Film Festivals

  • Palm Springs International Film Festival to Honor Director Stephen Daldry

    The 23rd annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present three time Academy Award nominee Stephen Daldry with the Director of the Year Award for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.

    Daldry is an award-winning director of both stage and screen.  His first feature film, Billy Elliot, won more than 40 awards worldwide and received three Oscar® nominations, including Best Director.  His second feature The Hours received nine Oscar® nominations including Best Picture and Director, 11 BAFTA nominations and won Best Picture (Drama) at the Golden Globes.  His other recent feature, The Reader, earned five Oscar® nominations, including Best Director and Best Picture.

    Past Director of the Year honorees include Ang Lee, Anthony Minghella, Alexander Payne, Sean Penn, Jason Reitman and David O. Russell.

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  • Palm Springs International Film Festival Unveils New Program highlighting Arab Cinema for 2012

    [caption id="attachment_2105" align="alignnone"]Asma’a[/caption]

    The 2012 Palm Springs International Film Festival announced a new program highlighting Arab Cinema as well as films selected to compete for the FIPRESCI Award, New Voices/New Visions Award and John Schlesinger Awards.  The Festival will screen 40 of the 63 official submissions to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Best Foreign Language Film. 

    ARABIAN NIGHTS: A Showcase of CINEMA FROM THE MIDDLE EAST
    This program will premiere 11 new films made in the Middle East.  The showcase reflects the dramatic upsurge of film production and the concurrent emergence of exciting new filmmaking talents across the region.  The films selected in the Arabian Nights program include:

    Asma’a (Egypt) – Devout, careworn widow Asma’a has a secret.  She is HIV-positive in a world where the disease is still stigmatized.  Ultimately, the host of a daring TV show inspires Asma’a to speak out and fight back – both against her illness and social ignorance.  Director: Amr Salama.  Cast: Hend Sabry, Maged El Kedwani, Hani Adel, Ahmad Kamal, Sayed Ragab, Botros Ghali.

    Cairo 678 (Egypt) – Tackling the issue of sexual harassment, which continues to plague Egyptian society, this social issues drama focuses on three women from different backgrounds.  Director: Mohamed Diab Bushra.  Cast: Nelli Kareem, Nahed El Seba’i, Maged El Kedwany, Bassem Samra.

    Habibi (Palestinian Territories/USA, Netherlands, United Arab Emirates) – The first fiction feature set in Gaza in over 15 years offers a story of forbidden love.  Can Qays, a poet from the refugee camp, build a future with Layla, the daughter of a traditional, religious family?  Director: Susan Youssef.  Cast: Kais Nashif, Maisa Abd Elhadi, Yussef Abu-Warda, Amer Khalil.

    How Big is Your Love (Algeria/Morocco) – A heartwarming examination of childhood and love in modern Algiers.  With his parents breaking up, 8-year-old Adel is sent to live with his grandparents.  Soon it’s like he’s lived there forever, he’s so intimately wrapped up in their lives.  Director: Fatma Zohra Zamoum.  Cast: Racim Zennadi, Adbelkader Tadjer, Louiza Habani, Loubna Boucheloukh, Zahir Bouzrar, Nadjia Debbahi-Laaraf.

    Love in the Medina (Morocco) – In this colorful melodrama, a young man from a conservative Moroccan family infuriates his father when he decides to become a butcher.  Soon he discovers that there is only one thing that he loves more than choice cuts…Women.  Director: Abdelhaï Laraki.  Cast: Omar Lotfi, Ouidad Elma, Driss Rokh, Amal Ayouch.

    [caption id="attachment_2106" align="alignnone"]Man Without a Cell Phone[/caption]

    Man Without a Cell Phone (Palestinian Territories/France, Belgium, Qatar) – An Arab-Israeli village’s new cell-phone tower quickly goes from minor annoyance to symbol of oppression.  In turn, charming slacker Jawdat abandons youthful aimlessness for activism.  Tempering its pointed politics with gentle humour, Sameh Zoabi’s dramedy is an old-fashioned crowd-pleaser.  Director: Sameh Zoabi.  Cast: Razi Shawahdeh, Basem Loulou, Louay Noufi, Ayman Nahas.

    On The Edge (Morocco/France, Germany) – In the demimonde of nocturnal Tangier, four street-smart young women struggle to escape their poverty turning tricks and pawning stolen valuables.  The film won Best Film, Best Director and Best Actress at the Taormina Film Festival.  Director: Leila Kilani.  Cast: Soufia Issami, Mouna Bahmad, Nouzha Akel, Sara Betioui.

    The Rif Lover (Morocco/France, Belgium) – A bold, visually ravishing tale of women struggling against the bonds of tradition as a beautiful but naïve 20-year-old falls into the clutches of a drug baron.  Director: Narjiss Nejjar.  Cast: Nadia Kounda, Mourade Zeguendi, Nadia Niazi, Omar Lofti, Siham Assif.

    Sea Shadow (United Arab Emirates) – Set in a small seaside town in the Emirates, this gentle coming-of-age story follows two teenagers on the road to adulthood.  Bound by tradition and deeply rooted values, Mansoor and his pretty cousin Kaltham must find the courage to forge their own paths.  Director: Nawaf Al-Janahi.  Cast: Omar Al Mulla, Neven Madi, Abrar Al Hamad, Khadeeja Al Taie, Aisha Abdulrahman, Ahmad Iraj.

    The Three Disappearances of Soad Hosni (Lebanon) – Beautifully conceived and expertly edited, this playful documentary uses a wealth of clips from Egyptian star Hosni’s films to explore the iconic actress’s screen image and shed light on the Arab world’s most popular cinema.  Director: Rania Stephan.

    Transit Cities (Jordan) – A 36-year-old divorcee returns to Amman after 14 years in the U.S., but finds her hometown, family and friends much changed. This affecting drama strikes enough universal notes pertaining to cultural estrangement to resonate with expats of any stripe.  Director: Mohammad Hushki.  Cast: Saba Mubarak, Mohammad Al-Qabbani, Shafika Al Til, Ashraf Farah, Manal Seihmeimat.

     


    AWARDS BUZZ
    The Awards Buzz section features 40 of the 63 official submissions to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Best Foreign Language Film, selected by Festival programmers as the strongest entries in this year’s race.  A special jury of international film critics will review these films to award the FIPRESCI Award for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year, Best Actor and Best Actress.  The 2012 FIPRESCI jury members are 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).  The following films selected, in alphabetical order by country, are:

    Breathing (Austria), Director: Karl Markovics

    Bullhead (Belgium/Netherlands), Director: Michaël R. Roskam

    Elite Squad: The Enemy Within (Brazil), Director: Jose  Padilha

    Tilt (Bulgaria/Germany), Director: Viktor Chouchkov

    Monsieur Lazhar (Canada), Director: Philippe Falardeau

    The Flowers of War (China), Director: Yimou Zhang

    Alois Nebel (Czech Republic/Germany), Director: Tomáš Lunák

    Superclásico (Denmark), Director: Ole Christian Madsen

    Le Havre (Finland/France, Germany), Director: Aki Kaurismäki

    Declaration of War (France), Director: Valérie Donzelli

    Pina (Germany), Director: Wim Wenders

    Attenberg (Greece), Director: Athina Rachel Tsangari

    A Simple Life (Hong Kong/China), Director: Ann Hui

    The Turin Horse (Hungary/France, Germany, Switzerland), Director: Bela Tarr

    Volcano (Iceland/Denmark), Director: Rúnar Rúnarsson

    Abu, Son of Adam (India), Director: Salim Ahamed

    A Separation (Iran), Director: Asghar Farhadi

    Footnote (Israel), Director: Joseph Cedar

    Terraferma (Italy), Director: Emanuele Crialese

    Postcard (Japan), Director: Kaneto Shindo

    The Front Line (Korea), Director: Jang Hun

    Back to Your Arms (Lithuania/Germany, Poland), Director: Kristijonas Vildziunas

    Miss Bala (Mexico), Director: Gerardo Naranjo

    Omar Killed Me (Morocco/France), Director: Roschdy Zem

    Sonny Boy (Netherlands), Director: Maria Peters

    The Orator (New Zealand/Samoa), Director: Tusi Tamasese

    Happy, Happy (Norway), Director: Anne Sewitsky

    In Darkness (Poland/Canada/Germany), Director: Agnieszka Holland

    Jose and Pilar (Portugal/Spain, Brazil), Director: Miguel  Goncalves Mendes

    Morgen (Romania/France, Hungary), Director: Marian Crisan

    Montevideo – Taste of a Dream (Serbia), Director: Dragan Bjelogrlic

    Tatsumi (Singapore/Indonesia), Director: Eric Khoo

    Gypsy (Slovakia), Director: Martin Sulík

    Black Bread (Spain), Director: Agustí  Villaronga

    Beyond (Sweden/Finland), Director: Pernilla August

    Summer Games (Switzerland/Italy), Director: Rolando Colla

    Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale (Taiwan), Director: Te-Sheng Wei

    Once Upon a time in Anatolia (Turkey/Bosnis-Herzegovina), Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan

    Patagonia (United Kingdom/Argentina, Wales), Director: Marc Evans

    Rumble of the Stones (Venezuela), Director: Alejandro Bellame Palacios


    NEW VOICES/NEW VISIONS
    The New Voices/New Visions Award will honor one of ten films from top emerging international directors marking their feature film debut at the Festival, with the additional criteria that the films selected are currently without U.S. distribution.  The jury for this program includes: 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 $60,000 Panavision camera rental package.  Films selected for this year include:


    Almanya, Welcome to Germany (Germany) – Neatly structured into two interwoven time frames, this charming, colorfully styled comedy centers on multiple generations of a German-Turkish clan, and derives its touching, laugh-out-loud humor from cultural misunderstandings and the question of what constitutes national identity.  The film won Best Film at the German Film Awards.  Director: Yasemin Samdereli.  Cast: Vedat Erincin, Fahri Yardim, Lilay Huser, Demet Gul, Aylin Tezel, Denis Moschitto.

