• Audience And Grand Jury Prizes Announced For 2013 Slamdance Film Festival, The Dirties Wins Top Prize

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    [caption id="attachment_3149" align="alignnone" width="550"]The Dirties[/caption]

    The 19th Annual Slamdance Film Festival announced the feature film and short film recipients of this year’s awards in the Audience, Grand Jury, and the Sponsored Award Categories.  MY NAME IS FAITH by Jason Banker, Jorge Torres-Torres, Tiffany Sudela-Junker received the Audience Award for Feature Documentary, and HANK AND ASHA by James E. Duff received the Audience Award for Feature Narrative. The Grand Jury Sparky Award for Feature Narrative went toTHE DIRTIES by Matt Johnson, while BIBLE QUIZ by Nicole Teeny won the Grand Jury Sparky Award for Feature Documentary.

    The complete list of winners of 2013 Slamdance Film Festival

    AUDIENCE AWARDS
    Audience Award for Feature Documentary: MY NAME IS FAITH by Jason Banker, Jorge Torres-Torres, Tiffany Sudela-Junker

    Audience Award for Feature Narrative: HANK AND ASHA by James E. Duff

    GRAND JURY AWARDS – NARRATIVE
    This year’s Slamdance Narrative Grand Jury Prizes were selected by the esteemed panel of industry members Nancy Schafer, Meira Blaustein and Chris Gore.

    Grand Jury Sparky Award for Feature Narrative: THE DIRTIES by Matt Johnson. “Terrifyingly timely and brutally honest, ‘The Dirties’ uses film references to the extreme as dreams of youth and intense growing pains collide.”

    Special Mention: JOY DE V., by Nadia Szold. “Filled with humor, flawless characters and performances and a highly developed visual style, ‘Joy de V’ is a film that signals the arrival of a powerful new filmmaking talent.”

    GRAND JURY AWARDS – DOCUMENTARY
    This year’s Slamdance Documentary Grand Jury Prizes were selected by the esteemed panel of industry members Daniel J. Harris, Brian Knappenberger, and Dan Schoenbrun.

    Grand Jury Sparky Award for Feature Documentary: BIBLE QUIZ by Nicole Teeny. “Director Nicole Teeny’s careful storytelling and her subject’s passion, angst, and youthful uncertainty are captured with universal empathy.”

    Grand Jury Sparky Award for Short Documentary: THE BIRDMAN by Jessie Auritt. “We felt this slice-of-life portrait said a lot about the economy and changing way of life in a New York City neighborhood.”

    GRAND JURY AWARDS – SHORT FILMS
    This year’s Short Film Grand Jury Prizes were selected by the esteemed panel of industry members Sheri Candler, Eleanor Burke, and Ron Eyal.

    Grand Jury Sparky Award for Animation: I AM TOM MOODY by Ainslie Henderson. “For its insight and for its playful spirit.”

    Grand Jury Sparky Award for Short Film: ROTKOP by Jan Roosens and Raf Roosens. “For its outstanding ensemble, emotional resonance and its bold portrayal of teenage alienation.”

    Special Mention: JOSEPHINE AND THE ROACH by Jonathan Langager. “For its richly imaginative visual style and for lead Jenna Augen.”

    Special Mention: DONALD CRIED by Kris Avedisian. “For a standout performance, with the power to inspire empathy as well as to make you cringe.”

    SPECIAL & SPONSORED AWARDS
    Spirit of Slamdance Sparky Award Presented by Actor/Director Thomas Jane: THE DIRTIES by Matt Johnson. Awarded by the Class of 2013 Slamdance Filmmakers to the film team that best embodies the creative, independent, and entrepreneurial spirit of the festival, as well as showing exceptional talent as artists.

    The Kodak Vision Award for Best Cinematography: Dieter Deventer for FYNBOS. “For creating a perfect visual balance between breathtaking landscapes, naturally lit settings, and simple but strong compositions that present the tense fragility of the human spirit within the story.”

