• World Premiere of “THE BIG MELT” at 20th Sheffield Doc/Fest

    [caption id="attachment_4098" align="alignnone" width="550"]THE BIG MELT directed by Martin Wallace[/caption]

    The world premiere of the “THE BIG MELT” directed by Martin Wallace will help kick off the 20th edition of Sheffield Doc/Fest and also celebrate the 100 Years of Stainless Steel in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK, the home of the festival, on Wednesday, June 12, 2013. In an interesting collaboration, leading Sheffield musicians – including The City of Sheffield Brass Band, Richard Hawley and band members, Pulp band members, The Forgemasters, a string quartet and a youth choir – will perform live to the world premiere of the film.

    THE BIG MELT is described as “A lyrical film for the contemporary age, The Big Melt uses footage from the BFI National Archive to tell the story of steel, the story of the men in the steelworks and the story of Sheffield. The score directed by Jarvis Cocker takes us on musical journey into the soul of a nation, bringing to life the ghosts of our past, leading us into the belly of the furnaces and showing how our national characters have been stamped from the mighty presses of our industrial heritage. Jarvis Cocker has gathered a group of leading Sheffield musicians to create a phenomenal music score for the film – a new kind of Sheffield heavy metal, with pictures.”

    Says Martin Wallace, Director: We wanted to tell a story about steel that opened-out the basic social history and facts about the process itself. There are some awesome BFI archive films that already paint a vivid picture of the real story, so we wanted to drag this archive into the present, re-imagine and invigorate it, turn it into something more fantastical, more playful and, at the same time, more challenging. 

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  • RIP: Mott Green, Chocolatier, Featured in Documentary “NOTHING LIKE CHOCOLATE,” Dies at 47

     [caption id="attachment_4096" align="alignnone" width="550"]Mott Green in NOTHING LIKE CHOCOLATE[/caption]

    Mott Green, who founded the Grenada Chocolate Company, the subject of the documentary “NOTHING LIKE CHOCOLATE,” directed by Kum-Kum Bhavnani, died on June 1 in Grenada. He was 47.

    The NY Times is reporting that his mother, Dr. Judith Friedman, said he was electrocuted while working on solar-powered machinery for cooling chocolate during overseas transport.

    Green was born David Friedman in Washington, and grew up on Staten Island in New York City. He later took Green as his surname to reflect his environmental interests.

    As a child he built go-karts using lawn mower engines; he ran the New York City Marathon when he was 16; he dropped out of the University of Pennsylvania just months before graduation; and he spent much of his 20s squatting with a community of anarchists in abandoned homes in west Philadelphia, where he “rescued” food that restaurants had planned to throw away and distributed it to homeless people.

    He eventually ended up in Grenada, an island he visited as a child when his mother, Dr. Sandor Friedman, the director of medical services at Coney Island Hospital, taught there each winter.

    Mr. Green founded the Grenada Chocolate Company in 1999, under the slogan from “tree to bar.” Human rights advocates had criticized the treatment of small cocoa farmers, and Green set out to address these issues by dealing directly with small growers and by keeping the entires process including processing and packaging of chocolate within Grenada. 

    A message on the filmmakers website reads: “Mott Green, founder of the Grenada Chocolate Company, died suddenly while working in his beloved chocolate workspace in Grenada on June 1, 2013. We miss you, Mott.”

    http://youtu.be/nAyjRNhakZM

    Here is how the filmmakers, describe the film:

    Deep in the rain forests of Grenada, anarchistchocolatier Mott Green seeks solutions to the problems of a ravaged global chocolate industry. Solar power, employee shareholding and small-scale antique equipment turn out delicious chocolate in the hamlet of Hermitage, Grenada. 

    Finding hope in an an industry entrenched in enslaved child labor, irresponsible corporate greed, and tasteless, synthetic products, Nothing like Chocolate reveals the compelling story of the relentless Mott Green, founder of the Grenada Chocolate Company (GCC). [grenadachocolate.com]

    Relocating from Oregon to Grenada in 1998, headstrong and driven, Mott Green set out to make chocolate, from the tree to the bar, using recycled antique equipment. Wondering “would we really learn how to make great chocolate?”, the neophyte entrepreneur leased 100 acres of land from a neighboring estate and established the Grenada Organic Chocolate Co-operative.

    Within 5 years, the co-operative was producing 9 to 10 tons of local organic chocolate. Nothing Like Chocolate looks at this revolutionary experiment, focusing on how solar power, appropriate technology and activism merge to create a business whose values are fairness, community, sustainability and high quality. While Hersheys threatens to remove cocoa from chocolate, and can not guarantee slave-free cocoa in its chocolate, it is Mott Green and his friends, including calypso singer and lawyer Akima Paul, and Shadelle Nayack Compton, owner of the Belmont Estate, who defy all the odds. They insist that this worker co-operative is the model for the future: “We’re doing this for idealistic reasons: we are activists and our goal is to create a true worker-owned co-operative.”

    Nothing Like Chocolate traces the continued growth of Mott’s co-operative, exposing the practices and politics of how chocolate has moved worldwide from a sacred plant to corporate blasphemy. Governments around the world, beholden to multi-nationals, sell cocoa for export at the best possible price. Industrial chocolate dominates taste buds and the market. Threatened by boutique producers, such as Grenada Chocolate Company, mega-companies work hard to buy up these small artisans, as Hersheys has done with Scharffenberger.

    Confronted by the financial challenges of small-scale farming, Mott Green envisions a unique niche for exquisite organic chocolate in the global market, whose profits will come back to nourish the working shareholders.

    With a suitcase full of chocolate bars, Mott boards a plane to persuade chocolate distributors in the UK and the USA that Grenada Chocolate Company makes the best chocolate in the world. 65,000 chocolate bars in stylish new packaging, stashed in air-conditioned storage, await their destiny.

    How successful will this bold experiment be? The Grenada Chocolate Company produces less than 1% of the world’s chocolate, while at least 43% of cocoa beans come from Ivory Coast, where trafficked child labour is exploited to harvest cocoa. In the chocolate industry, Mott’s way of doing things – delicious chocolate, organics co-operatives, employment for local communities – is unusual.

    From currency to candy, chocolate reflects a rich history saturated with sacred ritual, endorphin highs, hip anti-oxidants, exotic sensuality and high quality luxury. Nothing Like Chocolate adds new depth to the stories of chocolate.

    via NYTimes

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  • Four Indie Films “BURN,” “HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE,” “MISS GULAG,” “MY BEST DAY” to Get Digital Release

    [caption id="attachment_4094" align="alignnone" width="550"]BURN[/caption]

    Four independent films will be released on digital platforms on June 18, via the Sundance Institute’s Artist Services program. The films will be available on a variety of platforms, including iTunes , Amazon Instant Video,  Microsoft Xbox,  Sony Entertainment Network,  SundanceNOW,  VUDU and YouTube.  The upcoming releases include 3 documentaries – “HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE” “MISS GULAG,” and “BURN”; and “MY BEST DAY” which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in the NEXT section.

