Film Festivals

Filmaker Todd Haynes to Receive Pardo d’onore Manor Award at Locarno Festival

Director, screenwriter and producer Todd Haynes will receive the Pardo d’onore Manor award at the upcoming Locarno Festival. His latest film Wonderstruck will be screened in company with Poison, one of the featured titles in Locarno70, the sidebar dedicated to celebrating the Festival’s 70th anniversary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qztxwL4Wl3I At the 1991 Locarno Festival Todd Haynes’ debut feature Poison was one of 19 movies contending for the top award of the Pardo d’oro. Made after a series of eye-catching shorts, the film, based on the novels of Jean Genet, set the keynotes of the director’s style. In subsequent years Haynes has directed Julianne Moore in Safe (1995), Far from Heaven (nominated for 4 Academy Awards in 2002) and Wonderstruck (2017), and Cate Blanchett in the episodic Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There (2007) and Carol (nominated for 6 Academy Awards in 2015). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htL6liegNVk Haynes’ film Poison will be part of the sidebar Locarno70, the exclusive program of films with which Locarno will commemorate its 70th anniversary through a selection of 11 first features presented at the Festival. Over its seventy years, Locarno has had the merit and the good fortune to launch many important careers: from Éric Rohmer with Le signe du lion (1962), to Tres Tristes Tigres (1968) by Raoul Ruiz, via the ferocious irony of Marco Ferreri in El Pisito (1959) and the destabilizing family portrait in Der siebente Kontinent (1989) by Michael Haneke. The Festival has always been fertile terrain for breaking with the past or upsetting convention, as witnessed by two other milestones included in the program, Al-momia (1969) by the Egyptian Chadi Abdel Salam, in a newly restored print, and Hallelujah the Hills (1963) by Adolfas Mekas. Todd Haynes will be joined in Locarno by Aleksandr Sokurov, Catherine Breillat, Sabiha Sumar, Villi Hermann and Alina Marazzi. Carlo Chatrian, Artistic Director of the Locarno Festival: “In his seven feature films to date Todd Haynes has shaped out an original universe in which his familiarity with U.S. and European cinema, his passion for the films of Sirk and Fassbinder, go hand in glove with a modern sensibility. His characters – often with extraordinary performances by the female leads – bring back the magic of great cinema, of art that achieves the sublimation of reality without lapsing into disenchantment. His latest, splendid film Wonderstruck is another fine example, a journey into a cabinet of curiosities where fear and desire merge in the accuracy of a twofold historical reconstruction.” The 70th Locarno Festival will be held from August 2 to 12, 2017.
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Photos: Julianne Moore Honored at Giffoni Film Festival

Julianne Moore attended the Giffoni Film Festival where she received the Truffaut Award. Before receiving the Truffaut Award – the Giffoni Film Festival most prestigious prize – and say goodbye to the youth audience, Julianne Moore left them a valuable message “Don’t ever let anybody say that you can’t do something. Find what you are really fond of and keep doing it: soon you’ll understand where it will take you. My juvenile love for reading made me want to convey emotions through the staging of a well written text”. A Pakistani boy told her about his grandfather suffering from Alzheimer’s, the same disease covered in “Still Alice”, which earned her and Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. “First of all – she commenced in a broken voice – I’m very sorry that a relative of yours has been suffering from such disease. I decided to explore this subject with deep attention, as a sign of respect for all the people who have to face such a sorrow. I phoned some people affected by the disease and met some others, because I wanted to portray their personal experiences in the most accurate and realistic way possible. Those who think that the audience don’t notice if you’ve been portraying something you don’t know really know are wrong”. A South Korean juror who’s been studying film direction in Los Angeles asked her for some professional advice. In this field – replied Moore – mentors are essential and I let myself be guided by Robert Altman: I got to know his work when I was about your age and he made me realize that I would want to tell stories, that is acting, for a living”.
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BAD GENIUS Wins Best Film, Transgender Drama CLOSE-KNIT Wins Audience Award at New York Asian Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_22573" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Bad Genius[/caption] Thailand’s Bad Genius won the Best Feature award in the Main Competition of the 16th New York Asian Film Festival. The international premiere of the high-school thriller opened the 17-day festival on June 30. Director Nattawut “Baz” Poonpiriya attended the awards ceremony on Saturday, June 15. The festival concluded July 16 with the U.S. Premiere of The Villainess. Bad Genius was among seven feature films nominated in the festival’s newly launched Main Competition, which was restricted to films by first- and second-time directors; all seven films received their North American Premiere at the festival. The competition’s Special Mention award went to Yoshiyuki Kishi’s A Double Life from Japan, and an Honorable Mention for Most Promising Director went to Le Binh Giang for Vietnam’s Kfc. The four other films competing in the seven-film competition were Mikhail Red’s Birdshot from the Philippines, Chen Mei-juin’s The Gangster’s Daughter from Taiwan, Cho Hyun-hoon’s Jane from South Korea, and Andrew Wong Kwok-kuen’s With Prisoners from Hong Kong. Red and Chen were among more than 30 directors, actors, producers and screenwriters who attended the festival. Samuel Jamier, the festival’s executive director said, “The seven films represent the breadth of our lineup. Each title explores pressing ethical issues with protagonists who push back against a staid or corrupt status quo. We hope that the films’ ambition, confidence and bravura can inspire other filmmakers and festival programmers.” Naoko Ogigami’s transgender drama Close-Knit (Japan) won the audience award. Second- and third placed in the audience vote are Shinobu Yaguchi’s post apocalyptic comedy Survival Family (Japan) and Thai thriller Bad Genius.
