Ice Mother[/caption]
Ice Mother (Czech Republic) directed by Bohdan Sláma and Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster’s Science Fair (United States) snagged the top audience accolades at the 41st Portland International Film Festival. Ice Mother won the award for Best Narrative Feature and Science Fair took the Best Documentary Feature award.
Director Ryôta Nakano is the winner of this year’s Best New Director award for his debut feature, Her Love Boils Bathwater (Japan). Tehran Taboo (Austria/Germany) director Ali Soozandeh takes home the Audience Award for Best Animated Feature. This year’s Best International Short Film Award goes to director Britt Raes for her film Catherine (Belgium). Portland-based director Dawn Jones Redstone’s film We Have Our Ways is the recipient of the Best Oregon Short Film Award.
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“Ice Mother” and “Science Fair” Win Top Audience Awards at 41st Portland International Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_27542" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Ice Mother[/caption]
Ice Mother (Czech Republic) directed by Bohdan Sláma and Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster’s Science Fair (United States) snagged the top audience accolades at the 41st Portland International Film Festival. Ice Mother won the award for Best Narrative Feature and Science Fair took the Best Documentary Feature award.
Director Ryôta Nakano is the winner of this year’s Best New Director award for his debut feature, Her Love Boils Bathwater (Japan). Tehran Taboo (Austria/Germany) director Ali Soozandeh takes home the Audience Award for Best Animated Feature. This year’s Best International Short Film Award goes to director Britt Raes for her film Catherine (Belgium). Portland-based director Dawn Jones Redstone’s film We Have Our Ways is the recipient of the Best Oregon Short Film Award.
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2018 Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival in NYC Announces Lineup, “Men Don’t Cry” “Birds Like Us” and More…
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Men Don’t Cry[/caption]
A total of 15 films will screen at the 2018 Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival (BHFF), along with a series of Q&A and discussion panels with filmmakers. The festival will run from Wednesday, April 11 through Saturday, April 14 at two Manhattan venues.
The BHFF will kick off with a special event on Wednesday, April 11, with a screening and discussion panel at Anthology Film Archives before moving to the SVA Theatre for three exciting nights featuring screenings, events with with filmmakers, and much more.
This year’s program will feature the work of 7 women directors, and brings to New York City both innovative young filmmakers, as well as established regional names including renowned director and screenwriter Aida Begić, and legendary actor Emir Hadžihafizbegović.
The fifteenth annual BHFF and will consist of five narrative feature films, four narrative shorts and six documentary films. All films selected to screen at the 15th Annual BHFF program are eligible to win a number of honors including the Golden Apple audience and jury awards. Films in competition are:
FEATURE FILMS
Birds Like Us | Faruk Šabanović, Amela Ćuhara | 84 min A group of birds are unceremoniously evicted from their home tree after a brave couple attempts to disrupt the community’s unique and unsettling social contract. Featuring Oscar winners Jeremy Irons and Alicia Vikander, and music by Peter Gabriel. The Frog (Žaba) | Elmir Jukić | 78 Minutes Zeko, a barber and a veteran, finds himself prone to violent fits resulting from post-traumatic stress disorder. Zeko attempts to reassemble the pieces of his life by reaching out to his brother Braco, who struggles with his own demons. Men Don’t Cry (Muškarci ne plaču) | Alen Drljević | 98 Minutes Twenty years after the conclusion of the Bosnian War, a diverse group of men meet to discuss their experiences and process the events that shaped their lives decades ago. Never Leave Me (Bırakma Beni) | Aida Begić | 97 min A group of young Syrian children try to overcome war trauma, and adjust to refugee life in Turkey. Nothing but the Wind (Ništa, samo vjetar) | Timur Makarević | 87 min If home is where the heart is, Bosnian-born Swede Vedran is conflicted about both. Forced to revisit his hometown of Sarajevo 18 years after departing, he must accept the changes the visit brings to him.SHORT FILMS
Great Wall of China (Kineski zid) | Aleksandra Odić | 36 min The legacy of the conflicts of the 1990s lurks in the background of a family gathering in the Bosnian countryside, as experienced by Maja, a young girl. Hedgehog’s Home (Ježeva kućica) | Eva Cvijanović | 10 min An interpretation of Branko Ćopić’s story of the same name, this animated short focuses on a hedgehog who is both envied and respected by other animals. Hedgehog’s Home is narrated by Rade Šerbedžija of Eyes Wide Shut, and Mission impossible: 2. Pink Elephant | Ado Hasanović | 17 min A secret suddenly breaks open when a daughter returns home from abroad, in this laugh-out-loud funny short about generational clashes. Stalemate | Amir Karagić | 13 min Mike, a middle-aged chef from Amsterdam, sits down to a game of chess with his estranged millennial son. A power battle ensues. Winter Sun (Zimsko sunce) | Pilar Palomero | 37 min Nana, who is eighty years old, is in need of a surgery. To have it, she and her husband must leave their home in the small village of Hrsa, in this an intimate look at this couple’s struggles to navigate a daunting healthcare system.DOCUMENTARY FILMS
Što te nema | Rialda Zukić | 8 min This documentary reflects on the recent incarnation in Boston’s iconic Copley Square of Što te nema, a “nomadic monument” held each July 11 that is dedicated to the 8,372 victims of the Srebrenica genocide. Scream for Me Sarajevo | Tarik Hodžić | 95 min A look back at the 1994 Iron Maiden concert in Sarajevo and what it took to make it happen as the city and its inhabitants were struggling through the three-year siege. To Be Far (Biti daleko) | Samira Kameli, Sajra Subašić | 9 min Samira, a documentarian from Iran, has traveled to Sarajevo to make a film. Attempting to connect with the country and its people, she seeks out others who have traveled great distances to be there, but encounters difficulties upon attempting to film at a refugee center. Two Schools (Dvije škole) | Srđan Šarenac | 43 min This documentary explores the Travnik Gymnasium, which, following the war in Bosnia, has been divided into two separate schools that share the same building. The annual Christmas football tournament is the only time when children from both sides of the school get a chance to interact with one another. [caption id="attachment_27539" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
Undercovered[/caption]
Undercovered | Nejra Latić Hulušić, Sabrina Begović-Čorić | 53 min
Undercovered deals with six young Bosnian women from different spheres of life who decide to wear the headscarf as expression of their religion and identity.
