Film Festivals

  • Oscar Shortlisted THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN Wins Top Juried Award at 2014 Palm Springs International Film Festival

    THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWNTHE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN

    The 25th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) announced this year’s juried award winners of the Festival, held from January 3 to13, 2014.  From the 46 of the 76 official Foreign Language submissions to the Academy Awards screened at this year’s Festival, the Oscar shortlisted THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN (Belgium), directed by Felix van Groeningen was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year.  FIPRESCI Prize for the Best Actor of the Year in a Foreign Language Film went to Mads Mikkelsen from THE HUNT (Denmark) directed by Thomas Vinterberg, which is on the Oscar shortlist, and Bérénice Bejo from THE PAST (Iran), directed by Asghar Farhadi, received the FIPRESCI Prize for Best Actress of the Year in a Foreign Language Film.  

    The New Voices/New Visions selected MEDEAS (USA) directed by Andrea Pallaoro.  The film is an archetypal tale of adultery, rendered with exquisite strokes in this slow burning rural psychodrama, the first feature from an Italian-born filmmaker working in the US.  The New Voices/New Visions competition included 12 new international talents making their feature film debut at the Festival, with the additional criteria that the films selected are currently without U.S. distribution. The jury presented a special mention to LEFT FOOT RIGHT FOOT (Switzerland), directed by Germinal Roaux.  

    The Cine Latino Award, was presented to two films HELI (Mexico), directed by Amat Escalante and LIVING IS EASY WITH EYES CLOSED (Spain) directed by David Trueba. Special Mention went to GLORIA (Chile). 

    FINDING VIVIAN MAIER (USA), directed by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel, received The John Schlesinger Award, which is presented to a first-time documentary filmmaker.  The film is a compelling, eye-opening introduction to an anonymous and mysterious woman who recently found posthumous fame as a giant of 20th century photography. 

    WALESA. MAN OF HOPE (Poland), directed by Andrzej Wajda, received the HP Bridging the Borders Award presented by Cinema Without Borders and Hewlett Packard, which honors the film that is most successful in exemplifying art that promotes bringing the people of our world closer together.  The Cinema Without Borders Special Jury Award went to PLOT FOR PEACE (South Africa) directed by Carlos Agulló and Mandy Jacobson.  

    The complete list of award winners are:

    Mercedes-Benz Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature
    TBA

    Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature 
    TBA

    FIPRESCI Prize for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
    THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN (Belgium), directed by Felix van Groeningen

    FIPRESCI Prize for the Best Actor of the Year in a Foreign Language Film 
    Mads Mikkelsen from THE HUNT (Denmark), directed by Thomas Vinterberg

    FIPRESCI Prize for Best Actress of the Year in a Foreign Language Film 
    Bérénice Bejo from THE PAST (Iran), directed by Asghar Farhadi

    New Voices/New Visions Award
    MEDEAS (USA), directed by Andrea Pallaoro – Winner
    LEFT FOOT RIGHT FOOT (Switzerland), directed by Germinal Roaux – Special Mention

    Cine Latino Award
    HELI (Mexico), directed by Amat Escalante and LIVING IS EASY WITH EYES CLOSED (Spain), directed by David Trueba – Winner
    GLORIA (Chile), directed by Sebastian Lelio – Special Mention

    The John Schlesinger Award
    FINDING VIVIAN MAIER (USA), directed by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel – Winner

    HP Bridging the Borders Award
    WALESA. MAN OF HOPE (Poland), directed byAndrzej Wajda – Winner
    PLOT FOR PEACE (South Africa), directed by Carlos Agulló and Mandy Jacobson – Special Jury Award

    Read more

  • SF IndieFest Announces Sweet 16 Lineup; Opens With Ari Foleman’s THE CONGRESS, Closes with Cannes Film Festival Award-Winning Film BLUE RUIN

    Ari Foleman’s THE CONGRESSAri Foleman’s THE CONGRESS

    The San Francisco Independent Film Festival (SF IndieFest) returns for its Sweet 16th year from February 6 to 20, 2014 at the Roxie and Brava Theaters in San Francisco and at Oakland’s New Parkway Theater. The festival launches its 2 weeks of film programs on Thursday, February 6th at the Brava Theater in San Francisco with director Ari Foleman’s THE CONGRESS, based on Stanislaw Lem’s classic sci-fi novel. This futuristic blend of animation and live action stars Robin Wright, Harvey Keitel, Jon Hamm and Paul Giamatti. 

    Matt Wolf’s TEENAGEMatt Wolf’s TEENAGE

    Matt Wolf’s latest film TEENAGE will screen as the festival’s Centerpiece film on Sunday, February 9th at the Roxie Theater. Based on the book by Jon Savage and narrated by actors Jena Malone, Ben Whishaw, Julia Hummer and Jessie Usher, TEENAGE looks at the birth of the iconic figure of the teenager using archival material, Super 8 recreations and diaries of actual mid-century teenagers, resulting in an unconventional pop historical film.

    BLUE RUINBLUE RUIN

    After two weeks and 78 films, SF IndieFest will close the Sweet 16 edition with a screening of the Cannes Film Festival award-winning film BLUE RUIN on Sunday, February 16th at the Roxie Theater. Director Jeremy Saulnier (SF IndieFest Alum, MURDER PARTY) is expected to be on hand for his dark comedy about revenge.

    Focus on Animated Films

    In addition to the Opening Night Film THE CONGRESS, SF IndieFest features some of the best independent animation films from around the globe. Canadian co-directors Shayne Ehman and Seth Scriver will be in attendance for a screening of their Toronto International Film Festival award winning, psychedelic animated road movie ASPHALT WATCHES; Bill Plympton’s new feature CHEATIN‘ offers a unique look at romance and jealousy; and AN ANIMATED WORLD, a shorts program of animated films featuring a wide range of styles and innovated new ideas, rounds out the diverse animated programming.

    Local Flavor

    Taping into the vast array of Bay Area filmmakers, SF IndieFest presents two local films.REMEMBER YOU’RE SPECIAL follows an aspiring rapper in Oakland and his best friend; a PhD student as they face adulthood with student debt, complicated relationships, and adjusted ambitions. Featuring a cast and crew of all local, first time filmmakers, REMEMBER YOU’RE SPECIAL make its World Premiere at the festival. Additionally, the latest short film from San Francisco based filmmaker Vincent Gargiulo, DELUTH IS HORRIBLE, a series of vignettes chronicling a few lonely people in Duluth, Minnesota, searching for a connection in a bleak winter,will also be making its World Premier.

    World Class Independent Cinema

    Year after year, SF IndieFest premiers some of the best independent foreign cinema from around the globe and the 2014 edition is no exception. This years selection features: the lively Chinese romantic comedy set in China during the 60’s and 70’s, THE LOVE SONGS FROM TIEDAN; Chad’s Foreign Language Oscar Entry GRIGRIS, an uplifting story of young man with dreams of becoming a dancer; and the Mexican film REZETA, about a carefree, young woman who’s lifestyle changes when she meets a young man cleaning her trailer during a commercial shoot.

    sf indiefest 2014

    Additional Highlights

    Other can’t miss films in this year’s SF IndieFest include: DOOMSDAYS, a self-proclaimed “pre-apocalyptic comedy,” with director Eddie Mullens expected to be in attendance; Joe Begos debut feature ALMOST HUMAN, about a man who returns to wreak havoc upon a small town; the West Coast Premiere of HANK: 5 YEARS FROM THE BRINK, the latest from Academy Award winning director Joe Berlinger, a riveting portrait of former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson; Kestrin Pantera’s LETS RUIN IT WITH BABIES, a exploration of relationships when they reach ‘That Point’; two adolescent brothers confront changing relationships, nature and their own mortality in Daniel Patrick Carbone’s HIDE YOUR SMILING FACES; and THE WAIT, from writer/director M. Blash, starring Jena Malone and Chloë Sevigny as two sisters who contemplate their mother’s resurrection following a mysterious phone call.

    Read more

  • Jon Favreau’s New Indie Film CHEF to Kick Off 2014 SXSW + First 6 Films Announced

    VERONICA MARS starring Kristen Bell.VERONICA MARS starring Kristen Bell.

    The world premiere of CHEF, Jon Favreau’s new indie film, has been selected to open the South by Southwest Film Festival – SXSW Film 2014 set to take place March 7 to 15, 2014 in Austin, Texas. Favreau wrote, directed and stars in the comedy that also features Sofia Vergara, Scarlett Johansson, John Leguizamo,Bobby Cannavale, Dustin Hoffman and Robert Downey Jr. Favreau plays Carl, a chef who loses his job and decides to launch a food truck business, while attempting to reunite his estranged family.  Six additional films have been selected to premiere at the festival including VERONICA MARS starring Kristen Bell.

    The six additional premieres include:

    BREAK POINT (World Premiere / SXsports screening)
    Director: Jay Karas, Screenwriters: Gene Hong & Jeremy Sisto
    Two estranged brothers reunite to make an improbable run at a grand slam tennis tournament. The mismatched pair, with some unlikely help from a precocious 11-year-old boy, re-discover their game and their brotherhood.
    Cast: Jeremy Sisto, David Walton, Joshua Rush, J.K. Simmons, Amy Smart

    CREEP (World Premiere)
    Director: Patrick Brice, Screenwriter: Patrick Brice & Mark Duplass
    When a videographer answers a Craigslist ad for a one-day job in the outer-exurbs, he finds his client is not at all what he initially seems.
    Cast: Mark Duplass, Patrick Brice

    COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY
    Director: Brannon Braga
    As with the legendary original series, FOX’s new COSMOS is the saga of how we discovered the laws of nature and found our coordinates in space and time. The series is hosted by renowned astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson and brings to life never-before-told stories of the heroic quest for knowledge, transporting viewers to new worlds and across the universe for a vision of the cosmos on the grandest — and the smallest — scale. Executive Produced by Ann Druyan, Seth MacFarlane, Brannon Braga and Mitchell Cannold.

    DOC OF THE DEAD (World Premiere)
    Director: Alexandre O. Philippe
    The definitive zombie culture documentary, from the makers of The People vs. George Lucas. Doc of the Dead traces the rise and evolution of the zombie genre, its influence on pop culture, and investigates the possibility of an actual zombie outbreak.

    LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND (World Premiere)
    Director: Christian Larson
    A documentary following the final tour of the hugely successful band Swedish House Mafia. The film depicts the EDM scene at its peak as well as telling a story of friendship and success. (United Kingdom)

    VERONICA MARS (World Premiere)
    Director: Rob Thomas, Screenwriters: Rob Thomas & Diane Ruggiero
    Years after walking away from her past as a teenage private eye, Veronica Mars gets pulled back to her hometown, an ex-boyfriend with baggage, and an unraveling murder mystery.
    Cast: Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring, Krysten Ritter, Francis Capra, Percy Daggs III, Ryan Hansen, Gaby Hoffman, Chris Lowell, Tina Majorino, Jerry O’Connell

    Read more

  • Singer Tracy Chapman, Critic Leonard Maltin Among Jury Members Announced for 2014 Sundance Film Festival

    Singer Tracy Chapman, Critic Leonard Maltin Among Jury Members Announced for 2014 Sundance Film Festival

    Sundance Film Festival announced the members of the six juries awarding prizes at the upcoming festival set for January 16 to 26, 2014, in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. Short Film Awards will be announced at a ceremony on January 21 at Park City’s Jupiter Bowl. Feature film awards will be announced at a separate ceremony on January 25 in Park City.

    U.S. DOCUMENTARY JURY

    Tracy Chapman
    Tracy Chapman is a Grammy Award–winning singer/songwriter and international recording artist. She has made eight studio albums since her multiplatinum debut in 1988, includingTracy Chapman, Crossroads, Matters of the Heart, New Beginning, Telling Stories, Let it Rain, Where You Live, and Our Bright Future. In 2008, Chapman made her theatre debut composing the music for a new production of Athol Fugard’s classic 1961 play Blood Knot, which opened at San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theatre. She has toured extensively in the last 25 years in the United States and abroad and has appeared frequently to support social and humanitarian causes, including for the Amnesty International Human Rights Now! tour, the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute, and concerts for Tibetan Freedom, Farm Aid, the Special Olympics, and amfAR.

