Jean-Marc Vallée’s Demolition will open the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts, Chris Cooper and Judah Lewis, Demolition will have its world premiere on September 10 at Roy Thomson Hall.
“Over the years the Festival has been proud to present Jean-Marc Vallée’s feature films including Black List, C.R.A.Z.Y., Café de Flore, The Young Victoria, Dallas Buyers Club and Wild,” said Piers Handling, Director and CEO of TIFF. “Vallée is a proud Canadian with a distinct and powerful filmmaking voice and we can’t wait to share his latest film with Festival audiences on Opening Night.”
“Vallée has a tradition of presenting strong characters who are on journeys to self-discovery and redemption, and is the only filmmaker in our history to present both an opening and a closing night film at the Festival,” said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director, Toronto International Film Festival. “This film tells the story of a man who deals with loss in unexpected ways, and is brought to life on screen through sensitive and commanding performances by Gyllenhaal, Watts, Cooper and newcomer Lewis.”
“I can’t think of a better place to introduce Demolition to the world than at home. That’s how I feel about TIFF,” said Vallée. “You make me feel at home, and I am grateful and honoured to have my film as the opener for the Festival’s 40th anniversary.”
In Demolition, a successful investment banker, Davis (Gyllenhaal), struggles after losing his wife in a tragic car crash. Despite pressure from his father-in-law to pull it together, Davis continues to unravel. What starts as a complaint letter to a vending machine company turns into a series of letters revealing startling personal admissions. Davis’ letters catch the attention of customer service rep
Karen (Watts) and, amidst emotional and financial burdens of her own, the two strangers form an unlikely connection. With the help of Karen and her son, Davis starts to rebuild, beginning with the demolition of the life he once knew.
The 40th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 10 to 20, 2015.VIMOOZ
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DEMOLITION Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts to Open 2015 Toronto International Film Festival
Jean-Marc Vallée’s Demolition will open the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts, Chris Cooper and Judah Lewis, Demolition will have its world premiere on September 10 at Roy Thomson Hall.
“Over the years the Festival has been proud to present Jean-Marc Vallée’s feature films including Black List, C.R.A.Z.Y., Café de Flore, The Young Victoria, Dallas Buyers Club and Wild,” said Piers Handling, Director and CEO of TIFF. “Vallée is a proud Canadian with a distinct and powerful filmmaking voice and we can’t wait to share his latest film with Festival audiences on Opening Night.”
“Vallée has a tradition of presenting strong characters who are on journeys to self-discovery and redemption, and is the only filmmaker in our history to present both an opening and a closing night film at the Festival,” said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director, Toronto International Film Festival. “This film tells the story of a man who deals with loss in unexpected ways, and is brought to life on screen through sensitive and commanding performances by Gyllenhaal, Watts, Cooper and newcomer Lewis.”
“I can’t think of a better place to introduce Demolition to the world than at home. That’s how I feel about TIFF,” said Vallée. “You make me feel at home, and I am grateful and honoured to have my film as the opener for the Festival’s 40th anniversary.”
In Demolition, a successful investment banker, Davis (Gyllenhaal), struggles after losing his wife in a tragic car crash. Despite pressure from his father-in-law to pull it together, Davis continues to unravel. What starts as a complaint letter to a vending machine company turns into a series of letters revealing startling personal admissions. Davis’ letters catch the attention of customer service rep
Karen (Watts) and, amidst emotional and financial burdens of her own, the two strangers form an unlikely connection. With the help of Karen and her son, Davis starts to rebuild, beginning with the demolition of the life he once knew.
The 40th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 10 to 20, 2015.
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Winners of the 20th Stony Brook Film Festival, HENRI HENRI Wins Best Film | TRAILERS
The French Canadian film Henri Henri, written and directed by Martin Talbot, with Victor Andrés Trelles Turgeon and Sophie Desmarais (Sarah Prefers to Run), won the 2015 Jury Award-Best Feature at the 20th Stony Brook Film Festival.