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Jane Fonda and Robert Redford to Receive Venice International Film Fest Lifetime Achievement Awards

Actors Jane Fonda and Robert Redford will be awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 74th Venice International Film Festival taking place August 30 to September 9, 2017. The ceremony to award the Golden Lions for Lifetime Achievement will take place on Friday September 1st in the Sala Grande of the Palazzo del Cinema (Lido di Venezia) before the Out of Competition screening of the Netflix original film, Our Souls at Night by Ritesh Batra, starring Jane Fonda and Robert Redford and produced by Mr. Redford and his company Wildwood Enterprises, Inc. Commenting on these acknowledgments, Director Alberto Barbera stated: “Few Hollywood legends have demonstrated such determination and courage over the course of their professional career as Jane Fonda. Her life has been marked by intense passion in her pursuit of freedom from every type of conformism, with a touching and vulnerable generosity. At times a political and social activist, a sex symbol, a writer, a feminist icon, a producer, and a prophet of physical fitness, but above all an extraordinarily successful and talented actress, Jane Fonda is one of the great protagonists of contemporary International cinema. This Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement is a due tribute to the personal commitment and brilliant qualities of an actress who has brought unforgettable, controversial, and heterogeneous characters to life, demonstrating an unceasing ability to reinvent herself, all the while remaining true to herself, to her values, and to her indisputable artistic talent.” Says Festival Director Alberto Barbera: “Actor, director, producer, environmentalist, founder and soul of that brilliant experiment in film called Sundance – whether in front or behind the camera, advocating for the cause of independent cinema or the cause of our planet, Robert Redford has led us through almost five decades of compelling filmmaking and advocacy with a combination of rigor, intelligence and grace that is virtually unsurpassed. A slightly reluctant star, since very early in his career Redford has used his onscreen talent and success to make films about issues he cared about and to pave the way for other independent filmmakers like him. A thoughtful, instinctive actor with a keen sense of detail, as an Academy Award-winning director and producer, Redford has proven himself a masterful storyteller. His commitment to characters and story match his commitment and passion for the complex beauty and values of our ever evolving world.” Based on the novel written by Kent Haruf and adapted for the screen by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (The Fault in Our Stars), the Netflix original film, Our Souls at Night is set in Colorado and begins when Addie Moore (Jane Fonda) pays an unexpected visit to a neighbor, Louis Waters (Robert Redford). Her husband died years ago, as did his wife, and in such a small town they’d been neighbors for decades, but had little contact. The film will launch globally on Netflix later this year.
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DOWNSIZING Starring Matt Damon and Kristen Wiig to Open Venice International Film Festival

Downsizing, directed by Alexander Payne and starring Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau and Kristen Wiig will be the opening film, in Competition, of the 74th Venice International Film Festival taking place August 30 to September 9, 2017. Downsizing will be shown in its world premiere screening on Wednesday August 30th in the Sala Grande at the Palazzo del Cinema on the Lido di Venezia. Downsizing follows the adventures of Paul Safranek (Matt Damon), an everyman from Omaha who, along with his wife Audrey (Kristen Wiig), dreams of a better life. As the world faces an overpopulation crisis, scientists develop a radical solution that can shrink humans to five inches tall. People soon discover how much further money goes in a smaller world, and with the promise of a lavish lifestyle beyond their wildest imaginations, Paul and Audrey decide to risk the controversial procedure and embark upon an adventure that will change their lives forever.
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Monty Pyton’s John Cleese to be Honored at Sarajevo Film Festival

John Cleese will receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award for his “extraordinary contribution to the art of film” at the 23rd edition of Sarajevo Film Festival. After the award ceremony, Sarajevo Film Festival’s audience will have the opportunity to see legendary comedy A FISH CALLED WANDA within the Open Air Program. John Cleese is best known for his involvement in MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS, FAWLTY TOWERS, MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL, MONTY PYTHON’S LIFE OF BRIAN, and A FISH CALLED WANDA. In addition to his comedic activities, he was a co-founder with Sir Antony Jay of Video Arts, a management and sales training video company. Over a period of 20 years, Video Arts made over 120 training videos, and it was the largest firm of its kind outside the United States. John Cleese was also a co-author, with the eminent psychiatrist Dr. Robin Skynner of two books ‘Families And How To Survive Them’, and ’Life And How To Survive It’. These books, which explored psychology, psychiatry, and their application to the wider world, both became best sellers. Currently he is Provost’s Professor at Cornell University.
