Film Festivals

  • Santa Barbara International Film Festival Unveils its 2012 Lineup

    [caption id="attachment_2264" align="alignnone"]Where Do We Go Now? directed by Nadine Labaki[/caption]

    The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) announced its line-up for 2012. The Festival begins Thursday, January 26 and continues through Sunday, February 5, 2012.

    “Our program this year reflects invigorating change,” remarks SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling. “When I joined SBIFF ten years ago, I set out to bring the festival’s program and its sidebars to reflect the city of Santa Barbara as a city, and its community. This year we’ve taken that concept even further. We have a fantastic, quirky, all encompassing program.”

    OPENING & CLOSING NIGHT GALAS

    SBIFF 2012 will kick off at the historic Arlington Theatre with the World Premiere of the Sony Pictures Classics film Darling Companion. The Opening Night film will be preceded by the new Pixar animated short film, La Luna, written and directed by Enrico Casarosa. La Luna is a fable of a young boy who heads to sea for a most unusual rite of passage. Following the Opening Night screening, the festivities will continue with a party at Paseo Nuevo in downtown Santa Barbara. Opening Night Film and Gala is sponsored by Studio 7 and The Hollywood Reporter.

    On Closing Night, SBIFF proudly presents the West Coast Premiere of Where Do We Go Now? directed by Nadine Labaki. Winner of the People’s Choice Award at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival and Broadcast Film Critics Association nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, this anti-war comedy offers a wildly creative take on the intractable religious conflict in a remote village. Fed up with mourning their husbands and sons, the women of the village, where Christians and Muslims live side by side, concoct inventive schemes to prevent sectarian violence from further corrupting their loved ones. To quash interreligious conflicts, the women are not above sabotaging the village’s sole television, colluding with the priest and imam, nor enlisting a busload of sexy Ukrainian strippers to distract their men. Through Labaki’s wonderfully insightful comic eye, Where Do We Go Now? confronts the hard truths of a fractured society, offering an alternate vision of transcendence and unity. The Closing Night film is sponsored by The Santa Barbara Independent.

    CENTERPIECE GALA

    The Centerpiece Gala will feature the U.S. Premiere of Samsara, directed by Ron Fricke. Prepare yourself for an unparalleled sensory experience! Samsara reunites Fricke and producer Mark Magidson, whose previous films Baraka and Chronos were acclaimed for combining visual and musical artistry. Samsara expands on their effort to portray the connections between humanity and nature in a bold way. Filmed for over four years and in more than twenty countries, the film transports us through multiple cultures to sacred grounds, disaster sites, industrialized zones and natural wonders. By dispensing with dialogue and descriptive text, the filmmakers subvert our expectations of a documentary. Instead, they encourage our own interpretations inspired by images and musical compositions that infuse the ancient with the modern. Samsara is a Tibetan word that means “the ever turning wheel of life,” and Fricke describes the film as a “guided meditation on the cycle of birth, death and rebirth.”

     

    Click here for the full film lineup

    Read more

  • Demián Bichir of A Better Life Among Performers to be Honored by SBIFF with 2012 Virtuosos Award

    [caption id="attachment_2262" align="alignnone"]Demián Bichir in A Better Life[/caption]

    Santa Barbara International Film Festival continues its tradition of honoring the year’s standout performers with The 2012 Virtuosos Award. The actors who were selected to be recognized for their exceptional performances are: Demián Bichir for his earnest portrayal as Carlos, a virtuous father struggling to provide for his son in A Better Life; Rooney Mara for her dark and provocative performance as Lisbeth Salander in David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; Melissa McCarthy for her role as the hilariously outspoken Megan in Bridesmaids; Patton Oswalt for masterfully navigating between the realms of comedy and drama as Matt Freehauf in Young Adult; Andy Serkis for stepping into the mind and body of an ape through his master of performance-capture technology in his role as Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes; and Shailene Woodley for bringing an emotional complexity to a character rarely seen at her age as Alexandra in The Descendants.

    Comments Durling, “I’m ecstatic about this strong line-up of Virtuosos. They all gave us indelible performances.”

    The Virtuosos Award was created to recognize a select group of actors who have distinguished themselves through performances in film this past year. Last year’s recipients for this award were Lesley Manville, John Hawkes, Jacki Weaver and Hailee Steinfeld.

    The Award presentation, moderated by Entertainment Weekly’s Dave Karger, is sponsored by Stella Artois and will now take place at the Arlington Theatre on Friday, February 3, 2012.

    Read more

  • Perfection and LA Comedy Shorts Festival Block Added to 2012 Oxford Film Festival and Music Festival

    [caption id="attachment_2258" align="alignnone"]Perfection[/caption]

    “Perfection” and “L.A. Comedy Shorts Festival” have been added to the Oxford Film Festival and Music Festival since the original lineup was announced.

    A new film, “Perfection” has been added to the line-up and will have its world premiere with the festival. “Perfection” is Christina Beck’s first feature film and was nominated by IFP for best screenplay and selected for their Rough Cut Labs. Beck was awarded the Adrienne Shelly female directing grant.

    The festival will present a block from the L.A. Comedy Shorts Festival, the largest comedy film festival in the United States. Co-founded by Gary Anthony Williams (“Boston Legal,” “Special Agent Oso,” “Malcolm in the Middle”), L.A. Comedy Shorts attracts heavy- weights from the world of comedy. Major sponsors include Will Ferrell and Judd Apatow’s website ‘FunnyOrDie.com, Catoon Network, Atom.com and Atom TV on Comedy Central, and Freemantle’s Atomic Wedgie.

    Read more

  • Derby City Film Festival Announces 2012 Award Finalists

    [caption id="attachment_2256" align="alignnone"]Below Zero[/caption]

    With the festival opening in lass than a month, the organizers of The Derby City Film Festival have announced the award finalists for the 2012 edition. Awards will be handed out in 7 categories; US Short Film, International Short Film, Student Short Film, Documentary Film, Feature Film, Best Actor and Best Actress. The festival has also partnered with York Entertainment, based in Los Angeles, who will offer distribution to one or more of the Feature Films and IndieFlix, based in Seattle, who will hold an on-line short film contest the week before the opening of the festival.

