Film Festivals

The Corridor and Beg Tie For Best Feature Films at 2011 Flickers RI International Horror Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_1800" align="alignnone"]The Corridor, Directed by Evan Kelly[/caption]

Despite rain, snow and even power outages, the 12th Flickers RI International Horror Film Festival drew crowds to the see the 42 films that were screened during the “cinematic symphony of horror”, October 27th-30th, 2011.

Attending this year were the cast and crew from eight of the international films screened during the Festival including Imposter, Vampyre Compendium, Beg, Inkubus, and Last Seen on Delores Street for their premieres along with directors and producers Marc Masciandaro, Matteo Bernardini from Italy, Devi Snively, Augustin Fuentes, and Kevin and Shanna MacDonald.

Winners of top prizes for the 2011 Festival
BEST FEATURE
The Corridor, Directed by Evan Kelly, Canada
Tied with
Beg, Directed by Kevin MacDonald, United States

First Place
Absentia, Directed by Mike Flanagan, United States
Tied with
State of Emergency, Directed by Turner Clay, United States

BEST SHORT
Imposter, Director Marc Masciandaro, United States
Tied with
Incubator, Directed by Jimmy Weber, United States

First Place
Cabine of the Dead, Directed by Vincent Templement, France
Tied with
Hay Un Diablo (There is a Devil), Directed by Brant Hansen, United States

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Dracula: The Vampire And The Voivode, Directed by Michael Bayley Hughes, United Kingdom

DIRECTORIAL DISCOVERY
Last Seen on Delores Street, Directed by Devi Snively, United States

NEW ENGLAND DISCOVERY
Inkubus, Directed by Glenn Ciano, United States

BEST MAKE-UP FX
An Evening with My Comatose Mother, Directed by Jonathan Martin, United States

BEST SCI-FI/FANTASY
Payload, Directed by Stuart Willis, Australia
Tied with
Maquinas Infernales, Directed by Simon Pernollet, France

BEST ANIMATION
Paths of Hate, Directed by Damian Nenow, Poland

BEST ACTOR
Tony Moran, Beg, Directed by Kevin MacDonald, United States

BEST ACTRESS
Oona Chaplin, Vampyre Compendium, Directed by Matteo Bernardini, Italy
Read more
2011 Savannah Film Festival honors Oliver Stone, Ellen Barkin and Ray Liotta

Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning writer/director Oliver Stone was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 14th annual Savannah Film Festival on Thursday, Nov. 3. Stone dedicated his award to native Savannahian and well-known publicist Bobby Zarem, whom he has known for more than 30 years. “The memory of my achievement lies in Savannah, a city Bobby loves so much,” said the award-winning director. Stone ended with, “I got your back, Bobby.”

The Savannah Film Festival also honored actress Ellen Barkin with Outstanding Achievement in Cinema Awards.

Actor Ray Liotta was also honored with Outstanding Achievement in Cinema Awards.

Hosted by the Savannah College of Art and Design, the Savannah Film Festival, the 14th annual festival kicked off Saturday, Oct. 29 and runs through today, Saturday, Nov. 5, in historic Savannah, Ga.

Read more
THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN to close 2011 AFI Fest

Paramount Pictures and Columbia Pictures’ THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN, directed by AFI Life Achievement Award recipient and Academy Award®-winning director Steven Spielberg, will have its North American Premiere as the Closing Night Gala of AFI FEST 2011.

The film is based on the internationally beloved and irrepressible characters created by Hergé and stars Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg. It is produced by Academy Award® winners Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Kathleen Kennedy. From a screenplay by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish, the story follows the unquenchably curious young reporter Tintin and his fiercely loyal dog Snowy as they discover a ship carrying an explosive secret that may hold the key to vast fortune…and an ancient curse. Academy Award®-winning composer John Williams scored the film, with 2011 marking a collaboration between Spielberg and Williams that has enriched 25 of their films together.

Read more
Aurélie Laflamme’s Diary and Ormie Win 2nd NY/SF International Children’s Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_1779" align="alignnone"]A scene from AURELIE LAFLAMME’S DIARY[/caption]

The second NY/SF International Children’s Film Festival, wrapped a the three-day festival for kids ages 3 – 18 and their families on Sunday and announced the winners of the best feature film and the best short film, as selected by the audiences.

Aurélie Laflamme’s Diary (Le journal d’Aurélie Laflamme, Canada 2010), Christian Laurence’s delightful story about a teenager navigating the strange conventions of adolescence on planet Earth, tipped the scale slightly ahead of Jean-Christophe Roger’s The Storytelling Show (France/Luxembourg 2010) in the audience voting for best feature film.

Rob Silvestri’s Ormie (Canada 2010), the award-winning slapstick animation about a pig determinedly trying to reach a cookie jar on top of a fridge won the audience award for best short film. Gravity, directed by Renaud Hallée and The Lost Thing, directed by Andrew Ruhemann and Shaun Tan were tied for second in the polling.

