Forrest Goodluck, Sasha Lane and Chloë Grace Moretz appear in The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Desiree Akhavan.Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Jeong Park.[/caption] The new trailer debuted for the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winning film The Miseducation of Cameron Post directed by Desiree Akhavan, and starring Chloë Grace Moretz, John Gallagher Jr., Sasha Lane, Forrest Goodluck and Jennifer Ehle. FilmRise will release The Miseducation of Cameron Post in New York on August 3rd and Los Angeles on August 10th Based on the celebrated novel by Emily M. Danforth, The Miseducation of Cameron Post follows the titular character (Chloë Grace Moretz) as she is sent to a gay conversion therapy center after getting caught having sex with the prom queen. Run by the strict Dr. Lydia Marsh (Jennifer Ehle) and her brother, Reverend Rick (John Gallagher Jr.) — himself an example of how those in the program can be “cured” — the center is populated by teens “struggling with same-sex attraction.” In the face of outlandish discipline, dubious methods, and earnest Christian rock songs, Cameron forms an unlikely gay community, including the amputee stoner Jane (Sasha Lane) and the Lakota Two-Spirit, Adam (Forrest Goodluck). In creating a family on her own terms, she learns what it means to empower herself and have confidence in her identity.
Durban filmmaker Michael Cross’ award-winning documentary film, “
He was a composer, musician, bandleader and the voice and conscience of a generation of white South Africans. Cross’ film examines his extraordinary journey and his multiple musical incarnations.
Phillips’ Afrikaans alter ego Bernoldus Niemand’s 1983 single, “Hou My Vas Korporaal” (“Hold Me Tightly, Corporal”) became an anthem of the End Conscription Campaign and spawned “alternative” Afrikaans rock music and the Voëlvry movement.
In 1985, with his beloved Cherry Faced Lurchers, he recorded the gut-wrenching “Shot Down” that addressed both white privilege and the violence of the apartheid state.
James Phillips’ legacy is that of one of this country’s most aware, articulate and passionate artists. He was a genius, a satirist, a poet and probably one of the most accomplished songwriters that South Africa has ever produced.
“The Fun’s Not Over” tells James’ story in his own words and through the voices of journalists like Max du Preez, satirists Zapiro and Pieter Dirk Uys, his musical collaborators and label-mates like Koos Kombuis and Vusi Mahlasela, contemporary artists like Jack Parow and his friends and family.
[caption id="attachment_30690" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Filmmaker Michael Cross of “The Fun’s Not Over – The James Phillips Story”[/caption]
“The Fun’s Not Over – The James Phillips Story” will screen in competition, for Best South African Documentary Feature at the 39th Durban International Film Festival on Saturday July 21, 2018 at Musgrave 3 at 20:00 and Wednesday July 25, 2018 at Musgrave 3 at 18:00.
I FEEL GOOD by Benoît Delépine, Gustave Kervern[/caption]
The official program of the 71st edition of the Locarno Festival was announced at a press conference today, Wednesday July 11, 2018. The line-up for the official juries was also announced as were tributes to Wolf-Eckart Bühler, Pierre Rissient, Francis Reusser and Claude Lanzmann. The 71st Locarno Festival will take place from August 1 to 11, 2018.
In the program introduction, Carlo Chatrian, Artistic director, notes “This year’s program also includes films that, instead of portraying the conflicts raging around the world, concentrate on private stories, while allowing the present to resonate like the echoes of a thunderstorm. Examples are Yara by Abbas Fahdel, who following his epic Homeland (Iraq Year Zero) has left the war zone to plunge into the Lebanese countryside; or the portrait which Ethan Hawke – Excellence Award 2018 – dedicates in the eponymous film to the musician BLAZE, conflicted but charming hero, a rebel against the system and a profoundly free spirit, fated for a tragic end. These are just two films that create a bond between the self and the world, between the details of an individual life and the universal truths revealed by their story. Another of their common traits is also found in many other titles: the courage shown by their protagonists when faced with an insurmountable obstacle. Perhaps that’s why these and so many other films this year simply take a name for their title (Diane, Alice T., M., Menocchio, Sibel, Ray & Liz, Siyabonga). It may well be a sign of renewed trust in film as an art form capable of telling the stories of men and women without filtering them through symbolism, proof that the human face may be back as the be-all and end-all of a film. If so, I should like to present this year’s program as a single, magnificent and very long portrait gallery of unique faces, disarming even when well aware of the artfulness of their fiction. From Stan Laurel to the young Israeli Menahem and his disturbing statements in M.; from Mae West’s opulence to the sublime beauty of Julio Bressane’s muse in Sedução da Carne; from the discreet charm of Ingrid Bergman to the appeal of Noée Abita in Genèse; from the madcap elegance of Irene Dunne to the disenchanted appeal of Mary Kay Place in Diane.”
