• Big Apple Film Festival Unveils 2014 Lineup; Opens with MANHATTAN ROMANCE, Katherine Waterson and Jerry Stiller To Receive Awards

    MANHATTAN ROMANCEMANHATTAN ROMANCE

    The 11th annual Big Apple Film Festival (BAFF) running November 5 to 9 at the Tribeca Cinemas in New York City, announced its lineup of 129 feature-length and short films.  The Big Apple Film Festival will commence on November 5th with the opening night film MANHATTAN ROMANCE, written and directed by Tom O’Brien (Fairhaven), who also stars in the film opposite Katherine Waterston (Inherent Vice), Gaby Hoffmann (Transparent), and Caitlin Fitzgerald (Masters of Sex).   Following the screening Katherine Waterston, who recently appeared as the lead actress in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice, will accept the festival’s prestigious “Emerging Talent” award.  Previous winners include Mike Vogel, Jesse Eisenberg, Louisa Krause and Aaron Stanford.

    The festival will present its “Golden Apple Award” to actor/comedian Jerry Stiller.  Best known for his role as Frank Constanza on Seinfeld, Jerry Stiller stars in SIMPLER TIMES, premiering at BAFF on November 8th.  Previous “Golden Apple Award” winners include Cuba Gooding Jr, Morgan Spurlock, Anthony Bregman and Alan Cumming.  Other highlights of this year’s festival will include Q & A’s with filmmakers and actors, as well as networking events, filmmaker receptions and a closing night award ceremony.

    Additional highlights of the 2014 Big Apple Film Festival include:

    BREAD AND BUTTER  directed by Liz Manishil and starring Lauren Lapkus (Jurassic World, Are You Here, Orange is the New Black, Blended), Eric Lange, Harry Groener and Bobby Moynihan(Saturday Night Live, Monsters University).

    FLOATING SUNFLOWERS directed by Francisco Solorzano and starring Anna Chlumsky (Veep), and Lynn Cohen (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire).

    SIMPLER TIMES directed by Steve Monarque and starring Jerry Stiller (King of Queens), Amy Stiller (Tropic Thunder) and Anne Meara (Rhoda).

    AUSTIN TO BOSTON directed by Marcus Haney and produced by Ben Lovett of Mumford and Sons.

    THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE directed by and starring Daniel Baldwin (Vampires), along with Lou Diamond Phillips (Courage Under Fire).

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  • U.S. Premiere of Desert Dancer to Open Santa Barbara International Film Festival + Festival to Honor the Cousteau Family and Michael Keaton

    Desert DancerDesert Dancer The 30th Anniversary edition of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival will kick off Opening Night with the U.S. Premiere of Desert Dancer at the historic Arlington Theatre on Tuesday, January 27, 2015. Directed by Richard Raymond and starring Freida Pinto, Reece Ritchie, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Cullen and Marmama Corlett, Desert Dancer tells the true story of a self-taught dancer pursuing a dream in a suppressed society. Desert Dancer is a powerful and unbelievable true story set in Iran that follows the brave ambition of Afshin Ghaffarian. During the volatile climate of the 2009 presidential election, where many cultural freedoms were threatened, Afshin and some friends (including Elaheh played by Freida Pinto) risk their lives and form an underground dance company. Through banned online videos, they learn from timeless legends who cross all cultural divides, such as Michael Jackson, Gene Kelly and Rudolf Nureyev. Afshin and Elaheh also learn much from each other, most importantly how to embrace their passion for dance and for one another. Richard Raymond directs the film, which was written by Jon Croker, based on the life story of Afshin Ghaffarian. The film stars Freida Pinto, Reece Ritchie, Tom Cullen, Nazanin Boniadi and Makram J. Khoury. For the first time in 5 years, the SBIFF will present the Attenborough Award For Excellence in Nature Filmmaking to the Cousteau Family – Jean-Michel and his son and daughter Fabien and Celine — for their decades-long commitment to educating the public and discovering the mysteries of the ocean. The award will be presented on Wednesday, January 28, 2015 at the Arlington Theatre. Santa Barbara International Film Festival will honor Michael Keaton with the Modern Master Award, The highest honor presented by the festival.  Michael Keaton will be honored for his distinguished career, including his most compelling performance to date in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Birdman or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance, a black comedy that tells the story of an actor (Keaton) — famous for portraying an iconic superhero – as he struggles to mount a Broadway play. In the days leading up to opening night, he battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, his career and himself.

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  • Fish (Balık) to Open Inaugural Golden Island International Film Festival in Cpyrus

    Fish Balık

    The Opening Night film for the inaugural Golden Island International Film Festival (GIIFF) will be Fish (Balık), a touching tale about a family that turns to tradition to heal where modern medicine has failed, but find their lives radically altered as they go against nature. The film, by award-winning Turkish Cypriot director Derviş Zaim, will receive its Cyprus premiere on Thursday 6 November at the Girne American University. The director and stars from the film, Bülent İnal and Sanem Çelik, are expected to attend the Kyrenia opening gala event, along with special guest actors Demet Akbağ and Erdal,Özyağcılar who will be the first recipients of GIIFF’s Honorary Cinema Award along with director Derviş Zaim.