Read more
“Jo For Jonathan” by Maxine Giroux Takes the Top Prize at 2011 Gotham Screen Fest

[caption id="attachment_1777" align="alignnone" width="550"]Best Feature: Jo For Jonathan, directed by Maxime Giroux[/caption]

The 5th Annual Gotham Screen International Film Festival (GSIFF) is over after ten days of screenings and events in downtown New York. Highlights of the festival included the world premiere of US drama “40 West,” Singaporean production “Sandcastle” and popular Indian movie “Shuttlecock Boys.”

Festival director Michael Gunther said of the event, “We’re very proud of this year’s program, which featured no less than six world premieres, with films as diverse as US thriller ‘Occupant,’ Chinese documentary ‘He Film’ and indie road movie ‘Days Together.’ The move to the legendary Quad Cinema brought increased attendance and allowed us to dramatically broaden the program. We definitely feel at home in the new surroundings of Greenwich Village and hope to continue our growth, both creatively and audience-wise, in the next year.”

Winners of 2011 GOTHAM SCREEN International Film Festival:

Best Feature: “Jo For Jonathan,” directed by Maxime Giroux
Best Actress: Erin Anderson as ‘Alex’ in “Days Together”
Best Actor: Raphaël Lacaille as ‘Jonathan’ in “Jo For Jonathan”
Best Cinematography: Sharon Loh, for “Sandcastle”
Best Documentary: “The Cost Of Creativity,” directed by John Biddle
Best Short Film: “I Am Not A Moose,” directed by Jessica Brickman — Winner of the $1,000 Circleframe Short Film Award, sponsored by Triboro Pictures.

Audience Choice Awards:

Feature Film: “Brief Reunion,” directed by John Daschbach
Short Film: “Porn Masala,” directed by Ken Kwek

Special Jury Mentions:

Feature Film: “Sandcastle,” by Boo Jun Feng
Documentary: “Fat Cows, Lean Cows,” by Meni Elias
Short Film: “Lighthouse,” by Anthony Chen

Winners of the 2011 GOTHAM SCREEN Screenplay Contest:
Best Screenplay: “Auntie” (Thriller), by Deirdre Patterson — Winner of the $2,500 Circleframe Screenwriting Award, sponsored by Triboro Pictures.

Best Action/Adventure: “April Fool,” by Yvonne Fein
Best Comedy: “Saturday Night Club,” by Rob Nagle
Best Drama: “The Song of Sampson Dale,” by Geoffrey Caple
Best Horror: “Committed,” by Jeff Sussman
Best Mystery: “Absolution,” by Michael R. Lupariello
Best Romantic Comedy: “Alison Offline,” by Gordon Rayfield
Best Sports / Biography: “Jackie,” by Jay S. Blumenkopf
Best War / Drama: “Silent Courage,” by Max Kopelowicz

The 2012 Gotham Screen festival will return in October, 2012.
Read more
We Need To Talk About Kevin Wins Best Film at BFI London Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_1775" align="alignnone" width="550"]BEST FILM: WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN[/caption]

Tilda Swinton’s latest film, We Need To Talk About Kevin, took the top prize at The 55th BFI London Film Festival. The film adapted from Lionel Shriver’s popular 2003 novel is about an American woman, Eva (Tilda Swinton), suffering from the fallout of a terrible crime committed by her teenage son, Kevin (Ezra Miller).

BEST FILM: WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN, directed by Lynne Ramsay
On behalf of the jury John Madden (Chair) said: “This year’s shortlist for Best Film comprises work that is outstanding in terms of its originality and its stylistic reach. It is an international group, one united by a common sense of unflinching human enquiry and we were struck by the sheer panache displayed by these great storytellers. In the end, we were simply bowled over by one film, a sublime, uncompromising tale of the torment that can stand in the place of love. We Need to Talk About Kevin is made with the kind of singular vision that links great directors across all the traditions of cinema.”

BEST BRITISH NEWCOMER: Candese Reid, actress, Junkhearts
The award for Best British Newcomer was presented by Edgar Wright and Minnie Driver to Candese Reid, for her acting role in Junkhearts, a sophisticated, social drama about hope and the search for redemption. Starting acting at the age of nine, she joined Nottingham’s prestigious Television Workshop, and her role in Junkhearts, at the age of 18, was her first professional acting role.

Chair of the Best British Newcomer jury, Andy Harries said, “Candese is a fresh, brilliant and exciting new talent. Every moment she was on screen was compelling.”

SUTHERLAND AWARD WINNER: Pablo Giorgelli, director of LAS ACACIAS
The long-standing Sutherland Award is presented to the director of the most original and imaginative feature debut in the Festival. This year, Argentinian director Pablo Giorgelli took the award for his film Las Acacias, a slow-burning, uplifting and enchanting story of a truck driver and his passengers. The director received his Star of London from film director Terry Gilliam.

