• Directors Richard Linklater, Olivier Assayas and Thom Zimny Among New Speakers Added to 2018 SXSW

    [caption id="attachment_24811" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Richard Linklater Richard Linklater[/caption] South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festivals, taking place March 9 to 18, 2018, has added Keynote Melinda Gates and the newest round of Featured Speakers including visionary film director Richard Linklater and writer/director Olivier Assayas to the programming lineup.  The other Featured Speakers include founder and CEO of Dell Technologies Michael Dell; Elvis Presley: The Searcher documentary executive producer Priscilla Presley and director Thom Zimny; hacktivist Joséphine Goube; futurist Ray Kurzweil; former U.S. Chief Technology Officer and shift7 co-founder Megan Smith; Westworld showrunners and creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy; designer and entrepreneur Rachel Zoe; and more. As SXSW celebrates the 25th year of Interactive and Film, and its second year with a unified conference that features Interactive, Film, Music, and Convergence Tracks, Melinda Gates and the Featured Speakers announced today reflect the current and coming trends through the lens of tech and culture.

    Keynote Speaker

    Melinda Gates (Convergence Keynote) – Philanthropist Melinda Gates has dedicated her life to achieving transformational improvements in the health and prosperity of families, communities and societies. Core to her work is empowering women and girls to help them realize their full potential. As co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is guided by the belief that every life has equal value, Gates shapes and approves strategies, reviews results, and sets the overall direction of the world’s largest private foundation. Gates recently launched an executive office, Pivotal Ventures, which enables her to bring together the different strands of her advocacy and philanthropic work and create meaningful change.

    Featured Speakers

    Olivier Assayas and Richard Linklater (Making Film & Episodics) – Olivier Assayas is a French author, screenwriter and director. He’s written and directed notable films such as Demonlover, Something in the Air, and 2016’s psychological thriller Personal Shopper starring Kristen Stewart. Richard Linklater is an award-winning filmmaker best known for such visionary works such as Slacker, the Before Trilogy with Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke, Boyhood, and many others. Linklater also serves as the Artistic Director for the Austin Film Society, which he founded in 1985 to showcase films from around the world that were not typically shown in Austin. Joe Berlinger, Tamron Hall, and Ryan White (Making Film & Episodics) – There is no denying our national fascination for true crime content, and the appetite for these stories continues to grow, among audiences and filmmakers alike. A stellar lineup of documentary filmmakers discuss what drew them to these emotional stories and highlight some of the unique challenges they face when crafting deeply personal narratives about life and death, innocence or guilt. With a life potentially hanging in the balance, non-fiction storytellers are keenly aware of how they represent their subjects – but how do they balance that with their responsibility to victims? What burden does a filmmaker willingly take on when developing relationships with individuals whose lives or livelihood are on the line? Is there a cost that comes from exposing the cracks in our justice system? Michael Dell and Clay Johnston (Health & Wellness) – Michael Dell is chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies, a unique family of businesses encompassing Dell, Dell EMC, Pivotal, RSA, SecureWorks, Virtustream and VMware. Dell Technologies is an innovator and technology leader providing the essential infrastructure for organizations to build their digital future, transform IT and protect their most important information. Dell is also the founder and board member of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the private family foundation which provided lead donor funding to build the Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin. Clay Johnston is the inaugural Dean of the Dell Medical School. His ambitious vision includes building a world-class medical school by creating a vital, inclusive health ecosystem that supports new and innovative models of education and health care delivery – all with a focus on improving health and making Austin a model healthy city. He is also a neurologist, specializing in stroke care and research. Elvis Presley: The Searcher Featured Session (Music Culture & Stories) – Priscilla Presley (Executive Producer), David Porter (legendary Memphis music writer and producer) Thom Zimny (Director), Jon Landau (Producer), and moderator John Jackson (SVP A&R, Sony Music) will discuss the three-hour, two-film presentation of Elvis Presley as the musical artist which will premiere on HBO on April 14, 2018. The films take the audience on a comprehensive creative journey from his childhood through the final 1976 Jungle Room recording sessions. Joséphine Goube (Social Impact) – Joséphine is a hacktivist for migrants and refugees’ social inclusion. As CEO of Techfugees, a non-profit coordinating the tech community to respond to the refugee & migrant challenge in 25 countries over the world, Goube promotes the use of mobile & new digital technologies to empower the displaced and provide them access to information, healthcare, and education. Joséphine Goube will be the opening speaker of SXSW 2018. Kim Jackson and Alex Winter with Logan Hill (Film & TV Industry) – Blockchain is a buzzword across industries as diverse as finance, insurance, and green energy, but what is it really, and how will it impact our world? Join journalist Logan Hill in a conversation with filmmaker Alex Winter and producer Kim Jackson, the team behind the upcoming blockchain documentary from SingularDTV and Futurism Studios, as they explore what blockchain and decentralization actually is, who are the innovators building real world applications for this technology, and how it will affect our everyday lives in the years to come. Ray Kurzweil (Intelligent Future) – Ray Kurzweil is one of the world’s leading inventors, thinkers, and futurists, with a thirty-year track record of accurate predictions. Called “the restless genius” by The Wall Street Journal and “the ultimate thinking machine” by Forbes magazine, he was selected as one of the top entrepreneurs by Inc. Magazine, which described him as the ”rightful heir to Thomas Edison.” PBS has selected him as one of the “sixteen revolutionaries who made America.” Megan Smith (Intelligent Future) – Megan Smith is an award-winning entrepreneur, engineer, and tech evangelist. As the third U.S. chief technology officer, Smith helped the President and federal teams harness the power of technology, data, and innovation to advance the future of our nation and the world. Smith has recently co-founded a company, shift7, focusing on tech-forward networked innovation for impact and economic inclusion. Smith joins the session Democratizing AI for Individuals & Organizations with Dr. Fei-Fei Li and Joanne Chen. Whitney Wolfe Herd (Startup & Tech Sectors) – As Founder and CEO of Bumble, Whitney Wolfe Herd helms one of the fastest-growing social networks in the world. In 3 years, her strategic vision has led to Bumble’s growth of nearly 26 million users worldwide and has singlehandedly disrupted the way people connect on- and offline. Wolfe Herd’s mission for Bumble was simple: create a female-first platform grounded in positive behavior, which would strive to fix the broken system surrounding antiquated gender norms when it comes to connecting. In 2016, Bumble launched Bumble BFF as a friend-finding feature, and launched Bumble Bizz in 2017, which connects users for professional networking. Westworld Featured Session (Entertainment Influencers) – The HBO drama series Westworld is a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin. Join showrunners and creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy along with cast (TBA) for an inside look at the award-winning show, which will return for its second season this spring. Rachel Zoe and Hillary Kerr (Style) – Rachel Zoe is a distinguished designer, editor, author, and entrepreneur, renowned for her effortless take on glamour. As a designer, Zoe makes her exceptional taste and expertise accessible to the fashion-savvy as Creative Director of the Rachel Zoe Collection. Hillary Kerr is the co-founder and Chief Ideation Officer of Clique a media, marketing, and consumer brands company recently named to Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list for 2017.

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  • “Lady Bird” “The Shape of Water” “A Ghost Story” Among Winners at Houston Film Critics Society Movie Awards

    [caption id="attachment_19859" align="aligncenter" width="1205"] A Ghost Story A Ghost Story[/caption] Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird was a hit with the Houston Film Critics Society winning three awards at the group’s 11th Annual Movie Awards, including best picture of 2017, along with Best Director and Best Screenplay for Greta Gerwig. Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water also won three awards including Best Actress for Sally Hawkins, Best Score, and Best Poster. David Lowery’s A Ghost Story starring Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara which was filmed in the Dallas area, won the Texas Independent Film Award (TIFA).

