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  • Cinema Eye Honors Names 2015 “Shorts List” 10 Finalists for 2015 Outstanding Nonfiction Short Film Award

    The Lion’s Mouth OpensThe Lion’s Mouth Opens

    Ten nonfiction short films were announced as finalists for the 2015 Cinema Eye Honors, the 8th edition of the largest annual celebration for and recognition of the nonfiction film artform and the creators of those films.  Among the notable films and filmmakers on this year’s Shorts List is Lucy Walker’s The Lion’s Mouth Opens. Walker won the 2014 Cinema Eye Honor for Outstanding Nonfiction Film on Television for The Crash Reel. She is a two-time Academy Award nominee for Waste Land and The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom.

    The announcement of the annual Cinema Eye Shorts List was made on the opening day of the 2014 Camden International Film Festival (CIFF), a key festival partner of the Cinema Eye Honors. For the first time, all ten films, which are among the most acclaimed short documentaries of the year, screened at the 10th Annual Camden International Film Festival.  

    It’s the third year that the CEH Shorts List has been announced in Camden and the first year that all ten films on the list will screen at the festival.  This January will mark the sixth year that CIFF hosts their annual reception on the eve of Cinema Eye’s award ceremony.  A key part of Cinema Eye Week, a multi-day event held in New York City in January, the CIFF reception has become the largest single event for nonfiction film in the city and an important kickoff for the new year in the documentary community.

    Other notable films and filmmakers on this year’s Shorts List:

    Steven Bognar’s Foundry Night Shift. Bognar was a 2010 Academy Award nominee for The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant and a 2007 Primetime Emmy Award winner for A Lion in The House.

    Deborah Stratman’s Hacked Circuit. Stratman was a 2010 Cinema Eye nominee for Outstanding Cinematography for her film O’er the Land and was named to the 2012 Shorts List for Ray’s Birds.

    From the ten finalists on this year’s Shorts List, five films will be named as nominees for the Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Short Filmmaking Award.  Nominees in that category and nearly a dozen feature film categories will be announced on Wednesday, November 12 in Copenhagen, Denmark at an event at CPH:DOX.  Awards will be presented during Cinema Eye Week in New York City in January 2015.

    This year’s ten finalists are:

    Foundry Night Shift (United States) Directed by Steven Bognar

    Hacked Circuit (United States) Directed by Deborah Stratman

    Joanna (Poland) Directed by Aneta Kopacz

    The Lion’s Mouth Opens (United States) Directed by Lucy Walker

    Notes on Blindness (United Kingdom) Directed by Peter Middleton and James Spinney

    One Year Lease (United States) Directed by Brian Bolster

    The Queen (Argentina) Directed by Manuel Abramovich

    Santa Cruz del Islote (United States) Directed by Luke Lorentzen

    Unlocking the Truth (United States) Directed by Luke Meyer

    Vegas (United Kingdom) Directed by Lukasz Konopa

    Finalists for the Short Filmmaking award were determined in voting by top short film/documentary programmers from international film festivals.  Members of this year’s Short Film Nominations Committee included: Karen Cirillo (True/False Film Festival), Charlotte Cook (Hot Docs), Hussain Currimbhoy (formerly of Sheffield Doc/Fest), Cara Cusumano (Tribeca), Ben Fowlie (Camden International Film Festival), Claudette Godfrey (SXSW), Doug Jones (formerly of the Los Angeles Film Festival), Ted Mott (Full Frame), Veton Nurkollari (Dokufest Kosovo), Rachel Rosen (San Francisco), Sky Sitney (formerly of AFI Docs) and Kim Yutani (Sundance).

    This is the fifth year that Cinema Eye has presented an award for Nonfiction Short Filmmaking.  Previous winners in the category include The Poodle Trainer (directed by Vance Malone, 2011), Diary (Tim Hetherington, 2012), Goodbye Mandima (Kwa Heri Mandima) (Robert-Jan Lacombe, 2013) and A Story for the Modlins (Sergio Oksman, 2014).

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  • FISHING WITHOUT NETS Tackles Somali Pirates

    1fishing without nets

    Filmmaker Cutter Hodierne was awarded the Directing Award at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival for Fishing Without Nets. Though Hodierne is a first-time feature filmmaker, it was actually his second award-winning trip to Sundance – in 2012, a short version of Fishing Without Nets was awarded the Grand Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking. The earlier short is worth noting because the feature length version of Fishing Without Nets, which is about Somali pirates, inevitably draws comparisons to last year’s major studio release Captain Phillips, directed by Paul Greengrass. While Hodierne isn’t quite as successful, his film embarks on a story that is more difficult to tell because it is from the perspective of the hijackers rather than those who are hijacked.

    Fishing Without Nets is a story about what a desperate man will do to provide a better life for his family. The man in this case is Abdi (Abdikani Muktar Manur), a poor young Somali fisherman whose only way to improve the lives of his wife and son is to go on a raid with pirates who capture ships and hold he crew for ransom. Though Abdi is hesitant, his friend China Boy (Abdiwali Farrah) knows that Abdi knows how to sail the fishing lanes because he is a fisherman, and he pressures Abdi to come with him on a raid. After telling himself “A man is not a man until he can feed his children. Only death can stop me from feeding mine,” Abdi decides to join up with the pirates after using all his money to send his wife and child out of the country, where he hopes to join them once he receives his payment for the raid.

    The older pirate leaders remark about how impressionable and easy to manipulate the young recruits are, and Hodierne reveals this by showing the young pirates taking photos of themselves as they pose with the rifles before the raid. It establishes that these pirates seem to think that they’re engaging in a game and not an act of terrorism. Ironically for a fisherman, Abdi admits how fearful he is of drowning. However, it’s clear that he is not just talking about the ocean, but also of drowning in a life of lawlessness.

    The ship raiding scenes are similar to those in Captain Phillips, except that these pirates are more successful at taking over the ship. The presentation is also wildly different – there is less disorientating camerawork and the score is far more subdued (in fact, there are few music cues in the entire film). Because of that, it is sometimes hard to forget that you’re not watching a documentary.

    After the ship is captured, Abdi’s group is put in charge of a French hostage named Victor (Reda Kateb). Though Abdi and Victor don’t speak the same language, they began to understand each other and Abdi feels growing sympathy for his captive. When the ransom doesn’t come as quickly as they hope, the pirates become increasingly desperate. The situation soon spirals out of control, and Abdi discovers even his wife and son are not safe, especially when other pirates become suspicious of Abdi’s friendliness with their French prisoner.

    However, it’s worth noting that although this film attempts to humanize Somali pirates by portraying ship raids from their perspective, Abdi is the only pirate in the film who is depicted sympathetically. While all of the other young pirates are portrayed as being desperate for money and little more than muscle for their older bosses, they are still only in on the raid for the money. As a result, the film doesn’t so much humanize the Somali pirates as a whole but humanizes Abdi as an exception to the other money-hungry, khat-chewing, gun-toting pirates.  It’s almost a throwback to the old American Westerns in which all of Native Americans were portrayed as bloodthirsty savages save for one “noble savage” whom was meant to transcend the stereotype. Unfortunately, not much can be dispelled when one noble figure is depicted among a group made up of stereotypes. For example, the scenes between Abdi and Victor reveal how compassionate Abdi is, but the other pirates have no room for that.

    Because of that and the film’s borderline deus ex machina ending (or is it? It’s hard to tell considering the final shot) that also manages to leave several narrative thread dangling, Fishing Without Nets is not quite the tour de force that its Sundance awards suggest. It still offers an engaging story about a desperate man and is a tightly-directed film – particularly for a first-time filmmaker – yet I have no doubt that Hodierne will transcend these rookie narrative mistakes in his next film.

    Film Review Rating 3 out of 5 : See it … It’s Good

    Fishing Without Nets opens in Los Angeles on September 26, New York City on October 3, and VOD on October 21.

    http://youtu.be/wRr0VA_HFaE 

     

    FISHING WITHOUT NETS

    WINNER OF THE 2014 SUNDANCE US DRAMATIC DIRECTING AWARD

    Opening in LA September 26, 2014
    Opening in NY October 3, 2014
    Available nationwide on Digital HD & VOD October 28, 2014

    Director:
    Cutter Hodierne

    Story by:
    Cutter Hodierne, John Hibey, David Burkman, Sam Cohan

    Producers:
    Raphael Swann, John Hibey, Cutter Hodierne, Brian Glazen, Ben Freedman, Stephanie Pinola, Victor Shapiro

    Executive Producers:
    Eddy Moretti, Shane Smith, Rupert Wyatt, Joe Laconte

     Principal Cast:
    Abdikani Muktar, Abdi Siad, Abduwhali Faarah, Abdikhadir Hassan, Reda Kateb, Idil Ibrahim

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  • Director Ana Lily Amirpour “The Bad Batch” Wins Rooftop Filmmakers’ Fund Piper-Heidsieck Feature Film Grant

    Romain Pianet, Senior Brand Director for Piper-Heidsieck, presents Ana Lily Amirpour with the  inaugural Piper-Heidsieck Rooftop Films Feature Film Grant

    Rooftop Films awarded fourteen cash and service grants to alumni filmmakers, including The Rooftop Filmmakers’ Fund Piper-Heidsieck Feature Film Grant, which was awarded to director Ana Lily Amirpour. Amirpour was feted at a Piper-Heidsieck champagne reception at the spectacular garden rooftop of John Jay College on Monday in New York City and will receive a monetary grant of $10,000 to help finish her new film, The Bad Batch, the follow up to her critically acclaimed feature film debut,  A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night.

