Magnolia Pictures has released the official trailer for Skate Kitchen starring Jaden Smith as a mysterious skateboarder. The film that premiered earlier this year at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival is the first narrative feature from The Wolfpack director Crystal Moselle, and will be released in select theaters on August 10.
Camille, an introverted teenage skateboarder (newcomer Rachelle Vinberg) from Long Island, meets and befriends an all-girl, New York City-based skateboarding crew called Skate Kitchen. She falls in with the in-crowd, has a falling-out with her mother, and falls for a mysterious skateboarder guy (Jaden Smith), but a relationship with him proves to be trickier to navigate than a kickflip.
Writer/director Crystal Moselle immersed herself in the lives of the skater girls and worked closely with them, resulting in the film’s authenticity, which combines poetic, atmospheric filmmaking and hypnotic skating sequences. SKATE KITCHEN precisely captures the experience of women in male-dominated spaces and tells a story of a girl who learns the importance of camaraderie and self-discovery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT1izrIxoos-
Watch Jaden Smith as a Mysterious Skateboarder in SKATE KITCHEN Trailer
Magnolia Pictures has released the official trailer for Skate Kitchen starring Jaden Smith as a mysterious skateboarder. The film that premiered earlier this year at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival is the first narrative feature from The Wolfpack director Crystal Moselle, and will be released in select theaters on August 10.
Camille, an introverted teenage skateboarder (newcomer Rachelle Vinberg) from Long Island, meets and befriends an all-girl, New York City-based skateboarding crew called Skate Kitchen. She falls in with the in-crowd, has a falling-out with her mother, and falls for a mysterious skateboarder guy (Jaden Smith), but a relationship with him proves to be trickier to navigate than a kickflip.
Writer/director Crystal Moselle immersed herself in the lives of the skater girls and worked closely with them, resulting in the film’s authenticity, which combines poetic, atmospheric filmmaking and hypnotic skating sequences. SKATE KITCHEN precisely captures the experience of women in male-dominated spaces and tells a story of a girl who learns the importance of camaraderie and self-discovery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT1izrIxoos
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Sam Voutas’ KING OF PEKING to Premiere on Netflix on July 2 [Trailer]
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KING OF PEKING[/caption]
Sam Voutas’ King of Peking, an Official Selection of the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival, will premiere worldwide exclusively on Netflix on July 2, 2018.
SYNOPSIS: Big Wong and his young son Little Wong are part of a fading tradition: traveling film projectionists screening Hollywood movies for villagers who otherwise don’t have access to films. But when Big Wong’s ex-wife raises the spousal support payments, Big Wong faces the possibility of losing custody.
In order to stay together, the two Wongs move to the basement of an old Beijing cinema, where Big Wong works as a janitor. When Big Wong discovers a prototype DVD recorder for sale in a junk store, he convinces Little Wong to join a new venture: a father-son bootlegging company. He names it King of Peking in honor of their surname’s meaning: king. Business soon booms, but in the maelstrom of making money, Big Wong realizes that he might lose something more precious than custody: his son’s trust. And Little Wong learns that sometimes parents make bad choices for very good reasons.