    In Fish, Zaim again puts the spotlight on the relationship between humans and nature. A fisherman, his wife and their young daughter who is unable to speak live in a tranquil village on the shores of a lake. Their story starts with the mother relying on local superstition to seek a rare fish she believes can cure her daughter. She finds the fish, but little goes to plan after, and their lives take a series of severe and unexpected turns when the father makes decisions that go against the grain of nature.

    The 1st Golden Island International Film Festival, runs from Thursday 6- Thursday 13 November 2014 in a variety of venues in Cyprus. 

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  • “Siddharth” “Happiness” Win Top Awards at Heartland Film Festival

    SiddharthSiddharth

    “Siddharth,” directed by Richie Mehta won the $45,000 Grand Prize for Best Narrative Feature, and “Happiness” won the $45,000 Grand Prize for Best Documentary Feature at the 23rd annual Heartland Film Festival (Oct. 16-25, 2014).  In the Shorts category, “Record”wins $5,000 Grand Prize for Best Narrative Short and “Showfolk” wins $5,000 Grand Prize for Best Documentary Short.  

    The Heartland Film Festival has earned the special designation of being a qualifying festival for the Annual Academy Awards® within the Short Films category. This means that the winner of the Grand Prize for Best Narrative Short Film (“Record,” directed by David Lyons) will qualify for consideration in the Short Films category of the Annual Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run, provided the film otherwise complies with the Academy rules.

    Winners and nominees include:

    $45,000 Grand Prize for Best Narrative Feature
    WINNER: “Siddharth” directed by Richie Mehta (India, Canada)

    Mehendra is a chain-wallah, eking out a living fixing zippers on the bustling streets of New Delhi. To ease his financial woes, he sends 12-year-old Siddharth to work in a distant factory. When the boy doesn’t come home for the Diwali holiday, Mehendra and his wife Suman slowly begin to suspect that he was kidnapped by child traffickers. With few resources and no connections, Mehendra desperately travels to Punjab and Mumbai with the hope that whoever took Siddharth might return him unharmed.

     A powerful family drama both heart-rending and suspenseful, the film is the spellbinding and gorgeously wrought tale of one father’s journey across India in search of his son.

    HappinessHappiness

    $45,000 Grand Prize for Best Documentary Feature
    WINNER: “Happiness” directed by Thomas Balmès

    In 1999 King Jigme Singye Wangchuck made his landmark proclamation approving the use of television and the internet in the nation of Bhutan promising to usher in a new modern era. But in his speech, he cautioned the youth of the country: “The TV and the internet in its news and programs, has contents that are both harmful and useful to you and your country. For this reason, we must be careful and selective in using this new resource.” Over a decade later, the remote mountainside village of Laya is still without electricity. Peyangki, a dreamy and solitary nine-year-old monk living in a remote mountainside village yearns for the world to come to him in the form of a flickering television screen. Between studying and prayer, he watches as electrical cables and roads encroach upon his world. Finally, when he is taken to the capital city by his uncle, he discovers a world of cars, toilets and mannequins as they search for the perfect television to bring back to the village.

    $5,000 Grand Prize for Best Narrative Short
    WINNER: “Record” directed by David Lyons (Australia)

    $5,000 Grand Prize for Best Documentary Short
    WINNER: “Showfolk” directed by Ned McNeilage (USA)

    $2,000 prizes for the Jimmy Stewart Memorial Crystal Heart Awards
    “Grand Canal,” directed by Johnny Ma (China)
    “Our Curse,” directed by Tomasz Śliwiński (Poland)

    $2,500 Grand Prize Winner of the High School Film Competition
    “Chris,” directed by Zachary Oschin (USA)

     

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  • Emily Blunt to join jury for IWC Filmmaker Award at 2014 Dubai International Film Festival

    emily blunt

    Golden Globe winner Emily Blunt will be joining the jury for the third annual IWC Filmmaker Award at the 11th Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF).  The IWC Filmmaker Award, launched in 2012 as a collaboration between IWC Schaffhausen and DIFF, offers a cash prize of USD 100,000 to help a talented filmmaker from the Middle East transfer his or her vision from script to screen.  The award will be presented to the winning filmmaker at a star-studded gala on 11 December 2014 

    This year’s winning project will be selected from three shortlisted scripts, which will be assessed by a jury of international film industry experts including Golden Globe winner Emily Blunt. “I’m truly excited about visiting Dubai, and it’s a great honour for me to be a part of the IWC Filmmaker Award jury and support a valuable initiative that promotes the art of film in the Gulf. It will be fascinating to see the scripts and discover forthcoming films that will undoubtedly touch the hearts and minds of audiences in the region and internationally,” commented the British actress. 

