Film Festivals

Outfest Los Angeles LGBT Film Festival Unveils 2013 Lineup of Films

[caption id="attachment_4083" align="alignnone" width="550"]REACHING FOR THE MOON[/caption]

The 31st Outfest Los Angeles LGBT Film Festival, to be held July 11 to 21, 2013, announced the complete film lineup for this years festival, including Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s “C.O.G.,” as Opening Night film and Darren Stein’s comedy “G.B.F.,” as closing night film.

In addition to opening and closing night, other gala screenings include: “Pit Stop” (U.S. Dramatic Centerpiece), Yen Tan’s quietly powerful Sundance darling, in which the Outfest alum provides an evocative glimpse into the lives of two Southern gay men; veteran Brazilian filmmaker Bruno Barreto returns with “Reaching for the Moon” (International Dramatic Centerpiece), a steamy tale of an unlikely romance between two extraordinary lesbian artists, set against the backdrop of political upheaval and a clash of cultures; ”God Loves Uganda” (Documentary Centerpiece), in which Academy Award–winner Roger Ross Williams provides powerful insight into the ignorance (cloaked in religion) exported by the United States to the rest of the world; and Pratibha Parmar‘s “Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth” (Fusion Centerpiece), a compelling and inspirational documentary about Alice Walker’s extraordinary journey from sharecropper’s daughter to activist, journalist, poet and Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist of The Color Purple.

Other films in this year’s festival include Travis Mathews and James Franco’s “Interior. Leather Bar.”, a provocative re-imagining of the lost 40 minutes of “Cruising”; the James Franco-produced documentary “Kink,” in which director Christina Voros takes us into the painful but oh-so-pleasurable world of five San Francisco–based BDSM workers; Linda Bloodworth Thomason’s award-winning “Bridegroom,” a powerful and poignant feature about love, loss and the courage of one young man to stand up for same-sex equality; Jeffrey Schwarz’s “I Am Divine,” a documentary about the legendary drag performer Divine; “The Battle of amFAR,” a triumphant short film by Outfest Achievement Award winners Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, which focuses on the landmark AIDS advocacy group; and world premieres of “Igloo,” the feature film directorial debut by Chilean actor Diego Ruiz, and Del Shores’ hilarious and heartbreaking screen adaptation of his hit play “Southern Baptist Sissies”.

OUTFEST LOS ANGLES 2013 LINE-UP

GALA FILMS

C.O.G. – OPENING NIGHT GALA
Dir/Scr: Kyle Patrick Alvarez, 2013, USA, 88 min.

PIT STOP – US DRAMATIC CENTERPIECE
Dir: Yen Tan, Scr: Yen Tan, David Lowery, 2013, USA, 80 min.

REACHING FOR THE MOON – INTERNATIONAL CENTERPIECE
Dir: Bruno Barreto, Scr: Carolina Kotscho, Julie Sayres, Matthew Chapman, 2013, Brazil, subtitled, 116 min.

GOD LOVES UGANDA- DOCUMENTARY CENTERPIECE
Dir: Roger Ross Williams, 2013, USA, subtitled, 83 min.

ALICE WALKER: BEAUTY IN TRUTH – FUSION CENTERPIECE
Dir/Scr: Pratibha Parmar, 2013, UK/USA, 82 min.

G.B.F. – CLOSING NIGHT GALA
Dir: Darren Stein, Scr: George Northy, 2013, USA, 98 min.

U.S. DRAMATIC FEATURES

ASS BACKWARDS
Dir: Chris Nelson, Scr: June Diane Raphael, Casey Wilson, 2013, USA, 83 min.

BIG GAY LOVE
Dir/Scr: Ringo Le, 2013, USA, 85 min.

BREAKING THE GIRLS
Dir: Jamie Babbit, Scr: Mark Distefano, Guinevere Turner, 2012, USA, 98 min.

BRUNO & EARLENE GO TO VEGAS
Dir/Scr: Simon Savory, 2013, USA/UK, 97 min.

CONCUSSION
Dir/Scr: Stacie Passon, 2012, USA, 97 min.

GEOGRAPHY CLUB
Dir: Gary Entin, Scr: Edmund Entin, 2012, USA, 83 min.

THE GO DOC PROJECT
Dir/Scr: Cory Krueckeberg, 2013, USA, 91 min.

THE HAPPY SAD
Dir: Rodney Evans, Scr: Ken Urban, 2013, USA, 126 min.

HOT GUYS WITH GUNS
Dir/Scr: Doug Spearman, 2013, USA, 110 min.

IN BLOOM
Dir/Scr: Chris Michael Birkmeier, 2013, USA, 87 min.

LAST SUMMER
Dir/Scr: Mark Thiedeman, 2013, USA, 73 min.

THE MOST FUN I’VE EVER HAD WITH MY PANTS ON
Dir/Scr: Drew Denny, 2012, USA, 95 min.

SOUTHERN BAPTIST SISSIES
Dir/Scr: Del Shores, 2013, USA, 135 min.

TEST
Dir/Scr: Chris Mason Johnson, 2013, USA, 90 min.

VALENCIA
Dir: Hilary Goldberg, Silas Howard, Cheryl Dunye, Aubree Bernier-Clarke, Lares Feliciano, Dia Felix, Alexa Inkeles, Jerry Lee, Peter Anthony, Sharon Barnes, Cary Cronenwett, Bug Davidson, Samuael Topiary, Olivia Parriott, Jill Soloway, Courtney Trouble, Michelle Lawler, Sara St. Martin Lynne, Chris Vargas, Greg Youmans, 2012, USA, 106 min.