In King of Peking, writer-director Sam Voutas (RED LIGHT REVOLUTION, SHANGHAI BRIDE) put his reverence for movies on full display. He crafts a beautiful story that is at once an endearing father-son story and a love letter to cinema. Starring Zhao Jun, Wang Naixun, Han Qing, Si Chao. Produced by Jane Zheng (Sundance 2018 hit DEAD PIGS) and Melanie Ansley.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcaYbx7U8Pw
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3 Filmmaking Teams Win Inaugural $10,000 SFFILM Catapult Documentary Fellowships
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Malika Zouhali-Worrall, Isabel Castro, Ted Passon, and Yoni Brook[/caption]
Three filmmaking teams -Isabel Castro, Malika Zouhali-Worrall, and Ted Passon and Yoni Brook – have been awarded the inaugural SFFILM Catapult Film Fellowships. Fellowships are awarded to filmmakers working in the early stages of developing compelling, story-driven documentary features. The inaugural fellowships will run July through December of this year. Also, in keeping with SFFILM’s broader commitment to the Bay Area’s documentary filmmaking community, SFFILM’s popular Doc Talks series of nonfiction filmmaking workshops will continue at the organization’s FilmHouse residency space through a renewed grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The first of its kind in the United States, the SFFILM Catapult Documentary Fellowship supports documentary filmmakers working in the early development stage by providing financial support, mentorship, and continued artistic and industry guidance through the completion of their films. This fellowship seeks to provide direct assistance at the point in the filmmaking process when finding funding is critical, yet few funding opportunities from traditional granting programs exist. By providing support before the fundraising process even begins, this opportunity will facilitate the creation of strong grant proposals and fundraising trailers that will allow these projects to evolve through development and into production.
“Each of these fellows has taken on a strikingly different project,” said SFFILM Director of Artist Development, Caroline von Kühn. “This inaugural group of fellows brings us an intimate, acutely relevant story about a family, a closely observed exploration of a political institution, and a hybrid film about a novelist’s inner landscape and acts of resistance. What ties them together is a clarity of vision and a deep curiosity. We are excited to provide early support to these compassionate, ambitious storytellers as they undertake their investigations and bring their visions to life.”
2018 SFFILM CATAPULT DOCUMENTARY FELLOWSHIPS
Isabel Castro: Mixed Status Isabel Castro is an award-winning Mexican American documentary director, producer, and cinematographer. In addition to winning a 2015 GLAAD Award for her directorial debut Crossing Over, she worked on two seasons of the Emmy-award winning series VICE on HBO and helped launch VICE News Tonight on HBO as a producer covering civil rights and policy. Her work there was nominated for a News Emmy in 2017. She is currently freelancing as a video journalist for the New York Times and producing an interview series about immigration for the Marshall Project. About Mixed Status: The mother? Undocumented. The father? Deported. The children? One citizen, two Dreamers. Against the backdrop of shifting border immigration policy, the Arvizus, a mixed-status family in El Paso, Texas, navigate love, work, and the desire for a better life. Ted Passon and Yoni Brook: Philly District Attorney (working title) Ted Passon is an award-winning filmmaker and video artist. He is a 2016 Sundance Lab Creative Summit Fellow. He is also a recipient of the Pew Foundation Individual Artist Fellowship Grant and the Garrett Scott Documentary Development Grant. Passon has exhibited his award-winning short films in festivals and galleries around the US and abroad including exhibitions by the Whitney Museum, French Institute Alliance Francais, and the TBA Festival. Passon was a 2016 Artist in Residence at the Headlands Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Yoni Brook is an Independent Spirit Award-nominated cinematographer and producer. He co-shot and produced the feature Menashe which premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and was distributed by A24. His cinematography credits include Valley of Saints, which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and won the Audience Award and Alfred P. Sloan Award. As a documentary director, his films have premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival (Best Documentary Short), True/False Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). About Philly District Attorney: A band of activists, led by defense attorney Larry Krasner, takes the reins of the agency at the center of mass incarceration: the district attorney’s office. Embedded behind closed doors, the filmmakers capture an unprecedented criminal justice experiment as it unfolds and asks if real reform is possible. Malika Zouhali-Worrall: Untitled Dystopia Film Malika Zouhali-Worrall is an Emmy award-winning director