    Emily Blunt, who burst into the limelight in 2006 with her brilliant performance in “The Devil Wears Prada”, has played leading roles in “The Young Victoria”, the 2009 period drama about the early life and reign of the iconic British queen, the 2011 thriller “The Adjustment Bureau” and “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen”, a romantic British comedy-drama. Emily Blunt most recently starred alongside Tom Cruise in the 2014 science-fiction blockbuster “Edge of Tomorrow”, while her upcoming musical fantasy “Into the Woods” is scheduled for release in December. 

    During the 10th edition of DIFF, the second IWC Filmmaker Award was presented to Emirati director Waleed Al Shehhi for his work “Dolphins”, written by UAE author and poet Ahmed Salmeen. The ninth edition of DIFF saw Iraqi-Emirati director Maysoon Pachachi become the first filmmaker to receive the IWC Filmmaker Award for “Nothing Doing in Baghdad”. 

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  • THE IMITATION GAME, MR. TURNER and WINTER SLEEP Among First Titles Announced for 2014 Lone Star Film Festival

    THE IMITATION GAMETHE IMITATION GAME

    The Lone Star Film Festival (LSFF) in Sundance Square announced eight titles from its 2014 lineup, including THE IMITATION GAME, MR. TURNER and WINTER SLEEP. The festival will take place Nov. 6-9 at the AMC Palace Theater with additional screenings at The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. THE IMITATION GAME, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch and recently picked up the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), will screen at the 2014 LSFF. 

    Other titles announced include Mike Leigh’s MR. TURNER, a biopic of master painter J.M.W. Turner. For his portrayal of Turner in the film, Timothy Spall won Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.

    WINTER SLEEP by Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan, winner of the Cannes’ highest honor, the Palme d’Or as well as the FIPRESCI critic’s award, will also screen at the LSFF. Ceylan’s previous film, ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA, won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and also screened at the LSFF. Previous to that, Ceylan’s THREE MONKEYS, CLIMATES and DISTANT received their first Fort Worth screenings during Christopher Kelly’s Modern Cinema.

    Additional screenings at the 2014 LSFF include the SXSW Documentary Grand Jury Prize winner THE GREAT INVISIBLE about the Deepwater Horizon spill, the premiere of the locally shot documentary THE ROUGHNECKS by Fort Worth native producer Marty Bowen, and Texas native Ryan Piers William’s sophomore feature X/Y, starring America Ferrera and LSFF alumnusMelonie Diaz.

    The LSFS will also honor Julian Schnabel with its Achievement in Film Directing Award, Ray Benson with the Stephen Bruton Award and Bob ‘Daddy-O’ Wade with the Visionary Award at the 5th Annual Lone Star Film Festival Ball on Friday, November 7.

    List of films and synopses:

    THE IMITATION GAME
    Directed by Morten Tyldum
    Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Alan Turing, the genius British mathematician, logician, cryptologist and computer scientist who led the charge to crack the German Enigma Code that helped the Allies win WWII. Turing went on to assist with the development of computers at the University of Manchester after the war, but was persecuted by the UK government in 1952 for homosexual acts, which the country deemed illegal. THE IMITATION GAME recently won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. The award has become to be known as an indicator of the Academy Award for Best Picture. Also stars, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode and Mark Strong.

    MR. TURNER
    Directed by Mike Leigh
    MR. TURNER explores the last quarter century of the great if eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner. Profoundly affected by the death of his father and loved housekeeper he takes for granted and occasionally exploits sexually, he forms a close relationship with a seaside landlady with whom he eventually lives incognito in Chelsea. Throughout this, he travels, paints, stays in the country with aristocracy, visits brothels, is a popular if anarchic member of the Royal Academy of the Arts, has himself strapped to the mast of a ship so he can paint a snowstorm, and is both celebrated and reviled by the public and by royalty. Directed by Mike Leigh whose film ANOTHER YEAR screened at the LSFF in 2010, MR. TURNER premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival where lead actor Timothy Spall won Best Actor honors.

    WINTER SLEEP
    Directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
    Aydin, a former actor, runs a small hotel in central Anatolia with his young wife Nihal with whom he has a stormy relationship and his sister Necla who is suffering from her recent divorce. In winter as the snow begins to fall, the hotel turns into a shelter but also an inescapable place that fuels their animosities. (Cannes Film Festival). Ceylan’s seventh feature won the Palme d’Or at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival where it premiered earlier this year.