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Telluride Film Festival Unveils 2017 Poster Designed by Lance Rutter

The Telluride Film Festival today unveiled the 2017 poster designed by artist and graphic designer Lance Rutter. Telluride Film Festival’s prestigious annual gathering for film industry insiders, cinema enthusiasts, filmmakers and critics takes place every Labor Day weekend in the picturesque town of Telluride, Colorado. The 44th edition of TFF will run September 1-4, 2017. Lance Rutter has spent the last 30+ years of his career devoted to graphic design, working on projects in his Chicago design studio, teaching design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, serving on the national board of the AIGA, and presiding over the 2008 and 2010 Chicago International Poster Biennials, among other public design advocacy initiatives. Rutter’s own posters have been a part of international exhibitions in the U.S., France, Poland, Mexico, Japan, Hungary, China, the Slovak Republic, Bolivia, Russia, and Iran. He is currently the VP of Design for Quantifind, a tech start-up in Silicon Valley, where he is responsible for everything from the company’s branding and office space design to the design of their data analytics software. “I don’t think it’s possible to overstate how thrilled I was to be asked to create a poster for the 44th edition of the Telluride Film Festival,” said Rutter. “So many really wonderful artists have become part of this legacy, and it’s an honor to now be associated with them. After speaking with several people who have a deep love of—and long association with—Telluride, I believe there is something uniquely magical that happens there every year. While the foundation of Telluride has rightfully been a celebration of film, the Festival itself is more about the coming together of the lovers of film. From creators to admirers, it is about the people who fill, and then transform the place. The collegial atmosphere, the “realness” and accessibility of the people, their joy and warmth… those are the things that enchant Telluride—and what I hoped to express in the poster.” “Lance’s design for this year’s poster is simply stunning,” said Telluride Film Festival executive director Julie Huntsinger. “Working with him has been a delight from start to finish. Lance is a true artist, and a true professional.” Rutter joins a prestigious list of artists who have shared their talents with Telluride Film Festival. Past poster artists include Yann Legendre, Laurent Durieux, Christian Marclay, Dean Tavoularis, Ed Ruscha, John Mansfield, Julian Schnabel, Dottie Attie, Doug and Mike Starn, David Lance Goines, Chuck Jones, David Salle, Alexis Smith, Jim Dine, Seymour Chwast, Frederic Amat, Francesco Clemente, Dave McKean, Gary Larson, Chip Kidd, John Canemaker, Mark Stock, Laurie Anderson, William Wegman, Ralph Eggleston, Maira Kalman and Dave Eggers.
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French Actor Mathieu Kassovitz to Receive Locarno Festival’s 2017 Excellence Award

Mathieu Kassovitz will be honored with the Excellence Award Moët & Chandon at the Locarno 70 film festival. The French actor, filmmaker and screenwriter will be its guest on the Piazza Grande at the world premiere of Sparring by Samuel Jouy, on Saturday August 5. The Excellence Award Moët & Chandon of the 70th Locarno Festival will be given to Mathieu Kassovitz, a unique figure within French and international cinema, a beloved and controversial director on the one hand and the interpreter of cult films on the other. He is known to the wider public thanks to his performance in the role of Nino Quincampoix together with Audrey Tautou in Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain (2001) by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Mathieu Kassovitz made his debut as an actor at the age of eleven in Au bout du bout du banc (1978), the starting point for a lifetime as an actor and for a career spent before and behind the camera. In 1993 the film Métisse, which he wrote, directed and acted in, garnered him two nominations at the Césars. In 1994 his performance in Jacques Audiard’s film Regarde les hommes tomber (1994) consecrated him due to a César for best male emerging talent. The talent and uniqueness of this actor and director are confirmed by his 1997 performance in Le cinquième élément by Luc Besson and in La haine in 1995 – the latter written and directed by him. It won the Palme in Cannes for best director – in it, he tailors a role for himself as a skinhead – it is of a chilling topicality, and a viral force, recounting a forgotten generation and an entire country through one single suburb. In the following years, Kassovitz continued his career between auteur cinema and mainstream cinema, collaborating with filmmakers of great depth such as Costa-Gavras (Amen, 2002), Steven Spielberg (Munich, 2005) and Michael Haneke (Happy End, 2017). Carlo Chatrian, Artistic Director of the Locarno Festival: “Mathieu Kassovitz is one of the most talented actors of his generation. He is the heir of that great tradition of performers who manage to achieve credibility in the most diverse roles: in the shoes of a priest as much as in a Mossad agent’s. His all-rounded performance in the shoes of the boxer and father Steve Landry in Sparring, which shortly followed his acting in Happy End, is the umpteenth confirmation that Kassovitz is an actor who knows how to embody the differing souls of a people like few others can.” Mathieu Kassovitz will receive the Excellence Award Moët & Chandon on the Piazza Grande on Saturday August 5, 2017. His tribute will be accompanied by the screening of a selection of films from his career. Previous Excellence Award winners include Susan Sarandon, John Malkovich, Michel Piccoli, Isabelle Huppert, Gael García Bernal, Juliette Binoche, Giancarlo Giannini, Edward Norton, and Bill Pullman in 2016.