    Three films with Kentucky ties are among the finalists. One, the short film “Bizarnival: Tuxedos in the Attic” from filmmakers Todd Sheene, Allen Martin, and Scott Stafford screens Saturday February 18th at 4:00 PM with Shorts Group C. “Bizarnival” is a pseudo-experimental film which follows three men who seek the key to a magic suitcase, guarded by a mechanical man, and takes them on a journey through the ridiculously fantastic world of Bizarnival. “Bizarnival” is nominated for Best US Short Film.

    James Sheldon who stars as the title character from Alex O. Gaynor’s “Wid Winner and the Slipstream” is nominated for Best Actor. ‘Wid Winner & the Slipstream’ is a poetic, blue-collar story of a disenchanted auto parts store clerk and the road trip that will change his life. “Wid” screens Friday February 17th at 7:00 PM.

    “It’s in the Blood” from Louisville natives and Ballard High School graduates Scooter Downey & Sean Elliot is up for three awards including Best Feature Film and two Best Actor Nominations for the film’s stars Sean Elliot & Lance Henriksen. “Blood”  tells the tale of a father and son who become stranded in the wild and must confront the horrors of their past to escape with their lives.  However, this wilderness is not what it seems, and as they deteriorate, so to does their concept of reality: horrifying creatures, ghostly apparitions, is it all in their heads, or could the truth be far more terrible? “It’s in the Blood” screens at 8:00 PM on February 18th with the short film “Endless”.

    Another film up for three awards is the closing film of the festival, the Edward Furlong film “Below Zero”, which will screen at 6:00 PM on Sunday February 19th. “Zero” follows screenwriter Jack “The Hack” (Furlong) who, facing writer’s block and a crucial deadline, decides to remove himself from all distractions by locking himself in the freezer of an abandoned slaughterhouse, where fiction and reality blur. Inspired by true events, method writer Signe Olynyk’s BELOW ZERO is a twisty story within a story, within a real-life story. The film also stars Kristin Booth and Michael Berryman. “Zero” was directed by Justin Thomas Ostensen who’s film “By the Wayside” screened at the inaugural DCFF in 2008. “Zero” is nominated for Best Feature, Best Actor (Furlong) and Best Actress (Booth).

    All 9 of the Short Film Finalists (US, International & Student) have also been invited to take part of the DCFF-IndieFlix on-line film contest which will run February 10th-16th. All films will be available to watch on-line and the public can vote on their favorite. The winning film will receive a one year subscription to Videoblocks & The Footage Firm, an online library of downloadable production material, video clips and royalty free music. A link to the IndieFlix film contest will be available on the DCFF website starting February 10th.

    York Entertainment has invited 4 films to be considered for distribution. Included among the finalists is “Overtime” from Louisville filmmakers Matt Neihoff & Brian Cunningham. The other three are “Below Zero”, “Blind Turn” & “It’s in the Blood”. Any agreement will be between York and the selected film(s) and the festival will not be part of the negotiations

    The 2012 Derby City Film Festival runs February 17th – 19th at the Clifton Center in Louisville, Kentucky. The full festival schedule and film descriptions are available on the festival website. Tickets for all films and screening groups are also on-sale through the website. More information on the festival can be found at the festival website: www.derbycityfilmfest.com or by calling the DCFF office at 502-454-7801. Additional details about the upcoming festival will be released in the coming weeks.

    The following includes the full list of award finalists for the 2012 Derby City Film Festival.


    Best Feature:
    Below Zero: Directed by: Justin Thomas Ostensen
    It’s in the Blood (KY Premiere): Directed by: Scooter Downey
    Johnny’s Gone (KY Premiere): Directed by: Giorgio Serafini

    Best Documentary
    Bailout (USA – KY Premiere): Directed by: Sean Patrick Fahey
    Israel vs. Israel (Israel – KY Premiere): Directed by: Terje Carlsson
    Holding the Line (Libya/UK – US Premiere): Directed by: Patrick Wells

    Best US Short Film
    Bizarnival: Tuxedos in the Attic: Directed by: Todd Sheene, Allen Martin, and Scott Stafford
    Easy Street (KY Premiere): Directed by Russell Greene
    Grounded (World Premiere): Directed by Kevin Margo

    Best International Short
    Donkey (UK – KY Premiere); Directed by: Keir Burrows
    Employee of the Month (Switzerland – KY Premiere): Directed by: Olivier Beguin
    Endless (UK – KY Premiere): Directed by: Matt Bloom

    Best Student Short
    GoldenBox (USA): Directed by: Matt MacDonald
    Made in China (USA – World Premiere): Directed by: Kellen Moore
    Thin Air (USA – World Premiere): Directed by: Max Rosen

    Best Actor
    Sean Elliot – It’s in the Blood
    Lance Henriksen – It’s in the Blood
    James Sheldon – Wid Winner and the Slipstream
    Edward Furlong – Below Zero
    Michal Cholka – Znikniecie

    Best Actress
    Katarzyna Zawiglak-Dolny – Znikniecie
    Inge Chiles – Thin Air
    LaDon Drummond  – Johnny’s Gone
    Rachel Boston – Blind Turn
    Kristin Booth – Below Zero

    Read more

  • Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Announces its 2012 Thematic Program and Tribute

    [caption id="attachment_2254" align="alignnone"]Ross McElwee – Photographic Memory[/caption]

    The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival has announced its 2012 Thematic Program and Tribute. The annual Full Frame Tribute will be presented to Stanley Nelson for his significant contribution to the documentary form. The 2012 Thematic Program will focus on family, with a series of films curated by Ross McElwee. McElwee will also present his most recent film “Photographic Memory” at the April event.

    “Exploring one’s family seems deeply entwined with the desire to document and record one’s surrounding world,” said director of programming Sadie Tillery. “For many, the first form of documentary encountered was through family pictures, videos, albums. We consider many personal stories each year, and we wanted to bring a selection of that work to the forefront and view it as a collective.”

