News

All the News.

Julia Roberts to Present George Clooney with AFI Life Achievement Award

Julia Roberts will present the AFI Life Achievement Award – the nation’s highest honor for a career in film, to her longtime friend and colleague George Clooney at the 46th AFI Life Achievement Award Gala Tribute honoring the actor, director, writer and producer. This historic event will take place Thursday, June 7, 2018, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, CA. TNT will premiere the hour-and-a-half special, THE 46TH AFI LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: A TRIBUTE TO GEORGE CLOONEY on Thursday, June 21, at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, followed by an encore at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT. Sister network Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will also air the special in September 2018 during a night of programming dedicated to Clooney’s work. This marks the sixth year the Emmy®-winning AFI special will air on Turner networks. Roberts has frequently collaborated with George Clooney, sharing the screen with him on the films OCEAN’S ELEVEN (2001), OCEAN’S TWELVE (2004) and MONEY MONSTER (2016). Additionally, she starred in his directorial debut, CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND (2002) and in AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY (2013) which Clooney produced. George Clooney is one of Hollywood’s most dynamic multi-hyphenates, a presence bigger even than his movies. With an instantly recognizable charm, he has captivated audiences in front of the camera, and defined a cinematic voice all his own behind it — all while using his global voice to shine light on issues of human rights, climate change and more. Throughout a career spanning screens big and small, his work has earned him eight Academy Award® nominations and two wins — with nominations in the most categories ever. He won an Oscar® for Best Supporting Actor for SYRIANA (2005), and went on to earn Best Actor nominations for MICHAEL CLAYTON (2007), UP IN THE AIR (2009) and THE DESCENDANTS (2011) — all films grounded by his signature charm, and his universal relatability. Clooney is as accomplished a filmmaker as he is a performer, from his directorial debut CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND to his multiple-Oscar®-nominated GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK. (2005) and THE IDES OF MARCH (2011). He earned a Best Picture Academy Award® for producing ARGO (2012). On screen, he continues to deliver performances that are moving, humorous and human, with additional acting credits including: OUT OF SIGHT (1998), THREE KINGS (1999), O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? (2000), the OCEAN’S trilogy (2001, 2004, 2007), SOLARIS (2002), BURN AFTER READING (2008), FANTASTIC MR. FOX (2009), GRAVITY (2013) and HAIL, CAESAR! (2016). His next project is a Hulu miniseries adaptation of CATCH-22, which he will direct, produce and star in opposite Hugh Laurie and Kyle Chandler.
Read more
FAMILY IN TRANSITION, WILD, THE DISTANT BARKING OF DOGS Win Top Awards at 20th Docaviv

[caption id="attachment_29480" align="aligncenter" width="1140"] Family in Transition – Ofir Trainin[/caption] Docaviv, the International Documentary Film Festival, which marks its 20th anniversary this year, announced the winners in a ceremony held at Mindspace Tel- Aviv . This year’s festival which concludes today May 26, has had a record-breaking lineup of 125 Israeli and international documentaries, as well as its first ever Shorts Competition.
2018 Docaviv Winners

ISRAELI COMPETITION
The Howard Gilman Award For the Best Israeli Documentary Film Family in Transition Ofir Trainin Jury’s justification: סרט זה משרטט בעדינות סיפור של With great sensitivity, this film tells the story of identities getting to know themselves and each other anew, and changing right before our eyes. The jury commends the filmmaker for the intimate dynamic he has formed with his subjects and for choosing to make their voices heard, unmediated. An important and timely film, it is a reminder of the power of documentary to refresh our experience of the world and make us question distorted worldviews. Behind the strong bond between subjects and audience is the director’s dedication to his subjects, and when the two meet, the magic happens. Special Jury Award A Perfect Housewife Jane Bibi Jury’s justification: A brave new voice, this filmmaker demonstrates an uncompromising relationship to her craft. Smashing through the restrictive taboos of traditional values, she forges new cinematic pathways to create an unforgettable portrait of the tremendous love that can exist between three generations of women. The Mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo Award for Best Debut Film Wild Uriel Sinai, Danel Elpeleg Jury’s justification: Jumping between chaos and calm, poetry and humor, man and animal, this film transcends the clichés of its genre, providing a profoundly moving reflection on the fragility and preciousness of life. Best Cinematography Award In The Desert – A Documentary Diptych Cinematograper: Avner Faingulernt Jury’s justification: In this opus, the cinematographer succeeds in crafting through his lens an epic allegory of hope infused with biblical intonations. From the harshest landscapes to the most intimate moments of human interaction, the camera is used with respectful restraint to accentuate the creator’s vision. Best Editing Award The Wounded Healer Editor: Yithzhak Sverdlov Jury’s justification: The editor’s authorial stamp is strong and skillful, weaving the story with great sensitivity and leading us from scene to scene with natural confidence. The editing makes a series of twists and turns while compassionately revealing a complex character coming to terms with his tragic past. Research Award You Only Die Twice Research: Niko Hofinger Jury’s justification: Research is the heart and soul of this film, a film where the director works as investigator, uncovering a personal mystery to reveal a profound truth about family, brotherhood and forgiveness. Best Original Music Award A Sister’s Song Composer: Peter Venne Jury’s justification: In this film, a haunting original score interweaves the film’s competing dualities into the soundscape, fusing together the secular and the sacred worlds, the musical motifs succeed in mirroring the personal stories that unfold before us. AIDC Award for Innovative Filmmaking A Sister’s Song Danae Elon Jury’s justification: This award recognizes the daring vision of a filmmaker who has shown a clear and deep understanding of the filmic language. An authorial stamp marks the film on every level, infusing the text with multiple layers of meaning, resulting in a meditative, thought-provoking journey that continues long after the film concludes. Israeli Competition Best Director Award by Fipresci In The Desert – A Documentary Diptych Avner Faingulernt The International Federation of Film Critics award Jury’s justification: A personal and humane look at both sides of one of the biggest conflict zones in the Middle East. The director of In the Desert finds two separate lyrical languages to tell the film’s stories in a way that serves the differences and similarities between the two sides. Despite being challenging and demanding, the film manages not to patronize the viewers or its subjects. In a film that is tough and gentle at the same time, big concepts like ownership, family, spirituality and calling are all translated into human moments.
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION WINNERS
Best International Film Award The Distant Barking of Dogs Simon Lereng Wilmont Jury’s justification: Set in a village near the Ukraine/Russia frontline this highly accomplished film is a unique window into traumatic experience of growing up next to the battle zone in echoes of artillery fire. The International Competition Main Award goes to Simon Lereng Wilmont’s The Distant Barking of Dogs. Honorable Mention The Waldheim Waltz Ruth Beckermann Jury’s justification: The Honorable Mention goes to a film about truth and lies in politics. The filmmaker follows the investigation of the Jewish World Congress about the military past of the former General Secretary of the United Nations and Austrian President Kurt Waldheim, who has tried to hide his involvement in war crimes in Yugoslavia and Greece during World War II. The film combines private archival footage of the filmmaker with international material and shows how Waldheim and his conservative supporters tried to protect the myth of Austria as a victim of the Third Reich. Ruth Beckermann’s Waldheim Waltz is also a statement against growing populism and sometimes not even hidden anti-Semitism today.
DEPTH OF FIELD COMPETITION
Artistic Vision Award Playing Men Matjaž Ivanišin Jury’s justification: For its strong, memorable and vibrant cinematic language, its bold and surprising storytelling and its creative and alternative approach to the way we see men. In Playing Men, the male state of being is addressed in a funny, timely and touching way.
SHORTS COMPETITION WINNER
Best Short Film Award Tracing Addai Esther Niemeier Jury’s justification: The winner of the Docaviv Shorts Competition is a true story about a son who disappeared without a trace. Addai, a young man, leaves his mother’s home to join a group of Salafi Syrian fighters and disappears, never to return. The director pieces together fragmented memories, facts and moments into a gentle, story loaded with emotion, yet manages to avoid pathos. The storylines converge into an honest examination of grief, regret and lost hope.
WINNERS OF THE STUDENTS COMPETITION IN MEMORY AND HONOR OF RUTHI GOTTESMAN
First Prize My Father’s Son Hillel Rate, Ma’aleh School of Television, Film and the Arts Jury’s justification: For its singular, emotionally stirring characters; for letting us glimpse at a uniquely close father-son relationship from a respectful, loving perspective; for drawing an unconventional portrait of religious masculinity. Second Prize The Bride’s Tree Shadi Habib Allah, Sam Spiegel Film and Television School Jury’s justification: For its gentle, patient and lyrical look at nature and its inhabitants; for dealing with history, identity and legacy as seen through the eyes of children being raised into a grim political reality. Third Prize A Train To The Horizon Sharon Shahanny, Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Jury’s justification: For turning the spotlight on the backyard of Israeli society and showing its personal and social aspects with sensitivity and humor. The day-to-day life stories the director has brought to the screen depict the complex human reality of life in the south of Israel, the far corner of its social consciousness.
Read more
Don’t Let Oleg Die! Imprisoned Ukrainian Film Director Oleg Sentsov Goes on Hunger Strike

