• Fishing Without Nets Wins Top Short Films Prize at 2012 Sundance Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_2309" align="alignnone"]FISHING WITHOUT NETS[/caption]

    The jury prizes and honorable mentions in short filmmaking at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival were presented at a ceremony in Park City, Utah.

    The Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking was awarded to:
    FISHING WITHOUT NETS / U.S.A. (Director: Cutter Hodierne, Screenwriters: Cutter Hodierne, John Hibey) — A story of pirates in Somalia, told from the perspective of the pirates themselves. Said the Short Film Jury of the film, “By approaching a story of epic scope with an intimate perspective, this visually stunning film creates a rare, inside point of view that humanizes a global story.”

    The Jury Prize in Short Film, U.S. Fiction was presented to:
    The Black Balloon / U.S.A. (Directors: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie) — The Black Balloon strays from the herd and experiences what life as an individual is like. He explores New York City in the deepest way, seeing all of its characters.

    The Jury Prize in Short Film, International Fiction was presented to:
    The Return (Kthimi) / Kosovo (Director: Blerta Zeqiri, Screenwriter: Shefqet Gjocaj) — A man comes back from a Serb prison to his wife and son. Much has changed since he was declared missing and continuing where they left off four years ago may not be as easy as it seems.

    The Jury Prize in Short Film, Non-Fiction was presented to:
    The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom / U.S.A. (Director: Lucy Walker) — Survivors in the areas hardest hit by Japan’s recent tsunami find the courage to revive and rebuild as cherry blossom season begins. A visual haiku about the ephemeral nature of life and the healing power of Japan’s most beloved flower.

    The Jury Prize in Animated Short Film was presented to:
    A Morning Stroll / United Kingdom (Director: Grant Orchard) — When a New Yorker walks past a chicken on his morning stroll, we are left to wonder which one is the real city slicker.

    The Special Jury Award for Comedic Storytelling was presented to:
    The Arm / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Brie Larson, Sarah Ramos, Jessie Ennis) — In an attempt to keep up with social pressure in a technologically advanced world, Chance starts a texting relationship with Genevieve, a girl he meets at a yogurt shop.

    The Special Jury Award for Animation Direction was presented to:
    Robots of Brixton / United Kingdom (Director: Kibwe Tavares) — The trials and tribulations of young robots surviving at the sharp end of inner city life, living the predictable existence of a populous hemmed in by poverty, disillusionment and mass unemployment.

    This year’s Short Film program is comprised of 64 short films selected from a record 7,675 submissions.
    The Short Film jurors are Mike Judge, creator of Beavis and Butt-Head for MTV and King of the Hill for FOX TV; Dee Rees, Sundance Institute Directing Lab Fellow and writer/director of the award-winning short film Pariah, which later debuted as a narrative feature at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival; and Shane Smith, Director of Public Programmes at TIFF Bell Lightbox.

    The 2012 Sundance Film Festival runs through January 29 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.

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  • Panorama Lineup for 2012 Berlinale is Complete

    [caption id="attachment_2307" align="alignnone"]Leave It On The Floor by Sheldon Larry, USA/Canada[/caption]

    This year’s Panorama is presenting 53 feature films: 18 in the main programme, 15 in Panorama Special and 20 in Panorama Dokumente.

    Among the final films to be included in the Panorama is the US indie Cherry with Heather Graham, James Franco and Lili Taylor. It portrays a confident young woman who explores her own sexuality and has to deal with the prejudice of those around her. In The Convoy, Alexei Mizgirev presents an apocalyptic portrait of the police and the army in Russia today. After her success with her film Megane (Glasses) in 2008, Japanese filmmaker Naoko Ogigami is returning to the Panorama with Rentaneko (Rent-a-Cat). It’s the enchanting story of a young woman who rents cats to people who are lonely. After presenting his star-studded Taiwan saga Monga in the Panorama 2010, director Dove is coming back to Berlin with his film Love, starring Shu Qi. Crowd-sourcing has rarely made a more monumental work possible: in Iron Sky, a largely Finnish production featuring Udo Kier, director Timo Vuorensola paints a dark picture of the world being threatened from outer space that leads right into the White House. Austrian director Peter Kern’s film is ultimately a surprise: GLAUBE, LIEBE, TOD (BELIEF, LOVE, DEATH) is an intimate drama about the conflicts smouldering between the generations and how an immigrant falls victim to them.

    New discoveries include Columbian director Jhonny Hendrix Hinestroza’s Chocó, in which a young woman learns to assert herself in a rural world. Deepak Rauniyar’s HIGHWAY is a Nepalese road movie: all the passengers on a bus are in a hurry to get somewhere, but the ride is constantly delayed by strikes.

    List of newly announced titles

    Panorama fictional films

    Bugis Street Redux by Yonfan, Hong Kong
    with Hiep Thi Le, Michael Lam, Greg-O, Ernest Seah

    Cherry by Stephen Elliott, USA
    with Ashley Hinshaw, James Franco, Heather Graham, Dev Patel, Lili Taylor – WP

    Chocó by Jhonny Hendrix Hinestroza, Columbia
    with Karent Hinestroza, Esteban Copete, Fabio García, Daniela Mosquera, Jesús Benavides – WP

    GLAUBE, LIEBE, TOD (BELIEF, LOVE, DEATH) by Peter Kern, Austria
    with Traute Furthner, Peter Kern, Joao Moreira Pedrosa – WP

    HIGHWAY by Deepak Rauniyar, Nepal/USA
    with DAYAHANG Rai, ASHA Magarati, SHRISTI Ghimire, EELUM Dixit – WP

    Iron Sky by Timo Vuorensola, Finland/Netherlands/Australia/ Germany
    with Christopher Kirby, Götz Otto, Julia Dietze, Udo Kier – WP

    Love by Doze, Niu Chen-zer, China/Taiwan
    with Shu Qi, Vicky Zhao, Ethan Juan, Mark Jau

    Man On Ground by Akin Omotoso, South Africa
    with Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Fabian Adeoye Lojede, Fana Mokoena

    My Brother The Devil by Sally El Hosaini, Great Britain
    with James Floyd, Saïd Taghmaoui, Nasser Memarzia, Fady Elsayed – WP

    Rentaneko (Rent-a-Cat) by Naoko Ogigami, Japan
    with Mikako Ichikawa, Reiko Kusamura, Ken Mitsuishi, Maho Yamada, Kei Tanaka – WP

