Films

New Trailer + Poster for Jose Nestor Marquez’s REVERSION, Opening October 9

REVERSION, written and directed by Jose Nestor Marquez, and opening theatrically on October 9, has released a new Trailer and poster. The film stars Aja Naomi King (How to Get Away With Murder), Colm Feore (Gotham, The Chronicles of Riddick), Gary Dourdan (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Being Mary Jane) and Jeanette Samano (ISA, Speechless). REVERSION centers on Sophie Clé (Aja Naomi King), a delighted user of the Oubli, a wisp of high-tech jewelry that wraps behind the ear and uses neuroscience to help its users experience their most joyful memories as if they were happening for the first time. In addition to being the head of marketing for the company that makes this revolutionary memory-enhancing wearable device, she is also the daughter of its inventor, Jack Clé (Colm Feore). Sophie’s most joyful memory is the last day she saw her mother alive, fifteen years earlier. But on the eve of the Oubli’s worldwide launch, a stranger named Isa (Jeanette Samano) kidnaps Sophie, setting off a chain of events that remind us all, you can’t escape what you can’t forget. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgrqlTb5SZM
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2016 Cinema Eye Shorts List Revealed for 9th Cinema Eye Honors Awards

Ten nonfiction short films were announced today as finalists for the 2016 Cinema Eye Honors, the 9th edition of the largest annual celebration for and recognition of the nonfiction film artform and the creators of those films. The announcement of the 2016 Cinema Eye Shorts List was made on the opening day of the 2015 Camden International Film Festival (CIFF), a key festival partner of the Cinema Eye Honors. For the second year in a row, all ten films, which are among the most acclaimed short documentaries of the year, will screen this weekend at the 11th Annual Camden International Film Festival. This is the first time that all the filmmakers on the list have never been on the Shorts List before or a previous Cinema Eye nominee. This marks the fourth year that the CEH Shorts List has been announced in Camden. This January will mark the seventh year that CIFF hosts their annual reception on the eve of Cinema Eye’s award ceremony. A key part of Cinema Eye Week, a multi-day event held from January 10-13 in New York City in January 2016, the CIFF reception has become the largest single event for nonfiction film in the city and an important kickoff for the new year in the documentary community. From the ten finalists on this year’s Shorts List, five films will be named as nominees for the Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking Award. Nominees in that category and nearly a dozen feature film categories will be announced on Wednesday, November 11 in Copenhagen, Denmark at CPH:DOX. Awards will be presented during Cinema Eye Honors on January 13, 2016, in New York City. This year’s ten finalists are: Body Team 12 (Liberia/USA) (pictured above) Directed by David Darg Born to Be Mild (UK) Directed by Andy Oxley The Breath (Switzerland) Directed by Fabian Kaiser Buffalo Juggalos (USA) Directed by Scott Cummings Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah (Canada) Directed by Adam Benzine The Face of Ukraine: Casting Oksana Baiul (Australia) Directed by Kitty Green Hotel 22 (USA) Directed by Elizabeth Lo {The And} Marcela & Rock (USA) Directed by Topaz Adizes The Solitude of Memory (Mexico/USA) Directed by Juan Pablo González Super-Unit (Poland) Directed by Teresa Czepiec
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TALVAR Starring Irrfan Khan to Open in US on October 2nd | TRAILER

