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Panel Discussions Tied to Release of Grand Theft Auto V Added to New York Film Festival

New York Film Festival

The Film Society of Lincoln Center (FSLC) and Rockstar Games will present panel discussions from September 29 to October 1 tied to the recent release of Grand Theft Auto V (GTAV) during the 51st New York Film Festival as part of its NYFF Convergence program, as well as an exclusive concert with live performances of the original score from composers Tangerine Dream, Woody Jackson, The Alchemist & Oh No.

Panel presentations will include; Visit Los Santos and Blaine County: The World of Grand Theft Auto V, where audiences will hear members of the Rockstar Games creative team discussing the storytelling and game development of GTAV; and The Music of Grand Theft Auto V, which will feature the game’s composers during a special edition of NYFF LIVE, a free-to-the-public event where they will discuss the challenges and process involved with scoring an interactive game.

Live From Los Santos: The Music of Grand Theft Auto V is an exclusive concert event in which the audience will be invited to step inside the world of GTAV with a once-in-a-lifetime musical performance by the renowned artists and producers performing the score for the game with support from over 20 additional supporting musicians, while images of Los Santos and Blaine County, the setting of GTAV roll by on a massive screen.

“These NYFF Convergence events aim to examine GTAV from multiple angles, giving our audience multiple ways to explore what has already become one of the most compelling works in the genre,” says NYFF Convergence Programmer Matt Bolish. “The heart and soul of NYFF Convergence is storytelling and Rockstar Games has proven with GTAV that they are simply the best when it comes to creating narrative, cinematic experiences in games.”

NYFF Convergence is the second edition of the crowning event for the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s year round programming commitment to transmedia presented at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center and the Walter Reade Theater with panels, workshops and “immersive experiences” being presented from Saturday, September 28 through Tuesday, October 1. Focusing on the intersection of technology and storytelling, NYFF Convergence offers audiences and creators the unique opportunity to experience a curated selection of some of the most exciting immersive storytelling projects being produced today.

Grand Theft Auto V, the latest in the critically acclaimed blockbuster open world series, released on Tuesday, September 17 to rave reviews. The New York Times said “(Grand Theft Auto V) remains the most immersive spectacle in the interactive entertainment” and that the game is the “best plotted, most playable, character-driven, fictionally coherent entry” in the history of the series.

GTAV is also the first title in the series to have an original interactive score composed in a special collaboration of Tangerine Dream, Woody Jackson, and renowned hip-hop producers The Alchemist & Oh No.
Tickets for The Rockstar Experience will go on sale at 10am on Friday, September 27: $125 Concert Plus (Full Experience includes concert + afterparty with DJ & open bar); $40 Concert Only.

EVENT DESCRIPTIONS

GRAND THEFT AUTO V PANEL:
Visit Los Santos and Blaine County: The World of Grand Theft Auto V
Grand Theft Auto V, the latest blockbuster videogame from Rockstar Games, is a highly detailed and satirical reimagining of modern day Southern California, from the bustling metropolis of Los Santos to the surrounding countryside, rivers, mountains, lakes and beaches of Blaine County. Join us as we take a look at a presentation of the game-world and talk with some of the creative team at Rockstar Games about Grand Theft Auto V’s formation from a series of ambitious ideas to complete ‘virtual’ reality.
Sunday, September 29 at 3:30PM at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center (144 West 65th Street)

CONCERT INFORMATION:
The Film Society of Lincoln Center & Rockstar Games Present:
Live From Los Santos: The Music of Grand Theft Auto V
Grand Theft Auto V comprises an entire universe filled not only with action, but with sound, thanks to the dynamic score from composers Tangerine Dream, Woody Jackson, and The Alchemist & Oh No. For one night only, this talented group of artists, along with more than 20 supporting musicians will come together to perform the game’s score, live to a very limited audience at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear this incredible collaboration perform the score, combined with art and game visuals to offer a completely unique and immersive live experience.
Monday, September 30 at 9:00PM (Doors open at 8:00PM)
The Church of St. Paul the Apostle (405 W 59th Street)
$40 for concert, $125 for concert + After Party

AFTER PARTY (included with ticket):
Grand Theft Auto V: A Celebration
Join us after the concert at a very special event to celebrate the music of Grand Theft Auto V at Le Poisson Rouge, featuring DJ sets from Flying Lotus, host of the in-game radio station, FlyLo FM, and Gilles Peterson who hosts Worldwide FM.
Le Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker Street)

NYFF LIVE: FREE MUSIC PANEL:
The Music of Grand Theft Auto V
For the first time in the series, Grand Theft Auto V features a completely original and dynamic interactive musical score, adding a level of immersion and tension never heard before in a Grand Theft Auto game. This exciting addition to the game series is the result of many years work and Ivan Pavlovich, Music Supervisor for Rockstar Games, will be on hand with the game’s key composers, Tangerine Dream, Woody Jackson, and Alchemist & Oh No to explain the many intricacies of such a mammoth project and its impact on this iconic piece of entertainment
Tuesday, October 1 at 8:00PM at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center Amphitheater (144 West 65th Street)
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New Indie Films, Documentaries in Theaters This Weekend Friday September 27

News

We’re almost in October, so that means we can look forward to indie horror films trying to squeeze themselves onto the release schedule. We get two this week, along with a pair of interesting documentaries and some other indie and foreign releases. As always, check your local art house theaters to see when these might be coming to your area.

WE ARE WHAT WE ARE

A horrific family drama from director Jim Mickle (he directed the sci-fi/horror films Stake Land and Mulberry Street), We Are What We Are is about a family that keeps to itself because it adheres to traditions that modern society would doubtlessly reject. However, life begans to change for the daughters of the family when a storm hits their town and it becomes harder to keep family secrets to themselves. So far, reviews have been very positive for this one.

AS I LAY DYING

Perhaps the most humorous aspect of this adaptation of William Faulkner’s classic 1930 novel – which has never been previously adapted – is that it was recently re-released with James Franco’s photo on the cover to coincide with the film’s release. Franco not only stars but also wrote the screenplay and directed the film. It’s gotten so-so reviews from critics so far after debuting at this year’s Cannes, so perhaps Franco bit off more than he can chew at this point of his career.

INEQUALITY FOR ALL (Documentary)

In the wake of the economic recession that started in 2008, one of the results of the “recovery” is that the economic gap is getting wider. In other words, the mega-rich are getting richer and the middle class are getting poorer or, at best, seeing little economic growth. Inequality For All follows Robert Reich, who served as the U.S. Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton, as he looks at the problems caused by this economic disparity. It won a Special Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance, where it premiered to rave reviews.

THE CITIZEN

Despite playing at a number of film festivals, few reviews on The Citizen have come out yet. But it’s undoubtedly harrowing material about an Arab immigrant who arrives in New York City on September 10, 2001. Based on a true story and co-written/directed by first time feature filmmaker Sam Kadi, this drama can be difficult to stomach at times for those who remember the fearful aftermath of the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history.

OUT IN THE DARK

Similar to last weekend’s Zaytoun, Out in the Dark is about the unlikely relationship between an Israeli and a Palestinian. However, where this film differs is that it isn’t about the friendship between a man and a boy, this is about the hidden forbidden romance between two men. It has won a number of awards at international film festivals after premiering at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, though some critics have called it a bit predictable.

DARK TOUCH

Dark Touch is a horror film about the evil of child abuse and how a frightened, abused child uses her telekinesis to get revenge on those who seek to harm her… and even help her. I saw it at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, and it honestly was one of the most unpleasant experiences I’ve ever had watching a movie — and I don’t mean that in a good way. Not for the faint of heart, or maybe anyone with a heart at all.

MUSCLE SHOALS (Documentaries)

Muscle Shoals, Alabama might be the music industry’s best-kept secret. After all, who would ever expect that some of the most soulful music ever, recorded was done in two small recording studios in a tiny town in Alabama? This documentary talks to some of music’s biggest legends as they tell the story of how FAME Studios became one of the most successful recording studios in the history of rock music. I’ve seen dozens of music documentaries, and this is one of my recent favorites.

