The Sprout Film Festival returns for its 12th year in New York City, over the weekend of May 31st-June 1st, 2014, screening films featuring people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The festival announced the official selections for the 2014 Sprout Film Festival, which will showcase 37 independent short films, documentaries, animations, music videos and features from 11 different countries.
The 5th Annual Twin Cities Film Fest (TCFF) will be held October 16th – 25th in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. The Shops at West End and Showplace ICON Theatre & Lobby Lounge will once again be the exclusive venues for this year’s festival.
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40th Student Academy Award winners
Forty-one students from 23 U.S. colleges and universities as well as 10 students from foreign universities have been selected as finalists in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 41st Student Academy Awards 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.
Academy members will now vote to determine up to three winning films in each category. The winners, but not their medal placements, will be announced later this month. The winning students will be brought to Los Angeles for a week of industry activities and social events that will culminate in the awards ceremony on Saturday, June 7, at 6 p.m., at the DGA Theater in Hollywood, at which time the gold, silver and bronze medalists will be revealed.
The finalists are (listed alphabetically by film title):
Alternative
“Dreamers,” Joseph Dwyer, Boston University
“Entropic Apogee,” Bill Manolios, Art Institute of California – San Francisco
“Jaspa’ Jenkins,” Robert Carnilius, Columbia College Chicago
“Oscillate,” Daniel Sierra, School of Visual Arts, New York
“Passer Passer,” Louis Morton, University of Southern California
“Person,” Drew Brown and Ramona Ramdeen, The Art Institute of Jacksonville, Florida
“The Private Life of Fenfen,” Leslie Tai, Stanford University
“Staircases,” Steinar Bergoy Nedrebo, School of Visual Arts, New York
Animation
“Baxter,” Ty Coyle, Savannah College of Art and Design, Georgia
“Goodnight Boon,” Jeremy Jensen, New York University
“Higher Sky,” Teng Cheng, University of Southern California
“Marcel,” Eric Cunha and Seung Sung, School of Visual Arts, New York
“Owned,” Daniel Clark and Wesley Tippetts, Brigham Young University, Utah
“Roadkill Redemption,” Karl Hadrika, Ringling College of Art and Design, Florida
“Two Ghosts,” Amy Lee Ketchum, University of Southern California
“Umbra,” Pedro Jesus Atienzar Godoy, Pratt Institute, New York
“Yamashita,” Hayley Foster, Loyola Marymount University, California
Documentary
“The Apothecary,” Helen Hood Scheer, Stanford University
“Eth“no”representation,” Ryan Metzler and Scott Kulicke, Occidental College, California
“Heel’d,” Thomas Smith and McKenna Hinkle, Villanova University, Pennsylvania
“Light Mind,” Jie Yi, School of Visual Arts, New York
“My Sister Sarah,” Elizabeth Chatelain, University of Texas at Austin
“One Child,” Zijian Mu, New York University
“Punches & Pedicures,” Ashley Brandon and Dennis Höhne, Wright State University, Ohio
“Scattered,” Lindsay Lindenbaum, School of Visual Arts, New York
“White Earth,” J. Christian Jensen, Stanford University
Narrative
“AM800,” James Roe, University of New Orleans
“Above the Sea,” Keola Racela, Columbia University, New York
“Door God,” Yulin Liu, New York University
“Interstate,” Camille Stochitch, American Film Institute, California
“Istifa (Resignation),” Rahat Mahajan, Art Center College of Design, California
“So You’ve Grown Attached,” Kate Tsang, New York University
“Sweepstakes,” Mark Tumas, Temple University, Pennsylvania
“Way in Rye,” Goran Stankovic, American Film Institute, California
“What Remains,” Julie Koegl, University of North Carolina School of the Arts
Foreign Film
“Border Patrol,” Peter Baumann, The Northern Film School, United Kingdom
“Intruder,” Geun Buem Park, Korean Academy of Film Arts, South Korea
“Kam,” Katarina Morano, University of Ljubljana – Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television, Slovenia
“Nocebo,” Lennart Ruff, University of Television and Film Munich, Germany
“North,” Philip Sheerin, National Film and Television School, United Kingdom
“Paris on the Water,” Hadas Ayalon, Tel Aviv University, Israel
“Sacred Defense,” Nima Mohaghegh, Netherlands Film Academy
“Souffle Court,” Johann Dulat, ENS Louis-Lumière – The National Film, Photography & Sound Engineering School, France
“The Oasis,” Carl Marott, The National Film School of Denmark
“Wo Wir Sind,” Ilker Çatak, Hamburg Media School, Germany
To reach this stage, U.S. students competed in one of three regional competitions. Each region is permitted to send to the Academy up to three finalists in each of the four categories. The Student Academy Awards Nominating Committee screened and voted on the finalists in the Foreign Film category.