    Selected for its grand and bold style of storytelling, Amirpour’s film is a highly twisted, unusual, romantic, and innovative movie set in a future dystopia. In a desert wasteland in Texas, a muscled cannibal breaks one important rule: don’t play with your food. The Bad Batch is a savage love story, like a psychedelic Road Warrior, inspired by films like El Topo and Wild at Heart. Shot in bold saturated hues and stylings of the ’80’s & ’90’s the film will also feature a wicked techno & western-laced soundtrack.

    “Piper-Heidsieck has a long history of supporting the cinema, and we’re delighted to continue this tradition by recognizing Ana Lily Amirpour as the first-ever recipient of the Piper-Heidsieck Feature Film Grant,” says Romain Pianet, Senior Brand Director for Piper-Heidsieck. “The grant was created to support grand and bold direction in cinema, and we have selected a filmmaker whose past work and upcoming film exemplifies this direction.  We are excited to be able to help bring this film to fruition.

    COMPLETE LIST OF 2014 ROOFTOP FILMMAKERS FUND GRANTS:

    Rooftop Films / Piper-Heidsieck Feature Film Grant:
    Ana Lily Amirpour, The Bad Batch

    In a desert wasteland in Texas, a muscled cannibal breaks one important rule: don’t play with your food. The Bad Batch is a savage love story and a psychedelic Road Warrior, inspired by films like El Topo and Wild at Heart, and shot in bold saturated hues and stylings of the 80’s & 90’s, with a wicked techno & western-laced soundtrack.

    Rooftop Films / Technological Cinevideo Services Camera Grant:
    Rachel Israel, Keep the Change

    Based on Israel’s Columbia thesis short film, “Keep the Change” stars non-professional actors Brandon Polanksy and Samantha as two individuals with autism who fall in love. Polanksy stars as David, a man who tries to hide his high-functioning autism, but is nonetheless forced to attend a support group for people with disabilities. There he meets Elisofon’s character, a shy woman with autism.

    Rooftop Films / Eastern Effects Equipment Grant:
    Christina Choe, Nancy

    Nancy, is a psychological drama about a 35-year old serial imposter who lives at home with her abusive, elderly mother. Desperate for love, she creates a fake blog and catfishes a lover, until her hoaxes cause epic and tragic consequences. NANCY will be Christina’s feature directorial debut.

    Rooftop Films / Edgeworx Post-Production Grant:
    Bernardo Britto, Jacqueline (Argentine)

    Starring Camille Rutherford as a “25-year-old French Edward Snowden-type” who takes refuge in Argentina after leaking government secrets, Jacqueline (Argentine) is a live action feature film that will be shot from the perspective of a documentary crew she’s hired to trail her while awaiting the fallout.

    Rooftop Films / DCTV Equipment and Services Feature Film Grant
    Trey Shults, Krisha

    Adapted from an award-winning short film of the same name, KRISHA tells the story of a multi-generational family that is gathering for Thanksgiving. Krisha has not seen her family for ten years, but when she decides to join her family for a holiday dinner, tensions escalate, and Krisha struggles to keep her demons at bay.

    Rooftop Films / DCTV Equipment and Services Short Film Grant:
    Frances Bodomo, Beatdown
    Steven Girard, Floaters Dot Com

    Frances Bodomo | Beatdown
    Beatdown is a web series that follows a carefree black vigilante girl gang. Our protagonists skip school (“they’re not teaching our history anyways”) to loiter, chat, protect New York’s unprotected, and avenge the crimes that the NYPD won’t touch: from getting their hair petted to “columbusing” to gentrification. It begins as a series of vengeful (and comedic) wish fulfillments that grow bloodier and bloodier … until we start to question & complicate our discourse on brutality, power, female weakness, justice, etc. Beatdown asks the question: when the violence against us isn’t physical, how do we fight it? 

    Steven Girard | Floaters Dot Com
    “Floaters Dot Com” is a half animated, half live-action short film about two men who work for a company that “collects” human beings. Floaters employees beam targeted civilians with a hallucinatory impulse to login to floaters.com, where the victim is sucked into his/her computer and dragged through a slew of websites. After the victim’s deepest fantasies and worst nightmares come true, he/she is “ejected” from the computer’s drive as a Free Trial disk.

    Rooftop Films / Domicile NYC Sound Mix Grant:
    Jarred Alterman and Ryan Scafuro, American Renaissance

    AMERICAN RENAISSANCE is a short documentary that takes place at the largest outdoor Renaissance Faire in America. Knights, wizards, goths, fairies and demons all stood in front of our static lens and slowly, stories began to unfold… A family who chose to raise their 13-year-old son on the road. A Parisian expat, performing as a mime. A young woman who left the “real world” behind after the death of a close friend.

    Rooftop Films / Adrienne Shelly Foundation Short Film Grant For Women:
    Debra Granik, Second Act

    Second Act is a documentary about inmate re-entry. Once released, felons often find themselves held apart from mainstream society, particularly in regards to employment. To survive, many turn to various forms of entrepreneurship. This film follows a man recently released from prison who is attempting to build his own business. In pursuing his dream, the subject of our documentary must navigate the transition from one lifestyle to another, negotiate a new and unfamiliar world, and wrestle with the question of who he is and what he wants.

    Rooftop Filmmakers’ Fund Short Film Grant:
    Joanna Arnow, Bad at Dancing
    Frances Bodomo, Beatdown
    Reka Bucsi, LOVE
    Steven Girard, Floaters Dot Com
    Efren Hernandez, Ham Heads

    Joanna Arnow | Bad at Dancing
    Bad At Dancing. A perpetual third wheel and awkward outsider, Joanna increasingly inserts herself into the relationship of her more charismatic roommate Eleanore. The two women test each other’s sexual and emotional boundaries in this surreal dark comedy.

    Reka Bucsi | LOVE
    An animated short film about love that will show love in three chapters: Longing, Love and Solitude. Haiku-like scenes will show different characters evolving along these states of emotions. The goal is to capture feelings through pictures and surreal situations which are undescribable by words.

    Efren Hernandez | Ham Heads
    Barry and Larry are the world’s oldest living conjoined twins. After retiring from the sideshow circuit, they move into their brother’s house. Barry is sick and he’s getting worse, Larry not far behind him. As their sickness develops, they take trips to the beach; they waltz together; they fight about the volume on their separate television sets. They look out of their living room window at their old-lady neighbor who drinks too much beer. They play games with their teenage nephew and Larry verbally harasses the doctor who checks up on them. They get visits from old friends and spend every moment of every day together. Whether it is good or bad, it is their life together.

    “A record number of entries were received this year and it was tougher than ever to select our winners from what was a stellar crop of films and scripts,” says Dan Nuxoll, programming director of Rooftop Films. “Each of the filmmakers that we awarded grants to this year have screened their impressive work at Rooftop Films events in the past and have demonstrated their talent, passion and perseverance throughout their careers. We are particularly excited to be supporting Ana Lily Amirpour’s latest work. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night screened this summer at Rooftop Films and that film showcases her extraordinary talent and unique flair for bringing unexpected, artful and innovative twists to a genre film. We are confident that The Bad Batch will be an exciting next step for one of the most promising new filmmakers working in independent cinema today. A special thanks to Piper-Heidsieck –and all of our other sponsors, community partners, and audience members– for their significant help and commitment in support of these new and talented films and filmmakers.”

    Amirpour was selected to attend the Sundance Screenwriters Lab in 2014 for her script for The Bad Batch and the film is set to begin pre-production this fall and will begin shooting in the spring of 2015. Amirpour’s debut feature film, the Iranian Vampire Western A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, premiered in the NEXT section of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, screened to a sold out crowd on the roof of Industry City as part of the Rooftop Films Summer Series, and was opening night selection of the New Directors/New Films series at the MoMA. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night will be released in theaters this autumn by Kino Lorber.

    Amirpour joins the ranks of past Rooftop Filmmakers Fund grantees, an illustrious group that includes Gillian Robespierre with her indie hit Obvious Child, Lucy Walker with her Academy Award-nominated short documentary The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, Jeremy Saulnier’s Blue Ruin, which premiered at Cannes Director’s Fortnight and garnered the FIPRESCI Critics’ award, Keith Miller’s critically acclaimed and Tribeca Film Festival award winning Five Star, and Benh Zeitlin’s Academy Award-nominated Beasts of the Southern Wild. Other Rooftop Filmmakers’ Fund grantees have achieved tremendous success at film festivals and their films have reached audiences worldwide.  

    image: Romain Pianet, Senior Brand Director for Piper-Heidsieck, presents Ana Lily Amirpour with the inaugural Piper-Heidsieck Rooftop Films Feature Film Grant on the roof of John Jay College Monday night.

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  • Director Sharon Greytak and Actress Sally Kirkland Talk About Their Film ARCHAEOLOGY OF A WOMAN Now Playing in Theaters

     sharon-greytak-sally-kirkland-archaeology-of-a-woman1

    Award-winning indie filmmaker Sharon Greytak’s ARCHAEOLOGY OF A WOMAN, starring Oscar nominated/Golden Globe winner Sally Kirkland is playing at Village East Cinema Sept. 12-18.   ARCHAEOLOGY OF A WOMAN, is described as a gripping drama of a woman’s fierce determination to save her mind from spiraling into delusion as she attempts to keep a chilling secret from her past buried. 

    We recently sat down with director Sharon Greytak, one of the only disabled filmmakers directing, writing and producing from a motorized wheelchair, and Sally Kirkland, sporting a bandaged knee, the result of knee surgery. Earlier this year Sally fell, breaking her leg in two places while attending the Studio City Film Festival to receive an award for Best Actress.

