Film Festivals

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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“MY RIGHT EYE” Wins Top ShortsFest Jury Award at Seattle International Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_3997" align="alignnone" width="550"]My Right Eye (The Apple of my Eye)[/caption]

“MY RIGHT EYE” (The Apple of My Eye), written and directed by Josecho de Linares (Spain) was the big winner – winning the GRAND JURY PRIZE – when the 39th Seattle International Film Festival announced this year’s ShortsFest Jury Award winners. The film is described as the story of “Zurdo who has a a special relationship with his grandmother. Since he went away to study they have lost contact. On the last day of summer Zurdo decides to visit her with the intuition that he might not see her again.”

Trailer Cortometraje / Short Film: Mi Ojo Derecho (My Right Eye) from Josecho de Linares on Vimeo.

SIFF 2013 SHORTSFEST AWARD WINNERS

LIVE ACTION
GRAND JURY PRIZE
My Right Eye (The Apple of My Eye), directed by Josecho de Linares (Spain)
JURY STATEMENT: For its beautifully crafted and profound exploration of love and loss told through touching performances that depict a young man’s authentic journey of rediscovery, the jury awards Best Narrative Short to The Apple of My Eye, written and directed by Josecho de Linares.  

SPECIAL JURY PRIZES
Penny Dreadful, directed by Shane Atkinson (USA)
Mobile Homes, directed by Vladimir de Fontenay (USA/France)
Decimation, directed by Wade Jackson (USA)
JURY STATEMENT: For its stylish direction and a terrific performance by Oona Laurence as a young kidnap victim who turns the tables on her abductors, the jury would like to give a Special Jury Mention to the short film Penny Dreadful.   The jury would also like to award a Special Jury Mention to Mobile Homes, a suspenseful, moving narrative with where the main characters stumble upon a most unexpected means of escape.  The jury awards a Special Jury Mention for outstanding ensemble filmmaking supported by the Northwest filmmaking community to the cast and crew of Decimation, written and directed by Wade Jackson.

DOCUMENTARY
GRAND JURY PRIZE
Keep a Modest Head, directed by Deco Dawson (Canada)  
JURY STATEMENT: Although there were many great films to discuss and debate, ultimately there was one film that the jury unanimously felt was particularly worthy of receiving the Best Documentary Short award. For its brilliantly surrealistic imagining of the life of the last of the surrealists, the jury gives its award to

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE 
Today, directed by Philip Montgomery (USA)
JURY STATEMENT: For its touching and inspiring story about a man who learns to find meaning in his life’s work even after a tragic accident, the jury awards a Special Jury Mention to Today, directed by Phillip Montgomery.

ANIMATION
GRAND JURY PRIZE 
Woody, directed by Stuart Bowen (Australia)
JURY STATEMENT: For the award for Best Animated Short, the jury has unanimously decided upon a film that told a lovely story about a guy who was just like everyone else, but wanted deeply to be something different than what he was. The filmmakers took the art of film as a visual medium to heart – with no dialogue and without facial expressions, they crafted a complete story that evoked compassion for the character. The jury awards Best Animated Short toWoody, directed by Stuart Bowen.

SPECIAL JURY PRIZES  
Malaria, directed by Edson Oda (Brazil)
The Hunter, directed by Marieka Walsh (Australia)
JURY STATEMENT: For its intriguing and original visual storytelling, combined with the tautness of an old-school Western, the jury awards a Special Jury Mention to Malaria, directed by Edson Shundl Oda. We had a very difficult time making a final decision between two films. After much discussion, the jury has decided to award a Special Jury Mention to The Hunter, directed by Marieka Walsh, for its beautifully simple, yet deeply emotional illustrations integrated into a folk-tale of a story.

FUTUREWAVE SHORTS AWARDS
WAVEMAKER AWARD (GRAND PRIZE) 
The Painted Girl, directed by Ben Kadie (USA)

THEFILMSCHOOL PRODIGY CAMP SCHOLARSHIPS 
A Quest for Peace: Nonviolence Among Religions, directed by Matthew Evans (USA)
Runner up: Laser Rabbit, directed by Matt Wells (USA)
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“FRANCE HA” “UWANTME2KILLHIM?” Among 146 Films on Film Lineup for 2013 Edinburgh International Film Festival

The 67th edition of Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) which runs from June 19-30 , 2013, will showcase 146 feature films from 53 countries, including 14 World premieres, 6 international premieres and 10 European premieres.