MATEO directed by María Gamboa
Cine Las Americas announced the award winners for the 17th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival, which took place April 22 to 27 in Austin, Texas. The festival grants jury awards in the categories of Narrative Feature Film, Documentary Feature Film, Narrative Short Film, and Documentary Short Film. The Hecho en Tejas Jury Award is presented in partnership with the Texas Archive for the Moving Image (TAMI). In addition, four audience awards are recognized: Audience Award for Narrative Feature, Audience Award for Documentary Feature, Audience Award for Best Hecho en Tejas Film and the Emergencia Audience Award, granted to the most popular youth film. MATEO directed by María Gamboa swept the major awards winning both the Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature and the Audience Award for Narrative Feature.
17th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival Award Winners
Narrative Feature Competition
Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature
MATEO
Dir. María Gamboa, Colombia/France
Mateo, 16, collects extortion money on behalf of his uncle and uses his pay to help out his mother, who grudgingly accepts the ill-gotten money out of need. They live by themselves in the poor, violent neighborhoods alongside the Magdalena River valley in Colombia. To prove his worth, Mateo agrees to infiltrate a local theater group in order to uncover its members’ political activities. As he becomes enthralled with the free-flowing creative lifestyle of the troupe, his uncle escalates demands on him to produce incriminating information on the actors. Under pressure, Mateo must make difficult choices. At the Miami International Film Festival, where MATEO had its world premiere, the film won Best First Feature and Best Screenplay.
http://youtu.be/tYYStTWt76M
Special Jury Award for Best Comedy
LA DESPEDIDA (The Goodbye)
Dir. Alvaro Diaz Lorenzo, Spain/USA
Documentary Feature Competition
Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature
ROQUE DALTON, ¡FUSILEMOS LA NOCHE! (Roque Dalton, Let’s Shoot the Night!)
Dir. Tina Leish, Austria/El Salvador/Cuba
ROQUE DALTON, ¡FUSILEMOS LA NOCHE! is a poetic documentary, a manifesto both for reading poetry and for living a life that takes responsibility for the state of the world. Roque Dalton (1935-1975) is El Salvador’s most important poet. His life is an adventure, his poetry an exciting shower of sparks between political utopia and sensuality, revolutionary beliefs and lust for heresy. As playful as Roque Dalton’s poetry, this film interweaves interviews with his family, friends, lovers and contemporaries with touching readings of his works by students, actors, prostitutes, prisoners, famous friends and the children of the underprivileged protagonists of his works. The film has screened to great success on the festival circuit, including important stops at the Havana Film Festival and MiradasDOC.
Statement from the Jury: “We appreciated seeing a complex political figure like Roque Dalton integrated into a poetic narrative. It also included the complexity found in any human story, because everything is not black and white.”
Narrative Short Competition
Jury Award for Best Narrative Short
PADRE (Father)
Dir. Santiago ‘Bou’ Grasso, Argentina/France
Honorable Mention for Narrative Short
ROJO (Red)
Dir. Carlos Alejandro Molina M., Venezuela
Documentary Short Competition
Jury Award for Best Documentary Short
TRAZOS EN LA CUMBRE (Drawing on the Heights)
Dir. Alejandro Victorero, Carlos Alejandro Molina, Venezuela
Honorable Mention for Cinematography
NADIE ESPECIAL (Nobody Special)
Dir. Juan Alejandro Ramírez, Peru
Hecho en Tejas Competition
Texas Archive of the Moving Image Hecho en Tejas Jury Award
LADONNA HARRIS: INDIAN 101
Dir. Julianna Brannum, USA
Audience Awards
Audience Award for Narrative Feature
MATEO
Dir. María Gamboa, Colombia/France
Audience Award for Documentary Feature
SIGO SIENDO (I’m Still)
Dir. Javier Corcuera, Peru/Spain
Although the film is about music and musicians, it is not strictly a musical film. Rather, it is a reflection of seemingly disparate stories searching to find one another in a Perú struggling to find its own identity. SIGO SIENDO was nominated for the Platino Prizes, and chosen to screen at Iberodocs in Edinburgh, where director Javier Corcuera was honored for his career achievements as a documentary filmmaker.
