Ilgar Najaf’s Pomegranate Orchard has been selected by Azerbaijan as the country’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 90th Academy Awards.
The film which world premiered in the “East of the West” competition of the 2017 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival stars Qurban Ismayilov, Anar Hasanov, Samimi Farkhadov and Hasan Agayev.
In Pomegranate Orchard, Gabil returns home to the humble family farmstead, surrounded by an orchard of venerable pomegranate trees; since his sudden departure twelve years ago he was never once in contact. However, the deep emotional scars he left behind cannot be erased from one day to the next.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVm8N-S0Ma4News
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Ilgar Najaf’s POMEGRANATE ORCHARD is Azerbaijan’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
Ilgar Najaf’s Pomegranate Orchard has been selected by Azerbaijan as the country’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 90th Academy Awards.
The film which world premiered in the “East of the West” competition of the 2017 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival stars Qurban Ismayilov, Anar Hasanov, Samimi Farkhadov and Hasan Agayev.
In Pomegranate Orchard, Gabil returns home to the humble family farmstead, surrounded by an orchard of venerable pomegranate trees; since his sudden departure twelve years ago he was never once in contact. However, the deep emotional scars he left behind cannot be erased from one day to the next.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVm8N-S0Ma4
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Morgan Freeman to Receive 2017 SAG Life Achievement Award
Academy Award winning actor Morgan Freeman has been named the 54th recipient of SAG-AFTRA’s highest tribute: the SAG Life Achievement Award for career achievement and humanitarian accomplishment. Freeman will be presented the performers union’s top accolade at the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, which will be simulcast live on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018 at 8 p.m. (ET), 7 p.m. (CT), 6 p.m. (MT) and 5 p.m. (PT). Given annually to an actor who fosters the “finest ideals of the acting profession,” the SAG Life Achievement Award will join Freeman’s exceptional catalog of preeminent industry and public honors, which includes a Screen Actors Guild Award, an Academy Award, HFPA’s Cecil B. DeMille Award®, an AFI Lifetime Achievement Award, seven Image Awards, a Silver Berlin Bear, several Obies®, a Kennedy Center Honor, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“I am thrilled to announce Morgan Freeman as this year’s recipient of the SAG Life Achievement Award. Some actors spend their entire careers waiting for the perfect role. Morgan showed us that true perfection is what a performer brings to the part,” said SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris. “He is innovative, fearless and completely unbound by expectations. As a chauffeur, convicted murderer, boxing gym attendant, pimp or president, Morgan fully realized every character, baring their souls and showcasing their humanity. It has been a privilege to see his genius at work.”
A Life Devoted to His Art and Craft
Freeman first earned recognition for his acting skills at age 12, when he won a statewide drama competition in Mississippi. As a young actor he paid his dues in small roles, pausing only to serve in the U.S. Air Force. Theater beckoned first, then film and television. As he breathed life into memorable characters, widespread critical acclaim came accompanied by enraptured audiences and commercial success. Freeman invariably ranks as one of the five worldwide top-grossing actors of all time, with his films having earned over $4.5 billion in cumulative ticket sales.An Indelible Presence in Film
Freeman has earned four Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. He received the SAG Awards Actor® for his performance in the Best Picture Oscar® winning Million Dollar Baby, a role that also garnered him a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award and an Image Award. Two films starring Freeman are held in the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry: Unforgiven, which received four Oscars, and The Shawshank Redemption, for which Freeman received Best Actor nominations for a SAG Award, Oscar and a Golden Globe. Among Freeman’s extensive list of credits – now nearing 100 films – another milestone is Invictus. His portrayal of Nelson Mandela received the National Board of Review Award for Best Actor and an Image Award along with nominations for another SAG Award, Oscar and Golden Globe. In addition, the picture was produced by Revelations Entertainment, the company Freeman and Lori McCreary co-founded in 1996 with a mission “to produce films that reveal truth” and to stay in the forefront of digital entertainment. Other credits in that still-growing list include Street Smart (Freeman’s 1987 breakthrough role), The Dark Knight, The Bucket List, Glory, Lean on Me, Se7en, Amistad, Bruce Almighty, and Along Came a Spider. Further demonstrating his astonishing versatility, Freeman most recently starred in Warner Bros.’ Going In Style, Paramount Pictures’ Ben-Hur, Summit Entertainment’s Now You See Me 2 and Focus Features’ London Has Fallen. Freeman’s upcoming films include Broad Green Pictures’ Villa Capri and Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.Integrity and Inspiration in Television
