• Newton’s Laws of Emotion Wins first ever Tribeca Film Institute Sloan Filmmaker Prize

    Newton’s Laws of Emotion was just announced as the winner of the first ever Tribeca Film Institute (TFI)Sloan Filmmaker Prize. The project will receive a $10,000 cash prize that will be used to help bring the film closer to completion. 

    Newton’s Laws of Emotion (Eugene Ramos, Screenwriter; Andeep Singh, Producer) follows a young Isaac Newton as he pursues the affections of a headstrong princess and seeks to uncover the principles of love using his new system of mathematics. However, his equations start to break down when her former lover enters the scene.

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  • Actress Nicole Kidman, Director Ang Lee Among 2013 Cannes Film Festival Jury

    Director, producer Steven Spielberg will preside this year over ‘jury of his peers’ at the 66th Festival de Cannes aka Cannes Film Festival. Vidya Balan (Indian actress), Naomi Kawase (Japanese director), Nicole Kidman (Australian actress/producer), Lynne Ramsay (British scriptwriter/director/producer), Daniel Auteuil (French actor/director), Ang Lee (Taiwanese director/producer/scriptwriter), Cristian Mungiu (Romanian scriptwriter/director/producer), and Christoph Waltz (Austrian Actor) will help decide the winning films in competition at the festival. The winning films and awards including the biggest award – the Palme d’Or, will be announced during the Closing Ceremony on May 26th, 2013.

    Images: clockwise from top left – Steven Spielberg; Vidya Balan; Christoph Waltz; Lynne Ramsay; Cristian Mungiu; Naomi Kawase; Ang Lee; Nicole Kidman; Daniel Auteuil | image via Cannes Film Festival

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  • GREETINGS FROM TIM BUCKLEY starring Penn Badgley to Open in NY and LA on May 3

    GREETINGS FROM TIM BUCKLEY, starring Penn Badgley of Gossip Girl, Imogen Poots and an Official Selection of 2012 Toronto Film Festival will open in New York and Los Angeles on May 3, 2013.  

    Directed by Daniel Algrant and co-starring Ben Rosenfeld, Frank Wood, GREETINGS FROM TIM BUCKLEY follows the journey of Jeff Buckley grappling with the legacy of his late musician father, Tim, leading up to and culminating with his legendary 1991 performance of his father’s songs”

    GREETINGS FROM TIM BUCKLEY is set in 1991, a young musician named Jeff Buckley (Penn Badgley, “Gossip Girl,” MARGIN CALL) rehearses for his public singing debut at a Brooklyn tribute concert for his father, the late folk singer Tim Buckley. Struggling with the legacy of a man he barely knew, Jeff finds solace in a relationship with an enigmatic young woman (Imogen Poots, 28 WEEKS LATER) working at the show. As they explore New York City, their adventures recall glimpses of Tim’s (Ben Rosenfield) own 60s heyday, as he drives cross-country with a girlfriend and finds himself on the verge of stardom. 

    Leading up to the now-legendary show that launched Jeff’s own brilliant career, Greetings from Tim Buckley is a poignant portrait of a father and son who were each among the most beloved singer/songwriters of their respective generations.

    http://youtu.be/yKPsVcZF-Ys

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  • Barbra Streisand Honored for Film Career with 40th Annual Chaplin Award

    Barbra Streisand attended the 40th Anniversary Chaplin Award Gala at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on April 22, 2013 in New York City where she was honored for her film career with the 40th annual Chaplin Award from the Film Society of Lincoln Center

     

    Actress Catherine Deneuve attends The Film Society of Lincoln Center’s 40th Chaplin Award Gala supported by Grey Goose vodka at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center on April 22, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for GREY GOOSE)

    Liza Minnelli attends the 40th Anniversary Chaplin Award Gala at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on April 22, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Charles Eshelman/FilmMagic)

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  • Lakeshorts International Short Film Festival Celebrates Third Year at the Assembly Hall in Toronto on May 3 and 4, 2013

    [caption id="attachment_3711" align="alignnone" width="550"]Hatch[/caption]

    Lakeshorts International Short Film Festival, spearheaded by Canadian actress, Michelle Nolden (Saving Hope, Nikita, Republic of Doyle) and film and television producer, Chris Szarka (Rent-A-Goalie, The Rawside of…) will celebrate its third year at the Assembly Hall in Toronto on May 3 and 4, 2013. Films screening at the festival include Hatch (pictured above), described as “A newborn’s destiny hangs in the balance, as grownups come to terms with what they cannot have.”

