IGNITION
The second annual Jalopnik Film Festival opens Wednesday, November 5th with a party at the Classic Car Club Manhattan. On November 6th, there will be a party in Williamsburg, Brooklyn at Nitehawk Cinema that will include premieres, cars, music, eating, and drinking. Films screened will include IGNITION, presented with Volvo Cars, in addition to the Official Selection and jury selections.
Nature documentaries don’t often warrant reviewing since their purpose is primarily to educate, not entertain. But many nature documentaries like Pelican Dreams often combine traditional nature photography with purposeful narratives that inject personality into the art form.
Big Hero 6
Twenty features have been submitted for consideration in the Animated Feature Film category for the 87th Academy Awards®.
The submitted features, listed in alphabetical order, are:
Like Sunday Like Rain
The Williamsburg Independent Film Festival celebrates its 5th year opening on Thursday, November 20 and running through Sunday, November 23, 2014. Launched in 2010, the festival has showcased independent films from around the world, many with a focus on Williamsburg and Brooklyn.
Multi-talented actress and model, Andie MacDowell, will be presented the inaugural Spirit & Pride of South Carolina Award at the 9th Annual Beaufort International Film Festival being held February 11 – 15, 2015. The award will be presented during the festival awards ceremony on Saturday, February 14 by internationally recognized best-selling author and Beaufort, South Carolina resident, Pat Conroy.
POINT AND SHOOT
The International Documentary Association (IDA) announced nominations for the 2014 IDA Documentary Awards set to take place on Friday, December 5th at the Paramount Theatre at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles. The five films nominated in IDA’s Feature category are: CITIZENFOUR, Laura Poitras’ portrait of whistleblowers, including Edward Snowden, and the disturbing state of surveillance of civilians in the post 9/11 age; FINDING VIVIAN MAIER, John Maloof and Charlie Siskel’s accounting of the discovery in an abandoned storage locker of what would turn out to be the work of one of the 20th Century’s greatest photographers; POINT AND SHOOT from Marshall Curry, the firsthand account of Matt Van Dyke’s personal odyssey in North Africa including fighting and imprisonment during the revolution in Libya; THE SALT OF THE EARTH, directors Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado’s poetic examination of the life and work of photographer Sebastião Salgado; and TALES OF THE GRIM SLEEPER, Nick Broomfield’s investigation of the notorious serial killer who terrorized South Central Los Angeles over a twenty-five year span.
The Bahamas International Film Festival, set for December 4th through 14th, has unveiled its 2014 promotional poster designed by artist Ryan “Duser” Stubbs.
Heaven Knows What
Heaven Knows What, a drama that focuses on the bleak prospects of young junkies struggling to survive in New York, is the winner of the Tokyo Grand Prix at the 2014 Tokyo International Film Festival. The film’s directors Joshua Safdie and Benny Safdie also won the Award for Best Director. This raw depiction of young junkies struggling to stay alive was adapted for the screen by the Safdie Brothers (Benny and Joshua) based on a real-life account by the film’s female lead, Arielle Holmes. The audience picked Pale Moon directed by Daihachi Yoshida, about a normal housewife who unexpectedly becomes involved in a large embezzlement, for the Audience Award.
Six producers from across Canada have been selected to participate in the Whistler Film Festival’s annual Feature Project Lab, held from December 2 to 5, 2014 during the Whistler Film Festival + Summit. Designed to advance Canadian creative talent, the WFF Feature Project Lab focuses on strengthening dramatic feature projects from script to screen by facilitating feedback as well as collaboration on and investment in film projects that have US and international appeal.
Testament of Youth
Testament of Youth opens the 28th Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF28) on Wednesday 5th November, with very special guests James Kent (director) and Rosie Alison (producer) in attendance. Backed by Screen Yorkshire and filmed primarily in the region, Testament of Youth is the first big screen adaptation of Vera Brittain’s iconic and powerful WW1 memoir. Irrepressible and free-minded, Vera Brittain overcomes the prejudices of her family and hometown to win a scholarship to Oxford. With everything to live for, she falls in love with her brother’s close friend Roland Leighton as they go to university to pursue their literary dreams. But war is looming and everything will change. From award-winning television director James Kent, Testament of Youth stars Alicia Vikander, Kit Harington, Dominic West and Emily Watson.
The OFFICIAL trailer is released for A MOST VIOLENT YEAR, starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain, and set to World Premiere at AFI Film Festival this Thursday. A MOST VIOLENT YEAR is a searing crime drama set in New York City during the winter of 1981, statistically the most dangerous year in the city’s history. From acclaimed writer/director J.C. Chandor, and starring Oscar Isaac (INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS) and Jessica Chastain (ZERO DARK THIRTY), this gripping story plays out within a maze of rampant political and industry corruption plaguing the streets of a city in decay.
71
The nominations for the 17th annual Moët British Independent Film Awards were announced today and the highest number of nominations goes to ‘71 with nine nominations including Best British Independent Film; Best Director and Debut Director for Yann Demange; Best Screenplay for Gregory Burke; Best Actor for Jack O’Connell and Best Supporting Actor for Sean Harris. PRIDE picked up seven nominations and CATCH ME DADDY, FRANK and MR TURNER picked up five nominations each.