Hecho en Tejas Audience Award
MICHA
Dir. Eugene Martin, USA
Audience Award for Emergencia Youth Film Competition
THE HEARING
Dir. Russell Ratt Brascoupe, Canada
Wapikoni Mobile
Eric Rohmer’s A SUMMER’S TALE (Conte d’été), the third entry in the TALES OF THE FOUR SEASONS cycle—and the only one never previously released theatrically in the US will finally get a release date. A SUMMER’S TALE will open at Lincoln Plaza Cinemas in New York on June 20, and in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Royal, Playhouse 7 in Pasadena and Town Center in Encino on July 18. A national release will follow.
A SUMMER’S TALE originally premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes in 1996. Following A TALE OF SPRINGTIME (1990) and A TALE OF WINTER (1992), A SUMMER’S TALE resumed the cycle after THE TREE, THE MAYOR AND THE MEDIATHEQUE (1993) and RENDEZVOUS IN PARIS (1995). AUTUMN TALE (1998) rounded out the series.
Gaspard (Melvil Poupaud), a recent university graduate, arrives at the seaside in Bretagne for three weeks’ vacation before starting a new job. He’s hoping his sort-of girlfriend, the fickle Léna (Aurélia Nolin), will join him there; but as the days pass, he welcomes the interest of Margot (Amanda Langlet, the titular character from Rohmer’s PAULINE AT THE BEACH), a student of ethnology working as a waitress for the summer. Things start to get complicated when the spoken-for Margot encourages Gaspard to have a summer romance with her friend, Solène (Gwenaëlle Simon), and he complies. When Léna turns up, and scheduling complications abound, Gaspard will have to make a choice…
Rohmer’s characteristically light touch allows his characters to discourse on love and friendship, even as their body language complicates and even contradicts their words. Diane Baratier’s cinematography perfectly captures the languor of youth and the feeling of a French beach vacation–the sea, the sunlight and the picturesque surroundings convey the openness of a world of possibilities faced by these young people.
1996; restored 2013 109 min In French with English subtitles
Rooftop Films in New York City, announced the selection of short films to screen on opening night, of the the 18th annual Rooftop Films Summer Series. Under the title, THIS IS WHAT WE MEAN BY SHORT FILMS, opening night on Friday, May 16th, will highlight some of the most exciting and original short films from around the world. The following night, Rooftop Films will present a special sneak preview screening of the upcoming A24 Films release OBVIOUS CHILD, described as a subversive, modern-day romantic comedy from writer/director Gillian Robespierre.
THIS IS WHAT WE MEAN BY SHORT FILMS
Bunda Pandeiro (Carlo Sampietro | 3’)
In Brazilian slang, the phrase “Bunda Pandeiro” is used to describe attractive buttocks by referring to them as a tambourine. This film blurs lines between gender and race, reducing each participant to the utilitarian role of a musical instrument.
Filmmaker in attendance.
Rhino Full Throttle (Nashom im Galopp) (Erik Schmitt | 15’)
A young man uses art to reshape the city around him in search of its soul, but a beautiful tourist overtakes his mission in this imaginative love story.
Symphony No. 42 (Réka Busci | 10’)
47 observations in the irrational connections between human and nature.
An Extraordinary Person (Quelqu’un d’Extraordinaire) (Monia Chokri | 28’)
A 30-year-old scholar, intelligent and beautiful yet socially crippled, is forced to attend a bachelorette party where her quest for authenticity leads to an unavoidable confrontation with old acquaintances.
Winner of SXSW Jury Prize.
Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared II: Time (Becky Sloan, Joe Pelling | 4’) Rooftop Alumnus
Eventually everyone runs out of time – but before that happens to you, make some time to go on a journey, a journey through directorial duo Becky & Joe’s existentialist universe of temporal confusion, TV guides and bathtime.
Afronauts (Frances Bodomo | 13’) Rooftop Alumnus
It’s July 16, 1969: America is preparing to launch Apollo 11. Thousands of miles away, the Zambia Space Academy hopes to beat America to the moon in this film inspired by true events.
Filmmaker in attendance.
Master Muscles (Efren Hernandez | 13’)
Veronika and Efren take a trip.
Filmmaker in attendance.
Person To Person (Dustin Guy Dega | 18’) Rooftop Alumnus
Waking up the morning after hosting a party, a man discovers a stranger passed out on his floor. He spends the rest of the day trying to convince her to leave.