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Melbourne International Film Festival Unveils 2017 Lineup, Closes with Paul Williams’ GURRUMUL ELCHO DREAMING

[caption id="attachment_23090" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] GURRUMUL ELCHO DREAMING[/caption] The 2017 Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) unveiled its full program line-up of more than 358 films representing 68 countries, including 251 features, 88 shorts, 17 Virtual Reality experiences, 12 MIFF Talks events, 31 world premieres and 135 Australian premieres. It all happens over 18 days, spanning 13 venues across Melbourne, from August 3 to 20, 2017. “What a pleasure it is to launch this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival,” said Artistic Director Michelle Carey. “This year’s program offers audiences an amazing opportunity to explore new worlds through film – from our Pioneering Women and Sally Potter retrospectives to the return of our Virtual Reality program as well as a particularly strong line-up of special events, we can’t wait to open the doors to MIFF 2017.” The festival will kick off with the Opening Night Gala screening of Greg McLean’s MIFF Premiere Fund-supported JUNGLE, and will wind up with the world premiere Closing Night screening of Paul Williams’ GURRUMUL ELCHO DREAMING. A profound exploration of the life and music of revered Australian artist Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, the film uses the tools of the artist’s music – chord, melody, song – and the sounds of the land to craft an audio-first cinematic experience, offering a rare insight into a reclusive master. Joining the MIFF guest line-up are Australia’s Melissa George, starring in the MIFF Premiere Fund-supported THE BUTTERFLY TREE; Italian director Luca Guadagnino with his acclaimed new film CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, a sensuous story of first love and the end of adolescence; and newcomer Jennifer Brea making her way to MIFF with UNREST, a feature documentary capturing her darkest moments as she is derailed by Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Further international guests include Peter Mackie Burns, the debut feature director of DAPHNE, a refreshing portrait of contemporary womanhood; Francis Lee, with his depiction of British rural life in GOD’S OWN COUNTRY; Slavko Martinov, the force behind the entertaining flockumentary PECKING ORDER; Gabe Klinger on behalf of PORTO, a film presented in Super 8, 16mm and breathtaking 35mm; director Sami Saif and cinematographer Anders Löfstedt with their music documentary THE ALLINS; Thai filmmaker Anocha Suwichakornpong, winner of the Top Prize at the 2016 Thai National Film Association Awards for her feature BY THE TIME IT GETS DARK; and Annie Goldson, director of KIM DOTCOM: CAUGHT IN THE WEB, a documentary about the court case surrounding the internet’s most wanted criminal. MIFF guests also include Daniel Borgman, director of LOVING PIA, a winsome tale blurring documentary and fiction; and Florian Habicht, director of SPOOKERS, a film focusing on a former psychiatric hospital that is now a haunted attraction. Following last year’s success, VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) returns to MIFF in 2017. Leading the charge is the world premiere of Lucas Taylor’s INSIDE MANUS, taking the audience behind the razor wire to meet the asylum seekers on the Manus Island detention centre. Other VR world premieres include Lester Francois’ RONE, a distinctive portrait of the Melbourne street artist; Khoa Do and Piers Mussared’s THE EXTRACTION, a work imagining a perilous journey through the post apocalypse; and Christopher Bailey’s ACROSS, set in a world where two beings live in opposite cliffs – where one side is a paradise and the other a wasteland. The VR program continues with Jeff Goldblum making a cameo appearance in MIYUBI, a feature length film about a family’s relationship with its Japanese toy robot, from co-directors Félix Lajeunesse and Paul Raphaël; George Gittoes expands upon his MIFF 2015 feature Snow Monkey, taking audiences on a VR tour to Afghanistan in the world premiere of FUN FAIR JALALABAD; and Ben Smith’s THE HUNT FOR THE YIDAKI, the companion piece to the MIFF 2017 Premiere Fund-supported feature WESTWIND: DJALU’S LEGACY, will also receive its world premiere. Meanwhile UNREST VR, a film about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – made by Amaury La Burthe and other key collaborators on Notes on Blindness: Into Darkness (MIFF 2016) – screens as an expansion piece to Jennifer Brea’s feature documentary, also showing at MIFF 2017. In addition to UNREST, MIFF’s much-loved DOCUMENTARIES program delivers an array of gripping real-life character studies. Catch WINNIE, Pascale Lamche’s Sundance Directing Award-winning portrait of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, variously viewed as the wife of South Africa’s most revered leader, the mother and/or enemy of her nation and a revolutionary force in her own right; Andres