• ‘Hellion’ and ‘Alive Inside’ take top honors at 14th annual deadCENTER Film Festival

    HellionHellion

    A portrait of a family on the brink of dissolution set against the haunting backdrop of the refineries of Southeast Texas, and a heartwarming story about the healing power of music, have won top honors at the 14th annual deadCENTER Film Festival, held June 11-15 in downtown Oklahoma City.

    “Hellion,” directed by Kat Candler, was selected as the Grand Jury Narrative Feature category winner, and Michael Rossato-Bennett’s “Alive Inside” won top honors in the Grand Jury Documentary Feature category.

    Other award-winners included:

    “Hellion” – Grand Jury Narrative Feature

    Director Kat Candler won Best Narrative Short at last year’s deadCENTER Film Festival for Black Metal and also screened the short film Hellion here before debuting the feature at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Hellion is a portrait of a family on the brink of dissolution set against the haunting backdrop of the refineries of Southeast Texas and stars Emmy Award winner Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) and Oscar nominee Juliette Lewis.

    “Alive Inside” – Grand Jury Documentary Feature

    “Alive Inside” debuted at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and became an internet sensation when a clip from the film was shared millions of times online. “Alive Inside” follows Dan Cohen who, on a whim, brings iPods to a nursing home to work with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. To everyone’s surprise- residents with memory loss ‘awaken’ when they hear music from their past.

    Special Jury Prize: “The Case Against 8,” a behind-the-scenes look inside the case to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriage. Directed by Ben Cotner and Ryan White.

    Special Jury Oklahoma: “Sewing Hope,” the story of Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe and her fight to bring hope back to her nation after 25 years of terror in northern Uganda at the hands of Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army. Directed by Derek Watson.

    Best Oklahoman Film: “The Posthuman Project,” the story of a group of high school friends who go on a rock-climbing trip to celebrate their graduation, the teens receive a genetic boost that gives them superhero abilities. Directed by Kyle Roberts.

    The Posthuman Project is the feature film debut of Emmy Award winning music video director and NewsOK videographer Kyle Roberts. When Denny and four of his closest friends go on a rock-climbing trip to celebrate their high school graduation, the teens receive a genetic boost that gives them superhero abilities. With amazing special effects and an inspirational story, The Posthuman Project is exciting fun for the entire family.

    Best Narrative Short: “The Karman Line,” the story of a mother who contracts an unusual illness and begins to rise gradually into the air. Directed by Oscar Sharp.

    Best Documentary Short: “Kehinde Wiley: An Economy of Grace,” follows New York-based painter Kehinde Wiley as he steps out of his comfort zone to create a series of paintings of women and reveal a new look at beauty in the 21st Century. Directed by Jeff Dupre.

    Best Student Film: “Playtime,” the story of a 10-year-old British expat living with his mother in a suburban neighborhood in Kuwait. Directed by Hamad Al-Tourah.

    Best Short Screenplay: “Tattoo,” by R. Wayne Gray.

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  • “Hard to Get” Selected to Open 35th Durban International Film Festival

    Hard To Get

    The Durban International Film Festival taking place July 17 to 27, 2014, announced that the opening film at DIFF 2014 will be Hard To Get from first-time feature director Zee Ntuli and produced by Junaid Ahmed and Helena Spring.

     The film tells the story of TK, a handsome young womanizer from a small community who falls for a sexy, reckless young thief named Skiets. Thrust into Joburg’s criminal underworld TK realises that his best bet is to trust her and hang on for dear life.

    The action romance explores the universal theme of love in the very specific context of contemporary South Africa. At its heart, it is simply a story of two young South Africans embarking on the universal adventure of falling in love, symbolically set against the dangerous, unpredictable, cruel and ruthless backdrop of Joburg’s criminal underworld. Says Zee Ntuli, “The criminal gauntlet parallels the emotional journey of TK and Skiets, providing a metaphor for how scary falling in love can be. Ultimately it is a hopeful story, one which carries the message that love is worth fighting for.”

    Talking about the film, Festival Manager, Peter Machen, said, “I am very excited about Hard To Get. It’s a beautifully made film that works on every level and will satisfy commercial and art-house audiences alike. I also think that it’s going to make instant stars of its two leads Thishiwe Ziqubu and Pallance Dladla, who are both electrifying, as well as director Zee Ntuli, who is virtually guaranteed a bright future on the global filmmaking stage on the basis of this first feature.”

    Machen continued, “With the production team of Helena Spring and Junaid Ahmed behind the film, I have a strong suspicion that this is going to be the one that cracks open local audience’s desire to watch strong local film products. I have no doubt that audiences will walk out of the theatre electrified, and will be filled with excitement about the rest of the festival. All of this makes Hard To Get the perfect opening film for DIFF 2014. Co-producer Helena Spring said, “Junaid and I are thrilled to be launching major new talent with Hard to Get. We are incredibly proud of the work that director Zee Ntuli, his team and cast, have delivered. There is already a great deal of buzz around the film and we have no doubt that a bright future awaits them.”

    Hard To Get

    Junaid Ahmed mentioned that Hard To Get is the first of a slate of films that he and Spring are producing which showcase the talent of previously marginalised black filmmakers in South Africa. Ahmed went on to praise the assured and distinctive directorial debut of Ntuli, as well as that of co-writer TT Sibisi. “Hard To Get heralds the arrival of exciting new voices in South African cinema”. 

    Although, Hard To Get is Ntuli’s first feature, he has already made his mark on the local film scene. He has written for the award-winning hit show Intersexions and has directed a humorous 40sec advert entitled Grandfather for Ster-Kinekor’s Vision Mission initiative. He has also directed music videos for the bands Crash Car Burn and Wrestlerish, as well having worked on Soul City and the crime drama Mshika-shika. Ntuli studied at AFDA, the School Of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance, winning the award for Best Film during all four years of studies. His 24 minute short film, Bomlambo (Those Of The Water), won the award for best fantasy film at the New York International Film Festival. Ntuli was nominated for best short film at the 2012 SAFTAs and has already had his short films screened at festivals in South Africa and around the world. His 12 minute short In Return (Emasisweni) was nominated as the South African candidate for the Student Oscars in 2010.

    The Durban International Film Festival takes place from 17 – 27 July 2014. The festival includes more than 200 theatrical screenings and a full seminar and workshop programme, as well as the Wavescape Film Festival, the Wild Talk Africa Film Festival, and various industry initiatives, including the 7th Talent Campus Durban (in cooperation with the Berlin Talent Campus) and  the 5th Durban FilmMart co-production market (in partnership with the Durban Film Office).  For more information go to www.durbanfilmfestival.co.za

    The 35th Durban International Film Festival is organised by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (a special project of the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Humanities, Cheryl Potgieter) with support from the National Film and Video Foundation, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development & Tourism, KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission, City of Durban, German Embassy, Goethe Institut, Industrial Development Corporation, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Arts and Culture and arange of other valued partners.

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  • Film Society of Lincoln Center Unveils Lineup for 2014 Latinbeat; Opens with Fellipe Barbosa’s CASA GRANDE

    Casa Grande

    The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced today the complete lineup for the 15th edition of Latinbeat, the premier annual showcase for contemporary cinema from Latin America, running from July 11-20. This year’s festival combines personal, risk-taking works by mostly emerging filmmakers with award-winning productions. This juxtaposition, and the breadth of countries represented, speak to the growth of a film industry that began in only a few countries about 15 years ago and has now spread throughout the entire region. We are excited to celebrate this fertile state of affairs with an eclectic selection that attests to the region’s continued cinematic renewal.

    “Fifteen years after the reawakening of Latin American cinema in the 1990s there is greater and more varied film production, more interconnectedness among national cinemas, more organized governmental funding, more young people studying film, and more film festivals in the region,” said Latinbeat programmer Marcela Goglio. “However, it is exciting to see that the formal exploration and sense of urgency of those early films persists in the works of many new directors today, giving the region a sense of perpetual cinematic rebirth.”