The European Film Academy today released a statement, titled “Don’t Let Oleg Die!’ in support of of Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov who has been on a hunger strike for twelve days. Oleg Sentsov, best known for his 2011 film Gamer, is serving a 20-year prison sentence in Russia on charges of plotting terrorism acts.
On its website, EFA states, that the Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, who was involved in supporting the Euro Maidan protests in Kiev and who has opposed the annexation of Crimea by Russia, was arrested by the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) in his house in Simferopol on 10 May 2014 and brought to Moscow. On 25 August 2015, he was sentenced to 20 years in jail, a sentence that was confirmed iIn late November 2015 by the Russian Supreme Court in Moscow.
Don’t Let Oleg Die! Today is Day 12 of Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov’s indefinite hunger strike which his lawyer Dimitri Dinze reports he full plans to follow through to the death should his demands not be met. Oleg Sentsov, who was involved in supporting the Euro Maidan protests in Kiev and who opposed the annexation of Crimea by Russia, was arrested by the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) in his house in Simferopol on 10 May 2014 and brought to Moscow where he was detained and awaiting trial for over a year. Although the key witness had retracted his testimony as given “under duress”, the trial, based on the accusation of Oleg Sentsov having committed “crimes of a terrorist nature”, was continued. Although thousands of signatures supporting an EFA letter to the President of Russia and Russian authorities were gathered across Europe, asking for Sentsov’s immediate release, Oleg Sentsov was sentenced to 20 years in prison. At the end of what Amnesty International described as “an unfair trial in a military court”, in late November 2015 the Russian Supreme Court in Moscow confirmed this sentence and Oleg Sentsov was moved to Yakutia. We are deeply worried so once again we ask that his safety is ensured and that he be released immediately and unconditionally! Please help us to help him, contact your foreign minister, your MP and MEP, and the Russian embassy in your country and ask them to do all they can for the release of Oleg Sentsov! We need to act now! (You can use the template below) With the support of Masha Alyokhina, activist (Pussy Riot), Russia Stephen Daldry, director, UK Mike Downey, producer, UK Dariusz Jablonski, producer, Poland Aki Kaurismäki, director, Finland Mike Leigh, director, UK Ken Loach, director, UK Wojciech Marczewski, director, Poland Daniel Olbrychski, actor, Poland Volker Schlöndorff, director, Germany Béla Tarr, director, Hungary Bertrand Tavernier, director, France Krzysztof Zanussi, director, Poland And 1,750 other members and friends of the European Film Academy as well as institutions including ANAC Associazione Nazionale Autori Cinematografici / National Association of Cinematographic Authors (Italy) APA Audiovisual Producers Association (Czech Republic) Directors UK FERA I Federation of European Film Directors PEN America The Austrian Film Academy The Czech Film Academy The European Producers Club The French Directors’ Guild (SRF) The German Film Academy The Polish Film Academy The Presidium of the Slovak Film and Television Academy (SFTA) The Russian Filmmakers Union Kinosoyuz The Ukrainian Film Academy The Union of Filmmakers of Ukraine Deeply worried, Agnieszka Holland & Wim Wenders PLEASE WRITE TO YOUR FOREIGN MINISTER, YOUR MP AND MEP, AND THE RUSSIAN EMBASSY IN YOUR COUNTRY AND CALL ON THEM TO SECURE OLEG’S SAFETY AND RELEASE. YOU MAY WISH TO USE BELOW TEXT. THANK YOU!!! Dear______________________, Don’t Let Oleg Die! Today Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov is on day 12 of an indefinite hunger strike which his lawyer Dimitri Dinze reports he full plans to follow through to the death should his demands not be met. Oleg Sentsov, who was involved in supporting the Euro Maidan protests in Kiev and who opposed the annexation of Crimea by Russia, was arrested by the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) in his house in Simferopol on 10 May 2014 and brought to Moscow where he was detained and awaiting trial for over a year. Although the key witness had retracted his testimony as given “under duress”, the trial, based on the accusation of Oleg Sentsov having committed “crimes of a terrorist nature”, was continued and at the end of what Amnesty International described as “an unfair trial in a military court”, Oleg Sentsov was sentenced to 20 years in prison. In late November 2015 the Russian Supreme Court in Moscow confirmed this sentence and Oleg Sentsov was moved to Yakutia, where he has now started his hunger strike. I am deeply worried so I call on you to make sure that his safety is ensured and that he be released immediately and unconditionally! My name: My address:
Read more
Film Projects by Manuel Abramovich, Grigory Kolomytsev, Elena López Riera, Arantza Santesteban, and Nele Wohlatz Selected for 4th Ikusmira Berriak

