Film Festivals

A FANTASTIC WOMAN, INSYRIATED, MR LONG Among First 6 Films Revealed for Stockholm International Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_20524" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] A Fantastic Woman (Una Mujer Fantástica)[/caption] The Stockholm International Film Festival today revealed the first six titles in the Fall program lineup. The 28th edition of the festival takes place November 8 to 19, 2017 A Fantastic Woman by Sebastian Lelio The film, which depicts love and battle with great visual confidence, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, where it was awarded three times. Maren Ade, who directed the celebrated movie “Toni Erdmann”, is a co-producer of the film that challenges the audience in the best possible way. Wasted! The Story of Food Waste by Anna Chai, Nari Kye Every year, a third of all food is thrown away before it even reaches consumers. The directors Anna Chai and Nari Kye want to change this behaviour with this strong, educational and hopeful documentary. Amant Double by François Ozon After the critically acclaimed drama “Frantz”, director François Ozon is back with an erotic thriller. The film had its world premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the prestigious prize La Palme D’or. Insyriated by Philippe Van Leeuw “Insyriated” is a strong depiction of how a family caught in an apartment tries to endure another day in the Syrian war. The film blew the crowd away during Berlin film festival earlier this year and was awarded the Panorama Audience Award. Mr. Long by Sabu “Mr. Long “depicts the hard-boiled anti-hero from a new angle. With a unique blend of drama, humour and cooking, the film was nominated for the award for best film at the Berlin Film Festival. This is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous by Barbara Kopple The documentary “This is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous” is a moving film about the transwoman Gigi Gorgeous’ gender transitioning followed by thousands of fans on YouTube. The director Kopple has previously been awarded with two Oscar awards. During the Fall, the following acclaimed films will be previewed for the film festival’s members: On Body and Soul by Ildikó Enyedi (Golden Bear in Berlin) 120 BPM by Robin Campillo (Grand Prix in Cannes) The Beguiled by Sofia Coppola (Best Director in Cannes) The Nile Hilton Incident by Tarik Saleh (Grand Jury Price in Sundance)
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Sneak Preview of 2017 Rome Film Fest – David Lynch Honored, Steve Soderbergh’s LUCKY LOGAN and More

[caption id="attachment_22868" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Logan Lucky[/caption] The Artistic Director Antonio Monda today offered a preview of the 12th Rome Film Fest, which will take place from October 26th to November 5th 2017 at the Auditorium Parco della Musica, extending, like last year, even further into the Italian capital. The complete lineup will be announced on Tuesday October 10th. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS Like every year, ample space will be devoted to the Close Encounters (onstage conversations) with directors, actors and leading cultural figures. David Lynch | Lifetime Achievement Award Forty years after the release of his first feature-length film Eraserhead, the Rome Film Fest celebrates the genius of David Lynch with its Lifetime Achievement Award. The American filmmaker, who redefined contemporary cinema with his visionary oneiric style, will meet the audience and go through his extraordinary career from The Elephant Man to Mulholland Drive, from Blue Velvet to Inland Empire to the cult television series Twin Peaks. Lynch will discuss the three films that had the greatest influence on his career, including Federico Fellini’s 8½. Ian McKellen An extraordinary Shakespearean actor, winner of a Golden Globe and two Tony Awards, twice nominated for the Academy Award®, Ian McKellen will be the protagonist of a Close Encounter during the Rome Film Fest. The English actor rose to worldwide fame as Magneto in the “X-Men” film saga, and as Gandalf in the “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies. Ian McKellen will share with the audience his deep love for cinema and, in particular, for the comic genius of Jacques Tati. Xavier Dolan Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival for Mommy and of the 2016 Grand Prix for It’s Only the End of the World, at the young age of twenty-eight Xavier Dolan is already considered one of the most original and charismatic filmmakers of his generation. The young Canadian director will attend an onstage conversation and will talk about his career as an all-around artist, director and screenwriter of six hit feature-films and two music videos (including “Hello” for Adele), and as a highly regarded film and television actor. Chuck Palahniuk A surreal, non-conventional and controversial cult writer, Chuck Palahniuk won international acclaim for his first novel “Fight Club”, which became a world-wide best-seller following its remarkable film adaptation by David Fincher. The Close Encounter with Palahniuk will be called “American Gothic”: the novelist will talk about the horror films that have thrilled and unsettled him most. Vanessa Redgrave With a fifty-year career, Vanessa Redgrave is considered one of the greatest living actresses, having worked with great directors such as Michelangelo Antonioni (Blow-Up made her an international star), Fred Zinnemann (his film Julia won her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress), Sidney Lumet, James Ivory and Brian de Palma, among others. OFFICIAL SELECTION The official selection of the 12th Rome Film Fest will comprise about 35 feature-length films, including: Logan Lucky by Steve Soderbergh Following his incursion into the world of television series with the perturbing Gothic atmospheres of The Knick, Steven Soderbergh returns to the silver screen with Logan Lucky, an epic film that evokes the mood of the “Ocean” trilogy. In his new film, the director and winner of an Academy Award® for Traffic, the filmmaker of celebrated productions ranging from Sex, Lies and Videotape to Magic Mike, narrates a risky and elaborate robbery that takes place during the famous adrenalin-fuelled Nascar races. The star-studded cast features Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Riley Keough, Daniel Craig, Seth MacFarlane, Katie Holmes, Hilary Swank, Katherine Waterston and Sebastian Stan. SPECIAL EVENT NYsferatu by Andrea Mastrovito | with the “Luigi Boccherini” Orchestra from Lucca The Rome Film Fest 2017 will host a special event combining cinema and music: the screening of the film NYsferatu by Andrea Mastrovito accompanied live by the “Luigi Boccherini” Orchestra from Lucca. The Italian artist, who lives and works in New York, has completed a hand-drawn version of one of the masterpieces of silent film, Nosferatu, the 1922 cult classic by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau. The result, which required an extraordinary production effort with three years of work and around thirty-thousand drawings, is an animation film set in a dark and mysterious contemporary New York, rife with racial tension against immigrants. RETROSPECTIVE “The Italian School” is the title of the retrospective curated by Mario Sesti, which will take place during the twelfth edition of the Rome Film Fest. Organized in collaboration with the Istituto Luce Cinecittà and the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, “The Italian School” was conceived to spotlight and explore the fundamental, but often lesser-known, work of some of the great professionals – from cinematographers to editors, from set designers to costume designers – who have played such an important role in the history of Italian cinema, without forgetting their contribution to the films of great international directors. FILM RESTORATIONS Three newly-restored great Italian films will be featured in the lineup of the Rome Film Fest: Dillinger è morto by Marco Ferreri, Miseria e nobiltà by Mario Mattoli (both in collaboration with the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia) and Sacco e Vanzetti by Giuliano Montaldo (with the Istituto Luce Cinecittà). INSTALLATION Contemporary art will be front and centre at the Rome Film Fest with an installation stemming from the creativity and interaction between six artists, six writers and six directors. The works of Piero Pizzi Cannella, Hidetoshi Nagasawa, Roberto Pietrosanti, Marina Sagona, Giuseppe Salvatori and Marco Tirelli engage with the words of Edoardo Albinati, Claudio Damiani, Jhumpa Lahiri, Marco Lodoli, Aurelio Picca and Elena Stancanelli. The narration that ensues becomes moving image in the six short films by young directors that will be screened in the Auditorium. The work was conceived by Simona Marchini for the Associazione Culturale Palatina, with the consultancy of the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. THE ROLE OF FILM CRITICISM Following last year’s success, the Rome Film Fest will continue to discuss the role of international film criticism with some of the finest critics from around the world, such as, A.O.Scott (The New York Times) and Justin Chang (Los Angeles Times). Film historian Annette Insdorf will join the panel. THE FILMS OF OUR LIVES: MUSICALS Like every year, the Artistic Director and the members of the Selection Committee will present the films that influenced their passion for the seventh art. After last year’s Westerns, the choice for this year’s twelfth edition will be Musicals. Each film will be accompanied by an onstage conversation with directors, actors and guests. Furthermore, before each screening at the upcoming Rome Film Fest, spectators will enjoy short clips of some of the most famous and evocative musicals.