    “Documentary cameras have long courted danger,” said McElwee. “Recently, they’ve been hauled onto the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, slipped behind the fences of polluting oil industries, and onto the streets during crackdowns by military dictatorships.   But perhaps the most challenging place to try to film is within the realm of your own family.  The risk in doing so is, of course, not physical, but rather emotional. In this selection of American documentaries, the filmmakers explore the delicate terrain along the fault line of family.”

    Ross McElwee grew up in North Carolina. He has made nine feature-length documentaries as well as several shorter films, many of which were shot in his homeland of the American South. His films include “Sherman’s March,” “Time Indefinite,” “Six O’Clock News,” and “Bright Leaves.” He has screened numerous films at Full Frame and received the Festival’s Career Award in 2007. McElwee has been teaching filmmaking at Harvard University since 1986 where he is a professor in the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies.

    McElwee’s latest film “Photographic Memory” contemplates the filmmaker’s relationship with his young adult son, Adrian. In exploring their strained bond, McElwee travels back to St. Quay-Portrieux in Brittany, where he spent time as a young man himself, and seeks out those he was close to there at a similar time of his own life. Adrian McElwee and the film’s producer Marie-Emmanuelle Hartness will also be present for the screening in Durham.

    The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival has received a $20,000 grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to support the 2012 Thematic Program.

    The Festival will also honor filmmaker Stanley Nelson with the annual Full Frame Tribute. Nelson’s body of work includes the critically acclaimed films “A Place of Our Own,” “Freedom Riders,” “Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple,” “Wounded Knee,” “Sweet Honey in the Rock: Raise Your Voice,” and “The Murder of Emmett Till,” among numerous other titles.  An Emmy-winning MacArthur “genius” Fellow, Nelson is co-founder and Executive Director of Firelight Media, which provides technical education and professional support to emerging documentarians, and co-founder of the documentary production company, Firelight Films.

    “Stanley Nelson is an incredible filmmaker, and it’s been a privilege to showcase his films over the years,” said Tillery. “We not only look forward to screening a selection of his work during the Festival, but also spotlighting the significant ways in which he supports and encourages up and coming filmmakers through Firelight Media. We’re excited that he will be joining us in Durham.”

    “I am thrilled to be honored with the 2012 Full Frame Tribute,” said Nelson.  “Full Frame’s past honorees include not only some of the most important documentary filmmakers working today, but some of my personal mentors and role models. I am humbled to be in their illustrious company.

    “I have been working in documentary film for decades, and I believe that now, in these difficult and tumultuous times, independent documentary films are more important than ever.  We need a diversity of voices and vision of independent filmmakers of all kinds, particularly from those communities that have been left out of the mainstream, to tell us who we are as a nation, and where we are – and should be – going.  That is what I try to do through my work as a filmmaker and through the Firelight Media Producers’ Lab, and that is what Full Frame has shown itself committed to as well.

    “In providing a creative community, an exhibition showcase, and building audiences for documentaries, Full Frame is a rare and critical organization in the field.  I’m grateful to be part of the Full Frame family.”

    Specific titles for the Thematic Program and Full Frame Tribute, along with attending guests, will be announced in March.

    The 15th Annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival will be held April 12-15, 2012, in Durham, N.C., with Duke University as the presenting sponsor. Festival passes can be purchased online at www.fullframefest.org.

    Read more

  • TIFF Launches New Festivals For Kids and Youth

    [caption id="attachment_2252" align="alignnone" width="550"]Funky Forest[/caption]

    TIFF, the organization behind September’s Toronto International Film Festival, announced today two new film festivals directed towards children and youth with a new emphasis on interactive programming, including gaming and participatory activities in a digital environment. The two new film festivals represent an evolution of the Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children and Youth, effectively dividing its programming into separate events for two age groups. Running from April 10 through 22, 2012, the TIFF Kids International Film Festival will celebrate special programming and activities for children aged 3 to 13. New for 2012 is TIFF Kids digiPlaySpace, a family-friendly interactive environment which includes interactive installations, learning-centric games, apps, new digital creative tools and hands-on production activities. Also launching this year, the TIFF Next Wave Film Festival runs May 10 through 12, 2012 and engages youth aged 14 to 18 with programming aimed at a teen audience.

    “We’ve had the pleasure of seeing our children’s film festival grow at a phenomenal pace into one of the most prominent and respected in the world, one that is extremely successful with children in elementary and middle schools and with teen audiences,” said Shane Smith, Director of Public Programmes, TIFF. ?It’s fitting that as we celebrate our 15th anniversary, we separate our programming into two festivals that allow us to broaden and deepen the selection and experience for each audience, as well as their families and educators. We’re beyond excited to be presenting both the TIFF Kids International Film Festival and the TIFF Next Wave Film Festival this year.?

    In addition to premiere screenings of high-calibre feature films and shorts from around the world, special guests, learning workshops and the Jump Cuts competitions, interactive engagement will be a key feature of the TIFF Kids International Film Festival—both online and through on-site activities. Not only will young audiences take over all five cinemas and learning studios of TIFF Bell Lightbox, but for the first time the first floor gallery space will be transformed into the TIFF Kids digiPlaySpace—an interactive playground where children will learn, laugh and be entertained by emerging creative technologies and innovative media experiences. Several installations, games and workshop zones will allow children to exercise their creativity and see first-hand how the future of storytelling is evolving.

    A signature of the TIFF Kids digiPlaySpace is the Canadian premiere of Funky Forest, an interactive ecosystem where children create trees with their bodies and then divert the water flowing from a waterfall to keep the trees alive. The health of the trees contributes to the overall health of the forest and the types of creatures that inhabit it. Other highlights include installations from leading interactive play developers Aesthetec Studio, where movement and voice is transformed into light and music; giant green screens that enable children to immerse themselves into the worlds of film and dance; and stop-motion stations that provide the chance for kids to learn the magic of animation.

