Actor Sir Patrick Stewart will be the recipient of the Gregory Peck Award for Excellence in Cinema at the 2017 San Diego International Film Festival (SDiFF). The awards will be presented October 5th at The VARIETY Night of the Stars Tribute.
“Patrick Stewart has captivated audiences for years with spectacular performances, from Star Trek to his career defining performance in Logan earlier this year, as well as his Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated performance as Captain Ahab in Moby Dick, a role which Mr. Peck made famous more than 40 years earlier. We couldn’t be more excited to honor him this year with the Gregory Peck Award,” said Tonya Mantooth, Executive and Artistic Director of the San Diego International Film Festival.
Created in honor of famed actor and San Diego area native Gregory Peck, with the support of his family, this award is given to an individual whose work has made a profound impact on the art of cinema. Launched in 2014, the first recipient of the award was Alan Arkin, with Annette Bening receiving the award last year.
The festival, now in its 16th year, will run from October 4th through October 8th in San Diego, California, and feature a lineup of 117 films total, 10 Narrative Spotlight Competition films, 18 Narrative Competition films, 12 Documentary Competition films, 5 Documentary Spotlight Competition films, and 72 Short films.
Film Festivals
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2017 San Diego International Film Festival Unveils Lineup + Sir Patrick Stewart to Receive Award
Actor Sir Patrick Stewart will be the recipient of the Gregory Peck Award for Excellence in Cinema at the 2017 San Diego International Film Festival (SDiFF). The awards will be presented October 5th at The VARIETY Night of the Stars Tribute.
“Patrick Stewart has captivated audiences for years with spectacular performances, from Star Trek to his career defining performance in Logan earlier this year, as well as his Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated performance as Captain Ahab in Moby Dick, a role which Mr. Peck made famous more than 40 years earlier. We couldn’t be more excited to honor him this year with the Gregory Peck Award,” said Tonya Mantooth, Executive and Artistic Director of the San Diego International Film Festival.
Created in honor of famed actor and San Diego area native Gregory Peck, with the support of his family, this award is given to an individual whose work has made a profound impact on the art of cinema. Launched in 2014, the first recipient of the award was Alan Arkin, with Annette Bening receiving the award last year.
The festival, now in its 16th year, will run from October 4th through October 8th in San Diego, California, and feature a lineup of 117 films total, 10 Narrative Spotlight Competition films, 18 Narrative Competition films, 12 Documentary Competition films, 5 Documentary Spotlight Competition films, and 72 Short films.
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Filmmaker Spike Lee Will be Lauded as Special Guest of Virginia Film Festival
Filmmaker Spike Lee will be a guest at the upcoming 2017 Virginia Film Festival, where he will present a pair of films as part of a larger program around the living legacy of slavery, presented in collaboration with James Madison’s Montpelier.
Mr. Lee will present his Oscar-nominated documentary 4 Little Girls, about one of America’s most despicable hate crimes – the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Church in Birmingham, Alabama that left four African American girls Denise McNair, Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robinson and Cynthia Wesley, dead, and served as a catalyst for the American Civil Rights Movement. The program will also include I Can’t Breathe, a short video piece that combines footage of the chokehold death of Eric Garner at the hands of the New York City Police Department with footage of the similar death of the Radio Raheem character in Lee’s iconic 1989 film Do The Right Thing – highlighting a most tragic example of how the filmmaker’s art has been reflected in life.
“We have for many years been interested in bringing Spike Lee to the Virginia Film Festival as he remains one of the most talented, innovative, and socially conscious filmmakers in our world today,” said Jody Kielbasa, director of the VFF and Vice Provost for the Arts at the University of Virginia. “We first reached out to Mr. Lee in the spring to include him in our upcoming collaboration with Montpelier, and of course, the recent events in Charlottesville have made his participation more compelling, relevant, and vital.” The visit marks a return to UVA for the filmmaker, who spoke to a packed house at the UVA Amphitheater on April 17, 1993 about his own career and the significant challenges faced by him and his fellow African American filmmakers at the time.
The collaboration with James Madison’s Montpelier will explore both how the legacies of slavery continue to affect the lives of African Americans and how they are dealt with and depicted in cinema and media. Montpelier has recently opened an exhibition entitled, The Mere Distinction of Colour, which highlights the reality of the institution of slavery in the U.S. by sharing stories of Montpelier’s slaves and their descendants. In an effort to illuminate the struggles and emphasize the humanity of the enslaved community, Montpelier has engaged descendants of enslaved individuals to present a clear and honest picture of slavery at the time of our nation’s founding, and to explore the personal lives and connections of those who were enslaved there and in the surrounding area.
In addition to the event with Spike Lee, the VFF will present a series featuring a number of additional screenings and conversations with high profile filmmakers, scholars, and historians, all as part of the collaboration with Montpelier.
The 30th Annual Virginia Film Festival will take place from November 9 to 12 in Charlottesville and will include more than 130 films and 150 industry guests from around the world.
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WHEN THEY AWAKE, Documentary on Canadian Indigenous Musical Artists, to Open Calgary International Film Festival
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When They Awake[/caption]
When They Awake, an uplifting, energetic documentary about the groundswell of exciting, critically acclaimed indigenous musical artists in Canada, will open the 2017 Calgary International Film Festival. The film is directed by PJ Marcellino and Herman Farahi.
The Festival revealed the remaining 65 feature films officially selected to screen at this year’s festival, one third of this year’s films are from a first-time feature filmmaker, and one third of the selected films are also from a female director.
“This year we had more submissions than ever before – over 2,700 – up by almost 600 over last year,” said Steve Schroeder, the Executive Director of the Calgary International Film Festival. “The quality of the films, the special Behind the Screen events we have lined up, and our biggest Opening Gala party ever are combining to bring the festival to a new level.”
“The film that begins our festival was an unsolicited submission, meaning it came to us through our open submission process, which is really what film festivals are all about,” continued Steve. “Finding those previously unheralded gems, and giving talented filmmakers the chance to shine.”
Some of the festival’s most buzzworthy films include Indian Horse, directed by Stephen Campanelli. This Canadian narrative feature tells the story of an Ojibway boy raised in a residential school who grows up to be a hockey player, but is haunted by his past. In addition to the director, attending guests will be include Sladen Peltier, Forrest Goodluck, Ajuawak Kapashesit and Edna Manitowabi.
After winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes 2017, Swedish director Ruben Östlund brings The Square to the festival’s World Cinema Series. The Square was partly inspired by Östlund’s own experiences at one of his own art installations in the city of Värnamo. The Florida Project, directed by Sean Baker (the follow-up to his 2015 break-through film Tangerine), tells the story of a six-year-old living in the shadows outside Disney World with her unconventional family. With a cast that includes Willem Dafoe and newcomer Brooklynn Prince and a festival career that includes Cannes, Toronto and New York, this film promises big buzz.
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World Premiere of ITZHAK to Open and 7 More Films Added to Hamptons International Film Festival
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Itzhak[/caption]
The World Premiere of Alison Chernick’s compelling documentary Itzhak, which chronicles the extraordinary life of Israeli violin virtuoso and conductor Itzhak Perlman, will open the 2017 Hamptons International Film Festival on Thursday, October 5th. Itzhak Perlman, an East End resident, will be in attendance.
The festival will also feature seven additional World Premieres, including 11/8/16, curated and produced by Jeff Deutchman, which is directed by over 40 filmmakers and captures footage from across the country documenting Election Day; Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah’s The First To Do It, recounting the life of Earl Lloyd, the first African American to play in the NBA, which features interviews with NBA players Carmelo Anthony and Kawhi Leonard, and is executive produced by Anthony, Leonard, Tony Parker, Michael Finley & P.J. Tucker; and Ben & Orson Cummings’ Killer Bees, a story that follows the local Bridgehampton High School basketball team and their community as they try to defend their state championship title, produced by Shaquille O’Neal and executive produced by Larry Gagosian.
Additional films include Tiffany Bartok’s Larger Than Life: The Kevin Aucoin Story, profiling the professional and personal life of iconic makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin, featuring interviews with Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and more; Onur Tukel’s The Misogynists, a narrative following the tales of characters coming and going from a hotel room on the night of the 2016 general election, starring Dylan Baker; Brendan & Emmett Malloy’s The Tribes Of Palos Verdes, a coming-of-age drama centering around the lives of a family who move to affluent LA suburb Palos Verdes, starring Jennifer Garner, Justin Kirk, Elisabeth Rohm, Goran Višnjić, and Joely Fisher; and Josh Klausner’s Wanderland, which was filmed on the East End, telling the story of a character escaping his isolated life only to find himself lost on a surreal, all-night musical odyssey of misadventures, starring Tate Ellington, Dree Hemingway, Ronald Guttman, Harris Yulin & Tara Summers.
