• Oscilloscope to Release The Apple Pushers Documentary Narrated by Ed Norton

    Oscilloscope Laboratories has picked up Mary Mazzio’s documentary The Apple Pushers for distribution in the US. Narrated by Academy Award® nominee Edward Norton, The Apple Pushers follows immigrant street vendors who are rolling fresh fruits and vegetables into poor neighborhoods of New York City, where finding a fresh red ripe apple can be a serious challenge. These pushcart vendors, who have immigrated from all parts of the world and have sacrificed so much to come to the United States, are now part of an experiment in New York to help solve the food desert crisis and skyrocketing obesity rates in urban communities.

    The film premiered to critical acclaim at The Hamptons International Film Festival 2011 and has been screened at Lincoln Center in New York City, and other major festivals, universities, and government showings. It will next be seen as part of The Whole Foods DoSomethingReel Film Festival, which will host screenings of the film in 5 major cities around the country on April 22–Earth Day. Oscilloscope will make the film available on VOD nationwide following the festival, and will continue to book special screenings and engagements across the country. The Apple Pushers will also be broadcast on public television’s WORLD channel in May and June.

    The film is written and directed by Mary Mazzio, and produced by Mazzio, Tom Scott, and Christine Vachon.

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  • Mia Hansen-Love’s Gorgeous “Goodbye, First Love”

    by Francesca McCaffery

    Goodbye, First Love, the beautiful, new film by Mia Hansen-Love (Father of My Children) tells the tale of two young lovers, Camille (Lola Creton) and Sullivan (Sebastian Urzendowsky), and their hard serious and young, first romance. Sullivan is a charismatic, sweet and sensual free spirit, darting in and out of Camille’s life, although he appears to completely adore her when they are together. Camille is very earnest and quite dramatic about her intense, romantic feelings towards him. The film then explores how Camille manages to get over this great young love, truly find herself, and create a definitive, singular life for herself. The film is so simple, so dazzling in this observation, that you feel almost anyone could relate to the blistering feeling of first love. It feels like one’s very own memory of relationships past writ large onscreen. The director captures this feeling of living memory with superb brilliance and care- the painstaking bittersweet feeling of knowing these moments will not last forever, but having the knowledge you will never, ever forget them. She manages to infuse the two young actor’s performances with both innocence and a passion that seems perfectly true and heart-breaking. When Sullivan goes off traveling to South America, feeling a bit smothered by the weight of Camille’s great love for him, Creton, with her sensually blank face filled with despair and longing both, makes us feel every second of this separation.

    And, as first loves often drag out, in consciousness or real life, Hansen-Love jumps to Camille in architecture school years later as a young student, still not connecting with a new love, still pretty sad and longing for Sullivan.

    The filmmaker somehow conveys Camille in the process of showing up for hew own life, without those cloying “blossoming” scenes of harried montage seen in so many lesser films, but through the character’s own effort, will and the passage of time. Camille does, in fact, begin to heal, and starts an affair with sexy, older professor Lorenz (cool guy Magne- Håvard Brekkeand) Camille also starts building a genuine, solid life for herself. Her new love interest helps ease this transition- but Camille is the one living through and getting past it. On her own.

    Especially as a woman, I simply have to say, I really loved this film. One’s interior life is filled with these moments all the time- longing and fulfillment, frustration and fascination. Hanson-Love weaves these often painful moments together, which quickly turn into years, (as in life) in a way that is truly cinematic, in the best sense. Threads of memory, an old hat a lover gave you, the light glancing off a river where you once swam with him…Yes, we can survive anything, Hansen-Love seems to be telling us. Even the end of love.

     

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  • Tribeca Film Festival 2012 Spotlight on Tribeca Film Festival’s “Caroline and Jackie”and the filmmaker Adam Christian Clark

    Filmmaker Adam Christian Clark with Caroline and Jackie actresses Bitsie Tulloch (left) and Marguerite Moreau (right)

    by Francesca McCaffery

    One of the best narrative films I’ve seen screening at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival so far is the extraordinary debut feature written and directed by Adam Christian Clark- Carloline and Jackie.

    The film centers around two sisters with an unexplained but hinted to have been very tough shared childhood. As Caroline (the wonderful Marguerite Moreau) flies in to see her younger sister Jackie (an amazing Bitsie Tulloch), we see her glancing at an “Anorexics Anonymous” brochure.Jackie has cooked a huge, thoughtful meal, (“Nana’s pot roast!”)and she and her new boyfriend Ryan (David Giuntoli- nicely understated) show Caroline their beautifully appointed, new craftsman home. Jackie is a designer, and it’s clear she has worked quite hard to achieve this still modest, but still, quite lovely lifestyle.

    Caroline flippantly tells her sister that she has arranged to celebrate Jackie’s birthday with a few friends at a nearby restaurant, even though it is in fact Caroline’s birthday, and Jackie’s own birthday is literally months away. A bit upset (“I spent thirty-two hours cooking!” she sadly laments to her boyfriend), but putting on a sweet, big-girl face, they literally skip off to the pre-arranged fete.

    At the restaurant, they are greeted by three of Jackie’s friends, and Jackie is curious as to why any of Caroline’s own friends aren’t present. It soon becomes quite obvious, especially as Caroline assembles everyone in Jackie’s living room, that another plan entirely is being put into play. James (Jason Gray-Stanford) is a musician who has abruptly cut his tour short to be there for Jackie’s birthday, and seemingly bestie Michelle (Valerie Azlynn) has brought new 22-year old, youngin boyfriend Charlie (David Fuitt) along for the ride.The tone changes almost minute by minute, as hints of realization dance across Jackie’s face, and the audience is quite uncertain as to who is telling the real truth, until there is no denying it

    This film, especially for a director’s debut, is an absolute knockout. The camera work (by director-turned-first-time cinematographer Christian Swegal) is warm, non-intrusive and sumptuous, and the audience feels somehow placed in the room or setting in each and every frame.And the performances by Moreau and especially Tulloch are beyond standout, they are some of the realest, most down-to-earth and intelligent performances you will see all year. A film about family, the oh-so-complex ties that both bind and nurture, and laying witness to how mental illness can erupt and change the course of an evening and an entire lifetime, the movie explores the concept of love between two sisters that is simultaneously life-sustaining and in reality, both destructive and crucial. This great little film better get distribution, and fast!

    Francesca McCaffery sat down with Caroline and Jackie’s  filmmaker Adam Christian Clark, and spoke with him about his roots, why he loves the work of Harmony Korine, and how being employed in reality television gave him the discipline and chops to work with his actors on-set today.

    Vimooz: The two performances of the two lead women were really extraordinary.

    ACC: Thank you! I had some really great casting directors- Angela Demo and Barbara McCarthy. They did a really great job, because they completely stood up for what they believed the characters were. What I imagined didn’t really exist! In pushing these certain actors, they became real to me as characters even more. We actually cast Bitsie first. And the additional challenge was that- the actresses really had to really look like sisters.

    Vimooz: It’s kind of incredible how much the actresses actually do look alike!

    ACC: They really do. We got very lucky. I actually know both Bitsie’s and Marguerite’s actual sisters, and the two actresses certainly look way more alike! It is a little more than that, too- because when they very first met and started working together, they got so into character, that they began to mirror each other’s mannerisms. I think it was that, more than anything. They kind of, like, were synced up to each other.

    Vimooz: How did you start out?