    Read more

  • TIFF is Calling Young Filmmakes for the TIFF Kids and TIFF Next Wave Jump Cuts Young Filmmakers competitions and TIFF Kids Juries

    Toronto International Film Festival is encouraging young filmmakers and cinephiles to take part in its two new film festivals, the TIFF Kids International Film Festival and the TIFF Next Wave Film Festival, both happening this Spring at TIFF Bell Lightbox. Running from April 10 through 22, 2012, the TIFF Kids International Film Festival will celebrate special programming and activities for children aged 3 to 13. The TIFF Next Wave Film Festival runs May 10 through 12, 2012 and connects with youth aged 14 to 18 with programming aimed at a teen audience.

    Entering its 11th year, the Jump Cuts Young Filmmakers programme engages Ontario’s young people and gives emerging directors the opportunity to see their work on the big screen. The TIFF Kids International Film Festival Jump Cuts competition is open to young filmmakers in two categories: grades 3 to 6 and grades 7 to 8.The submission deadline is March 5, 2012 and entries can be submitted via tiff.net/tiffkids. The TIFF Next Wave Film Festival Jump Cuts competition is open to amateur filmmakers in grades 9 through 12. The submission deadline is March 19, 2012 and entries can be submitted via tiff.net/nextwave/jumpcuts.

    The TIFF Kids International Film Festival is also looking for young cinephiles to participate on their young people’s juries. The jurors actively discuss the films they see and work collaboratively to reach consensus on determining the Festival winners. TIFF Kids jurors attend the Festival for free and watch films in special reserved jury seating, all while enjoying complimentary popcorn and drinks. Winners of the internationally recognized awards will be announced at the end of the Festival. To apply for a place on the juries, young film fans aged 8 to12 must write a short review (100 to 250 words) of a movie they either particularly enjoyed or did not like. The official Jury Entry Form can be found on the TIFF Kids website. All reviews must be received by February 10, 2012.

     

    Read more

  • Canadian Film Starbuck Takes Top Honors at 2012 Palm Springs International Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_2153" align="alignnone"]Starbuck [/caption]

    The 23rd Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) wraps today Monday with the Best of the Fest screenings but announced this year’s award winners at a luncheon on Sunday, January 15, 2012.

    AUDIENCE AWARDS
    This year’s Festival attendees selected Starbuck (Canada) directed by Ken Scott, as the Mercedes-Benz Audience Award Best Narrative Feature. The past comes back with a vengeance in this Canadian comedy about a class action suit against prolific sperm donor David Wozniak, aka Starbuck. Twenty years after his successful moneymaking scheme, all David’s 142 children want to know is, “Who’s my Daddy?”

    The runner-up film was Come As You Are (Belgium) directed by Geoffrey Enthoven. The other narrative films in alphabetical order include: The Flowers of War (China), If I Were You (Canada), In Darkness (Poland), Monsieur Lazhar (Canada), Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (UK), Simon and the Oaks (Sweden), A Simple Life (Hong Kong), Sonny Boy (Netherlands), War of the Buttons (France) and Wunderkinder (Germany).

    The Girls in the Band (USA) directed by Judy Chaikin and Wish Me Away (USA) directed by Bobbi Birleffii and Beverly Kopf tied for the Audience Award Best Documentary Feature. The Girls in the Band is about the hidden history of women jazz musicians in this glorious celebration of some of our greatest musicians, period. Wish Me Away is the inspiring, award-winning documentary about courageous singer-songwriter Chely Wright, a devout Christian who also happens to be a lesbian.

    The runner-up documentary films in alphabetical order include: First Position: A Ballet Documentary (USA), Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story (USA), Shakespeare High (USA), The Story of Film: An Odyssey (UK) and Vito (USA).

    Both winners will receive the John Kennedy Statue (“The Entertainer”) specially designed for the Festival.

    FIPRESCI AWARD
    A special jury of international film critics reviewed 40 of the 63 official Foreign Language submissions to the Academy Awards® screened at this year’s Festival to award the FIPRESCI Award for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year. The jury selected The Turin Horse, Hungary’s official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, directed by Béla Tarr, “for the power of its austerity and radical commitment to its vision.” The film is an unforgettable end-of-days parable largely confined to an ascetic shack shared by an old man and his daughter as a terrible blight takes hold outside.

    Matthias Schoenaerts received the FIPRESCI Award for Best Actor for his role in Bullhead (Belgium) directed by Michaël R. Roskam, “for his superb portrayal of an innocent and sensitive man trapped in a truculent body.” The ensemble female cast (Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat and Sarina Farhadi) from A Separation (Iran) received the FIPRESCI Award for Best Actress, “for their naturalistic, powerful and fully interdependent portrayals of three women grappling with complex questions of guilt and morality.” The film is directed by Asghar Farhadi.

    The 2012 FIPRESCI jury members were Mario Abbade from Almanaque Virtual, Correio Braziliense and Globo (Brazil) and President and Curator of the Rio de Janeiro Association of Film Critics; Nathan Lee, former film critic for the New York Times, Village Voice, and NPR, currently contributing editor of Film Comment magazine (US); and Boyd van Hoeij, critic for Variety, Winq (Netherlands), Mate (US/UK), Filmkrant (Netherlands) and Indiewire (US).

    NEW VOICES/NEW VISIONS AWARD
    The New Voices/New Visions competition includes ten new international talents making their feature film debut at the Festival, with the additional criteria that the films selected are currently without U.S. distribution. The jury selected The House (Slovak Republic) directed by Zuzana Liová. The winner receives a sculpture designed by famed glass artist Dale Chihuly.

    The jury stated “Although the story told in The House is not a new one, we felt that the direction and performances took the film to the next level, and made us understand why a father may not be able to let go of his children, and also why they would want to leave. The motivations behind the characters felt real and made for a compelling film about a girl’s journey to adulthood.” The film is about contemporary Eastern Europe’s divisions – between generations, genders, economic strata, city and country – are given incisive treatment in this affecting family drama about an ambitious teen, her disowned elder sister and their dour, controlling father.

