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Abby Ginzberg’s Documentary Film SOFT VENGEANCE wins a Peabody Award

Abby Ginzberg’s feature documentary film SOFT VENGEANCE: ALBIE SACHS AND THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA will be honored at the 74th annual Peabody Awards ceremony it was announced today by the Peabody program at the University of Georgia. The critically acclaimed film will receive the coveted Peabody Award at a gala ceremony in New York City on May 31st. “We hope this incredible award will help increase the visibility of Albie Sachs and inspire others to fight for human rights around the world,” commented the film’s director Abby Ginzberg. “Albie Sachs is one of the key champions for equality of our time and we are honored to be entrusted with his legacy on film,” she concluded. SOFT VENGEANCE is set against the dramatic events leading to the overthrow of the apartheid regime in South Africa and focusses on the lawyer, writer, art lover and freedom fighter Albie Sachs. The human rights activist was imprisoned in solitary confinement in Cape Town, tortured through sleep deprivation and forced into exile. In 1988, he was blown up by a car bomb set by the South African security forces in Maputo, Mozambique, which cost him his right arm and the sight of one eye, but miraculously he survived and after a long year of rehabilitation in England, he recovered. Returning to South Africa following the release of Nelson Mandela, Albie helped write the new Constitution and was then appointed as one of the first 11 judges to the new Constitutional Court. SOFT VENGEANCE has been screening at film festivals around the world and has won the audience award for Best International Documentary at the Encounters Film Festival and the Vancouver South African Film Festival. It has also received the Grand Prize Humanitarian Award from the Accolade Film Awards. After premiering at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, it also screened at AFI Docs; DOCNYC, Movies that Matter and the Durban Film Festival in South Africa. The film also screened at key international Jewish film festivals. https://vimeo.com/70589131 The film is executive produced by Alfre Woodard, who also serves as narrator. Abby Ginzberg is the producer and director, Ken Schneider is the Editor and Co-Producer and Rick Goldsmith is the Consulting Producer.
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Nikole Beckwith, Jennifer Phang, Stewart Thorndike Win Inaugural SFFS Women Filmmaker Fellowships