    ACC: I was really fortunate when I was in college (Clark went to USC), and started working in reality TV, which always shot in the summers. This was in 1999, and I started working as a PA. I came into it during the time of Survivor, and I ended up directing episodes of Big Brother. About three or four years ago, I decided that I really wanted to focus on making art-house films, so I cut myself from reality TV, and started directing music videos and commercials. Directing is a weird thing, because I wonder how people like Harmony Korine are able to do it! I’ve been fortunate to find other things- like editing reality TV, as opposed to directing it, which can be pretty draining. Editing is not that emotional draining, there’s no taking it home with you. I’ve also sold quite a few scripts. But they aren’t going to get made! I feel like a lot of good producers have my scripts as like, decorations, in their office! They’ll never be movies. But I’ve been doing this for years.

    The thing about Harmony Korine is, all I ever wanted to do from the time I was eighteen was to make like a John Cassavetes movie, or a Jim Jarmusch movie, or a Harmony Korine movie, right? Harmony Korine has been somebody that I really, just, admire. You make a movie, and you don’t know if you’ll ever be in that realm. That’s why it’s so great to be in the Tribeca Film Festival’s Viewpoint section this year, because The Fourth Dimension is also in there. He has always been a hero of mine. When Gummo came out, that imagery and style he created is everywhere now. It pre-dated everything. He is such an artist.

    Vimooz: What did you shoot Caroline and Jackie on?

    ACC: It was shot on the Red MX camera. We also had great color conversion and correction.My best friend was actually the DP. Adam Hendricks, the producer, and Christian Swegal, the DP, we all went to film school together. Christian is actually not a DP (by trade.) He is a director, too. Going into this film, myself having only directed one short film before, I knew that I really had to go in with a lot of support. I just knew he would do a great job. He has a gift for that I don’t possess. But he had no experience doing this before. I had been on his sets so many times, I just knew he could do it well.

    Vimooz: He definitely did! Tell us about directing your wonderful actors.

    ACC: I take it really to an extreme. When we shoot scenes, I block everything with stand-ins, do all the blocking with them, and then pull everyone off set, and do just separate blocking with me, the camera operators, and the actors. Then the actors go into complete isolation, separately, I don’t want them together when we’re not filming. Then we roll camera and sound, the crew is pulled out again (except for the camera and departments) so the actors just enter the scene like they’re already really in it. If there’s any direction to give, everybody (the skeleton crew)leaves, then everybody comes back in. I had failed pretty big with the actors in my first film, a short called Goodbye, Shanghai, which was visually very strong, shot on 35mm, very formal. So I remembered back in the very first days of reality TV, it used to be shot by documentary filmmakers. The way they work is that they don’t intercut with the subjects, you’re a fly on the wall. I knew as a camera assistant not to even shake their hands. And I really remembered that, and thought, “I’m gonna try this with acting. I’m gonna try this with acting, and see if it gives them a greater tool, and be easier for them to be in that world. “ And they also don’t hang out with each other offset. The actors actually loved it. In theory, I mean, they loved it! There was a little bit of like, ‘Oh!’ in the beginning, when they realized how intense and serious I was about it. It may have happened slightly less (the isolation) than I thought, but I think it worked! We shot it in fifteen days, there was no off-camera time. But I did rehearse the actors for almost a month, and we would then rehearse every day on the set, during set-ups, about three hours a day.

    Vimooz: I really loved Caroline and Jackie, Adam. Thank you so much for talking with me, and good luck with the film!

    ACC: Thank you, Francesca!

    Go see Caroline and Jackie– which screens this week of April 23rd, 2012 at the Tribeca Film Festival. 

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  • “Elles” Review

    by Francesca McCaffery

    Juliette Binoche stars in Elles, a film that is strangely more sensual than sexual, considering one of its serious subject matters: Student prostitution in Paris. In Elles, (directed by Małgorzata Szumowska) Binoche plays an extraordinarily well-heeled journalist (one of her subjects even asks if her gorgeous shoes are “expensive”) for Elle Magazine. She is interviewing young female college students who become escorts to pay for their tuition and rent. Binoche’s character Anne is the married mother of two- one elegantly scruffy teenage boy, and a younger one of about nine. Her husband seems caring yet distracted, loving and slightly mystified, as does she, as they go through their lives, figuring out what to purchase next, dealing with their pot-smoking son, and trying to keep things running as smoothly as possible.

    As she goes over her notes and recordings for the article, which is due on deadline the  next day, we see her move through her scheduled day, visiting her sick father, grocery shopping, and preparing a dinner for her husband’s boss and wife for that same evening. These scenes are intercut with the recounting of the increasingly sexual and sometimes disturbing images of the two different young women with their various johns, and the relationships she develops with each of them as she is interviewing them. Alicja (Polish actress Joanna Kulig in a searing performance) and Charlotte (the lovely Anaïs Demoustier) also seem strangely detached from what they are doing- until for Charlotte their actions finally become (very) painfully obvious. Binoche has a similar realization, yet the film physically carries us through this day with such sensual ease, such a pleasure in the unfolding, that is a visual joy to watch. The camerawork recalls early Adrian Lynne films, who shot interiors of Manhattan apartments- whether in Soho or the Upper West side, with a similar, gliding, lovingly observed sort of ease. Binoche, as usual, is perfect to watch, as well.

    Yet, obviously, the film has nothing really to do or say about student prostitution- most of these girl’s “affairs” seem more like daring sexual adventures than actual tricks. But it’s interesting to see just how much it takes to sometimes jar Anne’s middle-class, pseudo “feminist” sensibility. The defining point this film has is the manner in which it conveys Anne’s dissatisfaction as something that is simply a part of one’s life to move through, rather than a point of no return, which is a refreshing take. But still, in the end, the film itself is too wan in parts to solidly build the idea around to make us really feel for, or care very deeply for Anne’s “plight.”

     

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  • Eleven Great Films to See at the Tribeca Film Festival-2012

    by Francesca McCaffery

    The Tribeca Film Festival has some wonderful, new films this year- check out all listings and times here. Vimooz has a few great picks for you to check out. The Tribeca Film Festival runs through April 29th, 2012.

    Keep the Lights On: It seems like the only ones having authentic, intelligent romantic relationships onscreen are gay men (witness last year’s tiny, phenomenal British-born Weekend), and Ira Sach’ssemi-autobiographical Keep the Lights On is following in a newly emerging genre that is compelling, moving and almost unbearably honest. The film follows the director’s alter-ego Erikand his formerly in the closet lover Paul over the course ofa nearly ten-year relationship. At times moving slowly, as love and life and memory often do, the film is carried on the shoulders of the truly brilliant and open Danish actor Thure Lindhardt (as Erik.) . With Zachary Booth and Julianne Nicholson.

    Planet of Snail: Speaking of love, this entirely lovely Korean documentary by Seung-Jun Yi takes us into the life of Young-Chan, an unusually charismatic deaf and blind man, and his pretty wife Soon-Ho, who has a pronounced spinal deformity. Their day-to-day moments become monuments to their own perceptive and loving spirits, as Young-Chan dreams of becoming a writer needing to chart the immense world bursting within him. Poetic, dazzling in its simplicity, this film will make a believer out of the hardest romantic cynic.

    Baby Girl: I have to admit, I was ready to write this film off, imagining yet another faux-gritty portrayal of inner-city family turmoil, etc. But this little movie written and directed by Irishman Macdara Vallely shines with a sweet truth. From the extraordinary debut performance of teenager Yainis Ynoaa, (who plays Lena)to her insecure but loving mother played by a terrific Rosa Arredondo,to the sleazy yet somehow sympathetic Flaco Navajaa (looking like Bencio del Toro’s blonde baby brother) playing the mother’s new younger boyfriend Victor, (who really has eyes for the budding Lena.) Wonderful performances and a simple story line, and we get to see New York in a way it hasn’t been portrayed in a while- as if the characters actually lived and breathed in the neighborhood being portrayed.

