian. CAST Severine Jonckeere, Luc Chessel, Ethan Jonckeere. France PENDULAR – This intense and unforgettable debut melds sculpture, dance and film in a tale brimming with sexual passion. DIR/SCR Júlia Murat, Matias Mariani. CAST Raquel Karro, Rodrigo Bolzan, Neto Machado, Marcio Vito, Felipe Rocha, Renato Linhares, Larissa Siqueira, Carlos Eduardo Santos, Valeria Barretta, Martina Revollo. Argentina, Brazil, France SUMMER 1993 – In this unforgettable and autobiographical debut, a six-year-old girl goes to live with her extended family in the Catalan countryside following her mother’s death from an AIDS-related illness. DIR/SCR Carla Simón. CAST Laia Artigas, Paula Robles, Bruna Cusí, David Verdaguer, Fermí Reixach. Spain WHAT WOULD PEOPLE SAY (HVA VIL FOLK SI) – A Norwegian-Pakistani teenage girl must bear the consequences of her rebellious actions in this powerful sophomore feature. DIR/SCR Iram Haq. CAST Maria Mozhdah, Adil Hussain, Rohit Saraf, Ekavali Khanna, Ali Arfan, Sheeba Chaddha, Lalit Parimoo, Jannat Zubair Rahmani, Nokokure Dahl, Trine Wiggen, Maria Bock, Sara Khorami. Norway, Germany, Sweden WINTER BROTHERS (VINTERBRØDRE) – A loner in a snowy mining community is pushed to violent extremes in this hypnotic, beautiful debut out of Denmark. DIR/SCR Hlynur Pálmason. CAST Elliott Crosset Hove, Simon Sears, Victoria Carmen Sonne, Peter Plaugborg, Lars Mikkelsen. Denmark, IcelandAMERICAN INDEPENDENTS
THE BALLAD OF LEFTY BROWN – Bill Pullman gives a career-best performance in Jared Moshé’s cleverly scripted, thrilling love letter to the Western. DIR/SCR Jared Moshé. CAST Bill Pullman, Kathy Baker, Jim Caviezel, Tommy Flanagan, Peter Fonda. USA BODIED – A meek white-boy rapper wants to spit fire, but does cultural appropriate outweigh his desire? DIR Joseph Kahn. SCR Alex Larsen. CAST Calum Worthy, Jackie Long, Charlamagne Tha God, Anthony Michael Hall, Rory Uphold, Dumbfoundead, Walter Perez, Shoniqua Shandai, Dizaster, Debra Wilson, Loaded Lux. USA CALIFORNIA DREAMS – Beautiful and multilayered, Mike Ott’s latest work of docufiction centers on struggling individuals in Valencia, CA, and the profound chasm between their lives and dreams of stardom. DIR Mike Ott. CAST Cory Zacharia, Patrick Ilaguno, Carolan J. Pinto, Neil Harley, Kevin Gilger AKA K-Nine. USA EL MAR LA MAR – A stunning new film from Harvard’s Sensory Ethnography Lab, EL MAR LA MAR dives into matters of life and death at the U.S.-Mexico border in the Sonoran Desert, where legions of immigrants are dying to cross. DIR/SCR Joshua Bonnetta & J.P. Sniadecki. USA THE ENDLESS – Filmmaking duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead return with another fiercely original sci-fi horror film, this time set in a UFO death cult. DIR Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead. SCR Justin Benson. CAST Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, Callie Hernandez, Tate Ellington. USA FITS AND STARTS – Wyatt Cenac and Greta Lee star in this fantastic and funny debut centering on two married writers — one successful, the other not so much. DIR/SCR Laura Terruso. CAST Wyatt Cenac, Greta Lee, Maria Dizzia. USA GEMINI – Lola Kirke stars as a personal assistant who must figure out who killed her famous employer (Zoë Kravitz) in this neon-drenched neo-noir from director Aaron Katz. DIR/SCR Aaron Katz. CAST Lola Kirke, Zoë Kravitz, John Cho, Greta Lee. USA LIFE AND NOTHING MORE – AFI FEST alum Antonio Méndez Esparza’s sophomore feature follows the day-to-day struggles of an African-American mother and her troubled son, who is getting ever closer to following in his imprisoned father’s footsteps. DIR/SCR Antonio Méndez Esparza. CAST Andrew Bleechington, Regina Williams, Robert Williams, Ry’Nesia Chambers. USA MR. ROOSEVELT – Triple threat Noël Wells directs, writes and stars in this funny tale of a struggling comedian returning to her hometown to mourn an old pet, and play third wheel to her ex and his new girlfriend. DIR/SCR Noël Wells. CAST Noël Wells, Nick Thune, Britt Lower, Daniella Pineda, Andre Hyland. USA SOLLERS POINT – This moving portrait of one young man’s frustrated attempts to rise above his obstacles after being released from prison is the latest film from indie director Matt Porterfield. DIR/SCR Matthew Porterfield. CAST McCaul Lombardi, Jim Belushi, Zazie Beetz, Everleigh Brenner. USA THOROUGHBREDS – Anya Taylor-Joy and Olivia Cooke star in this darkly comedic thriller that recalls films like HEAVENLY CREATURES and HEATHERS. DIR/SCR Cory Finley. CAST Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Anton Yelchin, Paul Sparks, Francie Swift, Kaili Vernoff. USA AFI FEST takes place November 9 to 16, 2017, in the heart of Hollywood. Screenings, Galas and other events will be held at the TCL Chinese Theatre, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and The Hollywood Roosevelt.
