• QISSA to Oficially Open 2014 International Film Festival Rotterdam | See VIDEO + Images

    QISSA by Anup Singh 

    The European premiere of QISSA by Indian director Anup Singh will officially open the 43rd International Film Festival Rotterdam on Wednesday 22 January, 2014. Set in post-colonial India, QISSA tells the story of Umber Singh, a Sikh, who is forced to flee his village due to ethnic cleansing at the time of partition in 1947. Umber decides to fight fate and builds a new home for his family. When Umber marries his youngest child Kanwar to Neeli, a girl of lower caste, the family is faced with the truth of their identities; where individual ambitions and destinies collide in a struggle with eternity. 

     QISSA by Anup Singh

    QISSA by Anup Singh

    http://youtu.be/iSkDtN2AE7c

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  • See Complete List of 21 Films Competing for Cine Latino Award at 2014 Palm Springs International Film Festival

    GLORIAGLORIA

    The 25th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) announced the 21 films eligible for the Cine Latino Award, which will be presented to the best Ibero-American film screening at the Festival.  The list of films include GLORIA directed by Sebastian Lelio and Chile’s entry in the Best Foreign Language Film category for the Oscars. GLORIA stars Paulina García who won the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival for her performance as a vivacious, middle-aged divorcée who finds what may be her last chance for love while grooving on the dance floor of the local singles club. PSIFF is scheduled to run January 3-13, 2014.


    This year’s eligible films are:

    15 Years and One Day (Spain), Director: Gracia Querejeta
    Anina (Uruguay/Colombia), Director: Alfredo Soderguit
    Coast of Death (Spain), Director: Lois Patiño
    Gloria (Chile/Spain), Director: Sebastián  Lelio
    Grazing the Sky (Spain/Portugal/Mexico), Director: Horacio Alcalá
    Heli (Mexico/Germany/Netherlands/France), Director: Amat Escalante
    Ignasi M.  (Spain), Director: Ventura Pons
    La jaula de oro (Mexico/Spain), Director: Diego Quemada-Diez
    Last Call (Mexico), Director: Francisco Franco
    Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed (Spain), Director: David Trueba
    Purgatorio  (Mexico/USA), Director: Rodrigo Reyes
    Rabbit Woman (Argentina/Spain), Director: Verónica  Chen
    Reaching for the Moon (Brazil), Director: Bruno Barreto
    Roa (Colombia/Argentina), Director: Andrés Baiz
    Root (Chile), Director: Matías  Rojas Valencia
    Tattoo (Brazil), Director: Hilton Lacerda
    The German Doctor (Argentina), Director: Lucía Puenzo
    The Magnetic Tree (Spain/Chile), Director: Isabel Ayguavives
    The Mute  (Peru/France, Mexico), Director: Daniel Vega & Diego Vega
    The Searches (Mexico), Director: José Luis Valle
    The Summer of Flying Fish (Chile/France), Director: Marcela Said

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  • VIDEO: Watch a Clip from THE NOTEBOOK, Hungary’s Entry for Best Foreign Language Film, Now Set for Release in U.S.

    the notebook le grand cahier

    THE NOTEBOOK (Le Grand Cahier), directed by Janos Szasz (Woyzech, The Witman Boys) and the Hungarian entry for Best Foreign Language Film is set for release in the U.S. after having been acquired by Sony Pictures Classics.  Set on the onset of WWII, The Notebook, which stars Ulrich Thomsen (The Celebration) and Ulrich Matthes (Downfall), tells the story of thirteen year old twins abandoned by their parents and forced to live with their cruel grandmother in a village on the Hungarian border. Studying the evil surrounding them, the twins learn to rely on their loyalty to one another, ultimately surviving in the face of challenging circumstances.

    Adapted from Agota Kristof’s bestselling novel of the same name, The Notebook received The Grand Prix Crystal Globe, the top prize at the 2013 Karlovy Vary Film Festival, where it had its world premiere. The film also received The Europa Cinemas Labels Award, which supports theatrical exhibition in Europe, and had its North American premiere at the 2013 Toronto Film Festival. 

    http://youtu.be/krrkKObqPv0

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  • Producers Guild of America Announces 25th PGA Award Nominations; FRUITVALE STATION Receives Special Honors

    FRUITVALE STATION FRUITVALE STATION

    The Producers Guild of America announced the motion picture and long-form television nominations for the 25th Annual Producers Guild Awards.  Although no indie films made the list of nominees for The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures, FRUITVALE STATION will be honored with the Stanley Kramer Award. The Producers Guild will also present special honors to Barbara Broccoli & Michael G. Wilson (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), Robert Iger (Milestone Award), Peter Jackson & Joe Letteri (Vanguard Award), Chuck Lorre (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), and Chris Meledandri (Visionary Award). The 2014 Producers Guild Award winners will be announced on January 19th.

