VIMooZ

The Case Against 8 Selected as Opening Night Film for QDoc: Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival.

QDoc: Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival

THE CASE AGAINST 8, which garnered its co-directors Ben Cotner, and Ryan White the award for Best Director at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and many other awards since, has been selected as the opening night film of this year’s QDoc: Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival. While other films have dealt with the electoral ups and downs of the marriage battle, THE CASE AGAINST 8 focuses on the extraordinary legal strategies that altered the landscape for marriage equality around the country, including Oregon.

Challenging California’s Prop 8 banning same-sex marriage, the legal case was argued all the way to the Supreme Court by a very unlikely team of attorneys: Ted Olson and David Boies, former adversaries in the 2000 Bush v. Gore presidential election battle. Together, they found common ground advocating for two courageous couples who allowed their personal lives to become the center of this controversial crusade.

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‘Chef” and ‘Keep On Keepin’ On’ Win 2014 Tribeca Film Festival Audience Awards

Tribeca Film Festival

Keep On Keepin’ On Chef, written and directed by Jon Favreau, won the Heineken Audience Narrative award, and Keep On Keepin’ On, directed by Alan Hicks, received the Heineken Audience Documentary award at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival. Each award comes with a cash prize of $25,000. Upon hearing the news Alan Hicks commented, “Mate, that’s unbelievable. I was just honored to get into the Festival in the first place. Never would have imagined coming away with the audience award and the Best New Director award. I’m just stoked! I don’t have any other words in my vocab, I’m just stoked! It was a dream of mine to premiere at Tribeca and that in itself was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had. This warm response to the film is such an honor and I’m so happy to get Clark’s story out to the world the way that we have. Clark will be so happy.” Jon Favreau commented, “I am so grateful just to be a part of this prestigious festival and to be recognized and honored by the audience of my hometown is truly humbling.” Mr. Favreau will be donating the $25,000 to City Harvest, the world’s first food rescue organization dedicated to feeding New York City’s hungry men, women, and children. Chef In Chef, after talented and dynamic chef Carl Casper’s (Favreau) social media-fueled meltdown against his nemesis food critic lands him without any job prospects, he hits the road with his son and his sous chef (John Leguizamo) to launch a brand new food truck business. Complete with lavish food imagery and a star-studded cast including Sofia Vergara, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Dustin Hoffman, Oliver Platt, and Amy Sedaris, Favreau’s fresh take on food and chef culture has poignant messages about the media-driven world in which we live and the real meaning of success. Keep On Keepin’ On chronicles eighty-nine year old trumpeting legend Clark Terry who has mentored jazz wonders like Miles Davis and Quincy Jones. Terry’s most unlikely friendship is with Justin Kauflin, a 23-year-old blind piano player with uncanny talent, but debilitating nerves. As Justin prepares for the most pivotal moment in his budding career, Terry’s ailing health threatens to end his own. Charming and nostalgic, Alan Hicks’ melodic debut celebrates an iconic musician while introducing an emerging star of equal vibrancy. It is a mentoring tale as inspirational as its subjects.
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Maryland Film Festival Announces 2014 Opening Night Shorts and 2014 Closing Night Film, LITTLE ACCIDENTS

Maryland Film Festival

Little Accidents

Maryland Film Festival concluded its 2014 lineup announcements by unveiling its Opening Night Shorts program, and its Closing Night film, Sara Colangelo’s LITTLE ACCIDENTS. Also announced were two late-breaking features added to MFF 2014’s lineup, Riley Stearns’ FAULTS, and Desiree Akhavan’s APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR.

MFF 2014’s CLOSING NIGHT FILM

Maryland Film Festival 2014’s Closing Night film will be Sara Colangelo’s drama Little Accidents, which explores the aftermath of a coal-mining disaster on a small Appalachian town. The film, which premiered at Sundance 2014 to great acclaim, stars Elizabeth Banks, Boyd Holbrook, Chloë Sevigny, Jacob Lofland, and Josh Lucas, and was shot by Rachel Morrison (Fruitvale Station, Sound of My Voice). The script was developed at Sundance Labs, and won the 2011 Maryland Filmmakers Fellowship, which is administered by Maryland Film Festival.

MFF 2014’s OPENING NIGHT SHORTS

Maryland Film Festival prides itself on its special advocacy for short-form filmmaking. The festival first devoted its Opening Night to short films in 2002, and has done so each festival since 2004. Past years’ opening night programs have included work from filmmakers such as David Lowery, Lauren Wolkstein, Frances Bodomo, Riley Stearns, and Bobcat Goldthwait. In addition to devoting its opening night to shorts, MFF 2014 will also feature 10 short-film programs, featuring work of all genres from around the globe.

All Opening Night shorts will be hosted by their filmmaker on the evening of Wednesday, May 7th in MICA’s Brown Center. MFF 2014’s Opening Night Shorts are:

THE BRAVEST, THE BOLDEST Director: Moon Molson

Two Army Casualty Notification Officers arrive at the Harlem projects to deliver Sayeeda Porter some news about her son serving in the war in the Middle East. But whatever it is they have to say, Sayeeda ain’t trying to hear it. Moon Molson is the director of previous MFF shorts Pop Foul and Crazy Beats Strong Every Time; The Bravest, The Boldest screened in the Shorts Competition at Sundance 2014.

EASY Director: Daniel Laabs

A character study that follows the relationship between two brothers; one on the verge of becoming an adult, the other becoming a teenager. Daniel Laabs is the co-director of MFF 2011’s short film 8; EASY premiered within SXSW 2014.

I WAS A TEENAGE GIRL Director: Augustine Frizzell

Emma and Jesse are close friends. One night, after an intense breakup, they have a heartfelt conversation that challenges the boundaries of their friendship in an unexpected way. I Was a Teenage Girl premiered within SXSW 2014.

MORE THAN TWO HOURS (Iran) Director: Ali Asgari

It’s 3 a.m., and a boy and a girl are wandering the city. They are looking for a hospital to cure the girl, but it’s much harder than they thought. More Than Two Hours was nominated for the Palme d’Or for best short film at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

VERBATIM Director: Brett Weiner

A jaded lawyer wastes an afternoon trying to determine if a government employee has ever used a photocopier. All the dialogue in this film comes from an actual deposition filed with the Supreme Court of Ohio. Verbatim premiered within the Shorts Competition at Sundance 2014.