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  • Camille Rewinds Dominates Nominations for 2013 César Awards

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     [caption id="attachment_3147" align="alignnone" width="550"]Camille Rewinds[/caption]

    The nominations for the César Awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscar, were announced and the French comedy, drama “Camille Rewinds” aka “Camille Redoubles” dominated with 13 nominations.  Actress/director Noémie Lvovsky’s “ebullient twist on the comedy of remarriage transposes Frances Ford Coppola’s Peggy Sue Got Married to present day France, which means that when the titular Camille—who’s in the throes of  divorcing her husband of 25 years—passes out drunk, she wakes up as a high school senior in the mid-1980s.”| NYFF

    Oscar nominee “Amour” and historical drama “Farewell My Queen,” received nine nominations, while “Rust and Bone” and “Holy Motors” each received eight nods. 

    The César Awards will be announced at the awards ceremony in Paris on February 22, 2013.

    The full list of nominees:

    Best Picture
    Farewell, My Queen
    Amour
    Camille Redouble
    In The House
    Rust & Bone
    Holy Motors
    What’s In A Name

    Best Director
    Benoît Jacquot, Farewell, My Queen
    Michael Haneke, Amour
    Noémie Lvovsky, Camille Redouble
    François Ozon, In The House
    Jacques Audiard, Rust & Bone
    Leos Carax, Holy Motors
    Stéphane Brizé, Quelques Heures De Printemps

    Best Actress
    Catherine Frot, Les Sauveurs Du Palais
    Marion Cotillard, Rust & Bone
    Noémie Lvovsky, Camille Redouble
    Corinne Masiero, Louise Wimmer
    Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
    Léa Seydoux, Farewell, My Queen
    Hélène Vincent, Quelques Heures De Printemps

    Best Actor
    Jean-Pierre Bacri, Cherchez Hortense
    Patrick Bruel, What’s In A Name
    Denis Lavant, Holy Motors
    Vincent Lindon, Quelques Heures De Printemps
    Fabrice Luchini, In The House
    Jérémie Rénier, Cloclo
    Jean-Louis Trintignant, Amour

    Best Supporting Actress
    Valérie Benguigui, What’s In A Name
    Judith Chemla, Camille Redouble
    Isabelle Huppert, Amour
    Yolande Moreau, Camille Redouble
    Edith Scob, Holy Motors

    Best Supporting Actor
    Samir Guesmi, Camille Redouble
    Michel Vuillermoz, Camille Redouble
    Benoit Magimel, Cloclo
    Claude Rich, Cherchez Hortense
    Guillaume de Tonquedec, What’s In A Name

    Newcomer (Female)
    Alice de Lencquesaing, Au Galop
    Lola Dewaere, Mince Alors!
    Julia Faure, Camille Redouble
    India Hair, Camille Redouble
    Izia Higelin, Mauvaise Fille

    Necomer (Male)
    Félix Moati, Télé Gaucho
    Kacey Mottet Klein, Sister
    Pierre Niney, Comme Des Frères
    Matthias Schoenaerts, Rust & Bone
    Ernst Umhauer, In The House

    Best Original Screenplay
    Bruno Podalydès, Denis Podalydès, Adieu Berthe – L’Enterrement De Mémé
    Michael Haneke, Amour
    Noémie Lvovsky, Maud Ameline, Pierre-Olivier Mattei, Florence Seyvos, Camille Redouble
    Leos Carax, Holy Motors
    Florence Vignon, Stéphane Brizé, Quelques Heures De Printemps

    Best Adapted Screenplay
    Lucas Belvaux, 38 Witnesses
    Gilles Taurand, Benoît Jacquot, Farewell, My Queen
    François Ozon, In The House
    Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain, Rust & Bone
    Matthieu Delaporte, Alexandre de la Patellière, What’s In A Name

    Best Costumes
    Christian Gasc, Farewell, My Queen
    Pascale Chavanne, Augustine
    Madeline Fontaine, Camille Redouble
    Mimi Lempicka, Cloclo
    Charlotte David, Populaire

    Best Art Direction
    Katia Wyszkop, Farewell, My Queen
    Jean-Vincent Puzos, Amour
    Philippe Chiffre, Cloclo
    Florian Sanson, Holy Motors
    Sylvie Olivé, Populaire

