BAFTA-scholarship winner Bryan Powers’s film, Time is the Longest Distance, featuring actor Andreas Damm (Off the Rails, Oscar Pistorius), is an Official Selection of the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival 2018, and will celebrate its Iowa premiere this week.
A bittersweet tale of an estranged son’s journey to reconnect with his Alzheimer’s stricken father, and an unexpected meeting with a teenaged boy along the way, Time is the Longest Distance conveys the importance of family love and acceptance through the story of three generations of men: thirty-something Adam, his aging father Jack, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, and Xander, a teenaged boy who serendipitously crosses their path. Adam arrives at his father’s nursing home to share news of a major change in his life, hoping to bridge the distance that has opened up between them before Jack’s Alzheimer’s becomes too advanced. While things do not go as planned, Jack’s chance encounter with Xander provides Adam with an unexpected way to find the acceptance he seeks.
Time is the Longest Distance was written and directed by New York City-based Bryan Powers and is a co-production between Powers Productions and Cup of Joe Film, Inc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxYxZufmjbA
Time is the Longest Distance Iowa Premiere will be at the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival, scheduled for Thursday, April 26 at 5:45 PM at Five Flags’s Bijou, with an encore screening on Sunday, April 29 at 11:45 AM at Mississippi River Museum’s Journey Theater.Films
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Bryan Powers’s ‘TIME IS THE LONGEST DISTANCE’ has Iowa Premiere at Julien Dubuque Film Festival [Trailer]
BAFTA-scholarship winner Bryan Powers’s film, Time is the Longest Distance, featuring actor Andreas Damm (Off the Rails, Oscar Pistorius), is an Official Selection of the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival 2018, and will celebrate its Iowa premiere this week.
A bittersweet tale of an estranged son’s journey to reconnect with his Alzheimer’s stricken father, and an unexpected meeting with a teenaged boy along the way, Time is the Longest Distance conveys the importance of family love and acceptance through the story of three generations of men: thirty-something Adam, his aging father Jack, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, and Xander, a teenaged boy who serendipitously crosses their path. Adam arrives at his father’s nursing home to share news of a major change in his life, hoping to bridge the distance that has opened up between them before Jack’s Alzheimer’s becomes too advanced. While things do not go as planned, Jack’s chance encounter with Xander provides Adam with an unexpected way to find the acceptance he seeks.
Time is the Longest Distance was written and directed by New York City-based Bryan Powers and is a co-production between Powers Productions and Cup of Joe Film, Inc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxYxZufmjbA
Time is the Longest Distance Iowa Premiere will be at the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival, scheduled for Thursday, April 26 at 5:45 PM at Five Flags’s Bijou, with an encore screening on Sunday, April 29 at 11:45 AM at Mississippi River Museum’s Journey Theater.
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‘ACORN and the Firestorm’ Documentary To Debut on PBS Independent Lens This May [Trailer]
For 40 years, the controversial community organizing group ACORN sought to empower marginalized communities. Its critics, though, believed ACORN exemplified everything wrong with liberal ideals, promoting government waste and ineffective activism. These competing perceptions exploded on the national stage in 2009, just as Barack Obama became president. Fueled by a YouTube video made by undercover journalists, ACORN’s very existence would be challenged. Produced and directed by Reuben Atlas and Sam Pollard, ACORN and the Firestorm goes beyond the 24-hour news cycle and cuts to the heart of the great political divide. The film premieres on Independent Lens Monday, May 21, 2018, 10:00-11:30 PM (check local listings) on PBS. Online streaming beings May 22.
In 2008, with a 400,000 strong, grassroots membership in 38 states, ACORN stood at the height of its power, having won a lobbying campaign that led to an increase in the national minimum wage, saved thousands of people from foreclosure, and fought against predatory lending. ACORN also operated on a local level, helping clean up parks, put stoplights at dangerous intersections, and working to improve neighborhood schools.