LATE-BREAKING ADDITIONS TO MFF 2014’s FEATURE LINEUP

APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR (Desiree Akhavan)

APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR

Shirin is a young woman caught between identities: bisexual, but afraid that coming out to her parents will prevent her from being the perfect Iranian-American daughter; a hip Brooklynite whose friends—and particularly her ex-girlfriend—can’t understand her trepidation about being honest with her family about her sexuality. In the depth of its characters and relatability of its situations, Desiree Akhavan’s warm and hilarious debut feature stands alongside filmmakers like Noah Baumbach, Lena Dunham, and Nicole Holofcener in delivering romantic comedy of the very highest order.

FAULTS (Riley Stearns)

Faults

Ansel Roth is one of the world’s leading experts on cults, and has built a career out of helping former members overcome brainwashing and reintegrate into society. He’s also a broken man, joylessly slogging from hotel to hotel in a futile attempt to promote his poorly received second book to ever-dwindling crowds. So when he’s approached by a distraught couple seeking his help in rescuing their daughter from a new and powerful cult family, Ansel’s anything but enthusiastic—until they put a large sum of money on the table. From Riley Stearns, director of MFF 2013’s Opening Night short The Cub, comes a brilliant film that confidently moves between dark comedy, thriller, serious drama.

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2014 Tribeca Film Festival Announces Award Winners; “ZERO MOTIVATION” “POINT AND SHOOT” “MANOS SUCIAS” “KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON” Win Top Awards

Tribeca Film Festival, VIMOOZ

ZERO MOTIVATION The 13th annual Tribeca Film Festival, which runs through April 27, 2014, announced the winners of its competition categories. The world competition winners for narrative and documentary films were chosen from 12 narrative and 12 documentary features from 10 countries. Best New Director prizes were awarded to a first-time director for both narrative and documentary films, selected from a pool of 39 feature films throughout the program. Awards were also given for the best narrative short, best documentary short, and student visionary films in the short film competitions. The winners, awards and comments from the jury who selected the recipients are as follows: WORLD NARRATIVE COMPETITION CATEGORIES: The jurors for the 2014 World Narrative Competition were Lake Bell, Steve Conrad, Bart Freundlich, Catherine Hardwicke, and Ben Younger. The Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature – ZERO MOTIVATION, written and directed by Talya Lavie (Israel). Jury Comments: “The winner of this year’s Founder’s Award follows young women who must find their place and establish their identity in a world normally dominated by men and machismo. They do so with humor, strength and intellect. The filmmaker mirrors these same qualities. We believe a new, powerful, voice has emerged.” Special Jury Mention: THE KIDNAPPING OF MICHEL HOUELLEBECQ, directed by Guillaume Nicloux (France). Best Actor in a Narrative Feature Film –Paul Schneider as Otto in GOODBYE TO ALL THAT, directed by Angus MacLachlan (USA). Jury Comments: “This performance reminded us that even in the most ordinary settings, our lives can summon extraordinary humor, pain, awkwardness, and if we earn it …. dignity.” Best Actress in a Narrative Feature Film – Valeria Bruni Tedeschi as Carla Bernaschi in HUMAN CAPITAL, directed by Paolo Virzi (Italy, France). Best Screenplay – THE KIDNAPPING OF MICHEL HOUELLEBECQ, written and directed by Guillaume Nicloux (France). Best Documentary Feature – POINT AND SHOOT, directed by Marshall Curry (USA). MANOS SUCIAS Best New Narrative Director – Josef Wladyka director of MANOS SUCIAS (Columbia, USA). Best New Documentary Director – Alan Hicks for KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON (USA). Best Narrative Short – THE PHONE CALL, directed by Mat Kirkby (UK). Best Documentary Short – ONE YEAR LEASE, directed by Brian Bolster (USA). The Nora Ephron Prize: ZERO MOTIVATION, written and directed by Talya Lavie (Israel). Special Jury Mention: I WON’T COME BACK, directed by Ilmar Raag (Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Kazhakstan, Russia). Tribeca Online Festival Best Short Film: LOVE IN THE TIME OF MARCH MADNESS, directed by Melissa Johnson and Robertino Zambramo (USA). Jury Comments: “In her elegant portrayal of a profoundly conflicted wife and mother, this actress crafts a complex performance of a woman wrestling between love, family and obligation. She layers both strength and fragility without self-consciousness, with a fearlessness to exercise both subtlety and restraint.” Best Cinematography – Cinematography by Damian García, for GÜEROS, directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios (Mexico). Jury Comments: “The film perfectly captured the energy and hope of the youth in its nation’s capital.” Jury Comments: “This screenwriter put a bodybuilder, a gypsy, a prostitute, and a world renowned poet in handcuffs at a dinner table and made it feel right. When a film’s language feels so natural as to make the viewer completely forget that a screenplay was written, the writer deserves special acknowledgement.” Best Narrative Editing – FIVE STAR, edited, directed and written by Keith Miller (USA). Jury Comments: “The winning film pulls the viewer into its world from its first decision — to live in the subtle emotional cues of the character’s face for nearly four minutes. The hypnotic pace keeps the stakes rising throughout. The attention to detail in the transitions lets us know we are being guided by a true filmmaker.” WORLD DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION CATEGORIES: The jurors for the 2014 World Documentary Competition were David Edelstein, Nick Fraser, Andrea Meditch, Jenni Wolfson, and Marina Zenovich. Best Documentary Feature – POINT AND SHOOT, directed by Marshall Curry (USA). Jury Comments: “The award goes to a film that makes its own rules. Working with hundreds of hours of first-person—selfie—footage by Matthew Van Dyke, director Marshall Curry creates an unsettlingly ambivalent and often darkly amusing portrait of a generation hellbent on documenting itself. Do we celebrate the so-called “manliness” of its protagonist—or wonder what the hell he’s doing inserting himself into the middle of a violent revolution, like a Zelig with his own camera? It’s a question viewers will brood on—much as this jury did.” Special Jury Mention: REGARDING SUSAN SONTAG, directed by Nancy Kates (USA). Best Documentary Editing – NE ME QUITTE PAS, edited, written and directed by Sabine Lubbe Bakker and Niels van Koevorden (Netherlands, Belgium). Jury Comments: “This year’s prize for editing celebrates a pair of filmmakers’ ability to give shape, rhythm, and even mythic beauty to a story that might have been, frankly, a sodden mess. For finding luster in the most unlikely places, the winners of this year’s prize for Best Documentary Editing goes to Sabine Lubbe Bakker and Niels van Koevorden for their bittersweet portrait of two Belgian boozers.” BEST NEW NARRATIVE DIRECTOR COMPETITION: The jurors for the 2014 Best New Narrative Director Competition were Jeff Goldblum, Nadine Labaki, Dorothy Lyman, Adepero Oduye, and Mickey Sumner. Best New Narrative Director – Josef Wladyka director of MANOS SUCIAS (Columbia, USA). Jury Comments: “We have chosen a filmmaker whose journey should truly be an (is an) example to all of us about the commitment to the process of researching and developing a film. Not only did this director spend several years immersed in a marginalized community in order to tell the story in the most truthful way possible, he impacted and contributed to that community. We felt this film was an eye and mind opener, that transported us to a different place, stimulating our thinking, allowing us to meditate on the relationship between violence and circumstance.” Special Jury Mention: GÜEROS, directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios (Mexico). BEST NEW DOCUMENTARY DIRECTOR COMPETITION: The jurors for the 2014 Best New Documentary Director were Rebecca Cammisa, Heather Graham, Nate Parker, Doug Pray, and Michael Stuhlbarg. Best New Documentary Director – Alan Hicks for KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON (USA). KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON Jury Comments: “We have chosen to honor a filmmaker whose storytelling profoundly affected us all. This director’s work was not loud, did not call attention to itself, it displayed no excess. The filmmaking showed incredible focus, artistry, love and dedication. It told one simple story and told it well. This film has a beautiful soul, and to some extent it’s about soul. It inspired us, and we wish to honor its filmmaker so that they may continue to inspire others.” SHORT FILM COMPETITION CATEGORIES: The 2014 Best Narrative Short Competition jurors were Alfonso Arau, Whoopi Goldberg, Christine Lahti, Sheila Nevins, and Paul Wesley. Best Narrative Short – THE PHONE CALL, directed by Mat Kirkby (UK). Jury Comments: “This film demonstrates the sheer power of the human voice to convey compassion and understanding via a one-on-one telephone conversation. We have selected it for its simplicity and directness in showing how emotional bonds can be formed by empathetic communication and for its beautifully-measured performances.” The 2014 Best Documentary and Student Short Competition jurors were Lindsay Burdge, Toni Collette, Regina Dugan, Simon Kilmurry, and Anton Yelchin. Best Documentary Short – ONE YEAR LEASE, directed by Brian Bolster (USA). Jury Comments: “One Year Lease is a clever and humorously-constructed story that shows the tension of our human imperfections and our desire for connectedness, using an economy of language to construct a clear portrait of a woman we never see.” Special Jury Mention: THE NEXT PART, directed by Erin Sanger (USA). Student Visionary Award – NESMA’S BIRD, directed by Najwan Ali and Medoo Ali (Iraq). Jury Comments: “Tough, intimate, and with a clarity of vision, the winning film is a story of a fiercely strong young woman who is unapologetically herself. The directors have finely crafted a film of coherence and texture.” Special Jury Mention: CYCLOID, directed by Tomoki Kurogi (Japan). BOMBAY SAPPHIRE AWARD FOR TRANSMEDIA The 2014 BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Award for Transmedia jurors were Paola Antonelli, Kira Pollack, and Caspar Sonnen. Bombay Sapphire Award for Transmedia: CLOUDS, created by Jonathan Minard and James George (USA). Jury Comments: “The winning Storyscapes project is a tentacular documentary that explores a network of ideas thanks to digitally rendered, ectoplasmic talking heads selected and 3D-scanned quotes and questions from the interaction design community. Coders riffing about code, captured through the lens of code. It does not get more meta and abstract than this, and yet it is also surprisingly real and moving.” THE NORA EPHRON PRIZE The 2014 Nora Ephron Prize jurors were Delia Ephron, Carol Kane, Natasha Lyonne, Meera Menon, and Tanya Wexler. The Nora Ephron Prize: ZERO MOTIVATION, written and directed by Talya Lavie (Israel). Jury Comments: “In her unique and ambitious first feature, this filmmaker deftly handled such difficult themes as the military, sexism, love, ambition, and friendship. This filmmaker also pulled off the awesome feat of managing multiple characters and storylines. In, what was definitely the most hilarious film we saw at the festival…the winning film is a fresh, original, and heartfelt comedy about life behind the scenes in the Israeli army.” TRIBECA ONLINE FESTIVAL CATEGORIES: The 2014 Tribeca Online Festival winners were voted on by visitors to tribecafilm.com. Tribeca Online Festival Best Feature Film: VARA: A BLESSING, directed by Khyentse Norbu (Bhutan). Tribeca Online Festival Best Short Film: LOVE IN THE TIME OF MARCH MADNESS, directed by Melissa Johnson and Robertino Zambramo (USA).
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VIDEO Watch Trailer + Official Poster for Documentary WE COULD BE KING

