• Richmond Intl Film Fest Announces 2015 Official Line-Up

    Wish You WellWish You Well

    The Richmond International Film Festival (RIFF), will kick off on Thursday, February 26 with Wish You Well, a coming-of-age drama set in 1940s Virginia written by best-selling author David Baldacci and starring Josh Lucas and Oscar-winner Ellen Burstyn.

    The festival will continue over the next three days with screenings at the Byrd, the Virginia Historical Society, and Bow Tie Criterion Cinemas.

    New this year, RIFF is teaming up with producing sponsor, Swedish Match, a Sweden-based tobacco company with U.S. headquarters in Richmond, to bring patrons a Swedish film spotlight and community outreach during the festival. Through the spotlight, patrons will experience a taste of Swedish lifestyle, arts and culture.

    Swedish films included in the spotlight are this year’s Golden Globe nominated Force Majeure, which is also Sweden’s official Oscar entry for consideration of Best Foreign Language Film of the year. The film is directed by Ruben Ostlund and stars Johannes Kuhnke. Force Majeure debuts opening night at Movieland with a Swedish mixer to take place prior to the screening. The second Swedish spotlight film is the best-selling adaptation, The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared directed by Felix Herngren and starring Sweden’s funniest man, Robert Gustafsson, which plays at the Byrd Theatre on Sunday afternoon.

    Closing out Sunday afternoon is the world premiere of Living in a Food Desert, a feature documentary directed by Jesse Vaughan that takes an inside look at the food desert crisis affecting hundreds of thousands in Virginia. The film features Mount Olive Baptist Church, FeedMore, Tricycle Gardens, Lynchburg Grows, Shalom Farms and Renew Richmond with interviews that include Leslie Van Horn, First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe, Delegate Delores McQuinn, Dr. Jewel Hairston, Douglas Pick, John Lewis, Sally Schwitters, Daron Chavis, and others. Produced by Jesse Vaughan and Cedric Owens for Virginia State University’s College of Agriculture.

    A sample of other features and shorts in festival competition are:  Sewing Hope, a feature documentary narrated by Forest Whitaker that follows a Ugandan Nun who has dedicated her life to helping women terrorized by Joseph Kony and the Lord’s Resistance Army  Salgan & Salgan, a feature documentary, which profiles legendary tango pianist, Horatio Salgan  Wildlike, directed and written by Frank Hall Green and starring Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek, I Robot, Déjà vu), Ann Dowd (Compliance, Side Effects, Marley & Me, Garden State), Ella Purnell (Maleficient, Never Let Me Go, Kick-Ass 2), Brian Geraghty (The Hurt Locker, Flight, Jarhead, Bobby), Nolan Gerard Funk (House at the End of the Street, X-Men 2), and Diane Farr (Numb3rs, About Cherry)  The Japanese Dog, Romania’s official Oscar entry for consideration of Best Foreign Language Film of the year, directed by Tudor Cristian Jurgiu.  Des Eclats de Verre, Sundance Grand Prize Jury and Audience Award winner and this year’s Best Short Winner at the Toronto International Film and Video Festival  Audience of One directed by KARP and starring Taylor Gray (Star Wars Rebels, Thunderstruck) and Spencer Daniels (Star Trek, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)  Imagine, directed by Jonathan Steven Green and Jahanara Saleh and starring Scott Wolfe (Party of Five, White Squall)  Love They Nature, narrated by Liam Neeson  Someone You Love: The HPV Epidemic, narrated by Vanessa Williams  Blood and Circumstance, a film recently shot in Virginia.

    Read more

  • The Young Turks Online News Doc for February Release

    MAD AS HELL

    Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired MAD AS HELL, with plans to digitally release the documentary film on February 6th with theatrical screenings in New York and Los Angeles and a DVD/Blu-ray release to follow.

    MAD AS HELL world premiered at the 2014 Hot Docs Film Festival where it won the Gaiam TV Conscious Media Award and will next screen as an Official Selection at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. 

    The Young Turks, one of the most popular online news shows in the world, has amassed a YouTube network consisting of millions of subscribers and billions of views. But that wasn’t always the case. MAD AS HELL documents the tumultuous, at times hilarious and altogether astonishing trajectory of Cenk Uygur, The Young Turks’ main host and founder, as he traverses from unknown public access TV host to Internet sensation by way of YouTube. When he ventures into national television by landing the 6 PM time slot on MSNBC, Cenk’s uncensored brand of journalism is compromised as he becomes a thorn in the side of traditional news media; his unwavering dedication to speaking the truth puts him at the very nexus of the battle between new and old media.