Freeman first became nationally known and loved in 1971 when he starred in the seminal Children’s Television Workshop (CTW) show The Electric Company, for which he created characters including the iconic Easy Reader. Known as the most popular instructional show on television over its six-year run, the series won an Emmy® for Outstanding Children’s Series and a Grammy® for its soundtrack album. Freeman’s indelible impact on a generation was reflected when fellow cast member Rita Moreno, a life-long friend he met on the show, asked that he presented her with the 50th SAG Life Achievement Award. Most recently, Freeman is an executive producer with McCreary on the Revelations Entertainment series Madam Secretary for CBS, which will air its fourth season starting in October. Freeman hosts and is an executive producer for the Revelations Entertainment, three-time Emmy nominated series Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman, which recently completed its seventh season for the Science Channel. Also through Revelations, he hosted the Emmy nominated event series The Story of God with Morgan Freeman on the National Geographic Channel, which completed its second season. Through Revelations, he will next host The Story of Us with Morgan Freeman, which premieres October 11 on the National Geographic Channel.A Respected, Trusted Voice
Freeman’s is one of the world’s most recognizable and beloved voices. He most recently narrated The C Word, the latest in a string of prestigious documentaries that includes the IMAX film Island of Lemurs: Madagascar, Science Channel’s Stem Cell Universe with Stephen Hawking, and the informative IMAX feature We the People. Three previous narrations are the Peabody Award winning ESPN 30 For 30 documentary The 16th Man and two Academy Award-winning documentaries, The Long Way Home and The March of the Penguins. He could also be heard in the presidential campaigns for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. In a lighter vein, Freeman was the overwhelming choice when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg asked the millions of Facebook users what voice Zuckerman’s smart home system should have.Authenticity and Insight on Stage
After earlier roles in the off-Broadway stage productions of The Niggerlovers and the transformational all African-American production of Hello Dolly, Freeman’s 1978 role as Zeke in The Mighty Gents earned him a Drama Desk Award and a Tony Award® nomination. His arresting, moving performances went on to earn three Obie Awards even before he portrayed Hoke Colburn in Alfred Uhry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Driving Miss Daisy, a role for which Freeman received an Oscar nomination when he reprised it for the Best Picture Oscar winning film of the same name. Freeman most recently trod the boards in the triumphant revival of Clifford Odets’ The Country Girl, directed by Mike Nichols.Helping to Shape the Future
In 1973 Freeman co-founded the Frank Silvera Writers’ Workshop, now in its 37th season, which supports and nurtures promising African-American playwrights to ensure those voices can be heard. He additionally supports Artists for a New South Africa and the Campaign for Female Education, organizations working to create hope and better lives for countless people. Freeman provides a boost for another group of artists on an immediately practical level. He co-owns the Ground Zero Blues Club®, which celebrates and features performances by authentic blues musicians. It’s next-door to the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in the heart of the area’s rich blues heritage that Freeman loves. In his spare time, Freeman enjoys the freedom of both sea and sky – he is a long-time sailor and has earned a private pilot’s license.
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51 Feature Films Selected for 2017 European Film Awards
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IN TIMES OF FADING LIGHT (IN ZEITEN DES ABNEHMENDEN LICHTS)[/caption]
The European Film Academy announced the titles of the 51 films on this year’s 2017 EFA Feature Film Selection, the list of feature fiction films recommended for a nomination for the European Film Awards 2017! With 31 European countries represented, the list once again illustrates the great diversity in European cinema.
In the coming weeks, the over 3,000 members of the European Film Academy will vote for the nominations in the categories European Film, Director, Actor, Actress and Screenwriter. The nominations will then be announced on November 4 at the Seville European Film Festival in Spain. A seven-member jury will decide on the awards recipients in the categories European Cinematographer, Editor, Production Designer, Costume Designer, Hair & Make-up Artist, Composer and Sound Designer.
The 30th European Film Awards ceremony will take place on December 9 in Berlin.