Shirkers[/caption]
The North Bend Film Festival is right around the corner and yesterday announced the full line-up for its inaugural edition, including Cinema Vista and Something Strange feature and short film programs. In addition to the films, the weekend of August 23rd to the 26th will be rich with events that embrace the town of North Bend, once the original shooting location for David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, such as a special Twin Peaks Tour, a scenic mountainside hike (offering attendees a rare chance for excursion!), and ‘Damn Fine Coffee’ mixers to kick off the mornings just right.
Cinema Vista offers a spectrum of vanguard cinema with centerpiece screening SHIRKERS and retro screening of the iconic Pacific Northwest queer feature MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO.
Centerpiece Film
Shirkers (Washington Premiere)
USA | 2018 | 96 Min | Dir. Sandi Tan
Cinema-loving teenager Sandi Tan and two friends had a big idea in 1992: They’d shoot their own super-low-budget assassin thriller on their native streets of Singapore, along with help from an American mentor named Georges. Then, one day, Georges disappeared along with all of their work. Twenty-five years later, Tan has turned her investigation into Georges’ motives, using newly recovered footage and firsthand accounts, into one of 2018’s best documentaries, an autobiography turned love letter to filmmaking dreams, especially those that have gone unfulfilled.
My Name is Myeisha
USA | 2018 | 84 Min | Dir. Gus Krieger
A bold and visionary musical unlike anything on screen today, Gus Krieger’s MY NAME IS MYEISHA blends hip-hop, beat-boxing, dance and spoken word lyricism to tell the heartbreaking story of a teenage girl killed by police while she sat unconscious in a locked car. It’s essential filmmaking in a dynamic and energetic combination of storytelling methods precisely executed from beginning to end.
Sarah Plays A Werewolf (West Coast Premiere)
Switzerland/Germany | 2017 | 86 Min | Dir. Katharina Wyss
Off the stage, 17-year-old Sarah drifts through her community in anonymity. But on her high school’s theater’s stage? The shy girl unleashes torrents of fiery passion, stemming from personal secrets mostly involving her unpleasant home life. As Sarah falls deeper into her performances, though, her loneliness intensifies, causing the troubled teenager to lose herself in multiple ways. Drenched in an overriding sense of despair, Swiss filmmaker Katharina Wyss’ devastating feature-length debut is a coming-of-age stunner.
My Own Private Idaho (1991)
USA | 1991 | 104 Min | Dir. Gus Van Sant
Set in the 1990’s runaway-dominated streets of the Pacific Northwest and loosely based on Shakespeare’s Henry IV, this seminal film by Gus Van Sant (GOOD WILL HUNTING, MILK) tells the tale of a narcoleptic street kid named Mike (River Phoenix) who befriends a fellow hustler (Keanu Reeves) on his journey to find his estranged mother. Film presented in collaboration with Three Dollar Bill Cinema
Closing Night Film
Anna and the Apocalypse (West Coast Premiere)
United Kingdom | 2018 | 92 Min | Dir. John McPhail
For Anna and her friends, high school graduation can’t come soon enough. Unfortunately for them, they must face a horde of yuletide undead creatures before passing on to adulthood. A zombie apocalypse-Christmas-comedy-musical (yes, you read that right), “Anna” is a salute to a genre you didn’t think you needed, while keeping you on the edge of your seat with its hilarity and heart.
Piercing (Pacific Northwest Premiere)
USA | 2018 | 81 Min | Dir. Nicolas Pesce
After kissing his wife and baby goodbye for a seemingly normal business trip, Reed (Christopher Abbott) checks himself into a hotel room to accomplish something he’s always dreamed of: the perfect murder. As his sinister plans unfold, he soon realizes he might be in over his head with a mysteriously unhinged call girl named Jackie (Mia Wasikowska).
Relaxer (Washington Premiere)
USA | 2018 | 91 Minutes | Dir. Joel Potrykus
Joel Potrykus’ latest film follows an obsessive couch potato slacker taking on his most epic challenge yet: to beat the impossible final level of PAC-MAN without ever leaving the couch. His desperate quest is fraught with gross-out humor and darkly comedic perils as all sense of time is lost and takes a turn towards downright mania in a satisfyingly exhilarating conclusion.
Don’t Leave Home (Pacific Northwest Premiere)
USA | 2018 | 86 Min | Dir. Michael Tully
For her latest exhibition, American artist Melanie Thomas is focused on an old Irish myth surrounding Father Alistair Burke, whose portrait of an 8-year-old Siobhan led to the little girl’s unexplained disappearance. After receiving an invite from the enigmatic Burke to visit him in Ireland, Melanie finds that reality and myth aren’t mutually exclusive. Drenched in classical Euro-horror dread and other strange flourishes, writer-director Michael Tully’s genre hybrid is a delightfully unnerving head trip. Director Michael Tully in attendance. Screening presented by Snoqualmie Valley Real Estate.