    2017 Houston Film Critics Society Movie Awards Winners

    Picture Lady Bird Director Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird Actor James Franco, The Disaster Artist Actress Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water Supporting Actor Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Supporting Actress Allison Janney, I, Tonya Screenplay Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird Cinematography Roger Deakins, Blade Runner 2049 Animated Film Coco Original Score Alexandre Desplat, The Shape of Water Best Original Song Remember Me, Coco Foreign Language Film Thelma Documentary Feature Jane Visual Effects Blade Runner 2049 Poster The Shape of Water Texas Independent Film Award A Ghost Story

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  • 15th Oxford Film Festival Announces Lineup of 204 Films, Opens with THE LAST MOVIE STAR, Starring Burt Reynolds and Ariel Winter

    [caption id="attachment_26312" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]THE LAST MOVIE STAR Vic Edwards (Burt Reynolds) and Ariel Winter (Lil) in THE LAST MOVIE STAR[/caption] A total of 204 films will screen at this year’s 15th Anniversary edition of the Oxford Film Festival taking place February 7 to 11, 2018.  On opening night, writer/director Adam Rifkin will present his latest film, THE LAST MOVIE STAR, starring Burt Reynolds and Ariel Winter, while Carlos and Jason Sanchez’s intense drama, ALLURE, starring Evan Rachel Wood, will screen at the festival’s Centerpiece Selection and Robert Mullan’s 60s biopic MAD TO BE NORMAL, starring David Tennant Elisabeth Moss and Michael Gambon, serves as the closing night selection. Narrative feature films in competition this year include: Dan Mirvish’s BERNARD AND HUEY, Mark Potts’s COP CHRONICLES: LOOSE CANNONS: LEGEND OF THE HAJ-MIRAGE, Billy Chase Goforth’s DOOR IN THE WOODS, Arturo Perez Torres and Aviva Armour-Ostroff’s THE DRAWER BOY; Akiyo Fujimura’s ERIKO, PRETENDED; and Catherine Eaton’s THE SOUNDING. Documentary features in competition include: Skye Borgman’s FOREVER ‘B’; Aaron and Amanda Kopp’s LIYANA; Nick Taylor’s THE ORGANIZER; Quinn Costello, Chris Metzler, and Jeff Springer’s RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE; and Owsley Brown III’s SERENADE FOR HAITI. The LGBTQ Juried Feature Competition will include Shaz Bennett’s festival favorite ALASKA IS A DRAG, along with Jill Salvino’s BETWEEN THE SHADES, and Itako’s BOYS FOR SALE, and highlights the Oxford Film Festival’s commitment to support our LGBTQ filmmakers and offer a more positive reaction to the passage of Mississippi’s “Religious Liberty Accommodations Act.” “This year we’ve struck a wonderful balance between films that are thoughtful, provocative, reflect the world we live in, and address the issues of the day without blinking, with films that are just pure, fun, entertainment,” said Oxford Film Festival Executive Director Melanie Addington. “The festival continues to increase in size and scope and that growth can also be seen in the work of our local Mississippi filmmakers, whose exceptional work continues to impress. This year’s festival includes 18 films from Mississippi artists, the most to date, and they will be highlighted right next to the best films we could find from all around the world.” Rifkin’s THE LAST MOVIE STAR (formerly titled, DOG YEARS) stars Burt Reynolds as a former box-office king, who many years later, is invited to receive an honor at a film festival that turns out to be beyond dubious. Therefore, he instead opts to go on an impromptu road trip with the sister (Ariel Winter) of one of the fest’s organizers. A bittersweet journey follows as the odd pairing visit some memorable spots – and people – from the old man’s past. The film screens Thursday, February 8 at 7:30PM at the Gertrude C. Ford Center (351 University Ave.). Carlos and Jason Sanchez’s ALLURE stars Evan Rachel Wood as a woman struggling to re-establish her life and meet someone as she continues to recover from past abuse. However, there seems to be hope when she meets Eva, a young, talented pianist disillusioned by the life her mother imposes upon her. As Laura become increasingly obsessed with Eva, she convinces the girl to run away with her and they soon find themselves caught up in an intense relationship that can’t be sustained. The film screens Saturday, February 10 at 8:45PM at the Malco Commons (204 Commonwealth Blvd.) Mullan’s biopic, MAD TO BE NORMAL, stars “Jessica Jones/”Dr. Who” star, David Tennant as RD Laing, a radical psychiatrist who rewrote the rules on mental health treatment. He became a 60s counterculture hero for challenging the status quo of pills and electro shock therapy, instead opting for a holistic treatment without drugs, group therapy, and communal healing. The films impressive cast also includes Elisabeth Moss, Gabriel Byrne, and Michael Gambon. The film screens Sunday, February 11 at 6:00PM at the Malco Commons (204 Commonwealth Blvd.) Two of OFF’s special events directly address issues that concern women and are currently at the forefront of society today. Daytime television legend (“All My Children”) Cady McClain’s documentary SEEING IS BELIEVING: WOMEN DIRECT will screen on Friday (February 9), followed by a panel featuring several attending female filmmakers as they discuss some of the myriad issues that have been in the news this past year regarding female filmmakers and women in general. Saturday sees the Mississippi premiere of Trish Adlesic and Geeta Gandbhir’s award-winning HBO documentary, I AM EVIDENCE, produced by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star Mariska Hargitay, about the tens of thousands of unprocessed rape kits across the country. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with the filmmakers and special guests. “Given the recent and continuing avalanche of sexual harassment and assault revelations in almost every area of society,” Added Addington, “we felt it was important that the issues raised in these two films, as well as others in this year’s festival, be highlighted and discussed in our community.” Another comedy will make its world premiere at OFF, as filmmaker Mark Potts returns to the festival with his latest, COP CHRONICLES: LOOSE CANNONS: THE LEGEND OF THE HAJ-MIRAGE. The film follows two police officers, as they take on an evil mastermind, while working through some personal partnership issues. Potts’ indie comedy, SPAGHETTIMAN, was an audience favorite two years ago.

    2018 OXFORD FILM FESTIVAL FILMS AND DESCRIPTIONS

    Feature Films

    OPENING NIGHT SELECTION THE LAST MOVIE STAR Director: Adam Rifkin Cast: Burt Reynolds, Ariel Winter, Clark Duke, Chevy Chase Country: USA, Running Time: 94 min An aging former movie star is forced to face the reality that his glory days are behind him. On its surface, THE LAST MOVIE STAR is a tale about faded fame, but at its core, it’s a universal story about growing old. CLOSING NIGHT SELECTION MAD TO BE NORMAL Director: Robert Mullan Cast: David Tennent, Elisabeth Moss, Gabriel Byrne, Michael Gambon Country: UK, Running Time: 105 min During the 1960s, a renegade Scottish psychiatrist courts controversy within his profession for his approach to the field, and for the unique community he creates for his patients to inhabit. CENTERPIECE SELECTION ALLURE Directors: Carlos Sanchez, Jason Sanchez Cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Julia Sarah Stone, Denis O’Hare Country: USA, Running Time: 105 min Plagued by the abuse of her past and the turmoil of failed intimate encounters, Laura struggles to find a lover and a sense of normalcy. SPECIAL ANNIVERSARY SCREENING BASEKETBALL (1998) Director: David Zucker Cast: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Dian Bachar, Yasmine Bleeth, Jenny McCarthy Country: USA, Running Time: 103 min Two childhood friends are pro athletes of a national sport called BASEketball, a hybrid of baseball and basketball, and must deal with a greedy businessman scheming against their team. SPECIAL WORK-IN-PROGRESS SCREENING CIRCLES PRESENTED BY MISSISSIPPI HUMANITIES COUNCIL Director: Cassidy Friedman Country: USA, Running Time: 82 min A Hurricane Katrina survivor who works to keep black teenagers in school in Oakland, California, finds his personal and professional lives colliding when his 15-year-old son is accused of a crime he didn’t commit. NARRATIVE FEATURES JURIED COMPETITION BERNARD AND HUEY Director: Dan Mirvish Cast: Jim Rash, David Koechner, Sasha Alexander, Eva Darville , Richard Kind, Nancy Travis, Bellamy Young, Mae Whitman Country: USA, Running Time: 94 min Based on characters from Jules Feiffer’s Village Voice comic strip dating back to 1957, roguish Huey, and nebbishy Bernard are unlikely friends in late 1980s New York. 25 years later, and now Bernard is a successful bachelor, and Huey arrives on his doorstep looking old and washed up. As the two reconnect, Bernard starts a relationship with Huey’s estranged daughter Zelda. Huey slowly gets his mojo back and tries to seduce various women in Bernard’s life, while reconnecting with his family. At least one of them is in danger of marrying a woman old enough to be his wife. COP CHRONICLES: LOOSE CANNONS: LEGEND OF THE HAJ-MIRAGE WORLD PREMIERE Director: Mark Potts Country: USA, Running Time: 83 min Action. Suspense. Death. Love. Hot men. Etc. COP CHRONICLES: LOOSE CANNONS: THE LEGEND OF THE HAJ-MIRAGE tells the story of two wild police officers, Higgs and McGraw, and their chase to take down Samir, an evil mastermind hell bent on making the world bow down to him. DOOR IN THE WOODS Director: Billy Chase Goforth Country: USA, Running Time: 90 min A young family encounters paranormal forces and face a devastating choice after they install a mysterious vintage door in their home. THE DRAWER BOY Directors: Arturo Perez Torres, Aviva Armour-Ostroff Country: Canada, Running Time: 98 min Set in Ontario, 1972, the film follows Miles, a naive actor from Toronto, who turns up at a remote farm run by two men: the ruggedly practical Morgan and the simple-minded Angus. However, when the farmers let the city-boy into their home, Miles’ search for a story gradually unearths a devastating truth that threatens to destroy the tranquil lives of his hosts forever. ERIKO, PRETENDED Director: Akiyo Fujimura Country: Japan, Running Time: 93 min Ten years have gone by since Eriko moved to Tokyo to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. However, things haven’t gone like she expected, and for Eriko, there was no hope in sight. She receives the news about her older sister’s sudden death. Eriko returns home to attend her sister’s funeral her relatives question Eriko’s pretend life as a successful actress. On a whim, Eriko declares that she will take care of Kazuma, her sister’s 10-year-old son, while finding out that her sister worked as a mourner-for-hire at funerals. THE SOUNDING Director: Catherine Eaton Country: USA, Running Time: 93 min On a remote island off the coast of Maine, Liv, after years of silence, begins to weave a language out of Shakespeare’s words. A driven neurologist, brought to the island to protect her, commits her to a psychiatric hospital. She becomes a full-blow rebel in the hospital; her increasing violence threatens to keep her locked up for life as she fights for her voice and her freedom. At a tipping point for otherness in our current climate, THE SOUNDING champions it.

