The Favourite[/caption]
The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos’s black comedy about the 18th century court of Queen Anne, leads the list of nominations for the 2018 British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) with 13 noms including Best British Independent Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay. The Favourite also sweeps the technical categories, newly introduced for the 2017 awards, with nominations for seven of the nine awards, including Best Production Design, Best Cinematography supported by Blackmagic Design, Best Make-up & Hair Design and Best Costume Design.
The Best British Independent Film nominees are American Animals – with 11 nominations, Beast – with 10 nominations, Disobedience – with 5 nominations, You Were Never Really Here – with 8 nominations, and The Favourite.
The nominations list demonstrates a record year for female representation, with over 40% of the individual nominations recognizing women in the industry across directing, writing, producing, performance and craft. Female nominees make up over 50% of the talent nominated for Best British Independent Film and dominate both Most Promising Newcomer and Breakthrough Producer supported by Creativity Media, with four out of five nominations for each award. Over 140 British films were submitted for consideration and 37 different British feature films have been nominated across the BIFA categories.
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THE FAVOURITE Starring Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz Leads 2018 British Independent Film Awards Nominations
[caption id="attachment_30988" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The Favourite[/caption]
The Favourite, Yorgos Lanthimos’s black comedy about the 18th century court of Queen Anne, leads the list of nominations for the 2018 British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) with 13 noms including Best British Independent Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay. The Favourite also sweeps the technical categories, newly introduced for the 2017 awards, with nominations for seven of the nine awards, including Best Production Design, Best Cinematography supported by Blackmagic Design, Best Make-up & Hair Design and Best Costume Design.
The Best British Independent Film nominees are American Animals – with 11 nominations, Beast – with 10 nominations, Disobedience – with 5 nominations, You Were Never Really Here – with 8 nominations, and The Favourite.
The nominations list demonstrates a record year for female representation, with over 40% of the individual nominations recognizing women in the industry across directing, writing, producing, performance and craft. Female nominees make up over 50% of the talent nominated for Best British Independent Film and dominate both Most Promising Newcomer and Breakthrough Producer supported by Creativity Media, with four out of five nominations for each award. Over 140 British films were submitted for consideration and 37 different British feature films have been nominated across the BIFA categories.
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Rammy Park’s “Monitor City” Wins Rhode Island International Film Festival Screenplay Competition
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Shawn Quirk, RIIFF Program Director (l) with Dr. Nancy Carriuolo and Lukas Hassel, previous Grand Prize Winner for Best Screenplay.[/caption]
Rammy Park from Brooklyn, NY is the Best Screenplay Grand Prize Winner for this year’s 2018 Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) Screenplay Competition. Rammy’s winning screenplay is entitled “Monitor City.”
The “Monitor City” storyline: A Greek tragedy in a futuristic sci-fi setting, “Monitor City” pits reluctant hero Olivia Andressa against a totalitarian system of control and surveillance, as she struggles to accept her role in the City’s resistance movement and to bring her fractured family back together
“Rammy Park’s script breathes new life into the dystopian genre. The script is a defining work, that is teeming with social commentary. Rammy has successfully created a tragic futurist tale that serves as a timely parable for today’s ever growing dependence on technology and surveillance,” said Shawn Quirk, RIIFF Program Director.
“What an amazing year for storytelling and our screenplay competition. This year’s entries were inventive and re-defining. They were scored on criteria that included character, dialogue, setting, plot, structure and technique,” added Quirk. “We reviewed the largest entry base in competition’s history making for difficult decision-making on the part of our international group of judges.
“After extensive and careful deliberation, prize winners were chosen in seven distinct categories: Best Screenplay, Best International, Vortex Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror, Best LGBTQ, Spotlight on New England, Best Short Screenplay and Best Television Pilot,” Quirk noted.
