• 7 Indie Films Awarded $240,000 in Fall 2018 SFFILM Rainin Grants

    Fall 2018 SFFILM Rainin Grants Seven indie narrative films will receive a total of $240,000 in funding in the latest round of SFFILM Rainin Grants to support the next stage of their creative process, from screenwriting to post-production.  SFFILM Rainin Grants are awarded twice annually to filmmakers whose narrative feature films will have significant economic or professional impact on the Bay Area filmmaking community and/or meaningfully explore pressing social issues. SFFILM, in partnership with the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, is the largest granting body for independent narrative feature films in the United States. The SFFILM Rainin Grant program has awarded over $5 million to more than 100 projects since its inception, including Boots Riley’s indie phenomenon Sorry to Bother You, which was released in theaters nationwide this summer; Reinaldo Marcus Green’s Monsters and Men, which won a Special Jury Prize at Sundance earlier this year; Geremy Jasper’s Sundance breakthrough Patti Cake$, which closed the 2017 Cannes Director’s Fortnight program; Chloé Zhao’s Songs My Brothers Taught Me, which screened at Sundance and Cannes in 2015; Short Term 12, Destin Cretton’s sophomore feature which won both the Narrative Grand Jury Award and Audience Award at SXSW 2013; Ryan Coogler’s debut feature Fruitvale Station, which won the 2014 Film Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, the Un Certain Regard Avenir Prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, and both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the narrative category at Sundance 2013; and Ben Zeitlin’s debut phenomenon Beasts of the Southern Wild, which won Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize and Cannes’ Camera d’Or in 2012 and earned four Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture). The jury noted in a statement: “We are thrilled to support these seven ambitious projects and the voices—both lyrical and incisive—of these talented filmmakers. This cohort of SFFILM Rainin grantees are grappling beautifully with questions of how we define ourselves and our homes in a world that is constantly changing. We very much look forward to playing a part in elevating their visions in the months ahead.”

    FALL 2018 SFFILM RAININ GRANT WINNERS

    18+ Ceylan Özgün Özçelik, writer/director/producer; Armagan Lale, producer — screenwriting – $25,000 On the feast of the sacrifice, a family gathering of women turns into a tragicomic night of bloody vengeance. all dirts roads taste of salt Raven Jackson, writer/director; Maria Altamirano, producer — screenwriting – $25,000 In lyrical, non-linear portraits evoking the texture of memories, all dirt roads taste of salt viscerally and experientially explores the life of a Black woman in the American South, from her youth to her older years. Cicada Matthew Fifer, writer/co-director; Kieran Mulcare, co-director; Jeremy Truong and Ramfis Myrthil, producers — post-production – $40,000 Some things are worth waiting 17 years for, others should have come out sooner. Colewell Tom Quinn, writer/director; Craig Shilowich, Alexandra Byer, and Matthew Thurm, producers — post-production – $50,000 For 35 years, Nora Pancowski has been the postmaster of Colewell, Pennsylvania. She runs the office out of her home and has become the center of this community, which has no other common space. When Nora receives word that her office will be closed, she must decide whether to relocate and take a new job or face retirement in Colewell. Freeland Kate McLean and Mario Furloni, writer/directors; Laura Heberton, producer — post-production – $50,000 Aging pot farmer Devi suddenly finds her world shattered as she races to bring in what could be her final harvest. KEE-kay Pedro González Kuhn, director; Rodrigo Ordoñez, writer; Vanessa Perez and Laura Irene Arvizu, producers — development – $25,000 Enrique is deported to Mexico, a country he has never called home. As he struggles to integrate, survive, and force his way back to the US, he meets Rita, who provides shelter and protection that he has never had before, which makes him question where home really is. Sandy Song, The High Priestess of Souls Pete Lee, writer/director — screenwriting – $25,000 Sandy Song, a grumpy middle-aged grifter, becomes the sole defender of Oakland’s Chinatown in a battle against loan sharks, white saviors, and demons.

