Film Festivals

  • Berlinale Announces Short Film Lineup and Jury for 2012 Festival

    27 films from 22 countries will be competing for the Golden Bear and Silver Bear Jury Prize, the DAAD Short Film Award and a short film nomination for the European Film Prize.

    German actress Sandra Hüller, Palestinian artist Emily Jacir as well as filmmaker David OReilly will be picking the winners in 2012:

    International Short Film Jury:

    Sandra Hüller (Germany)
    After ten years in the business, renowned and prize-winning actress of the screen and stage Sandra Hüller already boasts a remarkably wide repertoire of roles. She has performed regularly in theatres since 2006, in both classic and modern pieces. For her first major film role in Hans-Christian Schmid’s Requiem she won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlinale in 2006 as well as the German Film Prize. In 2011 she performed in two Berlinale films: Brownian Movement (2010, directed by Nanouk Leopold – Forum); and Über uns das All (Above Us Only Sky, 2011, directed by Jan Schomburg – Panorama).

    Emily Jacir (Palestine)
    Emily Jacir, one of the Arab world’s leading contemporary artists, works in a variety of media, including installation, performance, social intervention, photography, film and video. She has exhibited her works throughout the world and been honored many times for her artistic achievements including a Golden Lion at the 2007 Venice Biennale. Jacir is currently leading the Home Workspace in Beirut where she has created the curriculum and programming for 2011-2012. She is also preparing a new work for the dOCUMENTA (13) that opens this June.

    David OReilly (Ireland)
    The Irish-born filmmaker, now based in California, is known for his groundbreaking contemporary 3D animation. He has received over 75 awards for his short films that have been shown worldwide at more than 200 festivals. His first festival was at the Berlinale 2008, where he presented RGB XYZ. At the 2009 Berlinale he won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film with Please Say Something. His latest short film, The External World, screened at Venice (2010) and Sundance (2011), and went on to win numerous awards.

    Berlinale Shorts 2012:

    Ad balloon, Lee Woo-jung, Republic of Korea, 24’ (IP)
    An das Morgengrauen, Mariola Brillowska, Germany, 3’ (WP)
    Ein Mädchen Namens Yssabeau, Rosana Cuellar, Germany / Mexico, 18’ (DP)
    Enakkum Oru Per, Suba Sivakumaran, USA / Sri Lanka, 12’ (WP)
    Erotic Fragments No. 1, 2, 3, Anucha Boonyawatana, Thailand, 7’ (IP) Gurehto Rabitto, Atsushi Wada, France, 7’ (WP)
    impossible exchange, Mahmoud Hojeij, Lebanon, 10’ (WP)
    Karrabing! Low Tide Turning, Liza Johnson, Elizabeth A. Povinelli, Australia, 14’ (WP)
    La Santa, Mauricio López Fernández, Chile, 14’ (WP)
    LI.LI.TA.AL., Akihito Izuhara, Japan, 8’ (WP)
    Licuri Surf, Guile Martins, Brazil, 15’ (IP)
    Loxoro, Claudia Llosa, Spanien / Peru / Argentine / USA, 19’ (IP)
    Mah-Chui, Kim Souk-young, Republic of Korea, 23’ (IP)
    Nostalgia, Gustavo Rondón Córdova, Venezuela, 30’ (WP)
    Panchabhuta, Mohan Kumar Valasala, India, 15’ (WP)
    PUSONG WAZAK! Isa Na Namang Kwento Ng Pag-ibig Sa Pagitan Ng Isang Kriminal at Isang Puta, Khavn De La Cruz, Philippines, 15’ (WP)
    Rafa, João Salaviza, Portugal / France, 25’ (WP)
    Say Goodbye to the Story (ATT 1/11), Christoph Schlingensief, Germany, 23’ (WP)
    Shi Luo Zhi Di, Zhou Yan, People’s Republic of China, 25’ (WP)
    Strauß.ok, Jeanne Faust, Germany, 5’ (WP)
    The End, Barcelo, France, 17’ (WP)
    The Man that Got Away, Trevor Anderson, Canada, 25’ (WP)
    Utsikter, Marcus Harrling, Moa Geistrand, Sweden, 12’ (WP)
    Uzushio, Naoto Kawamoto, Japan, 6’ (WP)
    Vilaine Fille Mauvais Garçon, Justine Triet, France, 30’ (IP)
    Yi chang ge ming zhong hai wei lai de ji ding yi de xing wei, Sun Xun, People’s Republic of China, 12’ (WP)
    zounk!, Billy Roisz, Austria, 6’ (WP)


    Berlinale Shorts Special 2012:

    Magyarország 2011, András Jeles, Ágnes Kocsis, Ferenc Török, Simon Szabó, Márta Mészáros, Péter Forgács, László Siroki, György Pálfi, Bence Fliegauf, András Salamon, Miklós Jancsó, Ungarn, 75′ (IP)
    presented by Béla Tarr

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  • 2012 IFFR presents 196 short films in Spectrum Shorts

    The International Film Festival Rotterdam has selected 196 short films from more than 3,500 submissions for its main programme Spectrum Shorts, which can be seen from Thursday 26 through Monday 30 January in LantarenVenster. This year, Spectrum Shorts encompasses no less than 42 world premières; many of these films that have been made by young filmmakers and video artists from all over the world. Short films can also be seen in the IFFR’s Tiger Awards Competition for Short Films; screening in advance of feature films; in the themed Signals programmes and during the Short Film Marathon on Saturday, 4 February.

    Spectrum Shorts, the IFFR’s short film programme this year is not quite as extensive as in previous years. This means that both festival audiences and the many filmmakers and film professionals that come to Rotterdam specially for this have more time to meet one another before and after the film screenings.

    The Shorts programme screens at a single festival location: LantarenVenster in the Kop van Zuid area of Rotterdam. From Thursday 26 January through Monday 30 January, the short films can be seen here in carefully compiled compilations. The IFFR short films selection committee was made up of Juliette Jansen, Erwin van ’t Hart, Sacha Bronwasser, Peter Taylor and Theus Zwakhals, and was headed by festival programmer Peter van Hoof.