Other notable weekend indie, foreign & documentary releases:

ON THE JOB

MORNING

THERESE

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Review: MUSCLE SHOALS

Film Reviews

As a huge music fan who nevertheless can’t play a note, I always enjoy watching documentaries about behind the scenes details about the music business and how the greatest records of all time were recorded. While there are hundreds of music documentaries, many are fairly pedestrian and focus on household names who have sold millions of records and whose stories are already well-known. The stars of MUSCLE SHOALS, a documentary about two prolific recording studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, certainly have had that “sold millions of records” part down since the 1960s, but their lives have been anything but open books.

If you ever wondered what Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Ronnie Van Zant meant by the lines “In Muscle Shoals they got the Swampers/And they’ve been known to pick a song or two” in Sweet Home Alabama, the documentary MUSCLE SHOALS has the answer. The town of Muscle Shoals, Alabama became a somewhat unlikely major hub of soul, R&B and rock music beginning in the early 1960s with FAME Studios, which was founded by native Rick Hall. Hall is a seemingly ancient producer who overcame a life full of tragedy to turn his town into a recoding juggernaut. The list of world-famous musicians who recorded major hit songs in Muscle Shoals is nearly endless, with many of them commenting on their work in the town in the documentary, including Aretha Franklin, Percy Sledge, Wilson Pickett, Gregg Allman, and The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards and Mick Jagger.

So what’s the reason why an out-of-the-way studio became such a mecca for great music? The documentary offers many explanations about the environment, but the true reason is that the house musicians for FAME Studios developed a powerful sound that has been impossible to find anywhere else in the decades since. It’s the kind of music that gives you chills if you sit down and really absorb it. The documentary goes into depth about these musicians, particularly because the group of white guys behind the instruments seem to be the furthest thing from “soul” musicians on the planet.

Because of this, the documentary serves as a spectacular journey through American R&B and soul music of the 1960s and 1970s. Naturally the documentary focuses on the hey-day of Muscle Shoals, and there’s little said about the records made here since aside from recent footage of Alicia Keys recording a Bob Dylan song that Dylan originally recorded here (and oddly U2’s Bono appears numerous times in the documentary though he never recorded music here). However, it’s an incredible ride. In particular, I’m impressed by the participation of world-famous musicians as “talking heads” – Keith Richards, one of my all-time idols, is particularly hysterical as usual – rather than relying on “music journalists” to tell second-hand stories as so many documentaries do.

The only aspect of worry is that first-time director Greg “Freddy” Camalier has set an extremely high bar for himself. I don’t know how he’ll ever be able to follow up this supremely entertaining and informative documentary with his next film. However, after seeing Muscle Shoals I know I’ll be in line to see what he does next.

Review Rating: 4 out of 5 : See it …… It’s Very Good

http://youtu.be/mmM–aUROQc

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Polish Communist-Era Drama “IDA” to Get U.S. Release in 2014 | TRAILER

Foreign Language Films

Pawel Pawlikowski’s Polish Communist-era drama IDA, which has been playing to audiences at film festivals in Telluride and Toronto will be released in the US next year 2014 by Music Box Films. IDA tells the story of a young orphaned novice nun exposed to a past and a family she never knew existed.

Best known for his breakthrough The Last Resort and BAFTA-award winning My Summer of Love, IDA marks the first film for the Polish-born, British filmmaker, set in his homeland. IDA won the International Critics’ Prize (FIPRESCI Prize) in Toronto as well as the won the top prize at Poland’s recent Gdynia Film Festival along with Best Actress (Agata Kulesza) and Cinematography (Lukasz Zal and Ryszard Lenczewski). Music Box plans a winter/spring North American festival campaign followed by a late second quarter 2014 theatrical release.

In 1962 Poland, Anna (newcomer Agata Trzebuchowska), an eighteen-year-old orphan raised in the convent, is preparing to become a nun when the Mother Superior insists she first visit her one remaining living relative. The sheltered and innocent Anna soon finds herself in the presence of her aunt Wanda (Kulesza), a worldly and world-wearyCommunist Party insider, who informs Anna that her real name is Ida, she isJewish and her parents were murdered during the Nazi occupation. This revelation triggers a heart wrenching journey for the two women into the countryside, to the family house and into the secrets of the repressed past as it evokes the legacy of the Holocaust and the realities of postwar Communism.

http://youtu.be/MRzbCZtiWYc
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More Films Announced For Hamptons Film Festival Incl. “ABOUT TIME”, “AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY “

Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF)

ABOUT TIME

More films announced for the 2013 Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF). Director Richard Curtis’ ABOUT TIME will be the Southampton opener on Friday, October 11th and Saturday’s Centerpiece Film is AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY directed by John Wells. The Spotlight films include: BREATHE IN, FREE RIDE, HER, LABOR DAY, LOUDER THAN WORDS, MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM, THE PAST and CAPITAL.This year the festival will pay special tribute to Oscar Award winning director Costa-Gavras before the screening of his latest film CAPITAL.

The Festival will host the World Premiere of AMERICAN MASTERS –MARVIN HAMLISCH: ONE SINGULAR SENSATION as well as the U.S Premiere of Oscar Winner Alex Gibney’s latest doc THE ARMSTRONG LIE about Lance Armstrong. Additional World Cinema highlights include the World Premiere of GERALDINE FERRARO: PAVING THE WAY, the North American Premiere of A FRAGILE TRUST and the Palme d’Or prize winner from the 2013 Cannes film festival, BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR.

For World Cinema feature films, HIFF boasts five foreign titles in the lineup that are in contention for Academy Award consideration including THE ROCKET (Australia), THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN (Belgium), IN BLOOM (Georgia), THE NOTEBOOK (Hungary), and MOTHER, I LOVE YOU (Latvia). HIFF will also present special screenings of THE SHORT GAME, the SummerDoc Audience Award winner at the Southampton Center, and ABSOLUTE WILSON.

SPOTLIGHT FILMS

BREATHE IN (USA)
East coast Premiere
Director: Drake Doremus
As summer turns to fall, music teacher Keith (Guy Pearce) privately reminisces about his days as a starving artist in the city. When his wife Megan (Amy Ryan) and his daughter decide the family should host foreign exchange student Sophie (Felicity Jones), the British high school senior soon rekindles an impetuous aspect of Keith’s personality. Director Drake Doremus, last seen at HIFF with his stunning coming-of-age film LIKE CRAZY (also starring Jones), penetrates the family’s dysfunction and Keith’s mid-life crisis with a sensitive eye for detail.

CAPITAL “Le capital ”(France)
Director: Costa-Gavras
The acclaimed master of political thrillers such as Z and MISSING, Oscar winning director Costa-Gavras unfurls his latest nail-biter in the dog-eat-dog world of high-stakes international banking. Cutthroat corporate climber Marc Tourneuil becomes the CEO of France’s important Phenix Bank, appointed by the company’s board of directors as an interim leadership solution—or so they think. Tourneuil wields his new power with Machiavellian daring, stunning the old guard, producing dramatic financial results, and ultimately catching the scheming eye of Dittmar Rigule (Gabriel Byrne), an American hedge fund honcho and stakes holder at Phenix.

FREE RIDE(USA)
World Premiere
Director/Screenwriter: Shana Betz
Set in the 1970s, FREE RIDE stars Academy Award® winner Anna Paquin (THE PIANO, HBO’s TRUE BLOOD) as a single mother who moves to Florida with her daughters in search of a better life but gets pulled into the perilous drug-trade business. This accomplished, gritty directorial debut, based on writer/director Shana Betz’s life story, delivers as both a provocative crime thriller and a powerfully rendered family portrait. Paquin’s dynamic star turn and a vivid supporting cast, including Cam Gigandet and THE SOPRANO’s Drea De Matteo help make FREE RIDE an unforgettable trip.

HER(USA)
Director/Screenwriter: Spike Jonze
Written and directed by Spike Jonze, HER is an original love story that explores the evolving nature—and the risks—of intimacy in the modern world. Set in Los Angeles in the near future, it follows Theodore, a complex, soulful man, heartbroken after the end of a relationship, who becomes intrigued with a new,advanced operating system promising to be an intuitive and unique entity in its own right. Upon initiating it, he meets “Samantha,” a bright voice who is insightful, sensitive, and surprisingly funny. As their needs and desires grow in tandem, their friendship deepens into an eventual love.