    Generation P (Russia/USA) – A poet manqué rises to the top of the corporate heap in 1990s Russia in this delirious satire of post-Soviet culture, a drug-fueled rollercoaster ride through the era of Wild West capitalism, gangsters, oligarchs, and political puppets.  Director: Victor Ginzburg.  Cast: Vladimir Yepifantsev, Mikhail Yefremov, Vladimir Menshov, Andrei Fomin, Sergei Shnurov, Oleg Taktarov.

    Habibi (Palestinian Territories/USA, Netherlands, United Arab Emirates) – The first fiction feature set in Gaza in over 15 years offers a story of forbidden love. Can Qays, a poet from the refugee camp, build a future with Layla, the daughter of a traditional, religious family?  Director: Susan Youssef.  Cast: Kais Nashif, Maisa Abd Elhadi, Yussef Abu-Warda, Amer Khalil.

    The House (Slovak Republic/Czech Republic) – 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.  Director: Zuzana Liová.  Cast: Judit Bárdos, Miroslav Krobot, Tatjana Medvecká, Marian Mitas.

    The Invader (Belgium) – The story of an illegal African immigrant whose journey begins in Brussels as he searches, like many other immigrants, for a better place in the world. hrough his confrontation with a harsh society, he slowly but irreversibly starts to incarnate our worst fears and becomes the monster we have created.  Director: Nicolas Provost.  Cast: Issaka Sawadogo, Stefania Rocca, Serge Riaboukine, Dieudonne Kabongo.

    Las Acacias (Argentina/Spain) – A gruff truck driver is none too pleased when the woman riding with him from Paraguay to Argentina shows up with a baby.  In the course of their journey his tough demeanor thaws, and they form a touching, hesitant connection.  Director: Pablo Giorgelli.  Cast: Germán de Silva, Hebe Duarte, Nayra Calle Mamani.

    Last Winter (Belgium/France) – Johann, the head of a farming co-op in central France, runs the cattle farm he has inherited from his father with great care. But economic realities increasingly pressure him to sell.  John Shank’s feature debut is effused with a quiet longing for simpler times.  Director: John Shank.  Cast: Vincent Rottiers, Anaïs Demoustier, Florence Loiret Caille, Aurore Clément, Michel Subor.

    Off White Lies (Israel) – A poignant comedy about a teenager who returns to Israel to get to know her eccentric father, who is currently “between apartments.”  As war in Lebanon begins, the father proposes a creative plan to put a roof over their heads.  Director: Maya Kenig.  Cast: Gur Bentwich, Elya Inbar, Tzah Grad, Arad Yeni, Salt Achi-Miriam.

    Old Goats (USA) – Shot in and around Seattle, writer/director Taylor Guterson’s film is an often hilarious and always heartfelt story of three older men (actors Bob Burkholder, David VanderWal, and Britt Crosley, playing themselves) who refuse to go quietly into the night of retirement and old age.  Director: Taylor Guterson.  Cast: Britton Crosley, Bob Burkholder, David VanderWal, Benita Staadecker, Gail Shackel, Steve Stolee.

    Wreckers (United Kingdom) – Urbanites David and Dawn (rising stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy) move to the pastoral village of David’s youth, only to have the arrival of David’s soldier/brother Nick—and his revelations about family secrets—threaten their idyll.  Director: D.R. Hood.  Cast: Claire Foy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Shaun Evans, Peter McDonald, Sinead Matthews.


    JOHN SCHLESINGER AWARD
    The John Schlesinger Award for outstanding first documentary feature acknowledges the work of a first-time filmmaker whose documentary is presented in any section of the Festival.  The films will be 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).  Ten films are eligible for this award, and this year they include:


    Arranged Happiness (Germany/India) – A loving, first-hand portrayal of a Muslim Kashmiri family’s search for a groom for 27-year-old Waheeda, this humane, mesmerizing documentary provides an intimate and compelling counterweight to widely held perceptions of Islam’s practices in the West.  Director:  Daniela Dar-Creutz.

    Bert Stern, Original Madman (USA) – Bert Stern, the original “madman” photographer, sheds light on a fascinating, topsy-turvy life and career that took him from the mailroom to the heights of success as one of the most celebrated photographers of the 1950s and beyond.  Director: Shannah Laumeister.  With: Bert Stern, Marilyn Monroe, Stanley Kubrick, Elizabeth Taylor.

    Diana Vreeland: The Eye has to Travel (USA) – Both the inventor and embodiment of the term “pizzazz,” Diana Vreeland ruled over the editorial content of Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue for decades.  This tribute to one of our greatest style icons blends archival material and interviews with fashion luminaries with a chic, assured hand.  Director: Lisa Immordino Vreeland.  Co-Directors: Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt, Frederic Theng.  With: Ali McGraw, Anjelica Huston, Manolo Blahnik, David Bailey, Penelope Tree, Veruschka, Lauren Hutton, Diana von Furstenberg.

    Die Standing Up (Mexico) – The inspiring story of Irina, a tireless fighter in the war for personal freedoms, a transsexual who works for progressive causes from her wheelchair despite a severe disability, and her powerful love story with her partner Nelida, whom she married as a man.  Director: Jacaranda Correa.

    First Position: A Ballet Documentary (USA) – Filled with drama, tension and suspense, this enormously satisfying documentary follows six gifted ballet students from disparate social, regional, economic and ethnic backgrounds as they prepare for the Youth America Grand Prix, a prestigious competition where the world’s top dance companies and schools prospect for new talent.  Director: Bess Kargman.

    The Three Disappearances of Soad Hosni (Lebanon) – Beautifully conceived and expertly edited, this playful documentary uses a wealth of clips from Egyptian star Hosni’s films to explore the iconic actress’s screen image and shed light on the Arab world’s most popular cinema.  Director: Rania Stephan.

    The Tiniest Place (Mexico/El Salvador) – 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.  Director: Tatiana Huezo Sanchez.

    Unfinished Spaces (USA/Cuba) – Masterfully interweaving art, politics and history, this spellbinding doc recounts the secret history of a little-known architectural marvel, commissioned as a showpiece art school by Fidel Castro, but then deemed “decadent” when he was forced to throw in his lot with the Soviet Union.  Directors: Alysa Nahmias, Benjamin Murray. 

    Wish Me Away (USA) – Coming out is never easy, but when you’re a country music star it could also be career suicide.  This inspiring, award-winning doc introduces us to courageous singer-songwriter Chely Wright, a devout Christian who also happens to be a lesbian.  Directors: Bobbie Birleffi and Beverly Kopf.

    You’ve Been Trumped (United Kingdom) – Anthony Baxter’s biting and entertaining documentary trails “The Donald” as he seeks to build a massive golf resort on unspoiled Scottish coastline and comes up against a spirited group of local landowners who will not go down without a fight.  Director: Anthony Baxter.  With: Donald Trump.


    Additional awards include the Mercedes-Benz Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature and Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature.  The Bridging the Borders Award, presented by Cinema Without Borders and Hewlett Packard, honors the film that is most successful in exemplifying art that promotes bringing the people of our world closer together.  The prize includes an HP 8560w Elitebook Mobile Workstation with a built-in HP DreamColor display, valued at $4000.

     

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  • TIFF to Screen Feature and Short Films on the 2011 Top Ten list

    [caption id="attachment_2103" align="alignnone" width="550"]Take This Waltz stars Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Luke Kirby and Sarah Silverman[/caption]

    TIFF kicks off the eleventh annual Canada’s Top Ten on January 5, 2012 at TIFF Bell Lightbox. The event offers public screenings of feature and short films on the Top Ten list, introductions and Q&A sessions with filmmakers – including Guy Maddin, Philippe Falardeau, Jean-Marc Vallée and Nathan Morlando – and a panel featuring Canada’s Top Ten filmmakers discussing the gangster/crime genre in Canadian film. Canada’s Top Ten will run to January 15. Select films will tour theatres across the country in early 2012, including Vancouver’s Pacific Cinematheque, Edmonton’s Metro Cinema and Ottawa’s ByTowne Cinema. Established in 2001, Canada’s Top Ten celebrates excellence in Canadian cinema and raises public awareness of Canadian achievements in film.

