• 2013 Oscar Nominations Announced, Beasts of the Southern Wild Surprises With 4 Nominations

    [caption id="attachment_3091" align="alignnone" width="550"]Beasts of the Southern Wild[/caption]

    Beasts of the Southern Wild surprised everyone when the nominations for the 85th Academy Awards® were announced today by this year’s Oscar host, Seth MacFarlane, and actress Emma Stone. The little film received four nominations including Best Picture, Best Director for Behn Zeitlin, Best Adapted Screenplay, Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin and Best Actress, Quvenzhané Wallis. At the age of 9, Wallis is the youngest ever nominee of the Academy Award for Best Actress.

    Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2013.

    Nominations for the 85th Academy Awards

     Performance by an actor in a leading role

    • Bradley Cooper in “Silver Linings Playbook”
    • Daniel Day-Lewis in “Lincoln”
    • Hugh Jackman in “Les Misérables”
    • Joaquin Phoenix in “The Master”
    • Denzel Washington in “Flight”

    Performance by an actor in a supporting role

    • Alan Arkin in “Argo”
    • Robert De Niro in “Silver Linings Playbook”
    • Philip Seymour Hoffman in “The Master”
    • Tommy Lee Jones in “Lincoln”
    • Christoph Waltz in “Django Unchained”

    Performance by an actress in a leading role

    • Jessica Chastain in “Zero Dark Thirty”
    • Jennifer Lawrence in “Silver Linings Playbook”
    • Emmanuelle Riva in “Amour”
    • Quvenzhané Wallis in “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
    • Naomi Watts in “The Impossible”

    Performance by an actress in a supporting role

    • Amy Adams in “The Master”
    • Sally Field in “Lincoln”
    • Anne Hathaway in “Les Misérables”
    • Helen Hunt in “The Sessions”
    • Jacki Weaver in “Silver Linings Playbook”

    Best animated feature film of the year

    • “Brave” Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman
    • “Frankenweenie” Tim Burton
    • “ParaNorman” Sam Fell and Chris Butler
    • “The Pirates! Band of Misfits” Peter Lord
    • “Wreck-It Ralph” Rich Moore

    Achievement in cinematography

    • “Anna Karenina” Seamus McGarvey
    • “Django Unchained” Robert Richardson
    • “Life of Pi” Claudio Miranda
    • “Lincoln” Janusz Kaminski
    • “Skyfall” Roger Deakins

    Achievement in costume design

    • “Anna Karenina” Jacqueline Durran
    • “Les Misérables” Paco Delgado
    • “Lincoln” Joanna Johnston
    • “Mirror Mirror” Eiko Ishioka
    • “Snow White and the Huntsman” Colleen Atwood

    Achievement in directing

    • “Amour” Michael Haneke
    • “Beasts of the Southern Wild” Benh Zeitlin
    • “Life of Pi” Ang Lee
    • “Lincoln” Steven Spielberg
    • “Silver Linings Playbook” David O. Russell

    Best documentary feature

    • “5 Broken Cameras” 
      Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
    • “The Gatekeepers” 
      Nominees to be determined
    • “How to Survive a Plague” 
      Nominees to be determined
    • “The Invisible War” 
      Nominees to be determined
    • “Searching for Sugar Man” 
      Nominees to be determined

    Best documentary short subject

    • “Inocente” 
      Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine
    • “Kings Point” 
      Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider
    • “Mondays at Racine” 
      Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan
    • “Open Heart” 
      Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern
    • “Redemption” 
      Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill

    Achievement in film editing

    • “Argo” William Goldenberg
    • “Life of Pi” Tim Squyres
    • “Lincoln” Michael Kahn
    • “Silver Linings Playbook” Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers
    • “Zero Dark Thirty” Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg

    Best foreign language film of the year

    • “Amour” Austria
    • “Kon-Tiki” Norway
    • “No” Chile
    • “A Royal Affair” Denmark
    • “War Witch” Canada

    Achievement in makeup and hairstyling

    • “Hitchcock”
      Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel
    • “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” 
      Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane
    • “Les Misérables” 
      Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell

    Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

    • “Anna Karenina” Dario Marianelli
    • “Argo” Alexandre Desplat
    • “Life of Pi” Mychael Danna
    • “Lincoln” John Williams
    • “Skyfall” Thomas Newman

    Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

    • “Before My Time” from “Chasing Ice”
      Music and Lyric by J. Ralph
    • “Everybody Needs A Best Friend” from “Ted”
      Music by Walter Murphy; Lyric by Seth MacFarlane
    • “Pi’s Lullaby” from “Life of Pi”
      Music by Mychael Danna; Lyric by Bombay Jayashri
    • “Skyfall” from “Skyfall”
      Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
    • “Suddenly” from “Les Misérables”
      Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil

    Best motion picture of the year

    • “Amour” Nominees to be determined
    • “Argo” Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck and George Clooney, Producers
    • “Beasts of the Southern Wild” Dan Janvey, Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald, Producers
    • “Django Unchained” Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin and Pilar Savone, Producers
    • “Les Misérables” Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward and Cameron Mackintosh, Producers
    • “Life of Pi” Gil Netter, Ang Lee and David Womark, Producers
    • “Lincoln” Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers
    • “Silver Linings Playbook” Donna Gigliotti, Bruce Cohen and Jonathan Gordon, Producers
    • “Zero Dark Thirty” Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow and Megan Ellison, Producers

    Achievement in production design

    • “Anna Karenina” 
      Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
    • “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” 
      Production Design: Dan Hennah; Set Decoration: Ra Vincent and Simon Bright
    • “Les Misérables” 
      Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Anna Lynch-Robinson
    • “Life of Pi” 
      Production Design: David Gropman; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
    • “Lincoln” 
      Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson 

    Best animated short film

    • “Adam and Dog” Minkyu Lee
    • “Fresh Guacamole” PES
    • “Head over Heels” Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly
    • “Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare”” David Silverman
    • “Paperman” John Kahrs

    Best live action short film

    • “Asad” Bryan Buckley and Mino Jarjoura
    • “Buzkashi Boys” Sam French and Ariel Nasr
    • “Curfew” Shawn Christensen
    • “Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)” Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele
    • “Henry” Yan England

    Achievement in sound editing

    • “Argo” Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn
    • “Django Unchained” Wylie Stateman
    • “Life of Pi” Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton
    • “Skyfall” Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers
    • “Zero Dark Thirty” Paul N.J. Ottosson

    Achievement in sound mixing

    • “Argo” 
      John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia
    • “Les Misérables” 
      Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes
    • “Life of Pi” 
      Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin
    • “Lincoln” 
      Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins
    • “Skyfall” 
      Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson

    Achievement in visual effects

    • “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” 
      Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White
    • “Life of Pi” 
      Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott
    • “Marvel’s The Avengers” 
      Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick
    • “Prometheus” 
      Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill
    • “Snow White and the Huntsman” 
      Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson

    Adapted screenplay

    • “Argo” Screenplay by Chris Terrio
    • “Beasts of the Southern Wild” Screenplay by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
    • “Life of Pi” Screenplay by David Magee
    • “Lincoln” Screenplay by Tony Kushner
    • “Silver Linings Playbook” Screenplay by David O. Russell

    Original screenplay

    • “Amour” Written by Michael Haneke
    • “Django Unchained” Written by Quentin Tarantino
    • “Flight” Written by John Gatins
    • “Moonrise Kingdom” Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
    • “Zero Dark Thirty” Written by Mark Boal

     

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  • Film Independent Announces The 3 Films Nominated for the 2013 Jameson Find Your Audience Award

    [caption id="attachment_3089" align="alignnone" width="550"]Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin and the Farm Midwives[/caption]

    Film Independent announced the nominees of the 2013 Jameson® FIND Your Audience Award, which is one of the four Film Independent Spirit Award filmmaker grants to be handed out at the January 12 nominee brunch. Funded by Jameson® Irish Whiskey, a Premier Sponsor of the awards, the $50,000 crash grant is designed to assist a feature narrative or documentary filmmaker in building the audience for his or her film. The winner will be highlighted at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, February 23, 2013. 

    The nominees for the 2013 Jameson FIND Your Audience Award are:

     

    Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin and the Farm Midwives
    Sara Lamm, director
    Zachary Mortensen, producer
    Kate Roughan, producer
    Mary Wigmore, director

    Breakfast with Curtis
    Laura Colella, director/producer

    History of Future Folk
    Jeremy Kipp Walker, director/producer
    John Mitchell, director

    Now in its third year, the Jameson® FIND Your Audience Award was established when Film Independent saw the need to meet independent filmmakers’ biggest challenge today: getting their films out into the marketplace. Previous year’s winners were Benjamin Murray and Alysa Nahmias for Unfinished Spaces and Jeff Malmberg for Marwencol. As part of the grant process, Film Independent will provide ongoing consultation regarding distribution, marketing and publicity.

    In order to be considered for the Jameson® FIND Your Audience Award grant, applicants must be the director or producer of a recent American narrative or documentary feature with a production budget of $2.5 million or less that has not yet received significant distribution. The film must have screened at a film festival no earlier than September 1, 2011 and no later than August 31, 2012. In addition, applicants must be a past Spirit Award nominee or winner, Los Angeles Film Festival alumnus or completed one of Film Independent’s Artist Development programs (Labs, Project Involve or Fast Track) or solicited by Film Independent. Films with innovative, alternative marketing or distribution plans were encouraged to apply. Films that have overall North American distribution deals or that have not yet begun a film festival run were ineligible.

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  • Slamdance Film Festival Announces 2013 Jury

    Slamdance announced today the Jury for the 19th Annual Slamdance Film Festival, which includes many of the minds behind SXSW, Woodstock, etc. The Slamdance Awards will be presented on January 24th during the awards ceremony.

    “We are thrilled to have such independent filmmaking revolutionaries judging this years diverse slate of films,” stated Peter Baxter, Slamdance President & Co-Founder.

    The 2013 Slamdance Film Festival will take place January 18 — 24, 2013 in Park City, Utah, at the Treasure Mountain Inn: 255 Main Street, Park City, UT 84060.