    The Convoy by Alexey Mizgirev, Russian Federation
    with Oleg Vasilkov, Azamat Nigmanov, Dmitry Kulichkov – WP


    Panorama Dokumente

    Wo men de gu shi (Our Story –10-year ‘Guerrilla Warfare’ of Beijing Queer Film Festival) by Yang Yang, People’s Republic of China

    “Blut muss fließen” – Undercover unter Nazis by Peter Ohlendorf, Germany – WP


    Panorama short supporting films

    7 Deadly Kisses by Sammaria Simanjuntak, Indonesia
    with Sunny Soon, Daud Sumolang – WP

    A Lazy Summer Afternoon with Mario Montez by John Heys, Germany – WP

    Green Laser by John Greyson, Canada – WP

    ZUCHT und ORDNUNG (LAW and ORDER) by Jan Soldat, Germany – WP


    List of fictional films announced earlier
    10+10 by Hou Hsiao-hsien, Wang Toon, Wu Nien-Jen, Sylvia Chang, Chen Guo-Fu, Wei Te-Sheng, Chung Meng-Hung, Chang Tso-Chi, Arvin Chen, Yang Ya-Che and others, Taiwan
    Death For Sale by Faouzi Bensaïdi, Belgium/France/Morocco/United Arab Emirates
    Diaz – Don’t Clean Up This Blood by Daniele Vicari Italy/ Romania /France – WP
    Die Wand (The Wall) by Julian Roman Pölsler, Austria/Germany – WP
    Dollhouse by Kirsten Sheridan, Ireland – WP
    Elles by Malgoska Szumowska, France/Poland/Germany
    Fon Tok Kuen Fah (Headshot) by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, Thailand/France
    From Seoul To Varanasi by Kyuhwan Jeon, Republic of Korea
    Hot boy noi loan – cau chuyen ve thang cuoi, co gai diem va con vit (Lost In Paradise) by Vu Ngoc Dang, Vietnam
    Indignados by Tony Gatlif, France – WP
    Keep The Lights On by Ira Sachs, USA
    Kuma by Umut Dag, Austria – WP
    La mer à l’aube (Calm At Sea) by Volker Schlöndorff, France/Germany
    L’âge atomique by Héléna Klotz, France
    Leave It On The Floor by Sheldon Larry, USA/Canada
    Mai-wei (My Way) by KANG Je-kyu, Republic of Korea
    Mommy Is Coming by Cheryl Dunye, Germany – WP
    Parada (The Parade) by Srdjan Dragojevic, Serbia/Republic of Croatia/ Macedonia/Slovenia
    Sharqiya (Central Station) by Ami Livne, Israel/France/ Germany – WP
    The Woman Who Brushed Off Her Tears by Teona Strugar Mitevska, Macedonia/Germany/Slovenia/Belgium – WP
    Wilaya by Pedro Pérez Rosado, Spain
    Xingu by Cao Hamburger, Brazil


    List of documentaries announced earlier

    Anak-Anak Srikandi (Children of Srikandi) by the Children of Srikandi Collective, Germany/Indonesia – WP
    Angriff auf die Demokratie – Eine Intervention (Democracy Under Attack – An Intervention) by Romuald Karmakar, Germany – WP
    Audre Lorde – The Berlin Years 1984 to 1992 by Dagmar Schultz, Germany – WP
    Brötzmann – Da gehört die Welt mal mir (Brötzmann – That’s When The World Is Mine) by Uli M Schueppel, Germany – WP
    with Caspar Brötzmann, Eduardo Delgado Lopez, Danny Lommen
    Call Me Kuchu by Malika Zouhali-Worrall, Katherine Fairfax Wright, USA – WP
    Detlef by Stefan Westerwelle, Jan Rothstein, Germany
    with Detlef Stoffel, Anneliese Stoffel, Gustav-Peter Wöhler, Lilo Wanders, Corny Littmann – WP
    Herr Wichmann aus der dritten Reihe (Henryk from the back row) by Andreas Dresen, Germany – WP
    In the Shadow of a Man by Hanan Abdalla, Egypt – WP
    König des Comics (King of Comics) by Rosa von Praunheim, Germany – WP
    with Ralf König, Joachim Król, Hella von Sinnen, Ralph Morgenstern
    La Vierge, les Coptes et Moi (The Virgin, the Copts and Me) by Namir Abdel Messeeh, France/Qatar/Egypt
    Marina Abramovic The Artist is Present (Marina Abramovic The Artist is Present) by Matthew Akers, USA
    Olhe pra mim de novo (Look at me again) by Kiko Goifman, Claudia Priscilla, Brazil
    The Reluctant Revolutionary by Sean McAllister, Great Britain/Ireland
    The Summit by Franco Fracassi, Massimo Lauria, Italy – WP
    Ulrike Ottinger – die Nomadin vom See (Ulrike Ottinger – nomad from the lake) by Brigitte Kramer, Germany – WP
    with Ulrike Ottinger, Ingvild Goetz, Irm Hermann, Ulrich Gregor
    Unter Männern – Schwul in der DDR (Among Men – Gay in East Germany) by Markus Stein, Ringo Rösener, Germany – WP
    with Eduard Stapel, Frank Schäfer, Jürgen Wittdorf, John Zinner, Helwin Leuschner
    Vito by Jeffrey Schwarz, USA
    Words of Witness by Mai Iskander, USA – WP

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  • Film Lineup of 6th Culinary Cinema of the 62nd Berlinale

    [caption id="attachment_2305" align="alignnone"]Last Call at the Oasis [/caption]

    “Trust in Taste” is the motto of the 6th Culinary Cinema of the 62nd Berlinale that will be held from February 12 to 17, 2012. Fifteen films about food and the environment will be presented in the Martin-Gropius-Bau.

    This year’s Culinary Cuisine includes a remarkable number of premieres.

    In Felipe Ugarte’s and Juantxo Sardon’s Mugaritz B.S.O., musician Felipe Ugarte translates delicious and visually pleasing culinary dishes made by Basque star chef Andoni Luis Aduriz from San Sebastián into music. The musician and the cook show how ingredients for a dish and music develop worldwide out of a region’s landscape and tradition. Andoni Luis Aduriz is coming extra to Berlin to prepare a meal for his film.

    Entre les Bras (Step Up to the Plate) by Paul Lacoste documents the stirring change of generations at the French three-star restaurant Bras in Laguiole. Father Michel Bras is convinced that getting to the top is easier than staying there. After this documentary, Michael Kempf will have the delicate task of creating a meal inspired by the French cuisine.

