Cidade Pequena (Small Town) by Diogo Costa Amarante[/caption]
For the first time, the Duhok International Film Festival (September 9 – 16, 2017) in Iraq will present a Berlinale Spotlight: Berlinale Shorts. Two short film programs were compiled for the Duhok International Film Festival by Maike Mia Höhne, curator of the Berlinale section Berlinale Shorts.
The programs will present films from the Berlinale Shorts competition of the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival, including Cidade Pequena (Small Town) by Diogo Costa Amarante (Golden Bear for Best Short Film), Centauro (Centaur) by Nicolás Suárez (Honorable Mention), Martin Pleure (Martin Cries) by Jonathan Vinel and Everything by David OReilly.
Berlinale Spotlight program at the 5th Duhok International Film Festival:
Film Festivals
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Duhok International Film Festival in Iraq will Present a Berlinale Spotlight: Berlinale Shorts
[caption id="attachment_24392" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Cidade Pequena (Small Town) by Diogo Costa Amarante[/caption]
For the first time, the Duhok International Film Festival (September 9 – 16, 2017) in Iraq will present a Berlinale Spotlight: Berlinale Shorts. Two short film programs were compiled for the Duhok International Film Festival by Maike Mia Höhne, curator of the Berlinale section Berlinale Shorts.
The programs will present films from the Berlinale Shorts competition of the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival, including Cidade Pequena (Small Town) by Diogo Costa Amarante (Golden Bear for Best Short Film), Centauro (Centaur) by Nicolás Suárez (Honorable Mention), Martin Pleure (Martin Cries) by Jonathan Vinel and Everything by David OReilly.
Berlinale Spotlight program at the 5th Duhok International Film Festival:
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THE BAR, SUMMER 1993 Among Films in Made in Spain Showcase at San Sebastian International Film Festival
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THE BAR (EL BAR)[/caption]
Made in Spain, a showcase of Spanish films at the 2017 San Sebastian International Film Festival will feature eleven films, including the latest works from acclaimed directors such as Álex de la Iglesia, Agustí Villaronga and Paco Plaza.
Among the debuts are Pieles, by Eduardo Casanova, which had its premiere in the Panorama section of the Berlin Film Festival; Estiu 1993 / Summer 1993, by Carla Simón, winner of Best First Film at the Berlinale and Gold Biznaga at the Malaga Festival, the first awards in a long list of accolades; Júlia ist, Silver Biznaga for Best Film and Best Directing at the Malaga Festival, the first film by Elena Martín, star of Las amigas de Ágata; No sé decir adios (Can’t Say Goodbye), by Lino Escalera, winner of four awards at the Malaga Festival, including Special Jury Prize; and La mano invisible (The Invisible Hand), first feature film by David Macián. The film, inspired in the novel of the same name by Isaac Rosa, premiered in Seville and was selected for the San Sebastian Human Rights Festival, among others.
Gabriel Velázquez participated in Zabaltegi in 2007 with Amateurs, with a screenplay penned by Blanca Torres. The two now present Análisis de sangre azul (Analysis of Blue Blood), selected for the Seville, Nantes, Barcelona and Toulouse festivals.
Demonios tus ojos (Sister of Mine), premiered at the Rotterdam Festival, is the third work from Pedro Aguilera. Both his debut, La influencia (The Influence), premiered at the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes, and his second film, Naufragio (Wreckage), screened at San Sebastian.
Víctor García León, who competed in the Official Selection with Vete de mí (Silver Shell for Best Actor), will present Selfie, recipient of a Special Jury Mention and the Critics’ Award at Malaga.
Incerta glòria / Uncertain Glory is the latest film by Agustí Villaronga, who made his debut in San Sebastian with Tras el cristal (In a Glass Cage, Zabaltegi-New Directors, 1986) and has harvested two Best Actress Silver Shells at the Festival (with Pa negre /Black Bread and El rey de la Havana / The King of Havana).
El bar (The Bar), which premiered in Berlin, is the latest proposal from the filmmaker Álex de la Iglesia, who has participated in San Sebastian Festival’s Official Selection with several of his films, such as La comunidad (Common Wealth, Silver Shell for Carmen Maura), Las brujas de Zugarramurdi (Witching & Bitching) and Mi gran noche (My Big Night).
Paco Plaza, co-creator of the film REC with Jaume Balagueró, will present his latest genre movie, Verónica.