[caption id="attachment_29451" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] CHUPACABRA[/caption] Filmmakers from Germany, Argentina, Spain, and Russia will develop their audiovisual projects within the framework of the Ikusmira Berriak program, which is celebrating its fourth edition this year. The selection committee, which is comprised of members from the Tabakalera International Centre for Contemporary Culture, the San Sebastian Film Festival and, for the first time, Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola, has selected the following projects out of the 155 offerings received from 31 countries: in the international category, El oasis, by Argentine filmmaker Manuel Abramovich (Buenos Aires, 1987) and Dormen os peixes de olhos abertos, by Nele Wohlatz (Hannover, Germany, 1982); in the Spanish filmmaker category, El agua, by Elena López Riera (Orihuela, Spain, 1982); among filmmakers residing in the Basque Autonomous Community, 918 gau, by Arantza Santesteban (Pamplona, Spain, 1979); and among Nest alumni (International Film Students Meeting), Chupacabra, by Grigory Kolomytsev (Krasnodar, Russia, 1990). Projects on daily life in prison, the porn industry, legends, childhood, and alienation inspire the five chosen offerings. The fifth project was chosen thanks to Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola’s partnership in the audiovisual residency program organised by the Tabakalera International Centre for Contemporary Culture and the San Sebastian Film Festival. Several of the filmmakers chosen have enjoyed considerable success at international festivals. Abramovich has premiered his films in Berlin and Karlovy Vary, where he received a special mention, and last year Soldado, his latest film, was shown at Zabaltegi-Tabakalera; López Riera has presented two of her productions at the Director’s Fortnight in Cannes and Locarno; and Nele Wohlatz won the award for Best First Feature in Locarno and Zinebi with El Futuro Perfecto. Kolomytsev was selected two years in a row (2016 and 2017) at Nest, and the Arantza Santesteban’s latest work, co-directed with Irati Gorostidi, was shown at the last Festival in the Zinemira selection, at the Kimuak catalogue sessions for professionals.
PROJECTS

918 GAU
ARANTZA SANTESTEBAN (SPAIN) In the minuscule cell of a police van, a woman that has spent many years in prison told me: to be able to explain what prison is like, you need to have slept in one. Nearly a decade ago, I spent 918 nights in prison. This film is about what it means to live in an isolated world without images. Director’s bio/filmography A history graduate of the University of the Basque Country. She holds a degree in Creative Documentary from the Centre de Dones Francesca Bonemaison (2012, Barcelona). Likewise, she has trained in Documentary Film Writing with Carmen Ávalos (2013, Barcelona). She has carried out specific training with Víctor Erice (2015, San Sebastian) and Patricio Guzmán (2016, Madrid). In 2012, she began to work as a director in various documentaries, including the noteworthy Passatgeres, her first work. Together with others, she curated the GORPUTZ_GRAFIAK exhibition at the Koldo Mitxelena cultural centre (San Sebastian) in 2015. This work brings together genealogy and research work from the Basque Country’s feminist movement. Together with Irati Gorostidi, she directed Euritan in 2017, which was selected in the 2017 Kimuak catalogue. She has made the rounds at festivals such as San Sebastian, Punto de Vista, Miradas Doc, and the Malaga Film Festival. In 2017, she was selected by the Huarte Centre of Contemporary Art to carry out a curatorial research residency, through which she will curate the Imágenes a través: reflexiones sobre imágenes en conflictos (‘Traversing images: reflections on images in conflict’) international seminar in June of 2018. She is a researcher of the Communication, culture, society, and politics master’s program (UNED-Spain), and studies questions that relate to cinematographic representation, feminism, and contemporary political conflicts. Director’s note There are numerous cinematographic narratives about prison, however, in my opinion, they are always missing something. What these images reflect are not daily conditions in prison, but ways in which the popular consciousness about them works. Cells, yards, fences, organised crime, terrorism, and drugs… These are elements that are a part of our prior characterisations. However, it is practically impossible to represent questions that are fundamental to understanding daily life in prison: the passing of time, isolation from the outside world, the physical and psychological consequences of confinement, opaque spaces of domination, etc. This film will address those topics.
CHUPACABRA
GRIGORY KOLOMYTSEV (RUSSIA) Nine years old Andrey lives on the outskirt of a small village near the White Sea. Nervous, tired of poverty and fatherlessness mother keeps Andrey in constant tension and beats him. She threatens to send his son to the orphanage at the slightest misconduct from his side. Once Andrey finds a dead dog on the seashore in a storm – he decides that it is a mystical beast “Chupacabra”, a goat vampire, which will save his mother from ills and help them to reunite. Andrey heard on TV that whom Chupacabra bites at the full moon will become Chupacabra himself. Andrey scratches his hand the dead fang. Director’s bio/filmography Grigory Kolomytsev (1990, Russia) graduated from the Russian State University of Cinematography (VGIK) in 2017 (workshop of the Kott brothers). His debut short film Three Sisters (2015) was Semifinalist of the 43d Student Academy Awards. His next short work Mary was shown at more then 60 festivals including San Sebastian, Cairo, Camerimage, ZINEBI, etc. In 2017 he shooted his diploma film I’m Staying on the Black sea shore where he spent his childhood. It was shown at San Sebastian, Premiers Plans – Festival D’Angers, Winterthur etc. Chupacabra will be his debut feature film. Director’s note For me it is very important to make a debut picture about childhood – the necessary distance has already been passed, but feelings and memories are still hot. I was born near the sea. There was my first death experence. Sound of waves and wind is the sound of my childhood, tears of mother is my main humane feeling. Andrey, this small autistic boy, sincerely believes that there is no death, that he can find love by sacrificing himself. This is a film about the ordeal of a little Holy child. It is a “Life of Saint Andrey”.
DORMEN OS PEIXES DE OLHOS ABERTOS