Veiel’s BEUYS: ART AS A WEAPON, an extensive look at the felt-clad, hat-wearing German performance artist Joseph Beuys; and DINA, the Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winner from Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini that offers a heartfelt and heart-melting portrait of love in all its strangeness and wonder. The Documentaries program also takes audiences behind the closed doors of wildly diverse environments. In the remarkable debut film THE WORK, America’s most hardened criminals share their demons with the everyday public during the world’s most intense group therapy session in Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous’ SXSW Grand Jury Prize-winner; Jean-Stéphane Bron’s THE PARIS OPERA is a film candidly charting the day-to-day drama during a season of upheaval for the revered company; and ROLLER DREAMS finds Australian director Kate Hickey tracking down the original stars of the Venice Beach 80s roller dancing movement to build a funky portrait of the rise and fall of the craze. MIFF’s toe-tapping MUSIC ON FILM program dances to its own beat with THE ALLINS where award-winning Danish documentarian Sami Saif turn his lens on the most outrageous musician to ever live – GG Allin – revealing the man behind the maniac behind the music; and in Kyoko Miyake’s TOKYO IDOLS, teenage girl pop stars grapple with finding fame and the creeping fixation of their male fan bases in an eye-opening look at Japanese idol culture. Musical influencers take centre stage in the Sundance Special Jury Prize-winning RUMBLE: THE INDIANS WHO ROCKED THE WORLD, where Catherine Bainbridge sets out to reinstate Native American trailblazers to their rightful place in the pop music pantheon; and Lucy Walker, director of the MIFF 2013 Best Documentary Audience Award-winner The Crash Reel, returns with BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB: ADIOS, a touching farewell to the beloved son cubano musicians as they complete their final tour. A stellar line-up of homegrown talent will be showcased in AUSTRALIAN FILMS. Marking the halfway point of the festival will be the CENTREPIECE GALA world premiere screening of THREE SUMMERS, the first Australian film from comedian Ben Elton. Romantic leads Robert Sheehan and Rebecca Breeds are joined by a glittering ensemble featuring Michael Caton, Magda Szubanski, Deborah Mailman, Jacqueline McKenzie and John Waters for an of-the-moment, multi-story comedy set over three years at a fictional folk-music festival. Continuing the Australian Films showcase, David Wenham makes his feature directorial debut with a Before Sunrise-style romance set to the distinctive sounds of Megan Washington with ELLIPSIS, starring Emily Barclay and Benedict Samuel; MIFF offers an exclusive preview of the second series of GLITCH, a Matchbox Pictures production commissioned by ABC TV and co-produced by Netflix, set in a fictional Victorian town where deceased former residents have crawled out of their graves in the local cemetery; and in a special screening presented by the National Film and Sound Archive’s digital restoration program – NFSA RESTORES, MIFF will also present the classic rip-roaring homegrown action flick, SHAME, where an award-winning Deborra-Lee Furness – also a guest of MIFF 2017 – turns the tables on a country town’s entrenched male violence. Celebrating its 10th birthday in 2017, the MIFF PREMIERE FUND stages six world premieres (each with its director in attendance) comprising: Greg McLean’s MIFF Opening Night Film JUNGLE, starring Daniel Radcliffe; Luke Shanahan’s uniquely stylish psychological thriller RABBIT, featuring The Great Gatsby’s Adelaide Clemens playing identical twins linked by more than just DNA; MIFF guests Melissa George and Ed Oxenbould starring alongside Ewen Leslie and Sophie Lowe in Priscilla Cameron’s THE BUTTERFLY TREE, a coming-of-age tale of love and loss tinged with magical realism; Eddie Martin’s HAVE YOU SEEN THE LISTERS?, an intimate account of the cost of success of Australia’s most renowned street artist, Anthony Lister (also a guest of the festival); Naina Sen’s THE SONG KEEPERS, telling the incredible story of a hidden musical legacy of ancient Aboriginal languages and German baroque songs that are being preserved by the Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir (who will also attend the festival); and Ben Strunin’s WESTWIND: DJALU’s LEGACY, portraying the quest of Yolngu elder Djalu Gurruwiwi (who will attend the festival) to preserve his songlines with a little help from global pop star Gotye. Marking the MIFF Premiere Fund’s 10-year milestone, the festival will also screen three retrospective highlights from the Fund’s early years: the 2009 MIFF Opening Night film BALIBO, written and directed by Robert Connolly and starring Oscar Isaac, Anthony LaPaglia and MIFF Ambassador Gyton Grantley; Amiel Courtin-Wilson’s BASTARDY, a poetic and impressionistic portrait of the life of indigenous arts personality Jack Charles; and Ana Kokkinos’ all-star ensemble