    X/Y
    Directed by Ryan Piers Williams
    In this sophomore feature, Ryan Piers Williams stars alongside America Ferrera, Melonie Diaz, Common and Jon Paul Phillips in the character-driven drama centered around four friends living in New York and their interactions with one another as they search for a true sense of balance.  With raw energy, Williams puts a microscope on the wanton desire we all have to connect with someone, the desperate lengths we’ll go to keep that connection, and what happens to us when that connection no longer holds meaning. (Tribeca Film Festival)

    THE GREAT INVISIBLE
    Directed by Margaret Brown
    On April 20, 2010, communities throughout the Gulf Coast were devastated by the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, an offshore oil rig operating in the Gulf of Mexico. Peabody Award winning documentarian Margaret Brown (BE HERE TO LOVE ME, ORDER OF MYTHS) traveled to small towns and major cities across Alabama, Louisiana and Texas to explore the fallout of the environmental disaster. Brown treats her subjects with respect and sensitivity as they provide first-hand accounts of the tragedy from the moment of the explosion to its still unfolding repercussions on the region and its residents.

    THE ROUGHNECKS
    Directed by Richard Cameron White (produced by Marty Bowen)
    The story of the Fort Worth Ridglea Roughnecks, one of the oldest and most intense Pee-Wee football teams in Texas, as they set out to win the Youth football ‘Super Bowl’, their last chance at a title they narrowly lost last year. Producer Marty Bowen (THE TWILIGHT SAGA, THE FAULT IN OUR STARS) presents a film about the team for which he used to play as a young boy growing up in Fort Worth. White directs a character-based documentary with all of the drama of an epic sports story.

    Julian Schnabel presents BEFORE NIGHT FALLS
    Directed by Julian Schnabel (2000)
    Schnabel’s second feature follows the life of poet and novelist, Reinaldo Arenas, who was harassed by the authorities in his native Cuba for his controversial work and his refusal to hide his homosexuality. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2000 Venice Film Festival BEFORE NIGHT FALLS features a Javier Bardem unknown to American audiences at the time who would go on to receive an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Arenas. For many who missed Schnabel’s first feature about Jean-Michel Basquiat, it would be their first exposure to a brave new voice in filmmaking that brought a much-needed freshness to the biopic genre.

    Candy Clark presents AMERICAN GRAFFITI
    Directed by George Lucas (1973, produced by Francis Ford Coppola)
    Set in Modesto, California, in 1962, AMERICAN GRAFFITI follows four friends over the course of one summer night as they navigate relationships, their futures, and the post-high school decisions that will impact both. Innovative in structure and at times both hilarious and poignant, this coming of age tale remains a classic today and resonated with critics and audiences alike when it was released in 1973. The film was nominated for 5 Academy Awards and 4 Golden Globes, winning Best Picture. Costing a mere $1.27 million to make and market, the film yielded gross worldwide box office revenues of more than $55 million. Candy Clark stars among a cast that includes Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfuss and Ron Howard. For her role as Debbie, Clark was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting role at the 1974 Academy Awards. This screening marks the 30th anniversary of her nomination.

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  • The Revenge of the Green Dragons, produced by Martin Scorsese, to Open Boston Asian American Film Festival

    The Revenge of the Green DragonsThe Revenge of the Green Dragons

    The Revenge of the Green Dragons, produced by Martin Scorsese, makes its Boston debut on October 23rd as the opening night film of Boston Asian American Film Festival (BAAFF). The film will be released in theaters the following day. It is co-directed by Andrew Lau, whose Internal Affairs was remade into the Oscar-winning movie The Departed, and Andrew Loo. It explores the dark world of Asian American gang life in 1980s and ‘90s New York City. A few of the cast members of “Dragons” will be present at its screening at the Brattle Theatre, including Shuya Chang (Casse-tête Chinois, Karma: A Very Twisted Love Story), Shing Ka (The Manchurian Candidate, God’s Land, Grand Gesture), Celia Au(Detachment, The Unity of All Things, Sonic), Carl Li (Math Warriors, Loveless, Pistol Whipped), and Richard Lam.

    George Takei, of Star Trek fame, and his partner Brad Takei will be present at the To be Takei special presentation at the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square on November 3rd. The film follows Takei’s journey over seven decades, from a WWII internment camp to the helm of the starship Enterprise to the helm of daily newsfeeds of five milling Facebook fans.

    The BAAFF features 26 films. The full lineup is: Fred Ho’s Last Year, Revenge of the Green Dragons, Shorts Program I (Mandevilla, Why We Rise, Breaking the Rules, Left on Shin Wong, H7N3, Hypebeast), Chu & Blossom, Pretty Rosebud, Can, Shorts Program II (The Corner Table,Cleaner, A Stitch in Time, Samnang, Sukiyaki with Love), 9-Man, 100 Days, Kumu Hina, Shorts Program III (My Name is Asiroh, More than a Face in the Crowd, Descendants of the Past,Ancestors of the Future, M A R K E D), A Leading Man, and To be Takei.

    Also, on October 25th, there will be a free panel discussion with special guests, entitled Asian Americans in Media, at the Tufts Medical Center Wolff Auditorium in Chinatown.