and editor. Her first film, Call me Kuchu, a collaboration with Katherine Fairfax Wright, screened at more than 200 film festivals, and received 20 awards, including the Berlinale’s Teddy Award. Her second film, Thank You for Playing, a collaboration with David Osit and an ITVS/POV co-production, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was broadcast on POV. Zouhali-Worrall is a Chaz and Roger Ebert Directing Fellow and an alum of the Film Independent Documentary Lab, Tribeca All Access, the Garrett Scott Documentary Development grant, and Firelight Producers Lab. In 2012, Filmmaker magazine named Malika one of 25 New Faces of Independent Film About Untitled Dystopia Film: Caught in a modern-day dystopia, a novelist uses fiction to examine the very real brutality and absurdity of authoritarian rule. The selected SFFILM Catapult Documentary Fellows will receive:- A $10,000 cash grant
- Time spent developing their project at FilmHouse, SFFILM’s artist community space. Residency at FilmHouse includes access to its robust series of presentations and workshops with leading industry professionals, peer reviews, and networking opportunities Strategic consultation from SFFILM and Catapult Film Fund staff, as well as documentary mentors, guiding them artistically and with industry support to successfully enter fundraising and production
- In addition to funding resources and consultation services from SFFILM and Catapult, fellows will be included in a robust mentorship program as part of the FilmHouse resident community and a select group of additional documentary advisors. Integrated into SFFILM’s mentor- and peer-oriented support structures, SFFILM Catapult Documentary Fellows will have access to an established network of directors, producers, editors, managers, and legal consultants to help navigate their looming funding and producing concerns.
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Stephy Tang to Receive Screen International Rising Star Asia Award at NY Asian Film Festival
Hong Kong’s Stephy Tang will receive the Screen International Rising Star Asia Award at the 17th New York Asian Film Festival (NYAF) on July 7th before a screening of her film The Empty Hands. Tang, a former volleyball star and model, started out in the entertainment business as the lead singer of the phenomenally popular girls’ band The Cookies before launching her successful solo career. In addition to concerts, albums and television appearances, she started her own fashion label and wrote a romance novel. In film, she is best known for her pairing with Alex Fong in a series of popular rom-coms directed by Patrick Kong from 2006-2015.
NYAFF is celebrating Tang for her recent shift in career direction, taking on a series of more challenging roles. In Cheung Wing-kai’s Somewhere Beyond the Mist, she plays a pregnant policewoman investigating a morbid murder case; in Chapman To’s The Empty Hands, she plays a young woman who reaches self-actualization by stepping back into the ring after the death of her estranged father, a karate master. She trained for six months for the latter role.
Tang recently told the South China Morning Post that she hopes The Empty Hands represents a new era of “more female-oriented films in Hong Kong”. She said, “In the last few years, I have been hoping that people would recognize me as an actress rather than as a singer. Of course I still do concerts but, in the past, I made movies as a singer, and now I hope I’m more an actress doing music. I’m determined to make this happen.”
Samuel Jamier, NYAFF’s executive director says, “At a time when Hong Kong cinema is reinventing itself and finding a new maturity, we’re excited to award an actress who has also reinvented herself. We believe that Stephy Tang has the talent, determination and charisma to become one of Hong Kong’s leading actors in the years to come.”
The previous recipients of the Screen International Rising Star Asia Award were Japan’s Fumi Nikaido in 2014; Japan’s Shota Sometani in 2015; Japan’s Go Ayano, China’s Jelly Lin, and the Philippines’ Teri Malvar in 2016; and Thailand’s Chutimon “Aokbab” Chuengcharoensukying in 2017.
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Damn These Heels, Utah’s LGBTQ Film Festival Unveils Lineup – 1985, THE MISANDRISTS, TRANNY FAG and More
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THE MISANDRISTS[/caption]
Damn These Heels, the longest running LGBTQ Film Festival in the Mountain West, returns for the 15th edition from July 20 to 22, 2018 at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. The festival explores LGBTQ issues, ideas, and art through independent, documentary, and foreign films from around the world.
New this year, filmmakers of all experience levels are invited to participate in the 48 Hour Film OUT project. On July 13-15, participating film teams are tasked with creating an LGBTQ themed short film in just 48 hours. All films that meet the requirements will be screened during the Festival on Saturday, July 21. The winning film will be screened at Filmapalooza in Paris in 2019 for a chance at the grand prize of screening at the Cannes Film Festival 2019 Short Film Corner.