    The theatrical motion picture nominees are:
    The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:

    American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)
    Producers: Megan Ellison, Jon Gordon, Charles Roven, Richard Suckle

    Blue Jasmine (Sony Pictures Classics)
    Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum

    Captain Phillips (Columbia Pictures)
    Producers: Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Scott Rudin

    Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features)
    Producers: Robbie Brenner, Rachel Winter

    Gravity (Warner Bros. Pictures)
    Producers: Alfonso Cuarón, David Heyman

    Her (Warner Bros. Pictures)
    Producers: Megan Ellison, Spike Jonze, Vincent Landay

    Nebraska (Paramount Pictures)
    Producers: Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa

    Saving Mr. Banks (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
    Producers: Ian Collie, Alison Owen, Philip Steuer

    12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
    Producers: Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Brad Pitt & Dede Gardner

    Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount Pictures)
    Producers: Riza Aziz, Emma Koskoff, Joey McFarland

    The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:

    The Croods (DreamWorks Animation)
    Producers: Kristine Belson, Jane Hartwell

    Despicable Me 2 (Universal Pictures)
    Producers: Janet Healy, Chris Meledandri

    Epic (Twentieth Century Fox)
    Producers: Jerry Davis, Lori Forte

    Frozen (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
    Producer: Peter Del Vecho

    Monsters University (Pixar Animation)
    Producer: Kori Rae

    The television nominees are:
    The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television:

    American Horror Story: Asylum (FX)
    Producers: Brad Buecker, Dante Di Loreto, Brad Falchuk, Alexis Martin Woodall, Ryan Murphy, Chip Vucelich

    Behind the Candelabra (HBO)
    Producers: Susan Ekins, Gregory Jacobs, Michael Polaire, Jerry Weintraub

    Killing Kennedy (National Geographic Channel)
    Producers: Mary Lisio, Larry Rapaport, Ridley Scott, Teri Weinberg, David W. Zucker

    Phil Spector (HBO)
    Producers: Michael Hausman, Barry Levinson

    Top of the Lake (Sundance Channel)
    Producers: Philippa Campbell, Jane Campion, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman

    The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:

    A PLACE AT THE TABLE (Magnolia Pictures)
    Producers: Julie Goldman, Ryan Harrington, Kristi Jacobson, Lori Silverbush

    FAR OUT ISN’T FAR ENOUGH: THE TOMI UNGERER STORY (First Run Features)
    Producers: Brad Bernstein, Rick Cikowski

    LIFE ACCORDING TO SAM (HBO Documentary Films)
    Producers: Andrea Nix Fine, Sean Fine, Miriam Weintraub

    WE STEAL SECRETS: THE STORY OF WIKILEAKS (Focus Features)
    Producers: Alexis Bloom, Alex Gibney, Marc Shmuger

    WHICH WAY IS THE FRONT LINE FROM HERE? THE LIFE AND TIME OF TIM HETHERINGTON (HBO Documentary Films)
    Producers: James Brabazon, Nick Quested

    The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama:

    Breaking Bad (AMC)
    Producers: Melissa Bernstein, Sam Catlin, Bryan Cranston, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Mark Johnson, Stewart Lyons, Michelle MacLaren, George Mastras, Diane Mercer, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett

    Downton Abbey (ITV – United Kingdom; PBS – United States)
    Producers: Julian Fellowes, Nigel Marchant, Gareth Neame, Liz Trubridge

    Game of Thrones (HBO)
    Producers: David Benioff, Bernadette Caulfield, Frank Doelger, D.B. Weiss, Christopher Newman, Greg Spence, Carolyn Strauss

    Homeland (Showtime)
    Producers: Henry Bromell, Alexander Cary, Michael Cuesta, Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, Chip Johannessen, Michael Klick, Meredith Stiehm

    House of Cards (Netflix)
    Producers: Joshua Donen, David Fincher, Karyn McCarthy, John Melfi, Eric Roth, Kevin Spacey, Beau Willimon

    The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy:

    30 Rock (NBC)
    Producers: Jack Burditt, Robert Carlock, Luke Del Tredici , Tina Fey, Matt Hubbard , Marci Klein, Jerry Kupfer , Colleen McGuinness, Lorne Michaels, David Miner, Dylan Morgan , Jeff Richmond , Josh Siegal, Tracey Wigfield

    Arrested Development (Netflix)
    Producers: John Foy, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Mitchell Hurwitz, Dean Lorey, Troy Miller, Richard Rosenstock, Jim Vallely

