Wang Bing[/caption]
The Film Society of Lincoln Center will honor Chinese documentarian Wang Bing with a three-film tribute titled Wang Bing: The Weight of Experience, November 16 to 18.
An intrepid chronicler of the human tribulations underlying modern China’s social and economic transformation, Wang Bing makes films that are epic in duration yet precise in scope. Forging intimate bonds with his subjects, he captures the plights of individuals and communities in factory towns and rural villages, and demands that we behold the political complexity and moral weight of their struggles.
FSLC will present the New York premiere of Wang’s latest, the eight-hour opus Dead Souls; a rare screening of his debut masterpiece, the three-part West of the Tracks (2002); and the first U.S. showing of the single-shot 15 Hours (2017), screening free in the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center Amphitheater. Wang will appear in person to discuss these films and his singular art.
FILMS & DESCRIPTIONS
All films screen digitally at the Walter Reade Theater (165 W. 65th St.) unless otherwise noted.
15 Hours
Wang Bing, Hong Kong, 2017, 900m
Mandarin with English subtitles
This documentary installation consists of a single, 15-hour take shot in a garment factory in China and captures the daily labor of its 300,000 migrant workers and the functioning of its 18,000 production units. Rigorous and hypnotic, 15 Hours marks Wang’s most radical meditation on the contemporary meaning of work and the state of labor conditions in present-day China. (Free Amphitheater screening)
Dead Souls
Wang Bing, France/Switzerland, 2018, 495m
Mandarin with English subtitles
Wang Bing’s latest is a monumental work of testimony, largely comprised of interviews with survivors of the Jiabiangou and Mingshui re-education camps of the late 1950s, which were set up in the Gobi Desert to imprison alleged reactionaries and anti-Communists a decade after China’s revolution in 1949. In making Dead Souls, Wang interviewed over 100 survivors from almost all of China’s provinces, recording traumatic memories, melancholic recollections and sober reflections on political repression in the country prior to the Cultural Revolution of the late 1960s. As with all of Wang’s work, Dead Souls is both an engrossing epic and a profound moral act in and of itself. A Grasshopper Film and Icarus release.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnB-4IP50Bk
West of the Tracks, Part 1: Rust
Wang Bing, China, 2003, 224m
Mandarin with English subtitles
The first part of Wang’s debut film—a nine-hour epic about the decline of an industrial Tiexi district in the city of Shenyang—follows a small group of workers employed in three state-owned factories. Wang captures the workers’ plight, caught between backbreaking labor in substandard conditions and periods of simmering anxiety as they idly wait for a shortage in raw materials to subside. West of the Tracks offers one of the most affecting and thorough looks at the effects of deindustrialization and the advent of the free market on China’s economy, and its first section is a powerful snapshot of the radically changing nature of work in the 21st century.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_z4BTaTRko
West of the Tracks, Part 2: Remnants
Wang Bing, China, 2003, 178m
Mandarin with English subtitles
The second part of West of the Tracks is devoted to the proletarian families of the state-owned housing block known as Rainbow Row, particularly their teenage children. Wang sensitively chronicles these families’ efforts to cope with the rapidly changing circumstances of their lives, from the shifting role of work within their everyday existence to their all-but-certain displacement in the face of factory closures throughout Tiexi. A rich, humanist portrait of the quotidian repercussions of fluctuations in the global economy, West of the Tracks’ second section is a captivating immersion in the daily lives of society’s most vulnerable elements and a stark reminder of all that is lost to the violent churning of capitalism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxRJPphDEd4
West of the Tracks, Part 3: Rails
Wang Bing, China, 2003, 132m
Mandarin with English subtitles
Narrowing its focus, the final part of West of the Tracks follows a coal-scavenger father and his son, who make a living collecting raw parts from the local railyards and selling them to Tiexi’s dwindling factories. Like that of the factory workers, their future has also been rendered anxiously uncertain by the deindustrialization of 21st-century capitalism, and Wang captures their resilience and resourcefulness amid a decaying local economy and the omnipresent threat of eviction from their home. As with its two preceding parts, the conclusion of West of the Tracks is a critical, intensely moving chronicle of survival in an age when the very concept of work is in crisis.
image via Twitter-
Film Society of Lincoln Center to Honor Chinese Documentarian Wang Bing with Tribute Screening
[caption id="attachment_32347" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Wang Bing[/caption]
The Film Society of Lincoln Center will honor Chinese documentarian Wang Bing with a three-film tribute titled Wang Bing: The Weight of Experience, November 16 to 18.
An intrepid chronicler of the human tribulations underlying modern China’s social and economic transformation, Wang Bing makes films that are epic in duration yet precise in scope. Forging intimate bonds with his subjects, he captures the plights of individuals and communities in factory towns and rural villages, and demands that we behold the political complexity and moral weight of their struggles.
FSLC will present the New York premiere of Wang’s latest, the eight-hour opus Dead Souls; a rare screening of his debut masterpiece, the three-part West of the Tracks (2002); and the first U.S. showing of the single-shot 15 Hours (2017), screening free in the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center Amphitheater. Wang will appear in person to discuss these films and his singular art.
FILMS & DESCRIPTIONS
All films screen digitally at the Walter Reade Theater (165 W. 65th St.) unless otherwise noted.
