• 2013 Florida Film Festival Reveals International Films and British Shorts Now Program Lineup

    [caption id="attachment_3255" align="alignnone" width="550"]BROKEN[/caption]

    The 2013 Florida Film Festival announced the international feature films that will screen at the festival. The 2013 International Showcase released includes the harsh tale of a loan shark enforcer with mother issues, a unique coming of age tale set against a British neighborhood, a shocking portrayal of accusation and scandal, and a Capture the Flag contest.

    New to the Festival this year is the British Shorts Now! program, featuring several examples of UK short film. This program is filled with recognizable faces such as Dame Judi Dench (Shakespeare in Love), Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers), Michael Fassbender (Shame), Liam Cunningham (TV’s Game of Thrones), and Mackenzie Crook (TV’s The Office).

    2013 FLORIDA FILM FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL SHOWCASE

    BROKEN/UK (Director: Rufus Norris)
    Skunk (newcomer Eloise Laurence) is an eleven year-old diabetic girl who lives with her lawyer-father Archie (Tim Roth, Arbitrage) and her older brother Jed. Though their family has been broken apart by divorce, they lead a regular life and share a residence in what seems like a normal British suburb. She hangs out with her brother and au pair Kasia, whose boyfriend Mike (Cillian Murphy, 28 Days Later), Skunk has a crush on. But when she witnesses one of her neighbors, a mentally disturbed young man named Rick, get beaten up for something he didn’t do by bitter and angry older neighbor Mr. Oswald (Rory Kinnear, Skyfall), things begin to change.  The Opening Feature of Critic’s Week at the Cannes Film Festival and featuring a score by Damon Albarn’s Electric Wave Bureau, BROKEN is the award-winning feature film debut from theater director Rufus Norris. Its innovative, gritty, and powerful spin on British social realism and coming-of-age provides a curious look into a teenage adolescence surrounded by chaos and a seemingly commonplace suburban neighborhood that ultimately begins to crumble.

    THE HUNT/Denmark (Director: Thomas Vinterberg)
    Mads Mikkelsen, winner of the Best Actor prize at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, is brilliant as Lucas, a school teacher in a small, close-knit Scandinavian town. Lucas limps through an ugly custody battle over his son, only to have the promise of that situation’s resolution ruined by the accusation of his being a child molester. The charges come from Lucas’s best friend’s daughter in an innocent little lie and are so unfounded that he can barely bring himself to suffer the indignity of denying them. The investigation that follows is nothing compared to the nightmare Lucas finds himself plunged into by the social leprosy of his suspected pedophilia. The film’s unflinching focus on Mikkelsen’s character creates an inescapable and uncomfortable tension in this spellbinding new drama from Thomas Vinterberg (The Celebration). Winner of two other awards at Cannes and Best Screenwriter at the European Film Awards, THE HUNT is a masterful piece of filmmaking.

    I DECLARE WAR/Canada (Director: Jason Lapeyre, Robert Wilson) SOUTHEAST PREMIERE
    I DECLARE WAR definitely shows us a different side of war—the war games children engage in outside of school, perhaps during a boring weekend. The film follows a bunch of pre-teens as they arm themselves with make-believe weapons and real-life conflict for a contest of Capture the Flag, the likes of which we haven’t seen before. Let the childhood games begin! In this war there are two teams—one led by P.K. Sullivan, a Patton fan who tries to win at any cost, and the other led by Quinn, who seems to run a group of misfits (they even have a girl on their side, which only adds to the tension). This isn’t just a battle about winning or losing. These kids all have their own issues to face, and this metaphorical war is just the place to do it. Skillfully blending fantasy and reality and boasting terrific performances from its young cast, this is an infectious film that brings us back to our childhoods, when adulthood didn’t seem that complicated from far away. Humorous and unsettling, I DECLARE WAR plays out like Roald Dahl crossed with Lord of the Flies or Son of Rambow.

    PIETA/South Korea (Director: Kim Ki-Duk)
    South Korea’s daring writer-director Kim Ki-Duk (The Isle; Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring) delivers a visceral film that is sure to provoke controversy. While the title alludes to Michelangelo’s serene statue, this movie uses a gritty, poor former factory district as the setting where Kang-do (Lee Jung-jin), a loan shark’s enforcer, works its small alleyways and tin-roofed workshops. Showing no emotion, he routinely cripples marginalized workers to collect on insurance policies, robbing them of limbs and livelihood. The victims’ lives seem as meaningless as the detritus of the post-industrial machinery around them. A mysterious woman (Cho Min-soo) appears, claiming to be Kang-do’s mother. Unbelieving, he inflicts sadistic violence and humiliation upon her, until eventually believing her story.  As Kang-do experiences new feelings, he begins seeing his victims and past actions differently, discovering guilt, remorse, and repentance.  The acting is superb, the movie grim, and the plot has some unexpected twists.  Ultimately, however, the story offers redemption and grace—or at least atonement.  Winner of the “Golden Lion” for Best Film at the 2012 Venice International Film Festival, PIETA is a gripping and provocative vision of extreme storytelling at its finest.

