Provincetown International Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_22529" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Aubrey Plaza as Ingrid Thorburn in INGRID GOES WEST[/caption] The Provincetown International Film Festival (PIFF) will honor actress Aubrey Plaza, with the festival’s inaugural Next Wave Award, which recognizes those who have exciting and distinctive voices, take artistic risks, and have a passionate commitment to independent film. Plaza, who stars in and produced the festival’s Closing Night Film, INGRID GOES WEST, will receive the honor at a ceremony on Sunday, June 18 at Fishermen Hall in Provincetown. She will also star in THE LITTLE HOURS which she produced and has recently received critical acclaim for her role on the FX series, “Legion.” Additionally, the festival will host a special presentation with Julie Klausner and Scott King, the creators of Hulu’s hit original series “Difficult People” and a special screening of a new documentary from acclaimed filmmakers Sebastian Junger and Nick Quested (with Junger in attendance), as well as daily breakfast panels and more. Other additional programing includes

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

EPISODIC TV SPECIAL PRESENTATION: THE CREATIVE GENIUSES BEHIND “DIFFICULT PEOPLE,” PRESENTED BY HULU – Saturday, June 17, 2:30pm, Art House 2 Join Julie Klausner (creator, executive producer, writer, star) and Scott King (executive producer, showrunner) as they share clips from the upcoming third season and talk about their hilarious and wildly irreverent comedy series “Difficult People,” about two aspiring NYC comedians in their mid-30s (Klausner and “Billy on the Street” star Billy Eichner) who aren’t living up to their potential, hate just about everything and everyone – except for each other. Learn how the project caught the attention of executive producer Amy Poehler and is the stopping-place for a broad swath of guest stars from Nathan Lane to Kathie Lee Gifford to Seth Meyers and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Moderated by Kyle Turner, a freelance writer and editor based in Brooklyn, New York. His work has been featured in Paste Magazine, The Village Voice, Playboy, Slate, Vice, Brooklyn Magazine, and Indiewire’s /Bent. HELL ON EARTH: THE FALL OF SYRIA AND THE RISE OF ISIS (directed by Sebastian Junger and Nick Quested) – Sunday, June 18, 2pm, Art House 1 Academy Award-nominated filmmaker and best-selling author Sebastian Junger and his Emmy-winning filmmaking partner, Nick Quested, chronicle Syria’s descent into the unbridled chaos that allowed the rise of the Islamic State, better known as ISIS. This documentary delves into the real stories and persons in the conflict, giving a human face on the ground to what are just headlines and news clips to the rest of the world. Discovering the motivations, consequences and human toll from the war raises questions of how outside forces have influenced the situation, including the West. *Sebastian Junger will be in attendance.

