Paul Guilfoyle and Lainie Kazan[/caption]
Veteran actors, Paul Guilfoyle (CSI, LA Confidential) and Lainie Kazan (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) star opposite each other in a new dramedy Turnover by award-winning writer/director/producer, Linda Palmer.
“Turnover” is the story of cafe owner, Peter who leaves his disgruntled manager, Henry, in charge of the business. Henry instead fires the staff and replaces them with an eclectic crew of misfits. Peter returns to an unrecognizable café, and eventually learns the value of camaraderie. He bonds with the new team, and only through their help is he able to save the business, his life, and ultimately find love.
Guilfoyle plays the role of “Peter” opposite Kazan who plays the role of the feisty head waitress, “Gladys.” “Henry” is played by Riker Lynch (Glee and the band R5), and veteran actor, Carlos Carrasco (Blood In, Blood Out), takes on the hardened ex-criminal role of “Miguel”, a savant chef with a heart of gold and the cooking chops to heal. Ms. Kazan stated, “It was the first positive project I had read in quite a while. I found it extremely inspirational and decided I must play the part of Gladys. I’m so happy to be part of this project.”
The remaining ‘misfits’ include, Adwin Brown (Heathers, The Fosters), Blair Williamson (Scrubs, Nip Tuck) and newcomer, Madison McCarthy. They are joined by a stellar cast of all-stars including, icon, Beverly Todd (Lean On Me, Bucket List), Elina Madison (Last Call at Murray’s), Kat Kramer (Child of the 70’s), Julia Silverman (American Pastoral), Jamie Brewer (American Horror Story) and Karen Sharpe Kramer (Johnny Ringo) among others. Mrs. Sharpe-Kramer has come out of retirement to join her daughter in the cast. Sharpe-Kramer stated, “I had basically retired from acting, but after reading ‘Turnover’ I fell in love with the story, the role of Pat, and decided to come on board. I’m dedicated to being involved with projects that focus on inclusion, diversity and family values. I’m thrilled to be joining my daughter Kat Kramer as a cast member, and working with the talented team, especially Linda Palmer, and so many gifted women behind, and in front of, the camera.”
The film will shoot in Long Beach, late this summer at a few select local businesses, primarily the Mediterranean favorite, Open Sesame, in Belmont Shore. “Turnover,” produced by Palmer, Marvin Glover, and Rae Davis, aims to educate and break down barriers for people with disabilities. Working with Activities Recreation and Care (ARC) and National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS), the “Turnover” creative and production teams’ mission is to challenge the stigmas that people with disabilities face by using entertainment to showcase their talent and bring attention to the public.
Once the film is complete, ARC and NDSS will have the opportunity to promote awareness through private screenings arranged via Tugg.com, prior to its domestic release. Turnover, LLC, the film’s parent company, will then share the screening profits with these organizations. The film will be produced by Palmer’s production company, Runaway Productions, and Glover’s company, Sea Sand Entertainment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjVHTomfBRsIndependent Film
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Paul Guilfoyle and Lainie Kazan to Star in New Indie Film, TURNOVER [Video]
[caption id="attachment_29798" align="aligncenter" width="1204"] Paul Guilfoyle and Lainie Kazan[/caption]
Veteran actors, Paul Guilfoyle (CSI, LA Confidential) and Lainie Kazan (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) star opposite each other in a new dramedy Turnover by award-winning writer/director/producer, Linda Palmer.
“Turnover” is the story of cafe owner, Peter who leaves his disgruntled manager, Henry, in charge of the business. Henry instead fires the staff and replaces them with an eclectic crew of misfits. Peter returns to an unrecognizable café, and eventually learns the value of camaraderie. He bonds with the new team, and only through their help is he able to save the business, his life, and ultimately find love.
Guilfoyle plays the role of “Peter” opposite Kazan who plays the role of the feisty head waitress, “Gladys.” “Henry” is played by Riker Lynch (Glee and the band R5), and veteran actor, Carlos Carrasco (Blood In, Blood Out), takes on the hardened ex-criminal role of “Miguel”, a savant chef with a heart of gold and the cooking chops to heal. Ms. Kazan stated, “It was the first positive project I had read in quite a while. I found it extremely inspirational and decided I must play the part of Gladys. I’m so happy to be part of this project.”
