Film Festivals

Irish Drama CALVARY from Sundance Film Festival Set for Release in U.S.

The ‘blackly comedic’ Irish drama CALVARY which screened Sunday in the Premieres section of the Sundance Film Festival was acquired by Fox Searchlight Pictures and scheduled to be released in the U.S. in 2014 . Written and directed by John Michael McDonagh, CALVARY’s ensemble cast includes Brendan Gleeson, Chris O’Dowd, Kelly Reilly, Aidan Gillen, Dylan Moran, Isaach De Bankolé, M. Emmet Walsh, Marie-Josée Croze, Domhnall Gleeson, David Wilmot, Pat Shortt, Gary Lydon, Killian Scott, Orla O’Rourke, Owen Sharpe and David McSavage. CALVARY was recently added to the lineup for the Berlin International Film Festival and is the opening night film for the 2014 Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.

CALVARY’s Father James (Brendan Gleeson) is a good priest who is faced with sinister and troubling circumstances brought about by a mysterious member of his parish. Although he continues to comfort his own fragile daughter (Kelly Reilly) and reach out to help members of his church with their various scurrilous moral – and often comic – problems, he feels sinister and troubling forces closing in, and begins to wonder if he will have the courage to face his own personal Calvary.

“We made a great film. In Fox Searchlight, we now have a great company behind us to send that film out into the world. Thank you, Sundance. Thank you, bourbon! Onward,” said McDonagh.
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Indie Comedy OBVIOUS CHILD from Sundance Film Festival to Get 2014 Release

Gillian Robespierre’s debut comedy OBVIOUS CHILD which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Friday has been snapped up by A24 for a planned 2014 theatrical release. OBVIOUS CHILD is described as an honest comedy about what happens when Brooklyn comedian Donna Stern gets dumped, fired, and pregnant just in time for the best/worst Valentine’s Day of her life.

OBVIOUS CHILD opened to strong reviews with THR describing the film as “Raunchy humor laced with gradually revealed vulnerability makes for a winning combination in OBVIOUS CHILD, a raucously funny and appealing female-centric comedy that launches very promising talent on both sides of the camera.”

In the film, Donna Stern is a 27-year-old Brooklyn comedian whose unapologetically lewd, warmhearted wit is pretty irresistible with audiences. When she gets heartlessly “dumped up with” by her two-timing boyfriend, Donna plunges into some light stalking and heavy moping. Hitting a serious low point, she performs a dreary set of break-up vengeance and Holocaust jokes and drunkenly falls into bed with a nice young professional named Max—not remotely her type. A few weeks later, condoms be damned, she’s pregnant. Now Donna, incapable of telling anything but the naked truth when she’s on stage, will resort to any means to avoid telling Max the score. As her date with Planned Parenthood draws near, she must confront her doubts and fears like never before. [via Sundance Film Festival]

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Fox Searchlight to Release Mike Cahill’s I ORIGINS from Sundance Film Festival

The ‘existential drama’ I ORIGINS which premiered on Saturday at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival has been acquired by Fox Searchlight Pictures for release in the U.S. The film is scheduled to be released in 2014. Directed and written by Mike Cahill, I ORIGINS is his second feature following ANOTHER EARTH which Fox Searchlight acquired at Sundance in 2011. The film stars Michael Pitt, Brit Marling, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Steven Yeun and Archie Panjabi.

Written and directed by Mike Cahill, and starring Michael Pitt, Brit Marling, and Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, I ORIGINS follows a molecular biologist whose study of the human eye points to evidence with far reaching implications about our scientific and spiritual beliefs.

Ian Gray, a PhD student studying molecular biology with a specialty in eye evolution, leaves his lab to go to a party and has an intense, but fleeting, encounter with a mysterious, masked model who escapes into the night. With only a picture of her stunning and iconic eyes, he tracks her down, and they fall in love. Their fundamentally different beliefs about life only serve to intensify their connection, and they vow to spend forever together. Years later, Ian and his lab partner, Karen, make a stunning discovery with profound existential implications. He must risk his life’s work and his family to travel across the world to find the truth behind what he has found and what it may mean. [ via Sundance Film Festival ]

“I am so excited to once again be home at Fox Searchlight, a place that I believe embraces creative passion and the future of cinematic storytelling,” said Cahill.