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THE BIG SICK and MONKEY BUSINESS Win Top Awards at Nantucket Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_20114" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The Big Sick[/caption] The Big Sick, written by Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani and based on their real-life, cross-cultural relationship, and directed by Michael Showalter, was awarded Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 22nd annual Nantucket Film Festival. The atmospheric Native American reservation-set mystery Wind River, written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, is runner up. Monkey Business: The Curious Adventures of George’s Creators, directed by Ema Ryan Yamazaki is the winner of theAudience Award for Best Documentary Feature, and Joe Kean’s Holocaust-focused After Auschwitz: The Stories of Six Women is the runner up. Maximilien Van Aertryck and Axel Danielson’s study of human vulnerability, Ten Meter Tower, is the winner of the Audience Award for Best Short film, and Tom Scott and Dan Honan’s inspirational portrait, The Illumination, is the runner-up. NFF also announced the winner of the Adrienne Shelly Foundation Excellence in Filmmaking Award, a $5,000 grant to an emerging female filmmaker in honor of writer, director, and actor Adrienne Shelly and her contributions to film. This year’s recipient is Alexandra Dean, director of Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, which focuses on the Hollywood star’s groundbreaking but under-acknowledged work as an inventor. In the Showtime Tony Cox Screenplay Competition, which recognizes the best-unproduced screenplays and television pilots by emerging writers, Moon Molson’s Johnny Ace received the top prize as the winner of the Feature Screenplay Competition. The Episodic Screenplay nods went to Tesia Walker’s for The Line and to Kaitlin Fontana for Casey Can’t. The Short Screenplay Competition was won by Rajiv Shah, with Jesse Wang and Robert Berg for The Yao Of Tao. Moon Molson’s Johnny Ace follows two Houston homicide detectives as they investigate the seemingly accidental death of a popular R&B singer in 1954. Molson received a $5000 cash prize, VIP access to this year’s Festival, a bound copy of his script, and an exclusive spot in the Screenwriters Colony writers retreat on Nantucket for the entire month of October. The Showtime Tony Cox Award for Episodic 60 Minute Pilot, The Line by Tesia Walker, is set in a small South Carolina historically black university, in the early 1960s. Walker received a $1000 cash prize, as well as a consultation with a Showtime executive. The Half-Hour Episodic Screenplay winner, Casey Can’t by Kaitlin Fontana, is a dark comedy that tells the story of a flawed writer being blackmailed into managing a hipster music blog by its man-child owner. Fontana receives a $1000 cash prize, a consultation with a Showtime executive, and one of only four slots in the Screenwriters Colony: Episodic Comedy, a two-week immersive writing and mentorship program on Nantucket earlier this month. The Short Screenplay Competition winner, The Yao Of Tao by Rajiv Shah, with Jesse Wang and Robert Berg, follows a Chinese caregiver for a Isaac, a dying cancer patient as he finds himself at odds with Isaac’s estranged daughter. Shah receives a $500 cash prize. The Festival’s Teen View Jury Award, selected by a group of Nantucket junior high school students, went to Game, written and directed by Jeannie Donohoe. “We were thrilled to present Nantucket audiences with a diverse offering of films and special events celebrating the craft of screenwriting and storytelling,” said Mystelle Brabbee, Executive Director of the Nantucket Film Festival and Basil Tsiokos, Film Program Director of the Nantucket Film Festival. “We are thankful to our audiences and to all of the screenwriters and filmmakers who shared their work with us this year.” Actor, writer, director, producer and NFF Board Member Ben Stiller hosted the Screenwriters Tribute Awards from the Siaconset Casino on Friday, June 23rd. Director and Academy Award®-winning screenwriter Tom McCarthy accepted the Screenwriting Tribute Award, given to him by Emmy Award®-winning actor Bobby Cannavale. Ground-breaking television creators and Emmy®-nominated writing team Jeffrey Klarik and David Crane (“Friends,” “Mad About You,” “Episodes”) received the Creative Impact in Television Writing Award, presented to them by “Episodes” actress Kathleen Rose Perkins. Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield (NFF Centerpiece Film (Whitney. “can I be me”) accepted the A&E Special Achievement in Documentary Storytelling Award, presented to him by journalist Regina Weinreich, while the New Voices in Screenwriting Award was presented to Geremy Jasper (NFF Spotlight Film Patti Cake$) by comedian, actress, and performer Bridget Everett.