2018Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) Screenplay Competition Prize Winners
BEST SCREENPLAY
GRAND PRIZE: “Monitor City” |Rammy Park, Author | Brooklyn, NY FIRST PLACE: “Hinterland”| S.J. Main Muñoz, Author | Venice, CAINTERNATIONAL SCREENPLAY
GRAND PRIZE: “Sound of the Somme” | Written by: Alexander Menu & Thomas Besançon, Authors | Belgium FIRST PRIZE: “White Whale”| Rustem Samigullin, Author | Homberg, GermanyVORTEX HORROR/SCI-FI SCREENPLAY
GRAND PRIZE: “Blank Shores” | Alex Kyrou, Author | London, United Kingdom FIRST PRIZE: “Silence” | Collin Kornfeind, Author | Astoria, NYJAMES L. SEAVOR LGBTQ SCREENPLAY
GRAND PRIZE: “Liza Herself” | Joan Kelly, Author | Somerville, MA FIRST PRIZE: “Chasing The Dragon”| Eduardo Ayres Soares, Author | Porto Alegre, BrazilRI SPOTLIGHT ON NEW ENGLAND
GRAND PRIZE: “Oil and Water” | Alfred Thomas Catalfo, Author | Dover, NH FIRST PRIZE: “Blood and Plunder” | Adam Olenn, Author | Providence, RIBEST TELEVISION PILOT SCRIPT
GRAND PRIZE: “The Reservoir” | Dylan Allen, Author | Brooklyn, NY FIRST PRIZE: “Matched”| Tess Allen, Author | Playa Vista, CABEST SHORT SCRIPT
GRAND PRIZE: “Red Shirt” | Mary C. Ferrara, Author | Quincy, MA FIRST PRIZE: “Last Day of School”| Gypsy Nelson | Mason, WI Photo by Mike Braca via RIIF
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ASCENSION, KILLER UNICORN Win 2018 Vortex Film Festival Awards
A phantasmagoric symphony of international genre films were given their due with the wrap of the 19th Annual Flickers’ Vortex Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Film Festival through adjudicated awards. The Festival celebrated and showcased imagination and creativity in filmmaking and included nine (9) World and U.S. Premieres. In all, 61 films were selected from over 3,000 genre submissions, representing 16 countries and presented at 15 locations. This year’s Festival was planned, developed and curated by Shawn Drywa, Vortex Program Director and creator of the annual genre Festival with Shawn Quirk, RIIFF Program Director.
“Over the past several years, we have been expanding our screenings to educational institutions, literally bringing Vortex to our audience. We made a concerted effort this year to include a dynamic mix of the Horror, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi genres,” said Shawn Drywa, Vortex Program Director. “These films represent the vanguard of genre filmmaking from across the globe, and showcase a rising generation of filmmakers, who are redefining genre films for the next generation of cinephiles.
“Vortex filmmakers are leaders of tomorrow’s entertainment industry, and it’s our mission to empower them and help them move forward in their respective careers through showcasing their work.”
“We are proud to see that this sidebar to RIIFF has become an important cultural event for the State and an international draw for filmmakers and audiences. This year saw over a dozen filmmakers, cast and crew coming from the United Kingdom, Canada and from throughout the United States,” he added.
“From our ongoing educational outreach with area colleges and universities, free library and museum screenings, high school-based programs, to a master class on filmmaking and conversations on the film industry with noted leaders, this year’s Vortex Film Festival laid the foundation for an even more expanded event next year” noted Shawn Quirk, RIIFF’s Program Director.
Winners of Top Prizes of 2018 Flickers’ Vortex Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Film Festival
BEST SCI-FI SHORT FILM:
GRAND PRIZE: FACE | Directed by: Luke Tierney, Australia, 2017 First Prize: One Way Wolf Blitzer Freaky Friday| Directed by: Jared Neumark, USA, 2017 Tied With: In Her Image | Directed by: Nikoloz Kevkhishvili, Georgia, 2018BEST FANTASY SHORT FILM
GRAND PRIZE: The Lossen | Directed by: Colin Skevington, United Kingdom, 2018 First Prize: The Whistler | Directed by: Jennifer Nicole Stang, Canada, 2018BEST HORROR SHORT FILM:
GRAND PRIZE: Zombied | Directed by: Matthew Van Vorst, USA, 2018 First Prize: A Doll Distorted | Directed by: Niall Shukla, United Kingdom, 2018 Tied With: The Son, the Father… | Directed by: Lukas Hassel, USA, 2017BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM:
GRAND PRIZE: The Legend of Rasputin | Directed by: Jamie Shannon, Canada, 2017 First Prize: Reruns |Directed by: Rosto —-, Belgium, France, Netherlands, 2017 Tied With: Space Between Stars | Directed by: Samuel W. Bradley, Canada, 2018BEST FEATURE FILM:
GRAND PRIZE: Ascension | Directed by: Ross Wachsman, USA, 2018 FIRST PRIZE: Killer Unicorn | Directed by: Drew Bolton, USA, 2018 DIRECTORIAL DISCOVERY AWARD: Michael Paul, Director of “Strange Clowns,”USA, 2018 H.P. LOVECRAFT AWARD: I Am the Doorway | Directed by: Simon Pearce, United Kingdom, 2018 image via Facebook
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South African Hitchockian Suspense Thriller NUMBER 37 Opens in Theaters on November 2 [Trailer]
In a gritty homage to perennial Alfred Hitchcock favorite Rear Window, director Nospiho Dumia’s film focuses on the residents of a block of apartments in the down-and-out Cape Flats neighborhood, which, with its petty thugs, crooked cops, violent loan sharks, and troubled pastors, soon reveals itself to be a very different place from Rear Window’s Greenwich Village of 1954.