Jennifer Garner, Deon Cole, Michael Finley, Spencer Haywood, Oscar Robertson and P.J. Tucker will attend the festival.
“We are thrilled to announce Alison Chernick’s Itzhak as our opening night feature, and to have the talented Itzhak Perlman himself join us for our anniversary year. This diverse array of films announced today, many with local ties, are sure to be some of the most talked about films at this year’s Festival,” said Hamptons International Film Festival Artistic Director David Nugent.
The 25th annual Hamptons International Film Festival will take place over Columbus Day Weekend, October 5th – 9th, 2017.
Itzhak
World Premiere
Director: Alison Chernick
Alison Chernick’s documentary Itzhak examines the life and music of Itzhak Perlman, widely considered to be the world’s greatest living violinist. Exploring the ways in which Perlman’s passion for music allowed him to find a platform for personal expression against tremendous circumstances, Chernick creates a portrait of man whose remarkable will to survive is never removed from his tremendous generosity and humor. Through it all, the discipline we see at work is starkly contrasted with the world we see at home, as a modern Jewish family continues to embrace their heritage against a world of changing expectations.
11/8/16
World Premiere
Curator & Producer: Jeff Deutchman
On the day of the 2016 presidential election, filmmaker Jeff Deutchman surveys the thoughts and feelings of ordinary Americans as they head to the ballot box. Told in brief vignettes from across the country, and focusing on voters from every side of the political spectrum—ranging from a Sikh man and his family in New York City to a coal miner in West Virginia—the film humanizes the electorate in an age of sweeping generalizations. In its panoramic form and disparate viewpoints, 11/8/16 provides a necessary counterpoint, finding moments of common humanity within a seemingly unbridgeable divide.
The First To Do It
World Premiere
Directors: Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah
In 1950, three years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball, Earl Lloyd stepped onto an NBA basketball court and changed the game forever. During Lloyd’s 22-year NBA career, he became its first African American player, its first African American scout, and its first African American full time head coach. Through intimate conversations with family, childhood friends, and the legendary players whose lives he touched (including Oscar Robertson, Dave Bing, and Kawhi Leonard), The First To Do It chronicles the experience of Lloyd and other early African American players against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement and explores the role of sports in the lasting legacy of desegregation today. The film is produced in association with the National Basketball Players Association and with the support of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Killer Bees
World Premiere
Directors: Ben Cummings & Orson Cummings
Killer Bees spotlights the famed Bridgehampton basketball team as they prepare to defend their state championship title. Following the young men on and off the court, filmmakers Benjamin and Orson Cummings explore the Bees’ historical importance within the local community. More than just a high school team, the Bees are a symbol of hope—particularly to those who are struggling to survive in one of the wealthiest districts in the country. Produced by NBA legend Shaquille O’Neill, Killer Bees is a nuanced look at the powerful role sports play in overcoming racial, social, and economic adversity.
Larger Than Life: The Kevin Aucoin Story
World Premiere
Director: Tiffany Bartok
Larger Than Life: The Kevin Aucoin Story explores the life of the iconic make-up artist, who transformed the profession into a prominent and influential art form. Director and fellow make-up artist Tiffany Bartok paints a beautiful and deeply personal portrait of a man who, as both an artist and LGBTQ advocate, dedicated his life to elevating the inner confidence and presence of others. Through intimate archival footage and interviews with his famous friends and clients, Bartok weaves through the journey of Aucoin’s life up until his tragic end—reminding everyone that he truly was larger than life.
The Misogynists
World Premiere
Director: Onur Tukel
In a single, fully-stocked hotel room on the night of the 2016 general election, two Trump supporters celebrate the results that halted the ongoing “end of man,” in the latest from indie provocateur Onur Tukel. As the night rages on, an ensemble of characters venture in and out of the room. Some match the two’s enthusiasm while others voice their terror at the prospect of the incoming President, but most struggle to find a reason to care less about the results that caused the debauched celebration occurring around them. Led by Dylan Baker’s gleefully deranged lead performance, Tukel’s tongue-in-cheek exploration of a divided America digs deep into the night’s mass existential crisis, and leaves with some disquieting results.
The Tribes Of Palos Verdes
World Premiere
Director: Emmett Malloy & Brendan Malloy
When teenage Medina (Maika Monroe) moves with her family to the picture-perfect paradise of Palos Verdes, California, they seem headed for a happy new chapter in their lives. But old troubles soon catch up to them, as the disintegration of Medina’s parents’ marriage leads her mother (Jennifer Garner) into an emotional freefall and pushes her brother towards addiction. Caught in the middle of it all, Medina must rely on her inner strength to become the stabilizing force in her family, while finding refuge in a new passion: surfing. Set amidst the sun-kissed beaches and crystal blue waters of the California coast, The Tribes Of Palos Verdes is a stirring look at how life’s greatest challenges forge who we become.
Wanderland
World Premiere
Director: Josh Klausner
In an effort to briefly escape his humdrum life of isolation in New York City, Alex (Tate Ellington) impulsively accepts an invitation from an online acquaintance (Dree Hemingway) to house-sit at her picturesque “Enchanted Cottage” on Long Island. Despite his best attempts for a quiet weekend of relaxation, Alex suddenly finds himself lost on a surreal, all-night musical odyssey of misadventures. Filmed in and around the Hamptons area, and featuring a cast of wonderfully kooky local characters, Josh Klausner’s Wanderland is a madcap East End experience.
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2017 London Film Festival Unveils Lineup of 242 Feature Films + 128 Shorts
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The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)[/caption]
The 61st BFI London Film Festival today announced its full program, featuring a diverse selection of 242 feature films including 46 documentaries, 6 animations, 14 archive restorations and 16 artists’ moving image features. The program also includes 128 short films, and 67 countries are represented across short film and features.
Alongside the Galas, Special Presentations and films in Competitions, the Festival will show a range of new cinema in sections aka strands titled Love, Debate, Laugh, Dare, Thrill, Cult, Journey, Experimenta and Family. In 2017, the LFF debuts a new strand, Create, featuring films that celebrate artistic practice in all its channels and forms the electricity of the creative process, reflecting London’s position as one of the world’s leading creative cities.
Audiences will have the opportunity to hear some of the world’s creative leaders through the Festival’s acclaimed talks’ series LFF Connects, which features artists working at the intersection of film and other creative industries, and Screen Talks, a series of in-depth interviews with leaders in contemporary cinema. Participants this year include Julian Rosefeldt & Cate Blanchett, David Fincher, Demis Hassabis, Nitin Sawhney, Johan Knattrup Jensen, Ian McEwan and Takashi Miike.