The remaining ‘misfits’ include, Adwin Brown (Heathers, The Fosters), Blair Williamson (Scrubs, Nip Tuck) and newcomer, Madison McCarthy. They are joined by a stellar cast of all-stars including, icon, Beverly Todd (Lean On Me, Bucket List), Elina Madison (Last Call at Murray’s), Kat Kramer (Child of the 70’s), Julia Silverman (American Pastoral), Jamie Brewer (American Horror Story) and Karen Sharpe Kramer (Johnny Ringo) among others. Mrs. Sharpe-Kramer has come out of retirement to join her daughter in the cast. Sharpe-Kramer stated, “I had basically retired from acting, but after reading ‘Turnover’ I fell in love with the story, the role of Pat, and decided to come on board. I’m dedicated to being involved with projects that focus on inclusion, diversity and family values. I’m thrilled to be joining my daughter Kat Kramer as a cast member, and working with the talented team, especially Linda Palmer, and so many gifted women behind, and in front of, the camera.”
The film will shoot in Long Beach, late this summer at a few select local businesses, primarily the Mediterranean favorite, Open Sesame, in Belmont Shore. “Turnover,” produced by Palmer, Marvin Glover, and Rae Davis, aims to educate and break down barriers for people with disabilities. Working with Activities Recreation and Care (ARC) and National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS), the “Turnover” creative and production teams’ mission is to challenge the stigmas that people with disabilities face by using entertainment to showcase their talent and bring attention to the public.
Once the film is complete, ARC and NDSS will have the opportunity to promote awareness through private screenings arranged via Tugg.com, prior to its domestic release. Turnover, LLC, the film’s parent company, will then share the screening profits with these organizations. The film will be produced by Palmer’s production company, Runaway Productions, and Glover’s company, Sea Sand Entertainment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjVHTomfBRs
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Rob Tregenza’s GAVAGAI, Adapted from the Poetry of Tarjei Vesaas, Opens August 3 [Trailer]
Shadow Distribution has released the official trailer for Rob Tregenza’s GAVAGAI, adapted from the poetry of Tarjei Vesaas, considered to be one of Norway’s greatest writers. The film will open at Cinema Village in New York on August 3rd, and at the Music Hall in Los Angeles on August 10. Other select cities will follow.
Rob Tregenza’s uncompromising cinematic vision and devotion has, among other things, led him to direct such celebrated Independent films as Talking to Strangers, The Arc and Inside Out and to work with Jean-Luc Godard and, as a cinematographer with particular belief in long takes, for Alex Cox and Bela Tarr. In GAVAGAI, director Rob Tregenza and screenwriter Kirk Kjeldsen have adapted the poetry of Tarjei Vesaas, considered to be one of Norway’s greatest writers (1897-1970) to the screen.
German businessman Carsten Neuer travels to Norway to finish the impossible translation of some Norwegian poems by Tarjei Vesaas into Chinese, a project of his late wife. He hires Niko, a down-on-his-luck tour guide, to drive him to the poet’s home and places of inspiration to stimulate his own translation. On the road, the ghost of Carsten’s wife appears to him, while Niko struggles with the sudden consequences of his girlfriend’s pregnancy. On this journey, two very different men come to realize the transforming power of love, the limits of language, and the human need for friendship.
