Grace Lee Boggs, civil rights icon, and subject of the 2013 documentary American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs, has died at the age of 100.
According to the a statement on the Boggs Center website, Grace Lee Boggs died peacefully in her sleep at her home on Field Street in Detroit on Monday night, October 5, 2015.
Philosopher-Activist Grace Lee Boggs Dies in Detroit: A Champion for the People October 5, 2015–Grace Lee Boggs died peacefully in her sleep at her home on Field Street in Detroit this morning. She had recently celebrated her 100th birthday at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Grace was an internationally known philosopher activist for justice. She had been politically active since the 1930’s working with A. Phillip Randolph’s first march on Washington and later C.L.R. James. For more than 40 years she worked closely with her late husband James Boggs in advancing ideas of revolution and evolution for the 20th and 21st Centuries. She helped organize the 1963 March down Woodward Avenue with Dr. Martin Luther King and the Grassroots Leadership Conference with Malcolm X. Grace Lee Boggs was active in Labor, Civil Rights, Black Power, women and environmental justice movements. Later, with her husband James, she helped organize SOSAD, WePros, Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, Gardening Angels and Detroit Summer. Grace was a founding member of the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership and was a strong advocate for place based education and supported the James and Grace Lee Boggs School. “Grace died as she lived surrounded by books, politics, people and ideas,” said Alice Jennings and Shea Howell, two of her Trustees. A memorial celebrating her life will be announced later.
President Barack Obama, issued a statement, saying “Michelle and I were saddened to hear of the passing of author, philosopher, and activist Grace Lee Boggs. Grace dedicated her life to serving and advocating for the rights of others – from her community activism in Detroit, to her leadership in the civil rights movement, to her ideas that challenged us all to lead meaningful lives. As the child of Chinese immigrants and as a woman, Grace learned early on that the world needed changing, and she overcame barriers to do just that. She understood the power of community organizing at its core – the importance of bringing about change and getting people involved to shape their own destiny. Grace’s passion for helping others, and her work to rejuvenate communities that had fallen on hard times spanned her remarkable 100 years of life, and will continue to inspire generations to come. Our thoughts and prayers are with Grace’s family and friends, and all those who loved her dearly.”
The filmmakers of the documentary also issued a statement saying, “Grace Lee Boggs passed away peacefully this morning. We are so grateful for the vision of justice and human connection that she gave us and feel incredibly privileged to have been able to share her story with others.”
The documentary film, AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY: THE EVOLUTION OF GRACE LEE BOGGS, plunges us into Boggs’s lifetime of vital thinking and action, traversing the major U.S. social movements of the last century; from labor to civil rights, to Black Power, feminism, the Asian American and environmental justice movements and beyond. Boggs’s constantly evolving strategy—her willingness to re-evaluate and change tactics in relation to the world shifting around her—drives the story forward. Angela Davis, Bill Moyers, Bill Ayers, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, Danny Glover, Boggs’s late husband James and a host of Detroit comrades across three generations help shape this uniquely American story. As she wrestles with a Detroit in ongoing transition, contradictions of violence and non-violence, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, the 1967 rebellions, and non-linear notions of time and history, Boggs emerges with an approach that is radical in its simplicity and clarity: revolution is not an act of aggression or merely a protest. Revolution, Boggs says, is about something deeper within the human experience — the ability to transform oneself to transform the world.
POV is streaming the film for free until November 4.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JvyZtNA4CU-
Civil Rights Icon Grace Lee Boggs, AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY: THE EVOLUTION OF GRACE LEE BOGGS, Dies at 100
Grace Lee Boggs, civil rights icon, and subject of the 2013 documentary American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs, has died at the age of 100.
According to the a statement on the Boggs Center website, Grace Lee Boggs died peacefully in her sleep at her home on Field Street in Detroit on Monday night, October 5, 2015.
Philosopher-Activist Grace Lee Boggs Dies in Detroit: A Champion for the People October 5, 2015–Grace Lee Boggs died peacefully in her sleep at her home on Field Street in Detroit this morning. She had recently celebrated her 100th birthday at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Grace was an internationally known philosopher activist for justice. She had been politically active since the 1930’s working with A. Phillip Randolph’s first march on Washington and later C.L.R. James. For more than 40 years she worked closely with her late husband James Boggs in advancing ideas of revolution and evolution for the 20th and 21st Centuries. She helped organize the 1963 March down Woodward Avenue with Dr. Martin Luther King and the Grassroots Leadership Conference with Malcolm X. Grace Lee Boggs was active in Labor, Civil Rights, Black Power, women and environmental justice movements. Later, with her husband James, she helped organize SOSAD, WePros, Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, Gardening Angels and Detroit Summer. Grace was a founding member of the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership and was a strong advocate for place based education and supported the James and Grace Lee Boggs School. “Grace died as she lived surrounded by books, politics, people and ideas,” said Alice Jennings and Shea Howell, two of her Trustees. A memorial celebrating her life will be announced later.
President Barack Obama, issued a statement, saying “Michelle and I were saddened to hear of the passing of author, philosopher, and activist Grace Lee Boggs. Grace dedicated her life to serving and advocating for the rights of others – from her community activism in Detroit, to her leadership in the civil rights movement, to her ideas that challenged us all to lead meaningful lives. As the child of Chinese immigrants and as a woman, Grace learned early on that the world needed changing, and she overcame barriers to do just that. She understood the power of community organizing at its core – the importance of bringing about change and getting people involved to shape their own destiny. Grace’s passion for helping others, and her work to rejuvenate communities that had fallen on hard times spanned her remarkable 100 years of life, and will continue to inspire generations to come. Our thoughts and prayers are with Grace’s family and friends, and all those who loved her dearly.”
The filmmakers of the documentary also issued a statement saying, “Grace Lee Boggs passed away peacefully this morning. We are so grateful for the vision of justice and human connection that she gave us and feel incredibly privileged to have been able to share her story with others.”
The documentary film, AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY: THE EVOLUTION OF GRACE LEE BOGGS, plunges us into Boggs’s lifetime of vital thinking and action, traversing the major U.S. social movements of the last century; from labor to civil rights, to Black Power, feminism, the Asian American and environmental justice movements and beyond. Boggs’s constantly evolving strategy—her willingness to re-evaluate and change tactics in relation to the world shifting around her—drives the story forward. Angela Davis, Bill Moyers, Bill Ayers, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, Danny Glover, Boggs’s late husband James and a host of Detroit comrades across three generations help shape this uniquely American story. As she wrestles with a Detroit in ongoing transition, contradictions of violence and non-violence, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, the 1967 rebellions, and non-linear notions of time and history, Boggs emerges with an approach that is radical in its simplicity and clarity: revolution is not an act of aggression or merely a protest. Revolution, Boggs says, is about something deeper within the human experience — the ability to transform oneself to transform the world.