Leading up to the 2008 election, ACORN helped to register 1.3 million voters, mostly low-income minorities in swing states. When some of those registration cards appeared fraudulent, conservative activists and politicians singled out ACORN as a conspiratorial criminal organization and strategists and pundits joined the chorus. Bertha Lewis, who became CEO just before Obama’s election, was confident that they could weather the attacks, and with an ally in the White House, she believed that actual systemic change might be possible. But nothing could have prepared her for what was to come.
When twenty-year-old journalism student Hannah Giles heard about ACORN in the news, she and James O’Keefe, a conservative political activist, orchestrated an investigation into the organization. Using a hidden camera and a fake prostitute, they created a series of YouTube videos which suggested that ACORN staffers were encouraging criminal activity. The videos and Giles became a media sensation.
ACORN and the Firestorm unfolds through the stories of Giles and Lewis, two women on opposite sides of the political spectrum, as well as through the eyes of ACORN staff, including founder Wade Rathke, members Travis Munnerlyn and Maude Hurd, and ACORN’s opposition, including Republican Congressman Steve King.
“Our constant thirst for new news in the age of the 24-hour news cycle leaves no time for the nuanced stories behind the headlines. Reuben and Sam lay out how one video smear campaign can lead to death by media,” said Lois Vossen, Independent Lens executive producer. “This film sheds relevant light on how we got to this age of alternative facts and fake news.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmyiU4_bpw0
About the Filmmakers
Reuben Atlas (Producer/Director) is an award-winning New York based producer, director, and former lawyer. His first film, the feature music documentary, Brothers Hypnotic, premiered at the SXSW Film Festival. A co-production with ITVS and NTR, the film broadcast internationally, premiered on Independent Lens on PBS, and is distributed by Factory 25. He recently co-directed with Jerry Rothwell the Netflix and Arte-funded wine fraud documentary, Sour Grapes, which premiered at Hotdocs and is distributed by Dogwoof and Gravitas. Previously, he worked at a maximum-security prison, a music law firm, and at Legal Aid. Sam Pollard (Producer/Director) has made over 50 films, including the Academy Award®-nominated documentary Four Little Girls, with Spike Lee, as well as HBO’s When the Levees Broke. He recently edited Alex Gibney’s Sinatra: All or Nothing for HBO and directed Slavery by Another Name for PBS. His 40 years of filmmaking credits as a producer, director, and editor also include the seminal civil rights series Eyes on the Prize.
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Comedy Film ‘The Breaker Upperers’ by Jackie van Beek and Madeleine Sami to Open 2018 Sydney Film Festival [Trailer]
The Breaker Upperers, by New Zealand directors Jackie van Beek, Madeleine Sami will open the 2018 Sydney Film Festival on June 6. In this side-splittingly funny film, Jackie van Beek and Madeleine Sami star as best friends who run an unconventional business breaking up couples for cash.
Directors Jackie van Beek and Madeleine Sami star as Jen and Mel, who 15 years ago discovered that they were being two-timed by the same man. From heartbreak, a friendship blossomed, alongside a hearty cynicism about love and relationships. And so The Breaker Upperers was born, a business helping people who lack the courage to end their relationships. Faking deaths, impersonating cops and strippers, and feigning pregnancies are all part of their extensive repertoire. But when consciences resurface and the prospect of romance rears up, the unbreakable friendship between the two starts to show its first cracks. The Breaker Upperers is refreshingly candid about modern sexuality and beautifully captures a multicultural community. Executive produced by Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows, SFF 2014), The Breaker Upperers is a joyous, hilarious film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkhYyW1pd18
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Hollywood Comedy Shorts Film Festival Announces 2018 Winners + 2019 Fest Dates
The 3rd Annual Hollywood Comedy Shorts Film Festival Presented by the Laugh Factory came to a close this past Sunday to a rousing success held at the TCL Chinese 6 Theaters. The festival announced the 2018 Award Winners in a special sold-out ceremony hosted by comedian Allene Quincy.
The night’s big winner was “THE ACCOMPLICE” by Directors Jon Hoeg and John F. Beach who took home Best of Fest Award. Best Short Script went to Alexandra Marshall for her film “TIL DEATH,” and Best Feature script winner was Cedric Shelton for his script “I AM MY BROTHERS KEEPER.”
