The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last night honored 15 student winners from colleges and universities around the world at the 42nd Student Academy Awards ceremony, held at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The Gold, Silver and Bronze Medal awards were announced and presented by actors Michelle Rodriguez and Jason Mitchell, Oscar®-winning director John Lasseter, and the Oscar-winning team behind the animated feature “Big Hero 6,” Roy Conli, Don Hall and Chris Williams.
The 2015 Student Academy Award winners are:
Alternative
Gold: “Chiaroscuro,” Daniel Drummond, Chapman University, California
Silver: “Zoe,” ChiHyun Lee, The School of Visual Arts, New York
Animation
Gold: “Soar,” Alyce Tzue, Academy of Art University, San Francisco
Silver: “An Object at Rest,” Seth Boyden, California Institute of the Arts
Bronze: “Taking the Plunge,” Nicholas Manfredi and Elizabeth Ku-Herrero, The School of
Visual Arts
Documentary
Gold: “Looking at the Stars,” Alexandre Peralta, University of Southern California
Silver: “I Married My Family’s Killer,” Emily Kassie, Brown University
Bronze: “Boxeadora,” Meg Smaker, Stanford University
Narrative
Gold: “Day One,” Henry Hughes, American Film Institute, California
Silver: “This Way Up,” Jeremy Cloe, American Film Institute
Bronze: “Stealth,” Bennett Lasseter, American Film Institute
Foreign Film
Gold: “Fidelity,” Ilker Çatak, Hamburg Media School, Germany
Silver: “The Last Will,” Dustin Loose, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany
Bronze: “Everything Will Be Okay” Patrick Vollrath, Filmakademie Wien, Austria
The Student Academy Awards were established in 1972 to provide a platform for emerging global talent by creating opportunities within the industry to showcase their work. Past Student Academy Award winners have gone on to receive 47 Oscar nominations and have won or shared eight awards. They include Pete Docter, John Lasseter, Spike Lee, Trey Parker and Robert Zemeckis.
Image: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented its 42nd Annual Student Academy Awards® on Thursday, September 17, in Beverly Hills. Gold Medal winners (left to right): Alternative film winner Daniel Drummond, Documentary film winner Alexandre Peralta, Animated film winner Alyce Tzue, Narrative film winner Henry Hughes and Foreign film winner Ilker Catak.
credit: Todd Wawrychuk / ©A.M.P.A.S.VIMOOZ
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Winners of 42nd Student Academy Awards Receive Medal Awards
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last night honored 15 student winners from colleges and universities around the world at the 42nd Student Academy Awards ceremony, held at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The Gold, Silver and Bronze Medal awards were announced and presented by actors Michelle Rodriguez and Jason Mitchell, Oscar®-winning director John Lasseter, and the Oscar-winning team behind the animated feature “Big Hero 6,” Roy Conli, Don Hall and Chris Williams.
The 2015 Student Academy Award winners are:
Alternative
Gold: “Chiaroscuro,” Daniel Drummond, Chapman University, California
Silver: “Zoe,” ChiHyun Lee, The School of Visual Arts, New York
Animation
Gold: “Soar,” Alyce Tzue, Academy of Art University, San Francisco
Silver: “An Object at Rest,” Seth Boyden, California Institute of the Arts
Bronze: “Taking the Plunge,” Nicholas Manfredi and Elizabeth Ku-Herrero, The School of
Visual Arts
Documentary
Gold: “Looking at the Stars,” Alexandre Peralta, University of Southern California
Silver: “I Married My Family’s Killer,” Emily Kassie, Brown University
Bronze: “Boxeadora,” Meg Smaker, Stanford University
Narrative
Gold: “Day One,” Henry Hughes, American Film Institute, California
Silver: “This Way Up,” Jeremy Cloe, American Film Institute
Bronze: “Stealth,” Bennett Lasseter, American Film Institute
Foreign Film
Gold: “Fidelity,” Ilker Çatak, Hamburg Media School, Germany
Silver: “The Last Will,” Dustin Loose, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany
Bronze: “Everything Will Be Okay” Patrick Vollrath, Filmakademie Wien, Austria
The Student Academy Awards were established in 1972 to provide a platform for emerging global talent by creating opportunities within the industry to showcase their work. Past Student Academy Award winners have gone on to receive 47 Oscar nominations and have won or shared eight awards. They include Pete Docter, John Lasseter, Spike Lee, Trey Parker and Robert Zemeckis.
