Film Festivals

TIFF Reveals Canada’s Top Ten Films of 2013

ASPHALT WATCHES, Shayne Ehman and Seth Scriver

Toronto International Film Festival announced Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival feature film selections for 2013, and Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival short film selections for 2013 that will screen in the 13th annual Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival. The 10-day festival runs January 3 to 12, 2014 at TIFF Bell Lightbox.

On January 5, the Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival welcomes Academy Award-nominees Denis Villeneuve and Jake Gyllenhaal to TIFF Bell Lightbox to discuss their recent collaborations. The festival will conclude on January 12 with an onstage conversation between Canadian filmmaker John Greyson and Toronto International Film Festival Artistic Director Cameron Bailey.

Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival Feature Films

Asphalt Watches Shayne Ehman and Seth Scriver
A feature-length animation based on a real-life hitchhiking trip taken by the two filmmakers, Asphalt Watches details the hilarious and harrowing journey of Bucktooth Cloud and Skeleton Hat as they travel eastward across Canada in 2000. Winner of the Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.

Enemy Denis Villeneuve
Adapted from the novel The Double by Nobel Laureate José Saramago, Enemy stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Adam, a man consumed by an overwhelming desire to confront his doppelgänger. The film is a provocative psychosexual thriller about duality and identity where, in the end, only one man can survive. From the Academy Award-nominated director of Incendies, the film also stars Mélanie Laurent, Sarah Gadon and Isabella Rossellini.

The F Word Michael Dowse
When Wallace meets Chantry, it could be love at first sight… except she lives with her long-term boyfriend. And so Wallace, acting with best intentions — and maybe a little denial — discovers the dirtiest word in romance: friends. Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan, Adam Driver and TIFF Rising Star Megan Park. Written by Elan Mastai, one of Variety’s 10 Screenwriters to Watch in 2013.

Gabrielle Louise Archambault
Gabrielle is a young woman with Williams syndrome who has a contagious joie de vivre and an exceptional musical gift. Since she met her boyfriend Martin they have been inseparable. However, because they are “different,” their loved ones are fearful of their relationship. Gabrielle does everything she can to gain her independence. As determined as she is, Gabrielle must still confront other people’s prejudices as well as her own limitations in the hope of experiencing a love far from the ordinary.

Rhymes for Young Ghouls Jeff Barnaby
Kids on the Red Crow reservation are doomed. If you can’t pay your “truancy tax”, that’s you up at the residential school, beat up and abused. At 15, Aila is the weed princess of Red Crow. After being robbed and thrown into the school’s dungeon, she decides to fight back.

Sarah préfère la course (Sarah Prefers to Run) Chloé Robichaud
Sarah is a gifted runner. Her life changes when she’s offered admission into the best university athletics program in the province. Sarah doesn’t have her mother’s financial support for the move to Montreal, but she leaves anyway with her friend Antoine. Though barely out of their teens, they get married because they want the best scholarships and loans. Sarah doesn’t want to hurt anyone with the choices she makes — it’s just that she loves running more than anything else.

Tom à la ferme (Tom at the Farm) Xavier Dolan
Tom, a young advertising copywriter, travels to the country for a funeral. There, he’s shocked to find out no one knows who he is, or his relationship to the deceased, whose brother soon sets the rules of a twisted game. In order to protect the family’s name and grieving mother, Tom now has to play the peacekeeper in a household whose obscure past bodes even greater darkness for his trip to the farm.

Vic et Flo ont vu un ours (Vic + Flo Saw a Bear) Denis Côté
Victoria, an ex-convict in her 60s, wants to start a new life in a remote sugar shack. Under the supervision of Guillaume, a young, sympathetic parole officer (Marc-André Grondin), she tries to get her life back on track along with Florence, her former cellmate with whom she shared years of intimacy in prison. Stalked by ghosts of the past, their new life together is unexpectedly jeopardized.Winner of the Alfred Bauer Silver Bear award at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival.

Watermark Jennifer Baichwal and Edward Burtynsky
From the filmmaking team behind Manufactured Landscapes, Watermark is a feature documentary film that brings together diverse stories from around the globe about our relationship with water: how we are drawn to it, what we learn from it, how we use it, and the consequences of that use. Watermark is shot in stunning 5K ultra high-definition video and full of soaring aerial perspectives.

When Jews Were Funny Alan Zweig
Insightful and often hilarious, the latest from documentary filmmaker Alan Zweig offers up a history of Jewish comedy, from the early days of Borsht belt to the present, ultimately exploring not just ethnicity in the entertainment industry, but also the entire unruly question of what it means to be Jewish. Winner of the City of Toronto + Canada Goose Award for Best Canadian Feature Film at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.

Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival Short Films

A Grand Canal Johnny Ma
A Greek tragedy told in a Chinese pop song. Tragic events of a boat captain trying to collect a debt to save his fleet of boats, as remembered by his 10-year-old son.

An Extraordinary Person Monia Chokri
A 30-year-old scholar, intelligent and beautiful yet socially crippled, is forced to attend a bachelorette party where her quest for authenticity leads to an unavoidable confrontation with old acquaintances.

The Chaperone 3D Fraser Munden and Neil Rathbone
The Chaperone 3D tells the true story of a lone teacher who fought off an entire motorcycle gang while chaperoning a middle school dance in 1970s Montreal. This film recreates the scene using hand-drawn animation, miniature sets, puppets, live-action kung fu and explosions all done in stereoscopic 3D.

The End of Pinky Claire Blanchet
The End of Pinky revolves around three fallen angels seeking companionship and humanity in the shadows of the red-light district, in a mythic, magically realized Montreal. The film’s hand-drawn pencil and pastel animation, rendered in stereoscopic 3D, conjures a seedy world whose sepia-toned palette evokes cheap whiskey and nicotine stains.

