Brooklyn-based comedian Hari Kondabolu is the host of the popular podcast “Politically Re-Active” alongside W. Kamau Bell. In the new documentary, The Problem With Apu he tackles minority media representation and specifically Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, the Indian immigrant proprietor of the Kwik-E-Mart, a convenience store in Springfield – in the animated television series The Simpsons.
In this highly-personal, insightful and timely exploration of minority media representation, Kondabolu speaks with prominent South Asian actors about the damaging legacy of Apu – who is voiced by a white actor with a heavily exaggerated, stereotypical Indian accent.
Aziz Ansari, Kal Penn, Aasif Mandvi, Hasan Minjaj, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Aparna Nancherla, Russell Peters, Sakina Jaffrey and Maulik Pancholy share poignant stories about their own experiences with Apu and the broader questions about the comedy and representation he evokes.
With additional interviews with EGOT-winner Whoopi Goldberg, W. Kamau Bell, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Mallika Rao, and many more, The Problem With Apu takes a humorous look at how even a beloved television series can have a blind spot.
The Problem With Apu directed by Michael Melamedoff will World Premiere at DOC NYC 2017 on Tuesday, November 14, 2017; and will make its television premiere on truTV Sunday, November 19 at 10PM ET/PT.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGzvEqBvkP8-
Comedian Hari Kondabolu Confronts Minority Media Representation in THE PROBLEM WITH APU | Trailer
Brooklyn-based comedian Hari Kondabolu is the host of the popular podcast “Politically Re-Active” alongside W. Kamau Bell. In the new documentary, The Problem With Apu he tackles minority media representation and specifically Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, the Indian immigrant proprietor of the Kwik-E-Mart, a convenience store in Springfield – in the animated television series The Simpsons.
In this highly-personal, insightful and timely exploration of minority media representation, Kondabolu speaks with prominent South Asian actors about the damaging legacy of Apu – who is voiced by a white actor with a heavily exaggerated, stereotypical Indian accent.
Aziz Ansari, Kal Penn, Aasif Mandvi, Hasan Minjaj, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Aparna Nancherla, Russell Peters, Sakina Jaffrey and Maulik Pancholy share poignant stories about their own experiences with Apu and the broader questions about the comedy and representation he evokes.
With additional interviews with EGOT-winner Whoopi Goldberg, W. Kamau Bell, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Mallika Rao, and many more, The Problem With Apu takes a humorous look at how even a beloved television series can have a blind spot.
The Problem With Apu directed by Michael Melamedoff will World Premiere at DOC NYC 2017 on Tuesday, November 14, 2017; and will make its television premiere on truTV Sunday, November 19 at 10PM ET/PT.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGzvEqBvkP8
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SAVING BRINTON, Documentary on Discovery of Cinematic Treasures of Barnstorming Movie Man | Trailer
Saving Brinton follows eccentric collector Mike Zahs who discovers the showreels of the man who brought the moving picture to the Heartland. He begins a journey to restore the legacy of America’s greatest barnstorming movie man and save these irreplaceable cinematic treasures from turning to dust.
The documentary film, directed by Tommy Haines and Andrew Sherburn, will make its NYC premiere at 2017 DOC NYC on November 13 and 14, 2017.
The screenings of Saving Brinton are presented at DOC NYC with an additional 10-minute package of silent films from the collection with live narration by film subject Michael Zahs. Included among the shorts are films by Edison and the Lumière brothers as well as a rediscovered “lost film” from 1904 by George Méliés that premiered in October 2017 at the prestigious Pordenone Silent Film Festival.
In a farmhouse basement on the Iowa countryside, eccentric collector Mike Zahs makes a remarkable discovery: the showreels of the man who brought the moving picture to America’s Heartland. Among the treasures: rare footage of President Teddy Roosevelt, the first moving images from Burma, a lost relic from magical effects godfather Georges Méliés. These are the films that introduced movies to the world. And they didn’t end up in Iowa by accident.
Amid the old nitrate reels are the artifacts of William Franklin Brinton. From thousands of trinkets, handwritten journals, receipts, posters and catalogs emerges the story of an inventive farmboy who became America’s greatest barnstorming movieman.
As Mike uncovers this hidden legacy, he begins a journey restore the Brinton name and return the films to big screen glory in the same small-town movie theater where Frank first turned on a projector over a century ago.
By uniting community through a pride in their living history Mike embodies a welcome antidote to the breakneck pace of our disposable society. “Saving Brinton” is a portrait of this unlikely Midwestern folk hero, at once a meditation on living simply and a celebration of dreaming big.
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SOUFRA, Inspirational Story of Refugee Entrepreneur, Mariam Shaar, to Premiere at DOC NYC
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Mariam Shaar in Soufra[/caption]
The award-winning documentary film Soufra follows the inspirational story of intrepid social entrepreneur, Mariam Shaar – a refugee who has spent her entire life in the 69-year-old Burl El Barajneh refugee camp south of Beirut, Lebanon.
Soufra, directed by award-winning filmmaker Thomas Morgan (Storied Streets, Waiting for Mamu), will have its North American Premiere at the DOC NYC Film Festival in New York on November 12th.
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Manal Hassan and Maha Hajjaj vegetable shopping in SOUFRA[/caption]
The film chronicles Mariam and a diverse team of fellow refugee women, from throughout the Middle East who share the camp as their home as they set out to change their fate by launching a catering company, “Soufra,” and then expanding its reach (thanks to an astonishing Kickstarter campaign), outside the camp with a food truck business. Together, they heal the wounds of war through the unifying power of food while taking their future into their own hands.
Soufra is produced by Primetime Emmy®-winning filmmaker Kathleen Glynn (Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, TV Nation), Rebelhouse President, Trevor Hall, Pilgrim Media Group President & CEO Craig Piligian, and executive produced by Academy Award®-winning actress Susan Sarandon.
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More Films -THE LEARS, Trudie Styler’s FREAK SHOW, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME Added to Virginia Film Festival
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The Lears[/caption]
The 2017 Virginia Film Festival has added more films and special guests including actor Anthony Michael Hall, who will come in for a screening of his film The Lears. Other highlighted guests include director Trudie Styler, who will discuss her film Freak Show; actor Noel Fisher, who will take part in a panel discussion about the acclaimed new National Geographic Channel Iraq War series The Long Road Home; and actor Nick Robinson, who joins writer/director/actor William H. Macy for a screening of Macy’s new film Krystal. The Festival’s Closing Night Film will be Luca Guadagnino’s coming-of-age love story Call Me by Your Name.
The Lears is a quirky black comedy that stars Bruce Dern as Davenport Lear, a world-renowned architect who summons his dysfunctional children to a weekend family retreat to test their love in a modern-day derivative of Shakespeare’s classic King Lear. Actor, producer, and director Anthony Michael Hall, who plays Davenport’s son Glenn Lear in the film, first burst on the film scene in the 1980s with a string of unforgettable turns in the John Hughes classics including Sixteen Candles, National Lampoon’s Vacation, The Breakfast Club, and Weird Science. His other film credits include Out of Bounds, Edward Scissorhands, and Six Degrees of Separation. Hall also played the lead role in the popular USA Network series The Dead Zone from 2002-2007.
Noted actor and producer Trudie Styler makes her directorial debut with Freak Show, based on the 2007 New York Times bestselling Young Adult novel by James St. James about a gay and eccentric teenage boy who reacts to an incident of insidious bullying by deciding to run for homecoming queen. The campaign draws wide attention to Billy’s advocacy for all teenagers letting their freak flag fly. The film, which features a stellar cast including Abigail Breslin, Alex Lawther, and Bette Midler, recently had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival. Trudie Styler has a long and successful track record as a producer, including Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch from director Guy Ritchie; Girl Most Likely, which stars Kristen Wiig; Filth, starring James McAvoy; Ten Thousand Saints, starring Ethan Hawke; and American Honey, which stars Shia LaBeouf and won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016. Styler will be joined by the film’s producer Celine Rattray for a post-screening discussion.
Nick Robinson, known to many for his role as Zach in Jurassic World, most recently starred in the Warner Bros. and MGM drama Everything, Everything. He also just wrapped production on Strange But True, where he leads an all-star cast including Amy Ryan, Brian Cox, and Greg Kinnear. Other credits include Kings of Summer and an unforgettable guest spot on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. He will attend the Festival for a post-screening discussion for his role in William H. Macy’s Krystal.
The Virginia Film Festival also announced Call Me by Your Name as its Closing Night Film. Based on the acclaimed novel by André Aciman, this transcendent story of first love, set against the backdrop of northern Italy in the summer of 1983, follows Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet), a highly-cultured teenager whose sophistication about music and literature is juxtaposed with his naivety about love. Upon meeting American scholar Oliver (Armie Hammer), his father’s charming intern, the two form an undeniable bond that grows vulnerably and passionately toward young, new love. The film by director Luca Guadagnino displays a raw portrait of a kind of love and sexual awakening that blossoms without fear or consequences.