    BRITISH SHORTS NOW! PROGRAM

    Lifelong friends Mary (Dame Judi Dench, Oscar® winner for Best Supporting Actress, Shakespeare in Love) and Linda discuss the pitfalls, pleasures, and problems with using social networking to try and woo Trevor, the local choirmaster.

    82/UK (Director: Calum Macdiarmid) FLORIDA PREMIERE
    A postman (Nick Moran, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) lets us into his dark world in quiet suburbia.

    I AM TOM MOODY/UK (Director: Ainslie Henderson) SOUTHEAST PREMIERE
    Mackenzie Crook (The Office, Pirates of the Caribbean) and his son Jude provide the voices in this charming tale of a failed adult who, as he struggles to perform on stage, is forced to confront his inner child.

    MOZZARELLA INC./UK (Director: Matan Rochlitz) EAST COAST PREMIERE
    A former trance DJ and ex-club promoter brave London’s restaurant world to provide the freshest buffalo mozzarella on the market. They’ll stop at nothing to be the best…even if it costs them their friendship.  This documentary won Best Short at the 2012 Chicago Food Film Festival.

    STORMING OUT/UK (Director: Vito Bruno) NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
    This funny but moving family drama deals with how well we know, or think we know, our nearest and dearest.  Should we confront reality no matter how potentially painful that may be?

    THE PUB/UK (Director: Joseph Pierce) SOUTHEAST PREMIERE
    As the booze flows, the line between who belongs behind and in front of the bar becomes increasingly blurred in this twisted tale of a day in the life of a North London pub.  Winner of the Best Animated or Experimental Short Film award at the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival.

    THE NORTH LONDON BOOK OF THE DEAD/UK (Director: Jake Lushington) SOUTHEAST PREMIERE
    The tale of a grown man who struggles to come to terms with the death of his domineering mother, only to discover that she’s spending her “after life” very happily in a suburb of London.  Based on a short story by Will Self.

    PITCH BLACK HEIST/UK (Director: John Maclean) SOUTHEAST PREMIERE
    Michael (Michael Fassbender, Shame, Inglourious Basterds) and Liam (Liam Cunningham, Harry Brown, HBO’s Game of Thrones) are professional safe crackers who meet while doing a job to relieve an office safe of its contents.  The catch is a light-activated alarm system that forces the men to operate in total darkness.  BAFTA Award winner for Best Short Film.

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  • DC Independent Film Festival Adds Meth Head Film to 2013 Film Lineup

     

    With the last minute addition of the film Methhead, the film lineup is complete for the 2013 DC Independent Film Festival scheduled to run March 6-10, 2013, in Washington, DC.

    In the film Methhead, directed by Jane Clark, Kyle Peoples (Lukas Haas) sees an opportunity to escape from his mundane reality, but his new friendship with Maia (Necar Zadegan) and Dusty (Blake Berris), and the trio’s love of crystal meth eventually cost Kyle everything – his job, his lover, his family and his home.

    Other films on the lineup include:

    FEATURES

    BOYS ARE US
    Switzerland / 2012 / 73mins / directed by Peter Luisi
    After 16-year-old Mia gets hurt in love, she and her sister decide to take revenge on a boy. When other people and unexpected feelings start getting involved, the game of the two girls suddenly begins to take on dangerous proportions.

    CAMERA SHY
    Canada / 2012 / 91 mins / directed by Mark Sawers
    A dark comedy about a corrupt city councilman (Nicolas Wright) whose life spins out of control after a mysterious cameraman begins terrorizing him.

    HARD SHOULDER
    UK / 2012 / 88 mins / directed by Nicholas David Lean
    When Carl (Wil Johnson) reluctantly agrees to a strained weekend away with his family, a trip to the remote Welsh moors becomes a HORRIFIC fight for survival as a convoy of carnival travelers violently forces the family off the road.