    Canada’s Top Ten screening schedule (guests in attendance noted below)

    Thursday, January 5

    8 PM
    Monsieur Lazhar (dir. Philippe Falardeau)

    Friday, January 6

    4 PM
    Monsieur Lazhar (dir. Philippe Falardeau)

    7 PM
    Keyhole  (dir. Guy Maddin and producer Jody Shapiro)

    9:30 PM
    Edwin Boyd (dir. Nathan Morlando and producer Allison Black)

    Saturday, January 7

    4 PM
    Keyhole (dir. Guy Maddin)

    7 PM
    Panel Discussion – A Canadian Gangster (Guy Maddin, Keyhole; Nathan Morlando, Edwin Boyd; and Jason Eisener, Hobo With a Shotgun)

    9 PM
    Hobo With a Shotgun  (dir. Jason Eisener)

    Sunday, January 8
    7 PM
    Canada’s Top Ten Shorts  Programme A:
    Ora (dir. Philippe Baylaucq)
    Hope (actor Lucas Silveira)

    We Ate the Children Last  (dir. Andrew Cividino)
    Choke (dir. Michelle Latimer)
    Doubles With Slight Pepper 

    8:30 PM
    Canada’s Top Ten Shorts  Programme B:
    No Words Came Down (dir. Ryan Flowers and actor Andrew Gillingham)
    Rhonda’s Party (dir. Ashley McKenzie)
    The Fuse: Or How I Burned Simon Bolivar  (dir. Igor Drljaca)
    La Ronde (dir. Sophie Goyette and producer Elaine Hébert)
    Trotteur (dir. Arnaud Brisebois)

    Tuesday, January 10

    4 PM
    Hobo With a Shotgun  (dir. Jason Eisener)

    7 PM
    Starbuck

    Wednesday, January 11

    3 PM
    Starbuck

    7 PM
    Marécages

    Thursday, January 12

    3 PM
    Marécages

    7:00 PM
    A Dangerous Method  (actor Sarah Gadon)

    Friday, January 13

    3 PM
    Starbuck

    9 PM
    Café de flore (dir. Jean-Marc Vallée)

    Saturday, January 14

    6 PM
    Le Vendeur  (dir. Sébastien Pilote)

    9 PM
    Take This Waltz (actor Luke Kirby)

    Sunday, January 15

    12 PM
    Le Vendeur  (dir. Sébastien Pilote

    3 PM
    Take This Waltz

    5:30 PM
    Café de flore

    Canada’s Top Ten films are chosen from features, shorts, documentaries, animation and experimental films. Each film must have premiered at a major film festival or obtained a commercial theatrical release in Canada in 2011. The filmmaker must be a Canadian citizen or resident, and have a history of working in Canada or on Canadian-financed films.

    Canada’s Top Ten features (in alphabetical order)

    Café de Flore — Jean-Marc Vallée (Alliance Films)
    A Dangerous Method — David Cronenberg (Entertainment One)
    Edwin Boyd — Nathan Morlando (Entertainment One)
    Hobo With a Shotgun — Jason Eisener (Alliance Films)
    Keyhole — Guy Maddin (Entertainment One)
    Marécages — Guy Édoin (Mongrel Media)
    Monsieur Lazhar — Philippe Falardeau (Entertainment One)
    Starbuck — Ken Scott (Entertainment One)
    Take This Waltz — Sarah Polley (Mongrel Media)
    Le Vendeur — Sébastien Pilote (Entertainment One)

    Canada’s Top Ten short films (in alphabetical order):

    Choke — Michelle Latimer
    Doubles With Slight Pepper — Ian Harnarine
    The Fuse: Or How I Burned Simon Bolivar — Igor Drljaca
    Hope — Pedro Pires (Phi Group)
    No Words Came Down — Ryan Flowers &Lisa Pham
    Ora — Philippe Baylaucq (National Film Board of Canada)
    Rhonda’s Party — Ashley McKenzie
    La Ronde — Sophie Goyette (Locomotion Films)
    Trotteur — Arnaud Brisebois &Francis Leclerc (Phi Group and Cirrus Communications)
    We Ate the Children Last — Andrew Cividino

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  • 2012 Slamdance Film Festival Announces lineup for the Special Screenings and Short Programs

    The 2012 Slamdance Film Festival taking place January 20 – 26, 2011 in Park City, Utah, announced the lineup for the Special Screenings and Short Programs for the 18th edition.

    The Special Screenings Programs present a variety of acclaimed and visionary films by a diverse group of global filmmakers – from Hollywood iconoclasts to highly anticipated emerging directors.

    The 2012 Shorts Program features 75 shorts, and include Special Screenings, Live Action Competition, Documentary Competition, Animation, $99 Special, Anarchy Shorts, and the world premiere of a special program of new Iranian shorts never seen outside the country, Made In Iran: 7 Short Premieres.

    This year’s Slamdance short film competition slate features 32 live action shorts and 13 documentary shorts programmed both in blocks and in front of features, and 10 animated films programmed in a signature animation block.

    A jury will present awards to short films in competition in the following categories: Narrative, Animation, and Documentary. Competition shorts are also eligible for the Spirit of Slamdance Award.

    Out of competition shorts and programs include: $99 Special Short Harold’s Bad Day, a winner of the 2011 Slamdance Short Screenplay Competition, directed by Slamdance alum Jordan Brady. The $99 Special Program presentation is the culmination of an annual tradition in which filmmakers are challenged to make a short film in 99 days with a budget of $99 dollars.

    Made In Iran: 7 Short Premieres, an out of competition shorts program, is a world premiere collection of recent Iranian shorts never seen outside the country, curated by Iranian-American filmmaker Ehsan Ghoreishi, featuring the work of emerging talents from across Iran.

    Anarchy Shorts is a curated, non-competitive spotlight on unique and provocative filmmakers who have made visionary, experimental, cult, and underground films.

    See the full lineup 

    SPECIAL SCREENINGS – NARRATIVE:

    Holiday Road – Directors/Screenwriters: Todd Berger, Bill Palmer, Bobby Miller, Daron Nefcy, Benny Grinnell, Ian Eastin, Marcy McIlwain, Aaron Arendt, Michael Suter, Dee Robertson, Doug Manley, Helena Wei, Andrew Putschoegl. (USA) World Premiere
    A feature length comedic anthology celebrating the hilarious, poignant, and absurd aspects of America’s twelve most recognized holidays.
    Cast: Wendi McLendon-Covey, Jerry Trainor, Thomas Lenk, Blaise Miller, James Carpinello, Jeff Grace, Kent Osborne, Christing Ulloa

    Old Dog – Director/Screenwriter: Pema Tseden. (China) US Premiere
    On the high Tibetan plains, an old shepherd will do anything to prevent his Tibetan Mastiff from being sold to an urban Chinese dealer.
    Cast: Yanbum Gyal, Drolma Kyab, Lochey, Tamdrin Tso

    Unconditional – Director: Bryn Higgins, Screenwriter: Jo Fisher. (UK) World Premiere
    The psycho-love story of two teenage twins who fall under the spell of a charismatic man offering love on one condition: the boy becomes his own sister.
    Cast: Christian Cooke, Melanie Hill, Harry McEntire, Madleine Clark

    SPECIAL SCREENINGS – DOCUMENTARY:

    Neil Young Journeys – Director: Jonathan Demme. (USA) US Premiere
    A personal, retrospective look into the heart and soul of iconoclast Neil Young – as told through intimate performances from Young’s 2011 summer solo shows in Toronto’s iconic Massey Hall, and insightful, wistful stories from his life while driving from his idyllic Canadian hometown.

    No Room for Rockstars – Director: Parris Patton. (USA) World Premiere
    Through the experiences of four musicians on The Vans Warped Tour, No Room For Rockstars takes you on an emotional journey of hope and determination, and documents the extreme highs and lows that occur in the pursuit of success in today’s era of rock and roll.

    Terra Blight – Director: Isaac Brown. (USA) World Premiere
    A global examination of the unseen life cycle of computer consumption, from manufacturing to disposal, that has created one of the largest, most common toxic wastes on our planet.