Image: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented its 42nd Annual Student Academy Awards® on Thursday, September 17, in Beverly Hills. Gold Medal winners (left to right): Alternative film winner Daniel Drummond, Documentary film winner Alexandre Peralta, Animated film winner Alyce Tzue, Narrative film winner Henry Hughes and Foreign film winner Ilker Catak.
credit: Todd Wawrychuk / ©A.M.P.A.S.
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THE DANISH GIRL + SPOTLIGHT to Open 2015 Mill Valley Film Festival
The 2015 Mill Valley Film Festival, scheduled for October 8 to 18, will open with Tom Hooper’s THE DANISH GIRL, starring Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander, and Tom McCarthy’s SPOTLIGHT, starring Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams.
Oscar®-winning The King’s Speech (MVFF 2010) director Tom Hooper returns with another remarkable historical drama. Based on the incredible true story of painter Lili Elbe (Academy Award®-winner Eddie Redmayne, MVFF Spotlight 2014), The Danish Girl explores the life of one of the first people in recorded history to receive gender reassignment surgery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d88APYIGkjk
In Spotlight, Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo head an impeccable ensemble cast recreating the true events of 2001, when The Boston Globe broke open the massive child molestation scandal within the local Catholic Archdiocese—and the shocking Church cover-up that kept it a dirty secret for decades. it is the All the President’s Men of our generation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXymzwz0V2g
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BEST OF ENEMIES Wins 2015 SummerDocs Audience Award | TRAILER
BEST OF ENEMIES, directed by Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon, is the winner of the 2015 SummerDocs Audience Award. The award-winning film chronicles the groundbreaking series of televised debates between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley, Jr., during the 1968 presidential conventions. The film was released by Magnolia Pictures this summer.
Directed with consummate skill by filmmakers Robert Gordon and Academy Award-winning Sundance Film Festival alum Morgan Neville (Twenty Feet From Stardom), Best of Enemies unleashes a highbrow blood sport that marked the dawn of pundit television as we know it today. In the summer of 1968 television news changed forever. Dead last in the ratings, ABC hired two towering public intellectuals to debate each other during the Democratic and Republican national conventions.
William F. Buckley Jr. was a leading light of the new conservative movement. A Democrat and cousin to Jackie Onassis, Gore Vidal was a leftist novelist and polemicist. Armed with deep-seated distrust and enmity, Vidal and Buckley believed each other’s political ideologies were dangerous for America. Like rounds in a heavyweight battle, they pummeled out policy and personal insult—their explosive exchanges devolving into vitriolic name-calling. Live and unscripted, they kept viewers riveted. Ratings for ABC News skyrocketed. And a new era in public discourse was born.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzgfQvB2dvA
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Director Masato Harada to be the focus of JAPAN NOW at 2015 Tokyo International Film Festival
Masato Harada will be the first Director in Focus of 2015 Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF)’s new section JAPAN NOW. Masato Harada is the award-winning director of such works as “Bounce Ko Gals,” “Climber’s High,” “Chronicle of My Mother” and “The Emperor in August.”
Created to showcase outstanding Japanese films from recent and upcoming months, JAPAN NOW will display the diversity of Japanese film, and unique facets of Japanese culture, as well as providing a multifaceted look inside Japan today. The section will also highlight outstanding work by other directors, with subtitled screenings of films to boost their recognition overseas.