    VIMOOZ: The film took a while to be released, why did it take so long?

    Sharon Greytak: That’s a great first question. 

    Sally Kirkland: Well you did 2 edits

    Sharon Greytak: Yes. I did the initial edit and then I decided to do a bit more editing. I describe the process as being like a rose, and you want to remove anything that takes away from the beauty of it. So I simplified a couple of things – I sort of pruned away a few things that I thought would make it stronger.

     sally-kirkland-archaeology-of-a-woman1

    VIMOOZ: Now Sally, we have to ask about the topless scene. How did you react when you read that in the script?

    Sally Kirkland: I liked it. A little bit of history you may not know, I was the first nude actress in American theater in 1968 with Terrence McNally’s Sweet Eros.  I’ve been nude in so many films you can’t believe it. I loved that she did that because it got me a chance to show people about dementia and the Alzheimer – people who don’t know where they are, or what they are doing.

    Here she is, putting her bra in the refrigerator; it is such a classic piece of writing to demonstrate the pathetic stage of Margaret.

    I felt great, to answer your question.

    VIMOOZ: Is there anything you will not do in a film?

    Sally Kirkland: Ah no.

    sharon-greytak-archaeology-of-a-woman1

    VIMOOZ: The story is very original. Where did you get the idea?

    Sharon Greytak: It stemmed from my experience with my own mother who was starting to have some issues of confusion and some really early signs of dementia. 

    In many movies, you always see a character that’s in the late stages of Alzheimer, spiraling downhill.  The audience is superior and watching this poor character – it is so sad and a tearjerker.   You never see a character that is functioning socially, but is having these terrible moments in the early stages of dementia. And I thought, how do you show a character like that?  Where they are fiercely independent, they are very verbal, and they are use to running their own lives.  And they are certainly not going to give in and say OK this is it.  That is the character that I wanted to portray.

    VIMOOZ: Tony-winner Victoria Clark plays Sally’s daughter and the resemblance is amazing.  How were you able to make that connection with casting?

    Sally Kirkland: A lot of people say that.

    Sharon Greytak: I went for the best talent – the best actress I can get. I worked with a casting director who helped me. I went from an isolated writer one day to having managers and agents calling setting up meeting the next.

    VIMOOZ: Sally, You’ve been in the business a very long time.

    Sally Kirkland: Since 1960

    VIMOOZ:  Do you stay up to date with all the latest stuff like social media?     

    Sally Kirkland: I’m a Facebook freak. I was on the plane the other day Facebooking everybody.  And I have friends coming in town for a movie premiere and I’m literally chatting away with them on the plane.

    VIMOOZ: What about Twitter and Instagram?

    Sally Kirkland: I use Twitter, but not as much as Facebook.  I do not know how to do Instagram yet. 

    VIMOOZ: What about you Sharon?

    Sharon Greytak:  I do. Of course

    Sally Kirkland: You have to. Well, you have to tell the story.

    Sharon Greytak: You do.

    Sally Kirkland: Ok. So I get the call from my agent, and he says, “I have this fabulous role for you. “ And it was Friday, and I said, “great, when can I see it?”  He replied, “I’ll send it with a messenger.” The messenger came and I read it in an hour and 20 minutes or something and I thought, “Oh my God, I have to do this role”

    But it’s Friday now, and all the offices are closed, so I couldn’t think what to do with my patience, my energy and determination. And so I went to Facebook and I looked up Sharon Greytak and there she was. She didn’t have a picture but she had a page and I requested her to be my friend. 

    But I didn’t mention the film because I thought that might be overboard. But I just wanted to get my foot in the door. So then what happened?

    Sharon Greytak: I had no idea she had the script.  And when the breakdowns went out, I thought it was funny, all of a sudden my IMDB rating skyrocketed.    On Facebook, everyone was friending me left and right. I was telling friends that this was hysterical. I found this humorous. And I’m going through the list and I see Sally Kirkland. And I was like, “Really, Sally Kirkland?” So I accepted. And the weekend goes by and Monday I get a call saying, be at your phone on Tuesday, Sally Kirkland will call you.   I had no idea she had the script all weekend.  And on Tuesday she called and we talked on the phone for 3 hours.

    Sally Kirkland: It was an hour.

    Sharon Greytak:  It was 3 hours.

    Sally Kirkland: We talked for 3 hours? I want you to put that on record.

    VIMOOZ: It’s on record.

    Sally Kirkland: So yes, I was by my phone, and 7:30 she called. And we talked about the script, the character.  It was so gratifying that somebody outside of myself got the character and understood what I was writing.  And she was so smart about it.

    And we exchanged some personal stories, and it was a done deal.  This is it. I don’t want to see anyone else.

    VIMOOZ: I’m glad we ask that question.

    VIMOOZ: What are 2 things we don’t know about Sally Kirkland.

    Sharon Greytak: Should I step outside the room?

    Sally Kirkland: I’m deaf in my left ear. I have tinnitus in my right ear. And I’m in love with Michael Fassbender.

    VIMOOZ: What about you Sharon?

    Sharon Greytak: Oh no.  I’m a director, you don’t get that stuff from me.

    VIMOOZ: That counts as one, two more to go.

    Sharon Greytak: My eyes are 2 different colors.

    VIMOOZ:  What colors? 

    Sharon Greytak:  I think one is green and one is blue, which is the same as David Bowie.  There you go.

     

    Credits: Photography by Tazaca Simpson

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  • Sally Kirkland Stars in ARCHAEOLOGY OF A WOMAN Directed by Sharon Greytak

    Archaeology Of A Woman starring Sally Kirkland and Victoria Clarke

    Archaeology Of A Woman, written and directed by renowned indie film director Sharon Greytak, is an intense drama that explores the life of a woman beset by the early stages of dementia. The film stars Oscar nominated/Golden Globe winner Sally Kirkland and Tony-winner Victoria Clark.  

    Archaeology Of A Woman received two Gold Remi Awards at Worldfest-Houston including Lifetime Achievement for Sally Kirkland and Outstanding Independent Films. It was honored with a CINE Golden Eagle Award, and was also an official selection of the Woodstock Film Festival.

    Archaeology Of A Woman starring Sally Kirkland

    Margaret, played superbly and convincingly by Sally Kirkland, is suffering from the early stages of dementia. This is quite evident immediately as the film begins with Margaret at a mall parking lot, where she frantically searches for her car.  She meanders through the sea of cars, totally perplexed at the absence of her means of transport.  Police officers, standing on the sideline, observe her frantic behavior.  The officers approach and offer their assistance.  She is certain she left her mode of transport somewhere in the parking lot, which she emphatically communicates to them.  Eventually, they convince her to accompany them, and they transport her home.  On arrival, the officers spot her car in the driveway.  It is at this juncture that Margaret’s daughter is contacted.  The officers inform the daughter of her mother’s confusion regarding the whereabouts of her vehicle.  Her reaction is one of genuine concern for her mother’s well-being.

    archaeology of a woman Victoria Clark and Sally Kirkland

    Her daughter, Kate, played by the talented Victoria Clarke, is an aspiring chef who resides in the city. She is forced to travel to the suburbs on numerous occasions to deal with her mother’s escapades.   Kate helplessly observes the decline of her mother’s mental acuity. Margaret’s deteriorating health may result in the loss of her home and independent lifestyle.  In her heyday, Margaret (Sally Kirkland) worked as a  newspaper writer.  As a writer, her life was a series of unending words, but today, her life is a series of unending images.

    archaeology of a woman sally kirkland

    As the story unfolds, we are taken on a ride, a ride into the characters mind.  Here, in the recesses of her mind lies the key to unlocking the door to the past. The images on the television have awakened in her a sense of loss, regret and guilt. The guilt is linked to a murder which occurred 30 years ago. We learn of this crime through Margaret’s flashbacks and the news reels that are sporadically humming on the television.  Throughout the film, Margaret tries to communicate her recollection of this crime to Kate. However, Kate thinks her mother isn’t lucid, and doesn’t believe that her mother is somehow entangled in a 30-year- old macabre crime.

    archaeology of a woman Sally Kirkland and James Murtaugh

     Margaret, is the bridge between the past and the present.  She is the link between people and events.  She believes her existence is being threatened and she is being pursued by a police officer.  Is he the officer from her past?   As the character moves through the house she has flashbacks.   Are her recollections accurate? How can we trust the mind of a person plagued with dementia.   She walks into the kitchen, opens the refrigerator, and gently lays her shirt in this locale. How can we trust her mind? Does this murder represent a love she tried to squash by burying it in her subconscious?

    Although the film ending did not live up to my full expectations, considering the amazing and unique storyline that was developed, it is an ingenious exploration of dementia and the effects on a person’s psyche.  It is an original and complex film. The film examines a kaleidoscope of emotions and experiences that are intertwined and interwoven.

    Archaeology Of A Woman is playing at the Village East Cinema, September 12 – 18, 2014. 

    About The Stars:

    Fiercely independent, Oscar-nominated/Golden Globe-winning actress Sally Kirkland is a veteran of over 111 films and 30 years in TV and theatre. It was the film “Anna” directed by Yurek Bogayevicz that brought Kirkland her Oscar nomination, Golden Globe win, the Independent Spirit Award and the Los Angeles Film Critics Circle Award. Kirkland’s first role was in the 1964 Andy Warhol film “13 Most Beautiful Women.” This led to the still controversial film “Coming Apart,” where she starred with Rip Torn, followed by “The Sting” co-starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman, and “The Way We Were” with Barbra Streisand. She starred in “Revenge” with Kevin Costner, “Best of the Best” with Eric Roberts and James Earl Jones, “Cold Feet” with Tom Waits and Keith Carradine, “JFK” with Kevin Costner, “Cheatin Hearts” with James Brolin and Kris Kristofferson, “Ed TV” with Matthew McConnaughey and “Bruce Almighty” with Jim Carrey.

