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10 Animated Shorts in Race for 2011 Oscar
[caption id="attachment_1903" align="alignnone"]Wild Life[/caption]

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 10 animated short films will advance in the voting process for the 84th Academy Awards®. Forty-four pictures had originally qualified in the category.

The 10 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production company:
- “Dimanche/Sunday,” Patrick Doyon, director (National Film Board of Canada)
- “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore,” William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg, directors (Moonbot Studios LA, LLC)
- “I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat,” Matthew O’Callaghan, director and Sam Register, executive producer (Warner Bros. Animation Inc.)
- “La Luna,” Enrico Casarosa, director (Pixar Animation Studios)
- “Luminaris,” Juan Pablo Zaramella, director (JPZtudio)
- “Magic Piano,” Martin Clapp, director and Hugh Welchman, producer (BreakThru Films)
- “A Morning Stroll,” Grant Orchard, director and Sue Goffe, producer (Studio AKA)
- “Paths of Hate,” Damian Nenow, director (Platige Image)
- “Specky Four-Eyes,” Jean-Claude Rozec, director and Mathieu Courtois, producer (Vivement Lundi!)
- “Wild Life,” Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby, directors (National Film Board of Canada)
Short Films and Feature Animation Branch members will now select three to five nominees from among the 10 titles on the shortlist.

The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, 2012, and the Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012.

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Kevin Smith is Pissed at Independent Spirit Awards for Not Nominating His Film

The Independent Spirits were announced yesterday, and Kevin Smith was not one of the happy ones. He took to twitter to express how he really felt about his film ‘Red State’ not receiving a single nomination.

How the fuck did the @SpiritAwards NOT nominate Michael Parks? Nor John Goodman? Nor Melissa Leo? Fuck your idiotic organization. #FakeIndie

Red State, which is released on DVD and Blu-Ray did have a limited tour/run to allow the film and the actors to qualify for Oscars and other awards. Apparently, all for nothing.

Written and directed by Kevin Smith, and starring Michael Parks, John Goodman, Melissa Leo and Stephen Root, the action horror film is about three high school boys who receive an online invitation for sex, and on the way encounter fundamentalist preacher with a much more sinister agenda.

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Coming Soon Forest Whitaker and Common to Star in indie film Pawn

[caption id="attachment_1893" align="alignnone"]Forest Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland[/caption]

According to VIBE online, Forest Whitaker will star alongside rapper Common, in the upcoming indie film Pawn. Written by Jay Anthony White, the plot centers around an ex-con, who gets caught in between the Feds, local police and the mob. The film will start production on December 1st.

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Graphic Horror Movie Human Centipede 2 BANNED in Australia

Just three weeks after its Australian premiere at the Brisbane International Film Festival, the horror movie ‘Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence’ has been banned in Australian. The film was originally rated R 18+ by the Classification Board in May, but was denied by the Review Board.

What is the fuss about?

The sequel to Tom Six’s 2009 film The Human Centipede: First Sequence, Human Centipede 2 tells the story of a man who becomes sexually obsessed with a DVD recording of the first film and who imagines putting the ‘centipede’ idea into practice.” The film features a 12-person centipede.

The full synopsis

“Martin is a mentally disturbed loner who lives with his nagging mother in a bleak London housing project, where loud neighbors and cramped living conditions threaten to plunge this victim of sexual and psychological abuse over the edge.

He works the night shift as a security guard in an underground parking garage, where customers and their vehicles come and go as he indulges his obsession with THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE (FIRST SEQUENCE) watching the film over and over on the small TV set in his office and meticulously examining the scrapbook he has lovingly filled with memorabilia from the film, including the mouth-to-anus surgery instructions made famous by Dr. Heiter, the mad scientist from Martin’s favorite movie.

Pushed to the brink by his harridan mother, haunted by the teasing voices of his abusive and incarcerated father, Martin sets into motion his plan to emulate Heiter’s centipede by creating his own version, in a rented warehouse, which he begins to fill with victims, including a loud neighbor, two drunk nightclubbers, a prostitute and a lecherous john, and several more … including Martin’s pièce de résistance, one of the actresses from THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE (FIRST SEQUENCE).