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FINAL RECIPE Starring Michelle Yeoh Among 15 Films in Culinary Cinema Program of the 64th Berlinale, Berlin International Film Festival

FINAL RECIPE by Gina Kim

The Korean film FINAL RECIPE by Gina Kim will open the Culinary Cinema program of the 64th Berlinale, Berlin International Film Festival, which will be held from February 9 to 14, 2014. “We like it hot… but don’t let it burn” is the motto of the 2014 Culinary Cinema program. In FINAL RECIPE, Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) plays the producer of an extremely glamorous cooking contest who becomes entangled in a family drama.

Franc Aleu’s documentary El Somni (THE DREAM)

Franc Aleu’s documentary El Somni (THE DREAM) is about the Roca brothers from Girona, a Catalonian town. Since 2013, their restaurant, El Celler de Can Roca, is number one on the list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. At an exclusive dinner with twelve top personalities from the fields of gastronomy, art and science, the brothers’ extraordinary dishes are put in an intercultural context through video projections and performances.

ZONE PRO SITE: THE MOVEABLE FEAST by Chen Yu-Hsun

With ZONE PRO SITE: THE MOVEABLE FEAST, Chen Yu-Hsun presents a zany, colourful comedy about traditional Taiwanese outdoor catering chefs.

Yuzo Asahara’s Bushi No Kondate (A TALE OF SAMURAI COOKING – A TRUE LOVE STORY)

Yuzo Asahara’s Bushi No Kondate (A TALE OF SAMURAI COOKING – A TRUE LOVE STORY) is a Japanese love story between a samurai chef, who prefers swords to kitchen knives, and his wife, who is a brilliant cook.

In NATURAL RESISTANCE, Jonathan Nossiter documents how Italian winemakers, who rely on local traditions, battle norms set by the EU and winegrowers’ associations. He connects scenes in vineyards with archive footage from the Cineteca Bologna, and so reveals the relationship between culture and agriculture.

Fisher Stevens’ and Robert Nixon’s film MISSION BLUE tells of the life of marine biologist and environmentalist Sylvia Earle and her “Hope Spots” project. Sanjay Rawal’s documentary FOOD CHAINS was co-produced by, among others, Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives) and Eric Schlosser (Food, Inc.), and shows the current struggle of farmworkers against deplorable working conditions in Florida and California. THE FOOD GUIDE TO LOVE by Dominic Harari and Teresa de Pelegri describes the romantic relationship between an Irish omnivore and a Spanish vegetarian. In Le Semeur (THE SOWER), Julie Perron portrays a Canadian artist who unites cultivating and preserving rare seeds with inventive art performances. Diego Luna’s feature CESAR CHAVEZ (USA) provides the historical backdrop for FOOD CHAINS, showing how civil rights activist César Chávez successfully organized field workers to fight for their rights in 1960s California.

The 15th and final full-length film in the series is the Italian documentary I Cavaliere della Laguna (THE KNIGHTS OF THE LAGOON), by Walter Bencini, about a fishing cooperative on the coast of Tuscany.

The short films EL JUEGO EN LA MESA, 3 ACRES IN DETROIT and I MACCHERONI complete the program.

On February 14, during “Youth Food Cinema”, Jacques-Rémy Girerd and Benoït Chieux’s animated film Tante Hilda! (AUNT HILDA! – France / Luxembourg) will be presented. It examines the topic of genetically modified plants in a way that is comprehensible to children and inspires debate.

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British Musical Feature GOD HELP THE GIRL to Open Generation 14plus Program of 2014 Berlin International Film Festival

GOD HELP THE GIRL by Stuart Murdoch

The Generation 14plus program of the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival will open with the British musical feature GOD HELP THE GIRL by Stuart Murdoch. In his directorial debut, founder and lead singer of the band Belle and Sebastian gives what the festival describes as a profound and charming account of a summer love in the beat clubs of Glasgow. Stuart Murdoch and his leading actors, Emily Browning, Olly Alexander and Hannah Murray, are expected to attend the premiere on February 7, 2014.