    TITLES AVAILABLE JUNE 18

    BURN (Directors: Tom Putnam and Brenna Sanchez) — BURN is an award-winning, action-packed documentary capturing a year in the lives of Detroit firefighters who are charged with the thankless task of saving a city that many have written off as dead. A portion of proceeds from each sale go to the Leary Firefighters Foundation. (Released through Artist Services collaboration with Film Independent)

    High Tech, Low Life (Director: Stephen Maing) — High Tech, Low Life follows two of China’s first and most daring citizen reporters as they fight censorship, document the underside of the country’s rapid economic development, and challenge the boundaries of free speech. (2010 Documentary Edit and Story Lab)

    Miss Gulag (Director: Maria Yatskova-Ibrahimova) — Through the prism of a beauty pageant staged by female inmates of a Siberian prison camp emerges a complex narrative of the lives of the first generation of women to come of age in Post-Soviet Russia. (2006 Documentary Film Grant)

    My Best Day (Director: Erin Greenwell) — Karen has to work her receptionist gig on the Fourth of July. A call comes from her long-lost father. Enlisting her friend Meagan, Karen investigates her father’s trailer home. Karen’s journey sets in motion a chain of events that will change not just her but this one small town forever. (2012 Sundance Film Festival)

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  • “OUR NIXON” “C.O.G.” Among Top Winning Films at 39th Seattle International Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_4092" align="alignnone" width="550"]C.O.G.[/caption]

    The 39th Seattle International Film Festival announced the winners of the SIFF 2013 Competition and Golden Space Needle Audience Awards – OUR NIXON, directed by Penny Lane won the GRAND JURY PRIZE for Best Documentary and C.O.G., directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez won the GRAND JURY PRIZE for Best New American Cinema. OUR NIXON is described as an “all-archival documentary, constructed from Super8 footage shot by three White House aides (Watergate conspirators Ehrlichman, Haldeman, and Chapin), creates an intimate and complex portrait of the Nixon presidency, as it has never been seen before.”  C.O.G. is described as the “first film adaptation of David Sedaris’ work .. a funny and poignant portrait of a lost soul and the amusing characters he meets as he pursues his Steinbeckian dream—to spend his summer working on an apple farm in Oregon.”

    SIFF 2013 COMPETITION AWARDS

    SIFF 2013 BEST NEW DIRECTOR

    GRAND JURY PRIZE 
    Harmony Lessons, directed by Emir Baigazin (2013, Kazakhstan)

    JURY STATEMENT: Emir Baigazin’s astounding debut feature Harmony Lessons set the bar for all the films that the Narrative Jury watched before and after. On one level, it’s the simple tale of a bullied Muslim boy in rural Kazakhstan. But as no single child’s life is ever as simple as adults believe, from the moment we meet the dark-eyed, pimply hero chasing down a family sheep to slaughter with his aging babushka, to his ultimate act of vengeance in his struggle for survival, his confrontation with bullies at his local school spirals into a larger tale of societal dominance and submission. Power relations based on intimidation and violence flow from boy to sheep, alpha boy to beta, local police to accused criminals, and ultimately an entire society defined by a hierarchy of male bullying male. Visually exact, transparently acted by a mostly juvenile cast, and quietly terrifying, this Kazakhstan/Germany/France co-production is a hard-won lesson in how brutal life can be that is told with spellbinding assurance by a visionary young talent. 

    SIFF 2013 BEST DOCUMENTARY

    GRAND JURY PRIZE 
    Our Nixon, directed by Penny Lane (2013, USA)

    JURY STATEMENT: For Best Documentary the prize goes to Penny Lane for Our Nixon. For this original telling of the unraveling of the Nixon presidency, Lane poured over a mountain of archival Super 8 home movie footage and audio to take a story that we think we already know and give it a fresh and human perspective.

     SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
    The Crash Reel, directed by Lucy Walker (2013, USA

    JURY STATEMENT: We’re giving a Special Jury Prize to Lucy Walker for The Crash Reel, a deeply emotional and nuanced look at snowboarder and Olympic hopeful Kevin Pearce, his inspiring journey back from traumatic brain injury, and the healing power of family.

     

    SIFF 2013 BEST NEW AMERICAN CINEMA

    GRAND JURY PRIZE 
    C.O.G., directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez (USA, 2013)

    JURY STATEMENT: We, the members of FIPRESCI, are very pleased to award the International Critics Prize for Best New American Film to C.O.G., written and directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez. Unsentimental yet openhearted, Alvarez’s adaptation of David Sedaris’ essay tells a compelling story of youthful self-actualization, of defining encounters with class, sex and religion, that refuses to succumb to the dictates of fashionable identity politics. Its narrative trajectory is fundamentally wayward, yet its clipped, idiosyncratic pacing, its evocative visualization of the fecund landscapes and overcast light of the Pacific Northwest, and its use of the percussive music of Steve Reich converge to immerse us in a very particular world, and to create a film of unlikely momentum, unnerving humour and subtle emotional resonance.

     

    SIFF 2013 GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AUDIENCE AWARDS

    BEST FILM GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD
    Fanie Fourie’s Lobola, directed by Henk Pretorius (South Africa, 2013)

    First runner-up: The Rocket, directed by Kim Mordaunt (Australia, 2013)
    Second runner-up: Monsters University, directed by Dan Scanlon (USA, 2013)
    Third runner-up: Decoding Annie Parker, directed by Steven Bernstein (USA, 2013)
    Fourth runner-up: Still Mine, directed by Michael McGowan (Canada, 2013) 
    Rounding out the top ten: Short Term 12, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (USA, 2013); Horses of God, directed by Nabil Ayouch (Morocco, 2013); Circles, directed by Srdan Golubovic (Serbia, 2013); The Forgotten Kingdom, directed by Andrew Mudge (USA, 2013); Unfinished Song, directed by Paul Andrew Williams (United Kingdom, 2012); Populaire, directed by Régis Roinsard (France, 2012).

     

    BEST DOCUMENTARY GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD
    Twenty Feet from Stardom, directed by Morgan Neville (USA, 2013)

    First runner-up: The Punk Singer, directed by Sini Anderson (USA, 2013)
    Second runner-up: Harana, directed by Benito Bautista (Philippines, 2012)
    Third runner-up: Alive and Well, directed by Josh Taft (USA, 2013)
    Fourth runner-up: Blackfish, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite (USA, 2013)
    Rounding out the top ten: Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth, directed by Pratibha Parmar (USA, 2013); Finding Hillywood, directed by Leah Warshawski, Chris Towey (USA, 2013); Evergreen: The Road to Legalization in Washington, directed by Riley Morton (USA, 2013); SOMM, directed by Jason Wise (USA, 2012); The Otherside, directed by Daniel Torok (USA, 2013); Inequality for All, directed by Jacob Kornbluth (USA, 2013).

     

    BEST DIRECTOR GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD
    Nabil Ayouch, Horses of God, (Morocco, 2012)

    First runner-up: David Ondříček, In the Shadow, (Czech Republic, 2012)
    Second runner-up: Joss Whedon, Much Ado About Nothing, (USA, 2012)
    Third runner-up: Thomas Vinterberg, The Hunt, (Denmark, 2012)
    Fourth runner-up: Andrew Mudge, The Forgotten Kingdom, (USA, 2013)
    Rounding out the top ten: Sarah Polley, Stories We Tell, (Canada, 2012); Brady Hall, Scrapper, (USA, 2013);Juan Carlos Maneglia,Tana Schémbori, 7 Boxes, (Paraguay, 2012); Reha Erdem, Jin, (Turkey, 2012); Michael Mayer, Out in the Dark, (Israel, 2012);Destin Daniel Cretton, Short Term 12, (USA, 2013).