The award-winning Hitchockian suspense thriller Number 37, filmed in Cape Town, will be released in theaters on November 2, 2018 and On Demand November 20 from Dark Star Pictures.
Irshaad Ally, Monique Rockman, Ephraim Gordon, Sandi Schultz, Danny Ross, David Manuel, Elton Landrew, and Deon Lotz star in a Nosipho Dumisa directed film, scripted by Dumisa, Travis Taute, and Daryne Joshua.
Set in a rough section of Cape Town, Number 37 follows Randal Hendricks, a small-time crook who becomes wheelchair-bound in a drug deal gone wrong, and his hard-working girlfriend Pam Ismael. To distract Randal during his homebound days of limited mobility, Pam gives him a pair of binoculars. While idly surveying his block, he accidentally witnesses a dirty cop being executed by his gangster neighbor Lawyer. With a loan shark breathing down his neck, Randal decides to blackmail Lawyer, and enlists the help of both his girlfriend and his friend Warren. When the plan goes horribly awry, Randal’s options get more and more restricted—and not even local detective Gail February, investigating the death of her partner, may be able to help him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02v2hYy9Zlc
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Peter Farrelly’s GREEN BOOK Wins Best Feature Film at 2018 Twin Cities Film Fest
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Green Book[/caption]
The Twin Cities Film Fest announced its 2018 award winners Saturday evening and awarded Peter Farrelly’s “Green Book” the year’s Best Feature Film. “When Jeff Tried to Save the World,” a lighthearted drama that served as the official 2018 centerpiece, was one of the year’s most honored titles, named as a finalist in three separate categories (Best Feature Film, Indie Vision Breakthrough Performance, Indie Vision Debut Director). Star Jon Heder (“Napoleon Dynamite”) walked away with the year’s top performance award.
The festival’s top non-fiction award went to “Who Will Write Our History?,” Roberta Grossman’s harrowing account of the journalists, scholars and community leaders in the Warsaw Ghetto who risked everything to secretly document the daily atrocities committed against their Jewish neighbors. The film screened in partnership with the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival.
The 2018 Audience Awards went to Barry Andersson’s “The Lumber Baron,” a period drama about the heir to a failing lumber business and the enduring rumors of a treasure left behind by his grandfather; Tina Brown and Dyana Winkler’s “United Skates,” a documentary about the art, economics and underground subculture of American roller skating; and “small town ROBOT,” a locally-produced short film about the acclaimed robotics team at Greenbush Middle River High School and their journey to a world championship to compete against 300 other teams from around the world.
Director Mark Taylor took home the Indie Vision — Debut Director trophy, for his drama “Saving Flora,” which had its U.S. premiere at the festival last week. Starring Jenna Ortega, David Arquette and Tom Arnold, the film’s story of one girl’s unbreakable bond with an elephant, and her mission to save the kind creature, marked the highlight of this year’s TCFF Changemaker Series. Several of the leading stars were in town to celebrate the debut.
“One of this year’s unforgettable highlights was ‘Saving Flora,’” said TCFF Executive Director Jatin Setia. “The passion of that filmmaking, the broader mission behind its story, and the electricity that was on full display that night in the movie theater, between the audience and the advocates and the visiting filmmakers….that’s everything that makes a film festival special. It’s not just watching a movie — it’s being part of a transcendent experience. It changes you as a person.”
