Bosnia-Herzegovina has selected Alen Drljevic’s Men Don’t Cry (Muskarci koji ne placu) as the country’s official entry in the Foreign Language Film category of the 90th Academy Awards.
Men Don’t Cry, which won the Special Jury Prize at the 2017 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival last month, tells the story of a group therapy workshop, set in a hotel in the Bosnian mountains. A group of war-scarred veterans from different sides in the Yugoslavian conflict are brought together by a peace group to share their wartime experiences, and to try to establish a degree of trust and faith between them. Emotions are highly charged as old enmities and hostilities emerge, but the participants gradually learn to overcome their divisions and achieve a kind of understanding and respect for each other, or at least a tolerance, despite all the bloodshed that has flowed between them in the past.
The film features an all-star team of Balkan actors including Croatia’s Leon Lučev (The Black Pin, Circles) and Ivo Gregurević (Ungiven, The Reaper), Serbia’s Boris Isaković (Requiem for Mrs. J., A Good Wife), Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Emir Hadžihafizbegović (These Are the Rules, Death of a Man in the Balkans), Boris Ler (Circus Columbia) and Ermin Bravo (Love Island), as well as Slovenia’s Sebastian Cavazza (Nika, On the Path).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dgSSQGJSe4Films
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Alen Drljevic’s MEN DON’T CRY is Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
Bosnia-Herzegovina has selected Alen Drljevic’s Men Don’t Cry (Muskarci koji ne placu) as the country’s official entry in the Foreign Language Film category of the 90th Academy Awards.
Men Don’t Cry, which won the Special Jury Prize at the 2017 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival last month, tells the story of a group therapy workshop, set in a hotel in the Bosnian mountains. A group of war-scarred veterans from different sides in the Yugoslavian conflict are brought together by a peace group to share their wartime experiences, and to try to establish a degree of trust and faith between them. Emotions are highly charged as old enmities and hostilities emerge, but the participants gradually learn to overcome their divisions and achieve a kind of understanding and respect for each other, or at least a tolerance, despite all the bloodshed that has flowed between them in the past.
The film features an all-star team of Balkan actors including Croatia’s Leon Lučev (The Black Pin, Circles) and Ivo Gregurević (Ungiven, The Reaper), Serbia’s Boris Isaković (Requiem for Mrs. J., A Good Wife), Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Emir Hadžihafizbegović (These Are the Rules, Death of a Man in the Balkans), Boris Ler (Circus Columbia) and Ermin Bravo (Love Island), as well as Slovenia’s Sebastian Cavazza (Nika, On the Path).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dgSSQGJSe4
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VIDEO: Watch Love Blossom in Prison in Trailer for Dominican Republic Film WOODPECKERS (CARPINTEROS)
Here is the new trailer and poster for the Woodpeckers (Carpinteros) directed by Jose Maria Cabral. Love can spring up in the most unlikely places, and the new film Woodpeckers (Carpinteros) tells one such tale of illicit and slow-boil attraction.
The film starring Jean Jean, Ramon Emilio Candelario and Judith Rodriguez, was an official selection of many film festivals including the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and the Guadalajara Film Festival, where the film won the awards for Best Actor and Jury Prize. Woodpeckers will be released in theaters on Friday, September 15, 2017 at (AMC EMPIRE 25, UA KAUFMAN ASTORIA STADIUM 14) with a wider national release to follow.
Dreadlocked and handsome Dominican-Haitian Julián (actor Jean Jean in a breakout role) begins a jail sentence for petty theft inside the notorious Najayo prison just outside Santo Domingo. While navigating the indignities, corruption and everyday violence from both guards and fellow inmates, he becomes immersed in the system of “Woodpecking,” the unique sign language the male prisoners use to communicate with women in the adjacent penitentiary just over 400 feet away.