2017 EFA Feature Film Selection
A CIAMBRA Italy, USA, France, Sweden 120 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Jonas Carpignano PRODUCED BY Jon Coplon A DATE FOR MAD MARY Ireland 82 min DIRECTED BY Darren Thornton WRITTEN BY Darren Thornton & Colin Thornton PRODUCED BY Ed Guiney & Juliette Bonass A GENTLE CREATURE КРОТКАЯ (KROTKAYA) France, Germany, Lithuania, Netherlands 143 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Sergei Loznitsa PRODUCED BY Marianne Slot A JEW MUST DIE UN JUIF POUR L’EXEMPLE Switzerland 73 min DIRECTED BY Jacob Berger WRITTEN BY Jacob Berger, Aude Py & Michel Fessler PRODUCED BY Ruth Waldburger A MONSTER CALLS Spain 107 min DIRECTED BY J.A. Bayona WRITTEN BY Patrick Ness PRODUCED BY Belén Atienza, Ghislain Barrois & Álvaro Augustín AFTERIMAGE POWIDOKI Poland 100 min DIRECTED BY Andrzej Wajda WRITTEN BY Andrzej Mularczyk PRODUCED BY Michał Kwieciński ANA, MON AMOUR Romania, Germany, France 125 min DIRECTED BY Călin Peter Netzer WRITTEN BY Călin Peter Netzer, Cezar Paul Bădescu & Iulia Lumânare PRODUCED BY Călin Peter Netzer & Oana Iancu BIG BIG WORLD KOCA DÜNYA Turkey 101 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Reha Erdem PRODUCED BY Ömer Atay BPM (BEATS PER MINUTE) 120 BATTEMENTS PAR MINUTE France 145 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Robin Campillo PRODUCED BY Marie-Ange Luciani & Hugues Charbonneau BRIGHT SUNSHINE IN UN BEAU SOLEIL INTÉRIEUR France 94 min DIRECTED BY Claire Denis WRITTEN BY Claire Denis & Christine Angot PRODUCED BY Olivier Delbosc BRIMSTONE Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Sweden, UK, Hungary 148 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Martin Koolhoven PRODUCED BY Els Vandevorst & Uwe Schott FORTUNATA Italy 103 min DIRECTED BY Sergio Castellitto WRITTEN BY Margaret Mazzantini PRODUCED BY Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima, Carlotta Calori & Viola Prestieri FRANTZ France, Germany 117 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY François Ozon PRODUCED BY Eric Altmayer, Nicolas Altmayer, Stefan Arndt & Uwe Schott FROST Lithuania, France, Poland, Ukraine 120 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Sharunas Bartas PRODUCED BY Janja Kralj GODLESS БЕЗБОГ (BEZBOG) Bulgaria, Denmark, France 99 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Ralitza Petrova PRODUCED BY Rossitsa Valkanova, Eva Jakobsen & Laurence Clerc HAPPY END France, Germany, Austria 107 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Michael Haneke PRODUCED BY Margaret Menegoz, Stefan Arndt, Veit Heiduschka & Michael Katz HEARTSTONE HJARTASTEINN Iceland, Denmark 129 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson PRODUCED BY Anton Máni Svansson, Lise Orheim Stender, Jesper Morthorst & Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson HOME Belgium 103 min DIRECTED BY Fien Troch WRITTEN BY Fien Troch & Nico Leunen PRODUCED BY Antonino Lombardo ICE MOTHER BÁBA Z LEDU Czech Republic, Slovakia, France 106 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Bohdan Sláma PRODUCED BY Pavel Strnad & Petr Oukropec IN TIMES OF FADING LIGHT IN ZEITEN DES ABNEHMENDEN LICHTS Germany 101 min DIRECTED BY Matti Geschonneck WRITTEN BY Wolfgang Kohlhaase PRODUCED BY Oliver Berben & Sarah Kirkegaard INDIVISIBLE INDIVISIBILI Italy 104 min DIRECTED BY Edoardo De Angelis WRITTEN BY Nicola Guaglianone, Barbara Petronio, Edoardo De Angelis PRODUCED BY Attilio De Razza & Pierpaolo Verga INSYRIATED Belgium, France 86 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Philippe Van Leeuw PRODUCED BY Guillaume Malandrin ISTANBUL RED ISTANBUL KIRMIZISI Turkey, Italy 110 min DIRECTED BY Ferzan Ozpetek WRITTEN BY Ferzan Ozpetek, Gianni Romoli & Valia Santella PRODUCED BY Tilde Corsi, Gianni Romoli & Necati Akpinar JUPITER’S MOON JUPITER HOLDJA Hungary, Germany 123 min DIRECTED BY Kornél Mundruczó WRITTEN BY Kata Wéber PRODUCED BY Viktória Petrányi, Michael Weber, Viola Fügen & Michel Merkt LADY MACBETH UK 89 min DIRECTED BY William Oldroyd WRITTEN BY Alice Birch PRODUCED BY Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly LAYLA M. Netherlands, Jordan, Belgium, Germany 98 min. DIRECTED BY Mijke de Jong WRITTEN BY Jan Eilander & Mijke de Jong PRODUCED BY Frans van Gestel, Arnold Heslenfeld & Laurette Schillings LOVELESS НЕЛЮБОВЬ (NELYUBOV) Russia, Belgium, Germany, France 127 min DIRECTED BY Andrey Zvyagintsev WRITTEN BY Oleg Negin & Andrey Zvyagintsev PRODUCED BY Alexander