    In the documentary Last Call at the Oasis by Oscar-winner Jessica Yu, experts and tireless activists, such as the real Erin Brockovich, fight the local and global misuse of water. Filmmakers and experts discuss surprising ways to solve the shortage of water. One proposal involves recycling wastewater. Christian Lohse will cook a meal for the occasion.

    In TSAO Jui-Yuan’s fictional film Joyful Reunion, a top vegetarian chef is forced to close his restaurant because he has lost his memory. When he eats a dish from his childhood, his memory comes back and he recognizes his first love again. Named Cook of the Year by Der Feinschmecker magazine, Marco Müller will prepare a meal that captures this melodrama.

    The late screenings at 10 p.m. will focus on social and ecological topics. In Das Rohe und das Gekochte (The Raw and the Cooked) Monika Treut documents the emergent green movement in Taiwan. On a powerful visual journey around the world, Canned Dreams depicts the plight of all the workers who contribute to producing a can of ravioli. Lupe el de la Vaca (Lupe of the Cow) presents several small-scale Mexican farmers who master their harsh lives with humour and music. In the Korean gangster film Hindsight, the boss of a gang falls in love with a fellow student during a course in cooking. In Oma & Bella, Alexa Karolinski portrays how her grandmother and her grandmother’s girlfriend cultivate Jewish traditions in Charlottenburg.

    A number of shorts films will supplement the programme: Should The Wife Confess? (Bernardo Camisão), Asparragos (Laura Zuallaert), Lepokoa (Safy Nebbou) and Pokot Ash Yoghurt (Francesco Amato, Stefano Scarafia).

    “Youth Food Cinema” will address the importance of traditions in the family at 9:30 a.m. on February 17. The Mexican film Canela (Cinnamon) by Jordi Mariscal tells the story of a girl, her grandmother and their love of cooking. Afterwards, the chef of the Mexican embassy, Armando Hernández, will prepare a Mexican meal with students. As Grandmother Tere says in the film: “Cooking well is not a question of age but of talent.”

    Films in Culinary Cinema 2012

    Canela (Cinnamon) Mexico
    By Jordi Mariscal
    With Ana Martín, Isabel Yudice, Norma Angélica, Mónica Dionne, Carlos Cobos
    World premiere

    Canned Dreams Finland
    Documentary by Katja Gauriloff
    International premiere

    Comme un chef (The Chef) France
    By Daniel Cohen
    With Jean Reno, Michaël Youn, Raphaëlle Agogué, Julien Boisselier, Salomé Stevenin, Serge Larivière, Issa Doumbia, Bun Hay Mean
    International premiere

    Entre les Bras (Step Up to the Plate) France
    Documentary by Paul Lacoste
    World premiere

    Hindsight Republic of Korea
    By Lee Hyeon-seung
    With Song Gang-ho, Shin Se-kyung, Chun Jeong-myung
    European premiere

    Joyful Reunion Taiwan/China
    By Tsao Jui-Yuan
    With Gua Ahleh, Huo Siyan, Lan Zheng-Long (Blue), Kenneth Tsang
    World premiere

    Last Call at the Oasis USA
    Documentary by Jessica Yu
    International premiere

    Lupe el de la Vaca (Lupe of the Cow) Mexico
    Documentary by Blanca X. Aguerre
    International premiere

    Mugaritz B.S.O. Spain
    Documentary by Felipe Ugarte, Juantxo Sardon
    German premiere

    Oma & Bella Germany/USA
    Documentary by Alexa Karolinski
    World premiere

    Das Rohe und das Gekochte (The Raw and the Cooked) Germany/Taiwan
    Documentary by Monika Treut
    World premiere


    Short films

    Asparragos Belgium/Peru
    Documentary by Laura Zuallaert
    German premiere

    Lepokoa (The Scarf) Spain/France 2003
    By Safy Nebbou
    With Pilar Rodríguez, Joseba Apaolaza, Olatz Beobide, Manu Gaigne

    Pokot Ash Yoghurt (Living Food Communities) Italy
    Documentary by Francesco Amato, Stefano Scarafia
    World premiere

    Should The Wife Confess? Belgium/Portugal
    By Bernardo Camisão
    With Sofia Caessa, Hilbren Buys
    German premiere

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  • 7 Films Added to Competition program of the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_2303" align="alignnone"]Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate[/caption]

    With seven more films, the Competition program of the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival is nearing completion. To date it includes 22 films, of which 17 are vying for the Golden and Silver Bears. 18 films will celebrate their world premieres in the Competition of the Berlinale 2012.

    A special screening of Steven Soderbergh’s action thriller Haywire in the Berlinale Palast will supplement the programme.

    Like last year, the winner of the Golden Bear will be screened after the award ceremony on February 18.

    “We are very pleased that a large number of this year’s Competition films are screening in Berlin as world premieres. Many entries in the Competition 2012 revolve around radical changes and departures. They shift perspectives, presenting history and stories from the point of view of those involved,” says Festival Director Dieter Kosslick.


    Further films in the Competition programme:

    A moi seule (Coming Home)
    France
    By Frédéric Videau (Le fils de Jean-Claude Videau, Variéte Francaise)
    With Agathe Bonitzer, Reda Kateb
    World premiere

    Bel Ami
    Great Britain
    By Declan Donnellan, Nick Ormerod (feature debut)
    With Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Christina Ricci
    World premiere / out of competition

    En kongelig affære (A Royal Affair)
    Denmark/Czech Republic/Germany/Sweden
    By Nikolaj Arcel (Islands of Lost Souls, Sandheden om mænd, Königspatience – Intrige im Parlament)
    With Mads Mikkelsen, Alicia Vikander, Trine Dyrholm, David Dencik, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard
    World premiere

    Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate
    Hong Kong, China
    By Hark Tsui (Once Upon A Time In China, Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame, Time And Tide)
    With Jet Li, Zhou Xun, Chen Kun, Kwai Lun Mei
    European premiere / out of competition – 3D

    Rebelle
    Canada
    By Kim Nguyen (La cite, Truffe, Le Marais)
    With Rachel Mwanza, Alain Bastien, Serge Kanyinda
    World premiere

    Shadow Dancer
    Great Britain/Ireland
    By James Marsh (Project Nim, The King, Man On Wire)
    With Clive Owen, Andrea Riseborough, Gillian Anderson
    European premiere / out of competition


