• Hans Zimmer and Pharrell Williams to Serve as Music Consultants for the 84th Academy Awards

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    [caption id="attachment_1985" align="alignnone" width="540"]image via neptunes[/caption]

    Oscar® -winning composer Hans Zimmer and Grammy® Award-winning songwriter and producer Pharrell Williams will serve as music consultants for the 84th Academy Awards, telecast producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer announced today. This will be the first time the composers have worked on the Oscar show.

    “Hans is one of the most accomplished and creative film composers of our time, and Pharrell is a phenomenal songwriter with an amazing list of credits,” said Grazer and Mischer. “This is an exciting and prestigious collaboration that promises to take the audience on a musical journey.”

    “It is a great privilege to serve the Academy in this role and to help celebrate and honor this year’s incredible artistry,” stated Zimmer.

    “I am honored to work with my mentor and teacher, Hans Zimmer and I have wanted to collaborate with Brian Grazer on something for years,” said Williams. “I cannot believe I will be joining them and their teams on the most prestigious show of the year, the Academy Awards.”

    Zimmer won an Oscar in 1994 for Original Score for “The Lion King” and has received eight additional nominations for Original Score. His credits include “Rain Man,” “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Thelma & Louise,” “The Preacher’s Wife,” “As Good as It Gets,” “The Thin Red Line,” “The Prince of Egypt,” “Gladiator,” “Black Hawk Down,” “Madagascar,” “The Da Vinci Code,” “The Dark Knight,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Sherlock Holmes” and “Inception.” His most recent credits include “Rango,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” “Kung Fu Panda 2” and the upcoming “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” and “The Dark Knight Rises.” Zimmer has earned 10 Grammy nominations and won four.

    Williams is a prolific producer-singer-songwriter who has also written for feature films. He has been nominated for 10 Grammy Awards and has won three. Williams’ songs have appeared on the soundtracks of such films as “Any Given Sunday,” “Kiss of the Dragon,” “Rush Hour 2,” “Zoolander,” “Bringing down the House,” “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle,” “50 First Dates,” “Hitch,” “The 40 Year-Old Virgin,” “Date Movie” and “Knocked Up.” He wrote the original song score for “Despicable Me.”

    Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

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  • Rainey Qualley, daughter of actress Andie McDowell, is Miss Golden Globe 2012

    Actress, musician Rainey Qualley, and daughter of actress Andie McDowell, has been chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as Miss Golden Globe 2012.

    “She is a talented and beautiful young woman,” said HFPA president Dr. Aida Takla-O’Reilly at the HFPA/InStyle Young Hollywood Party in West Hollywood. “We’re excited to have her as part of this year’s show.”

    Rainey, 21, recently appeared in the movie Mighty Fine and is writing songs and working on her first album.

    Miss Golden Globe is traditionally the child of a celebrity and assists during the Golden Globes awards ceremony, which will be held on January 15, 2012.

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  • IFFR unearths São Paulo’s ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s low-budget film culture

    [caption id="attachment_2399" align="alignnone"]OH! REBUCETEIO (Claudio Cunha, 1984)[/caption]

    In the Signals section’s theme programme ‘The Mouth of Garbage: Sub Culture and Sex in São Paulo’, the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) will present a vast panorama of features and shorts from São Paulo’s so-called ‘Boca do Lixo’ (Mouth of Garbage), the nickname for the working class neighborhood in the center of the Brazilian metropolis. These quick and dirty productions frequently highlighted the sleazy underbelly of Brazilian society using established genres such as noir, horror, the western, and pornography.

    In the Boca do Lixo district a constellation of entrepreneurial producers and up-and-coming filmmakers came together to create low-budget films in the mid 1960s, remaining active for nearly thirty years. An accessible option to burgeoning directors who felt excluded from high-end studio filmmaking and elite artistic movements such as Cinema Novo, the Boca do Lixo yielded some of Brazilian filmmaking’s chief talents, among them: Rogério Sganzerla, Carlos Reichenbach, José Mojica Marins (Coffin Joe), Ozualdo Candeias, and others.