The jury commented: “In a lively and thoughtful jury room debate, Las Acacias emerged as a worthy winner, largely because of the originality of its conception. Finely judged performances and a palpable sympathy for his characters makes this a hugely impressive debut for director Pablo Giorgelli.”

GRIERSON AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY: INTO THE ABYSS: A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life directed by Werner Herzog
The award is co-presented with the Grierson Trust, in commemoration of John Grierson, the grandfather of British documentary. Recognising outstanding feature length documentaries of integrity, originality, technical excellence or cultural significance, the jury was chaired by Adam Curtis and the award went to Werner Herzog’s coruscating study of the senselessness of violence and its consequences.

BFI FELLOWSHIP: Ralph Fiennes and David Cronenberg (as previously announced)

Awarded to an individual whose body of work has made an outstanding contribution to film culture, the Fellowship is the highest accolade that the British Film Institute bestows and was awarded to Canadian auteur David Cronenberg whose film A Dangerous Method premiered at the Festival on Monday. The Fellowship was presented by Jeremy Thomas and Michael Fassbender.

Ralph Fiennes, one of Britain’s pre-eminent actors, who has just made a bold and critically well received transition to film directing with his festival film Coriolanus, was also presented with a Fellowship, this time from fellow actor and personal friend Liam Neeson.

Greg Dyke, Chair, BFI said: ‘The BFI London Film Festival Awards pay tribute to outstanding film talent, so we are delighted and honoured that both Ralph Fiennes, one of the world’s finest and most respected actors and David Cronenberg, one of the most original and ground-breaking film directors of contemporary cinema, have both accepted BFI Fellowships – the highest accolade the BFI can bestow. I also want to congratulate all the filmmakers and industry professionals here tonight, not only on their nominations and awards, but also for their vision, skill, passion and creativity.’

Read more
Audience Award Winners of 2011 Buffalo International Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_1770" align="alignnone" width="550"]Cape No. 7[/caption]

The Buffalo International Film Festival announced the winners of the 2011 Audience Awards selected by a direct vote from the audiences screening the films between October 7-23, 2011.

5th Annual Buffalo International Film Festival
Audience Awards

Best of Festival

1st Place: Tie: Cape No. 7, Taiwan, 2010

Tie: The Whisperer in Darkness, United States, 2011

Honorable Mention: Cultures of Resistance, United States, 2010

Drama

1st Place: Shock Corridor, United States, 1963

2nd Place: Essential Killing, Poland, Norway, Ireland, Hungary, 2010

Honorable Mention: Janie Jones, United States, 2010

Documentary Film

1st Place: If A Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, United States, 2011

2nd Place: Cultures of Resistance, United States, 2010

Honorable Mention: Kumpania, United States, 2011

Foreign Language Films

1st Place: Cape No. 7, Taiwan, 2008

2nd Place: Orz Boyz, Taiwan, 2008

Honorable Mention: Gallants, Romantics Anonymous

Short Films

Documentary: A Tribute to Milton Rogovin, 3 short films

Fiction: Made In Buffalo: 15 Short Films from Buffalo and Western New York

Comedy

1st Place: Gallants, Hong Kong, 2010

2nd Place: Romantics Anonymous, France, 2010

Horror / Science Fiction

1st Place: The Whisperer in Darkness, United States, 2011

2nd Place: The House on Haunted Hill, United States, 1957

Honorable Mention: Black Eve, Canada, 2011

Animation

Flatland, United States, 2007

Special Event:

Meet the Pros: Filmmaking Workshop with David Heely & Joan Kramer

First Annual Samuel Fuller Guerilla Filmmaking Award

Atwill, United States, 2011, Charles Dennis

Read more
AFI FEST announces the film retrospective curated by Guest Artistic Director Pedro Almodóvar

[caption id="attachment_1781" align="alignnone"]Law Of Desire[/caption]

AFI FEST has released the film retrospective curated by Guest Artistic Director Pedro Almodóvar for the 2011 festival. In addition to the screening of his film LAW OF DESIRE as An Evening With Pedro Almodóvar Gala presentation on Monday, November 7, Almodóvar’s program of classic horror films and thrillers are EYES WITHOUT A FACE (DIR Georges Franju, 1960), LE CERCLE ROUGE (DIR Jean-Pierre Melville, 1970), NIGHTMARE ALLEY (DIR Edmund Goulding, 1947) and THE KILLERS (DIR Robert Siodmak, 1946).

Almodóvar has created comprehensive notes for these curated films that will be shared with moviegoers as part of the festival’s official program guide.

Almodóvar will attend the festival on Monday, November 7, joined by Antonio Banderas, who has a leading role in LAW OF DESIRE.