Masato Harada was chosen as the initial Director in Focus due to his success over a 30-year career, creating a range of compelling films that are both social criticisms and world-class entertainments. He has received international attention, but JAPAN NOW will present the first mini-retrospective of his work, with English-subtitled screenings of “Kamikaze Taxi” (1994), “Climber’s High”(2008), “Chronicle of My Mother” (2011), “Kakekomi” (2015) and “The Emperor in August” (2015).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMxeYUWjAgU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10CY5odEygo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk9cOWlhV2c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0uE7cCqyKw
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Pharrell Williams + Daft Punk Documentary DAFT PUNK: UNCHAINED to Screen at Doc’n Roll Film Fest
Doc’n Roll Film Festival will screen the French documentary Daft Punk: Unchained, directed by Hervé Martin Delpierre, and the first film to be made about the pop culture phenomenon.
The often elusive duo have sold 12 million albums worldwide and won awards around the globe without ever compromising their vision or sound. Between fiction and reality, magic and secrets, future and reinvention, theatricality and humility, The Robots have built a unique world. The documentary shows Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel Homem-Christo on their permanent quest for creativity, independence and freedom. Unchained has unprecedented access and combines rare archive footage and exclusive interviews with their closest collaborators including Giorgio Moroder, Pharrell Williams, Nile Rodgers, Michel Gondry, Pete Tong, Skrillex and Leiji Matsumoto.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5EofwRzit0
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Dustin Guy Defa’s Short Films to Get 1 Week Run at Film Society of Lincoln Center
The Film Society of Lincoln Center in NYC will feature a one-week run, from October 14 to 20, of short films by filmmaker Dustin Guy Defa under the theme Local Color: The Short Films of Dustin Guy Defa.
“Good short films don’t get the attention that they deserve, which is all the more grievous as there are some terrific short films being made—and Defa is making many of them,” wrote Richard Brody (The New Yorker) in admiration of the director’s Person to Person, an official selection of last year’s New Directors/New Films and part of Local Color. “Put ’em together and it’s almost a feature release, which is what these richly thoughtful yet ultra-low-budget films merit.”
In addition to Person to Person, Local Color: The Short Films of Dustin Guy Defa also includes Family Nightmare (2011), Declaration of War (2013), Lydia Hoffman Lydia Hoffman (2013), and Review (2015), an official selection of the 53rd New York Film Festival.
LOCAL COLOR: THE SHORT FILMS OF DUSTIN GUY DEFA
FILMS & DESCRIPTIONS
Declaration of War
Dustin Guy Defa, USA, 2013, digital projection, 7m
Defa takes the piss out of Bush-era foreign policy as our then-President’s declaration of the War on Terror is met by an unrelenting standing ovation.
Family Nightmare
Dustin Guy Defa, USA, 2011, HDCAM, 10m
Defa delves into his family’s home-movie archive for this by turns bleak and funny but always moving Bosch-esque group portrait, an act of personal exorcism on VHS.
Lydia Hoffman Lydia Hoffman
Dustin Guy Defa, USA, 2013, HDCAM, 15m
After being dumped by her fed-up boyfriend (Josh Safdie), a young woman (Hannah Gross), allows an alluring stranger (Dakota Goldhor) to crash at her place, unwittingly opening a Pandora’s Box of insecurities and paranoia.
Person to Person
Dustin Guy Defa, USA, 2014, HDCAM, 18m
The morning after hosting a party, record-store clerk Benny (Bene Coopersmith) finds a stranger (Deragh Campbell) passed out on his floor; upon waking, she refuses to leave. A New Directors/New Films 2014 selection.
Review
Dustin Guy Defa, USA, 2015, digital projection, 4m
A young woman recounts a story to a group of friends who listen on with rapt attention, but the tale sounds very familiar… An NYFF53 selection.
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Studio Ghibli to Receive 2015 Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award
The 20th Busan International Film Festival selected Studio Ghibli as the recipient of the 2015 Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award. The Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award is presented to an Asian filmmaker or a group that has significantly contributed to the development of the Asian film industry and Asian culture.