    DOCUMENTARY FEATURES JURIED COMPETITION

    FOREVER ‘B’ Director: Skye Borgman Country: USA, Running Time: 91 min FOREVER ‘B’ is a twisting, turning, stranger-than-fiction story of the Broberg’s, a naïve, church-going Idaho family whose daughter, Jan, was kidnapped by the family’s best friend and neighbor. Twice. LIYANA Director: Aaron Kopp, Amanda Kopp Country: Swaziland, USA, Running Time: 77 min A Swazi girl embarks on a dangerous quest to rescue her young twin brothers. This animated African tale is born in the imaginations of five orphaned children in Swaziland who collaborate to tell a story of perseverance drawn from their darkest memories and brightest dreams. THE ORGANIZER Director: Nick Taylor Country: USA, Running Time: 101 min THE ORGANIZER is a portrait of Wade Rathke, the controversial founder of ACORN, as well as an exploration of that much maligned and misunderstood occupation – community organizing.  RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE Directors: Quinn Costello, Chris Metzler, Jeff Springer Country: USA, Running Time: 71 min Hard headed Louisiana fisherman Thomas Gonzales doesn’t know what will hit him next. After decades of hurricanes and oil spills he faces a new threat – hordes of monstrous 20-pound swamp rats. Known as “nutria”, these invasive South American rodents breed faster than the roving squads of hunters can control them. SERENADE FOR HAITI Director: Owsley Brown III Country: USA, Running Time: 110 min A classical music school in the heart of Port-au-Prince, Haiti thrives despite decades of entrenched poverty and political strife. When a catastrophic earthquake completely destroys the school in 2010, a stunned and devastated faculty and student body must pick up the pieces and find a way to move forward.

    MISSISSIPPI FEATURES JURIED COMPETITION

    THE LONG SHADOW Director: Frances Causey Country: USA, Running Time: 88 min Two daughters of the South look beyond their white privilege to discover a history that’s been hidden, exposing the long and shockingly powerful reach of Southern politics from slavery through to today’s racial imbalance. LOVE SOLILOQUY: A VISUAL ALBUM Director: Astin Rocks. Country: USA, Running Time: 31 min Distorting the perception of true events, LOVE SOLILOQUY uses avant-garde storytelling to reveal the psyche behind young women navigating their relationships. Astin Rocks doubles as the band’s vocalist, lyricist, and film director. MISSISSIPPI MADAM: THE LIFE OF NELLIE JACKSON WORLD PREMIERE Director: Timothy Givens and Mark K. Brockway County: USA, Running Time: 81 min In 1902 Nellie Jackson, an African-American woman born into poverty in Possum Corner, Miss., travels north to Natchez and opens a brothel she ran for more than 60 years with full knowledge of police and Natchez officials until a fiery end one hot July night in 1990 THE PROCESS: THE WAY OF PABLO SIERRA WORLD PREMIERE Director: Jeff Dennis Country: USA, Running Time: 66 min A film about a potter named Pablo Sierra who lives in Yocona, MS. Born in Spain, he came to Ole Miss on track scholarship. He became a world-class runner, and is now a potter, baker, and horseman. For Pablo, the process is everything.

    MUSIC DOCUMENTARIES JURIED COMPETITION

    CASSETTE: A DOCUMENTARY MIXTAPE Director: Zack Taylor Country: USA, Running Time: 88 min CASSETTE: A DOCUMENTARY MIXTAPE is, in fact, a documentary mixtape about a musical format that refuses to die. Through a series of one-on-one interviews, Lou Ottens, inventor of the cassette, confronts 50 years of mixed emotions about his creation. He is joined on his journey by Henry Rollins, Thurston Moore, Ian MacKaye, Rob Sheffield, Burger Records, and many more.  DO U WANT IT? Directors: Sam Radutzky, Josh Freund Country: USA, Running Time: 96 min DO U WANT IT? is an exploration and celebration of the musical culture of New Orleans. The film chronicles the rise of beloved New Orleans’ band Papa Grows Funk and uses their illustrious thirteen-year career, from formation up to the band’s emotional final shows, as a vehicle to explore the nuances of success and struggle in the greatest musical city in the world. HOW THEY GOT OVER Director: Robert Clem Country: USA, Running Time: 87 min HOW THEY GOT OVER explores the evolution of black gospel quartet music and its contributions to the emergence of rock & roll. The film includes performances by the Blind Boys of Mississippi and Alabama, the Soul Stirrers, Dixie Hummingbirds, Davis Sisters, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Sensational Nightingales and many more. WORD IS BOND Director: Sacha Jenkins Country: USA, Running Time: 85 min Word Is Bond is a documentary film by Sacha Jenkins that examines the transformative power of lyrics in the world of hip-hop music. What was born on the streets of the South Bronx has now taken root globally, and the young poets of New York have helped to spawn regional dialects everywhere.

    LGBTQ FEATURES JURIED COMPETITION

    ALASKA IS A DRAG Director: Shaz Bennett Country: USA, Running Time: 89 min A fish out of water story – literally. Our hero Leo is an aspiring superstar stuck working in a fish cannery in Alaska. Leo and his twin sister Tristen hang out at the one gay bar in a hundred miles, owned by their surly surrogate mom Jan (Margaret Cho). After years of getting beat up by his former best friend, Leo has learned to fight back, catching the eye of his cannery boss, an amateur boxer who offers to train him to be a fighter. BETWEEN THE SHADES Director: Jill Salvino Country: USA, Running Time: 82 min BETWEEN THE SHADES seeks to put faces to the letters that make up LGBTQI and how those letters have evolved. The film examines the immense power of labels and the transcendence of love. BOYS FOR SALE Director: Itako Country: Japan, Running Time: 76 min Boys are selling sex in Japan. Who is buying? In the Tokyo district of Shinjuku 2-chome there are bars that specialize in “Urisen”, young boys who have sex with men.

    KID FILM FESTIVAL FEATURE FILMS

    THE AMAZING WIZARD OF PAWS Director: Brian Michael Stoller Country: USA, Running Time: 96 min What happens when you find out the family dog is actually six-hundred years old and was once owned by a great and powerful wizard? In this charming and magical adventure, young Bobby Spade and his faithful therapy dog, Ozzy, stumble upon an ancient wizard’s mystical book of spells. MEERKAT MOONSHIP Director: Hanneke Schutte Country: South Africa, Running Time: 97 min Timid, wildly imaginative 13-year-old Gideonette de La Rey learns that the name she was given comes with it a horrible curse. After her father dies, Gideonette is paralyzed by fear and is sent to live on a farm with her grandparents where she befriends a young deaf boy who is “training” to become an astronaut and preparing to fly away in a Moonship that Gideonette’s grandfather built for him. WHALE RIDER (2002) Director: Niki Caro Country: Running Time: 101 min A contemporary story of love, rejection and triumph as a young Maori girl fights to fulfill a destiny her grandfather refuses to recognize.

    ADDITIONAL SPECIAL SCREENINGS

    I AM EVIDENCE Directors: Trish Adlesic, Geeta Gandbhir Country: USA, Running Time: An investigation into the way sexual assault cases are handled by police departments across the United States and an examination of how there came to be a backlog of tens of thousands of untested rape kits. LIVING ON SOUL Directors: Jeff Broadway, Cory Bailey Country: USA, Running Time: 96 min LIVING ON SOUL is a hybrid docu-concert film featuring the late Sharon Jones, Charles Bradley and the rest of the Daptone Records family. Filmed largely during Daptone’s December 2014 three-night, sold-out residency at the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem, the documentary features a mixture of live performances and verité scenes that paint a robust picture of the Daptone family and culture. SEEING IS BELIEVING: WOMEN DIRECT Director: Cady McClain Country: USA, Running Time: 57 min SEEING IS BELIEVING Is an in-depth investigation into the challenges faced by women directors. The film focuses on the journeys of four articulate filmmakers – Lesli Linka Glatter (HOMELAND), Sarah Gavron (SUFFRAGETTE), li Lu (THERE IS A NEW WORLD SOMEWHERE), and Naima Ramos Chapman (AND NOTHING HAPPENED) who provide a wonderful mix of perspectives. URANIA DESCENDING Director: Tav Falco Country: Austria, Running Time: 69 min An American girl, Gina Lee is an alienated and disaffected female who has become disenchanted with hometown strip malls, sleaze bars, and rides along the river-side in her BMW. Impulsively she buys a discount airline ticket in a shopping mall travel agency. Destination: Vienna, the merry/sinister imperial city on the Danube. Gina Lee quickly slips into discreet, yet decadent dalliances at Cafe Central and at the notorious Hotel Orient, where she becomes embroiled in an intrigue to uncover buried Nazi plunder. Her tragic liaison with rakish Karl Heinz Von Riegl results in her submersion beneath the dark waters of Lake Atter, yet her ultimate fate remains unresolved.