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  • Northern Banner Releasing to Release THIS IS NORTH PRESTON Documentary

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    This is North Preston This Is North Preston, the remarkable documentary film by Jaren Hayman which will have its world premiere at Whistler Film Festival on Friday November 30, will be released in Canada by Northern Banner Releasing. Northern Banner will have a limited theatrical release in Canada starting in the new year, and the film has been picked up in the US by Virgil Films, who will release digitally, also in the new year. North Preston is the largest black community in the country and started as a safe haven for escaped slaves but has more recently been painted as one of the biggest hubs of pimping & human trafficking in the nation. This Is North Preston explores how the town of 4,000 has dealt with generations of pimp culture, violence, economic struggle, and constant systemic racism through the eyes of the pimps, trafficking victims, politicians, police, and community members looking to change the narrative. This Is North Preston not only tells a truly unique story, but also an incredibly important one. While the community has several deep rooted issues it’s facing including an accepted pimp culture and high levels of gun violence, the film explores how and why this is now a reality. The movie also looks at the decades of systemic racism that the town has experienced and continues to experience.

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  • EIGHTH GRADE, THE RIDER, TRANSMILITARY Among Finalists for 44th HUMANITAS Prize

    [caption id="attachment_27753" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]EIGHTH GRADE EIGHTH GRADE[/caption] The HUMANITAS Prize which honors film and television writers whose work inspires compassion, hope, and understanding in the human family, has named fifty-eight film and television writers as finalists for the 44th Annual HUMANITAS Prize.  All Prize winners will be announced at The 44th Annual HUMANITAS Prize event on Friday, February 8, 2019 at The Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA. Six college students have also been named as finalists for The David and Lynn Angell College Comedy Fellowship and The Carol Mendelsohn College Drama Fellowship. The winning writers in each category will be awarded $20,000 in prize money. HUMANITAS will also honor Marta Kauffman with The Kieser Award and Kenya Barris with the VOICE FOR CHANGE Award. Marta Kauffman is a critically acclaimed writer/director/producer. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series for Friends, a series she co-created. She also co-created HBO’s Dream On, was the co-producer for NBC’s Veronica’s Closet, and is the co-creator of Netflix’s Grace and Frankie. Kenya Barris is also a critically acclaimed writer/producer and the creator of ABC’s Black-ish and Grown-ish. He won The HUMANITAS Prize for Black-Ish: “Hope” in 2017. He won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series in 2016/17. He has received three nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series at the Primetime Emmy Awards. Since its inception in 1974, The HUMANITAS Prize has awarded over $3.5 million to more than 360 deserving television and motion picture writers whose work examines what it means to be a fully realized human being in a world struggling with racism, terrorism, sexism, ageism, anti-Semitism, political polarization, religious fanaticism, extreme poverty, violence, and unemployment. By deeply exploring the cultures, lifestyles, sexual orientations, political views, and religious beliefs of people who are very different from ourselves, we can dissolve the walls of ignorance and fear that separate us from one another. All winners, except for those in the Independent Feature Film and College Fellowship categories, designate a non-profit focused on nurturing the next generation of writers to receive their earnings. Past recipients have included Young Storytellers, Film2Future, P.S. Arts, The Heidelberg Project, Rosie’s Theatre Kids, International Documentary Association, and Inside Out Writers. “HUMANITAS enjoyed an embarrassment of riches this year,” said HUMANITAS President Ali LeRoi, “There were so many incredible submissions from such gifted writers.”

    44th Annual HUMANITAS Prize Finalists

    Drama Feature Film Category

    BLACK PANTHER Written by Ryan Coogler & Joe Robert Cole, Based on the Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby BOY ERASED Screenplay by Joel Edgerton, Based on the memoir Boy Erased by Garrard Conley ON THE BASIS OF SEX Written by Daniel Stiepleman WHAT THEY HAD Written and Directed by Elizabeth Chomko

    Comedy Feature Film Category

    BOUNDARIES Written and Directed by Shana Feste CRAZY RICH ASIANS Screenplay by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim, Based on the Novel Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan EIGHTH GRADE Written and Directed by Bo Burnham LOVE, SIMON Screenplay by Elizabeth Berger & Isaac Aptaker, Based on the Novel Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

    Family Feature Film Category

    CHRISTOPHER ROBIN Screenplay by Alex Ross Perry and Tom McCarthy and Allison Schroeder, Story by Greg Brooker and Mark Steven Johnson, Based on the characters created by A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepard INCREDIBLES 2 Written and Directed by Brad Bird ISLE OF DOGS Screenplay by Wes Anderson, Story by Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, and Kunichi Nomura MARY POPPINS RETURNS Screenplay by David Magee, Screen Story by David Magee & Rob Marshall & John DeLuca, Based upon the Mary Poppins stories by P.L. Travers

