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Award-Winning Israeli Point-of-View Horror Film “JeruZalem” Sets January 2016 Release Date | TRAILER

The award-winning Israeli horror film JeruZalem will be released in the US on January 22nd, 2016 via Epic Pictures Releasing. The film world premiered at the 2015 Fantasia International Film Festival and, among other awards, was recognized with the Audience Award and Best Editing Award at the 2015 Jerusalem Film Festival. A unique, point-of-view style horror film directed by Doron and Yoav Paz, JeruZalem follows Rachel (played by Jane the Virgin star Yael Grobglas), and her friend Sarah (Danielle Jadelyn), two American girls on vacation in Jerusalem. The two follow Kevin (Yon Tumarkin), a mysterious and handsome anthropology student, into the heart of the Old City. The party is cut short when a biblical prophecy comes to pass on the night of Yom Kippur and Jerusalem’s gate to hell is opened, releasing an epic apocalypse. Trapped between the ancient walls of the holy city, the trio must survive long enough to find a way out as the fury of hell is unleashed upon them. Shooting on location amongst the monuments of Jerusalem’s Old City, The Paz Brothers directed the film utilizing a custom-made camera mount to capture some of the holy’s city’s ancient architecture, religious landmarks and historical sites. The film features extensive point-of-view footage, shown from the perspective of Sarah’s Google Glass-type smart eyewear, as she uses the glasses’ GPS, facial recognition and other apps to navigate the city and identify potentially threatening strangers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EhqqJpDNSw “The Paz Brothers first feature, Phobidilia, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and was the Israeli film that ignited the genre wave from that country. With their second feature, JeruZalem, they have created a remarkable, cinematic film that demands to be seen in theaters,” commented Epic Pictures CEO Patrick Ewald. “We’re thrilled to bring the film to audiences across the country.”
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CAROL Leads Nominations for 2016 Spirit Awards

Carol directed by Todd Haynes lead nominations for the 2016 Spirit Awards with 6 nods including Best Feature, Best Director, Best Female Lead for both Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, Best Sreenplay and Best Cinematography. The other nominees for Best Feature included Anomalisa, Beasts of No Nation, Spotlight and Tangerine. Spotlight was selected to receive the Robert Altman Award, which is bestowed upon one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast. The Altman Award was created in 2008 in honor of legendary director Robert Altman who was known for creating extraordinary ensemble casts. “Spotlight is a remarkable film that excels on every level, but the Nominating Committee thought it was especially deserving of the Robert Altman Award,” said Welsh. “The film is beautifully cast with every member of the ensemble working together to tell the story of the Boston Globe investigating allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church.” Winners will be announced at the Spirit Awards on Saturday, February 27, 2016. 2016 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS BEST FEATURE (Award given to the Producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.) Anomalisa Producers: Duke Johnson, Charlie Kaufman, Dino Stamatopoulos, Rosa Tran Beasts of No Nation Producers: Daniel Crown, Idris Elba, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Amy Kaufman, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Riva Marker Carol Producers: Elizabeth Karlsen, Christine Vachon, Stephen Woolley Spotlight Producers: Blye Pagon Faust, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin, Michael Sugar Tangerine Producers: Sean Baker, Karrie Cox, Marcus Cox, Darren Dean, Shih-Ching Tsou BEST FIRST FEATURE – Award given to the director and producer. The Diary of a Teenage Girl Director: Marielle Heller Producers: Miranda Bailey, Anne Carey, Bert Hamelinck, Madeline Samit James White Director: Josh Mond Producers: Max Born, Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin, Melody Roscher, Eric Schultz Manos Sucias Director: Josef Kubota Wladyka Producers: Elena Greenlee, Márcia Nunes Mediterranea Director: Jonas Carpignano Producers: Jason Michael Berman, Chris Columbus, Jon Coplon, Christoph Daniel, Andrew Kortschak, John Lesher, Ryan Lough, Justin Nappi, Alain Peyrollaz, Gwyn Sannia, Marc Schmidheiny, Victor Shapiro, Ryan Zacarias Songs My Brothers Taught Me Director/Producer: Chloé Zhao Producers: Mollye Asher, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Angela C. Lee, Forest Whitaker 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 awarded. Advantageous Writer/Director/Producer: Jennifer Phang Writer/Producer: Jacqueline Kim Producers: Robert