    Charlotte Cook
    Charlotte Cooke is the director of programming at Hot Docs, North America’s largest documentary festival. She was previously head of film programming and training at the Frontline Club in London, an organization dedicated to championing independent journalism and freedom of expression. Cook has worked with the BBC’s Storyville, the Channel 4 BritDoc Foundation’s Puma Catalyst Awards, and the Edinburgh International Film Festival, where she curated the Conflict|Reportage program. She has also written extensively for a number of different publications and was the main photographic researcher for the launch of London’sThe Times online archive project. In addition to her programming activities, Cook advises organizations on media literacy, specializes in investigative journalism on international conflict, and has an academic background in the role technology plays for the media.

    Kahane Cooperman
    Kahane Cooperman is the producer of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. She has been with the show since its inception in 1996, moving from field producer to senior producer, supervising producer and then coexecutive producer from 2005 to 2013. For her work, she has received ten Primetime Emmy Awards and two Peabodys. Cooperman began her career in documentaries at Maysles Films in New York City. She has produced and directed several documentaries, including the short Cool Water, which premiered at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival, andMaking Dazed about Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused, which was acquired by the Criterion Collection. Kahane also produced the feature doc Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam,directed by Nick Broomfield. Currently, Cooperman is producing two independent docs, Going Pro and Judee Sill and is on the advisory board of the Montclair Film Festival. She holds an MFA in film from Columbia University.

    Morgan Neville
    Morgan Neville is an award-winning filmmaker who has spent 20 years working as a cultural documentarian. Neville has been nominated for three Grammys for his music films: Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story, Muddy Waters Can’t Be Satisfied, and Johnny Cash’s America.His other films include Hank Williams: Honky Tonk Blues, The Cool School, and Troubadours,which screened at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Through his company, Tremolo Productions, Neville has also produced films such as The Rolling Stones’ Crossfire Hurricane,Pearl Jam Twenty, The Night James Brown Saved Boston, and Beauty Is Embarrassing. His most recent film is 20 Feet from Stardom, which premiered on Day One of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and went on to become the top-grossing documentary of the year.

    Jonathan Oppenheim 
    Jonathan Oppenheim is a documentary film editor whose credits include the now-classic Paris Is Burning, cowinner of the 1991 Sundance Documentary Grand Jury Prize, an IDA Award, and awards from the New York and Los Angeles film critics. Other credits include Sister Helen,which won the Documentary Directing Award at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival; Arguing the World, which earned a Peabody Award; and Children Underground, which was nominated for an Academy Award. Oppenheim edited and coproduced The Oath, the second film in Laura Poitras’s post-9/11 trilogy, a winner of multiple awards, including a Gotham. Most recently, he was editor/coproducer of Andre Gregory: Before and After Dinner, and coeditor of William and the Windmill, winner of the 2013 Grand Jury Prize at SXSW. He has participated as both advisor and fellow at the Sundance Institute Documentary Edit and Story Lab.

    U.S. DRAMATIC JURY

    Leonard Maltin
    Leonard Maltin is best known for his annual Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide and his 30-year run on television’s Entertainment Tonight. He teaches at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and appears on Reelz Channel. Maltin’s books include The 151 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen, Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons, The Disney Films, and The Art of the Cinematographer. He has served as president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, votes on selections for the National Film Registry, and sits on the Board of Directors of the National Film Preservation Foundation. He also hosted and coproduced the popular Walt Disney Treasures DVD series. Maltin has received awards from the American Society of Cinematographers, the Telluride Film Festival, the Anthology Film Archives, and San Diego’s Comic-Con International. He holds court at leonardmaltin.com and on his self-named YouTube channel.

    Peter Saraf
    Peter Saraf’s producing credits include The Kings of Summer, Safety Not Guaranteed, Our Idiot Brother, Jack Goes Boating, Sunshine Cleaning, Away We Go, Is Anybody There?, Little Miss Sunshine, Everything Is Illuminated, The Truth About Charlie, Adaptation, Ulee’s Gold, and the feature documentaries Mandela and The Agronomist. He recently completed work on Gods Behaving Badly and is in postproduction on Me Him Her. Saraf has been nominated for Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards and has won multiple other honors, including Independent Spirit, Gotham, and Producers Guild of America awards. He is the cofounder of Big Beach, a New York–based independent film-production and financing company. Saraf is also the current chair of the Producers Guild of America East.

    Lone Scherfig
    Lone Scherfig began her career directing award-winning commercials and television dramas in her native Denmark. Her first feature as director, The Birthday Trip, premiered at the 1991 Berlin International Film Festival, and her second feature, On Our Own, won the Grand Prize at the Montreal World Film Festival. Scherfig wrote and directed Denmark’s fifth Dogme film, Italian for Beginners, which won the Silver Bear, the FIPRESCI Prize, and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the 2001 Berlin International Film Festival. Her first English-language film, Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself, which she cowrote with Anders Thomas Jensen, received four British Independent Film Award nominations. Scherfig directed An Education, which won the World Cinema Audience Award at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and received Academy Award nominations for best picture, best adapted screenplay, and best actress. She is currently in postproduction on Posh.

    Bryan Singer
    Bryan Singer is an American filmmaker, writer, and producer who has been a tour de force for nearly 20 years. Singer’s first feature film, Public Access, was cowinner of the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival. Since then he’s assembled an award-winning and critically acclaimed resume with the 1995 crime-thriller classic, The Usual Suspects, which won Academy Awards for best original screenplay and best supporting actor, as well as the seminal comic-book films X-Men (2000) and X2 (2003). Singer executive-produced the Emmy Award-winning series House, as well as producing the 2011 hit X-Men: First Class. Currently, he is back at the helm of the franchise that he helped create, both directing and producing X-Men: Days of Future Past. Coming back to the Sundance Film Festival marks a return to his filmmaking roots at the festival that gave him his first major break.

    Dana Stevens
    Dana Stevens is the film critic at Slate.com. She is also cohost of the Slate Culture Gabfest podcast and the host of another podcast, the Slate Spoiler Special. Stevens is one of 12 contributors to the weekly “Bookends” column on the back page of the New York Times Book Review. A native of San Antonio, Texas, Stevens studied comparative literature at the University of California at Berkeley and got started writing about film in 2002 with a personal movie blog, “The High Sign.” She now feels very lucky to live in Brooklyn with a man, a child, and a dog, and to get to write and talk about movies, books, and culture for a living.

    WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY JURY

    Andrea Nix Fine
    Andrea Nix Fine is an Academy Award- and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker who specializes in creating visually powerful and authentic portraits of characters who tell their own story. Crafted with her husband and directing partner, Sean, the Fines’ films have been hailed by critics as “unflinching,” “spirit raising,” and “visually ravishing.” Their short film Inocente won the 2013 Academy Award for best documentary short. The Fines’ feature documentary, Life According to Sam, debuted at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and aired on HBO. The film won awards at the Heartland, Nantucket, AFI, and Mountainfilm film festivals. The Fines’ filmWar/Dance won the documentary Directing Award at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival as well as Emmy Awards for best documentary and best cinematography and was nominated for an Academy Award. Colby College recently honored Nix with a doctorate of fine arts. The Fines have two sons and live in Washington, DC.

    Sally Riley
    A Wiradjuri woman, Sally Riley has been at the forefront of Indigenous filmmaking in Australia for more than 13 years. Currently the head of the Indigenous Department at ABC1 television, Riley’s mandate is to bring distinctive Indigenous content to a primetime audience for that national network. She was responsible for the award-winning TV drama series, Redfern Now. As manager of Screen Australia’s Indigenous Department, Riley initiated the production of a significant body of short films, documentaries, and feature films and fostered a new generation of Indigenous filmmakers, including Warwick Thornton (Samson and Delilah), and Wayne Blair (The Sapphires). A filmmaker herself, Riley’s film, Confessions of a Headhunter, won the AFI Award for best short film in 2000. In 2011, she was awarded the Cecil Holmes Award from the Australian Directors Guild.

    Caspar Sonnen
    Caspar Sonnen thinks big screens are the best but theorizes that Dziga Vertov would have loved the Internet. At the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), he created the online documentary channel IDFA.tv and founded the festival’s new media program, IDFA DocLab, which has become one of the world’s leading platforms for interactive documentary storytelling. Sonnen regularly travels with the program to film festivals like Cannes, Berlin, SXSW, and Tribeca. He has commissioned installations and organized events with the National Film Board of Canada and worked with artists like Ira Glass, Brent Hoff, and Jonathan Harris. Before joining IDFA, Sonnen worked in theatrical exhibition, distribution, and journalism. In 2003, he cofounded the Open Air Film Festival Amsterdam, one of Europe’s biggest outdoor events devoted to international art-house cinema. Sonnen is an advisor for SXSW Film, MIT’s Open Documentary Lab, and IFP’s New Media Center.

    WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC JURY

    Carlo Chatrian
    Journalist, author, and programmer Carlo Chatrian graduated in literature and philosophy from Turin University with additional emphases in journalism and communications. From the early 1990s, he worked regularly as a film critic for the magazines Filmcritica, Duellanti, andCineforum and is director of the magazine Panoramiques. Chatrian has published numerous essays and monographs on filmmakers ranging from Errol Morris to Wong Kar-Wai, Frederick Wiseman to Nicolas Philibert. As a programmer, he has worked with festivals and institutions such as Cinéma du Réel in Paris, the Museo Nazionale del Cinema in Turin, and the Courmayeur Noir Film Festival in Italy. Chatrian was deputy director of the Alba International Film Festival from 2001 to 2007 and started working with the Locarno International Film Festival in 2002, where he was named artistic director in 2012. At Locarno, he has curated retrospectives on Nanni Moretti, Manga Impact, Ernst Lubitsch, Vincente Minnelli, and Otto Preminger. In 2011, he became director of the Film Commission Vallée d’Aoste Foundation.

    Sebastián Lelio
    Sebastián Lelio is a Chilean director. In 2006, his first film, La sagrada familia, premiered at the San Sebastián Film Festival. The film received 28 awards and earned him international recognition. Lelio’s second film, Navidad, debuted in 2009 at the Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight. El año del tigre, his third feature, screened at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2011. Lelio’s fourth film, Gloria, premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2013, where it was a critical and popular success. It won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and earned a Silver Bear for best actress for Paulina García. The National Board of Review namedGloria one of 2013’s top five foreign language films, and it is nominated for an Independent Spirit Award as one of the best foreign language films. Lelio is currently working on his fifth feature film.

    Nansun Shi
    Esteemed and prolific producer Nansun Shi has produced such blockbuster hits as Infernal Affairs (2002), Detective Dee: Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010), Late Autumn (2010), Flying Swords of Dragon Gate in 3-D (2011), and Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon (2013).Variety named Shi one of the 50 most influential independent filmmakers around the world, and CineAsia acclaimed her producer of the year in 2005. She was pivotal in the success of Cinema City and Film Workshop Co. Ltd., which she founded with internationally acclaimed producer/director Tsui Hark. Committed to the progress of Hong Kong cinema, Shi is a member of the Hong Kong Film Development Council. She has been a juror at both the Cannes Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival.

    SHORT FILM JURY

    Vernon Chatman
    Vernon Chatman is a four-time Emmy Award-winning producer, writer, director, and voice actor. He cocreated the cult series Wonder Showzen, as well as Adult Swim’s Xavier: Renegade Angeland The Heart, She Holler. Chatman is currently a writer/producer on Louie on the FX network and has worked on South Park since its fourth season. Chatman has written for The Chris Rock Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and Adult Swim’s Delocated. He made the experimental filmFinal Flesh, which both Sight & Sound and Film Comment called “one of the best films of 2010.” Chatman cowrote the 2011 animated short The External World, which won more than 20 international awards. He is the author of the 2013 book Mindsploitation and producer of the 2013 Andy Kaufman comedy album Andy and His Grandmother.

    Joshua Leonard
    Filmmaker/actor Joshua Leonard first came to the Sundance Film Festival in 1999 with the cult-classic sensation The Blair Witch Project. His directorial debut, the short film The Youth in Us, premiered at the Festival in 2005. His narrative feature debut, The Lie, screened at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Leonard’s recent acting work includes Humpday, which won a Special Jury Prize at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival; HBO’s series True Detective; Vera Farmiga’sHigher Ground, which screened at the Festival in 2011; and MGM’s upcoming If I Stay, directed by acclaimed Festival veteran R.J. Cutler. Leonard has also directed music videos for popular acts such as Fitz and the Tantrums, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and Morcheeba, as well as teaching directing and acting at the New York Film Academy, University of California Irvine, and Academia Internacional de Cinema in São Paulo, Brazil.

