Film Festivals

World Premiere of “THE BIG MELT” at 20th Sheffield Doc/Fest

[caption id="attachment_4098" align="alignnone" width="550"]THE BIG MELT directed by Martin Wallace[/caption]

The world premiere of the “THE BIG MELT” directed by Martin Wallace will help kick off the 20th edition of Sheffield Doc/Fest and also celebrate the 100 Years of Stainless Steel in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK, the home of the festival, on Wednesday, June 12, 2013. In an interesting collaboration, leading Sheffield musicians – including The City of Sheffield Brass Band, Richard Hawley and band members, Pulp band members, The Forgemasters, a string quartet and a youth choir – will perform live to the world premiere of the film.

THE BIG MELT is described as “A lyrical film for the contemporary age, The Big Melt uses footage from the BFI National Archive to tell the story of steel, the story of the men in the steelworks and the story of Sheffield. The score directed by Jarvis Cocker takes us on musical journey into the soul of a nation, bringing to life the ghosts of our past, leading us into the belly of the furnaces and showing how our national characters have been stamped from the mighty presses of our industrial heritage. Jarvis Cocker has gathered a group of leading Sheffield musicians to create a phenomenal music score for the film – a new kind of Sheffield heavy metal, with pictures.”

Says Martin Wallace, Director: We wanted to tell a story about steel that opened-out the basic social history and facts about the process itself. There are some awesome BFI archive films that already paint a vivid picture of the real story, so we wanted to drag this archive into the present, re-imagine and invigorate it, turn it into something more fantastical, more playful and, at the same time, more challenging.
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“OUR NIXON” “C.O.G.” Among Top Winning Films at 39th Seattle International Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_4092" align="alignnone" width="550"]C.O.G.[/caption]

The 39th Seattle International Film Festival announced the winners of the SIFF 2013 Competition and Golden Space Needle Audience Awards – OUR NIXON, directed by Penny Lane won the GRAND JURY PRIZE for Best Documentary and C.O.G., directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez won the GRAND JURY PRIZE for Best New American Cinema. OUR NIXON is described as an “all-archival documentary, constructed from Super8 footage shot by three White House aides (Watergate conspirators Ehrlichman, Haldeman, and Chapin), creates an intimate and complex portrait of the Nixon presidency, as it has never been seen before.” C.O.G. is described as the “first film adaptation of David Sedaris’ work .. a funny and poignant portrait of a lost soul and the amusing characters he meets as he pursues his Steinbeckian dream—to spend his summer working on an apple farm in Oregon.”

SIFF 2013 COMPETITION AWARDS

SIFF 2013 BEST NEW DIRECTOR

GRAND JURY PRIZE
Harmony Lessons, directed by Emir Baigazin (2013, Kazakhstan)

JURY STATEMENT: Emir Baigazin’s astounding debut feature Harmony Lessons set the bar for all the films that the Narrative Jury watched before and after. On one level, it’s the simple tale of a bullied Muslim boy in rural Kazakhstan. But as no single child’s life is ever as simple as adults believe, from the moment we meet the dark-eyed, pimply hero chasing down a family sheep to slaughter with his aging babushka, to his ultimate act of vengeance in his struggle for survival, his confrontation with bullies at his local school spirals into a larger tale of societal dominance and submission. Power relations based on intimidation and violence flow from boy to sheep, alpha boy to beta, local police to accused criminals, and ultimately an entire society defined by a hierarchy of male bullying male. Visually exact, transparently acted by a mostly juvenile cast, and quietly terrifying, this Kazakhstan/Germany/France co-production is a hard-won lesson in how brutal life can be that is told with spellbinding assurance by a visionary young talent.

SIFF 2013 BEST DOCUMENTARY

GRAND JURY PRIZE
Our Nixon, directed by Penny Lane (2013, USA)

JURY STATEMENT: For Best Documentary the prize goes to Penny Lane for Our Nixon. For this original telling of the unraveling of the Nixon presidency, Lane poured over a mountain of archival Super 8 home movie footage and audio to take a story that we think we already know and give it a fresh and human perspective.

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
The Crash Reel, directed by Lucy Walker (2013, USA

JURY STATEMENT: We’re giving a Special Jury Prize to Lucy Walker for The Crash Reel, a deeply emotional and nuanced look at snowboarder and Olympic hopeful Kevin Pearce, his inspiring journey back from traumatic brain injury, and the healing power of family.