    About the acquisition, Oscilloscope’s Dan Berger and David Laub said, “MAD AS HELL is an intelligent and engaging portrait that introduces audiences to an incredible group of people that have become a dominant force in news. The Young Turks are as important, if not more so than any jackass on Fox News and we’re excited to do our small part in letting their story into your home.”

    Filmmaker Andrew Napier said, “This film is about a man who says and does things that are often deemed unpopular with the traditional media, and I’m thankful that there is a badass company like Oscilloscope willing to distribute and share this story.”

    MAD AS HELL is currently playing select theaters across the country via Gathr Films’ Theatrical On Demand model.

    MAD AS HELL is directed and produced by Andrew Napier. Andrew was born and raised in Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Andrew was a producer of the 2013 Academy Award®-winning short film CURFEW, and later edited its feature adaptation BEFORE I DISAPPEAR (SXSW 2014 Audience Award Winner). His screenplay for DOGTOOTH, a remake of the Academy Award®-nominated Greek foreign film, is currently in development at Mandalay Pictures. In addition to MAD AS HELL, he also directed the narrative short GRANDMA’S NOT A TOASTER (Tribeca 2013) and the feature documentary MARY AND BILL (Wisconsin Film Festival 2011 Best Documentary). Andrew produced and edited the documentaries THE PAST IS A GROTESQUE ANIMAL (2014), about the band “of Montreal,” released by Oscilloscope Laboratories, and the upcoming BOUNCE: HOW THE BALL TAUGHT THE WORLD TO PLAY.

     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kh1cLEGmDrA

    Read more

  • Portland Intl Film Fest Reveals Dates and Opening Night Film

    WILD TALESWILD TALES 

    The 38th Portland International Film Festival (PIFF 38) begins on Thursday, February 5th and will run through the 21st; and opens with Argentinean director Damián Szofrón’s Oscar-nominated film WILD TALES.

    Produced by Pedro Almodóvar, WILD TALES is an anthology of six blackly-comic short stories sharing a common theme of frustration, bestial revenge, and the past coming back to haunt in an escalating fashion. 

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUnXv6R2HI8

    In addition to opening with Damián Szofrón’s WILD TALES, nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the Festival will host Abderrahmane Sissako’s TIMBUKTU, also nominated in that category. As in past years, the Festival features an abundance of short films. This year’s lineup boasts eight discrete short film programs, including one devoted entirely to films made in Oregon, another built entirely of Spanish-produced content, and an animated shorts program curated by LAIKA’s Mark Shapiro. Among the multitude of shorts on offer, the festival is proud to host Daisy Jacobs’ THE BIGGER PICTURE, nominated for the Short Film – Animated Academy Award, and Matt Kirby’s THE PHONE CALL, nominated in the Short Film – Live Action category. 

    This year’s Festival includes the return of the popular PIFF After Dark program, showcasing late night movies like Adam MacDonald’s BACKCOUNTRY, Mark Hartley’s (NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD) ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF CANNON FILMS, and Hitoshi Matsumoto’s (BIG MAN JAPAN) R100 for adventurous festival attendees. 

    Other highlights of PIFF 38 include screenings of Lisandro Alonso’s (LOS MUERTOS) JAUJA, Joshua Oppenheimer’s (THE ACT OF KILLING) THE LOOK OF SILENCE, Pedro Costa’s (COLOSSAL YOUTH) HORSE MONEY, Gabe Polsky’s (THE MOTEL LIFE) , Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s (EAGLE VS. SHARK) WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, Najwa Najjar’s (POMEGRANATES AND MYRRH) EYES OF A THIEF, Albert Maysles’ (GIMME SHELTER) IRIS, Olivier Assayas’ (CARLOS) CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA, Dave LaMattina and Chad Walker’s I AM BIG BIRD: THE CAROLL SPINNEY STORY, Kornél Mundruczó WHITE GOD, Miroslav Slaboshpitsky’s THE TRIBE, Chuck Workman’s (EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL) MAGICIAN: THE ASTONISHING LIFE AND WORK OF ORSON WELLES, Sergei Loznitsa’s (MY JOY) MAIDAN, Maria Gamboa’s MATEO, Yȏji Yamada’s (THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI) THE LITTLE HOUSE and Christian Petzold’s (JERICHOW) PHOENIX.