Minnesota filmmaker C.J. Renner was honored with the Indie Vision — Breakthrough Achievement award for his direction of “American Tender,” a widely praised drama about a robbery, a double-cross and one memorable first date.
“C.J. Renner exemplifies the talent, commitment and energy to be found in the Minnesota filmmaking community,” said TCFF Managing Director Bill Cooper. “And ‘American Tender’ is exactly the kind of homegrown independent project that we’re so proud to celebrate and showcase here at TCFF. C.J. always surprises us, he’s going places, and we’re so thrilled that so many smart filmgoers from across the country discovered his talent right here at the festival this year.”
The 2018 Fun Is Good Bill Murray Comedic Shorts Award went to Matt Hirst’s hilarious “12 Sips to Glory,” about one man’s epic orange soda taste test.
2018 Twin Cities Film Fest Award Winners
Best Feature Film: “Green Book,” directed by Peter Farrelly Best Documentary: “Who Will Write Our History?” directed by Roberta Grossman Best Short Film: “Claire Means Well,” directed by Aaron Gervich Audience Award, Feature: “The Lumber Baron,” directed by Barry Andersson (Runner-Up: “If Beale Street Could Talk,” directed by Barry Jenkins) Audience Award, Non-Fiction: “United Skates,” directed by Tina Brown and Dyana Winkler (Runner-Up: “93Queen,” directed by Paula Eiselt) Audience Award, Short Film: “small town ROBOT,” directed by Joe Brandmeier (Runner-Up: “Claire Means Well,” directed by Aaron Gervich) Indie Vision — Breakthrough Performance: Jon Heder (“When Jeff Tried to Save the World”) Indie Vision — Debut Director: Mark Taylor (“Saving Flora”) Indie Vision — Breakthrough Achievement: C.J. Renner (director of “American Tender”) Fun Is Good Bill Murray Comedic Shorts Award: “12 Sips to Glory,” directed by Matt Hirst TCFF 2018 Changemaker Award: Rachel Mairose, founder and executive director of Secondhand Hounds
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Watch 6 Video Clips from A PRIVATE WAR starring Rosamund Pike as War Correspondent Marie Colvin [Videos]
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A PRIVATE WAR[/caption]
Aviron Pictures released six new video clips from A Private War, starring Rosamund Pike as legendary war correspondent Marie Colvin and Jamie Dornan as photojournalist Paul Conroy. A Private War opens in Los Angeles and New York on Friday, November 2, 2018, and everywhere on November 16th, 2018.
In a world where journalism is under attack, Marie Colvin (Academy Award nominee Rosamund Pike) is one of the most celebrated war correspondents of our time. Colvin is an utterly fearless and rebellious spirit, driven to the frontlines of conflicts across the globe to give voice to the voiceless, while constantly testing the limits between bravery and bravado. After being hit by a grenade in Sri Lanka, she wears a distinctive eye patch and is still as comfortable sipping martinis with London’s elite as she is confronting dictators. Colvin sacrifices loving relationships, and over time, her personal life starts to unravel as the trauma she’s witnessed takes its toll. Yet, her mission to show the true cost of war leads her — along with renowned war photographer Paul Conroy (Jamie Dornan) — to embark on the most dangerous assignment of their lives in the besieged Syrian city of Homs. Based on the extraordinary life of Marie Colvin, A PRIVATE WAR is brought to the screen by Academy Award nominee and critically acclaimed documentary filmmaker Matthew Heineman in his pulse-pounding narrative feature debut.
A Private War – I See It So You Don’t Have To
A Private War – I Need A Photographer
A Private War – I Gotta Go Back
A Private War – I Feel Compelled
A Private War – Sri Lanka Attack
A Private War – Listen To Me Next Time
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THE VICE OF HOPE Wins People Choice Award at Rome Film Fest [Trailer]
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The Vice of Hope (Il vizio della speranza)[/caption]
The Italian drama, The Vice of Hope (Il vizio della speranza) by Edoardo De Angelis was voted the winner of the “BNL People’s Choice Award” at the 13th Rome Film Fest. The film is centered around the hiring of women as surrogate mothers paid to bear children and then hand them over to paying clients. To support her family, Maria works as a trafficker of surrogate mothers, transporting them from place to place along a river — but when one disappears, Maria is left with the task of finding her and must enter deeper into a world she wishes to escape.
