• HollyShorts takes over NYC and LA March 29th

    HollyShorts, considered “the premier festival showcasing the top short films” is coming to New York City on Friday March 29th. 

    For the first time in the festival’s history, HollyShorts will be have a New York City screening series at the Showbiz store located at 19 W 21st St. New York, NY 10010 and on the same night there will be a separate program screening celebration at the Showbiz store LA located at 500 S Sepulveda Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90049.

    Audiences at each screening get to choose their favorite film and the film with the most votes gets entered into the prestigious august festival held at the TCL Chinese Theatre, Hollywood, August 15th-25th.

    HollyShorts New York March Screening

    Movies Screening Include

    Rockaway – Directed by  Melanie Schiele
    Periods – Directed by Victor Quinaz and Anna Martemucci
    The Man at the Counter – Directed by Brian McAllister
    Tu & Eu – Directed by Edward Shieh
    Truth About Lies – Directed by Shalako Gordon
    Harry Grows Up – Directed by Mark Nickelsburg
    5 Second Films

    HollyShorts Los Angeles March Screening

    Movies Screening Include:

    Drunk History – Directed by Derek Waters
    Mantle – Directed by Luke Dejoras
    Real Girls Guide – Directed by Heather De Michele
    Butterfly – Directed by J.R. Curry
    Loop Holes – Directed by Erin Granat 
    Goodbye, Simon – Directed by Dylan Stern 
    5 Second Films

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  • Sydney’s Horror, Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film Festivals are less than 1 month away!

    Australia’s two leading fantastic genre film festivals are screening simultaneously at Dendy Cinema Newtown from April 11 – 21, 2013. 

    The 7th annual A Night of Horror Film Festival will be taking place in conjunction with the 4thedition of Fantastic Planet Film Festival. Combined, the festivals will screen over 125 films: 25 features, and 100 plus shorts, animations, and music videos. In the weeks to come, the festivals will be announcing their complete schedules (which are loaded with World, Australian, and Sydney premieres), international filmmaker guests, and exciting new components of each festival.

    A Night of Horror and Fantastic Planet retain their own separate and independent programs. Together the festivals are dedicated to presenting Sydney audiences with a stunning showcase of the latest in horror, sci-fi, fantasy and cult cinema.

    More details are available on the festivals’ official websites:

    www.anightofhorror.com

    www.fantasticplanetfilmfestival.com

    SOURCE: A Night of Horror and Fantastic Planet

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  • Sydney’s Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival less than 1 month away

    Australia’s two leading fantastic genre film festivals are screening simultaneously at Dendy Cinema Newtown from April 11 – 21, 2013. 

    The 7th annual A Night of Horror Film Festival will be taking place in conjunction with the 4thedition of Fantastic Planet Film Festival. Combined, the festivals will screen over 125 films: 25 features, and 100 plus shorts, animations, and music videos. In the weeks to come, the festivals will be announcing their complete schedules (which are loaded with World, Australian, and Sydney premieres), international filmmaker guests, and exciting new components of each festival.

    A Night of Horror and Fantastic Planet retain their own separate and independent programs. Together the festivals are dedicated to presenting Sydney audiences with a stunning showcase of the latest in horror, sci-fi, fantasy and cult cinema.

    More details are available on the festivals’ official websites:

    www.anightofhorror.com

    www.fantasticplanetfilmfestival.com

    SOURCE: A Night of Horror and Fantastic Planet

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  • REVIEW: Somebody Up There Likes Me

    somebody up there likes me

    by Lauren McBride

    Bob Byington’s Somebody Up There Likes Me covers about 20 years in the life of Max Youngman (Keith Poulson). Through marriages, divorces, the loss of parents and birth of children, Max doesn’t seem to mature — physically or mentally. He is eternally in his late-twenties, gawky, awkward and much like the film itself, meandering without a destination.

    We meet Max peering into a mysterious blue suitcase and driving toward the end of his first marriage. Wives and mistresses come and go; even his best friend Sal (Nick Offerman) matures and greys. But Max and his suitcase go on. The suitcase, which contains far more than the music and floating animations the audience sees each time it is opened, is the only constant thing in Max’s life. Its origins are unknown, as is its meaning to Max. He keeps it stuffed in trunks and closets, but it is undoubtedly magical — perhaps the secret to his eternal youth.

    Max’s suitcase and its mysterious contents bring an air of whimsy to the film. The film’s bright colors and intermittent animations sharply contrast its characters’ darkness. Their selfishness and meanness seems absurd in the pretty world that Byington creates. That the story unfolds in a nameless American town makes it even more fantastical. Less film than fable.

    The film has winning moments, often thanks to Offerman’s comedic timing and Jess Weixler’s masterful ability to be adorably awkward. As a whole, however, it lacks meaning and direction. And for such a brief film (with a runtime of only 76 minutes), it feels tedious and unending. Of course this could be intentional; Byington’s attempt to mirror that experience we all have in common: life.

    http://youtu.be/BCsMykvQG3A

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  • 2013 Full Frame Announces Center Frames, Free Screenings, Garrett Scott Grant and SDF

    [caption id="attachment_3304" align="alignnone" width="550"]Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me[/caption]

    The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival has announced additional programming for the 2013 festival: 3 Center Frame programs, 5 Free Screenings, the Southern Documentary Fund: In-the-Works program, and this year’s Garrett Scott Documentary Development Grant recipients.

    Three films previously announced in the Invited Program will exhibit as Center Frame screenings in Fletcher Hall of the Carolina Theatre: the World Premiere of Patrick Creadon’s “If You Build It,” the North American Premiere of Patrick Reed’s “Fight Like Soldiers, Die Like Children,” and Greg Barker’s acclaimed documentary “Manhunt.”

    Subjects from the films will participate in extended conversations with the filmmakers after each Center Frame screening. The following special guests and newsmakers will all be in attendance:Emily Pilloton and Matthew Miller, the designers from “If You Build It,” Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire featured in “Fight Like Soldiers, Die Like Children,” and Cindy Storer andSusan Hasler from “Manhunt,” members of the original CIA ‘Sisterhood’ involved in tracking Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda.

    Now in its seventh year, the 2013 Garrett Scott Documentary Development Grant has been awarded to Lyric R. Cabral for “(T)ERROR”and to Mike Attie and Meghan O’Hara for “In Country.” The Grant’s organizers will join the filmmakers in presenting short excerpts from their works-in-progress prior to the screening of 2011 recipient Lotfy Nathan’s film, “12 O’Clock Boys.” The Grant is awarded in honor of filmmaker Garrett Scott, who made a distinctive mark in the documentary genre during his brief career. It recognizes first-time filmmakers who, like Scott, bring a unique vision to the content and style of their documentary films.

    The Southern Documentary Fund is screening in-the-works excerpts from “Occupy the Imagination” by Rodrigo Dorfman and “So Help You God” by Ashley York. The showings will be followed by panel discussions and Q & A sessions with the filmmakers.

    SDF: In-the-Works provides southern filmmakers the opportunity to receive feedback from a dedicated assembly of their peers and serious documentary enthusiasts.

    Full Frame 2013 will feature 5 Free Screenings. The festival will continue its tradition of showcasing films outdoors in Durham Central Park on Friday and Saturday night. Two award winners from last year’s festival will each screen twice, once indoors and once outside: 2012 Full Frame Audience Award Winner “Trash Dance” and “Chasing Ice,” which received the Nicholas School Environmental Award.