The San Francisco Film Society yesterday announced the inaugural recipients of its SFFS Women Filmmaker Fellowships, a brand new suite of services designed to support female writer/directors working on their second or third narrative feature through a combination of financial backing, innovative programs and events, mentorship services, industry connections and a growing community of fellow filmmakers. Supported by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation and facilitated by Filmmaker360, the Film Society’s filmmaker services department, these fellowships provide direct assistance to an under-served group of storytellers and help to build sustainable careers for women filmmakers all over the world. Participants in the SFFS Women Filmmaker Fellowship must be working on a second or third English-language narrative feature screenplay. They must have had a previous film premiere at a major international festival and priority is given to women working in the genres of science fiction, comedy, action, thriller and horror, which are traditionally under-represented for women filmmakers. “We’re thrilled to be kicking off this new initiative with such talented individuals, and to help bridge the support gap we have seen for many women in finding the resources they need, especially on their second or third feature film projects,” said Michele Turnure-Salleo, director of Filmmaker360. “It’s also very satisfying to support kick-ass women making edgy sci-fi, horror and comedies, and we hope this initiative contributes to leveling the playing field in those areas. Like our SFFS Producers Initiative, this program focuses on backing people rather than individual projects, and we are committed to helping these amazing folks realize their creative visions.” In 2013 and 2014, academic institutions such as the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California and the Center for Study of Women in Television and Film at San Diego State produced substantive reports on the state of women in the film industry, revealing startling statistics that point to drastic gender inequality. The latter group, for example, reports that in 2013, women accounted for just 6% of directors, 10% of writers, 15% of executive producers, 17% of editors and 3% of cinematographers. Additionally, women were found more likely to be working on romantic comedies, dramas or documentaries than the top-grossing genres of animation, sci-fi, action and horror. “We all benefit from a more accurate and diverse portrayal of society on film,” said Jennifer Rainin, CEO of the Kenneth Rainin Foundation. “As more than 50% of the population, it’s imperative that women have opportunities to share their stories on screen and that we see female characters valued as much as males, yet there’s a lack of progress on these issues and little funding for female filmmakers working in narrative. Recognizing this gap, we’ve created the Women Filmmaker Fellowships as a way to build a critical mass of female filmmakers enjoying sustainable and thriving careers. I hope it inspires other film organizations and philanthropists to join us in building out this initiative, and to replicate this model.” Designed to grow organically over time to include additional programs and events, the SFFS Women Filmmaker Fellowship is currently seeking additional funding partners. For more information, visit sffs.org/filmmaker360. 2015 SFFS WOMEN FILMMAKER FELLOWS Nikole Beckwith Nikole Beckwith is from Newburyport, Massachusetts. Her plays have been developed and performed with the Public Theater, Playwrights Horizons, Clubbed Thumb, HERE Arts Center, Colt Coeur, Lesser America, 3LD and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater among others. Her newest play Untitled Matriarch Play (or Seven Sisters) was written at the National Theatre of London’s Studio and premiered in rep at the Royal Court under the direction of Artistic Director Vicky Featherstone. Also a pen and ink artist, Beckwith’s comics have been featured on NPR, WNYC, the Huffington Post and the Hairpin, among others. Her first film Stockholm, Pennsylvania (2012 Nicholl Fellowship, 2012 Black List, 2013 Sundance Screenwriters Lab), which was adapted from her stage play of the same name, premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in the US Dramatic Competition. She lives in Brooklyn. Jennifer Phang Jennifer Phang’s sophomore feature Advantageous (pictured above) won the US Dramatic Competition Special Jury Prize in Collaborative Vision at Sundance 2015. The film will play at the San Francisco International Film Festival and BAM Cinemafest, and is expected to see a release in June. Her award-winning debut feature Half-Life premiered in 2008 at the Tokyo International and Sundance film festivals. It screened at SXSW and was distributed by Sundance Channel. She was invited to Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab and was awarded a SFFS FilmHouse Residency and Sundance Institute Feature Film Grants in support of Advantageous. Phang was originally commissioned to create Advantageous as a short film for the ITVS Futurestates Program. A Berkeley-born daughter of a Chinese-Malaysian father and Vietnamese mother, Phang graduated from the MFA directing program at the American Film Institute. Stewart Thorndike Stewart Thorndike is a writer/director from Tacoma, Washington. She makes female-driven genre films and her first film, Lyle, was hailed as a “lesbianRosemary’s Baby” after its premiere at Outfest, where star Gaby Hoffmann won the Grand Jury Award for Best Actress. Thorndike attended NYU’s graduate film program and her thesis short film, Tess and Nana, premiered at SXSW. Stewart’s next film, The Stay, is about a group of women at a hotel who are told to do bad things by a haunted TED Talk, with Chloe Sevigny attached to star in the 2015 production. She is currently developing her second horror feature, Daughter, about a love triangle between a single mother, her troubled teenage daughter and the witch who moves in next door. Thorndike plans to shoot Daughter in 2016. SFFS Women Filmmaker Fellowships will take place from April to October each year, overlapping with the Film Society’s previously announced Producers Fellowship programs and the San Francisco International Film Festival (April 23 – May 7). Program support includes: * A $25,000 – $40,000 cash grant, which must be used for living expenses. Individual amounts depend on place of residence and estimated travel costs to participate in Bay Area fellowship components. * Placement in FilmHouse Residency program and access to all FilmHouse programs and activities. * One-on-one consultation with film industry experts from the Bay Area and beyond regarding casting, financing, budgeting, legal issues, distribution and other relevant topics. * Weekly one-on-one consultation services provided by Filmmaker360 staff, with feedback on screenplays, verbal pitch strategies and written materials such as synopsis and treatment. * Presentations and networking opportunities with Bay Area narrative filmmakers. * Expenses covered for one 3-day networking trip with a Filmmaker360 staff member from San Francisco to Los Angeles, for meetings with established industry professionals.
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THE GRAND SEDUCTION and THE LUNCHBOX Win Toronto Intl FIlm Fest’s Film Circuit People’s Choice Awards