PIFFtalks

PIFFtalks: SCREEN ADAPTATIONS: FROM BOOKS AND FILMS – Thursday, June 15, 3pm, Harbor Lounge, 359 Commercial Street Join writer/producer Mark Protosevich (OLD BOY, I AM LEGEND, POSEIDON) and author Casey Sherman (Boston Strong, The Finest Hours) in a discussion about the challenges of adapting films from other original source material. Sherman’s telling of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings was most recently adapted to the screen in the 2017 film PATRIOT’S DAY directed by Peter Berg. Protosevich will speak to the creative undertaking of adapting among other classic films, the 2003 South Korean classic film OLD BOY, directed by auteur filmmaker Park Chan-wook, for Spike Lee and his current project FLASH GORDON with director Matthew Vaughn. Moderated by award-winning journalist Ari Karpel. PIFFtalks: WOMEN IN FILM AT PIFF – Friday, June 16, 10am, Provincetown Theater, 238 Bradford Street It wasn’t long ago that women directors only accounted for 7% of the selections at the Cannes Film Festival. Meanwhile, 50% of PIFF’s 2017 narrative feature selections are directed by women, continuing the Festival’s long tradition of support. Join us for a conversation about being filmmakers, by directors and producers who just happen to be women. Panelists include: Noël Wells (MR. ROOSEVELT) and Katherine Dieckmann (STRANGE WEATHER). Moderated by Loren King, Boston Globe correspondent. PIFFtalks: SEBASTIAN JUNGER – Saturday, June 17, 10am, Provincetown Theater, 238 Bradford Street Join us for a special conversation with award-winning writer, director, journalist Sebastian Junger. Known for his wide range of best-selling books, The Perfect Storm, Fire, A Death in Belmont, and War. His documentary films include the Academy-Award nominated RESTREPO, WHICH WAY TO THE FRONT LINE FROM HERE?, and KORENGAL. His new film, HELL ON EARTH: THE FALL OF SYRIA AND THE RISE OF ISIS, is screening at this year’s festival. Moderated by journalist and author Mark Harris, former executive editor of Entertainment Weekly and author of Five Came Back. PIFFtalks: CAPTURING A TRUE STORY – Sunday, June 18, 10am, Provincetown Theater, 238 Bradford Street Every documentary has a huge responsibility to its viewers – to tell the truth. Join us to discuss the magic and pitfalls of capturing real events in order to tell a true story with respect to the people who lived it. How does the camera, direction editing and other filmmaking tools affect reality? Panelists include festival directors: Hope Litoff (32 PILLS: MY SISTER’S SUICIDE), Trish Adlesic (I AM EVIDENCE), and Andrew Rossi (BRONX GOTHIC). Moderated by Steven Raphael, Founder/President, Required Viewing.