    The screenings run from October 23rd to 26th with special presentations on October 13th and November 3rd. Films will be presented at The Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square, Suffolk University’s Modern Theatre, and the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square, however most screenings will take place at Emerson College’s Paramount Center.

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  • Watch TRAILER for “Mardan” Iran’s Official Entry for Foreign Film Oscar

    MardanMardan

    Check out the trailer for Batin Ghobadi’s debut feature Mardan, also Iran’s official entry for Oscar for foreign film for the upcoming Academy Awards. The film, which premiered in September at the Toronto International Film Festival, follows a police officer gripped by a traumatic childhood memory as he searches for a missing man in the rugged mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan.

    Mardan stars Hossein Hassan, Helan Abdullah, Ismail Zagros and Feyyaz Duman. The film is produced by Bahman Ghobadi (A Time for Drunken Horses, 2000), the older brother of Batin.

    A police officer finds himself haunted by a traumatic childhood memory as he searches for a missing man in the rugged mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan, in this striking feature debut by Batin Ghobadi.

    Kurdistan is much in the news these days, and over the years the Festival has been proud to showcase the work of two of its most distinctive filmmakers, Bahman Ghobadi and Hiner Saleem. Now, Ghobadi’s brother, Batin, has emerged with a highly enigmatic and startling first feature film.

    Placing his narrative in the stunning, rugged and wild mountainous landscapes of Iraqi Kurdistan, the younger Ghobadi tells the story of a police officer, Mardan, who is haunted by a disturbing childhood memory.

    Mardan is a serious, brooding officer who is called into action to investigate the disappearance of a young man. The man’s wife is extremely worried that foul play may be involved, as he was carrying a lot of cash, so Mardan sets out with the woman and her young boy to try to solve the mystery.

    But, like Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, Mardan is far more than an ordinary police procedural; it features a trip through a man’s mind as well as a journey through the haunting terrain. Both movies, too, are suffused with the sense of an obscure past that gradually, over the course of the film, reveals its true face.

    Mardan is not only one of the most remarkably shot and composed films of the year, but also one of the most shadowy and sublime. Stalking the Kurdish countryside, trying to solve the case of the missing man, Mardan finds himself revisiting his own personal history.

    Ghobadi understands that, while present-day Kurdistan may be the most stable it has been in decades, the past — a violent one, at that — still lingers around the edges of everything. Toronto International Film Festival

    http://youtu.be/UuEUamfpYb8

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  • Abu Dhabi Film Festival Unveils Lineup, Opening + Closing Films, Arab Cinema, Jury, Career Achievement Awards

    FROM A TO BFROM A TO B

    Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF) will open, for the first time, with a locally produced film – FROM A TO B by Emirati director Ali Mostafa and Image Nation Abu Dhabi. The closing film of the festival has been confirmed as Disney’s animation film BIG HERO 6, directed by Don Hall and Chris Williams. The Festival will open on October 23 and will last until November 1, 2014.

    Famed for the award winning 2009 film CITY OF LIFE, Mostafa’s second full length feature film follows three Western-educated Arab youths who travel 1,500 miles from Abu Dhabi to Beirut in memory of their deceased best friend, who passed away five years earlier.

    From Walt Disney Animation Studios and the team behind Frozen and Wreck-It Ralph, comes Big Hero 6, an action-packed comedy-adventure about the special bond that develops between Baymax a plus-sized inflatable robot, and robotic prodigy Hiro Hamada who join forces with a team of crime fighters to save San Fransokyo.  

    The festival also announced the full line up for the 2014 edition, which can be found on the Festival’s website adff.ae.

    Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF) 2014, will feature seven world premieres of Arab films as part of its showcase of best-in-class Arab and international cinema.  Now in its eighth year, the festival will also host a special programme called “The Arab Diaspora” and the Emirates Film Competition (EFC), which will exclusively showcase productions by Khaleeji filmmakers.

    EL OTTEL OTT

    The Narrative Competition will present five Arabic films. EL OTT, a SANAD supported co-production between Egypt and the UAE, will make its world premiere during the festival. Directed by Ibrahim Elbatout, it is centered around an Egyptian gangster and set in the organ traffic milieu.

    FEVERSFEVERS

    Other SANAD supported films featured in the Narrative Competition are FEVERS by Hicham Ayouch (Morocco, France, UAE, Qatar) and THE VALLEY, by Lebanese director Ghassan Salhab. THE VALLEY is a co-production between Lebanon, France, Germany, Qatar and the UAE and recently premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

    Additionally in this category, Mauritanian Director, Abderrahmane Sissako, will present his latest film TIMBUKTU, which was co-produced with France and Qatar. The fifth Arab film to be featured in the competition is the Iraqi-German co-production MEMORIES ON STONE by Shawkat Amin-Korki.

