• Anne Chaisson is New Executive Director of Hamptons International Film Festival

     

    The Hamptons International Film Festival announced the appointment of Anne Chaisson as the new executive director. Chaisson, who has long been associated with the Festival, serving as Advisory Co-Chair since 2003, will begin her new post at the end of November. The festival has also promoted David Nugent to artistic director. Nugent has served as director of programming at the festival since 2008. He has also been teaching Documentary film history, and American Independent film history at The New School since 2004.

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  • 2013 Sundance Film Festival Announces Film Lineup

    [caption id="attachment_2939" align="alignnone" width="550"]Upstream Color[/caption]

    Films starring Casey Affleck, Jessica Biel, Ellen Page were among the lineup selected for the U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competitions and the out-of-competition NEXT <=> section of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, January 17-27 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.

    For the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, 113 feature-length films were selected from 12,146 submissions. Of the feature film submissions, 2,070 were from the U.S. and 1,974 were international. 98 feature films at the Festival will be world premieres.

    The complete lineup of films

    U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION

    The world premieres of 16 American narrative feature films.

     

    Afternoon Delight / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jill Soloway) —  In this sexy, dark comedy, a lost L.A. housewife puts her idyllic hipster life in jeopardy when she tries to rescue a stripper by taking her in as a live-in nanny. Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor, Jane Lynch.

     

    Ain’t Them Bodies Saints / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Lowery) — The tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met. Cast: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Nate Parker, Keith Carradine.

     

    Austenland / U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Jerusha Hess, Screenwriters: Jerusha Hess, Shannon Hale) — Thirtysomething, single Jane is obsessed with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice. On a trip to an English resort, her fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman become more real than she ever imagined. Cast: Keri Russell, JJ Feild, Bret McKenzie, Jennifer Coolidge, Georgia King, James Callis.

     

    C.O.G. / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kyle Patrick Alvarez) — In the first ever film adaptation of David Sedaris’ work, a cocky young man travels to Oregon to work on an apple farm. Out of his element, he finds his lifestyle and notions being picked apart by everyone who crosses his path. Cast: Jonathan Groff, Denis O’Hare, Corey Stoll, Dean Stockwell, Casey Wilson, Troian Bellisario.

     

    Concussion / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Stacie Passon) — After a blow to the head, Abby decides she can’t do it anymore. Her life just can’t be only about the house, the kids and the wife. She needs more: she needs to be Eleanor. Cast: Robin Weigert, Maggie Siff, Johnathan Tchaikovsky, Julie Fain Lawrence, Emily Kinney, Laila Robins.

     

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

     

    Fruitvale / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ryan Coogler) — The true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family and strangers on the last day of 2008. Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Melonie Diaz, Ahna O’Reilly, Kevin Durand, Chad Michael Murray.

     

    In a World… / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lake Bell) — An underachieving vocal coach is motivated by her father, the king of movie-trailer voice-overs, to pursue her aspirations of becoming a voiceover star. Amidst pride, sexism and family dysfunction, she sets out to change the voice of a generation. Cast: Lake Bell, Demetri Martin, Rob Corddry, Michaela Watkins, Ken Marino, Fred Melamed.

     

    Kill Your Darlings / U.S.A. (Director: John Krokidas, Screenwriters: Austin Bunn, John Krokidas) — An untold story of murder that brought together a young Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs at Columbia University in 1944, providing the spark that led to the birth of an entire generation – their Beat revolution. Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHann, Ben Foster, Michael C. Hall, Jack Huston, Elizabeth Olsen.

     

    The Lifeguard / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Liz W. Garcia) — A former valedictorian quits her reporter job in New York and returns to the place she last felt happy: her childhood home in Connecticut. She gets work as a lifeguard and starts a dangerous relationship with a troubled teenager. Cast: Kristen Bell, Mamie Gummer, Martin Starr, Alex Shaffer, Amy Madigan, David Lambert.

     

    May in the Summer / U.S.A., Qatar, Jordan (Director and screenwriter: Cherien Dabis) — A bride-to-be is forced to reevaluate her life when she reunites with her family in Jordan and finds herself confronted with the aftermath of her parents’ divorce. Cast: Cherien Dabis, Hiam Abbass, Bill Pullman, Alia Shawkat, Nadine Malouf, Alexander Siddig. DAY ONE FILM

     

    Mother of George / U.S.A. (Director: Andrew Dosunmu, Screenwriter: Darci Picoult) — A story about a woman willing to do anything and risk everything for her marriage. Cast: Isaach De Bankolé, Danai Gurira, Anthony Okungbowa, Yaya Alafia, Bukky Ajayi.

     

    The Spectacular Now / U.S.A. (Director: James Ponsoldt, Screenwriters: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber) — Sutter is a high school senior who lives for the moment; Aimee is the introvert he attempts to “save.” As their relationship deepens, the lines between right and wrong, friendship and love, and “saving” and corrupting become inextricably blurred. Cast: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler.

     

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

     

    Toy’s House / U.S.A. (Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Screenwriter: Chris Galletta) — Three unhappy teenage boys flee to the wilderness where they build a makeshift house and live off the land as masters of their own destiny. Or at least that’s the plan. Cast: Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Alison Brie.

     

    Upstream Color / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shane Carruth) — A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives. Cast: Amy Seimetz, Shane Carruth, Andrew Sensenig, Thiago Martins.

     

    U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

    The world premieres of 16 American documentary films.

     

    99% – The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film / U.S.A. (Directors: Audrey Ewell, Aaron Aites, Lucian Read, Nina Kristic) — The Occupy movement erupted in September 2011, propelling economic inequality into the spotlight. In an unprecedented collaboration, filmmakers across America tell its story, digging into big picture issues as organizers, analysts, participants and critics reveal how it happened and why.

     

    After Tiller / U.S.A. (Directors: Martha Shane, Lana Wilson) — Since the assassination of Dr. George Tiller in 2009, only four doctors in the country provide late-term abortions. With unprecedented access, After Tiller goes inside the lives of these physicians working at the center of the storm.

     

    American Promise / U.S.A. (Directors: Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson) — This intimate documentary follows the 12-year journey of two African-American families pursuing the promise of opportunity through the education of their sons.

     

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

     

    Blood Brother / U.S.A. (Director: Steve Hoover) — Rocky went to India as a disillusioned tourist. When he met a group of children with HIV, he decided to stay. He never could have imagined the obstacles he would face, or the love he would find.

     

    Citizen Koch / U.S.A. (Directors: Carl Deal, Tia Lessin) — Wisconsin – birthplace of the Republican Party, government unions, “cheeseheads” and Paul Ryan – becomes a test market in the campaign to buy Democracy, and ground zero in the battle for the future of the GOP.

     

    Cutie and the Boxer / U.S.A. (Director: Zachary Heinzerling) — This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband’s assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own.

     

    Dirty Wars / U.S.A. (Director: Richard Rowley) — Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill chases down the truth behind America’s covert wars.

     

    Gideon’s Army / U.S.A. (Director: Dawn Porter) — Gideon’s Army follows three young, committed Public Defenders who are dedicated to working for the people society would rather forget. Long hours, low pay and staggering caseloads are so common that even the most committed often give up.

     

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

     

    The Good Life / U.S.A. (Directors: Sean Fine, Andrea Nix Fine) — Dr. Leslie Gordon and Dr. Scott Berns fight to save their only son from Progeria, a rare and fatal disease for which there is no treatment or cure. In less than a decade, their work has led to significant advances.

     

    Inequality for All / U.S.A. (Director: Jacob Kornbluth) — In this timely and entertaining documentary, noted economic-policy expert Robert Reich distills the topic of widening income inequality, and addresses the question of what effects this increasing gap has on our economy and our democracy.

     

    Manhunt / U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Greg Barker) — This espionage tale goes inside the CIA’s long conflict against Al Qaeda, as revealed by the remarkable women and men whose secret war against Osama bin Laden started nearly a decade before most of us even knew his name.

     

    Narco Cultura / U.S.A. (Director: Shaul Schwarz) — An examination of Mexican drug cartels’ influence in pop culture on both sides of the border as experienced by an LA narcocorrido singer dreaming of stardom and a Juarez crime scene investigator on the front line of Mexico’s Drug War.

     

    Twenty Feet From Stardom / U.S.A. (Director: Morgan Neville) — Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight.  Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we’ve had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead – until now. DAY ONE FILM

     

    Valentine Road / U.S.A. (Director: Marta Cunningham) — In 2008, eighth-grader Brandon McInerney shot classmate Larry King at point blank range. Unraveling this tragedy from point of impact, the film reveals the heartbreaking circumstances that led to the shocking crime as well as its startling aftermath.

     

    WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION

    Twelve films from emerging filmmaking talents offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles.