Standing in windows or out in prison yards, love – and heated liaisons – blossom. Julián’s entanglement with one female inmate, Yanelly (the astonishing Dominican actress Judith Rodriguez Perez), is the fuse that ignites the events of Woodpeckers, which was shot on location at the actual prison using real inmates for all but the lead roles. Director José María Cabral, whose previous work was the Dominican Republic’s official submission for the Foreign Language Oscar, delivers a knockout film, full of atmosphere, sexuality, and grit.
Trailer Woodpeckers (Carpinteros)
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Netflix Debuts Trailer + Poster + Release Date for Documentary Short RESURFACE from Tribeca Film Fest
Netflix has released the trailer and poster for the documentary short film Resurface. The film premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival where it won a Special Jury Mention and will launch globally on Netflix on September 1, 2017.
After years of nightmares, depression, and seizures, Iraq war veteran Bobby Lane could see no way out of his trauma other than suicide. Then he met Van Curaza, a former big wave surfer who had since founded Operation Surf and dedicated his life to helping veterans find solace in surfing.
Backed by a growing body of research illustrating the healing power of the ocean on the mind and body, organizations such as Operation Surf and the Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation are using surfing to help veterans cope with physical and mental trauma. Resurface directed by Joshua Izenberg (Slomo) and Wynn Padula tells the story of Bobby and other veterans who have experienced the powerful and prescriptive effects of surf on the traumas of war.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8W1yvrPA-U
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Unrated Psychological Thriller AGAINST THE NIGHT Heads into Theaters September 25
Against The Night is a psychological thriller that tests the boundaries of trust as nine friends sneak into an abandoned prison to film a ghost hunting video. When their friend, Hank, disappears, everyone is pointing fingers and placing blame until they realize they may not be alone.
A riveting psychological thriller about paranoia, loyalty, ambition, and trust, Against The Night is directed by Emmy Award winning and CLIO nominated commercial director Brian Cavallaro and features Hannah Kleeman, Tim Torre, and Frank Whaley (Pulp Fiction, Vacancy, Swimming with Sharks). The film was produced by Brian Cavallaro and Arielle Brachfeld, and co-produced by Mike Mendez and Hank Braxton.
Against The Night will be released theatrically in LA, NY and additional select markets on September 15. The film has a running time of 86 minutes and will not be rated by the MPAA.
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TOM OF FINLAND, Biopic on LGBTQ Icon, Sets Fall Release Date | Trailer
Award-winning filmmaker Dome Karukoski brings to screen the life and work of one of the most influential and celebrated figures of twentieth century LGBTQ culture in Tom of Finland starring Pekka Strang, Lauri Tilkanen, Werner Daehn and Jessica Grabowsky. The film, an official selection of the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival will open Friday, October 13 in New York at The Quad and on Friday, October 20 in Los Angeles at the Nuart Theater with a national release to follow.
Touko Laaksonen, a decorated officer, returns home after a harrowing and heroic experience serving his country in World War II. But life in Finland during peacetime proves equally distressing. He finds post-war Helsinki rampant with homophobic persecution, and gay men around him are being pressured to marry women and have children. Touko finds refuge in his liberating art: homoerotic drawings of muscular men, free of inhibitions.
But it is only when an American publisher sees them and invites Tuoko over to the West Coast that his life really takes a turn. Finally being able to walk free and proud in Los Angeles, Tuoko dives head first into the sexual revolution, becoming an icon and a rallying point. His work – made famous by his signature ‘Tom of Finland’ – became the emblem of a generation of men and fanned the flames of the worldwide gay revolution.
One of Finland’s most acclaimed directors, Dome Karukoski has been named one of “Variety’s” Top 10 Directors to Watch and his films have gathered numerous international awards. Winner of several Finnish National Film Awards, and Best Director for Dark Butterflies and Lapland Odyssey, Karukoski’s films are as successful abroad as they are at home. Karukoskihas recently been set to direct The Starling starring Keanu Reeves and Tolkien, a biopic of J.R.R.Tolkien, who wrote The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6v3w9yfyVY
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Lynn Shelton’s Drama OUTSIDE IN Acquired by The Orchard for 2018 Release
Lynn Shelton’s drama Outside In, starring Jay Duplass and Edie Falco which will premiere next month at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival has been acquired by The Orchard for a release in early 2018. Outside In also stars Kaitlyn Dever and Ben Schwartz.