SYNOPSIS
Along the river flows Maria’s time, her head hooded and her gait resolute. Her existence streams from day to day, with no dreams or desires, taking care of her mother and working at the service of a bejewelled madam. With her courageous pitbull by her side, Maria ferries pregnant women across the river, in what seems like an endless purgatory. This woman will soon be visited by hope, in its most powerful and ancestral form, as miraculous as life itself. Because to stay human has always been the greatest of revolutions. “No one will ever kill me”THE DIRECTOR
Edoardo De Angelis, born in Naples in 1978, discovered cinema at the age of 19 and made his first short films. In 2006, he graduated in film direction from the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome: his graduating essay was the short film Mistero e passione di Gino Pacino. He directed his first feature-length film, Mozzarella Stories, in 2011. In 2014, he directed his second feature-length film Perez with the O’Groove company, which he founded with Pierpaolo Verga. In 2016 he directed Indivisible, which won 6 Nastro d’Argento awards, 8 Ciak d’oro, a Globo d’oro and 17 nominations for a David di Donatello, 6 of which it won.TRAILER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZL6IYrqaH3oDIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
“In the frame past present and future. No presentation of the characters, no distraction. The story of women and men is written on the body: the past in the scars, the present in the gestures, the future in the eyes. The body is the main instrument of the narration because its mobile material expresses the transformation of the characters; it is a thematic vehicle in that it reveals the injured beauty of human beings as they wait for something or someone, desperate people clinging to one last hope; finally, the body expresses the desire of the soul to subvert the order of desperation, through resistance, and at the right time, rebellion. Think of a cold winter, a time in which everything around us looks dead and we light a fire to find warmth, while we wait for things to change. The earth generates, the earth hosts, the earth lets us prosper then covers our dead body; the wind blows on the fire and pushes the water of the river towards the earth, to revive it. Life stubbornly fights death: the arc of the world is transformed through birth, death and rebirth. Everything that remains unchanged dies. What moves is alive. For those who have the strength to resist, the reward is the miracle of the world as it is born”.
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Charlamagne Tha God Exec Produces Bakari Sellers Documentary WHILE I BREATHE, I HOPE [Trailer]
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While I Breathe, I Hope[/caption]
What does it means to be young, black, and a Democrat in the American South? While I Breathe, I Hope follows South Carolina politician and CNN political analyst Bakari Sellers as he runs to become the first African American candidate elected statewide in over a century.
The film from award-winning director Emily Harrold who is making her documentary feature directing debut, and from Executive Producer Charlamagne Tha God, the radio personality who co-hosts the nationally syndicated iHeartRadio program The Breakfast Club will have it New York Premiere screening at DOC NYC on Sunday, November 11.
In 2014, Bakari Sellers–one of the youngest sitting members of the South Carolina House of Representatives–campaigns to be the first African American elected to statewide office since the 1870s. He runs for Lieutenant Governor, the second highest office in the state. The son of Cleveland Sellers, a prominent 1960s Civil Rights activist who was a leading member of SNCC, Bakari understands the difficult race relations in the American South. “Our race is not about what South Carolina was, it’s not about what South Carolina is, but it’s about what South Carolina can be,” he says. But as a Democrat in a red state, Bakari has a tough race ahead. News media consistently place Bakari behind his Republican opponent, Henry McMaster. Moreover, South Carolinians have not elected a Democrat to state office since 2006. Bakari doesn’t help his electability among white voters when he makes removing the Confederate Flag part of his campaign platform. But he refuses to give up. “I can’t win if I don’t run,” he states. But, in the end it seems South Carolina isn’t ready for the kind of change Bakari wants to bring to his state.
Just months after the election, racially motivated shootings in Charleston in June of 2015 throw Bakari back into the spotlight. As he struggles to deal with the brutal death of his friend Clementa Pinckney, he finds thousands of faces turn to him for leadership. Bakari rises as a spokesperson for the community while also trying to unravel and understand the strained race relations of his beloved state. As the Confederate Flag drops from the State House grounds, he is on national television explaining the momentous nature of this event. In one of the most significant moments of his life, Bakari addresses the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. He brings audiences to their feet as he proclaims “Stand up for progress. Stand up for justice. And stand up if you know like I know that we’re stronger together!”