    The films were juried by Jeff Lipsky, Co-Managing Executive Adopt Films; Paul Hudson, Co-Founder Outsider Films; Tom Quinn, Co-President The Weinstein Company/New Label. The winner will receive a Chihuly award and $60,000 Panavision camera rental package

    THE JOHN SCHLESINGER AWARD
    The Tiniest Place (Mexico), directed by Tatiana Huezo Sanchez, received The John Schlesinger Award, which is presented a first-time documentary filmmaker. The Tiniest Place is the heartbreaking yet hopeful story of Cinquera, a small town in rural El Salvador that was completely depopulated during the Civil War, as told by the survivors who have returned with astonishing resilience to rebuild their lives on their native soil. The winner receives the John Kennedy Statue (“The Entertainer”).

    The films were judged by Mark Jonathan Harris, three-time Oscar-winning documentary director of Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport, The Long Way Home, and The Redwoods; Oliver Ike, director of theatrical and non-theatrical sales at Seventh Art Releasing; and Michael Lumpkin, Executive Director of the International Documentary Association (IDA).

    THE HP BRIDGING THE BORDERS AWARD
    Terraferma (Italy), directed by Emanuele Crialese, received the HP Bridging the Borders Award presented by Cinema Without Borders and Hewlett Packard, which honors the film that is most successful in exemplifying art that promotes bringing the people of our world closer together. In Italy’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar submission, an elderly Sicilian fisherman who rescues a boatload of African immigrants, must decide whether to do what the law demands or what he knows to be right. The prize includes an HP 8560w Elitebook Mobile Workstation with a built-in HP DreamColor display, valued at $4000.

    The runner-up was Le Havre (Finland) directed by Aki Kaurismäki, Finland’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar submission.

    Read more

  • Generation Program is Complete for 2012 Berlin Film Fest

    [caption id="attachment_2219" align="alignnone"]Comes A Bright Day[/caption]

    A total of 58 short and full-length films from 32 countries have been selected for the Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus competitions for 2012 Berlin International Film Festival.

    Eleven children from Berlin between the ages of eleven and 14 as well as seven young adults have been invited to be on the Children’s and Youth Juries. They will award Crystal Bears for the best short and feature-length films.

    Generation 14plus

    Comes A Bright Day (Great Britain, by Simon Aboud) – Against the backdrop of an armed robbery at a London jewellers, much more is at stake than money. Where diamonds are involved, love is not far. Cast: Craig Roberts, Imogen Poots, Kevin McKidd, Timothy Spall and others. World Premiere

    Lal Gece (Night of Silence, Turkey, by Reis Çelik) – When the groom lifts the bride’s veil, he is looking into the face of a 14-year-old girl. As tradition has it, a night in the bridal chamber seals the marriage. Cast: Ilyas Salman, Dilan Aksüt and others. World Premiere

    Maori Boy Genius (New Zealand, by Pietra Brettkelly, documentary) – A young Maori, Ngaa Rauuira, is the chosen one. He fights with all his heart for the cultural concerns of his people. And they see Aotearoa’s (New Zealand’s) next Premiere Minister in him. World Premiere

    Nosilatiaj. La Belleza (Beauty, Argentina, by Daniela Seggiaro) – Yolanda is a housemaid for a “Criolla” family. In the Wichi culture from which the girl comes, beautiful long hair has great meaning. The film tells about a painfully cutting experience. World Premiere

    Snackbar (Netherlands, by Meral Uslu) – Ali’s snack bar is a refuge for a gang of local youth of Moroccan descent. They quarrel, laugh and fight there every day. When it gets out of hand, Ali intervenes. World Premiere

    Two Little Boys (New Zealand, by Robert Sarkies) – Friends since early childhood, nothing can separate Deano and Nige, not even death. Until the tragic accident with a Norwegian football star. Cast: Bret McKenzie, Hamish Blake and others. World Premiere

    Una Noche (One Night, USA/Cuba/Great Britain, by Lucy Mulloy) – Florida is their last hope. Only 90 miles separate life in Havana from the freedom they long for. Elio and Raul build a raft, but then Lila joins them. That was not the plan. World Premiere

    As announced earlier, the programme also includes the following films:

    Electrick Children (USA, by Rebecca Thomas) – WP
    Joven & Alocada (Young & Wild, Chile, by Marialy Rivas) – EP
    Kronjuvelerna (The Crown Jewels, Sweden, by Ella Lemhagen) – IP
    Magi I Luften (Love Is In The Air, Denmark/Sweden, by Simon Staho) – IP
    Mustafa’s Sweet Dreams (Greece/Great Britain, by Angelos Abazoglou) – WP
    ORCHIM LeREGA (Off White Lies, Israel/France, by Maya Kenig) – EP
    Un Mundo Secreto (A Secret World, Mexico, by Gabriel Mariño) – WP
    Wandeukyi (Punch, Republic of Korea, by Han Lee) – EP


    Generation Kplus

    ARCADIA (USA, by Olivia Silver) – In Arcadia, California, everything is going to be fine, Tom promises his children. He loads them into the car and travels across the entire country. More than anything else, 12-year-old Greta hopes to see her mother again. Cast: Ryan Simpkins, John Hawkes and others. World Premiere

    GATTU (India, by Rajan Khosa) – The sky is full of kites and none flies as high or fast as Kali. In order to beat the black kite, Gattu has to reach for the sky. International Premiere

    Isdraken (The Ice Dragon, Sweden, by Martin Högdahl) – Whales cry when they lose their herds. Banished by the youth welfare office to northern Sweden, Mike knows the feeling. It’s only when he meets the very cool Pi that the ice begins to melt. World Premiere

    Kikoeteru, furi wo sita dake (Just Pretended to Hear, Japan, by Kaori Imaizumi) – Her spirit will protect you! After her mother’s death, Sachi’s only hope is spiritual comfort. But what if there’s no such thing as ghosts? International Premiere

