Khacha directed by Akram Khan has been selected as Bangladesh’s entry to represent the country in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 90th Academy Awards.
Based on author Hasan Azizul Haque’s short story Khacha, the screenplay for the film was co-written by actor Azad Abul Kalam and the film’s director Akram Khan. The film also stars Mamunur Rashid, and Jaya Ahsan; and chronicles the plight of a Hindu family trying to migrate to India after the Indian Parition of 1947.
Khacha and Shonabondhu directed by the Jahangir Alam Sumon, were the only two films submitted to the Bangladesh Oscar selection committee this year.Foreign Language Films
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KHACHA is Bangladesh’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film
Khacha directed by Akram Khan has been selected as Bangladesh’s entry to represent the country in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 90th Academy Awards.
Based on author Hasan Azizul Haque’s short story Khacha, the screenplay for the film was co-written by actor Azad Abul Kalam and the film’s director Akram Khan. The film also stars Mamunur Rashid, and Jaya Ahsan; and chronicles the plight of a Hindu family trying to migrate to India after the Indian Parition of 1947.
Khacha and Shonabondhu directed by the Jahangir Alam Sumon, were the only two films submitted to the Bangladesh Oscar selection committee this year.
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ONE THOUSAND ROPES is New Zealand’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
Tusi Tamasese’s One Thousand Ropes is New Zealand’s submission for the best foreign language category of the 90th Academy Awards.
Written and directed by Tamasese and produced by Catherine Fitzgerald, One Thousand Ropes is the story of a Samoan family living in suburban New Zealand, re-connecting and putting to rest the ghosts that haunt them.
Starring Uelese Petaia, Frankie Adams, Beulah Koale and Sima Urale, One Thousand Ropes is Tamasese’s follow up to his much-awarded feature debut, The Orator. The film had its world premiere in the Panorama section of the 2017 Berlin Film Festival.
One Thousand Ropes is a powerful character drama of a father reconnecting with his youngest daughter and together putting to rest the ghosts that haunt them.
She arrives vulnerable: badly beaten and heavily pregnant. He struggles on one hand, with the inner temptation and the encouragement from the men in his life to take revenge in the way he knows best, and on the other, to build the new family and companionship so desperately missing from his life.
One Thousand Ropes is a deeply moving film about connections, redemption and new beginnings.
One Thousand Ropes will next be seen in October’s London Film Festival and Adelaide Film Festivals, with more festival outings to follow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWsfITbkkTc
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BIRDSHOT is Philippines’ Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
The Film Academy of the Philippines has officially selected Birdshot as the Philippine entry to the best foreign language film category of the 90th Oscar Awards.
The other films reviewed by the committee were Die Beautiful by Jun Lana; 1st SEM by Dexter Hernandez and Allan Ibanez; Ang Araw sa Likod Mo by Dominic Nuesa; Kita Kita by Sigfrid Bernardo; Ang Manananggal sa Unit 23B by Prime Cruz; Patay na si Hesus by Victor Villanueva; Triptiko by Miguel Franco Micelena; and Sunday Beauty Queen by Baby Ruth Villarama.
Birdshot is directed by Mikhail Red and stars Mary Joy Apostol, Arnold Reyes, Ku Aquino and John Arcilla.
Birdshot is a coming-of-age thriller that tells the story of a young farm girl who wanders off into a Philippine forest reserve. Deep within the reservation she mistakenly shoots and kills a critically endangered and protected Philippine Eagle. As the local authorities begin a manhunt to track down the poacher of a national bird, their investigation leads them to an even more horrific discovery.
Maya, a naïve 14-year-old girl is tasked to watch over cornfields with her caretaker father Diego. Their isolated farmland is situated in the valley of the Sierra Madre in Isabela Northern Luzon. Often at conflict with her world-weary father, Maya dreams of an escape from her rural life. One day Diego entrusts Maya with his birdshot shotgun after teaching her how to hunt in the wilderness. Maya ventures on her own into the nearby protected forest, she later mistakenly shoots and kills an endangered Philippine Eagle in hopes to prove herself to her father. Upon discovering her crime, Diego decides to bury the shotgun and consume the carcass of the eagle to conceal the evidence. Later, authorities begin a manhunt to track down the eagle’s killer. Diego is ultimately apprehended as he surrenders himself to protect his daughter. Towards the end of the film Maya comes face to face with the consequences of her crime. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-Z6ShPLtbw
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HOCHELAGA, LAND OF SOULS is Canada’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
Director François Girard’s Hochelaga, Land of Souls (Hochelaga, Terre des Âmes) will represent Canada in the race for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar at the 90th Academy Awards.
This is François Girard’s first time representing Canada in the race for the Best Foreign Language Film nomination at the Academy Awards.
“This is a great honour that reflects on Hochelaga, Land of Souls and on all those who worked on the film, starting with my dear friend and producer Roger Frappier,” said director François Girard. “In the film, French is heard alongside Mohawk and Algonquin, the languages of the two great founding nations of our people.”