     

    Circles / Serbia, Germany, France, Croatia, Slovenia (Director: Srdan Golubovic, Screenwriters: Srdjan Koljevic, Melina Pota Koljevic) — Five people are affected by a tragic heroic act. Twenty years later, all of them will confront the past through their own crises. Will they overcome guilt, frustration and their urge for revenge? Will they do the right thing, at all costs? Cast: Aleksandar Bercek, Leon Lucev, Nebojsa Glogovac, Hristina Popovic, Nikola Rakocevic, Vuk Kostic. World Premiere

     

    Crystal Fairy / Chile (Director and screenwriter: Sebastián Silva) — Jamie invites a stranger to join a road trip to Chile. The woman’s free and esoteric nature clashes with Jamie’s acidic, self-absorbed personality as they head into the desert for a Mescaline-fueled psychedelic trip. Cast: Michael Cera, Gabby Hoffmann, Juan Andrés Silva, José Miguel Silva, Agustín Silva. World Premiere. DAY ONE FILM

     

    The Future / Chile, Germany, Italy, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Alicia Scherson) — When their parents die, Bianca starts to smoke and Tomas is still a virgin. The orphans explore the dangerous streets of adulthood until Bianca finds Maciste, a retired Mr. Universe, and enters his dark mansion in search of a future. Cast: Manuela Martelli, Rutger Hauer, Luigi Ciardo, Nicolas Vaporidis, Alessandro Giallocosta. World Premiere

     

    Houston / Germany (Director and screenwriter: Bastian Günther) — Clemens Trunschka is a corporate headhunter and an alcoholic. Drinking increasingly isolates him from his life and leads him away from reality. While searching for a CEO candidate in Houston, his addiction submerges him into his own darkness. Cast: Ulrich Tukur, Garret Dillahunt, Wolfram Koch, Jenny Schily, Jason Douglas, Jens Münchow. World Premiere

     

    Jiseul / South Korea (Director and screenwriter: Muel O) — In 1948, as the Korean government ordered the Communists’ eviction to Jeju Island, the military invaded a calm and peaceful village. Townsfolk took sanctuary in a cave and debated moving to a higher mountain. Cast: Min-chul SUNG, Jung-won YANG, Young-soon OH, Soon-dong PARK, Suk-bum MOON, Kyung-sub JANG. International Premiere

     

    Lasting / Poland, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Jacek Borcuch) — An emotional love story about two Polish students who fall in love with each other while working summer jobs in Spain. An unexpected nightmare interrupts their carefree time in the heavenly landscape and throws their lives into chaos. Cast: Jakub Gierszal, Magdalena Berus, Angela Molina. World Premiere

     

    Metro Manila / United Kingdom, Philippines (Director: Sean Ellis, Screenwriters: Sean Ellis, Frank E. Flowers) — Seeking a better life, Oscar and his family move from the poverty-stricken rice fields to the big city of Manila, where they fall victim to various inhabitants whose manipulative ways are a daily part of city survival. Cast: Jake Macapagal, John Arcilla, Althea Vega. World Premiere

     

    Shopping / New Zealand (Directors: Mark Albiston, Louis Sutherland, Screenwriters: Louis Sutherland, Mark Albiston) — New Zealand, 1981: Seduced by a charismatic career criminal, teenager Willie must choose where his loyalty lies – with a family of shoplifters or his own blood. Cast: Kevin Paulo, Julian Dennison, Jacek Koman, Alistair Browning. World Premiere

     

    Soldate Jeannette / Austria (Director: Daniel Hoesl) — Fanni has had enough of money and leaves to buy a tent. Anna has had enough of pigs and leaves a needle in the hay. Cars crash and money burns to shape their mutual journey toward a rising liberty. Cast: Johanna Orsini-Rosenberg, Christina Reichsthaler, Josef Kleindienst, Aurelia Burckhardt, Julia Schranz, Ines Rössl. World Premiere

     

    There Will Come a Day / Italy, France (Director: Giorgio Diritti, Screenwriters: Giorgio Diritti, Fredo Valla, Tania Pedroni) — Painful issues push Augusta, a young Italian woman, to doubt the certainties on which she has built her existence. On a small boat in the immensity of the Amazon rain forest, she faces the adventure of searching for herself. Cast: Jasmine Trinca, Anne Alvaro, Pia Engleberth. World Premiere

     

    Wajma (An Afghan Love Story) / Afghanistan (Director and screenwriter: Barmak Akram) — A young man in Kabul seduces a girl. When she tells him she’s pregnant, he questions having taken her virginity. Then her father arrives, and a timeless, archaic violence erupts – possibly leading to a crime, and even a sacrifice. Cast: Wajma Bahar, Mustafa Abdulsatar, Haji Gul, Breshna Bahar. World Premiere

     

    What They Don’t Talk About When They Talk About Love / Indonesia (Director and screenwriter: Mouly Surya) — Mouly Surya’s film explores the odds of love and deception among the blind, the deaf and the unlucky sighted people at a high school for the visually impaired. Cast: Nicholas Saputra, Ayushita Nugraha, Karina Salim, Anggun Priambodo, Lupita Jennifer. World Premiere

     

    WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

    Twelve documentaries by some of the most courageous and extraordinary filmmakers working today.

     

    Fallen City / China (Director: Qi Zhao) — Fallen City spans four years to reveal how three families who survived the 2008 Sichuan earthquake to embark on a journey searching for hope, purpose, identity, and to rebuild their lives in a new China torn between tradition and modernity. North American Premiere

     

    Fire in the Blood / India (Director: Dylan Mohan Gray) — In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Western governments and pharmaceutical companies blocked low-cost antiretroviral drugs from reaching AIDS-stricken Africa, causing 10 million or more unnecessary deaths. An improbable group of people decided to fight back. North American Premiere

     

    Google and the World Brain / Spain, United Kingdom (Director: Ben Lewis) — In the most ambitious project ever conceived on the Internet, Google has been scanning the world’s books for 10 years. They said the intention was to build a giant digital library, but that involved scanning millions of copyrighted works. World Premiere

     

    The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear / Georgia, Germany (Director: Tinatin Gurchiani) — A film director casting a 15-23-year-old protagonist visits villages and cities to meet people who answer her call. She follows those who prove to be interesting enough through various dramatic and funny situations. North American Premiere

     

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

     

    Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer / Russian Federation, United Kingdom (Directors: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin) — Three young women face seven years in a Russian prison for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral. But who is really on trial: the three young artists or the society they live in? World Premiere

     

    A River Changes Course / Cambodia, U.S.A. (Director: Kalyanee Mam) — Three young Cambodians struggle to overcome the crushing effects of deforestation, overfishing, and overwhelming debt in this devastatingly beautiful story of a country reeling from the tragedies of war and rushing to keep pace with a rapidly expanding world. World Premiere

     

    Salma / United Kingdom, India (Director: Kim Longinotto) — When Salma, a young girl in South India, reached puberty, her parents locked her away. Millions of girls all over the world share the same fate. Twenty-five years later, Salma has fought her way back to the outside world. World Premiere

     

    The Square (El Midan) / Egypt, U.S.A. (Director: Jehane Noujaim) — What does it mean to risk your life for your ideals? How far will five revolutionaries go in defending their beliefs in the fight for their nation? World Premiere

     

    The Stuart Hall Project / United Kingdom (Director: John Akomfrah) — Antinuclear campaigner, New Left activist and founding father of Cultural Studies, this documentary interweaves 70 years of Stuart Hall’s film, radio and television appearances, and material from his private archive to document a memorable life and construct a portrait of Britain’s foremost radical intellectual. World Premiere

     

    The Summit / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Nick Ryan) — Twenty-four climbers converged at the last stop before summiting the most dangerous mountain on Earth. Forty-eight hours later, 11 had been killed or simply vanished. Had one, Ger McDonnell, stuck to the climbers’ code, he might still be alive. International Premiere

     

    Who is Dayani Cristal? / United Kingdom (Director: Marc Silver) — An anonymous body in the Arizona desert sparks the beginning of a real-life human drama. The search for its identity leads us across a continent to seek out the people left behind and the meaning of a mysterious tattoo. World Premiere. DAY ONE FILM

     

    NEXT <=>

    Pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling. Digital technology paired with unfettered creativity proves the films selected in this section will inform a “greater” next wave in American cinema.

     

    Blue Caprice / U.S.A. (Director: Alexandre Moors, Screenwriters: R.F.I Porto, Alexandre Moors) — An abandoned boy is lured to America and drawn into the shadow of a dangerous father figure in this film inspired by the real life events that led to the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks. Cast: Isaiah Washington, Tequan Richmond, Joey Lauren Adams, Tim Blake Nelson, Cassandra Freeman, Leo Fitzpatrick.

     

    Computer Chess / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski) — An existential comedy about the brilliant men who taught machines to play chess – back when the machines seemed clumsy and we seemed smart. Cast: Patrick Riester, Myles Paige, James Curry, Robin Schwartz, Gerald Peary, Wiley Wiggins.

     

    Escape from Tomorrow / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Randy Moore) — A postmodern, surreal voyage into the bowels of “family” entertainment; an epic battle begins when an unemployed, middle-aged father loses his sanity during a close encounter with two teenage girls on holiday. Cast: Roy Abramsohn, Elena Schuber, Katelynn Rodriguez, Annet Mahendru, Danielle Safady, Alison Lees-Taylor.

     

    I Used to Be Darker / U.S.A. (Director: Matthew Porterfield, Screenwriters: Amy Belk, Matthew Porterfield) — A runaway seeks refuge with her aunt and uncle in Baltimore, only to find their marriage ending and her cousin in crisis. In the days that follow, the family struggles to let go while searching for things to sustain them. Cast: Deragh Campbell, Hannah Gross, Kim Taylor, Ned Oldham, Geoff Grace, Nick Petr.