BLESSED, which features Frances O’Connor in an AFI Award-winning performance. PIONEERING WOMEN, a program of 80s and early 90s Australian films directed by women, will pay tribute to some of the country’s finest cinematic trailblazers, including director Ann Turner with the world premiere of her digitally restored horror meets coming-of-age drama CELIA; Gillian Armstrong with a digital restoration screening of STARSTRUCK, the iconic and colourful musical comedy about two Sydney teenagers who try to break into the music biz to save the family pub (which also features an appearance by MIFF Ambassador Geoffrey Rush). Both films are proudly presented by the National Film and Sound Archive’s restoration program – NFSA RESTORES. Don’t miss this opportunity to revisit other classics such as BEDEVIL (directed by Tracey Moffatt), THE BIG STEAL (directed by Nadia Tass) and FLOATING LIFE (directed by Clara Law), with guest Q&As and a Conversation panel in store among other events. MIFF’s ever popular NIGHT SHIFT program returns with innovative horror and genre films including A PRAYER BEFORE DAWN, in which French provocateur Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire (Johnny Mad Dog, MIFF 2008) returns to the brutal underworlds of masculine violence, in an adaptation of Billy Moore’s memoir of his time in Bangkok’s notorious Klong Prem prison; MY FRIEND DAHMER, Marc Meyers’ disturbing vision of America’s most notorious serial killer during his adolescence, featuring a breathtaking performance by Disney star Ross Lynch; and BLOODLANDS, a brutal mix of family blood feud and supernatural horror marking the first ever co-production between Australia and Albania, directed by Steven Kastrissios (The Horseman, MIFF 2008). For the first time in its history MIFF will also present a SCI-FI program, showcasing a selection of the genre’s best films including IKARIE XB-1, Jindřich Polák’s little-known pioneering masterpiece that influenced everything from Star Trek to 2001: A Space Odyssey… and beyond; INVENTION FOR DESTRUCTION, from inventive animator Karel Zeman, the first steampunk film, bringing the stories and visuals of Jules Verne to life; LE DERNIER COMBAT, a work taking audiences back to where it all began for renowned sci-fi director Luc Besson, with his striking 1983 film starring Jean Reno in his feature debut; and STRANGE DAYS, featuring Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett and Juliette Lewis, Kathryn Bigelow’s 20-year-old, James Cameron-scripted, VR tech-noir. And for the night owls, running all night at the Astor Theatre is MIFF’s inaugural SCI-FI MARATHON, presenting a collection of the genre’s most venerated, controversial and enduring or under-appreciated fan favourites. For full details visit miff.com.au/marathon. The TRUE CRIME program returns in 2017 with some of the most intriguing and sinister stories of our time. Oscar-nominated documentarian David France (How to Survive a Plague, MIFF 2012) delivers a piercing survey of the origins of transgender activism and a search for justice in THE DEATH AND LIFE OF MARTHA P JOHNSON; Erik Nelson’s A GRAY STATE is a riveting murder mystery, political thriller and unparalleled psychological profile about rising alt-right filmmaker and Iraq veteran David Crowley and his family; and Pete Nicks’ THE FORCE is an award-winning look at the day-to-day operations of the Oakland Police Department as it grapples with endemic corruption, sexism and racial violence. ANIMAL DOCUMENTARIES, a new program strand for 2017, puts the spotlight on some of the world’s most intriguing creatures. TROPHY sees Shaul Schwarz (Narco Cultura, MIFF 2013) and Christina Clusiau take on a charged debate in a controversial film that will upend everything audiences thought they knew about animal conservation; PECKING ORDER, the year’s best feel-good flockumentary from Slavko Martinov, introduces us to people taking the world of chicken fancying as seriously as life and death; and A RIVER BELOW, Mark Grieco’s provocative and murky morality tale about a TV conservationist’s battle to save the Amazon’s disappearing pink river dolphin, will leave audiences shocked and awed. MIFF’s HEADLINERS program will bring audiences the most-buzzed about films from the festival circuit. Highlights include Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or-winning THE SQUARE, a film marking the director as modern cinema’s most savage and inventive satirist; Claire Denis’ Cannes Director’s Fortnight award-winning romantic comedy LET THE SUNSHINE IN, starring Juliette Binoche; Geremy Jasper’s fabulous Sundance triumph PATTI CAKE$, featuring Australian acting discovery Danielle Macdonald in the role of a New Jersey battler and aspiring rapper; SONG TO SONG, a love story from Terrence Malick set against the backdrop of the Austin music scene, featuring Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara, Michael Fassbender and Natalie Portman; and THE PARTY, Sally Potter’s caustic comic satire of a broken England, with a stellar ensemble headed by Kristin