Following its well-received World Premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, the new crime thriller TALVAR starring Irrfan Khan (Jurassic World, The Lunchbox, Life of Pi) will be released in U.S. theaters next week on October 2. Co-starring Konkona Sen Sharma, the film takes a thrilling new look at the real Aarushi Talvar murder investigation which rocked Delhi in 2008. Talvar is a fictional dramatization of true life events revolving around the Aarushi Talvar murder case investigation. Known as the ‘Noida Double Murder Case’, it happened in the city adjoining India’s capital, Delhi, in 2008. The incident still resonates in the minds of the public, as there is no sense of closure in the case in spite of a guilty verdict – the parents of the murdered girl have been sentenced to life for killing her. Boasting of power packed performances by Irrfan Khan (The Lunchbox, Life of Pi), Konkona Sen Sharma and Neeraj Kabi, it also has Tabu (The Namesake) in a special appearance. With Gulzar’s lyrics, Vishal Bharwaj’s music and cinematography by Pankaj Kumar (Haider, Ship Of Theseus), the thriller is a work of fiction which is based on one if the most intriguing and talked about murder cases in recent Indian history https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FquLnfzLjs
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THE HIGH: MAKING THE TOUGHEST RACE ON EARTH to Premiere in NYC this October | TRAILER

BTV Productions’ fascinating documentary THE HIGH: MAKING THE TOUGHEST RACE ON EARTH will make its New York premiere on Saturday, October 24th at the School of Visual Arts. A journey filled with obsession, adventure and a pioneering spirit, the film challenges the essence of human endurance and begs the audience to question their own physical limits. Constructed over five years by American filmmaker Barry Walton, this true-story trails a group of finish-line obsessed competitors as they battle the highest and longest footrace on the planet. The camera follows an Indian doctor, a war journalist, and three adventure-seeking ultra-runners as they take on a running experiment to make the first crossing of a 137- mile footrace covering the two highest motorable passes in the world. “I honestly thought I could have died on the race,” said Mark Cockbain, one of the ultra- runners. “I’ll never have that feeling again of being at the starting point on the edge of the world,” said Bill Andrews, one of the film’s subjects, “and having no idea what was going to happen.” Having worked as a documentary filmmaker for over a decade in Los Angeles, New York and Europe, Detroit native Walton is proud to bring this heroic and untold story to New York. “Making this film was as much a miracle as finishing the race,” said Walton. “It’s a rare look into the culture of ultra-marathoners and the extremes they will go to for their sport.” He traveled to the Himalayas twice in the making of the project. During that time he overcame altitude sickness, a bout of pneumonia, and the unique demands of working in such a remote and challenging region of the world—all to create the largest accomplishment in his work to date. THE HIGH presents one of the most unique stories in sports, bursting with beautiful shots of Himalayan peaks from the surrounding Indian city of Leh, complemented by endurance athletes and ultra-runners. An inspiration to watch, the film captures not only the challenge and disbelief of the race, but also the awe-inspiring beauty of the region. Showing one night only, this is a must-see film for all filmmakers, athletes, and movie- goers alike. https://vimeo.com/88524988 Tickets for the event are now on sale at Eventbrite. via press release
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BEST OF ENEMIES Wins 2015 SummerDocs Audience Award | TRAILER

BEST OF ENEMIES, directed by Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon, is the winner of the 2015 SummerDocs Audience Award. The award-winning film chronicles the groundbreaking series of televised debates between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley, Jr., during the 1968 presidential conventions. The film was released by Magnolia Pictures this summer. Directed with consummate skill by filmmakers Robert Gordon and Academy Award-winning Sundance Film Festival alum Morgan Neville (Twenty Feet From Stardom), Best of Enemies unleashes a highbrow blood sport that marked the dawn of pundit television as we know it today. In the summer of 1968 television news changed forever. Dead last in the ratings, ABC hired two towering public intellectuals to debate each other during the Democratic and Republican national conventions. William F. Buckley Jr. was a leading light of the new conservative movement. A Democrat and cousin to Jackie Onassis, Gore Vidal was a leftist novelist and polemicist. Armed with deep-seated distrust and enmity, Vidal and Buckley believed each other’s political ideologies were dangerous for America. Like rounds in a heavyweight battle, they pummeled out policy and personal insult—their explosive exchanges devolving into vitriolic name-calling. Live and unscripted, they kept viewers riveted. Ratings for ABC News skyrocketed. And a new era in public discourse was born. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzgfQvB2dvA
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Pharrell Williams + Daft Punk Documentary DAFT PUNK: UNCHAINED to Screen at Doc’n Roll Film Fest