    The New Horizons Competition, with a total of four Arabic productions, will feature the world premiere of FROM A TO B by Emirati Director Ali Mostafa’s, which will open this year’s Abu Dhabi Film Festival. This section will also host the world premiere of Iraqi production SHEPHERD’S SILENCE by Raad Mushatat.

    SANAD supported title THEEB by Jordanian Director Naji Abu Nowar is also among the selected films. It recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival and won the Orizzonti Award for Best Director. Also being screened in this section is THE MAN FROM ORAN by French-Algerian director Lyès Salem as international premiere.

    PIRATES OF SALÈPIRATES OF SALÈ

    In the Documentary Competition, seven out of 17 titles are Arab produced films. This section will feature four world premieres: UM GHAYEB by Nadine Slaib (Egypt, UAE), QUEENS OF SYRIA by Yasmin Fedda (Lebanon, Jordan, UK, UAE), PIRATES OF SALÈ by Merieme Addou and Rosa Rogers (Morocco, United Kingdom, France, UAE), and Emirati production SOUNDS OF THE SEA by Nujoom Al Ghanem. All four films have received support by SANAD.

    RETURN TO HOMSRETURN TO HOMS

    Also participating in the Documentary Competition is the winner of this year’s Sundance Festival, the Syrian-German co-production RETURN TO HOMS by director Talal Derki. The line-up includes IRAQI ODYSSEY, the latest film by Swiss-Iraqi director Samir, as well as THE WANTED 18 by Amer Shomali and Paul Cowan, which has been showcased at the Toronto International Film Festival 2014 and now celebrates its international premiere in Abu Dhabi.

    Notably, this year’s ADFF will host an entire programme dedicated to Arab directors who migrated from their homelands and speak of their heritage and culture through the expressive art of film. Within this framework called THE ARAB DIASPORA, programmed by Intishal Al Timimi, the Festival unites nine long feature films and three short films, among them Swedish-Lebanese director Josef Fares’ JALLA! JALLA! (2000), INCH’ALLAH DIMANCHE by Algerian-French director Yamina Benguigui (2001), THE POLISH BRIDE by Algerian-Dutch director Karim Traidia (1998) and SALUT COUSIN! by Algerian-French director Merzak Allouache (1996).

    The special programme will also feature MAROCK by Moroccan-French director Laila Marrakchi (2005), SEEDS OF DOUBT by Egyptian-German director Samir Nasr (2005), HEREMAKONO by Mauritanian Abderrahmane Sissako (2002), A NEW DAY IN OLD SANA’A by Yemeni-British director Bader Ben Hirsi (2005) and DÈLICE PALOMA by Algerian-French director Nadir Moknèche (2007).

    The Showcase section includes the World Premiere of Emirati documentary feature AS ONE: THE AUTISM PROJECT, which focuses on a unique theatrical programme for children on the autism spectrum.

    Another seven Arab films will be featured in the Short Film Competition, three of them as world premieres, one as international premiere. Additionally, the Emirates Film Competition will welcome 52 films from the Gulf region this year. The programme includes 45 world premieres.

     Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF 2014) released the names of its jury members, who will select the award winners of this year’s ADFF competitions. ADFF 2014 presents films in the sections Narrative Feature Competition, New Horizons Competition, Documentary Feature Competition, Emirates Films Competition and Short Film Competition. The juries will also evaluate the merits of film entries for the Child Protection award, FIPRESCI and NETPAC awards.  

    This year’s Narrative Features jury led by Mumbai-based actor Irrfan Khan will be rounded out by renowned Algerian novelist and academic Waciny Laredj, award-winning American writer-director Steven Shainberg, Australian film director Cate Shortland and the internationally acclaimed award-winning Palestinian actor Ali Suliman. 

    Meanwhile, the panel evaluating the New Horizons section led by Paris-based film producer Catherine Dussart includes the Syrian actor Bassel Al Khayat, Moroccan filmmaker Leila Kilani, Geneva-based Indian filmmaker Anup Singh and influential film critic Charles Tesson, Artistic Director of Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival.

    Heading the documentary features jury is Brooklyn-based director and cinematographer Christina Voros. The other jury members in this category are Moroccan filmmaker Daoud Aoulad Syad, documentary filmmaker Elyes Baccar from Tunisia, US-Egyptian filmmaker and cinematographer Sherief Elkatsha and video artist and documentary filmmaker Amar Kanwar, from India.

    The Emirates Film Competition (EFC) jury, scouting for the best talents among UAE and GCC filmmakers, will be headed by Moroccan screenwriter and director Farida Benlyazid. The judging body further includes Saudi actor Ibrahim Al Hassawi, Qatari cultural advisor, Fatima Al Remaihi, acting CEO of the Doha Film Institute and director of the Ajyal Youth Film Festival, Abdullah Saleh, playwright, stage actor based in the UAE and Kurdish-Norwegian filmmaker Hisham Zaman. 