    Wild in the Streets – Director: Peter Baxter, Screenwriters: Peter Baxter, Jay Nelson.
    (UK/USA) World Premiere
    Every year, thousands of locals from rival sides of a rugged English town brutally compete in an ancient sports game that is the lifeblood of the community – and the origin of soccer, rugby, and football.
    Narrator: Sean Bean

    With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story – Directors: Will Hess, Nikki Frakes, Terry Dougas,
    Screenwriters: Will Hess, Nikki Frakes. (USA)
    The story of maverick pop culture icon Stan Lee – one man’s journey of perseverance, and how by sticking to what he loved, he became an internationally influential and successful artist.
    Cast: Stan Lee, Nicolas Cage, Michael Chiklis, Roger Corman, Kirsten Dunst, Danny Elfman,
    James Franco, Samuel Jackson, Tobey Maguire, Eva Mendes, Frank Miller, Seth Rogen, Bryan
    Singer, Kevin Smith, Ringo Starr

    SPECIAL SCREENINGS – SHORTS:

    Ed Wood’s Lost Film Final Curtain – Director/Screenwriter: Edward D. Wood, Jr. (USA) World Premiere
    In a never before seen Ed Wood television pilot, a weary actor prowling a darkened theater at night searches anxiously for meaning which leads him to a surprising end.
    Cast: James “Duke” Moore, Dudley Manlove, Jenny Stevens

    Franchi is Back – Director/Screenwriter: Alexandre Franchi. (Canada) World Premiere
    A Filmmaker talks about his bout with cancer in a self-promo film in order to avoid repeating his damn story 1000 times to people because it’s a pain in the ass.
    Cast: Alexandre Franchi

    SPECIAL SCREENING – $99 SPECIAL:
    Filmmakers are challenged to make a short film in 99 days with $99

    Harold’s Bad Day – Director: Jordan Brady, Screenwriter: R.J. Buckley. (USA) World Premiere
    A wry, dark comedy about a well-intentioned teacher with a gambling debt.
    Cast: Doug Benson, Nicholas Sadler, Zack Pearlman, Curtiss Frisle

    SPECIAL SCREENING – MADE IN IRAN: 7 SHORT PREMIERES:

    Dances With The Armchair – Director/Writer: Dariush Nehdaran. (Iran) US Premiere
    As an armchair burns down to the ground, all the faces and memories embedded inside it dance away from its body through the flames.

    Far From Him, Towards Him – Director/Screenwriter: Javad Rezaei Monfared. (Iran) World Premiere
    An atheist with a terminal disease goes on a journey to find and reconnect with his father whom he believes is a servant in a holy shrine.

    Room No. 8 – Director/Screenwriter: Zohreh Keshavarz Motlagh Shirazi. (Iran) World Premiere
    A story about a group of people trapped in various social and psychological confines who yearn to break free.

    Pondering – Director/Screenwriter: Mohammad Hossein Keshavarz Motlagh Shirazi (Iran) World Premiere
    On a crisp night, under the blue moonlight, a man explores his inner child as he strangely interacts with the streetlights hovering above him.

    A Pore As Big As a Knuckle – Director/Screenwriter: Ali Ahmadi. (Iran) World Premiere
    A story about a family that has to face the consequences of a painfully unusual rape incident committed by one of their own.

    The Tree – Director/Screenwriter: Hamed Siami. (Iran) World Premiere
    A studio photographer loses the ability to associate people with their pictures.

    When The Kid Was a Kid – Director/Screenwriter: Anahita Ghazvinizadeh. (Iran) World Premiere
    A ten-year-old girl strives to understand her divorced mother’s world, while preparing for a play in which children imitate their parents.

    SPECIAL SCREENING – ANARCHY SHORTS PROGRAM:

    At The Formal – Director/Screenwriter: Andrew Kavanagh. (Australia). US Premiere
    Modern and ancient rituals collide in this macabre depiction of a high school formal.

    The Dude – Director: Jeff Feuerzeig. (USA) Documentary
    As the inspiration for the beloved central character in the Coen Brothers’ cult-favorite film The Big Lebowski, Jeff Dowd has become a popular figure at Lebowski Fests around the country.

    The Fritzl Effect – Director/Screenwriter: Stefanos Sitaras. (Greece)
    A musician keeps a young woman in his basement for inspiration. As she tries to escape, she only falls deeper into his trap.

    I Saw Your Sister Yesterday – Director: Mina Park. (USA)
    Experimental animation about a woman’s inner pain due to societal restrictions.

    The Magic Man – Director/Screenwriter: DC Kasundra. (USA)
    Hoping to secure fame and fortune, a struggling vaudeville magician turns to the dark arts, but the power unleashed could cost him the one thing he truly loves.

    Mahahula The Giant Rodent of Happiness – Director/Screenwriter: Nomint Motion Design.
    (Greece)
    An animated short film about happiness.

    The Severe Psychosis of a Musicless Man – Director: Ian McClerin, Screenwriter: Matt Gomez. (USA) World Premiere.
    A cartoonish journey into the mundane life of Preston: a middle-aged family man who begins hearing music in his head, fusing with his eccentric family, that plummets him into insanity.

    Stihl – Directors/Screenwriters: James Benning, James Raymond (USA) World Premiere
    Experimental filmmaker James Benning and video artist James Raymond collaborate to create a world founded on modern day fears: darker images of chainsaws, teddy bears, porno and masked men that question whether we are the monsters we envision and perhaps want to be.

    Stokje – Director/Screenwriter: Léonie de Boer. (Netherlands)
    A tale of two boys at the playground, and their descent from child’s play to immorality.

    We’ll Become Oil – Director/Screenwriter: Mihai Grecu. (Romania/Hungary) World Premiere
    The story of oil taking over history.

    LIVE ACTION COMPETITION SHORTS:

    33 Teeth – Director/Screenwriter: Evan Roberts. (USA)
    A 14 year-old boy has a heightened fascination with the comb of his attractive neighbor, Chad.

    The Agony and Sweat of the Human Spirit – Directors/Screenwriters: D. Jesse Damazo, Joe Bookman (USA)
    Two cowboys on a hunt. What are they hunting? Triumph.

    Angelito – Director: Paula Lima, Screenwriter: Vitor Coral. (USA/Brazil)
    Luisa the nanny tries to find peace taking care of a defiant young boy.

    Another Bullet Dodged – Director: Landon Zakheim, Screenwriters: Landon Zakheim, Todd Luoto. (USA)
    A wolf in sheep’s clothing who thinks he is a sheep.

    The Centrifuge Brain Project – Director/Screenwriter: Till Nowak. (Germany)
    Portrait of a group of American scientists who in the 1970s conducted bizarre experiments involving amusement park rides.

    Codes of Honor – Director/Screenwriter: Jon Rafman. (Canada)
    A pro arcade gamer relives his triumphs, defeats and fading legacy.

    Cold Blood – Director/Screenwriters: Martin Thibaudeau. (Canada)
    An exhausted mother brings her terrified son to the hospital.

    Crown – Director/Screenwriter: AG Rojas. (USA) World Premiere
    A middle-aged junkie experiences a surreal high.

    DeafBlind – Director/Screenwriter: Ewan Bailey. (UK) World Premiere
    A deaf and blind woman and a young man share a spiritual and disturbing connection.

    Eat – Director/Screenwriter: Janicza Bravo. (USA)
    After locking herself out of her apartment, a young woman finds herself in the company of a reluctant neighbor.

    Eileen Pratt – Director/Screenwriter: Michael Kratochvil. (Austrailia) World Premiere
    A socially awkward bus driver seeks to return to the only place she feels she belongs.

    February – Director/Screenwriter: Nick Singer. (USA) World Premiere
    A young plumber has a series of abbreviated encounters.

    The Good Person – Director: Yukihiro Katô. (Japan) US Premiere
    A housewife with a missing husband has a bizarre encounter with mysterious visitors.

    Hope. You Like Crap. – Director/Screenwriter: Shaun Parker. (USA) World Premiere
    Me, looking back and painfully deconstructing my stupid, insipid student film 20 years later.

    I Am John Wayne – Director/Screenwriter: Christina Choe. (USA) World Premiere
    A young black cowboy struggles with the death of his best friend.

    I’m Coming Over – Director/Screenwriter: Sam Handel. (USA)
    In an eccentric mountain town, a borderline neo-luddite struggles to maintain and share a fragile state of enlightenment.
    Cast: Lauren Ambrose

    The Kook – Directors/Screenwriters: Nat Livingston Johnson, Gregory Mitnick. (USA)
    A gentle and unassuming member of an eccentric religious sect in the Catskill Mountains experiences a crisis in faith.

    Lin – Director/Screenwriter: Piers Thompson. (UK/Bulgaria/Turkey)
    A woman appears to be running away from her past.

    Little Horses – Director/Screenwriter: Levi Abrino. (USA)
    A divorced small town postal worker tries to use a pony to win his family back.

    Memory by Design – Director/Screenwriter: Nathan Punwar. (USA)
    The objects that three young women use to mark their past take on memories of their own.

    New Skin – Director/Screenwriter: Vladimir de Fontenay. (USA)
    Helen spends New Year’s Eve working at a gas station, where she meets an intriguing young man just before midnight.

    Park – Director/Screenwriter: Liz Cambron. (USA)
    An unnamed girl living in a trailer park, drifting through life, beginning sexual explorations, and stealing her dad’s Vicodin.

    People Parade – Director: John Wilson, Screenwriters: John Wilson, Chris Maggio. (USA) World Premiere
    After the star of a long-running variety show passes away, his son is obligated to reunite a weathered cast of television performers and host the final episode.

    Reinaldo Arenas – Director/Screenwriter: Lucas Leyva. (USA)
    Told from the point of view of a dying shark, the film captures the last moments in the life of an unintentional immigrant in downtown Miami.

    Rose and Sophia – Director/Screenwriter: Natalie Neal. (USA) World Premiere
    A childhood interest in spying is rekindled among two teenage girls stuck between adolescence and adulthood.

    A Scene at the Sea – Director/Screenwriter: Jaehee Lee. (South Korea)
    A father and son, roles now reversed as one becomes the caretaker of the other, execute a delicate dance at the edge of the sea.