    On the morning of Monday, 30 January, from 22.00 hours in Worm (Boomgaardsstraat 71, Rotterdam) the Shorts programme will conclude with the award of the Tiger Awards for Short Film. As well as the award itself, each of the three winners will receive an amount of 3,000 Euros.

    Spectrum Shorts has close ties to the rest of the festival. For example, this year six projects by filmmakers who have previously attended the festival or who are showing their work this year have been selected for CineMart. These include Christelle Lheureux (France), who returns with her mid-length film LA MALADIE BLANCHE; Benjamin Naishtat (Argentina, HISTORIA DEL MAL) and Gabriel Abrantes (Portugal, PALÁCIOS DE PENA). Their new film projects have been selected for CineMart.

    This year, Spectrum Shorts features a lot of brand new work, including 42 world premières, 41 international premières and 33 European premières, often by talented young filmmakers and video artists. In addition, the IFFR is now also showing new short works by experienced and world-famous filmmakers such as Nathaniel Dorsky (Filmmaker in Focus at the IFFR in 2011), Jay Rosenblatt, Pedro Costa, Amit Dutta, Henry Hills, Ben Russell and the latest films from former Tiger Awards winners Ben Rivers, Mati Diop and Lewis Klahr.

    The Dutch presence in the Spectrum Shorts programme is particularly strong this year, with the world premières of VEXED, the new project by Rotterdam’s own Telcosystems; 7 PEAKS by Anna Abrahams, the long-expected third part of her trilogy; LIGHTHOUSE by Wouter Venema; THICKER THAN PAINT THINNER by Babak Afrassiabi, TAMINO by Eveline Ketterings and THE BUNKER – THE HABITUATION – THE WAIT – THE LIGHT by Jonas Staal in which he gives an absorbing depiction of the worldview of Fleur Agema, a member of the Dutch parliament for the PVV (‘Freedom Party’). New works by Johan Rijpma (TAPE GENERATION); Esther Urlus (DEEP RED); Roderick Hietbrink (LIVING ROOM) and one of the artists from the Soundtrack City Rotterdam project, Katarina Zdjelar (RISE AGAIN), all also deserve special attention.

    Anyone who has missed the regular screenings of the short films during the first festival weekend will have another chance to see them on Saturday, 4 February, as all the highlights will be screened again (without intervals) in the Short Film Marathon, from 10 in the morning to 1 a.m.

    After the festival, every month, throughout the year, a new selection of short films will be shown online (for free) on the IFFR’s YouTube channel.

    The IFFR’s festival program consists of three main sections: Bright Future – idiosyncratic and adventurous new work by novice makers, including the Tiger Awards Competitions -, Spectrum and Spectrum Shorts – new and recent work by experienced film makers and artists who provide, in the opinion of the IFFR, an essential contribution to international film culture -, and Signals, a series of thematic programs and retrospectives offering insight in topical as well as timeless ideas within cinema.

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  • Your Sister’s Sister to Open 2012 Seattle International Film Festival

    The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) announced Your Sister’s Sister as the opening film to be presented at the 2012 festival’s prestigious Opening Night Gala, Thursday, May 17, 2012.

    Your Sister’s Sister, written and directed by Seattle’s Lynn Shelton (Humpday) and starring Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt and Mark Duplass, is SIFF’s first opening selection locally produced and shot by a Seattle filmmaker. SIFF takes place May 17 through June 10.

    “I am thrilled beyond measure that Your Sister’s Sister has been chosen to open the 2012 Seattle International Film Festival, and that it represents the first locally produced film to ever receive this honor,” said Shelton. “I hope the city will come raise a glass to our incredibly talented crew and to the entire Seattle film community, without which this film would never have been made. After a world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival and a U.S. premiere at Sundance, our homecoming in May will be the sweetest celebration of them all.”

    Spotlighted this year as one of Variety’s ‘10 Directors to Watch,’ Seattle-based Shelton has seen much success in the festival circuit, most recently with the world debut of Your Sister’s Sister in Toronto where it received acquisition by IFC Films. Shelton will also screen the film at Sundance this year, making her first return to the festival as a member of the U.S. Dramatic Competition jury, since her 2009 Humpday breakout.

    A year after his brother’s death, Jack (Mark Duplass) still see-saws between emotionally wobbly and outright volatile. When he makes a scene at a memorial party, Iris (Emily Blunt) intervenes with a plan: Jack must oil up his old bike and trek to her father’s cabin on an island on Puget Sound, where isolation will give his brain a chance to detangle. When Jack gets to the woods, however, he finds not solitude but Iris’ sister Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt), herself nursing a wounded heart and a bottle of tequila. After several shots and some slurred commiseration, liquor isn’t the only fluid these two end up sharing. Their hangover descends in the form of Iris, who pulls up with a bag of groceries the next morning. [TIFF]

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  • Magnolia Pictures To Distribute THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES from Sundance Film Festival

    The Wagner/Cuban Company’s Magnolia Pictures announced today they have acquired North American distribution rights to THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES, an outrageous, timely and moving film that premiered last night to a sold out crowd at the Eccles theater as this year’s opening night film at the Sundance film festival. Television and international rights are still available.

    From acclaimed filmmaker and photographer Lauren Greenfield (Thin, Kids + Money; named one of the top 25 most influential photographers of our time by American Photo), THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES is a prescient, wildly entertaining documentary about billionaires Jackie and David Siegel, who are constructing what will be the largest house in America—a 90,000 square foot behemoth modeled after the palace of Versailles. When the financial market collapses in 2008, their extravagant dreams are put on hold. David’s massive time-share business runs into difficulties, and the filmmaker is there to capture the Siegel’s truly uncanny turn of fortune. While delivering big laughs, THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES also manages to be a moving, clear-eyed snapshot of a unique and sobering moment in our history, as we are forced to reevaluate the sustainability of the American dream. THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES is an Evergreen Pictures production and its producers are Lauren Greenfield, Danielle Renfrew Behrens, Frank Evers and Dan Cogan.