    Sexy Baby:This documentary, especially if you are female, will blow your mind. The filmmaking and producing team of Jill Bauer and Ronna Gradus chart the lives of three women: Twelve-year old Winnifred- cool, upper-middle class Manhattanite; Nichole,former porn star and pole dancer ‘Nakita Kash.’; and a sweet, kindergarten school teacher named Laura from North Carolina, who is so insecure about her very fit andnormal body, that she is seeking out a surgeon (and eventually ends up getting, and (spoiler/warning: partially on camera!) a “vaginaplasty.” Most fascinating is the way the audience can witness the infintesimal changes which lead to the enormous leaps in the brilliant Winnifred’s development (from ages 12 to 14). Fromher and her classmates’ obsession with Lady Gaga, fishnet tightsand grabbing the boys’ attention via Facebook, it’s painful; to watch her youthful bravado and singularity ebb away. (Fear not, the child still remains amazing atfourteen, thank goodness.) Watching as three women navigate a culture navigate the difficulties of being bombarded with sexual images in the media may seem like old news. But this take is profoundly different. The filmmakers focuson how our very easy access to online porn and ‘soft-porn’ advertising (American Apparel)is altering men’s already rigidly high expectations of sex, performance and beauty- and how these expectations are making even 14 year olds need to appear as if they are “down to fuck.” A MUST see for both sexes, as well as a scary warning for parents and young women alike to monitor those FB pages. As the adorable Winnifred cheerfully laments: “We have no one to guide us through this. We are the pioneers.”

    The World Before Her: A brilliant doc (and excellent counter-point to Sexy Baby) about the choices young girls growing up in India are faced with from two extreme stand-points: Going with with flow of “westernization” through the limited options of participating in the “beauty industry” (we come to know two remarkable poised, articulate and bright contenders for ‘Miss India,’) and a nineteen year old woman who works at a Hinduist Extremist girl’s camp run by her abusive father, carrying on the tradition of female control for her faith. It is sad to think that these girls’ choices are either the gun or the often demoralizing subjugation of pageant life if they choose not to marry; but an absolutely riveting work, and one of the very best documentaries you will see this year.

    El Gusto:A beautiful, rousing documentary about elderly musicians from French Algiers- French, Jewish and Muslim- whose lives are scattered after the Algerian War for Independence. Reunited by the incredibly resourceful filmmaker Safinez Bousbiato bring back the tradition of“chaabi” music, jarring them from their lives stuck in the past, and giving them a chance to relive their dreams. A glorious, inspiring film- truly not to be missed.

    My Sister’s Sister: Director Lynn Shelton (Humpday) is back with Mark Duplass in this movie also starring Emily Blunt and Rosemarie DeWitt.Duplass plays Jack, a tousled thirty-something still stumbling around after a year after his brother Tom’s untimely death. When Blunt’s character Iris, the former girlfriend of his late brother, suggests a sabbatical at her father’s idyllic house near a lake in upper Washington state, he is startled to see that her lesbian sister Hannah (DeWitt) has already holed up there, herself reeling from a recent and devastating break-up. Because Shelton is a special filmmaker of truly uncommon depth, this film ends up a tiny, burnished gem in her trusty hands, and has the same sweet heart that has permeated her earlier works.

    High Tech, Low Life: Tribeca is teeming with great documentaries this year. High Tech, Low Life follows two of the very first “citizen journalists” from China. They arebrave bloggers who defy the risk of arrest, imprisonment and far worse by the Chinese government, and will make you feel guilty for all those hours spent Twittering about the flavor of smoothie you made this morning. “Tiger Temple” is the 57-year old who travels around China on his bicycle and reports on everything from communities made homeless by government land developers to farmers reeling from a recent flood; 27-year old “Zola” has to navigate the dangers of reporting on the likes of a rape and murder of a 14-year old by an official’s relative, all while dodging his traditional parents’ nagging about his future. Stephen Maing is the brilliant director, DP, (the tiny doc looks like a million bucks, a great bonus) editor and co-producer of this lush, timely and highly significant film.

    The Fourth Dimension:A movie split into three parts, directed by Harmony Korine, Russsian-born Alexsei Fedorchenko and Polish Jan Kwiecinski, that cheeky guy at VICE Eddy Moretti (in conjunction with and Groslch Film Works) gave a “creative brief” which  asked each filmmaker to toy with the concept of the fourth dimension, and we see the results in this triptych of stories. Pretty much all you need to know is that Harmony Korine directs Val Kilmer playing a motivational guru (of sorts) named Val Kilmer, and hosts his seminars at the nearby roller rink. I don’t think anything more needs to be said: Go see this fun little jolt of a film. Fedorchenko’s thirty-minute contribution is also a definite, beautiful little stand-out.

    Head Shot:A deft, atmospheric thriller from Thai director Pen-ek, Head Shot tells the story ofTul, an incorruptible cop who gets set-up, goes to jail, and is lured by to the dark side to work as an assassin to only hit the bad guys. It stars sexy Asian bad-ass Nopaachial “Peter” Jayaanama, and even the sets themselves look terrific, lived-in and real. A good, moody crime movie- a true, rare breed in any language.

    Cut: Shot like it could have made right after Pulp Fiction, Cut is Iranian filmmaker Amir Naderi’s tribute to great cinema, and the soul of a true believer is all that is evident in this noir love letter to both film and film buffs the world over. Hidetoshi Nishijima plays Shuji, a down-on-his-luck filmmaker, who is so desperate for people to see great film, he blares his opinions in the streets with a bullhorn to all who were listen, screens old movies on the roof of his ramshackle apartment, and borrows money from his Yakuza hit man brother to make his own failed pictures. When his massive debt comes due, Shuji proceeds to try to avenge his brother’s honor by become a literal “punching bag” for mob underlings. It gets a little rough around the edges, but the splendid performance of Nishijima gives this film a sheer heart of gold.

    by Francesca McCaffery

    Check out all listings and times for the Tribeca Film Festival here.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

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  • Rooftop Films Announce Film Lineup for 16th Annual Summer Series

    Rooftop Films announce the feature film lineup for the 16th Annual Summer Series presented by AT&T, featuring over 45 outdoor screenings with huge crowds, live music, spectacular venues and the best in new, independent, and foreign films. This year’s edition kicks off with some of the greatest new short films from all around the world on Friday, May 11th at Open Road Rooftop at New Design High School in the Lower East Side, and a special preview screening of Think of Me, starring Lauren Ambrose, on Saturday, May 12th also at Open Road Rooftop.

    Rooftop Films has continued to experience remarkable growth since their initial single screening on the roof of founder Mark Elijah Rosenberg’s tenement building in 1997 and the focus remains on leveraging their grassroots popularity to bring out big crowds and shine a spotlight on new independent films that might otherwise never get the attention they deserve.

    Acting as innovators and leading an event-based film marketing revolution, Rooftop Films has helped enable the success of many alumni, including Wasteland, Trouble the Water, Holy Rollers, Winnebago Man, and numerous others. In addition, through their Rooftop Filmmakers’ Fund, they help more powerful, understated films not only be seen, but made; films such as Beasts of the Southern Wild, Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Patron Saints, Nancy, Please, and The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom have received production or post-production support via the Rooftop Filmmakers’ Fund and gone on to have tremendous success at festivals and reaching wide, appreciative audiences.