LABOR DAY(USA)
Director/Screenwriter: Jason Reitman
LABOR DAY, from writer/director Jason Reitman (UP IN THE AIR, JUNO), centers on 13-year-old Henry Wheeler, who struggles to be the man of his house and care for his reclusive mother Adele (Kate Winslet) while confronting all the pangs of adolescence. On a back-to-school shopping trip, Henry and his mother encounter Frank Chambers (Josh Brolin), a man both intimidating and clearly in need of help, who convinces them to take him into their home and later is revealed to be an escaped convict. The events of this long Labor Day weekend will shape them for the rest of their lives.

LOUDER THAN WORDS(USA)
World PremiereDirector: Anthony Fabian
John Fareri (David Duchovny) and his wife Brenda (Hope Davis) live an idyllic suburban life. After the sudden death of their young daughter, and deeply shaken by the less than ideal conditions of her hospital, the couple decides to build a premier children’s hospital, with the help of consultant Bruce Komiske (Timothy Hutton). Inspired by true events, this touching film portrays a family who instead of being gripped by loss created an extraordinary place of healing for thousands of ailing children and implemented a national standard for family health facilities.

MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM(South Africa)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Justin Chadwick
The great Idris Elba, best known for his roles on TV’s THE WIRE and LUTHER, transforms into the legendary Nelson Mandela in this exhilarating screen adaptation of the political leader’s autobiography. Director Justin Chadwick’s (THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL) portrait charts the incredible true story of the many struggles that took Mandela from South Africa’s rural Cape region to armed struggle and arrest, and then to the president’s mansion as his nation’s first democratically elected leader. More than just a historical biopic, the film also tracks the incredible love story between Mandela and his wife Winnie, soulfully embodied by Naomie Harris.

THE PAST “Le passé”(France/Iran)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Family secrets and domestic strife lurk under the surface of this riveting new drama from Asghar Farhadi, the writer/director of A SEPARATION, the 2011 Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film. Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa) travels from Iran to France at the behest of his estranged wife Marie (BéréniceBejo, THE ARTIST) to finalize their divorce. Further escalating their immediate tension, Marie insists Ahmad stay in her home with live-in boyfriend Samir (Tahar Rahim, A PROPHET), and Samir’s children from his own stalled marriage. With this latest film, Farhadi cements his status as one of the world’s preeminent filmmakers.

The full slate of World Cinema films for the Festival is listed below.

WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY

AMERICAN MASTERS – MARVIN HAMLISCH: ONE SINGULAR SENSATION (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Dori Berinstein
This hugely entertaining documentary tracks the supernova career of one of our most beloved modern composers. Touched with an extraordinary musical gift, Hamlisch went from a Julliard-enrolled protégé at age of six, to the young film composer of such classics as THE WAY WE WERE and THE STING, to writing Broadway’s then most successful show of all time, A CHORUS LINE. A real showman with a love for theatrics, Hamlisch became a household name, a rare distinction for a composer. Don’t miss this rousing biographical portrait, bursting with Hamlisch’s hit music and featuring interviews with dozens of performing legends.

THE ARMSTRONG LIE (USA)
US Premiere
Director: Alex Gibney
After years of avoiding doping allegations, Lance Armstrong admitted to lying about his use of performance-enhancing drugs, an admission that led to one of the most notorious defrocks in sports history. Alex Gibney, the Academy Award®-winning documentarian behind TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE, ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM, and MEA MAXIMA CULPA, masterfully pieces together raw, unseen footage and interviews from the 2009 Tour de France, documenting Armstrong’s post-cancer return to cycling and the deafening controversy surrounding his current cultural status as a shamed athlete and role model.

EMPTYING THE SKIES (USA)
North American Premiere
Director: Douglas Kass, Roger Kass
Based on a New Yorker article by best-selling writer Jonathan Franzen, EMPTYING THE SKIES chronicles the poaching of migratory birds in southern Europe and introduces us to the intrepid volunteers trying to stop it. Trapped at “pinch points” near the Mediterranean, these globetrotting songbirds are considered culinary delicacies and reap big bucks on the black market, yet many species are endangered and some face extinction. Directors Douglas and Roger Kass skillfully bring the spirit of Franzen’s words onto the screen and deservedly win this year’s Zelda Penzel Giving Voice to the Voiceless Award. Preceded by the short film, TODAY

GERALDINE FERRARO: PAVING THE WAY (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Donna Zaccaro
In 1984, New York attorney and US representative Geraldine “Gerry” Ferraro made history by accepting the Democratic Party nomination and becoming the first female vice presidential candidate. Featuring interviews with political luminaries and with Ferraro herself before her death in 2011, the documentary traces Ferraro’s journey through the peaks and valleys of political success, providing insight into the outlook of a feminist icon. Compelling and genuine, GERALDINE FERRARO paints a portrait of the woman who inspired countless future trailblazers—including Hillary Clinton, whom Ferraro assisted in the 2008 presidential nomination campaign.

THE HUMAN SCALE (Denmark)
New York Premiere
Director: Andreas Dalsgaard
After one of the worst earthquakes to hit New Zealand, the people of Christchurch took a different approach to rebuilding their city. They studied how their city could serve humans better. They studied car culture, bike lanes, and pedestrian walkways. They studied the work of Jan Gehl, the Danish architect who for 40 years has been analyzing the symbiosis of cities and their inhabitants. With emerging countries and their economies looking at the viability of urban growth, director Andreas Dalsgaard takes us around the world to see how Gehl’s seminal work is being translated within modern city centers like New York, Copenhagen, Chong Quing, and Dahka.

IF YOU BUILD IT (USA)
New York Premiere
Director: Patrick Creadon
In the poorest county in North Carolina, activists Emily Pilloton and Matthew Miller work with students to introduce design and creativity as a tool for community improvement. Barely getting by on grants and loans, Pilloton and Miller are committed to their yearlong initiative to empower their students to reinvent themselves and their struggling community. Culminating with a final project to build a new farmers’ market pavilion, IF YOU BUILD IT, from the director of WORDPLAY, offers a vision for a new kind of classroom and examines design’s power to be an engine of civic transformation. Family Film: Ages 12 and up

HE LAST SAFARI (Kenya/USA)
World Premiere
Director: Matt Goldman
When renowned photojournalist Elizabeth L. Gilbert returns to the Rift Valley in Africa to visit the tribes she photographed just a decade earlier, she bears witness to the changes wrought on the region. After her book is published, she hires a crew from Nairobi to assist her in screening a cinema slideshow to tribes-people, like the Masai, in their remote villages. But her ambitious safari is fraught with inclement weather, security issues, and self-doubt. Matt Goldman’s first feature captures the reunions, the dramas, and ultimately the triumphs of this remarkable journey. Preceded by the short film, SKINNINGROVE

MISFIRE: THE RISE AND THE FALL OF THE SHOOTIING GALLERY (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Whitney Ransick
The Shooting Gallery was one of the premier production companies for independent film in the 1990s, responsible for art-house hits like LAWS OF GRAVITY, SLING BLADE, and YOU CAN COUNT ON ME. After the success of fellow alum Hal Hartley, a cabal of grads from SUNY Purchase decided to start a fast-paced company with a can-do, DIY attitude. But success came at a cost. Many of the original founders left, as business self-interest replaced the earlier common purpose and expansion into “new media” came to the fore. Director Whitney Ransick, one of the original crew, retells a fascinating, universal story about the “Enron of independent films. Director Whitney Ransick will participate in a Rowdy Talk on Sunday, October 13 at 10am.