    Read more

  • Showtime to Debut 2 Documentaries at Sundance Film Festival

    PROPHET’S PREY

    SHOWTIME will debut the world premieres of LISTEN TO ME MARLON, and PROPHET’S PREY, two highly-anticipated films at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.

    Competing in the World Cinema Documentary Competition and available for theatrical release, LISTEN TO ME MARLON, directed by Stevan Riley (Fire in Babylon), unlocks Marlon Brando’s extensive never-before-heard personal audio archive. Also debuting at Sundance is the compelling Warren Jeffs documentary PROPHET’S PREY, directed by Amy Berg (Deliver us from Evil, An Open Secret), which provides a unique look inside one of the largest cults currently operating in the United States, Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS). 

    PROPHET’S PREY is a unique and intricate look inside the world and mind of Warren Jeffs and the FLDS.  The FLDS is one of the largest cults in the United States today. They are shrouded in secrecy and are far reaching.  The film examines at how one man monopolizes tens of thousands of followers despite being imprisoned for life, after being publicly admonished and convicted for unspeakable acts. The people trying to stop this cult are fighting to avoid another Waco or Jonestown while Jeffs is calling for the end of the world, regularly.  The film asks important questions about the future of the FLDS and the safety of the communities who are living amongst its members.  PROPHET’S PREY is written and directed by Amy Berg (West of Memphis) who also serves as an executive producer.  Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Dustin Lance Black also serve as executive producers.  Erica Huggins serves as the documentary’s producer. 

    With exclusive access to previously unheard audio archives, LISTEN TO ME MARLON is the definitive Marlon Brando cinema documentary. Charting his exceptional career and his extraordinary life away from the stage and screen; the film fully explores the complexities of the man by telling the story uniquely in Brando’s own voice. LISTEN TO ME MARLON is written, edited and directed by Stevan Riley (Fire in Babylon) and produced by John Battsek (Searching for Sugar Man, Restrepo, The Tillman Story, One Day In September). RJ Cutler (THE WORLD ACCORDING TO DICK CHENEY) and George Chignell (Ali) serve as producers. Simon Chinn serves as the executive producer. LISTEN TO ME MARLON is a Passion Pictures production in association with Red Box Films and co-produced by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Content Group.  Additionally, the documentary will be competing in the Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Documentary Competition. 

    Read more

  • PBS Goes Nuclear With Two New Documentaries

    Atomic Test – Dominic Bluestone, Christmas Island.Atomic Test – Dominic Bluestone, Christmas Island.

    PBS will debut two new documentaries: THE BOMB, and URANIUM – TWISTING THE DRAGON’S TAIL, timed to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the first explosion of an atomic bomb, and the bombing of Hiroshima.

    THE BOMB, a history of nuclear weapons and how they shaped our world, and URANIUM – TWISTING THE DRAGON’S TAIL, an in-depth look at the chemical element used in nuclear weaponry, will be hosted by physicist and YouTube star Dr. Derek Muller. The documentaries are timed to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the first explosion of an atomic bomb, and the bombing of Hiroshima, essentially the dawn of the nuclear age. Both programs premiere in July 2015.   

    Using state-of-the-art transfer techniques to turn recently declassified images into vivid, jaw-dropping footage, THE BOMB tells a powerful story of the most destructive invention in human history. From the earliest testing stages to its use as the ultimate chess piece in global politics, the program outlines how America developed the bomb, how it changed the world and how it continues to loom large in our lives.

    Viewers witness the raw power and strangely compelling beauty of rare and pristine images of above-ground nuclear tests. The documentary includes interviews with historians Richard Rhodes, Martin Sherwin, Robert Norris, Sergei Khrushchev and others, along with men and women who helped build the weapon piece by piece. Audiences also hear from former Secretary of State George Shultz and Secretary of Defense William Perry, who reveal how the bomb was viewed inside government circles, as well as those who hold firsthand memories of seeing the first mushroom clouds fill the skies.

    This groundbreaking film provides captivating insights through its masterfully restored footage and its assemblage of voices who were there when the atomic age began.

    In URANIUM – TWISTING THE DRAGON’S TAIL, host and physicist Dr. Derek Muller unlocks the mysteries of uranium, one of the Earth’s most controversial elements. Dr. Muller embarks on an epic journey across the globe to explain the fascinating details of uranium’s birth and life. Born from the collapse of a star, uranium has brought hope, progress and destruction. It has revolutionized society, from medicine to warfare. It is an element that has profoundly shaped the past, will change the future and will exist long after humans have left the Earth. Filmed on five continents, the two-hour program, produced by Emmy® Award-winning filmmaker Sonya Pemberton, delivers a gripping story of an ancient element’s footprint on the world.

