The new trailer is here for Making Coco : The Grant Fuhr Story, Don Metz’s captivating cinematic chronicle on one of the most celebrated, yet enigmatic goalies in the history of the NHL. The feature has been announced as the closing Gala film at the Calgary International Film Festival.
Featured contributors in the documentary include Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Martin Brodeur, Brett Hull, Chris Pronger and many more of the NHL’s royalty.
Fuhr, along with a number of his teammates, will provide a never-before-seen exclusive look into the high-flying Oilers dynasty of the 80’s, what made them so successful, and the infamous challenges that they faced. All-time rivals will speak to what it was like playing against the greatest goalie on the greatest team in the NHL’s 100-year history. Those closest to Grant will take the audience on a journey behind the mask to understand who the mixed-race superstar truly is.
Barely 19, Grant ‘Coco’ Fuhr became starting goalie for the most exciting team in NHL history. In his mid-30’s, he played 76 consecutive and 79 total games in an 82-game season to set two league records, then followed that ironman performance by playing 73 the following season on a completely rebuilt knee. During the decade and a half between, he employed his acrobatic style and cat-like reflexes to backstop five Stanley Cup champions and two Canada Cup winners, cementing a reputation as the ultimate “money goalie”. He also got himself demoted to the minors for calling the hometown fans jerks, announced his retirement at the age of 26 in an attempt to force a famously hard-nosed general manager to renegotiate a long-term contract, and was suspended for an entire NHL season for conduct deemed “dishonourable and against the welfare of the league” for substance use, only to return and redeem himself as one of the game’s true greats.
“I think he’s the best goaltender in the history of the NHL.” – Wayne Gretzky
Upstream Flix is partnering again with Award winning producer Adam Scorgie (Ice Guardians, The Culture High, Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo) in conjunction with Oilers Entertainment Group VP Don Metz and Co-Producer Shane Fennessey for Making Coco: The Grant Fuhr Story. Upstream Flix plan to release the film in late 2018.
Films
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Watch Captivating MAKING COCO: THE GRANT FUHR STORY Trailer on Controversial NHL Goalie
The new trailer is here for Making Coco : The Grant Fuhr Story, Don Metz’s captivating cinematic chronicle on one of the most celebrated, yet enigmatic goalies in the history of the NHL. The feature has been announced as the closing Gala film at the Calgary International Film Festival.
Featured contributors in the documentary include Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Martin Brodeur, Brett Hull, Chris Pronger and many more of the NHL’s royalty.
Fuhr, along with a number of his teammates, will provide a never-before-seen exclusive look into the high-flying Oilers dynasty of the 80’s, what made them so successful, and the infamous challenges that they faced. All-time rivals will speak to what it was like playing against the greatest goalie on the greatest team in the NHL’s 100-year history. Those closest to Grant will take the audience on a journey behind the mask to understand who the mixed-race superstar truly is.
Barely 19, Grant ‘Coco’ Fuhr became starting goalie for the most exciting team in NHL history. In his mid-30’s, he played 76 consecutive and 79 total games in an 82-game season to set two league records, then followed that ironman performance by playing 73 the following season on a completely rebuilt knee. During the decade and a half between, he employed his acrobatic style and cat-like reflexes to backstop five Stanley Cup champions and two Canada Cup winners, cementing a reputation as the ultimate “money goalie”. He also got himself demoted to the minors for calling the hometown fans jerks, announced his retirement at the age of 26 in an attempt to force a famously hard-nosed general manager to renegotiate a long-term contract, and was suspended for an entire NHL season for conduct deemed “dishonourable and against the welfare of the league” for substance use, only to return and redeem himself as one of the game’s true greats.
“I think he’s the best goaltender in the history of the NHL.” – Wayne Gretzky
Upstream Flix is partnering again with Award winning producer Adam Scorgie (Ice Guardians, The Culture High, Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo) in conjunction with Oilers Entertainment Group VP Don Metz and Co-Producer Shane Fennessey for Making Coco: The Grant Fuhr Story. Upstream Flix plan to release the film in late 2018.
