Three talented directors have made the shortlist for the prestigious IWC Filmmaker Award at the 12th Dubai International Film Festival taking place from December 9 to 16, 2015, with the winner receiving a cash prize of USD 100,000. The IWC Filmmaker Award supports filmmakers from the Gulf in taking their project from script to the big screen.
The nominees for the highly-coveted 2015 IWC Filmmaker Award are: Qatari director Khalifa Al Muraikhi, for his project “Sahaab”; Saudi director Shahad Ameen, for her feature “Scales”; and Emirati director Layla Kaylif for “The Letter Writer”. The winner of the IWC Filmmaker Award will be announced at an IWC gala event held during the festival on 10 December 2015.
During the 11th DIFF last year, Golden Globe winner and IWC Schaffhausen brand ambassador Emily Blunt presented the IWC Filmmaker Award to Abdullah Boushahri for his film “The Water”. At the same event, Emirati filmmaker Waleed Al Shehhi – who received the IWC Filmmaker Award in 2013 from the Head of the IWC Filmmakers Jury and IWC brand ambassador Cate Blanchett – premiered his feature film “Dolphins” to a sold-out audience.
THE NOMINEES AND THEIR PROJECTS:
KHALIFA AL MURAIKHI: “SAHAAB”
Renowned Qatari director Khalifa Al Muraikhi comes to the festival having already made a name for himself in the industry, winning awards at the Cairo International Film Festival 2000 and the Oman International Documentary Festival 2003 for “The Blind Girl” and “Threads Beneath Sands”, respectively. The director’s latest project, “Sahaab”, is another profound work which tells the tale of aspiring falconers preparing to take part in a race. When one of them loses his falcon, Sahaab, in the desert, the trio must face a variety of obstacles on their journey to find the lost bird in time for the contest.
SHAHAD AMEEN: “SCALES”
Shahad Ameen returns to DIFF this year, having premiered her short film “Eye & Mermaid” at the festival in 2013. The Saudi director has previously been nominated for Best Short Film at the Stockholm Film Festival but will be looking to go one better at DIFF 2015 with “Scales”, a fantasy feature that follows the story of Hayat, a pre-adolescent teen faced with fulfilling her destiny as a hunted, yet free, mermaid. Designed to capture audiences’ imaginations, the feature sees two worlds collide and sets out to explore the contradictions between belonging and freedom, and traditions and revolution, in an attempt to find reconciliation.
LAYLA KAYLIF: “THE LETTER WRITER”
Aspiring Emirati director Layla Kaylif is the founder of the Dubai-based film production company Canopus Films, and the two have joined forces to develop the director’s latest feature, “The Letter Writer”. The film is a romantic drama which tells a story of deception and lies as a young boy, Khalifa, uses his skills as a professional letter writer for personal gain at the expense of his trusting customers. One such customer is Mr Mohamed, the owner of a drapery shop, whom Khalifa befriends and assists in corresponding with his secret love, Elli. However, when Khalifa catches a glimpse of Elli for the first time, he is instantly smitten and begins a secret and forbidden pursuit of Elli’s affections behind Mr Mohamed’s back.Film Festivals
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3 Filmmakers Nominated For 2015 IWC Filmmaker Award at 12th Dubai International Film Festival
Three talented directors have made the shortlist for the prestigious IWC Filmmaker Award at the 12th Dubai International Film Festival taking place from December 9 to 16, 2015, with the winner receiving a cash prize of USD 100,000. The IWC Filmmaker Award supports filmmakers from the Gulf in taking their project from script to the big screen.
The nominees for the highly-coveted 2015 IWC Filmmaker Award are: Qatari director Khalifa Al Muraikhi, for his project “Sahaab”; Saudi director Shahad Ameen, for her feature “Scales”; and Emirati director Layla Kaylif for “The Letter Writer”. The winner of the IWC Filmmaker Award will be announced at an IWC gala event held during the festival on 10 December 2015.
During the 11th DIFF last year, Golden Globe winner and IWC Schaffhausen brand ambassador Emily Blunt presented the IWC Filmmaker Award to Abdullah Boushahri for his film “The Water”. At the same event, Emirati filmmaker Waleed Al Shehhi – who received the IWC Filmmaker Award in 2013 from the Head of the IWC Filmmakers Jury and IWC brand ambassador Cate Blanchett – premiered his feature film “Dolphins” to a sold-out audience.