Shot entirely in Telemark, Norway on 35mm, the film stars Andreas Lust (from the Golden Bear-nominated film Der Räuber, The King’s Choice, and the Oscar-nominated film Revanche), Anni-Kristiina Juuso (from The Cuckoo and The Kautokeino Rebellion), and Mikkel Gaup (from Tregenza’s Inside/Out and the Oscar-nominated films Pathfinder and Breaking The Waves).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNOH5AagobM
Director
Rob Tregenza (born November 14, 1950) is a North American cinematographer, film director, and producer. Besides shooting his own projects, Tregenza also worked as a director of photography with other directors, including Béla Tarr (Werckmeister Harmonies), Claude Miller (Marching Band), Pierre William Glenn (The Sad and Lonely Death of Edgar Allan Poe), and Alex Cox (Three Businessmen). Tregenza earned his PhD from UCLA in 1982. He has produced, directed and photographed four feature films: Talking to Strangers (1987), which appeared at the Berlin International Film Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival; The Arc (1991), a co-production with Film Four International which showed in Berlin, Edinburgh, Toronto, and Chicago; Inside/Out (1997), which screened at Cannes, Toronto, Rotterdam, and Sundance; and Gavagai (2016). Tregenza’s first feature, Talking to Strangers, won him acclaim and the eye and praise of Jean-Luc Godard, who personally selected the film in 1996 to be showcased at the Toronto Film Festival. Richard Brody, of The New Yorker, wrote of the main character, Jesse, in the film: “The drive for [his] purity extends through all domains—intimate, intellectual, artistic, and, for that matter, religious—as the quest for experience comes into conflict with the yearning for the realization of a higher, even transcendently great, ideal.” Tregenza’s third feature, Inside/Out, premiered at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section. Tregenza’s fourth feature film, GAVAGAI (2016) was shot in 35mm, in Telemark,Norway. It stars Andreas Lust (The Robber 2010, Revanche 2008), Anni-Kristiina Juuso (The Cuckoo 2009) and Mikkel Gaup (Kautokeino Rebellion 2008) GAVAGAI was based on 15 poems by Tarjei Vesaas.
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Aaron Schimberg’s Oddball Comedy CHAINED FOR LIFE to World Premiere at BAMcinemaFest
The oddball comedy Chained for Life directed by Aaron Schimberg and starring Jess Weixler, Adam Pearson and Stephen Plunkett will World Premiere on Sunday, June 24th at BAMcinemaFest.
Building on the promise of his hallucinogenic debut Go Down Death, Brooklyn filmmaker Aaron Schimberg delivers another brilliantly oddball, acerbically funny foray into gonzo surrealism. In a deft tragicomic performance, Jess Weixler (Teeth) plays Mabel, a movie star “slumming it” in an outré art-horror film being shot in a semi-abandoned hospital. Cast opposite her is Rosenthal ( Under the Skin’s Adam Pearson), a gentle-natured young man with a severe facial deformity. As their relationship evolves both on and offscreen, Schimberg raises provocative questions about cinematic notions of beauty, representation, and exploitation. Tod Browning crossed with Robert Altman crossed with David Lynch only begins to describe something this startlingly original and deeply felt.
World Premiere: Sunday, June 24th at 6:30pm (Peter Jay Sharp Building BAM Rose Cinemas)
Aaron Schimberg:
Aaron Schimberg is a filmmaker living in New York. He is an alumnus of the 2017 New York Film Festival Artist Academy. His debut feature GO DOWN DEATH was called “an astonishing out-of-nowhere film” by Filmmaker Magazine and “a stunning midnight movie in the tradition of Jodorowsky and The Saragossa Manuscript” by The Dissolve. It was selected for inclusion in the IFP Narrative Lab. Aaron is a programmer at Brooklyn’s Spectacle Theater where he has curated dozens of programs including a series of North Korean films and a Tatsumi Kumashiro retrospective. He is the co-founder of Grand Motel Films, which, in 2016, rediscovered and restored the lost 1966 film WHO’S CRAZY?, featuring an original soundtrack by Ornette Coleman.
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Doppelgänger Releasing Partners with Bloody Disgusting, will Release Black Metal Comedy HEAVY TRIP
Doppelgänger Releasing announced a new distribution relationship with horror genre website Bloody Disgusting, and will kick things off with the release of Finnish black metal comedy Heavy Trip, which had its world premiere at SXSW. Doppelgänger (the genre label of arthouse distributor Music Box Films) is planning a limited theatrical run along with a home entertainment release in late 2018, and will screen the film at the upcoming Cinepocalypse Genre Film Festival at the Music Box Theatre in late June.
When Turo and his undiscovered heavy metal band—eventually named Impaled Rektum—get their first chance in 12 years to leave the basement and play at Norway’s biggest heavy metal music festival, they steal a van, a corpse, a coffin, and a drummer from the local mental hospital and hit the road.