In the film, a tremendous downpour hits Montreal, and a spectacular sinkhole opens up in Percival-Molson Stadium in the middle of a football game. The stadium is evacuated, and a few hours later, it becomes a protected archaeological site. Centuries of history are revealed beneath the field. Mohawk archaeologist Baptiste Asigny begins investigating, and he will discover the multitude of generations who have occupied this land, each with buried secrets. Baptiste then sets out to find what he has spent his career searching for: the vestiges of the village of Hochelaga where his Iroquoian ancestors met French explorer Jacques Cartier in October 1535. Hochelaga, Land of Souls explores 750 years of history in one single spot where the souls of all centuries and all cultures come together.
The impressive cast includes Samian, Vincent Perez, Wahiakeron Gilbert, Raoul Trujillo, Sébastien Ricard, Siân Phillips, Linus Roache, Emmanuel Schwartz, David La Haye, Tanaya Beatty, Gilles Renaud and Naïade Aoun, to name just a few.
The film will be released theatrically in Canada in Fall 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BzSP0ztC9E
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Action Comedy KILLS ON WHEELS Sets Release Date | Trailer
In the action-comedy Kills on Wheels,, two teenaged boys living with disabilities find escape from their humdrum lives when they’re enlisted by an ex-con to be his accomplice … as wheelchair hitmen!
Thrust into a surreal world of gangsters and guns, the partnership soon blossoms into friendship as their mentor reveals a soft heart beneath his tough exterior and the boys help him come to terms with his own disability.
Kills on Wheels, written and directed by Attila Till (Panic), will open in theaters on Friday, October 20, 2017, at Village East Cinema in New York City. The film played at last year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and was Hungary’s official submission to the 89th Academy Awards®.
Kills on Wheels features stellar cinematography, a mix of live action and comic book-style animation, and a wickedly dark sense of humor. It deftly blends genres, confronting issues of invisibility, prejudice, and loneliness as it boldly flouts all stereotypes and expectations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGMUgDyD-go
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Kino Lorber to Release LET THE CORPSES TAN (Laissez bronzer les cadavres) | Trailer
Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani’s latest film Let The Corpses Tan (Laissez bronzer les cadavres), has been acquired by Kino Lorber for release in the US, following its North American debut at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.
The film stars acclaimed Romanian-American actress Elina Löwensohn (Schindler’s List, A Very Long Engagement), Stéphane Ferrara (Alexander) and Hervé Sogne (SK1, JCVD) and was photographed in cinemascope by Manuel Dacosse (Amer, Evolution, Axolotl Overkill), the directors’ longtime director of photography.
A gang of thieves absconding with 250kg of stolen gold arrives at the abode of a listless artist caught in a bohemian love triangle. The scenario quickly escalates into a desperate day-long firefight between cops and robbers throughout the remote ruins of a Mediterranean hamlet — and genre and art-house tropes collide in a relentless reverie of action spectacle, exquisitely photographed on Super 16mm film. TIFF
This eagerly anticipated follow up to Amer (2009) and The Strange Color of Your Body’s Tears (2013) had its world premiere at the 2018 Locarno International Film Festival and a U.S. premiere at Fantastic Fest, in Austin, TX.
Let The Corpses Tan will play at other upcoming fall and winter festivals before a summer 2018 theatrical release – followed by a fall SVOD, VOD and physical media launch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cx48AN5_y8
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VIDEO: Watch New Trailer for Angelina Jolie’s FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER
Netflix has released a new trailer for the critically acclaimed film First They Killed My Father, directed by Angelina Jolie. The film is the adaptation of Cambodian author and human rights activist Loung Ung’s gripping memoir of surviving the deadly Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1978.
The story is told through her eyes, from the age of five, when the Khmer Rouge came to power, to nine years old. The film depicts the indomitable spirit and devotion of Loung and her family as they struggle to stay together during the Khmer Rouge years. First They Killed My Father is now playing in select theaters and streaming on Netflix.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K_SpNqLwzI
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YOU DISAPPEAR is Denmark’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
Peter Schønau Fog’s drama “You Disappear” has been selected as Denmark’s official entry to the Foreign Language Film category at the 2018 Academy Awards.
The film was chosen from a shortlist of three titles that also comprised Henrik Ruben Genz’ “Word of God” and Fenar Ahmad’s “Darkland.”
Peter Schønau Fog’s drama is based on Danish writer Christian Jungersen’s bestselling novel. Mia is married to the successful headmaster Frederik who is caught embezzling from his own school. But did he do this of his own free will – or has his personality been altered by the tumour lurking in his brain? The film is a story about the challenges we face as neuroscience forces us to rethink what we are as human beings.
“You Disappear” made its international premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, where critics emphasized Trine Dyrholm and Nikolaj Lie Kaas’ “powerful” and “moving” performances as Mia and Frederik. The cast also features Mikkel Boe Følsgaard and the late Michael Nyqvist.