NELE WOHLATZ (GERMANY) Three outsiders in a tropical city, passing through places that could be anywhere. A condominium tower with white, empty rooms, made in China bric-a-brac stores, a shark-infested beach, the sea. Lixue, Ah, and Bo live in a reality that sometimes seems like fiction and, perhaps, a prediction of the future for the world’s cities. Three verses in an incomplete song, but who is speaking through whom? The alienation of the tree, who are so different, yet so similar. Director’s bio/filmography Nele Wohlatz (1982, Hannover) studied art and film in Karlsruhe and Buenos Aires. She created the short films La mochila perfecta and Tres oraciones sobre la Argentina, and co-directed Ricardo Bär. The first full-length film she directed on her own was El futuro perfecto, which was shown at more than 60 international festivals and won numerous awards, including such as the Best First Feature award at Locarno. Director’s note Recife is a city with a great deal of history, yet it seems that urban development is focused on erasing its mark and replacing it with the feeling of an airport: generic towers with private security surrounded by high walls, shopping centres, and urban highways that connect these locations. I want to make a film could take place anywhere, because it is about people that came for different reasons, but do not belong in their new city. After my first visit to Recife I thought, why not here? Behind its anonymous face, the city is full of ruptures, warmth, and peculiarities.
EL AGUA
ELENA LÓPEZ RIERA (SPAIN) It is summertime, and the threat of a powerful storm hangs over a town in the Spanish Levant. Ana is 17 years old and has grown up in the shadows of her mother who disappeared in the last flood, becoming phantasmagorical legend, a character for the townswomen who say that the water there is always mixed with death. In this electric atmosphere before the storm, Ana meets Jose, her first love. Director’s bio/filmography Elena López holds a doctorate in Audiovisual Communication and is a filmmaker. She has directed Pueblo (2015), which debuted at the Director’s Fortnight in Cannes, and Las vísceras (2016), which premiered at the Locarno Festival. She is a member of the Lacasinegra collective, through which she co-directed Pas à Genève. She has also worked as a producer for the Seville, Belfort, and Visions du Réel festivals. Director’s note I was born in Orihuela, a town in the Spanish Levant divided by the Segura, one of Europe’s most polluted rivers. I grew up with my mother, my grandmother, and my aunts, surrounded by women that used to tell all kinds of stories to take the ease off the long afternoons of asphyxiating heat. These stories almost always had a true origin (based on events, secrets whispered between neighbours, or family stories), but changed with each new version until some of them became truly fantastic tales. This is surely why I decided, one day, to make films. It was my way of participating in this popular, collective tale that does not distinguish between history and poetry.
EL OASIS
MANUEL ABRAMOVICH (ARGENTINA) “Why do you want to do porn?” they ask at the casting. “Because I love to feign pleasure”. How does pleasure itself become a performance? If an adult film actor transforms their sexuality into a show, where do they find true pleasure? Director’s bio/filmography Manuel Abramovich (Buenos Aires, 1987) is a director, producer, and directory of photography. His work challenges the limits between reality and fiction, and reflects on the concept of an author in so-called ‘documentary filmmaking’. He has directed La Reina (2013), Las Luces (2014), Solar (2016), Soldado (2017), and Años Luz (2017). His works have received numerous awards, and have been shown at festivals and artistic institutions such as the Berlinale, Venice, San Sebastian, MoMA, Cinéma du Réel, IDFA, Tribeca, Tabakalera, Film Society of Lincoln Center, BAFICI, and Documenta Madrid. He was selected for various grants and residencies, including the Fondo Nacional de las Artes (Buenos Aires), Tres Puertos (Mexico and Chile), EMARE (Germany), and others. Currently, he is developing a trilogy focused on sex work and pornography in three cities: Berlin, Mexico City, and Buenos Aires. Años Luz, 2017, Argentina/Spain/Brazil, 72′. Soldado, 2017, Argentina, 73′. Solar, 2016, Argentina, 75′. Las Luces, 2014, Argentina, 6′. La Reina, 2013, Argentina, 19′. Director’s note El Oasis is a film on the construction of intimacy as a show. This is also the second piece of a trilogy that I am producing on the male body used as a business, focused on pornography and sex work in three cities (Berlin, Mexico City, and Buenos Aires). I am interested in the porn industry as a context to talk about sex in a world where the self is constructed by others, where we must be connected to exist and be seen. How does the body itself become a performance? How does pleasure act? The five filmmakers will enjoy a residency of six weeks in San Sebastian from 20 August. In the first four, the filmmakers will develop their projects at Tabakalera’s Creator’s Space, and will receive master classes and guidance from members of this edition’s expert committee, which includes Irish producer Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly, Brazilian filmmaker Sergio Oksman and TorinoFilmLab director, Savina Neirotti, who have guided the judges panel in their selection. In the fifth week of the residency, the participants will prepare the pitching session, which involves a project presentation to the industry during the sixth and final week of the residency. The session is part of the San Sebastian Film Festival. The residents will have the opportunity to arrange meetings with attending professionals who are interested in collaborating in their projects, and will receive an access pass to screenings and the Festival’s other industry activities. Ikusmira Berriak will also provide financial support amounting to 25,000 euros, which will be distributed among the projects selected. In addition, REC Grabaketa Estudioa will offer its feature film post-production services as a prize, which is valued at 35,000 euros. Ikusmira Berriak is a program that seeks to involve new talent as well as producers and people from the audiovisual industry who support innovation and new languages. It is organised by Tabakalera, the San Sebastian Film Festival and Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola in collaboration with REC Grabaketa Estudioa and the Basque Film Archive, and is part of the San Sebastian 2016 European Capital of Culture legacy.
Read more
13 Indie Feature Film Projects Selected to Attend Sundance Institute Directors and Screenwriters Labs 2018