In guns we trust Nicolas Lévesque
In Kennesaw, a small American town in the state of Georgia, a good citizen is an armed citizen. By law, since 1982, each head of household must own at least one working firearm with ammunition.

Noah Walter Woodman and Patrick Cederberg
In a story that plays out entirely on a teenager’s computer screen, Noah follows its eponymous protagonist as his relationship takes a rapid turn for the worse. Winner of the YouTube Award for Best Canadian Short Film at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.

Nous avions Stéphane Moukarzel
Montreal, 1999. Every Sunday, a modest Pakistani immigrant family picnics in a dead end next to the airport, and watches the planes land. On this special day when the Legendary Concord is expected, 17-year-old Akram, the eldest of three kids, creates a family commotion when he decides to take off to live his own life.

Paradise Falls Fantavious Fritz
Deep in the heart of suburban hell, two adventurous youths explore a haunted mansion and fall in love with its ghost.

Subconscious Password Chris Landreth
Subconscious Password uses a common social gaffe — forgetting somebody’s name — as the starting point for a mind-bending romp through the unconscious. Inspired by the classic American TV game show Password, the film features a wealth of animated celebrity guests who try to prompt Charles to remember the name.

Yellowhead Kevan Funk
A middle-aged worksite safety inspector defiantly maintains a tireless occupational routine, traversing across Canada’s lonely northern landscape from one expansive industrial operation to the next. As the cracks in his crumbling personal life become more and more apparent, he slips deeper into willful ignorance and denial, providing a striking parallel to the altered physical landscape and exploitative industry that surrounds him.

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Slamdance Film Festival Unveils 2014 Narrative and Documentary Feature Film Competition Lineup

The Slamdance Film Festival taking place from January 17th to 23rd, 2014 in Park City, Utah, announced their Narrative and Documentary Feature Film Competition programs for its 20th Festival season. From over 5,000 submissions, the lineup includes 10 narrative and 8 documentary films, including 11 World Premieres, 4 North American, and 1 US Premiere. All competition films are feature film directorial debuts with budgets of less than $1 million and without US distribution.

NARRATIVE FEATURES PROGRAM

Copenhagen – Director & Screenwriter: Mark Raso
(USA, Canada, Denmark) World Premiere
A charming scoundrel visiting the city of his father’s birth, William is drawn to his impromptu guide Effy – wise, spontaneous, and half his age.
Cast: Gethin Anthony, Frederikke Dahl Hansen, Sebastian Armesto, Tamzin Merchant

Goldberg & Eisenberg – Director & Screenwriter: Oren Carmi
(Israel)
A lonely computer programmer finds his life disrupted by a boorish thug who becomes dangerously obsessed in this darkly absurd drama.
Cast: Yitzhak Laor, Yahav Gal, Roni Dotan

I Play With The Phrase Each Other – Director & Screenwriter: Jay Alvarez
(USA) North American Premiere
Young city dwellers with lyrical musings and a sliding sense of entitlement hold court in this film comprised entirely of cell phone conversations.
Cast: Jay Alvarez, Will Hand, Megan Kopp, Alexander Fraser

I Put A Hit On You – Directors & Screenwriters: Dane Clark, Linsey Stewart
(Canada) World Premiere
A broken-hearted woman teams up with her ex-boyfriend to try and stop the hitman she accidentally hired to kill him.
Cast: Aaron Ashmore, Sara Canning

My Blind Heart – Director & Screenwriter: Peter Brunner
(Austria) North American Premiere
Suffering from an incurable disease, a young man rebels against his body and the expectations forced upon him in this black and white expressionist film.
Cast: Christos Haas, Jana McKinnon, Susanne Lothar, Robert Schmiedt, Georg Friedrich

The Republic of Rick – Director: Mario Kyprianou; Screenwriters: Mario Kyprianou, Becky Leigh
(USA) World Premiere
In this politic satire, a self-proclaimed President of the Republic of Texas rallies to lead a paranoid militia for Texas’s independence in the late 1990s.
Cast: Dave Abed, Angie Gregory, Lori Jean Wilson

Rezeta – Director & Screenwriter: Fernando Frias de la Parra
(Mexico) US Premiere
A jet-setting model leads a freewheeling and spontaneous life in Mexico City that starts to change when she falls in love with an unexpected young artist.
Cast: Rezeta Veliu, Roger Mendoza, Paulina Davila, Sebastian Cordova

Rover – Director & Screenwriter: Tony Blahd
(USA) World Premiere
A dispirited cult awaits the sign to off themselves when their leader fakes a prophecy instructing them to make a movie and share their story with the world.
Cast: Liam Torres, Jonathan Randell Silver, Steve Siddell, Natalie Thomas

The Sublime and Beautiful – Director & Screenwriter: Blake Robbins
(USA) World Premiere
David and Kelly descend into a complicated hell of grief but they take very different paths to make things right after losing their children to a drunk driver.
Cast: Blake Robbins, Laura Kirk, Matthew Del Negro, Armin Shimerman

Wizard’s Way – Director & Screenwriter: Metal Man
(UK) North American Premiere
A champion online fantasy video game player, his encouraging best friend, and two ambitious would-be filmmakers who decide to capture it all for posterity.
Cast: Chris Killen, Joe Stretch, Kristian Scott, Socrates Adams-Florou, Sadie Frost

