• 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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  • Sundance to Host 4-Day Summer Film Festival in Los Angeles

    [caption id="attachment_3284" align="alignnone" width="550"]Newlyweeds screened in NEXT <=> section at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival [/caption]

    The Sundance Institute which organize the annual Sundance Film Festival, will host a new festival, NEXT WEEKEND, taking place August 8-11, 2013 at Sundance Cinema and additional venues throughout Los Angeles. NEXT WEEKEND will include films that have been featured in the NEXT <=> section at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, which showcases stylistically adventurous films that take a bold approach to storytelling. 

    Over one summer weekend film fans will have the chance to choose from eight yet-to-be-released feature films. NEXT WEEKEND will kick off with an outdoor screening Aug. 8 at Cinespia at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The weekend-long festival will be headquartered at Sundance Cinema in West Hollywood Aug. 9-11. On closing night, Aug. 11, the festival will expand to venues across Los Angeles including the American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre, Cinefamily, MOCA, and the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television at the Billy Wilder Theater at the Hammer Museum.

    Films that have premiered in the NEXT <=> section at the Festival, launched in 2010, include Bellflower (Director and screenwriter: Evan Glodell), Compliance (Director and screenwriter: Craig Zobel), Sleepwalk With Me (Director: Mike Birbiglia, Screenwriters: Mike Birbiglia, Ira Glass, Joe Birbiglia, Seth Barrish) and sound of my voice (Director: Zal Batmanglij; Screenwriters: Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling).

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  • Sixty Short Films To Screen at 2013 Tribeca Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_3282" align="alignnone" width="550"]Grandma’s Not A Toaster[/caption]

    The 2013 Tribeca Film Festival (TFF) today announced its lineup of 60 short films.  The winner of the Tribeca Film Festival’s Best Narrative Short award and Best Documentary Short award will qualify for consideration in the Short Films category of the Annual Academy Awards®. The 2012 TFF Narrative Short Winner Asad and competition short Curfew were nominated for best Live Action Short at this year’s Annual Academy Awards, with Curfew taking home the coveted honor.

    The lineup features performances by a range of emerging and established talent such as Lauren Ambrose, Kevin Corrigan, Elle Fanning, Jessica Hecht, Nastassja Kinski, Julian Sands, Jay O. Sanders, Dominic West and Elijah Wood. Shawn Christensen, Academy Award-winning director of Curfew, returns to TFF with Grandma’s Not a Toaster.

    The 2013 shorts program will be presented in 8 thematic programs — 5 narrative categories, 2 documentary categories and 1 experimental category. 

    The short film selections within the eight programs are as follows:

    CHARACTER WITNESS – Documentary program

    These documentaries present first-person perspectives that ponder events affecting life, death and in-between. In Yamamoto, Japan, eighteen months after the Tohoku disaster, survivors left with nothing hold onto their existence through pictures found and restored from tsunami rubble in Recollections. Grave Goods explores the fetishism of the “beautiful things” collected by a grandmother during her lifetime and what happens to these prized possessions after she is gone. When the Song Dies weaves a captive spell of stories, songs and memories from across Scotland, in counterpoint to the country’s richly evocative landscape. Wilt Chamberlain: Borscht Belt Bellhop reveals a chapter in the life of one of basketball’s greatest players when a different era of the sport met the borscht belt at the peak of its Dirty Dancing-style fame. A slot machine junkie records his psychotherapy sessions and confronts the consequences of his twelve-year addiction in Lapse: Confessions of a Slot Machine Junkie. We Will Live Again looks at the unusual operations and caretakers of the Cryonics Institute, a mom-and-pop style warehouse that maintains ninety-nine deceased human bodies stored at below-freezing temperatures in cryopreservation. Timmy Brennan, a Freedom Tower ironworker and surfer who lost everything in the Breezy Point fires during Hurricane Sandy, is given a new board by strangers and finds hope riding the same ocean that shattered his community in The Rider and the Storm. 

    Recollections, Directed and written by Nathanael Carton, (Japan), New York Premiere

    Grave Goods, Directed and written by Leslie Tai, (USA), World Premiere

    When The Song Dies, Directed by Jamie Chambers, (Scotland), North American Premiere

    Wilt Chamberlain: Borscht Belt Bellhop, Directed by Caroline Laskow and Ian Rosenberg, (USA), World Premiere

    Lapse: Confessions of a Slot Machine Junkie, Directed and written by Jonathan VanBallenberghe, (USA), World Premiere

    We Will Live Again, Directed by Josh Koury and Myles Kane, (USA), World Premiere

    The Rider and the Storm, Directed and written by David Darg and Bryn Mooser, (USA), World Premiere

     

    DEADBOLT – Narrative program

    Robots and vampires and werewolves, oh my, roam these short films as we call for a lockdown with our late-night genre program.In The Girl with the Mechanical Maiden, an inventor takes an unorthodox approach to childrearing after the death of his wife. A young girl who lives in a remote wrecking yard confronts the town bullies when they torment her father in Yardbird. It is 2021, and imprisoned journalist Joseph Michaels faces government execution and contemplates a desperate escape attempt in order to return to his young family in The Exit Room. Following a gruesome accident, a man finds himself stuck and injured on a remote road in the dead of winter waiting for first responders in AB-. As a young runaway heads to Harlem, where her father is a low-level drug dealer, she is assaulted by a mysterious creature and left for dead in Peanut Butter & Jelly. A special American guest is coming to a hotel in Beijing to stay in the Honeymoon Suite, but the new guest services manager soon learns that the visitor is not quite what he appears to be. A culinary connoisseur and a chef go on a hunt for a rare animal in Delicacy. Set in the candy-colored world of 1950s suburbia,The Root of the Problem follows a reluctant young housewife who suspects that the friendly neighborhood dentist is hiding a horrible secret. 

    The Girl with the Mechanical Maiden, Directed and written by Andrew Legge, (Ireland), New York Premiere

    Yardbird, Directed by Michael Spiccia, written by Julius Avery, (Australia), New York Premiere

    The Exit Room, Directed and written by Todd Wiseman Jr, (USA), World Premiere

    AB-, Directed and written by Daniel Klein, (USA), World Premiere

    Peanut Butter & Jelly, Directed and written by David Winkfield, (USA), World Premiere

    Honeymoon Suite (蜜月套房), Directed by Zao Wang, written by Zao Wang and Tom Toro, (China), World Premiere

    Delicacy, Directed by Jason Mann, written by Frieda Luk and Jason Mann, (USA), New York Premiere

    The Root Of The Problem, Directed and written by Ryan Spindell and Mark E. Davidson, (USA), New York Premiere

     

    THE END IS NEAR — Narrative program

    The Mayans were wrong. We’re still here, but endings both apocalyptic and personal confront the characters in these short films.Every forty seconds a person commits suicide, and The Acrobat is the story of one of them. Two friends who work as luggage rack attendants on a bus take a road trip filled with reality and mysticism in Murk Light. Snow In Paradise is a snapshot of life on a remote island in the South Pacific through the eyes of a young girl unaware of the power beyond the ocean reef. Grace follows a dozen interconnected lives as they experience loss and understanding in the pivotal hours before a global event occurs. On a stormy night in Long Island, three siblings fight over their grandmother’s fortune, but no one realized that Grandma was ready to fight back in Grandma’s Not a Toaster. Skillman has vanquished his nemesis, recovered the artifact and saved his latest lover from certain doom, but wait until you see what happens when his greatest adventure is over in Epilogue. 

    The Acrobat, Directed and written by Gerardo Herrero, (Spain), New York Premiere

    Murk Light (ضوء دامس), Directed by Yasir Al-Yasiri, written by Mohammed A. Al Hammadi, (Iraq), North American Premiere

    Snow in Paradise, Directed by Justine Simei-Barton and Nikki Si’ulepa, written by Nikki Si’ulepa, (New Zealand), New York Premiere

    Grace, Directed and written by Keir Burrows, (U.K.), International Premiere

    Grandma’s Not a Toaster, Directed by Andrew Napier, written by Shawn Christensen, (USA), World Premiere

    Epilogue, Directed and written by Dylan Allen, (USA), World Premiere

     

    HISTORY LESSONS — Documentary program

    The past is brought into the present through these personal and social documentaries offering a wide range of insights on shaping our world. Four experts on arms trafficking recount first-hand experiences with the black market and how the illegal flow of weapons facilitates loss of life and devastation in A Short Film About Guns. Reporting on The Times: The New York Times and The Holocaust explores why The New York Times, a Jewish-owned newspaper, buried reports of The Holocaust during World War II.Coach Vivian Stringer is one of the most prolific coaches in the history of college basketball, and also a perfect example of grace under fire. Royal American features a love triangle between a found typewriter from the 1930s, the streets of Manhattan and the lost art of letter writing. Who Shot Rock & Roll explores the groundbreaking collaborations between the photographers and musicians who created some of the most enduring images in rock history.