OFFICIAL COMPETITION
Robin Campillo, 120 BPM (BEATS PER MINUTE) Vivian Qu, ANGELS WEAR WHITE Majid Majidi, BEYOND THE CLOUDS (World Premiere) Nora Twomey, THE BREADWINNER (European Premiere) Juliana Rojas, Marco Dutra, GOOD MANNERS Xavier Beauvois, THE GUARDIANS (European Premiere) Andrew Haigh, LEAN ON PETE Andrey Zvyagintsev, LOVELESS Azazel Jacobs, THE LOVERS (European Premiere) Warwick Thornton, SWEET COUNTRY Cory Finley, THOROUGHBRED (International Premiere) Annemarie Jacir, WAJIBFIRST FEATURE COMPETITION
Daniel Kokotajlo, APOSTASY Léa Mysius, AVA Michael Pearce, BEAST (European Premiere) Ofir Raul Graizer, THE CAKEMAKER Gilles Coulier, CARGO Kogonada, COLUMBUS Rungano Nyoni, I AM NOT A WITCH Léonor Serraille, JEUNE FEMME Ana Asensio, MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND Carla Simón, SUMMER 1993 Hlynur Pálmason, WINTER BROTHERS John Trengove, THE WOUNDDOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Maryam Goormaghtigh, BEFORE SUMMER ENDS Elvira Lind, BOBBI JENE Arash Kamali Sarvestani, Behrouz Boochani, CHAUKA, PLEASE TELL US THE TIME (International Premiere) Radu Jude, THE DEAD NATION Shevaun Mizrahi, DISTANT CONSTELLATION Frederick Wiseman, EX LIBRIS – THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY Agnès Varda, JR, FACES PLACES Austin Lynch, Matthew Booth, GRAY HOUSE Brett Morgen, JANE (European Premiere) Lucy Cohen, KINGDOM OF US (World Premiere) Emmanuel Gras, MAKALA Sonia Kronlund, THE PRINCE OF NOTHINGWOODSHORT FILM AWARD
Gabriel Abrantes, THE ARTIFICIAL HUMORS Phil Collins, DELETE BEACH Billie Pleffer, FYSH (International Premiere) Anna Cazenave Cambet, GABBER LOVER Karishma Dube, GODDESS Aegina Brahim, LAWS OF THE GAME Jonathan Vinel, MARTIN CRIES Patrick Bresnan THE RABBIT HUNT Moin Hussain, REAL GODS REQUIRE BLOOD Kibwe Tavares, ROBOT & SCARECROW Kazik Radwanski, SCAFFOLD Harry Lighton, WREN BOYS (World Premiere) The Festival program is organized in strands: Love, Debate, Laugh, Dare, Thrill, Cult, Journey, Create, Family, Treasures and Experimenta.LOVE
The Love Gala is the European Premiere of Dominic Cooke’s quietly heart-breaking film debut ON CHESIL BEACH. Saoirse Ronan and rising actor Billy Howle star as a young couple in the early 1960s struggling to physically connect on their honeymoon, impeccably adapted for the big screen by Ian McEwan from his own Man Booker-shortlisted novela. Other highlights in this section include: CLOSE-KNIT, Naoko Ogigami’s quietly subversive and emotionally rich portrait of a transwoman whose maternal feelings are stirred by the arrival of her boyfriend’s 11-year-old niece; THE GROWN-UPS, Maïte Alberdi’s tender and bittersweet documentary portrait of Chileans Anita and Andres, who have Down’s syndrome and are very much in love; the World Premiere of Carlos Marques Marcet’s ANCHOR AND HOPE, a London-set story about modern love and family featuring Oona Chaplin; John Cameron Mitchell’s cosmic ride HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES, sees aliens have landed in 1970s Croydon in a funny, energetic love story starring Elle Fanning, Alex Sharp and Nicole Kidman; the World Premiere of JOURNEYMAN, features Paddy Considine following up his acclaimed debut Tyrannosaur with the story of a boxer who must rebuild his life after a near-fatal injury; GOING WEST, a World Premiere from Norwegian newcomer Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken who delivers a sweetly delicious road movie; LET THE SUNSHINE IN, Claire Denis’ darkly witty drama starring Juliette Binoche as an artist caught up in a series of unsatisfying affairs, and David Gordon Green’s rousing yet devastating true-story drama STRONGER featuring a remarkable performance by Jake Gyllenhaal as a survivor of the Boston Marathon bombing.DEBATE
This year’s Debate Gala is Samuel Maoz’s FOXTROT, a film that combines thrilling cinematography with superb performances, and highlights the absurdities of conscripted service. Debate also includes: BIRDS ARE SINGING IN KIGALI, Joanna Kos-Krauze and Krzysztof Krauze’s hard-hitting drama about the intertwined lives of two refugee survivors reeling from the impact of the Rwandan genocide and containing powerful central performances; the World Premiere of THE CLIMB, Michael Woodward’s debut documentary that charts Greenpeace’s daring all-female team that illegally ascended The Shard in protest against petroleum giant Shell’s plans to dig for oil in the Arctic; the World Premiere of THE FORGIVEN, Roland Joffé’s political drama starring Forest Whitaker as Desmond Tutu and Eric Bana as Piet Blomfeld, asking how far we can go in forgiving past crimes; the World Premiere of ISLAND, Steven Eastwood’s haunting and deeply moving documentary combining observational footage with contemplative shots of the costal landscapes of the Isle of Wight, and set among terminally ill cancer patients, and THE VENERABLE W., Barbet Schroeder’s disturbingly illuminating portrait of Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu, who was known for espousing anti-Muslim hatred.LAUGH
This year’s Laugh Gala is Noah Baumbach’s THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES (NEW AND SELECTED). A stellar cast give uniformly excellent performances, including Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Elizabeth Marvel and Emma Thompson. Through the madcap antics of a neurotic, failure-obsessed clan, Baumbach surfaces bigger questions about how to value family and the meaning of success. Laugh also includes: the World Premiere of Adrian Shergold’s FUNNY COW, which contains a formidable performance from Maxine Peake as an aspiring stand-up comic confronting her violent husband and the sexist Northern England club circuit; INGRID GOES WEST, Matt Spicer’s jet-black stalker comedy brilliantly skewers dangerous obsession and the sham of Instagrammed perfection with wicked and fearless performances from Elizabeth Olsen and Aubrey Plaza; joy and grace flow out of Dustin Guy Defa’s observational comedy drama PERSON TO PERSON, starring Michael Cera as a reporter keen on quoting (his own) heavy metal lyrics; Daan Bakker’s QUALITY TIME is perfect for lovers of experimental and irreverent cinema offering a portmanteau selection of stories of male arrested development; and Henrik Ruben Genz’s WORD OF GOD is set months after the Chernobyl disaster and provides dark and dirty humour where pretty much nothing is off limits.DARE
The Dare Gala is François Ozon’s frisky new thriller, AMANT DOUBLE, a deliciously duplicitous tale of psychoanalysis and seduction that channels the spirits of Hitchcock and De Palma at their naughtiest and stars Jérémie Renier, Marine Vacth and Jacqueline Bisset. Other highlights in the strand include: Eliza Hittman’s BEACH RATS, a gripping investigation of repressed sexual desire in a hyper-masculine environment; Jon Garaño and Aitor Arregi’s touching drama GIANT, set in 19th century Spain and based on the true story of Mikel Jokin Eleizegi, allegedly the tallest man of his time; Semih Kaplanoğlu’s spellbinding dystopian sci-fi, GRAIN in which climate change has caused the nearextinction of human life; Liu Jian’s adult animé HAVE A NICE DAY, a biting, bone-dry satire on contemporary Chinese social mores and featuring plenty of bloodthirsty Tarantino-esque genre thrills; the European Premiere of Bornila Chatterjee’s THE HUNGRY, which reworks Shakespeare’s bloody Titus Andronicus into a macabre modern tragedy set in Northern India; Barbara Albert’s resplendent drama MADEMOISELLE PARADIS, based on the true story of Maria Theresia ‘Resi’ von Paradis, a gifted blind musician and contemporary of Mozart, paraded through Vienna’s courts to perform; Jean Libon and Yves Hinant’s jawdropping and extraordinary documentary SO HELP ME GOD, which details the work of an unorthodox Belgian judge Anne Gruwez as she tackles gruesome crimes, domestic violence and other sordid cases; and WESTERN, director Valeska Grisebach’s contemporary western in which tensions mount between German construction workers and Bulgarian villagers in a small rural town.THRILL
This year’s Thrill Gala is Takashi Miike’s savage and inventive action thriller, BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL, based on the famous manga series by Hiroaki Samurai about a samurai cursed with immortal life and has the distinction of being Miike’s 100th feature film. Thrill also features: the European Premiere of Nattawut Poonpiriya’s Thai teen thriller BAD GENIUS, in which young brainiac Lynn uses a very special set of skills to cheat on behalf of her classmates in the high-stakes world of entrance exams for elite international universities; the European Premiere of Anurag Kashyap’s THE BRAWLER in which a young and talented Indian boxer dreams of being champion, but is knocked sideways when he falls for the niece of the man blocking his road to success; Aaron Katz’s GEMINI in which a heinous crime tests the complex relationship between a tenacious personal assistant, Jill played by Lola Kirke and her Hollywood movie star boss Heather played by Zoë Kravitz; the Safdie brothers’ latest film GOOD TIME features Robert Pattinson as a small-time New York criminal, who after a bank robbery goes seriously wrong, devises a plan to spring his injured accomplice from police custody; Jennifer Peedom’s spectacular documentary MOUNTAIN, is a mind-blowing symphony of images and sound chronicling the powerful attraction mountains hold over us; love, crime and action combine in a taut and twisty thriller-cum-romance in Michaël R. Roskam’s RACER AND THE JAILBIRD starring Adèle Exarchopoulos as Bibi, a young racing driver and Matthias Schoenaerts as Gigi the Jailbird, a dashing playboy with, it seems, time and money to burn; Ian Nelms and Eshom Nelms’ blackly comic, crime noir, SMALL TOWN CRIME (European Premiere) stars John Hawkes as alcoholic former cop Mike, channelling a drunk Columbo who embarks on his own unofficial crime investigation while Octavia Spencer plays his supportive sister Kelly who is starting to lose patience with Mike’s lying, drifting and drinking; and the International Premiere of Xin Yukun’s sophisticated arthouse thriller, WRATH OF SILENCE featuring martial arts maestro Song Yang, as a mute bruiser who returns to his home, a remote farming village, following the disappearance of his son. With tight plotting, memorable characters and an unforgettable climax, director Xin Yukun establishes himself as a new international filmmaker you need to know.CULT