    ADFF 2014’s international Short Films Competition will be judged by a panel headed by Bahraini director and producer Bassam Al Thawadi. The jury will also figure director Gustavo Taretto from Argentina, programmer and director Maike Mia Höhne from the Berlin International Film Festival, director Hala Lotfy from Egypt and filmmaker Alexandre Charlet from France. 

    Egyptian award-winning director Marwan Hamed (president), Faisal Al Shamari, director of the UAE Ministry of the Interior Child Protection Centre, UAE media expert Heyam Al Juma, popular actress Nelly Kareem from Egypt and Italian audio-visual expert and lecturer Alessandra Priante are named as the ADFF 2014 Child Protection Awards jury.

    The Network for Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) jury consists of Vietnamese director Dang Nhat Minh (president), US film journalist E. Nina Rothe and Dale Hudson, professor of Film and New Media at New York University of Abu Dhabi. The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) jury for ADFF 2014 will include eminent journalists Kirill Razlogov from Russia (president), Subrahmanyan Viswanath from India, Rich Cline from Great Britain, Kais Kasim from Iraq and Tarek Elshenawi from Egypt.

    And finally, this year’s Career Achievement Awards will go to French-Algerian director Rachid Bouchareb and American producer Edward Pressman for their outstanding contribution to world cinema. Meanwhile, Jordanian director Naji Abu Nowar has been chosen for the Variety Arab Filmmaker of the Year Award.

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  • 8 Doc Shorts On Oscar’s 2014 Shortlist

    Kehinde Wiley: An Economy of GraceKehinde Wiley: An Economy of Grace

    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that the field of Documentary Short Subject contenders for the 87th Academy Awards® has been narrowed to eight films, of which three to five will earn Oscar® nominations.

    The eight films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies: 

    “Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1,” Perry Films
    “Joanna,” Wajda Studio 
    “Kehinde Wiley: An Economy of Grace,” Show of Force
    “The Lion’s Mouth Opens,” Tree Tree Tree
    “One Child,” New York University 
    “Our Curse,” Warsaw Film School 
    “The Reaper (La Parka),” Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica 
    “White Earth,” Weary Traveler

    The 87th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 15, 2015, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

    The Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

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  • LEVIATHAN Wins 58th BFI London Film Festival

    LEVIATHANLEVIATHAN

    Andrey Zvyagintsev’s LEVIATHAN, which tells the tragic tale of conflict between an individual and a corrupt system in a small Russian town, is the winner of the Best Film Award at the 58th BFI London Film Festival.  The jury also commended Celine Sciamma’s GIRLHOOD about a young woman’s search for identity in the underprivileged suburbs of Paris.

    The long-standing Sutherland Award went to the director of the most original and imaginative first feature in the Festival and this year’s winner was the Ukrainian drama THE TRIBE, set in a school for young, deaf people and acted entirely in sign language.

    The jury also commended Naja Abu Nowar’s THEEB about orphaned brothers on a treacherous journey across the desert in the far reaches of the Ottoman Empire on the eve of the Arab revolt.

     The Grierson Award for the best documentary recognizes outstanding feature-length documentaries of integrity, originality, technical excellence or cultural significance went to SILVERED WATER, SYRIA SELF-PORTRAIT directed by Ossama Mohammed & Wiam Simav Bedirxan.

    DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION WINNER – THE GRIERSON AWARD: SILVERED WATER, SYRIA SELF-PORTRAIT –
    Ossama Mohammed & Wiam Simav Bedirxan

    BEST BRITISH NEWCOMER: Sameena Jabeen Ahmed – Actor CATCH ME DADDY

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  • Tommy Lee Jones THE HOMESMAN + Special Screenings and Conversations Added to 2014 AFI FEST

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    the homesman-tommy-lee-jones-hilary-swankTHE HOMESMAN

    THE HOMESMAN, directed by and starring Academy Award® winner Tommy Lee Jones, will have its World Premiere as the Centerpiece Gala of 2014 AFI FEST on Tuesday, November 11.  In addition to  THE HOMESMAN, AFI FEST’s Special Screenings are CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA (DIR Olivier Assayas); MERCHANTS OF DOUBT (DIR Robert Kenner); MOMMY (DIR Xavier Dolan); MR. TURNER (DIR Mike Leigh); SAINT LAURENT (DIR Bertrand Bonello); STILL ALICE (DIR Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland); TALES OF THE GRIM SLEEPER (DIR Nick Broomfield) and TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT (DEUX JOURS, UNE NUIT) (DIR Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne).

    AFI FEST’s Conversations include a discussion with Michael Keaton and Edward Norton about their roles in BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) (DIR Alejandro González Iñárritu) and beyond; Roger Deakins sharing his experience about the art of cinematography and his upcoming release UNBROKEN (DIR Angelina Jolie); the Indie Contenders Roundtable featuring a panel of distinguished filmmakers who have done standout work this year in independent film presented by The Hollywood Reporter; and the Young Hollywood Roundtable with some of the year’s hottest rising stars presented by the Los Angeles Times.