Documentary

The official trailer is released for the documentary WE COULD BE KING from two-time Emmy® nominated director Judd Ehrlich. WE COULD BE KING follows the riveting true story of two rival Philadelphia high schools forced to merge due to budget cuts. Their football team’s young, rookie coach and the school’s new principal fight to overcome insurmountable odds and inspire their young players to come together and lift each other toward a better future. WE COULD BE KING will open theatrically in New York and Los Angeles on April 25th and be broadcast on ESPN2 on April 26th at 8pm.

Germantown and Martin Luther King High Schools were bitter rivals for over 40 years. This past year, a budget crisis caused Philadelphia to lay off over 4000 employees and close 37 schools, including Germantown High. Now Germantown must merge with their former rival, King. Against overwhelming odds, a 27-year old first time head coach and a new principal fight to inspire young men from difficult circumstances to come together and lift each other toward a better future.

Two-time Emmy® nominated director Judd Ehrlich uses an intimate, unflinching lens to tell a story much larger than the Martin Luther King Cougars. As the threat of more drastic budget cuts and the loss of funding for athletics looms large, WE COULD BE KING examines the crisis of education in urban America, and celebrates the power of sports to bring young people, neighborhoods, and a city together.

http://youtu.be/i1jgu9JG6qo
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Jim Mickle’s COLD IN JULY Among Lineup for 2014 Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight

Directors’ Fortnight (Quinzaine des Cinéastes)

COLD IN JULY

Jim Mickle’s COLD IN JULY still flying high from its critically acclaimed world premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, has been selected in the program lineup for Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight. This will be Jim’s second time in this selection after last year’s cannibal drama, WE ARE WHAT WE ARE. IFC Films will release COLD IN JULY day-and-date, theatrically and on VOD May 23rd.