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES PROGRAM

Elliot – Directors & Screenwriters: Matthew Bauckman, Jaret Belliveau
(Canada) World Premiere
The bizarre story of Elliot Scott, his supportive partner Linda Lum, and their cast and crew of outrageous dreamers all striving to achieve success.
Cast: Elliot Scott, Blake Zwicker, Linda Lum

Glena – Director & Screenwriter: Allan Luebke
(USA) World Premiere
Glena Avila is a single mother in her 30′s who is fighting to become a professional Mixed Martial Artist.
Cast: Glena Avila, Stormy Back, Ron Andersen

Huntington’s Dance – Director: Chris Furbee
(USA) World Premiere
Told through 20 years of home movie footage, Huntington’s Dance is a personal and devastatingly raw look at how hereditary disease can shatter a family and a future. Cast: Chris Furbee, Rosemary Shockey, Gene Furbee

Kidnapped For Christ – Director: Kate S. Logan; Screenwriters: Yada Zamora, Kate S. Logan (USA, Dominican Republic) World Premiere
The personal stories of American teenagers who are taken from their homes and sent to an Evangelical Christian reform school located in The Dominican Republic.
Cast: David Wernsman, Tai Matheiu, Elizabeth Engle

Little Hope Was Arson – Director: Theo Love
(USA)
January 2010: In the buckle of the Bible Belt, 10 churches burn to the ground igniting the largest criminal investigation in East Texas history.

Skanks – Director: David McMahon
(USA) World Premiere
A community theatre in Birmingham, Alabama mounts a gender-bending new musical titled “Skanks In A One Horse Town.”

Sometimes I Dream I’m Flying – Director & Screenwriter: Aneta Popiel-Machnicka (Poland) North American Premiere
The poignant story of a young dancer preparing to perform at the Berlin Opera and the serious injury that threatens her lifelong dream.
Cast: Weronika Frodyma, Anna Linnik, Sergey Basalayev

Vanishing Pearls: The Oystermen of Pointe à la Hache – Director & Screenwriter: Nailah Jefferson
(USA) World Premiere
In Pointe à la Hache, Louisiana, the residents of this ruined fishing community continue dealing with the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, one of the worst man-made environmental disasters in US history.
Cast: Byron Encalade, Stanley Encalde, Kenneth Feinberg

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THE LUNCHBOX Lead Nominations for 56th Asia-Pacific Film Festival

THE LUNCHBOX

Ritesh Batra’s award-winning film THE LUNCHBOX, lead the nominations for the 56th Asia-Pacific Film Festival with six nods including Best Film and Best Director. In THE LUNCHBOX, a mistaken delivery in Mumbai’s famously efficient lunchbox delivery system connects a young housewife to a stranger in the dusk of his life. The awards for the Asia-Pacific Film Festival (APFF), an annual event hosted by the Federation of Motion Picture Producers in Asia-Pacific (FPA), will be announced on December 15, 2013, in Macau.

Best Picture:

“The Grandmaster” (Hong Kong)

“Like Father Like Son” (Tokyo)

“The Lunchbox” (Mumbai)

“Stray Dogs” (Taipei)

“Ilo Ilo” (Singapore)

“In Bloom” (Tbilisi)

Best Director:

Tsai Ming-liang, “Stray Dogs” (Taipei)

Bong Joon-ho, “Snowpiercer” (Seoul)

Ritesh Batra, “The Lunchbox” (Mumbai)

Jafar Panahi and Kamboziya Partovi, “Closed Curtain” (Tehran)

Wong Kar-wai, “The Grandmaster” (Hong Kong)

Hirokazu Kore-eda, “Like Father Like Son” (Tokyo)

Best Actor:

Irrfan Khan, “The Lunchbox” (Mumbai)

Nick Cheung, “Unbeatable” (Hong Kong)

Tony Leung Chiu-wai, “The Grandmaster” (Hong Kong)

Seo Young-ju, “Juvenile Offender” (Seoul)

Lee Kang-sheng, “Stray Dogs” (Taipei)

Masaharu Fukuyama, “Like Father Like Son” (Tokyo)

Best Actress:

Zhang Ziyi, “The Grandmaster” (Hong Kong)

Lee Jung-hyun, “Juvenile Offender” (Seoul)

Yang Zishan, “So Young” (Beijing)

Lika Babluani, “In Bloom” (Tbilisi)

Nimrat Kaur, “The Lunchbox” (Mumbai)

Angeli Bayani, “Ilo Ilo” (Singapore)

Best Supporting Actor:

Nawazuddin Siddiqui, “The Lunchbox” (Mumbai)

Song Kang-ho, “Snowpiercer” (Seoul)

Lily Franky, “Like Father Like Son” (Tokyo)

Tong Dawei, “American Dreams in China”, (Beijing)

Joe Odagiri, “The Great Passage” (Tokyo)

Best Supporting Actress

Crystal Lee, “Unbeatable” (Hong Kong)

Tilda Swinton, “Snowpiercer” (Seoul)

Yeo Yann Yann, “Ilo Ilo” (Singapore)

Lin Mei-hsiu, “To My Dear Granny” (Taipei)

Maggie Jiang Shuying, “So Young” (Beijing)

Best Screenplay

Anthony Chen, “Ilo Ilo” (Singapore)

Ritesh Batra, “The Lunchbox” (Mumbai)

Jafar Panahi “Closed Curtain” (Tehran)

Yuri Bykov, “The Major” (Moscow)

Li Qiang, “So Young” (Beijing)

Best Cinematography

Philippe Le Sourd, “The Grandmaster” (Hong Kong)

Hong Kyung-pyo, “Snowpiercer” (Seoul)

Liao Pen-jung , “Sung Wen-zhong (Stray Dogs)” (Taipei)

