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.Films
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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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THE OVERNIGHT Starring Jason Schwartzman , Taylor Schilling on DVD on September 15th
THE OVERNIGHT starring an outstanding ensemble cast including Adam Scott (“Parks and Recreation”), Taylor Schilling (“Orange is the New Black”), and Jason Schwartzman (The Grand Budapest Hotel), will be released on DVD September 15th. From executive producers Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass and Adam Scott and produced by Scott’s wife, Naomi, THE OVERNIGHT “pushes past the limits other comedies have observed for years” (Yahoo! Movies). THE OVERNIGHT was released on Digital and On Demand September 8, 2015.
Alex (Scott), Emily (Schilling) 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 (Schwartzman) at the neighborhood park, they gladly agree to join family pizza night at their home. But as the night goes on 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
The Orchard and Gettin’ Rad Productions and The Duplass Brothers present THE OVERNIGHT. Starring Adam Scott, Jason Schwartzman, Taylor Schilling and Judith Godrèche. Director of Photography John Guleserian. Editor Chris Donlon. Production Designer Theresa Guleserian. Original Score by Julian Wass. Music Supervisor Chris Swanson. Executive Producers Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass and Adam Scott. Produced by Naomi Scott. Written and directed by Patrick Brice.
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Jeff Lipsky’s MAD WOMEN Sets Digital Release Date of October 10th | TRAILER
Jeff Lipsky’s controversial and critically acclaimed sixth feature “Mad Women” will be digitally released, for rent or download, on Amazon and Vimeo-on-Demand, on October 10th.
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2015 AFI Latin American Film Festival to Open with Lesbian Romantic Drama SAND DOLLARS | TRAILER
The 2015 AFI Latin American Film Festival taking place at the historic AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland from September 17 to October 7, opens with the romantic drama SAND DOLLARS, based on the novel “Les Dollars des Sables” by Jean-Noël Pancrazi. SAND DOLLARS is the fourth film by directors Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas (COCOCHI, JEAN GENTIL), and stars Geraldine Chaplin (DOCTOR ZHIVAGO, THE ORPHANAGE) as a wealthy foreign tourist who is head over heels for a much-younger local woman. The film was recently announced as the Dominican Republic’s Official Academy Award® Submission.
In the picturesque seaside town of Las Terrenas, French expat Anne (Geraldine Chaplin, DOCTOR ZHIVAGO) has fallen in love with the much younger local, Noeli (Yanet Mojica). But the feeling isn’t exactly mutual — Noeli makes a living scamming off the kindness of tourists. She shares her earnings with her boyfriend, whom she passes off to Anne as her brother. Things become complicated when Anne promises to take Noeli back to France with her.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HeEPnn7ioE
The Closing Night film, TRASH, directed by Stephen Daldry (BILLY ELLIOT, THE HOURS) and written by Richard Curtis (LOVE ACTUALLY, WAR HORSE), follows three trash-picking boys from Rio de Janeiro who team up with two American missionaries, Martin Sheen (THE WEST WING) and Rooney Mara (THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, THE SOCIAL NETWORK), to uncover political corruption.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN08JrXZ9eM
Other highlights include MESSI, a docudrama about the world’s greatest soccer player; the U.S. premiere of Colombia’s ALIAS MARÍA, straight from its debut at the Cannes Film Festival; Kristen Wiig (BRIDESMAIDS) in NASTY BABY, a Brooklyn-set dark comedy from Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Silva; and WITHOUT WINGS, the first U.S. feature to be made in Cuba since 1959.
The complete schedule of the 2015 AFI Latin American Film Festival is available online.
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Doc’n Roll Film Festival to Host Preview Screening of Sleaford Mods – Invisible Britain | VIDEO
Doc’n Roll Film Festival which runs from September 25 until October4, at Picturehouse Central in London, will screen a special advanced preview of the crowd-funded new music documentary Sleaford Mods – Invisible Britain, a film shot on Sleaford Mods’ 2015 UK tour about the band, the fans and the state of modern Britain.