    Big Bang Theory, The (CBS)
    Producers: Bill Prady, Chucke Lorre, Steve Molaro, Faye Oshima Belyeu

    Modern Family (ABC)
    Producers: Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Ben Karlin, Elaine Ko, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Jeffrey Morton, Dan O’Shannon, Jeffrey Richman, Chris Smirnoff, Brad Walsh, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker

    VEEP (HBO)
    Producers: Simon Blackwell, Christopher Godsick, Armando Iannucci, Stephanie Laing, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Frank Rich, Tony Roche

    The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:

    30 for 30 (ESPN)
    Producers: Bill Simmons, John Dahl, Erin Leyden, Connor Schell

    Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (CNN)
    Producers: Anthony Bourdain, Christopher Collins, Lydia Tenaglia, Sandra Zweig

    Duck Dynasty (A&E Networks)
    Producers: Deirdre Gurney, Scott Gurney, Mike Odair, Hugh Peterson, Adam Saltzberg, Charlie Van Vleet

    Inside The Actors Studio (Bravo)
    Producers: James Lipton, Shawn Tesser, Jeff Wurtz

    Shark Tank (ABC)
    Producers: Mark Burnett, Becky Blitz, Bill Gaudsmith, Yun Lingner, Clay Newbill, Jim Roush, Laura Skowlund, Max Swedlow

    The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television:

    Colbert Report, The (Comedy Central)
    Producers: Meredith Bennett, Stephen T. Colbert, Richard Dahm, Paul Dinello, Barry Julien, Matt Lappin, Emily Lazar, Tanya Michnevich Bracco, Tom Purcell, Jon Stewart

    Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC)
    Producers: David Craig, Ken Crosby, Doug DeLuca, Gary Greenberg, Erin Irwin, Jimmy Kimmel, Jill Leiderman, Molly McNearney, Tony Romero, Jason Schrift, Jennifer Sharron, Josh Weintraub

    Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (NBC)
    Producers: Hillary Hunn, Lorne Michaels, Gavin Purcell, Michael Shoemaker

    Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)
    Producers: Scott Carter, Sheila Griffiths, Marc Gurvitz, Dean Johnsen, Bill Maher, Billy Martin, Matt Wood

    Saturday Night Live (NBC)
    Producers: Ken Aymong, Erin Doyle, Steve Higgins, Erik Kenward, Lorne Michaels, Lindsay Shookus

    The Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television:

    Amazing Race, The (CBS)
    Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Elise Doganieri, Jonathan Littman, Bertram van Munster, Mark Vertullo

    Dancing With The Stars (ABC)
    Producers: Ashley Edens-Shaffer, Conrad Green, Joe Sungkur

    Project Runway (Lifetime)
    Producers: Jane Cha Cutler, Desiree Gruber, Tim Gunn, Heidi Klum, Jonathan Murray, Sara Rea, Colleen Sands

    Top Chef (Bravo)
    Producers: Tom Colicchio, Daniel Cutforth, Casey Kriley, Jane Lipsitz, Erica Ross, Nan Strait, Andrew Wallace

    Voice, The (NBC)
    Producers: Stijn Bakkers, Mark Burnett, John de Mol, Chad Hines, Lee Metzger, Audrey Morrissey, Jim Roush, Kyra Thompson, Nicolle Yaron, Mike Yurchuk, Amanda Zucker

    The Award for Outstanding Sports Program:

    24/7 (HBO)

    Hard Knocks (HBO)

    Monday Night Football (ESPN)

    Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel (HBO)

    SportsCenter (ESPN)

    The Award for Outstanding Children’s Program:

    Dora the Explorer (Nickelodeon)

    iCarly (Nickelodeon)

    Phineas and Ferb (Disney Channel)

    Sesame Street (Sprout)

    SpongeBob Squarepants (Nickelodeon)

    The Award for Outstanding Digital Series:

    Burning Love (http://screen.yahoo.com/burning-love/)

    Epic Rap Battles of History (www.epicrapbattlesofhistory.com)

    Lizzie Bennet Diaries, The (www.youtube.com/lizziebennet)

    Video Game High School (http://www.rocketjump.com/category/vghs)

    Wired: What’s Inside (http://video.wired.com/series/what-s-inside)

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  • VIDEO | Watch Trailer for TOM’S RESTAURANT, Documentary About Famous Diner on Seinfeld

    Tom's Restaurant

    Tom’s Restaurant was the locale that inspired Suzanne Vega’s 1987 song “Tom’s Diner” but it is probably more known for its exterior which became famous worldwide thanks to the popular sitcom Seinfeld,  since Jerry Seinfeld’s and his friends regularly gathered to eat and chat at the diner. However, Tom’s Restaurant is a diner located in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Frequented by artists, musicians, comedians, students and faculty of nearby Columbia University, it has been owned and operated by the Greek-American family of Minas Zoulis since the 1940s.