    On Friday, May 3, Lakeshorts will premier the Loved and Local screening, featuring emerging and local filmmakers, and on Saturday, May 4 will feature films by filmmakers from Canada and around the world, including the festival award winners.

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  • Porcelain Horse and Young Lakota Among Cine Las Americas International Film Festival 2013 Winners

    [caption id="attachment_3709" align="alignnone" width="550"]MEJOR NO HABLAR DE CIERTAS COSAS (PORCELAIN HORSE)[/caption]

    Cine Las Americas announced the award winners for the 16th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival, which took place on April 16 to 21, 2013, in Austin, Texas. The Ecuadorian film MEJOR NO HABLAR DE CIERTAS COSAS (PORCELAIN HORSE) won the Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature and YOUNG LAKOTA won the Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature. YOUNG LAKOTA also won the Audience Award for Documentary Feature.

    16th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival Award Winners:

    Narrative Feature Competition

    Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature
    MEJOR NO HABLAR DE CIERTAS COSAS (PORCELAIN HORSE)
    Dir. Javier Andrade, Ecuador

    Special Jury Award for Cinematography
    LA JUBILADA (THE RETIREE)
    Dir. Jairo Boisier, Chile

    Special Jury Award for Performance
    Cecilia Suárez – NOS VEMOS, PAPA (SEE YOU, DAD)
    Dir. Lucía Carreras, Mexico

    Special Jury Mention for Experimental Approach to Narrative
    EL EFECTO K. EL MONTADOR DE STALIN (THE K EFFECT. STALIN’S EDITOR)
    Dir. Valentí Figueres, Spain 

    Documentary Feature Competition

    Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature
    YOUNG LAKOTA
    Dir. Marion Lipschutz & Rose Rosenblatt, USA

    Honorable Mention for Documentary Feature
    EL ALCALDE (THE MAYOR)
    Dir. Emiliano Altuna, Diego Enrique Osorno, Carlos Rossini, Mexico

    Honorable Mention for Documentary Feature
    HABANA MUDA
    Dir. Eric Brach, France/Cuba

    Texas Archive of the Moving Image Hecho en Tejas Award
    SOUTHMOST U.S.A.
    Dir. Trish Dalton, USA 

    Short Film Competition

    Jury Award for Best Narrative Short
    ZOMBI (ZOMBIE)
    Dir. David Moreno, Spain

    Special Jury Award for Visual Storytelling
    LA NOCHE ANUNCIA LA AURORA (NIGHT ANNOUNCES DAWN)
    Dir. Gerard Uzcategui, Venezuela

    Special Jury Award for Animated Narrative
    LA NORIA (THE WATERWHEEL)
    Dir. Karla Castañeda, Mexico

    Jury Award for Best Documentary Short
    UNA HISTORIA PARA LOS MODLIN (A STORY FOR THE MODLINS)
    Dir. Sergio Oksman, Spain

    Audience Awards

    Audience Award for Narrative Feature
    DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR
    Dir. Iris Almaraz, Guest Dir. Gustavo Ramos, USA

    Audience Award for Documentary Feature
    YOUNG LAKOTA
    Dir. Marion Lipschutz & Rose Rosenblatt, USA

    Audience Award for Emergencia Youth Film Competition
    SIBLINGS
    Dir. Leo Aguirre, Aruba

    WHITE WASHED
    Dir. Caytlyn Isham
    In Progress, St. Paul, MN

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  • REVIEW: KON-TIKI

    by Joseph Williamson

    Real, old fashioned adventurers are somewhat scarce in this day and age –  there may be scientific expeditions in Antarctica, but the romance of Henry Morton Stanley stomping through the Congo isn’t quite as attainable in 2013. Safaris and treks through the Amazon are all well and good, but truly uncharted and dangerous exploration is getting harder to manage in the decade of Google Maps. 

    Not so in 1947. Enter Thor Heyerdahl, intrepid ethnographer – a man with a big idea, but no publisher willing to take him on. Desperately seeking conclusive proof of his theory – that Polynesia was first settled by ancient South Americans – he decides to take the four and a half thousand mile voyage across the Pacific Ocean himself. Furthermore, for this demonstration to have any validity at all, it must be done in the exact manner of the original settlers: a balsa wood raft, a large wooden oar as a rudder, and constructed with simple rope in lieu of stronger materials. The only concession to modernity is a two way radio. 