Rodnyansky, Sergey Melkumov & Gleb Fetisov MY GRANDMOTHER FANNY KAPLAN МОЯ БАБУСЯ ФАНІ КАПЛАН (MOYA BABUSYA FANI KAPLAN) Ukraine 110 min DIRECTED & PRODUCED BY Olena Demyanenko WRITTEN BY Dmytro Tomashpolskiy & Olena Demyanenko ON BODY AND SOUL TESTRŐL ÉS LÉLEKRŐL Hungary 116 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Ildikó Enyedi PRODUCED BY Mónika Mécs, András Muhi & Ernö Mesterházy PARADISE РАЙ (RAI) Russia, Germany 131 min DIRECTED BY Andrei Konchalovsky WRITTEN BY Andrei Konchalovsky & Elena Kiseleva PRODUCED BY Andrei Konchalovsky & Florian Deyle REQUIEM FOR MRS. J. REKVIJEM ZA GOSPOĐU J. Serbia, Bulgaria, FYR Macedonia, Russia, France 94 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Bojan Vuletić PRODUCED BY Nenad Dukić RETURN TO MONTAUK Germany, France, Ireland 105 min DIRECTED BY Volker Schlöndorff WRITTEN BY Volker Schlöndorff & Colm Tóibìn PRODUCED BY Regina Ziegler, Volker Schlöndorff, Francis Boespflug, Sidonie Dumas, Hartmut Köhler, Stéphane Parthenay, Conor Barry, Til Schweiger, Tom Zickler, Marc Gabizon, Christoph Liedke, John Keville, Mike Downey, Sam Taylor & Rainer Kölmel SAMI BLOOD SAMEBLOD Sweden, Denmark, Norway 110 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Amanda Kernell PRODUCED BY Lars G Lindström SON OF SOFIA O GIOS TIS SOFIAS Greece, Bulgaria, France 111 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Elina Psykou PRODUCED BY Giorgos Karnavas & Konstantinos Kontovrakis SPOOR POKOT Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Sweden, Slovakia 128 min DIRECTED BY Agnieszka Holland & Katarzyna Adamik WRITTEN BY Olga Tokarczuk & Agnieszka Holland PRODUCED BY Krzysztof Zanussi, Janusz Wąchała, Johannes Rexin, Pavla Janoušková Kubečková, Tomáš Hrubý, Fredrik Zander & Jakub Viktorín STEFAN ZWEIG – FAREWELL TO EUROPE VOR DER MORGENRÖTE Germany, Austria, France 106 min DIRECTED BY Maria Schrader WRITTEN BY Maria Schrader & Jan Schomburg PRODUCED BY Stefan Arndt, Uwe Schott, Pierre-Olivier Bardet, Denis Poncet, Danny Krausz & Kurt Stocker SUMMER 1993 ESTIU 1993 Spain 96 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Carla Simón PRODUCED BY Valérie Delpierre THE CONSTITUTION USTAV REPUBLIKE HRVATSKE Croatia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, FYR Macedonia 93 min DIRECTED BY Rajko Grlić WRITTEN BY Ante Tomić & Rajko Grlić PRODUCED BY Ivan Maloča, Mike Downey, Rudolf Biermann, Maja Vukić, Dejan Miloševski, Jani Sever & Sam Taylor THE FURY OF A PATIENT MAN TARDE PARA LA IRA Spain 88 min DIRECTED BY Raúl Arévalo WRITTEN BY Raúl Arévalo & David Pulido PRODUCED BY Beatriz Bodegas THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER Ireland, UK 121 min. DIRECTED BY Yorgos Lanthimos WRITTEN BY Yorgos Lanthimos & Efthimis Filippou PRODUCED BY Ed Guiney & Yorgos Lanthimos THE KING’S CHOICE KONGENS NEI Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland 130 min DIRECTED BY Erik Poppe WRITTEN BY Jan Trygve Røyneland & Harald Rosenløw Eeg PRODUCED BY Finn Gjerdrum & Stein B. Kvae THE LAST FAMILY OSTATNIA RODZINA Poland 123 min DIRECTED BY Jan P. Matuszyński WRITTEN BY Robert Bolesto PRODUCED BY Leszek Bodzak & Aneta Hickinbotham THE NOTHING FACTORY A FÁBRICA DE NADA Portugal 177 min DIRECTED BY Pedro Pinho WRITTEN BY Pedro Pinho, João Matos, Luisa Homem, Leonor Noivo & Tiago Hespanha PRODUCED BY João Matos THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE TOIVON TUOLLA PUOLEN Finland, Germany 100 min WRITTEN, DIRECTED & PRODUCED BY Aki Kaurismäki THE PARTY UK 71 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Sally Potter PRODUCED BY Christopher Sheppard THE SQUARE Sweden, Germany, France, Denmark 145 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Ruben Östlund PRODUCED BY Erik Hemmendorff & Philippe Bober THE TEACHER UČITEĽKA Slovakia, Czech Republic 103 min DIRECTED BY Jan Hřebejk WRITTEN BY Petr Jarchovský PRODUCED BY Zuzana Mistríková, Ľubica Orechovská, Ondřej Zima & Jan Prušinovský TOM OF FINLAND Finland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark 116 min DIRECTED BY Dome Karukoski WRITTEN BY Aleksi Bardy PRODUCED BY Aleksi Bardy, Annika Sucksdorff & Miia Haavisto WESTERN Germany, Bulgaria, Austria 119 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Valeska Grisebach PRODUCED BY Jonas Dornbach, Janine Jackowski, Maren Ade, Valeska Grisebach & Michel Merkt WILD MOUSE WILDE MAUS Austria 103 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Josef Hader PRODUCED BY Michael Katz & Veit Heiduschka YOU DISAPPEAR DU FORSVINDER Denmark, Sweden 117 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Peter Schønau Fog PRODUCED BY Louise Vesth