    Pacha (Bolivia/Mexico, by Hector Ferreiro) – A shoeshine boy gets caught up in the turmoil of the Bolivian “gas war”. In the streets the Indigenous population is protesting for their rights, while in his dreams the boy is walking the paths of his culture. World Premiere

    Zarafa (France/Begium, by Rémi Bezançon and Jean-Christophe Lie, animation) – Maki has only just made friends with Zarafa, when the orphaned baby giraffe is given to the King of France as a gift. A richly illustrated adventure, from Africa to Paris. International Premiere

    As announced in the first press release, the programme also includes the following films:

    Kauwboy (Netherlands, by Boudewijn Koole) – WP
    Die Kinder vom Napf (The Children from the Napf, Switzerland, by Alice Schmid) – IP
    Lotte ja kuukivi saladus (Lotte and the Moonstone Secret, Estonia/Latvia, by Janno Põldma and Heiki Ernits) – IP
    The Mirror Never Lies (Indonesia, by Kamila Andini) – EP
    Nono (Philippines, by Rommel Tolentino) – EP
    Patatje Oorlog (Taking Chances, Netherlands, by Nicole van Kilsdonk) – IP


    Out of Competition

    Vierzehn (Fourteen, Germany, by Cornelia Grünberg, documentary) – Soon their lives revolve around diapers, not parties. Four 14-year-old girls and their babies. An exciting new phase is beginning before they have had time to live out the last one. World Premiere

    The Monkey King – Uproar in Heaven 3D (People’s Republic of China, by Da Su and Chen Zhihong) – 130,000 hand-painted water colours and voices from the Peking Opera are brought back to life in the elaborately restoration of this famous classic. A wonderfully entertaining animation film: now in 3D. International Premiere



    Short Films Generation 14plus

    663114 (Japan, by Isamu Hirabayashi, Berlinale Shorts 2010: Aramaki) – GP
    Banga Inte (Unruly, Sweden, by Fanni Metelius) – IP
    Berlin Recyclers (Germany, by Nikki Schuster) – WP
    Broer (Brother, Netherlands, by Sacha Polak) – IP
    CRAZY DENNIS TIGER (Germany, by Jan Soldat, Berlinale Shorts 2010: Geliebt) – WP
    Hiljainen Viikko (All Hallow’s Week, Finland, by Jussi Hiltunen) – GP
    Jeunesses Françaises (French Kids, France, by Stephan Castang) – IP
    Kiss (Australia, by Alex Murawski) – GP
    Lambs (New Zealand, by Sam Kelly) – WP
    Levis hest (Levi’s Horse, Norway, by Torfinn Iversen) – IP
    Meathead (New Zealand, by Sam Holst) – GP
    Nani (USA, by Justin Tipping) – IP
    Supermarket Girl (Great Britain, by Matt Greenhalgh) – WP
    The Wilding (Australia, by Grant Scicluna) – WP


    Short Films Generation Kplus

    Bara lite (Just a Little, Sweden, by Alicja Björk Jaworski) – WP
    Bardo (Macedonia, by Marija Apchevska) – WP
    Being Bradford Dillman (Great Britain, by Emma Burch) – IP
    B I N O (Australia, by Billie Pleffer) – WP
    Caochang (Playground, People’s Republic of China, by Qi Wang) – IP
    Chinti (Russian Federation, by Natalia Mirzoyan) – WP
    Corrida (Latvia, by Janis Cimermanis) – WP
    Der kleine Vogel und das Blatt (The Little Bird and the Leaf, Switzerland, by Lena von Döhren) – WP
    Hazenpad (The Path of a Hare, Netherlands, by Lotte van Elsacker) – IP
    Hjältar (Heroes, Sweden, by Carolina Hellsgård) – WP
    Julian (Australia, by Matthew Moore) – WP
    L (Brazil, by Thais Fujinaga) – EP
    Layla Bahir (Bright Night, Israel, by Li At Glik) – WP
    Papa’s Tango (Netherlands, by Michiel van Jaarsveld) – IP
    The Quiet One (Sweden, by Emelie Wallgren, Ina Holmqvist, documentary) – GP
    Rising Hope (Germany, by Milen Vitanov) – WP
    Snow in Paradise (New Zealand, by Justine Simei-Barton, Nikki Si’ulepa) – WP

    WP = World Premiere, IP = International Premiere, EP = European Premiere, GP = German Premiere

     

    Read more

  • Glasgow Short Film Festival Announces Selection For 2012 International And Scottish Competitions

    [caption id="attachment_2217" align="alignnone"]Jimmy by Martin Smith[/caption]

    Glasgow Short Film Festival announced the selection for the 2012 competitions. Sixty-nine films will screen across International and Scottish competitions, including five Scottish films which have been selected for both competitions. The selection includes seven World Premieres, one International Premiere, three European Premieres, twenty-one UK Premieres and twenty Scottish Premieres.

    Amongst the selected films are two films by Scottish musicians: John Maclean (The Beta Band) presents Pitch Black Heist, featuring Michael Fassbender, and Douglas Hart (The Jesus & Mary Chain) presents his fiction debut Long Distance Information, featuring Peter Mullan. Anarchic American animator Bill Plympton presents Guard Dog Global Jam, an extraordinary remake of his 2005 film Guard Dog, for which he enlisted seventy animators via the internet, each recreating a shot in their own style.

    Audience favourite and multi-award winning Las Palmas, by Swedish filmmaker Johannes Nyholm, features a toddler interacting with puppets to hilarious effect. Belgian filmmaker Rachel Lang presents the UK Premiere of her film White Turnips Make It Hard To Sleep, which recently won the prestigious Ingmar Bergman Award at Uppsala Short Film Festival. Kirkcaldy Man, Julian Schwanitz’s haunting documentary in search of champion darts player Jocky Wilson, makes its debut UK screening.

    Each competition will be judged by an international jury of filmmakers, curators and writers, who will select the film they consider the most innovative and outstanding work in each programme. Audiences attending competition programmes will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite to win the Audience Award in each competition.

    INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

    15 Summers Later
    Scottish Premiere / Perdo Collantes / Spain / 2011 / 5 min / Fiction

     

    663114
    UK Premiere / Isamu Hirabayashi / Japan / 2011 / 8 min / Animation

    910712 Heejung
    UK Premiere / Yoo Won-Sang / South Korea / 2010 / 17 min / Fiction

    Asylum
    Joern Utkilen / UK / 2010 / 17 min / Fiction

    Birth of a Nation
    UK Premiere / Daya Cahen / Netherlands / 2010 / 10 min / Experimental

    Come To Harm
    Scottish Premiere / Börkur Sigþórsson / Iceland / 2011 / 18 min / Fiction

    Decapoda Shock
    Scottish Premiere / Javier Chillon / Spain / 2011 / 9 min / Fiction

    The Factory (A Fábrica)
    UK Premiere / Aly Muritiba / Brazil / 2011 / 15 min / Fiction

    Fini
    Scottish Premiere / Jacob Secher Schulsinger / Denmark / 2010 / 29 min / Documentary

    Ghosts (Fantasmas)
    UK Premiere / André Novais Oliveira / Brazil / 2010 / 11 min / Experimental

    Goodbye Mandima (Kwa Heri Mandima)
    UK Premiere / Robert-Jan Lacombe / Switzerland / 2010 / 11 min / Documentary

    Green Crayons
    Scottish Premiere / Kazik Radwanski / Canada / 2010 / 10 min / Fiction

    Guard Dog Global Jam
    Scottish Premiere / Bill Plympton / USA / 2011 / 6 min / Animation

    Huma, Bird of Fortune (Homayeh Saadat)
    UK Premiere / Alireza Rofougaran / Iran / 2010 / 4 min / Documentary

    I’m Not The Enemy
    UK Premiere / Bjørn Melhus / Germany / 2011 / 13 min / Experimental

    I’m So Happy (Soy tan feliz)
    UK Premiere / Vladimir Duran / Argentina/Colombia / 2011 / 14 min / Fiction

    Jimmy
    Martin Smith / UK / 2011 / 12 min / Documentary

    Killing the Chickens to Scare the Monkeys
    UK Premiere / Jens Assur / Sweden / 2011 / 24 min / Fiction

    Kin
    UK Premiere / L’Atelier Collectif / Belgium / 2010 / 11 min / Animation

    Las Palmas
    Scottish Premiere / Johannes Nyholm / Sweden / 2011 / 13 min / Fiction

    Long Distance Information
    Scottish Premiere / Douglas Hart / UK / 2011 / 8 min / Fiction

    The Making of Longbird
    Scottish Premiere / Will Anderson / UK / 2011 / 15 min / Animation

    Maria
    European Premiere / Erik Bostedt / UK / 2011 / 15 min / Fiction

    Now Follows (Nun Sehen Sie Folgendes)
    Scottish Premiere / Erik Schmitt & Stephan Müller / Germany / 2010 / 5 min / Fiction

    A Piece of Summer (Kawalek Lata)
    Scottish Premiere / Marta Minorowicz / Poland / 2010 / 25 min

    Pioneer
    Scottish Premiere / David Lowery / USA / 2011 / 16 min / Fiction

    Possessed
    UK Premiere / Fred Worden / USA / 2010 / 9 min / Experimental

    Power!
    UK Premiere / Christina Ebelt & Mischa Leinkauf / Germany / 2010 / 28 min / Fiction

    Proposal
    International Premiere / Chris King / USA / 2011 / 16 min / Fiction

    Repressed (Förträngd)
    Scottish Premiere / Jimmy Olsson / Sweden / 2010 / 15 min / Fiction

    River Rites
    UK Premiere / Ben Russell / USA/Suriname / 2011 / 11 min / Experimental

    Sergeant (Narednik)
    UK Premiere / Nikola Ljuca / Serbia / 2011 / 21 min / Fiction

    Shirin
    World Premiere / Stephen Fingleton / UK / 2011 / 13 min / Fiction

    Silent River (Apele Tac)
    Scottish Premiere / Anca Miruna Lazarescu / Germany/Romania / 2011 / 30 min / Fiction

    The Stranges Ones (Deux Inconnus)
    Scottish Premiere / Lauren Wolkenstein & Christopher Radcliff / France / 2011 / 15 min / Fiction

    Three Walls
    UK Premiere / Zaheed Mawani / Canada / 2011 / 26 min / Documentary

    Tidy Up
    European Premiere / Satsuki Okawa / Japan/USA / 2011 / 15 min / Fiction

    To Make a Prairie
    UK Premiere / James Nares / USA / 2010 / 13 min / Experimental

    Tumult
    Johnny Barrington / UK / 2011 / 13 min / Fiction

    We, the Masses
    UK Premiere / Eoghan Kidney / Ireland / 2011 / 13 min / Animation

    Where Are They Now?
    Joanna Coates / UK / 2011 / 14 min / Fiction

    White Turnips Make it Hard to Sleep (Les Navets Blancs Empêchent de Dormir)
    UK Premiere / Rachel Lang / France/Belgium / 2011 / 27 min / Fiction

    The Wind is Blowing On My Street (Dar Kouche Baad Miayad)
    Scottish Premiere / Saba Riazi / Iran / 2010 / 15 min / Fiction


    SCOTTISH COMPETITION

    Asexual Healing
    European Premiere / Martha Appelt / UK / 2010 / 15 min / Fiction

    Asylum
    Joern Utkilen / UK / 2010 / 17 min / Fiction

    Bird
    World Premiere / Alasdair Bayne / UK / 2011 / 13 min / Fiction

    A Cuillin Rising
    Catriona MacInnes / UK / 2011 / 20 min / Fiction

    Dogged
    Scottish Premiere / Jo Shaw / UK / 2011 / 9 min / Experimental

    Egg & Fag
    Rose Hendry / UK / 2011 / 2 min / Experimental

    Étude
    Ania Hazel Leszczynska / UK / 2011 / 4 min / Animation

    The Fisherman’s Daughter
    Tom Chick / UK / 2011 / 7 min / Fiction

    Five, Six, Seven, Eight!
    World Premiere / Felipe Bustos Sierra / UK / 2012 / 10 min / Fiction