    “THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES brilliantly encapsulates the salient issues of the American economic downturn, while also being one of the jaw-droppingly entertaining films I’ve seen in a very long time,” said Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles. “Lauren Greenfield is an exceptionally talented filmmaker with a wonderfully humanistic touch, and she has found a truly magnetic, charismatic star in Jackie Siegel.”

    “I am really excited to be working with Magnolia, who we huddled with late into last night,” says Lauren Greenfield. “I feel like we have found a true kindred spirit, who cares as much about our film as we do. I am really looking forward to working with such a smart, impressive team.”

    Magnolia is planning a summer theatrical release for the film.

    The deal was negotiated for Magnolia by SVP of Acquisitions Dori Begley, with Submarine’s Josh Braun and David Koh. Domestic television and international rights are in active discussion.

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  • Sony Pictures Classics goes SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN at Sundance Film Festival

    Sony Pictures Classics announced today that they have acquired the rights in North America to Malik Bendjelloul’s directorial debut, SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN.  The film is produced by Simon Chinn of Red Box Films (PROJECT NIM, MAN ON WIRE) and executive produced by John Battsek of Passion Pictures (THE TILLMAN STORY, ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER) in association with Canfield Pictures and The Documentary Company.  SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN had its world premiere last night as the Opening Night Film of the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Josh Braun and David Koh at Submarine Entertainment brokered the deal with Sony Pictures Classics, with Protagonist Pictures handling International Sales.

    This is SPC’s third film with executive producer John Battsek. Previous films include Academy Award® Winner ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER and MY KID COULD PAINT THAT.

    SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN tells the incredible story of Rodriguez, the greatest ’70s rock icon who never was. Discovered in a Detroit bar in the late ’60s by two celebrated producers struck by his soulful melodies and prophetic lyrics, they recorded an album which they believed would secure his reputation as the greatest recording artist of his generation. In fact, the album bombed and the singer disappeared into obscurity amid rumors of a gruesome on-stage suicide. But a bootleg recording found its way into apartheid South Africa and, over the next two decades, he became a phenomenon.  The film follows the story of two South African fans who set out to find out what really happened to their hero. Their investigation leads them to a story more extraordinary than any of the existing myths about the artist known as Rodriguez.

    “SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN is an incredible story that we can’t wait to share with American audiences.  We are thrilled to be distributing this film by talented new director Malik Bendjelloul and to be working again with our good friend producer John Battsek and Simon Chinn” states Sony Pictures Classics.

    Adds Producer Simon Chinn, “We are hugely excited that SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN has been acquired by Sony Pictures Classics. Their passion for this film combined with their stellar track record makes them the perfect distributors for it.”

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  • Italian actor and director Nanni Moretti to be President of the Jury of the 65th Festival de Cannes

    Nanni Moretti will be President of the Jury of the 65th Festival de Cannes to be held from May 16 to 27, 2012.

    Accepting the invitation, the Italian actor and director said: “This is a real joy, an honour and a tremendous responsibility to preside over the jury of the most prestigious festival of cinematography in the world, a festival that is held in a country where film has always been treated with interest and respect.

    As a director, I was always very moved when my films were presented at the Festival de Cannes. I also have very happy memories of my experience as a jury member during the fiftieth anniversary season, and of the attentiveness and passion that went into the jury’s viewing and discussion of all the films.

    As a spectator, fortunately I still have the same curiosity that I had in my youth and so it is a great privilege for me to embark on this voyage into the world of contemporary international film.”

    Nanni Moretti has presented six films at the Festival de Cannes, including last year’s Habemus Papam (We Have a Pope).

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  • 42nd Berlinale Unveils Films in Main Program

    [caption id="attachment_2280" align="alignnone"]Ang Babae sa Septic Tank (The Woman in the Septic Tank) [/caption]

    The 42nd Berlinale Forum will be showing 38 films in its main program, including 26 world premieres and 8 international premieres.

    Ann-Kristin Reyels’ film Formentera follows a young couple on holiday who run into the ’68 ideals of their parents’ generation and come to realise the extent to which their own ideas about life diverge from one another. Sleepless Knights by Stefan Butzmühlen and Cristina Diz is also set in Spain, telling a story of gay love in the provinces and presenting the co-existence of different generations as an alternative to urban dislocation.

    Beziehungsweisen (Negotiating Love) by Calle Overweg also explores the complicated set of compromises involved with living together on a daily basis, blending documentary means and staging techniques to observe different clients attending couples’ therapy. What Is Love by Ruth Mader tackles a similar theme, tracing the various different manifestations of love in five vignettes from the Austrian provinces.

    Present-day nomads form the focus of two films in this year’s program: Habiter / Construire (Living / Building) by Clémence Ancelin, which documents a road construction project in Chad and the effect it has on the local desert population, and Hiver nomade (Winter Nomads) by Manuel von Stürler, a portrait of two shepherds in French-speaking Switzerland in the depths of winter.

    The Jordanian film Al Juma Al Akheira (The Last Friday) by Yahya Alabdallah tells the story of a taxi driver in Amman who is forced to bring some level of order into his failed existence. The documentary Bagrut Lochamim (Soldier / Citizen) confronts us with the uncompromising views of young Israelis about their Arab compatriots and neighbours. Mani Haghighi’s Paziraie Sadeh (Modest Reception) is an intelligent provocation in which a rich couple distributes plastic bags full of money in the Iranian provinces – a handout aimed purely at degradation.

    Rodrigo Plá’s moving Uruguayan film La demora (The Wait) tells the story of a woman driven by her desperate situation to abandon her senile father. Mariano Luque’s directorial debut Salsipuedes is a visionary look at domestic violence that serves as a calling card for the new generation of young filmmakers working in Córdoba in Northern Argentina. For its part, the documentary Escuela normal (Normal School) by Celina Murga observes a secondary school in Buenos Aires where the pupils imitate the political structures of the adult world.

