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HERE ALONE and THE RETURN Win Tribeca Film Festival Audience Awards

[caption id="attachment_12753" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The Return[/caption] Here Alone, and The Return are the winners of the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival Audience Awards. The festival closes today Sunday April 24. Here Alone directed by Rod Blackhurst, was chosen to receive the Narrative award and The Return, directed by Kelly Duane de la Vega and Katie Galloway, was chosen for the Documentary award. Each award comes with a cash prize of $10,000. Additionally as part of the Tribeca Film Festival Artists Awards program, Here Alone receives Zak Kitnick’s Untitled (acrylic, ink and phosphorescent pigment on paper) and The Return receives Clifford Ross’s Horizon XI (silver-Gelatin print.) The runners-up were Children of the Mountain directed by Priscilla Anany for the narrative audience award and Midsummer in Newtown, directed by Lloyd Kramer, for the documentary audience award. Winners of the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival Audience Awards WINNERS Here Alone, directed by Rod Blackhurst, written by David Ebeltoft. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. A virus has ravaged human civilization, leaving two groups of survivors: those who have managed to avoid infection, and those driven to madness, violence, and an insatiable bloodlust. Living deep in the woods, Ann, Chris, and Olivia are forced to fend off the infected while foraging for supplies. But when a supply expedition goes terribly awry, one among their number must make a terrible choice. With Lucy Walters, Gina Piersanti, Adam David Thompson, and Shane West. [caption id="attachment_12754" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Here Alone[/caption] The Return, directed by Kelly Duane de la Vega and Katie Galloway, written by Kelly Duane de la Vega, Katie Galloway, and Greg O’Toole. (USA) – World Premiere. How does one reintegrate into society after making peace with a life sentence? California’s controversial and notoriously harsh three-strikes law was repealed in 2012, consequently releasing large numbers of convicts back into society. The Return presents an unbiased observation of the many issues with re-entry through the varied experiences of recently freed lifers. RUNNERS UP [caption id="attachment_12755" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Midsummer in Newtown[/caption] Midsummer in Newtown, directed by Lloyd Kramer. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. Midsummer in Newtown is a testament to the transformative force of artistic expression to pierce through the shadow cast down by trauma. From auditions to opening night, we witness the children of Sandy Hook Elementary find their voice, build their self-confidence, and ultimately shine in a rock-pop version of A Midsummer’s Night Dream. [caption id="attachment_12756" align="aligncenter" width="864"] Children of the Mountain[/caption] Children of the Mountain, directed and written by Priscilla Anany. (USA, Ghana) – World Premiere, Narrative. When a young woman gives birth to a deformed and sickly child, she becomes the victim of cruelty and superstition in her Ghanaian community. Discarded by her lover, she is convinced she suffers from a ‘dirty womb,’ and embarks on a journey to heal her son and create a future for them both. With Rukiyat Masud, Grace Omaboe, Akofa Edjeani, Adjetey Annang, Agbeko Mortty (Bex), Dzifa Glikpo, Mynna Otoo. In Twi with subtitles.