    Broadway star Victoria Clark received the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Awards, as well as a Drama League honor for her luminous portrayal in the critically acclaimed Craig Lucas musical “The Light in the Piazza” on Broadway. Clark has also starred on Broadway in “The Snow Geese” and Rodgers + Hammerstein’s “Cinderella,” the Los Angeles revival of “Follies” and starred on Broadway in “Sister Act,” both receiving Tony nominations. She portrayed the role of Gabrielle York in Lincoln Center’s heralded production of “When the Rain Stops Falling,” for which she received a Drama Desk Award Nomination. She also starred opposite Nathan Gunn in the staged production of “The Grapes of Wrath.” Clark was also among the featured performers in “Stephen Sondheim: The Birthday Concert” held at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall and televised on PBS. Her selected film credits include “Cradle Will Rock” (Tim Robbins, dir.) and “The Happening” (M. Night Shyamalan, dir.).

    About the Filmmaker:

    Sharon Greytak has written, produced and directed feature-length fiction films, documentaries and experimental shorts. Greytak’s films include the award-winning international documentary “Losing It,” exploring quality of life issues and physical disability shot on three continents.  For “Losing It,” she was the recipient of a Soros/Sundance Documentary Fund grant. Her critically acclaimed narrative feature films include “The Love Lesson,” the story of an unconventional adoption arrangement between two women and their HIV positive heterosexual son, and the award-winning “Hearing Voices,” exploring a model’s private and public identities. Earlier films include the seminal documentary “Weirded Out and Blown Away” and experimental films “Some Pleasure on the Level of the Source” and “Czechoslovakian Woman.”

    In 2012, the UCLA/Sundance Collection acquired three of Greytak’s feature films for their archives. Her work has screened at The Museum of Modern Art, Film Society of Lincoln Center, Village East Cinema, REDCAT Theater, George Eastman House, Margaret Mead Film Festival, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Laemmle Theatres, American Cinemateque at the Egyptian Theatre Hollywood, Film de Femmes Cretail France and numerous international film festivals.

    She is the recipient of two CINE Awards, the 2012 Burton Blatt Insitute Prize for Leadership in the Arts “for her entire body of work and its importance to the international arts community,” and awards from Athens International Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival, DoubleTake and Black Maria film festivals. She was a participant in the American Film Institute’s Directing Workshop for Women, and received fellowships and grants from the New York State Council on the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, Soros Documentary Fund, the Jerome Foundation, the American Film Institute and ArtsLink CEC International Partners. She is also a Yaddo and MacDowell Fellow. Her films are in the collection of MoMA, UCLA/Sundance Collection, the New Museum of Contemporary Art New York and the Open Society Archive Budapest.

    Credits:

    Director/Writer/Producer: Sharon Greytak
    Producers: Idanna Pucci, Terence Ward
    Line Producer: Petra Ahmann
    Cinematographer: Gus Sacks
    Editors: Ulysses Guidotti, Marian Sears Hunter
    Composer: Heather Schmidt
    Casting: Adrienne Stern
    Production Design: Emmeline Wilks-Dupoise

    Social Media:

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archaeologyofawoman
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArchofaWoman  

     

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  • Harry Belafonte, Jean-Claude Carrière, Hayao Miyazaki And Maureen O’Hara To Receive Academy’s Governors Awards

    Harry Belafonte, Jean-Claude Carrière, Hayao Miyazaki And Maureen O’Hara To Receive Academy’s Governors Awards

    The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted Tuesday night (August 26) to present Honorary Awards to Jean-Claude Carrière, Hayao Miyazaki and Maureen O’Hara, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to Harry Belafonte.  All four awards will be presented at the Academy’s 6th Annual Governors Awards on Saturday, November 8, at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center®.

    “The Governors Awards allow us to reflect upon not the year in film, but the achievements of a lifetime,” said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs.  “We’re absolutely thrilled to honor these outstanding members of our global filmmaking community and look forward to celebrating with them in November.”

    Carrière, who began his career as a novelist, was introduced to screenwriting by French comedian and filmmaker Pierre Étaix, with whom he shared an Oscar® for the live action short subject “Heureux Anniversaire (Happy Anniversary)” in 1962.  He received two more nominations during his nearly two-decade collaboration with director Luis Buñuel, for the screenplays for “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie” and “That Obscure Object of Desire.”  Carrière also has collaborated notably with such directors as Volker Schlöndorff (“The Tin Drum”), Jean-Luc Godard (“Every Man for Himself”) and Andrzej Wajda (“Danton”).  He earned a fourth Oscar nomination for “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” with director Philip Kaufman.

    Miyazaki is an artist, writer, director, producer and three-time Oscar nominee in the Animated Feature Film category, winning in 2002 for “Spirited Away.”  His other nominations were for “Howl’s Moving Castle” in 2005 and “The Wind Rises” last year.  Miyazaki gained an enormous following in his native Japan for such features as “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind,” “Laputa: Castle in the Sky,” “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Kiki’s Delivery Service” before breaking out internationally in the late 1990s with “Princess Mononoke.”  He is the co-founder of Studio Ghibli, a renowned animation studio based in Tokyo.

    O’Hara, a native of Dublin, Ireland, came to Hollywood in 1939 to star opposite Charles Laughton in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”  She went on to appear in a wide range of feature films, including the swashbucklers “The Black Swan” and “Sinbad the Sailor,” the dramas “This Land Is Mine” and “A Woman’s Secret,” the family classics “Miracle on 34th Street” and “The Parent Trap,” the spy comedy “Our Man in Havana” and numerous Westerns.  She was a favorite of director John Ford, who cast her in five of his films, including “How Green Was My Valley,” “Rio Grande” and “The Quiet Man.”

    An actor, producer, singer and lifelong activist, Belafonte began performing in theaters and nightclubs in and around Harlem, where he was born.  From the beginning of his film career, he chose projects that shed needed light on racism and inequality, including “Carmen Jones,” “Odds against Tomorrow” and “The World, the Flesh and the Devil.”  He was an early supporter of the Civil Rights Movement, marching and organizing alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. and often funding initiatives with his entertainment income.  Belafonte was named a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1987 and currently serves on the boards of the Advancement Project and the Institute for Policy Studies.  His work on behalf of children, education, famine relief, AIDS awareness and civil rights has taken him all over the world.

    The Honorary Award, an Oscar statuette, is given “to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy.”

    The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, also an Oscar statuette, is given “to an individual in the motion picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry.”

    images Credit: 
    Harry Belafonte at the Vienna International Film Festival 2011. Taken by Manfred Werner via Wikimedia.
    Screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière giving a lecture on scenario writing at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France during the festival Paris-Cinéma. Taken by Roman Bonnefoy via Wikimedia.
    Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki at the 2008 Venice Film Festival. Taken by Thomas Schulz via Wikimedia.
    O’Hara at the 2014 TCM Film Festival. Taken by Greg Hernandez via Wikimedia.

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  • Actor Chris Lowell’s Directorial Debut BESIDES STILL WATERS Set For November Release by Tribeca Films

     beside still waters

    Chris Lowell’s Beside Still Waters will be theatrically released this fall, beginning on November 14, 2014 with cable/telco and satellite video-on-demand and digital platforms on November 18, 2014 via Tribeca Film. Directed, produced and co-written by Lowell with co-writer Mohit Narang, the film stars Ryan Eggold (“The Blacklist”), Beck Bennett (“Saturday Night Live”), Brett Dalton (“Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”), Erin Darke, Jessy Hodges, Will Brill, Britt Lower and Reid Scott (“Veep”).

    Blending 16mm, Super 8mm & Lowell’s own B&W photography, Beside Still Waters received overwhelming support from its innovative Kickstarter campaign, where it quickly became the 13th most-funded narrative film of all time, and the only one of the top 100 to more than triple its goal, which was surpassed on the second day of a month-long campaign. 

    Winner of both the Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2013 Austin Film Festival, Beside Still Waters is about Daniel Thatcher (Ryan Eggold), a young romantic who has recently fallen on hard times, who enlists his childhood friends to relive the glory days of their youth, whether they like it or not.

    “With Beside Still Waters, I wanted to write a love letter to the place that I grew up and the people I grew up with. I wanted to tell a small story that communicated big ideas, which to me, is the nature of independent cinema. Tribeca Film was one of the earliest supporters of Beside Still Waters, and I couldn’t be more excited to partner with them for the release.

    They have always encouraged innovative, forward-thinking cinema, and I am honored to have my first film among their incredibly impressive canon,” said Chris Lowell.

    Beside Still Waters is a beautifully realized story of friendship which is innovative in its approach in as many ways as one can be, in its writing, style, financing and indeed in its distribution,” said Geoffrey Gilmore, Tribeca Enterprises. “This is a remarkable debut for Chris Lowell and team that is all too rare in present day indie filmmaking.”

    Jason Potash and Paul Finkel produced through their Storyboard Entertainment banner and Lowell, Narang, and Steven Gorel also served as producers.

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  • Cheryl Boone Isaacs Re-Elected Academy President

    Cheryl Boone IsaacsCheryl Boone Isaacs

    Cheryl Boone Isaacs was re-elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Tuesday night (August 5) by the organization’s Board of Governors.