    “We are who we are because of uranium,” Muller says. “It unlocks the secrets of the universe and reveals the nature of reality. It’s both a dream of clean limitless power and a nightmare of a silent, poisoned Earth.”

    “PBS is the place to untangle complicated issues like harnessing nuclear power and the use of destructive forces,” said Beth Hoppe, Chief Programming Executive and General Manager of General Audience Programming for PBS. “These two documentaries offer a chance to contemplate the indelible impact America’s nuclear age has had on our parents, grandparents and ourselves, and they will surely spark conversations in homes across the country.”

    Credits: 
    THE BOMB is written and directed by Rushmore DeNooyer. Executive producer is Kirk Wolfinger. A Lone Wolf production for PBS. Bill Margol, Senior Director, Programming & Development, developed and oversees the project for PBS.

    URANIUM – TWISTING THE DRAGON’S TAIL is written and directed by Wain Fimeri and developed and produced with support from SBS Australia, Film Victoria and Screen Australia. A Genepool production for PBS. Bill Gardner, Vice President, Programming & Development, oversees the project for PBS.

    Read more

  • 18 Documentaries Complete Lineup for 2015 Berlinale Panorama

    Une jeunesse allemande (A German Youth) Une jeunesse allemande (A German Youth)  

    Panorama Dokumente of the 2015 Berlin International Film Festival will open with the world premiere of Une jeunesse allemande (A German Youth) by Jean-Gabriel Périot.

    Using archive material, the film traces without bias or commentary the developments leading up to the “German Autumn” in late 1977. The gradual radicalisation of leaders of the Red Army Faction (RAF) is made palpable in excerpts from, e.g., Holger Mein’s film Freiheit für Teufel (Freedom for Teufel) and Ulrike Meinhof’s Bambule (Rampage). The film examines the expulsion of a large number of undergraduate students from the German Film and Television Academy (dffb) for their radicalism, as well as the independent student workers’ cinema, ROSTA Kino, and the directors’ revolt at the “EXPRMTL (Knokke Experimental Film Festival)” in Belgium.

    Tell Spring Not to Come This Year by Saeed Taji Farouky and Michael McEvoy addresses the fatal situation in Afghanistan now that all international troops have left the country. And Censored Voices by Mor Loushy traces the bitter taste of triumph. Young Israeli soldiers return home after the Six-Day War and immediately talk on tape about their experiences: the country is in a flush of victory. Now the director shows these same men listening to what they once said.
    A statement by Katrin Seybold, who died in 2012, opens her final work: “The films I make need to be made. When people are dead, then they’re dead, and all we have left are Gestapo reports, the reports of the perpetrators.” Die Widerständigen „also machen wir das weiter …” (The Resistors “their spirit prevails …”) consists of interviews about the resistance movement against the Nazis. The film was finished by Seybold’s friend and colleague Ula Stöckl, whose legendary 1968 film, Neun Leben hat die Katze (The Cat Has Nine Lives), is screening in this year’s Berlinale Classics.

    Music films and special artist portraits have a tradition in the Panorama. Nina Simone went from being a talented jazz and classical pianist to a highly political human rights activist. In the film What Happened, Miss Simone?, Liz Garbus weaves together film documents, interviews and, of course, the music of this inimitable singer to create an atmospheric portrait. Brett Morgen also includes a great deal of music in Cobain: Montage of Heck, an intimate glimpse into the life and work of the founder of the grunge band Nirvana, Kurt Cobain.

    Inuk Silis Høegh’s Sume – Mumisitsinerup Nipaa (Sumé – The Sound of a Revolution) shows how the rock musicians of this band from Greenland devoted themselves in the mid 1970s to opposing Danish colonisers and brought about the revival of Greenlandic, their native tongue. And, as already announced (Press Release from December 16, 2014), in around 1980 one of the most creative musical chapters in West Berlin took place, as documented in B-Movie: Lust and Sound in West-Berlin by Jörg A. Hoppe, Klaus Maeck and Heiko Lange.