    The 2013 Slamdance Competition Jurors:

     

    Nancy Schafer is currently a consultant who works in independent film. Until July 2012 she was Executive Director of the Tribeca Film Festival and Executive Vice President of Tribeca Enterprises. Prior to joining Tribeca, she created and ran the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas for eight years. Schafer has worked on several films including John Sayles’ Sunshine State and Limbo and Robert Byington’s Olympia and Shameless. She began her film production career on The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Schafer is a graduate of the University of Virginia and currently resides in Manhattan.

    Meira Blaustein is the Co-founder / Executive Director / Programmer of the Woodstock Film Festival, which was launched in 2000 and has quickly become one of the most respected and influential regional film festivals in the US. The Woodstock Film Festival will be entering its 14th year in October 2013. Blaustein has over twenty years of experience in filmmaking, writing, producing and directing numerous projects including her full-length documentary For Love of Julian, narrated by Susan Sarandon and distributed by Wellspring Media. She is currently in development on a number of full length fiction and non- fiction feature length films. Blaustein is a freelance writer and blogger and has served as juror, speaker, mentor and panelist at a variety of film festivals and special events in Norway, England, Texas and New York.

    Dan Schoenbrun is the Communications & Programming Coordinator at the Independent Filmmaker Project, the nation’s oldest and largest non-profit for independent filmmakers. At IFP, Dan works year-round as part of the programming team, where he helps manage the organization’s Emerging Narrative screenplay program, Independent Filmmaker Labs (for filmmakers in post-production on their first feature), Festival Forum (a community-based interest group for film festival professionals), and a new partnership with Brooklyn’s rerun Theater. Dan also oversees IFP member events and screenings, and serves as the Associate Editor of Filmmaker Magazine. In addition to his work at IFP, Dan has served on programming committees for several film festivals, included the Hamptons and Nantucket, and recently was on the jury for the 2012 Brooklyn Film Festival.

    Brian Knappenberger a Director, Writer and Producer has created numerous documentaries and?feature films for the Sundance Channel, PBS FRONTLINE/World, The Travel Channel, National Geographic and the Discovery Channel. He is also Executive Producer of the 23 part Bloomberg Television documentary series Bloomberg Game Changers. His films have explored the changing politics and tensions in post- 9/11 southern Afghanistan in Life After War and abuses of power and freedom of speech with the killing of a journalist in Ukraine in A Murder in Kyiv.

    Sheri Candler is a digital marketing strategist who assists filmmakers in building an engaged & robust online community for their work. She directs digital marketing strategy for non profit film distribution & filmmaker education organization The Film Collaborative; she co-authored a book of case studies for filmmakers called Selling Your Film Without Selling Your Soul, and she regularly speaks about using social media on panels and workshops at industry events including AFM, DGA, NSI Canada, & Danish Film Directors Association. She can be contacted on Twitter: @shericandler, Facebook: Sheri Candler Marketing and Publicity, & Google Plus.

    Daniel J. Harris produced the documentary collective feature I Want to be an ?American for Slamdance Film Festival 2013. He originally trained in animation and worked on shows like The Simpsons and The Ren & Stimpy Show and produced the documentary Kurt and Courtney for Nick Broomfield. He wrote and directed? Slamdance/Locarno jury winner The Bible and Gun Club. He is working on The Fabulous Las Vegas, a feature documentary about a Kaapse Klopse (Cape Town Minstrel) troupe based in Lentegeur, Mitchell’s Plain, as it attempts to beat the competition in this year’s carnival season best-of-show. He’s also working on Meet Julie Wilson, about the legendary cabaret singer, currently shooting in New York. www.danieljharris.com

    Eleanor Burke and Ron Eyal are a filmmaking team who use actor centric methods. Their debut feature Stranger Things won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature at the 2011 Slamdance Film Festival and at the 2010 Woodstock Film Festival, as well as Best U.K. Feature at the 2011 Rain- dance Film Festival. They are currently developing their second feature, Bright As Day, which was a selection of the 2012 Sundance Creative Producing Lab.

    Chris Gore, is a comedian, writer, and regular on G4TV’s “Attack of the Show”, hosts his own groundbreaking podcast called PodCRASH. He likes Batman, zombies and long walks on my back. The founder and longtime editor-in- chief of the seminal magazine Film Threat, Gore is also a critically acclaimed film director, writer and producer. He is the author of Chris Gore’s Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide, currently in its fourth edition, and has served on countless festival panels and juries. Chris is also a founding co-host of Slamdance’s annual Hot Tub Summit.

    Skizz Cyzyk is a filmmaker/writer/musician/artist who has held positions at MicroCine-Fest, Maryland Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, and has served on juries at many other festivals. This is Skizz’s 17th year as a Slamdance projectionist, tenth year on the Slamdance advisory board, and sixth non-consecutive year on the Slamdance jury. He has been making films since 1983, currently in various stages of production on? documentaries about Rev. Fred Lane, the Catonsville Nine, and a 1981 “music war.” He also writes for music and film magazines, is on the Board of Directors for Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, plays punk rock ukulele with Go Pills, and plays drums for indie-pop sensations The Jennifers, surf/garage band Garage Sale, and Mink Stole & Her Wonderful Band.

    Paul Rachman is a founding filmmaker, programmer and east coast director for the Slamdance Film Festival. From a successful music video career he went on to direct his first feature film Four Dogs Playing Poker and in 2006 American Hardcore is his first documentary feature film premiered at the Sundance film festival and was released by Sony Pictures Classics. He is currently finish a new feature documentary Lost Rockers.

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  • Mary Bacarella is New Managing Director of Seattle International Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_3085" align="alignnone" width="550"]Michelle Quisenberry, Carl Spence and Mary Bacarella Photo: Getty Images [/caption]

    Mary Bacarella, a long-time Space Needle executive, has been named Seattle International Film Festival Managing Director effective February 1, 2013. Ms. Bacarella will lead the organization in tandem with Artistic Director Carl Spence and succeed Deborah Person, who has served as SIFF’s managing director since 2005.

    “Mary is the perfect choice to build on SIFF’s significant accomplishments and lead the organization going forward,” said Michelle Quisenberry, SIFF board president. “Mary has been involved with SIFF for 15 years and has a deep passion for the organization, she is a recognized community leader, savvy business executive, and understands SIFF’s vision for the future.”

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  • International Film Festival Rotterdam Announced The Nominees and Jury for 2013 Hivos Tiger Awards

    [caption id="attachment_3083" align="alignnone" width="550"]It Felt Like Love[/caption]

    The International Film Festival Rotterdam announced the sixteen nominees and the jury of the Hivos Tiger Awards Competition. The three winners of the Hivos Tiger Awards will be chosen by a jury of five, among them artist Ai Weiwei.

    The winning films will be selected by Iranian actress Fatemeh Motamedarya – who has been banned from acting in film, theatre and television for the past two years, by Russian screenwriter and filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa (The Revue, My Joy), Dutch director Kees Hin (Shadowland) and artistic director of the Seville European Film Festival José Luis Cienfuegos. Chinese visual artist and filmmaker Ai Weiwei (Fairytale, One Recluse) will not be able to attend the festival and will join the jury from his home in Beijing. 

    The nominees 

     

    36, Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, Thailand, European premiere
    Silent Ones, Ricky Rijneke, Netherlands/Hungary, World premiere
    Chunmeng (Longing for the Rain), Yang Lina, Hong Kong, World premiere
    Dummy Jim, Matt Hulse, United Kingdom, World premiere
    Eles voltam (They’ll Come Back), Marcelo Lordello, Brazil, International premiere
    Gozetleme Kulesi (Watchtower), Pelin Esmer, Turkey, European premiere
    Halley, Sebastián Hofmann, Mexico, European premiere
    It Felt Like Love, Eliza Hittman, USA, International premiere
    Larzanandeye charbi (Fat Shaker), Mohammad Shirvani, Iran, European premiere
    Môj pes Killer (My Dog Killer), Mira Fornay, Slovakia/Czech Republic, World premiere
    Noche (Night), Leonardo Brzezicki, Argentina, World premiere
    Penumbra, Eduardo Villanueva Jiménez, Mexico, World premiere
    Sao karaoke (Karaoke Girl), Visra Vichit Vadakan, Thailand, World premiere
    Soldate Jeannette (Soldier Jane), Daniel Hoesl, Austria, European premiere
    Su Re (The King), Giovanni Columbu, Italy, International premiere
    De wederopstanding van een klootzak (The Resurrection of a Bastard), Guido van Driel, Netherlands, World premiere

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  • Stories We Tell Wins Toronto Film Critics 2012 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award

    Stories We Tell, Sarah Polley’s documentary inquiry into her tangled family history, has won the Toronto Film Critics Association’s 2012 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award and the $100,000 prize. This marks the second time the TFCA has honoured Polley for Best Canadian Film; she won for her first feature, Away From Her (2006). Stories We Tell also received the TFCA’s 2012 Allan King Documentary Award.

    Also nominated for the award were Bestiaire, directed by Denis Côté, and Goon, directed by Michael Dowse.  As runners-up, Côté and Dowse each received $5,000.

    Other award winners include, the 2012 Manulife Financial Best Student Film Award to Ryerson University student Andrew Moir for his short documentary Just As I Remember, which juxtaposes the experience of two men with ALS—a father of three in the early stages of disease and his own dad who is almost completely paralyzed. The award carries a cash prize of $5,000.

    The TFCA’s Jay Scott Prize for an emerging artist twas presented to Toronto filmmaker Nicolás Pereda (Greatest Hits). The prize is accompanied by a $5,000 cash award and $5,000 in post production services. 

    Last month, The Master, Paul Thomas Anderson’s drama about a battle of wills between a ravaged war veteran and the cult leader who offers him a place at his right hand, dominated the 2012 awards of the Toronto Film Critics Association. Anderson’s film took Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay, with co-star Philip Seymour Hoffman named the year’s Best Supporting Actor.

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  • Amour, Marley Receive Nominations For The EE British Academy Film Awards in 2013

    [caption id="attachment_3079" align="alignnone" width="550"]Marley[/caption]

    Lincoln was the clear leader with ten nods when the nominations for the EE British Academy Film Awards were announced today in London. The Master and Amour have four nominations and and Silver Linings Playbook received three nominations. 