Made in Spain
ANÁLISIS DE SANGRE AZUL (ANALYSIS OF BLUE BLOOD) BLANCA TORRES, GABRIEL VELÁZQUEZ (SPAIN) Cast: Anders Lindstrom Análisis de sangre azul narrates the adventures of a British aristocrat who suffered a fall in the Pyrenees only to come round in a mental asylum early last century. The doctor in psychiatry Pedro Martínez records with his 16mm camera the progress of this man suffering from disorientation and memory loss. However, the doctor’s hidden intentions will drive him to take advantage of this “rare specimen’s” arrival to test his theories of evolution. DEMONIOS TUS OJOS (SISTER OF MINE) PEDRO AGUILERA (SPAIN – COLOMBIA) Cast: Julio Perillán, Ivana Baquero, Lucía Guerrero, Nicolás Coronado, Elisabet Gelabert, Juan Pablo Shuk One night, Oliver, a young film director living in Los Angeles, discovers on an erotic website that one of the stars of the explicit videos is his younger sister, Aurora. Surprised and bewildered, he decides to go to Madrid; it’s been years since he saw his family. Thus begins an obsessive search for answers, an intimate journey towards confusion and the truth of the image, a tale of domination and manipulation, of moral limits and the loss of vital and audiovisual innocence. EL BAR (THE BAR) ÁLEX DE LA IGLESIA (SPAIN – ARGENTINA) Cast: Blanca Suárez, Mario Casas, Carmen Machi, Secun de la Rosa, Jaime Ordóñez, Terele Pávez, Joaquín Climent, Alejandro Awada Nine in the morning. A motley crew are having breakfast in a bar in the centre of Madrid. One of them is in a hurry; on his way out the door he’s shot in the head. No-one dares to help him. They’re trapped. ESTIU 1993 / SUMMER 1993 CARLA SIMÓN (SPAIN) Cast: Laia Artigas, Paula Robles, Bruna Cusí, David Verdaguer In summer 1993 and following the death of her parents, 6 year-old Frida is taken from Barcelona to the Catalonian countryside. She lives with her aunt and uncle, her new legal guardians. Life in the country is a challenge for her – time passes differently in her new home and the surrounding nature is mysterious and distant. Now she has a younger sister to look after. She also has to deal with new feelings, like jealousy. The family works hard to achieve a fragile balance and bring normality to their lives. Occasionally they listen to jazz in the garden, go on family outings to a fiesta or to the swimming pool. These are happy times. Slowly, Frida starts realising she’s there to stay and must adapt to her new environment. Before summer ends, Frida will have to face up to herself. INCERTA GLÒRIA / UNCERTAIN GLORY AGUSTÍ VILLARONGA (SPAIN) Cast: Oriol Pla, Terele Pávez, Luisa Gavasa, Juan Diego, Marcel Borras, Núria Prims, Bruna Cusi The Aragon Front, 1937. Lluís, a young Republican officer sent to a temporarily inactive post, meets and falls for Carlana, an enigmatic widow. The girl convinces him to forge a document giving her the title of Lady of the region. Lluís’s best friend, Solèras, a demoted officer, discovers the fraud and, in exchange for keeping quiet about it, demands that he moves away from the Barcelona bombardments Trini, Lluís’s wife, with whom he is secretly in love, and her son. When Trini comes to the village, it won’t be long before she discovers Lluís’s betrayals as a ‘state of war’ settles in between the two, shaking all of their moral foundations. JÚLIA IST ELENA MARTÍN GIMENO (SPAIN) Cast: Elena Martín, Oriol Puig, Jakob D’Aprile, Laura Weissmahr, Carla Linares Júlia decides to go on Erasmus to Berlin. She will leave home for the first time, giving it little thought, launching herself into adventure. The city, cold and grey, will give her a frostier welcome than expected and she will face her expectations with reality: her existence will seem far removed from the new life she had dreamt of in the lecture rooms of Barcelona School of Architecture. LA MANO INVISIBLE (THE INVISIBLE HAND) DAVID MACIÁN (SPAIN) Cast: Josean Bengoetxea, Bárbara Santa-Cruz, Marta Larralde, Luis Callejo, José Luis Torrijo, Marina Salas, Daniel Pérez Prada, Edu Ferrés, Esther Ortega, Elisabet Gelabert, Bruto Pomeroy In an industrial building, eleven people are hired to go about their work in front of an audience: a bricklayer, a butcher, a seamstress, a telephone operator, a waiter, a message boy, a mechanic, a computer specialist and a cleaner. Artwork, reality show, macabre experiment: they don’t know what’s in store for them, or who is behind the hand that moves the strings of this perverse little puppet theatre. NO SÉ DECIR ADIÓS (CAN´T SAY GOODBYE) LINO ESCALERA (SPAIN) Cast: Nathalie Poza, Juan Diego, Lola Dueñas Carla gets a call from her sister: her father, with whom she fell out some time ago, is ill. That same day, Carla takes a flight to Almeria, to the home of her childhood. There, the doctors say that her father has only months to live. She refuses to accept the diagnosis and, against everyone’s opinion, decides to take him to Barcelona for treatment. The two embark on a journey to escape from a reality that neither dares to confront. And it will be in this flight that they will finally find one another and have the opportunity to say their goodbyes. PIELES (SKINS) EDUARDO CASANOVA (SPAIN) Cast: Macarena Gómez, Jon Kortajarena, Candela Peña, Carmen Machi, Ana Polvorosa, Secun de la Rosa, Joaquín Climent Physical appearance conditions us in regard to society, whether or not it is our choice. Pieles is the tale of physically diverse people whose differences have forced them to hide, shut themselves away or group together. Samantha, a woman with an inverted digestive system, Laura, a girl with no eyes, or Ana, a woman with a deformed face. Lonely people who struggle to find their place in a society that only understands one kind of physical appearance, and which excludes and mistreats those who don’t fit in. SELFIE VÍCTOR GARCÍA LEÓN (SPAIN) Cast: Santiago Alverú, Macarena Sanz, Javier Carramiñana, Pepe Ocio, Alicia Rubio, Clara Alvarado A government minister has just been arrested by the police, accused of corruption, embezzlement of public funds, money laundering and another eighteen money-related crimes. This is the tale of his son. The adventures of Bosco from the moment he is thrown out of his luxurious chalet in Moraleja until he approaches the Podemos HQ to ask for a job; his sentimental torment after his girlfriend of perfect teeth and lazy lip leaves him, until he is accepted by a blind social worker, educator in a school for the disabled; his miseries from the moment he is expelled from his exclusive Master in Directing until his fearful wanderings around the streets of the Lavapiés district. If this was a romantic comedy, Bosco would learn a lesson; life would teach him something… and finally there would be a ray of light, the hope of change. He would find the love of his life. Or perhaps renew his faith in humans. Or simply a new path… or some kind of love for animals. Something. Unfortunately, this is not a romantic comedy. VERÓNICA PACO PLAZA (SPAIN) Cast: Sandra Escacena, Bruna González, Claudia Placer, Iván Chavero, Consuelo Trujillo, Ana Torrent Madrid, the 90s. In the middle of the night, the police receive a call. Amid screams of terror, they hear children shouting out about the presence of strange phenomena in their flat, deep in a working-class district. Two days earlier, Verónica, their older sister, had used the Ouija board at school. Without realising it, she has just opened the door to something supernatural, inexplicable, which will move into her house over the next hours, becoming increasingly more incontrollable and, above all, very, very dangerous.
