The 7th Milwaukee Film Festival, announced its lineup for Art + Artists. Now in its second year, the Art + Artists program features a selection of films that explore and celebrate creativity in the performing and visual arts.
“Milwaukee art lovers are going to have a lot to choose from at the festival this year—from visual art, opera and experimental film to cartoons and stand-up comedy,” explains Kristopher Pollard, Milwaukee Film Membership Manager and Art + Artists Programmer.
Art + Artists will feature the U.S. Premiere of the Argentinian film Nicola Costantino: The Artefacta (pictured above). One of the most controversial artists in Latin America, Costantino’s photography, sculpture and performance art utilize unconventional materials to evince social commentary. Film Subject Nicola Costantino and Director Natalie Cristiani are scheduled to appear at the Milwaukee Film Festival for the U.S. Premiere screening of the film.
“Costantino is a vital presence in the South American art world, and this film will introduce a U.S. audience to her life as well as her provocative and sometimes controversial work,” says Pollard.
An additional highlight of the program is Bobcat Goldthwait’s new film, Call Me Lucky, a documentary about comedy icon Barry Crimmons. A longtime friend of the legendary comic, Goldthwait interviews some of Crimmons’ biggest fans including Marc Maron, Patton Oswalt and David Cross.
“Crimmons is a loud, pissed-off and important voice, not only for the world of stand-up, but for the country in general,” explains Pollard.
New this year to the program is a single artist showcase of work from media artist Jesse McLean, who is scheduled to appear at the festival. The program, Mediated Realities: Videos by Jesse McLean, will feature her latest film, I’m in Pittsburgh and It’s Raining, which recently won first prize at the Onion City Experimental Film & Video Festival.
2015 MILWAUKEE FILM FESTIVAL
ART + ARTISTS
Go into the studio, around the work, and deep into the visionary mind with these films featuring iconic artists, artistic mediums, and everyday creative explorations.
Almost There
(USA / 2014 / Directors: Dan Rybicky, Aaron Wickenden)
A thought-provoking documentary about outsider art perfect for fans of MFF14’s Art and Craft, Almost There is the eight-year Midwestern odyssey of two filmmakers and the 83-year-old artist they’ve discovered. Peter Anton is as outside as an artist could possibly get — living in a home literally crumbling around him and surrounded by personal diaries of collage art. It takes the efforts of filmmakers Dan Rybicky and Aaron Wickenden to secure him his first gallery show. But controversy follows when information about Anton’s complex history comes to light, secrets that whisk him out of his childhood home and into elder care.
https://vimeo.com/109723683
Call Me Lucky
(USA / 2015 / Director: Bobcat Goldthwait)
A loving documentary tribute to an acerbic comedic voice ahead of its time, Call Me Lucky is an insightful portrait of comedian-turned-humanitarian Barry Crimmins. Known for politically incisive satire (his two main targets: the U.S. government and the Catholic church) and the formation of the Boston comedy scene where he helped break numerous comedic talents, Crimmins’ tortured past led him out of the world of comedy and directly to Capitol Hill. Directed by close friend Bobcat Goldthwait and filled with comedians he influenced (Marc Maron, Patton Oswalt, David Cross), this is a personality profile of a comedic legend who channeled his pain into humor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FChmOC-Qjw
Iris
(USA / 2014 / Director: Albert Maysles)
One of the last works from the legendary documentarian Albert Maysles (Grey Gardens, Gimme Shelter) allows an intimate glimpse into the private life of the vibrant, energetic nonagenarian fashion icon Iris Apfel, now 93 years young and still going strong. A character study of a genuine character, the film follows Iris from gala art events to the flea markets where she makes her finds, all the while finding rich insights into her philosophy on life and fashion — a philosophy that values individuality and creativity above all else. After all, as Iris says, “It’s better to be happy than well dressed.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIG2AoiHszY
Magicarena
(Italy / 2014 / Directors: Niccolò Bruna, Andrea Prandstraller)
A performance being held in the remarkable Verona Arena (an awe-inspiringly gorgeous first-century Roman amphitheater) must be equal to its setting, and Spanish theater group La Fura dels Baus’ production of Verdi’s Aida on the bicentennial of Verdi’s birth certainly fits the bill. Mimes, musicians, accomplished opera singers and a flotilla of set, costume and prop designers set forth to bring this sweeping vision to life, and we’re with them every step of the way. From initial auditions to opening night, this fascinating documentary shows the blood, sweat and tears involved in such a massive undertaking, with set disasters threatening to unravel the epic production at every turn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3YenwP_c_Y
Mediated Realities: Videos by Jesse McLean
(USA / 2008-2015 / Director: Jesse McLean)
This special presentation of works by leading avant-garde filmmaker Jesse McLean showcases her deep curiosity about human behavior and relationships, especially as presented and observed through mediated images. Through deft use of collage, each of McLean’s videos subtly questions viewers’ associations with the information we consume daily, while reimagining a world in which everyday media tropes are reclaimed and transformed.
Clip from I’m in Pittsburgh and It’s Raining
https://vimeo.com/130942011
Nicola Costantino: The Artefacta
(Argentina / 2015 / Director: Natalie Cristiani)
One of Latin America’s most celebrated and controversial visual artists is the subject of this fascinating cinematic tribute: Nicola Costantino: The Artefacta. Following this provocateur as she prepares her work for the 55th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, we’re given a behind-the-scenes look at the process behind her macabre works of genius — be it turning her own liposuctioned fat into bars of soap or her series of fetal animals compressed into perfect spheres. Join us for the U.S. premiere of this documentary on an artist whose work reckons with Argentina’s violent history and provokes responses both thoughtful and visceral.
https://vimeo.com/121268676
Station to Station
(USA / 2015 / Director: Doug Aitken)
A runaway train barreling through concepts of modern creativity, Doug Aitken’s Station to Station is a cross-country journey divided into 62 individual one-minute films, featuring an ever-mutating landscape of artists, places, and perspectives that all converge in this wild panoply of artistic expression. Be it Beck performing alongside a gospel choir in the Mojave Desert or other performers such as Cat Power, Thurston Moore, Patti Smith, or Kenneth Anger, this documentary is a must-see for fans of music and art alike, an amazing cross-section of people and places.
https://vimeo.com/79329869
Very Semi-Serious
(USA / 2015 / Director: Leah Wolchok)
The New Yorker has been a cultural institution for over 90 years, combining journalism, cultural criticism and literary fiction in a dazzling blend that has captivated readers. But perhaps most famous of all are its cartoons, single-panel salvos fired at the myriad absurdities of modern life from icons such as James Thurber, Charles Addams and Roz Chast. With editor Bob Mankoff (himself the spitting image of a loosely drawn single-panel character) as our tour guide, the hilarious documentary Very Semi-Serious takes us through the hallways of this venerable institution and introduces us to the quirky creatives behind the cartoons.
https://vimeo.com/67244072-
7th Milwaukee Film Festival Lineup for Art + Artists Program; Incl. U.S. Premiere of Nicola Costantino: The Artefacta | TRAILER
The 7th Milwaukee Film Festival, announced its lineup for Art + Artists. Now in its second year, the Art + Artists program features a selection of films that explore and celebrate creativity in the performing and visual arts.
“Milwaukee art lovers are going to have a lot to choose from at the festival this year—from visual art, opera and experimental film to cartoons and stand-up comedy,” explains Kristopher Pollard, Milwaukee Film Membership Manager and Art + Artists Programmer.
Art + Artists will feature the U.S. Premiere of the Argentinian film Nicola Costantino: The Artefacta (pictured above). One of the most controversial artists in Latin America, Costantino’s photography, sculpture and performance art utilize unconventional materials to evince social commentary. Film Subject Nicola Costantino and Director Natalie Cristiani are scheduled to appear at the Milwaukee Film Festival for the U.S. Premiere screening of the film.
“Costantino is a vital presence in the South American art world, and this film will introduce a U.S. audience to her life as well as her provocative and sometimes controversial work,” says Pollard.
An additional highlight of the program is Bobcat Goldthwait’s new film, Call Me Lucky, a documentary about comedy icon Barry Crimmons. A longtime friend of the legendary comic, Goldthwait interviews some of Crimmons’ biggest fans including Marc Maron, Patton Oswalt and David Cross.
“Crimmons is a loud, pissed-off and important voice, not only for the world of stand-up, but for the country in general,” explains Pollard.