Best Rom Com went to “REKINDLED” by Erin Brown Thomas, Best Web Series went to “STRUT” by Michelle Cutolo.
The festival run April 20-22 and kicked off with a special panel at the Laugh Factory Featuring executives from YouTube, Warner Bros. Blue Ribbon Ent., Legendary Digital Studios, Ginsberg Daniels, Collab Studios and DigitalLA. Fabric Media Studios hosted the official after party for opening night. Powerhouse held several events for the filmmakers throughout the week. Sponsors included: Bitpix, TCL Chinese Theater, Laugh Factory, Color Space Finishing, Final Draft, Tech Rentals, and TCD The Camera Division.
The next year’s Festival will expand with the dates: April 19-21, 2019. The winners and films can be currently viewed on the streaming channel BITPIX.
HOLLYWOOD COMEDY SHORTS FILM FEST WINNERS
SHORT SCRIPT WINNER- ‘TIL DEATH”-Alexandra Marshall FEATURE SCRIPT WINNER- “I AM MY BROTHERS KEEPER” by Cedric Shelton HONORABLE MENTION- “EVIL WOMAN” by Danny Turkiewicz BEST HORROR- “KELOID” by Brendan Pollecutt BEST DARK COMEDY- “PARENT TEACHER” by Jim Cummings BEST INTERNATIONAL- “ORDEAL” by Sacha Barbin BEST CRINGE- “DICK HEAD” by Brecht Vanthof BEST ALTERNATIVE- “SIX PACK” by Madeline Mack & Michael Lincoln BEST WEB SERIES- “STRUT” by Michelle Cutolo BEST SPOOF- “CLASS DISMISSED” by Edward Marks, Joe Godreault BEST ROM COM- “REKINDLED” by Erin Brown Thomas BEST OF THE FEST- “THE ACCOMPLICE” by Jon Hoeg and John F. Beach
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Viola Davis’s Documentary Series THE LAST DEFENSE to World Premiere at Tribeca + Debut June 12, on ABC
The powerful, new seven-episode documentary series, “The Last Defense,” from Executive producers Viola Davis and Julius Tennon, explores and exposes flaws in the American justice system through emotional, in-depth examinations of the death row cases of Darlie Routier and Julius Jones. The series will seek to trace the path that led both Routier and Jones to their places on death row, while taking a deep look into their personal stories.
In 1997, Darlie Routier, wife and mother, was sentenced to death for the brutal stabbing murder of her two young sons, a crime she insists she did not commit. Now 20 years on death row in Texas, the contentious debate over the fairness of her trial is more polarized than ever.
In 2001, Julius Jones, a 21-year-old African-American college student with an academic scholarship, was sentenced to death for the carjacking murder of a white father of two, in Edmond, Oklahoma. Twenty years later and having exhausted his appeals, Jones maintains his innocence.
The world premiere of “The Last Defense” will screen at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, on Friday, April 27, with the first hour of the Julius Jones case followed by a panel discussion with executive producers Viola Davis, Julius Tennon, Christine Connor and attorney Dale Baich; and premier Tuesday, June12 (10:00 – 11:00 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network.
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Jonathan Hacker’s Terrorism Documentary PATH OF BLOOD to Open in Theaters on July 13
Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Jonathan Hacker and based on his book of the same title, Path of Blood depicts Islamist terrorism as it has never been seen before. Drawn from a hoard of jihadi home-movie footage that was captured by Saudi security services, this is the story of Muslim terrorists targeting Muslim civilians and brought to justice by Muslim security agents. It is a stark reminder that all who are touched by terrorism are victimized by it.
Path of Blood will open theatrically on Friday, July 13 at the IFC Center with a national release to follow.
A powerful and sometimes shocking cinematic experience, Path of Blood reveals how brainwashed youths, fueled by idealism and the misguided pursuit of adventure, can descend into madness and carnage. The raw, unvarnished footage, to which the filmmakers negotiated exclusive access, captures young thrill-seekers at a jihadi “boot camp” deep in the Saudi desert, having signed on to overthrow the Saudi government. They plot to detonate car bombs in downtown Riyadh, become embroiled in a game of cat-and-mouse with government forces and, as their plans unravel, resort to ever more brutal tactics.