Thirteen new independent feature projects from the U.S., Cuba, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, and Palestine have been selected for the 2018 Sundance Institute Directors and Screenwriters Labs.

Read more
20 Feature Films Selected For 2018 IFP Filmmaker Labs

[caption id="attachment_29372" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Lost Bayou by Brian C Miller Richard[/caption] The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) has selected 20 feature films for the IFP Filmmaker Labs, IFP’s year-long fellowship for first-time filmmakers currently in post-production on their debut feature. Combining documentary and narrative features together for the first time, the program begins today, running May 21-25 at the Made in NY Media Center by IFP located in DUMBO, Brooklyn. The Filmmaker Labs continues its dedication to supporting underrepresented voices, with over 60% of this year’s attending Lab Fellows, and over 70% of the directors specifically, being diverse in regards to gender, ethnicity, sexual oreientation, and disability. Furthermore, this year’s Labs projects represent a range of creative visions from all over the world, with films shot around the United States, as well as Brazil, Costa Rica, Ghana, Lebanon, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. “In today’s independent film landscape, with modes of distribution and exhibition in seemingly constant flux, the Filmmaker Labs remain firm in their commitment to supporting the next generation of boundary-pushing filmmakers,” says Joana Vicente, IFP’s Executive Director. “By removing the boundaries between non-fiction and fiction storytelling labs, these ambitious, wildly diverse and highly international Lab projects will receive more opportunities than ever to have their voices heard.”
2018 IFP DOCUMENTARY LAB FELLOWS
512 Hours :For 512 hours, hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world flocked to experience the latest exhibition by acclaimed performance artist, Marina Abramović. Her idea was simple: remove the distractions from everyday life and experience something new. What that experience would be, Abramović had no idea. It was an experiment, she recognized, that could succeed or fail. Adina Istrate (Director, Producer), Giannina La Salvia (Director, Producer), Irina Albita (Co-Producer) Bloodthicker :Bloodthicker is the story of Young Juve, T.Y. and Lil’ Soulja Slim, three young rappers and friends whose fathers were three of the most influential Southern rappers. Their journeys to success are fraught with the appeals of excess and the trappings of street culture, immutably influenced by their fathers’ distinct legacies. Zac Manuel (Writer, Director, DP, Editor), Chris Haney (Writer, Producer), Justin Fontenot (Executive Producer). Border South: Under intense U.S. pressure to stem immigration from Central America, Mexico cracks down on the old trails north, forcing migrants into more dangerous territory. Told against the backdrop of the North American migrant trail, Border South weaves together migrant stories from different vantage points. Raúl O. Paz Pastrana (Director, Producer, DP), Ellen Knechel (Editor, Co-Producer). The Burning Field: The Burning Field is a uniquely intimate portrait of life in an environmental wasteland, as seen through the eyes of four Ghanian children who spend their days burning computers and other electronic appliances in the largest unregulated e-waste dump on earth. Justin Weinrich (Writer, Director, Producer, DP, Editor). Charm Circle: Catalyzed by her sister’s upcoming polyamorous wedding, filmmaker Nira Burstein delves into the most significant partnership she’s been witness to—that of her parents, which is in a constant state of chaos. A meditation on love, family, dreams and sacrifice, Charm Circle explores what makes marriage a tie that binds. Nira Burstein (Writer, Director, DP), Jameka Autry (Producer). Chèche Lavi (Looking for Life): A month before the presidential election of 2016, thousands of Haitian refugees appear at the US-Mexico border in Tijuana. Among them are Robens and James, two friends whose American dream unravels in the eye of a complex geopolitical storm. With no way forward and no way back, what comes next for these travelers? Sam Ellison (Director, DP), Abraham Ávila (Producer), Rachel Cantave (Producer). Flood: A filmmaker tries to fix her problems with her evangelical father in a screenplay with a happy ending. When her plan backfires, she quits writing lines, starts to listen, and becomes a character in her own movie. Katy Scoggin (Writer, Director, Producer, DP) The In Between: At the intersection of northern Mexico and Southwest Texas exists a symbiotic community spanning two countries. Through a collection of interweaving vignettes, The In Between explores the border and is a poetic ode to the greater reality of it, offering a nuanced and intimate portrait of a place and its people at the heart of Mexican-American identity. Robie Flores (Director, Producer, DP, Editor), Alejandro Flores (Producer, DP). A Machine to Live In: This sci-fi documentary paints a complex portrait of life and myth in the space-age city of Brasilia, a sixties-era architectural mega-project, and the flourishing landscape of cults, religious movements, and transcendental spaces that have emerged around it. The film is assembled from found documents and texts from key figures who were called to chronicle this monumental social experiment. Yoni Goldstein (Writer, Director), Meredith Zielke (Director, Editor), Sebastian Alvarez (Producer). Socks on Fire — Uncle John and the Copper Headed Water Rattlers :A failed poet takes up cinematic arms when he returns home to Hokes Bluff, Alabama to discover that his aunt has locked his drag-queen uncle out of the family home. Through a series of stylized reenactments and an editorial investigation into family VHS footage, Socks on Fire documents the fluidity of identity, personality, and performance in one particular place, among one particular family. Bo McGuire (Writer, Director), Tatiana Bears (Producer), Max Allman (Editor).
2018 IFP NARRATIVE LAB FELLOWS
1982: An 11-year-old boy is determined to tell a girl in his class that he loves her but has trouble finding the courage to do so until the unexpected occurs; an air invasion reaches Beirut and the school is being evacuated. He gets even more determined. Oualid Mouaness (Director, Writer). Aquí y Ahora: Lara’s world takes an unexpected turn when she decides to leave her home country of Costa Rica for the first time to join a dance company in Berlin. Paz León (Director, Writer). Clementine: A heartbroken woman steals away to her estranged lover’s lake house and becomes entangled with a teenage girl. Lara Jean Gallagher (Director, Writer), Aimee Lynn Barneburg (Producer), Alexander Morris (Editor). House of Hummingbird: Seoul, 1994 — In the year the Seongsu bridge collapsed, a teenage girl named Eunhee wanders the city searching for love. Bora Kim (Director, Writer, Producer), Zoe Sua Cho (Producer, Editor). Lost Bayou: After news of her mother’s death, a struggling addict ventures out into the Louisiana swampland to reconnect with her estranged “traiteur” (Cajun faith healer) father, only to discover he is hiding a troubling secret aboard his houseboat. Brian C Miller Richard (Director, Editor), Kenneth Reynolds (Producer), Hunter Burke (Producer, Writer). Nhomlaau: A young South Sudanese woman is staggering away from a past event that contradicts the way she was brought up. Tormented with guilt and condemnation, she tries to discover who she really is and seek liberty. Asantewaa Prempeh (Director, Writer), Natalie Eakin (Producer), Emily Iason (Producer). Noah Land: Omer struggles to fulfill his father’s dying wish to be buried under the “Noah Tree” – a tree his father swears he planted but the surrounding village believes that the tree was planted centuries ago by Noah the prophet. Cenk Ertürk (Director, Writer), Alp Ertürk (Producer). Sanzaru: As dementia engulfs her employer, a fragile home health aide begins to question her own sanity. Xia Magnus (Director, Writer), Alyssa Polk (Producer), Joshua Raymond Lee (Editor). Saul at Night: With an odd worldwide curfew in place, one man’s life of solitude is interrupted when he meets another woman who suffers from the same bizarre affliction that he does. Cory Santilli (Director), Kentucker Audley (Co-producer), Bart Breve (Editor). Siberia and Him: Two men fall into forbidden love in a rundown town of Siberia, Russia. Viatcheslav Kopturevskiy (Director, Writer), Anya Elnikova (Producer), Wayland Bell (Cinematographer).
2018 Filmmaker Lab Leaders
Jennifer MacArthur, Producer (Whose Streets?) and Media Strategist (Borderline Media) Heidi Reinberg, Producer (93QUEEN) Shrihari Sathe, Producer (It Felt Like Love; A Woman, A Part) Pierce Varous, Producer (Always Shine, H.); Founder, Nice Dissolve Under the leadership of IFP Deputy Director & Head of Programming, Amy Dotson, Senior Director of Programming, Milton Tabbot, and Senior Program Manager & Producer, Zach Mandinach, the Labs will support the creative teams as they prepare to finish and release their films into the world. Now in its fourteenth year, the IFP Filmmaker Labs support first-time feature filmmakers when they need it most: through the completion, marketing, and distribution of their debut narrative and documentary features. Each year, IFP selects ten narrative feature films and documentary feature films currently in post-production for the Labs. Through their participation, Filmmaker Labs Fellows receive support from IFP Staff and mentorship from leading industry members and filmmakers. Selected Fellows take part in three modules of the Lab: the Time Warner Foundation Completion Lab in May, IFP Week in September, and a Marketing & Distribution Lab in November. Over the course of these first five days of the Lab program, known as the Time Warner Foundation Completion Lab, Lab Fellows will receive knowledge, resources and mentorship in regards to editing, music composing & supervison, sound design, post-production budget, as well as developing marketing materials and festival stratagies, sales & distribution plans, and building a sense of career sustainability as independent artists. Alumni of the IFP Labs recently came off a successful year, on the festival ciricuit and in theatrical release. Recent projects of note include Elan and Jonathan Bogarín’s 306 Hollywood, Christina Choe’s Nancy, Paula Eiselt’s 93QUEEN, Nijla Mu’min’s Jinn, RaMell Ross’ Hale County This Morning, This Evening, Sandi Tan’s Shirkers, Cathy Yan’s Dead Pigs, and more. Past Lab Fellows launching new work this past year include Dee Rees, Chloé Zhao, Alexandre Moors, Matt Ruskin, Nanfu Wang, Laura Checkoway, Penny Lane, and PJ Raval, as well as many others that continue to expand their careers in audio storytelling, new media, and television, with past Lab Fellows writing or directing for shows such as Atlanta, The Girlfriend Experience, Girls, Queen of the South, and Queen Sugar. image credit
Read more
President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama to Produce Documentaries , Docu-series for Netflix