    In addition, Jeffrey Kurland was elected first vice president, Leonard Engelman and John Bailey were elected to vice president posts, Dick Cook was elected treasurer, and Bill Kroyer was elected secretary.

    Boone Isaacs is beginning her second term as president and her 22nd year as a governor representing the Public Relations Branch. Last year Kurland served as vice president. Both Engelman and Cook were re-elected to their posts. These will be the first officer stints for Bailey and Kroyer.

    Boone Isaacs currently heads CBI Enterprises, Inc., where she has consulted on marketing efforts on such films as “The Call,” “The Artist,” “The King’s Speech,” “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” “Spider-Man 2” and “Tupac: Resurrection.”Boone Isaacs previously served as president of theatrical marketing for New Line Cinema, where she oversaw numerous box office successes, including “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” and “Rush Hour.” Prior to joining New Line in 1997, she was executive vice president of worldwide publicity for Paramount Pictures, where she orchestrated publicity campaigns for the Best Picture winners “Forrest Gump” and “Braveheart.” This year, she was inducted into the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Hall of Fame, and received the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA) Horizon Award and the 2014 Trailblazer award from Essence magazine.

    Academy board members may serve up to three consecutive three-year terms, while officers serve one-year terms, with a maximum of four consecutive years in any one office.

    Press Release via AMPAS

     

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  • “House of Cards” Rachel Brosnahan and “Fringe” David Call to Lead Cast of Upcoming Independent Film “AMERICANA”

    Rachel BrosnahanRachel Brosnahan

    Director Zachary Shedd and Flies Collective announced that David Call (Tiny FurnitureFringe) and Rachel Brosnahan (House of CardsManhattan) are among the cast members set for their upcoming feature film Americana.  The third project from Flies Collective, Americana follows the critically acclaimed Hide Your Smiling Faces, written and directed by Daniel Patrick Carbone and the award-winning A Little Closer, written and directed by Matthew Petock.  Production is set to commence in San Francisco later this year.

    Americana is an indie take on the great San Francisco thrillers of the 1970s.  David Call stars as Avery Wells, a recovering alcoholic trying to prove himself again as a film editor.  When his movie star sister (Rachel Brosnahan) is killed outside a party, Avery must find her murderer while dealing with his addiction.

    David Call was first seen on screen in The Notorious Bettie Page and has since landed recurring roles in popular prime time television series including CW’s Gossip Girl and NBC’s Smash.  Call is also well known for his leading roles in acclaimed independent films includingNortheast and Two Gates of Sleep, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and supporting roles in Lena Dunham’s Tiny Furniture andGabriel, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

    Rachel Brosnahan is well known for her memorable performance as ex call girl Rachel Posner in Netflix’s acclaimed series House of Cards,and currently stars in WGN America’s new series Manhattan.  Other recent film and television credits include recurring roles in NBC’s The Blacklist and ABC’s Black Box, as well as roles in Beautiful Creatures, Orange is the New BlackGrey’s Anatomy and an appearance in HBO’s upcoming mini-series Olive Kitteridge

    “David and Rachel are exceptionally talented actors who are perfectly poised to assume these roles and we could not be more thrilled to have them lead the cast of Americana,” commented writer and director Zachary Shedd.

    The recently launched Kickstarter campaign for Americana is seeking $25,000 as the final stage of fundraising to help support production costs.  Supporters of high-quality, independent cinema can donate to the campaign at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/95453553/americana

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  • Michael Fassbender, Sally Hawkins Among 271 Invited to Join Academy

     Sally Hawkins in Blue JasmineSally Hawkins in Blue Jasmine

    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending invitations to join the organization to 271 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures.  Those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy’s membership in 2014.

    “This year’s class of invitees represents some of the most talented, creative and passionate filmmakers working in our industry today,” said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs.  “Their contributions to film have entertained audiences around the world, and we are proud to welcome them to the Academy.”

    The 2014 invitees are:

    Actors
    Barkhad Abdi – “Captain Phillips”
    Clancy Brown – “The Hurricane,” “The Shawshank Redeption”
    Paul Dano – “12 Years a Slave,” “Prisoners”
    Michael Fassbender – “12 Years a Slave,” “Shame”
    Ben Foster – “Lone Survivor,” “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”
    Beth Grant – “The Artist,” “No Country for Old Men”
    Clark Gregg – “Much Ado about Nothing,” “Marvel’s The Avengers”
    Sally Hawkins – “Blue Jasmine,” “Happy-Go-Lucky”
    Josh Hutcherson – “The Hunger Games,” “The Kids Are All Right”
    Julia Louis-Dreyfus – “Enough Said,” “Planes”
    Kelly Macdonald – “Brave,” “No Country for Old Men”
    Mads Mikkelsen – “The Hunt,” “Casino Royale”
    Joel McKinnon Miller – “Super 8,” “The Truman Show”
    Cillian Murphy – “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Inception”
    Lupita Nyong’o – “Non-Stop,” “12 Years a Slave”
    Rob Riggle – “21 Jump Street,” “The Hangover”
    Chris Rock – “Grown Ups 2,” “Madagascar”
    June Squibb – “Nebraska,” “About Schmidt”
    Jason Statham – “Parker,” “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”
    David Strathairn – “Lincoln,” “Good Night, and Good Luck.”

    Casting Directors
    Douglas Aibel – “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “The Immigrant”
    Simone Bär – “The Monuments Men,” “The Book Thief”
    Kerry Barden – “August: Osage County,” “Dallas Buyers Club”
    Nikki Barrett – “The Railway Man,” “The Great Gatsby”
    Mark Bennett – “Drinking Buddies,” “Zero Dark Thirty”
    Risa Bramon Garcia – “Speed,” “Wall Street” 
    Michelle Guish – “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” “Nanny McPhee”
    Billy Hopkins – “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” “Disconnect”
    Ros Hubbard – “Romeo & Juliet,” “The Mummy”
    Allison Jones – “The Way, Way Back,” “The Heat”
    Christine King – “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” “Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith”
    Beatrice Kruger – “To Rome with Love,” “The American”
    Marci Liroff – “Mean Girls,” “Pretty in Pink”
    Debbie McWilliams – “Skyfall,” “Quantum of Solace”
    Joseph Middleton – “TheTwilight Saga: New Moon,” “Legally Blonde”
    Robi Reed – “For Colored Girls,” “Do the Right Thing”
    Kevin Reher – “Monsters University,” “Finding Nemo”
    Paul Schnee – “August: Osage County,” “Dallas Buyers Club”
    Gail Stevens – “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Slumdog Millionaire”
    Lucinda Syson – “Gravity,” “Fast and & Furious 6”
    Fiona Weir – “J. Edgar,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
    Ronnie Yeskel – “The Sessions,” “Atlas Shrugged Part 1”

    Cinematographers
    Sean Bobbitt – “12 Years a Slave,” “The Place beyond the Pines”
    Philippe Le Sourd – “The Grandmaster,” “Seven Pounds”
    James Neihouse – “Hubble 3D,” “Nascar: The IMAX Experience”
    Masanobu Takayanagi – “Out of the Furnace,” “Silver Linings Playbook”
    Bradford Young – “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” “Pariah”

    Costume Designers 
    William Chang Suk Ping – “The Grandmaster,” “In the Mood for Love”
    Pascaline Chavanne – “Renoir,” “Augustine”
    Daniela Ciancio – “The Great Beauty,” “Il Divo”
    Frank L. Fleming – “Draft Day,” “Monster’s Ball” 
    Maurizio Millenotti – “Hamlet,” “Otello”
    Beatrix Aruna Pasztor – “Great Expectations,” “Good Will Hunting”
    Karyn Wagner – “Lovelace,” “The Green Mile”

    Designers
    William Arnold – “Lovelace,” “Crazy, Stupid, Love.”
    K.K. Barrett – “Her,” “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
    Susan Benjamin – “Saving Mr. Banks,” “The Blind Side”
    Bill Boes – “The Smurfs 2,” “Fantastic Four”
    Tony Fanning – “Contraband,” “War of the Worlds”
    Robert Greenfield – “Priest,” “Almost Famous”
    Marcia Hinds – “I Spy,” “The Public Eye”
    Sonja Brisbane Klaus – “Prometheus,” “Robin Hood”
    David S. Lazan – “Flight,” “American Beauty”
    Diane Lederman – “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” “Tower Heist”
    Heather Loeffler – “American Hustle,” “Silver Linings Playbook”
    Christa Munro – “Jack Reacher,” “Erin Brockovich”
    Andy Nicholson – “Gravity,” “The Host” 
    Adam Stockhausen – “12 Years a Slave,” “Moonrise Kingdom”

    Directors
    Hany Abu-Assad – “Omar,” “Paradise Now”
    Jay Duplass – “Jeff, Who Lives at Home,” “Cyrus”
    Mark Duplass – “Jeff, Who Lives at Home,” “Cyrus”
    David Gordon Green – “Joe,” “Pineapple Express”
    Gavin O’Connor – “Warrior,” “Miracle”
    Gina Prince-Bythewood – “The Secret Life of Bees,” “Love and Basketball”
    Paolo Sorrentino – “The Great Beauty,” “This Must Be the Place”
    Jean-Marc Vallée – “Dallas Buyers Club,” “Young Victoria” 
    Felix van Groeningen – “The Broken Circle Breakdown,” “The Misfortunates”
    Denis Villeneuve – “Prisoners,” “Incendies”
    Thomas Vinterberg – “The Hunt,” “The Celebration”