Norimichi Kasamatsu, “Unforgiven” (Tokyo)

Rajeev Ravi, “Monsoon Shootout” (Mumbai)

Best Editing

William Chang Suk Ping , Benjamin Courtines , Poon Hung Yiu, “The Grandmaster” (Hong Kong)

Shin Min-kyung, “Cold Eyes” (Seoul)

Steve M. Choe , “Chang Ju Kim (Snowpiercer)” (Seoul)

Hirokazu Kore-eda, “Like Father Like Son” (Tokyo)

Simon Price, Sally Blenheim, Luca Cappelli, “Ruin” (Sydney)

Best Sound Design

Tae Young Choi, “Snowpiercer” (Seoul)

Robert Mackenzie, Traithep Wongpaiboon, “The Grandmaster” (Hong Kong)

Phyllis Cheng, “Unbeatable” (Hong Kong)

Tu Duu-chih , Kuo Li-chi, “Stray Dogs” (Taipei)

Sion Sono , Keiji Inai , Hidekazu Sakamoto, “Why Don’t You Play In Hell” (Tokyo)

Best Music

Shigeru Umebayashi , Nathaniel Mechaly, “The Grandmaster” (Hong Kong)

Shane McLean, “Mt. Zion” (Wellington)

Zeke Khaseli, Yudhi Arfani, “What They Don’t Talk About When They Talk About Love” (Jakarta)

Jay Chou , Jason Huang, “The Rooftop” (Taipei)

Taro Iwashiro, “Ask This of Rikyu” (Tokyo)

Best Art Direction

William Chang Suk Ping , Alfred Yau Wai Ming, “The Grandmaster” (Hong Kong)

Ondrej Nekvasil, “Snowpiercer” (Seoul)

Mitsuo Harada, Ryo Sugimoto, “Unforgiven” (Tokyo)

Hisao Inagaki, “Why Don’t You Play In Hell” (Tokyo)

Arkkadech Keawkotr, “Pee Mak” (Bangkok)

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Midwest Independent Film Festival Announces Nominees for 2013 Best of the Midwest Awards

THE KINGS OF SUMMER, directed by Jordan Vogt Roberts,

The Midwest Independent Film Festival unveiled their list of nominees for 2013 Best of the Midwest Awards. The Midwest Independent Film Festival in Chicago, describes itself as the nation’s only film festival solely dedicated to the Midwest filmmaker, presenting audiences with regionally produced independent cinema every first Tuesday of the month. Films nominated for Best Film of 2013 include THE KINGS OF SUMMER, directed by Jordan Vogt Roberts, SOLE SURVIVOR, directed by Ky Dickens, BORN IN CHICAGO, directed by John Anderson, QWERTY, directed by Bill Sebastian, BE GOOD, directed by Todd Looby and SHE LOVES ME NOT, directed by Brian Jun and Jack Sanderson. The 2013 Best of the Midwest Awards Gala Presented by the Midwest Independent Film Festival will be held on Tuesday, December 3, 2013.

Best Music Video
Rouse Yourself, directed by Billy Bungeroth
I.L.O.U., directed by Michael Starcevich
Float Away, directed by Thom Glunt
Blood Is Blood, directed by Frank Donnangelo
Waiting for Godot, directed by Caitlin Pashalek
Dream Bigger Dreams, directed by Sandro

Best Short Film
Best If Used By, directed by Aemilia Scott
Paraiso, directed by Nadav Kurtz
Eugene, directed by Jason Stanfield and Jordan Olshansky
’92 Skybox Alonzo Mourning Rookie Card, directed by Todd Sklar
The Queen of My Dreams, directed by Fawzia Mirza and Ryan Logan
Sparkle, directed by Julia Reichert and Stephen Bognar
The Ghosts, directed by Eddie O’Keefe

Best Editing
Spencer Sachs and Jordan Olshansky, Eugene
Nadav Kurtz and Anthony Gannon, Paraiso
Anna Patel, Sole Survivor
Jan Maitland, Dream Bigger Dreams
Bill Sebastian and Clinton Noel Williams, QWERTY

Best Actress
Aemilia Scott, Best If Used By
Megan Mullaly, The Kings of Summer
Amy Siemetz, Be Good
Dana Pupkin, QWERTY
Amy Speckien, Kat and Willy
Kate Cobb, The Ghosts

Best Cinematography
Mike Gibisser, Be Good
Ross Riege, The Kings of Summer
Delaney Teichler, The Ghosts
Ryan Samul, She Loves Me Not
Christopher Barrett, Best If Used By

Best Screenplay
Maria Finitzo, Life Lessons
Juliet McDaniel, QWERTY
Aemilia Scott, Best If Used By
Brian Jun and Jack Sanderson, She Loves Me Not
Todd Looby, Be Good

Best Actor
Thomas J. Madden, Be Good
Nick Offerman, The Kings of Summer
Christian Stolte, Graveyard
Alex Beh, Coffees
Eric Hailey, QWERTY
David Pasquesi, Graveyard

Best Director
John Anderson, Born In Chicago
Ky Dickens, Sole Survivor
Aemilia Scott, Best If Used By
Jordan Vogt-Roberts, The Kings of Summer
Todd Looby, Be Good
Todd Sklar, ’92 Skybox Alonzo Mourning Rookie Card

Best Feature
The Kings of Summer, directed by Jordan Vogt Roberts
Sole Survivor, directed by Ky Dickens
Born In Chicago, directed by John Anderson
QWERTY, directed by Bill Sebastian
Be Good, directed by Todd Looby
She Loves Me Not, directed by Brian Jun and Jack Sanderson

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SONG FROM THE FOREST Wins Best Documentary at 2013 IDFA

SONG FROM THE FOREST by Michael Obert

SONG FROM THE FOREST by Michael Obert won the top prize, VPRO IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary at the 26th International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam which took place November 29 to December 1, 2013. The film focuses on American Louis Sarno, who has lived for 25 years with a tribe of Pygmies in the jungle of Central Africa and decides to take his son to America for the first time. Other top winners include TWIN SISTERS by Mona Friis Bertheussen snagging the BankGiro Loterij IDFA Audience Award. Twin Sisters is the remarkable story of Chinese twins adopted in two completely different parts of world, but who are united by fate. The next IDFA will take place November 19 to 30, 2014.