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Busan International Film Festival Creates ‘Kim Jiseok Award’ to Honor Late Founding Member
The 22nd Busan International Film Festival has established the ‘Kim Jiseok Award’ to honor the late Kim Ji-seok who passed away this year after devoting his whole life to discovering young Asian directors and supporting the growth of Asian cinema.
A founding member of the Busan International Film Festival, Kim Ji-seok suffered a fatal heart attack while attending the 2017 Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.
Many Asian filmmakers call the late Kim Ji-seok, the Program Director of Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), as the heart of Asian Cinema, and of BIFF. He was always sharing his life with BIFF as a founding member. He also contributed over 20 years to supporting young filmmakers in Asia, and took an essential role to establish BIFF as one of the world’s best film festivals. To follow his spirit and remember the festival identity as the hub of Asian cinema, BIFF launches the ‘Kim Jiseok Award’
The aim of the award is to discover and encourage Asian films, the ‘Kim Jiseok Award’ will be selected among films screening in A Window on Asian Cinema, a section that introduces films from the year’s most talented Asian filmmakers. Approximately 10 World Premieres in A Window on Asian Cinema will be selected as nominees and the jury members will select the final two films as the first ‘Kim Jiseok Award’ recipients. Each film will be awarded a cash prize of 10,000,000 Korean won (about 10,000 US dollars).
Jury members of ‘Kim Jiseok Award’ are Tony Rayns and Darcy Paquet, film critics who have a keen interest and contribute in the globalization of Asian cinema. Garin Nugroho, an acknowledged Indonesian director who has been invited to numerous renowned film festivals, will join the ‘Kim Jiseok Award’ jury as well. Three jurors will award outstanding films with distinct Asian characteristic.
The 22nd Busan International Film Festival will be held from October 12, 2017 to October 21, 2017.
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2017 Brooklyn Horror Film Festival Reveals 2nd Wave of Films, Closes with THE BOOK OF BIRDIE
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The Book of Birdie[/caption]
The 2017 Brooklyn Horror Film Festival will close with the North American premiere of the mesmerizing, all-female casted The Book of Birdie. First-time director Elizabeth E. Schuch impressively blends psychological horror, whimsical fantasy, and feminist ideals in one-of-a-kind The Book of Birdie. Shy and fragile teenager Birdie’s unusual hallucinations, dark obsessions and fascination with blood are triggered as she’s forced into a remote convent and faced with what her fate will be.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GRWQCoMj-A
Mayhem directed by Joe Lynch will make its New York premiere as the Centerpiece screening of the festival. Mayhem follows office scapegoat Derek Cho (played by The Walking Dead’sSteven Yeun) as he’s fired f rom his cozy legal job just as the dreaded rage-inducing “ID7 virus” quarantines the building. The twist? Thanks to Cho, all acts of violence committed while infected are instantly acquitted, making it the perfect battleground for revenge.
In addition, the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival dropped its second wave two of films including, locals only showcase, shorts and more.
The Films
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Mayhem directed by Joe Lynch[/caption]
MAYHEM
USA | 2017 | 86 min | Dir. Joe Lynch
NEW YORK PREMIERE
Making its New York Premiere, MAYHEM follows office scapegoat Derek Cho (played by THE WALKING DEAD’s Steven Yeun) as he’s fired from his cozy legal job just as the dreaded rage-inducing “ID7 virus” quarantines the building. The twist? Thanks to Cho, all acts of violence committed while infected are instantly acquitted, making it the perfect battleground for revenge. Director Joe Lynch (WRONG TURN 2, EVERLY) delivers a fast-paced blend of corporate satire, corporeal brutality and heavy metal in this powerful new feature.
COLD HELL (DIE HÖLLE)
Germany | 2017 | 92 min | Dir. Stefan Ruzowitzky
EAST COAST PREMIERE
After witnessing a brutal murder from the window of her apartment, Turkish-born and taking-no-shit Ozge finds herself the next target of a calculated serial killer. Unfortunately for the killer, she has her own brand of viciousness on tap and is anything but a victim. An intelligent and live-wire cross between Italian Giallo and Jason Bourne, Oscar-winning director Stefan Ruzowitzky’s (THE COUNTERFEITERS) COLD HELL is a first-rate, action-packed genre-bender.
THE CRESCENT
Canada | 2017 | 99 min | Dir. Seth A. Smith
EAST COAST PREMIERE
Plagued by painful memories, a young, recently-widowed mother relocates to a remote town and does her best to overcome emotional trauma. But the town locals have their own plans for her and before long their strange, dark and ancient traditions turn her life into a waking nightmare. Visually ambitious and tonally hypnotic, Canadian filmmaker Seth A. Smith’s haunting THE CRESCENT casts a sneakily powerful spell.
INHERITANCE
USA | 2017 | 93 min | Dir. Tyler Savage
EAST COAST PREMIERE
A man learns of the death of his absentee biological father and inherits his 2.5 million dollar home in the aptly named INHERITANCE. While staying there with his pregnant fiancé, he begins to uncover horrible truths about his father that could destroy his life. Fantastic lead performances and a patient, sinister narrative make this one hell of an impressive debut for director Tyler Savage who will be in attendance.