Don McKellar’s The Grand Seduction and Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox are winners of the 11th annual Film Circuit People’s Choice Awards. The Grand Seduction (pictured above) was named Best Canadian Film and The Lunchbox was selected as the Best International Film. Now in its 11th year, the annual Film Circuit People’s Choice Awards are decided by audiences across the country who vote for their favorite film shown at a Film Circuit screening. Film Circuit is Toronto International Film Festival’s national film outreach program. In 2014, guests travelled to communities across Canada to introduce their films and participate in 95 Q&A sessions. Guests included Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club), Don McKellar (The Grand Seduction), Sturla Gunnarsson (Monsoon), Jody Shapiro (Burt’s Buzz), Elizabeth Klinck (Arctic Defenders), Richie Mehta (Siddharth), Maxime Giroux (Felix and Meira), Katie Boland (Gerontophilia), Daniel Perlmutter (Big News From Grand Rock), and Peter Keleghan and Leah Pinsent (Big News From Grand Rock). The Grand Seduction follows the residents of a small Newfoundland fishing village who, in order to secure a vital factory contract, conspire to charm a big-city doctor into becoming the town’s full-time physician. This sparkling comedy from director Don McKellar (Last Night) and screenwriter Michael Dowse (Goon, The F Word) has screened in 63 Film Circuit communities and was seen by over 10,700 people. In The Lunchbox, a misdelivered lunchbox brings together two very different people — a neglected housewife (Nimrat Kaur) and a grumpy, solitary widower on the verge of retirement (Bollywood star Irrfan Khan) — in this funny and touching comedy-drama from first-time writer-director Ritesh Batra. The Lunchbox has screened in 80 Film Circuit communities and was seen by over 14,300 people.
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Call for Entries for 2015 Telluride Film Festival

Telluride Film Festival, to be held September 4-7, 2015, announces its Call for Entries in all categories including student, short and feature length films. Submission period begins April 15, 2015. Film Entry Form is available for download at www.telluridefilmfestival.org. Shorts and student film submissions must be received no later than 5:00 pm, July 1, 2015. Feature film submissions must be received no later than 5:00 pm, July 15, 2015. All submissions must have been completed after July 15, 2014 and no works in progress will be accepted. Feature-length films (60 minutes or longer) will only be considered if they are to have their first North American screening at Telluride Film Festival. Final program determinations will be made by August 1, 2015. No early or late entries will be accepted. Professional and amateur filmmakers working in all aesthetic disciplines and genres including narrative, documentary, animation and experimental are welcome. Each year Telluride Film Festival plays host to an average of 25 feature films and 25 shorts and student films. Films selected to screen at Telluride Film Festival will be shown out-of-competition. TFF is not a competitive festival. For more information visit www.telluridefilmfestival.org
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Call for Entries for 2015 Cucalorus Film Festival

Cucalorus announces its call for entries!! Cucalorus seeks submissions for features, documentaries, shorts, music videos, media installations and performances ranging from slam poetry to dance for the 21st annual Cucalorus Film Festival, to be held November 11-15, 2015. The festival takes place in a walkable nine-block radius of historic downtown Wilmington, North Carolina. During the five-day celebration, film freaks and community members choose from a diverse lineup buoyed by cleverly crafted special programs, including the opening night live performance Dance-a-lorus and an interactive installation inspired by David Lynch’s Blue Velvet called “The Bus to Lumberton”. Cucalorus is organized into a slate of thematic programs dedicated to social justice, emerging artists, works-in-progress, shorts, dance, festival hits, international cinema, music videos, and North Carolina. New programmatic focuses specifically support American female directors (the Vanguard program), directors from the US South (Southern Voices), and African American directors (Works-in-Progress). CIO Dan Brawley notes, “I’m on the circuit all year and I continue to notice that festivals are trying to embrace diverse voices, but the aesthetic is always the same. So we have to push aesthetic boundaries and create a strong space for exploring new cultures and new stories.” Cucalorus’ general call for entries extends through late July, with separate deadlines for Dance-a-lorus performance pieces and Works-in-Progress.