Raised in an orphanage, Henri has spent his life maintaining the lights of the convent he calls home. But now that the convent is closing, he is forced to learn how to survive in the real world. Armed with only innocence and sincerity, Henri sets out to bring light to all those he encounters.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wcv-gAINMjU
Secrets of War (Oorlogsgeheimen) from the Netherlands that tells the story of best friends in a Nazi-occupied Dutch village, won the 2015 Audience Choice-Best Feature. It was directed by Dennis Bots, and written by Karen van Holst Pellekaan, based on the novel by Jacques Vriens. With Maas Bronkhuyzen, Joes Brauers and Pippa Allen.
Tuur and Lambert are best friends in a Nazi-occupied Dutch village who pass their days playing soldiers and exploring caves. When Maartje joins their class, the boys welcome her into their world of adventure and secrets. But the realities of war cause them to realize there are even deeper secrets to discover, with dire consequences for those who keep them. Secrets Of War puts both the danger and the humanity of wartime friendships squarely on the shoulders of three children who must face extraordinary circumstances with a maturity far beyond their years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4Oc187S7OU
Winners of the 20th Annual Stony Brook Film Festival presented by Island Federal Credit Union
Henri Henri
2015 Jury Award-Best Feature
Stony Brook Film Festival hosted the New York Premiere of the charming feature film Henri Henri from French Canada. Written and directed by Martin Talbot. With Victor Andrés Trelles Turgeon and Sophie Desmarais (Sarah Prefers to Run). Produced by Caroline Héroux, Christian Larouche. From Seville International. Martin Talbot, Victor Andrés Trelles Turgeon and Sophie Desmarais attended the premiere screening. Accepting the award was Martin Talbot, presnt at the Closing Night Awards reception.
Secrets of War
2015 Audience Choice-Best Feature
Secrets of War (Oorlogsgeheimen) from the Netherlands that tells the story of best friends in a Nazi-occupied Dutch village. It was directed by Dennis Bots, and written by Karen van Holst Pellekaan, based on the novel by Jacques Vriens. With Maas Bronkhuyzen, Joes Brauers and Pippa Allen. Produced by David-Jan Bijker, Reinier Selen, Harro van Staverden. A Rinkel Film Production. From Film Movement. Director Dennis Bots sent an acceptance speech, noting that his grandmother was active in the Dutch resistance and that her stories inspired the film.
Thicker than Paint
Maryam Sepehri
2015 Achievement in Filmmaking
The New York Premiere of the documentary, Thicker than Paint, immerses the viewer in the life of an artist in Iran. Habibeh Bedayat is a mother, a teacher, a wife and a self-taught artist. Maryam Sepehri created a moving and very personal documentary, a complex story of sacrifice, creativity and the perseverance of the human spirit. Produced by Anita Alkhas and Payman Fotovat. Writer/director Maryam Sepehri from Iran attended the premiere screening and attending Closing Night to accept the award.
This Isn’t Funny
Paul Ashton & Katie Page
2015 Spirit of Independent Filmmaking Award
Paul Ashton and Katie Page had their hand in every aspect of the touching comedy This Isn’t Funny. They were the main actors with Paul Ashton directing. Together they wrote the screenplay and were among the producers, including Paul Ashton, Maria Menounos, Katie Page, Lije Sarki and Keven Undergaro. Filmmakers Paul Ashton and Katie Page attended the East Coast Premiere screening. Executive producer Pierce Cravens attended Closing Night to accept the award and a video acceptance was received from Paul and Katie. . An Easy Open Production. Distributed by Candy Factory Films.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhl7cG0hz58
Cops & Robbers
2015 Audience Award-Best Short
The amusing short film featured a Long Island native in the lead role. Eddie Alfano plays an actor who would like to be the ‘bad guy’ in a film instead of a cop. Directed by Marco Ragozzino. Written by and starring Deer Park, Long Island’s Eddie Alfano, who attended the screening and was on hand to accept the award on Closing Night.