Chang, Ken Jeong, Moon Molson, Theresa Navarro Christmas, Again Writer/Director/Producer: Charles Poekel Heaven Knows What Directors: Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie Writers: Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie Producers: Oscar Boyson, Sebastian Bear McClard Krisha Writer/Director/Producer: Trey Edward Shults Producers: Justin R. Chan, Chase Joliet, Wilson Smith Out of My Hand Writer/Director: Takeshi Fukunaga Writer/Producer: Donari Braxton Producer: Mike Fox BEST DIRECTOR Sean Baker; Tangerine Cary Joji Fukunaga; Beasts of No Nation Todd Haynes; Carol Duke Johnson & Charlie Kaufman; Anomalisa; Tom McCarthy Spotlight; David Robert Mitchell It Follows BEST SCREENPLAY Charlie Kaufman; Anomalisa Donald Margulies; The End of the Tour Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer; Spotlight Phyllis Nagy; Carol S. Craig Zahler; Bone Tomahawk BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY Jesse Andrews; Me and Earl and the Dying Girl Jonas Carpignano; Mediterranea Emma Donoghue; Room Marielle Heller; The Diary of a Teenage Girl John Magary, Story by Russell Harbaugh and Myna Joseph; The Mend BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Cary Joji Fukunaga; Beasts of No Nation Michael Gioulakis; It Follows Ed Lachman; Carol Reed Morano; Meadowland Joshua James Richards; Songs My Brothers Taught Me BEST EDITING Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie; Heaven Knows What Tom McArdle; Spotlight Nathan Nugent; Room Julio C. Perez IV; It Follows Kristan Sprague; Manos Sucias BEST FEMALE LEAD Cate Blanchett; Carol Brie Larson; Room Rooney Mara; Carol Bel Powley; The Diary of a Teenage Girl Kitana Kiki Rodriguez; Tangerine BEST MALE LEAD Christopher Abbott; James White Abraham Attah; Beasts of No Nation Ben Mendelsohn; Mississippi Grind Jason Segel; The End of the Tour Koudous Seihon; Mediterranea BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE Robin Bartlett; H. Marin Ireland; Glass Chin Jennifer Jason Leigh; Anomalisa Cynthia Nixon; James White Mya Taylor; Tangerine BEST SUPPORTING MALE Kevin Corrigan; Results Paul Dano; Love & Mercy Idris Elba; Beasts of No Nation Richard Jenkins; Bone Tomahawk Michael Shannon; 99 Homes ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast. Spotlight Director: Tom McCarthy Casting Directors:Kerry Barden and Paul Schnee Ensemble Cast: Billy Crudup, Paul Guilfoyle, Neal Huff, Brian d’Arcy James, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schreiber, Jamey Sheridan, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci BEST DOCUMENTARY – Award given to the director and producer. (T)ERROR Directors/Producers: Lyric R. Cabral & David Felix Sutcliffe Producer: Christopher St. John Best of Enemies Directors/Producers: Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville Heart of a Dog Director/Producer: Laurie Anderson Producer: Dan Janvey The Look of Silence Director:Joshua Oppenheimer Producer: Signe Byrge Sørensen Meru Directors/Producers: Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi Producer: Shannon Ethridge The Russian Woodpecker Director/Producer: Chad Gracia Producers: Ram Devineni, Mike Lerner BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM – Award given to the director. Embrace of the Serpent (Colombia); Director: Ciro Guerra Girlhood (France); Director: Céline Sciamma Mustang (France, Turkey); Director: Deniz Gamze Ergüven A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (Sweden); Director: Roy Andersson Son of Saul (Hungary); Director: László Nemes 19th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 19th annual Producers Award, sponsored by Piaget, 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. Darren Dean Mel Eslyn Rebecca Green and Laura D. Smith 22nd ANNUAL KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 22nd annual Someone to Watch Award, sponsored by Kiehl’s Since 1851, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Kiehl’s Since 1851. God Bless the Child; Directors: Robert Machoian & Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck King Jack; Director: Felix Thompson Songs My Brothers Taught Me; Director: Chloé Zhao 21st TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 21st 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. Among the Believers; Directors: Mohammed Ali Naqvi and Hemal Trivedi Incorruptible; Director: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi A Woman Like Me; Directors: Elizabeth Giamatti and Alex Sichel
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Serial Killer Comedy ‘Barney Thomson’ Directed by Robert Carlyle Sets February 2016 Release Date | TRAILER