    AFI FEST will take place November 6 through 13 in Hollywood, CA, at the Dolby Theatre, the TCL Chinese Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.  As previously announced, the Opening Night Gala is the World Premiere of A MOST VIOLENT YEAR (DIR J.C. Chandor) on Thursday, November 6, and FOXCATCHER (DIR Bennett Miller) is the Closing Night Gala on Thursday, November 13.  Previously announced Centerpiece Galas include INHERENT VICE (DIR Paul Thomas Anderson) on Saturday, November 8; the World Premiere of THE GAMBLER (DIR Rupert Wyatt) on Monday, November 10; and a special Tribute to Sophia Loren will take place on Wednesday, November 12, featuring a screening of her son Edoardo Ponti’s short film HUMAN VOICE (VOCE UMANA) in which she stars and MARRIAGE ITALIAN STYLE [MATRIMONIO ALL’ITALIANA] (DIR Vittorio De Sica, 1964).  The full festival lineup will be unveiled later this month.

    SPECIAL SCREENINGS

    CLOUDS OF SILS MARIACLOUDS OF SILS MARIA

    CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA – Actress Maria (Juliette Binoche) struggles to return to the stage play that made her famous 20 years earlier, but this time in a different role, and opposite a rising young starlet.  DIR Olivier Assayas.  SCR Olivier Assayas.  CAST Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart, Chloë Grace Moretz, Lars Eidinger.  Switzerland, Germany, France.

    MERCHANTS OF DOUBTMERCHANTS OF DOUBT

    MERCHANTS OF DOUBT – Oscar® nominee Robert Kenner’s (FOOD, INC.) latest documentary focuses on the PR masterminds and spin doctors who are paid to shift blame and delay governmental action on climate change.  DIR Robert Kenner.  SCR Robert Kenner & Kim Roberts. CAST Naomi Oreskes, Bob Inglis, James Hansen, Stan Glantz, Marc Morano, Patricia Callahan, Sam Roe, Jamy Ian Swiss, John Passacantando.  USA.

    MOMMYMOMMY

    MOMMY – Xavier Dolan’s latest film, selected as Canada’s official Oscar® entry, centers on a mother’s tumultuous relationship with her teenage son after he returns home from a correctional facility.  DIR Xavier Dolan.  SCR Xavier Dolan.  CAST Anne Dorval, Suzanne Clément, Antoine-Olivier Pilon.  Canada.

    MR. TURNERMR. TURNER

    MR. TURNER – Timothy Spall (in a Cannes Best Actor-winning performance) stars as unconventional, groundbreaking painter J.M.W. Turner in this gorgeous biopic by Mike Leigh.  DIR Mike Leigh.  SCR Mike Leigh.  CAST Timothy Spall, Dorothy Atkinson, Marion Bailey, Paul Jesson, Lesley Manville, Martin Savage.  UK.

    SAINT LAURENTSAINT LAURENT

    SAINT LAURENT – Selected as France’s official Oscar® entry, this stylish biopic follows the life and career of iconic fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent (Gaspard Ulliel), from 1967 through 1976.  DIR Bertrand Bonello.  SCR Thomas Bidegain & Bertrand Bonello.  CAST Gaspard Ulliel, Aymeline Valade, Jérémie Renier, Léa Seydoux, Louis Garrel, Amira Casar.  France.

    STILL ALICESTILL ALICE

    STILL ALICE – Julianne Moore gives a heartbreaking performance as a linguistics professor facing early onset Alzheimer’s disease in this festival favorite.  DIR Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland.  SCR Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland.  CAST Julianne Moore, Kristen Stewart, Alec Baldwin, Kate Bosworth, Hunter Parrish.  USA.

    TALES OF THE GRIM SLEEPERTALES OF THE GRIM SLEEPER

    TALES OF THE GRIM SLEEPER – The latest documentary by provacateur Nick Broomfield (AILEEN: LIFE AND DEATH OF A SERIAL KILLER, KURT & COURTNEY) delves into the case of a notorious serial killer who menaced South Central L.A. for more than 25 years.  DIR Nick Broomfield.  FEATURING Seymour Amster, Pamela Brooks, Nick Broomfield, Christopher Franklin, Nana Gyamfi, Laverne Peters, Margaret Prescod.  USA, UK. 

    TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT (DEUX JOURS, UNE NUIT)TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT (DEUX JOURS, UNE NUIT)

    TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT (DEUX JOURS, UNE NUIT) – The Cannes Palme d’Or-winning Dardenne brothers return with this tale of a young Belgian mother (Marion Cotillard) who must convince her co-workers to forego their much-needed bonuses in order to keep her job.  DIR Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne.  SCR Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne.  CAST Marion Cotillard, Fabrizio Rongione, Pili Groyne, Simon Caudry.  Belgium, Italy, France.

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