’63 Boycott – The latest from famed documentarian Gordon Quinn about the 1963 boycott of Chicago schools by more than 200,000 students in protest of racial segregation.
Beetlejuice – Award-winning cinematographer Tom Ackerman will discuss his work on this groundbreaking Tim Burton film.
The Last Stop – Director Todd Nilssen’s exposé on the troubled teen reform industry.
Mood and Memory – In a series of eleven photo films, young authors, media artists, and media specialists from Austria and Germany approach a variety of stories and themes ranging from a young girl in Aleppo, a Somali farmer, and more.
My Art – Artist Laurie Simmons’ makes her feature film debut, also starring alongside daughters Lena and Grace Dunham in the story of an artist with a stable job and life, but an endless yearning for respectability in the art world. Simmons will participate in a post-screening discussion.
Roll With Me – A paraplegic former drug addict sets out to become the first person to push an ordinary wheelchair from California to New York.
Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me – The first major documentary about one of the most fascinating careers in the history of entertainment, this film follows the legendary singer, dancer, and actor’s rise to stardom, and a life lived across flashpoints of American society from the Depression through the 1980s.
The Science of Pixar – Masterclass senior scientist and lead of the Research Group at Pixar Animation Studios Tony DeRose will work in tandem with Sara Maloni (Department of Mathematics), Earl Mark (School of Architecture), and Light House Studio to offer a free masterclass for their students and the general public. The workshop will focus on physical simulation and the mathematics of surface modeling that DeRose developed at Pixar, as well as a discussion of his career path.
Short Films – More than 50 short films screened before feature screenings and in different packages based on similar themes and genres, including narrative, documentary, experimental, and animated.
Thelma (from Norway) – Rounding out the list of now ten spotlight films recently submitted by their countries for consideration in the “Best Foreign Language Film” category at the 2018 Academy Awards, Thelma is about a college student who starts to experience seizures as a result of supernatural abilities.
Tonsler Park – Internationally renowned artist and UVA cinematography professor Kevin Everson uses 16mm black-and-white film to observe the democratic process at Charlottesville voting precincts on November 8th, 2016, providing a portrait of the working-class African-American public officials who ran the polls, while enabling citizens to vote in a democracy that has systematically abused them.
Voices Beyond the Wall: Twelve Love Poems From the Murder Capital of the World – Rescued from the streets of Pedro Sula, Honduras, seventy girls at Our Little Roses orphanage find their voices in poetry about love, family, and betrayal as they heal from the traumas of their past, while transitioning into an uncertain future.
Wild Honey – An offbeat, romantic comedy about an unsuccessful phone-sex operator who is unhappy, aimless, and living at home with her mother until she hits it off with a mysterious caller and impulsively flies across the country to meet him.
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Watch Trailer for Netflix Documentary JOAN DIDION: THE CENTER WILL NOT HOLD Premiering at NY Film Fest
Ahead of its world premiere tonight at this year’s New York Film Festival, Netflix has released the trailer for the documentary Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold.
The documentary launches globally on Netflix on October 27.
Across more than 50 years of essays, novels, screenplays, and criticism, Joan Didion has been our premier chronicler of the ebb and flow of America’s cultural and political tides with observations on her personal – and our own – upheavals, downturns, life changes, and states of mind.
In the intimate, extraordinary documentary Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold, actor and director Griffin Dunne unearths a treasure trove of archival footage and talks at length to his “Aunt Joan” about the eras she covered and the eventful life she’s lived, including partying with Janis Joplin in a house full of L.A. rockers; hanging in a recording studio with Jim Morrison; and cooking dinner for one of Charles Manson’s women for a magazine story. Didion guides us through the sleek literati scene of New York in the 1950s and early ’60s, when she wrote for Vogue; her return to her home state of California for two turbulent decades; the writing of her seminal books, including Slouching Towards Bethlehem, Play It as It Lays, A Book of Common Prayer, and The White Album; her film scripts, including The Panic in Needle Park; her view of 1980s and ’90s political personalities; and the meeting of minds that was her long marriage to writer John Gregory Dunne. She reflects on writing about her reckoning with grief after Dunne’s death, in The Year of Magical Thinking (winner of the National Book Award for Nonfiction), and the death of their daughter Quintana Roo, in Blue Nights.
With commentary from friends and collaborators including Vanessa Redgrave, Harrison Ford, Anna Wintour, David Hare, Calvin Trillin, Hilton Als, and Susanna Moore, the most crucial voice belongs to Didion, one of the most influential American writers alive today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99NaRJQzXiM
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DOC NYC 2017 to Close with NY Premiere of ERIC CLAPTON: LIFE IN 12 BARS + Announces Lineup
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Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars[/caption]
DOC NYC announced the full lineup of over 250 films and events for its eighth edition, running November 9 to 16 at the IFC Center in Greenwich Village and Chelsea’s SVA Theatre and Cinepolis Chelsea.
Special Events include Closing Night Film, the NYC premiere of Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars, directed by Lili Fini Zanuck, with the acclaimed musician in attendance; Centerpiece Film, the world premiere of Far From the Tree, director Rachel Dretzin’s adaptation of Andrew Solomon’s bestselling book; and the NYC premiere of Wormwood, an ambitious new project from Errol Morris exploring the 1953 death of a CIA agent. The NYC premiere Greg Barker’s The Final Year, accompanied by members of the Obama administration, will open the festival.
World premieres at the festival include A Murder in Mansfield, by Barbara Kopple (Miss Sharon Jones!), which explores the impact of a 1989 murder on a family; Maynard, by Sam Pollard (Two Trains Runnin’), about Atlanta’s first black mayor, Maynard Jackson; Naila and the Uprising, by Julia Bacha (Budrus), about the hidden role women played in the First Intifada, a project that won last year’s DOC NYC Pitch Perfect competition; Father’s Kingdom, by Larry Feinberg, exploring the legacy of Father Divine, who attracted over a million followers and claimed to be God; The Iconoclast, by King Adz, about notorious art forger Michel van Rijn; and The Godfathers of Hardcore, by Ian McFarland, on the long-lived NYC hardcore punk band Agnostic Front.
Among this year’s U.S. premieres are David Bowie: The Last Five Years, by Francis Whately, an intimate look at the creative final years of the music icon; Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco, by James Crump, a portrait of the most influential fashion illustrator of 1970s New York and Paris; Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood, by Matt Tyrnauer, about the man who was the secret sexual procurer to the stars; The Stranger, by past DOC NYC award winner Nicole N. Horanyi, about a woman who discovers the man of her dreams has secrets; Armed with Faith, by Geeta Gandbhir and Asad Faruqi, which follows the heroic Pakistani Bomb Disposal Unit; Soufra, by Thomas Morgan, and executive produced by Susan Sarandon, about a woman who starts her own successful catering company in a Lebanese refugee camp; EuroTrump, by Stephen Robert Morse and Nicholas Hampson, on the Dutch Donald Trump, Geert Wilders; and The Beatles, Hippies and Hells Angels: Inside the Crazy World of Apple, by Ben Lewis, a look back at the wild early days of Apple Corps.
“Documentary storytellers help us make sense of the tumultuous times we’re living in with artistry, humor and inspiring characters,” said Director of Programming Basil Tsiokos. “This year’s DOC NYC line-up gives audiences fresh insight into high profile figures and shines a light on lesser-known individuals who leave a big impression.” Tsiokos led the program selection in collaboration with Artistic Director Thom Powers and Executive Director Raphaela Neihausen.
The festival is curated in 18 sections that include two new strands: New World Order, with 6 films about global issues in the news, including Sky & Ground, which follows an extended family of refugees as they escape Syria; and Spiral, about the alarming rise of anti-Semitism in Europe. Centerstage, an 8-title section focused on performing and performers, presents the world premieres of The Problem with Apu, in which a South Asian-American comedian explores the impact of the character from The Simpsons; and Repeat Attenders, about musical theater superfans.
In the festival’s two feature competition sections, 8 films appear under the Viewfinders section for distinct directorial visions. They include the world premiere of Mole Man, about an autistic man who has built a 50-room structure in his backyard; and the U.S. premieres of The Judge, about the first female Shari’a judge in the Middle East, and Silas, about a Liberian environmental activist.