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LA Film Festival to Feature First Ever VR and Immersive Story Telling Showcase
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Age of Sail, John Kahrs[/caption]
The LA Film Festival announced the lineup of The Portal, the Festival’s inaugural VR and Immersive Story Telling showcase to be held at Loyola Marymount University’s new Playa Vista Campus. The Portal is a two-year partnership with Loyola Marymount University’s School Film and Television.
“It’s exciting, and a testament to the storytelling, that virtual reality is now attracting talent like Rosario Dawson, Brie Larson, Diego Luna, Ian McShane, Alicia Vikander and Oprah Winfrey,” said Jacqueline Lyanga, Guest Director VR & Immersive Storytelling. “Immersive storytelling is venturing into exciting new territory with adventurous mixed reality, social interactivity, guided motion and haptics, all of which LA audiences will be able to experience for free at The Portal this fall as part of LA Film Festival.”
“It’s fitting that, as we open the doors to our new Playa Vista campus, we also welcome Film Independent’s first-ever VR and Immersive storytelling showcase,” said Peggy Rajski, new Dean of LMU’s School of Film and Television. “Jacqueline’s thoughtful program provides audiences with ample opportunities to immerse themselves into the experiences and stories of others, including many whose voices are typically unheard. At LMU SFTV we deeply value storytelling that shines a light into the places we rarely traverse, but which enrich us when given the opportunity to do so.”
The Portal features some of the most exciting new animated, documentary and fictional narratives from virtual reality exhibitions at film festivals around the world, including Cannes, Rotterdam, Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca and Venice.
The Portal will be located at the new LMU Playa Vista Campus 12105 W. Waterfront Drive, in the heart of Silicon Beach and is free to the public.
The Portal
LA Film Festival’s inaugural showcase of immersive storytelling from visionary creators working in Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR) and Virtual Reality (VR) featuring, 360, room-scale VR and interactive works and installations utilizing haptic technology that bring touch and motion to the immersive experience. 1000 Cut Journey, dirs. Courtney Cogburn and Elise Ogle, USA, LA Premiere In this immersive virtual reality experience, in order to foster a greater understanding of the social realities of racism, you become Michael Sterling, a Black male, and encounter racism as a young child, an adolescent, and a young adult. Age of Sail, dir. John Kahrs, USA, North American Premiere Set on the open ocean in 1900, this animated film tells the story of William Avery (voiced by Ian McShane), an old sailor adrift and alone in the North Atlantic who finds redemption and hope in his darkest hours. Arden’s Wake: Expanded, dir. Eugene Chung, USA, US Premiere The animated story of young woman who lives in a post-apocalyptic world with her father in a lighthouse perched atop an endless sea. Academy Award-winner Alicia Vikander stars as the voice of Meena. Awavena, dir. Lynette Wallworth, USA/Brazil/Australia, LA Premiere This mixed-reality work is a tale of metamorphosis, and a collaboration between the Amazonian Yawanawa community and an artist that tells the story of a people ascending from the edge of extinction and the ascendance of their first female shaman. BattleScar, dir. Martín Allais and Nico Casavecchia, USA/France, LA Premiere An animated coming of age story that follows a year in the life of Lupe, played by Rosario Dawson, living in late 1970’s New York City as she discovers the Punk scene of the Bowery and the secret underworld of the Lower East Side. Biidaaban: First Light, dir. Lisa Jackson, Canada, LA Premiere Set in a highly realistic future Toronto reclaimed by nature, where people commute by canoe, users engage with the written text of the Wendat, Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) and Anishinaabe (Ojibway) and gain insight into the complex thought systems of this land’s first peoples. Crow: The Legend, dir. Eric Darnell, USA, North American Premiere This animated story of a bird with a beautiful voice is inspired by Native American legend is executive produced by John Legend, and features the voices of Sarah Eagle Heart, Diego Luna Tye Sheridan, Oprah Winfrey and Constance Wu. Dinner Party, dir. Angel Manuel Soto, USA, LA Premiere Dinner Party is a short virtual reality thriller that dramatizes