    However, the popularity and longevity of Rooftop Films comes primarily from the fact that their events take audiences beyond the average multi-plex movie going experience. This year is no different.

    “Our aim at Rooftop Films,” says Founder and Artistic Director Mark Elijah Rosenberg, “is to immerse our audiences in new worlds, to bring them places they wouldn’t otherwise go, to provide intimate looks into unique lives. I’m excited about our feature film programming in 2012 because it includes daring and personal films on a wide range of subjects, from a diverse collection of filmmakers, and with every film we’ll be providing a unique cinematic experience.”   

    During the weekend of June 6-8, Rooftop Films will be presenting three films from the SXSW Film Festival to New York City: Caveh Zahedi’s (I am a Sex Addict) political documentary The Sheik and I, Matthew Lillard’s (Scream, SLC Punk) comic feature debut Fat Kid Rules the World, and Amy Seimetz’s dramatic thriller Sun Don’t Shine, about a road-trip gone bad.

    Please find below the full line-up for the 2012 Summer Series listing of feature films. All shows include live-music before the screenings and most include filmmaker Q&As and after parties with complementary open bars. The Summer Series will also include over 20 programs of short films. The full schedule including locations and dates will be announced in the coming weeks.

    Rooftop Films 16th Annual Summer Series Opening Weekend

    Friday, May 11, 2012
    This is What We Mean by Short Films
    Opening Night of Rooftop Films 16th Annual Summer Series will feature grand stories in little packages, with some of the greatest new short films from all around the world.
    Venue: Open Road Rooftop (350 Grand Street, LES)
    Tickets, films and more info at: www.rooftopfilms.com

    Saturday, May 12, 2012
    Think of Me (Bryan Wizemann)
    http://www.thinkofmemovie.com/
    “Trembling with vulnerability, Lauren Ambrose is positively devastating” (The New York Observer) as a young single mother doing her best not to fall apart. 
    Venue: Open Road Rooftop (350 Grand Street, LES)
    Tickets, films and more info at: www.rooftopfilms.com


    Additional 2012 Feature Selections will include: (in alphabetical order)


    An Oversimplification of Her Beauty (Terence Nance)
    http://oversimplification.mvmt.com
    Terence Nance’s explosively creative debut feature documents the relationship between Terence and a woman as it teeters on the divide between platonic and romantic.

    Argentinean Lesson (Wojciech Staron)
    Captured in breathtaking 16mm film, an eight-year-old traveling from Poland to Argentina meets Marcia, a beautiful and brave young girl, 11 going on 30.

    Bovines (Emmanuel Gras)
    In the fields, one sees them, wide in grass or grazing peacefully. Large placid animals which one believes to know because they are livestock. Lions, gorillas, bear have all our attention, but did one ever really look at cows?

    China Heavyweight (Yung Chang)
    http://www.eyesteelfilm.com/projects/completed-films/china-heavyweight/
    In central China, a master coach recruits poor rural teenagers and turns them into Western-style boxing champions.

    Detropia (Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady)
    http://lokifilms.com/DET_newspress.html
    Detropia is a cinematic tapestry of a city and its people who refuse to leave the building, even as the flames are rising.

    Dicke Maedchen (Heavy Girls) (Axel Ranisch)
    http://www.dickemaedchen.com/Home_engl.html
    Sven shares his entire life, the apartment, even the bed with his mother, who is suffering from dementia. But when she takes off, Sven goes on a journey that turns his life upside down. 

    Fat Kid Rules the World (Matthew Lilliard)
    Marking Matthew Lillard’s (SLC Punk, Scream) directorial debut, and based on the bestselling novel by the same title, Fat Kid Rules the World is a story for anybody who has ever needed to find their inner rock star.

    Gayby (Jonathan Lisecki)
    http://www.gaybyfilm.com/gayby.html
    Jenn and Matt, two best friends from college who are now in their 30s and single by choice, decide to fulfill a youthful promise to have a child together… the old-fashioned way. Gayby will screen during Gay Pride weekend.

    Grandma Lo-Fi (Louise Johansen)
    At the tender age of 70 Sigríður Níelsdóttir started recording and releasing her own music straight from the living room. 7 years later, she had 59 albums to her name with more than 600 songs – an eccentric myriad of catchy compositions mixing in her pets’ purrs and coos, found toys, kitchen percussion and Casio keyboards.

    Her Master’s Voice (Nina Conti)
    Internationally acclaimed ventriloquist Nina Conti takes the bereaved puppets of her mentor and erstwhile lover on a pilgrimage to ‘Venthaven’ the resting place for puppets of dead ventriloquists.

    I Think It’s Raining (Joshua Moore)
    http://ithinkitsraining.com/
    Starring and featuring original songs written and performed by Alexandra Clayton, I Think It’s Raining is a music-infused San Francisco portrait of a young woman at odds with who she once was and who she will become.

    Inocente (Sean Fine, Andrea Nix Fine)
    http://fine-films.com/inocente.php
    At 15, Inocente refuses to let her dream of becoming an artist be undermined by her life as an undocumented immigrant forced to live homeless for the last nine years. Rooftop and the Fledgling Fund present a series of screenings and art workshops for adults and youth alike.

    Kid-Thing (David and Nathan Zellner)
    A fever-dream fable about a rebellious girl who spends her time roaming the land, leaving destruction in her wake.

    Kumaré (Vikram Ghandi)
    Kumaré is a documentary about a man who impersonates a wise Indian Guru and builds a following in Arizona. At the height of his popularity, the Guru Kumaré must reveal his true identity to his disciples and unveil his greatest teaching of all.

    Love Story (Florian Habicht)
    A chance encounter between a man and a woman on a train leads to a day of adventure and discovery in this romance written on the streets of New York.

    Only the Young (Jason Tippet & Elizabeth Mims)
    Kevin and Garrison are boyhood friends in a sleepy California suburb. They share a love of skateboarding, an evangelical Christian faith and a sense of confusion about romantic relationships.

    Sun Don’t Shine (Amy Seimetz)
    Sun Don’t Shine follows Crystal (Kate Lyn Sheil) and her boyfriend Leo (Kentucker Audley) on a tense and mysterious road trip through the desolate yet hauntingly beautiful landscape of central Florida.

    The Imposter (Bart Layton)
    A documentary centered on a young Frenchman who convinces a grieving Texas family that he is their 16-year-old son who went missing for 3 years.

    The Patron Saints (Brian Cassidy & Melanie Shatzky)
    http://www.thepatronsaintsfilm.com
    The Patron Saints, a recipient of the Rooftop Filmmaker’s Fund grant, is a disquieting and hyperrealistic glimpse into life at a nursing home. Bound by the candid confessions of a recently disabled resident, the film weaves haunting images, scenes and stories from within the institution walls.

    The Sheik and I (Caveh Zahedi)
    http://thesheikandi.com/
    Commissioned by a Middle Eastern Biennial to make a film on the theme of “art as a subversive act,” independent filmmaker Caveh Zahedi (I Am a Sex Addict) goes overboard when told that he can do whatever he wants except make fun of the Sheik.

    The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom (Lucy Walker)
    http://thetsunamiandthecherryblossom.com/
    Survivors in the areas hardest hit by Japan’s recent tsunami find the courage to revive and rebuild as cherry blossom season begins. Supported by the Rooftop Filmmakers’ Fund.