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New York Latino Film Festival is Back, Sets Date of October 11-15

The New York Latino Film Festival (NYLFF), presented by HBO, will make its much-anticipated return to the Big Apple October 11-15, 2017. Unveiling a new Logo and website, founder Calixto Chinchilla announced today that submissions for the 13th edition of the iconic film festival are now being accepted through August 4, 2017. The premier marketplace for Latino films in the U.S., the NYLFF will once again showcase a diverse slate, spanning all genres and formats including features, shorts, documentaries and experimental films featuring, about and/or for the U.S. Latino community. Submission forms and complete information regarding eligibility for the 2017 NYLFF are available at www.NYLatinoFilmFestival.com. “It’s a remarkable honor to announce the reemergence of the NYLFF to New York City, during a moment where content distribution is taking on this innovative expansion. Our event is about galvanizing and empowering community. It is incredible to have such a strong supporter in HBO, our founding partner, and Time Warner, who have been an integral part through every step of this continuing journey,” said Chinchilla. “We have been eagerly awaiting the rebirth of the NYLFF. The importance of Latino voices in our industry is evident to anyone watching television, going to the movies, listening to music, or just walking and breathing in this country,” said Dennis Williams, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Social Responsibility, HBO. “As a founding partner of the NYLFF, we are once again lending our support as presenting sponsor to what we believe is one of the most groundbreaking Latino film festivals in the United States.” To be considered, all projects must have been completed by deadline of August 4, 2017. Projects in a language other than English must have English-language subtitles. Films cannot have been broadcast (television or Internet) or distributed commercially in the U.S. prior to the festival. Exceptions may be granted for short films and documentaries. New York agency sociedAD led the rebranding efforts, including the creation of the Festival’s new logo. The website was created in partnership with Gala Festival Engine. Since its inception in 1999, each year the NYLFF brings together more than 20,000 movie fans and industry executives over the course of several days.
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2017 Palm Springs International ShortFest Announces Winners, FACING MECCA Wins Best Of Festival Award

[caption id="attachment_22850" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Facing Mecca[/caption] The 2017 Palm Springs International ShortFest announced its Festival award winners on Sunday, June 25, 2017, with Swiss film Facing Mecca directed by Jan-Eric Mack winning the prize for the Best of Festival Award. “After spending a week in and out of theaters, and talking with filmmakers and audiences, we close out the festival with such a strong sense of community,” said Festival Director Lili Rodriguez. “Filmmakers are making movies about the changing world around them. I think our award winners showcase an understanding and compassion for people and it’s a great thing to see.” The 2017 Palm Springs International ShortFest award winners are:
JURY AWARDS
BEST OF FESTIVAL AWARD – Winner received $5,000 cash prize courtesy of the Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau. The winner of this award may be eligible to submit their film to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Oscar® consideration. Facing Mecca (Switzerland), Jan-Eric Mack Pensioner Roli comes to Fareed’s assistance when the Syrian refugee is faced with a bewildering forest of Swiss bureaucracy before he can bury his Muslim wife. GRAND JURY AWARD – Winner received a $2,000 cash prize. The Head Vanishes (France/Canada), Franck Dion Jacqueline, no longer quite in her right mind, still goes on her annual summer trip. This year, she’s followed by some woman who claims to be her daughter. PANAVISION BEST NORTH AMERICAN SHORT – The use of a camera package valued at $60,000 courtesy of Panavision. Dekalb Elementary (USA), Reed Van Dyk Inspired by an actual 911 call placed during a school shooting incident in Atlanta, Georgia. NON-STUDENT COMPETITION AWARDS All first place winners in the non-student categories received a cash award of $2,000 and may be eligible to submit their film to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Oscar® consideration. BEST ANIMATED SHORT The Head Vanishes (France/Canada), Franck Dion Jacqueline, no longer quite in her right mind, still goes on her annual summer trip. This year, she’s followed by some woman who claims to be her daughter. BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT OVER 15 MINUTES Retouch (Iran), Kaveh Mazaheri Maryam’s husband does weightlifting at home. When a weight falls on his throat and puts him near death, Maryam makes a decision. BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT 15 MINUTES AND UNDER Great Choice (USA), Robin Comisar A woman gets stuck in a Red Lobster commercial. BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT Edith + Eddie (USA), Laura Checkoway Ninety-something Edith and Eddie are America’s oldest interracial newlyweds, whose unusual and idyllic love story is disrupted by a family feud that threatens to tear them apart.
STUDENT COMPETITION AWARDS
FUTURE FILMMAKER AWARD – Winner received a $2,000 cash prize. Where You Found Refuge (France), Guillaume Legrand After Didier finds his daughter living in a cult, he decides to bring her home by force. Special Mention: Fry Day (USA), Laura Moss An adolescent girl comes of age against the backdrop of serial killer Ted Bundy’s execution in 1989. All first place winners in these categories received a $500 cash prize. BEST STUDENT ANIMATION Sog (Germany), Jonatan Schwenk After a flood, the fish are stuck in trees, in danger of drying out. They scream sharply, disturbing the inhabitants of a nearby cave. BEST STUDENT LIVE ACTION SHORT OVER 15 MINUTES Facing Mecca (Switzerland), Jan-Eric Mack Pensioner Roli comes to Fareed’s assistance when the Syrian refugee is faced with a bewildering forest of Swiss bureaucracy before he can bury his Muslim wife. BEST STUDENT LIVE ACTION SHORT 15 MINUTES AND UNDER Iron Hands (USA/China), Johnson Cheng A 12-year old girl tries out for the traditionally all-boys’ Chinese youth Olympic weightlifting team. And makes an unlikely connection with the weightlifting gym’s reclusive groundskeeper. BEST STUDENT DOCUMENTARY SHORT Searching for Wives (Singapore), Zuki Juno Tobgye Male migrant workers from South India living in Singapore send photos back home in the hope of finding suitable and willing marriage partners. Special Jury Mention: I Made You, I Kill You (Romania/France), Alexandru Petru Badelita In a remarkable cinematic diary, by turns touching and disturbing, Badelita looks back at his traumatic childhood growing up in rural Romania.
AUDIENCE AWARDS
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT Red Light (Bulgaria/Croatia), Toma Waszarow A bus stops at a village’s only intersection, where the traffic light is stuck on red. The driver refuses to move forward BEST ANIMATION SHORT Coin Operated (USA), Nicholas Arioli Seventy years pass in the life of one naïve explorer. BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT Kayayo (Norway), Mari Bakke Riise Elementary-school-age Bamunu works as a kayayo (a living shopping cart) at the markets in Accra thousands of miles from her village. SHORTFEST ONLINE AUDIENCE AWARD Lost Face (Australia/Canada), Sean Meehan Based on a classic story by Jack London set in mid-1800s Alaska, a man makes a deal with a native chief in hopes to save his life.
