THE TRIP TO SPAIN[/caption]
Culinary Zinema, the San Sebastian Film Festival section combining food and film will feature seven films, and close with The Trip to Spain directed by Michael Winterbottom.
The opening film, Michelin Stars – Tales from the Kitchen, looks at the highs and lows of the Michelin Guide in this golden age of gastronomy. It is directed by Rasmus Dinesen, author of the films Det forbudte landshold (The Forbidden Team), about the first Tibetan national football team; Verdens bedste kok (World’s Finest Chef), about the victory of Danish chef Rasmus Kofoed at the Bocuse d’Or championship; and the documentary TV series Star Chefs about Michelin-starred restaurants.
Laura Collado collaborated with Justin Webster (Muerte en León and El fin de ETA / The Demise of ETA, Zinemira 2016) on the Al Jazeera series People & Power. Jim Loomis has worked as a cinematographer and editor for productions by BBC, ARTE and CNN. Together they helm the feature film Constructing Albert, about the “most underrated chef in the world”, Albert Adrià, brother of the man who created El Bulli.
In her first feature film, E il cibo va / Food on the Go, Mercedes Córdova, director of the prize-winning short Acá nunca está nublado, looks at the tradition of Italian food in the diaspora a hundred years after millions of Italians immigrated to Argentina.
Another first work is The Cakemaker, by Ofir Raul Graizer, whose short film La discotheque screened in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2015. The film, a co-production between Germany and Israel which competed at Karlovy Vary, tells the tale of a young German pastry chef who heads for Jerusalem in search of answers when his lover dies.
Koki Shigeno, a veteran director of TV documentaries, has now made his first feature-length film, Ramen Heads, selected for Hot Docs (Canadian International Documentary Film Festival). The film follows Osamu Tomita, today’s king of the ramen in Japan, on a 15-month tour of the lives of the masters of this dish and its legions of followers.
Masakazu Fukatsu debuts in feature films with Papa no obento wa sekaiichi / Dad’s Lunch Box, the true story of a father and his daughter -which went viral on social media- brought together by the bento box in which people carry their packed lunches in Japan.
Michael Winterbottom, to whom the Festival dedicated a retrospective in 2003, formerly competed in the Official Selection with Nine Songs (2004), winner of the Best Cinematography Award, Tristam Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (2005) and Genova (2008), recognized with the Silver Shell for Best Director. The Trip to Spain, selected for Tribeca, is his first incursion to Culinary Zinema. After The Trip and The Trip to Italy, Winterbottom renews his collaboration with actors Steve Coogan (Philomena) and Rob Brydon (Would I Lie to You?) to analyze six meals in six places on a road trip through Spain, from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean coast.
To complete the experience, the screenings will be followed by meals linked to the content of the films.
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Michael Winterbottom’s THE TRIP TO SPAIN to Close San Sebastian Film Festival Culinary Zinema Program
[caption id="attachment_24291" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] THE TRIP TO SPAIN[/caption]
Culinary Zinema, the San Sebastian Film Festival section combining food and film will feature seven films, and close with The Trip to Spain directed by Michael Winterbottom.
The opening film, Michelin Stars – Tales from the Kitchen, looks at the highs and lows of the Michelin Guide in this golden age of gastronomy. It is directed by Rasmus Dinesen, author of the films Det forbudte landshold (The Forbidden Team), about the first Tibetan national football team; Verdens bedste kok (World’s Finest Chef), about the victory of Danish chef Rasmus Kofoed at the Bocuse d’Or championship; and the documentary TV series Star Chefs about Michelin-starred restaurants.
Laura Collado collaborated with Justin Webster (Muerte en León and El fin de ETA / The Demise of ETA, Zinemira 2016) on the Al Jazeera series People & Power. Jim Loomis has worked as a cinematographer and editor for productions by BBC, ARTE and CNN. Together they helm the feature film Constructing Albert, about the “most underrated chef in the world”, Albert Adrià, brother of the man who created El Bulli.
