Films

Oscilloscope Lab Grabs 95 Seconds Short Film TIM AND SUSAN HAVE MATCHING HANDGUNS

Joe Callander’s 95 seconds short film TIM AND SUSAN HAVE MATCHING HANDGUNS, scheduled to have its world premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, has been snagged for U.S. release by Oscilloscope Laboratories. TIM AND SUSAN HAVE MATCHING HANDGUNS is described as a romantic tale of love, life, and the right to bear arms.

About the acquisition, O-Scope’s Dan Berger and David Laub said, “TIM AND SUSAN is a remarkably assured, economical, and entertaining film. Joe’s deft filmmaking and Tim and Susan’s undeniable connection will warm the cockles of your heart. We’re gonna figure out a way to put this film in front of your faces.”

Filmmaker Joe Callander said, “I’ve been watching Oscilloscope films for years and it’s quite the unexpected honor to be working with them on this short. My first film was two minutes long, this one is 95 seconds. I’m hoping that if this trend continues, one day I’ll just wake up, sneeze, and everything will become pure light.”

TIM AND SUSAN was produced by Dave Munson and Saddleback Leather, purveyors of fine leather goods and fine films. Joe Callander is Saddleback Leather’s filmmaker in residence.
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WATCH Trailer for Mitt Romney Documentary to Premiere on Netflix

Netflix has released the trailer for the Mitt Romney documentary, “MITT,” scheduled to premiere exclusively online on Friday, January 24, 2014. The Netflix original documentary, provides an intimate, rarely seen, behind-the-scenes look at a candidate running for the presidency.

From director Greg Whiteley (“New York Doll,” “Resolved”) and executive producer Seth Gordon (“Undefeated,” “The King of Kong”), “Mitt,” which will make its feature debut at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival as the Salt Lake City Gala on Friday, January 17th, follows Romney’s presidential aspirations beginning Christmas 2006 to his initial run to become the Republican nominee in 2008 and through his Presidential concession speech in 2012. Given unprecedented access by Mitt and his family, Whiteley travels alongside the campaign through interactions with potential voters, preparations for the debates, personal moments with his family, and concluding with final presidential election night results.“It feels like a full circle moment to premiere this movie at Sundance,” said filmmaker, Greg Whiteley. “I first met and filmed the Romney family in Park City in 2006 as they gathered to discuss whether Mitt should run for President. Over the next 7 years I couldn’t believe I was filming inside rooms and situations I had no business being in. Now that I’ve finished I couldn’t be more pleased to share this experience with audiences around the world through Netflix.”

http://youtu.be/rLHxbemvpxY

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WATCH Trailer for Egyptian Protest Documentary “THE SQUARE”

Netflix has released the trailer for its original documentary, “THE SQUARE,” described as a riveting, deeply human chronicle of the Egyptian protest movement from director/producer Jehane Noujaim (“Control Room”; “Startup.com”; “Rafea: Solar Mama”) and producer Karim Amer (“Rafea: Solar Mama”). THE SQUARE is set to premiere exclusively on Netflix territories on January 17, 2014.

Winner of this year’s Best Documentary Award at 2013 International Documentary Awards, the Best Documentary at the Dubai International Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival Documentary People’s Choice Award and the Audience Award at the Montreal International Documentary Festival, “The Square” is an epic documentary that tells the behind-the-headlines story of the Egyptian Revolution through the eyes of young activists who have sought for the last two years to build a better Egypt. An earlier version of “The Square” won the Audience Award at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. The film was also an Official Selection at the 2013 New York Film Festival.

The film captures the immediacy and intensity of the protests in Tahrir Square from the 2011 overthrow of military leader Hosni Mubarak through the ousting of Mohammed Morsi in 2013, providing a kaleidoscopic, visceral portrait of the events as they unfold before Magdy, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, Khalid Abdalla, an Egyptian actor who played the lead in “The Kite Runner” and the charismatic Ahmed, whose poetic storytelling carries the narrative. Armed with nothing more than cameras, social media, deep consciousness, and a resolute commitment to change, these young revolutionaries give us a front-line perspective of the ongoing struggle fought with new weapons.

http://youtu.be/6eWBmVprInQ
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IN BLOOM, Georgia’s Oscar Entry for Best Foreign Film, Sets January 2014 U.S. Release Date | WATCH Trailer

IN BLOOM, an award-winning film co-directed by Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Gross, and Georgia’s Official Entry for the Best Foreign Language Film, will open in New York at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center onJanuary 10, 2014. A national release will follow.

IN BLOOM, the directorial debut of Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Gross, is inspired by Nana’s personal memories of her youth in the troubled early 1990s in Georgia. The film follows inseparable friends Eka and Natia, both fourteen years old and at the end of their childhood in the early nineties Tbilisi, the capital of the newly independent Georgia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The country is facing violence, war on the Black Sea coast (Abkhazia) and vigilante justice that plague society. But for Eka and Natia, life just unfolds: in the street, at school, with friends or elder sisters who are already dealing with male dominance, early marriage and disillusioned love. For these two girls in bloom, life just goes on…

IN BLOOM premiered at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the C.I.C.A.E. prize. The film went on to screen at a number of international film festivals picking up multiple prizes along the way, including the Special Jury Prize at the Montreal Film Festival and the FIPRESCI prize and Golden Firebird in Hong Kong. In US, the film screened at the Hamptons International Film Festival and at AFI Fest in Los Angeles, where it won the New Auteurs Award for Personal Storytelling. IN BLOOM has been selected to screen at the upcoming Palm Springs International Film Festival in January 2014.

http://youtu.be/ynYAVerw9fY
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ArtMattan Films to Release Banned Film JEWS OF EGYPT in U.S. | WATCH Trailer

Amir Ramses’ award-winning controversial documentary film JEWS OF EGYPT from the 21st Annual New York African Diaspora International Film Festival, will be released in the U.S. by ArtMattan Films. Banned in Egypt for a year by Egyptian authorities, JEWS OF EGYPT is described as a documentary that captures fragments of the lives of the Egyptian Jewish community in the first half of the twentieth century until their second grand exodus after the tripartite attack of 1956

With this film, director Amir Ramses attempts to understand the change in the identity of the Egyptian society that turned from a society full of tolerance and acceptance of one another to a rejection of the minorities.

The film asks the question: “How did the Jews of Egypt turn in the eyes of Egyptians from partners in the same country to enemies?”

http://youtu.be/cYFwtgeOypQ
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Oprah Winfrey Hosts Screening of Hemingway Documentary RUNNING FROM CRAZY | WATCH Trailer

Oprah Winfrey recently held a private LA screening of a documentary she’s executive producing called RUNNING FROM CRAZY, directed by two-time Academy Award winner Barbara Kopple (Harlan County USA, American Dream). The film, which goes behind the long history of mental illness and suicide in the famed Hemingway family, is currently in theaters in select cities and will air on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network in 2014.

Hailed as one of the most distinguished families in American literature, the Hemingways have always exposed their brilliance while often living in the shadows of deep emotional struggle. Two-time Academy Award winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple’s newest documentary focuses on Mariel Hemingway, a granddaughter of the legendary writer Ernest, as she explores her family’s disturbing history of mental illness and suicide. As a child, Mariel grew up on the Hemingway family farm in Idaho, the same place her famous grandfather took his own life months before she was born. The youngest of the three sisters, Mariel followed her older sister Margaux into acting and modeling, while her oldest sister Muffet struggled with mental illness and drifted in and out of mental hospitals. Kopple’s bold film intertwines haunting archival footage of the three Hemingway sisters with scenes from Mariel’s life today as she seeks to live a rigorously healthy lifestyle to combat what appears to be a difficult family birthright. Mariel’s courageous journey of introspection and reflection allows her to view her family that has shaped her life through new eyes and, for the first time, strive for peace and acceptance.

Image: (L-R) Sheri Salata, president of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and Harpo Studios; Oprah Winfrey, chairman and CEO of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and Harpo Studios; Barbara Kopple, filmmaker and Mariel Hemingway at the LA premiere screening of “Running From Crazy.”

Courtesy: OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network

http://youtu.be/kfGYqdTAxEk
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WATCH NSFW Trailer and SEE Posters for Lars Von Trier’s ‘NYMPHOMANIAC’

The trailer and official posters have been released for Lars Von Trier’s “NYMPHOMANIAC,” which stars Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgard, Willem Dafoe, Jamie Bell, Shia Labeouf, Stacy Martin, Uma Thurman, Christian Slater and Udo Kier. NYMPHOMANIAC is the wild and poetic story of a woman’s journey from birth to the age of 50 as told by the main character, the self-diagnosed nymphomaniac, Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg). On a cold winter’s evening the old, charming bachelor, Seligman (Stellan Skarsgård), finds Joe beaten up in an alley. He brings her home to his flat where he cares for her wounds while asking her about her life. He listens intently as Joe over the next 8 chapters recounts the lushy branched-out and multifaceted story of her life, rich in associations and interjecting incidents.

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WATCH Trailer for Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi’s THE PAST

THE PAST (LE PASSÉ), Iran’s official Entry for the Best Foreign Language Film – 86th Academy Awards, directed by Oscar winning director Asghar Farhadi of A Separation (A Separation won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012, becoming the first Iranian film to win the award) has released its trailer. THE PAST opens in theaters on December 20th, 2013.

Following a four year separation, Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa) returns to Paris from Tehran, upon his estranged French wife Marie (Bérénice Bejo)’s request, in order to finalize their divorce procedure so she can marry her new boyfriend Samir (Tahar Rahim). During his tense brief stay, Ahmad discovers the conflicting nature of Marie’s relationship with her teenage daughter Lucie (Pauline Burlet). Ahmad’s efforts to improve this relationship soon unveil a secret from their past.

http://youtu.be/7kdUF8UZb4M
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TRAILER and First Look at Tony Jopia’s British comedy horror ‘CRYING WOLF’

The British comedy horror ‘CRYING WOLF’ from director Tony Jopia and starring Caroline Munro, Gary Martin, Joe Egan, Kristofer Dayne and Ian Donnelly, has released its official trailer and first look images from the upcoming film. Due for release in the U.K. in 2014, the comedy horror movie, ‘Crying Wolf’ starts its tale in the small village of Deddington where prankster Andy is bitten by a werewolf that kills his friend Charlotte. Andy tries to warn his friends, but winds up turning them into a pack of werewolves. Enter a pair of hapless journalists doomed to a grizzly end, then add a pair of hard boiled vigilantes hot on the heels of the werewolf pack and before you know it, everyone’s ‘Crying Wolf! during a bloody camping holiday in the Cotswolds’

http://youtu.be/uKY7ehVyowI
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Romania’s Oscar Entry CHILD’S POSE Sets U.S. 2014 Release Date | WATCH Trailer

CHILD’S POSE by Calin Peter Netzer and Romania’s Official Entry for the Best Foreign Language Film – 86th Academy Awards, will open at Film Forum in NYC on February 19, 2014, and at the Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles on February 21, 2014. A national release will follow. CHILD’S POSE (Poziţia Copilului), winner of the Golden Bear for the Best Film at 2013 Berlin International Film Festival, pivots on a riveting performance by Luminita Gheorghiu (Best Supporting Actress, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, Los Angeles Film Critics) as a steely, well-to-do Bucharest architect determined to keep her 30-something deadbeat son out of jail after a deadly car crash. How far will she go to convince the police, eyewitnesses and even the victim’s family that her son was not recklessly speeding?

One cold evening in March, Barbu is tearing down the streets 50 kilometres per hour over the speed limit when he knocks down a child. The boy dies shortly after the accident. A prison sentence of between three and fifteen years awaits. High time for his mother, Cornelia, to intervene. A trained architect and member of Romania’s upper class, who graces her bookshelves with unread Herta Müller novels and is fond of flashing her purse full of credit cards, she commences her campaign to save her lethargic, languishing son. Bribes, she hopes, will persuade the witnesses to give false statements. Even the parents of the dead child might be appeased by some cash.

Călin Peter Netzer portrays a mother consumed by self-love in her struggle to save her lost son and her own, long since riven family. In quasi-documentary style, the film meticulously reconstructs the events of one night and the days that follow, providing insights into the moral malaise of Romania’s bourgeoisie and throwing into sharp relief the state of societal institutions such as the police and the judiciary. [via Berlin International Film Festival]

http://youtu.be/fTr7qiVKWcM
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Jose Antonio Vargas’s Immigration Film ‘DOCUMENTED’ to Air on CNN in 2014 | TRAILER

DOCUMENTED, a feature-length film that explores the life – and journey out of the shadows – led by undocumented immigrant and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Jose Antonio Vargas, will premiere on CNN/U.S. in the second quarter of 2014 following its World Premiere at the 2013 International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam (IDFA) and its theatrical distribution in the United States. DOCUMENTED is written and directed by Vargas, with technology entrepreneur Sean Parker, Matthew Hiltzik (“Paper Clips”), Scott Budnick (“The Hangover” series), and philanthropist Liz Simons as executive producers.

“Immigration, to me, is not a political issue, it’s not a Latino or Asian issue – it’s an American story,” said writer-director Jose Antonio Vargas. “The film is in honor of 11 million undocumented immigrants – many of us Americans in all but papers. And, the film is dedicated to parents everywhere who dream of better futures for their children. It is a privilege to be associated with CNN Films in bringing DOCUMENTED to television,” Vargas said.

Filmmaker Vargas began working on the documentary shortly before “outing” himself as undocumented in a ground-breaking New York Times Magazine essay, “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant.” Vargas then traveled around America, telling his story in solidarity with the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the country. As he connected with his subjects through the similarities of their journeys, particularly those who, like Vargas, came to the United States as children, his personal reflections compelled him to reconnect with his mother, whom he had not seen in 20 years.

In 2008, Vargas was awarded a Pulitzer as part of the team of Washington Post journalists who reported on the 2007 shooting massacre at Virginia Tech University. His own immigrant journey began at age 12 when he was sent to the United States from the Philippines by his mother to live with his grandparents in Mountain View, Calif. After attending San Francisco State University, he pursued a print journalism career – landing jobs at newspapers in San Francisco, Philadelphia, New York City, and Washington, DC for the Post – all the while, managing to keep his true citizenship status a secret.

“We have followed Jose’s story closely since 2011 and are very pleased we will be able to offer U.S. viewers a window into the experiences of recent immigrants through his story. Jose also reports this story from a journalist’s point of view – which makes it a great fit for distribution on our network,” said Amy Entelis, senior vice president for talent and content development for CNN Worldwide.

http://youtu.be/w7F8uw9hw_A
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Basketball Film LENNY COOKE Slam Dunks in Theaters on December 6 | WATCH Trailer

The basketball documentary LENNY COOKE which World Premiere earlier this year at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival will open in theaters on December 6th, 2013.   In the documentary, filmmaking brothers Joshua and Benny Safdie take a candid look and track the unfulfilled destiny of a man for whom superstardom was only out of reach.

In 2001, Lenny Cooke was the most hyped high school basketball player in the country, ranked above future greats LeBron James, Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. In an era when high school stars were forgoing college hoops in favor of the potential multi-million dollar contracts promised in the NBA draft, Lenny was supposed to be the next superstar. He had the world at his fingertips. But over a decade later, while his peers are taking home MVP awards and championship trophies, Lenny has never played a minute in the NBA. What went wrong?

With incredible access to Lenny’s story as it unfolded over the past decade, filmmaking brothers Joshua and Benny Safdie follow Lenny from his run-down home in Bushwick, Brooklyn, to the New Jersey suburbs where he spent his high school career through to the present day, with the friends and family who shared in his dreams and aspirations. Lenny Cooke is a quintessentially American story about dreaming big, the fickle nature of sports celebrity and the unfulfilled destiny of a man for whom superstardom was only just out of reach.

LENNY COOKE marks the first feature length documentary by the Safdie brothers, who received the John Cassavetes Award at The Independent Spirit Awards for DADDY LONGLEGS.   DADDY LONGLEGS premiered at the Cannes Film Festival as did their first feature THE PLEASURE OF BEING ROBBED.

The film was executive produced by two time NCAA champion and Chicago Bull Joakim Noah.

http://youtu.be/ne61w4R20QE

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