The Festival will screen 125 new feature films, with highlights including FOR THOSE IN PERIL, the debut feature by Paul Wright, a contender for the Michael Powell Award, starring newcomer George MacKay and Kate Dickie. Alex Gibney’s controversial WE STEAL SECRETS: THE STORY OF WIKILEAKS screens within Directors’ Showcase. Noah Baumbach brings FRANCES HA to the Festival with co-writer and star Greta Gerwig, as part of the American Dreams strand which also includes Sofia Coppola’s depiction of fame-obsessed teens, THE BLING RING. Special Screenings include FIRE IN THE NIGHT, which receives its World premiere ahead of the 6 July anniversary of the Piper Alpha North Sea oil rig disaster of 1988.

British films competing for the Michael Powell Award include 7 World premieres and 6 feature debuts. Among the Michael Powell Award contenders are the captivating Scottish tale of belonging and loss BLACKBIRD by Jamie Chambers; the black comedy EVERYONE’S GOING TO DIE by the two-person collective ‘Jones’; Paul Wright’s FOR THOSE IN PERIL; DUMMY JIM by Matt Hulse; MISTER JOHN by Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy; and John Hardwick’s SVENGALI, expanded from a YouTube series. A LONG WAY FROM HOME by Virginia Gilbert stars Natalie Dormer, who serves on the International Feature Film Competition jury; while THE SEA by Stephen Brown stars Ciarán Hinds and Charlotte Rampling. A documentary feature competing is LEVIATHAN by Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel. Completing the selection are UWANTME2KILLHIM? by Andrew Douglas, based on true events, WE ARE THE FREAKS by Justin Edgar, in which misfit teens go on an all-nighter, and NOT ANOTHER HAPPY ENDING, the Festival’s Closing Gala film, directed by John McKay. The Award for Best Performance in a British Feature Film will be awarded from films within the Michael Powell selection.

The International Feature Film Competition includes a selection of live-action narrative films, animated films and documentaries, highlighting filmmaking from around the world that is imaginative, innovative and deserving of wider recognition. The selection introduces debuts from Mahdi Fleifel with A WORLD NOT OURS, a portrait of family life in a Palestinian refugee camp; Iraqi-Kurdistan-born director Hisham Zaman with BEFORE SNOWFALL a coming-of-age odyssey from East to West; and Argentine director Leonardo Brzezicki, who paints an erotic psychological landscape with sound in NOCHE. The European premiere of JOY by Greek documentary filmmaker Elias Giannakakis competes along with titles such as Alexey Fedorchenko’s CELESTIAL WIVES OF THE MEADOW MARI which focuses on the rites and customs of a Russian ethnic group; a dreamlike allegory set in Tehran, FAT SHAKER by Mohammad Shirvani; and I.D. by writer-director Kamal K.M. based on a real incident in Mumbai. JUVENILE OFFENDER, a gritty story of family neglect in Korea by Kang Yi-kwan, and OF SNAILS AND MEN, a Romanian post-Communist era social satire by Tudor Giurgiu, round out the International Feature Film Competition.

There are a number of Special Screenings across the Festival, including the World premiere of THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES from co-directors James Erskine and Zara Hayes about the historic 1973 tennis match between Wimbledon winner Billie Jean King and retired champion and self-proclaimed chauvinist Bobby Riggs; and, receiving its European premiere, HAWKING, for which filmmaker Stephen Finnigan was given unprecedented access to the world’s most famous living physicist, Stephen Hawking. I AM BREATHING tells the true story of Neil Platt following his diagnosis with Motor Neurone Disease just months after the birth of his son; the film screens in the Festival ahead of MND Global Awareness Day on Friday 21 June. There will also be a chance to see on the big screen the first two episodes of BBC Two’s crime drama PEAKY BLINDERS, set in the lawless streets of post-war Birmingham on the cusp of the 1920s, starring Cillian Murphy, Helen McCrory and Sam Neill.

The American Dreams strand includes the European premiere of Scott McGehee’s WHAT MAISIE KNEW, a modern story based on the Henry James novel; Sebastian Silva’s MAGIC MAGIC, which reveals a star turn by Juno Temple; and THE EAST, which stars Brit Marling, who co-wrote with director Zal Batmanglij. International premieres include Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s C.O.G., adapted from humourist David Sedaris’s autobiographical essay; the sci-fi thriller UPSTREAM COLOUR by writer-director and actor Shane Carruth; and THIS IS MARTIN BONNER from Chad Hartigan, in which an unlikely friendship blossoms.