The One I Love
Seattle International Film Festival unveiled the complete lineup of films and events for the 40th annual Festival taking place May 15 to June 8, 2014. This year, SIFF will screen 440 films: 198 features (plus 4 secret films), 60 documentaries, 14 archival films, and 168 shorts, representing 83 countries. The Festival will open with the previously announced screening of JIMI: All Is By My Side, the Hendrix biopic starring Outkast’s André Benjamin from John Ridley, Oscar®-winning screenwriter of 12 Years a Slave, and close with Charlie McDowell’s twisted romantic comedy The One I Love, produced by Seattle’s Mel Eslyn and starring Elisabeth Moss and Mark Duplass.
In addition, legendary producer and Seattle native Quincy Jones will be presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the screening of doc Keep on Keepin’ On.
In addition to the gala screenings, this year’s premieres and special presentations feature a star-studded lineup including Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, and Laura Dern in The Fault in Our Stars, Richard Linklater’s Boyhood with Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke; Quincy Jones and Herbie Hancock in Keep On Keepin’ On; Kim Basinger, Richard Jenkins and Cam Gigandet in 4 Minute Mile; Trent Reznor and Billy Corgan in Beautiful Noise; Nia Vardalos in Helicopter Mom; Vincent Kartheiser and Olivia Thirlby in Red Knot; Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Miranda Otto, and Mia Wasikowska in The Turning; the voices of Cate Blanchett, Kristen Wiig, and Jay Baruchel in How To Train Your Dragon 2; Michael Pitt, Brit Marling, and Astrid Bergès-Frisbey in I Origins,and Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler in They Came Together.
COMPETITIONS
New Directors Competition
10,000KM (d: Carlos Marques-Marcet, Spain/USA 2014)
40 Days of Silence (d: Saodat Ismailova, Uzbekistan/Tajikistan/Netherlands/Germany/
France 2014, North American Premiere)
B For Boy (d: Chika Anadu, Nigeria 2013)
Eastern Boys (d: Robin Campillo, France 2013)
History of Fear (d: Benjamín Naishtat, Argentina/Uruguay/France/Germany 2013)
Life Feels Good (d: Maciej Pieprzyca, Poland 2013)
Macondo (d: Sudabeh Mortezai, Austria 2014, North American Premiere)
Me, Myself and Mum (d: Guillaume Gallienne, Belgium/France/Spain 2013)
Remote Control (d: Byamba Sakhya, Mongolia/Germany/USA 2013)
Rhymes for Young Ghouls (d: Jeff Barnaby, Canada (Québec) 2013, US Premiere)
Standing Aside, Watching (d: Yorgos Servetas, Greece 2013)
Viktoria (d: Maya Vitkova, Bulgaria/Romania 2014)
New American Cinema Competition
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. Jury is comprised of 3 members from the International Federation of Film Critics.
Alex of Venice (d: Chris Messina, USA 2014)
Another (d: Jason Bognacki, USA 2014, World Premiere)
Five Star (d: Keith Miller, USA 2014)
Kinderwald (d: Lise Raven, USA 2013)
Layover (d: Joshua Caldwell, USA 2014, World Premiere)
Little Accidents (d: Sara Colangelo, USA 2014)
Medeas (d: Andrea Pallaoro, USA/Italy/Mexico 2013)
Red Knot (d: Scott Cohen, USA/Argentina/Antarctica 2014, World Premiere)
Sam & Amira (d: Sean Mullin, USA 2014, World Premiere)
The Sleepwalker (d: Mona Fastvold, USA/Norway 2014)
Time Lapse (d: Bradley King, USA 2014, North American Premiere)
X/Y (d: Ryan Piers Williams, USA 2014)
Documentary Competition
Ballet 422 (d: Jody Lee Lipes, USA 2014)
#ChicagoGirl – The Social Network Takes on a Dictator (d: Joe Piscatella, USA/Syria 2013, North American Premiere)
Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus (d: Madeleine Sackler, United Kingdom/USA/Belarus 2013, US Premiere)
Dior and I (d: Frédéric Tcheng, France 2014, 89 min)
Garden Lovers (d: Virpi Suutari, Finland 2014, US Premiere)
I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story (d: Dave LaMattina, USA 2014)
Leninland (d: Askold Kurov, Russia/Germany/Netherlands 2013, North American Premiere)
Marmato (d: Mark Grieco, Colombia/USA 2014)
Obama Mama (d: Vivian Norris, USA/Poland/France 2014, World Premiere)
Shake the Dust (d: Adam Sjöberg, USA 2014, World Premiere)
Song of the New Earth (d: Ward Serrill, USA 2014, World Premiere)
Two Raging Grannies (d: Håvard Bustnes, Norway/Denmark/Italy 2014, North American Premiere)
FACE THE MUSIC
Seattle is a music-obsessed city, so it’s only fitting that the Festival features films that showcase the many ways in which music affects our lives, ranging from biopics and documentaries to concert films and live events. This year’s Live Performance Event features Keep on Keepin’ On subject and Quincy Jones-signed artist Justin Kauflin live with his trio at the Triple Door.