Patrick Hubley, Director of Programming for Utah Film Center, said, “Damn These Heels is a festival that uses the powerful art of film to celebrate inclusivity, community and individual expression. This year’s line up is full of personality and complexity, we are honored to commemorate the Festival’s 15th year with such a strong range of stories that will provoke thought, spark crucial dialogue and shift our perspective.”
The films selected to screen in the 2018 Damn These Heels Festival are:
1985
Directed by Yen Tan
85 min | 2018 | USA
A closeted young man goes home for the holidays and struggles to reveal his dire circumstances to his conservative family.
Official Selection: 2018 SXSW Film Festival
Cast: Cory Michael Smith, Aidan Langford, Jamie Chung, Virginia Madsen, and Michael Chiklis
ALASKA IS A DRAG
Directed by Shaz Bennett
89 min | 2018 | USA
Fabulous Leo, an aspiring drag superstar who can throw a punch, is stuck working in a fish cannery in Alaska.
Official Selection: 2018 Frameline Film Festival, 2018 Palm Springs International Film Festival, 2018
Cast: Martin L. Washington Jr., Maya Washington, Matt Dallas, Christopher O’Shea, Jason Scott Lee, and Margaret Cho
ANCHOR AND HOPE (Tierra Firme)
Directed by Carlos Marques-Marcet
113 min | 2017 | Spain
Two women and their best friend living on a canal boat ask: Can we balance love, family, and life and stay united?
Winner: Best Film-2017 Seville European Film Festival; Official Selection: 2018 Guadalajara International Film Festival
Cast: Oona Chaplin, Natalia Tena, and Geraldine Chaplin
CLOSE KNIT (Karera ga honki de amu toki wa)
Directed by Naoko Ogigami
127 | 2017 | Japan
A neglected daughter, a gentle uncle, and his transgender lover knitted together into an unconventional family.
Winner: Teddy Award-2017 Berlin Film Festival, Chromie Audience Award-2017 Filmfest Homochrom
Cast: Toma Ikuta, Kenta Kiritani, Rinka Kakihara
FREELANCERS ANONYMOUS
Directed by Sonia Sebastián
81 min | 2018 | USA
Billie quits her job right before getting married, launching her into a rag-tag world of unemployed women and tech startups.
Official Selection: 2018 FilmOut San Diego, 2018 Frameline Film Festival
Cast: Jennifer Bartels, Megan Cavanagh, Alexandra Billings, and Grace Rex
THE GOSPEL OF EUREKA
Directed by Donal Mosher & Michael Palmieri
75 min | 2018 | USA
Love, faith, and civil rights collide in the south as evangelical Christians and drag queens explore the meaning of belief.
Official Selection: 2018 SXSW Film Festival, 2018 Sheffield International Documentary Festival
Preceded by the short film FAITHFUL directed by Dane Christensen
IDEAL HOME
Directed by Andrew Fleming
91 | 2018 | USA
A bickering gay couple must now deal with the unexpected task of raising a ten-year-old boy.
Cast: Paul Rudd, Steve Coogan, Kate Walsh, Alison Pill, Jake McDorman, and Jack Gore
JUST CHARLIE
Directed by Rebekah Fortune
97 min | 2017 | UK
Trapped in the body of a boy, soccer star Charlie is torn between placating her father and shedding this ill-fitting skin.
Winner: Best Feature Film for Youth-2017 Zlin Film Festival; Official Selection: 2017 Edinburgh International Film Festival, 2017 Frameline Film Festival
Cast: Patricia Potter, Scot Williams, HARRY Gilby, and Karen Bryson
LEITIS IN WAITING
Directed by Dean Hamer & Joe Wilson
72 min | 2018 | USA/Tonga
The story of the Tonga Leitis, a group of transgender women fighting intolerance in the South Pacific Kingdom.