    A Short Film About Ice Fishing – Director/Screenwriter: Jason Shahinfar. (USA)
    In rural South Dakota, two friends go out for an explosive day of ice fishing.

    Silent River – Director/Screenwriter: Anca Miruna Lazarescu. (Germany) US Premiere
    Gregor and Vali want to get away from Romania and the Ceausescu regime in 1986.

    Solipsist – Director/Screenwriter: Andrew Huang. (USA) World Premiere
    A three part psychedelic fantasy film about otherworldly beings whose minds and bodies converge into one entity.

    Soy Tan Feliz – Director/Screenwriter: Vladimir Duran. (Argentina/Colombia) US Premiere
    Fragments of a Saturday winter day with the Vittenzein brothers, who find themselves in a strange intimacy on a stop during a drive to their mother’s house.

    TMI – Director: Jeff Tomsic, Screenwriters: Jordan Klepper, Laura Grey. (USA) World Premiere
    Obnoxiousness begins at conception.

    When Rabbits Fly – Director: Helgi Jóhannsson, Screenwriters: Helgi Jóhannsson, Halldor Ragnar Halldorsson. (Iceland) North American Premiere
    A family of three living with a rabbit in a cardboard box seeks six strangers to get their old life back.

    ANIMATED COMPETITION SHORTS:

    Birdboy – Directors/Screenwriters: Alberto Vázquez, Pedro Rivero. (Spain)
    A terrible industrial accident changes little Dinky’s life forever.

    Follow the Sun! – Director/Screenwriter: MK12. (USA)
    An homage and/or affront to a Great American Tradition: the drive-in intermission snack reel.

    Hietsuki Bushi – Director/Screenwriter: Ryo Hirano. (Japan)
    A seamless mixture of traditional Japanese song, blip music, universe, and agriculture.

    Hollow – Director/Screenwriter: Oliver Anderson. (USA)
    Two young brothers stumble across a disturbing secret in the fleeting light of a Midwestern summer.

    The House – Director/Screenwriter: David Buob. (Germany)
    A family story in a revolving house.

    The Observer – Director/Screenwriter: Abbey Luck. (USA) World Premiere
    A disenchanted citizen learns how to free his village from a tyrant king by observing patterns in nature.

    Peekaboo – Director/Screenwriter: Cecilia Fletcher. (USA)
    A woman must decide between reporting a crime and going on vacation.

    Soil – Director/Screenwriter: Meejin Hong. (USA)
    As imagery transforms between figures and abstraction, the life cycle of an organism and dualities within human nature are explored.

    Thumb Snatchers from the Moon Cocoon – Director/Screenwriter: Bradley Schaffer. (USA)
    A short tempered Texas sheriff uses his cowboy logic to recklessly defeat a race of condescending, cocoon dwelling critters.

    Venus – Director: Tor Fruergaard, Screenwriter: Sissel D. Thomsen. (Denmark)
    An erotic comedy in claymation.

    DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION SHORTS:

    Ben Franklin Blowing Bubbles at a Sword: The Journeys of a Mental Athlete – Director: Jonathan Napolitano. (USA) World Premiere
    Three mental athletes stretch the limits of their minds as they train for and compete in the 2011 USA Memory Championship.

    The Devotion Project: More Than Ever – Director: Antony Osso. (USA)
    The inspiring true story of two men who forged a 54-year love story despite the odds.

    I’m Never Afraid! – Director: Willem Baptist. (The Netherlands)
    Eight-year-old Mack ‘the motor midget’ should be dead but nothing is stopping him.

    Kiss the Paper – Director: Fiona Otway. (USA)
    A poetic documentary contemplating the revival of the nearly obsolete, centuries-old craft of letterpress printing.

    Kudzu Vine – Director: Josh Gibson. (USA)
    This ode to the climbing, trailing, and coiling species Pueraria lobata evokes the agricultural history and mythic textures of the American South.

    The Lookout – Director: Brian Bolster. (USA) World Premiere
    Watching over some of the most fire-prone landscape in North America, a Fire Lookout reflects upon his work.

    Murder Mouth – Director: Madeleine Parry. (Australia)
    Could you kill what you had for dinner? Maddie, a 21 year-old meat eater, decides to take the question into her own hands.

    No Relation – Director: Kieran Dick. (Canada)
    What is real and how do you capture it?

    No Wine Left Behind – Director: Kevin Gordon. (USA)
    An Iraq War hero leads a ragtag group of veterans as they try to conquer the wine industry.

    On Tender Hooks – Director: Kate Shenton. (UK)
    Freak show magician Damien Lloyd-Davies pierces his flesh with meat hooks and performs a “suicide suspension.”

    The Professional- Director: Skylar Nielsen. (USA)
    Metal-fabricator Neil Youngberg never planned on taking over his grandfather’s business and is now faced with passing on his legacy.

    We Win or We Die – Director: Matthew Millan. (Libya, USA) World Premiere
    The inspiring story of one man’s heroic sacrifice that liberated a city from the yoke of oppression.

    You Can’t Win – Director: Jorge Torres-Torres (Puerto Rico/USA) World Premiere
    A typical night at the cockfights in the island of Puerto Rico.

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  • International Film Festival Rotterdam opens with 38 Témoins and closes with The Hunter

    The world premiere of Lucas Belvaux’s 38 Témoins (38 Witnesses, France), starring Yvan Attal, Sophie Quinton and Nicole Garcia will open the 41st International Film Festival Rotterdam on January 25, 2012; the festival will close on February 4 with the screening of Daniel Nettheim’s The Hunter (Australia) starring Willem Dafoe, Frances O’Connor and Sam Neill.

    In 38 Témoins, Louise (Sophie Quinton) returns home to discover that while she was away on business in China her street was the scene of a crime. There were no witnesses. Apparently everybody was asleep. Pierre, Louise’s husband (Yvan Attal) was at work. Apparently.

    The Hunter is a powerful psychological drama that tells the story of Martin (Willem Dafoe) a mercenary sent from Europe by a mysterious bio-tech company to the Tasmanian wilderness on a hunt for the last Tasmanian tiger. Next to Willem Dafoe (Spiderman, The English Patient, Platoon), The Hunter stars Frances O’Connor (Blessed, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Mansfield Park) and Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, The Piano) in the principal roles. The Hunter is based on the novel of the same name written by Julia Leigh.

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  • Jake Gyllenhaal, Mike Leigh Among International Jury at 2012 Berlin International Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_2086" align="alignnone"]Jake Gyllenhaal in Love and Other Drugs[/caption]

    Anton Corbijn, Asghar Farhadi, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jake Gyllenhaal, François Ozon, Boualem Sansal and Barbara Sukowa will join already announced Jury President Mike Leigh as the International Jury who will decide who will receive the Golden Bear and Silver Bears as well as the Alfred Bauer Prize of the 2012 Berlinale Competition.

    Mike Leigh (Jury President)
    Mike Leigh has made a name for himself as one of the most outstanding filmmakers of auteur cinema and protagonists of New British Cinema. Leigh portrays British society in a bluntly realistic but humorous manner. His films have received countless international awards and Oscar nominations.
    Trained as an actor, dramatist and screenwriter, he has directed more than 20 films, including Bleak Moments (1972, Golden Leopard in Locarno), Naked (1993, Award for Best Director in Cannes), Secrets and Lies (1996, Palme d’Or in Cannes) and Vera Drake (2004, Golden Lion in Venice).
    Nominated for several Oscars, director Mike Leigh has been invited several times to different sections of the Berlin International Film Festival: Meantime screened in the Forum in 1984; the short film The Short and Curlies, in the Panorama in 1988; as did Life Is Sweet in 1991. His latest contribution was to the Competition in 2008: his social comedy Happy-Go-Lucky featured Sally Hawkins, who won the Silver Bear for Best Actress.

    Dutch photographer, designer and filmmaker Anton Corbijn won international fame with his photos of musicians: the Rolling Stones, U2, Frank Sinatra, Luciano Pavarotti, Tom Waits and others. For bands such as U2 or Depeche Mode, he became like a fifth member and shot and/or designed eight album covers for each of them. Since 1993 he has also designed the stage sets for Depeche Mode`s tours. He started directing music videos in the early 1980s, later also for artists such as Herbert Grönemeyer, Johnny Cash, Coldplay and Nirvana. He made his directorial debut with the film Control about lead singer Ian Curtis of the British post-punk band Joy Division. The film opened Cannes’ Quinzaine section in 2007. It was followed in 2010 by his film The American, a thriller with George Clooney in the lead. Most recently Corbijn has collaborated with Berend Strik on the charitable project “Mandela Landscape”. As a major source of inspiration for the popular culture of his generation, Corbijn was awarded the most important cultural award of the Netherlands in November 2011: the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Prijs. His next cinema project will be a screen adaptation of John LeCarré’s A Most Wanted Man which will be shot in Germany.