    This is the premise of Kon Tiki –  if it wasn’t a true story, it would sound a little too contrived. It’s being billed as a family film – a good old fashioned adventure – and on this front, it shows up well enough. The sailing of the raft is of course where the action is, and it gets going quickly enough (i.e. as quickly as the necessary preamble allows). The cinematography is confident and satisfying  – shots demonstrating the scale of the ocean and its marine life in comparison to the tiny raft are done particularly well. 

    The cast also do a thoroughly professional job. Pal Sverre Hagen gives a strong performance in the lead role, showing Heyerdahl as a driven, intense man, obsessive steel blue eyes showing just a hint of insanity. The crew of Heyerdahls eponymous raft are given less of a chance to develop their characters – it is enough to know, perhaps, that they have volunteered for a borderline suicidal enterprise. 

    Kon Tiki is an enjoyable film – certainly family oriented, with a few moments of clunking familiarity that can be easily forgiven in this context. The film falls short as both an epic and a character portrait – but it is assured and polished filmmaking. And, given this reviewers ignorance of the original events – not to mention Heyerdahls 1951 Oscar winning documentary about his voyage – it is a welcome reminder that these kind of adventures did indeed take place, and that some had a happy ending. 

    RATING: 3 / 5 : See it …..  It’s Good  There really aren’t many better ways to describe Kon Tiki – and that is both a recommendation and a slight criticism.

    http://youtu.be/i1Xf3toxvXM

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  • Eight More Films Added to 2013 Maryland Film Festival Incl John Waters’ Pick ‘Paradise: Faith’

    [caption id="attachment_3695" align="alignnone" width="550"]Paradise: Faith[/caption]

    And there is still more. Maryland Film Festival added eight more feature films to the 2013 Festival, including filmmaker John Waters’ selection, Ulrich Seidl’s Paradise: Faith (pictured above). Each year Waters selects one favorite film to present to MFF audiences. In addition to Paradise: Faith, MFF 2013 will screen all three films in Seidl’s new Paradise trilogy: Paradise: Faith, Paradise: Hope, and Paradise: Love.  

    MFF 2013 will take place May 8-12 in downtown Baltimore. 
     
    The newly added films to the 2013 Maryland Film Festival are:

    The Boy Eating the Bird’s Food (Ektoras Lygizos) 

    [caption id="attachment_3696" align="alignnone" width="550"]The Boy Eating the Bird’s Food[/caption]

    The debut film from Ektoras Lygizos offers a modern re-imagination of Knut Hamsun’s classic novel Hunger, as an alienated loner tries to survive the bleak landscape of Athens in the wake of economic collapse.

    Butter on the Latch (Josephine Decker) 

    [caption id="attachment_3697" align="alignnone" width="550"]Butter on the Latch[/caption]

    At a Balkan folk song and dance camp in the woods of Mendocino, California, Sarah reunites with her old friend Isolde.  But when Sarah pursues a romance with a new camper, the nights of sensual secrets and singing with Isolde come to an abrupt end.
     
    By and By: New Orleans Gospel at the Crossroads (Matthew T. Bowden & Joe Compton) 

    [caption id="attachment_3698" align="alignnone" width="550"]By and By: New Orleans Gospel at the Crossroads[/caption]

    Baltimore filmmakers Bowden and Compton’s documentary follows The Electrifying Crown Seekers, a family-based group that anchors a vibrant, under-the-radar gospel music community—even as changing tastes and the impact of Hurricane Katrina take a toll on performers and audiences alike.

    The Lost World (Harry O. Hoyt) 

    [caption id="attachment_3699" align="alignnone" width="550"]The Lost World[/caption]

    This landmark 1925 adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1912 fantasy novel concerns an expedition that sets out to prove that dinosaurs still walk the earth. Featuring a live original score performed by Alloy Orchestra.

    Paradise: Faith (Ulrich Seidl) 

    [caption id="attachment_3695" align="alignnone" width="550"]Paradise: Faith[/caption]

    A middle-aged Austrian woman spends her spare time going door to door, trying to bring the Catholic faith into the homes of poor immigrants. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 69th Venice International Film Festival, and presented within MFF as a favorite film by legendary filmmaker John Waters.
     
    Paradise: Hope (Ulrich Seidl) 

    [caption id="attachment_3700" align="alignnone" width="550"]Paradise: Hope[/caption]

    Sent to a diet camp over her summer vacation, Austrian teen Melanie finds distraction in listening to accounts of the sexual escapades of the other girls in her dorm—as well as in her own ever-increasing infatuation with the camp doctor.
     