15 Hours
Wang Bing, Hong Kong, 2017, 900m
Mandarin with English subtitles
This documentary installation consists of a single, 15-hour take shot in a garment factory in China and captures the daily labor of its 300,000 migrant workers and the functioning of its 18,000 production units. Rigorous and hypnotic, 15 Hours marks Wang’s most radical meditation on the contemporary meaning of work and the state of labor conditions in present-day China. (Free Amphitheater screening)
Dead Souls
Wang Bing, France/Switzerland, 2018, 495m
Mandarin with English subtitles
Wang Bing’s latest is a monumental work of testimony, largely comprised of interviews with survivors of the Jiabiangou and Mingshui re-education camps of the late 1950s, which were set up in the Gobi Desert to imprison alleged reactionaries and anti-Communists a decade after China’s revolution in 1949. In making Dead Souls, Wang interviewed over 100 survivors from almost all of China’s provinces, recording traumatic memories, melancholic recollections and sober reflections on political repression in the country prior to the Cultural Revolution of the late 1960s. As with all of Wang’s work, Dead Souls is both an engrossing epic and a profound moral act in and of itself. A Grasshopper Film and Icarus release.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnB-4IP50Bk
West of the Tracks, Part 1: Rust
Wang Bing, China, 2003, 224m
Mandarin with English subtitles
The first part of Wang’s debut film—a nine-hour epic about the decline of an industrial Tiexi district in the city of Shenyang—follows a small group of workers employed in three state-owned factories. Wang captures the workers’ plight, caught between backbreaking labor in substandard conditions and periods of simmering anxiety as they idly wait for a shortage in raw materials to subside. West of the Tracks offers one of the most affecting and thorough looks at the effects of deindustrialization and the advent of the free market on China’s economy, and its first section is a powerful snapshot of the radically changing nature of work in the 21st century.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_z4BTaTRko
West of the Tracks, Part 2: Remnants
Wang Bing, China, 2003, 178m
Mandarin with English subtitles
The second part of West of the Tracks is devoted to the proletarian families of the state-owned housing block known as Rainbow Row, particularly their teenage children. Wang sensitively chronicles these families’ efforts to cope with the rapidly changing circumstances of their lives, from the shifting role of work within their everyday existence to their all-but-certain displacement in the face of factory closures throughout Tiexi. A rich, humanist portrait of the quotidian repercussions of fluctuations in the global economy, West of the Tracks’ second section is a captivating immersion in the daily lives of society’s most vulnerable elements and a stark reminder of all that is lost to the violent churning of capitalism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxRJPphDEd4
West of the Tracks, Part 3: Rails
Wang Bing, China, 2003, 132m
Mandarin with English subtitles
Narrowing its focus, the final part of West of the Tracks follows a coal-scavenger father and his son, who make a living collecting raw parts from the local railyards and selling them to Tiexi’s dwindling factories. Like that of the factory workers, their future has also been rendered anxiously uncertain by the deindustrialization of 21st-century capitalism, and Wang captures their resilience and resourcefulness amid a decaying local economy and the omnipresent threat of eviction from their home. As with its two preceding parts, the conclusion of West of the Tracks is a critical, intensely moving chronicle of survival in an age when the very concept of work is in crisis.
image via Twitter
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CANNIBAL CLUB, FAMILY and CAM Win Top Awards at 2018 Brooklyn Horror Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_32342" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Perry Blackshear, Best Director winner for THE RUSALKA – 2018 Brooklyn Horror Film Festival Awards[/caption]
Following what is considered the biggest year yet, the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival announced the 2018 award winners, with the top awards going to Cannibal Club, winner of the Best Film – Horror Feature, and Family, winner of the Best Film – Head Trip. CAM was voted the winner of the Audience Award.
“Watching our festival grow in ways we never could have imagined is such an exciting experience. Enormous thank you to the entire staff and volunteers, you are a dream-team and congratulations to our award winners. We’ll be back again next year bigger and better than ever before!” says festival director Justin Timms.
Horror Features:
Best Feature: Cannibal Club Best Director: Cannibal Club – Guto Parente Best Actor: Possum – Sean Harris Best Actress: Knife + Heart – Vanessa Paradis Best Cinematography: Possum – Kit Fraser Best Editing: Antrum – UNKNOWN (David and Mike to accept the award on the original filmmakers behalf) Best Score: Boo! – Jon Natchez Best Sound Design: Luz – Jonas Lux Special Jury Award: Possum – supporting actor Alun ArmstrongHead Trip:
Best Feature: Family Best Director: The Rusalka – Perry Blackshear Best Actor: The Rusalka – Evan Dumouchel Best Actress: CAM – Madeline Brewer Best Cinematography: Holiday – Nadim Carlsen Best Editing: The Rusalka – Perry Blackshear Best Sound Design: Starfish – Multiple Special Jury Award: Production Design and Set Decorator on CAMAudience Award:
Audience Award: CAMShorts:
Best Short Film: Acid Best Director: Helsinki Mansplaining Massacre – Ilja Rautsi Best Actor: Acid – Sofian Khammes Best Actress: The Sermon – Molly Casey Best Cinematography: Hair Wolf – Charlotte Hornsby Best Editing: Milk – Catherine Villeminot & Santiago Menghini Best Effects: Special Day – Ayush Jain Best Score: Le otto dita della morte – Frank Rideau & Orgasmo Sonore Best Sound Design: The Girl in the Snow – Luca Brügger & Dario Voirol Best Locations: Voyager Special Jury Award: Welcome to Bushwick
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BUCKJUMPING Documentary on Dance Culture in New Orleans Premiered at New Orleans Film Festival [Trailer]
[caption id="attachment_32339" align="aligncenter" width="874"]
Barbara Lacen-Keller, Lily Keber and Mayor Latoya Cantrell at World Premiere of Buckumping at the New Orleans Film Festival. Photo credit: Sydney Walker[/caption]
The City of New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell was in the audience on Sunday, October 21st at the Orpheum Theater to attend the 29th New Orleans Film Festival for the World Premiere of “Buckjumping“, a documentary about New Orleans dance culture and traditions, directed by Lily Keber.