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Fighting for Peace, Zanzibar Soccer Dreams Bookend Lineup for Canadian Sport Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_12737" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Zanzibar Soccer Dreams[/caption] 23 films featuring Rio to Toronto and around the world, are on the lineup for the 2016 Canadian Sport Film Festival (CSFF) taking place May 20 to 22 at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, Canada. The 8th annual CSFF will open with the films Fighting for Peace, and Sully’s; and closes with Zanzibar Soccer Dreams, and Boxing For Freedom. “With billions of eyes on the Summer Olympics this year, and Toronto’s recent experience as host city for the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games, we know international sporting events generate a craving for healthy dialogue and discussion surrounding important social issues,” said Russell Field, Executive Director. “Our film festival addresses that need as the majority of our films feature a sport that will be part of this summer’s competition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.” Every year, CSFF films feature the remarkable resilience of people in challenging circumstances who find hope through sport. Powerful stories are put on screen that highlight the ways in which sport, recreation, and play matter in the everyday lives of people and offer opportunities for social change. Of the 23 films presented this year, highlights include: Fighting for Peace (Opening Night) – Two young boxers living in one of Rio’s most violent and poorest slums are on a quest to become national champions. With one having lost a sister to addiction, and the other as sole provider for his mother and seven siblings, the film looks at what it takes to be a winner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHsiMDakEVs Sully’s (Opening Night) – As one of Toronto’s most legendary boxing gyms, Sully’s served as a training home of Nicky Furlano, George Chuvalo and even Muhammad Ali. Viewers will learn more about the man behind the beloved boxing institution. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teXh0rykpFs Eastern – Four students at a storied Toronto high school with a great basketball pedigree find themselves competing for the school’s last chance at championship glory. With the school closing down, they are trying to write a memorable end to one of Canada’s most historic sport programs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8g3gxvrG28 Ron Taylor: Dr. Baseball – In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Toronto Blue Jays, celebrate the life of Ron Taylor. After winning World Series championships as a pitcher, Ron Taylor gave up baseball for a career in medicine. Find out how a life-changing tour of Vietnam led him to become the team physician for the Toronto Blue Jays. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0IkSC7hM4s Zanzibar Soccer Dreams (Closing Night) – With all eyes on the Canadian national women’s soccer team’s pursuit of Olympic gold in Rio, meet a remarkable group of women who are fighting just for the right to play the game. Soccer players in Zanzibar have had to overcome religious, cultural and gender prejudices, and the world premiere of this film will be attended by both the film’s director and star. View Trailer Boxing For Freedom (Closing Night) – Two sisters who are the best female boxers in Afghanistan aim to compete in London 2012 Olympics. But they must first overcome the challenge of being physically active women in a country that doesn’t support it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-vVnrWLklU As part of the festival, the Canadian Sport Film Festival reaches out to young people in the Greater Toronto Area. CSFF is hosting an interactive panel and engaging workshop for youth that will allow them to actively participate by making their own films. Former Olympic Gymnast Alexandra Orlando, and Olympic boxing hopeful Arthur Biyarslanov are scheduled to participate in the panel.
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Hometown Film “Bastards y Diablos” Wins Best Film at Ashland Independent Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_12086" align="aligncenter" width="1296"] Bastards y Diablos[/caption] Bastards y Diablos, with several cast and crew members who hailed from nearby Medford, Oregon, swept both the juried and audience awards for Best Feature at the 2016 Ashland Independent Film Festival.The film is a voyage of self-discovery and reconciliation for two estranged half-brothers told in an unconventional manner. It was shot entirely on location in Columbia, on a budget of only $25,000. The co-star was Dillon Porter, who grew up in Medford. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4NuLLJmHQo The documentary Mothering Inside by Portland director Brian Lindstrom won the audience award for Best Short Documentary, and the audience award for Best Feature length documentary went to Voyagers Without Trace, which was directed, produced and written by Ian McCluskey, also from Portland. The audience award for Short Film was awarded to The Stairs, which co-stars Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) actor Anthony Heald. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkS0bxwoF-k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fig2VaOZmEc “As an Oregon filmmaker, I have always wanted to bring a film to the Ashland Independent Film Festival, which has built a reputation as a world-class festival, attended by engaged audiences,” McCluskey said. “We felt the energy in the small, historic Varsity Theater, with every ooh, aww, chuckle, and gasp. Each screening was followed by lively Q&As, and folks coming up to us throughout the festival to share their own stories. The heart of making an independent film is in its collaborative spirit, and that spirit is fully realized when shared with the audiences of Ashland.” “It was very satisfying to discover and program so many strong films emerging from our region,’’ said Richard Herskowitz, director of programming. “The enthusiastic response to these films, from both our audiences and our international jurors, testifies to the region’s cinematic vitality.” Other Pacific Northwest films also received warm receptions at the Ashland film festival, including , Honey Buddies, recently renamed Buddymoon, which was shot in the Columbia Gorge, and accompanied on opening night by a live performance by its star, DJ Flula Borg. The film co-stars David Guintoli of the Portland-based TV series Grimm. Other Oregon-connected films include: Christopher LaMarca and Jessica Dimmock’s The Pearl, a documentary that followed four people from the Pacific Northwest as they transition from man to woman; LaMarca’s Boone, a documentary about an organic goat farm in the Little Applegate Valley of Southern Oregon; and the short films 1985, The Child and the Dead, and Damn, What a Dame, made by students of the Southern Oregon University Film Club, and a winner of AIFF’s Launch student film competition. The complete list of award-winning films follows: JURY AWARDS BEST FEATURE Bastards y Diablos BEST ACTING Five Nights in Maine Honorable Mention: A Light Beneath Their Feet BEST SHORT FILM Killer Honorable Mention: El Tigre LES BLANK AWARD: BEST FEATURE LENGTH DOCUMENTARY Hooligan Sparrow Honorable Mention: The Birth of Saké BEST EDITING: FEATURE LENGTH DOCUMENTARY NUTS! Honorable Mention: In Pursuit of Silence BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY 100 Years Show Honorable Mention: Greenwood AUDIENCE AWARDS VARSITY AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE Bastards y Diablos. ROGUE CREAMERY AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST FEATURE LENGTH DOCUMENTARY Voyagers Without Trace. JIM TEECE AUDIENCE AWARD FOR SHORT FILM The Stairs. BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY Mothering Inside.
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Pulitzer Prize-Winning Critic Wesley Morris to Deliver State of Cinema Address at SFIFF59

[caption id="attachment_12070" align="aligncenter" width="1296"] Wesley Morris[/caption] Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic and New York Times Critic at Large Wesley Morris will deliver the State of Cinema Address at the 2016 San Francisco International Film Festival. Each year, the San Francisco Film Society invites a visionary thinker to discuss the intersecting worlds of contemporary cinema and visual arts, culture and society, images and ideas. In this year’s address, Morris will argue for the radicalization of Sidney Poitier and how it parallels the current climate of race in the movies. Morris was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 2012 for “his smart, inventive film criticism, distinguished by pinpoint prose and an easy traverse between the art house and the big-screen box office.” He was recently appointed as Critic at Large for the New York Times, where he is the paper’s sole African American cultural critic. Times lead film critic A.O. Scott said of his colleague, “He’s like Oscar Wilde-breathtakingly funny and absolutely serious in the same breath, able to illuminate the deepest and sometimes darkest meanings of a piece of popular culture without losing sight of the fact that it’s all supposed to be fun.” Prior to joining the Times, Morris wrote for the sports and pop-culture website Grantland and spent ten years as a staff film critic with the Boston Globe, where he earned the Pulitzer. Earlier in his career, he wrote film reviews and essays for the San Francisco Examiner and the San Francisco Chronicle. He appears in the 2009 documentary film For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism, which features clips and interviews with many of the nation’s most celebrated film critics from the past 100 years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFgL9cyLDGI Over the years SFIFF has invited many visionary thinkers to deliver their views on the current state and evolution of filmmaking. Director Steven Soderbergh provoked a media sensation with his 2013 address when video of his searing critique of the movie business went viral via the New York Times, Wired, The Hollywood Reporter and hundreds of other media outlets. In addition to Soderbergh, previous State of Cinema speakers have included visual effects wizard Douglas Trumbull, author Jonathan Lethem, film producer Christine Vachon, film editor Walter Murch, photographer Mary Ellen Mark, Wired publisher Kevin Kelly, actress Tilda Swinton, writer/director Brad Bird, cultural commentator B. Ruby Rich and Michel Ciment, longtime editor of the influential French film magazine Positif.