    Independent Feature Film Category

    BRIAN BANKS Written by Doug Atchison LAUGH OR DIE Screenplay by Heikki Kujanpää and Mikko Reitala SORRY TO BOTHER YOU Written and Directed by Boots Riley THE GRIZZLIES Written by Moira Walley-Beckett and Graham Yost THE RIDER Written and Directed by Chloé Zhao

    Documentary Category

    TRANSMILITARY Concept by Fiona Dawson, Written by Jamie Coughlin and Gabriel Silverman, Directed by Gabriel Silverman, Co-Directed by Fiona Dawson STOLEN DAUGHTERS: KIDNAPPED BY BOKO HARAM Written and Produced by Karen Edwards, Directed by Gemma Atwal THE FOURTH ESTATE, “Part 3: American Carnage” Directed by Liz Garbus and Jenny Carchman, Produced by Liz Garbus, Jenny Carchman, Justin Wilkes THE PRICE OF FREE Story by Davis Guggenheim, Derek Doneen, Sarah Anthony, Directed by Derek Doneen, Produced by Davis Guggenheim and Sarah Anthony

    60-minute Drama Category

    GOD FRIENDED ME, “Pilot” Written by Steven Lilien & Bryan Wynbrandt ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, “Be Free” Written by Brian Chamberlayne THE GOOD DOCTOR, “More” Written by David Shore & Lloyd Gilyard Jr. THIS IS US, “This Big, Amazing, Beautiful Life” Written by Kay Oyegun

    30-minute Comedy Category

    DEAR WHITE PEOPLE, “Volume 2: Chapter VIII” Written by Jack Moore ONE DAY AT A TIME, “Hello, Penelope” Written by Michelle Badillo & Caroline Levich THE GOOD PLACE, “Jeremy Bearimy” Written by Megan Amram THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL, “Mid-way to Mid-town” Written and Directed by Amy Sherman-Palladino

    Children’s Teleplay Category

    ALEXA & KATIE, “Winter Formal, Part 2” Written by Matthew Carlson MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC, “Surf and/or Turf” Written by Brian Hohlfeld MUPPET BABIES, “You Say Potato, I Say Best Friend” Written by Laura Sreebny Z-O-M-B-I-E-S Written by David Light & Joseph Raso, Based on Zombies & Cheerleaders Written by David Light & Joseph Raso

    The David and Lynn Angell College Comedy Fellowship

    BAND OF MOTHERS – Sabrina Brennan (USC) FERNANDO – Adam Lujan (NYU) HEAD CASE – Ellie Goodman (Northwestern University)

    The Carol Mendelsohn College Drama Fellowship

    RUE PIGALLE – Jessica Shields (Columbia University) THE BARGEMAN – Joe Hemphill (Boston University) WILCOX PARK – Omar Willis (USC)

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  • ESPN Films Next 30 for 30 is “42 to 1” on Buster Douglas 1990 Victory Over Mike Tyson

    ESPN Films 30 for 30 - "42 to 1" on Buster Douglas 1990 Victory Over Mike Tyson ESPN Films Next 30 for 30 is “42 to 1”, the documentary on Buster Douglas defeating Mike Tyson for the 1990 Heavyweight Championship of the World. The documentary “42 to 1”, co-directed by Jeremy Schaap and Ben Houser, premieres Tuesday, December 11th at 9:00p.m. ET on ESPN If you were a sports fan in 1990, you’ll never forget where you were when you heard about Tyson-Douglas. Because, after all, it was impossible. In sports, we’re used to seeing the improbable. But the impossible is another matter entirely. And on February 11, 1990, while the odds were technically 42-1, it was very much the impossible that happened in a boxing ring in Tokyo, Japan, when James “Buster” Douglas defeated Mike Tyson for the heavyweight championship of the world. The 30 for 30 documentary “42-1” tells the story of just how incredibly unlikely it was. It starts in Columbus, Ohio, where Douglas grew up the son of a boxer, who trained and guided him to become a top-10 heavyweight contender in the mid 1980’s. Of course, it was all in the shadow of the rise of “Iron” Mike Tyson, who became a worldwide phenomenon in a remarkable undefeated run to the undisputed title. And by the time their fight was set, Douglas was lightly regarded, merely a stepping stone for bigger fights for the champion. But on the day they met, a series of extraordinary circumstances led to an unimaginable result. Featuring rare footage and never before seen images, this is a film about how Douglas pulled off a victory that changed the course of sports history, channeling the absolute best version of himself, if only for one fight, when it mattered most and no one thought it was possible. Co-Directed by 11-time Emmy Award winner Jeremy Schaap (E:60, The Sporting Life) & 17-time Emmy award and 4-time Edward R. Murrow Award winner Ben Houser (E:60 docs Owen & Haatchi, The Number, Leaf). Image via YouTube