VPRO IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary

In addition, to Michael Obert winning the VPRO IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary for SONG FROM THE FOREST, the jury presented a Special Jury Award to A LETTER TO NELSON MANDELA by Khalo Matabane (South Africa / Germany), in which the filmmaker takes a critical look at Nelson Mandela, his status and role in the reforms that took place in South Africa in the 1990s.

NTR IDFA Award for Best Mid-Length Documentary

The Russian collective Gogol’s Wives Productions won the NTR IDFA Award for Best Mid-Length Documentary for PUSSY VERSUS PUTIN (Russia) – a grim record of the struggle by the wild, anarchistic female band Pussy Riot against president Putin, from their first disruptive performances to images shot in police cells.

IDFA Award for First Appearance

The IDFA Award for First Appearance was presented to Farida Pacha for MY NAME IS SALT (Switzerland / India), a painstaking observation of the labour-intensive process of salt extraction in an Indian desert, where the repetitive actions and events take on a ritual character.

The jury also presented an extra award in memory of Peter Wintonick: the Peter Wintonick Special Jury Award for First Appearance to Linda Västrik for FOREST OF THE DANCING SPIRITS, a portrait of a tribe of pygmies in Central Africa.

Dioraphte IDFA Award for Dutch Documentary

The Dioraphte IDFA Award for Dutch Documentary, went to AWAKE IN A BAD DREAM by Petra Lataster-Czisch and Peter Lataster. The film revolves around three women dealing with the physical and emotional suffering caused by breast cancer.

BankGiro Loterij IDFA Audience Award

The BankGiro Loterij IDFA Audience Award went to TWIN SISTERS by Mona Friis Bertheussen (Norway). Twin Sisters is the remarkable story of Chinese twins adopted in two completely different parts of world, but who are united by fate.

IDFA Award for Student Competition

The IDFA Award for Student Competition went to Ricardas Marcinkus for FINAL DESTINATION (Lithuania). The film deals with a Lithuanian prisoner released after 28 years. Unfortunately, the man rapidly sinks back into a life of drug abuse on the streets.

IDFA Melkweg Music Documentary Audience Award

Morgan Neville received the IDFA Melkweg Music Documentary Audience Award for TWENTY FEET FROM STARDOM (USA, 2013), in which the backing singers of superstars reveal what it is like to live in the shadow of fame, and talk about their love of music.

IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling

The firestarters IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling went to I LOVE YOUR WORK (USA) by Jonathan Harris. In this web documentary, nine women in the lesbian porn industry reveal not only their bodies, but their thoughts to the camera.

IDFA DOC U Award

The IDFA DOC U Award presented by a jury of young people, went to Joe Piscatella for #chicagoGirl – THE SOCIAL NETWORK TAKES ON A DICTATOR (USA / Syria). From a suburb of Chicago, a nineteen-year-old American female student has been coordinating the Syrian revolution since 2011, armed with every imaginable social network.

Mediafonds Kids & Docs Award 2013

Finally, the Mediafonds Kids & Docs Award 2013 was presented to A HOME FOR LYDIA by Eline Helena Schellekens. The film tells the story of Lydia, who was born in the Netherlands but has no residence permit. A special children’s jury voted A Home for Lydia the best Dutch youth documentary of the past year. Eline Helena Schellekens received €15,000 towards making a new youth documentary.
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African Diaspora International Film Festival Unveils 2013 Caribbean Experience Showcase Lineup

Toussaint Louverture

Cuba, Granada, Haiti, Jamaica, Curaçao, Surinam and French Guiana are some of the countries featured among the 35 countries featured in the 73 films included in 21st African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF-2013) Caribbean Experience showcase. Haiti and Jamaica are at the center with Spotlight on Haiti Jamaicanity; The Resonance of Jamaica, and two programs that present a selection of films that reveal many things about both countries.

SPOTLIGHT ON HAITI

The epic film Toussaint Louverture – which had its New York premiere during ADIFF 2012 to great success – is back as part of a the Spotlight on Haiti program. Looking for Life/Chercher la Vie is a modest film that follows the daily work of two Haitian women and their constant battle for survival in a Haitian economy that is bled dried due to Globalization.

The earthquake of 2010 was devastating for Haiti. While the world stood up to the challenge and aid poured in many ways from many parts, today the effectiveness of the many contributions made is questioned by two Haitian filmmakers – Raoul Peck with Fatal Assistance/Assistance Mortelle and Joseph Hillel with Ayiti Toma, The Land of the Living /Ayiti Toma. Au Pays Des Vivants – who talk about the country, the international aid system, the men and organizations involved and the Haitian people. The level of critical thinking is intense.

Also in the program is Birthright Crisis 2013 about the current challenges faced by Dominicans of Haitian descent born and raised in Dominican Republic who are now being stripped of their Dominican nationality through legislative changes.