    SHOUTING SECRETS
    Switzerland / 2012 / 88mins / directed by Korinna Sehringer
    A successful Native American writer whose novel sold out his family finds himself pulled back home to San Carlos Apache reservation. A story about a Native-American family with unique struggles yet universal truths and a film with a stellar Native-American cast; Chaske Spencer, Gil Birmingham, Q’orianka Kilcher, Tyler Christopher, Tantoo Cardinal and Rodney A. Grant.

    THE FIRST WINTER
    Canada / 2012 / 72mins / directed by Ryan Mc Kenna
    Offbeat and deadpan, this is a bitter-sweet tale about a young man in Portugal who, having impregnated a vacationing Canadian, must face the inhospitable Canadian landscape and its hopeless denizens when he emigrates to join her.

    NORMAL
    USA / 2012 / 75 mins / directed by Nicholas Richards
    Near Normal, Illinois, but certainly far from normal, this is a strange day in the life of Phin (Geno Rathbone) who, stuck in a gorilla costume, must raise $3000 after his neighbor holds Phin’s car for ransom.

    OROS (THE COINBEARER)
    Philippines & USA / 2012 / 81mins / directed by Paul Sta Ana
    A gritty, gripping story unfolds in a Philippine slum, where even death becomes a provider as people exploit the dead in order to survive by holding sakla (illegal gambling) at staged wakes.

    BAROMAS (FOREVER)
    India / 2012 / 124mins / directed by Dhiraj Meshram
    Based on the Award-winning novel by Sadanand Deshmukh, this film visits rural India and the issues of corruption, unemployment and farmers’ suicides amidst harsh socio-economic conditions. The story of two brothers, both educated and jobless, who take on the system head on in entirely contrasting ways.

    Feature Documentaries

    BETWEEN TWO RIVERS
    UK / 2012/ 98mins / Jacob Cartwright and Nick Jordan
    An aesthetically powerful film about Cairo, Illinois, isolated at the confluence of the Ohio & Mississippi rivers, where North meets South. The film combines original cinematography and candid interviews with archive footage, unseen for over 40 years, capturing the town at the height of explosive racial tensions in 1969.

    CORPORATE FM
    USA / 2012 / 74mins / directed by Kevin McKinney and Jill McKeever
    The internet didn’t kill radio, commercial radio is killing itself. Corporate FM reveals how buyout firms have changed radio and made handsome profits along the way.

    DIRECTING DISSENT
    Germany / 2013 / 65mins / Sophie Hamacher
    John Roemer, high school teacher and social activist, takes us through heated battles of the Civil Rights Movement. Set in Baltimore, a city with a turbulent history of charged race relations, the film shows Roemer’s distinctive and unconventional style of teaching and his ardent call for activism.

    LET THERE BE LIGHT
    USA / 2012 / 97 mins / Peter Swanson
    The film follows Rowan LeCompte and Dieter Goldkuhle as they make their last great window for Washington National Cathedral. These two grand masters of stained glass labor to create a masterpiece in a race against time. Told with stunningly beautiful images, this is a story about the struggle to create great art using glass and light.

    LOS GINGER NINJAS
    Mexico / 2012 / 76mins / directed by Sergio Morkin
    In 2007, an unknown Northern California rock band called the Ginger Ninjas set out to tour Mexico. They had no van and no gigs. They hauled their instruments, camping gear and human-powered sound system on special load-carrying bicycles. An exploration of youthful freedom, transformation and relationships among these eco-travelers.

    THE NEW WOMAN: ANNIE “LONDONDERRY” KOPCHOVSKY
    USA / 2013 / 27mins / directed by Gillian Willman
    Until 1894, there were no female sports stars, no product endorsement deals, and no young, Jewish mothers with the chutzpah to circle the globe on a bicycle. A film about Annie Kopchovsky, the eccentric, fiery woman who changed all of that.

    WE WOMEN WARRIORS
    USA / 2012 / 83mins / Nicole Karsin
    In Colombia’s war-torn indigenous villages, three brave women from distinct tribes guide us through their worlds. Trapped in a protracted predicament that is fueled by the drug war, indigenous women are using their resources and tradition to lead in a transforming way imbued with hope.

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  • Director Steven Spielberg is Jury President of 2013 Cannes Film Festival

    Director and producer Steven Spielberg will head up the jury of the 66th Cannes Film Festival taking place May 15-26, 2013.

    “The memory of my first Cannes Film Festival, nearly 31 years ago with the debut of E.T., is still one of the most vibrant memories of my career, Spielberg goes on. For over six decades, Cannes has served as a platform for extraordinary films to be discovered and introduced to the world for the first time. It is an honor and a privilege to preside over the jury of a festival that proves, again and again, that cinema is the language of the world.”