    Best Animated Film
    Edmond Etait Un Ane, Franck Dion
    Ernest Et Célestine, Benjamin Renner, Vincent Patar, Stéphane Aubier
    Kirikou Et Les Hommes Et Les Femmes, Michele Ocelot
    Oh Willy, Emma De Swaef, Marc Roels
    Zarafa, Rémi Besançon, Jean-Christophe Lie

    Best First Film
    Augustine, Alice Winocour
    Comme Des Frères, Hugo Gélin
    Louise Wimmer, Cyril Mennegun
    Populaire, Régis Rosnard
    Rengaine, Rachid Djaidani

    Best Documentary
    Bovines Ou La Vraie Vie Des Vaches, Emmanuel Gras
    Duch, Le Maître Des Forges De L’Enfer, Rithy Panh
    Les Invisibles, Sébastien Lifshitz
    Journal De France, Claudine Nougaret, Raymond Depardon
    Les Nouveaux Chiens De Garde, Gilles Balbastre, Yannick Kergoat

    Best Original Score
    Bruno Coulais, Farewell, My Queen
    Gaëtan Roussel, Joseph Dahan, Camille Redouble
    Philippe Rombi, In The House
    Alexandre Desplat, Rust & Bone
    Rob, Emmanuel D’Orlando, Populaire

    Best Short Film
    Ce N’est Pas Un Film De Cow-Boys, Benjamin Parent
    Ce Qu’il Restera De Nous, Vincent Macaigne
    Le Cri Du Homard, Nicolas Guiot
    Les Meutes, Manuel Schapira
    La Vie Parisienne, Viencent Dietschy

    Best Cinematography
    Romain Winding, Farewell, My Queen
    Darius Khondji, Amour
    Stéphane Fontaine, Rust & Bone
    Caroline Champetier, Holy Motors
    Guillaume Schiffman, Populaire

    Best Editing
    Luc Barnier, Farewell, My Queen
    Monika Willi, Amour
    Annette Dutertre, Michel Klochendler, Camille Redouble
    Juliette Welfling, Rust & Bone
    Nelly Quettier, Holy Motors

    Best Sound
    Brigitte Tallandier, Fançis Wargnier, Olivier Goinard, Farewell, My Queen
    Guillaume Sciama, Nadine Muse, Jean-Pierre Laforce, Amour
    Antoine Deflandre, Germaine Boulay, Eric Tisserand, Cloclo
    Brigitte Tallandier, Pascal Villard, Jean-Paul Hurier, Rust & Bone
    Erwan Kerzanet, Josefa Rodriguez, Emmanuel Croset, Holy Motors

    Best Foreign Film
    Argo
    Bullhead
    Laurence Anyways
    Oslo, 31 August
    The Angels’ Share
    A Royal Affair
    A Perdre La Raison

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  • Andrew Bujalski’s Computer Chess Wins 2013 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize at Sundance Film Festival

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    Computer Chess, directed and written by Andrew Bujalski, has been awarded the 2013 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize and will receive a $20,000 cash award by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Now in its tenth year, the Prize is selected by a jury of film and science professionals and presented to outstanding feature films focusing on science or technology as a theme, or depicting a scientist, engineer or mathematician as a major character.

    Computer Chess is an existential comedy about the brilliant men who taught machines to play chess – back when the machines seemed clumsy and we seemed smart. The cast includes Patrick Riester, Myles Paige, James Curry, Robin Schwartz, Gerald Peary and Wiley Wiggins. The jury presented the award to the film for its “off-beat and formalistically adventurous exploration of questions of artificial intelligence and human connections, unfolding during an early computer chess tournament.”

    Previous Alfred P. Sloan Prize Winners include: Jake Schreier, Christopher Ford,Robot & Frank (2012); Musa Syeed, Valley of Saints (2012); Mike Cahill and Brit Marling, Another Earth (2011); Diane Bell, Obselidia (2010); Max Mayer, Adam (2009); Alex Rivera, Sleep Dealer (2008); Shi-Zheng Chen, Dark Matter (2007); Andrucha Waddington, The House of Sand (2006); Werner Herzog, Grizzly Man(2005), Shane Carruth, Primer (2004) and Marc Decena, Dopamine (2003). Several past winners have also been awarded Jury Awards at the Festival, including the Grand Jury Prize for Primer, the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for Sleep Dealer and the Excellence in Cinematography Award for Obselidia.