    Emmanuelle Riva is nominated in Leading Actress for Amour, which is also nominated in Film Not in the English Language. Director, Michael Haneke received nominations for Director and Original Screenplay.

    Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper have Leading Actress and Actor nominations for Silver Linings Playbook, which is also nominated for Adapted Screenplay.

    The Imposter and McCullin are both nominated in Documentary. The filmmakers behind both films are nominated for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer: Director Bart Layton and Producer Dimitri Doganis for The Imposter and Director David Morris and Director/Producer Jacqui Morris for McCullin. Also nominated in the Documentary category are: Marley, Searching for Sugar Man and West of Memphis.

    Moonrise Kingdom is nominated for Original Screenplay. Beasts of the Southern Wild is nominated in the Adapted Screenplay category. 

    Headhunters, The Hunt and Untouchable are all nominated in the Film Not in the English Language category, alongside Amour and Rust and Bone.

    The EE British Academy Film Awards, hosted by Stephen Fry, take place on Sunday 10 February at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. 

    Complete list of 2012 NOMINATIONS (presented in 2013)

     

    BEST FILM 

    ARGO Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Clooney
    LES MISÉRABLES Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh
    LIFE OF PI Gil Netter, Ang Lee, David Womark
    LINCOLN Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy
    ZERO DARK THIRTY Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow, Megan Ellison

    OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM 

    ANNA KARENINA Joe Wright, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster, Tom Stoppard
    THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL John Madden, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Ol Parker
    LES MISÉRABLES Tom Hooper, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh, William Nicholson, Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer
    SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS Martin McDonagh, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin
    SKYFALL Sam Mendes, Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan

    OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER 

    BART LAYTON (Director), DIMITRI DOGANIS (Producer) The Imposter 
    DAVID MORRIS (Director), JACQUI MORRIS (Director/Producer) McCullin 
    DEXTER FLETCHER (Director/Writer), DANNY KING (Writer) Wild Bill
    JAMES BOBIN (Director) The Muppets 
    TINA GHARAVI (Director/Writer) I Am Nasrine 

    FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE  

    AMOUR Michael Haneke, Margaret Ménégoz
    HEADHUNTERS Morten Tyldum, Marianne Gray, Asle Vatn
    THE HUNT Thomas Vinterberg, Sisse Graum Jørgensen, Morten Kaufmann 
    RUST AND BONE Jacques Audiard, Pascal Caucheteux
    UNTOUCHABLE Eric Toledano, Olivier Nakache, Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Yann Zenou, Laurent Zeitoun

    DOCUMENTARY 

    THE IMPOSTER Bart Layton, Dimitri Doganis
    MARLEY Kevin Macdonald, Steve Bing, Charles Steel
    McCULLIN David Morris, Jacqui Morris
    SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn
    WEST OF MEMPHIS Amy Berg

    ANIMATED FILM 

    BRAVE Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman
    FRANKENWEENIE Tim Burton
    PARANORMAN Sam Fell, Chris Butler

    DIRECTOR 

    AMOUR Michael Haneke
    ARGO Ben Affleck
    DJANGO UNCHAINED Quentin Tarantino
    LIFE OF PI Ang Lee
    ZERO DARK THIRTY Kathryn Bigelow

    ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY 

    AMOUR Michael Haneke
    DJANGO UNCHAINED Quentin Tarantino
    THE MASTER Paul Thomas Anderson
    MOONRISE KINGDOM Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola
    ZERO DARK THIRTY Mark Boal

    ADAPTED SCREENPLAY 

    ARGO Chris Terrio 
    BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin
    LIFE OF PI David Magee
    LINCOLN Tony Kushner
    SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK David O. Russell

    LEADING ACTOR 

    BEN AFFLECK Argo
    BRADLEY COOPER Silver Linings Playbook
    DANIEL DAY-LEWIS Lincoln
    HUGH JACKMAN Les Misérables
    JOAQUIN PHOENIX The Master

    LEADING ACTRESS 

    EMMANUELLE RIVA Amour
    HELEN MIRREN Hitchcock
    JENNIFER LAWRENCE Silver Linings Playbook
    JESSICA CHASTAIN Zero Dark Thirty
    MARION COTILLARD Rust and Bone

    SUPPORTING ACTOR 

    ALAN ARKIN Argo
    CHRISTOPH WALTZ Django Unchained
    JAVIER BARDEM Skyfall
    PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN The Master
    TOMMY LEE JONES Lincoln

    SUPPORTING ACTRESS 

    AMY ADAMS The Master
    ANNE HATHAWAY Les Misérables
    HELEN HUNT The Sessions
    JUDI DENCH Skyfall 
    SALLY FIELD Lincoln

    ORIGINAL MUSIC 

    ANNA KARENINA Dario Marianelli
    ARGO Alexandre Desplat
    LIFE OF PI Mychael Danna
    LINCOLN John Williams
    SKYFALL Thomas Newman 

    CINEMATOGRAPHY 

    ANNA KARENINA Seamus McGarvey
    LES MISÉRABLES Danny Cohen
    LIFE OF PI Claudio Miranda
    LINCOLN Janusz Kaminski
    SKYFALL Roger Deakins

    EDITING  

    ARGO William Goldenberg
    DJANGO UNCHAINED Fred Raskin
    LIFE OF PI Tim Squyres
    SKYFALL Stuart Baird
    ZERO DARK THIRTY Dylan Tichenor, William Goldenberg

    PRODUCTION DESIGN 

    ANNA KARENINA Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
    LES MISÉRABLES Eve Stewart, Anna Lynch-Robinson
    LIFE OF PI David Gropman, Anna Pinnock
    LINCOLN Rick Carter, Jim Erickson
    SKYFALL Dennis Gassner, Anna Pinnock

    COSTUME DESIGN 

    ANNA KARENINA Jacqueline Durran
    GREAT EXPECTATIONS Beatrix Aruna Pasztor
    LES MISÉRABLES Paco Delgado
    LINCOLN Joanna Johnston
    SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN Colleen Atwood

    MAKE UP & HAIR 

    ANNA KARENINA Ivana Primorac
    HITCHCOCK Julie Hewett, Martin Samuel, Howard Berger
    THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Peter Swords King, Richard Taylor, Rick Findlater
    LES MISÉRABLES Lisa Westcott
    LINCOLN Lois Burwell, Kay Georgiou

    SOUND 

    DJANGO UNCHAINED Mark Ulano, Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti, Wylie Stateman
    THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Tony Johnson, Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, 
    Michael Semanick, Brent Burge, Chris Ward
    LES MISÉRABLES Simon Hayes, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Jonathan Allen, Lee Walpole, John Warhurst
    LIFE OF PI Drew Kunin, Eugene Gearty, Philip Stockton, Ron Bartlett, D. M. Hemphill
    SKYFALL Stuart Wilson, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell, Per Hallberg, Karen Baker Landers

    SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS 

    THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Peter Bebb, Andrew Lockley
    THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, R. Christopher White
    LIFE OF PI Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer 
    MARVEL AVENGERS ASSEMBLE Nominees TBC 
    PROMETHEUS Richard Stammers, Charley Henley, Trevor Wood, Paul Butterworth

    SHORT ANIMATION  

    HERE TO FALL Kris Kelly, Evelyn McGrath
    I’M FINE THANKS Eamonn O’Neill
    THE MAKING OF LONGBIRD Will Anderson, Ainslie Henderson

    SHORT FILM  

    THE CURSE Fyzal Boulifa, Gavin Humphries
    GOOD NIGHT Muriel d’Ansembourg, Eva Sigurdardottir
    SWIMMER Lynne Ramsay, Peter Carlton, Diarmid Scrimshaw 
    TUMULT Johnny Barrington, Rhianna Andrews
    THE VOORMAN PROBLEM Mark Gill, Baldwin Li

    THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public) 

    ELIZABETH OLSEN 
    ANDREA RISEBOROUGH 
    SURAJ SHARMA 
    JUNO TEMPLE 
    ALICIA VIKANDER

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  • First selections Announced for Bright Future and Spectrum Sections at 2013 International Film Festival Rotterdam

    [caption id="attachment_3077" align="alignnone" width="550"]Grenzgänger, Florian Flicker[/caption]

    The first selections for the 2013 International Film Festival Rotterdam‘s main sections Bright Future and Spectrum were released and among the many world and international premieres are new works by famous directors Bernardo Bertolucci, Ulrich Seidl, Olivier Assayas, Nakata Hideo and by numerous young talents. 

    The festival will screen the world premiere of The Complex by Nakata Hideo, director of horror movies (The Ring). Also from Japan comes Japan’s Tragedy by Kobayashi Masahiro, a family drama dedicated to the victims of the 2011 tsunami. Indonesian director Garin Nugroho presents Soegija, a large-scale historical drama that focuses on the life of the first native Indonesian bishop Soegijapranata. Also from Indonesia, Kusuma Widjaja Putu presents his first feature film On Mother’s Head, picturing daily life on the island of Bali. 

