Film Festivals

The Best Bike Movies from Around the World at 2013 Filmed by Bike in Portland, Oregon

The 11th Annual Filmed by Bike is a film festival that features the best bicycle movies from around the world. The festival takes place at the Clinton Street Theater, 2516 SE Clinton Street, Portland, Oregon, on April 20-23, 2013. Love is born, victories are achieved and fantastic feats are accomplished as stories of two-wheeled adventures cycle across the silver screen in eight minutes or less.

[caption id="attachment_3326" align="alignnone" width="550"]Sandy On Bikes[/caption]

* Filmed by Bike was started in 2003.

* 40% of the submissions come form Portland, the rest come from around the world.

* The festival features an array of film genres including documentary, animation, drama and comedy.

* The festival is only shown in Portland, Oregon

* Festival attendees come from all over the region. In 2008, Amtrak reportedly sold out of space for bicycles on the Cascades line because of the number of bike-enthusiasts traveling from Seattle to Portland for the festival.

* 120 movies are submitted. 40 movies are shown.

The opening day is Saturday, April 20 and features the New Belgium Street Fest in the middle of Clinton Street. The event is all ages and features a Speed Raffle presented by Sock Dreams, live entertainment, a beer garden, a video storytelling booth, a photo booth and a gigantic bike parking arena.

source: Filmed by Bike

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Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children to Help Kick Off 2013 New York Indian Film Festival

The 13th Annual New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) announced an exclusive kick-off screening of MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN followed by a special Q&A on April 10, 2013. In attendance will be the film’s acclaimed director Deepa Mehta, award-winning writer of the novel Salman Rushdie who also adapted the screenplay, producer David Hamilton, cast members Sarita Choudhury and Samrat Chakrabarti, plus other special guests. Paladin and 108 Media will be officially releasing MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN in major U.S. cities starting in New York City on April 26.

[caption id="attachment_3321" align="alignnone" width="550"](L-R) Author and Screenwriter Salman Rushdie and Director Deepa Mehta[/caption]

Deepa Mehta returns to NYIFF after her Oscar-nominated film WATER opened the film festival in 2005. “We have had a very long and creatively fruitful relationship with NYIFF. FIRE, the very first film in the elemental Trilogy was shown there and almost every film I have made since,” says Mehta. “Aroon Shivdasani was in fact responsible for the creation of MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN. She brought Salman to the premiere screening of WATER in New York and that began a close relationship with Salman, which culminated in the very first film adaptation of any of his novels. It is enormously pleasing for me to be once again collaborating with NYIFF and bringing to their extremely discerning audience MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN, a film that I have been dreaming of doing since I first read the book over 30 years ago.”

With this latest masterpiece, MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN, Mehta tantalizes audiences with lush visuals and a magical, wide-spanning story. Two babies, born within moments of India proclaiming Independence from Britain, are switched at birth and are forever marked by history.

Long-time supporter of NYIFF, Salman Rushdie also narrates the film. “I’m delighted the film of MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN is to be given this preview screening in New York by my old friends at NYIFF,” says Rushdie. “I look forward to a great evening with you all!”

MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN has played at festivals worldwide to much critical acclaim. This star-studded event is open only to press and members of the film festival’s presenting organization, the Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC). Widely recognized as the premiere showcase of groundbreaking Indian cinema globally, IAAC’s NYIFF will announce the full line-up of screenings and events for the festival by March 22.

Celebrating its 13th year, NYIFF will run April 30 to May 4.

About the film:

Paladin and 108 Media present

MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN

148 minutes

Director: Deepa Mehta

Writer: Salman Rushdie

Executive Producers: Deepa Mehta, Dilip Mehta, Salman Rushdie, Doug Mankoff, Andrew Spaulding, Steven Silver, Neil Tabatznik, Elizabeth Karlsen, David Hamilton, Stephen Woolley

Producer: David Hamilton

Cast: Satya Bhabha, Shahana Goswami, Rajat Kapoor, Seema Biswas, Shriya Saran, Siddharth, Ronit Roy, Rahul Bose, Anita Majumdar, Zaib Shaikh, Anupam Kher

Logline: Born in the hour of India’s freedom. Handcuffed to history.

Release Date: April 26 in NY, additional cities in May

English and Urdu with English subtitles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXgx6C8PHd4

source: New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF)

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HollyShorts takes over NYC and LA March 29th

HollyShorts, considered “the premier festival showcasing the top short films” is coming to New York City on Friday March 29th.

For the first time in the festival’s history, HollyShorts will be have a New York City screening series at the Showbiz store located at 19 W 21st St. New York, NY 10010 and on the same night there will be a separate program screening celebration at the Showbiz store LA located at 500 S Sepulveda Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90049.

Audiences at each screening get to choose their favorite film and the film with the most votes gets entered into the prestigious august festival held at the TCL Chinese Theatre, Hollywood, August 15th-25th.

HollyShorts New York March Screening

Movies Screening Include

Rockaway – Directed by Melanie Schiele
Periods – Directed by Victor Quinaz and Anna Martemucci
The Man at the Counter – Directed by Brian McAllister
Tu & Eu – Directed by Edward Shieh
Truth About Lies – Directed by Shalako Gordon
Harry Grows Up – Directed by Mark Nickelsburg
5 Second Films

HollyShorts Los Angeles March Screening

Movies Screening Include:

Drunk History – Directed by Derek Waters
Mantle – Directed by Luke Dejoras
Real Girls Guide – Directed by Heather De Michele
Butterfly – Directed by J.R. Curry
Loop Holes – Directed by Erin Granat
Goodbye, Simon – Directed by Dylan Stern
5 Second Films
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Sydney’s Horror, Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film Festivals are less than 1 month away!

Australia’s two leading fantastic genre film festivals are screening simultaneously at Dendy Cinema Newtown from April 11 – 21, 2013.

The 7^th annual A Night of Horror Film Festival will be taking place in conjunction with the 4^thedition of Fantastic Planet Film Festival. Combined, the festivals will screen over 125 films: 25 features, and 100 plus shorts, animations, and music videos. In the weeks to come, the festivals will be announcing their complete schedules (which are loaded with World, Australian, and Sydney premieres), international filmmaker guests, and exciting new components of each festival.

A Night of Horror and Fantastic Planet retain their own separate and independent programs. Together the festivals are dedicated to presenting Sydney audiences with a stunning showcase of the latest in horror, sci-fi, fantasy and cult cinema.

More details are available on the festivals’ official websites:

www.anightofhorror.com

www.fantasticplanetfilmfestival.com

SOURCE: A Night of Horror and Fantastic Planet
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Sydney’s Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival less than 1 month away

Australia’s two leading fantastic genre film festivals are screening simultaneously at Dendy Cinema Newtown from April 11 – 21, 2013.

The 7^th annual A Night of Horror Film Festival will be taking place in conjunction with the 4^thedition of Fantastic Planet Film Festival. Combined, the festivals will screen over 125 films: 25 features, and 100 plus shorts, animations, and music videos. In the weeks to come, the festivals will be announcing their complete schedules (which are loaded with World, Australian, and Sydney premieres), international filmmaker guests, and exciting new components of each festival.

A Night of Horror and Fantastic Planet retain their own separate and independent programs. Together the festivals are dedicated to presenting Sydney audiences with a stunning showcase of the latest in horror, sci-fi, fantasy and cult cinema.

More details are available on the festivals’ official websites:

www.anightofhorror.com

www.fantasticplanetfilmfestival.com

SOURCE: A Night of Horror and Fantastic Planet
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2013 Full Frame Announces Center Frames, Free Screenings, Garrett Scott Grant and SDF

[caption id="attachment_3304" align="alignnone" width="550"]Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me[/caption]

The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival has announced additional programming for the 2013 festival: 3 Center Frame programs, 5 Free Screenings, the Southern Documentary Fund: In-the-Works program, and this year’s Garrett Scott Documentary Development Grant recipients.

Three films previously announced in the Invited Program will exhibit as Center Frame screenings in Fletcher Hall of the Carolina Theatre: the World Premiere of Patrick Creadon’s “If You Build It,” the North American Premiere of Patrick Reed’s “Fight Like Soldiers, Die Like Children,” and Greg Barker’s acclaimed documentary “Manhunt.”