Except that Martin lacks the surgical skill, medical instruments and operating theater necessary to create a larger centipede in the image of Dr. Heiter’s masterpiece. So he makes use of materials at hand: duct tape, staple gun, household tools and a fanboy moxie.

What follows is one of the most harrowing and terrifying films ever conceived, featuring a central character that makes FIRST SEQUENCE’s Dr. Heiter seem downright cuddly in comparison. THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE (FINAL SEQUENCE) is a triumph in biological horror by one of the new masters of the horror film.”

Human Centipede 2 opened in the US early last month, October 2011, at the IFC Center in New York City

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New York Film Critics Circle Award The Artist Best Film of 2011

[caption id="attachment_1882" align="alignnone"]The Artist[/caption]

The New York Film Critics Circle has spoken and they officially love The Artist, giving the film the awards for Best Picture of 2011, and Best Director for Michel Hazanavicius. The Tree of Life was also highly lauded, receiving awards for Best Actor for Brad Pitt, Best Supporting Actress for Jessica Chastain and Best Cinematography for Emmanuel Lubezki.

2011 Awards

Best Picture – The Artist
Best Director – Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Best Screenplay – Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Moneyball
Best Actress – Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Best Actor – Brad Pitt, Moneyball, The Tree of Life
Best Supporting Actress – Jessica Chastain, The Tree of Life, The Help, Take Shelter
Best Supporting Actor – Albert Brooks, Drive
Best Cinematographer – Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
Best Non-Fiction Film (Documentary) – Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Best Foreign Film – A Separation
Best First Film – J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Special Award – Raoul Ruiz

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Take Shelter and The Artist lead the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Award nominations

[caption id="attachment_768" align="alignnone"]Take Shelter[/caption]

Take Shelter and The Artist lead the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Award nominations with 5 nods each including the nomination for Best Feature Film. Other nominees for Best Feature Film include 50/50, Beginners, and Drive. Margin Call was selected to receive the annual Robert Altman Award.

“The Film Independent Spirit Awards recognize the finest artistic achievements across the broad spectrum of independent filmmaking—from emerging talent working on a shoestring budget to established auteurs,” said Film Independent Senior Director Sean Mc Manus. “The 2012 nominees tell their stories in such an authentic way and reflect the inclusive nature of the independent filmmaking community. We are delighted to support them and expand the audience for their work.”

2012 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS

BEST FEATURE (Award given to the Producer, Executive Producers are not listed)
50/50
Producers: Evan Goldberg, Ben Karlin, Seth Rogen
Beginners
Producers: Miranda de Pencier, Lars Knudsen, Leslie Urdang, Dean Vanech, Jay Van Hoy
Drive
Producers: Michel Litvak, John Palermo, Marc Platt, Gigi Pritzker, Adam Siegel
Take Shelter
Producers: Tyler Davidson, Sophia Lin
The Artist
Producer: Thomas Langmann
The Descendants
Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

BEST DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius
The Artist
Mike Mills
Beginners
Jeff Nichols
Take Shelter
Alexander Payne
The Descendants
Nicolas Winding Refn
Drive

BEST SCREENPLAY
Joseph Cedar
Footnote
Michel Hazanavicius
The Artist
Tom McCarthy
Win Win
Mike Mills
Beginners
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
The Descendants

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
Another Earth
Director: Mike Cahill
Producers: Mike Cahill, Hunter Gray, Brit Marling, Nicholas Shumaker
In the Family
Director: Patrick Wang
Producers: Robert Tonino, Andrew van den Houten, Patrick Wang
Margin Call
Director: J.C. Chandor
Producers: Robert Ogden Barnum, Michael Benaroya, Neal Dodson, Joe Jenckes, Corey Moosa, Zachary Quinto
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Director: Sean Durkin
Producers: Antonio Campos, Patrick Cunningham, Chris Maybach, Josh Mond
Natural Selection
Director: Robbie Pickering
Producers: Brion Hambel, Paul Jensen

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Mike Cahill, Brit Marling
Another Earth
J.C. Chandor
Margin Call
Patrick deWitt
Terri
Phil Johnston
Cedar Rapids
Will Reiser
50/50