     

    It Felt Like Love / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Eliza Hittman) — On the outskirts of Brooklyn, a 14-year-old girl’s sexual quest takes a dangerous turn when she pursues an older guy and tests the boundaries between obsession and love. Cast: Gina Piersanti, Giovanna Salimeni, Ronen Rubinstein, Jesse Cordasco, Nick Rosen, Case Prime.

     

    Milkshake / U.S.A. (Director: David Andalman, Screenwriters: David Andalman, Mariko Munro) — In mid-1990’s America, we follow the tragic sex life of Jolie Jolson, a wannabe thug (and great-great-grandson of legendary vaudevillian Al Jolson) in suburban DC as he strives to become something he can never be – black. Cast: Tyler Ross, Shareeka Epps, Georgia Ford, Eshan Bay, Leo Fitzpatrick, Danny Burstein.

     

    Newlyweeds / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shaka King) — A Brooklyn repo man and his globetrotting girlfriend forge an unlikely romance. But what should be a match made in stoner heaven turns into a love triangle gone awry in this dark coming-of-age comedy about dependency. Cast: Amari Cheatom, Trae Harris, Tone Tank, Colman Domingo, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Adrian Martinez.

     

    Pit Stop / U.S.A. (Director: Yen Tan, Screenwriters: Yen Tan, David Lowery) — Two working-class gay men in a small Texas town and a love that isn’t quite out of reach. Cast: Bill Heck, Marcus DeAnda, Amy Seimetz, John Merriman, Alfredo Maduro, Corby Sullivan.

     

    A Teacher / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Hannah Fidell) — A popular young teacher in a wealthy suburban Texas high school has an affair with one of her students. Her life begins to unravel as the relationship comes to an end. Cast: Lindsay Burdge, Will Brittain, Jennifer Prediger, Jonny Mars, Julie Phillips, Chris Dubeck.

     

    This is Martin Bonner / U.S.A.(Director and screenwriter: Chad Hartigan) — Martin Bonner has just moved to Reno for a new job in prison rehabilitation. Starting over at age 58, he struggles to adapt until an unlikely friendship with an ex-con blossoms, helping him confront the problems he left behind. Cast: Paul Eenhoorn, Richmond Arquette, Sam Buchanan, Robert Longstreet, Demetrius Grosse.

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  • Actress Jennifer Lawrence, Actors Ben Affleck, and Robert DeNiro to be Honored at 2012 Santa Barbara International Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_2937" align="alignnone" width="550"]Jennifer Lawrence stars in new film Silver Linings Playbook[/caption]

    The Santa Barbara International Film Festival will honor Academy Award® nominated actress Jennifer Lawrence, director, producer and actor Ben Affleck, and actor Robert DeNiro at the 28th edition of the Fest, which runs January 24 -February 3, 2013.

    Lawrence will be presented with the Outstanding Performer of the Year Award celebrating her performances in The Hunger Games and Silver Linings Playbook. Starring alongside Bradley Cooper in Silver Linings Playbook, directed by David O. Russell, Lawrence plays the vulnerable and complex Tiffany, the mysterious and disturbed neighbor to Pat Solantano (Cooper).

    Affleck will be presented with the Modern Master Award, the highest honor presented by SBIFF.  Affleck will be honored for his work this year as the director, star and producer of the critically acclaimed film Argo.

    Director, producer and Academy Award-winning actor ROBERT DE NIRO has been chosen to receive The Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s seventh annual KIRK DOUGLAS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN FILM.  Mr. De Niro will accept this honor from Mr. Douglas in recognition of his exceptional career spanning over four and a half decades, leading up to this year’s Silver Linings Playbook.

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  • Palm Springs International Film Festival to honor Robert Zemeckis, Naomi Watts and Helen Hunt

     

    [caption id="attachment_2935" align="alignnone" width="550"]Helen Hunt and John Hawkes in ‘The Sessions’.[/caption]

    Director Robert Zemeckis, along with actresses Naomi Watts and Helen Hunt at the Awards Gala will be honored at the 24th annual Palm Springs International Film Festivalwhich runs January 3-14, 2013.

    PSIFF will present Academy Award® winning director Robert Zemeckis with the Director of the Year Award for Flight, Naomi Watts with the Desert Palm Achievement Actress Award and Academy Award winner Helen Hunt with the Spotlight Award.

    Zemeckis directed Paramount Pictures’ dramatic thriller Flight, starring Denzel Washington currently in theaters.

    Watts stars in the Summit Entertainment film The Impossible, based on the true story of a family caught, with tens of thousands of strangers, in the mayhem of one of the worst natural catastrophes of our time, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.  Directed by J.A. Bayona, The Impossible also stars Ewan McGregor and newcomer Tom Holland, with a screenplay by Sergio G. Sánchez adapted from the story by María Belon based on her experiences.

    Hunt co-stars in Fox Searchlight Pictures’ The Sessions, based on the poignantly optimistic autobiographical writings of California–based journalist and poet Mark O’Brien.  The Sessions tells the story of a man who lived most of his life in an iron lung who is determined – at age 38 – to lose his virginity.  With the help of his therapist and the guidance of his priest, he sets out to make his dream a reality.  John Hawkes and William H. Macy also star in a film written for the screen and directed by Ben Levin.  The Sessions will be released wide on Friday, November 16.

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  • 2012 Arpa International Film Festival Showcasing Armenian Films Opens in LA November 29 with Comedian Jamie Kennedy’s LOST & FOUND IN ARMENIA

     [caption id="attachment_2933" align="alignnone" width="1020"]LOST & FOUND IN ARMENIA[/caption]

    The 15th annual Arpa International Film Festival opens on Thursday November 29 and runs through December 2, 2012 at The Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles, California showcasing over 60 feature films, documentaries and short films  from  17 countries.   

    This year’s N. American bows include Tobias Tobbell’s  (The Drummond Will) British thriller CONFINE starring Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones) and supermodel Daisy Lowe in her feature debut .  Also showing for the first time in N.America is Aram Sukiasyan’s  rock opera WANDERING. ‘Wandering’ is the first such film made in Armenia.

    West Coast feature premieres include Nicolas Tackian’s French drama AZAD and  Ajay Singh’s endearing family film UPSIDE DOWN (Khalti Doka Varti Paay).  The latter film from India was an official selection of the 2012 Cannes Film Festival’s World Cinema section.

    These films join the North American premiers of the opening night film Gor Kirakosian’s comedy LOST & FOUND IN ARMENIA (USA), Centerpiece Program Sebastian Siegel’s documentary AWAKENING WORLD (USA),  the taboo breaking  ZENNE DANCER (TURKEY) and Closing Night Film Armenia’s Official Submission to the Foreign Language Category at the 85th Academy Awards® Natalya Belyauskene’s powerful drama IF ONLY EVERYONE (Armenia) . The Festival will also host acclaimed filmmaker Tsvetana Paskaleva’s revival screening of WOUNDS OF KARABAKH (1994) and Hrach Keshishyan’s special sneak peak of his forthcoming 2013 historical epic feature film, NJDEH. Both filmmakers will be in attendance at Arpa International Film Festival.

    15th Annual Arpa International Film Festival Program

     

    OPENING NIGHT GALA Thursday, November 29, 7:30 PM

    LOST & FOUND IN ARMENIA (2012)

    Country: Armenia, USA

    Director: Gor Kirakosian

    Writer: Narek Ghaplanyan, Gor Kirakosian, Krist Manaryan

    Producer: Maral Djerejian, Valerie McCaffrey

    Duration 1:40:00

    Language: English

    US PREMIERE/Opening Night Film

    Lost & Found in Armenia is the story of Bill (Jamie Kennedy), an American tourist who travels to Turkey to get his mind off a bad break up. In a comedic and dangerous turn of events, Bill unknowingly ends up in a small village in Armenia, where he is accused of being a Turkish spy. It is in that small village that he meets a beautiful Armenian girl (Angela Sarafyan), who helps him escape from misfortune.

     

    CENTERPIECE PROGRAM – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 7:30 PM

     

    AWAKENING WORLD (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Sebastian Siegel

    Writer: Sebastian Siegel

    Producer: Sebastian Siegel

    Duration: 0:40:00

    Language: English

    NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE/Centerpiece Program

    What fuels an AWAKENING WORLD?  That’s what filmmaker Sebastian Siegel sets out to uncover through interviews with renowned authors, and globally recognized artists and leaders.  This 1st installment of the 7 year documentary project, LOVE SEX GOD, explores fundamental questions at the core of human fulfillment, such as “what is love?” and “what is the purpose of life?”.  Influences on the filmmaker from growing up in Hawaii to immersion in the arts and Indian mythology drive the exploration.  Scored discussions are woven into a dialogue culminating in the advocation of a specific methodology as an essential means necessary to perpetuate widespread human joy… . and in the payoff the film drives compassion, and inspires.