    American independent cinema also has a strong presence in this year’s Forum program. David Zellner’s fairytale-like Kid-Thing explores the day-to-day life and fantasies of a neglected little girl. Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky’s Francine follows a shy woman (played by Oscar-winning actress Melissa Leo) recently released from jail and her overwhelming affinity for animals. And So Yong Kim’s For Ellen shows the final attempts made by a neglectful rock-musician (played by Paul Dano) to build a relationship with his young daughter.

    Three films from Japan deal with the tsunami of 11 March 2011 and the meltdown at Fukushima nuclear power station. In No Man’s Zone (Mujin chitai), Fujiwara Toshi advances like a Tarkowskian Stalker into the contaminated zone around the nuclear reactors and evokes images of an invisible apocalypse. Iwai Shunji discusses the political, economic and social situation of a country in a state of dependence in friends after 3.11. And Funahashi Atsushi’s Nuclear Nation creates a portrait of a mayor without a town, who is desperately trying to keep together a community scattered across different emergency shelters in the Tokyo suburbs and is brought to question old certainties in the process.

    Main Program

    Al Juma Al Akheira (The Last Friday) by Yahya Alabdallah, Jordan/United Arab Emirates – IP

    Ang Babae sa Septic Tank (The Woman in the Septic Tank) byMarlon N. Rivera, The Philippines Avalon by Axel Petersén, Sweden

    Bagrut Lochamim (Soldier / Citizen) by Silvina Landsmann, Israel – WP

    Bestiaire by Denis Côté, Canada/France

    Beziehungsweisen (Negotiating Love) by Calle Overweg, Germany – WP

    La demora (The Wait) by Rodrigo Plá, Uruguay/Mexico/France – WP

    Escuela normal (Normal School) by Celina Murga, Argentina – WP

    Espoir voyage by Michel K. Zongo, France/Burkina Faso – IP

    For Ellen by So Yong Kim, USA – IP

    Formentera by Ann-Kristin Reyels, Germany – WP

    Francine by Brian M. Cassidy/Melanie Shatzky, USA/Canada – WP

    friends after 3.11 by Iwai Shunji, Japan – IP

    Habiter / Construire (Living / Building) by Clémence Ancelin, France – WP

    Hemel by Sacha Polak, The Netherlands/Spain – WP

    Hiver nomade (Winter Nomads) by Manuel von Stürler, Switzerland – WP

    Jaurès by Vincent Dieutre, France – WP

    Kashi (Choked) by Kim Joong-hyun, Republic of Korea – IP

    Kazoku no kuni (Our Homeland) by Yang Yonghi, Japan – WP

    Kid-Thing by David Zellner, USA – IP

    Koi ni itaru yamai (The End of Puberty) by Kimura Shoko, Japan – IP

    Die Lage (Condition) by Thomas Heise, Germany – WP

    No Man’s Zone (Mujin chitai) by Fujiwara Toshi, Japan/France – IP

    Nuclear Nation by Funahashi Atsushi, Japan – WP

    Parabeton – Pier Luigi Nervi und römischer Beton (Parabeton – Pier Luigi Nervi and Roman Concrete) by Heinz Emigholz, Germany – WP

    Paziraie Sadeh (Modest Reception) by Mani Haghighi, Iran – WP

    Príliš mladá noc (A Night Too Young) by Olmo Omerzu, Czech Republic/Slovenia – WP

    Revision by Philip Scheffner, Germany – WP

    Salsipuedes by Mariano Luque, Argentina – WP

    Sekret (Secret) by Przemyslaw Wojcieszek, Poland – WP

    Sleepless Knights by Stefan Butzmühlen/Cristina Diz, Germany – WP

    Le sommeil d’or (Golden Slumbers) by Davy Chou, France/Cambodia

    Spanien (Spain) by Anja Salomonowitz, Austria – WP

    Tepenin Ardi (Beyond the Hill) by Emin Alper, Turkey/Greece – WP

    Tiens moi droite (Keep Me Upright) by Zoé Chantre, France – WP

    Toata lumea din familia noastra (Everybody in Our Family) by Radu Jude, Romania/The Netherlands – WP

    What Is Love by Ruth Mader, Austria – WP

    Zavtra (Tomorrow) by Andrey Gryazev, Russia – WP

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  • 20 Documentary Films Added to Berlin Film Fest

    [caption id="attachment_2195" align="alignnone"]Marina Abramovic The Artist is Present[/caption]

    The documentary lineup is almost complete for the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival.  On February 10, 2012, the Panorama Dokumente will open with The Reluctant Revolutionary by British director Sean McAllister. The film is about a Yemenite tourist guide who slowly abandons his professional distance towards the political “spring” in his country. His experiences with a customer, one of the last tourists in these turbulent times, politicize him.

    Panorama Dokumente

    Anak-Anak Srikandi (Children of Srikandi) by the Children of Srikandi Collective, Germany/Indonesia – WP

    Angriff auf die Demokratie – Eine Intervention (Democracy Under Attack – An Intervention) by Romuald Karmakar, Germany – WP

    Audre Lorde – The Berlin Years 1984 to 1992 by Dagmar Schultz, Germany – WP

    Brötzmann – Da gehört die Welt mal mir (Brötzmann – That’s When The World Is Mine) by Uli M Schueppel, Germany – WP
    with Caspar Brötzmann, Eduardo Delgado Lopez, Danny Lommen

    Call Me Kuchu by Malika Zouhali-Worrall, Katherine Fairfax Wright, USA – WP

    Detlef by Stefan Westerwelle, Jan Rothstein, Germany
    with Detlef Stoffel, Anneliese Stoffel, Gustav-Peter Wöhler, Lilo Wanders, Corny Littmann – WP

    Herr Wichmann aus der dritten Reihe (Henryk from the back row) by Andreas Dresen, Germany – WP

    In the Shadow of a Man by Hanan Abdalla, Egypt – WP

    König des Comics (King of Comics) by Rosa von Praunheim, Germany – WP
    with Ralf König, Joachim Król, Hella von Sinnen, Ralph Morgenstern

    La Vierge, les Coptes et Moi (The Virgin, the Copts and Me) by Namir Abdel Messeeh, France/Qatar/Egypt