RIFT (RÖKKUR)
Iceland | 2017 | 111 min | Dir. Erlingur Thoroddson
NEW YORK PREMIERE
Intrigued by an unexpected call, Gunnar heads to a remote outpost to reconnect with his ex-boyfriend Einar. Despite the happy reunion the two men can’t shake the feeling that someone, or something, is there—and has sinister plans. Elegant and assured, the subtly creepy RIFT is the audacious follow-up feature from Icelandic filmmaker Erlingur Thoroddsen, whose debut feature, CHILD EATER, world-premiered at BHFF 2016 as our closing night screening. Director Erlingur Thoroddson will be in attendance.
FASHIONISTA
USA | 2016 | 106 min | Dir. Simon Rumley
NEW YORK PREMIERE
British cinema provocateur Simon Rumley completes his unofficial Texas trilogy (after RED WHITE & BLUE and JOHNNY FRANK GARRETT’S LAST WORD) with a film that proves you can’t spell “distress” without “dress.” RED WHITE & BLUE’s Amanda Fuller is fascinating as April, a clothing-obsessed woman whose suspicions about her husband’s infidelity send her down a rabbit hole of dangerous, self-destructive behavior.
SALVATION (SALVACIÓN)
Spain | 2016 | 80 min | Dir. Denise Castro
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Stuck in a hospital waiting to undergo open heart surgery, Cris finds a reason to stay in another patient named Victor who claims to be a vampire. Surrounded by death, Cris must decide between immortality and leaving her future up to fate. Filled with moments of sadness and paralyzing dread, Salvation is a terrifying new entry in the vampire canon.
GAME OF DEATH
Canada / France | 2017 | 73 min | Dir. Baz Morais & Sebastien Landry
NEW YORK PREMIERE
For a group of party-crazy teens, it’s all about smoking, drinking and sex. But that goes to hell when they play a board game that requires human blood and whose uncontrollable countdowns lead to head explosions. Survival requires killing someone else. Bodies will drop and craniums will burst in this insanely gory and fun-as-hell, splatter feature by Canadian co-directors Sebastien Landry and Laurence Baz Morais.
TO HELL AND BACK: THE KANE HODDER STORY
USA | 2017 | 108 min | Dir. Derek Dennis Herbert
EAST COAST PREMIERE
The man behind two of horror’s greatest slashers, Jason Voorhees and the HATCHET franchise’s Victor Crowley, Kane Hodder has proven himself unbeatable when it comes to offing on-screen victims. But as it turns out he’s even more unbeatable in real life, having persevered through a painful childhood and a nearly fatal accident. Derek Dennis Herbert’s heartfelt documentary TO HELL AND BACK candidly reveals the heart and soul of a horror icon.
I REMEMBER YOU (ÉG MAN BIG)
Iceland | 2017 | 105 min | Dir. Oskar Thór Axelsson
US PREMIERE
While investigating the mysterious suicide of an old woman inside a local church, a psychiatrist learns that she was obsessed his young son’s disappearance. Meanwhile, across the bay, three friends discover that the house they’re restoring is haunted. How these two stories intersect is the ultimate gut punch of Icelandic filmmaker Óskar Thór Axelsson’s I REMEMBER YOU, a haunting and cerebral marriage of the procedural with the supernatural.
INCORPOREAL: A POPUP ART SHOW & VR SHOWCASE
The annual pre-fest art show will feature new artwork from Brooklyn-based artist Andrew Abbott, who’s this year’s poster designer. The critically acclaimed horror VR studio Dark Corner will be presenting two works from director Guy Shelmerdine; the clown-filled and nightmarish journey that is NIGHT NIGHT, and MULE, which sucks you into the last moments of a man’s life and the hellish fate that comes next.THE BK PARANORMAL SOCIETY PRESENTS: MIDNIGHT GHOST HUNT
Join the celebrated BK Paranormal Society as they lead festival goers on a candle-lit ghost hunt through the streets of Brooklyn and provide the tools and know-how needed to keep you safe from spirits and creatures of the night. The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies presents THE TIME HAS COME TO TELL THE TALE: PETER STRAUB IN CONVERSATION with DOUGLAS E. WINTER Join us for this rare on-stage conversation between one of the world’s foremost horror authors, Peter Straub – who gave us JULIA, GHOST STORY, MR. X, KOKO and more, as well as collaborating with Stephen King on THE TALISMAN and BLACK HOUSE – as he talks about his writing career and the films that sprung from it with famed horror biographer and critic Douglas E. Winter. The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies is a non-profit community-based curriculum through which established horror writers, directors, scholars and programmers/curators celebrate horror history and culture with a unique blend of enthusiasm and critical perspective.LOCALS ONLY SHOWCASE
This year’s spotlight on NYC-made horror headlined by a World Premiere screening of unadulterated grindhouse flick GET MY GUN! GET MY GUN USA | 2017 | 90 min | Dir. Brian Darwas WORLD PREMIERE BHFF is thrilled to present the World Premiere of Brian Darwas’ homegrown feature GET MY GUN. In line with such films as MS. 45 and INSIDE, GET MY GUN’s Amanda is left pregnant after being raped at work. When a crazed stalker becomes obsessed with her unborn child she is forced to evolve from prey to predator. Director Bryan Darwas and Writer/Producer Jennifer Carchietta in attendance.LOCALS ONLY SHORTS 2017