    Food Truck Roundups will precede both outdoor showings on Friday and Saturday evening. These films will also each be shown again in the new Full Frame Theatre in the Power Plant at American Tobacco. Lastly, Full Frame will host a free Closing Night Film Sunday night. Drew DeNicola and Olivia Mori’s “Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me” will close the festival at 8:00pm on April 7th.

    The complete schedule of events, along with full film descriptions can be viewed at:http://www.fullframefest.org/filmsevents/film-schedule/

    2013 Center Frame Screenings @ Carolina Theatre’s Fletcher Hall

    CENTER FRAME – Friday, April 5 @ 5:00pm
    Fight Like Soldiers, Die Like Children (Director: Patrick Reed)
    If you’ve been to hell and back, how do you exorcise the memories? Former U.N. commander Roméo Dallaire’s new mission: end the use of child soldiers. North American Premiere

    CENTER FRAME – Saturday, April 6 @ 1:50pm
    Manhunt (Director: Greg Barker)
    This spellbinding film dissects the painstaking search for Osama bin Laden, which originated with the “Sisterhood,” a remarkable team of CIA analysts.

    CENTER FRAME – Saturday, April 6 @ 5:00pm
    If You Build It (Director: Patrick Creadon)
    Innovative teachers, striving students, and a radical curriculum in Bertie County, N.C., are chronicled over the course of one transformative year. World Premiere


    2013 Free Screenings – No Ticket Required

    FREE SCREENING – Friday, April 5 @ 6:30pm – Full Frame Theatre
    Trash Dance (Director: Andrew Garrison)
    An unusual partnership between a dancer and Austin’s Department of Solid Waste Services results in a public performance starring man, music, and machine.

    FREE SCREENING – Saturday, April 6 @ 6:30pm – Full Frame Theatre
    Chasing Ice (Director: Jeff Orlowski)
    Scientific fact and aesthetic beauty merge in monumental and dramatic time-lapse photos illustrating global warming’s chilling ravages.

    CLOSING NIGHT FILM – Sunday, April 7 @ 8:00pm – Carolina Theatre’s Fletcher Hall
    Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me (Directors: Drew DeNicola, Olivia Mori)
    Myth and music collide in this story of the influence and impact of revered power-pop band Big Star, featuring never-before-seen footage, photos, and interviews.


    2013 Garrett Scott Documentary Development Grant – Saturday, April 6 @ 1:00pm – Cinema 3 (Ticket Required)

    (T)ERROR (Director: Lyric R. Cabral)
    An active FBI counterterrorism sting operation unravels when a terror suspect realizes an informant is setting him up.

    In Country (Directors: Mike Attie, Meghan O’Hara)
    Blurring the boundaries between reality and fantasy, this film follows a “platoon” of dedicated Vietnam War reenactors.

    SDF: In-the-Works – Sunday, April 7 @ 1:40pm – Durham Arts Council (Ticket Required)

    Occupy the Imagination (Director: Rodrigo Dorfman)
    As filmmaker Rodrigo Dorfman explores his revolutionary roots in 1970s Chile, a wave of resistance explodes during Occupy Wall Street.

    So Help You God (Director: Ashley York)
    Filmmaker Ashley York returns to her Kentucky hometown to unravel the story of six teenagers imprisoned for a gruesome murder. 

    The 16th Annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival will be held April 4-7, 2013, in Durham, NC, with Duke University as the presenting sponsor. 

    source: Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 

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  • Tribeca Film Institute Selects 11 New Film Projects for 10th Annual Tribeca All Access Program

    Ten filmmakers with unfinished projects were selected out of 560 submissions from across the country to participate in the 10th Annual Tribeca All Access (TAA) program. TAA will support each project with an initial $15,000 grant as well as offer year-round support, guidance, and resources for filmmakers to help advance their projects toward completion.  TAA will present the 11 projects—6 narratives and 5 documentaries—at a three-day career-development program from April 22-24, during the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), April 17-28, 2013.

    Two projects will also be selected as recipients of the juried Tribeca All Access Creative Promise Award; an additional $10,000 grant will be awarded to one documentary and one feature project. 

    : 2007 TAA alum Cherien Dabis, whose latest feature May in Summer, opened the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Past TAA-supported films have gone on to premiere at film festivals around the country, received distribution deals and garnered critical acclaim. These include titles such as:

    When I Saw You, Palestine’s official entry for the Academy Awards, directed by Ann-Marie Jacir (2012), winner of the NETPAC prize for Best Asian Film at the Berlin International Film Festival;

    American Promise, directed by Michele Stephenson and Joe Brewster (2013), winner of the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Achievement in Filmmaking at the Sundance Film Festival;

    Four, directed by Joshua Sanchez (2009), winner of the Urbanworld Film Festival and Independent Spirit Award nominee;

    Circumstance, directed by Maryam Keshavarz  (2011), Audience Award-winner at the Sundance Film Festival;

    Una Noche, directed by Lucy Mulloy (2012), winner of Best New Director at the Tribeca Film Festival and Best Script at the Brasilia International Film Festival;

    Gideon’s Army, directed by Dawn Porter (2011), alumni introduction to her producer HBO Documentaries, winner of the Best Editing Award at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival; and

    Free Angela & All Political Prisoners, directed by Shola Lynch which will open in theatres nationwide on April 5, 2013 and is Executive Produced by Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith and Jay Z

    Five grants will be awarded to documentary projects in various stages:

    Long Year Begin, Directed and Produced by Malika Zouhali-Worrall and David Osit – An icy vault in the Arctic Circle safely stores seeds from around the world, but there is no such vault for humans or nations. Long Year Begin offers a poetic meditation on humanity’s perpetual quest for self-preservation. 

    Roots & Webs, Directed by Sara Dosa, Produced by Josh Penn – Amid the bustling frontier world of Oregon’s matsutake mushroom camps, an unexpected father-son pair endures a tumultuous mushroom-hunting season. They grapple with wounds from Southeast Asian wars, attempting to find the high-priced mushroom before snowfall. An odyssey into the woods, into the memory of war and survival, Roots & Webstells a story of family from enigmatic woodland realm.

    (T)Error, Directed and Produced by Lyric R. Cabral and David F. Sutcliffe – (T)Error captures the spectacular unraveling of an active FBI counterterrorism sting operation, and the dramatic aftermath that occurs when the target of the investigation realizes that a government informant is setting him up.

    Time Is Illmatic, Directed and Produced by One9, Produced by Erik Parker – A feature length documentary film told through the lens of rapper Nas and his bluesman father Olu Dara, Time Is Illmatic deconstructs Nas’ indelible rap album Illmatic and the socio-economic and cultural conditions that inspired the landmark work and gave voice to a generation.

    Unveiling Shirin, Directed and Produced by Nariman Hamed, Produced by Victorien and Anna Lena Vaney– A feature length documentary film about the artist and filmmaker Shirin Neshat that takes us inside Shirin’s world and explores her life and work. It is the story of her life and challenges as a female Iranian artist living in exile.

    Five grants will be awarded to narrative projects in various stages:

    If You Stay, Written, Directed, and Produced by Roja Gashtilli; Written and Directed by Julia Lerman – Iranian-born, American-bred Elham “Ellie” Amiri runs out of patience with her All-American lover and America when neither seems to want to commit to her.  Coming of age meets coming to America in this moving and imaginative comedy about youth, identity and sexual politics in NYC.

    Khoya, Written and Directed by Sami Khan; Produced by Karen Shaw; Executive Producer Guneet Monga– After the death of his adopted mother, a Canadian man travels to rural India desperately searching for the birth family he’s never known and seeking to unravel the mystery surrounding his adoption.