In her first feature film, E il cibo va / Food on the Go, Mercedes Córdova, director of the prize-winning short Acá nunca está nublado, looks at the tradition of Italian food in the diaspora a hundred years after millions of Italians immigrated to Argentina.
Another first work is The Cakemaker, by Ofir Raul Graizer, whose short film La discotheque screened in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2015. The film, a co-production between Germany and Israel which competed at Karlovy Vary, tells the tale of a young German pastry chef who heads for Jerusalem in search of answers when his lover dies.
Koki Shigeno, a veteran director of TV documentaries, has now made his first feature-length film, Ramen Heads, selected for Hot Docs (Canadian International Documentary Film Festival). The film follows Osamu Tomita, today’s king of the ramen in Japan, on a 15-month tour of the lives of the masters of this dish and its legions of followers.
Masakazu Fukatsu debuts in feature films with Papa no obento wa sekaiichi / Dad’s Lunch Box, the true story of a father and his daughter -which went viral on social media- brought together by the bento box in which people carry their packed lunches in Japan.
Michael Winterbottom, to whom the Festival dedicated a retrospective in 2003, formerly competed in the Official Selection with Nine Songs (2004), winner of the Best Cinematography Award, Tristam Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (2005) and Genova (2008), recognized with the Silver Shell for Best Director. The Trip to Spain, selected for Tribeca, is his first incursion to Culinary Zinema. After The Trip and The Trip to Italy, Winterbottom renews his collaboration with actors Steve Coogan (Philomena) and Rob Brydon (Would I Lie to You?) to analyze six meals in six places on a road trip through Spain, from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean coast.
To complete the experience, the screenings will be followed by meals linked to the content of the films.
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VIDEO: Watch Trailer + Poster for Documentary Fairy Tale SPETTACOLO
Its finally here, the trailer and poster for Spettacolo, the documentary fairy tale about a tiny Italian farming village that turns their lives into a play. The documentary directed by Jeff Malmberg and Chris Shellen will be released in theaters in New York on September 8th.
Once upon a time, villagers in a tiny hill town in Tuscany came up with a remarkable way to confront their issues: they turned their lives into a play. Every summer, their piazza became their stage and residents of all ages played a part – the role of themselves. Monticchiello’s annual tradition has attracted worldwide attention and kept the town together for 50 years, but with an aging population and a future generation more interested in Facebook than farming, the town’s 50th anniversary performance just might be its last. Spettacolo tells the story of Teatro Povero di Monticchiello, interweaving episodes from its past with its modern-day process as the villagers turn a series of devastating blows into a new play about the end of their world.
Jeff Malmberg is a documentary director and editor based in Los Angeles. In 2017, his feature documentary Spettacolo had it’s world premiere at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival. The film is supported by a Guggenheim Fellowship and grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Sundance Documentary Fund, Creative Capital, and the Tribeca Film Institute. Jeffʼs debut film Marwencol won over two dozen awards, including two Independent Spirit Awards, Best Documentary of the Year from Boston Society of Film Critics and Rotten Tomatoes, and the Grand Jury Prize at the 2010 SXSW Film Festival.
Chris Shellen is a writer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. She produced the award-winning documentary Marwencol and co-authored the companion art book “Welcome to Marwencol,” which was named one of the Best Books of 2015 by Amazon.com. She began her career as a film development executive based at a Paramount Pictures, and has worked in documentary, narrative and new media for over 15 years. Her directorial debut Spettacolo had it’s world premiere at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival.
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Busan International Film Festival to Spotlight Sakha Films
[caption id="attachment_24287" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
The Marvelous Time[/caption]
The 2017 Busan International Film Festival will hold a Special Program ‘Sakha Cinema: World of Magical Nature and Myth’ to spotlight the unexplored Sakha films for the first time. Special Program in Focus introduces 7 feature-length films and 5 short films to embrace around 30 year-history of the contemporary Sakha cinema from 1990s to 2017, including Mother by Alexey Romanov, a pioneering work of Sakha cinema.
The Sakha Republic (also referred as Yakutia), located in far Eastern Russia, is a republic under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation. With thousands years of Far East tradition blended with the Russian social system, Sakha has significant socio-cultural features.