Read more
First Look at the Doc NYC Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_1766" align="alignnone" width="550"]The Island President[/caption]

The Doc NYC Film Festival is kicking off at the IFC Center on 6th Avenue on November 2nd through November 10th 2011. Vimooz’s Francesca McCaffery is covering the Festival, and here are some of the first highlights of what is proving to be a truly inspiring, not-to-be-missed line-up:

The Island President: If you only go see a few films at the Doc NYC Film Festival this year, Jon Shenk’s “The Island President” should be at the very top of your list. Focusing on the pint-sized President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives Islands (the country comprised of a thousand scattered islands, South of India) and his amazing quest to crush the threat of global warming- which is literally threatening the life of the Island’s inhabitants. (The Maldives are literally sinking at a stomach-lurching rate, due to the additional CO2 in the air, which is raising ocean water levels.) Learning about his twenty years as a political activist and political prisoner before he was elected- this movie is a tribute to a brilliant, illuminating spirit, and absolutely MUST be seen. (Radiohead does the soundtrack, another great reason to see it!)

[caption id="attachment_1767" align="alignnone" width="550"]Kumare[/caption]

Kumare: Kumare is the story of a young, hip Indian-American filmmaker (Vikram Gandhi) who initially started out making a doc about spiritual leaders around the world. Quietly demoralized by many of their “fake” attributes, inauthenticity and very Western appetites, he sets upon an experiment: With two pretty young “assistants,” he gets his yoga certification, grows out his long, black beard, moves to Phoenix, AZ (where no one knows him) and literally remakes himself into a spiritual guru named “Kumare.” He then begins teaching self-created meditation and yoga techniques and life-enriching “seminars” at a local yoga studio. Soon, he has up to twenty students, all who start confiding in him their problems, anxieties and general fears about their lives, loves and relationships. The filmmaker now faces a great dilemma: How is he going to “reveal” his true self without breaking everyone’s heart, including his own? The film is being billed as a Borat-style stunt- and perhaps, it may have been originally conceived as such. But the message the filmmaker decides to make the crux of his highly inventive film is a beautiful one- and the film itself is a hilarious, warm, and extraordinarily thought-provoking. Please make sure to check it out!

[caption id="attachment_1768" align="alignnone" width="550"]Lemon[/caption]

Lemon: Another wonderful doc at the Doc NYC Film Festival this year, “Lemon” (directed by Laura Brownson and Beth Levinson) focuses upon the tough upbringing and truly resilient, genius spirit of performer Lemon Andersen, discovered By Russell Simons (and placed on both television and Broadway through the Def Poetry Jam series-winning Andersen an ensemble Tony award for the stage version) and chronicles his ups and downs, as well as his tragic Brooklyn childhood and fight to come up from the projects and become a star. The wonderful thing about watching this film is actually getting to observe an artist at work- we see the countless rehearsals of Lemon’s one -man show, his frustrations as he tries to find funding for it, what he must let go off in order to take the show to the next level, (to the historic Public Theatre) and his incredible drive to succeed. Through it all, we see that Lemon is not just a star performer, but a deft and dazzling poet, and we root for him all the way through. A well-conceived and stylized take on the American Dream, and what one has to do if they truly want to attain it. Also- the film is simply fun and beautiful to watch, just gorgeously well produced. You can say you saw it here first, because this will certainly be at a theater near you or on HBO, very soon.

[caption id="attachment_1683" align="alignnone" width="550"]Into the Abyss, A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life: Werner Herzog [/caption]

Into the Abyss, A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life: Werner Herzog

Herzog again self-narrates another documentary- this time, a strange and stilted journey into the state of Texas, where he interviews two young men imprisoned for murder, one of them on Death Row, as well as the families of three of their victims. In this extensive investigation into the inhabitants of the small town, the family members, and the killers themselves, it is hard not to focus on the fact that these murders seemed to driven not by love, lust or greed, but by the need simply to possess, of all things, a new sports car. Herzog is not making a simple judgment call on materialism and society, or our literally wasted, orphaned-in-spirit youth. He seems be asking, simply: “Why do we kill? And why do states kill?” As Michael Perry proclaims, and scarily correct days before his execution, “The state of Texas wants to murder me!” I found a smaller film to be much more interesting and actually relevant, which was Grober Babcock’s and Blue Hadaegh’s “Scenes of a Crime.” This doc painstakingly picks apart the gaping holes in a grueling police interrogation of a father whose infant son has died in his care. As we learn how remiss the detectives were in this case, it makes one reflect upon the pressure we put upon our civil servants to keep our lives and our society tightly in line. This was a far more devastating commentary on how, as one hard-working lawyer for the defense put it, “Very few people put in the position of administering justice seem to really care about doing so.”