New this year to the program is a single artist showcase of work from media artist Jesse McLean, who is scheduled to appear at the festival. The program, Mediated Realities: Videos by Jesse McLean, will feature her latest film, I’m in Pittsburgh and It’s Raining, which recently won first prize at the Onion City Experimental Film & Video Festival.
2015 MILWAUKEE FILM FESTIVAL
ART + ARTISTS
Go into the studio, around the work, and deep into the visionary mind with these films featuring iconic artists, artistic mediums, and everyday creative explorations.
Almost There
(USA / 2014 / Directors: Dan Rybicky, Aaron Wickenden)
A thought-provoking documentary about outsider art perfect for fans of MFF14’s Art and Craft, Almost There is the eight-year Midwestern odyssey of two filmmakers and the 83-year-old artist they’ve discovered. Peter Anton is as outside as an artist could possibly get — living in a home literally crumbling around him and surrounded by personal diaries of collage art. It takes the efforts of filmmakers Dan Rybicky and Aaron Wickenden to secure him his first gallery show. But controversy follows when information about Anton’s complex history comes to light, secrets that whisk him out of his childhood home and into elder care.
https://vimeo.com/109723683
Call Me Lucky
(USA / 2015 / Director: Bobcat Goldthwait)
A loving documentary tribute to an acerbic comedic voice ahead of its time, Call Me Lucky is an insightful portrait of comedian-turned-humanitarian Barry Crimmins. Known for politically incisive satire (his two main targets: the U.S. government and the Catholic church) and the formation of the Boston comedy scene where he helped break numerous comedic talents, Crimmins’ tortured past led him out of the world of comedy and directly to Capitol Hill. Directed by close friend Bobcat Goldthwait and filled with comedians he influenced (Marc Maron, Patton Oswalt, David Cross), this is a personality profile of a comedic legend who channeled his pain into humor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FChmOC-Qjw
Iris
(USA / 2014 / Director: Albert Maysles)
One of the last works from the legendary documentarian Albert Maysles (Grey Gardens, Gimme Shelter) allows an intimate glimpse into the private life of the vibrant, energetic nonagenarian fashion icon Iris Apfel, now 93 years young and still going strong. A character study of a genuine character, the film follows Iris from gala art events to the flea markets where she makes her finds, all the while finding rich insights into her philosophy on life and fashion — a philosophy that values individuality and creativity above all else. After all, as Iris says, “It’s better to be happy than well dressed.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIG2AoiHszY
Magicarena
(Italy / 2014 / Directors: Niccolò Bruna, Andrea Prandstraller)
A performance being held in the remarkable Verona Arena (an awe-inspiringly gorgeous first-century Roman amphitheater) must be equal to its setting, and Spanish theater group La Fura dels Baus’ production of Verdi’s Aida on the bicentennial of Verdi’s birth certainly fits the bill. Mimes, musicians, accomplished opera singers and a flotilla of set, costume and prop designers set forth to bring this sweeping vision to life, and we’re with them every step of the way. From initial auditions to opening night, this fascinating documentary shows the blood, sweat and tears involved in such a massive undertaking, with set disasters threatening to unravel the epic production at every turn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3YenwP_c_Y
Mediated Realities: Videos by Jesse McLean
(USA / 2008-2015 / Director: Jesse McLean)
This special presentation of works by leading avant-garde filmmaker Jesse McLean showcases her deep curiosity about human behavior and relationships, especially as presented and observed through mediated images. Through deft use of collage, each of McLean’s videos subtly questions viewers’ associations with the information we consume daily, while reimagining a world in which everyday media tropes are reclaimed and transformed.
Clip from I’m in Pittsburgh and It’s Raining
https://vimeo.com/130942011
Nicola Costantino: The Artefacta
(Argentina / 2015 / Director: Natalie Cristiani)
One of Latin America’s most celebrated and controversial visual artists is the subject of this fascinating cinematic tribute: Nicola Costantino: The Artefacta. Following this provocateur as she prepares her work for the 55th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, we’re given a behind-the-scenes look at the process behind her macabre works of genius — be it turning her own liposuctioned fat into bars of soap or her series of fetal animals compressed into perfect spheres. Join us for the U.S. premiere of this documentary on an artist whose work reckons with Argentina’s violent history and provokes responses both thoughtful and visceral.
https://vimeo.com/121268676
Station to Station
(USA / 2015 / Director: Doug Aitken)
A runaway train barreling through concepts of modern creativity, Doug Aitken’s Station to Station is a cross-country journey divided into 62 individual one-minute films, featuring an ever-mutating landscape of artists, places, and perspectives that all converge in this wild panoply of artistic expression. Be it Beck performing alongside a gospel choir in the Mojave Desert or other performers such as Cat Power, Thurston Moore, Patti Smith, or Kenneth Anger, this documentary is a must-see for fans of music and art alike, an amazing cross-section of people and places.
https://vimeo.com/79329869
Very Semi-Serious
(USA / 2015 / Director: Leah Wolchok)
The New Yorker has been a cultural institution for over 90 years, combining journalism, cultural criticism and literary fiction in a dazzling blend that has captivated readers. But perhaps most famous of all are its cartoons, single-panel salvos fired at the myriad absurdities of modern life from icons such as James Thurber, Charles Addams and Roz Chast. With editor Bob Mankoff (himself the spitting image of a loosely drawn single-panel character) as our tour guide, the hilarious documentary Very Semi-Serious takes us through the hallways of this venerable institution and introduces us to the quirky creatives behind the cartoons.
https://vimeo.com/67244072
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Toronto International Film Festival to Hold Live Script Read of Rob Reiner’s Classic “The Princess Bride”
The Princess Bride script is the subject of the Jason Reitman Live Read at the upcoming 40th Toronto International Film Festival. Jason Reitman Live Read is a unique event in which classic movie scripts are read by contemporary actors. The script of Rob Reiner’s “beloved classic” will be presented to audiences in a one-take read-through with Reitman narrating stage direction.
“The Princess Bride premiered at the Festival in 1987 and has captured audiences’ imaginations ever since,” said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of the Toronto International Film Festival. “To have this title return on the occasion of our 40th Festival, and be re-explored by a contemporary cast, is pure magic.”
Who will avenge Inigo Montoya’s father? Who will fill the inimitable Fezzik’s enormous shoes? Who will breathe new life into the part of Miracle Max? The cast for the Live Read will be announced by Jason Reitman on Twitter (@JasonReitman) in the days leading up to the event.
The Festival previously welcomed Reitman and all-star casts for live table reads of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights and Alan Ball’s American Beauty.
Jason Reitman created Live Read in October 2011, in collaboration with Elvis Mitchell, for the film society of Los Angeles County Museum of Arts (LACMA). The six-month hit series featured Breakfast Club (Jennifer Garner and Aaron Paul), The Apartment (Steve Carell and Natalie Portman), The Princess Bride (Paul Rudd), Shampoo (Bradley Cooper and Kate Hudson), The Big Lebowski (Seth Rogen), and Reservoir Dogs, which featured an all-African American cast including actors Laurence Fishburne and Terrence Howard.
The 40th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 10 to 20, 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYgcrny2hRs
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24 Feature Films Selected for 26th New Orleans Film Festival Competition Lineup
The 26th New Orleans Film Festival (NOFF), taking place October 14 to 22, 2015, revealed the 24 feature films selected for competition: eight films in the Narrative Films in Competition category, seven films in the Documentary Films in Competition category and nine films in the Louisiana Features category.
NARRATIVE FEATURES (IN COMPETITION)
“Cover Me” (dir. Garrett Bradley | USA | 2015 | 60 min. | Louisiana Premiere) A young musician grapples with isolation in a changing landscape as it permeates her romantic relationships and artistic career. This film is the result of a remarkable artistic collaboration between director Bradley and avant-garde artist Tameka Norris, who plays the leading role in the picture. (Also in competition as a Louisiana Feature.)
“Cowards Do It Slow” (dir. Sean Loftus & Michael Padraic Scahill | USA | 2015 | 99 min. | World Premiere) A love letter to American films of the 1970s and late-night bar culture, “Cowards Do It Slow” looks into the funny, dark heart of an aspiring country singer, a Kentucky boy trying to take his career to the next level as he drunkenly stumbles through the Chicago nightlife and holds on to the spoils that come with it.