     

    ZENNE DANCER (2011)

    Country: Turkey

    Director: Caner Alper

    Writer: Caner Alper, Mehmet Binay

    Producer: Caner Alper, Mehmet Binay

    Duration: 1:33:00

    Language: Turkish with English subtitles

    LOS ANGELES PREMIERE/Centerpiece Program

    Zenne is the contemporary story of three unlikely friends: Ahmet, a masculine gay man, Can, a male belly dancer (Zenne), and Daniel, a German photo-journalist, who are confronted by a systemic, institutionalized and culturally embedded homophobia that leads to tragedy.

     

    CLOSING NIGHT GALA Saturday, December 1, 2012

     

    IF ONLY EVERYONE (2012)

    Country: Armenia

    Director: Natalya Belyauskene

    Writer: Theresa Varzhapetyan, Michael Poghosian

    Producer: Theresa Varzhapetyan

    Duration: 1:35:00

    Language: Armenian, Russian with English subtitles

    NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE/Closing Night Film

    Armenia’s Official Submission to the Foreign Language Category at the 85th Academy Awards®

    This story perhaps touches on the most sensitive string for our nation today, Artsakh. Why did people die, what was the war about, what motivated the heroic deeds? Some have found the answers, others are still searching. But these questions eclipse real lives of real people, whom we often think about the least, unfortunately. Whereas they are living right next to us and maybe are asking the same questions…Our protagonist Gurgen is a common guy, an electronics wiz in a body shop, ostensibly enjoying everybody’s respect and, perhaps, awe. His gloomy appearance may be the reason, or is it his combat merit in the battle for Artsakh? A young Russian girl calls on him, the daughter of his fallen brother in arms…

     

    FEATURE FILMS

     

    AS A BEGINNING (2006)

    Country: Armenia

    Director: Art Sevada

    Writer: Art Sevada

    Producer: Art Sevada

    Duration: 0:51:45

    Language: Armenian with English subtitles

    Just behind the slick surface textures of the new Yerevan, beyond its refashioned vistas, mind boutiques, and cooler than thou cafes and restaurants, there is the beating heart of a dreamscape. This is the city’s mythic backdrop, an ongoing essay contest where memory and prospect meet or don’t. Art was at home here. The juxtaposition was inescapable. There was, in the foreground, the stage of the here and now: an Armenian social struggle for stability, an East-meets-West brand of politics and governance, the frazzle-dazzle of an entrepreneurial spirit that was busy expanding the gulf between the haves and have-nots, plus the potential of eye-popping creativity…

     

    AZAD (2009)

    Country: France, Armenia

    Director: Nicolas Tackian

    Writer: Nicolas Tackian

    Producer: David Kodsi 

    Duration: 1:10:00

    Language: French with English subtitles

    WEST COAST PREMIERE

    The word ‘Azad’ means freedom in both Armenian and Kurdish—the core theme in this dramatic feature. An Armenian artist, Mayak is determined to tell his grandfather’s story of survival from the Armenian Genocide through the medium of a graphic novel. Mayak is forced to confront his beliefs and deeply-rooted anger when he meets Mina, a young Kurdish woman who moves into the house he shares with friends. Through their turbulent relationship, both individuals discover profound revelations about their worldviews.  A gripping film about one’s identity and self-perseverance. 

     

    CONFINE (2012)

    Country: United Kingdom

    Director: Tobias Tobbell

    Writer: Tobias Tobbell

    Producer: Emily Corcoran

    Duration: 1:30:45

    Language: English, Spanish, and French with English subtitles

    NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

    She hid from the world for years. All she wants now is to escape.

     

    CROSSROAD (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Shervin Youssefian

    Writer: Shervin Youssefian

    Producer: Shervin Youssefian, Danny Simonzad, David Dginguerian, Amy Weber

    Duration: 1:35:00

    Language: English

    Fueled by revenge, Michael sets up a meeting with Clef Robie, the man who murdered his wife and child six years ago.  His plans of killing him come to a standstill when unexpected events turn everything he has known upside down.  Follow Michael as he slowly discovers that everything in life happens for a reason.

     

    DISAPPEARING BAKERSFIELD (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Sophiah Koikas

    Writer: Sophiah Koikas

    Producer: Sophiah Koikas

    Duration: 2:30:00

    Language: English

    WORLD PREMIERE

    Darris Blue decides to move back home to love and live with her dad but ends up in Disappearing Bakersfield. Disappearing is a vortex and once inside, she’s unable to get out. The call of a ghost and a mystery hostage in the attic of the only hotel in town, The Lonesome Road Hotel, Darris just might be able to help the ghost find her peace which opens Darris’ own heart of her own genocide to her own trapped emotions of her past.

     

    UPSIDE DOWN (2012)

    Country: India

    Director: Ajay Singh

    Writer: Ajay Singh

    Producer: Junaid Memon

    Duration:1:19:30

    Language: Marathi with English subtitles

    NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

    Upside Down is the film which will make you forget Majid Majidi’s award winning “Children Of Heaven.” 

     

    WANDERING (2011)

    Country: Armenia

    Director: Arshaluys Harutyunyan

    Writer: Aram Sukiasyan

    Producer: Aram Sukiasyan

    Duration: 1:21:00

    Language: Armenian with English subtitles

    NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

    ‘Wandering’ depicts the curious tragedy of a historical injustice victim, a man living in Diaspora. Christianity, immortality of soul, human sins and trespasses, historical injustices, love and purification – these topics are the ideological basis of the film. ‘Wandering’ belongs to the farcical and tragicomic genre and is exceptional in its style. ‘Wandering’ has a structure typical of classical opera: an overture, duets, trios, arias and choral performances with clear development and ideology. ‘Wandering’ is the first such film made in the region’

     

    DOCUMENTARIES

    AMERICAN IMAM (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Donya Ravasani

    Producer: Donya Ravasani

    Duration: 0:19:50

    Language: English

    Imam Siraj Wahhaj is one of the most prominent and controversial Islamic clerics of the United States.  He leads a Muslim community in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. His daughter Hujrah Wahhaj works along side him, reaching out to the Facebook generation in search of its soul. The Imam’s longtime companion Ali Abdul Karim has helped him lead the Islamic community where they settled in the 1980s when the neighborhood was Brooklyn’s roughest ghetto. This is a look behind the scenes of the  African-American Muslim community in the United States today.

     

    ARAGIL, THE WHITE STORK (2010)

    Country: Armenia

    Director: Shirak Khojayan

    Writer: Shirak Khojayan

    Producer: Shirak Khojayan

    Duration: 0:28:26

    Language: English

    Aragil, The White Stork is a documentary about the life of the white stork and its relationship with the people of Armenia.

     

    ARMENIAN ACTIVISTS NOW! BIRTH OF A MOVEMENT (2012)

    Country: USA, Armenia

    Director: Robert Davidian

    Producer: Robert Davidian

    Duration: 0:41:00

    Language: English

    This documentary shows the birth of activism and the social issues it aims to change in Armenia, as told by the activists themselves.

     

    ARMENIAN ECHOES (2012)

    Country: Canada, Armenia

    Director: Hagop Goudsouzian

    Producer: Hagop Goudsouzian

    Duration: 1:48:18

    Language: Armenian with English subtitles

    Armenian Echoes, timeless rhythms. So much of a peoples’ identity stems from the songs they sing, the music they play and the spirit of their dance. Music is the very essence of the cultural identity of a people. In this film Hagop Goudsouzian continues his 7-month journey through Armenia in pursuit of his dream, the soul of Armenian Music.

     

    ARMENIAN MINSTRELS (2011)

    Country: Canada, Armenia

    Director: Hagop Goudsouzian

    Producer: Hagop Goudsouzian

    Duration: 0:55:23

    Language: Armenian with English Subtitles

    Today’s Armenian Minstrels perform traditional yet contemporary Armenian love songs. With a 700 year history Armenian Minstrels still echo the soul of Armenian Culture. Featuring Professor Tovmas Poghosyan, the Sayat-Nova Minstrel Song Ensemble and impromptu interviews and performances with well known Armenian Minstrels: Minstrel Andranik Ujanci, Minstrel Astghanush, Minstrel Kochar, and Minstrel Makhmour.

     

    ARMENIAN RHAPSODY (2012)

    Country: Brazil

    Director: Cassiana Der Haroutiounian, Cesar Gananian, Gary Gananian

    Writer: Cassiana Der Haroutiounian, Cesar Gananian, Gary Gananian

    Producer: Cassiana Der Haroutiounian, Cesar Gananian, Gary Gananian

    Duration: 1:02:28

    Language: English, Armenian, and Spanish with English subtitles

    Armenian Rhapsody is a road movie, made of a polyphony of characters where the faces and the music are the real protagonists.  As in a rhapsody, the film is made of a juxtaposition of musical and narrative fragments with variations in theme, intensity and tone.

     

    BORN IN GOMA (2012)

    Country: USA, Congo

    Director: Chris Carpenter

    Producer: Chris Carpenter

    Duration: 0:47:45

    Language: English and Swahili with English subtitles

    Dr. Chris Carpenter travels to Goma, a war-ravaged city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to work at the HEAL Africa hospital. Each day, he cares for the sickest and most desperate children in the region. During his journey, he meets three special patients, each trying to survive in the midst of extreme poverty and violence. Born in Goma follows Isaac, Gisele and Dieume as they work against remarkable odds to regain their health and build brighter futures.