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Compelling Documentary WHAT HAUNTS US by Paige Goldberg Tolmach to Premiere at 2017 DOC NYC
The documentary What Haunts Us by Paige Goldberg Tolmach, tells the story about the 1979 class of Porter Gaud School in Charleston, South Carolina that graduated 49 boys. Within the last 35 years, six of these boys committed suicide.
Filmmaker Tolmach graduated from this school and now digs deep with the film in discovering the dark secrets that have lingered and haunted this community that she so loves.
What Haunts Us will premiere at the 2017 DOC NYC Film Festival on Monday Nov 13th.
The past is never dead. It’s not even past.’ William Faulkner
This is the central idea in What Haunts Us, Paige Goldberg Tolmach documentary about the horrific nightmare that happened at her seemingly perfect high school…that NO ONE wants to talk about to this day. When Paige hears about the suicide of yet another former schoolmate, she begins to take a deeper look at the past and starts to ask questions that almost no one in Charleston wants to answer. As she digs deeper, she begins to hear the awful truth about a beloved teacher who methodically manipulated and molested many of his students for years. It becomes her obsession to understand how it could have happened in plain view and, as it turns out, with the knowledge of the school. Her obsession becomes a story about our obligation to speak up and protect those who can’t protect themselves. It’s a story about how silence is complicity and about finding the courage to unearth what lies below the surface in order to shine a light on the truth of our own past.
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LIYANNA Wins Top Prizes – Best of Show and Audience Awards at 2017 BendFilm Festival
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Liyana[/caption]
Liyana, directed by Amanda Kopp and Aaron Kopp won the top prizes – Best of Show and Audience Awards at the 2017 BendFilm Festival. In total, the festival awarded 14 films and filmmakers with jury recognized and audience voted prizes.
Todd Looby, Director of BendFilm said, “I want to thank everyone who came to contribute to the creative culture of the 14th annual BendFilm Festival. […] I know the conversations sparked by these films will live on well past these 4 days.”
Erik Jambor, Festival Programmer for BendFilm said, “This year’s Festival was one of BendFilm’s funniest, deepest, most adventurous and most heartfelt programs to date. Though the awards could only go to a few, we are honored to have been able to screen and share all 105 with the our festival audience. Through dialogue and sharing stories together we strengthen our sense of community locally and around the world.”