The screenplay for Outside In was written by Lynn Shelton and Jay Duplass. Shelton has directed six previous feature films including Humpday, Your Sister’s Sister, and Laggies. She’s received two Independent Spirit Awards, and has directed a number of television shows including “Mad Men,” “Master of None,” “The Mindy Project,” “Love,” “New Girl,” “Shameless,” “Fresh Off the Boat” and “Glow.”
Jay Duplass is currently starring on the hit Amazon series “Transparent,” producing the acclaimed HBO anthology series “Room 104,” and recently starred in Beatriz at Dinner and Landline. Four-time Emmy® Award winner Edie Falco most recently starred Landline (alongside Jay), Megan Leavey, and Louis C.K.’s drama series “Horace and Pete.”
Outside In follows Carol (Falco), a high school teacher, and Chris (Duplass), her ex-student, as they explore a relationship after his release from a 20-year prison sentence. While Chris navigates his re-entry into the world, Carol works to rebuild her family, and reconnect with her teenage daughter (Dever). Featuring an original score from singer-songwriter Andrew Bird and shot on location in Washington state,Outside Inwas produced by Mel Eslyn and Lacey Leavitt.
Outside In marks the most recent release in the ongoing relationship between Duplass Brothers Productions and The Orchard. Since acquiring The Overnight at Sundance in 2015, DBP and The Orchard have collaborated on a variety of films including Take Me, Blue Jay, 6 Years, Manson Family Vacation, Rainbow Time and Creep.
Following The Orchard’s theatrical and digital release, Netflix will be releasing the film on its worldwide streaming platform.
Lynn Shelton commented, “I couldn’t be happier that Outside In will be included in the incredible catalog of films that The Orchard has acquired as a distributor.”
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15 Films in EFA Documentary Selection 2017: ‘SCHOOL LIFE’ ‘THE WAR SHOW’ and More
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DEAD DONKEYS FEAR NO HYENAS[/caption]
15 European documentaries have been recommended for a nomination for this year’s 2017 European Film Awards.
Ten documentary festivals have recommended to the committee one film each which has had its world premiere at the respective festival’s latest edition. Based on their recommendations and the films individually submitted, the EFA documentary committee decided on the EFA Documentary Selection.
EFA Members will now vote for five documentary nominations. Based on these nominations, the EFA Members will then elect the ‘European Documentary 2017’ which will be announced during the awards ceremony on December 9 in Berlin.
EFA Documentary Selection 2017
AUSTERLITZ Germany 94 min DIRECTED BY Sergei Loznitsa PRODUCED BY Sergei Loznitsa COMMUNION KOMUNIA Poland 72 min DIRECTED BY Anna Zamecka PRODUCED BY Zuzanna Krol, Anna Wydra, Izabela Lopuch & Hanka Kastelicova DEAD DONKEYS FEAR NO HYENAS Sweden, Germany, Finland 80 min DIRECTED BY Joakim Demmer PRODUCED BY Margarete Jangård, Heino Deckert & John Webster HOW TO MEET A MERMAID Netherlands, Denmark 90 min DIRECTED BY Coco Schrijber PRODUCED BY Frank van den Engel LA CHANA Spain, Iceland, USA 86 min DIRECTED BY Lucija Stojevic PRODUCED BY Lucija Stojevic, Greta Olafsdottir, Deirdre Towers & Susan Muska LIBERA NOS LIBERAMI Italy, France 90 min DIRECTED BY Federica Di Giacomo PRODUCED BY Francesco Virga & Paolo Santoni NOTHINGWOOD France, Germany 85 min DIRECTED BY Sonia Kronlund PRODUCED BY Laurent Lavolé & Melanie Andernach SCHOOL LIFE IN LOCO PARENTIS Ireland, Spain 99 min DIRECTED BY Neasa Ní Chianáin & David Rane PRODUCED BY David Rane, Montse Portabella, Angelo Orlando & Efthymia Zymvragaki STRANGER IN PARADISE Netherlands 72 min DIRECTED BY Guido Hendrikx PRODUCED BY Frank