    Ania Trzebiatowska
    Ania Trzebiatowska is the artistic director of the Off Plus Camera International Festival of Independent Cinema, based in Krakow, Poland. This annual celebration of independent film is one of the leading events of this kind in Europe. She has been with the festival for the last five years, and under her direction, it has grown significantly in stature with its competition for first- and second-time filmmakers offering financial support for new talent. Trzebiatowska hosts numerous guest events and designs parallel sidebars as well as the festival’s touring program. With her background in film studies and digital culture, she has worked in both the BBC’s documentary programs and the broadcast department of the British Museum as well as in the United Kingdom, around Europe, and in the United States. In 2012, she produced The Unspeakable Act, directed by Dan Sallitt, which played at festivals in Sarasota, Rotterdam, and Vienna.

    ALFRED P. SLOAN FEATURE FILM PRIZE JURY (SCIENCE IN FILM)

    Dr. Kevin Hand
    Dr. Kevin Hand is deputy chief scientist for Solar System Exploration at NASA. His research focuses on the origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the solar system. His fieldwork involves exploring some of Earth’s most extreme environments from the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, to the depths of the Earth’s oceans, to the glaciers of Kilimanjaro.

    Flora Lichtman
    Flora Lichtman is a science journalist living in New York. She has worked as a video journalist for the New York Times and National Public Radio’s Science Friday and writes regularly forPopular Science magazine. She is the coauthor of Annoying: The Science of What Bugs Us.

    Max Mayer
    Max Mayer is a founder and producing director of New York Stage and Film and has directed over 50 new plays by writers such as John Patrick Shanley, Lee Blessing, and Eric Overmyer. In addition to writing and directing Better Living and Adam, which premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and won the Sloan Prize, Mayer has directed As Cool as I Am and episodes of The West Wing, Alias, and Family Law and written three produced plays.

    Jon Spaihts
    Jon Spaihts is the screenwriter of The Darkest Hour, Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, and the upcoming Passengers and The Mummy. The one-time physics student and science writer continues to specialize in science fiction.

    Jill Tarter
    Astronomer Jill Tarter, the Bernard M. Oliver Chair for the SETI Institute, has devoted her career to hunting for signs of sentient beings elsewhere. The lead for Project Phoenix, a decade-long SETI scrutiny of about 750 nearby star systems, she now leads SETI’s efforts to build and operate the Allen Telescope Array. A 2009 TED prize recipient, she is also the real-life researcher upon whom the Jodie Foster character in Contact is largely based.

    Read more

  • VIDEO: Watch Trailer for Japanese Sex Comedy R100 Set for 2014 Sundance Film Festival

    R100 directed by Hitoshi Matsumoto

    Check out the trailer for the Japanese comedy R100 directed by Hitoshi Matsumoto and set for the upcoming 2014 Sundance Film Festival. In R100, which premiered last year at the Toronto International Film Festival, Nao Ohmori (star of Takashi Miike’s Ichi the Killer) plays Takafumi Katayama, a mild-mannered father who escapes the pressures of daily life by joining a mysterious S&M club, where the so-called Queens visit clients in real-life settings. While at first the rough treatment and humiliation he receives from leather-clad women in cafés and restaurants is enjoyable, Takafumi soon realizes that he’s opened a door that cannot be closed.

    Unable to end his relationship with the club, he finds himself pursued by a gang of ruthless dominatrices, each with a very unique talent. Takafumi must either find a way to turn the tables, or walk even further down this dark yet sexy path.

    The Sundance Film Festival program describes the film as “Employing an exuberant swirl of gonzo set pieces, imaginative plot twists, and absurd meta experiences executed with complete control, director Hitoshi Matsumoto unleashes a wildly over-the-top, intense sex comedy upon an unsuspecting international audience. Even the title, referencing Japanese rating systems, suggests that no mind younger than 100 years old can grasp the fantasia within the film. Be warned.”

    http://youtu.be/jLMWi2udXGY

    Read more

  • LAMBERT & STAMP Documentary Added to 2014 Sundance Film Festival and Sundance London

    documentary LAMBERT & STAMP directed by James D. Cooper

    The documentary LAMBERT & STAMP directed by James D. Cooper has been added to the lineup for the 2014 Sundance Film Festival taking place January 16 to 26 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah, U.S.A., and the third Sundance London film and music festival taking place April 25 to 27 at The O2 in London. The screening in Utah in the Festival’s Documentary Premieres section will be the film’s world premiere, and the screening at Sundance London will be its UK premiere. LAMBERT & STAMP is the first film to be announced as part of the 2014 Sundance London program, and the full program for that festival will be announced in March.

    LAMBERT & STAMP / U.S.A. (Director: James D. Cooper) — In this crazy, chaotic gospel of chance, aspiring filmmakers Chris Stamp and Kit Lambert set out to search for a subject for their underground movie, leading them to discover, mentor, and manage the iconic band known as The Who and create rock ‘n’ roll history.

    Read more

  • Athena Film Festival Unveils 2014 Film Lineup; NY Premiere of BELLE to Open, GERALDINE FERRARO Doc to Close Fest

    GERALDINE FERRARO: PAVING THE WAYGERALDINE FERRARO: PAVING THE WAY

    The 2014 Athena Film Festival which honors “extraordinary women in the film industry and showcases films that address women’s leadership in real life and the fictional world” announced its lineup of narrative, documentary and short films.  Now in its fourth year, the festival runs from Thursday, February 6 through Sunday, February 9 on the Barnard College campus in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York City.  The New York Premiere of BELLE, starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw and directed by Amma Asante, is the Athena Film Festival’s Opening Film, DECODING ANNIE PARKER, starring Helen Hunt and Samantha Morton and directed by Steven Bernstein, is the festival’s Centerpiece Film, and GERALDINE FERRARO: PAVING THE WAY, directed by her daughter, Donna Zaccaro, is the festival’s Closing Film.

    Among the feature films included in this year’s slate are: SHORT TERM 12, starring Brie Larsen and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, THE BOOK THIEF, starring Sophie Nelisse and Emily Watson and directed by Brian Percival, and IN A WORLD…, written and directed by Lake Bell.  The documentary category includes ALICE WALKER: BEAUTY IN TRUTH, directed by Pratibha Parmar, REGINA, directed by Diana Groo, WHOOPI GOLDBERG PRESENTS MOMS MABLEY, directed by Whoopi Goldberg, THE OTHER SHORE, directed by Timothy Wheeler, and THE 99ERS, directed by Erin Leyden.   A wide variety of shorts will be featured including: THE RED PILL, directed by Academy Award nominee Lucy Walker, THE WORLDS OF BERNICE BING, directed by Madeleine Lim, MISS TODD, directed by Kristina Yee, and TINA FOR PRESIDENT, directed by Carmen Emmi.

    FEATURES

    Belle –  New York Premiere- Opening Film
    Director: Amma Asante
    Run Time: 105 minutes
    Language: English
    Belle is inspired by the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the illegitimate mixed race daughter of Admiral Sir John Lindsay, an 18th Century British naval officer. Raised by her aristocratic great-uncle Lord Mansfield and his wife, Belle’s lineage affords her certain privileges, but her color prevents her from the traditions of noble social standing. Yet, Belle uses her presence and intelligence to help inform the thinking of her father figure, Lord Mansfield, as he deliberates the most pressing issue of the time – the abolition of slavery.

    The Book Thief
    Director: Brian Percival
    Run Time: 131 minutes
    Language: English
    Based on the beloved bestselling book, The Book Thief tells the inspirational story of a spirited and courageous young girl who transforms the lives of everyone around her when she is sent to live with a foster family in World War II Germany.

    Decoding Annie Parker – Centerpiece Film
    Director: Steven Bernstein
    Run Time: 91 minutes
    Language: English 
    Decoding Annie Parker tells the true story of two very different women on seemingly similar paths towards ground-breaking discoveries.  Annie Parker a cancer survivor who was convinced that her illness and the illness of all the women in her family were connected and Dr. Mary-Claire King, a geneticist, who bucked the conventional wisdom about cancer research and discovered the genetic link in breast cancer and the BRCA1 gene.

    Farah Goes Bang
    Director: Meera Menon
    Run Time: 90 minutes
    Language: English
    Awkward twenty-something Farah Mahtab hits the road with her buddies K.J. and Roopa to stump for John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election, hoping the trip will also be her opportunity to lose her virginity. Crisscrossing the culturally divided nation at this decisive post-9/11 moment, these multicultural girls find themselves and their politics unwelcome in many parts of the country. They take inspiration from their friendship and press on in their campaign, even as Farah’s efforts on both political and sexual fronts are continuously thwarted. 

    Filly Brown
    Directors: Youssef Delara & Michael D. Olmos
    Run Time: 80 minutes
    Language: English/Spanish
    Filly Brown is an inspiring portrait of a young artist striving to seize her dreams without compromise.  Majo Tonorio, aka, “Filly Brown” is a young, raw hip-hop artist from Los Angeles who spits rhymes from the heart. With a mother in prison and a father struggling to provide for his daughters, Majo knows that a record contract could be her family’s ticket out. But when a record producer offers her a shot at stardom, she is suddenly faced with the prospect of losing who she is as an artist, as well as the friends who helped her reach the cusp of success. 

    The Hot Flashes
    Director: Susan Seidelman
    Run Time: 99 minutes
    Language: English
    An unlikely basketball team of unappreciated middle-aged Texas women, all former high school basketball champions, challenge the current high school state champs to a series of games to raise money for breast cancer prevention. Sparks fly as these marginalized women go to comic extremes to prove themselves on and off the court, and in the process, become a national media sensation.

    In A World…
    Director: Lake Bell
    Run Time: 93 minutes
    Language: English
    Carol Solomon is a struggling vocal coach. Propelled by the hubris of her father, Sam Sotto, the reigning king of movie-trailer voice-over artists, Carol musters the courage to pursue her secret aspiration to be a voice-over star. After landing her first voice-over gig, nabbing the job from industry bad boy Gustav Warner, the real trouble begins as Carol becomes entangled in a web of dysfunction, sexism, unmitigated ego, and pride. In A World. . . brings its viewer into an idiosyncratic world where one woman fights the odds and finally finds her voice. 

    Reaching For The Moon
    Director: Bruno Barreto
    Run Time: 118 minutes
    Language: English & Portuguese
    Based on a true story, Pulitzer Prize winning-poet Elizabeth Bishop travels to Brazil and encounters the beguiling architect Lota de Macedo Soares. Initial hostilities make way for a complicated yet long-lasting love affair that dramatically alters Bishop’s relationship to the world around her.

    Short Term 12
    Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
    Run Time: 96 minutes
    Language: English
    Short Term 12 is told through the eyes of Grace, a twenty-something supervisor at a foster-care facility for at-risk teenagers. Passionate and tough, Grace is a formidable caretaker of the kids in her charge. But her own difficult past — and the surprising future that suddenly presents itself — throws her life into unforeseen confusion, made all the sharper with the arrival of a new arrival at the facility: a gifted but troubled teenage girl with whom Grace has a charged connection. 

    Tall as the Baobab Tree
    Director: Jeremy Teicher
    Run Time: 82 minutes
    Language: Pulaar, French
    Tall as the Baobab Tree poignantly depicts a family struggling to find its footing on the edge of the modern world. Coumba and her little sister Debo are the first to leave their family’s remote African village, where meals are prepared over open fires and water is drawn from wells, to attend school in the bustling city. But when an accident suddenly threatens their family’s survival, their father decides to sell 11-year-old Debo into an arranged marriage. Torn between loyalty to her family and her dreams for her and her sister’s future, Coumba hatches a secret plan to rescue her younger sister from a future she did not choose.

    DOCUMENTARIES

    The 99ers
    Director: Erin Leyden
    Run Time: 50 minutes
    Language: English
    The U.S. women’s soccer team’s thrilling penalty-kick shootout victory against China that won the 1999 World Cup turned the world of women’s sports upside down.  Using candid footage shot by the players throughout the tournament, The 99ers presents a unique portrait of the team that irrevocably changed women’s athletics. 

    Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth
    Director: Pratibha Parmar
    Run Time: 81 minutes
    Language: English
    Alice Walker: Beauty In Truth offers a penetrating look at the life and art of the celebrated writer, a self-confessed renegade, and human rights activist. It is a compelling story of an extraordinary woman’s journey from her birth in a paper-thin shack in the cotton fields of Putnam County, Georgia to her recognition as an award-winning writer.  Walker’s inspiring journey is also a story of a country and a people at the fault line of historical change.

    American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs
    (Sponsored by Whitewater Films)
    Director: Grace Lee
    Run Time: 82 minutes
    Language: English
    Grace Lee Boggs (BC ’35) is a 98-year-old Chinese American woman living in Detroit. A writer, activist, and philosopher rooted for more than 70 years in the civil rights movement, she has devoted her life to an evolving revolution that encompasses the contradictions of America’s past and its potentially radical future.

    Eufrosina’s Revolution
    Director: Luciana Kaplan
    Run Time: 96 minutes
    Language: Spanish
    From an indigenous community in Oaxaca, Mexico,  Eufrosina Cruz Mendoza is denied the right to become president of her community, because she is a woman. Eufrosina’s Revolution follows her fight for gender equality as she questions traditions and defies the chiefs.  

    Geraldine Ferraro: Paving the Way – Closing Film
    Director: Donna Zaccaro
    Run Time: 86 minutes
    Language: English
    Geraldine Ferraro: Paving the Way tells the story of this extraordinary trailblazer who is a role model for both women and men around the world. Filmmaker Donna Zaccaro creates a moving, powerful and oftentimes surprising portrait of her mother, whose run for Vice President changed the face of American politics forever.

    Maidentrip
    Director: Jillian Schlesinger
    Run Time: 82 minutes
    Language: English, Dutch with subtitles
    15-year-old Laura Dekker sets out — camera in hand — in pursuit of her dream to be the youngest person  to sail around the world alone. In the wake of a year-long battle with Dutch authorities that sparked a global storm of media scrutiny, Laura finds herself far from land, family and unwanted attention, in search of freedom, adventure, and distant dreams.

    Miss You Can Do It
    (In partnership with The Loreen Arbus Foundation)
    Director: Ron Davis
    Run Time: 80 minutes
    Language: English
    One weekend a year, the Illinois town of Kewanee turns into a place of celebration and delight, as the annual Miss You Can Do It pageant spotlights young girls with disabilities from around the country. The first Miss USA contestant to compete with a disability, Abbey Curran started the pageant in 2004 to offer girls the opportunity to be celebrated for their inner beauty and spirit.

    The Other Shore
    Director: Timothy Wheeler
    Run Time: 100 minutes
    Language: English
    Follow world record holder and legendary swimmer Diana Nyad, as she comes out of a thirty-year retirement to re-attempt an elusive dream: swimming 103 miles non-stop from Cuba to Florida without the use of a shark cage.  Tropical storms, sharks, venomous jellyfish, and one of the strongest ocean currents in the world, all prove to be life-threatening realities in this epic journey.

    Rebel
    Director: Maria Agui Carter
    Run Time: 75 minutes
    Language: English
    Shrouded in mystery and long the subject of debate, the amazing story of Loreta Velazquez, Confederate soldier turned Union spy, is one of the Civil War’s most gripping, yet forgotten narratives. Who was she?  Why did she fight?  And what made her so dangerous that she has been virtually erased from history?

    Regina
    Director: Diana Groo
    Run Time: 64 minutes
    Language: Hungarian/English
    Diana Groo’s poetic documentary tells the story of Regina Jonas (1902-1944), the first properly ordained female rabbi in the world. The daughter of an Orthodox Jewish peddler, she was ordained in 1935. Jonas’ sermons and unparalleled dedication brought encouragement to the persecuted German Jews during the Nazi era. She was murdered in Auschwitz in 1944. Narrated by Rachel Weisz.

    Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley
    (Sponsored by the Harnisch Foundation)
    Director: Whoopi Goldberg
    Run Time: 71 minutes
    Language: English
    Breaking racial and gender stereotypes, the African-American stand-up comedienne Jackie “Moms” Mabley has long been an icon in the comedy world. Once billed as “the funniest woman in the world,” she performed on stage and in television and film until her death in 1975. The film explores Mabley’s legacy through recently unearthed photography and rediscovered performance footage.

    SHORTS

    #SlutWalkNYC
    Director: Therese Shechter
    Run Time: 5 minutes
    Language: English
    The 2011 SlutWalk march was one of the most unique feminist actions in New York history — one piece of a grassroots global movement that is both empowering and controversial.

    30% (Women and Politics in Sierra Leone)
    Director: Anna Cady
    Director of Animation: Em Cooper
    Run Time: 11 minutes
    Language: English
    Amid a violent war that has seen over 50,000 people killed, three women wage a battle for women’s representation in Sierra Leone  in this unique oil-painted animated film. From diverse religious, ethnic and political backgrounds, they share stories of secret societies, corruption, violence and sexual harassment within the world of politics.

    A Kiss For Gabriela
    Director: Laura Murray
    Run Time: 29 minutes
    Language: Portuguese with English subtitles
    This film tells the compelling story of Gabriela Leite, the first sex worker to run for Congress in Brazil as she faces 822 opponents and challenges a male dominated political system. Can a sex worker, activist, and cultural icon beat the odds and win the election? 

    Assembly
    Director: Jenn Strom
    Run Time: 5 minutes
    Language: English
    Created by painting and drawing on sheets of glass, which were photographed and digitally composed, this film’s experimental animations contain fragments of archival footage: women walking in chains, protesting with placards, speaking at podiums. We hear bursts of words and a percussive hum — until a message is finally revealed.

    Frost
    Director: Jeremy Ball
    Run Time: 14 minutes
    Language: English
    A young arctic hunter embarks on a perilous search for food for her family. Crossing the sacred boundary of her people’s ancestral hunting grounds, she discovers an incomprehensible world and a dangerous predator that challenges her ability to survive. 

    Haleema
    Director: Boris Schaarschmidt
    Run Time: 17 minutes
    Language: Arabic with English subtitles
    In the blistering desert of Sudan, a pregnant mother and her two young children search for water and safety from the ruthless Janjaweed militia. When her brother is too weak to continue, Haleema is sent alone to find water. A dangerous journey full of hope and despair ensues.

    Invisible Bicycle Helmet
    Director: Fredrik Gertten
    Run Time: 4 minutes
    Language: Swedish
    Two female entrepreneurs create a revolutionary bicycle helmet everyone told them would be impossible to engineer.

    Laal Pari (The Red Fairy)
    Director: Sadia Halima
    Run Time: 20 minutes
    Language: Hindi/Bhojpuri with English subtitles
    When Laal Pari, an illiterate woman, ran for the village council in Bihar, India, she never dreamed she would be re-elected for a second term, and be able to work for the cause closest to her heart — safety and equal rights for women in her village.

    Miss Todd
    Director: Kristina Yee
    Run Time: 13 minutes
    Language: English
    It’s 1909, as the world is waking to the possibilities of flight, Miss Todd dreams of flying but she’s got more than gravity holding her down. This is the story of her determination, perseverance, and passion.

    Out of Step
    Director: Lynn Estomin
    Run Time: 6 minutes
    Language: English
    Featuring four female veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who are dealing with PTSD and the aftermath of war, these dance solos and music highlight the women’s unique voices.

    The Red Pill
    Director: Lucy Walker
    Run Time: 15 minutes
    Language: English
    Paralympian Anjali Forber-Pratt was adopted from India as an infant and became paralyzed shortly after arriving in the US. Despite daunting obstacles, Anjali is now a PhD student and world record holder in 200m wheelchair racing.

    Tina For President
    Director: Carmen Emmi
    Run Time: 14 minutes
    Language: English
    A shy 8th grader, Tina runs for class president against the school bully in order to stand up for her friend and herself.

    Wild Horses
    Director: Stephanie Martin
    Run Time: 20 minutes
    Language: English
    Cruelty, courage, love and memory collide as two generations of women bear witness to the brutality common to wild horse roundups in the American West. 

    The Worlds of Bernice Bing
    Director: Madeleine Lim
    Run Time: 34 minutes
    Language: English
    Chinese American lesbian artist Bernice Bing is known for creating art on her own terms. The film illuminates her life — from her art studio in the epicenter of San Francisco’s beat scene to her groundbreaking community work in rural northern California.

    Read more

  • 10 Films to Compete for The Big Screen Award at 43rd International Film Festival Rotterdam

    JACKY IN WOMEN'S KINGDOM – Riad SattoufJACKY IN WOMEN’S KINGDOM – Riad Sattouf

    The 43rd International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) which runs 22 January to 2 February 2014, unveiled the ten nominees in The Big Screen Award Competition. In The Big Screen Award Competition, ten fresh discoveries from the festival’s main sections Spectrum and Bright Future compete for two prizes.

    ANOTHER YEAR – Oxana Bychkova
    He’s an unemployed guy who earns some money by giving lifts to strangers. She’s a graphic designer who just got her first job. The film tracks their relationship – and the way it gradually melts away – throughout a year. A subtle, moving portrait of an immature love that breaks down easily.

    THE DISTANCE – Sergio Caballero 
    A performance artist is being held in a deserted Siberian power station following the unexpected death of his oligarch patron. Dryly comic surrealism (with an attractive soundtrack and three telepathic dwarves) from Tiger Award winner Caballero.

    IT’S US – Nick Reding
    Convincing proof that an educational, political film made in Africa (Kenya) can also be good fun. Even comical. A nonchalant mix of film and theatre, inspired by the election riots of 2007: on mistrust in a fragile community. 

    JACKY IN WOMEN’S KINGDOM – Riad Sattouf
    In the Kingdom of the ‘Bubunnes’, women are in power while men wear veils and do domestic tasks. Jacky, a lovely young man who dreams of marrying the colonel (Charlotte Gainsbourg) has to struggle like a Cinderella to realize his dreams. Delightful satire on gender, power and veggies.

    THE MILITANT – Manolo Nieto 
    Endearing second film from Uruguayan Tiger Award winner Nieto. During a strike at the university, Ariel (uniquely played by Felipe Dieste) hears that his father has died. He is forced to return to the provinces to put financial affairs at his father’s ranch in order. 

    OBVIOUS CHILD – Gillian Robespierre
    Stand-up comedian Donna is dumped by her cheating boyfriend, loses her job, gets blind drunk and becomes pregnant from a one-night stand. She considers an abortion, and then gets to know the father. Romance, quirky humour and irresistible characters.

    R100 – Matsumoto Hitoshi 
    Games can be dangerous. Director Matsumoto (Dainipponjin/Symbol) has certainly proven he can go further with Japanese absurdism, but can he stay unflappable when the game gets out of control? Find out that SM involves more than latex and whips. 

    REIMON – Rodrigo Moreno
    Her days consist of commuting and cleaning all over Buenos Aires. While Reimon vacuums, her wealthy clients read to each other, fascinated, from Marx’s Capital. The latest film from the maker of The Minder is sober and socially committed. 

    SEE NO EVIL – Jos de Putter
    Poetic, painful documentary about three retired apes: a film star, a scientist and a cripple. They look back at their lives and the intriguing relationship between humans and apes. Who watches whom, and who learns from this?

    TO KILL A MAN – Alejandro Fernández Almendras 
    In their poor neighbourhood, hardworking, well-intentioned Jorge and his family are terrorised by local criminal Kalule’s clan. Exciting, disturbing film confronts viewers with universal questions of vigilantism and the value of a life. 

    Read more

  • Slamdance Film Festival Announces 2014 Jury

    slamdance film festival

    The Slamdance Film Festival, which will run concurrently with the Sundance Film Festival, January 17 to 23, 2014 in Park City, Utah, announced their Jury members for the 20th Anniversary. The jury will determine the Slamdance Grand Jury Awards for Narrative Feature, Documentary Feature, and Short Film categories. These awards will be presented on January 23rd during the Awards Ceremony.