     

    BEST ACTOR GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD
    James Cromwell, Still Mine, (Canada, 2012)

    First runner-up: Mads Mikkelsen, The Hunt, (Denmark, 2012)
    Second runner-up: Terence Stamp, Unfinished Song (United Kingdom, 2012)
    Third runner-up: Ivan Trejon, In the Shadow, (Czech Republic, 2012)
    Fourth runner-up: Sabin Tambrea, Ludwig II, (Germany, 2013) 
    Rounding out the top ten: Michael Beach, Scrapper, (USA, 2013);Niels Arestrup, You Will Be My Son, (France, 2012); Edward Hogg, Imagine, (Poland, 2012); Ali Suliman, The Attack, (Lebanon, 2012); Casey Affleck, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (USA, 2013); Paul Eenhoorn, This is Martin Bonner, (USA, 2013).

     

    BEST ACTRESS GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD
    Samantha Morton, Decoding Annie Parker, (USA, 2013)

    First runner-up: Onata Aprile, What Maisie Knew, (USA, 2012)
    Second runner-up: Greta Gerwig, Frances Ha, (USA, 2012)
    Third runner-up: Juliane Köhler, Two Lives, (Germany, 2012)
    Fourth runner-up: Martina Gedeck, The Wall, (Austria, 2012)
    Rounding out the top ten: Brie Larson, Short Term 12, (USA, 2013); Robin Weigert, Concussion, (USA, 2013); Lisa Tomaschewsky, The Girl With Nine Wigs, (Germany, 2013); Anna Giles, Scrapper, (USA, 2013); Jeanne Moreau, A Lady in Paris, (Estonia, 2012); Alma Prica, Halima’s Path, (Croatia, 2012).  

     

    BEST SHORT FILM GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE AWARD
    Spooners, directed by Bryan Horch (USA, 2012)

    First runner-up: My Right Eye (The Apple of My Eye), directed by Josecho de Linares (Spain, 2012)
    Second runner-up: Malaria, directed by Edson Oda (Brazil, 2013)
    Third runner-up: Fora, directed by Ayuub Kasasa Mago (Rwanda, 2012)
    Fourth runner-up: While You Weren’t Looking, directed by Jeremy Mackie (USA, 2012)
    Rounding out the top ten: Good Karma $1, directed by Jason Berger, Amy Laslett (USA, 2012); Noodle Fish, directed by Jin-man Kim (South Korea, 2012); Walking the Dogs, directed by Jeremy Brock (United Kingdom, 2012); The Roper, directed by Ewan McNichol, Anna Sandilands (USA, 2012); Macropolis, directed by Joel Simon (United Kingdom, 2012); Penny Dreadful, directed by Shane Atkinson (USA, 2012).   

     

    LENA SHARPE AWARD FOR PERSISTENCE OF VISION, PRESENTED BY WOMEN IN FILM/SEATTLE
    The Punk Singer, directed by Sini Anderson (USA, 2013)

      

    REEL NW AWARD, PRESENTED BY KCTS 9     

    REEL NW AWARD
    GRAND JURY PRIZE  Big Joy, directed by Eric Slade and Stephen Silha (USA)

    JURY STATEMENT: The Seattle International Film Festival assembled an impressive array of Northwest Connection films in 2013, with stories ranging from heart-breaking illness to life-affirming music, from the ballot box to the scrap yard, from Northwest noir to volatile blends of fact and fiction, and many places in between.  Quality was very high across the board, great news for local film fans and a difficult challenge for the jurors.  In a very close decision, the 2013 Reel NW Award goes to a beautifully constructed film that personifies the essence of independent creative spirit and re-discovers a great American story, which has been largely forgotten. 

     

    SIFF 2013 FUTUREWAVE AND YOUTH JURY AWARDS 

    YOUTH JURY AWARD FOR BEST FUTUREWAVE FEATURE

    GRAND JURY PRIZE 
    The Spectacular Now, directed by James Ponsoldt (USA)

    JURY STATEMENT: For its relatable story that embodies the teenage struggle in a realistic manner and for its powerful ensemble of actors, the Youth Jury Award for Best FutureWave Feature goes to The Spectacular Now.

     

    SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
    Blackbird, directed by Jason Buxton (Canada)

    The FutureWave Jury would also like to give a Special Jury Prize toBlackbird for its subtly powerful and original story featuring compelling performances.

     

    YOUTH JURY AWARD FOR BEST FILMS4FAMILIES FEATURE

    GRAND JURY PRIZE 
    Ernest & Celestine, directed by Benjamin Renner, Stephane Aubier, and Vincent Patar (France)

    JURY STATEMENT: The film we chose told a fascinating story about characters from two different worlds learning to be friends. Through their friendship we learned that even though two worlds may seem completely different, in many ways they are the same. 

     

    WAVEMAKER AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN YOUTH FILMMAKING

    GRAND JURY PRIZE 
    The Painted Girl, directed by Ben Kadie (USA, 2013)

    FUTUREWAVE SHORTS AUDIENCE AWARD
    Piece of Cake, directed by Susan Procopio and Katherine Procopio (Canada, 2012)

     

    THEFILMSCHOOL PRODIGY CAMP SCHOLARSHIPS
    A Quest for Peace: Nonviolence Among Religions, directed by Matthew Evans (USA, 2013)

    Runner up: Laser Rabbit, directed by Matt Wells (USA, 2013)   

     

    SIFF 2013 SHORT FILM JURY AWARDS

    As a qualifying festival of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, short films that received the Grand Jury Prize for Best Live Action, Animated, and Documentary Short at SIFF may qualify to enter the Short Films category of the Academy Awards® for the concurrent season without the standard theatrical run, provided the film complies with the Academy rules. Winners received a $1,000 cash prize.

     

    LIVE ACTION

    GRAND JURY PRIZE
    My Right Eye (The Apple of My Eye), directed by Josecho de Linares (Spain, 2012)

    JURY STATEMENT: For its beautifully crafted and profound exploration of love and loss told through touching performances that depict a young man’s authentic journey of rediscovery, the jury awards Best Narrative Short to The Apple of My Eye, written and directed by Josecho de Linares.

     

    SPECIAL JURY PRIZES 
    Penny Dreadful, directed by Shane Atkinson (USA, 2012) 
    Mobile Homes, directed by Vladimir de Fontenay (USA/France, 2012) 
    Decimation, directed by Wade Jackson (USA, 2013)

    JURY STATEMENT: For its stylish direction and a terrific performance by Oona Laurence as a young kidnap victim who turns the tables on her abductors, the jury would like to give a Special Jury Mention to the short film Penny Dreadful.   The jury would also like to award a Special Jury Mention to Mobile Homes, a suspenseful, moving narrative with where the main characters stumble upon a most unexpected mean of escape. The jury awards a Special Jury Mention for outstanding ensemble filmmaking supported by the Northwest filmmaking community to the cast and crew of Decimation, written and directed by Wade Jackson.