    Opening Night kicks off with Fellipe Barbosa’s tender, coming-of-age feature debut, Casa Grande, from Brazil, starring newcomer Thales Cavalcanti as a teen trying to transcend the limitations of his upper-class existence. A hit at Rotterdam earlier this year, the film also stars a mix of Brazilian TV stars and nonprofessional actors to highlight class differences and racism. The lineup also includes additional intimate portraits of the teenage experience, notably by filmmakers making their mark with bold feature debuts. In Argentinian director Matías Lucchesi’s Natural Sciences (which won the Grand Prix  of the Generation Kplus at the recent Berlinale), a young teenage girl escapes her boarding school to search for the father she never knew. In Samuel Kishi Leopo’s vivid We Are Mari Pepa, from Mexico, a group of high-spirited 16-year-olds in a punk band spend their time lazily rehearsing their one completed song, writing a second song, and debating whether or not to participate in an upcoming battles-of-the-bands competition.

    All About the Feathers

    Experimental formats and unconventional methods of filmmaking and casting are some notable traits that run through this year’s energetic lineup. Neto Villalobos’s debut feature, All About the Feathers, a screwball comedy that incorporates mostly nonprofessional actors. Telenovela superstar Miguel Ferrari’s zany and sentimental feature debut reminiscent of the early works of Almodóvar, My Straight Son,  has the distinction of being the first Venezuelan film to openly deal with gay and transgender issues and features performances from some of the country’s top television  personalities. Director Jose Luis Valle’s second feature, The Searches, featuring a cast of renowned Mexican actors, was shot in black-and-white in seven days, with a budget of $1,500. Brazilians Marcelo Gomes and Cao Guimarães based their beautiful The Man of the Crowd on an Edgar Allan Poe tale and presents the visual film in an unusual format of 3:3.5 ratio, which makes it resemble a Polaroid.

     

    FILM DESCRIPTIONS & SCHEDULE

     Opening Night 
    Casa Grande
    Fellipe Barbosa, Brazil, 2014, DCP, 114m
    Portuguese with English subtitles
    Set in Rio, Fellipe Barbosa’s long-awaited fiction debut is a clear-eyed, empathetic portrait of a teenager who strives to transcend the limitations of his upper-middle-class family life. Seventeen-year-old Jean (an outstanding Thales Cavalcanti) contends with pressure from parental expectations, university entrance exams, and the surprising discovery of a family financial crisis in this tender, beautifully written coming-of-age story that deftly explores class differences and racism in Brazil today.
    Friday, July 11, 6:15pm 
    Monday, July 14, 8:30pm 

    All About the Feathers / Por las plumas
    Neto Villalobos, Costa Rica, 2013, DCP, 85m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    Chalo is inseparable from his friend Rocky, a fighting cock he acquires to bring some excitement into his boring life as a security guard. But what Rocky brings is in fact an unexpected set of screwball adventures. Cockfighting is illegal but has a passionate following in the small Costa Rican town where Chalo lives (the film tastefully keeps the action offscreen). Neto Villalobos’s winning, dryly funny debut feature renders that world with genuine flavor and charm by a cast made up of mostly nonprofessional actors.
    Thursday, July 17, 6:30pm 

    Cristo Rey
    Leticia Tonos Paniagua, Dominican Republic, 2013, DCP, 96m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    In 2011, Leticia Tonos Paniagua was the first Dominican woman to direct a feature film in her country. Her follow-up, a contemporary take onRomeo and Juliet, tackles with sensitivity and a sense of urgency the tough subject of Haitian immigration in the Dominican Republic, where about one million exiles currently reside. Set in the Cristo Rey neighborhood, which is rampant with crime and police corruption, this love story between a teenager of mixed Haitian/Dominican descent and a drug lord’s sister powerfully combines a genuine feel for barrio life with the quick pace and sense of impending danger of a thriller, all the while exploring the implications of racism and xenophobia on this island divided in two.
    Saturday, July 12, 6:30pm
    Sunday, July 13, 4:00pm 

    Dust on the Tongue / Tierra en la lengua
    Rubén Mendoza, Colombia, 2014, DCP, 89m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    Despite family patriarch Don Silvio’s abusive behavior toward friends and family, his magnetism has allowed him to remain the center of attention his entire life. When his death is imminent, he makes an unusual request—he asks two of his grandchildren to help him die. Will they take revenge? With an impeccable direction of actors and a seamless flow between fiction, documentary, and mockumentary, Mendoza displays surprising skill and boldness as he navigates the sensitive subject of veiled hostility between parents and offspring.
    Saturday, July 12, 4:00pm
    Sunday, July 13, 8:40pm

    Holiday / Feriado 
    Diego Araujo, Ecuador/Argentina, 2013, DCP, 82m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    Sixteen-year-old Juan Pablo travels to the remote family hacienda in the Andes, where his uncle, who is involved in a corruption scandal, has taken refuge with his wife and teenage children. It is the carnival holiday of 1999, days before the collapse of Ecuador’s banking system. There, Juan Pablo meets Juano, an enigmatic, self-assured heavy-metal fan from the nearby pueblo, who opens his eyes to an entirely new, liberating world. As his country and family is heading for the abyss, the two boys’ budding friendship develops into a fragile romance, and Juan Pablo is forced to define himself against his chaotic surroundings. Daniele Luppi, who has collaborated with Norah Jones, Jack White, Ennio Morricone, and Gnarls Barkley, composed the score.
    Tuesday, July 15, 4:30pm
    Wednesday, July 16, 6:15pm 

    The Man of the Crowd / O Homem das Multidões
    Marcelo Gomes & Cao Guimarães, Brazil, 2013, DCP, 95m
    Portuguese with English subtitles
    Loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe’s story of the same name, Marcelo Gomes and Cao Guimarães—two of the most interesting filmmakers working in Brazil today—have crafted an elegant, parsimonious, and formally impeccable story of Juvenal, a lonely train driver in Belo Horizonte, and his encounter with Margo, a station controller. Emphasizing the theme of alienation in Poe’s story (and revealing Guimarães’s work as a visual artist), the two directors opted for an unusual format, about a 3:3.5 ratio, which intriguingly makes the film resemble a Polaroid. Juvenal and Margo, who each embody a different form of urban solitude, have been brought together in this beautifully composed ode to friendship. A Curator Films Release.
    Saturday, July 19, 1:00pm
    Sunday, July 20, 6:15pm

    Mateo
    Maria Gamboa, Colombia/France, 2014, DCP, 86m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    Sixteen-year-old Mateo infiltrates a theater group in the violent neighborhood where he lives, and reports on the political activities of its members. But his perspective on the nature of their creative work begins to shift when he falls for a beautiful girl in the troupe. Gamboa’s tough but spirited music-infused tale is based on real-life experiences.
    Sunday, July 13, 1:30pm
    Tuesday, July 15, 6:30pm

    The Militant / El lugar del hijo
    Manuel Nieto, Uruguay, 2013, DCP, 121m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    Ariel, a student leading a 2002 occupation at a Montevideo university, receives news of his father’s death in Salto. Leaving the city and all its protests and solidarity movements behind, Ariel embarks on a very personal journey as he settles into the tranquil countryside—an area under-explored in Uruguayan cinema—and learns that he has to manage his father’s inheritance, including his debts and a lover who’s still living in his house. In this fascinating story of rebirth, Nieto crafts a clever metaphor for the country of Uruguay, which its youth will someday inherit and have to learn how to manage, in their own search for restoration.
    Thursday, July 17, 8:45pm 
    Friday, July 18, 4:00pm 

