Films

Pharrell Williams Reveals DOPE Movie Official Poster on Instagram

DOPE’s executive producer, Pharrell Williams revealed the film’s official poster on Instagram. DOPE, a break out hit from this year’s Sundance Film Festival,directed by Rick Famuyiwa, tells the story of Malcolm (Shameik Moore) who is carefully surviving life in a tough neighborhood in Los Angeles. A chance invitation to an underground party leads him into an adventure that could allow him to go from being a geek, to being dope, to ultimately being himself.

It’s hard out here for a geek… @dopethemovie hits theaters June 19th #DopeMovie

A photo posted by Pharrell Williams (@pharrell) on Apr 30, 2015 at 10:00am PDT

DOPE, also produced by Forest Whitaker and Co-Executive Produced by Sean Combs, stars SHAMEIK MOORE, TONY REVOLORI, KIERSEY CLEMONS, KIMBERLY ELISE, A$AP ROCKY, BLAKE ANDERSON, KEITH STANFIELD, CHANEL IMAN, QUINCY BROWN with ZOE KRAVITZ, opens in theaters on June 19, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=strEm9amZuo
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‘BLACKBIRD’ New York Premiere; Opens in Theaters Today Friday 24th

On Wednesday night, Harlem Pride and DBQ Magazine hosted a red carpet premiere for ‘BLACKBIRD’ at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem. The ‘BLACKBIRD’ cast was in attendance, including Academy Award winner Mo’Nique, Isaiah Washington, Julian Walker and D. Woods; ‘BLACKBIRD’ director Patrik-Ian Polk and producers Keith Brown and Carol Ann Shine. Additional attendees included RLJ Entertainment chairman and founder Bob Johnson, model Tyson Beckford, actor Leon Robinson, Monifah, celeb stylist Ty Hunter, Sister 2 Sister’s Jamie Foster Brown and Harlem Pride board president Carmen Neely. ‘BLACKBIRD’ opens in select theaters today, Friday, April 24th.
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Sarah Polley’s STORIES WE TELL Among 4th All-Time Top Ten List of Canadian Films

Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) today announced the results of its fourth Canada’s All-Time Top Ten List, an international poll of industry and academics‎ on the most memorable Canadian films. This is the fourth edition of TIFF’s All-Time Top Ten List; previous lists were released in 1984, 1993 and 2004. “In our 40th year we are celebrating our national cinema by revisiting the list of top Canadian films, with help from our esteemed colleagues in the industry and academia,” said Piers Handling, Director and CEO, TIFF. “It is encouraging to see new filmmakers and films establishing themselves on the list alongside the classics.” “With more than a decade since our last survey, much has changed in Canadian cinema, and in the results of the survey,” said Steve Gravestock, Senior Programmer, TIFF. “Atanarjuat has dethroned the long-standing No. 1 film, Mon once Antoine, and we welcome filmmakers including Guy Maddin, Jean-Claude Lauzon, Sarah Polley and Jean-Marc Vallée to the list for the first time. It’s an exciting group of films indicative of our rich cinematic tradition.” Canada’s All-Time Top Ten List of Canadian films: 1. Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, Zacharias Kunuk (2001) 2. Mon oncle Antoine, Claude Jutra (1971) 3. The Sweet Hereafter, Atom Egoyan (1997) 4. Jésus de Montréal, Denys Arcand (1989) 5. Léolo, Jean-Claude Lauzon (1992) 6. Goin’ Down the Road, Don Shebib (1970) 7. Dead Ringers, David Cronenberg (1988) 8. C.R.A.Z.Y., Jean-Marc Vallée (2005) 9. My Winnipeg, Guy Maddin (2007) 10. Stories We Tell, Sarah Polley (2012) (pictured above)/Les Ordres, Michel Brault (1974) “The Directors Guild of Canada takes pride in shining the spotlight on our national cinema at every opportunity,” said Tim Southam, National President, DGC. “The filmmakers featured here have contributed much to our country’s cultural voice and history. It is inspiring to be able to experience them again with a new generation of viewers.”
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Abby Ginzberg’s Documentary Film SOFT VENGEANCE wins a Peabody Award