    The Lobbyists, Written, Directed, and Produced by Terence Nance; Produced by Andrew Corkin; Produced by Chanelle Pearson; Produced by James Bartlett – A conman with no past and a former CIA agent join forces to “lobby” politicians by blackmailing them into voting for progressive legislation.

    Obvious Child, Written and Directed by Gillian Robespierre; Produced by Elisabeth Holm – In this subversive romantic comedy about growing up without regret, 27 year-old emerging comic Donna Stern (Jenny Slate) gets dumped, fired, pregnant, and has the best worst Valentine’s Day of her life.

    Papaw Easy, Written and Directed by Martha Stephens; Written by Karrie Crouse; Produced by Brett Potter – Under the watchful eye of his vain, ‘Modern Christian’ uncle, a shy young boy forges an unlikely partnership with a foul-mouthed, down and out playboy.

    The narrative project selected to participate from the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) is:

    Combarde, Written and Directed by Boris Rodriguez; Produced by Anne-Marie Gelinas and Concepcion Taboada – A union organizer in Mexico loses his job and joins a band of corrupt detectives planning to kidnap the company’s owner.

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  • 2013 Sarasota Film Festival to Honor Computer Chess and Screen Over 222 Films

    [caption id="attachment_3295" align="alignnone" width="550"]THE COLD LANDS[/caption]

    The 2013 Sarasota Film Festival (SFF) announced their film lineup featuring over 222 films, including Tom Gilroy’s THE COLD LANDS (US Premiere), Jeremy Xido’s DEATH METAL ANGOLA (US Premiere), Nathan Silver’s SOFT IN THE HEAD (World Premiere), C&Y’s THE OXBOW CURE (World Premiere), and Gregory Collins’ A SONG STILL INSIDE (World Premiere). 

    [caption id="attachment_3145" align="alignnone" width="550"]COMPUTER CHESS[/caption]

    The Festival will also award the 2013 Terry Porter Visionary Award, named in honor of longtime festival friend Terry Porter, to Andrew Bujalski’s COMPUTER CHESS. Previous winners include V/H/S (2012) and Todd Rohal’s THE CATECHISM CATACLYSM (2011).

    As previously announced, the 2013 opens on April 5th with Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s BLACKFISH, while Noah Baumbach’s FRANCES HA is the festival’s Closing Night film. James Ponsoldt’s THE SPECTACULAR NOW and Barbara Kopple’s RUNNING FROM CRAZY are the Centerpiece Films, with Carols Puga’s BURMA, Justin Schwarz’s THE DISCOVERERS and the World Premiere of Will Slocombe’s PASADENA are the SFF’s Spotlight Films.

    The lineup

    NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION

    THE COLD LANDS, directed by Tom Gilroy (North American Premiere)

    CONCUSSION, directed by Stacie Passon

    THE HUNT, directed by Thomas Vinterberg

    I USED TO BE DARKER, directed by Matthew Porterfield

    IT FELT LIKE LOVE, directed by Eliza Hittman

    LAURENCE ANYWAYS, directed by Xavier Dolan

    POST TENEBRAS LUX, directed by Carlos Reygadas

    SOMETHING IN THE AIR, directed by Olivier Assayas

     

    DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION

    AFTER TILLER, directed by Lana Wilson and Martha Shane

    CITIZEN KOCH directed by Carl Deal and Tia Lessin

    CUTIE AND THE BOXER, directed by Zachary Heinzerling

    DEATH METAL ANGOLA, directed by Jeremy Xido (North American Premiere)

    SURVIVAL PRAYER, directed by Benjamin Greené

    TWENTY FEET FROM STARDOM, directed by Morgan Neville

    WE ALWAYS LIE TO STRANGERS, directed by AJ Schnack, David Wilson

    WITHOUT SHEPHERDS, directed by Cary McClelland, Imran Babur

     

    INDEPENDENT VISIONS COMPETITION, presented by Factory 25

    THE DIRTIES, directed by Matthew Johnson

    THE FORGOTTEN KINGDOM, directed by Andrew Mudge

    NOR’EASTER, directed by Andrew Brotzman

    THE OXBOW CURE, directed by Yonah Lewis & Calvin Thomas (World Premiere)

    SOFT IN THE HEAD, directed by Nathan Silver (World Premiere)

    A SONG STILL INSIDE, directed by Gregory Collins (World Premiere)

    THIS IS MARTIN BONNER, directed by Chad Hartigan

    TOWHEADS, directed by Shannon Plumb

     

    The 2013 Sarasota Film Festival

    FEATURE FILMS

     

    AFTER TILLER, directed by Lana Wilson and Martha Shane

    ALIYAH, directed by Elie Wajeman

    THE ANGELS’ SHARE, directed by Ken Loach

    AUGUSTINE, directed by Alice Winocour

    THE BALLAD OF THE WEEPING SPRING, directed by Benny Toraty

    BARZAN, directed by Alex Stonehill and Bradley Hutchinson (World Premiere)

    BEAUTY AND THE BREAST, directed by Liliana Komorowska

    BETWEEN US, directed by Dan Mirvish

    BIG STAR: NOTHING CAN HURT ME, directed by Drew DiNicola

    BLACKFISH, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite

    BRAVE MISS WORLD, directed by Cecilia Peck

    BROKEN, directed by Rufus Norris

    BURMA, directed by Carlos Puga

    C.O.G., directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez

    CASTING BY, directed by Tom Donahue

    CITIZEN KOCH, directed by Carl Deal and Tia Lessin

    THE COLD LANDS, directed by Tom Gilroy (North American Premiere)

    COMPUTER CHESS, directed by Andrew Bujalski

    CONCUSSION, directed by Stacie Passon

    THE CRASH REEL, directed by Lucy Walker

    CUTIE AND THE BOXER, directed by Zachary Heinzerling

    DEAD MAN’S BURDEN, directed by Jared Moshe

    DEATH METAL ANGOLA, directed by Jeremy Xido (North American Premiere)

    THE DEFLOWERING OF EVA VAN END, directed by Michiel ten Horn

    THE DIRTIES, directed by Matt Johnson

    THE DISCOVERERS, directed by Justin Schwarz

    THE END OF TIME, directed by Peter Mettler

    FALL AND WINTER, directed by Matt Anderson

    FILL THE VOID, directed by Rama Burshtein

    FIRST COMES LOVE, directed by Nina Davenport

    FORBIDDEN VOICES, directed by Barbara Miller

    THE FORGOTTEN KINGDOM, directed by Andrew Mudge

    FRANCES HA, directed by Noah Baumbach

    A GIRL AND A GUN, directed by Cathryne Czbek

    GOOD OL’ FREDA, directed by Ryan White

    THE GREAT CHICKEN WING HUNT, directed by Matt Reynolds

    THE GREY AREA, directed by Noga Ashkenazi

    A HIJACKING, directed by Tobias Lindholm

    HOMEFRONT HEROINES: THE WAVES OF WWII, directed by Kathleen M. Ryan

    THE HUNT, directed by Thomas Vinterberg

    I USED TO BE DARKER, directed by Matthew Porterfield

    IN THE FOG, directed by Sergei Loznitsa

    IN THE HOUSE, directed by François Ozon

    IT FELT LIKE LOVE, directed by Eliza Hittman

    THE KINGS OF SUMMER, directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts

    LA SIRGA, directed by William Vega

    LA SOURCE, directed by Patrick Shen

    LACE BITE, directed by Sharron Bates and Carmen Klotz

    LAND OF HOPE, directed by Sion Sono

    THE LAST SENTENCE, directed by Jan Troell

    LAURENCE ANYWAYS, directed by Xavier Dolan

    THE LIST, directed by Beth Murphy

    LITTLE FUGITIVE, directed by Morris Engel, Ruth Orkin, and Ray Ashley

    MAIDENTRIP, directed by Jillian Schlesinger

    MARIA THE KOREAN BRIDE, directed by Maria Yoon

    MEDORA, directed by Andrew Cohn and Davy Rothbart

    MONSTERS, directed by Melissa Thompson

    MORE THAN HONEY, directed by Markus Imhoof

    MUSICWOOD, directed by Maxine Trump

    MY NAME IS FAITH, directed by Jason Banker, Jorge Torres-Torres, and Tiffany Suedela-Junker

    NEWLYWEEDS, directed by Shaka King

    NEXT YEAR JERUSALEM, directed by David Gaynes (World Premiere)

    NO ONE LIVES, directed by Ryûhei Kitamura

    NO PLACE ON EARTH, directed by Janet Tobias

    NOR’EASTER, directed by Andrew Brotzman

    NOTHING WITHOUT YOU, directed by Xackery Irving

    THE OXBOW CURE, directed by Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas (World Premiere)

    PASADENA, directed by Will Slocombe (World Premiere)

    PERSISTENCE OF VISION, directed by Kevin Schreck

    THE PERVERT’S GUIDE TO IDEOLOGY, directed by Sophie Fiennes

    PLIMPTON! STARRING GEORGE PLIMPTON AS HIMSELF, directed by Thomas Bean and Luke Poling

    POST TENEBRAS LUX, directed by Carlos Reygadas

    THE RAMBLER, directed by Calvin Lee Reeder

    REALITY, directed by Matteo Garrone

    REMOTE AREA MEDICAL, directed by Jeff Reichert and Farihah Zaman

    RENOIR, directed by Gilles Bourdos

    RICKY RAPPER AND COOL WENDY, directed by Mari Rantasila

    RUNNING FROM CRAZY, directed by Barbara Kopple

    RUNNING WILD: THE LIFE OF DAYTON O. HYDE, directed by Suzanne Mitchell

    RUTA DE LA LUNA, directed by Juan Sebastián Jácome

    SALMA, directed by Kim Longinotto

    SHEPARD AND DARK, directed by Treva Wurmfeld

    SOFT IN THE HEAD, directed by Nathan Silver (World Premiere)

    SOMETHING IN THE AIR, directed by Olivier Assayas

    A SONG STILL INSIDE, directed by Gregory Collins (World Premiere)

    THE SPECTACULAR NOW, directed by James Ponsoldt

    STILL MINE, directed by Michael McGowan

    SURVIVAL PRAYER, directed by Benjamin Greené

    THÉRÈSE DESQUEYROUX, directed by Claude Miller

    THIS IS MARTIN BONNER, directed by Chad Hartigan

    TOWHEADS, directed by Shannon Plumb

    TRAILBLAZERS IN HABITS, directed by Nancy M. Tong

    TWENTY FEET FROM STARDOM, directed by Morgan Neville

    UP HEARTBREAK HILL, directed by Erica Scharf

    VENUS AND SERENA, directed by Maiken Baird and Michelle Major

    THE WALL, directed by Julian Roman Pölsler

    WE ALWAYS LIE TO STRANGERS, directed by AJ Schnack and David Wilson

    WHEN I WALK, directed by Jason DaSilva

    WHICH WAY IS THE FRONT LINE FROM HERE? THE LIFE AND TIME OF TIM HETHERINGTON, directed by Sebastian Junger

    WITHOUT SHEPHERDS, directed by Cary McClelland

    WORLD CIRCUS, directed by Angela Snow

    YOU AIN’T SEEN NOTHIN’ YET, directed by Alain Resnais

    ZARAFA, directed by Rémi Bezançon and Jean-Christophe Lie

    The 2013 Sarasota Film Festival

    SHORT FILMS

     

    Shorts Before Features

    CHARACTER FACE- A CLOWN COLLEGE FANTASY, directed by Nic Beery (World Premiere)

    HOW TO BE A FEMALE DIRECTOR, directed by Trisha Gum

    LES, directed by Aída Ramazánova

    LYDIA HOFFMAN, LYDIA HOFFMAN, directed by Dustin Guy Defa

    QUEEN OF THE DESERT, directed by Alex Kelly

    THIS IS NORMAL, directed by Derek Watson (World Premiere)

    WHEN WE LIVED IN MIAMI, directed by Amy Seimetz

     

    Shorts 1: Narrative Shorts I

    BLACK METAL, directed by Kat Candler

    CRESCENDO, directed by Alonso Alvarez Barreda

    THE DISCARDED (EN MAL ESTADO), directed by Juan Antonio Delicado and David Delicado

    LISPENARD, directed by Anna Stypko

    MOBILE HOMES, directed by Vladimir de Fontenay

    ON SUFFOCATION, directed by Jenifer Malmqvist

    SHADES OF LIVING, directed by Aurora Fearnley

    THE TAPE, directed by Matt Austin Sadowski

    TIPPING POINT, directed by Leonardo Foti

     

    Shorts 2:  Narrative Shorts II

    BOOM BOX KIDS, directed by Taylor Gledhill

    BUM FUTURE, directed by Laura Terruso

    THE CAPTAIN, directed by Nash Edgerton and Spencer Susso

    DOUBLE OR NOTHING, directed by Nathaniel Krause

    GALAXY COMICS: THE MUSICAL, directed by Kevin McMullin

    THE OPPORTUNITY OFFICE, directed by Chelsea O’Connor

    PEARL WAS HERE, directed by Kate Marks

    SPOSINI, directed by Nicholas VanDevender

    TRYOUTS, directed by Lauren Ciaravalli (World Premiere)

     

    Shorts 3: Narrative Shorts III

    ALASKA IS A DRAG, directed by Shaz Bennett

    ANGELA WRIGHT, directed by Mu Sun

    GUN, directed by Spencer Gillis

    JOYFUL GIRL, directed by Chloe Dumont

    MIGRAINE, directed by Matthew Bonifacio

    THE ONLY BAR IN TOWN, directed by Adam Budd

    RED VELVET, directed by Aude Cuenod (World Premiere)

     

    Shorts 4: Documentary Shorts

    EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS, directed by Laura Green

    HOLDING SPACE, directed by David “Evolutionshift” Houle

    NGABEN: EMOTION AND RESTRAINT IN A BALINESE HEART, directed by Robert Lemelson (World Premiere)

    PASSION AND ACCEPTANCE, directed by Wayne Thomas

    THE RECORD BREAKER, directed by Brian McGinn

     

    Shorts 5: World Shorts

    BEHIND THE MIRRORS (DETRAS DELESPEJO), directed by Julio O. Ramos

    CODA, directed by Jonathan Tomlin

    THE CURSE, directed by Fyzal Boulifa

    HOSPITALS, directed by Priscilla Y. Anany

    POTWOR, directed by Piotr Ryczko

    THE ROAD HOME, directed by Denie Pentecost (World Premiere)

     

    Shorts 6: Animated Shorts

    AND/OR, directed by Emily Hubley

    BEING BRADFORD DILLMAN, directed by Emma Burch

    THE EVENT, directed by Julia Pott

    FERAL, directed by Daniel Sousa

    FOXED!, directed by James Stewart and Nev Bezaire

    FURNACE KEEP, directed by Gary Grant

    IN HANFORD, directed by Chris Mars

    IRISH FOLK FURNITURE, directed by Tony Donoghue

    MARCEL, KING OF TERVUREN, directed by Tom Schroeder

    MOUTH WIDE OPEN, EARS SHUT TIGHT, directed by Tom Madar and Emlly Noy

    OH WILLY…, directed by Emma de Swaef and Marc James Roels

     