van den Engel TASTE OF CEMENT Germany, Lebanon, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Qatar 85 min DIRECTED BY Ziad Kalthoum PRODUCED BY Ansgar Frerich, Tobias Siebert & Eva Kemme THE GOOD POSTMAN Finland, Bulgaria 80 min DIRECTED BY Tonislav Hristov PRODUCED BY Kaarle Aho THE VENERABLE W LE VENERABLE W France, Switzerland 100 min DIRECTED BY Barbet Schroeder PRODUCED BY Margaret Menegoz & Lionel Baier THE WAR SHOW Denmark, Syria, Finland 100 min DIRECTED BY Andreas Dalsgaard & Obaidah Zytoon PRODUCED BY Miriam Nørgaard & Alaa Hassan ULTRA Hungary, Greece 81 min DIRECTED BY Balazs Simonyi PRODUCED BY Laszlo Jozsa, Balazs Simonyi, Rea Apostolides, Yuri Averof, Hanka Kastelicova & Anna Zavorszky WEST OF THE JORDAN RIVER A L’OUEST DU JOURDAIN France 124 min DIRECTED BY Amos Gitai PRODUCED BY Patricia Boutinard Rouelle, Romain Icard, Stéphanie Schorter, Amos Gitai, Shuki Friedman & Laurent Truchotv
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World Premiere of COUSIN, COUSINE An Unreleased Short by French Filmmaker Jean Rouch Added to Venice Film Festival
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Jean Rouch[/caption]
For the one-hundredth anniversary of the birth of the great French director and ethnographer Jean Rouch, the Venice Film Festival adds to its line-up the world-premiere screening of Cousin, cousine (1985-1987, 31′, color), the only film that Rouch made in Venice, the very unusual and previously unreleased short film, with Damouré Zika and Mariama Hima (Venice Classics).
Cousin, cousine has been fully restored by the French CNC (Centre national du cinéma e de l’image animée) in collaboration with the Fondation Jean Rouch and the Association Centenaire Jean Rouch 2017.
Cousin, cousine is a “caprice” invented in Venice by Jean Rouch and by his two friends and performers, Nigerian actor Damouré Zika and Nigerian filmmaker Mariama Hima, who came to the Venice Film Festival in 1985 to present Mariama Hima’s film Baabu Banza in the “Venezia Genti” section, where it won an award. On that occasion, they decided to make a film fantasy built around a painting by Gentile Bellini and several locations and stories within the city. The plot has Mariama and Damouré, two cousins, meeting in Venice to look for a long-lost relic, like in one of Gentile Bellini’s most famous paintings. Mariama thus introduces Damouré to the city, taking him to a “squero”, a boatyard where he can study how gondolas are made (which is very different from building pirogues).
Cousin, cousine will screen at the 74th Venice Film Festival in the Venice Classics section, following the documentary L’Enigma di Jean Rouch a Torino – Cronaca di un film raté by Marco di Castri, Paolo Favaro and Daniele Pianciola.
Jean Rouch (1917-2004), a French ethnographer and director, made over 180 films (some unfinished), along with a great number of photographs, sound recordings and writings of various kinds. He founded important centres and institutions such as the Comité du film ethnographique and events such as the Cinéma du Réel festival. He taught, defended and promoted ethnographic and documentary filmmaking, and visual anthropology.
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Tribeca Film Festival Award-Winning Documentary BOBBI JENE Dances into Theaters on September 22 | Trailer
The Tribeca Film Festival award-winning documentary Bobbi Jene directed by Elvira Lind, looks at the exhilarating journey of a dancer finding her place in the world. The film swept the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival documentary awards, winning for Best Documentary Feature, Best Cinematography and Best Editing. Bobbi Jene will be released in New York at the Quad Cinema on Friday, September 22, with additional cities to follow.