    Bright Future
    In Bright Future, the section consists of first or second feature films only. The complete lineup of Bright Future is to be announced 9 January. The first selections are: 

    World premieres

    DEAD BODY WELCOME, Kees Brienen, Netherlands
    Fahrtwind – Aufzeichnungen einer Reisenden, Bernadette Weigel, Austria
    Foudre, Manuela Morgaine, France
    Frankenstein’s Army, Richard Raaphorst, Netherlands/Czech Republic/USA
    Matterhorn, Diederik Ebbinge, Netherlands
    Of Good Report, Jahmil XT Qubeka, South Africa
    On Mother’s Head, Kusuma Widjaja Putu, Indonesia, Hubert Bals Fund-supported film
    Toegetakeld door de liefde, Ari Deelder, Netherlands
    Towheads, Shannon Plumb, USA

    International premieres

    A floresta de Jonathas, Sérgio Andrade, Brazil
    Big Boy, Shireen Seno, Philippines
    GFP Bunny, Tsuchiya Yutaka, Japan
    Ma belle gosse, Shalimar Preuss, France
    Sunshine Boys, Kim Tae-Gon, South Korea
    Une histoire d’amour, Hélène Fillières, France

    European premieres

    De ontmaagding van Eva van End, Michiel ten Horn, Netherlands
    Die Welt, Alex Pitstra, Netherlands
    Four Ways to Die in My Hometown, Chai Chunya, China
    Poor Folk, Midi Z, Taiwan, Myanmar, Hubert Bals Fund-supported film
    Ziba, Bani Khoshnoudi, Iran, France

    Also selected in Bright Future:

    90 Minutes, Eva Sørhaug, Norway
    Avanti Popolo, Michael Wahrmann, Brazil
    Bassa marea, Roberto Minervini, USA, Italy, Belgium
    Blancanieves, Pablo Berger, Spain/France
    Carne de perro, Fernando Guzzoni, Chile/France/Germany
    Errors of the Human Body, Eron Sheean, Germany, Australia
    Kern, Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala, Austria
    La playa D.C., Juan Andrés Arango, Colombia, Hubert Bals Fund-supported film
    Leones, Jazmín López, Argentina/France/Netherlands, Hubert Bals Fund-supported film
    L’étoile du jour, Sophie Blondy, France
    Los salvajes, Alejandro Fadel, Argentina, Hubert Bals Fund-supported film
    Mai Morire, Enrique Rivero Huerta, Mexico, Hubert Bals Fund-supported film
    Memories Look at Me, Song Fang, China, Hubert Bals Fund-supported film
    Miss Lovely, Ashim Ahluwalia, India
    Nairobi Half Life, David ‘Tosh’ Gitonga, Kenya/Germany
    Oh Boy, Jan Ole Gerster, Germany
    Peculiar Vacation and Other Illnesses, Yosep Anggi Noen, Indonesia, Hubert Bals Fund-supported film
    Rengaine, Rachid Djaïdani, France
    Roland Hassel, Måns Månsson, Sweden
    Ship of Theseus, Anand Gandhi, India
    Simon Killer, Antonio Campos, USA
    Sleepless Night, Jang Kun-Jae, South Korea
    Tall as the Baobab Tree, Jeremy Teicher, Senegal
    The Boy Is Eating the Bird’s Food, Ektoras Lygizos, Greece
    The Patience Stone, Atiq Rahimi, France
    The Radiant, The Otolith Group, United Kingdom
    Vergiss mein nicht, David Sieveking, Germany
    Wadjda, Haifaa Al Mansour, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Hubert Bals Fund-supported film
    Wasteland, Rowan Athale, United Kingdom

    Spectrum
    Spectrum shows new and recent feature-length work by experienced film makers and artists who provide, in the opinion of IFFR, an essential contribution to international film culture.

    World premieres

    Hill of Pleasures, Maria Ramos, Netherlands/Brazil
    La tendresse, Marion Hänsel, Belgium/France/Germany
    Lee Towers: The Voice of Rotterdam, Hans Heijnen, Netherlands
    One Day When the Rain Falls, Ifa Isfansyah, Indonesia, Hubert Bals Fund-supported film
    Rio Belongs to Us, Ricardo Pretti, Brazil, Hubert Bals Fund-supported film
    The Complex, Nakata Hideo, Japan
    Harmonica’s Howl, Bruno Safadi, Brazil, Hubert Bals Fund-supported film
    Touch, Shelly Silver, USA
    How to Describe a Cloud, David Verbeek, Netherlands

    International premieres

    Avant que mon coeur bascule, Sébastien Rose, Canada
    Éden, Bruno Safadi, Brazil
    La souris est sous la table, Cristi Puiu, Romania/France
    Le chat est sur la chaise, Cristi Puiu, Romania/France
    Le singe est sur la branche, Cristi Puiu, Romania/France
    The Russian Novel, Shin Yeon-Shick, South Korea

    European premieres

    Atambua 39° Celsius, Riri Riza, Indonesia, Hubert Bals Fund-supported film
    First Comes Love, Nina Davenport, USA
    Il futuro, Alicia Scherson, Chile/Germany/Italy/Spain
    Japan’s Tragedy, Kobayashi Masahiro, Japan
    Lasting, Jacek Borcuch, Poland/Spain
    Odayaka, Uchida Nobuteru, Japan/USA
    Soegija, Garin Nugroho, Indonesia

    Also selected in Spectrum:

    11.25 The Day Mishima Chose His Own Fate, Wakamatsu Koji, Japan
    Alone, Wang Bing, France/Hong Kong
    Après mai, Olivier Assayas, France
    Centro Histórico, Aki Kaurismäki, Pedro Costa, Victor Erice, Manoel de Oliveira, Portugal
    Cherchez Hortense, Pascal Bonitzer, France
    Comrade Kim Goes Flying, Anja Daelemans, Nicholas Bonner, Kim Gwang Hun, Belgium/North Korea/United Kingdom
    El muerto y ser feliz, Javier Rebollo, Spain/Argentina/France
    For Love’s Sake, Miike Takashi, Japan
    Gegenwart, Thomas Heise, Germany
    Ginger and Rosa, Sally Potter, United Kingdom
    Grenzgänger, Florian Flicker, Austria
    Inori, Pedro González-Rubio, Japan
    Jiseul, O Muel, South Korea
    Kalayaan, Adolfo B. Alix Jr., Philippines, Hubert Bals Fund-supported film
    Kid, Fien Troch, Belgium
    La fille de nulle part, Jean-Claude Brisseau, France
    La noche de enfrente, Raúl Ruiz, France/Chile
    L’enclos du temps, Jean-Charles Fitoussi, France
    Les chevaux de Dieu, Nabil Ayouch, Morocco/France/Belgium
    Lesson of the Evil, Miike Takashi, Japan
    Lore, Cate Shortland, Australia/Germany/United Kingdom
    Me and You, Bernardo Bertolucci, Italy
    Me Too, Alexey Balabanov, Russia
    No, Pablo Larraín, Chile/France/USA
    Paradies: Glaube, Ulrich Seidl, Austria/France/Germany
    Pearblossom Hwy, Mike Ott, USA/Greece
    Post tenebras lux, Carlos Reygadas, Mexico
    Reality, Matteo Garrone, Italy
    Sightseers, Ben Wheatley, United Kingdom
    Spring Breakers, Harmony Korine, USA
    The Master, Paul Thomas Anderson, USA
    Vulgaria, Pang Ho-cheung, Hong Kong
    When Night Falls, Ying Liang, South Korea/China
    White Epilepsy, Philippe Grandrieux, France

    Read more

  • 2013 Santa Barbara International Film Festival Announces Film Lineup

    [caption id="attachment_3075" align="alignnone" width="550"]Wasteland[/caption]

    The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF), begins Thursday, January 24 and continues through Sunday, February 3, 2013, announced its film line-up for 2013. 

    SBIFF 2013 will kick off with the U.S. Premiere of Disconnect, directed by Henry-Alex Rubin and starring Jason Bateman, Hope Davis, Frank Grillo, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist, Andrea Riseborough, Alexander Skarsgård and Max Thieriot. Disconnect holds a mirror up to our community and our obsession with all things technical. The story introduces us to a vast collection of characters: A lawyer, an estranged couple, a widowed ex-cop and an ambitious journalist who are all strangers, neighbors and colleagues whose stories collide in this compelling drama about ordinary people desperate for a human connection. Filmed with a somewhat voyeuristic style, Disconnect marks the first fiction feature from Henry-Alex Rubin, director of the Oscar-nominated documentary Murderball, from an original screenplay by Andrew Stern. 

    On Closing Night, SBIFF will present the U.S. Premiere of Wasteland, written and directed by Rowan Athale, marking his feature directing debut, and starring Matthew Lewis, Timothy Spall and Iwan Rheon. In this exhilarating heist thriller, a young ex-con hooks up with his best mates to embark on a wild — and risky — revenge scheme after being framed by a local drug kingpin. 

    SBIFF will present an International Gala Screening of Pablo Larraín’s film, “No,” starring Gael Garcia Bernal. The film, which is about an ad executive comes up with a campaign to defeat Augusto Pinochet in Chile’s 1988 referendum, was a favorite at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and winner of their Art Cinema Award. Director Pablo Larraín and Gael Garcia Bernal will attend.

    Below is the list of World and US Premiere films, followed by the list of titles by sidebar category. 

     

    WORLD PREMIERES

    A Year in Burgundy USA
    Directed by David Kennard
    Cast: Martine Saunier
    This documentary follows half a dozen wine makers in the Burgundy region of France for one full year, where the beautiful and traditional processes are revealed.

    Blumenthal, USA
    Directed by Seth Fisher
    Cast: Seth Fisher, Brian Cox, Fred Melamed, Laila Robins, Mark Blum, Mei Melancon
    Celebrated playwright, Harold Blumenthal, has passed away after succumbing to cardiac arrest while laughing at his own joke. Now, Harold’s estranged and jealous brother, Saul, must confront his personal hang-ups in order to deliver himself from an epic bout of constipation.

    Crosstown, USA
    Directed by Miriam Kruishoop
    Cast: Manny Perez, Vivica A. Fox, Will Green, Noel Gugliemi, Paige Hurd
    The promise of a better life is shattered when two families are confronted with the brutal reality of raising their children in Los Angeles. An undocumented immigrant family from El Salvador is forced to sign their 17 year-old son’s life away to the U.S. Military with the false promise of naturalization papers. The other family struggles to prevent a forbidden love affair between their Black teenage daughter and a recently initiated member of the local Salvadoran street gang.

    Discovering Mavericks, USA
    Directed by Joshua Pomer
    Director Josh Pomer captures insider interviews and more than three decades of images and footage to tell the true story of California’s most famous, and notorious, big wave.

    Driftwood, USA
    Directed by Peter Trow, Jim Brewer
    Cast: Shaun Tomson, Matt Becker, Genelle Ives, Joe Rowan, Sam George, Noah Yap, Ammy Naff, Jim Brewer
    Narrated by surf legend Shaun Tomson, this beautiful and meditative stand-up paddle board excursion takes Sam George, Noah Yap, Ammy Naff and Jim Brewer through locations including Sri Lanka, Iceland, Colombia, USA, and Nova Scotia.