    Shorts 7: SRQ Shorts

    315 POUNDS, directed by Jeffrey Boos

    BOOST, directed by KT Curran (World Premiere)

    THE COVER, directed by Anthony Paull

    DAD DATE, directed by Wingel Buendia

    THE FOREVER, directed by Sean Benson

    LAY ME IN THE RIVER, directed by Allison Morton and Ashley Bonn

    OVERTIME, directed by Grant Duffrin

    RATTLETRAP, directed by Stephen Reeves

     

    Shorts 8: Midnight Shorts

    THE APOCALYPSE, directed by Andrew Zuchero

    DEVIL’S TEMPTATION, directed by Cineryong

    MINOTAUR, directed by Javier Grillo-Marxuach

    MR. BEAR, directed by Andrés Rosende

    PENNY DREADFUL, directed by Shane Atkinson

    SLASH, directed by Clay Liford

    SLASHED: TALES OF FORBIDDEN LUST, directed by Kira Trinity

     

    Shorts 9: Through Women’s Eyes I

    THE EYES OF HEAVEN, directed by Grace Hendley

    ME AND MY DEADBEAT HUSBAND, directed by Deirdre Morales

    SILK, directed by Catherine Dent

    UNRAVEL, directed by Meghna Grupta

    THE WINTER, directed by Teresa Sutherland

     

    Shorts 10: Through Women’s Eyes II

    THE CART, directed by Natasha Novik

    SCHOOL OF MY DREAMS, directed by Barbara Rick

    SCHWESTERN (SISTERS), directed by Chantal Bertalanffy

    SIX LETTER WORD, directed by Lisanne Sartor

    STALLED, directed by Shannon Kohli

     

    Shorts 11: NYU Shorts

    BONESHAKER, directed by Frances Bodomo

    BRAVE GIRL (SAHASI CHORI), directed by Erin Galey

    GLORY DAYS, directed by Benjamin Rutkowski

    KATYA & THE SCARLET SAILS, directed by Vika Evdokimenko

    OYSTERS ROCKEFELLER, directed by Charles Rogers

    Q, directed by Felipe Vara de Rey

     

    youthFEST Shorts I

    GERONIMO, directed by Grace Feeney

    MY LITTLE UNDERGROUND, directed by Élise Simard

    NEXT DOOR LETTERS, directed by Sascha Fülscher

    PAULIE, directed by Andrew Nackman

    PEN PAL, directed by Brooke Goldfinch

    TINA FOR PRESIDENT, directed by Carmen Emm

    YEAH KOWALSKI, directed by Evan Roberts

     

    youthFEST Shorts II

    ANTOINE’S FOUR SEASONS, directed by Philippe Béziat and gordon

    FOUR, directed by Margherita Premuroso and Luca Da Rios

    THE INVENTION (EL INVENTO), directed by Giovanni Granada

    KALI, THE LITTLE VAMPIRE, directed by Regina Pessoa

    LUMINARIS, directed by Juan Pablo Zaramella

    TIME TRAVEL BOY, directed by Alexander Monelli

    TWIRL, directed by Nathaniel Winckler

     

    youthFEST Shorts III

    AMAQQUT NUNAAT: THE COUNTRY OF WOLVES, directed by Neil Christopher

    BORIS THE RAT RECYCLES, directed by Leena Jääskeläinen and Kaisa Penttilä

    DONALD, directed by Daniel Acht

    IT’S A DOG’S LIFE, directed by Julie Rembauville and Nicolas Bianco-Levrin

    LOLA & HER DOG, directed by Nathaniel Winckler and Christopher Birnbaum

    PASTEURIZED, directed by Nicolás P. Villarreal

    THE SCARED IS SCARED, directed by Bianca Giaever

    A SEA TURTLE STORY, directed by Kathy Shultz

    VIOLIN PLAY, directed by Tünde Vollenbroek

    WOLF DOG TALES, directed by Bernadine Santistevan

    WYLDE LIFE, directed by Stephen Levinson, Joel Moss Levinson, and David B. Levy

     

    youthFEST Shorts IV

    AND THEN IT’S SPRING, directed by Cha-Pow!

    BINK & GOLLIE, directed by Kate Dicamillo and Alison McGhee

    EDWINA, THE DINOSAUR WHO DIDN’T KNOW SHE WAS EXTINCT, directed by Pete List

    I’M FAST, directed by Galen Fott

    SCAREDY SQUIRREL MAKES A FRIEND, directed by Galen Fott

    A SICK DAY FOR AMOS MCGEE, directed by Philip C. Stead

    SKY COLOR, directed by Peter H. Renolds

     

    Kids VIP

    RICKY RAPPER AND COOL WENDY, directed by Mari Rantasila

    SHOW WAY, directed by Jacqueline Woodson

    WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY: BUSHRA’S FILM, directed by Annie Gibbs

     

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  • Steven Soderbergh to Deliver State of Cinema Address at 2013 San Francisco International Film Festival, May Address Retirement Rumors

    Director Steven Soderbergh, described as “one of the world’s most celebrated figures in contemporary filmmaking,” will deliver the tenth annual State of Cinema Address at the 56th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 25 – May 9, 2013). Soderbergh, reportedly recently announced his intention to retire from filmmaking, a decision which should provide a compelling framework for this live address. 

    Previous State of Cinema speakers have been author Jonathan Lethem, film producer Christine Vachon, film editor Walter Murch, photographer Mary Ellen Mark, Wired publisher Kevin Kelly, actress Tilda Swinton, writer/director Brad Bird, cultural commentator B. Ruby Rich and longtime editor of the influential French film magazine Positif Michel Ciment. 

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  • REVIEW: Silver Circle

    by Chris McKittrick

    In the year 2019, the American economy has collapsed to the point that the most powerful government entity is the Federal Reserve, which maintains control of the rapidly inflating currency.  This leads to crippling levels of inflation ($150+ for a gallon of gas, $50+ for a loaf of bread, and worst of all, $90 beer “specials” at bars!)  An underground form of currency made of pure silver, called silver circles, are instead being used illegally by the public.  One of the Reserve’s newest divisions is the Department of Housing Stability, which is responsible for maintaining the prices of homes – including forcing rightful homeowners out of them, if necessary.  An agent with “HouseStab,” Jay Nelson (De’Leon Grant) is investigating a recent firebombing of homes, and finds himself reluctantly caught in a battle against the Federal Reserve alongside Zoe Taylor (Philana Mia), an alluring female resistance fighter.

    Unfortunately, the political message this computer-animated film is trying to make is undermined by its poor production quality.  There are many issues regarding the Federal Reserve’s role in the economic issues in the United States, so if Silver Circle leads to even just one person reading up on those issues and drawing his or her own conclusions it would be a plus for the movement.

    But the animation is so poor that I doubt only people supporting its message will embrace it. Though the movie was shot green-screen, the computer animation looks like it is from a mid-1990s point-and-click CD-ROM game and not nearly fluid enough to look professional-quality.  In fact, the animation looks particularly awful when the characters walk, and they appear like creeping bowlegged scarecrows.  The only thing animated worse are the love scenes between Jay and Zoe.  Knowing what I know about film production, I find it difficult to believe that this film could not have been made cheaper and look much more professional in live action with a digital camera (the film’s website reports the production budget was $1.6 million, and I’ve seen plenty of better-looking, low-budget action movies).  Silver Circle debuted as a graphic novel, and frankly considering the production quality of the film it should have stayed that way because while director Pahsa Roberts, writer Steven Schwartz, and the rest of the Silver Circle team have created an intriguing concept for a meaningful political thriller, the cringe-inducing visuals of the finished product makes it difficult to take the movie seriously.