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Animated Films Focus of World Cinema Spotlight at 2016 San Francisco International Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_12066" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Blanca Engström in GRANNY’S DANCING ON THE TABLE[/caption] The 6th World Cinema Spotlight at the 2016 San Francisco International Film Festival will feature films under the theme Animating the Image, focusing on frame-by-frame animation. Whether hand-drawn, stop-motion, CGI, motion capture or a combination thereof, animation recalls the illusory magic of the earliest days of cinema, a surprisingly simple “trick” that continues to enthrall and inspire—when presented in succession, a series of still images transform to appear in motion. Adaptable to a variety of eclectic approaches—exemplified by this year’s Golden Gate Persistence of Vision Award recipient Aardman Animations, the collage of Lewis Klahr’s Sixty Six and the variety of styles employed by multiple artists in Penny Lane’s surprising and singular documentary NUTS!—animation endures as one of the most satisfying and versatile techniques in cinema. WORLD CINEMA SPOTLIGHT PROGRAMS Granny’s Dancing on the Table (Sweden/Denmark 2015) – Taking place within the quiet serenity of the dense Swedish woods, isolated from civilization, Hanna Sköld’s intense drama delivers a harrowing tale of abuse, psychological imprisonment and the power of imagination to withstand painful circumstances. Enchanting stop-motion animation captures 13-year-old Eini’s worldview as she silently struggles against her father’s brutal control and envisions the dysfunctional family history that led to her grandmother’s rebellious travels and her own pale and powerless existence. Life, Animated (USA 2016) – The power of cinema has rarely been revealed as strongly as in this documentary about an autistic man named Owen Suskind who, as a boy, discovers a way to communicate with his parents through Disney movies. Now a young man, Owen is getting ready to live on his own, and the film shows his successes and struggles as he embarks on this huge step. NUTS! (USA 2015) – Penny Lane’s documentary—comprised of archival material, animated sequences and the occasional talking head—blooms into an incredible almanac of early 20th-century quackery and innovation as she focuses on JR Brinkley, an early broadcasting baron, direct-mail pioneer and an evangelical proponent of goat-testicle implants. An empire built on spurious claims and fear mongering seems unstoppable—until the American Medical Association dares to question its foundations. Persistence of Vision Award: An Afternoon with Aardman Animations – Established in 1997, the Golden Gate Persistence of Vision Award honors the achievement of filmmakers whose main body of work falls outside the realm of narrative feature filmmaking. This year, we recognize the team behind beloved animation studio Aardman. Join co-founder Peter Lord for an in-depth conversation and a filmic celebration of the studio’s 40th anniversary. Phantom Boy (France/Belgium 2015) – When a kingpin with a face only Picasso could love threatens to bring down New York City’s infrastructure, a seriously ill boy with a unique, ghostly superpower teams up with a bedridden crusading cop to stop him. The team behind A Cat in Paris (SFIFF 2011) delivers another dose of enchanting 2D animation along with a story that blends absurd humor with an emotionally potent tale of a child rising about troubling circumstances. Shorts 3: Animation – A retirement home resident attempts to woo with music. A participant in a primal scream class gets more than he bargained for. And a child is made to drink blood from deer antlers. These imaginative, often hilarious story-based animations mingle with non-narrative works that ply their magic with light and sophisticated processing techniques in this wide-ranging program. Shorts 5: Family Films – In this eclectic international collection of short films for young audiences, an array of colorful characters—of the human, animal and monster varieties—learn how to help one another and work together in fun and sometimes surprising ways. Works range from new student films to those by veteran artists such as Nick Park of Aardman Animations, Disney animator Glen Keane, YouTube favorite Simon Tofield (and his fussy fat cat), and Oscar-winning SFIFF alum Brandon Oldenburg. [caption id="attachment_12067" align="aligncenter" width="1018"] A scene from Lewis Klah’s SIXTY SIX[/caption] Sixty Six (USA 2015) – Sixties pop-art heroines and DC comic-strip heroes are suffused with the passions of Greco-Roman gods in Lewis Klahr’s short film compilation spanning 14 years of filmmaking, chosen by the New York Times’ Manohla Dargis as one of the best films of 2015. Lovers of melodrama, all your paper-doll superstars are here, but an individual heart beats beneath the vivid imagery.