Loulou, l’incroyable secret (WOLFY, THE INCREDIBLE SECRET) by Grégoire Solotareff and Eric Omond

The Generation Kplus competition will open on February 7 with the animated film Loulou, l’incroyable secret (WOLFY, THE INCREDIBLE SECRET) by Grégoire Solotareff and Eric Omond. This brilliantly artistic family film from France is one of five feature-length animated films in this year’s program.

The eleven children on the Children’s Jury and the seven teenagers on the Youth Jury will award the section’s Crystal Bears. Generation’s main prize is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

The International Jury of Generation 14plus will award the Grand Prix for Best Feature – the three jury members are: Laura Astorga Carrera from Costa Rica, director of the film Princesas Rojas (Berlinale 2013); filmmaker Jan Soldat from Germany, who has presented three much-discussed short films at the Berlinale (including Crazy Dennis Tiger, Berlinale 2012); as well as N. Bird Runningwater, a Cheyenne / Mescalero Apache from the USA who is head of the “Native American and Indigenous Program” at the Sundance Institute, and advisor for the Berlinale’s special series “NATIVe – A Journey into Indigenous Cinema”.

The three jurors of the International Jury in the Generation Kplus competition will award the Grand Prix for Best Feature and the Special Prize for Best Short Film. The three jury members are: Catriona McKenzie from Australia, director of the film Satellite Boy (Special Mention at the Berlinale 2013); film journalist Christian Bellaj from Germany; and Dutch filmmaker Boudewijn Koole, whose workKauwboy (Berlinale 2012) won the Grand Prix of the International Jury of Generation Kplus, as well as the Best First Feature Award of the entire Festival.

Generation 14plus

3 Histoires d’Indiens (3 INDIAN TALES) – Canada
By Robert Morin
Three stories over four seasons. Depicting the life of a new generation of Native Americans who are less resigned and more active than their parents. From the inside out, this fictional feature offers authentic insights into everyday life on a reservation today.
World premiere

ärtico (arctic) – Spain
By Gabri Velázquez
What’s the value of family when everything has lost all rhyme or reason? Gabri Velázquez presents the everyday moods and states of mind of Spanish adolescents during the economic crisis. Sparse in dialogue and using static tableaux-like imagery, the entire composition is also deeply influenced by music.
World premiere

Feriado (Holiday) – Ecuador / Argentina
By Diego Araujo
In a remote region in the Andes, shy Juan Pablo meets self-assured Juano. A fragile romance evolves that transcends all class distinctions. Their tender explorations are set against a corruption scandal that shakes Juan Pablo’s rich banking family to the core.
World premiere

Mavi Dalga (The Blue Wave) – Turkey / Germany / Netherlands / Greece
By Zeynep Dadak and Merve Kayan
This clique of girls still talks about boys, clothes and the latest music. Yet its carefree days are drawing to a close. A new life is imminent, and this feels both exciting and dangerous. An ensemble film about the end of adolescence and a new beginning.
International premiere

Supernova – Netherlands / Germany / Belgium
By Tamar van den Dop
Where Meis lives, absolutely nothing ever happens. She loses herself in wistful fantasies about love, sex and a world elsewhere. A refreshingly bizarre story that conveys, on all cinematic levels, a sense of immanent change.
World premiere

Obietnica (The Word) – Poland / Denmark
By Anna Kazejak
After a silly infidelity, Janek is doing everything to try to win back his girlfriend. A highly emotional youth-drama and a suspenseful crime story are intricately and cleverly woven together.
World premiere

Violet – Belgium / Netherlands
By Bas Devos
In a shopping mall, Jesse’s best friend is stabbed to death right before his eyes. To convey his silent despair, the film uses long shots that have an artistic, photographic quality and are embedded in a spherical sound track.
World premiere

What We Do in the Shadows – New Zealand / USA
By Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement
Youth is not a question of age. In their mockumentary, the popular team from the cult TV series Flight of the Conchords and the film Eagle vs. Shark takes a biting look at the life, love and woes in a Wellington flat shared by vampires.
European premiere