    Andrew Bujalski
    Andrew Bujalski was born in Boston in 1977 and studied film at Harvard’s Department of Visual and Environmental Studies. He wrote and directed the filmsFunny Ha Ha, Mutual Appreciation, and Beeswax. His first three films all appeared on the New York Times’s “Best of the Year” lists. He types 89 words per minute.

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  • Documentary You Don’t Need Feet to Dance to Open in NYC March 22

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     [caption id="attachment_3143" align="alignnone" width="550"]You Don’t Need Feet to Dance[/caption]

    The documentary You Don’t Need Feet to Dance about African immigrant Sidiki Conde, a man overcoming his disability one day at a time in New York City, will open March 22, 2013 at the Quad Cinema in NYC.

    You Don’t Need Feet to Dance is directed by Alan Govenar and released by First Run Features

    The Story and trailer.

    Alan Govenar’s intimate new documentary reveals the extraordinary life of African immigrant Sidiki Conde, a man overcoming his disability one day at a time in New York City.

    Sidiki was born in 1961, in Guinea, West Africa. At age fourteen, polio left him almost completely paralyzed. Sent to live with his grandfather in a village deep in the forest, Sidiki learned to manage his disability, building his upper-body strength so that he could walk on his hands. When faced with the dilemma of dancing in a coming of age ceremony, he reconstructed the traditional steps by dancing on his hands instead of his feet.

    In time Sidiki ran away to Conakry, Guinea’s capital city, where he and his friends organized an orchestra of artists with disabilities recruited from the city’s streets. They toured the country, striving to change the perception of the disabled. In 1987, he became a member of the renowned dance company Merveilles D’Afrique, founded by Mohamed Komoko Sano. Sidiki became a soloist and served as rehearsal master, composing and directing the company’s repertoire. He also worked as a musician and arranger with Youssou N’Dour, Salifa Keita, Baba Maal and other popular musicians.

    In 1998, Conde’s music brought him to the United States, and he founded the Tokounou All-Abilities Dance and Music Ensemble. In the United States, he has continued to perform and teach, instructing people of all abilities in schools, hospitals and universities, and served as artist in residence at a Bronx public school for children with multiple disabilities.

    InYou Don’t Need Feet to Dance, Sidiki balances his career as a performing artist with the almost insurmountable obstacles of life in New York City, from his fifth-floor walk-up apartment in the East village, down the stairs with his hands and navigating in his wheelchair through Manhattan onto buses and into the subway. Despite the challenges, Sidiki teaches workshops for disabled kids, busks on the street, rehearses with his musical group, bicycles with his hands, and prepares for a baby naming ceremony, where he plays djembe drums, sings, and dances on his hands. | First Run Features

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1ufgZfsex8

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  • Neighbouring Sounds, The Lifeguard Top 3rd Annual Cinema Tropical Awards

    [caption id="attachment_3141" align="alignnone" width="550"]Neighbouring Sounds (O som ao redor)[/caption]

    The winners of the 3rd Annual Cinema Tropical Awards were announced last week in New York City. The Brazilian film, Neighbouring Sounds (O som ao redor) took the top prize for Best Feature Film. A thrilling debut from a breakout talent, Neighboring Sounds delves into the lives of a group of prosperous middle-class families residing on a quiet street in Recife, close to a low-income neighborhood. The private security firm hired to police the street becomes the catalyst for an exploration of the neighbors’ discontents and anxieties—their feelings exacerbated by the palpable unease of a society that remains unreconciled to its troubled past and present inequities. 

    The Lifeguard (El Salvavidas) from Chile, was awarded the prize for Best Documentary. In the film, Mauricio, a lifeguard on a Chilean beach, considers himself to be a model of efficiency and professionalism. His colleagues, however, think otherwise, and speculate on why he never goes into the water. Maite Alberdi’s visually gorgeous feature documentary debut has the intensity of a short story; beginning as a quirky character study of lifeguards and beachgoers, it becomes something altogether darker and more shocking when events take a dramatic turn.| EIFF.