Barney Thomson, described as “a uniquely twisted comedic thriller” written by Richard Cowan and Colin McLaren and directed by “Once Upon a Time” star Robert Carlyle – his first feature film directorial effort, is headed to US theaters. Gravitas Ventures will release the film on demand on February 2, 2016, and in theaters on March 11, 2016. The film, which also stars Emma Thompson (Saving Mr. Banks), Ray Winstone (Hugo), and Tom Courtenay (The Golden Compass), premiered earlier this year at the opening night of Edinburgh Film Festival and has gone on to be a commercial and critical success in the UK. The film recently won “Beast Feature Film” from BAFTA Scotland, while Emma Thompson won the BAFTA Scotland award for “Best Actress.” Deemed “deliciously macabre” by the UK’s Daily Telegraph, the film tells the titular tale of Barney Thomson (Carlyle), an awkward, shy Glasgow barber, living a life of desperate mediocrity. His mother (Thompson) offers little encouragement, as she is far too self-absorbed, chain-smoking between absurd social outings in her animal print wardrobe. Little does Barney know how his stale and stagnant life is about to go from 0 to 60 in mere seconds when he accidentally enters the dark, grotesque, and comically absurd life of a serial killer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADcvH4B_LbA The film was adapted by Richard Cowan and Colin McLaren from the first book in “The Barbershop Seven” series by Douglas Lindsay. Cowan also served as a producer on Barney Thomson along with Holly Brydson, Brian Coffey, Kaleena Kiff, and John G. Lenic. Doug Apatow and Kirk D’Amico are the executive producers.
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Brie Larson “Room” to Receive Breakthrough Performance Award at Palm Springs International Film Festival

The 27th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present Brie Larson with the Breakthrough Performance Award at its Awards Gala. The Festival runs January 1 to 11, 2016. “Brie Larson breathes vibrant life into the character of Ma from Emma Donoghue’s best-selling novel Room. Larson delivers a performance of great warmth, deep reserves of courage and strong empathy as a committed parent determined to make sure her son is taken care of under unimaginable circmstances,” said Film Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “For this stand-out performance, it is an honor to present her with the 2016 Breakthrough Performance Award.” Both highly suspenseful and deeply emotional, Room is a unique and touching exploration of the boundless love between a mother and her child. After 5-year-old Jack and his Ma escape from the enclosed surroundings that Jack has known his entire life, the boy makes a thrilling discovery: the outside world. As he experiences all the joy, excitement, and fear that this new adventure brings, he holds tight to the one thing that matters most of all—his special bond with his loving and devoted Ma. Based on the award-winning bestseller by Emma Donoghue, the film is directed by Lenny Abrahamson and stars Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Joan Allen and William H. Macy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C6fZ-fwDws Past recipients of the Breakthrough Performance Award include Marion Cotillard, Jennifer Hudson, Felicity Huffman, Lupita Nyong’o, David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike and Jeremy Renner. In the years they were honored, Cotillard, Hudson and Nyong’o went on to receive Academy Awards®, while Huffman, Pike and Renner received nominations.
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LGBT Thriller ‘Downriver’ Sails to Summer 2016 Release | TRAILER

Downriver, a chilling mystery feature film from award-winning writer/director Grant Scicluna which premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival is set to be released in the US. Breaking Glass plans a theatrical and VOD/DVD release for Summer 2016, but no specific date is available. A young ex-con encounters secrets from the past and danger in the present when he returns to the rural Australian community to discover the truth behind a crime he supposedly committed when he was a child. A moody thriller awash in grim secrets and slowly surfacing revelations, this first feature from Australian writer-director Grant Scicluna exhibits a formal elegance and thematic maturity we would normally expect from a fully developed auteur. Reminiscent of Winter’s Bone or Jane Campion’s miniseries Top of the Lake, Downriver courageously deals with loss, identity, trauma, and hard-won redemption. James (Reef Ireland) has just been released from prison after serving time for drowning a little boy when he himself was just a child. The boy’s body was never found, and James, guilt-ridden and still haunted by questions about what really happened that day, returns to the rural community where the crime took place and undertakes a quest to find the body. Along the way, he is confronted by bullies and sexual predators from his past, and the punishment he risks by breaking parole now pales next to the threat of violence from the shadowy characters emerging all around him. Downriver boasts a bold sense of place: under the surface of its seemingly sleepy milieu lies a hidden network of abuse and exploitation, blackmail and desire. Scicluna maintains the suspense with spellbinding layers of flashbacks and dialogue, creating a tense atmosphere that’s amplified by the riveting performances from Ireland, Tom Green, and Kerry Fox in the role of James’ tormented guardian. Downriver takes us to some dark places, but it does so in pursuit of those brutal truths that aren’t so easily washed away. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs47n0m48n4