Abby Ginzberg’s feature documentary film SOFT VENGEANCE: ALBIE SACHS AND THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA will be honored at the 74th annual Peabody Awards ceremony it was announced today by the Peabody program at the University of Georgia. The critically acclaimed film will receive the coveted Peabody Award at a gala ceremony in New York City on May 31st. “We hope this incredible award will help increase the visibility of Albie Sachs and inspire others to fight for human rights around the world,” commented the film’s director Abby Ginzberg. “Albie Sachs is one of the key champions for equality of our time and we are honored to be entrusted with his legacy on film,” she concluded. SOFT VENGEANCE is set against the dramatic events leading to the overthrow of the apartheid regime in South Africa and focusses on the lawyer, writer, art lover and freedom fighter Albie Sachs. The human rights activist was imprisoned in solitary confinement in Cape Town, tortured through sleep deprivation and forced into exile. In 1988, he was blown up by a car bomb set by the South African security forces in Maputo, Mozambique, which cost him his right arm and the sight of one eye, but miraculously he survived and after a long year of rehabilitation in England, he recovered. Returning to South Africa following the release of Nelson Mandela, Albie helped write the new Constitution and was then appointed as one of the first 11 judges to the new Constitutional Court. SOFT VENGEANCE has been screening at film festivals around the world and has won the audience award for Best International Documentary at the Encounters Film Festival and the Vancouver South African Film Festival. It has also received the Grand Prize Humanitarian Award from the Accolade Film Awards. After premiering at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, it also screened at AFI Docs; DOCNYC, Movies that Matter and the Durban Film Festival in South Africa. The film also screened at key international Jewish film festivals. https://vimeo.com/70589131 The film is executive produced by Alfre Woodard, who also serves as narrator. Abby Ginzberg is the producer and director, Ken Schneider is the Editor and Co-Producer and Rick Goldsmith is the Consulting Producer.
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“Pucker Up” New Teaser Poster + Trailer for Patrick Brice’s THE OVERNIGHT from 2015 Sundance

The Orchard has released a new teaser poster for Patrick Brice’s THE OVERNIGHT which premiered earlier this year at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and will open in theater on June 19, 2015. Writer/director Patrick Brice’s second feature is described as a painfully funny take on thirty-something sexual frustration and parenthood. Featuring lead performances by Taylor Schilling, Adam Scott, Jason Schwartzman, and Judith Godrèche, each actor “nimbly balances the script’s sudden emotional turns from surprising honesty to complete embarrassment. ” Produced by Gettin’ Rad and the Duplass Brothers, THE OVERNIGHT tells a complex story of universal inadequacies. Alex, Emily, and their son, RJ, have recently moved to Los Angeles’ Eastside from Seattle. Feeling lost in a new city, they are desperate to find their first new friends. After a chance meeting with Kurt at the neighborhood park, they gladly agree to join family pizza night at the home. But as it gets later and the kids go to bed, the family “playdate” becomes increasingly more revealing and bizarre as the couples begin to open up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWwvejn97lA
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The Film Arcade to Release Sundance Hit, JAMES WHITE

The Film Arcade has acquired U.S. distribution rights to JAMES WHITE, the first feature film from Borderline Films writer/director Josh Mond, for Fall 2015 release. A coming-of-age story about a young New Yorker struggling to take control of his self-destructive behavior in the face of momentous family changes, JAMES WHITE stars Christopher Abbott, Cynthia Nixon and Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi. The film had its world premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, where it was one of the most critically acclaimed films of the entire festival and was the recipient of the “Best of Next” Audience Award. JAMES WHITE is a high profile acquisition for The Film Arcade and the distributor is planning a traditional theatrical release for the film this fall followed by an awards campaign highlighting the career-best performances by Christopher Abbott and Cynthia Nixon. A confident and closely observed directorial debut by MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE producer Josh Mond, JAMES WHITE explores loss and the deep relationship between a mother and son. James White (Abbott) is a troubled twenty-something trying to stay afloat in a frenzied New York City. He retreats further into a hedonistic lifestyle, but his mother’s battle with a serious illness forces James to take control of his life. As the pressure mounts, James must find new reserves of strength or risk imploding completely. Shot on location in New York City with an intimate visual style, the film follows its lead into deep, affecting places while still maintaining its fragile humanity. The film marks the first lead film role for stage and screen actor Christopher Abbott, whose previous film and TV credits include HELLO, I MUST BE GOING, THE SLEEPWALKER and “Girls.” Best known for her role in “Sex and the City,” JAMES WHITE provides Cynthia Nixon with one of the most significant film roles of her career. Both actors topped Indiewire’s Sundance Criticwire poll for Best Lead Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively. JAMES WHITE is the latest feature film from Borderline Films, a New York City based production company which was formed in 2003 by Tisch film school alums Mond, Antonio Campos and Sean Durkin. Their notable film credits to date include AFTERSCHOOL, MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE and SIMON KILLER. JAMES WHITE was produced by Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin and Melody C. Roscher. Starring alongside Abbott, Nixon and Mescudi are Makenzie Leigh, Ron Livingston and David Call. Josh Mond said “On behalf of the incredible cast and crew of JAMES WHITE, I’m heartened by the response and proud to team up with The Film Arcade on the theatrical release. The response at Sundance has been humbling and we look forward to continuing the journey with our distributor.” “Josh Mond has crafted a personal and powerful drama in his tour-de-force directorial debut,” said The Film Arcade’s Andy Bohn. “The brilliant performances by Christopher Abbott and Cynthia Nixon will be among the year’s best and help make Josh’s film an extraordinary achievement that needs to be seen.” The Film Arcade negotiated the deal with UTA Independent Film Group.
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Isaiah Washington and ‘BLACKBIRD’ Cast Attend L.A. Screening