2017 BendFilm Festival Jury Award Winners
Best of Show Liyana – directed by Amanda Kopp and Aaron Kopp Five orphaned children in Swaziland collaborate to tell a breath-takingly beautiful story of perseverance drawn from their darkest memories and brightest dreams. Their fictional character’s journey to rescue her young twin brothers is interwoven with poetic and observational documentary scenes to create a genre-defying celebration of collective storytelling. Best Director Bomb City – directed by Jamie Brooks Based on the true story of Brian Deneke, Bomb City is an intense and illuminating crime-drama about the cultural aversion of teenage punks and artists in a conservative Texas town. Their ongoing battle with a rival, more-affluent group of jocks leads to a controversial hate crime that questions the morality of American justice–especially relevant today. Best Cinematography Relationtrip – directed by Renée Felice Smith and C.A. Gabriel At an age when everyone around them is settling down and finding love, Beck and Liam are self-proclaimed loners. After bonding over their mutual disinterest in relationships, they decide to go away together on a ‘friend’ trip. And that’s when things get weird. Really, surreally weird. Best Narrative Feature Mr. Roosevelt – directed by Noël Wells After an auspicious death in her family, struggling LA-based comedian Emily Martin (Noel Wells, Master of None and SNL) returns to Austin. There she finds herself in the awkward position of staying with her ex and his new girlfriend until the funeral while trying to close old doors from her past. Best Documentary Feature Forever ‘B’ – directed by Skye Borgman In 1974, in the quiet town of Pocatello, Idaho, 12-year-old Jan Broberg was kidnapped by her family’s best friend and neighbor. 18 months later, out on bail and awaiting trial for kidnapping, Robert Berchtold abducted Jan a second time, triggering a nationwide FBI manhunt. Special Documentary Jury Award for Most Lovable Character Big Sonia – Directed by Leah Warshawski and Todd Soliday When Sonia Warshawski (90) is served an eviction notice for her iconic tailor shop (in a dead Seattle mall), she’s confronted with an agonizing decision: either open up a new shop or retire. For a woman who admits she stays busy “to keep the dark parts away,” facing retirement dredges up fears she’d long forgot she had, and her horrific past resurfaces. Special Short Film Jury Award A Shepherd – directed by Vern Moen A young shepherd in Oregon’s Willamette Valley struggles with the life and death circle of his ancient job in a modern era. Special Short Film Jury Award Homegrown – directed by Quentin Hamberham Francis learns that what is right for himself may not be best for his son. Special Short Film Jury Award Mixtape Marauders – directed by Peter Edlund Two young burnouts live in a world of mindless day jobs, petty drug deals, and wildly unconventional musical tastes. Best Student Short How Far She Went – directed by Ugla Hauksdóttir Adapted from the Flannery O’Connor Award-winning short story by Mary Hood, How Far She Went takes an unflinching look at family, personal sacrifice, and the lengths we will go for those we love. Best Documentary Short The Last Honey Hunter – directed by Ben Knight Maule Dhan Rai is the last man in the remote Nepal village of Saadi who has been visited in a dream by a spirit called Rongkemi. If no one else in the village has the dream, a generations-old tradition may die. Best Animated Short Pittari – directed by Patrick Smith A horned creature’s destructive rampage is halted by a stubborn adversary. Best Narrative Short Emergency – directed by Carey Williams Faced with an emergency, a group of young Black and Latino friends carefully weigh the pros and cons of calling the police. Best of the Northwest Short Running Eagle – directed by Konrad Tho Fiedler An American Indian girl escapes from captivity in the oil fields of North Dakota and hitchhikes back to her home in Blackfeet country, Montana. 2017 BendFilm Katie Merritt Audience Award Liyana – directed by Amanda Kopp and Aaron Kopp Five orphaned children in Swaziland collaborate to tell a breath-takingly beautiful story of perseverance drawn from their darkest memories and brightest dreams. Their fictional character’s journey to rescue her young twin brothers is interwoven with poetic and observational documentary scenes to create a genre-defying celebration of collective storytelling.
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BIG TIME, Portrait of Bjarke Ingels, Architect of 2 World Trade Center, to Premiere at DOC NYC | Trailer
Big Time is an intimate portrait of the Danish starchitect – Bjarke Ingels – the architect of the 2 World Trade Center, as he tries to balance his professional ambition and personal life. The film will have its NYC Premiere at the 2017 DOC NYC in Art + Design section on Wednesday, November 15, 2017.
Big Time is spread over a period of six years while his architecture firm BIG works to complete their largest projects yet, the 2 World Trade Center and the New York skyscraper VIA 57W, which houses the newly opened multiplex Landmark at 57 West, where the film opens later this year for a week-long theatrical run.
Director Kaspar Astrup Schröder is a self-taught visual artist and designer. Though based in Copenhagen, he often works in Asia. Has exhibited visual work and released music in Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Brussels, New York, Shenzhen and Tokyo. His previous films THE INVENTION OF DR. NAKAMATS (2009) and MY PLAYGROUND (2010) were selected for the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). RENT A FAMILY INC. (2012) was honored with a Golden Eye Award in the category Best International Documentary at Zürich International Film Festival.
Astrup Schröder: “I wanted to convey architecture in a different, cinematic way. Bjarke’s business in New York evolved so quickly, it was as if he had put himself in the driver ’s seat in a train, which could never stop, and now he had to lay the tracks while managing the steering wheel. He ran into some health-related issues, and the pressure became even bigger. That’s when I started to feel that the film could be more universal and that it could also paint the greater picture of of how the little things in life – close relations, love and health – might be more important than we presume.”
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INFINITY BABY and SHINGAL, WHERE ARE YOU? Win Top Awards at Woodstock Film Festival
On Saturday, the 18th Woodstock Film Festival Maverick Awards Ceremony took place at Backstage Studio Productions in Kingston, NY, with INFINITY BABY winning award for Best Narrative Feature, and Best Documentary Feature for SHINGAL, WHERE ARE YOU?