“It’s unbelievably flattering and rewarding to be invited back to Fortnight. Ever since reading Joe Lansdale’s wonderfully twisted novel, I’ve wanted to make a film that felt like that book. COLD IN JULY has been in our lives for a very long time and many times felt like it may never make it to the big screen. To return to the Croisette to show this film to the world makes all of that time well worth the wait”, said filmmaker Jim Mickle.

In COLD IN JULY, while investigating noises in his house one balmy Texas night in 1989, Richard Dane (Michael C. Hall) puts a bullet in the brain of a low-life burglar, Freddy Russell (Wyatt Russell). Although he’s hailed as a small-town hero, Dane soon finds himself fearing for his family’s safety when Freddy’s ex-con father, Ben (Sam Shepard), rolls into town; hell-bent on revenge. However, not all is as it seems. Shortly after Dane kills the home intruder, his life begins to unravel into a dark underworld of corruption and violence. Twists and turns continue to pile up as the film reaches its inevitable destination: a gore-soaked dead end.

http://youtu.be/idLGJ3SleDs

Full lineup for Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight.:

Special Screenings

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Tobe Hooper

Li’l Quinquin Bruno Dumont

Feature Competition

Halleluiah Fabrice Du Welz (Belgium/France)

Next to Her Asaf Korman (Israel)

Catch Me Daddy Daniel Wolfe (UK)

Cold in July Jim Mickle (USA)

Fighters Thomas Cailley (France)

Gett Le Proces de Viviane Amsalem Ronit and Shlomi El Kabetz (Israel, France, Germany)

Tale of Princess Kaguya Isao Takahata (Japan)

A Hard Day Seong-Hun Kim (South Korea)

Eat Your Bones Jean-Charles Hue (France)

National Gallery Frederick Wiseman (France/USA)

Pride Matthew Warchus (UK)

Queen and Country John Boorman (UK)

Refugiado Diego Lerman (Argentina, France, Germany)

These Final Hours Zach Hilditch (Australia)

Tu Dors Nicole Stephane Lafleur (Canada)

Whiplash Damien Chazelle (USA)

Short Films Category

8 Bullets Frank Ternier (France)

The Revolution Hunter Margarida Rego (Portugal)

Cambodia 2099 Davy Chou (France)

In August Jenna Hasse (Switzerland)

Fragments Aga Woszczynska (Poland)

Guy Moquet Demis Herenger (France)

Jutra Marie-Jose Saint-Pierre (Canada)

Man on the Chair Dahee Jeong (France/South Korea)

Heartless Nara Normande and Tiao Tiao (Brazil)

Torn Elmar Imanov and Engin Kundag (Azerbaijan)

It Can Pass Through the Wall Radu Jude (Romania)
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Camden International Film Festival announces Points North Fellowship; Filmmakers Invited to Apply

Camden International Film Festival

The Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) which celebrates its 10th anniversary this September 25-28, 2014, announced the expansion of the Points North Documentary Forum with the launch of the Points North Fellowship.

The Points North Fellowship enhances and expands upon the well-established Points North Pitch, a unique opportunity to pitch documentary works-in-progress to an international delegation of funders, commissioning editors and producers before a live audience. Five selected filmmakers (or filmmaking teams) will receive two VIP passes to the festival, four nights of accommodations and a stipend to subsidize their travel to Camden. The fellowship will begin with a day of intensive pitch training in partnership with the Maine Media Workshop (MMW) and focused industry mentorship held at the MMW’s Campus prior to the start of the festival, followed by the fifth annual Points North Pitch, held in the Camden Opera House on September 27, 2014.

In January 2015, all Points North Fellows will receive a ticket to the Cinema Eye Honors, an invitation to CIFF’s annual nominees party and two nights of accommodations in NYC. These events will give fellows an opportunity to connect with the wider documentary community and follow up on their pitches by setting up targeted meetings with industry delegates.

Submissions for the Points North Fellowship are now open through July 18, 2014. http://camdenfilmfest.org/pointsnorth

Fellows will also have a chance to win the Points North Pitch Award, which includes a $1000 cash prize from Documentary Educational Resources, three consultations with the Tribeca Film Institute, and a discounted post-production package from Modulus Studios. Past panelists include representatives from BBC, HBO, A&E IndieFilms, Participant Media, ARTE, ITVS, POV, Al Jazeera, Sundance Institute, Tribeca Film Institute, and Cinereach, as well as leading executive producers and distributors.

The Points North Documentary Forum, held concurrently with CIFF, will continue to feature three days of programming for passholders, including hands-on workshops, panel discussions, one-on-one meetings, networking events and master classes designed to help documentary filmmakers advance their projects in concrete, meaningful ways. In addition to Points North Fellows, the 2014 forum expects to host nearly forty filmmakers with projects in development, through partnerships with the UnionDocs Collaborative Fellows, the Bay Area Video Coalition’s MediaMaker Fellows and the LEF Foundation’s Moving Image grantees.

Points North Pitch Alumni currently traveling the festival circuit include Mike Attie and Meghan O’Hara’s In Country (Points North Pitch Winner 2012), which held its World Premiere at Full Frame in April, and Aaron Naar’s Mateo, which recently premiered at SXSW. Other notable films that have pitched at Points North include the critically-acclaimed Leviathan and the award-winning Betting the Farm.

As Camden International Film Festival enters its second decade and a new chapter of growth, the festival has recruited an 8-member Industry Advisory Board to guide the development of the forum, which includes Andrea Meditch (Founder/President, Back Allie Entertainment), Ryan Harrington (Vice President Artist Programs, Tribeca Film Institute), Kristin Feeley (Director, Labs and Artist Support, Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program), Brian Newman (Founder, Sub-Genre Media), Robb Moss (Filmmaker, Harvard University Professor), Mary Lampson (Filmmaker/Editor), Nancy Schafer (Producer, former ED of Tribeca Enterprises), and Lyda Kuth (Executive Director, LEF Foundation).

The Points North Documentary Forum is made possible by the generous support of the National Endowments for the Arts, the LEF Foundation, the Maine Arts Commission, The Fledgling Fund, Maine Technology Institute and the Maine Media Workshops.
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40th Seattle International Film Festival To Open With Jimi Hendrix Biopic

Seattle International Film Festival

The Seattle International Film Festival announced that the Opening Night Film for its 40th annual Festival will be Jimi: All Is By My Side. Musician, actor, and style icon André Benjamin stars as Seattle rock legend Jimi Hendrix in this film from Academy Award®-winning screenwriter John Ridley (12 Years a Slave). Ridley is scheduled to attend the Opening Night festivities on Thursday, May 15.