NEW YORK PREMIERE SCREENING AT DOC NYC
Sunday, November 11 at 4:15 PM IFC Center 323 6th Avenue, New York, NY 10014
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AVICII: TRUE STORIES, Powerful Documentary on Late Producer/Artist, Sets Release Date [Trailer]
Levan Tsikurishvili’s powerful documentary Avicii: True Stories, reveals the unvarnished truth behind the success of Grammy-nominated producer, songwriter and artist Avicii (A.K.A. Tim Bergling). The film which follows Avicii over four years, and features Chris Martin, Nile Rodgers, David Guetta, Tiësto and Wyclef Jean, will open on December 14th in Los Angeles and December 21st in New York.
Avicii: True Stories follows Avicii, one of the world’s highest grossing live music artists, whose seemingly sudden decision last year to quit doing live shows came as a complete chock to his fans and the industry.
The film traces the artist/DJ’s life from his beginnings, all the way to the joy of his success, from his chart-topping global radio hits and subsequent struggles with his physical and mental health. Tsikurishvili followed Bergling for over four years, and captured fly-on-the-wall footage of his experiences and thinking. Featuring appearances by colleagues such as Chris Martin, Nile Rodgers, David Guetta, Tiësto, and Wyclef Jean, Avicii: True Stories is a cautionary tale that explores the taxing nature and intensity of fame from the artist’s point of view as much as it is a film for Avicii’s die-hard fans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZFK3VKzQIs
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Judith Helfand’s Disaster Preparedness Documentary COOKED: SURVIVAL BY ZIP CODE to Premiere at DOC NYC 2018
In COOKED: Survival by Zip Code, peabody award winning director Judith Helfand melds her unique brand of investigative reporting and respectful humor to make a potent argument that the best preparation for a disaster may start with actually redefining disaster and preparedness. COOKED: Survival by Zip Code will World Premiere at DOC NYC, screening November 11 and 14.
COOKED: Survival by Zip Code is a searing yet quirky investigation into the “natural” disasters we’re willing to see and prepare for and the “unnatural” ones we’re not. Adapted from Eric Klinenberg’s ground-breaking book HEAT WAVE: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago.
In her signature serious-yet-quirky connect-the-dots style, Peabody Award winning filmmaker Judith Helfand takes audiences from the deadly 1995 Chicago heat disaster deep into one of our nation’s biggest growth industries — Disaster Preparedness. Along the way she forges inextricable links between extreme weather, extreme disparity and the politics of “disaster”; daring to ask: What if a zip code was just a routing number, and not a life-or-death sentence?
Chicago suffered the worst heat disaster in U.S history in 1995, when 739 residents ― mostly elderly, poor and disproportionately black―died over the course of one hot week. COOKED: Survival by Zip Code is a connect-the-dots investigation into extreme heat, the politics of disaster and survival by zip code. Helfand uses her quirky investigative lens to ask a radical yet obvious question: what if we reframe the long-term impact of structural racism, systemic inequity and climate change as an official disaster?
WORLD PREMIERE SCREENINGS AT DOC NYC
Sunday, November 11, 2018 at 1:30 PM SVA Theatre Wednesday, November 14, 2018 at 2:45 PM IFC Center Director Judith Helfand, producer Fenell Doremus, and author Eric Klinenberg in-person for post-screening Q&A’s after each screening.
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Mahaliyah Ayla O’s MASKS and Kevin David Lin’s MONDAY Sweep Major Awards at 13th NBCUniversal SHORT FILM FESTIVAL
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“Masks” by Mahaliyah Ayla O[/caption]
The six finalist films and filmmakers of this year’s 13th Annual NBCUniversal SHORT FILM FESTIVAL, were honored with a finale screening and awards ceremony at the Directors Guild of America in Hollywood.
Comedian-actor Zainab Johnson (“Late Night with Seth Meyers,” HBO’s “All Def Comedy”) kicked off the evening with screenings of the six finalist shorts, “B.U.T.S: Spanish Class,” “Kyenvu,” “Masks,” “Monday,” “Rani” and “We Know Where You Live,” before an audience of industry professionals including network, cable and film executives as well as managers, producers and agents.
“I’m proud that over the past 13 years, our short film festival has not only celebrated those voices, but advocated for them beyond the festival to provide them with opportunities in the industry,” said Karen Horne, SVP of Programming Talent Development & Inclusion, NBC Entertainment and Universal Television.