WHO’S AFRAID OF VAGINA WOLF?
Dir: Anna Margarita Albelo, Scr: Anna Margarita Albelo, Michael Urban, 2013, USA, 83 min.

INTERNATIONAL DRAMATIC FEATURES

ANIMALS
Dir: Marçal Forés, Scr: Marçal Forés, Enric Pardo, Aintza Serra, 2013, Spain, subtitled, 91 min.

BEYOND THE WALLS
Dir/Scr: David Lambert, 2012, Belgium, subtitled, 98 min.

BWAKAW
Dir/Scr: Jun Robles Lana, 2012, Philippines, subtitled, 110 min.

EVERYBODY’S GOT SOMEBODY…NOT ME
Dir/Scr: Raúl Fuentes, 2012, Mexico, subtitled, 95 min.

FREE FALL
Dir: Stephan Lacant, Scr: Stephan Lacant, Karsten Dahlem, 2013, Germany, subtitled, 100 min.

IGLOO
Dir: Diego Ruiz, Scr: Diego Ruiz, Shawn Garry, 2013, Chile, subtitled, 86 min.

IN THE NAME OF…
Dir: Malgoska Szumowska, Scr: Malgoska Szumowska, Michal Englert, 2013, Poland, subtitled, 102 min.

IT’S ALL SO QUIET
Dir/Scr: Nanouk Leopold, 2013, Germany/ Netherlands, subtitled, 93 min.

THE LAST MATCH
Dir: Antonio Hens, Scr: Abel González Melo, Antonio Hens, 2012, Cuba, subtitled, 94 min.

LOVE ME NOT
Dir: Gilitte Leung, Scr: Gilitte Leung, Hedy Yau, 2012, China, subtitled, 92 min.

OUT IN THE DARK
Dir: Michael Mayer, Scr: Michael Mayer, Yael Shafrir, 2012, Israel/Palestine/USA, subtitled, 96 min.

SOONGAVA: DANCE OF THE ORCHIDS
Dir/Scr: Subarna Thapa, 2012, Nepal/France, subtitled, 85 min.

SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER / GOING SOUTH
SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER Dir: Leesong Hee-il, 2012, South Korea, subtitled, 37 min.
GOING SOUTH Dir: Leesong Hee-il, 2012, South Korea, subtitled, 45 min.

TO HEAVEN
Dir: Diego Prado, Scr: María Eugenia Cortajerena, 2012, Argentina, subtitled, 82 min.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

AFTER TILLER
Dir: Martha Shane, Lana Wilson, Scr: Greg O’Toole, Martha Shane, Lana Wilson, 2012, USA, 87 min.

BAYOU MAHARAJAH: THE TRAGIC GENIUS OF JAMES BOOKER
Dir: Lily Keber, 2013, USA, 93 min.

BEFORE YOU KNOW IT
Dir: PJ Raval, 2013, USA, 110 min..

BIG JOY: THE ADVENTURES OF JAMES BROUGHTON
Dir: Eric Slade, Stephen Silha, Dawn Logsdon, 2012, USA, 83 min.

BORN THIS WAY
Dir: Shaun Kadlec and Deb Tullman, 2013, USA, subtitled, 82 min.

BRIDEGROOM
Dir: Linda Bloodworth Thomason, 2013, USA, 80 min.

CONTINENTAL
Dir: Malcolm Ingram, 2012, USA/Canada, 95 min.

DEEPSOUTH
Dir: Lisa Biagiotti, 2012, USA, 72 min.

GORE VIDAL: THE UNITED STATES OF AMNESIA
Dir/Scr: Nicholas Wrathall, 2013, USA, 89 min.

I AM DIVINE
Dir: Jeffrey Schwarz, 2013, USA, 86 min.

IAN HARVIE SUPERHERO
Dir: Liam Sullivan, Scr: Ian Harvie, 2013, USA, 71 min.

KINK
Dir: Christina Voros, Scr: Christina Voros, Ian Olds, 2012, USA, 79 min.

LESBIANA: A PARALLEL REVOLUTION
Dir/Scr: Myriam Fougère, 2012, Canada, 63 min.

MAMA RAINBOW
Dir: Fan Popo, 2012, China, subtitled, 80 min.

THE OTHER SHORE
Dir: Timothy Wheeler, 2013, USA, 96 min.

TRANSVISIBLE: THE BAMBY SALCEDO STORY
Dir: Dante Alencastre, 2013, USA, subtitled, 60 min.

TWO: THE STORY OF ROMAN & NYRO
Dir: Heather Winters, Scr: Curtis Shaw Child, Heather Winters, Desmond Child, 2013, USA, 71 min.

PLATINUM SECTION

PLATINUM SHOWCASE

HARD Dir: Vanessa Roveto, 6 min.

PASSIONS OF ST. AQUEDUCT Dir: Tony Stinkmetal, 2 min.

SHE GONE ROGUE Dir: Zackary Drucker, Rhys Ernst, 22 min.

THE BASKET Dir: Narcissister, Josef Kraska, 5 min.

THE ASSUMPTION Dir: Navid Sinaki, 6 min.

INVISIBLE Dir: Brian Bress, 6 min.