In the Metropolis competition section, 7 films are dedicated to stories set in New York City. They include the world premieres of The Iron Triangle, about the resistance to the urban renewal of Queens’ Willets Point; Vigilante: The Incredible True Story of Curtis Sliwa and the Guardian Angels, an unfiltered look at the founder of the controversial group; and Miracle on 42nd Street, about an apartment complex providing housing to performing artists, including past residents Alicia Keys, Terrence Howard and Angela Lansbury.
Other returning sections include high-profile Special Events; national and global takes inAmerican Perspectives and International Perspectives; and thematic sections Fight the Power (on activism), Sonic Cinema (on music), True Crime (on crime), Science Nonfiction (on science and technology), Modern Family (on unconventional families),Wild Life (on animals), Art & Design (on artists), and Behind the Scenes (on filmmaking). Short-form content (85 films in total) is represented by the festival’s Shorts Competition and DOC NYC U (showcasing student work).
The following is a breakdown of programming by section:
OPENING NIGHT
THE FINAL YEAR Dir: Greg Barker (NYC PREMIERE) Greg Barker gives an unprecedented look at the shaping of US foreign policy by following key members of outgoing US President Barack Obama’s administration.CLOSING NIGHT
ERIC CLAPTON: LIFE IN 12 BARS Dir: Lili Fini Zanuck (NYC PREMIERE) An intimate, revealing musical odyssey on the life and career of guitar virtuoso Eric Clapton, told by those who have known him best.CENTERPIECE
FAR FROM THE TREE Dir: Rachel Dretzin (WORLD PREMIERE) An adaptation of Andrew Solomon’s bestselling book examining how parents face their children’s extreme differences, challenging ideas of “normalcy.”SPECIAL EVENT
WORMWOOD Dir: Errol Morris (NYC PREMIERE) DOC NYC’s Visionaries Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Errol Morris (The Fog of War) investigates the 1953 death of a CIA agent in this innovative new project.VIEWFINDERS COMPETITION
THE JUDGE Dir: Erika Cohn (US PREMIERE) A vérité legal drama about the first woman appointed to a Shari’a court in the Middle East, providing rare insights into both Islamic law and gendered justice. LOVE, CECIL Dir: Lisa Immordino Vreeland (NYC PREMIERE) An affectionate portrait of Cecil Beaton, a multi-talented photographer, writer and painter who also designed sets and costumes for films like My Fair Lady. LOVE MEANS ZERO Dir: Jason Kohn (NYC PREMIERE) Infamous and influential tennis coach Nick Bollettieri has trained champions that include Andre Agassi and Boris Becker, but greatness comes at a personal price. MOLE MAN Dir: Guy Fiorita (WORLD PREMIERE) An autistic man is faced with the possibility of losing the only home he has ever known—and the remarkable 50-room structure he’s built in the backyard. NAILA AND THE UPRISING Dir: Julia Bacha (WORLD PREMIERE) Filmmaker Julia Bacha (Budrus) reveals the hidden history of the key role women played in the Palestinian uprising known as the First Intifada. SILAS Dirs: Anjali Nayar, Hawa Essuman (US PREMIERE) A rousing profile of Liberian activist Silas Siakor, a tireless crusader against illegal logging and a symbol of resistance for a new generation. THE STRANGER Dir: Nicole N. Horanyi (INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE) Amanda, a 25-year-old single mother, meets the man of her dreams on Facebook… but she soon discovers that the charming, worldly Casper has secrets. THIS IS CONGO Dir: Daniel McCabe (NYC PREMIERE) Filmmaker Daniel McCabe examines multiple sides of the fractious war in the Democratic Republic of Congo in this stunningly shot film.METROPOLIS COMPETITION
ANTONIO LOPEZ 1970: SEX FASHION & DISCO Dir: James Crump (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE) A portrait of the most influential fashion illustrator of 1970s New York and Paris, known for discovering talents such as Pat Cleveland and Grace Jones. CRADLE OF CHAMPIONS Dir: Bartle Bull (NYC PREMIERE) Three amateur boxers compete for glory and life-changing opportunities in New York City’s legendary Golden Gloves tournament. THE IRON TRIANGLE Dirs: Prudence Katze, William Lehman (WORLD PREMIERE) Workers and owners of auto repair shops in Queens’ Willets Point face off against gentrification and urban renewal for the future of their livelihoods and community. MIRACLE ON 42ND STREET Dir: Alice Elliott (WORLD PREMIERE) The surprising history of Manhattan Plaza and its embrace of the performing arts, featuring famed former residents including Alicia Keys, Terrence Howard and Angela Lansbury. Screening with Lucy Walker’s Oh, What A Beautiful City (A City Symphony). A celebration of summertime in NYC. OH, RICK! Dirs: Dustin Sussman, Aaron Rosenbloom (WORLD PREMIERE) A profile of comedian Rick Crom, long-running emcee at Greenwich Village’s Comedy Cellar, featuring Ray Romano, Colin Quinn, Sarah Silverman and Wanda Sykes. STILL WATERS Dir: Peter Gordon (WORLD PREMIERE) In Bushwick, where rapid gentrification is pushing out Latino families, a unique alternative after-school program serves as a haven for the community. VIGILANTE: THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF CURTIS SLIWA AND THE GUARDIAN ANGELS Dir: David Wexler (WORLD PREMIERE) An unfiltered look back at 1970s and ’80s NYC through the eyes of Curtis Sliwa, founder of the controversial crime prevention patrol the Guardian Angels.AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES
12TH AND CLAIRMOUNT Dir: Brian Kaufman (NYC PREMIERE) Hundreds of hours of home movies, archival footage, illustrations and new oral histories offer multiple perspectives of the 1967 Detroit uprising. 32 PILLS: MY SISTER’S SUICIDE Dir: Hope Litoff (NYC PREMIERE) Years after the suicide of her sister Ruth, a talented but troubled artist, director Hope Litoff tries to make sense of her loss. FAIL STATE Dir: Alex Shebanow (NYC PREMIERE) Executive produced by Dan Rather, Fail State explores the dark side of higher education in America, focusing on the rise of for-profit colleges. FATHER’S KINGDOM Dir: Lenny Feinberg (WORLD PREMIERE ) In the first half of the 20th century, Father Divine, an African-American spiritual leader, gained over a million followers by claiming to be God. THE GROWING SEASON Dir: Evan Briggs (WORLD PREMIERE) An intimate, bittersweet portrait of growing up and growing old, set in a nursing home that also houses a preschool program. MAYNARD Dir: Sam Pollard (WORLD PREMIERE) Director Sam Pollard constructs a portrait of charismatic trailblazer Maynard Jackson, who became Atlanta’s first black mayor in 1973. METH STORM Dirs: Brent Renaud, Craig Renaud (NYC PREMIERE ) DEA agents face the Sisyphean task of curbing the influx of Mexican ice, a more potent form of meth, into poor, rural communities in Arkansas. SHOT IN THE DARK Dir: Dustin Nakao Haider (NYC PREMIERE) Orr Academy’s high school basketball team is a refuge from the brutal realities of the streets of Chicago’s West Side.INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
ARMED WITH FAITH Dirs: Geeta Gandbhir, Asad Faruqi (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE) A suspenseful portrait of the men of the Pakistani Bomb Disposal Unit, who risk their own lives every day to combat homegrown and international terrorism. ASK THE SEXPERT Dir: Vaishali Sinha (NYC PREMIERE) A lighthearted look at India’s Dan Savage, Dr. Mahinder Watsa, a 93-year-old retired gynecologist. Is he a hero of progress or an enemy of traditional values? A BETTER MAN Dirs: Attiya Khan, Lawrence Jackman (US PREMIERE) Twenty years after their break-up, filmmaker Attiya Khan confronts her ex-boyfriend to take responsibility for their abusive relationship. CUBA AND THE CAMERAMAN Dir: Jon Alpert (NYC PREMIERE) For more than 40 years, acclaimed filmmaker Jon Alpert has enjoyed privileged access to Cuba, chronicling its changes from Havana to the countryside. ISLAND SOLDIER Dir: Nathan Fitch (NYC PREMIERE) Residents of the remote islands of Micronesia question whether the benefits of US protection are worth the human costs of fighting its wars. LOVESICK Dirs: Ann S. Kim, Priya Giri Desai (WORLD PREMIERE) In India, where marriage is a must but AIDS carries a stigma, Dr. Suniti Solomon serves as matchmaker for her HIV-positive patients. THE PINK HOUSE Dir: Sascha Ettinger Epstein (INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE) In a remote Australian gold-mining town, a genteel 70-year-old madam struggles to keep the oldest working brothel afloat in this entertaining portrait. Screening with Sam Ketay’s A Wonderful Place. Octogenarian Norma shares stories while giving a tour of her property atop her John Deere tractor. SOUFRA Dir: Thomas Morgan (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE) Working with a diverse group of Middle Eastern women, Mariam Shaar attempts to expand her catering company, based in a refugee camp near Beirut.NEW WORLD ORDER