“You Disappear” is Schønau Fog’s second film after his critically acclaimed feature debut “The Art of Crying” (2007), which was also selected for the Toronto Film Festival.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yf4kORjB04w&t=30s
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MY PURE LAND is Britain’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
British-Pakistani director Sarmad Masud’s Urdu language debut film My Pure Land has been selected as Britain’s submission for the best foreign language film category at the 2018 Oscars.
The film stars Suhaee Abro, Eman Malik, Syed Tanveer-Hussain, Razia Malik, Atif Akhtar Bhatti, Tayyab Azfal and Ahsen Murad.
My Pure Land world premiered at this year’s 2017 Edinburgh International Film Festival is based on a remarkable true story, told in partial flashbacks, about how a mother and her two daughters try to protect their remote Pakistan home, picking up machine guns to fight off a virtual army of armed men.
MY PURE LAND is a film based on a true story. A young woman called Nazo and her mother and sister are called to defend their home after a bitter family feud leads to her father’s incarceration. In their isolated farmhouse in Pakistan, the women find themselves surrounded by armed men hired by their Uncle Mehrban to take back the land. When Nazo’s resistance leaves two of the men dead, an enraged Mehrban calls in a local ragtag militia – two hundred armed bandits. But even with only a handful of bullets left, Nazo refuses to give in…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdY8bKCVIC0
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SAAWAN is Pakistan’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
Saawan directed by Farhan Alam has been selected by Pakistan as the country’s selection in the ‘Foreign Language Film Award’ category at the 90th Academy Awards.
Saawan written and produced by Mashood Qadri, is based on a true story of a disabled child who lives in a valley in the mountains of Balochistan. He is rejected by his father, intimidated by society, harassed by friends and left alone due to his disability. Strengthened by memories and dreams of the love of his mother, he begins a perilous journey back to his family in the main city. The film features Saleem Mairaj, Syed Karam Abbas, Arif Bahalim, Najiba Faiz and Imran Aslam in the lead roles. The other cast includes Tipu Sharif, Hafeez Ali, Sehrish Qadri, Sohail Malik, Shahid Niazmi, Muhammad Abbas, Danial Yunus, Mehek Zulfiqar and Syed Muhammad Ali. The film won ‘Best Foreign Language Feature Film’ award at the 2017 Madrid International Film Festival and the Best Film and Best Soundtrack Award earlier this month at the 2017 Salento International Film Festival in Italy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heyVzwJeOzY
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A FANTASTIC WOMAN is Chile’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
A Fantastic Woman (Una mujer fantástica) directed by Sebastian Lelio has been selected as Chile’s submission for the best foreign-language film category at the 2018 Oscars.
The film starring transgender star Daniela Vega premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Teddy Award, and the Silver Bear for best script.
Marina and Orlando are in love and planning for the future.
Marina is a young waitress and aspiring singer. Orlando is 20 years older than her, and owns a printing company.
After celebrating Marina’s birthday one evening, Orlando falls seriously ill. Marina rushes him to the emergency room, but he passes away just after arriving at the hospital.
Instead of being able to mourn her lover, suddenly Marina is treated with suspicion. The doctors and Orlando’s family don’t trust her. A woman detective investigates Marina to see if she was involved in his death. Orlando’s ex-wife forbids her from attending the funeral. And to make matters worse, Orlando’s son threatens to throw Marina out of the flat she shared with Orlando.
Marina is a trans woman and for most of Orlando’s family, her sexual identity is an aberration, a perversion.
So Marina struggles for the right to be herself. She battles the very same forces that she has spent a lifetime fighting just to become the woman she is now – a complex, strong, forthright and fantastic woman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgDhpy9Z-NM
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SHEIKH JACKSON is Egypt’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
Sheikh Jackson directed by Amr Salama has been selected as Egypt’s candidate for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 2018 Oscars.
Starring Ahmed El-Fishawy, Ahmed Malek, Maged El-Kedwany and Amina Khalil, Sheikh Jackson is set to World Premiere on the final day of the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.
June 25, 2009. Any Michael Jackson fan can tell you where they were on this date, the day the King of Pop died. Director and writer Amr Salama transports us back to that moment through the eyes — and the kaleidoscopic, MTV-inspired dreams — of a young imam (Ahmad Alfishawy), whose devout and devoted life is thrown into chaos by the passing of The Gloved One.
The tabloid event triggers memories of his teen years (rising star Ahmed Malek steps in here) when he worshiped everything Jacko did, from the Thriller-era haircut to the bondage pants from the Bad tour. But MJ’s passing also stirs up emotions around the death of the young cleric’s mother and its aftermath, when his gruff father (Maged El Kedwany) offered little support. With the sheikh’s past increasingly encroaching onthe present, he begins to question not just how to moonwalk but what it means to be a man, to have faith, and to be true to oneself. TIFF
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsijix35ORE