Films

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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Russian film CHAGALL-MALEVICH US Release Date Set for June 2015

The Russian film CHAGALL-MALEVICH, directed by Alexander Mitta, will open at Cinema Village in New York on June 12 and at Laemmle Music Hall in Beverly Hills and at Town Center 5 in Encino, CA on June 19. The artistic and political revolution of early 19th century Russia is mythologized in CHAGALL-MALEVICH, a magical period drama about the uneasy relationship between two artistic geniuses. Inspired by the memoirs of Marc Chagall and those of his contemporaries, the film blends fact and folklore to evoke the return of the iconic Jewish artist (portrayed by Leonid Bichevin “Cargo 200”) to his childhood home of Vitebsk. Having left behind immense success in Paris, Chagall returns to the Russian empire in 1917 in hope to marry the love of his life Bella Rosenfeld (Kristina Schneidermann); he produces copious paintings and establishes the Academy of Modern Art. A rivalry develops with abstract painter Kazimir Malevich (Anatoliy Belyy), invited to teach at the art school. As Bella rekindles a childhood friendship with military Red Commissar Naum (Semyon Shkalikov), Chagall competes for the affections of his muse and future wife. As the October Revolution sweeps across Russia, historical events intrude on personal struggles and upend the quiet provincial life in Vitebsk. Brimming with surrealistic imagery from the paintings of Chagall and Malevich (over 140 paintings were used in the film), this sumptuous melodrama marks veteran Russian filmmaker Alexander Mitta’s return after a decade-long hiatus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enaho11_x8Q
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Grindhouse-Style Feminist Thriller THE LADIES OF THE HOUSE on VOD May 1st

Gravitas Ventures will release John Stuart Wildman’s THE LADIES OF THE HOUSE on VOD, May 1st. The grindhouse-style feminist thriller will wrap up a successful year-long film festival run with an appearance at the Nashville Film Festival on Friday, April 16 as part of the fest’s Graveyard Shift lineup prior to the VOD date. The film is currently available for pre-order on iTunes. Featuring a screenplay by Justina Walford and Wildman, the film stars Farah White, Melodie Sisk, Brina Palencia, Samrat Chakrabarti, and Michelle “Belladonna” Sinclair and was produced by White, Wildman, Walford and Adam Dietrich. THE LADIES OF THE HOUSE made its world premiere at last year’s Dallas International Film Festival. THE LADIES OF THE HOUSE follows the fate of two brothers, Jacob and Kai, who, along with their friend Derek, go to a dance club to celebrate Kai’s birthday. After Derek convinces the other two to follow one of the dancers home, things take a tragic turn resulting in the young woman’s death. However, that is simply the beginning of the nightmare for the young men, because her roommates (Getty, Lin and Crystal) aren’t just fellow dancers, they are also cannibals with a fierce sense of home and family – and a taste for men. After Kai quickly falls victim to Getty and Lin and is on his way to becoming the centerpiece of that evening’s meal, Derek tries to figure out how to escape while Jacob discovers his survival may hinge on the twisted desire and whims of Crystal, the beautiful and sociopathic “baby” of the family. THE LADIES OF THE HOUSE marks the feature film directorial debut for Wildman, who is the Senior Publicist for the Film Society of Lincoln Center. The former Head of Press & Public Relations for the American Film Institute, as well as the PR Director for AFI FEST and the DALLAS International Film Festival, Wildman has headed the PR efforts for film festivals across the country and written for numerous film sites (Film Threat.com, Film Comment.com, etc.). THE LADIES OF THE HOUSE was executive produced by Ruth Mutch (INFINITELY POLAR BEAR, LITTLE ACCIDENTS), and co-executive produced by Debbi Berlin. The film was shot and produced in Dallas, Texas.
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THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT Sets July 17th Release Date

THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez, based on the real-life research of Dr. Zimbardo, on the psychology of imprisonment, will open in theaters via IFC Films on July 17th. It is the summer of 1971. Dr. Philip Zimbardo launches a study on the psychology of imprisonment. Twenty-four male undergraduates are randomly assigned to be either a guard or a prisoner. Set in a simulated jail, the project unfolds. The participants rapidly embody their roles—the guards become power-hungry and sadistic, while the prisoners, subject to degradation, strategize as underdogs. It soon becomes clear that, as Zimbardo and team monitor the escalation of action through surveillance cameras, they are not fully aware of how they, too, have become part of the experiment. Based on the real-life research of Dr. Zimbardo (who was a consultant on the film), THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT is a dramatic period piece that remains relevant over 40 years later. Along with an impressive cast, including Billy Crudup as Zimbardo, Kyle Patrick Alvarez (C.O.G., 2013 Sundance Film Festival) delivers an intense, visceral film about the role of power that plays to both chilling and exhilarating effect. Features an excellent roster of young talent, including Ezra Miller, Tye Sheridan, Olivia Thirlby, Michael Anganaro, Logan Miller, Thomas Mann, Keir Gilchrist, Johnny Simmons, Moises Arias, Jack Kilmer, Chris Sheffield, Ki Hong Lee, and James Frechville, to name a few.
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24 DAYS, Based on True events of Kidnapping of a Jewish Man in Paris, Sets US Release Date

24 DAYS, winner of the Lia Award at the 2014 Jerusalem Film Festival and winner of the Audience Award at the 2014 Boston Jewish Film Festival, will open at the Quad Cinema in New York and at the Laemmle Music Hall in Los Angeles, as well as other cities on April 24th. The film will also be available through iTunes on the same day. Directed and produced by Alexandre Arcady, and based on a memoir written by the victim’s mother, the film chronicles the agonizing 24 days during which Ilan Halimi, a young Jewish cell-phone salesman, was held captive in Paris by a group of African and North African immigrants later known as the “Gang of Barbarians,” while his desperate family was subjected to blackmail. The events of Ilan Halimi’s kidnapping and murder sent shock waves through France and brought into focus the dangerous wave of anti-Semitism that is sweeping through France, a country that is home to Europe’s largest Jewish community. Friday January 20, 2006, 23-year old Ilan Halimi, targeted solely because he was Jewish, was kidnapped and taken to an apartment in the Bagneux neighborhood of Paris. There, he was held captive and tortured for three weeks before being dumped in a woodlot by his captors. Found motionless and naked by the railroad tracks at Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, he wouldn’t survive his ordeal. In this film, Ruth Halimi, Ilan’s mother, revisits those 24 nightmarish days. 24 days in which she and her ex-husband Didier received nearly 700 calls, ransom demands that never ceased to change, insults, threats, photos of their tortured son… 24 days of anguish for a family waiting in silence and fear, hoping the Police could save their son. But Police Headquarters didn’t know who was responsible for his kidnapping. No one recognized in time the anti-Semitic hatred of his abductors, or that Ilan would lose his life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg4xo2pYRdI&feature=youtu.be
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Tsai Ming-liang’s Cult Classic REBELS OF THE NEON GOD to finally Get US Release

Tsai Ming-liang’s cult classic REBELS OF THE NEON GOD finally gets US Theatrical release; the film will open at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Quad Cinema in New York on April 10 and at the Nuart in Los Angeles on June 12. A national release will follow. Coinciding with the release of REBELS OF THE NEON GOD is a major eighteen-film retrospective of Tsai Ming-liang, featuring many rare 35mm prints, that will take place at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, NY from April 10–26, 2015. Tsai Ming-liang emerged on the world cinema scene in 1992 with his groundbreaking first feature, REBELS OF THE NEON GOD. His debut already includes a handful of elements familiar to fans of subsequent work: a deceptively spare style often branded “minimalist”; actor Lee Kang-sheng as the silent and sullen Hsiao-kang; copious amounts of water, whether pouring from the sky or bubbling up from a clogged drain; and enough urban anomie to ensure that even the subtle humor in evidence is tinged with pathos. The loosely structured plot involves Hsiao-kang, a despondent cram school student, who becomes obsessed with young petty thief Ah-tze, after Ah-tze smashes the rearview mirror of a taxi driven by Hsiao-kang’s father. Hsiao-kang stalks Ah-tze and his buddy Ah-ping as they hang out in the film’s iconic arcade (featuring a telling poster of James Dean on the wall) and other locales around Taipei, and ultimately takes his revenge. REBELS OF THE NEON GOD is a remarkably impressive first film that hints at the promise of its director: a talent confirmed by Tsai’s equally stunning second feature, VIVE L’AMOUR (Golden Lion, Venice), and continuing to his most recent film, STRAY DOGS, which ranked high on many “best of” lists last year. Though showing such diverse influences as the French New Wave, Wong Kar-wai’s early films—and, yes, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE—Tsai’s film is most remarkable for introducing his startlingly unique vision to world cinema. https://vimeo.com/121043079
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