    Special screening in the Berlinale Palast:
    Haywire
    USA
    By Steven Soderbergh (Sex, Lies and Videotape, Traffic, Erin Brockovich)
    With Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas, Channing Tatum
    German premiere


    Films already announced:

    Aujourd´hui by Alain Gomis, France/Senegal – WP
    Barbara by Christian Petzold, Germany – WP
    Captive by Brillante Mendoza, France/Philippines/Germany/Great Britain – WP
    Cesare deve morire (Caesar Must Die) by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, Italy – WP
    Csak a szél (Just The Wind) by Bence Fliegauf, Hungary/Germany/ France – WP
    Dictado (Childish Games) by Antonio Chavarrías, Spain – WP
    Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close by Stephen Daldry, USA – IP (out of competition)
    Gnade (Mercy) by Matthias Glasner, Germany/Norway – WP
    Jayne Mansfield’s Car by Billy Bob Thornton, Russian Federation/USA – WP
    Jin líng Shí San Chai (The Flowers Of War) by Zhang Yimou, People’s Republic of China – EP (out of competition)
    Kebun binatang (Postcards From The Zoo) by Edwin, Indonesia/Germany/Hong Kong, China – WP
    L´enfant d’en haut (Sister) by Ursula Meier, Switzerland/France – WP
    Les Adieux à la reine by Benoît Jacquot, France/Spain – WP
    Metéora (Meteora) by Spiros Stathoulopoulos, Germany/Greece – WP
    Tabu by Miguel Gomes, Portugal/Germany/Brazil/ France – WP
    Was bleibt (Home For The Weekend) by Hans-Christian Schmid, Germany – WP

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  • Berlinale Announces Short Film Lineup and Jury for 2012 Festival

    27 films from 22 countries will be competing for the Golden Bear and Silver Bear Jury Prize, the DAAD Short Film Award and a short film nomination for the European Film Prize.

    German actress Sandra Hüller, Palestinian artist Emily Jacir as well as filmmaker David OReilly will be picking the winners in 2012:

    International Short Film Jury:

    Sandra Hüller (Germany)
    After ten years in the business, renowned and prize-winning actress of the screen and stage Sandra Hüller already boasts a remarkably wide repertoire of roles. She has performed regularly in theatres since 2006, in both classic and modern pieces. For her first major film role in Hans-Christian Schmid’s Requiem she won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlinale in 2006 as well as the German Film Prize. In 2011 she performed in two Berlinale films: Brownian Movement (2010, directed by Nanouk Leopold – Forum); and Über uns das All (Above Us Only Sky, 2011, directed by Jan Schomburg – Panorama).

    Emily Jacir (Palestine)
    Emily Jacir, one of the Arab world’s leading contemporary artists, works in a variety of media, including installation, performance, social intervention, photography, film and video. She has exhibited her works throughout the world and been honored many times for her artistic achievements including a Golden Lion at the 2007 Venice Biennale. Jacir is currently leading the Home Workspace in Beirut where she has created the curriculum and programming for 2011-2012. She is also preparing a new work for the dOCUMENTA (13) that opens this June.

    David OReilly (Ireland)
    The Irish-born filmmaker, now based in California, is known for his groundbreaking contemporary 3D animation. He has received over 75 awards for his short films that have been shown worldwide at more than 200 festivals. His first festival was at the Berlinale 2008, where he presented RGB XYZ. At the 2009 Berlinale he won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film with Please Say Something. His latest short film, The External World, screened at Venice (2010) and Sundance (2011), and went on to win numerous awards.

    Berlinale Shorts 2012:

    Ad balloon, Lee Woo-jung, Republic of Korea, 24’ (IP)
    An das Morgengrauen, Mariola Brillowska, Germany, 3’ (WP)
    Ein Mädchen Namens Yssabeau, Rosana Cuellar, Germany / Mexico, 18’ (DP)
    Enakkum Oru Per, Suba Sivakumaran, USA / Sri Lanka, 12’ (WP)
    Erotic Fragments No. 1, 2, 3, Anucha Boonyawatana, Thailand, 7’ (IP) Gurehto Rabitto, Atsushi Wada, France, 7’ (WP)
    impossible exchange, Mahmoud Hojeij, Lebanon, 10’ (WP)
    Karrabing! Low Tide Turning, Liza Johnson, Elizabeth A. Povinelli, Australia, 14’ (WP)
    La Santa, Mauricio López Fernández, Chile, 14’ (WP)
    LI.LI.TA.AL., Akihito Izuhara, Japan, 8’ (WP)
    Licuri Surf, Guile Martins, Brazil, 15’ (IP)
    Loxoro, Claudia Llosa, Spanien / Peru / Argentine / USA, 19’ (IP)
    Mah-Chui, Kim Souk-young, Republic of Korea, 23’ (IP)
    Nostalgia, Gustavo Rondón Córdova, Venezuela, 30’ (WP)
    Panchabhuta, Mohan Kumar Valasala, India, 15’ (WP)
    PUSONG WAZAK! Isa Na Namang Kwento Ng Pag-ibig Sa Pagitan Ng Isang Kriminal at Isang Puta, Khavn De La Cruz, Philippines, 15’ (WP)
    Rafa, João Salaviza, Portugal / France, 25’ (WP)
    Say Goodbye to the Story (ATT 1/11), Christoph Schlingensief, Germany, 23’ (WP)
    Shi Luo Zhi Di, Zhou Yan, People’s Republic of China, 25’ (WP)
    Strauß.ok, Jeanne Faust, Germany, 5’ (WP)
    The End, Barcelo, France, 17’ (WP)
    The Man that Got Away, Trevor Anderson, Canada, 25’ (WP)
    Utsikter, Marcus Harrling, Moa Geistrand, Sweden, 12’ (WP)
    Uzushio, Naoto Kawamoto, Japan, 6’ (WP)
    Vilaine Fille Mauvais Garçon, Justine Triet, France, 30’ (IP)
    Yi chang ge ming zhong hai wei lai de ji ding yi de xing wei, Sun Xun, People’s Republic of China, 12’ (WP)
    zounk!, Billy Roisz, Austria, 6’ (WP)


    Berlinale Shorts Special 2012:

    Magyarország 2011, András Jeles, Ágnes Kocsis, Ferenc Török, Simon Szabó, Márta Mészáros, Péter Forgács, László Siroki, György Pálfi, Bence Fliegauf, András Salamon, Miklós Jancsó, Ungarn, 75′ (IP)
    presented by Béla Tarr

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  • Boyz n The Hood producer Stephanie Allain is New LA Film Festival Director

     

    Film producer Stephanie Allain (John Singleton’s Boyz n The Hood, Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan) is the new Los Angeles Film Festival Director, replacing Rebecca Yeldham, who recently decided to step down for personal reasons.

    Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Spirit Awards, announced the selection of accomplished film producer Stephanie Allain as its new Los Angeles Film Festival Director, starting immediately.  She succeeds Rebecca Yeldham, who recently elected to step down for personal reasons.  Stephanie will be working closely with Festival Managing Director Gloria Campbell and Festival Artistic Director David Ansen, as well as Associate Director of Programming Doug Jones, Senior Programmer Maggie Mackay and Programming Coordinator Jenn Wilson.

    “Stephanie has served on the Film Independent Board of Directors since 2007 and been involved in many aspects of the organization. She’s chaired the Spirit Awards Nominating Committee and been a huge supporter of Project Involve, as well as our year-round educational programs,” said Co-President Sean Mc Manus. “Stephanie has a clear vision for the Festival, a stellar track record as a producer and a deep commitment to the Festival’s filmmaker-centric focus.”

    “We so appreciate all that Rebecca has done to grow the Los Angeles Film Festival into what it is today, and usher it into its new, vibrant home downtown.  Rebecca’s creativity, taste, and warmth attracted top-notch filmmakers to the Festival, and she departs with a world-class curatorial team in place,” said Co-President Josh Welsh. “To have Stephanie carry on Rebecca’s great work and build upon it is a dream come true.”

    “My passion for Film Independent has only grown over the years, and I couldn’t be happier to become even more involved in an organization that puts filmmakers first and supports them in specific and tangible ways,” said Stephanie. “The Los Angeles Film Festival is a unique celebration of cinema and a hub for filmmakers and film lovers, especially for those of us who live and work in the film industry. I can’t wait to dive in and develop creative ways in which we can expand the Festival and its programs.”

    Stephanie Allain is a film producer and former studio executive who has been an advocate for visionary filmmakers for more than two decades.  As a Columbia Pictures executive, she was instrumental in the making of John Singleton’s Boyz n The Hood, which garnered him two Academy Award® nominations and set the bar for contemporary urban dramas. She spent a decade at the studio launching the careers of first-time filmmakers including Singleton, Robert Rodriguez and Darnell Martin.  Several of the films she supervised, including El Mariachi and I Like It Like That, garnered awards at the Cannes, Telluride and Sundance film festivals. During her tenure at Columbia Pictures, she rose through the ranks to become Senior Vice President of Production–the highest creative production position for an African-American for over a decade.

    From 1996-2000, Allain served as President of Jim Henson Pictures, where she produced Muppets From Space, Elmo In Grouchland and Caroline Thompson’s Buddy. In 2000, she headed production at 3 Arts Entertainment, producing Biker Boyz and Good Boy!  In 2004, she formed her own production company, Homegrown Pictures, and produced Craig Brewer’s Hustle & Flow, which won the Audience Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, an Academy Award® for Best Original Song and earned a Film Independent Spirit Award and Academy Award® Best Actor nomination for Terrence Howard.

    In 2005, she produced Sanaa Hamri’s directorial debut, Something New, for Focus Features, with the film earning two nominations for the NAACP Awards.  She also produced Brewer’s Black Snake Moan, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci.  In 2008, Allain traveled to her native New Orleans to produce Hurricane Season, starring Forest Whitaker and Taraji P. Henson, for The Weinstein Company.  Most recently, she produced Tina Gordon Chism’s directorial debut, We The Peeples, starring Craig Robinson and Kerry Washington, which will be released by Lionsgate in 2013.

    Allain is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and the Producers Guild of America.  She recently sat on the Board of Film Independent and currently serves on the Board of Women In Film. She has chaired the Spirit Awards Nominating Committee, juried numerous festivals and has taught at USC’s Peter Stark Program and the Entertainment Studies Division of UCLA. She lives in Los Angeles with her composer husband, Stephen Bray, and their fast emptying nest.

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  • The Artist and A Separation Among Nominations for 84th Academy Awards

    [caption id="attachment_2298" align="alignnone"]The Artist[/caption]

    Nominations for the 84th Academy Awards were announced today and Michel Hazanavicius’s “The Artist” was one of the top films with 10 nominations. Other films receiving nominations include The Descendants for Best Picture and The Iranian film A Separation for Best Foreign Film.

    Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012 and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET.

    Nominations for the 84th Academy Awards

    Performance by an actor in a leading role
    Demián Bichir in “A Better Life” (Summit Entertainment)
    George Clooney in “The Descendants” (Fox Searchlight)
    Jean Dujardin in “The Artist” (The Weinstein Company)
    Gary Oldman in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” (Focus Features)
    Brad Pitt in “Moneyball” (Sony Pictures Releasing)

    Performance by an actor in a supporting role
    Kenneth Branagh in “My Week with Marilyn” (The Weinstein Company)
    Jonah Hill in “Moneyball” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
    Nick Nolte in “Warrior” (Lionsgate)
    Christopher Plummer in “Beginners” (Focus Features)
    Max von Sydow in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” (Warner Bros.)

    Performance by an actress in a leading role
    Glenn Close in “Albert Nobbs” (Roadside Attractions)
    Viola Davis in “The Help” (Touchstone)
    Rooney Mara in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
    Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady” (The Weinstein Company)
    Michelle Williams in “My Week with Marilyn” (The Weinstein Company)

    Performance by an actress in a supporting role
    Bérénice Bejo in “The Artist” (The Weinstein Company)
    Jessica Chastain in “The Help” (Touchstone)
    Melissa McCarthy in “Bridesmaids” (Universal)
    Janet McTeer in “Albert Nobbs” (Roadside Attractions)
    Octavia Spencer in “The Help” (Touchstone)

    Best animated feature film of the year
    “A Cat in Paris” (GKIDS) Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
    “Chico & Rita” (GKIDS) Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
    “Kung Fu Panda 2” (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount) Jennifer Yuh Nelson
    “Puss in Boots” (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount) Chris Miller
    “Rango” (Paramount) Gore Verbinski