    A Short Film About Guns, Directed by Minos Papas, (Cyprus), (U.K.), (USA), World Premiere

    Reporting on The Times: The New York Times and The Holocaust , Directed by Emily Harrold, (USA),World Premiere

    Coach, Directed by Bess Kargman, (USA), World Premiere

    Royal American, Directed and written by Michael Scalisi, (USA), World Premiere

    Who Shot Rock & Roll, Directed and written by Steven Kochones, (USA), World Premiere

     

    LET THERE BE LIGHT: THE CYCLES OF LIFE — Experimental program

    This selection of experimental short films showcases the profound artistic influence of light. In their artistic practice, experimental filmmakers are acutely aware of the quality of light that informs their work. This selection highlights the unique manner in which they seek inspiration from the power of the sun, the reflections of the moon and the luminosity emitted by artificial light sources. In linking their own vision directly to that of the eye of the camera, these artists create brilliant moving works that both illuminate the human condition and reflect the cycles of life. Films include Sight, Star Light No. 5 Bis, Depart, Lunatic, Parallel North, Hermeneutics, Light Plate, The Moon Has Its Reasons, Corn Mother, The Last Time, Two Islands, Dead World Order andLook Inside the Ghost Machine.

    Sight, Directed and written by Thirza Cuthand, (Canada), U.S. Premiere

    Star Light No.5 Bis, Directed and written by Cécile Fontaine, (France), North American Premiere

    Depart, Directed by Blake Williams, (Canada), U.S. Premiere

    Lunatic, Directed and written by Aasa Ersmark, (Sweden), International Premiere

    Parallel North (Parallèle Nord), Directed and written by Félix Dufour-Laperrière, (Canada), World Premiere

    Hermeneutics, Directed by Alexei Dmitriev, (Russia), New York Premiere

    Light Plate, Directed and written by Josh Gibson, (Italy), (USA), New York Premiere

    The Moon Has Its Reasons, Directed and written by Lewis Klahr, (U.K.), North American Premiere

    Corn Mother, Directed and written by Taylor Dunne, (USA), New York Premiere

    The Last Time, Directed and written by Candy Kugel, (USA), World Premiere

    Two Islands, Directed and written by Jan Ijäs, (Finland), North American Premiere

    Dead World Order, Directed by Dana Levy, (France), International Premiere

    Look Inside The Ghost Machine, Directed and written by Peter Lichter, (Hungary), North American Premiere

     

    SKIN DEEP — Narrative program

    We expose our more sensitive side to delve into issues of self-image and self-discovery. A young girl battles with body image and enters the world of eating disorders, where worth rises as weight falls, in Likeness. Fifteen-year-old Klara is Eating Lunch with four others at the Eating Disorder Clinic under the supervision of nurses, but they have only thirty minutes to finish their meal. In Wings, Christopher prepares for one of the most important concerts of his career knowing that he cannot make any mistake. On a sweltering hot day, pregnant Maria’s loving-kindness practice is tested by work schedules, mechanical failures and complex human relationships conspiring against a desperately needed cooling dip in The River. The Cup Reader follows a woman renowned for her mystical seeing and matchmaking as she reads the fortunes of clients who must choose between love or marriage. Tonight, Sophie will play the violin in the school concert and wants desperately for her mother to be there to see her shine in Ina Litovski. A vow to climb a summit in the Italian Alps becomes the challenge of a lifetime for a man and a woman recovering from open-heart surgery inThe Nightshift Belongs to the Stars.

    Likeness , Directed and written by Rodrigo Prieto, (USA), World Premiere

    Eating Lunch (Äta Lunch), Directed and written by Sanna Lenken, (Sweden), International Premiere

    Wings, Directed and written by José Villalobos, (USA), (Spain), International Premiere

    The River, Directed and written by Sam Handel, (USA), New York Premiere

    The Cup Reader (Qariat il Finjan), Directed and written by Suha Araj, (Occupied Palestinian Territory), World Premiere

    Ina Litovski, Directed by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette and André Turpin, written by André Turpin and Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, (Canada), U.S. Premiere

    The Nightshift Belongs to the Stars (Il Turno di Notte lo Fanno le Stelle), Directed by Edoardo Ponti, written by Erri De Luca, (Italy), North American Premiere

     

    UNLIMITED RIDE — Narrative program

    This year our New York shorts program takes you on a journey through Manhattan and into the boroughs to meet some unique individuals trying to survive in the city we call home. Henry and Lucy sleepwalk through New York City in the middle of the night and experience sights and sounds that most people slumber through in ZZZZZZZ. Visually impaired Imani has dreams of college acceptance and love despite her over-protective mother’s objections to both in Close Your Eyes. Ronnie is an existential enforcer for a Brooklyn crime boss  conflicted by his life and the pointlessness around him, as he sculpts in ICE and searches for life’s meaning. A seventeen-year-old girl in a wheelchair and a young antisocial male prostitute living on the streets have an unexpected encounter inAtlantic Avenue. Paul and Kate excitedly arrive for dinner at the home of a cool couple from their kids’ school, only to discover an interloping third couple already in attendance, as playground politics boil over in Playdate. In Fortune House, a butterfly romance takes flight with a twist of fate and fortune cookies. When his hippie parents suggest he see a shrink, a dreamy fifteen-year-old goes into a tailspin of self-doubt before his confidence is restored thanks to some quick thinking in Space Cadet. 

    ZZZZZZZ, Directed and written by Tarik Karam, (USA), World Premiere

    Close Your Eyes, Directed and written by Sonia Malfa, (USA), World Premiere

    ICE, Directed and written by Anthony Tarsitano, (USA), World Premiere

    Atlantic Avenue, Directed and written by Laure de Clermont, (France), International Premiere

    Playdate, Directed and written by David Shane and Scott Organ, (USA), World Premiere

    Fortune House, Directed by Matthew Bonifacio, written by Bob Linton, (USA), World Premiere

    Space Cadet , Directed by Paul Riccio, written by Michael Gambino, (USA), World Premiere

     

    WORST DAY EVER — Narrative program

    If you are having a bad day, we are betting that these short films will make you feel a wee bit better about things. Three friends go to a housewarming in a Paris apartment, but when some uninvited guests try to crash, the tension mounts in The Hounds. Set in the late 1950s at California’s iconic Madonna Inn, a despondent father struggles with the decision to end his own life and the life of his young son in What’s Left, What’s Lost. On the eve of her thirteenth birthday, Esther Weary must come to terms with the realities of becoming a woman through her clueless grandfather and his pet pug in Life Doesn’t Frighten Me. Two video game characters forge an unlikely romance in RPG OKC. Showing that there is always a reason to laugh, stand-up comic Reuben Stein does the most daring set of his life in Setup, Punch. A small bird with a Fear of Flying tries to avoid heading south for the winter. A third-grade class pulls an innocent prank on its teacher with disastrous results in Fool’s Day.

    The Hounds (Les Meutes), Directed and written by Manuel Shapira, (France), North American Premiere

    What’s Left, What’s Lost, Directed and written by Katie Rose, (USA), World Premiere

    Life Doesn’t Frighten Me, Directed and written by Stephen Dunn, (Canada), New York Premiere

    RPG OKC, Directed and written by Emily Carmichael, (USA), World Premiere

    Setup, Punch., Directed and written by David Schlussel, (USA), World Premiere

    Fear of Flying, Directed and written by Conor Finnegan, (Ireland), New York Premiere

    Fool’s Day, Directed by Cody Blue Snider, written by Cody Blue Snider and Shane Snider, (USA), World Premiere

     

    SPECIAL SCREENING

    The Battle of amfAR, Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, written by Sharon Wood.  (USA), New York Premiere, Documentary. In the darkest days of the AIDS pandemic, two women from very different walks of life unite to take a stand. Two-time Academy Award®-winner Rob Epstein and his longtime collaborator Jeffrey Friedman, the creative forces behind The Celluloid Closet, tell the story of the extraordinary moment when Dr. Mathilde Krim and Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor launched the country’s first AIDS research foundation. The fight against HIV/AIDS would never be the same. An HBO Documentary Films release.

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  • Over 70 Films to See at 2013 LA INDIE Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_3280" align="alignnone" width="550"]My Name Is Faith[/caption]

    Over 70 films from 13 countries will screen at the LA INDIE Film Festival taking place March 14-24, 2013 at the Let Live Theatre (916 N. Formosa Ave.). in LA, California.

    The LA INDIE Film Festival is the partner festival of the LA Comedy Festival. 

    The documentaries cover a wide range of subjects. World Premiere of Dead Man Rockin’ covers the life and music of John Harrelson. It offers a portrait of a unique and uncompromising artist, a true American Bluesman, a ‘you can never forget him’ type of character, a man who lives (and dies) for his craft and art every day of his life.

    The LA Premiere of My Name Is Faith chronicles the story of a 13-year old girl working hard to overcome a troubling past, embrace vulnerability and accept the love and possibility that now surround her. “Just because a child has a past doesn’t mean they’re broken forever.” From foster homes to believing she is finally safe.