    Iranian director and screenwriter Asghar Farhadi shot his first 8-mm and 16-mm films as a teenager, and had already made five short films by the time he went to Tehran University and got his Bachelor and Master degree in theatre directing. He also worked for radio and television. In 2003, he won the Special Jury Prize for his feature film debut Raghs dar ghobar (Dancing in the Dust) at the Moscow International Film Festival. His second feature film Shahr-e ziba (A Beautiful City, 2004) was awarded the Grand Prix as best film in Warsaw. In 2009, he won the Silver Bear for Best Director with his Berlinale Competition film Darbareh-ye Elly (About Elly). About Elly also won at the Tribeca Film Festival and went on to receive another ten awards. His latest work, Jodaeiye Nader az Simin (Nader and Simin. A Separation) took home the Golden Bear and two Silver Bears for the performances of the ensemble at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2011. It was an international success, and after winning the Berlinale it won awards at 22 international festivals. Iran has selected the film as its official entry for the Academy Awards. In summer 2011, Asghar Farhadi was invited to participate in Berlin’s Artist-in-Residence programme of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

    French-British actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, daughter of French artist Serge Gainsbourg and British actress and singer Jane Birkin, made her motion picture debut as a teenager in Parole et Musique (Love Songs, 1985; directed by Élie Chouraqui). She then worked with many different filmmakers, such as Agnès Varda, Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, Jacques Doillon, Eric Rochant, Bertrand Blier and Andrew Birkin. In 1986 she won a César as Most Promising Young Actress for L’éffrontée (Charlotte and Lulu, 1985; directed by Claude Miller). In 1998, she gave a breakthrough performance in La petite voleuse (Little Thief, directed by Claude Miller). In 2001, she starred in Yvan Attal’s Ma femme est une actrice (My Wife Is an Actress) and played the lead in Félix et Lola (Felix and Lola, directed by Patrice Leconte), which also screened in the Berlinale Competition. She has made many other films for the screen, including 21 Grams (2003, directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu), Prête-moi ta main (I Do, 2006, directed by Eric Lartigau), Michel Gondry’s La science des rêves (The Science of Sleep, Berlinale Competition 2006), Golden Door (2007, directed by Emmanuele Crialese, Golden Lion in Venice) and Todd Haynes’ I’m Not There (2007). In 2009, she played in Patrice Chereau’s Persécution (2009) and won the Best Actress award in Cannes for her role in Lars von Trier’s Antichrist. Most recently she starred in L’Arbre (The Tree, 2010, directed by Julie Bertucelli) and in Melancholia (directed by Lars von Trier), which won the 2011 European Film Prize for Best Film. Charlotte Gainsbourg also performs as a vocal artist and has just released her fourth album “Stage Whisper”.

    Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal won BAFTA and National Board of Review awards for his poignant performance as Jack Twist in Ang Lee’s timeless classic Brokeback Mountain (2005, Golden Lion in Venice).
    He was last seen starring in Duncan Jones’ critically acclaimed sci-fi thriller Source Code (2011, R: Duncan Jones) and Ed Zwick’s Love And Other Drugs (2010), for which he received a Golden Globe nomination for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical.” Gyllenhaal recently wrapped production on David Ayer’s End of Watch, a gritty drama shot on the streets of South Central Los Angeles. The film is expected for release in 2012. Working with some of Hollywood’s greatest filmmakers, Gyllenhaal has also starred in Richard Kelly’s cult hit Donnie Darko (2001), Jim Sheridan’s Brothers (2009), David Fincher’s Zodiac (2007), Sam Mendes’ Jarhead (2005), John Madden’s Proof (2005), Miguel Arteta’s The Good Girl (2002), Brad Silberling’s Moonlight Mile (2002), Nicole Holofcener’s Lovely And Amazing (2001), and Joe Johnston’s October Sky (1999). Gyllenhaal made his stage debut starring in Kenneth Lonergan’s revival of “This is Our Youth” on London’s West End. For his performance he won an Evening Standard Theatre Award for “Outstanding Newcomer”.

    After making several highly regarded short films (Summer dress, 1996; See the Sea, 1997), French director and screenwriter François Ozon’s first feature film was Sitcom (1998). He celebrated his international breakthrough with the musical comedy 8 Femmes (8 Women) in 2002. A star-studded ensemble with Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Ludivine Sagnier, Emmanuelle Béart, Firmine Richard, Danielle Darieux, Fanny Ardant and Virginie Ledoyen who sing and dance throughout the film, won a Silver Bear for their performances. Ozon had already participated in the Berlinale Competition in 2000 with Gouttes d’èau sur pierres brulantes (Water Drops on Burning Rocks) which took home the Festival’s queer prize, the Teddy Award for Best Feature. Further great hits by Ozon followed, including Sous le sable (Under the Sand, 2000) and Swimming Pool (2003) with Charlotte Rampling, as well as his drama about death Le temps qui reste (Time to Leave), which premiered at Cannes in 2005. He presented Angel in the Berlinale Competition in 2007 and Ricky in 2009. In 2010, Potiche (Trophy Wife), his satirical and rather biting comedy about emancipation, screened at the festival in Venice; the film went on to top the French movie charts.

    Algerian writer Boualem Sansal received his doctorate in economics and worked for the Ministry of Industry, as well as authored a number of technical books, before publishing his prize-winning debut novel “Le serment des barbares” in Paris in 1999. Four novels have followed, all of which have been translated into German. After publishing “Journal intime et politique, Algérie 40 ans après”, a critical political diary about the situation in Algeria 40 years after independence, he was forced to quit his job in the ministry. Ever since he has worked exclusively as a writer and focused increasingly on historical subjects. His most recent publications include the 2008 novel “Le village de l’allemand ou le journal des frères Schiller”. This work is the first of his novels to be translated into English; it was published in the US as “The German Mujahid” and in the UK as “An Unfinished Business”. In 2011, Sansal was awarded the Peace Prize of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

    Barbara Sukowa is a prize-winning German film and theatre actress, as well as a singer. She was first discovered for the screen by Rainer Werner Fassbinder who after casting her in Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) gave her the title role in Lola (1981), one of his most successful films. Barbara Sukowa became known internationally for starring in Die bleierne Zeit (Marianne and Juliane, 1981; Award for Best Actress in Venice) and Rosa Luxemburg (1986, Award for Best Actress in Cannes), both by Margarethe von Trotta. She made The Sicilian (1987) with Michael Cimino and starred in Lars von Trier’s dark thriller Europa (1991). Her most recent German films include Hierankl (2003, directed by Hans Steinbichler); the screen adaptation of the novel, Die Entdeckung der Currywurst (The Invention of the Curried Sausage, 2008; directed by Ulla Wagner, Award for Best Actress in Montreal); and Vision – Aus dem Leben der Hildegard von Bingen (Vision, 2009; directed by Margarethe von Trotta). Sukowa, who lives in New York, started her singing career in the late 1980s. She has won an Echo and been nominated for a Grammy.

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  • First Films for the Competition and Berlinale Special of 2012 Berlin Film Fest

    [caption id="attachment_2084" align="alignnone"]Werner Herzog’s documentary series Death Row from the USA[/caption]

    The first five films for the Competition of the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival and the Berlinale Special have been announced. The films for the Berlinale Special include the Indian-German co-production Don – The King Is Back, the documentary Marley by Kevin Macdonald from Great Britain and the USA, the Spanish film La chispa de la vida by Álex de la Iglesia, Guy Maddin’s Keyhole from Canada, as well as Werner Herzog’s documentary series Death Row from the USA.

    Competition

    Captive
    France/Philippines/Germany/Great Britain
    By Brillante Mendoza (Serbis, Kinatay, Lola)
    With Isabelle Huppert, Katherine Mulville, Marc Zanetta
    World premiere

    Dictado (Childish Games)
    Spain
    By Antonio Chavarrías (Susanna, Volverás, Las vidas de Celia)
    With Juan Diego Botto, Barbara Lennie, Mágica Pérez
    World premiere

    Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close
    USA
    By Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Hours, The Reader)
    With Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Max von Sydow, Thomas Horn
    International premiere / Out of Competition

    Jin líng Shí San Chai (The Flowers Of War)
    People’s Republic of China
    By Zhang Yimou (The Red Lantern, Hero, A Woman, A Gun And A Noodle Shop)
    With Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Atsuro Watabe
    International premiere / Out of Competition

    Kebun binatang (Postcards From The Zoo)
    Indonesia/Germany/Hongkong, China
    By Edwin (Kara, Anak Sebatang Pohon, The Blind Pig Who Wants To Fly)
    With Ladya Cheryl, Nicholas Saputra
    World premiere


    Berlinale Special

    Death Row – Documentary series in four parts
    USA
    By Werner Herzog (Fitzcarraldo, Cave Of Forgotten Dreams)
    World premiere

    Don – The King Is Back
    India/Germany
    By Farhan Akhtar (Dil Chahta Hai, Lakshya, Don)
    With Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Boman Irani, Om Puri, Florian Lukas
    German premiere

    Keyhole
    Canada
    By Guy Maddin (My Winnipeg, The Saddest Music In The World, Brand Upon The Brain)
    With Jason Patric, Isabella Rossellini, Udo Kier, Brooke Palsson
    International premiere

    La chispa de la vida
    Spain
    By Álex de la Iglesia (El día de la bestia, Perdita Durango, The Last Circus)
    With Salma Hayek, José Mota, Fernando Tejero, Blanca Portillo, Juan Luis Galiardo
    International premiere

    Marley – Documentary
    Great Britain/USA
    By Kevin Macdonald (The Last King Of Scotland, Life In A Day, Touching The Void)
    World premiere

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  • Jury of 7 Young Filmmakers Selected for Dialogue en perspective Award at 2012 Berlinale

    [caption id="attachment_2082" align="alignnone" width="550"]2011 Dialogue en perspective Award Winner – Die Ausbildung (The Education) by Dirk Lütter[/caption]

    The Berlin International Film Festival (February 9 to 19, 2012) and the French-German Youth Office, is once again giving young film-lovers a chance to help decide who receives the “Dialogue en perspective” Award. For the second time, a jury member from a third country – Slovakia – is taking part.