    The documentary highlights past and present owners, clientèle and pop culture references. When President Barack Obama was a student at Columbia, he frequently used to eat at Tom’s Restaurant, and Senator John McCain often ate at Tom’s when he visited his daughter Meghan when she was a student at Columbia. 

    http://youtu.be/7mphrlxJl5k

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  • DC Independent Film Festival Unveils Finalists Films for 2014 Festival Set For Feb 19 to 23

    Furever

    From over 1,000 submitted films, the DC Independent Film Festival announced the finalists films selected to screen in the upcoming festival set for February 19 to 23, 2014. The feature film finalist include 3 MILE LIMIT, BLOOD AND CIRCUMSTANCE, FINDING NEIGHBORS, GREENCARD WARRIORS, LAWRENCE & HOLLOMAN, PAAT, SONS OF THE CITY, THE TOASTMASTER, and THEY WILL OUTLIVE US ALL. The documentary finalists include BROTHERS HYPNOTIC, FUREVER, OFIR, PARTNERS FOR PEACE, THE ROAD TO FAME, and THIS AIN’T NO MOUSE MUSIC!.

    FEATURE FILM FINALISTS

    3 MILE LIMIT

    Directed by Craig Newland 
    (New Zealand  /2013 / 105mins / DC Premiere)
    Lead Cast: Matt Whelan and Belinda Crawley
    It’s 1965 and rock music is shaking up the world but not in New Zealand. Richard Davis is determined to break the Government’s monopoly on broadcasting and bring rock n’ roll to the younger generation, and at the same time hold onto the woman he loves. A pirate radio station is born (based on a true story).

    BLOOD AND CIRCUMSTANCE

    Directed by Tim Gordan
    (USA / 2014 / 97mins / World Premiere)
    Lead Cast: Nathan Keyes, Cynthia Watros, David Baker
    Inmate Joel Stabler is being examined by a psychiatrist charged with determining whether Joel is fit to stand trial.  The result is a psychological puzzle box, filled with questions in a world where there are no easy answers.

    FINDING NEIGHBORS

    Directed by  Ron Judkins
    (USA / 2013 / 96mins / East Coast Premiere)
    Lead Cast: Michael O’Keefe,  Blake Bashoff, Catherine Dent, Julie Mont
    Late on a book delivery, stay-at-home graphic novelist Sam Tucker battles a mid-life crisis.  A comedic drama about the relationships between next-door neighbors as they explore creativity, aging, sexuality and friendship.

    GREENCARD WARRIORS

    Directed by Miriam Kruishoop
    (USA / 2013 / 90 mins / East Coast Premiere)
    Lead Cast; Angel Amaral and Manny Perez
    The story of 14-year-old Angel, an undocumented Latino teen, and his family in Los Angeles struggling  to find their place in American society; set against the backdrop of American military intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan.

    LAWRENCE & HOLLOMAN

    Directed by Matthew Kowalchuk
    (Canada/ 2013 / 88mins / US Premiere)
    Lead Cast: Amy Matysio, Ben Cotton, Daniel Arnold
    Lawrence is an ever-optimistic suit salesman for whom everything always goes right —  until he takes the cynical and suicidal credit collector Holloman under his wing, and everything starts to go very wrong. Based on the hilarious play by two-time Governor General’s Award winning writer Morris Panych.

    PAAT  

    Directed by Amir Toodehroosta
    (Iran / 2013 / 77mins / US Premiere)
    Lead Cast: Mostafa Sasani, Saed Soheili, Sonia Sanjari, Negar Hasanzade, Jamshid Noori, Mandana Nosrati, Fahime Dabbaghi, Babak Hamidifard, Behzad Ashkan, Maryam Movaghar
    One dog, a big city, three women and a few days.  Many stories, but just the one dog.

    SONS OF THE CITY

    Directed by Marcus Richardson
    (USA / 2014 / 77mins / World Premiere)
    Lead Actor: Howard Brown
    After the murder of his best friend, DC native Joe Young’s  bright future is thrown into a war he does not want to fight yet cannot find the courage to leave.

    THE TOASTMASTER

    Directed by Eric Boadella
    (Spain and USA / 2013 / 81mins / East Coast Premiere)
    Lead Cast: David Hovan. Kali Flanagan and Sevag Mahserejian
    After a weekend of surreal adventures, Alek and Uncle Kapriel realize that, although they use very different tools—cinematography and actors versus poetry and cognac—their ultimate goal is the same: to immortalize a story.