This year’s special program focuses on Sakha cinema which develops an independent film industry and has exclusive cinematic style, regardless of its short history. Sakha cinema, combines regional legends and folk religions with contemporary values and film, shows authentic charm that is rarely found in other regional films. Sakha cinema is constantly drawing attention from the international society, experiencing growth with the active production of The National Film Company ‘Sakha Film’, a rapid wave of young and independent filmmakers in art-house film scene and success in commercial films in Yakutian. After Bonfire by Dmitri Davidov premiered in 2016 Busan International Film Festival, Sakha cinema has been presented in many international film festivals including Belinale and additional broadcasts outside of Russia.
With the attempt to across boundaries of diverse genre and style and the blending of tradition, nature, changes and freshness, Sakha cinema will provide a unique experience to cinephiles visiting the 22nd Busan International Film Festival. Other additional events, where directors and critics from the region will introduce films, will also be placed as part of the special program.
Focus ‘Sakha Cinema: World of Magical Nature and Myth’
Feature-length films
Summer Homestead │ Anatoly VASILIEV A man returns to his village to buy an abandoned house, where he lived as a child. One night, he met the phantoms of his family members in his summer homestead. After a heart attack, he finds himself between this life and eternity. The Marvelous Time │ Nikita ARZHAKOV A story of marvelous time – youth, eternal spring in souls, emotional tumult, problems of growing up, love, friendship, and self-affirmation. The film’s characters are rural high school students in 1960s. A screen version of a classical Yakut novel of Soviet times. His Daughter │ Tatyana EVERSTOVA Little Tanya lives with her grandparents in a remote village in Yakutia. Tanya thinks that the world is beautiful, and always will be so. She doesn’t want anything to change, but changes are coming in her life as the season changes. 24 Snow │ Mikhail BARYNIN Sergey is a horse breeder, who spends the most part of the year in tundra, looking after his herd. Exhausting life in the North makes a man face one of the hardest questions: who is he? This documentary portrays a man who still leads a way of traditional lifestyle in the modern times. While There Is Wind │ Sergey POTAPOV An outcast hero Er Sogotokh kidnaps the daughter of a rich man. A squad of thugs led by her fiancé set out to save her. Meeting with Er Sogotokh changes the life of the beauty. Envy, betrayal, possessiveness are tightly tangled. Can love defeat death? Keskil 2: Rematch │ Dmitry SHADRIN, Alexey EGOROV, Roman DOROFEYEV How to get the girl that you love, how to find a job, how to settle in a new place? A comedy about adventures of a naive simpleton named Keskil and his enterprising friend Vitka, which became a hit of Yakutian box-office. Outlaw │ Stepan BURNASHOV Three runaway prisoners hide in the winter taiga, leaving a bloody trace behind. Are all the fugitive ruthless criminals? Who will win the fight for life and escape at the peak of winter, when the temperature outside of a secluded hunting hut falls below 50 degrees?Short films
Mother │ Alexey ROMANOV A tragic story of love between a lone traveler and a beautiful girl, who turns out to be a ghost. Restless soul of the dead beauty cannot find peace in this world, and the girl asks her beloved one to bury her according to customs. Deliverance │ Gennady BAGYNANOV Two contrasting men – a mature hunter, keeper of traditional patriarchal values, and his guest, a recently baptized young Christian – collide because of a woman. Only a duel can decide their fate. The film is based on an old legend. Fisherman │ Vyacheslav SEMYONOV A cinematic parable about a lonely old Balyksyt, who has lived his entire life near a big lake. He treats the lake as if it was a living creature with a soul. Once Balyksyt saves a suicide, and brings the desperate man back to confidence. Wooden Horse │ Prokopy NOGOVITSYN A cinematic poem with a nostalgic view on childhood: dreams, happiness, and loneliness of a rural kid. Premonition │ Mikhail LUKACHEVSKY, Prokopy NOGOVITSYN A Sakha tradition of a boy and his grandfather embarking on a fishing trip turns into philosophical thoughts about life and death in this cinematically stunning fragmentation of physical and mental reality.