On Thursday night in Los Angeles, RLJ Entertainment and Urban Movie Channel hosted a private screening of ‘BLACKBIRD,’ directed by Patrik-Ian Polk and starring Academy Award winner Mo’Nique, Isaiah Washington and Julian Walker. Cast members in attendance were Isaiah Washington, Terrell Tilford, Lindsay Seim, Gary L. Grayand Kevin Allesee, all of who participated in a Q&A moderated by “Entertainment Tonight” host Kevin Frazier. Additional guests included ‘BLACKBIRD’ producers Keith Brown and Carol AnnShine, RLJ Entertainment SVP of Acquisitions Angela Northington, Blackbird author Larry Duplechan, actress Tatyana Ali, tv personality Karamo Brown and many more. ‘BLACKBIRD’ opens in select theaters on April 24. NEW YORK CITY AMC Empire 25 – 234 W. 42nd Street, New York, NY AMC Village 7 – 66 3rd Avenue, New York, NY ATLANTA AMC Phipps Plaza – 3500 Peachtree Rd, N.E., Atlanta, GA AMC Southlake Pavilion – 7065 Mt. Zion Circle, Morrow, GA WASHINGTON, DC City Cinemas Angelika Pop Up- 550 Penn Street, NE, Washington, DC ArcLight Bethesda – 7101 Democracy Blvd, Bethesda, MD LOS ANGELES Cinemark 18 – 6081 Center Dr., Los Angeles, CA TCL Chinese Theatre – 6925 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA AMC Town Center 8 – 201 E Magnolia Blvd, Burbank, CA SAN FRANCISCO AMC Metreon – 135 4th St Suite 3000, San Francisco, CA Cinemark Century 25 – 32100 Union Landing Blvd, Union City, CA Cinemark 20 Great Mall – 1010 Great Mall Dr., Milpitas, CA Visit www.blackbirdthemovie.com for theater locations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHe0ukjp0-M image: (l-r) ‘BLACKBIRD’ cast arrives at Culver Studios: Gary L. Gray, Terrell Tilford, Angela Northington (RLJ), Lindsay Seim, Keith Brown, Isaiah Washington, author Larry Duplechan, Jen Linck (RLJ), Linda Schortz (RLJ), Carol Ann Shine
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French documentary about Art during the Holocaust, BECAUSE I WAS A PAINTER Sets US Release Date

BECAUSE I WAS A PAINTER, a documentary film by Christophe Cognet, will be released in the US by Cinema Guild. BECAUSE I WAS A PAINTER, an official selection at the Jerusalem Film Festival and other international film festivals, will open at Lincoln Plaza in New York City on April 24. A national release will follow. In 1945, when the Allies liberated the concentration camps, they discovered thousands of secretly created artworks. These drawings, hidden from the Nazis, offer an unparalleled understanding of life in the camps. Featuring interviews with surviving artists, curators, as well as recently uncovered evidence, this fascinating documentary considers the ability of art to capture, reflect and survive under unimaginable conditions. BECAUSE I WAS A PAINTER explores a wide range of perspectives, from an artist who grapples with finding beauty in paintings of corpses to Treblinka survivor Samuel Willenberg who believes that the artworks can be nothing but inherently devoid of beauty. In addition to works intended as art, the film contemplates the role of alternative relics such as portraits of Romani victims killed by infamous Nazi physician Josef Mengele and paintings that were recreated years later because originals were lost or destroyed. The film looks at paintings, drawings, wash drawings, and sculptures held in collections in France, Germany, Israel, Poland, Czech Republic, Belgium and Switzerland. While drifting among these fragments of clandestine images and the vestiges of the camps, BECAUSE I WAS A PAINTER undertakes a sensitive quest amid faces, bodies and landscapes to explore the notion of art—and its preservation—as an atavistic necessity. http://vimeo.com/116290914
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Mo’Nique and Cast Attends ‘BLACKBIRD’ Screening in Atlanta