    The complete list of winners

    Best Feature Film:
    O SOM AO REDOR / NEIGHBORING SOUNDS
    (Kleber Mendonça Filho, Brazil)

    Best Documentary Film:
    EL SALVAVIDAS / THE LIFEGUARD
    (Maite Alberdi, Chile)

    Best Director, Feature Film:
    Matías Meyer, LOS ÚLTIMOS CRISTEROS / THE LAST CHRISTEROS
    (Mexico)

    Best Director, Documentary Film:
    Jose Álvarez, CANÍCULA
    (Mexico)

    Best First Film:
    EL ESTUDIANTE / THE STUDENT
    (Santiago Mitre, Argentina)

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  • HBO Grabs TV Rights for Pussy Riot Documentary from 2013 Sundance Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_3139" align="alignnone" width="550"]Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer[/caption]

    HBO Documentary Films has snapped up the U.S. television rights for the documentary “Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer” which had its world premiere Friday night to a sold out crowd at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin, the film is expected to premiere on the HBO channel at a future date.

    “Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer” tells the incredible story of three young women: Nadia, Masha and Katia.   As members of the feminist art collective Pussy Riot, they performed a 40 second “punk prayer” inside Russia’s main cathedral. This performance led to their arrest on charges of religious hatred and culminated in a trial that has reverberated around the world and transformed the face of Russian society forever.  With unparalleled access and exclusive footage, this film looks at the real people behind their now famous colorful balaclavas.

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  • Gravitas Ventures to Release 3 Films From 2013 Slamdance Film Festival

     [caption id="attachment_3137" align="alignnone" width="550"]The Bitter Buddha, Steven Feinartz[/caption]

    Gravitas Ventures will release three “raucous Slamdance films” from 2013 Slamdance Film Festival in the next three months: Steven Feinartz’s documentary The Bitter Buddha, Michael Urie’s comedy He’s Way More Famous Than You and Peter Baxter’s documentary Wild In The Streets. 

    First up debuting in select theatres on February 15, 2013 and on VOD on February 19th is The Bitter Buddha, Steven Feinartz’s perceptive look at alt-comic genius Eddie Pepitone. Though often revered as a “comic’s comic”, Eddie Pepitone is a man at war with himself. And he has the scars to prove it. The Bitter Buddha takes the viewer backstage in the alternative comedy scene to reveal one of its most undervalued treasures. This portrait of a comedian looks at Pepitone’s off beat humor and lifestyle as he battles the world around him. Stand-up comedy, original animation and interviews with Patton Oswalt, Sarah Silverman, Zach Galifianakis and others provide insight into this beloved career comedian known as ”the guitarist that all the other guitarists go to see.”

    On April 23, 2013 director Peter Baxter and narrator Sean Bean unveil what is described as “one of the most remarkable and violent sports documentaries ever made”. In Wild In The Streets, toward the end of winter on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday the people of Ashbourne, England gather in the center of their town to renew the longest running sports rivalry on earth. The game is called Shrovetide Football and originates from two medieval communities living opposite the river Henmore. Today, they are known as the Up’ards and Down’ards. Each team consists of hundreds if not thousands of people. The field of play…the town itself. There is no referee and few rules. Each game begins at 2pm and ends at 10pm. The ball cannot be carried in motorized transport. Cemeteries, churchyards and memorials are out of bounds. Under no circumstances is manslaughter to be tolerated.

    And finally, Gravitas Ventures has nabbed the “hilarious” comedy He’s Way More Famous Than You directed by Michael Urie which premiered in dramatic competition at Slamdance. Plans are to take the film out on VOD April 8, 2013 followed by a theatrical run on May 10, 2013. When once-up-and-coming indie film starlet Halley Feiffer loses her boyfriend, her agent and her career in one fell swoop she finally realizes that something has got to change…she has to become WAY MORE FAMOUS! Armed with a stolen script and two pitchers of sangria, Halley enlists the help of her brother Ryan and his boyfriend to make a movie, starring herself (of course), and any A-list celebrity she can land. She will stop at nothing, even if it means hurting the only people who truly care about her.