The Cult Gala is Joachim Trier’s subtle shocker THELMA, a supernaturally-tinged tale of a young woman’s macabre coming of age. Other titles in the strand include: S. Craig Zahler’s genre-bending, bone-crunching exercise in slow-burn suspense, BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99, starring Vince Vaughn as a former boxer-turned mechanic involved in a drug deal that goes wrong that sees him behind bars; the walking dead get a second chance at life in David Freyne’s debut THE CURED starring Ellen Page in an inventive and surprising post-zombie era drama where a cure has been found for the infected and the rehabilitated are transitioned back into society; the World Premiere of Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman’s GHOST STORIES in which they bring their hit London stage play to the big screen, with suitably chilling results. Nyman plays Phillip Goodman, an academic and professional sceptic out to debunk claims of the supernatural , but when he stumbles across a long lost file containing three unsolved cases of the Occult, his whole belief system – not to mention his sanity – is thrown into question; LET THE CORPSES TAN is directing duo Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani’s adaptation of JeanPatrick Manchette’s influential 1971 crime novel and the result is a sun-drenched Western-tinged, crimecaper; MY FRIEND DAHMER is director Marc Meyers’ adaptation of John Backderf’s revered graphic novel and is an unnerving portrait of one of America’s most prolific murderers, Jeffrey Dahmer; and Paco Plaza’s much-anticipated new horror film, VERONICA, inspired by an actual unsolved case in Spain and a no-holds barred supernatural shocker.JOURNEY
This year’s Journey Gala is Todd Haynes’ new film WONDERSTRUCK, an enthralling adaptation of Brian Selznick’s acclaimed young adult novel. Featuring Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams in supporting roles alongside a gifted young cast, Oakes Fegley and newcomer Millicent Simmonds, a deaf actress making her film debut, it is both a whimsical children’s film for adults and a refreshingly grown-up film for children. Other Journey titles include: Arshad Khan’s ABU, a compelling documentary about a young Pakistani man’s difficulties in coping with migration and the resultant cultural change, his emerging sexuality and an increasingly orthodox father; Iraqi filmmaker Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji’s THE JOURNEY, a taut, thoughtprovoking thriller that tackles what might just be the final moments of a potential suicide bomber’s life; David Batty’s stylish documentary MY GENERATION, presented and narrated by Michael Caine, playfully explores the impact of Britain’s working class cultural revolution in the 1960s and features a wealth of archive footage and a spot-on soundtrack from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and The Who, which makes for an exhilarating journey back in time; the European Premiere of Egyptian director Amr Salama’s SHEIKH JACKSON, a bittersweet and poignant tale of an Islamist preacher experiencing a crisis of faith following the death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson; Marc J. Francis and Max Pugh’s fascinating and immersive exploration of mindfulness, WALK WITH ME, featuring narration by Benedict Cumberbatch, follows the daily rituals and routine of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh and offers a rare insight into life within a monastic community; and the World Premiere of THE WHITE GIRL, where debut director Jenny Suen collaborates with legendary cinematographer Christopher Doyle on an intoxicating and textually rich film.CREATE
The brand new Create strand channels the electricity of the act of creation, celebrating artistic expression in all its forms. The inaugural Create Gala is Michel Hazanavicius’ REDOUBTABLE, an audacious, multi-layered biopic of French cinema’s most notorious director, Jean-Luc Godard. Also in Create: Greg Kohs’ ALPHAGO the story of how Google’s DeepMind team took on Go world champion Lee Sedol, posing questions about whether computers can think creatively and whether there is an algorithm for intuition; the World Premiere of THE BALLAD OF SHIRLEY COLLINS, Rob Curry and Tim Plester’s portrait of one of the great British folks singers who mysteriously lost her voice in 1980; G-FUNK tells the story of how three childhood friends from East Long Beach Warren G, Snoop Dogg and the late great Nate Dogg, transformed hip-hop into a global phenomenon and changed the world; the World Premiere of William Badgely’s HERE TO BE HEARD: THE STORY OF THE SLITS is a riveting film about the game-changing and largely female feminist punk band; Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman’s LOVING VINCENT is a stunning, fully painted animated feature created in the style of Van Gogh’s paintings matching extraordinary style with richly satisfying storytelling, broadcast live from the National Gallery to cinemas nationwide; and Julian Rosefeldt’s MANIFESTO starring Cate Blanchett as thirteen different characters in this energetic tribute to artistic troublemakers.FAMILY
Showcasing films for the young, as well as the young at heart the Family Gala is THE BIG BAD FOX AND OTHER TALES, an outstanding, laugh-a-minute animation from Benjamin Renner and Patrick Imbert, the team behind Ernest & Celestine (LFF 2012, Family Gala) and is guaranteed to appeal to adults as much as it will to children. Other highlights include Chang-yong Moon and Jin Jeon’s beautifully made documentary BECOMING WHO I WAS about a young monk Padma Angdu, who is said to be the latest incarnation of a religious teacher, known as a Rinpoche, and his attempts to reach the home he had in a former life; Xuan Liang and Chun Zhang’s visually breath-taking Chinese animated fantasy, BIG FISH & BEGONIA is as near to the best of Studio Ghibli as you’re likely to find anywhere; Meikeminne Clinckspoor’s family adventure CLOUDBOY is about 12- year-old Niilas who is sent away against his wishes to spend the summer with his estranged mother in Swedish Lapland, among the indigenous reindeer herding Sami people; and winner of the top prize at this year’s Annecy Animation Film Festival, Masaaki Yuasa’s anime LU OVER THE WALL brings human and merfolk together with surprising outcomes. This funky, upbeat tale is full of energy, features cute ‘merdogs’, musical mermaids and a giant humanoid shark and has a really cool soundtrack. This section also includes a program of animated shorts for younger audiences which bring together eclectic, exciting and colourful films from all around the globe.TREASURES
The Treasures selection brings recently restored cinematic classics from archives around the world to the Festival in London. The Archive Gala is the World Premiere of the BFI National Archive restoration of the silent film SHIRAZ: A ROMANCE OF INDIA (1928), a ravishing, romantic tale based on the story of the 17th century Mughal ruler Shah Jahan, his queen and the building of the world’s most beautiful monument to love, the Taj Mahal. Directed by Franz Osten, based on a play by Niranjan Pal and starring and produced by Himansu Rai, the film was shot entirely in India and performed by an all-Indian cast. Other highlights include the World Premieres of the 4K restoration by Sony Pictures Entertainment of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (1946); the digitally remastered experimental documentary FRANTZ FANON: BLACK SKIN WHITE MASK (1996), directed by artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien, as well as the new 4K restoration, by The BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation, with funding provided by the George Lucas Family Foundation, of Terry Gilliam’s first feature as a solo director, JABBERWOCKY (1977). The Festival will also screen the 4K restoration of Toshio Matsumoto’s FUNERAL PARADE OF ROSES (1969), a wild, kaleidoscopic vision of the underground scene in 1960s Japan and a significant influence on Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange and Italian genre-master Dario Argento’s eye-popping slice of technicolour terror, SUSPIRIA (1977) with stunning 4K restoration.EXPERIMENTA
Experimenta features films and videos by artists who transform our experience of seeing moving images. Highlights include: the World Premiere of Benedict Seymour’s DEAD THE ENDS, a politically urgent retelling of Chris Marker’s La Jetée bookended by the 2011 London riots; ERASE AND FORGET, Andrea Luka Zimmerman’s film is an excavation of the influence of fiction on truth in the American imagination of warfare and gun culture; the World Premiere of LEK AND THE DOGS, Andrew Kötting’s account of the ultimate outsider uses a range of visual styles derived from avant garde and genre cinema, and Kevin Jerome Everson’s TONSLER PARK uses an unobtrusive observational style to divulge the mechanisms behind the operation of Election Day at polling stations in Charlottesville, Virginia.
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10 Films from Up-and-Coming Asian Directors in New Currents at Busan International Film Festival
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The Last Verse by Tseng Ying-Ting,[/caption]
10 official selections from up-and-coming Asian directors will compete in the New Currents section at the 22nd Busan International Film Festival.
This year’s New Currents features films from Greater China including Somewhere Beyond the Mist by King Wai Cheung that pictures conflict and discord between generations with dramatic incidents. It also attracts attention because it is the first Hong Kong film selected for New Currents in 7 years. Other Chinese films are End of Summer by Zhou Quan that depicts friendship between a boy who loves soccer and an old man who lives in his neighborhood, and One Night on the Wharf by Han Dong portrays a terrifying night that community members had to go through on an excursion. The Last Verse by a Taiwanese director Tseng Ying-Ting illustrates a lyrical drama that traces the transitions of a long-term couple experiencing modern times in Taiwan.
New Currents adds 2 selections from Post-Prodution Fund projects in the Asian Cinema Fund that includes Ashwatthama by Pushpendra Singh, that beautifully captures the anxiety and heart break of a motherless boy told in the limelight of Indian mythology, and Last Child by Shin Dongseok, Choi Mu-seong and Kim Yeo-jin as parents who have ambivalent feelings towards a child who has survived an accident, instead of their own son.