    An appearance by Jon Schaffer (guitarist of heavy metal group Iced Earth and long-time critic of the Federal Reserve) sums up many of the problems people have with our current currency system, but that isn’t enough to cover the entire issue.  I would recommend that if you are interested in learning more about the Federal Reserve, research the issue – but skip on watching Silver Circle as a source of information or entertainment.

    RATING: The media unfortunately fails the message here (1.5/10).

    Silver Circle will debut at Cinema Village in New York City on March 22.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkQQ4MLasgs

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  • Tribeca Film Festival Announces the 2013 Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival Lineup

    [caption id="attachment_3289" align="alignnone" width="550"]Big Shot[/caption]

    The Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival,  which has become the a great showcase for independent films about sports and competition is back for the 2013 Festival.  The festival announced the lineup for the seventh annual Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival, consisting of nine films, including four titles from ESPN Films’ highly anticipated “Nine for IX” series which celebrates the fortieth anniversary of Title IX with nine documentary films about women in sports directed by outstanding female filmmakers. The 2013 Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival will run during the 12th TFF, April 17 – April 28 in New York City. 

    The world premiere of Big Shot, directed by Kevin Connolly, will serve as the gala premiere of the program on Friday, April 19. Connolly is returning to Tribeca having debuted his feature film Gardener of Eden in 2007. In Big Shot, Connolly chronicles John Spano’s fraudulent purchase of the New York Islanders.  In 1997, Spano bought the New York Islanders for a staggering $165 million. The scheme behind Spano’s acquisition of the team is revealed as Big Shot takes viewers behind the scenes of the biggest fraud in hockey history.

    The other films include documentary films that explore stories of an extreme skiing legend; the world’s top professional skateboarders; an overhyped high school basketball player; the battle in the ring and the courts of the greatest boxing legend; the personal struggles of college sports’ most successful coach ever; the largely unknown history of an Olympic gold medalist and her link with East Germany’s secret police; the unyielding quest of a world-class diver to reach new depths; and the gender politics of post-game locker room interviews.

    All of this year’s Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival films will screen at Tribeca Cinemas on Saturday, April 27. The films also screen prior to April 27 throughout the Festival. In addition to the film series, the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival will present the free Sports Day as part of the Tribeca Family Festival Street Fair. Sports Day, will also take place on Saturday, April 27, offerring fans an opportunity to engage in a variety of free, sports-related games and activities.  

    The following are the films featured in the 2013 Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival.  

    TRIBECA/ESPN SPORTS FILM FESTIVAL LINE-UP 

    Gala

    Big Shot, directed by Kevin Connolly. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary.  In 1997, John Spano, a previously unknown Dallas business mogul, bought the New York Islanders for a whopping $165 million. The future looked bright for the once-legendary team. Then Spano took his seat in the front office. Entourage’s Kevin Connolly takes us behind the scenes of the biggest fraud in hockey history, as Spano’s wealth is revealed to be a lie and his rise to power a brilliantly concocted scheme.

    The following Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival titles have been announced in their respective sections as part of the 2013 TFF film program:

    McConkey, directed and written by Steve Winter, Murray Wais, Scott Gaffney, David Zieff, and Rob Bruce. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. An all-star roster of sports movie-making talent directs this heartfelt biography of extreme ski trailblazer Shane McConkey, once described as “the most influential skier ever.”McConkey covers forty years and countless high places to track Shane’s conversion from downhill racer to freeskiing marvel to pioneer of a hair-raising new discipline—ski BASE jumping—giving new meaning to the question, how do you live your life to the fullest?

    Lenny Cooke, directed by Benny Safdie and Joshua Safdie. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. In 2001, Lenny Cooke was the most hyped high school basketball player in the country, ranked above future greats LeBron James, Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. A decade later, Lenny has never played a minute in the NBA. In this quintessentially American documentary, filmmaking brothers Joshua and Benny Safdie track the unfulfilled destiny of a man for whom superstardom was only just out of reach.

    The Trials of Muhammad Ali, directed by Bill Siegel. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. Brash boxer Cassius Clay burst into the American consciousness in the early 1960s, just ahead of the Civil Rights movement. His transformation into the spiritually enlightened heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali is legendary, but this religious awakening also led to a bitter legal battle with the U.S. government after he refused to serve in the Vietnam War. This film reveals the perfect storm of race, religion and politics that shaped one of the most recognizable figures in sports history.

    The Motivation, directed by Adam Bhala Lough. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. Go inside the lives and training regimes of eight of the world’s gutsiest professional skateboarders. These fearless stars face unique obstacles on the way to the Street League Championship and the coveted title of best street skateboarder in the world. Adam Bhala Lough, creator of the independent hit Bomb the System (TFF 2003), directs this fresh, energetic documentary search for that elusive quality that separates winners from the pack. In English, Portuguese with subtitles.

    Special Screenings from the “Nine for IX” series

    Pat XO, directed by Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern Winters. Produced by Robin Roberts. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. In August 2011, Pat Summitt, NCAA basketball’s winningest coach, made the stunning announcement that she had early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.  Before and after resigning in April 2012, the legendary coach and her son, Tyler, have set out to beat this challenge as they had every other—with grace, humor and, most of all, each other. Pat XO tells the remarkable story of this incomparable coach as it has never been told before, straight from the people who knew her best. 

    The Diplomat, directed by Senain Kheshgi and Jennifer Arnold. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. At the height of the Cold War, Katarina Witt became one of East Germany’s most famous athletes, winning six European titles, four world championships and back-to-back Olympic gold medals. Known as “the most beautiful face of socialism,” she earned unique benefits in East Germany but also constant surveillance from the Stasi, the notorious secret police force.

    No Limits, directed by Alison Ellwood. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. Suffering from scoliosis as a teenager, Audrey Mestre found freedom in the ocean. Years later, she discovered another reason to love the water: the elusive, often raucous free diver Pipin Ferreras. As Mestre follows Ferreras’s almost spiritual quest to push his limits underwater, she moves from supporter to ardent free diver to world-class competitor. Then a challenge from a rival pushes the couple to the brink of what is possible, both above and below the surface.

    Let Them Wear Towels, directed by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. During the 1977 World Series, Sports Illustrated reporter Melissa Ludtke was denied access to the players’ locker room. After a very public fight, the door was opened, but the debate about female journalists in the male sanctum of the clubhouse remained. Through interviews with pioneering female sports writers, Let Them Wear Towels captures the raw behavior, humorous retaliation, angry lawsuits and remarkable resolve that went into the struggle for equal access for women reporters.

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  • Director Matteo Garrone talks about the real-life story behind his amazing new film “Reality”

     

    by Francesca McCaffery

    Garnering the illustrious Grand Prix at Cannes this year, Reality is an Italian film that is much more American in nature than we would want to believe possible.  Following up his gritty, grimy crime drama Gomorrah,  director Matteo Garrone is a master at keeping it real while telling a profound story about humanity in its most vulnerable state.(It helps that Garrone has a natural talent for finding brilliant non-actors. His lead actor is actually a prisoner who had to get permission to come to set and film.) 