Day One
2015 Jury Award-Best Short
A short film written and directed by Henry Hughes, produced by Michael Steiner. The riveting Day One, a U.S. and Afganistan film, shares a harrowing experience of a woman interpreter on the first day of her job in that country.
The beautiful Closing Night film from Quebec, Canada, The Passion of Augustine, directed by Léa Pool, received recognition, with actresses Céline Bonnier and Valérie Blais attending the awards ceremony.
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CIRCUS WITHOUT BORDERS to Open 2015 Montreal First Peoples Festival | TRAILER
The film Circus Without Borders will open 2015 Montreal First Peoples Festival on Wednesday, July 29th. This 69 minutes documentary produced and directed by Susan Gray and Linda Matchan, tells the story of two circus companies, one in Nunavut, the other in Guinea-Conakry, have brought young people together from the ends of the earth to overcome the limits geography and history have set along their road to fulfilment. An invitation to go beyond.
https://vimeo.com/124206024
CIRCUS WITHOUT BORDERS is a documentary about Guillaume Saladin and Yamoussa Bangoura, best friends and world-class acrobats from remote corners of the globe who share the same dream: To bring hope and change to their struggling communities through circus. Their dream unfolds in the Canadian Arctic and Guinea, West Africa, where they help Inuit and Guinean youth achieve unimaginable success while confronting suicide, poverty and despair.
Seven years in the making, this tale of two circuses — Artcirq and Kalabante — is a culture-crossing performance piece that offers a portal into two remote communities, and an inspiring story of resilience and joy.
The First Nations festival goes on until August 5th and will spread its wings at Place des Festivals: thrilling concerts, an exacting selection of films and videos, the great multicultural parade along Saint-Catherine Street and many indoor venue and gallery events.
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STEVE JOBS Selected as Centerpiece of the 53rd New York Film Festival | TRAILER
Steve Jobs, written by Academy Award® winner Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network, Charlie Wilson’s War) and directed by Academy Award® winner Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours), has been selected as the Centerpiece of the upcoming 53rd New York Film Festival taking place September 25 to October 11, to screen on Saturday, October 3.
Boyle and Sorkin joined forces to create this film about the brilliant man at the epicenter of the digital revolution, working from Walter Isaacson’s best-selling biography. Steve Jobs stars Michael Fassbender in the title role, Kate Winslet as Joanna Hoffman, Seth Rogen as Steve Wozniak, Jeff Daniels as John Sculley, Michael Stuhlbarg as Andy Hertzfeld, and Katherine Waterston as Chrisann Brennan.
New York Film Festival Director and Selection Committee Chair Kent Jones said: “You hear that a bio of Steve Jobs is being produced, and of course you see multiple possible movies in your head . . . but not this one. Steve Jobs is dramatically concentrated, yet beautifully expansive; it’s extremely sharp; it’s wildly entertaining, and the actors just soar—you can feel their joy as they bite into their material.”
“I am honored that our film has been selected as the Centrepiece of this year’s festival,” said Boyle. “And thrilled and terrified too, unlike the subject of our film, who would have taken the whole thing very much in his stride. Steve Jobs was a thoroughly contradictory and complex character who forged our digital age. He’s the kind of brilliant, flawed character that Shakespeare would have relished writing about, and storytellers of all kinds will be fashioning and re-fashioning the mythology of the digital revolution for generations to come. I hope that festivalgoers enjoy our take.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEr6K1bwIVs
Sorkin and Boyle have created a dynamically character-driven portrait of the co-founder of Apple, weaving the multiple threads of their protagonist’s life into three daringly extended backstage scenes, as Jobs prepares to launch the first Macintosh, the NeXT workstation, and the iMac. The film is a dazzlingly executed cross-hatched portrait of Jobs, set against the changing fortunes and circumstances of the home computer industry and the ascendancy of branding, of products, and of oneself.