Studio Ghibli, celebrating its 30th anniversary, was founded in 1985 by animated film directors Takahata Isao and Miyazaki Hayao who are well known for significant achievements in animated film history. Miyazaki Hayao consolidated the status of Japanese animated films, especially with Spirited Away (2001) which won with the Golden Bear at the 2002 Berlin International Film Festival and the 2002 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film at the 2003 Oscars. He was awarded the Golden Lion for Career Achievement at the 2005 Venice International Film Festival. Takahata Isao also led in the golden age of Japanese animated films by directing Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Only Yesterday (1991), Pom Poko (1994), and the Oscar-nominated feature The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013).
Studio Ghibli has produced numerous masterpieces with an extended production period, providing a stable production system as well as training successors for the development of animations. The studio has also left a significant mark through activities concerning environmental protection, peace, and the future of children.
In celebration of Studio Ghibli as the Asian Filmmaker of the Year, the Busan International Film Festival will screen Miyazaki Hayao’s My Neighbor Totoro (1988) in the Open Cinema section and Takahata Isao’s Only Yesterday (1991) in the Wide Angle – Animation Showcase section. A chairman and a producer of Studio Ghibli Suzuki Toshio will attend the award ceremony for The Asian Filmmaker of the Year. The Busan Cinema Center will also screen another 18 masterpieces of Studio Ghibli under the ‘Spotlight on STUDIO GHIBLI’ from September 21 (Mon) to September 27 (Sun). For more information, please visit the Busan Cinema Center website.
Studio Ghibli Inc. / Animation Film Studio/ Japan
Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985 by animated film directors Takahata Isao and Miyazaki Hayao, and has produced twenty-one feature-length films. Most Studio Ghibli films ranked number one at the box office in Japan in the year in which they were released. Spirited Away, directed by Miyazaki Hayao and released in 2001, is the all-time highest grossing film in Japan, earning 30.4 billion yen at the box office. The Studio’s Spirited Away (2001) and Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) are among Japan’s top 5 grossing films. Studio Ghibli films have garnered numerous awards and critical acclaim from film critics and animation specialists around the world. Spirited Away was awarded the Golden Bear as the Best Feature Film at the 2002 Berlin International Film Festival and won the 2002 Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature Film at the 2003 Oscars. In October 2001, Studio Ghibli, in conjunction with The Tokuma Memorial Cultural Foundation for Animation, founded the Ghibli Museum, Mitaka, designed by Miyazaki Hayao. Studio Ghibli released two films in 2013, The Wind Rises, written and directed by Miyazaki Hayao, and The Tale of The Princess Kaguya, directed by Takahata Isao, that earned consecutive nominations for the 2013 and 2014 Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature Film. The latest film, When Marnie Was There, opened in Japan on July 19, 2014.
Studio Ghibli Filmography
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
Castle in the Sky (1986)
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
Only Yesterday (1991)
Porco Rosso (1992)
Pom Poko (1994)
Whisper of the Heart (1995)
Princess Mononoke (1997)
My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999)
Spirited Away (2001)
The Cat Returns (2002)
Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
Tales from Earthsea (2006)
Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (2008)
Arrietty (2010)
From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)
The Wind Rises (2013)
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013)
When Marnie Was There (2014)
* Past Recipients of the Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award
12th (2014): Ann Hui (Director, Hong Kong)
11th (2013): Rithy Panh (Director, Cambodia)
10th (2012): Wakamatsu Koji (Director, Producer / Japan)
9th (2011): Tsui Hark (Director, Producer / Hong Kong)
8th (2010): Tsai Ming-Liang (Director / Taiwan)
7th (2009): Yash Chopra (Director, Producer / India)
6th (2008): Gulnara Sarsenova (Festival Director of International Eurasia Film Festival / Kazakhstan)
5th (2007): The late Edward Yang (Director / Taiwan)
4th (2006): Andy Lau (Producer, Actor / Hong Kong)
3rd (2005): NHK (Broadcasting Station / Japan)
2nd (2004): Hou Hsiao Hsien (Director / Taiwan)
1st (2003): Mohsen Makhmalbaf (Director, Producer / Iran)
via release
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2015 Seattle South Asian Film Festival Reveals Lineup; Opens with Comedy FOR HERE OR TO GO?