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  • Full Frame Documentary Film Festival To Honor Filmmakers Jessica Yu, Amir Bar-Lev and A&E IndieFilm’s Molly Thompson

    [caption id="attachment_3248" align="alignnone" width="550"]Amir Bar-Lev[/caption]

    The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival will honor who the festival describe as “three remarkable Americans who have impacted the art, issues and business of documentary filmmaking” at its 16th annual festival April 4-7, 2013. 

    Full Frame will pay tribute to Jessica Yu’s visionary film work, has selected Amir Bar-Lev to curate the Thematic Program and will honor A&E IndieFilm’s Vice President Molly Thompson with the Advocate Award.

    FULL FRAME TRIBUTE
    The Full Frame Tribute will honor Academy Award® winning filmmaker Jessica Yu and will feature a retrospective of her work. Yu is a director of both documentaries and scripted work. Capturing profound stories, she has made bold choices in her films to embrace the experiences of the individuals she has documented. Yu will premiere her new documentary,“The Guide” at this year’s festival.

    [caption id="attachment_3249" align="alignnone" width="550"]Jessica Yu[/caption]

    Featured selections in the Full Frame 2013 retrospective include:

    “Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O’Brien” / Jessica Yu
    Stricken with polio as a child and confined to an iron lung, one man refuses to let this limitation define his existence.

    “The Guide” / Jessica Yu – World Premiere
    Set in Mozambique, this new film examines the human side of environmental sustainability.

    “The Kinda Sutra” / Jessica Yu
    A whimsical mix of interview and animation depicts childhood confusion about where babies come from.

    “In the Realms of the Unreal” / Jessica Yu
    For decades, reclusive artist Henry Darger immersed himself in a magical world. This film brings his incredible fantasies to life.

    “Last Call at the Oasis” / Jessica Yu
    The world water crisis isn’t coming, it’s here. Cities are close to disaster and water wars have begun, but the good news—it’s still manageable.

    “Meet Mr. Toilet” / Jessica Yu
    Forty percent of the world population lacks access to a toilet. Businessman Jack Sim aims to break the taboos around talking about basic sanitation.

    “Protagonist” / Jessica Yu
    The distinct experiences of a reformed gay Christian, bank robber, martial artist, and terrorist are woven together to present universal themes.

    “Sour Death Balls” / Jessica Yu
    This black-and-white short captures a series of children’s and adult’s attempts to consume an extremely unpalatable candy.

    FULL FRAME THEMATIC PROGRAM: STORIES ABOUT STORIES
    Curated by award-winning filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev, the Full Frame 2013 Thematic Program, “Stories About Stories,” examines the intersections of truth and perspective through a series of films.

    “Attending Full Frame, what always inspires me most is the infinite variety of approaches to storytelling,” said Bar-Lev. “Every documentary is a unique, thorny relationship – between filmmaker and ‘character,’ fact and representation, reality and story. As guest curator, I’ve selected a handful of films that wrestle, each in their own way, with the medium of documentary filmmaking itself.”

    Amir Bar-Lev directed the documentary films “Fighter” (2001), “My Kid Could Paint That” (2007), and “The Tillman Story” (2010). He co-produced the documentary “Trouble The Water” (2008), which won the 2008 Full Frame Grand Jury Award and was a 2009 Academy Award® Nominee. Bar-Lev is currently directing “Happy Valley,” a film about the Penn State scandal. Bar-Lev served on the Full Frame Grand Jury in 2011.

    “Driving Me Crazy” / Nick Broomfield
    A disastrous attempt to document a play becomes a broader meditation on show business and the filmmaking process.

    “F for Fake” / Orson Welles
    Forgery, misrepresentation, and reinterpretation of past events swirl together in a kaleidoscopic illustration of fact and fiction.

    “Fighter” / Amir Bar-Lev
    As two friends, both survivors of Hitler’s invasion of Czechoslovakia, travel to revisit the past, they find the journey threatens their relationship.

    “Forbidden Lie$” / Anna Broinowski
    Con or artist? Nourma Khouri, author of a bestselling book about the honor killing of a friend, is accused of taking significant artistic liberties.

    “A Man Vanishes” / Shôhei Imamura
    A film crew sets out to discover what became of a Japanese salesman who disappeared in the 1960s.

    “My Kid Could Paint That” / Amir Bar-Lev
    Everything changes when there’s a suggestion that the celebrated paintings of a prodigy toddler may not be entirely hers.