It’s 1966 and James Hendrix is an unknown backup guitarist in New York City. One night, Linda Keith (rising British talent Imogen Poots) – girlfriend to Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards – happens to catch a set he’s playing and, mesmerized by his skills, brings Hendrix into her inner circle in London. There, Hendrix has the freedom to develop his craft and personal style. Before long, however, he finds himself caught between Linda’s protective grasp and the charms of a new admirer (Hayley Atwell, Captain America). With these two women by his side, Jimi, as he is now known, navigates the London music scene and begins to make his mark in the world of rock ‘n’ roll – the rest is history.

Ridley, who also wrote and executive produced the film, has crafted a daring, wholly original interpretation of an artist’s origins, perfectly blending his story with archival footage of the era. Benjamin’s magnetic, nuanced performance is the beating heart of Jimi: All Is By My Side; he brilliantly distills the essence of Hendrix before Hendrix. The result is an intimate portrait of the early, momentous years in the life of the legendary guitarist.

The film will be released in theaters this summer by XLrator Media with Open Road Films.

Carl Spence, SIFF’s Artistic Director, says, “I can’t think of a more fitting film to open our 40th – as SIFF looks back on where we’ve come from and forward to where we’re going, we’re inviting everyone to come together to see a film that traces the origins of a Seattle music legend. The film and music communities of Seattle have proved to be a source of incredible creative expression capable of garnering attention worldwide, and Jimi encapsulates that.”

Adds Mary Bacarella, SIFF’s Managing Director, “I am thrilled to kick off the Festival with such an exciting film and guests. 2014 has been an incredible year for Seattle, with the Seahawks winning the Super Bowl and Macklemore taking the world by storm – SIFF’s 40th Festival will keep the party going!”
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“THE CASE AGAINST 8” “HELLION” “OBVIOUS CHILD” Among 8 More Feature Films Added to Maryland Film Fest 2014

Maryland Film Festival

THE CASE AGAINST 8

Maryland Film Festival taking place May 7-11, 2014 in downtown Baltimore, continued announcing titles for its 16th annual festival, unveiling 18 feature-length films in addition to the 22 already announced.Today’s announcement included Sundance-premiered titles The Case Against 8, Hellion, and Obvious Child; films from Russia, Uruguay, and Quebec; documentaries about street photographers, art forgers, and a former Wire Actress; Onur Tukel’s vampire comedy Summer of Blood; and Slamdance special jury prize-winner I Play With the Phrase Each Other.

The 18 feature films announced today for MFF 2014 are:

ACTRESS (Robert Greene) Brandy Burre had a recurring role on HBO’s The Wire before giving up her career to start a family. When she decides to reclaim her life as an actor years later, the domestic world she’s carefully created crumbles around her. The latest non-fiction film from the director of Fake It So Real (MFF 2011).

APPROACHING THE ELEPHANT (Amanda Wilder) This documentary recalls the pioneering early work of Frederick Wiseman as it embeds viewers in the inaugural year of a democratic free school where classes are voluntary and children and staff have equal votes in creating the rules.

ART AND CRAFT (Sam Cullman, Jennifer Grausman) For several decades, gifted and incredibly prolific forger Mark Landis compulsively created impeccable copies of works by a variety of major artists, donating them to institutions across the country and landing pieces on many of their walls. Art and Craft brings us into the cluttered and insular life of an unforgettable character just as he finds his foil in an equally obsessive art registrar.

THE AUCTION (Sébastien Pilote) This poignant character study from Quebec follows a sheep farmer who’s stayed true to the way of life he inherited from his father even as, one by one, his neighbors sell off their farms to developers. As he reaches old age, his two daughters come back into his life in ways that change him forever.

BALTIMORE IN BLACK AND WHITE (Mary Posatko, Emily Topper) One night in 1972, a murder rocked a Baltimore family. Years later, Emily Topper returns to the city, seeking closure for a crime that has haunted her family over 40 years—and uncovers complex issues of race and class in the process.

BUZZARD (Joel Potrykus) In the unnerving and darkly comic tradition of Frownland and Bad Fever comes the story of Marty, a bored and angry office worker who takes his penchant for cheating the system over the edge. Fresh from screenings at SXSW and New Directors/New Films.

THE CASE AGAINST 8 (Ben Cotner, Ryan White) With the passing of California’s Proposition 8 in 2008, the right for same-sex couples to marry was repealed. A very unlikely pair of lawyers—Theodore Olson and David Boies, who faced off during Bush v. Gore—decided to challenge Prop 8, and take their case all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. This riveting documentary offers remarkable access as it follows that fight from day one to its emotional conclusion.

CELESTIAL WIVES OF THE MEADOW MARI (Aleksey Fedorchenko) From the writer/director team behind 2010’s Silent Souls comes this frank exploration of the sex lives of female members of the Meadow Mari, a western Russian ethnic group that prizes fertility, beauty, and happiness.

DEEP CITY: THE BIRTH OF THE MIAMI SOUND (Dennis Scholl, Marlon Johnson, Chad Tingle) While the soulful sounds of Detroit and Memphis are celebrated worldwide thanks to influential labels like Motown and Stax, the 1960s and 1970s saw explosions of soul and funk scenes throughout the country. Deep City mixes wonderful music and archival footage with new interviews as it documents the songwriters, performers, and entrepreneurs behind a vibrant Miami record label that should’ve been huge.

EVERYBODY STREET (Cheryl Dunn) More than a dozen photographers (including Ricky Powell, Jamel Shabazz, Martha Cooper, and Boogie) are the subject of this visually rich documentary celebrating artists who have given us new ways to see both the streets of New York and the colorful characters that populate them.

GLENA (Allan Luebke) This rousing documentary follows Glena Avila, a woman who, despite no background in the sport, gave cage fighting a try. In the process, she discovered a deep passion and strong talent—but also put new pressures on her finances, love life, and relationship with her teenage son.

HELLION (Kat Candler) Juliette Lewis, Aaron Paul, and newcomer Josh Wiggins shine in this drama following a Southeast Texas teen trying to find himself amidst a group of hell-raising friends and a father tormented by his own personal demons. A feature developed from Candler’s short of the same name, which screened within the festival in 2012.

I PLAY WITH THE PHRASE EACH OTHER (Jay Alvarez) The first feature film composed entirely of cellphone calls centers around Jake, a young neurotic who moves to the city to live with his friend Sean, a fanatical poet who survives by swindling inexperienced Craigslist customers. Winner of a Special Jury Prize for Original Vision at Slamdance 2014.