    My Straight Son/Azul, No Tan Rosa  
    Miguel Ferrari, Venezuela, 2013, 35mm, 113m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    Famous telenovela actor Miguel Ferrari’s debut feature, which won Best Iberoamerican Film at this year’s Goya Awards (the Spanish Oscars), is the first Venezuelan film to openly deal with gay and transgender issues—still mostly taboo in the country. While telling the story of the romantic relationship between a fashion photographer (Guillermo García) a handsome surgeon (Sócrates Serrano), the film also explores with great panache and lots of heart an array of other topics, including teenage love, homophobia, and what it’s like to be a gay parent to an estranged teenage son. Proudly sentimental and reminiscent of Almodóvar’s early melodramas, but also taut, polished, and sexy, My Straight Son features performances by many of Venezuela’s TV personalities. A TLA Releasing release.
    Thursday, July 17, 3:30pm
    Saturday, July 19, 8:30pm

    Natural Sciences / Ciencias Naturales
    Matías Lucchesi, Argentina/France, 2014, DCP, 71m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    Determined to find the father she never knew, 12-year-old Lila (Paula Hertzog) escapes her remote boarding school tucked away in the impressive Sierra de Córdoba mountains. This sweet coming-of-age story about love and perseverance won Berlin’s Generation Kplus Grand Prix as well as Best Film, Best Screenplay, and Best Actress at the Guadalajara Film Festival this year.
    Friday, July 11, 9:15pm 
    Monday, July 14, 6:20pm 

    Paradise / Paraíso
    Mariana Chenillo, Mexico, 2013, DCP, 105m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    Mariana Chenillo’s sophomore feature displays a warmth and delight in life that couldn’t be further from the dark humor of her acclaimed debut, Nora’s Will (Latinbeat ’09). This unpretentious romantic comedy about a happy overweight couple from the suburban middle-class neighborhood Satelite (the “paradise” of the title) takes refreshingly unexpected turns, as their move to Mexico City launches them both on a journey of self-discovery.
    Friday, July 18, 9:00pm 
    Sunday, July 20, 3:30pm 

    Reimon 
    Rodrigo Moreno, Argentina/Germany, 2014, DCP, 72m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    Documentary and fiction are almost indistinguishable in this minimalist but powerfully eloquent film by the director of El custodio and Un mundo misterioso. Moreno closely observes the daily routines of Reimon, a young woman from northeastern Argentina who commutes long distances from her suburban neighborhood to her job cleaning houses in Buenos Aires. In one of these homes, a young couple read passages from Marx’s Das Kapital out loud as she dusts and cooks… And though the film is practically silent, staying true to Reimon’s introspective cadence, the juxtaposition of her daily reality with that of her employers says it all.
    Friday, July 18, 6:45pm 
    Sunday, July 20, 8:30pm 

    Root / Raiz 
    Matías Rojas Valencia, Chile, 2013, DCP, 87m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    In this hypnotic story of redemption and rebirth, a young woman embarks on a road trip through lush remote locations in southern Chile to find the father of a recently orphaned child. Having just returned from the city to the hostile environment of her home in Puerto Varas, Amalia leaves again with 9-year-old Cristobál on a dilapidated truck. The two clash, bond, and grieve in the almost mystical qualities of the region’s breathtaking natural beauty. In his impressive debut feature, Matías Rojas Valencia tells an intensely moving story with very few elements, skillfully incorporating the natural setting as a mirror through which we can witness the characters’ deep inner transformations.
    Saturday, July 12, 1:30pm
    Wednesday, July 16, 8:30pm

    The Searches / Las búsquedas
    Jose Luis Valle, Mexico, 2013, DCP, 77m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    The parallel stories of a widow and a widower come together in the elegant and sober second feature by the award-winning Jose Luis Valle, a director of Salvadoran-Mexican descent. Made in just seven days, and shot in black-and-white, with a budget of $1,500, the film exhibits that a large part of Valle’s talent resides in his capacity to tell a taut, polished, and intriguing story with the fewest of elements—great and renowned Mexican actors notwithstanding (Gustavo Sánchez Parra, Arcelia Ramírez, Gabino Rodríguez). Chance, revenge, solitude, and redemption are some of the themes explored by this small gem of a film.
    Saturday, July 19, 6:00pm 

    The Summer of Flying Fish / El verano de los peces voladores
    Marcela Said, Chile/France, 2013, DCP, 95m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    Don Francisco is celebrated for the effective if increasingly violent ways he employs to exterminate the carp that overpopulate the artificial lake on his property in the majestically beautiful areas of Curarrehue, Coñaripe, and Liquiñe in southern Chile. His beloved 16-year-old daughter, Manena, seems to be the only one aware of the growing tension surrounding them, as the demands of the Mapuche Indians that have lived and worked in the area for centuries have gone unheard for too long. Said brings her sharp observational skills as a documentarian to this fiction/nonfiction hybrid, working on location with nonprofessional actors to create a quietly powerful denunciation of environmental destruction and social injustice. But she also succeeds in crafting a moving and vivid youth drama through Manena’s tricky predicament, caught between loyalty to her family and to what she knows is right.
    Sunday, July 13, 6:30pm
    Monday, July 14, 4:00pm

    We Are Mari Pepa / Somos Mari Pepa
    Samuel Kishi Leopo, Mexico, 2013, DCP, 95m
    Spanish with English subtitles
    As the school year ends, the 16-year-olds who make up the title punk band are free to skateboard, play soccer, and rehearse the one—obscene yet catchy—song they’ve written. Samuel Kishi Leopo vividly captures the carefree spirit of the teenagers’ summer vacation, with closely observed, carefully drawn characters and a pitch-perfect score (by his brother Kenji Kishi). The summer finally ends and the leisurely days—palpitating with music, desire, and camaraderie—give way to reality, bringing this vibrant portrait of youth at a pivotal moment full circle.
    Saturday, July 12, 9:00pm 
    Tuesday, July 15, 8:30pm
     

     

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  • 41st Telluride Film Festival Unveils Officlal Poster Created by Artist Christian Marclay

     41st Telluride Film Festival Poster Artist Christian Marclay

    41st Telluride Film Festival presented by National Film Preserve LTD., proudly announces visual artist Christian Marclay as its 2014 poster artist. Telluride Film Festival’s prestigious annual gathering for film industry insiders, cinema enthusiasts, filmmakers and critics takes place every Labor Day weekend in the picturesque town of Telluride, Colorado. The 41st edition of TFF will run August 29 through September 1, 2014.

    Over the past 30 years, Christian Marclay has explored the fusion of fine art and audio cultures, transforming sounds and music into a visible, physical form through performance, collage, sculpture, installation, photography and video. Early examples include the series ‘Recycled Records’ (1980-86); the ‘Body Mix’ series (1991-92); Virtuoso (1999); and ‘Snapshots’, an ongoing, informal series of photographs that depict elements of sound and onomatopoeia that the artist discovers in everyday situations. Over the last decade, Marclay has created ambitious work in a variety of media including the video Guitar Drag (2000); Video Quartet (2002); Crossfire (2007); and most recently The Clock (2010) from thousands of edited fragments, from a vast range of films to create a 24-hour, single-channel video.

    Christian Marclay was born in California in 1955, raised in Switzerland and now lives in New York and London. He has exhibited widely, including solo exhibitions at LACMA (2011); LEEUM Samsung Museum of Art (2010); Whitney Museum of American Art (2010); Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain (2008); Cité de la Musique (2007); Moderna Museet (2006); Barbican Art Gallery (2005); Seattle Art Museum (2004); Tate Modern (2004); UCLA Hammer Museum (2003); and the SFMoMA (2001). Christian Marclay also continues to collaborate with musicians, including recent performances with Steve Beresford, Okkyung Lee, Shelley Hirsch and Otomo Yoshihide. He was awarded the Golden Lion at the 2011 Biennale di Venezia for his video work The Clock. 