A NIGHTMARE WAKES Dir. Nora Unkel This proof of concept originally shown at Fantasia’s Frontières Market shares a haunting vision focused on Mary Shelley after a tragic miscarriage. RAZOR Dir. James Clay Jenkins Dark desires and devout religion collide for two sisters and a young priest in early 19th century New England. ARE YOU WILD LIKE ME Dir. Billy Nawrocki A string of missing person cases plagues a small New England town. Could they be related to the infant girl who disappeared in the woods nine years prior? FLUFFERNUTTER Dirs. Adam R. Brown, Kyle I. Kelley Twins Stephen and Clyde are forced to grow up fast “for their own good” in this bloody satirical yarn. IN HERE Dir. James Barton An unknown entity communicates to a girl through refrigerator magnets. SCORCH Dir. Robbie Lemieux Two young lovers think it’s a good idea to mess around with an occult object they’ve recently discovered. It’s a horrible idea. SLAPFACE Dir. Jeremiah Kipp Monsters come in many forms for a boy after the difficult loss of his mother. A TASTE FOR IT Dir. Oliver David An old woman has a strange experience in a parking garage. True WTF material. BEWARE, THE BEAST I WORSHIP Dir. Adam Chitayat A dog with ill intent leads a man through the color-soaked nighttime streets of New York City. RUBY Music Video / Dir. Richard Bates A young woman’s dreamy stroll through the woods is impeded when a sorcerer is allured by her moon necklace. The sorcerer summons an evil spirit from the land to follow the young woman and claim her soul bounded by the necklace.HEAD TRIP 2017: ALTERNATIVE SHORTS
A MOTHER OF MONSTERS Brazil / Dir. Julia Zanin de Paula Welcome to the Freak Show. Twisted and visually hypnotic, this Guy de Maupassant adaptation features a circus troupe with wicked intentions. COVER UP USA / Dir. Satya Bhabha She loves make-up to death. He loves her so. Alison Pill and Jason Ritter star. GREAT CHOICE USA / Dir. Robin Comisar A woman finds herself trapped within a Red Lobster commercial that just…won’t…stop. Carrie Coon stars. TASTE USA / Dir. Adrian Selkowitz All Claire wants to do is throw a fancy dinner party for her husband’s Hollywood power couple friends, hoping it’ll lead to her own cooking show. She just never expected that naked woman lying in her driveway, or what this woman’s past means for Claire’s big night. OTHERS LIKE YOU (ALTRE) Italy / Dir. Eugenio Villani Determined to become pregnant, Ester, having previously been ruled sterile, finally has success after sleeping around with random men. The news displeases Ester’s family doctor, Greta, who has a ghoulishly sinister plan in mind. THE SERVANT Iran / Dir. Farnoosh Abedi A silent and gorgeously animated tale of a bug servant who grows weary of his servitude. INK Canada / Dir. Ashlea Wessel Traumatized by a scarring pregnancy, an emotionally fragile woman seeks solace in covering her body with tattoos. After an alcohol-fueled bender, her worst fears come to pass. DON’T OPEN YOUR EYES (ÖPPNA INTE ÖGONEN) Sweden / Dir. Adrián García Bogliano & Andrea Quiroz Sisters reunite after a year apart. One is suddenly doing incredibly well for herself and it’s all because of a mysterious hypnotic vinyl record with extraordinary powers.NIGHTMARE FUEL 2017: SCARY HORROR SHORTS
AMY USA / Dir. L. Gustavo Cooper During an overwhelming heat wave, a nurse at a home for sick patients warns young resident Amy to stay inside her room. Unfortunately for her, Amy doesn’t listen. FEEDING TIME USA / Dir. Matt Mercer Filling in for her friend on a babysitting gig, Sasha is weirded out after a strange encounter with the child’s parents. Strange doesn’t even begin to describe the night she’s about to have. EARWORM USA / Dir. Tara Price Piercingly loud music continually disrupts a man’s sleep. He’ll wish he didn’t figure out the source of the music. FREDERIK REMEMBERS USA / Dirs. Ben Sottak & Steven Russel Old and senile, Frederik passes the time in solitude. A box of Nazi paraphernalia found inside his apartment is about to disrupt that. BESTIA Canada / Dirs. Gigi Saul Guerrero A man awakes to find himself alone by the frigid woods. Whatever ravaged his people is now stalking him. THE BABY’S CRYING UK / Dir. Bob Pipe It’s every parent’s burden: Answering the cries of a baby late at night. For this mommy and daddy pair, however, it’s more of a nightmare. FOR A GOOD TIME, CALL… USA / Dir. Izzy Lee Unbeknownst to the woman involved, a man uploads a homemade sex tape. Upon making a pit stop inside a grungy public bathroom, he’ll receive his comeuppance. BIRTHDAY Italy / Dir. Alberto Viavattene Using her job to hawk prescription drugs and steal from patients, a young nurse goes about her delinquent ways inside an old folks’ home. In Room 12 however, three elderly sisters have a surprise waiting for her. iMEDIUM Spain / Dir. Alfonso García This frenetic techno-terror murder mystery imagines the day we have an app for speaking to the dead.
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Director Stephen Frears Receives Glory to the Filmmaker Award at Venice International Film Festival
Yesterday, in the Sala Grande of the Palazzo del Cinema at the 74th Venice International Film Festival, director Stephen Frears received the Glory to the Filmmaker award for his significant contribution to innovation in contemporary cinema.
Director Stephen Frears received The Jaeger-LeCoultre Glory To The Filmmaker Award and Reverso engraved watched from Chief Marketing Officer of Jaeger-LeCoultre Nicolas Siriez (L) and festival director Alberto Barbera (R). (Photo by Sebastiano Pessina)
Following the award ceremony, the Festival presented the Out of Competition screening of Frears’ new film Victoria & Abdul, receiving its world premiere screening in Venice.