    Achievement in art direction
    “The Artist” (The Weinstein Company) Production Design: Laurence Bennett, Set Decoration: Robert Gould
    “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” (Warner Bros.) Production Design: Stuart Craig, Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
    “Hugo” (Paramount) Production Design: Dante Ferretti, Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
    “Midnight in Paris” (Sony Pictures Classics) Production Design: Anne Seibel, Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
    “War Horse” (Touchstone) Production Design: Rick Carter, Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

    Achievement in cinematography
    “The Artist” (The Weinstein Company) Guillaume Schiffman
    “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Jeff Cronenweth
    “Hugo” (Paramount) Robert Richardson
    “The Tree of Life” (Fox Searchlight) Emmanuel Lubezki
    “War Horse” (Touchstone) Janusz Kaminski

    Achievement in costume design
    “Anonymous” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Lisy Christl
    “The Artist” (The Weinstein Company) Mark Bridges
    “Hugo” (Paramount) Sandy Powell
    “Jane Eyre” (Focus Features) Michael O’Connor
    “W.E.” (The Weinstein Company) Arianne Phillips

    Achievement in directing
    “The Artist” (The Weinstein Company) Michel Hazanavicius
    “The Descendants” (Fox Searchlight) Alexander Payne
    “Hugo” (Paramount) Martin Scorsese
    “Midnight in Paris” (Sony Pictures Classics) Woody Allen
    “The Tree of Life” (Fox Searchlight) Terrence Malick

    Best documentary feature
    “Hell and Back Again” (Docurama Films) A Roast Beef Limited Production, Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
    “If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front” (Oscilloscope Laboratories) A Marshall Curry Production, Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
    “Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory” An @radical.media Production, Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
    “Pina” (Sundance Selects) A Neue Road Movies Production, Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
    “Undefeated” (The Weinstein Company) A Spitfire Pictures Production, TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas

    Best documentary short subject
    “The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement” A Purposeful Production, Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
    “God Is the Bigger Elvis” A Documentress Films Production, Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
    “Incident in New Baghdad” A Morninglight Films Production, James Spione
    “Saving Face” A Milkhaus/Jungefilm Production, Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
    “The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom” A Supply & Demand Integrated Production, Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

    Achievement in film editing
    “The Artist” (The Weinstein Company) Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
    “The Descendants” (Fox Searchlight) Kevin Tent
    “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
    “Hugo” (Paramount) Thelma Schoonmaker
    “Moneyball” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Christopher Tellefsen

    Best foreign language film of the year
    “Bullhead” A Savage Film Production, Belgium
    “Footnote” (Sony Pictures Classics) A Footnote Limited Partnership Production, Israel
    “In Darkness” (Sony Pictures Classics) A Studio Filmowe Zebra Production, Poland
    “Monsieur Lazhar” (Music Box Films) A micro_scope Production, Canada
    “A Separation” (Sony Pictures Classics) A Dreamlab Films Production, Iran

    Achievement in makeup
    “Albert Nobbs” (Roadside Attractions) Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
    “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” (Warner Bros.) Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin
    “The Iron Lady” (The Weinstein Company) Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

    Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
    “The Adventures of Tintin” (Paramount) John Williams
    “The Artist” (The Weinstein Company) Ludovic Bource
    “Hugo” (Paramount) Howard Shore
    “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” (Focus Features) Alberto Iglesias
    “War Horse” (Touchstone) John Williams

    Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
    “Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets” (Walt Disney) Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
    “Real in Rio” from “Rio” (20th Century Fox) Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett

    Best motion picture of the year
    “The Artist” (The Weinstein Company) A La Petite Reine/Studio 37/La Classe Américaine/JD Prod/France3 Cinéma/Jouror Productions/uFilm Production, Thomas Langmann, Producer
    “The Descendants” (Fox Searchlight) An Ad Hominem Enterprises Production, Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
    “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” (Warner Bros.) A Warner Bros. Pictures Production, Scott Rudin, Producer
    “The Help” (Touchstone) A DreamWorks Pictures Production, Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and    Michael Barnathan, Producers
    “Hugo” (Paramount) A Paramount Pictures and GK Films Production, Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
    “Midnight in Paris” (Sony Pictures Classics) A Pontchartrain Production, Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
    “Moneyball” (Sony Pictures Releasing) A Columbia Pictures Production, Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
    “The Tree of Life” (Fox Searchlight) A River Road Entertainment Production, Nominees to be determined
    “War Horse” (Touchstone) A DreamWorks Pictures Production, Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

    Best animated short film
    “Dimanche/Sunday” (National Film Board of Canada) A National Film Board of Canada Production, Patrick Doyon
    “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” A Moonbot Studios LA Production, William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
    “La Luna” (Walt Disney) A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Enrico Casarosa
    “A Morning Stroll” (Studio AKA) A Studio AKA Production, Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
    “Wild Life” (National Film Board of Canada) A National Film Board of Canada Production, Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

    Best live action short film
    “Pentecost” (Network Ireland Television) An EMU Production, Peter McDonald and Eimear O’Kane
    “Raju” A Hamburg Media School/Filmwerkstatt Production, Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
    “The Shore” An All Ashore Production, Terry George and Oorlagh George
    “Time Freak” A Team Toad Production, Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
    “Tuba Atlantic” (Norsk Filminstitutt) A Norwegian Film School/Den Norske Filmskolen Production, Hallvar Witzø

    Achievement in sound editing
    “Drive” (FilmDistrict) Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
    “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Ren Klyce
    “Hugo” (Paramount) Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
    “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” (Paramount) Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
    “War Horse” (Touchstone) Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

    Achievement in sound mixing
    “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (Sony Pictures Releasing) David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
    “Hugo” (Paramount) Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
    “Moneyball” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick
    “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” (Paramount) Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
    “War Horse” (Touchstone) Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson

    Achievement in visual effects
    “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” (Warner Bros.) Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
    “Hugo” (Paramount) Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and  Alex Henning
    “Real Steel” (Touchstone) Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
    “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” (20th Century Fox) Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
    “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” (Paramount) Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

    Adapted screenplay
    “The Descendants” (Fox Searchlight) Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
    “Hugo” (Paramount) Screenplay by John Logan
    “The Ides of March” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
    “Moneyball” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin Story by Stan Chervin
    “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” (Focus Features) Screenplay by Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan

    Original screenplay
    “The Artist” (The Weinstein Company) Written by Michel Hazanavicius
    “Bridesmaids” (Universal) Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
    “Margin Call” (Roadside Attractions) Written by J.C. Chandor
    “Midnight in Paris” (Sony Pictures Classics) Written by Woody Allen
    “A Separation” (Sony Pictures Classics) Written by Asghar Farhadi

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  • Film Exec Bingham Ray Died After Suffering Stroke at Sundance Film Festival

    San Francisco Film Society Executive Director Bingham Ray passed away on January 23 after suffering a stroke while attending the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah’

    The San Francisco Film Society regrets to announce that Executive Director Bingham Ray passed away on January 23 while attending the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

    “The board of directors and staff of the Film Society are stunned and deeply saddened by the untimely death of our executive director Bingham Ray. We at the Film Society and the entire film community have lost far too early an energetic and visionary impact player who has helped shape the independent film industry for decades in so many important and valuable ways,” said Pat McBaine, SFFS board president. “He shall be dearly missed. Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to Bingham’s family and his legions of friends and colleagues all over the world who loved and respected him.”