President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have entered into a multi-year agreement to produce films and series with Netflix. The Obamas will produce a diverse mix of content, including the potential for scripted series, unscripted series, docu-series, documentaries and features. These projects will be available to the 125 million member Netflix households in 190 countries. The Obamas have established Higher Ground Productions as the entity under which they will produce content for Netflix. “One of the simple joys of our time in public service was getting to meet so many fascinating people from all walks of life, and to help them share their experiences with a wider audience,” said President Obama. “That’s why Michelle and I are so excited to partner with Netflix – we hope to cultivate and curate the talented, inspiring, creative voices who are able to promote greater empathy and understanding between peoples, and help them share their stories with the entire world.” “Barack and I have always believed in the power of storytelling to inspire us, to make us think differently about the world around us, and to help us open our minds and hearts to others,” said Mrs. Obama. “Netflix’s unparalleled service is a natural fit for the kinds of stories we want to share, and we look forward to starting this exciting new partnership.” “Barack and Michelle Obama are among the world’s most respected and highly-recognized public figures and are uniquely positioned to discover and highlight stories of people who make a difference in their communities and strive to change the world for the better,” said Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos. “We are incredibly proud they have chosen to make Netflix the home for their formidable storytelling abilities.”
Read more
5 Indie Films Win $100,000 in Funding from SFFILM and Westridge Foundation

Five filmmaking teams will receive a total of $100,000 in funding in the inaugural round of SFFILM Westridge Grants to help support the screenwriting and project development stages of their narrative feature films. SFFILM Westridge Grants, which are awarded twice annually, are designed for US-based filmmakers whose stories take place primarily in the United States and focus on the significant social issues and questions of our time. The next application period is now open. SFFILM Westridge Grants provide film projects support in their critical early stages, safeguarding filmmakers’ creative processes and allowing artists to concentrate on thoughtfully developing their stories while building the right strategy and infrastructure to guide them through financing and production. In addition to cash grants, recipients will benefit from SFFILM’s comprehensive and dynamic artist development program, SFFILM Makers, as well as support and counsel from SFFILM and Westridge Foundation staff and the 2018 FilmHouse Mentor Advisory Board. All grantees will spend one week in the Bay Area attending a retreat geared towards honing their craft, strengthening their scripts, and making connections to other filmmakers and industry professionals. The panelists who reviewed the finalists’ submissions were Noah Cowan, SFFILM Executive Director; Lauren Kushner, SFFILM Senior Manager of Artist Development; Nicole Perlman, screenwriter (Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel) and 2018 FilmHouse screenwriting mentor; Shelby Rachleff, Westridge Foundation Program Manager; and Caroline von Kühn, SFFILM Director of Artist Development. “The Westridge Foundation is an incredible new ally in empowering US-based filmmakers grounded in Bay Area values,” said Caroline von Kühn, SFFILM Director of Artist Development. “This grant supports artists grappling with important topics in our country’s culture. This group of inaugural winners, through their valuable perspectives and historically underrepresented voices, will shape how we engage in conversations about these topics, collectively and with one another.” “We are proud to provide resources to these filmmakers in the crucial early stages of telling their unique, important stories,” said Shelby Rachleff, Westridge Foundation Program Manager. “Westridge is thrilled to partner with SFFILM both in supporting these five outstanding projects, and in helping to amplify the powerful and nuanced voices of the filmmakers who are bringing them to life.”
SPRING 2018 SFFILM WESTRIDGE GRANT WINNERS
Back Seat Lana Wilson, writer/director; Shrihari Sathe, producer – screenwriting – $20,000 An immigrant woman leaves her young son alone in the back seat of a car, setting off a firestorm of controversy in the liberal community where she lives. As the town’s latent xenophobia bubbles to the surface, and the woman’s parenting abilities are scrutinized in increasingly disturbing ways, she fights to prove that she’s a worthy mother — to the town, to her children, and to herself. Mandeville Russell Nichols, writer – screenwriting – $20,000 A traumatized Black boy, whose brother was killed by a cop, volunteers for an experiment that tests his powers of prediction to prevent future murders. Miss Juneteenth Channing Godfrey Peoples, writer/director; Neil Creque Williams, producer – development – $20,000 Turquoise, a former beauty pageant queen turned hardworking single mother, enrolls her rebellious daughter, Kai, in the “Miss Juneteenth” pageant to compete for the grand prize — a college scholarship. Determined to keep Kai from making her same mistakes in life, Turquoise saves her tips from working at a juke joint to buy her daughter the grandest pageant dress of all. However, Kai is more interested in her school’s dance team and chasing her high school crush. Stay Awake Jaime Sisley, writer/director; Kelly Thomas and David Ariniello, producers – development – $20,000 For years, teen brothers Ethan and Derek Reynolds have tried to help their mother, Michelle, overcome her prescription drug addiction with little success. When Michelle goes missing after another binge, Ethan and Derek begin to question whether they should continue trying to find and help Michelle, or move on with their lives at the expanse of saving her. Taliesin Maya Perez, writer – screenwriting – $20,000 Based on actual events, Taliesin tells the story of a young Black couple hired to work at the infamous Taliesin home of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The remote location becomes a pressure cooker, and tensions around race and gender boil over with tragic consequences — the most horrific mass murder in Wisconsin history.
Read more
Sundance Institute Awards Over Half a Million Dollars to Groundbreaking Documentary Projects

[caption id="attachment_29305" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Central Airport THF[/caption] The Sundance Institute will award $585,000 in targeted grants to twenty-three projects from independent nonfiction storytellers. 57% of the supported projects are helmed by women, and 48% are from outside the U.S.; 34% of grantees are first-time feature filmmakers. “These artists are hard at work on projects that capture the world as it is, as well as imagining it as it could be,” said Hajnal Molnar-Szakacs, the recently-appointed Director of the Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Fund. “The stories here deeply reflect my team’s collaborative vision for this fund and we are thrilled to highlight voices with richly diverse sensibilities and perspectives. In our current cultural and political moment, independent storytelling is vital: to help make meaning and present a layered, complex interpretation of truth.” Sundance Institute has a long history and firm commitment to championing the most distinctive nonfiction films from around the world. Recently-supported films include Hale County This Morning This Evening; I Am Not Your Negro; Last Men in Aleppo; An Insignificant Man; Casting JonBenet; Strong Island; Hooligan Sparrow; Newtown and Weiner.
Sundance Institute 2018 Documentary Fund grantees