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WHITE SUN is Nepal’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
The award-winning film White Sun (Seto Surya), directed by Deepak Rauniyar has been selected by Nepal as the country’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 90th Academy Awards. In the film a former Maoist rebel struggles to reintegrate with his unwelcoming community and move beyond a painful past.
When his father dies, anti-regime partisan Chandra must travel to his remote mountain village after nearly a decade away. Little Pooja is anxiously awaiting the man she thinks is her father, but she’s confused when Chandra arrives with Badri, a young street orphan rumored to be his son. Chandra must face his brother Suraj, who was on the opposing side during the Nepali civil war. The two brothers cannot put aside political feelings while carrying their father’s body down the steep mountain path to the river for cremation. Suraj storms off in a rage, leaving Chandra with no other men strong enough to help. Under pressure from the village elders, Chandra must seek help from outside the village to obey the rigid caste and discriminatory gender traditions he fought to eliminate during the war. Chandra searches for a solution in neighboring villages, among the police, guests at a local wedding, and rebel guerrillas…
White Sun, executive produced by Danny Glover, had it’s world premiere at the 2016 Venice Film Festival, where it won the INTERFILM Award, and went on to win numerous awards at other film festivals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMiGofqtfFg
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RIP: Comedian, Star of MAX ROSE, Jerry Lewis Dead at 91
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Jerry Lewis in Max Rose[/caption]
Jerry Lewis, the comedian, actor and filmmaker, died on Sunday morning at his home in Las Vegas. He was 91.
Jerry Lewis as last seen in the independent film Max Rose, his first movie in almost 20 years, playing jazz pianist Max Rose who makes a discovery days before the death of his wife and embarks on an exploration of his own past.
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Alen Drljevic’s MEN DON’T CRY is Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
Bosnia-Herzegovina has selected Alen Drljevic’s Men Don’t Cry (Muskarci koji ne placu) as the country’s official entry in the Foreign Language Film category of the 90th Academy Awards.
Men Don’t Cry, which won the Special Jury Prize at the 2017 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival last month, tells the story of a group therapy workshop, set in a hotel in the Bosnian mountains. A group of war-scarred veterans from different sides in the Yugoslavian conflict are brought together by a peace group to share their wartime experiences, and to try to establish a degree of trust and faith between them. Emotions are highly charged as old enmities and hostilities emerge, but the participants gradually learn to overcome their divisions and achieve a kind of understanding and respect for each other, or at least a tolerance, despite all the bloodshed that has flowed between them in the past.
The film features an all-star team of Balkan actors including Croatia’s Leon Lučev (The Black Pin, Circles) and Ivo Gregurević (Ungiven, The Reaper), Serbia’s Boris Isaković (Requiem for Mrs. J., A Good Wife), Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Emir Hadžihafizbegović (These Are the Rules, Death of a Man in the Balkans), Boris Ler (Circus Columbia) and Ermin Bravo (Love Island), as well as Slovenia’s Sebastian Cavazza (Nika, On the Path).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dgSSQGJSe4
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15 Films in EFA Documentary Selection 2017: ‘SCHOOL LIFE’ ‘THE WAR SHOW’ and More
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DEAD DONKEYS FEAR NO HYENAS[/caption]
15 European documentaries have been recommended for a nomination for this year’s 2017 European Film Awards.
Ten documentary festivals have recommended to the committee one film each which has had its world premiere at the respective festival’s latest edition. Based on their recommendations and the films individually submitted, the EFA documentary committee decided on the EFA Documentary Selection.