SHAPING UP Dir: William E. Jones, 2 min.

FOR FLO Dir:Cary Cronenwett, 11 min.

SHELLEY WINTERS Dir: Luther Price, 11 min.

OUT OF THE STRONG COME FORTH WITH A SWEETNESS WEAKNESS Dir: Jonesy, 15 min.

SAN DIEGO SURF
Dir: Andy Warhol, 1968/1996, USA, 90 min.

TOUCH
Dir/Scr: Shelly Silver, 2013, USA, subtitled, 68 min.

CRIMINAL QUEERS
Dir: Chris E. Vargas, Eric A. Stanley, 2013, USA, 70 min.

THE TRANSPARENT TRAP: A POWER POINTLESS PRESENTATION BY DYNASTY HANDBAG
Dir: Ben Walters, Gavin Butt, 2012, UK, 118 min.

LAST DANCE: QUEER TAKES ON THE END OF DAYS

HEALING Dir: Stephanie Barber, 12 min. IPSE DIXIT Dir: Harry Dodge, 4 min.

A DAY FOR CAKE AND ACCIDENTS Dir: Steve Reinke, Jessie Mott, 4 min.

LAST MEN Dir: Adam Shecter, 6 min.

IF THERE BE THORNS Dir: Michael Robinson, 13 min.

INSIDE VELVET K Dir: Luther Price, 10 min.

TABLEAU Dir: Nao Bustamante, 18 min.

EARTHSHIP 2013 Dir: A.K. Burns, 8 min.

ELATION 4 Performer: Colin Self, 25 min.

TURNING
Dir: Charles Atlas, 2012, Denmark/USA, 76 min.

INTERIOR. LEATHER BAR.
Dir: Travis Mathews, James Franco, Scr: Travis Mathews, 2012, USA, 60 min.

PLEADING IN THE BLOOD: THE ART OF RON ATHEY
PANELS & SPECIAL EVENTS
THE 15th ANNUAL HOME VIDEO GONG SHOW
B. RUBY RICH PRESENTS THE WITNESSES
Dir: André Téchiné, Scr: André Téchiné, Laurent Guyot, Viviane Zingg, 2007, France, subtitled, 112 min.

THE BATTLE OF AMFAR
Dir. Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, 2013, USA, 40 min.

PITCH PERFECT: THE SING-ALONG
Dir: Jason Moore, Scr: Kay Cannon, 2012, USA, 112 min.

TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL
Dir. Gary Takesian, 2010, USA, 40 min.

SECOND SHOT
Dir: Annie Price, Scr: Dara Nai, Nancylee Myatt, Claudia Cogan, 2013, USA, 70 min.

KEEP THE PROMISE: THE GLOBAL FIGHT AGAINST AIDS
Dir. Marc Smolowitz, Jorg Fockele, 2013, USA, 44 min.

via OUTFEST
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World Premiere of South African Director Jahmil XT Qubeka’s OF GOOD REPORT to Open 2013 Durban International Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_4080" align="alignnone" width="550"]Mothusi Magano as Parker Sithole in OF GOOD REPORT[/caption]

OF GOOD REPORT, from South African director Jahmil XT Qubeka, will have its World Premiere as the opening night film of the 34th Durban International Film Festival in South Africa on July 18. OF GOOD REPORT, which Qubeka describes as “a passionate homage to classic film noir”, tells the somber tale of a small-town high-school teacher with a penchant for young girls.

The trouble for Parker Sithole (Mothusi Magano) begins when he accepts an invitation to a drinking session at the local tavern. Here, he meets the undeniably gorgeous Nolitha Ngubane (Petronella Tshuma). Captivated by her beauty, Parker experiences an ecstasy he’s never known before and truly feels like a man reborn. From this mutual attraction, an illicit affair ensues. However, there ’s just one problem: the beautiful Nolitha is one of Parker’s pupils and just sixteen years old. Parker quickly spirals into a deep obsession that ultimately turns to a tragedy.

Six months later, the sociopathic Parker has moved on from his previous job. Trudging along the barren landscape, he stumbles upon an opportunity for a fresh start. According to a caption on an old strewn newspaper, there is a shortage of teachers in Zimbabwe. A qualified educator like him shouldn’t struggle to find a post; after all, he does come ‘of good report’.

In Qubeka’s words, Of Good Report, “is a serial killer origins story about how a social misfit turns into an inadequate man hell-bent on satisfying his shameful lust. It is Little Red Riding Hood, told from the wolf’s perspective.”

[caption id="attachment_4081" align="alignnone" width="550"]OF GOOD REPORT Director Jahmil XT Qubeka[/caption]

The director of television programs and documentaries, Qubeka’s documentary and feature film work has screened at festivals around the world. He has directed Talk to Me, an hour-long HIV/Aids documentary special with Sesame Street New York, which won the Peabody Award for best Actuality Programming. He also produced the low budget feature film uMalusi, which was released by Ster Kinekor in March 2009. His second feature, A Small Town Called Descent enjoyed its world premiere at the 31st Durban International Film Festival, and won the Founders’ Award for Narrative Feature at the Pan African Film Festival.201

The Durban International Film Festival takes place from July 18 – 28, 2013

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Alice Krige’s JAIL CAESAR Among Lineup for 2013 Revelation Perth International Film Festival

Revelation Perth International Film Festival announced its program lineup for 2013 festival running July 4 to 14, 2013 across Perth, Western Australia.