Official Selection: 2017 Frameline Film Festival, 2018 Festival International Du Film Documentaire Oceanien, 2017 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
MAN MADE
Directed by T Cooper
93 min | 2018 | USA
A trans men bodybuilding competition reveals unexpected truths about gender, masculinity, humanity and love.
Official Selection: 2018 Outfest Los Angeles, 2018 Frameline Film Festival
THE MISANDRISTS
Directed by Bruce LaBruce
91 min | 2017 | USA
Salacious hell breaks loose within the FLA — a feminist terrorist group — when an injured man appears in their midst.
Official Selection: 2017 Berlin International Film Festival
Cast: Susanne Sachße, Viva Ruiz, Kembra Pfahler
MY BIG GAY ITALIAN WEDDING (Matrimonio italiano)
Directed by Alessandro Genovesi
90 min | 2018 | Italy
In this merry movie of matrimony, Antonio brings his fiancé Paulo to meet his headstrong parents and reveal his sexuality.
Official Selection: 2018 Seattle International Film Festival
Cast: Diego Abatantuono, Monica Guerritore, Salvatore Esposito, Cristiano Caccamo, Dino Abbrescia, and Diana Del Bufalo
MY LIFE WITH JAMES DEAN (Ma vie avec James Dean)
Directed by Dominique Choisy
108 min l 2017 I France
Young director Géraud Champreux goes on a wild and woeful film tour that changes his life.
Official Selection: 2018 Brussels Pink Screens, 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival
Cast: Johnny Rasse, Mickaël Pelissier, and Nathalie Richard
QUIET HEROES
Opening Night Film
Directed by Jenny Mackenzie, Amanda Stoddard, & Jared Ruga
68 min | 2017 | USA
One doctor’s fight against stigma, shame, and ignorance at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis against a conservative religious monoculture.
Official Selection: 2018 Sundance Film Festival, 2018 QDoc
SHAKEDOWN
Directed by Leilah Weinraub
72 min | 2018 | USA | Not Rated
The chronicle of Los Angeles’ black lesbian strip club scene, an underground, illegal, and legendary moment. Mature audiences only.
Official Selection: 2018 Berlin Film Festival, 2017 The Whitney Museum Biennial
SHORT FILM PROGRAM: Reverent
89 min | Various
A short film program featuring serious, heartfelt, and touching LGBTQ+ films from around the globe. Films include Top 10 Places to Visit in Sao Paulo, Beauty, A Kitchen Can Take You Back, Sunset, Spark, Crook – “Lavender,” and Something About Alex.
SHORT FILM PROGRAM: Irreverent
78 min | Various
A short film program featuring hilarious, goofy, crass, but still hard-hitting films from around the globe. Films include Magic H8 Ball, Dropping Penny, I Live Here, Scary Lucy, and Femme.
SISTERHOOD
Directed by Tracy Choi
97 min | 2017 | Macau/Hong Kong/Taiwan
Upon seeing a missing person ad for a friend from her past, Sei decides to revisit Macau and makes a startling discovery.
Nominated: Best Supporting Actress Nomination Fish Liew & Best New Performer Nomination Jennifer Yu-36th Hong Kong Film Award
Cast: Gigi Leung, Fish Liew, and Jennifer Yu
TRANNY FAG (Bixa Travesty)
Directed by Kiko Goifman & Claudia Priscilla
75 min | 2018 | Brazil
Mc Linn Da Quebrada’s electrifying performances (with plenty of nudity) brazenly take on Brazil’s hetero-normative machismo.
Official Selection: 2018 Berlin Film Festival, 2018 Sheffield International Documentary Film Festival
Preceded the short film MY PRICE directed by Fabricio Santiago
TRANSMILITARY
Directed by Gabriel Silverman and Fiona Dawson
93 min | 2018 | USA
Four transgender individuals put their careers on the line by coming out in hopes of attaining the equal right to serve.