We will have continuing highlights and coverage of this wonderful documentary film fest. Please stay tuned, and please go to www.docnyc.net to get your tickets now!

By Francesca McCaffery

Read more
AFI FEST 2011 Announces World Cinema, Breakthrough, Midnight and Shorts programs

AFI FEST announced the remaining programs and films that will screen in the festival’s World Cinema, Breakthrough, Midnight and Shorts programs at the 25th edition this November.

The festival describes each programs as “World Cinema showcases the most anticipated and prize-winning international films of the year, Breakthrough highlights works discovered only through the submissions process and Midnight’s eclectic selection presents films with provocative and unexpected ideas.”

WORLD CINEMA SELECTIONS

ALMAYER’S FOLLY: DIR/SCR Chantal Akerman. Belgium/France. U.S. Premiere.
ALPS: DIR Yorgos Lanthimos. SCR Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou. Greece/France. U.S. Premiere.
ARIRANG: DIR Kim Ki-duk. South Korea. U.S. Premiere.
CAFÉ DU FLORE: DIR/SCR Jean-Marc Vallée. Canada. U.S. Premiere.
CARRÉ BLANC: DIR/SCR Jean-Baptiste Léonetti. France/Luxembourg/Russia/Belgium/Switzerland. U.S. Premiere.
THE DAY HE ARRIVES: DIR/SCR Hong Sang-Soo. South Korea. U.S. Premiere.
EXTRATERRESTRIAL: DIR/SCR Nacho Vigalondo. Spain.
FAUST: DIR Alexander Sokurov. SCR Alexander Sokurov, Marina Koreneva. Russia. U.S. Premiere.
FOOTNOTE: DIR/SCR Joseph Cedar. Israel. Israel’s official foreign-language Oscar submission.
THE FORGIVENESS OF BLOOD: DIR Joshua Marston. SCR Joshua Marston, Andamion Murataj. USA/Albania/Denmark/Italy.
THE INVADER: DIR Nicolas Provost. SCR Nicolas Provost, Giordano Gederlini, François Pirot. Belgium. U.S. Premiere.
JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI: DIR David Gelb. USA.
KINYARWANDA: DIR/SCR Alrick Brown. USA.
MAMA AFRICA: DIR Mika Kaurismäki. Germany/South Africa/Finland.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA: DIR Nuri Bilge Ceylan. SCR Ercan Kesal, Ebru Ceylan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Turkey/Bosnia/Herzegovina. Turkey’s official foreign-language Oscar submission.
PLAY: DIR/SCR Ruben Östlund. Sweden/France/Denmark.
A SEPARATION: DIR/SCR Asghar Farhadi. Iran. Iran’s official foreign-language Oscar submission.
THE SILVER CLIFF: DIR Karim Aïnouz. SCR Beatriz Brachner, Karim Aïnouz. Brazil.
TARGET: DIR Alexander Zeldovich. SCR Vladimir Sorokin, Alexander Zeldovich. Russia.
THIS IS NOT A FILM: DIR/SCR Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, Jafar Panahi. Iran.
THE TURIN HORSE: DIR Béla Tarr. SCR Béla Tarr, László Krasznahorkai. Hungary. Hungary’s official foreign-language Oscar submission.

BREAKTHROUGH SELECTIONS
The Breakthrough films are true discoveries – films that come straight from the submissions process.

EXPECTING: DIR/SCR Francisca Fuenzalida. Chile. U.S. Premiere.
LIGHT OF MINE: DIR Brett Eichenberger. SCR Jill Remensnyder. USA.
THREE AND A HALF: DIR/SCR Naghi Nemati. Iran. U.S. Premiere.
WITH EVERY HEARTBEAT: DIR/SCR Alexandra-Therese Keining. Sweden. World Premiere.

MIDNIGHT SELECTIONS
The Midnight section showcases an eclectic group of films across the globe from fearless proponents of provocative, jarring and unexpected ideas.

BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW: DIR/SCR Panos Cosmatos. USA.
HEADHUNTERS: DIR Morten Tyldum. DIR Morten Tyldum. SCR Lars Gudmestad, Ulf Ryberg. Norway.
KILL LIST: DIR Ben Wheatley. SCR Ben Wheatley, Amy Jump. UK.

SHORT FILM SELECTIONS (In Competition)
The films in this section are in competition for the Grand Jury Prize for Live Action Short Film and Animated Short Film. Both award categories are recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as qualifiers for the annual Academy Awards®.