    The Waiting Room (Peter Nicks)
    http://www.whatruwaitingfor.com/
    The Waiting Room is a character-driven documentary film that uses extraordinary access to go behind the doors of an American public hospital struggling to care for a community of largely uninsured patients.

    Think of Me (Bryan Wizemann)
    http://www.thinkofmemovie.com/
    “Trembling with vulnerability, Lauren Ambrose is positively devastating” (The New York Observer) as a young single mother doing her best not to fall apart. 

    This Ain’t California (Marten Persiel)
    http://www.thisaintcalifornia.de/en
    A hit at the 2012 Berlinale,This Ain’t California takes a look at the transformation of Germany over the course of 40 years through the lens of three skateboarder friends.

    Welcome to Pine Hill (Keith Miller)
    http://welcometopinehill.com/
    A recently reformed drug dealer working as a claims adjuster receives earth-shattering news that compels him to make peace with his past and search for freedom beyond the concrete jungle of New York.

     

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  • Claude Miller’s Thérèse Desqueyroux to Close 2012 Cannes Film Festival

    Thérèse Desqueyroux directed by Claude Miller who died earlier this month, and starring Audrey Tautou, Gilles Lellouche and Anaïs Demoustier, will close the 65th Cannes Film Festival on 27 May.

    Claude Miller’s final film is described by the festival as an adaptation of François Mauriac’s novel “Thérèse Desqueyroux”. On the 4th of April of this year, Miller passed away, and this film is the final piece in his immense body of work, to which the Cannes Film Festival and the director’s many admirers will pay tribute.

    Claude Miller’s formative years were in Nouvelle Vague cinema, working as an assistant to François Truffaut, “the filmmaker of the intimate”.  Through the evolution of his work, he created a universe that could speak to a very broad audience, from The Best Way to Walk (La meilleure façon de marcher) (1976) to The Grilling (Garde à vue) (1981), from Deadly Run (Mortelle randonnée) (1983) to The Accompanist (l’Accompagnatrice) (1992) and A secret (Un secret) (2007), from the Prix Delluc for The Hussy (l’Effrontée) (1985) to the Jury Prize at the Festival de Cannes for Class Trip (la Classe de neige) (1998). As a politically engaged filmmaker, he also chaired the Association of Filmmakers and Producers (Association des réalisateurs producteurs) and was active in the “Club des 13”, a think tank for reforming the production system.By dedicating the closing night to him, the Festival de Cannes, along with his family, friends, producers, and distributors, is very pleased to pay tribute to the memory of Claude Miller.

    source: Cannes Film Festival

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  • Chasing Ice, John Dies at the End and Lola Versus Added to 2012 San Francisco International Film Festival Film Lineup

    [caption id="attachment_2762" align="alignnone" width="550"]Lola Versus[/caption]

    Jeff Orlowski’s Chasing Ice (USA 2012), Don Coscarelli’s John Dies at the End (USA 2012) and Daryl Wein’s Lola Versus (USA 2012) have been added to the 55th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 19 – May 3) schedule.

    [caption id="attachment_2337" align="alignnone"]Chasing Ice[/caption]

    Featuring breathtaking displays of remote and beautiful landscapes that may never be seen again by human — or any — eyes, Chasing Ice chronicles the quest of photographer James Balog to create his project the Extreme Ice Survey. Like many, Balog was initially skeptical of the existence of climate change. But, after researching the changing state of Earth’s melting glaciers and then witnessing those changes firsthand through field studies, Balog became convinced of the realities and consequences of climate crisis. He then set out to record the ever-changing landscapes of the world’s glacial terrain, with a photographer’s eye for majestic vistas and incredible places. Filmmaker Jeff Orlowski observes the painstaking and obsessive methods Balog uses to capture images that serve both as valuable topographic documents and as uniquely beautiful contemplations of ice and water. Celebrating Earth’s natural beauty while simultaneously serving as an environmental clarion call, Chasing Ice is a stunning and important document of our world in transition. Chasing Ice plays 7:15 pm, Thursday, May 3, Sundance Kabuki Cinemas. Balog is expected to attend. Oscilloscope Laboratories will open the film in theaters this fall.

    [caption id="attachment_2080" align="alignnone" width="550"]John Dies at the End[/caption]

    Talking bratwursts, monsters made of meat and dogs with magical powers — the madly fertile brain of Don Coscarelli (the Phantasm series, The Beastmaster) strikes again. Dissecting the incredibly baroque plot of his latest film would take out much of the fun, but the gist involves a super-powered psychoactive substance called “soy sauce” which causes its users to have extreme psychic experiences and the ability to travel across time and space. It can also overpower those who ingest it, turning them into shape-shifting monsters. The sauce makes its first appearance in the town of Sherwood, Illinois, where two pals come across it at an outdoor party. The duo teams up with other party survivors to defeat the substance and the various demons it sends after them. Adapting the popular Internet-launched novel of the same name by Jason Pargin, Coscarelli creatively shifts the action back and forth in time as David narrates his incredible story to an interested journalist played by Paul Giamatti. With wonderfully witty dialogue and some terrifically gory set pieces, John Dies at the End is the most inspired horror-comedy in years. John Dies at the End plays 9:45 pm, Wednesday, May 2, Sundance Kabuki Cinemas. Coscarelli is expected to attend. The film is coming soon to theaters.

    Lola lives in bliss. She has a perfect fiancé — an artist who cooks, is funny, handsome, sweet and great in bed. She has a satisfying job, great friends and a beautiful loft in New York City. However, this so-wonderful-it-is-not situation is about to enter an era of unprecedented tumult and despair. Displaying remarkable range as Lola, indie star Greta Gerwig plays a young woman who, just in time for her 29th birthday, concludes her Saturn return (an astrological phenomenon associated with upheaval, maturation and change). In Lola’s orbit are Henry, Luke and Alice, each played by three equally engaging young actors: Hamish Linklater (The Future, SFIFF 2011), Joel Kinnaman (Safe House) and Zoe Lister Jones (Salt). Each at turns provides support and obstacles that Lola must navigate as she restarts her life. Romantic entanglements, adult dating, loneliness and betrayal are all fair game in this funny, dark and emotional journey on which Lola attempts to locate herself. Along the way she meets Nick Oyster, a prison architect with a strange approach to flirting, played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach in a wonderfully awkward and oddly hilarious supporting performance. But the film belongs to Gerwig, whose multi-faceted performance points to a breakthrough of astronomical proportions. Lola Versus plays 9:15 pm, Monday, April 30, Sundance Kabuki Cinemas. Director Daryl Wein is expected to attend. Fox Searchlight is releasing the film this summer.

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  • Cannes Film Festival Reveals 2012 Cinéfondation and Short Films

    The Official Selection for short films to screen at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival was unveiled yesterday.

    The Cinéfondation and Short Films Jury, presided over by Jean-Pierre Dardenne, will reward the best films from the Short Film Competition and the Cinéfondation Selection.

    Ten films have been selected from among the 4,500 films that were submitted to the selection committee to compete for the 2012 Short Film Palme d’or . For the first time, both a Syrian and a Puerto Rican film-maker are participating in the competition, which also welcomes a French artist best known in the world of music: rapper Hamé from the group La Rumeur.