    Oxford Film Festival Short Films

    BEST OF THE LOUISIANA FILM PRIZE

    CANDYLAND Director: Taylor Bracewell Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min EXIT STRATEGY Director: Travis Bible Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min MY FATHER’S SON Director: Kyle Clements Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min SCOUNDRELS Director: Mark Blitch Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min STAG Director: Jonnie Stapleton Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min

    NARRATIVE SHORT FILMS (DRAMA SHORTS BLOCK)

    AN ACT OF TERROR Director: Ashley Paige Brim Country: USA, Running Time: 16 min BLACK CANARIES Director: Jessee Kreitzer Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min BLOOD WOLF WORLD PREMIERE Director: Diana Cignoni Country: USA, Running Time: 9 min THE BLUE CAR Director: Henrik A. Meyer Country: USA, Running Time: 11 min HOME WORLD PREMIERE Director: Clark Duke Country: USA, Running Time: 13 min LAWMAN Director: Matthew Gentile Country: USA, Running Time: 13 min RUNNING EAGLE Director: Konrad Tho Fiedler Country: USA, Running Time: 13 min

    NARRATIVE SHORT FILMS (COMEDY SHORTS BLOCK)

    BITCHES LOVE BRUNCH Director: Sasha Leigh Henry Country: Canada, Running Time: 11 min THE FINAL SHOW WORLD PREMIERE Director: Dana Nachman Country: USA, Running Time: 10 min GLORIA TALKS FUNNY WORLD PREMIERE Director: Kendall Goldberg Country: USA, Running Time: 19 min LAST WORDS Director: Andre LeBlanc Country USA, Running Time: 9 min M.A.M.O.N. (MONITOR AGAINST MEXICANS OVER NATIONWIDE) Director: Alejandro Damiani Country: Mexico, Running Time: 5 min SANS RESPONSE Director: William Papadin Country: USA, Running Time: 4 min TEMPORARY Director: Milena Govich Country: USA, Running Time: 12 min THAT SMELL Director: Kyle Lavore Country: USA, Running Time: 11 min

    NARRATIVE SHORT FILMS (INTERNATIONAL SHORTS BLOCK)

    ALZHAÏMOUR Director: Pierre Van de Kerckhove Country: Belgium, Running Time: 14 min FLIEGEN Director: Marcus Hanisch Country: Germany, Running Time: 18 min SAVE ME! Director: Mohsen Nabavi Countries: Iran/Malyasia, Running Time: 10 min SAY NO WORLD PREMIERE Director: Samuel Clemens Country: UK, Running Time: 9 min SPACE GIRLS WORLD PREMIERE Director: Carys Watford Country: UK, Running Time: 10 min SPINOSAURUS Director: Tessa Hoffe Country: UK, Running Time: 15 min THE VEST Director: Lesley Manning Country: UK, Running Time: 7 min THE WEIGHT Director: Garrett Detrixhe Country: USA, Running Time: 11 min A WHOLE WORLD FOR A LITTLE WORLD Director: Fabrice Bracq Country: France, Running Time: 15 min

    NARRATIVE SHORT FILMS (LATE NIGHT SHORTS BLOCK)

    ALFRED J. HEMLOCK Director: Edward Lyons Country: Australia, Running Time: 15 min THE APOCALYPSE WILL BE AUTOMATED WORLD PREMIERE Director: Melanie Killingsworth Country: Australia, Running Time: 8 min EINSTEIN-ROSEN Director: Olga Osorio Country: Spain, Running Time: 9 min HEARTLESS WORLD PREMIERE Director: Kevin Sluder Country: USA, Running Time: 12 min IT BEGAN WITHOUT WARNING Directors: Santiago C. Tapia, Jessica Curtright Country: USA, Running Time: 6 min LABORATORY CONDITIONS Director: Jocelyn Statmat Country: USA, Running Time: 17 min PESSIM U.S. PREMIERE Director: TAKCOM Country: Japan, Running Time: 11 min (NOTE – PESSIM is a Fest Forward selection screening in this block) REAL ARTISTS Director: Cameo Wood Country: USA, Running Time: 12 min TRANSMISSION Directors: Varun Raman & Tom Hancock Country: UK, Running Time: 17 min (NOTE – TRANSMISSION is a Fest Forward selection screening in this block)

    NARRATIVE SHORT FILMS SCREENING WITH FEATURES

    FAVORITES Director: Tracy S. Facelli Country: USA, Running Time: 17:24 min (ARTIST VODKA runner up) (screens with Winning Short Films block) THE MELANCHOLY MAN Director: Samantha Smith Country: USA, Running Time: 6 min (screens with ERIKO PRETENDING) NATION DOWN Director: Liam Hendrix Heath Country: USA, Running Time: 14:57 min (ARTIST VODKA winner) (screens with Winning Short Films block) THE PERFECT FIT WORLD PREMIERE Director: Emory Parker Country: USA, Running Time: 17 min (screens with THE DRAWER BOY) ROBERT Directors: Sarah Fleming, Joann Self Selvidge Country: USA, Running Time: 8 min (screens with CIRCLES) SURROGATE Director: Olivia Hamilton Country: USA, Running Time: 13 min (screens with BERNARD & HUEY) TIMBRE U.S. PREMIERE Director: Gareth Peevers Country: UK, Running Time: 4 min (screens with THE SOUNDING) TOND Directors: Josh Ruben, Vince Peone Country: USA, Running Time: 21 min (screens with COP CHRONICLES: LOOSE CANNONS: THE LEGEND OF THE HAJ-MIRAGE)

    DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILMS

    $30 TO ANTARCTICA Director: Joey Chu Country: USA/Hong Kong, Running Time: 18 min A LIFE’S WORK U.S. PREMIERE Director: Ben Spilling Country: USA, Running Time: 17 min ALL THE LEAVES ARE BROWN Director: Daniel Robin Country: USA, Running Time: 12 min ALTIMIR Director: Kay Hannahan Country: Bulgaria/USA, Running Time: 15 min JOHNNY’S GREEK AND THREE Director: Ava Lowery Country: USA, Running Time: 8 min NEWPORT GUN GIRLS WORLD PREMIERE Director: Lauren Orme Country: UK, Running Time: 11 min OUR GHOSTS Director: Hannah Ruddle Country: UK, Running Time: 4 min WASHED AWAY Director: Dana Nachman Country: USA, Running Time: 18 min

    DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILMS SCREENING WITH FEATURES

    AN ACCIDENTAL DROWNING Director: Matteo Servente Country: USA, Running Time: 7 min (screens with LIYANA) JESSZILLA Director: Emily Sheskin Country: USA, Running Time: 7 min (screens with SERENADE FOR HAITI) MONSTER IN THE BAYOU Director: Victoria Greene Country: USA, Running Time: 14 min (screens with SERENADE FOR HAITI) THE NATURE OF MASS DEMONSTRATIONS  WORLD PREMIERE Director: Nate Lavey Country: USA, Running Time: 7 min (screens with THE ORGANIZER) ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND BEATING HEARTS Director: Peter Byck Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min (screens with RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE) YOU SEE ‘EM Director: Emma Landeche Country: USA, Running Time: 7 min (screens with RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE)

    MISSISSIPPI SHORT FILMS (COMMUNITY FILM BLOCK)

    #FIFTEEN Director: Melanie Addington Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min BIRTHING VIDEO Director: Christina Huff Country: USA, Running Time: 4 min CLOSED Director: Samuel Cox Country: USA, Running Time: 3:17 min DAYFALL Director: Tony King Country: USA, Running Time: 1:17 min DEAR MR BRYANT WORLD PREMIERE Directors: Robbie Fisher, Jenni Smith Country: USA, Running Time: 10 min (MAGNIFYING GLASS FELLOWSHIP WINNER) FIFTEEN Director: Julia Mitchell Country: USA, Running Time: 10 min THE PIZZA MAGAZINE WORLD PREMIERE Director: Daniel Perea Country: USA, Running Time: 15:48 min THACKER MOUNTAIN RADIO HOUR: 20TH ANNIVERSARY Director: Christina Huff Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min

    MISSISSIPPI SHORT FILMS (MISSISSIPPI SHORTS BLOCK)