Submission Deadline Date Fee

Early June 3 $25

Regular June 24 $35

Late July 15 $45

Extended July 29 $55

All film submissions must include an entry form, submission fee and a poetic recipe for the perfect 21st birthday (drawings encouraged). Filmmakers living in the City of Wilmington are FREE and do not have to pay entry fees. www.cucalorus.org/submit_a_film.asp Cucalorus is also currently accepting applications for the Artist Residency program’s fall session, Surfalorus and 10×10.
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Academy Announces Dates for 2016, 2017, 2018 Oscar Show

The Academy and the ABC Television Network announced the dates for the 88th, 89th and 90th Oscar® presentations. The Academy Awards® will air live on ABC on Oscar Sunday, February 28, 2016,February 26, 2017, and March 4, 2018, respectively. Academy key dates for the 2015 Awards season are: Saturday, November 14, 2015: The Governors Awards Wednesday, December 30, 2015: Nominations voting opens 8 a.m. PT Friday, January 8, 2016: Nominations voting closes 5 p.m. PT Thursday, January 14, 2016: Oscar Nominations Announcement Monday, February 8, 2016: Oscar Nominees Luncheon Friday, February 12, 2016: Final voting opens 8 a.m. PT Saturday, February 13, 2016: Scientific and Technical Awards Tuesday, February 23, 2016: Final voting closes 5 p.m. PT Oscar Sunday, February 28, 2016: 88th Academy Awards begins 7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT The 88th Academy Awards will be held at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
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Finalists Announced for Spring 2015 San Francisco Film Society/Kenneth Rainin Foundation Filmmaking Grants