Subjects from the films will participate in extended conversations with the filmmakers after each Center Frame screening. The following special guests and newsmakers will all be in attendance:Emily Pilloton and Matthew Miller, the designers from “If You Build It,” Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire featured in “Fight Like Soldiers, Die Like Children,” and Cindy Storer andSusan Hasler from “Manhunt,” members of the original CIA ‘Sisterhood’ involved in tracking Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda.

Now in its seventh year, the 2013 Garrett Scott Documentary Development Grant has been awarded to Lyric R. Cabral for “(T)ERROR”and to Mike Attie and Meghan O’Hara for “In Country.” The Grant’s organizers will join the filmmakers in presenting short excerpts from their works-in-progress prior to the screening of 2011 recipient Lotfy Nathan’s film, “12 O’Clock Boys.” The Grant is awarded in honor of filmmaker Garrett Scott, who made a distinctive mark in the documentary genre during his brief career. It recognizes first-time filmmakers who, like Scott, bring a unique vision to the content and style of their documentary films.

The Southern Documentary Fund is screening in-the-works excerpts from “Occupy the Imagination” by Rodrigo Dorfman and “So Help You God” by Ashley York. The showings will be followed by panel discussions and Q & A sessions with the filmmakers.

SDF: In-the-Works provides southern filmmakers the opportunity to receive feedback from a dedicated assembly of their peers and serious documentary enthusiasts.

Full Frame 2013 will feature 5 Free Screenings. The festival will continue its tradition of showcasing films outdoors in Durham Central Park on Friday and Saturday night. Two award winners from last year’s festival will each screen twice, once indoors and once outside: 2012 Full Frame Audience Award Winner “Trash Dance” and “Chasing Ice,” which received the Nicholas School Environmental Award.

Food Truck Roundups will precede both outdoor showings on Friday and Saturday evening. These films will also each be shown again in the new Full Frame Theatre in the Power Plant at American Tobacco. Lastly, Full Frame will host a free Closing Night Film Sunday night. Drew DeNicola and Olivia Mori’s “Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me” will close the festival at 8:00pm on April 7th.

The complete schedule of events, along with full film descriptions can be viewed at:http://www.fullframefest.org/filmsevents/film-schedule/

2013 Center Frame Screenings @ Carolina Theatre’s Fletcher Hall

CENTER FRAME – Friday, April 5 @ 5:00pm
Fight Like Soldiers, Die Like Children (Director: Patrick Reed)
If you’ve been to hell and back, how do you exorcise the memories? Former U.N. commander Roméo Dallaire’s new mission: end the use of child soldiers. North American Premiere

CENTER FRAME – Saturday, April 6 @ 1:50pm
Manhunt (Director: Greg Barker)
This spellbinding film dissects the painstaking search for Osama bin Laden, which originated with the “Sisterhood,” a remarkable team of CIA analysts.

CENTER FRAME – Saturday, April 6 @ 5:00pm
If You Build It (Director: Patrick Creadon)
Innovative teachers, striving students, and a radical curriculum in Bertie County, N.C., are chronicled over the course of one transformative year. World Premiere

2013 Free Screenings – No Ticket Required

FREE SCREENING – Friday, April 5 @ 6:30pm – Full Frame Theatre
Trash Dance (Director: Andrew Garrison)
An unusual partnership between a dancer and Austin’s Department of Solid Waste Services results in a public performance starring man, music, and machine.

FREE SCREENING – Saturday, April 6 @ 6:30pm – Full Frame Theatre
Chasing Ice (Director: Jeff Orlowski)
Scientific fact and aesthetic beauty merge in monumental and dramatic time-lapse photos illustrating global warming’s chilling ravages.

CLOSING NIGHT FILM – Sunday, April 7 @ 8:00pm – Carolina Theatre’s Fletcher Hall
Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me (Directors: Drew DeNicola, Olivia Mori)
Myth and music collide in this story of the influence and impact of revered power-pop band Big Star, featuring never-before-seen footage, photos, and interviews.

2013 Garrett Scott Documentary Development Grant – Saturday, April 6 @ 1:00pm – Cinema 3 (Ticket Required)

(T)ERROR (Director: Lyric R. Cabral)
An active FBI counterterrorism sting operation unravels when a terror suspect realizes an informant is setting him up.

In Country (Directors: Mike Attie, Meghan O’Hara)
Blurring the boundaries between reality and fantasy, this film follows a “platoon” of dedicated Vietnam War reenactors.

SDF: In-the-Works – Sunday, April 7 @ 1:40pm – Durham Arts Council (Ticket Required)

Occupy the Imagination (Director: Rodrigo Dorfman)
As filmmaker Rodrigo Dorfman explores his revolutionary roots in 1970s Chile, a wave of resistance explodes during Occupy Wall Street.

So Help You God (Director: Ashley York)
Filmmaker Ashley York returns to her Kentucky hometown to unravel the story of six teenagers imprisoned for a gruesome murder.

The 16th Annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival will be held April 4-7, 2013, in Durham, NC, with Duke University as the presenting sponsor.

source: Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
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2013 Sarasota Film Festival to Honor Computer Chess and Screen Over 222 Films

[caption id="attachment_3295" align="alignnone" width="550"]THE COLD LANDS[/caption]

The 2013 Sarasota Film Festival (SFF) announced their film lineup featuring over 222 films, including Tom Gilroy’s THE COLD LANDS (US Premiere), Jeremy Xido’s DEATH METAL ANGOLA (US Premiere), Nathan Silver’s SOFT IN THE HEAD (World Premiere), C&Y’s THE OXBOW CURE (World Premiere), and Gregory Collins’ A SONG STILL INSIDE (World Premiere).

[caption id="attachment_3145" align="alignnone" width="550"]COMPUTER CHESS[/caption]

The Festival will also award the 2013 Terry Porter Visionary Award, named in honor of longtime festival friend Terry Porter, to Andrew Bujalski’s COMPUTER CHESS. Previous winners include V/H/S (2012) and Todd Rohal’s THE CATECHISM CATACLYSM (2011).

As previously announced, the 2013 opens on April 5th with Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s BLACKFISH, while Noah Baumbach’s FRANCES HA is the festival’s Closing Night film. James Ponsoldt’s THE SPECTACULAR NOW and Barbara Kopple’s RUNNING FROM CRAZY are the Centerpiece Films, with Carols Puga’s BURMA, Justin Schwarz’s THE DISCOVERERS and the World Premiere of Will Slocombe’s PASADENA are the SFF’s Spotlight Films.

The lineup

NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION

THE COLD LANDS, directed by Tom Gilroy (North American Premiere)

CONCUSSION, directed by Stacie Passon

THE HUNT, directed by Thomas Vinterberg

I USED TO BE DARKER, directed by Matthew Porterfield

IT FELT LIKE LOVE, directed by Eliza Hittman

LAURENCE ANYWAYS, directed by Xavier Dolan

POST TENEBRAS LUX, directed by Carlos Reygadas

SOMETHING IN THE AIR, directed by Olivier Assayas

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION

AFTER TILLER, directed by Lana Wilson and Martha Shane

CITIZEN KOCH directed by Carl Deal and Tia Lessin

CUTIE AND THE BOXER, directed by Zachary Heinzerling

DEATH METAL ANGOLA, directed by Jeremy Xido (North American Premiere)

SURVIVAL PRAYER, directed by Benjamin Greené

TWENTY FEET FROM STARDOM, directed by Morgan Neville

WE ALWAYS LIE TO STRANGERS, directed by AJ Schnack, David Wilson

WITHOUT SHEPHERDS, directed by Cary McClelland, Imran Babur

INDEPENDENT VISIONS COMPETITION, presented by Factory 25

THE DIRTIES, directed by Matthew Johnson

THE FORGOTTEN KINGDOM, directed by Andrew Mudge

NOR’EASTER, directed by Andrew Brotzman

THE OXBOW CURE, directed by Yonah Lewis & Calvin Thomas (World Premiere)