EUROTRUMP Dirs: Stephen Robert Morse, Nicholas Hampson (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE) An in-depth exploration of Geert Wilders, the “Dutch Donald Trump,” as the controversial politician seems poised to become the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. INSHA’ALLAH DEMOCRACY Dir: Mohammed Ali Naqvi (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE) Following Pakistan’s former dictator, General Pervez Musharraf, as he runs for president, the filmmaker questions if democracy is truly possible in Pakistan. PLAYING GOD Dir: Karin Jurschick (US PREMIERE) A candid, complex portrait of compensation assessor Ken Feinberg, a man tasked with putting a dollar value on human lives in the wake of tragedies like 9/11 and Sandy Hook. RECRUITING FOR JIHAD Dirs: Adil Khan Farooq, Ulrik Imtiaz Rolfsen (NYC PREMIERE) Over several years, a journalist follows a charismatic, outspoken Norwegian missionary as he recruits young converts to Islam, and to fight for ISIS in Syria. SKY & GROUND Dirs: Talya Tibbon, Joshua Bennett (WORLD PREMIERE) A compelling, ground-level immersion into the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time, accompanying a large, extended family by foot from Syria to asylum in Germany. SPIRAL Dir: Laura Fairrie (US PREMIERE) An urgent, alarming look at the rise of anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial and physical and verbal assaults against Jews throughout Europe, particularly in France.CENTERSTAGE
BEHIND THE CURTAIN: TODRICK HALL Dir: Katherine Fairfax Wright (NYC PREMIERE) American Idol contestant and RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Todrick Hall races to complete an autobiographical musical and take the live show on the road to his devoted fans. GETTING NAKED: A BURLESQUE STORY Dir: James Lester (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE) Uncovering New York City’s neo-burlesque subculture, this entertaining film offers a lingering look at several sexy denizens of the nightlife scene. THE PROBLEM WITH APU Dir: Michael Melamedoff (WORLD PREMIERE) South Asian-American comedian Hari Kondabolu confronts his long-standing “nemesis,” Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, better known as the Kwik-E-Mart owner on The Simpsons. REBELS ON POINTE Dir: Bobbi Jo Hart (NYC PREMIERE) A globetrotting profile of NYC’s beloved Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, an all-male dance troupe that fuses camp humor with classical ballet performed in drag. REPEAT ATTENDERS Dir: Mark Dooley (WORLD PREMIERE) An entertaining portrait of musical theatre superfans, for whom shows like Les Miz,Starlight Express and Cats are an obsession, a refuge and a place where they belong. Screening with Ben Kitnick’s Catskills. An 86-year-old dancer remembers the heyday of the upstate resort community. SAMMY DAVIS, JR.: I’VE GOTTA BE ME Dir: Sam Pollard (NYC PREMIERE) A star-studded roster of interviewees (including Jerry Lewis, Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal) pay tribute to the legendary, multi-talented song-and-dance man. SIGHTED EYES/FEELING HEART Dir: Tracy Heather Strain (NYC PREMIERE) A moving account of the life of black playwright, communist, feminist, lesbian and outspoken trailblazer Lorraine Hansberry (A Raisin in the Sun). STANDING UP Dir: Jonathan Miller (WORLD PREMIERE) An Egyptian lawyer, a couch-surfing custodian and an Orthodox Jew walk into a comedy club… and end up starring in a film about three unlikely aspiring stand-up comics.TRUE CRIME
COLD BLOODED: THE CLUTTER FAMILY KILLINGS Dir: Joe Berlinger (SNEAK PREVIEW) Oscar®-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger reexamines the infamous 1959 murder of a Kansas family that Truman Capote explored in his landmark nonfiction novel In Cold Blood. (USA, 86 min.) THE ICONOCLAST Dir: King Adz (WORLD PREMIERE) A portrait of a Dutch art connoisseur and descendant of Rembrandt – in truth, a con man who made millions trafficking in forged and stolen art and antiquities. A MURDER IN MANSFIELD Dir: Barbara Kopple (WORLD PREMIERE) Oscar®-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple explores the legacy of the 1989 murder of Noreen Boyle in Mansfield, Ohio and its impact on her family. WHAT HAUNTS US Dir: Paige Goldberg Tolmach (NYC PREMIERE) An investigation into a rash of suicides among the men in the filmmaker’s high school graduating class reveals a disturbing cover-up centered around a popular coach. Screening with Elivia Shaw and Paloma Martinez’s The Shift. Spend an overnight shift with the emergency dispatchers for the city of San Francisco. WHITE BOY Dir: Shawn Rech (NYC PREMIERE) The story of “White Boy Rick,” a legend of Detroit’s drug world in the 1980s, still imprisoned for a juvenile offense for the past 30 years.SCIENCE NONFICTION
THE EXPERIMENTAL CITY Dir: Chad Freidrichs (NYC PREMIERE) A fascinating chronicle of an almost successful attempt to build the city of the future by a visionary scientist and futurist comic strip writer in the 1960s. HAPPENING: A CLEAN ENERGY REVOLUTION Dir: James Redford (NYC PREMIERE) Seeking hope for a sustainable tomorrow, filmmaker James Redford crosses the country to chronicle the clean energy revolution already taking place. HOT GREASE Dirs: Sam Wainwright Douglas, Paul Lovelace, Jessica Wolfson (WORLD PREMIERE) A fascinating look at biodiesel, a growing industry with the potential to undercut the dominance of Big Oil—and it all starts with recycled cooking oil. THE NEW FIRE Dir: David Schumacher (NYC PREMIERE) Innovative young nuclear engineers attempt to develop next-generation reactors to provide clean and safe solutions to the world’s future energy needs.WILD LIFE
DONKEYOTE Dir: Chico Pereira (NYC PREMIERE) A 73-year-old Spanish man dreams of walking the Trail of Tears with his donkey and his dog—but getting to America from Spain presents a challenge. EATING ANIMALS Dir: Christopher Quinn (NYC PREMIERE) Based on the book by Jonathan Safran Foer and produced and narrated by Natalie Portman, this unflinching exposé looks at the devastating costs of our dietary choices. RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE Dirs: Quinn Costello, Chris Metzler, Jeff Springer (WORLD PREMIERE) This quirky film follows bounty hunters and other colorful Gulf residents as they try to defend Louisiana from the invasive giant swamp rat known as the nutria. Screening with Olivier Bernier’s A Garbage Story. Over 30 years in the garbage business, Nick has become a bonafide trash connoisseur. SAMANTHA’S AMAZING ACROCATS Dir: Jacob Feiring (NYC PREMIERE) A woman pins her dreams of stardom on a traveling cat circus, but how long can she hold on as debt mounts and success seems elusive? Screening with Jeff Reichert and Farihah Zaman’s Nobody Loves Me. High in the Andes, a frog with an unusual appearance is threatened with extinction.ART & DESIGN
44 PAGES Dir: Tony Shaff (NYC PREMIERE) A heartwarming, behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the landmark 70th anniversary issue of beloved children’s magazine, Highlights. BIG TIME Dir: Kaspar Astrup Schröder (NYC PREMIERE) A portrait of superstar Danish architect Bjarke Ingels as he takes on his largest project yet, relocating to New York City to create the new 2 World Trade Center. FIVE SEASONS: THE GARDENS OF PIET OUDOLF Dir: Thomas Piper (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE) A portrait of visionary landscape designer Piet Oudolf, known for public works like the High Line that redefine our conception of gardens as works of art. LARGER THAN LIFE Dir: Tiffany Bartok (NYC PREMIERE) An intimate look at the life and death of Kevyn Aucoin, who moved from small town Louisiana to become a legendary makeup artist to supermodels and celebrities. MADDMAN: THE STEVE MADDEN STORY Dir: Ben Patterson (NYC PREMIERE) The rags-to-riches story of designer footwear mogul Steve Madden, who nearly lost everything because of his connections to notorious “Wolf of Wall Street,” Jordan Belfort. MORE ART UPSTAIRS Dir: Jody Hassett Sanchez (NYC PREMIERE) Who gets to decide what is good art? A competition touting the biggest cash prize in the art world finds cultural elitism butting up against Midwest populism. MR. FISH: CARTOONING FROM THE DEEP END Dir: Pablo Bryant (NYC PREMIERE) Finding it increasingly challenging to publish his subversive art, will controversial political cartoonist Mr. Fish be forced to sell out in order to sell his art?MODERN FAMILY