the incredible story of Betty and Barney Hill, who in the 1960s reported the first nationally known UFO abduction case in the United States. Geomancer, dir. Lawrence Lek, UK, North American Premiere A computer-generated animation about the creative awakening of artificial intelligence set in Singapore 2065, that tells the story of an environmental satellite that wishes to become an artist. Queerskins, dirs. Illya Szilak and Cyril Tsiboulski, USA, LA Premiere A diary and a box of belongings offers a devoutly Catholic mother living in rural Missouri, USA in 1990 a second chance to know Sebastian, the estranged son she has lost to AIDS as they take a magic realist journey down a country road. Space Explorers: A New Dawn (Ep.1) and Taking Flight (Ep. 2), dirs. Félix Lajeunesse and Paul Raphaël, Canada, USA A cinematic VR series narrated by Brie Larson about the new age of space exploration. Witness the lives of NASA astronauts as they navigate the trials and sacrifices of their training and missions. Terminal 3, dir. Asad J. Malik, USA, LA Premiere An interactive, augmented-reality documentary that explores contemporary Muslim identities in the U.S. through the lens of an airport interrogation using Microsoft’s Hololens technology to interrogate the holograms of passengers. Vestige, dir. Aaron Bradbury, USA/UK/France, LA Premiere Journey into the mind of Lisa as she remembers her lost love, Erik, through a series of fragmented memories that become entangled with a haunting vision triggering new memories and pathways as we navigate through the story. Zikr: A Sufi Revival, dir. Gabo Arora, USA, LA Premiere Zikr: A Sufi Revival takes four participants on an interactive, virtual reality journey into a world of ritual, music and dance by opening up an experience to the Sufi practice of inclusion, acceptance, art, joy and understanding360 DOCUMENTARY CINEMA
Free Solo, dirs. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, USA, World Premiere Experience Alex Honnold’s free solo climb up Yosemite’s 3,000-foot high El Capitan wall with no ropes or safety gear in 360 VR. The full-length documentary film version of FREE SOLO is playing in LA Film Festival’s Gala section. Into the Now, dir. Michael Muller, USA, LA Premiere An exploration of marine life and ocean conservation that follows director Michael Muller as he tackles his lifelong fear of sharks by learning to dive without protection and cage-free with great white sharks. Sun Ladies, dirs. Christian Stephen and Celine Tricart, USA, LA Premiere The story of a group of Yazidi women in Sinjar, Iraq who started a female-only fighting unit called the Sun Ladies to protect the honor and dignity of their people. This documentary features animation created by artist Wesley Allsbrook (Dear Angelica) and was produced and narrated by Maria Bello. This is Climate Change: Fire, dirs. Danfung Dennis and Eric Strauss, USA In just the last three decades, changes in climate have doubled the amount of land burned by wildfires in the western United States. Follow the dedicated fighters – by air and on the ground – whose jobs have turned into year-round battles against these catastrophic blazes.Panels at The Portal
The showcase will also feature panels about Women’s Voices in VR, Animation and immersive Documentary on Saturday September 22 and Sunday September 23.
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Filmmaker Megan Griffiths to Independently Release Her Acclaimed Indie Drama SADIE [Trailer]
Filmmaker Megan Griffiths will independently release her acclaimed drama Sadie which premiered at SXSW in March and features a breakout turn by newcomer Sophia Mitri Schloss in the title role. Melanie Lynskey, John Gallagher Jr., Tony Hale, Danielle Books and Keith L. Williams co-star, and the film features a score by Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready. Working with creative distribution strategist Mia Bruno, the film which won the Gryphon Jury Award at the 2018 Giffoni Film Festival in Italy, will begin its roll-out in New York and Los Angeles on October 12th.
Sadie is the powerful, unsettling and darkly funny story of a young girl (Sophia Mitri Schloss) who will stop at nothing to preserve her father’s place on the home front. Sadie is the daughter of a soldier and she models herself after his military example. When her mom, Rae (Melanie Lynskey), begins dating a new man, Cyrus (John Gallagher Jr.), Sadie vows to come between them, whatever it takes. Cyrus becomes the enemy, and if she’s learned anything from the world she inhabits, it’s that the enemy deserves no mercy.