Winter Sun (Zimsko sunce) | Pilar Palomero | 37 min
Nana, who is eighty years old, is in need of a surgery. To have it, she and her husband must leave their home in the small village of Hrsa, in this an intimate look at this couple’s struggles to navigate a daunting healthcare system.
The BHFF also presents a jury award for Best Acting Performance, awarded to an actor or actress in a lead or supporting role in any of the narrative short and feature films. The festival extend the following nominations for the BHFF 2018 Jury Award for Best Acting Performance to:
Emir Hadžihafizbegović, lead actor in the role of Zeko in The Frog
Ermin Bravo, lead actor in the role of Ahmed in Men Don’t Cry
Elena Matić, lead actress in the role of Maja in Great Wall of China
Boris Glibusić, lead actor in the role of Vedran in Nothing but the Wind
Izudin Bajrović, supporting actor in the role of Sead in Pink Elephant
Jasna Žalica, supporting actress in the role of Zlata in Pink Elephant
Isa Demlakhi, lead actor in the role of Isa in Never Leave Me
Emir Hadžihafizbegović, lead actor in the role of Merim in Men Don’t Cry
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Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One” World Premieres Tonight at SXSW | Trailer
Steven Spielberg’s latest film Ready Player One, based on the global bestseller by Ernest Cline, will World Premiere tonight at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival.
In the year 2045 people can escape their harsh reality in the OASIS, an immersive virtual world where you can go anywhere, do anything, be anyone — the only limits are your own imagination. OASIS creator James Halliday left his immense fortune and control of the OASIS to the winner of a contest designed to find a worthy heir. When unlikely hero Wade Watts conquers the first challenge of the reality-bending treasure hunt, he and his friends — known as the High Five — are hurled into a fantastical universe of discovery and danger to save the OASIS and their world.
Spielberg directed Ready Player One from a screenplay by Zak Penn and Cline. The film stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Lena Waithe, T.J. Miller, Philip Zhao, Win Morisaki, and Hannah John-Kamen with Simon Pegg and Mark Rylance.
“We are thrilled to be premiering Ready Player One at SXSW,” said Janet Pierson, Director of Film. “The film brings to the screen a story that has captivated millions of readers around the globe, written by Austin’s very own Ernest Cline. And in the hands of Steven Spielberg —inarguably one of our greatest directors —we know the film is going to be a special cinematic event for our attendees. We also look forward to the Ready Player One Experience, which brings us into both the physical and virtual worlds of the film.”
Ready Player One will open on March 29, 2018 in 2D and 3D in select theaters and IMAX.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSp1dM2Vj48
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2018 Chattanooga Film Festival Unleashes SECOND WAVE of Films, Closes with “I KILL GIANTS” | Trailers
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I Kill Giants[/caption]
The 5th annual Chattanooga Film Festival is almost here, and the festival has released the second wave of films, comprising of a generous mix of fantasy, horror, documentary and animated films.
Film highlights include Timothée Chalamet, who has had recent turns in CALL ME BY YOUR NAME and LADY BIRD, stars in HOT SUMMER NIGHTS, a charming coming of age drama set during a summer at Cape Cod. Catch this winning flick at CFF before the good folks at A24 release it later this year.
BORLEY RECTORY is an animated documentary chronicling what came to be known as “the most haunted house in England.” The legends attached to the rectory at Borley and famed paranormal investigator Harry Price’s subsequent investigations of them, caught the public’s imagination during the late 1920s, in time becoming one of the world’s most notorious ghost stories.
ERNEST AND CELESTINE charmed audiences during its 2014 screening at CFF, and festival organizers are bringing the latest family crowd pleaser from the same talented filmmaking duo to Chattanooga. Bring your kids and the young film fans in your life to THE BIG BAD FOX & OTHER TALES, because this is a comedy adventure all ages can enjoy.