Scott Thomas, Patricia Clarkson and Timothy Spall. Showcasing MIFF’s admiration for the inimitable British director, this year the festival also proudly presents a SALLY POTTER RETROSPECTIVE. Screening the complete oeuvre of Potter’s feature films, along with a selection of her early shorts from 1969 to 1986, the retrospective includes: THE TANGO LESSON, where Potter plays opposite Argentine tango performer Pablo Verón for a seductive dance of reality and fiction; ORLANDO, the director’s stunning second film featuring a triumphant lead performance by Tilda Swinton as the androgynous titular character living across four centuries; THE GOLD DIGGERS, Potter’s seminal work that came to influence and define feminist cinema of the 1980s; and GINGER AND ROSA, starring Alice Englert and Elle Fanning as two friends threatened by a belief-shattering betrayal. The festival’s INTERNATIONAL program is packed with innovative cinema from countries near and afar. MIFF Patron Geoffrey Rush shines as Alberto Giacometti in Stanley Tucci’s FINAL PORTRAIT, a snapshot of several weeks the artist spent trying to paint author James Lord; Fatih Akin (Head-On, MIFF 2004) delivers the morally charged thriller IN THE FADE, featuring Diane Kruger in the performance that won her Best Actress at Cannes; and from Aisling Walsh comes MAUDIE, starring Oscar nominees Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke exploring the sensitive but rousing true tale of Maud Lewis, one of Canada’s most inspiring folk artists. Some 14 of Australia and New Zealand’s hottest emerging directors will have their short films premiere in the festival’s ACCELERATOR program and also participate in Accelerator Lab, MIFF’s prestigious development workshop assisting directors to transition to feature filmmaking. They are W.A.M (Bill) Bleakley; Nina Buxton; Kate Lefoe; Frank Magree; Zoe McIntosh; Victoria McIntyre; Greta Nash; Tin Pang; Simon Portus; Nikki Richardson; Rachel Ross; John Sheedy; Nick Waterman; and Dave Whitehead. The MIFF SHORTS program will screen local and international films spanning animation, documentary, experimental works and more, with highlights including the riveting INDONESIAN SHORTS, a program screening works from some of Australia’s closest neighbours, and Cannes Short Film Palme d’Or winner A GENTLE NIGHT, from MIFF Accelerator alumnus Qiu Yang, while other Accelerator alumni directors returning with new short films are Alice Englert, Audrey Lam, Nora Niasari, Julietta Boscolo, Billie Pleffer, Dylan River and Alena Lodkina.
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PURGE THIS LAND, An Essay Film on Abolitionist John Brown to Close Open City Documentary Festival | Video Clip

Lee Ann Schmitt’s Purge This Land, an essay film exploring the legacy of the radical abolitionist John Brown will be the Closing Night gala film of the Open City Documentary Festival. The history of racism and slavery in modern America is retold in this highly topical film, which spans the 1850s to present-day USA. The film will receive its UK Premiere on Sunday September 10 at London’s Regent Street Cinema. It was also announced last week that the festival will open with the UK Premiere Taste Of Cement, Ziad Kalthoum’s intimate portrait of exiled Syrian construction workers building a skyscraper in Beirut. The 7th Open City Documentary Festival takes place over six days in venues across London from 5 to 10 September 2017. Michael Stewart, Founder of Open City Docs, said: “We’re thrilled to be closing this year’s festival with Purge This Land. Lee Ann Schmitt’s intimate, captivating film packs a real political punch and we’re very proud to be showcasing some of the most exciting and innovative documentary filmmakers from around the world here in London.” https://vimeo.com/100519353
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Stony Brook Film Fest Announces Guests, incl. TEXT FOR YOU’s Karoline Herfurth

The international list of guests coming to the 22nd Annual Stony Brook Film Festival includes filmmakers delivering unique background stories on moviemaking. U.S. filmmakers from across the country will also join with the many international filmmakers representing features and shorts. Short films will also be represented by movie people from afar including guests from Israel (Across the Line, Thurs, July 27 at 7:00 pm), Armenia (The Simon’s Way, Mon, July 24 at 7:00 pm), Latvia (Just, go! Wed, July 26 at 9:15 pm), and Estonia (Snowgirl, Sat, July 22 at 4:00 pm). On Opening Night at the U.S. Premiere of Welcome to Germany, (Thurs, July 20 at 8:00 pm) Picture Tree International’s Managing Partner, Andreas Rothbauer, will represent the film. Picture Tree is one of Germany’s leading sales agencies and brings two outstanding movies to Stony Book, Welcome to Germany and Hannah’s Sleeping Dogs (Thurs, July 27 at 9:15 pm). From the United Kingdom, Waking David, (Fri July 21 at 7:00 pm) will be represented by director Kevin Nash and two actresses in the movie, Kristy Bruce and Harriet Madeley. The director and