    Despite the fact that several of the Boca films were hugely successful with national audiences, producers at the time found themselves fighting constantly against government censors and the constraints of a distribution landscape saturated with Hollywood product. Some films managed to cleverly elude government control and market limitations even as they presented a fiercely critical outlook; others were banned or phased-out of the commercial distribution circuit outright. As a result, large portions of the films associated with the Boca have remained elusive.

    The International Film Festival Rotterdam presents about eighteen films in tribute to the Boca do Lixo, including rare works by João S. Trevisan, Claudio Cunha, Ody Fraga, and Jean Garret, many of them presented in new transfers made from the films’ original 35mm negatives.

    ‘The Mouth of Garbage: Sub Culture and Sex in São Paulo’, curated by film scholar Gabe Klinger and IFFR programmer Gerwin Tamsma, is supported by The Netherlands Film Fund as part of the Central de Cultura program. The Central de Cultura program aims to intensify and extend cultural exchange and cultural cooperation between Brazil and The Netherlands. The IFFR also thanks the Cinemateca Brasileira in São Paulo for its generous collaboration.

    The lineup of ‘The Mouth of Garbage: Sub Culture and Sex in São Paulo’, to be announced shortly, includes:

    THE MARGIN (Ozualdo Candeias, 1967) – Truck driver-turned-director Candeias fled the commercial filmmaking scene to be able to tell this neo-realistic story of São Paulo’s underprivileged citizens living near the Tietê river.

    THE PORNOGRAPHER (João Callegaro, 1970) – A pop art portrait of the trials and tribulations of a young man hired to edit a porno rag run by a shady madame.

    ORGY OR: THE MAN WHO GAVE BIRTH (João S. Trevisan, 1970) – Celebrated novelist Trevisan’s sole feature is a radical, plotless re-envisioning/critique of Cinema Novo, loosely recounting the journey of a deranged youth who has killed his father. Summarily banned by the military, IFFR will present the world premiere of the director’s cut of the film made from a new 35mm transfer especially for the occasion of the retrospective.

    THE VAMPIRE OF THE CINEMATHEQUE and THE INSIGNI FICANT (Jairo Ferreira, 1976 and 1980) – Free-flowing essay/diary works in Super 8 featuring many of the Boca’s luminaries in candid moments compiled by the critic and scholar Ferreira.

    SNUFF – THE VICTIMS OF PLEASURE (Claudio Cunha, 1977) – One of the biggest box-office successes of its era, Cunha’s William Castle-like production deals with two American filmmakers who come to Brazil and attempt to make a snuff film in a remote barn.

    THE EMPIRE OF DESIRE/SENSUAL ANARCHY (Carlos Reichenbach, 1981) – Though unfairly maligned by critics of its day, this wild road trip sex romp has recently been hailed as one of the great Brazilian films by a few noted scholars. Long unavailable, IFFR presents Reichenbach’s masterpiece in a new 35mm transfer.

    OH! REBUCETEIO (Claudio Cunha, 1984) – A hard-core porn Chorus Line parody featuring an egomaniacal theater director who inspires his actors to perform lurid, freeform sexual acts on stage.

    SIT ON MINE AND I’LL ENTER YOURS (Ody Fraga, 1985) – A witty diptych about a talking vagina and a man with a strange penile outgrowth on his head, Fraga’s surreal farce is full of zingers and has a lighthearted sensibility reminiscent of Russ Meyer and Radley Metzger’s classics.

    FUK FUK BRAZILIAN STYLE (Jean Garret, 1986) – A class conflict satire featuring little person actor Chumbinho as a domestic-cum-slave who escapes the home of his wealthy employers to go on dream-like journey through a subterranean universe of repressed sexual yearning.

