Censor (Cenzorka)[/caption]
The Slovakian film Censor (Cenzorka), directed by Peter Kerekes and written by Ivan Ostrochovský, is the winner of the Works in Progress Award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The film received the award for “its original and vivid human portrait of a lonely woman.”
In the film, Irina Alexandrovna works as a censor in an Odessa prison. The inspection of letters is required by law in order to prevent the continuation of criminal activity. But the real criminals use smartphones, and old-fashioned letters are only used for declarations of love. So Irina spends eight hours a day in her office reading love letters. Through her, we follow various love affairs that only she can observe. Although she sees how women being used, and how the relationships end in disaster for them, she cannot take any action. Our heroine is a single woman and after twelve years of reading love letters full of the lies men tell, she is not capable of any relationship. If a guy on a date says “You are special,” she feels sick. But of course even she dreams of love.
The film, also produced by Peter Kerekes, is based on real situations and real characters and involved in-depth research conducted by the filmmakers at numerous prisons. The script was distilled from these materials, stories and characters. The plot follows the tragicomic micro-love stories between jailed men and women on the outside, as seen through the main protagonist. The film was shot with actors and non-actors (prisoners and ex-prisoners), mostly in a real setting, a real prison. The film’s expected premiere is in 2018.
The Stand-In (La Controfigura), directed and written by Rä di Martino was awarded the Eurimages Lab Project Award for its “ironic visual experimental approach to innovative narrative and for being an intersection of art and film.”
In The Stand-In, a small crew has been traveling around Marrakech and its surroundings looking for swimming pool locations for the remake of an American movie in which a man crosses the county, pool by pool, to reach his home. The filmmakers rehearse the shots to find the path through the city and the pools that the main actor will run and swim through. As we watch his struggles to become more than just a stand-in figure, the real actors and film crew burst onto the scene on a set where nobody seems to be in the right place. A film in search of itself, looking for where the real film is.Film Festivals
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Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Announces 2017 Winners of Works in Progress and Eurimages Lab Project Awards
[caption id="attachment_22978" align="aligncenter" width="824"] Censor (Cenzorka)[/caption]
The Slovakian film Censor (Cenzorka), directed by Peter Kerekes and written by Ivan Ostrochovský, is the winner of the Works in Progress Award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The film received the award for “its original and vivid human portrait of a lonely woman.”
In the film, Irina Alexandrovna works as a censor in an Odessa prison. The inspection of letters is required by law in order to prevent the continuation of criminal activity. But the real criminals use smartphones, and old-fashioned letters are only used for declarations of love. So Irina spends eight hours a day in her office reading love letters. Through her, we follow various love affairs that only she can observe. Although she sees how women being used, and how the relationships end in disaster for them, she cannot take any action. Our heroine is a single woman and after twelve years of reading love letters full of the lies men tell, she is not capable of any relationship. If a guy on a date says “You are special,” she feels sick. But of course even she dreams of love.
The film, also produced by Peter Kerekes, is based on real situations and real characters and involved in-depth research conducted by the filmmakers at numerous prisons. The script was distilled from these materials, stories and characters. The plot follows the tragicomic micro-love stories between jailed men and women on the outside, as seen through the main protagonist. The film was shot with actors and non-actors (prisoners and ex-prisoners), mostly in a real setting, a real prison. The film’s expected premiere is in 2018.
The Stand-In (La Controfigura), directed and written by Rä di Martino was awarded the Eurimages Lab Project Award for its “ironic visual experimental approach to innovative narrative and for being an intersection of art and film.”
In The Stand-In, a small crew has been traveling around Marrakech and its surroundings looking for swimming pool locations for the remake of an American movie in which a man crosses the county, pool by pool, to reach his home. The filmmakers rehearse the shots to find the path through the city and the pools that the main actor will run and swim through. As we watch his struggles to become more than just a stand-in figure, the real actors and film crew burst onto the scene on a set where nobody seems to be in the right place. A film in search of itself, looking for where the real film is.
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Adrien Brody to Receive Locarno Festival’s 2017 Leopard Club Award
Academy Award-winning actor Adrien Brody will receive the 2017 Leopard Club Award at the 70th Locarno Festival.
Locarno’s salute to Adrien Brody will include a screening of the film The Pianist and a meeting of the actor with the Festival public. Brody will receive the tribute of the Piazza Grande audience and the Festival on Friday August 4th.