“We’ve admired Bloody Disgusting’s ability to create and grow the most actively engaged online horror communities out there, and we’re looking forward to working with them on identifying and releasing exciting new content that pushes the boundaries of genre filmmaking,” said Lisa Holmes, Director of Sales at Music Box Films/ Doppelgänger Releasing. “Heavy Trip has a perfect combination of humor, heart, and heavy metal, and we’re excited to work with Bloody Disgusting to bring it to American audiences.”
“Heavy Trip is destined for cult classic status and we know horror and music fans will unite in celebration of this heartwarming, but totally metal comedy,” said Brad Miska of Bloody Disgusting. “We’re extremely proud of our Chicago roots and working with the prestigious Music Box is a dream come true. This is just the opening act! “
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COMING SOON: Anne Hathaway to Star in Dee Rees’ Next Film THE LAST THING HE WANTED
[caption id="attachment_29642" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Anne Hathaway, Dee Rees[/caption]
Netflix is re-teaming with Academy Award nominee Dee Rees (Mudbound) for her next film “The Last Thing He Wanted” starring Academy Award Winner Anne Hathaway.
The film is written by Marco Villalobos and Dee Rees based on Joan Didion’s book of the same title.
The story is based on the 1996 novel by Joan Didion and centers on hardscrabble journalist Elena McMahon who finds herself on dangerous ground as the Iran Contra Affair’s arms for drugs plot reaches its tipping point.
Scott Stuber, head of Netflix’s film group commented: “Dee Rees is an incredibly talented filmmaker, who continues to make provocative and entertaining films. We are thrilled to continue our relationship with Dee and proud to have her part of the Netflix family.”
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Allison Volk’s Dark Rom-Com DEANY BEAN IS DEAD to World Premiere At Dances With Films [Trailer]
Writer/Producer/Actress Allison Volk’s new dark romantic-comedy feature film, Deany Bean is Dead will make its World Premiere at the 2018 Dances With Films festival at the famed TCL Chinese Theaters in Hollywood on June 16th.
DEANY BEAN IN DEAD follows Deany (Volk), a 30-something hopelessly hung-up on her ex-boyfriend who accidentally ends up at his house during his engagement party. Out to sabotage everything and win him back, Deany’s plan is hampered by the fact that she has the dead body of her abusive boss hidden in her car out front. Just as her strategy starts to work, the evening unravels and forces Deany to confront her own self-worth.
The 84-minute film evolved from Volk working on a series of short film projects with Mikael Kreuzriegler, a Director/Cinematographer, current Chair of Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film and Television and previous Dances With Films festival winner. Armed with an idea, Volk penned the script for Kreuzriegler to direct; and together they produced the picture along with Associate Producer Christiana Santos (Executive Director of Distribution at Orion Pictures at MGM). To help bring the characters to life alongside Volk, the team cast several rising actors, including Sarah Siadat (Veep, Grimm), Paul Tigue (20th Century Women) and Paulina Bugembe (Scandal).
Since starting the creative project nearly 2 years ago, Volk is excited to now share the film with audiences at Dances With Films and beyond. Volk adds, “It is such a thrill to watch a project evolve from script to screen; every individual contribution is important and makes the project better. We’re really honored to be part of Dances with Film and looking forward to celebrating the success with everyone involved.”
Originally from Boulder, Colorado, Volk has been building a solid reputation in Hollywood as an award-winning writer, film producer and actress. Most recently, Volk won ‘Best Screenplay’ at the 2018 Utah Film Awards for her dark action comedy feature script, Tiger Woman. She wrote, produced and starred in her First feature film, Innocent Sleep, earning ‘Best Lead Actress’ at the 2017 Utah Film Awards for this modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In addition, Volk has written and produced two award-winning shorts and written several plays which have enjoyed production in Los Angeles and New York, one of which took the Denise Regan Wisenmeyer Award. She co-founded The City Shakespeare Company in Santa Monica, serving as co-artistic director for three years. She proudly made her feature ?lm debut as ‘Jane’ in Disney’s 2013 western-action film, The Lone Ranger.