The 10th annual Seattle South Asian Film Festival slated for October 15-25, announced a lineup of 59 films from 9 countries, under the theme “Coming Home”.
Sri Lanka is in the spotlight at 2015 Seattle South Asian Film Festival with a program of films and the attendance of veteran Sri Lankan filmmaker and recipient of the 2014 Tasveer Emerald Award Prasanna Vithanage. A retrospective of Vithanage’s work will take place over the first weekend of the Festival and the filmmaker himself will appear at Q&As following each of the four films included in the retrospective, at a symposium titled “Human Rights and the Politics of Filmmaking in South Asia,” and at a reception to be held in his honor.
Opening Night kicks off the 2015 Seattle South Asian Film Festival with the dramatic comedy FOR HERE OR TO GO?, (pictured above) a humorous look at personal battles faced by immigrants living in America.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4F3A_e4zAc
Pakistani-American comedian Fawzia Mirza will grace the Festival’s Centerpiece Gala to present her short film THE FIRST SESSION and perform her one-woman play, “Me, My Mom, and Sharmila.” Mirza is known for her web series “Kam Kardashian” and sketch comedy series “Brown Girl Problems” and was named to Indiewire’s Top 10 Creatives of 2014.
The 2015 Seattle South Asian Film Festival closes with THE SPECTACULAR JIHAD OF TAZ RAHIM with the director Raghav Murali and actor Rahsaan Islam expected to attend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMzbTIfi-FI
Local films featured at SSAFF 2015 include DRAWING THE TIGER by Amy Benson and Scott Squire, FLYING KISS by Tarun Seth, THREADS by Cathy Stevulak, SONGS OF THE BARDS OF BENGAL- THE BAULS AND FAKIRS by Monalisa Dasgupta, and THE DECISION by Joydeep Das.
Further highlights include a new documentary AMONG THE BELIEVERS, a timely look into radical Islam in Pakistan and the conditions that led to its rise. Filmmakers Hemal Trivedi and Mo Naqvi are expected to attend the screening. A double-feature presentation on partition includes A THIN WALL by director Mara Ahmad and PEACE, DAAL, AND PARTITION by director Paisley Smith.
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TRUTH Starring Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford to Open 2015 Rome Film Fest | VIDEO
Truth by James Vanderbilt, and starring Oscar®-winning actors Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford will be the opening film of the 2015 Rome Film Fest, to be held October 16th to 24th 2015.
American screenwriter James Vanderbilt, well-known for his work on The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2 by Marc Webb, and Zodiac by David Fincher, got behind the camera to film his directorial debut, a story that borrows from the repertory of political and newsroom thrillers (such as All the President’s Men and The Insider), starring Oscar®-winning actors Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford.
The film is inspired by the book “Truth and Duty: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power” written by journalist and television producer Mary Mapes (played by Cate Blanchett) who worked for years on the CBS television programme “60 Minutes” with renowned anchorman Dan Rather (Robert Redford). The film focuses on the events that led to the controversial case known as “Rathergate”, which concerned the allegedly preferential treatment that George W. Bush received in being posted to the National Guard, to avoid deployment in Vietnam. This unconfirmed story aired in 2004 just two months before the American presidential elections, and brought about Rather’s resignation and Mapes’ layoff, leading the entire CBS News division just a step away from collapse.
Co-starring with the two Oscar® winners are Dennis Quaid (Far from Heaven, The Day After Tomorrow, Traffic), Topher Grace (Spider-Man 3, Predator, In Good Company), and Elisabeth Moss (star of the acclaimed television series “Mad Men”).