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  • 5 Film Projects Win San Francisco Film Society Kenneth Rainin Foundation Filmmaking Grants

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    The San Francisco Film Society and the Kenneth Rainin Foundation today announced the five winning projects in the sixth round of SFFS/KRF Filmmaking Grants. The grants are awarded twice annually to filmmakers for narrative feature films with social justice themes that will have significant economic or professional impact on the Bay Area filmmaking community. Between 2009 and 2013 the SFFS/KRF Filmmaking Grants will award nearly $2.5 million, including more than $1 million awarded in the first six grant rounds.

    The panelists who reviewed the finalists’ submissions are Jen Chaiken, producer, founder of 72 Productions and member, SFFS board of directors; Jennifer Rainin, president, Kenneth Rainin Foundation; Bingham Ray, SFFS executive director; and Michele Turnure-Salleo, director of filmmaker services, SFFS. The panel noted, “For their unique stories and breadth of social justice issues — which range from religious fanaticism to bullying in the dance world — we are thrilled to award these filmmakers SFFS/KRF Filmmaking Grants. The five winners, whether based locally or in New York or Los Angeles, all showed strong connections to the Bay Area and a real capacity to have a significant impact here, professionally and economically.”

    Lance Edmands, Kyle Martin: Bluebird
    $97,000 for production
    In the frozen woods of an isolated Maine logging town, one woman’s tragic mistake shatters the community balance, resulting in profound and unexpected consequences.

    Eric Escobar: One Good Thing
    $15,000 for screenwriting
    A jaded and bitter locksmith spends his days locking families out of their foreclosed homes. When a morning lockout turns up the abandoned child of a long-lost friend, his cynicism is put in check as he races to find the missing parents. For more information visit kontentfilms.com.

    Ian Hendrie, Jyson McLean: Mercy Road
    $35,000 for screenwriting
    Based on true events, Mercy Road traces the political and spiritual odyssey of a small-town Christian housewife as she slowly turns from a peaceful pro-life activist to an underground militant willing to commit violence and murder in the name of God.

    Chris Mason Johnson: Test
    $60,000 for production
    The year is 1985. The youngest, skinniest and most mocked member of San Francisco’s new contemporary ballet company begins a friendship with a brilliant dancer with a bad boy reputation in the same troupe. As lurid headlines threaten a gay quarantine, the two friends navigate a world full of risk that is also full of promise. For more information visit thenewtwentymovie.com.

    Oden Roberts, Azura Skye: Rosie Got Her Gun
    $100,000 for production
    Following a series of arrests, a troubled young woman struggling to avoid prison time is visited by an opportunistic Army recruiter. For more information visit odenroberts.com.

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  • Octavia Spencer to be honored at Palm Springs International Film Festival

    The 23rd annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will present Octavia Spencer with the Breakthrough Performance Award.  Presented by Cartier, the Awards Gala will be held Saturday, January 7, at the Palm Springs Convention Center.  Hosted by Mary Hart, the Awards Gala will also present awards to previously announced honorees George Clooney, Glenn Close, Michel Hazanavicius and Michelle Williams.  The Festival runs January 5-16.

    “Octavia Spencer is a consummate actress who seamlessly blends her dramatic and comedic talents, creating performances of uncommon depth,” said Film Festival Chairman Harold Matzner.  “As the irascible Minny in The Help, she captures the essence of awoman who deals with life head on, relishing confrontation and serving as a source of courage and humor for those whom she loves. To Octavia Spencer, it is therefore a great honor for the Palm Springs International Film Festival to present the 2011 Breakthrough Performance Award.”

    Spencer has most recently been seen starring in Tate Taylor’s The Help. Set in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960s, The Help chronicles the relationship between three different and extraordinary women who build an unlikely friendship around a secret writing project that breaks societal rules and puts them all at risk.   Screenplay by Tate Taylor and Kathryn Stockett, based on the critically acclaimed No. 1 New York Times best-selling debut novel by Kathryn Stockett.  The DreamWorks Pictures and Participant Media film is directed by Tate Taylor and also stars Emma Stone, Viola Davis and Bryce Dallas Howard.