The 16th annual Festival will also play host to award winning actress Alice Krige (Chariots Of Fire, Ghost Story, Star Trek: First Contact, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) who will be visiting Perth to attend the Festival as a featured international guest. Krige, with Paul Schoolman, will be presenting their film Jail Caesar. A drama about the life of the Emperor, as told by prisoners from jails across the world.

Highlights of Revelation 2013 will also include industry guests and speakers, seminars and masterclasses; Goblin Play Suspiria – a live musical soundtrack performance accompanying a cinematic cult classic; Hunter – For The Record – a WA made feature documentary about Perth’s hip hop pioneer Robert Hunter; ScreenWest’s annual showcase of emerging WA filmmaking talent in Get Your Shorts On!; the Revel-8 super 8 short film festival; Western Australian Screen Awardsnominees announcement; and the return of Revelation’s hugely popular Animation Showcase.

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L.E.S* Film Festival to Kick off First Weekend With Block Party & Drive In

The L.E.S* Film Festival is partnering with ZipCar to kick off its first festival weekend with a FREE old fashioned Block Party & Drive-In. Food, film and surprise performances. The 3rd annual L.E.S* Film Festival will run June 13th – 23rd, 2013.

The schedule of events:

June 13th – Opening Night – How To Follow Strangers dir. by Chioke Nassor feat. Ilana Glazer

June 14th – Sneak Peek Night – Joanna Arnow’s documentary i hate myself 🙂

June 15th – Mind F*ck Night- A series of shorts that will definitely F*CK with your mind.

June 16th – Zipcar Presents L.E.S* Drive-In – FREE with music by DJ’s AndrewAndrew, food, and live performances, 6pm – 9pm. Parking Lot at 88 Ludlow St (and Broome). ZipCars reserved exclusively for ZipCar members. To book a car email:nycmarketing@zipcar.com or tweet at @ZipcarNYC

June 17th – Animation Night and WGA East Chat: Writing the Real

June 18th – Shorts Showcase Sponsored by The Low Down and IFP Presents: Digital Distribution Panel

June 19th – Twisted Love and Doc Night Sponsored by VIMEO

June 20th – Gay Night Sponsored by LOGOTV

June 21st – Award Ceremony & Having You

June 22nd – Special Screening – History of Future Folk

June 23rd – Best of Fest

VENUES

Films will be shown at Sunshine Cinemas, Anthology Film Archive, The Crosby St. Hotel and downtown spaces Casa Mezcal and Katra Lounge.

JUDGES

Sundance Winning writer and director Rebecca Miller, SAG Award winner and comedian Judah Friedlander, Academy Award Nominees Dan Janvey (“Beasts Of The Southern Wild”), Travis Knight (“ParaNorman”), David France (“How To Survive A Plague”), producers Lars Knudsen and Jay VanHoy, (“Beginners”), Emmy Winner Jerry Kupfer (“30 Rock”), Bladimiar Norman of The Weinstein Company, Jason Janego of TWC Radius, documentary filmmaker Mark Becker, cinematographer Clyde E. Bryan and DJ’s AndrewAndrew.

L.E.S* CHATS

FREE!

June 17th: WGA at WGA East (250 Hudson St).

June 18th: IFP Presents :Digital Distribution Chat” moderated by Chris Rovzar of Vanity Fair. Panelists from A24, Filmbuff, Starz and VHX, 6pm at Casa Mezcal’s Obra Negra (80 Orchard St).
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ZAYTOUN, TWO LIVES, Documentary, TWA FLIGHT 800 Among 2013 Lineup for Stony Brook Film Festival