Celebrated producer, talent manager, and film agent Shep Gordon was presented with the Trailblazer Award for his visionary approach to the arts.
Actor Bill Pullman received the Excellence in Acting Award. Earlier in the day, following the East Coast premiere of THE BALLAD OF LEFTY BROWN, the actor discussed his role as the title character.
18th Woodstock Film Festival Maverick Awards Winners
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE
The GIGANTIC PICTURES’ FEATURE NARRATIVE AWARD went to Bob Byington for INFINITY BABY. In this absurdist comedy set in the near-future, Ben, a perpetual dater who is incapable to commit to any relationship, portrayed in a wonderfully wacky performance by Kieran Culkin, works for a company tasked with finding a forever home for genetically modified babies who don’t age, cry, eat or soil diapers. So-called Infinity Babies are a stylistic choice for parents who don’t want the responsibilities of raising a child. But somewhere along the way, one of these care-free babies almost dies of neglect and one of our characters discovers a need and knack for parenting. Featuring such supporting comedic veterans as Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally (both from Parks and Recreation) and Martin Starr (Freaks and Geeks, Silicon Valley), whose hilarious performances are essential to the whole, and assuredly directed by Bob Byington with beautiful black and white imagery, Infinity Baby is about trying to find our place in a world that is becoming increasingly artificial and the human relationships and connections that we hone along the way. – Evan Thomas Honorable Mention went to Bruce Thierry Cheung for DON’T COME BACK FROM THE MOON. A Special Award for Excellence in Acting by an Ensemble went to SUBMISSION.BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Best Documentary Feature, sponsored by Films We Like, was presented to director Angelos Rallis for SHINGAL, WHERE ARE YOU? In 2014, the Yezidis, a persecuted minority in Iraq, were driven from their ancestral land by ISIS during a campaign of genocide in which more than 3,000 women and children were kidnapped. Caught in raw, sweeping cinematography, SHINGAL, WHERE ARE YOU? weaves together the dramatic stories of the remaining young boys and their families, relegated to an abandoned coal mine on the Turkish border and longing for their lost home. Honorable Mention to director Lillian Lasalle for MY NAME IS PEDRO.BEST SHORTS
Best Narrative Short Sponsored by Gigantic Pictures, went to director Laura Beckner for (LE) REBOUND. Honorable Mention went to THE FOSTER PORTFOLIO. Best Student Short Sponsored by Gigantic Pictures, went to director Kevin Wilson, Jr. for MY NEPHEW EMMETT. Honorable Mention went to TV IN THE FISHTAIL. Best Animated Short was Presented to PatRick Smith for PITTARI. Best Short Documentary, sponsored by Markertek.com, went to Kyle Morrison for MOTT HAVEN. Honorable mention to Jon Bunning for THE TABLES.OTHER AWARDS
The Woodstock Film Festival Ultra Indie Award was presented to Harris Doran for BEAUTY MARK. The Haskell Wexler Award for Best Cinematography went to David Kruta for THE SOUNDING. The James Lyons Editing Award For Narrative Feature was presented to editor Joe Murphy for DON’T COME BACK FROM THE MOON. The James Lyons Editing Award For Documentary Feature was presented to editor Toby Shimin for 32 PILLS: MY SISTER’S SUICIDE. The World Cinema Award, presented to Sandra Vannucchi for GIRL IN FLIGHT. The jury also gave a special mention to the young actress Lisa Ruth Andreozzi for her breakthrough performance. The Carpe Diem Andretta Award presented to the film that best represents living life to the fullest was awarded to director Lisa France and subject Gabriel Cordell for ROLL WITH ME.
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20 Pound Nutrias Invade Louisiana in Documentary RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE | Trailer
Rodents Of Unusual Size takes us up-close into a large region south of New Orleans that survived hurricane Katrina and is now facing its latest threat—hordes of monstrous 20 pound rodents known as the nutria.
The documentary by award winning filmmaking team Chris Metzler and Jeff Springer (Plagues and Pleasures of the Salton Sea and Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone) & co-director Quinn Costello. The film will screen as part of 2017 DOC NYC at the IFC Film Center on November 15th at 7:15pm.
Louisiana’s coastal wetlands are one of the largest disappearing landmasses in the world and the voracious appetite of this curious and unexpected invasive species from South America is greatly accelerating coastal erosion, which in turn makes the area even more vulnerable to hurricanes. As the coastline disappears, the hunters and trappers, fishermen and shrimpers, storytellers and musicians that makes Louisiana a country unto itself are leaving en masse. Nonetheless, a stalwart few remain and are fighting back.