EFA Members will now vote for five documentary nominations. Based on these nominations, the EFA Members will then elect the ‘European Documentary 2017’ which will be announced during the awards ceremony on December 9 in Berlin.
EFA Documentary Selection 2017
AUSTERLITZ Germany 94 min DIRECTED BY Sergei Loznitsa PRODUCED BY Sergei Loznitsa COMMUNION KOMUNIA Poland 72 min DIRECTED BY Anna Zamecka PRODUCED BY Zuzanna Krol, Anna Wydra, Izabela Lopuch & Hanka Kastelicova DEAD DONKEYS FEAR NO HYENAS Sweden, Germany, Finland 80 min DIRECTED BY Joakim Demmer PRODUCED BY Margarete Jangård, Heino Deckert & John Webster HOW TO MEET A MERMAID Netherlands, Denmark 90 min DIRECTED BY Coco Schrijber PRODUCED BY Frank van den Engel LA CHANA Spain, Iceland, USA 86 min DIRECTED BY Lucija Stojevic PRODUCED BY Lucija Stojevic, Greta Olafsdottir, Deirdre Towers & Susan Muska LIBERA NOS LIBERAMI Italy, France 90 min DIRECTED BY Federica Di Giacomo PRODUCED BY Francesco Virga & Paolo Santoni NOTHINGWOOD France, Germany 85 min DIRECTED BY Sonia Kronlund PRODUCED BY Laurent Lavolé & Melanie Andernach SCHOOL LIFE IN LOCO PARENTIS Ireland, Spain 99 min DIRECTED BY Neasa Ní Chianáin & David Rane PRODUCED BY David Rane, Montse Portabella, Angelo Orlando & Efthymia Zymvragaki STRANGER IN PARADISE Netherlands 72 min DIRECTED BY Guido Hendrikx PRODUCED BY Frank van den Engel TASTE OF CEMENT Germany, Lebanon, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Qatar 85 min DIRECTED BY Ziad Kalthoum PRODUCED BY Ansgar Frerich, Tobias Siebert & Eva Kemme THE GOOD POSTMAN Finland, Bulgaria 80 min DIRECTED BY Tonislav Hristov PRODUCED BY Kaarle Aho THE VENERABLE W LE VENERABLE W France, Switzerland 100 min DIRECTED BY Barbet Schroeder PRODUCED BY Margaret Menegoz & Lionel Baier THE WAR SHOW Denmark, Syria, Finland 100 min DIRECTED BY Andreas Dalsgaard & Obaidah Zytoon PRODUCED BY Miriam Nørgaard & Alaa Hassan ULTRA Hungary, Greece 81 min DIRECTED BY Balazs Simonyi PRODUCED BY Laszlo Jozsa, Balazs Simonyi, Rea Apostolides, Yuri Averof, Hanka Kastelicova & Anna Zavorszky WEST OF THE JORDAN RIVER A L’OUEST DU JOURDAIN France 124 min DIRECTED BY Amos Gitai PRODUCED BY Patricia Boutinard Rouelle, Romain Icard, Stéphanie Schorter, Amos Gitai, Shuki Friedman & Laurent Truchotv
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FILMMAKERS: Film Independent Now Accepting Entries for 2018 Film Independent Spirit Awards
Film Independent is now accepting entries for the 2018 Film Independent Spirit Awards, with the Regular Deadline on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 and the Final Deadline on Tuesday, October 10, 2017.
The nominations will be announced on Tuesday, November 21, 2017, and the Awards will be held on Saturday, March 3, 2018 and will premiere exclusively on IFC.
In addition to celebrating the broad spectrum of independent filmmaking, the Spirit Awards is also the primary fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round programs which cultivate the careers of emerging filmmakers and promote diversity in the industry.
Film Independent Members comprise the exclusive voting body who determines the winners of the Film Independent Spirit Awards. Members are filmmakers, film industry leaders and film lovers. Anyone passionate about film can join by December 7, 2017 to be eligible to vote for the winners of the 2018 Film Independent Spirit Awards and receive full nominee screening privileges.
Artists who have received industry recognition first at the Spirit Awards include Joel and Ethan Coen, Ava DuVernay, Spike Lee, Lynn Shelton, Oliver Stone, Ashley Judd, Steve McQueen, Robert Rodriguez, David O. Russell, Aaron Eckhart, Neil LaBute, Darren Aronofsky, Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, Hilary Swank, Marc Forster, Todd Field, Christopher Nolan, Zach Braff, Amy Adams, Lena Dunham, Justin Simien and many more.