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  • CBS Films to Release Toy’s House from 2013 Sundance Film Festival

    CBS Films has grabbbed the coming-of-age comedy film TOY’S HOUSE, that premiered on Saturday at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

    TOY’S HOUSE, directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, from a screenplay by Chris Galletta,stars Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Alison Brie, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Erin Moriarty, Marc Evan Jackson, Thomas Middleditch and Tony Hale. TOY’S HOUSE follows three teenage boys (Robinson, Basso and Arias) as they head into the wilderness with a plan to build a house and live off the land. The film marks the feature directorial debut of Jordan Vogt-Roberts.

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  • 2013 Berlin International Film Festival Announces Opening Films for Generation Programs

    [caption id="attachment_3133" align="alignnone" width="550"]Thomas Simon in Het Zigzag Kind (The Zigzag Kid) by Vincent Bal[/caption]

    The Generation 14plus competition at the 2013 Berlin International Film Festival, will open with the world premiere of the Turkish entry Jîn by Reha Erdem (Kosmos, Berlinale 2010).   The director and his leading actress, Deniz Hasgüler, who plays a young fighter caught between the fronts in Turkey’s Kurdish regions, will be in attendance.

    The Dutch-Belgian co-production Nono, Het Zigzag Kind (The Zigzag Kid) by Vincent Bal will kick off the competition of Generation Kplus. Isabella Rossellini and Burghart Klaussner (Das weisse Band) are expected on the red carpet. In the film, they play a pair of be-dazzling grandparents who take Nono, their grandson (Thomas Simon), on an adventurous journey into his family’s past.

     

     

     

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  • 2013 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Jury Awards, Polish Film The Whistle Wins Tops Prize

    [caption id="attachment_3131" align="alignnone" width="550"]The Whistle[/caption]

    The 2013 Sundance Film Festival presented the awards for the jury prizes and honorable mentions in short filmmaking at a ceremony in Park City, Utah.

    The Short Film Grand Jury Prize was awarded to The Whistle / Poland (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.

    The Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction was presented to Whiplash / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Damien Chazelle) — An aspiring drummer enters an elite conservatory’s top jazz orchestra.

    Other Short Film Awards include

    The Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction was presented to The Date / Finland (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.

    The Short Film Jury Award: Non-fiction was presented to Skinningrove / U.S.A. (Director: Michael Almereyda) — Photographer Chris Killip shares unpublished images chronicling time spent among the fiercely independent residents of a remote English fishing village.

    The Short Film Jury Award: Animation  was presented to Irish Folk Furniture / Ireland (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.

    A Short Film Special Jury Award for Acting was presented to Joel Naglein: Palimpsest / U.S.A. (Director: Michael Tyburski, Screenwriters: Michael Tyburski, Ben Nabors) — A successful house tuner provides clients with a unique form of therapy that examines subtle details in their living spaces.

    A Short Film Special Jury Award was presented to Until the Quiet Comes / U.S.A. (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.

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  • Four directors from India, Italy-US, Brazil and UK-Germany Win 2013 2013 Sundance Institute | Mahindra Global Filmmaking Awards

    Sarthak Dasgupta, THE MUSIC TEACHER from India; Jonas Carpignano, A CHJANA from Italy-US; Aly Muritiba, THE MAN WHO KILLED MY BELOVED DEAD from Brazil; and Vendela Vida & Eva Weber, LET THE NORTHERN LIGHTS ERASE YOUR NAME from UK-Germany-US were announced yesterday as the winning directors and projects of the 2013 Sundance Institute | Mahindra Global Filmmaking Awards. Each of the four winning filmmakers will receive a cash award of $10,000 in addition to other prizes.

    The awards were presented at a private ceremony at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, U.S.A., by Rohit Khattar.