30,000 DAYS: DIR Stephanie Barber. USA.
ALL FLOWERS IN TIME: DIR Jonathan Caouette. USA.
ALL IN ALL: DIR Charlie Reff. USA.
ANOTHER BULLET DOGED: DIR Landon Zakheim. USA.
BABYLAND: DIR Marc Fratello. USA.
BLINK: DIR Rick Rosenthal. AFI Conservatory Directing Class of 1973. Canada.
BROKEN NIGHT: DIR Yang Hyo-Joo. Korea.
CLEAR BLUE: DIR Lindsay MacKay. AFI Conservatory Thesis Film/AFI Directing Class of 2010. USA.
DR. BREAKFAST: DIR Stephen Neary. USA.
THE EAGLEMAN STAG: DIR Michael Please. UK.
EX-SEX: DIR Michael Mohan. USA.
FROZEN STORIES: DIR Grzegorz Jaroszuk. Poland.
INFINITE MINUTES: DIR Cecilia Felmeri. Hungary/Romania.
JUAN Y LA BORREGA: DIR J. Xavier Velasco. Mexico.
LIBERTAS: DIR Kan Lume. Australia/Singapore.
LITTLE KITTEN: DIR Stephanie Barber. USA.
MASKA: DIR Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay. USA.
MEXICAN CUISINE: DIR Francisco Guijarro. USA.
NEGATIVAPEG: DIR M. Rankin. Canada.
NIGHT HUNTER: DIR Stacy Steers. USA.
ONCE IT STARTED IT COULD NOT END OTHERWISE: DIR Kelly Sears. USA.
ONE MINUTE PUBERTY: DIR Alexander Gellner. USA.
PIONEER: DIR David Lowery. USA.
PROTOPARTICLES: DIR Chema García Ibarra. Spain.
RUNAWAY: DIR Victor Carrey. Spain.
SATAN SINCE 2003: DIR Carlos Puga. USA.
SLEEP STUDY: DIR Kerri Lenoo, John Merriman. USA.
TATUM’S GHOST: DIR Stephanie Barber. USA.
THIEF: DIR Julian Higgins. AFI Conservatory Thesis Film/AFI Directing Class of 2010. USA.
TO DIE NEXT TO YOU: Dir Simon Cahn, Spike Jonze. France.
UNMANNED: DIR Casey Cooper Johnson. AFI Conservatory Thesis Film/AFI Directing Class of 2011. USA.
THE VOYAGERS: DIR Penny Lane. USA.
WE’RE LEAVING: DIR Zachary Treitz. USA.
YEARBOOK: DIR Carter Smith. USA.
ZERGUT: DIR Natasha Subramaniam, Alisa Lapidu. USA.

SHORT FILM SELECTIONS (Out of Competition)
AANTENI: DIR Todd Cole. USA.
I SAW YOUR SISTER YESTERDAY: DIR Mina Park. USA.
MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO: DIR Juliano Dornelles. Brazil.
MY BOW BREATHING: DIR Enrico Maria Artale. Italy.

WORLD CINEMA SELECTIONS

ALMAYER’S FOLLY: Chantal Akerman loosely adapts Joseph Conrad’s novel set in Malaysia, the tragic tale of a failed European trader and his
“mixed blood” daughter. DIR Chantal Akerman. CAST Stanislas Merhar, Marc Barbé, Aurora Marion, Zac Andrianasolo. Belgium/France.
U.S. Premiere.

ALPS: DOGTOOTH director Yorgos Lanthimos returns with a tale of a group offering an unusual service for grieving families: They inhabit the
role of the recently deceased. DIR Yorgos Lanthimos. SCR Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou. CAST Aggeliki Papoulia, Aris Servetalis, Ariane
Labed, Johnny Vekris. Greece/France. U.S. Premiere.

ARIRANG: Traumatized by a near-fatal accident during filming, director Kim Ki-duk offers a visionary self-portrait of a troubled artist reeling
from an emotional breakdown. DIR Kim Ki-duk. South Korea. U.S. Premiere.

CAFÉ DU FLORE: In his follow-up to C.R.A.Z.Y., Jean Marc Vallée tells two parallel stories connected by music about a Montreal D.J. and a
mother devoted to her special-needs son. DIR/SCR Jean-Marc Vallée. CAST Vanessa Paradis, Kevin Parent, Hélène Florent, Evelyne Brochu,
Marin Gerrier. Canada. U.S. Premiere.

CARRÉ BLANC: One of the strongest debuts in years, CARRÉ BLANC is a dystopian sci-fi vision of a world with limited resources and limitless
cruelty. DIR/SCR Jean-Baptiste Léonetti. CAST Sami Bouajila, Julie Gayet, Jean-Pierre Andreani, Fejria Deliba, Valerie Bodson.
France/Luxembourg/Russia/Belgium/Switzerland.

THE DAY HE ARRIVES: In director Hong Sang-soo’s sublime black-and-white vision of Seoul in winter, a filmmaker’s visit to an old friend
reverberates with déjà vu-inducing parallels and repetitions. DIR/SCR Hong Sang-Soo. CAST Yu Jun-sang, Kim Sang-joong, Song Sun-mi,
Kim Bok-yung. South Korea. U.S. Premiere.