    JURORS FOR THE 2014 SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL:

    Tom Hall is the Director of The Sarasota Film Festival in Sarasota, FL. Previously, Hall held the position of Artistic Director and Director of Programming at the Sarasota Film Festival (2005 – 2010) and Programming Director at newportFILM in Newport, RI (2009-present). In addition, Hall was Programmer for The Nantucket Film Festival in Nantucket, MA (2002-2005), as well as a former Director of New Media for Bravo/The Independent Film Channel (1997-2000). He has also worked in the Industry and Guest Services Offices at The Hamptons International Film Festival (2002-2003). In January of 2010, Tom was named one of Spring Board Media’s 20 under 40 in Film. Tom has directed short films for Bob Mould’s Carnival of Light and Sound Tour and was an inaugural member of the indieWIRE blogging community with his blog, The Back Row Manifesto, which is now a standalone website. A graduate of the University of Michigan (’94), Hall resides in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and two sons.

    Matt Harrison’s feature film Kicked In The Head was Executive Produced by Martin Scorsese, released theatrically by Universal and premiered as an official selection at Cannes. His network and cable television directing credits include Sex And The City for HBO. Matt’s feature film Rhythm Thief won a Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. He recently completed his new comedy My Little Hollywood and is now preparing his sixth feature film. The production division of Harrison’s company Film Crash produced the feature film Big Heart City starring Seymour Cassel (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) and Shawn Andrews (Dazed And Confused). Matt currently teaches film at UCLA Extension and has taught graduate film at CalArts. He has lectured at New York University Tisch, AFI, São Paulo School of Film in Brazil, Syracuse University, and The New School For Social Research.

    Katie Mustard has overseen the production of 32 feature films, 20 short films, three feature documentaries, and dozens of commercials. In 2013, Katie produced the documentary The Console Wars, and the narrative features We’ll Never Have Paris by Simon Helberg; Paul Bettany’s directorial debut Shelter, andThe World Made Straight. Katie has her ninth film premiere at Sundance this year with Appropriate Behavior. Other Sundance premieres include Restless City, The Missing Person, The Greatest, Special, The Son of No One, and Night Catches Uswhich went onto be nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. Katie also produced Made In China (winner Best Feature at SXSW Film Festival 2009), Natalie Portman’s short film Eve, A Case of You, and In The Morning, which screened at over 50 film festivals and before the US Congress on Human Rights.

    Tim League is the Alamo Drafthouse CEO and Founder. League graduated from Rice University in 1992 with degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Art/Art History. After a two-year stint at Shell Oil, Tim left engineering to enter the theater business. In 1997, Tim and his wife Karrie founded the Alamo Drafthouse where Tim remains CEO today. League also co-founded Fantastic Fest, the largest genre film festival in the United States, and recently launched Drafthouse Films, a distribution label committed to releasing provocative, visionary, and artfully unusual films from around the world. The Alamo is expanding nationwide to New York, San Francisco, and Dallas, with many more locations on the horizon.

    Herb Stratford is the Programming Director at the Napa Valley Film Festival. He also serves as a film critic in Tucson, Arizona with a weekly presence in print, on radio, and on television. Additionally, he is a Criticwire critic on IndieWire and a freelance writer and artist. Prior to all this, he restored a 1,200-seat 1929 art deco movie palace in Tucson – The Fox Tucson Theatre. He lives in Tucson, Arizona and Napa, CA when not in Park City.

    Monteith McCollum is an inter-media artist working in film, sound, and sculpture.  His films have screened at festivals and museums, including The Museum of Modern Art, Hirshhorn, Wexner Center for the Arts, and various festivals, including SXSW, Slamdance, Hot Docs, and Amsterdam & Osnabruck European Media Arts Festival. His films have garnered dozens of festival awards, including an IFP Truer Than Fiction Spirit Award. His first feature Hybridpremiered at Slamdance in 2001 and was broadcast on PBS’s series P.O.V. and ARTE France. His short Lawn also aired on P.O.V as well, and received top prizes at the Los Angeles Film Festival among others. His recent feature A Different Pathpremiered at South by Southwest in 2010 and was an International Documentary Association Nominee for the Pare Lorentz Award.

    Andrew Edison (Writer/Actor/Director) is a young Austin-based filmmaker. His first feature, Bindlestiffs won the Audience Award at the 2012 Slamdance Film Festival and went on to be picked up by Kevin Smith as the first acquisition under his Smodcast distribution label. You can check out the film on Netflix Instant Watch, iTunes, and Amazon. Edison is currently working on his sophomore effort, as well as developing studio comedies. He lives in the Slackerwood Hills with his French bulldog, Pee Wee. 

    David Greenspan is an editor and director for ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. David has a BA from Harvard and an MFA from the University of Southern California. His USC graduate film, Bean Cake, won the 2001 Cannes Palme d’Or for shorts. His featureMall Cop premiered at Slamdance 2005 and will be released this March.
     
    Lise Raven is a Writer/Director/Producer. Raven’s first feature film, Low, was one of the founding Slamdance Film Festival films, after which she wrote and directed three films for the Showtime Cable network. In 2000, Raven moved to Berlin, Germany after being awarded the DAAD Berliner Künstlerprogramm Artist Residency in Film. Raven’s feature film project Snipe received development funding from the Irish Film Board. Lise was selected to develop Snipe at the prestigious Moonstone Director’s Lab in Drymen, Scotland. Raven is also an Assistant Professor at Drexel University Department of Cinema and Television. Raven’s feature film Kinderwald is playing out of competition as the Closing Night Film of the 2014 Slamdance Film Festival.
     
    Jacques Thelemaque is a writer-director, who, in 1993, co-founded Filmmakers Alliance, and in 2004, FA Productions, of which he is co-president. He is the former Chief Community Officer at Withoutabox.com. Jacques has written and directed numerous short films, including Transaction, which played at the Sundance Film Festival, and won the Grand Prix du Jury Award in the Labo Competition at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. Thelemaque wrote, directed and produced the feature film The Dogwalker, as well as producing five other feature films. He has been a juror, guest lecturer, or invited speaker for many film schools, film festivals, film organizations, workshops, and other film-related events. He has been a programming associate for the Los Angeles Film Festival since 2011.

    Kendall Shanks (formally Kendall Music) is a self-taught artist and filmmaker out of Chapel Hill, NC. Kendall specializes in art and set design. In 2012, Kendall created the characters for the stop motion film Wiggle Room. Wiggle Room would go on to win the 42nd annual USA Film Festival and be one of 56 animated shorts films in contention for an Oscar nomination in 2012. She currently is the production designer for the Shanks FX web series and is in-charge of developing the content for each episode. “If you’re making an experimental film, the Shanks FX series is essentially the bible.” NoFilmSchool (Nov 2013).

    Joey Shanks had his short film Sci-Fly screen at Slamdance in 2013, where he also proposed to his now wife Kendall Shanks during the Q&A’s at their last screening. Shanks is a filmmaker who optimizes the DIY approach to making movies. His web series Shanks FX is produced by PBS Digital Studios and gives an in-depth look at how his signature visual effects are achieved. Shanks FX has been featured by IndieWire, NoFilmSchool, USA Today, Colossal, Gizmodo, Geek Magazine, and has received two Vimeo Staff picks.

    Skizz Cyzyk has held positions at MicroCineFest, Maryland Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, and has served on juries and advisory boards at many other festivals. This is his 18th year as a Slamdance projectionist, 11th year on the Slamdance advisory board, and 7th non-consecutive year on the Slamdance jury. A filmmaker since 1983, his films include Hit & Stay, Freaks In Love, Little Castles, Managers Corner, and music videos for Beach House and Young Fresh Fellows. He also performs music with Go Pills, The Jennifers, Garage Sale, Half Japanese, and Mink Stole & Her Wonderful Band.

    Read more

  • Santa Barbara International Film Festival Unveils 2014 Film Lineup; Fest to Open with World Premiere of MISSION BLUE

    2014 Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF)

    The 29th Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF), taking place Thursday, January 30 through Sunday, February 9, 2014, announced its line-up for 2014. SBIFF 2014 will kick off at the historic Arlington Theatre with the World Premiere of MISSION BLUE, directed by Robert Nixon and Fisher Stevens. On Closing Night, SBIFF will present the critically acclaimed BEFORE TRILOGY: BEFORE SUNRISE, BEFORE SUNSET and BEFORE MIDNIGHT.

    OPENING & CLOSING NIGHT GALAS

    In MISSION BLUE, directed by Robert Nixon and Fisher Stevens, Legendary oceanographer Sylvia Earle is on a personal mission to save the Ocean. Shot over a three-year period in numerous locations around the world, Mission Blue traces Sylvia’s remarkable personal journey, from her earliest memories exploring the Ocean as a young girl, to her days leading a daring undersea mission in the Virgin Islands to her experience as the chief scientist at NOAA and beyond. The film is part oceanic road trip; part biography; part action adventure story. Guiding us through the film is Fisher Stevens, whose own lifelong passion for the Ocean inspired him to produce the Academy award winning film, The Cove. In many ways, Mission Blue is an extension of that earlier film. But rather than explore a single issue, Mission Blue tackles the daunting challenge of how to protect a once vibrant system that is now under attack like never before. As a witness to change over the past 60 years, Sylvia is a steadfast warrior, leading the charge to restore it to health before it’s too late. The film also features James Cameron and the late Mike deGruy. 

    On Closing Night, SBIFF proudly presents the critically acclaimed Before Trilogy: BEFORE SUNRISE, BEFORE SUNSET and BEFORE MIDNIGHT. The first two films will screen back-to-back at the Lobero Theatre in the afternoon. After a short break, Before Midnight will close the fest at the Arlington Theatre and will include an in-depth Conversation moderated by IndieWIRE’s Anne Thompson with co-screenwriters Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy and Richard Linklater, who also directed the film. The Before trilogy has been a critical darling since Before Sunrise was released in 1995. The film, starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, portrayed a young couple meeting for the first time on a train who decide to spend the whole day together in Vienna with the chance of never seeing one another again. The sequel, Before Sunset, was released nine years later in 2004, with Hawke’s Jesse and Delpy’s Celine meeting each other again by chance in Paris. The beloved characters were most recently together in this year’s Before Midnight, where we find Jesse and Celine nine years later into their relationship and vacationing in Greece. 

    WORLD PREMIERES

    A Life Outside, USA
    Directed by Catherine Brabec
    Featuring: Greg Mesanko, Chris Mesanko, Kevin Casey, Jim Purpuri, Richard Luthringer, and Bucky Walters
    A documentary following the six surfers who pioneered the 1960’s surf break at the New Jersey Casino Pier.

    A Year in Champagne, USA
    Directed by David Kennard
    A detailed portrait of winemakers and their families reveals some of the most intimate secrets behind creating the legendary bubbly beverage.

    Barefoot, USA
    Directed by Andrew Fleming
    Cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Scott Speedman, Brittany Alger
    An upper-class, hard-luck gambler invites a shoeless eccentric to his brother’s lavish southern style wedding to prove he’s changed his ways.

    BFFs, USA
    Directed by Andrew Putschoegl
    Cast: Andrea Grano, Tara Karsian
    Looking for a few days of vacation and amusement, two best friends pretend to be lovers while attending a couple’s weekend workshop.

    Bottled Up: The Battle Over Dublin Dr. Pepper, USA
    Directed by Drew Rist
    This documentary details the events and history leading up to the demise of Dublin Dr. Pepper, as well as the public outcry that continues to this day.

    Chu and Blossom, USA
    Directed by Charles Chu, Gavin Kelly
    Cast: Melanie Lynskey, Caitlin Stasey, Alan Cumming
    A coming of age comedy centers on an unlikely brotherhood between a pensive, 6-foot-8 Korean exchange student, and a performance artist, both trapped together in small Southern town.

    Driven, USA
    Directed by Ben Pitterie, Brian Hall
    Explore the fascinating and obscure world of marathon swimming as three swimmers put everything on the line chasing a dream to swim up to 20 miles across the Santa Barbara Channel.

    Falcon Song, USA
    Directed by Jason Brown
    Cast: Gabriel Sunday, James Storm, Martin Kove, Rainey Qualley
    A whimsical portrait of a guitar-playing drifter who helps a rancher’s granddaughter find her true calling

    Gurukulam, Canada/USA
    Directed by Jillian Elizabeth & Neil Dalal
    A group of students and their teacher confront fundamental questions about the nature of reality and self-identity at a remote forest ashram in southern India.

    Invitation to Dance, USA
    Directed by Simi Linton and Christian von Tippelskirch
    An activist, an avant-garde of disabled dancers, and a quest: equality, justice, and a place on the dance floor.

    The Last One, USA
    Directed by Nadine C. Licostie
    This feature-length documentary traces the history of the AIDS Memorial Quilt and the role it continues to play as a response to the disease itself.