20,000 Days on Earth (d: Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard f: Nick Cave, United Kingdom 2014, 95 min)
Alive Inside: A Story of Music & Memory (d: Michael Rossato-Bennett, USA 2014, 74 min)
Beautiful Noise (d: Eric Green f: Trent Reznor, Billy Corgan, Robert Smith, Wayne Coyne, USA 2014, 87 min)
Big in Japan (d: John Jeffcoat c: David Drury, Philip A. Peterson, Sean Lowry, Alex Vincent, Adam Powers, USA/Japan 2014, 100 min)
Electro Chaabi (d: Hind Meddeb, Egypt/France 2013, 77 min)
Finding Fela (d: Alex Gibney, USA 2014, 120 min)
God Help the Girl (d: Stuart Murdoch c: Emily Browning, Olly Alexander, Hannah Murray, Cora Bissett, Pierre Boulanger, United Kingdom 2014, 111 min)
Keep On Keepin’ On (d: Alan Hicks f: Clark Terry, Justin Kauflin, Quincy Jones, Gwen Terry, Herbie Hancock, USA 2014, 84 min)
Lady Be Good: Instrumental Women In Jazz (d: Kay D. Ray Narrated by: Patrice Rushen, USA 2014, 80 min)
Razing the Bar (d: Ryan Worsley f: Brian Foss, Joetta Velasquez, Bill Bullock, Chris Chambers, Jake Stratton, Rachel Ratner, USA 2014, 83 min)
Song of the New Earth (d: Ward Serrill f: Tom Kenyon, USA 2014, 89 min)
Strictly Sacred: The Story of Girl Trouble (d: Isaac Olsen f: Kurt Kendall, Bill Henderson, Bon Henderson, Dale Phillips, Neko Case, USA 2014, 95 min)
NORTHWEST CONNECTIONS
Seattleites see more films per capita than the residents of any other American city. This year’s lineup of films with their roots in the Pacific Northwest reveals a filmmaking region officially on the map. Every year, SIFF honors the many ways in which the Puget Sound region contributes to the world of cinema, whether it’s as an evocative location for outside filmmakers or inspiration for local filmmakers on the rise.
4 Minute Mile (d: Charles-Olivier Michaud c: Kelly Blatz, Richard Jenkins, Kim Basinger, Cam Gigandet, Analeigh Tipton, USA 2014, 96 min)
BFE (d: Shawn Telford c: Wally Dalton, Kelsey Packwood, Aleksander Greenleaf, Ian Lerch, Abby Dylan, USA 2014, 98 min)
Big in Japan (d: John Jeffcoat c: David Drury, Philip A. Peterson, Sean Lowry, Alex Vincent, Adam Powers, USA/Japan 2014, 100 min)
The Breach (d: Mark Titus Narrated by: Kate O’Toole, USA 2014, 85 min)
Burkholder (d: Taylor Guterson c: Bob Burkholder, Britton Crosley, David VanderWal, Sean MacLean, James Molyball, USA 2014, 81 min)
DamNation (d: Ben Knight, Travis Rummel, USA 2014, 92 min)
Desert Cathedral (d: Travis Gutiérrez Senger c: Lee Tergesen, Chaske Spencer, Petra Wright, Tony Doupe, Russell Hodgkinson, Aron Michael Thompson, USA 2014, 90 min)
Fly Colt Fly: The Legend of The Barefoot Bandit (d: Adam Gray, Andrew Gray, Canada 2013, 82 min)
Lucky Them (d: Megan Griffiths c: Toni Collette, Thomas Haden Church, Oliver Platt, Ahna O’Reilly, USA 2013, 96 min)
My Last Year With the Nuns (d: Bret Fetzer c: Matt Smith, USA 2014, 77 min)
Oil & Water (d: Laurel Spellman Smith, Francine Strickwerda, USA 2014, 78 min)
Razing the Bar (d: Ryan Worsley f: Brian Foss, Joetta Velasquez, Bill Bullock, Chris Chambers, Jake Stratton, Rachel Ratner, USA 2014, 83 min)
Sold (d: Jeffrey Brown c: Niyar Saikia, Gillian Anderson, David Arquette, USA/India, Nepal, United Kingdom 2014, 97 min)
Song of the New Earth (d: Ward Serrill f: Tom Kenyon, USA 2014, 89 min)
Strictly Sacred: The Story of Girl Trouble (d: Isaac Olsen f: Kurt Kendall, Bill Henderson, Bon Henderson, Dale Phillips, Neko Case, USA 2014, 95 min)
Two Raging Grannies (d: Håvard Bustnes, Norway/Denmark, Italy 2014, 78 min)
AFRICAN PICTURES
Now in its second year, this program once again presents an impressive and diverse selection of films from and about Africa. Supported by a generous multi-year grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, African Pictures brings the best in cinema to audiences in Seattle and the broader Northwest. Featured selections include indigenous films, films by African filmmakers working outside the continent, and films on topics relating to Africa’s changing contemporary political and social landscape.