    THEY WILL OUTLIVE US ALL

    Directed by Patrick Shearer
    (USA / 2013 / 77mins / DC Premiere)
    Lead Cast: Jessi Gotta, Nat Kennedy
    New York City. 2016. Roommates Margot and Daniel attempt to survive this ‘new’ New York by avoiding it at all costs.  But with the advent of three strange deaths in their Brooklyn building…

     

    DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

    BROTHERS HYPNOTIC

    Directed by Reuben Atlas
    Netherlands & USA / 2013 / 86mins
    The eight young men in the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble are all sons of anti-establishment Chicago jazz musician, Phil Cohran. They grew up in the same house, in a family of 24 siblings, on a strict diet of jazz, funk, and Black Consciousness. Now grown, they must decide whether their fathers’ principles really are their own.

    FUREVER

    Directed by Amy Finkel
    USA / 2013 / 80mins
    An exploration of the dimensions of grief people experience over the loss of a pet, Furever confronts assumptions regarding attachment, religion, ritual, grief, and death, and studies the bonds that form between humans and animals, both psychological and physiological.

    OFIR

    Directed by  Mark McDannald
    USA / 2013 / 58mins
    When Ofir Drori discovered that no one was fighting to disprove Jane Goodall’s dark prophecy that apes in the wild would soon be extinct, he decided that he was the man for the job.   Fearless guerilla filmmaking to save the gorillas.

    PARTNERS FOR PEACE

    Directed by Ed Kucerak
    Canada / 2013 / 101mins
    Under the leadership of Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams and Mairead Maguir, a delegation of American and Canadian women journey to Israel and Palestine to learn about the decades-long conflict and to reach out in solidarity to women activists forging a path toward peace.

    THE ROAD TO FAME

    Directed by Hao Wu
    China / 2013 / 80mins
    A rare, intimate look at the coming-of-age of some of China’s most promising yet confused youth as we follow the rehearsal process of the graduating class at China’s top drama academy staging ‘Fame’ the musical, China’s first official collaboration with Broadway.

    THIS AIN’T NO MOUSE MUSIC!

    Directed by Chris Simon and Maureen Gosling
    USA / 2013 / 92mins
    The story of Chris Strachwitz, the guiding force behind the legendary Arhoolie Records. Since 1960, Strachwitz has traveled with tape-recorder in hand  to plantations and prisons, roadhouses and whorehouses, churches and bayou juke joints. He returned with recordings that would revolutionize the sound of popular music.

    DOCUMENTARY SHORTS

    A SYNAPTIC ADVENTURE: TOURETTES AND BEYOND

    Directed by Stephen Dijoseph
    USA / 2013 / 12mins
    A humorous and insightful journey through the mind of a composer/performing artist who grew up, lives and thrives with Tourette’s Syndrome .

    ACE OF DIAMONDS

    Directed by Anna Overgaard
    USA / 2013 / 34mins
    Nelson Dellis climbs mountains to raise awareness  for Alzheimer’s research and defends his extraordinary  title of two-time U.S. National World Memory Champion.

    GUARDIAN OF GUANO

    Directed by Ana Elisa Sotelo
    USA / 2013 / 12mins
    Isolation, commitment and knowledge shape the powerful work of guarding island birdlife in Peru.

    LEAVING SHARPE

    Directed by Justin Reifert
    USA / 2013 / 12mins
    In 2013, Washington D.C. Public Schools closed 15 schools in an attempt to cut costs and reduce under-enrollment. Sharpe Health, a school for students with special needs, was among them and the impact is real.

    NO STRANGERS

    Directed by Steven Kochones
    USA / 2012 / 27mins
    A celebration of cultural diversity through the images and commentary of acclaimed photographers, anthropologists and ethnographers.

    SEARCHING FOR PERFECTION

    Directed by Sergey Gavrilov
    Russian Federation / 2013 / 18mins
    Californian born ballerina – Joy Annabelle Womack – moved on her own at the age of 15  to Russia to dance Russian classic ballet professionally.

    WHEELCHAIR DIARIES: ONE STEP UP

    Directed by Reid Davenport
    USA / 2013 / 27mins
    Director Reid Davenport has cerebral palsy and was discouraged from studying in Europe based on his disability…so he went to Europe to find out the truth.