The Orpheum was packed with 900 people in the audience and the film was well received with often claps and laughter in the auditorium. There was a second line after the screening which took hundreds of people from the Orpheum Theater to the after party at Ace Hotel.
Buckjumping is a feature-length documentary about dance traditions in New Orleans, observing both their contemporary expression and abiding significance. The film follows six communities as they demonstrate ownership of the streets of New Orleans, commemorate their dead, forge community and find spiritual transcendence.
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LIFE WITHOUT BASKETBALL, Documentary on Hijab-Wearing Basketball Player to Premiere at DOC NYC [Trailer]
Life Without Basketball is an intimate and revealing look at the life and career of Bliqis Abdul-Qaadir, a 5’2 pioneering, powerhouse basketball player from Springfield Massachusetts, who broke records and barriers on her way to becoming the first Division I basketball player to play wearing a hijab. When a controversial FIBA (International Basketball Federation) uniform rule ends her chances of playing professionally, she must reexamine her faith and identity as a Muslim-American.
Life Without Basketball documentary, presented by Pixela Pictura and directed by Tim O’Donnell and Jon Mercer, will have its World Premiere at DOC NYC, America’s Largest Documentary Festival, on Saturday, Nov 10, 2018.
Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir’s story began in Springfield, Massachusetts, the birthplace of basketball. Bilqis excelled as an honor student and on the basketball court from an early age. In January 2009, while a senior at New Leadership Charter School, she shattered the Massachusetts state scoring record (male or female) that was previously held by female hoops legend Rebecca Lobo, averaging over 40 points a game, and finishing with 3,070 career points.
Following her record-breaking high school career, Bilqis received a scholarship to play for the University of Memphis. She appeared in Sports Illustrated and on ESPN, was named the 2008-09 Gatorade Massachusetts Basketball Player of the Year, and was invited to the White House for a Ramadan dinner with President Barack Obama. In 2011, Bilqis was awarded the United States Basketball Writers Association “Most Courageous” award at the NCAA Women’s Final Four for being recognized as the first Muslim-American woman to play covered in NCAA history. After completing her final year of NCAA eligibility at Indiana State University, Bilqis began preparing to play internationally. When her agent discovered a little-known FIBA uniform rule which prohibited players from wearing religious head coverings, such as hijabs, turbans, and yarmulkes on the court, her professional career was abruptly halted. Unwilling to stray from her religious beliefs, Bilqis prepared for the toughest challenge of her life.
Life Without Basketball is an essential American story about hope and courage, and an exploration of identity and consequence. The film examines the personal impact of Bilqis’s encounter with this career ending rule and the complex world of being Muslim in America, where family tradition and popular perception are often at odds. Through persistent advocacy and dedication to youth empowerment, Bilqis’s story engages viewers in a new conversation about social and political dynamics at home and abroad.
Co-director Tim O’Donnell says “As a former Springfield (MA) high school art teacher and wrestling coach, I first heard about Bilqis’s story from a former student who played basketball with her. I was struck by the discriminatory nature of the FIBA rule, I teamed up with co-director Jon Mercer and we started filming right away, as Bilqis began her fight for the right to play. What originally was thought of as short production quickly turned into four years as the filmmakers were fully welcomed into Bilqis’s family and their private lives. Life Without Basketball continues Pixela Pictura’s mission of working within marginalized communities to share stories of overcoming personal challenge or conflict…”
Life Without Basketball will have its World Premiere at DOC NYC, America’s Largest Documentary Festival on the following date/times:
Saturday, November 10th at 5pm. Cinepolis Cinema
Life Without Basketball won best pitch at the 2015 DOC NYC, and materials were adapted into FIBA Allow Hijab, a short documentary co-created with Jon Mercer and distributed through CNN Films and UNINTERRUPTED. His Boston based company Pixela Pictura is currently in post-production on Finding My Dad’s Memories, a personal documentary filmed during his father’s recovery from a traumatic brain injury. His past work includes The Last Time I Heard True Silence and For The Love of Dogs. Tim was a former high school art teacher and wrestling coach.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OavrXZs9YgM
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GREEN BOOK and BIGGEST LITTLE FARM Win Audience Awards at Middleburg Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_31408" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Green Book[/caption]
After screening 29 films from 17 countries, Middleburg Film Festival announced today the 2018 Audience Award winners for Best Narrative Film and Best Documentary Film, concluding the annual four-day festival. This year’s narrative award went to GREEN BOOK, directed by Peter Farrelly. The award for best documentary went to BIGGEST LITTLE FARM, directed by John Chester.
In GREEN BOOK, Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen), a bouncer from an Italian-American neighborhood in the Bronx, is hired to drive Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali), a world-class Black pianist, on a concert tour from Manhattan to the Deep South. They must rely on “The Green Book” to guide them to the few establishments that were then safe for African-Americans. Confronted with racism, danger – as well as unexpected humanity and humor – they are forced to set aside differences to survive and thrive on the journey of a lifetime.
The inspiring documentary BIGGEST LITTLE FARM follows the director and his wife as they attempt to develop a sustainable farm by reawakening the ecosystem on 200 acres outside of Los Angeles.
“We want to congratulate our Audience Award winners GREEN BOOK and BIGGEST LITTLE FARM,” said Middleburg Film Festival Executive Director Susan Koch. “This year’s slate included fantastic films from all over the world that not only entertained and engaged our audiences, but also contributed to our understanding of the world and one another. It was especially fitting to close the festival with GREEN BOOK, a film that speaks to our common humanity.”