Korean films include Last Child by Shin Dongseok, After My Death by Kim Uiseok and How to Breathe Underwater by Ko Hyunseok, pieces that convincingly tell tragedies in different ways. After My Death is a story about a dead girl and a surviving girl; after the suicide of one girl, a witch hunt follows to find the reason. How to Breathe Underwater shows the tragedies that befall two employees who work for the same company in one day.
In addition, Blockage by Mohsen Gharaei traces the overwhelming chaos that happens to a vicious, despicable man who works as a street vendor control officer, Ajji by Devashish Makhija, shows a strong sense of drama by tracking a grandmother who seeks vengeance for a girl’s rape.
2017 New Currents Selections
After My Death; Kim Uiseok, Korea (World Premiere) Ajji; Devashish Makhija, India (World Premiere) Ashwatthama; Pushpendra Singh, India (World Premiere) Blockage; Mohsen Gharaei, Iran (International Premiere) End of Summer; Zhou Quan, China (World Premiere) How to Breathe Underwater; Ko Hyunseok, Korea (World Premiere) Last Child; Shin Dongseok, Korea (World Premiere) The Last Verse; Tseng Ying-Ting, Taiwan (International Premiere) One Night on the Wharf; Han Dong, China (World Premiere) Somewhere Beyond the Mist; King Wai Cheung, Hong Kong (World Premiere)
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Toronto International Film Festival to Screen Christopher Nolan’s DUNKIRK in Honor of IMAX’s 50th Anniversary
In honor of the 50th anniversary of IMAX Corporation, the Toronto International Film Festival will present an exclusive screening of Christopher Nolan’s widely acclaimed epic Dunkirk. On Sunday, September 10, Nolan will be in Toronto to present the film, which was shot almost entirely with IMAX® cameras. The screening, to be presented in IMAX® 70mm, will be introduced by Piers Handling, Director and CEO of TIFF, followed by a conversation between the director/writer/producer and Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of TIFF. The free event will fittingly be held at the restored and soon to be re-opened Ontario Place Cinesphere, which has the distinction of being the world’s first permanent IMAX® theatre.
“Nineteen years ago, Nolan premiered Following in the Discovery section of the Toronto International Film Festival. We stand in awe of all he has achieved since, and are proud to welcome him back to Toronto,” said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of TIFF. “The Ontario Place Cinesphere is the perfect place to do it. This cinema on Toronto’s waterfront opened in 1971 as IMAX’s first permanent home. We couldn’t be happier to be able to provide fans with the chance to hear Nolan speak on the groundbreaking art and craft of Dunkirk.”
Christopher Nolan, who pioneered the use of IMAX cameras in major motion pictures, beginning with the blockbuster The Dark Knight, expanded the use of the large-format cameras as never before for Dunkirk, which marks the first time he has turned his cameras to a real-life event. The result is a truly immersive experience that draws the audience into the harrowing drama as it unfolds on land, sea and air.
“Dunkirk is quite remarkable,” said Piers Handling, Director and CEO of TIFF. “It sets a new standard for the visualization of war. Its form and structure is immersive and experiential and its attention to detail exemplary. This is a story for the times – one of resilience against all odds, ordinary people surviving amidst chaos. Christopher Nolan captures this seminal moment in history with an artist’s eye.”
One of the best-reviewed films of the year, Dunkirk opens as hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops are surrounded by enemy forces. Trapped on the beach with their backs to the sea, they face an impossible situation as the enemy closes in. The story unfolds on land, sea and air. RAF Spitfires engage the enemy in the skies above the Channel, trying to protect the defenseless men below. Meanwhile, hundreds of small boats manned by both military and civilians are mounting a desperate rescue effort, risking their lives in a race against time to save even a fraction of their army.
The film features a multigenerational ensemble cast, including Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, Aneurin Barnard, James D’Arcy and Barry Keoghan, with Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance and Tom Hardy.
Dunkirk was directed by Christopher Nolan from his own screenplay. Emma Thomas and Nolan produced the film, with Jake Myers serving as the executive producer. The film is being distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. Dunkirk is a Syncopy Production.
The 42nd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 7 to 17, 2017.
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22nd Busan International Film Festival Unveils Official Poster
The 22nd Busan International Film Festival released the official poster featuring the original artwork of Chung Sang-hwa, the master of Korean abstract and monochrome painting. Chung Sang-hwa is best known as the leader of Korean Modern Art in the 1970s.
Representative of Minimalism, Chung’s artwork features a moderation of formality and a philosophical insight to achieve essence. The monotonous blue patterns found in his work might be considered dull and similar; however, close investigation of the surface reveals an association of disparate colors and patterns. As a whole, the pattern provides a sense of great depth and unification.
The blue monochromatic painting is reminiscent of beautiful oceans in Busan with an invigorating spirit that provides an impression of grandeur and magnificent energy. In general, the color of the poster provides dense white to blue parallels with the 22nd Busan International Film Festival that has grown in meaning to become a leading film festival in Asia. Reflecting the persistence and endurance of the festival against the wave of struggles over the past year, this year’s poster will light up the 22nd Busan International Film Festival.
With the release of the official poster, the Busan International Film festival is preparing to invite official titles, international guests and organize various events. The 22nd Busan International Film Festival will hold its opening on October 12, 2017.
Artist: CHUNG Sang-hwa (1932-)
Chung Sang-hwa was born in Yeongdeok, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea in 1932 and graduated with a Fine Arts Degree (painting) from Seoul National University. He held his first exhibition in 1963 and studied in France for a year in 1967. Chung came across the diverse artwork of various painters while staying in Japan from 1969 to 1976. After his career in France (from 1979 to 1992), Chung returned to his homeland in 1992 and has devoted himself to studio work at Yeoju, Gyeonggi-do.
Chung Sang-hwa had his major retrospective at the Musée d’art moderne et contemporain de Saint-Étienne Métropole in 2011 and his works are housed at museums such as Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Hirshhorn Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Korea, Seoul Museum of Art, Leeum (Samsung Museum of Art), Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo and Fukuoka Asian Art Museum.
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PIN CUSHION to Open Venice International Film Critics’ Week
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Pin Cushion[/caption]
The 32nd Venice International Film Critics’ Week opens on Thursday August 31 with Pin Cushion, the debut feature film by British director Deborah Haywood. Haywood’s debut feature film tells the story of unusually close mother Lyn and daughter Iona, who move to a new town. After a tricky start, they will have to face a reality quite different from the one they had imagined.
Pin Cushion will follow the screening of the short film Nausicaa – The Other Odyssey (Nausicaa – L’altra Odissea) presented as a special event opening the second edition of SIC@SIC (Short Italian Cinema @ Settimana Internazionale della Critica). Italian director Bepi Vigna – renown author of comics and graphic novels, one of the creators of Nathan Never and Legs Weaver (Sergio Bonelli Editore) – will present his adaptation of one of the most famous stories of classical mythology, that of Ulysses and Nausicaa, a young princess who is seduced and abandoned by the adventurous man, and therefore decides to take a journey that will become a growth path.
The Venice International Film Critics’ Week (SIC) is an independent and parallel section organized by the National Union of Italian Film Critics (SNCCI) during the 74th Venice International Film Festival (30th August – 9th September, 2017). The program includes a selection of seven debut films in competition and two special events out of competition, all presented in world premiere screenings. Together with the feature films lineup, the sidebar presents the second edition of SIC@SIC (Short Italian Cinema @ Settimana Internazionale della Critica), a selection of seven short films by Italian directors who have not yet embarked on a full-length film, and two special events, all screened in world premiere.
The seven films in competition at the Venice Critics’ Week, as all the debut feature films presented in the various competitive sections of the Venice Film Festival (Official Selection and Independent and Parallel Sections) are eligible for the Lion of the Future – “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film.
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Points North Institute Announces 2017 Forum Program at Camden International Film Festival
The Points North Institute has unveiled the lineup for its ninth annual Points North Forum. The three-day conference program runs concurrently with the Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) from September 15 – 17, 2017 at the historic Camden Opera House, High Mountain Hall, and St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church in Camden, Maine.
The Points North Forum has long been a top festival destination for filmmakers to find creative inspiration and professional development. Accessible workshops and panel discussions feature some of the documentary film industry’s most accomplished storytellers and influential decision makers.
This year’s program takes a deep dive into the evolution of the documentary arts in the digital age and tackles the changing conditions for nonfiction storytellers in a politically charged media environment. Moderated discussions with attending filmmakers, artists, funders, and industry leaders will address vital contemporary topics including race in America, press freedom, the politics of the ubiquitous documentary camera, and what’s coming up for the next generation of nonfiction virtual reality experiences.