     

    DONKEYMENTARY (2012)

    Country: Kenya, Armenia

    Director: Arman Yeritsyan, Vardan Hovhannisyan

    Producer: Vardan Hovhannisyan

    Duration: 0:52:00

    Language: English and Swahili with English subtitles

    This is a Donkeymentary – a documentary about a small island, just off the coast of Kenya, with 24,000 people, 6,000 donkeys, just 2 cars and a 14-year-old donkey race champion, Shee Famao, whose fondest dream in life is nothing more than having a donkey of his own.

     

    FATHER’S LAND (2012)

    Country: Armenia

    Director: Anzhela Frangyan & Marianna Abrahamyan

    Writer: Anzhela Frangyan & David Sargsyan

    Producer: Tiran Hayrapetyan

    Duration: 0:18:00

    Language: Armenian with English subtitles

    Father’s Land tells the story of the grand 9th century Monastery of Tatev.   

     

    GENOCIDE MEMOIR (2012)

    Country: Australia

    Director: Shahane Bekarian

    Producer: Shahane Bekarian

    Duration: 0:13:58

    Language: Armenian with English subtitles

    Boghos Tavrayan was about 4 years old, he didn’t know who his parents were, he didn’t know the year of his birth, he didn’t know why they were abhorred, the only thing he knew was his first name. This Genocide Memoir is a short documentary about a survivor of the Armenian Genocide during WWI. Using an interview filmed in 1986 this film is a contemporary view which attempts to convey the ongoing suffering and struggle for justice within Armenians today.

     

    HAMSHEN AT CROSSROADS OF PAST AND PRESENT (2012)

    Country: Armenia, Turkey

    Director: Lusine Sahakyan

    Producer: Lusine Sahakyan

    Duration: 1:00:00

    Language: Armenian, Hamshen, and Turkish with English subtitles

    Lusineh Sahakyan’s documentary Hamshen at Crossroads of Past and Present is dedicated to the current state of the descendants of the Armenians of Hamshen (Hamshentsis); a people who were forcibly Islamicized (”Turkified”) by the Ottoman Empire in the 18th century. Today, they live primarily in the provinces of Rizeh and Artvin, as well as in Istanbul and other cities of Turkey.  The film presents unique episodes from the history and culture of the once powerful Armenian Principality of Hamshen, and the practice of Islamization, a form of ethnic cleansing. Based on material shot on location, the present-day culture of the Hamshentsis is chronicled: their songs and dances, customs, linguistic situation, as well as their everyday life and occupations, conceptions of their own identity, and the demographic picture.

     

    HUMBLE THE POET (2011)

    Country: USA, Canada

    Director: Brendan Nahmias

    Producer: Brendan Nahmias

    Duration: 0:12:28     

    Language: English

    With tattoos and a turban, Humble the Poet is a Sikh hip-hop artist from Toronto, Canada whose message is expressed with a twist. He harnesses the power of the spoken word with music, re-defining the immigrant experience in a bold fashion. Take a ride inside the mind of Humble as he navigates the line between two cultures, aiming to define himself as a hip-hop artist, while reconciling his identity as a modern Sikh.

     

    MEMORIES WITHOUT BORDERS (2012)

    Country: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey

    Director: Mehmet Binay, Levon Kalantar, Ayaz Salayev

    Producer: M. Caner Alper, Harutyun Mansuryan, Nailia Babayeva

    Duration: 0:54:22

    Language: Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Turkish with English subtitles

    In 2010, a UK-based peacebuilding organization, Conciliation Resources, brought a team of Armenian, Azerbaijani and Turkish directors together to make a film exploring parallels and differences in how Turks, Armenians and Azerbaijanis remember the past and see their future. The result is a subtly provocative meditation on collective memory, personal discovery and borders in the mind, across a region as divided by historical narratives as it is by closed borders and frontlines.

     

    MY MOTHER’S VOICE (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Mark Friedman

    Writer: Kay Mouradian

    Producer: Mark Friedman, Kay Mouradian

    Duration: 0:25:04

    Language: English

    My Mother’s Voice is the compelling story of fourteen-year-old Flora Munushian, her survival from the 1915 Armenian Genocide and how she finds her way to America to marry a man she knows only from a paragraph.  Her voice is the voice of all the victims of the 1915 genocide, a story that must not be forgotten.

     

    RETURN TO ASBURY (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: David Norian

    Writer: David Norian

    Producer: Dot Gain Films

    Duration: 0:10:00

    Language: English

    Return to Asbury tells the story of how Armenian-Americans once gathered every summer in the New Jersey beach town of Asbury Park, and what happens when they return to that same place 40 years later.

     

    SO FAR FROM HOME (2009)

    Country: Canada

    Director: Lorne Shirinian

    Writer: Lorne Shirinian

    Producer: Lorne Shirinian

    Duration: 0:5:43

    Language: English

    A narrative documentary of the journey from Turkey to Canada of a 5-year old orphan survivor of the Armenian Genocide.

     

    THE SUFFERING GRASSES: WHEN ELEPHANTS FIGHT, IT IS THE GRASS THAT

    SUFFERS (2012)

    Country: USA, Syria, Arab Republic, Turkey

    Director: Iara Lee

    Producer: Iara Lee

    Duration: 0:51:45

    Language: English and Arabic with English subtitles

    With thousands dead and counting, the ongoing conflict in Syria has become a microcosm for the complicated politics of the region, and an unsavory reflection of the world at large. Against the backdrop of the Arab Spring and the complicated politics of the region, this film explores the Syrian conflict through the humanity of the civilians who have been killed, abused, and displaced. In all such conflicts, it is civilians, women and children, families and whole communities, who suffer at the leisure of those in power. When elephants go to war, it is the grass that suffers.

     

    TONI AND ROSI (2012)

    Country: USA, UK, Austria

    Director: Todd Murray, Will Wyatt

    Producer: Todd Murray, Will Wyatt

    Duration: 0:58:00

    Language: English

    Toni and Rosi Grunschlag were Viennese piano prodigies destined for triumph on the concert stages of Europe until the Nazi occupation of Austria shattered their world and irrevocably changed their destiny.  Left to fend for themselves in a hostile Austria, they were forced to flee their native land and begin new lives far away from all that they loved.  ‘Toni and Rosi’ turned to what they could trust: their music and each other.

     

    TUMOR, IT’S IN THE SYSTEM (2012)

    Country: USA, Australia, Canada

    Director: Cindy Pruitt, Valerie McCaffrey

    Producer: Valerie McCaffrey, Cindy Pruitt

    Duration: 1:07:00

    Language: English

    This documentary reveals how alternative cures for cancer have been suppressed since the 1930’s and how the bureaucratic regulatory system has maintained chemotherapy and radiation as the only choice of treatment for over 100 years.  Citing testimonials to the horrors of chemo and radiation adjacent to those who have secretly cured their cancer with alternative means, this film is a call to action for the freedom to publicize alternative cures, and a call to people to demand the freedom to make better choices.

     

    VIOLINS IN WARTIME (2011)

    Country: Israel

    Director: Yael Katzir

    Writer: Yael Katzir

    Producer: Yael Katzir, Dan Katzir

    Duration: 0:46:04

    Language: English and Hebrew with English subtitles

    Israel 2006.  An intimate chronicle of the violinmaker Amnon Weinstein whose son is at the front during the Second Lebanon War.  Amnon takes part in master classes for young violinists taught by famed musicians Ida Haendel and Shlomo Mintz.  A moving story about the power of music and the violins in wartime.  

     

    VOYAGE TO AMASIA (2011) 

    Country: USA, Armenia, Turkey

    Director: Randy Bell

    Producer: Randy Bell, Eric Hachikian

    Duration: 1:24:15

    Language: English, Armenian, and Turkish with English subtitles

    Voyage To Amasia’ is a feature documentary inspired by Eric Hachikian’s piano trio of the same name.  Amasya, Turkey is the city from which Eric’s grandmother fled during the Armenian Genocide.  The filmmakers made a real voyage to Amasia, tracing a path through the past, telling Eric’s family’s story and the story of the current people of Turkey and Armenia.

     

    WOMEN AT WAR: FORGOTTEN VETERANS OF DESERT STORM (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Christie Davis

    Writer: Christie Davis

    Producer: Christie Davis, Dennis Davis

    Duration: 1:16:16

    Language: English

    The feature documentary ‘Women At War: Forgotten Veterans of Desert Storm’ takes an intimate look at women soldiers’ wartime experiences on the toxic battlefields of 1991’s Operation Desert Storm and their heartbreaking battles with Gulf War Illnesses since they’re returned home.  Carol Williams and three other female veterans fight the government for proper treatment and benefits in their search for answers to their mysterious Gulf War illnesses.  They wonder why they’ve been abandoned by the government they risked their lives to serve.  Twenty years later, their war isn’t over.

     

    SHORT FILMS

     

    140 DRAMS (2012)

    Country: Armenia

    Director: Oksana Mirzoyan

    Writer: Oksana Mirzoyan

    Producer: Emily Mkrtichian, Anahid Yahjian

    Duration: 0:18:00

    Language: Armenian with English subtitles

    140 Drams tells the story of a young boy who must go to the store by himself for the first time. Things get complicated when the 140 Drams his mother gave him for milk are not enough, and he has to make a difficult choice. The experience of this young boy becomes a kaleidoscope through which the landscape of a modern Armenia emerges. Through bits and pieces, fragments of conversation and glimpses of the insides of a single bedroom apartment, this film tries to put together a picture of this country, right now.