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Thierry Frémaux, Director of Cannes Festival, Will Present ”Lumière!” at San Sebastian Festival | TRAILER
Thierry Frémaux, director of the Cannes Film Festival, will screen his film Lumière! L’aventure commence at the 2017 San Sebastian International Film Festival.
Lumière! L’aventure commence (2016) is a collection of restored Lumière brother copies, of which Frémaux is the director, the editor together with Thomas Valette, the producer accompanied by Bertrand Tavernier, and the voice of a film in which, as well as the siblings Auguste and Louis, and we can see Martin Scorsese. The movie was screened at the Cannes Classics and at the Official Selection in Toronto.
On the 23rd he will introduce and comment on the film in the Tabakalera cinema as part of the San Sebastian Festival framework. “I am extremely happy and proud to show my film, Lumière!, at the San Sebastian Festival, which is one of my favorite film festivals in the world, and not only because it is, with Lyon, the best place to eat on the planet”, he says.
“As an ambassador of the Lumière brothers, I will follow the path of Alexandre Promio, the Lumière brother’s famous cinematographer who came to Spain for the first time in 1896. With me, I have a feature film by the Lumières, a programme I have composed to show how rich, fascinating and powerful that cinema was. Louis Lumière was not only a creator, he was a true artist, the last inventor and the first director. At the age of thirty, he was young and full of joy, exactly what this 90 minute programme reveals. The world shown by the Lumières was fashioned from generosity, sensitivity and artistic quality. I will be on stage to explain that and it will be a marvellous journey for all of us”, Frémaux ends.
LUMIÈRE!
THIERRY FRÉMAUX (FRANCE)
A journey into the universe of the founders of cinema, narrated by Frémaux with passion and humour, Lumière! delivers unforgettable images and a unique view of France and the world at the dawn of the modern era; truly essential films that illuminate the world of contemporary filmmaking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVcRXIN_woc
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2017 Telluride Film Festival Announces Star Studded Lineup, WONDERSTRUCK, BATTLE OF THE SEXES and More
[caption id="attachment_23776" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]
BATTLE OF THE SEXES[/caption]
Telluride Film Festival today announced its official program selections for the 44th edition of the Telluride Film Festival, which takes place Friday, September 1 to Monday, September 4, 2017 in the beautiful mountain town of Telluride, Colorado. TFF will screen over sixty feature films, short films and revival programs representing twenty-six countries, along with special artist Tributes, Conversations, Panels, Student Programs and Festivities.
44th Telluride Film Festival is proud to present the following new feature films to play in its main program:
ARTHUR MILLER: WRITER (d. Rebecca Miller, U.S., 2017)
BATTLE OF THE SEXES (d. Valerie Faris, Jonathan Dayton, U.S., 2017)
DARKEST HOUR (d. Joe Wright, U.K., 2017)
DOWNSIZING (d. Alexander Payne, U.S., 2017)
EATING ANIMALS (d. Christopher Quinn, U.S., 2017)
FACES PLACES (d. Agnes Varda, JR, France, 2017)
A FANTASTIC WOMAN (d. Sebastián Lelio, Chile-U.S.-Germany-Spain, 2017)
FILM STARS DON’T DIE IN LIVERPOOL (d. Paul McGuigan, U.K., 2017)
FIRST REFORMED (d. Paul Schrader, U.S., 2017)
FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER (d. Angelina Jolie, U.S.-Cambodia, 2017)
FOXTROT (d. Samuel Maoz, Israel, 2017)
HOSTAGES (d. Rezo Gigineishvili, Georgia-Russia-Poland, 2017)
HOSTILES (d. Scott Cooper, U.S., 2017)
HUMAN FLOW (d. Ai Weiwei, U.S.-Germany, 2017)