Adopting a strictly objective approach, the film doesn’t editorialize and contains no interviews or “talking heads” commentary. The home video footage was shot by the terrorists themselves, allowing viewers to see them in all their complexity, while compelling audiences to draw their own conclusions.
Path of Blood director / producer Jonathan Hacker has won more than twenty awards including a BAFTA. His diverse documentary work ranges from high-profile international history series such as Secret Agent and Timewatch for the BBC, to hard-hitting current affairs programs such as Britain’s First Suicide Bombers, which also tackled the subject of Al Qaeda.
View images from Path of Blood
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Coming Soon: Demetrius Shipp Jr., Essence Atkins, Terrence J to Star in Derege Harding’s SAME DIFFERENCE
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Demetrius Shipp Jr., Essence Atkins[/caption]
Demetrius Shipp Jr. (All Eyez On Me), Essence Atkins (NBC’s “Marlon”), Terrence Jenkins (MTV’s “SafeWord”) and Edwina Findley (The CW’s “Black Lightning”) have all signed on to star in the indie mysterious drama titled Same Difference.
Already in production in Los Angeles, the film, produced by Datari Turner for Datari Turner Productions, was written and directed by Derege Harding. Additional co-stars include: Kandi Burruss, Affion Crockett, Kris D. Lofton, Gabby Douglas, Lew Temple, and Page Kennedy.
Same Difference follows a young woman (Atkins) who is told that her death is imminent by a mysterious group of people who all start dying one by one. The woman becomes compelled to let go of the past and reconcile with her estranged twin sister, also played by Atkins, who is suffering from alcohol addiction.
Making his feature film directorial debut, Harding is a Film Independent Project Involve Alum. His short film “First Date, Last Date” won numerous festival awards and was bought and distributed by HBO. He was the Winner of last year’s 2017 Turner (TNT) / ABFF Pilot Screenwriting Competition.
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Cannes Film Festival Unveils 2018 Cannes Classis Lineup Featuring ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ Turning 50
2001: A Space Odyssey 2001: A Space Odyssey turning 50 as seen by Christopher Nolan, an essay by Mark Cousins about Orson Welles, Margarethe von Trotta’s tribute to Bergman, Fernando Solanas and The Hour of the Furnaces, Five and the Skin by Pierre Rissient are among the lineup for the Cannes Classics 2018
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Tribeca 2018: Filmmakers Jacob Wasserman, Adam Donald and Ant Gentile Launch VR Company ‘Hidden Content’
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The Caretaker[/caption]
Filmmakers Jacob Wasserman, Adam Donald and Ant Gentile announced the formation of Hidden Content, a full-service virtual reality. Their first project was unveiled yesterday at the Tribeca Film Festival with the world premiere of their narrative 360 Cinema project The Caretaker, the first installment of an original horror anthology series.
Created by Wasserman and Donald as well as filmmaker Nicolas Pesce (The Eyes Of My Mother, Piercing), The Caretaker stars Adelaide Clemens, Tom Lipinski, Clara Wong and Diana Agostini, was produced by Max Born and Schuyler Weiss and executive produced by Gentile and Kimberly Parker. The pilot was a co-production with RealMotion Inc. and audio services were provided by Hobo Audio.
Hidden Content has also teamed with film producer and financier Max Born to produce and acquire a slate of VR films and series, as well as develop a VR/AR distribution platform.
Wasserman, Donald and Gentile have been working in the virtual reality and 360 cinema space for some time, having produced high profile VR commercials and branded content experiences, including Samsung’s “Anatomy of Ski” 4D VR Experience for the 2018 Winter Olympics, featuring Olympic gold medalist downhill skier Bode Miller and “360 Meals,” a journey inside celebrity chef Daniel Boulud’s Michelin-starred flagship restaurant, Daniel.
The trio’s first narrative effort, the interactive VR thriller Broken Night starring Emily Mortimer and Alessandro Nivola, premiered at Tribeca Film Festival 2017 and was also featured at Cannes NEXT 2017.