Highlighted documentary craft panels include one on character-driven documentary with acclaimed director Steve James (Hoop Dreams, Abacus: Small Enough to Jail), which will be co-presented by Maine Media Workshops, and a session exploring the creative side of archival storytelling with director Sierra Pettengill (The Reagan Show), editor Nels Bangerter (Cameraperson, Let the Fire Burn) and writer/curator Eric Hynes (Museum of the Moving Image). An essential discussion of press freedom for the nonfiction community will feature Carrie Lozano (IDA Enterprise Fund), Katie Townsend (Reporters Committee on Freedom of the Press), Harlo Holmes (Freedom of the Press Foundation) and Sam Gregory (Witness).
One of the Forum’s most popular and beloved events is the Points North Pitch, which is celebrating its 8th year with a new Presenting Sponsorship from Showtime Documentary Films.
The pitch is part of the year-long Points North Fellowship, providing six teams of filmmakers from around the world an opportunity to work with mentors and present their feature documentary works-in-progress to a panel of influential funders, producers and broadcasters — all before a live audience at the Camden Opera House. The panel will determine one winner of the Points North Pitch and Modulus Finishing Fund, which includes an in-kind post-production package from Boston-based Modulus Studios.
“Our programming is driven by the belief that documentary storytelling is more important now than ever before,” says the Institute’s Program Director Sean Flynn. “It’s a privilege to bring together such a diverse, talented and accomplished group of filmmakers and industry leaders in Camden for urgent and inspiring discussions about the role of the documentary artist today.”
This year’s Forum expands to two new venues and features the addition of an invitation-only 1:1 Meetings program, connecting 25 additional filmmakers with works-in-progress to funders and industry representatives. Points North is also expanding its partnership with the LEF Foundation, organizing an invitation-only “Sustainability Roundtable” convening where funders, thought leaders and filmmakers from across New England will discuss the challenges of building a career and opportunities to collectively build a stronger documentary field.
Filmmakers, students and other Points North attendees will have numerous opportunities to connect with industry delegates throughout the festival weekend — formally during masterclasses and panels, and informally during CIFF parties and receptions.
The strong lineup marks the continued growth of the Points North Forum since the July 2016 launch of the Points North Institute, a parent organization for CIFF that is dedicated to serving as the launching pad for the next generation of nonfiction storytellers.
Points North Forum
September 15 – 17, 2017 Camden Opera House | Camden, ME High Mountain Hall | Camden, ME Friday, September 15 10:00am – 11:30am (High Mountain Hall) From Deep in The Archives This conversation will take on the creative side of archival filmmaking — finding, understanding, and recontextualizing footage — then looking at how it succeeds, where it can falter, and how far is too far. Sierra Pettengill, archival researcher and director of THE REAGAN SHOW and Nels Bangerter, editor of CAMERAPERSON and LET THE FIRE BURN will join writer and curator Eric Hynes, none of whom are lawyers, to go beyond the question of “is this fair use?” to address archival’s emerging creative and ethical issues.- Sierra Pettengill (THE REAGAN SHOW)
- Nels Bangerter (editor, CAMERAPERSON)
- Moderated by Eric Hynes (Film Comment Magazine, Museum of the Moving Image)
- Moderated by Jason Fox (World Records, NYU)
- Violeta Ayala + Daniel Fallshaw (COCAINE PRISON)
- Daniel McCabe (THIS IS CONGO)
- Jason Kohn (LOVE MEANS ZERO)
- Mark Grieco (A RIVER BELOW)
- Moderated by Charlotte Cook (Field_of_Vision)
- Ernst Karel (MANAKAMANA, LEVIATHAN)
- Sabaah Folayan (WHOSE STREETS?)
- Lee Anne Schmitt (PURGE THIS LAND)
- Moderated by Jennifer MacArthur (Borderline Media)
- Carla Borras (Frontline PBS)
- Winslow Porter (Tree VR)
- Joseph Ellsworth (CFC Media Lab)
- Daniel Chalfen (Naked Edge Films)
- Lisa Kleiner Chanoff (Catapult Film Fund)
- Charlotte Cook (Field of Vision)
- Maxyne Franklin (Doc Society)
- Tabitha Jackson (Sundance Institute)
- Carrie Lozano (IDA Enterprise Fund)
- Marie Nelson (PBS)
- Molly O’Brien (Fork Films)
- Jose Rodriguez (Tribeca Film Institute)
- John Van Wyck (Cinereach)
- Caroline von Kuhn (San Francisco Film Society)
- Moderated by Brian Newman (Sub-Genre)
- Steve James (ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL, HOOP DREAMS)
- Jeff Unay (THE CAGE FIGHTER)
- Harlo Holmes (Freedom of the Press Foundation)
- Katie Townsend (Reporters Committee on Freedom of the Press)
- Sam Gregory (WITNESS)
- Moderated by Carrie Lozano (IDA Enterprise Fund)
- Harlo Holmes, Director of Newsroom Digital Security at Freedom of the Press Foundation
- Chelsea Barabas, Head of Social Innovation, Digital Currency Initiative at MIT Media Lab
- Sam Gregory, Program Director, WITNESS
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Zurich Film Festival to Honor Andrew Garfield with Award, BREATHE to Screen as Gala Premiere
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Breathe[/caption]
Andrew Garfield will receive the prestigious Golden Eye Award at this year’s Zurich Film Festival, and his latest film Breathe will have its Gala Premiere at the festival on Friday, October 6th.
Garfield will be in Zurich alongside actor Andy Serkis, who is making his directorial debut, and producer Jonathan Cavendish, whose parents’ story the film is based on.
“Following on from his masterful performances in Hacksaw Ridge and Silence, Andrew Garfield’s powerful and enthralling turn in Breathe reinforces him as one of the true stars of his generation” stated ZFF Co-Directors Nadja Schildknecht and Karl Spoerri. “We are delighted to welcome him to Zurich and present him with our Golden Eye award at this year’s Festival.”
Andrew Garfield
In 2016, Garfield appeared on the big screen in Mel Gibson’s Academy Award®-nominated World War II epic, Hacksaw Ridge. Garfield’s critically acclaimed performance earned him lead actor nominations at the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards and BAFTA Awards. That year Garfield also starred in Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of the literary classic Silence alongside Liam Neeson and Adam Driver. Garfield’s additional film credits include: Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which combined grossed over 1.5 billion at the box-office; Ramin Bahrani’s 99 Homes opposite Michael Shannon and Laura Dern; David Fincher’s The Social Network, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor; Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go opposite Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan; Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus; Spike Jonze’s robot love story I’m Here; Robert Redford’s Lions for Lambs; Julian Jarrold’s Red Riding Trilogy – 1974; and John Crowley’s Boy A, for which he earned BAFTA’s Best Actor Award in 2008. Garfield will soon be seen in A24’s modern noir crime thriller Under the Silver Lake, written and directed by David Robert Mitchell. Garfield could last be seen on stage in the UK in the National Theatre’s acclaimed production of Tony Kushner’s ‘Angels in America’ directed by Tony Award®-winning Marianne Elliott. Garfield made his Broadway debut in 2012 in the revival of Arthur Miller’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play ‘Death of a Salesman’, opposite Phillip Seymour-Hoffman and directed by Mike Nichols. His portrayal of Biff Loman earned him a Tony® nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play.Breathe
Based on the true story of Robin Cavendish, Breathe is a heart-warming and highly emotional celebration of bravery and human possibility, a love story about living every breath as though it’s your last. The film stars Andrew Garfield as Cavendish and Claire Foy as his wife Diana. From a script by twice Academy Award-nominated screenwriter William Nicholson , Andy Serkis (globally known for his performances including, War for the Planet of the Apes, Star Wars: The Force Awakens) delivers a hugely impressive directorial debut with this inspirational true story of love without limits. Adventurous and charismatic, Robin Cavendish has his whole life ahead of him when he is paralysed by polio whilst in Africa and given just months to live. Against all advice, Robin’s wife Diana brings him home from hospital where her devotion and witty determination inspire him to lead a long and fulfilled life. Together they refuse to be limited by expectations, dazzling others with their humour, courage and lust for life. The film’s supporting cast members include Hugh Bonneville (Paddington) and Tom Hollander (The Night Manager) as Robin’s devoted, long-time friends. Stephen Mangan (Rush) and acting legend Dame Diana Rigg (Game of Thrones, the original The Avengers) complete the cast, with a soundtrack by the acclaimed composer Nitin Sawhney.
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2017 New York Film Festival Announces Special Events, Docs on Steven Spielberg, Bob Dylan + Shorts
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A Gentle Creature (Sergei Loznitsa)[/caption]
The 55th New York Film Festival taking place September 28 – October 15, today added a new Retrospective title and announced the Special Events section and Main Slate shorts.