    The West Coast Premiere of the award winning, Beauty and the Beast, where a first-time documentary filmmaker offers a compelling insight into the devastating reality of breast cancer, seen through the eyes of female patients helping demystify the disease while painting poignant and often humorous portraits of survival.

    Rounding out the documentaries, The Glamorous Life focuses on the life of Yavaughnie Wilkins, including her early life and eight and a half year relationship with high profile executive Charles E. Phillips, Jr.  The documentary explores the couple’s love story from bliss to bitter end.

    Among the features is the thriller, The Employer starring Malcolm McDowell. Five candidates for a high-ranking position at a powerful and mysterious corporation are given a final interview unlike any they could have imagined. Presiding over this life-or-death contest is the CEO of the corporation, known only as The Employer.

    From Australia, comes the world premiere of Ad Nauseam which tells the comedic story of Derek and Clive, two young viral ad producers from Sydney, who have 12 hours to get a million YouTube views or they’re out of a job. Lucky they don’t have any morals! Matt’s Chance is a darkly comedic tale of love, revenge, and the fickle nature of human morality starring Edward Furlong  Lee Majors, Margot Kidder and Gary Busey. World premiere of The Jogger, where a man goes on an evening jog only to have it turn into a race for his life when he is stalked by a psychotic killer.

    There are also nine short program blocks featuring a wide range of genres and styles of filmmaking. In the mix are many premiering and multi-award winning narrative and animated films. Some featured performances are by Michael Richards (walk The Light), Sharon Lawrence (The Visit), Jorge Garcia  (Shredded), Bill Nighy (Placebo), Janina Gavankar  (Waiting For Godot) and the music video for Arrested Development’s latest single, Living. Short Films are featured from Iran, Israel, Hungary, Italy, France, Morocco, South Africa, Canada, UK, Switzerland, France, Columbia and all over the USA.

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  • Midnight Movies and Music Films Featuring Rock Icon Doc Pomus Unveiled for 2013 Florida Film Festival

    ,

     [caption id="attachment_3278" align="alignnone" width="550"]COCKNEYS VS ZOMBIES[/caption]

    The Florida Film Festival, sponsored by Full Sail University, unveiled the Midnight Movies and Music Sidebar programs for the 2013 edition.

    This year’s Music Films feature rock icon Doc Pomus, inspirational punk/reggae band Bad Brains, and theforefathers of the indie/alternative rock movement Big Star. For the Midnight Movie lovers, films include a group of Brits fending off zombies in London’s East End, a documentary about the first midnight movie star Divine, and two films that tackle the found footage genre, including one directed by graduates of Full Sail and UCF. This year’s Festival runs April 5-14, 2013 and is located in Central Florida.

    MIDNIGHT MOVIES:

    COCKNEYS VS ZOMBIES / UK (Director: Matthias Hoene) EAST COAST PREMIERE
    Truth in advertising.  A debut feature that ranks with the best zombie comedies like Shaun of the Dead and Dead Alive, COCKNEYS VS ZOMBIES is an outrageously bloody and irreverent good time. Two brothers, Terry and Andy, hatch a half-witted plan to rob a bank in a last-ditch effort to save a retirement home where their grandfather Ray (Alan Ford, Snatch) resides from the clutches of condo developers. As they gather their misfit gang for the ultimate heist, a zombie outbreak sweeps London, pitting their internal group against each other. Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Ray is fending off cannibalistic hordes with the help of Peggy (ex-Bond girl Honor Blackman, Goldfinger) and a not-so-well equipped elderly group of survivors wielding walkers, wheelchairs, and crutches. Terry and Andy wanted to help their grandfather but they never thought it would come down to shotguns and chainsaws. Director Matthias Hoene and screenwriter James Moran (Doctor Who, Severance) deliver a unique take on the genre that is full of wit and enough zombie kills to keep the most gore-thirsty viewer satisfied.

    GHOST TEAM ONE/ USA (Directors: Scott Rutherford and Ben Peyser) EAST COAST PREMIERE
    Sergio and Brad are a pair of hopeless losers who are just looking to get laid.  But after experiencing some paranormal activity during a house party, they hook up with a beautiful girl (who has a secret of her own) to try to prove that the haunting is legit. Unfortunately, these stoned-out morons haven’t got a clue about what to do when the real ghost of an Asian prostitute shows up—just as horny as they are. A raucous and raunchy twist on the found-footage subgenre which plays out like an episode of Harold and Kumar meets The Exorcist, GHOST TEAM ONE is equal parts scary movie and sex comedy with a “climax” that you will have to see to believe. 

    I AM DIVINE/ USA (Director: Jeffrey Schwarz) EAST COAST PREMIERE
    Harris Glenn Milstead was an overweight boy growing up in a mid-‘60s Baltimore suburb. A misfit hairdresser, he was teased at school and desperate for attention, with little hope for fame and fortune. However, thanks to a chance encounter with a young man named John Waters, less than a decade later the world would know him by another name: Divine. Called a “cinematic terrorist,” Divine singlehandedly spit in the face of everything that was holy in the name of unconditional celluloid anarchy. The very first midnight movie star, Divine was a cross-dressing, shit-eating, disco-singing, 300-pound sex symbol that obliterated the status quo by redefining just how outrageous, dangerous, and monstrous anyone could be and still be adored by millions. Jeffrey Schwarz (Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story, FFF 2008) takes a very personal look into the meteoric rise of Divine, from his days as a high school outcast to his undisputed reign on stages and screens all over the world, and ultimately his tragic death from heart failure at 42.  A truly courageous story that is empowering,bawdy, bittersweet, and all-at-once simply divine.

    V/H/S/2/ USA/CANADA/INDONESIA (Directors: Simon Barrett, Adam Wingard, Eduardo Sanchez, Gregg Hale, Timo Tjahjanto, Gareth Huw Evans, and Jason Eisener) FLORIDA PREMIERE
    Two private investigators are hired to look for a missing college student. When they break into his house they find piles of static televisions and stacks of cryptically-labeled VHS tapes scattered about. Naturally they have to pop in a video. Uh oh…  From the demented minds that brought you last year’s V/H/S comes this all-new (and improved!) anthology of dread, madness, gore, and very dark humor. A veritable all-star lineup of underground cult horror and genre filmmakers including Full Sail graduate Adam Wingard (You’re Next), UCF graduates Eduardo Sanchez and Gregg Hale (The Blair Witch Project), Gareth Huw Evans (The Raid: Redemption) and Jason Eisener (Hobo with a Shotgun) join forces in this awesome found-footage omnibus that delights in being bloodier, funnier, and way more intense than its predecessor. Ghosts, zombies, cult leaders, and aliens are the subjects of “Phase 1 Clinical Trial,” “A Ride in the Park,” “Safe Haven,” and “Slumber Party Alien Abduction,” each one ecstatically going further over the top than the last. Covering a wide range of nightmares with equal parts jolts and laughs, V/H/S/2 should thrill even the most die-hard Midnight Movies fan.

     

    MUSIC SIDEBAR

    AKA DOC POMUS / CANADA (Directors: Peter Miller and Will Hechter)
    “Save the Last Dance for Me”
    “This Magic Moment”
    “Teenager in Love”
    “Viva Las Vegas”
    “Little Sister”
    “Young Blood”
    “Can’t Get Used to Losing You”
    You know his songs, now hear the story. Jerome Felder (aka Doc Pomus) was the most unlikely of rock and roll icons. Paralyzed with polio as a child, the Jewish, Brooklyn-born Felder reinvented himself first as blues shouter, then as one of the most prolific songwriters of the early rock and roll era. Although confined to crutches and later a wheelchair, Pomus refused to be conquered by self-pity. When he married his striking blond wife and she danced with everyone at the wedding except the crippled Pomus, he dug deep and wrote “Save the Last Dance for Me.”  Later in life, when the hits dried up, he selflessly mentored young songwriters and served as a fierce advocate for downtrodden R&B musicians like Little Jimmy Scott, whose career was revived by Doc from beyond the grave. Co-directors Miller and Hechter have crafted a deft tribute that seemingly involves half the music industry—including Lou Reed reading Doc’s personal journals—to spotlight an extraordinary career that is as influential as it is inspiring.

    BAD BRAINS: A BAND IN DC / USA (Directors: Benjamen Logan and Mandy Stein) SOUTHEAST PREMIERE
    How did a bunch of black Rastafarians influence a generation of hardcore punks? That’s the mystery explored here. What the Sex Pistols were to English punk, Bad Brains were to American hardcore. At their early peak with songs like “Pay To Cum,” they were a four-man sledgehammer of sound—intense and musically complex, not to mention faster and louder than anything ever pressed to vinyl. Then they swerved hard, introducing booming reggae to the mix, creating a punk/reggae hybrid that inspired groups like the Beastie Boys, Living Colour, No Doubt, Fugazi, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. That should have been their payday. Instead, it launched a 30-year spiral of bad record deals, multiple break-ups, missed opportunities, and the ongoing mental illness of their eccentric lead singer. Despite it all, they continue to tour and record, outlasting many of their more successful acolytes. Using rare archival footage, band interviews, commentary from Henry Rollins, Ian MacKaye, Ric Ocasek, and Adam Yauch, plus original comic book-style animations to fill in the narrative gaps, co-directors Logan and Stein have created a rock-doc unlike any other about a band that was (and continues to be) unlike any other. 