JAMAICANITY: THE RESONANCE OF JAMAICA

Jamaicanity, the Resonance of Jamaica is a program built around a certain essence in Jamaica and Jamaicans that gives all things Jamaican a very remarkable human experience, not only in the context of the Americas but also in the world.Catch a Fire reminds us of colonial times on the island of Jamaica and the important role of Paul Boggle in the history of the island. The First Rasta tells the story of Percival Howell and the movement he created – the Rasta Movement – and its ramification in the world.

The Journey of the Lion is a road movie about a Rastaman who in his native Jamaica dreams of going to Africa. This film is sort of a classic for those interested in Jamaica and the Rasta movement. Youths of Shasha talks about these Jamaicans who made it back to Africa and now live in Ethiopia, on land donated to their ancestors by Haile Selassie. Made in Jamaica covers the Jamaican music scenario in a rare, very creative way as many of the musicians showcased come from different styles and sounds all rooted in a Jamaican vibe. The Story of Lovers Rock and The Stuart Hall Project both narrate the impact of Jamaicans in the UK who, from very different walks of life, marked the old continent with a fresh Caribbean input.

Patrice Johnson is a New York filmmaker born in Jamaica. In her films about New Yorkers, there is a Jamaican flavor that characterizes her work. NY’s Dirty Laundry and Hill and Gully, breathe that Jamaicanity that is the resonance of things Jamaican. The same applies for British filmmaker of Jamaican origin, Stephen Lloyd Jackson, whose latest film Sable Fable is a fascinating story about love and identity set in Black London.

CURACAO, GRENADA, CUBA, FRENCH GUIANA

With a compilation that includes recent and less recent films, the selection of Caribbean films in ADIFF 2013 reflects the imagination, creativity and diversity of themes and topics found in this area of the world.

Tula, The Revolt is a fiction film based on real events: the1795 slave revolt on the island of Curaçao, a Dutch colony at the time. Tula, the leader of the revolt, is remembered and celebrated for his significant contribution made to history by Africans in the New World.

Grenada: Colonialism and Conflict focuses its analysis on the island of Grenada in the 70’s and 80’s with reflections and information very much applicable to the socio-political development of other countries in the area.

Cuba is one of the three Spanish speaking countries in the Caribbean; this island is also a country that has gone through radical changes since 1959. The Campaign Against Illiteracy launched in the country after the revolution was one of the moments that defined the direction the country wanted to take regarding the quality of life for its people. Maestra is a film about the women who participated in this Campaign Against Illiteracy and how that moment galvanized a population.

One People/Wan Pipel is one of those films that never get old as it is a love story that still resonates in the context of the Caribbean universe. Set in a Surinam on the verge of its independence, One Peopledescribes how two people of opposite groups go against all odds and love each other in country building a new identity.

The maroons in French Guiana have a very strong culture that has survived the change of time. Aluku Liba, Maroon Again follows Loeti who, after years living away from his culture, decides to come back home and be a Maroon again. Not your everyday story, Aluku Liba, Maroon Again lets you discover one of the old African-based cultures of the New World.

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Sundance London Sets 2014 Dates

The 2014 edition of the Sundance London film and music festival will take place from April 25 to 27, 2014, at The O2. In addition to the return of the Sundance London Short Film Competition, the festival will feature an expanded filmmaker development program and a Shorts Workshop.

The Sundance London Short Film Competition invites UK-based filmmakers to enter original films between three and five minutes in length, with the winning entry screening at Sundance London and its filmmaker receiving a three-night stay at The Langham, London as well as additional prizes to be announced. Entries should relate to a theme of ‘Making a go of it’: stories about moving forward in life, love or loss and the pursuit of inspiration.’ Submissions can be documentary, animation, live action, comedy, drama or any other preferred format or genre, and will accepted until 17:59 (GMT) on Monday 3 March, 2014.
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HANK AND ASHA and ALICE WALKER: BEAUTY IN TRUTH Win Top Awards at 2013 Napa Valley Film Festival

HANK AND ASHA directed by James E. Duff won the Best Narrative Feature Film Award

HANK AND ASHA directed by James E. Duff won the Best Narrative Feature Film Award, and ALICE WALKER: BEAUTY IN TRUTH directed by Pratibha Parmar won the Best Feature Documentary Film Award at the third annual Napa Valley Film Festival. In the romantic comedy Hank And Asha, winner of the Audience Award at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival, an Indian woman studying in Prague and a lonely New Yorker begin an unconventional correspondence through video letters – two strangers searching for human connection in a hyper-connected world. When their relationship deepens, they must decide whether or not to meet face to face. Alice Walker: Beauty In Truth is a feature documentary film which tells the compelling story of an extraordinary woman’s journey from her birth in a paper-thin shack in cotton fields of Putnam County, Georgia to her recognition as a key writer of the 20th Century.

JURIED AWARDS

Best Short Documentary: Sky Burial directed by Tad Fettig

Best Feature Documentary: Alice Walker: Beauty In Truth directed by Pratibha Parmar

Best Animated Short: Sleight of Hand directed by Michael Cusack

Honorable Mention:The Right Place directed by Jamie Gallant

Honorable Mention: Horespower directed by Olivia Lai Shetler

Best Narrative Short: King of Norway directed by Sylvia Sether

Honorable Mention: The Romantics directed by Ryan Daniel Dobson

Honorable Mention: The Listing Agent directed by Matthew Helfgott & Jared Hillman

Best Screenplay: The Girl on the Train, Screenwriter & Director Larry Brand

Best Ensemble Cast: The Bounceback, starring Zach Cregger, Sara Paxton, Ashley Bell, Michael Stahl-David

Best Narrative Feature: Hank and Asha directed by James E. Duff

Special Jury Prize for Best Cinematography:My Brother Jack directed by Stephen Dest