The Directors’ Showcase presents work from established auteur directors and emerging talents with 23 films from 17 countries. The selection includes 6 documentaries including Thomas Riedelsheimer’s BREATHING EARTH SUSUMU SHINGU’S DREAM, following artist Susumu Shingu; and actor and director Sarah Polley’s intimate family portrait STORIES WE TELL. Narrative films cover a variety of genres and include high-speed Hong-Kong cop film MOTORWAY directed by Pou-Soi Cheang and produced by action auteur Johnnie To, while Dibakar Banerjee takes Bollywood in a new direction with political thriller SHANGHAI. Intimate human dramas are represented with Bruno Barreto’s REACHING FOR THE MOON, about the love affair between American poet Elizabeth Bishop and Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares; Mania Akbari’s FROM TEHRAN TO LONDON, a poetic exploration of the roles of women, during the filming of which Akbari fled to the UK; and THE DEEP, Baltasar Kormákur’s breathtaking drama about an Icelandic fisherman who reluctantly became a national hero.

The World Perspectives strand presents 25 films from 18 countries, offering a spectrum of work from emerging directors. BIG BOY, from the Philippines, was shot on Super 8 by Shireen Seno; DAYS OF GRACE is a breathless triple-kidnapping thriller from Mexican director Everardo Valerio Gout; DIE WELT, set after the 2011 Tunisian revolution, is the feature debut from Dutch director Alex Pitstra; from Li Lou, EMPEROR VISITS THE HELL is a political satire inspired by a Ming Dynasty literary classic; and EVERYBODY’S GONE is an outstanding debut by Georgiy Paradjanov, nephew of legendary master director Sergei Paradzhanov.

With New Realities, EIFF features some of the most interesting documentary filmmakers working today, including Thomas Heise, who observes the routines of a crematorium in CONSEQUENCE; PJ Raval, who reveals the lives and loves of three gay seniors in BEFORE YOU KNOW IT; and first-time director Khaled Jarrar, who follows fellow Palestinians’ attempts to cross the wall separating them from Israel in INFILTRATORS. The enigmatic Scottish maker of salmon flies Megan Boyd is the subject of Eric Steel’s KISS THE WATER; and with LUNARCY! Simon Ennis takes an affectionate look at a group of individuals obsessed with the moon. The strand also hosts the World premiere of DESERT RUNNERS by Jennifer Steinman, an intimate film about competitors in RacingThePlanet’s 4Desert Ultra-marathons, and the European premiere of Jeanie Finlay’s THE GREAT HIP HOP HOAX, the stranger than fiction story of Billy Boyd and Gavin Bain, aka ‘Silibil ‘n’ Brains’.

Filmmakers and filmmaking is the subject of the Film on Film strand which includes: NATAN, David Cairns and Paul Duane’s moving account of Bernard Natan, a forgotten giant of French cinema; A STORY OF CHILDREN AND FILM by Mark Cousins; and Graham Eatough’s THE MAKING OF US, commissioned by the Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art.

The late-night Night Moves strand hosts the World premiere of OUTPOST 3: RISE OF THE SPETSNAZ, with producer Kieran Parker turning director for the third instalment of the popular Nazi zombie saga; and the European premiere of SHOOTING BIGFOOT, in which British filmmaker Morgan Matthews travels to America and forms uneasy alliances with several Bigfoot trackers. Concept artist Richard Raaphorst directs his first horror flick, FRANKENSTEIN’S ARMY, a Nazi v Communist ‘found footage’ horror; while PARIS COUNTDOWN, a high-octane thriller, is director Edgar Marie’s debut feature; and the master of Japanese horror Hideo Nakata brings us THE COMPLEX.
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FRUITVALE STATION by Ryan Coogler Wins Un Certain Regard AVENIR PRIZE at Cannes Film Festival

FRUITVALE STATION by Ryan Coogler won the AVENIR PRIZE in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. FRUITVALE STATION originally named FRUITVALE won the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award earlier this year at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. The film will be released July 26 by The Weinstein Company.

FRUITVALE STATION, is the true story of Oscar (Michael B. Jordan) , a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who wakes up on the morning of December 31, 2008 and feels something in the air. Not sure what it is, he takes it as a sign to get a head start on his resolutions: being a better son to his mother, whose birthday falls on New Year’s Eve, being a better partner to his girlfriend, who he hasn’t been completely honest with as of late, and being a better father to T, their beautiful 4 year old daughter. He starts out well, but as the day goes on, he realizes that change is not going to come easy. He crosses paths with friends, family, and strangers, each exchange showing us that there is much more to Oscar than meets the eye. But it would be his final encounter of the day, with police officers at the Fruitvale BART station that would shake the Bay Area to its very core, and cause the entire nation to be witnesses to the story of Oscar Grant.