Steve Jobs is directed by Danny Boyle and written by Aaron Sorkin working from Walter Isaacson’s best-selling biography of the Apple founder. The producers are Mark Gordon, Guymon Casady, Scott Rudin, Boyle, and Christian Colson.
NYFF previously announced Robert Zemeckis’s The Walk as Opening Night, Don Cheadle’s Miles Ahead as Closing Night and Luminous Intimacy: The Cinema of Nathaniel Dorsky and Jerome Hiler, the first-ever complete dual retrospective of the experimental filmmakers.
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Benicio Del Toro to Receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award at 21st Sarajevo Film Festival
Academy Award®-winning actor Benicio Del Toro will receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award for his extraordinary contribution to the art of film at the 21st Sarajevo Film Festival.
Previous recipients of the festival’s most prestigious award include among others Angelina Jolie, Gael Garcia Bernal, Steve Buscemi and acclaimed international award-winning directors Jafar Panahi, Mike Leigh, Béla Tarr and Danis Tanovic. The Heart of Sarajevo Award was designed by French designer and filmmaker, Agnès B, who is also a patron of the festival.
Del Toro will present Fernando León de Aranoa’s drama “A Perfect Day”, in which he has a starring role, and which recently premiered in Directors’ Fortnight at the 68th Cannes Film Festival. The film will be screened as a part of the Open Air Program, the festival’s largest screening venue, where Del Toro will also receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo in front of an audience of 3,000 film enthusiasts.
The acclaimed actor will also hold a master class for the participants of Talents Sarajevo, a networking and training platform for emerging film professionals from Southeast Europe and Southern Caucasus. Since it was founded in 2007, Talents Sarajevo has become the regional hub for meeting and training of aspiring film professionals.
Throughout his career, Del Toro has earned critical accolades including winning an Academy Award® for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Steven Soderbergh’s “Traffic” and an Oscar® nomination for his work in Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu’s “21 Grams.” Re-teaming with Soderbergh to star in “Che”, the biography of Che Guevera, Del Toro’s performance won him the Best Actor award at Cannes in 2008 and again the following year at the Goya Awards in Madrid, Spain.
Del Toro made his motion picture debut in John Glen’s “License to Kill” opposite Timothy Dalton’s James Bond and has earned critical acclaim for his performances ever since. In addition to winning a Best Supporting Oscar® for “Traffic,” he has also garnered a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, BAFTA Awards, Berlin International Film Festival’s Silver Bear Award as well as recognition from the New York Film Critics Circle, the National Society of Film Critics, and the Chicago Film Critics Association.
Loved by audiences and critics alike, Del Toro has worked with such directors as Paul Thomas Anderson, Oliver Stone, Robert Rodriquez, Peter Weir, George Huang, Abel Ferrara, Guy Ritchie, Sean Penn, Susanne Bier, Terry Gilliam.
Del Toro can next be seen starring in Denis Villeneuve’s “Sicario” opposite Emily Blunt and Josh Brolin, which is scheduled for a September 18th, 2015 release by Lionsgate in the U.S.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQfqygkNMqE
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Un otoño sin Berlín (An Autumn Without Berlin) to World Premiere at Basque Film Gala at 2015 San Sebastian International Film Festival
Un otoño sin Berlín (An Autumn without Berlin) directed by Lara Izagirre will have its premiere at the 2015 San Sebastian International Film Festival, in the Basque Film Gala on September 21st in the Victoria Eugenia Theatre.
Un otoño sin Berlín is programmed as part of the Festival’s Zinemira section and competes for the Irizar Basque Film Award, which goes to the best Basque film presented as a world premiere.
The film stars Irene Escolar, Tamar Novas, Ramón Barea and Lier Quesada. It tells the story of June, a young girl who comes back the town of her birth by surprise after spending time abroad. The return home will be painful: her family and her first love, Diego, have changed. She too has changed, and repairing the broken ties won’t be easy. But just like the autumn wind, June will take the place by storm.