Currently, Volk is in pre-production on the short fantasy/drama film, What Katie Did, which is slated to shoot in Colorado this August.
https://vimeo.com/247749747
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Adam Sobel’s THE WORKERS CUP Opens in New York and Los Angeles on June 8 [Trailer]
In 2022 Qatar will host the biggest sporting event in the world – the FIFA World Cup. But right now, far away from the bright lights, star athletes and adoring fans, migrant workers from Africa and Asia toil exceedingly long hours for scant salaries, and live isolated in labor camps which are by law kept outside city limits. By day they sweat to build the World Cup, but at night they compete in the “workers welfare” football tournament, playing in the same stadiums that will one day host the world’s greatest players.
The film follows one team of men from Nepal, India, Ghana, and Kenya whose only common ground is their love for football. Each match offers them a momentary escape from the homesickness and isolation they endure as the lowest class in the world’s richest country. Over the course of the tournament the men alternate between two startling extremes: they play heroes on the football pitch – but are the lowest members of society off the field. The Workers Cup explores universal themes of ambition, aspiration and masculinity, as we see the men wrangle hope, meaning, and opportunity out of dismal circumstances.
The Workers Cup, an Opening Night Selection of Sundance Film Festival; and an official selection of Hot Docs, CPH:DOX, and Human Rights Watch Film Festival, opens in New York and Los Angeles Friday, June 8th.
The film is Adam Sobel’s feature film directorial debut and is produced by Ramzy Haddad and Rosie Garthwaite, with Dennis Paul and Paul R. Miller serving as executive producers. Editing is by Lauren Wellbrock, Anne Jünemann, and Adam Sobel and edit consultants are Anne Fabini and Francois Sculier. Cinematography is by Nazim Aggoune and Joe Saade and original music is by Nathan Halpern.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNOfalJj9UU
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The Orchard to Release Jazz-Inspired Drama THE SONG OF SWAY LAKE [Trailer]
The jazz-inspired drama The Song of Sway Lake, directed by Ari Gold (Adventures of Power), who co-wrote the film with Elizabeth Bull; and starring Rory Culkin (Signs), Robert Sheehan (Geostorm) and Mary Beth Peil (Tony nominee for Anastasia) has been acquired by The Orchard. The Song of Sway Lake will be released in theaters on September 21st and on VOD and Digital HD on September 25th.
Featuring both original and classic songs, The Song of Sway Lake tells the story of a young man (Culkin) who plots to steal a valuable, long-lost jazz record from his grandmother’s lake house. His plan is derailed when his accomplice (Sheehan) falls for the matriarch.
The Song of Sway Lake was produced by Grack Films’ Ari Gold, Michael Bederman (Spotlight), Allison Rose Carter (American Honey) and Social Construct’s Zak Kilberg. The film was executive produced by Garrett P. Fennelly (The Tested) and Anne Bernstein (Otis N’ Dwayne).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WuRTxBOji4
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Watch New Trailer for Lea Thompson’s THE YEAR OF SPECTACULAR MEN Starring Zoey Deutch and Madelyn Deutch
MarVista Entertainment has released the new trailer for The Year of Spectacular Men directed by Lea Thompson. The film starring Madelyn Deutch, Zoey Deutch, Lea Thompson, Avan Jogia, Melissa Bolona, Jesse Bradford, Brandon T. Jackson, Cameron Monaghan, Zach Roerig, and Nicholas Braun, opens in theaters on June 15th.
Izzy Klein has (barely) graduated from college, broken up (sorta) with her boyfriend, and is stranded in New York City with a bad case of pre-real-world millennial-itis. Unsure of what the next step is, her movie star little sister Sabrina convinces her to move back home to Los Angeles and into her shared apartment with movie star boyfriend Sebastian, where they can keep an eye on rudderless Izzy. Emotionally unable to deal with the loss of her father, and slightly distracted by her mother Deb’s newfound love affair with loopy yogi Amythyst, Izzy funnels her energy into dating a colorful bouquet of five complicated and spectacular men: Aaron, Ross, Logan, Mikey, and Charlie, over the course of the next year. Coping just barely with the help of her trusty notebook, she falls in and out of some not so romantic romances, and figures out that when it totally feels like the end of your story, it’s often just the beginning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SWHlI8JSbU
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Watch Official Trailer for Indie Comedy BERNARD AND HUEY
The official trailer dropped for the indie comedy Bernard and Huey, directed by Dan Mirvish, co-founder of the Slamdance Film Festival. Freestyle will release Bernard and Huey in select theaters starting June 8th.