    Two extraordinary artists, both filmmakers whose world careers began in Berlin, are Jia Zhang-ke and Walter Salles: the latter is presenting an affectionate portrait of his colleague Jia Zhang-ke, Um homem de Fenyang (Jia Zhang-ke, a Guy from Fenyang), which includes many excerpts from his films that make recent upheavals in Chinese society more tangible. Besides the previously announced portrait ofFassbinder – Lieben ohne zu fordern (Fassbinder – To Love without Demands) by Danish filmmaker Christian Braad Thomsen, the Panorama is presenting two rediscoveries: one about Yvonne Rainer, the incredibly inspirational but also, by nature, modest dancer, choreographer and filmmaker, whose filmMURDER and murder won the TEDDY Award in 1997 (Feelings Are Facts: The Life of Yvonne Rainer by Jack Walsh). The other is about Annemarie Schwarzenbach, whose modern European attitudes, writings on travelling the world, and stunning, highly androgynous look in the 1920s are still fascinating today not only to the queer and gender community (Je suis Annemarie Schwarzenbach / My Name is Annemarie Schwarzenbach by Véronique Aubouy).

    Two more works have joined the line-up of films that focus on self-determination and sexuality: Danish director Jannik Splidsboel’s Misfits shows how there are several thousand churches in the Bible Belt of the USA but only one gay-lesbian youth centre. For many it is the only safe haven from a socialisation based on religious fundamentalism. Splidsboel presented How Are You about the artists Elmgreen&Dragset in the Panorama 2011. In Haftanlage 4614 (Prison System 4614), Jan Soldat, who showed his short film Zucht und Ordnung (Law and Order) in the Panorama 2012, explores the longings and desires revealed by “prison fetishists”: these inmates are voluntarily behind bars.

    The following titles complete the list of Panorama films.

    Panorama Dokumente

    Censored Voices – Israel / Germany
    By Mor Loushy
    European premiere

    Cobain: Montage of Heck – USA
    By Brett Morgen
    International premiere

    Die Widerständigen „also machen wir das weiter …” (The Resistors “their spirit prevails …”) – Germany
    By Ula Stöckl, Katrin Seybold
    World premiere

    Feelings Are Facts: The Life of Yvonne Rainer – USA
    By Jack Walsh
    World premiere

    Haftanlage 4614 (Prison System 4614) – Germany
    By Jan Soldat
    World premiere

    Je suis Annemarie Schwarzenbach (My Name is Annemarie Schwarzenbach) – France
    By Véronique Aubouy
    World premiere

    Jia Zhang-ke, um homem de Fenyang (Jia Zhang-ke, a Guy from Fenyang) – Brazil
    By Walter Salles 
    European Premiere

    Misfits – Denmark / Sweden
    By Jannik Splidsboel
    World premiere

    Sume – Mumisitsinerup Nipaa (Sumé – The Sound of a Revolution) – Greenland / Denmark / Norway
    By Inuk Silis Høegh
    European premiere

    Tell Spring Not to Come This Year – Great Britain
    By Saeed Taji Farouky, Michael McEvoy
    World premiere

    Une jeunesse allemande (A German Youth) – France / Switzerland / Germany
    By Jean-Gabriel Périot
    World premiere

    What Happened, Miss Simone? – USA
    By Liz Garbus
    International premiere

    Previously announced Panorama Dokumente films:

    B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin by Jörg A. Hoppe, Klaus Maeck, Heiko Lange, Germany (WP)
    Danielův Svět (Daniel’s World) by Veronika Lišková, Czech Republic (IP)
    El hombre nuevo (The New Man) by Aldo Garay, Uruguay / Chile (WP)
    Fassbinder – Lieben ohne zu fordern (Fassbinder – To Love without Demands) by Christian Braad Thomsen, Denmark (WP)
    Iraqi Odyssey by Samir, Switzerland / Germany / Iraq / United Arab Emirates (EP)
    The Yes Men Are Revolting by Laura Nix, Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno, USA (EP)

    (WP= World premiere, IP= International premiere, EP = European premiere)

    Read more

  • Alex Gibney’s Scientology Doc to Open Big Sky Film Festival

    GOING CLEAR: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE PRISON OF BELIEFGOING CLEAR: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE PRISON OF BELIEF

    The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival has released the lineup of 40 films, plus opening night film Alex Gibney’s GOING CLEAR: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE PRISON OF BELIEF.

    The 12th Big Sky Documentary Film Festival (BSDFF) opens February 6th with a free screening, fresh from its Sundance premiere, of Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney’s GOING CLEAR: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE PRISON OF BELIEF. 