Directed by Nathan Hannawin and Paul Sng, Sleaford Mods – Invisible Britain follows Sleaford Mods on their recent tour of the UK and visits the neglected, broken down and boarded up parts of the country that most would prefer to ignore. Sleaford Mods – Invisible Britain aims to tell the story of how one of the most relevant British band in years became an unlikely success story through their expression of pent up rage and anger aimed at ineffectual politicians and the current state of affairs. Taking its cue from the likes of Patrick Keiller’s extraordinary Robinson Trilogy and the wanderings of Iain Sinclair, the documentary is a combination of raw footage of the band, interviews with fans, and a look at what individuals and communities are doing to resist so-called austerity measures. The filmmakers will attend the screening on 3 October for a post-film Q&A session. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pZc3UOG1y0
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The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble Doc to Get Spring 2016 Release | VIDEO
The new documentary film The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble set to World Premiere at the upcoming 2015 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) have been acquired by The Orchard and HBO for release in the U.S. The Orchard is planning a theatrical release in the Spring of 2016 with an HBO premiere to follow.
From Morgan Neville, the director of the Oscar®-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom and the critically-acclaimed Best of Enemies, the new film The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble tells the extraordinary story of an international musical collective created by legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The film follows this group of diverse instrumentalists, vocalists, composers, arrangers, visual artists and storytellers as they explore the power of music to preserve tradition, shape cultural evolution and inspire hope.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjrILQproKU
“What could be better than being involved in a film that erases differences in the name of music,” commented Sheila Nevins, President, HBO Documentary Films.
“Morgan’s film is an inspiring and soulful experience we are proud to be a part of ” said The Orchard’s SVP of Film and TV, Paul Davidson.
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IFC Sets December Release Date for 3D drama EVERY THING WILL BE FINE Starring James Franco, Rachel McAdams | TRAILER
Wim Wenders‘ 3D drama EVERY THING WILL BE FINE which stars James Franco, Rachel McAdams, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Marie-Josée Croze, will be released in the US on December 4, 2015, via IFC Films.
In the film, which will have its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, a tragic car accident links the lives of a struggling writer (James Franco), his long-suffering girlfriend (Rachel McAdams), a grieving mother (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and a publisher’s assistant (Marie-Josée Croze).
The Quebec landscape provides a rich backdrop as Wenders casts his camera on an author coming to terms with a fatal car accident. Holed up in a cabin in the wintry wilds near Oka, Tomas (James Franco) is struggling with writer’s block. While driving in a ferocious blizzard, he hits and kills a young boy. This tragedy becomes the fulcrum for an agonizing reappraisal of his life. Tomas finds himself in an existential trap, caught between competing forces: his long-suffering girlfriend Sara (Rachel McAdams, also appearing at the Festival in Spotlight); the victim’s mother, Kate (Charlotte Gainsbourg), and older brother; and Ann (Marie-Josée Croze), an assistant at his publishing company. As the years slip by, Tomas revisits the scene of the accident in an attempt to make sense of it all, even as the rest of his life progresses.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl62PplyZis
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Laurie Anderson’s HEART OF A DOG to be Released by Abramorama and HBO Documentary Films
Laurie Anderson’s HEART OF A DOG which will world premiere this weekend at the Telluride Film Festival, has been acquired by Abramorama and HBO Documentary Films for release in the U.S. Abramorama will release Heart of a Dog in theaters on October 21 in New York, followed by a national release, while HBO will air the film in 2016.
In addition to Telluride Film Festival, Heart of a Dog is set to screen at most of the upcoming major film festivals including Venice Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, New York Film Festival and San Sebastian Film Festival.