    ANIMATION FINALISTS


    A Life with Asperger’s
    Directed by Jamie Ekkens  (USA / 2013 / 4mins)

    Creation & Hope
    Directed by Keith Carter and Gia Kereselidze  (USA / 2013 / 10mins)

    Dogonauts: Enemy Line
    Directed by Shel Rasch  (USA / 2013 / 17mins)

    Elysian Fields
    Directed by Ina Conradi  (Singapore/ 2013 / 10:50mins)

    Fallt
    Directed by Chadwick Whitehead  (USA / 2013 / 2:06mins)

    Fibonacci Bread
    Directed by Danijel Zezelj  (Croatia / 2012 / 7:40mins)

    Girl Meets Boys
    Directed by Shiyu Luo  (China / 2013 / 2:31mins)

    Handle With Care
    Directed by Jun Iwakawa  (UK / 2013 / 4:30mins)

    Light Me Up
    Directed by Derek Dolechek and Ryan Walton  (USA / 2012 / 9mins)

    Salmon Deadly Sins
    Directed by Steven Vander Meer  (USA/ 2013 / 7mins)

    Sidewalk
    Directed by Celia Bullwinkel  (USA / 2013 / 4:15mins)

    Sausage
    Directed by Robert Grieves  (UK / 2013 / 8mins)

    Si Lunchai
    Directed by Hannes Rall  (Germany / 2013 / 8:36mins)

    The Missing Scarf
    Directed by Eoin Duffy  (Ireland / 2013 / 6:35mins)

    The Rose of Turaida
    Directed by Ryan Grobins  (Australia / 2013 / 6:13mins)

    Virtuoso Virtuell
    Directed by Thomas Stellmach and Maja Oschmann  (Germany / 2013 / 7:20mins)

     

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  • VIDEO: Watch TRAILER for Mona Fastvold’s THE SLEEPWALKER to World Premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival

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    Mona Fastvold's THE SLEEPWALKER

    The first trailer is released for Mona Fastvold’s feature debut THE SLEEPWALKER starring Gitte Witt, Christopher Abbott, Brady Corbet, and Stephanie Ellis, scheduled to World Premiere in In Compeitition at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. THE SLEEPWALKER chronicles the unraveling of the lives of four disparate characters as it transcends genre conventions and narrative contrivance to reveal something much more disturbing. 

    Mona Fastvold's THE SLEEPWALKER

    A young couple, Kaia and Andrew, are renovating Kaia’s secluded family estate. Their lives are violently disrupted upon the unexpected arrival of Kaia’s sister, Christine, and her fiance, Ira…Prior tensions and jealousies burgeon as new alliances form and childhood patterns resurface. 

    Mona Fastvold's THE SLEEPWALKER

    As the days grow darker and the nights more disturbing, Kaia is forced to confront Christine’s increasingly tangled perception of reality, which in turn may have begun to alter her own.  When one of the four characters goes missing, the three left behind are flung into upheaval trying to fill in the blanks.

    http://youtu.be/tvMfrpid7Rg

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  • THE RAID 2 to World Premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival, Sets US Release Date | Watch TRAILER

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    Gareth Evans's THE RAID 2

    Gareth Evans’s THE RAID 2, scheduled to World Premiere at the upcoming 2014 Sundance Film Festival will be released in the United States on March 28, 2014. THE RAID 2 picks up right where the first film left off and follows Rama (Iko Uwais) as he goes undercover and infiltrates the ranks of a ruthless Jakarta crime syndicate in order to protect his family and uncover the corruption in his own police force. 

    http://youtu.be/3MuXrN8L9ro

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  • 12 YEARS A SLAVE, THE DIRTIES Lead 2013 Vancouver Film Critics Circle Nominations

    THE DIRTIESTHE DIRTIES

    Steve McQueen’s 12 YEARS A SLAVE leads the 2013 Vancouver Film Critics Circle’s International category with six nominations including Best Film.  12 YEARS A SLAVE is joined in the Best Film category by Alfonso Cuarón’s GRAVITY and Joel and Ethan Coen’s INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS.The nominees for Best Documentary are THE ACT OF KILLING, BLACKFISH and WEST OF MEMPHIS. Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film are BLANCANIEVES, BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR and THE HUNT.

    Matt Johnson’s THE DIRTIES, a conceptually daring story of two film geeks planning a high school shooting, received five VFCC nominations in the Canadian category, including Best Canadian Film and Best First Film by a Canadian Director. THE DIRTIES will face off against Louise Archambault’s GABRIELLE and Jennifer Baichwal and Edward Burtynsky’s WATERMARK for Best Canadian Film. In the new award for Best First Film by a Canadian Director, THE DIRTIES is joined by Barnaby’s RHYMES FOR YOUNG GHOULS and Chloé Robichaud’s SARAH PREFERS TO RUN.