    Marina Abramovic The Artist is Present (Marina Abramovic The Artist is Present) by Matthew Akers, USA

    Olhe pra mim de novo (Look at me again) by Kiko Goifman, Claudia Priscilla, Brazil

    The Reluctant Revolutionary by Sean McAllister, Great Britain

    The Summit by Franco Fracassi, Massimo Lauria, Italy – WP

    Ulrike Ottinger – die Nomadin vom See (Ulrike Ottinger – nomad from the lake) by Brigitte Kramer, Germany – WP
    with Ulrike Ottinger, Ingvild Goetz, Irm Hermann, Ulrich Gregor

    Unter Männern – Schwul in der DDR (Among Men – Gay in East Germany) by Markus Stein, Rösener Ringo, Germany – WP
    with Eduard Stapel, Frank Schäfer, Jürgen Wittdorf, John Zinner, Helwin Leuschner

    Vito by Jeffrey Schwarz, USA

    Words of Witness by Mai Iskander, USA – WP


    Feature films

    Diaz – Don’t Clean Up This Blood by Daniele Vicari,
    Italy/Romania/ France – WP
    with Elio Germano, Alessandro Roja, Claudio Santamaria

    Sharqiya (Central Station) by Ami Livne, Israel/France/Germany – WP
    with Adnan Abuwadi, Naisa Abel El Haidi

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  • Young Adult Join More Films Added to 2012 Berlin Film Fest

    [caption id="attachment_2022" align="alignnone"]Young Adult[/caption]

    Twelve more films have been confirmed for this year’s Berlinale Special programme. Besides Werner Herzog’s documentary film series Death Row and Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut In The Land Of Blood And Honey, these films include the documentaries Althawra… Khabar (Reporting … A Revolution) by Bassam Mortada, Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry by Alison Klayman, Hijos de las Nubes by Alvaro Longoria, Anton Corbijn Inside Out by Klaartje Quirijns as well as Chris Kenneally’s Side by Side, with Keanu Reeves.

    At a matinée, the film The Life and Death Of Colonel Blimp (1943) by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger will be presented in a newly restored version.

    Film director Mark Cousins will be showing his 900 minute-long documentary The Story Of Film: An Odyssey as a European premiere.

    The Berlinale Special will also be keeping its traditional venues Kino International and the Friedrichstadt-Palast, where the Berlinale Special Gala Screenings will again be presented.


    Berlinale Special Gala screenings at the Friedrichstadt-Palast:

    Young Adult
    USA
    By Jason Reitman (Up In The Air, Juno, Thank You for Smoking)
    With Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, Elisabeth Reaser
    German premiere

    Already announced:
    Don – The King Is Back (India/Germany) by Farhan Akhtar
    Marley (Great Britain/USA) – documentary by Kevin Macdonald
    La chispa de la vida (Spain/France) by Álex de la Iglesia


    Berlinale Special screenings at the Kino International:

    Glück (Bliss)
    Germany
    By Doris Dörrie (Naked, Am I Beautiful?, Cherry Blossoms, The Hairdresser)
    With Alba Rohrwacher, Vinzenz Kiefer, Matthias Brandt, Oliver Nägele
    World premiere

    I, Anna
    Great Britain/Germany/France
    By Barnaby Southcombe (Feature debut)
    With Charlotte Rampling, Gabriel Byrne, Hayley Atwell, Eddie Marsan
    World premiere

    Matineé
    The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp (1943)
    Great Britain
    By Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus)
    With Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr, Anton Walbrook
    Restored version

    Already announced:

    Keyhole (Canada) by Guy Maddin


    Berlinale Special screenings at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele:

    Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry – Documentary
    USA
    By Alison Klayman
    International premiere

    Althawra… Khabar (Reporting … A Revolution) – Documentary
    Egypt
    By Bassam Mortada
    International premiere

    Anton Corbijn Inside Out – Documentary
    Netherlands
    By Klaartje Quirijns
    World premiere

    Hijo de las nubes, la última colonia (Sons Of The Clouds, The Last Colony) – Documentary
    Spain
    Alvaro Longoria
    World premiere

    Side by Side – Documentary
    USA
    By Chris Kenneally (Crazy Legs Conti: Zen and the Art of Competitive Eating)
    World premiere

    Already announced:
    Death Row (USA) – documentary series by Werner Herzog
    In The Land Of Blood And Honey (USA) by Angelina Jolie


    More Berlinale Special presentations:

    To celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the film journal “Positif”:
    Der Fangschuss (Le coup de grâce, 1975)
    Germany
    By Volker Schlöndorff (The Tin Drum, Germany in Autumn, The Legend of Rita)
    With Matthias Habich, Margarethe von Trotta, Rüdiger Kirschtein, Mathieu Carriere, Valeska Gert

    The Story of Film: An Odyssey – Documentary
    Great Britain
    By Mark Cousins (The First Movie, The New Ten Commandments)
    European premiere


    Special Screening:

    For the “50th Anniversary of the Oberhausen Manifesto”:
    Abschied von den Fröschen (Farewell to the Frogs) – Documentary
    Germany
    By Ulrike Schamoni

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  • Miami International Film Festival Announces Official Premiere Lineups

    [caption id="attachment_2270" align="alignnone"]Mariachi Gringo[/caption]

    The Miami International Film Festival (MIFF) announced its official lineup of red carpet Olympia Theater galas, parties, education seminars and international film premieres that will make up the Festival’s showcase of more than 100 films from 35 countries during the 10-day event, which runs March 2-11, 2012.

    On Friday, March 2nd, the Festival commences with its Opening Night Film, the World Premiere of Tom Gustafson’s musical tour-de-force Mariachi Gringo. The drama stars Shawn Ashmore (“Iceman” in X-Men) as a young man from Kansas who falls in love with the mariachi lifestyle, and travels to Guadalajara to prove that anything is possible. Ashmore and co-stars Academy Award nominee (Babel) Adriana Barraza and Mexican starlet Martha Higareda are expected to attend the premiere. 