SIFF 2013 BEST NEW AMERICAN CINEMA

GRAND JURY PRIZE
C.O.G., directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez (USA, 2013)

JURY STATEMENT: We, the members of FIPRESCI, are very pleased to award the International Critics Prize for Best New American Film to C.O.G., written and directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez. Unsentimental yet openhearted, Alvarez’s adaptation of David Sedaris’ essay tells a compelling story of youthful self-actualization, of defining encounters with class, sex and religion, that refuses to succumb to the dictates of fashionable identity politics. Its narrative trajectory is fundamentally wayward, yet its clipped, idiosyncratic pacing, its evocative visualization of the fecund landscapes and overcast light of the Pacific Northwest, and its use of the percussive music of Steve Reich converge to immerse us in a very particular world, and to create a film of unlikely momentum, unnerving humour and subtle emotional resonance.

SIFF 2013 GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AUDIENCE AWARDS

BEST FILM GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD
Fanie Fourie’s Lobola, directed by Henk Pretorius (South Africa, 2013)

First runner-up: The Rocket, directed by Kim Mordaunt (Australia, 2013)
Second runner-up: Monsters University, directed by Dan Scanlon (USA, 2013)
Third runner-up: Decoding Annie Parker, directed by Steven Bernstein (USA, 2013)
Fourth runner-up: Still Mine, directed by Michael McGowan (Canada, 2013)
Rounding out the top ten: Short Term 12, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (USA, 2013); Horses of God, directed by Nabil Ayouch (Morocco, 2013); Circles, directed by Srdan Golubovic (Serbia, 2013); The Forgotten Kingdom, directed by Andrew Mudge (USA, 2013); Unfinished Song, directed by Paul Andrew Williams (United Kingdom, 2012); Populaire, directed by Régis Roinsard (France, 2012).

BEST DOCUMENTARY GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD
Twenty Feet from Stardom, directed by Morgan Neville (USA, 2013)

First runner-up: The Punk Singer, directed by Sini Anderson (USA, 2013)
Second runner-up: Harana, directed by Benito Bautista (Philippines, 2012)
Third runner-up: Alive and Well, directed by Josh Taft (USA, 2013)
Fourth runner-up: Blackfish, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite (USA, 2013)
Rounding out the top ten: Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth, directed by Pratibha Parmar (USA, 2013); Finding Hillywood, directed by Leah Warshawski, Chris Towey (USA, 2013); Evergreen: The Road to Legalization in Washington, directed by Riley Morton (USA, 2013); SOMM, directed by Jason Wise (USA, 2012); The Otherside, directed by Daniel Torok (USA, 2013); Inequality for All, directed by Jacob Kornbluth (USA, 2013).

BEST DIRECTOR GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD
Nabil Ayouch, Horses of God, (Morocco, 2012)

First runner-up: David Ondříček, In the Shadow, (Czech Republic, 2012)
Second runner-up: Joss Whedon, Much Ado About Nothing, (USA, 2012)
Third runner-up: Thomas Vinterberg, The Hunt, (Denmark, 2012)
Fourth runner-up: Andrew Mudge, The Forgotten Kingdom, (USA, 2013)
Rounding out the top ten: Sarah Polley, Stories We Tell, (Canada, 2012); Brady Hall, Scrapper, (USA, 2013);Juan Carlos Maneglia,Tana Schémbori, 7 Boxes, (Paraguay, 2012); Reha Erdem, Jin, (Turkey, 2012); Michael Mayer, Out in the Dark, (Israel, 2012);Destin Daniel Cretton, Short Term 12, (USA, 2013).

BEST ACTOR GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD
James Cromwell, Still Mine, (Canada, 2012)

First runner-up: Mads Mikkelsen, The Hunt, (Denmark, 2012)
Second runner-up: Terence Stamp, Unfinished Song (United Kingdom, 2012)
Third runner-up: Ivan Trejon, In the Shadow, (Czech Republic, 2012)
Fourth runner-up: Sabin Tambrea, Ludwig II, (Germany, 2013)
Rounding out the top ten: Michael Beach, Scrapper, (USA, 2013);Niels Arestrup, You Will Be My Son, (France, 2012); Edward Hogg, Imagine, (Poland, 2012); Ali Suliman, The Attack, (Lebanon, 2012); Casey Affleck, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (USA, 2013); Paul Eenhoorn, This is Martin Bonner, (USA, 2013).