“Truth may be interpreted on two different levels – explains Artistic Director Antonio Monda of the 2015 Rome Film Fest– The first is the relationship between journalism and politics. The second is the relationship between truth and bias: how preconceptions can affect the way news is reported. Based on a true story, Truth is a powerful and effective debut by a director we will be talking about for a very long time.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v5-jVhksGM
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2015 Jalopnik Film Festival Moves to LA, Opens with WINNING: THE RACING LIFE OF PAUL NEWMAN
The Jalopnik Film Festival is going on a road trip for 2015, motoring west to Los Angeles for its 3rd Annual edition, set to run the weekend of Friday, September 25th through Saturday, September 26th, complete with Mazda as its new presenting sponsor.
The 2015 Jalopnik Film Festival will kick off on Friday at the Santa Monica Airport’s Barker Hangar with a gala screening of Adam Carolla’s new documentary Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman, followed by a Q&A with Carolla and an after-party. Prior to the screening there will be an exclusive Ride & Drive Experience with the all-new 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1&v=4Szj0gCkFuk
Saturday will feature a full day of screenings at The Ace Hotel in Downtown L.A., with a mix of new documentaries and narrative films including Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt’s Havana Motor Club, which celebrates Cuba’s racing culture, a screening of Steve McQueen: The Man and Le Mans, a doc chronicling actor Steve McQueen’s passion for racing, directed by Gabriel Clarke and John McKenna, and a screening of Daniel Junge’s Being Evel , a documentary about legendary daredevil Evel Knievel, featuring appearances by Johnny Knoxville, Tony Hawk, George Hamilton, and the late Frank Gifford.
In addition to the new movies, the festival also will offer film buffs rare big-screen showings of two epic car-chase fan favorites, George Miller’s original Mad Max and John Frankenheimer’s Ronin.
Other films include Luke Huxham’s In Loving Memory, a look at the famous (and deadly) Isle of Man TT motorcycle race, and a sneak preview of The Smoking Tire’s All Cars Go to Heaven: Volume Two.
The festival also will include a reader-submitted short film competition, judged by Carolla, L.A. Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson, filmmaker Jeff Zwart, and TV personality Spike Feresten.
Discussing this year’s fest and the move to LA, Jalopnik Editor-in-Chief Matt Hardigree said, “Jalopnik believes that cars matter, so it’s great to have a partner like Mazda who believes that driving matters. It’s also a dream to bring the festival to Los Angeles, where car culture meets film culture and the weather is always great.”
“We’re excited to be working with Matt Hardigree and the great people at Jalopnik, said Mazda’s Russell Wager, vice president, Marketing, Mazda North American Operations. “Los Angeles is the perfect combination of cars and cinema, and we’re looking forward to showcasing the new Mazda MX-5for their audiences.”
Friday’s Ride & Drive experience will feature an exclusive opportunity to get behind the wheel of the 2016 Mazda MX-5 with Jalopnik editors, pro drivers — and a surprise guest. The Ride & Drive experience requires reservations and will take place from 4–7p.m.
via press release
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San Francisco Film Society to Present 2015 Taiwan Film Days Series with Spotlight on Director Hou Hsiao-hsien | TRAILER
The San Francisco Film Society will present the 2015 Taiwan Film Days, from October 12 to 13, showcasing Taiwanese cinema to Bay Area audiences. This year’s 6th edition of Taiwan Film Days features a very special spotlight on master filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien, who received the Best Director prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and is expected to attend the series kickoff event.
Taiwan Film Days kicks off with a special early look at Hou Hsiao-hsien’s latest film The Assassin, then continues with the documentary Flowers of Taipei: Taiwan New Cinema, which delves into the history and legacy of the Taiwanese New Cinema movement, and wraps up with a newly restored version of Hou’s timeless classic The Boys from Fengkuei.