    The Festival’s Awards Night takes place on Saturday, March 10th before the screening of the U.S. Premiere of Chinese Take-Away. Winner of three Argentinean Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor, director Sebastián Borensztein’s touching fish out of water comedy stars Argentine superstar Ricardo Darín as a shopkeeper who takes in an illegal immigrant desperate to find his extended family. Darín, who starred in the 2010 Academy Award-winning film The Secret in Their Eyes, and Borensztein are expected to attend the premiere.

    7 WORLD PREMIERE FEATURES

    Born & Raised (USA); La Casa Del Ritmo, A Film About Los Amigos Invisibles (USA/Ecuador); The Diary of Preston Plummer (USA); Hombre y Tierra (USA); Mariachi Gringo (Mexico/USA); The Porcelain Horse (Mejor no hablar (de ciertas cosas)) (Ecuador); Underground Hip-Hop in China (China/USA)

    4 WORLD PREMIERE SHORTS

    The Beach Chronicles AGX (USA); Beyond Assignment (USA); Cell Phone Zombies (Cel zombies) (Ecuador); Shift (USA)

    5 INTERNATIONAL PREMIERES

    180 Seconds (180 segundos)(Colombia); Baracoa: Where Cuba Began (Baracoa: 500 Años Despues) (Spain); Ben Lee: Catch My Disease (Australia);  Speechless (Sin palabras) (Colombia); Zoo (Zoológico) (Chile)

    10 NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERES

    Annalisa (Il Paese Delle Spose Infelici) (Italy);Choked (South Korea); Code Blue (The Netherlands); A Cube of Sugar (Ye Habeh Gand) (Iran);  I’d Receive the Worst News From Your Beautiful Lips (Eu Receberia As Piores Notícias De Seus Lindos Lábios) (Brazil); In The Name of The Girl (En el nombre de la hija) (Ecuador); Motherland or Death (Patria o Muerte) (Russia); Pescador (Ecuador/ Colombia); Promising The Moon (Das Blaue Vom Himmel) (Germany); Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You (Un Giorno Questo Dolore Ti  Sará Utile)  (Italy/USA)

    10 U.S. PREMIERES

    Chinese Take-Away (Un cuento chino) (Argentina/Spain); The Cat Vanishes (El gato desaparece) (Argentina); Distance (Distancia) (Guatemala); The Fifth Commandment (El quinto mandamiento) (Mexico); Heleno (Brazil); The Sleeping Voice (La voz dorminda) (Spain); Porfirio (Colombia/Spain/Uruguay/Argentina/France); The Strawberry Tree (El arbol de las fresas) (Canada); UFO In Her Eyes (Germany/China); Vaquero (Argentina)

     


    This year’s Festival will include films directed by:

    Sean Ackerman, Dominic Allan, Javier Andrade, Urzula Antoniak, Andrea Arnold, Anthony Baxter, Joe Berlinger, Sebastián Borensztein, Beto Brant,   Laura Brownson, Alejandro Brugués, João Canijo, Simone Rapisarda Casanova, Renato Ciasca,  Amiel Courtin-Wilson, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Terence Davies, Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass, Roberto Faenza, Tim Fehlbaum, Joel Fendelman, José Henrique Fonseca, Pablo Giorgelli, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Xiaolu Guo, Tom Gustafson, Cristián Jiménez, Bess Kargman, Lawrence Kasdan, Yorgos Lanthimos, Bart Layton, Beth Levison,  Rodrigo Marín, Albert Maysles, Matias Meyer,  Riza Mirkarimi, Ben Murray, Alysa Nahimas, Pawel Pawlikowski, Anne  Renton, Carlos Sorín, Ken Scott, Santiago Segura, Susan Seidelman, Hans Steinbichler, Joachim Trier, David Trueba, Vicente Villanueva, Lisa Immordino Vreeland, Andrés Wood, and Benito Zambrano, among many others.

    This year’s Festival will include films featuring:

    María Abadi, Shawn Ashmore, Adriana Barraza, Harry Belafonte, Marisa Berenson,  Blanca Rosa Blanco, The Beastie Boys, Ellen Burstyn, David Byrne, Jean-Marc Calvet, Angie Cepeda, Richard Chamberlin, Rae Dawn Chong, Andrés Crespo, Claire Danes, Ricardo Darín, Germán de Silva, Emily Deschanel, Hebe Duarte, Jerry Hall, Peter Gallagher, Francisca Gavilán, Marcia Gay Harden, Whoopi Goldberg, Ethan Hawke, Hannah Herzsprung, Tom Hiddleston,  Patrick Huard, Richard Jenkins, Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline, Stephen Lang, Lucy Liu, Ben Lee, John Leguizamo, Paul McCartney, Robert Loggia, Trevor Morgan, Elizabeth Peña, Paulina Porizkova, Jason Ritter, Isabella Rossellini, Simon Russell Beale, Winona Ryder, José Sacristán, Muriel Santa Ana, Rodrigo Santoro, Susan Sarandon, Jason Schwartzman, Jason Segel, Santiago Segura, Sam Shepard, Paul Simon, Kristin Scott Thomas,  Donald Trump, Christy Turlington, Kathleen Turner, María Valverde, Diana Vreeland, Rachel Weisz, Dianne Wiest, Michelle Williams, Rumer Willis and Oprah Winfrey, among many others.

    OLYMPIA THEATER GALAS

    In addition to the Opening and Awards Night presentations, the Gala series includes:

    Darling Companion (USA, directed by Lawrence Kasdan)
    The Deep Blue Sea (UK, directed by Terence Davies)
    The Diary of Preston Plummer (USA, directed by Sean Ackerman) – stars Robert Loggia and Rumer Willis are expected to attend
    Heleno (Brazil, directed by José Henrique Fonseca) – star Rodrigo Santoro is expected to attend
    Juan of The Dead (Juan de los muertos) (Cuba/Spain, directed by Alejandro Brugués) – star Alexis Diaz de Villegas is expected to attend
    Musical Chairs (USA, directed by Susan Seidelman)
    Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You (Un Giorno Questo Dolore Ti Sará Utile) (Italy/USA, directed by Roberto Faenza) – star Marcia Gay Harden is expected to attend                                                   

    All directors of the Olympia Theater Galas are expected to be in attendance.