Rounding out CFF’s cinematic sojourn into the dark heart of the 1980s, along with this year’s SUMMER OF ’84 and LIFE AFTER FLASH, is THE POWER OF GLOVE. This doc is an absolute hoot and tells the strange, but true tale of the rise and fall of Nintendo’s Power Glove in the 1980s.
Anchored by one of the most amazing performances you’re likely to see this year by Valeria Bertuccelli, who also co-writes and directs, THE QUEEN OF FEAR tells the story of an actress that becomes over anxious in the days leading up to the premiere of her one-woman show. Along with previously announced selection MADELINE’S MADELINE, it makes for a fascinating and entertaining double feature about obsessive actors taking their craft perhaps a bit too seriously.
Director Ryuhei Kitamura’s latest is DOWNRANGE, revolving around a group of friends who after a roadside blowout become the targets of a mysterious sniper. Throw in an appearance by longtime CFF favorite Graham Skipper, also teaching our acting class along with actor/filmmaker Matt Mercer this year, and you’ve got a lightning-paced blast of a thriller.
In the action-packed true story A PRAYER BEFORE DAWN, an English boxer incarcerated in one of Thailand’s most notorious prisons fights in Muay Thai tournaments to earn his freedom. This movie lands like a punch in the gut and in this case, that’s a good thing.
Everyone loves a good food documentary, and RAMEN HEADS straight up classifies as food porn. Osamu Tomita, Japan’s reigning king of ramen, takes us deep into his world, revealing every single step of his obsessive approach to creating the perfect soup and noodles and his relentless search for the highest-quality ingredients. Mixing in a brief rundown of ramen’s historical roots, the film gives viewers an in-depth look at the culture surrounding this unique and beguiling dish.
The National Pyrotechnic Festival in Tultepec, Mexico is the site of festivity unlike any other in the world, and has been captured in a hypnotically beautiful, charming and deeply entertaining documentary called BRIMSTONE & GLORY. In celebration of San Juan de Dios, patron saint of firework makers, conflagrant revelry engulfs the town for ten days. Artisans show off their technical virtuosity, up-and-comers create their own rowdy, lo-fi combustibles, and dozens of teams build larger-than-life papier-mâché bulls to parade into the town square, adorned with fireworks that blow up in all directions. For the people of Tultepec, this explosive celebration, is a combination of unrestrained delight and real peril.
Punk rock horror? Yes please. In Jenn Wexler’s debut THE RANGER, a group of punk rockers piss off a truly psychotic forest ranger. Coupled with a soundtrack loaded with deep punk rock cuts and some truly amazing thrills and chills, this film has put Wexler on CFF’s up and coming filmmakers list. Wexler and producer Heather Buckley will be on hand for a Q&A following the film.
Lola Kirk and Zoe Kravitz star in GEMINI, a mystery thriller by acclaimed director Aaron Katz. This is the kind of film that you go into cold, and let the film and its beguiling leads cast the same spell on you that it did on the CFF team.
Casey T. Malone has chosen CFF for the world premiere of his feature film LESSER BEASTS. This hauntingly beautiful, truly personal dazzler is a cross between Guy Maddin and Terence Malick, with a little dash of good ole David Lynchian experimentation to make the mix all the more compelling. Malone will be attending for a Q&A, along with some of the cast members.
Kane Hodder is a hero. More than just the man behind the mask for iconic film villains from FRIDAY THE 13TH’s Jason Vorhees to Adam Green’s cult classic HATCHET franchise, Hodder’s is a name that genre film fans revere. This incredible biography, TO HELL AND BACK: THE KANE HODDER STORY, traces his struggle to overcome a dehumanizing childhood and endless bullying, to his rise in becoming one of the true living legends of horror and genre cinema.
When filmmakers Mike Testin and Matt Mercer challenged themselves to make a film from conception to completion in just 31 days they created DEMENTIA PART II. Making its world premiere at CFF, there is so much to love; from insane plot to the inspiring way this film came to life.
To say the films of filmmakers Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani are in a class of their own is an understatement. In LET THE CORPSES TAN they do for the Spaghetti Western what they did for Giallo thrillers with their classic AMER, making a movie as psychedelic as it is unforgettable.
I KILL GIANTS has been selected as the closing night film for this year’s festival, a crowd-pleasing powerhouse fantasy brought to life by the producers of the Harry Potter films. Based on the graphic novel of the same name, I KILL GIANTS tell the story of Barbara Thorson as she struggles through life by escaping into a fantasy life of magic and monsters.
THE SECOND WAVE OF FILMS FOR 2018 CHATTANOOGA FILM FESTIVAL
TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID | Director Issa López
A dark fairy tale about a gang of five children trying to survive the horrific violence of the cartels and the ghosts created every day by the drug war.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-kCERB3ss4
HOT SUMMER NIGHTS | Director Elijah Bynum
A boy comes of age during a summer he spends in Cape Cod.
BORLEY RECTORY | Director Ashley Thorpe
BORLEY RECTORY is an animated documentary chronicling what came to be known as “the most haunted house in England.” The legends attached to the rectory at Borley and famed paranormal investigator Harry Price’s subsequent investigations of them caught the public’s imagination during the late 1920s, in time becoming one of the world’s most notorious ghost stories. BORLEY RECTORY examines the legend, the controversial investigations and a ghost story that may well reveal more about what might have been missing from Borley rather than what might have been invading it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwVon3ODMWo
THE BIG BAD FOX AND OTHER TALES | Directors Patrick Imbert, Benjamin Renner
Whoever thinks that the countryside is calm and peaceful is mistaken. In it we find especially agitated animals, a Fox that thinks it’s a chicken, a Rabbit that acts like a stork, and a Duck who wants to replace Father Christmas. If you want to take a vacation, keep driving past this place.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3QkSzpNGW8
THE POWER OF GLOVE | Directors Andrew Austin, Adam Ward
A documentary that chronicles the journey of the world’s most notorious video game controller: the Power Glove. For the first time, discover the history and legacy behind the glove that helped inspire a generation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfp2j7Zgo_g
THE QUEEN OF FEAR | Directors Valeria Bertuccelli, Fabiana Tiscornia
An actress becomes over anxious in the days leading up to the premiere of her one-woman show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3tVbHrm7_k
BLEEDING SKULL PRESENTS NINJA ZOMBIE | Director Mark Bessenger
We already know that every sane moviegoer on earth loves occult mayhem, undead martial arts warriors and wizards with spiders tattooed on their faces. But little did we know that all of those things and more comprised a completely unseen feature-length Super-8 masterpiece from Illinois! A murdered karate expert rises from the grave to exact revenge and rescue his girlfriend from black magic maniacs. Despite its food stamp budget, Ninja Zombie is an unrelenting ruckus of supernatural threats and high-kicking vengeance.
SUPER INFRA-MAN | Director Shan Hua
In this Shaw Bros. classic, Princess Dragon Mom and her mutant army have arisen, and only Inframan can stop them!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLlecrotn0Q
DOWNRANGE | Director Ryûhei Kitamura
Stranded at the side of the road after a tire blowout, a group of friends become targets for an enigmatic sniper.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHLHKmWVDYw
A PRAYER BEFORE DAWN | Director Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire
The true story of an English boxer incarcerated in one of Thailand’s most notorious prisons as he fights in Muay Thai tournaments to earn his freedom.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp88Nuci68c
RAMEN HEADS | Director Koki Shigeno
In ‘Ramen Heads,’ Osamu Tomita, Japan’s reigning king of ramen, takes us deep into his world, revealing every single step of his obsessive approach to creating the perfect soup and noodles, and his relentless search for the highest-quality ingredients. In addition to Tomita’s story, the film also profiles five other notable ramen shops, each with its own philosophy and flavor, which exemplify various aspects the ramen world. Mixing in a brief rundown of ramen’s historical roots, the film gives viewers an in-depth look at the culture surrounding this unique and beguiling dish. This is a documentary record of 15 months in the lives of Japan’s top ramen masters and their legions of devoted fans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3E9MGOK4LY
BRIMSTONE & GLORY | Director Viktor Jakovleski
Ecstatic ritual, danger and the absolute beauty of fireworks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQmNtP3TRmI
THE RANGER | Director Jenn Wexler
A group of punk rockers piss off a psychotic forest ranger.
Q&A following with director Jenn Wexler and producer Heather Buckley
GEMINI | Director Aaron Katz
A heinous crime tests the complex relationship between a tenacious personal assistant and her Hollywood starlet boss. As the assistant unravels the mystery, she must confront her own understanding of friendship, truth, and celebrity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISjmjYU-kMI
LESSER BEASTS | Director Casey T. Malone
*WORLD PREMIERE
Four stories. One mystery.
Q&A following with director Casey T. Malone and cast.
https://vimeo.com/213251995
TO HELL AND BACK: THE KANE HODDER STORY | Director Derek Dennis Herbert
TO HELL AND BACK: THE KANE HODDER STORY is the harrowing story of a stuntman overcoming a dehumanizing childhood filled with torment and bullying in Sparks, Nevada. After surviving a near-death burn accident, he worked his way up through Hollywood, leading to his ultimate rise as Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th series and making countless moviegoers forever terrified of hockey masks and summer camp. Featuring interviews with cinema legends, including Bruce Campbell (Ash vs. Evil Dead), Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger), and Cassandra Peterson (Elvira: Mistress of the Dark), To Hell and Back peels off the mask of Kane Hodder, cinema’s most prolific killer, in a gut-wrenching, but inspiring, documentary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10ViGiRfRCo
DEMENTIA PART II | Directors Mike Testin, Matt Mercer
*WORLD PREMIERE
Suzanne wasn’t always this confused. She wasn’t always dead either… When an ex-con takes a job as a handyman for an unstable elderly woman to avoid a parole violation, it becomes a choice he may regret. From the makers of Dementia and Contracted comes the unnecessary midnight-movie sequel you never knew you wanted… made script-to-screen in literally one month!
Q&A following with directors Mike Testin and Matt Mercer
LET THE CORPSES TAN | Director Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani
The Mediterranean summer: blue sea, blazing sun….and 250 kg of gold stolen by Rhino and his gang! They had found the perfect hideout: an abandoned and remote hamlet now taken over by a woman artist in search for inspiration. Unfortunately surprise guests and two cops compromise their plan: the heavenly place where wild happenings and orgies used to take place turns into a gruesome battlefield.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONMbWj8u-RA
NOVEMBER | Director Rainer Sarnet
Based on Estonian novel “Rehepapp” by Andrus Kivirähk, a bestseller of the last twenty years, the film is a mixture of magic, black humor and romantic love. The story is set in a pagan Estonian village where werewolves, the plague, and spirits roam. The villagers’ main problem is how to survive the cold, dark winter. And, to that aim, nothing is taboo.
TURBO KID | Directors François Simard, Anouk Whissell, Yoann-Karl Whissell
*FREE SCREENING
In a post-apocalyptic wasteland in 1997, a comic book fan adopts the persona of his favorite hero to save his enthusiastic friend and fight a tyrannical overlord.
François Simard, Anouk Whissell, Yoann-Karl Whissell in attendance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFlZ6pVtnv0
THE ENDLESS | Directors Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead
*FREE SCREENING
Two brothers return to the cult they fled from years ago to discover that the group’s beliefs may be more sane than they once thought.
Q&A with producer and cast member David Lawson
I KILL GIANTS | Director Anders Walter
Barbara Thorson struggles through life by escaping into a fantasy life of magic and monsters.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ0QKOR5Kgc
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5 Scientists Explore Some of the Most Spectacular Places on Earth in Trailer for “The Serengeti Rules”
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“Bob Paine (played by Matthieson McCrae) explores the Pacific Northwest in search of a natural laboratory.” From THE SERENGETI RULES. Photo credit: Nicolas Brown.[/caption]
Check out the beautiful and breath-taking trailer for The Serengeti Rules, a film that follows five pioneering scientists exploring some of the most remote and spectacular places on Earth.
Directed by Emmy and BAFTA award-winning filmmaker Nicolas Brown, The Serengeti Rules, will world premiere at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.
Beginning in the 1960s, a small band of young scientists headed out into the wilderness, driven by an insatiable curiosity about how nature works. Immersed in some of the most remote and spectacular places on Earth—from the majestic Serengeti to the Amazon jungle; from the Arctic Ocean to Pacific tide pools—they discovered a single set of rules that govern all life. Now in the twilight of their eminent careers, these five unsung heroes of modern ecology—Bob Paine, Jim Estes, Mary Power, Tony Sinclair, and John Terborgh—share the stories of their adventures, and how their pioneering work flipped our view of nature on its head. Across the globe, they discovered that among the millions of species on our planet, some are far more important than others. They called these species “keystones,” because they hold the natural world together. The role of keystones is both revelatory and surprising: sea otters help kelp forests flourish, supporting everything from salmon to eagles; wolves enable rivers to run clear and help forests thrive; and the humble wildebeest controls the numbers of trees, butterflies, elephants, and even giraffes on the savanna.
Unfortunately, these deep connections also work in reverse. When keystones are removed, ecosystems unravel and collapse—a phenomenon no one had imagined—or understood until their revolutionary discoveries. But with new knowledge also comes new hope, and these same visionaries reveal the remarkable resilience of nature—and how the rules they discovered can be used to upgrade and restore the natural world. They give us the chance to reimagine the world as it could and should be.
Based on the book by Sean B. Carroll, The Serengeti Rules will forever change the way we see nature. The film will be accompanied by a media and impact campaign to shine a light on restoration projects across the world.
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25th Anniversary of THE FUGITIVE Starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones will Open 2018 Ebertfest
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The Fugitive[/caption]
The Fugitive directed by Andrew Davis, and starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, will open this year’s 20th anniversary celebration of Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, co-founded and hosted by Chaz Ebert and also known as ‘Ebertfest.” The Fugitive celebrates its 25th anniversary of release having opened in theaters on August 6, 1993.
“We like to start the festival with a bang and Andy Davis’s award winning film The Fugitive will do just that as our projectionist, James Bond, lights it on our huge screen at the beautiful movie palace, the Virginia Theater,” said co-founder Chaz Ebert. “And that is just for starters. We are really going to celebrate Roger and cinema and the filmmakers and our guests and all that we have shared over these last twenty years. It will be glorious and joyful.”
Additionally, Ebertfest reavealed that 13TH (d. Ava DuVernay), BELLE (d. Amma Asante) and DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST (d. Julie Dash) as the initial films in this year’s slate. The remaining schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.
“What an honor to have these Three Queens of Cinema grace our festival,” said Chaz Ebert. “Ava DuVernay first met Roger outside of the practice arena for the Academy Awards when she was 8 years old. She was accompanied by her aunt whose death later inspired Ava’s poignant independent film, I WILL FOLLOW that Roger gave Thumbs Up. Now she is directing a 100 million dollar movie. But why I am especially thrilled to have her at our 20th anniversary is because of all of the good work she is doing in Hollywood to assure that women and people of color are having opportunities that were not available before. She didn’t stop at her own success, she reached out and invited others to come along.”
Special guests Director Andrew Davis (The Fugitive) Director, Writer and Producer Ava DuVernay (13TH), Director Amma Asante (BELLE) and Director Julie Dash (DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST) will be in attendance and participate in Q&As following their screenings.
The 20th Anniversary of Ebertfest will be held April 18 to 22, 2018 at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, IL with related talks and panel discussions to be held at the Hyatt Place in Champaign and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This year’s event will be dedicated to its namesake and co-founder, Roger Ebert, and to the festival’s cherished friend, Mary Frances Fagan.
The Fugitive (1993) – Opening Night Film
Directed by Andrew Davis, 130 mins
Special Guest Andrew Davis will be in attendance
Wrongfully accused of murdering his wife, Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) escapes from the law in an attempt to find her killer and clear his name. Pursuing him is a team of U.S. marshals led by Deputy Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones), a determined detective who will not rest until Richard is captured. As Richard leads the team through a series of intricate chases, he discovers the secrets behind his wife’s death and struggles to expose the killer before it is too late.
In his 4-star review, Roger Ebert called the film “one of the best entertainments of the year, a tense, taut and expert thriller that becomes something more than that, an allegory about an innocent man in a world prepared to crush him.”
13TH (2016)
Directed by Ava DuVernay, 100 Mins, DCP
Special Guest Ava DuVernay will be in attendance
The title of Ava DuVernay’s extraordinary and galvanizing documentary refers to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which reads “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.” The progression from that second qualifying clause to the horrors of mass criminalization and the sprawling American prison industry is laid out by DuVernay with bracing lucidity. With a potent mixture of archival footage and testimony from a dazzling array of activists, politicians, historians, and formerly incarcerated women and men, DuVernay creates a work of grand historical synthesis.
In his 4 star review on RogerEbert.com, Odie Henderson wrote that 13TH is “an unflinching, well-informed and thoroughly researched look at the American system of incarceration, specifically how the prison industrial complex affects people of color.”
BELLE (2014)
Directed by Amma Asante, 102 Mins, DCP
Special Guest Amma Asante will be in attendance
BELLE is inspired by the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), the illegitimate mixed race daughter of Admiral Sir John Lindsay (Matthew Goode). Raised by her aristocratic great-uncle Lord Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson) and his wife (Emily Watson), Belle’s lineage affords her certain privileges, yet her status prevents her from the traditions of noble social standing. While her cousin Elizabeth (Sarah Gadon) chases suitors for marriage, Belle is left on the sidelines wondering if she will ever find love. After meeting an idealistic young vicar’s son bent on changing society, he and Belle help shape Lord Mansfield’s role as Lord Chief Justice to end slavery in England.
“Amma Asante did something that no one ever thought possible, bringing a Jane Austen sensibility to historical issues of race in England in her film ‘Belle’,” said Chaz Ebert. “I can’t wait to welcome her to Ebertfest.”
DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST (1991)
Directed by Julie Dash, 112 Mins
Special Guest Julie Dash will be in attendance
At the dawn of the 20th century, a family in the Gullah community of coastal South Carolina — former West African slaves who adopted many of their ancestors’ Yoruba traditions — suffers a generational split. Young Haagar (Kaycee Moore) wants to move to the mainland away from tradition-bound matriarch Nana (Cora Lee Day). Former prostitute Yellow Mary (Barbara-O) gets a cold shoulder when she returns to the island with her female lover, especially from her sister Viola (Cheryl Lynn Bruce).
Roger Ebert called the film “a tone poem of old memories, a family album in which all of the pictures are taken on the same day” in his 3 star review. He went on to say that “at certain moments we are not sure exactly what is being said or signified, but by the end we understand everything that happened — not in an intellectual way, but in an emotional way.”
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See Poster + Trailer for Indie Action-Comedy GARLIC AND GUNPOWDER Starring Steven Chase, James Duvall, Vivica A. Fox
Check out the official trailer and poster for the indie slapstick action-comedy Garlic and Gunpowder starring Steven Chase, James Duvall, Lainie Kazan, Judy Tenuta, Martin Kove, Dean McDermott, Felissa Rose, Vivica A. Fox and Michael Madsen. The film is set for release in North American on Friday, March 16th by Global Digital Releasing.
Garlic and Gunpowder centers around a news report warning that a comet is on track to hit and possibly destroy the planet – or not, depending on who you talk too. However, some of the city’s super rich aren’t taking any chances and devise a plan to stash much of their wealth in bunkers….just in case. Ma (Rose), a 300 pound, cigar chompin’ Mob Boss, assigns her top two wise guys (Chase and Duvall) to hijack the convoy carrying all of the loot to the site. However, Ma is not the only one who sees this as an opportunity to get rich quick. While a public relations rep (Fox) tries to damage control the hysteria, a rival Chinese mafia leader, a clown, a porn star and even a couple of corrupt federal agents all formulate their own plan to steal the loot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rECoFJO-hxI
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Kevin Macdonald’s Authorized Whitney Houston Documentary Gets a Summer Theatrical Release Date
Whitney, Academy Award®-winning director Kevin Macdonald’s highly anticipated documentary about the life and career of legendary superstar Whitney Houston will be released this summer in the United States on July 6th by Roadside Attractions and Miramax, and also on July 6th in the UK and Ireland by Altitude Film Entertainment.
Whitney is the intimate, definitive account of the superstar’s life and career, authored by renowned Oscar®-winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald. The only film officially supported by the late singer’s estate, it includes previously unreleased recordings, rare never-before-seen footage and live performances recorded by Houston at various stages her life, as well as original studio recordings and acapellas of some of the late singer’s greatest hits. Because the filmmakers had access to vast archives of the Houston estate, the film also contains personal home movie footage that has never been seen publicly before, offering a rare glimpse of Whitney’s life behind-the-scenes as known only to her closest relatives, friends and collaborators.
Director Macdonald says, “I approached Whitney’s life like a mystery story; why did someone with so much raw talent and beauty self-destruct so publicly and painfully? I was lucky enough to have the support of Pat Houston and the Whitney Houston estate in this quest. They entrusted me with the ‘keys to the vault’ while giving me complete freedom to follow the story wherever it went. At heart, Whitney is an intimate family story that reveals a new side to a woman that even her most die-hard fans never knew.”
“To tell Whitney’s story, you have to know her story,” says Patricia Houston, the late singer’s manager, sister-in-law and the executor of Houston’s estate. “We could not be more excited that Whitney’s fans will have this authoritative and definitive documentary chronicling the full arc or her career and the scope of Whitney’s entire life. This is an amazing retrospective that celebrates Whitney with never-before-seen footage and Kevin approaches her life with no blinders on. He captures all of Whitney’s magic, and he does not ignore the hard times. This is a film that will truly thrill all who knew and loved her as a musician, actress, model and so much more.”
Academy Award®-winner Kevin Macdonald (Marley, Touching The Void, One Day in September, The Last King of Scotland), Academy Award®-winning producer Simon Chinn (Man on Wire, Searching For Sugarman), and his Lightbox co-founder Emmy® Award-winning producer Jonathan Chinn (LA 92, Fantastic Lies) and multi-Emmy® Award nominated and Happy Street Entertainment co-founder Lisa Erspamer (“Running From Crazy”) tell the unvarnished and authentic story of the late icon’s life in a film that examines both the meteoric highs and devastating lows of her remarkable and unforgettable career. Patricia Houston, Nicole David, Zanne Devine, Rosanne Korenberg, Joe Patrick, and Altitude Film Entertainment’s Will Clarke, Andy Mayson, and Mike Runagall executive produced.
Often referred to simply as ‘The Voice’, Whitney Houston was a singular talent, blessed with an extraordinary vocal range and incredible technical skill. As one of music’s biggest selling artists ever, she broke more records than any other female singer in the history of pop music. With over 200 million album sales worldwide, and remaining the only artist to chart seven consecutive US No. 1’s, Whitney Houston became the voice of a generation and is the most awarded female singer in history. Coming from an esteemed lineage of singers, Whitney was destined to be plucked from her gospel-singing roots to rule the world stage. She inspired a generation of singers from Mariah Carey and Lady Gaga to Beyoncé and her unforgettable performance of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ moved the nation.
But all these achievements became overshadowed by a story of deep internal turmoil, addiction and self-destruction. With unprecedented access to friends, family and collaborators – some of whom have never told their story before, Kevin Macdonald offers the first comprehensive look at Whitney Houston’s life, work and creative process. The film reveals a woman who was both blessed and cursed with perhaps the greatest natural ability of any pop star in history.
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2018 Chattanooga Film Festival Releases FIRST WAVE of Films – LU OVER THE WALL, GHOST STORIES and More …
LU OVER THE WALL With the 5th annual Chattanooga Film Festival just under one month away, the first wave of films are here.
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SXSW 2018: This Is Her Fight – Watch Trailer for Olivia Newman’s FIRST MATCH
Netflix today dropped the trailer for First Match, the first feature film from writer/director Olivia Newman, that is set to World Premiere at SXSW 2018. Following its debut, the film will launch on Netflix on March 30, 2018.
Hardened by years in foster care, a teenage girl from Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood decides that joining the all-boys’ wrestling team is the only way back to her estranged father.
First Match stars Elvire Emanuelle, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Colman Domingo, Jharrel Jerome and Jared Kemp. From producers Chanelle Elaine, Veronica Nickel and Bryan Unkeless. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xva2FWNdcD0
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Watch Trailer for NEW WAVE: DARE TO BE DIFFERENT – The Story of WLLR 92 “the Most Influential Radio Station”
New Wave: Dare To Be Different directed by Ellen Goldfard tells the story of the most influential radio station on Long Island, NY called WLLR 92. U2, Talking Heads, Depeche Mode, Blondie, Duran Duran, Tears for Fears, The Clash, The Cure – over half a billion records sold, but you might have never heard of them if not for the small suburban radio station on Long Island, NY called WLIR 92.7.
The documentary film is a nostalgic look back at the rogue radio station on the cutting edge of music throughout the 1980s. Program director Denis McNamara, the station crew and the biggest artists of the era tell the story of how they battled the FCC, record labels, mega-radio and all the conventional rules to create a musical movement that brought New Wave to America.
New Wave: Dare To Be Different features rare archival footage and candid interviews with artists including Joan Jett, Debbie Harry, Billy Idol, Nick Rhodes (Duran Duran), Dave Wakeling (The English Beat), Annabella Lwin (Bow Wow Wow), Jim Kerr (Simple Minds), Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, YAZ and Erasure), Curt Smith (Tears for Fears), Fred Schneider (The B-52s), Mike Score (A Flock of Seagulls), Mike Peters (The Alarm), Katrina Leskanich (Katrina and the Waves), Thomas Dolby, Howard Jones and Midge Ure (Ultravox, Live Aid founder), among others. WLIR helped introduce most of these bands to a U.S. audience while creating a community centered around the punk and New Wave scene.
Now, 30 years after the station went off the air, the film tells the story of the unique rise and fall of this independent cultural institution. New Wave: Dare To Be Different premieres on Showtime on Friday, March 30 at 8 p.m. ET/PT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdmvLN_pZq8
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7 Documentaries incl. “The Rape of Recy Taylor” Acquired by Starz
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The Rape of Recy Taylor[/caption]
Seven exclusive, first-run documentaries including The Rape of Recy Taylor, a film that exposes a legacy of physical abuse of black women and reveals Rosa Parks’ intimate role in Recy Taylor’s story, have been acquired by Starz. The Rape of Recy Taylor will premiere on STARZ in July 2018.
Recently mentioned as “a name I know and I think you should know, too” by Oprah Winfrey during her acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 75th Golden Globes on January 7, 2018, Mrs. Recy Taylor was abducted and gang raped by six white men in Alabama in 1944. An epic story of black women who spoke up when danger was greatest, it was their noble efforts to take back their bodies that led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott and movements that followed.
DOCUMENTARY FILMS
The Rape of Recy Taylor – Premiere Date: July 2, 2018 Mrs. Recy Taylor was abducted and gang raped by six white men in Alabama in 1944. Unbroken, she spoke up and fought for justice with help from the NAACP, Rosa Parks and legions of women. An epic story of sexual violence in the Jim Crow South, when courageous black women fight to take back their bodies and their dignity. McLaren – Premiere Date: March 12, 2018 A fearless sportsman and a brilliant visionary engineer, Bruce McLaren became a superstar during the glamorous jet-set world of 1960s Formula One motor racing. McLaren recounts the New Zealander’s life, from his humble beginnings at his father’s auto shop in Auckland, to revolutionizing Formula One Racing by becoming the youngest driver ever to win a Grand Prix, to his death at 32. Featuring interviews from his closest friends and family members, the documentary is an unprecedented window into the life of a true genius. Pecking Order – Premiere Date: March 26, 2018 Fierce rivalries, club infighting, problematic birds and irregular judging are just some of the challenges faced by a group of zealous Kiwi chicken breeders hell bent on victory at the 2015 National Poultry Show. Sled Dogs – Premiere Date: April 9, 2018 Winner of the World Documentary Award and Best Female-Directed Documentary at the Whistler Film Festival, Sled Dogs is the first documentary to look at the sometimes gruesome reality of what happens at sled dog operations and the Iditarod once the tourists go home. This film weaves together various characters and narratives to explore a truth about the dog sledding industry while posing the question: “Is the abuse seen against “man’s best friend” disguised as entertainment? Intent to Destroy: Death, Denial & Depiction – Premiere Date: April 23, 2018 Emmy(R) award winner and Academy Award(R)-nominated director Joe Berlinger (STARZ Original Docuseries “Wrong Man”) embeds himself on the epic film set of Terry George’s The Promise (2016) to take an unwavering look at the Armenian Genocide. Historians, scholars and filmmakers come together in Berlinger’s cinematic exploration of the tangled web of responsibility that has driven a century of denial by the Turkish government and its strategic allies. Intent to Destroy (2017) is a timely reckoning with the large-scale suppression of a historical tragedy. Berlinger confronts the fraught task of shedding light on the Armenian Genocide – whose witnesses and descendants are still fighting to be officially acknowledged as such by the international community – how it was carried out during World War I as the reign of the Ottoman Empire drew to a close, and how it laid the groundwork for the genocides that followed. What Haunts Us – Premiere Date: May 14, 2018 The 1979 class of Porter Gaud School in Charleston, South Carolina graduated 49 boys. Within the last 35 years, six of them have committed suicide. When Paige Goldberg Tolmach gets word that another former student from her beloved high school has killed himself, she decides to take a deep dive into her past in order to uncover the surprising truth and finally release the ghosts that haunt her hometown to this day. Stranger Fruit – Premiere Date: June 18, 2018 Stranger Fruit is a documentary about what happened to Mike Brown, told through the eyes of those closest to him, including his father, Michael Brown Sr. Pollock delivers an in-depth look at the facts of Mike Brown’s case in an effort to unravel the full story of what happened on Aug. 9, 2014, when then-Ferguson, Missouri, Police Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Brown. Love & Bananas – Premiere Date: July 30, 2018 Ashley Bell and a team of elephant rescuers led by world renowned Asian elephant conservationist Lek Chailert, embark on a daring 48-hour mission across Thailand to rescue a 70-year old captive blind Asian elephant and bring her to freedom.