THE NOMINEES AND THEIR PROJECTS:
KHALIFA AL MURAIKHI: “SAHAAB”
Renowned Qatari director Khalifa Al Muraikhi comes to the festival having already made a name for himself in the industry, winning awards at the Cairo International Film Festival 2000 and the Oman International Documentary Festival 2003 for “The Blind Girl” and “Threads Beneath Sands”, respectively. The director’s latest project, “Sahaab”, is another profound work which tells the tale of aspiring falconers preparing to take part in a race. When one of them loses his falcon, Sahaab, in the desert, the trio must face a variety of obstacles on their journey to find the lost bird in time for the contest.
SHAHAD AMEEN: “SCALES”
Shahad Ameen returns to DIFF this year, having premiered her short film “Eye & Mermaid” at the festival in 2013. The Saudi director has previously been nominated for Best Short Film at the Stockholm Film Festival but will be looking to go one better at DIFF 2015 with “Scales”, a fantasy feature that follows the story of Hayat, a pre-adolescent teen faced with fulfilling her destiny as a hunted, yet free, mermaid. Designed to capture audiences’ imaginations, the feature sees two worlds collide and sets out to explore the contradictions between belonging and freedom, and traditions and revolution, in an attempt to find reconciliation.
LAYLA KAYLIF: “THE LETTER WRITER”
Aspiring Emirati director Layla Kaylif is the founder of the Dubai-based film production company Canopus Films, and the two have joined forces to develop the director’s latest feature, “The Letter Writer”. The film is a romantic drama which tells a story of deception and lies as a young boy, Khalifa, uses his skills as a professional letter writer for personal gain at the expense of his trusting customers. One such customer is Mr Mohamed, the owner of a drapery shop, whom Khalifa befriends and assists in corresponding with his secret love, Elli. However, when Khalifa catches a glimpse of Elli for the first time, he is instantly smitten and begins a secret and forbidden pursuit of Elli’s affections behind Mr Mohamed’s back.
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Human Rights Documentary “The Man Who Mends Women” Opens ADIFF 2015 | TRAILER
Human Rights documentary The Man Who Mends Women will have its US Premiere on November 27 at the Opening Night of the 23rd Annual African Diaspora International Film Festival.
Presented by US distributor ArtMattan Films, THE MAN WHO MENDS WOMEN is the portrait of the impressive life and work of internationally renowned gynecologist Dr. Denis Mukwege from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He received the 2014 prestigious Sacharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, for his struggle against sexual violence. Dr. Mukwege medically assisted over 40,000 sexually abused women in sixteen years of professional practice.
Sexual violence against women has been used as a weapon of war for years in the violence-ridden and poverty-stricken Democratic Republic of Congo. In order to provide medical, psychological and emotional aid to the victims, Dr. Mukwege founded the Panzi hospital in Bukavu in 1999. Besides his work as a physician Dr. Mukwege also defends human rights and seeks to raise global awareness on the issue of sexual violence in his country. He condemns the political reluctance to tackle the problem and is not afraid to hit the nail on the head.
His work is not without danger, as Dr. Mukwege experienced in 2012, when armed men entered his home and started shooting. Dr. Mukwege and his family survived the attack, but his guard was killed. The doctor now lives cloistered in his hospital in Bukavu under the protection of the United Nation peacekeepers. The women, whose physical and emotional integrity and dignity have been restored, stand beside him, true activists for peace, and hungry for justice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU62X6iV1ZI
The 23rd African Diaspora Film Festival is to be held in Manhattan, New York City from November 27 to December 13 at MIST Harlem, Bow Tie Chelsea Cinemas and Teachers College, Columbia University with the presentation of more than 50 films, including 26 US and NY Premieres.
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CAGED NO MORE Starring Loretta Devine, Kevin Sorbo, Wins Best Feature At La Femme Film Festival
CAGED NO MORE took top honors at the La Femme Film Festival in Los Angeles winning the award for “Best Feature” out of 100 other entries. The La Femme Film Festival exists to promote the work of female producers, writers and directors.
“This was an amazing put together film that not only entertains but educates the audience on an issue that is very time-sensitive. Creative, pertinent, and well done!” said Leslie LaPage, founder and director of the La Femme Film Festival.
“We’ve achieved making a film that is not only thrilling and compelling, but calls audiences to be champions in the fight against human trafficking,” said Lisa Arnold, director, co-writer and producer of CAGED NO MORE. “We are grateful for the support of amazing film festivals like La Femme who recognize that movies can reach beyond the screen and inspire greatness!”
CAGED NO MORE is a drama meant to engage and educate audiences on the realities of human trafficking. The film releases January 15, 2016 nationwide. The film was also the top award winner at the Kingdomwood film festival in October 2015.