The Film Independent Spirit Awards include the following categories: Best Feature, Best First Feature, Best Screenplay, Best First Screenplay, Best Director, John Cassavetes Award (given to the best feature made for a budget under $500,000), Best Male Lead, Best Female Lead, Best Supporting Male, Best Supporting Female, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best International Film and Best Documentary. This year Film Independent introduces the Bonnie Award to recognize a talented, mid-career female director. Other grants, for emerging filmmakers include the Producers Award funded by Piaget, the Kiehl’s Someone to Watch Award, funded by Kiehl’s Since 1851 and the Truer Than Fiction Award.
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Filmmakers: Apply for Sundance Ignite Short Film Challenge
Seeking the next generation of emerging filmmakers, Sundance Institute and Adobe Project 1324 are now accepting filmmaker submissions for the Sundance Ignite Short Film Challenge. Fifteen winners will be selected from narrative and documentary short film submissions to win a career-launching opportunity: a full year of support and mentorship from Sundance Institute, starting with a free trip to attend a specialized program at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
For the third year of this program, one- to eight-minute original film submissions will be accepted through September 26 at sundanceignite2018.com. Entries addressing the prompt, “What stories ignite you?” will also be evaluated for technical excellence, demonstration of an original voice, innovative storytelling and strong character or subject development.
On top of an all-expenses-paid trip to the Festival, Sundance Ignite fellows are paired with a Sundance alumni professional for a full year of guidance and development, gaining industry exposure and meaningful mentorship. Past Sundance Ignite mentors include Effie Brown (Dear White People), producer Jason Berman, and Jeff Orlowski (Chasing Coral).
With Sundance Ignite as their launchpad, past fellows have springboarded into opportunities on the festival circuit, film school, and beyond. Past Sundance Ignite Fellows include Charlotte Regan, whose winning submission Standby (Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2016) was nominated for a BAFTA; Kayla Briët, whose short film submission Smoke That Travels was featured in Teen Vogue; and social impact documentary filmmaker Leah Galant (The Provider, Official Selection SXSW 2016).
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FILMMAKERS: 2018 Florida Film Festival Now Accepting Entries + Submissions
The 27th Annual Florida Film Festival sponsored by Full Sail University, will take place April 6 to 15, 2018, and is now officially accepted filmmaker entries. Qualified filmmakers can submit their entries through Florida Film Festival’s online entry form on Florida Film Festival website or through Withoutabox.
Competition categories include short films (both narrative and animation), documentary films (both short and feature length), narrative features, and international films (both short and feature length). Awards are determined by a jury of film professionals and by audience ballot.
2018 Florida Film Festival Submission Deadlines
SHORTS DEADLINES Early: October 20, 2017 Late: November 17, 2017 FEATURES DEADLINES Early: November 10, 2017 Late: December 8, 2017 The Florida Film Festival is one of only a handful of film festivals in the world to be accredited as a qualifying festival for the Oscars® in all three short film categories: Live Action, Animation, and Documentary. The winner of the Grand Jury Award in each of these categories will automatically qualify to enter the following year’s Academy Awards®.
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SFFILM Selects 10 Finalists for 2017 SFFILM Documentary Film Fund Grants
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The Feeling of Being Watched[/caption]
SFFILM has selected ten finalists for the 2017 SFFILM Documentary Film Fund which will award $125,000 to support feature-length documentaries in postproduction.
The SFFILM Documentary Film Fund is a partnership with the Jenerosity Foundation and was created to support singular nonfiction film work that is distinguished by compelling stories, intriguing characters and an innovative visual approach. Finalists were selected from more than 300 applicants, and winners will be announced in early September.
The SFFILM Documentary Film Fund has an excellent track record for championing important films that have gone on to earn great acclaim. Previous DFF winners include Peter Nicks’s The Force, which won the 2017 Sundance Film Festival Directing Award for documentary and SFFILM Festival’s Bay Area Documentary Award, and will be released this fall by Kino Lorber; Peter Bratt’s Dolores, which won the 2017 SFFILM Festival Audience Award for Documentary Feature following its Sundance premiere; Jamie Meltzer’s True Conviction, which won a Special Jury Mention for Documentary Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival; and Zachary Heinzerling’s Cutie and the Boxer, which won Sundance’s Directing Award for documentary and was nominated for the 2014 Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature; among many others.
Since its launch in 2011, the SFFILM Documentary Film Fund has distributed nearly half a million dollars to advance new work by filmmakers nationwide. The 2017 Documentary Film Fund is made possible thanks to an expanded gift from the Jenerosity Foundation.