    “Operation Filmmaker” / Nina Davenport

    Good intentions go terribly awry when the filmmakers of a Hollywood movie bring an aspiring filmmaker from Iraq to intern on set.

    “Stories We Tell” / Sarah Polley
    This extremely personal film tenderly exposes a deep family secret, revealing the various, and varied, recollections of everyone involved.

    “Theater of War” / John Walter
    A behind-the-scenes look at a modern production of Mother Courage and Her Children gives way to a nuanced examination of storytelling.

    FULL FRAME ADVOCATE AWARD
    Full Frame will honor A&E IndieFilm’s Vice President Molly Thompson with the Advocate Award. Thompson is devoted to the proliferation of the documentary medium and Full Frame is pleased to spotlight Thompson’s career and personal vision.

    “I’m honored to be chosen for the Advocate’s Award,” said Thompson. “I’ve had so many rewarding experiences being part of Full Frame over the years. This festival offers the cream of the nonfiction crop, which is why I and all of us at A&E feel very lucky to be a part of it.”

    Under Thompson’s guidance, A&E IndieFilms’ productions include the Oscar®-nominated, Sundance Award-winner “Murderball,” the Oscar®-nominated “Jesus Camp” and the Emmy Award-winners “The Tillman Story” and “Under African Skies.”  Thompson executive produced the division’s original productions including: “My Kid Could Paint That,” “American Teen,” “The September Issue,” “The Tillman Story” and “Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer.”  Thompson’s latest film for A&E IndieFilms, “The Imposter” was shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature in the 2012 Academy Awards®. It was also nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2012 Critic’s Choice Movie Awards and received two nominations for the 2013 EE British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) – Best Documentary and Outstanding Debut.  Thompson is a current member of the Full Frame Advisory Board.

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

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  • World Premiere of Mistaken for Strangers to open 2013 Tribeca Film Festival

    The world premiere of Mistaken for Strangers  will open the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival.  Director Tom Berninger chronicles his experience on tour with his brother, The National’s frontman Matt Berninger, in what the festival describes as a “funny and affecting film.” which will also play during the Festival’s 12th edition. The premiere, taking place on Wednesday, April 17, will be followed by a special performance by The National. The Festival will run through April 28.

    Mistaken for Strangers follows The National on its biggest tour to date. Newbie roadie Tom (lead singer Matt Berninger’s younger brother) is a heavy metal and horror movie enthusiast, and can’t help but put his own spin on the experience. Inevitably, Tom’s moonlighting as an irreverent documentarian creates some drama for the band on the road. The film is a hilarious and touching look at two very different brothers and an entertaining story of artistic aspiration.

    The National band members include Matt Berninger, Bryce Dessner, Aaron Dessner, Bryan Devendorf and Scott Devendorf. In 2010 the band released High Violet, which sold more than half a million copies worldwide. A brand new studio album from The National is slated for a May release on 4AD with a world tour to follow.

    The 2013 Tribeca Film Festival will announce its feature film slate on March 5 and 6, 2013. 

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  • Do Not Miss the First Time Fest in NYC THIS WEEKEND!

    [caption id="attachment_3244" align="alignnone" width="550"]Darren Aronofsky – Pi[/caption]

    First Time Fest (FTF) – a celebration of first time filmmakers – is a new and unique film festival taking place in New York City from March 1 through 4, 2013. FTF is set to discover and present the next generation of great cinema artists.

    Martin Scorsese will add his illustrious presence and belief in that art of cinema at The Players to present the first John Huston Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinema. The inaugural Award will be bestowed on an individual who has made a significant contribution to the art of cinema: Darren Aronofsky. First Time Fest is dedicated to discovering talented new filmmakers who will go on to fulfill the promise of their extraordinary debut films. John Huston was one of the most prolific and versatile directors in the history of cinema. And with his mesmerizing debut film, Pi – made independently on black-and-white 16mm film – Darren Aronofsky was instantly recognized as a uniquely gifted new talent. His subsequent films: Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler and Black Swan, have more than fulfilled that promise.