    The seven jurors are:

    • Deniz Sertkol, 26, European mediastudies, Berlin
    • Franziska Hessberger, 25, freelance at Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Münster
    • Philipp Wolf, 24, studies literature, culture and media, Siegen Weidenau
    • Sandra Jumel, 22, European and intercultural studies, Sautron (Nantes)
    • Gustave Shaïmi, 20, European and film studies, Montélimar
    • Baptiste Cogitore, 25, studies German-French journalism, Strasbourg
    • Matus Krajnak, 23, studies filmdirection, Presov (Bratislava), Slovakia

    This year, the jury will be chaired by director, actor and screenwriter Jan Henrik Stahlberg.

    The aim of the film award for the DFJW is to promote dialogue between young German and French people and to bring them closer to current German cinema. At the Berlinale 2011 the film Die Ausbildung (The Education) by Dirk Lütter received the prize.

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  • Four New Films Added to 2012 Sundance Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_2078" align="alignnone"]Predisposed [/caption]

    Four new films have been added to the lineup for the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. The Festival will be January 19 through 29 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.

    John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, said, “Each of these four films is an accomplishment in its own right, and collectively, their addition to our program allows us to present a broader look at independent filmmaking. With these four films, we will present a total of 117 feature-length films at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival – a strong indication of the vitality of the independent film community.”

    PREMIERES

    Predisposed / U.S.A. (Directors & Screenwriters: Philip Dorling, Ron Nyswaner) – Eli Smith, a piano prodigy, is dealing with his troubled mother and enlisting help from a hapless drug dealer on the day he has an audition for a prestigious music program. Events spiral comically out of control as this gang of misfits faces the mistakes of the past, the challenges of the future, and the possibilities of love. Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Melissa Leo, Tracy Morgan, Sarah Ramos, Isiah Whitlock Jr. World Premiere.

    SPOTLIGHT

    [caption id="attachment_2079" align="alignnone" width="550"]Oslo[/caption]

    Oslo, August 31st / Norway (Director: Joachim Trier, Screenwriters: Eskil Vogt & Joachim Trier based on a novel by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle) – One man, one city, 24 hours. Oslo, August 31st is a portrait of contemporary Oslo. A visually striking and quietly shattering drama about a man in deep existential crisis. Cast: Anders Danielsen Lie, Hans Olav Brenner, Ingrid Olava, Tone B. Mostraum.

    This Must Be The Place / Italy, France, Ireland (Director: Paolo Sorrentino, Screenwriter: Umberto Contarello, Paolo Sorrentino) – A bored, retired rock star sets out to find his father’s executioner, an ex-Nazi war criminal who is a refugee in the U.S. Cast: Sean Penn, Frances McDormand, Judd Hirsch. North American Premiere

    PARK CITY AT MIDNIGHT

    [caption id="attachment_2080" align="alignnone" width="550"]JOHN DIES AT THE END[/caption]

    JOHN DIES AT THE END / U.S.A. (Director: Don Coscarelli, Screenwriter: Don Coscarelli, based on a novel by David Wong) – On the street they call it Soy Sauce – a drug that allows users to drift across time and dimensions. But some who come back are no longer human. Can John and David stop the oncoming horror? No. They can’t. Cast: Chase Williamson, Rob Mayes, Paul Giamatti, Clancy Brown, Glynn Turman. World Premiere

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  • Recycling Life and In Out Tie for Best Doc at 2011 Boston Turkish Arts and Culture Festival Documentary and Short Film Competition

     

    [caption id="attachment_2076" align="alignnone" width="525"]Recycling Life: I Found Dostoevski in the Garbage[/caption]

    The 16th Boston Turkish Arts and Culture Festival Documentary and Short Film Competition announced its winners and this year’s Best Short Film Award of the jury is split between Güçlü Yaman’s “Journey of No Return – Last Stop Frankfurt Airport” (Dönüşü Olmayan Yolculuk – Son Durak Frankfurt Havaalanı), and “Death” (Ölüm), co-directed by Uygar Şirin and Burcu Aykar Şirin.

    Best Documentary Award is also split between two films; “Recycling Life: I Found Dostoevski in the Garbage” (Çöpte Dostoyevski Buldum) by Enis Rıza, and “In Out” by Zeynep Merve Uygun.

    Audience Award in the short film category went to Güçlü Yaman’s “Journey of No Return – Last Stop Frankfurt Airport” (Dönüşü Olmayan Yolculuk – Son Durak Frankfurt Havaalanı) while Ahmet Turgut Yazman’s “Göbeklitepe: The World’s First Temple” (Göbeklitepe: Dünyanın İlk Tapınağı) received the Audience Award in the documentary category.

    This year’s competition has also recognized a number of films through Special Mentions. Short films receiving Special Mentions are; “Adam’s Well” (Adem’in Kuyusu) by Veysel Cihan Hızar’s, “Ali Ata Bak” by Orhan İnce, “Hamam” by Tunç Sahin, “Milk” (Süt) by Ayşegül Şahinbozkır, “Love is Blind” (Direk Aşk) by Ertuğ Tüfekçioğlu, and “Wedlock” (İzdivaç) by Azime Kanal. In the documentaries category, “Bodies without Soul” (Bedensiz Ruhlar) by Sabite Kaya, “Figures in the Water” (Sudaki Suretler) by Erkal Tülek, “Great Lovers” (Büyükaşık’lar) by Nagihan Çakar, “On the Road” (Yollarda/Unterwegs) by Sabine Küper-Büsch and Thomas Büsch, and “The Other Town” (Öteki Kasaba) by Nefin Dinç received the Special Mentions.

    Boston Turkish Arts and Culture Festival is organized annually since 1996 with the theme “Colors of Anatolia”, comprising of a wide range of events including exhibitions, concerts, film competition, as well as a food and wine event.

     

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  • Diane Keaton’s Darling Companion to open 2012 Santa Barbara International Film Festival

    The World Premiere of the Sony Classics Pictures film Darling Companion, directed by Lawrence Kasdan and starring Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline, Dianne Wiest, Richard Jenkins, Sam Shepard, Mark Duplass, Elisabeth Moss, and Ayelet Zurer will open the 27th Santa Barbara International Film Festival (January 26-February 5, 2012).

    “We are incredibly privileged to have the world premiere of a Lawrence Kasdan film. The highly anticipated Darling Companion is a fantastic film to kick off the festival,” remarked SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling.

    In DARLING COMPANION, Beth (Diane Keaton) saves a bedraggled lost dog from the side of the freeway on a wintry day in Denver. Struggling with her distracted, self-involved husband Joseph (Kevin Kline) and an empty nest at home, Beth forms a special bond with the rescued animal. When Joseph loses the dog after a wedding at their vacation home in the Rockies, the distraught Beth enlists the help of the few remaining guests and a mysterious young woman (Ayelet Zurer) in a frantic search. Each member of the search party is affected by the adventure, which takes them in unexpected directions – comic, harrowing, and sometimes deeply emotional.

    In addition to Darling Companion, SBIFF will also feature a Lawrence Kasdan Retrospective in its 2012 program. Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), and Grand Canyon (1991) will be featured, as well as a Q&A with the filmmaker himself.

     

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  • CineMart 2012 presents 36 film projects

    CineMart, the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s co-production market has selected 36 film projects (from 465 entries) which will be presented to approximately 850 potential co-financiers. Reputed filmmakers such as Kelly Reichardt, Ruben Östlund, Quintin Dupieux, Athina Rachel Tsangari and Úrszula Antoniak will launch their new projects. The selection further includes feature length débuts, a project from a director with a film in Tiger Awards Competition and films participating in the BOOST!-program, a collaboration with the Hubert Bals Fund and Binger Filmlab. The 29th Cinemart takes place from 29 January – February 1, 2012 in Rotterdam. (See full CineMart Selection 2012 below)

    CineMart manager Jacobine van der Vloed about the 2012 selection:

    “One of the starting points of the CineMart Selection 2012 was to focus, more than before, on the alliance between the IFFR, the Hubert Bals Fund and the CineMart. We have managed to do this: many filmmakers and producers get the unique opportunity to present their latest works in the festival programme and launch their projects at CineMart. Others, who saw their films screened at previous IFFR editions, now bring their new projects to CineMart. Some filmmakers return to CineMart a second or third time. In the end we have selected the projects that best tie in, on geographical, artistic and financial levels, with the need of the current market for independent filmmaking.