RUNNING FROM CRAZY (USA)
Director: Barbara Kopple
Hopeful and heartbreaking, RUNNING FROM CRAZY opens with a vision of perfection: a blonde modeling in the wilderness. This particular pretty face, however, belongs to Mariel Hemingway, Ernest Hemingway’s youngest granddaughter, famous for her role in Woody Allen’s MANHATTAN. Hemingway’s family history of depression, substance abuse, and suicide is not limited to her legendary grandfather. Two-time Academy Award® winner Barbara Kopple uses fascinating archival footage of the Hemingways to explore mental illness as one of the last American taboos and the family’s struggle to heal while communicating honestly about the past. Barbara Kopple will be featured at Rowdy Talk on Friday, October 11 at 10am.

THIS IS WHAT THEY WANT (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Brian Koppleman, David Levien
When Jimmy Connors arrived at the 1991 U.S. Open, the one-time tennis superstar was eight years removed from his last Grand Slam title, ranked 174th in the world, and approaching his 39th birthday. But on the verge of a first-round exit, Connors unexpectedly re-captured his magic, embarking on an extraordinary run than included an epic contest with Aaron Krickstein. THIS IS WHAT THEY WANT not only illuminates this improbable march past a series of talented and youthful adversaries, but also explores how Connors became a provocative personality who helped make tennis a high-octane spectator sport.

TIM’S VERMEER (USA)
Director: TellerTim
Jenison, a Texas based inventor, attempts to solve one of the greatest art mysteries: How did 17th century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer (“Girl with a Pearl Earring”) manage to paint so photo-realistically 150 years before the invention of photography? The epic research project Jenison embarks on is as extraordinary as what he discovers. Spanning a decade, the astounding documentary TIM’S VERMEER tracks Jenison to Delft, Holland, where Vermeer painted his masterpieces; on a pilgrimage to the North coast of Yorkshire to meet artist David Hockney; and eventually even to Buckingham Palace to see the Queen’s Vermeer.

WORLD CINEMA NARRATIVE

BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR “LA VIED’ADÈLE, CHAPITRES 1 & 2” (France)
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche
Based on a graphic novel, BlUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR follows the story of Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos), a high school junior who locks eyes on Emma (Léa Seydoux), a blue-haired college student. They soon ignite a complicated and passionate love affair. Stricken with the stress of homophobia and a turbulent relationship, their lives begin to unravel, revealing the difficulties of growing up together. Winner of the prestigious Palme D’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, this controversial feature has garnered international critical acclaim as a gritty, realistic tale of love and loss. Contains scenes of a sexually explicit nature. Featuring Léa Seydoux: Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch

BOB BIRDNOW’S REMARKABLE TALE OF HUMAN SURVIVAL AND THE TRANSCENDENCE OF SELF (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Eric Steele
Bob Birdnow is a curious candidate for a motivational speaker. Balding, crippled, and past middle-aged. He does have something no one else has though: a remarkable tale of human survival and the transcendence of self. When asked by his old friend to speak at a conference, he avoids the subject, opting for a more traditional speech. However, when forced off the script and desperate, Birdnow takes the audience on an outré, radical, and unforgettable journey that brings us face-to face with one of life’s biggest questions. Based on the hit one-man play/experimental theatre piece by HIFF alum Eric Steele. Preceded by the short film, BALANCE

THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN (Belgium)
Director: Felix Van Groeningen
When Didier and Elise meet, they instinctually know they have both found their match. While his true love was once was reserved only for American bluegrass music, this fiery tattoo artist plucks away all semblance of the brutish bachelor he once was. They bond over music and culture, and dive headfirst into a sweeping romance that plays out on and off stage. When an unexpected tragedy hits, everything they know and love is tested. An intensely moving portrait of a relationship from beginning to end, THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN has been hailed by audiences internationally as a must-see film.

CAMILLE CLAUDEL 1915 (France)
New York Premiere
Director: Bruno Dumont Academy Award® winner Juliette Binoche stars as the troubled French sculptor Camille Claudel, confined to a mental institution after her doomed love affair with painter Auguste Rodin. This immersive, austere film follows the ill-fated artist over the course of a week, early in her incarceration at the Avignon asylum where she will live for the rest of her life. Director Bruno Dumont and Binoche, in a career-topping performance, channel Claudel with heartbreaking clarity, detailing her struggle to maintain her intelligence and dignity amid grueling conditions and her gnawing paranoia.

CHARLIE VICTOR ROMEO (USA)
Director: Robert Berger, Patrick Daniels
With dialogue taken from actual black box transcripts of six real-life major airline emergencies, CHARLE VICTOR ROMEO is a haunting, riveting theatrical experience superbly translated to film by directors Robert Berger and Patrick Daniels. Started on stage in 1999 at the Collective: Unconscious Theater on the lower East Side, this compelling, almost experimental piece recreates the tense cockpit scenes word-for-word based on the CVR, or Cockpit Voice recorder. With unsparing truthfulness, the film has been embraced by the aviation community and used as a training video for pilots. It is truly unique cinema, stretching the boundaries of film, theater, and the traditional documentary.

EXIT MARRAKECH (Germany)
US Premiere Director: Caroline Link
When 17-year-old Ben visits his divorced dad Heinrich in Morocco for the summer, he realizes his dad is as foreign to him as the country itself. Struggling to reconnect, their old conflicts bubble up and eventually push Ben to leave the luxury confines of his father’s world for the wonders the exotic country has to offer. From the colorful streets of Marrakech to the Atlas Mountains, with deserts and oases in between, Academy Award®-winning director Caroline Link (NOWHERE IN AFRICA), takes us through the unexpected twists and turns of Ben’s adventures and Heinrich’s search for his son.

IN BLOOM “GRZELI NATELI DGEEB” (Georgia)
US Premiere
Director: Simon Groß, Nana Ekvtimishvili
Early Nineties, in Tbilisi, the capital of the newly independent Georgia after the collapse of the Soviet union. The country is facing violence, war on the Black Sea coast, and vigilante justice plaguing their society. But for Eka and Natia, 14-year old inseparable friends in bloom, life simply unfolds around them in the streets and at school. It rolls about as friends or elder sisters deal with the brutish dominance of the men, early marriage, and disillusioned love. With two startling lead performances by its young actresses, IN BLOOM is an evocative slice-of-life drama with the capacity to shock. Georgia’s Oscar entry.

JIMMY P. (USA)
Director: Arnaud Desplechin
WWII veteran and Native American Jimmy Picard (Benicio Del Toro) returns from France and is admitted to the Menninger Clinic, a Kansas military mental health facility. He suffers from dizzy spells, temporary blindness, and hearing loss; yet when doctors can’t find anything wrong with him physiologically, he’s labeled a schizophrenic. In a bold move, the hospital decides to seek the opinion of Georges Devereaux (Mathieu Amalric), a French psychoanalyst and specialist in Native American culture, to try the “talking cure.” A showcase for Arnaud Desplechin’s measured direction, JIMMY P also features beguiling performances by two actors at the height of their craft.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON (Japan)
Director: Hirokazu Kore-Eda
After learning their six-year-old sons were switched at birth, two families struggle to adapt to their new lives and deal with the emotional roller coaster that ensues. This powerful story explores issues of class and parenthood in modern day Japan and what lengths one will go through to keep their family together. Portrayed through moving performances and gracefully realized by master director Hirokazu Kore-Eda (STILL WALKING, NOBODY KNOWS), this stunning evocation of family dynamics and relationships was awarded the Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival

THE MAID’S ROOM (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Michael Walker
Drina, a young immigrant from Columbia, is hired by the Crawford family as a live-in maid for their second home in East Hampton. When the Crawfords’ son Brandon comes home from college one weekend, something horrible occurs; Drina unwittingly becomes the only person outside the family to know. But before her conscience gets the best of her, the Crawfords have something to say about it. Annabella Sciorra, Philip Ettinger, and Paula Garces star in Michael Walker’s haunting psychological thriller that explores the complex relationships between truth and justice, hubris and power, wealth and fear.

MYSTERY ROAD (Australia)
US Premiere
Director: Ivan Sen
A brutal crime. A rookie cop out of his depth stands alone between two worlds, where the mystery lies just below the surface. In this incendiary and impeccably shot noir-meets-Western by writer/director Ivan Sen, an indigenous cowboy detective, Jay Swan, returns to his Australian outback hometown to solve the murder of a teenage girl, whose body is found under the highway out of town. Alienated from both the white-dominated police force and his own community, including his teenage daughter, Jay stands alone in his determination to fight back for his town and his people.