SOFT IN THE HEAD, directed by Nathan Silver (World Premiere)

A SONG STILL INSIDE, directed by Gregory Collins (World Premiere)

THIS IS MARTIN BONNER, directed by Chad Hartigan

TOWHEADS, directed by Shannon Plumb

The 2013 Sarasota Film Festival

FEATURE FILMS

AFTER TILLER, directed by Lana Wilson and Martha Shane

ALIYAH, directed by Elie Wajeman

THE ANGELS’ SHARE, directed by Ken Loach

AUGUSTINE, directed by Alice Winocour

THE BALLAD OF THE WEEPING SPRING, directed by Benny Toraty

BARZAN, directed by Alex Stonehill and Bradley Hutchinson (World Premiere)

BEAUTY AND THE BREAST, directed by Liliana Komorowska

BETWEEN US, directed by Dan Mirvish

BIG STAR: NOTHING CAN HURT ME, directed by Drew DiNicola

BLACKFISH, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite

BRAVE MISS WORLD, directed by Cecilia Peck

BROKEN, directed by Rufus Norris

BURMA, directed by Carlos Puga

C.O.G., directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez

CASTING BY, directed by Tom Donahue

CITIZEN KOCH, directed by Carl Deal and Tia Lessin

THE COLD LANDS, directed by Tom Gilroy (North American Premiere)

COMPUTER CHESS, directed by Andrew Bujalski

CONCUSSION, directed by Stacie Passon

THE CRASH REEL, directed by Lucy Walker

CUTIE AND THE BOXER, directed by Zachary Heinzerling

DEAD MAN’S BURDEN, directed by Jared Moshe

DEATH METAL ANGOLA, directed by Jeremy Xido (North American Premiere)

THE DEFLOWERING OF EVA VAN END, directed by Michiel ten Horn

THE DIRTIES, directed by Matt Johnson

THE DISCOVERERS, directed by Justin Schwarz

THE END OF TIME, directed by Peter Mettler

FALL AND WINTER, directed by Matt Anderson

FILL THE VOID, directed by Rama Burshtein

FIRST COMES LOVE, directed by Nina Davenport

FORBIDDEN VOICES, directed by Barbara Miller

THE FORGOTTEN KINGDOM, directed by Andrew Mudge

FRANCES HA, directed by Noah Baumbach

A GIRL AND A GUN, directed by Cathryne Czbek

GOOD OL’ FREDA, directed by Ryan White

THE GREAT CHICKEN WING HUNT, directed by Matt Reynolds

THE GREY AREA, directed by Noga Ashkenazi

A HIJACKING, directed by Tobias Lindholm

HOMEFRONT HEROINES: THE WAVES OF WWII, directed by Kathleen M. Ryan

THE HUNT, directed by Thomas Vinterberg

I USED TO BE DARKER, directed by Matthew Porterfield

IN THE FOG, directed by Sergei Loznitsa

IN THE HOUSE, directed by François Ozon

IT FELT LIKE LOVE, directed by Eliza Hittman

THE KINGS OF SUMMER, directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts

LA SIRGA, directed by William Vega

LA SOURCE, directed by Patrick Shen

LACE BITE, directed by Sharron Bates and Carmen Klotz

LAND OF HOPE, directed by Sion Sono

THE LAST SENTENCE, directed by Jan Troell

LAURENCE ANYWAYS, directed by Xavier Dolan

THE LIST, directed by Beth Murphy

LITTLE FUGITIVE, directed by Morris Engel, Ruth Orkin, and Ray Ashley

MAIDENTRIP, directed by Jillian Schlesinger

MARIA THE KOREAN BRIDE, directed by Maria Yoon

MEDORA, directed by Andrew Cohn and Davy Rothbart

MONSTERS, directed by Melissa Thompson

MORE THAN HONEY, directed by Markus Imhoof

MUSICWOOD, directed by Maxine Trump

MY NAME IS FAITH, directed by Jason Banker, Jorge Torres-Torres, and Tiffany Suedela-Junker

NEWLYWEEDS, directed by Shaka King

NEXT YEAR JERUSALEM, directed by David Gaynes (World Premiere)

NO ONE LIVES, directed by Ryûhei Kitamura

NO PLACE ON EARTH, directed by Janet Tobias

NOR’EASTER, directed by Andrew Brotzman

NOTHING WITHOUT YOU, directed by Xackery Irving

THE OXBOW CURE, directed by Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas (World Premiere)

PASADENA, directed by Will Slocombe (World Premiere)

PERSISTENCE OF VISION, directed by Kevin Schreck

THE PERVERT’S GUIDE TO IDEOLOGY, directed by Sophie Fiennes

PLIMPTON! STARRING GEORGE PLIMPTON AS HIMSELF, directed by Thomas Bean and Luke Poling

POST TENEBRAS LUX, directed by Carlos Reygadas

THE RAMBLER, directed by Calvin Lee Reeder

REALITY, directed by Matteo Garrone

REMOTE AREA MEDICAL, directed by Jeff Reichert and Farihah Zaman

RENOIR, directed by Gilles Bourdos

RICKY RAPPER AND COOL WENDY, directed by Mari Rantasila

RUNNING FROM CRAZY, directed by Barbara Kopple

RUNNING WILD: THE LIFE OF DAYTON O. HYDE, directed by Suzanne Mitchell

RUTA DE LA LUNA, directed by Juan Sebastián Jácome

SALMA, directed by Kim Longinotto

SHEPARD AND DARK, directed by Treva Wurmfeld

SOFT IN THE HEAD, directed by Nathan Silver (World Premiere)

SOMETHING IN THE AIR, directed by Olivier Assayas

A SONG STILL INSIDE, directed by Gregory Collins (World Premiere)

THE SPECTACULAR NOW, directed by James Ponsoldt

STILL MINE, directed by Michael McGowan

SURVIVAL PRAYER, directed by Benjamin Greené

THÉRÈSE DESQUEYROUX, directed by Claude Miller

THIS IS MARTIN BONNER, directed by Chad Hartigan

TOWHEADS, directed by Shannon Plumb

TRAILBLAZERS IN HABITS, directed by Nancy M. Tong

TWENTY FEET FROM STARDOM, directed by Morgan Neville

UP HEARTBREAK HILL, directed by Erica Scharf

VENUS AND SERENA, directed by Maiken Baird and Michelle Major

THE WALL, directed by Julian Roman Pölsler

WE ALWAYS LIE TO STRANGERS, directed by AJ Schnack and David Wilson

WHEN I WALK, directed by Jason DaSilva

WHICH WAY IS THE FRONT LINE FROM HERE? THE LIFE AND TIME OF TIM HETHERINGTON, directed by Sebastian Junger

WITHOUT SHEPHERDS, directed by Cary McClelland

WORLD CIRCUS, directed by Angela Snow

YOU AIN’T SEEN NOTHIN’ YET, directed by Alain Resnais

ZARAFA, directed by Rémi Bezançon and Jean-Christophe Lie

The 2013 Sarasota Film Festival

SHORT FILMS

Shorts Before Features

CHARACTER FACE- A CLOWN COLLEGE FANTASY, directed by Nic Beery (World Premiere)

HOW TO BE A FEMALE DIRECTOR, directed by Trisha Gum

LES, directed by Aída Ramazánova

LYDIA HOFFMAN, LYDIA HOFFMAN, directed by Dustin Guy Defa

QUEEN OF THE DESERT, directed by Alex Kelly

THIS IS NORMAL, directed by Derek Watson (World Premiere)

WHEN WE LIVED IN MIAMI, directed by Amy Seimetz

Shorts 1: Narrative Shorts I

BLACK METAL, directed by Kat Candler

CRESCENDO, directed by Alonso Alvarez Barreda

THE DISCARDED (EN MAL ESTADO), directed by Juan Antonio Delicado and David Delicado