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Filmmaker Mira Nair to Receive Directing Award

Filmmaker Mira Nair will be honored with the Irving M. Levin Directing Award at the 59th San Francisco International Film Festival taking place April 21 to May 5, 2016. Given each year to one of the masters of world cinema in memory of SFIFF founder Irving M. Levin, the tribute acknowledges exceptional versatility in film and honors the director’s expansive body of work while celebrating her unique contributions to the art of cinema. Nair will also be honored at An Afternoon with Mira Nair at the Castro Theatre on Sunday April 24. An onstage conversation with Nair will be followed by a screening of Monsoon Wedding (2001). [caption id="attachment_12062" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Queen of Katwe[/caption] The presentation will also include an exclusive first look at special footage from Nair’s next project , about a rural Ugandan girl with an aptitude for chess, starring Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo. Mira Nair was born and raised in Rourkela, India and went on to study at Delhi and Harvard universities. She began as an actress before segueing to make documentaries. Her narrative feature debut, Salaam Bombay! (1988) won the Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film. A resourceful and determined independent filmmaker who casts unknowns alongside Hollywood stars, Nair has directed Mississippi Masala (1991), The Perez Family (1995), Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996), Hysterical Blindness (2002), Vanity Fair (2004), The Namesake (2006), Amelia (2009) and The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012). Monsoon Wedding: Winner of the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion in 2001, Monsoon Wedding is a film of gigantic heart served with an ample dollop of social satire. Five romantic entanglements threaten to derail a high-end New Delhi marriage as the film effortlessly shifts between Bollywood expressionism and Altman-like character intrigue, gut-busting comedy and tender romance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjQjw-UyAX0 Previous recipients are Guillermo del Toro, Mexico; Richard Linklater, USA; Philip Kaufman, USA; Kenneth Branagh, England; Oliver Stone, USA; Walter Salles, Brazil; Francis Ford Coppola, USA; Mike Leigh, England; Spike Lee, USA; Werner Herzog, Germany; Taylor Hackford, USA; Milos Forman, Czechoslovakia/USA; Robert Altman, USA; Warren Beatty, USA; Clint Eastwood, USA; Abbas Kiarostami, Iran; Arturo Ripstein, Mexico; Im Kwon-Taek, South Korea; Francesco Rosi, Italy; Arthur Penn, USA; Stanley Donen, USA; Manoel de Oliveira, Portugal; Ousmane Sembène, Senegal; Satyajit Ray, India; Marcel Carné, France; Jirí Menzel, Czechoslovakia; Joseph L. Mankiewicz, USA; Robert Bresson, France; Michael Powell, England; and Akira Kurosawa, Japan.
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Chloé Leriche’s BEFORE THE STREETS Gets Quebec Hometown Release

Chloé Leriche’s first feature-length film, BEFORE THE STREETS (Avant les rues), will be released in Quebec, Canada, on April 15th. The film will play in Cinéma Beaubien (MTL), Cinéma du Parc (English sub-titled version), Station Vu – Cinéma de quartier (MTL), Cinéma Guzzo Méga-Plex Pont-Viau (Laval), Cinéma Guzzo place Jacques-Cartier in Longueuil, Cinéma Le Clap (Québec), La Maison du cinéma (Sherbrooke), Cinéma RGFM Joliette and Cinéma Le Tapis Rouge (Trois-Rivières). BEFORE THE STREETS world premiered in competition at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival in the Generation section, and closed the Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois film festival 2016. Young Shawnouk kills a man during a robbery and flees into the forest. Deciding to return to his Atikamekw village in Québec, he tries to redeem himself using traditional cleansing rituals. BEFORE THE STREETS celebrates a revival of native culture and its traditions, as embodied by the very actors who participated in the film. The first dramatic feature shot in the native language of Atikamekw, the film boasts a cast composed almost entirely of non-professionals living and working in the villages where the film was shot. The story takes place in Manawan, while a forest fire closes in on the nearby village of Wemotaci.