POV is streaming the film for free until November 4.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JvyZtNA4CU
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Rodrigo Bellott, Erin Greenwell and Mylo Mendez Win Queer/Art/Mentorship Fellowships in Film
Queer/Art/Mentorship, the multi-disciplinary, inter-generational arts program that pairs and supports mentorship between emerging and established LGBTQI artists in NYC, has announced the eleven Fellows accepted for its 2015-2016 annual mentorship cycle.
The Fellows chosen in five artistic disciplines are Monstah Black, Eva Peskin and Justine Williams in Performance; Jacob Matkov and Brendan Williams-Childs in Literary; Rodrigo Bellott, Erin Greenwell and Mylo Mendez in Film; Caroline Wells Chandler and Doron Langberg in Visual Arts; and Hugh Ryan in Curatorial.
The 2015-2016 Queer/Art/Mentorship Fellows in Film are
Rodrigo Bellott was born in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. His breakout film, Sexual Dependency won over 15 awards in over 65 film festivals around the world and was also Bolivia’s first film competing for “Best Foreign Language Film” at the 2004 Academy Awards. VARIETY magazine named Bellott as one of the “TOP TEN Latin American Talents to Watch”.
Bellott will be working with Mentor, filmmaker Silas Howard on the film adaptation of his play Tu Me Manques, that explores contemporary queer identity in the moment of historical change in contrast with the current situations in other parts of the world.
Erin Greenwell wrote and directed the feature film My Best Day, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2012. Her other directing endeavors include Oh Come On, a punk DIY performance video for Kathleen Hanna’s band The Julie Ruin and The Golden Age of Hustlers, featuring Justin Vivian Bond’s remake of the iconic song written by legendary punk chanteuse Bambi Lake. In 2006, Greenwell formed Smithy Productions, a production company, with the aim of cultivating talents from the queer/independent art community under the umbrella of narrative and documentary storytelling.
Greenwell will be working with Mentor, director and screenwriter Stacie Passon to develop her narrative feature length script, The Flight Deck, based on the butch/femme lesbian bar scene in Buffalo, NY during the 1950s.
Mylo Mendez is a Texas-born video artist currently based in Brooklyn. Hir work uses humor, narrative, and characters with aberrant bodies to navigate identity, social and geographical borders, and history. Mendez has been featured in group shows in New York City and Austin. Ze received hir MFA from Parsons The New School for Design.
Mendez will be working with Mentor, filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris on a film about the intersection of trans and punk identities and communities in New York City.
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IMPERIAL DREAMS, 3 1/2 MINUTES, TEN BULLETS, TIME TO GO, Win Top Honors at 2015 Montreal International Black Film Festival
The 2015 Montreal International Black Film Festival held from September 29 to October 4, 2015, announced its prize winners at the Festival’s closing ceremonies on Sunday. Malik Vital’s Imperial Dreams won the award for Best Narrative Feature, Marc Silver’s 31/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets won the award for Best Documentary Feature, and Loîc Barché’s Le Commencement won the award for Best Narrative Short.
Winners of 2015 Montreal International Black Film Festival
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE: Malik Vital’s Imperial Dreams (USA)
In Imperial Dreams, a 21-year-old reformed gangster’s devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.
Honorable mentions to: Ernest Nkosi’s Thina Sobabili (South Africa)
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Marc Silver’s 3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets (USA)
3 1⁄2 MINUTES, TEN BULLETS dissects the shooting death of 17-year old Jordan Davis by Michael Dunn in Jacksonville, Florida on Black Friday 2012. The film examines the aftermath of this systemic tragedy, the contradictions within the American criminal justice system—particularly the implications of the “Stand Your Ground” self-defence law— and the racial prejudices that ensued. With intimate access, the film follows the trial of Dunn and its deep impact on Jordan’s family and friends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKbCoRA__UI
Honorable mention to: Michiel Thomas’ Game Face (USA) and Stanley Nelson’s Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (USA)
BEST NARRATIVE SHORT: Loîc Barché’s Le Commencement (Time To Go) (France)
Ever since he was a child, the Musician has had only one goal: becoming a great guitar player. Now thirty, he’s living with a young welder, Elsa, who wants to build a life with him. But the Musician knows that for as long as he hasn’t achieved his goal he will never be able to commit to anything or anyone else. One night, however, Elsa convinces him to take a job in a music shop in a nearby city. But on the way there, the Musician meets a strange man who promises to make his dreams come true in exchange for his soul…
Honorable mention to: Anna Muso’s Ran Fast (USA)
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2015 Chicago International Film Festival Unveils Spotlight: Architecture+Space+Design Program
The 2015 Chicago International Film Festival (Oct 15-29, 2015), in conjunction with the Chicago Architecture Biennial, revealed the Festival’s Spotlight: Architecture+Space+Design program.
The international selection showcases 11 new feature films, including notable portraits of architects, designers and buildings (Concrete Love – The Bohm Family, Why A Film About Michele De Lucchi?, The Infinite Happiness) and beautifully photographed depictions of contemporary and futuristic cities (Obra, Invention, Under Electric Clouds).
In addition to the program of shorts, Chicago Film Archives program and feature-length films (all listed below), the Spotlight features a discussion with architect Helmut Jahn on Sat, Oct 17 at 6:00pm at the AMC River East 21.
Rounding out the Spotlight: Architecture+Space+Design program, on Wednesdays throughout the Chicago Architecture Biennial (Oct-Dec 2015), local and visiting architects and designers will present Architects on Film.
2015 Chicago International Film Festival SPOTLIGHT: ARCHITECTURE+SPACE+DESIGN
Concrete Love – The Bohm Family (pictured above)
CHICAGO PREMIERE
Country: Germany, Switzerland
Director: Maurizius Staerkle Drux
Synopsis: Prominent German architect Gottfried Böhm is celebrated for his buildings of concrete, steel, and glass. His three sons are also highly acclaimed. When the family matriarch, an architect herself and source of inspiration for all Böhm men, dies, their emotional foundation is shattered. Sensitive to form and emotion, Concrete Love lays bare the blueprint of a family.
Double Happiness
CHICAGO PREMIERE
Country: Austria, China
Director: Ella Raidel
Synopsis: This surreal, exquisitely framed documentary looks at the construction of a near-exact replica of a scenic Austrian town-cobblestone by cobblestone-in an undeveloped Chinese tract of land. In a style both entrancing and playful, the film questions the difference between real and imagined, model and reality, raising thought-provoking questions about the nature of authenticity and happiness. Features insightful interviews with urban planners, designers, and trailblazing Beijing architect Ma Yansong.