The 18th Annual Stony Brook Film Festival will screen a lineup of new independent features, documentaries and shorts for ten days from Thursday, July 18 to Saturday, July 27, 2103. Opening night features the East Coast premiere of ZAYTOUN, directed by Eran Riklis (Lemon Tree), and closing night will feature the East Coast premiere of the Norwegian and German dramatic thriller, TWO LIVES, directed by Georg Maas, which takes place in Norway in 1990. Opening night film, ZAYTOUN stars Stephen Dorff (Somewhere) playing an Israeli soldier who is shot down over Beirut during the 1982 Lebanese War. He is taken prisoner by inhabitants of a Palestinian refugee camp, and among his captors is a ten-year-old boy, Fahed (Abdallah El Akal). The festival describes the film as a moving portrait of the tentative bond forged between the Israeli pilot and the refugee boy. Closing night film, TWO LIVES is described as a compelling meditation on identity, morality and family. Katrine (Juliane Köhler) is the ‘war child’ of a Norwegian mother and a soldier from Germany’s occupying army. An adult now, she enjoys family life with her mother, her husband, daughter and granddaughter. Everything changes for Katrine when a web of concealments is revealed. The fine cast includes Norwegian film legend Liv Ullmann as Katrine’s mother. Other highlights include the festival honoring legendary producer and indie film powerhouse Christine Vachon of Killer Films with a Career Achievement Award. It will coincide with the screening of her new film, Deep Powder. The documentary, TWA FLIGHT 800 will have its its festival premiere screening followed by a Q & A panel discussion with the filmmakers, Kristina Borjesson and Tom Stalcup. TWA FLIGHT 800 presents the saga of the catastrophic crash off the south shore of Long Island on July 17, 1996. At the time, it was called “the largest aviation investigation in U.S. and world history.” But it was also the most controversial. Now, a team of insiders from that investigation comes forward in this feature documentary to uncover what really happened to TWA Flight 800. It is also the story of one extraordinary scientist, Tom Stalcup, who spent years fighting for access to documents and evidence. Thirteen years into his quest, several retired members of the official crash investigation joined him. In TWA FLIGHT 800 these former government insiders blow the whistle on their own investigation and spend two years helping the scientist uncover the truth. What follows is a story of intense personal journeys and a grand-scale exposé with breathtaking implications. TWA FLIGHT 800 is an EPIX Original Documentary with a premiere date on EPIX and EpixHD.com on July 17, 2013. Stony Brook will present the World Premiere of the feature, A NEW YORK HEARTBEAT, directed by Tjardus Greidanus, described as a riveting story about gangsters in 1959 Brooklyn, starring Escher Holloway, Rachel Brosnahan (Beautiful Creatures) and Eric Roberts. Foreign films include THE BLITZ directed by Ate de Jong (Drop Dead Fred), will be making its U.S. premiere at the festival. The dramatic film is set just days before the Germans bombed the Netherlands in May 1940. The Festival will also host the U.S. Premiere of the German drama, THE TOWER, directed by Christian Schwochow. Other international films making East Coast Premieres is the powerful documentary from Pakistan, THESE BIRDS WALK, the Serbian-Croatian MY BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY, the Polish drama MANHUNT, the Turkish feature WATCHTOWER, the Israeli drama INHERITANCE, directed by acclaimed actress Hiam Abbass (Lemon Tree) in her directorial debut. She also stars in the film. MUSCLE SHOALS, a documentary about Rick Hall’s FAME recording studio and its house band, born in the tiny town of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, is making its New York Premiere. Keith Richard, Aretha Franklin, Bono, Wilson Pickett, Greg Allman and many others are featured
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Russian Film “ATOMIC IVAN” and U.S. Film “NUCLEAR SAVAGE” Win Top Film Awards at Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro’s Uranium Film Festival 2013

After screening 52 documentaries and fiction movies from 19 countries, May 16 to May 26, the 3rd International Uranium Film Festival of Rio Janeiro 2013 in the cinema of the Modern Art Museum (MAM) came to a close. Six films from six countries – Russia, India, USA, Estonia, Jordan and Germany – were honored with the Uranium Film Festival’s trophy, the Yellow Oscar. ATOMIC IVAN by Vasily Barkhatov from Russia won the Yellow Oscar 2013 for Best Feature Fiction Movie, and “NUCLEAR SAVAGE: THE ISLANDS OF SECRET PROJECT 4.1” by US-Filmmaker Adam Jonas won the Yellow Oscar 2013 for Best Feature Documentary.

The International Uranium Film festival was founded in 2011 in Santa Teresa, the famous artist quarter in the heart of Rio de Janeiro. The aim of the festival is to inform the public, from a neutral position, about nuclear power, uranium mining, nuclear weapons and the health effects of radioactivity.

The six award recipients are:

Best Feature Fiction Movie:

ATOMIC IVAN – Russia, 2012, 91 min, Director Vasily Barkhatov, Executive producer, Viktoria Gromik, TELESTO FILM

Best Feature Documentary:

NUCLEAR SAVAGE: The Islands of Secret Project – USA, 2012, 87 min, Adam Jonas Horowitz

Best Short Comedy:

CURIOSITY KILLS – Estonia, 2012, 14 min, Sander Maran

Best Short Documentary

: HIGH POWER – India, 2013, 27 min, Pradeep Indulkar

Best Animated Film: ABITA – Germany, 2012, 4 min, Shoko Hara, Paul Brenner

Best Student Film:

NO TO A NUCLEAR JORDAN – Jordan, 2012, 7 min, Solenne Tadros

Special achievement awards went to “Children of Uranium” (Romania), “Friedlich in die Katastrophe” (Germany), “Nuclear Waste” (Ukraine), “Unter Kontrolle” (Germany), “Der Bauch von Tokio” (Germany), “Hibakusha” (USA), “Hiroshima Nagaski Download” (Mexico/Japan).

Yellow Oscar to Atomic Ivan

“Atomic Ivan” is the

Best Feature Fiction Movie of the Third International Uranium Film Festival 2013. The 2012 produced film Atomic Ivan by VASILY BARKHATOV from Russia won the Yellow Oscar 2013 in Rio de Janeiro. The romantic comedy “Atomic Ivan” is a debut film of famous theatre director Vasiliy Barkhatov from Moscow based on the script of world-known playwright Maxim Kurochkin. The Shooting of the film took place at the Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant, about 200 km North West of Moscow, and at the Leningrad Power Plant 70 km close to St Petersburg. It was the first time that Russian’s nuclear agencies opened their doors to filmmakers. “Atomic Ivan is a combination of Visual Art, Comedy, Love Story and pure Nuclear Science”, says Festival Director Norbert G. Suchanek. “Atomic love at a Russian power plant. Atomic Ivan is a beautiful, intelligent, romantic comedy, in the surrealistic stile that remembers me on Federico Fellini.”