DEVELOPMENT
Body Parts (United States) Director: Kristy Guevara-Flanagan Producer: Helen Hood Scheer Body Parts (working title) is a documentary feature exploring the nude female body in Hollywood media—hyper-sexualized, under attack, exploited on- and off- screen. From a wide range of perspectives, the film examines how actresses protect their bodies, how studios push back, and how unions have fought for better standards. The film also looks at how the female and queer gaze are redefining desire and sexuality. From the first body doubles in the 1920s to the digital enhancements of the internet age, the film asks: when scenes are about sex, to whom are they sexy? By what standards? How do race, age and body type factor in? The Hunt (United States) Directors: Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw Producers: Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw The Hunt is an immersive, cinematic documentary that will explore the mysterious and magical world of Italian truffle hunters and their quest for the world’s rarest and most valuable ingredient. The film will follow an ensemble of spirited old truffle hunters and their prized dogs who lead them through secret Piedmont forests during the yearly “gold rush” when the elusive white Alba truffle is in season. The narrative will capture their struggle to hold onto a centuries-old tradition in the face of globalization, climate change, and their own mortality in a place where mystery and magic still flourish. Mars (Switzerland, France) Director: Dea Gjinovci Producers: Britta Rindelaub, Jasmin Basic and Sophie Faudel Ibadeta and Djeneta Demiri have been in a coma for several years, victims of the “syndrome of resignation”. Traumatized, their bodies mysteriously stopped working. In central Sweden, the whole family is still trying to rebuild a normal life, far from their native Kosovo. But so far, their asylum applications have been refused one after the other. Furkan, 10, is the youngest in the family. He tries to escape this situation by building his own rocket to fulfill his dream: to go live on Mars to save his sisters. The Mole Agent (Chile) Director: Maite Alberdi Producer: Marcela Santibañez Romulo is a private investigator who has been hired to do a study of a retirement home where residents are thought to be victims of abuse. To this end, he trains an 83-year-old man, to live as The Mole Agent inside the home. Once the mole has infiltrated the facility, he struggles to assume his role as he gradually becomes more familiar with the residents and the routine at the home in pursuit of the truth. Untitled Religious Activism Documentary (United States) Director: Penny Lane Producer: Gabriel Sedgwick A wildly entertaining and surprising look at the intersection of faith and activism, that follows one of the most controversial religious movements in modern American history. Third River Film (United States) Director and Producer: Robb Moss The third of a trilogy, the film explores the lives of five friends over forty years, from being young to becoming old–a film about time, friendship, and the mysteries of aging.
PRODUCTION
Enemies of the State (United States) Director: Sonia Kennebeck Producer: Ines Hofmann Kanna An average American family becomes entangled in a bizarre web of espionage and corporate secrets when their hacker son is targeted by the U.S. government, making them all Enemies of the State. Mississippi Red (United States) Director: Kelly Duane de la Vega Producer: Jessica Anthony In Mississippi, women have fewer rights or protections than in any other part of the country. Mississippi Red looks at the status of women in the deep South through the lens of race, religion and the political establishment with a constellation of close-to-the-bone stories that revolve around the fight to pass an equal pay law through a resistant male dominated state legislature. Untitled Safe Schools Project (United States) Director: Todd Chandler Producer: Danielle Varga Untitled Safe Schools Project explores the landscape of 21st century school safety in the United States, illuminating the complex ways in which we as a nation struggle to understand and prevent violence, and endeavor to create safer schools. Scheme Birds (United Kingdom, Sweden) Directors: Ellen Fiske, Ellinor Hallin Producers: Ruth Reid, Mario Adamson Scheme Birds is the story of Gemma, a teenage troublemaker, growing up in a world of violence and pigeons. From childhood to motherhood, her life unfolds on screen as childish games turn towards serious crime. The Silhouettes (Iran, Philippines) Director: Afsaneh Salari Producers: Jewel Maranan, Afsaneh Salari At the height of the USSR’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1982, 1.5 million Afghans took a long journey to the border of Iran to flee war. Taghi, born after that generation and unwilling to inherit the limitations of his parents’ refugee status, navigates outside the protective walls of his family to trace his identity and the doors to his future in the homeland he never knew. As war continues to rage in Afghanistan, what future awaits him in which land? TransFormed (United States) Director: Lisa Leeman Producers: Lisa Leeman, Thomas G. Miller What are the costs of living an authentic life? Twenty-six years after intimately chronicling artist Gabi P.’s gender transition in the groundbreaking film Metamorphosis (Sundance’s Filmmakers Trophy; POV), Lisa Leeman reconnects with Gabi. Now age 65, one year sober, and a devout Christian, Gabi stands at a new and unexpected crossroads. Probing universal themes of aging, faith, and identity, TransFormed is a story of struggle and resiliency- against the backdrop of society’s persistent transphobia. When Claude Got Shot (working title) (United States) Director and Producer: Brad Lichtenstein Three strangers are tragically united and changed forever by a weekend of gun violence in When Claude Got Shot, an intimate and unflinching personal documentary that investigates the problem of gun violence in America’s black communities. Made possible with support from The Kendeda Fund Untitled (United States, Kenya) Director: Daphne Matziaraki Producers: Toni Kamau, Maya Craig This feature documentary explores land use in Africa. It examines the ubiquitously 21st Century question of who controls natural resources, and at what cost?
POST PRODUCTION
Caballerango (Mexico, United States) Director: Juan Pablo González Producers: Jamie Gonçalves, Makena Buchanan, Ilana Coleman A family reflects on a young man’s disappearance in a Mexican village under the watchful eyes of the horse who saw him last. Central Airport THF (Germany, France) Director: Karim Aïnouz Producer: Felix von Boehm Co-Producers: Charlotte Uzu, Joana Mariani, Diane Maia Berlin’s historic defunct Tempelhof Airport remains a place of arrivals and departures. Today its massive hangars are used as one of Germany’s largest emergency shelters for asylum seekers, like 18-year-old Syrian student Ibrahim and Iraqi physiotherapist Qutaiba. As they adjust to a transitory daily life of social services interviews, German lessons and medical exams, they try to cope with homesickness and the anxiety of whether or not they will gain residency or be deported. The Gospel of Eureka (United States) Directors: Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher Producer: Charlotte Cook Love, faith and civil rights collide in a southern town as evangelical Christians and drag queens step into the spotlight to dismantle stereotypes. Gospel drag shows and passion plays set the stage for one hell of a show. Narrated by Mx Justin Vivian Bond. In Real Life (United States) Director: Liza Mandelup Producers: Bert Hamelinck, Lauren Cioffi This intimate contemplation on modern youth follows 16-year-old Austyn Tester as he flirts with the world of social media fame. Driven by a wide-eyed desire for stardom, Austyn cultivates a singularly positive online persona that’s at odds with growing up in small town Tennessee. After trading in a high school education for management and devoted fangirl followers, Austyn confronts his own motivation and questions whether he’s cut out for the business of virtual connection. Kids (Australia) Director: Maya Newell Producers: Sophie Hyde, Rachel Nanninaaq Edwardson, Larissa Behrendt, Maya Newell Like many Indigenous kids before him, 10-year-old Dujuan is fighting an enemy he cannot see, which makes him strike out at everything. When he cannot run, nor fight alone, he realises that not only has he inherited the trauma and dispossession of his land, but also the resilience and resistance of many generations of his people which holds the key to his future. Made with and alongside those represented, this feature doc by Australian filmmaker Maya Newell (Gayby Baby) is the second in her series about child perspectives. Midnight Family (United States, Mexico) Director: Luke Lorentzen Producers: Kellen Quinn, Daniela Alatorre, Elena Fortes, Luke Lorentzen In Mexico City’s wealthiest neighborhoods, the Ochoa family runs a private ambulance, competing with other for-profit EMTs for patients in need of urgent help. As they try to make a living in this cutthroat industry, they struggle to keep their financial needs from compromising the people in their care. Midnight Traveler (United States, Afghanistan) Director: Hassan Fazili Producer: Emelie Mahdavian Midnight Traveler follows a family of Afghan filmmakers on the run from the Taliban. Told from refugee-Director Hassan Fazili’s unique first-person perspective, their story provides unprecedented access to the complex refugee encounter with the West. The Seer and the Unseen (United States) Director: Sara Dosa Producer: Shane Boris The Seer and the Unseen is an unexpected environmental film about invisible elves, the free market and the surprising power of belief told through the story of an Icelandic woman’s quest to save a threatened landscape and the beloved home her family has lived in for generations. Unfolding through vérité magical realism, the film explores the unseen forces that shape our visible worlds and transform our natural landscapes – and, the profound meaning of home.
Read more
Jodie Foster And Dean Tavoularis To Receive AFI Conservatory Honorary Degrees