The Assassin
Hou Hsiao-hsien (Nie Yinniang, Taiwan 2015)
To open the sixth installment of Taiwan Film Days, the series presents one of the most heralded films of 2015 — winner of the Best Director prize at the Cannes Film Festival — master filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien’s The Assassin. Set in ninth-century China, the film centers on Nie Yinniang (played by a smoldering Shu Qi) a female killer appointed to slay corrupt government officials by her master, Jiaxin, a nun who raised her from the age of ten. When Yinniang displays mercy by failing to kill during her duties, Jiaxing punishes her with a ruthless assignment designed to test Yinniang’s resolve. Written by Hou Hsiao-hsien, Chu Tien-wen, Hsieh Hai-meng, Zhong Acheng. Cinematography by Mark Lee Ping Bing. With Shu Qi, Chang Chen, Zhou Yun. 105 min. In Mandarin with subtitles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bqNyl72eBw
Flowers of Taipei: Taiwan New Cinema
Chinlin Hsieh (Guangyin de gushi: Taiwan xin dianying, Taiwan 2014)
The Taiwanese New Cinema movement of the 1980s and ’90s captured the imaginations of audiences and filmmakers worldwide. This comprehensive documentary features interviews with leading critics, curators and filmmakers mixed with glorious archival clips from some of the most beloved and inspiring films of the era. Pitch perfect, Flowers of Taipei is an ideal introduction to and celebration of one of the most vital film movements of our time. Cinematography by Olivier Marceny. 109 min. In Mandarin and English with subtitles. Print provided by Ablaze Image.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EyPN-L3SCQ
The Boys from Fengkuei
Hou Hsiao-hsien (Fengkuei-lai-te-jen, Taiwan 1983)
Hou Hsiao-hsien’s beautiful fourth feature-length film follows three bored teenagers who move from the small island of Fengkuei to the port of Kaohsiung. Elegantly recalling the excitement, confusion, anxiety and directionless possibilities of youth in transition to adulthood, the film reveals director Hou in a transition of his own to a canny naturalism that will mark his films for a decade. Restored at the Cinémathèque Royal de Belgique in collaboration with Hou Hsiao-Hsien and the Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project.Written by Chu Tien-wen. Cinematography by Ch’en K’un-hou. With Doze Niu, To Tsung-hua, Lin Hsiu-ling. 100 min. Print provided by Cinematek Belgium.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpVRXV36o2s
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Robert Redford, Helen Mirren, Steve Golin to be Honored at 2015 IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards
Robert Redford and Helen Mirren will be presented with Actor and Actress Tributes at the 2015 IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards set for Monday, November 30th at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. Steve Golin will be awarded the Industry Tribute. They will join Todd Haynes, the previously announced Director Tribute recipient.
“We are thrilled to recognize the careers and achievements of such lauded industry veterans as Robert Redford, Helen Mirren, and Steve Golin as part of our 25th anniversary celebrations,” said Joana Vicente, Executive Director of IFP and the Made in NY Media Center. “To celebrate these individuals who have contributed so much to the independent film community and to the entertainment world at large – and in such a landmark year for the Gothams – is truly an honor.”
Todd Haynes, Robert Redford, Helen Mirren, and Steve Golin will join a prestigious group of previous honorees including: Bennett Miller, Tilda Swinton, Ted Sarandos, Jeff Skoll, James Schamus, Bob & Harvey Weinstein, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sheila Nevins, Jonathan Sehring and film critic Roger Ebert; actors Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Charlize Theron, Stanley Tucci, Natalie Portman, Javier Bardem, and Penélope Cruz; filmmakers David O. Russell, David Cronenberg, Mira Nair and Gus Van Sant.
For the fifth year, IFP will present the euphoria Calvin Klein Spotlight on Women Filmmakers ‘Live the Dream’ grant, a $25,000 cash award for an alumnus of IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Labs. This grant aims to further the careers of emerging female directors by supporting the completion, distribution and audience engagement strategies of their first feature film. The 2014 winner of this grant was director, writer, and producer Chloé Zhao, whose film Songs My Brothers Taught Me premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. In addition, euphoria Calvin Klein will present the annual Best Actress award.
Submissions for the IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards are now being accepted in seven of the competitive categories: Best Feature, Best Documentary, Best Actor, Best Actress, Breakthrough Actor, Best Screenplay, and the Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award. The deadline for submissions is September 17th.