     

    DOCUMENTARY 

    GRAND JURY PRIZE 
    Keep a Modest Head, directed by Deco Dawson (Canada, 2012)

    JURY STATEMENT: Although there were many great films to discuss and debate, ultimately there was one film that the jury unanimously felt was particularly worthy of receiving the Best Documentary Short award. For its brilliantly surrealistic imagining of the life of the last of the surrealists, the jury gives its award to Keep A Modest Head, directed by Deco Dawson.

     

    SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
    Today, directed by Philip Montgomery (USA, 2013)
    JURY STATEMENT: For its touching and inspiring story about a man who learns to find meaning in his life’s work even after a tragic accident, the jury awards a Special Jury Mention to Today, directed by Phillip Montgomery.  

     

    ANIMATION

    GRAND JURY PRIZE
    Woody, directed by Stuart Bowen (Australia) 

    JURY STATEMENT: For the award for Best Animated Short, the jury has unanimously decided upon a film that told a lovely story about a guy who was just like everyone else, but wanted deeply to be something different than what he was. The filmmakers took the art of film as a visual medium to heart – with no dialogue and without facial expressions, they crafted a complete story that evoked compassion for the character. The jury awards Best Animated Short to Woody, directed by Stuart Bowen.  

     

    SPECIAL JURY PRIZE 
    Malaria, directed by Edson Oda (Brazil, 2013) 
    The Hunter, directed by Marieka Walsh (Australia, 2012)   
    JURY STATEMENT: For its intriguing and original visual storytelling, combined with the tautness of an old-school Western, the jury awards a Special Jury Mention to Malaria, directed by Edson Shundl Oda.   We had a very difficult time making a final decision between two films. After much discussion, the jury has decided to award a Special Jury Mention to The Hunter, directed by Marieka Walsh, for its beautifully simple, yet deeply emotional illustrations integrated into a folk-tale of a story.    

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  • “THE SPECTACULAR NOW” and “OUT OF PRINT” Win Top Awards at 2013 deadCENTER Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_3372" align="alignnone" width="550"]THE SPECTACULAR NOW[/caption]

    “THE SPECTACULAR NOW,” directed by James Ponsoldt, won the Grand Jury Feature category, and Vivienne Roumani’s “OUT OF PRINT” won top honors in the Grand Jury Documentary category at the 2013 deadCENTER Film Festival. THE SPECTACULAR NOW is a “sharply witty coming-of-age story” of youth confronting the funny, thrilling and perilous business of modern love and adulthood. OUT OF PRINT is “a thoughtful look into the impact of the digital revolution” with testimonials from authors, entrepreneurs, and educators alike highlighting how the digital revolution is changing every aspect of the printed word – and how it’s changing us.

    Winners also included:

    Special Jury Feature: “WORM”

    Special Jury Short: “Running Deer”

    Okie Feature: “Home, James”

    Okie Short: “Sherman & Pacifico”

    Narrative Short: “Black Metal”

    Documentary Short: “This is Normal”

    Screenplay: “Uterus Chat”

    Student Film: “The Treehouse”

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  • 40th Student Academy Awards Winners Receive Medals at Ceremony in Beverly Hills

    Sixteen students from colleges and universities around the world were honored last night, June 8, and received medal placements, as winners of the 40th Student Academy Awards. The ceremony was hosted by writer-director and 1978 Student Academy Award® winner Bob Saget, and writer-director Kimberly Peirce and actors Clark Gregg, Jason Schwartzman and Quvenzhané Wallis presented the awards.

    The winners are:

    Alternative
    Gold Medal: “Bottled Up,” Rafael Cortina, Occidental College
    Silver Medal: “Zug,” Perry Janes, University of Michigan
    Bronze Medal: “The Compositor,” John Mattiuzzi, School of Visual Arts

    Animation
    Gold Medal: “Dia de los Muertos,” Lindsey St. Pierre and Ashley Graham, Ringling College of Art and Design
    Silver Medal: “Will,” Eusong Lee, California Institute of the Arts
    Bronze Medal: “Peck Pocketed,” Kevin Herron, Ringling College of Art and Design

    Documentary
    Gold Medal: “A Second Chance,” David Aristizabal, University of Southern California
    Silver Medal: “Every Tuesday: A Portrait of The New Yorker Cartoonists,” Rachel Loube, School of Visual Arts
    Bronze Medal: “Win or Lose,” Daniel Koehler, Elon University

    Narrative
    Gold Medal: “Ol’ Daddy,” Brian Schwarz, University of Texas at Austin
    Silver Medal: “Josephine and the Roach,” Jonathan Langager, University of Southern California
    Bronze Medal: “Un Mundo para Raúl (A World for Raúl),” Mauro Mueller, Columbia University

    Foreign Film
    Gold Medal: “Miss Todd,” Kristina Yee, National Film and Television School, United Kingdom
    Silver Medal: “Parvaneh,” Talkhon Hamzavi, Zurich University of the Arts, Switzerland
    Bronze Medal: “Tweesprong (Crossroads),” Wouter Bouvijn, RITS School of Arts, Erasmus University College Brussels, Belgium

    The Student Academy Awards were established in 1972 to support and encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level. Past Student Academy Award winners have gone on to receive 46 Oscar® nominations and have won or shared eight awards. The roster includes such distinguished filmmakers as John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Robert Zemeckis, Trey Parker and Spike Lee.

    Image:

    Front row (left to right): Talkhon Hamzavi, Brian Schwarz, David Aristizabal, Eusong Lee, Lindsey St. Pierre, Ashley Graham, Kristina Yee and Rachel Loube.

    Back row (left to right): John Mattiuzzi, Kevin Herron, Jonathan Langager, Perry Janes, Mauro Mueller, Wouter Bouvijn, Rafael Cortina and Daniel Koehler.

    credit: Matt Petit / ©A.M.P.A.S.

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  • Amy Finkel Explores Handling the Loss of A Pet in FUREVER at the Brooklyn Film Festival

    Amy Finkel’s documentary film “FUREVER” is an official selection at the 2013 Brooklyn Film Festival. FUREVER explores the dimensions of grief people experience over the loss of a pet. The film features interviews from grieving pet owners, veterinarians, psychologists, sociologists, religious scholars, neuroscientists, and the many professionals who preserve a pet’s body or re-purpose a pet’s remains in unique ways  including taxidermy, cloning, mummification, and freeze-drying. Considering that Amy made a documentary about four-string jazz banjo culture entitled “Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart: The Banjomaniacs of Guthrie,”  we wanted to know how did she end up making a documentary about a pet’s last rites.

    We connected with Amy at the Brooklyn Film Festivals in her hometown, Brooklyn, New York, with lots of questions and she provided us with lots of answers.  

    VIMOOZ: First, congratulations on FUREVER being an official selection in the 2013 Brooklyn International Film Festival? How does it feel?

    Amy Finkel: Thanks! It’s wonderful! The FUREVER screenings thus far have all been in other faraway cities, so I’d been hoping for a great hometown screening, and this is, of course, it. I was really excited for my friends to get to see the film; many have helped me so much on it over the years. And I just adore all of the people who run the Brooklyn Film Festival, so it’s been fantastic.

    VIMOOZ: Am I correct – you are a New Yorker…and live in Brooklyn?