Suchanek: “The basic Story of Atomic Ivan is simple. The director of a nuclear power plant invites an Artist to develop a play together with the nuclear workers at the nuclear power plant. Imagine: A Fellini opera in a real nuclear power plant. Beside of all that the films transports important worth full scientific information about nuclear power and radioactivity. So there was no way! This film had to win a Yellow Oscar of the Uranium Film Film Festival 2013.” The Executive producer of Atomic Ivan, Miss Viktoria Gromik from TELESTO FILM was present at the Award Ceremony in the Cinemateca of the Modern Art Museum (MAM) Rio de Janeiro. She said: “It is very important for us to receive this Award from the Uranium Film Festival Rio de Janeiro.”

Yellow Oscar to Nuclear Savage

The November 2011 released documentary “NUCLEAR SAVAGE: The Islands of Secret Project 4.1” by US-Filmmaker Adam Jonas Horowitz is a brilliant accusation against a terrible crime. Atmospheric testing of atomic bombs and using local populations as guinea pigs are crimes against humanity. Nuclear Savage is a must-see documentary for everybody, no matter if your are in favour of nuclear power or against. Adam Jonas Horowitz shot his first film in the Marshall Islands in 1986, and was shocked by what he found there, in this former American military colony in middle of the Pacific Ocean. Radioactive coconuts, leaking nuclear waste repositories and densely populated slums were all the direct result of 67 Cold War U.S. nuclear bomb tests that vaporized islands and devastated entire populations.

Yellow Oscar to High Power

The 2013 finalized documentary “High Power” is an important, well made film that can give worthwhile impulsesto current “nuclear question” in India. For that it received the Yellow Oscar in the category best short documentary of the 3rd International Uranium Film Festival of Rio de Janeiro 2013. Pradeep Indulkar, director of “High Power”, is an Indian engineer, who has been working during 12 years for India’s nuclear program. High Power tells the disturbing story of the local population of Tarapur in the state of Maharashtra, where India’s first nuclear power plant was constructed in the 1960s. Local fishermen families lost there land, their fishing grounds and health. Pradeep Indulkar´s short documentary about the Tarapur Atomic Power Station had to be made. “It is an important, the nuclear discussion stimulating documentary, that comes at the right time, when thousands of people in South-India struggle against a new nuclear power plant at Kudankulam is the state of Tamil Nadu”, says Festival director Norbert G. Suchanek. “High Power is Pradeep Indulkar´s first documentary, and we hope to see more documentaries by him in future.”

“Apart from all the sorrows and distress my film brought to you, this is a golden moment of my life as a film maker”, said Pradeep Indulkar during the Award Ceremony in the Museum of Modern Art cinema. “At this moment I remember and thank all my friends and well-wisher who helped in making of High Power. I also thank to all those Indian people who contributed even a smallest amount to make our trip happened. I thank you all who supported this film with as a great audience. I thank Rio, I thank Brazil and I accept this award on behalf of all the nuclear affected people of Tarapur and I dedicate this award to all those farmers and fishermen who lost their land, home and life for nuclear power plant. “

Yellow Oscar to Curiosity Kills

Sander Maran is a promising filmmaker from Estonia. His 2012 produced short comedy ”Curiosity Kills” already received the Audience Award of Helsinki’s H2T Festival. Now it won the Yellow Oscar of the third International Uranium Film Festival of Rio de Janeiro in the category “Best short comedy”. Synopsis: “A 10 year old boy is fascinated by his father’s spooky looking chemistry suitcase and decides to play with its contents. One thing leads to another and the boy’s pet rat ends up attacking the family. Curiosity kills.”

“Films about radioactivity are normally boring for teenager and students”, says festival director Norbert G. Suchanek. “Curiosity Kills is different. It is trashy comedy, which made the festival udience, mainly students from upper-class colleges, laugh and scream. And beside of that, curiosity kills gives valuable information: Radioactivity is dangerous and can change the genetic code of living beings. And every radioactive material must be stored and handled with great care. If not, the consequences can be terrible.”

Yellow Oscar to Abita

The best Animated Film of Rio de Janeiro’s Uranium Film Festival 2013 is,

ABITA, a beautiful animated film directed and produced 2012 in Germany by Shoko Hara and Paul Brenner from the Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg in Ravensburg. This animated short film deals with the dreams of Fukushima children who can’t play outside because of radioactive contamination. Brazilian Professor for animated film and festival judge Leo Ribeiro: “I selected Abita, because it is a very poetic and sensitive movie and very well done.”

Yellow Oscar to No to Nuclear Jordan

Best Student Film of the 3rd International Uranium Film Festival is “

NO TO A NUCLEAR JORDAN” by young director Solenne Tadros from the International Academy-Amman. Student productions about nuclear issues are still very rare – especially in the Middle East. The Yellow Oscar 2013 is given to Solenne Tadros to stimulate other film students and film schools world-wide to follow here example to deal with this for human mankind important but very complicated and often risky nuclear issue. In addition the festival jury hopes that “No to Nuclear Jordan” will improve the public discussion about Nuclear Energy in the Kingdom of Jordan, where the construction of nuclear power plants and uranium mining are in the planning.

via International Uranium Film Festival

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Sprout Film Festival to Show Films Featuring People with Developmental Disabilities in NYC May 31 to June 2, 2013

[caption id="attachment_4016" align="alignnone" width="550"]The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City[/caption]

The 11th Annual Sprout Film Festival, showcasing over 50 films featuring people with developmental disabilities, will take place this Friday May 31st to Sunday June 2nd, 2013, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

At the festival, Sprout will also unveil their new and improved film distribution catalog, SPROUTFLIX, the only distributor of films specifically and exclusively related to the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities, and offers streams, downloads, DVDs and playlists to be purchased and licensed for institutional use.
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Fantasia International Film Festival Unveils Official 2013 Poster

The Fantasia International Film Festival unveiled the official poster for the 17th edition of the festival taking place in Montreal from July 18 to August 6, 2013.