Bernard and Huey is the story of roguish Huey (David Koechner) and nebbishy Bernard (Jim Rash), who are unlikely friends in late 1980s New York. Years later, a bedraggled Huey crashes at Bernard’s upscale bachelor pad. As the two reconnect, Bernard starts a relationship with Huey’s estranged daughter Zelda (Mae Whitman), an aspiring graphic novelist. Huey slowly gets his mojo back and tries to seduce various women in Bernard’s life, while reconnecting with his family. As the two friends return to their old ways, at least one of them finds himself in danger of marrying a woman old enough to be his wife. Bernard and Huey is directed by American filmmaker Dan Mirvish, co-founder of the Slamdance Film Festival, and director of the films Omaha (The Movie), Stamp and Deliver, Open House, and Between Us previously. The screenplay is written by Oscar/Pulitzer-winner Jules Feiffer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1AIDBQR1lg
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20 Feature Films Selected For 2018 IFP Filmmaker Labs
[caption id="attachment_29372" align="aligncenter" width="1280"]
Lost Bayou by Brian C Miller Richard[/caption]
The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) has selected 20 feature films for the IFP Filmmaker Labs, IFP’s year-long fellowship for first-time filmmakers currently in post-production on their debut feature. Combining documentary and narrative features together for the first time, the program begins today, running May 21-25 at the Made in NY Media Center by IFP located in DUMBO, Brooklyn.
The Filmmaker Labs continues its dedication to supporting underrepresented voices, with over 60% of this year’s attending Lab Fellows, and over 70% of the directors specifically, being diverse in regards to gender, ethnicity, sexual oreientation, and disability. Furthermore, this year’s Labs projects represent a range of creative visions from all over the world, with films shot around the United States, as well as Brazil, Costa Rica, Ghana, Lebanon, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.
“In today’s independent film landscape, with modes of distribution and exhibition in seemingly constant flux, the Filmmaker Labs remain firm in their commitment to supporting the next generation of boundary-pushing filmmakers,” says Joana Vicente, IFP’s Executive Director. “By removing the boundaries between non-fiction and fiction storytelling labs, these ambitious, wildly diverse and highly international Lab projects will receive more opportunities than ever to have their voices heard.”
2018 IFP DOCUMENTARY LAB FELLOWS
512 Hours :For 512 hours, hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world flocked to experience the latest exhibition by acclaimed performance artist, Marina Abramović. Her idea was simple: remove the distractions from everyday life and experience something new. What that experience would be, Abramović had no idea. It was an experiment, she recognized, that could succeed or fail. Adina Istrate (Director, Producer), Giannina La Salvia (Director, Producer), Irina Albita (Co-Producer) Bloodthicker :Bloodthicker is the story of Young Juve, T.Y. and Lil’ Soulja Slim, three young rappers and friends whose fathers were three of the most influential Southern rappers. Their journeys to success are fraught with the appeals of excess and the trappings of street culture, immutably influenced by their fathers’ distinct legacies. Zac Manuel (Writer, Director, DP, Editor), Chris Haney (Writer, Producer), Justin Fontenot (Executive Producer). Border South: Under intense U.S. pressure to stem immigration from Central America, Mexico cracks down on the old trails north, forcing migrants into more dangerous territory. Told against the backdrop of the North American migrant trail, Border South weaves together migrant stories from different vantage points. Raúl O. Paz Pastrana (Director, Producer, DP), Ellen Knechel (Editor, Co-Producer). The Burning Field: The Burning Field is a uniquely intimate portrait of life in an environmental wasteland, as seen through the eyes of four Ghanian children who spend their days burning computers and other electronic appliances in the largest unregulated e-waste dump on earth. Justin Weinrich (Writer, Director, Producer, DP, Editor). Charm Circle: Catalyzed by her sister’s upcoming polyamorous wedding, filmmaker Nira Burstein