Un otoño sin Berlín is the feature film debut of Lara Izagirre (Amorebieta, 1985). A graduate in Audiovisual Communication from the University of the Basque Country, she continued her film studies at the New York Film School. In Barcelona, she completed her master’s degree in screenwriting at the Escuela Superior de Cine y Audiovisuales de Cataluña (ESCAC). It was there that she started writing the screenplay of Un otoño sin Berlín, for which she received a grant from the Basque Government for its development. In 2010 she founded the production company Gariza Produkzioak, with which she produced and directed several shorts: Bicycle Poem(2010), KEA (2011), Next Stop Greenland (2012) and Larroxa (2013). Her short film Sormenaren Bide Ezkutuak(2013) was premiered as part of the Culinary Zinema section at the 61st edition of the San Sebastian Festival.
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ONCE IN A LIFETIME (LES HÉRITIERS) Wins Audience Award at 2015 Wave Film Festival | TRAILER
ONCE IN A LIFETIME (LES HÉRITIERS), Marie-Castille Mention Schaar’s emotional drama about an inner city high school teacher who enrolls her students in a competition around what it meant to be a teen in a Nazi concentration camp, took home the audience award in the third annual “Wave Film Festival”.
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Watch TRAILER for Alex Ross Perry’s QUEEN OF EARTH, in Theaters on August 26th
IFC Films has released a trailer for Alex Ross Perry’s QUEEN OF EARTH, starring Elisabeth Moss and Katherine Waterston, set to be released on August 26th in New York with a national rollout to follow.
Catherine (Elisabeth Moss) has entered a particularly dark period in her life: her father, a famous artist whose affairs she managed, has recently died, and on the heels of his death she’s dumped by her boyfriend James (Kentucker Audley). Looking to recuperate, Catherine heads out to her best friend Virginia’s (Katherine Waterston) lake house for some much needed relaxation. However, once Catherine arrives relaxation proves impossible to find, as she is overcome with memories of time spent at the same house with James the year before. As Catherine reaches out to Virginia with attempts at connection, Virginia begins spending increasing amounts of time with a local love interest, Rich (Patrick Fugit), and fissures in the relationship between the two women begin to appear, sending Catherine into a downward spiral of delusion and madness. A bracing, eerie look at the deep bonds of friendship and the horrific effects of such bonds being frayed, Queen of Earth is a thrilling examination of a deeply complex relationship between two miserable women.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU3a8oniq2s
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36th Durban International Film Festival Awards; SUNRISE Wins Best Film
The 36th Durban International Film Festival announced the award-winners at the closing ceremony, prior to the screening of the closing film, The Prophet directed by Roger Allers. The award for the Best Feature Film, went to Sunrise directed by Partho Sen-Gupta. The film was described by the jury as “an uncompromising, brilliantly-crafted film that takes us through a fragmented mind, into a shady world allowing us to enter the reality of Mumbai’s underbelly”. (pictured above)
The award for Best South African Feature Film went to Necktie Youth directed by Sibs Shongwe-La Mer, described by the jury as “a film desperate to reconcile the seemingly disparate realities of its country, and whose urgent questions about South African life are posed with such mischievous energy that they cannot help provoke debate, itself one of the most important responsibilities of cinema.” (pictured above)
Shongwe La-Mer also won the award for Best Direction, for Necktie Youth, “for displaying a unique, contemporary voice weaving together poetic images and a striking view of South African youth with a boldness seldom seen in South African cinema.”
The Best Documentary and Best SA Documentary awards went toBeats of the Antonov directed by Hajooj Kuka and The Dream of the Shahrazad directed by Francois Verster, respectively. The jury awarded Beats of the Antonov “for its story, characters, relevance and visual interpretation,” and for a “story told with grace, while honouring the integrity of the people who gave them access as well as the subject matter.”