    Shot in the city of Naples, Reality opens taking us right into a city that is grimy and filled with the sweat and dirt of every day people hustling and struggling. Crammed into tiny apartments together, with extended families living several to a room, you can smell the city of Naples from the beautiful opening.  His story centers around Luciano (an amazing Aniello Arena), a local fishmonger who is busy unloading robotic pasta-makers for extra cash with his wife, and trying to make a decent living for the entire family.  Apparently, the reality show Big Brother is somewhat of a major obsession in Italy in its own incarnation there, and at a friend’s wedding, the dorky hipster “Enzo” from the cast makes a paid appearance, wishing the bride and groom congrats. As a gag, Luciano dresses a woman and schticks around for a few moments with Enzo, garnering a cherished photo with Enzo for his daughter. When sweetly bull-dozed by cellphone by the same daughter, as well as his amused wife, to come to the mall for an “audition” for Big Brother, Luciano at first refuses, not really caring a bit. But then, to make everyone happy and shut them up, he decides to go. What follows is a long and winding trip into the psyche of someone who trades his life for a profound, inexplicable fantasy version, and it is completely mesmerizing to watch.

    Garrone manages, somehow, to exert a glaring and tender touch, and Arena’s performance is so complete, so, well, both adorable and devastating, it is hard not to follow him down this path with both awe and an ashamed “I get it!” Because who among us living in the US, with extra time on their hands, has not at least once in a while fallen prey to the the thoughts of what others more powerful, beautiful, wealthier or more “fabulous” in general are doing with their lives? I don’t know if it makes one feel to better to know than even in Europe they are as bad as we are in terms of projecting themselves into alternate versions of their own lives, or much, much worse. The point is, Garrone is digging deeper than our obsession with reality TV. He is not skewering us, judging us, or gleefully unveiling something vile- Garrone is simply and effectively recreating his own version of classic Italian neo-realism in Reality, and is exciting to witness this evolution of an artist. The film open in the US on March 15th. We were lucky enough to sit down with the director last week, the once-painter who is now taking the helm as a new Italian, cinematic wonder…

    VIMOOZ: Can you tell us what inspired the script? How did it develop, exactly?

    Matteo Garrone: From a true story! It happened to the brother of my wife. My wife is from Naples, and she comes from a very big family. Her brother was a guy, that, every time there was a party, he was always making fun, the life of the party; everyone would always say to him, “You are perfect to go on television…” He asked me if I could help to film an audition for him. At that time. My studio was where they were doing the big casting for Big Brother.   So I said “sure.” What I didn’t know that it was the beginning of at tragedy! (laughs) Enzo, in the film, is me, in a way. We had to invent him, a character to give him the chance to make an audition.  I went through several treatments for the idea of the film, and soon asked him to look at them. We then decided together to do it.

    VIMOOZ: How did it make him feel? Did he mind, at first, that you were basing the story on him? 

    Matteo Garrone: He followed me during the shooting, and talked a lot with the actor  (playing Luciano) and we had a happy ending, because we gave him money to re-buy his fish shop!

    VIMOOZ: He actually had a fish shop in real life in Naples?

    MG: Yeah. He had sold it. We invented some things, but the parts that we invented  are the more normal things. For instance, when the brother makes the crank phone call, pretending to be the Big Brother producer, we incented. The cricket , though, which seems more surreal, really happened! His fish shop is now going well. The real story has a happy ending. The movie, well…(laughs again)

    VIMOOZ: Did you have the cinematic temptation to show Luciano losing his mind stylistically? To show his heightened metal reality visually?

    MG: No, because in that moment, I think the audience could better understand the situation, from the point of view of the wife. So, we wanted to switch perceptions, otherwise, his mental state would have just become, after a while, repetitive. So we switched points of view, to the wife, and the parents, and the family. And in this story, they have a big complicity, because they pushed him to audition. That also happened in real life, but maybe not so aggressively. That’s why I think it’s a movie about illusion, but also, about capitalism. Because, you know, you never are satisfied with what you have, always grappling with the desire to have something else making you happy. I always said Luciano is not so far from myself. I get very weak from the seduction of our society, you know, and it’s very easy sometimes to lose your way, your identity…. Because, another important aspect of the movie is that Luciano builds a new character for himself, like in a Pirandello story.  That’s the beginning of the tragedy. Because he starts to act like a saint. But he’s not a saint. (Laughs some more) I think this aspect of the element of the story was what pushed me to tell this story, and I found this way to create a very close relationship with Luciano-he was close to me. We don’t want to put ourselves at the top, and judge. We all live in this world. That would not be fair. So we found a way to be close to the character, to tell the story with humanity.

    VIMOOZ:  Is it a goal of yours to bring the societal problems so present in Italy, and which, say, Americans are rarely even aware of, to the forefront of your films?

    MG: When I work on my project, I try to do my best. In this case, I can say that my references are related to the greatest Italian directors-De Sica, De Filippo, the early movies of Fellini, Visconti- there are so many… My influences come from them, but then I try to find my own way. It would be suicide to try and be a Fellini! (laughs) When you make a movie, you hope it can reach the largest number of audiences. I try to find my personal way.

    Reality opens Friday, March 15th. See it in NYC HERE at the Angelika this weekend! Don’t miss it

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  • 2013 US Sundance Festival Winners Blood Brothers, Upstream Color Among Lineup for 2013 Sundance London

     [caption id="attachment_3231" align="alignnone" width="550"]Blood Brother[/caption]

    Sundance London film and music festival, unveiled the programme of panels, feature films and short films for the second edition of the festival scheduled to run April 25-28, 2013, at The O2 in London. 

    The programme includes 18 feature films and nine short films across four sections, including a new UK Spotlight. Films include the U.K. premiere of Blood Brother, winner of the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary and the Audience Award: U.S. Documentary at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival; and Upstream Color, winner of a U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Sound Design at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and from the director of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic-winning film Primer.

    In addition to film screenings and panels, Sundance London will host several live music performances and events with Peaches announced as the first headlining act for the 2013 festival.

    FEATURE FILM PROGRAMME

    The international and UK premieres of American independent narrative and documentary films that premiered in January at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, U.S.A.

    Blackfish (Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite) — Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity. (Documentary)International Premiere

    Blood Brother (Director: Steve Hoover) — Rocky went to India as a disillusioned tourist. When he met a group of children with HIV, he decided to stay. He never could have imagined the obstacles he would face, or the love he would find. Winner of the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary and the Audience Award: U.S. Documentary presented by Acura at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. (Documentary) UK Premiere

    Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes (Director and screenwriter: Francesca Gregorini) — Emanuel, a troubled girl, becomes preoccupied with her mysterious, new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to her dead mother. In offering to babysit her newborn, Emanuel unwittingly enters a fragile, fictional world, of which she becomes the gatekeeper. Cast:Kaya Scodelario, Jessica Biel, Alfred Molina, Frances O’Connor, Jimmi Simpson, Aneurin Barnard. (Narrative)International Premiere

    God Loves Uganda (Director: Roger Ross Williams) — A powerful exploration of the evangelical campaign to infuse African culture with values imported from America’s Christian Right. The film follows American and Ugandan religious leaders fighting “sexual immorality” and missionaries trying to convince Ugandans to follow biblical law. (Documentary) European Premiere

    In a World… (Director and screenwriter: Lake Bell) — An underachieving vocal coach is motivated by her father, the king of movie-trailer voice-overs, to pursue her aspirations of becoming a voiceover star. Amidst pride, sexism and family dysfunction, she sets out to change the voice of a generation. Cast: Lake Bell, Demetri Martin, Rob Corddry, Michaela Watkins, Ken Marino, Fred Melamed. Winner of the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. (Narrative) International Premiere