    Spencer’s acting career began with her big screen debut in 1995 in Joel Schumacher’s A Time to Kill, opposite Sandra Bullock.  Spencer’s extensive feature film credits include Peep World, Dinner for Schmucks, Small Town Saturday Night, Herpes Boy, Halloween II, The Soloist, Drag Me to Hell, Seven Pounds, Pretty Ugly People, Coach Carter, Charm School, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton, Bad Santa, Spiderman, Big Momma’s House, Being John Malkovich and Never Been Kissed.  She was recently lauded by Entertainment Weekly online for her comedic timing when she was named to their esteemed list of the “25 Funniest Actresses in Hollywood.”  Spencer also won Best Supporting Actress from the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association.

    Past recipients of the Breakthrough Performance Award include Carey Mulligan, Marion Cotillard, Jennifer Hudson, Mariah Carey, Felicity Huffman and Freida Pinto.

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  • Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo to be honored at Santa Barbara International Film Festival for their performance in The Artist

    The Santa Barbara International Film Festival, will honor Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo with the Cinema Vanguard Award for their performances in the silent film The Artist at the 27th edition of the Festival which runs January 26 – February 5, 2012.

    The Cinema Vanguard Award was created in recognition of an actor who has forged his/her own path – taking artistic risks and making a significant and unique contribution to film. The award has previously been presented to Nicole Kidman, Christoph Waltz, Vera Farmiga, Stanley Tucci, Peter Sarsgaard, Kristin Scott Thomas and Ryan Gosling.

    Dujardin and Bejo are currently receiving wide praise for their lead performances in The Artist, directed by Michel Hazanavicius. In late 1920’s Hollywood, many actors witnessed the decline of their careers with the rise of the talking picture. This is just the case for silent film superstar George Valentin (Dujardin), who crosses paths with rising starlet Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo). Resistant to the conversion, Valentin is faced with the demise of his career while Miller embraces it and emerges a star. Through his performance, Dujardin offers a striking portrayal of the silent era male superstar, packed with the conviction and suave on par with the likes of Rudolph Valentino. No sooner does Peppy Miller enchant fictional audiences, than does Bejo with the real, through her pure charm and genuine charisma. Together Dujardin and Bejo’s masterful talent, make for one of the most compelling stories in film.

    Born in Rueil-Malmaison, France, Jean Dujardin got his break on the talent show Graines de Star in 1996 as part of the comedy group Nous C Nous. Following he went on to star as Jean ‘Loulou’ in the comedy television series Un Gars, Une Fille from 1999 to 2003. Continuing in the realm of comedy, Dujardin broke onto the big screen as aspiring surfer Brice Agostini in The Brice Man (2005). 2006 marked Dujardin’s first collaboration with Bejo through his role as Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath in the espionage film OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies. Dujardin reprised the role in 2009 for OSS 117: Lost in Rio.

    Bérénice Bejo was born in Buenos Aires and moved to France at the age of 3. Bejo got her start working in an assortment of French television shows. She landed her first recurring role as Sophie on the comedy series Un Et Un Font Six (1997-1999). American audiences were introduced to her when she appeared in 2001’s A Knight Tale as Christina. Bejo returned to French films acting in a number of films including her role as Larmina in OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006) alongside Jean Dujardin.

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  • No Staten Island Film Festival in 2012, Future Uncertain

    Blaming the economy – dwindling contributions and attendance, SI Live is reporting that unless someone steps and takes the rein from the current organizer, Staten Island Economic Development Corporation, the Staten Island Film Festival will not return next year.

    “The board made a decision…based on the shrinking funding for film festival, and the fact that we weren’t seeing the economic impact that other film festivals have on their areas, we thought it might be best not to host the festival,” said Cesar Claro, president of the SIEDC. “I think, what you’re going to see, if there is a need for it, and if people really want it, you will see smaller film festival type things popping up and it’s our hope that a group of committed young artists maybe can get something going. My advice out of the gate, knowing what I know about the lack of money that’s out there, would be start slow, start small.”