BEST ACTRESS GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD
Samantha Morton, Decoding Annie Parker, (USA, 2013)

First runner-up: Onata Aprile, What Maisie Knew, (USA, 2012)
Second runner-up: Greta Gerwig, Frances Ha, (USA, 2012)
Third runner-up: Juliane Köhler, Two Lives, (Germany, 2012)
Fourth runner-up: Martina Gedeck, The Wall, (Austria, 2012)
Rounding out the top ten: Brie Larson, Short Term 12, (USA, 2013); Robin Weigert, Concussion, (USA, 2013); Lisa Tomaschewsky, The Girl With Nine Wigs, (Germany, 2013); Anna Giles, Scrapper, (USA, 2013); Jeanne Moreau, A Lady in Paris, (Estonia, 2012); Alma Prica, Halima’s Path, (Croatia, 2012).

BEST SHORT FILM GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD
Spooners, directed by Bryan Horch (USA, 2012)

First runner-up: My Right Eye (The Apple of My Eye), directed by Josecho de Linares (Spain, 2012)
Second runner-up: Malaria, directed by Edson Oda (Brazil, 2013)
Third runner-up: Fora, directed by Ayuub Kasasa Mago (Rwanda, 2012)
Fourth runner-up: While You Weren’t Looking, directed by Jeremy Mackie (USA, 2012)
Rounding out the top ten: Good Karma $1, directed by Jason Berger, Amy Laslett (USA, 2012); Noodle Fish, directed by Jin-man Kim (South Korea, 2012); Walking the Dogs, directed by Jeremy Brock (United Kingdom, 2012); The Roper, directed by Ewan McNichol, Anna Sandilands (USA, 2012); Macropolis, directed by Joel Simon (United Kingdom, 2012); Penny Dreadful, directed by Shane Atkinson (USA, 2012).

LENA SHARPE AWARD FOR PERSISTENCE OF VISION, PRESENTED BY WOMEN IN FILM/SEATTLE
The Punk Singer, directed by Sini Anderson (USA, 2013)



REEL NW AWARD, PRESENTED BY KCTS 9

REEL NW AWARD
GRAND JURY PRIZE  Big Joy, directed by Eric Slade and Stephen Silha (USA)

JURY STATEMENT: The Seattle International Film Festival assembled an impressive array of Northwest Connection films in 2013, with stories ranging from heart-breaking illness to life-affirming music, from the ballot box to the scrap yard, from Northwest noir to volatile blends of fact and fiction, and many places in between. Quality was very high across the board, great news for local film fans and a difficult challenge for the jurors. In a very close decision, the 2013 Reel NW Award goes to a beautifully constructed film that personifies the essence of independent creative spirit and re-discovers a great American story, which has been largely forgotten.

SIFF 2013 FUTUREWAVE AND YOUTH JURY AWARDS

YOUTH JURY AWARD FOR BEST FUTUREWAVE FEATURE

GRAND JURY PRIZE
The Spectacular Now, directed by James Ponsoldt (USA)

JURY STATEMENT: For its relatable story that embodies the teenage struggle in a realistic manner and for its powerful ensemble of actors, the Youth Jury Award for Best FutureWave Feature goes to The Spectacular Now.

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Blackbird, directed by Jason Buxton (Canada)

The FutureWave Jury would also like to give a Special Jury Prize toBlackbird for its subtly powerful and original story featuring compelling performances.

YOUTH JURY AWARD FOR BEST FILMS4FAMILIES FEATURE

GRAND JURY PRIZE
Ernest & Celestine, directed by Benjamin Renner, Stephane Aubier, and Vincent Patar (France)

JURY STATEMENT: The film we chose told a fascinating story about characters from two different worlds learning to be friends. Through their friendship we learned that even though two worlds may seem completely different, in many ways they are the same.

WAVEMAKER AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN YOUTH FILMMAKING

GRAND JURY PRIZE
The Painted Girl, directed by Ben Kadie (USA, 2013)

FUTUREWAVE SHORTS AUDIENCE AWARD
Piece of Cake, directed by Susan Procopio and Katherine Procopio (Canada, 2012)

THEFILMSCHOOL PRODIGY CAMP SCHOLARSHIPS
A Quest for Peace: Nonviolence Among Religions, directed by Matthew Evans (USA, 2013)

Runner up: Laser Rabbit, directed by Matt Wells (USA, 2013)

SIFF 2013 SHORT FILM JURY AWARDS

As a qualifying festival of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, short films that received the Grand Jury Prize for Best Live Action, Animated, and Documentary Short at SIFF may qualify to enter the Short Films category of the Academy Awards® for the concurrent season without the standard theatrical run, provided the film complies with the Academy rules. Winners received a $1,000 cash prize.