    El Milagro, Spain
    Directed by Salomón Shang
    A Spanish film crew attempts to expose Peru’s El Milagro, where many children are forced to work in the local landfill amidst horrible health and environmental conditions.

    Isolated, USA/UK
    Directed by Justin Le Pera
    Cast: Ryan Phillippe, Travis Potter
    Five world class surfers travel to the journalist dead zone of New Guinea in search of undiscovered waves and find more than they bargained for.

    It’s Better to Jump, USA/Israel
    Directed by Gina Angelone, Mouna B. Stewart, Patrick A. Stewart
    It’s Better to Jump” is a feature-length documentary film that gives voice to the people of the ancient walled city of Akka as they and their city face a very uncertain future.

    Monster Squid: The Giant Is Real, UK
    Discovery Channel and NHK have joined forces to undertake the most ambitious search ever mounted to find the greatest mystery of the deep, the giant squid. With razor-toothed suckers and eyes the size of dinner plates, tales of the creature have been around since ancient times. The Norse legend of the sea monster the Kraken and the Scylla from Greek mythology might have derived from the giant squid. This massive predator has always been shrouded in secrecy, and every attempt to capture a live giant squid on camera in its natural habitat, considered by many to be the Holy Grail of natural history filmmaking, has failed. Until now.

    Occupy the Movie, Canada
    Directed by Corey Ogilvie
    Featuring: Noam Chomsky, Cornel West, Tim Pool
    This film sheds a light on a movement known as Occupy who stands against corporate greed. Beginning in 2011, it has quickly become the largest movement since those of the civil rights protests.

    Retreat, Canada
    Directed by David Cherniack
    Cast: Alan Wallace
    A documentary that follows the trials and tribulations of thirty-five Westerners as they go through an intense eight-week meditation retreat in Thailand led by Alan Wallace.

    Sex After Kids, Canada
    Directed by Jeremy Lalonde
    Cast: Paul Amos, Shannon Meckner, Katie Boland, Kristin Booth, Jay Brazeau
    An edgy ensemble comedy about the sexual exploits couples share in the aftermath of children.

    Stable Life, USA
    Directed by Sara MacPherson
    A high-stakes documentary about family, immigration and the hardscrabble world of horse racing

    The Signal Hill Speed Run,
    Directed by Jon Carnoy, Michael Horelick
    Featuring: Ben Harper (narrator)
    Narrator Ben Harper explores the history of the world’s first skateboard contest and the subsequent evolution of the daredevil speed run in the small So Cal burg of Signal Hill.

    U.S. PREMIERES

    About 111 Girls (Darbare 111 Dokhtar), Iraq
    Directed by Nahid Ghobadi, Bijan Zamanpira
    Cast: Reza Behbudi, Mehdi Saki, Amin Sadeghi
    The Iranian president receives a pleading letter from 111 Kurdish women complaining of their inability to find husbands, and says that if the government does nothing, they will commit mass suicide.

    Alaska Sessions: Surfing The Last Frontier, Australia
    Directed by Frederick Dickerson, Matthew McNeill
    Featuring: Mike McCune, Scott Dickerson, Ice Man (Don McNamara), Stephanie Dickerson, Donna Rae Faulkner, Wendy Kinnier McCune
    A Homer Alaska local sells his house and buys an old fishing boat to embark on an epic surf adventure up the isolated Alaskan coastline — in the dead of winter

    Autoluminescent: Rowland S. Howard, Australia
    Directed by Richard Lowenstein, Lynn-Maree Milburn
    Cast: Rowland S. Howard, Genevieve McGuckin, Nick Cave
    From myth to legend Rowland Howard appeared on the early Melbourne punk scene like a phantom out of Kafkaesque Prague or Bram Stoker’s Dracula. A beautifully gaunt and gothic aristocrat, the unique distinctive fury of his guitar style shot him directly into the imagination of a generation.

    Betrayal (Izmena), Russia
    Directed by Kirill Serebrennikov
    Cast: Franziska Petri, Dejan Lilic
    A man and a woman, two casual acquaintances, learn that their respective spouses are having an affair with each other in this intriguing drama.

    Boucherie Halal, Canada
    Directed by Babek Aliassa
    Cast: Abdelghafour Elaaziz, Fariba Bonakdar, Karim Babin, Christine Aubin Khalifah
    A Muslim couple opens a butcher shop in Montreal and wishes to successfully integrate into Quebec society. But the butcher’s father is an imam who sets up a little mosque in the back room and uses it to spread his fundamentalist views. When he is arrested by the RCMP on suspicions of past terrorist activities, his son, torn between love for his wife and allegiance to his father, gets involved in a plot to free him. Fed up by her husband’s unwillingness to stand up to his father’s wishes, the butcher’s wife leaves to live a more fulfilling life away from the muslim community.

    Broken, UK
    Directed by Rufus Norris
    Cast: Tim Roth, Cillian Murphy, Rory Kinnear
    Skunk is only 11, but after witnessing a brutal beating, her childhood innocence gives way to fear and danger.

    Chaika, Russia/Georgia/Spain/Kazakhstan
    Directed by Miguel Ángel Jiminez
    Cast: Salome Demuria, Gio Gabunia
    A love story between a prostitute and a sailor, reconstructed between two long seasons: the eternal winter of Siberia and summer in the dusty steppes of Kazakhstan.

    Chocó, Colombia
    Directed by Jhonny Hendrix Hinestroza
    Cast: Esteban Copete, Karent Hinestroza
    A young, displaced black woman tries to maintain her two children and her husband, a musician who only knows how to play marimba, drink, and gamble.

    Danube – Europe’s Amazon, Germany
    Directed by Rita & Michael Schlamberger
    Romantic coasts and unspoiled nature: the Danube fascinates. It dominates the landscape wherever it flows. The Danube unites and separates at the same time. In the Roman Empire – from its source to its estuary – it formed the frontier to the peoples of the North. Today the big stream flows through ten countries. 1071 kilometres of the Danube still represent national borders.

    Family Meals, Croatia
    Directed by Dana Budisavljevic
    Through the ritual of family meals, the film talks about the importance of feeling accepted by the ones we love.

    Fly With The Crane, China
    Directed by Li Ruijun
    Cast: Xingchun Ma, Long Tang, Siyi Wang
    Serenely resigned to his impending death but deeply afraid at the prospect of being cremated, an elderly carpenter seeks to have his last wishes carried out in this gentle, beautifully realized drama from director Li Ruijun

    Handmade Cinema, Italy
    Directed by Guido Torlonia
    Featuring: Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo, Maurizio Millenotti, Gabriella Pescucci
    Turning an actor into a character, sewing a precious dress or an antique pair of shoes as if they were art works, building a set but most of all painting it, aging it and making the stage designer’s sketch a beautiful reconstruction all this is Handmade Cinema.

    High Plains Doctor: Healing on the Tibetan Plateau, Canada
    Directed by Michael Oved Dayan
    Featuring: Isaac Sobol
    On a doctor’s philanthropic journey to give to the people of Tibet, he receives more than he could ever imagine.

    Jackie, Netherlands
    Directed by Antoinette Beumer
    Cast: Carice van Houten, Jelka van Houten, Holly Hunter
    Dutch twin sisters travel to America to help the mother (Holly Hunter) they have never met in this heartwarming, cross-cultural take on the classic American road movie.

    Motorway, Hong Kong
    Directed by Pou-Soi Cheang
    Cast: Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Shawn Yue
    A young cop on Hong Kong’s top-secret, high-speed pursuit squad must learn the tricks of the trade from a grizzled veteran as he prepares to capture a legendary getaway driver in this high-octane thriller from action auteur Soi Cheang and legendary producer Johnnie To.

    My Awkward Sexual Adventure, Canada
    Directed by Sean Garrity
    Cast: Jonas Chernick, Emily Hampshire, Vik Sahay
    A sexually inept accountant strikes a deal with a worldly but disorganized stripper: he’ll help her with her crushing debt if she helps him become a better lover.

    Old Stock, Canada
    Directed by James Genn
    Cast: Noah Reid, Melanie Leishman
    Stock Burton (Noah Reid) is a local legend. A monumental event from his past has frozen
    him, sent his family into a tailspin and pitted his small town against him. Now he’s simply chosen to drop out of life and ‘retire’, joining his recently separated Grandfather, Harold, (Jack Daniel Wells) at the Golden Seasons senior’s home, where life is safe, comfortable and worry free.

    One Mile Above, China/Taiwan
    Directed by Jiayi Du
    A young man’s cycle journey to the highest point in Tibet to fulfill his brother’s final wish. Based on a true story.

    Perú Sabe: Cuisine as an Agent of Social Change, Perú
    Directed by Jesús M. Santos
    Featuring: Gaston Acurio, Ferran Adriá
    Ferran Adrià, one of the world’s most prestigious chefs, and Gastón Acurio, Latin America’s most influential chef, explore the roots of Peruvian cuisine and its potential to change lives.

    Queen of Montreuil, France
    Directed by Sólveing Anspach
    Cast: Florence Loiret Caille, Eric Caruso
    It’s early summer and Agathe is back in France, at home in Montreuil. She has to get over her husband’s death and return to her work as a film director. The unexpected arrival at her house of a couple of Icelanders, a sea lion and a neighbor that she has always desired yet never vanquished will give Agathe the strength to get her life back on track…

    Revolution, Canada
    Directed by Rob Stewart
    Featuring: Rob Stewart, David Hannan, Boris Worm, Emily Hunter, Felix Finkbeiner
    REVOLUTION is a film about changing the world, going for it, taking a stand, and fighting for something. A true-life adventure following Director, Rob Stewart (SHARKWATER) over four years and 15 countries discovering there is a lot more than sharks at risk of becoming extinct. Climate change, environmental degradation, species loss, ocean acidification, pollution, and food/water scarcity are reducing the earth’s ability to house humans and we need to start doing something about it now!

    Storm Surfers 3D, Australia
    Directed by Justin McMillan, Chris Nelius
    Featuring: Tom Carroll, Ben Matson
    This 3D cinematic adventure follows two of Australia’s greatest surf legends on their quest to hunt down and ride the Pacific’s biggest and most dangerous waves.