    In 2006, the festival raised $400,000 in corporate and private sponsorships, however, last year, in large part due to the economy, sponsorships were down to about $170,000. Organizers also mentioned that even though the films were free at last year’s festival, only about 5,000 people attended, down from more than 7,000 in previous years. Additionally, local businesses near the festival venues showing the films never got the economic boost that organizers expected.

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  • The Last Rites of Joe May Takes Top Awards at 2011 Best of the Midwest Awards

    [caption id="attachment_1975" align="alignnone"]The Last Rites of Joe May[/caption]

    The 2011 Best of the Midwest Awards, an annual ceremony that celebrates Chicago’s Midwest Independent Film Festival, were presented on Tuesday, December 6th in downtown Chicago. Hometown film, “The Last Rites of Joe May,” directed by Joe Maggio was the big winner, taking home the prizes for Best Feature, Best Actor for Dennis Farina and Best Actress for Meredith Droeger.

    “The Last Rites of Joe May, chronicles the last days in the life of Joe May, an aging, short money hustler who, despite a life of loss and failure, has always believed that a glorious destiny awaited him. Now in his sixties, his health failing and resources dwindling, Joe is presented with one last shot at greatness.

    The 2011 Best of the Midwest Award Winners are as followed….

    Best Feature
    “The Last Rites of Joe May,” directed by Joe Maggio

    Best Director
    Mike Diedrich, “Ballhawks”

    Best Actor
    Winner: Dennis Farina, “The Last Rites of Joe May”

    Best Actress
    Winner: Meredith Droeger, “The Last Rites of Joe May”

    Best Music Video
    Winner: “Call the Press and Send Their Best,” directed by Michael Starcevich and Mattew Achterberg.

    Best Short Film
    Winner: “A Certain Breed,” directed by Scott Smith

    Best Editing
    Winner: Randy Palmer, Jr. and Brooks Ruyle, “Ballhawks”

    Best Cinematography
    Winner: Joel Edwards, “Mumbai Golf”

    Best Screenplay
    Winner: Dean Peterson, “Incredibly Small”

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  • Go See “Khodorkovsky” in Theaters this weekend

    by Francesca Mccaffery

    Cyril Tuschi’s riveting new documentary “Khodorkovsky” focuses on the 2003 imprisonment of Russian oligarch, the billionaire, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who at the time of his arrest at forty-two years old was the richest man in Russia.

    Brought to “court” on charges clearly trumped up and false (tax embezzlement and fraud), in a case that had the world watching and the proceedings of which even had then President George Bush deem wrongful and misguided, Khodorkovsky remains in prison in Siberia to this day. This documentary is the story rife with the country’s entire key political, economic and industry players, and it is a dense, richly woven web of intrigue, politics and clashing male egos.

    Mikhail Khodorkovsky was a rather mild-mannered science and engineering student with an “aura” about him, as fellow students and friends describe him. An avowed socialist, his attentions and ambition soon turn to capitalism when the Cold War began to melt down the country’s communist infra-structure, the U.S.S.R. was becoming Russia again, and soon became very interested in acting and behaving like a proper Western democracy.

    As Russian state assets were sold off, the then government, trying to keep the land, assets and industry primarily “Russian,” were forced to sell to the lowest Russian bidder, as funds were simply not accessible, impossible to find on any sort of reasonable scale, inside of mother Russia itself. Khodorkovsky and his friends had cleverly started a bank during this time. In 1995, they acquired the main Russian oil company, later to become Yukos, for the paltry sum of $330 million. The government, again, felt obliged to sell, at an auction, it was noted later, which had very little competition. With part of their original company’s manifesto stating, “Let capitalism be our compass,” Khodorkovsky and his team soon became major global players- meeting with heads of state, zipping around in private jets, and Khodorkovsky himself consulting the Russian government itself about how to form its newly democratic judicial system.

    The documentary is really quite fascinating, as it is at once dissecting a current event in Russia’s ever-changing economic-political history, and how it will establish itself in the global economy, as well as examining the will that comes to blows of two very different types of men: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Mikhail Khodorkovsky himself.