The award-winning film CAGED NO MORE is based on Molly Venzke’s novel by the same title, which was adapted for screen by co-producer Lisa Arnold and Venzke. Starring Emmy award-winner Loretta Devine (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Kevin Sorbo (GOD’S NOT DEAD, “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”), Alan Powell (THE SONG), Christian singer-songwriter Anthony Evans, and Cassidy Gifford (GOD’S NOT DEAD), the film features appearances by Gov. Bobby Jindal, pastor Chad Veach, Grammy Award-nominated Christian recording artist Natalie Grant, Gretchen Carlson and Kathie Lee Gifford.
Inspired by real events, CAGED NO MORE is the story of Aggie Prejean (Devine), a grandmother on a desperate search to find her two granddaughters, Skye (Gifford) and Elle, who have been kidnapped by their sinister father (Sorbo). As the details behind the girls’ disappearance begin to unravel, it’s discovered that they have been taken overseas to be sold into the sex trade. Aggie enlists the help of the girls’ uncle, a well-respected local philanthropist, Richard DuLonde (also played by Sorbo), and his son, Wil (Powell), who is former Special Forces. A global hunt ensues, and the team will stop at nothing to see the girls safely returned home.
CAGED NO MORE is produced by Check the Gate Productions’ Lisa Arnold (GOD’S NOT DEAD) and Red Entertainment Group’s Jarred Coates (GOD’S NOT DEAD) in association with GND Media Group and Film Incito. CAGED NO MORE was filmed on location in Baton Rouge, La., and Athens, Greece.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRo_pHxuLhE
The winners of the 2015 La Femme Film Festival.
Best Feature Writer
“Come Simi”
Jenica Bergere & Doc Pedrolie
2015
Best Documentary
“Love Between The Covers”
Laurie Kahn
2015
Best Screenplay
“Delivery Girl”
Jude Roth
2015
Best Music Video
“Monster”
Kate Freund
2015
Best Short
“Bound”
Lexi St. John
2015
Best Feature Director
“Reign”
Corey Misquita
2015
Best Feature Producer
“The Morning After”
Shanra J. Kehl
2015
Best Feature
“Caged No More”
Lisa Arnold
2015
Best Foreign Film
“Interruption”
Malou Reymann
2015
Best Animated Short
“Misiek and Eve From Outer Space”
Marianna Mankowska
2015
Best Foreign Documentary
“Out Of A Jam”
Shalini Harshwal
2015
Best Special Focused Documentary
“Angel Azul”
Marcelina Cravat
2015
Best Webisode
“Manic Pixie Dream Wife”
M. Elizabeth Eller
2015
Best TV Pilot Script
“Vigilante Theorem”
Meghan Fitzmartin
2015
Best Commercial
“ 7UP: Feels Good To Be You “
Alle Hsu
2015
Best Student Short
“ Leaves In Fall “
Laura Torenbeek
2015
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Wildlife Documentary HUNTWATCH to World Premiere at 2015 DOC NYC | TRAILER
Actor Ryan Reynolds has lent his voice to the wildlife documentary Huntwatch, that follows the 50 year battle for baby seals on the ice floes of Canada, and making its world premiere at 2015 DOC NYC.
The sound of newborn seals on pristine white ice is shattered by helicopter blades thumping overhead, gunshots, cameras snapping and the smell of boat diesel. The stakes are high for both the hunters and the watchers – get the shot and get out. One leaves with fur pelts, the other evocative images. This is Huntwatch.
“The Canadian seal hunt is a very intense and complicated issue,” said Huntwatch director Brant Backlund. “From the get-go, my goal was to tell an honest story bringing both sides of this conflict to life. We were really excited to have Ryan Reynolds on board because as a Canadian he brings an authentic voice to the film.”
Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool, Mississippi Grind) calls Huntwatch “incredible, thoughtful and moving” in a behind the scenes video scheduled to be released soon.
The movie is a window into the ongoing saga that unfolds each year. Using the power of cinematography, Huntwatch exposes the cruelty of the ongoing hunt while bringing the audience close to the seals in their natural environment.
https://vimeo.com/136225719
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2015 Bahamas International Film Festival Reveals Lineup; Incl. THE SLEEPING TREE, SPEED SISTERS
The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF), celebrating its 12th anniversary and taking place December 1 to 12, revealed the lineup of films screening in the festival’s competition and sidebar sections.
This year, the Festival will showcase more than 130 films from 40 different countries including nine international premieres, 28 Caribbean premieres, and all are Bahamian premieres.
The four competition categories at BIFF are Spirit of Freedom: Narrative; Spirit of Freedom: Documentary; New Visions; and Short Film. Additional categories out of competition are World Cinema Narrative and World Cinema Documentary; Caribbean Spotlight Narrative and Caribbean Spotlight Documentary; Comedy; and non-Jury Short Films.