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  • 30th Anniversary Screening of WHEN HARRY MET SALLY to Kick Off 10th TCM Classic Film Festival

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    [caption id="attachment_32960" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]WHEN HARRY MET SALLY WHEN HARRY MET SALLY[/caption] Who would believe it’s 30 years already – the 30th anniversary screening of the seminal romantic comedy When HARRY Met Sally… with stars Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan and director/producer Rob Reiner in attendance, will kick off the 10th annual TCM Classic Film Festival on Thursday, April 11th Celebrated director Rob Reiner had no idea he would strike such a chord with audiences by posing the simple question: “can men and women really be friends?” The charming and TIMELESS film explores this idea by following the characters of HARRY (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) over the course of twelve years through a series of chance encounters. When HARRY Met Sally… was an instant hit with audiences and critics alike: the film grossed more than $90 million at the box office and Nora Ephron’s taut, hilarious script garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Orginal Screenplay. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan were also both nominated for Golden Globes for their performances, along with director Rob Reiner. “There are romantic comedies – and then there’s When HARRY Met Sally…” said Ben Mankiewicz, TCM primetime anchor and official host of the TCM Classic Film Festival. “The chemistry between Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan makes them part of a legacy that includes the greats of classic movies: Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn; Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell; and Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. And Rob Reiner – utilizing Nora Ephron’s word-perfect screenplay – follows in the rarefied air of the filmmaking giants who made those earlier pictures.” The 2019 TCM Classic Film Festival, held in the heart of Hollywood Thursday, April 11 – Sunday, April 14, 2019, marks the 10th annual celebration of classic films on the big screen from TCM. The TCM network will also celebrate its 25th anniversary on closing night of the festival. TCM Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz will serve as official host of the TCM Classic Film Festival. The festival’s official hotel and central gathering point for the tenth consecutive year will be The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, which has a longstanding role in movie history and was the site of the first Academy Awards® ceremony. The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel will also offer special rates for festival attendees. Screenings and events during the festival will be held at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres and the Egyptian Theatre, as well as other Hollywood venues.

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  • ROMA Named Best Film, EIGHTH GRADE, FIRST REFORMED Win 2018 New York Film Critics Circle Awards

      [caption id="attachment_30917" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]ROMA ROMA[/caption] The New York Film Critics Circle announced its 2018 award winners live on Twitter this morning, naming Roma the Best Film of 2018, along with awards for Best Director and Best Cinematography for Alfonso Cuarón.  First Reformed won awards for Best Screenplay: Paul Schrader and Best Actor for Ethan Hawke. Minding the Gap directed by Bing Liu won for Best Documentary, Pawel Pawlikowski’s Cold War won for Best Foreign Language Film, and Eighth Grade director Bo Burnham won the award for Best First Film.

    2018 New York Film Critics Award Winners

    Best Picture: Roma Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón, Roma Best Screenplay: Paul Schrader, “First Reformed” Best Actress: Regina Hall, Support the Girls Best Actor: Ethan Hawke, First Reformed Best Supporting Actress: Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk Best Supporting Actor: Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me? Best Cinematography: Roma, Alfonso Cuaron Best Non-fiction Film: Minding the Gap, director Bing Liu Best Foreign Language Film: “Cold War,” director Pawel Pawlikowski Best Animated Feature: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Best First Film: Eighth Grade, director Bo Burnham Special Award For Career Achievement: David Schwartz, Chief Film Curator at Museum of the Moving Image for 33 years Special Award: Kino Classics Box Set Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers

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  • Brian Welsh’s BEATS to World Premiere at 2019 International Film Festival Rotterdam