Fantasia organized a special poster design contest where the public was invited to submit their concepts and sketches. The contest was won by film critic and director of the Young Cuts Film Festival, Michael Ryan, but in a tragic twist of fate, Michael passed away this spring at the age of 46. To bring Michael’s vision to life, long-time Fantasia illustrator Donald Caron worked his magic, delivering a striking final art jointly inspired by Greek Mythology (Icarus and Daedalus) and Quebec legend of the Cheval Noir (Black Horse), the latter of which has featured prominently in the festival’s iconography over the two past editions. The festival dedicated the 2013 art to the memory of Michael Ryan.
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2013 Cucalorus Film Festival is Seeking Filmmaker Submissions

The Cucalorus Film Festival in historic Wilmington, North Carolina, is looking for submissions from filmmakers for the upcoming 19th edition of the festival to held November 13-17, 2013. Cucalorus, describes itself as a free-spirited and multidisciplinary showcaseand screens an collection of independent and international films with special programs on social justice, emerging artists, shorts, works-in-progress, dance, music videos, North Carolina, and international cinema.

In addition to films, the festival supports innovation through programs like Dance-a-lorus, a live performance featuring collaborations between choreographers and filmmakers; and Visual/Sound/Walls, an experimental venue crammed full of music videos, surf movies and installations. The festival showcases a strong schedule of socially aware and politically challenging films, which engage audiences on contemporary issues.
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Telluride Film Festival Unveils 40th Anniversary Edition Poster

The Telluride Film Festival today unveiled the poster designed by Oscar-winning production designer Dean Tavoularis for the 40th Anniversary running August 29 – September 2, 2013, in Telluride, Colorado.

“We are thrilled Dean agreed to do the poster art for the 40th anniversary,” said Executive Director Julie Huntsinger. “The 40th edition will be a remarkable celebration of TFF’s past and present, and Dean’s work with Telluride is a wonderful parallel. He was a part of Telluride in its very early years when he designed a poster for a TFF celebration called the ‘Spirit of Zoetrope.’ We are excited to have him back and to present his vision for this special year.”

Tavoularis remarks, “When I was asked by Tom Luddy and Julie Huntsinger if I would design the poster for the 40th Telluride Film Festival, I was first flattered and then thoughtful of being part of the Telluride film history. In my own way I pondered Telluride’s past and in fact all film festivals. Like the word implies, a festival is a fair; people gathering to show their films. It just as well could be their tomatoes. It’s an exchange. I wanted a poster that was simple and joyful, that looked homemade with pure colors in shapes that symbolize a 1:85 screen and an audience. One cannot exist without the other. I am very happy to be a small part of Telluride’s history.”
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Country Singer Lyle Lovett to be Honored at 2013 Lone Star Film Festival

Country singer-songwriter Lyle Lovett will be honored with the Stephen Bruton Award at the 2013 Lone Star Film Festival (LSFF). The Lone Star Film Festival in Sundance Square which has been ranked in the top 25 of MovieMaker Magazine’s coveted annual list “TOP 50 FILM FESTIVALS WORTH THE ENTRY FEE” will take place November 6-10, 2013, in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Stephen Bruton Award celebrates musicians who demonstrate a proficiency in film. Lovett will accept the award for his musical contribution to 30 films throughout his career as well as his appearance as an actor in eight, including Tim McCanlies’ Christmas story ANGELS SING, which premiered at this year’s SXSW Film Festival.

Stephen Bruton was a well-respected guitar player from Fort Worth who performed for many years with Kris Kristofferson. Bruton and childhood friend T Bone Burnett collaborated on the sound track for the movie CRAZY HEART. Bruton died at age 60 of cancer in T Bone’s Los Angeles home in 2009 just after the sound track was completed. Past recipients of the Stephen Bruton Award include Kris Kristofferson, T Bone Burnett, Willie Nelson, and Billy Joe Shaver.
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London’s EAST END FILM FESTIVAL Unveils 2013 Film Lineup, “THE UK GOLD” to Open and “LOVELACE” to Close Fest

London’s EAST END FILM FESTIVAL (EEFF) returns for its 12th edition this summer, from June 25 to July 10, 2013. EEFF will open on Tuesday June 25 with the World Premiere of the new feature documentary THE UK GOLD – the second feature from journalist and filmmaker Mark Donne

THE UK GOLD follows the dramatic battle of a vicar from a small parish in the London Borough of Hackney as he goes head to head with an ancient and mighty heavyweight, revealing its central status as the tax-haven capital of the world. From Zambia to Salisbury; from the Cayman Islands to Clapton, a huge, untold story unfurls which shakes our notions of nationhood and empire. Narrated by actor Dominic West (The Wire, The Hour), and featuring an extraordinary new sound-score from Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja, it incorporates the views and voices of British politicians, hedge fund masters of the universe, Vanity Fair investigative journalist Nicolas Shaxson, Private Eye’s Richard Brooks and Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow, to expose the fundamental role the City of London plays in the secretive network of tax havens and tax avoidance.