There will be special screenings throughout the Festival of Brian Klugman’s “Baby Baby Baby”, Ben Bowman’s “Knucklehead”, Daryl Wein’s “Consumed”, Julien Leclercq’s “The Crew”, Samuel Benchetrit’s “Asphalte” (Macadam Stories)” and Jean Michel Costeau’s “The Secret Ocean”.
The official BIFF feature lineup is comprised of the following films:
SPIRIT OF FREEDOM (NARRATIVE)
EADWEARD (Canada) / Director: Kyle Rideout
SHOWING ROOTS (USA) / Director: Michael Wilson
SIN AND ILLY (Germany) / Director: Maria Hengge
THE SLEEPING TREE (Bahrain) / Director: Mohammed Rashed BuAli (pictured above)
unINDIAN (Australia) Director: Anupam SHarma
WILDLIKE (USA) / Director: Frank Hall Green
SPIRIT OF FREEDOM (DOCUMENTARY)
ALL EYES ALL EARS (China, USA) / Director: Vanessa Hope
GAZELLE – THE LOVE ISSUE (Brazil) / Director: Cesar Terranova
I AM THALENTE (South Africa) / Director: Natalie Johns
INDIA’S DAUGHTER (India) Director: Leslee Udwin
MY LIFE IN CHINA (USA) Director: Kenneth Eng
QUEEN MIMI (USA) Director: Yaniv Rokah
SPEED SISTERS (Iran) Director: Amber Fares
MADINA’S DREAM (Sudan) Director: Andrew Berends
CROCODILE GENNADIY (Ukraine) Director: Steve Hoover
NEW VISIONS (Sponsored by JetBlue Airways)
A BEAUTIFUL NOW (USA) / Director: Daniela Amavia
AFTER THE WEDDING (USA) / Director: Claudia Cifuentes
BAD MOON RISING (Japan) / Director: Hiritaka Asano
EMPIRICA (USA) / Director: Patrick Shanahan
GOLDEN KINGDOM ( Myanmar ) / Director: Brian Perkins
JACKRABBIT (USA) / Director: Carleton Ranney
JOHNNY WALKER (USA) / Director: Kris De Meester
THE PREPPIE CONNECTION (USA) / Director: Joseph Castelo
SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE (USA) / Director: Lanre Olabisi
THE AMBASSADOR TO BERN (Hungary) / Director” Attila Szasz
THE CENTER (USA) / Director” Charlie Graik
SINGAPORE SLING (Brazil,USA) / Director: Marcus Sigrist
LA EXTRANA (Dominican Republic) / Director: César Rodríguez
WORLD CINEMA NARRATIVE (Sponsored by CornèrTrader)
ANTI SOCIAL (UK) / Director: Reg Traviss
OMBRE (Bulgaria) / Director: Zachary Iliev Paunov
JASMINE (Hong Kong, USA), / Director: Dax Phelan
MEET PURSUIT DELANGE (UK) / Director: Howard Webster
NORTH VS. SOUTH (UK) / Director: Steven Nesbit
REMITTANCE (Singapore, USA) / Director: Joel Fendelman
WEEPAH WAY FOR NOW SOUND (USA) / Director: Stephen Ringer
WHY DO YOU SMELL LIKE THE OCEAN (USA) / Director: Kevin Baggott
LET’S DANCE TO THE RHYTHM (India) / Director: Bardroy Barretto
WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY (Sponsored by CornèrTrader)
GORED (USA, Spain) / Director: Ido Mizrahy
HYDRO (USA) / Directors: Rafa G. Sánchez, Xavi Tello
NEW CAMBODIAN (Cambodia) / Director: Isabella Astengo
WHEN VOICES MEET (South Africa) / Director: Nancy Sutton Smith
EVERY CHILD COUNTS (Canada) / Director: Wendy Loten
CARIBBEAN SPOTLIGHT NARRATIVE
BATTLE DREAMS CHRONICLES (Martinique) / Director: Alain Bidard
BAZODEE (Trinidad & Tobago) / Director: Todd Kessler
STONE SHACKS (Bahamas) / Director: Tyrone Burrows
TRAFFICKED (Trinidad & Tobago) / Director: Sean Hodgkinson
CARIBBEAN SPOTLIGHT DOCUMENTARY
CONGO BEATS THE DRUM (Israel, Jamaica) / Director: Ariel Tagar
DREADLOCKS STORY (Jamaica) / Director: Linda Aïnouche
EXUMA (Bahamas) / Director: Colin Ruggiero
VANISHING SAIL (The Grenadines) / Director: Alexis Andrews
COMEDY
ART ACHE (USA) / Director: Berty Cadilhac
DEPENDENT’S DAY (USA) / Director: Michael David Lynch
DRIVING WHILE BLACK (USA) / Director: Paul Sapiano
IT HAD TO BE YOU (USA) / Director: Sasha Gordon
THE FUNERAL GUEST (USA) / Director: Matthew Kohnen
THE RIGHT JUICE (UK, Portugal) / Director: Kristjan Knigge
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Kim Beamish “Tentmakers of Cairo” and Iiris Harma “Leaving Africa: A Story of Friendship and Empowerment” Win 2015 Margaret Meade Filmmaker Award
For the first time in the festival’s history, two filmmakers Kim Beamish for “Tentmakers of Cairo” and Iiris Harma for “Leaving Africa: A Story of Friendship and Empowerment” are winners of the 2015 Margaret Meade Filmmaker Award. The award honors documentary filmmakers who have made films that present a new perspective on a foreign nation or culture.