    Alvaro APONTE-CENTENO; MI SANTA MIRADA (Puerto Rico)    

    Eicke BETTINGA; GASP (Germany)

    Mohamed BOUROKBA (aka Hamé); CE CHEMIN DEVANT MOI (France)

    Bassam CHEKHES; FALASTEIN, SANDOUK  AL INTEZAR LIL BURTUQAL (WAITING FOR P.O. BOX) ( Syria)                      

    Grainger DAVID; THE CHAIR (United States)

    Zia MANDVIWALLA; NIGHT SHIFT (New-Zealand)

    Chloé ROBICHAUD; CHEF DE MEUTE  (Canada)

    Michael SPICCIA; YARDBIRD (Australia)

    Emilie VERHAMME; COCKAIGNE (Belgium)    

    L.Rezan YESILBAS; SESSIZ-BE DENG (SILENT) (Turkey)


    Fifteen films have been selected out of more than 1,700 submissions from 320 film schools for the Cinéfondation Selection; and for the first time, a Lebanese school is included in the selection.

    Pascale ABOU JAMRA ALBA, Lebanon – DERRIÈRE MOI LES OLIVIERS (Behind Me Olive Trees)

    Shoichi AKINO Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan – RIYOUSHI (The Barber)

    Arthur CAHN La Fémis, France  – LES RAVISSEMENTS (The Raptures)

    Morten HELGELAND The Animation Workshop, Denmark  – SLUG INVASION

    Michal HOGENAUER FAMU, Czech Republic – TAMBYLLES

    Leni HUYGHE Sint-Lukas Brussels, Belgium – MATTEUS

    Cristi IFTIME UNATC, Romania  –  TABĂRA DIN RĂZOARE (The Camp in Razoare)

    Taisia IGUMENTSEVA VGIK, Russia –  DOROGA NA (The Road to)   

    Piero MESSINA CSC, Italy – TERRA (Land)

    Miguel Angel MOULET EICTV, Cuba –  LOS ANFITRIONES (The Hosts)

    Meryl O’CONNOR UCLA, USA – THE BALLAD OF FINN + YETI   

    Timothy RECKART NFTS, United-Kingdom – HEAD OVER HEELS

    Matthew James REILLY NYU, USA – ABIGAIL

    Eti TSICKO TAU, Israël – RESEN (Dog Leash)

    Eduardo WILLIAMS UCINE, Argentina –  PUDE VER UN PUMA (Could See a Puma)

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  • KILLER JOE Starring Matthew McConaughey to Open 2012 Edinburgh International Film Festival

    William Friedkin’s “shockingly cool and blackly comic noir thriller” KILLER JOE will be the Opening Gala at the 66th edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) on Wednesday, 20 June. The EIFF runs from 20 June to 1 July 2012.

    KILLER JOE is directed by William Friedkin (THE FRENCH CONNECTION; THE EXORCIST) and stars Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Gina Gershon and Thomas Haden Church.

    KILLER JOE director William Friedkin said:  “KILLER JOE is about the Good and Evil in everyone, the struggle for our better angels to triumph over our demons. Often lost. The thin line between the policeman and the criminal. It’s also a riff on the Cinderella story, wherein she finds her prince, but he turns out to be a hired killer. I would also like to thank the Edinburgh International Film Festival for honouring our film with this screening, uncut. Of a film the Motion Picture Association of America has expressed a desire to censor.”

    22 year-old Chris Smith (Emile Hirsch: INTO THE WILD; MILK) is a drug dealer down on his luck, but things are about to go from bad to worse when he hires the unexpectedly charming hit man Killer Joe (Matthew McConaughey: THE LINCOLN LAWYER; HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS; A TIME TO KILL) to murder his own mother for her $50,000 life insurance policy. With barely a dollar to his name Chris agrees to offer up his younger sister, Dottie (Juno Temple: upcoming DIRTY GIRL; THE DARK KNIGHT RISES; ATONEMENT), as sexual collateral in exchange for Joe’s services until he receives the insurance money.  That is, if it ever does come in.

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  • Special Flight Tops 2012 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Awards

    [caption id="attachment_2165" align="alignnone"]Special Flight[/caption]

    The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival announced the 2012 Festival award recipients with “Special Flight” receiving two awards, the Full Frame Grand Jury Award and the Center for Documentary Studies Filmmaker Award..  The 57 documentaries screened in the NEW DOCS Program were eligible.  Twelve awards were presented, including a Special Jury Award and two Honorable Mentions, to eleven different titles.

    2012 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Award Winners

    The Anne Dellinger Grand Jury Award was presented to “Special Flight (Vol Spécial),” directed by Fernand Melgar. The film focuses on a Swiss detention center where tensions build as rejected asylum seekers await their forced removal from the country they now call home. This award is sponsored by Chuck Pell, CSO Physcient, Inc. and Alpha Cine Labs, Seattle.

    The Jury, Judith Ehrlich, Eric Metzgar, and Marco Williams, stated, “Director Fernand Melgar takes us deep inside the world of detained immigrants in Switzerland. With incredible access and patient observation, we experience the complex and powerful relationships between the captives and their captors. An exceptional work of vérité filmmaking, “Special Flight” forces us to confront the contradictions of humane incarceration.”

    A Special Jury Award was also presented to “The Law in These Parts (Shilton Ha’Chok),” directed by Ra’anan Alexandrowicz, a meticulously constructed exploration of the complex military laws imposed by Israel on citizens in the occupied territories. The Jury commented, “The Law in These Parts” we honor with a Special Jury Award. We admire its intelligence and unique Brechtian treatment of a very controversial subject.”

    The Full Frame Jury Award for Best Short was given to “The Time We Have (Den tid vi har),” directed by Mira Jargil, a beautiful, intimate, and deeply tender look at saying goodbye to the love of your life after 67 years of marriage. The Full Frame Jury Award for Best Short is provided by Drs. Andrew and Barbra Rothschild.

    The Jury, Steven Ascher, Jessica Edwards, and Edwin Martinez, stated: “The Jury Award goes to an elegantly realized portrait of a marriage that tenderly explores a husband’s last days with his wife. Beautifully observed, expertly paced, “The Time We Have” intimately captures the power of simple gestures between two people who will always be in love.”

    The Jury awarded an honorable mention to “Sivan,” directed by Zohar Elefant, a minimalist portrait of an Israeli soccer fan in thrall to a team and an obsession.  The Jury said: “This Special Jury Award is presented to “Sivan,” a film that employs an innovative directorial approach to a fascinating character to capture a myriad of themes and emotions from one camera angle.”

    [caption id="attachment_2757" align="alignnone" width="550"]Trash Dance[/caption]

    “Trash Dance,” directed by Andrew Garrison, received the Full Frame Audience Award.  The film documents an unusual partnership between a dancer and the Austin Department of Solid Waste Services to stage a public performance starring man, music, and machine.” Sponsored by Merge Records, the Audience Award is determined by counting audience ballots filled out during the festival.

    An Honorable Mention was presented to the short with the highest score, “Fanuzzi’s Gold,” directed by Georgia Gruzen. The film focuses on Ed Fanuzzi, a Staten Island inventor, treasure hunter, and eternal optimist, who sees gold where others see trash.

    The Center For Documentary Studies Filmmaker Award was given to “Special Flight (Vol Spécial),” directed by Fernand Melgar. Provided by the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, this award honors a documentary artist whose work is a potential catalyst for education and change. Representatives from the Center for Documentary Studies juried the prize: Randy Benson, Katie Hyde, Marc Maximov, Lynn McKnight, Dan Partridge, Tom Rankin, Elena Rue, Teka Selman, and April Walton.