6 WEEKS TO MOTHER’S DAY Dir: Marvin Blunte (WORLD PREMIERE) In a remote jungle in Thailand, a unique democratic school provides orphans with education and empowerment under the watchful eyes of the woman they call Mother Aew. AMAZONA Dir: Clare Weiskopf (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE) The director tries to make sense of the elder woman’s decision to leave her children behind to live in the jungle after a family tragedy. ELISH’S NOTEBOOKS Dir: Golan Rise (INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE) Discovering a secret cache of journals written for them by their late mother, Elisheva’s children confront their complex feelings for their emotionally distant parent. HARMONY Dir: Lidia Sheinin (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE) Battle lines are drawn when an elderly Russian woman finds her comfortable apartment invaded by her family. Screening with Laura Checkoway’s Edith+Eddie. The love story of America’s oldest interracial newlyweds is threatened by a family feud. LIFE TO COME Dir: Claudio Capanna (US PREMIERE) Surrounded by the sounds of machines and doctors in white coats, severely premature twins Eden and Léandro fight for their survival. LOTS OF KIDS, A MONKEY AND A CASTLE Dir: Gustavo Salmerón (NYC PREMIERE) Spanish actor-turned-director Gustavo Salmerón captures his eccentric, extraordinary mother, who had three dreams: having lots of kids, a monkey and a castle. PLOT 35 Dir: Eric Caravaca (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE) French actor-turned-director Eric Caravaca unearths personal family history in search of his sister Charlotte, who died as a toddler before he was born. Screening with Matt Sukkar’s Durango. Adolescent brothers cope with loss over a summer in bucolic Colorado. THANK YOU FOR COMING Dir: Sara Lamm (NYC PREMIERE) After learning she was conceived via a sperm donor, Sara becomes a genealogical detective, navigating ancestry databases and DNA tests for clues to his identity.BEHIND THE SCENES
BLUE VELVET REVISITED Dir: Peter Braatz (NYC PREMIERE) Three decades after documenting the filming of David Lynch’s Blue Velvet, the director crafts an unconventional yet accessible meditation on the cult classic film. JIM & ANDY: THE GREAT BEYOND… Dir: Chris Smith (NYC PREMIERE) Offbeat documentarian Chris Smith (American Movie) reveals just how fully Jim Carrey took on the persona of idiosyncratic comedian Andy Kaufman on the set of Man on the Moon. KING COHEN Dir: Steve Mitchell (NYC PREMIERE) A look at the heyday of guerrilla filmmaking through a celebration of the work of maverick filmmaker Larry Cohen, known as “the John Cassavetes of exploitation.” SAVING BRINTON Dirs: Andrew Sherburne, Tommy Haines (NYC PREMIERE) An eccentric collector is on a mission to restore and preserve a cache of early films and cinema memorabilia, the legacy of a pioneering but forgotten Iowa showman. SCOTTY AND THE SECRET HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD Dir: Matt Tyrnauer (US PREMIERE) A deliciously scandalous portrait of unsung Hollywood legend Scotty Bowers, whose bestselling memoir chronicled his decades spent as sexual procurer to the stars.FIGHT THE POWER
ATOMIC HOMEFRONT Dir: Rebecca Cammisa (NYC PREMIERE) A citizens’ movement confronts government bureaucracy to uncover the atomic secrets of St. Louis, Missouri in order to keep their families safe. BALTIMORE RISING Dir: Sonja Sohn Actress Sonja Sohn (HBO’s The Wire) returns to Baltimore in her directorial debut to chronicle the city in the wake of Freddie Gray’s death. MANKILLER Dir: Valerie Red-Horse Mohl (NYC PREMIERE) Wilma Mankiller rose from poverty to become the first female chief of the Cherokee nation, battling rampant sexism, political rivals and health challenges. NOTHING WITHOUT US Dir: Harriet Hirshorn (NYC PREMIERE) Female activists, scientists and scholars in the US and Africa demonstrates the vital role that women have played—and continue to play—in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. THE OTHER SIDE OF EVERYTHING Dir: Mila Turajlic (NYC PREMIERE) A locked door in her family’s Belgrade home provides the gateway to understanding the filmmaker’s remarkable mother and Serbia’s tumultuous political inheritance. QUEERCORE: HOW TO PUNK A REVOLUTION Dir: Yony Leyser (NYC PREMIERE) Misfits in both the mainstream gay and homophobic punk scenes, Bruce LaBruce and GB Jones invented a radical underground subculture that spread around the world. UNFRACTURED Dir: Chanda Chevannes (INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE) Shot over the last year of the historic grassroots fight against fracking in New York state, a raw, intimate look at biologist and activist Sandra Steingraber. ZERO WEEKS Dir: Ky Dickens (NYC PREMIERE) In most countries, workers have paid leave and job security to care for a newborn or family emergency—but not in the US, costing us all a heavy price.SONIC CINEMA
THE BEATLES, HIPPIES AND HELLS ANGELS: INSIDE THE CRAZY WORLD OF APPLE Dir: Ben Lewis (NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE) An entertaining look behind the scenes at Apple Corps, which The Beatles hoped would allow them to spread their countercultural message throughout the world. BILL FRISELL: A PORTRAIT Dir: Emma Franz (NYC PREMIERE) A warm profile of Bill Frisell, a widely inventive guitarist who crosses musical boundaries, featuring Bonnie Raitt, Hal Willner, Paul Simon, Nels Cline, and more. DAVID BOWIE: THE LAST FIVE YEARS Dir: Francis Whately (US PREMIERE) An intimate look at the remarkably creative final years of David Bowie, through the production of his final two albums, and the stage musical, Lazarus. THE GODFATHERS OF HARDCORE Dir: Ian McFarland (WORLD PREMIERE) For over 35 years and still going strong, Agnostic Front’s Vinnie Stigma and Roger Miret have been synonymous with the New York punk scene. HELLO HELLO HELLO : LEE RANALDO : ELECTRIC TRIM Dir: Fred Riedel (NYC PREMIERE) Legendary Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo embarks on the recording of a new experimental concept album with a little help from some friends. ITZHAK Dir: Alison Chernick (NYC PREMIERE) Widely considered the greatest living violinist, Itzhak Perlman takes us on a journey through his music and life. STREETLIGHT HARMONIES Dir: Brent Wilson (WORLD PREMIERE) A who’s who of musicians trace the evolution of doo wop in the 1950s, from street corners to radio stations all across America.SHORTS
Shorts: Body Language On the limits and potential of the human body, exploring dance, tattoos, pro wrestling, meditation and light sensitivity. Shorts: City Lights The ups and downs of city living, featuring artists, improv, hard work, boxing and table tennis. Shorts: Dream Weavers About fulfilling dreams and reimagining the world, featuring Cuban cigar factory workers, men seeking wives, a mail-order bride and more. Shorts: The Future is Feminine Everyday women and girls who inspire, including a housekeeper turned real estate entrepreneur, children’s rights advocate, unlikely athletes and special birthday girl. Shorts: Justice For All True crime and the criminal justice system, exploring death row, surveillance, juvenile offenders, police corruption, war criminals and capital punishment. Shorts: Mother Earth Protecting the planet, from Standing Rock and anti-fracking activism, to saving orangutans and sea turtles. Shorts: The New Normal America, before and after 11/8/16, exploring the Trump campaign, a divided electorate, immigration anxiety, fake news and disturbing parallels to past regimes. Shorts: Recorded Memory The past looms large in these affecting stories about confronting family relationships, reckoning with career decisions, remembering trauma and more. Shorts: Strange But True Quirky real life stories exploring insomnia, dreams, fetishes, first love, conspiracy theories and psychic abilities. Shorts: Surviving the System Finding oneself in and out of the criminal justice system, in stories about a police traffic stop that escalates into violence and a restaurant offering former prisoners a second chance.DOC NYC U