Chloé Leriche’s BEFORE THE STREETS International Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpKe2NpemU4 Chloé Leriche made BEFORE THE STREETS with the collaboration of Québec’s three Atikamekw communities in, drawing on all the vitality they embody. By following the pacing of her non-professional actors, she created a distinct style that goes beyond notions of the North-American indie genre and recent media reports on the dismal conditions in Canada’s native communities. Screenwriter, director, producer and editor Chloé Leriche will accompany the film in Montreal and certain cities in Quebec, along with some of the film’s main actors Rykko Bellemare, Kwena Bellemare Boivin, Jacques Newashish. Janice Ottawa, Martin Dubreuil (Félix and Meira) and Normand Daoust (Les manèges humains) are also part of the cast. [caption id="attachment_12059" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Chloé Leriche[/caption] Chloé Leriche is a self-taught writer, director, and editor who has produced a dozen short films since 2001; her work has won several international film festival awards. She worked for Wapikoni Mobile, encouraging young people from different native tribes in Québec and Ontario to express themselves through cinema.
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Indie Thriller FARE to World Premiere at Newport Beach Film Festival | TRAILER

FARE, a feature-length thriller filmed entirely inside a moving car over three days, makes its world premiere April 26 at the Newport Beach Film Festival. Blurring the lines of tone and genre, “Fare” marks the feature-film debut of Charlotte, N.C.-based filmmaker Thomas Torrey. Filmed entirely inside a moving car in real traffic and shot on a limited budget, the film is ambitious, tackling mature thematic elements such as marriage, love and betrayal. The story follows a cab driver whose chance encounter with a passenger spirals into a night of darkness. “The subject matter required an unusual approach, from conception to production,” said filmmaker Torrey. “And just when we think we know where the film is headed, it diverges quickly. Interpretations of the material have varied widely, from concretely thrilling to deeply surreal.” Producer Justin Moretto described “Fare” as “existing in the now universal human experience of pulling out your phone to hail a cab. What would happen if we found ourselves somewhat notoriously connected with the driver who responded to our request for a lift? How would the night end?” Presented by the Los Angeles Times and the City of Newport Beach, the Newport Beach Film Festival is one of southern California’s largest, attracting over 55,000 attendees each year. Many notable films, including the premiere of Best Picture Oscar winner “Crash,” as well as “(500) Days of Summer,” “Layer Cake,” “Pieces of April” and others have screened at the Festival. “We’re very excited to screen Fare at our 2016 festival,” said Festival Programmer Deona Hamilton. “It’s sure to become one of our audience’s favorites.” “Fare” will premiere on Tuesday, April 26 at 8:30 p.m. at Island Cinemas, 999 Newport Center Dr., Newport Beach, CA. Immediately following the premiere, Torrey and Moretto will join cast members from the film for a brief question-and-answer session. Torrey and Moretto founded Charlotte, N.C.-based production company Bad Theology Pictures in 2015. Bad Theology’s mission is to produce theme-driven narratives from writers and directors who have something to say. “Fare” is Bad Theology’s first film and one of four films to be produced under the company’s debut slate offering. https://vimeo.com/155327913
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Danish Comedy MEN & CHICKEN Sets April 22nd Release Date | TRAILER

[caption id="attachment_12019" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] MEN & CHICKEN[/caption] The “inventively bizarre and outlandish comedy” MEN & CHICKEN directed by acclaimed, Oscar-winning director Anders Thomas Jensen will open in New York and LA on April 22nd. MEN & CHICKEN starring David Dencik (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) was an official selection of the 2015 Toronto Film Festival and 2015 Fantastic Fest, where the film won the award for Best Director for Anders Thomas Jensen. Men & Chicken is a darkly hilarious slapstick comedy starring Mads Mikkelsen (“Hannibal,” ingeniously cast against type) about a pair of socially-challenged siblings who discover they are adopted half-brothers in their late father’s videotaped will. Their journey in search of their true father takes them to the small, insular Danish island of Ork, where they stumble upon three additional half-brothers—each also sporting hereditary harelips and lunatic tendencies—living in a dilapidated mansion overrun by barn animals. Initially unwelcome by their newfound kin, the two visitors stubbornly wear them down until they’re reluctantly invited to stay. As the misfit bunch get to know each other, they unwittingly uncover a deep family secret that ultimately binds them together. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag1miLsTpeQ
