Film Festivals

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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Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) to honor Gary Oldman with the International Star Award

[caption id="attachment_2062" align="alignnone"]Gary Oldman in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy[/caption]

The 23rd annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF), which runs January 5-16, 2012, will present Gary Oldman with the International Star Award. The International Star Award recognizes an actor or actress who has achieved both critical and commercial international recognition throughout their body of work.

Oldman is currently starring in Focus Features’ Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, directed by Tomas Alfredson and based on the novel by John le Carré.

“Gary Oldman is a performer whose ability to portray the most extreme of characters is a testament to the enormity of his talent,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “In Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, as the embodiment of John le Carré’s classic spymaster George Smiley, he combines cunning, pathos, and cold determination when he is brought out of retirement to ferret out a double agent during the Cold War. To this consummate talent who consistently challenges audiences to anticipate the unexpected when he performs, the Palm Springs International Film Festival is honored to present the 2012 International Star Award to Gary Oldman.”

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Mississippi’s Oxford Film Festival Release 2012 Film Lineup

[caption id="attachment_2060" align="alignnone"]Butterfly Rising[/caption]

The Oxford Film Festival announced the selections for its 2012 Festival scheduled to run February 9-12, 2012. The festival will screen 11 feature films (narrative and documentary), and over 50 shorts (narrative, documentary, experimental, animated), including music videos.

Narrative Feature

Butterfly Rising (Mississippi), Dir: Tanya Wright, When her brother dies, singer Lilah Belle sets out to escape her grief and embarks on a road trip, but not before coaxing the new-to-town, most scandalous woman in Artesia– Rose Johnson– to go with her. These two broken souls steal a vintage truck and head out on the open road to a fated encounter with the mythical, magical ‘Lazarus of the Butterflies’. What occurs with the strange Butterfly Man transforms their destinies and binds the women together– forever. MISSISSIPPI Premiere.

Cellmates (formerly White Knight) (California), Dir. Jesse Baget, Leroy Lowe, grand dragon of the Texas Ku Klux Klan confronts everything he’s been taught to hate when he’s sentenced to three years of hard labor on a prison work farm, where Warden Merville, dead set on rehabilitating Leroy, chooses Emilio, a Hispanic field worker, to be his cellmate. REGIONAL Premiere.

Dick Night (California), Dir. Andy Viner, Rachel hasn’t been out of the house since being left at the altar two months ago, but some rebound sex tonight and she’ll be over Mark for good… if she can just deal with these vampires. MISSISSIPPI PREMIERE.

Frontman (UK), Dir. Ben Hyland, When the former frontman of ‘Stanley and the Knives’ suddenly dies his old friends and band mates are forced back together after twenty-five years apart. Cracks soon start to appear in their relationships and it becomes clear why they split up in the first place. Frontman is a musical journey of five strangers, becoming friends for the second time. REGIONAL Premiere.

How to Cheat (California), Dir. Amber Sealey, Mark’s decided to do something bad.. MISSISSIPPI Premiere.

Documentary Feature

Happy (California, non-competition), Dir. Roko Belic. A look at the search for happiness.

Holy Rollers: The True Story of Card Counting Christians (Washington), Dir. Bryan Storkel, Holy Rollers follows the rise of the Churchteam, arguably the largest and most well funded blackjack team in America. In their short existence, they have taken millions from casinos. But since every team member is a Christian and some are pastors, there is a constant battle to answer this question: How can you be Christian and play blackjack for a living? In their first year, the team took $1.6 million from casinos, but slowly the teams success starts to fall apart. They haven’t closed a bankroll in over six months and the team is down $450,000. The investors are getting nervous and something has to change. In addition , questions start being raised as to whether someone from the team might be stealing from the bankroll. Is it possible? Of course. But do they trust the players on the team? Absolutely. Maybe. REGIONAL Premiere.

Patriot Guard Riders, (Washington) Dir. Ellen Frick; Another American Soldier Has Died. Who cares? The suffering of soldiers and their families is largely invisible to most Americans. But not to these Americans. ‘Patriot Guard Riders’ is a documentary about a 200,000 strong motorcycle group who attend military funerals to honor the fallen, and to protect grieving families from the Westboro Baptist Church, who descends on the funerals and harasses them. REGIONAL PREMIERE.

Rhino Resurrected, (California), Dir. Keith Shapiro; Against all odds, a beloved and historic record store is brought back to life for two eventful weeks. Can a vibrant community re-emerge in today’s transformed music world? REGIONAL PREMIERE

Showtime (Mississippi), Dir. Ben Guest; This film follows four friends from rural Mississippi on their quest to win a state championship in basketball. Loss. Struggle. Friendship. Love. WORLD PREMIERE.