Named after the Association which supports the Festival, the Leopard Club Award pays homage to a major film personality whose work has made a lasting impact on the collective imagination. Recipients from previous editions include Faye Dunaway (2013), Mia Farrow (2014), Andy Garcia (2015) and Stefania Sandrelli (2016).
Carlo Chatrian, Artistic Director of the Locarno Festival: “With a richly varied and still flourishing career, Adrien Brody has worked with some of the great American directors, from Coppola to Wes Anderson, from Malick to Soderbergh, always displaying the adaptability and technical skills that put him at ease in a remarkable spectrum of performing registers. All the same, this is also a classic case of a single performance which won him a lasting place in movie-lovers’ hearts, not so much for the Academy Award it brought him, as for the way he brought to life a character who is both a man like all of us and the symbol of a tragedy which we must constantly recall.”
In bestowing the Leopard Club Award on Adrien Brody, the Locarno Festival will recognize one of the most brilliant figures in American film, an Academy Award winner at the age of only 29. Brody gained a lasting place in the collective imagination of the movie-going public when he played composer Wladyslaw Szpilman in The Pianist (2002), and has since demonstrated his status as one of the most versatile of actors, appreciated by filmmakers in Hollywood and beyond.
Born in New York City and son of Sylvia Plachy, an artist and acclaimed photographer, and Elliot Brody, a retired history professor, Brody was still a teenager when he made his acting debut in Francis Ford Coppola’s New York Stories (1989), before working with Steven Soderbergh (King of the Hill, 1993) and Oliver Stone (Natural Born Killers, 1994). Shortly after, in two unforgettable pictures, Adrien Brody became the pain-stricken human face in the most dehumanized of all settings: war. His performances in Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line (1998) and The Pianist by Roman Polanski won over audiences by the sheer power of expression, often wordless, with which he conveyed the sufferings of being a man amid the darkness of conflict.
In a career of nearly 30 years, Brody has been both popular and critically admired by his ability to interpret a remarkable variety of roles, always capturing the gaze and appreciation of audiences. He struck intimate, psychological and social notes in Ken Loach’s U.S. debut Bread and Roses (2000) and Detachment (2011) by Tony Kaye, and went brilliantly over the top for Spike Lee in Summer of Sam (1999). Undaunted by the pace and spectacular scale of King Kong (Peter Jackson, 2005) and Predators (Nimród Antal, 2010), he also found a sophisticated, carefree register for director Wes Anderson, with whom he played Peter Whitman in The Darjeeling Limited (2007) and Dmitri in The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). Other filmmakers with whom Brody has worked include Barry Levinson (Liberty Heights, 1999), Paul Haggis (Third Person, 2013) and Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris, 2011).
The 70th Locarno Festival will be held from August 2nd to 12th, 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAWhVP9YHYU
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2017 Marrakech International Film Festival CANCELLED, Festival to Resume in 2018
The Foundation of the Marrakech International Film Festival (FIFM) that organizes the Marrakech International Film Festival has decided to cancel 2017 edition of the festival, and resume in 2018.
In a statement, Sarim Fassi Fihri, vice president of the Marrakech International Film Festival said “The reflection on the future of the festival began a year ago, and our goal is to make it evolve and to better respond to the Moroccan and world audience with the digital tools and means of the 21st century, but also to meet expectations Of Moroccan professionals ”
Image via Facebook
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CONTACT DANCE EVERY BODY Wins Gold Jury Award at Contact Dance International Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_22951" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Contact Dance Every Body by Olya Glotka[/caption]
Contact Dance Every Body by Olya Glotka danced away with the Gold Jury Award at the Contact Dance International Film Festival (CDIFF). The film features StopGap Foundation founder Luke Anderson as he dances using his wheelchair to gracefully lift his dance partner Laura Storey as they intertwine tenderly in the galleries of the Art Gallery of Ontario. Olya Glotka is a young, self-made filmmaker who is in search of ways to empower people and make the world a better place through the power of filmmaking and dance.
Parcon NYC #1: Subway Stops won the Silver Jury Award, filmed by Satoko Sugiyama, Martin Henson, and Parcon NYC. Capturing the story of an everyday subway ride home for a Latinx girl from the Bronx, the environment around her comes alive with dancers performing a genre that fuses parkour with contact dance improvisation called parcon.
Martin Henson and Satoko Sugiyama are independent filmmakers with hundreds of films and television commercials to their name. Parcon NYC is a collective of artists, movers and healers dedicated to inclusion and investigating human connection with others and place through weight sharing, balance and touch.