LIVE ACTION

GRAND JURY PRIZE
My Right Eye (The Apple of My Eye), directed by Josecho de Linares (Spain, 2012)

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, 2012)
Mobile Homes, directed by Vladimir de Fontenay (USA/France, 2012)
Decimation, directed by Wade Jackson (USA, 2013)

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 mean 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, 2012)

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 Keep A Modest Head, directed by Deco Dawson.

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Today, directed by Philip Montgomery (USA, 2013)
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 to Woody, directed by Stuart Bowen.

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
Malaria, directed by Edson Oda (Brazil, 2013)
The Hunter, directed by Marieka Walsh (Australia, 2012)
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.
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“THE SPECTACULAR NOW” and “OUT OF PRINT” Win Top Awards at 2013 deadCENTER Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_3372" align="alignnone" width="550"]THE SPECTACULAR NOW[/caption]

“THE SPECTACULAR NOW,” directed by James Ponsoldt, won the Grand Jury Feature category, and Vivienne Roumani’s “OUT OF PRINT” won top honors in the Grand Jury Documentary category at the 2013 deadCENTER Film Festival. THE SPECTACULAR NOW is a “sharply witty coming-of-age story” of youth confronting the funny, thrilling and perilous business of modern love and adulthood. OUT OF PRINT is “a thoughtful look into the impact of the digital revolution” with testimonials from authors, entrepreneurs, and educators alike highlighting how the digital revolution is changing every aspect of the printed word – and how it’s changing us.

Winners also included:

Special Jury Feature: “WORM”

Special Jury Short: “Running Deer”

Okie Feature: “Home, James”

Okie Short: “Sherman & Pacifico”

Narrative Short: “Black Metal”

Documentary Short: “This is Normal”

Screenplay: “Uterus Chat”

Student Film: “The Treehouse”
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Amy Finkel Explores Handling the Loss of A Pet in FUREVER at the Brooklyn Film Festival

Amy Finkel’s documentary film “FUREVER” is an official selection at the 2013 Brooklyn Film Festival. FUREVER explores the dimensions of grief people experience over the loss of a pet. The film features interviews from grieving pet owners, veterinarians, psychologists, sociologists, religious scholars, neuroscientists, and the many professionals who preserve a pet’s body or re-purpose a pet’s remains in unique ways including taxidermy, cloning, mummification, and freeze-drying. Considering that Amy made a documentary about four-string jazz banjo culture entitled “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart: The Banjomaniacs of Guthrie,” we wanted to know how did she end up making a documentary about a pet’s last rites.

We connected with Amy at the Brooklyn Film Festivals in her hometown, Brooklyn, New York, with lots of questions and she provided us with lots of answers.

VIMOOZ: First, congratulations on FUREVER being an official selection in the 2013 Brooklyn International Film Festival? How does it feel?

Amy Finkel: Thanks! It’s wonderful! The FUREVER screenings thus far have all been in other faraway cities, so I’d been hoping for a great hometown screening, and this is, of course, it. I was really excited for my friends to get to see the film; many have helped me so much on it over the years. And I just adore all of the people who run the Brooklyn Film Festival, so it’s been fantastic.

VIMOOZ: Am I correct – you are a New Yorker…and live in Brooklyn?

Amy Finkel: I do indeed. In Boerum Hill — the same apartment for 15 years now!

VIMOOZ: Tell us about the film?

Amy Finkel: It’s called FUREVER and it’s a feature-length documentary about pet loss, the dimensions of grief people experience when they lose a pet, the sociological evolution of pets in our culture, and the myriad ways we choose to memorialize our pets when they pass away.

FUREVER features interviews with grieving pet owners, veterinarians, psychologists, sociologists, religious scholars, neuroscientists, and the many professionals who preserve a pet’s body for their devastated clientele, or re-purpose a pet’s cremains in unique ways (taxidermy, cloning, mummification, freeze-drying, and many more), FUREVER confronts contemporary trends, perspectives, and relevant cultural assumptions regarding attachment, religion, ritual, grief, and death, and studies the bonds that form between humans and animals, both psychological and physiological.

VIMOOZ: What was in your opinion, the most outlandish (if I dare use that word) pet memorial you’ve seen while filming the documentary or in general?