LISPENARD, directed by Anna Stypko

MOBILE HOMES, directed by Vladimir de Fontenay

ON SUFFOCATION, directed by Jenifer Malmqvist

SHADES OF LIVING, directed by Aurora Fearnley

THE TAPE, directed by Matt Austin Sadowski

TIPPING POINT, directed by Leonardo Foti

Shorts 2: Narrative Shorts II

BOOM BOX KIDS, directed by Taylor Gledhill

BUM FUTURE, directed by Laura Terruso

THE CAPTAIN, directed by Nash Edgerton and Spencer Susso

DOUBLE OR NOTHING, directed by Nathaniel Krause

GALAXY COMICS: THE MUSICAL, directed by Kevin McMullin

THE OPPORTUNITY OFFICE, directed by Chelsea O’Connor

PEARL WAS HERE, directed by Kate Marks

SPOSINI, directed by Nicholas VanDevender

TRYOUTS, directed by Lauren Ciaravalli (World Premiere)

Shorts 3: Narrative Shorts III

ALASKA IS A DRAG, directed by Shaz Bennett

ANGELA WRIGHT, directed by Mu Sun

GUN, directed by Spencer Gillis

JOYFUL GIRL, directed by Chloe Dumont

MIGRAINE, directed by Matthew Bonifacio

THE ONLY BAR IN TOWN, directed by Adam Budd

RED VELVET, directed by Aude Cuenod (World Premiere)

Shorts 4: Documentary Shorts

EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS, directed by Laura Green

HOLDING SPACE, directed by David “Evolutionshift” Houle

NGABEN: EMOTION AND RESTRAINT IN A BALINESE HEART, directed by Robert Lemelson (World Premiere)

PASSION AND ACCEPTANCE, directed by Wayne Thomas

THE RECORD BREAKER, directed by Brian McGinn

Shorts 5: World Shorts

BEHIND THE MIRRORS (DETRAS DELESPEJO), directed by Julio O. Ramos

CODA, directed by Jonathan Tomlin

THE CURSE, directed by Fyzal Boulifa

HOSPITALS, directed by Priscilla Y. Anany

POTWOR, directed by Piotr Ryczko

THE ROAD HOME, directed by Denie Pentecost (World Premiere)

Shorts 6: Animated Shorts

AND/OR, directed by Emily Hubley

BEING BRADFORD DILLMAN, directed by Emma Burch

THE EVENT, directed by Julia Pott

FERAL, directed by Daniel Sousa

FOXED!, directed by James Stewart and Nev Bezaire

FURNACE KEEP, directed by Gary Grant

IN HANFORD, directed by Chris Mars

IRISH FOLK FURNITURE, directed by Tony Donoghue

MARCEL, KING OF TERVUREN, directed by Tom Schroeder

MOUTH WIDE OPEN, EARS SHUT TIGHT, directed by Tom Madar and Emlly Noy

OH WILLY…, directed by Emma de Swaef and Marc James Roels

Shorts 7: SRQ Shorts

315 POUNDS, directed by Jeffrey Boos

BOOST, directed by KT Curran (World Premiere)

THE COVER, directed by Anthony Paull

DAD DATE, directed by Wingel Buendia

THE FOREVER, directed by Sean Benson

LAY ME IN THE RIVER, directed by Allison Morton and Ashley Bonn

OVERTIME, directed by Grant Duffrin

RATTLETRAP, directed by Stephen Reeves

Shorts 8: Midnight Shorts

THE APOCALYPSE, directed by Andrew Zuchero

DEVIL’S TEMPTATION, directed by Cineryong

MINOTAUR, directed by Javier Grillo-Marxuach

MR. BEAR, directed by Andrés Rosende

PENNY DREADFUL, directed by Shane Atkinson

SLASH, directed by Clay Liford

SLASHED: TALES OF FORBIDDEN LUST, directed by Kira Trinity

Shorts 9: Through Women’s Eyes I

THE EYES OF HEAVEN, directed by Grace Hendley

ME AND MY DEADBEAT HUSBAND, directed by Deirdre Morales

SILK, directed by Catherine Dent

UNRAVEL, directed by Meghna Grupta

THE WINTER, directed by Teresa Sutherland

Shorts 10: Through Women’s Eyes II

THE CART, directed by Natasha Novik

SCHOOL OF MY DREAMS, directed by Barbara Rick

SCHWESTERN (SISTERS), directed by Chantal Bertalanffy

SIX LETTER WORD, directed by Lisanne Sartor

STALLED, directed by Shannon Kohli

Shorts 11: NYU Shorts

BONESHAKER, directed by Frances Bodomo

BRAVE GIRL (SAHASI CHORI), directed by Erin Galey

GLORY DAYS, directed by Benjamin Rutkowski

KATYA & THE SCARLET SAILS, directed by Vika Evdokimenko

OYSTERS ROCKEFELLER, directed by Charles Rogers

Q, directed by Felipe Vara de Rey

youthFEST Shorts I

GERONIMO, directed by Grace Feeney

MY LITTLE UNDERGROUND, directed by Élise Simard

NEXT DOOR LETTERS, directed by Sascha Fülscher

PAULIE, directed by Andrew Nackman

PEN PAL, directed by Brooke Goldfinch

TINA FOR PRESIDENT, directed by Carmen Emm

YEAH KOWALSKI, directed by Evan Roberts

youthFEST Shorts II

ANTOINE’S FOUR SEASONS, directed by Philippe Béziat and gordon

FOUR, directed by Margherita Premuroso and Luca Da Rios

THE INVENTION (EL INVENTO), directed by Giovanni Granada

KALI, THE LITTLE VAMPIRE, directed by Regina Pessoa

LUMINARIS, directed by Juan Pablo Zaramella

TIME TRAVEL BOY, directed by Alexander Monelli

TWIRL, directed by Nathaniel Winckler

youthFEST Shorts III

AMAQQUT NUNAAT: THE COUNTRY OF WOLVES, directed by Neil Christopher

BORIS THE RAT RECYCLES, directed by Leena Jääskeläinen and Kaisa Penttilä

DONALD, directed by Daniel Acht

IT’S A DOG’S LIFE, directed by Julie Rembauville and Nicolas Bianco-Levrin

LOLA & HER DOG, directed by Nathaniel Winckler and Christopher Birnbaum

PASTEURIZED, directed by Nicolás P. Villarreal

THE SCARED IS SCARED, directed by Bianca Giaever

A SEA TURTLE STORY, directed by Kathy Shultz

VIOLIN PLAY, directed by Tünde Vollenbroek

WOLF DOG TALES, directed by Bernadine Santistevan

WYLDE LIFE, directed by Stephen Levinson, Joel Moss Levinson, and David B. Levy

youthFEST Shorts IV

AND THEN IT’S SPRING, directed by Cha-Pow!

BINK & GOLLIE, directed by Kate Dicamillo and Alison McGhee

EDWINA, THE DINOSAUR WHO DIDN’T KNOW SHE WAS EXTINCT, directed by Pete List

I’M FAST, directed by Galen Fott

SCAREDY SQUIRREL MAKES A FRIEND, directed by Galen Fott

A SICK DAY FOR AMOS MCGEE, directed by Philip C. Stead

SKY COLOR, directed by Peter H. Renolds

Kids VIP

RICKY RAPPER AND COOL WENDY, directed by Mari Rantasila

SHOW WAY, directed by Jacqueline Woodson

WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY: BUSHRA’S FILM, directed by Annie Gibbs

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Steven Soderbergh to Deliver State of Cinema Address at 2013 San Francisco International Film Festival, May Address Retirement Rumors

Director Steven Soderbergh, described as “one of the world’s most celebrated figures in contemporary filmmaking,” will deliver the tenth annual State of Cinema Address at the 56th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 25 – May 9, 2013). Soderbergh, reportedly recently announced his intention to retire from filmmaking, a decision which should provide a compelling framework for this live address.