Greater Things
USA PREMIERE
Country: UK, Japan
Director: Vahid Hakimzadeh
Synopsis: In this stunningly composed meditation on space and human relationships, an adrift Iranian architect, a disengaged Japanese couple, and a Lithuanian mixed martial arts fighter search for connection in modern Japan. From the stylishly designed shops of Tokyo to a minimalist glass suburban home to a mysterious tree house in the woods, Greater Things reveals the strange places we inhabit, and how they can both unite and divide us.
Helmut Jahn: An Architect’s Life
Country: N/A
Director: N/A
Synopsis: World-renowned for his progressive architecture and constant innovation, Helmut Jahn has designed 16 buildings in Illinois, including Chicago’s own United Airlines Terminal. He has also designed skyscrapers in major cities around the world, from Brussels and Rotterdam to Bangkok, Shanghai, and Berlin, which boasts his celebrated Sony Center. Jahn will discuss his remarkable 49-year career in architecture and his unique vision, using clips from modern and classic films that showcase his designs and reflect his philosophy.
Illegal Portraits (Ritratti Abusivi)
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Country: Italy
Director: Romano Montesarchio
Synopsis: Welcome to Parco Saraceno, a derelict neighborhood in southeast Italy. Built in the 1960s, its run-down houses once held the promise of suburban coastal bliss. Now home to a community of squatters, the development is a portrait of both poverty and resilience. Without power or resources, the residents persevere, finding new ways to live among the ruins and maintain their way of life-and their dignity.
The Infinite Happiness
CHICAGO PREMIERE
Country: France, Denmark
Director: Ila Beka, Louise Lemoine
Synopsis: Copenhagen’s “8 House,” an ultramodern loop of apartments created by architect Bjarke Ingels, reinvents the concept of “home.” Its 500 residents can traverse all nine floors by bike while their kids attend kindergarten on the ground floor. This exuberant documentary profiles the (mostly) happy residents, including a group of children who experience the best scavenger hunt ever, offering a hopeful, inspired picture of communal living by design.
Invention
USA PREMIERE
Country: Canada, France
Director: Mark Lewis
Synopsis: A meditative sensory experience from Canadian avant-garde artist Mark Lewis, Invention intimately explores our relationship to the physical space around us. Long, luxurious tracking shots take the viewer through museum works and modern cityscapes in Toronto, São Paolo, and Paris, panning and tilting at improbable angles to give a fresh perspective on the everyday. Echoes of Koyaanisqatsi and Man With a Movie Camera infuse this poem of modern life.
Milano 2015
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Country: Italy
Director: various
Synopsis: From subways to skyscrapers, from antique monasteries to ornate mansions, from shuttered old theaters to the inimitable La Scala, this stunning omnibus feature captures the soul and majesty of the northern Italian city. Six Italian directors explore different facets of contemporary Milan. The result is a rich and eclectic portrait of urban life and spaces-both rooted in history and bursting with a diversity of architecture and humanity.
Modern Metropolis: Mid-Century Chicago On Film
Note: This is a FREE event at the Chicago Cultural Center
Country: N/A
Director: various directors
Synopsis: Chicago’s rich architectural tradition has long been a hallmark of the Windy City. In this evocative collection of shorts culled from the Chicago Film Archives dating from 1962 to 1976, go back in time to witness its urban glories. The films include dynamic “city-symphonies,” an ode to stainless steel, and an admiring portrait of Louis Sullivan’s Stock Exchange building and its woeful demolition.
Obra
CHICAGO PREMIERE
Country: Brazil
Director: Gregorio Graziosi
Synopsis: When a complacent young architect in São Paulo discovers a burial ground at the site of his first construction project, he must reckon with hidden secrets that make him question the very foundation of his heritage. An entrancing meditation on urban alienation and repressed national memory filmed in stark, exquisitely composed black-and-white, Obra is a haunting portrait of contemporary Brazil in flux.
Shorts 8: The Tower Above The Earth – Architecture
Countries: France, Iran, Israel, Poland, Switzerland, US
Directors: Teresa Czepiec, Sandy Pitetti, Miki Polonski, Chuck Przybyl, Matthieu Landour, Arash Nassiri
Description: The shorts takes a bright new view of space and design in cinema from claustrophobic urban spaces to hypnotic skylines and historic architecture coalesce, courtesy of Program Partner Jeanne Randall Malkin Family Foundation.
Under Electric Clouds (Pod elektricheskimi oblakami)
USA PREMIERE
Country: Russia, Ukraine
Director: Aleksey German Jr.
Synopsis: In 2017 Russia, exactly 100 years after the Bolshevik Revolution, the world is on the verge of a new great war. An unfinished skyscraper looms on the horizon, casting an emblematic shadow over a society about to collapse. With breathtaking sci-fi imagery, this wildly strange magical realistic film interweaves the stories of seven individuals, from an architect to a Kyrgyz laborer, as it explores a dystopian dreamscape.
Underground Fragrance (Di Xia Xiang)
USA PREMIERE
Country: China, France
Director: Di Xia Xiang
Synopsis: On the rapidly urbanizing outskirts of Beijing, Yong Le spends his days scouring homes scheduled for demolition for furniture to pawn and his nights in the sub-basement of a high-rise apartment building. After an accident blinds him, a nightclub dancer, hoping to secure a day job with a real estate developer, nurses him back to health. Produced by Tsai Ming-Liang, the film adapts his signature meditative social realism, revealing a world in which everyone, literally and figuratively, is looking to move up.
Why a Film About Michele De Lucchi? (Perché un film su Michele De Lucchi)
CHICAGO PREMIERE
Country: Italy
Director: Alessio Bozzer
Synopsis: A portrait of the famous radical Italian designer and progenitor of the Maker Movement, this informative, playful documentary traces Michele De Lucchi’s personal experiments and provocations. With De Lucchi serving as his own narrator, the film examines his pioneering achievements with the design movement Memphis, including the stripped-down “First Chair,” the Oceanic Lamp, and a spectacular LED-lit bridge in Tbilisi, Georgia.
ARCHITECTS ON FILM
The Hawks and the Sparrows
Country: Italy (1966)
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Featured Architect: Xavier Wrona, founder of the architecture office Est-ce ainsi, a structure working to refocus the architectural practice on its political consequences and its possible participation in the reform of “vivre ensemble.”
Synopsis: In this whimsical fable from the legendary Italian director, an old man (played by the famous Keaton-esque clown Toto) walks along the dusty road of life with his empty-headed son. Joined by a philosophical crow, who asks probing questions about existence, father and son witness the complex contradictions of Italian life, from Christianity vs. Marxism, Church vs. State.