Hidden Content and Max Born are currently in development on three additional VR genre series, and are in talks with outside creators to acquire new content to build out their 2018 project slate.
The Hidden Content Team
Jacob Wasserman Jacob Wasserman has produced notable and critically acclaimed films including James White (Winner of Sundance NEXT Audience Award, AFI Audience Award), The Eyes of My Mother (Sundance NEXT 2016 Official Selection), virtual reality film Broken Night (2017 Cannes NEXT) with his latest feature films TYREL and Piercing premiering at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. His most recent VR narrative film The Caretaker , which he co-wrote and directed alongside horror director Nicolas Pesce (The Eyes Of My Mother, Piercing), will have its premiere at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. Wasserman has also produced and directed several award winning commercials, music videos and virtual reality films for clients including The North Face, Gatorade, The Wall Street Journal, Sony Music and Samsung. He a founding partner of Virtual Reality production company, Hidden Content and is currently based in Los Angeles, California. Adam Donald Adam Donald is a director who continues to expand his work and collaborations across all genres from Film and Television to Virtual Reality. He is a founding partner in Hidden Content, and is currently based in Brooklyn, New York. Donald has worked with the world’s top agencies and directed story-telling campaigns for many global brands, including The North Face, Gatorade, Sony, SKYY Vodka, NBA, Budweiser, and American Express, featuring world class artists and athletes Jay Z, Pharell, Diplo, Courtney Love, Venus Williams, Usain Bolt and Elton John, among others. He is the recipient of several industry awards, including The New Directors Showcase, Clio Advertising Awards, D&AD Awards, as well as VMA nominations. In addition to his commercial work, Donald recently directed a television pilot for TruTV and co-directed the experimental VR dance film, The Gate. This is the second year he has had a film selected for both Tribeca and Cannes Film festivals. Ant Gentile Ant Gentile has worked in audio and video production for over 10 years, serving as creative director and producer for clients including Samsung, ABC, Interscope Records, Atlantic Records, CenturyLink, McGraw-Hill Education, Clearasil, Cengage, 451 Media, and Sun Chemical. Wanting the ability to offer full-service production, Gentile opened a state-of-the-art audio production facility in midtown Manhattan, allowing him to score, mix and sound design projects for his clients, as well as start a music publishing and podcast division. In addition, Gentile has executive produced two feature length documentaries and has raised significant strategic funding for both entertainment projects and tech start-ups. With a passion for storytelling in new media, as well as relationships tech and VC companies, Gentile joined with commercial and narrative filmmakers Adam Donald and Jake Wasserman and producing VR content under a new banner, Hidden Content. Nicolas Pesce Nicolas Pesce’s debut feature The Eyes Of My Mother was one of the most critically acclaimed horror films of 2016. It premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival in the NEXT section and was released theatrically in the U.S. by Magnolia Pictures. In 2013, Pesce developed an animated series starring Malcolm MacDowell, J.K. Simmons, and Colin Quinn and most recently he completed his second feature film Piercing , based on the Ryu Murakami novel by the same title. Piercing premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival in the Midnight section and stars Christopher Abbott, Mia Wasikowska, Maria Dizzia, and Marin Ireland. Nick is writing and will direct the upcoming The Grudge for Good Universe and Ghost House Pictures. Pesce is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and currently lives in Los Angeles. Max Born Born is a film producer and financier and his production of Josh Mond’s James White was the start of what would be a successful collaboration with Borderline Films, with whom he went on to produce Nicolas Pesce’s debut feature The Eyes Of My Mother. Shortly thereafter he developed Piercing with Pesce and Borderline, which Pesce directed and premiered at Sundance 2018. In 2017, Born collaborated with Sebastián Silva on his film TYREL, which premiered in competition at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. He is currently developing both adapted and original content with Pesce, Silva, and Antonio Campos of Borderline. More recently, Born has refocused on development financing and has already started to build a small library of IP to adapt with more filmmakers. Also in 2018, Born produced a VR short called The Caretaker, which will have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival and screen in Cannes NEXT. Along with production and post-production partners in this emerging medium, Born is looking to create what would essentially be a small VR studio.
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See New Trailer + Poster Debut for THE ESCAPE Starring Gemma Arterton and Dominic Cooper
IFC Films has released the brand new trailer and poster for The Escape, writer/director Dominic Savage’s intelligent, empathetic portrait of a stay-at-home mother in suburban England.
The Escape stars Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace; The Girl With All The Gifts; Their Finest) as a wife held prisoner by the monotony and isolation of her seemingly perfect life and Dominic Cooper (“Preacher;” My Week With Marilyn; An Education) as a husband ill-equipped to understand her pain.
The film, which premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, will be released by IFC Films on Friday, May 11 in New York and Los Angeles, as well as on Digital and On Demand platforms, with a national theatrical rollout to follow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx05E-99DPA
A woman sets out to reclaim her life in this stirring, emotionally rich look at what it means to start over. Tara (Arterton), a housewife and mother in suburban London, is living a life that is no longer hers: it belongs to her loving but overworked and self-absorbed husband (Cooper), her young son and daughter and the numbing routine of housework and childcare. In desperate need of a change, Tara one day makes a bold decision. Armed with a one-way ticket to Paris, she leaves everything behind to rediscover herself in a new city – but walking out on your life isn’t so simple. Built around a remarkable central performance from Gemma Arterton, The Escape is a perceptive, deeply compassionate portrait of a woman on the rocky road to becoming herself.
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See the New Trailer + Poster for BOOM FOR REAL: THE LATE TEENAGE YEARS OF JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT [Video]
When you think you have read and seen everything there is to know about Jean-Michel Basquiat, then comes the captivating documentary, Boom For Real: The Late Teenage Years Of Jean-Michel Basquiat. The film which follows Basquiat’s life pre-fame and how New York City in the 1980’s formed the artist he became, released a new trailer and cool retro-looking poster. Boom For Real: The Late Teenage Years Of Jean-Michel Basquiat which World Premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, will be in theaters on May 11.
Using never-before-seen works, writings and photographs, director Sara Driver, who was part of the New York arts scene herself, worked closely and collaboratively with friends and other artists who emerged from that period: Jim Jarmusch, James Nares, Fab Five Freddy, Glenn O’Brien, Kenny Scharf, Lee Quinones, Patricia Field, Luc Sante and many others. Drawing upon their memories and anecdotes, the film also uses period film footage, music and images to visually re-recreate the era, drawing a portrait of Jean-Michel and Downtown New York City -pre AIDS, President Reagan, the real estate and art booms – before anyone was motivated by money and ambition. The definition of fame, success and power were very different than today – to be a penniless but published poet was the height of success, until everything changed in the early 1980s. This is New York City’s story before that change.
THE BACKGROUND
“If we don’t tell the history, then others will, who weren’t there and don’t know the truth.” – Alexis Adler
Thirty years ago, Alexis Adler, an embryologist and friend of Jean-Michel stored away what’s now considered a treasure trove of his art and writings, along with the more than 150 photographs she took of him at work, goofing around and hanging out. In 1979, she gave him a key to her apartment, a safe place for him to stay and there he began to explore his talents.
BASQUIAT AND NEW YORK CITY
The film explores the movements that touched and inspired Jean-Michel Basquiat, as well as the influence a bankrupt, violent city had on this seminal artist. Jean-Michel has become, over the years, the ultimate representation of this period. All the many things that were going on in the city fed through him – politics, hip-hop, punk rock, race issues and the art scene.
In 1978, Jean-Michel was a teenager (18 years old), living on the street and sleeping on friends’ sofas in the East Village. He was shaped and formed by his friendships — those he influenced and those who influenced him. The crumbling city allowed them the freedom to discover and experiment with their work.
THE CITY, THE CRIME, THE ARTS
During a brief time, downtown NYC was the epicenter for a community of young artists: musicians, painters, sculptors, filmmakers, performers, dancers, etc., living among the burned-out buildings that punctuated the city. These artists cross-pollinated each other, experimenting with different mediums. There were no divisions between young and old. The young learned from the older artists and vice versa. At the parties, clubs and in the streets there were minimalist painters, beatniks and jazz heroes. It was cheap to live in NYC. The city was lawless and drugs were everywhere, sold openly on the street.