the three main actresses in Waking David collaborated to write the screenplay. The family-friendly animated film, Ethel & Ernest, (Sat, July 22 at 4:00 pm) will have U.K. producer Camilla Deakin on hand to answer questions about the animated gem, featuring the voices of Jim Broadbent, Brenda Blethyn and Luke Treadaway. The Sounding (Sat, July 22 at 7:00 pm) is one of the U.S. productions at the Festival, with many cast and crew on hand, including Catherine Eaton, director, co-writer and main actress in the film. Representing an amusing account of romance, Love is Thicker Than Water (Sat, July 22 at 9:30 pm) is co-director and writer Ate Dejong, returning to the Stony Brook Film Festival for the second time. For those who have seen the National Geographic’s Genius series “Einstein” – you may be interested to know that the young actor playing Einstein, Johnny Flynn, stars in the film. A World Premiere documentary, To the Edge of the Sky (Sun, July 23 at 4:00 pm) will bring Academy Award winners, Todd and Jedd Wider to the Festival. The Wider brothers, who grew up in Stony Brook, were the directors of To the Edge of the Sky, which reports on the disease Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and the mothers who are fighting to get drugs approved to help their son. A delightful American indie, Laura Gets a Cat (Wed, July 26 at 7:00 pm) will have director, writer and actor Michael Ferrell on hand, along with Dana Brooke, who plays Laura, the 30-something unemployed writer in the film, as well as many cast members. The Second Act of Elliott Murphy (Wed, July 26 at 9:15 pm) makes its U.S. Premiere, with rocker Elliott Murphy coming in from his home in Paris to represent the film and play a song or two live. Director Jorge Arenillas will be along to represent the compelling documentary about the singer songwriter’s life on the road. Purple Dreams (Thurs, July 27 at 7:00 pm) is a documentary about the first high school given permission to perform the musical “The Color Purple.” Joanne Hock, director and producer, Robin Grey (a Stony Brook Alum) will be representing the documentary. Closing Night’s feature, the U.S. premiere of Text for You (Saturday, July 29 at 8;00 pm) will have the lead actress Karoline Herfurth on hand for a Q&A after the screening. Ms. Herfurth is well-known in Germany and an audience favorite in that country. Following the screening is Stony Brook’s very own “Oscar” style awards ceremony. Image: 2017 Stony Brook Closing Night, Text for You, Friedrich Mücke and Karoline Hurfurth.
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Luciana Farah’s SOMEBODY CLAP FOR ME to World Premiere at Zanzibar International Film Festival | Trailer

Somebody Clap For Me from Brazilian director Luciana Farah, will have its world premiere at the 20th edition of the Zanzibar International Film Festival taking place July 8 to 16, 2017. A rollercoaster ride from grassroots poetry to the political heart of Uganda, this captivating labour of love provides a fascinating window into life in a country in which three-quarters of the population is under 25. Linking Uganda’s oral tradition to its 21st Century culture of hip-hop and slam poetry, the film brings its protagonists to the fore, providing a constantly shifting portrait of a Kampala-based youth movement that uses spoken word to challenge the oppressive restraints of Ugandan society and the increasing constraints on freedom of speech under current president Yoweri Museveni. As Farah chronicles the resurfacing of village bonfire storytelling traditions in the form of open-mic poetry events, we meet some of the scene’s key actors, including Roshan, a mixed race Ugandan who has grown up in the UK, Ugly Emcee, a freedom-of-speech activist who reveals himself to be the grandson of Idi Amin, and Medals the Born Again Politician, who challenges the status quo with both his conviction and command of political pastiche. The film, which was shot over the course of three years with a crew of East African film students, follows these and other poets as they go about their daily lives in Kampala, the eclectic individual portraits building to form a cross-sectional vision of a country trying to shed its past and create a more inclusive and democratic reality, despite the conservative forces that are attempting to hold on to power. What begins as a documentary about a grassroots poetry collective, twists and turns unpredictably as it takes viewers into the political and cultural heart of contemporary Uganda. Fuelled by the universal themes of love and identity and made using unconventional filmmaking techniques, Somebody Clap for Me was produced with the support of Maisha Film Lab and the Doha Film Institute. “I am extremely happy for Somebody Clap for Me to be premiering at ZIFF,” said Farah. “The festival has a long history of supporting independent African cinema and it is fitting that the film will receive its first public screening at one of Africa’s leading film festivals.”
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