The San Francisco Film Society (SFFS) and Kenneth Rainin Foundation (KRF) have selected 15 finalists for the latest round of SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grants; up to $300,000 will be awarded to one or more narrative feature film projects at various stages of production. SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grants are awarded twice annually to narrative feature films that will have significant economic or professional impact on the Bay Area filmmaking community. More than $2.8 million has been awarded since the launch of the Film Society’s flagship grant program in 2009. Winners of the spring 2015 SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grants will be announced in May. The San Francisco Film Society, in partnership with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, is the largest granting body for independent narrative feature films in the United States. The SFFS / KRF program has funded more than 50 projects since its inception, including such success stories as Kat Candler’sHellion and Ira Sachs’ Love Is Strange, both of which premiered to strong reviews at Sundance 2014; Short Term 12, Destin Cretton’s sophomore feature which won both the Narrative Grand Jury Award and Audience Award at South by Southwest 2013; Ryan Coogler’s debut feature Fruitvale Station, which won the 2014 Film Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, the Un Certain Regard Avenir Prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, and both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the narrative category at Sundance 2013; and Beasts of the Southern Wild, Benh Zeitlin’s debut phenomenon which won Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize and Cannes’ Camera d’Or in 2012 and earned four Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture). “This was a bitterly fought review round, and we encountered so many excellent projects deserving of funding that it really put into focus the importance of support initiatives like the SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grant and the need for more,” said Michele Turnure-Salleo, director of Filmmaker360. “We wish we could fund every single project on this list, and we have a difficult task ahead of us in selecting winners. From the filmmakers we’ve worked with before, to the exciting newcomers to the Film Society family, we can’t wait to see these all of these films take their next steps towards completion.” SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grants are made possible by the vision and generosity of the Kenneth Rainin Foundation. In addition to being awarded funds from the country’s leading granting organization, recipients will receive various benefits through Filmmaker360, the San Francisco Film Society’s comprehensive and dynamic filmmaker services program. These benefits, customized to every individual production, can include one-on-one project consultations and project feedback, additional fundraising assistance, resource and service recommendations, and networking opportunities, among many others. For more information visit sffs.org/Filmmaker360/Grants. SPRING 2015 SFFS / KRF FILMMAKING GRANT FINALISTS Blustar Stella Kyriakopoulos, cowriter/director and Margaret Shin, cowriter — screenwriting Two lovelorn cleaning ladies become friends and find hope while working on the Blue Star Ithaki, one of the fleet of ferries that shuttle myth-seeking tourists to the Greek islands. When the friends learn their Blue Star will be sold to Canada, they are forced to confront their own myths about Greece and each other. Chickenshit Jessica dela Merced, writer/director — screenwriting 11-year-old Phoe enlists the help of a group of neighborhood boys to track down the culprits behind a recent string of fires in Detroit, including the one that claimed her father’s life. jessdelamerced.com The Fixer Ian Olds, writer/director and Caroline von Kuhn, producer — production An Afghan journalist is exiled from his war-torn country to a small bohemian community in Northern California. When he attempts to turn his menial job on the local police blotter into “Afghan-style” coverage of local crime he gets drawn into the backwoods of this small town-a shadow Northern California where sex is casual, true friendship is hard to come by, and an unfamiliar form of violence burbles up all around him. Freeland Mario Furloni and Kate McLean, co-writer/directors — screenwriting In the last season of black market marijuana growing before legalization, a mother and a daughter must reconcile their differences in order to survive in an increasingly inhospitable world. Jones Sally El Hosaini, writer/director — screenwriting When his father abandons him deep in the Guyanese jungle, the rebellious son of a narcissistic church leader discovers a new life of freedom. His utopia is soon shattered when “Dad” arrives with hundreds of followers. Driven by the universal need for a father’s love he becomes complicit in the depravity he previously rejected. Based on Stephan Jones’s true-life story. The Last Black Man in San Francisco Joseph Talbot, writer/director and Rolla Selbak, producer — preproduction Jimmie Fails is a young African American who dreams of buying back the Victorian home his grandfather built in the heart of San Francisco. Now living in the city’s last, dwindling black neighborhood with his oddball best friend, Prentice, they search for belonging in the rapidly changing city that seems to have left them behind. vimeo.com/97971791 The Last Prairie Chloé Zhao, writer/director — screenwriting A young ecologist moves to the Sandhills of Nebraska trying to stop the building of the Keystone Pipeline XL and soon finds herself caught between a small town’s fight for survival and the debate over the future habitability of our planet. Mustang Laure de Clermont Tonnerre, writer/director — screenwriting Roman Coleman is halfway through serving an 11-year sentence for attempted murder when he is offered the chance to participate in an ongoing rehabilitation therapy program involving the training of recently captured wild mustangs. Through his struggle to communicate with the animals, trainers, and other inmates he is forced to face his past and must learn confront his inner demons. Oscillate Wildly Travis Mathews, writer/director — production When a first love challenges his guarded sense of what’s possible, a hot-headed young gay man with mild cerebral palsy is forced to confront the disability he’s let consume and define him. travisdmathews.com Patti Cake$ Geremy Jasper, writer/director and Michael Gottwald, producer — preproduction Patti Dombrowski, a heavy-set white girl, struggles to break out of her blue collar New Jersey town and become a legitimate rap superstar, all on her own terms. welcometolegs.com Reza and the Refugee Aaron Douglas Johnston, writer/director — screenwriting A ragtag team of Middle Eastern political refugees in Holland enters the Eurovision song contest in an effort to save their friend from deportation and certain death. Sorry To Bother You Boots Riley, writer/director and George Rush, producer — screenwriting A Black telemarketer discovers a magical way to make his voice overdubbed by a White actor, propelling him into the upper echelon of a macabre universe where he is selected to lead a species of genetically manipulated horse-people, called the Equisapiens. thisisthecoup.com Staring at the Sun Ryan Piers Williams, writer/director — screenwriting After a massive solar event knocks out the world’s technological infrastructure, healthcare becomes a vital commodity. An elite group of United Nations aid workers given access to the best healthcare are tasked to isolate the sick from the healthy and privileged. When a young aid worker finds himself in a forbidden love, he must choose between a life of solitude or an uncertain fate with the woman he loves. Untitled Whaling Project Jesse Moss, writer/director — screenwriting A feature-length fiction film, based on a true story, about America’s last commercial whaling vessel and its final, fateful voyage in 1971. What Waits For Them In Darkness Stephen Dunn, writer/director — screenwriting 11-year-old Skipper gets separated from her family during the Newfoundland resettlement and stranded alone in her floating house on the high seas of the Atlantic where reality mixes with the rich folklore of Newfoundland for a dark fantasy adventure.
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Deadline Approaching for 2015 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Competition