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“Liza, the Fox-Fairy” “Landfill Harmonic” Win Audience Awards at 2015 Leeds International Film Festival

The dark Hungarian black comedy Liza, the Fox-Fairy is the winner of the 2015 Leeds International Film Festival Audience Award for New Narrative Feature, and Landfill Harmonic directed Graham Townsley, Brad Allgood is the winner of the Audience Award for New Documentary Feature. Liza, the Fox-Fairy is about a 30 year old nurse whose only friend is Tomy Tani, the ghost of a Japanese pop singer from the 1950s that only she can see, and who comes to believe she may be a Fox-Fairy from Japanese mythology. LIFF29’s audience have described the film as ‘exceptionally funny, sweet and charming’ and a ‘beautiful, hilarious, touching love story’ with a brilliant Japanese pop soundtrack. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWxLLyr9aOU New Narrative Feature 1. Liza, the Fox-Fairy 2. In The Crosswind 3. Assassination Classroom 4. Brooklyn 5. Embrace of the Serpent 6. Victoria 7. Green Room 8. Crow’s Egg 9. Taxi Tehran 10. Carol Landfill Harmonic is described as a testament to the transformative power of music and the resilience of the human spirit. In Paraguay there is a children’s orchestra living next to one of South America’s largest landfills. A music teacher and a rubbish picker scavenge materials from the dump to make instruments for the local children; flutes from pipes, guitars from packing crates and violins from oil drums. When their story goes viral the ensemble are propelled into the global spotlight, touring with some of their favourite heavy metal bands. However, when a natural disaster devastates their community, the orchestra provides an instinctive source of hope. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCjbd21fYV8 New Documentary Feature 1. Landfill Harmonic 2. The Wanted 18 3. Warriors 4. Do You Own the Dancefloor? 5. Black Roses: The Killing of Sophie Lancaster
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First 9 Films in Midnight Section Revealed for 2016 Sundance Film Festival

The 2016 Sundance Film Festival announced the nine feature films that will screen in its Midnight section, which has launched films including The Blair Witch Project, SAW, Super Troopers, The Babadook, Black Dynamite, What We Do In The Shadows, Dead/Alive, Delicatessen, The Descent and Hard Candy. The 2016 Sundance Film Festival takes place January 21 to 31, 2016, in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. MIDNIGHT From horror flicks to comedies to works that defy any genre, these unruly films will keep you on the edge of your seat and wide awake. 31 / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Rob Zombie) — Five friends are kidnapped on the day before Halloween and are held hostage in a terrifying place named Murder World. While trapped, they must play a violent game called 31, in which the mission is to survive 12 hours against a gang of evil clowns. Cast: Sheri Moon Zombie, Malcolm McDowell, Richard Brake, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Meg Foster. World Premiere Antibirth / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Danny Perez) — In a desolate community full of drug-addled marines and rumors of kidnapping, a wild-eyed stoner named Lou wakes up after a crazy night of partying with symptoms of a strange illness and recurring visions. As she struggles to get a grip on reality, the stories of conspiracy spread. Cast: Natasha Lyonne, Chloë Sevigny, Mark Webber, Meg Tilly, Maxwell McCabe-Lokos. World Premiere The Blackout Experiments / U.S.A. (Director: Rich Fox) — A group of friends discover the dark underworld of the ultra-scary, psychosexual horror experience called Blackout. But what starts as a thrill ride through the unknown becomes deeply personal, developing into an obsession that hijacks their lives and blurs the line between reality and paranoid fantasy. World Premiere Carnage Park / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Mickey Keating) — The year is 1978. A team of wannabe crooks botch a small-town bank heist and flee with their hostage deep into the California desert, where they inexplicably find themselves in a harrowing fight for survival against a psychotic ex-military sniper. Cast: Ashley Bell, Pat Healy, Alan Ruck, Darby Stanchfield, James Landry Hébert, Larry Fessenden. World Premiere The