Above Us All – Netherlands / Belgium
By Eugenie Jansen
After the death of her Indigenous mother in Australia, Shay’s father insists on returning to his old home in Belgium. Grief and leave-taking are dealt with quite differently in these two places. In 3D and 360-degree pans, the film revolves around the question of our existence in time and space.
World premiere (out of competition)

The programme also includes:

52 Tuesdays, Australia, by Sophie Hyde – EP
Atlántida (Atlantida), Argentina / France, by Inés María Barrionuevo – WP
Einstein and Einstein, People’s Republic of China, by Cao Baoping – EP
Galore, Australia, by Rhys Graham – IP
God Help the Girl, Great Britain, by Stuart Murdoch – EP
Il Sud è Niente (South Is Nothing), Italy / France, by Fabio Mollo – EP
Ömheten (Broken Hill Blues), Sweden, by Sofia Norlin – IP
Somos Mari Pepa (We Are Mari Pepa), Mexico, by Samuel Kishi Leopo – EP

Generation Kplus

Beyond Beyond – Sweden / Denmark
By Esben Toft Jacobsen
In search of his mother, the little rabbit Johan enters the fantastic underworld of the Feather King. Jacobsen’s third film in Generation is an elaborate, animated 3D family adventure that tells profoundly of love and loss.
World premiere

Emil & Ida i Lönneberga (That Boy Emil) – Sweden
By Per Åhlin, Alicja Jaworski Björk and Lasse Persson
Little Emil just wants to help, but then everything always goes wrong. Banned to the shed, he’s supposed to think about his misdeeds – that is, until he gets into mischief again. Astrid Lindgren narrates this lovingly animated film about the little prankster who is known in German-speaking countries as Michel.
German premiere (out of competition)

Finn – Netherlands / Belgium
By Frans Weisz
Finn just has to learn to play the violin! Music entwines reality and dreams – and helps him see his dead mother again. Flemish actor Jan Decleir brilliantly embodies the mysterious violin teacher.
International premiere

Hitono Nozomino Yorokobiyo (Joy of Man’s Desiring) – Japan
By Masakazu Sugita
After an earthquake, Haruna and her little brother Sotha are taken in by relatives. Nobody has told the boy that his parents are dead, a fact that weighs heavily on Haruna. In meditative images, this debut film sensitively portrays the repercussions of huge catastrophes on children.
World premiere

Jack et la mécanique du cœur (Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart) – France / Belgium
By Mathias Malzieu and Stéphane Berla
A cuckoo clock beats in Jack’s chest, instead of a heart. Falling in love is strictly forbidden, because strong emotions will cause his clock to tick wildly out of control. Mathias Malzieu adapted his bestselling short novel for this fantastic animated film; the songs are all by his band Dionysos.
International premiere

Killa (The Fort) – India
By Avinash Arun
After moving, Chinu finds it difficult to adjust to his new surroundings. But gradually he makes new friends and gains more confidence. An atmospheric coming-of-age story, in which the landscape and the weather play a decisive role.
World premiere

Midden in de Winternacht (A Christmoose Story) – Netherlands / Sweden / Belgium
By Lourens Blok
Mr. Moose, Santa Claus’s flying elk, has crashed into the barn and urgently needs help from little Max. This wintery adventure, based on Andreas Steinhöfel’s book for children, spices up this traditional Christmas tale with charming humour and irony.
International premiere

Were Dengê Min (Come to My Voice) – Turkey / Germany / France
By Hüseyin Karabey
Jiyan’s Kurdish father will only be let out of prison if he turns in a weapon. The search for the gun that he has never possessed takes Jiyan and his grandmother on an odyssey. Hüseyin Karabey has blend different narrative threads into a cinematic gem.
World premiere

The programme also includes:

Ciencias Naturales (Natural Sciences), Argentina / France, by Matías Lucchesi – WP
Loulou, l’incroyable secret (Wolfy, the Incredible Secret), France, by Grégoire Solotareff and Éric Omond – IP
MGP Missionen (The Contest), Denmark, by Martin Miehe-Renard – IP
Tante Hilda! (Aunt Hilda!), France / Luxembourg, by Jacques-Rémy Girerd and Benoît Chieux – IP