Special Jury Prize for Most Thought Provoking Film:The Last White Knight directed by Paul Saltzman

AUDIENCE AWARDS

Favorite Narrative Feature: The Little Tin Man directed by Matthew Perkins

Favorite Actor: Andrew Pastides, Hank & Asha

Favorite Actress: Mahira Kakkar, Hank & Asha

Favorite Documentary Feature: Finding Hillywood directed by Christopher Towey and Leah Warshawski

Favorite Documentary Short: Make Haste Slowly: The Kikkoman Story directed by Lucy Walker

Favorite Narrative Short: The Listing Agent directed by Mathew Helfgott and Jared Hillman

Favorite Animated Short: Horsepower directed by Olivia Lai Shetler

Favorite Lounge Feature: Starring Adam West directed by James Tooley

Favorite Lounge Short: The Romantics directed by Ryan Daniel Dobson
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PHILOMENA Wins Top Award at 2013 Virginia Film Festival

PHILOMENA

The Virginia Film Festival announced the winners of its Audience and Programmer’s Awards for the 2013 festival. Earning top honors in the Audience Award category of Best Narrative Feature was PHILOMENA, the Stephen Frears directed drama starring Dame Judi Dench as a woman who was forced to give up her son for adoption by her Irish Catholic community decades earlier and joins forces with a BBC reporter, played by Steve Coogan, on a mission to find him.

The full list of 2013 VFF Audience Award winners includes:

Narrative Feature: PHILOMENA (Stephen Frears)

Narrative Short: AWAKENED EYES (Lainey Wood), also Runner Up in the VFF’s 2013 ACTION! High School Filmmaker Competition

Documentary Feature: CLAW (Brian Wimer and Billy Hunt)

Documentary Short: THE CREATIVE PROPOSITION (Gordon Quinn)

This year, Kielbasa and VFF Programmer Wesley Harris once again saluted their own “Best of Fest” picks with Programmer’s Award winners, including:

Narrative Feature: BLUE RUIN (Jeremy Saulnier)

Documentary Feature: A WILL FOR THE WOODS (Amy Browne, Tony Hale, Jeremy Kaplan, Brian Wilson)

Narrative Short: MIRACLE BOY (Jason Brown)

Documentary Short: RING PEOPLE (Alfredo Covelli)

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Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, Bruce Dern, Matthew McConaughey and Steve McQueen to be Honored at 2014 Palm Springs International Film Festival

The 25th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will honor Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, Bruce Dern, Matthew McConaughey and Steve McQueen at its annual Awards Gala to be held Saturday, January 4, 2014, at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Festival runs January 3 to 13, 2014.

Academy Award winning actress Julia Roberts will be presented with the Spotlight Award for AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY. The Weinstein Company presents August: Osage County which tells the dark, hilarious and deeply touching story of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose lives have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them. Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name made its Broadway debut in December 2007 after premiering at Chicago’s legendary Steppenwolf Theatre. It continued with a successful international run and won five 2008 Tony Awards including Best Play. August: Osage County is directed by John Wells and features an all-star cast including Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson, Sam Shepard and Misty Upham.

Steve McQueen with receive the Director of the Year Award for 12 YEARS A SLAVE. 12 Years a Slave is based on an incredible true story of one man’s fight for survival and freedom. In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty (personified by a malevolent slave owner, portrayed by Michael Fassbender) as well as unexpected kindnesses, Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon’s chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist (Brad Pitt) forever alters his life. The Fox Searchlight Pictures film is directed and produced by Steve McQueen and stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Garret Dillahunt, Paul Giamatti, Scoot McNairy, Lupita Nyong’o, Adepero Oduye, Sarah Paulson, Brad Pitt, Michael Kenneth Williams, Alfre Woodard, Chris Chalk, Taran Killam and Bill Camp.

Bruce Dern currently seen in NEBRASKA, will be presented with the Career Achievement Award. Paramount Vantage presents Nebraska, directed by Alexander Payne and starring Bruce Dern (who won Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year), Will Forte, June Squibb, Stacy Keach and Bob Odenkirk. In the film, a father and son steer the American road comedy into a vanishing Midwest on the trail of a dubious fortune – and in search of an understanding of each other that once seemed impossible. After receiving a sweepstakes letter in the mail, a cantankerous father (Dern) thinks he’s struck it rich, and wrangles his son (Forte) into taking a road trip to claim the fortune. Shot in black and white across four states, Nebraska tells the stories of family life in the heartland of America. Dern won Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival for his role.

Academy Award®-winning actress Sandra Bullock now starring in GRAVITY, in theaters, will be presented with the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress. Gravity stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney in a Warner Bros. Pictures film directed by Alfonso Cuarón. Dr. Ryan Stone (Bullock) is a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski (Clooney) in command. But on a seemingly routine mission, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed by space debris, leaving Stone and Kowalski completely alone—tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth…and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. The only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.

Palm Springs International Film Festival will present Matthew McConaughey now seen in the new movie DALLAS BUYERS CLUB, with the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor. Inspired by true events, Dallas Buyers Club is directed by Jean-Marc Vallée from an original screenplay by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack, and also stars Jennifer Garner and Jared Leto.
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Emma Thompson, Oprah Winfrey, Cate Blanchett, Forest Whitaker to be Honored at 2014 Santa Barbara International Film Festival

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival will honor actor, screenwriter and producer Emma Thompson, Oprah Winfrey, Academy Award winning actress Cate Blanchett, and Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker, at the 29th edition of the Fest, which runs January 30 thru February 9, 2014.