THE NOTEBOOK “LE GRANDECAHIER” (Germany/Hungary/Austria/France)
US Premiere
Director: János Szász
This stunningly shot tale follows the adventures of 13-year-old twin brothers sheparded by their mother to the Hungarian countryside towards the end of World War II. Once pampered, they must discipline themselves to be tough and emotionless to survive. They write everything down in a notebook, keeping a written record of all they have witnessed during the war and following a strict code: prose free from emotion, notes precise and objective. Yet over time they are initiated into the horrors of a war-torn world, and, after brief post-war visits from each parent, must face their own ultimate separation. Selected as Hungary’s entry for the 2013 Academy Awards.

OH BOY (Germany)
Director: Jan Ole Gerster
The smart aleck Niko drifts through his twenties content to let life (and responsibilities) chug on by. But over the course of a single day, the cosmic balance shifts, imperceptibly at first, and a series of unfortunate and surprising encounters snowball into what could only be described as an existential crisis. If only he could grab a cup of coffee. Jan Ole Gerster’s hilarious and brilliant first feature swept the 2013 German Oscars, and rightfully so: with its sly subversion of Generation Y clichés, assured direction, and timeless black-and-white photography, OH BOY represents one of the most confident debut films in recent memory.

THE ROCKET (Australia)
Director: Kim Mordaunt
When his mother passes away during his family’s forced exile from their village, young Ahlo is branded as a bearer of bad luck by his father and grandmother. Traveling the picturesque countryside with orphan Kia and her uncle Purple (an alcoholic ex-soldier with a James Brown obsession), Ahlo and this destitute group of misfits might be able to afford a new home if they win an annual rocket building competition in a distant town…but first they must get rid of their self-doubts. This spirited drama was the Audience Award winner for Best Narrative Film at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.

SARAH PREFERS TO RUN “SARAH PRÉFÈRE LA COURSE” (Canada)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Chloé Robichaud
When Sarah has a chance to go to a first-class university and to join its premiere athletic club, her suburban mother is fearful of the change and refuses to help financially. But Sarah’s roommate knows that they will get a grant if they marry. Sarah agrees, only to discover that her true heart lies elsewhere: Sarah prefers to run. A smart, incisive, and charming chronicle of one young woman’s blossoming passions, SARAH PREFERS TO RUN announces two great new voices in Quebec filmmaker Chloé Robichaud and actress Sophie Desmarais.

A SHORT HISTORY OF DECAY (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Michael Maren
Brooklyn hipster wannabe writer Nathan Fisher (Bryan Greenberg, HOW TO MAKE IT IN AMERICA) has a lot of growing up to do. He’s a writer who doesn’t write and a boyfriend who won’t commit. When his father suffers a stroke, he heads to Florida where he also has to deal with his mother’s Alzheimer’s. Nathan gets a crash course in love, loyalty, family, and forgiveness in this dark comedy about stepping up when your parents are going downhill. A terrific supporting cast includes veteran stage and screen stars Linda Lavin and Harry Yulin as Nathan’s stricken parents.

STEPHANIE IN THE WATER (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Ava Warbrick
Pro Surfer Stephanie Gilmore won her first World Title at 17, on a day off from high school, during her rookie season. She led the World Tour for the next four years, spending most of her life at press events or traveling from beach to beach. She never lost a match, despite little formal training. Then, following a terrifying attack, for the first time in her life, she didn’t win. STEPHANIE IN THE WATER is an intimate documentary portrait about the culture of pro surfing, growing up a professional athlete, and what it means to be the best.

TANTA AGUA (Uruguay)
Director: Ana Guevara
Curtains of rain spoil the vacation that divorced dad Alberto has eagerly arranged at a hot springs; because he seldom sees his kids, he refuses to allow anything to ruin his plans. Nothing could be worse for teenage Lucía than to be cooped up indoors with Dad and little brother Frederico. But the springs are closed until further notice, and Lucía’s adolescent rebellion clashes against her father’s efforts toward quality family time. A taught, wondrous gem, TANTA AGUA captures the emotions of this universal domestic transition in the most naturalistic sense, even given the meteorological impediments.

TASTING MENU “MENÚ DEGUSTACIÓ” (Spain/Ireland)
North American Premiere
Director: Roger Gual
A year ago, married couple Marc and Rachel made dinner reservations at the world-famous restaurant Chakula on the Catalan coast. By the big night, however, they’d already spent several months divorced, living in different countries. Upon discovering Chakula is closing its doors forever, they both decide to show up—as do an eccentric Irish widow, a solitary man of mysterious origins, Rachel’s new fiancé, and two Japanese businessmen competing for the head chef’s attention with their overeager translator. An enjoyable ensemble film, TASTING MENU is a love letter to fine dining and fleeting connections.

UNDER THE RAINBOW “AU BOUT DU CONTE” (France)
US Premiere
Director: Agnès Jaoui
Laura meets her prince charming in aspiring composer Sandro… at least until her aunt Marianne’s neighbor Maxime puts an end to her childish fantasies about love. In turn, Marianne, a divorced single mother/actress, finds companionship in her driving lessons with Pierre, Sandro’s father, who is secretly planning his life around a fortuneteller’s prophecy about his date of death. Set in Paris, the world’s most romantic city, and full of characters reminiscent of those in fairy tales, UNDER THE RAINBOW is, refreshingly enough, about everyday life and how it fails to meet (and yet somehow exceeds) our expectations.

VICTOR YOUNG PEREZ (France/Israel/Bulgaria)
International Premiere
Director: Jacques Ouaniche
In the early 1930s, flyweight Tunisian Jewish boxer Victor Young Perez moves to Paris with his coach and older brother Benjamin to become the youngest world champion in boxing history. Their rags-to-riches story takes a tragic turn when Victor and Ben are imprisoned in Auschwitz and forced to box Aryans for the Nazi’s amusement. Based on a true story, VICTOR YOUNG PEREZ features a beautiful, remarkable physical performance from first-time actor (and record holding athlete) Brahim Asloum, the first Frenchman to win both a light Flyweight World Championship and an Olympic Gold at the 2000 Sydney Games.

WALKING WITH THE ENEMY (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Mark Schmidt
Inspired by a true story, WALKNG WITH THE ENEMY follows the heroic lives of a world leader and a young man during the horrors of WWII in Hungary. Regent Horthy (Academy Award® winner Ben Kingsley) is faced with ceding power to German adversaries or witnessing the execution of his son, while countryman Elek (Jonas Armstrong) watches as his family is ripped away from him. Determined to be reunited, Elek takes on the German enemies by becoming one of them. Disguised as a Nazi Officer, he embarks on an unforgettable mission to save his family and thousands of others.
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ALL IS LOST Starring Robert Redford is Opening Night Film for Philadelphia Film Festival | TRAILER

Philadelphia Film Festival

ALL IS LOST by writer/director J. C. Chandor is the Opening Night film of the 22nd Philadelphia Film Festival (PFF), premiering in the new state-of-the-art Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center on Thursday, October 17 . The film is described as “a gripping tale of solitude and survival in the face of disaster” and featuring a “tour-de-force solo performance from Robert Redford.” In ALL IS LOST Robert Redford plays a lone sailor who finds his yacht sinking after a collision with a discarded shipping container in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

Also at the festival, Bruce Dern will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award and Kerry Bishé with the Rising Star Award. The Philadelphia Film Festival will run from Thursday, October 17 through Sunday, October 27

http://youtu.be/Lk_R04LfUQU
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Hollywood Black Film Festival Adds Film Diaspora Program

Hollywood Black Film Festival

MALAGASY MANKANY (LEGENDS OF MADAGASCAR)

The Hollywood Black Film Festival (HBFF) taking place October 2 to 6, 2013, in Hollywood, CA, has integrated a new sidebar, Film Diaspora, into its 2013 programming slate. Film Diaspora will showcase independent films and filmmakers from the African Diaspora. The lineup will include 11 films — three features, six shorts, and two documentaries from 8 countries — Nigeria, Haiti, Cameroon, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Madagascar, Burkina Faso and South Africa