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the writer, director, and producer. Executive Producers are not listed
Bellflower
Writer/Director: Evan Glodell
Producers: Evan Glodell, Vincent Grashaw
Circumstance
Writer/Director: Maryam Keshavarz
Producers: Karin Chien, Maryam Keshavarz, Melissa M. Lee
Hello Lonesome
Writer/Director/Producer: Adam Reid
Pariah
Writer/Director: Dee Rees
Producer: Nekisa Cooper
The Dynamiter
Writer: Brad Inglesby
Director: Matthew Gordon
Producers: Kevin Abrams, Matthew Gordon, Merilee Holt, Art Jones, Mike Jones, Nate Tuck, Amile Wilson

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Lauren Ambrose
Think of Me
Rachael Harris
Natural Selection
Adepero Oduye
Pariah
Elizabeth Olsen
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Michelle Williams
My Week with Marilyn

BEST MALE LEAD
Demián Bichir
A Better Life
Jean Dujardin
The Artist
Ryan Gosling
Drive
Woody Harrelson
Rampart
Michael Shannon
Take Shelter

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Jessica Chastain
Take Shelter
Anjelica Huston
50/50
Janet McTeer
Albert Nobbs
Harmony Santana
Gun Hill Road
Shailene Woodley
The Descendants

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Albert Brooks
Drive
John Hawkes
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Christopher Plummer
Beginners
John C. Reilly
Cedar Rapids
Corey Stoll
Midnight in Paris

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Joel Hodge
Bellflower
Benjamin Kasulke
The Off Hours
Darius Khondji
Midnight in Paris
Guillaume Schiffman
The Artist
Jeffrey Waldron
The Dynamiter

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
An African Election
Director/Producer: Jarreth Merz
Bill Cunningham New York
Director: Richard Press
Producer: Philip Gefter
The Interrupters
Director/Producer: Steve James
Producer: Alex Kotlowitz
The Redemption of General Butt Naked
Director/Producers: Eric Strauss, Daniele Anastasion
We Were Here
Director/Producer: David Weissman

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
A Separation
(Iran)
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Melancholia
(Denmark/Sweden/France/Germany)
Director: Lars von Trier
Shame
(UK)
Director: Steve McQueen
The Kid With a Bike
(Belgium/France/Italy)
Directors: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Tyrannosaur
(UK)
Director: Paddy Considine

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 15th annual Piaget Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.
Chad Burris
Mosquita y Mari
Sophia Lin
Take Shelter
Josh Mond
Martha Marcy May Marlene

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 18th annual Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
Simon Arthur
Silver Tongues
Mark Jackson
Without
Nicholas Ozeki
Mamitas

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 17th annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
Heather Courtney
Where Soldiers Come From
Danfung Dennis
Hell and Back Again
Alma Har’el
Bombay Beach

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – (Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
Margin Call
Director: J.C. Chandor

Casting Director: Tiffany Little Canfield, Bernard Telsey

Ensemble Cast: Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore, Zachary Quinto, Kevin Spacey, Stanley Tucci
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Beginners and Tree of Life tied for Best Film at 21st Gotham Independent Film Awards

[caption id="attachment_785" align="alignnone"]Beginners [/caption]

Beginners and Tree of Life tied for Best Films of 2011 at the 21st annual Gotham Independent Film Awards in New York City on Monday night.

From writer/director Mike Mills, and starring Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer, Beginners is a comedy/drama about a father, who, following the death of his wife of 45 years, comes out of the closet at age 75.

Tree of Life, directed by Terrence Malick and starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain is the story of a Midwestern family in the 1950’s.

Girlfriend, directed by Justin Lerner received the Gotham Independent Film Audience Award and Scenes of A Crime, from co-directors Blue Hadaegh & Grover Babcock received the Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You Award.

The complete list of winners:

Best Feature – A Tie between: BEGINNERS directed by Mike Mills and TREE OF LIFE directed by Terrence Malick

Best Documentary – BETTER THIS WORLD directed and produced by Katie Galloway and Kelly Duane de la Vega

Breakthrough Director Award – DEE REES Writer and director of Pariah

Breakthrough Actor Award – FELICITY JONES Actor in Like Crazy

Best Ensemble Performance Award – Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Melanie Laurent, Goran Visnjic, Kai Lennox, Mary Page Keller, Keegan Boos in BEGINNERS

Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You Award – SCENES OF A CRIME Blue Hadaegh & Grover Babcock, Directors and Producers