The Bronze Jury Award was awarded to Wake Me Up, a short film by Celine Poon. The film started as a school project at the International Baccalaureate school, Fairview International School in Kuala Lumpur after two young girls, Sonia and Leila, discovered contact dance improvisation. The result is a delightful and honest portrayal of friendship that is the epitome of contact dance improvisation all levels approach.
The CDIFF finishes up its third season today with a post-festival film workshop with Gold Jury award-winning filmmaker Olya Glotka and guests making dance films in various locations in High Park.
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Russian Film LOVELESS Wins Best International Film at Munich Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_22301" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Loveless[/caption]
The Russian film “Loveless” by Andrey Zvyagintsev won the ARRI / OSRAM Award for best international film, at the Munich Film Festival. “Loveless” tells the story of Boris and Zhenya, going through a cruel divorce full of hatred and mutual accusations. Both have already have found new partners and both want as quickly as possible to leave the past behind. The past includes their son Alyosha, who suddenly disappears without a trace. “Loveless” won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. A special mention was given to the Belgian film “Home” directed by Fien Troch.
The CineVision Award for the best international junior film was won by The Nothing Factory (A Fábrica de Nada) directed by Pedro Pinho. The jury commented “The film tells the story of a group factory workers who lose their jobs, but refuse to give up. The story is told in a very emphatic way, played and filmed, but to want without arousing cheap pity. The film provides no easy answers, but forces us thinking itself. It is a startling and highly entertaining form of agitprop for the 21st century.” A special mention was awarded to “Los Perros” by the Chilean director Marcela Said.
“Blind & Ugly” by Tom Lass won the FIPRESCI Prize 2017. The jury praised the balanced mix of drama, comedy and romance, as well as the successful occupation.
The audience prize went to the film “Still Young” by David Schlichter and Fabian Halbig. The film portrays the story of four boys from Dillingen who met each other at school and wanted to play German rock: the band Killerpilze.
The Children’s Film Festival Audience Award this year went to the team of directors Jakob Schuh, Jan Lachauer and Bin Han To for their animated film “Once Upon a Time … by Roald Dahl” ( “Revolting Rhymes“), co-produced by BBC and ZDF.
ONE FUTURE PRIZE is awarded to the Italian film Pure Hearts (Cuori Puri) . The jury justified its decision by saying, “. Roberto de Paolis complex debut film opened an intelligent and very touching look at the socio-political problems of contemporary Italy First seemingly only a love story about two young people from very different social backgrounds, taking the 1980 in Rome born director refugee issues increasingly into focus. “
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A BILLION COLOUR STORY Wins London Indian Film Festival | Trailer
[caption id="attachment_22939" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
A Billion Colour Story[/caption]
A Billion Colour Story directed by Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy, won the coveted top prize, the Audience Award, at the 8th London Indian Film Festival.
In the film, Hari’s father Imran is Muslim, but is untethered by religion, as is his Hindu mother Parvati. They’re inspirational parents who are struggling to make their first feature film. Imran firmly believes that India is an incredible country that will always overcome its differences, but as mum and dad run into financial problems, the family has to downsize to rented apartments and come face-to-face with an onslaught of religious prejudices and corruption. As his disillusioned parents discuss whether to stay in the country they love or leave, Hari hatches his own secret plan to save the day.
Siddarth Chauhan’s PAPA is the winner of the Satyajit Ray Short Film Award that recognizes the best short in the short film competition category, and ANJALI PATIL is the winner the Outstanding Achievement Award for her role in black comedy NEWTON.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1nKB8k2Um8
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25 Independent Short Films in 2017 PBS Online Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_22934" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Black Hills Canyon Skating[/caption]
The Webby Award-nominated PBS Online Film Festival will return for a sixth year July 17 – July 28, 2017, featuring 25 short-form independent films.
Viewers are encouraged to vote for their favorite film to win the “Most Popular” award. And, for the first time ever, a panel of eight jury members will select their favorite film of the festival for the “Juried Prize”.
Short films featured in the PBS Online Film Festival include:
CAAM
“It Is What It Is”
Digging deep into family history for answers to questions about his identity, Cyrus finds some things might be better off left in the past.
Detroit Public TV WTVS
“Periphery”
A woman gets a new lease on life when she meets someone less fortunate.
ITVS
“Guns on Campus”
Fifty years after the first recorded mass shooting in U.S. history took place at the University of Texas in Austin, a new “campus carry” law allows people to carry concealed handguns on all public university campuses in Texas.
