Eliza Hittman’s debut feature film IT FELT LIKE LOVE which premiered at last year’s Sundance Film Festival will open in New York on March 21st and Los Angeles on March 28th, 2014. IT FELT LIKE LOVE tells the story of fourteen year-old Lila played by Gina Piersanti, who’s sexual quest takes a dangerous turn when she pursues an older guy and tests the boundaries between obsession and love.
Songwriter and lead singer of the band Yeah Yeah ,Yeahs, Karen O will, for the first time, perform the Oscar®-nominated original song “The Moon Song” on the Oscars®, show. The Oscars, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, will air on Sunday, March 2, live on ABC.
“The Moon Song,” with music by Karen O and lyric by Karen O and Spike Jonze, was written for the film “HER,” directed by Jonze. The three other nominated songs are “Happy” from “Despicable Me 2,” “Let It Go” from “Frozen” and “Ordinary Love” from “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.”
Rock band U2 will perform their Oscar®-nominated song, “Ordinary Love” at the upcoming Oscars®, show producers announced. U2’s exclusive Oscar show performance will be the first time the band will perform the song live. The Oscars, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, will air on Sunday, March 2, live on ABC.
“Ordinary Love” was written by the group for “MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM” and is nominated for Original Song. The three other nominated songs are “Happy” from “Despicable Me 2,” “Let It Go” from “Frozen” and “The Moon Song” from “Her.”
ZIP & ZAP AND THE MARBLE GANG
The 4th annual Tumbleweeds Film Festival for Children and Youth featuring independent, documentary, and foreign feature-length films and short film takes place March 14-16, 2014, at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center and the City Library in Salt Lake City, and the Park City Library in Park City, Utah. The lineup includes ERNEST AND CELESTINE, and ZIP & ZAP AND THE MARBLE GANG, two flims which premiered in the 2014 Sundance Kids program.
The BFI London Film Festival announced that its 58th edition will run from 8-19 October 2014 at venues across the UK capital. Submissions for both Feature and Short Film are also now open.
Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard’s 20,000 DAYS ON EARTH, featuring musician and cultural icon Nick Cave has been acquired by Drafthouse Films, the film distribution arm of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, for release in the U.S. Fusing drama and reality by weaving the journey of a fictional day in Cave’s life, the film is an intimate portrayal of the artistic process. The film made its World Premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival where it was awarded both “Best Directing” and “Best Editing” Awards in the World Cinema Documentary category and receives its European premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival. It is the debut directorial feature film by visual artists Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard and is set to an original score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. A theatrical release is planned for 2014.
TEDDY BEARS directed by Rebecca Fishman and Thomas Beatty
The Oxford Film Festival, in downtown Oxford, Mississippi, announced the winners of this year’s festival, held February 6 to 9, 2014. TEDDY BEARS directed by Rebecca Fishman and Thomas Beatty won the award for Best Narrative Feature; and BENDING STEEL directed by Dave Carroll won the award for Best Documentary Feature. TEDDY BEARS is a dark comedy about three couples who head to the desert to help their friend Andrew heal from the loss of his mother. The friends plan a week of laughter and rejuvenation. Andrew plans a therapeutic orgy.
The Australian film, 52 TUESDAYS, which premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and won the World Cinema Dramatic Directing Award, has been acquired by Kino Lorber for release in the U.S. Kino Lorber is planning a limited Spring 2014 release. 52 TUESDAYS is now playing at the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival where it is screening in the Generation 14 Plus program.
ALOFT, written and directed by Claudia Llosa (MILK OF SORROW), and playing In Competition at the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival, has been acquired by Sony Pictures Classics for release in the U.S.
20 FEET FROM STARDOM
The editors of the Oscar-nominated 20 FEET FROM STARDOM, which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival beat BLACKFISH and TIM’S VERMEER to win the award for Best Edited Documentary (Feature) at the 64th annual ACE Eddie Awards. THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT KENNEDY won the award for BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (TELEVISION).
The U.K.’s Leeds Young Film Festival 2014 runs from 31st March to 11th April featuring films, events, animation and filmmaking workshops, and activities ideal for young people. There will be plenty for older audiences including a Teen Gala, 25th Anniversary screenings of cinema classics and some of the most popular films from the 27th Leeds International Film Festival too. The festival announced a screening of the new film HORIZON BEAUTIFUL, described as a wonderful story about a 12 year old Ethiopian street kid who discovers something more important than fulfilling his dream of becoming a professional footballer.
The San Francisco Film Society announced the 11 finalists for the 2014 SFFS Documentary Film Fund awards totaling more than $75,000, which support feature-length documentaries in postproduction. Winners will be announced in late March. Previous winners include Zachary Heinzerling’s CUTIE AND THE BOXER, which won Sundance’s Directing Award for documentary, was distributed theatrically by RADiUS-TWC and has been nominated for the Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature; Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson’s AMERICAN PROMISE, which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and won the festival’s Special Jury Prize in the documentary category; and Shaul Schwarz’s NARCO CULTURA, which premiered to strong reviews at Sundance the same year.