    “I was very pleased to be invited to design the poster for the Telluride film festival,” said Christian Marclay. “I decided to celebrate celluloid at a time when the old analog medium is being replaced by digital technology. I have always been interested in outmoded formats such as vinyl records, cassette tapes, or rotary telephones. I also wanted to show how cinema is an art of collage – fragments are collected and assembled to tell a story. The filmstrip with its sprocket holes and optical sound track is instantly recognized as the universal symbol for film. I wonder what will replace it?”

    “We have always been enamored with Christian’s work, particularly The Clock and its concept,” commented Telluride Film Festival executive director Julie Huntsinger. “There is such wealth in cinema’s history and Christian pulls from different elements from the past and assembles them in a wholly new arrangement. The poster is a further exploration of this work. His ideas reflect one the most important goals at TFF, which is to create and sustain an appreciation of the art and history of film.”

    Marlcay joins a prestigious list of artists who have shared their talents with Telluride Film Festival. Past poster artists include Dean Tavoularis, Ed Ruscha, John Mansfield, Julian Schnabel, Dottie Attie, Doug and Mike Starn, David Lance Goines, Chuck Jones, David Salle, Alexis Smith, Jim Dine, Seymour Chwast, Frederic Amat, Francesco Clemente, Dave McKean, Gary Larson, Chip Kidd, John Canemaker, Mark Stock, Laurie Anderson, William Wegman, Ralph Eggleston, Maira Kalman and Dave Eggers.

     

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  • 10th Annual Black Women Film Festival to Take Place June 13-15 in Atlanta

     black women film festival 2014

     The Black Women Film Network (BWFN) will present its 10th Annual Black Women Film Festival June 13-15, 2014 in Atlanta.

    The three-day event – sponsored by BET Networks, Spelman College, Atlanta Technical College, 11Alive, Moguldom Studios andMadame Noire – kicks off Friday, June 13 at 12:00pm at Spelman College (Sci Center NASA Auditorium) with 7 films by or about African-American women, including the controversial 72% (directed by Janice Garcia and Jeremy Batchelor), a documentary that explores the single mother phenomenon in the black community.

    On Saturday, June 14 at 8:00am, “The Reel Business of Filmmaking Workshops & Black Women Book Festival” will take place at Atlanta Technical College (Atrium). Discussion topics include film financing and distribution (Breyuna Williams, ESQ), acting for stage and film (Jonna Johnson), film and video editing (Deanna Nowell), and hair and makeup budgeting for large and small productions (Terae Dewitt).

    Also taking place on Saturday is the Black Women Book Festival Luncheon which features a panel of authors who will share their knowledge about getting a book published. Those authors are Joe Johnson (Joshua’s Battle), Dr. Lepora (Journey to Authentic Joy), Antoinette Green Campbell (Revelations Beyond Betrayal) and Chiquita Lockley (Maggie Tales: Mommy, Where’s Heaven?).

    Lockley is also the publisher of Worship 101: Back to the Basics, a guide for church leaders written by Grammy-winning recording artist Tasha Cobbs (“Break Every Chain”). The book, released May 12, will make its Atlanta debut at the Black Women Book Festival.

    The festival concludes Sunday, June 15 at 6:30pm at Adrienne’s Fine Boutique (2287 Peachtree Rd NE, Atlanta GA 30309) with “The Reel Networking Affair” featuring Jaunice Sills, REVOLT TV’s director of program scheduling and promo strategy. Sills, a former Black Women Film Network scholarship winner, will be on hand to answer questions about her role at REVOLT and share wisdom on navigating the television industry.

    “The tenth annual Black Women Film Festival will usher in a new generation of filmmakers who inspire and engage new audiences,” said BWFN founder Sheryl Gripper. “We are grateful to our BWFN Board and Film Guild for volunteering countless hours to make this possible.”

     

     

    2014 SCHEDULE

    Day 1 – Films to Inspire and Uplift by and About Black Women
    When:                                  Friday, June 13, 2014 
    Time:                                    12:00pm – 8:00pm
    Where:                                 Spelman College (Sci Center NASA Auditorium) – 350 Spelman Lane, Atlanta GA 30314

    ·         Good Girls – directed by Rhavynn Drummer

    ·         The Helen Lindsey Story – directed by Maria Howell and Mike Ray

    ·         Stand: Untold Stories of the Civil Rights Movement – directed by Donna Dukes

    ·         Room to Breathe – directed by Crista Baldwin

    ·         A Glimpse – directed by Sandra Nixon

    ·         Elijah – directed by Janlate Mullin

    ·         72% – directed by Janice Garcia and Jeremy Batchelor

    Day 2 – The Reel Business of Filmmaking Workshops & Black Women Book Festival
    When:                                  Saturday, June 14, 2014 
    Where:                                 Atlanta Technical College (Atrium) – 1560 Metropolitan Pkwy SW, Atlanta GA 30310
    Registration:                     8:00 am 
    Workshops:                       8:30 am – 3:00pm

    8:30 – 9:45 am – “Hair & Make-Up for Film and TV” — What you need to be a Film/TV stylist and what you need to budget for your film. Hairstylist and make-up artist Terae Dewitt talks about working on small and large films.

    9:45 – 11:00 am – “Acting For Stage, Screen and TV” – Actress, acting coach and instructor at the Actor’s Scene, Jonna Johnson will be on hand to let you know what’s needed to get that call back.

    11:00 – 12:15pm – “Film Financing and Distribution” – Find out how to get your project financed and distributed. Breyuna Williams, ESQ, who has extensive experience in music, film and new media contracts and is a member of the California State and Georgia State Bar, will lead this discussion.

    12:15 – 1:15pm – “Black Women Book Festival Luncheon” — This informative luncheon will feature authors who are ready to share their knowledge about getting a book published. Featured authors are Joe Johnson (Joshua’s Battle), Dr. Lepora (Journey to Authentic Joy),Antoinette Green Campbell (Revelations Beyond Betrayal) and Chiquita Lockley (Maggie Tales: Mommy, Where’s Heaven?).

    1:15pm – 2:15pm – “Film and Video Editing” – An award-winning and highly sought-after editor for the Aspire Network, Deanna Nowell will lead a hands-on panel where you can bring your projects for her expert suggestions on how to get your best edit. (Note: Have your project on your laptop to get the best evaluation. First come, first served.)

    2:30pm – 3:00pm – “Film Location Tour of Atlanta Technical College” — Filmmaker Russ Parr shot his film A Christmas Blessing on the campus of Atlanta Technical College. Take a tour of the film shoot locations with staff. Your next production could be shot here!

    Day 3 – The Reel Networking Affair” with Jaunice Sills, Director of Program Scheduling and Promo Strategy, REVOLT TV

    When:                                  Sunday, June 15, 2014

    Time:                                    6:30pm – 8:30pm
    Where:                                 Adrienne’s Fine Boutique – 2287 Peachtree Rd., NE Atlanta, Ga. 
    Cost:                                      $5.00 non-members; FREE, BWFN Members

     

     

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  • Documentary BOUND BY FLESH About Conjoined Twins Daisy and Violet Hilton Sets Release Dates

     documentary BOUND BY FLESH movie poster

    Sundance Selects will open the new documentary BOUND BY FLESH, about conjoined twin superstars Daisy and Violet Hilton theatrically in New York (IFC Center) and select theaters, VOD, and iTunes on June 27.  The award-winning film was directed by Leslie Zemeckis (BEHIND THE BURLY Q).

    American sideshows were in fairs, circuses and carnivals. There were acts such as glass blowers, musicians, and also the freaks. Most freaks just stood there while the audience wandered past. The Hilton sisters however were trained to put on a winning performance. They sang, they danced and played a variety of musical instruments. Once they quit the carnival world and started playing vaudeville houses they made tens of thousands of dollars, setting box office records. They were soon considered “the royalty of vaudeville,” but the exploited twins would see little of their fortunes after the money was pocketed by unscrupulous managers.