    Christine Vachon, Gay Talese and the B-52s Fred Schneider have joined the fest as three of its five jurors (the entire live audience at each of the 12 competition films will be the 5th juror).  Together, the jury and audience will ultimately select a Grand Prize winner, who will be offered theatrical distribution for their film and full international sales representation from the renowned American film distributor, Cinema Libre Studio. In addition to the Competition Films, FTF will present First Exposure, a series of first films from now prominent filmmakers.   Joining the line-up – and attending the fest – are our exciting Opening Night presentation of Sofia Coppola with The Virgin Suicides, Todd Solondz with Welcome to the Dollhouse, Wes Anderson’s (who will not be able to attend) Bottle Rocket, Barbara Kopple with Harlan County, USA, and Melvin Van Peebles with The Story of a Three-Day Pass.  Previously announced First Exposure titles and attending filmmakers are PI (Darren Aronofsky), The Maltese Falcon (film will be introduced by William Luhr, author of “The Maltese Falcon: John Huston, director”), Poison (Todd Haynes’ – who will not be able to attend – first film; produced by then first-time feature producer Christine Vachon, who can), Jack Goes Boating (Philip Seymour Hoffman, attending with actress Amy Ryan), The Unbelievable Truth (Hal Hartley), True Love (Nancy Savoca) and Killer’s Kiss (Stanley Kubrick’s first).

    First Exposure will also include a 60th Anniversary Tribute to Morris Engel’s The Little Fugitive, a cinema vérité classic from 1953 that was shot on Coney Island and has inspired countless filmmakers, from Jean-Luc Godard to the Coen brothers.  The tribute will include a panel hosted by film historian Foster Hirsch and Mary Engel, daughter of Morris Engel and Ruth Orkin). In addition there will be a Special Presentation of Everardo Gout’s thrillingly over-the-top action thriller DAYS OF GRACE (DĺAS DE GRACIA), which won the Mexican Academy of Film’s prestigious Ariel Award for Best First Feature and was nominated for the Camera d’Or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

    First Time Fest will also include a series of panels called “How They Did It,” in which a diverse group of award-winning filmmakers will moderate filmmaking case studies and spotlight some of the most successful and accomplished masters of the industry.  Panels will include: Switch Hitters: Actors, Producers, Writers & Others Who Direct; Sell, Baby, Sell: Marketing Independent Films (Emily Russo, Scott Feinstein, Peter Saraf, Monica Brady); From Rock To Score: Contemporary Musicians Who Become Film Composers (John Forte); Show Me the Money (Steven Beer, Duncan Cork); Across The Border: International Filmmakers Come to America; Women and Diversity in Film (Jenny Lumet, Frida Torresblanco); and A Critical Eye: Critics and their Role in Discovering New Filmmakers (Scott Foundas, John Anderson, Eric Kohn, Dana Stevens, Josh Rothkopf). There will also be several “Stand Alone! – Conversations with the Outstanding,” one-on-one interviews with notable cinema artists. Additional participants in these programs will be announced shortly.First Time Fest is a four-day, multi-faceted event hosted in New York City’s Gramercy Park by the celebrated Players (16 Gramercy Park South), the club founded by Edwin Booth, Mark Twain and John Singer Sargent, the oldest and most exclusive arts organization of its kind whose membership includes the greatest stars of stage and screen. Each of First Time Fest’s twelve finalists will receive high-level industry mentorship and a one-year membership to The Players. The Players will be the location for all FTF panels and events as well as the Filmmaker and VIP Lounge.  First Time Fest’s screenings will be held at the Loews Village VII on Third Avenue (on 11th St. & 3rd Ave).

    Posted By: Francesca McCaffery

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  • RIP: Shark Attack Kills Award-Winning Director Adam Strange

    [caption id="attachment_3241" align="alignnone" width="550"]The Crystal Bear for the Best Short Film in Generation 14plus, the team of Aphrodite’s Farm: producer Anzak Tindall, director Adam Strange at Berlin Festival[/caption]

    Award-winning director Adam Strange was attacked and killed yesterday by what is believed to be a great white shark while swimming at popular Muriwai Beach north of Auckland, New Zealand. Strange was 46 years old.

    “All of a sudden, we saw the shark fin and next minute, boom, attack him and then blood every where on the water,” said witness Pio Mose.  “He was still alive, he put his head up, we called him to swim over [to] the rock to where we were. He raised his hand up, and then while he was rising his hand up we saw another attack pull him in the water.”

    Armed police immediately responded in a helicopter and an inflatable surf lifesaving boat, firing into the ocean to drive the sharks off so lifeguards could recover his body. 

    The family later released a statement saying: “The family are grieving the loss of a glorious and great father, husband and friend.”

    Strange won a Crystal Bear with his first short film Aphrodite’s Farm at the Berlin Film Festival in 2009.

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  • Complete List of 2013 Oscar Winners

    [caption id="attachment_2288" align="alignnone" width="550"]Searching for Sugar Man won the award for Best Documentary [/caption]

    Argo and Life of Pi were the big winners last night at the 85th Academy Awards. Argo took the biggest prize, Best Picture, in addition to Best Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay; and Ang Lee’s Life of Pi grabbed four wins including Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects and Best Score. 