    The film, which is controversial in its own right, is based on the controversial book of the same title by Pulitzer-winning journalist Lawrence Wright, who is featured in the film along with eight former members of the Church of Scientology. The book drew significant litigation from the Church, and HBO expects the same for the film.  The film will enjoy a limited theatrical and festival run before its broadcast premiere on HBO in March.

    The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival has also released the list of 40 films vying to win one of four juried competitions.  

    Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Competitions –

    Mini-Doc Award –

    BREAK KIDS, Emily Kassie, 8 minutes
    BROKEN LANDSCAPES, Michael T. Miller, 13 minutes
    CAILLEACH, Rosie Reed Hillman, 14 minutes
    THE LAST SMALLHOLDER, Francis Lee, 9 minutes
    LITTLE HERO, Marcus A. McDouglad & Jennifer Medvin, 10 minutes
    LUCHADORA, River Finlay, 12 minutes
    OMID, Jawad Wahabzada, 9 minutes
    SLOW SEASON, John Fiege, 6 minutes
    TREASURE ISLAND, Elizabeth Lo & Melissa Langer, 7 minutes
    UNDER THE BED, Michael Galinsky & Suki Hawley, 11 minutes

    MINI-DOC JURY –

    John Cohen, Filmmaker
    Yarrow Kramer, Filmmaker
    Adam Singer, Filmmaker

    Short Documentary Award –

    BROKEN CITY POETS, Ariane Wu, 29 minutes
    CONTROVERSIES, Ryan Mckenna, 22 minutes
    FIGHTER BY NATURE, JP Keenan & Aryelle Cormier, 28 minutes
    GROWING HOME, Faisal Attrache, 21 minutes
    HINOKI FARM, Akiro Hellgardt, 29 minutes
    LA REINA, Manuel Abramovich, 19 minutes
    MIE NISHI, Bruno Caticha, 19 minutes
    POUTERS, Paul Fegan, 17 minutes
    SANTA CRUZ DEL ISLOTE  19 minutes
    THE VOW, Cameron Zohoori, 40 minutes

    SHORT DOCUMENTARY JURY –

    Christoph Green, Filmmaker
    Alexandra Hanibal, Tribecca DocFund
    Noland Walker, ITVS

    Feature Documentary Award –

    1971, Johanna Hamilton, 80 minutes
    BOYS WITH BROKEN EARS,  Nima Shayeghi, 80 minutes
    HIP HOP-ERATION, Bryn Evans, 93 minutes
    MEET THE HITLERS, Matt Ogens, 83 minutes
    NOW EN ESPANOL, Andrea Meller, 67 minutes
    PERSONAL GOLD, Tamara Christopherson, 89 minutes
    SIBLINGS ARE FOREVER, Frode Fimland, 85 minutes
    THERE WILL BE NO STAY,  Patty Dillon, 71 minutes
    TOP SPIN, Sara Newens & Mina T. Son, 76 minutes
    TRUE SON, Kevin Gordon, 72 minutes

    FEATURE DOCUMENTARY JURY

    Erik Augustin Palm, Journalist
    Desroches Mia, National Film Board of Canada
    Tracy Rector, Filmmaker
    Brian Newman, Producer

    Big Sky Award –

    BILLY MIZE AND THE BAKERSFIELD SOUND, William J. Saunders, 95 minutes
    BY BLOOD, Sam Russell & Marcos Barbery, 63 minutes
    CHILDREN OF THE ARCTIC, Nick Brandestini, 94 minutes
    DAUGHTERS OF EMMONAK, Graeme Aegerter, Bobby Moser, & Samantha Andre, 17 minutes
    DESERT HAZE, Sofie Benoot, 109 minutes
    FISHTAIL, Andrew Renzi, 61 minutes
    FLORENCE, ARIZONA, Andrea B. Scott, 77 minutes
    GAUCHO DEL NORTE, Sofian Khan & Andres Caballero, 58 minutes
    LOVE AND TERROR: ON THE HOWLING PLAINS OF NOWHERE, Dave Jannetta, 100 minutes
    THE LAST SEASON,  Sara Dosa, 80 minutes

    BIG SKY AWARD JURY

    Sandra Itkoff, Producer
    Julie Campfield, RocoFilms
    Nikki Heyman, POV

    Read more

  • Milwaukee Film Festival Announces 2015 Dates

    milwaukee film festival

    The 7th annual Milwaukee Film Festival will take place from September 24 to October 8, 2015.