Greasy Strangler / U.S.A. (Director: Jim Hosking, Screenwriters: Jim Hosking, Toby Harvard) — When Big Ronnie and his son Brayden meet lone female tourist Janet on Big Ronnie’s Disco Walking Tour—the best and only disco walking tour in the city—a fight for Janet’s heart erupts between father and son, and the infamous Greasy Strangler is unleashed. Cast: Michael St. Michaels, Sky Elobar, Elizabeth De Razzo, Gil Gex, Jesse Keen, Joe David Walters. World Premiere Outlaws and Angels / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: JT Mollner) — With a notorious bounty hunter closing in on their trail, a gang of cold-blooded outlaws invades the home of a seemingly innocent frontier family, where an unexpected game of cat and mouse ensues throughout the night, leading to seduction, role reversal, and ultimately bloody revenge. Cast: Chad Michael Murray, Francesca Eastwood, Luke Wilson, Teri Polo, Madisen Beaty, Nathan Russell. World Premiere Trash Fire / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Richard Bates Jr.) — When Owen is forced to confront the past he’s been running from his whole adult life, he and his girlfriend, Isabel, become entangled in a horrifying web of lies, deceit, and murder. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. You’ll be scarred for life. Cast: Adrian Grenier, Angela Trimbur, AnnaLynne McCord, Fionnula Flanagan, Matthew Gray Gubler, Ray Santiago. World Premiere Under the Shadow / United Kingdom, Jordan (Director and screenwriter: Babak Anvari) — Tehran, 1988: As the Iran-Iraq War rumbles into its eighth year, a mother and daughter are slowly torn apart by the bombing campaigns on the city coupled with the country’s bloody revolution. As they struggle to stay together amidst these terrors, a mysterious evil stalks through their apartment. Cast: Narges Rashidi, Avin Manshadi, Bobby Naderi, Ray Haratian, Arash Marandi. World Premiere Yoga Hosers / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kevin Smith) — Colleen Collette and Colleen McKenzie are teenage besties from Winnipeg who love yoga and live on their smartphones. But when these sophomores get invited to a senior party by the school hottie, the Colleens accidentally uncover an ancient evil buried beneath their Canadian convenience store. Cast: Lily-Rose Depp, Harley Quinn Smith, Johnny Depp, Justin Long, Austin Butler, Tyler Posey. World Premiere (pictured above)
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Johnny Depp “Black Mass” to Receive Actor Award at 2016 Palm Springs International Film Festival

The 27th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present Johnny Depp with the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor at its annual Awards Gala for his performance in Black Mass. The Festival runs January 1-11, 2016. “Johnny Depp is one of the most versatile and dynamic actors of our time,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “In his latest film, Black Mass, Depp, in a stunning transformation, creates a gripping and multi-layered portrait of infamous gangster James ‘Whitey’ Bulger. He delivers an astounding performance that has earned raves from both critics and audiences and is sure to garner awards attention. It is our honor to present the 2016 Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor, to Johnny Depp.” Depp can currently by seen in “Black Mass,” which tells of the unholy alliance between ruthless mobster James “Whitey” Bulger (Depp) and childhood friend-turned-FBI agent, John Connolly (Joel Edgerton). The bond, forged growing up on the streets of South Boston, would test the limits of loyalty in a town that answers to its own, unwritten code. Blinded by ambition, Connolly convinces Bulger to inform on their common enemy, the Italian Mafia. The deal allows Bulger to expand his criminal empire with complete impunity, threatening to destroy both men, their families, and the very city that made them. Based on true events, the film is directed by Scott Cooper and features an ensemble cast, also including Benedict Cumberbatch, Rory Cochrane, Jesse Plemons, Dakota Johnson, Julianne Nicholson, Kevin Bacon, W. Earl Brown, David Harbour, Corey Stoll, Peter Sarsgaard, Adam Scott and Juno Temple. The screenplay is by Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth, based on the book by Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neil. Produced by John Lesher, Brian Oliver, Scott Cooper, Patrick McCormick and Tyler Thompson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE3e3hGF2jc Past actor recipients of the Desert Palm Achievement Award include Jeff Bridges, Bradley Cooper, Daniel Day-Lewis, Colin Firth, Matthew McConaughey, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt and Eddie Redmayne. In the years they were honored, Bridges, Day-Lewis, McConaughey, Penn and Redmayne went on to win the Academy Award® for Best Actor, while Cooper, Firth and Pitt received Oscar® nominations.