    Documentary
    Malcolm Clarke – “The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life,” “Prisoner of Paradise”
    Dan Cogan – “How to Survive a Plague,” “The Queen of Versailles”
    Kief Davidson – “Open Heart,” “Kassim the Dream”
    Dan Geller – “The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden,” “Ballets Russes”
    Dayna Goldfine – “The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden,” “Ballets Russes”
    Julie Goldman – “God Loves Uganda,” “Gideon’s Army”
    Sam Green – “Utopia in Four Movements,” “The Weather Underground”
    Gary Hustwit – “Urbanized,” “Helvetica”
    Eugene Jarecki – “The House I Live In,” “Why We Fight”
    Brian Johnson – “Anita,” “Buena Vista Social Club”
    Ross Kauffman – “E-Team,” “Born into Brothels”
    Morgan Neville – “20 Feet from Stardom,” “Troubadours”
    Matthew J. O’Neill – “Redemption,” “China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province”
    Rithy Panh – “The Missing Picture,” “S-21: The Khmer Rouge Death Machine”
    Lucy Massie Phenix – “Regret to Inform,” “Word Is Out”
    Enat Sidi – “Detropia,” “Jesus Camp”
    Molly Thompson – “The Unknown Known,” “Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer”
    Cynthia Wade – “Mondays at Racine,” “Freeheld”

    Executives
    Adrian Alperovich 
    Sean Bailey 
    Len Blavatnik
    Nicholas Carpou
    Nancy Carson
    Charles S. Cohen
    Jason Constantine
    Peter Cramer
    William Kyle Davies
    Christopher Floyd
    David Garrett
    David Hollis
    Tomas Jegeus
    Michelle Raimo Kouyate
    Anthony James Marcoly
    Hiroyasu Matsuoka
    Kim Roth
    John Sloss

    Film Editors
    Alan Baumgarten – “American Hustle,” “Gangster Squad”
    Alan Edward Bell – “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” “The Amazing Spider-Man”
    Dorian Harris – “The Magic of Belle Isle,” “The Mod Squad”
    Sabrina Plisco – “The Smurfs 2,” “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”
    Tatiana S. Riegel – “Million Dollar Arm,” “The Way, Way Back”
    Julie Rogers – “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl”
    Mark Sanger – “Gravity”
    Joan Sobel – “Admission,” “A Single Man”
    Crispin Struthers – “American Hustle,” “Silver Linings Playbook”
    Tracey Wadmore-Smith – “About Last Night,” “Death at a Funeral”
    Joe Walker – “12 Years a Slave,” “Shame”
    John Wilson – “The Book Thief,” “Billy Elliot”

    Makeup Artists and Hairstylists
    Vivian Baker – “Oz The Great and Powerful,” “Conviction”
    Adruitha Lee – “Dallas Buyers Club,” “12 Years a Slave” 
    Robin Mathews – “Dallas Buyers Club,” “The Runaways”
    Anne Morgan – “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,” “A Little Bit of Heaven”
    Gloria Pasqua-Casny – “The Lone Ranger,” “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”

    Members-at-Large
    Peter Becker
    Jeff Dashnaw 
    Kenneth L. Halsband
    Jody Levin
    Tom MacDougall
    Chuck Picerni, Jr.
    Spiro Razatos 
    Mic Rodgers
    Kevin J. Yeaman

    Music
    Kristen Anderson-Lopez – “Frozen,” “Winnie the Pooh”
    Stanley Clarke – “The Best Man Holiday,” “Boyz N the Hood”
    Earl Ghaffari – “Frozen,” “Wreck-It Ralph”
    Steve Jablonsky – “Lone Survivor,” “Ender’s Game”
    Robert Lopez – “Frozen,” “Winnie the Pooh”
    Steven Price – “Gravity,” “The World’s End”
    Tony Renis – “Hidden Moon,” “Quest for Camelot”
    Angie Rubin – “Pitch Perfect,” “Sex and the City”
    Buck Sanders – “Warm Bodies,” “The Hurt Locker”
    Charles Strouse – “All Dogs Go to Heaven,” “Annie”
    Eddie Vedder – “Eat Pray Love,” “Into the Wild”
    Pharrell Williams – “Despicable Me 2,” “Fast & Furious”

    Producers
    Jason Blumenthal – “Hope Springs,” “Seven Pounds”
    Dana Brunetti – “Captain Phillips,” “The Social Network”
    Megan Ellison – “American Hustle,” “Her”
    Sean Furst – “Daybreakers,” “The Cooler”
    Nicola Giuliano – “The Great Beauty,” “This Must Be the Place”
    Preston Holmes – “Waist Deep,” “Tupac: Resurrection”
    Lynette M. Howell – “The Place beyond the Pines,” “Blue Valentine”
    Anthony Katagas – “12 Years a Slave,” “Killing Them Softly”
    Alix Madigan – “Girl Most Likely,” “Winter’s Bone”
    Paul Mezey – “The Girl,” “Maria Full of Grace”
    Stephen Nemeth – “The Sessions,” “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”
    Tracey Seaward – “Philomena,” “The Queen”
    John H. Williams – “Space Chimps,” “Shrek 2”

    Public Relations
    Larry Angrisani
    Nancy Bannister
    Christine Batista
    Karen Hermelin
    Marisa McGrath Liston
    David Magdael
    Steven Raphael
    Bettina R. Sherick
    Dani Weinstein

    Short Films and Feature Animation
    Didier Brunner – “Ernest & Celestine,” “The Triplets of Belleville”
    Scott Clark – “Monsters University,” “Up”
    Pierre Coffin – “Despicable Me 2,” “Despicable Me”
    Esteban Crespo – “Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me),” “Lala”
    Peter Del Vecho – “Frozen,” “The Princess and the Frog”
    Kirk DeMicco – “The Croods,” “Space Chimps”
    Doug Frankel – “Brave,” “WALL-E”
    Mark Gill – “The Voorman Problem,” “Full Time”
    David A. S. James – “Mr. Peabody & Sherman,” “Megamind”
    Fabrice Joubert – “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax,” “French Roast”
    Jean-Claude Kalache – “Up,” “Cars”
    Jason Katz – “Toy Story 3,” “Finding Nemo”
    Jennifer Lee – “Frozen,” “Wreck-It Ralph”
    Baldwin Li – “The Voorman Problem,” “Full Time”
    Nathan Loofbourrow – “Puss in Boots,” “How to Train Your Dragon”
    Lauren MacMullan – “Get a Horse!,” “Wreck-It Ralph”
    Tom McGrath –  “Megamind,” “Madagascar”
    Dorothy McKim – “Get a Horse!,” “Meet the Robinsons”
    Hayao Miyazaki – “The Wind Rises,” “Spirited Away”
    Ricky Nierva – “Monsters University,” “Up”
    Chris Renaud – “Despicable Me 2,” “Despicable Me”
    Benjamin Renner – “Ernest & Celestine,” “A Mouse’s Tale (La Queue de la Souris)”
    Michael Rose – “Chico & Rita,” “The Gruffalo”
    Toshio Suzuki – “The Wind Rises,” “Howl’s Moving Castle”
    Selma Vilhunen – “Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitta? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?),” “The Crossroads”  
    Anders Walter – “Helium,” “9 Meter”
    Laurent Witz – “Mr. Hublot,” “Renart the Fox”

    Sound
    Niv Adiri – “Gravity,” “The Book Thief”
    Christopher Benstead – “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,” “Gravity”
    Steve Boeddeker – “All Is Lost,” “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
    Beau Borders – “Million Dollar Arm,” “Lone Survivor”
    David Brownlow – “Lone Survivor,” “The Book of Eli”
    Chris Burdon – “Captain Phillips,” “Philomena”
    Brent Burge – “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”
    André Fenley – “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” “All Is Lost”
    Glenn Freemantle – “Gravity,” “Slumdog Millionaire”
    Greg Hedgepath – “Frozen,” “The Incredible Hulk”
    Craig Henighan – “Noah,” “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”
    Tony Johnson – “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” “Avatar”
    Laurent M. Kossayan – “Red Riding Hood,” “Public Enemies”
    Thomas L. Lalley – “Mr. Peabody & Sherman,” “Star Trek Into Darkness”
    Ai-Ling Lee – “Godzilla,” “300: Rise of an Empire”
    Stephen Morris – “Monsters University,” “Fruitvale Station”
    Jeremy Peirson – “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” “Looper”
    Mike Prestwood Smith – “Divergent,” “Captain Phillips”
    Alan Rankin – “Iron Man 3,” “Star Trek”
    Oliver Tarney – “Captain Phillips,” “Philomena”
    Chris Ward – “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”

    Visual Effects
    Gary Brozenich – “The Lone Ranger,” “Wrath of the Titans”
    Everett Burrell – “Grudge Match,” “Pan’s Labyrinth”
    Marc Chu – “Noah,” “Marvel’s The Avengers”
    David Fletcher – “Sabotage,” “Prisoners”
    Swen Gillberg – “Ender’s Game,” “Jack the Giant Slayer”
    Paul Graff – “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Identity Thief”
    Alex Henning – “Star Trek Into Darkness,” “Hugo” 
    Evan Jacobs – “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Olympus Has Fallen”
    Chris Lawrence – “Edge of Tomorrow,” “Gravity” 
    Eric Leven – “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2,” “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1”
    Steven Messing – “Godzilla,” “Oz The Great and Powerful”
    Ben Matthew Morris – “Lincoln,” “The Golden Compass”
    Jake Morrison – “Thor: The Dark World,” “Marvel’s The Avengers”
    Eric Reynolds – “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”
    David Shirk – “Gravity,” “Elysium”
    Patrick Tubach – “Star Trek Into Darkness,” “Marvel’s The Avengers”
    Bruno Van Zeebroeck – “Lone Survivor,” “Public Enemies”
    Tim Webber – “Gravity,” “The Dark Knight”
    Harold Weed – “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” “Star Trek”