Previous State of Cinema speakers have been author Jonathan Lethem, film producer Christine Vachon, film editor Walter Murch, photographer Mary Ellen Mark, Wired publisher Kevin Kelly, actress Tilda Swinton, writer/director Brad Bird, cultural commentator B. Ruby Rich and longtime editor of the influential French film magazine Positif Michel Ciment.
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Tribeca Film Festival Announces the 2013 Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival Lineup

[caption id="attachment_3289" align="alignnone" width="550"]Big Shot[/caption]

The Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival, which has become the a great showcase for independent films about sports and competition is back for the 2013 Festival. The festival announced the lineup for the seventh annual Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival, consisting of nine films, including four titles from ESPN Films’ highly anticipated “Nine for IX” series which celebrates the fortieth anniversary of Title IX with nine documentary films about women in sports directed by outstanding female filmmakers. The 2013 Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival will run during the 12th TFF, April 17 – April 28 in New York City.

The world premiere of Big Shot, directed by Kevin Connolly, will serve as the gala premiere of the program on Friday, April 19. Connolly is returning to Tribeca having debuted his feature film Gardener of Eden in 2007. In Big Shot, Connolly chronicles John Spano’s fraudulent purchase of the New York Islanders. In 1997, Spano bought the New York Islanders for a staggering $165 million. The scheme behind Spano’s acquisition of the team is revealed as Big Shot takes viewers behind the scenes of the biggest fraud in hockey history.

The other films include documentary films that explore stories of an extreme skiing legend; the world’s top professional skateboarders; an overhyped high school basketball player; the battle in the ring and the courts of the greatest boxing legend; the personal struggles of college sports’ most successful coach ever; the largely unknown history of an Olympic gold medalist and her link with East Germany’s secret police; the unyielding quest of a world-class diver to reach new depths; and the gender politics of post-game locker room interviews.

All of this year’s Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival films will screen at Tribeca Cinemas on Saturday, April 27. The films also screen prior to April 27 throughout the Festival. In addition to the film series, the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival will present the free Sports Day as part of the Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair. Sports Day, will also take place on Saturday, April 27, offerring fans an opportunity to engage in a variety of free, sports-related games and activities.

The following are the films featured in the 2013 Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival.

TRIBECA/ESPN SPORTS FILM FESTIVAL LINE-UP

Gala

Big Shot, directed by Kevin Connolly. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. In 1997, John Spano, a previously unknown Dallas business mogul, bought the New York Islanders for a whopping $165 million. The future looked bright for the once-legendary team. Then Spano took his seat in the front office. Entourage’s Kevin Connolly takes us behind the scenes of the biggest fraud in hockey history, as Spano’s wealth is revealed to be a lie and his rise to power a brilliantly concocted scheme.

The following Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival titles have been announced in their respective sections as part of the 2013 TFF film program:

McConkey, directed and written by Steve Winter, Murray Wais, Scott Gaffney, David Zieff, and Rob Bruce. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. An all-star roster of sports movie-making talent directs this heartfelt biography of extreme ski trailblazer Shane McConkey, once described as “the most influential skier ever.”McConkey covers forty years and countless high places to track Shane’s conversion from downhill racer to freeskiing marvel to pioneer of a hair-raising new discipline—ski BASE jumping—giving new meaning to the question, how do you live your life to the fullest?

Lenny Cooke, directed by Benny Safdie and Joshua Safdie. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. In 2001, Lenny Cooke was the most hyped high school basketball player in the country, ranked above future greats LeBron James, Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. A decade later, Lenny has never played a minute in the NBA. In this quintessentially American documentary, filmmaking brothers Joshua and Benny Safdie track the unfulfilled destiny of a man for whom superstardom was only just out of reach.

The Trials of Muhammad Ali, directed by Bill Siegel. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. Brash boxer Cassius Clay burst into the American consciousness in the early 1960s, just ahead of the Civil Rights movement. His transformation into the spiritually enlightened heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali is legendary, but this religious awakening also led to a bitter legal battle with the U.S. government after he refused to serve in the Vietnam War. This film reveals the perfect storm of race, religion and politics that shaped one of the most recognizable figures in sports history.

The Motivation, directed by Adam Bhala Lough. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. Go inside the lives and training regimes of eight of the world’s gutsiest professional skateboarders. These fearless stars face unique obstacles on the way to the Street League Championship and the coveted title of best street skateboarder in the world. Adam Bhala Lough, creator of the independent hit Bomb the System (TFF 2003), directs this fresh, energetic documentary search for that elusive quality that separates winners from the pack. In English, Portuguese with subtitles.

Special Screenings from the “Nine for IX” series

Pat XO, directed by Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern Winters. Produced by Robin Roberts. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. In August 2011, Pat Summitt, NCAA basketball’s winningest coach, made the stunning announcement that she had early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Before and after resigning in April 2012, the legendary coach and her son, Tyler, have set out to beat this challenge as they had every other—with grace, humor and, most of all, each other. Pat XO tells the remarkable story of this incomparable coach as it has never been told before, straight from the people who knew her best.

The Diplomat, directed by Senain Kheshgi and Jennifer Arnold. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. At the height of the Cold War, Katarina Witt became one of East Germany’s most famous athletes, winning six European titles, four world championships and back-to-back Olympic gold medals. Known as “the most beautiful face of socialism,” she earned unique benefits in East Germany but also constant surveillance from the Stasi, the notorious secret police force.

No Limits, directed by Alison Ellwood. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. Suffering from scoliosis as a teenager, Audrey Mestre found freedom in the ocean. Years later, she discovered another reason to love the water: the elusive, often raucous free diver Pipin Ferreras. As Mestre follows Ferreras’s almost spiritual quest to push his limits underwater, she moves from supporter to ardent free diver to world-class competitor. Then a challenge from a rival pushes the couple to the brink of what is possible, both above and below the surface.

Let Them Wear Towels, directed by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. During the 1977 World Series, Sports Illustrated reporter Melissa Ludtke was denied access to the players’ locker room. After a very public fight, the door was opened, but the debate about female journalists in the male sanctum of the clubhouse remained. Through interviews with pioneering female sports writers, Let Them Wear Towels captures the raw behavior, humorous retaliation, angry lawsuits and remarkable resolve that went into the struggle for equal access for women reporters.
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2013 US Sundance Festival Winners Blood Brothers, Upstream Color Among Lineup for 2013 Sundance London

[caption id="attachment_3231" align="alignnone" width="550"]Blood Brother[/caption]

Sundance London film and music festival, unveiled the programme of panels, feature films and short films for the second edition of the festival scheduled to run April 25-28, 2013, at The O2 in London.

The programme includes 18 feature films and nine short films across four sections, including a new UK Spotlight. Films include the U.K. premiere of Blood Brother, winner of the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary and the Audience Award: U.S. Documentary at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival; and Upstream Color, winner of a U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Sound Design at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and from the director of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic-winning film Primer.

In addition to film screenings and panels, Sundance London will host several live music performances and events with Peaches announced as the first headlining act for the 2013 festival.

FEATURE FILM PROGRAMME

The international and UK premieres of American independent narrative and documentary films that premiered in January at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, U.S.A.

Blackfish (Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite) — Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity. (Documentary)International Premiere

Blood Brother (Director: Steve Hoover) — Rocky went to India as a disillusioned tourist. When he met a group of children with HIV, he decided to stay. He never could have imagined the obstacles he would face, or the love he would find. Winner of the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary and the Audience Award: U.S. Documentary presented by Acura at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. (Documentary) UK Premiere

Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes (Director and screenwriter: Francesca Gregorini) — Emanuel, a troubled girl, becomes preoccupied with her mysterious, new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to her dead mother. In offering to babysit her newborn, Emanuel unwittingly enters a fragile, fictional world, of which she becomes the gatekeeper. Cast:Kaya Scodelario, Jessica Biel, Alfred Molina, Frances O’Connor, Jimmi Simpson, Aneurin Barnard. (Narrative)International Premiere

God Loves Uganda (Director: Roger Ross Williams) — A powerful exploration of the evangelical campaign to infuse African culture with values imported from America’s Christian Right. The film follows American and Ugandan religious leaders fighting “sexual immorality” and missionaries trying to convince Ugandans to follow biblical law. (Documentary) European Premiere