    The Ballad of The Weeping Springs (Balada le’aviv ha’bohe), Israel
    Directed by Benny Toraty
    Cast: Yigal Adika, Lirit Balaban, Asher Dagan, Yonatan Dani, Peri Bar Delshdefer
    Amram, the son of Avraham Mufredi, turns up at the house of the legendary Persian tar (lute) player, Yosef Tawilla. Amram gives him the score of a work that his father, a member of Tawilla’s ensemble and his partner, wants to see performed before his impending death.

    The Body, Spain
    Directed by Oriol Paulo
    Cast: José Coronado, Belén Rueda, Hugo Silva, Aura Garrido
    A woman’s body vanishes from the morgue in mysterious circumstances. In the course of a single night, Inspector Jaime Peña investigates the disappearance with the help of her widower.

    The Dealers, Israel
    Directed by Oded Davidoff
    Cast: Alon Aboutboul, Moshe Ashkenazi, Rami Davidoff, Abdallah El Akal
    The story of Rami and Avishay, 27 years old friends that share an apartment in a small Jerusalem neighborhood. They spend their days smoking and playing in a soccer team with other losers, which its coach Zvika is determined to take the “Jerusalem neighborhood cup” with. In need for money they get entangled in a drug deal with Sagi, a local gangster, which forces them to learn the hard way about taking responsibility, loyalty, and friendship. The movie is a humorous view of the colorful, multi culture, unique and somehow funny Israeli society.

    The Deflowering of Eva Von End, Netherlands
    Directed by Michiel ten Horn
    Cast: Vivian Dierickx, Rafael Gareisen
    The outcast in her middle-class family, Eva’s life is turned upside down by the arrival of a handsome German exchange student in this satire of petit-bourgeois family life.

    The Invisible String, Germany/USA/Japan/Italy
    Directed by Jan Bäss
    Featuring: Chipper ‘Bro’ Bell, ‘Crazy’ John Brooks
    Focusing on the 1970s and ‘80s, including vintage footage from Santa Barbara, this German documentary traces the rise in popularity of Frisbee contests, games and acrobatic exhibitions.

    The Night Parade, France
    Directed by Geraldine Maillet
    Cast: Julie Gayet, Raphaël Peronnaz, Brisa Roché, Bakari Sangaré, Françoise Lebrun
    Paris – One night. A woman and a man meet in a restaurant. Sheis beautiful. He falls for her. She is shy, he is bewitched. He talks, she is cautious. He tries, she avoids. She hesitates, he insists. An intense relationship starts then. During the night, masks fall off and the seduction game gives in to sincere feelings. Will this love last over a night ?

    The Precocious and Brief Life of Sabina Rivas (La vida precoz y breve de Sabina Rivas), Mexico
    Directed by Luis Mandoki
    Cast: Greisy Mena, Fernando Moreno
    Honduran teenager Sabina Rivas intends to get to the United States, harboring dreams of becoming a famous singer and distancing herself from her former lover, Jovany, now a gang member.

    The Silent War, Hong Kong/China
    Directed by Felix Chong, Alan Mak
    Cast: Xun Zhou, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Mavis Fan, Xuebing Wang, Yong Dong, Lap-Man Sin
    An espionage thriller set in the 1950s and adapted from the novel “Year Suan/Plot Against” by May Jia. Tony Leung Chiu Wai plays a blind man who works for a piano tuner. He is recruited for a spy mission because of his exceptional hearing.

    Wasteland, UK
    Directed by Rowan Athale
    Cast: Matthew Lewis, Iwan Rheon
    In this exhilarating heist thriller, a young ex-con hooks up with his best mates to embark on a wild — and risky — revenge scheme after being framed by a local drug kingpin.

    Water, Israel
    Directed by Mohammad Bakri, Ahmad Bargouthi, Mohammad Fuad, Tal Haring, Yona Rozenkier, Nir Saar, Maya Sarfaty, Pini Tavger
    Nine directors, Israeli and Palestinian, embarked on a journey to create short films, fiction or documentary, inspired by Water. Water symbolizes the source of possibilities, the primal core of all things.

    COMPETITION CATEGORIES

    INDEPENDENT FEATURES
    Competition

    Babygirl, USA/Ireland – West Coast Premiere
    Directed by Macdara Vallely
    Cast: Yainis Ynoa, Rosa Arredondo, Flaco Navaja

    Blumenthal, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Seth Fisher
    Cast: Seth Fisher, Brian Cox, Fred Melamed, Laila Robins, Mark Blum, Mei Melancon

    Broken, UK – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Rufus Norris
    Cast: Tim Roth, Cillian Murphy, Rory Kinnear

    Crosstown, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Miriam Kruishoop
    Cast: Manny Perez, Vivica A. Fox, Will Green, Noel Gugliemi, Paige Hurd

    Jackie, Netherlands – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Antoinette Beumer
    Cast: Carice van Houten, Jelka van Houten, Holly Hunter

    My Awkward Sexual Adventure, Canada – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Sean Garrity
    Cast: Jonas Chernick, Emily Hampshire, Vik Sahay

    Old Stock, Canada – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by James Genn
    Cast: Noah Reid, Melanie Leishman

    Sex After Kids, Canada – World Premiere
    Directed by Jeremy Lalonde
    Cast: Paul Amos, Shannon Meckner, Katie Boland, Kristin Booth, Jay Brazeau

    The Discoverers, USA – West Coast Premiere
    Directed by Justin Schwarz
    Cast: Griffin Dunne, Dreama Walker, John C. McGinley

    Wasteland, UK – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Rowan Athale
    Cast: Matthew Lewis, Iwan Rheon

    INTERNATIONAL FEATURES
    Competition

    About 111 Girls (Darbare 111 Dokhtar), Iraq – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Nahid Ghobadi, Bijan Zamanpira
    Cast: Reza Behbudi, Mehdi Saki, Amin Sadeghi

    Betrayal (Izmena), Russia – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Kirill Serebrennikov
    Cast: Franziska Petri, Dejan Lilic

    Boucherie Halal, Canada – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Babek Aliassa
    Cast: Abdelghafour Elaaziz, Fariba Bonakdar, Karim Babin, Christine Aubin Khalifah

    Chaika, Russia/Georgia/Spain/Kazakhstan – U.S, Premiere
    Directed by Miguel Ángel Jiminez
    Cast: Salome Demuria, Gio Gabunia

    Coming of Age (Anfang 80), Austria – West Coast Premiere
    Directed by Gerhard Ertl, Sabine Hiebler
    Cast: Christine Ostermayer, Karl Merkatz

    Gangs of Wasseypur, India – West Coast Premiere
    Directed by Anurag Kashyap
    Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Piyush Mishra, Remma Sen, Jaideep Ahlawat, Zeishan Quadri, Pankaj Tripathi

    The Deflowering of Eva Von End, Netherlands – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Michiel ten Horn
    Cast: Vivian Dierickx, Rafael Gareisen

    The Night Parade, France – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Geraldine Maillet

    Water, Israel – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Mohammad Bakri, Ahmad Bargouthi, Mohammad Fuad, Tal Haring, Yona Rozenkier, Nir Saar, Maya Sarfaty, Pini Tavger

    DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
    Competition

    Autoluminescent: Rowland S. Howard, Australia – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Richard Lowenstein, Lynn-Maree Milburn
    Featuring: Rowland S. Howard, Genevieve McGuckin, Nick Cave

    Blood Brother, USA – West Coast Premiere
    Directed by Steve Hoover
    Featuring: Steve Hoover, Rocky Braat

    Buzkashi!, Canada – West Coast Premiere
    Directed by Najeeb Mirza

    Handmade Cinema, Italy – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Guido Torlonia
    Featuring: Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo, Maurizio Millenotti, Gabriella Pescucci

    Men at Lunch, Ireland – West Coast Premiere
    Directed by Seán Ó Cualáin

    More Than Honey, Switzerland/Germany
    Directed by Markus Imhoof
    Featuring: Fred Jaggi, John Miller, Liane Singer

    Radioman, UK – West Coast Premiere
    Directed by Mary Kerr
    Featuring: Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Johnny Depp, Tom Hanks, Jude Law, Eva Mendes, Helen Mirren, Sting, Craig Castaldo, Meryl Streep

    Rising From Ashes, USA/Rwanda/UK/South Africa
    Directed by T. C. Johnstone
    Featuring: Forest Whitaker

    Somm, USA
    Directed by Jason Wise
    Featuring: Bo Barrett, Shayn Bjornholm

    The Mosuo Sisters, USA – West Coast Premiere
    Directed by Marlo Poras

    SPANISH/LATIN AMERICA CINEMA
    Competition

    7 Boxes, Paraguay
    Directed by Juan Carlos Maneglia, Tana Schembori
    Cast: Celso Franco, Victor Sosa, Lali González, Nico García, Paletita, Manuel Portillo

    After Lucia (Después De Lucia), Mexico
    Directed by Michel Franco
    Cast: Tessa La, Gonzalo Vega Jr., Tamara Yazbek, Hernán Mendoza

    Chocó, Colombia – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Jhonny Hendrix Hinestroza
    Cast: Esteban Copete, Karent Hinestroza

    Clandestine Childhood, Argentina/Spain/Brazil
    Directed by Benjamin Ávila
    Cast: Teo Gutiérrez Moreno, César Troncoso

    La Sirga, Colombia/France/Mexico – West Coast Premiere
    Directed by William Vega
    Cast: Floralba Achicanoy, Joghis Seudin Arias

    Once Upon a Time Was I, Veronica, Brazil/France – West Coast Premiere
    Directed by Marcelo Gomes
    Cast: Hermila Guedes, Maeve Jinkings

    The Body, Spain – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Oriol Paulo
    Cast: José Coronado, Belén Rueda, Hugo Silva, Aura Garrido

    The Passion of Michelangelo, Chile
    Directed by Esteban Larraín
    Cast: Sebastián Ayala, Claudia Celedón

    The Precocious and Brief Life of Sabina Rivas (La vida precoz y breve de Sabina Rivas), Mexico – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Luis Mandoki
    Cast: Greisy Mena, Fernando Moreno

    FUND FOR SANTA BARBARA SOCIAL JUSTICE
    Competition

    Art of Conflict, Ireland/USA – West Coast Premiere
    Directed by Valeri Vaughn
    Featuring: Vince Vaughn (narrator)