    Writers
    Chantal Akerman – “A Couch in New York,” “Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles”
    Olivier Assayas – “Summer Hours,” “Irma Vep”
    Craig Borten – “Dallas Buyers Club”
    Scott Z. Burns – “Side Effects,” “Contagion”
    Jean-Claude Carrière – “The Unbearable Lightness of Being,” “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie”
    Steve Coogan – “Philomena,” “The Parole Officer”
    Claire Denis – “White Material,” “Beau Travail”
    Larry Gross – “We Don’t Live Here Anymore,” “48 Hrs.”
    Mathieu Kassovitz – “Babylon A.D.,” “Hate (La Haine)”
    Diane Kurys – “For a Woman,” “Entre Nous”
    Bob Nelson – “Nebraska”
    Scott Neustadter – “The Spectacular Now,” “(500) Days of Summer”
    Jeff Pope – “Philomena,” “Pierrepoint – The Last Hangman”
    John Ridley – “12 Years a Slave,” “Undercover Brother”
    Paul Rudnick – “In & Out,” ”Jeffrey”
    Eric Warren Singer – “American Hustle,” ”The International”
    Melisa Wallack – “Dallas Buyers Club,” “Mirror Mirror”
    Michael H. Weber – “The Spectacular Now,” “(500) Days of Summer”
    Terence Winter – “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Get Rich or Die Tryin’”

    Associates
    Matt Del Piano
    Joe Funicello
    Robert Hohman
    Paul Christopher Hook
    David Kramer
    Joel Lubin
    David Pringle
    Melanie Ramsayer
    Beth Swofford
    Meredith Wechter

    Each year Academy members may sponsor one candidate for membership within their branch.  New member application reviews take place in the spring.  Applications for the coming year must be received by March 19, 2015.

    New members will be welcomed into the Academy at an invitation-only reception in September.

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  • Fall Theatrical Release Set for Alex Ross Perry’s Acclaimed Dark Comedy LISTEN UP PHILIP, Starring Jason Schwartzman and Elisabeth Moss

     listen up philip

    Tribeca Film today announced it has acquired North American rights to Alex Ross Perry’s acclaimed dark comedy, Listen Up Philip starring Jason Schwartzman, Elisabeth Moss, Jonathan Pryce, Krysten Ritter, Joséphine de La Baume, Dree Hemingway, and Jess Weixler. Written and directed by Perry (2013 Independent Spirit Award-nominee for The Color Wheel), and shot on 16mm film by cinematographer Sean Price Williams, the film played to rave reviews when it premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. It will be released theatrically beginning October 17, 2014, with video-on-demand platforms following on October 21, 2014.

    A complex, intimate, and highly idiosyncratic comedy, Listen Up Philip is a literary look at the triumph of reality over the human spirit. Anger rages in Philip (Jason Schwartzman) as he awaits the publication of his sure-to-succeed second novel. He feels pushed out of his adopted home city by the constant crowds and noise, a deteriorating relationship with his photographer girlfriend Ashley (Elisabeth Moss), and his indifference to promoting his own work. When Philip’s idol Ike Zimmerman (Jonathan Pryce) offers his isolated summer home as a refuge, he finally gets the peace and quiet to focus on his favorite subject — himself.

    “Driven by a superbly acidic performance by Jason Schwartzman and equally fuelled by its allusions to and by inspiration from Philip Roth, director/writer Alex Ross Perry’s Listen Up Philip is a revelation by a uniquely gifted filmmaker,” said Geoff Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer, Tribeca Enterprises.

    “Life isn’t full of easy answers or situations where things are wrapped up in a neat little package, and I set out to make a film that reflects this. That scared some people. Tribeca Film has proven themselves fearless by partnering with us for the release of Listen Up Philip. In this day and age, distribution for independent films is a real broken system, probably worse than it has ever been. So it is incredibly exciting to be working with people who actually care not only about ‘movies’ and ‘stories’ but about honest to god Cinema, I mean serious Cinema that leaves audiences heavier. They’ve put their support behind me and this film and they believe in it in a way that I hope will allow Listen Up Philip to be seen by as many people as possible,” said Alex Ross Perry.

    Listen Up Philip is produced by Katie Stern and Joshua Blum at Washington Square Films and Toby Halbrooks, James M. Johnston & David Lowery of Sailor Bear. The deal was negotiated for Tribeca Film by Nick Savva, with John Sloss of Cinetic Media on behalf of the filmmakers.

    http://youtu.be/Jkjn5ICqmJI

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  • Film Society of Lincoln Center Unveils Lineup for 2014 Latinbeat; Opens with Fellipe Barbosa’s CASA GRANDE

    Casa Grande

    The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced today the complete lineup for the 15th edition of Latinbeat, the premier annual showcase for contemporary cinema from Latin America, running from July 11-20. This year’s festival combines personal, risk-taking works by mostly emerging filmmakers with award-winning productions. This juxtaposition, and the breadth of countries represented, speak to the growth of a film industry that began in only a few countries about 15 years ago and has now spread throughout the entire region. We are excited to celebrate this fertile state of affairs with an eclectic selection that attests to the region’s continued cinematic renewal.

    “Fifteen years after the reawakening of Latin American cinema in the 1990s there is greater and more varied film production, more interconnectedness among national cinemas, more organized governmental funding, more young people studying film, and more film festivals in the region,” said Latinbeat programmer Marcela Goglio. “However, it is exciting to see that the formal exploration and sense of urgency of those early films persists in the works of many new directors today, giving the region a sense of perpetual cinematic rebirth.”

    Opening Night kicks off with Fellipe Barbosa’s tender, coming-of-age feature debut, Casa Grande, from Brazil, starring newcomer Thales Cavalcanti as a teen trying to transcend the limitations of his upper-class existence. A hit at Rotterdam earlier this year, the film also stars a mix of Brazilian TV stars and nonprofessional actors to highlight class differences and racism. The lineup also includes additional intimate portraits of the teenage experience, notably by filmmakers making their mark with bold feature debuts. In Argentinian director Matías Lucchesi’s Natural Sciences (which won the Grand Prix  of the Generation Kplus at the recent Berlinale), a young teenage girl escapes her boarding school to search for the father she never knew. In Samuel Kishi Leopo’s vivid We Are Mari Pepa, from Mexico, a group of high-spirited 16-year-olds in a punk band spend their time lazily rehearsing their one completed song, writing a second song, and debating whether or not to participate in an upcoming battles-of-the-bands competition.

    All About the Feathers

    Experimental formats and unconventional methods of filmmaking and casting are some notable traits that run through this year’s energetic lineup. Neto Villalobos’s debut feature, All About the Feathers, a screwball comedy that incorporates mostly nonprofessional actors. Telenovela superstar Miguel Ferrari’s zany and sentimental feature debut reminiscent of the early works of Almodóvar, My Straight Son,  has the distinction of being the first Venezuelan film to openly deal with gay and transgender issues and features performances from some of the country’s top television  personalities. Director Jose Luis Valle’s second feature, The Searches, featuring a cast of renowned Mexican actors, was shot in black-and-white in seven days, with a budget of $1,500. Brazilians Marcelo Gomes and Cao Guimarães based their beautiful The Man of the Crowd on an Edgar Allan Poe tale and presents the visual film in an unusual format of 3:3.5 ratio, which makes it resemble a Polaroid.

     

    FILM DESCRIPTIONS & SCHEDULE

     Opening Night 
    Casa Grande
    Fellipe Barbosa, Brazil, 2014, DCP, 114m
    Portuguese with English subtitles
    Set in Rio, Fellipe Barbosa’s long-awaited fiction debut is a clear-eyed, empathetic portrait of a teenager who strives to transcend the limitations of his upper-middle-class family life. Seventeen-year-old Jean (an outstanding Thales Cavalcanti) contends with pressure from parental expectations, university entrance exams, and the surprising discovery of a family financial crisis in this tender, beautifully written coming-of-age story that deftly explores class differences and racism in Brazil today.
    Friday, July 11, 6:15pm 
    Monday, July 14, 8:30pm 

    All About the Feathers / Por las plumas
    Neto Villalobos, Costa Rica, 2013, DCP, 85m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    Chalo is inseparable from his friend Rocky, a fighting cock he acquires to bring some excitement into his boring life as a security guard. But what Rocky brings is in fact an unexpected set of screwball adventures. Cockfighting is illegal but has a passionate following in the small Costa Rican town where Chalo lives (the film tastefully keeps the action offscreen). Neto Villalobos’s winning, dryly funny debut feature renders that world with genuine flavor and charm by a cast made up of mostly nonprofessional actors.
    Thursday, July 17, 6:30pm 

    Cristo Rey
    Leticia Tonos Paniagua, Dominican Republic, 2013, DCP, 96m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    In 2011, Leticia Tonos Paniagua was the first Dominican woman to direct a feature film in her country. Her follow-up, a contemporary take onRomeo and Juliet, tackles with sensitivity and a sense of urgency the tough subject of Haitian immigration in the Dominican Republic, where about one million exiles currently reside. Set in the Cristo Rey neighborhood, which is rampant with crime and police corruption, this love story between a teenager of mixed Haitian/Dominican descent and a drug lord’s sister powerfully combines a genuine feel for barrio life with the quick pace and sense of impending danger of a thriller, all the while exploring the implications of racism and xenophobia on this island divided in two.
    Saturday, July 12, 6:30pm
    Sunday, July 13, 4:00pm 