In a World… (Director and screenwriter: Lake Bell) — An underachieving vocal coach is motivated by her father, the king of movie-trailer voice-overs, to pursue her aspirations of becoming a voiceover star. Amidst pride, sexism and family dysfunction, she sets out to change the voice of a generation. Cast: Lake Bell, Demetri Martin, Rob Corddry, Michaela Watkins, Ken Marino, Fred Melamed. Winner of the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. (Narrative) International Premiere

The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete (Director: George Tillman Jr., Screenwriter: Michael Starrbury) — Separated from their mothers and facing a summer in the Brooklyn projects alone, two boys hide from police and forage for food, with only each other to trust. A story of salvation through friendship and two boys against the world. Cast: Skylan Brooks, Ethan Dizon, Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks, Anthony Mackie, Jeffrey Wright. (Narrative) UK Premiere

The Kings of Summer (Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Screenwriter: Chris Galletta) — A unique coming-of-age comedy about three teenagers who, in the ultimate act of independence, decide to spend their summer building a makeshift house in the woods. Free from their parents’ rules, their idyllic summer quickly becomes a test of friendship. Cast: Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Alison Brie. (Narrative) International Premiere

Muscle Shoals (Director: Greg ‘Freddy’ Camalier) — Down in Alabama Rick Hall founded FAME Studios and gave birth to the Muscle Shoals sound. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Gregg Allman, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Bono and others bear witness to the greatest untold American music story. (Documentary) UK Premiere

Running from Crazy (Director: Barbara Kopple) — Mariel Hemingway, granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, strives for a greater understanding of her family history of suicide and mental illness. As tragedies are explored and deeply hidden secrets are revealed, Mariel searches for a way to overcome a similar fate. From two-time Academy Award-winning director Barbara Kopple. (Documentary) International Premiere

Touchy Feely (Director and screenwriter: Lynn Shelton) — A massage therapist is unable to do her job when stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact. Meanwhile, her uptight brother’s foundering dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his “healing touch.” Cast: Rosemarie DeWitt, Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Scoot McNairy, Ellen Page, Josh Pais. (Narrative) International Premiere

Upstream Color (Director and screenwriter: Shane Carruth) — A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives. Cast: Amy Seimetz, Shane Carruth, Andrew Sensenig, Thiago Martins. Winner of a U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Sound Design at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and from the director of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic-winning film Primer. (Narrative) UK Premiere

SPECIAL EVENT PROGRAMME

On-screen stories complemented by extraordinary off-screen experiences.

History of the Eagles Part One (Director: Alison Ellwood) — Iconic American rock band the Eagles have earned countless awards and sold more than 120 million albums worldwide, including the best-selling album of all time. Using never-before-seen home movies, archival footage and new interviews with all current and former members of the Eagles, this documentary provides an intimate look into the history of the band and the legacy of their music. Includes an extended Q&A with the Eagles. (Documentary) International Premiere

Peaches Does Herself (Director and screenwriter: Peaches) — On the advice of an old stripper, Peaches makes sexually forthright music. This electro rock opera follows Peaches’ rise in popularity and her love affair with a beautiful she-male that ultimately leads her to realize who she really is. Cast: Peaches, Danni Daniels, Sandy Kane, Mignon, Sweet Machine Band, Jolly Goods. Sundance London will also host a performance by Peaches. (Narrative) UK Premiere

Sleepwalk With Me (Director: Mike Birbiglia, Screenwriters: Mike Birbiglia, Ira Glass, Joe Birbiglia, Seth Barrish) — Reluctant to confront his fears of love, honesty, and growing up, a budding standup comedian has both a hilarious and intense struggle with sleepwalking. Cast: Mike Birbiglia, Lauren Ambrose, Carol Kane, James Rebhorn, Cristin Milioti. Winner of the Best of NEXT <=> Audience Award, Presented by Adobe Systems Incorporated, at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Includes an extended Q&A with director and screenwriter Mike Birbiglia, moderated by comedian Jimmy Carr.(Narrative) European Premiere

UK SPOTLIGHT

Drawing on the Sundance Film Festival’s rich legacy of premiering outstanding films produced in the UK – including An Education, Four Weddings and a Funeral, In Bruges, In the Loop, Kinky Boots, and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels – this new showcase presents a selection of UK films that premiered in Park City, Utah.

In Fear (Directed and story by: Jeremy Lovering) — Trapped in a maze of country roads with only their vehicle for protection, Tom and Lucy are terrorized by an unseen tormentor exploiting their worst fears. Eventually they realize they’ve let the evil in – it’s sitting in their car. Cast: Alice Englert, Iain De Caestecker, Allen Leech. (Narrative) UK Premiere

The Look of Love (Director: Michael Winterbottom, Screenwriter: Matt Greenhalgh) — The true story of British adult magazine publisher and entrepreneur Paul Raymond. A modern day King Midas story, Raymond became one of the richest men in Britain at the cost of losing those closest to him. Cast: Steve Coogan, Anna Friel, Imogen Poots, Tamsin Egerton. (Narrative)UK Premiere

The Moo Man (Directors: Andy Heathcote, Co-director: Heike Bachelier) — A year in the life of heroic farmer Steve, scene stealing Ida (queen of the herd), and a supporting cast of 55 cows. When Ida falls ill, Steve’s optimism is challenged and their whole way of life is at stake. (Documentary) UK Premiere

The Summit (Director: Nick Ryan) — Twenty-four climbers converged at the last stop before summiting the most dangerous mountain on Earth. Forty-eight hours later, 11 had been killed or simply vanished. Had one, Ger McDonnell, stuck to the climbers’ code, he might still be alive. Winner of the Editing Award: U.S. Documentary at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.(Documentary)

SHORT FILM PROGRAMME

A wide-ranging collection of short films that screened in January at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. All will screen together in one Short Film Programme. The winner of the Sundance London Short Film Competition will be the tenth short film featured.

The Apocalypse (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Zuchero) — Four uninspired friends try to come up with a terrific idea for how to spend their Saturday afternoon. International Premiere

Black Metal (Director and screenwriter: Kat Candler) — After a career spent mining his music from the shadows, one fan creates a chain reaction for the lead singer of a black metal band. European Premiere

The Date (Director and screenwriter: Jenni Toivoniemi) — Tino’s manhood is put to the test in front of two women when he has to host a date for Diablo, the family’s stud cat. Winner of the Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

Irish Folk Furniture (Director: Tony Donoghue) — In Ireland, old hand-painted furniture is often associated with hard times, with poverty, and with a time many would rather forget. In this animated documentary, 16 pieces of traditional folk furniture are repaired and returned home. Winner of the Short Film Jury Award: Animation at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

Jonah (Director: Kibwe Tavares, Screenwriter: Jack Thorne) — When two young men photograph a gigantic fish leaping from the sea, their small town becomes a tourist attraction in this story about the old and the new. UK Premiere

Reindeer (Director: Eva Weber) — A lyrical and haunting portrait of reindeer herding in the twilight expanses of the Lapland wilderness.

Until the Quiet Comes (Director and screenwriter: Kahlil Joseph) — Shot in the Nickerson Gardens housing projects in Watts, Los Angeles, this film deals with themes of violence, camaraderie and spirituality through the lens of magical realism. Winner of a Short Film Special Jury Award at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. European Premiere

Whiplash (Director and screenwriter: Damien Chazelle) — An aspiring drummer enters an elite conservatory’s top jazz orchestra. Winner of the Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fictionat the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. International Premiere

The Whistle (Director: Grzegorz Zariczny) — Marcin, a lowest-leagues football referee who lives in a small town near Krakow, dreams of better times. At his mother’s urging, he decides to change his life and find himself a girlfriend and a better job. Winner of the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. UK Premiere
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Sundance to Host 4-Day Summer Film Festival in Los Angeles

[caption id="attachment_3284" align="alignnone" width="550"]Newlyweeds screened in NEXT <=> section at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival [/caption]

The Sundance Institute which organize the annual Sundance Film Festival, will host a new festival, NEXT WEEKEND, taking place August 8-11, 2013 at Sundance Cinema and additional venues throughout Los Angeles. NEXT WEEKEND will include films that have been featured in the NEXT <=> section at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, which showcases stylistically adventurous films that take a bold approach to storytelling.