    In close collaboration with Binger Filmlab, the relation between CineMart and the Hubert Bals Fund has been strengthened through the BOOST! initiative. In 2011, five film projects already supported by the Hubert Bals Fund for script and project development participated in the Binger Filmlab On Demand Programme and have now been selected for CineMart 2012.

    The crossover trend between art house cinema and visual arts is strongly reflected in the CineMart Selection. To look into this development CineMart organizes a panel discussion among artists and museum or gallery representatives on 29 January 2012 in collaboration with Screen International and CPH:DOX. The Art:Film panel focuses on the blurring boundaries between art and film and explores several questions. What motivates artists to explore narrative cinema? What can projects that originate in the art world learn from existing film financing and distribution models and vice versa?”

    New projects by Athina Rachel Tsangari, Quentin Dupieux, Alexei Popogrebski and Kelly Reichardt
    Following her successful second feature ATTENBERG (2010), filmmaker and producer Athina Rachel Tsangari (Greece) presents her third feature length project DUNCHARON, together with producers HAOS Films and Faliro House Productions. Maharaja Films (France) and The Match Factory (Germany are connected to this project as co-producers.

    French music producer and filmmaker Quentin Dupieux’s WRONG will see its world premiere at Sundance 2012. Dupieux, successful in 2010 with his comic horror film RUBBER, launches his new film project REALITÉ at CineMart 2012 along with producer Realitism Films.
    Alexei Popogrebski, Russian filmmaker and screenwriter known for his HOW I ENDED THIS SUMMER (2010), will present his new 3D-film project LOST ROOMS, produced by Koktebel Film Company.

    US-filmmaker Kelly Reichardt took home a Tiger Award from Rotterdam in 2006 for her second feature film OLD JOY. Her WENDY AND LUCY and MEEK’S CUTOFF were subsequently selected for Cannes and Venice. Reichardt launches her new project NIGHT MOVES in collaboration with producer filmscience.

    Art:Film, projects by Knut Åsdam, Henry Coombes and others

    No less than five film projects in the CineMart Selection 2012 are from visual artists. All five will also be making their fiction feature length débuts. Norwegian artist Knut Åsdam, an Artist in Focus during IFFR 2007, is preparing his KIRKENESK-MURMANSK with German producer Vitakuben. Scottish artist Henry Coombes makes his first film LITTLE DOG BOY, in collaboration with producer Broken Spectre. Siblings Carlos and Jason Sanchez, both photographers from Québec, work with producer micro_scope on A WORTHY COMPANION.

    French artist and filmmaker Christelle Lheureux presents her first feature film project LE VENT DES OMBRES together with producer Independencia Productions; Lheureux’s short film LA MALADIE BLANCHE has been selected for the Tiger Awards Competition for Short Films 2012.

    Back at CineMart: Ruben Östlund and Aktan Arym Kubat
    In 2012, some filmmakers return to CineMart with their latest projects. After INVOLUNTARY and PLAY, both launched during previous CineMart editions, Ruben Östlund (Sweden) presents the project for his fourth feature TOURIST with producer Plattform Produktion.
    Aktan Arym Kubat (Kyrgyzstan) brought THE LIGHT THIEF to CineMart in 2007 and now returns with his project CENTAUR, produced by A.S.A.P. Films.

    From Rotterdam Lab to CineMart: Ritesh Batra
    CineMart welcomes a project by two former participants of Rotterdam Lab, CineMart’s training programme for emerging producers organized in collaboration with its partners. The Indian project THE LUNCHBOX by Ritesh Batra and producer Guneet Monga from Anurag Kashyap Productions originates from their initial meetings at Rotterdam Lab 2011. Batra’s short film CAFÉ REGULAR, CAÏRO has been selected for IFFR 2012’s Spectrum: Shorts.

    Young talent: Eduardo Nunes, Malcolm Murray, Gabriel Abrantes & Daniel Schmidt
    The IFFR, CineMart and the Hubert Bals Fund aim to offer emerging filmmakers a platform to launch their films and film projects. Therefore the CineMart Selection 2012 includes several projects by strong talent at the beginning of their careers. SUDOESTE (SOUTHWEST), fiction feature début by Eduardo Nunes (Brazil), has been selected for the Tiger Awards Competition 2012. HAPPY DEATH, his second feature film project produced by Superfilmes, is part of CineMart 2012.

    Following the world premiere of his first fiction feature BAD POSTURE during IFFR 2011, CineMart 2012 includes US-filmmaker Malcolm Murray’s second feature project TOKYO CANNONBALL RISING SUN, produced by THIS.

    Gabriel Abrantes and Daniel Schmidt (both US) are selected with their fiction feature début project TRISTES MONROES and present their short PALACES OF PITY in IFFR 2012’s Spectrum: Shorts.

    The full CineMart Selection 2012, alphabetically by film project title:

    Apprentice, by Boo Junfeng, production companies: Zhao Wei Films, Peanut Pictures (Singapore)
    Between Ten and Twelve, by Peter Hoogendoorn, production companies: Keren Cogan Productions, Phanta Vision Film International (The Netherlands)
    Cannibal, by Manuel Martín Cuenca, production company: La Loma Blanca P.C. (Spain)
    Centaur, by Aktan Arym Kubat, production companies: A.S.A.P. Films, Pallas Film GmbH, Oy Art Film Producing Company (France, Germany, Kyrgyzstan)
    Duncharon, by Athina Rachel Tsangari, production companies: Haos Films, Faliro House Productions, Maharaja Films, The Match Factory GmbH (Greece, France, Germany)
    Estiuejants, Els, by Lluis Galter, production company: Paco Poch Cinema, S. L. (Spain)
    Groenlandia, by José Luis Torres Leiva, production company: Jirafa Films (Chile)
    Happy Death, A, by Eduardo Nunes, production company: Superfilmes, 3 Tabela Filmes (Brazil)
    History of Fear, by Benjamin Naishtat, production company: Rei Cine (Argentina)
    Hungry Mouth, by Argyris Papadimitropoulos, production company: Stefi Productions (Greece)
    Invisibles, The, by Mushon Salmona, production company: Transfax Film Production Ltd (Israel)
    Jojo Rabbit, by Taika Waititi, production companies: Defender Films, Unison Films (New Zealand, US)
    Kirkenes – Murmansk, by Knut Åsdam, production company: Vitakuben GmbH (Germany)
    Little Dog Boy, by Henry Coombes, production company: Brocken Spectre (United Kingdom)
    Lost Rooms, by Alexei Popogrebsky, production company: Koktebel Film Company (Russia)
    Lunchbox, The, by Ritesh Batra, production company: Anurag Kashyap Productions Pvt Ltd, Cine Mosaic (India, US)
    Night Moves, by Kelly Reichardt, production company: filmscience (US)
    Nude Area, by Úrszula Antoniak, production company: Topkapi Films, Pandora Film Produktion GmbH (The Netherlands, Germany)
    Our Sun, by Joost van Ginkel, production company: PRPL, producer: Els Vandevorst (The Netherlands)
    Realité, by Quentin Dupieux, production company: Realitism Films (France)
    Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted, The, by David Dusa, production company: SCIAPODE, Kamoli Films (France, Denmark, Sweden)
    Service for People, by Jang Cheol-soo, production company: Bidangil Pictures, Finecut Co, Ltd. (South-Korea)
    Snow in Paradise, by Andrew Hulme, production company: Ipso Facto Films (United Kingdom)
    Through My Veins, by Florin Serban, production company: FANTASCOPE (Romania)
    Tokyo Cannonball Rising Sun, by Malcolm Murray, production companies: THIS, Nappinati Films Ltd., Armian Pictures (US)
    Turist, by Ruben Östlund, production companies: Plattform Produktion, Essential Filmproduktion, Coproduction Office (Sweden, Germany, Denmark)
    Tristes Monroes, by Gabriel Abrantes & Daniel Schmidt, production companies: A Mutual Respect Productions, Filmes do Tejo II, Les Films du Bélier (Portugal, France)
    Vent des ombres, Le, by Christelle Lheureux, production companies: Independencia Productions, Kick the Machine (France, Thailand)
    We Are Sisyphos, by Peter Brunner, production company: Golden Girls Filmproduktion & Filmservices GmbH, LEV Pictures (Austria, The Netherlands)
    White Buffalo, The, by Aditya Assarat, production company: Pop Pictures Co. Ltd. (Thailand)
    Worthy Companion, A, by Carlos Sanchez & Jason Sanchez, production company: micro_scope (Canada)

    BOOST!

    Djin, by Hawa Essuman, production company: Ginger Ink Films (Kenya)
    Dólares de arena, Los, by Laura Amelia Guzmán & Israel Cárdenas, production companies: Aurora Dominicana, Athénaïse (Dominican Republic, Mexico, France)
    Humidity, by Nikola Ljuca, production companies: Dart Film, zischlermann filmproduktion GbR (Serbia, Germany)
    Jomo, by Kivu Ruhorahoza, production companies: POV Productions, Camera Club (Rwanda, Australia)
    Midfielder, by Adrián Biniez, production companies: Morocha Films, Mutante Cine, Pandora Film Produktion GmbH, Topkapi Films (Argentina, Uruguay, Germany, The Netherlands)

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