    CAUTION Director: Thomas Haffey Country: USA, Running Time: 1:17 min COWGIRL UP Director: Nathan Willis Country: USA, Running Time: 5:17 min CUBICLE CITY Director: Glenn Payne Country: USA, Running Time: 16:42 min FLAG FLAP OVER MISSISSIPPI Director: Rex Jones Country: USA, Running Time: 27 min HAND MADE Director: David Ross Country: USA, Running Time: 4:55 min MOMBIE Director: N.T. Bullock Country: USA, Running Time: 10 min PART OF IT WORLD PREMIERE Director: Victoria De Leone Country: USA, Running Time: 7:20 min PAY THE PIPER Director: Maggie Bushway Country: USA, Running Time: 6:29 min RIVER MADE WORLD PREMIERE Director: David Ross Country: USA, Running Time: 7:09 min TRUTH RISES WORLD PREMIERE Director: E. J. Carter Country: USA, Running Time: 2:40 min WE BELIEVED WE WERE IMMORTAL Directors: Kathleen Wickham, Larry Wells Country: USA, Running Time: 8 min WINSTON COUNTY MIRACLE MAN Director: Rick Guy Country: USA, Running Time: 6:25 min

    MISSISSIPPI SHORT FILMS SCREENING WITH FEATURES

    COLETTE Director: Royce Swayze Country: USA, Running Time: 9 min (screens with MISSISSIPPI MADAM: THE LIFE OF NELLIE JACKSON) HERE I’LL STAY Directors: Marlene McCurtis, Lorena Maniquez Country: USA, Running Time: 11 min (screens with THE LONG SHADOW)

    LGBTQ SHORT FILMS

    3 FRIENDS Director: Michael Moody Culpepper Country: Ireland/USA, Running Time: 22 min THE CLEANSE Director: Lucas Omar Country: USA, Running Time: 13 min DUSK Director: Jake Graf Country: UK, Running Time: 15 min HAYGOOD EATS! Director: Hazart Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min HOW TO MAKE A PEARL Director: Jason Hanasik Country: USA, Running Time: 22 min SPARK WORLD PREMIERE Director: Aharonit Elinor Country: USA, Running Time: 6 min SUNUNÚ: THE REVOLUTION OF LOVE Director: Olivia Crellin Country: UK, Running Time: 24 min THE THIRD MOVEMENT U.S. PREMIERE Director: Josephine Anderson Country: Canada, Running Time: 11 min WAFFLES Director: Foster Wilson Country: USA, Running Time: 4 min

    LGBTQ SHORT FILMS SCREENING WITH FEATURES

    FISHY Director: Joseph Sulsenti Country: USA, Running Time: 6 min (screens with ALASKA IS A DRAG) LADY EVA Directors: Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson, Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu Country: Kingdom of Tonga, Running Time: 11 min (screens with ALASKA IS A DRAG)

    FEST FORWARD SHORT FILMS (ANIMATION BLOCK)

    CATHERINE Director: Britt Raes Country: Belgium, Running Time: 12 min FIRST BLOOM Director: Tingting Liu Country: China, Running Time: 5 min JAMSHID: A LAMENT FOR A MYTH U.S. PREMIERE Director: Moin Samadi Country: Iran, Running Time: 12 min MEETING MACGUFFIN Director: Catya Plate Country: USA, Running Time: 10 min NEGATIVE SPACE U.S. PREMIERE Directors: Max Porter, Ru Kuwahata Country: France, Running Time: 5 min THE SERVANT Director: Farnoosh Abedi Country: Iran, Running Time: 9 min THE SPIRIT SEAM WORLD PREMIERE Director: Ashley Gerst Country: USA, Running Time: 15 min TWO BALLOONS Director: Mark C. Smith Country: USA, Running Time: 9 min UGLY Director: Nikita Diakur Country: Germany, Running Time: 12 min

    FEST FORWARD SHORT FILMS (FEST FORWARD BLOCK)

    ANIMAL CINEMA Director: Emilio Vavarella Country: USA, Running Time: 12 min ANTHROPOCENE WORLD PREMIERE Director: Bradley Rappa Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min BLUE BUT PALE BLUE Director: Daisy Dickinson Country: UK, Running Time: 4 min THE BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER Director: Jadwiga Kowalska Country: Switzerland, Running Time: 6 min CARGO Director: Jasmine Ellis Country: Germany, Running Time: 4 min COLLAPSING Director: Brian Ratigan Country: USA, Running Time: 1 min COOKING WITH CONNIE Director: Stavit Allweis Country: USA, Running Time: 20 min DISILLUSIONMENT OF 10 POINT FONT Director: Greg Condon Country: USA, Running Time: 1 min LYING WOMEN Director: Deborah Kelly Country: Australia, Running Time: 4 min MAY I? REMIX# Director: Vasco Diogo Country: Portugal, Running Time: 4 min PARALYSIS WORLD PREMIERE Director: Victoria Negri Country: USA, Running Time: 2 min PITTARI Director: Patrick Smith Country: USA, Running Time: 4 min THE REALM OF DEEPEST KNOWING Director: Seunghee Kim Country: South Korea, Running Time: 3 min SHOT Director: Aemilia Scott Country: USA, Running Time: 9 min TOWARDS THE EXPERIMENTAL CONTROL OF DREAMING Director: Ryan Betschart Country: USA, Running Time: 2 min TRUMPET MAN Director: Emily Wong Country: Hong Kong, Running Time: 14 min WHAT’S THAT IN THE GROUND? WORLD PREMIERE Director: Wally Chung Country: USA, Running Time: 2 min YELLOW AND RED MAKE ORANGE WORLD PREMIERE Director: Jay Hollinsworth Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min

    MISSISSIPPI MUSIC VIDEOS

    “A Hard Rain” by Stacie and Cassie Director: J.B. Lawrence/Stace and Cassie Country: USA, Running Time: 5:55 min “All I Know” by Jake Wood Director: Rex Harsin Country: USA, Running Time: 2:56 min “Damaged” by American Automatic WORLD PREMIERE Director: Greg Johnson Country: USA, Running Time: 5:28 min “Glory Glory” by Sharde Thomas and the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band WORLD PREMIERE Director: Jeff Dennis Country: USA, Running Time: 5:01 min “God Bless America” by Effie Burt Director: Effie Burt Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min “Make Me Want You” by Shayne Weems Director: J.B. Lawrence Country: USA, Running Time: 4:28 min “Manna” by King Woman Director: Vincent Jude Chaney Country: USA, Running Time: 6:12 min “My City” by Adam “AJC” Collier Directors: Philip Scarborough, Tom Beck Country: USA, Running Time: 4:40 min “Randy Weeks: Mississippi Songwriter” WORLD PREMIERE Directors: Keerthi Chandrashekar, Je’Monda Roy, Jimmy Thomas Country: USA, Running Time: 5:15 min “Royal” by Lost in Constellation Director: Michael Williams Country: USA, Running Time: 6 min “Spinning” by The Fuzzy Crystals Director: Justin Possenti Country: USA, Running Time: 3:30 min “Stomping Ground” by Robert King Director: J.B. Lawrence Country: USA, Running Time: 5:54 min “Trust and Believe” WORLD PREMIERE Director: Andre Hill Country: USA, Running Time: 4:40 min “World Gone Crazy” by 61 Ghosts Director: Coop Cooper Country: USA, Running Time: 6:03 min “Your Mistress” by Mersaidee Soules Director: Michael Williams Country: USA, Running Time: 4:16 min

    KID FILM FEST SHORT FILMS

    A MESSAGE FOR BRAZEY Director: Jared D. Weiss Country: USA, Running Time: 2 min THE ADVENTURE OF THE AFTERNOON Directors: Vance Yang, Stella Huang Country: Taiwan, Running Time: 8 min BRAND NEW DAY Directors: Patricia Beckmann Wells, EdD Country: USA, Running Time: 4 min C-5-11 Director: Edward Ramsay-Morin Country: USA, Running Time: 3 min GHOST BEATS Director: Brent Barson Country: USA, Running Time: 3 min HOMEGROWN Director: Quentin Haberham Country: USA, Running Time: 9 min LIGHT SIGHT Director: Seyed M. Tabatabaei Country: Iran, Running Time: 8 min ROYAL (MOVE TO MUSIC VIDEOS) Director: Michael Williams Country: USA, Running Time: 6 min SAVING SANTA Director: Keith O’ Grady Country: Northern Ireland, Running Time: 17 min STARS Director: Han Zhang Country: USA, Running Time: 5 min

    SCREENPLAY COMPETITION WINNERS

    Twirling at Ole Miss”(Grand Prize) Screenwriter: John Matthew Tyson “Not Everything Was Burning” (Runner Up) Screenwriter: John Bateman

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  • “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” “Lady Bird” “In the Fade” Among Winners of 75th Golden Globe awards

    [caption id="attachment_23572" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri[/caption] “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” was the big winner at last night’s 75th Golden Globe awards, snagging four awards, including Best motion picture, drama, along with Best performance by an actress in a motion picture, drama for Frances McDormand, Best performance by an actor in a supporting role in any motion picture for Sam Rockwell, and Best screenplay, motion picture for Martin McDonagh.