African Metropolis (d: Marie Ka, Philippe Lacote, Ahmed Ghoneimy, Vincent Moloi, Folsakin Iwajomo, Jim Chuchu, Kenya/Ivory Coast/Egypt/Senegal/Nigeria/ South Africa 2013, 92 min)
B For Boy (d: Chika Anadu c: Uche Nwadili, Nonso Odogwu, Ngozi Amarikwa, Frances Okeke, Iheoma Opara, Nigeria 2013, 118 min)
Bound: Africans versus African Americans (d: Peres Owino, USA 2014, 90 min)
Difret (d: Zeresenay Berhane Mehari c: Meron Getnet, Tizita Hagere, Ethiopia 2014, 99 min)
Electro Chaabi (d: Hind Meddeb, Egypt/France 2013, 77 min)
Finding Fela (d: Alex Gibney, USA 2014, 120 min)
Four Corners (d: Ian Gabriel c: Brendon Daniels, Irshaad Ally, Jezriel Skei, Lindiwe Matshikiza, Abduragman Adams, South Africa 2014, 119 min)
Half of a Yellow Sun (d: Biyi Bandele c: Thandie Newton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, John Boyega, Anika Noni Rose, Joseph Mawle, Nigeria/United Kingdom 2013, 106 min)
Leading Lady (d: Henk Pretorius c: Gil Bellows, Katie McGrath, Brumilda van Rensburg, Bok van Blerk, Eduan van Jaarsveldt, South Africa 2014, 96 min)
Rags and Tatters (d: Ahmad Abdalla c: Asser Yassin, Atef Yousef, Amr Abed, Yara Gubran, Mohamed Mamdouh, Egypt 2013, 87 min)
The Rooftops (d: Merzak Allouache c: Adila Bendimerad, Nassima Belmihoub, Ahcene Benzerari, Aïssa Chouat, Mourad Khen, Algeria/France 2013, 92 min)
Salvation Army (d: Abdellah Taïa c: Saïd Mrini, Karim Ait M’Hand, Amine Ennaji, Malika El Hamaoui, Frederic Landenberg, Morocco/France 2013, 82 min)
Under the Starry Sky (d: Dyana Gaye c: Marème Demba Ly, Ralph Amoussou, France/Senegal 2013, 86 min)
White Shadow (d: Noaz Deshe c: Hamisi Bazili, James Gayo, Glory Mbayuwayu, Salum Abdallah, Germany/Italy/Tanzania 2013, 115 min)
New Zealand director, producer and screenwriter Jane Campion, winner of the Palme d’or for The Piano, will be the President of the Jury of the 67th Cannes Film Festival. In addition to Campion, the Jury will also include five women and four men. Their task will be to decide between the 18 films in Competition in order to select the winners – to be announced on stage at the ceremony on Saturday 24th May. The winner of the Palme d’or will be screened during the Festival’s closing evening on Sunday 25th of May, in the presence of the Jury and the entire team of the winning film.
THE JURY
Jane CAMPION – President (Director, Screenwriter, Producer – New Zealand)
Carole BOUQUET (Actress – France)
Sofia COPPOLA (Director, Screenwriter, Producer – United States)
Leila HATAMI (Actress – Iran)
JEON Do-yeon (Actress – South Korea)
Willem DAFOE (Actor – United States)
Gael GARCIA BERNAL (Actor, Director, Producer – Mexico)
JIA Zhangke (Director, Screenwriter, Producer – China)
Nicolas Winding REFN (Director, Screenwriter, Producer – Denmark)
Carole Bouquet, Actress (France)
After her film debut in 1977 with Luis Buñuel in That Obscure Object of Desire, Bouquet alternated between arthouse and blockbuster productions. A Bond Girl in 1981 in For Your Eyes Only, she worked with Bertrand Blier on Buffet Froid (1979) and Too Beautiful For You (1989) for which she won the César for Best Actress. She appeared in Le jour des idiots by Werner Schroeter, Michel Blanc’s Dead Tired and Embrassez qui vous voudrez, Lucie Aubrac by Claude Berri, L’Enfer by Danis Tanovic, Nordeste by Juan Diego Solanas (Festival de Cannes 2005) and Unforgivable by André Téchiné.