    TRIBUTE TO ROBERT LOGGIA

    On Monday, March 5th, the Festival will celebrate the dynamic career of award-winning American actor Robert Loggia, prior to the World Premiere of Sean Ackerman’s made-in-Florida romance, The Diary of Preston Plummer.  Loggia, a veteran Hollywood character actor and 1985 Academy Award nominee for Jagged Edge, is well-loved by Miami audiences for his role as Frank Lopez in Brian de Palma’s classic Scarface, and has made many more memorable appearances in films such as Big, Independence Day, Prizzi’s Honor, Lost Highway, An Officer and a Gentleman and HBO’s “The Sopranos”.

    NEW FILM CATEGORIES

    4 World Directors to Watch: a showcase of films by up-and-coming filmmakers hailing from the four corners of the globe. The category introduces Miami audiences to significant young talents working in Asia, South America, Europe and the Middle East. The lineup includes:

    Choked (Ga-si) (South Korea, directed by Kim Joong-hyun)
    Porfirio (Colombia/Spain/Uruguay/Argentina/France, directed by Alejandro Landes)
    Annalisa (Il Paese Delle Spose Infelici) (Italy, directed by Pippo Mezzapesa)
    Habibi (Palestine/USA/The Netherlands/United Arab Emirates, directed by Susan Youssef)

    Spotlight on Québec Cinema: On the heels of MIFF’s 2011 hit screening of Incendies, the Festival is proud to debut four new masterpieces from the Canadian region.

    Café de Flore (Canada, directed by Jean-Marc Vallé)
    Monsieur Lazhar (Canada, directed by Philippe Farlardeau)
    The Salesman (Le Vendeur) (Canada, directed by Sebastién Pilote)
    Starbuck (Canada, directed by Ken Scott)

    America, The Beautiful: Celebrating the American independent voice, the Festival has programmed three must-watch films.

    Jeff Who Lives At Home (USA, directed by Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass)
    Sawdust City (USA, directed by David Nordstrom)
    Without (USA, directed by Mark Jackson)

    Films for Youth: Created to broaden the horizons of young moviegoers and families, the Festival confirms two international films.

    First Position (USA, directed by Bess Kargman)
    In The Name of The Girl (En el nombre de la hija) (Ecuador, directed by Tania Hermida)

    Cuba ³:  Three dynamic visions of contemporary Cuban life are depicted in this category about the controversial island regime.

    Baracoa: Where Cuba Began (Baracoa: 500 Años Despues)(Spain, directed by Mauricio Vincent Mulet)
    Motherland or Death (Patria o Muerte) (Russia, directed by Vitaliy Manski)
    The Strawberry Tree (El arbol de las fresas) (Canada, directed by Simone Rapisarda Casanova)

    Mayhem: Suspenseful genre thrillers intended to keep you on the edge of your seat. The three titles in this category include:

    The Fifth Commandment (El quinto mandamiento) (Mexico, directed by Rafa Lara)
    Hell (Germany/ Switzerland, directed by Tim Fehlbaum and executive produced by Roland Emmerich)
    Hombre y Tierra (USA, directed by Christian Cisneros)

    Miami Mavericks: Prolific in-depth conversations with filmmakers about their bourgeoning careers, film and industry.  This section will Feature an extended in-person session with Timothy Greenfield-Sanders about his film About Face.

    About Face (USA, directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders)

    KNIGHT DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

     

    Ten titles will compete for a $10,000 John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Award in the Knight Documentary Competition:

    Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (USA, directed by Alison Klayman)
    Ben Lee: Catch My Disease (Australia, directed by Amiel Courtin-Wilson)
    Calvet (UK/Spain, directed by Dominic Allan):
    First Position (USA, directed by Bess Kargman)
    The Imposter (UK, directed by Bart Layton)
    Lemon (USA, directed by Beth Levison and Laura Brownson)
    The Strawberry Tree (El arbol de las fresas) (Canada, directed by Simone Rapisarda Casanova)
    Under African Skies (USA, directed by Joe Berlinger)
    Unfinished Spaces (USA, directed by Alysa Nahimas and Benjamin Murray)
    You’ve Been Trumped (UK, directed by Anthony Baxter)

    CINEMA 360 & DOC-YOU-UP

    Baracoa: Where Cuba Began (Baracoa: 500 Años Despues) (Spain, directed by Mauricio Vincent Mulet)
    Beyond Assignment (USA, directed by Jim Virga) and Poetry of Resilience (USA, directed by Katja Esson)
    Corpo Celeste (Italy, directed by Alice Rohrwacher)
    A Cube of Sugar (Ye Habeh Gand) (Iran, directed by Reza Mirkarimi)
    Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel (USA, directed by Lisa Immordino Vreeland)
    Free Men (Les Hommes Libres) (France, directed by Ismael Ferroukhi)
    The Kid with a Bike (Le Gamin au Velo) (Belgium/France/Italy, directed by Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne)
    The Last Christeros (Los Ultimos Cristeros) (Mexico, directed by Matias Meyer)
    The Opposite of Love (Lo Contrario Al Amor) (Spain, directed by Vicente Villaneuva)
    Oslo, August 31st (Norway, directed by Joachim Trier)
    Pelotero (USA, directed by Ross Finkel, Trevor Martin and Jonathan Paley)
    Promising The Moon (Das Blaue Vom Himmel) (Germany, directed by Hans Steinbichler)
    Superclasico (Denmark, directed by Ole Christian Madsen)
    Torrente 4: Lethal Crisis (in 3D) (Spain, directed by Santiago Segura)
    UFO in Her Eyes (Germany/China, directed by Xiaolu Guo)
    The Woman in The Fifth (UK/France/Poland, directed by Pawel Pawlikowski)
    Wuthering Heights (UK, directed by Andrea Arnold)

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  • More Films Added to 2012 Miami International Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_2268" align="alignnone"]Las Acacias directed by Pablo Giorgelli[/caption]

    Miami International Film Festival (MIFF) announced a new category for its upcoming 29th edition, March 2 -11, 2012 –  the  Lexus Ibero-American Opera Prima Competition.