“We’d like to thank everyone who contributed to the success of this year’s festival,” said Middleburg Film Festival Founder Sheila C. Johnson. “From our filmmakers to our sponsors to our filmgoers, it was wonderful to witness the overwhelming enthusiasm for the films, conversations, and other special events. Here in the stunning setting of Middleburg, Virginia, the entire festival was abuzz with lively and thoughtful conversations generated by these terrific films.”
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HAPPY AS LAZZARO Wins Best Film at 54th Chicago International Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_30997" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
HAPPY AS LAZARRO[/caption]
The 54th Chicago International Film Festival hosted its Awards Ceremony and taking home the top prize, the Gold Hugo for Best Film, in the International Feature Film Competition, is director Alice Rohrwacher’s Happy as Lazzaro, a film the jury recognized for its poetic cinematic language and formal rigor. The Silver Hugo for Best Director was awarded to Jia Zhangke for Ash Is Purest White and the Silver Hugo Special Jury Prize was awarded to Joy, directed by Sudabeh Mortezai.
Director Ash Mayfair took home top honors in the New Directors Competition with a Gold Hugo for The Third Wife and the Silver Hugo was awarded to Joël Karekezi for The Mercy of the Jungle. The Roger Ebert Award, presented to an emerging filmmaker with a fresh and uncompromising vision, was awarded to directors Andréa Bescond and Eric Métayer for Little Tickles, and the Chicago Award was presented to Michael Paulucci for Hashtag Perfect Life. The Founder’s Award, given to one film across all categories that captures the spirit of the Chicago International Film Festival for its unique and innovative approach to the art of the moving image, was presented to Felix van Groeningen’s Beautiful Boy.
“Each year, the films presented in our competitions represent the excellence and diversity of filmmaking from around the world, and this year was no exception,” said Festival Artistic Director Mimi Plauché. “We are proud to honor these extraordinary films from around the world and here at home, saluting a diverse lineup of singular filmmakers and their work.”
Winners of 54th Chicago International Film Festival Awards
International Feature Film Competition
Gold Hugo: Best Film Happy as Lazzaro Italy/Switzerland/France/Germany Dir. Alice Rohrwacher Silver Hugo: Special Jury Prize Joy Austria Dir. Sudabeh Mortezai Silver Hugo: Best Director Jia Zhangke, Ash Is Purest White China/France Silver Hugo: Best Actor Jesper Christensen, Before the Frost Denmark Silver Hugo: Best Actress Zhao Tao, Ash is Purest White China/France Silver Plaque: Best Screenplay Stéphane Brizé and Olivier Gorce, At War France Silver Plaque: Best Cinematography David Gallego, Birds of Passage Colombia/Mexico/Denmark/France Silver Plaque: Best Art Direction Angélica Parea, Birds of Passage Colombia/Mexico/Denmark/FranceNew Directors Competition
Gold Hugo The Third Wife Vietnam Dir. Ash Mayfair Silver Hugo The Mercy of the Jungle Belgium/France/Rwanda Dir. Joël Karekezi Roger Ebert Award Little Tickles France Dirs. Andréa Bescond, Eric MétayerDocumentary Competition
Gold Hugo [Censored] Australia Dir. Sari Braithwaite Silver Hugo Ex-Shaman Brazil Dir. Luiz Bolognesi Silver Hugo The Raft Sweden Dir. Marcus LindeenOut-Look Competition
Gold Q-Hugo Retablo Peru/Germany/Norway Dir. Alvaro Delgado Aparicio Silver Q-Hugo Rafiki Kenya/South Africa/Germany/Netherlands/France/Norway/Lebanon Dir. Wanuri Kahiu Special Mention Hard Paint Brazil Dirs. Filipe Matzembacher, Marcio ReolonDocumentary Short Film Competition
Silver Hugo: Circle U.K./Canada/India Dir. Jayisha Patel Gold Plaque: Edgecombe U.S. Crystal Kayiza Special Mention: Black 14 U.S. Dir. Darius Clark MonroeAnimated Short Film Competition
Silver Hugo: Bloeistraat 11 The Netherlands Nienke Deutz Gold Plaque: Weekends U.S. Trevor Jimenez Special Mention: Opening Night U.S. Margaret BialisLive Action Short Film Competition
Gold Hugo Mamartuille Mexico Dir. Alejandro Saevich Silver Hugo Hair Wolf U.S. Dir. Mariama Diallo Special Mention Nyi ma lay Singapore Dir. Wei Liang ChiangChicago Award
Hashtag Perfect Life U.S. Dir. Michael PaulucciFounder’s Award
Beautiful Boy U.S. The Founder’s Award is personally presented by Festival Founder Michael Kutza to the single film across all categories he feels best embodies the spirit of curiosity, optimism and love of film that led to his starting the Chicago International Film Festival 55-years ago. “Beautiful Boy is an emotional drama which remains full of hope and humanity with two of the most stunning performances of the year,” remarked Kutza.
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JOY Wins Best Film at 62nd BFI London Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_32312" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
JOY directed by Sudabeh Mortezai[/caption]
Sudabeh Mortezai’s Joy, the award-winning film that that tackles the vicious cycle of sex trafficking in modern Europe is the winner of the Best Film Award at this year’s 62nd BFI London Film Festival. Other winners include Lukas Dhont’s feature debut, Girl won the First Feature Competition – Sutherland Award, and What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire? by Roberto Minervini won for Best Documentary.