“Driving While Black” (dir. Paul Sapiano | USA | 2015 | 94 min. | Louisiana Premiere) A dark comedy about racial profiling, “Driving While Black” follows Dimitri (played by Dominique Purdy, who also co-wrote the script), who delivers pizzas for a living in Los Angeles. But as a young black man, he is faced with more than his fair share of unnecessary attention from the cops.
“Embers” (dir. Claire Carré | USA, Poland | 2015 | 86 min. | Southern Premiere) After a global neurological epidemic, those who remain search for meaning and connection in a world without memory. Five interwoven stories explore how we might learn, love and communicate in a future that has no past.
“French Dirty” (dir. Wade Allain-Marcus & Jesse Allain-Marcus | USA | 2015 | 72 min. | Southern Premiere)
Against the skyline of Los Angeles, Vincent ruminates on his parents’ failed marriage, his own arrested development and the choice he must make to become a better man.
“It Had To Be You” (dir. Sasha Gordon | USA, Italy | 2015 | 83 min. | Louisiana premiere) Surprised by a sudden proposal and subsequent ultimatum from her boyfriend, Sonia has three days to decide which path her life will take. A whimsical romantic comedy that’s raunchy and yet gentle, “It Had To Be You” explores the choices women face today, while satirizing cultural expectations of gender and romance.
“Jackie Boy” (dir. Cody Campanale | Canada | 2015 | 87 min. | World Premiere) This gritty character drama centers on Jack, a self-destructive womanizer who substitutes his emotional insecurities with drinks, drugs and one-night stands. It’s only when he meets fiery, spirited Jasmine that he decides to change his ways. Little does he know she has something different in mind.
“Jason and Shirley” (dir. Stephen Winter | USA | 2015 | 79 min. | Louisiana Premiere) (pictured in main image above) “Jason and Shirley” imagines what went on behind the scenes during the filming of the landmark 1967 documentary “Portrait of Jason,” as Jason Holliday regales filmmaker Shirley Clarke with stories of racism, homophobia, abuse and prostitution in pre-Stonewall New York City.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES (IN COMPETITION)
“Deal With It” (dir. Shamira Raphaëla | The Netherlands | 2014 | 58 min. | Southern Premiere) In this intimate family portrait, we enter the chaotic and colorful world of director Shamira Raphaëla’s loved ones: her drug-addicted father, Pempy, and her brother, Andy, who is following in his father’s footsteps. “Deal With It” is a raw and personal film about destructive family patterns and unconditional love.
“Hotel Nueva Isla” (dir. Irene Gutierrez | Spain, Cuba | 2014 | 71 min. | Louisiana Premiere) Despite the building’s imminent collapse, the last inhabitant of a once luxurious hotel in Old Havana refuses to leave: he remains convinced that treasures—hidden by the hotel’s original owners—lie waiting within its walls. The film is a meditation on a country that exists in a state of permanent resistance.
“Missing People” (dir. David Shapiro | USA | 2015 | 81 min. | Louisiana Premiere) This tense, nonfiction mystery unfurls around Martina Batan, the director of a prominent New York City gallery who investigates her brother’s long unsolved murder, while obsessively collecting and researching the violent work and life of Roy Ferdinand, a self-taught artist from New Orleans.
“Portrait of a Lone Farmer” (dir. Jide Tom Akinleminu | Germany, Nigeria, Denmark | 2013 | 76 min. | Louisiana Premiere) When filmmaker Jide Tom Akinleminu returns to his father’s chicken farm in Nigeria, his initial intention is to create a film about his parents’ marriage. But life, as is often the case, has other plans.
“Scrum” (dir. Poppy Stockell | Australia | 2015 | 54 min. | Southern Premiere) In the lead up to the 2014 Bingham Cup, the lives of a self-assured Canadian jock, a chubby Irish backpacker and a stoic Japanese outsider change when they vie for a position on the Sydney Convicts, the world’s premiere, gay rugby team.
“The Seventh Fire” (dir. Jack Pettibone Riccobono | USA | 2015 | 78 min. | Louisiana Premiere)
Terrence Malick presents this haunting and visually arresting nonfiction film about the gang crisis on Indian reservations, through the stories of a Native American gang leader recently sentenced to prison for a fifth time, and his 17-year-old protege.
“Touch the Light (Tocando La Luz)” (dir. Jennifer Redfearn | Cuba, USA | 2015 | 72 min. | Southern Premiere) In this intimate, character-driven film from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Jennifer Redfearn, three blind women from Havana, confront their heartbreaks and hopes, and navigate their profound desire for independence.
LOUISIANA FEATURES (IN COMPETITION)
“Consequence” (dir. Jonathan Nguyen & Ashley George | USA | 2015 | 81 min. | World Premiere) The lives of three college coeds are shaken after a weekend camping trip results in the accidental death of a fellow student. Instead of reporting the accident, they decide to conceal the student’s death, a decision that seems logical at first, but slowly begins to eat away at their friendship—and their sanity.
“Delta Justice: The Islenos Trappers War” (dir. David DuBos | USA | 2015 | 48 min. | World Premiere) “Delta Justice” gives a true account of St. Bernard Parish’s violent fight over land rights in the mid-1920s. The film sheds new light on an important, yet little-known part of Louisiana’s history.
“Dog Man” (dir. Richie Adams | USA | 2015 | 57 min. | World Premiere) “Dog Man” recounts the life story of world-renowned trainer Dick Russell, who worked with an estimated 30,000 dogs through his basic obedience class in South Louisiana and introduced the pivotal training technique of Large Field Socialization to North America.
“Forgive and Forget” (dir. Aaron Abdin | USA | 2015 | 101 min. | World Premiere) Brian believes that he has a loving wife, brothers and grandmother but, after a tragic accident claims the life of one of his brothers, the entire family collapses into a mass of secrets, lies and emotional turmoil. Brian is led down a road of discovery, which forces him to choose between holding onto the past or striding towards the future.
“The King of New Orleans” (dir. Allen Frederic | USA | 2015 | 83 min. | Louisiana Premiere) In pre-Katrina New Orleans, Larry Shirt is an aging taxi driver whose fares include the city’s hustlers, tourists, socialites, musicians, housekeepers, weirdos and reporters, as well as an aimless student, with whom he shares a special bond.
“Love Me True” (dir. Kirby Voss | USA | 2015 | 85 min. | World Premiere) A debilitating fetish for blond-haired women constantly thwarts any chance that Eric has for happiness, until a hairless man named Stanley enters his apartment and claims to be the reincarnation of Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky.
“The Mourning Hills” (dir. R. Todd Campbell | USA | 2014 | 81 min. | New Orleans Premiere) Mattie and Kate are sisters. They’re also orphans. Their mother died in a tragic accident, while their father took his own life in the beautiful and terrifying wilderness known as “The Mourning Hills.” When Mattie convinces Kate to run away with her, they decide to head for the very place where their father made them orphans.
“The Phantasmagorical Clarence John Laughlin” (dir. Gene Fredericks | USA | 2015 | 88 min. | North American Premiere) This documentary explores the enigmatic life of New Orleans native Clarence John Laughlin, considered the father of American Surrealist photography and often described as “Edgar Allan Poe with a camera.” The film includes the only known video footage of this unique individual, taken in 1977.
“Yazoo Revisited: Integration and Segregation in a Deep Southern Town” (dir. David Rae Morris | USA | 2015 | 84 min. | Louisiana Premiere)
This film examines the history of race relations and the 1970 integration of the public schools in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Featuring interviews with local citizens of many ages and backgrounds, “Yazoo Revisited” paints a fascinating picture of the triumphs and failures of the Civil Rights Era.
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CMT to Premiere Original Documentary JOHNNY CASH: AMERICAN REBEL on September 12
CMT will air the original documentary, Johnny Cash: American Rebel that celebrates the life and artistry of the late Man in Black as captured through the unique perspective of his greatest songs. The film combines original interviews with his family and friends featuring John Carter Cash,Rosanne Cash, Carlene Carter, Eric Church, Sheryl Crow, Rodney Crowell, Clive Davis, Merle Haggard,Kris Kristofferson, John Mellencamp, Kid Rock, Rick Rubin,Willie Nelson and more. For the first time, Cash’s children, John Carter Cash and Rosanne Cash, along with June Carter’s daughter Carlene Carter, will appear together in a film about Johnny Cash. “Johnny Cash: American Rebel” premieres on the 12th anniversary of his passing on Saturday, September 12 at 9 pm ET/PT.