ADDITIONAL PRIZES
ALEXIS AWARD FOR BEST EMERGING STUDENT FILMMAKER – The Alexis Award is selected by the Festival’s programming team and was created in honor of Alexis Echavarria, whose talent as a budding filmmaker and gift for inspiring excellence among his fellow students were cut short suddenly in 2005 at age 16. The recipient received Final Cut Pro X courtesy of Apple. Chebet (Kenya/USA), Tony Koros A pregnant woman in the Kenyan highlands decides to take drastic action when she finds her husband passed out in front of their house yet again. HP BRIDGING THE BORDERS AWARD PRESENTED BY CINEMA WITHOUT BORDERS – The award goes to a film that is most successful in bringing and connecting the people of our world closer together. The winner received an HP ZBook 17 Mobile Workstation valued at $3,000. Pantheon (France), Ange-Régis Hounkpatin Son of a Beninese immigrant, cut off from his roots, Solomon is about to donate his deceased father’s Voodoo costume to a museum when a young street-dancer reminds him of the ancestral soul. YOUTH JURY AWARD – The winner received a $500 cash prize. Everybody Else is Taken (New Zealand), Jessica Grace Smith Meet Mika, a girl who refuses to let her gender define her place in one of the harshest environments on Earth-the play-ground.
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Six MIFF Premiere Fund Films to World Premiere at Melbourne International Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_22831" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] JUNGLE Daniel Radcliffe (Yossi), Thomas Kretschmann (Karl)[/caption] The MIFF Premiere Fund will world premiere six films at the 66th Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), including opening night survival thriller Jungle and the joyous Indigenous feature documentary The Song Keepers. The Premiere Fund, celebrating its tenth anniversary, offers minority co-financing to new Australian quality theatrical (narrative and documentary) feature films that then premiere at MIFF. Six films will have their red-carpet world premiere screening at this year’s MIFF, as follows: The Butterfly Tree stars Melissa George (The Good Wife), Ewen Leslie (The Daughter), Ed Oxenbould (Paper Planes) and Sophie Lowe (The Slap) in a visually sumptuous coming-of-age tale of love and loss, tinged with magical realism, from feature debut director Priscilla Cameron and producer Bridget Callow-Wright. Central Australia’s answer to The Buena Vista Social Club, Naina Sen’s The Song Keepers, from producers Rachel Clements and Trisha Morton-Thomas, tells an incredible story about a hidden musical legacy of ancient Aboriginal languages and German baroque songs that are being preserved by the Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir. From director Eddie Martin (Lionel, All This Mayhem) and producer Sarah Shaw (Snowtown) comes Have You Seen the Listers? which provides a moving personal account of the artistic and commercial rise of Australia’s most renowned street artist, coupled with a deep personal cost. In Westwind: Djalu’s Legacy, director Ben Strunin portrays Yolngu elder Djalu Gurruwiwi’s quest to pass his people’s ancient songlines and culture to the next generation – with a little help from global pop star Gotye. Producers: Kate Pappas, Ben Pederick, Virginia Whitwell and Nick Batzias (That Sugar Film). Rabbit is a chilling fairytale feature debut from director Luke Shanahan and producer David Ngo (One Eyed Girl), in which identical twins are linked by more than just DNA, starring Alex Russell (Cut Snake) and Adelaide Clemens (The Great Gatsby). And Alex Russell also features alongside Daniel Radcliffe in Wolf Creek director Greg McLean’s MIFF opening night selection Jungle in a gloriously tense survival thriller based on the bestselling real-life story of adventurer Yossi Ghinsberg. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Premiere Fund, MIFF looks back at the Fund’s early years with screenings of three classics: Balibo (2009) the riveting political thriller starring Oscar Isaac and Anthony LaPaglia from Robert Connolly (Paper Planes). Bastardy (2008), a poetic and impressionistic portrait of the life of Indigenous arts personality Jack Charles from director Amiel Courtin-Wilson (The Silent Eye, MIFF 2017). Blessed (2009), a powerful and evocative story from director Ana Kokkinos (Head On) of families, love and loss with a star-studded ensemble cast including Frances O’Connor, Miranda Otto, Deborra-Lee Furness, William McInnes, Sophie Lowe, Harrison Gilbertson and Reef Ireland. The Premiere Fund has a proud history of assisting the telling of a diverse range of stories from a diverse range of talent and voices. Over its ten years: Nearly 32% of Premiere Fund movies have had female directors (versus Screen Australia-reported industry average of 16%); Nearly 59% have had female producers (versus industry average of 32%); 41% included youth themes (including Paper Planes); 27% had elements portraying Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Communities (CALDs), with 5% having CALD creative principals (director and/or producer(s)); 16% included Indigenous themes and/or characters (including Bran Nue Dae), with nearly 7% having Indigenous creative principals; 13% included LGBTI characters and/or issues, with 18% involving LGBTI creative principals Some 50% of Premiere Fund movies are helmed by first-time directors Other key milestones include: Children’s film Paper Planes grossed almost $10 million at the Australia/NZ box office and won the inaugural CineFest $100,000 film prize in 2014 Premiere Fund titles have won more than 55 awards and more than 280 key festival selections including Berlin (Make Hummus Not War, Tim Winton’s The Turning, Galore, Paper Planes, Bran Nue Dae, Monsieur Mayonnaise, EMO The Musical); Cannes (These Final Hours); Rotterdam (Electric Boogaloo, Not Quite Hollywood); Toronto (Cut Snake, Electric Boogaloo, Paper Planes, Downriver, Balibo, Blessed, Bran Nue Dae, Not Quite Hollywood, Blame, Machete Maidens Unleashed, Mother of Rock, Loved Ones) Indigenous-themed feature documentary Putuparri & The Rainmakers won the 2015 CineFest $100,000 Film Prize, with Cinefest Jury Chair David Wenham remarking: “A story and characters so compelling and emotionally engaging that it reinforced the power of cinema to entertain, touch us deeply and stay with us forever.” “We are so proud of the films that have come through the Fund over the last 10 years and we take our hat off to the talented filmmakers that we have the privilege of working with,” said MIFF Premiere Fund Executive Producer Mark Woods. “The talent we have been able to support has been incredible – 19% of Premiere Fund films are directed by alumni of MIFF emerging director workshop Accelerator Lab and 48% advanced their funding at MIFF’s film financing event 37ºSouth Market – so we really do feel like we come on a long journey with these projects.”