    BIG STAR: NOTHING CAN HURT ME / USA (Directors: Drew Denicola and Olivia Mori) SOUTHEAST PREMIERE
    The history of rock and roll is littered with epic commercial failures, perhaps none more epic (or ironic) than Big Star. In the early-‘70s this Memphis combo created three quirky, brilliant albums that ranged from glorious Beatles-inspired rock to feedback-drenched folk songs. Stymied by miserable distribution and imploding record labels, the albums vanished and the band collapsed. But ever so slowly, their legend grew, fueled by people would stumble across their albums in bargain bins, fall in love, and pass the secret onto friends. Big Star fans were a cult society that included R.E.M., The Replacements, Wilco, The Flaming Lips, and many, many others. Now, decades later, all three albums are revered as masterpieces, listed among Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time,” and Big Star is cited as among the most influential bands ever, forefathers of the indie/alternative rock movement. Even so, their story has never been properly told until now. The beautiful NOTHING CAN HURT ME is an insightful and profoundly moving account of Big Star that’s absolutely worthy of their uncompromised legacy. Fans can rejoice. Everyone else should listen and learn about rock’s greatest cult phenomenon.

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  • Gideon’s Army to Open 2013 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_3276" align="alignnone" width="550"]Gideon’s Army[/caption]

    The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival which celebrates its 16th annual festival this April, announced its full program lineup of new feature and short films; along with filmmaker Dawn Porter’s critically-acclaimed “Gideon’s Army” as the Opening Night Film.

    “Gideon’s Army,” an HBO Documentary Film, follows the personal stories of Travis Williams, Brandy Alexander and June Hardwick, three young public defenders who are part of a small group of idealistic lawyers in the Deep South challenging the assumptions that drive a criminal justice system strained to the breaking point.

    The 16th Annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival will be held April 4-7, 2013, in Durham, NC

    Invited Program

    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.

    Citizen Koch (Directors: Carl Deal, Tia Lessin)
    A multilayered dissection of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United campaign finance decision as seen through the lens of Wisconsin’s 2011 election standoff.

    The Crash Reel (Director: Lucy Walker)
    After a training accident leaves Kevin Pearce with a traumatic brain injury, the intrepid snowboarder undertakes a remarkable recovery.

    DaVinci (Director: Yuri Ancarani)
    This surreal portrait of a fantastic voyage features visuals from a camera-based surgical computer controlled by a single joystick.

    The Editor and the Dragon: Horace Carter Fights the Klan (Directors: Martin M. Clark, Walter E. Campbell)
    A smalltown newspaper editor in North Carolina stands up to the KKK and is awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1953 for his courageous and tireless dissent.

    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

    First Cousin Once Removed (Director: Alan Berliner)
    In this stirring tribute, Alan Berliner traces the tenacious lines of connection between him and his cousin Edwin Honig as Edwin slowly succumbs to Alzheimer’s disease.

    Free Angela & All Political Prisoners (Director: Shola Lynch)
    Activist Angela Davis recounts her 1970 arrest and trial, which helped define her life as a revolutionary icon and champion of free speech.

    The Fruit Hunters (Director: Yung Chang)
    Extremely dedicated connoisseurs seek to devour, yet also sustain, the world’s most intoxicating and elusive produce.

    Gideon’s Army (Director: Dawn Porter)
    This remarkable film—a powerful testament to what it means to dedicate one’s life to the service of others—follows three young public defenders as they wrestle with massive caseloads and overwhelming student loans in order to ensure the rights of the accused.

    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

    In So Many Words (Director: Elisabeth Haviland James)
    This intensely revealing biography of writer Lucy Daniels expands the documentary form with its imaginative visualization of the stresses of her early life. World Premiere

    The Last Shepherd (L’ultimo pastore) (Director: Marco Bonfanti)
    This beautifully shot story of the last travelling shepherd shows that pastoral bliss may be sustained even in industrial northern Italy.

    Leviathan (Directors: Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Verena Paravel)
    This gripping multi-perspective account takes us deep within the shadows of a commercial fishing vessel.

    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.

    Mussels in Love (L’Amour des Moules) (Director: Willemiek Kluijfhout)
    In this magnificently photographed and playful ode, a variety of characters profess their devotion to the briny mollusk. US Premiere

    Open Heart (Director: Kief Davidson)Rwandan six-year-old Angelique must have heart surgery, but her dad isn’t allowed to go with her to the hospital in Sudan, or to recover her body if she dies.

    Pandora’s Promise (Director: Robert Stone)
    Environmentalists and former anti-nuclear activists on three continents reflect upon their changes-of-heart about the safety and tremendous potential of nuclear energy.

    Running from Crazy (Director: Barbara Kopple)
    In light of her family’s history of suicide, Mariel Hemingway refuses to let mental illness overwhelm her own life: “control is everything.”

    Sofia’s Last Ambulance (Director: Ilian Metev)Krassi, Mila, and Plamen staunchly navigate the potholes that pepper Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia, in one of the city’s few remaining ambulances.

    Venus and Serena     (Directors: Maiken Baird, Michelle Major)
    This unprecedented look at the tennis legends’ lives on and off the court is accentuated by the testaments of family, friends, and some of their more famous fans.

    We Always Lie to Strangers (Directors: AJ Schnack, David Wilson)
    This touching portrayal takes us into the lives of four families who perform for tourists in the “live music capital of the world,” Branson, Missouri.

    Which Way Is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington (Director: Sebastian Junger)
    A warm and candid portrait of the extraordinarily brave, empathic photographer, who died in Libya in 2011, by his partner on the film Restrepo.

    The World According to Dick Cheney (Directors: R.J. Cutler, Greg Finton)
    A wealth of archival material and interviews shape this comprehensive, even-handed portrait of one of America’s most divisive politicians.

    NEW DOCS

    12 O’Clock Boys (Director: Lotfy Nathan)
    A struggling adolescent seeks acceptance from a group of extreme dirt bikers, an illegal gang seen to be terrorizing the streets of Baltimore.

    After Tiller (Directors: Martha Shane, Lana Wilson)
    After the murder of their friend and colleague Dr. George Tiller, only four physicians continue to perform late-term abortions, risking their lives for women’s right to choose.

    AKA Doc Pomus (Directors: Peter Miller, Will Hechter)
    This biopic celebrates blues legend Doc Pomus, AKA Jerome Felder, a man who didn’t just write “Lonely Avenue” but lived it.

    American Promise (Directors: Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster)
    This personal film follows the directors’ son and his best friend from their first day of kindergarten through high school graduation, and how their lives diverge.

    Ash (Director: Nathan S. Duncan)
    This moody, experimental portrait of Austin State Hospital’s vacated spaces is a ghostly memorial to the patients who once stayed there. World Premiere

    The Baby (De Baby) (Director: Deborah van Dam)
    As one woman pieces together the fragmented memories of her childhood, she finds herself linked to a photograph of Anne Frank holding an infant girl. North American Premiere

    Battery Man (Biba Struja) (Directors: Dusan Cavic, Dusan Saponja)
    “Electricity has no friends but me.” The story of a (super)man who can withstand, and control, up to 20,000 volts of electricity.

    Black Out (Director: Eva Weber)
    With no power at home, Guinean children walk miles to study for exams beneath the humming glow of airport, gas station, and parking lot lights. North American Premiere

    Blood Brother (Director: Steve Hoover)
    A man’s life is changed forever when he travels to India and realizes he cannot leave the children he has met at an orphanage behind.

    Buzkashi! (Director: Najeeb Mirza)
    A visually stunning film in which a Tajikistani shepherd must confront momentous changes both at home and in his beloved sport of Buzkashi.

    By Her Side (Ik stond erbij) (Director: Niels van Koevorden)
    Three fathers-to-be share their hopes, dreams, and anxieties as they anticipate the birth of their children. North American Premiere

    Camera/Woman (Director: Karima Zoubir)
    A Moroccan divorcée supports her family by documenting wedding parties while navigating her own series of heartaches. North American Premiere

    Cutie and the Boxer (Director: Zachary Heinzerling)
    The tension between an artist and his supportive wife of forty years is further strained when a curator expresses interest in her work.

    Dance for Me (Dans for mig) (Director: Katrine Philp)
    A teenage Russian dancer relocates to Denmark to live with his adolescent partner so they can prepare for a series of prestigious ballroom championships. North American Premiere

    Downloaded (Director: Alex Winter)
    The history of Napster, from its humble chatroom beginnings to its takedown at the hands of a music industry that didn’t know what hit it.