    “The Waiting Room,” directed by Peter Nicks, was awarded the Charles E. Guggenheim Emerging Artist Award. This gripping vérité film is a symphony of patients, caregivers, and loved ones, bureaucracy and hard choices, in an Oakland ER’s waiting room. Provided by the Charles E. Guggenheim family,this prize honors a first-time documentary feature director. Natalie Bullock Brown, Heather Courtney, and Mark Elijah Rosenberg participated on the Jury.

    “Mr. Cao Goes to Washington,” directed by S. Leo Chiang, received the Full Frame Inspiration Award.  The film captures rookie congressman Joseph Cao of Louisiana as he angers fellow Republicans by befriending President Obama; will bipartisanship reward or ruin his chances for re-election?Sponsored by the Hartley Film Foundation, this award is presented to the film that best exemplifies the value and relevance of world religions and spirituality. Jim Klein, Sarah Masters, and Fiona Otway participated on the Jury.

    The Full Frame President’s Award was presented to the “Grandmothers (Abuelas),” directed by Afarin Eghbal. This animated documentary about Argentina’s Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo features stories of women who search for their missing grandchildren. Sponsored by Duke University and aimed at recognizing up-and-coming filmmakers, this prize is awarded to the best student film. Representatives on behalf of the President’s Office juried the prize.

    “ESCAPE FIRE: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare,” directed by Susan Froemke and Matthew Heineman, received The Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights.  American healthcare has evolved into a profit-driven disease-care system—this film closely examines the medical industry and bold new measures that may help ease what ails us. Provided by the Julian Price Family Foundation, this award is presented to a film that addresses a significant human rights issue in the United States. Representatives from the Kathleen Bryan Edwards family juried the prize: Anne Arwood, Laura Edwards, Clay Farland, Margaret Griffin, and Pricey Harrison.

    The Nicholas School Environmental Award was presented to “Chasing Ice” directed by Jeff Orlowski. In this film, scientific fact and aesthetic beauty merge in monumental and dramatic time-lapse photos illustrating global warming’s chilling ravages. The Nicholas School Environmental Award honors the film that best depicts the conflict between our drive to improve living standards through development and modernization, and the imperative to preserve both the natural environment that sustains us and the heritages that define us. Representatives from the Nicholas School of the Environment juried the Prize: Cindy Horn, Stephen Nemeth, Rebecca Patton, and Tom Rankin.

    The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival was held April 12-15 in downtown Durham with Duke University as the presenting sponsor.  105 films representing 27 countries were shown from morning to midnight, many with panel discussions following the screening.  In addition to the NEW DOCS Program, Full Frame presented a Thematic Program consisting of 10 films, a collection of four films surrounding the Full Frame Tribute, and an Invited Program comprised of 30 films.

     

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  • Dakota Fanning, Kim Cattrall and Michael Moore Among 39 to Serve on Jury For 2012 Tribeca Film Festival

    The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF),  today announced its jurors – a diverse group of 39 individuals, including award-winning filmmakers, writers and producers, acclaimed actors, respected critics and global business leaders. Irwin Winkler has been named President of the Jury. The Jury will be divided among the six competitive Festival categories and will announce the winning films, filmmakers and actors in those categories at the TFF Awards Night ceremony, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg on April 26, which will stream live on TribecaFilm.com. The 2012 Festival runs from April 18 –29.

    In addition, the Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) announced the nine individuals who will serve as jurors for the Tribeca All Access (TAA) Creative Promise Awards, presented by Time Warner. The winning projects will be announced during the Tribeca Film Festival on April 26. The non-profit also announced the three jurors for the Latin America Media Arts Fund, including the Heineken VOCES awards. Jurors for the TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund were announced earlier this week.

    Following is a list of all 2012 Festival, Tribeca All Access and Tribeca Film Institute jurors and their respective categories.

    The jurors for the 2012 World Narrative Competition are:
    Patricia Clarkson: Oscar, Golden Globe and SAG Award-nominated actress. Films include: Cairo Time, Easy A, Friends with Benefits, Shutter Island, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Whatever Works, Elegy, Lars and the Real Girl, Goodnight and Good Luck, Station Agent, Pieces of April and the upcoming The East.
    Dakota Fanning: SAG Award-nominated actress. Films include: I am Sam, War of the Worlds, The Secret Life of Bees, The Twilight Saga, The Runaways and the upcoming films, Now Is Good and Effie.
    Mike Newell: BAFTA Award-winning director. Films include Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Mona Lisa Smile, Donnie Brasco, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Enchanted April, Dance with a Stranger and the upcoming BBC project Great Expectations.
    Lisa Schwarzbaum: film critic from Entertainment Weekly, her work has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Vogue and More, among other publications. She is a member of the National Society of Film Critics and former chair of the New York Film Critics Circle.
    Jim Sheridan: 6-time Oscar-nominated Irish director. Films include Brothers, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, In America, In the Name of the Father, The Field and My Left Foot.
    Irwin Winker: Oscar & BAFTA award-winning producer/director. Films include Rocky, GoodFellas, The Right Stuff, Raging Bull, De-Lovely, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, Guilty by Suspicion and the upcoming The Wolf of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, to be directed by Martin Scorsese.

    The jurors for the 2012 World Documentary Competition are:
    Julia Bacha: Noted documentary filmmaker and media strategist at the nonprofit Just Vision. Films include: Budrus (TFF 2009 Special Mention), Encounter Point (TFF 2006 Selection), Control Room (Writer/Editor) and the TFF 2012 short documentary selection My Neighbourhood.
    Kim Cattrall: Golden Globe Award-winning actress and author. TV roles include: Sex and the City and the miniseries Any Human Heart. Films include: Sex and the City, Meet Monica Velour (TFF 2010 selection) and The Ghost Writer.
    K’naan: Award-winning Somali Canadian poet, rapper, singer, songwriter and musician.
    Michael Moore: Palme d’Or, Cesar & Oscar-winning director, producer, author and activist. Films include Capitalism: A Love Story, Sicko, Fahrenheit 9/11, Bowling for Columbine and Roger & Me.
    Lucy Walker: Two-time Oscar-nominated director. Films include: Countdown to Zero, Waste Land, Blindsight, Devil’s Playground and the short The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom.

    Emerging Competition Categories:

    The jurors for the 2012 Best New Narrative Director are:
    Camilla Belle: Noted young actress. Films include: 10,000 BC, Push, Father of Invention, The Chumscrubber, The Ballad of Jack & Rose and the upcoming Open Road.
    Whoopi Goldberg: Oscar, Tony, Grammy, Emmy award winner and humanitarian.
    Susannah Grant: Oscar and BAFTA nominee and WGA-winning screenwriter, director, and producer. Projects include: The Soloist, In Her Shoes, Erin Brockovich, 28 Days and the current TV Series A Gifted Man.
    Zach Helm: WGA-nominated screenwriter, producer, and director. Films include: Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, Stranger Than Fiction and the upcoming Freezing People is Easy.
    Courtney Hunt: Noted screenwriter and director. Her debut film Frozen River gained her an Academy Award nomination and two Independent Spirit nominations, and won the Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic Filmmaking at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
    Kellan Lutz: Up-and-coming actor. Films include: The Twilight Saga, Nightmare on Elm Street, Immortals and the upcoming Java Heat.
    Leelee Sobieski: Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actress. Films include: Public Enemies, Eyes Wide Shut, A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries, 88 Minutes, Never Been Kissed, The Glass House and My First Mister. TV Roles include: Joan of Arc, Uprising and the new CBS drama NYC 22.