THE MILITANT (Manolo Nieto) A wave of exciting films from Uruguay has hit the festival circuit over the last decade, evidence of a rich film culture previously under-represented on U.S. screens. As with Gigante and A Useful Life (MFF 2011), films that share beautiful camerawork from The Militant’s Arauco Hernández Holz, this film focuses on an idiosyncratic loner struggling to find his rhythm with the people around him—in this case, a taciturn student organizer who relocates from the big-city university to a rural outpost after his father passes away.

OBVIOUS CHILD (Gillian Robespierre) When a 20-something Brooklyn comedian gets dumped, her comedic material and personal life both head in impulsive new directions, leading to an unwanted pregnancy and an appointment at Planned Parenthood. Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffmann, David Cross, Gabe Liedman, and Richard Kind star in this comedy that mines a divisive issue for surprisingly warm and hilarious returns.

SUMMER OF BLOOD (Onur Tukel) Neurotic romance collides with bloody horror and the mixed blessing of immortality in this vampire comedy set in contemporary New York. Starring writer/director Tukel (co-star and co-writer of MFF 2011’s Septien) alongside Anna Margaret Hollyman (star of MFF 2013’s White Reindeer), Dakota Goldhor, and Dustin Guy Defa.

THE VANQUISHING OF THE WITCH BABA YAGA (Jessica Oreck) From the director of Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo and Aatsinki: The Story of Arctic Cowboys, both of which screened within the festival, comes this mysterious feature that descends into Eastern Europe’s haunted woodlands to deliver a captivating mix of documentary, experimental film, folklore, and animation.

YOUNG BODIES HEAL QUICKLY (Andrew T. Betzer) At once meditative and transgressive, this challenging art film shot in and around Maryland brings to mind the work of Harmony Korine and Bruno Dumont in telling its story of two young brothers on the run as they hope to reconnect with their estranged father, a key figure in a disturbing subculture. Cast includes Kate Lyn Sheil (Sun Don’t Shine, The Comedy) and Julie Sokolowski (of Dumont’s Hadewijch).
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2014 Rooftop Films Summer Series Announces 2014 Feature Film Lineup

Rooftop Films Summer Series

Obvious Child

Rooftop Films in New York City, announced today the feature film lineup for the 18th Annual Rooftop Films Summer Series. This year’s series kicks off at Industry City in Sunset Park with some of the most exciting new short films from around the world on Friday, May 16th, followed by a special sneak preview of Gillian Robespierre’s upcoming A24 release Obvious Child on Saturday, May 17th.

The 2014 Rooftop Films Summer Series continues through the summer, with screenings each week in a variety of exciting and picturesque outdoor locations. Rooftop Films’ full feature film slate includes documentaries about mushroom hunters in search of human connection (The Last Season), no-budget trailer park filmmakers (Giuseppe Makes A Movie), untouched corners of endangered rainforest (Forest Of The Dancing Spirits), and idiosyncratic jazz legends (The Case Of The Three-Sided Dream); bold, mind-bending fiction (R100, The Infinite Man, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night); and sneak previews of the most exciting festival hits of the year, including razor-sharp comedies (Obvious Child, The One I Love, Skeleton Twins, Appropriate Behavior, Ping Pong Summer, The Trip To Italy) and powerful independent dramas (10,000KM, Cold In July, Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter). Additionally, Rooftop Films will be presenting the World Premiere of Adam Newport-Berra’s powerful feature film debut, “Thanksgiving.”

Rooftop Films 2014 Summer Series Feature Films Line-up

10,000KM (Long Distance) (Carlos Marques-Marcet | 99 min.) Special Sneak Preview
Part of Rooftop Films SXSW Weekend
Separated by 10,000 kilometers, Alexandra and Sergi must rely on virtual communication to keep the flame of their relationship alive. But with their realities no longer shared and the touch of one another gone, the technology that has supposedly brought the world closer together may just tear them apart.

Appropriate Behavior (Desiree Akhavan | 82 min.) Special Sneak Preview
Shirin is struggling to become an ideal Persian daughter, politically correct bisexual and hip young Brooklynite but fails miserably in her attempt at all identities. Being without a cliché to hold onto can be a lonely experience.

The Case of the Three Sided Dream (Adam Kahan | 87 min.) Special Sneak Preview
Presented by Rooftop Films and Arts Brookfield
Free Screening. Multi-instrumentalist, civil rights activist and worshipper at the church of dreams, Rahsaan Roland Kirk overcame blindness, paralysis and social injustice to fundamentally alter the landscape of jazz.

Cold In July (Jim Mickle | 109 min.) NY Premiere
Jim Mickle’s Sundance hit is an ostensible thriller-cum-revenge flick, harking back to ’80s b-movies and delicately crafted around a simple premise that turns out to be anything but. Courtesy of IFC Films.

The Deadly Ponies Gang (Zoe McIntosh | 65 min.) International Premiere
Clint and Dwayne are two of a kind. The kind that start a pimped-out pony gang (ponies replete with glitter, oversized sunglasses, and bling) on the edges of rural New Zealand. Riding through town the duo deals some drugs, tries to snuggle up to some ladies, and attempts a fundraiser for new teeth while learning the lengths people will go for their mates.

The Disobedient (Mina Djukic | 112 min.) NY Premiere
Running through life with wild abandon, lifelong friends Leni and Lazar set out on an improvised countryside bike trip. Like tiny tornadoes they whirl around rural Serbia resulting in the type of destruction that can only come from true, disastrous love.

Five Star (Keith Miller | 82 min.)
Free Show. In a blend of fiction and reality, Five Star explores the relationship between two men – Primo, a five star general in the Bloods, and John, a young man trying to decide whether gang life is the path for him. As Primo mentors John in the workings of the gang world, a secret threatens both men’s futures. Winner of a Rooftop Filmmakers Fund grant.

Forest of the Dancing Spirits (Linda Västrik | 104 min.) NY Premiere
Deep within one of the world’s last untouched rainforests lives the Yaka/ Mbendjele tribe, a group of hunter-gatherers from the Congo Basin, who are about to discover the Western world’s intense lust for “progress.” Beyond just an ethnographic study, award-winning filmmaker Linda Västrik imbues each lush frame with humor, heartbreak and vibrant storytelling.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (Ana Lily Amirpour | 107 min.) Special Sneak Preview
A mysterious female vampire haunts an Iranian ghost town and falls for one of its alienated locals in this fantastical black-and-white romance. Produced by Elijah Wood, the Sundance-acclaimed title is a daring, original take on the genre.