    BOUND BY FLESH explores the American sideshow, its origins and its heyday when the Hilton sisters were on display for huge streams of crowds pouring into tents to get a glimpse of these gorgeous multi-talented sisters.

    The film includes interviews with Ward Hall, known as the “King of the Sideshow.” He is the last of the sideshow promoters in the style of a P.T. Barnum.

    In June, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Academy Award-winning director Bill Condon will stage a reimagining of the hit musical show SIDE SHOW about the famous sisters as they grow from circus attraction to famous stage performers. 

    AMC recently renewed its popular series FREAKSHOW.

    BOUND BY FLESH is produced, directed and written by Leslie Zemeckis, produced by Jackie Levine and executive produced by Robert Zemeckis.

    http://youtu.be/kVwhd-ORjSQ

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  • 17th Annual Brooklyn Film Festival Announces FORMULA Winners; Jadrien Steele’s VICTORIANA Wins Grand Chameleon Award and Best Narrative Feature

     brooklyn film fest awards 2014

    Brooklyn Film Festival, which ran from May 30 through June 8 in Williamsburg at indieScreen (289 Kent Avenue) and Windmill Studios NYC (287 Kent Avenue), announced the winners of its annual festival themed FORMULA. The event . The festival presented 107 film premieres from 34 countries, selected from over 2,000 submissions.

     Jadrien Steele’s Victoriana won the awards for Grand Chameleon Award and Best Narrative Feature, and Best Documentary Feature went to Nima Sarvestani for No Burqas Behind Bars. Alexis Boling’s Movement and Location won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature and David Beilinson, Michael Galinsky and Suki Hawley’s Who Took Johnny won for Best Documentary Feature. Best New Director went to Matan Guggenheim for Paradise Cruise.

    BFF awarded the winners with prizes totaling over $50,000 in film services and products. Prizes include a seven-day theatrical release at indieScreen for the Best Narrative Feature and Best Documentary award winners, and for the first time as well for the Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary Short, Best Animation and Best Experimental Film.

    GRAND CHAMELEON AWARD:

    Jadrien Steele for Victoriana

     

    BEST IN CATEGORY:

    Narrative Feature – Jadrien Steele for Victoriana

    Documentary Feature – Nima Sarvestani for No Burqas Behind Bars

    Narrative Short – Mauricio Osaki for My Father’s Truck

    Documentary Short – Anthony Simon for Third Shift

    Animation – Uri Kranot & Michelle Kranot for Hollow Land

    Experimental – Charles Griffin Gibson for The Meteor

     

    AUDIENCE AWARDS:

    Documentary Feature – David Beilinson, Michael Galinsky and Suki Hawley for Who Took Johnny

    Narrative Feature – Alexis Boling for Movement and Location

    Narrative Short – Jacob Kindlon for Vocabulary of the Mysteries

    Documentary Short – Thomas Wood for LA Miner

    Animation – Rick Manlapig for Fakie

    Experimental – Augusto Giachino for Third Sister

     

    CERTIFICATES OF ACHIEVEMENT:

    Best New Director – Matan Guggenheim for Paradise Cruise

    Best Producer – Christophe Nick and Victor Ede  for Boy Saloum

    Best Screenplay – Bodine Boling for Movement and Location

    Best Cinematography – Franz Dude for My Blind Heart

    Best Editing – T.J. Misny for Intimate Semaphores

    Best Original Score – Dan Tepfer for Movement and Location

    Best Actor (Female) – Rezeta Veliu for Rezeta

    Best Actor (Male) – Christos Haas for My Blind Heart

     

    BROOKLYN PRIDE AWARD:

    Beyza Boyacioglu & Sebastian Diaz Aguirre for Toñita’s 

     

    SPIRIT AWARDS:

    Narrative Feature – Fernando Frias for Rezeta

    Documentary Feature – Mladen Kovacevic for Unplugged

    Narrative Short – Peter Vack for Send

    Documentary Short – Stephen Greenwood for Tunnel Vision

    Experimental – Miriam Harris & Juliet Palner for Warsaw, January 2011

    Animation – Catya Plate for Hanging By a Thread

     

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  • Seattle International Film Festival Announces 2014 Award Winners; “Boyhood” Sweeps with 3 Golden Space Needle Awards

    BoyhoodBoyhood 

    The 40th Seattle International Film Festival announced the winners of the SIFF 2014 Golden Space Needle and Competition Awards. Boyhood sweeps with 3 Golden Space Needle Awards including Best Film, Director, and Actress, Keep On Keepin’ On wins Golden Space Needle for Best Documentary.  The 25-day festival, which began May 15, featured 452 films representing 83 countries, including 44 World Premieres (20 features, 24 shorts), 30 North American Premieres (22 features, 8 shorts), 14 US Premieres (8 features, 6 shorts), and over 770 Festival screenings and events.

    Carl Spence, SIFF’s Artistic Director, says, “This has been an extraordinary 40th anniversary Festival. From welcoming back Richard Linklater to Seattle with his groundbreaking epic Boyhood, to honoring Laura Dern, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Quincy Jones for their masterful work, to welcoming Caroll Spinney, the puppeteer who has brought Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch to life for years, to the hundreds of first-time directors making their debut, it’s been another year of indelible cinematic experiences. Every year, it’s so thrilling to see our legendary Seattle audiences discover our lineup of films and wholly immerse themselves in the Festival experience. Congratulations to every single film and filmmaker that we had the opportunity to present!”

    Adds Mary Bacarella, SIFF’s Managing Director, “Beginning with our big Opening Night announcement about the purchase of the SIFF Cinema Uptown and lease on the historic Egyptian Theatre, this Festival has blown away all of my expectations. Each day (and there’s 25 of them!) seemed to bring even more exciting events and can’t-miss moments. I’m thrilled to be leading SIFF in this time of growth, and can’t wait to get to work on bringing incredible films to two neighborhood cinemas.”

    GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD – BEST FILM

    Boyhood, directed by Richard Linklater (USA 2014)

    First runner-up: Life Feels Good, directed by Maciej Pieprzyca (Poland 2013)
    Second runner-up: How to Train Your Dragon 2, directed by Dean DeBlois (USA 2014)
    Third runner-up: The Fault in Our Stars, directed by Josh Boone (USA 2014)
    Fourth runner-up: Big in Japan, directed by John Jeffcoat (USA 2014)

    GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD – BEST DOCUMENTARY

    Keep On Keepin’ On, directed by Alan Hicks (USA 2014)

    First runner-up: Alive Inside: A Story of Music & Memory, directed by Michael Rossato-Bennett (USA 2014)
    Second runner-up: I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story, directed by Dave LaMattina, Chad Walker (USA 2014)
    Third runner-up: Strictly Sacred: The Story of Girl Trouble, directed by Isaac Olsen (USA 2014)
    Fourth runner-up: The Case Against 8, directed by Ben Cotner, Ryan White (USA 2014)

    GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD – BEST DIRECTOR

    Richard Linklater, Boyhood (USA 2014)

    First runner-up: Maciej Pieprzyca, Life Feels Good (Poland 2013)
    Second runner-up: Zaza Urushadze, Tangerines (Estonia/Georgia 2013)
    Third runner-up: Pawel Pawlikowski, Ida (Poland 2013)
    Fourth runner-up: Sara Colangelo, Little Accidents (USA 2014)

    GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD – BEST ACTOR

    Dawid Ogrodnik, Life Feels Good (Poland 2013)

    First runner-up: Guillaume Gallienne, Me, Myself and Mum (Belgium/France/Spain 2013)
    Second runner-up: Matt Smith, My Last Year With the Nuns (USA 2014)
    Third runner-up: Felix Bossuet, Belle & Sebastien (France 2013)
    Fourth runner-up: Igor Samobor, Class Enemy (Slovenia 2013)

    GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD – BEST ACTRESS

    Patricia Arquette, Boyhood (USA 2014)

    First runner-up: Juliette Binoche, 1,000 Times Good Night (Norway 2013)
    Second runner-up: Agata Kulesza, Ida (Poland 2013)
    Third runner-up: Jenny Slate, Obvious Child (USA 2014)
    Fourth runner-up: Jördis Triebel, West (Germany 2013)

    GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD – BEST SHORT FILM

    Fool’s Day, directed by Cody Blue Snider (USA 2013)

    First runner-up: The Hero Pose, directed by Mischa Jakupcak (USA 2013)
    Second runner-up: Strings, directed by Pedro Solis (Spain 2013)
    Third runner-up: Mr. Invisible, directed by Greg Ash (United Kingdom 2014)
    Fourth runner-up: Aban + Khorshid, directed by Darwin Serink (USA 2014) 

    LENA SHARPE AWARD FOR PERSISTENCE OF VISION

    Bound: Africans Versus African Americans, directed by Peres Owino (USA 2014)

    This award is given to the female director’s film that receives the most votes in public balloting at the Festival. Lena Sharpe was co-founder and managing director of Seattle’s Festival of Films by Women Directors and a KCTS-TV associate who died in a plane crash while on assignment. As a tribute to her efforts in bringing the work of women filmmakers to prominence, SIFF created this special award and asked Women in Film Seattle to bestow it. 

    SIFF 2014 COMPETITION AWARDS

    SIFF 2014 BEST NEW DIRECTOR

    GRAND JURY PRIZE
    10,000KM, directed by Carlos Marques-Marcet (Spain/USA 2014)

    JURY STATEMENT: Our unanimous winner is Carlos Marques-Marcet’s 10,000KM for its ability to simply and creatively convey the complexity and fragility of human relationships with gorgeous attention to detail.

    SPECIAL JURY MENTION
    B For Boy, directed by Chika Anadu (Nigeria 2013)

    JURY STATEMENT: Our special jury mention goes to B For Boy’s director Chika Anadu for her assured and fierce storytelling.

    Festival programmers select 12 films remarkable for their original concept, striking style, and overall excellence. To be eligible, films must be a director’s first or second feature and without U.S. distribution at the time of their selection. The New Directors Jury is comprised of Ron Leamon (costume designer), Sharon Swart (journalist), and Helen du Toit (Artistic Director, Palm Springs International Film Festival). 

    SIFF 2014 BEST DOCUMENTARY

    GRAND JURY PRIZE
    Marmato, directed by Mark Grieco (Colombia/USA 2014)

    JURY STATEMENT: We give the documentary prize to Marmato. With courage and ambition, director Mark Grieco artfully brings to life a personal story with global significance and provides a window into a world that few would have access to.

    SPECIAL JURY MENTIONS
    Dior and I,directed by Frédéric Tcheng (France 2014) and Garden Lovers, directed by Virpi Suutari (Finland 2014)

    JURY STATEMENT: We want to give special recognition for the aesthetic richness and cinematography of these films.

    Unscripted and uncut, the world is a resource of unexpected, informative, and altogether exciting storytelling. Documentary filmmakers have, for years, brought these untold stories to life and introduced us to a vast number of fascinating topics we may have never known existed-let alone known were so fascinating. The Documentary Jury is comprised of Brian Brooks (FilmLinc.com), Claudia Puig (USA Today), and Pat Saperstein (Variety).

    SIFF 2014 BEST NEW AMERICAN CINEMA

    GRAND JURY PRIZE
    Red Knot, directed by Scott Cohen (USA/Argentina/Antarctica 2014)

    JURY STATEMENT: An ethnographic journey to the South Pole becomes an unsettling tale of fumbled love and transcendent redemption, capped by an extraordinary performance from Olivia Thirlby.

    Festival programmers select 12 films without U.S. distribution that are sure to delight audiences looking to explore the exciting vanguard of New American Cinema and compete for the FIPRESCI Award for Best New American Film. The New American Cinema Jury is comprised of members of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI): Juan Manuel Dominguez, Gerald Peary, and Amber Wilkinson.

    SIFF 2014 FUTUREWAVE AND YOUTH JURY AWARDS

    YOUTH JURY AWARD FOR BEST FUTUREWAVE FEATURE

    GRAND JURY PRIZE
    Dear White People, directed by Justin Simien (USA)

    JURY STATEMENT: For skillfully using humor as a vehicle for social awareness, breaking the mold of traditional cinematic archetypes, and unifying audiences of all backgrounds.

    YOUTH JURY AWARD FOR BEST FILMS4FAMILIES FEATURE

    GRAND JURY PRIZE
    Belle & Sebastien, directed by Nicolas Vanier (France)

    JURY STATEMENT: For its realistic characters, beautiful scenery and cinematography, and strong, touching theme of friendship through hard times. 

    SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
    Zip & Zap and the Marble Gang, directed by Óskar Santos (Spain)

    JURY STATEMENT: For being a funny, adventurous story about the importance of creativity in children’s lives.

    FUTUREWAVE WAVEMAKER AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN YOUTH FILMMAKING

    GRAND JURY PRIZE
    Malone Lumarda, Black Rock Creek (USA)

    JURY STATEMENT: For its gentle depiction of a young girl exploring her natural surroundings that was both captivating and realistic. 

    FUTUREWAVE SHORTS AUDIENCE AWARD
    While We’re Asleep, directed by Summer Matthews (USA) 

    FUTUREWAVE PRODIGY CAMP SCHOLARSHIP
    Khidr Joseph, Clapping for the Wrong Reasons (USA)

    SIFF 2014 SHORT FILM JURY AWARDS

    All short films shown at the Festival are eligible for both the Golden Space Needle Award and Jury Award. Jurors choose winners in the Narrative, Animation, and Documentary categories. Each jury winner will receive $1,000 and winners in any of the three categories may also qualify to enter their respective films in the Short Film category of the Academy Awards®.

    LIVE ACTION

    GRAND JURY PRIZE
    Twaaga, directed by Cédric Ido (Burkina Faso/France)

    JURY STATEMENT: A rich and compelling world with beautiful cultural and generational chapters. The seamless use of animated comic book imagery to reflect the protagonist’s journey and the larger political backdrop.

    SPECIAL JURY MENTION
    Aban + Khorshid, directed by Darwin Serink (USA)

    JURY STATEMENT: A beautifully filmed and tragic story, based on real life events, about freedoms here that carry the death penalty elsewhere.

    DOCUMENTARY

    GRAND JURY PRIZE
    Maikaru, directed by Amanda Harryman (USA)

    JURY STATEMENT: An honest, vulnerable and authentic piece that exposes an invisible issue that is happening in Seattle and worldwide. The character’s story of healing leaves the audience with a sense of hope. The use of artistic footage illustrating the character’s transformative journey.

    SPECIAL JURY MENTION
    The Queen (La Reina), directed by Manuel Abramovich (Argentina)

    JURY STATEMENT: Effective framing, to craft a haunting portrait of youth in exhibition pageants.

    ANIMATION

    GRAND JURY PRIZE
    Rhino Full Throttle, directed by Erik Schmitt (Germany)

    JURY STATEMENT: A story of self redemption told through quirky and playful animation bounding with shifting formats that would be dizzying if the story wasn’t so timeless. An animated love story that tips its hat to its own genre.

    The Short Film Jury comprised of Laura Jean Cronin (B47 Studios), Craig Downing (Couch Fest Films), and Brooks Peck (EMP Museum). 