DOC NYC U: THE NEW SCHOOL SHOWCASE Selections from The New School’s Documentary Media Studies program, featuring a tap dancer, migratory birds, New York life, selfies and a yodeling punk singer destined for greatness. DOC NYC U: NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY SHOWCASE NYFA selections profile a Hiroshima orphan, a Central Park mainstay, a wolf rescuer, a persecuted journalist and a lost city. DOC NYC U: NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SHOWCASE NYU’s NewsDoc offerings explore a controversial Tibetan boarding school program in China and the growing popularity of taxi driving as a career for women in India. DOC NYC U: COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SHOWCASE Work from Columbia Journalism School’s Documentary Project profiles deportation fears under Trump, a drug crisis in the Muslim community and adult illiteracy. DOC NYC U: SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS SHOWCASE SVA’s SocDoc program presents profiles of artists, musicians, designers, a vintage barbershop, broken hearts and Native American activism.SHORT LIST
ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL Dir: Steve James Steve James (Hoop Dreams) profiles a small, family-run Chinatown bank—the only financial institution indicted following the 2008 financial crisis. Courtesy of PBS Distribution. THE B-SIDE: ELSA DORFMAN’S PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY Dir: Errol Morris DOC NYC’s Visionaries Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Errol Morris (The Fog of War) profiles legendary large-format photographer Elsa Dorfman. Courtesy of NEON/Netflix. CHASING CORAL Dir: Jeff Orlowski Following his acclaimed film Chasing Ice, director Jeff Orlowski sets out to chronicle the environmental devastation happening to the world’s coral reefs. Courtesy of Netflix. CITY OF GHOSTS Dir: Matthew Heineman Anonymous Syrian citizen journalists risk their lives to stand up against ISIS and report the truth about the Syrian conflict. Courtesy of Amazon Studios/A&E IndieFilms/IFC Films. DINA Dirs: Antonio Santini, Dan Sickles An unforgettable couple, both on the autism spectrum, navigate the complexities of sex and romance in this Sundance Grand Jury Prize winning film. Courtesy of The Orchard. FACES PLACES Dirs: Agnès Varda, JR French New Wave legend Agnès Varda and acclaimed photographer JR travel the French countryside, celebrating ordinary people through extraordinary photo murals. Courtesy of Cohen Media Group. THE FINAL YEAR Dir: Greg Barker (NYC PREMIERE) Greg Barker gives an unprecedented look at the shaping of US foreign policy by following key members of outgoing US President Barack Obama’s administration. Courtesy of Motto Pictures/Passion Pictures. THE FORCE Dir: Peter Nicks An immersion into the beleaguered Oakland Police Department as it attempts to reform its scandal-ridden image. Courtesy of Kino Lorber/PBS Independent Lens. ICARUS Dir: Bryan Fogel An unexpected exposé of a complex doping operation at the heart of Russia’s Olympics program. Courtesy of Netflix. JANE Dir: Brett Morgen Brett Morgen (On the Ropes) reconstitutes 50-year-old National Geographic footage into a poetic look at primatologist Jane Goodall. Courtesy of National Geographic Documentary Films. KEDI Dir: Ceyda Torun This infectious portrait captures Istanbul through the eyes of its colorful street cats.Courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories/YouTube Red. ONE OF US Dirs: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady This year’s Visionaries Tribute honorees Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (Jesus Camp) penetrate the insular world of New York’s Hasidic community. Courtesy of Netflix. RISK Dir: Laura Poitras Oscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras (Citizenfour) creates a complex portrait of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and his team. Courtesy of NEON/Showtime Documentary Films. STEP Dir: Amanda Lipitz The inaugural class of the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women strives for success both academically and through its fierce step dancing team. Courtesy of Fox Searchlight. STRONG ISLAND Dir: Yance Ford Yance Ford explores the long-lasting impact on his African-American family of his brother’s murder, killed by a white man who was never punished for his crime. Courtesy of Netflix.
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12th Rome Film Fest Unveils Official Selections, ‘HOSTILES’, ‘THE PLACE’, ‘I,TONYA’ and More…
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Hostiles[/caption]
The 12th Rome Film Fest has unveiled its Official Selection Lineup, which includes some of the most buzzed about films. The festival will open with Hostiles directed by Scott Cooper and starring Christian Bale; and close with The Place directed by Paolo Genovese.
Set in 1892, Hostiles tells the story of a legendary army captain (Christian Bale) who reluctantly accepts escorting a Cheyenne warlord leader (Wes Studi) and his family to their lands. During the trip they will meet a young widow (Rosamund Pike) whose dear ones have been assassinated in those plains, and together they will have to survive that ruthless landscape and hostile Comanche tribes.
In The Place, a mysterious man always sits at the same table as a restaurant, ready to meet the greatest wishes of eight visitors in exchange for tasks to be performed. How will they be willing to push the protagonists to achieve their desires?
2017 Rome Film Fest Official Selection
ABRACADABRA by Pablo Berger, Spain, France, Belgium, 2017, 96’ Cast: Maribel Verdú, Antonio de la Torre, José Mota, José María Pou, Quim Gutiérrez, Priscilla Delgado, Julián Villagrán, Javivi LOS ADIOSES | THE ETERNAL FEMININE by Natalia Beristain, Mexico, 2017, 85’ Cast: Karina Gidi, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Tessa Ia, Pedro de Tavira Egurrola IN BLUE by Jaap van Heusden, Netherlands, 2017, 102’ Cast: Maria Kraakman, Bogdan Iancu, Ellis van den Brink, Maria Rainea, Ada Gales, Patrick Vervueren BORG MCENROE by Janus Metz, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, 2017, 100’ Cast: Sverrir Gudnason, Shia LaBeouf, Stellan Skarsgård, Tuva Novotny, Ian Blackman, Robert Emms, Scott Arthur CABROS DE MIERDA | THE YOUNG SHEPHERD by Gonzalo Justiniano, Chile, 2017, 118’ Cast: Nathalia Aragonese, Daniel Contesse, Elías Collado, Corina Posada de Gregorio, Luis Dubbó, Nicolás Rojas, Sara Becker Rodríguez C’EST LA VIE! (LE SENS DE LA FÊTE) by Eric Toledano, Olivier Nakache, France, 2017, 117’ Cast: Jean-Pierre Bacri, Gilles Lellouche, Jean-Paul Rouve, Vincent Macaigne, Alban Ivanov, Eye Haidara, Suzanne Clément, Hélène Vincent, Benjamin Lavernhe CUERNAVACA by Alejandro Andrade Pease, Mexico, 2017, 90’ Cast: Carmen Maura, Emilio Puente, Moisés Arizmendi, Mariana Gajá, Diego Álvarez García, Dulce Domínguez, Aranza Beltrán DETROIT by Kathryn Bigelow, United States, 2017, 142’ Cast: John Boyega, Will Poulter, Anthony Mackie, Hannah Murray, Jack Reynor FERRARI: RACE TO IMMORTALITY by Daryl Goodrich, United Kingdom, 2017, 91’ | Doc | O FILME DA MINHA VIDA | THE MOVIE OF MY LIFE by Selton Mello, Brazil, 2017, 113’ Cast: Johnny Massaro, Vincent Cassel, Bruna Linzmeyer, Selton Mello, Ondina Clais, Bia Arantes, Martha Nowill, Rolando Boldrin, João Pedro Prates HIKARI | AND THEN THERE WAS LIGHT by Tatsushi Omori, Japan, 2017, 138’ Cast: Arata Iura, Eita, Kyoko Hasegawa, Manami Hashimoto, Kaho Minami, Mitsuru Hirata, Masayo Umezawa, Nayuta Fukuzaki, Ama Gu, Atsuya Okada, Hirara Hayasaka OPENING FILM HOSTILES by Scott Cooper, United States, 2017, 127’ Cast: Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike, Wes Studi, Jesse Plemons, Adam Beach, Rory Cochrane, Ben Foster THE HUNGRY by Bornila Chatterjee, India, United Kingdom, 2017, 100’ Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Tisca Chopra, Neeraj Kabi, Arjun Gupta, Sayani, Antonio Aakeel, Suraj Sharma I, TONYA by Craig Gillespie, United States, 2017, 121’ Cast: Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Julianne Nicholson, Paul Walter Hauser, Bobby Cannavale, Allison Janney KANOJO GA SONO NA WO SHIRANAI TORITACHI | BIRDS WITHOUT NAMES by Kazuya Shiraishi, Japan, 2017, 123’ Cast: Yu Aoi, Sadawo Abe, Tori Matsuzaka, Eri