    The Expedition to the End of the World (Ekspeditionen til verdens ende) (Director: Daniel Dencik)
    A motley collection of scientists and artists board a restored three-mast schooner and set out for uncharted territory, engaging in equal measures of exploration and whimsy.

    Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story (Director: Brad Bernstein)
    Expect the unexpected from this outré graphic artist, erotic illustrator, and revolutionary children’s book author and his unconventional views.

    First Comes Love (Director: Nina Davenport)
    In this autobiographical portrait, Nina Davenport boldly lays bare the hardships and triumphs of her journey toward single motherhood in a modern age.

    God Loves Uganda (Director: Roger Ross Williams)
    American Christian evangelists export virulent anti-gay teachings to Sub-Saharan Africa with deadly consequences.

    Good Ol’ Freda (Director: Ryan White)
    Liverpudlian teenager Freda Kelly was the Beatles secretary and tells “one of the last true stories of the Beatles you’ll ever hear.”

    Homegoings (Director: Christine Turner)
    This film explores the mind of a man whose heart and passion for the dead inspires our own appreciation for the human soul.

    Irish Folk Furniture (Director: Tony Donoghue)
    Spirited animation brings handmade furniture to life in this colorful and delightfully quirky slice of rural Ireland.

    Magnetic Reconnection (Director: Kyle Armstrong)
    The Canadian Arctic is the terrestrial, and extraterrestrial, setting for a contemplative survey of transience, from generations-old decay to fleeting particles of light.

    Maidentrip (Director: Jillian Schlesinger)
    Follow teenager Laura Dekker across three oceans and five continents on her journey to become the youngest person to sail around the world—alone.

    Medora (Directors: Andrew Cohn, Davy Rothbart)
    In Indiana, a high school basketball team on a 44-game losing streak isn’t reaching for the championship—they just want to win a single game.

    Menstrual Man (Director: Amit Virmani)
    A microenterpreneur has a dream: to reduce gynecological diseases among rural Indian women by teaching them to make, and sell, sanitary pads. World Premiere

    Muscle Shoals (Director: Greg ‘Freddy’ Camalier)
    There is more than meets the ear in these vivid and surprising accounts of performance and perseverance in the Muscle Shoals, Alabama, music scene.

    Nile Perch (Director: Josh Gibson)
    An austere and contemplative observation of Lake Victoria fishermen rendered in arresting chiaroscuro.

    Our Nixon (Director: Penny Lane)
    Super 8 footage by Oval Office intimates Haldeman, Ehlrichman, and Chapin deliver an astonishingly fresh view of the Nixon White House.

    Outlawed in Pakistan (Directors: Habiba Nosheen, Hilke Schellmann)
    After a young woman is brutally raped, her family overcomes severe social customs and tribal norms in order to take her case to trial.

    Pablo’s Winter (Director: Chico Pereira)
    Former Almadén mercury miner Pablo spends his halcyon days cursing, kvetching, and chain-smoking to the chagrin of his wife and his doctor.

    The Palace (Director: Tomasz Wolski)
    A fascinating and witty cinematic portrait of a gigantic Soviet-era edifice and its denizens in Warsaw, Poland.

    The Pleasures of Being Out of Step (Director: David L. Lewis)
    This non-linear profile of jazz critic Nat Hentoff is laced with music and illuminates the civil libertarian’s enduring influence. World Premiere

    Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer (Directors: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin) The titular band’s controversial performance and subsequent imprisonment are documented in this revealing portrait of the women and their cause.

    Reborning (Directors: Yael Bridge, Helen Hood Scheer)
    The story of one woman’s calling to create dolls that look exactly like newborn babies.

    The Record Breaker (Director: Brian McGinn)
    Even though he holds more Guinness Book of World Records than anyone else on the planet, Ashrita Furman is not slowing down.

    Remote Area Medical (Directors: Jeff Reichert, Farihah Zaman)
    Over the course of one weekend, RAM’s dedicated team sets up a “pop-up” clinic at a NASCAR speedway to provide no-cost, accessible healthcare to people in need. World Premiere

    A River Changes Course (Director: Kalyanee Mam)
    Is convenience progress? A beautiful and heartbreaking vérité look at three families subsisting in (what may be the end of) rural Cambodia.

    Slomo (Director: Josh Izenberg)
    A wealthy neurologist leaves the rat race behind and gracefully skates his way, on one foot, to spiritual fulfillment.

    Spinning Plates (Director: Joseph Levy)
    From a small cocina to a mecca for country dining to a three-star restaurant in Chicago, this film celebrates our passion for eating out.

    A Story for the Modlins (Director: Sergio Oksman)
    After discovering a stranger’s box of family photos on the sidewalk, Oksman pieces together a sketch of the Modlins’ bizarre lives.

    Suitcase of Love and Shame (Director: Jane Gillooly)
    This experimental film reconstructs a mid-century love affair using erotically charged correspondence left behind on reel-to-reel tape. North American Premiere

    Taxidermists (Director: Nicole Triche)
    This story of artists who love wildlife culminates in the “Olympics of taxidermy” and presents some of the most breathtaking animal sculptures ever captured on film.

    True-Life Adventure (Director: Erin Espelie)
    A dramatic four-minute nature documentary chronicling what happens in a tiny area of a Rocky Mountain stream on a lovely June afternoon. North American Premiere

    Twenty Feet from Stardom (Director: Morgan Neville)
    Backup singers, the unsung heroes of pop music, finally get their moment in the spotlight in this jubilant history and appreciation.

    The Undocumented (Director: Marco Williams)
    An unvarnished account of the repatriation of the remains of immigrants who died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in the Arizona desert. World Premiere

    A Will for the Woods (Directors: Amy Browne, Jeremy Kaplan, Tony Hale, Brian Wilson)This film explores the green burial movement by focusing on one man’s quest for a final resting place that will do no harm to the earth. World Premiere

    Wolf Mountain (Directors: Dan Duran, Brendan Nahmias, Sam Price-Waldman)
    At Wolf Mountain Sanctuary in the Mojave Desert, Tonya Littlewolf literally runs with the wolves, those that were born in captivity and are unsuited for life as pets or in the wild.

    Wrong Time Wrong Place (Director: John Appel)
    Survivors of the 2011 bombing and mass shooting in Norway recount the day’s tragic events in this look at how chance circumstances can have profound consequences. North American Premiere

    You Can’t Always Get What You Want (Director: Scott Calonico)
    Diplomacy, arm-twisting, and gastronomy as lifted from LBJ’s daily diaries and recorded phone conversations and animated by archival photographs.

    Yucca Mtn Tally (Director: Phoebe Brush)
    An artful reflection on a nuclear waste repository in the Nevada desert is filmed against a backdrop of boundless horizon and thoughts about deep time.

     

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  • 2013 Tribeca Film Festival Announces Selections for Spotlight, Midnight and New Storyscapes Sections, and Special Screenings

    The 12th Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), taking place from April 17 to April 28, 2013, in New York City today announced its feature film selections in the Spotlight and Midnight sections, projects in the new Storyscapes section and Special Screenings. 

    Tribeca’s Spotlight section features documentaries profiling famous and influential figures abound, from comedians like Moms Mabley in Whoopi Goldberg’s I Got Somethin’ To Tell You, Broadway legend Elaine Stritch in Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me and icon Richard Pryor in Richard Pryor: Omit The Logic, to sports stars (McConkey), artists (Inside Out: The People’s Art Project), designers (The Director), intellectuals (Gore Vidal:  United States Of Amnesia) and even criminal masterminds (In God We Trust). 

    Narrative films in the Spotlight section include the identical twins at the center of romantic comedy The Pretty One, the indie buddy comedies Prince Avalanche and Almost Christmas or the immersive drama taking place between couples in Richard Linklater’s final chapter to his trilogy, Before Midnight, and sexy two-hander Some Velvet Morning. 

    Kicking off the Midnight section is Marina de Van’s stylish Dark Touch, the disturbing story of a traumatized young girl whose subconscious begins to lash out at those who have wronged her. The festival introduces the Storyscapes section,  a new juried section to showcase innovative, interactive, transmedia work across genres.

    The complete list of films selected for Spotlight, Midnight, Special Screenings and projects in Storyscapes follows:

    SPOTLIGHT

    Adult World, directed by Scott Coffey, written by Andy Cochran. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. Amy (Emma Roberts) is naïve, awkward and anxious to get her poetry career off of the ground. She begrudgingly accepts a job at the local sex shop, Adult World, while pursuing a surefire kick-start for her success: a mentorship with reclusive writer Rat Billings (the hilarious John Cusack). As Amy’s world melds with that of Adult World, she slowly learns that inspiration can be found in the most improbable places.

    Almost Christmas, directed by Phil Morrison, written by Melissa James Gibson. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. Two French Canadian ne’er-do-wells travel to New York City with a scheme to a get rich quick selling Christmas trees. Easygoing charmer Rene (Paul Rudd) clashes with misanthropic ex-con Dennis (Paul Giamatti), whose wife Rene just stole. Still, this odd couple must make an honest go of it in this fresh buddy comedy co-starring Sally Hawkins, by the director of the indie breakout hit Junebug.