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse
Country: USA (1991)
Directors: Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper
Featured Architect: Eric Ellingsen is currently teaching at the School of the Art Institute (SAIC) and has a practice called species of space.
Synopsis: This eye-opening documentary examines the outrageous behind-the-scenes making of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 classic Apocalypse Now. With rarely seen archival footage shot by Coppola’s wife, the film recounts how events on the Philippines-set production soon resembled the madness recounted in the story. Over-budget, with cast and crew bordering on the edge of insanity, the film is a revealing look at the extraordinary lengths that some will go to make their art.
Waste Land
Country: USA (2010)
Director: Lucy Walker
Featured Architect: Emmanuel Pratt, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Sweet Water Foundation and founding member of axilL3C. He is also Director of Aquaponics for Chicago State University and teaches courses within the College of Arts and Sciences.
Synopsis: This Oscar-nominated documentary follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to the world’s largest garbage dump in his native Brazil. There, he photographs an eclectic band of “catadores”-people who scrounge for recyclable materials. As he collaborates with these inspiring characters to recreate photographs of themselves, Waste Land offers stirring evidence of the transformative power of art and the alchemy of the human spirit.
Screening 1: Wed, Nov 18; 6:00pm
Note: This is a FREE event held at the Chicago Cultural Center
My Winnipeg
Country: USA (2007)
Director: Guy Madden
Featured Architect: Design With Company’s co-founders Stewart Hicks and Allison Newmeyer, who are also assistant professors at the University of Illinois at Chicago
Synopsis: A self-described “docu-fantasia,” this rollicking cinematic poem charts the not-exactly-true goings-on in the birthplace of Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin (The Saddest Music in the World). Brazenly blurring the borders of nonfiction and dream, Maddin recounts his return to his childhood home, revisiting key moments from his adolescence and his city’s history (from a semi-nude civic pride event to a jazz-age séance ballet!) My Winnipeg is a wild ride of remembrance, place, and imagination.
Screening 1: Wed, Nov 4; 6:00pm
Note: This is a FREE event held at the Chicago Cultural Center
The Wiz
Country: USA (1978)
Director: Sidney Lumet
Featured Architect: Amanda Williams whose work centers on color, race, and space. She uses vivid, culturally derived colors to paint abandoned houses on Chicago’s South Side, marking the pervasiveness of undervalued Black space. Accolades include a 3Arts Award, a Joyce Foundation scholarship, and a Robert James Eidlitz Fellowship in Ethiopia.
Synopsis: The film version of the popular Broadway musical retells the events of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” through the eyes of Dorothy, a young African-American kindergarten teacher (Diana Ross) who’s “never been below 125th Street.” On her journey down the yellow brick road of ’70s Manhattan, she encounters a garbage-stuffed scarecrow (Michael Jackson), a broken-down tin man (Nipsey Russell), and a cowardly lion (Ted Ross) posing as a stone statue outside a museum. Together, they seek out the Wiz (Richard Pryor), a powerful wizard living in Emerald City who may be able to help Dorothy get home.
Screening 1: Wed, Dec 9; 6:00pm
Note: This is a FREE event held at the Chicago Cultural Center; featuring a conversation with Jacqueline Stewart, Professor in the University of Chicago’s Department of Cinema and Media Studies. Stewart’s research and teaching explore African American film cultures from the origins of the medium to the present, as well as the archiving and preservation of moving images, and “orphan” media histories, including nontheatrical, amateur, and activist film and video. She directs the South Side Home Movie Project and is co-curator of the L.A. Rebellion Preservation Project at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. She also serves as an appointee to the National Film Preservation Board. She is currently researching the racial politics of moving image preservation and is also completing a study of the life and work of African American actor/writer/director Spencer Williams.
Voices of Cabrini
Country: USA (1999)
Director: Ronit Bezalel
Featured Architect: Andres Hernandez, an artist-designer-educator who works with youth and adults to interpret, critique, and re-imagine the physical, social and cultural environments we inhabit.
Synopsis: Shot over a four-year period, this gripping documentary chronicles the demolition of Cabrini Green, Chicago’s most infamous housing development. Told sympathetically from the perspectives of the people being uprooted, the film shows the startling evictions of longtime residents from the city’s mid-city ghetto. A sobering look at “city planning” at work, Voices of Cabrini is a valuable historical look at a city in transition-and those left behind.
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JAMES WHITE to Chicago Premiere at Chicago International Film Festival, James Mond, Christopher Abbott to Receive Emerging Artist Award
The 51st Chicago International Film Festival Junior Board will present the U.S. independent feature film James White as their Junior Board Night at the Festival on Saturday, October 17, 2015; and will present the Festival’s Emerging Artist Award to both director Josh Mond and actor Christopher Abbott.
In this Sundance-winning drama directed by Josh Mond (producer of Martha Marcy May Marlene and Simon Killer), James White is an emotionally unstable young New Yorker processing the recent death of his long-absent father. His mother, a cancer survivor who raised him from a young age, falls terminally ill. With an immersive filmmaking style putting us inside James’s head, the raw, affecting film features a revelatory lead performance from Christopher Abbott (Girls), with Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City) as his ailing mother.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1aVC6LJ3uc
“We are very excited that the Junior Board has selected these amazing young talents for their Emerging Artist Award,” said Anthony Kaufman, Programmer for the Chicago International Film Festival. “In his first feature as a director, Josh Mond has crafted a remarkably assured dramatic film, which is made all the more visceral and moving by Christopher Abbott’s riveting performance.”
The Chicago International Film Festival’s Junior Board is a diverse group of young, working professionals dedicated to fundraising and volunteering to support the Festival’s year-round Education Program. Along with year-round screenings and special events, Junior Board Night reflects the Board’s passion and enthusiasm for the Festival and its mission. Previous Junior Board Night films have included The Sessions (Ben Lewin) and Low Down (Jeff Preiss).
“The Junior Board works throughout the year as ambassadors of the Festival, and Junior Board Night is one of our most highly anticipated events. We look forward to welcoming Josh and Christopher to Chicago, sharing their film with our audiences and celebrating them for their work,” says Hanna Soltys, Junior Board President.
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OLIVER’S DEAL, INCORRUPTIBLE Win Top Awards at 2015 Woodstock Film Festival
OLIVER’S DEAL, directed by Barney Elliott (pictured above) won the Maverick Award for Best Feature Narrative, and INCORRUPTIBLE, directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi won the Maverick Award for Best Feature Documentary at the 2015 Woodstock Film Festival which ran Wednesday, September 30, through Sunday, October 4, 2015.