Winner: Documentary Competition Audience Award-2018 SXSW; Official Selection: 2018 Frameline Film Festival
WE THE ANIMALS
Directed by Jeremiah Zagar
94 min | 2018 | USA
Manny, Joel, and Jonah tear their way through childhood and push against the volatile love of their parents.
Winner: Next Innovator Award-2018 Sundance Film Festival, Future/Now Award-2018 Montclair Film Festival
Cast: Raúl Castillo, Josiah Gabriel, Isaiah Kristian, Evan Rosado, and Sheila Vand
THE WILD BOYS (Les garçons sauvages)
Directed by Bertrand Mandico
110 min | 2018 | France
Surrealist, adolescent gender-bending sex fueled fantasy nightmare. A maritime adventure.
Winner: Best Director-2018 Vilnius International Film Festival
Cast: Pauline Lorillard, Vimala Pons, and Diane Rouxe
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Inspiring and Beautiful New Kenyan Film SUPA MODO Goes to ZIFF 2018 [Trailer]
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Supa Modo[/caption]
The inspiring and beautiful new Kenyan film, Supa Modo is set to screen at the upcoming Zanzibar International Film Festival, taking place in Stone Town Zanzibar from July 7th to 15th, with generous support from the Kenya Film Commission.
The film which had its much-acclaimed world premiere at Berlinale in February has been heralded as a stunning debut for director Likarion Wainaina and its young cast.
Acquired by Rushlake Media, the film was produced by Ginger Ink Films Africa in partnership with One Fine Day Films (OFDF). OFDF has released other award-winning African films including Kati Kati and Nairobi Half Life. It was at the One Fine Day Films BrainRoom – a two-week masterclass that allows writers to pitch and develop their ideas – where Wainaina’s story idea for Supa Modo was pitched and selected for production.
The Kenya Film Commission will be hosting the screening of the film on Wednesday, July 11th at ZIFF’s main venue of the Old Fort Amphitheatre with various members of the cast and production team in attendance.
Kenya Film Commission Ag. CEO, Mr. Timothy Owase had this to say of the importance of the film’s screening at ZIFF. This is part of our commitment to support local filmmakers, we are pleased to premiere Supa Modo outside Kenya and ZIFF provides a better platform for this purpose. We laud the organizers for consideration to screen Supa Modo and reaffirm our commitment to continue supporting Kenyan filmmakers and exporting local content.
“Supa Modo” tells the inspiring story of a young girl whose dream of becoming a superhero is threatened by terminal illness, inspiring her village to rally together to make her dream come true. It stars newcomer Stycie Waweru in the lead role, alongside a host of veteran Kenyan thesps, including Maryanne Nungo and Nyawara Ndambia.
In a statement, Rushlake’s Philipp Hoffmann described the genre-bending “Supa Modo” as “truly unique.” “It’s all at once a film with a strong female lead, a superhero film, a film about grief and dying, and about community and people coming together,” he said. “I immediately saw great potential for a touching story that attests to beautiful, universal human values and appeals to both young and grown-up audiences.”
ZIFF Festival Director Fabrizio Colombo has this to say of the film and its selection for ZIFF,
“Supa Modo once again shows just how important and professional Kenya film industry has become. It’s a film that will resonate strongly with ZIFF audiences, for locals especially as a Swahili movie, and universally, as it touches people with heart and deep meaning.”
https://youtu.be/Zoua2UFeUqw
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Holt McCallany and Vincent Pastore Set to Star in IRON TERRY MALONE
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Vincent Pastore. © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons[/caption]
Actors Holt McCallany (“MindHunter”) and Vincent Pastore (“The Sopranos”) will headline the upcoming dark comedy “Iron Terry Malone” directed by award-winning filmmaker Johnny Greenlaw (Mommy’s Box). The screenplay, based on true events, hails from award-winning actors/writers Christian Keiber and Robert John Keiber.