    Ray brought his well-developed creative and business acumen to the running, reimagining and reinvigorating of a major nonprofit arts organization. Since taking the helm on November 7, 2011 he oversaw and crafted a cohesive plan to strengthen the Film Society’s exhibition, education and filmmakers services programs, including its most successful fall season to date; addressed the strenuous financial concerns facing nonprofit arts organizations today; focused particular attention on the operation of SF Film Society Cinema; connected to the local education community; broadened the outreach and impact of the project development and grants programs; and was well into plans for the 55th San Francisco International Film Festival.

    He immediately became a part of the SF film world, hosting a reception at Tosca Café to introduce himself to the community; a special screening of California State of Mind: The Legacy of Pat Brown, attended by Governor Jerry Brown and his wife Anne Gust; and a preview of Pina with his old friend Wim Wenders, attended by Francis and Eleanor Coppola, Les Blank, Phil Kaufman and Tom Luddy.

    “When Bingham took the job, we were ecstatic,” said SFFS board co-vice president and film producer Jen Chaiken. “It was an enormous vote of confidence for the organization that he was compelled to uproot his life to come run the Film Society. Bingham felt this job honored and tapped into the experience he’d garnered over the past 30 years. Bingham was one of those rare few who everyone knew on a first name only basis. He was one of a kind and will be deeply, deeply missed.”

    Ray came to the San Francisco Film Society from New York City, where he recently served as the first run programming consultant to the Film Society of Lincoln Center, executive consultant to the digital distribution company SnagFilms and adjunct professor at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

    Ray cofounded October Films in 1991 and served as its copresident until its sale to USA Networks in 1999. October was one of the foremost independent film companies of the 1990s, winning two Oscars and garnering 13 Oscar nominations and top prizes at the Cannes Film Festival on three occasions. Some of October Films’ credits include the internationally acclaimed Secrets & Lies, The Apostle, Cookie’s Fortune, The Celebration, Lost Highway, The Last Seduction and Breaking the Waves.

    In September 2001, Ray assumed the post of president of United Artists. During his tenure at UA, the company acquired and/or produced many highly acclaimed films such as No Man’s Land, winner of the 2001 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine, winner of the 2002 Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary and the 2004 Academy Award-nominated Hotel Rwanda. Other United Artists films successfully released during Ray’s tenure include Jeepers Creepers 1 & 2, Nicholas Nickleby, Ghost World, Igby Goes Down and Pieces of April.

    In 2007 Ray joined the Los Angeles-based production company Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and held two posts during his three-year tenure, president of Kimmel Distribution and president of creative affairs. In the first post Ray supervised all marketing and distribution plans for the original Death at a Funeral, Talk to Me, Lars and the Real Girl and Synecdoche, N.Y., among others. In the latter he was responsible for the development and production activities of the remake of Death at a Funeral, as well as supervising the development of a seven-film production slate.

    Bingham Ray began his career in 1981 as manager/programmer of the Bleecker Street Cinema. He has been on the juries of the Sundance Film Festival, Rotterdam Film Festival, Edinburgh Film Festival and the Film Independent Spirit Awards. He has lectured on film production and development at the City College of New York’s Graduate Film School, Columbia University and New York University.

    Ray is survived by his wife Nancy King, their children Nick, Annabel and Becca, and his sisters Susan Clair and Deb Pope.

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  • 2012 IFFR presents 196 short films in Spectrum Shorts

    The International Film Festival Rotterdam has selected 196 short films from more than 3,500 submissions for its main programme Spectrum Shorts, which can be seen from Thursday 26 through Monday 30 January in LantarenVenster. This year, Spectrum Shorts encompasses no less than 42 world premières; many of these films that have been made by young filmmakers and video artists from all over the world. Short films can also be seen in the IFFR’s Tiger Awards Competition for Short Films; screening in advance of feature films; in the themed Signals programmes and during the Short Film Marathon on Saturday, 4 February.

    Spectrum Shorts, the IFFR’s short film programme this year is not quite as extensive as in previous years. This means that both festival audiences and the many filmmakers and film professionals that come to Rotterdam specially for this have more time to meet one another before and after the film screenings.

    The Shorts programme screens at a single festival location: LantarenVenster in the Kop van Zuid area of Rotterdam. From Thursday 26 January through Monday 30 January, the short films can be seen here in carefully compiled compilations. The IFFR short films selection committee was made up of Juliette Jansen, Erwin van ’t Hart, Sacha Bronwasser, Peter Taylor and Theus Zwakhals, and was headed by festival programmer Peter van Hoof.

    On the morning of Monday, 30 January, from 22.00 hours in Worm (Boomgaardsstraat 71, Rotterdam) the Shorts programme will conclude with the award of the Tiger Awards for Short Film. As well as the award itself, each of the three winners will receive an amount of 3,000 Euros.

    Spectrum Shorts has close ties to the rest of the festival. For example, this year six projects by filmmakers who have previously attended the festival or who are showing their work this year have been selected for CineMart. These include Christelle Lheureux (France), who returns with her mid-length film LA MALADIE BLANCHE; Benjamin Naishtat (Argentina, HISTORIA DEL MAL) and Gabriel Abrantes (Portugal, PALÁCIOS DE PENA). Their new film projects have been selected for CineMart.

    This year, Spectrum Shorts features a lot of brand new work, including 42 world premières, 41 international premières and 33 European premières, often by talented young filmmakers and video artists. In addition, the IFFR is now also showing new short works by experienced and world-famous filmmakers such as Nathaniel Dorsky (Filmmaker in Focus at the IFFR in 2011), Jay Rosenblatt, Pedro Costa, Amit Dutta, Henry Hills, Ben Russell and the latest films from former Tiger Awards winners Ben Rivers, Mati Diop and Lewis Klahr.