13th Annual NBCUniversal SHORT FILM FESTIVAL Awards
HARNESS Social Impact Award: “Kyenvu” “Kyenvu” writer-director Kemiyondo Coutinho was awarded a $10,000 cash grant for her short film about a young Ugandan woman who struggles to find her footing in a patriarchal society that entitles men to women’s bodies . https://vimeo.com/250220907 Outstanding Comedy: “B.U.T.S: Spanish Class” “B.U.T.S: Spanish Class” co-creators Irene Lucio and Emma Ramos were presented with a $5,000 cash grant and a DJI OSMO+ Handheld Gimbal 4K camera with full accessory kit for an episode from their sketch comedy web series that parodies and satirizes the many ‘afflictions’ of the modern-day woman told through a Latina lens. In “Spanish Class,” a couple gets way more than they bargained for when they set out to learn Spanish in a week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC_7xSn5vIw Outstanding Drama: “Masks” “Masks” writer-director Mahaliyah Ayla O was presented with a $5,000 grant and a DJI OSMO+ Handheld Gimbal 4K camera with full accessory kit for her film about a closeted Persian woman’s experience after surviving a mass shooting. https://vimeo.com/264696824 Outstanding Writer: Hammad Rizvi, “Rani” Writer-director Hammad Rizvi was awarded a $5,000 cash grant in addition to final round placement in NBC’s Writers on the Verge program that prepares talented writers for staff writing positions on scripted series. He also received the newly released Final Draft 11 software on all platforms and a Fire TV Cube, the latest hands-free streaming media player with Alexa voice command. Rizvi’s short film “Rani” centers on a socially outcast transgender Pakistani woman who sets out to take care of an abandoned child. The short stars trans activist Kami Sid as the titular character in her first acting role. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6wTh9Ifw_c Outstanding Actor: Kevin David Lin, “Monday” Actor Kevin David Lin from the short film “Monday” was awarded a talent holding deal with NBC, a premiere headshot package with JeanPaul SanPedro, a fund for unlimited private audition coaching and advanced acting classes and a $1,000 wardrobe allowance. Lin starred as the central character in “Monday” about a conflicted young hustler who’s forced to confront the immorality of his occupation. Outstanding Director: Dinh Thai, “Monday” “Monday” writer-director Dinh Thai received a studio production services package courtesy of Universal Operations, including one day of shooting on the Universal Studios back lot and an $8,500 valued package including lighting, grip, props and costumes as well as one day of sound mixing. He was also awarded a $60,000 camera package from Panavision’s New Filmmaker Program, a longtime festival sponsor, and final round placement in NBCUniversal’s Emerging Directors Program that provides a pipeline for ethnically diverse directors to break into television by offering shadowing opportunities and an in-season commitment to direct an episode of an NBCUniversal scripted series. Next Generation Filmmaker Award: Dinh Thai, “Monday” Writer-director Dinh Thai won the festival’s inaugural Next Generation Filmmaker Award for his short film “Monday” about a conflicted young hustler who’s forced to confront the immorality of his occupation as he ‘code-switches’ through various cliques in his daily dealings throughout Los Angeles . https://vimeo.com/280413643 Critics’ Choice Award: “Masks” “Masks” was chosen as the most impactful short by a jury of 25 film and television critics and entertainment writers. This year’s jury included journalists from The Advocate, Brown Girl Magazine, Essence, CNN, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, Her Campus, The Hollywood Reporter, Huffington Post, Kore Asian Media, Latina, the Los Angeles Times, Moviemaker Magazine, NewNowNext, Screen International, Slate, The Teal Mango, TVGuide, USA Today, and Vanity Fair, among others. Los Angeles Film Critics Association President Claudia Puig presented the award to “Masks” writer-director Mahaliyah Ayla O. She received a DJI Phantom 4Series Quadcopter Drone with 4K Digital Camera and corresponding accessories. Audience Award: “Masks” The audience at the finale screening voted “Masks” as its favorite film amongst the six finalists. Writer-director Mahaliyah Ayla O received a $1,000 cash grant and a 4 TB external hard drive for her next project. The festival’s finalists and semifinalists also received an array of prizes including a limited run on COMCAST’S XFINITY to 29 million viewers across the world starting December 1 as well as the opportunity to stream their film on the NBCU SHORT FILM FESTIVAL Hulu Channel and EVERYBODY DIGITAL, a mobile app exclusively for short film content created by actor-writer Allen Maldonado (“The Last O.G.”). They also all received a copy of newly released Final Draft 11 on all platforms from the festival’s returning sponsor.