    In addition to its Best Canadian Film nomination, Baichwal and Burtynsky’s WATERMARK is in the running for Best Canadian Documentary, competing against Chelsea McMullan’s MY PRAIRIE HOME and Charles Wilkinson’s OIL SANDS KARAOKE. Karaoke is also in contention for Best British Columbia Film, vying for the award with Ben Ratner’s DOWN RIVER and Jason DaSilva’s WHEN I WALK.

    Canadian animation pioneer Al Sens is the winner of the 2014 Ian Caddell Award for Achievement.

    A full list of nominees in the International category follows.

    BEST FILM

    12 Years a Slave
    Gravity
    Inside Llewyn Davis

    BEST ACTOR

    Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
    Oscar Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis
    Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club

    BEST ACTRESS

    Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
    Sandra Bullock, Gravity
    Greta Gerwig, Frances Ha

    BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

    Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
    Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
    Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club

    BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

    Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
    Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
    June Squibb, Nebraska

    BEST DIRECTOR

    Joel and Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis
    Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
    Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave

    BEST SCREENPLAY

    Joel and Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis
    Spike Jonze, Her
    John Ridley, 12 Years a Slave

    BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

    Blancanieves
    Blue is the Warmest Colour
    The Hunt

    BEST DOCUMENTARY

    The Act of Killing
    Blackfish
    West of Memphis

     

    A full list of nominees in the Canadian category follows.

    BEST CANADIAN FILM

    The Dirties
    Gabrielle
    Watermark

    BEST ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM

    Thomas Haden Church, Whitewash
    Matt Johnson, The Dirties
    Tom Scholte, The Dick Knost Show

    BEST ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM

    Michelle Giroux, Blood Pressure
    Tatiana Maslany, Picture Day
    Sophie Desmarais, Sarah Prefers to Run

    BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM

    Marc Labreche, Whitewash
    Alexandre Landry, Gabrielle
    Owen Williams, The Dirties

    BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM

    Romane Bohringer, Vic + Flo Saw a Bear
    Lise Roy, Tom at the Farm
    Gabrielle Rose, The Dick Knost Show

    BEST DIRECTOR OF A CANADIAN FILM

    Louise Archambault, Gabrielle
    Jeff Barnaby, Rhymes for Young Ghouls
    Matt Johnson, The Dirties

    BEST CANADIAN DOCUMENTARY

    My Prairie Home
    Oil Sands Karaoke
    Watermark

    BEST BRITISH COLUMBIA FILM

    Down River
    Oil Sands Karaoke
    When I Walk

    BEST FIRST FILM BY A CANADIAN DIRECTOR

    The Dirties
    Rhymes for Young Ghouls
    Sarah Prefers to Run

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  • Fargo Film Festival Unveils 2014 Documentary Shorts; FRAMING THE OTHER Wins Best Documentary Short | VIDEO

    FRAMING THE OTHER directed by Willem Timmers and Ilja Kok

    FRAMING THE OTHER directed by Willem Timmers and Ilja Kok

    The Fargo Film Festival unveiled its official program of documentary shorts for the 2014 festival. FRAMING THE OTHER directed by Willem Timmers and Ilja Kok is announced as the winner of Best Documentary Short.  FRAMING THE OTHER is a short documentary about tourism and its complex relationships with indigenous communities.  It reveals the intriguing thoughts of a Mursi woman from Southern Ethiopia and that of a Dutch tourist as they prepare themselves for meeting each other.  This ultimately results in an awkward encounter. Duk County directed byJordan Campbell received an Honorable Mention.

    http://youtu.be/owIX60_vIZI

    OFFICIAL SELECTIONS:

    Call Me Ehsaan (Micah Garen)

    Cardboard Titanias (Sam Frazier, Jr.)

    A Good Wife (Linda Brieda)

    Haenyeo: Women of the Sea (Kevin Sawicki)

    Herd in Iceland (Lindsay Blatt)

    I Never Said I Wasn’t Happy (Sara Peak Convery)

    Life Changing Moments (Sherry Thomas)

    The No Name Painting Association (Joe Griffin)

    The Pier (Chris Abernathy)

    Sweet Crude Man Camp (Isaac Gale)

    There She Is (Emily Sheskin)

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  • VIDEO: Watch Creator and Producer of DUCK DYNASTY in Indie Gay Movie THE FLUFFER

    ,

    Scott Gurney starred in THE FLUFFER

    Amidst all the controversy surrounding A&E reality TV show DUCK DYNASTY star Phil Robertson’s comments about gays and minorities to GQ magazine and the network’s decision to suspend him, now reports are circulating that the creator and producer of the series, Scott Gurney, once starred in a popular independent gay movie. Scott Gurney starred in THE FLUFFER, “a terrific, gripping and sexy fictional (non-hardcore) drama that manages to both expose the nasty underbelly of the gay porn industry and show its allure” that debuted at the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival. In the film, he played a gay-for-pay porn star who’s addicted to crystal meth. 

    http://youtu.be/DyqJl2DZHu4

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  • Finalists Named for 2014 Beaufort International Film Festival

     Eighth Annual Beaufort International Film Festival Poster

    The Eighth Annual Beaufort International Film Festival taking place from February 12 to 16, 2014, has announced the finalists of the 34 films and screenplays selected in the categories of animation, documentary, short film, student film and features to screen at the upcoming festival. Many of the entries are from repeat finalists or winners. Of note among the finalists is the clean sweep of the student film category by the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, N.C.