The Dream of the Shahrazad was awarded for the way in which “the filmmakers pushed themselves beyond their comfort zone, taking mythology and bringing it into the centre of modernity,” and for being “an ambitious film..(that) addresses life post revolution and what is left after heartbreak.” (pictured above)
Didier Michon for his charismatic and captivating performance in Fevers directed by Hicham Ayouch received the Best Actor Award. (pictured above)
The award for Best Actress went to Anissa Daoud for her portrayal of a determined activist who takes a stand, in an important film Tunisian Spring directed by Raja Amari.
Best African Short Film award went to The Aftermath of the Inauguration of the Public Toilet at Kilometre 375 directed by Omar el Zohairy. The jury described this as an “exceptional film explores and pushes new avenues in political satire and the cinema.” (pictured above)
Unomalanga and The Witch directed by Palesa Shongwe, and cited by the jury as “a gentle and unexpected film (that) sheds light on the subtleties of relationships between women”, won the Best South African Short Film award.
A new award, the Production Merit Award goes to Rights of Passage directed by Ntombizodwa Magagula, Mapula Sibanda, Lerato Moloi, Valencia Joshua, Zandile Angeline Wardle, Tony Miyambo, Rethabile Mothobi, Yashvir Bagwandeen. (pictured above)
Sabrina Compeyron and David Constantin, won the Best Screenplay Award for “craftily tracking the age-old struggle between capital and labour spanning the end of industry and the disenfranchisement of a society” in Sugar Cane Shadows directed by David Constantin.
Jean-Marc Ferriere, took the honours for Best Cinematography “for creating a distinctive, atmospheric, highly-crafted and visually dynamic world depicted almost entirely in the dark”, in Sunrise directed by Partho Sen-Gupta.
Special Mention for Direction was made of Kivu Ruhorahoza for Things Of The Aimless Wanderer, “for a courageous and single-minded attempt by a director harnessing all means at his disposal to tell a personal, intricate and political story.”
A Special Mention for Best Film was given to Tunisian Spring by Raja Amari, “for it’s powerful depiction of an event that has, and continues to have, resonance in the world.” (pictured above)
Democrats directed by Camilla Nielsson, got a Special Mention for a Documentary,which is “commended for putting a human face on a story that is complex and sometimes almost opaque.” (pictured above)
The Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award for the film that best reflects human rights issues went to The Shore Break, directed by Ryley Grunenwald. The jury citation reads “The film powerfully portrays a struggle within a local community regarding foreign mining rights in a pristine environment…(and) concisely and movingly uncovers this complex and urgent matter, which is still under investigation and in need of public support.” (pictured above)
The DIFF Audience Award also went to The Shore Break directed by Ryley Grunenwald.
A further Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Honorary Award was given to The Look of Silence directed by Joshua Oppenheimer, a film that “bravely uncovers the genocide in Indonesia in the 1960’s.”
Arterial Network’s Artwatch Africa Award, for an African film that meaningfully engages with the issues of freedom of expression, went to Beats of the Antonov, directed by Hajooj Kuka. The jury citation said “This compelling film shows how the power of music, dancing and culture sustains the displaced people living in the remote war-ravaged areas of Southern Sudan.” (pictured above)
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Relationship Drama 6 YEARS, Directed by Hannah Fidell go for Release Date of August 18th | TRAILER
The relationship drama 6 YEARS, directed by Hannah Fidell and starring Taissa Farmiga, Ben Rosenfield, Lindsay Burdge, Joshua Leonard, Jennifer Lafleur, which premiered at 2015 SXSW Film Festival, will be released on iTunes and digital platforms on August 18th and on Netflix on September 8th.
A young couple in their early 20s, Dan and Melanie, have known each other since childhood. Now their 6-year romantic relationship is put to the test when Dan receives an attractive job offer from the record label with whom he interns, and he must choose between a move forward and a future with Mel. Growth and temptation happen – but will their relationship remain part of their future?