    Dust on the Tongue / Tierra en la lengua
    Rubén Mendoza, Colombia, 2014, DCP, 89m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    Despite family patriarch Don Silvio’s abusive behavior toward friends and family, his magnetism has allowed him to remain the center of attention his entire life. When his death is imminent, he makes an unusual request—he asks two of his grandchildren to help him die. Will they take revenge? With an impeccable direction of actors and a seamless flow between fiction, documentary, and mockumentary, Mendoza displays surprising skill and boldness as he navigates the sensitive subject of veiled hostility between parents and offspring.
    Saturday, July 12, 4:00pm
    Sunday, July 13, 8:40pm

    Holiday / Feriado 
    Diego Araujo, Ecuador/Argentina, 2013, DCP, 82m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    Sixteen-year-old Juan Pablo travels to the remote family hacienda in the Andes, where his uncle, who is involved in a corruption scandal, has taken refuge with his wife and teenage children. It is the carnival holiday of 1999, days before the collapse of Ecuador’s banking system. There, Juan Pablo meets Juano, an enigmatic, self-assured heavy-metal fan from the nearby pueblo, who opens his eyes to an entirely new, liberating world. As his country and family is heading for the abyss, the two boys’ budding friendship develops into a fragile romance, and Juan Pablo is forced to define himself against his chaotic surroundings. Daniele Luppi, who has collaborated with Norah Jones, Jack White, Ennio Morricone, and Gnarls Barkley, composed the score.
    Tuesday, July 15, 4:30pm
    Wednesday, July 16, 6:15pm 

    The Man of the Crowd / O Homem das Multidões
    Marcelo Gomes & Cao Guimarães, Brazil, 2013, DCP, 95m
    Portuguese with English subtitles
    Loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe’s story of the same name, Marcelo Gomes and Cao Guimarães—two of the most interesting filmmakers working in Brazil today—have crafted an elegant, parsimonious, and formally impeccable story of Juvenal, a lonely train driver in Belo Horizonte, and his encounter with Margo, a station controller. Emphasizing the theme of alienation in Poe’s story (and revealing Guimarães’s work as a visual artist), the two directors opted for an unusual format, about a 3:3.5 ratio, which intriguingly makes the film resemble a Polaroid. Juvenal and Margo, who each embody a different form of urban solitude, have been brought together in this beautifully composed ode to friendship. A Curator Films Release.
    Saturday, July 19, 1:00pm
    Sunday, July 20, 6:15pm

    Mateo
    Maria Gamboa, Colombia/France, 2014, DCP, 86m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    Sixteen-year-old Mateo infiltrates a theater group in the violent neighborhood where he lives, and reports on the political activities of its members. But his perspective on the nature of their creative work begins to shift when he falls for a beautiful girl in the troupe. Gamboa’s tough but spirited music-infused tale is based on real-life experiences.
    Sunday, July 13, 1:30pm
    Tuesday, July 15, 6:30pm

    The Militant / El lugar del hijo
    Manuel Nieto, Uruguay, 2013, DCP, 121m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    Ariel, a student leading a 2002 occupation at a Montevideo university, receives news of his father’s death in Salto. Leaving the city and all its protests and solidarity movements behind, Ariel embarks on a very personal journey as he settles into the tranquil countryside—an area under-explored in Uruguayan cinema—and learns that he has to manage his father’s inheritance, including his debts and a lover who’s still living in his house. In this fascinating story of rebirth, Nieto crafts a clever metaphor for the country of Uruguay, which its youth will someday inherit and have to learn how to manage, in their own search for restoration.
    Thursday, July 17, 8:45pm 
    Friday, July 18, 4:00pm 

    My Straight Son/Azul, No Tan Rosa  
    Miguel Ferrari, Venezuela, 2013, 35mm, 113m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    Famous telenovela actor Miguel Ferrari’s debut feature, which won Best Iberoamerican Film at this year’s Goya Awards (the Spanish Oscars), is the first Venezuelan film to openly deal with gay and transgender issues—still mostly taboo in the country. While telling the story of the romantic relationship between a fashion photographer (Guillermo García) a handsome surgeon (Sócrates Serrano), the film also explores with great panache and lots of heart an array of other topics, including teenage love, homophobia, and what it’s like to be a gay parent to an estranged teenage son. Proudly sentimental and reminiscent of Almodóvar’s early melodramas, but also taut, polished, and sexy, My Straight Son features performances by many of Venezuela’s TV personalities. A TLA Releasing release.
    Thursday, July 17, 3:30pm
    Saturday, July 19, 8:30pm

    Natural Sciences / Ciencias Naturales
    Matías Lucchesi, Argentina/France, 2014, DCP, 71m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    Determined to find the father she never knew, 12-year-old Lila (Paula Hertzog) escapes her remote boarding school tucked away in the impressive Sierra de Córdoba mountains. This sweet coming-of-age story about love and perseverance won Berlin’s Generation Kplus Grand Prix as well as Best Film, Best Screenplay, and Best Actress at the Guadalajara Film Festival this year.
    Friday, July 11, 9:15pm 
    Monday, July 14, 6:20pm 

    Paradise / Paraíso
    Mariana Chenillo, Mexico, 2013, DCP, 105m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    Mariana Chenillo’s sophomore feature displays a warmth and delight in life that couldn’t be further from the dark humor of her acclaimed debut, Nora’s Will (Latinbeat ’09). This unpretentious romantic comedy about a happy overweight couple from the suburban middle-class neighborhood Satelite (the “paradise” of the title) takes refreshingly unexpected turns, as their move to Mexico City launches them both on a journey of self-discovery.
    Friday, July 18, 9:00pm 
    Sunday, July 20, 3:30pm 

    Reimon 
    Rodrigo Moreno, Argentina/Germany, 2014, DCP, 72m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    Documentary and fiction are almost indistinguishable in this minimalist but powerfully eloquent film by the director of El custodio and Un mundo misterioso. Moreno closely observes the daily routines of Reimon, a young woman from northeastern Argentina who commutes long distances from her suburban neighborhood to her job cleaning houses in Buenos Aires. In one of these homes, a young couple read passages from Marx’s Das Kapital out loud as she dusts and cooks… And though the film is practically silent, staying true to Reimon’s introspective cadence, the juxtaposition of her daily reality with that of her employers says it all.
    Friday, July 18, 6:45pm 
    Sunday, July 20, 8:30pm 

    Root / Raiz 
    Matías Rojas Valencia, Chile, 2013, DCP, 87m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    In this hypnotic story of redemption and rebirth, a young woman embarks on a road trip through lush remote locations in southern Chile to find the father of a recently orphaned child. Having just returned from the city to the hostile environment of her home in Puerto Varas, Amalia leaves again with 9-year-old Cristobál on a dilapidated truck. The two clash, bond, and grieve in the almost mystical qualities of the region’s breathtaking natural beauty. In his impressive debut feature, Matías Rojas Valencia tells an intensely moving story with very few elements, skillfully incorporating the natural setting as a mirror through which we can witness the characters’ deep inner transformations.
    Saturday, July 12, 1:30pm
    Wednesday, July 16, 8:30pm

    The Searches / Las búsquedas
    Jose Luis Valle, Mexico, 2013, DCP, 77m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    The parallel stories of a widow and a widower come together in the elegant and sober second feature by the award-winning Jose Luis Valle, a director of Salvadoran-Mexican descent. Made in just seven days, and shot in black-and-white, with a budget of $1,500, the film exhibits that a large part of Valle’s talent resides in his capacity to tell a taut, polished, and intriguing story with the fewest of elements—great and renowned Mexican actors notwithstanding (Gustavo Sánchez Parra, Arcelia Ramírez, Gabino Rodríguez). Chance, revenge, solitude, and redemption are some of the themes explored by this small gem of a film.
    Saturday, July 19, 6:00pm 

    The Summer of Flying Fish / El verano de los peces voladores
    Marcela Said, Chile/France, 2013, DCP, 95m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    Don Francisco is celebrated for the effective if increasingly violent ways he employs to exterminate the carp that overpopulate the artificial lake on his property in the majestically beautiful areas of Curarrehue, Coñaripe, and Liquiñe in southern Chile. His beloved 16-year-old daughter, Manena, seems to be the only one aware of the growing tension surrounding them, as the demands of the Mapuche Indians that have lived and worked in the area for centuries have gone unheard for too long. Said brings her sharp observational skills as a documentarian to this fiction/nonfiction hybrid, working on location with nonprofessional actors to create a quietly powerful denunciation of environmental destruction and social injustice. But she also succeeds in crafting a moving and vivid youth drama through Manena’s tricky predicament, caught between loyalty to her family and to what she knows is right.
    Sunday, July 13, 6:30pm
    Monday, July 14, 4:00pm

    We Are Mari Pepa / Somos Mari Pepa
    Samuel Kishi Leopo, Mexico, 2013, DCP, 95m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    As the school year ends, the 16-year-olds who make up the title punk band are free to skateboard, play soccer, and rehearse the one—obscene yet catchy—song they’ve written. Samuel Kishi Leopo vividly captures the carefree spirit of the teenagers’ summer vacation, with closely observed, carefully drawn characters and a pitch-perfect score (by his brother Kenji Kishi). The summer finally ends and the leisurely days—palpitating with music, desire, and camaraderie—give way to reality, bringing this vibrant portrait of youth at a pivotal moment full circle.
    Saturday, July 12, 9:00pm 
    Tuesday, July 15, 8:30pm
     

     

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