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Filmmakers Thomas Vroege and Tom Fassaert Win Awards at 2015 IDFA

The 2015 IDFA International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam just officially opened with the screening of A Family Affair directed by Tom Fassaert (pictured above) and presented awards to filmmakers Thomas Vroege and Tom Fassaert. The 2015 Dutch Cultural Media Fund Documentary Award of €125,000 went to Thomas Vroege to fund his film plan for Theater of the Crowd, and Tom Fassaert, director of A Family Affair, received The Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Documentary Award of €50,000. Theater of the Crowd is film essay on the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe; a documentary about freedom that follows the narrative principles of Greek tragedy. The refugee crisis is a threat to the fractured foundations of a continent undergoing an identity crisis. How should we go about defending the ideal of freedom? The jury had this to say about the winning film plan: ‘Making artistic choices demands faith in your abilities, sense of conviction and, above all, ambition. The winning plan is brimming with ambition. It is experimental and courageous and it dares to go way off the beaten track. Taking an essayistic approach to questioning and investigating this pressing social issue, it is both topical and timeless.’ Filmmaker and video artist Thomas Vroege was born in 1988 and graduated in 2012 from the St. Joost Art Academy in Breda. His graduation film The Son & The Stranger won him the Dutch Film Fund’s Wild Card Award for that year’s most promising graduation documentary. His short film So Help Me God, which premiered at the 2015 Netherlands Film Festival, focuses on the financial world and the seemingly unassailable position of bankers. Vroege is currently making 9 Days, an installation on the Syrian civil war. In preparation for this piece, he recently filmed 9 DAYS – From My Window in Aleppo. He is also working with Mark Jan van Tellingen on the development of PARANOIA.WATCH, an app that aims to make measurable the effect of terrorism on society. The Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Documentary Award was presented to filmmaker Tom Fassaert for the production of a new documentary. Tom Fassaert was born in Naarden in 1979 and graduated in 2006 from the Netherlands Film Academy with the short documentary Doel. This film led a year later to the release of his much-praised debut De Engel van Doel. Filmed in black-and-white, it tracks the decline of Doel, a Belgian village threatened by the expansion of the port of Antwerp. Fassaert has been working for the past few years on A Family Affair, in which he visits his grandmother Marianne in South Africa, hoping to discover more about his family’s history and his grandmother’s problematic relationship with her children. This honest and personal family drama has established Fassaert’s reputation as one of the Netherlands’ most talented filmmakers. A second, keenly anticipated, film is a confident and stylish tour de force, again with an excellent storyline. Fassaert knows what he wants to say, and he knows how to say it. The Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Documentary Award rewards talented filmmakers with a sum of €50,000, enabling the recipient to make a documentary film of his or her own choice. The award is granted to documentary filmmakers who have already demonstrated their qualities in practice and gained some recognition for their work. The previous recipients of the award are Klaartje Quirijns (2011), Renzo Martens (2012), Boris Gerrets (2013) and Jessica Gorter (2014). Lastly, IDFA director Ally Derks was made a Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres, and the French ambassador to the Netherlands Laurent Pic presented her with the Ordre des Arts et Lettres.
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“Tangerine” “Taxi” “The Tribe” Among 5 Films Nominated for 2016 Cinema Eye Heterodox Award

Five films have been nominated for the 2016 Cinema Eye Heterodox Award. The Heterodox Award honors a narrative fiction film that imaginatively incorporates nonfiction strategies, content and/or modes of production. The five films nominated the 2016 Cinema Eye Heterodox Award are: Arabian Nights: Volume One (The Restless One) directed by Miguel Gomes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yONovEHyvXo God Bless the Child directed by Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXAgEO4rMSw Tangerine directed by Sean Baker https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALSwWTb88ZU Taxi directed by Jafar Panahi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM2tblIkL4g The Tribe directed by Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeYO_EoHP0k This marks the sixth year for the Heterodox Award at Cinema Eye. Previous winners of the award were Matt Porterfield’s Putty Hill (2011), Mike Mills’ Beginners (2012), Jem Cohen’s Museum Hours (2013), Carlos Reygados’s Post Tenebras Lux (2014) and Richard Linklater’s Boyhood (2015). The Heterodox prize will be presented on Tuesday, January 12th in New York City at the 2nd annual Honors Lunch during Cinema Eye Week.