The American Film Institute (AFI) will confer AFI Conservatory Doctorate of Fine Arts degrees honoris causa upon Academy Award-winning actor/director Jodie Foster and Academy Award-winning production designer Dean Tavoularis. They will be recognized for their contributions to the art of the moving image during the AFI Conservatory’s commencement ceremony on June 11, 2018, at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. Foster and Tavoularis join an esteemed group of distinguished past Honorary Degree recipients, including Robert Altman, Maya Angelou, Saul Bass, Kathryn Bigelow, Mel Brooks, Carol Burnett, Anne V. Coates, Clint Eastwood, Roger Ebert, Nora Ephron, James Earl Jones, Lawrence Kasdan, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Angela Lansbury, John Lasseter, Spike Lee, David Lynch, Helen Mirren, Rita Moreno, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Towne, Cicely Tyson, Haskell Wexler and John Williams. See the full list here.
Jodie Foster
Actor, director, producer and icon Jodie Foster has more than 100 screen credits to her name, including an Academy Award® nomination at age 14 for her role in Martin Scorcese’s TAXI DRIVER (1976), and two Academy Award® wins — for her performance as a sexual assault survivor seeking justice in THE ACCUSED (1988), and for her career-defining role as FBI Agent Clarice Starling in Jonathan Demme’s THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991). She also received an Oscar® nomination for NELL (1994), which she co-produced. As an actress, her work includes films as vast and varied as TOM SAWYER (1973), ALICE DOESN’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE (1974), BUGSY MALONE (1976), FREAKY FRIDAY (1976), FOXES (1980), MAVERICK (1994), CONTACT (1997), PANIC ROOM (2002), A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT (2004), FLIGHTPLAN (2005), INSIDE MAN (2006), THE BRAVE ONE (2007), CARNAGE (2011) and ELYSIUM (2013), among others. She next stars in HOTEL ARTEMIS (2018). Her work as a director and producer — which has earned multiple Primetime Emmy® and Directors Guild of America Award nominations — includes LITTLE MAN TATE (1991), HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS (1995), THE BEAVER (2011) and MONEY MONSTER (2016), as well as standout episodes of prestige TV series such as BLACK MIRROR, HOUSE OF CARDS and ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK.
Dean Tavoularis
Dean Tavoularis has collaborated with legendary filmmakers Michelangelo Antonioni, Arthur Penn, Warren Beatty and Roman Polanski to create the iconic and disparate worlds of ZABRISKIE POINT (1970), BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967), BULWORTH (1998) and THE NINTH GATE (1999), respectively — but it is his work with legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola that truly defines his exemplary career as a production designer. His prolific partnership with Coppola began with THE GODFATHER (1972), followed by THE CONVERSATION (1974) and THE GODFATHER PART II (1974), which earned him the Academy Award® for Best Art Direction. His work continued with Coppola on APOCALYPSE NOW (1979), TUCKER: THE MAN AND HIS DREAM (1988) and THE GODFATHER PART III (1990) — all of which earned Tavoularis Oscar® nominations — as well as ONE FROM THE HEART (1981), THE OUTSIDERS (1983), RUMBLE FISH (1983) and PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED (1986). Tavoularis also received an Oscar® nomination for William Friedkin’s THE BRINK’S JOB (1978). Additional credits include THE ESCAPE ARTIST (1982), THE PARENT TRAP (1998) and CARNAGE (2011). He received the prestigious Art Directors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.
Read more
Horror Anthology Series from Guillermo del Toro Coming Soon To Netflix

[caption id="attachment_29217" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Guillermo del Toro[/caption] Academy Award-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is coming to Netflix with a new genre-defining anthology series titled Guillermo del Toro Presents 10 After Midnight. Del Toro will present a collection of personally curated stories, that are both equally sophisticated and horrific. With this first live-action series, del Toro and Netflix extend their collaboration, which began with the award-winning animated series Trollhunters. On Guillermo del Toro Presents 10 After Midnight, creator and executive producer del Toro will bring his own visionary style as both a writer and director to certain episodes. In addition, he will hand pick a team of the genre’s best writers and exciting new filmmakers to bring his selection of stories to life. Del Toro reteams with The Shape of Water producer J. Miles Dale, who serves as executive producer, along with Gary Ungar (Exile Entertainment). Guillermo del Toro Presents 10 After Midnight is a Netflix production, and its first original horror anthology series. Guillermo del Toro is the writer and director of the Academy Award-winning film The Shape of Water, which earned four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Score and Best Production Design. Del Toro is the creator of the critically acclaimed and Emmy Award-winning DreamWorks Trollhunters on Netflix, which will return for a third season later this year. His previous films alternate between Spanish-language dark fantasy pieces, such as The Devil’s Backbone (2001), and Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), winner of three Academy Awards; and American studio movies, such as the vampire superhero action film Blade II (2002), the supernatural adventures Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008); and the science fiction monsters-versus-robots film Pacific Rim (2013).
Read more
Actor Chadwick Boseman Inspires Graduates at Howard University’s 2018 Commencement Ceremony [Video]

[caption id="attachment_29211" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Chadwick Boseman delivers the 2018 commencement address at Howard University.[/caption] Award-winning actor and alumnus Chadwick Boseman delivered the Howard University 2018 commencement address. “I stand here today knowing that my Howard University education prepared me to play Jackie Robinson, James Brown, Thurgood Marshall and T’Challa,” said Boseman. “But what do you do when the principles and standards that were instilled in you at Howard close the doors in front of you? Sometimes you need to get knocked down before you can really figure out what your fight is and how you need to fight it.” Boseman described career obstacles that, although difficult, eventually led him to his true calling. “When you are deciding on next jobs, next steps, further education…you would rather find purpose than a job,” said Boseman. “Purpose crosses disciplines. It is the reason that you are on the planet at this particular time in history. Your very existence is wrapped up in the things you are here to fulfill. Whatever you choose for a career path, remember the struggles along the way are only meant to shape you for your purpose.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIHZypMyQ2s
Read more