Tricia Tuttle, BFI London Film Festival Artistic Director said: “The 2018 LFF Awards nominations demonstrate the vibrancy of global filmmaking and I’m delighted for the winning filmmakers who have triumphed at the 62nd BFI London Film Festival. After much jury deliberation, our wonderful juries have selected four extraordinary films which encourage dialogue and understanding around issues of race, class, gender and sexuality. I applaud Sudabeh, Lukas, Roberto and Charlie for their boldly distinctive work and hope that our awards can help focus even more attention from UK and global audiences on their truly deserving films. For the first time, we’ve also placed audiences at the very heart of the awards celebration and I’m thrilled to be presenting the winners to packed houses of adventurous filmgoers.”
62nd BFI London Film Festival Award Winners
JOY – Sudabeh Mortezai, Official Competition (Best Film Award) Winner of both the first ever Hearst Film Award 2018 for Best Female Direction and the 2018 Europa Cinemas Label at the 75th Venice International Film Festival, Sudabeh Mortezai (whose debut feature Macondo competed for the LFF’s Sutherland Award in 2014), presents a vital and hugely affecting drama that tackles the vicious cycle of sex trafficking in modern Europe. It follows the life of Joy, a young Nigerian woman, who works the streets to pay off debts to her exploiter Madame, while supporting her family in Nigeria and hoping for a better life for her young daughter in Vienna. GIRL – Lukas Dhont, First Feature Competition (Sutherland Award) Lukas Dhont’s (Headlong, Boys on Film X) feature debut was also bestowed with the coveted Camera d’Or and Queer Palm at the Cannes Film Festival, and has been selected as the Belgian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards. GIRL is the story of Lara, a transgender teenager who dreams of becoming a ballet dancer in this extraordinary coming-of-age story. Lukas Dhont’s richly empathetic and beautifully realised film sensitively explores Lara’s complex inner emotions, expressing so much even when she herself cannot quite find the words. WHAT YOU GONNA DO WHEN THE WORLD’S ON FIRE? – Roberto Minervini, Documentary Competition (Grierson Award) Selected for the main competition section of the 75th Venice International Film Festival, Roberto Minervini’s (The Other Side, Stop The Pounding Heart) thought-provoking and all-too-relevant documentary follows a Louisiana community during the summer of 2017, in the aftermath of a string of brutal police shootings of black men that sent shockwaves throughout the country. A meditation on the state of race in America, this film is an intimate portrait of the lives of those who struggle for justice, dignity, and survival in a country not on their side. LASTING MARKS – Charlie Lyne, Short Film Competition (Short Film Award) Charlie Lyne’s short documentary (Beyond Clueless, Fear Itself) charts the story of sixteen men put on trial for sadomasochism in the dying days of Thatcher’s Britain. Men with shared sexual desires, lucky to have found each other, yet unfortunate to be considered criminal for expressing them. Rungano Nyoni, Short Film Competition President stated: “In a strong and diverse Shorts selection, Charlie Lyne’s LASTING MARKS fascinated us all by resurrecting forgotten history. Uniquely presented as a slideshow of court documents and organised via an oral history by the prosecuted Roland Jaggard, Lyne recounts the story of a group of men put on trial for sadomasochism in the 1980s. A must-watch.“
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THE LORD EAGLE , MARKS OF MANA, ETERNITY Win at 2018 imagineNATIVE Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_32308" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Toyon Kyyl (The Lord Eagle)[/caption]
At the 19th Annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival’s Awards Presentation, the esteemed Sun Jury and Moon Jury selected the winners, awarding the top prizes – Best Dramatic Feature to Toyon Kyyl (The Lord Eagle) by Eduard Novikov, and Best Indigenous Language Production to Wiñaypacha (Eternity) by Oscar Catacora. The Alanis Obomsawin Award for Best Documentary Work Long Format went to Marks of Mana by Lisa Taouma.
Throughout the Festival, imagineNATIVE also presented awards at the Industry Award Reception and the Bullseye Music Contest.
2018 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival Award Winners
Best Dramatic Feature Toyon Kyyl (The Lord Eagle) by Eduard Novikov $2000 cash award sponsored by Bellmedia Best Indigenous Language Production Wiñaypacha (Eternity) by Oscar Catacora $1000 cash award sponsored by Indigenous Media Initiatives The Kent Monkman Award for Best Experimental Work Eatnanvuloš Lottit (Birds in the Earth) by Marja Helander $500 cash award sponsored by imagineNATIVE Best Audio Work Trans Mountain Pipeline, B.C. Wolf Cull and Dog Sled Massacre by Crystal Favel $500 cash award sponsored by imagineNATIVE Best Digital Media Work Aeasi by Amie Batalibasi $500 cash award sponsored by Unifor Best Interactive Work Biidaaban: First Dawn by Lisa Jackson $500 cash award sponsored by imagineNATIVE The Jane Glassco Award for Emerging Talent ANORI (Wind) by Pipaluk Kreutzmann Jorgensen $2000 cash award sponsored by The CJ Foundation The Ellen Monaque Award for Best Youth Work A World of Our Own by Morningstar Derosier $500 cash award sponsored by RBC & Humber College Aboriginal Resource Centre The Cynthia Lickers-Sage Award for Best Short Work Biidaaban (The Dawn Comes) by Amanda Strong $1000 cash award sponsored by VTape Best Documentary Work Short Format FAST HORSE by Alexandra Lazarowich $1000 cash award sponsored by TVO The Alanis Obomsawin Award for Best Documentary Work Long Format Marks of Mana by Lisa Taouma $2000 cash award sponsored by CBC Docs The August Schellenberg Award of Excellence Michael Greyeyes $1500 cash award sponsored in part by ACTRA National, and generous individual donations. Sun Jury Prize Sgaawaay K’uuna (Edge of the Knife) by Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown Moon Jury Prize My Friend Michael Jones by Ian Leaupepe, Samson Rambo APTN/imagineNATIVE Web Series Pitch Ryan Cooper and Adeline Bird $30,000 in cash and $20,000 of in-kind prizing and mentorship presented by APTN and supported by Technicolor, Innovate by Day, William F White International, TIFF, WIFT-T, T.O. Webfest and new supporters Bedtracks and Bizable Media NFB/imagineNATIVE Digital and Interactive Prize Gail Maurice The Rising Director Mentorship Award Alexandra Lazarowich Created in partnership with Laura J. Milliken of Big Soul Productions and with the support of the CMPA The Rising Producer Mentorship Award Darcy Waite Created with the support of the DGC Bullseye Music Prize Indigo $10,000 cash award sponsored by imagineNATIVE and Slaight Music
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Children’s and Youth Program of 2018 Nordic Film Days Lübeck to Showcase 36 Films
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Paradise 89 by Madara Dislere[/caption]
This year’s Children’s and Youth program at the 2018 Nordic Film Days Lübeck comprises 36 films, including 16 feature narratives and 20 shorts. The 11 German and international premieres among the features alone are impressive proof of the festival’s importance to the children and youth film industry.