    [caption id="attachment_32953" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Beats, a film by Brian Welsh Beats, a film by Brian Welsh[/caption] Beats, a film by Brian Welsh about an unlikely friendship set against a backdrop of illegal raves in the 90s will world premiere at the 2019 International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). Beats is part of IFFR’s Limelight program, which features the cinematic highlights of the year. Emmy Award-winning fimmaker Clara van Gool’s The Beast in the Jungle and Martin de Vries’s Camino, A Feature-length Selfie also world premiere within Limelight. Beats is a raw, black-and-white portrait of a bankrupt United Kingdom in which music and drugs are the only things of interest. In summer 1994, with rave culture on the rise in a Scottish village, teens Johnno and Spanner have a final night out together before each going their own way in life. In addition to Beats, IFFR’s Limelight program boasts two other world premieres, both by Dutch filmmakers: The Beast in the Jungle by Clara van Gool is a poetic adaptation of Henry James’s 1903 novella with a major role for dance and movement; and Camino, a Feature-length Selfie is Martin de Vries’s account of his hike to Santiago de Compostela. Four Limelight titles were previously supported by IFFR: A Land Imagined by Yeo Siew Hua, Rojo by Benjamín Naishtat and Rafiki by Wanuri Kahiu were supported by IFFR’s Hubert Bals Fund and Birds of Passage by Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra was presented at IFFR’s CineMart. Other confirmed Limelight titles include Gaspar Noé’s Climax, Brady Corbet’s Vox Lux, Alice Rohrwacher’s Happy as Lazzaro and Hamaguchi Ryūsuke’s Asako I & II. All confirmed 2019 International Film Festival RotterdamLimelight titles to date Un amour impossible/An Impossible Love, Catherine Corsini, 2018, France Asako I & II, Hamaguchi Ryūsuke, 2018, Japan/France Ash Is Purest White, Jia Zhangke, 2018, China/France The Beast in the Jungle, Clara van Gool, 2019, Netherlands/Luxembourg, world premiere Beats, Brian Welsh, 2019, UK, world premiere Birds of Passage, Cristina Gallego/Ciro Guerra, 2018, Colombia/Denmark/Mexico Camino, een feature-length selfie/Camino, A Feature-length Selfie, Martin de Vries, 2019, Netherlands, world premiere Capharnaüm/Capernaum, Nadine Labaki, 2018, LebanonClimax, Gaspar Noé, 2018, France Donbass, Sergei Loznitsa, 2018, Germany/Ukraine/France/Netherlands/Romania A Land Imagined, Yeo Siew Hua, 2018, Singapore/France/Netherlands Lazzaro felice/Happy as Lazzaro, Alice Rohrwacher, 2018, Italy/Switzerland/France/Germany Leto/Summer, Kirill Serebrennikov, 2018, Russia/France Rafiki, Wanuri Kahiu, 2018, Kenya/South AfricaRojo, Benjamín Naishtat, 2018, Argentina/Brazil/France/Netherlands/Germany Vox Lux, Brady Corbet, 2018, USA

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  • Watch Final Trailer + New Poster for Barry Jenkins’ IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

    [caption id="attachment_31277" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]If Beale Street Could Talk If Beale Street Could Talk[/caption] Annapurna Pictures released the final trailer for If Beale Street Could Talk a timeless and moving love story set in early-1970s Harlem. Academy Award-winning writer/director Barry Jenkins’ first film since the Best Picture Oscar-winning Moonlight is If Beale Street Could Talk, his adaptation of James Baldwin’s novel – the first English-language feature film based on the work of the author, to whom the movie is dedicated. The film opens in theaters on December 14, 2018. Set in early-1970s Harlem, If Beale Street Could Talk is a timeless and moving love story of both a couple’s unbreakable bond and the African-American family’s empowering embrace, as told through the eyes of 19-year-old Tish Rivers (screen newcomer KiKi Layne). A daughter and wife-to-be, Tish vividly recalls the passion, respect and trust that have connected her and her artist fiancé Alonzo Hunt, who goes by the nickname Fonny (Stephan James). Friends since childhood, the devoted couple dream of a future together but their plans are derailed when Fonny is arrested for a crime he did not commit. Through the unique intimacy and power of cinema, If Beale Street Could Talk honors the author’s prescient words and imagery, charting the emotional currents navigated in an unforgiving and racially biased world as the filmmaker poetically crosses time frames to show how love and humanity endure.