A documentary filmed over three years, “Tentmakers of Cairo” tells the story of Egypt’s struggle with democracy through the lives of a community of artisans whose craft has remained largely unchanged since Pharaonic times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve_L_0JYHvE
In “Leaving Africa: A Story of Friendship and Empowerment” Riitta from Finland and Kata from Uganda, aged 66 and 63 respectively, run sexual health and gender equality education in Uganda. The pair find themselves in a difficult situation however, when an anonymous letter, addressed to the Ugandan parliament, accuses them of organizing workshops that are promoting and recruiting children to homosexuality.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2aqqXcZkBk
The festival also presented a Special Mention Award to Aldona Watts for her film “Land of Songs.” In a region of Lithuania known as the “Land of Songs,” five charming grandmothers are the bearers of their village’s ancient folk singing tradition. Singing has nourished their lifelong friendships, and helped them to cope with decades of war and occupation. As the village’s youth move away, the grandmothers struggle to keep their songs alive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqFzzfYJDMc
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Benjamin Barber to Present Film Program at 2015 IDFA Reflecting on Jihad vs. McWorld
The 1995 book Jihad vs. McWorld by American political theorist Benjamin Barber forms the starting point for the special program Benjamin Barber: Jihad vs. McWorld 2015 at the upcoming 2015 IDFA International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. This year a new 20th anniversary edition of the book will be published with the subtitle ‘ISIS on the Internet’.
At IDFA, Benjamin Barber, an internationally renowned political theorist and the author of eighteen books, will present his own selection of documentaries from the IDFA program that engage with many contemporary themes, including global capitalism, terrorism, the politics of fear, refugees, populism and economic inequality.
3 ½ Minutes, Ten Bullets (USA) by Marc Silver
A Syrian Love Story (UK) by Sean McAllister
Among the Believers (Pakistan/USA/India) by Mohammed Ali Naqvi & Hemal Trivedi
At Home in the World (Denmark) by Andreas Koefoed
Cartel Land (USA/Mexico) by Matthew Heineman
Checks and Balances (France/Algeria) by Malek Bensmaïl
The Chinese Mayor (China) by Hao Zhou
The Dybbuk: A Tale of Wandering Souls (Poland/Ukraine/Sweden) by Krzysztof Kopczynski
For Kibera! (Finland) by Kati Juurus
Land Grabbing (Austria) by Kurt Langbein
Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine (USA) by Alex Gibney
This Is Exile: Diaries of Child Refugees (England) by Mani Y. Benchelah (pictured above)
Ukrainian Sheriffs (Ukraine/Latvia/Germany) by Roman Bondarchuk
We Are Not Alone (Spain) by Pere Joan Ventura
Welcome to Leith (USA) by Christopher K. Walker & Michael Nichols
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THE JUDGEMENT Bulgarian Oscar Entry Wins Best Film at 2015 Heartland Film Festival
The 2015 Heartland Film Festival which ran October 16 to 25, 2015, announced its full slate of winners. “The Judgment” (pictured above) Bulgarian entry in the foreign-language film category of the 2016 Academy Awards® wins $45,000 Grand Prize for Best Narrative Feature. “Romeo is Bleeding” wins $45,000 Grand Prize for Best Documentary Feature, “The Way of Tea” wins $5,000 Grand Prize for Best Narrative Short and “The 100 Years Show” wins $5,000 Grand Prize for Best Documentary Short.
The Heartland Film Festival has earned the special designation of being a qualifying festival for the Annual Academy Awards® within the Short Films category. This means that the winner of the Grand Prize for Best Narrative Short Film, “The Way of Tea,” directed by Marc Fouchard, will qualify for consideration in the Live Action Short Subject category of the Annual Academy Awards®.