    Fixing Luka
    Jessica Ashman / UK / 2011 / 11 min / Animation

    The Golden Bird
    Cat Bruce / UK / 2011 / 12 min / Animation

    Guilt
    UK Premiere / Hákon Pálsson / UK / 2011 / 14 min / Fiction

    James Dean
    Lucy Asten Elliott / UK / 2011 / 8 min / Fiction

    Jimmy
    Martin Smith / UK / 2011 / 12 min / Documentary

    Joking Apart
    World Premiere / Ronald Forbes / UK / 2011 / 5 min / Experimental

    Kirkcaldy Man
    UK Premiere / Julian Schwanitz / UK / 2011 / 18 min / Documentary

    The Lady with the Lamp
    World Premiere / Duncan Cowles / UK / 2011 / 4 min / Documentary

    Long Distance Information
    Scottish Premiere / Douglas Hart / UK / 2011 / 8 min / Fiction

    The Making of Longbird
    Scottish Premiere / Will Anderson / UK / 2011 / 15 min / Animation

    Night Shift
    Ruth Reid / UK / 2011 / 9 min / Documentary

    No More Shall We Part
    Scottish Premiere / Shaun Hughes / UK / 2011 / 25 min / Fiction

    The Perfect Fit
    Tali Yankelevich / UK / 2011 / 9 min / Documentary

    Philippa & Nancy
    World Premiere / Paul White, Ciara Barry, Claire McInnes & Nora Smyth / UK / 2011 / 8 min / Fiction

    The Phone Box
    Ian Robertson / UK / 2011 / 5 min / Fiction

    Pitch Black Heist
    Scottish Premiere / John Maclean / UK / 2011 / 13 min / Fiction

    Pouncer
    Scottish Premiere / Louis Paxton / UK / 2011 / 15 min / Fiction

    The Rule of Thumb
    Gregor Johnstone / UK / 2011 / 18 min / Fiction

    Saved
    Stuart Elliott / UK / 2011 / 11 min / Fiction

    Three-Legged Horses
    World Premiere / Felipe Bustos Sierra / UK / 2011 / 20 min / Fiction

    Tumult
    Johnny Barrington / UK / 2011 / 13 min / Fiction

    Wind Over Lake
    Jeorge Elkin / UK / 2010 / 34 min / Fiction

     

    Read more

  • Horror Film Cabin in the Woods to open 2012 SXSW

    [caption id="attachment_2202" align="alignnone"]The Cabin in the Woods[/caption]

    The world premiere of the horror film, The Cabin in the Woods, will open SXSW 2012. Described as ‘ Five friends go to a remote cabin in the woods. Bad things happen” … the film takes the horror genre, shakes it down, and smacks it upside the head.

    The Cabin in the Woods also marks Emmy®-nominated writer Drew Goddard’s (Cloverfield, Lost, Alias) first foray into directing, and stars Kristen Connolly, Fran Kranz, Anna Hutchison, Chris Hemsworth, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, and Bradley Whitford.

    SXSW also revealed 6 additional screening at the 2001 festival including Lena Dunham’s (Tiny Furniture) return with her HBO series GIRLS, which will premiere the initial three episodes publicly for the first time.

    Dunham, Executive Producer Judd Apatow and other key members of the GIRLS production team will also appear at the SXSW Film Conference to discuss GIRLS before it kicks off its ten-episode season in April, exclusively on HBO

    The additional titles at SXSW Film are:

    MARLEY (North American Premiere)
    Director: Kevin Macdonald

    The definitive life story of Bob Marley – musician, revolutionary, legend – from his early days to his rise to international superstardom. Made with the support of the Marley family, the film features rare footage, incredible performances and revelatory interviews with the people that knew him best. Directed by Academy Award Winner Kevin Macdonald.

    Beauty Is Embarrassing (World Premiere)
    Director: Neil Berkeley

    A funny, irreverent and insightful look into the life and times of one of America’s most important artists, Wayne White.

    Small Apartments (World Premiere)
    Director: Jonas Åkerlund

    When Franklin Franklin accidentally kills his landlord, he must hide the body; but, the wisdom of his beloved brother and the quirks of his neighbors, force him on a journey where a fortune awaits him.
    Cast: Matt Lucas, Billy Crystal, James Caan

    CITADEL (World Premiere)
    Director: Ciarán Foy

    An agoraphobic father teams up with a renegade priest to save his daughter from the clutches of a gang of twisted feral children.
    Cast: Aneurin Barnard, James Cosmo, Wumni Mosaku

    GIRLS (World Premiere)
    Director: Lena Dunham

    Created by and starring Lena Dunham (Tiny Furniture), the show is a comic look at the assorted humiliations and rare triumphs of a group of girls in their early 20s.
    Cast: Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke

    The Oyster Princess with live score by Bee vs. Moth (World Premiere)
    Director: Ernst Lubitsch

    The Oyster Princess is Ernst Lubitsch’s tart 1919 silent comedy that parodies the rich and the spoiled. Austin jazz/rock band Bee vs. Moth performs their original score live with the film for the first time.
    Cast: Ossi Oswalda, Victor Janson, Julius Falkenstein

    The SXSW runs March 9–17, 2012.

    {youtube}NsIilFNNmkY{/youtube}

    Read more

  • IFFR Bright Future announces full selection

    CORTA by Felipe Guerrero

    The Bright Future 2012 program section in which the International Film Festival Rotterdam presents debut or second feature films, will include thirteen world premières as well as fourteen international premières from all corners of the world. Four films were supported by the IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund and six films were presented as projects at CineMart. The number of films in Bright Future has been brought back from eighty-four in IFFR 2011 to sixty-eight during IFFR 2012. The festival is expecting nearly all directors in this section to attend the festival.

    Read more