    The jurors for the 2012 Best New Documentary Director are:
    Stuart Blumberg: Oscar-nominated screenwriter, producer, and director. Films include: The Kids Are All Right, Leaves of Grass, By the People: The Election of Barack Obama, The Girl Next Door, Keeping the Faith and the upcoming Thanks For Sharing
    Jared Cohen: Director of Google Ideas, Senior Fellow at the Council for Foreign Relations and author of One Hundred Days of Silence: America and the Rwanda Genocide and Children of Jihad: A Young American’s Travels Among the Youth of the Middle East.
    Rachel Grady: Oscar-nominated director and producer. Films include: Detropia, Freakonomics, 12th & Delaware, Jesus Camp and The Boys of Barak.
    Bethann Hardison: Noted former model and Manager, Documentarian and Editor at Large for Vogue Italia.
    Sal Masekela: Television host and producer. Projects include: The ESPN X Games, Red Bull Signature Series and E!’s Daily 10. Has also produced the documentaries Bra Boys, Disposable Hero: The Brian Deegan Story and the feature Street Dreams. He is a subject of TFF 2012 short film selection Alekesam.
    Ricki Stern: Independent Spirit and Emmy-nominated director and producer. Films include: Burma Soldier, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (TFF 2010), The Devil Came on Horseback, The Trials of Darryl Hunt and the TFF 2012 selection Knuckleball!
    Olivia Wilde: Noted actress, activist, and up-and-coming producer. Films include TRON: Legacy, Cowboys & Aliens, the upcoming Rush from Ron Howard, Warner Bros.’ The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, and TFF 2012 selections Deadfall and the short documentary, Baseball in the Time of Cholera, which she executive produced.

    Short Film Competition Categories:

    The jurors for the 2012 Narrative Short Film Competition are:
    Maureen Chiquet: Global CEO of Chanel. Glamour’s 2008 Woman of the Year and listed 4 times on Fortune Magazine’s International Power 50 List. She sits on the Yale University President’s Council on International Activities, the Supervisory Board & Human Resources Committee of Vivendi, the Board of Directors – Peek, Aren’t You Curious? and the Board of Trustees of the New York Academy of Art.
    Hugh Dancy: Emmy-nominated actor. Films include: Martha Marcy May Marlene, Our Idiot Brother, the upcoming Dorothy of Oz and the TFF 2012 selection Hysteria. Currently on Broadway in Venus in Fur.Aline Brosh McKenna: BAFTA and WGA-nominated screenwriter. Films include: We Bought a Zoo, I Don’t Know How She Does It, Morning Glory, 27 Dresses and The Devil Wears Prada.
    Bridget Moynahan: Actress and star of CBS’s Blue Bloods. Films include:  Battle Los Angeles, Ramona and Beezus, Lord of War, I, Robot and Coyote Ugly.
    Drew Nieporent: Famed restaurateur, whose two-Michelin star restaurant Corton was featured in the acclaimed HBO documentary A Matter of Taste.
    Mohammed Saeed Harib: Creator and director of Freej, the Middle East’s pioneering 3D animated series from the UAE. Current projects include the recently directed Freej Folklore, the largest Arabic theatrical production, and the upcoming animated feature The Prophet.
    Shari Springer Berman: Oscar and Emmy nominated Director, screenwriter, and producer. Films include: American Splendor, Cinema Verite, The Nanny Diaries, The Extra Man and the upcoming Imogene.

    The jurors for the 2012 Documentary and Student Short Film Competitions are:
    Scooter Braun: Music entrepreneur who discovered Justin Bieber and orchestrated his rise to global super stardom. He currently manages a growing roster of young stars and heads up two record labels through the Universal Music Group.
    Robert Hammond: Co-founder and Executive Director of Friends of the High Line. In addition to being a self-taught artist, Robert has served as a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was awarded the Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome in 2010.
    Brett Ratner: Noted director and producer. He directed the Rush Hour trilogy, Red Dragon, X-Men: Last Stand and Tower Heist. He also produced Horrible Bosses, Catfish, PBS’ American Masters: Woody Allen – A Documentary and Mirror, Mirror.
    Susan Sarandon: Oscar-winning actress, activist, mother and New Yorker. Films include: Jeff, Who Lives at Home, Bernard and Doris, Enchanted, Dead Man Walking, Thelma & Louise, Bull Durham and the upcoming films Cloud Atlas and The Wedding.
    James Spione: Oscar-nominated director, producer, editor and writer. Films include: Incident in New Baghdad, Our Island Home and American Farm.
    Shailene Woodley: Independent Spirit and National Board of Review Award-winning actress for her role in The Descendants. Currently starring in The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
    Susan Zirinsky: Primetime Emmy and Peabody-winning executive producer. Projects include: 48 Hours, Documentaries, 9/11: Ten Years Later, Three Days in September and Flashpoint.

    TAA Creative Promise Awards
    The jurors for the 2012 TAA Creative Promise Award—Narrative are:
    Rosario Dawson: Actress known for roles in Kids, Rent, Seven Pounds, Sin City, Alexander, Grindhouse, Men in Black II, Chelsea Walls, Sidewalks of New York, He Got Game, Eagle Eye and Unstoppable. Upcoming films include Fire With Fire, alongside Bruce Willis and Josh Duhamel, and Danny Boyle’s Trance.
    Cuba Gooding, Jr.: Oscar-winning actor who has appeared in Jerry Maguire, Men of Honor, As Good As It Gets, Radio, American Gangster, and most recently the George Lucas-helmed Red Tails.
    Mekhi Phifer: Actor known for films including Clockers, Flypaper, 8 Mile, Othello, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, The Imposter and the Fox series Lie to Me, as well as the Emmy Award-winning series ER. He recently made his Broadway debut starring in Stickfly.
    Gabourey Sidibe: Oscar-nominated actress for her leading role in Lee Daniels’ Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire. Currently appearing in the Showtime series The Big C, and recently appeared in the films Tower Heist and Yelling to the Sky.

    The jurors for the 2012 TAA Creative Promise Award—Documentary are:
    Claire Aguilar: Vice President of Programming at the Independent Television Service (ITVS), which funds, promotes and distributes independently produced programming to public media.
    Julie Goldman: Founder of Motto Pictures and producer and executive producer of feature documentaries. Projects include the Oscar award-winning The Cove, Valentino The Last Emperor and Buck.
    Eugene Hernandez: Director of Digital Strategy at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and a founder of Indiewire.
    Jean Tsien: Acclaimed documentary film editor. Projects including Something Within Me and Dixie Chicks: Shut Up & Sing have been screened throughout the world, in theaters and on television, and have been honored with numerous awards and accolades.
    Debra Zimmerman: Executive Director of Women Make Movies, the NY-based non-profit, which is celebrating its 40th Anniversary of supporting independent women filmmakers.


    TFI Latin America Media Arts Fund

    The jurors for the TFI Latin America Media Arts Fund, including the Heineken VOCES awards are:
    Fernando Rovzar: Co-founder of Mexico-based Lemon Films. Producer of the Broadway hit Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark and executive producer of La Casa de Mi Padre, starring Will Ferrell, Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal.
    Cynthia Lopez: Vice President for American Documentary/POV, overseeing the development of the organization, programming/content development and delivery and strategic planning. Founding board member of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP).
    Ricardo Darin: Internationally-renowned actor with over 40 films to his credit. Projects include Nine Queens (Nueve Reinas), The Son of the Bride (El Hijo de la Novia), The Aura and The Secret in their Eyes (winner of the 2010 Oscar for Best Foreign Film).


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