Murakawa, Masaaki Akahori, Muck Akazawa, Shû Nakajima, Yutaka Takenouchi KŘIŽÁČEK | LITTLE CRUSADER by Václav Kadrnka, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, 2017, 90’ Cast: Karel Roden, Aleš Bílík, Matouš John, Jana Semerádová, Jiří Soukup, Michal Legíň, Jana Ol’hová, Ivan Krúpa, Eliška Křenková, Jan Bednář, Tomáš Bambušek LAST FLAG FLYING by Richard Linklater, United States, 2017, 125’ Cast: Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne LOGAN LUCKY by Steven Soderbergh, United States, 2017, 119’ Cast: Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Hilary Swank, Daniel Craig, Seth MacFarlane, Riley Keough, Katie Holmes, Katherine Waterston, Dwight Yoakam, Sebastian Stan, Brian Gleeson, Jack Quaid LOVE MEANS ZERO by Jason Kohn, United States, 2017, 90’ | Doc | MADEMOISELLE PARADIS by Barbara Albert, Austria, Germany, 2017, 97’ Cast: Maria Dragus, Devid Striesow, Lukas Miko, Katja Kolm, Maresi Riegner, Johanna Orsini-Rosenberg, Stefanie Reinsperger, Susanne Wuest, Christoph Luser MARIA BY CALLAS, IN HER OWN WORDS by Tom Volf, France, 2017, 95’ | Doc | MON GARÇON | MY SON by Christian Carion, France, 2017, 84’ Cast: Guillame Canet, Mélanie Laurent, Olivier De Benoist, Antoine Hamel, Mohamed Brikat, Lino Papa, Marc Robert, Pierre Langlois, Tristan Pagès, Christophe Rossignon, Pierre Desmaret MUDBOUND by Dee Rees, United States, 2017, 134’ Cast: Carey Mulligan, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, Mary J. Blige, Rob Morgan, Jonathan Banks, Garrett Hedlund NADIE NOS MIRA | NOBODY’S WATCHING by Julia Solomonoff, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, United States, 2017, 102’ Cast: Guillermo Pfening, Elena Roger, Rafael Ferro, Cristina Morrison, Kerry Sohn, Pascal Yen-Pster, Paola Baldion, Marco Antonio Caponi, Mayte Montero, Petra Costa, Mirella Pascual, Moro Anghileri, Javana Mundi ONE OF THESE DAYS by Nadim Tabet, Lebanon, 2017, 80’ Cast: Manal Issa, Yumna Marwan, Reine Salameh, Panos Aprahamian, Nicolas Cardahi, Julien Farhat, Walid Feghali THE ONLY LIVING BOY IN NEW YORK by Marc Webb, United States, 2017, 89’ Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Jeff Bridges, Pierce Brosnan, Kiersey Clemons, Tate Donovan, Cynthia Nixon, Callum Turner PRENDRE LE LARGE | CATCH THE WIND by Gaël Morel, France, 2017, 103’ Cast: Sandrine Bonnaire, Mouna Fettou, Kamal El Amri, Ilian Bergala, Lubna Azabal UNA QUESTIONE PRIVATA | RAINBOW: A PRIVATE AFFAIR by Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani, Italy, France, 2017, 84’ Cast: Luca Marinelli, Valentina Bellè, Lorenzo Richelmy SCOTTY AND THE SECRET HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD by Matt Tyrnauer, United States, 2017, 98’ | Doc | SKYGGENES DAL | VALLEY OF SHADOWS by Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen, Norway, 2017, 91’ Cast: Adam Ekeli, Katherine Fagerland, John Olav Nilsen STRONGER by David Gordon Green, United States, 2017, 119’ Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany, Miranda Richardson, Clancy Brown, Carlos Sanz, Frankie Shaw, Danny McCarthy, Lenny Clarke TORMENTERO by Rubén Imaz, Mexico, Colombia, Dominican Republic, 2017, 80’ Cast: José Carlos Ruiz, Gabino Rodríguez, Mónica Jiménez, Rosa Márquez, Waldo Facco, Nelly Valencia, Ausencio Valencia, Leonardo Verdejo TOUT NOUS SÉPARE by Thierry Klifa, France, 2017, 98’ Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Diane Kruger, Nekfeu, Nicolas Duvauchelle TROUBLE NO MORE by Jennifer Lebeau, United States, 2017, 59’ | Doc | LA VIDA Y NADA MÁS | LIFE & NOTHING MORE by Antonio Méndez Esparza, Spain, United States, 2017, 110’ Cast: Andrew Bleechington, Regina Williams, Robert Williams, Ry’nesia Chambers WHO WE ARE NOW by Matthew Newton, United States, 2017, 99’ Cast: Julianne Nicholson, Emma Roberts, Zachary Quinto, Jimmy Smits, Jess Weixler, Jason BiggsIN COLLABORATION WITH ALICE NELLA CITTÀ
THE BREADWINNER by Nora Twomey, Ireland, Canada, Luxemburg, 2017, 93’ | Animation | MAZINGER Z INFINITY by Junji Shimizu, Japan, 2017, 95’ | Animation | SATURDAY CHURCH by Damon Cardasis, United States, 2017, 82’ Cast: Luka Kain, Margot Bingham, Regina Taylor, Marquis Rodriguez, MJ Rodriguez, Indya Moore, Alexia Garcia, Kate Bornstein, Jaylin FletcherEVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT IT
This section includes a selection of films to be screened at the Rome Film Fest after a remarkable international debut. BABYLON BERLIN by Tom Tykwer, Henk Handloegten, Achim von Borries, Germany, Episodes 1 and 2, 2×45’ | TV Series | Cast: Liv Lisa Fries, Volker Bruch, Peter Kurth, Leonie Benesch, Severija Janušauskaitė, Matthias Brandt, Lars Eidinger, Fritzi Haberlandt, Mišel Matičević INSYRIATED by Philippe Van Leeuw, Belgium, France, Lebanon, 2017, 85’ Cast: Hiam Abbass, Diamand Abou Abboud, Juliette Navis MZEVLEBI | HOSTAGES by Rezo Gigineishvili, Georgia, Poland, Russia, 2017, 104’ Cast: Irakli Kvirikadze, Tina Dalakishvili, Merab Ninidze, Darejan Kharshiladze, Avtandil Makharadze THE PARTY by Sally Potter, United Kingdom, 2017, 71’ Cast: Patricia Clarkson, Bruno Ganz, Cherry Jones, Emily Mortimer, Cillian Murphy, Kristin Scott Thomas, Timothy Spall UNE PRIÈRE AVANT L’AUBE | A PRAYER BEFORE DAWN by Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire, France, United Kingdom, 2017, 117’ Cast: Joe Cole, Vithaya Pansringarm, Nicolas Shake PROMISED LAND by Eugene Jarecki, United States, Germany, 2017, 117’ | Doc |SPECIAL EVENTS
CLOSING FILM THE PLACE by Paolo Genovese, Italy, 2017, 105’ Cast: Valerio Mastandrea, Marco Giallini, Sabrina Ferilli, Vinicio Marchioni, Silvia D’Amico, Giulia BETWEEN CINEMA AND MUSIC NYSFERATU – SYMPHONY OF A CENTURY by Andrea Mastrovito, United States, 2017, 67’ | Animation | SELECTED BY… BERNARDO BERTOLUCCI DA’WAH by Italo Spinelli, Indonesia, 2017, 64’ Cast: Wahyu Rafli, Muhammad Hasan Masduqi, Ahmad Yazid, Muhammad Shofi A TIMELESS DIRECTOR SPIELBERG by Susan Lacy, United States, 2017, 147’ | Doc |
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Heartwarming Indie Drama THE FLORIDA PROJECT to Screen at Stockholm International Film Festival
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THE FLORIDA PROJECT[/caption]
The heartwarming drama The Florida Project, one of the most highly buzzed-about at this year Cannes Film Festival, will screen at the upcoming Stockholm International Film Festival.
The movie is Florida-based, and award winning director, Sean Baker’s sixth movie. It is a devastating tale about the forgotten America, seen through the carefree eyes of 6-year-old Moonee.
Moonee and her rebellious mother Halley stays at a cheap motel called “The Magic Castle”. There they meet the long-suffering motel manager Bobby, extraordinary played by Willem Dafoe, who despite his rough appearance is the closest to a father figure Moonee comes.
While Moonee and her new friends explore the motel, and its odd guest, Halley finds herself in more or less dangerous situations in order to provide for her daughter.
The Stockholm International Film Festival takes place November 8th to 19th, 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwQ-NH1rRT4
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Sam Pollard’s Latest Film MAYNARD Profiles Maynard Holbrook Jackson, First Black Mayor of Atlanta | Trailer
The documentary Maynard, directed by the prolific filmmaker Sam Pollard, has wrapped as the film enters post production in Atlanta, Georgia.
He was Obama before Obama, Maynard Holbrook Jackson became first black Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia in 1973 and this film is an exploration into a man who had dreams and ambitions to be a public servant for his people seeing that it was the next logical step in the journey that had been started by Dr. King, and so many others who had blazed the trail during the years of horrific segregation.
Maynard interviews include President Bill Clinton, Al Sharpton, Vernon Jordan, Ambassador Andrew Young, Rev. Joseph Lowery, Jesse Jackson, former Atlanta Mayor’s Sam Massel and Shirley Franklin, and current Mayor Kasim Reed to name a few.
Directed by Academy Award nominee, Emmy winner and 4 time Peabody Award winner Sam Pollard (“Slavery by Another Name”, “Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me”, “Two Trains Runnin’”), Maynard is produced by Wendy Eley Jackson, Dolly Turner, and Winsome Sinclair with cinematography by Henry Adebonojo who worked on the Academy Award nominated documentary “I Am Not Your Negro”.