Johnny Cash: American Rebel is built around 12 essential Johnny Cash tracks spanning four decades that each deliver the passion, musicality and messages against war, injustice, racism and prejudice, including “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Jackson,” “San Quentin,” “Man In Black,” “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” “Ring of Fire,” “Hurt” and more. Each song illustrates a chapter in his life, as well the story of an ever-changing America from the 1950s to modern day, as told through interviews, archival concert footage, photographs and personal artifacts from the Cash family.
“Country music to me is not beer drinking, you done me wrong, darling, I’m going to bust your head kinda songs. It does have a social conscience. My songs do. It’s the music of the people, so it’s got to point out from time to time some of the problems of the people.”
– Johnny Cash
“The way he related to an audience and who he was on stage, was his best self. He had an intimate relationship with his audience and he worked out a lot of his problems under the spotlight.” – Rosanne Cash
“There were so many different facets to him, such an undefinable depth to his character. You could see it in his eyes and it brought on mystery, and it brought on a need for, perhaps, understanding him in a deeper way and this is part of the appeal of who the man was.” – John Carter Cash
“All he had to say, ‘Hello I’m Johnny Cash’ and you knew there was no one else in the world. You don’t have any question if you heard him on radio, if you heard him on television. You don’t say ‘Who is that?’ It’s not that kind of artist that can be duplicated, fungible. You knew it was Johnny Cash.” – Clive Davis
“I’ve always felt like Johnny Cash was such a great influencer on my life. He is the one who changed my life. If I hadn’t shook hands with him backstage at the Opry, back when I was still in the army, I’d have never got out of the army.” – Kris Kristofferson
“He was a poet, he was an activist, he was an American, he was a Patriot, he was a military man, he was an outlaw. He was a voice I think for the collective.” – Sheryl Crow
To see a sneak peek of “Johnny Cash: American Rebel,” click on the trailer here.
Derik Murray and Paul Gertz from Network Entertainment executive produce. Jordan Tappis directs and Derik Murray co-directs. Jayson Dinsmore, Lewis Bogach and John Miller-Monzon executive produce for CMT.
Johnny Cash: American Rebel marks the latest in a series of original documentaries from CMT. The first, “Urban Cowboy: The Rise and Fall of Gilley’s” premiered to critical acclaim has been seen by more than 9 million viewers. Over 5 million viewers tuned in for “Morgan Spurlock’s Freedom: The Movie, which premiered last month.
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Colombian Film EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT Looking at 2016 Release Date in US | TRAILER
EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT (El abrazo de la serpiente) by Colombian director Ciro Guerra, and winner of the Art Cinema award in Directors’ Fortnight section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival will be released in the US via Oscilloscope Laboratories. The film is scheduled for an early 2016 theatrical release.
Filmed in black and white, and starring Jan Bijvoet, Brionne Davis, Nilbio Torres Antonio Bolivar, Yauenkü Migue, EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT tells the epic story of the first contact, encounter, approach, betrayal and, eventually, life-trascending friendship, between Karamakate, an amazonian shaman, last survivor of his people, and two scientists that, over the course of 40 years, travel through the Amazon in search of a sacred plant that can heal them. Inspired by the journals of the first explorers of the Colombian Amazon, Theodor Koch-Grunberg and Richard Evans Schultes.
Ciro Guerra (b. 1981, Río de Oro, Colombia) studied film and television at the National University of Colombia. He made several award-winning shorts and, aged 21, debuted with the feature film The Wandering Shadows (La sombra del caminante, 2004), which won an award at the San Sebastián IFF. He followed this up with The Wind Journeys (Los viajes del viento), which was premiered at Cannes in 2009 in the Directors’ Fortnight section. Both films were subsequently screened at numerous IFFs (including Cannes, Toronto, Rotterdam, Tribeca and Locarno), winning 40 international awards; they were also chosen as Colombia’s Academy Award submissions and have been distributed in twenty countries. The Wind Journeys was selected by critics as one of the top ten most important works in Colombian film history. Embrace of the Serpent is the director’s third film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ff7TcnqHUc
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Horror Film THE HALLOW from Sundance Sets November 6th Release Date | TRAILER
Horror film, THE HALLOW directed by Corin Hardy, and an Official Selection of the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, will be released in theaters on November 6th via IFC Midnight. THE HALLOW stars Joseph Mawle, Bojana Novakovic, Michael McElhatton, and Michael Smiley.
Deep within the darkness of secluded forest land in rural Ireland dwells an ancient evil. Feared by the nearby superstitious villagers as cursed creatures who prey upon the lost, their secrets have been kept from civilization and remain on their hallowed ground. But when a conservationist from London moves in with his wife and infant child in order to survey the land for future construction, his actions unwittingly disturb the horde of demonic forces. Alone in a remote wilderness, he must now ensure his family’s survival from their relentless attacks. With his feature debut, acclaimed visual stylist Corin Hardy displays an innate talent for the macabre, approaching the medium with a cocksure confidence in his construction of the modern horror fable. Relying upon a precise and layered technical elegance, The Hallow seethes with an uncommonly sophisticated terror that uncoils effortlessly into an atmosphere of disquieting intensity and primal dread. Corin Hardy is an award-winning filmmaker, whose live action and animated work mixes the macabre, the beautiful and the epic to visually dazzling results. Corin studied Special Effects at Wimbledon School of Art before making his award-winning stop-motion short film Butterfly in 2003. This led into directing music videos, beginning with Keane’s ‘Somewhere Only We Know’ and ‘Bedshaped’ and continuing with films for a mix of mainstream acts including The Prodigy, Biffy Clyro, Olly Murs, Paolo Nutini and The Rizzle Kicks as well as underground indies The Horrors, Dry The River, The Horrible Crowes – and recently the 9 minute crime epic for Devlin and Ed Sheeran’s Watchtower, all produced with Academy Films. For the past 10 years Corin has been writing and developing four of his own horror-based feature film projects with production companies in UK & US these include: The Hallow with Occupant Films, Refuge with Big Talk Films, Frogz Legz with Brilliant Films and F E S T with Pari Passu. Corin is also attached to direct Element Pictures teen thriller Where There’s Darkness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL5WfklIB-o
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7th Milwaukee Film Festival Announces Return of Film Feast Program with 8 Food Films
The 7th Milwaukee Film Festival, announced Film Feast for a second year. This program presents a diverse lineup comprised of films that explore and celebrate the culture of food and drink.
A series of seven documentaries span the continents: from an exploration of Danish bio-dynamic farming in Good Things Await to a WISCONSIN’S OWN program featuring local stories in Old Fashioned: The Story of the Wisconsin Supper Club and Tale of the Spotted Cow to the whirlwind tour that is Foodies, in which five established taste-makers travel the globe to critique the world’s most acclaimed restaurants.
“I’m extremely excited about the wide array of films we’re presenting in this year’s Film Feast program,” explains Megan Benedict, Executive & Programming Coordinator. “One highlight for me is King Georges, which tells the story of world-renowned chef Georges Perrier who struggles to hand over one of the country’s finest French restaurants, Le Bec-Fin, to Top Chef’s Nicholas Elmi. Hold on to your spatula!”
Following last year’s A Year in Burgundy, influential wine-importer-turned-filmmaker Martine Saunier returns to the festival with the documentary A Year in Champagne. Born from her travels and love for the French wine making region, Saunier takes viewers to France’s Champagne region in this beautifully shot exploration of all things sparkling. Yet, to watch and not drink would be a sin and so Milwaukee Film is hosting a Champagne Tasting event in conjunction with the Lowlands Group and Kyle Cherek, host of Wisconsin Foodie.