Utilizing many of the same locations used by Elia Kazan’s On The Waterfront (1954), the film is set largely in Hoboken, N.J., with the owner and five regulars teaming up to kill off one of their own to save their favorite bar from closing. McCallany, the acclaimed star of Netflix’s ‘’Mindhunter’’, plays a local mobster named Mean Mike, who with the bar’s owner Harry Moffet, played by John Doman (The Wire), hatch the plan to off the town beggar and drunk “Iron” Terry Malone, played by Pastore.
Befriending Malone by getting him so drunk he can’t think or remember where he is, the six would-be assassins first try poisoning him. Then, they try freezing him. Then, they run him over with a car, but Malone will just not die! And as summer turns to winter, things go from bad to worse, as this unlikely group of killers begins to turn on each other and find out just why their marked man is called “Iron” Terry Malone.
“What excites me about this film, besides the stellar cast, is the story and screenplay”, says Greenlaw. “The fact that it is based on actual events, that took place many years ago, we get to look inside the depths of humanity and what you’re willing to sacrifice just to get by in life. I look forward to bringing this dark comedy to the big screen.”
Adds writer Christian Keiber : “Iron Terry Malone”, is a true passion project of mine. To be able to bring this film to life alongside my friends and family, both in the cast and crew, is the sole reason I became a filmmaker.”
In addition to McCallany, Pastore and Doman, the film’s superlative ensemble also includes, Christian Keiber (“Gotham’’), Bill Sorvino (“Who’s Jenna..?”), Kerry McGann (“Bloodrunners’’), Johnny Greenlaw (“Mommy’s Box”), Robert John Keiber (“Trust Me, I’m a Lifeguard”), Maureen Van Zandt (“The Sopranos’’), and Gary Pastore (“The Deuce’’). Sam Calagione, owner of Dogfish Head Brewery, the official beer sponsor of the film, will also appear in the movie.
Kerry McGann, Bill Sorvino, Johnny Greenlaw, Jason L. Koerner and Bryce C. Campbell serve as producers, with Christian Keiber as executive producer.
“Iron” Terry Malone begins production in Hoboken, NJ in November.
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Santa Barbara International Film Festival Announces 2019 Dates for 34th Edition
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) will return for the 34th edition of the festival, from January 30 to February 9, 2019,Official festival screenings and related events will be held throughout Santa Barbara, including the Arlington and Lobero Theatres.
“It’s extraordinary and a cause for celebration that SBIFF is heading into its 34th edition. We love that after this past difficult year, Santa Barbara is anxiously ready to welcome once again more world-class filmmakers – and putting together our popular and insightful panels and tributes. Join us,” said SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling.
Last year’s Tribute Honors were bestowed upon artists including Allison Janney, Margot Robbie, Jordan Peele, Guillermo Del Toro, Saoirse Ronan, Sam Rockwell, and Timothée Chalamet. The festival’s acclaimed Panel Series will return highlighting the year’s most accomplished producers, writers, and women in the entertainment industry.
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Watch New U.S. Trailer for Robert Schwentke’s THE CAPTAIN
Music Box Films has released the official trailer for the German film, The Captain by Robert Schwentke that will open in New York at The Quad on July 27th and in Los Angeles at Nuart on August 10th.
Based on a disturbing true story, The Captain follows Willi Herold (Max Hubacher), a German army deserter who stumbles across an abandoned Nazi captain’s uniform during the last, desperate weeks of the Third Reich. Newly emboldened by the allure of a suit that he stole only to stay warm, Willi discovers that many Germans will follow the leader, whosoever that happens to be. A parade of fresh atrocities follow in the self-declared captain’s wake, and serve as a profound reminder of the consequences of social conformity and untrammeled political power.
After an illustrious career in Hollywood, Robert Schwentke’s (Red, Flightplan) German homecoming film The Captain, is simultaneously a historical docudrama, a tar-black comedy, and a sociological treatise, presenting fascism as a pathetic pyramid scheme, a system to be gamed by the most unscrupulous and hollow-souled.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVj23p5vwe4
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Palm Springs International Film Festival Announces 2019 Dates
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Actress Meryl Streep, PSIFF Artistic Director Michael Lerman, Actor Tom Hanks[/caption]
The Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) announced the dates of its 30th edition. Festival dates will be Thursday, January 3 through Monday, January 14, 2019.
Highlights include:
On Thursday, January 3, the annual Film Awards Gala will kick off the festival at the Palm Springs Convention Center. Last year’s star-studded event, hosted by Mary Hart, honored Mary J. Blige, Timothée Chalamet, Jessica Chastain, Willem Dafoe, Gal Gadot, Holly Hunter, Allison Janney, Gary Oldman, Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan and The Shape of Water. More than 2,500 guests attend the event which kicks off Awards season. Tickets go on sale August 1.
The screening portion of the festival will run Friday, January 4 through Monday, January 14. On January 4, the festival will run all day screenings with the official Opening Night screening taking place that evening at Richards Center for the Arts with a party to follow at the Palm Springs Art Museum.
The festival will close on Sunday, January 13, with Best of the Fest screenings taking place Monday, January 14.
Image via Facebook
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Yen Tan’s Emotional Family Drama “1985” Set for October Release
Wolfe Releasing has acquired writer director Yen Tan’s 1985, starring Cory Michael Smith, Academy Award nominee Virginia Madsen, Emmy and Golden Globe winner Michael Chiklis and Jamie Chung, for a theatrical release this October.
The Texas-set family drama had its World Premiere at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival, where it was praised as “a miracle of a film” (Film School Rejects), “a poignant, even provocative meditation on a part of LGBTQ history” (The Daily Beast), “a deeply emotional tearjerker and family story… that earns its tears honestly and scrupulously” (The Wrap) and “a model of eloquent restraint” (The Hollywood Reporter).
1985 marks a continuing relationship between Tan and Wolfe, following their release of his acclaimed romantic drama Pit Stop. The film was produced by HutcH and Ash Christian, with HutcH also serving as Director of Photography (shooting the film in gorgeous black-and-white on 16mm film), co-editor, and conceiving the story with Tan.
1985 was inspired by Tan’s award-winning short film of the same name, and follows Adrian (Smith), a closeted young man returning to his Texas hometown for Christmas during the first wave of the AIDS crisis. Burdened with an unspeakable tragedy in New York, Adrian reconnects with his brother (Aidan Langford) and estranged childhood friend (Chung), as he struggles to divulge his dire circumstances to his religious parents (Madsen and Chiklis).
“I’m beyond thrilled to be partnering with Wolfe on 1985. It is a crucial part of our history that deserves to be revisited and discussed with new perspectives. The crux of the story is a message that inspires love, hope, and empathy in times of crisis. We can’t wait to bring this timely film to a wide audience,” Tan said.
“It has been four years since we worked with Yen on his award-winning film Pit Stop, and we are honored to collaborate with Yen and HutcH on their beautiful new film 1985. The film has blown audiences away with powerful performances from an incredible cast, the wonderful direction and writing from Yen, and HutcH’s masterful camera work,” said Wolfe’s Jim Stephens. “Wolfe will continue to screen the film at top festivals through the summer including Frameline and Outfest as we gear up for a theatrical release in October and getting the film out to award voters.”
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Jeremy Zagar’s Sundance Award-Winning Debut Feature WE THE ANIMALS Opens on August 17
Jeremy Zagar’s We The Animals, based on the celebrated novel by Justin Torres, and winner of the Innovator Award at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival will open on August 17 in New York and Los Angeles with a national rollout to follow.