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  • MAN ON FIRE Documentary on Race and God in Smalltown Texas, to Premiere on PBS Independent Lens

    Man on Fire Documentary The haunting new documentary Man on Fire explores how a community dealt with the shocking public suicide of Charles Moore, an elderly minister who self-immolated in a Texas Parking Lot.   Man on Fire premieres on Independent Lens on Monday, December 17, 2018, 10-11:00 PM ET (check local listings) on PBS. On June 23, 2014, a 79-year-old white Methodist minister named Charles Moore drove to an empty parking lot in his old hometown of Grand Saline, Texas, and set himself on fire. He left a note on his car’s windshield explaining that this act was his final protest against the virulent racism of the community and his country at large. Joel Fendelman’s Man on Fire goes back to Grand Saline – population 3,266 – to try to uncover the truth about the town’s ugly past and the fervor for God and justice that drove Moore to his shocking final act. Grand Saline, home to one of Morton’s largest salt mines, has always had a reputation as a town unhospitable to African Americans. Oral tradition has it that there were signs at each end of the town warning African Americans to leave before sunset, and stories of lynchings and beheadings are well-known. Although the town fathers claim the stories are just rumors, African Americans from neighboring towns still avoid passing through. The shroud of secrecy ended when Charles Moore self-immolated and the media took note. Although he was raised in Grand Saline, Moore’s religious devotion and quest to make a difference had led him far from his small hometown. A committed Methodist, Moore attended Southern Methodist University and became a preacher, first in Texas and then on the west side of Chicago, where his passion for social justice flourished. A fierce supporter of racial equality, LGBT rights, the abolition of the death penalty and more, his parishioners and colleagues marveled at the depth of his commitment. Even before his death, they understood that Moore was willing to die for what he believed. Told through interviews with Moore’s friends and family members as well as residents of Grand Saline and surrounding towns, Man on Fire seeks to understand what drove Moore to his shocking final act — and what if anything, it changed. “Joel’s disquieting film explores the length one white preacher was willing to go to remind us of our racist history,” said Lois Vossen, Independent Lens executive producer. “Some see his act of self-immolation as a radical protest, like the Buddhist monks whose suicide by fire raised awareness for their cause. Others believe it’s a sign of mental illness. At a time when we’re grappling to define a collective history, this story illustrates how difficult it is to find common language, let alone common ground.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfHOMkM-C4c

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  • Watch Natalie Portman Shine in New VOX LUX Trailer

    [caption id="attachment_31495" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Vox Lux Vox Lux[/caption] The new trailer dropped today for Vox Lux starring Natalie Portman and Jude Law, that opens in theaters on December 7, 2018.  Vox Lux follows the rise of Celeste from the ashes of a major national tragedy to pop superstardom. The film spans 18 years and traces important cultural moments through her eyes, starting in 1999 and concluding in 2017. In 1999, teenage Celeste (Raffey Cassidy) survives a violent tragedy. After singing at a memorial service, Celeste transforms into a burgeoning pop star with the help of her songwriter sister (Stacy Martin) and a talent manager (Jude Law). Celeste’s meteoric rise to fame and concurrent loss of innocence dovetails with a shattering terrorist attack on the nation, elevating the young powerhouse to a new kind of celebrity: American icon, secular deity, global superstar. By 2017, adult Celeste (Natalie Portman) is mounting a comeback after a scandalous incident that derailed her career. Touring in support of her sixth album, a compendium of sci-fi anthems entitled “Vox Lux,” the indomitable, foul-mouthed pop savior must overcome her personal and familial struggles to navigate motherhood, madness and monolithic fame in the Age of Terror. In Brady Corbet’s second feature, following his 2015 breakout debut The Childhood of a Leader— winner of the Best Director and Best Debut Film prizes at the Venice Film Festival — Celeste becomes a symbol of the cult of celebrity and the media machine in all its guts, grit and glory. Featuring original songs by Sia, an original score by Scott Walker, and a transcendent performance by Natalie Portman, personifying and pummeling the zeitgeist, Vox Lux is an origin story about the forces that shape us, as individuals, nations, and gods.