“The selection of films for the Children’s section of the has rarely been as serious, and yet so diverse and entertaining as it is this year”, says long-term section curator Franziska Kremser-Klinkertz. Numerous filmmakers have taken on serious subjects this year, tackling them in ways that make them accessible and tangible to young people. One example is the political-historical film “Paradise ‘89” (LV/GER 2018). Set in the summer of 1989, amid sea changes in Europe and Latvia’s pursuit of independence, it depicts events from the children’s point of view, and is a worthy complement to the NFL focus on the Baltic states this year. “Summer Children” (ICE/NOR 2017) also has an historical perspective, addressing a dark chapter in Iceland’s post-war history.From football to super-heroes with environmental leanings, all the way to science-fiction for kids, the palette of films covers almost everything that children’s films have to offer. Sometimes in animated form, and sometimes with formidable performances by young actors.
This year’s films for young adults are authentic and stirring. In “Money Problem” (SWE 2017), two girls think having enough will solve all their problems. It’s a dramatic journey as they learn just how wrong they are. This unconventional film by Swedish director Nikeisha Andersson is as much a milieu study as it is an absorbing story about friendship. “The Comet” (SWE 2017) and “Adam” (GER/ICE/US/MEX 2018), meanwhile, are proof that touching movies can be made on small budgets and with limited production facilities.
Variety is also on hand in the short film programs, targeting an assortment of age groups. “Shorts for Shorties” features films for children from four to six years old. The films in the program “Stories of Meetings and Friendship” have been selected for children 10+, while the shorts for the 14+ age group deal with “Love, Death, and Togetherness”.
Two prizes are awarded in the Children’s and Youth film section. The recipient of the Children’s and Youth Film Prize of the Gemeinnützigen Sparkassenstiftung is chosen from among all features in the section. This year’s jury includes director Thomas Heinemann (“Lola on the Pea”), up-and-coming actor Tristan Göbel (“Goodbye Berlin”, “Bright Nights”), and Marjo Kovanen, director of the Finnish school cinema association.
60th Nordische Filmtage Lübeck Feature Films Children’s and Youth program
Adam / Adam / Adam Deutschland / Island / USA / Mexiko / 2018 / 72 Min. Director(s): Maria Solrun Drug abuse landed Adam’s mother in an institution. Now he is responsible – for her and for himself. A drama with strong performances and a driving techno beat. Alone in Space / Ensamma i Rymden / Allein im All Schweden / 2018 / 84 Min. Director(s): Ted Kjellsson The Earth of the future is uninhabitable. So Gladys and her brother Keaton travel to a distant planet. The problem is, they are alone in space. Or are they? Captain Morten and the Spider Queen / Morten Lollide laeval / Käpt’n Morten und die Spinnenkönigin Estland / Irland / Belgien / Großbritannien / 2018 / 78 Min. Director(s): Kaspar Jancis Morten wants to be a ship’s captain, just like his father. His dream is fulfilled when a scientist shrinks the young boy down to the size of an insect. Land of Glass / Landet af glas / Land aus Glas Dänemark / 2018 / 87 Min. Director(s): Marie Rønn, Jeppe Vig Find More than just wolves lurk in the foggy Danish forests. A 13-year-old boy makes a supernatural discovery in this modern mystery-adventure story. Money Problem / Para Knas / Abgebrannt Schweden / 2017 / 78 Min. Director(s): Nikeisha Andersson Money here, money there – everybody needs dough. But in this film, two friends from the outskirts of Stockholm learn the hard way what really counts in the end. Monky / Monky / Monky Schweden / 2017 / 87 Min. Director(s): Maria Blom A boisterous film about a difficult subject – a monkey turns the life of a family in mourning upside down and, in the process, puts them back on the right path. Paradise ’89 / Paradīze ’89 / Paradies ’89 Lettland / Deutschland / 2018 / 90 Min. Director(s): Madara Dišlere Latvia in the summer of 1989: Four girls enjoy the liberty of the countryside. But there are major changes in the air, both private and political. Summer Children / Sumarbörn / Sommerkinder Island / Norwegen / 2017 / 84 Min. Director(s): Gu∂rún Ragnarsdóttir After their parents separate, Eydís and Kári are sent to a care home. In the film’s magical images, real hardship meets the power of children’s imagination. Super Furball / Supermarsu / Supermeerschweinchen Finnland / 2018 / 85 Min. Director(s): Joona Tena Emilia’s boring life comes to an abrupt end when she’s bitten by a guinea pig. Suddenly she has super powers – not to mention a set of killer incisors! Team Albert / Team Albert / Team Albert Dänemark / 2018 / 90 Min. Director(s): Frederik Nørgaard Law? An MBA? No, Albert’s career plan is YouTube. In this coming-of-age comedy, Danish Internet star Albert Dyrlund plays the lead – with a lot of self-mockery. The Ash Lad: In the Hall of the Mountain King / Askeladden – I Dovregubbens hall / Espen und die Legende vom Bergkönig Norwegen / Irland / Tschechien / 2017 / 100 Min. Director(s): Mikkel Brænne Sandemose A very special kind of legendary hero – in order to free a princess from the claws of a giant troll, inept Espen Ash Lad has to take his courage in hand. The Comet / Kometen / Der Komet Norwegen / 2017 / 72 