2015 MILWAUKEE FILM FESTIVAL
FILM FEAST
COAST-TO-COAST CUISINE
Off the Menu: Asian America
(USA / 2015 / Director: Grace Lee)
Festival alum Grace Lee (American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs, MFF 2013) provides a road trip through our nation of immigrants, examining the intersection of faith, family, tradition, and great food from Houston to Oahu to Milwaukee (Lee filmed portions of this while attending our festival previously!).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hopCbfaAi0
The Sturgeon Queens
(USA / 2014 / Director: Julie Cohen)
One hundred years, four generations, and an incalculable amount of smoked fish are chronicled in this history of New York’s famed Jewish lox and herring emporium Russ & Daughters, topped with testimonials from customers Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
https://vimeo.com/81294910
Foodies
(Sweden / 2014 / Directors: Thomas Jackson, Charlotte Landelius, Henrik Stockare)
You may claim to love food, but the five influential food bloggers at the heart of this documentary give new meaning to the term “foodie.” We follow these diverse tastemakers (among them a former European fashion model and a former U.S. oil company commander) on their globetrotting journey to the world’s most exclusive restaurants. With the Michelin Guide as their North Star, they encounter unique, mouthwatering concoctions that they can make or break with the click of a mouse. No dry aperitif, this is a full-on cinematic banquet, filled with wry humor and cutting observations — the year’s most delicious movie experience.
https://vimeo.com/92708700
Good Things Await (Så meget godt i vente)
(Denmark / 2014 / Director: Phie Ambo)
Married octogenarian couple Niels Stockholm and Rita Hansen are pioneers in the world of biodynamic farming, a holistic method that treats every aspect of the farmland (from the tiniest shrub to prized red cattle) as ecologically connected and worthy of the utmost respect — an ethos that has led to them supplying their home country of Denmark’s most prestigious restaurants. However, their farming style is threatened by a Danish government more concerned with persnickety EU regulations. An absorbing documentary combining poetic philosophizing with lush cinematography (think Babe meets Terrence Malick), this film shows the difficulties in maintaining a moral, ethical business in our modern age of farming.
https://vimeo.com/103508293
Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story
(Canada, United Kingdom, USA / 2014 / Director: Grant Baldwin)
Between foodie blogs, TV cooking competitions and myriad culinary magazines, it’s clear that we love food. So why are we throwing away 50% of it? Documentary filmmaking couple Jen and Grant are horrified by this food waste and quit grocery shopping cold turkey, pledging to live only off of food that is thrown away. A deep dive into our nation’s dumpsters, Just Eat It is a shocking exposé of our food industry — from farm to retail and all the way to the back of our fridge — and its systematic obsession with expiration dates and the aesthetics of perfect produce.
https://vimeo.com/88023628
King Georges
(USA / 2015 / Director: Erika Frankel) (pictured above in main image)
With Le Bec-Fin, one of the country’s finest French restaurants, set to be sold, documentary filmmaker Erika Frankel seeks out its iconic proprietor, Georges Perrier, to film a fitting tribute to this landmark Philadelphia eatery, only to get far more than she bargained for. Perrier withdraws the sale and seeks to reinvigorate Le Bec-Fin, bringing aboard Chef Nicholas Elmi (of “Top Chef” fame) as his successor, only to find letting go far more of a struggle than he anticipated. Archival footage and interviews with world-renowned chefs make this feast for the eyes a portrait that also touches the heart.
Love and Lemons (Små citroner gula)
(Sweden, Norway / 2013 / Director: Teresa Fabik)
Cheated on by her rock-star boyfriend and fired from her job all in one day, Agnes looks to pick up the pieces by putting everything she has (parents’ life savings included) into becoming part owner in a new restaurant. A disastrous start to this entrepreneurial exercise makes it all the more important for Agnes to put her knowledge that her neighbor David is actually the famed food critic Lola to the test, by taking him on a date to what is, unbeknownst to him, her restaurant. A winning romantic comedy that proves a recipe for disaster can turn out to be something quite sweet.
WISCONSIN’S OWN
Old Fashioned: The Story of the Wisconsin Supper Club
(USA / 2015 / Director: Holly L. De Ruyter)
A local dining tradition that has managed to persevere, the supper club is a unique experience that places the emphasis on family and hospitality, and this documentary celebrates the wonderful history and tradition behind this uniquely Wisconsin dining experience.
https://vimeo.com/21115804
Tale of the Spotted Cow
(USA / 2015 / Director: Bill Roach)
This is a touching and inspiring documentary about the founders of New Glarus Brewery, creators of Wisconsin’s signature craft beer. Their rags-to-riches tale is a vital story in the rich tapestry that is our state’s hop-filled history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-9kKyTODCY
A Year in Champagne
(USA, France / 2014 / Director: David Kennard)
If one is going to celebrate in style, one must do so with champagne, and champagne is only truly champagne when it comes from the region of France that is its namesake. Journey on a rare behind-the-scenes look into the production of the bubbly, from small independent winemakers who still observe classic traditions (turning the bottles by hand in their wine cellars) to the massive businesses that have made champagne into the worldwide brand it is. This is an effervescent portrait of this art form’s past, present and future, with an end product that is as much a fizzy delight as the sparkling wine it documents.
https://vimeo.com/74411492
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53rd New York Film Festival Convergence Completes Lineup, Incl. THE DOG HOUSE Virtual-Reality Dinner Party
The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced the complete details for the 53rd New York Film Festival Convergence, which will take place on September 26 and 27. The highly anticipated annual program delves into the world of immersive storytelling with a mix of unique films, panels, and live interactive experiences.
“This is our fourth year as part of the New York Film Festival and I couldn’t be more excited about the lineup for 2015. There’s a lot of attention focused on virtual reality right now so we are really pleased to feature the U.S. premiere of The Dog House, a 360-degree film that’s going to start a lot of conversations. The program isn’t restricted to virtual worlds either, with several incredible live experiences like Temping, an immersive theater piece designed for one audience member at a time,” said NYFF Convergence programmer Matt Bolish. “The hope as always is to give our audience a chance to experience a wide variety of participatory storytelling projects.”
Audiences can explore a multitude of non-traditional film experiences, such as playing a selection of indie storytelling games in the GameScape arcade, assuming the role of master detective Sherlock Holmes to help to solve a string of crimes around the Lincoln Center campus in Sherlock Holmes & the Internet of Things, or attending a performance of filmmaker/writer/singer Cory McAbee’s Small Star Seminar, an anti-motivational event featuring optimistic songs about quitting, accepting our limitations, and the power of sitting quietly. Immersive theater piece Temping, which will be showcased only a few times, will take lucky sole audience members on a strange and comedic journey.
Complementing the experiential programs is a series of talks and panels—all free and open to the public—featuring notable storytellers of all stripes (from Lucasfilm, StoryCode, Storyline Entertainment, Pixar, NPR, and more) discussing their work and the evolving state of storytelling in the interactive age. The presentations will also include the World Premiere of the interactive presentation of The Deeper They Bury Me, which plunges audiences into the world of Herman Wallace, who was held in solitary for over 40 years at Louisiana’s notorious Angola penitentiary.
NYFF53 CONVERGENCE EVENTS AND DESCRIPTIONS
Experiences and Installations
The (Dis)Honesty Project Presents The Truth Box
Created by Dan Ariely & Yael Melamede
Step inside and tell us the truth… about a lie. The Truth Box is a traveling story booth and part of the larger (Dis)Honesty Project, a collaboration between behavioral scientist Dan Ariely and filmmaker Yael Melamede that aims to improve our behavior and ethics. The Truth Box explores the complex impact dishonesty has on our lives, asking participants to sit inside and come clean, on camera, about a lie they have told. Excerpts of stories recorded will be shared on http://thedishonestyproject.com and through social media.
The Doghouse
Created by Johan Knattrup Jensen, Mads Damsbo & Dark Matters (pictured in main image)
Few technologies have elicited as much debate as virtual reality. How will this powerful technology change the way we make and consume films? Audiences can get a taste of a possible future with The Doghouse. A table is set for five, and on each plate rests a virtual-reality headset. Slipping them on plunges the viewer into a fully immersive experience—one of five unique points of view within the same film. Mom and Dad are meeting the older brother’s new girlfriend for the first time while the younger brother just tries to avoid an inevitable disaster. This unique 360-degree cinema experience places its audience right in the middle of a home-cooked family drama and challenges our notions of what short films are… and what they may be in the very near future. U.S. Premiere
Gamescape
Human beings are hardwired to tell stories. We spin tales about everything in our lives from the mundane to the extraordinary. Some of the most compelling stories being told today are coming from game designers blending sharp narrative and gameplay in new and exciting ways. This selection of gripping, engaging, and even revolutionary independent storytelling games was co-curated by the NYU Game Center and is free and open to the public. Presented with Support from the NYU Game Center.