The Awards Ceremony was held Saturday night, with Academy Award® winning actress Melissa Leo on hand to help celebrate the talent at this year’s festival, including honorary award recipients Atom Egoyan and Guy Maddin, two of Canada’s most celebrated filmmakers. Guy Maddin presented Atom Egoyan with the Honorary Maverick Award, and Atom Egoyan then presented Guy Maddin with the second annual Fiercely Independent Award.
This year’s ceremony also featured the introduction of two inaugural awards, the Carpe Diem Andretta Award, presented to Waffle Street, and the World Cinema Competition, presented to Meet Me In Venice.
2015 Woodstock Film Festival Maverick Awards
The Maverick Award for BEST FEATURE NARRATIVE was presented by jurors Themla Adams, Stephen Lang, and Joana Vincente to:
OLIVER’S DEAL, directed by Barney Elliott
Honorable Mention was presented to: IT HAD TO BE YOU, directed by Sasha Gordon
The Maverick Award for BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY was presented by jurors Simon Kilmurry, Alan Berliner, and Sara Bernstein to:
INCORRUPTIBLE, directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
“This remarkable film traces a journey from idealism to corruption in one of Africa’s oldest democracies, asking the question – is power an inherently corrupting influence? What the leaders of the country do not count on is that — in the end — it is the people of Senegal who turn out to be incorruptible. Through unprecedented access to all the players, filmmaker Chai Vasarhelyi weaves a complex and thrilling picture of a country at the precipice.” – 2015 Woodstock Film Festival Jury
Honorable Mention was presented to THE BABUSHKAS OF CHERNOBYL, directed by Holly Morris, Co-directed by Anne Bogart
“A lyrical, poetic portrait of an unknown group of women in a forgotten land. The Babushkas of Chernobyl live mostly alone, in the shadow of the world’s largest nuclear meltdown, surrounded by huge amounts of invisible radiation contamination. Strong and independent, their indelible ties to their homes trumps any health risk to which they might be exposed. A beautifully crafted documentary, this film does what documentaries do best – transport us to an unknown world and introduce us to extraordinary people we might never meet.” – 2015 Woodstock Film Festival Jury
The Maverick Award for BEST ANIMATION was presented by jurors Signe Baumane and Linda Beck to:
THE FIVE MINUTE MUSUEM, directed by Paul Bush
Honorable Mention was presented to RELIGATIO, directed by Jaime Giraldo
The Markertek Award for BEST SHORT NARRATIVE was presented by Benjamin Scott, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Nancy Collet to:
STANHOPE, directed by Solvan “Slick” Naim
Honorable Mention was presented to WELCOME (BIENVENIDOS), directed by Javier Fesser
The Markertek Award for BEST STUDENT SHORT FILM was presented by jurors David F. Schwartz, Isil Bagdadi, and Marjoe Aquilling to:
AGAINST NIGHT, directed by Stefan Kubicki
The Markertek Award for BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY was presented by jurors Hugo Perez, Cynthia Kane, and Jedd Wider to:
ALL ABOUT AMY, directed by Samuel Centore
Honorable Mention was presented to NANEEK, directed by Neal Steeno
The Haskell Wexler Award for BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY was presented with a special introduction by Haskell Wexler to:
BOB AND THE TREES, directed by Diego Ongaro, with cinematography by Chris Teague and Danny Vecchione
James Lyons Award for BEST EDITING of a FEATURE NARRATIVE was presented by jurors Meg Reticker and Sabine Hoffman to:
OLIVER’S DEAL, directed by Barney Elliott and edited by J.L. Romeu & Roberto Benavides
Honorable Mention was presented to TOUCHED WITH FIRE, directed by Paul Dalio and edited by Paul Dalio & Lee Percy
James Lyons Award for BEST EDITING of a FEATURE DOCUMENTARY was presented by jurors Sabine Hoffman, Katherine Barnier, and Michael Berenbaum to:
THE BABUSHKAS OF CHERNOBYL, directed by Holly Morris and edited by Michael Taylor, Richard Howard, and Mary Manhardt
Honorable Mention was presented to I WILL NOT BE SILENCED, directed by Judy Rymer and edited by Paul Hamilton
ULTRA INDIE AWARD was presented by jurors Lori Singer and Leah Meyerhoff to:
LAMB, directed by Ross Partridge
Honorable Mention was presented to BOB AND THE TREES, directed by Diego Ongaro
TANGERINE ENTERTAINMENT JUICE AWARD FOR BEST FEMALE FEATURE DIRECTOR was presented by jurors Amy Hobby and Anne Hubbell to:
Linda-Maria Birbeck, director of THERE SHOULD BE RULES
CARPE DIEM AWARD ANDRETTA AWARD FOR BEST FILM was presented by Lauri and Jim Andretta to: WAFFLE STREET, directed by Eshom Nelms and Ian Nelms
WORLD CINEMA AWARD was presented by jurors Claude Dal Farra and Lucy Barzun Donnelly to: MEET ME IN VENICE, directed by Eddy Terstall
BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE was presented to Roberta Petzoldt (Meet Me in Venice)
FIERCELY INDEPENDENT AWARD was presented by Atom Egoyan to: GUY MADDIN
HONORARY MAVERICK AWARD was presented by Guy Maddin to: ATOM EGOYAN
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Michael Moore’s WHERE TO INVADE NEXT to Midwest Premiere at Chicago International Film Festival
Michael Moore’s latest film, Where To Invade Next, which World Premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, will have its Midwest Premiere at the 51st Chicago International Film Festival on Friday, October 23, 2015 as Centerpiece Film. Director Michael Moore is scheduled to attend.
What has lured Michael Moore, the documentary genre’s most entertaining rabble-rouser, back to feature films after a six-year hiatus? Only the future of his country, naturally. Where To Invade Next is an expansive, rib-tickling, and subversive comedy in which Moore, playing the role of “invader,” visits a host of nations to learn how the U.S. could improve its own prospects.
The creator of Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine is back with this hilarious and eye-opening call to arms. Where To Invade Next shows the solutions to America’s most entrenched problems already exist in the world, he says-they’re just waiting to be co-opted.
Director Michael Moore has a long and rich history with the Chicago International Film Festival, having premiered his groundbreaking debut Roger and Me at the Chicago International Film Festival in 1989. Moore came back to present his 2002 film Bowling for Columbine, which won him an Oscar for Best Documentary. “Michael Moore is quite a character and his films are important. He’s changed the way we look at the documentary in so many ways. You either love him or you hate him, but he’s definitely a director to watch.” says Founder & Artistic Director of the Chicago International Film Festival Michael Kutza. “‘Where To Invade Next’ doesn’t disappoint.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RYV04G0tHc
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2015 Zurich Film Festival Awards, RAMS Wins Top ‘Golden Eye’ Award
RAMS (HRÚTAR) by Grimur Hakonarson from Iceland continues its winning streak, grabbing the top award, the Golden Eye for International Feature Film at the 11th Zurich Film Festival. Winner of the Un Certain Regard Award at 2015 Cannes Film Festival, Rams “details the hardships of daily farm work in remote Iceland with humanism and humor,” where two brothers who haven’t spoken in forty years will have to come together in order to save what’s dearest to them : their rams.