    [caption id="attachment_2949" align="alignnone" width="550"]Amour won the award for Foreign Language Film[/caption]

    Searching for Sugar Man won the award for Best Documentary and as expected Amour won the award for Foreign Language Film.

    The full list of winners of 85th Academy Awards:

    Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz

    Animated Short Film: Paper Man

    Animated Feature Film: Brave

    Cinematography: Claudio Miranda for Life of Pi

    Visual Effects: Life of Pi

    Costume Design: Anna Karenina

    Makeup and Hairstyling: Les Miserables

    Live Action Short Film: Curfew

    Documentary Short Subject: Innocente

    Documentary Feature: Searching for Sugar Man

    Foreign Language Film: Amour

    Sound Mixing: Les Miserables

    Sound Editing: Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall (A tie)

    Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway

    Film Editing: Argo

    Production Design: Lincoln

    Original Score: Life of Pi

    Original Song: Skyfall

    Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio for Argo

    Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantion for Django Unchained

    Directing: Ang Lee

    Actress: Jennifer Lawrence

    Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis

    Best Picture: Argo


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  • Toy’s House to Kick Off 2013 Cleveland International Film Festival

    Toy’s House, which filmed in Northeast Ohio, will get the honorary hometown treatment to open the 37th Cleveland International Film Festival on Wednesday, April 3, 2013.  Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, the film stars Nick Robinson, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Alison Brie and Mary Lynn Rajskub.

    The film which premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, is described as “a unique coming-of-age story about three teenagers who, in the ultimate act of independence, decide to spend their summer building a house in the woods.”

    The 37th Cleveland International Film Festival runs runs April 3-14, 2013

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  • Silver Linings Playbook, The Sessions and The Perks of Being A Wallflower Among 2013 Spirit Awards Winners

    [caption id="attachment_3236" align="alignnone" width="550"]Producer Paul Garnes, writer/director Ava DuVernay, and producer Howard Barish accept the John Cassavetes Award for ‘Middle of Nowhere’ onstage during the 2013 Film Independent Spirit Awards at Santa Monica Beach on February 23, 2013 in Santa Monica, California.[/caption]

    Silver Linings Playbook, The Sessions and The Perks of Being A Wallflower were among the winners at the 28th Film Independent Spirit Awards held on Saturday night. Beasts of the Southern Wild, Magic Mike, Amour and The Invisible War also received awards at the ceremony, which is held in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica.

    This year’s major category winners were Silver Linings Playbook, which won Best Feature, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Female Lead and The Sessions, which won Best Supporting Female and Best Male Lead; The Perks of Being A Wallflower, which won Best First Feature and Safety Not Guaranteed, which won Best First Screenplay; Beasts of the Southern Wild, which won Best Cinematography, Magic Mike, which won Best Supporting Male and Middle of Nowhere which won the John Cassavetes Award; Sony Pictures Classics’ Amour, which won Best International Film and The Invisible War, which won Best Documentary. A Special Distinction Award was given posthumously to Cinematographer Harris Savides.

    The 6th annual Robert Altman Award was given to one film’s director, casting director, and ensemble cast. Sean Baker’s Starlet received this award, along with casting directors Julia Kim and ensemble cast members Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Karren Karagulian, Stella Maeve, James Ransone.

    The 2013 Chaz and Roger Ebert Fellowship, which is awarded to a filmmaker in Project Involve, Film Independent’s diversity mentorship program and includes a cash grant of $10,000, was given to Melissa Haizlip, director of the documentary Mr. SOUL!. 

    The following is a complete list of the winners:

    Best Feature: Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)
    Producers: Bruce Cohen, Donna Gigliotti, Jonathan Gordon

    Best Director: David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)

    Best Screenplay: David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)

    Best First Feature: The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Summit Entertainment)
    Writer/Director: Stephen Chbosky / Producers: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith

    Best First Screenplay: Derek Connolly, Safety Not Guaranteed (FilmDistrict)

    John Cassavetes Award (For best feature made under $500,000): Middle of Nowhere (AFFRM in partnership with Participant Media)
    Writer/Director/Producer: Ava DuVernay / Producers: Howard Barish, Paul Garnes

    [caption id="attachment_3237" align="alignnone" width="550"]Actor Fred Armisen (L) and actress Helen Hunt [/caption]

    Best Supporting Female: Helen Hunt, The Sessions (Fox Searchlight)

    Best Supporting Male: Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike (Warner Bros.Pictures)