Time Share (Washington Premiere)
Mexico/Netherlands | 2018 | 96 Minutes | Dir. Sebastian Hoffman
A father’s holiday from Hell begins when a clerical mix-up forces his family to share their vacation home with another family. But lurking beneath the paradise resort is a shady organization with designs far worse than double bookings. Director Sebastian Hoffman’s psychological thriller expertly juxtaposes terror and surrealist comedy through weaving stories of the family man and a beaten down employee setting out for revenge from within. Screening presented by Snoqualmie Valley Real Estate.
Billy (North American Premiere)
Netherlands | 2018 | 90 Min | Dir. Theo Maassen
Ventriloquist Gerard de Groot and his puppet Billy have been inseparable for the last ten years. Until the moment they fall in love with different women and Gerard decides to take a break from his wild dummy. Easier said than done. Theo Maassen’s promising debut is a sharp tragic comedy mixing raunchy humor and deep thoughts about a career as an artist.
The Merger[/caption]
The Melbourne International Film Festival (
McQueen[/caption]
This programming strand features: McQueen, director Ian Bonhôte’s ode to one of fashion’s most storied designers; Yellow is Forbidden, where veteran documentarian Pietra Brettkelly tells the haute couture Cinderella story of China’s Guo Pei – the designer behind the famed yellow dress worn by Rihanna at the 2015 Met Gala; and Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist – an observational look at the orange-haired punk icon who rewrote the rules for the generation of designers who followed in her footsteps. Retrospective titles include: Funny Face, the film that saw Audrey Hepburn join forces with Givenchy; Berry Gordy’s rarely screened Mahogany, where Diana Ross plays an aspiring fashion designer torn between activism and a career of luxury; and Peter Weir’s inimitable Australian classic, Picnic at Hanging Rock.
African Film Rediscovered is a retrospective program of recently restored and newly recovered classic African films, showcasing films from three decades and ten countries to celebrate the diversity and unique perspective of African cinema.
Featuring Chronicle of the Years of Embers, the stirring, 1975 Palme d’Or winner by Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina (Algeria); Selma Baccar’s pioneering feminist essay-film, Fatma 75 (Tunisia); and Shadi Abdel Salam’s haunting classic The Night of Counting the Years (Egypt). African Film Rediscovered is an in-depth look at the continent’s most seminal filmmaking.
The Italo-Crime retrospective takes a focused look at Eurocrime and poliziotteschi – a genre of Italian crime thrillers from the 60s and 70s.
Considered a defining moment in the poliziotteschi genre, the retrospective kicks off with The Violent Four, a down and dirty cinema vérité-inspired thriller set in the seedy Milan underworld. Other films include: Confessions of a Police Captain, an anti-buddy cop classic that quite literally cuts the red tape and leaves it full of bullet holes; Milan Caliber 9, one of Quentin Tarantino’s greatest inspirations; and the Oscar-winning Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion – a Kafkaesque collision of fascist noir and absurdist satire that trails the powerful police chief hunting down a vicious killer: himself.
Spearheaded by this year’s Palme d’Or winning Australian film, All These Creatures, MIFF Shorts will feature 90 films, as well as a specially curated (by the Harvard Film Archive) program of the intimate diary films of Bostonian artist, Anne Charlotte Robertson. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance, director Álvaro Gago delivers Matria; Israel’s Miki Polonski offers Shmama, the story of a mother and her daughter trapped in their own relationship; Australian Kerinne Jenkins brings the festival Cattle, a narrative of unspoken fears and inexplicable occurrences; and Iranian director Mojtaba Mousavi presents Mr. Deer – the tale of a deer attempting to rekindle the humanity of his fellow train passengers.
In its largest iteration to date, the 2018 program has left no stone unturned. Presenting its core international and local selections alongside their regular programming strands – Experimentations, Music on Film, Night Shift, Retrospectives, Special Events and Talks – MIFF 2018 will beckon audiences everywhere to come and see another side of film.
The Birth of the Camera Phone – Jonathan Ignatius Green[/caption]
Robert D. Krzykowski’s 
Vivica A. Fox in Chocolate City[/caption]
The independent romance/drama film ‘Kinky’, starring Vivica A. Fox is set to bow on October 12th nationwide via Patriot Releasing. ‘Kinky’, written and directed by Jean Claude Lamarre (Chocolate City), also starring Dawn Richard (Danity Kane), Robert Ri’Chard (Coach Carter), Eurika Pratts (Black Magic) and Gary Dourdan (CSI), is described as a “racy”, African American ’50 Shades Of Grey’-inspired sex drama. ‘Kinky’ will also serve to launch Patriot Releasing’s broader efforts to distribute 10 films a year that appeal to African American women.