PIFFplus

ANCHOR AWARD: JOHN AND GUI YINGLING – Wednesday, June 14, 6:30pm presentation before Opening Night Screening, Fishermen Hall, 12 Winslow Street Each year, we recognize one of our generous community business partners who provides extraordinary support for the festival and our other year-round programs. Through his services as a longtime member of the Provincetown Film Society board, John Yingling along with his son Gui with whom he operates several local establishments including Bubula’s, Local 186, Enzo’s, and Spiritus Pizza, represent a vital part of the Provincetown community and have a steadfast commitment to giving back in time and resources. John and Gui win special kudos from our staff and volunteers by providing free pizza from Spiritus and an annual thank you party for our amazing volunteers. BOOK SIGNING – MAKE TROUBLE: JOHN WATERS – Thursday, June15, 5pm-7pm, MAP, 220 Commercial Street Pop culture icon, New York Times bestselling author and renowned filmmaker of such cult masterpieces as HAIRSPRAY, PINK FLAMINGOS and SERIAL MOM advises the graduating class of the Rhode Island School of Design to ‘get busy and make trouble’ in his new graphic book Make Trouble. In the book, Waters uses his sly wisdom and wealth of experience to encourage the younger generation to embrace chaos, be nosy, and challenge the status quo, while simultaneously urging anyone embarking on a creative path to be both pragmatic and disciplined. Notable quotes include: “Remember, a ‘no’ is free. Ask for the world and pay no mind if you are initially turned down.” “Don’t hate all rich people. They’re not all awful. Believe me. I know some evil poor people, too.” “Use technology for transgression, not lazy social living.” Meet John Waters… EVAN LAWSON FILMMAKERS’ BRUNCH – CELEBRATING FILMMAKERS ON THE FRONT LINE – Sunday, June 18, 12pm, Sage at the Pilgrim House, 336 Commercial Street Recipient of the 2016 Freedom Award from the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund for his HBO film SUITED, director Jason Benjamin will share his experiences working with the transgender community and with veterans for his upcoming film RETURNING. A screening of the film will take place at AMP Gallery, 432 Commercial Street on Sunday, June 18 at 4:30pm. The Evan Lawson Filmmakers’ Benefit Brunch honors the legacy of former board president Evan Law- son, who was a longtime advocate for Provincetown and its artists. Tax-deductible tickets are $250 at the box office and online. SHORT FILM SCREENING: “RETURNING” (directed by Jason Benjamin) – Sunday, June 18, 4:30pm, AMP Gallery, 432 Commercial Street After studying technique and theory of documentary filmmaking, four Florida veterans apply what they’ve learned to examine the Sarasota County Veterans Treatment Court system. This short documentary illustrates how the judicial system works with, and not against, local veterans. Through the treatment court, veterans are provided mentoring, counseling and other tools that focus on rehabilitation instead of incarceration. The veterans court is led by a compassionate circuit court judge who takes on each case with considerate justice. Meet the filmmakers: director Jason Benjamin, executive producer John Secor, and the veterans featured in the film. 2017 HBO AWARDS PRESENTATION – HBO PRESENTS THE AUDIENCE AWARDS – presentation during Closing Night Party, Sunday, June 18, 9pm, The Waterford Inn – Spindler’s, 386 Commercial Street HBO has long been known for connecting audiences around the world to compelling content that is both groundbreaking and popular. Likewise, they are uniquely poised to present our discerning audiences picks for Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Feature and Best Short Film. The 2016 Audience Awards went to: THE INNOCENTS directed by Anne Fontaine for Best Narrative Feature; THE MUSIC OF STRANGERS: YO-YO MA AND THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE by Morgan Neville, and POLITICAL ANIMALS by Jonah Markowitz and Tracy Wares (tie) for Best Documentary Feature; and TERRITORY directed by Eleanor Mortimer for Short Documentary Award. JOHN SCHLESINGER AWARD FOR FIRST TIME DIRECTOR – presentation during Closing Night Party, Sunday, June 18, 9pm, The Waterford Inn – Spindler’s, 386 Commercial Street In memory of John Schlesinger, this special award is given to first-time doc/narrative feature film directors at our Closing Night Awards presentation. John Schlesinger’s (1926-2003) work includes such highly acclaimed films as MIDNIGHT COWBOY, MARATHON MAN, THE DAY OF THE LOCUST, SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY and COLD COMFORT FARM. Mr. Schlesinger’s films reveal a keen social awareness, a fascination with love’s complexities, and a penchant for drawing out big performances. An actor himself, he helped to make stars out of such performers as Julie Chris- tie, Dustin Ho man and John Voight, and has the distinction of directing eight different actors in Academy Award-nominated performances. 2016 winners include BLOOD STRIPE directed by Remy Auberjonois for Best Narrative Feature; OFF THE RAILS by Adam Irving for Best Documentary Feature. HERE MEDIA PRESENTS: QUEER SHORTS AWARD – presentation during Closing Night Party, Sunday, June 18, 9pm, The Waterford Inn – Spindler’s, 386 Commercial Street Debuting a new award for 2016, HERE MEDIA presented the Jury Award for Best QUEER SHORT, which was chosen from those shorts presented in our QUEER SHORTS program. Awarding it again in 2017, this award comes with recognition and distribution by HERE MEDIA, including streaming of the winning short across HERE MEDIA properties. JURIED SHORTS AWARDS – presentation during Closing Night Party, Sunday, June 18, 9pm, The Waterford Inn – Spindler’s, 386 Commercial Street A team of film industry professionals will also present awards for Best Narrative Short Film; Best Animated Short Film; Best New England Short Film; and Best Student Short Film. 2016 winners include THUNDER ROAD directed by Jim Cummings for Best Narrative Short Film; GLOVE directed by Alexa Haas and Bernardo Britto for Best Animated Short Film; BLACK CANARIES directed by Jesse Kreitzer for Best New England Short Film; THE MINK CATCHER directed by Samantha Buck for Best Student Short Film; and MAIS DURO! directed by Camila Saldarriaga. The 2017 jurors are: Dilcia Barrera, Sundance Film Festival Short Film Programmer; Bernardo Britto, director (PIFF 2016 Best Animated Short Film, GLOVE), and director Lauren Wolkstein (THE STRANGE ONES, PIFF 2017).

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