Short films – Generation 14plus

Cowboys Janken Ook (Even Cowboys Get to Cry), Netherlands, by Mees Peijnenburg – IP
Emo (the musical), Australia, by Neil Triffett – WP
Exchange & Mart, Great Britain, by Martin Clark and Cara Connolly – EP
Luna Vieja (Old Moon), Puerto Rico, by Raisa Bonnet – EP
Mike, Great Britain, by Petros Silvestros – WP
Proavlio (Schoolyard), Greece, by Rinio Dragasaki – IP
rhizome, Japan, by Masahiro Ohsuka – EP
Seagulls, Great Britain, by Martin Smith – WP
Snowblind, Australia, by Sean Kruck, Berlinale Generation 14plus 2009: Summer Breaks – IP
SOLITON, Japan, by Isamu Hirabayashi, Berlinale Generation 14plus 2013: Ninja & Soldier –WP
Søn (Son), Denmark, by Kristoffer Kiørboe – WP
Tits, Great Britain, by Alex Winckler, Berlinale Generation Kplus 2011: Thomas – IP
iBhokhwe (The Goat), South Africa, by John Trengove, Berlinale Talent 2014 – WP
Vetrarmorgun (Winter Morning) Faroe Islands, by Sakaris Stórá, Berlinale Talent 2010) – IP

Short films – Generation Kplus

Ağrı ve Dağ (Ağri and the Mountain), Turkey, by Hasan Serin – EP
el (away), Hungary, by Roland Ferge – WP
Eleven, New Zealand, by Abigail Greenwood – WP
Eu não digo adeus, digo até logo (I Don’t Say Goodbye, I Say See You Soon), Brazil, by Giuliana Monteiro – WP
Hijos de la tierra (Earth’s Children), Peru, by Diego Sarmiento, Berlinale Talent 2014 – WP
Kalle Kran, Sweden, by Johan Hagelbäck, Berlinale Generation Kplus 2013: Köttbullarna och mobbångrarna – WP
Min vän lage (My Friend Lage), Sweden / Denmark, by Eva Lindström, Berlinale Kinderfilmfest 1995: Lutning – EP
Moy lichniy los’ (My Own Personal Moose), Russian Federation, by Leonid Shmelkov – WP
Nain Géant (Dwarf Giant), Switzerland / France, by Fabienne Giezendanner – WP
Out of this World, Sweden, by Viktor Nordenskiöld – WP
Pigs, USA / Singapore / Malaysia, by Laura Mohai – IP
Rangzen (Freedom), India, by Gaurav Saxena – WP
Sārtulis (Little Ruddy) Latvia, by Dace Rīdūze, Berlinale Generation Kplus 2011: ZĪĻUKS – WP
Sepatu Baru (On Stopping the Rain), Indonesia, by Aditya Ahmad – IP
Sprout, Republic of Korea, by Ga-eun Yoon – IP
The Dam Keeper, USA, by Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi – WP
Vāsa (Vasa), Latvia, by Jānis Cimmermanis, Berlinale Generation Kplus 2012: Corrida – WP

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Focus Features Acquires Zach Braff’s Comedy WISH I WAS HERE from Sundance Film Festival

Zach Braff’s comedy film WISH I WAS HERE, was quickly acquired by Focus Features after its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival over the weekend. WISH I WAS HERE is Braff’s follow-up to his indie breakout hit GARDEN STATE. WISH I WAS HERE was directed by Zach Braff from a screenplay he wrote with his brother, Adam; and stars Zach Braff along with Kate Hudson, Mandy Patinkin, Josh Gad, Ashley Greene, Joey King, Pierce Gagnon and the late James Avery. Braff made headlines when he announced that WISH I WAS HERE would be funded by the crowd-funding site Kickstarter.