[caption id="attachment_7829" align="alignnone" width="960"] 2014 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting Winners[/caption] The regular deadline to submit entries for the 2015 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition is Friday, April 10, at 11:59 p.m. PT. In November, as many as five $35,000 fellowships will be awarded to amateur screenwriters. Deadlines and entry fees are as follows: Regular deadline: April 10, at 11:59 p.m. PT; entry fee US$55 Final deadline: May 1, at 11:59 p.m. PT; entry fee US$75 Online applications and complete rules are available at www.oscars.org/nicholl. For the first time, current entrants also may purchase, for an additional $40, review comments from at least two Nicholl readers for each submitted script. For details, visit www.oscars.org/nicholl. Since 1986, 137 Nicholl fellowships have been awarded. Past fellows include writer-director Nikole Beckwith, whose feature “Stockholm, Pennsylvania” premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival; Pat Gilfillan, who wrote “Lila & Eve,” which also premiered at Sundance; Kurt Kuenne, who co-wrote and edited the documentary “Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard around the World,” which premiered at the 2015 Slamdance Film Festival; and Robert Edwards, the writer and director of “When I Live My Life Over Again,” which will debut this month at the Tribeca Film Festival. In addition, “Dear Eleanor,” written by Nicholl fellows Cecilia Contreras and Amy Garcia, and “London Has Fallen,” co-written by Nicholl fellow Creighton Rothenberger, are slated to be released later this year. Former Nicholl fellows currently working in television include Andrew Marlowe, who created and executive produces the series “Castle,” and Terri Miller, a writer and executive producer on the show. Rebecca Sonnenshine is a writer and producer on “The Vampire Diaries.” Annmarie Morais is a writer and story editor on the Syfy series “Killjoys.” Other notable fellows include Doug Atchison (“Akeelah and the Bee”), Destin Daniel Cretton (“Short Term 12”), Jeffrey Eugenides (Middlesex), Susannah Grant (“Erin Brockovich”) and Ehren Kruger (“Transformers: Age of Extinction”). The Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition is open to any individual who has not earned a total of more than $25,000 from the sale or option of screenplays or teleplays, or received fellowships or prizes of more than $25,000 that include a “first look” clause, an option or any other quid pro quo involving the writer’s work. To enter, writers must submit a completed application online, upload one PDF copy of their original screenplay in English, and pay the required entry fee before the regular deadline at 11:59 p.m. PT on April 10, or the final deadline at 11:59 p.m. PT on May 1. Fellowships are awarded with the understanding that the recipients will each complete a new feature-length screenplay during the fellowship year. Last year’s competition drew a record 7,511 submissions.
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New Trailer for 2015 Sundance Hit DOPE

Check out the new official teaser trailer for DOPE, the hit movie out of the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, which opens in theaters on June 19, 2015. With a #dope soundtrack featuring four new original songs by Pharrell Williams,DOPE tells the story of Malcolm (Shameik Moore) who is carefully surviving life in a tough neighborhood in Los Angeles. A chance invitation to an underground party leads him into an adventure that could allow him to go from being a geek, to being dope, to ultimately being himself. Produced by Forest Whitaker, Executive Produced by Pharrell Williams and Co-Executive Produced by Sean Combs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKGF8nNM2iI CAST: SHAMEIK MOORE, TONY REVOLORI, KIERSEY CLEMONS, BLAKE ANDERSON, ZOE KRAVITZ, A$AP ROCKY, CHANEL IMAN, QUINCY BROWN RELEASE DATE: June 19, 2015 DIRECTOR/WRITER: Rick Famuyiwa PRODUCERS: Forest Whitaker, Nina Yang Bongiovi, EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Pharrell Williams, Michael Y. Chow, Rick Famuyiwa and David Lonner CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Sean Combs CO-PRODUCERS: Mimi Valdes and Caron Veazy
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Watch TRAILER for A GIRL LIKE HER Opens March 27