    [caption id="attachment_2171" align="alignnone" width="445"]Actress Jennifer Lawrence speaks onstage during the 2013 Film Independent Spirit Awards[/caption]

    Best Female Lead: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)

    Best Male Lead: John Hawkes, The Sessions (Fox Searchlight)

    Robert Altman Award: Starlet (Music Box Films)
    Director: Sean Baker / Casting Director: Julia Kim / Ensemble Cast: Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Karren Karagulian, Stella Maeve, James Ransone

    Best Cinematography: Ben Richardson, Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight)

    Best International Film: Amour (France – Sony Pictures Classics) Director: Michael Haneke

    Best Documentary: The Invisible War (Cinedigm Entertainment Group)
    Director: Kirby Dick / Producers: Amy Ziering, Tanner King Barklow

    Special Distinction: Harris Savides

     

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  • Blood Brother Wins Top Prize at 2013 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival

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

    A film about a young man who set aside his comfortable life to help children at an AIDS orphanage in India won the top prize at the 2013 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.  The film, “Blood Brother,” a 93-minute film directed by Steve Hoover, was named Best Feature Documentary.

    [caption id="attachment_3232" align="alignnone" width="550"]Not Yet Begun to Fight[/caption]

    “Not Yet Begun to Fight,” by Sabrina Lee and Shasta Grenier, won the 2013 Big Sky Award, given each year to the best documentary film about the American West. The 60-minute film tells the story of a retired Marine colonel who brings five traumatically wounded military veterans to Montana to learn to fly fish. Notably, that film’s director of photography, Justin Lubke, himself won the Big Sky Award in 2008 for his film, “Class C.”

    [caption id="attachment_3233" align="alignnone" width="550"]Amar[/caption]

    “Amar,” a 9-minute film by UK filmmaker Andrew Hinton about a 14-year old boy’s difficult daily life, won the Best Mini Documentary award. “Slomo,” Joshua Izenberg’s film about a neurologist who decides to give up his job in search of greater meaning, won Best Short Documentary.

    [caption id="attachment_3234" align="alignnone" width="550"]The Thick Dark Fog[/caption]

    “The Thick Dark Fog,” a film by Randy Vasquez about a Lakota man’s efforts to reclaim his heritage, was honored with a Big Sky Artistic Vision citation. “The Words in the Margins,” a 15-minute film by Sara Mott about a unique friendship forged between an illiterate American man and his Kenyan reading tutor, received a Mini Documentary Artistic Vision citation. “Do Not Duplicate,” a film by Jonathan Mann and Sean McGing about a safecracker and artist in New York City, received a Short Documentary Artistic Vision citation.


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  • Whitney Houston Family Documentary to Open 2013 American Documentary Film Festival

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    The American Documentary Film Festival and Film Fund (AmDocs) returns for it’s second year with over one hundred documentary films from all over the world. The festival opens on Thursday, April 4th and runs through Sunday, April 8th, 2013.

    “We’ve expanded our program quite a bit this year,” said Festival Director Ted Grouya. “We’ll be utilizing all three of the screens at the Camelot Theatres in Palm Springs, as well as one screen at the Cinemark Century Theatres at The River in Rancho Mirage. The fact that we’ve been able to expand so quickly is a testament to the success we had with last year’s festival. People love documentaries!”

    Opening Night for The American Documentary Film Festival and Film Fund, AmDocs will screen documentary filmmaker and producer Gary Keys’ new documentary, VOICES OF LOVE: WHITNEY HOUSTON AND HER FAMILY. 

    VOICES OF LOVE provides an inside look at one of America’s most musically influential families –  the Drinkards – whose popular gospel group, The Drinkard Singers, included Whitney Houston’s mother, Cissy Houston, and Lee Warwick, the mother of singer Dionne Warwick. The film traces the history of song in this talent-infused family and celebrates their spirit, their strength of family, and the power of gospel music to heal, to transcend, and to entertain. 

    While most of the Drinkard family stayed with their gospel roots, their musical tradition paved the way for singers Dionne Warwick, Cissy Houston, and Whitney Houston, and encouraged them to branch out into popular music. The film is filled with powerful musical performances by Cissy Houston, Whitney Houston and Dionne Warwick, never-before-seen footage, exclusive interviews with, and performances by, members of Whitney’s family, as well as interviews with Natalie Cole, and Aretha Franklin.  

    [caption id="attachment_3229" align="alignnone" width="550"]Dionne Warwick[/caption]

    Singer Dionne Warwick will attend the event, and take the stage and participate in a brief Q&A after the screening.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdXjLnWj1vw

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