Doc’n Roll Film Festival will screen the French documentary Daft Punk: Unchained, directed by Hervé Martin Delpierre, and the first film to be made about the pop culture phenomenon. The often elusive duo have sold 12 million albums worldwide and won awards around the globe without ever compromising their vision or sound. Between fiction and reality, magic and secrets, future and reinvention, theatricality and humility, The Robots have built a unique world. The documentary shows Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel Homem-Christo on their permanent quest for creativity, independence and freedom. Unchained has unprecedented access and combines rare archive footage and exclusive interviews with their closest collaborators including Giorgio Moroder, Pharrell Williams, Nile Rodgers, Michel Gondry, Pete Tong, Skrillex and Leiji Matsumoto. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5EofwRzit0
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Dustin Guy Defa’s Short Films to Get 1 Week Run at Film Society of Lincoln Center

The Film Society of Lincoln Center in NYC will feature a one-week run, from October 14 to 20, of short films by filmmaker Dustin Guy Defa under the theme Local Color: The Short Films of Dustin Guy Defa. “Good short films don’t get the attention that they deserve, which is all the more grievous as there are some terrific short films being made—and Defa is making many of them,” wrote Richard Brody (The New Yorker) in admiration of the director’s Person to Person, an official selection of last year’s New Directors/New Films and part of Local Color. “Put ’em together and it’s almost a feature release, which is what these richly thoughtful yet ultra-low-budget films merit.” In addition to Person to Person, Local Color: The Short Films of Dustin Guy Defa also includes Family Nightmare (2011), Declaration of War (2013), Lydia Hoffman Lydia Hoffman (2013), and Review (2015), an official selection of the 53rd New York Film Festival. LOCAL COLOR: THE SHORT FILMS OF DUSTIN GUY DEFA FILMS & DESCRIPTIONS Declaration of War Dustin Guy Defa, USA, 2013, digital projection, 7m Defa takes the piss out of Bush-era foreign policy as our then-President’s declaration of the War on Terror is met by an unrelenting standing ovation. Family Nightmare Dustin Guy Defa, USA, 2011, HDCAM, 10m Defa delves into his family’s home-movie archive for this by turns bleak and funny but always moving Bosch-esque group portrait, an act of personal exorcism on VHS. Lydia Hoffman Lydia Hoffman Dustin Guy Defa, USA, 2013, HDCAM, 15m After being dumped by her fed-up boyfriend (Josh Safdie), a young woman (Hannah Gross), allows an alluring stranger (Dakota Goldhor) to crash at her place, unwittingly opening a Pandora’s Box of insecurities and paranoia. Person to Person Dustin Guy Defa, USA, 2014, HDCAM, 18m The morning after hosting a party, record-store clerk Benny (Bene Coopersmith) finds a stranger (Deragh Campbell) passed out on his floor; upon waking, she refuses to leave. A New Directors/New Films 2014 selection. Review Dustin Guy Defa, USA, 2015, digital projection, 4m A young woman recounts a story to a group of friends who listen on with rapt attention, but the tale sounds very familiar… An NYFF53 selection.
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Studio Ghibli to Receive 2015 Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award