    Amy Finkel: I do indeed. In Boerum Hill — the same apartment for 15 years now!

    VIMOOZ: Tell us about the film?

    Amy Finkel: It’s called FUREVER and it’s a feature-length documentary about pet loss, the dimensions of grief people experience when they lose a pet, the sociological evolution of pets in our culture, and the myriad ways we choose to memorialize our pets when they pass away.

    FUREVER features interviews with grieving pet owners, veterinarians, psychologists, sociologists, religious scholars, neuroscientists, and the many professionals who preserve a pet’s body for their devastated clientele, or re-purpose a pet’s cremains in unique ways (taxidermy, cloning, mummification, freeze-drying, and many more), FUREVER confronts contemporary trends, perspectives, and relevant cultural assumptions regarding attachment, religion, ritual, grief, and death, and studies the bonds that form between humans and animals, both psychological and physiological.

    VIMOOZ: What was in your opinion, the most outlandish (if I dare use that word) pet memorial you’ve seen while filming the documentary or in general?

    Amy Finkel: Hmmm…at this point I’m pretty desensitized to it all. I think dog cloning is the most extreme, because it’s the most expensive ($100,000) and you can only do it in South Korea (fewer animal welfare organizations there). Plus many people who choose that option truly believe they’re cheating death. It’s also the most technologically advanced. But it’s funny to me what people think of as extreme. I did an interview with someone in the film who freeze-dried his pet, and he finds the idea of having a pet’s ashes on a mantelpiece unbelievably distasteful. As far as actual physical memorials go, for me, the most outlandish were always those that were the most kitsch. I adored one that was an elaborate silver memorial of a dog urinating on a fire hydrant. While it wasn’t working when we were there, after speaking with the pet cemetery where I found it, they said it’s usually a working fountain.

    VIMOOZ: How did you come up with the idea for FUREVER?

    Amy Finkel: We had many types of animals growing up and I became very attached to them over the years. My parents were huge advocates of animal rescue, so we ended up with all sorts: anoles, rats, dogs, budgies, gerbils, etc.  And no matter what the species, I found that I became unbelievably attached to each of them. As a result, I had a very tough time letting go. So when I read the article about people freeze-drying their pets several years ago, I was fascinated by what it was about keeping the body of a dead animal in a lively-looking state that was offering so much comfort to the devastated pet owners. How was it not a constant reminder that their pet was gone? Where did they think the soul had gone, if they believed in that (which I suspected they did)? That was not a discussion in my atheist household growing up. But—and I should mention that I’m not particularly judgmental in general—I never assumed they were crazy, as many do. I totally understood their level of attachment and their inability to let go; I simply didn’t understand why it would offer them comfort. I thought it was peculiar, and potentially destructive psychologically if there were a disconnect there (feeling as though their pet was still alive), but I tried to go into it with an open mind. Freeze-drying certainly would not have offered comfort to me. But I’d often wondered why I was getting so attached to my animals; whether it was projection or perhaps being less tolerant of humans than animals (I did have a lot of human friends growing up too). I figured there had to be some physiological component, which is why I put a whole segment in the film about the biology of the human-animal bond. But yes, for some reason freeze-drying was the perfect jumping off point for an inquiry of all of these questions, and an exploration of grief in general, so I set off to investigate.

    VIMOOZ: Are you a pet owner? If yes, what pets do you own? If not, why not?

    Amy Finkel: I’m afraid that my (rent-controlled) apartment doesn’t allow pets, so I don’t have one. But I’m huge animal lover. If I could have a dog now, I would in a heartbeat. Luckily, I have numerous surrogate dogs in the neighborhood, so I do get my fix here and there.

    That said, I do, actually, have some freeze-dried and taxidermied animals: Chompers, my groundhog, Fleischesser, my armadillo, and angel, my wild boar. One of my subjects, Mac, gave them to me as thank you gifts for making his website. I feel a bit uneasy knowing that they, likely, did not die of natural causes, nor, unlike the boar, did anyone eat their meat, so it makes me feel better to treat them in death with the dignity and respect they never received in life. They get frequent positive affirmations and simulated food offerings. You know, for that extra dose of anthropomorphic affection (with a chaser of projection). Chompers and Angel spend time with me in my living room, and Fleischesser lives in my office, positioned so that he may stare in perpetuity at a gorgeous old mannequin whose arms frequently fall off, as an homage to his species’ leprotic leanings.

    VIMOOZ: Would you/have you ever created a pet memorial? Would you consider it?

    Amy Finkel: We always buried our small animals in the backyard or cremated our larger ones (I keep their ashes now). At this point, I’ve of course, seen all that can be done with a deceased pet. Most of the memorials would be cost prohibitive for me and wouldn’t offer me much comfort, but I love Jessica Joslin’s articulated skeleton work (not sure I’d be able to do that with a pet, but I do think her work is beautiful). I can absolutely imagine pressing the ashes of a pet into a vinyl record (“And Vinyly”). I love that option. I love a lot of the options — I vetted all of the businesses in the film; all of the company owners are really great people who mean well and are by no means simply trying to exploit pet owners at a time when they’re most vulnerable.  

    VIMOOZ: What do you want viewers to take away from watching the documentary?

    Amy Finkel: I’m hoping that the stigma attached to grieving the loss of a pet can be removed.

    VIMOOZ: By the way who came up with the name for the film?

    Amy Finkel: My friend, Laura Pence! I told her that I wanted to call it “Forever” (I’m pretty sure we were pretty tipsy at the time), and she cracked up and said, “FUR-ever!” She thought she was making a joke, but I knew immediately that there was no other title but that.

    VIMOOZ: What’s next for Furever?

    Amy Finkel: We’re currently working out our distribution plans — check the fureverfilm.com website in the next few weeks for details about that. And we’re doing the film festival route for the next year (we started two months ago).

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  • Outfest Los Angeles LGBT Film Festival Unveils 2013 Lineup of Films

    [caption id="attachment_4083" align="alignnone" width="550"]REACHING FOR THE MOON[/caption]

    The 31st Outfest Los Angeles LGBT Film Festival, to be held July 11 to 21, 2013, announced the complete film lineup for this years festival, including Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s “C.O.G.,” as Opening Night film and Darren Stein’s comedy “G.B.F.,” as closing night film.

    In addition to opening and closing night, other gala screenings include: “Pit Stop” (U.S. Dramatic Centerpiece), Yen Tan’s quietly powerful Sundance darling, in which the Outfest alum provides an evocative glimpse into the lives of two Southern gay men; veteran Brazilian filmmaker Bruno Barreto returns with “Reaching for the Moon” (International Dramatic Centerpiece), a steamy tale of an unlikely romance between two extraordinary lesbian artists, set against the backdrop of political upheaval and a clash of cultures; ”God Loves Uganda” (Documentary Centerpiece), in which Academy Award–winner Roger Ross Williams provides powerful insight into the ignorance (cloaked in religion) exported by the United States to the rest of the world; and Pratibha Parmar‘s “Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth” (Fusion Centerpiece), a compelling and inspirational documentary about Alice Walker’s extraordinary journey from sharecropper’s daughter to activist, journalist, poet and Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist of The Color Purple.