Giuseppe Makes A Movie (Adam Rifkin | 83 min.) NY Premiere
Using his trailer park neighbors and homeless friends, former child-actor Giuseppe Andrews (Independence Day, Detroit Rock City) has made 30 underground feature films for almost no money. This is the stranger-than-fiction story of him making his newest film, “Garbonzo Gas.” Winner of a Rooftop Filmmakers Fund grant.

Happy Christmas (Joe Swanberg | 78 min.) Special Sneak Preview
Anna Kendrick stars as a newly single woman who crashes with her brother and wreaks havoc on his household in Joe Swanberg’s delicate comedy, which also features energetic turns by Melanie Lynskey and Lena Dunham. Courtesy of Magnolia Films.

The Infinite Man (Hugh Sullivan | 84 min.) New York Premiere
A man’s attempts to construct the ultimate romantic weekend backfire when his quest for perfection traps his lover in an infinite loop.

Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (David Zellner | 105 min.) Special Sneak Preview
Austin-based filmmakers the Zellner brothers return to Rooftop with a touching absurdist odyssey starring Rinko Kikuchi as a Japanese woman who believes Fargo is a true story and ventures to Minnesota in search of the stolen money hidden during the classic Coen brothers film.

The Last Season (Sara Dosa | 90 min.) NY Premiere
Sara Dosa’s insightful directorial debut introduces viewers to the world of mushroom hunters in Chemult, Oregon, charting the relationships that are cultivated between men and nature, and attesting to the power of families we create.

The Living Stars (Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat | 60 min.) NY Premiere
Free screening. No script, no plot, just music and gyrating bodies. Living Stars is a sixty-minute dance party and everyone’s invited!

Mateo (Aaron I. Naar | 85 min.) NY Premiere
Part of Rooftop Films SXSW weekend
Matthew Stoneman, a ‘white guy’ from New Hampshire, learned to play authentic and fluent Spanish songs while serving time in an LA prison for robbery. At once his worst enemy and greatest fan, this is the unlikely story of Matthew (Mateo) busking the streets, traveling to Cuba and attempting to record his newest bolero record (romantic Latin tunes).

The One I Love (Charlie McDowell | 91 min.) Special Sneak Preview
A married couple on the brink of separation escapes to a beautiful vacation house for a weekend getaway in an attempt to salvage what’s left of their relationship. That’s about where normalcy ends in this highly original, dizzyingly bizarre directorial debut from acclaimed author Charlie McDowell. Courtesy of Radius-TWC.

Obvious Child (Gillian Robespierre | 90 min.) Opening Weekend Film
Brooklyn comedian Donna Stern gets dumped, fired, and pregnant just in time for the best/worst Valentine’s Day of her life in this film festival favorite. Courtesy of A24 Films. Winner of the Rooftop Films Eastern Effects Equipment Grant.

Ping Pong Summer (Michael Tully | 92 min.) NY Premiere
The year is 1985. Rad Miracle is a shy 13-year-old white kid who’s obsessed with two things: ping pong and hip hop. During his family’s annual summer vacation to Ocean City, Maryland, Rad makes a new best friend, experiences his first real crush, becomes the target of rich local bullies, and finds an unexpected mentor in his outcast next-door neighbor. Ping Pong Summer is about that time in your life when you’re treated like an alien by everyone around you, even though you know deep down you’re as funky fresh as it gets. Courtesy of Gravitas Ventures.

Pulp (Florian Habicht | 93 min.) Special Sneak Preview
One of the greatest bands to come out of the ’90s is captured in this intimate and imaginative documentary, structured around Pulp’s final concert in their hometown of Sheffield. Pulp is a music-film like no other – at once a concert film, a nostalgic look back at an iconic band, and a thoughtful and sweetly charming tribute to the hometown fans that fell in love with them. Courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories.

R100 (Hitoshi Matsumoto | 94 min.) NY Premiere
When a mild-mannered Japanese mattress salesman joins a hidden, mysterious S&M club that specializes in surprising its clients in public and applying sadistic, sexual torture in any place at any time he soon realizes the price for pleasure may be too high. Courtesy of Drafthouse Films.

The Search For Emak Bakia (Oskar Alegria | 84 min.) NY Premiere
In 1926, the Surrealist artist Man Ray created an experimental film titled Emak Bakia, shot along a forgotten stretch of the Basque coast. Today, a filmmaker retraces Man Ray’s steps by foot, using chance and the wind to guide him in this poetic, indefinable documentary.

She’s Lost Control (Anja Marquardt | 95 min.) Special Sneak Preview
Part of Rooftop Films SXSW Weekend
Focusing on the life of a sex surrogate working in Manhattan, Anja Marquardt’s impressively assured directorial debut casts a penetrating gaze on the complexities of professional intimacy.

Skanks (David McMahon | 84 min.) NY Premiere
A small community theatre in Birmingham, Alabama mounts an original drag musical, “Skanks in a One Horse Town.” The cast of amateur performers bond to form a family of sorts while creating an unconventional show in the religion and football-obsessed south.

The Skeleton Twins (Craig Johnson | 90 min.) Special Sneak Preview
Living separate lives on opposite sides of the country, estranged siblings Maggie (Kristen Wiig) and Milo (Bill Hader) are at the ends of their ropes. But after a moment of crisis reunites them, Milo goes to spend time with Maggie in the small New York town where they grew up. Courtesy of Roadside Attractions.

Thanksgiving (Adam Newport-Berra | 85 min.) World Premiere
Alex & Amy are the perfect Brooklyn couple. They have a cat, a Thanksgiving table of bohemian friends, and a glowing future together. Yet the sudden holiday appearance of Amy’s mysterious brother Will quickly disrupts their idyllic lifestyle and calls into question what we’re truly “thankful” for.

The Trip To Italy (Michael Winterbottom | 115 min.) Special Sneak Preview
Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon reprise their roles as themselves in this follow-up to the acclaimed The Trip in yet another off-the-cuff food adventure. Six meals in six different places on a road trip around Italy. Liguria, Tuscany, Rome, Amalfi and ending in Capri. Courtesy of IFC Films.