Special Events will feature the world premieres of three major documentaries: Susan Lacy’s Spielberg, which chronicles the cinema titan’s remarkable career and screens with the director and subject in person; Jennifer Lebeau’s Trouble No More, a concert film that punctuates rare, recently rediscovered footage from Bob Dylan’s ’79-’80 tour with a beautiful performance by Michael Shannon; and Susan Froemke’s The Opera House, a history of the Metropolitan Opera and a love letter to the art form that will have a special screening in the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center. Claude Lanzmann returns to NYFF with the World Premiere of his four-film series Four Sisters, created from interviews conducted in the 1970s with four Eastern European women who impossibly survived the Holocaust.
Additional highlights include a new restoration of G.W. Pabst’s silent magnum opus Pandora’s Box, screening with the world premiere of a new orchestral score by Jonathan Ragonese performed live; Rory Kennedy’s Without a Net, an examination of the many technologically underserved schools across the country; and two talks with luminaries from this year’s festival—a far-ranging conversation with Kate Winslet about her career and her unforgettable performance in this year’s Closing Night selection, Woody Allen’s Wonder Wheel, and a Master Class with Vittorio Storaro and Ed Lachman, the brilliant cinematographers behind the Closing and Centerpiece films.
The fifth annual Film Comment Presents selection is the U.S. premiere of 2017 Cannes competition selection A Gentle Creature, an incisive, tragicomic vision of today’s Russia directed by Sergei Loznitsa and inspired by a Dostoevsky short story. In previous years, Film Comment has championed films such as Terence Davies’s A Quiet Passion, Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, and László Nemes’s Son of Saul. The magazine will also host three live events: a roundtable discussion with festival filmmakers about their experiences as movie lovers and creators, a dialogue on the representation of race and immigration in cinema history, and a critical wrap report of the festival’s highs and lows. All three will also be recorded for the weekly Film Comment Podcast.
The festival also showcases 24 short films across four programs as part of the NYFF Main Slate. Highlights include Qiu Yang’s A Gentle Night, winner of the Short Film Palme d’Or at Cannes this year; new work by returning filmmakers Jason Giampietro, John Wilson, Riccardo Giacconi, and Pacho Velez; and world premieres of Ashley Connor & Joe Stankus’s The Layover, Adinah Dancyger’s Cheer Up Baby, Gabriel de Urioste’s Program, Damien Power’s Hitchhiker, and Wilson’s The Road to Magnasanti.
Finally, the New York Film Festival announced a late addition to the Retrospective honoring Robert Mitchum’s centenary: Bruce Weber’s Nice Girls Don’t Stay for Breakfast, a work-in-progress portrait of Mitchum the man, a flawed soul and true artist, which Weber began shooting more than twenty years ago.
FILMS & DESCRIPTIONS
A Conversation with Kate Winslet For more than twenty years, Kate Winslet has proven herself one of the most expressive actors in movies, from her astonishing breakouts in Heavenly Creatures (1994), Sense and Sensibility (1995), and Titanic (1997), to the increasingly internalized characterizations of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Revolutionary Road (2008), The Reader (2008), for which she won an Oscar, and Steve Jobs(2015), a NYFF centerpiece. This year, Winslet stars in the NYFF festival closer, Wonder Wheel, directed by Woody Allen, and her blistering, unpredictable, vanity-free performance is destined to be remembered as one of her greatest. Join Kate Winslet in a special live onstage event in which she talks about this latest role, and her career in general. Claude Lanzmann’s Four Sisters The Hippocratic Oath (France, 2017, 89m) Baluty (France, 2017, 64m) The Merry Flea (France, 2017, 52m) Noah’s Ark (France, 2017, 68m) World Premiere Since 1999, Claude Lanzmann has made several films that could be considered satellites of Shoah, comprised of interviews conducted in the 1970s that didn’t make it into the final, monumental work. He has just completed a series of four new films, built around four women from four different areas of Eastern Europe with four different destinies, each finding herself unexpectedly and improbably alive after war’s end: Ruth Elias from Ostravia, Czechoslovakia; Paula Biren from Lodz, Poland; Ada Lichtman from further south in Krakow; and Hannah Marton from Cluj, or Kolozsvár, in Transylvania. “What they have in common,” wrote Lanzmann, “apart from the specific horrors each one of them was subjected to, is their intelligence, an incisive, sharp and carnal intelligence that rejects all pretence and false reasons—in a word—idealism.” What is so remarkable about Lanzmann’s films is the way that they stay within the immediate present tense, where the absolute horror of the shoah is always happening. The Opera House Dir. Susan Froemke, USA, 2017, 108m World Premiere Renowned documentarian Susan Froemke takes viewers through the history of the Metropolitan Opera via priceless archival stills, footage, and interviews (with, among many others, the great soprano Leontyne Price). The film follows the development of the glorious institution from its beginnings at the old opera house on 39th Street to the storied reign of Rudolph Bing to the long-gestating move to Lincoln Center, the construction of which traces a fascinating byway through the era of urban renewal and Robert Moses’s transformation of New York. Most of all, though, this is a film about the love for and devotion to the preservation of an art form, and the upkeep of a home where it can live and thrive. This screening will take place at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center. Pandora’s Box Dir. G.W. Pabst, Germany, 1929, 143m Pabst’s immortal film version of the Frank Wedekind play gave us one of the most enduring presences in cinema. “Is the movie’s resident Pandora, Louise Brooks, inside the character of Lulu or is Lulu inside her?” wrote J. Hoberman in The Village Voice. As Brooks herself put it to Kenneth Tynan, “It was clever of Pabst to know even before he met me that I possessed the tramp essence of Lulu.” Lulu, in Hoberman’s words, was a “new kind of femme fatale—generous, manipulative, heedless, blank, democratic in her affections, ambiguous in her sexuality.” She has inspired countless helmet-haired imitators, but she still reigns supreme. Featuring the world premiere of a new orchestral score composed and conducted by Jonathan Ragonese. A Janus Films release. DCP courtesy of the Deutsche Kinemathek from the restoration based on elements contributed by the Cinémathèque Française, Gosfilmofond and the Národní Filmový Archiv in Prague undertaken at Cineteca di Bologna. The work was helmed by the George Eastman House and Big Sound with funding provided by Hugh M. Hefner. This evening is generously supported by Ira Resnick. Spielberg Dir. Susan Lacy, USA, 2017, 147m World Premiere Susan Lacy’s new film traces the private, public, and artistic development of one of cinema’s true giants, from his early love of moviemaking as a kid growing up in all-American suburbia, through his sudden rise to superstardom with Jaws, to his establishment of a film-and-TV empire with DreamWorks and beyond. All along the way, Spielberg has approached every new film as if it were his first. Featuring interviews with friends and contemporaries in the “New Hollywood” (Francis Coppola, Brian De Palma, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese); key artistic collaborators (including Tom Hanks, John Williams, longtime DP Janusz Kamiński); and, the film’s most touching presences, Spielberg’s beloved sisters and parents, Arnold and Leah. An HBO Documentary Film. Trouble No More Dir. Jennifer Lebeau, USA, 2017, 59m World Premiere Like every other episode in the life of Bob Dylan, the “born again” period that supposedly began with the release of Slow Train Coming (1979) and supposedly ended with Shot of Love (1981) has been endlessly scrutinized in the press. Less attention has been paid to the magnificent music he made. This very special film consists of truly electrifying video footage, much of it thought to have been lost for years and all newly restored, shot at shows in Toronto and Buffalo on the last leg of the ’79-’80 tour (with an amazing band: Muscle Shoals veteran Spooner Oldham and Terry Young on keyboards, Little Feat’s Fred Tackett on guitar, Tim Drummond on bass, the legendary Jim Keltner on drums and Clydie King, Gwen Evans, Mona Lisa Young, Regina McCrary and Mary Elizabeth Bridges on vocals) interspersed with sermons written by Luc Sante and beautifully delivered by Michael Shannon. More than just a record of some concerts, Trouble No More is a total experience. Master Class: Vittorio Storaro and Ed Lachman The cinematographers behind two of this year’s true visual wonders—titled, appropriately, Wonderstruck and Wonder Wheel—sit down with NYFF Director Kent Jones for a conversation about the craft of cinematography and their own astonishing careers in particular. Vittorio Storaro, who has had lengthy creative partnerships with Bernardo Bertolucci, Francis Coppola, and Carlos Saura, has now worked with Woody Allen to create one of his greatest aesthetic achievements; Ed Lachman, who has worked extensively with many filmmakers from Wim Wenders to Steven Soderbergh, is now perhaps best known for his collaboration with Todd Haynes, with whom he has created a remarkable movie set in two wholly distinct lost worlds: New York in the twenties and the seventies. Without a Net Dir. Rory Kennedy, USA, 2017, 56m Many of us assume that the world, or at least the country, is now fully connected, but throughout