    Other films in this year’s festival include Travis Mathews and James Franco’s “Interior. Leather Bar.”, a provocative re-imagining of the lost 40 minutes of “Cruising”; the James Franco-produced  documentary “Kink,” in which director Christina Voros takes us into the painful but oh-so-pleasurable world of five San Francisco–based BDSM workers; Linda Bloodworth Thomason’s award-winning “Bridegroom,” a powerful and poignant feature about love, loss and the courage of one young man to stand up for same-sex equality; Jeffrey Schwarz’s “I Am Divine,” a documentary about the legendary drag performer Divine; “The Battle of amFAR,” a triumphant short film by Outfest Achievement Award winners Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, which focuses on the landmark AIDS advocacy group; and world premieres of “Igloo,” the feature film directorial debut by Chilean actor Diego Ruiz, and Del Shores’ hilarious and heartbreaking screen adaptation of his hit play “Southern Baptist Sissies”.

    OUTFEST LOS ANGLES 2013 LINE-UP

    GALA FILMS

    C.O.G. – OPENING NIGHT GALA
    Dir/Scr: Kyle Patrick Alvarez, 2013, USA, 88 min.

    PIT STOP – US DRAMATIC CENTERPIECE
    Dir: Yen Tan, Scr: Yen Tan, David Lowery, 2013, USA, 80 min.

    REACHING FOR THE MOON – INTERNATIONAL CENTERPIECE
    Dir: Bruno Barreto, Scr: Carolina Kotscho, Julie Sayres, Matthew Chapman, 2013, Brazil, subtitled, 116 min.

    GOD LOVES UGANDA- DOCUMENTARY CENTERPIECE
    Dir: Roger Ross Williams, 2013, USA, subtitled, 83 min.

    ALICE WALKER: BEAUTY IN TRUTH – FUSION CENTERPIECE
    Dir/Scr: Pratibha Parmar, 2013, UK/USA, 82 min.

    G.B.F. – CLOSING NIGHT GALA
    Dir: Darren Stein, Scr: George Northy, 2013, USA, 98 min.

    U.S. DRAMATIC FEATURES

    ASS BACKWARDS
    Dir: Chris Nelson, Scr: June Diane Raphael, Casey Wilson, 2013, USA, 83 min.

    BIG GAY LOVE
    Dir/Scr: Ringo Le, 2013, USA, 85 min.

    BREAKING THE GIRLS
    Dir: Jamie Babbit, Scr: Mark Distefano, Guinevere Turner, 2012, USA, 98 min.

    BRUNO & EARLENE GO TO VEGAS
    Dir/Scr: Simon Savory, 2013, USA/UK, 97 min.

    CONCUSSION
    Dir/Scr: Stacie Passon, 2012, USA, 97 min.

    GEOGRAPHY CLUB
    Dir: Gary Entin, Scr: Edmund Entin, 2012, USA, 83 min.

    THE GO DOC PROJECT
    Dir/Scr: Cory Krueckeberg, 2013, USA, 91 min.

    THE HAPPY SAD
    Dir: Rodney Evans, Scr: Ken Urban, 2013, USA, 126 min.

    HOT GUYS WITH GUNS
    Dir/Scr: Doug Spearman, 2013, USA, 110 min.

    IN BLOOM
    Dir/Scr: Chris Michael Birkmeier, 2013, USA, 87 min.

    LAST SUMMER
    Dir/Scr: Mark Thiedeman, 2013, USA, 73 min.

    THE MOST FUN I’VE EVER HAD WITH MY PANTS ON
    Dir/Scr: Drew Denny, 2012, USA, 95 min.

    SOUTHERN BAPTIST SISSIES
    Dir/Scr: Del Shores, 2013, USA, 135 min.

    TEST
    Dir/Scr: Chris Mason Johnson, 2013, USA, 90 min.

    VALENCIA
    Dir: Hilary Goldberg, Silas Howard, Cheryl Dunye, Aubree Bernier-Clarke, Lares Feliciano, Dia Felix, Alexa Inkeles, Jerry Lee, Peter Anthony, Sharon Barnes, Cary Cronenwett, Bug Davidson, Samuael Topiary, Olivia Parriott, Jill Soloway, Courtney Trouble, Michelle Lawler, Sara St. Martin Lynne, Chris Vargas, Greg Youmans, 2012, USA, 106 min.

    WHO’S AFRAID OF VAGINA WOLF?
    Dir: Anna Margarita Albelo, Scr: Anna Margarita Albelo, Michael Urban, 2013, USA, 83 min.

    INTERNATIONAL DRAMATIC FEATURES

    ANIMALS
    Dir: Marçal Forés, Scr: Marçal Forés, Enric Pardo, Aintza Serra, 2013, Spain, subtitled, 91 min.

    BEYOND THE WALLS
    Dir/Scr: David Lambert, 2012, Belgium, subtitled, 98 min.

    BWAKAW
    Dir/Scr: Jun Robles Lana, 2012, Philippines, subtitled, 110 min.

    EVERYBODY’S GOT SOMEBODY…NOT ME
    Dir/Scr: Raúl Fuentes, 2012, Mexico, subtitled, 95 min.

    FREE FALL
    Dir: Stephan Lacant, Scr: Stephan Lacant, Karsten Dahlem, 2013, Germany, subtitled, 100 min.

    IGLOO
    Dir: Diego Ruiz, Scr: Diego Ruiz, Shawn Garry, 2013, Chile, subtitled, 86 min.

    IN THE NAME OF…
    Dir: Malgoska Szumowska, Scr: Malgoska Szumowska, Michal Englert, 2013, Poland, subtitled, 102 min.

    IT’S ALL SO QUIET
    Dir/Scr: Nanouk Leopold, 2013, Germany/ Netherlands, subtitled, 93 min.

    THE LAST MATCH
    Dir: Antonio Hens, Scr: Abel González Melo, Antonio Hens, 2012, Cuba, subtitled, 94 min.

    LOVE ME NOT
    Dir: Gilitte Leung, Scr: Gilitte Leung, Hedy Yau, 2012, China, subtitled, 92 min.

    OUT IN THE DARK
    Dir: Michael Mayer, Scr: Michael Mayer, Yael Shafrir, 2012, Israel/Palestine/USA, subtitled, 96 min.

    SOONGAVA: DANCE OF THE ORCHIDS
    Dir/Scr: Subarna Thapa, 2012, Nepal/France, subtitled, 85 min.

    SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER / GOING SOUTH
    SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER Dir: Leesong Hee-il, 2012, South Korea, subtitled, 37 min.
    GOING SOUTH Dir: Leesong Hee-il, 2012, South Korea, subtitled, 45 min.

    TO HEAVEN
    Dir: Diego Prado, Scr: María Eugenia Cortajerena, 2012, Argentina, subtitled, 82 min.

    DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

    AFTER TILLER
    Dir: Martha Shane, Lana Wilson, Scr: Greg O’Toole, Martha Shane, Lana Wilson, 2012, USA, 87 min.

    BAYOU MAHARAJAH: THE TRAGIC GENIUS OF JAMES BOOKER
    Dir: Lily Keber, 2013, USA, 93 min.

    BEFORE YOU KNOW IT
    Dir: PJ Raval, 2013, USA, 110 min..

    BIG JOY: THE ADVENTURES OF JAMES BROUGHTON
    Dir: Eric Slade, Stephen Silha, Dawn Logsdon, 2012, USA, 83 min.