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  • The Academy Honors 15 Student Winners of 41st Student Academy Awards

     41st student academy awards 2014 winners

    The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Saturday night honored fifteen student winners from colleges and universities around the world at the 41st Student Academy Awards ceremony, held at the Directors Guild of America Theater in Hollywood.  The gold, silver and bronze medals were announced and presented by actors Adrian Grenier, Nate Parker and Oscar® nominee Demian Bichir, and the Oscar-winning directing/producing team from the animated feature “Frozen,” Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck and Peter Del Vecho.

    The 2014 Student Academy Award® winners are:

    Alternative
    Gold Medal: “Person,” Drew Brown, The Art Institute of Jacksonville, Florida
    Silver Medal: “Oscillate,” Daniel Sierra, School of Visual Arts, New York

    Animation 
    Gold Medal: “Owned,” Daniel Clark and Wesley Tippetts, Brigham Young University, Utah
    Silver Medal: “Higher Sky,” Teng Cheng, University of Southern California
    Bronze Medal: “Yamashita,” Hayley Foster, Loyola Marymount University, California

    Documentary
    Gold Medal: “The Apothecary,” Helen Hood Scheer, Stanford University
    Silver Medal: “White Earth,” J. Christian Jensen, Stanford University
    Bronze Medal: “One Child,” Zijian Mu, New York University

    Narrative
    Gold Medal: “Above the Sea,” Keola Racela, Columbia University, New York
    Silver Medal: “Door God,” Yulin Liu, New York University
    Bronze Medal: “Interstate,” Camille Stochitch, American Film Institute, California

    Foreign Film
    Gold Medal: “Nocebo,” Lennart Ruff, University of Television and Film Munich, Germany
    Silver Medal: “Paris on the Water,” Hadas Ayalon, Tel Aviv University, Israel
    Bronze Medal: “Border Patrol,” Peter Baumann, The Northern Film School, United Kingdom

    This year saw first-time honors go to Tel Aviv University, Israel, and The Northern Film School, United Kingdom, in the foreign competition. 

    The Academy established the Student Academy Awards in 1972 to support and encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level.  Past Student Academy Award winners have gone on to receive 46 Oscar nominations and have won or shared eight awards.  They include John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Robert Zemeckis, Trey Parker and Spike Lee.

     image: via The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented its 41st Annual Student Academy Awards® on Saturday, June 7, in Hollywood.

    Front row (left to right): Teng Cheng, Zijan Mu, J. Christian Jensen, Wesley Tippetts, Lennart Ruff, Daniel Sierra, Peter Baumann and Drew Brown.

    Back row (left to right): Helen Hood Scheer, Hayley Foster, Camille Stochitch, Daniel Clark, Keola Racela, Yulin Liu and Hadas Ayalon.

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  • Lineup Announced for African Diaspora International Film Festival – Chicago; Opens with “Freedom Summer”

    Freedom Summer Freedom Summer

    The Chicago African Diaspora International Film Festival is back in Chicago to celebrate 12 years of consecutive work in the Windy City. To be held from June 13-19, hosted by Facets Cinematheque and presented by ArtMattan Productions, the festival will showcase 14 documentary and fiction films set in The United States, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, Egypt, France, Haiti, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Curacao, Morocco, Argentina, Uruguay, and Mexico.

    The festival will open with Freedom Summer by Emmy-winning MacArthur “genius” Fellow filmmaker Stanley Nelson.  A Sundance Film Festival favorite, this film covers the Civil Rights Movement efforts during a very intense period in Mississippi, the Summer of 1964. The screening will be preceded by a catered reception and will be followed by a discussion with veteran film producer Cyndee Readdean who will discuss the making of this powerful film that commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Summer events.

    Another historical program highlighting the African American experience is the African-American Trailblazers Program that pays homage to the creativity, imagination and resilience of two remarkable African-American women:  Josephine Baker and Madame C.J. Walker. The two films in the program: Josephine Baker: Black Diva in a White Man’s World and Two Dollars and a Dream will be enhanced by a conversation with Professor Zakiya R. Adair, Ph.D. whose areas of specialization are transnational women’s cultural history, African American history and black expressive culture.

    As Freedom Summer explores a historic moment in American History, Tula, The Revolt and The Jews of Egypt explore historic moments in Curaçao and Egypt respectively. Tula, the Revolt is an epic narrative about the slave revolt led by Tula on the island of Curaçao in 1795. The Jews of Egypt is a documentary that describes Egypt’s nation building and identity definition processes in the first half of the 20th Century. 

    Music and dance are celebrated in ADIFF 2014 with four documentaries representatives of the revealing nature of art as they make us travel and see people dance and sing to incredibly rich musical expressions.  

    Tango Negro: The African Roots of Tango moves in and out of Uruguay and Argentina as it illustrates the ever present African component in Tango, Candombe, Milongon and other African based musical styles found in the Rio de la Plata region.  Made in Jamaica is a powerful and revealing musical documentary that presents a rich social portrait of contemporary Jamaica through interviews with and performances by acts as diverse as Third World, Yellow Man, Bunny Wailer and Bounty Killer, just to name a few.

    Presented to celebrate South Africa Youth Day in collaboration with the Chicago South African Consulate – The African Cypher is a film that harnesses the energy of the unique and diverse dancing styles of isiPantsula and sBhujwa to Krump and B-boy and that demonstrates how South Africa is a reservoir of music and dance that, with the change of times and a very creative youth movement, has tremendously enriched its musical scenario.

    From Coffee Plantation to the Tumba Francesa, to be featured in the program entitled Haiti in the Spanish Speaking Caribbean, is a film that traces the origins of “Tumba Francesa” in Cuba: a dance practiced by descendants of Saint-Domingue slaves in accordance with the choreography and religious traditions of their Dahomeyan ancestry.   The presentation of this film together with that of the documentary Birthright Crisis will be followed by a discussion with Frantz Voltaire, founder and current chairman of CIDIHCA, a Haitian and Caribbean research center based in Montreal. The discussion will focus on the contributions of the Haitian people to Cuba and the Dominican Republic nations.

    ADIFF 2014 will also present four fiction films dealing with love, friendship, and the confrontations of ideas and ideals. Between Frienda is a story of love, friends and life in Trinidad and Tobago. Go for Sisters by award-winning filmmaker John Sayles (The Brother from Another Planet) tells us a story of immigration, friendship, motherly love and intrigue. The Miscreants, from Morocco/Switzerland, follows a group of actors who are kidnapped by religious extremists. The interaction between both groups is very revealing. Love Triangle is an African-American romantic thriller that follows two men and a woman entangled in an impossible love affair.

     

     

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  • WATCH Trailer for Newly Restored Documentary STATIONS OF THE ELEVATED

    stations of the elevated

    The trailer is released for the newly restored documentary Stations Of The Elevated.  Stations Of The Elevated premiered at the 1981 New York Film Festival, but lacking appropriate music licenses, was never theatrically released in the United States. In the 30 years since its completion it has been rarely screened, developing a cult amongst cinephiles and jazz and graffiti lovers. After two years of working to secure appropriate licenses for its soundtrack, APD’s Cinema Conservancy program will finally make this crucial cultural document and cinematic experience available to the public in 2014 with a theatrical run. 

    Preceeding the theatrical run, APD/Cinema Conservancy’s new restoration of Stations Of The Elevated will premiere on Friday, June 27 as part of BAMcinemaFest on the Steinberg Screen at the BAM Harvey Theater. The event begins with a live performance by legendary jazz ensemble the Mingus Dynasty, the original Charles Mingus legacy band. The first band Sue Mingus organized after Charles’ death in 1979, this acclaimed orchestra continues to interpret Charles Mingus’ more than 300 compositions, and will perform as a prelude to Kirchheimer’s jazz-inflected documentary. 