Sadie was written and directed by Griffiths, director of film festival hits Lucky Them (Toronto 2013, starring Toni Collette and Johnny Depp), Eden (winner of the 2012 SXSW Audience Award), and The Off Hours (Sundance 2011). Griffiths is also an established television director, helming episodes of Animal Kingdom, Graves, and Room 104 (for which she was nominated for a GLAAD Award). She is currently in development on a project with Philip Fleishman and Steven Soderbergh.
Sadie was produced by Lacey Leavitt and Jennessa West, co-produced by Jonathan Caso and executive produced by Eliza Shelden. The project was supported by the Sundance Institute (Creative Producing Lab) and IFP (No Borders/IFP Week).
Variety said in their review, “Equal parts coming-of-age story and slow-burn thriller, writer-director Megan Griffiths’ quietly absorbing and methodically disquieting drama is a genuine rarity.”
Walking away from more traditional distribution deals, Griffiths and company chose to pursue their own creative distribution model to ensure that Sadie would be released with specificity and care and that no stone would be left unturned in efforts to connect with communities and reach an audience. They will build a theatrical and TVOD release to lead into their Amazon SVOD release, which they opted into as part of the Amazon Festival Stars program. In an attempt to benefit other filmmakers by de-mystifying independent film distribution, the filmmaking team plans to be fully transparent about their experiences, including an ongoing blog on the subject hosted on the film’s official site SadieFilm.com.
“This film is incredibly meaningful to me, and it’s been so empowering to create a strategy that will allow us to connect more directly with our audience and engage on the film’s themes around youth and violence,” said Griffiths. “Sadie was made to start a conversation, and the larger the audience, the more powerful that conversation can be.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kwn_GrQnQM
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CALL HER GANDA Spotlights Murder Case of Filipino Transgender Woman Jennifer Laude by U.S. Marine [Trailer]
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CALL HER GANDA[/caption]
The award winning, politically charged, eye-opening and moving human rights documentary Call Her Ganda directed by PJ Raval follows the brutal murder case of Filipino transgender woman Jennifer Laude by a U.S. Marine, and the obstacles faced in the pursuit of justice by three women intimately invested in the case. An activist attorney (Virgie Suarez), a transgender journalist (Meredith Talusan) and Jennifer’s mother (Julita “Nanay” Laude) galvanize a political uprising, seeking justice and taking on hardened histories of U.S. imperialism in the Philippines.
Call Her Ganda premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and went on to play numerous other festivals including HotDocs, LA Asian Pacific, Frameline SF, Outfest, DMZ Docs – Korea, Doc Edge – New Zealand and Inside Out Toronto LGBTQ Film Festival winning awards along with audiences’ hearts and minds. Breaking Glass will release the film theatrically beginning September 21 in New York; September 28 in Los Angeles; October 5 in San Francisco; followed by a national rollout throughout the fall.
The Hollywood Reporter hailed the film, stating “Call Her Ganda handles its complex issues and complicated plot developments with forceful clarity. The film proves simultaneously heartbreaking and inspirational.” The film also “makes clear and compelling connections between personal stories and institutional violence” (NOW Magazine) and “doesn’t shy away from challenging anyone’s attitudes about trans people and the ongoing effects of colonialism.” (NOW Toronto ).
“Especially with our current political climate, I hope viewers find inspiration in witnessing these resilient women taking on the US, a foreign superpower, fighting for their voices to be heard and demanding accountability despite the odds. As Americans, we should all take a note, and support their efforts, while also fighting the oppressive forces in our own backyards”, said director Raval. “I’m thrilled to be working with Breaking Glass who is dedicated to bringing the story of Jennifer Laude to audiences nationwide.”
“Call Her Ganda is that rare film that comes along once in a generation”, said Richard Wolff, CEO of Breaking Glass. “This story is tragic, empowering, and exactly what our society needs right now to move the conversation about human rights forward.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wq7YETuN70
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Leon Lee’s LETTER FROM MASANJIA Sets September 14th Release Date [Trailer]
Leon Lee’s “Letter From Masanjia” is the unbelievable true story of an American woman who found an SOS note from a Chinese political prisoner in a box of Halloween decorations. The film has been hailed by audiences and critics alike as one of the best documentaries of 2018, and took home Audience Award for Documentary Feature at the 2018 Asian American International Film Festival. A devastating tale of human rights violations in current day China with corporate giants across the globe receiving prisoner labor efforts for Halloween decorations, asking no questions in a price for pennies on the dollar. This is the tale of one political prisoners desperate plea to alert the world to horrors most of society sweeps under the carpet.