The other top 2015 Zurich Film Festival Awards – Golden Eye awards went KINGS OF NOWHERE (LOS REYES DEL PUEBLO QUE NO EXISTE) by Betzabé García from Mexico for International Documentary Film and THANK YOU FOR BOMBING by Barbara Eder from Austria for Focus: Switzerland, Germany, Austria.
The Emerging Swiss Talent Award given to a Swiss film went to THE MIRACLE OF TEKIR by Ruxandra Zenide (Switzerland). The Critics’ Choice Award goes to PIKADERO by Ben Sharrock (Spain), The Audience Award goes to AMATEUR TEENS by Niklaus Hilber (Switzerland) and the Audience Award in the ZFF for Kids section goes to SUPILINNA SALASELTS by Margus Paju (Estonia).
2015 Zurich Film Festival Awards
Golden Eye for Best International Feature Film:
HRÚTAR by Grimur Hakonarson (Iceland, Denmark)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1&v=IybJjb3VHhM
A Special Mention goes to:
Koudous Seihon (actor) in MEDITERRANEA by Jonas Carpignano (Italy, France, USA, Germany, Qatar)
Marielle Heller (director) for THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL (USA)
Golden Eye for Best International Documentary Film:
KINGS OF NOWHERE (LOS REYES DEL PUEBLO QUE NO EXISTE) by Betzabé García (Mexico)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49kLABSplPM
A Special Mention goes to:
KILLING TIME – ENTRE DEUX FRONTS by Lydie Wisshaupt-Claudel (Belgium, France)
Golden Eye for Best Film in the Focus: Switzerland, Germany, Austria:
THANK YOU FOR BOMBING by Barbara Eder (Austria)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpE4RSMuLTs
A Special Mention goes to:
GRUBER GEHT by Marie Kreutzer (Austria)
The Emerging Swiss Talent Award for Best Swiss Film:
THE MIRACLE OF TEKIR by Ruxandra Zenide (Switzerland/Rumania)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd8fGetLsWw
Critic’s Choice Award
The Swiss Association of Film Journalists (SVFJ) award their prize for Best Debut Feature Film in the Competition Section to:
PIKADERO by Ben Sharrock (Spain, UK)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r5Cv5_YugY
Audience Award
AMATEUR TEENS by Niklaus Hilber (Switzerland)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1&v=o5tjEnAJc5E
Audience Award for Children’s Film
SUPILINNA SALASELTS by Margus Paju (Estonia)
Treatment Competition Award
Stefanie Klemm for RENATAS ERWACHEN (Switzerland)
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Marlon Brando Documentary LISTEN TO ME MARLON to Premiere on Showtime
LISTEN TO ME MARLON which premiered earlier this year at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, will premiere on SHOWTIME on Saturday, November 14th at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Directed by Stevan Riley (Fire in Babylon), LISTEN TO ME MARLON, unlocks two-time Oscar(R) winner Marlon Brando’s extensive never-before-heard personal audio archive, bringing viewers on a creative odyssey into the mind and motivation of the enigmatic legend. As the lines between Brando’s on screen persona and personal life blurred, his audio recordings uncover his intellectual introspection, humor and sensitivity; a man in perpetual search for moral clarity. LISTEN TO ME MARLON was released in over 150 theaters this summer and was one of this year’s most successful films at Film Forum in New York.
Unbeknownst to the public, Marlon Brando amassed a vast archive of personal audio materials over the course of his lifetime. Now – for the first time – those audio recordings come to life in LISTEN TO ME MARLON. Charting his exceptional career as an actor and his extraordinary life away from the stage and screen, the film reveals the complexities and contradictions that were Marlon Brando by telling the story in his own words.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZlWjE_NJfI
LISTEN TO ME MARLON is written, edited and directed by Stevan Riley and produced by Academy Award(R)-winning producer John Battsek (Searching for Sugar Man, The Tillman Story), Emmy(R) winner R.J. Cutler (THE WORLD ACCORDING TO DICK CHENEY, The September Issue) and Emmy Award nominee George Chignell (Ali). Academy Award-winner Andrew Ruhemann serves as the executive producer. LISTEN TO ME MARLON is a Passion Pictures production.
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SUFFRAGETTE to Open 2015 Savannah Film Festival; Lineup Includes BROOKLYN, SON OF SAUL, TRUTH, YOUTH
SUFFRAGETTE from BAFTA Award-winning director Sarah Gavron will open the 2015 Savannah Film Festival taking place October 24 to 31, 2015. “Suffragette” is a moving drama that will empower all who are striving for equal rights in our own day and age. Written by Emmy Award winner Abi Morgan, “Suffragette” is inspired by the early-20th-century campaign of the Suffragettes, who were activists for Women’s Suffrage – risking their very lives for the right of women to vote. The cast includes Academy Award nominees Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter, Golden Globe Award nominees Brendan Gleeson and Romola Garai, British Independent Film Award winner Anne-Marie Duff, BAFTA Award winner Ben Whishaw, and three-time Academy Award winner Meryl Streep.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4jBXQM7mIk
Additional films confirmed for the 2015 Savannah Film Festival include:
“Brooklyn” – The profoundly moving story of Eilis Lacey, a young Irish immigrant navigating her way through 1950s Brooklyn. Lured by the promise of America, Eilis departs Ireland and the comfort of her mother’s home for the shores of New York City. The initial shackles of homesickness quickly diminish as a fresh romance sweeps Eilis into the intoxicating charm of love. But soon, her new vivacity is disrupted by her past, and Eilis must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within. The film is distributed by Fox Searchlight. Director: John Crowley. Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson, Julie Walters and Jim Broadbent.
“I Saw the Light” – “I Saw the Light” tells the story of Hank Williams, the iconic, influential country singer and songwriter of the 1940’s and early 50’s whose meteoric rise and fall, including his death at age 29, has become part of American folklore. Writer-director Marc Abraham has created a compelling, historically accurate narrative of Hank’s career that examines his tormented creative genius and the turbulent domestic life that inspired him to write some of his best-known songs. By literally going back in time, you see Hank as he was, living his life on his terms, battling his demons and ultimately creating music for the ages. The film is distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. Director: Marc Abraham. Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth Olsen, Cherry Jones, Bradley Whitford, Maddie Hasson and Wren Schmidt.