[caption id="attachment_4000" align="alignnone" width="550"]LOVELACE[/caption]

The festival closes on Wednesday July 10 with the UK Premiere of LOVELACE, the eventful and tragic story of Linda Lovelace, the most famous adult actress of the 1970s. Plagued by a difficult upbringing, an abusive marriage, and a desire to move on from her past, this superb Hollywood biopic by Academy Award-winning filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, HOWL) is a powerful account of modern celebrity. Starring Amanda Seyfried (Les Misérables, Mamma Mia!) with a cast including Sharon Stone, Peter Sarsgaard, James Franco, Adam Brody and Juno Temple.

EEFF will screen an international programme of over 80 features and 100 shorts, many by first- and second-time directors, including UK Premieres of MISS LOVELY (dir: Ashim Ahluwalia) which follows two brothers and a shady ingénue on Mumbai’s trashy movie scene; INCH’ALLAH (dir: Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette) portraying a Canadian doctor who’s torn between two sides while working in a West Bank refugee camp; HALLEY (dir: Sebastian Hofmann), a staggering tale of a lonely security guard at a Mexico City gym whose physical deterioration contrasts wildly with the healthy bodies around him; Rotterdam award-winner SOLDATE JEANETTE (SOLDIER JANE) (dir: Daniel Hoesl), a provocative portrait of two women from different ends of the social spectrum; TELEVISION (dir: Mostofa Sarwar Farooki) showing the clashes that arise between religion and technology when a teacher in a Bangladeshi village buys a TV; and the European Premiere of GENERATION UM (dir: Mark Mann) starring Keanu Reeves as a listless voyeur whose search for new experience leads him to video the dark confessions of two New York party girls.

There are also films from established directors including SHOKUZA (PENANCE) from Japanese master of suspense Kiyoshi Kurosawa, about a mother who holds four girls responsible for the death of her kidnapped daughter. Filmmaker Noah Baumbach returns to his indie roots, reuniting with actress Greta Gerwig for offbeat coming-of-age story FRANCES HA, about a struggling dancer in NYC. Set in 1970’s Los Angeles, ANY DAY NOW (dir: Travis Fine) stars Alan Cumming as a gay burlesque performer who, along with the closeted district attorney he’s just met, take in their neighbours abandoned and mentally handicapped son until a biased legal system question the arrangement. Another 1970’s set tale, CALL GIRL (dir: Mikael Marcimain) is a brilliantly rendered story of sexual exploitation and political corruption in Sweden, the same era and subject matter as our closing night gala, LOVELACE.

International documentaries include RICHARD PRYOR: OMIT THE LOGIC (dir: Ali and Marina Zenovich) celebrating the legendary comedian; and AFTER TILLER (dir: Lana Wilson, Martha Shane), documenting a group of doctors who become targets of the pro-life movement.

EEFF will also screen 25 features from British filmmakers including the European Premiere of Academy Award-nominated director Mike Figgis’s stylish psycho-sexual murder-mystery SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF starring Sebastian Koch, Lotte Verbeek and Emilia Fox; WE ARE THE FREAKS, the new feature from award-winning shorts filmmaker Justin Edgar, a high octane teen comedy starring Jamie Blackley (Vinyl), Mike Bailey (Skins) and Rosamund Hanson (This Is England, Life’s Too Short); and George Kane’s feature debut DISCOVERDALE, a fly-on-the-wall mocumentary about the frontman of a just-defunct band who believes his long-lost father is Whitesnake’s David Coverdale. There’ll also be a special screening of Ben Wheatley’s A FIELD IN ENGLAND with director, cast and crew in attendance.

Feature documentary lineup includes, many highlights from first- and second-time British documentary filmmakers including the World Premiere of THE HEART OF BRUNO WIZARD (dir: Elisabeth Rasmussen), portraying the iconic singer-songwriter, artist, activist, and founder of seminal post-punk band The Homosexuals; PUSSY RIOT: A PUNK PRAYER (dir: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin), chronicling the way a small act of protest became an international story of human rights abuse; SMASH & GRAB: THE STORY OF THE PINK PANTHERS (dir: Havana Marking), pursuing a gang of international jewel thieves; and THE MAN WHOSE MIND EXPLODED (dir: Toby Amies) portraying a Brighton-based eccentric who can remember working with Salvador Dali, but who can’t remember yesterday.

EEFF also supports filmmakers in telling stories of local significance, including the World Premiere of WE AIN’T STUPID, the first feature from Mitch Panayis (winner in 2012 of EEFF’s Short Film Audience Award), documenting the changing nature of Queen’s Market in West Ham, in a timely examination of a fading trade; Trevor Miller’s first feature RIOT ON REDCHURCH STREET, a spirited tale of a love triangle and Anglo-Muslim relations in East London’s rock n’ roll subculture; and Jason Attar and Danny Wimborne’s first feature ONE NIGHT IN POWDER, a tale of an obscure British rocker’s last-ditch effort to find fame and fortune.

Special events include a day of Southern-fried cinema, GRITS ‘N’ GRAVY celebrating the American Deep South with films including DOWN BY LAW (dir: Jim Jarmusch) starring Tom Waits, and Alabama music doc MUSCLE SHOALS (dir: Greg ‘Freddy’ Camalier) plus live bluegrass music from Dirty Gentleman, hearty Southern grub and free Bloody Mary’s.

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