    When the government learns that Yukos may soon be going partially public, could be bought and owned by outside investors, (read- the US! Exxon! Mobile!) Putin and his cabinet are clearly hysterically nervous about this: What would a westernized Russia look like? What would it mean? Most importantly, would they have the same control? As we stare at Putin’s face in the footage and photos, we wonder: Does he care about saving Russia, or simply his place in the world, his career, and place in society?

    It is due to Tuschi’s film, which is five years in the making, that we get the complete picture. As his interviews with young, hip Russians illustrate, the party line in Russia is still that Khodorkovsky stole from his own government, and is, basically, a pretty evil guy. But as Putin’s actions escalate, we can see it truly is not Russia or her people he is worried about. He is pissed off, and it we see it devolving into a strange, globally witnessed “mano-a-mano” confrontation.

    Tuschi actually became pen-pals of sorts with Khodorkovsky, and in voice-over the audience learns what a thoughtful, ambitious, and critical thinker Khodorkovsky is. He also seems steadfast in his views today, and Tuschi even gets the chance to interview him after he stand son trial for another bogus charge of stealing “350 million barrels of oil” from his own company. “You would have to circle the earth three times with a freight train to transport that much oil. Where would we have hidden it?” Khodorkovsky says, exasperated and almost cheerfully. “These charges are absurd.”

    Weaving these moments in with a stark, black and white animation to highlight specific flash-backs, it is absolutely fascinating to ponder his refusal to leave Russia as a genius mastermind chess move by Khodorkovsky. He has the will to not have only become the richest man in the world under forty at one time, certainly. But-by showing Russia itself and the rest of the world how corrupt their current Russian government really is, could he really get out of jail and end up running the country? We see a capitalist who is now a major human rights case, a man who is at first incensed by Putin’s smallness. Then, like the entrepreneur that he surely is, the viewer could also surmise that this man with the iron will to succeed could very well turn his catastrophe into a truly grand political opportunity.

    “It is difficult for a small-minded man to get over a slight.” to paraphrase Khodorkovsky in writing to Tuschi about Putin. This is a truly a wonderful documentary- expansive, glowing, exhausting, heart-rending and informative- and, like an animated political discussion in an your favorite coffee shop with new friends- it completely stays with you. Playing at the Film Forum in NYC until December 13th.

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  • RESTLESS CITY and the Winners of 8th Bahamas International Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_1970" align="alignnone"]RESTLESS CITY[/caption]

    The 8th Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) awarded the film RESTLESS CITY with the New Visions prize, but the audience voted the Jamaican film BETTER MUS’ COME the Best Film at the now wrapped festival. Restless City, an official selection of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, tells the story of an Africa immigrant surviving on the fringes of New York City where music is his passion, life is a hustle, and falling in love is his greatest risk.

    [caption id="attachment_1971" align="alignnone" width="550"]Better Mus Come[/caption]

    Better Mus’ Come set in 1970’s Jamaica, is a violent film that captures the deep rooted conflict at the heart of Jamaican politics.

    [caption id="attachment_920" align="alignnone"]MARATHON BOY[/caption]

    MARATHON BOY about the four-year-old boy in India famous for running long distance races and his relationship with his mentor-trainer was awarded the Spirit of Freedom: Documentary award.

    BIFF 2011 winners are:

    New Visions
    RESTLESS CITY (USA) / Director: Andrew Dosunmu

    First Look
    Best Feature: AMOS (The Bahamas)  / Director: Karen Arthur, Thomas Neuwirth

    Best Short: FIVE BONES (The Bahamas) / Director: Tyler Johnston

    *Honorable mention to TALL TALE OF AN ACCIDENTAL TOURIST (The Bahamas) / Director: Jason Evans

    Spirit of Freedom: Narrative
    VIPS (Brazil) / Director: Toniko Melo

    *Honorable mention to BETTER MUS’ COME (Jamaica) / Director: Storm Saulter

    Spirit of Freedom: Documentary
    MARATHON BOY (USA/UK/India) / Director: Gemma Atwal