Trailer below…

http://youtu.be/CxUG-FjefDk
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Coen Brothers “INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS” Wins the Grand Prix Award at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival

The Coen brothers – Ethan COEN and Joel COEN newest film, INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS won the Grand Prix Award at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS follows a week in the life of a young folk singer as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961. Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) is at a crossroads. Guitar in tow, huddled against the unforgiving New York winter, he is struggling to make it as a musician against seemingly insurmountable obstacles-some of them of his own making.

Trailer below.

http://youtu.be/R4GGOXkY5CI
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BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR Wins the Palme d’or of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_3983" align="alignnone" width="550"]BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR[/caption]

BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR (La Vie d’Adèle – Chapitre 1 & 2) by Abdellatif Kechiche won the biggest prize – Palme d’or of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

After receiving his award from American actress Uma Thurman, Abdellatif Kechiche, accompanied by his two actresses, declared: “I want to remind everyone of a man who helped me find my way, who I love and who I miss: Claude Berri. I want to dedicate this prize and this film to the wonderful young people of France who I met while making this film and who taught me so much about the hope for freedom and of living in harmony together. And to the young people who, not so long ago, lived through the Tunisian revolution, so as to inspire them to live in freedom, express themselves in freedom and love in freedom.”

BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR tells the story of Adele (Adèle EXARCHOPOULOS) who at 15, doesn’t question it: a girl goes out with boys. Her life is turned upside down the night she meets Emma (Léa SEYDOUX), a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire, to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adele grows, seeks herself, loses herself, finds herself.

The complete list of winners include

Palme d’Or
LA VIE D’ADÈLE – CHAPITRE 1 & 2 (Blue Is The Warmest Color) by Abdellatif KECHICHE with Adèle EXARCHOPOULOS & Léa SEYDOUX

Grand Prix
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS by Ethan COEN and Joel COEN

Award for Best Director
Amat ESCALANTE for HELI

Jury Prize
SOSHITE CHICHI NI NARU (Like Father, Like Son / Tel Père, Tel Fils) by KORE-EDA Hirokazu

Award for Best Screenplay
JIA Zhangke for TIAN ZHU DING (A Touch Of Sin)

Award for Best Actress
Bérénice BEJO in LE PASSÉ (The Past) by Asghar FARHADI

Award for Best Actor
Bruce DERN in NEBRASKA by Alexander PAYNE

SHORT FILMS

Palme d’Or
SAFE by MOON Byoung-gon

Special Mention – tie
HVALFJORDUR (Whale Valley / Le Fjord des Baleines) by Gudmundur Arnar GUDMUNDSSON
37°4 S by Adriano VALERIO

CAMERA D’OR
ILO ILO by Anthony CHEN presented in the Directors’ Fortnight
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Cambodian Film THE MISSING PICTURE by Rithy Panh Wins UN CERTAIN REGARD Prize at Cannes Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_3978" align="alignnone" width="550"](L’IMAGE MANQUANTE) The Missing Picture[/caption]

THE MISSING PICTURE (L’IMAGE MANQUANTE) by Rithy Panh won the top prize, PRIZE OF UN CERTAIN REGARD, in the Un Certain Regard section at 2013 Cannes Film Festival. The auto-biographical film is set during the Khmer Rouge dictatorial rule of Cambodia in the late 1970’s and Panh’s failure to find “missing pictures” to document the proof of mass murders and other atrocities against his family. Since there is no proof, hence the “missing pictures,” the director tells the story using using hundreds of artfully carved clay figures to represent his family.

Complete list of winners:

PRIZE OF UN CERTAIN REGARD
THE MISSING PICTURE by Rithy PANH

JURY PRIZE
OMAR by Hany ABU-ASSAD

DIRECTING PRIZE
Alain GUIRAUDIE for STRANGER BY THE LAKE

A CERTAIN TALENT PRIZE
For the ensemble cast of LA JAULA DE ORO by Diego QUEMADA-DIEZ

AVENIR PRIZE
FRUITVALE STATION by Ryan COOGLER
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Chicago Student Anahita Ghazvinizadeh’s NEEDLE Wins Cannes Film Festival Cinefondation Selection

NEEDLE directed by Anahita Ghazvinizadeh, from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA, won First Prize of The Cinéfondation Selection at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. The Cinéfondation Selection consisted of 18 student films, chosen out of nearly 1 550 entries coming from 277 film schools around the world. As part of the winning prizes, the First Prize winner, Anahita Ghazvinizadeh, is also guaranteed that his first feature film will be presented at the Cannes Film Festival.