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BORG/McENROE Starring Shia LaBeouf, Sverrir Gudnason to Open Zurich Film Festival
Danish director Janus Metz Pedersen’s tennis drama Borg/McEnroe starring Shia LaBeouf and Sverrir Gudnason will open the 13th Zurich Film Festival on September 28, 2017. Director Janus Metz Pedersen and Björn Borg-actor Sverrir Gudnason will attend as the Zurich Film Festival’s honorary guests.
Wimbledon, July 5, 1980: tennis pros Björn Borg and John McEnroe square up at the Wimbledon final for one of sporting history’s most legendary duels. The 24-year-old Swede and world’s number one ranked tennis player (Sverrir Gudnason) is feeling exhausted and burned out. The 20-year-old New Yorker (Shia LaBeouf) is determined to beat him. The two opponents go on to deliver a nerve-racking and grinding battle in one of the most suspense-packed matches in tennis history.
Said ZFF Co-Directors Nadja Schildknecht and Karl Spoerri: „We are extremely proud to be opening the ZFF for the first time with a Swedish production. Borg/McEnroe is one of the year’s most hotly anticipated movies and is sure to delight cinemagoers around the globe.” They continued: “Borg/McEnroe is most definitely not a film just for tennis fans, but a thrilling cinema experience for everybody.”
Legends of the tennis world
The Swede Björn Borg and US American John McEnroe are two of the tennis world’s greatest legends – and their on-court rivalry is just as legendary. Borg/McEnroe depicts the two tennis icons as they prepare for the Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon. Borg is desperate to leave his mark as the winner of five titles in a row. His opponent is the ambitious young McEnroe, who is only driven by the thought of finally knocking Borg off his throne.
While Borg prepares for the duel aided by his trainer Lennart Bergelin (Stellan Skarsgård), McEnroe continues to hit newspaper headlines. But despite the difference in their personalities, the two men come to realise that they have more in common than they could possibly have imagined.
Björn Borg and John McEnroe played each other a total of 14 times between 1978 and 1981. Their on-court rivalry was famous the world over and compounded by the competitors’ conflicting personalities: while Borg remained cool and placid, McEnroe was famous for his fits of temper.
Sverrir Gudnason and Shia LaBeouf undertook two months of intensive tennis training in order to lend their characters more authenticity. The movie was shot in Borg’s hometown of Södertälje near Stockholm in Sweden, and further in Gothenburg, Stockholm, Prague, London and Monaco.
Borg/McEnroe hits cinemas in Switzerland on October 12, 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgfFdEOGUqE
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Indie Legal Thriller CREATED EQUAL Wins at Action On Film Festival and BronzeLens Film Festival
Thada Catalon, Bill Duke, Edy Ganem The indie legal thriller Created Equal continues its award winning sweep, winning prizes at the Action On Film Festival in Las Vegas and the BronzeLens Film Festival in Atlanta.
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Piers Handling Stepping Down as Head of Toronto International Film Festival
After almost 25 years, Piers Handling, Director and CEO of TIFF, announced today that 2018 will be his final year leading the Toronto International Film Festival.
“Because of Piers’ leadership, TIFF is the leading cultural organization it is today, with a global reach and impact,” said Jennifer Tory, Chair of the Board of Directors of TIFF. “We are all indebted to him for his years of vision, innovation and dedication to the art of film.”
Handling’s tenure at TIFF has been both ground-breaking and prolific, with career highlights including:
- Growing TIFF from a 10-day event into a thriving year-round arts organization with global impact;
- Leading the Festival into the top tier of internationally recognized film events;
- Leading and mentoring a strong and seasoned team of executives and management and a passionate and dedicated staff;
- Supporting the careers of many Canadian and international filmmakers, including David Cronenberg, Atom Egoyan, Deepa Mehta, Guy Maddin, Denys Arcand, Denis Villeneuve, Jean-Marc Vallee, François Girard, Xavier Dolan, Michael Haneke, Danny Boyle, Kathryn Bigelow, Nanni Moretti, Agnieszka Holland, Abbas Kiarostami, Alfonso Cuarón, Jonathan Glazer, Antoine Fuqua, Pedro Almodóvar, Aki Kaurismäki, Patricia Rozema, Jennifer Baichwal, Guillermo Del Toro, Steven Soderbergh; and many others.
- Leading the campaign to design, fund and build TIFF Bell Lightbox, a permanent home for TIFF and film, now a cornerstone of engaging and innovative programming for audiences and professionals, here and around the world.
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VIDEO: Watch Trailers for 2 Netflix Documentary Shorts Premiering at 2017 Telluride Film Festival
Here are the trailers for two Netflix original documentary shorts – Heroin(e) and Long Shot premiering this weekend at the 2017 Telluride Film Festival.
Heroin(e), making its world premiere, focuses on the once bustling industrial town, Huntington, West Virginia that has become the epicenter of America’s modern opioid epidemic. With an overdose rate 10 times the national average, the crisis threatens to tear this community apart. West Virginia native Sheldon highlights three women working to change the town’s narrative and break the devastating cycle of drug abuse one person at a time. Heroin(e) shows how the chain of compassion holds one town together. The Netflix original documentary short, by Peabody award-winning filmmaker, Elaine McMillion Sheldon (Hollow), will launch on September 12.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khSO7qEKbvo
Also making its’ world premiere, Long Shot, an improbable story where justice prevails with a series of events that could only happen in Hollywood. An innocent man is accused of murder, leading his dedicated attorney on a wild chase to confirm his alibi among thousands of people in a baseball stadium. To tell the whole story, the search would lead him from the LA Dodgers, to a cellphone tower, to the office of the entertainer Larry David. On the night in question, television cameras happened to be positioned throughout the stadium, and captured a story of remarkable circumstance. Directed by Jacob LaMendola (Anosmia), Long Shot launches September 29.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDxISykYRc4
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World Premiere of ROMAN J. ISRAEL, ESQ. Starring Denzel Washington Added to 2017 Toronto International Film Festival
The World Premiere of Dan Gilroy’s Roman J. Israel, Esq., starring Denzel Washington will complete the 2017 Official Program Selection lineup of the Toronto International Film Festival. Written and directed by Gilroy and featuring an amazing transformation by Denzel Washington, Roman J. Israel, Esq. is the newest and final addition to TIFF’s Special Presentations program.