WISH I WAS HERE tells the story of a thirty-something man who finds himself at a major crossroads, which forces him to examine his life, his career, and his family. WISH I WAS HERE follows Aidan Bloom (Braff), a struggling actor who faces crises of life and faith when his father (Mandy Patinkin) is diagnosed with terminal cancer. With his father no longer able to pay for the private Jewish school that his two children attend, and with no gigs on the horizon, he’s forced to home school the kids while his wife Sarah (Kate Hudson) works a desk job she can’t stand. Meanwhile his reclusive little brother (Josh Gad) refuses to even visit their ailing dad.

“We are thrilled to be in business with Zach Braff,” said Focus Features CEO Peter Schlessel. “GARDEN STATE was a huge benchmark in the world of independent film, and we are looking forward to continuing to support Zach and his unique voice. With WISH I WAS HERE, he has once again delivered a film that perfectly captures something essential about our lives, and presents it with the laughter and emotion we all recognize.”

“I am very excited to be partnering with Focus Features as they are one of the biggest supporters of independent film in the business. This is the perfect collaboration for us as they recognize and appreciate how unique our journey has been to get this film made,” says Braff. “Their enthusiasm to embrace our Kickstarter backers, while we fulfill our promises and rewards, made them a natural fit. My 46,520 backers are amazingly supportive and without them this film would not be a reality“
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Lynn Shelton’s LAGGIES from Sundance Film Festival to get a Summer 2014 Release by A24

Lynn Shelton’s LAGGIES starring Keira Knightley, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Sam Rockwell which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Friday, was acquired by A24 for U.S. release. A24 is planning a summer theatrical release for the film.

LAGGIES is described as a coming of age story about a 28 year-old woman stuck in permanent adolescence. Unable to find her career calling, still hanging out with the same friends, and living with her high school boyfriend, Megan must finally navigate her own future when an unexpected marriage proposal sends her into a panic.

via Deadline
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Pivot and Univision Grabs Exclusive TV Rights to Documentary CESAR’S LAST FAST Premiering at Sundance Film Festival

Just before its world debut at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, Pivot, the cable network from Participant Media and Univision News acquired the U.S. TV rights to ‘CESAR’S LAST FAST’ from Richard Ray Perez and Lorena Parlee. CESAR’S LAST FAST, the documentary about the famed labor organizer, will premiere simultaneously in English and Spanish on the two networks – Pivot and the Univision Network– respectively.

‘CESAR’S LAST FAST’ follows Chavez on what would be his last act of protest, a 36-day water-only fast to draw attention the horrific effects of pesticide use on farm workers, their families and communities. Using never-before-seen footage of Chavez during his fast and testimony from those closest to him, directors Richard Ray Perez and Lorena Parlee weave together the larger story of Chavez’s life, vision, and legacy. A deeply religious man, Chavez’s moral clarity in organizing and standing with farmworkers at risk of his own life humbled his family, friends, and the world. ‘Cesar’s Last Fast’ is a moving and definitive portrait of the leader of people who became an American icon of struggle and freedom.

“We are extremely happy to be working together with Pivot and Univision,” stated filmmaker Perez. “This is a great partnership for our film in getting it out to our audience and for commemorating Cesar’s inspiring life.”
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CNN Films and Lionsgate to Release Sundance Film Festival Opening Night Film DINOSAUR 13

DINOSAUR 13, one of the opening night films of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival has been acquired by CNN Films and Lionsgate, and will be released theatrically, with a North American broadcast premiere on CNN/U.S. DINOSAUR 13 is a documentary by filmmaker Todd Miller, who followed the odyssey of paleontologist Peter Larson of South Dakota’s Black Hills Institute of Geological Research after his history-making find: a nearly intact 65 million year-old fossilized skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex, they named “Sue.”

Two years after Larson’s team made the world’s greatest dinosaur discovery – the National Guard and FBI showed up. Larson and his team spent a decade engaged in an epic “David and Goliath” battle, defending their rights to the discovery – and, at times fighting for their own freedom – battling competing paleontologists, Native American tribal nations, and museums.

The Sundance Film Festival described Miller’s film as one made “with consummate skill.” Miller reveals the personalities behind the epic controversy over who owned the rights to Sue by “exposing human emotion in a dramatic tale that is as complex as it is fascinating.”