Writer/director Hannah Fidell explores the struggles of young love as it begins to face the next steps into adulthood. Taissa Farmiga and Ben Rosenfield give warm, genuine performances as Mel and Dan, alongside Lindsay Burdge (star of Fidell’s A Teacher) as a colleague of Dan’s who entices him in more ways than one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH2UscNnO6Y
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Indie Comedy GUIDANCE Directed by Pat Mills Sets Release Date of August 21 | TRAILER
GUIDANCE, a comedy film about the downward spiral of a man who has no limits, will open theatrically in New York on Friday, August 21 at The Village East Cinema with a national release to follow. GUIDANCE is the first feature for writer/director Pat Mills, a child actor on the hit kids show “You Can’t Do That On Television”, and stars Pat Mills, Zahra Bentham, Tracey Hoyt, Kevin Hanchard, Alex Ozerov, Eleanor Zichy.
David Gold, 36, a pathologically immature former child actor, has never been able to get over high school. Recently diagnosed with skin cancer, unemployed and with nothing left to lose, he fakes his resume and gets a job as a high school guidance counselor. Quickly winning over the students at Grusin High with his laidback attitude and similar interests, he befriends Jabrielle, a teenaged outcast and soon learns that sometimes you can go too far, especially when it comes to committing a ridiculous crime.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLm0d_3uj4I
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Pakistani Film, DUKHTAR (Daughter), Sets U.S. October Release Date | TRAILER
DUKHTAR (Daughter), a film written, produced and directed by Afia Nathaniel, and Pakistan’s Official Submission for Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards, will open in New York at Cinema Village on October 9, and in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Music Hall on October 16. The opening weekend of DUKHTAR in New York will coincide with the International Day of the Girl Child and will feature special Q+As after the screenings. A national release will follow.
DUKHTAR premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival and went on to screen at numerous international film festivals including Busan, Sao Paulo, London, Stockholm, Dubai and Palm Springs, winning several awards along the way including “Best Director” and Audience Award for “Best Feature Film” at South Asian International Film Festival, Jury Award “Best World Feature” at Sonoma International Film Festival and Audience Award “Best Feature Film” at Créteil International Women’s Film Festival.
In a village in Pakistan, a young mother Allah Rakhi (Samiya Mumtaz) kidnaps her ten-year old daughter Zainab (Saleha Aref) to save her from a child marriage. Pursued by her husband’s family and the groom’s henchmen, they escape onto the open mountainous highway where seeking help Allah Rakhi convinces a reluctant Sohail, (Mohib Mirza) a cynical ex-Mujahid truck driver, to take them on-board. Described by Variety as “Crisp Grandeur”, the film unfolds against the surreal landscapes of northern mountainous Pakistan all the way to the vibrant city of Lahore as the deadly hunt for mother and daughter intensifies.
Shot in 30 days in below freezing conditions mostly in the disputed territory between Pakistan and India with more than 200 extras, and chase scenes filmed on the world’s highest altitude roads, helmed by a first-time female director-producer with an all-male crew of 40 men, this feminist road-trip movie has created history in the fledgling independent film industry of Pakistan.
Director Afia Nathaniel says, “The seed of the film is inspired by the true story of a mother from the tribal areas of Pakistan who kidnaps her two daughters and seeks a new future for them. The story resonated with me deeply because in Pakistan, I come from a humble family of very strong women, women who have endured extremely tough lives in hope of a better one for their children. So while studying Film Directing at Columbia University in New York, I penned a fictional screenplay for this road-trip thriller. The mother’s journey into the unknown would raise important questions about the price we are willing to pay for freedom, dignity and love in a time when modernity, tradition and fundamentalism have come to a head. In the ten years that it took me to make this film, I became a mother to a daughter myself and the issue of child marriage became even more personal. Every year, around the world, nearly 15 million girls lose their childhood to marriage and for me this is an unacceptable reality. And so the determination to make the film and have it seen by audiences never left me.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo5xat8WLjU