Gotham Independent Film Audience Award – GIRLFRIEND Justin Lerner, Director

Produced by Jerad Anderson, Kristina Lauren Anderson, Justin Lerner, Shaun O’Banion The Audience Award was voted on line by filmgoers who love movies.

euphoria Calvin Klein Spotlight on Women Filmmakers ‘Live the Dream’ grant – LUCY MULLOY for upcoming film UNA NOCHE

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Documentary film maker Jehane Noujaim Arrested in Egypt

Documentary filmmaker Jehane Noujaim, who directed the documentary film Control Room, a 2004 documentary about Arabic-language news network Al Jazeera, was reportedly arrested and released on Friday by Egyptian security forces after being held for 36 hours.

Ms. Noujaim was filming in Tahrir Square for a planned documentary about the protests in Egypt.

She reportedly said “I ran into then one military guy, my camera got taken, my eyepiece got broken by him, he called me a spy; whereas the rest of the military had been very helpful in getting us out of the situation, this particular military guy was absolutely not.”

Noujaim, who also directed “Startup.com” and “Mokattam,” and others were charged with congregation and destruction of public property. She was freed unharmed after the Committee to Protect journalists appealed to Egyptian authorities to let her go.

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Renowned 89 year-old Cinematographer finds inspiration in current Occupy movements

Haskell Wexler, an 89 year-old Academy Award Winning cinematographer, is turning his camera on the Occupy LA movement for his latest political and social documentation.

The groundbreaking cinematographer and film director has been in the business since the early 1960s, starting out with documentaries, then breaking into Hollywood with Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, for which he won his first Oscar. He went on to shoot such famous and well respected films as In the Heat of the Night and One Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest. But healso continued to make documentaries and socially relevant films, such as Medium Cool, which he directed, and stands out as a lesser-known film renowned for its realistic and almost journalistic style in capturing the atmosphere leading up to the The Democratic National Convention in 1968.

Now Wexler has seemed to found a new subject of inspiration and filmmaking with the Occupy movement spreading throughout the country, focusing on LA, where he lives. He has already generated press for his videos (which are being posted online, on various sites) from such publications as The Huffington Post and the LA Times. Vimooz looks forward to what could turn into a full-length documentary. Although Wexler is older and seemingly at the end of a long and great career, it seems he is by no means ready to sit back and stop filming. As he told the LA Times, “You can take that insulation and figure you’re an old guy and you [already] did your thing, and then something inside me gets reminded that my ‘thing’ is what makes me alive — to be able to have a camera and an idea and an urge that gives me pleasure.”

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Iranian Film Wins at 5th Asia Pacific Screen Awards

Nader az Simin (A Separation)

Asghar Farhadi’s Jodaeiye Nader az Simin (A Separation, Islamic Republic of Iran) won the Best Feature Film Award at the 5th Asia Pacific Screen Awards. Asghar Farhadi, who wrote, produced and directed the film, accepted his Award at the APSA Ceremony on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia from 2011 APSA International Jury President, Hong Kong’s Nansun Shi.

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Ralph Fiennes and Kenneth Branagh to be honored at 14th Moët British Independent Film Awards

[caption id="attachment_1857" align="alignnone"]Ralph Fiennes[/caption]

Ralph Fiennes will receive the coveted Richard Harris Award and Kenneth Branagh The Variety Award at the upcoming The Moët British Independent Film Awards ceremony on Sunday 4th December.

The Richard Harris Award was introduced in 2003 in honor of Richard Harris and recognizes outstanding contribution to British film by an actor. Previous winners have included John Hurt, David Thewlis, Bob Hoskins, Jim Broadbent, Daniel Day-Lewis and most recently Helena Bonham Carter in 2010.
[caption id="attachment_1858" align="alignnone"]Kenneth Branagh [/caption]

Kenneth Branagh will receive the Variety Award which recognizes an actor, director, writer or producer who has helped to focus the international spotlight on the UK. The Variety Award was received last year by Liam Neeson and has previously been awarded to Sir Michael Caine, JK Rowling, Dame Helen Mirren, Richard Curtis, Michael Sheen and Keira Knightley to name a few.

Both Ralph Fiennes and Kenneth Branagh will be present to receive their awards.