    The winners of the 2013 Sundance Institute/Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award are:

    Jonas Carpignano / A CHJANA (Italy/US): After leaving his native Burkina Faso in search of a better life, Ayiva makes the perilous journey to Italy; though he finds compatriots along the way, they are unprepared for the intolerance facing immigrants in their newly-claimed home.

    Jonas Carpignano is an Italian-American filmmaker currently based in New York City and Rome. While raised and educated in New York, he has spent periods of time in Italy where he began his career working as an assistant director. Since enrolling at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Carpignano has made several short films that have screened in numerous prestigious festivals throughout the world. Recently, he was awarded the Martin Scorsese Young Filmmaker Award, and his latest short film A Chjàna won the Controcampo Award for Best Short Film at the 68th Venice Film Festival.

    Sarthak Dasgupta / THE MUSIC TEACHER (India): The life of a small town music teacher takes a sharp turn when an estranged ex-student, now a celebrity in the city, comes to visit after several years. The teacher, now lovelorn, prepares to meet her, not knowing if she still bears the same feelings about him as she did those many years back.

    Sarthak Dasgupta’s debut feature is the critically acclaimed The Great Indian Butterfly, which screened at several International Film Festivals before its release in 2010. Sarthak holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering and a Master’s degree in Business Management.

    Aly Muritiba / THE MAN WHO KILLED MY BELOVED DEAD (Brazil): After the death of his wife, Paulo mourns her each day by repairing her clothes and tending to the personal belongings she’s left behind. One day, he finds a video tape that will change his life. 

    Aly Muritiba is a partner at the independent production company, Grafo Audiovisual. As writer-director, he has directed six short films, a tele film and a feature film. His most recent short film, A Fábrica, is a winner of 60 film awards (including Best Live action in CFC World Wide Short Film Festival, Best Short Film in Cartagena das Indias and Honorable Mention in Clermont-Ferrand short film festival). A Fábrica was recently shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short.

    Eva Weber / LET THE NORTHERN LIGHTS ERASE YOUR NAME (UK/Germany): When 28-year-old Clarissa discovers on the eve of her father’s funeral that everything she believed true of her life was a lie, she flees New York and travels to the Arctic Circle to uncover the secrets of her mother who mysteriously vanished many years before.

    Originally from Germany, Eva Weber is a London-based filmmaker working in both documentary and fiction. Her multi-award-winning films have screened at numerous international film festivals, such as Sundance, Edinburgh, SXSW, BFI London, and Telluride; and have also been broadcast on UK and international television. Her film, The Solitary Life of Cranes was described as “one of the most absorbing documentaries of the year” by The Observer newspaper in the UK, and selected as one of the top five films of the year by critic Nick Bradshaw in Sight & Sound’s annual film review in 2008. Eva is currently developing a number of feature projects, including the fiction/documentary hybrid ‘Ghost Wives’. She has also been selected to direct the 20-minute fiction film, ‘Field Study’. Funded through the British Film Institute’s shorts scheme, filming is scheduled for late spring 2013.

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  • Magnolia Pictures Picks Up Prince Avalanche for US Release After 2013 Sundance Film Festival Premiere

    [caption id="attachment_3128" align="alignnone" width="550"]PRINCE AVALANCHE[/caption]

    Magnolia Pictures has picked up the film PRINCE AVALANCHE after its Sunday premiere at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. The new film from writer/director David Gordon Green, PRINCE AVALANCHE stars Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch.

    Loosely adapted from an Icelandic film called Either Way, PRINCE AVALANCHE is described as an offbeat comedy about two men played by Rudd and Hirsch, painting traffic lines on a desolate country highway that’s been ravaged by wildfire. Against this dramatic setting, the men bicker and joke with each other, eventually developing an unlikely friendship. 

    “All of us at Magnolia are huge fans of David Gordon Green, and it’s been a dream for a long time to work with him,” said Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles. “PRINCE AVALANCHE is incredibly smart, funny, warm and engaging film, with indelible, iconic performances from both Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch.”

    “Prince Avalanche was a strange joy to make and the reaction by audiences has been beautiful,” said David Gordon Green. “The pleasure continues as we join with Magnolia to distribute the movie. I couldn’t be more proud.”

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