    At Any Price, directed by Ramin Bahrani, written by Hallie Elizabeth Newton and Bahrani. (USA) – New York Premiere, Narrative. The robust farming industry of Iowa is the backdrop for this father-and-son story. Dean Wipple (Zac Efron) longs to be a professional racecar driver. His father Henry (Dennis Quaid) plans to make him the heir to their family farming empire. When Henry’s ethics and expansion practices come under fire, the family must unify or risk losing everything. Temptation, ambition and competition are the driving forces behind this modern-day drama co-starring Heather Graham and Clancy Brown. A Sony Pictures Classics release.

    Before Midnight, directed by Richard Linklater, written by Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Linklater. (USA) – New York Premiere, Narrative. In the eagerly anticipated third chapter in the star-crossed tale of Jesse and Celine, director and co-writer Richard Linklater fast-forwards to nine years after their last meeting. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy deliver powerfully authentic performances as the companions who find themselves at yet another crossroads in their twisting but passionate relationship. The picturesque streets of Greece serve as the latest backdrop to this beautifully crafted love story. A Sony Pictures Classics release.

     Big Bad Wolves, directed and written by Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado. (Israel) – World Premiere, Narrative. A vigilante cop and a vengeful father capture and interrogate an accused serial killer. Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado’s brutal follow-up to Rabies (TFF 2011) examines a horror that most would not want to imagine: what would you do if someone hurt the one you loved most? A revenge thriller with teeth,Big Bad Wolves delivers on its raw tension and operatic drama. In Hebrew with subtitles. 

    Bottled Up, directed and written by Enid Zentelis. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. In this modern-day drama, Oscar®-winner Melissa Leo beautifully conveys the heart-wrenching struggle that comes with loving an addict. Complaining of back pain months after a car accident, Sylvie’s (Marin Ireland) addiction to painkillers is clear to everyone except her mother, Faye (Leo). A promising solution appears in Becket (Josh Hamilton), but relationships and loyalty are soon tested when his feelings fall in an unexpected place.

     Byzantium, directed by Neil Jordan, written by Moira Buffini. (U.K., Ireland) – U.S. Premiere, Narrative. Neil Jordan’s exploration of vampirism began with Interview with the Vampire. Now he returns to this lurid, malevolent realm through Clara (Gemma Arterton) and her daughter Eleanor (Saoirse Ronan). Creatures from Clara’s past come calling, and these immortals are forced to relocate. Dire consequences follow anyway when Eleanor makes a connection with a local boy (Caleb Landry Jones) and slowly reveals the truth of who they are and how they survive. An IFC Films release.

     A Case of You, directed by Kat Coiro, written by Justin Long, Keir O’Donnel, and Christian Long. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. A young writer (Justin Long) woos a cute and quirky barista (Evan Rachel Wood) by creating an embellished online profile. When she falls for his alter ego, he must keep up the act or lose his dream girl. Directed by TFF alumna Kat Coiro and featuring a cast of hilarious cameo performers including Peter Dinklage, Sam Rockwell, Vince Vaughn and Sienna Miller, A Case of You is a winning romantic comedy for the social media age.

    Cycling with Moliere (Alceste à bicyclette), directed and written by Philippe Le Guay. (France) – International Premiere, Narrative. Once-great actor Serge Tanneur (Fabrice Luchini) now spends his days alone, cycling through the windblown landscape of France’s Île de Ré. Even an offer from his old friend Gauthier (Lambert Wilson) to return to the stage in Molière’s The Misanthrope fails to draw his interest. At least, at first. Phillippe Le Guay’s charming comedy of egos colliding on the French seaside turns into a neatly crafted, wonderfully performed search for the creative spark.

    The Director, directed by Christina Voros. (Italy) – World Premiere, Documentary. How do you make one of the world’s most revered fashion brands your own? That is the task facing creative director Frida Giannini in this authoritative look at the past, present and future of The House of Gucci, directed by director/cinematographer Christina Voros (Kink) and co-produced by James Franco. Taking advantage of rare, behind-the-scenes access, Voros shows how the Florentine trendsetter has been reimagined in the past few years. 

    Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me, directed by Chiemi Karasawa. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. Broadway legend Elaine Stritch remains in the spotlight at eighty-seven years old. Join the uncompromising Tony and Emmy Award-winner both on and off stage in this revealing documentary. With interviews from Tina Fey, Nathan Lane, Hal Prince and others, Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me blends rare archival footage and intimate cinema vérité to reach beyond Stritch’s brassy exterior, revealing a multi-dimensional portrait of a complex woman and an inspiring artist.

    The English Teacher, directed by Craig Zisk, written by Dan Chariton and Stacy Chariton. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. Teacher Linda Sinclair (Julianne Moore) balances her staid home life with an incredible passion for her subject, but her routine is forever altered when a former star pupil and his unsupportive father reenter her life. Go-to television director Craig Zisk, whose credits include Scrubs, Weeds and United States of Tara, takes a turn on the big screen with this insightful comedy about self-discovery co-starring Greg Kinnear, Nathan Lane, Michael Angarano and Lily Collins. A Cinedigm and Tribeca Film co-release.

    Gasland Part II, directed and written by Josh Fox. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. Two years ago, Josh Fox introduced us to hydraulic fracturing with his Oscar®-nominated exposé Gasland. Now this once-touted energy source has become a widely discussed, contentious topic. In his follow-up, Fox reveals the extreme circumstances facing those affected by fracking, from earthquakes to the use of federal anti-terror psychological operations tactics. Gasland Part II is the definitive proof that issues raised by fracking cannot be ignored for long. 

    G.B.F., directed by Darren Stein, written by George Northy. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. The bitter fight for supremacy between a school’s most popular girls takes an unexpected turn when Tanner (Michael J. Willett) becomes its first openly gay student. As they race to bag the big trend in fashion accessories, the Gay Best Friend, Tanner must choose between skyrocketing popularity and the friends he is leaving behind. Darren Stein (Jawbreaker) returns with another comic send-up of high school clique culture, including memorable cameos by Megan Mullally and Natasha Lyonne. 

    Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia, directed and written by Nicholas Wrathall. (USA) – International Premiere, Documentary. Anchored by intimate, one-on-one interviews with the man himself, Nicholas Wrathall’s new documentary is a fascinating and wholly entertaining tribute to the iconic Gore Vidal. Commentary by those who knew him best—including filmmaker/nephew Burr Steers and the late Christopher Hitchens—blends with footage from Vidal’s legendary on-air career to remind us why he will forever stand as one of the most brilliant and fearless critics of our time.

    Greetings from Tim Buckley, directed by Daniel Algrant, written by David Brendel, Emma Sheanshang and  Algrant. (USA) – U.S. Premiere, Narrative. “Like father, like son” is a demanding expression for someone who never knew his dad. When young Jeff Buckley (Penn Badgley) is asked to participate in a tribute concert for his late musician father Tim, music opens his eyes to the artistic legacy that he is destined to follow. Imogen Poots co-stars in this quiet and powerful tribute to those legends sustained by admiration, love and, in this case, beautiful music. A Tribeca Film release.

    Haute Cuisine, directed by Christian Vincent, written by Etienne Comar and Vincent. (France) – North American Premiere, Narrative. Chef Hortense Laborie (Catherine Frot) is plucked from relative obscurity to whip up classic French dishes for the most powerful man in the nation. Based on the real-life story of the personal chef to former French president François Mitterand, Haute Cuisine uses the politically charged kitchen and corridors of the Élysée Palace as an exquisite backdrop for a nonstop parade of mouthwatering dishes in this deliciously French comedy. In English, French with subtitles. The Weinstein Company release. 

    I Got Somethin’ to Tell You, directed by Whoopi Goldberg. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. Having broken racial and sexual boundaries as a pioneering comic talent, the late Moms Mabley has long been an icon in the comedy world. Now Whoopi Goldberg takes a deep dive into Mabley’s legacy via recently unearthed photography, rediscovered performance footage and the words of numerous celebrated comedians. A true passion project for Goldberg, I Got Somethin’ to Tell You shows Mabley’s historical significance and profound influence as a performer vastly ahead of her time.

    In God We Trust, directed and written by Victor Kubicek and Derek Anderson. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. Bernie Madoff ruined many lives before his arrest in 2008. Perhaps no one was so personally affected as his longtime personal secretary, Eleanor Squillari. Meet Squillari in the days and months after the arrest, as her obsession with the case grows into her own unique search for clues. In God We Trust follows Squillari on her personal journey for justice, exposing previously unknown facts about the greatest financial crime ever committed.

    Inside Out: The People’s Art Project, directed by Alastair Siddons. (France, U.K.) – World Premiere, Documentary. This fascinating documentary tracks the evolution of the world’s largest participatory art project, the wildly popular “Inside Out.” Travel the globe with French artist JR as he motivates communities to define their most important causes by pasting giant portraits in the street, testing the limits of what they thought possible. In capturing the process, Alastair Siddons creates a glowing testament to the power of the image and the role that art can play in transforming lives. In Arabic, Creole, English, French, Spanish with subtitles.