2017 DOCUMENTARY FILM FUND FINALISTS
The Feeling of Being Watched Assia Boundaoui, director/producer; Jessica Devaney, producer When a filmmaker investigates rumors of surveillance in her Arab-American neighborhood in Chicago, she uncovers one of the largest FBI terrorism probes conducted before 9/11 and reveals its enduring impact on the community. Hale County, This Morning, This Evening RaMell Ross, director; Joslyn Barnes and Su Hyeon Kim, producers What is the experience of coming-of-age in the Black Belt region of the US? This film presents the lives of two young men in a series of visual movements that replace narrative arc with orchestral form. Heaven Through the Back Door Anna Fitch and Banker White, co-director/producers; Sara Dosa, producer Heaven Through the Backdoor is a contemplative documentary that tells the story of Yo (Yolanda Shae), a fiercely independent 88-year old woman whose unique brand of individualist feminism impacts how she chooses to live in the final years of her life. (Former SFFILM FilmHouse Resident) How to Have an American Baby Leslie Tai, director/producer; Jillian Schultz, co-producer There is a city in Southern California that abounds with pregnant women from China. Told through multiple perspectives, How to Have an American Baby is a kaleidoscopic voyage behind the closed doors of the Chinese birth tourism industry. (SFFILM FilmHouse Resident, SFFILM fiscally sponsored filmmaker) The Judge Erika Cohn, director/producer; Sara Maamouri, co-producer The Judge provides rare insight into Shari’a law (Islamic law), an often misunderstood legal framework for Muslims, told through the eyes of Kholoud Al-Faqih, the first woman judge to be appointed to the Middle East’s religious courts. (SFFILM fiscally sponsored filmmaker) El Lugar de la Memoria Juan Pablo González, director; Makena Buchanan, Jamie Gonçalves, and Ilana Coleman, producers As economic and social conditions become dire, a wave of suicides among young people disrupts life in a small Mexican town. Through daily rituals and ceremonies amongst the people in this community, El Lugar de la Memoriapresents a reflection on the reconfiguration of rural life in Mexico. A Machine to Live In Yoni Goldstein and Meredith Zielke, co-directors; Sebastian Alvarez, producer; Andrew Benz, co-producer Hovering over what remains of Brazil’s modernist future, this film looks at how social control, rational design, and space-age architecture gave rise to a vast landscape of transcendental and mystical utopias. Midnight Family Luke Lorentzen, director; Kellen Quinn, producer; Daniela Alatorre,and Elena Fortes, co-producers In Mexico City, 16-year-old Juan Ochoa struggles to legitimize his family’s unlicensed ambulance business, as corrupt police in the neighborhood begin to target this cutthroat industry. Pahokee Ivete Lucas and Patrick Bresnan, co-director/producers; Maida Brankman, producer Pahokee, Florida (pop. 6,094): one hour by car across Palm Beach County from the presidential opulence of Mar-a-Lago. Against a backdrop of industrial agriculture and economic isolation, high school students from different racial and cultural backgrounds forge a sense of meaning and community via elaborate and colorful rites of passage. Pigeon Kings Milena Pastreich, director/producer; Michael Sherman and Matthew Perniciaro, producers Keith London, the godfather of Birmingham Rollers, and his mentee, Choo Choo, survive life in South Central LA through their dedication to somersaulting pigeons. image via The Feeling of Being Watched
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RIP: Country Superstar and Documentary “Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me” Star Glen Campbell Dead at 81
Glen Campbell, the country and pop superstar and subject of the 2014 documentary, Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me, died on Tuesday in Nashville after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. He was 81.
Campbell revealed that he had the disease in June 2011, saying it had been diagnosed six months earlier. He then announced that he was going ahead with a farewell tour later that year in support of his new album, “Ghost on the Canvas.”
What was supposed to be a five-week tour turned into 151 shows over 15 months. Mr. Campbell’s last performance was in Napa, Calif., on Nov. 30, 2012, and by the spring of 2014 he had moved into a long-term care and treatment center near Nashville.
That tour and the way he and his family dealt with the sometimes painful progress of his disease were chronicled in a 2014 documentary, “Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me,” directed by the actor James Keach.
The documentary film features those who know and love Glen, including Bruce Springsteen, Bill Clinton, The Edge, Paul McCartney, Jay Leno, Vince Gill, Jimmy Webb, Blake Shelton, Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Steve Martin, Chad Smith and Taylor Swift among many others.
In addition to his wife Kimberly Campbell, he is survived by eight children, Debby, Kelli, Travis, Kane, Ashley, Cal, Shannon and Dillon;many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren; three sisters, Barbara, Sandra and Jane; and two brothers, John Wallace and Gerald.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAtgraWN5-I