Min. Director(s): Bård Røssevold Gustav is searching for his father, who disappeared twelve years ago as a comet was passing Earth. Was he really kidnapped by extra-terrestrials? The Falcons / Víti í Vestmannaeyjum / Die Falken – alle für einen Island / Schweden / 2018 / 95 Min. Director(s): Bragi _ór Hinriksson Set on an island off Iceland’s coast, when 10-year-old Jon’s team enters a children’s football tournament, he learns about fairness and friendship. The Heart / Hjärtat / Das Herz Schweden / 2018 / 100 Min. Director(s): Fanni Metelius Mika and Tesfay fall in love, move in together, drift apart, and find each other again. They realize more and more how very different they are from each other. The War Game / Krig / Kriegsspiel Schweden / 2017 / 84 Min. Director(s): Goran Kapetanović Eleven-year-old Malte gets caught between two children’s gangs. A talented military strategist, he has no problem making sure the situation escalates. Vitello / Vitello / Vitello Dänemark / 2018 / 72 Min. Director(s): Dorte Bengtson Monster attacks, kidnapping kitties, a day lived in reverse. Vitello is a rascal with a million ideas. But most of all, he wants to find out who his father is.
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HORIZONTI, THE SILENCE OF OTHERS Win at 2018 Santa Fe Independent Film Festival
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Horizon (Horizonti)[/caption]
The Santa Fe Independent Film Festival’s 10th Anniversary winners were honored today, with Horizonti directed by Tinatin Kajrishvili winning Best Narrative Film, and The Silence of Others directed by Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar wining Best Documentary.
SFIFF also honored animator and director Bill Plympton with the Lifetime Achievement Award and, a Visionary Award for documenteur Alexandria Bombach.
2018 Santa Fe Independent Film Festival Award Winners
Lifetime Achievement Bill Plympton Visionary Award Alexandria Bombach Best Narrative Horizonti directed by Tinatin Kajrishvili Best Documentary The Silence of Others directed by Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar Best New Mexico Documentary Hiro’s Table directed by Lynn Hamrick Best New Mexico Feature I Am That directed by Joy Marzec Best New Mexico Short Falling directed by Ewen Wright Best U.S. Narrative Short One Small Step directed by Aqsa Altaf Best Int’l Narrative Short Gaze directed by Farnoosh Samadi Best Documentary Short Period. End of Sentence directed by Rayka Zehtabchi Best Animated Short Weekends directed by Trevor Jimenez Best Experimental Short My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes directed by Charlie Tyrell
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Namrata Singh Gujral’s 5 WEDDINGS Opens in Theaters on October 26th [Trailer]
“5 Weddings,” by Indian female director Namrata Singh Gujral follows an American journalist who travels to “heartland India” to cover the five main ceremonies at Indian weddings, only to end up fascinated with the transgender dancers (Hijras) who typically dance at these colorful celebrations. Complications arise when she falls in love with her shadow cop whose instructions are to keep her story censored.
The film will open theatrically around the globe on October 26th, 2018 beginning in the USA with Los Angeles, CA, New York, NY, Chicago, IL and Cambridge, MA, among others in the U.S., and internationally (in 15 countries and multiple languages) including: Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Russia, Poland, Indie, Pakistan,Singapore, China, Australia, New Zealand, Fiki, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and the Ivory Coast, with many more locations to follow after this worldwide launch date.
“5 Weddings” is described as an enthralling narrative of cultural clashes, transgender tangles and lost love along the heartfelt journey of life, symbolized by the universal ups and downs of a wedding celebration. “5 Weddings” is a feature film with comedy, drama and romance that showcases the vibrant ceremonies at India’s weddings, with a very important sub plot that features Hijras, a sect of transgender dancers who have been an integral part of Indian wedding tradition for centuries. Gujral, long ahead of the trans-casting debate that now features prominently in Hollywood, always knew she wanted to cast authentically for a community that has so often been swept aside and underserved in every culture —casting trans actors as trans characters in India.
In the vein of “The 100 Foot Journey,” “Monsoon Wedding” and “Bride and Prejudice,” this film is helmed by Namrata Singh Gujral (“1 a Minute”), an Indian American filmmaker with a penchant for cause projects. Boasting a universally acclaimed cast with Rajkummar Rao (India’s official entry to Academy Awards 2018 “Newton”), Nargis Fakhri (Bollywood blockbuster “Rockstar”), Oscar nominee Candy Clark (“American Graffiti”) and Golden Globe nominee Bo Derek (“10″), “5 Weddings” opens in cinemas worldwide on September 21st, 2018. Other Hollywood star cast includes Broadway star Anneliese van der Pol (“Beauty and The Beast”), Mariana Paola Vicente (“The Lucky Man,” “Miss Universe 2010”), Robert Palmer Watkins (“General Hospital”), Dawn Richard (“Danity Kane”) and Rupak Ginn (“Royal Pains”). Also starring from India are Suvinder Vicky (“Chauthi Koot” Un Certain Regard Cannes 2015), Shiwani Saini (“Sarbjit”), Saru Maini (“Dangerous Husn”) and Diljott (“Teshan”).