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LOVE & FRIENDSHIP Starring Kate Beckinsale to Kick Off San Francisco International Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_12014" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Love & Friendship[/caption] The 59th San Francisco International Film Festival taking place April 21 to May 5, 2016, kicks off with Whit Stillman’s Love & Friendship (Ireland 2016), an adaptation of a Jane Austen novella starring Kate Beckinsale and Chloe Sevigny. Slated as the Festival’s high-profile Centerpiece event is Indignation (USA 2015), James Schamus’ directorial debut based on novelist Philip Roth’s fictionalized account of his college experiences in the 1950s. The Festival will come to a close with local director Jesse Moss’ documentary The Bandit (USA 2016), a jubilant look at Burt Reynolds, stuntman-turned-director Hal Needham and their high-speed pursuit classic Smokey and the Bandit. Opening Night: Love & Friendship Thursday April 21, 7:00 pm, Castro Theatre Director Whit Stillman and star Kate Beckinsale expected to attend. Writer-director Whit Stillman brings a very funny sense and sensibility to this period comedy as sassy social climber Lady Susan (Kate Beckinsale) tries to finagle out of a scandal and gain matrimonial advantage for herself and her daughter. Witty and spry from start to finish, Stillman’s adaptation of a Jane Austin novella set in the 1790s charms as it peers into the affairs of the privileged and those who aspire to be, winking at contemporary pretensions through the lens of the past. Centerpiece: Indignation Saturday April 30, 8:00 pm, Victoria Theatre Director James Schamus expected to attend. James Schamus (Kanbar Award recipient, SFIFF 2010) makes his directorial debut with an elegant adaptation of Philip Roth’s novel, a fictionalized account of the author’s own college experiences in the ’50s. Logan Lerman gives a terrific performance as Marcus Messner, one of a handful of Jewish students on the Midwestern university campus, whose efforts to assert and define himself are tested in interactions with the college dean, a beautiful blonde and his protective mother. Closing Night: The Bandit Thursday May 5, 7:00 pm, Castro Theatre Director Jesse Moss expected to attend. An exuberant, surprisingly moving romp through 1970s pop culture, The Banditcelebrates the friendship between superstar actor Burt Reynolds and stuntman-turned-director Hal Needham, as together they create the Southern-fried classic Smokey and the Bandit. Bay Area director Jesse Moss (The Overnighters,SFIFF 2014) brings great warmth and impossibly retro-cool archival footage to this exceptional dual biography.
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Korean FilmMakers Threaten to Boycott Busan International Film Festival

A group representing the Korean Film Community issued a statement on Monday threatening to boycott the upcoming 2016 Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) unless the Busan city guarantees the festival’s independence. The 2016 Busan International Film Festival is scheduled to take place October 6 to 15, 2016. The statement: The Entire Korean Film Community will boycott BIFF unless the Busan city guarantees the festival’s independence! Does the city government really want to go for the worst? The city government accelerated interfering Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) by submitting a legal application for injunction to suspend the efficiency of 68 new committee advisors consisted of Korean film professionals and refusing to have the special assembly meeting for amending the articles of association. In addition, the recent city gazette published by Busan city government is filled with criticism of the festival and insulting the film professionals who support BIFF as if they are the intruders with ulterior intension. The city government provoked the regional antagonism by spreading rumors that the film professionals from Seoul are trying to control the Busan’s festival. This is beyond defamation of the Korean film professionals. It is the worst way of ruining the festival which is a valuable cultural asset for all of us. We have watched ever since Mr. SUH Byung-soo, was elected as the mayor and became the organizing director of the festival as ex officio in 2014. And he has never stopped political retaliation against BIFF since the screening of The Truth Shall Not Sink with Sewol (aka. Diving Bell). We have patiently tried our best for peaceful solution between the festival and the city government. But SUH deceives people as if those film professionals are outsiders with wicked intention attempting to alienate between Busan citizens and the film professionals. BIFF is not a property of Busan city government. It is true that the government’s financial support to the festival is a part of the reason for the success of the festival, but the festival is entitled to make decisions on how to run it autonomically without any outside interference. BIFF does not only belong to the Busan citizens but also to every cineaste in Korea. It is a cultural asset to be