Sofia Coppola, Director and screenwriter (United States)
Coppola’s first feature film, The Virgin Suicides (1999) was selected for the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes, where it met with international critical acclaim. Four years later, after several Oscar nominations for Lost in Translation, including Best Director, she walked off with the Best Screenplay award. Her third film, Marie-Antoinette was selected in Competition at Cannes in 2006. After picking up a Golden Lion in Venice forSomewhere (2010), Sofia Coppola opened Un Certain Regard with her last film The Bling Ring at the Festival de Cannes in 2013.
Leila Hatami, Actress (Iran)
Born in Tehran into a family of filmmakers, she started out acting in films directed by her father, Ali Hatami, before starring in Dariush Mehrjui’s Leila (1998) which brought her to national attention. It was Asghar Farhadi who established her on the world stage with A Separation (Golden Bear at the 2011 Berlin Festival). She picked up the Best Actress award in Karlovy Vary for her role in Ali Mosaffa’s Last Step in 2012.
Jeon Do-yeon, Actress (South Korea)
The first Korean actress to receive the Best Actress award at the Festival de Cannes for her role in Secret Sunshine by Lee Chang-dong (2007), Jeon Do-yeon started out as a television actress before turning exclusively to cinema. Her major films include I Wish I Had a Wife by Ryoo Seung, My Mother, The Mermaid by Park Jin-pyo and The Housemaid by Im Sang-soo, presented at Cannes in 2010. A massive celebrity in her country, she has just finished shooting Memories of the Sword by Park Heung-sik.
Willem Dafoe, Actor (United States)
Twice nominated for an Oscar, for Oliver Stone’s Platoon and Shadow of the Vampire, Dafoe has appeared in 80 films including Grand Budapest Hotel by Wes Anderson, Light Sleeper by Paul Schrader, The Last Temptation of Christ by Martin Scorsese, Antichrist by Lars von Trier and The English Patient by Anthony Minghella. He will soon be appearing in A Most Wanted Man by Anton Corbijn and Pasolini by Abel Ferrara. A co-founder of the Wooster Group – an experimental theatre collective – he is currently on tour with Bob Wilson’s play The Old Woman.
Gael García Bernal, Actor, director and producer (Mexico)
Bernal first came to public attention in Iñárritu’s Amorres Perros, soon followed by Y Tu Mamá También by Alfonso Cuarón. He then featured in films directed by some of the greats of international cinema, such as The Motorcycle Diaries by Walter Salles, Pedro Almodóvar’s Bad Education, The Science of Sleep by Michel Gondry, Babel by Gonzalez Iñárritu, and The Limits of Control by Jim Jarmusch. In 2005, he founded his Canana production company with Diego Luna and in 2010, after a few short films, directed his first feature film,Deficit, selected at La Semaine de la Critique at Cannes.
Nicolas Winding Refn, Director, screenwriter and producer (Denmark)
His first film, Pusher (1996), written and directed at the age of 24, immediately became a cult movie and he shot to fame throughout the world. He then directed Bleeder (1999), Fear X (2003), Pusher II & III (2004 & 2005),Bronson (2008) and Valhalla Rising (2009), all characteristic of the style that came to be dubbed “Refn-esque”. In 2011, Drive was presented at the Festival de Cannes and won the Best Direction prize, awarded by the Jury presided by Robert De Niro. His last film, Only God Forgives, featured in Competition at Cannes in 2013.
Jia Zhangke, Director, screenwriter and producer (China)
After first studying art Jia Zhangke, born in 1970, attended the Beijing Film Academy in the 1990s. After the success of his first film, Xao Wu (1998), he directed Platform (Zhantai, 2000) and Unknown Pleasures (Ren xiao yao, 2002) selected for Venice and Cannes respectively. Still Life picked up the Golden Lion in Venice in 2006. He also presented 24 City at the Festival de Cannes, in Competition in 2008 and I Wish I Knew for Un Certain Regard in 2010. Last year, A Touch of Sin garnered the Best Screenplay prize awarded by the Jury presided by Steven Spielberg.