     

    4 MINUTES (2011)

    Country: USA

    Director: Stephen Sepher

    Writer: Stephen Sepher

    Producer: Stephen Sepher

    Duration: 0:15:30

    Language: English

    Four ex special ops are en route to transport a well-known heart surgeon when they find themselves targeted by an unknown enemy in the mountainous terrains of Kandahar, Afghanistan.

     

    AFTER WATER THERE IS SAND (2012)

    Country: USA, Armenia

    Director: Saro Varjabedian

    Writer: Saro Varjabedian

    Producer: Mira El Koussa

    Duration: 0:17:45

    Language: English and Armenian with English subtitles

    Tamar, an 80-year-old widow, visits her Armenian homeland to fulfill her recently-deceased husband’s last wish: to take a family photo in front of Mount Ararat. However, her daughters, Armine and Lori, are less than interested in going to mount Ararat, and hope that the trip will allow Tamar to let go of her grief and find joy in her life. The three women are accompanied by Hripsime, a loud-mouthed, sprightly taxi driver as their guide. With the Armenian countryside as their backdrop, the women struggle to find new meaning in their lives and broaden their relationships. Once they arrive at Ararat, they are surprised to learn that the picture Tamar wants to take won’t come as easily to them as they had hoped…

     

    299: BARBARIANS INSIDE THE GATES (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Frederikos

    Writer: Nick Mann

    Producer: Nick Mann

    Duration: 0:15:00

    Language: English

    In a world, where ancient mythology collides with present day discord, a rogue warrior who would be king, finds himself in the throes of an existential crisis.  But it is not until he summons the spirit of 299 Spartans to help charge a hapless band of Greeks into a battle of economic proportions to reclaim the country’s sovereignty, does our anti-hero realize he is but a mere pawn in a larger, divine plan. Cast includes Arkidies Vasileas, Phillip Berg, Vasilia Niles, and introducing Pheenix. Art by Jamese

     

    THE EPIPHANY (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Ella Hatamian

    Writer: Ella Hatamian

    Duration: 0:17:42

    Language: English and Armenian with English subtitles

    It’s January 5th, Armenian Christmas Eve, and the Hatamian family only has 15-minutes to complete their preparations for the annual holiday feast. Chaos ensues.

     

    HIGH CARD TRUMPS (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Geoffrey Quan

    Writer: Stacey Parshall Jensen

    Producer: Frances Chang

    Duration: 0:05:56

    Language: English

    Lois, a headstrong woman and soon-to-be champion grandmother, is anxious to share her good news with the volunteers of her monthly Support-Our-Troops bake sale.  But when an Arab mother joins them, Lois’s pride and her definition of patriotism are challenged.

     

    HOLLYWOOD & HAMMER (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Ryan Green

    Writer: Ryan Green, Nathaniel Eyde (story)

    Producer: Nathaniel Eyde

    Duration: 0:11:55

    Language: English

    A man dressed as THOR wanders Hollywood Blvd, looking for tips. He becomes the subject of scorn and ridicule when he claims to be the actual Norse God of Thunder. The problem is, it might just be true. 

     

    HYEPOWER (2011)

    Country: USA

    Director: James Jay Ellis

    Duration: 0:08:15

    Language: English and German with English subtitles

    Based on the original music video HiiiPower by Kendrick Lamar, Nazo Bravo leads the audience through personal perspectives of his own cultural heritage – and that of millions of first and second generation Armenians now living in America – with his vibrantly personal debut music video HyePower.’Hye’ is Armenian for its own rich identity. And the word ‘Power’ is a hopeful reference to the dreams of many of Nazo’s own friends and others throughout the world for a better life ahead.  Rooted in the tragedy of what is commonly called The Armenian Genocide and the recent murder of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in Istanbul, Turkey, the video also traces resonant social luminaries such as John Lennon and Muhammad Ali.

     

    JOLLY B. FIERCE (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Allison  Arachea

    Writer: Allison  Arachea

    Producer: Angelica Robinson

    Duration: 0:22:00

    Language: English and Tagalog with English subtitles

    Filipino drag queen, Jolly B. Fierce, leaves the glitter, lights and wigs to travel to America; where he will be faced with the decision to reconcile with his estranged family, for the sake of his dying mother.

     

    JUST LIKE HER (2011)

    Country: USA

    Director: Eddie  Melikyan

    Writer: Eddie  Melikyan

    Producer: Avi Quijada

    Duration: 0:18:18

    Language: English

    Just Like Her embarks us on the emotional journey of Ashley Marston as she prepares a Thanksgiving dinner for her family. Unable to suppress the urge to speak about the taboo, it quickly becomes violent when she blames her father for her mother’s suicide.

     

    LATER THAN USUAL (2012)

    Country: Canada

    Director: David Hovan

    Writer: David Hovan

    Producer: David Hovan

    Duration 0:06:15

    A day in the life of an elderly couple. The non verbal interactions between the two make for sometimes funny and at other times poignant moments throughout the film. This couple has lived so long together that they have nothing left to say to each other. Living in an isolated state in their old house, they go about their daily routines, until…

     

    MACHINEHEAD (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Micah Gallagher

    Writer: Micah Gallagher

    Producer: Micah Gallagher

    Duration: 0:12:00

    Machinehead is a stop-motion short film that follows a puppet as he travels through four unique rooms representing different stages of intellectual and spiritual development. It’s an abstract representation of someone trying to find meaning and purpose. The short features puppet animation and pays homage to revolutionary stop-motion artists such as Jan Svankmajer and the Quay Brothers in style and content.

     

    MAKE IT A GREAT DAY (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Joshua Jones

    Writer: Daniel Klein

    Producer: Joshua Jones, Daniel Klein

    Duration: 0:06:40

    Language: English

    Mother Nature’s peculiar sense of irony creates a convoluted path of survival for a newborn chick with unfortunate timing.

     

    METZARENTS (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Hayk Hambartsum

    Writer: Hayk Hambartsum

    Producer: Shahe Barsoumian

    Duration: 0:35:00

    Language: English and Armenian with English subtitles

    Metzarents is the story of Vahag, a struggling actor in Los Angeles who reconnects with his long dormant Armenian roots when he is offered to play the role of the poet Misak Metzarents in a play.

     

    MIDNIGHT FISTFIGHT (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Robert Nazar Arjoyan

    Writer: Robert Nazar Arjoyan, David Lafian

    Producer: Robert Nazar Arjoyan

    Duration: 0:23:34

    Language: English and Armenian with English subtitles

    Rage-filled Gev, a first generation American, must learn to get along with his sister’s straightlaced boyfriend Alec, whom he accompanies to a ‘zhamo,’ a ritualistic and centuries-old Armenian tradition, where men meet to settle grievances of honor but rarely leave unscathed.

     

    MOSSADEGH (2011)

    Country: USA

    Director: Roozbeh Dadvand

    Writer: Roozbeh Dadvand, Nathaniel C. Leonard

    Producer: Amber Beard, Marina Davis, Grace K. Lee

    Duration: 0:23:33

    Language: English and Farsi with English subtitles

    Iran. 1959. It is six years after the CIA orchestrated coup that overthrew democratic Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh from power. Now living under house arrest and suffering from a life-threatening condition, Mossadegh must decide whether or not to trust a brilliant American physician that is sent to treat him.

     

    MOVING STORIES (2012)

    Country: France, USA

    Director: Nora Armani

    Writer: Nora Armani

    Producer: Nora Armani

    Duration: 0:18:16

    Language: English

    The story of two women linked by an apartment from which one is moving out the other in. For the first one this is a definitive move and the closing of a chapter, while for the second it is just a stage, and the start of a new life.

     

    PARALLAX (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Paul DeNigris

    Writer: Paul DeNigris

    Producer: Paul DeNigris, Steve Briscoe, Laura DeNigris

    Duration: 0:22:00

    Language: English and Arabic with English subtitles

    Daniels, a U.S. Army infantryman with a hatred for all Arabs, is injured in a convoy ambush and rescued by Iraqi civilian Hassan and his son Jabir. As the three of them hide from the insurgents, Daniels learns that his prejudices and his hatred have been misplaced and comes to respect Hassan and Jabir as human beings. Making a sacrifice himself in order to save his new friends from the insurgents, Daniels emerges from the experience with a renewed perspective.

     

    PAYING FOR IT (2011)

    Country: USA

    Director: Lauren Lillie

    Writer: Lauren Lillie

    Producer: Narineh Hacopian

    Duration: 0:21:43

    Language: English

    While on a weekend getaway with her boyfriend, 18-year-old Deidre discovers a call girl passed out in their hotel hallway. She decides to help her. During their ensuing hours together, Deidre opens up to this woman in a way that she isn’t capable of confiding in anyone else. What is it that these two women learn they have in common?