    STATIONS is a 45-minute city symphony directed, produced and edited by Manfred Kirchheimer. Shot on lush 16mm color reversal stock, the film weaves together vivid images of graffiti-covered elevated subway trains crisscrossing the gritty urban landscape of 1970s New York, to a commentary-free soundtrack that combines ambient city noise with jazz and gospel by Charles Mingus and Aretha Franklin. Gliding through the South Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan – making a rural detour past a correctional facility upstate – STATIONS is an impressionistic portrait of and tribute to a New York that has long since disappeared.

    The first-ever documentations of graffiti on film, STATIONS captures the height of the 1970s graffiti movement in New York, featuring the work of early legends including Lee, Fab 5 Freddy, Shadow, Daze, Kase, Butch, Blade, Slave, 12 T2B, Ree, and Pusher. Juxtaposing the colorful imagery of ‘tagged’ cars with shots of carefully hand-painted billboards depicting hamburgers and bikini-clad women, STATIONS forces audiences to ask: “What is urban art, and what role does it play in the daily life of a city?”

     http://youtu.be/J0iqF6A4vRI

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  • Stony Brook Film Festival Unveils 2014 Film Lineup incl. NY Premiere of Juliette Binoche in “A Thousand Times Good Night”

    Juliette Binoche in A Thousand Times Good Night, directed by Eric PoppeJuliette Binoche in A Thousand Times Good Night, directed by Eric Poppe 

    The 19th Annual Stony Brook Film Festival, produced by Staller Center for the Arts at Stony Brook University, will screen ten evenings of the best in new independent film from Thursday, July 17 through Saturday, July 26 in the Staller Center Main Stage Theatre. The popular summer festival will include three World Premieres and four U.S. Premieres among the seventeen features and twenty shorts and host Q&As with filmmakers and Opening and Closing Night receptions.

    The U.S. Premiere features include Back on Track directed by Kilian Riedhof, a bittersweet drama from Germany about a man well over 70 years old training for the Berlin marathon; Kenau, directed by Maarten Treurniet, a big-screen adventure from the Netherlands set in the 16th century; Paper Souls  (Les âmes de papier) a quirky and surprising comedy from France; The Dark Valley directed by Andreas Prochaska, with Sam Riley (On the Road), a tale of revenge from Austria/Germany reminiscent of the best of American Westerns. 

    Juliette Binoche (The English Patient) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (“Game of Thrones”) star in the Closing Night film, the New York Premiere of A Thousand Times Good Night, directed by Erik Poppe, inspired by his own experience as a Reuters war photojournalist. Other actors seen on screen in the Festival: Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd, Seth Green and Joe Pantoliano in the New York Premiere of The Identical; Daphne Rubin-Vega (“Smash”) in Fall to Rise; Hiam Abass (Lemon Tree) in the New York Premiere of May in the Summer. Karina Smirnoff (“Dancing with the Stars”) and Marsha Mason (The Goodbye Girl) are both expected to accompany Ralph Macchio screening his short film Across Grace Alley, opening the film Festival along with Back on Track. Among the short films are three World Premieres, The Ring Cycle, a film by Erin Cramer with Natalie Dormer (“Game of Thrones,” “The Tudors”); The Showdown, a film by Daniela Schrier Kafshi; and Sorta’ Horny, a film by Don Cherel.

    Alan Inkles, founder and director of the Stony Brook Film Festival noted, “In addition to receiving hundreds of entries as we send out a Call for Entries with a ‘no entry fee,’ and working with many U.S. sales agents and distributors, we have also established good relationships with foreign sales agents and film distributors. Films Distribution, Eye International (Holland Films), Beta Cinema, eOne Films International, Media Luna, and Global Screen have been pivotal in securing an exciting and diverse program. Along with films from the U.S., the international slate of features, documentaries and shorts will take audiences to Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, Israel, Iraq, France, Netherlands, Singapore, Italy, Spain, Austria, Argentina, and Jordan.”

    Tiffany Bartok, producer of Fall to Rise, as well as the short, The Showdown, returns to the Festival this year with Fall to Rise’s writer/director Jayce Bartok. She noted, “In this carefully curated, highly selective festival, all filmmakers who screen their film at Stony Brook feel like winners. With the intense competition to secure a spot on the program, it is an honor to screen at Stony Brook once again. We have been in the theater with close to 1,000 appreciative filmgoers and it’s an awesome experience.” Tiffany Bartok’s short Little Pumpkin screened at a past festival and Jayce Bartok wrote and starred in Mary Stuart Masterson’s The Cake Eaters, which premiered at the Stony Brook Film Festival in 2008.

    Other Premieres

    East Coast Premieres include Maïna, directed by Michel Poulette, a historical feature from Canada in Innu, Inuit and English;  Canopy,  directed by Aaron Wilson, an almost wordless drama set in wartime 1942;  and The Green Prince, directed by Nada Schirman, a documentary about a top Hamas leader’s son who spies for Israel. 

    New York Premieres include The Identical directed by Dustin Marcellino, with Blake Rayne, Ashley Judd, Ray Liotta, Seth Green and Joe Pantoliano, a rock and roll tale about identical twins separated at birth; 45 RPM, directed by Juli Jackson, a charming road movie; My Sweet Pepper Land, directed by Hiner Saleem from Iraq/France/Germany, an engrossing drama set in a remote village at the edge of Kurdistan; Thesis on a Homicide, directed by Hernán Goldfrid, from Argentina/Spain, a murder-movie thriller,  A Five Star Life, directed by Maria Sole Tognazzi, a sophisticated drama from Italy about a luxury hotel inspector, and May in the Summer, directed by Cherien Dabis, who also plays the leading role of May, a Jordanian woman who lives in New York and goes home to plan her wedding.

    OPENING NIGHT – Long Island’s Own: Ralph Macchio

    Among the expected guests for opening night are the cast and filmmaker for the short film, Across Grace Alley. Ralph Macchio, a Long Island native, wrote and directed Across Grace Alley. Karina Smirnoff, the dancer who partnered with him on the television show, “Dancing with the Stars,” makes her acting debut in Across Grace Alley and is expected to attend.  In addition, actors Marsha Mason (The Goodbye Girl) and newcomer Ben Hyland are also expected to attend the screening. Ralph Macchio is well-known for his role in The Karate Kid, celebrating its 30th anniversary.

    “The Art of the Short” – Special Program

    The Art of the Short brings John Salcido and Michael Nathanson to Stony Brook on Friday, July 25 to present a collective body of award-winning work,beginning with a program of three acclaimed shorts – from Michael’s starring role in the Oscar-nominated Time Freak (directed by Andrew Bowler), through John Salcido’s audience favorite Cataplexy, to the darkly funny and daring This Is Ellen, all of which have been showcased previously at the Stony Brook Film Festival.  The event will culminate in the East Coast premiere of their latest collaboration, Tribute, a dark comedy that explores loss, love and obsession.

    Michael and John will discuss the creative process of each film and how the meeting of two successful filmmaking teams, brought together through the Stony Brook Film Festival, resulted in the creation of Tribute, their most ambitious work to date.

    Funded and Executive Produced by Stony Brook sponsor and University alum Joe Campolo, along with his partner Joe Zepf, Tribute represents the evolution of two talented filmmakers who became one team, blending their comic voices to create a surprising and bold new film.

    Closing Night/Additional Screenings

    The Closing Night Awards will be announced by John Anderson, film critic, at a reception following the screening of A Thousand Times Good Night, starring Juliette Binoche and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (“Game of Thrones”), along with young newcomer Lauryn Canny.

    Additional features include Fall to Rise, a film about a principal dancer’s injury forcing her out of her dance company, written and directed by Jayce Bartok,Life’s a Breeze, a raucous comedy from Ireland about a search for one family’s treasure, written and directed by Lance Daly, Hanna’s Journey, a film from Israel/Germany directed by Julia von Heinz, about a German business woman’s trip to Israel as a volunteer. 

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