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New York Asian Film Festival Announces Awardees, Lifetime Achievement Award for Eric Tsang

[caption id="attachment_22827" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Eric Tsang[/caption] The 16th New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) will present five awards, including the Star Hong Kong Lifetime Achievement Award to Eric Tsang, two Star Asia Awards, the Screen International Rising Star Award to Thailand’s Chutimon “Aokbab” Chuengcharoensukying, and the Daniel E. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema to South Korea’s Jung Byung-gil. Gang Dong-won, China’s Duan Yihong will be awarded the Star Asia Award at the 16th New York Asian Film Festival on 1st July 2017. It is in recognition for his entire body of work. It will be presented in person to the actor before screenings of Extraordinary Mission and Battle of Memories at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. This is the first time that a Star Asia Award has been presented to an actor from China. Previous recipients include Donnie Yen, Miriam Yeung and South Korea’s Lee Byung-hun. The festival’s Screen International Rising Star Asia Award recognizing new talent has previously been presented to two actors from China, Huang Bo in 2010 and Jelly Lin in 2016. “We’re honored to give one of our top awards to Duan Yihong, who we regard as one of China’s greatest modern actors,” said Samuel Jamier, the festival’s executive director. “The cinema of China is now central to our lineup, in recognition that it is not only at the forefront of genre cinema in Asia, but is also making the most perceptive, honest films about human relationships.” Chinese-language films in this year’s selection include Yang Shupeng’s Blood of Youth, Han Han’s Duckweed, Liu Yulin’s Someone to Talk To, Zhang Yang’s Soul on a String, Leste Chen’s Battle of Memories and Extraordinary Mission, directed by Alan Mak and Anthony Pun. The Excellence in Action Cinema Award will be presented to South Korea’s Jung Byung-gil. The maverick director is a former guest of the festival in 2008 when he attended the international premiere of his debut feature Action Boys. He returns to New York almost a decade later with his reinvention of action cinema, The Villainess, which will be the closing film. The NYAFF will honor the great Eric Tsang with the Lifetime Achievement Award. This is a change from the previously announced awardee Tony Leung Ka-fai, who is unfortunately no longer able to attend the festival due to extenuating circumstances. The festival describes Tsang as the perfect choice in a year in which the festival is championing first-time filmmakers from Hong Kong. Although best known as an actor, Tsang’s most vital contribution to Greater China cinema is as an investor, producer and supporter of new directors. The festival is showing his new film Mad World by first-time director Wong Chun, also attending. The festival will screen 57 feature films over 17 days. The festival opens on 30 June with the international premiere of Thai high-school thriller Bad Genius and closes on 16 July with the U.S. premiere of South Korean revenge thriller The Villainess. The festival’s centerpiece gala is Mikhail Red’s ecological thriller Birdshot from the Philippines. The festival this year launches its competition for first- and second-time directors whose films are receiving their North American premiere at the festival. The seven films competing are Bad Genius (Thailand), Birdshot (Philippines), A Double Life (Japan), Jane (South Korea), Kfc (Vietnam), and With Prisoners (Hong Kong). The 16th New York Asian Film Festival will be held at Film Society of Lincoln Center June 30 to July 13, 2017; and SVA Theater from July 14 to July 16, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZVtP80s2RE
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Actress Lauren Hutton to Receive Maine International Film Festival’s Mid-Life Achievement Award

Actress Lauren Hutton will receive the Maine International Film Festival‘s 2017 Mid-Life Achievement Award at a special ceremony held at the Waterville Opera House on the evening of July 20. “Lauren’s immediacy and talent was always evident on the screen, as it is now, a presence and intelligence and pride that is unique and distinct, and that was made for lights and drama and comedy,” said MIFF Programming Director Ken Eisen. “It’s a pleasure to welcome her and her fine films to MIFF this year, and to honor her film career with our annual Midlife Achievement Award.” The award presentation will be held after a screening of American Gigolo, a romantic crime film directed and written by Paul Schrader, on Thursday, July 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the Waterville Opera House. The film centers on a male escort (played by Richard Gere) who is framed for a murder he did not commit. Hutton will be in Waterville for several days of the festival with screenings of The Gambler, A Wedding, and Welcome to L.A. Last year, actor Gabriel Byrne was presented with the Mid-Life Achievement Award. Previous winners include Glenn Close, Jonathan Demme, Peter Fonda, Ed Harris, Sissy Spacek, and John Turturro, among others. “As we celebrate an incredible MIFF milestone this year – our 20th anniversary – we could not have asked for a more interesting special guest than Lauren, whose groundbreaking career has crossed genres as well as decades,” said Festival Director Shannon Haines.
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Michael Moore’s Traverse City Film Festival Announces 2017 Lineup + “Travel Ban Sidebar”
[caption id="attachment_22807" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Director Sotho Kulikar of The Last Reel accepts the Founders’ Prize for Best Film with Michael Moore at Traverse City Film Festival[/caption] Michael Moore today revealed the films selected to screen in the 13th Traverse City Film Festival, taking place July 25 to 30, 2017 in Traverse, Michigan. In addition to announcing new venues, the festival will feature a curiously titled program titled Travel Ban Sidebar, featuring “seven daring and beautiful stories that celebrate our connected world.” Michael Moore’s letter announcing 2017 Traverse City Film Festival lineup: Today is the big day, the day we reveal the films of the 13th Annual Traverse City Film Festival, July 25-30, which will bring over 1000 movies to scenic Northern Michigan. Big change has come to the festival and the world since we last gathered on the beautiful shores of TC to celebrate movies, but there are still some things you can always count on at the TCFF: the volunteers will be friendly, the out-of-town filmmakers will learn that pasties aren’t just for burlesque shows, and we will always show Just Great Movies. The movies I’ve selected this year are bold, brave, larger-than-life stories that made me laugh, and sometimes cry, but always left me with a sense of hope and wonder. I can’t wait for you to see them. As you go through this incredible list of movies, please note some of this year’s special happenings:
- Two new (temporary) big screens: Kirkbride Hall at Grand Traverse Commons and the newly renovated auditorium in Central High School–transformed into cinemas by the same technical geniuses who remade the State Theatre, City Opera House, Old Town Playhouse, Con Foster Museum, and our other venerable venues into world-class movie theaters. Check ’em out, they’ll be this year’s hot tickets. (Central Grade School is closed for the summer, but returns next year!)
- The Travel Ban Sidebar, featuring seven daring and beautiful stories that celebrate our connected world.