    Lutah Maria Riggs, USA
    Directed by Kum-Kum Bhavnani
    A documentary about Lutah Maria Riggs, an American architect who worked for several decades in the Southern California region

    Menthol, USA
    Directed by Micah Van Hove
    Cast: Jacob King, James Wilson, Johnny Wactor, Luke Eberl
    When four friends reunite for a night of fun in their hometown, a crisis forces them to confront the consequences of their lifestyles.

    Mission Blue, USA
    Directed by Robert Nixon and Fisher Stevens
    Cast: Sylvia Earle, James Cameron, Mike deGruy,
    Legendary oceanographer and TED prize winner Dr. Sylvia Earle is on a mission to save our oceans. The documentary Mission Blue is the story of Sylvia’s life as witness to the changes to the sea that threaten our planet, and how we still have a chance to repair much of the damage – if we act now.

    Mount Joy, USA
    Directed by Jack Lewars
    Cast: Katie Hyde, Jay Della Valle, Brandon Harris and Timothy Hoobler
    A lead singer places his band’s national bar tour on hold until he gets answers from the girl who broke his heart, but soon discovers she harbors a secret that could change everything.

    Night Has Settled, USA
    Directed by Steve Clark
    Cast: Spencer List, Pilar López de Ayala, Adriana Barraza
    In 1983 New York City, a thirteen-year-old boy well-poised to enter the precocious teenage world of sex, vodka, and the possibilities of love, is traumatized by an encounter with his housekeeper.

    Noble, United Kingdom
    Directed by Stephen Bradley
    Cast: Dierdre O’Kane, Sarah Greene, Brendan Coyle, Liam Cunningham, Nhu Quynh Nguyen, Ruth Negga
    In 1989 Vietnam, a funny, feisty and courageous woman overcomes the difficulties of her childhood in Ireland to discover her destiny on the streets of Saigon.

    Queens & Cowboys: A Straight Year on the Gay Rodeo, USA
    Directed by Matt Livadary
    Roping and riding and busting stereotypes, the dauntless members of the International Gay Rodeo Association face constant obstacles in their quest to qualify for the World Gay Rodeo Finals.

    Roaming Wild, USA
    Directed by Sylvia Johnson
    Featuring: Samantha Layne (voice)
    An activist, a cowboy and a mountain man search for solutions to protect life and land in this modern day Western about America’s wild horses and the federal government’s controversial roundups.

    Sam, Switzerland
    Directed by Elena Hazanov
    Cast: Frédéric Landenberg, Sacha Guerreiro, Séverine Bujard, Anna Pieri
    After living with his mother since his parents’ divorce, seven-year-old Sam is forced to move in with his father, a struggling writer with no source of inspiration.

    The Village of Peace, Israel/USA
    Directed by Nicholas Philipides, Ben Schuder
    The stories of four African Hebrew Israelites illuminate a community whose daily lifestyle includes polygamy, health, nutrition, education and spiritual enlightenment.

    Warren, USA
    Directed by Alex Beh
    Cast: John Heard, Jean Smart, Austin Stowell, Sarah Habel, Joe Nunez
    After giving up on making it in the Chicago improv scene, a young comedian fatefully reconnects with the former love of his life one fall night while working at a coffee shop in his hometown.

    U.S. PREMIERES

    African Metropolis, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Senegal, South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya
    A complication of short films directed by Jim Chuchu, Ahmed Ghoneimy, Folasakin Iwajomo, Marie KA, Philippe Lacôte, Vincent Moloi
    A compilation of six short fiction films, set in six major African cities.

    A la Bizkaina, Spain
    Directed by Aritz Galarza
    The mystery of the sauce carrying the name of Bizkaia gives us a hint of its origin and ingredients.

    Adria Blues, Slovenia/Croatia/Bosnia/Herzegovina
    Directed by Miroslav Mandič
    Cast: Senad Bašić, Mojca Funkl, Peter Musevski
    Paralyzed by depression, an aging former rock star from Bosnia is pushed by his wife to reengage with life.

    Algunas Chicas, Argentina
    Directed by Santiago Palavecino
    Cast: Cecilia Rainero, Agostina López, Agustina Muñoz
    A woman traveling to a friend’s house to escape her marital crisis is soon consumed by the secrets of those around her.

    The Amazing Catfish, Mexico
    Directed by Claudia Sainte-Luce
    Cast: Ximena Ayala, Lisa Owen, Sonia Franco, Wendy Guillén
    A lonely young woman becomes a live-in caregiver for an ailing but indomitable matriarch and her brood of kids.

    Bauyr (Little Brother), Kazakhstan
    Directed by Serik Aprymov
    Cast: Almat Galym, Alisher Aprymov, Murat Omarov, Dokhdurbek Kydyraliyev
    A nine year old living on his own is revisited by his brother, and believes his life will change with his arrival.

    Bella Vita, USA/Italy
    Directed by Jason Baffa
    Cast: Chris Del Moro, Dave Rastovich, Lauren Lyndsey Hill, Conner Coffin, Parker Coffin
    The surf of the Italian coast carries surfer, artist, and environmentalist Chris Del Moro on a pilgrimage back to his ancestral homeland of Italy.

    Cannibal (Caníbal), Spain/Romania/Russia/France
    Directed by Manuel Martín Cuenca
    Cast: Antonio de la Torre, Olimpia Melinte
    A mild-mannered tailor, who is a secret cannibal, unexpectedly finds himself falling in love with his latest prospective victim.

    César’s Grill, Ecuador/Germany/Switzerland
    Directed by Dario Aguirre
    Cast: Dario Aguirre, César Aguirre
    German resident, filmmaker, and vegetarian, Dario Aguirre is called home to Ecuador to help save his meat-loving father’s grill from bankruptcy.

    Clownwise, Czech Republic/Luxembourg/Finland
    Directed by Viktor Taus
    Cast: Julie Ferrier, Kati Outinen, Didier Flamand
    After thirty years of separation, three clowns reunite to restage the famous act that launched their careers — while also attempting to forgive one another for the fight that tore them apart.

    Do You Believe in Love?, Israel
    Directed by Dani Wasserman
    Tova, a unique matchmaker with muscular dystrophy, tirelessly strives to find love for everyone around her.

    Found & Lost, China
    Directed by Xiao Wei Zhu
    Cast: Guo Zhu Zhang, Yu Meng Jia
    Chronicles the pilgrimage of an orphaned woman in China between 1949 to 1984.

    The Gambler (Losejas), Lithuania/Latvia
    Directed by Ignas Jonynas
    Cast: Vytautas Kaniusonis, Oona Mekas, Rimas Blockis
    A paramedic, passionate about gambling, is struck by an idea to create an illegal game related to his profession.

    God’s Slave (Esclavo de Dios), Uruguay/Venezuela/Argentina
    Directed by Joel Novoa
    Cast: Mohammed Alkhaldi, Daniela Alvarado, Devorah Lynne Dishington
    Inspired by true events, this is the story of two extremists, one Islamic and the other Jewish, who cross paths while on opposing sides of the 1994 Buenos Aires AMIA bombings.

    Eastern Boys, France
    Directed by Robin Campillo
    Cast: Olivier Rabourdin, Kirill Emelyanov, Daniil Vorobyov
    A middle-aged Frenchman solicits a young foreigner and finds himself entangled with a group of young Eastern European hustlers.

    If I Close My Eyes I’m Not Here (Se chiudo gli occhi non sono più qui), Italy
    Directed by Vittorio Moroni
    Cast: Mark Manaloto, Elena Arvigo, Beppe Fiorello, Giorgio Colangeli
    A teenage boy, tormented into a submissive life, is visited and mentored by a mysterious old friend of his deceased father.

    The Japanese Dog, Romania
    Directed by Tudor Cristian Jurgiu
    Cast: Victor Rebengiuc, Serban Pavlu, Laurentiu Lazar, Kana Hashimoto, Toma Hashimoto
    When a flood kills his wife and destroys his house, a man attempts to reconnect with his son who arrives from Japan with his wife and child.

    Metalhead, Iceland
    Directed by Ragnar Bragason
    Cast: Þorbjörg Helga Þorgilsdóttir, Ingvar E. Sigurðsson, Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir
    A grief-stricken young woman adopts the persona and decibel-blasting predilections of her deceased brother

    October November (Oktober November), Austria
    Directed by Götz Spielmann
    Cast: Nora von Waldstätten, Ursula Strauss, Peter Simonischek, Sebastian Koch, Johannes Zeiler, Andreas Ressl
    A family reunion at a mountainside inn lays bare old wounds and reveals long-held secrets.

    The Old, the Young and the Sea, Austria/Spain
    Directed by Mario Hainzl
    A documentary portrait about the incredible individuals who inhabit, surf, travel and protect the European shores.

    One Way Ticket to the Moon (Bilet na księżyc), Poland
    Directed by Jacek Bromski
    Cast: Anna Przybylska, Filip Pawlak, Mateusz Kościukiewicz
    Two brothers travel across Poland, a adventure sparked by the older to prepare his younger brother to serve in the Polish army.

    Paulette, France
    Directed by Jérôme Enrico
    Cast: Bernadette Lafont, Carmen Maura, Dominique Lavanant
    Paulette lives alone in a housing project in the Paris suburbs. With her meager pension, she can no longer make ends meet and becomes and resorts to selling drugs.

    Revival, Czech Republic
    Directed by Alice Nellis
    Cast: Bolek Polivka, Miroslav Krobot, Karel Hermanek, Marian Geisberg, Zuzana Budovska
    Forty years after separating, four friends decide to reunite their rock band through a revival that takes an unexpected turn.

    Saudade, Uruguay
    Directed by Juan Carlos Donoso Gomez
    Cast: Francisco Baquerizo Racines, Jessica Barahona de Prada, Joaquin Davila Romoleroux
    Set amidst the backdrop of the Ecuadorian economic crisis of 1999, ‘Saudade’ tackles notions of economic dislocation, friendship, family and young love.

    Shadow in Baghdad, Israel
    Directed by Duki Dror
    Featuring: Linda Abdul Aziz
    A young journalist from Baghdad connects with a Jewish woman who escaped to Iraq to discover what happened to her missing father.

    Solo, Venezuela
    Directed by José Ramón Novoa
    Cast: Samantha Dagnino, Laureano Olivares
    A story of one man’s quest for redemption

    Triptych (Triptyque), Canada
    Directed by Robert Lepage, Pedro Pires
    Cast: Frédérike Bédard, Lise Castonguay, Hans Piesbergen
    The lives of three characters intersect in the sublime narrative geometry of this haunting adaptation of Robert Lepage’s celebrated theatre work Lipsynch.

    Under the Starry Sky, France/Senegal
    Directed by Dyana Gaye
    Cast: Marème Demba Ly, Ralph Amoussou, Souleymane Seye N’Diaye, Maya Sansa, Babacar M’Baye Fall, Sokhna Niang, Mata Gabin
    Delving into the shadowy world of undocumented travel, this transcontinental drama charts the interconnected destinies of three far-flung sojourners.

    uwantme2killhim?, United Kingdom
    Directed by Andrew Douglas
    Cast: Jamie Blackley, Toby Regbo, Jaime Winstone, Mark Womack, Joanne Froggatt
    A teenage boy descends into the dangerous world of the internet and the harrowing consequences of his actions.

    Violet, Spain
    Directed by Luiso Berdejo
    Cast: Junio Valverde, Leticia Dolera, Miriam Giovanelli, Ricardo Darín, Carlos Bardem
    A Spanish boy living in Santa Monica falls for a girl he sees in an old Polaroid. He decides to look for her, despite having no clue of who she is or how long ago the photo was taken.

    Wounded (La herida), Spain
    Directed by Fernando Franco
    Cast: Marian Alvarez, Rosana Pastor, Manolo Solo, Andres Gertrudix, Ramon Agirre, Ramon Barea
    An ambulance driver struggles with outbreaks of self-destructive behavior, incapable of finding stability and happiness.