    *Honorable mention to ZERO PERCENT (USA) / Director: Tim Skousen

    Short Film
    HOMECOMING (USA) / Director: Gursimran Sandhu

    2011 BIFF Audience Awards
    Best Narrative Feature: BETTER MUS’ COME (Jamaica) / Director: Storm Saulter

    Best Documentary: ON THE WINGS OF MEN (USA/The Bahamas) / Director: Calvin Dwight Harris

    Winning screenplay in BIFF’s Filmmakers’ Residency Program is Danea Cash’s screenplay MARCH ON.

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  • Cinema Eye Honors to Honor Frederick Wiseman’s Documentary 1967 documentary, Titicut Follies

    [caption id="attachment_1968" align="alignnone" width="550"]Titicut Follies[/caption]

    The Cinema Eye Honors for Nonfiction Filmmaking will present the 2012 Legacy Award to the landmark 1967 documentary, Titicut Follies, a stark and graphic portrayal of the conditions that existed at the State Prison for the Criminally Insane at Bridgewater, Massachusetts.  Filmmaker Frederick Wiseman will accept the award on behalf of the film at this year’s Cinema Eye ceremony.

    “It’s hard for me to believe that Titicut Follies was shot forty-six years ago,” said Wiseman.  “I’m thrilled to receive the Cinema Eye Legacy Award but it is tough for me to deal with the implications.”

    The award will be presented on January 11, 2012 at the 5th Annual Cinema Eye Honors ceremony to be held at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, New York.  A Stranger Than Fiction screening of Titicut Follies will be held the following week, on January 17, at the IFC Center, on the eve of the opening of Wiseman’s latest film, Crazy Horse, which debuts at New York’s Film Forum on January 18, before rolling out to theaters nationwide.

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  • 2012 San Joaquin International Film Festival unveils Official Selections

     

    The 5th San Joaquin International Film Festival (SJIFF) annouced its official selections. The Festival will run in Stockton, California from January 12th-14th at the Stockton Empire Theatre (1825 Pacific Avenue), and January 15th at the Janet Leigh Theatre (3601 Pacific Avenue) on the campus of University of the Pacific. The Festival will launch on Thursday, January 12th, 2012 with the original Swiss comedy “The Sandman” with Director Peter Luisi in person, and will wrap on Sunday, January 15th with the American biographical documentary “Carol Channing: Larger than Life.”

    – From Founder-Director Sophoan Sorn: “Selections for 2012 come from master directors, auteurs and new talents of 16 countries, including winners from the European Film Awards, Festival de Cannes, the Goyas (Spain), the Ophirs (Israel) and the Student Academy Awards; while several films are running for the 2012 Oscars. We feel so proud to be a gateway and a unique opportunity for the people of San Joaquin to experience some of the best of recent World Cinema. Now in its fifth year, the San Joaquin International Film Festival has become an annual tradition for the community.”

    – From SJ Film Society Chairman Shane Williamson: “This year’s festival is filled with impressive films from across the globe which were carefully hand picked. The line-up showcases not only diverse subjects for broad audiences but impeccable award winning quality and films with relevant topics of our world today.”

    FEATURES

    “Amigo” – A village mayor caught in the murderous crossfire of the Philippine-American War, in a powerful drama of friendship, betrayal, romance and heartbreaking violence. Director John Sayles, The Philippines/USA, 124min.

    “Chico & Rita” – Havana, 1948. A passionate love story between a young jazz pianist called Chico and Rita, a singer with a bewitching voice. Directors Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal, Tono Errando, Spain/UK, 94min. Valley Premiere.

    “Le Havre” – When an African boy arrives by cargo ship in the French port city of Le Havre, an aging shoe shiner takes pity on the child and welcomes him into his home. Director Aki Kaurismäki, Finland/France, 93min. Centerpiece Film.