KLRU
“The Secession”
A story about two Texas boys, a secession, and egg rolls.
“U R a Dial Tone”
A sign language interpreter is emotionally and physically sucked into her clients’ lives.
KTTZ
“Lockbox”
A girl receives a mysterious gift that will unravel secrets from the past.
Latino Public Broadcasting
“Amigas with Benefits”
Amigas with Benefits is a short dramedy about an elderly bride-to-be who nearly has her wedding day ruined by an uninvited guest.
Louisiana Public Broadcasting
“Last Light”
On the verge of her mother’s death, Addie returns home to shed light on her dark past.
“Si”
Si, a temperamental six-year-old, gets a goldfish after begging for a puppy.
NALIP
“Dad”
In the course of a difficult day, Maria, a creative young girl, and her hardworking father must discover a way to mend love and memories while confronting loss.
NBPC
“Kojo”
A short profile piece that showcases the charismatic and talented drummer Kojo Odu Roney. In this exclusive interview Kojo offers his thoughts on Jazz, being home-schooled, traveling and his biggest influence, his father Antoine Roney.
“You Can Go”
A high school administrator talks down a troubled student.
PIC
“Maria”
When a family crisis strikes, an ailing Polynesian matriarch must find the strength to lead her family one last time.
POV
“Our Voices Are Rarely Heard”
A visceral snapshot of how inmates survive solitary confinement.
Reel South
“A Thousand Midnights”
Chronicles the contemporary manifestation of the economic and social histories of Black Americans who came to the north during the Great Migration in search of economic opportunities. The implications of their migration, and the lack of economic opportunity they encountered, has far reaching consequences for Black America today.
South Dakota Public Broadcasting
“Black Hills Canyon Skating”
While the Black Hills of South Dakota may lack the elevation and snow that makes for skiing, they make up for it with ice-providing intrepid winter explorers with miles of canyon streams on which to ice skate.
South Florida PBS
“SunGhosts”
A mini-documentary about SunGhosts, an up and coming indie rock band from Miami.
Twin Cities PBS
“Rogue Taxidermy Artist Sarina Brewer”
From goats with fishtails to cats with wings, Sarina Brewer celebrates animals in her art.
“Syrian Photographer Osama Esid”
Photographer Osama Esid seeks connection from his American neighbors to Syrian Refugees.
Vermont PBS
“The Collinwood Fire”
A news reporter and a filmmaker turn a 1908 elementary school fire into a media sensation.
“State Trooper”
A prisoner acts out his guilt, anger, and fear through dance.
Vision Makers Media
“Legacy”
Nikki Lowe’s journey of being a mother, daughter, sister, and Native warrior.
WHRO
“Our Nation”
An African-American boy in Norfolk, VA in 1915 confronts racism in The Birth of a Nation.
Wisconsin Public Television
“Little Man”
An animated spoken-word piece that tells Steven Rodriguez’s experiences of being an elder brother, son of a drug addicted mother and struggling but dedicated college student.
WORLD Channel
“Finding America: The Fresh Prince of Anacostia”
Kymone Freeman keeps his D.C. neighbors strong by helping them tell their stories.
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REVOLTING RHYMES Wins Children’s Film Festival Munich Audience Award | Trailer
[caption id="attachment_22925" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
REVOLTING RHYMES: The babysitter listens to the wolf when he told her his story.[/caption]
Children’s Film Festival Audience Award at this year’s Filmfest Munich went to directors Jakob Schuh, Jan Lachauer and Bin Han To for their animated film REVOLTING RHYMES (ONCE UPON A TIME … TO ROALD DAHL).
Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood and a few other classic fairy tales – tilted once in a big bag, shaken up and fished out again. What comes out are completely new stories. Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White are best friends and take matters into their own hands. Since capitulated even the big bad wolf. It is great fun to watch this confusion that have animated fans loving the Oscar-nominated directors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjOJaiWltYU
Other highlights of the young festival visitors have included Maria Novaros Tesoros ONLY ONE DAY by Martin Baltscheit, AMELIE RUNS by Tobias Wiemann and PRINCESS AND THE DRAGON by Michel Ocelot.
For adults and children, there were nine films, six short films and a meeting with the foley artist Max Bauer. An accompanying seminar for parents and educators about “horror and horror for children” and a technical discussion for filmmakers completed the program.