The 20th Busan International Film Festival selected Studio Ghibli as the recipient of the 2015 Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award. The Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award is presented to an Asian filmmaker or a group that has significantly contributed to the development of the Asian film industry and Asian culture. Studio Ghibli, celebrating its 30th anniversary, was founded in 1985 by animated film directors Takahata Isao and Miyazaki Hayao who are well known for significant achievements in animated film history. Miyazaki Hayao consolidated the status of Japanese animated films, especially with Spirited Away (2001) which won with the Golden Bear at the 2002 Berlin International Film Festival and the 2002 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film at the 2003 Oscars. He was awarded the Golden Lion for Career Achievement at the 2005 Venice International Film Festival. Takahata Isao also led in the golden age of Japanese animated films by directing Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Only Yesterday (1991), Pom Poko (1994), and the Oscar-nominated feature The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013). Studio Ghibli has produced numerous masterpieces with an extended production period, providing a stable production system as well as training successors for the development of animations. The studio has also left a significant mark through activities concerning environmental protection, peace, and the future of children. In celebration of Studio Ghibli as the Asian Filmmaker of the Year, the Busan International Film Festival will screen Miyazaki Hayao’s My Neighbor Totoro (1988) in the Open Cinema section and Takahata Isao’s Only Yesterday (1991) in the Wide Angle – Animation Showcase section. A chairman and a producer of Studio Ghibli Suzuki Toshio will attend the award ceremony for The Asian Filmmaker of the Year. The Busan Cinema Center will also screen another 18 masterpieces of Studio Ghibli under the ‘Spotlight on STUDIO GHIBLI’ from September 21 (Mon) to September 27 (Sun). For more information, please visit the Busan Cinema Center website. Studio Ghibli Inc. / Animation Film Studio/ Japan Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985 by animated film directors Takahata Isao and Miyazaki Hayao, and has produced twenty-one feature-length films. Most Studio Ghibli films ranked number one at the box office in Japan in the year in which they were released. Spirited Away, directed by Miyazaki Hayao and released in 2001, is the all-time highest grossing film in Japan, earning 30.4 billion yen at the box office. The Studio’s Spirited Away (2001) and Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) are among Japan’s top 5 grossing films. Studio Ghibli films have garnered numerous awards and critical acclaim from film critics and animation specialists around the world. Spirited Away was awarded the Golden Bear as the Best Feature Film at the 2002 Berlin International Film Festival and won the 2002 Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature Film at the 2003 Oscars. In October 2001, Studio Ghibli, in conjunction with The Tokuma Memorial Cultural Foundation for Animation, founded the Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, designed by Miyazaki Hayao. Studio Ghibli released two films in 2013, The Wind Rises, written and directed by Miyazaki Hayao, and The Tale of The Princess Kaguya, directed by Takahata Isao, that earned consecutive nominations for the 2013 and 2014 Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature Film. The latest film, When Marnie Was There, opened in Japan on July 19, 2014. Studio Ghibli Filmography Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) Castle in the Sky (1986) My Neighbor Totoro (1988) Grave of the Fireflies (1988) Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) Only Yesterday (1991) Porco Rosso (1992) Pom Poko (1994) Whisper of the Heart (1995) Princess Mononoke (1997) My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999) Spirited Away (2001) The Cat Returns (2002) Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) Tales from Earthsea (2006) Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (2008) Arrietty (2010) From Up on Poppy Hill (2011) The Wind Rises (2013) The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013) When Marnie Was There (2014) * Past Recipients of the Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award 12th (2014): Ann Hui (Director, Hong Kong) 11th (2013): Rithy Panh (Director, Cambodia) 10th (2012): Wakamatsu Koji (Director, Producer / Japan) 9th (2011): Tsui Hark (Director, Producer / Hong Kong) 8th (2010): Tsai Ming-Liang (Director / Taiwan) 7th (2009): Yash Chopra (Director, Producer / India) 6th (2008): Gulnara Sarsenova (Festival Director of International Eurasia Film Festival / Kazakhstan) 5th (2007): The late Edward Yang (Director / Taiwan) 4th (2006): Andy Lau (Producer, Actor / Hong Kong) 3rd (2005): NHK (Broadcasting Station / Japan) 2nd (2004): Hou Hsiao Hsien (Director / Taiwan) 1st (2003): Mohsen Makhmalbaf (Director, Producer / Iran) via release
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San Francisco Film Society to Present 2015 Taiwan Film Days Series with Spotlight on Director Hou Hsiao-hsien | TRAILER