    Paradise: Love (Ulrich Seidl) 

    [caption id="attachment_3701" align="alignnone" width="550"]Paradise: Love[/caption]

    In the first installment of Seidl’s Paradise trilogy, a 50-year-old Austrian woman travels to Kenya to engage in sexual tourism. But as she becomes smitten with the young Kenyan men who compete for her attention, the power dynamic begins to shift.

    Remote Area Medical (Jeff Reichert & Farihah Zaman) 

    [caption id="attachment_3702" align="alignnone" width="550"]Remote Area Medical [/caption]

    Over three days in April 2012, Remote Area Medical, the pioneers of “no-cost” health care clinics, treated nearly 2000 patients on the infield of Bristol, Tennessee’s massive NASCAR speedway. This documentary takes an intimate look at the patients, the care providers, and the gap in public health that brought them together.

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  • Actor Pal Hagen, Directors Espen Sandberg and Joachim Roenning, Harvey Weinstein Visit KON-TIKI Raft in New York

    Screenwriter Petter Skavlan, Co-Chairman of The Weinstein Company Harvey Weinstein, actor Pal Hagen, directors Espen Sandberg and Joachim Roenning and the film subject’s grandson Olav Heyerdahl appear on the “Kon-Tiki” Raft for The Weinstein Company Movie “KON-TIKI” on April 22, 2013 in New York City. 

    KON-TIKI opens in theaters Friday, April 26th, 2013

    KON-TIKI is the story of Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl who crossed the Pacific ocean in a balsa wood raft in 1947, together with five men, to prove that South Americans back in pre-Columbian times could have crossed the sea and settle on Polynesian islands. After gathering financing for the trip with loans and donations, they set off on an epic 101 day-long journey across 4,300 miles, all while the world was watching. KON-TIKI tells about the origin of Heyerdahl’s idea and the events surrounding the group’s voyage.

    (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for The Weinstein Company)

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  • Durban International Film Festival Gets A New Manager

    Film critic and arts journalist, Peter Machen, has been appointed the Durban International Film Festival Manager. The 34th Durban International Film Festival, South Africa’s largest and longest running film festival hosted by the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts (CCA), will take place from July 18 to 28, 2013.

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  • German Filmmakers Celebrated in NYC at MoMA

    Six films have been selected by the Museum of Modern Art for their 35th annual exhibition, Kino!, MoMA’s long-running survey of young German filmmakers. 

    The films include the award winning tragicomedy OH BOY by Jan Ole Gerster, which had its US-premiere at AFI Fest in November and was shown at Miami International Film Festival in March. OH BOY is nominated in eight categories for the German Film Prize, whose winners are announced on April 26.

    The documentary FORGET ME NOT (VERGISS MEIN NICHT by David Sieveking won the Critics’ Week Grand Prize following its world premiere in Locarno, one of Europe’s leading film festivals. FORGET ME NOT is currently nominated for the German Film Prize for Best Feature-length Documentary.

    KINO! PROGRAM

    MoMA, April 18-24, 2013

    FREE FALL (FREIER FALL) by Stephan Lacant – North American premiere

    [caption id="attachment_3444" align="alignnone" width="550"]Freier Fall [/caption]

    Fiction, color, 100 min, DCP, 2013

    Police officer Marc is shaken to the core when he meets a new colleague, Kay, on a training course and begins to develop feelings for him. Torn between his love for his pregnant girlfriend Bettina and the rush of a completely new experience, his life spins increasingly out of control. Opening night film of the Perspective Deutsches Kino program at the Berlin International Film Festival.

    Screenings:

    Thursday, April 18, 2013, 7:00 p.m., Theater 1 (in the presence of the director)

    Friday, April 19, 2013, 7:00 p.m., Theater 2 (in the presence of the director)

     

    OH BOY by Jan Ole Gerstner – East Coast premiere

    Fiction, black and white, 88 min, DCP, 2012

    A humorous, self-deprecating tale about college drop-out Niko. Drifting through Berliin, he prefers to be an observer. But life has a way of catching up with him, as he finds himself losing his girlfriend and his father’s financial support. Everything would be so much easier if he could only find a ‘normal’ cup of coffee.

    Screenings:

    Saturday, April 20, 2013, 7:30 p.m., Theater 2 (in the presence of the director)

    Sunday, April 21, 2013, 4:00 p.m., Theater 2 (in the presence of the director)

     

    SILVI by Nico Sommer – North American premiere

    Fiction, 97 min, DCP, 2013

    Deserted by her husband, Silvi finally realizes that her rather dull marriage has failed. Driven by loneliness, the 47-year-old woman decides to start over again! Anonymous sex, endearments in the dark and deranged lovers push her into emotional chaos of affection, pleasure and borderline experiences. She discovers that finding the right partner poses quite a challenge.