     

    PRIVATE SUN (2011)

    Country: Palestinian Territories

    Director: Rami Alayan

    Writer: Rami Alayan

    Producer: Rami Alayan, Muayad Alayan

    Duration: 0:25:00

    Language: Arabic with English subtitles

    Mariam is instructed by her doctor to sunbathe in order to reverse the vitamin D deficiency that is causing her a bone illness. But with nosy neighbors, an overbearing sister-in-law and Israeli surveillance planes, private moments under the sun are precious and rare.

     

    QUITTER (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Garen Mirzaian

    Writer: Garen Mirzaian

    Producer: Tomohisa Imagawa

    Duration: 0:16:26

    Language: English

    A young man is inspired to make a healthy change in his life only to realize the source of his inspiration is slowly turning into his nemesis.

     

    SECRET OF LIGHT (2012)

    Country:  USA

    Director: Vahram Hakobyan

    Writer: Vahram Hakobyan

    Producer: Vahram Hakobyan, Autumn Fawn

    Duration: 0:13:13

    Language: English

    Princess of Light returns to her father’s kingdom to face Dark Devil and restore light in Valley of Hope.

     

    THREE COLORS IN BLACK AND WHITE (2008)

    Country: Armenia

    Director: Art Sevada

    Writer: Harutyun Kbeyan

    Producer: Armen Hambardzumyan

    Duration: 0:14:03

    Language: Russian and Armenian with English subtitles

    A mentally ill young man sees everything that is happening in Yerevan with a bit of an exaggerated eye.

     

    TOUJOURS (2011)

    Country: USA

    Director: Sona Tatoyan

    Writer: Sona Tatoyan

    Producer: Ted Feldman, Andrei Bowden-Schwartz, Sona Tatoyan

    Duration: 0:8:28

    Language: English and French with English subtitles

    A woman reignites an old unconsummated love affair with fatal consequences.

     

    VAI, KIKOS, VAI… (2009)

    Country: Armenia

    Director: Aviva Barkhoudarian

    Writer: Aviva Barkhoudarian

    Producer: Aviva Barkhoudarian

    Duration: 0:07:00

    Language: Armenian with English subtitles

    The story of Kikos’ death, inspired by the classic Hovhannes Tumanyan story.

     

    VENA AMORIS (2012)

    Country: USA

    Director: Armando Hermosilla

    Writer: Armando Hermosilla

    Producer: Sergio Arroyo, Akbar Farooq

    Duration: 0:15:38

    Language: English

    Vena Amoris is about celebrating life with hope in our hearts and an eye toward the future. This film depicts how easy it is to live a happy life when we’re surrounded by friends and family who love us and how easy it is to stray when left alone.  James (Christopher Newell) is a successful and attractive businessman who will be married tomorrow, but before he is married he has to goose step his way past a beautiful temptress and endure painful torture at the hands of his fiancé’s father (Allan Charof). Will James’ love be strong enough to get him through the gauntlet to his wedding day, or will he be swayed by the promise of pleasure and impending pain that threaten to crush his dream of being a good and faithful husband?

     

    VENUS VS. MARS (2011)

    Country: USA

    Director: Talin Malekian

    Writer: Talin Malekian

    Producer: Talin Malekian, Nansia Movidi, Jeffrey DeChausse

    Duration: 0:15:22

    Language: English

    In a world bound by deception, how will a young impressionable artist overcome society’s lure of grandeur in order to unite with her inner voice and become highly valued?

     

    VUCCIRIA (2011)

    Country: Italy

    Director: Michele Di Salle

    Writer: Michele Di Salle

    Producer: Massimo Sigillo Massara

    Duration: 0:07:20

    Language: Italian with English subtitles

    Under a cloudy sky a young lady walks around the streets of the town. Outside a shop she sees herself in a mirror. Her reflection is much colorful. Curiosity draws Elisa closer to the mirror and with one touch she is in a new world. The lady is now in a new world, a market full of strange characters…

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  • Silver Linings Playbook and Moonrise Kingdom Lead 2013 Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations

    [caption id="attachment_2869" align="alignnone" width="550"]Silver Linings Playbook[/caption]

    Actors Anna Kendrick, Zoe Saldana, and Common announced the nominations for the 2013 Film Independent Spirit Awards this morning. Silver Linings Playbook and Moonrise Kingdom  led with 5 nominations each; followed by Keep the Lights On , Beasts of the Southern Wild and Middle of Nowhere   with 4 nominations each. Nominees for Best Feature include Beasts of the Southern Wild, Bernie, Keep the Lights On, Moonrise Kingdom, and Silver Linings Playbook.

    Starlet was selected to receive the annual Robert Altman Award, which is bestowed upon one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast.

    Winners will be announced at the Spirit Awards on Saturday, February 23, 2013. 

    The complete list of nominess

     

    BEST FEATURE
    Beasts of the Southern Wild
    Bernie
    Keep the Lights On
    Moonrise Kingdom
    Silver Linings Playbook

    BEST DIRECTOR
    Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom
    Julia Loktev, The Loneliest Planet
    David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
    Ira Sachs, Keep the Lights On
    Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

    BEST SCREENPLAY
    Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom
    Zoe Kazan, Ruby Sparks
    Martin McDonagh, 7 Psychopaths
    David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
    Ira Sachs, Keep the Lights On

    BEST FIRST FEATURE
    Fill the Void
    Gimme the Loot
    Safety Not Guaranteed
    Sound of My Voice
    The Perks of Being a Wallflower

    BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
    Rama Burshtein, Fill the Void
    Derek Connolly, Safety Not Guaranteed
    Christopher Ford, Robot & Frank
    Rashida Jones & Will McCormack, Celeste and Jesse Forever
    Jonathan Lisecki, Gayby

    JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
    Breakfast with Curtis, WRITER/DIRECTORPRODUCER: Laura Colella
    Middle of Nowhere, WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Ava DuVernay, PRODUCERS: Howard Barish, Paul Garnes,
    Mosquita y Mari, WRITER/DIRECTOR: Aurora Guerrero, PRODUCER: Chad Burris
    Starlet, WRITER/DIRECTOR: Sean Baker, PRODUCERS: Blake Ashman-Kipervaser, Kevin Chinoy, Patrick Cunningham, Chris Maybach, Francesca Silvestri
    The Color Wheel, WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Alex Ross Perry, WRITER: Carlen Altman

    BEST FEMALE LEAD
    Linda Cardellini, Return
    Emayatzy Corinealdi, Middle of Nowhere
    Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
    Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
    Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Smashed

    BEST MALE LEAD
    Jack Black, Bernie
    Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
    John Hawkes, The Sessions
    Thure Lindhardt, Keep the Lights On
    Matthew McConaughey, Killer Joe
    Wendell Pierce, Four

    BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
    Rosemarie DeWitt, Your Sister’s Sister
    Ann Dowd, Compliance
    Helen Hunt, The Sessions
    Brit Marling, Sound of My Voice
    Lorraine Toussaint, Middle of Nowhere

    BEST SUPPORTING MALE
    Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike
    David Oyelowo, Middle of Nowhere
    Michael Péna, End of Watch
    Sam Rockwell, Seven Psychopaths
    Bruce Willis, Moonrise Kingdom

    BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
    Yoni Brook, Valley of Saints
    Lol Crawley, Here
    Ben Richardson, Beasts of the Southern Wild
    Roman Vasyanov, End of Watch
    Robert Yeoman, Moonrise Kingdom

    BEST DOCUMENTARY
    How to Survive a Plague; DIRECTOR: David France; PRODUCERS: David France, Howard Gertler
    Marina Abramoviæ: The Artist is Present; DIRECTOR: Matthew Akers; PRODUCERS: Maro Chermayeff, Jeff Dupre
    The Central Park Five; DIRECTORS/PRODUCERS: Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon
    The Invisible War; DIRECTOR: Kirby Dick; PRODUCERS: Tanner King Barklow, Amy Ziering
    The Waiting Room; DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Peter Nicks; PRODUCERS: Linda Davis, William B. Hirsch

    BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
    Amour
    Once Upon A Time in Anatolia
    Rust And Bone
    Sister
    War Witch

    16th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
    The 16th annual Piaget Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.
    Nobody Walks PRODUCER: Alicia Van Couvering
    Prince Avalanche, PRODUCER: Derrick Tseng
    Stones in the Sun, PRODUCER: Mynette Louie

    19th ANNUAL SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
    The 19th annual Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
    Pincus, DIRECTOR: David Fenster
    Gimme the Loot, DIRECTOR: Adam Leon
    Electrick Children, DIRECTOR: Rebecca Thomas

    STELLA ARTOIS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
    The 18th annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
    Leviathan, DIRECTOR: Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel
    The Waiting Room, DIRECTOR: Peter Nicks
    Only the Young, DIRECTOR: Jason Tippet & Elizabeth Mims

    ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
    Given to one film’s director, casting director, and ts ensemble cast
    Starlet, Director: Sean Baker

     

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  • Canada’s Whistler Film Festival to Open 2012 Edition With Michael McGowan’s STILL

    [caption id="attachment_2930" align="alignnone" width="550"]Still[/caption]

    The Whistler Film Festival opens on Wednesday, November 28 and runs through Sunday, December 2, 2012 in Whistler, British Columbia Canada.