Parade Deck Films will open “Letter From Masanjia” theatrically in New York and Los Angeles beginning on September 14th, 2018 and will expand into additional markets in the following weeks. Later this year Gravitas Ventures, a Red Arrow Studios company, will bring the film to audiences across North America on VOD/Digital platforms on December 4th.
Written and directed by internationally acclaimed filmmaker and Peabody Award winner, Leon Lee, this astonishing & riveting documentary follows the true story of an Oregon woman who finds a desperate SOS letter penned by a political prisoner in her Halloween decorations and the nail-biting chain of events that it sparks when she takes the letter public, exposing appalling flagrant human rights violations – that leads to sweeping labor reform in China. The impact of what those two unlikely heroes have accomplished is even more profound in today’s rapidly boiling over political climate, not just in China but around the rest of the world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKRavgm-KPY
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Watch Mind-Bending Body Horror Film AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS Trailer + Poster
Dark Sky Films released the official Poster and Trailer for the horror film Await Further Instructions from British director Johnny Kevorkian and co-starring David Bradley of Game Of Thrones, Doctor Who, and Harry Potter fame. Await Further Instructions will open in theaters and on VOD October 5th .
It’s Christmas Day and the Milgram family wake to find a mysterious black substance surrounding their house. Something monumental is clearly happening right outside their door, but what exactly – an industrial accident, a terrorist attack, nuclear war? Descending into terrified arguments, they turn on the television, desperate for any information. On screen a message glows ominously: ‘Stay Indoors and Await Further Instructions’. As the television exerts an ever more sinister grip, their paranoia escalates into bloody carnage.
A powder keg of throat-grabbing intensity and mind-bending body horror, Await Further Instructions is an unmissable tour-de-force from rising star filmmaker Johnny Kevorkian and the BAFTA-nominated producer of God’s Own Country.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cExGHt350NE
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Five Documentary Film Projects Win 2018 SFFILM Documentary Film Fund Awards Totaling $125,000
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In Real Life – Liza Mandelup[/caption]
SFFILM on Friday announced the five winners of the 2018 SFFILM Documentary Film Fund awards totaling $125,000, which support feature-length documentaries in post-production. Jennifer Maytorena Taylor’s The Gut (working title), Ljubo Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska’s Honeyland, Liza Mandelup’s In Real Life, Hassan Fazili’s Midnight Traveler, and Jessica Kingdon’s Untitled PRC Project, were each awarded funding that will help push each project towards completion.
The SFFILM Documentary Film Fund has a track record for championing important films that in recent years, left a mark on the festival circuit and beyond. Previous winners include RaMell Ross’ Hale County, This Morning, This Evening, which won a Special Jury Prize at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival; Peter Nicks’s The Force, which won the 2017 Sundance Film Festival Directing Award for documentary and SFFILM Festival’s McBaine Bay Area Documentary Feature Award, before being released theatrically by Kino Lorber; Peter Bratt’s Dolores, which won the 2017 SFFILM Festival Audience Award for Documentary Feature following its Sundance premiere; and Zachary Heinzerling’s Cutie and the Boxer, which won Sundance’s Directing Award for documentary and was nominated for the 2014 Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature; among many others.
Since its launch in 2011, the SFFILM Documentary Film Fund has distributed more than $750,000 to advance new work by filmmakers nationwide. The 2018 Documentary Film Fund is made possible thanks to support from Jennifer Battat and the Jenerosity Foundation.