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SUMMER HOUSES (Sommerhäuser) Wins Top New German Cinema Awards at Munich Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_22929" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Summer Houses[/caption]
German young talents were awarded the coveted prize New German Cinema at the Munich Film Festival with Summer Houses (Sommerhäuser) winning two awards – Sonja Maria Kröner for Best Director; Philipp Worm and Tobias Walker for Best Production. In her debut film Kröner takes a trip back to the 1970s and is characterized in atmospheric images, the portrait of a family. It is 1976, the family community garden to the scene of absurd comic situations in the sweltering summer of the year.
Annika Meier was named Best Actress for her role in Arne Feldhusens techno trip “Magical Mystery or: the return of Karl Schmidt.” “In a wild troop of crazed stars of the DJ and techno scene, the center of grandiose of Charly Hübner is embodied, the actress Annika Meier projects through her tight, direct and serious game out, “said the jury.
Julia Langhof and Thomas Gerhold received the prize for Best Screenplay for “Lomo – The Language of Many Others.” The twins Karl and Anna are nearing graduation: While the ambitious Anna already pretty much know how their lives will pass, Karl devotes all his attention rather his blog “The language of many others”. There, he posts, among other things personal recordings of his own family, which Charles ratio represents to his father a test of endurance.
The winners Award New German Cinema 2017
Award New German Cinema: DIRECTOR (30,000 euros)
Sonja Maria Kröner for “Summer Houses”
Award New German Cinema: SPECTACLE (10,000 euros)
Annika Meier for “Magical Mystery or: the return of Karl Schmidt”
Award New German Cinema: SCRIPT (10,000 euros)
Julia Langhof and Thomas Gerhold for “Lomo – The Language of Many Others”
Award New German Cinema: PRODUCTION (20,000 euros)
Philipp Worm and Tobias Walker for “Summer Houses”
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GOD’S OWN COUNTRY, GLORY, DONKEYOTE Win Top Awards at Edinburgh International Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_22334" align="aligncenter" width="1777"]
God’s Own Country[/caption]
The Edinburgh International Film Festival today announced the Award Winners for this year’s 71st edition, with the winner of the prestigious Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film going to British filmmaker Francis Lee’s directorial debut, God’s Own Country, which received its UK Premiere at the Festival. The Michael Powell Award honors imagination and creativity in British filmmaking.
The Michael Powell Jury said: “We present the Michael Powell Award to God’s Own Country, directed by Francis Lee, a film with a singularity of storytelling and consistency of vision. Assured direction with raw and endearing performances result in a film that has an authenticity that is both tender and brutal, a juxtaposition of landscape and emotion, which explores the question of what it means to be a man.”
Francis Lee said: “I am thrilled with this honor for God’s Own Country, especially when you consider the British films that have won before. After premiering at Sundance and Berlin it has been wonderful to see how the film has created a real resonance with people and that is why the Michael Powell Award feels so brilliant.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1YAhyU6-tA
The award for Best Performance in a British Feature Film went jointly to actresses Emily Beecham for her role in Daphne and Anne Reid for her roles in Kaleidoscope and Romans, and was also selected by the Michael Powell jurors.
The Michael Powell Jury said: “In the category of Best Performance in a British Feature Film, the Michael Powell Jury recognizes two actors, Emily Beecham and Anne Reid, portraying fascinating, complex and flawed characters who didn’t strive for your affection but commanded your attention – real in the best sense of the word.”
The award for Best International Feature Film went to Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov’s Glory, which received its UK Premiere at this year’s Festival.
The International Jury said: “Deftly acted, beautifully photographed and directed, we loved this film. The subtlety of the performances and the story-telling was defined with such a lightness of touch which led to the immoral and moral choices having a heavy impact on this Jury.”
Petar Valchanov said: “It is a great honor for us to receive this award from Edinburgh International Film Festival, which has been preserving the traditions of good cinema the longest and carrying them over the generations. This award is a recognition not only for us, but also for Bulgarian cinema, which is currently on the rise again. Thank you for being there!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fmm7i05z88
The award for Best Documentary Feature Film went to Chico Pereira’s contemplative Donkeyote, which studied Pereira’s uncle whose wonderful spirit of adventure belies all of his 73 years. Special mention was given to Thomas Riedelsheimer’s Leaning Into The Wind.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ8j7WRE63A
Chico Pereira said: “On behalf of the entire Donkeyote team I’d like to say thank you so much for this recognition. For some of us who live or lived in Edinburgh, it holds an extra special meaning: our formative cinema experiences have been with EIFF, and just to return for our UK premiere is an honor in itself. I dedicate this also to my family, and in particular Manolo and Gorrión who teach us how to be truly modern and to enjoy life.”