    COMPETITION CATEGORIES

    INDEPENDENT FEATURES
    Competition

    1982, USA
    Directed by Tommy Oliver

    Cast: Wayne Brady, Hill Harper, Sharon Leal, Ruby Dee, Bokeem Woodbine, Troi Zee, Lala Anthony, Quinton Aaron

    BFFs, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Andrew Putschoegl
    Cast: Andrea Grano, Tara Karsian

    Barefoot, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Andrew Flemming
    Cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Scott Speedman, Brittany Alger

    Chu and Blossom, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Charles Chu, Gavin Kelly
    Cast: Melanie Lynskey, Caitlin Stasey, Alan Cumming

    Mount Joy, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Jack Lewars
    Cast: Katie Hyde, Jay Della Valle, Brandon Harris and Timothy Hoobler

    Night Has Settled, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Steve Clark
    Cast: Spencer List, Pilar López de Ayala, Adriana Barraza

    Noble, United Kingdom – World Premiere
    Directed by Stephen Bradley
    Cast: Dierdre O’Kane, Sarah Greene, Brendan Coyle, Liam Cunningham, Nhu Quynh Nguyen, Ruth Negga

    Warren, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Alex Beh
    Cast: John Heard, Jean Smart, Austin Stowell, Sarah Habel, Joe Nunez

    INTERNATIONAL FEATURES
    Competition

    Eastern Boys, France – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Robin Campillo
    Cast: Olivier Rabourdin, Kirill Emelyanov, Daniil Vorobyov

    Found & Lost, China – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Xiao Wei Zhu
    Cast: Guo Zhu Zhang, Yu Meng Jia

    For A Woman (Pour une femme), France
    Directed by Diane Kurys
    Cast: Benoit Magimel, Melanie Thierry, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Sylvie Testud, Denis Podalydes, Julie Ferrier, Clotilde Hesme, Clement Sibony

    If I Close My Eyes I’m Not Here (Se chiudo gli occhi non sono più qui), Italy – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Vittorio Moroni
    Cast: Mark Manaloto, Elena Arvigo, Beppe Fiorello, Giorgio Colangeli

    The Major, Russia
    Directed by Yuri Bykov
    Cast: Yuri Bykov, Denis Shvedov, Irina Nizina, Ilya Isaev

    Metalhead, Iceland – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Ragnar Bragason
    Cast: Þorbjörg Helga Þorgilsdóttir, Ingvar E. Sigurðsson, Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir

    October November (Oktober November), Austria – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Götz Spielmann
    Cast: Nora von Waldstätten, Ursula Strauss, Peter Simonischek, Sebastian Koch, Johannes Zeiler, Andreas Ressl

    Sam, Switzerland – World Premiere
    Directed by Elena Hazanov
    Cast: Frédéric Landenberg, Sacha Guerreiro, Séverine Bujard, Anna Pieri

    Triptych (Triptyque), Canada – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Robert Lepage, Pedro Pires
    Cast: Frédérike Bédard, Lise Castonguay, Hans Piesbergen

    Under the Starry Sky, France/Senegal – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Dyana Gaye
    Cast: Marème Demba Ly, Ralph Amoussou, Souleymane Seye N’Diaye, Maya Sansa, Babacar M’Baye Fall, Sokhna Niang, Mata Gabin

    Victor Young Perez, France/Israel/Bulgaria
    Directed by Jacques Ouaniche
    Cast: Brahim Asloum, Steve Suissa, Isabelle Orsini, Patrick Bouchitey

    EASTERN BLOC FEATURES
    Competition

    Adria Blues, Slovenia/Croatia/Bosnia/Herzegovina – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Miroslav Mandic
    Cast: Senad Bašić, Mojca Funkl, Peter Musevski

    Bauyr (Little Brother), Kazakhstan – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Serik Aprymov
    Cast: Almat Galym, Alisher Aprymov, Murat Omarov, Dokhdurbek Kydyraliyev

    Clownwise, Czech Republic/Luxembourg/Finland – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Viktor Taus
    Cast: Julie Ferrier, Kati Outinen, Didier Flamand

    The Gambler (Losejas), Lithuania/Latvia – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Ignas Jonynas
    Cast: Vytautas Kaniusonis, Oona Mekas, Rimas Blockis

    The Japanese Dog, Romania – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Tudor Cristian Jurgiu
    Cast: Victor Rebengiuc, Serban Pavlu, Laurentiu Lazar, Kana Hashimoto, Toma Hashimoto

    One Way Ticket to the Moon (Bilet na księżyc), Poland – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Jacek Bromski
    Cast: Fillip Pawlak, Mateusz Kościukiewicz, Anna Przybylska

    Revival, Czech Republic – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Alice Nellis
    Cast: Bolek Polivka, Miroslav Krobot, Karel Hermanek, Marian Geisberg, Zuzana Budovska

    DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
    Competition

    A la Bizkaina, Spain – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Aritz Galarza

    Bella Vita, USA/Italy – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Jason Baffa
    Cast: Chris Del Moro, Dave Rastovich, Lauren Lyndsey Hill, Conner Coffin, Parker Coffin

    Burt’s Buzz, Canada – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Jody Shapiro
    Cast: Burt Shavitz, Trevor Folsom

    César’s Grill, Ecuador/Germany/Switzerland – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Dario Aguirre
    Cast: Dario Aguirre, César Aguirre

    Do You Believe in Love?, Israel – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Daniel Wasserman

    Gurukulam, Canada/USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Jillian Elizabeth and Neil Dalal

    The Last Black Sea Pirates, Bulgaria
    Directed by Svetoslav Stoyanov

    On A River in Ireland, Ireland
    Directed by Colin Stafford-Johnson
    Cast: Colin Stafford-Johnson

    Queens & Cowboys: A Straight Year on the Gay Rodeo, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Matt Livadary

    The Village of Peace, Israel/USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Nicholas Philipides, Ben Schuder

    SPANISH/LATIN AMERICAN CINEMA
    Competition

    Algunas chicas (Some Girls), Argentina – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Santiago Palavecino
    Cast: Cecilia Rainero, Agostina López, Agustina Muñoz

    The Amazing Catfish (Los insólitos peces gato), Mexico – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Claudia Sainte-Luce
    Cast: Ximena Ayala, Lisa Owen, Sonia Franco, Wendy Guillén

    Cannibal (Caníbal), Spain/Romania/Russia/France – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Manuel Martín Cuenca
    Cast: Antonio de la Torre, Olimpia Melinte

    God’s Slave (Esclavo de dios), Uruguay/Venezuela/Argentina – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Joel Novoa
    Cast: Mohammed Alkhaldi, Daniela Alvarado, Devorah Lynne Dishington

    Saudade, Uruguay – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Juan Carlos Donoso Gomez
    Cast: Francisco Baquerizo Racines, Jessica Barahona de Prada, Joaquin Davila Romoleroux

    Solo, Venezuela – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by José Ramón Novoa
    Cast: Samantha Dagnino, Laureano Olivares

    Sombras de azul (Shades of Blue), Cuba
    Directed by Kelly Daniela Norris
    Cast: Seedne Bujaidar, Yasmani Guerrero, Charlotta Mohlin, Lieter Ledesma

    Violet, Spain – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Luiso Berdejo
    Cast: Junio Valverde, Leticia Dolera, Miriam Giovanelli, Ricardo Darín, Carlos Bardem

    Wounded (La herida), Spain – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Fernando Franco
    Cast: Marian Alvarez, Rosana Pastor, Manolo Solo, Andres Gertrudix, Ramon Agirre, Ramon Barea

    FUND FOR SANTA BARBARA SOCIAL JUSTICE
    Competition

    Bottled Up: The Battle Over Dublin Dr. Pepper, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Drew Rist

    Hue: A Matter of Colour, Canada – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Vic Sarin

    Invitation to Dance, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Christian von Tippelskirch

    The Last One, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Nadine C. Licostie

    The Passage, Panama
    Directed by Alexander Douglas

    Roaming Wild, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Sylvia Johnson
    Featuring: Samantha Layne (voice)

    Shadow in Baghdad, Israel/France/UK/Jordan/Iraq – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Duki Dror

    Through A Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People, USA Directed by Thomas Allen Harris

    NON–COMPETITION FILMS

    SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

    15 Years + 1 Day (15 años y un dia), Spain
    Directed by Gracia Querejeta
    Cast: Maribel Verdú, Tito Valverde, Arón Piper, Belén López

    African Metropolis, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Senegal, South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya – U.S. Premiere
    A complication of short films directed by Jim Chuchu, Ahmed Ghoneimy, Folasakin Iwajomo, Marie KA, Philippe Lacôte, Vincent Moloi

    Child’s Pose (Pozitia copilului), Romania
    Directed by Calin Peter Netzer
    Cast: Luminita Gheorghiu, Bogdan Dumitrache, Natasa Raab

    Code Black, USA
    Directed by Ryan McGarry
    Cast: Ryan McGarry, Danny Cheng, Jamie Eng, Dave Pomeranz, Andrew Eads

    Gabrielle, Canada
    Directed by Louise Archambault
    Cast: Gabrielle Marion-Rivard, Alexandre Landry, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin

    Heart of a Lion, Finland/Sweden
    Directed by Dome Karukoski
    Cast: Peter Franzén, Laura Birn, Jasper Pääkkönen, Yusufa Sidibeh

    La Juala de Oro (The Golden Dream), Guatemala/Spain/Mexico
    Directed by Diego Quemada-Díez
    Cast: Brandon López, Rodolfo Domínguez, Karen Martínez

    My Sweet Pepper Land, Kurdistan/France/Germany
    Directed by Hinder Saleem
    Cast: Korkmaz Arslan, Golshifteh Farahani, Suat Usta

    The Notebook, Hungary/Germany/Austria/France
    Directed by János Szász
    Cast: András Gyémánt, László Gyémánt, Piroska Molnár, Ulrich Thomsen, Ulrich Matthes

    Of Horses and Men (Hross í oss), Iceland/Germany
    Directed by Benedikt Erlingsson
    Cast: Ingvar Eggert Sigurõsson

    One Chance, United Kingdom
    Directed by David Frankel
    Cast: James Corden, Alexandra Roach, Julie Walters, Mackenzie Crook, Colm Meaney

    We Are the Best! (Vi är bäst!). Sweden/Denmark
    Directed by Lukas Moodysson
    Cast: Mira Barkhammar, Mira Grosin, Liv LeMoyne

    PAN ASIA

    Cold Eyes, South Korea
    Directed by Cho Ui-seok, Kim Byung-seo
    Cast: Seol Kyung-gu, Jung Woo-sung, Han Hyo-joo, Lee Jun-ho, Jin Gyeong

    Found & Lost, China – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Xiao Wei Zhu
    Cast: Guo Zhu Zhang, Yu Meng Jia

    Ilo ilo, Singapore
    Directed by Anthony Chen
    Cast: Koh Jia Ler, Angeli Bayani, Tian Wen Chen, Yann Yann Yeo

    The Missing Picture (L’image manquante), Cambodia/France
    Directed by Rithy Panh
    Cast: Randal Douc (voice)

    Siddharth, Canada/India
    Directed by Richie Mehta
    Cast: Rajesh Tailang, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Anurag Arora, Geeta Agrawal Sharma, Naseeruddin Shah

    Transit, Philippines
    Directed by Hannah Espia
    Cast: Jasmine Curtis Smith, Ping Medina, Irma Adlawan, Mercedes Cabral, and Marc Justine Alvarez

    Unforgiven (Yurusarezaru mono), Japan
    Directed by Lee Sang-il
    Cast: Ken Watanabe, Akira Emoto, Koichi Sato

    KOLNOA

    Bethlehem, Israel
    Directed by Yuval Adler
    Cast: Shadi Mar’I, Tsahi Halevy, Hitham Omari, Tarek Copti, Michal Shtemler, Hisham Suliman, George Iskandar, Yossi Eini, Efrat Shnap, Karem Shakur, Ibrahim Sakala

    Cupcakes, Israel
    Directed by Eytan Fox
    Cast: Anat Waxman, Keren Berger, Ofer Shechter, Efrat Dor

    Do You Believe in Love?, Israel – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Daniel Wasserman

    Shadow in Baghdad, Israel/France/UK/Jordan/Iraq – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Duki Dror

    Transit, Philippines
    Directed by Hannah Espia
    Cast: Jasmine Curtis Smith, Ping Medina, Irma Adlawan, Mercedes Cabral, and Marc Justine Alvarez

    A Universal Language, Canada
    Directed by Igal Hecht

    The Village of Peace, Israel/USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Nicholas Philipides, Ben Schuder

    SCREEN CUISINE

    A la Bizkaina, Spain – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Aritz Galarza