The San Francisco Film Society will present the 2015 Taiwan Film Days, from October 12 to 13, showcasing Taiwanese cinema to Bay Area audiences. This year’s 6th edition of Taiwan Film Days features a very special spotlight on master filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien, who received the Best Director prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and is expected to attend the series kickoff event. Taiwan Film Days kicks off with a special early look at Hou Hsiao-hsien’s latest film The Assassin, then continues with the documentary Flowers of Taipei: Taiwan New Cinema, which delves into the history and legacy of the Taiwanese New Cinema movement, and wraps up with a newly restored version of Hou’s timeless classic The Boys from Fengkuei. The Assassin Hou Hsiao-hsien (Nie Yinniang, Taiwan 2015) To open the sixth installment of Taiwan Film Days, the series presents one of the most heralded films of 2015 — winner of the Best Director prize at the Cannes Film Festival — master filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien’s The Assassin. Set in ninth-century China, the film centers on Nie Yinniang (played by a smoldering Shu Qi) a female killer appointed to slay corrupt government officials by her master, Jiaxin, a nun who raised her from the age of ten. When Yinniang displays mercy by failing to kill during her duties, Jiaxing punishes her with a ruthless assignment designed to test Yinniang’s resolve. Written by Hou Hsiao-hsien, Chu Tien-wen, Hsieh Hai-meng, Zhong Acheng. Cinematography by Mark Lee Ping Bing. With Shu Qi, Chang Chen, Zhou Yun. 105 min. In Mandarin with subtitles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bqNyl72eBw Flowers of Taipei: Taiwan New Cinema Chinlin Hsieh (Guangyin de gushi: Taiwan xin dianying, Taiwan 2014) The Taiwanese New Cinema movement of the 1980s and ’90s captured the imaginations of audiences and filmmakers worldwide. This comprehensive documentary features interviews with leading critics, curators and filmmakers mixed with glorious archival clips from some of the most beloved and inspiring films of the era. Pitch perfect, Flowers of Taipei is an ideal introduction to and celebration of one of the most vital film movements of our time. Cinematography by Olivier Marceny. 109 min. In Mandarin and English with subtitles. Print provided by Ablaze Image. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EyPN-L3SCQ The Boys from Fengkuei Hou Hsiao-hsien (Fengkuei-lai-te-jen, Taiwan 1983) Hou Hsiao-hsien’s beautiful fourth feature-length film follows three bored teenagers who move from the small island of Fengkuei to the port of Kaohsiung. Elegantly recalling the excitement, confusion, anxiety and directionless possibilities of youth in transition to adulthood, the film reveals director Hou in a transition of his own to a canny naturalism that will mark his films for a decade. Restored at the Cinémathèque Royal de Belgique in collaboration with Hou Hsiao-Hsien and the Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project.Written by Chu Tien-wen. Cinematography by Ch’en K’un-hou. With Doze Niu, To Tsung-hua, Lin Hsiu-ling. 100 min. Print provided by Cinematek Belgium. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpVRXV36o2s
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Denzel Washington-Produced SHAME Added to 2015 Urbanworld Film Festival

The world premiere of Shame has been added to the lineup for the 19th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival. Tyrese Gibson and Academy Award® winner Jennifer Hudson star in Shame, a Paul Hunter film produced by Denzel Washington. In the short film written by Gibson, up-and-coming soul singer Lionel Jacobs (played by Gibson) is working the nightclub scene, trying to climb to the top of the charts while married to his background singer Bobbi Ann (played by Hudson). He wants to do right by his wife and their children but, his struggle with drugs and alcohol test the strength of his fidelity and their relationship. A conversation with Gibson will follow the screening. Gibson will also serve as the ambassador for this year’s festival. “I’m honored to serve as the ambassador of the 2015 Urbanworld Film Festival and to premiere my short film Shame in such a creative and exciting environment. I strive to create art across all mediums that supports and showcases our diverse landscape and Urbanworld is the perfect partner as they actively and significantly do the same. I’m thrilled to join the filmmakers showcasing their projects at the festival as we inspire, encourage and excite others through film.” says Gibson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9capxlmuh4 Also confirmed to participate in the festival, ABC News Correspondent Deborah Roberts will moderate the panel discussion with prima ballerina Misty Copeland and Nelson George from the closing night film A Ballerina’s Tale on Saturday, September 26, 2015.
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Award Winning Indie Film SWEATY BETTY Sets Fall 2015 Release Date | TRAILER