“As CNN Films passes the milestone of its first year, returning to Sundance underscores the strength of our commitment to bringing high quality documentary features to our platforms,” said Jeff Zucker, president of CNN Worldwide. “Our acquisition of DINOSAUR 13 is a great way for us to kick off the Festival this year, and we think our audience is going to love learning the incredible story of Sue.”

DINOSAUR 13 will be exhibited in theaters in 2014 via Lionsgate. CNN will broadcast the television premiere of the film later in the year.

“It’s a great honor to be partnered with CNN Films and Lionsgate,” said directorTodd Miller. “Dinosaur Sue now has another incredible home!”

Lionsgate has released some of the most successful documentary films ever, including FARENHEIT 9/11, the highest-grossing documentary of all time, RELIGULOUS, GRIZZLY MAN, and in partnership with Roadside Attractions, the Oscar®-winning THE COVE.

CNN Films scored with the popular and critically-acclaimed BLACKFISH, acquired at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and broadcast exclusively by the network for television in October of last year. BLACKFISH was a strong ratings success for CNN, attracting more than 20 million total viewers to see the film on the network since its premiere.

Todd Miller has been making films and short-form content for more than a decade. His films include GAHANNA BILL and SCARING THE FISH. His work with shorts has won numerous international and national awards, including CINE Golden Eagle, Telly, Aurora, and AXIEM Awards.
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USA Film Festival’s KidFilm Festival to go FREE for 2014

KHUMBA

The USA Film Festival unveiled the schedule and film lineup for the 30th annual KidFilm® Festival taking place Saturday, January 25 and Sunday, January 26, 2014 at the Angelika Film Center in Dallas, Texas. In honor of KidFilm’s 30th Anniversary this year, all programs will be presented FREE to the community. This year, the Festival salutes favorite children’s book authors and celebrates magical creatures and our four-legged friends! From an invisible dog who helps his best bud, to a zebra who learns to accept himself despite having only half his stripes, and a mouse and bear, who overcome their differences to form a unlikely friendship, this year’s program features adventure-filled films for audiences of any age!

Highlights of this year’s program include:

A Tribute to children’s book authors/illustrators Rebecca Emberley and Ed Emberley (in person). The program will include screenings of several of the Emberleys’ books adapted for the screen including Chicken Little, The Ant and the Grasshopper and The Red Hen, as well as Ed’s Caldecott Medal winning Drummer Hoff and FREE copies of their latest book, “The Crocodile and the Scorpion,” distributed at the show. The Emberleys will sign books for the audience.

Animated international films, including the critically-acclaimed French film ERNEST & CELESTINE (presented in English), featuring the voices of Paul Giamatti, William H. Macy, Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman and Forest Whitaker, as well as the Australian film KHUMBA, featuring the voices of AnnaSophia Robb, Liam Neeson, Steve Buscemi and Laurence Fishburne.

Presentation of the The LEGO Movie in 3D, featuring the voices of Will Ferrell, Chris Pratt, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie and Charlie Day.

A KidFilmClassics presentation celebrating the 35th anniversary anniversary of The Muppet Movie.

Presentations of favorite books adapted for the screen featuring a collection of animated short films, including Creepy Carrots!, Hooray for Amanda and Her Alligator and Hi! Fly Guy.

Films from local producers, including Abner the Invisible Dog from Andrew Stevens and My Dog the Champion from Farah White.
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New York Int’l Children’s Film Festival Announces 2014 Jury and Preview of Film Lineup

ERNEST & CELESTINE

The 17th New York Int’l Children’s Film Festival announced the jury and a slate preview for the upcoming festival, which runs March 7 to 30, 2014, at New York’s DGA Theater, IFC Center, Scholastic Theater, SVA Theatre, and Village East Cinema. Films on the lineup include the US Premiere of AMAZONIA (France), BOY AND THE WORLD (Brazil), and the Theatrical Premiere of the English Version of ERNEST & CELESTINE (France); and Special Preview Screening of MUPPETS MOST WANTED and RIO 2. The 2014 jury includes actors Geena Davis, Matthew Modine, Susan Sarandon, Uma Thurman, and Jeffrey Wright and filmmakers and animators John Canemaker, Bill Plympton, Henry Selick, Gus Van Sant and Taika Waititi. As an Oscar®-qualifying festival, NYICFF jury winners qualify for consideration for the 2015 Academy Awards® in the Live Action and Animated Short Film categories.