    Winners of 75th Golden Globe awards

    Motion Picture

    Best motion picture, drama “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” Best motion picture, musical or comedy: “Lady Bird” Best director, motion picture: Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water” Best performance by an actress in a motion picture, drama: Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” Best performance by an actor in a motion picture, drama: Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour” Best performance by an actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy: Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird” Best performance by an actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy: James Franco, “The Disaster Artist” Best performance by an actress in a supporting role in any motion picture: Allison Janney, “I, Tonya” Best performance by an actor in a supporting role in any motion picture: Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” Best screenplay, motion picture: Martin McDonagh, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” Best motion picture, animated: “Coco” Best motion picture, foreign language: “In the Fade” Best original score, motion picture: Alexandre Desplat, “The Shape of Water” Best original song, motion picture: “This Is Me” — “The Greatest Showman

    Television

    Best television series, drama: “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Hulu Best performance by an actress in a television series, drama: Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale” Best performance by an actor in a television series, drama: Sterling K. Brown, “This Is Us” Best television series, musical or comedy: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Amazon Best performance by an actress in a television series, musical or comedy: Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” Best performance by an actor in a television series, musical or comedy: Aziz Ansari, “Master of None” Best television limited series or motion picture made for television: “Big Little Lies,” HBO Best performance by an actress in a limited series or motion picture made for television: Nicole Kidman, “Big Little Lies” Best performance by an actor in a limited series or motion picture made for television: Ewan McGregor, “Fargo” Best performance by an actress in a supporting role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television: Laura Dern, “Big Little Lies” Best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a series, limited series or motion picture made for television: Alexander Skarsgard, “Big Little Lies”

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  • International Film Festival Rotterdam Reveals 2018 Bright Future Mid-length Program

    [caption id="attachment_26296" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]Drown Among the Dead (Pierdete entre los muertos), Ruben Gutiérrez Drown Among the Dead (Pierdete entre los muertos), Ruben Gutiérrez[/caption] Since 2014, International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) highlights a new format on the rise: the mid-length film, between 45 and 62 minutes. The Bright Future Mid-length program of 2018 consists of ten films, five of which are world premieres. From a tale of revenge in the Mexican desert to the reincarnation of Walter Benjamin taking the Staten Island Ferry. After each screening there will be extra time to meet the director.

    2018 Bright Future Mid-length Program

    World Premieres: Good Evening to the People Living in the Camp, Joost Conijn, France/Greece/Netherlands, 2018, world premiere The long awaited new work by Dutch artist and filmmaker Joost Conijn: an unorthodox portrait of refugees in Europe. Everyone in Hawaii Has a Sixpack Already, Marvin Hesse, Germany/Spain, 2018, world premiere Hesse’s intimate coming-of-age documentary on the island of La Gomera. Death of the Master (La muerte del maestro), José María Avilés, Ecuador/Argentina, 2018, world premiere A mysterious narration of an old farmer’s experience of the 2016 Ecuador earthquake. Villain Robert Otto (Der Schurke Robert Otto), Florian Haag, Germany, 2018, world premiere A remarkable debut by Florian Haag who sketches the rigorous portrait of Swiss writer Robert Walser. Drown Among the Dead (Pierdete entre los muertos), Ruben Gutiérrez, Mexico, 2018, world premiere A bizarre yet comical nightmare in the Mexican desert. As well as: Exile, Zoe Beloff, USA, 2017, international premiere Bertolt Brecht and Walter Benjamin are alive and kicking, and they roam around New York City! Beyond the One (Au-delà de l’un), Anna Marziano, France, 2017, European premiere An elegant 16mm essay investigating love and new forms of relationships in Europe and India. Cartucho, Andrés Chaves, Colombia, 2017 Portrait of El Cartucho in Bogotá, a hell hole that used to belong to drug lords. Playing Men, Matjaž Ivanišin, Slovenia/Croatia, 2017 Serious absurdism by the great hope of Kroatian cinema. Stomach of the World, Eva Kotatkova, Greece, 2017 A playful meditation on capitalism.

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  • VIDEO: Watch Brooklyn Hipsters Stalked and Murdered in Slasher PSYCHOTIC! Trailer

    PSYCHOTIC New York filmmakers Derek Gibbons and Maxwell Frey released the trailer for PSYCHOTIC!, the suspenseful psychedelic slasher that follows a group of hard-partying Brooklyn hipsters as they’re stalked and savagely murdered by a masked maniac known as the Bushwick Party Killer. PSYCHOTIC! will be released on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, Sony PSN, Xbox, as well as special screenings at the Nitehawk Theater in Williamsburg on the 25th, Film Noir Cinema in Greenpoint on the 26th, and Videology on the 27th. It’s up to struggling artists Tim and Stuart to figure out who keeps killing the life of the party. Blood-soaked mayhem ensues as our heroes barely make the rent on time, search for love (in all the wrong places), and try to salvage their friendship – all while trying to unravel the mystery and stay one step ahead of the next massacre. On the tail end of its impressive festival run PSYCHOTIC! has been lauded for its visually striking Giallo style and its blood-soaked practical effects. Winner of Best Feature at the Cannabis Film Festival, Best NY Feature at the Upstate NY Horror Film Festival and Best Actress at The Lost Sanity & Sci-Fi Film Fest. PSYCHOTIC! was written and directed by Derek Gibbons and Maxwell Frey. The film was shot and produced on location in Brooklyn, NY by Destruction Inc Productions. The film stars Kristen Martin, Clint Keepin, Cirocco Dunlap, Maria Wojciechowski, Dani Grace, Adam Maid, Rafael Cruz, Chris Prine, Aldous Davidson and Rachel Laforest. Gibbons, Frey and Keepin also produced alongside Elizabeth Koe, and Brian Stansfield did cinematography. The film features an original score by Brooklyn-based synth duo Blazing Galaxies.

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  • Film Independent Awards Winners of 2018 Spirit Awards Filmmaker Grants

    [caption id="attachment_26288" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Justin Chon, director of Gook Justin Chon, Gook[/caption] The winners of the five Film Independent Spirit Awards filmmaker grants were awarded the prizes at the annual Spirit Awards Nominee Brunch held on Saturday in West Hollywood.  John Cho (Star Trek, Columbus, Search) and Alia Shawkat (Search Party, Blaze, Duck Butter) co-hosted the event and handed out the honors. “This year we are giving out $150,000 in cash grants to a group of remarkably talented writers, directors, and producers,” said Film Independent President Josh Welsh. “The Spirit Awards grants are designed to provide critical support to these filmmakers, recognizing them for past accomplishments and helping them to develop new work.” Chloé Zhao received the inaugural Bonnie Award. Bonnie Tiburzi Caputo joined American Airlines in 1973 at age 24, becoming the first female pilot to fly for a major U.S. airline. In her honor, the Bonnie Award recognizes a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant sponsored by American Airlines. Finalists for the award were So Yong Kim and Lynn Shelton. Jonathan Olshefski, director of Quest, received the Jeepâ Truer Than Fiction Award. The award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not received significant recognition. The award is in its 23rd year and includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by the Jeep brand for the first year. Finalists for the award were Shevaun Mizrahi, director of Distant Constellation and Jeff Unay, director of The Cage Fighter. Justin Chon, director of Gook, received the Kiehl’s Someone to Watch Award. The award recognizes talented filmmakers of singular vision who have not yet received appropriate recognition. The award is in its 24th year and includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Kiehl’s Since 1851 for the fourth consecutive year. Finalists for the award were Amman Abbasi, director of Dayveon and Kevin Phillips, director of Super Dark Times. Summer Shelton received the Piaget Producers Award. The award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The annual award, in its 21st year, includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget for the 11th year. Finalists for the award were Giulia Caruso & Ki Jin Kim and Ben Leclair. Matty Brown received the Seattle Story Award. The award is for a filmmaker who exhibits innovation, diversity and uniqueness of vision while having a history of transforming perspectives through rich stories. The award includes a $25,000 cash grant, sponsored by Visit Seattle, to create a short film inspired by Seattle’s independent spirit. This film will premiere during the Spirit Awards broadcast. This year marks the 33rd edition of the awards show that celebrates the best of independent film. Nick Kroll and John Mulaney return to co-host the show, and director Ava DuVernay is the Spirit Awards Honorary Chair. Winners for the remaining categories will be revealed at the 2018 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, March 3. The awards ceremony will be broadcast live exclusively on IFC at 2:00 pm PT / 5:00 pm ET.