    The Dutch presence in the Spectrum Shorts programme is particularly strong this year, with the world premières of VEXED, the new project by Rotterdam’s own Telcosystems; 7 PEAKS by Anna Abrahams, the long-expected third part of her trilogy; LIGHTHOUSE by Wouter Venema; THICKER THAN PAINT THINNER by Babak Afrassiabi, TAMINO by Eveline Ketterings and THE BUNKER – THE HABITUATION – THE WAIT – THE LIGHT by Jonas Staal in which he gives an absorbing depiction of the worldview of Fleur Agema, a member of the Dutch parliament for the PVV (‘Freedom Party’). New works by Johan Rijpma (TAPE GENERATION); Esther Urlus (DEEP RED); Roderick Hietbrink (LIVING ROOM) and one of the artists from the Soundtrack City Rotterdam project, Katarina Zdjelar (RISE AGAIN), all also deserve special attention.

    Anyone who has missed the regular screenings of the short films during the first festival weekend will have another chance to see them on Saturday, 4 February, as all the highlights will be screened again (without intervals) in the Short Film Marathon, from 10 in the morning to 1 a.m.

    After the festival, every month, throughout the year, a new selection of short films will be shown online (for free) on the IFFR’s YouTube channel.

    The IFFR’s festival program consists of three main sections: Bright Future – idiosyncratic and adventurous new work by novice makers, including the Tiger Awards Competitions -, Spectrum and Spectrum Shorts – new and recent work by experienced film makers and artists who provide, in the opinion of the IFFR, an essential contribution to international film culture -, and Signals, a series of thematic programs and retrospectives offering insight in topical as well as timeless ideas within cinema.

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  • San Francisco Film Society Executive Director Bingham Ray Hospitalized at Sundance Film Festival

    San Francisco Film Society Executive Director Bingham Ray reportedly suffered a stroke while at the Sundance Film Festival and remains hospitalized.

    In a press release, the SFFS says The San Francisco Film Society regrets to announce that Executive Director Bingham Ray has been hospitalized while attending the Sundance Film Festival.

    “Our thoughts and prayers are with Bingham for a speedy and full recovery and our sympathies go out to his family and his many friends and colleagues at Sundance and throughout the independent film world,” said Pat McBaine, SFFS board president.

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  • Your Sister’s Sister to Open 2012 Seattle International Film Festival

    The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) announced Your Sister’s Sister as the opening film to be presented at the 2012 festival’s prestigious Opening Night Gala, Thursday, May 17, 2012.

    Your Sister’s Sister, written and directed by Seattle’s Lynn Shelton (Humpday) and starring Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt and Mark Duplass, is SIFF’s first opening selection locally produced and shot by a Seattle filmmaker. SIFF takes place May 17 through June 10.

    “I am thrilled beyond measure that Your Sister’s Sister has been chosen to open the 2012 Seattle International Film Festival, and that it represents the first locally produced film to ever receive this honor,” said Shelton. “I hope the city will come raise a glass to our incredibly talented crew and to the entire Seattle film community, without which this film would never have been made. After a world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival and a U.S. premiere at Sundance, our homecoming in May will be the sweetest celebration of them all.”

    Spotlighted this year as one of Variety’s ‘10 Directors to Watch,’ Seattle-based Shelton has seen much success in the festival circuit, most recently with the world debut of Your Sister’s Sister in Toronto where it received acquisition by IFC Films. Shelton will also screen the film at Sundance this year, making her first return to the festival as a member of the U.S. Dramatic Competition jury, since her 2009 Humpday breakout.

    A year after his brother’s death, Jack (Mark Duplass) still see-saws between emotionally wobbly and outright volatile. When he makes a scene at a memorial party, Iris (Emily Blunt) intervenes with a plan: Jack must oil up his old bike and trek to her father’s cabin on an island on Puget Sound, where isolation will give his brain a chance to detangle. When Jack gets to the woods, however, he finds not solitude but Iris’ sister Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt), herself nursing a wounded heart and a bottle of tequila. After several shots and some slurred commiseration, liquor isn’t the only fluid these two end up sharing. Their hangover descends in the form of Iris, who pulls up with a bag of groceries the next morning. [TIFF]

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  • Magnolia Pictures To Distribute THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES from Sundance Film Festival

    The Wagner/Cuban Company’s Magnolia Pictures announced today they have acquired North American distribution rights to THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES, an outrageous, timely and moving film that premiered last night to a sold out crowd at the Eccles theater as this year’s opening night film at the Sundance film festival. Television and international rights are still available.

    From acclaimed filmmaker and photographer Lauren Greenfield (Thin, Kids + Money; named one of the top 25 most influential photographers of our time by American Photo), THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES is a prescient, wildly entertaining documentary about billionaires Jackie and David Siegel, who are constructing what will be the largest house in America—a 90,000 square foot behemoth modeled after the palace of Versailles. When the financial market collapses in 2008, their extravagant dreams are put on hold. David’s massive time-share business runs into difficulties, and the filmmaker is there to capture the Siegel’s truly uncanny turn of fortune. While delivering big laughs, THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES also manages to be a moving, clear-eyed snapshot of a unique and sobering moment in our history, as we are forced to reevaluate the sustainability of the American dream. THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES is an Evergreen Pictures production and its producers are Lauren Greenfield, Danielle Renfrew Behrens, Frank Evers and Dan Cogan.

    “THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES brilliantly encapsulates the salient issues of the American economic downturn, while also being one of the jaw-droppingly entertaining films I’ve seen in a very long time,” said Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles. “Lauren Greenfield is an exceptionally talented filmmaker with a wonderfully humanistic touch, and she has found a truly magnetic, charismatic star in Jackie Siegel.”

    “I am really excited to be working with Magnolia, who we huddled with late into last night,” says Lauren Greenfield. “I feel like we have found a true kindred spirit, who cares as much about our film as we do. I am really looking forward to working with such a smart, impressive team.”

    Magnolia is planning a summer theatrical release for the film.

    The deal was negotiated for Magnolia by SVP of Acquisitions Dori Begley, with Submarine’s Josh Braun and David Koh. Domestic television and international rights are in active discussion.

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