    Canadian writer and director Michael McGowan’s STILL (Western Canadian Premiere) is this year’s WFF Opening Night Gala presentation, an inspirational film based on the true story of 88 year old Craig Morrison, who took on the bureaucrats and the challenges of building a home from scratch with equal aplomb. WFF’s Closing Night Gala film is the World Premiere of THE SHEEPDOGS HAVE AT IT by Canadian director, John Barnard and featuring Saskatchewan rock band The Sheepdogs.

    Additional World Premieres include: BIRD CO. MEDIA by Vancouver director Jason Bourque, THE MOVIE OUT HERE directed by David Hicks, MAD SHIP directed by David Mortin, STATUS QUO? directed by Karen Cho; and TEMPTING FEAR directed by Mike Douglas.

    The complete 2012 lineup:

    World Premieres:
    BIRD CO. MEDIA (Canada) Dir. Jason Bourque
    THE MOVIE OUT HERE (Canada) Dir. David Hicks
    BRUCE COCKBURN PACING THE CAGE (Canada) Dir. Joel Goldberg (World Premiere of Director’s Cut)
    MAD SHIP (Canada) Dir. David Mortin
    STATUS QUO? (Canada), Dir. Karen Cho
    THE SHEEPDOGS HAVE AT IT (Canada) Dir. John Barnard
    North American Premiere:
    BLOOD PRESSURE (Canada) Dir. Sean Garrity

    Canadian Premieres:
    BETWEEN US (USA) Dir. Dan Mirvish
    FEW WORDS (France) Dir. Candide Thovex
    I AM NASRINE (UK/Iran) Dir. Tina Gharavi
    KNIFE FIGHT (USA), Dir. Bill Guttentag
    THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ROSALIND LEIGH (Canada) Dir. Rodrigo Gudiño
    WHITE DEER PLAIN (China) Dir. Wang Quan’an
    56UP (UK) Dir. Michael Apted

    English Canadian Premieres:
    BEAUTY AND THE BREAST (Canada), Dir. Liliana Komorowska
    DRIVING TO THE EDGE (Dérapages) (Canada) Dir. Paul Arcand
    FAIR SEX (Canada) Dir. Martin Laroche
    KARAKARA (Canada/Japan) Dir. Claude Gagnon
    OMERTÄ (Canada) Dir. Luc Dionne

    Western Canadian Premieres:
    AMERICAN MARY (Canada) Dir. Jen and Sylvia Soska
    ANNA KARENINA (UK) Dir. Joe Wright
    ALL THAT YOU POSSESS (Tout ce que tu possèdes) (Canada) Dir. Bernard Émond
    FROM UP ON POPPY HILL (Japan) Dir. Goro Miyazaki
    HIT ‘N STRUM (Canada) Dir. Kirk Caouette
    HOME AGAIN (Canada) Dir. Sudz Sutherland
    IN THE HOUSE (Dans La Maison) Dir. François Ozon
    LOVE MARILYN (USA) Dir. Liz Garbus
    MEET THE FOKKENS (Netherland) Dir. Rob Schröder and Gabrielle Provaas
    MY AWKWARD SEXUAL ADVENTURE (Canada) Dir. Sean Garrity
    PICTURE DAY (Canada) Dir. Kate Melville
    STILL (Canada) Dir. Michael McGowan
    THE PAINTING (France) Dir. Jean-François Laguionie
    THE RABBI’S CAT (France) Dir. Antoine Delesvaux and Joann Sfar
    ZARAFA (France) Dir. Rémi Bazançon

    BC Premieres:
    ALTER EGOS (Canada) Dir. Jordan Galland
    IT’S A DISASTER (USA) Dir. Todd Berger
    MARS AND AVRIL (Canada) Dir. Martin Villeneuve
    READY TO FLY (USA) Dir. William Kerig

    Whistler Premiere:
    THE MOUNTAIN RUNNERS (USA) Dir. Brian Young and Todd Warger

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  • Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom Among Winners of 2012 Gotham Independent Film Awards

     

    The 22nd Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards were held last night in New York City at the Cipriani Wall Street, Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom took the top prize for Best Feature Film and How to Survive a Plague took the best prize for Best Documentary.

    Benh Zeitlin won the Best Director award for his work on the superb indie drama, “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” and Jared Leto’s documentary, “Artifact,” received the Gotham Independent Film Audience Award, voted online.

    In addition the awards (see more below) Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, David O. Russell and Jeffrey Skoll received Career Tributes.

    The complete list of awards:

    BEST FEATURE:

    “Bernie”
    “The Loneliest Planet”
    “The Master”
    “Middle of Nowhere”
    “Moonrise Kingdom”

    BEST DOCUMENTARY:

    “Detropia”
    “How to Survive a Plague”
    “Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present”
    “Room 237″
    “The Waiting Room”

    BEST DIRECTOR:

    Zal Batmanglij, “Sound of My Voice”
    Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky, “Francine”
    Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin, “Now, Forager”
    Antonio Méndez Esparza, “Aquí y Allá”
    Benh Zeitlin, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

    BEST ACTOR:

    Mike Birbiglia, “Sleepwalk with Me”
    Emayatzy Corinealdi, “The Middle of Nowhere”
    Thure Lindhardt, “Keep the Lights On”
    Melanie Lynskey, “Hello, I Must Be Going”
    Quvenzhané Wallis, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

    BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE:

    “Bernie”
    “Moonrise Kingdom”
    “Safety Not Guaranteed”
    “Silver Linings Playbook”
    “Your Sister’s Sister”

    BEST FILM NOT PLAYING AT A THEATER NEAR YOU:

    “Kid-Thing”
    “An Oversimplification of Her Beauty”
    “Red Flag”
    “Sun Don’t Shine”
    “Tiger Tail in Blue”

     

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  • Beyoncé Documentary to Premiere on HBO on February 16, 2013

     

    Multiple Grammy winner, entrepreneur and actress Beyoncé will be the focus of an intimate feature-length HBO documentary film debuting Feb. 16, 2013, directed by the superstar herself.

    The film is described as a multi-faceted portrait of the 16-time Grammy Award-winning singer, businesswoman, songwriter, actress, entrepreneur, wife and mother, showing off the extraordinary gifts that have made her a global phenomenon, and stripping away the veneer of stardom. It includes extensive first-person footage, some of it shot by Beyoncé on her laptop, in which she reflects on the realities of celebrity, the refuge she finds onstage and the transcendent joy of becoming a mother last year.

    The film sheds light on her childhood in Houston, with home movies revealing the close bond she built with her family and charts the challenges Beyoncé felt when she decided to manage her career and build her own company, Parkwood Entertainment. It also captures the intense physical and emotional demands she goes through in the studio, preparing for live performances, running a business and her family life, including her return to the spotlight after the birth of her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, in January 2012.

    Beyoncé also serves as the film’s executive producer.

     

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  • Beaufort International Film Festival Announces 2013 Dates

    The Beaufort International Film Festival returns to the historic waterfront city for its seventh year and will feature approximately 30 independent films and screenplays between February 13 and 17, 2013 at the University of South Carolina Beaufort’s Center for the Performing Arts.  The festival concludes with an awards ceremony on February 17. The schedule will be announced in early 2013

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  • Turkish Film Beyond The Hill Wins Top Prize at Sixth Asia Pacific Screen Awards

    BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 23: Actor Tamer Levent, director/producer Emin Alper and producer Enis Kostepen accept the award for Best Feature Film, Beyond the Hill at the the sixth annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards on November 23, 2012 in the Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Image.net)

     

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  • Deadlines Approaching for Filmmaker Entries to 56th San Francisco International Film Festival

    The San Francisco Film Society is now accepting submissions for the 56th San Francisco International Film Festival, recognized throughout the world as an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation in one of the country’s most beautiful cities. Works in all genres, forms and lengths are considered. The final deadline for short films Monday December 3, and the final deadline for features Monday December 10.

    HOW TO ENTER  Entry form and information: sffs.org

     

    Founded in 1957, SFIFF is the longest-running film festival in the Americas. Refreshingly intimate for a festival of its size and scope, the Festival combines a range of marquee premieres, international competitions, compelling documentaries, new digital media work, live music performances and star-studded gala events. 

    SFIFF is deeply rooted in the finest traditions of film appreciation both as an art form and as a meaningful agent for social change. SFIFF 2012 presented 289 screenings of 174 films in 41 languages from 45 countries, and brought nearly 300 filmmaker and industry guests to the Festival from more than 20 countries around the globe. More than 70,000 enthusiastic filmgoers flocked to San Francisco to celebrate the best of international cinema.

    The Festival’s awards and prizes recognize the best of international and Bay Area talent by honoring superior innovation in documentary, narrative, animation, experimental and television works.

    Golden Gate Awards including a juried award for Best Documentary Feature with a $20,000 prize; Best Bay Area Documentary Feature with a $15,000 prize; and awards totaling $20,000 in other categories of shorts, youth-produced and family films.

    New Directors Prize A juried cash award of $15,000 to the director of a first-time narrative feature at the Festival.

    FIPRESCI Prize Awarded by the International Federation of Film Critics. SFIFF is one of only three festivals in the U.S. selected to present this prestigious award.

    Audience Awards for Best Narrative and Best Documentary Features.

    [source: SFIFF]

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