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29 Documentary films Receive Grants From Sundance Institute

29 feature-length documentary films will receive $582,000 in grants from the Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program, including two films selected to receive grants from the Cinereach Project at Sundance Institute and one Time Warner Foundation Fellow.

“For many of these filmmakers, receiving a grant will be just the beginning of our relationship with them,” said Cara Mertes, Director of the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program. “These filmmakers are also eligible for year-round creative support through our programs, including Creative Labs, Work-in-Progress screenings, and events and activities at the Sundance Creative Producing Summit and Sundance Film Festival. We welcome these filmmakers to our community and look forward to working with them to further support and develop their unique visions.”

DEVELOPMENT
The Bill (U.S. / Philippines)
Director: Ramona Diaz
A political firestorm hits the Philippines when “The Bill,” a reproductive health bill that could legalize birth control in the world’s 12th most populous nation, pits tradition against reform and brings the culture war into the streets and churches.

Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield (U.S.)
Director: Richard Rowley
Reporting from the battlefields of the war on terror, journalist Jeremy Scahill investigates the wars waged by and against an empire, and constructs a global picture of asymmetric warfare today.

Leone Stars (Canada / Sierra Leone)
Directors: Ngardy Conteh and Allan Tong
Surviving war, poverty and prejudice, the Sierra Leone amputee soccer team dreams of victory at the 2012 world championships. Can victims become champions?

The Mouse That Roared (U.S. / Iceland)
Director: Judith Ehrlich
A great struggle for free speech in the 21st century will be fought online, and the first volley has been fired in Iceland. This film follows Birgitta Jónsdóttir, trailblazing Icelandic Parliamentarian and former WikiLeaks leader, as she takes us inside the global fight for internet freedom.

The New Black (U.S.)
Director: Yoruba Richen
The New Black is a documentary that uncovers the complicated and often combative histories of the African-American and gay civil-rights movements.

The Reckoning With Torture Project (U.S.)
Director: Doug Liman
Reading from secret documents chronicling the United States’ post-9/11 torture program, Americans from all walks of life join with leading cultural figures and former military and civilian officials to create a rolling, national performance.

PRODUCTION

A Whole Lott More (U.S.)
Director: Victor Buhler
Lott Industries, outside of Detroit, employs more than 1200 workers, all with developmental disabilities. For decades the workers excelled at assembling car parts. However, the decline of the auto industry has pushed this unique workplace to the brink of survival.

Cooked (U.S.)
Director: Judith Helfand
Cooked is a story about extreme heat, poverty and the politics of “disaster”; Whoever gets to declare “disaster” also gets to determine when it started, when it’s over and how to fix it.

Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare (U.S.)
Directors: Matthew Heineman and Susan Froemke
Escape Fire exposes the perverse nature of American healthcare, contrasting the powerful forces opposing change with the creative solutions and compelling stories of pioneering leaders and the patients they seek to help. The film is about finding a way out, and about saving the health of a nation.

These Birds Walk (U.S. / Pakistan)
Directors: Omar Mullick and Bassam Tariq
A portrait of contemporary Pakistan is created through the eyes of an ambulance driver and a runaway boy who call a humanitarian and his mission based organization home.

Gideon’s Army (U.S.)
Director: Dawn Porter
In the deepest South a group of dedicated lawyers is determined to find a way to represent the poor. But with large caseloads, long hours, low pay and harsh sentences can they honor their intentions?

Gulabi (India / Norway)
Director: Nishtha Jain
In Bundelkhand, India, a revolution is in the making among the poorest of the poor, as Sampat Pal and the fiery women of her Gulabi Gang empower themselves and take up the fight against gender violence, caste oppression and widespread corruption.

The History Of The Universe As Told By Wonder Woman(U.S.)
Director: Kristy Guevara-Flanagan
Through the fascinating journey of the beloved superhero, Wonder Woman, the film explores the evolution of heroic women in American pop culture from the birth of the comic book in the 1940s, to TV action heroes of the 60s and 70s, and, finally, the big screen blockbusters of today.

How To Survive a Plague (U.S.)
Director: David France
Highlighting a small group of activists that exploded into a mass social movement over a 10-year period, How to Survive a Plague uncovers the little known story of how AIDS stopped being a death sentence.