After a decade of stardom in Israel, American dancer Bobbi Jene Smith decides to leave behind her prominent position at the world-famous Batsheva Dance Company, as well as the love of her life, to return to the US to create her own boundary-breaking art. Tracking the personal and professional challenges that await her, Lind’s film lovingly and intimately documents the dilemmas and inevitable consequences of ambition. Observing the artist in both private and public settings, the film moves between uninhibited scenes of life at home, grueling rehearsals, and Bobbi Jene’s revealing choreography. Baring her body, her new work explores both the physical and emotional complexities of female sexuality. Bobbi Jene delves into what it takes for a woman to gain her own independence in the extremely competitive world of dance and to find self-fulfillment in the process.
Trailer: Bobbi Jene
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VIDEO: Watch Trailer for Coming-of-Age Indie Drama DAYVEON
Check out the new trailer for Amman Abbasi’s Dayveon, starring newcomer Devin Blackmon, which premiered earlier this year at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. The film will be open in theaters on September 13, 2017 in Los Angeles at Laemmle Monica Film Center, and in New York City at Quad Cinema.
In the film, 13-year-old Dayveon (newcomer Devin Blackmon) struggling with his older brother’s death, spends the sweltering summer days roaming around his rural Arkansan town. With no parents and few role models, he soon falls in with the local gang. Though his sister’s boyfriend tries to provide stability and comfort as a reluctant father figure, Dayveon becomes increasingly drawn into the camaraderie and violence of his new world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnjos7t076A
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VIDEO: Watch First Trailer for THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER Starring Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman
A24 today released the first trailer for psychological horror-thriller film The Killing Of A Sacred Deer from Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos (THE LOBSTER, DOGTOOTH), and starring Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman.
The film also starring Barry Keoghan, Raffey Cassidy, Sunny Suljic, Bill Camp and Alicia Silverstone will be released in theaters on October 27.
The film’s synopsis: A prominent surgeon adopts a teenager into his family, but as the teen’s actions grow increasingly sinister, the doctor is forced to make a terrible decision.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQFdGfwChtw
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VIDEO: Watch Trailer for Documentary SAMMY DAVIS, JR.: I’VE GOTTA BE ME World Premiering at Toronto Film Festival
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Sammy Davis, Jr. takes aim in a backstage photo with his dancers in a scene from the documentary SAMMY DAVIS, JR.: I’VE GOTTA BE ME. Photo Credit: The Estate of Altovise Davis[/caption]
The trailer premiered today for the new documentary Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me directed by the legendary documentary filmmaker Sam Pollard, which will have it’s world premiere this September at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.
Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me is the first major film documentary to examine Davis’ vast talent and his journey for identity through the shifting tides of civil rights and racial progress during 20th-century America.
Sammy Davis, Jr. had the kind of career that was indisputably legendary, so vast and multi-faceted that it was dizzying in its scope and scale. And yet, his life was complex, complicated and contradictory. Davis strove to achieve the American Dream in a time of racial prejudice and shifting political territory. He was the veteran of increasingly outdated show business traditions trying to stay relevant; he frequently found himself bracketed by the bigotry of white America and the distaste of black America; he was the most public black figure to embrace Judaism, thereby yoking his identity to another persecuted minority.
Featuring new interviews with such luminaries as Billy Crystal, Norman Lear, Jerry Lewis, Whoopi Goldberg, Quincy Jones and Kim Novak, with never-before-seen photographs from Davis’ vast personal collection and excerpts from his electric performances in television, film and concert, Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me explores the life and art of a uniquely gifted entertainer whose trajectory blazed across the major flashpoints of American society from the Depression through the 1980s.
I want to live, not merely survive
And I won’t give up this dream
Of life that keeps me alive.
I’ve gotta be me, I’ve gotta be me
The dream that I see makes me what I am.
I’m Puerto Rican, Jewish, colored, and married to a white woman.
When I move into a neighborhood, people start running in four ways at the same time.
–Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu8AV81ANTw