THE RUGBY PLAYER, which explores the unique bond between Mark Bingham, one of the passengers of United Flight 93 on 9/11, and his mother, Alice Hoagland, a former United Airlines flight attendant, makes its New York premiere at the 25th anniversary of NewFest, the NY LGBT Film Festival.
The 14th annual deadCENTER Film Festival, named for its central geographic location (in Oklahoma City, the center of the U.S.), announced 2014 dates – the festival will take place Wednesday, June 11 through Sunday, June 15, 2014 in downtown Oklahoma City. Filmmakers may submit their films for review beginning on Monday, Aug. 19.
The New York Film Festival unveiled the names of the 35 films that will comprise the main slate of official selections for the 51st edition film that will run September 27-October 13, 2013. American and British comedies are a significant presence in this year’s lineup of of main slate official selections with Richard Curtis’s ABOUT TIME, a romantic comedy about a family whose men have the ability to travel in time, starring Bill Nighy and Rachel McAdams; Declan Lowney’s ALAN PARTRIDGE, which brings Steve Coogan’s legendary television character to the big screen for the first time; Roger Michell’s LE WEEK-END, featuring Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan as a couple visiting Paris with hopes of rekindling their relationship; and Alexander Payne’s NEBRASKA, about a father and son (Bruce Dern and Will Forte) on a road trip to pick up a million dollar prize that may or may not await them; and the previously announced Centerpiece and Closing Night Gala selections, Ben Stiller’s THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY and Spike Jonze’s HER.
The rock and roll documentary “MUSCLE SHOALS” which premiered earlier this year at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival will open September 27, 2013 at the IFC Center in NY and nationwide on VOD, and October 11th in LA. At the heart of the story is Rick Hall who managed to convince musical superstars like Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, and Etta James to come to Alabama and record their hit albums. He is responsible for creating the “Muscle Shoals sound” and The Swampers, the house band at FAME that eventually left to start their own successful studio
AFTERMATH, winner of the Yad Vashem Award at the 2013 Jerusalem Film Festival and the Critics’ Prize at the 2012 Gdynia Film Festival in Poland, will open at Lincoln Plaza in New York on November 1st, and at The Royal and other Laemmle Theaters in Los Angeles on November 8. A national release will follow.
Wolf Children by Mamoru Hosoda
The Milwaukee Film Festival announced the line-up for its Rated K: For Kids program, formerly known as the Milwaukee Children’s Film Festival. According to the festival, Rated K will continue to present the best international children’s films for ages 3-12 years. Rated K: For Kids will feature four feature-length films, including a 25th anniversary screening of children’s classic THE LAND BEFORE TIME, and three of “the best international features on the children’s film festival circuit.” Rated K also features three separate short film showcases, programmed for age-specific audiences: Size Small (ages 3+), Size Medium (ages 6+), and Size Large (ages 10+).
L’AUTRE MAISON (ANOTHER HOUSE)
L’AUTRE MAISON (ANOTHER HOUSE), the first fiction feature by Quebec director Mathieu Roy (Surviving Progress) will open the 37th Montreal World Film Festival on August 22, and ADORE the new film by French director Anne Fontaine, will close the festival on September 2. The Montreal World Film Festival will be held August 22 to September 2, 2013.
AN EPISODE IN THE LIFE OF AN IRON PICKER
The 19th Sarajevo Film Festival opened today, Friday, August 16, 2013, (thru August 24, 2013) with a ceremony at the National Theatre hosted by Bosnian-Herzegovinian actress Marija Pikić. The ceremony was followed by a screening of AN EPISODE IN THE LIFE OF AN IRON PICKER by the Bosnian-Herzegovinian director Danis Tanović. This latest film by Danis Tanović won the Silver Bear at the 63rd International Film Festival in Berlin. The film’s protagonist Nazif Mujić also received a Silver Bear. In addition to the two official awards, the film received a special mention by the Ecumenical Jury.
The comedy film “THE GRAND SEDUCTION” has been selected to open 2013 Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) on Thursday, September 19, 2013. “The Grand Seduction is a laugh-out-loud comedy, and we’re overjoyed to present the Western Canadian premier of this major release. The film is a who’s who of talent from across Canada, from director Don McKellar and the incredible cast, to co-writer Michael Dowse, who is well known in Calgary and abroad for Fubar and others. Last year’s Opening Gala was the largest and most talked about in the festival’s history, and we look forward to an even bigger night this year.” – Steve Schroeder, Executive Director, The Calgary International Film Festival
This weekend is a relatively quiet one in terms of major Hollywood releases (expecting people will be out enjoying the final weekends of summer?), but it’s a vibrant one for indie and foreign releases. At least two of them are among the most talked-about movies of the year, and several had their premieres back at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and are finally making their ways out to the masses. Be sure to keep your eyes on some of the films being released this weekend as many of them of will continue expanding to more areas in the following weekends.
The 9th Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) taking place from 26 September to 6 October 2013, announced its first Gala Premieres: GRAVITY by Alfonso Cuarón, DEVIL’S KNOT by Atom Egoyan, THE RAILWAY MAN by Jonathan Teplitzky, JOE by David Gordon Green, DIANA by Oliver Hirschbiegel, ALL IS LOST by JC Chandor and LE WEEKEND by Roger Michell.
ROOFTOP FILMS & AT&T FEATURE FILM GRANT:Jonas Carpignano, A CHJANA
Rooftop Films which wraps up it’s Summer Series this weekend, announced the 2013 Filmmakers’ Fund grantees. Rooftop Films’ Founder and Artistic Director, Mark Elijah Rosenberg, said of the grants: “Every year, it is an honor for us at Rooftop to be able to support a new crop of amazing films thanks to the support of our community—our audience, partners and sponsors. We are proud to reflect the diversity of our community by awarding grants to a wide range of films this year, from comedies and wild new media projects to serious films addressing global political issues. Each of these filmmakers previously screened at our festival, so it’s a wonderful opportunity for us to give something back to them and help them make new films which will soon astonish the world.”