Invisible War (U.S.)
Director: Kirby Dick
The Invisible War is an investigative and powerfully emotional documentary about the under-reported epidemic of sexual assault in our U.S. military, and its startling and profound personal and social consequences.

Let The Fire Burn (U.S.)
Director: Jason Osder
Philadelphia, 1985: tensions between the radical African American group MOVE and the city police spiral out of control, resulting in a fire that claims eleven lives and destroys sixty-one homes in a forgotten national tragedy that still resonates today.

Nuclear Underground (U.S.)
Directors: Peter Galison and Robb Moss
How can humankind dispose of and live with nuclear waste, a material that remains dangerous for a period as far into the future as we are from the Ice Age?

Noces Rouges (Red Wedding) (Cambodia)
Directors: Lida Chan and Guillaume P. Suon
Between 1975 and 1979, at least 250,000 women were forced into marriages by the Khmer Rouge. Noces Rouges (Red Wedding) is the story of one of its victims, Pen Sochan, who pits her humanity against an ideology and a system designed to annihilate people like her.
Strong Island (U.S.)
Director: Yance Ford
Set in the suburbs of the black middle class, Strong Island chronicles the director’s investigation into her brother’s violent death twenty years ago.

Untitled: 1971 (U.S.)
Director: Johanna Hamilton
Filmmaker Johanna Hamilton continues her exploration of social movements and the limits of dissent, this time turning her lens to domestic contradictions in North America.

Who Is Dayani Cristal? (U.K./ Mexico)
Director: Marc Silver
A man is found dead at the U.S. / Mexico border. An investigation uncovers a tale of family and faith, discovered by tracing his body’s only identifying feature; a tattoo reading “Dayani Cristal”.

AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT

Crime After Crime (U.S.)
Director: Yoav Potash
Two attorneys fight for the freedom of Deborah Peagler, 20 years into her life sentence for the murder of the man who abused her. The audience engagement campaign will partner with policy makers, legislative organizations, and legal education groups to inform other states about the successful California law allowing incarcerated survivors of domestic violence to petition for their freedom.

Fix Food (U.S.)
Director: Robert Kenner
Building on Oscar-nominated Food, Inc., Fix Food is a cross-media film and social action project using viral videos, an interactive website and community engagement to activate a mainstream audience to help transform the food system, which over time can lead to broader social change.

Gasland (U.S.)
Director: Josh Fox
It is happening all across America; rural landowners wake up one day to find a lucrative offer from an energy company wanting to lease their property. Reason? The company hopes to tap into a reservoir dubbed the “Saudi Arabia of natural gas.” The audience engagement award will support Fox’s ongoing effort to educate potentially vulnerable communities to the dangers of fracking; inspire political engagement around unregulated drilling; and bring together state and local grassroots efforts nationwide.

Our School (Romania / U.S.)
Director: Mona Nicoara
Shot over four years, Our School follows three Roma children in a small Transylvanian town who are among the pioneer participants in an initiative to integrate the ethnically segregated Romanian schools. The audience engagement award will support targeted screenings in the Human Rights community internationally, as well mobilize new energies at a moment that is ripe for change, when Europe has its own Brown vs. Board of Education moment.

Semper Fi: Always Faithful (U.S.)
Directors: Rachel Libert and Tony Hardmon
When Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger’s young daughter dies from a rare type of leukemia, his search for the cause leads him to the shocking discovery of one of the largest water contaminations in U.S. history. The audience engagement award will support the effort to help notify families who may be affected by contaminated water on military bases, and help support screenings for legislators interested in health care for affected veterans.

CINEREACH PROJECT AT SUNDANCE INSTITUTE

The Kill Team (U.S.)
Director: Dan Kraus
The Kill Team tellsthe story of an American soldier who attempted to thwart U.S. war crimes even more heinous than Abu Ghraib, and who himself is now standing trial for murder.

The Shadow World (U.S.)
Director: Johan Grimonprez
The Shadow World explores the arms industry: a business in which profits are calculated in the tens of millions of dollars, while losses are counted in human lives.

TIME WARNER FOUNDATION

The Silence of Others (U.S. / Spain)
Director: Almudena Carracedo
After decades of silence, children stolen during Franco’s brutal dictatorship begin the search to find loved ones and to confront the perpetrators. The Silence of Others will be a deeply personal account of Spain’s transition from dictatorship to democracy.

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