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Dates Revealed for 2016 Durban International Film Festival

The annual Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) and the Durban FilmMart (DFM) have announced the dates for next year’s editions, which take place almost a month earlier than the usual July dates. The 2016 Durban International Film Festival will now take place from June 16 to 26, 2016 while the DFM will take place from 17 to 20 June, 2016 The events have been rescheduled due to a clash with the 21st International Aids Conference, which takes place at the end of Jul 2016. The AIDS conference will be using both the Elangeni and Maharani hotels, which are traditionally used as a festival and market hub. DIFF is hosted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts and 2016 will mark its 37th edition. “Although it will require some concerted communication efforts, we are positive about the move to June,” says Kishore Gobardan Director of Professional Services in the College of Humanities at UKZN in which the CCA is housed. “The festival will now open on the Youth Day, which may free up people to take advantage of a possible long weekend, and creates thematic opportunities for the festival to look at the role of youth within the industry.” The DFM is a joint project of the Thekwini Municipality’s industry arm, the Durban Film Office and the DIFF, and 2016 marks its 7th edition. Toni Monty the Head of Durban Film Office says, “This may work well in favour of the DFM and DIFF because it is just before the July summer holidays in Europe which is traditionally used as a recess period for film-makers, and that often impacts on their availability in July.” The DIFF will soon be calling for submissions for the 2016 edition while the Durban FilmMart has already made a call for submissions of film projects with the due date being December 14, 2015. The 9th Talents Durban the intensive programe of seminars, hands-on training, workshops and industry networking activities in partnership with Berlinale Talents will take place from June 17-21, 2016.
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“Romeo Is Bleeding” Wins Top Awards at 2015 St Louis International Film Festival

“Romeo Is Bleeding” directed by Jason Zeldes was a hit at the 2015 St Louis International Film Festival winning both the St. Louis Film Critics Association Joe Pollack and Joe Williams Awards for Best Documentary Feature and the Best of Fest Audience Choice Award – Leon Award for Best Documentary Film. In Romeo Is Bleeding, a young writer Donté Clark growing up in a city divided by a turf war, channels Shakespeare to help heal the ills of his community. Other top winning films include “Once in a Lifetime” directed by Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar taking the St. Louis Film Critics Association Joe Pollack and Joe Williams Award for Best Narrative Feature. The other audience favorite films include “Unlikely Heroes” directed by Peter Luisi winning the TV5MONDE Award for Best International Film, and “The Last Mentsch” directed by Pierre-Henry Salfati voted Best Film. 24th Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival Awards Charles Guggenheim Cinema St. Louis Award: Alex Winter Women in Film Award: Rosemary Rodriguez Contemporary Cinema Award: Trent Harris Shorts Awards Best Documentary Short: “The Surrender” directed by Stephen Maing Best Local Short: “Ferguson 365” directed by Chris Phillips Best Short Short: “Deathsong” directed by Malcolm Sutherland Best International Short: “Levitation” directed by Marko Mestrovic Best Animated Short: “Borrowed Time” directed by Andrew Coats & Lou Hamou-Lhadj Best Live-Action Short: “Birthday” directed by Chris King Best of Fest: “Beverley” directed by Alexander Thomas Midrash Award “Four Way Stop” directed by Efi da Silva https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY5CpWtz2XQ Interfaith Awards Best Documentary Feature: “Thao’s Library” directed by Elizabeth Van Meter https://vimeo.com/125478494 Best Narrative Feature: “Three Windows and a Hanging” directed by Isa Qosja https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOnKHG13vXM Alliance of Women Film Journalists’ EDA Award @ SLIFF Best Documentary Feature: “Once My Mother” directed by Sophia Turkiewicz https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lO6aTLM8X5s Best Narrative Feature: “Fidélio: Alice’s Odyssey” directed by Lucie Borleteau https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF02VEgdlqw St. Louis Film Critics Association Joe Pollack and Joe Williams Awards Best Documentary Feature: “Romeo Is Bleeding” directed by Jason Zeldes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vjdh-TmRQCQ Best Narrative Feature: “Once in a Lifetime” directed by Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdvhyY1_rxw Best of Fest Audience Choice Awards Leon Award for Best Documentary Film: “Romeo Is Bleeding” directed by Jason Zeldes TV5MONDE Award for Best International Film: “Unlikely Heroes” directed by Peter Luisi Best Film: “The Last Mentsch” directed by Pierre-Henry Salfati https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9L_ypD7KnI New Filmmakers Forum Emerging Director Award (The Bobbie) “Aram, Aram” directed by Christopher Chambers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BNiJtVDrTY
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