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IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK, GREEN BOOK Among 2018 Award Finalists for Twin Cities Film Fest
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If Beale Street Could Talk[/caption]
More than 30 finalists will compete for the top awards at the 2018 Twin Cities Film Fest, including among the top contenders for Best Feature Film are the new Barry Jenkins drama “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Peter Farrelly’s “Green Book,” which recently won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, and two lauded Minnesota productions: Barry Andersson’s “The Lumber Baron” and David Buchanan’s “Black.”
Other notable 2018 finalists include Joel Edgerton’s harrowing drama “Boy Erased” and Marielle Heller’s thriller “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”, both nominated for this year’s Indie Vision Award for breakthrough performance, recognizing Lucas Hedges and Melissa McCarthy respectively. Tina Brown and Dyana Winkler’s documentary “United Skates,” selected as this year’s closing night film, received two nominations — for Best Documentary and Indie Vision Special Achievement, recognizing Tina Brown, Matthew Peterson and Dyana Winkler’s electrifying cinematography.
Rounding out this year’s Best Feature Film nominees were Kendall Goldberg’s comedy “When Jeff Tried to Save the World,” which also received nods for director Kendall Goldberg and lead actor Jon Heder, and Ben Zuckert’s drama “Noah Wise,” which received a second nomination for musical score.
Actor Bill Murray is serving as a special guest judge for this year’s Comedy Shorts Award. Murray will be choosing his favorite comedic short from the three finalists listed below.
This year’s TCFF slate, which continues to screen in St. Louis Park through Saturday evening, is comprised of more than 130 short and feature films. In addition to staff and audience awards, this year’s Changemaker Award is being bestowed to Rachel Mairose, founder and executive director of the animal rescue nonprofit Secondhand Hounds.
2018 Twin Cities Film Fest FINALISTS
Best Feature Film: “If Beale Street Could Talk,” directed by Barry Jenkins; “Black,” directed by David Buchanan; “Green Book,” directed by Peter Farrelly; “The Lumber Baron,” directed by Barry Andersson; “Noah Wise,” directed by Ben Zuckert; “When Jeff Tried to Save the World,” directed by Kendall Goldberg. Best Documentary: “93Queen,” directed by Paula Eiselt; “Finding Hygge,” directed by Rocky Walls; “Fire on the Hill,” directed by Brett Fallentine; “Time for Ilhan,” directed by Norah Shapiro; “United Skates,” directed by Tina Brown and Dyana Winkler; “Who Will Write Our History?” directed by Roberta Grossman. Best Short Film: “The American Wake,” directed by Kevin Quinn; “12 Sips to Glory,” directed by Matt Hirst; “Claire Means Well,” directed by Aaron Gervich; “Lunch Ladies,” directed by J.M. Logan; “Two Black Coffees,” directed by Michael Discoll; “Sexpert Franzen,” directed by Kaitlyn Busbee. Indie Vision — Breakthrough Performance: Adam Christian Clark (“Newly Single”); Jon Heder (“When Jeff Tried to Save the World”); Lucas Hedges (“Boy Erased”); Melissa McCarthy (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”); Toussaint Morrison (“Black”); Sophia Mitri Schloss (“Sadie”). Indie Vision — Debut Director: Erik Bloomquist (“Long Lost”); Kendall Goldberg (“When Jeff Tried to Save the World”); Jenna Laurenzo (“Lez Bomb”); James Ojala (“Strange Nature”); Mark Taylor (“Saving Flora”); Kulap Vilaysack (“Origin Story”). Indie Vision — Breakthrough Achievement: Sam Boyd (screenplay for “In a Relationship”); Tina Brown, Matthew Peterson and Dyana Winkler (cinematography for “United Skates”); Roxanne Paukner (art direction for “The Lumber Baron”); Vanessa Powers (animation for “Witch”); C.J. Renner (director of “American Tender”); Ben Zuckert (composer of “Noah Wise”). Comedic Shorts Award: “12 Sips to Glory;” “Deep Dish Apocalypse;” “Lunch Ladies.” 2018 TCFF Changemaker Award: Rachel Mairose, founder and executive director of Secondhand Hounds.