This is What Love in Action Looks Like (Tennessee), Dir. Morgan Jon Fox, ’This is What Love In Action Looks Like’ documents the widely controversial and inspirational story of what The New York Times referred to as ‘A modern day message in a bottle.’ MISSISSIPPI Premiere.

Animated Short
Spirit of the Bluebird (Canada), Dir. Xstine Cook
Birdboy (Spain), Dir. Pedro Rivero
Dance in B minor (UK), Dir. Myria Christophini
Dwellings, Dir. Aaron Wendel
Entanglement, Dir. Renae Radford
5 Minutes Each (Canada), Dir. Vojin Vasovic
Gilded Age Gladiator, Dir. Brad Lambert
The Owl Who Had a Wish Tangled to Its Foot, Dir. Burak Niyazi Kurt
Documentary Short

Awaken the Dragon (Tennessee), Dir. Laura Zdan, A short documentary exploring the unknown world of dragon boating, the world’s largest flat water racing canoes, propelled by a crew of 20 plus a drummer and a steers person. The film allows the audience to travel to three areas of the United States to discover the hidden sport to absorb the gripping visuals, sounds, and feelings that come with dragon boat racing. REGIONAL PREMIERE.

Back in Oxford (Mississippi), Dir. Jordan Berger; A student documentary exploring the underground rap culture in Oxford, MS. An interesting view of this small town, told through a lens many people are not familiar with. WORLD PREMIERE

The Beacon (Mississippi), Dir. Camilla Ann Aikin; The Beacon is the story of a 52 year old diner, an Oxford, Mississippi institution. It is a place full of colorful characters and stories, fiercely loyal customers and employees, and deep ties to the South’s complicated past. WORLD PREMIERE.

Cardboard Titanics (Alabama), Dir. Sam Frazier, Delusional people build, row, and race boats made solely of cardboard and duct tape in an insane effort to recapture the American dream.

Irma (Nebraska), Dir. Charles Fairbanks, Irma is an intimate musical portrait of Irma Gonzalez, the former world champion of women’s professional wrestling. Filmed in Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl – a notorious district of Mexico City – Irma contradicts everything we have come to expect from stories reported from Mexico. Featuring music written and performed by Ms. Gonzalez, Irma’s story surges with love and deceit, masculine strength, feminine charms, and an extraordinary sense of humor. MISSISSIPPI Premiere.

The New Debutantes (Oregon), Dir. Jarratt Taylor; Ms. Pat knows growing up isn’t easy. She hopes her class in social etiquette gives kids the skills to make it. WORLD PREMIERE.

On the Porch with T-Model Ford (Mississippi),Dir. Tyler Keith, Tyler Keith interviews T-Model Ford about his life and music on a porch before a show in Mississippi. WORLD PREMIERE.

Proud Larry’s In Between the Scenes (Mississippi), Dir. Zachary Scott Thompson. Proud Larry’s is a great window into the Oxford Scene’s past and in its future. This short film highlights past memories of Oxford music scene veterans as well as those who are shaping the scene today. The music featured is provided by Oxford’s own Balance. WORLD PREMIERE.

Saint (California), Dir. John Rory Fraser, One man’s quest to re-masculate Jesus. WORLD PREMIERE.

Sonny (UK), Dir. Sophie Smith, The historic Mississippi River town of Helena in the Arkansas Delta, has been the home of the longest running blues radio show in the world. The King Biscuit Time blues show, which began in 1941 has featured ‘Sunshine’ Sonny Payne as the DJ since 1951… WORLD PREMIERE.

To Live and Die in Avoyelles Parish (Mississippi), Dir. Joe York. The latest documentary from the Southern Foodways Alliance details a different hog-roasting celebration: the Cochon de Lait Festival. The annual Mother’s Day tradition sees some 30-odd hogs hoisted up on metal racks that resemble giant coat hangers and cooked for several hours near a roaring blaze. The results, named for the suckling pigs that often are used in the recipe, are tender white flesh encased in the crispy skin known as “cracklin.’”

Training Wheels (Tennessee), Dir. Sarah Fleming, At the age of 6, after a devastating encounter with a pile of garbage, Tommy decided that learning how to ride a bicycle just wasn’t worth it. Now, fifteen years later, 21-year-old Tommy Kha is rethinking that decision. MISSISSIPPI Premiere.

William Tyler: Behold the Spirit (Tennessee), Dir. Zack Wilson; William Tyler invites you to explore his music through his own thoughts, words, and images. WORLD PREMIERE.