SLATE PREVIEW

Amazonia, Opening Night Film – US Premiere, France, Live Action, Thierry Ragobert
Aunt Hilda – North American Premiere, France, Animation Jacques-Rémy Girerd.
Boy and the World – US Premiere, Brazil, Animation, Alê Abreu.
Ernest & Celestine (English Version) – Theatrical Premiere, France, Animation, Renner/Patar/Aubier.
Foosball 3D – New York Premiere, Argentina, Animation, Juan José Campanella.
Muppets Most Wanted – Special Preview Screening, USA, Live Action, James Bobin.
Rio 2 – Special Preview Screening, USA, Animation, Carlos Saldanha.

NYICFF 2014 JURY

John Canemaker – Academy Award®-winning animator (The Moon and the Son)
Geena Davis – Academy Award®-winning actor and Founder, Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
Lynne McVeigh – Associate Professor of Children’s Media at NYU Tisch School of the Arts
Matthew Modine – Award-winning actor (Full Metal Jacket, The Dark Knight Rises)
Richard Peña – Director Emeritus New York Film Festival, Columbia University Professor of Film Studies
Bill Plympton – Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker (Guard Dog, Idiots and Angels)
Dana Points – Editor-in-Chief of Parents magazine
Susan Sarandon – Academy Award®-winning actor (Dead Man Walking, Arbitrage)
James Schamus – Award-winning filmmaker (Brokeback Mountain, The Ice Storm)
Henry Selick– Academy Award®-nominated director (Coraline)
Evan Shapiro – President, Participant Television
Uma Thurman – Academy Award®-nominated actor (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2)
Christine Vachon – Award-winning filmmaker (Boys Don’t Cry, Mildred Pierce)
Gus Van Sant – Award-winning director (Good Will Hunting, Milk)
Taika Waititi – Academy Award®-nominated writer/director (Two Cars One Night, Boy)
Jeffrey Wright – Award-winning actor (Basquiat, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire)
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I LIVE TO SING and GLORIA VICTORIA to Open 2014 American Documentary Film Festival

Ndiphilela Ukucula: I Live to Sing

GLORIA VICTORIA, the 2014 Academy Award® finalist in the Best Animated Short category, and Emmy® Award- winning director Julie Cohen’s new film, I LIVE TO SING will open the the American Documentary Film Festival scheduled to take place March 27, 2014 and run through March 31, 2014 in Palm Springs, CA.

Decades after the end of apartheid and Nelson Mandela’s election as South Africa’s first black president, the nation struggles to fulfill the promise of a transformed society. At the University of Cape Town’s once all-white opera school, both the struggle and the promise are embodied in an enormously talented group of classical singers from the black townships.

When the opera school opened its doors to black students after apartheid, faculty members were awed by the wave of gifted singers that poured in. Many learned opera in competitive community choirs in the townships, while others heard it only on TV. Today, the school is two-thirds black and mixed race, and is achieving greater success than ever in propelling graduates to the world opera stage. Recent alumni are now achieving great acclaim at venues such as The Metropolitan Opera in New York City, and La Scala in Milan, Italy.

NDIPHILELA UKUCULA: I LIVE TO SING (half of the title is in Xhosa, the native language of many of the students) is a documentary and performance film following three of the opera school’s top students through a year in the program. Cohen & her team travel with the students from their townships, where they’ve faced financial hardship (and, in some cases, health struggles) to Cape Town, where they perform in the city’s Opera Hall (once a flash point in the anti-apartheid movement), and to New York, where they sing at the prestigious Glimmerglass Festival. Along the way, they confront many obstacles — from racial politics to tuberculosis and illness, to family fears that opera is not a suitable career.

Following the screening of I LIVE TO SING, director Julie Cohen will introduce the three stars of the film – Linda Nteleza, Thesele Kemane, and Makudupanyane Senaoana, who will give a live musical performance on the grand stage of the 539-seat Camelot Theatres.
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