‘Kinky’ is set in the affluent community of Buckhead, Atlanta and tells the story of a Dr. Joyce Richardson, a beautiful African-American surgeon who begins a sexual journey with billionaire investor, Darrin Wethington. After a few months of dating, the couple begin exploring their most kinky sexual fantasies, leading them into a world of BDSM and hardcore sexual exploration.
Having found theatrical success with the indie hit ‘Chocolate City’ through their collaboration with Nulite Entertainment, combined with a new $50 million credit facility, Patriot CEO/Chairman Michael Mendelsohn (Running With The Devil, U.S.S Indianapolis) has also acquired the black female-lead comedy spec, ‘Wedding Guest List’ from Nulite for a 2019 production start date. “The focus of Patriot Releasing is to celebrate, collaborate and support writers and directors with diverse voices,” states Mendelsohn. The company recently wrapped production on the RZA-directed ‘Cut Throat City’ starring Kat Graham, Wesley Snipes, and Terrence Howard. Patriot Releasing has just completed a ‘Chocolate City 3’ sequel, currently in Post production.
Regarding ‘Kinky’, Mendelsohn is confident the movie will resonate with its core audience: “I am thrilled to team up with Jean Claude on another remarkable film. Jean Claude’s ability to write and direct movies that resonate with his locked-in audience is magic, and I want to be remembered for creating magic in Hollywood.”
Spell Reel[/caption]
The Durban International Film Festival today announced the films and jury members for competition at this year’s 39th edition of the festival, which takes place from July 19 to 29, 2018.
Award categories are Best Feature Film, Best South African Feature Film, Best Documentary, Best SA Documentary, Best Short Film, Best African Short Film, Best South African Short Film, Best Actor Award, Best Actress, Best Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Artistic Bravery, Audience Choice Award, Wavescape Audience Choice Award and the Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award.
Feature films in competition are 
Silas[/caption]
Documentary films in competition are We could be Heroes (Denmark, Morocco, Tunisa, Brazil) directed by Hind Bensari, 
The Portuguese horror film The Forest of the Lost Souls which had its world premiere at the Fantasporto Film Festival on February 26, 2017, will be released in August by Wild Eye Releasing as their first theatrical release.
The psychological “coming of age” horror film is written and directed by directed by José Pedro Lopes.
Ricardo and Carolina are complete strangers that meet seemingly by chance in the “Forest of the Lost Souls”, a place where many people go to commit suicide. These two, a young woman and an old man, are no different than the others as they also came to the forest for this very reason.
They decide to briefly postpone killing themselves in order to explore the forest and also to continue talking to one another, as Ricardo and Carolina find themselves intrigued by one another.
However, as the pair go further into the forest it becomes clear that one of them has other reasons for being in the forest and is not who they would have the other believe them to be and is actually a psychopath…
The Forest of the Lost Souls will open theatrically August 5 in L.A and other cities.
Wild Eye Releasing, whose recent releases include well-received sci-fi thriller Soft Matter and James Klass’s House on Elm Lake, represents horror, exploitation, dark arthouse, cult and documentary films from around the world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQXzASuWHzs
Shoplifters[/caption]
The 36th Munich International Film festival drew to a close today Saturday, July 7, 2018 with the award ceremony and “Shoplifters” by Hirokazu Kore-eda won the ARRI/Osram Award for best international film.The Audience Award went to the film “Wackersdorf – Be Alert, Courageous and Solidaric” by Oliver Haffner.
Olmo Omerzu, Jiří Konečný, Ada Solomon, Radu Jude (Film Servis Festival Karlovy Vary)[/caption]
“I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians” from Romanian film director Radu Jude won the Crystal Globe for Best Feature Film at the 53rd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. In the film Radu Jude takes up a massacre perpetrated by the Romanian Administration through the Romanian Army on the Eastern Front in 1941, an actual event that a young activist artist decides to stage. “As we are in the Czech Republic and my film was made with the Czech co-production, I would like to thank all the Czech people involved, primarily Jiří Konečný”, said Radu Jude.
Barry Levinson received the Právo Audience Award for his thirty-year old movie Rain Man. Levinson also received the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinematography at the Closing Ceremony. “This is really a wonderful festival and an incredible experience for us. And also an extraordinary honour for a boy from Baltimore to be now granted an award for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema here in the Czech Republic. Film is an artistic form that interconnects the whole world. While differing feelings drive us apart, we should bear in mind that we are in fact all quite similar,” the director expressed his gratitude.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv4q3sWs8wE
The 54th Karlovy Vary IFF will be held from June 28th to July 6th, 2019.