shared with everyone who loves cinema from all over the world. That is why the festival’s independence and autonomy have to be protected. That is why amending the articles of association is so important to guarantee its independence and autonomy. We were enormously shocked and grieved by a series of discouraging events including practical ‘censorship’ from outside and unfair dismissal of the festival director, but we still believed that we should be able to provide institutional gird to prevent the recurrence of this unfortunate condition with all our efforts. That’s why many of us willingly agreed to be committee advisors in hoping to acquire basis for the festival’s autonomy and independence via revision of the article at the special assembly meeting. As we witnessed SUH promised that he would step down from the organizing director voluntarily, we were truly stuck to our belief in peaceful end to the situation, However, Busan city government abruptly started arguing legitimacy of the special assembly meeting. The city government defamed us as intruders with ulterior intension though every media they can muster up and eventually submitted application for an injunction to suspend the efficiency of 68 new committee advisors. We cannot help resenting and lamenting to see the city’s attempt to distort the situation to some sort of power game among film professionals. We patiently maintained our support for BIFF to make the festival back on track, but we are afraid that our patience was for nothing after all. It’s unimaginable to see BIFF without film people. However, if Busan city government still believes that they ‘own’ the festival just because they are the biggest sponsor and if Busan city keeps insulting our efforts in finding solution as ulterior interference from outside, we cannot find any reason to be attending BIFF. We, Korean group of film associations, will try to pass a resolution for boycotting BIFF2016 after collecting consensus of all associations. The world will witness the empty red carpet for the first time in 20 years of BIFF’ history and the audience from all over the world will stop coming to Busan for the festival any more. It takes quite a long time to build a festival, but it does just a blink of an eye to be collapsed. Do SUH and Busan city government want to see BIFF disappear just like that? By all means, we truly hope our desperate outcry and ultimatum will be taken seriously. We strongly demand the followings; – The mayor, SUH should resign from the BIFF’s organizing director immediately and agree to revision of the articles for the festival’s autonomy and independence! – The city government must stop unjust interference on BIFF and withdraw the legal application for injunction against suspension of efficiency of 68 new committee advisors! – SUH should make public apology for his continuous wrongful actions damaging the festival and promise that it will never happen again! If the city government does not take significant actions on our demands above, there will be none of the Korean film community attending this year’s Busan International Film Festival. Korean Film Group’s Emergency Committee for Defending BIFF’s Independence What’s happening to BIFF? You can find the answers at www.isupportbiff.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF5h_2H0IYA
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Official Poster of 2016 Cannes Film Festival

The official poster is released for the 69th Festival de Cannes, taking place from May 11 to 22, 2016, and presided over by Australian director George Miller. The poster was designed using stills from Jean-Luc Godard’s film Contempt. It’s all there. The steps, the sea, the horizon: a man’s ascent towards his dream, in a warm Mediterranean light that turns to gold. As an image it is reminiscent of a timeless quote used at the beginning of Contempt: “Cinema replaces our gaze with a world in harmony with our desires”. And so it is Michel Piccoli who in 2016, from the roof of the famous villa designed by the writer Curzio Malaparte, will open the red carpet for the 69th Festival de Cannes. It’s a symbolic choice, since this film about the making of a film – regarded by many as one of the finest ever made in CinemaScope (the Piccoli/Bardot pairing along with Fritz Lang, Raoul Coutard’s cinematography, Georges Delerue’s music, and so on and so forth) – had such a considerable impact on the history of film and cinephilia. On the eve of its 70th anniversary, by choosing to represent itself under the symbol of this simultaneously palimpsest and unambiguous film, the Festival is reiterating its founding commitment: to pay tribute to the history of film, and to welcome new ways of creating and seeing. The steps represent a kind of ascension towards the infinite horizon of a cinema screen. This 69th Festival de Cannes poster has been designed by Hervé Chigioni and his graphic designer Gilles Frappier. The 2016 visual identity has been created by Philippe Savoir (Filifox).
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VIMOOZ

Chloé Leriche’s BEFORE THE STREETS International Trailer