FEATURES

FLOWER GIRL (Nigeria)
Writer: Jigi Bello, Director: Michelle Bello

MALAGASY MANKANY (LEGENDS OF MADAGASCAR) (Madagascar)
Writer/Director: Haminiaina Ratovarivony

NINAH’S DOWRY (Cameroon)
Writer/Director: Victor Viyuoh

SHORTS

MIDNIGHT SCORPIAN (Burkina Faso)
Writer/Director: Tony Amara

NHAMO (South Africa)
Writer/Director: Eunice Chiwesha Goldstein

OGONDAH (Nigeria)
Writer/Director: Willis Ikedum

SUNNI MAN (New Zealand)
Writer/Director: Hamish Mortland

TOUCH (London)
Writer/Director: Shola Amoo

UNSPOKEN (Nigeria)
Writers: Edith Nwekenta and Ola Laniyan

DOCUMENTARIES

ADOPTED ID (Haiti)
Writer: Andrew Togobo Director: Sonia Godding

TOGOBO SODIQ (London)
Writer/Director: Adeyemi Michael
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25 Films on Lineup for Narrative and Documentary Feature Competition at 17th Hollywood Film Festival

Hollywood Film Festival

A Star For Rose, directed by Daniel Yost and starring Debbie Allen

25 films have been chosen for Narrative and Documentary Feature Competition at the upcoming 17th Hollywood Film Festival, taking place from October 17 to 21, 2013, at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood. Films include LIFE INSIDE OUT, directed by Jill D’Agnenica, which tells the story of a mother who returns to her dream of pursuing music, the passion of her youth, and through this finds a way to connect with her troubled teenage son. All filmmakers and talent in the movie are Hollywood based. The film was shot in and around Hollywood and embodies the festival’s theme of pursuing dreams. Another film is A STAR FOR ROSE, directed by Daniel Yost and starring Debbie Allen which tells the story of three lost souls, homeless on Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk Of Fame, who meet in conflict, then slowly bond together to find meaning, humor and joy in their lives. Both of these projects will be presented here as World Premieres.

Hollywood Film Festival 2013 Lineup

NARRATIVE COMPETITION

AUTUMN BLOOD Markus Blunder, Austria
High in the mountains, a widowed mother dies, leaving her two children orphaned. Fearing being split up they keep their mother’s death a secret. They survive until villagers destroy their innocence when they brutally assault the girl. Now the siblings must come of age to protect each other and survive.

AUTUMN WANDERER, Nathan Sutton, USA (US Premiere)
While dealing with his father’s schizophrenia, and the very real possibility of it being passed down, Charlie meets the woman of his dreams. (Celebrating Hollywood)

BURTON & TAYLOR, Richard Laxton, United Kingdom
Dominic West and Helena Bonham Carter star as Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor – Hollywood’s most volatile on-again-off-again lovers who famously played out every high and low of their love affairs, marriages and divorces in the public eye. They made their last stage appearance together in the 1983 revival of Noel Coward’s, “Private Lives.” This is the story of their ill-fated reunion, on and off stage. (Celebrating Hollywood)

FIRST PERIOD, Charlie Vaughn, USA
Part John Waters, part John Hughes: When new girl Cassie and outcast Maggie team up to win the school talent show the reigning queen bees, the Heathers, make a gnarly plan to stop them. It will take courage, makeovers, and a rap battle for our (girls?) to beat them in true 80’s style.

LIFE INSIDE OUT, Jill D’Agnenica, USA (World Premiere)
A mother, returning to her musical roots, ventures into the world of open mic nights and takes her troubled teenage son, Shane, along for the ride. Despite a rocky entry, her first steps prove to be the catalyst for changing not only her own life, but Shane’s as well, in complex and unpredictable ways. (Celebrating Hollywood)

LOVE’S IS NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE (EL AMOR NO ES LO QUE ERA) Gabriel Ochoa, Spain
Alex comes into Lucia’s life, two youngsters who start discovering each other. Paz and Jorge see how their relationship is fading and they don’t know what to do. Albert and Irene meet after some decades of separation. “Love’s Not What It Used To Be” explains love using the physical law of divergent trajectories.

LOVELESS ZORITSA (CRNA ZORICA) Christina Hadjicharalambous, Radoslav Pavkovic, Serbia
Zoritsa is cursed! Every man who falls in love with her, dies in strange ways. Hunted by the shotgun-carrying villagers whose sons she has taken to the underworld, she can rely on just one person – the new stubborn police officer. Only that, he doesn’t believe in “mumbo jumbo” and he is tempted to test her “kiss of death”. A dark fairytale comedy about “cursed” love.

MISCHIEF NIGHT, Richard Zelniker, USA (World Premiere)
Troubled 17-year-old Sean Holloway falls in with a group of teenage outcasts called “The Misfits,” known around town for their petty crimes and vicious pranks. But on the eve of Halloween -Mischief-Night- things spiral out of control, culminating into brutal violence, and Sean finds himself deeply in over his head. The terrifying night becomes a fight for survival and freedom. (Celebrating Hollywood)

THE RED ROBIN, Michael Wechsler, USA (US Premiere)
Dr. Nathaniel Shellner, 75, has led an extraordinary life as a psychiatrist working with traumatized patients fleeing war zones in refugee camps and adopting children eventually, earning a Nobel Prize for his work. As Dr. Shellner succumbs to cancer on a frigid, icy day, the family convenes at the house where the couple raised the children for a final, bittersweet farewell. Or, that’s the idea until all hell breaks loose after Tommy arrives and accuses his father of adopting his children not out of concern for their future well-being, but to use them for some warped psychological experiment. Tommy’s accusation explodes the evening, revealing a host of incidents between Nathaniel and the various family members as well as their own interpersonal issues.

THE REPUBLIC OF TWO, Shaun Kosta, USA
A close examination of the high-stakes game of heterosexual cohabitation in Los Angeles. Tim wants to be a doctor and Caroline doesn’t quite know what she wants. They both know their love is real, but can that love endure a town full of possibilities and temptation? (Celebrating Hollywood)

SONGS FOR AMY, Konrad Begg, United Kingdom
After a disastrously debauched stag do, struggling musician Sean tries to redeem himself in the eyes of bride-to-be Amy. With his relationship hanging in the balance, he hatches a plan to win her back by writing the perfect album of songs, with help from his misfit bandmates. (Celebrating Hollywood)

A STAR FOR ROSE, Daniel Yost, USA (World Premiere)
Three lost souls, homeless on Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk Of Fame, meet in conflict, then slowly bond together to find meaning, humor and joy in their lives. Rose (Debbie Allen), 50, an African-American woman who lost her child, becomes a surrogate mother to Marcy (Tara Walker), 20, new in town and living out of her car, naively thinking she can make it tap dancing on Search For A Star. Mort (John Savage), 50, a Gulf War vet in a wheelchair, brings chaos and excitement, while certain that the Shadow Government is out to get him. (Celebrating Hollywood)

WIENER DOG NATIONALS, Kevan Peterson, USA
A family adopts a runt of a dachshund from a shelter. Only time will tell if little “Shelly” and her new family are up for the challenges of entering the nation’s greatest wiener dog race, Wienerschnitzel’s “Wiener Dog Nationals.” One Nation, one race, one wiener.

YOU’LL BE A MAN (TU SERAS UN HOMME), Benoit Cohen, France
Leo is 10 and wise beyond his years. A solitary dreamer who seeks refuge in books. When the carefree 20-year-old Theo steps into his life, it forces Leo out of his shell. Despite their age difference, the two become best friends, helping each other face up to their responsibilities.

DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

BLOOD BROTHER, Steve Hoover, USA
The unmistakable power of love is celebrated in this story of one man’s decision to move to India and restart his life among the dispossessed. “Rocky Anna,” as the children living at an orphanage for those infected with HIV know him, was dissatisfied with his life in America. Having grown up without a close-knit family of his own, he found his calling– living and working with kids in need. Unlike others who simply passed through their lives, Rocky stayed, dedicating himself to their health and well-being. Despite formidable challenges, his playful spirit and determination in the face of despair proves to be an invaluable resource. (CineCause Spotlight)

DREW: THE MAN BEHIND THE POSTER, Erik P. Sharkey, USA (World Premiere)
“Drew: The Man Behind The Poster” is a story of artist Drew Struzan, whose most popular works include the iconic “Indiana Jones,” “Back to the Future,” and “Star Wars” movie posters. Featuring exclusive interviews with George Lucas, Harrison Ford, Michael J. Fox, Frank Darabont, Guillermo del Toro, Steven Spielberg and many other filmmakers, artist and critics. (Celebrating Hollywood)

FINDING HILLYWOOD, Chris Towey, Leah Warshawski, USA
A unique and cinematic documentary about the very beginning of Rwanda’s film industry and a real-life example of the power of cinema to heal a man and a nation. (Celebrating Hollywood)

A FRAGILE TRUST: PLAGIARISM, POWER, AND JAYSON BLAIR AT THE NEW YORK TIMES, Samantha Grant, USA
“A Fragile Trust” tells the shocking story of Jayson Blair, the most infamous serial plagiarist of our time, and how he unleashed the massive scandal that rocked the New York Times and the entire world of journalism.

FRIENDS OF MINE, Matthew Palmer, USA (World Premiere)
“Friends of Mine” is a documentary about two young men who do community service work at a summer camp for individuals with developmental disabilities. This is the story of how it changes their lives. Given the chance to be who they truly are, they’ll never be the same again. (CineCause Spotlight)

FUREVER, Amy Finkel, USA
“FUREVER” is a quirky feature-length documentary that explores the human-animal bond and the dimensions of grief people experience over the loss of a pet. It examines our inability to let go of our beloved creatures, and the many processes by which we’re able to preserve more than merely their memories. (Celebrating Hollywood)

LITTLE HOPE WAS ARSON, Theo Love, USA
January 2010: In the buckle of the Bible Belt, 10 churches burn to the ground in just over a month igniting the largest criminal investigation in East Texas history. No stone is left unturned and even Satan himself is considered a suspect in this gripping investigation of a community terrorized from the inside-out. Families are torn apart and communities of faith struggle with forgiveness and justice in this incredible true story.

MILE, MILE & A HALF, Jason Fitzpatrick, Ric Serena
In an epic snow year, five friends leave their daily lives behind to hike the 219 mile John Muir Trail in 25 days while capturing the amazing sights and sounds they encounter along the way. They learn it is about the journey, not the destination. Come walk with us.

THIS AMERICAN JOURNEY, Paul Blackthorne, USA
British actor, Paul Blackthorne, and Australian photographer, Mister Basquali, head out across the United States to discover from everyday people what it means to be an American today. Along the way, our awkward duo finds inspiration and wisdom in unlikely places, and rekindles their love for America.

TINY, Christopher Smith, Merete Mueller
What is home? And how do we find it? One couple’s attempt to build a “Tiny House” from scratch with no building experience raises questions about sustainability, good design, and the changing American Dream. (CineCause Spotlight)

WALKING THE CAMINO, Lydia B. Smith, Spain
“Walking the Camino” follows six determined strangers on a life-changing journey across Spain. Whatever their motivation, no one can predict just how their paths will unfold, what personal demons or angels they will face, or what transformations they will undergo by trail’s end.
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Animal Cruelty Doc THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE To Open in NY Nov 8, LA Nov 15 | TRAILER

Documentary

Director Liz Marshall’s “progressive, consciousness raising” documentary film THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE will open in New York on November 8 at Village East Cinema, followed by Los Angeles on November 15 at Laemmle Music Hall. THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE, which tackles the subject of animals used for food, clothing, entertainment and biomedical research, had its world premiere earlier this year at Hot Docs where it was voted a Top 10 Audience Favorite.

Award-winning filmmaker Marshall directs THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE through the heart and lens of acclaimed animal photographer Jo-Anne McArthur. Haunting and heart-warming, audiences experience a diverse cast of animal subjects rescued from and living within the machine of our modern world. Over the course of a year, Marshall shadows McArthur as she photographs several animal stories in parts of the U.S., Canada and Europe, with each photograph and story serving as a window into global animal industries. This visually arresting one-of-a-kind documentary shines a cinematic light on the animals we don’t easily acknowledge, the “ghosts” who are the animals trapped within the cogs of our voracious consumer world. McArthur’s epic photo project We Animals is comprised of thousands of photographs taken around the world, documenting animals with heart-breaking empathic vividness. THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE charts McArthur’s efforts to bring wider attention to a topic most of humankind strives hard to avoid.

The film has attracted the attention of progressives and celebrities alike, with kudos from Woody Harrelson, Bill Maher, James Cromwell, Bob Barker, and international animal and environmental advocates. Radiohead agreed to have their iconic song, “Give Up The Ghost,” in the film.

http://youtu.be/-sTQpZxqHKU
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Korean American Film Festival New York To Run October 24th to 26th

Korean American Film Festival New York

OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN

The 2013 Korean American Film Festival New York (KAFFNY), dedicated to the Korean War and North Korea, will celebrate its 7th year in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice. KAFFNY runs October 24th to 26th, 2013, and opens with the New York premiere of the feature-length documentary SEEKING HAVEN by Hein S. Seok. Making its East Coast premiere on closing night is the feature film OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, the first U.S. – North Korean co-production by first-time screenwriter and producer Joon Bai, himself a Korean-American Korean War refugee, and directed by In Hak Jang. This film was entirely shot in North Korea, with a North Korean cast and crew.

KAFFNY PROGRAM

OPENING NIGHT:

(Oct 24, 8PM, Village East Cinema)

East Coast premiere: SEEKING HAVEN (China, Laos, New Zealand, South Korea, Thailand 2012, 51″) Documentary directed by Hein Seok

23-year-old Youngsoon Kim, a North Korean defector living in South Korea, is trying to reunite with the family members she had left behind. In 2003, Youngsoon escaped from North Korea to China, where she lived in hiding for 5 years. Years later, discovering that her sister had been sentenced to a political prison camp in the North, Youngsoon returns to China. There she hires a smuggler and attempts to broker her sister’s freedom.

MEMORY OF A FORGOTTEN WAR (USA 2012, 37″)

Documentary directed by Deann Borshay Liem and Ramsey Liem.

Conveys the human costs of military conflict through deeply personal accounts of the Korean War (1950-53) by four Korean-American survivors. Their stories take audiences through the trajectory of the war, from extensive bombing campaigns, to day-to-day struggle for survival and separation from family members across the DMZ. Decades later, each person reunites with relatives in North Korea, conveying beyond words the meaning of family loss. These stories belie the notion that war ends when the guns are silenced and foreshadow the future of countless others displaced by ongoing military conflict today.

With Short:

LYNN’S CLEANERS (USA 2013, 5″)

Short animation directed by Phillip Ahn

A portrait of an old dry-cleaners business in the outskirts of Chicago.

CLOSING NIGHT:

East Coast premiere: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN (Korea USA 2012, 102″)

Fiction feature directed by In Hak Jang, screenwriter and producer Joon Bai in attendance.

(Oct 26, 9PM, Village East Cinema)

During the Korean War, a young nurse in the small town of Chunamri, North Korea, saves a wounded soldier who has been left behind during battle. Brought together by the unfortunate circumstance of war, theirs is a fateful meeting. His identity is unknown to her until he must return to South Korea. With the promise to return, the nurse waits a lifetime for him. Separated by war and countries between them, the young man tries everything to get back to the North but diplomatic relations between countries made it impossible for their reunion. As the years go by and their youth slips away from them, he finally gets an unexpected opportunity to fulfill his wish and return to her. But reunions are not easy and after years apart, they are met with more tragedy.

With Short:

PEAK (USA 2013, 4″)

Short animation directed by Sonnye Lim

Why do you climb mountains, little dog?