“Krisha” – The story of a woman’s return to the family she abandoned years before, set entirely over the course of one turbulent Thanksgiving. When Krisha shows up at her sister’s Texas home on Thanksgiving morning, her close and extended family greet her with a mixture of warmth and wariness. Almost immediately, a palpable unease permeates the air, one which only grows in force as Krisha gets to work cooking the turkey and trying to make up for lost time by catching up with her various relatives, chief among them her nephew, Trey. As Krisha’s attempts at reconciliation become increasingly rebuffed, tension and suspicion reach their peak, with long-buried secrets and deep-seated resentments coming to the fore as everyone becomes immersed in an emotionally charged familial reckoning. The film is distributed by A24. Director: Trey Edward Shults. Cast: Krisha Fairchild, Robyn Fairchild, Bill Wise and Trey Edward Shults. “Lady in the Van” – A big screen adaptation of writer Alan Bennett’s iconic and celebrated memoir. The film tells the true story of the relationship between Alan Bennett and the singular Miss Shepherd, a woman of uncertain origins who ‘temporarily’ parked her van in Bennett’s London driveway and proceeded to live there for 15 years. Their unique story is funny, poignant and life-affirming. The film is distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. Director: Nicholas Hytner. Cast: Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings, Jim Broadbent, Frances De La Tour, and Roger Allam.
“Mia Madre” – Margherita is a director shooting a film with the famous American actor, Barry Huggins, who is quite a headache on set. Away from the shoot, Margherita tries to hold her life together, despite her mother’s illness and her daughter’s adolescence. The film is distributed by Alchemy. Director: Nanni Moretti. Cast: Margherita Buy and John Turturro.
“Miss You Already” – The friendship between two life-long girlfriends is put to the test when one starts a family and the other falls ill. The film is distributed by Roadside Attractions. Director: Catherine Hardwicke. Cast: Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette.
“Room” – Both highly suspenseful and deeply emotional, “Room” is a unique and touching exploration of the boundless love between a mother and her child. After 5-year-old Jack and his Ma escape from the enclosed surroundings that Jack has known his entire life, the boy makes a thrilling discovery: the outside world. As he experiences all the joy, excitement, and fear that this new adventure brings, he holds tight to the one thing that matters most of all—his special bond with his loving and devoted Ma. Based on the international bestselling book by Emma Donoghue. The film is distributed by A24. Director: Lenny Abrahamson. Cast: Brie Larson, William H. Macy, Joan Allen and Jacob Tremblay.
“Son of Saul” – Saul Ausländer is a Hungarian member of the Sonderkommando, the group of Jewish prisoners isolated from the camp and forced to assist the Nazis in the machinery of large-scale extermination. While working in one of the crematoriums, Saul discovers the body of a boy he takes for his son. As the Sonderkommando plans a rebellion, Saul decides to carry out an impossible task: save the child’s body from the flames, find a rabbi to recite the mourner’s Kaddish and offer the boy a proper burial. The film is distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. Director: László Nemes. Cast: Géza Röhrig, Levente Molnár, Urs Rechn, Todd Charmont, Sándor Zsótér and Marcin Czarnik.
“Touched With Fire” – Two manic depressives meet in treatment and begin a romance that brings out all of the beauty and horror of their condition. The film is distributed by Roadside Attractions. Director: Paul Dalio. Cast: Katie Holmes, Luke Kirby and Christine Lahti.
“Truth” – Based on the book “Truth and Duty” by Mary Mapes that tells the incredible true story of Mary Mapes (played by Cate Blanchett), an award-winning CBS News Journalist and Dan Rather’s producer, who broke the Abu-Ghraib prison abuse story, among others. The film chronicles the story Mapes and Rather uncovered that a sitting US president may have been AWOL from the United States National Guard for over a year during the Vietnam War. When the story blew up in their face, the ensuing scandal ruined Dan Rather’s career, nearly changed a US Presidential election, and almost took down all of CBS News in the process. The film is distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. Director: James Vanderbilt. Cast: Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, Topher Grace, Elisabeth Moss and Dennis Quaid.
“Youth” – From Paolo Sorrentino, the director of Italy’s Oscar foreign language winner “The Great Beauty” comes “Youth,” about two longtime friends vacationing in the Swiss Alps. Oscar winning actor Michael Caine plays Fred, an acclaimed composer and conductor, who brings along his daughter (Rachel Weisz) and best friend Mick (Harvey Keitel), a renowned filmmaker. While Mick scrambles to finish the screenplay for what he imagines will be his last important film, Fred has no intention of resuming his musical career. The two men reflect on their past, each finding that some of the most important experiences can come later in life. The film is distributed by Fox Searchlight. Director: Paolo Sorrentino. Cast: Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz and Jane Fonda.
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Watch Video Clip from I AM GIANT: VICTOR CRUZ to Premiere on Showtime October 30
I AM GIANT: VICTOR CRUZ, a feature-length film chronicling the New York Giants wide receiver’s rise to football stardom, demoralizing injury, and his dramatic attempt at a comeback, will premiere on Friday, Oct. 30 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME.
In the video tease, Cruz details his mindset as he prepares to make his anticipated return to the field.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKsmS-dAPmA
The unscripted film debuts in the midst of the NFL season as the former Super Bowl Champion aims to return as one of the league’s elite wide receivers. A former undrafted free agent, Cruz tore his patellar tendon in 2014 in just his second season after signing a multi-million dollar contract. The debilitating injury forced Cruz to miss the remainder of the 2014 season and undergo rehab with renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews. I AM GIANT: VICTOR CRUZ chronicles that comeback and introduces viewers to a humble giant battling the most challenging obstacle of his life.
The film is directed by Gotham Chopra (KOBE BRYANT’S MUSE) who serves as executive producer alongside producing partners Chris Uettwiller and Martin Desmond Roe. Elaina Watley also serves as executive producer under the Kennedy Blvd. banner, as will NBA star LeBron James and Maverick Carter, CEO of SpringHill Entertainment.
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World Premiere of Turkish Film LOST BIRDS to Kick Off 18th Arpa International Film Festival
The World Premier of LOST BIRDS, a heartwarming film from Turkey, will open the 18th Arpa International Film Festival taking place November 13 to 15, 2015 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. This year’s Arpa International Film Festival focuses strongly on humanitarian issues internationally such as genocide, holocaust, human freedom, women’s rights, homelessness and many others.