     

    [caption id="attachment_2238" align="alignnone"]My Wedding and Other Secrets[/caption]


    “My Wedding and Other Secrets” – A romantic comedy based on a true story of a New Zealand-born Chinese woman convincing her traditional Hong Kong parents to let her marry her Caucasian boyfriend. Director Roseanne Liang, New Zealand, 88min.

    “Remembrance” (“Die verlorene Zeit”) – A remarkable love story that blossomed amidst the terror of a German concentration camp in 1944 Poland. Director Anna Justice, Germany/Poland, 108min. Valley Premiere.

    “Restoration” (“Boker tov adon Fidelman”) – A triangle of fatherhood ties, a triangle of love. A drama about a family’s effort to save their antique restoration business. Director Yossi Madmony, Israel, 105min. Valley Premiere.

    “The Sandman” (“Der Sandmann”) – One fine morning, Benno finds sand in his bed. While he tries to ignore this at first, he soon must realize that he himself is loosing the sand… Director Peter Luisi (In Person), Switzerland, 88min. Opening Night Film. Valley Premiere.

    “Winter’s Daughter” (“Wintertochter”) A heartwarming film for the family about a young Polish girl who searches for her Russian sailor father. Director Johannes Schmid, Germany/Poland, 93min. Valley Premiere.

    DOCUMENTARIES

    “Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey” – The Muppet Elmo is one of the most beloved characters among children across the globe. Meet the unlikely man behind the puppet – the heart and soul of Elmo – Kevin Clash. Director Constance Marks, USA, 80min. Centerpiece film.

    “Carol Channing: Larger than Life” – The story of legendary performer Carol Channing’s life is as colorful as the lipstick on her big, bright smile. Feel the magic and vivacity of the 90-year-old icon – both onstage and off…past and present. Director Dori Berinstein, USA, 84min. Closing Night film.

    [caption id="attachment_2239" align="alignnone"]Rice Field of Dreams[/caption]

    “Rice Field of Dreams” – The journey of Cambodia’s first national baseball team. Director Daron Ker, Cambodia/USA, 75min.

     


    SHORTS

    “Between Heaven and Earth” – Brothers Koroballa and Tiemogo try to escape the brutality of African life by sneaking into the landing section of a plane. York-Fabian Raabe, Germany/South Africa, 15min. Fiction short. Valley Premiere.

    “I Don’t Want to Go Back Alone” (“Eu Não Quero Voltar Sozinho”) – A 15 year-old blind teenager deals with the jealousy of his friend Giovana while figuring out the new feelings he’s having towards his new friend, Gabriel. Director Daniel Ribeiro, Brazil, 17min. Fiction short. Valley Premiere.

    “The First Anders” (“Den Første Anders”) – A father tries to teach his artistic and troubled young son a valuable lesson, with a story spanning over one thousand years of Danish history and countless generations of the family Andersen. Director Kristian Ussing Andersen, Denmark, 9min. Fiction short. Northern California Premiere.

    “Kahanikar – The Storyteller” – Seven-year-old Nirmala attempts to grapple with the demons of her granddad’s dementia when he starts to forget the details of her favourite story. Director Nandita Jain, UK, 10min. Animated short. Northern California Premiere.

    “A Salton Soul” – June Eilers came to the Salton Sea when her father opened the Date Palm Beach resort in the Roaring Twenties. As the sea slowly begins to dry up, she reflects on a lifetime of priceless memories. Director Mike Agnew, Greg Balkin, Tim Kressin, USA, 13min. Documentary short. Northern California Premiere.

    “Tuba Atlantic” – Oskar is dying, and is ready to forgive his brother for a disagreement years ago. Will he reach his brother, who he believes live on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, before it is too late? Director Hallvar Witzø, Norway, 25min. Fiction short. Northern California Premiere.

    “The Vermeers” – Experience Jan Vermeer’s paintings (1632-1675) through the contemporary digital palette. Director Tal S. Shamir, USA, 5min. Experimental short. Northern California Premiere.

     

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