Sherlock Holmes & the Internet of Things
Created by Lance Weiler & Nick Fortugno
Step into the shoes of Sherlock Holmes for this collaborative storytelling experiment in which participants attempt to solve a string of crimes unfolding throughout Lincoln Center. Do you have what it takes to become a 21st-century Sherlock Holmes? A prototype developed and run by the Columbia Digital Storytelling Lab, Sherlock Holmes & the Internet of Things is part of a massive connected crime scene taking place in over 20 countries this fall. For more information, visit sherlockholmes.io. Presented in partnership with the Columbia Digital Storytelling Lab.
Temping
Created by Wolf 359; Directed by Michael Rau
Somewhere in a filing cabinet in Delaware or Indiana, there is a chart that breaks down how long we’re expected to live. Most of us will never see it… nor would we want to. But what if your job was to update these charts, to record the beginnings and ends of thousands of lives? What if you found the formula to predict your own lifespan? Sarah Jane Tully, a 50-year-old actuary, is taking her first vacation in years, and you’ve been hired to take her place. Temping, the strange and comic tale of an employee’s inner life written by Michael Yates Crowley, is performed for an audience of one by a Windows PC, a corporate phone, a laser printer, and the Microsoft Office Suite. Filling in at Sarah Jane’s cubicle, you’ll update client records, send e-mails, and eavesdrop on intra-office romance. Each performance is unique, depending on which tasks you accomplish and which of your co-workers you decide to trust. Congratulations, you’re the new temp! Get ready to work.
Panels and Presentations
Brand Meets Story: How Filmmakers and Brands Are Reinventing Digital Content (Panel)
Moderated by Bob Garfield
The digital-video era has opened up vast opportunities for audiences to enjoy powerful short-form content. Some brands have responded by recruiting professional filmmakers to work in the story-focused new arena of “content marketing.” Bob Garfield, Host of NPR’s “On The Media,” will moderate a discussion with Marjorie Schussel, Corporate Marketing Director for Toyota, along with Academy Award–nominated filmmakers Steve James (Hoop Dreams) and Kief Davidson (Open Heart) and Oscar winner Ross Kauffman (Born into Brothels). They will discuss the partnership and process they established to develop a form of marketing that marries the freedom of creativity with meaningful brand communication goals in order to tell “stories that matter.” Includes World Premiere screenings of three compelling new short films, and a cocktail reception to follow.
A Conversation with Diana Williams (Talk)
Featuring Diana Williams (Lucasfilm, Roller Coaster Entertainment)
The camera opens on a field of stars before revealing a pair of spaceships locked in a deadly chase. Inside the pursued ship, a pair of iconic droids scuttle between rebel crewmen. “We’re doomed,” says C-3PO. “They’ll be no escape for the princess this time!” That exchange stuck with a young Diana Williams—what else had Princess Leia been up to?—and it set her on a course to become a storyteller in her own right. Williams has produced the acclaimed films Our Song and Another First Step; developed The Gatecrashers, a cross-platform storyworld, and Chinafornia, an animated Web series; and collaborated on motion comics for Torchwood, among others. In 2014, she joined the Lucasfilm Story Group, the team charged with developing narrative cohesion and connectivity within the Star Wars universe. Williams will take the stage to discuss her career and personal evolution as a storyteller, from feature filmmaker to cross-platform storyworld builder.
The Deeper They Bury Me (Interactive Presentation)
Written and directed by Angad Singh Bhalla & Ted Biggs; Produced by Anita Lee for the National Film Board of Canada, Storyline Entertainment
An interactive encounter with one of America’s most renowned political prisoners, The Deeper They Bury Me plunges users into the universe of Black Panther activist Herman Wallace, who was held in solitary for over 40 years at Louisiana’s notorious Angola penitentiary. Within the time allotted for a prison phone call—20 precious minutes—users navigate between his tiny cell and his dream of freedom, a fantasy home he envisions through a collaborative art project with artist Jackie Sumell. Sparse, poetic animation evokes his segregated New Orleans childhood and his courageous efforts to build community within a prison system that keeps over 2.3 million citizens behind bars. Join the creators of this compelling portrait of defiance for an immersive live presentation of the interactive experience and a panel discussion featuring leading activists and thinkers. World Premiere.
Immersive Storytelling Goes Global: A Live StoryCode Dispatch (Panel)
Moderated by Mike Knowlton (Co-founder, StoryCode)
StoryCode’s growth into six continents over the past three years has been fueled by an international appetite for new storytelling methods, tools, and experiments. Though still in its infancy, this worldwide phenomenon takes on myriad forms in each region it conquers. StoryCode chapter organizers will share happenings and breakthroughs around the country and the world, and discuss where we are headed in terms of emerging genres, cross-pollination of disciplines, technology, and artistic achievement. Panelists include Kel O’Neill (StoryCode LA), Diliana Alexander (StoryCode Miami), Michael Epstein (StoryCode San Francisco), and Kelli Anderson (StoryCode Washington DC).
The Making of a Connected Crime Scene (Talk)
Presented by Lance Weiler & Nick Fortugno
Join Lance Weiler and Nick Fortugno for a special collaborative think-and-do session. Over the course of 90 minutes, attendees will see and experience the inner workings of what it takes to build a massive collaborative effort like Sherlock Holmes & the Internet of Things. The presentation will pull back the curtain on a yearlong experiment with 1,000 collaborators working in 20-plus countries. Learn methods and solutions that can help you design and build immersive, engaging storytelling projects.
Producing for Impact: Finding the Story (Panel)
Moderated by Colin Fitzpatrick (Guardian Labs, WNET, Al Jazeera America)
As nonfiction crosses platforms, producers have more options than ever to reach, inspire, and activate audiences. The way a production is presented allows producers to realize specific audience end goals previously unobtainable without immense budgets. Tactics using comprehensive data visualization, compelling personal narratives, and sourcing from social media allow journalism and documentary producers today to appeal to emotion as well as the facts when creating issue-driven stories. Producers on this panel will discuss their own projects—from documentary film and interactive docs to social programs and digital newsrooms—and how to create meaningful and moving stories with goals beyond business as usual. Presented in partnership with The Producers Guild of America New Media Council & PGA East Documentary Committee.
Pry
Created by Danny Cannizzaro & Samantha Gorman (Performance)
Danny Cannizzaro and Samantha Gorman will perform excerpts from Pry, an app experience that fuses cinema, video game, and the novella into what the LA Weekly calls “Charlie Kaufman by way of an acid trip.” Six years ago, James, a demolition expert, returned from the Gulf War. Explore James’s mind as his vision fails and the past collides with the present. What happens to story when instead of turning a page, readers open or shut the protagonist’s eyes, pull apart his memories, or read his thoughts infinitely scrolling in every direction? For more, go to prynovella.com.
Small Star Seminar (Performance)
Presented by Cory McAbee
For the first solo music project created by Cory McAbee (Crazy and Thief, The American Astronaut), the filmmaker/musician takes the stage as a motivational speaker who urges people to give up their goals, stop reaching for the stars, and start looking for the stars within their own minds. “Small Star Seminar” features optimistic songs about quitting, accepting one’s own limitations, and the power of sitting quietly. McAbee will address the theory of “Deep Astronomy” and answer questions from the audience. Part of a larger storytelling project, the performance will be documented for an upcoming feature film written and directed by McAbee.
The Working Screenwriter (Talk)
Presented by Mike Jones (Pixar)
Big dreams, wild risks, and seven-figure sales are all part of the typical screenwriter mythos. Yet most of these writers have had a different career, one where a few highs barely make up for the many lows. Working screenwriters must look at the long arc of a career where no models exist. How does a life in the screen trade fit into an everyday life? How do writers maintain their spark among constant rejection, wide financial fluctuations, and family stress? How does failure affect style? And how does a writer change? Mike Jones has never made seven figures. Yet for 15 years he has maintained a screenwriter’s turbulent life while writing for independent producers, major studios, and now Pixar. In this talk, Jones will outline how he built a steady career through checkered success, but became a better storyteller through failure.
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15 Students Are Winners of 42nd Student Academy Awards
The Academy has voted fifteen students as winners of the 42nd Student Academy Awards competition. The Academy received a record number of entries this year — 1,686 films from 282 domestic and 93 international colleges and universities — which were voted upon by a record number of Academy members. Past Student Academy Award winners have gone on to receive 47 Oscar® nominations and have won or shared eight awards. Previous winners include Pete Docter, John Lasseter, Spike Lee, Trey Parker and Robert Zemeckis.