    The 15-day festival includes feature films, shorts programs, education screenings, post-film conversations, and panel discussions.

    Bud and Sue Selig have renewed their support of the Milwaukee Film Festival for another three consecutive years, pledging $150,000 annually for 2015, 2016, and 2017. The Selig family was one of the first major supporters when the festival began in 2009, committing $100,000 for each of the 2009, 2010, and 2011 festivals. They continued their generous support in 2012, 2013, and 2014 with an increased gift of $150,000 per year.

    “Sue and I are thrilled to continue our support of the Milwaukee Film Festival. In six short years, Milwaukee Film has grown to become a vital cultural institution for Milwaukee, bringing a dynamic energy to our beloved city” says Bud Selig. “We can’t wait for this fall to celebrate its 7th year.”

    Jonathan Jackson, Artistic and Executive Director for Milwaukee Film, adds: “We are humbled by the philanthropic leadership of Bud and Sue. They had the vision to take a chance on a fledgling non-profit in 2009 during the financial crisis. Their continued generosity–$1,200,000 in support to date–inspires our staff and board to produce a better festival every single year.”

    In recognition of the Selig family’s charitable contribution, The Allan H. (Bud) and Suzanne L. Selig Audience Award for Best Feature Film and Best Short Film are presented each year to the overall audience favorites in both the feature film and short film categories. The 2014 winners included Alive Inside (feature; director Michael Rossato-Bennett) and The Numberlys (short; directors William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg).*

    Last year’s festival presented 275 films from 63 countries at four venues and on five screens. With the support of 82 Sponsors and 262 Community Partners, the festival saw continued growth in overall event attendance–64,187 in 2014, compared to 55,194 in 2013. In addition, the 2014 festival boasted 72 sold-out screenings (compared to 64 in 2013). A record 108 visiting guests participated in more than 431 individual festival events over the course of 15 days.

    Read more

  • Aviation Thriller CHARLIE VICTOR ROMEO to Screen Online

    CHARLIE VICTOR ROMEO

    Aviation thriller CHARLIE VICTOR ROMEO will be released on iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Google Play on January 20,  and Netflix on March 20, 2015.

    Following a highly successful worldwide festival run (including the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, New York Film Festival, AFI Fest, CPH:DOX) and a theatrical release at New York’s renowned Film Forum, aviation thriller CHARLIE VICTOR ROMEO will now make its digital premiere through Sundance Institute’s #ArtistServices program.

    Originally shot in 3D, CHARLIE VICTOR ROMEO takes place in the cockpit of a variety of aircrafts, its dialogs based on actual black box recordings. When you board an airplane, you put your life in the hands of the pilot and co-pilot. What happens in the cockpit when these professionals are faced with impending disaster? 

    CHARLIE VICTOR ROMEO (code for “cockpit voice recorder”) dramatizes six harrowing airline emergencies, using the sparest of elements to foreground the heroic professionalism of these unsung men and women. The film is adapted from a critically acclaimed theatrical production of the same name, staged in 1999, which won two Drama Desk Awards — after which it toured both nationally and internationally for ten years. The aviation community embraced the production, and the Pentagon has used it for pilot training.

    CHARLIE VICTOR ROMEO is a collaboration between Collective: Unconscious, who originally staged the play, and 3LD Art & Technology Center, where the project was filmed in 3-D as part of a program to produce and distribute experimental art.

    The Sundance Institute’s #ArtistServices program provides Institute-supported artists with exclusive opportunities for creative self-distribution, marketing and financing solutions for their work.

    CHARLIE VICTOR ROMEO: Co-Directed by Robert Berger, Patrick Daniels, and Karlyn Michelson. Written by Robert Berger, Patrick Daniels, and Irving Gregory. Edited by Karlyn Michelson. 3-D Production: NHK Cosmomedia. Cast: Patrick Daniels, Irving Gregory, Noel Dinneen, Sam Zuckerman, Debbie Troche, Nora Woolley. A Collective: Unconscious and 3-Legged Dog production. USA.   

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xyw9zYJDDEA

    Read more

  • John Boorman’s QUEEN AND COUNTRY Set For February Release

    John Boorman's QUEEN AND COUNTRY

    John Boorman’s QUEEN AND COUNTRY, will open in New York on February 18, and in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Berkeley, on February 27. 