    Screenings:

    Friday, April 19, 2013, 4:00 p.m., Theater 2 (in the presence of the director)

    Sunday, April 21, 2013, 1:00 p.m., Theater 2 (in the presence of the director)

     

    FORGET ME NOT (VERGISS MEIN NICHT) by David Sieveking

    Documentary, color, 88 min, DCP, 2012

    This feature-length documentary centers on the director’s mother succumbing to Alzheimer’s. Created with humor and astonishing candor, this is remarkably unsentimental film, which bravely tackles the fundamental question: will we grow old together? Grand Jury Prize winner at the Locarno Film Festival.

    Screenings:

    Saturday, April 20, 2013, 1:30 p.m., Theater 2,

    Wednesday, April 24, 2013, 7:00 p.m., Theater 2

     

    KALIFORNIA by Laura Mahlberg – North American premiere

    Fiction, color 27 min, DCP, 2013

    The pale grey surrounding Pavel’s caravan resembles the life inside of it: the 71-old Russian spends his evenings in a dismal and monotonous way. But then Pavel makes a decision: He picks up the telephone, calls his old friend Jack and starts walking – straight-ahead to California. Kalifornia describes the late effort of an old man to turn his life around and find happiness in the distance.

     

    THE REVENANTS (DIE WIEDERGÄNGER) by Andreas Bolm – International premiere

    Fiction, color, 62 min, HD Cam, 2013

    An ageing hippie couple endures an isolated, ghostly existence in an old country house.
 A boy wanders aimlessly through a forest, building a lair for himself. A ghost story about a never-ending escape from catastrophe, The Revenants is a film about desire, loss and endlessly returning.

    Screenings (both films):

    Saturday, April 20, 2013, 4:00 p.m., Theater 2, (in the presence of the directors)

    Wednesday, April 24, 2013, 4:00 p.m., Theater 2 (in the presence of the directors)

      

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  • 2013 Florida Festival Winners, THIS IS MARTIN BONNER Takes Top Prize

    The 2013 Florida Film Festival announced the Jury and Audience Awards, and the film THIS IS MARTIN BONNER, directed by Chad Hartigan took the top prize, the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature. The film about fifty-something Martin Bonner (Paul Eenhoorn), a divorced father of two grown kids who’s just declared bankruptcy, and starting a new chapter in his life in Reno, Nevada, was the winner of the audience award for Best of NEXT at 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

    Accredited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences®, the Grand Jury Award for Best Live Action and Animated Short films automatically qualifies the winners for entry into the Live Action and Animated Short Film categories of the Academy Awards®.

    The complete list of jury and audience award winners of the 2013 Florida Film Festival in the American Independent and International Feature Film, Documentary, and Short Film categories are as follows:

    Narrative Features:

    Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature – THIS IS MARTIN BONNER, directed by Chad Hartigan
    Special Jury Award for Outstanding Ensemble Cast – THIS IS WHERE WE LIVE, directed by Josh Barrett and Marc Menchaca

    Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature – THE FORGOTTEN KINGDOM, directed by Andrew Mudge

    Documentaries:

    Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature – BIG JOY: THE ADVENTURES OF JAMES BROUGHTON, directed by Eric Slade, Stephen Silha, and Dawn Logsdon
    Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Short – SKATE YRSELF CLEAN, directed by Janna Jude Brown

    Special Jury Award for Outstanding Documentary Directing – SHEPARD & DARK, directed by Treva Wurmfeld

    Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature – FAR OUT ISN’T FAR ENOUGH: THE TOMI UNGERER STORY, directed by Brad Bernstein 

    Shorts:

    Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Short – MY NAME IS YOUR FIRST LOVE, directed by Rob Richert
    Grand Jury Award for Best Animated Short – BACKYARD JAM, directed by Randall Christopher 
    Special Jury Award for Outstanding Narrative Short – ASAD, directed by Bryan Buckley
    Audience Award for Best Short Film – THINGS YOU DON’T JOKE ABOUT, directed by Viet Nguyen

    International:

    Audience Award for Best International Feature – STARBUCK (Canada), directed by Ken Scott

    Audience Award for Best International Short – HEAD OVER HEELS (UK), directed by Timothy Reckhart

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