Over one summer weekend film fans will have the chance to choose from eight yet-to-be-released feature films. NEXT WEEKEND will kick off with an outdoor screening Aug. 8 at Cinespia at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The weekend-long festival will be headquartered at Sundance Cinema in West Hollywood Aug. 9-11. On closing night, Aug. 11, the festival will expand to venues across Los Angeles including the American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre, Cinefamily, MOCA, and the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television at the Billy Wilder Theater at the Hammer Museum.

Films that have premiered in the NEXT <=> section at the Festival, launched in 2010, include Bellflower (Director and screenwriter: Evan Glodell), Compliance (Director and screenwriter: Craig Zobel), Sleepwalk With Me (Director: Mike Birbiglia, Screenwriters: Mike Birbiglia, Ira Glass, Joe Birbiglia, Seth Barrish) and sound of my voice (Director: Zal Batmanglij; Screenwriters: Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling).
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Sixty Short Films To Screen at 2013 Tribeca Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_3282" align="alignnone" width="550"]Grandma’s Not A Toaster[/caption]

The 2013 Tribeca Film Festival (TFF) today announced its lineup of 60 short films. The winner of the Tribeca Film Festival’s Best Narrative Short award and Best Documentary Short award will qualify for consideration in the Short Films category of the Annual Academy Awards®. The 2012 TFF Narrative Short Winner Asad and competition short Curfew were nominated for best Live Action Short at this year’s Annual Academy Awards, with Curfew taking home the coveted honor.

The lineup features performances by a range of emerging and established talent such as Lauren Ambrose, Kevin Corrigan, Elle Fanning, Jessica Hecht, Nastassja Kinski, Julian Sands, Jay O. Sanders, Dominic West and Elijah Wood. Shawn Christensen, Academy Award-winning director of Curfew, returns to TFF with Grandma’s Not a Toaster.

The 2013 shorts program will be presented in 8 thematic programs — 5 narrative categories, 2 documentary categories and 1 experimental category.

The short film selections within the eight programs are as follows:

CHARACTER WITNESS – Documentary program

These documentaries present first-person perspectives that ponder events affecting life, death and in-between. In Yamamoto, Japan, eighteen months after the Tohoku disaster, survivors left with nothing hold onto their existence through pictures found and restored from tsunami rubble in Recollections. Grave Goods explores the fetishism of the “beautiful things” collected by a grandmother during her lifetime and what happens to these prized possessions after she is gone. When the Song Dies weaves a captive spell of stories, songs and memories from across Scotland, in counterpoint to the country’s richly evocative landscape. Wilt Chamberlain: Borscht Belt Bellhop reveals a chapter in the life of one of basketball’s greatest players when a different era of the sport met the borscht belt at the peak of its Dirty Dancing-style fame. A slot machine junkie records his psychotherapy sessions and confronts the consequences of his twelve-year addiction in Lapse: Confessions of a Slot Machine Junkie. We Will Live Again looks at the unusual operations and caretakers of the Cryonics Institute, a mom-and-pop style warehouse that maintains ninety-nine deceased human bodies stored at below-freezing temperatures in cryopreservation. Timmy Brennan, a Freedom Tower ironworker and surfer who lost everything in the Breezy Point fires during Hurricane Sandy, is given a new board by strangers and finds hope riding the same ocean that shattered his community in The Rider and the Storm.

Recollections, Directed and written by Nathanael Carton, (Japan), New York Premiere

Grave Goods, Directed and written by Leslie Tai, (USA), World Premiere

When The Song Dies, Directed by Jamie Chambers, (Scotland), North American Premiere

Wilt Chamberlain: Borscht Belt Bellhop, Directed by Caroline Laskow and Ian Rosenberg, (USA), World Premiere

Lapse: Confessions of a Slot Machine Junkie, Directed and written by Jonathan VanBallenberghe, (USA), World Premiere

We Will Live Again, Directed by Josh Koury and Myles Kane, (USA), World Premiere

The Rider and the Storm, Directed and written by David Darg and Bryn Mooser, (USA), World Premiere

DEADBOLT – Narrative program

Robots and vampires and werewolves, oh my, roam these short films as we call for a lockdown with our late-night genre program.In The Girl with the Mechanical Maiden, an inventor takes an unorthodox approach to childrearing after the death of his wife. A young girl who lives in a remote wrecking yard confronts the town bullies when they torment her father in Yardbird. It is 2021, and imprisoned journalist Joseph Michaels faces government execution and contemplates a desperate escape attempt in order to return to his young family in The Exit Room. Following a gruesome accident, a man finds himself stuck and injured on a remote road in the dead of winter waiting for first responders in AB-. As a young runaway heads to Harlem, where her father is a low-level drug dealer, she is assaulted by a mysterious creature and left for dead in Peanut Butter & Jelly. A special American guest is coming to a hotel in Beijing to stay in the Honeymoon Suite, but the new guest services manager soon learns that the visitor is not quite what he appears to be. A culinary connoisseur and a chef go on a hunt for a rare animal in Delicacy. Set in the candy-colored world of 1950s suburbia,The Root of the Problem follows a reluctant young housewife who suspects that the friendly neighborhood dentist is hiding a horrible secret.

The Girl with the Mechanical Maiden, Directed and written by Andrew Legge, (Ireland), New York Premiere

Yardbird, Directed by Michael Spiccia, written by Julius Avery, (Australia), New York Premiere

The Exit Room, Directed and written by Todd Wiseman Jr, (USA), World Premiere

AB-, Directed and written by Daniel Klein, (USA), World Premiere

Peanut Butter & Jelly, Directed and written by David Winkfield, (USA), World Premiere

Honeymoon Suite (蜜月套房), Directed by Zao Wang, written by Zao Wang and Tom Toro, (China), World Premiere

Delicacy, Directed by Jason Mann, written by Frieda Luk and Jason Mann, (USA), New York Premiere

The Root Of The Problem, Directed and written by Ryan Spindell and Mark E. Davidson, (USA), New York Premiere

THE END IS NEAR — Narrative program

The Mayans were wrong. We’re still here, but endings both apocalyptic and personal confront the characters in these short films.Every forty seconds a person commits suicide, and The Acrobat is the story of one of them. Two friends who work as luggage rack attendants on a bus take a road trip filled with reality and mysticism in Murk Light. Snow In Paradise is a snapshot of life on a remote island in the South Pacific through the eyes of a young girl unaware of the power beyond the ocean reef. Grace follows a dozen interconnected lives as they experience loss and understanding in the pivotal hours before a global event occurs. On a stormy night in Long Island, three siblings fight over their grandmother’s fortune, but no one realized that Grandma was ready to fight back in Grandma’s Not a Toaster. Skillman has vanquished his nemesis, recovered the artifact and saved his latest lover from certain doom, but wait until you see what happens when his greatest adventure is over in Epilogue.

The Acrobat, Directed and written by Gerardo Herrero, (Spain), New York Premiere

Murk Light (ضوء دامس), Directed by Yasir Al-Yasiri, written by Mohammed A. Al Hammadi, (Iraq), North American Premiere

Snow in Paradise, Directed by Justine Simei-Barton and Nikki Si’ulepa, written by Nikki Si’ulepa, (New Zealand), New York Premiere

Grace, Directed and written by Keir Burrows, (U.K.), International Premiere

Grandma’s Not a Toaster, Directed by Andrew Napier, written by Shawn Christensen, (USA), World Premiere

Epilogue, Directed and written by Dylan Allen, (USA), World Premiere

HISTORY LESSONS — Documentary program

The past is brought into the present through these personal and social documentaries offering a wide range of insights on shaping our world. Four experts on arms trafficking recount first-hand experiences with the black market and how the illegal flow of weapons facilitates loss of life and devastation in A Short Film About Guns. Reporting on The Times: The New York Times and The Holocaust explores why The New York Times, a Jewish-owned newspaper, buried reports of The Holocaust during World War II.Coach Vivian Stringer is one of the most prolific coaches in the history of college basketball, and also a perfect example of grace under fire. Royal American features a love triangle between a found typewriter from the 1930s, the streets of Manhattan and the lost art of letter writing. Who Shot Rock & Roll explores the groundbreaking collaborations between the photographers and musicians who created some of the most enduring images in rock history.