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival will honor actor, screenwriter and producer Emma Thompson with the Modern Master Award. The Modern Master Award is the highest honor presented by SBIFF. Emma Thompson will be honored for her ‘illustrious versatile career, which includes her captivating portrayal of P.L. Travers, author of the universally beloved Mary Poppins novels, in the upcoming Saving Mr. Banks, directed by John Lee Hancock.’

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival will honor Oprah Winfrey with the prestigious Montecito Award. The Montecito Award was created in recognition of a performer who has given a series of classic and standout performances throughout his/her career and whose style has been a contribution to film. Oprah Winfrey’s most recent work includes her moving portrayal of supportive wife Gloria Gaines in Lee Daniels’ The Butler. This historical drama stars Forest Whitaker as an African American butler working at the White House through multiple administrations, set against the arc of the civil rights movement.

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival will present the 2014 Outstanding Performer of the Year Award to Academy Award winning actress Cate Blanchett. Blanchett will be honored for what the festival describes as her stellar performance in this year’s Blue Jasmine, in which she portrays Jasmine French, a deeply conflicted and complex woman in the throes of her world unraveling. The imploding of her life has far-reaching effects on those around her, leaving the audience to wonder if everyone can heal and move forward. Jasmine is tragically flawed and with Blanchett at the helm, we feel Jasmine’s pain and experience her journey.

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s eighth annual Kirk Douglas Award For Excellence In Film will be presented to Academy Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker. According to the festival, Whitaker brings an authentic realism to each of his performances. Often referred to as a ‘gentle giant,’ Whitaker has the ability to get under our skin, guiding the audience through every character he embodies, making him one of the most versatile performers of all time. This promises to be an exciting year for Whitaker. He most recently portrayed Cecil Gaines, a butler at the White House serving eight presidents during his tenure in Lee Daniels’ The Butler, opposite Oprah Winfrey; he will grace the screen in Out of the Furnace, opposite Christian Bale; and he will also be seen in his first musical, Black Nativity, opposite Jennifer Hudson and Angela Bassett. In addition, Forest is the founder of LA-based Significant Productions, where he served as a producer on Fruitvale Station, which won the 2013 Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
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THE ROCKET Tops 2013 Leeds International Film Festival, Wins Audience Award

THE ROCKET was voted by 27th Leeds International Film Festival audiences as overall favorite from 139 feature films. Set against the lush backdrop of rural Laos, The Rocket is described as a spirited, fable-like family drama from Australia that tells the story of ten-year-old Ahlo, who yearns to break free from his ill-fated destiny. After his village is displaced to make way for a massive dam, Ahlo escapes with his father and grandmother through the Laotian outback in search of a new home. Along the way, they come across a rocket festival with a competition that offers a lucrative, but dangerous, chance for a new beginning.The two feature films that were closest in the voting to The Rocket are both music documentaries, FILMAGE: THE STORY OF DESCENDENTS / ALL and REVENGE OF THE MEKONS. The top ten winners in the LIFF27 Audience Award for Best Film are: 1) The Rocket 2) Filmage: The Story of Descendents / ALL 3) Revenge of the Mekons 4) Final Cut, Ladies & Gentlemen 5) Ghost Graduation 6) Mistaken for Strangers 7) Brothers Hypnotic 8) We are the Best! 9) Gravity 10) Sign Painters.

27th Leeds International Film Festival announced its winning short films

Louis le Prince International Short Film Competition 2013

Winner: JUST BEFORE LOSING EVERYTHING (Avant que de tout perdre) (Dir. Xavier Legrand, France)
Special Mentions: Room 606 (Zimmer 606) (Dir. Peter Volkart, Switzerland) + We’re Flying (Wir Fliegen)(Dir. Ulrike Kofler, Austria/ Germany) Jury statement on Just Before Losing Everything:
‘The Jury was impressed by the tense and immediately affecting atmosphere of this film. Though seen on the first day this film remained with the jury. It maintains a momentum portraying a real life family drama that projects the terrifying reality of domestic violence.’

World Animation Award 2013

Winner: Guilt (Kalte) (Dir. Reda Bartkute, Lithuania)
Special Mention: Rabbit and Deer (Nyuszi és Őz) (Dir. Péter Vácz, Hungary)
+ In the air is Christopher Gray (Dir. Felix Massie, UK)
Jury statement on Guilt (Kalte):
‘The Jury was mesmerised by the surreal imagery and clear artistic vision of the Director. With a clear independent spirit the film told a story that could only be portrayed through the medium of animation.

‘British Short Film Competition 2013

Winner: Sea View (Dir. Jane Linfoot)
Special Mentions: L’Assenza (Dir. Jonathan Romney) + Getting On (Dir. Ninian Doff)
Jury statement on Sea View:
‘Elevated by an impressive central performance that suggests a talent beyond her years. The Jury felt that Sea View is accomplished in its atmosphere, sense of place and treatment of aesthetics. It sits well in the contemporary British cinema landscape.’

Yorkshire Short Film Competition 2013

Winner: OH MESSY LIFE (Dir. Jonathan Harrold)
Special Mention: Ratzilla (Dir. Rad Miller)
Jury statement on Oh Messy Life:
‘It was driven by a very clear and visual sense of storytelling. The Jury felt it captures the essence of what it is to be in love, and the fears and uncertainties that such feelings provoke.

‘The Silver Méliès Short Film Competition 2013

Winner: DEATH OF A SHADOW (Dood van een Schaduw) (Dir. Tom van Avermaet, Belgium / France, 2012)
Special Mentions: Shell Shocked (Dir. Dominic Brunt, UK, 2013) + Raw Meat (La Carne Cruda) (Samuel Lema, Spain, 2013)
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