The winners are (listed alphabetically by film title):
Alternative
“Chiaroscuro,” Daniel Drummond, Chapman University, California
“Zoe,” ChiHyun Lee, The School of Visual Arts, New York
Animation
“An Object at Rest,” Seth Boyden, California Institute of the Arts
“Soar,” Alyce Tzue, Academy of Art University, San Francisco
“Taking the Plunge,” Nicholas Manfredi and Elizabeth Ku-Herrero, The School of Visual Arts
Documentary
“Boxeadora,” Meg Smaker, Stanford University
“I Married My Family’s Killer,” Emily Kassie, Brown University
“Looking at the Stars,” Alexandre Peralta, University of Southern California
Narrative
“Day One,” Henry Hughes, American Film Institute, California
“Stealth,” Bennett Lasseter, American Film Institute
“This Way Up,” Jeremy Cloe, American Film Institute
Foreign Film
“Everything Will Be Okay…,” Patrick Vollrath, Filmakademie Wien, Austria
“Fidelity,” Ilker Catak, Hamburg Media School, Germany
“The Last Will,” Dustin Loose, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany
Students will arrive in Los Angeles for a week of industry activities that will culminate in the awards ceremony onThursday, September 17, at 7:30 p.m., at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The medal placements – gold, silver and bronze – in the five award categories will be announced at the ceremony.
First-time honors go to Chapman University in the Alternative category and Filmakademie Wien in the Foreign Film competition. Academy members voted the winners from a field of 33 finalists, announced last month.
The 42nd Student Academy Awards ceremony on September 17 is free and open to the public, but advance tickets are required.
The Student Academy Awards were established in 1972 to provide a platform for emerging global talent by creating opportunities within the industry to showcase their work.
image via pinterest: Spike Lee accepting a Dramatic Merit Award for his student film “Joe’s Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads”, with presenter Ronald Neame at the 1983 (10th) Student Academy Awards ceremony.
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Mexican Director Arturo Ripstein to Be Honored at 2015 Venice International Film Festival
Mexican director Arturo Ripstein will be honored at the upcoming 72nd Venice International Film Festival as celebration of his fiftieth year as a filmmaker. The ceremony will take place on the night of the presentation of his latest film, La calle de la amargura.
The Director of the Venice Film Festival Alberto Barbera stated: “Arturo Ripstein is the most vital, tenacious and original director of the generation that made its debut in the mid-Sixties, the heir of the golden age of Mexican studio films and the forerunner of the new generation of contemporary authors such as Carlos Reygadas, Guillermo del Toro and Nicolas Pereda, each of whom in their own way, recognizes the profound debt that they owe to his work. In his so many unforgettable films, most of them co-written with Paz Alicia Garciadiego, Ripstein has brought to life a restless and afflicted universe, populated with characters pathetically on the verge of the abyss into which they are destined to fall. The strange blend of beauty and brutality, compassion and violence, irony and sadness, adds a wholly personal dimension to his cinema, which delves its roots into popular tragedy and the atmospheres of melodrama, which he cleverly re-elaborates. These elements are also to be found, their power and beauty intact, in his latest film, which the Venice Film Festival has the pleasure of presenting in its world premiere screening”.
The awards ceremony for this honor will take place before the screening of the film, which is scheduled for Thursday September 10th, in the Palazzo del Cinema’s Sala Grande.
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53rd New York Film Festival Shorts Lineup + Michael Moore, Jia Zhangke , Todd Haynes, Hou Hsiao-hsien Confirmed as Speakers
The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced the complete NYFF Shorts Programs and filmmaker talks for the 53rd New York Film Festival, taking place September 25 – October 11, 2015.
This year, the festival has created four distinct categories for the 53rd New York Film Festival Shorts Programs: Animation, International, New York and Horror. The NYFF Shorts Program 1: International will spotlight a selection of mostly North American premieres from around the world, with voices from Argentina, Australia, Chile, and more. The new Shorts Program 2: Horror will scare up some screams with a handful of tales from the dark side, including Territory by Vincent Paronnaud (co-director of 2007’s Cannes winner and NYFF45 Closing Night, Persepolis), about a sheepherder and his dog witnessing unspeakable terrors. Shorts Program 3: Animation section will showcase stunning and bold recent works, including the World Premiere of Pixar’s latest gem, Sanjay Patel’s Sanjay Super Team, about modern superheroes and Hindu traditions clashing in the daydreams of a young Indian boy.
Shorts Program 4: New York is a new category celebrating the short-form works produced in New York by local filmmakers. The festival is thrilled to announce that the inaugural edition of this program will be sponsored by the City of New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. This year’s exciting selections include the World Premieres of Zia Anger’s black comedy My Last Film, starring Lola Kirke, Mac DeMarco, and Rosanna Arquette; and Pacho Velez & Daniel Claridge’s Dragstrip. Velez is the co-director of Manakamana, which screened at NYFF51.
The festival’s annual master class, On Cinema, will feature a conversation between NYFF Director of Programming Kent Jones and one of the world’s greatest living directors, Hou Hsiao-hsien, on Saturday, October 10. In a rare visit to New York, on the occasion his latest film The Assassin screening at NYFF53, the director will discuss some of the works that have marked, haunted, and influenced him as an artist. In the Revivals section, the festival will also present his 1983 Taiwanese New Wave drama, The Boys from Fengkuei.
The popular FREE Directors Dialogues returns with three diverse, notable filmmakers, paired with a NYFF selection committee member as they discuss their careers, their craft and views on their own approach to making movies, as well as the current state of filmmaking. This year’s lineup will feature sit-downs with Jia Zhangke (Mountains May Depart) on Tuesday, September 29; Michael Moore (Where To Invade Next) on Sunday, October 4; and Todd Haynes (Carol) on Saturday, October 10. All of these director’s newest films are screening in the Main Slate of the NYFF53.
SHORTS PROGRAM
NYFF SHORTS PROGRAM 1: INTERNATIONAL (TRT: 85M)
Featuring films by a selection of new talents, this year’s lineup of shorts includes lyrical work from Australia and Chile, a pair of Buenos Aires–set romps from Argentine co-productions, and a bittersweet goodbye story from Austria. Programmed by Sarah Mankoff.
La Novia de Frankenstein
Agostina Gálvez & Francisco Lezama, Portugal/Argentina, 2015, DCP, 13m
Spanish with English subtitles
Ivana works for an agency that rents out apartments out to English-speaking tourists, but her sticky finger side-hustle suggests self-employment might be more her style. North American Premiere
Monaco
David Easteal, Australia, 2015, DCP, 13m
A young man goes door to door in search of an automotive apprenticeship, and spending his free time kicking up dust doing donuts with his buddies in the outskirts of Melbourne. North American Premiere
Carry On
Rafael Haider, Austria, 2015, DCP, 22m
German with English subtitles
When his donkey gets sick, an old farmer is hesitant to betray his fondness for the animal to his matter-of-fact wife who insists on putting the donkey down.
Marea de Tierra
Manuela Martelli & Amirah Tajdin, Chile/France, 2015, DCP, 15m
Spanish with English subtitles
On the southern Chilean archipelago of Chiloe, a lovelorn teenage girl on vacation swaps tales of heartbreak with a group of local women who gather seaweed. North American Premiere
The Mad Half Hour
Leonardo Brzezicki, Argentina/Denmark, 2015, DCP, 22m
Juan suddenly balks at commitment, prompting his boyfriend to lead him on a romantic night of wandering city streets. Named for the time of day when house cats go inexplicably wild. North American Premiere
NYFF SHORTS PROGRAM 2: HORROR (TRT: 93M)
In a program brand-new to the NYFF focusing on the best in genre film—horror, thrillers, sci-fi, twisted noir, and fantasy shorts from around the world—this handful of tales from the dark side features a period piece of terror in distant lands from the co-director of Persepolis, a haunted psyche that reveals itself in very strange ways, a lesson in being bad, horror-film love turned life-threatening, and some silent but deadly revenge. Programmed by Laura Kern.
Territory / Territoire
Vincent Paronnaud, France, 2014, DCP, 22m
French with English subtitles
A sheepherder and his trusty dog witness unspeakable horrors in a remote valley of the French Pyrenees in 1957.