    Lil Bub & Friendz, directed by Andy Capper and Juliette Eisner. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. Called “the most famous cat on the Internet,” the wide-eyed perma-kitten Lil Bub is the adorable embodiment of the Web’s fascination with all things cats. Join Lil Bub and her owner on wild cross-country romp as they meet the Internet’s most famous cat-lebrities. Chock full of adorable kitties, hilarious videos and the dedicated cat enthusiasts who love them, Lil Bub & Friendz is a fun and hip peek behind the memes we know and love. Includes Mike “The Dude” Bridavsky, Ben Lashes, Grumpy Cat, Nyan Cat, Keyboard Cat.

    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 alarming new meaning to the question, how far would you go to be the next big thing?

    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 skateboarder in the world. Adam Bhala Lough, creator of the 2003 independent hit Bomb the System (TFF 2003), directs this fresh, energetic documentary in search of the elusive quality that separates the winners from the pack. Features Nyjah Huston, Ryan Sheckler, Chris Cole, Paul Rodriguez, Sean Malto, Rob Dyrdek, Chaz Ortiz, Luan Oliveira, and Bastien Salabanzi. In English, Portuguese with subtitles.

    The Pretty One, directed and written by Jenée LaMarque. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. Audrey has all of the qualities that her twin sister Laurel wishes she possessed: confidence, style, independence. When tragedy strikes, Laurel has the opportunity to reinvent herself. In a complex performance, Zoe Kazan poignantly captures Laurel’s complex mix of loss and awakening, especially as she begins a new relationship with her neighbor (Jake Johnson). Jeneìe LaMarque’s first feature film is a quirky, lovely tale of identity and the eternal bond between two sisters.

    Prince Avalanche, directed and written by David Gordon Green. (USA) – New York Premiere, Narrative. Alvin (Paul Rudd) and Lance (Emile Hirsch) spend the summer of 1988 repainting a highway in a fire-damaged forest. The isolation quickly wears thin on Lance, yet an unlikely friendship emerges within their cutting jibes and forced reconciliations to meet the long road that lies ahead. David Gordon Green returns to the lyrical tenor of his earliest films in this potent blend of comedy and road-movie stoicism, based on the 2011 Icelandic film Either Way.  A Magnolia Pictures release.

    The Project, directed and written by Shawn Efran and Adam Ciralsky. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. The Project profiles the precarious, real-life story of the Puntland Maritime Police Force, a group of Somali pirate hunters. Taking the hijacking of the African waterways and the kidnapping of innocent citizens into their under-trained hands, the PMPF face mutiny, death and a loss of corporate funding in their dangerous quest to free the Middle East shipping industry from terror. The mercenaries’ epic battle makes for an intense, gripping and disarming ride.

    Reaching for the Moon (Flores Raras), directed by Bruno Barreto, written by Matthew Chapman and Carolina Kotscho. (Brazil) – North American Premiere, Narrative. Frustrated poet Elizabeth Bishop travels to Brazil and encounters the beguiling architect Lota de Macedo Soares. Initial hostilities make way for a complicated yet long-lasting love affair that dramatically alters Bishop’s relationship to the world around her. Anchored by magnificent lead performances from Miranda Otto and Glória Pires, Reaching for the Moon is an intimate snapshot of the search for inspiration, wherever and however you find it. In English, Portuguese with subtitles.

    The Reluctant Fundamentalist, directed by Mira Nair, written by Mohsin Hamid, William Wheeler, Ami Boghani. (India, Pakistan, USA) – U.S. Premiere, Narrative. Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding, The Namesake) returns with another spellbinding adaptation of a celebrated bestseller. Pakistan-born Changez (Riz Ahmed) turns a Princeton degree into a cushy life on Wall Street with a gorgeous girlfriend (Kate Hudson). Then the Twin Towers fall, and his American dream shatters amid interrogations and overwhelming national distrust. He soon questions his allegiances, as this thriller exposes the dangers of being a stranger in your own land.Kiefer Sutherland, Liev Schreiber and Om Puri also star. An IFC Films release.

    Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic, directed by Marina Zenovich, written by Peter Morgan. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. This moving portrait of legendary comedian Richard Pryor chronicles his life from his troubled youth in Peoria, Illinois, to his meteoric rise as one of the most respected comic actors of the 20th century. Often misunderstood during the height of his celebrity, the late superstar has never been profiled this extensively. Marina Zenovich’s revealing and entertaining film lays bare the demons with which he struggled and reminds us just how daring and dangerous artistic freedom can be. Includes interviews with Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams, Mel Brooks, Quincy Jones, Lily Tomlin, Jesse Jackson.

    A Single Shot, directed by David M. Rosenthal, written by Matthew F. Jones. (U.K., USA, Canada) – North American Premiere, Narrative. A Single Shot brings together a wealth of indie stalwarts, including Sam Rockwell, William H. Macy, Melissa Leo and Jeffrey Wright, to paint a tense portrait of John Moon, a man attempting to win back his estranged family while desperately outrunning an accidental crime. Director David M. Rosenthal returns to the Festival with this ominously atmospheric and suspenseful backwoods tale of circumstance, based on Matthew F. Jones’s 1996 novel.

    Some Velvet Morning, directed and written by Neil LaBute. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. Fred arrives at Velvet’s doorstep, suitcases in tow. He tells her that he has finally left his wife to be with her, news to Velvet since she has not seen him in years and is now with Fred’s recently married son. As Fred’s hopes crash to earth during a conversation brimming with passion, remorse, humor and anger, the twisted heart of a fascinating relationship is revealed. Stanley Tucci and Alice Eve star in this spirited living room drama.

    Trust Me, directed and written by Clark Gregg. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. Directed by and starring Clark Gregg and featuring Sam Rockwell, William H. Macy, Felicity Huffman, Allison Janney and Amanda Peet,Trust Me follows flailing Hollywood agent Howard, who seemingly strikes gold after signing the next big child star. What results is an unexpected ride through the nasty inner workings of Hollywood, as Howard desperately tries to make it in an industry that has no interest in recognizing his bumbling but ultimately genuine nature.

    Whitewash, directed by Emanuel  Hoss-Desmarais, written by Marc Tulin and Hoss-Desmarais. (Canada) – World Premiere, Narrative. The brutality of winter and the power of the mind are aptly portrayed in this dark comedy set in Northern Quebec. Bruce (Thomas Haden Church) is merely trying to survive a harsh winter when he meets Jean. Conflict leads to an accidental death, and Bruce finds himself in a complicated and unexpected place. Grappling with his guilt, Bruce creates a prison from which he cannot escape. Haden Church perfectly utilizes his comic talent in this wry, well-crafted film.

     

    MIDNIGHT

    Dark Touch, directed and written by Marina de Van. (France) – World Premiere, Narrative. Niamh is the lone survivor of a bloody massacre after the furniture and objects in her family’s isolated house take on a monstrous life of their own. The police ignore her wild stories and the family friends and social worker who take her in try to introduce a new life. But in this psychological thriller, Niamh is unable to leave her violent past behind her, endangering everyone who crosses her path.

    Frankenstein’s Army, directed by Richard Raaphorst, written by Chris W. Mitchell and Miguel Tejada-Flores. (Netherlands) – International Premiere, Narrative. In the waning days of World War II, a team of Russian soldiers finds itself on a mysterious mission to the lab of one Dr. Victor Frankenstein. They unearth a terrifying Nazi plan to resurrect fallen soldiers as an army of unstoppable freaks and are soon trapped in a veritable haunted house of cobbled-together monstrosities. Frankenstein’s Army is the wild steampunk Nazi found-footage zombie mad scientist film you’ve always wanted.

    Fresh Meat, directed by Danny Mulheron, written by Briar Grace-Smith. (New Zealand) – New York Premiere, Narrative. After a poorly executed escape from the police, a gang of dysfunctional criminals flees to the suburbs and gets more than it bargained for when it crash lands in the garage of an upper-class Maori family whose refined palates have developed a taste for human flesh. This action-packed horror comedy tells a blood-spattered tale of basement butchery and shifting allegiances as these unlikely adversaries enter a deadly showdown. A Tribeca Film release.

    The Machine, directed and written by Caradog James. (U.K.) –World Premiere, Narrative. Caradog James adds another layer to the Frankenstein story in the latest gripping sci-fi adventure to come out of the U.K.. Already deep into a second Cold War, Britain’s Ministry of Defence seeks a game-changing weapon. Programmer Vincent McCarthy unwittingly provides an answer in The Machine, a super-strong human cyborg played by the impressive Caity Lotz (The Pact). When a programming bug causes the prototype to decimate his lab, McCarthy takes his obsessive efforts underground, far away from inquisitive eyes.