      QUEEN AND COUNTRY, John Boorman’s acclaimed sequel to HOPE AND GLORY, had its world premiere at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, and went on to screen at numerous international film festivals including Vancouver, London, New York and Palm Springs. QUEEN AND COUNTRY will open at Film Forum in New York on Wednesday, February 18, and at Laemmle Royal, Playhouse 7 and Town Center 5 in Los Angeles, as well as in San Francisco and Berkeley, on Friday, February 27. A national release will follow.

    American Cinematheque will present Movie Alchemist: The Films of John Boorman from February 20-26 at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, CA, including a sneak screening of QUEEN AND COUNTRY on Tuesday, February 24 at 7:30 pm, with John Boorman in attendance. 

    QUEEN AND COUNTRY is the hilarious follow-up to John Boorman’s HOPE AND GLORY (1987 nominated for 5 Academy Awards), when 9-year-old Bill Rohan rejoices in the destruction of his school by an errant Luftwaffe bomb.  QUEEN AND COUNTRY picks up the story nearly a decade later as Bill (Boorman’s alter-ego), played by a charming Callum Turner, begins basic training in the early 1950s, during the Korean War. Bill is joined by a trouble-making army mate, Percy (Caleb Landry Jones). They never get near Korea, but engage in a constant battle of wits with the Catch-22-worthy, Sgt. Major Bradley — the brilliant David Thewlis. Richard E. Grant is their superior, the veddy, veddy, infinitely put-upon, aptly-named Major Cross. A superb ensemble cast limns a wonderfully funny and often moving depiction of a still-recovering postwar England.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qG1TvckA-Q

    Read more

  • Joel & Ethan Coen to Preside Over Cannes Film Festival Jury

    Joel and Ethan Coen

    Filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen will preside over the jury of the 68th edition of the Cannes Film Festival.

    Filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen have accepted the invitation from President Pierre Lescure and General Delegate Thierry Frémaux to become the Presidents of the 68th edition of the Festival.

    “We look forward to returning to Cannes this year”, Joel and Ethan Coen said from the Hail Caesar! film shoot with George Clooney, Christophe Lambert, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Josh Brolin and Channing Tatum.“We welcome as always the opportunity to watch movies there from all over the world. Cannes is a festival that has been important to us since the very beginning of our career. Presiding over the Jury is a special honor, since we have never heretofore been president of anything. We will issue further proclamations at the appropriate time.” 

    The Festival de Cannes will take place from Wednesday 13 until Sunday 24 May, 2015. 

    Read more

  • Grindhouse Thriller THE LADIES OF THE HOUSE Gets VOD Release

    John Stuart Wildman’s THE LADIES OF THE HOUSE

    John Stuart Wildman’s THE LADIES OF THE HOUSE will be released in the U.S. in April/May on VOD via Gravitas Ventures.

    Featuring a screenplay by Justina Walford and Wildman, the film stars Farah White, Melodie Sisk, Brina Palencia, Samrat Chakrabarti, and Michelle “Belladonna” Sinclair and was produced by White, Wildman, Walford and Adam Dietrich. THE LADIES OF THE HOUSE had its world premiere at last year’s Dallas International Film Festival.  

    THE LADIES OF THE HOUSE follows the fate of two brothers, Jacob and Kai, who, along with their friend Derek, go to a dance club to celebrate Kai’s birthday. After Derek convinces the other two to follow one of the dancers home, and then talks their way into the house to party with her, things take a tragic turn resulting in the young woman’s death.

    However, that is simply the beginning of the nightmare for the young men, because her roommates (Getty, Lin and Crystal) aren’t just fellow dancers, they are also cannibals with a fierce sense of home and family – and a taste for men. After Kai quickly falls victim to Getty and Lin and is on his way to becoming the centerpiece of that evening’s meal, Derek tries to figure out how to escape while Jacob discovers his survival may hinge on the twisted desire and whims of Crystal, the beautiful and sociopathic “baby” of the family.

    The film marks the feature film directorial debut for Wildman, who is the Senior Publicist for the Film Society of Lincoln Center and columnist for Film Threat. Prior to completing THE LADIES OF THE HOUSE, Wildman has enjoyed an eclectic career in entertainment and film. The former Head of Press & Public Relations for the American Film Institute, as well as the PR Director for AFI FEST and the DALLAS International Film Festival, Wildman has headed the PR efforts for film festivals across the country and written for numerous film sites. Film credits as an actor include a brief appearance in Noah Baumbach’s upcoming WHILE WE’RE YOUNG, as well as the cult classic, SORORITY BABES IN THE SLIMEBALL BOWL-O-RAMA.

    Read more