The 2015 Heartland Film Festival winners include:
$45,000 Grand Prize for Best Narrative Feature
“The Judgment,” directed by Stephan Komandarev (Bulgaria)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRCAYsrl37s
$45,000 Grand Prize for Best Documentary Feature
“Romeo is Bleeding,” directed by Jason Zeldes (USA)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vjdh-TmRQCQ
$5,000 Grand Prize for Best Narrative Short
Underwritten by Heartland Film Endowment’s Sparks Vision Award
“The Way of Tea,” directed by Marc Fouchard (France)
$5,000 Grand Prize for Best Documentary Short
Underwritten by Heartland Film Endowment’s Sparks Vision Award
“The 100 Years Show,” directed by Alison Klayman (USA)
$5,000 Best Premiere for Narrative Feature
“Borderless,” directed by Amir Hossein Asgari (Iran)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVF7DtgDDG4
$5,000 Best Premiere for Documentary Feature
“Big Voice,” directed by Varda Bar-Kar (USA)
$5,000 Indiana Spotlight Winner
“Citizen Teklit,” directed by Tim Taylor (USA)
$3,000 Summer White Lynch Memorial Award Winner – High School Film Competition Grand Prize
Underwritten by Gary D. & Marlene Cohen
“This Home Is Not Empty,” directed by Carol Nguyen (Canada)
$2,000 prizes for the Jimmy Stewart Memorial Crystal Heart Awards
“The Heart Thief,” directed by Ella Rubeli (Australia)
“Leidi,” directed by Simon Mesa Soto (Columbia, UK)
Audience Choice Award Winner, Narrative Feature
“Marie’s Story,” directed by Jean-Pierre Améris (France)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5qJv_I7K6M
Audience Choice Award Winner, Documentary Feature
“dream/killer,” directed by Andrew Jenks (USA)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU1hl5rgAI4
Audience Choice Award Winner, Narrative Short
“Moving On,” directed by Marcia Fields and Mike Spear (USA)
Audience Choice Award Winner, Documentary Short
“Teen Press,” directed by T.C. Johnstone (USA)
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Female Indian Buddy Movie “Angry Indian Goddesses” Wins People’s Choice Award at 2015 Rome Film Fest | TRAILER
Angry Indian Goddesses “the first female Indian “buddy movie”” by Pan Nalin is the winner of the BNL People’s Choice Award at the 10th Rome Film Fest. Angry Indian Goddesses stars Sarah-Jane Dias, Rajshri Deshpande, Sandhya Mridul, Amrit Maghera, Pavleen Gujral, Anushka Manchanda, and Tannishtha Chatterjee.
In the film, Frieda, a fashion-commercial photographer trying to find her own art, gathers her closest girlfriends from all over India to travel to Goa for a surprise announcement: she is getting married! Thus begins an impromptu bachelorette celebration that lasts for a full week. A riotous roller-coaster ride of girl bonding; friendships, break ups, make ups, fuck ups, passion, devastation, hesitation, terrorization and self realization. Amidst the fun and frenzy, heartbreak and heartache, passion and obsession, youth and innocence, secrets tumble out, tensions emerge, bonds are formed and emotions run high. Soon events will take a more serious turn, but for the moment these women are determined to seize the day.
Director Pan Nalin states, “For years I longed to do a film with firebrand Indian women in lead roles, because shockingly 96% of female roles in Indian cinema portray the woman as an accessory, a decoration, or a lover, or playing a mother, or sister whose “izzat”(honour) the hero or “big bro” must protect. Alternatively, she is the ultimate ‘IT’ girl! Her male lead must have a gun and a female counterpart but the film caters to males: it must be a testosterone-driven film. Female roles are glamourized and there’s always a dance or ‘gaana’ (song). Of course, the glamour doesn’t dignify the woman and it’s still the guy’s movie!”
“Be it action, rom-com, thriller… the man must dominate more screen time, say the real lines and win the women over. Even the recent Bollywood buddy movies run high on male testosterone, as if women don’t “buddy” or connect with each other! As a filmmaker who loves women and everything feminine, I have been witnessing an outcry from Indian women for gender equality, respect and dignity. Thus, I was compelled to use their fury as my fuel to fire up the Angry Indian Goddesses!”