    BORN THIS WAY
    Dir: Shaun Kadlec and Deb Tullman, 2013, USA, subtitled, 82 min.

    BRIDEGROOM
    Dir: Linda Bloodworth Thomason, 2013, USA, 80 min.

    CONTINENTAL
    Dir: Malcolm Ingram, 2012, USA/Canada, 95 min.

    DEEPSOUTH
    Dir: Lisa Biagiotti, 2012, USA, 72 min.

    GORE VIDAL: THE UNITED STATES OF AMNESIA
    Dir/Scr: Nicholas Wrathall, 2013, USA, 89 min.

    I AM DIVINE
    Dir: Jeffrey Schwarz, 2013, USA, 86 min.

    IAN HARVIE SUPERHERO
    Dir: Liam Sullivan, Scr: Ian Harvie, 2013, USA, 71 min.

    KINK
    Dir: Christina Voros, Scr: Christina Voros, Ian Olds, 2012, USA, 79 min.

    LESBIANA: A PARALLEL REVOLUTION
    Dir/Scr: Myriam Fougère, 2012, Canada, 63 min.

    MAMA RAINBOW
    Dir: Fan Popo, 2012, China, subtitled, 80 min.

    THE OTHER SHORE
    Dir: Timothy Wheeler, 2013, USA, 96 min.

    TRANSVISIBLE: THE BAMBY SALCEDO STORY
    Dir: Dante Alencastre, 2013, USA, subtitled, 60 min.

    TWO: THE STORY OF ROMAN & NYRO
    Dir: Heather Winters, Scr: Curtis Shaw Child, Heather Winters, Desmond Child, 2013, USA, 71 min.

    PLATINUM SECTION

    PLATINUM SHOWCASE

    HARD Dir: Vanessa Roveto, 6 min.

    PASSIONS OF ST. AQUEDUCT Dir: Tony Stinkmetal, 2 min.

    SHE GONE ROGUE Dir: Zackary Drucker, Rhys Ernst, 22 min.

    THE BASKET Dir: Narcissister, Josef Kraska, 5 min.

    THE ASSUMPTION Dir: Navid Sinaki, 6 min.

    INVISIBLE Dir: Brian Bress, 6 min.

    SHAPING UP Dir: William E. Jones, 2 min.

    FOR FLO Dir:Cary Cronenwett, 11 min.

    SHELLEY WINTERS Dir: Luther Price, 11 min.

    OUT OF THE STRONG COME FORTH WITH A SWEETNESS WEAKNESS Dir: Jonesy, 15 min.

    SAN DIEGO SURF
    Dir: Andy Warhol, 1968/1996, USA, 90 min.

    TOUCH
    Dir/Scr: Shelly Silver, 2013, USA, subtitled, 68 min.

    CRIMINAL QUEERS
    Dir: Chris E. Vargas, Eric A. Stanley, 2013, USA, 70 min.

    THE TRANSPARENT TRAP: A POWER POINTLESS PRESENTATION BY DYNASTY HANDBAG
    Dir: Ben Walters, Gavin Butt, 2012, UK, 118 min.

    LAST DANCE: QUEER TAKES ON THE END OF DAYS

    HEALING Dir: Stephanie Barber, 12 min. IPSE DIXIT Dir: Harry Dodge, 4 min.

    A DAY FOR CAKE AND ACCIDENTS Dir: Steve Reinke, Jessie Mott, 4 min.

    LAST MEN Dir: Adam Shecter, 6 min.

    IF THERE BE THORNS Dir: Michael Robinson, 13 min.

    INSIDE VELVET K Dir: Luther Price, 10 min.

    TABLEAU Dir: Nao Bustamante, 18 min.

    EARTHSHIP 2013 Dir: A.K. Burns, 8 min.

    ELATION 4 Performer: Colin Self, 25 min.

    TURNING
    Dir: Charles Atlas, 2012, Denmark/USA, 76 min.

    INTERIOR. LEATHER BAR.
    Dir: Travis Mathews, James Franco, Scr: Travis Mathews, 2012, USA, 60 min.

    PLEADING IN THE BLOOD: THE ART OF RON ATHEY
    PANELS & SPECIAL EVENTS
    THE 15th ANNUAL HOME VIDEO GONG SHOW
    B. RUBY RICH PRESENTS THE WITNESSES
    Dir: André Téchiné, Scr: André Téchiné, Laurent Guyot, Viviane Zingg, 2007, France, subtitled, 112 min.

    THE BATTLE OF AMFAR
    Dir. Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, 2013, USA, 40 min.

    PITCH PERFECT: THE SING-ALONG
    Dir: Jason Moore, Scr: Kay Cannon, 2012, USA, 112 min.

    TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL
    Dir. Gary Takesian, 2010, USA, 40 min.

    SECOND SHOT
    Dir: Annie Price, Scr: Dara Nai, Nancylee Myatt, Claudia Cogan, 2013, USA, 70 min.

    KEEP THE PROMISE: THE GLOBAL FIGHT AGAINST AIDS
    Dir. Marc Smolowitz, Jorg Fockele, 2013, USA, 44 min.
     
     via OUTFEST

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  • World Premiere of South African Director Jahmil XT Qubeka’s OF GOOD REPORT to Open 2013 Durban International Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_4080" align="alignnone" width="550"]Mothusi Magano as Parker Sithole in OF GOOD REPORT[/caption]

    OF GOOD REPORT, from South African director Jahmil XT Qubeka, will have its World Premiere as the opening night film of the 34th Durban International Film Festival in South Africa on July 18. OF GOOD REPORT, which Qubeka describes as “a passionate homage to classic film noir”, tells the somber tale of a small-town high-school teacher with a penchant for young girls.

    The trouble for Parker Sithole (Mothusi Magano) begins when he accepts an invitation to a drinking session at the local tavern. Here, he meets the undeniably gorgeous Nolitha Ngubane (Petronella Tshuma). Captivated by her beauty, Parker experiences an ecstasy he’s never known before and truly feels like a man reborn. From this mutual attraction, an illicit affair ensues. However, there ’s just one problem: the beautiful Nolitha is one of Parker’s pupils and just sixteen years old. Parker quickly spirals into a deep obsession that ultimately turns to a tragedy.

    Six months later, the sociopathic Parker has moved on from his previous job. Trudging along the barren landscape, he stumbles upon an opportunity for a fresh start. According to a caption on an old strewn newspaper, there is a shortage of teachers in Zimbabwe. A qualified educator like him shouldn’t struggle to find a post; after all, he does come ‘of good report’.

    In Qubeka’s words, Of Good Report, “is a serial killer origins story about how a social misfit turns into an inadequate man hell-bent on satisfying his shameful lust. It is Little Red Riding Hood, told from the wolf’s perspective.”