Rodents Of Unusual Size tells the story of one such diehard, Thomas Gonzales, and his community of Delacroix Island, as they resist the invasion of the rodents. The state of Louisiana has started a program that pays a $5 bounty for every nutria tail collected, which has helped the effort, by encouraging former trappers to hunt the nutrias for their tails instead of the fur. Others have tried business ventures to harvest the nutria for their fur and meat, in hopes that by creating a demand for this sustainable resource, they could help protect the wetlands and fight back the rodents.
And yet despite the havoc this invasive species has wrought on Southern Louisiana, it has also been embraced by the culture. The Audubon Zoo in New Orleans has opened a nutria exhibit, the local Triple-A baseball team has a nutria as a mascot, a fashion collective designs clothing made out of nutria promoting it as “sustainable fur” and even some Cajuns have nutria as pets.
Through the offbeat and unexpected stories of the people confronting the nutria problem, the film confronts issues surrounding coastal erosion, the devastation following hurricanes, loss of culture and homeland, and the resilience of the human spirit.
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LOVELESS, THE WOUND and KINGDOM OF US Win BFI London Film Festival Awards
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Loveless[/caption]
Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Loveless, a film about a divorcing Russian couple whose son disappears, won the Best Film Award at the 61st BFI London Film Festival.
This is the second time that Andrey Zvyagintsev has won the Best Film at BFI London Film Festival having previously received the award for Leviathan in 2014, which went on to win the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language film and was nominated for an Academy Award and a BAFTA in the same category.
The jury commented, “We felt that Loveless was a very poetic and beautiful film. Dark and told with a fierce passion. Although the film concentrated on the intimate story of one family in Russia, it felt like a universal tragedy; one that we recognized as one of the world’s great sadnesses. The filmmaker elevated the personal to a social and political statement. A critique of our current psychological and political moment. Some of us felt the film a cautionary tale. An angry warning. And some of us saw it as a rallying call for the opposite of what the film is called”
The Sutherland Award, awarded to the director of the most original and imaginative first feature in the Festival, went to John Trengove for The Wound, a powerful exploration of masculinity and unspoken queer desire set in the remote mountains of South Africa’s Eastern Cape.
And, the Grierson Award for the Best Documentary went to Lucy Cohen’s documentary feature debut, Kingdom of Us, a luminous exploration of grief, identity, family bonds and emotional recovery.
OFFICIAL COMPETITION WINNER – Best Film
LOVELESS, directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev (Russia, France, Germany, Belgium)
FIRST FEATURE COMPETITION WINNER – The Sutherland Award
John Trengove for THE WOUND (South Africa)
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION WINNER – The Grierson Award
KINGDOM OF US, directed by Lucy Cohen (United Kingdom)
SHORT FILM COMPETITION WINNER – Best Short Film Award
THE RABBIT HUNT directed by Patrick Bresnan (USA)
BFI FELLOWSHIP
BAFTA award-winning director, producer, screenwriter and former broadcast journalist, PAUL GREENGRASS
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Comedian Hari Kondabolu Confronts Minority Media Representation in THE PROBLEM WITH APU | Trailer
Brooklyn-based comedian Hari Kondabolu is the host of the popular podcast “Politically Re-Active” alongside W. Kamau Bell. In the new documentary, The Problem With Apu he tackles minority media representation and specifically Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, the Indian immigrant proprietor of the Kwik-E-Mart, a convenience store in Springfield – in the animated television series The Simpsons.
In this highly-personal, insightful and timely exploration of minority media representation, Kondabolu speaks with prominent South Asian actors about the damaging legacy of Apu – who is voiced by a white actor with a heavily exaggerated, stereotypical Indian accent.
Aziz Ansari, Kal Penn, Aasif Mandvi, Hasan Minjaj, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Aparna Nancherla, Russell Peters, Sakina Jaffrey and Maulik Pancholy share poignant stories about their own experiences with Apu and the broader questions about the comedy and representation he evokes.
With additional interviews with EGOT-winner Whoopi Goldberg, W. Kamau Bell, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Mallika Rao, and many more, The Problem With Apu takes a humorous look at how even a beloved television series can have a blind spot.
The Problem With Apu directed by Michael Melamedoff will World Premiere at DOC NYC 2017 on Tuesday, November 14, 2017; and will make its television premiere on truTV Sunday, November 19 at 10PM ET/PT.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGzvEqBvkP8