Firecrackers[/caption]
The Toronto International Film Festival added another 19 Canadian titles to the Festival’s 2018 lineup. The selection includes nine films directed by women and six exciting debut features. From personal dramas exploring identity to documentaries that spotlight a world at risk and democracy in jeopardy, this year’s lineup is rich in stories that tap into contemporary Canadian and International anxieties.
“We’re especially proud to present such a diverse group of films,” said Steve Gravestock, Senior Programmer, TIFF. “Ranging from science fiction to fantasy, myth to documentary, and romance to a dystopic vision of our neighbours to the south, this year’s Canadian films come from every region in the country, stretching from east to west and north to south.”
TIFF presents the World Premieres of three films that showcase Indigenous talent: Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown’s Edge of the Knife, the first feature-length film made in Haida, which is classified by UNESCO as an endangered language; Darlene Naponse’s Falls Around Her, a moving portrait of healing and resilience, starring renowned Métis actor Tantoo Cardinal; and Miranda de Pencier’s feature directorial debut The Grizzlies, a creative collaboration between De Pencier and Inuit producers Alethea Arnaquq-Baril and Stacey Aglok MacDonald that tells an inspiring, true story and that was shot on location in MacDonald’s home community in Nunavut.
“We’re thrilled with this year’s lineup of compelling and distinctive films,” said Danis Goulet, TIFF Canadian Features Programmer. “The films feature characters who push hard against prescribed boundaries, asking vital questions about the state of the world and the status quo. We are especially excited to have a strong slate of bold and dynamic women-centric stories. Forty percent of the Canadian film slate this year is directed by women.”
This year’s lineup also includes works by legendary Canadian documentary filmmakers that look at contemporary culture through a critical lens, such as Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier, and Edward Burtynsky’s highly anticipated documentary Anthropocene, Ron Mann’s Carmine Street Guitars and Thom Fitzgerald’s Splinters; Festival alumnus Igor Drljača is making his feature-documentary debut at the Festival with The Stone Speakers, and veteran Barry Avrich returns with Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World of Ben Ferencz, a portrait of the United States’ chief prosecutor during the Nuremberg trials.
A highlight of the festival will be a Special Event World Premiere and tribute showcasing the illuminating documentary Sharkwater Extinction, the final work by the late filmmaker and conservationist Rob Stewart. Other works by TIFF alumni premiering at the Festival include Canadian master Denys Arcand’s The Fall of the American Empire; Bruce Sweeney’s Kingsway; Sébastien Pilote’s The Fireflies Are Gone; Maxime Giroux’s The Great Darkened Days; and Astra Taylor’s What is Democracy? Renée Beaulieu is at TIFF for the first time with Les Salopes or the Naturally Wanton Pleasure of Skin, a study of a professor’s hidden desires.
The Canadian feature debuts at this year’s Festival are: Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown’s Haida epic Edge of the Knife; Akash Sherman’s sci-fi fantasy drama Clara ; Jasmin Mozaffari’s Firecrackers; Andrea Bussmann’s first solo project, Fausto; Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein’s Freaks and Miranda De Pencier’s Grizzlies.
This year’s slate also features performances by multiple Canadian and international stars, such as Amanda Crew, Graham Greene, Brigitte Poupart, Salma Hayek, Maria Bello, and Kyle MacLachlan. Other talent includes TIFF 2018 Rising Star Michaela Kurimsky ( Firecrackers) and former TIFF Rising Stars Sarah Gadon ( The Great Darkened Days) and Karelle Tremblay ( The Fireflies Are Gone).
All 23 Canadian feature films at the Festival are eligible for the Canada Goose ® Award for Best Canadian Feature Film. All five Canadian feature directorial debuts are eligible for the City of Toronto Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film. This year’s Canadian feature-film jury is composed of award-winning Montreal filmmaker Mathieu Denis ( Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves), renowned Toronto journalist and documentarian Michelle Shephard ( Guantanamo’s Child: Omar Khadr), and legendary Turkish director Ali Özgentürk, who wrote the screenplay for The Girl with the Red Scarf .
The 43rd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 to 16, 2018.
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19 Canadian Films Added to 2018 Toronto International Film Festival Lineup
[caption id="attachment_31190" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Firecrackers[/caption]
The Toronto International Film Festival added another 19 Canadian titles to the Festival’s 2018 lineup. The selection includes nine films directed by women and six exciting debut features. From personal dramas exploring identity to documentaries that spotlight a world at risk and democracy in jeopardy, this year’s lineup is rich in stories that tap into contemporary Canadian and International anxieties.
“We’re especially proud to present such a diverse group of films,” said Steve Gravestock, Senior Programmer, TIFF. “Ranging from science fiction to fantasy, myth to documentary, and romance to a dystopic vision of our neighbours to the south, this year’s Canadian films come from every region in the country, stretching from east to west and north to south.”
TIFF presents the World Premieres of three films that showcase Indigenous talent: Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown’s Edge of the Knife, the first feature-length film made in Haida, which is classified by UNESCO as an endangered language; Darlene Naponse’s Falls Around Her, a moving portrait of healing and resilience, starring renowned Métis actor Tantoo Cardinal; and Miranda de Pencier’s feature directorial debut The Grizzlies, a creative collaboration between De Pencier and Inuit producers Alethea Arnaquq-Baril and Stacey Aglok MacDonald that tells an inspiring, true story and that was shot on location in MacDonald’s home community in Nunavut.
“We’re thrilled with this year’s lineup of compelling and distinctive films,” said Danis Goulet, TIFF Canadian Features Programmer. “The films feature characters who push hard against prescribed boundaries, asking vital questions about the state of the world and the status quo. We are especially excited to have a strong slate of bold and dynamic women-centric stories. Forty percent of the Canadian film slate this year is directed by women.”
This year’s lineup also includes works by legendary Canadian documentary filmmakers that look at contemporary culture through a critical lens, such as Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier, and Edward Burtynsky’s highly anticipated documentary Anthropocene, Ron Mann’s Carmine Street Guitars and Thom Fitzgerald’s Splinters; Festival alumnus Igor Drljača is making his feature-documentary debut at the Festival with The Stone Speakers, and veteran Barry Avrich returns with Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World of Ben Ferencz, a portrait of the United States’ chief prosecutor during the Nuremberg trials.
A highlight of the festival will be a Special Event World Premiere and tribute showcasing the illuminating documentary Sharkwater Extinction, the final work by the late filmmaker and conservationist Rob Stewart. Other works by TIFF alumni premiering at the Festival include Canadian master Denys Arcand’s The Fall of the American Empire; Bruce Sweeney’s Kingsway; Sébastien Pilote’s The Fireflies Are Gone; Maxime Giroux’s The Great Darkened Days; and Astra Taylor’s What is Democracy? Renée Beaulieu is at TIFF for the first time with Les Salopes or the Naturally Wanton Pleasure of Skin, a study of a professor’s hidden desires.
The Canadian feature debuts at this year’s Festival are: Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown’s Haida epic Edge of the Knife; Akash Sherman’s sci-fi fantasy drama Clara ; Jasmin Mozaffari’s Firecrackers; Andrea Bussmann’s first solo project, Fausto; Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein’s Freaks and Miranda De Pencier’s Grizzlies.
This year’s slate also features performances by multiple Canadian and international stars, such as Amanda Crew, Graham Greene, Brigitte Poupart, Salma Hayek, Maria Bello, and Kyle MacLachlan. Other talent includes TIFF 2018 Rising Star Michaela Kurimsky ( Firecrackers) and former TIFF Rising Stars Sarah Gadon ( The Great Darkened Days) and Karelle Tremblay ( The Fireflies Are Gone).
All 23 Canadian feature films at the Festival are eligible for the Canada Goose ® Award for Best Canadian Feature Film. All five Canadian feature directorial debuts are eligible for the City of Toronto Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film. This year’s Canadian feature-film jury is composed of award-winning Montreal filmmaker Mathieu Denis ( Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves), renowned Toronto journalist and documentarian Michelle Shephard ( Guantanamo’s Child: Omar Khadr), and legendary Turkish director Ali Özgentürk, who wrote the screenplay for The Girl with the Red Scarf .
The 43rd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 to 16, 2018.
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Julian Schnabel’s AT ETERNITY’S GATE to Close 56th New York Film Festival
Julian Schnabel’s At Eternity’s Gate will make its North American premiere as the Closing Night film of the 56th New York Film Festival at Alice Tully Hall on Friday, October 12, 2018. CBS Films will release the film in November 2018.
Julian Schnabel’s ravishingly tactile and luminous new film takes a fresh look at the last days of Vincent van Gogh, and in the process revivifies our sense of the artist as a living, feeling human being. Schnabel; his co-writers Jean-Claude Carrière and Louise Kugelberg, also the film’s editor; and cinematographer Benoît Delhomme strip everything down to essentials, fusing the sensual, the emotional, and the spiritual. And the pulsing heart of At Eternity’s Gate is Willem Dafoe’s shattering performance: his Vincent is at once lucid, mad, brilliant, helpless, defeated, and, finally, triumphant. With Oscar Isaac as Gauguin, Rupert Friend as Theo, Mathieu Amalric as Dr. Gachet, Emmanuelle Seigner as Madame Ginoux, and Mads Mikkelsen as The Priest.
New York Film Festival Director and Selection Committee Chair Kent Jones said, “At Eternity’s Gate is such a surprising film, for all kinds of reasons. Julian Schnabel makes use of the most up-to-date information about Vincent van Gogh, altering our accepted ideas of how he lived and died; he grounds the film in the very action of painting, the intense contact between an artist and the world of forms and textures colored by light; and he gives us Willem Dafoe’s performance as Vincent—acting this pure is endlessly surprising.”
“I would like to say thank you to Kent Jones and the NYFF selection committee on behalf of Willem Dafoe, who is Vincent van Gogh in the film, and the cast and crew, who I have been so privileged to work with, for choosing At Eternity’s Gate for Closing Night,” said Schnabel. “It is a profound honor to be included with the other films and to be part of the history of Closing Night films that came before us. Looking forward to sitting in the audience with everybody.”
Earlier this summer, NYFF announced Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Favourite as Opening Night and Alfonso Cuarón’s ROMA as the Centerpiece selection. This year’s gala screenings, including Closing Night, will be held on Fridays instead of Saturdays.
The 56th New York Film Festival runs September 28 to October 14, 2018.
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Xavier Dolan’s THE DEATH AND LIFE OF JOHN F. DONOVAN to World Premiere at Toronto International Film Festival
Xavier Dolan’s The Death and Life of John F. Donovan will have its World Premiere at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival this September.
The Death and Life of John F. Donovan follows the story of a young actor (Jacob Tremblay) as he reminisces on the letters he once shared with an American TV star (Kit Harington), who passed away a decade earlier, and the impact those letters had on both their lives. The film also stars Natalie Portman, Ben Schnetzer, Susan Sarandon, Jared Keeso, Kathy Bates, Thandie Newton, Emily Hampshire, and former TIFF Rising Star Sarah Gadon.
“In only a few short years, Xavier Dolan has drawn film lovers all over the world into his personal vision,” said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of TIFF. “That vision and his remarkable skill as a filmmaker are on full display in his English-language debut. We are honoured to premiere it in Toronto.”
The Death and Life of John F. Donovan will screen as part of the Special Presentations programme.
The 43rd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 to 16, 2018.
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Penelope Cruz, Whoopi Goldberg, Jane Lynch Among 2018 HollyShorts Film Festival Lineup
[caption id="attachment_31174" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
THE BIRDS SING TO LOUD starring Jane Lynch[/caption]
The Oscar-Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival today unveiled the Official Selections of the upcoming 14th edition taking place August 9 to 18, 2018 at the TCL Chinese Theater, Harmony Gold Theater and other locations in Hollywood. Nearly 400 short films will compete for the festival’s top prizes. Last year HollyShorts finalists included 3 out of the 5 Live Action Oscar nominees and the winning short Silent Child from Rachel Shenton and Chris Overton.
This year, HollyShorts received an all-time record 5,000 submissions from over 80 countries. The competition will feature Live Action, Animation and Documentary Shorts as well as web series, student shorts, music videos, TV pilots, and VR. The festival also features a screenplay competition where the winning short gets greenlit, shot and shown at next year’s festival courtesy of Evil Slave Productions.
This year’s competition lineup is the most star-studded. Standouts include Penelope Cruz’s short documentary SOY UNOENTRECIENMIL which explores childhood leukaemia, Ramon Rodriguez’s (The Affair) ROUND, Liz Lachman’s PIN-UP starring Angela Sarafyan (Westworld), Kelley Kali’s LALO’S HOUSE starring Garcelle Beauvais and Jimmy Jean-Louis, Jarod Einsohn’s Long Walk Home (Produced by Anthony Hemingway) starring Ryan Rottman, Jocelyn Stamat’s LABORATORY CONDITIONS starring Minnie Driver, Kevin Alejandro’s (Arrow) LUCIFER, Fox and Mars Candy Brands short BITE SIZE HORROR (Directed by a team of up and coming horror directors), Choice Skinner’s BLACK LIGHTNING- TOBIAS REVENGE starring Jay Hunter (If Loving you is Wrong), Jack Kenny’s THE BIRDS SING TO LOUD starring Jane Lynch, Mark Lobatto’s STEALING SILVER starring Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones), Michael Reilly’s HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME starring Whoopi Goldberg, Oscar nominated animator Bill Plympton’s MODERN LIVES, Guy Nattiv’s SKIN starring Danielle MacDonald (Patti Cake$), Tyler Winther’s GOLIATH 22 starring Jaylen Moore (SIX), R.H. Norman’s HAJJI starring Ross Marquand (Walking Dead), Lisa Edelstein’s (House) UNZIPPING, Omar Benson Miller’s (Ballers) ADVANTAGE OMAR, Jaclyn Bethany’s THE DELTA GIRL starring Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan) and Caitlyn Carver (I, Tonya) among others.
The festival will announce additional films in the coming week, include opening night and closing night programs.
Image via Twitter
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Hannah Fidell’s Road Trip Comedy THE LONG DUMB ROAD Sets November Release Date
[caption id="attachment_31170" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
The Long Dumb Road[/caption]
The road trip comedy The Long Dumb Road directed by Hannah Fidell that World Premiered earlier this year at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival will open theatrically in NY on November 9th before expanding to LA and other cities on November 16th. The Long Dumb Road stars Tony Revolori, Jason Mantzoukas, Taissa Farmiga, Grace Gummer, Casey Wilson, and Ron Livingston.
From writer-director Hannah Fidell (A Teacher, 6 Years) and co-writer Carson D. Mell (“Silicon Valley,” “Tarantula”) comes a comedy of transformation, discovery and maturity set on the road between Austin and Los Angeles. When college-bound teenager Nat (Tony Revolori) offers itinerant 30-something mechanic Richard (Jason Mantzoukas) a ride during a stop-over in small-town Texas, neither one realizes the indelible impact each traveler will have on his respective journey. Nat, an aspiring photographer, is heading towards a bright future in art school in Los Angeles and wants to find the real America en route to new beginnings out West; Richard, a lovably unkempt motormouth, is simply looking for connection in the moment — and maybe a beer or ten — while he grapples with indecision, past mistakes and dead-ends. As they travel through the American Southwest, taking in picturesque towns and crossing paths with an assortment of old flames, fellow travelers, kooky cons, and Good Samaritans, both passengers come alive through the myriad possibilities of the open road. Finding connection, comfort and chaos in their shared journey, this improbable and unforgettable screen duo forges an epic bond few will forget.
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2018 Durban International Film Festival Awards: THE REPORTS ON SARAH AND SALEEM Wins Best Film
[caption id="attachment_31165" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
The Reports on Sarah and Saleem[/caption]
The 39th Durban International Film Festival held its awards ceremony on Saturday and awarded the Best Feature Film prize to The Reports on Sarah and Saleem, directed by Muayad Alayan. Maisa Abd Elhadi was awarded Best Actress prize the for her role as Bisan in the film. A total of 17 awards were given out at the ceremony.
DIFF has recently been included as a Documentary Feature Qualifying Festival by the Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences, which means that both the winners of the Best Documentary, New Moon and Best SA Documentary Sisters of the Wilderness, will now automatically qualify for consideration for an Oscar nomination.
39th Durban International Film Festival Awards
Best Feature Film: The Reports on Sarah and Saleem, directed by Muayad Alayan, and produced by Muayad Alayan, Rami Alayan, Hans de Wolf, Hanneke Niens, Rebekka Garrido, Rodrigo Iturralde, Georgina Gonzalez, and Alejandro Duran. Best South African Feature Film: High Fantasy, directed by Jenna Bass and produced by David Horler and Steven Markovitz. Best Documentary: New Moon, produced and directed by Philippa Ndisi-Hermann. Best South African Documentary: Sisters of the Wilderness, directed by Karin Slater and produced by Ronit Shapiro. Best Direction: Constantin Popescu for Pororoca Best Cinematography: Liviu Marghidan for Pororoca Best Screenplay: Jennifer Fox for The Tale Best Actor: Bogdan Dumitrache for his role as Tudor in Pororoca, directed by Constantin Popescu Best Actress: Maisa Abd Elhadi for her role as Bisan in The Reports on Sarah and Saleem Best Editing: Anne Fabini, Alex Hall and Gary Level for The Tale Artistic Bravery: was won jointly by High Fantasy, directed by Jenna Bass and Supa Modo directed by Likarion Wainaina. Best South African Short Film: Stillborn, directed by Jahmil X. T. Qubeka and produced by Huanxi Media Group, Xstream Pictures, and Yellowbone Entertainment. Best African Short Film: Aya, directed by Moufida Fedhila and produced by Appel d’Air Films. Best Short Film: The Patience of Water (La Paciencia Del Agua), directed by Guillem Almirall. Audience Choice Award: The State Against Mandela and the Others, directed by Nicolas Champeaux and Gilles Porte. Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award: Silas, directed by Anjali Nayar and Hawa Essuman and produced by Appian Way, Big World Cinema and Ink & Pepper Productions. Best Wavescape Film: Heavy Water, directed by Michael Oblowitz
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2018 Stony Brook Film Festival Awards: THE ETRUSCAN SMILE Starring Brian Cox Wins Grand Prize
The Etruscan Smile, starring Brian Cox won the Grand Prize at the 23rd Annual Stony Brook Film Festival. It also stars Rosanna Arquette, Thora Birch, JJ Field, Peter Coyote, Treat Williams and twins Aero and Boom Epps. The Etruscan Smile is based on the bestselling book La Sonrisa Etrusca by Jose Louis Sampedro, with the story being transposed to Scotland and the United States. In it, a rugged old Scotsman reluctantly leaves his beloved isolated Hebridean island and travels to the U.S. to seek medical treatment. Moving in with his estranged son and workaholic daughter-in-law, he finds his life being transformed by a new-found bond with his baby grandson.
Alan Inkles, founder and director of the Stony Brook Film Festival announced additional awards at a reception at Staller Center for the Arts, Stony Brook University on Saturday, July 28. “We received so many enthusiastic responses from our astute audience members over the ten days of the Festival. The Etruscan Smile was hailed as a favorite. I was fortunate to have Brian Cox reach out to us just as we were finishing our schedule. He had been to the Stony Brook Film Festival for his film The Carer and was keen on having the U.S. Premiere of The Etruscan Smile at Stony Brook.”
Th Stony Brook Film Festival has awarded eight Grand Prizes in its 23-year history. The Etruscan Smile is the ninth to receive a Grand Prize.
2018 STONY BROOK FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS
2018 Grand Prize
The Etruscan Smile U.S. Premiere – United States – 107 min Directed by Oded Binnun and Mihal Brezis. Written by Michael McGowan, Michal Lali Kagan and Sarah Bellwood. With Brian Cox (Braveheart, The Carer), Thora Birch (Ghost World), JJ Feild (Austenland), and Rosanna Arquette (Pulp Fiction).2018 Jury Award – Best Feature (tie)
Octav U.S. Premiere – Romania – 100 min Directed by Serge Ioan Celebidachi. Written by Serge Ioan Celebidachi and James Olivier. With Marcel Iures, Victor Rebengiuc, Eric Aradits and Alessia Tofan. The magical feature Octav centers on an elderly man returning to his family home after decades of absence. The apparition of his childhood sweetheart triggers a rewind to the life-changing events from his youth. As long-forgotten memories resurface, he begins to find answers to the questions that have cast a shadow over his life and gains clarity on decisions before him. Octav is a life-affirming story that celebrates the purity of childhood, love, and friendship. In Romanian with subtitles. Produced by Adela Vrînceanu Celebidachi. Edited by Mircea Olteanu. Director of Photography: Blasco Giurato. A Celi Films and Oblique Media Film production. From The Little Film Company.2018 Jury Award – Best Feature (tie)
Symphony for Ana East Coast Premiere – Argentina – 119 min Directed by Ernesto Ardito, Virna Molina. Written by Ernesto Ardito, Virna Molina and Gaby Meik. With Isadora Ardito, Rocio Palacin, Rafael Federman, Ricky Arraga, Vera Fogwill and Rodrigo Noya. Based on a true story, Symphony for Ana is about the bloodiest coup d’etat in Argentina, when the military dictatorship ‘disappeared’ 108 students from The National High School of Buenos Aires, known for being elite and prestigious. Ana is a student there, a teenager who just wants to fall in love, have lots of friends, and fight for a better world. Instead, she must choose her friends carefully as she navigates the power struggles and ever-changing allegiances in her 15-year-old world. This intense and superbly acted film features current students from The National High School of Buenos Aires. The hard-hitting story drawn from Gaby Meik’s book is history that should not be forgotten. In Spanish with subtitles. Produced by Ernesto Ardito, Virna Molina. Edited by Ernesto Ardito, Virna Molina. Director of Photography: Fernando Molina. An Ernesto Ardito and Virna Molina Film.2018 Audience Choice – Best Feature
The Guilty Denmark – 85 min Directed by Gustav Möller. Written by Emil Nygaard Albertsen and Gustav Möller. With Jakob Cedergren, Jessica Dinnage and Omar Shargawi. In this brilliantly suspenseful thriller, an alarm dispatcher and former policeman answers an emergency call from a kidnapped woman, when the call is suddenly disconnected. With the phone as his only tool, the dispatcher enters a race against time to save the endangered woman and find her kidnapper, but he soon realizes that he is dealing with a much more complicated crime than he first thought. A tense and restrained knockout performance by Jakob Cedergren keeps the audience riveted throughout the film. In Danish and English with subtitles. Produced by Lina Flint. Edited by Carla Luffe Heintzelmann. Director of Photography: Jasper Spanning. A Nordisk Film/SPRING production. From Magnolia Pictures.2018 Spirit of Independent Filmmaking
Thrasher Road East Coast Premiere – United States – 86 min. Written and Directed by Samantha Davidson Green. With Allison Brown and Christian Kohn. Samantha Davidson Green, the writer and director of Thrasher Road, attended the Stony Brook Film Festival with actress Allison Brown and Christian Kohn to represent the film. Ms. Green teaches film directing at Dartmouth College and Thrasher Road was her first feature film after making award-winning short films that have been featured at festivals worldwide. In this original, fresh road trip story, pregnant Chloe and her elderly dog, Thrasher, get an unwelcome rescue from Chloe’s father when her car breaks down in a trip across country. Stuck together in a car with thousands of miles ahead of them and thirteen years’ estrangement behind them, father and daughter start to reconnect. Shot on location from California to Mississippi to Vermont, this very indie road trip features a cast from across the country, and a heart as big as a huge, rusted-out, pickup truck. Produced by Maria Rosenblum, Jonathan Wysock. Edited by Karen Smalley. Director of Photography: Eric Leach. A BetwixtNbetween Films production.2018 Jury Award – Best Short
Unnatural East Coast Premiere – United States – 26 min. A film by Amy Wang. In every attempt for normality, 18-year-old James is perpetually confronted by his demon. “The core of this film is about hating who you are,” notes Amy Wang. In Unnatural, she introduces a reclusive teenager with a secret.2018 Audience Choice Award – Best Short
Internet Gangsters New York Premiere – United States – 6 min. A film by Sam Friedlander. SBFF alumnus and Deer Park native Eddie Alfano (Cops and Robbers) returns to star in a hilarious short as two New York hitmen in L.A. discover technology is the real enemy. As one of the many gems among the shorts that the SBFF audience rated highly, it was a standout. Image: (left to right) Emmy Award winning actor Brian Cox and Alan Inkles, founder and director of the Stony Brook Film Festival, at the U.S. Premiere of The Etruscan Smile, July 21, 2018. The Etruscan Smile won the Grand Prize at the 23rd Annual Stony Brook Film Festival Presented by Island Federal Credit Union. Credit: Nick A. Koridis
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Dark Cuts Pictures to Release Jeremy Wechter’s E-DEMON in the Fall [Trailer]
Jeremy Wechter’s e-Demon tells of an escaped demon on a dark and twisted mission that manipulates a group of friends hanging out on a video-chat. The film is craftily structured – it takes place completely on a computer screen via the webcams being shown. Dark Cuts Pictures has acquired North American rights to e-Demon, planning a fall theatrical and VOD release.
Kendra, AJ, Mar and Dwayne are old college friends who find themselves growing apart. Attempting to hang on to their good old Ohio State days, the gang gets together online for a night of stories, pranks and drinking via web-cam. As the evening progresses, they unknowingly release a deviously clever demon that had been trapped for centuries in Salem, Massachusetts. Since the demon can possess multiple people at once, the group of friends must determine who they can still trust in order to survive the demon’s dark and twisted mission.
Dark Cuts is planning a September theatrical roll-out with a day-and-date VOD release.
e-Demon writer and helmer Wechter scored best director at the New York Horror Film Festival.
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RLJE Films to Release GALVESTON Starring Elle Fanning and Ben Foster [Trailer]
The drama Galveston, which premiered at this year’s SXSW Film Festival and will screen at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival in September will be released in theaters this Fall after been acquired by RLJE Films. Based on the novel “Galveston” by “True Detective” creator Nic Pizzolatto, the film was directed by Mélanie Laurent (Breathe), written by Jim Hammett and stars Ben Foster (Hell or High Water), Elle Fanning (The Beguiled), Lili Reinhart (“Riverdale”), and Beau Bridges (“Homeland”).
In Galveston, Roy is a heavy-drinking criminal enforcer and mob hit man whose boss set him up in a double-cross scheme. After killing his would-be assassins before they could kill him, Roy discovers Rocky, a young woman being held captive, and reluctantly takes her with him on his escape. Determined to find safety and sanctuary in Galveston, Roy must find a way to stop his boss from pursuing them while trying to out-run the demons from his and Rocky’s pasts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XFKu8UNi7I
“Elle Fanning and Ben Foster deliver powerful performances in this provoking drama,” said Mark Ward Chief Acquisitions Officer for RLJE Films. “Their chemistry captures audiences on a gripping, emotional ride. We are so proud to bring this film to the big screen.”
Galveston was executive produced by Jean Doumanian (Everyone Says I Love You), Patrick Daly (August: Osage County), Kevin Flanigan (Take Shelter), Dexter Braff (The Kings of Summer), and Sean Thomas O’Brien (My Blind Brother).
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KUSAMA – INFINITY, Portrait of Legendary Female Artist Yayoi Kusama Sets Release Date
Kusama – Infinity is a revelatory portrait of artist Yayoi Kusama, who overcame impossible odds to become the top-selling female artist in the world. Directed by Heather Lenz, the film will open on Friday, September 7 at New York’s Film Forum and in Los Angeles at the Landmark Nuart with a national rollout to follow.
Yayoi Kusama is best known for her colorful polka dot- and pumpkin-themed designs and her massively popular mirrored Infinity Rooms. For decades, her work pushed boundaries that often alienated her from her peers and those in power in the art world. She was an underdog with everything stacked against her: growing up in Japan during World War II, life in a dysfunctional family that discouraged her creative ambitions, sexism and racism in the art establishment, and mental illness in a culture where that was a particular stigma. In spite of it all, Kusama has endured and has created a legacy of artwork that spans the disciplines of painting, sculpture, installation art, performance art, poetry and novels. After six decades of work—including many years in New York in the pulsing art scene of the ‘60s—people around the globe are now experiencing her Infinity Rooms in record numbers, and Kusama continues to create new work every day.
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South African Western FIVE FINGERS FOR MARSEILLES Guns for Theaters September 7th [Trailer]
[caption id="attachment_26927" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Five Fingers for Marseilles[/caption]
Imagine Clint Eastwood in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; Yul Brynner in The Magnificent Seven; or John Wayne in The Searchers. Now journey from the sweeping plains of America’s Old West to the unforgiving hinterlands of South Africa. Then update the archetypal gunfighter to steely black cowboys who are deft horsemen and lethal marksmen. The result is the boldly original and modern take on the Western genre, Five Fingers for Marseilles, filmed on location in the North-Eastern Cape village of Lady Grey, South Africa. The movie marks the feature directorial debut of Michael Matthews and the feature screenwriting debut of Sean Drummond.
The pistol-packing South African western Five Fingers for Marseilles stares down the barrel of a national theatrical release Friday, September 7, 2018 via Uncork’d Entertainment.
Matthews and Drummond honor the traditional Western genre — and its Spaghetti and revisionist variations — while exporting the trappings into a fresh contemporary story set against the backdrop of post-Apartheid South Africa. Five Fingers for Marseilles takes place in a small town “governed” by dubious local officials, living in fear of a lawless mob; when an exiled outlaw returns home in search of solace and redemption, brotherhood and loyalty are fused with vengeance.
Combining the socio-political threads found in many a great Western; stunning visuals captured in panoramic widescreen lensing; and a cast of talented South African actors giving powerful, nuanced performances, Matthews and Drummond deliver
Synopsis: The residents of the colonial town of Marseilles are under the thumb of police oppression and only the young rebels known as the Five Fingers are willing to stand up to them. Their battle is just, until Tau kills two policemen and flees the scene. The remaining rebels disband while the banished Tau resorts to a life of crime. Twenty years later, now known as feared outlaw The Lion of Marseilles, he is released from prison. He returns home, desiring only peace and to reconnect with those he left behind. The battle for South Africa’s freedom has been won, and former comrades-in-arms are in prominent positions as mayor, police chief, and pastor. But it quickly becomes clear to Tau that Marseilles is caught in the grip of a vicious new threat — and he must reconstitute the Five Fingers to fight frontier justice. Standing against former allies and new enemies, the re-formed Five Fingers saddle up and ride out, and put their lives at risk to save their beloved Marseilles.
Starring Vuyo Dabula, Hamilton Dhlamini, Zethu Dlomo, Kenneth Nkosi, Mduduzi Mabaso, Aubrey Poolo, Lizwi Vilakazi, Warren Masemola, Dean Fourie, Anthony Oseyemi, Brendon Daniels, and Jerry Mofokeng, Five Fingers for Marseilles is written by Sean Drummond and directed by Michael Matthews. The film is produced by Asger Hussain (The Paperboy, Precious) and Yaron Schwartzman (Double Play, 37) from Game 7 Films, as well as Drummond and Matthews (collectively known as Be Phat Motel); and co-produced by Dylan Voogt. Be Phat Motel is next slated to produce the feature adaptation of Apocalypse Now Now penned by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Terri Tatchell (District 9). The film is executive-produced by Jeff Hoffman of Above the Clouds Media Group, Paulo Areal, Dumi Gumbi and Josh Green.
A South African box office hit, Five Fingers for Marseilles made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and went on to successfully screen at Fantastic Fest, BFI London Film Festival, Busan International Film Festival, Fantasia International Film Festival and the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWT0hJhMZwk
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Barbara Kopple’s A MURDER IN MANSFIELD to have its TV Debut on Investigation Discovery [Trailer]
Two-time Oscar(R)-winning director Barbara Kopple explores the legacy of the notorious 1989 murder of Noreen Boyle in Mansfield, Ohio in the new documentary, A Murder In Mansfield. The film chronicles Noreen’s son Collier’s journey for answers and peace in the aftermath of his mother’s death nearly three decades ago. A Murder In Mansfield will have its national television debut exclusively on Investigation Discovery on November 17, 2018 at 9 pm.
Eleven-year-old Collier Boyle and his family lived comfortably in Mansfield, until New Year’s Eve in 1989, when Collier’s father, Dr. Jack Boyle, murdered Noreen, his wife of 20 years. With only circumstantial evidence connecting Dr. Boyle to the crime, Collier’s devastating testimony was the key to convicting him. Now, more than two decades later, Collier returns to Ohio seeking to retrace his past and confront his imprisoned father, who remains in denial of his guilt. The film had its world premiere at DOC NYC and played leading film festivals including Full Frame, AFI Docs and IDFA.
“Collier’s depth of character is a wonder to behold from childhood to adulthood, and out of his tragic story, we witness the power of human resilience,” said Kopple. “I am grateful that Collier has trusted me with his story, and believe this film shows the power of the human spirit, and our ability to rise above tragedy.”
“Families and friends of the victims of violence become secondary victims, often suffering a lifetime of post-traumatic stress,” said Henry Schleiff, Group President, Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, Destination America and American Heroes Channel. “As a storyteller, there is no one better than Barbara Kopple to capture Collier’s life journey, and we are honored to partner with her and her team at Cabin Creek Films to bring ID viewers on his awe-inspiring journey of resilience and reconciliation.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0DHwdY7xBs