- The Buzz — free movies and events, all day — will be moving around to different venues this year. Look for the FREE listings in every timeslot.
- Panels are also on the move. No longer stuck at the City Opera House every morning, we’re changing up the times and locations of the free daily panels so that more people can enjoy them.
- Food on Film is Supersized. Enjoy more special screenings featuring candid conversations with chefs and filmmakers and sample bites of food inspired by the films.
- Our most popular offerings return better than ever — The Woz, Kids Fest (now in beautiful Clinch Park), movies for #Tweens, Movies on a Boat, and some midnight frights and delights.
- Movies Around the Bay now goes further around the bay with the addition of the beautiful new Lyric Theatre in Harbor Springs kicking things off. Enjoy a week of movies before the festival begins and help relieve your schedule log jam.
- Great guests! Film lover, critic, and historian extraordinaire Leonard Maltin will be joining us in TC. You’ll see him around the fest as well as recording his Nerdist Podcast, Maltin on Movies. And speaking of movies and podcasts, TC’s adopted son Doug Benson returns bringing new funny friends, and maybe running into another TCFF 2017 funnyman, guest Gilbert Gottfried.
- The 117 feature films and the filmmakers we’re announcing today are just the beginning. Exciting announcements will follow in the coming days.
- And if the hologram system we’ve been testing succeeds, you’ll see me floating above the Open Space on clear, moonless nights.
You can view the entire schedule of movies and events online, or you can download a PDF. Pick up a printed guide at the State Theatre, Bijou by the Bay, and other locations all around town, or in copies of the Record-Eagle later this week. Tickets go on sale to our Friends of the Film Festival on July 9 and to the general public on July 15. Prices remain the same for the fourth year in a row, and there are dozens of free films and events so that everyone can participate. Thank you, everyone, for your support. These crazy times call for community, creativity, and a loving approach to defining our future. Let’s celebrate the amazing work coming out of the countries our current president wants to ban, and let’s continue to enjoy “Just Great Movies,” and the incredible filmmakers who create them. All my best, Michael Moore Image via Facebook
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Argentine Actor Ricardo Darín to Receive Donostia Award at San Sebastian Film Festival

Argentine actor Ricardo Darín will receive a Donostia Award on September 26 at the 65th edition of the San Sebastian Festival, at the screening of his film The Summit (La cordillera). The Festival’s most important honorary award acknowledges the career of the Argentine actor, who has worked with filmmakers including Adolfo Aristarain, Juan José Campanella, Fabián Bielinsky, Fernando Trueba, Pablo Trapero, Cesc Gay and Santiago Mitre. The Summit (La cordillera) is written and directed by Santiago Mitre; and stars Dolores Fonzi, Érica Rivas, Elena Anaya, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Alfredo Castro, Paulina García and Christian Slater. The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, and will be screened on Tuesday 26 at the Kursaal Auditorium. Warner Bros Pictures will release the film in Spanish cinemas on September 29. The Summit (La cordillera) is set at a Summit for Latin American presidents in Chile, where the region’s geopolitical strategies and alliances are in discussion, Argentine president Hernán Blanco endures a political and family drama that will force him to face his own demons. He will have to come to two decisions that could change the course of his public and private life forever: one regarding a complicated emotional situation with his daughter, and the other, the most important political decision of his career. Ricardo Darín is known for El hijo de la novia (Son of the Bride, 2001, nominee for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award), Luna de Avellaneda (Moon of Avellaneda,2004) and El secreto de sus ojos (The Secret in Their Eyes, 2009, Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award), all three directed by Juan José Campanella. In 2007 he made his directorial debut with the film La señal alongside Martín Hodara, with whom he repeated the experience this year on Nieve negra (Black Snow). His filmography also includes the role of a professor of Criminal Law in Tesis sobre un homicidio (Thesis on a Homicide, Hernán Goldfrid, 2012), a desperate father in Séptimo (7th Floor, Patxi Amezcua, 2013), an explosives expert in Relatos Salvajes (Wild Tales, Damián Szifron, 2014), which competed in Cannes and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award, and his part as the President of Argentina in La cordillera (The Summit). He is also a member of the cast on the latest film by the Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, as yet untitled, on which he will share the credits with Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. The Donostia Award culminates a list of more than 20 national and international wards including five Silver Condors, two Konex, two Sur by the Argentine Academy of Cinematography Arts and Sciences Awards, a Goya, a José María Forqué, a Gaudí, a CEC (Cinema Writers Circle) award, a Feroz, a Platino Audience Award, a Sant Jordi, awards at the Valladolid, Havana and Biarritz festivals, the aforementioned Silver Shell in San Sebastian, the Honorary Platino received last year and the Gold Medal for Merits in the Fine Arts he will receive this year. All recognize the extraordinary career of an actor who has worked indistinctly in television, cinema and theatre (with the award-winning Algo en común, Art and Escenas de la vida conyugal).