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  • Watch Trailer for TOUGH GUY : THE BOB PROBERT STORY, Documentary on Late Hockey Player

    Tough Guy : The Bob Probert Story The new trailer is released for Tough Guy: The Bob Probert Story, the story of late NHL tough guy Bob Probert, who died at age 45, directed by 28-year-old documentary filmmaker Geordie Day.   The documentary premieres on Superchannel in Canada on December 4 and will hit the U.S sometime next year. On July 5, 2010, legendary NHL tough guy Bob Probert collapsed on his boat on Lake St. Clair, near Windsor and died of a heart attack. He was only 45 years old. Bob was on his third glass of coke and eighth pill of OxyContin that day. He’d routinely take the two together to deal with his aching body. Seventeen years as the NHL’s toughest enforcer had taken its toll. As the undisputed, “heavyweight champ,” he finished his career fifth in all time penalty minutes. He averaged 40 brutal, bare-knuckled hockey fights a year. Bob’s death wasn’t all that surprising. He lived hard. Chain smoking, alcoholism, snorting cocaine even in a jail cell while under arrest, cavorting with nurses during his many trips to rehab. He said people always wanted to know, “Why do you struggle with drugs and alcohol?” He’d shrug off the ques, “I just got a little addicted to the fun.” But Bob’s life was often far from fun. In a rare moment of vulnerability, he wrote a letter to his disease while in rehab in 2003. “You have taken away my freedom to make healthy choices. You have taken away my valuable time from my wonderful wife Dani and my four kids. You have taken away my self-respect and dignity. You have turned me into someone I am not.” The film features Bob Probert, Dani Probert, Joe Kocur, Tie Domi, Don Cherry, Jeremy Roenick, Chris Chelios, Stu Grimson, Sheldon Kennedy, Troy Crowder, Steve Yzerman, Tony Twist, Ptr Klima, and Marty McSorely. Tough Guy is based on the book Day’s real-life mother Kirstie McLellan Day wrote with the late Probert. Bob’s wife, Dani is EP. It’s Geordie Day’s second hockey film. He co-directed Goalie, a film on former NHL goaltender Clint Malarchuk. This year, he produced Charles Manson: Final words, which contained the last ever recorded interviews with Manson. The film aired on REELZ.

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  • Director Costa-Gavras to Receive Honorary Award at European Film Awards

    [caption id="attachment_32936" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Costa-Gavras Costa-Gavras[/caption] Legendary director Costa-Gavras will be presented with the Honorary Award of the EFA President and Board at the 31st European Film Awards on December 15, 2018.  Costa-Gavras is the fifth filmmaker to receive this recognition, earlier recipients were Manoel de Oliveira, Michel Piccoli, Sir Michael Caine, and Andrzej Wajda. Born in Greece, Costa-Gavras emigrated in 1955 to France at the age of 22 and made his first film in 1965: THE SLEEPING CAR MURDERS, made possible with the support of Yves Montand and Simone Signoret, both of whom also starred in this adaptation of Sébastien Japrisot’s novel. He continued with Z (1969) which he also co-wrote with Jorge Semprún, adapted from Vassilis Vassilikos’ book. The film received two awards at the Cannes Film Festival as well as two Oscars. Another collaboration with co-screenwriter Semprún followed with THE CONFESSION (1971), an adaptation from Arthur and Lise London’s book. Among his various other award-winning films are STATE OF SIEGE (1973), MISSING (1981) which received the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and the Oscar for Best Screenplay, HANNA K. (1983) about an Israeli lawyer defending a Palestinian in the occupied territories, and BETRAYED (1988), starring Debra Winger and Tom Berenger. Costa-Gavras also directed MUSIC BOX (1989) which won the Golden Bear at the 1990 Berlin Film Festival, MAD CITY (1997) with John Travolta and Dustin Hoffman, AMEN (2002) which was awarded Best Screenplay at the Césars, THE AXE (2004), EDEN IS WEST (2009) and, most recently, CAPITAL, starring Gad Elmaleh and Gabriel Byrne, which premiered in San Sebastian in 2012. Costa-Gavras also directs opera and musical shows and he was President of the Société des réalisateurs de films (Film directors’ Society, 1971-1973). He is President of La Cinémathèque Française. Costa-Gavras will be a guest of honor at the awards ceremony on December 15 in Seville to accept his award.

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