delves into the most significant partnership she’s been witness to—that of her parents, which is in a constant state of chaos. A meditation on love, family, dreams and sacrifice, Charm Circle explores what makes marriage a tie that binds. Nira Burstein (Writer, Director, DP), Jameka Autry (Producer). Chèche Lavi (Looking for Life): A month before the presidential election of 2016, thousands of Haitian refugees appear at the US-Mexico border in Tijuana. Among them are Robens and James, two friends whose American dream unravels in the eye of a complex geopolitical storm. With no way forward and no way back, what comes next for these travelers? Sam Ellison (Director, DP), Abraham Ávila (Producer), Rachel Cantave (Producer). Flood: A filmmaker tries to fix her problems with her evangelical father in a screenplay with a happy ending. When her plan backfires, she quits writing lines, starts to listen, and becomes a character in her own movie. Katy Scoggin (Writer, Director, Producer, DP) The In Between: At the intersection of northern Mexico and Southwest Texas exists a symbiotic community spanning two countries. Through a collection of interweaving vignettes, The In Between explores the border and is a poetic ode to the greater reality of it, offering a nuanced and intimate portrait of a place and its people at the heart of Mexican-American identity. Robie Flores (Director, Producer, DP, Editor), Alejandro Flores (Producer, DP). A Machine to Live In: This sci-fi documentary paints a complex portrait of life and myth in the space-age city of Brasilia, a sixties-era architectural mega-project, and the flourishing landscape of cults, religious movements, and transcendental spaces that have emerged around it. The film is assembled from found documents and texts from key figures who were called to chronicle this monumental social experiment. Yoni Goldstein (Writer, Director), Meredith Zielke (Director, Editor), Sebastian Alvarez (Producer). Socks on Fire — Uncle John and the Copper Headed Water Rattlers :A failed poet takes up cinematic arms when he returns home to Hokes Bluff, Alabama to discover that his aunt has locked his drag-queen uncle out of the family home. Through a series of stylized reenactments and an editorial investigation into family VHS footage, Socks on Fire documents the fluidity of identity, personality, and performance in one particular place, among one particular family. Bo McGuire (Writer, Director), Tatiana Bears (Producer), Max Allman (Editor).2018 IFP NARRATIVE LAB FELLOWS
1982: An 11-year-old boy is determined to tell a girl in his class that he loves her but has trouble finding the courage to do so until the unexpected occurs; an air invasion reaches Beirut and the school is being evacuated. He gets even more determined. Oualid Mouaness (Director, Writer). Aquí y Ahora: Lara’s world takes an unexpected turn when she decides to leave her home country of Costa Rica for the first time to join a dance company in Berlin. Paz León (Director, Writer). Clementine: A heartbroken woman steals away to her estranged lover’s lake house and becomes entangled with a teenage girl. Lara Jean Gallagher (Director, Writer), Aimee Lynn Barneburg (Producer), Alexander Morris (Editor). House of Hummingbird: Seoul, 1994 — In the year the Seongsu bridge collapsed, a teenage girl named Eunhee wanders the city searching for love. Bora Kim (Director, Writer, Producer), Zoe Sua Cho (Producer, Editor). Lost Bayou: After news of her mother’s death, a struggling addict ventures out into the Louisiana swampland to reconnect with her estranged “traiteur” (Cajun faith healer) father, only to discover he is hiding a troubling secret aboard his houseboat. Brian C Miller Richard (Director, Editor), Kenneth Reynolds (Producer), Hunter Burke (Producer, Writer). Nhomlaau: A young South Sudanese woman is staggering away from a past event that contradicts the way she was brought up. Tormented with guilt and condemnation, she tries to discover who she really is and seek liberty. Asantewaa Prempeh (Director, Writer), Natalie Eakin (Producer), Emily Iason (Producer). Noah Land: Omer struggles to fulfill his father’s dying wish to be buried under the “Noah Tree” – a tree his father swears he planted but the surrounding village believes that the tree was planted centuries ago by Noah the prophet. Cenk Ertürk (Director, Writer), Alp Ertürk (Producer). Sanzaru: As dementia engulfs her employer, a fragile home health aide begins to question her own sanity. Xia Magnus (Director, Writer), Alyssa Polk (Producer), Joshua Raymond Lee (Editor). Saul at Night: With an odd worldwide curfew in place, one man’s life of solitude is interrupted when he meets another woman who suffers from the same bizarre affliction that he does. Cory Santilli (Director), Kentucker Audley (Co-producer), Bart Breve (Editor). Siberia and Him: Two men fall into forbidden love in a rundown town of Siberia, Russia. Viatcheslav Kopturevskiy (Director, Writer), Anya Elnikova (Producer), Wayland Bell (Cinematographer).2018 Filmmaker Lab Leaders
Jennifer MacArthur, Producer (Whose Streets?) and Media Strategist (Borderline Media) Heidi Reinberg, Producer (93QUEEN) Shrihari Sathe, Producer (It Felt Like Love; A Woman, A Part) Pierce Varous, Producer (Always Shine, H.); Founder, Nice Dissolve Under the leadership of IFP Deputy Director & Head of Programming, Amy Dotson, Senior Director of Programming, Milton Tabbot, and Senior Program Manager & Producer, Zach Mandinach, the Labs will support the creative teams as they prepare to finish and release their films into the world. Now in its fourteenth year, the IFP Filmmaker Labs support first-time feature filmmakers when they need it most: through the completion, marketing, and distribution of their debut narrative and documentary features. Each year, IFP selects ten narrative feature films and documentary feature films currently in post-production for the Labs. Through their participation, Filmmaker Labs Fellows receive support from IFP Staff and mentorship from leading industry members and filmmakers. Selected Fellows take part in three modules of the Lab: the Time Warner Foundation Completion Lab in May, IFP Week in September, and a Marketing & Distribution Lab in November. Over the course of these first five days of the Lab program, known as the Time Warner Foundation Completion Lab, Lab Fellows will receive knowledge, resources and mentorship in regards to editing, music composing & supervison, sound design, post-production budget, as well as developing marketing materials and festival stratagies, sales & distribution plans, and building a sense of career sustainability as independent artists. Alumni of the IFP Labs recently came off a successful year, on the festival ciricuit and in theatrical release. Recent projects of note include Elan and Jonathan Bogarín’s 306 Hollywood, Christina Choe’s Nancy, Paula Eiselt’s 93QUEEN, Nijla Mu’min’s Jinn, RaMell Ross’ Hale County This Morning, This Evening, Sandi Tan’s Shirkers, Cathy Yan’s Dead Pigs, and more. Past Lab Fellows launching new work this past year include Dee Rees, Chloé Zhao, Alexandre Moors, Matt Ruskin, Nanfu Wang, Laura Checkoway, Penny Lane, and PJ Raval, as well as many others that continue to expand their careers in audio storytelling, new media, and television, with past Lab Fellows writing or directing for shows such as Atlanta, The Girlfriend Experience, Girls, Queen of the South, and Queen Sugar. image credit
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Watch First Trailer For Highly Anticipated Feature Film Adaptation Of REGIONRAT
A new trailer for the forthcoming Regionrat, the highly anticipated film adaptation of Richard Laskowski’s coming-of-age novel, has been released. Starring Connor Williams, of the upcoming Valley Girl, the film tells the story of a young man who returns to his depressed hometown to finish his final year of school.
Prolific Pictures are representing the film at Cannes.
Regionrat is a darkly comedic coming-of-age drama about Ray, academic misfit and slacker extraordinaire, who tries to keep his head down to finish his last year of high school, but can’t catch a break. Ray lives in the Region, an industrial wasteland in Northwestern Indiana. The residents there are known as “regionrats,” because they’ll eat anything and are hard to kill. Ray is hard to kill, but the Region will try. He’s Ferris Bueller on a losing streak, learning lessons he didn’t need to learn, the hard way. In the end, Ray finds his way out, but he’ll go through hell to get there.
Javier Reyna directs Regionrat, also starring Natassia Halabi and Nova Gaver, which is due for release later this year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mduHIdVVnCU&feature=youtu.be