A self-taught filmmaker, Nalin was born in a remote village in Gujarat, India. He came into the global spotlight in 2001 with his debut feature film Samsara. The movie was a commercial and critical success worldwide and won over thirty awards. His multiple award-winning feature documentary Ayurveda: Art of Being was released in theatres worldwide and to date remains the highest grossing Indian documentary film. Nalin’s romantic epic Valley of Flowers, filmed in Japan and in the remote, high altitudes of the Himalayas, won Best Picture at IFFLA Los Angeles. His latest feature documentary, Faith Connections (2013) was an official selection at the Toronto International Film Festival (2013) and won the Audience Choice Award at the IFFLA Los Angeles. In 2014 Pan Nalin was included in The Better India’s prestigious list of “25 NRI Across The World Who Have Made India Proud”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feRWnYXe0X4
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“Carol” “Remember” Added to Gala Program of 2015 Los Cabos International Film Festival
Carol directed by Todd Haynes, and Remember by the Canadian director, Atom Egoyan, (pictured above) have been added to the Galas Program of the upcoming 2015 Los Cabos International Film Festival; in addition 3 films have been confirmed to the World Highlights program.
The Festival will hold the Gala Screening of Carol as a Latin American Premiere. This film had its world premiere at Cannes Film Festival where Rooney Mara won the award for Best Actress. Atom Egoyan’s Remember will have its Mexican premiere at Los Cabos Film Festival. This film was part of Venice Film Festival’s competition, and won the Vittorio Veneto Award. Featuring an extraordinary performance by Christopher Plummer, who plays a sick widower who leaves his nursing home to take vengeance on the Nazi commander who killed his family 70 years earlier, Remember shines a spotlight on Canadian talent celebrated in the Festival.
The Festival presents its World Highlights program, a carefully chosen selection of films from different parts of the world, with a curatorship focused on the works that have been acclaimed at the world’s most important film festivals:
The films in this program are:
45 YEARS
Director: Andrew Haigh (Gladiator, Weekend)
Starring: Tom Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling
Premiered and won the Silver Bear at Berlinale.
UK
THE CLAN (Premiere in Mexico)
Director: Pablo Trapero (Carancho, Elefante Blanco, Leonera)
Cast: Antonia Bengoechea, Gastón Cocchiarale and Guillermo Francella
Premiered and won the Silver Lion at Venice Film Festival.
Argentina
THE CLUB (Premiere in Mexico)
Director: Pablo Larraín (No, Tony Manero, Post Mortem)
Cast: Roberto Farías, Antonia Zegers and Alfredo Castro
Premiered and won the Jury Prize at Berlinale.
Chile
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‘A Childhood’ ‘Volta à Terra’ ‘Underground Fragrance’ Win Gold Hugos at 51st Chicago International Film Festival
The French film A Childhood directed by Philippe Claudel won the Gold Hugo for Best Film at the 51st Chicago International Film Festival. In this tender, keenly observed look at growing up in poverty in small town France, 13-year-old Jimmy dreams of a bourgeois life with family vacations and games of tennis. Trapped in an unstable household with a drug-addicted mother and her criminal boyfriend, Jimmy is forced to grow up too quickly. Over the course of a sweltering summer, Jimmy must find moments of hope in a world full of strife.
The Gold Hugo for Best Documentary went to Volta à Terra, directed by João Pedro Plácido, and in the New Directors Competition, the Gold Hugo went to Underground Fragrance directed by Pengfei Song.
The 51st Chicago International Film Festival also presented Director Michael Moore with the Founder’s Award for his film “Where To Invade Next.” “Chicago is the Capital of the Midwest and I just won the Founder’s Award here,” said Michael Moore.
The winners of the 2015 Chicago International Film Festival
International Film Competition
Gold Hugo, Best Film:
A Childhood
Country: France
Director: Philippe Claudel
Silver Hugo, Special Jury Prize:
Paulina
Country: Argentina, Brazil
Director: Santiago Mitre
Silver Hugo, Best Director:
The Club
Country: Chile
Director: Pablo Larrain
Silver Hugo, Best Male Actor:
Alexi Mathieu, Jules Gauzelin (A Childhood)
Country: France
Director: Philippe Claudel
Silver Hugo, Best Female Actor:
Lizzie Brochere (Full Contact)
Country: Netherlands, Croatia
Director: David Verbeek
Silver Plaque, Best Ensemble:
The Club
Country: Chile
Director: Pablo Larrain
Silver Plaque, Best Cinematography:
Frank Van den Eeden (Full Contact)
Country: Netherlands, Croatia
Director: David Verbeek
Silver Plaque for Best Screenplay:
Writers Guillermo Calderon, Daniel Villalobos, Pablo Larrain (The Club)
Country: Chile
Director: Pablo Larrain
Silver Plaque for Best Art Direction:
Toma Baqueni (My Golden Days)
Country: France
Director: Arnaud Desplechin
New Directors Competition
Gold Hugo:
Underground Fragrance
Country: China
Director: Pengfei Song
Silver Hugo:
Sparrows
Country: Iceland
Director: Runar Runarsson
Roger Ebert Award: The Roger Ebert Award will be presented annually to an emerging filmmaker whose film presents a fresh and uncompromising vision. Films competing in the Festival’s New Directors Competition are eligible for this award.