Renowned multidisciplinary artist Laurie Anderson returns with this lyrical and powerfully personal essay film that reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother, her beloved dog, and such diverse subjects as family memories, surveillance, and Buddhist teachings.Laurie Anderson’s eclectic career spans music, drawing, storytelling, performance, and more. She had a surprise hit with her 1981 song “O Superman,” was NASA’s first artist in residence, and toured internationally with her political performance-art piece Homeland. Her new feature film, Heart of a Dog, combines her multiple talents in a personal film essay. The dog of the title is her beloved rat terrier Lolabelle, who passed away in 2011 during a succession of family deaths that also included Anderson’s mother, Mary Louise, and husband, Lou Reed. Anderson’s close bond with Lolabelle underlies the film’s stream of consciousness, which flows through subjects as diverse as family memories, surveillance, and Buddhist teachings. She lingers particularly over the concept of thebardo, described in the Tibetan Book of the Dead as the forty-nine-day period between death and rebirth. Overlaying the film’s tapestry of images — which include Anderson’s animation, 8mm home-movie footage, and lots of lovingly photographed dogs — is her melodic narration, full of warmth, humour, and insight. Anderson’s approach has a kinship with that of filmmaker Chris Marker (Sans Soleil), with a similar flair for connecting disparate themes and images. She quotes from other writers and artists, including Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein, Gordon Matta-Clark, and David Foster Wallace, whose line “every love story is a ghost story” resonates strongly in this work. If those references sound philosophical, so is this film. But it’s also dreamy, comic, and intensely emotional. Like Anderson, it defies easy categorization.
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Angelina Jolie’s Controversial Ethiopian Drama DIFRET Finally Gets Release Date | TRAILER
The controversial award-winning film DIFRET, directed by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari and executive produced by Angelina Jolie Pitt, finally has a release date in time for the awards season. DIFRET which premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival where it won the World Cinematic Dramatic Audience Award, and the Panorama Audience Award for Best Fiction Film at the Berlin Film Festival 2014, will be released on October 23.
Difret is a powerful drama based on a true story. In Addis Ababa, lawyer Meaza Ashenafi has established a network providing poor women and children with free legal representation. She takes on the case of 14-year-old Hirut who is abducted and raped on her way home from school and shoots dead her tormentors as she escapes. Accused of murder, Hirut may face the death penalty even though she was acting in self-defence – for in rural Ethiopia the tradition of ‘Telefa’ or marriage by abduction still exists.
The NY Post’s Page Six reported that the woman who said she inspired the project, Aberash Bekele, had reportedly sought an injunction on the night of its Ethiopian premiere to block its release, saying she didn’t give filmmakers permission to use her story. However, the matter was eventually settled out of court.
Three hours outside of Addis Ababa, a bright 14-year-old girl is on her way home from school when men on horses swoop in and kidnap her. The brave Hirut grabs a rifle and tries to escape, but ends up shooting her would-be husband. In her village, the practice of abduction into marriage is common and one of Ethiopia’s oldest traditions. Meaza Ashenafi, an empowered and tenacious young lawyer, arrives from the city to represent Hirut and argue that she acted in self-defense. Meaza boldly embarks on a collision course between enforcing civil authority and abiding by customary law, risking the ongoing work of her women’s legal-aid practice to save Hirut’s life. Beneath the layer of polite social customs, an aggressively rooted patriarchy perpetuates inhospitable conditions for women in this engrossing and significant film, based on a real-life story. Ethiopian writer/director Zeresenay Berhane Mehari portrays, with panoramic beauty, the complexity of a country’s transformation toward equal rights, featuring the courageous generation that dares to own it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz4NbqGeEZQ
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Official Poster + Watch 2nd Trailer for Documentary HE NAMED ME MALALA | TRAILER
Fox Searchlight has released the official poster and second trailer for the documentary HE NAMED ME MALALA from acclaimed documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, Waiting for Superman). HE NAMED ME MALALA opens in select theaters on Friday, October 2nd 2015.
HE NAMED ME MALALA is an intimate portrait of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai, who was targeted by the Taliban and severely wounded by a gunshot when returning home on her school bus in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. The then 15-year-old (she turned 18 this July) was singled out, along with her father, for advocating for girls’ education, and the attack on her sparked an outcry from supporters around the world. She miraculously survived and is now a leading campaigner for girls’ education globally as co-founder of the Malala Fund.
Documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, Waiting for Superman) shows us how Malala, her father Zia and her family are committed to fighting for education for all girls worldwide. The film gives us an inside glimpse into this extraordinary young girl’s life – from her close relationship with her father who inspired her love for education, to her impassioned speeches at the UN, to her everyday life with her parents and brothers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ghiYve6k68
“One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.” – Malala
Image: Malala Yousafzai in HE NAMED ME MALALA. Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures. © 2015 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved