Industry

The Last Rites of Joe May, written and directed by Joe Maggio which had its world premiere in competition at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival, will be released in October on VOD and theatrically by Tribeca Film.

In the spirit of classic 1970’s filmmaking, Joe May is the story of a sixty-something Chicagoan named Joe May (Dennis Farina, Get Shorty, Midnight Run, Snatch), a short-money hustler of Rolex knockoffs and bootleg DVDs. Joe returns home from a lengthy hospital stay only to find that his landlord thought he was dead and rented out his apartment to Jenny (Jamie Anne Allman, AMC’s The Killing), a single mom with a young daughter. Begrudgingly, Joe accepts Jenny’s offer to share the apartment. Joe attempts to plot his comeback scheme with help from an old contact (Gary Cole), but instead a domino effect gets everything going against him. With his health failing and resources dwindling, Joe is presented with one last shot at redemption in the eyes of a community that’s all but left him for dead. Farina’s Joe May “is designed in the classic tough-guy mold, but the veteran character-actor’s performance also serves to disassemble it,” observed indieWIRE when the film played TFF.

“I’m thrilled to have Tribeca handling the release of The Last Rites of Joe May,” said Maggio. “It’s a really personal film and Tribeca was so passionate about it, right from the beginning. I couldn’t have asked for a better fit.”

 

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Filmmaker Magazine announced earlier this month announced the 2011 “25 New Faces of Independent Film”. The feature is the 14th edition of the magazine’s annual look at the new, up-and-coming talent, a list that includes includes directors, screenwriters, composers, editors and actors scouted by Filmmaker’s editors over the last 12 months.

Past 25 Faces include: Sean Durkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Lena Dunham (Tiny Furniture), Rashaad Ernesto Green (Gun Hill Road), Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine), Danfung Dennis (To Hell and Back Again), Matt Porterfield (Putty Hill), Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow), Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (Half Nelson), Barry Jenkins (Medicine for Melancholy), Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know), Joshua Safdie (The Pleasure of Being Robbed) and Peter Sollett and Eva Vives (Raising Victor Vargas). Notable actors include several high profile names in the early stages of their careers such as Rooney Mara, Ryan Gosling, Ellen Page, Peter Sarsgaard and Hilary Swank.

The 2011 “25 New Faces of Independent Film” are:

Eddie Alcazar. Former video game designer Eddie Alcazar has lit up the blogosphere with striking early artwork from his first feature, OOOO, currently in post-production. It’s an independently produced, live-action science fiction film about a distraught man attempting to create a new era of human consciousness.

Andrew S Allen and Jason Sondhi. Andrew S Allen directed and Jason Sondhi produced The Thomas Beale Cipher, an ingenious and beautiful short animation dealing with a true 19th century cryptography mystery. The two are also editors of Short of the Week (shortoftheweek.com), an online curatorial hub for the best short movies on the internet.

Carlen Altman. Actress and comedienne Carlen Altman made her mark in Ry Russo-Young’s You Wont Miss Me. But with her latest, Alex Ross Perry’s The Color Wheel, she adds “screenwriter” to her resume, collaborating with Perry on this off-kilter tale of sibling love and rivalry.

Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia. After a series of acclaimed short films, including one mentored by Abbas Kiarostami, the directing team of Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia lensed their debut feature, Ok, Enough, Goodbye, in Tripoli, Lebanon. The film, which premiered in Abu Dhabi, is a droll no-budget comedy that is also a portrait of a changing city.

Brent Bonacorso. Commercials director Brent Bonacorso has made one of the most visually striking short films of the year with West of the Moon, a delirious fantasy inspired by a documentary investigation into children’s dreams. With Jesse Atlas, he is currently co-directing the sequel to the British science fiction feature Monsters.

Alrick Brown. Shot in Rwanda and exploring the Rwandan genocide, Alrick Brown’s gripping debut feature, Kinyarwanda, won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. The IFP Narrative Lab film will be released this fall via the African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement.

Dean Fleischer-Camp and Jenny Slate. Writer/director Dean Fleischer-Camp and writer/actress Jenny Slate created one of the most charmingly original shorts of the year, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. Appealing to kids as well as their parents, the no-budget YouTube sensation has already garnered the two a book deal, and the character should be crossing over into television soon as well.

Sheldon Candis. Filmmaker Sheldon Candis calls his first feature, Learning Uncle Vincent, currently in post-production, a “driller,” as in “dramatic thriller.” Taking place during a 24-hour span, the film stars Common and is the tale of a young boy coming of age through the realization of his uncle’s true character.

Panos Cosmatos. Panos Cosmatos’ debut feature, Beyond the Black Rainbow, is one of the eeriest, trippiest science fiction films you’ll see all year. Set in 1983 — and shot as if it was made in that year too — it’s an original mindbender evoking early David Cronenberg. The film will be released by Magnet Releasing.

Everynone. This New York-based collective has build up a passionate fan base through a series of short documentary essay films produced for the WNYC radio program, Radiolab. Selected for the Guggenheim’s YouTube Play Biennial, the group is currently putting together their first feature.

Kirby Ferguson. A documentary teased out in four parts, Kirby Ferguson’s Everything is a Remix is an insightful and entertaining series on not only today’s remix culture but the history of creative invention itself. With its final episode yet to air, the success of the online series has enabled Ferguson to quit his day job and concentrate on the project, and its offshoots, full-time.

Yance Ford. Series Producer at POV, Yance Ford is also a documentary filmmaker, currently in production on her debut feature, Strong Island, produced by Esther Robinson. The formally compelling film is an investigation into the murder of her brother when she was in college, and it examines the emotional legacy his absence has produced for Ford and her family.

Alma Har’el. Alma Har’el’s debut documentary Bombay Beach won the Best Documentary Prize at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival. It is a loving, spirited look at an off-the-map community in the Salton Sea, using the director’s own vivid cinematography and dreamy choreographed moments to create an indelible, magical story about life, play and self-invention.

Rob Hauer. L.A.-based cinematographer Rob Hauer has shot some of the best shorts of recent memory, including Sara Colangelo’s Little Accidents and Topaz Adizes’ 2011 Cannes selection, Boy. His feature work includes Amy Wendel’s 2011 Sundance feature All She Can and, upcoming, a period Western by first-time director Jared Moshe.

Brent Hoff. Known to filmmakers for editing the quarterly DVD magazine Wholphin, Brent Hoff has burst on the screenwriting scene with several works, including Dirty White Boy, an account of the last days of rapper Old Dirty Bastard and his unlikely manager, Jarred Weisfeld, and the Tribeca Sloan Prize-winning El Diablo Rojo, about a swarm of killer squid.

Laura Israel. For years, Laura Israel has been well known in the documentary and music video worlds as an editor, working with artists ranging from Patti Smith to Robert Frank. When a wind energy controversy erupted in the small Catskills community that is her weekend retreat, she decided to make a movie about it. Windfall, her debut doc, won the top prize at Doc NYC and is a complex, eerie investigation into the business realities of alternative energy.

Mark Jackson. Without, winner of a Special Jury Mention at the 2011 Slamdance Film Festival, is Brooklyn-based filmmaker Mark Jackson’s astonishing debut, a disquieting, beautifully controlled thriller about a young woman taking care of an elderly man while housesitting for a vacationing family. The film is receiving its international premiere at the Locarno Film Festival, and Jackson is already at work on other projects, including a collaboration with writer Mary Gaitskill.

Alison Klayman. Journalist-turned-documentary filmmaker Alison Klayman is in post on her debut feature, Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, a portrait of the outspoken Chinese artist. Following Ai during the installation of his large conceptual works while depicting his increasing activism and use of social media, Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry offers an insider’s look at not only a great artist’s creative process but also a changing China.

David Lowery. Dallas-based writer, director and editor David Lowery followed up his subtle, evocative debut feature St. Nick with Pioneer, which is one of the year’s best shorts. Starring Will Oldham, it’s an emotionally piercing two hander, taking us into a fable-like world where adult wisdom coexists with childhood wonder. Lowery is currently at work on a new feature, which was selected for the Sundance Creative Producing Lab.

Rola Nashef. Detroit-based Rola Nashef is in post-production on her first feature, the character-based drama Detroit Unleaded. Based on the director’s own short film, this IFP Narrative Lab selection is set within the city’s Arab-American community and features breakout performances from its young cast.

Joe Nicolosi. Austin-based Joe Nicolosi has had the toughest of filmmaking challenges, tasked with creating short films that are captivating on not just the first viewing but also the second, third and fourth. His imaginative short “bumpers” for the SXSW Film Festival have brought him attention at the festival, among producers and agents, and, upcoming, viewers of YouTube, where he is debuting three new series this August.

Damon Russell. In a year in which many critics have discussed the porous line between fiction and documentary, Damon Russell’s Atlanta-set feature Snow on Tha Bluff, about a single parent crack dealer, may be the most provocative yet. Along with partner Shawn Christensen, Russell is also a partner in the production company Fuzzy Logic.

Kitao Sakurai. Cinematographer Kitao Sakurai made his strange and memorable feature debut with Aardvark, a Cleveland-shot drama starring blind actor Larry Lewis, Jr. that premiered in Locarno and is completing an impressive run of foreign festivals.

Gingger Shankar. Musician and performer Gingger Shankar first ventured into the world of film with her contributions to The Passion of Christ, but she made her solo motion picture scoring debut at this year’s Sundance Film Festival with Maryam Kesharvarz’s Circumstance. Mixing hip hop-tinged electronica with traditional Iranian melodies, Shankar’s work imaginatively encapsulates the movie’s own themes. Her other recent work includes Sean Hackett’s independent feature Homecoming.

Sophia Takal. Sophia Takal’s Green, which premiered at SXSW, is a sharply observed, incisively directed, and sexually provocative drama about female jealousy. Boasting strong performances by Kate Lyn Sheil, Lawrence Lavine, and Takal herself, the movie is a bold, visually assured feature debut.

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[caption id="attachment_1543" align="alignnone" width="570"]Rachael Harris and Matt O’Leary in Natural Selection[/caption]

The award winning film, “Natural Selection” from director Robbie Pickering, which premiered in competition at the 2011 SXSW Film Festival and went on to win seven awards, including the Grand Jury and Audience Awards for Best Narrative Feature, Breakthrough Performance for both Rachael Harris and Matt O’Leary, Best Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Score/Music, will open in theaters this fall.

Natural Selection” was written and directed by Robbie Pickering, and in addition to Harris and O’Leary, the film stars Jon Gries (“Napoleon Dynamite” and “Real Genius”) and John Diehl (“Miami Vice” and “Stargate”).

When a dutiful Texas housewife (Rachael Harris) discovers that her devout husband has suffered a stroke at a sperm bank where he’s been secretly donating for the past 25 years, she leaves her sheltered world and starts off on a comedic journey to find his eldest biological son (Matt O’Leary from “Brick” and “Frailty”), a mullet-headed, foul-mouthed ex-con. Along the way, Linda’s wonderfully bizarre relationship with Raymond will teach her more about herself than she ever imagined possible.

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San Francisco Bay Area based distributor Nancy Fishman Film Releasing announced that it will release Eve Annenberg’s “Romeo and Juliet in Yiddish,” described as a gritty, funny New York drama about encounters between Satmar Hasid bad boys and the work of Shakespeare.  Directed and produced by Eve Annenberg, “Romeo and Juliet in Yiddish” will be released nationally to theaters through Nancy Fishman Film Releasing, and internationally to festivals and broadcasters.

The play Romeo and Juliet has been translated around the world. Now Eve Annenberg’s quirky new feature film sets William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in contemporary New York City with Brooklyn-inflected English and Yiddish spoken by a talented cast. A jaded middle-aged E.R. nurse with a chip on her shoulder about the Ultra Orthodox is assigned a translation of “Romeo and Juliet”—from old Yiddish to new Yiddish—in her pursuit of a Master’s degree. In over her head, she accepts help from some charismatic and ethically challenged (a.k.a. scamming) young Ultra Orthodox dropouts. When another ex-Orthodox leaver enchants her apartment with Kabbalah magic that he is leaking due to over studying, the boys begin to live Shakespeare’s play in their heads, in a gauzy and beautiful alternate reality where everyone is Orthodox.

In what might be the first Yiddish “mumblecore” film, Annenberg creates a magical universe (set in Williamsburg, Brooklyn), where Romeo and Juliet hail from divergent streams of ultra-Orthodox Judaism and speak their lines in street-smart Yiddish. The Bard may have never dreamed of the Montagues as Satmar Jews, but Annenberg’s fanciful direction makes the story of feuding Orthodox families both poignant and timeless. As they start to “modernize” and act in the archaic play, the young men fall under its rapturous incantation. Annenberg’s utterly enchanting meditation on life and love in New York yields a rapprochement between Secular and ultra Orthodox Worlds. “Romeo and Juliet in Yiddish” magically explores how everyone—from a jaded E.R. nurse to edgy black-hatted slackers—falls under the spell of love and Shakespeare.

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition has received a record 6,730 entries for 2011, including a first-time entry from Ecuador.  The Academy will award up to five fellowships of $30,000 each in November.

The Nicholl Fellowships competition is open to screenwriters who have not earned more than $5,000 writing for film or television.  Entry scripts must be feature length and the original work of a sole author or of exactly two collaborative authors.  The scripts must have been written originally in English.  Adaptations and translated scripts are not eligible.

This year, entries have come from all 50 states in the U.S., as well as from Argentina, Australia, Austria, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, the Philippines, Portugal, Romania, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Venezuela and Vietnam.

Since the program’s inception in 1985, 118 fellowships have been awarded, and a number of fellows have achieved considerable success.  Ehren Kruger, a 1996 fellow, wrote “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” opening later this month.  “The Details,” written and directed by 1998 fellow Jacob Aaron Estes, premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.  Andrew W. Marlowe, a 1992 fellow, created and executive produces ABC’s “Castle,” for which Terri Miller, also a 1992 fellow, is a writer-producer.  Mike Rich, a 1998 fellow, wrote “Secretariat,” which opened last October.  Susannah Grant, a 1992 fellow, earned an Oscar® nomination in 2000 for her “Erin Brockovich” screenplay.

Several other Nicholl fellows have had success in the film industry.

Fellowships are awarded with the understanding that the recipients will each complete a feature-length screenplay during their fellowship year.  The Academy acquires no rights to the works of Nicholl fellows and does not involve itself commercially in any way with their completed scripts.

[via AMPAS]

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[caption id="attachment_1415" align="alignnone" width="485"]An American Promise, Directed by Michele Stephenson & Joe Brewster[/caption]

The Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) and Gucci announced the 2011 recipients selected for the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund. The Fund, now in its fourth year, provides finishing finances, year-round support and guidance to domestic and international documentary filmmakers with feature-length films highlighting and humanizing issues of social importance from around the world.

A jury consisting of Jessica Alba, Amir Bar-Lev, Wendy Ettinger, Frida Giannini, Edward Norton, and Mariane Pearl, selected 9 projects from 450 submissions from 38 countries to receive a total of $150,000, to be administered by the Tribeca Film Institute.

New this year, The PPR Corporate Foundation for Women’s Dignity & Rights, has joined the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund, and created the Spotlighting Women Documentary Award which will annually provide funding of $50,000. Three film projects that illuminate the courage, compassion, extraordinary strength of character, and contributions of women from around the world have been chosen for the inaugural award.

The projects that will collectively receive $100,000 total in funding for the 2011 Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund are:

–          An American Promise, Directed by Michele Stephenson & Joe Brewster—An American Promise  follows filmmaker-parents who spend 12 years with the camera turned on themselves and another African American family as their firstborn sons enter a prestigious college preparatory school in 1999. An intimate, poignant and complex portrayal of how race and privilege are experienced by African American middle class families today.

–          Caught in the Net, Directed by Hilla Medalia—Caught in the Net follows China as the first country in the world to classify Internet Addiction as a clinical disorder. The film features a Beijing treatment center where Chinese teenagers are being de-programmed. We follow the lives of three teens from the day they arrive throughout their three month treatment period and their return home.

–          Democrats, Directed by Camilla Nielsson and Produced by Henrik Veileborg—Democrats is a film about the creation of a new constitution in Zimbabwe. The film follows two top politicians, who have been appointed to lead the country through the reform process. The two men are political opponents, but united in the ambition to make history by giving the nation a new founding document – that can give birth to the future’s Zimbabwe.

–          The Great Invisible, Produced and Directed by Margaret Brown and Produced by Jason Orans—The Great Invisible is a feature-length look at the global oil economy through the lens of characters that work in the oil and fishing industries on the Gulf Coast. Much like Margaret Brown’s last documentary The Order of Myths, this film will be shot in a verité style with select interviews to supplement verité information. In addition to the people in the film, the landscapes of the oil world will be established as a distinct character.

–          Untitled Global Health Documentary, Directed by Kief Davidson— Untitled Global Health Documentary is the story of Partners In Health, a remarkable public health charity operating in the world’s poorest countries PIH’s controversial founders, including Dr. Paul Farmer are larger-than-life heroes, fighting to change the way the world cares for the poorest among us, by insisting on healthcare as an inalienable human right.

–          Charge, Directed by Mike Plunkett—Charge is a look at the Green Revolution already underway,  and the conflict over lithium, a key energy resource, which has rapidly escalated. Against a background of conflict, the disparate fates of three men hang in the balance.

The projects that will collectively receive $50,000 total in funding for the inaugural 2011 Spotlighting Women Documentary Award are:

–          Barefoot Engineers, Directed by Jehane Noujaim—Barefoot Engineers follows three women who leave their remote villages to go on a life-changing journey to India with the hopes of becoming Solar Engineers. When they return to their villages, they will wire their communities and turn on the lights.

–          Justice for Sale, Directored by Ilse & Femke van Velzen—Justice for Sale is a dramatic story which follows two young, courageous human rights lawyers who refuse to accept that justice is indeed “For Sale” in their country. Claudine and her husband Eugene, fight for justice to end impunity in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

–          The World Before Her, Directed by Nisha Pahuja—The World Before Her asks: Beauty Pageants– passé in the West–but in India, where women remain second-class citizens, can they actually be empowering? The World Before Her follows two converging story lines–that of the girls who want to become Miss India, and that of the forces that want the pageant banned.

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Oscilloscope Laboratories, the film production and distribution company owned by Adam Yauch of Beastie Boys, will release in the US, the 2011 Cannes Film Festival competition entry WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN, from director Lynne Ramsay (RATCATCHER and MORVERN CALLAR).  Oscilloscope will release WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN theatrically this Winter, accompanied by an awards campaign.

A suspenseful and psychologically gripping exploration into a parent dealing with her child doing the unthinkable, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN is told from the perspective of Eva, played by Tilda Swinton in a tour-de-force performance.

Always an ambivalent mother, Eva and Kevin have had a contentious relationship literally from Kevin’s birth.  Kevin (Ezra Miller), now 15-years-old, escalates the stakes when he commits a heinous act, leaving Eva to grapple with her feelings of grief and responsibility, as well as the ire of the community-at-large.  WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN explores nature vs. nurture on a whole new level as Eva’s own culpability is measured against Kevin’s innate evilness, while Ramsay’s masterful storytelling leaves enough moral ambiguity to keep the debate going.

Adam Yauch, head of Oscilloscope Laboratories said:  “We are honored to be working with Lynne, Tilda, John, and Ezra to release this masterpiece—the most intense thriller I’ve seen since Polanski’s ROSEMARY’S BABY.  I was on the edge of my seat throughout and it was clear I was in the capable hands of a master filmmaker, who I’m now proud to see join all our other great filmmakers as a member of the O-Scope family.”

With a screenplay by Lynne Ramsay & Rory Stewart Kinnear, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN based on the novel by Lionel Shriver.  The film also stars John C. Reilly as Eva’s husband Franklin, and Ezra Miller in a breakout performance as the titular Kevin.  Swinton’s recent credits include her acclaimed performance in Erick Zonca’s JULIA, which she received a Cesar Award nomination for Best Actress, and in Luca Guadagnino’s acclaimed film, I AM LOVE (Io Sono L’Amore), which she also produced.

Other Oscilloscope theatrical releases include Yauch’s GUNNIN’ FOR THAT #1 SPOT, Irena Salina’s FLOW, Kelly Reichardt’s WENDY AND LUCY starring Michelle Williams, So Yong Kim’s TREELESS MOUNTAIN, the Academy Award(R)-nominated THE GARDEN from Scott Hamilton Kennedy, Anders Ostergaard’s Academy Award(R)-nominated BURMA VJ, Nati Baratz’s UNMISTAKEN CHILD, Oren Moverman’s Academy Award(R)-nominated THE MESSENGER starring Woody Harrelson, Ben Foster, and Samantha Morton, Henrik Ruben Genz’s Danish thriller TERRIBLY HAPPY, Michel Gondry’s personal family documentary THE THORN IN THE HEART, Jules Dassin’s classic THE LAW, Yael Hersonski’s award-winning WWII documentary A FILM UNFINISHED, Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s HOWL starring James Franco as Allen Ginsberg, Jalmari Helander’s Christmas fantasy RARE EXPORTS: A CHRISTMAS TALE and Oscar(R)-nominated director Dana Adam Shapiro’s feature film debut MONOGAMY starring Chris Messina and Rashida Jones. Upcoming releases include Kelly Reichardt’s Western drama MEEK’S CUTOFF starring Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, and Shirley Henderson, and James Franco’s directorial debut SATURDAY NIGHT, which covers a week on the set of Saturday Night Live.

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[caption id="attachment_1377" align="alignnone" width="560"]SNOWTOWN[/caption]

IFC Midnight announced from the 2011 Cannes Film Festival that the company Australian filmmaker Justin Kurzel’s psychological thriller SNOWTOWN in the U.S.. The directorial debut for Kurzel, with a screenplay by Shaun Grant, stars Lucas Pittaway, Daniel Henshall, and Louise Harris.  Arriving with much buzz after winning the Audience Award at the Adelaide Film Festival, the film was just awarded a special citation last night by the Critics’ Week jury. The film is also in competition for the Camera d’Or.

Based on a true story, SNOWTOWN follows sixteen-year-old Jamie (Pittaway) who begins a friendship with a charismatic older man (Henshall).  As the relationship grows, so do Jamie’s suspicions, until he finds his world threatened by both his loyalty for, and fear of, his newfound father-figure.  The older man Jamie befriended was John Bunting, Australia’s most notorious serial killer.

 

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Netflix and Miramax  announced this week a multi-year agreement under which Netflix members in the U.S. will be able to instantly watch some of the world’s most loved and acclaimed motion pictures from the Miramax film library. It is the first time Miramax titles have become available through a digital subscription service.

Beginning in June, Netflix members in the U.S. will be able to instantly watch several hundred Miramax movies, with dozens of titles being added on a rotating basis.  The movies can be watched on multiple platforms, including TV, tablet, computer and mobile phones.  Financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed.

“From day one, we’ve been very clear about the importance of digital and our desire to respond to the significant pent-up demand for our films — delivering to consumers whenever and wherever they want,” said Mike Lang, CEO of Miramax.  “This agreement is an important first step in our digital strategy.  Netflix has always been a trailblazer, with a tremendous track record of innovation and quality customer service.  We’re thrilled to now be in business with them as we build and revitalize the proud Miramax brand.”

Through this partnership, the Netflix library gains a variety of films which collectively have 284 Academy Award nominations, across 83 films, with 68 wins, including the Best Picture winners “The English Patient” and “Shakespeare in Love.”  Iconic titles such as “Bad Santa,” “Chasing Amy,” “Cinema Paradiso,” “Clerks,” “Cold Mountain,” “From Dusk Till Dawn,” “Good Will Hunting,” “Kill Bill” Volumes I and II, “Muriel’s Wedding,” “The Piano,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Reindeer Games” and many of the “Halloween,” “Scary Movie,” “Scream” and “Spy Kids” movies will be available over time.

[From the Netflix Media Room:]

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[caption id="attachment_1342" align="alignnone" width="560"]Anglina Jolie on the set of ‘In the Land of Blood and Honey’[/caption]

Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut, “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” which was also written by Jolie, will be released by FilmDistrict, in the US on Dec. 23.

Graham King and his producing partner Tim Headington, together with Peter Schlessel, CEO of FilmDistrict, announced today in Cannes that Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut, “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” which was also written by Jolie, will be released by FilmDistrict, a subsidiary of GK Films, in the US on Dec. 23.

“In the Land of Blood and Honey” is set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War in the ‘90s.  This bold new film illustrates the consequences of the lack of political will to intervene in a society stricken with conflict.

“The film is specific to the Bosnian War, but it’s also universal,” says Jolie.  “I wanted to tell a story of how human relationships and behavior are deeply affected by living inside a war.

“Working with Angelina on this film and story has been a great collaboration and I am extremely proud of this film,” said King.  “The filmmaking is impeccable, and signals the arrival of a visceral and compelling storyteller.”

“In the Land of Blood and Honey” features a completely local cast, most of whom were children of the war. The film was simultaneously shot in English and their native language. During the time of the war the language spoken was Serbo-Croatian and is now referred to as BHS. FilmDistrict will release the English language version on Dec. 23.

“The former Yugoslavia has a rich history of dramatic arts.  The cast was extraordinary. I was privileged and honored to work with them and I am very excited for everyone to see their immense talent,” adds Jolie.

“In the Land of Blood and Honey” stars Zana Marjanovic (Snow), Goran Kostic and Rade Serbedzija (In The Rain).

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Sundance Selects, sister division to IFC Films and IFC Midnight, announced from the 2011 Cannes Film Festival that the company will release Julia Leigh’s “Sleeping Beauty” in the the US. The film, with a screenplay by Leigh, stars Emily Browning, Rachael Blake, Ewen Leslie, Peter Carroll, Chris Haywood, and was produced by Jessica Brentnall. The film premiered this week in Competition at the festival.

Lucy is a young university student possessed by a kind of radical passivity. She lets a flip of the coin generate a random sexual encounter and she displays an uncomplaining patience when facing the repetitions of her various menial jobs that fund her studies. One day she responds to an advertisement in the student newspaper. Following an interview and inspection at Clara’s office, she is initiated as a lingerie waitress and secretly auditioned for the role of a Sleeping Beauty. She meets with approval and – recklessly –accepts the strange new work. On her first visit to the countryside mansion Clara explains to Lucy that she will be sedated. “You will go to sleep: you will wake up. It will be as if those hours never existed.”

The old wealthy men who visit the Sleeping Beauty Chamber rely upon Lucy’s passivity. The alluring erotic contact they seek in the chamber requires her absolute submission and inability to gaze upon their aging bodies. The one rule is that there must be no penetration. In her role as a Sleeping Beauty she practices being dead. She becomes their exquisite object, submitting to an extreme loss of will and consequent violation. The first visitor venerates her youth and beauty; the second is sadistic; the third accidentally drops her limp body.

Being drugged in the chamber means there is a part of her life that remains unknowable. The unnerving experience of being observed in her sleep starts to bleed into her daily life. Evicted from her share house, she uses her sleep-derived income to rent a new apartment. It is anonymous and bare, a high-rise glass coffin. When her friend Birdmann dies in her arms she loses her only authentic close connection. She develops a deepening curiosity to know what happens to her during the night.

She purchases a tiny surveillance camera and records a university lecture: a trial run for her plan to film inside the sleeping chamber. Her need to record her unknowable double life leads to a defiant act of will when she fights off the sleeping drug in order to hide the secret tiny camera in the chamber. Her camera will unwittingly record the assisted suicide of one of the men, and her own accidental overdose from which she is revived. On waking, Lucy howls and wails. The spell, at last, is broken.

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