In NEEDLE, Young Lilly played by Florence Winners is going to get her ears pierced. A quarrel between her parents overwhelms the situation and directs it differently.

The complete list of winners of The Cinéfondation Selection at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival:

First Prize:
NEEDLE directed by Anahita Ghazvinizadeh
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA

Second Prize:
WAITING FOR THE THAW (En attendant le dégel) directed by Sarah Hirtt
INSAS, Belgium

Third Prize ex-aequo:
ÎN ACVARIU (In the Fishbowl) directed by Tudor Cristian JURGIU
UNATC, Romania

Joint Third Prize:
PANDY (Pandas) directed by Matúš VIZÁR
FAMU, Czech Republic

Needle – Trailer from Anahita Ghazvinizadeh on Vimeo.
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Vampire Flick “ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE” Starring Tilda Swinton and Premiering at Cannes Film Festival to Get U.S. Release

Jim Jarmusch’s “ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE,” which had its world premiere at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival in the In Competition section is headed to U.S. theaters, via Sony Pictures Classics.

Starring Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, John Hurt, Anton Yelchin and Jeffrey Wright, “ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE” takes place against the romantic desolation of Detroit and Tangier and follows an underground musician, deeply depressed by the direction of human activities, who reunites with his resilient and enigmatic lover. Their love story has already endured several centuries at least, but their debauched idyll is soon disrupted by her wild and uncontrollable younger sister.
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“THE SELFISH GIANT” from 2013 Cannes Film Festival to Get U.S. Release

Clio Barnard’s THE SELFISH GIANT which made its world premiere in Directors’ Fortnight at this year’s 2013 Cannes Film Festival will be released in the US by Sundance Selects.

THE SELFISH GIANT, written and directed by Barnard (THE ARBOR), stars Conner Chapman, Shaun Thomas and Sean Gilder, and is described as a contemporary fable about a thirteen-year-old boy named Arbor (Chapman) and his best friend Swifty (Thomas). Excluded from school and outsiders in their own neighborhood, the two boys meet Kitten (Gilder), a local scrapdealer. They begin collecting scrap metal for him using a horse and cart. Swifty has a natural gift with horses while Arbor emulates Kitten – keen to impress him and make some money. However, Kitten begins to favor Swifty, leaving Arbor feeling hurt and excluded, driving a wedge between the boys. Tensions build, leading to a tragic event, which transforms them all.

This marks the third film from Cannes Film Festival that Sundance Selects will release in the U.S., including writer-director François Ozon’s Competition title YOUNG & BEAUTIFUL with a star-making turn from actress Marine Vacth and Abdellatif Kechiche’s BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR, also playing in the Competition section
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“REVOLUTION” Director Rob Stewart at Cannes Film Festival

Rob Stewart, director of the documentary “REVOLUTION” in the the Cannes Movie Stars lounge at the 66th Cannes Film Festival.

“Revolution” is described as a true-life documentary, showing the Rob Stewart adventure over four years and 15 countries.

Climate changes, environmental degradation, species loss, ocean acidification, pollution, and food/water scarcity are reducing the earth’s ability. A film about changing the world, and fighting to preserve the world where to live in.
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“SEDUCED AND ABANDONED” Director James Toback and Actor Alec Baldwin at 66th Cannes Film Festival

Director James Toback and actor Alec Baldwin “SEDUCED AND ABANDONED” in the Cannes Movie Stars Lounge at the 66th Cannes Film Festival. “SEDUCED AND ABANDONED” is an official selection at the festival playing in the Special Screenings section.

“SEDUCED AND ABANDONED” is described by the festival as a cinematic exploration guided by Alec Baldwin and James Toback of several interconnected subjects: The Cannes Film Festival and cinema art, money, glamour and death. Photographed in ravishing colors during the 65th Anniversary Festival(2012), “Seduced and Abandoned” features fascinating portraits of Bertolucci, Coppola, Polanski, Scorsese, Ryan Gosling, Jessica Chastain, Berenice Bejo, Diane Kruger and James Caan.
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