Amy Finkel: Hmmm…at this point I’m pretty desensitized to it all. I think dog cloning is the most extreme, because it’s the most expensive ($100,000) and you can only do it in South Korea (fewer animal welfare organizations there). Plus many people who choose that option truly believe they’re cheating death. It’s also the most technologically advanced. But it’s funny to me what people think of as extreme. I did an interview with someone in the film who freeze-dried his pet, and he finds the idea of having a pet’s ashes on a mantelpiece unbelievably distasteful. As far as actual physical memorials go, for me, the most outlandish were always those that were the most kitsch. I adored one that was an elaborate silver memorial of a dog urinating on a fire hydrant. While it wasn’t working when we were there, after speaking with the pet cemetery where I found it, they said it’s usually a working fountain.

VIMOOZ: How did you come up with the idea for FUREVER?

Amy Finkel: We had many types of animals growing up and I became very attached to them over the years. My parents were huge advocates of animal rescue, so we ended up with all sorts: anoles, rats, dogs, budgies, gerbils, etc. And no matter what the species, I found that I became unbelievably attached to each of them. As a result, I had a very tough time letting go. So when I read the article about people freeze-drying their pets several years ago, I was fascinated by what it was about keeping the body of a dead animal in a lively-looking state that was offering so much comfort to the devastated pet owners. How was it not a constant reminder that their pet was gone? Where did they think the soul had gone, if they believed in that (which I suspected they did)? That was not a discussion in my atheist household growing up. But—and I should mention that I’m not particularly judgmental in general—I never assumed they were crazy, as many do. I totally understood their level of attachment and their inability to let go; I simply didn’t understand why it would offer them comfort. I thought it was peculiar, and potentially destructive psychologically if there were a disconnect there (feeling as though their pet was still alive), but I tried to go into it with an open mind. Freeze-drying certainly would not have offered comfort to me. But I’d often wondered why I was getting so attached to my animals; whether it was projection or perhaps being less tolerant of humans than animals (I did have a lot of human friends growing up too). I figured there had to be some physiological component, which is why I put a whole segment in the film about the biology of the human-animal bond. But yes, for some reason freeze-drying was the perfect jumping off point for an inquiry of all of these questions, and an exploration of grief in general, so I set off to investigate.

VIMOOZ: Are you a pet owner? If yes, what pets do you own? If not, why not?

Amy Finkel: I’m afraid that my (rent-controlled) apartment doesn’t allow pets, so I don’t have one. But I’m huge animal lover. If I could have a dog now, I would in a heartbeat. Luckily, I have numerous surrogate dogs in the neighborhood, so I do get my fix here and there.

That said, I do, actually, have some freeze-dried and taxidermied animals: Chompers, my groundhog, Fleischesser, my armadillo, and angel, my wild boar. One of my subjects, Mac, gave them to me as thank you gifts for making his website. I feel a bit uneasy knowing that they, likely, did not die of natural causes, nor, unlike the boar, did anyone eat their meat, so it makes me feel better to treat them in death with the dignity and respect they never received in life. They get frequent positive affirmations and simulated food offerings. You know, for that extra dose of anthropomorphic affection (with a chaser of projection). Chompers and Angel spend time with me in my living room, and Fleischesser lives in my office, positioned so that he may stare in perpetuity at a gorgeous old mannequin whose arms frequently fall off, as an homage to his species’ leprotic leanings.

VIMOOZ: Would you/have you ever created a pet memorial? Would you consider it?

Amy Finkel: We always buried our small animals in the backyard or cremated our larger ones (I keep their ashes now). At this point, I’ve of course, seen all that can be done with a deceased pet. Most of the memorials would be cost prohibitive for me and wouldn’t offer me much comfort, but I love Jessica Joslin’s articulated skeleton work (not sure I’d be able to do that with a pet, but I do think her work is beautiful). I can absolutely imagine pressing the ashes of a pet into a vinyl record (“And Vinyly”). I love that option. I love a lot of the options — I vetted all of the businesses in the film; all of the company owners are really great people who mean well and are by no means simply trying to exploit pet owners at a time when they’re most vulnerable.

VIMOOZ: What do you want viewers to take away from watching the documentary?

Amy Finkel: I’m hoping that the stigma attached to grieving the loss of a pet can be removed.

VIMOOZ: By the way who came up with the name for the film?

Amy Finkel: My friend, Laura Pence! I told her that I wanted to call it “Forever” (I’m pretty sure we were pretty tipsy at the time), and she cracked up and said, “FUR-ever!” She thought she was making a joke, but I knew immediately that there was no other title but that.

VIMOOZ: What’s next for Furever?

Amy Finkel: We’re currently working out our distribution plans — check the fureverfilm.com website in the next few weeks for details about that. And we’re doing the film festival route for the next year (we started two months ago).

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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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