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  • Showtime Documentary Series THE FOURTH ESTATE to Follow NY Times as it Covers Trump Administration

    New York Times A revealing multi-part documentary series The Fourth Estate (wt), exploring the process and progress of The New York Times and its journalists in covering the Trump administration, is set to debut later this year – Sunday, May 27 at 8 PM ET/PT – on Showtime. Produced and directed by Emmy(R) Award winning and Oscar(R) nominated filmmaker Liz Garbus (What Happened, Miss Simone?), the project illuminates critical issues facing journalism today – including the challenge to the bedrock concept of truth, the changing role of the media, and the Times’ response to President Trump’s war of words – through extraordinary access, on-the-scene filmmaking and exclusive sit-down interviews. From the first time President Trump called The New York Times “highly inaccurate” in its coverage of his administration, through his false claim that the paper is “failing” and losing thousands of subscribers, to ultimately declaring the majority of the nation’s major news outlets “fake news,” a chief task for the Times, long considered the “newspaper of record,” has been to find the best way to accurately and honestly cover this new and unconventional president. With unprecedented access to the inner workings of the Times, including filming inside closed-door meetings, rare interviews with the editors and reporters who cover the President and the tumult around him, as well as an insider’s view of the Sulzberger family publisher transition, Garbus intimately chronicles the tenacious men and women in the trenches who are fighting for the freedom of the press and America’s right to know. “The Times is an odd and confounding muse for the current president. Trump craves the positive coverage of his hometown paper while simultaneously denigrating the ‘failing New York Times’ on what seems to be a daily basis,” says Garbus. “We’ve been given unprecedented access to capture the challenges, triumphs and pitfalls of covering a president who has declared war on the free press, from the point of view of those on the front line – the White House correspondents, investigative journalists and editors at The New York Times. It’s the story of a lifetime, but what kind of story is it? Is it the story of a new era of the American presidency, or is it a reality show debacle? This series explores these questions as we take a front row seat to those writing the first draft of this moment in history.” Garbus is an Oscar, Grammy(R) and DGA nominated and an Emmy and Peabody Award winning director. Her most recent film, Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper, had its world premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. Her previous film, What Happened, Miss Simone?, was the opening film at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, was nominated for a 2016 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, and received a Peabody Award and four Primetime Emmy nominations (including Best Directing for Garbus), winning the Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special. Garbus’ past work includes Love, Marilyn and Bobby Fischer Against the World. Garbus produced the documentary short Killing in the Name, directed by her partner Rory Kennedy and nominated for an Academy Award. Garbus received her first Emmy and Oscar nominations in 1998 when she won international public and critical acclaim for her film about prison life in America, The Farm: Angola, USA. Her directing credits include Girlhood, The Execution of Wanda Jean, The Nazi Officer’s Wife, Coma, Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech and There’s Something Wrong with Aunt Diane. Producing credits include Street Fight and Ghosts of Abu Ghraib.

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  • LADY BIRD Named Best Film of 2017 by National Society of Film Critics

    [caption id="attachment_26086" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]LADY BIRD LADY BIRD[/caption] Lady Bird is the big winner of the 2017 National Society of Film Critics awards, grabbing the top prize for Best Picture of 2017, in addition to Best Director and Best Screenplay for Greta Gerwig; and Best Supporting Actress for Laurie Metcalf. A Special Citation for a film awaiting U.S. distribution was awarded to Spoor (Pokot), by Agnieska Holland. This year’s National Society of Film Critics awards is dedicated to Richard Schickel, the legendary film critic and historian, author of 37 books and director of 37 documentaries, and a founding member of the Society.

    2017 National Society of Film Critics Awards

    BEST ACTRESS:

    *1. Sally Hawkins – 49 (The Shape of Water, Maudie)
    1. Saoirse Ronan – 44 (Lady Bird)
    2. Frances McDormand 24 (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
    3. Cynthia Nixon – 24 (A Quiet Passion) [tie]

    BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

    *1. Laurie Metcalf – 74 (Lady Bird)
    1. Lesley Manville – 36 (Phantom Thread)
    2. Allison Janney – 24 (I, Tonya)

    BEST ACTOR:

    *1. Daniel Kaluuya – 44 (Get Out)
    1. Daniel Day-Lewis – 34 (Phantom Thread)
    2. Timothée Chalamet — 24 (Call Me by Your Name)

    BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

    *1. Willem Dafoe – 62 (The Florida Project)
    1. Michael Stuhlbarg – 25 (Call Me by Your Name, The Shape of Water, The Post)
    2. Sam Rockwell – 23 (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)

    BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:

    *1. Blade Runner 2049 – 40 (Roger Deakins)
    1. Dunkirk – 39 (Hoyte van Hoytema)
    2. The Florida Project – 36 (Alexis Zabe)

    BEST SCREENPLAY:

    *1. Lady Bird – 50 (Greta Gerwig)
    1. Get Out – 49 (Jordan Peele)
    2. Phantom Thread – 31 (Paul Thomas Anderson)

    BEST PICTURE:

    *1. Lady Bird – 41
    1. Get Out – 39
    2. Phantom Thread – 28

    BEST DIRECTOR:

    *1. Greta Gerwig – 37 (Lady Bird)
    1. Jordan Peele – 36 (Get Out)
    2. Paul Thomas Anderson – 36 (Phantom Thread)  [tie]

    BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM

    *1. Graduation – 35 (Cristian Mungiu)
    1. Faces Places – 30 (Agnès Varda)
    2. BPM (Beats Per Minute) – 29 (Robin Campillo)

    BEST NON-FICTION FILM

    *1. Faces Places – 70 (Agnès Varda)
    1. Ex Libris: The New York Public Library – 34 (Frederick Wiseman)
    2. Dawson City: Frozen Time – 32 (Bill Morrison)

    BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM

    Good Luck, by Ben Russell

    FILM HERITAGE AWARD:

    “One Way or Another: Black Women’s Cinema, 1970-1991,” curated by the Brooklyn Academy of Music Cinématek. Special commendation to Dan Talbot for his pioneering work as an exhibitor and distributor, in bringing world-wide cinema to the United States. SPECIAL CITATION for a film awaiting U.S. distribution: Spoor (Pokot), by Agnieska Holland.  

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  • Eight Films in Big Screen Competition at 2018 International Film Festival Rotterdam

    [caption id="attachment_26244" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Pity by Babis Makridis Pity by Babis Makridis[/caption] Eight films have been selected for the Big Screen Competition at the 2018 International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR): three world premieres, one international premiere and four European premieres.  The three world premiere nominees are: Nina, Polish filmmaker Olga Chajdas’s feature film debut in which a couple’s love is tested as they struggle to find a surrogate mother for their child; Father to Son, the third feature by Taiwanese filmmaker Hsiao Ya-chuan (Mirror Image), a story of reconciliation in which a 60-year-old man goes to Japan to look for his father who abandoned him when he was 10, and An Impossibly Small Object by Dutch filmmaker David Verbeek, which confronts the relationship between maker and subject. In this meditative film, Verbeek himself plays a Dutch photographer transfixed by a picture he took of a girl in a Taiwanese parking lot. IFFR has screened many of Verbeek’s films in the past. His  Shanghai Trance and Dead & Beautiful were both selected for CineMart. The Big Screen Competition also includes the international premiere of Night Comes On, Jordana Spiro’s debut feature about an 18-year-old woman who takes her 10-year-old sister on a journey that could destroy their futures.
    Lastly, the four European premieres. British filmmaker Jim Hosking’s comedy An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn stars Aubrey Plaza as a woman whose unsatisfactory marriage is shaken when she sees a performance piece by a mysterious man from her past. Danish filmmaker Gustav Möller’s intense feature debut  The Guilty revolves around one emergency phone call – an initially disinterested police officer quickly jumps into action when he hears a woman being kidnapped. Pity by Greek filmmaker Babis Makridis (selected for CineMart in 2014) is about a man with such need for pity he’s willing to do absolutely anything to get it from others. IFFR previously screened Makridis’ film L, in 2012 in the Tiger Awards Competition. Sebastián Hofmann’s second feature Tiempo compartido was also selected for CineMart in 2014, and also received a grant from the Hubert Bals Fund. This satire follows the struggle of two paranoid men against the ever-smiling staff of an all-inclusive resort. Hofmann made his debut at IFFR 2013 with Halley, which also competed in the Tiger Awards Competition.
    In 2013, the VPRO Big Screen Award was inaugurated to promote the presence of quality films on the big screen and public television in the Netherlands. Of the €30,000 in prize money, €15,000 is spent towards the winning film’s theatrical release and €15,000 towards the production of the filmmaker’s next project. In 2017 the award was won by Kirsten Tan’s Pop Aye. Earlier winners were Les ogres by Léa Fehner in 2016, Second Coming by Debbie Tucker Green in 2015, Another Year by Oxana Bychkova in 2014 and Bellas mariposas by Salvatore Mereu in 2013. A jury of five experienced festival-goers picks the winner of the VPRO Big Screen Award, worth €30,000. The winning film will be released in Dutch cinemas and will be purchased by the Dutch public broadcasting network NPO to screen on national television.