Update: MAYNARD will World Premiere at 2017 DOC NYC on Thursday, November 16th, 2017.
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MOTHER! Director Darren Aronofsky and More Featured Speakers Added to SXSW 2018
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Darren Aronofsky[/caption]
The 2018 South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festivals has added Keynote Darren Aronofsky and another round of Featured Speakers to the programming lineup.
“A provocative, and virtuoso filmmaker, we’re thrilled to host Darren Aronofsky as one of SXSW Film’s 2018 Keynotes,” said Janet Pierson, Director of Film. “He’s been an original since his first independent work, and we know it will be a blast for our passionate SXSW audiences to hear his story.”
Darren Aronofsky is a film director, screenwriter and film producer whose latest film mother! stars Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, and Michelle Pfeiffer. His film Black Swan became an indie box office phenomenon and earned actress Natalie Portman an Academy Award® for her performance. His other films have included The Wrestler, The Fountain, Requiem for a Dream and Pi. Aronofsky joins previously announced SXSW Keynotes Ta-Nehisi Coates (Convergence), Barry Jenkins (Film Keynote), Esther Perel (Interactive Keynote), and whurley(Convergence Keynote).
“Some of the world’s most imaginative thinkers are part of today’s announcement,” said Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer. “These innovative speakers cover the depth and breadth of SXSW content, enhancing our standing as the foremost destination for creative people to gain the practical tools and outside-of-the-box inspiration to achieve their goals.”
Other Featured Speakers announced today include writer and host of With Friends Like These podcast Ana Marie Cox, This American Life creator and host Ira Glass, design ethicist Tristan Harris, biophysicist and engineer Hugh Herr, Facebook Vice President of Messaging Products David Marcus, activist Bree Newsome, athlete and model Aimee Mullins, best-selling author Daniel H. Pink, Altimeter Principal Analyst and Futurist Brian Solis, GSD&M co-founder and chairman Roy Spence, Pulitzer prize-winning author Lawrence Wright, and many more.
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MUDBOUND Directed by Dee Rees Will Open AFI FEST 2017 | Trailer
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Mudbound[/caption]
MUDBOUND, the historical period drama, directed by Dee Rees will open the AFI FEST 2017 presented by Audi on Thursday, November 9, 2017, at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The film stars Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Mitchell, Jason Clarke, Jonathan Banks, Mary J. Blige and Rob Morgan.
“MUDBOUND will launch eight exhilarating days of great movies, filmmakers and discovery in the heart of Hollywood,” said Jacqueline Lyanga, Director, AFI FEST. “Emblematic of what AFI FEST is, director Dee Rees’ film is rich with cinematic artistry — exemplifying storytelling at its finest, on both an epic and a human scale.”
Set in the rural American South during World War II, Dee Rees’ MUDBOUND is an epic story of two families pitted against one another by a ruthless social hierarchy, yet bound together by the shared farmland of the Mississippi Delta.
MUDBOUND follows the McAllan family, newly transplanted from the quiet civility of Memphis and unprepared for the harsh demands of farming. Despite the grandiose dreams of Henry (Jason Clarke), his wife Laura (Carey Mulligan) struggles to keep the faith in her husband’s losing venture. Meanwhile, Hap and Florence Jackson (Rob Morgan, Mary J. Blige) — sharecroppers who have worked the land for generations — struggle bravely to build a small dream of their own despite the rigidly enforced social barriers they face.
The war upends both families’ plans as their returning loved ones, Jamie McAllan (Garrett Hedlund) and Ronsel Jackson (Jason Mitchell), forge a fast but uneasy friendship that challenges the brutal realities of the Jim Crow South in which they live.
MUDBOUND will be in select theaters and on Netflix on November 17, 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAZWhFI9lLQ
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First wave of Frightening, Bloody Films Revealed for A Night of Horror International Film Festival
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CANNIBALS AND CARPET FITTERS[/caption]
The first wave of programming was announced today for the 11th A Night of Horror International Film Festival and Fantastic Planet, Sydney Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film Festival.
The festivals will run concurrently from November 29 to December 3, 2017 at at Dendy Cinemas Newtown, Australia.
“The festivals’ programmers are delighted to announce a stunning array of frightening, bloody, and awe-inspiring cinema from around the world,” says programming director Dean Bertram. “This first wave is an international cinematic buffet. It includes the freshest and best of this season’s fantastic genre fare: incredible films from Australia, Europe, North and South America, and Africa.”
The first eight feature films announced by the two festivals – all of which are Sydney, Australian, or international premieres – follow.
BAD BLACK (dir: Nabwana I.G.G., Uganda) Get ready Commandos! The most original and surprising hit of the festival season soon invades Sydney! BAD BLACK is a thrill-packed, laugh-filled, self-deprecating action epic: made with no budget in Wakaliwood – Uganda’s answer to Hollywood. And at a time when an endless string of studio produced spectacles leave one feeling numb, this film overflows with a fresh infectious energy that reminds even the most jaded cinephile why they fell in love with movies in the first place. Whether you’ve yet to experience the insane delights of Wakaliwood, or you’re craving your latest fix, here is your chance for Supa Action!
BODIES (dir: Tom Large, UK) After serious money troubles, a married couple agree to take part in a bizarre medical experiment. From festival alumnus Tom Large (BEYOND) comes this twisting sci-fi thriller that will have you as unbalanced and shocked as the film’s protagonists. Fans of smart sci-fi (think PRIMER meets GATTACA) will get their speculative fix from this thought provoking gem.
CANNIBALS AND CARPET FITTERS (dir: James Bushe, UK) A ragtag group of carpet layers are sent on a job to an old English country house in the middle of nowhere. They soon discover it’s a trap set up by a savage cannibalistic family. The carpet fitters must fight for their lives or risk ending up as the evening’s dinner. Horrific delights abound in this gore filled dish, that tastes like a wickedly decadent blend of SHAUN OF THE DEAD and THE TEXAS CHANSAW MASSACRE.
HOSTILE (dir: Mathieu Turi, France) Xavier Gens (FRONTIER(S), THE DIVIDE, HITMAN) presents this post-apocalyptic chiller grounded in character and an emotionally compelling story. Lone survivor Juliette (Brittany Ashworth) fights to survive against hunger, thirst, a broken leg and disturbing creatures that only come out at night: all the while haunted by memories of the most important relationship from her past. Imagine PITCH BLACK meets THE OMEGA MAN mixed with a dash of TV’s LOST, and you have an idea of the tone of this film’s terrifying imagined future, and it’s very real and contemporary heart.
THE MARSHES (dir: Roger Scott, Australia) Deep in a remote marshland, three young biologists (Dafna Kronental, Sam Delich, Mathew Cooper) conduct research. But when they encounter evil, science ends and survival begins. A Night of Horror is delighted to present the Australian premiere of this pulse-charging, clever, and timely addition to the annals of Australian outback horror.
MUSCLECAR (dir: Dwayne Labbé, Australia) The beautiful and obsessive Bambi (Jacinta Stapleton) blows her dough buying the car of her dreams, a lipstick-red, 1968 Dodge Phoenix. When she can’t afford to run it she cooks up a harebrained scheme to bring her car to life. Using ancient Voodoo incantations, the blood of drunkards, and an ox heart, we discover that a girl can love her car too much. This live action film – with dollops of gorgeous and gory animated comic-paneled transitions from director and animator Dwayne Labbé (THE REN AND STIMPY SHOW, ALADDIN, THE JUNGLE BOOK 2) – is a bloody hilarious ride, and the best unabashedly Ozploitation flick the festival’s programmers have seen in years. Don’t miss MUSCLECAR: shot in Sydney’s Inner West, in the very neighborhoods surrounding A Night of Horror Film Festival!
OUR EVIL (dir: Samuel Galli, Brazil) A shocking and utterly original film, which tracks the extreme deeds a man with spiritualist powers will commit to protect his daughter’s soul from the demonic entity destined to consume her. Whether you’re a fan of brutal cinema or of terrifying supernatural tales, this film delights all morbid appetites.
REPLACE (dir: Norbert Keil, Germany/Canada) Young and beautiful Kira (Rebecca Forsythe) is afflicted with a strange disease: her skin starts to age rapidly, dry out and crumble away. When she discovers that she can replace her own skin with somebody else’s, she has to choose: watch her own body wither and die – or give in to temptation – whatever the price. Genre favourite Barbara Crampton (RE-ANIMATOR, WE ARE STILL HERE, YOU’RE NEXT) captivates in her most disturbing role to date in this gorgeously repulsive addition to the body horror subgenre (co-written by Richard Stanley HARDWARE, DUST DEVIL, THE ISLAND OF DOCTOR MOREAU).