The award for Best Short Film went to The Full Story, directed by Daisy Jacobs, with Kevin Pickering’s Close to the Bone and Gordon Napier’s 1745 receiving a special mention from the jurors.
Daisy Jacob’s said: “It is an honor to receive the Best Short Film Award from such a prestigious Festival, we are delighted.”
Voted for by the Festival audience, the McLaren Award for Best British Animation, this year went to Paloma Baeza’s Poles Apart.
The winner of this year’s EIFF Works in Progress and recipient of the £2,500 award is Piano to Zanskar by Michal Sulima.
Michal Sulima said: “We are delighted to have been selected for the EIFF Works in Progress award this year. It was a real privilege to be part of the showcase and to pitch our documentary to an audience full of industry professionals, which resulted in a number of meetings and expressions of interest. It’s only fair to say that we were heartily impressed by the quality of all the films presented, so the award comes to us as a great surprise! Given that our film has been entirely self-funded, it will go a long way towards helping us reach completion. We’re very grateful to the wonderful team at the EIFF for giving us this opportunity.”
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BREATHE Starring Andrew Garfield to Open BFI London Film Festival | Trailer
Andy Serkis’ feature directorial debut, Breathe , based on the true story of Robin Cavendish will open this year’s 61st BFI London Film Festival. 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 (Hacksaw Ridge) as Cavendish and Claire Foy (The Crown) as his wife Diana.
Breathe will receive its European premiere on Wednesday October 4th at the Odeon Leicester Square. Director Andy Serkis, producer Jonathan Cavendish and lead actors Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy are expected to attend along with other members of the cast and crew. There will be a live cinecast of all the excitement from Leicester Square and simultaneous screenings taking place at cinemas across the UK.
From a script by twice Academy Award-nominated screenwriter William Nicholson (Everest, Les Misérables and Gladiator), Andy Serkis (globally known for his performances including, Rise of 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 paralyzed 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 humor, courage and lust for life.
Breathe Director Andy Serkis comments: “On behalf of the cast and crew of Breathe, we are absolutely thrilled and deeply honored to be the Opening Gala performance in this year’s incredibly richly diverse and world-class BFI London Film Festival. Breathe is a deeply personal story to all of us at The Imaginarium and to have the European premiere of my directorial debut in London, my hometown, is beyond my wildest dreams.”
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.
Breathe will be release across the UK and Ireland on October 27 , 2017.
The 61st BFI London Film Festival takes place from Wednesday October 4 to Sunday October 15, 2017.
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Olivier Assayas, Yousry Nasrallah and Sabine Azéma to Head Locarno Film Festival Juries
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Olivier Assayas, Yousry Nasrallah and Sabine Azéma[/caption]
Olivier Assayas, Yousry Nasrallah and Sabine Azéma will be the jury presidents at the 70th Locarno Festival.
The President of the International Competition jury will be French film critic, screenwriter and director Olivier Assayas, who already made his mark at the Festival in 2014 with the acclaimed Sils Maria, starring Juliette Binoche. Being one of the most highly regarded contemporary filmmakers, Assayas has made several full-length features, ranging across a variety of subjects, places and genres. As an auteur for whom formal research is tied to narrative requirements, Assayas has proved adept at always bringing out the talent of his cast. These performances have included remarkable female roles played by actresses such as Emmanuelle Béart, Maggie Cheung, Virginie Ledoyen, Connie Nielsen and Kristen Stewart.
The Filmmakers of the Present jury will be presided over by a familiar face for the Festival public, Yousry Nasrallah. An assistant to Youssef Chahine, Nasrallah made his debut in 1988 with Vols d’été. He has presented several of his films at Locarno, including the touching documentary A propos des garcons, des filles et du voile (1995) and Brooks, Meadows and Lovely Faces, an entry in last year’s International Competition. Nasrallah makes films for a cinema of popular kind, highly charged with sensuality and strongly political.
The President of the Pardi di domani Competition jury will be the immensely popular French film actress Sabine Azéma. Twice a winner of a César award for best actress, Azéma became something of a personal muse for director Alain Resnais, with whom she made her debut in 1983. Her performances have always been at the forefront of cinema based on research and discovery, highlighting an ideal sensibility for meeting with and responding to the work of the filmmakers of tomorrow.
The 70th Locarno Festival will be held from August 2 to 12, 2017.