We Wanted More
Stephen Dunn, Canada, 2013, DCP, 16m
Laryngitis may be a singer’s worst nightmare, but battling deep anxieties about life’s sacrifices can be even more terrifying.
Sânge
Percival Argüero Mendoza, Mexico, 2015, DCP, 19m
Spanish with English subtitles
Upon viewing the mysterious, bone-chilling titular film, a young woman’s horror obsession—taken far from seriously by her boyfriend—blends dangerously with reality. U.S. Premiere
How to Be a Villain
Helen O’Hanlon, UK, 2015, DCP, 16m
In this delightfully demented homage to the golden days of monster movies, Supervillain (a perfect Terence Harvey) leads us on a thrilling guided tour of the ways of evil.
Ramona
Andrei Cretulescu, Romania, 2015, DCP, 20m
One dark night, a no-nonsense blonde carries out a mission of brutal vengeance.
NYFF SHORTS PROGRAM 3: ANIMATION (TRT: 56M)
An eclectic mix of styles and themes, this program of animated shorts brings New York audiences a selection of stunning recent works from around the globe. Please note: this program is not for children! Programmed by Matt Bolish and Sarah Mankoff.
Lingerie Show
Laura Harrison, USA, 2015, HDCAM, 8m
Drug-addict Lorraine and her boyfriend Caesar are having a nightmarish 24 hours until Lorraine calls up her sister, CiCi, for help.
Hot Bod
Claire van Ryzin, USA, 2014, DCP, 4m
When a lonely man accidentally ingests a grow-your-own-girlfriend expandable water toy, he becomes extremely popular with the coolest dude in town.
Whole
William Reynish, Denmark, 2014, DCP, 12m
Danish with English subtitles
After a bad breakup leaves her heartbroken and depressed, Mira goes on a psychedelic trip in search of her spirit animal in order to feel whole again.
Denis the Pirate
Sam Messer, USA, 2015, DCP, 11m
A man tells the story of his great-great-great-great grandfather, Denis the Pirate, and his sidekick monkey, Babe Ruth, with whom he terrorized the Caribbean islands. World Premiere
Sanjay’s Super Team
Sanjay Patel, USA, 2015, DCP, 7m
In the latest short from Pixar, modern superheroes and Hindu traditions clash in the daydreams of a young Indian boy. World Premiere
Palm Rot
Ryan Gillis, USA, 2014, DCP, 7m
While investigating a mysterious explosion deep in the Everglades, a crop duster’s discovery of a lone surviving crate sets off a series of unfortunate events.
Food
Siqi Song, USA, 2014, DCP, 4m
We are what we eat—from cheeseburgers to chocolate-covered pretzels—in this stop-motion documentary that explores how we choose the foods we consume.
Rolling
Matt Christensen, USA, 2014, DCP, 3m
A blissed-out squirrel rolls through a meadow of objects.
NYFF SHORTS PROGRAM 4: NEW YORK (TRT: 75m)
A new addition to the New York Film Festival, this program showcases recent short-form work from some of the most exciting filmmakers living and working in New York today, an eclectic mix of familiar faces, established names, and unheralded ones to watch. Programmed by Florence Almozini and Dan Sullivan and sponsored by the City of New York Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.
Hernia
Jason Giampietro, USA, 2015, DCP, 12m
Jason Giampietro’s latest hilarious short follows neurotic hypochondriac Rudy (Stephen Gurewitz), who is convinced he is suffering from a hernia, as he heads out into the night in search of sympathy from his friends, all of whom have lost their patience with him.
Riot
Nathan Silver, USA, 2015, DCP, 4m
The hyper-prolific Nathan Silver’s first documentary draws on his family’s home movies to revisit his directorial debut at the age of 9, as his efforts to dramatize the 1992 L.A. riots are undermined by an uncooperative cast and the intrusions of his mother. U.S. Premiere
Sundae
Sonya Goddy, USA, 2015, DCP, 7m
In this impeccable cringe comedy, an irritated mother drives around in an unfamiliar neighborhood bribing her taciturn 5-year-old son with ice cream in exchange for crucial information. World Premiere
Dragstrip
Pacho Velez & Daniel Claridge, USA, 2015, DCP, 4m
Comprised of images of racing aficionados—drivers, mechanics, and fans alike—in New Lebanon, NY, as they behold the sport they love, this film offers a rare opportunity to look at others in the act of observation, transforming the screen into a kind of ethnographic mirror. World Premiere
Special Features
James N. Kienitz Wilkins, USA, 2014, DCP, 10m
James N. Kienitz Wilkins’s funny and heady work of lo-fi sleight-of-hand centers on an interview between the filmmaker and a man describing a unique experience, but his entertaining reminiscence proves to be not at all what it seems.
Six Cents in the Pocket
Ricky D’Ambrose, USA, 2015, DCP, 14m
This hypnotic work of contemporary cinematic modernism—something like Robert Bresson in Park Slope, but not exactly—concerns a young man apartment-sitting for friends as talk of a plane crash ominously lingers in the air. World Premiere
Bad at Dancing
Joanna Arnow, USA, 2015, DCP, 11m
The Silver Bear winner at this year’s Berlinale comically chronicles the psychodrama and boundary-testing that arises between a needy young woman (Joanna Arnow) and her more confident roommate (Eleanore Pienta) when the latter gets a boyfriend (Keith Poulson).
My Last Film
Zia Anger, USA, 2015, DCP, 9m
An exhilarating whatsit and freewheeling black comedy, Anger’s latest takes aim at the independent film scenes in NY and LA with no-holds-barred ferocity, formal ingenuity, and an eyebrow-raising cast that includes Lola Kirke, Mac DeMarco, and Rosanna Arquette. World Premiere
Review
Dustin Guy Defa, USA, 2015, DCP, 4m
A young woman recounts a story to a group of friends who listen with rapt attention, but the tale sounds very familiar… Another masterful and clever work by one of the world’s premier shorts filmmakers. World Premiere
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World Premiere of Mika Kaurismäki’s THE GIRL KING Added to 2015 Montreal World Film Festival | TRAILER
The Montreal World Film Festival has added the world premiere of The Girl King, directed by Mika Kaurismäki to its official competition. “I was seduced by Michel-Marc Bouchard’s script,” says producer Arnie Gelbart. “It’s an unusual story of an extraordinary woman. The characters are very contemporary, young, ambitious and full of passion, torn between duty and desire, and it’s all been brought to the screen by a great director.” The international cast features Swedish stars Malin Buska and Michael Nyqvist, Canadians Sarah Gadon and Lucas Bryant, Finnish actress Laura Birn, French actor Hippolyte Girardot, veteran Belgian actor Patrick Bauchau and German actors Peter Lohmayer and Martina Gedeck. The Quebecer François Arnaud is also part of the cast and Guy Dufaux was the director of photography. The English version of the script has been written by awarded Linda Gaboriau.
The Girl King was scripted by Quebec playwright Michel-Marc Bouchard who had great success in 2012 with his play on the life of Queen Christina of Sweden when it was staged in Montreal TNM and later at the Stratford Festival.
It’s the 1600s and Queen Christina is set on making Sweden the most sophisticated country in Europe. Having been raised as a prince under strict Lutheran control, the enigmatic, flamboyant, and unpredictable queen faces powerful resistance in her quest to educate her subjects and end the bloody Thirty Years War between the Protestants and Catholics. Amidst all this, Christina struggles to come to terms with an irresistible passion for her lady in waiting, the stunning Countess Ebba Sparre. Her quest to understand love runs parallel with her quest to understand humanity and the violent and restrictive forces conspiring against her. Torn between the conflict of political and personal aspirations, Christina chooses to make one of the most controversial decisions in history.
Born in Orimattila, Finland in 1955, Mika Kaurismäki studied film in Germany and his first film, his graduation production, THE LIAR (1980), was an overnight sensation; it marked the beginning of the cinema of the Kaurismäki brothers and started a new era in the Finnish cinema. Eventually, Mika established a base and second home in Brazil and concentrated on international co-productions, among them, CONDITION RED (1995), L.A. WITHOUT A MAP (1998), HONEY BABY (2004), BRASILEIRINHO (2005, shown at the MWFF), THREE WISE MEN (2008), BROTHERS (2011) and ROAD NORTH (2012).
The MWFF runs from August 27 to September 7, 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ags39i275ro