THE INSULT (d. Ziad Doueiri, France-Lebanon, 2017)
LADY BIRD (d. Greta Gerwig, U.S., 2017)
LAND OF THE FREE (d. Camilla Magid, Denmark-Finland, 2017)
LEAN ON PETE (d. Andrew Haigh, U.K.-U.S., 2017)
LOVELESS (d. Andrey Zvyagintsev, Russia-France-Belgium-Germany, 2017)
LOVE, CECIL (d. Lisa Immordino Vreeland, U.S., 2017)
LOVING VINCENT (d. Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman, U.K.-Poland, 2017)
A MAN OF INTEGRITY (d. Mohammad Rasoulof, Iran, 2017)
THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE (d. Aki Kaurismäki, Finland, 2017)
THE RIDER (d. Chloé Zhao, U.S., 2017)
THE SHAPE OF WATER (d. Guillermo del Toro, U.S., 2017)
TESNOTA (d. Kantemir Balagov, Russia, 2017)
THE VENERABLE W. (d. Barbet Schroeder, France-Switzerland, 2017)
THE VIETNAM WAR (d. Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, U.S., 2017)
WORMWOOD (d. Errol Morris, U.S., 2017)
WONDERSTRUCK (d. Todd Haynes, U.S., 2017)
Two documentary shorts, HEROIN(E) (d. Elaine McMillion Sheldon, U.S., 2017) and LONG SHOT (d. Jacob LaMendola, U.S., 2017) will also play together in the main program.
The 2017 Silver Medallion Awards, given to recognize an artist’s significant contribution to the world of cinema, will be presented to Academy Award winning actor Christian Bale (TFF selection HOSTILES), and Oscar nominated cinematographer Ed Lachman (TFF selection WONDERSTRUCK). Tribute programs include a selection of clips followed by the presentation of the Silver Medallion, an onstage interview and a screening of the aforementioned films.
Guest Director Joshua Oppenheimer, who serves as a key collaborator in the Festival’s program, presents the following revival programs:
EVEN DWARFS STARTED SMALL (d. Werner Herzog, West Germany, 1970)
HOTEL OF THE STARS (d. Jon Bang Carlsen, Denmark, 1981)
THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (d. Charles Laughton, U.S., 1955)
SALAM CINEMA (d. Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iran, 1995)
TITICUT FOLLIES (d. Frederick Wiseman, U.S., 1967)
THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (d. Jacques Demy, France, 1964)
Additional film revival programs, all newly restored, include THE BAKER’S WIFE (d. Marcel Pagnol, France, 1938); THE COTTON CLUB ENCORE (d. Francis Ford Coppola, U.S., 1984/2017); KEAN, OR DISORDER AND GENIUS (d. Aleksandr Volkoff, France, 1924), with the Mont Alto Orchestra; and
SUCH IS LIFE (d. Carl Junghan, Czechoslovakia, 1929).
Telluride Film Festival annually celebrates a hero of cinema who preserves, honors and presents great movies. This year’s Special Medallion award goes to Katriel Schory, director of the Israeli Film Fund.
Backlot, Telluride’s intimate screening room featuring behind-the-scenes movies and portraits of artists, musicians and filmmakers, will screen the following programs:
CINEMA THROUGH THE EYE OF MAGNUM (d. Sophie Bassaler, France, 2017)
FILMWORKER (d. Tony Zierra, U.S., 2017)
HITLER’S HOLLYWOOD (d. Rüdiger Suchsland, Germany, 2017)
JAMAICA MAN (d. Michael Weatherly, U.S., 2017)
PORTRAIT OF VALESKA GERT (d. Volker Schlöndorff, Germany, 1977) + EDGE OF ALCHEMY (d. Stacey Steers, U.S., 2017)
SLIM GAILLARD’S CIVILISATION (d. Anthony Wall, U.K., 1989)
THAT SUMMER (d. Göran Hugo Olsson, Sweden-U.S.-Denmark, 2017)
“Telluride Film Festival has long been a platform for films from many different cultures and backgrounds that celebrate diversity,” said Telluride Film Festival executive director Julie Huntsinger. “We feel it’s more important than ever to promote the unique and beautiful differences that exist in the world. From a wide range of new American and foreign cinema to eye-opening documentaries and gorgeous restorations, we are proud to present this 44th program and honor those artists who have made it possible.”