    Full selection Big Screen Competition:

    An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn, Jim Hosking, UK/USA, 2018, European premiere
    Father to Son, Hsiao Ya-chuan, Taiwan, 2018, world premiere
    The Guilty, Gustav Möller, Denmark, 2018, European premiere
    An Impossibly Small Object, David Verbeek, Taiwan/Netherlands/Croatia, 2018, world premiere
    Night Comes On, Jordana Spiro, USA, 2018, international premiere
    Nina, Olga Chajdas, Poland, 2018, world premiere
    Pity, Babis Makridis, Greece/Poland, 2018, European premiere
    Tiempo compartido, Sebastián Hofmann, Mexico/Netherlands, 2018, European premiere

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  • Chelsea Manning Documentary XY CHELSEA Set for Release in Late 2018

    Chelsea Manning Whistle-blower Chelsea Manning, whose 35-year sentence in an all-male maximum security prison was commuted by President Obama in 2017, will be the subject of the upcoming Showtime documentary “XY Chelsea.” Shot over two years and featuring exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes verité with Manning, the film picks up on the momentous day in May when she leaves prison and follows her through her journey of discovery, while also examining her place in the conversation on national security and the fight of the transgender community for rights and visibility. The feature film, currently in post-production, will premiere at an upcoming film festival, followed by theatrical run and a subsequent premiere on the Showtime network. Since 2014, filmmaker Tim Travers Hawkins has followed Manning and her legal team as they fought to get her out of prison, and for her to receive the necessary medical treatment for her gender dysphoria. Following two suicide attempts in 2016, Chelsea and her team tried to save her life with a long-shot request to President Obama for a commutation of her sentence before he left office. Cameras follow Manning’s fight for release and witness as she reveals herself to the world for the first time. XY CHELSEA is the journey of her fight for survival and dignity, and her transition from prisoner to a free woman. XY Chelsea was directed by Tim Travers Hawkins and produced by Pulse Films in association with First Look Media’s Topic Studios, Field of Vision and British Film Institute. Thomas Benski, Julia Nottingham and Lucas Ochoa of Pulse Films are producers. Academy Award(R) winner Laura Poitras (RISK, Citizenfour), Mary Burke, Michael Bloom, Adam Pincus, Charlotte Cook, Sharon Chang, Blaine Vess and Christos V. Konstantakopoulos serve as executive producers.

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  • 48 Feature Films Selected for Bright Future Main Program at 2018 International Film Festival Rotterdam

    [caption id="attachment_26231" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]Impermanence Impermanence[/caption] International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has selected 48 feature film titles for its Bright Future Main Program dedicated to young, emerging film talent. Within this line-up, all feature-length film debuts that are a world or international premiere in Rotterdam are eligible for the Bright Future Award, worth €10,000. Many of them are world premieres. In Impermanence by young Chinese filmmaker Zeng Zeng, three fascinating lost souls – a monk, an innkeeper and a father who has lost his son – are brought together by fate. The German film Ella und Nell by Aline Chukwuedo follows two Berlin women on a hike in the woods. August at Akiko’s is Christopher Makoto Yogi’s dreamy debut about a musician who returns to Hawaii trying to find his ‘ha’`– the spirit that links him to his birthplace. Other nominated world premieres include the harrowing Counting Tiles by Lebanese filmmaker Cynthia Choucair, following a group of clowns who set off for the island of Lesbos to deliver laughter to refugees; The Heart by Swedish filmmaker Fanni Metelius about an invisible conflict stirring between the sheets of two lovers (“If you love me then fuck me!”); and the Egyptian film Poisonous Roses by Ahmed Fawzi Saleh, in which a young man dreams of a life beyond his tannery job in the slums. Also in competition: Argentinian filmmaker Gustavo Biazzi’s charming and melancholy coming-of-ager Los vagos. Other world premieres in the Bright Future Main Program include YEAH by Japanese filmmaker Suzuki Yohei; Jonaki by celebrated Indian filmmaker Aditya Vikram Sengupta, whose Labour of Love screened at IFFR 2015; Permanent Green Light by Dennis Cooper and Zac Farley, about a teenager obsessed with the idea of blowing himself up in public; and La estrella errante by Spanish filmmaker Alberto Gracia about the wandering front man of a Galician underground punk band. Gracia won the FIPRESCI Award with his feature debut The Fifth Gospel of Kaspar Hauser at IFFR 2013.

    Bright Future Competition

    August at Akiko’s, Christopher Makoto Yogi, USA, 2018, world premiere Musician Alex Zhang Hungtai returns to Hawai‘i after years abroad. His search for home and roots intensifies when he forms a bond with local kupuna Akiko. Azougue Nazaré/Azougue Nazareth, Tiago Melo, Brazil, 2018, world premiere In the sugarcane country of North East Brazil, where Evangelicalism is on the rise, people start to disappear and other strange things start to happen as Maracatu carnival season gets underway. The Bangle Seller, Ere Gowda, India, 2018, world premiere In a small Indian village, Kempanna and his wife Saubaghya are unable to conceive. A scandal seems imminent. Counting Tiles, Cynthia Choucair, Lebanon , 2018, world premiere A group of clowns travel to the Greek island of Lesvos on a mission to bring laughter to the many people escaping war in February 2016. Ella und Nell/Ella & Nell, Aline Chukwuedo, Germany, 2018, world premiere Ella and Nell used to be best friends. Now grown apart and in their forties, they set out on a hike in order to reconnect. The mood changes as old wounds are reopened. The Heart, Fanni Metelius, Sweden, 2018, world premiere Mika and Tesfay. She’s a photographer. He’s a musician. Both are up-and-coming. The first true romance. But an invisible conflict, an unnameable shame, stirs between their sheets. Impermanence, Zeng Zeng, China, 2018, world premiere Fate brings together three fascinating lost souls – a monk with a sack of money, an innkeeper with a heavy conscience and a father who’s lost his son – in young Chinese director Zeng Zeng’s mysterious tale of guilt, punishment and ambiguous redemption. Poisonous Roses, Ahmed Fawzi Saleh, Egypt/France, 2018, world premiere Saqr dreams of a life beyond his tannery job in the slums, but his love for the sister he would leave behind keeps him tied there. Their Remaining Journey, John Clang, Singapore/USA/Taiwan, 2018, world premiere A tale of reincarnation unfolds through the stories of a dead actress, an ex-mistress and an unfaithful husband, somewhere between New York and Singapore. La torre/Tower, Sebastián Múnera, Colombia/Mexico, 2018, world premiere On March 17, 2004 an explosive device was activated at the Piloto Public Library in Medellín, where much of the photographic archive of Colombian history is kept. A photograph is the only evidence of this barbarism. Los vagos/Bums, Gustavo Biazzi, Argentina, 2017, international premiere High school sweethearts Ernesto and Paula return to their hometown, Misiones, for the summer. Ernesto’s rekindled friendship with los vagos (‘the bums’) triggers upheaval for the pair.

    Bright Future premieres

    Ambiguous Places, Ikeda Akira, Japan, 2017, international premiere A series of odd and mysterious dramas unfolds against ordinary backdrops in this new film from Tiger Award winner Ikeda. Blockage, Mohsen Gharaei, Iran, 2017, European premiere Fired from his job at the municipality for making deals on the side, Ghasem is forced to make changes. While is he making plans for his wife’s inheritance, a completely new opportunity arises. La estrella errante/Wandering Star, Alberto Gracia, Spain, 2018, world premiere The punk band Los Fiambres released one cult album in 1984. More than thirty years later, their lead singer, Rober Perdut, wanders around his Galician hometown in this sensory, melancholic film. Hit the Night, Jeong Gayoung, South Korea, 2017, international premiere Under the pretence of research, Ga-yeong pries into the personal and sexual life of a new acquaintance. Despite having a girlfriend, the acquaintance willingly participates. Is he unaware of her desire, or just impressed by her line of questioning? Inferninho/My Own Private Hell, Guto Parente, Pedro Diógenes, Brazil, 2018, world premiere In a bar called Inferninho, the staff dream of escape. A handsome sailor with a dream of finding home arrives. Jonaki, Aditya Vikram Sengupta, India/France/Singapore, 2018, world premiere While Jonaki, an 80-year-old woman, searches for love in a strange world of decaying memories, her lover, now old and grey, returns to a world she is leaving behind. The Pain of Others, Penny Lane, USA, 2018, world premiere A found-footage documentary about Morgellons, a mysterious illness whose sufferers say they have parasites under the skin and a host of other bizarre symptoms that could be taken from a horror film. Permanent Green Light, Dennis Cooper/Zac Farley, France, 2018, world premiere A young disabled guy wants to explode in public. He’s not suicidal or an extremist, he’s purely interested in this act’s effect. That he’ll die is unimportant, he just doesn’t want people to misinterpret the event. Sol alegria, Tavinho Teixeira, Brazil, 2018, world premiere An eccentric family on a mission travel through dictatorial Brazil to save humanity from annihilation. Cheerfully nihilistic film trip takes us past a colourful parade of sailors, whores, generals, corrupt priests and trigger-happy nuns. YEAH, Suzuki Yohei, Japan, 2018, world premiere A young woman, Ako, wanders around a sparsely populated housing estate in a rural city, Mito, where she spends her time speaking to objects and plants.

    Confirmed for Bright Future

    The Gulf, Emre Yeksan, Turkey/Germany/Greece, 2017 Leaving behind a ruined career and a bitter divorce, Selim returns to his hometown, Izmir. While wandering the city he runs into an old friend and finds himself gradually drawn into a new world. Those Who Are Fine, Cyril Schäublin, Switzerland, 2017 Using skills gained working in a call centre, Alice makes a sinister income posing as the granddaughter of Zurich’s many lonely grandmothers. Previously announced titles in the Bright Future Main Program

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