Nahid
Country: Iran
Director: Ida Panahandeh
Documentary Competition
This selection of international documentaries competing for the Gold Hugo go beyond the headlines in telling those true stories that surprise, entertain and challenge us.
Gold Hugo:
Volta à Terra
Country: Portugal, Switzerland
Director: João Pedro Plácido
Silver Hugo:
In The Underground
Country: China
Director: Song Zhantao
Gold Plaque Special Mention:
Time Suspended
Country: Mexico, Argentina
Director: Natalia Bruschtein
Q Hugo Award
Chosen from the Festival’s OUT-Look program, the winners of this award exhibit new artistic perspectives on sexuality and identity.
Gold Q Hugo:
Carol
Country: USA
Director: Todd Haynes
Silver Q Hugo:
Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party
Country: USA
Director: Stephen Cone
Short Film Awards
Gold Hugo, Live Action:
Leidi
Country: Colombia, UK
Director: Simón Mesa Soto
Silver Hugo, Live Action:
The Exquisite Corpus
Country: Austria
Director: Peter Tscherkassky
Gold Plaque, Live Action:
One-minded
Country: South Korea
Director: Sébastien Simon and Forest Ian Estler
Silver Plaque, Live Action:
over
Country: UK
Director: Jörn Threlfall
Silver Plaque, Live Action:
Ramona
Country: Romania
Director: Andrei Cretulescu
Silver Hugo, Documentary:
Santa Cruz del Islote
Country: US, Colombia
Director: Luke Lorentzen
Gold Plaque, Documentary:
A Tale of Love, Madness and Death
Country: Chile
Director: Mijael Bustos Gutiérrez
Silver Hugo, Animated:
Sunday Lunch
Country: France
Director: Céline Devaux
Gold Plaque, Animated:
The Same River Twice
Country: USA
Director: Weijia Ma
Silver Plaque, Animated:
Waves ’98
Country: Lebanon, Qatar
Director: Ely Dagher
Chicago Award
Chicago Plaque
Radical Grace
Country: USA
Director: Rebecca Parrish
INTERCOM
One of the longest-running international competitions of its kind, INTERCOM honors a wide range of corporate-sponsored, educational and branded films.
Gold Hugo, Business – Communications
Patrick Frost
Company/Entrant: Seed Audio-Visual Communications
Silver Hugo, Sales & Marketing
Black Ink
Company/Entrant: Kemper Kommunikation GmbH
Gold Plaque, Public Relations
Porsche at Le Mans 2015
Company/Entrant: Kemper Kommunikation GmbH
Gold Plaque, Business – Communications
Argyle Pink Diamonds, Beyond Rare
Company/Entrant: Bengar Films
Silver Plaque, Business – Promotion
Soapbox Race 2015
Company/Entrant: Strange Loop Studios
Silver Plaque, Business – Communications
Australia Post, Privacy and You
Company/Entrant: Bengar Films
Silver Plaque, Educational – Youth Audience
Summiteers
Company/Entrant: Seed Audio-Visual Communications
Certificate of Merit, Sports & Recreation
Spa 2015
Company/Entrant: Kemper Kommunikation GmbH
Certificate of Merit, Science/Research/Technology
Antarctic Edge: 70 Degrees South
Company/Entrant: Rutgers Film Bureau
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SPEED SISTERS on Middle East’s First All-Female Car Racing Team to US Premiere at DOC NYC 2015 | TRAILER
SPEED SISTERS, a new feature documentary following the Middle East’s first all-female car racing team, will have its US premiere at DOC NYC 2015. SPEED SISTERS provides a rare, unfiltered look into the daily lives of a group of extraordinary Palestinian women. The film follows Marah, Mona, Betty, Noor and their manager Maysoon – fearless women who overcome community expectations and politics as they compete for both the title of “Fastest Woman Driver” and the right to race against men.
Strap on your helmet and buckle up! This high-octane film stars the Middle East’s first all-women race car team. Marah, Mona, Betty, Noor and their manager Maysoon—each bold, fearless and charismatic in their own unique way—are part of an emerging speed racing scene that has seen contests between cities on the West Bank and drawn thousands of avid spectators, despite the constant danger from the Israeli occupation. The women compete against each other for both the title of “Fastest Woman Driver” and the right to race against the men. Overcoming social expectations, community politics and family dynamics—not to mention movement restrictions and checkpoints from the Israeli military—these women shatter stereotypes about Arab women and offer a source of inspiration for girls and women around the world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLV3zITXLJo