American classrooms there exists a digital divide. In a shockingly large number of schools, access to technology, connectivity, and teacher-training is nonexistent. Many of those underserved schools are located just a few miles from fully equipped schools with technologically adept teachers in better funded districts. This new film from Rory Kennedy, in which we see the situation through the eyes of students, educators, policy experts, and advocates across the country, clearly lays out the steps we must take a to bring our public education system into the 21st century. Verizon, a producer of the film, has over the last five years, committed more than $160 million to help close the digital divide. FILM COMMENT AT NYFF EVENTS Film Comment Presents: A Gentle Creature Dir. Sergei Loznitsa, France/Germany/Lithuania/The Netherlands, 2017, 143m North American Premiere This tragicomic pageant by Sergei Loznitsa (My Joy, NYFF48) brings a roiling energy and a lunatic sense of desperation to its larger-than-life vision of today’s Russia. Inspired by a Dostoevsky short story, A Gentle Creature follows an unnamed woman (Vasilina Makovtseva) moving through a prison town underworld after attempting to visit her incarcerated husband. Loznitsa uses the town as a microcosm for a country where corruption and authority are so intertwined as to be indistinguishable. A Gentle Creature brings its own genius to a Russian tradition of social panoramas, and as the film takes a turn into the carnivalesque and the infernal, it gets at the deeply troubled slumber of a beleaguered country. Film Comment Live: The Cinema of Experience At this year’s NYFF, filmmakers are rising to the challenge of representing race and immigration at a pivotal time in our nation’s history. Our guests will discuss how cinematic technique is used to reflect such experiences and what is different about the latest generation of storytelling. Filmmakers Chat For the second year, Film Comment gives you the rare chance to see some of today’s most important filmmakers in dialogue with each other. A selection of directors whose films are screening at this edition of NYFF will talk together in a discussion moderated by Film Comment editor-in-chief Nicolas Rapold. Festival Wrap In what is becoming an annual tradition, Film Comment contributing critics and editors gather for the festival’s last weekend and talk about the films they’ve seen, discussing—or arguing about—the selections in the lineup, from Main Slate and beyond. RETROSPECTIVE – JUST ADDED Nice Girls Don’t Stay for Breakfast Bruce Weber, 2017, USA In the late 1990s, the great photographer and filmmaker Bruce Weber managed to convince Robert Mitchum to appear before his camera for a filmed portrait. Weber shot Mitchum in 35mm black and white, hanging with friends and cronies in restaurants and hotel rooms and singing before a microphone in a studio recording standards for a projected album. When Mitchum passed away in 1997, Weber parked his beloved project and it was some time before he went back into his footage. Nice Girls Don’t Stay for Breakfast (a great title, from a Julie London song), still a work in progress, is a beautifully textured full-throttle portrait of a man who came from—and for many was the very embodiment of—a bygone era, speaking and enacting its prejudices, its longings, and its charms. He was also a great artist with the sensibility of a poet, as you’ll see.SHORTS
Shorts Program 1: Narrative Showcasing both established and emerging filmmakers, this program features six unique films from around the world. TRT: 84m Programmed by Gabi Madsen Hedgehog’s Home Eva Cvijanović, Canada/Croatia, 2017, 10m In this stop-motion tale, a hedgehog’s love of his humble abode perplexes his predators, who deliver their dialogue in rhyming couplets. New York Premiere All Over the Place Mariana Sanguinetti, Argentina, 2017, 10m While moving out of the apartment she shared with her ex-boyfriend, Jimena reflects on closure and the future in a stream-of-consciousness message on his answering machine. North American Premiere A Gentle Night Qiu Yang, China, 2017, 15m When their 13-year-old daughter disappears on her way home from school, a couple’s feelings of helplessness conflict with their desire to act. New York Premiere Douggy Matvey Fiks, USA/Russia, 2017, 19m Tow-truck driver Douggy’s mind is on a series of unanswered phone calls as he goes through the motions of his last two night shifts. Fiks renders his routine’s quietude and rusty infrastructure in warm 16mm grain. North American Premiere Scaffold Kazik Radwanski, Canada, 2017, 15m Filmed in fragmentary close-up, Scaffold stitches together the conversations, interactions, and people-watching that make up the daily grind for two Bosnian-Canadian construction workers. U.S. Premiere Bonboné Rakan Mayasi, Palestine/Lebanon, 2017, 15m A Palestinian man serves time in an Israeli jail, but he and his wife still hope to conceive a child. With the help of a bonbon wrapper, the couple overcomes physical obstacles in a race against the clock. U.S. Premiere Shorts Program 2: Genre Stories This is the third annual edition of a program focusing on the best in new horror, thriller, sci-fi, pitch-black comedy, twisted noir, and fantasy shorts from around the world. TRT: 92m Programmed by Laura Kern Creswick Natalie James, Australia, 2016, 10m As a woman helps her dad pack up his home, it becomes apparent that it may be inhabited by more than just memories. New York Premiere The Last Light Angelita Mendoza, USA/Mexico, 2017, 11m Spanish with English subtitles The innocence and the developing evils of youth collide when two children’s paths cross in an abandoned house. New York Premiere Birthday Alberto Viavattene, Italy, 2017, 15m A corrupt young nurse messes with the wrong patient on the day she turns 100. U.S. Premiere Program Gabriel de Urioste, USA, 2017, 8m In the Digital Age, finding real love is more challenging—and glitchier—than ever. World Premiere Hombre Juan Pablo Arias Muñoz, Chile, 2017, 21m Spanish with English subtitles While on a hunting trip with his father, a teenage boy must contend with multiple monsters. North American Premiere Drip Drop Jonna Nilsson, Sweden, 2016, 7m Alone one night, a woman is terrorized by water that manifests itself in unusual ways. New York Premiere Hitchhiker Damien Power, Australia, 2015, 20m Right before brilliantly deconstructing camping films in Killing Ground, its director made this noirish homage to road movies. World Premiere Shorts Program 3: New York Stories This program, now in its third year, showcases work from some of the most exciting filmmakers living and working in New York today, including established names and ones to watch. TRT: 79m Programmed by Dan Sullivan Unpresidented Jason Giampietro, USA, 2017, 14m Giampietro confronts our uncertain political moment head-on with this dark comedy, in which a man attempts to justify his having bet on Trump to win the 2016 presidential election. New York Premiere Cheer Up Baby Adinah Dancyger, USA, 2017, 12m The experience of a young woman (India Menuez) who has been sexually assaulted by a stranger on the subway is rendered with psychological menace and sensory dislocation in Dancyger’s elliptical tale. World Premiere The Layover Ashley Connor & Joe Stankus, USA, 2017, 10m This subtle, funny miniature offers a tender glimpse at the shared life of two flight attendants as they observe the one-year anniversary of their beloved dog’s passing. World Premiere My Nephew Emmett Kevin Wilson, Jr., USA, 2017, 19m This visually ravishing and thought-provoking work portrays one of the USA’s great shames—the 1955 murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till by two white men in Mississippi—and movingly reminds us of this dark episode’s enduring relevance. New York Premiere The Road to Magnasanti John Wilson, USA, 2017, 15m Wilson welcomes us to the terrordome with his latest, in which he hilariously and chillingly illustrates NYC’s not-so-gradual transformation into a late-capitalist paradise-cum-dystopia. World Premiere Mr. Yellow Sweatshirt Pacho Velez & Yoni Brook, USA, 2017, 9m A man’s inability to get a subway turnstile to accept his Metrocard encapsulates NYC’s ongoing public transit crisis in Velez and Brook’s elegant and formally audacious documentary. New York Premiere Shorts Program 4: Documentary For its second year, NYFF showcases films from around the world that capture the versatility and depth of short nonfiction. TRT: 90mProgrammed by Tyler Wilson Cucli Xavier Marrades, Spain, 2017, 17m A widowed truck driver considers the nature of his companionship with a dove in this ethereal, moving work about loss and renewal. New York Premiere The Brick House Eliane Esther Bots, Netherlands, 2016, 16m With meticulous detail, Bots sensuously captures the placid movements and sounds of two friends inside a Dutch apartment as they share memories—both pleasant and harrowing—of their childhood in Tanzania. North American Premiere The True Tales / Les histoires vraies Lucien Monot, Switzerland, 2017, 22m Shooting on 16mm, Monot constructs a buoyant ode to his father, who wanders in and out of scripted scenarios that deconstruct his personal history while refracting his family’s unspoken loss. U.S. Premiere Two / Due Riccardo Giacconi, France/Italy, 2017, 16m Giacconi’s schematic, almost surreal essay film maps the development of a utopian residential neighborhood planned by Silvio Berlusconi in the seventies, and offers a representation of the not-yet prime minister’s lasting impact on Italian culture. North American Premiere The Disinherited / Los Desheredados Laura Ferrés, Spain, 2017, 19m In this funny and tender portrait that deftly blurs documentary and fiction, Ferrés’s father reluctantly endures the demise of his family business while trying to retain his dignity. North American Premiere