DONG-SIN HAHN TRIBUTE PROGRAM:

(Oct 26, 12PM, Village East Cinema)

One of America’s earlier Korean transnationals, Hahn based herself of out of New York, starting out as a student. As she built her knowledge base and experience, Hahn began to curate film, music and arts programs to introduce Korean culture to America. Whereas many take for granted the popularity of Korean films in America today, Dong Sin Hahn was a pioneer, presenting the first US retrospectives of Kim Ki-Duk (2008), Im Kwon Taek (2004) and Shin Sang Ok (2002) in New York City at the Museum of Modern Art. With her youthful spirit, she touched the lives of many local and international artists, spanning generations, and she became an irreplaceable hub of the artistic community.

KAFFNY pays tribute to Dong Sin Hahn’s groundbreaking curatorial choices with a selection from her programs. This year we present Kim Ki-Duk’s Address Unknown in keeping with the Korean War program to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the armistice. This film screened at MoMA on Monday, April 28 and May 8, 2008.

ADDRESS UNKNOWN (Korea 2001, 117″),

Fiction feature directed by Kim Ki-Duk

One of Kim’s more hot-blooded and extravagantly brutal melodramas imagines a village, Pyongtaek, in the 1970s, where commerce is intricately bound to an American army base. A mother and son live in an abandoned bus, where she writes to the boy’s father, a black G.I., only to have the letters returned marked “address unknown.” Her lover is a man who butchers dogs, and her son is his reluctant assistant; the son’s acquaintances include a young girl blind in one eye, the girl’s beloved pet dog, and a very shy boy. Communication takes place mainly through violent action.

FEATURE-LENGTH FILMS:

World premiere: FADING AWAY (USA 2013, 95″)

Documentary directed by Christopher H.K. Lee, filmmaker in attendance

(Oct 26, 430PM, Village East Cinema)

Never before told stories from a group of Korean War veterans and refugees through a series of insightful interviews and the use of rare historical film footage, photos and other archival material. These veterans and survivors share their stories in their own words with their sons, daughters and grandchildren with memories of catastrophe, fear, and the pains they vividly remember. The film is divided into seven parts, strung together and led by the powerful recollection of the journey of a thirteen year-old Korean War orphan who fled the North to the South as he recalls his memories and emotions of the war.

With short:

ASSUMED IDENTITY: THE ART OF SUSAN SPONSLER (USA 2011, 5″)

Short documentary directed by John Carstarphen

Susan Sponsler-Carstarphen is an internationally recognized artist, working in photography and mixed-media such as encaustic, fabric and other forms. Her work has been in the US Embassy in Panama and has shown in galleries from Seoul to Los Angeles. She currently works and lives in Texas, struggling to create work that challenges our perceptions of women and women-of-color.

This brief look at her life and work explores the influence of being a Korean-American adoptee on her work.

THE GIRL FROM THE SOUTH (Argentina, Korea 2012, 94″)

Documentary directed by Jose Luis Garcia.

(Oct 26, 645PM, Village East Cinema)

In 1989, José Luis García went with the Argentine delegation to a student festival in North Korea. García, who had just turned twenty-four, borrowed a VHS camera that joined him on his days of revolutionary tourism, recording the surrealistic landscape of that summer when North Korea opened its doors for the first time to thousands of young people from all over the world. The focus of his gaze changed when Lim Sukyung, a young activist, had come to Pyongyang representing the students of South Korea. Many years later, the pages of the internet began to toss out information about the fate of the “Flower of Reunification,” about her years in prison and other more banal news that was mixed with the death of her son and her reclusion for years in a Buddhist monastery. Shortly after Lim Sukyung reappeared in public life, the director contacted her by email and traveled to Seoul – with the objective of interviewing her.

With short:

5 PAR JOUR (France 2012, 5″)

Short fiction directed by Jun Cordon

A Korean baby, a hand, one Korean woman and a stewardess… she’s looking for something but what exactly?

OUR SON (USA 2013, 5″)

Short animation directed by Eric Ko

Celestial bodies and the fragility of happiness.

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Camden International Film Festival Engagement Summit to Focus on Aging

Camden International Film Festival, VIMOOZ

THE GENIUS OF MARIAN, directed by Banker White

The Camden International Film Festival announced its first annual Engagement Summit, a unique program developed in partnership with Working Films that will connect documentary filmmakers with Maine-based nonprofit leaders to develop community-based social action campaigns tied to documentary film screenings. The inaugural Engagement Summit will focus on the theme of aging and tie to a year-long thematic program called Aging in Maine.

The Aging in Maine program will continue during the Camden International Film Festival (September 26-29) with a curated series of documentary features and shorts that will help spark a public, inter-generational dialogue around the challenges and opportunities of Maine’s aging demographics. One highlighted film will be THE GENIUS OF MARIAN, directed by Banker White, which chronicles the filmmaker’s family responding to his mother’s diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer’s. Others include Chilean documentary THE LAST STATION, and a Danish film, LAST DREAMS.

“Camden National Bank is excited to be a sponsor of the Camden International Film Festival and a lead sponsor of Aging in Maine,” said Joanne Campbell, EVP, Camden National Bank. “This is a great way for Camden National to provide a voice around the issue of aging in the State of Maine, and provide sponsorship of a dynamic and growing local event CIFF.”

During the festival, approximately 15 nonprofit leaders and healthcare professionals from across the state will converge in Camden for a daylong strategic summit meeting on Saturday, September 28. A full list of participants is included below. This event will be an opportunity for participating organizations in the field of aging to explore how their work can be supported and enhanced through the use of powerful documentary films focused on the experiences of older adults, their loved ones and caretakers. The summit agenda will be designed and facilitated by Working Films, an organization that specializes in connecting storytelling with community engagement and action. Working Films’ involvement in Aging in Maine is part of their broader Reel Aging initiative, which positions compelling documentary media into the work of leading organizations serving the needs and advancing the rights of older adults across the country.

Following the festival and summit meeting, CIFF and Working Films will collaborate to screen these films in 8-10 communities across the state, allowing participating organizations to implement strategies developed at the summit and use the screenings to further their goals and inform the public of resources available to them within the aging network.

The Aging in Maine program is made possible by support from the Fledgling Fund, Camden National Bank, Pen Bay Healthcare Foundation and The Bingham Program. Additional partnerships include the University of Maine Center on Aging, the Portland Press Herald and The Conversation Project.

“We are thrilled to be presenting the inaugural Engagement Summit at this year’s Camden International Film Festival. This unique program will help us harness the power that nonfiction storytelling has as a conversation starter and a community builder,” said Ben Fowlie, Founder and Executive Director of CIFF. “Aging is an issue that affects each and everyone of us personally, and we believe that this program will be a great addition to the conversations that are already occurring throughout Maine.”

Points North Engagement Summit: Aging in Maine

List of Participants:

Jess Maurer, Executive Director, Maine Association of Area Agencies on Aging

Valeria Sauda, Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems

Harriet Warshaw, Executive Director, The Conversation Project

Lenard Kaye, Director, UMaine Center on Aging

Roger Renfrew, American Geriatric Society

Gerard Queally, President/CEO, Spectrum Generations

Dave Brown, Community Liaison, Spectrum Generations

Dr. Ira Mandel, Medical Director, Pen Bay Healthcare’s Hospice and Palliative Care Program

Noelle Merrill, Executive Director, Eastern Area Agency on Aging

Steve Farnam, Executive Director, Aroostook Area Agency on Aging

Sharon Foerster, Program Manager – Geriatrics, MaineHealth

Joanna Rosenthal, Aging Consultation Services

Sheila Leddy, Executive Director, The Fledgling Fund

Judith Tierney, MaineHealth

Romaine Turyn, Director of Policy, Planning & Resource Development, Maine Department of Health and Human Services (Office of Aging and Disability Services)

Brooke Williams, Director, Communications and Grants, Making Community Happen

Banker White, Director/Producer, THE GENIUS OF MARIAN

Joanne Campbell, EVP, Camden National Bank
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Poster Unveiled for 51st New York Film Festival

New York Film Festival, VIMOOZ

The poster for the 51^st New York Film Festival, designed by Tacita Dean, was unveiled today. The festival runs September 27 to October 13, 2103. This Friday, September 27, the poster will be available for purchase at the New York Film Festival.
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