    The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete (Director: George Tillman Jr., Screenwriter: Michael Starrbury) — Separated from their mothers and facing a summer in the Brooklyn projects alone, two boys hide from police and forage for food, with only each other to trust. A story of salvation through friendship and two boys against the world. Cast: Skylan Brooks, Ethan Dizon, Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks, Anthony Mackie, Jeffrey Wright. (Narrative) UK Premiere

    The Kings of Summer (Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Screenwriter: Chris Galletta) — A unique coming-of-age comedy about three teenagers who, in the ultimate act of independence, decide to spend their summer building a makeshift house in the woods. Free from their parents’ rules, their idyllic summer quickly becomes a test of friendship. Cast: Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Alison Brie. (Narrative) International Premiere

    Muscle Shoals (Director: Greg ‘Freddy’ Camalier) — Down in Alabama Rick Hall founded FAME Studios and gave birth to the Muscle Shoals sound. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Gregg Allman, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Bono and others bear witness to the greatest untold American music story. (Documentary) UK Premiere

    Running from Crazy (Director: Barbara Kopple) — Mariel Hemingway, granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, strives for a greater understanding of her family history of suicide and mental illness. As tragedies are explored and deeply hidden secrets are revealed, Mariel searches for a way to overcome a similar fate. From two-time Academy Award-winning director Barbara Kopple. (Documentary) International Premiere

    Touchy Feely (Director and screenwriter: Lynn Shelton) — A massage therapist is unable to do her job when stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact. Meanwhile, her uptight brother’s foundering dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his “healing touch.” Cast: Rosemarie DeWitt, Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Scoot McNairy, Ellen Page, Josh Pais. (Narrative) International Premiere

    Upstream Color (Director and screenwriter: Shane Carruth) — A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives. Cast: Amy Seimetz, Shane Carruth, Andrew Sensenig, Thiago Martins. Winner of a U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Sound Design at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and from the director of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic-winning film Primer. (Narrative) UK Premiere

    SPECIAL EVENT PROGRAMME

    On-screen stories complemented by extraordinary off-screen experiences.

    History of the Eagles Part One (Director: Alison Ellwood) — Iconic American rock band the Eagles have earned countless awards and sold more than 120 million albums worldwide, including the best-selling album of all time. Using never-before-seen home movies, archival footage and new interviews with all current and former members of the Eagles, this documentary provides an intimate look into the history of the band and the legacy of their music. Includes an extended Q&A with the Eagles. (Documentary) International Premiere 

    Peaches Does Herself (Director and screenwriter: Peaches) — On the advice of an old stripper, Peaches makes sexually forthright music. This electro rock opera follows Peaches’ rise in popularity and her love affair with a beautiful she-male that ultimately leads her to realize who she really is. Cast: Peaches, Danni Daniels, Sandy Kane, Mignon, Sweet Machine Band, Jolly Goods. Sundance London will also host a performance by Peaches. (Narrative) UK Premiere

    Sleepwalk With Me (Director: Mike Birbiglia, Screenwriters: Mike Birbiglia, Ira Glass, Joe Birbiglia, Seth Barrish) — Reluctant to confront his fears of love, honesty, and growing up, a budding standup comedian has both a hilarious and intense struggle with sleepwalking. Cast: Mike Birbiglia, Lauren Ambrose, Carol Kane, James Rebhorn, Cristin Milioti. Winner of the Best of NEXT <=> Audience Award, Presented by Adobe Systems Incorporated, at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Includes an extended Q&A with director and screenwriter Mike Birbiglia, moderated by comedian Jimmy Carr.(Narrative) European Premiere

    UK SPOTLIGHT

    Drawing on the Sundance Film Festival’s rich legacy of premiering outstanding films produced in the UK – including An Education, Four Weddings and a Funeral, In Bruges, In the Loop, Kinky Boots, and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels – this new showcase presents a selection of UK films that premiered in Park City, Utah.

    In Fear (Directed and story by: Jeremy Lovering) — Trapped in a maze of country roads with only their vehicle for protection, Tom and Lucy are terrorized by an unseen tormentor exploiting their worst fears. Eventually they realize they’ve let the evil in – it’s sitting in their car. Cast: Alice Englert, Iain De Caestecker, Allen Leech. (Narrative) UK Premiere

    The Look of Love (Director: Michael Winterbottom, Screenwriter: Matt Greenhalgh) — The true story of British adult magazine publisher and entrepreneur Paul Raymond. A modern day King Midas story, Raymond became one of the richest men in Britain at the cost of losing those closest to him. Cast: Steve Coogan, Anna Friel, Imogen Poots, Tamsin Egerton. (Narrative)UK Premiere

    The Moo Man (Directors: Andy Heathcote, Co-director: Heike Bachelier) — A year in the life of heroic farmer Steve, scene stealing Ida (queen of the herd), and a supporting cast of 55 cows. When Ida falls ill, Steve’s optimism is challenged and their whole way of life is at stake. (Documentary) UK Premiere

    The Summit (Director: Nick Ryan) — Twenty-four climbers converged at the last stop before summiting the most dangerous mountain on Earth. Forty-eight hours later, 11 had been killed or simply vanished. Had one, Ger McDonnell, stuck to the climbers’ code, he might still be alive. Winner of the Editing Award: U.S. Documentary at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.(Documentary)

    SHORT FILM PROGRAMME

    A wide-ranging collection of short films that screened in January at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. All will screen together in one Short Film Programme. The winner of the Sundance London Short Film Competition will be the tenth short film featured.

    The Apocalypse (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Zuchero) — Four uninspired friends try to come up with a terrific idea for how to spend their Saturday afternoon. International Premiere

    Black Metal (Director and screenwriter: Kat Candler) — After a career spent mining his music from the shadows, one fan creates a chain reaction for the lead singer of a black metal band. European Premiere

    The Date (Director and screenwriter: Jenni Toivoniemi) — Tino’s manhood is put to the test in front of two women when he has to host a date for Diablo, the family’s stud cat. Winner of the Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

    Irish Folk Furniture (Director: Tony Donoghue) — In Ireland, old hand-painted furniture is often associated with hard times, with poverty, and with a time many would rather forget. In this animated documentary, 16 pieces of traditional folk furniture are repaired and returned home. Winner of the Short Film Jury Award: Animation at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

    Jonah (Director: Kibwe Tavares, Screenwriter: Jack Thorne) — When two young men photograph a gigantic fish leaping from the sea, their small town becomes a tourist attraction in this story about the old and the new. UK Premiere

    Reindeer (Director: Eva Weber) — A lyrical and haunting portrait of reindeer herding in the twilight expanses of the Lapland wilderness.

    Until the Quiet Comes (Director and screenwriter: Kahlil Joseph) — Shot in the Nickerson Gardens housing projects in Watts, Los Angeles, this film deals with themes of violence, camaraderie and spirituality through the lens of magical realism. Winner of a Short Film Special Jury Award at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. European Premiere

    Whiplash (Director and screenwriter: Damien Chazelle) — An aspiring drummer enters an elite conservatory’s top jazz orchestra. Winner of the Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fictionat the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. International Premiere

    The Whistle (Director: Grzegorz Zariczny) — Marcin, a lowest-leagues football referee who lives in a small town near Krakow, dreams of better times. At his mother’s urging, he decides to change his life and find himself a girlfriend and a better job. Winner of the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. UK Premiere

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