EXTRATERRESTRIAL: TIMECRIMES director Nacho Vigalondo’s surprising second feature finds an alien invasion providing the backdrop for
one of the most delightful romantic comedies in years. DIR/SCR Nacho Vigalondo. CAST Julian Villagran, Michelle Jenner, Raul Cimas,
Carlos Areces, Miguel Noguera. Spain.

FAUST: RUSSIAN ARK director Alexander Sokurov offers a poetic meditation on Goethe’s legend of the scholar who exchanges his soul for
unlimited knowledge. DIR Alexander Sokurov. SCR Alexander Sokurov, Marina Koreneva. CAST Johannes Zeiler, Anton Adasinskiy, Isolda
Dychauk, Georg Friedrich, Hanna Schygulla. Russia. U.S. Premiere.

FOOTNOTE: With wit and pathos, Joseph Cedar tells the story of a rivalry between father and son, both professors in the competitive world of
Talmudic scholarship. DIR/SCR Joseph Cedar. CAST Shlomo Bar Aba, Lior Ashkenazi, Alisa Rosen, Alma Zak, Daniel Markovich, Micah
Lewesohn, Yuval Scharf, Nevo Kimchi. Israel.

THE FORGIVENESS OF BLOOD: In MARIA FULL OF GRACE director Joshua Marston’s assured second feature, a modern Albanian teenager
finds himself ensnared in his family’s ancient blood feud. DIR Joshua Marston. SCR Joshua Marston, Andamion Murataj. CAST Tristan
Halilaj, Sindi Laçej, Refet Abazi, Ilire Vinca Çelaj, Çun Lajçi. USA/Albania/Denmark/Italy.

THE INVADER: THE INVADER tells the riveting story of an African immigrant who flees near-enslavement and fights for survival in a European
city where he does not belong. DIR Nicolas Provost. SCR Nicolas Provost, Giordano Gederlini, François Pirot. CAST Issaka Sawadogo,
Stefania Rocca, Serge Riaboukine, Dieudonné Kabongo, Tibo Vandenborre, Hannelore Knuts. Belgium. U.S. Premiere.

JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI: With stunning cinematography and a score by Philip Glass, David Galb’s documentary about renowned 85-year-old
sushi master Jiro Ono is a complete feast for the senses. DIR David Gelb. CAST Jiro Ono, Yoshikazu Ono, Masuhiro Yamamoto, Takashi
Ono, Hachiro Mizutani. USA.

KINYARWANDA: Set in 1994, KINYARWANDA interweaves six true tales into one epic narrative about the Rwandan genocide. DIR/SCR
Alrick Brown. CAST Cassandra Freeman, Edouard Bamporiki, Cleophas Kabasita. USA.

MAMA AFRICA: A documentary film about the late Miriam Makeba, the charismatic South African singer and anti-apartheid activist who
became the voice and the hope of Africa. DIR Mika Kaurismäki. Germany/South Africa/Finland.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA: A confessed killer leads detectives to his victim’s body in this slow-burning and far from routine police
procedural from Turkish master Nuri Bilge Ceylan. DIR: Nuri Bilge Ceylan. SCR: Ercan Kesal, Ebru Ceylan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan. CAST
Muhammet Uzuner, Yilmaz Erdogan, Taner Birsel, A. Mumtaz Taylan, Ercan Kesal. Turkey/Bosnia/Herzegovina.

PLAY: Based on actual events, PLAY follows a group of kids lured from an enclosed mall into remote woods by another group with possibly
nefarious intentions. DIR/SCR Ruben Östlund. CAST Anas Abdirahman, Sebastian Blyckert, Yannick Diakité, Sebastian Hegmar, Abdiaziz
Hilowle. Sweden/France/Denmark.

A SEPARATION: Winner of the Golden Bear in Berlin, this drama is a complex portrait of an Iranian family torn apart by a divorce and an
escalating feud. DIR/SCR Asghar Farhadi. CAST Leila Hatami, Peyman Moadi, Shahab Hosseini, Sareh Bayat, Sarina Farhadi, Babak
Karimi, Merila Zarei. Iran.

THE SILVER CLIFF: Abandoned with shocking cruelty by her husband, Violeta embarks on a heartbroken 24-hour odyssey through the bustling
and beautiful cityscape of Rio de Janeiro. DIR Karim Aïnouz. SCR Beatriz Brachner, Karim Aïnouz. CAST Alessandra Negrini, Thiago
Martins, Gabi Pereira, Otto Jr., Carla Ribas. Brazil.

TARGET: In this flamboyant and ambitious Russian science fiction drama, a wealthy couple from Moscow search for the source of eternal youth.
DIR Alexander Zeldovich. SCR Vladimir Sorokin, Alexander Zeldovich. CAST Maksim Sukhanov, Justine Waddell, Danila Kozlovsky, Daniela
Stoyanovich. Russia.