    El Milagro, Spain – World Premiere
    Directed by Salomón Shang

    High Plains Doctor: Healing on the Tibetan Plateau, Canada – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Michael Oved Dayan
    Featuring: Isaac Sobol

    It’s Better to Jump, USA/Israel – World Premiere
    Directed by Gina Angelone, Mouna B. Stewart, Patrick A. Stewart

    Musicwood, USA/Madagascar – West Coast Premiere
    Directed by Maxine Trump
    Featuring: Kaki King, Yo La Tengo

    Occupy the Movie, Canada – World Premiere
    Directed by Corey Ogilvie
    Featuring: Noam Chomsky, Cornel West, Tim Pool

    Revolution, Canada – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Rob Stewart
    Featuring: Rob Stewart, David Hannan, Boris Worm, Emily Hunter, Felix Finkbeiner

    Stable Life, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Sara MacPherson

    The World Before Her, Canada
    Directed by Nisha Pahuja
    Featuring: Pooja Chopra, Marc Robinson, Ankita Shorey, Ruhi Singh, Prachi Trivedi

    SHORT FILMS
    Competition

    Born Yesterday, USA- World Premiere
    Directed by Nate Larkin-Conolly
    Cast: Alex Creasia, Maggie Lyons, and Ari Costa

    Buzkashi Boys, Afghanistan/USA
    Directed by Sam French
    Cast: Jawanmard Paiz, Wali Talash, and Fawad Mohammadi

    Byron’s Theme, USA- World Premiere
    Directed by Bennett Barbakow
    Cast: Bennett Barbakow, Max Marbakow, Grace Jackson, Nick Lentz, and Myles Pettengill

    Dog Eat Dog, USA
    Directed by Sian Heder
    Cast: Sean Akers, Ellie Smith, and Sian Heder

    F**k The Parents, USA- World Premiere
    Directed by Ethan Kuperberg
    Cast: Alexandra Barreto, Jill Soloway, and Robin Ruzan

    Night Shift, New Zealand
    Directed by Zia Mandviwalla
    Cast: Anapela Polataivao and Leon Dobrinski

    NSFW, USA- World Premiere
    Directed by Joseph Armario
    Cast: Ben York Jones, Jenny Hou

    The Interrogation, USA- World Premiere
    Directed by Drew Mylrea
    Cast: Loren Lester, Caleb Thomas, Carrie Wampler

    The Op Shop, Australia
    Directed by Lee Rogers
    Cast: Christopher Gist, Lee Rogers, and Paul Kooperman

    The Other Side, Israel
    Directed by Khen Shalem
    Cast: David Fuerstein and Hanan Yehieli

    The Tea Party, USA
    Directed by Serena Reeder
    Cast: Bonnie Loev, Carol Fritz, Angela Buckery, and Anthony Riley

    The Test, USA- World Premiere
    Directed by Anthony DiBlasi
    Cast: Lauren Bowles, and Patrick Fischler

    Tiger Boy, Italy- US Premiere
    Directed by Gabriele Mainetti
    Cast: Francesco Foti, Lidia Vitale, and Simone Santini

    ANIMATED SHORTS
    Competition

    Butterflies, Australia – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Isabel Peppard
    Cast: Rachel Griffiths, Nicholas Hope, Henry Nixon, Honey Spence

    Cicada Princess, USA
    Directed by Mauricio Baiocchi
    Cast: Stephen Fry

    Head Over Heels, UK
    Directed by Timothy Reckart
    Cast: Nigel Anthony and Ruth Rayyah McCaul

    Oh Willy…, Belgium
    Directed by Emma De Swaef and Marc Roels

    Old Man, USA
    Directed by Leah Shore
    Cast: Charles Manson and Marlin Marynick

    Sleight of Hand, Australia
    Directed by Michael Cusack

    Yellow Stick Notes| Canadian Anijam, Canada- World Premiere
    Directed by Jeff Chiba Stearns
    Cast: Marv Newland, Cordell Barker, Chris Hinton, Alison Snowden, David Fine, Janet Pearlman, and Paul Driessen

    KOLNOA SHORTS
    Competition

    Barriers, Israel
    Directed by Golan Rise

    The Other Side, Israel
    Directed by Khen Shalem
    Cast: David Fuerstein and Hanan Yehieli

    Wherever You Go, Israel- US Premiere
    Directed by Ronny Sasson Angel

    NON-COMPETITION FILMS

    APPLEBOX

    Brave 3D
    Directed by Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell
    Cast: Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson

    Frankenweenie 3D
    Directed by Tim Burton
    Cast: Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short

    ParaNorman 3D
    Directed by Chris Butler, Sam Fell
    Cast: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse

    Wreck It Ralph 3D
    Directed by Rich Moore
    Cast: John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch

    CINESONIC

    Autoluminescent: Rowland S. Howard, Australia – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Richard Lowenstein, Lynn-Maree Milburn
    Cast: Rowland S. Howard, Genevieve McGuckin, Nick Cave

    Greenwich Village: Music That Defined a Generation, Canada – West Coast Premiere
    Directed by Laura Archibald
    Featuring: Oscar Brand, Judy Collins, Tom Chapin, Kris Kristofferson

    Harana, Phillippines/USA – West Coast Premiere
    Directed by Benito Bautista
    Featuring: Florante Aguilar, Celestino Aniel

    In Search of Blind Joe Death: The Saga of John Fahey, Canada
    Directed by James Cullingham

    One Track Heart, USA/India – West Coast Premiere
    Directed by Jeremy Frindel
    Cast: Rick Rubin, Jason Becker, Ram Dass, Krishna Das

    Punk in Africa, South Africa/Czech Republic/Zimbabwe/Mozambique – West Coast Premiere
    Directed by Keith Jones, Deon Maas
    Featuring: Paulo Chibanga, Michael Fleck, Ivan Kadey, Ruben Rose, Warwick Sony

    KOLNOA

    Hannah Arendt, Germany/Luxembourg/France
    Directed by Margarethe von Trotta
    Cast: Barbara Sukowa, Axel Milberg

    Out in the Dark, Israel/USA – West Coast Premiere
    Directed by Michael Mayer
    Cast: Nicholas Jacob, Michael Aloni, Jameel Khouri, Alon Pdut

    The Ballad of The Weeping Spring (Balada le’aviv ha’bohe), Israel – West Coast Premiere
    Directed by Benny Toraty
    Cast: Yigal Adika, Lirit Balaban, Asher Dagan, Yonatan Dani, Peri Bar Delshdefer

    The Dealers, Israel – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Oded Davidoff
    Cast: Alon Aboutboul, Moshe Ashkenazi, Rami Davidoff, Abdallah El Akal

    Water, Israel – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Mohammad Bakri, Ahmad Bargouthi, Mohammad Fuad, Tal Haring, Yona Rozenkier, Nir Saar, Maya Sarfaty, Pini Tavger

    PAN ASIA

    Fly With The Crane, China – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Li Ruijun
    Cast: Xingchun Ma, Long Tang, Siyi Wang

    Motorway, Hong Kong – West Coast Premiere
    Directed by Pou-Soi Cheang
    Cast: Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Shawn Yue

    One Mile Above, China/Taiwan – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Jiayi Du

    Pieta, South Korea
    Directed by Ki-duk Kim
    Cast: Jeong-jin Lee, Min-soo Jo

    The Mosuo Sisters, USA – West Coast Premiere
    Directed by Marlo Poras

    The Silent War, Hong Kong/China – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Felix Chong, Alan Mak
    Cast: Xun Zhou, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Mavis Fan, Xuebing Wang, Yong Dong, Lap-Man Sin

    REEL NATURE

    10 Deadliest Sharks, USA
    Directed by Moira Mann

    Danube – Europe’s Amazon, Germany
    Directed by Rita & Michael Schlamberger

    Elephant Whisperer, Iceland
    Directed by Jóhann Sigfússon
    Featuring: Katherine Wogan (Narrator)

    Hawaii: Islands of the Fire Goddess, UK
    Directed by Michael deGruy

    Incredible Suckers, USA
    Directed by Michael deGruy
    Featuring: Michael deGruy, Bruce Robison

    Monster Squid: The Giant Squid Is Real, UK

    Tempest From The Deep, USA
    Directed by Michael deGruy

    The Octopus Show, USA
    Directed by Michael deGruy
    Featuring: Shari Belafonte, Michael deGruy

    SANTA BARBARA FILMMAKERS

    Charles Lloyd, Arrows Into Infinity, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Dorothy Darr, Jeffery Morse

    Mommy, I’m A Basterd!, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Max Barbakow
    Featuring: Margo Barbakow, Bennett Barbakow, Jeff Barbakow, Wendy Reynolds, Lynn Reynolds, William Bradford Reynolds, Bobbi Smith

    The Condor’s Shadow, USA- World Premiere
    Directed by Jeff Mcloughlin

    The Racket Boys, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Brandon Willer
    Cast: Paul Haapaniemi, Dannikke Walkker, Brandon Willer

    The Santa Ynez River Wilderness, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Michael James Love

    SCREEN CUISINE

    A Year in Burgundy USA – World Premiere
    Directed by David Kennard
    Cast: Martine Saunier

    Family Meals, Croatia – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Dana Budisavljevic

    More Than Honey, Switzerland/Germany/Austria
    Directed by Markus Imhoof
    Cast: Fred Jaggi, John Miller, Liane Singer

    Perú Sabe: Cuisine as an Agent of Social Change, Perú – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Jesús M. Santos
    Featuring: Gaston Acurio, Ferran Adriá

    Somm, USA
    Directed by Jason Wise
    Featuring: Bo Barrett, Shayn Bjornholm

    Spinning Plates, USA
    Directed by Joseph Levy
    Cast: Grant Achatz, Thomas Keller

    SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

    Barbara, Germany
    Directed by Christian Petzold
    Cast: Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld

    Bound by Flesh, USA
    Directed by Leslie Zemeckis
    Featuring Lea Thompson, Nancy Allen

    Caesar Must Die, Italy
    Directed by Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani

    In The Shadow, Czech Republic/Slovakia/Poland
    Directed by David Ondricek

    Kon-Tiki, UK/Norway/Denmark
    Directed by Joachim Renning, Espen Sandberg
    Cast: Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen, Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Gustaf Skarsgård

    Laurence Anyways, Canada/France
    Directed by Xavier Dolan
    Cast: Melvil Poupaud, Suzanne Clément, Nathalie Baye

    Modest Reception (Paziraie sadeh), Iran
    Directed by Mani Haghighi
    Cast: Taraneh Alidoosti, Mani Haghighi, Saeed Changizian, Esmaeel Khalaj, Saber Abbar

    No, Chile/France/USA – West Coast Premiere / International Gala
    Directed by Pablo Larraín
    Cast: Gael García Bernal

    Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself, USA
    Directed by Tom Bean, Luke Poling
    Cast: Ken Burns, Ric Burns

    Queen of Montreuil, France – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Sólveing Anspach
    Cast: Florence Loiret Caille, Eric Caruso

    Retreat, Canada – World Premiere
    Directed by David Cherniack
    Cast: Alan Wallace
    A documentary that follows the trials and tribulations of thirty-five Westerners as they go through an intense eight-week meditation retreat in Thailand.