Image via Cannes Film Festival. Clockwise (top left to right) Jane Campion, Jia Zhangke, Willem Dafoe, Leila Hatami, Carole Bouquet, Gael Garcia Bernal, Jeon Do-yeon, Nicolas Winding Refn, Sofia Coppola
Nine filmmaking teams will receive a total of $300,000 in funding in the latest round of San Francisco Film Society (SFFS) / Kenneth Rainin Foundation (KRF) Filmmaking Grants, to help with their next stage of production, from screenwriting to postproduction. The Film Society’s flagship SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grants are awarded twice annually to filmmakers for narrative feature films that will have significant economic or professional impact on the Bay Area filmmaking community.
The SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grant program has funded a total of 46 projects since its inception, including such success stories as Kat Candler’s Hellion and Ira Sachs’ Love is Strange, both of which premiered to strong reviews at Sundance 2014; Short Term 12, Destin Cretton’s sophomore feature which won both the Narrative Grand Jury Award and Audience Award at South by Southwest 2013; Ryan Coogler’s debut feature Fruitvale Station, which won the 2014 Film Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, the Un Certain Regard Avenir Prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, and both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the narrative category at Sundance 2013; andBeasts of the Southern Wild, Benh Zeitlin’s debut phenomenon which won Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize and Cannes’ Camera d’Or in 2012 and earned four Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture).
SPRING 2014 SFFS / KRF FILMMAKING GRANT WINNERS
Ad Inexplorata
Mark Elijah Rosenberg, writer/director; Jason Berman, P. Jennifer Dana, Thomas B. Fore, Matt Parker, Josh Penn and Mark Roberts, producers — $50,000 for postproduction
Captain Stanaforth is a NASA pilot alone on a one-way mission toward the unknown.
Black Metal
Kat Candler, writer/director — $17,000 for screenwriting
After a career spent mining his music from the shadows, the lead singer of a metal band and his family experience a chain reaction of turmoil following the murderous actions of a teenage fan. For more information visit candlerproductions.com.
Clash
Mohamed Diab, writer/director — $35,000 for screenwriting
In the wake of the recent removal of the former Egyptian president from office, Hayman-a jaded, claustrophobic revolutionary-is stuck in an overcrowded truck with clashing brotherhood and military supporters. Engulfed in hatred and violence, he must learn to connect with his love for Egypt in order to survive.
Five Nights in Maine
Maris Curran, writer/director/producer; Carly Hugo and Matt Parker, producers — $60,000 for production
A young African American man, reeling from the tragic loss of his wife, travels to rural Maine to seek answers from his estranged mother-in-law, who is herself confronting guilt and grief over her daughter’s death.
The Fixer
Ian Olds, cowriter/director; Paul Felten, cowriter; Caroline von Kuhn and Lily Whitsitt, producers – $18,000 for preproduction
An Afghan journalist is exiled from his war-torn country to a small bohemian community in Northern California. When he attempts to turn his menial job on the local police blotter into “Afghan-style” coverage of local crime, he gets drawn into the underworld of this small town-a shadow Northern California where sex is casual, true friendship is hard to come by, and an unfamiliar form of violence bubbles up all around him. For more information visit fixerthefilm.com.
Oscillate Wildly
Travis Matthews, cowriter/director; Keith Wilson, cowriter/producer — $25,000 for packaging
When his disability check arrives much reduced, a hot-headed young gay man with cerebral palsy is forced to confront the disability he has let define his whole being. For more information visit travisdmathews.com.
Our Lady of the Snow
Tom Gilroy, writer/director — $35,000 for screenwriting
When the Bishop decides to sell a gothic convent isolated in the snowy woods, the elderly nuns living there begin to have ecstatic visions, which he dismisses as faked. But as the visions spread to the convent’s teenaged atheist cook, inexplicable supernatural events follow, with no one sure of their cause.
Patti Cake$
Geremy Jasper, writer/director/composer; Dan Janvey, producer — $25,000 for packaging
Patricia Baccio, aka Patti Cake$, is a big girl with a big mouth and big dreams of rap superstardom. Stuck in Lodi, New Jersey, Patti battles an army of haters as she strives to break the mold and take over the rap game. For more information visit welcometolegs.com.
Snow the Jones
Alistair Banks Griffin, writer/director/producer; Jeremy Kipp Walker and Kevin Turen, producers — $35,000 for production
When teenage vagabond Lexi joins a traveling door-to-door sales crew, she discovers a world much darker than the one from which she was trying to escape. For more information visit twogatesofsleep.com.
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.
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.
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.