“The Toronto International Film Festival has a wonderful history with both Dan Gilroy and Denzel Washington,” said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of TIFF. “Three years ago TIFF had the honor of premiering Gilroy’s directorial debut, Nightcrawler, at the Festival. In addition to previously screening The Equalizer and presenting the World Premiere of Training Day, which earned Washington an Oscar for Best Actor, the Washington-starring The Magnificent Seven was our Opening Night film last year. A project that teams up both of these remarkable creators is one not to be missed.”
“We always hoped to premiere at Toronto and couldn’t be happier that TIFF audiences will be the first to see the film,” said Gilroy. “Thanks to Cameron and the entire Festival crew for embracing us and bringing Roman Israel to the world.”
Roman J. Israel, Esq. is a dramatic thriller set in the underbelly of the overburdened Los Angeles criminal court system. Denzel Washington stars as a driven, idealistic defense attorney whose life is upended when a turbulent series of events challenge the activism that has defined his career. Colin Farrell costars as the ambitious, monied lawyer who recruits Roman to his firm.
This star-led cast features Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, Carmen Ejogo, Lynda Gravatt, Amanda Warren, Hugo Armstrong, Sam Gilroy, Tony Plana, DeRon Horton and Amari Cheatom. R
The 42nd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 7 to 17, 2017.
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Actor Danny Glover and Producer Joslyn Barnes to Be Honored at Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival
Actor Danny Glover and Producer Joslyn Barnes of Louveture Films will attend the 2017 Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival, where they will receive the Martha’s Vineyard Film Society’s 2017 Global Citizen Award. The Martha’s Vineyard International Film Festival will take place September 5 to 10, 2017.
A screening of White Sun, a film produced by Glover and Barnes will immediately follow the on-stage conversation with Ms. Barnes and Mr. Glover about their careers and achievements.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDeqkHyt8Rk
Danny Glover
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Louveture Films
In addition to being one of the most acclaimed actors of our time, Mr. Glover is also the recipient of countless awards for his humanitarian and advocacy efforts on behalf of economic and social justice causes, Glover is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from Amnesty International.
His career spans 35 years and includes film classics like “Places in the Heart,” “The Color Purple,” the “Lethal Weapon” series and the acclaimed “To Sleep with Anger.” Mr. Glover has also executive produced numerous projects for film, television and theatre. Among these are “Good Fences,” “3 AM,” “Freedom Song,” “Get on the Bus,” “Deadly Voyage,” “Buffalo Soldiers,” “The Saint of Fort Washington,” and “Mooladé,” as well as the series “Courage and America’s Dream.”
Joslyn Barnes
Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer Louveture Films
Joslyn Barnes is a writer and producer. In 2017, Ms. Barnes was the recipient of both the Cinereach Producer Award and the Sundance Institute Amazon Studios Producer Award.
Prior to co-founding Louverture, she served as a program officer and expert consultant at the United Nations. She has lived and traveled widely in Africa and Asia, and has written numerous articles covering trade and social development issues, as well as contributing to books on the establishment of electronic communications in developing countries, food security in Africa, and strategic advocacy for the inclusion of gender perspectives on the international development agenda.
Ms. Barnes also wrote and directed the short film Prana for Cinétévé France as part of an internationally distributed series of 30 short films to promote awareness of environmental issues.
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Michael Winterbottom’s THE TRIP TO SPAIN to Close San Sebastian Film Festival Culinary Zinema Program
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THE TRIP TO SPAIN[/caption]
Culinary Zinema, the San Sebastian Film Festival section combining food and film will feature seven films, and close with The Trip to Spain directed by Michael Winterbottom.
The opening film, Michelin Stars – Tales from the Kitchen, looks at the highs and lows of the Michelin Guide in this golden age of gastronomy. It is directed by Rasmus Dinesen, author of the films Det forbudte landshold (The Forbidden Team), about the first Tibetan national football team; Verdens bedste kok (World’s Finest Chef), about the victory of Danish chef Rasmus Kofoed at the Bocuse d’Or championship; and the documentary TV series Star Chefs about Michelin-starred restaurants.
Laura Collado collaborated with Justin Webster (Muerte en León and El fin de ETA / The Demise of ETA, Zinemira 2016) on the Al Jazeera series People & Power. Jim Loomis has worked as a cinematographer and editor for productions by BBC, ARTE and CNN. Together they helm the feature film Constructing Albert, about the “most underrated chef in the world”, Albert Adrià, brother of the man who created El Bulli.
In her first feature film, E il cibo va / Food on the Go, Mercedes Córdova, director of the prize-winning short Acá nunca está nublado, looks at the tradition of Italian food in the diaspora a hundred years after millions of Italians immigrated to Argentina.
Another first work is The Cakemaker, by Ofir Raul Graizer, whose short film La discotheque screened in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2015. The film, a co-production between Germany and Israel which competed at Karlovy Vary, tells the tale of a young German pastry chef who heads for Jerusalem in search of answers when his lover dies.