We Are The Best (Lukas Moodysson | 90 min.) Special Sneak Preview
Swedish auteur Lukas Moodysson’s (Show Me Love, Together) raucous and ebullient film about three pre-teen outcasts who form an all-girl punk band. Courtesy of Magnolia Films.
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Jeremy Irons to Receive Acting Award at San Francisco International Film Festival

San Francisco International Film Festival

Jeremy Irons, described as one of world cinema’s most compelling and engaging actors, will be the recipient of the Peter J. Owens Award for excellence in acting at the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival taking place April 24 to May 8, 2014. The award will be presented to Irons at Film Society Awards Night, Thursday May 1 at the Regency Center.

The San Francisco Film Society and its year-round exhibition, education and filmmaker services programs will be the beneficiary of the star-studded fundraiser honoring Irons; Richard Linkater, the recipient of the Founder’s Directing Award; Stephen Gaghan, recipient of the Kanbar Screenwriting Award; andJohn Lasseter, the recipient of the George Gund III Craft of Cinema Award. Victoria Raiser and Todd Traina are co-chairs of this year’s Film Society Awards Night gala.

“Jeremy Irons is the perfect choice to receive the Peter J. Owens Award, SFIFF’s top honor for the actor’s craft,” said Noah Cowan, Executive Director of the San Francisco Film Society. “He embodies the international spirit that defines our festival, and the phenomenal work he has done on screens big and small is an inspiration. We are thrilled to pay tribute to an actor whose range, depth and wonderful sense of humor have delighted lovers of world cinema for decades.”

Irons will also be honored at An Evening with Jeremy Irons at Sundance Kabuki Cinemas, Wednesday April 30, 7:30 pm. A screening of a film featuring one of his iconic performances will follow an onstage interview and a selection of clips from his impressive career.

Jeremy Irons won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Claus von Bulow in Reversal of Fortune. He is also a Golden Globe Award, Primetime Emmy Award, Tony Award and SAG Award winner.

The British-born Irons has an extraordinary legacy of film, television and theater performances including The French Lieutenant’s Woman, in which he starred opposite Meryl Streep; The Mission; and David Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers. Irons starred in Damage and M. Butterfly before he made pop culture history as the voice of the evil lion Scar in Disney’s classic The Lion King. Irons showed his grasp of the action genre starring opposite Bruce Willis in Die Hard: With A Vengeance, and also starred as Humbert Humbert in Adrian Lyne’sLolita. Other career highlights include Being Julia with Annette Bening,Appaloosa with Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen, and Bertolucci’s Stealing Beauty.

Irons received a Tony Award for his performance in Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing and most recently appeared in London in the National Theatre’s Never So Good and in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s The Gods Weep. Irons is probably best known for his role as Charles Ryder in the cult TV seriesBrideshead Revisited, and he notably joined Helen Mirren and director Tom Hooper in the award-winning television miniseries Elizabeth I. Irons was also recently lauded for his portrayal of iconic photographer Alfred Stieglitz in the award-winning biographical picture Georgia O’Keeffe.

Irons recent film work includes the the award-winning independent feature Margin Call with Kevin Spacey; The Words with Bradley Cooper, which was featured closing night at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival; Beautiful Creatures, shot in Louisiana and directed by Richard LaGravenese; and Night Train to Lisbon, directed by Bille August. In addition, Irons adds the credit of executive producer and featured actor in Trashed, a Blenheim Production feature documentary directed by Candida Brady, which received a special screening at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and continues to play in theaters and festivals globally.

Named for the longtime San Francisco benefactor of arts and charitable organizations, Peter J. Owens (1936-1991), this award honors an actor whose work exemplifies brilliance, independence and integrity.

Previous recipients of the Film Society’s Peter J. Owens Award are Harrison Ford (2013), Judy Davis (2012), Terence Stamp (2011), Robert Duvall (2010), Robert Redford (2009), Maria Bello (2008), Robin Williams (2007), Ed Harris (2006), Joan Allen (2005), Chris Cooper (2004), Dustin Hoffman (2003), Kevin Spacey (2002), Stockard Channing (2001), Winona Ryder (2000), Sean Penn (1999), Nicolas Cage (1998), Annette Bening (1997) and Harvey Keitel (1996). The Peter J. Owens Award is made possible through a grant from the Peter J. Owens Trust at the San Francisco Foundation.
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Nicole Garcia is Jury President for Caméra d’or Award at 2014 Cannes Film Festival

Cannes Film Festival

Actress, director and screenwriter Nicole Garcia will preside over the Jury for this year’s Caméra d’or award for the best debut film at 2014 Cannes Film Festival. In this opportunity to champion an up-and-coming director she joins the ranks of previous Jury Presidents Bong Joon-Ho, Gael García Bernal, Carlos Diegues and Agnès Varda, who have all in the past contributed their experience and passion for cinema to the deliberations.

“Presiding over the Caméra d’or is an honor, a joy and a mission,” announced Nicole Garcia. “I hope to be worthy of the honor, bask in the joy and do my best to deliver on the mission.”

Since 1978, the Caméra d’or has awarded the best debut film presented in the Official Selection (Competition, Out of Competition, or Un Certain Regard), Critics’ Week or Directors’ Fortnight. The award showcases young filmmakers, whose work is propelled into the limelight with unrivaled international exposure. Among the past recipients of the award are Jim Jarmusch, Mira Nair, Jaco Van Dormael, Naomi Kawase, Bahman Ghobadi and Steve McQueen. Last year’s award was scooped up by Anthony Chen’s Singaporean film Ilo Ilo which was presented as part of Directors’ Fortnight.

The Caméra d’Or 2014 will be presented by the Jury President at the Closing Ceremony on Saturday May 24.

Nicole Garcia studied philosophy and acting, winning her first acting award at the Conservatoire before embarking on a career in theatre. But she was drawn to film. She made a name for herself in Bertrand Tavernier’s Let Joy Reign Supreme in 1975 and subsequently worked with directors Henri Verneuil (Body of My Enemy, 1976) and Laurent Heynemann (The Question, 1977). In 1979, her performance in Philippe de Broca’sPractice Makes Perfect earned her popular acclaim and a César award for best supporting actress. She went on to work with the great names of French cinema including Alain Resnais (My American Uncle, 1980), Bertrand Blier (Stepfather, 1981), Claude Lelouch (Bolero: Dance of Life, 1981), Pierre Schoendoerffer (A Captain’s Honor, 1982), Claude Sautet (Waiter!, 1983) and Claude Miller (Little Lili, 2003).

In 1990, her behind-the-camera debut Every Other Weekend was released to critical acclaim, followed by the similarly well-received The Favorite Son in 1994. She has directed seven films, of which the latest, Going Away, was released in early 2014.

She has presented a total of seven films at Cannes as both actress and director.
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