The origins of hip-hop were floating through everything. The sounds of salsa, disco, punk, hardcore and no wave music wafted in the streets and through the clubs: CBGB, Mudd Club, Max’s Kansas City, Hurrah, Studio 54, Tier 3.
The streets were dangerous and crime rampant. The night’s events spread by word of mouth and handmade posters plastered on building walls, as well as through listings in local art papers: the Village Voice, the East Village Eye and the Soho News. NYC was bankrupt and crumbling, but because it was so cheap it became a fertile breeding ground for so many artists.
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30th Filmfest Dresden Announces Award Winners, Amar Kaushik’s GRANDFATHER Wins 2 Golden Horseman Trophies
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Grandfather (Aaba) Amar Kaushik[/caption]
A total of ten Golden Horsemen and four special prizes were awarded at the Awards Ceremony on Saturday, for the 30th Filmfest Dresden. The Indian director Amar Kaushik received two Golden Horseman trophies for his short fiction film Grandfather (Aaba) and Jon Frickey, who lives in Hamburg, scooped up one of the special prizes, in addition to a Golden Horseman trophy.
30th FilmFest Dresden Award and Prize Winners
International Competition
Golden Horseman Best Animation Film International Competition (7.500 Euro) “LUPUS” from director Carlos Gómez Salamanca (Colombia / France, 2016) Jury comments: “Starting from real events taking place in its home country, through the use of different animation techniques, this film overcomes the border of a local story to become a metaphor of a disease spreading out in many societies around the world.” Special Mention: “YAL VA KOOPAL – MANED & MACHO” from director Shiva Sadegh Asadi (Iran, 2017) Golden Horseman Best Short Fiction International Competition (7.500 Euro) “AABA – GRANDFATHER” from director Amar Kaushik (India, 2016) Jury Comments: “Set in an exotic landscape the film tells a classic story of the eternal circle of life. After the final verdict from the local physician, an old man carefully prepares for his ultimate journey. With few words spoken and in a rich visual style the director warmheartedly touches a serious topic in a humorous way.” Special Mention: “PŘÁTELSKÉ SETKÁNÍ NAD SPORTEM – FRIENDLY SPORT MEETING” from director Adam Koloman Rybanský (Czech Republic, 2017) Golden Horseman of the Audience International Competition (3.000 Euro) “THE THEORY OF SUNSET” from director Roman Sokolov (Russia, 2017) Golden Horseman of the Youth Jury International Competition (2.000 Euro) “AABA – GRANDFATHER” from director Amar Kaushik (India, 2016) Jury Comments: “The film recounts a story about life and the end to it in a calm and loving way, revealing an unusual insight into a warm-hearted world where few words are spoken. The plot is borne by the three powerful characters and their impressively authentic portrayals. Between bamboo and American TV shows for children, the film finds a realistic, almost humorous response to the self-evident nature of the occurrences in life.” Special Mention: “LUPUS” from director Carlos Gómez Salamanca (Colombia / France, 2016) Jury Comments: “The special mention of the Youth Jury in the International Competition goes to the film LUPUS for its complexity, its unique idea and its multi-layered adaptation, the combining of documentary elements and its differing animation styles, as well as the soundscape and editing concept selected.”National Competition
Golden Horseman Best Animation Film National Competition (3.000 Euro) “SOG” from director Jonatan Schwenk (Germany, 2017) Jury Comments: “This animation film, which knowingly incorporates analogue and digital animation techniques, reveals how something completely extraordinary can emerge when two worlds are combined with each other. Regrettably, its characters are excluded from this marvel and permit fear to prevail, rather than create something incredibly new. A moving parallel to current affairs.” Special Mention: “HALMASPIEL” from director Betina Kuntzsch (Germany, 2017) Jury Comments: “Exposed to the fortunes of life like pieces in a game…” Golden Horseman Best Short Fiction National Competition (3.000 Euro) “JOY” from director Abini Gold (Germany, 2017) Jury Comments: “Left alone and having to fend for herself, the protagonist defies her situation. The hope that tomorrow – when all is well again – is abruptly shattered. Disappointment, betrayal and anger: These we read in her face like an open book. Which is the very strength of this social drama. Superbly cast and portrayed, and set within the tightest space, the conflict between a daughter and her mother inevitably ends in catastrophe.” Special Mention: “ATTAK” from director Ruben Meier (Germany, 2017) Jury Comments: “A film with the courage to confront male clichés and archaic fantasies of violence, that humorously deconstructs then at the same time without exposing its protagonists in the process. We can’t wait for more to come.” Golden Horseman of the Audience National Competition (4.000 Euro) “ATTAK” from director Ruben Meier (Germany, 2017) Golden Horseman of the Youth Jury National Competition (2.000 Euro) “U MEĐUVREMENU – MEANWHILE” from director Mate Ugrin (Germany, 2017) Jury Comments: “A story of farewell and hopelessness is told in the streets of a desolate small town. Doing so, juxtaposed light-intensive visual compositions prevail over the dialogue and plot. Permitting the filmmaker to achieve the creation of a dense, atmospheric and sensitive portrayal of this uncertain stillness. With the viewers becoming observers drawn helplessly into the situation.” Minister of Fine Arts Promotion Prize (20.000 Euro) “LINK” from director Robert Löbel (Germany, 2017) Jury Comments: “In less than eight minutes, we dive into a world full of metaphors that manages with the simplest of narrative means to pose the great question in life: Where do we want to live? Two figures seem to be taking their own individual way in life, and yet everything they do also has consequences for the other one. For where we come from is who we are.” DEFA Promotion Prize Animation (3.000 Euro) “MASCARPONE” from director Jonas Riemer (Germany, 2018) Jury Comments: “In a skilfully abstracted and lavishly adapted declaration of love to the great dream factory of Hollywood, the winning film embodies an accomplished balancing act between technical perfection and deliberately haptic simplifications. Brilliantly interwoven animation techniques and real-film elements impel the audience onto a high-speed filmic rollercoaster.”National and International Competition
ARTE Short Film Prize (6.000 Euro) “NEKO NO HI – CAT DAYS” from director Jon Frickey (Germany / Japan, 2018) Jury Comments: “The animated film convinced the ARTE Jury with its simplicity and carefully crafted details, as well as through its vibrant colours. This powerful aesthetic is combined with a fable-like tale that flirts with absurdity so as to grasp the subject of identity. A positive and gentle father-son relationship works its way through the film that teaches the acceptance of others and being different.” Audience Award Regional Film Night (3.000 Euro) “MIN BÖRDA – THE BURDEN“, Music & Sound: Hans Appelqvist (Sweden, 2017) Jury Comments: “This film’s soundtrack is distinguished by its humour, depth, creativity and versatility. With all of these elements at the highest level and perfectly combined with each other and with the image. The handling of the music, sounds and language goes far beyond merely illustrating the storyline and forms the soul of the film. Through the innovate use of experimental effects and disassociations, the traditional musical becomes a mirror on the surrealism of everyday life in our society.” Golden Horseman* for Gender Diversity (1.000 Euro) “NEKO NO HI – CAT DAYS” from director Jon Frickey (Germany / Japan, 2018) Jury Comments: “The development of a gender identity presupposes the freedom of self-definition. In medical diagnoses, this freedom is often not permitted to inter and trans persons. The prize-winning film challenges this with a heartening “Be whatever you want to be!” Animated for children, the film calls upon every human to have self-confident authenticity.” Special Mention: “MRS MCCUTCHEON” from director John Sheedy (Australia, 2017) Jury Comments: “A school ball dancefloor is transformed into a social ideal, in which each and every heteronormative pressure to conform seems to be suspended for one evening. With gender identity, sexual orientation and ethnic origins no longer playing a role, true to the motto: Just be yourself and be proud of it!” Regional Film Night 2018 Audience Award (2.000 Euro) “OCCUPIED SUMMER” from director Berit Toepfer (Germany, 2017)