    [caption id="attachment_4081" align="alignnone" width="550"]OF GOOD REPORT Director Jahmil XT Qubeka[/caption]

    The director of television programs and documentaries, Qubeka’s documentary and feature film work has screened at festivals around the world. He has directed Talk to Me, an hour-long HIV/Aids documentary special with Sesame Street New York, which won the Peabody Award for best Actuality Programming. He also produced the low budget feature film uMalusi, which was released by Ster Kinekor in March 2009. His second feature, A Small Town Called Descent enjoyed its world premiere at the 31st Durban International Film Festival, and won the Founders’ Award for Narrative Feature at the Pan African Film Festival.201

    The Durban International Film Festival takes place from July 18 – 28, 2013

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  • Nicole Gomez Fisher Talks About her Sold Out Film SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES at 2013 Brooklyn Film Festival

    Nicole Gomez Fisher is the writer and director of SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES, an official selection of the 2013 Brooklyn Film Festival.  SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES which had its World Premiere at the festival last weekend, continues to screen to sold out audiences for all of the film’s time slots. SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES is a comedy which captures one girl’s journey of self-discovery and the dynamics of her zany family. The film features an incredible Latino cast of established and rising talent including Gina Rodriguez and Ana Ortiz. 

    We caught up with the super talented actress, writer, director, Nicole Gomez Fisher at the 2013 Brooklyn Film Festival to find out all there is to know about the hot ticket at the festival and what she is up to next.

    VIMOOZ: First, congratulations on SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES being an official selection in the 2013 Brooklyn Film Festival … and the World Premiere. How does it feel doing all this in your hometown Brooklyn?

    Nicole Gomez Fisher: It’s exhilarating! The whole process has been so overwhelming, that having the support of friends and family close by only helps get you through. Nothing like home!

    VIMOOZ: Tell us about SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES – the story?

    Nicole Gomez Fisher: SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES is about Alexis Fish’s (GINA RODRIGUEZ) journey back home to where it all went wrong, to face her uber-judegmental mother and reveal to her family that her perfect life with the perfect husband wasn’t so perfect after all. It’s a coming-of-age later in life comedy which captures Alexis’ roller coaster world as she tries to pick up the pieces of her life and put them back together under the critical eye of her Madre.

    VIMOOZ: Is the film set in Brooklyn?

    Nicole Gomez Fisher: Yes it is. They say write what you know…I say shoot where you know. It would stink to have to Mapquest your way around your shoot, especially for your crew and talent! That’s a sure way to lose a team! Brooklyn is amazing! It’s where my heart is. I wouldn’t have shot it anywhere else.

    VIMOOZ: You also wrote the film, what was your inspiration?

    Nicole Gomez Fisher: My family. The characters are all loosely based on my family and I wanted to write a mother/daughter story that came from a voice not heard very often in Hollywood. I enjoy films that have the perfect blend of humor and heart and I felt that this story embodied both.

    VIMOOZ: You have a very impressive writing resume. Was writing for a film different from your prior writing experiences?

    Nicole Gomez Fisher: Writing for film versus any other medium, for me, is quite daunting at first. It’s like building a tower of the unknown. Structure is so important and without that set in place, moving forward is futile. I’m great with story and character development, but again, without structure, you’re just flying blind. But once you manage to reach the top, it’s the most rewarding feeling ever.

    VIMOOZ: You also have a lot of acting credits and experience. Are you done with acting?

    Nicole Gomez Fisher: I prefer being behind the scenes, but if someone offered me a role that required kissing Ryan Gosling…I wouldn’t pass on it. Seriously, I’d jump back on that pony if the right opportunity presented itself.

    VIMOOZ: The film is sold out at the festival, how will unlucky film lovers get to the see the film? What’s up next for SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES?

    Nicole Gomez Fisher: We are screening again in August at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival and after that, we are hoping to either screen at the Hamptons Film Festival or Woodstock, but we have to get accepted first! The goal is to sell the film so that those “unlucky film lovers” can have the opportunity to see it on the big screen in multiple cities!

    VIMOOZ: What’s up next for you?

    Nicole Gomez Fisher: I recently completed my second feature, an action comedy entitled Good Egg about an egg donor that gets stalked by her recipient and I was just offered to adapt The Yankee Princess by Jennie Paul.

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  • Alice Krige’s JAIL CAESAR Among Lineup for 2013 Revelation Perth International Film Festival

    Jail Caesar

    Revelation Perth International Film Festival announced its program lineup for 2013 festival running July 4 to 14, 2013 across Perth, Western Australia.

    The 16th annual Festival will also play host to award winning actress Alice Krige (Chariots Of Fire, Ghost Story, Star Trek: First Contact, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) who will be visiting Perth to attend the Festival as a featured international guest. Krige, with Paul Schoolman, will be presenting their film Jail Caesar. A drama about the life of the Emperor, as told by prisoners from jails across the world.

    Highlights of Revelation 2013 will also include industry guests and speakers, seminars and masterclasses; Goblin Play Suspiria – a live musical soundtrack performance accompanying a cinematic cult classic; Hunter – For The Record – a WA made feature documentary about Perth’s hip hop pioneer Robert Hunter; ScreenWest’s annual showcase of emerging WA filmmaking talent in Get Your Shorts On!; the Revel-8 super 8 short film festival; Western Australian Screen Awardsnominees announcement; and the return of Revelation’s hugely popular Animation Showcase.

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  • Cinedigm and Slamdance Announce Partnership to Release Indie Films

    [caption id="attachment_4071" align="alignnone" width="550"]STRANGER THINGS[/caption]

    Cinedigm and Slamdance (Slamdance Film Festival) announced a partnership to bring feature film programming to digital platforms beginning on June 11th.  The first two films releasing on June 11th are STRANGER THINGS and HYBRID, while THE FIRST SEASON will launch in September. 

    STRANGER THINGS 
    Set in a remote village on the south coast of England, STRANGER THINGS tells the story of Oona, a young woman who develops an unusual and touching bond with a streetwise homeless man after returning to her childhood home. A New York Times Critics’ Pick, the film was the winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2011 Slamdance Film Festival and the Raindance Film Festival. The film, described by Filmmaker Magazine as “a delicately beautiful debut feature,” stars Adeel Akhtar (FOUR LIONS, THE DICTATOR) and is Eleanor Burke and Ron Eyal’s directorial debut. 

    HYBRID 

    [caption id="attachment_4072" align="alignnone" width="550"]Hybrid[/caption]

    Winner of the Truer Than Fiction Award at the 2002 Independent Spirit Awards, HYBRID explores the life of Milford Beeghly, an Iowa farmer who led the charge for hybrid corn during the 1930s. The award-winning documentary is directed by Beeghly’s grandson, Monteith McCollum, and combines interviews, archival footage, original animation and a rare dry wit to create a meditative portrait of the decidedly odd Beeghly. HYBRID is the winner of numerous awards, including the Honorable Mention Award at the 2001 International Documentary Association, the Grand Jury Prize in the documentary category at the 2001 Slamdance Film Festival and the Award for Original Vision at the 2001 Newport International Film Festival. 

    THE FIRST SEASON 

    [caption id="attachment_4073" align="alignnone" width="550"]The First Season[/caption]

    In an intimate, verite style, THE FIRST SEASON tells the story of Paul and Phyllis van Amburgh who spend their life savings on a dream: starting a small, family farm. With three children, a fourth on the way and their savings depleted, the van Amburghs are forced to confront the risks and challenges of living their dream. THE FIRST SEASON premiered at the 2012 Slamdance film Festival and is Rudd Simmons’s (PRODUCER, BOARDWALK EMPIRE) directorial debut.

     

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