A Short Film About Guns, Directed by Minos Papas, (Cyprus), (U.K.), (USA), World Premiere

Reporting on The Times: The New York Times and The Holocaust , Directed by Emily Harrold, (USA),World Premiere

Coach, Directed by Bess Kargman, (USA), World Premiere

Royal American, Directed and written by Michael Scalisi, (USA), World Premiere

Who Shot Rock & Roll, Directed and written by Steven Kochones, (USA), World Premiere

LET THERE BE LIGHT: THE CYCLES OF LIFE — Experimental program

This selection of experimental short films showcases the profound artistic influence of light. In their artistic practice, experimental filmmakers are acutely aware of the quality of light that informs their work. This selection highlights the unique manner in which they seek inspiration from the power of the sun, the reflections of the moon and the luminosity emitted by artificial light sources. In linking their own vision directly to that of the eye of the camera, these artists create brilliant moving works that both illuminate the human condition and reflect the cycles of life. Films include Sight, Star Light No. 5 Bis, Depart, Lunatic, Parallel North, Hermeneutics, Light Plate, The Moon Has Its Reasons, Corn Mother, The Last Time, Two Islands, Dead World Order andLook Inside the Ghost Machine.

Sight, Directed and written by Thirza Cuthand, (Canada), U.S. Premiere

Star Light No.5 Bis, Directed and written by Cécile Fontaine, (France), North American Premiere

Depart, Directed by Blake Williams, (Canada), U.S. Premiere

Lunatic, Directed and written by Aasa Ersmark, (Sweden), International Premiere

Parallel North (Parallèle Nord), Directed and written by Félix Dufour-Laperrière, (Canada), World Premiere

Hermeneutics, Directed by Alexei Dmitriev, (Russia), New York Premiere

Light Plate, Directed and written by Josh Gibson, (Italy), (USA), New York Premiere

The Moon Has Its Reasons, Directed and written by Lewis Klahr, (U.K.), North American Premiere

Corn Mother, Directed and written by Taylor Dunne, (USA), New York Premiere

The Last Time, Directed and written by Candy Kugel, (USA), World Premiere

Two Islands, Directed and written by Jan Ijäs, (Finland), North American Premiere

Dead World Order, Directed by Dana Levy, (France), International Premiere

Look Inside The Ghost Machine, Directed and written by Peter Lichter, (Hungary), North American Premiere

SKIN DEEP — Narrative program

We expose our more sensitive side to delve into issues of self-image and self-discovery. A young girl battles with body image and enters the world of eating disorders, where worth rises as weight falls, in Likeness. Fifteen-year-old Klara is Eating Lunch with four others at the Eating Disorder Clinic under the supervision of nurses, but they have only thirty minutes to finish their meal. In Wings, Christopher prepares for one of the most important concerts of his career knowing that he cannot make any mistake. On a sweltering hot day, pregnant Maria’s loving-kindness practice is tested by work schedules, mechanical failures and complex human relationships conspiring against a desperately needed cooling dip in The River. The Cup Reader follows a woman renowned for her mystical seeing and matchmaking as she reads the fortunes of clients who must choose between love or marriage. Tonight, Sophie will play the violin in the school concert and wants desperately for her mother to be there to see her shine in Ina Litovski. A vow to climb a summit in the Italian Alps becomes the challenge of a lifetime for a man and a woman recovering from open-heart surgery inThe Nightshift Belongs to the Stars.

Likeness , Directed and written by Rodrigo Prieto, (USA), World Premiere

Eating Lunch (Äta Lunch), Directed and written by Sanna Lenken, (Sweden), International Premiere

Wings, Directed and written by José Villalobos, (USA), (Spain), International Premiere

The River, Directed and written by Sam Handel, (USA), New York Premiere

The Cup Reader (Qariat il Finjan), Directed and written by Suha Araj, (Occupied Palestinian Territory), World Premiere

Ina Litovski, Directed by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette and André Turpin, written by André Turpin and Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, (Canada), U.S. Premiere

The Nightshift Belongs to the Stars (Il Turno di Notte lo Fanno le Stelle), Directed by Edoardo Ponti, written by Erri De Luca, (Italy), North American Premiere

UNLIMITED RIDE — Narrative program

This year our New York shorts program takes you on a journey through Manhattan and into the boroughs to meet some unique individuals trying to survive in the city we call home. Henry and Lucy sleepwalk through New York City in the middle of the night and experience sights and sounds that most people slumber through in ZZZZZZZ. Visually impaired Imani has dreams of college acceptance and love despite her over-protective mother’s objections to both in Close Your Eyes. Ronnie is an existential enforcer for a Brooklyn crime boss conflicted by his life and the pointlessness around him, as he sculpts in ICE and searches for life’s meaning. A seventeen-year-old girl in a wheelchair and a young antisocial male prostitute living on the streets have an unexpected encounter inAtlantic Avenue. Paul and Kate excitedly arrive for dinner at the home of a cool couple from their kids’ school, only to discover an interloping third couple already in attendance, as playground politics boil over in Playdate. In Fortune House, a butterfly romance takes flight with a twist of fate and fortune cookies. When his hippie parents suggest he see a shrink, a dreamy fifteen-year-old goes into a tailspin of self-doubt before his confidence is restored thanks to some quick thinking in Space Cadet.

ZZZZZZZ, Directed and written by Tarik Karam, (USA), World Premiere

Close Your Eyes, Directed and written by Sonia Malfa, (USA), World Premiere

ICE, Directed and written by Anthony Tarsitano, (USA), World Premiere

Atlantic Avenue, Directed and written by Laure de Clermont, (France), International Premiere

Playdate, Directed and written by David Shane and Scott Organ, (USA), World Premiere

Fortune House, Directed by Matthew Bonifacio, written by Bob Linton, (USA), World Premiere

Space Cadet , Directed by Paul Riccio, written by Michael Gambino, (USA), World Premiere

WORST DAY EVER — Narrative program

If you are having a bad day, we are betting that these short films will make you feel a wee bit better about things. Three friends go to a housewarming in a Paris apartment, but when some uninvited guests try to crash, the tension mounts in The Hounds. Set in the late 1950s at California’s iconic Madonna Inn, a despondent father struggles with the decision to end his own life and the life of his young son in What’s Left, What’s Lost. On the eve of her thirteenth birthday, Esther Weary must come to terms with the realities of becoming a woman through her clueless grandfather and his pet pug in Life Doesn’t Frighten Me. Two video game characters forge an unlikely romance in RPG OKC. Showing that there is always a reason to laugh, stand-up comic Reuben Stein does the most daring set of his life in Setup, Punch. A small bird with a Fear of Flying tries to avoid heading south for the winter. A third-grade class pulls an innocent prank on its teacher with disastrous results in Fool’s Day.

The Hounds (Les Meutes), Directed and written by Manuel Shapira, (France), North American Premiere

What’s Left, What’s Lost, Directed and written by Katie Rose, (USA), World Premiere

Life Doesn’t Frighten Me, Directed and written by Stephen Dunn, (Canada), New York Premiere

RPG OKC, Directed and written by Emily Carmichael, (USA), World Premiere

Setup, Punch., Directed and written by David Schlussel, (USA), World Premiere

Fear of Flying, Directed and written by Conor Finnegan, (Ireland), New York Premiere

Fool’s Day, Directed by Cody Blue Snider, written by Cody Blue Snider and Shane Snider, (USA), World Premiere

SPECIAL SCREENING

The Battle of amfAR, Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, written by Sharon Wood. (USA), New York Premiere, Documentary. In the darkest days of the AIDS pandemic, two women from very different walks of life unite to take a stand. Two-time Academy Award®-winner Rob Epstein and his longtime collaborator Jeffrey Friedman, the creative forces behind The Celluloid Closet, tell the story of the extraordinary moment when Dr. Mathilde Krim and Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor launched the country’s first AIDS research foundation. The fight against HIV/AIDS would never be the same. An HBO Documentary Films release.
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