    Mr. Jones, directed and written by Karl Mueller. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. Scott (Jon Foster) is a filmmaker in need of inspiration. He and his girlfriend Penny move into a desolate house hoping to make a breakthrough. Then they discover their neighbor, the elusive Mr. Jones. Famous for his haunting sculptures, Mr. Jones has remained a mystery to the world. Scott and Penny, convinced that they have found the perfect film subject, sneak into his workshop and realize that their curiosity may have chilling consequences. Who is Mr. Jones?

    Raze, directed by Josh Waller, written by Robert Beaucage. (USA) – World Premiere, Narrative. Stuntwoman Zoe Bell (Inglorious Basterds, Kill Bill 1&2) headlines this sly subversion of the women-in-prison genre. After Sabrina (Bell) is abducted, she finds herself in an underground lair, forced to do battle with other innocent women for the amusement of unseen spectators. Each of these reluctant warriors has something to lose, but only one will remain when the game is done. Violent and relentless, Raze takes its video game aesthetic to the deepest and darkest places, rarely surfacing for air. Includes Rachel Nichols and Tracie Thoms.

    V/H/S/2, directed by Simon Barrett, Adam Wingard, Eduardo Sanchez, Gregg Hale, Timo Tjahjanto, Gareth Evans, Jason Eisener, written by Barrett, Jamie Nash, Tjahjanto, Evans, Eisener, and John Davies (USA, Indonesia) – New York Premiere, Narrative. Investigators break into a house, find a vast collection of VHS tapes and play them one by one. The videos include visions of the paranormal, flesh-eating zombies, a shockingly genuine scene of hell on earth and a slumber party gone horribly awry. This highly anticipated sequel to last year’s horror breakout V/H/S features contributions from contemporary genre filmmaking’s leading talents, including the creators of Hobo with a Shotgun, The Raid, You’re Next and The Blair Witch Project. In English, Indonesian with subtitles. A Magnet Release.

     

    STORYSCAPES

    A Journal of Insomnia, Project creators: Bruno Choiniere, Philippe Lambert, and Guillaume Braun. (Canada). Insomniacs are both spectators and actors in this large, interactive fresco that combines hundreds of personal reflections on sleepless nights, gathered online from insomniacs around the world since fall 2012. This work, produced by The National Film Board of Canada, provides a cutting portrait of insomnia as a universal and peculiarly wide-ranging affliction and challenges visitors to experience the condition for themselves.

    Robots in Residence, Project Creators: Brent Hoff and Alexander Reben. (USA). Robots in Residence challenges Alfred Hitchcock’s claim that “in feature films the director is God; in documentary films God is the director.” Here there is no god, as pre-programmed robots collaborate with festival audiences to direct and shoot a documentary in its entirety. Robot artist Alexander Reben and filmmaker Brent Hoff forge a provocative new form of documentary storytelling by using robots as a lens through which we take a new look at humanity.

    Sandy Storyline, Project Creators: Rachel Falcone, Laura Gottesdiener, and Michael Premo. (USA). Using audio, photography, text and video, Sandy Storyline is an ever-growing documentary narrative as community members and volunteers offer their accounts of the storm and the efforts to recover and rebuild local neighborhoods. The project forges a new type of media in time of crisis, one that is participatory, interactive and designed for community empowerment.

    Star Wars Uncut, Project Creator: Casey Pugh. (USA). Love Star Wars but think you would have done it differently? Then this fun, creative and wonderfully nostalgic interactive media project is for you. Using everything from hand-drawn animations to intricate reenactments, fans and series novices created short alternatives to the Star Wars storyline and went online to piece them all together. Discover a whole new approach to Star Wars, one fifteen-second burst at a time.

    This Exquisite Forest, Project Creators:  Aaron Koblin and Chris Milk (USA). Conceived by Chris Milk and Aaron Koblin and produced by Google and Tate Modern, This Exquisite Forest was inspired by the surrealist game “exquisite corpse” and its idea of collaborative creation. The project, hosted at exquisiteforest.com, allows visitors to create short animations right in their web browser. Other users may build on the animation at any point, creating a collection of navigable, branching narratives resembling trees that grow bigger as more artists contribute.

     

    SPECIAL SCREENINGS

    Alberi, directed by Michaelangelo Frammartino. (Italy) –World Premiere, Documentary. Wrapping the audience in waves of sound, Alberi takes us on a circular journey through the Italian countryside. The marvelous natural music at the tops of the eponymous trees makes way for the rhythmic cadence of civilization—men baring axes and the natural clatter of daily life—before their unforgettable return home from the forest. The singular artistry of director Michelangelo Frammartino (Le quatro volte) is beautifully displayed in this mesmerizing homage to nature. Italian with subtitles.

    Alberi will run as an installation in the VW Dome at MoMA PS1 from April 18th through the end of the month, with a special event celebrating the world premiere on the evening of Saturday, April 20th.

    Sidewalk Stories, directed and written by Charles Lane. (USA) –Narrative. The low-budget, New York-in-the-’80s movie that proves that silence is not all that golden, Charles Lane’s magnetic Sidewalk Stories is long overdue for rediscovery. Lane plays a sidewalk chalk artist whose efforts to care for an abandoned toddler are confounded by the oddball homeless characters he meets. Black-and-white and mostly silent, the film is an ingenious and whimsical effort by a black artist to give a voice to those who have none.

    Herblock – The Black & The White, directed by Michael Stevens, written by Sara Lukinson and Stevens. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. Herbert Block’s career at The Washington Post spanned fifty-five years and thirteen presidents, a timeframe in which he claimed three Pulitzer Prizes, the Medal of Freedom and a significant role in President Nixon’s resignation. Ben Bradlee, Tom Brokaw, Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, Jules Feiffer, Ted Koppel and Jon Stewart are among the many commentators bearing witness to Block’s life, work and indelible contribution to American satire in this inviting documentary. Herbert Block to attend. 

    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.

    Running From Crazy, directed by Barbara Kopple. (USA) – New York Premiere, Documentary. Join actress Mariel Hemingway, granddaughter of legendary author Ernest Hemingway, as she examines the mental illness and suicide that colors her family’s history and tries to avert that fate for herself and her daughters. By mixing in remarkable archival footage of the three Hemingway sisters, two-time Academy Award®-winner Barbara Kopple expands one famous family’s deeply embedded truths into a broad picture of the courage it takes to face the past and change your future.

    Möbius, directed and written by Eric Rochant. (France) – International Premiere,  Narrative. Set in the incomparable beauty of Monaco, Eric Rochant’s first feature in seven years follows undercover Russian FSB officer Gregory Lioubov (Jean Dujardin, The Artist) and international trader Alice Redmond (Cécile De France, Hereafter), who has her own secrets to hide. Their relationship sparks a deadly chase to snag Lioubov’s real target, business magnate Ivan Rostovsky (Tim Roth). Also starring Émilie Dequenne, Möbius is a twisting, sexy spy thriller that fittingly leaves you guessing which way is up. Featuring special guest appearances from director Eric Rochant and main actress Cécile de France.

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  • The East Among New Films Added to 2013 Phoenix Film Festival

    The 2013 Phoenix Film Festival announced more  films scheduled to be included in this Festival’s film lineup. This lineup features the exciting Fox Searchlight release, THE EAST.  The East directed by Zal Batmanglij, follows Sarah Moss (Marling) as a brilliant operative for an elite private intelligence firm whose top objective is to ruthlessly protect the interests of their A-list corporate clientele. 

    THE EAST,  directed by Zal Batmanglij, Sarah Moss (Marling) is a brilliant operative for an elite private intelligence firm whose top objective is to ruthlessly protect the interests of their A-list corporate clientele.

    UNDERDOGS, directed by Doug Dearth, the story of a small-town high school football team destined to play their cross-town rival, a perennial powerhouse, while standing up for an entire community.

    THE KINGS OF SUMMER, directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, about three unhappy teenage boys head into the wilderness with a plan to build a house and live off the land.

    STUCK IN LOVE, directed by Josh Boone, a touching comedy-drama about a successful novelist whose obsession with his ex-wife has sent his perplexed family into a tailspin.

    UNFINISHED SONG, directed by Paul Andrew Williams, a funny and inspiring story about Arthur, a curmudgeonly old soul, who is perfectly content sticking with his dull daily routine until his beloved wife introduces him to a local seniors singing group.

    KON-TIKI, directed by Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg, which is about the of legendary explorer Thor Heyerdal’s epic 4,300 miles crossing of the Pacific on a balsa wood raft in 1947, in an effort to prove it was possible for South Americans to settle in Polynesia in pre-Columbian times.

    RENOIR, directed by Gilles Bourdos, a film a painter whose life is changed when a young girl enters his life, filling it with an unexpected energy.

    STILL MINE, directed by Michael McGowan and starring James Cromwell, is about an elderly couple fight against local authorities in rural New Brunswick to build their final home.

    The 13th Annual Phoenix Film Festival occurs this year from Thursday, April 4th to Thursday, April 11th. The week-long Festival will be held once again at Harkins Scottsdale 101 Theaters located at 7000 E. Mayo Blvd. Phoenix, AZ 85054. 

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