2018 DOCUMENTARY FILM FUND WINNERS
The Gut (working title) – Jennifer Maytorena Taylor, director/producer; Jim Sabataso and Asma Bseiso, producers; Jen Bradwell and Youssif Salah, editors – $25,000 Filmed over two years in a small New England community that is struggling to emerge from the opioid epidemic and finds itself caught up in a battle over Syrian refugee resettlement, The Gut closely follows the lives of several intersecting but very different characters to explore what changes — and what doesn’t — when white, rural Americans see themselves in “the other.” Honeyland – Ljubo Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska, co-directors; Atanas Georgiev, producer/editor – $25,000 The last female bee hunter in Europe struggles to save the bees and restore the natural balance when a family of nomadic beekeepers invade her land and threaten her livelihood. Honeyland is an exploration of an observational Indigenous visual narrative that deeply impacts our behavior towards natural resources and the human condition. In Real Life – Liza Mandelup, director; Lauren Cioffi and Bert Hamelinck, producers; Alex O’Flinn, editor – $25,000 This intimate contemplation on modern youth follows 16-year-old Austyn Tester as he flirts with the world of social media fame. Driven by a wide-eyed desire for stardom, Austyn cultivates a singularly positive online persona that’s at odds with growing up in small-town Tennessee. Midnight Traveler – Hassan Fazili, director; Su Kim, producer; Emelie Mahdavian, producer/editor – $25,000 Midnight Traveler follows a family of Afghan filmmakers on the run from the Taliban. Told from refugee/director Hassan Fazili’s unique first-person perspective, this story provides unprecedented access to the complex refugee experience as it encounters the West. Untitled PRC Project – Jessica Kingdon, director; Kira Simon-Kennedy and Nathan Truesdell, producers – $25,000 Untitled PRC Project examines megatrends of today’s China through an impressionistic collage of the new “Chinese Dream.” This observational film reveals paradoxes born from prosperity of the newest world power through the flow of production, consumption, and waste.
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Watch Ramaa Mosley’s Gripping PTSD Thriller LOST CHILD Trailer + Poster
Lost Child by Ramaa Mosley stars Hunger Games and True Detective alum Leven Rambin and follows an army veteran, Fern, who returns home in order to look for her brother, only to discover an abandoned boy lurking in the woods behind her childhood home. After taking in the boy, she searches for clues to his identity, and discovers the local folklore about a malevolent, life-draining spirit that comes in the form of a child. The film opens in theaters on September 14, 2018.
Ramaa Mosley is a Director/Writer who made her first film at the age of 16 years old winning the prestigious United Nation’s Global 500 Award. Over the past twenty years, Mosley has directed feature films and hundreds of of award winning commercials building a career directing action and genuine human stories. Mosley directed her debut feature film, based on the original comic book she co-wrote, titled The Brass Teapot starring Juno Temple which premiered at TIFF and was distributed by Magnolia pictures in 2013. It was nominated for the International Critics’ Award (FIPRESCI) and a Saturn Award.
Lost Child is written/directed by Ramaa Mosley (The Brass Teapot) along with producer/writer Tim Macy.
Mosley was recently named as part of NBC’s inaugural class for its new “Female Forward” directors initiative which will provide female directors a pipeline into scripted television. She has been paired with the hit show “Blindspot”.
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Ava DuVernay’s Short Film AUGUST 28 Starring Lupita Nyong’o to Debut on OWN [Trailer]
“August 28: A Day in the Life of a People” a short film by acclaimed director Ava DuVernay will make its national television debut on OWN on Tuesday, August 28 at 7 p.m. ET/PT. Starring Lupita Nyong’o, Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Regina King, David Oyelowo, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, André Holland, Michael Ealy and Glynn Turman, DuVernay’s 22-minute scripted film uses a robust combination of both documentary and narrative techniques to transport viewers through six stunning historical moments that all actually occurred on the same day in various years.
Written, produced and directed by DuVernay, “August 28” traverses a century of black progress, protest, passion and perseverance of African-American people. The project gives historical perspective within the creative framework of one date that has had a profound effect on America including: the passing of The Slavery Abolition Act on August 28, 1833, the lynching of Emmett Till on August 28, 1955, the first radio airplay from Motown Records on August 28, 1961 with The Marvelettes “Please Mr Postman,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech during the massive March on Washington on August 28, 1963, Hurricane Katrina making its tragic landfall on August 28, 2005 and then-Senator Barack Obama’s acceptance of the Democratic nomination for the presidency on August 28, 2008.
The film was lensed by cinematographer Malik Sayeed and edited by Oscar nominee Spencer Averick. Ten-time Grammy nominee Meshell Ndegeocello composed the score. Paul Garnes produced, with co-producers Tilane Jones and Tammy Garnes.