LOST BIRDS, the Opening night’s World Premier Film is from Turkey in Armenian and Turkish language filmed in Capadoccia, Turkey, by Aren Perdeci and Ela Alyamac. For these two young co-directors, it took a five year journey to realize their passion project. They shared directing, producing and writing duties. Perdeci was also the director of photography of this amazingly beautiful film. This movie presents a historical tragedy that takes place in 1915, from the point of view of two children. The story is about Bedo, played by (Heros Agopyan) and Maryam, played by (Dila Uluca), whose beautiful, warm, and happy lives in Anatolia comes to an end when their grandfather played by ( Sarkis Acemoglu) is taken away by soldiers. Out of extreme fear, their mother, played by (Takuhi Bahar), forbid the children to go outside, but being children, they sneak out to their favorite spot to play, only to come back to an empty home and an empty village. Their fear takes over, and with their bird that they had saved, they embark on a journey toward Aleppo to find their mother, and their fellow villagers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URtvPLTQO4c
This beautiful film made by an Armenian and a Turkish filmmaker with passion is a cinematographic beauty to watch. September issue of “American Cinematographer” magazine has written a nine page article on Lost Birds under the title of “Lost and Found” with photo scenes from the film worth reading.
Arpa’s 18th International Film festival presents the screenings of seven narrative feature films, 11 documentaries, and 27 short films — a cross-cultural program of films delving into myriad of social and cultural experiences.
FEATURE FILM COMPETITION
Lost Birds (2015) | Turkey | Director: Ela Alyamac, Aren Perdeci | Writers: Ela Alyamac, Aren Perdeci | Language: Turkish, Armenian
Three Windows and a Hanging (2014) | Kosovo | Director: Isa Qosja | Writer: Zymber Kelmendi | Language: Albanian
Off (2015) | Serbia | Director: Predrag Stojic | Writer: Marko Krstic | Language: Serbian
Our Village (2013) | Armenia | Director: Yelena Arshakyan | Writer: Hovhannes Yeranyan | Language: Armenian
I Want to Be A King (2014) | Iran | Director: Mehdi Ganji | Writer: Mehdi Ganji | Language: Persian
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Aliyah Dada (2015) | Romania | Director: Oana Giurgiu | Language: English
Armenia Sings on in Our Hearts (2015) | Brazil | Director: Isabella Bablumian | Writer: Isabella Bablumian | Language: English
Armenopolis, Armenian Soul (2015) | Romania | Director: Florin Kevorkian and Isabella Bostan | Writer: Florin Kevorkian | Language: Rumanian
Daylight After a Century (2015) | United Kingdom | Director: Hollie Harrington | Language: English
Goodbye Theresienstadt (2015) | Denmark, Czech Republic | Director: Carl Otta Dethlefsen | Language: Danish
Lee Scratch Perry’s Vision of Paradise (2015) | Germany | Director: Volker Schaner | Writer: Volker Schaner | Language: English
My Life in China (2014) | U.S.A. | Director: Kenneth Eng | Writer: Ehren Parks | Language: Chinese
N64Q: Born Free (2015) | U.S.A., Japan | Director: Sasha Gransjean | Writer: Sasha Gransjean | Language: English
Paul the Birdman (2015) | U.S.A. | Director: Taniel Kilajian | Writer: Taniel Kilajian | Language: English
Superjednostka (2014) | Poland | Director: Teresa Czepiec | Writer: Teresa Czepiec | Language: Polish
Tell Spring Not to Come This Year (2015) | United Kingdom | Director: Michael McEvoy, Saeed Taji Farouky | Language: Dari
SHORT FILM COMPETITION
Ablution | USA, Iran, Canada | Director: Parisa Barani | Writer: Amin El Gamal | Language: English
Bed Bugs and Company (2015) | U.S.A. | Director: Serena Dykman | Writer: Serena Dykman | Language: English
Bad Advice | U.S.A. | Director: Kegham Berajekelian | Writer: Aaron Fitzgerald, Scott Javore, Adam Lesar | Language: English
Caregivers (2014) | Armenia | Director: Viktorya Aleksanyan | Writer: Beniamin Gevorgyan | Language: Armenian
Family Dance | Director: Naré Mkrtchyan | Writer: Chris Commons | Language: Armenian
Gear | U.S.A. | Director: Kevin Adams and Joe Ksander | Writer: Kevin Adams and Joe Ksander | Language: English
Get Up (2012) | Australia | Director: Dan Balcaban | Writer: Dan Balcaban | Language: English
Greenland (2014) | Israel | Director: Oren Gerner | Writer: Oren Gerner | Language: Hebrew
Hazel & Louis: Animal Agents (2014) | U.S.A. | Director: Sy Ozcan, Marissa Madsen | Writer: Sy Ozcan, Marissa Madsen | Language: English
Hursit (2015) | Turkey | Director: Selcen Yilmazoglu | Writer: Selcen Yilmazoglu | Language: Turkish
In The Clouds (En Las Nubes) (2014) | Argentina | Director: Marcelo Mitnik | Writer: Marcelo Mitnik | Language: Spanish
The Jungle (2015) | Turkey | Director: Onur Saylak, Dogu Akal | Writer: Onur Saylak, Dogu Akal | Language: Arabic
L’Homme de I’lle Sandwich (2015) | France | Director: Levon Minasian | Writer: Levon Minasian, Ester Mann | Language: French
The Loss (2015) | Israel | Director: Dekel Nitzan | Writer: Dekel Nitzan | Language: Hebrew
The Loyalist (2015) | South Korea, USA | Director: Minji Kang | Writer: Willem Lee | Language: Korean
Night of the Slasher (2015) | U.S.A | Director: Shant Hamassian | Writer: Shant Hamassian | Language: English
Sabre Dance (2015) / U.S.A | Director: Ilya Rozhkov | Writer: Ilya Rozhkov | Language: English
Seagulls (2014) / United Kingdom | Director: Martin Smith | Writer: Martin Smith | Language: English
Shattered (2015) | Canada | Director: David Hovan | Writer: David Hovan | Language: English
The Story of Snow (2015) | South Korea | Director: Younsik Kim | Writer: Younsik Kim | Language: Korean
Straw Dolls (2015) | U.S.A. | Director: Jon Milano | Writer: Jon Milano | Language: Armenian
Tamara, Echelon (2014) | Romania | Director: Kristina Cepraga Goodwin | Writer: Kristina Cepraga Goodwin | Language: Romanian
Test (2015) | U.S.A. | Director: Jay Lifton | Writer: Jay Lifton, Catherine Ho | Language: English
Up The Valley and Beyond (2013) / U.S.A. | Director: Todd Rosken | Writer: Todd Rosken, Bobby D. Lux | Language: English
Welcome (2014) | Ecuador | Director: Javier Fesser | Writer: Javier Fesser | Language: Spanish
Welcome (2015) | U.S.A. | Director: Serena Dykman | Writer: Serena Dykman | Language: English
While They Were Flying to the Moon (2015) | Serbia | Director: Borisa Simovic | Writer: Borisa Simovic | Language: Serbian