    A Year in Champagne, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by David Kennard

    Bottled Up: The Battle Over Dublin Dr Pepper, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Drew Rist
    Cast: Josh Gobin (voice)

    César’s Grill, Ecuador/Germany/Switzerland – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Dario Aguirre
    Cast: Dario Aguirre, César Aguirre

    Dog Days, Canada/USA
    Directed by Laura Waters Hinson, Kasey Kirby
    Cast: Coite Manuel, Siyone, Deane

    Le Chef (Comme un chef), France/Spain
    Directed by Daniel Cohen
    Cast: Jean Reno, Michaël Youn, Raphaelle Agogue, James Gerard

    Make Hummus Not War, Australia
    Directed by Trevor Graham

    Paulette, France – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Jérôme Enrico
    Cast: Bernadette Lafont, Carmen Maura, Dominique Lavanant

    THE WORLD LAUGHS

    The Grand Seduction, Canada
    Directed by Don McKeller
    Cast: Brendan Gleeson, Taylor Kitsch, Liane Balaban

    Le Chef (Comme un chef), France/Spain
    Directed by Daniel Cohen
    Cast: Jean Reno, Michaël Youn, Raphaelle Agogue, James Gerard

    Paulette, France – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Jérôme Enrico
    Cast: Bernadette Lafont, Carmen Maura, Dominique Lavanant

    The Priest’s Children (Svećenikova djeca), Croatia
    Directed by Vinko Brešan
    Cast: Kresimir Mikic, Niksa Butijer, Marija Skaricic, Drazen Kühn, Jadranka Dokic

    Revival, Czech Republic – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Alice Nellis
    Cast: Bolek Polivka, Miroslav Krobot, Karel Hermanek, Marian Geisberg, Zuzana Budovska

    A Universal Language, Canada
    Directed by Igal Hecht

    When Jews Were Funny, Canada
    Directed by Alan Zweig
    Cast: Howie Mandel, Shelley Berman, Norm Crosby, Shecky Greene, Jack Carter, David Steinberg, Andy Kindler, Elon Gold, Gilbert Gottfreid, David Brenner, Bob Einstein, Judy Gold, Marc Maron

    TO THE MAXXX

    Bella Vita, Italy/USA – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Jason Baffa
    Cast: Chris Del Moro, Dave Rastovich, Lauren Lyndsey Hill, Conner Coffin, Parker Coffin

    Driven, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Ben Pitterie, Brian Hall

    The Old, the Young and the Sea, Austria/Spain/Portugal/France – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Mario Hainzl

    A Life Outside, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Catherine Brabec
    Cast: Greg Mesanko, Chris Mesanko, Kevin Casey, Jim Purpuri, Richard Luthringer, and Bucky Walters

    APPLEBOX

    Frozen, USA
    Directed by Chuck Buck, Jennifer Lee
    Cast: Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff

    Despicable Me 2, USA
    Directed by Pierre Coffin, Chris Renaud
    Cast: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Benjamin Bratt, Miranda Cosgrove, Russell Brand

    Monsters University, USA
    Directed by Dan Scanlon
    Cast: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi

    SANTA BARBARA FEATURES

    Lutah Maria Riggs, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Kum-Kum Bhavnani

    BridgeWalkers, USA
    Directed by Kara Rhodes
    Cast: Irene Bedard (voice)

    Falcon Song, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Jason Brown
    Cast: Gabriel Sunday, James Storm, Martin Kove, Rainey Qualley

    Menthol, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Micah Van Hove
    Cast: Jacob King, Luke Eberl

    Orenthal: The Musical, USA
    Directed by Jeff Rosenberg
    Cast: Jordan Kenneth Kamp, Larisa Oleynik, Malcolm Barrett

    Selma Rubin and Community of Life, USA
    Directed by Beezhan Tulu
    Featuring: Selma Rubin

    Tough Bond, USA
    Directed by Austin Peck

    SHORTS PROGRAMS

    ANIMATED SHORTS

    Bakerman & The Bunnymen, USA
    Directed by Scout Raskin
    Cast: Andrew Racho, Scout Raskin

    Drunker Than a Skunk, USA
    Directed by Bill Plympton
    Cast: Walt Curtis

    Flamingo, Venezuela
    Directed by Carl Zitelmann

    The Gravedigger’s Tale, United Kingdom
    Directed by Min Young Oh
    Cast: Duncan Roberts

    The House with No Doors, United Kingdom
    Directed by Oana Nechifor

    Me + Her, USA
    Directed by Joseph Oxford

    Sebastian, Russian Federation/USA
    Directed by Vlad Marsavin
    Cast: Alex Kharlamov, Arina Yagovkina, Elena Yagovkina, Milana Albakova

    Tome of the Unknown, USA
    Directed by Patrick McHale
    Cast: Elijah Wood, Warren Burton, Natasha Leggero, C.W. Stoneking

    Woody, Australia
    Directed by Stuart Bowen

    DOCUMENTARY SHORTS

    Cowtown Keeylocko, USA
    Directed by Ira Chute
    Cast: Edward Keeylocko

    Do Not Duplicate, USA
    Directed by Mary Anne Rothberg

    The Kids of 5114, USA
    Directed by Scott Brown

    Real Change, USA
    Directed by Adam Becker

    Running Blind, USA
    Directed by Ryan Suffern
    Featuring: E.J. Scott

    DRAMATIC SHORTS

    H.O.G.’s Tooth, USA
    Directed by Loren F. Gilley
    Cast: Grant Alan Ouzts, Jordan Butcher, Kendra Thomas

    Little Secret, Czech Republic
    Directed by Martin Krejci
    Cast: Adam Misik, Klara Cibulkova, Jenovefa Bokova

    Looms, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Funk Brothers
    Cast: Timothy Murphy, Ellen Soderberg (voice)

    My Father’s Truck, Germany
    Directed by Mauricio Osaki
    Cast: Trung Anh, Ly Phan, Mai Vy

    They Came at Night, Congo/USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Andrew Ellis
    Cast: Godefroid Maka, Innocent Mbula, Pascal Kunbawo

    SCREEN CUISINE SHORTS

    Mabel, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Pia Clemente
    Featuring Mabel Sawhill

    People & Plates, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Miguel Calayan
    Cast: Christian Navarro

    Sausage, United Kingdom
    Directed by Robert Grieves

    Sikh Formaggio, Italy/USA
    Directed by Devyn Bisson, Katie Wise, Dan Duran

    The Story of an Egg, USA
    Directed by Douglas Gayeton
    Cast: Alexis Koefoed, David Evans, Nancy Gleason

    The Trouble with Bread, USA
    Directed by Maggie Beidelman

    SHORT FICTION

    Across Grace Ally, USA
    Directed by Ralph Macchio
    Cast: Ben Hyland, Karina Smirnoff, Marsha Mason

    Bunion, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Jessica Sanders
    Cast: Avi Rothman, Alia Shawkat, Michaela Watkins, Misty Thomas, Steve Ireland

    A Letter Home, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Markus Walter
    Cast: Adelaid Kane, Peter Vack

    Mr. Polman Wants to Fit In, USA
    Directed by Carla Dauden
    Cast: William Knight, Ann Benson, Ruben Vernier

    The Pamplemousse, Canada
    Directed by Jonathan Watton
    Cast: Emmanuel Bilodeau, Mika Collins

    Satellite Beach, USA
    Directed by Andrew Wilson, Luke Wilson
    Cast: Luke Wilson

    Sinceridad (Sincerity), Spain – World Premiere
    Directed by Andrea Casaseca Ferrer
    Cast: Kiti Mánver, Javier Laorden, Gerald B. Fillmore

    SOCIAL JUSTICE DOCUMENTARY SHORTS

    Alfredo’s Fire, Italy/USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Andy Abrahams Wilson
    Featuring: Alfredo Ormando

    Life on the Line, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Sally Rubin, Jen Gilomen
    Featuring: Kimberly Torrez

    Not Anymore: A Story of Revolution, USA
    Directed by Matthew VanDyke
    Featuring: Nour Keize, Omar Hattab

    SHORTS PRECEDING FEATURES

    Ahco On the Road, South Korea/USA
    Directed by Soyeon Kim

    Mr. Hublot, France/Luxembourg
    Directed by Laurent Witz

    Mia, Belgium/Netherlands
    Directed by Wouter Bongaerts

    Mirage, USA
    Directed by Iker Maidagan
    Cast: Veronica Taylor, Marc Diralson, Jack Schram

    SANTA BARBARA DOCUMENTARY SHORTS

    The Alchemistress, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Andrew Schoneberger
    Cast: Lindsey Ross (voice)

    A Life in Pictures, USA
    Directed by Scott Erickson

    Mabon “Teenie” Hodges – A Portrait of a Memphis Soul, USA
    Directed by Susanna Vapnek
    Cast: Mabon Teenie Hodges, Leroy Hodges, Charles Hodges, Archie Turner

    Tar Wars, USA
    Directed by Emily de Moor

    Where the Wonder Went, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Bryan Latchford
    Cast: Amir Abo-Shaeer, David Tilman, Julia Bowen, Zachary King

    SANTA BARBARA SHORTS

    Break Dreams, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Paul Mathieu
    Cast: Garrett Swann, Susan Isaaks, Mary Jo Eustace

    Chrysalis, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Carissa Stutzman
    Cast: Amber Bela Muse, Ashley Katz, Erin Buckley

    Greetings from Seaward, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Ryan Murphy and Nate Ptacek
    Cast: Billy Smith (voice)

    Long Way Down, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Sam Benenati
    Cast: Peter Dach

    Martha Cook, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Tony Estrada
    Cast: Ben Zisk, Karina Bustillos

    Other People, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Joakim Svensson
    Cast: Maria Oliveira, Ryan Denman

    The Plastic Pest, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Jessica Hokanson

    Present Trauma, USA
    Directed by Mark Manalo
    Cast: Patrick John Flueger, Alimi Ballard, Bre Blair

    ReMoved, USA
    Directed by Nathanael Matanick
    Cast: Abby White

    Teddy, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Ali Lassoued
    Cast: Al Keys, Andre Battle, Carter Battle,

    Trespass, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Keith Schwalenberg
    Cast: Manny Jimenez, Lance Irwin, Oliviah Crawford

    YOUTH CINEMEDIA 2014 SHORT DOCUMENTARIES

    Anaheim Uprising: The Police Killing of Manuel Angel Diaz, USA

    Tesuque Grandmother Speaks, USA

    Killer Cops Off Our Streets, USA

    Dissent is Not a Crime, USA

    No Letters Allowed Behind Bars, USA

    Behind the Music of Los Bandits, USA
    Hideous Hair, USA

    Old Town Orange, USA

    Gang Injunctions Under the Microscope, USA

    In the Studio with Navajo Artist Clifford Brycelea, USA

    Hospital Horror, USA

    Aztlan Unplugged, USA

    Innocent Bystander, USA

    Stop Killing Our Sons, USA

    Read more

  • Jane Campion to Head 2014 Cannes Film Festival Jury

    New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion

    New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion and the only woman to win the coveted Palme d’Or, will head the jury at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the organizers announced Tuesday. “I am truly honored to join with the Cannes Film Festival as President of the ‘in Competition’ features for 2014,” said Campion in a statement. “To tell the truth I can’t wait,” added Campion who succeeds last year’s jury head Steven Spielberg. Campion who won the Palme d’Or for “The Piano” in 1993 also holds the distinction as the only double winner, her short “Peel” having picked up the top prize in that category in 1986.

    The 67th Cannes film festival will run from May 14 to 25, 2014.

    Read more

  • QISSA to Oficially Open 2014 International Film Festival Rotterdam | See VIDEO + Images

    QISSA by Anup Singh 

    The European premiere of QISSA by Indian director Anup Singh will officially open the 43rd International Film Festival Rotterdam on Wednesday 22 January, 2014. Set in post-colonial India, QISSA tells the story of Umber Singh, a Sikh, who is forced to flee his village due to ethnic cleansing at the time of partition in 1947. Umber decides to fight fate and builds a new home for his family. When Umber marries his youngest child Kanwar to Neeli, a girl of lower caste, the family is faced with the truth of their identities; where individual ambitions and destinies collide in a struggle with eternity. 

     QISSA by Anup Singh

    QISSA by Anup Singh

    http://youtu.be/iSkDtN2AE7c

    Read more