    This year, the festival will honor the 20th anniversary of the filming of “Forrest Gump,” much of which took place in and around Beaufort. Two-time Oscar Award-winning film editor Arthur Schmidt will receive the Jean Ribaut Award for Excellence in Film Editing during the festival. He won Oscars for his work on “Forrest Gump” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”  The festival will also recognize James Passanante for his more than 30 years behind the scenes scenic designs.

    Festival organizers are seeking locals who participated in the movie for special events during the film festival. A “Behind the Magic” documentary about the making of the film will be shown Feb. 14, followed by a screening of the movie.

    The 2014 Beaufort International Film Festival Finalists are as follows:

    ANIMATION

    Death & the Robot
    Austin Taylor, Director
    Winston-Salem, NC  27127

    Double Occupancy
    Fabian Giessler
    Weimar, Germany

    Moment of Tooth
    Michael Hogan
    Savannah, GA

    Sleight of Hand
    Michael Cusak
    Kent Town, Australia

    DOCUMENTARY

    16 Acres
    Mike Marcucci
    New York, NY  10025

    AKA Doc Pomus
    William Hechter, Co-Director
    Peter Miller, Co-Director
    Ontario, Canada

    Discovering Dave: Spirit Captured in Clay
    Mark Albertin
    Augusta, GA  30904

    Jungle Warfare College
    Jesse Veverka
    Brooktondale, NY  14817

    The Sum Total of Our Memory
    Barbara Klutinis
    San Francisco, CA  94131

    FEATURE

    Pechorin
    Khrushch Roman, Director
    Russian Federation

    Teddy Bears
    Thomas Beatty, Co-Director
    Rebecca Fishman, Co-Director
    Los Angeles, CA  90027

    The One Who Loves You
    Katharyn Grant, Director
    Denver, CO 80209

    SHORTS:

    A Lasting Sorrow
    David Geary, Director
    Louisville, KY

    Amor Imposible
    Felix Martiz, Director
    South Gate, CA 90280

    Bet on Red
    John Murray, Director
    Roswell, GA  30076

    Clown Nose Theory
    Ned Farr, Director
    Venice, CA  90291

    Honeymoon Suite
    Zao Wang, Director
    Beijing, China

    Masque
    Robert Hatch, Director
    Beverly Hills, CA  90210

    The Things My Father Never Taught Me
    Burleigh Smith, Director
    East Perth, Australia

    The Long Wait
    Wolfgang Bodison, Director
    Los Angeles, CA

    STUDENT FILMS

    Death of Eurydice
    Helpless
    Link
    Title Fight
    Trustworthy
    U-666
    What Remains
    Wings

    All Finalists in the Student Category are from the University of North Carolina, School of the Arts, Winston-Salem, NC

    SCREENPLAY

    Coyote Dances with Fire
    Todd Selleck
    Byron Center, MI  49315

    Fox-Tare Two-Eight
    Shelia Watson
    Charleston, SC 29422

    Machina
    Tom Radovich
    Chicago, IL 60614

    Old Scars
    Richard Levine
    Jacksonville, FL  32207

    Pawn
    Uyen Le, Co-Writer
    V. W. Scheich, Co-Writer
    Los Angeles, CA  90045

    Stargazer
    Marcia Chandler Rhea, Writer
    Charleston, SC  29412

    BEST ACTOR:

    Elizabeth Yoder  (The Long Wait- Short Film)
    Gary Weeks (Bet on Red – Short Film)
    Gillian Jacobs  (Teddy Bears – Feature Film)
    Katharyn Grant (The One Who Loves You – Feature Film)
    Lauren Holly ( Masque – Short Film)
    Richard Losee ( Masque – Short Film)

    BEST DIRECTOR

    Katharyn Grant ( The One Who Loves You – Feature Film)
    Ned Farr ( The Clown Nose Theory- Short Film)
    Robert Hatch ( Masque – Short Film)
    Thomas Beatty and Rebecca Fishman ( Teddy Bears- Short Film)
    Zao Wang (Honeymoon Suite – Short Film)

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