On Wednesday night in Atlanta, RLJ Entertainment and Urban Movie Channel (UMC) hosted a private screening of the upcoming film ‘BLACKBIRD,’ directed by Patrik-Ian Polk and starring Academy Award winner Mo’Nique, Isaiah Washington and Julian Walker. A mix of VIP’s, press and influencers, including pictured above, Sidney Hicks, MoNique Hicks, Torrey Laamar, D. Woods, and Nikki Jane, packed the theater at Midtown Art Cinema to preview the much talked about film and sit in on a Q&A with executive producers Mo’Nique. V103 personality Ramona Debreaux moderated the discussion. ‘BLACKBIRD’ opens in select theaters on April 24. Visit www.blackbirdthemovie.com for theater locations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHe0ukjp0-M
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Italian Mafia film BLACK SOULS Sets April 2015 Release Date in US

The Italian Mafia film BLACK SOULS (ANIME NERE) which wowed audiences at the 2014 Venice Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival, opens in NYC on April 10, and Los Angeles on April 23, with a nationwide release to follow. BLACK SOULS (“Anime Nere”) is described as a gripping morality tale of violence begetting violence in rural Calabria, that takes us on a journey into the dark and sinister world of the real-life mafia (‘Ndrangheta) in Southern Italy. Based upon the actual events described in Gioacchino Criaco’s novel of the same name, Black Souls vividly brings to life the inevitable tragic consequences when never-ending revenge and vendetta is passed down from generation to generation. The film focuses in on the Carbone family that consists of three brothers, Luigi (Marco Leonardi) & Rocco (Peppino Mazzotta) who are engaged in the family business of international drug trade, and Luciano (Fabrizio Ferracane) who has remained behind herding goats in their ancestral town of Africo in the remote Aspromonte mountains on the Ionic coast. Luciano’s 20-year old son Leo (Giuseppe Fumo) has little respect for his father’s simple ways and instead idealizes his two Mafioso uncles and their urban lifestyle. When Leo shoots up a local bar owned by a rival family, his reckless actions reignites a longstanding blood feud and sets off a tragic chain of events that violently grinds toward an inevitable bloody showdown for all involved. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1LlGKQ92aU
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Songbird Documentary EMPTYING THE SKIES to Be Released on Earth Day

EMPTYING THE SKIES documentary, based on the New Yorker Magazine essay by best-selling novelist Jonathan Franzen, that exposes the rampant poaching of migratory songbirds in southern Europe, opens in NY at Cinema Village, as well as in Chicago on Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22, and on VOD platforms including iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, and YouTube. Songbird populations have been drastically declining for several decades, with a number of species facing imminent extinction. This poignant documentary explores the wonder of these tiny globe-spanning marvels, millions of which are unlawfully trapped and killed each year for large sums on the black market, and follows the intrepid squad of pan-European bird-lovers who risk their lives waging a secret war against poachers, to disrupt illegal trapping to free as many as possible. Embedding filmmakers Douglas Kass and Roger Kass with their activist subjects, this year-long undertaking transports viewers right onto the front lines as poachers are confronted at critical migration pinch-points in Cyprus, France and Italy. A moving call to arms in the spirit of THE COVE, EMPTYING THE SKIES chronicles a devastating environmental tragedy and the valiant journey of those risking their lives to stop it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js6tM4ClJHk
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Official Trailer and Poster for THE D TRAIN Starring Jack Black

IFC Films has released the Official Trailer and Poster from the Sundance hit comedy starring Jack Black, James Marsden, Kathryn Hahn and Jeffrey Tambo. THE D TRAIN opens in US theaters on May 8th, 2015. All his life, Dan Landsman (Jack Black) has never been the cool guy. That’s about to change – if he can convince Oliver Lawless (Marsden), the most popular guy from his high school who’s now the face of a national Banana Boat ad campaign, to show up with him to their class reunion. A man on a mission, Dan travels from Pittsburgh to LA and spins a web of lies to recruit Lawless. But he gets more than he bargains for as the unpredictable Lawless proceeds to take over his home, career, and entire life. Showcasing Jack Black and James Marsden’s most intoxicating performances to date, D TRAIN serves up the question: how far would you go to be popular? Co-starring Kathryn Hahn and Jeffrey Tambor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PzB1Feeocw STARRING: Jack Black, James Marsden, Kathryn Hahn, Mike White, Kyle Bornheimer, Henry Zebrowski, Russell Posner and Jeffrey Tambor RELEASE DATE: May 8, 2015 WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY: Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel PRODUCED BY: Mike White, David Bernad, Jack Black, Priyanka Mattoo, Ben Latham-Jones, Barnaby Thompson GENRE: Comedy RUNNING TIME: 98 Minutes MPAA RATING: R DISTRIBUTOR: IFC Films
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