THIS IS NOT A FILM: Banned by Iran from filmmaking for 20 years and threatened with imprisonment, Jafar Panari offers a remarkable
portrait of an artist at the crossroads. DIR/SCR Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, Jafar Panahi. Iran.

THE TURIN HORSE: An apocalyptic vision of the harsh lives of peasants in a pitiless landscape, this enigmatic and beautiful film marks
Hungarian master Béla Tarr’s farewell to cinema. DIR Béla Tarr. SCR Béla Tarr, László Krasznahorkai. CAST Erika Bók, János Derzsi, Mihály
Kormos, Ricsi. Hungary.

BREAKTHROUGH SELECTIONS
EXPECTING: In Chile, a young girl and her boyfriend wait for a black-market drug to take effect in this tense and insightful examination of teen
pregnancy. DIR/SCR Francisca Fuenzalida. Chile. U.S. Premiere.

LIGHT OF MINE: Rapidly going blind, photographer Owen and his wife Laura take a life-changing trip to Yellowstone National Park where
they experience a beauty that rivals their tragedy. DIR Brett Eichenberger. SCR Jill Remensnyder. USA.

THREE AND A HALF: Three women risk everything and travel to the northwest Iranian border in hopes of escaping prison and reuniting with
their comrades. DIR/SCR Naghi Nemati. CAST Samaneh Vafaiezadeh, Shooka Karimi, Negar Hassanzadeh, Mehdi Poormoosa. Iran.
U.S. Premiere.

WITH EVERY HEARTBEAT: In this Swedish romantic drama, uptight Mia attends her father’s engagement party and not only gains a
stepmother, but also a new lover, Frida. DIR/SCR Alexandra-Therese Keining. CAST Ruth Vega Fernandez, Liv Mjönes, Lena Endre, Krister
Henriksson. Sweden. World Premiere.

MIDNIGHT SELECTIONS
BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW: An intense and hallucinogenic sci-fi film set in 1983, director Panos Cosmatos’ BEYOND THE BLACK
RAINBOW is a one-of-a-kind film experience. DIR/SCR Panos Cosmatos. CAST Michael Rogers, Eva Allan, Scott Hylands, Marilyn Norry,
Rondel Reynoldsen. USA.

HEADHUNTERS: In this thriller, corporate headhunter by day, art thief by night Roger will do anything to keep his gorgeous wife happy, even
stealing from the wrong adversary. DIR Morten Tyldum. SCR Lars Gudmestad, Ulf Ryberg. CAST Aksel Hennie, Synnøve Macody Lund,
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Norway.

KILL LIST: As bills stack up and pressures at home mount, an unemployed dad realizes it’s time to get back on the horse and kill some people.
DIR Ben Wheatley. SCR Ben Wheatley, Amy Jump. CAST Neil Maskell, Michael Smiley, MyAnna Buring. UK.

Read more
Ashland Independent Film Festival has a new Executive Director

The Ashland Independent Film Festival has a new Executive Director. She is Anne Ashbey Pierotti, and she will succeed Tom Olbrich on November 1. Pierotti is already well known to the festival, having served on the Ashland Independent Film Festival’s board of directors from 2006 to June of 2011 and was the board’s President from 2008 to 2010.

“I am deeply honored to have been selected for this position,” said Pierotti. “I look forward to collaborating with the AIFF’s incredible staff, board, volunteers and community supporters to build upon the festival’s success and ensure a bright future for independent film in Southern Oregon.”

The eleventh annual Ashland Independent Film Festival will be held April 12-16, 2012.

Read more
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival Unveils New Website

[caption id="attachment_1751" align="alignnone" width="550"]Opening Night film – About Fifty[/caption]

The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival has unveiled its new website design just in time for the 26th edition which runs October 21 – November 11, 2011

The festival kicks off with the film, About Fifty, previously titled Fifty Nothing, directed by Thomas Johnston. The film is described as “A “coming-of-age story about the coming of age,” Thomas Johnston’s comedy tackles a very timely subject in these times of aging baby-boomers: what happens when youth, with all its attendant hopes and dreams, is confronted by the reality of that 50th birthday making its increasingly rapid approach. For Adam (Martin Grey) and Jon (co-writer Drew Pillsbury), life in Los Angeles has taken a turn for the melancholy. With their careers solidly stuck in holding patterns, parents that are becoming increasingly in need of care, and the memories of lost love and divided assets looming large, our heroes decide on a course of action: escape. To the desert, that is, for a weekend of battery recharging in lovely Palm Springs, no less. Rather than spoil things by revealing too much, we will just say that—in the tradition of the best road-movie comedies—what starts out as fun and games soon evolves, as both men must come to terms with their pasts and look forward, however horrifying it may appear at first glance, to a post-50 future.”

Read more