The acclaimed docu-drama SWEATY BETTY, from first-time directors Joseph Frank and Zachary Reed, which made it’s world premiere at the 2015 South by Southwest Film Festival and went on to win Best Feature Film at the 2015 Brooklyn Film Festival, will be released in the Fall via Breaking Glass Pictures. Breaking Glass is planning a theatrical release for SWEATY BETTY in New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. on November 27. An iTunes, Amazon Instant, Xbox, and VOD release will follow on December 8. In the film, a big dream and a pig dream takes place in a low income neighborhood on the outskirts of Washington D.C. Joseph Frank and Zachary Reed co-wrote SWEATY BETTY with the film’s lead actors Seth Dubois, Floyd Rich, and Rico S. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrOLvo1yegU In a cramped row house on the border of Washington D.C., two stories of big dreams take place. Floyd and his family have raised a 1,000-pound pig in their backyard, and are determined to turn her into the team mascot for the Redskins football team. Floyd puts his plan into motion, but the pig, named Miss Charlotte, draws unwanted attention. A few blocks away, Rico and Scooby, two TEENAGE single fathers and best friends, are hanging around the neighborhood. As they scheme up a plan for a better life for themselves and their children, they are presented with an unexpected opportunity.
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Drafthouse Films to Release Danish Comedy MEN & CHICKEN in 2016 | TRAILER

Anders Thomas Jensen’s bizarre familial comedy feature, Men & Chicken set to make its acclaimed North American premiere at Toronto International Film Festival, will be released in the U.S. via Drafthouse Films. Men & Chicken will open in a theatrical release across North America in 2016. Written and directed by Jensen, described as one of Denmark’s most prolific cinematic voices (whose work includes the 1999 Oscar®-winning short film Election Night, plus scripts for the 2010 Academy-Award® Best Foreign Language Film winner In A Better World and Sony’s upcoming adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower), Men & Chicken is the story of two brothers who, through meeting their long-lost family, also discover a horrible truth about themselves. On full, carnivalesque display here are Jensen’s inimitable darkly comedic stylings, as can be seen in his earlier films Flickering Lights and The Green Butchers, both featuring star Mads Mikkelsen. Men & Chicken was recently announced to be on Denmark’s shortlist for the Best Foreign Language category at the 2016 Oscars as well as the Danish entry to the European Film Awards. In his boldest role to date, Mikkelsen (“Hannibal,” Casino Royale, The Hunt) reunites with Jensen to deliver an unforgettable––and, for North American fans mostly familiar with his dramatic work, wholly unexpected––comic turn as bumbling and harelipped Elias, alongside the equally against-type David Dencik (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, both The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo films) as his loathsome and harelipped brother Gabriel. Together, they venture to a sequestered island where they meet the harelipped Franz (Soren Malling, A Hijacking, Denmark’s “The Killing”), the harelipped Gregor (Nicolaj Lie Kaas, The Idiots, The Absent Ones) and the harelipped Josef (Nicholas Bro,Nymphomaniac, War Horse). What follows is a genre-wrenching spectacle that encapsulates all types of comedy, from grand slapstick to biting wit, coalescing in an astounding exploration of “Denmark’s most twisted family tree since Hamlet” (Variety). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag1miLsTpeQ
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