A new trailer has been released for A GIRL LIKE HER, directed by Amy S. Weber which opens in theaters March 27th. The film tells the story of high school sophomore Jessica Burns who is relentlessly harassed by her former friend Avery Keller.

16 year old Jessica Burns has a secret that she’s afraid to share with anyone – except her best friend, Brian Slater. For the past year she’s been victimized mentally and physically by another girl – her former friend, Avery Keller, one of South Brookdale High School’s most popular and beautiful students. What can you do when the world sees the image of a person but not the reality? But with Brian’s help and the use of a hidden digital camera, the evidence of Avery’s relentless harassment is captured and finally exposed, awakening the community to something it’s long denied and bringing both girls and their families face to face with the truth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_vg__L4Qyc

Director: Amy S. Weber

Writer: Amy S. Weber

Starring: Lexi Ainsworth, Jimmy Bennett, Hunter King, Linda Boston, Gino Borri, Paul Lang, Stephanie Cotton, Amy S. Weber, Mark Boyd, Michael Maurice, Christy Edwards, Sarah Kyrie Soraghan, Christy Engly, Rose Anne Nepa, and Luke Jaden.
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NASTY BABY Starring Kristen Wiig to Get a 2015 Release

The Orchard will release Sebastian Silva’s award-winning film NASTY BABY, starring Silva, Kristen Wiig, Tunde Adebimpe, Reg E. Cathey and Alia Shawkat, which made its world premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.

NASTY BABY had its European premiere last week at the 2015 Berlin International Film Festival, where it was awarded the festival’s Teddy Award. The film was produced by Juan de Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín, Charlie Dibe, David Hinojosa and Julia Oh, and executive produced by Silva, Christine Vachon, Peter Danner, Pape Boye, and Violaine Pichon. Shawkat served as a co-producer on the film. The Orchard will release the film later this year.

From acclaimed director and screenwriter Sebastián Silva (Crystal Fairy, Magic Magic, The Maid), NASTY BABY tells the story of a modern problem – a gay couple (played by Silva and Tunde Adebimpe) are trying to have a baby with their best friend (played by Kristen Wiig). Their plans are disrupted by growing harassment from a menacing neighborhood local known as ‘The Bishop’ (played by Reg E. Cathey). As their clashes become increasingly aggressive, it is only a matter of time before someone gets hurt.
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BIRDMAN, CITIZENFOUR, IDA Among Winners of 87th Oscars

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) is the big winner of the 87th Oscars winning four awards, including the top prizes for Best Picture and Best Director.

The Grand Budapest Hotel also walked away with four awards, all in the technical categories. CitizenFour won for Best Documentary and Ida won for Best Foreign Language Film.

The complete list of winners:

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher and James W. Skotchdopole, Producers

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Julianne Moore in Still Alice

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Imitation Game
Written by Graham Moore

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SCORE)
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Alexandre Desplat

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SONG)
“Glory” from Selma
Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
CitizenFour
Laura Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
Whiplash
Tom Cross

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Emmanuel Lubezki

ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Production Design: Adam Stockhausen; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
Big Hero 6
Don Hall, Chris Williams and Roy Conli

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Feast
Patrick Osborne and Kristina Reed

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
Interstellar
Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Patricia Arquette in Boyhood

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
American Sniper
Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
Whiplash
Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1
Ellen Goosenberg Kent and Dana Perry

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
The Phone Call
Mat Kirkby and James Lucas

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
Ida (Poland)

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Milena Canonero

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
J.K. Simmons in Whiplash
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Submission Deadline	Date	Fee
Early	June 3	$25
Regular	June 24	$35
Late	July 15	$45
Extended	July 29	$55