Image: NEW YORK, NY – MAY 20: Lupita Nyong and Ava DuVernay from 13th pose with an award during The 76th Annual Peabody Awards Ceremony at Cipriani, Wall Street on May 20, 2017 in New York City.
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49 Feature Films Eligible for European Film Awards 2018
BORG/McENROE 49 films have been named by the European Film Academy for this year’s EFA Feature Film Selection,
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SingularDTV Sets Release Date for Alex Winter’s Documentary TRUST MACHINE: THE STORY OF BLOCKCHAIN [Trailer]
Blockchain entertainment studio SingularDTV is releasing its first feature-length documentary, Alex Winter’s Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain in New York on October 26, and Los Angeles on November 16.
Always one step ahead in signaling technology’s seismic shifts, Alex Winter has built up a body of work that documents how innovation changes the way people live their daily lives. DOWNLOADED (2013, SXSW) explored the downloading revolution and how Napster and file-sharing took on the music industry, leaving musicians wondering about royalty payments and copyrights. DEEP WEB (2015, San Francisco International Film Festival, Sheffield International Documentary Festival) revealed a new kind of internet: decentralized, encrypted and dangerous; with particular focus on the FBI capture of the Tor hidden service Silk Road, and the judicial aftermath.
In his newest documentary Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain, Alex Winter drills down on blockchain, the decentralized technology that supports cryptocurrencies. Why are banks terrified while UNICEF Ventures embraces it to help refugee children? Winter follows tech innovators striking a raw nerve as banks and network pundits rush to condemn volatile cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. British hacktivist Lauri Love fights extradition—his computer skills perceived a threat to the US government. Through the film, Winter reveals that the proponents of the blockchain—a verified digital ledger—are already using the technology to change the world; fighting income inequality, the refugee crisis and world hunger. Narrated by Rosario Dawson.
Alex Winter on his inspiration for Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain:“The idea of a verifiable ledger is a problem that’s been in search of a solution for a really long time. I got into this working on DOWNLOADED (2013). When I was making my film DEEP WEB (2015), funnily enough, I still had very little interest in bitcoin. Then the world got really confusing with blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, and decentralization.
Bitcoin matters, but blockchain is really where the changes are going to come. There are huge changes happening in human culture right now. Never has something like this happened before, ever. And it is fascinating to me. That’s why I really wanted to make this documentary.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMlqIoUVnLo
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Watch Trailer + Poster for Salsa Music/Dance Drama SHINE Set in New York’s Spanish Harlem
The new trailer and poster is here for the salsa music/dance drama Shine set in New York’s Spanish Harlem, directed by Anthony Nardolillo, and starring Jorge Burgos, Gilbert Saldivar, Kimberli Flores, Jadi Collado, Musetta Vander, with Alysia Reiner, and David Zayas. The film will be released in theaters on October 5, 2018.
Two Puerto Rican brothers, Ralphi Matas (Jorge Burgos) and Junior (Gilbert Saldivar), from New York’s Spanish Harlem and the street’s best Salsa dancers, are separated after a tragedy only to reunite years later on opposing sides of gentrification.
After 7 years of absence from New York City, Ralphi is back to develop commercial real estate in his old neighborhood. However, upon his return, Ralphi encounters his estranged brother, Junior, who followedin his father’s footsteps, Ramon Matas (David Zayas), and is now an elite salsa dancer and an unwavering activist AGAINST gentrification in the neighborhood.
While having to face his past in order to succeed in the present, Ralphi must confront his boss Linda (Alysia Reiner) who is aggressively pursuing the lucrative development deal that brought him back to the city he was born, and thus is driving the wedge even further between him and his brother.
On the other side, when Josie (Kimberli Flores), the new owner of their father’s dance studio, reveals she is behind on the mortgage payments. Junior rallies the local dance community to raise funds against all odds to save the dance studio, DESPITE the gentrification efforts of his brother.
While the brothers have chosen opposite paths thus far, they are brought back together when Tio Julio (Nelson Gonzales) reminds them of the power of family and the importance of their community.