Year of Our Lord on Thacker Mountain Radio (Mississippi), Dir. Thad Lee,T.R. Pearson speaks about the book he made with Langdon Clay about Lucas McCarty and the Moorhead Trinity House of Prayer. The book is Year Of Our Lord. Lucas and the church choir perform after Pearson’s tale of how and why the book was made. WORLD PREMIERE.

Yokna (Mississippi), Dir. Gretchen Wood; Yokna looks at the sustainable agriculture movement in Oxford, MS by focusing on Yokna Bottoms Farm six miles south of town. Through documenting the farm’s second Spring growing season, the film shows how the farm and community have a reciprocating influence on each other. WORLD PREMIERE.
Experimental Short
Dear Father
Dumbo Sketch #1
Knot
The Lady in the Boxcar (Mississippi)
Landscape of the Mind
Only in Dreams
Plural
Saskatchewan
Soundtrack (Spain)
Texas Hill Country
Voicemail (New York)
Mississippi Music Videos
Fall Apart / The Cooters (dir: Thad Lee)
The Road Less Traveled / Jake Wood (dir: Daniel Lee Perea)
Positions in Space / Ash W. (dir: Ashley W.)

Full lineup will be announced at a later date.
Narrative Short

After-School Special (California), Dir. Jacob Chase. A man and a woman have an awkward encounter at an indoor playground in this Neil LaBute penned slice-of-life starring Sarah Paulson and Wes Bentley. MISSISSIPPI Premiere.

Ballerina (Arkansas), Dir. Bryan Stafford, Frank Gross seems to be a man who has it all: a quiet home in the suburbs, a good job, a daughter that loves him. Then, on a day much like today, there comes a knock at a door and his orderly world slides sideways into the darkness beyond what we know. Ballerina is a provocative, thoughtful drama about love, time, what we can prevent, and what we can’t no matter how much we might want to. MISSISSIPPI Premiere.

Bathing and the Single Girl (California). Dir. Christine Elise McCarthy. A raw & irreverent comedic look at the unspoken horrors of dating – and bathing with – younger men. MISSISSIPPI Premiere.

The Best Day (Mississippi), Dir. Coop Cooper, On the day of her 10th birthday, happy-go-lucky Jenny discovers she and her family are pawns in a cruel experiment that repeats over and over… and Daddy likes things just the way they are.

Expiration Date (Mississippi), Dir. Felicity Flesher, A young student is forever changed when an expired cup of ramen noodles enters his life.

Fatakra (New York), Dir. Soham Mehta. Sparks fly as a family reunites. MISSISSIPPI Premiere.

The Fall of Henry (Mississippi), Dir. Glenn Payne, One bad night, one misstep begins a confrontation between two people with their own perspectives about how and why things went badly. As the encounter goes on, every motive and sense of responsibility comes under scrutiny. When something goes wrong, is there really blame to be assigned? And how far back can it go? Look closely.

Fresh Skweezed (Tennessee), Dir. Ryan Parker, Maggie, a street smart 11 year old, is stifled by a shaky home-life and constant torment from the neighborhood bully. With a fair share of moxie and a talent for the hustle, this little spitfire is fighting for more than just stability in her turbulent surroundings. Her life’s turned sour and she has no choice but to make a stand. MISSISSIPPI Premiere.

Gypsy Heart (Mississippi), Dir. Daniel Lee Perea, A mysterious hitch-hiker get picked up by a man on a road trip. But what can you ever really know about a stranger? WORLD PREMIERE.

Hellion (Texas), Dir. Kat Candler, Little seven-year old, Petey, falls prey to his older brothers’ hellion ways. REGIONAL PREMIERE. (World Premiere at Sundance in January).

Humble Circumstances (Mississippi), Dir. Ethan Milner; Three long distance friends are looking to reunite on a camping trip but need a few more supplies. A young woman, a gas station attendant, is looking to close her store for the night but is held up by a would-be thief. Through a winding unfolding of events their worlds collide and will inevitably end in blood shed.

Illumination (Mississippi), Dir. Michael Williams, Alex, a flawed family man, is forced to endure a personal journey of enlightenment under extraordinary circumstances.

The Last Payphone in Los Angeles (California), Dirs. Tim Harms, T. Lynn Mikeska; A day in the life of a busy Los Angeles payphone. WORLD PREMIERE.

Man at the Door (Mississippi), Dir. Alan Arrivée; When a middle class white woman, who has recently separated from her husband and moved to Chicago, goes downstairs to her apartment lobby with a UPS slip in hand, she finds an illegal Mexican laborer at her doorstep, bleeding from a stab wound and begging to be let in. The decision she makes forces her to face the dangers of the city and its seemingly alien inhabitants.