This film marks second Hollywood projects for both Fakhri and Rao. Fakhri was earlier seen in the Melissa McCarthy film “Spy” and Rao will be seen in the Freida Pinto film “Love Sonia.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN7AeJ-mEIA
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DOGMAN Wins Top Awards at 2018 Cape Town International Film Festival
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DOGMAN[/caption]
The Italian film, Dogman is the overall winner of this year’s 2018 Cape Town International Film Market and Festival winning three awards including the most coveted award, The Grand Prix, as well as awards for Best Director Award and Best Actor. The film competed at this past year’s Cannes Film Festival where Marcello Fonte also won for Best Actor.
The CTIFMF’s Opening Film, and South Africa’s official official submission for the Oscar’s, Sew the Winter to My Skin, directed by Jahmil X. T Qubeka, won the Award for Best South African Feature Film, whilst Rehad Desai’s Everything Must Fall won for Best South African Documentary, and the Best South African Short Film was won by Rea Moeti’s Mma Moeketsi.
South African film Kanarie also took home the award for Best LGBTQ Film, while Kenyan Director of Supa Modo, Likarion Wainaina, won the award for Best New Director in the New Voices category and was described by the jury as “a true new voice of contemporary cinema. The director succeeds in bringing its audience into the shoes of a kid, showing us the world through her eyes, without ever trivialising nor overdramatizing a difficult topic such as a child’s illness. The director shows an uncommon capacity of leading his actors and keeping a difficult balance between drama, comedy and fairy tale.”
The LGBTQ category jury had this to say of Kanarie: “For skillfully and seemingly effortlessly weaving together multiple compelling characters, along with issues of nationalism, religion and sexuality, we award the prize for Best LGBTQ Film to Christiaan Olwagen’s Kanarie. This well-paced and consistently poignant story of a teenage boy in 1980s South Africa, who joins the national defense force choir, humorously portrays the struggle of finding oneself despite overbearing social pressure. With a stunning central performance, innovative visuals and a sensitive balance between comedy and drama, the film heralds the arrival of a strong new voice on the local cinema landscape.”
Additionally, the CTIFMF Market announced the winners of the Works in Progress and Screenwriters Guild Pitch competition. The jury made a unanimous decision to support Buddha in Africa by Nicole Shafer with the highest award: “For its unique subject and its meticulous patient development, for the crossroad of important themes, and for the different worlds that have overlapped and met in tangible captivating characters…the jury chose to give the combined two prizes to the very promising Malawi set film project Buddha in Africa by Nicole Shafer.”
“For the subtle way of dealing with witchcraft issues and allowing us, through the eyes of a young character, to get deep into a touching Kenyan grandma and her family, the Jury awarded 2 weeks of Sound Design by Raphsody and 2 Weeks of Final Sound Mix by The Moving Billboard Picture Company to The Letter by Maia Lekow and Chris King.”
Rene van Royen is a local voice, and as described by the jury, Toorbos is “an accomplished and assured feature debut from Rene Van Rooyen. While a period setting the skill and voice of this filmmaker is tremendous and undeniably fresh. We are guided through the magic and the wonder of the forest which is beautifully and thoughtfully captured and brought to life through our strong central female character.”
Kenya’s Mugambi Nthiga was a cowriter on 2 of the latest Kenyan festival hits, Kathi Kathi and SUPAMODO, which screened as part of the 2018 Festival Program. For its engaging characters and its unexpected and clever use of genre elements to tackle a problem too often ignored in African societies that is post traumatic stress disorder, the jury gives the subtitling and credits award to Lusala.
From Madagascar, a place in need of the basics, Madagascar. Bolomboto is an immersion documentary on the daily life of young people detained in Madagascar’s prison. It is an important and political film that offers a unique perspective on the Malagasy youth thanks to a strong cinematic vision.” The producer is invited to the Festival de Amien in France in November to further advance the project. They also will receive Publicity mentorship from Versveld Associates and a 50 000 Rand cash award from Hollard Film Guarantors.
Meg Rickards and Tracey Farren with project Snake won WGSA top award and Cate Wood Hunter was runner up with Family Roots.
Winners of 2018 Cape Town International Film Market and Festival Awards
Best South African Short Film Rea Moeti Mma Moeketsi SPECIAL MENTION Buks Rossouw Cast Iron can’t be welded Best International Short Film Aldo Sotelo Lázaro Stardust
Best Documentary Feature
Leonard Retel Helmrich
The Long Season
Best South African Documentary
Rehad Desai
Everything must Fall
Best Editing
Lee Chatametikool
Chonlasit Upanigkit
Malila the Farewell Flower
Best Cinematography
Mong-Hong Chung
The Great Buddha+
Best Script
Alec Figuracion
The Eternity Between Seconds
Best Actress
Ariane Ascaride
Isabella
Best Actor
Marcello Fonte
DogMan
Best South African Feature Film
Jahmil X.T. Qubeka
Sew The Winter To My Skin
Best LGBTQ Film
Christiaan Olwagen
Kanarie
SPECIAL MENTION
Alvaro Delgado Aparicio
Retablo
Best New Director
Likarion Wainaina
Supa Modo
Best Asian Film
Anucha Boonyawatana
Malila the Farewell Flower
Best Director
Mateo Garone
Dogman
Grand Prix
Matteo Garone
Dogman