    Sister, France/Switzerland
    Directed by Ursula Meier
    Cast: Léa Seydoux, Martin Compston

    The Sapphires, Australia
    Directed by Wayne Blair
    Cast: Chris O’Dowd, Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy

    TO THE MAXXX

    Alaska Sessions: Surfing The Last Frontier, Australia – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Frederick Dickerson, Matthew McNeill
    Featuring: Mike McCune, Scott Dickerson, Ice Man (Don McNamara), Stephanie Dickerson, Donna Rae Faulkner, Wendy Kinnier McCune

    Discovering Mavericks, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Joshua Pomer

    Driftwood, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Peter Trow, Jim Brewer
    Cast: Shaun Tomson, Matt Becker, Genelle Ives, Joe Rowan, Sam George, Noah Yap, Ammy Naff, Jim Brewer

    Isolated, USA/UK – World Premiere
    Directed by Justin Le Pera
    Cast: Ryan Phillippe, Travis Potter

    Storm Surfers 3D, Australia – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Justin McMillan, Chris Nelius
    Featuring: Tom Carroll, Ben Matson

    The Invisible String, Germany/USA/Japan/Italy – U.S. Premiere
    Directed by Jan Bäss
    Featuring: Chipper ‘Bro’ Bell, ‘Crazy’ John Brooks

    The Signal Hill Speed Run, USA – World Premiere
    Directed by Jon Carnoy, Michael Horelick

    WARNERS ARCHIVE

    Dial M For Murder
    Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
    Cast: Ray Milland, Grace Kelly

    Singin’ in the Rain
    Directed by Stanley Donen
    Cast: Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O’Connor

    The Shining
    Directed by Stanley Kubrick
    Cast: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall

    SHORT FILMS

    Documentary Shorts:

    Brute Force, USA
    Directed by Ben Steinbauer
    Cast: Brute Force

    Georgena Terry, USA
    Directed by Amanda Zackem
    Cast: Georgena Terry

    Jujitsuing Reality, USA
    Directed by Chetin Chabuk
    Cast: Scott Lew

    Just Add Water, Thailand- US Premiere
    Directed by Franck Janin and Luc Janin

    Mr. Twister- USA- World Premiere
    Directed by Clay Westervelt
    Cast: Brian Tolley

    The Art of Boxing, USA- US Premiere
    Directed by Andrew Flakelar
    Cast: Newton Kidd

    The Bronzer, USA
    Directed by Peyton Wilson

    SANTA BARBARA FILMMAKERS

    SB Short Films:

    A Tiny Portal, USA
    Directed by Stephanie Gumpel
    Cast: Stephanie Gumpel, Ann Benson, Richard Riehle, and Alan Collett

    Jack, USA- World Premiere
    Directed by Grace Jackson
    Cast: Jack English

    Memorial, USA- World Premiere
    Directed by Jason Hallows
    Cast: Tony Alvarez, Sarah Prikryl, Melody Zara, and Craig Welzbacher

    Ride, USA- World Premiere
    Directed by Chris Yasko
    Cast: Seinn Schlidt

    The Condition, USA
    Directed by René Caballero
    Cast: Brett Sherry, Aleksandr Filen, Kelly Wood, Kelly Decker, Marianne Madsen, and Matt Dumont

    The Chef at the Little Washington, USA- World Premiere
    Directed by Michael Pyon
    Cast: Patrick O’Connell

    The Meter, USA- World Premiere
    Directed by Roy Hathon
    Cast: Patrick Hubbard, Kevin Saunders

    This is Caroline, USA
    Directed by Danny Abel
    Cast: Hannah Pearl Utt, Blake Berris, Zoe Farmingdale, and Leora Kalish

    YOUTH CINEMEDIA

    Baba Uncensored, USA

    Cosmic Warrior: A Journey from LA to Albuquerque, USA

    In the Studio with Nani Chacon, USA

    LA Freeway Kids: the Restoration of an Olympic Mural, USA

    Mictlan Murals in Boyle Heights, USA

    Rhythmetik’s First Time: the making of a music video, USA

    Santa Clara Pueblo, USA

    The Crenshaw Wall with King CRE8, USA

    Undocubus Puganini Po’kwin, USA

    Willie F. Herrón III, USA

     

     

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  • Directors Guild of America Announces Nominees for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2012

     [caption id="attachment_2819" align="alignnone" width="550"]Life of Pi[/caption]

    The Directors Guild of America announced the five nominees for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2012. The winner will be named at the 65th Annual DGA Awards Dinner on Saturday, February 2, 2013.

    The nominees are (in alphabetical order):

    BEN AFFLECK
    Argo
    (Warner Bros. Pictures)  
    This is Mr. Affleck’s first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.

    KATHRYN BIGELOW
    Zero Dark Thirty
    (Columbia Pictures)
    This is Ms. Bigelow’s second DGA Feature Film Award nomination. She won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for The Hurt Locker in 2009. 

    TOM HOOPER 
    Les Misérables
    (Universal Pictures)
    This is Mr. Hooper’s second DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for The King’s Speech (2010) and was previously nominated for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television/Mini-Series for John Adams in 2008.

    ANG LEE 
    Life of Pi
    (Twentieth Century Fox)
    This is Mr. Lee’s fourth DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and was nominated for Sense and Sensibility in 1995.

    STEVEN SPIELBERG 
    Lincoln
    (Dreamworks Pictures/Twentieth Century Fox)
    This is Mr. Spielberg’s eleventh DGA Feature Film Award nomination. He won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film three times for Saving Private Ryan (1998),Schindler’s List (1993) and The Color Purple (1985). He was also nominated in this category for Munich(2005), Amistad (1997), Empire of the Sun (1987), E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial (1982), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and Jaws (1975). Mr. Spielberg was honored with the DGA’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. 

    The DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film has traditionally been one of the industry’s most accurate barometers for who will win the Best Director Academy Award.

    Only six times since the DGA Awards began in 1948 has the Feature Film winner not gone on to win the corresponding Academy Award.

    The six exceptions are as follows:

    • 1968: Anthony Harvey won the DGA Award for The Lion in Winter while Carol Reed took home the Oscar® for Oliver!
    • 1972: Francis Ford Coppola received the DGA’s nod for The Godfather while the Academy selected Bob Fosse for Cabaret.
    • 1985: Steven Spielberg received his first DGA Award for The Color Purple while the Oscar® went to Sydney Pollack for Out of Africa.
    • 1995: Ron Howard was chosen by the DGA for his direction of Apollo 13 while Academy voters selected Mel Gibson for Braveheart.
    • 2000: Ang Lee won the DGA Award for his direction of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon while Steven Soderbergh won the Academy Award for Traffic.
    • 2002: Rob Marshall won the DGA Award for Chicago while Roman Polanski received the Academy Award for The Pianist. 

    The winner in the Feature Film category will be announced at the 65th Annual DGA Awards dinner and ceremony on Saturday evening, February 2, 2013, at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland.  The DGA Awards will be hosted by director/actor/producer Kelsey Grammer.

     

     

     

     

     

     

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  • Dutch Film The Resurrection of a Bastard to Open 2013 International Film Festival Rotterdam

    The world premiere of De wederopstanding van een klootzak (The Resurrection of a Bastard) by Guido van Driel will open the 42nd International Film Festival Rotterdam on Wednesday 23 January. The film stars Yorick van Wageningen (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Juda Goslinga and Goua Robert Grovogui. Recently deceased Dutch actor Jeroen Willems plays in one of the smaller roles. 

    The Resurrection of a Bastard, Van Driel’s fiction feature début, is also selected for the festival’s Hivos Tiger Awards Competition.

    The Resurrection of a Bastard
    An old Frisian farmer bent on revenge. A criminal from Amsterdam barely surviving a liquidation. An illegal immigrant with uncertain prospects. Eventually, they meet under an ancient oak tree. Beyond the last town.

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  • OSCAR Host Seth Macfarlane Joins Emma Stone To Announce Oscar Nominations

    [caption id="attachment_3070" align="alignnone" width="550"]Emma Stone in The Help[/caption]

    Nominations for the 85th Academy Awards® will be announced by the show’s host, Seth MacFarlane, and actress Emma Stone on Thursday, January 10. This will be the first time since 1972 that an Oscar show host has participated in the nominations announcement.

    MacFarlane and Stone will unveil the nominations at a 5:30 a.m. PT news conference at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, where hundreds of media representatives from around the world will be gathered.

    Since the first nominations announcement in 1964, the Academy president has been joined by one or more co-announcers at the event. This year the Academy will break with tradition when MacFarlane, who was named Oscar show host in October, joins Stone on Oscar nominations morning. Charlton Heston (1972) was the only other show host to participate in the nominations announcement.

    Stone starred in the 2011 Best Picture nominee “The Help” and the summer release “The Amazing Spider-Man.” Her other film credits include “Superbad,” “Zombieland,” “Easy A” and “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” Stone will be seen in “Gangster Squad” later this month and in “The Croods,” due out in March.

    Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

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