Koki Shigeno, a veteran director of TV documentaries, has now made his first feature-length film, Ramen Heads, selected for Hot Docs (Canadian International Documentary Film Festival). The film follows Osamu Tomita, today’s king of the ramen in Japan, on a 15-month tour of the lives of the masters of this dish and its legions of followers.
Masakazu Fukatsu debuts in feature films with Papa no obento wa sekaiichi / Dad’s Lunch Box, the true story of a father and his daughter -which went viral on social media- brought together by the bento box in which people carry their packed lunches in Japan.
Michael Winterbottom, to whom the Festival dedicated a retrospective in 2003, formerly competed in the Official Selection with Nine Songs (2004), winner of the Best Cinematography Award, Tristam Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (2005) and Genova (2008), recognized with the Silver Shell for Best Director. The Trip to Spain, selected for Tribeca, is his first incursion to Culinary Zinema. After The Trip and The Trip to Italy, Winterbottom renews his collaboration with actors Steve Coogan (Philomena) and Rob Brydon (Would I Lie to You?) to analyze six meals in six places on a road trip through Spain, from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean coast.
To complete the experience, the screenings will be followed by meals linked to the content of the films.
2017 San Sebastian Film Festival – Culinary Zinema – Films
MICHELIN STARS – TALES FROM THE KITCHEN RASMUS DINESEN (DENMARK) OPENING NIGHT FILM At a moment in time when humanity is obsessed with food –photographing every dish, worshipping cooks and flaunting trophy meals on social media–, this documentary goes under the surface and offers an in-depth, honest and relevant view into the world and day-to-day of Michelin chefs and restaurants. Telling tales from a grand menu of culinary temples as well as digging into the greatness and flaws of the Michelin Guide in this golden age of gastronomy. THE CAKEMAKER OFIR RAUL GRAIZER (GERMANY – ISRAEL) Cast: Tim Kalkhof, Sarah Adler, Zohar Strauss, Sandra Sade, Roy Miller Thomas, a young German pastry maker, is having an affair with Oren, a married Israeli man who makes frequent business trips to Berlin. When Oren dies in a car accident in Israel, Thomas heads for Jerusalem in search of answers to his death. Using a false name, Thomas worms himself into the life of Anat, his lover’s recently widowed wife, to the point of becoming assistant chef in her bar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ7144Mc2lw RAMEN HEADS KOKI SHIGENO (JAPAN) Osamu Tomita, Japan’s reigning king of ramen, takes us deep into his world, revealing every single step of his obsessive approach to creating the perfect soup and noodles, and his relentless search for the highest-quality ingredients. This is a documentary record of 15 months in the lives of Japan’s top ramen masters and their legions of devoted fans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3E9MGOK4LY E IL CIBO VA / FOOD ON THE GO MERCEDES CÓRDOVA (ARGENTINA – ITALY – USA) Gastronomic culture is the result of man’s travels in search of new things to eat. For proof, we only have to look at how Italian food journeyed to America with the mass migrations. Almost a hundred years later, retracing the steps of food and its voyage to New York and Buenos Aires, we now find the foundation of a new tradition of Italian food in exile. What relationship does it bear to its country of origin? Can we talk about Italian food outside of Italy? PAPA NO OBENTO WA SEKAIICHI / DAD’S LUNCH BOX MASAKAZU FUKATSU (JAPAN) Cast: Toshimi Watanabe, Reina Takeda This is a heart-warming true story of the father and daughter connected by bento, the Japanese packed lunch in a box. Throughout her three years at high school, the young girl would eat the bento made for her every day by her father. On her last day she found that her lunchbox contained a picture of the very first bento that her father had made for her with a handwritten message from him. The girl tweeted the occurrence, making 350,000 people cry on Twitter. The message was retweeted more than 80,000 times and got 260,000 ‘likes’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftIP00C0Uu0 CONSTRUCTING ALBERT LAURA COLLADO, JIM LOOMIS (SPAIN – ESTONIA) At the dawn of the 21st century, El Bulli restaurant revolutionized the world of gastronomy, making chef Ferran Adrià the king of haute cuisine. Behind such a success, was an unrecognized creative genius: Ferran’s younger brother, Albert. In 2013, Albert Adrià was considered the world’s most underrated chef. Enigma, the crown of his gastronomic empire opens with a clear goal: to become one of the best restaurants in the world. This is Albert’s attempt to escape the shadow of legendary El Bulli and enter the Pantheon of great chefs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdFwpOAR-o4 THE TRIP TO SPAIN MICHAEL WINTERBOTTOM (UK) Cast: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon CLOSING NIGHT FILM Michael Winterbottom is on the road for the third time with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, after their success with The Trip and The Trip to Italy. Six meals in six different places on a road trip through Spain from the North Atlantic to the Mediterranean coast – visiting Cantabria, the Basque Country, Aragon, Rioja, Castile La Mancha and ending in Andalucia. Steve, now turned 50, is still chasing love – he wants to get back together with his ex-girlfriend Mischa, but she is with another man. Rob’s acting career is going from strength to strength, his family life is fulfilling – he has had another child since Steve last saw him. Steve has just starred as a chef in a US TV series and is asked to do a set of restaurant reviews in Spain to publicise the show. As usual Rob will write the newspaper articles, this time using Don Quixote as inspiration. Meanwhile Steve is hoping to write a more ambitious book based on this trip and his earlier experiences in Spain. He imagines himself in the tradition of writers such as Orwell, Hemingway, and Laurie Lee. After all, Steve is now an Oscar nominated writer… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTvy8ab1NSo