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New York Film Festival Unveiled 2017 Official Poster Designed by Richard Serra

The Film Society of Lincoln Center unveiled today the poster for the 55th New York Film Festival taking place September 28 to October 15, 2017, designed by sculptor, filmmaker, and video artist Richard Serra. NYFF posters are a yearly artistic signature of the film festival, and Serra joins a stellar lineup of artists whose work has been commissioned for the festival, including Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, David Hockney, Julian Schnabel, Cindy Sherman, and last year’s artist, Apichatpong Weerasethakul. can be found below. “Richard Serra’s work has never stopped growing in my mind and memory,” said New York Film Festival Director Kent Jones. “During every one of my many visits to MoMA’s 2007 retrospective and to the permanent installations in Dia:Beacon, alone or with loved ones, I could feel everyone’s sense of the possible opening a couple of clicks wider. I was excited that he agreed to design this year’s NYFF poster, but when I saw the design I was taken aback—so wondrously elemental, and in such absolute harmony with the art of cinema.” Serra says his design for this year’s poster effectively reflects and references the camera eye, explaining, “The image I selected for the poster is the interior of an 80’ tower sculpture in Qatar which functions as an aperture and seemed to me to make sense.” One of the preeminent artists of the 20th century, Richard Serra has long been acclaimed for his challenging and innovative work, which emphasizes materiality and a unique engagement with the viewer. His most well-known works are large-scale steel sculptures, placed creatively in space to invite a dynamic, interactive experience. Serra has been a consistent participant in documenta, the Venice Biennale, and the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Annual and Biennial over the last 30+ years. He has had solo exhibitions across the globe, in cities including Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Doha, Amsterdam, Paris, Munich, Madrid, and Naples. In 2005, eight large-scale works by Serra were installed permanently at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, and in 2007 The Museum of Modern Art, New York presented a major retrospective of the artist’s work. Serra has been awarded numerous prizes and awards, including a Fulbright Grant; National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship; The Carnegie Prize; Praemium Imperiale, Japan Arts Association; Leone d’Oro; Premios Principas de Asturias and Chevelier of the French Legion of Honor; among others. An overview of the artist’s work in film and video will be on view at the Kunstmuseum Basel from May to October 2017; and the artist’s recent drawings will be featured in a solo exhibition at the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam from June to September 2017. The complete list of NYFF poster artists: Larry Rivers, 1963 Saul Bass, 1964 Bruce Conner, 1965 Roy Lichtenstein, 1966 Andy Warhol, 1967 Henry Pearson, 1968 Marisol (Escobar), 1969 James Rosenquist, 1970 Frank Stella, 1971 Josef Albers, 1972 Niki de Saint Phalle, 1973 Jean Tinguely, 1974 Carol Summers, 1975 Allan D’Arcangelo, 1976 Jim Dine, 1977 Richard Avedon, 1978 Michelangelo Pistoletto, 1979 Les Levine, 1980 David Hockney, 1981 Robert Rauschenberg, 1982 Jack Youngerman, 1983 Robert Breer, 1984 Tom Wesselmann, 1985 Elinor Bunin, 1986 Sol Lewitt, 1987 Milton Glaser, 1988 Jennifer Bartlett, 1989 Eric Fischl, 1990 Philip Pearlstein, 1991 William Wegman, 1992 Sheila Metzner, 1993 William Copley, 1994 Diane Arbus, 1995 Juan Gatti, 1996 Larry Rivers, 1997 Martin Scorsese, 1998 Ivan Chermayeff, 1999 Tamar Hirschl, 2000 Manny Farber, 2001 Julian Schnabel, 2002 Junichi Taki, 2003 Jeff Bridges, 2004 Maurice Pialat, 2005 Mary Ellen Mark, 2006 agnès b., 2007 Robert Cottingham, 2008 Gregory Crewdson, 2009 John Baldessari, 2010 Lorna Simpson, 2011 Cindy Sherman, 2012 Tacita Dean, 2013 Laurie Simmons, 2014 Laurie Anderson, 2015 Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2016
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BECKS, LIYANA, SKID ROW MARATHON Among Winners of 2017 LA Film Festival Awards

[caption id="attachment_22794" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Becks[/caption] Today the LA Film Festival announced the winners of the 2017 Festival at the Awards Reception, with the U.S. Fiction Award going to Elizabeth Rohrbaugh and Daniel Powell for Becks, which made its World Premiere at the Festival. The World Fiction Award went to Diego Ros for The Night Guard (El Vigilante), which made its North American Premiere at the Festival. The Documentary Award went to Amanda Kopp and Aaron Kopp for Liyana, which made its World Premiere at the Festival. The LA Muse Awards were given to two films, one fiction and one documentary. The LA Muse Documentary Award went to Mark Hayes for Skid Row Marathon, which made its World Premiere at the Festival. The LA Muse Fiction Award went to Savannah Bloch for And Then There Was Eve, which made its World Premiere at the Festival. The Audience Award for Documentary Feature Film was given to Skid Row Marathon, directed by Mark Hayes; and the Audience Award for Fiction Feature Film went to The Keeping Hours, directed by Karen Moncrieff. Announced earlier were the winners of The Danny Elfman Project: Rabbit and Rogue competition: 13, Justine Quinones The Bridge, Matt Eckholm Dandelion, Catherine Fauteux A Day for Manuel, JB Minerva Gamelan, Cornelia Nicolăeasa A Glory Sewn, Travis Dixon Lakesong, Douglas Gibbens & Konstantina Mantelos Natural Promotion, Sean Oliver Urge, Pieter Coudyzer Awards were given out in the following categories: U.S. Fiction Award Winner: Becks, directed by Elizabeth Rohrbaugh and Daniel Powell Screenwriter: Elizabeth Rohrbaugh, Daniel Powell, Rebecca Drysdale Producer: Alex Bach, Elizabeth Rohrbaugh, Daniel Powell Cast: Lena Hall, Mena Suvari, Christine Lahti, Dan Fogler, Rebecca Drysdale, Hayley Kiyoko, Michael Zegen Film Description: After a crushing breakup, an aimless singer-songwriter moves in with her ultra-Catholic mother and strikes up an unexpected friendship with the wife of an old nemesis. World Premiere U.S. Fiction Cinematography Award presented by Aputure Winner: Everything Beautiful is Far Away, cinematography by Christian Sorensen Hansen and Pete Ohs Directors: Pete Ohs and Andrea Sisson Country: USA Screenwriter: Pete Ohs Producer: Saul Germaine, Andrea Sisson, Pete Ohs Cast: Julia Garner, Joseph Cross, C.S. Lee Film Description: This arthouse science fiction fable is set on an isolated desert planet, where a man who is looking for parts to repair his robotic companion teams up with a young woman who is searching for an imaginary lake. World Premiere The U.S. Fiction Jury awarded the following special mentions: Special Mention for Breakout Performance: Auden Thornton of Beauty Mark Country: USA Director: Harris Doran Screenwriter: Harris Doran Producer: Harris Doran, Penny Edmiston, Gill Holland, Kiley Lane Parker, Bridget Berger, Corey Moosa Cast: Auden Thornton, Catherine Curtin, Laura Bell Bundy, Jeff