Ms. Marvel’s Day Off (Georgia), Dir. Ruckus Skye. What does a super hero do when they’re not working? MISSISSIPPI Premiere.

The Ninth Floor (Mississippi), Dir. Jordan Berger, Alex Embers, a despondent young man experiences reoccurring dreams about an imaginary lover in the midst of WWII. Alex feels he must help her. When his dreams and reality become intertwined, he is faced with the decision of leaving the meaningless world he has always known for a chance to save the only girl he has ever loved.

Old Oak (Mississippi) Dir.Kevin M. Jones; Set in 1956, Old Oak tells the story of the last meal of a Death Row inmate. He asks for and is granted special permission to be escorted to his favorite diner for the occasion. Honey, the 10-year old daughter of the waitress, observes closely and narrates the story as the evening unfolds. USA Premiere.

The Orderly (Arkansas). Dir. Daniel Campbell. THE ORDERLY is a comedy set in the early 1950s about a timid orderly that finds himself late for his first day of work and his first assignment: transporting two psychiatric patients to another facility 8 hours away, with only 6 hours to get them there. With each minute and mile that passes, Norville desperately struggles to keep his own sanity along this tense, bizarre and chaotic ride. MISSISSIPPI Premiere.

Red Moon (California) Dir: Jimmy Marble; Red Moon chronicles the life and times of famed submarine commander, Alexei Ovechkin, Russian hero and hapless werewolf. MISSISSIPPI Premiere.

Terrebonne (New York, filmed partially in Mississippi), Dir. Jeremy Craig, Set on the imperiled coast of Louisiana, Terrebonne is the meditative story of a brother and sister who encounter unexpected trouble when they venture deep into the swamp in search of the mythic ivory-billed woodpecker. MISSISSIPPI Premiere.

The Birthday Present (Arkansas). Dir. Sean Bridgers and Ffish. It’s Joey’s birthday. Her busy parents leave her a present she is sure to like. MISSISSIPPI Premiere.

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Daughters of the Dust and Reality Bites to screen at 2012 Sundance Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_2047" align="alignnone"]Daughters of the Dust[/caption]

Daughters of the Dust (1991) and Reality Bites (1994) have been selected for the From the Collection screenings at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Both titles are part of The Sundance Collection at UCLA (The Collection), a film preservation program designed to archive work that has been supported by a Sundance Institute program. The Festival takes place January 19 through 29 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.

Daughters of the Dust / U.S.A., 1991 (Director and screenwriter: Julie Dash) – Set in the early 1900s, the Pazants family prepares to migrate from their Sea Island home to the mainland, leaving their land and legacy behind. Daughters of the Dust was the first dramatic feature film to explore the traditions of the Gullah, the descendants of African slaves who once worked the plantations and later inhabited the many islands dotting the South Carolina and Georgia coastlines. It is a story about the struggle between tradition and progress.Cast: Adisa Anderson, Alva Rogers, Barbara O, Cheryl L. Bruce, Cora Lee Day, Kaycee Moore, Tommy Hicks, Trula Hoosier. Daughters of the Dust screened at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival, where it earned the Excellence in Cinematography Award.

Reality Bites / U.S.A., 1994 (Director: Ben Stiller, Screenwriter: Helen Childress) – Recent college graduate Lelaina Pierce is making a video about her circle of friends. Along the way, she must choose whether to give her heart to Michael, a charming, but materialistic, video executive, or her grungy, but too cool, friend, Troy. When Michael declares his love for Lelaina, the pressure is on Troy to decide whether to drop his mask of indifference and risk rejection, or play it safe and risk losing the love of his life. The feature-film directorial debut for Ben Stiller, Reality Bites was the film about young adults of the nineties that we were all waiting for. Cast: Ben Stiller, Ethan Hawke, Janeane Garofalo, Steve Zahn, Winona Ryder. Reality Bites screened at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival.

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Christopher Plummer to be honored by Santa Barbara International Film Festival

Academy Award® nominee Christopher Plummer will receive the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s highest honor, the Modern Master Award.

The Modern Master Award is the highest honor presented by SBIFF. Established in 1995, it was created to honor an individual who has enriched our culture through his/her multi-faceted accomplishments in the motion picture industry. Past recipients include Michael Douglas, Jodie Foster, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Diane Keaton, Sean Penn, Jeff Bridges, Peter Jackson, George Clooney, Will Smith, Cate Blanchett, Clint Eastwood, James Cameron, and Christopher Nolan.

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