    In this newly created category, six films from first-time feature filmmakers from Spain, Portugal and/or Latin America will compete for a $5,000 USD cash prize.

    The finalists for the competition were selected by MIFF programmers from films already submitted to the 2012 Festival.

    2012 MIFF Lexus Ibero-American Opera Prima Competition films:

    Las Acacias (Argentina/Spain, directed by Pablo Giorgelli): Already a winner of major prizes at this year’s Cannes Film Festival (Camera d’Or for Best First Film) and the Latin Horizons prize at the San Sebastian Film Festival, Giorgelli’s road movie unfolds along the highway linking Asunción to Buenos Aires, which trucker Rubén is accustomed to traveling solo. This time, however, he’s got a passenger, Jacinta, and a road full of revelations on the horizon.  East Coast Premiere

    Expiration Date (Fecha de caducidad) (Mexico, directed by Kenya Márquez): After the tragic loss of her son, Ramona (Ana Ofelia Murguía) becomes convinced local handyman Genaro (Damián Alcázar) is responsible for the death. Becoming increasingly obsessed and paranoid, she enlists the help of neighbor to avenge his death. East Coast Premiere

    Vaquero (Argentina, directed by Juan Minujín): Actor-turned-filmmaker Minujín’s profoundly revealing film follows mid-level Buenos Aires actor Julian Lamaz on a darkly comic quest for a leading role in a Hollywood movie. Through an amusing voice-over, the actor endures endless patronizing advice from fellow actors, casting agents and even his family. Minujín’s experience in the Buenos Aires film and theatre community gives the narrative multiple layers of self-referential resonance. U.S. Premiere

    The Student (El estudiante) (Argentina, directed by Santiago Mitre): College student Roque (Esteban Lamothe) navigates the murky world of university politics, while seducing assistant professor and activist (Romina Paula), in Santiago Mitre’s briskly paced debut. A microcosm for the world at large, the film brilliantly exposes the backroom dealings and negotiations of student politics. Florida Premiere

    Speechless (Sin palabras) (Colombia, directed by Ana Sofía Osorio Ruiz and Diego Bustamante): After helping a disoriented Chinese immigrant find her way, Raul (Javier Ortíz) can’t help but fall slowly in love with the exotic beauty. Osorio Ruiz and Bustamante prove the language of the heart is the most universal of all in this touching romance.  International Premiere

    Distancia (Guatemala, directed by Sergio Ramírez): Tomás Choc travels 150 kilometers to be reunited with his only daughter, kidnapped 20 years ago during the Guatemalan civil war. In order to keep his memories of her alive, Tomas has kept a journal of his daily struggles, which he plans to give her when they meet in Ramirez’s heart wrenching drama. U.S. Premiere

    Additionally, the Festival confirms the return of the University of Miami Grand Jury Award for Best Short Film. The established category showcases short films from developing international directors competing for a $2,500 cash prize. The 2011 winner in this category was Chilean short film Blokes (Blockes) by Marialy Rivas.

    Some of the short films already confirmed to compete in MIFF 2012 include:


    The Beach Chronicles (USA, directed by Kevin Sharpley) – World premiere
    Catharis (France, directed by Cédric Prévost) – US premiere
    Cell Phone Zombies (Cel Zombies) (Ecuador, directed by Jorge Luis Miranda) – World premiere
    The Dancer (USA, directed by Seth Stark) – Florida premiere
    Grandmothers (Abuelas) (United Kingdom, directed by Afarin Eghbal) – Florida premiere
    Immune (USA, directed by Andrew Lathorp) – Florida premiere
    Shift (USA, directed by Juan Carlos Zaldívar) – World premiere
    The Trip (A Viagem) (Portugal/USA, directed by Simao Cayatte) – Florida premiere

    The above titles are in addition to the 10 film titles previously announced by MIFF  for the Knight Ibero-American Competition.   Approximately 100 films from 40 countries are anticipated for the annual 10-day event.

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  • The Samaritan starring Samuel L Jackson Added to 2012 Santa Barbara International Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_2266" align="alignnone"]THE SAMARITAN, starring Academy Award® nominated Samuel L. Jackson[/caption]

    The 27th Santa Barbara International Film Festival which takes place January 26 through February 5, announced the addition of the World Premiere of THE SAMARITAN, starring Academy Award® nominated Samuel L. Jackson, to the program as a Gala Presentation. The red carpet Gala event will take place on Sunday, January 29, at 7pm at the Lobero Theatre.

    Produced by Andras Hamori and directed by David Weaver from a screenplay by Weaver and Elan Mastai, The Samaritan also stars Luke Kirby (Take This Waltz), Ruth Negga (Love/Hate) and Oscar nominated Tom Wilkinson (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol). After twenty-five years in prison, Foley (Jackson) is finished with the grifter’s life. When he meets an elusive young woman named Iris (Negga), the possibility of a new start looks real. But his past is proving to be a stubborn companion: Ethan (Kirby), the son of his former partner, has an ingenious plan and he wants Foley in. The harder Foley tries to escape his past, the tighter he is ensnared in Ethan’s web of secrets, until it becomes all too clear to Foley that some wrongs can never be made right.

    THE SAMARITAN was produced with the participation of Telefim Canada, Ontario Media Development Corporation and The Harold Greenberg Fund. Producers are Hamori and Weaver with Suzanne Cheriton and Tony Wosk, Executive producers are Mark Musselman with Lacia Kornylo, Mark Horowitz, Jackson, Eli Selden, Geoffrey Brant, James Atherton, and Jan Pace.

    IFC Films recently acquired the U.S. distribution rights from H2O Motion Pictures and Traction Media. H2O and Quckfire Films is selling international rights for The Samaritan.

    SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling says “THE SAMARITAN is an electrifying neo-noir thriller with amazing twists and turns. Samuel L. Jackson’s performance is fantastic.”

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