Kober, Madison Iseman, Deirdre Lovejoy Film Description: Inspired by true events, when a poverty-stricken young mother and her three-year-old son are evicted, she turns to the only person she knows with any money – the man who abused her as a child. World Premiere Special Mention for Directing: Bruce Thierry Cheung of Don’t Come Back from the Moon Country: USA Screenwriter: Bruce Thierry Cheung, Dean Bakopoulos Producer: Jay Davis, Lauren Hoekstra Cast: Jeffrey Wahlberg, Zackary Arthur, Alyssa Elle Steinacker, Cheyenne Haynes, James Franco, Rashida Jones Film Description: The men of a small town on the edge of nowhere mysteriously disappear, one by one, leaving women and children behind to fend for themselves in a desolate and dreamlike world. World Premiere World Fiction Award Winner: The Night Guard (El Vigilante), directed by Diego Ros Country: Mexico Screenwriter: Diego Ros Producer: Diego Ros Cast: Leonardo Alonso, Ari Gallegos, Lilia Mendoza, Héctor Holten Film Description: A security guard at a construction site learns about a crime that took place the night before and becomes entangled in a series of mysterious events that unravel over the course of a single night. North American Premiere The World Fiction Jury awarded the following special mention: Special Mention for Excellence in Storytelling: On the Beach at Night Alone (Bamui Hae-Byun-Eoseo Honja), directed by Hong Sangsoo Country: South Korea Screenwriter: Hong Sangsoo Producer: Hong Sangsoo Cast: Kim Minhee, Seo Younghwa, Kwon Haehyo, Jung Jaeyoung, Song Seonmi, Moon Sungkeun, Ahn Jaehong, Park Yeaju, Karl Feder, Mark Peranson, Bettina Steinbrügge Film Description: Younghee is an actress who is stressed by a relationship with a married man in Korea. On the beach she wonders: Is he missing me, like I miss him? North American Premiere Documentary Award Winner: Liyana, directed by Amanda Kopp and Aaron Kopp Country: Swaziland / USA / Qatar Producer: Amanda Kopp, Aaron Kopp, Sakheni Dlamini, Daniel Junge, Davis Coombe Featuring: Gcina Mhlophe Film Description: The epic tale of a young Swazi girl on a dangerous quest to save her twin brothers is brought to life with captivating animation from the imaginations of five talented orphan children in Swaziland. World Premiere LA Muse Fiction Award Winner: And Then There Was Eve, directed by Savannah Bloch Screenwriter: Savannah Bloch, Colette Freedman Producer: Jen Prince, Jhennifer Webberley Cast: Tania Nolan, Rachel Crowl, Mary Holland, Karan Soni, Anne Gee Byrd, John Kassir Film Description: After the sudden disappearance of her husband, a woman enlists the help of his coworker to fill in the missing pieces. World Premiere [caption id="attachment_22793" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Skid Row Marathon[/caption] LA Muse Documentary Award Winner: Skid Row Marathon, directed by Mark Hayes Screenwriter: Mark Hayes Producer: Gabriele Hayes, Doug Blush Cast: Judge Craig Mitchell, Ben Shirley, Rafael Cabrera, Rebecca Hayes, David Askew Film Description: On LA’s Skid Row, a criminal court judge organizes a running club comprised of homeless, recovering and paroled men and women who seek to rediscover their sense of self-worth and dignity. World Premiere The LA Muse Jury awarded the following special mentions: Special Mention for Acting: John Carroll Lynch of Anything Country: USA Director: Timothy McNeil Screenwriter: Timothy McNeil Producer: Louise Runge, Ofrit Peres, Micah Hauptman Cast: John Carroll Lynch, Matt Bomer, Maura Tierney, Margot Bingham, Micah Hauptman Film Description: After the death of his wife, a man moves from Mississippi to a run-down Hollywood apartment, where he meets someone new. World Premiere Special Mention for Excellence in Storytelling: The Classic, directed by Billy McMillin Country: USA Screenwriter: Billy McMillin Producer: Christopher Leggett, Rafael Marmor, Timm Oberwelland, Billy McMillin Cast: Mario Ramirez, Joseph Silva, Sammy Hernandez, Stevie Williams, Javier Cid, Lorenzo Hernandez, Alfred Robledo Film Description: Two predominantly Latino high schools square off annually in one of the oldest and most heated football rivalries in the country: the East LA Classic. It doesn’t get more American than this. World Premiere Nightfall Award Winner: Serpent, directed by Amanda Evans Screenwriter: Amanda Evans Producer: Greig Buckle Cast: Sarah Dumont, Tom Ainsley Film Description: When a young couple take a getaway aimed at reviving their romance, they find themselves trapped in a tent with a venomous snake and a backlog of secrets, and realize that only one of them can make it out alive. World Premiere The Nightfall Jury awarded the following special mention: Special Mention for Acting: Kate Nhung of The Housemaid Country: USA/Vietnam Director: Derek Nguyen Screenwriter: Derek Nguyen Producer: Timothy Linh Bui Cast: Nhung Kate, Jean-Michel Richaud, Kim Xuan, Rosie Fellner, Phi Phung, Kien An Film Description: After an orphaned Vietnamese girl is hired to be a housemaid at a haunted rubber plantation in 1953 French Indochina, she unexpectedly falls in love with the French landowner and awakens the vengeful ghost of his dead wife. North American Premiere Award for Short Film Winner: A Funeral for Lightning, directed by Emily Kai Bock. USA/Canada. Film Description: Seven months pregnant and stuck in a sleepy corner of Tennessee, a young woman begins to question the promises made by her charismatic husband. The Shorts Jury awarded the following special mentions: Special Mention for Excellence in Storytelling: Balloonfest, directed by Nathan Truesdell. USA Film Description: Cleveland attempts to overcome its nickname, “The Mistake by the Lake,” by launching a bunch of balloons. Award for Documentary Short Winner: Black America Again, directed by Bradford Young. USA Film Description: Inspired by Common’s Black America Again, this portrait is a celebration of the beauty, strength, perseverance and spirit of the black community in these troubling times. Audience Award for Fiction Feature Film Winner: The Keeping Hours, directed by Karen Moncrieff Producers: Jason Blum, John Miranda Cast: Lee Pace, Carrie Coon, Sander Thomas, Amy Smart, Ana Ortiz, Ray Baker Film Description: Years after the death of their son and their subsequent estrangement, a couple reunites under supernatural circumstances. World Premiere. Audience Award for Documentary Feature Film Winner: Skid Row Marathon, directed by Mark Hayes Producers: Gabriele Hayes, Doug Blush Featuring: Judge Craig Mitchell, Ben Shirley, Rafael Cabrera, Rebecca Hayes, David Askew Film Description: On LA’s Skid Row, a criminal court judge organizes a running club comprised of homeless, recovering and paroled men and women who seek to rediscover their sense of self-worth and dignity. World Premiere Audience Award for Short Film Winner: Swim, directed by Mari Walker Country: USA Film Description: As summer draws to a close, a young trans girl finds freedom in a secret midnight swim. Audience Award for Web-series Winner: High & Mighty, directed by Carlos Lopez Estrada Country: USA Description: Perpetually stoned, drunk, and unemployed, Chelo Chavez is an unlikely superhero.
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