Telluride Film Festival’s shorts program, Filmmakers of Tomorrow, includes three sections: Student Prints, Great Expectations, and Calling Cards from sixteen emerging filmmakers from around the globe.
Telluride Film Festival’s Student Programs present students the opportunity to experience film as an art and expand participants’ worldview through film screenings and filmmaker discussions. The Student Symposium provides 50 graduate and undergraduate college students with a weekend-long immersion in cinema. The City Lights Project brings 15 high school students and five teachers from three schools the opportunity to participate in a concentrated program of screenings and discussions. FilmLAB offers a master-class program for UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television graduate filmmaking students. The FilmSCHOLAR program gives young film scholars and aspiring critics the opportunity to immerse themselves in a weekend of cinema and learn from some of the best in the field. Created in conjunction with the University of Wisconsin. University Seminars offer university professors and students special festival programming throughout the weekend.
Telluride Film Festival’s Talking Heads programs allow attendees to go behind the scenes with the Festival’s special guests. Six Conversations take place between Festival guests and the audience about cinema and culture, and three outdoor Noon Seminars feature a panel of Festival guests discussing a wide range of film topics. These programs are free and open to the public.
Additional Festivities will take place throughout the Festival including a Poster Signing with 2017 poster artist Lance Rutter; Book Signings with Loung Ung (First They Killed My Father), Peter Turner (Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool), Alice Waters (Coming to My Senses: The Making of a Counterculture Cook), and Willie Vlautin (Lean on Pete); and a special outdoor screening of AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL: TRUTH TO POWER (d. Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk, U.S., 2017) with Al Gore.
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Lisa Langseth’s EUPHORIA Starring Alicia Vikander to Premiere at Zurich Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_24269" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Euphoria[/caption]
Euphoria directed by Lisa Langseth and starring Alicia Vikander will receive its European premiere as a Gala Premiere at the 2017 Zurich Film Festival on September 29. The film also stars Eva Green, Charlotte Rampling, Charles Dance, Mark Stanley, Adrian Lester.
In the film, two sisters Ines (Alicia Vikander) and Emilie (Eva Green), who have become estranged, after years apart, meet up again and undertake a profound journey together.
In addition to previous Gala Premieres, the festival also announced new films from Tonie Marshall, Destin Daniel Cretton, Amanda Sthers and Silvio Soldini.
NUMÉRO UNE
Directed by: Tonie Marshall
Cast: Emmanuelle Devos, Suzanne Clement, Richard Berry, Benjamin Biolay, Sami Frey
THE GLASS CASTLE
Directed by: Destin Daniel Cretton
Cast: Brie Larson, Naomi Watts, Woody Harrelson, Max Greenfield
MADAME
Directed by: Amanda Sthers
Cast: Toni Collette, Harvey Keitel, Rossy de Palma, Michael Smiley
IL COLORE NASCOSTO DELLE COSE
Directed by: Silvio Soldini
Cast: Adriano Giannini, Laura Adriani, Valeria Golino, Arianna Scommegna, Anna Ferzetti, Andrea Pennacchi
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BLACK LEVEL is Ukraine’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER
The Ukraine Oscar Committee has selected Valentyn Vasyanovych’s Black Level, as its candidate in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 2018 Oscars.
The film had its world premiere at the 2017 Odesa International Film Festival, where it won the International Federation of Film Critics FIPRESCI prize.
“Black Level” is a documentary-feature drama telling the story of a 50-year-old wedding photographer facing the prospect of losing everything he has ever loved.
50-year anniversary is the beginning of a complicated phase in the life of a wedding photographer Kostya. All that he loved and to which had been tied to, permanently disappears. Although there are not so many such things in his life: father, paralyzed by a stroke; girlfriend, working as a stylist in a wedding magazine; an old cat and photographic slides in which Kostya is young and happy. Kostya is photographing someone else’s happiness all of his life. For him, it is a daily routine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0D0CRejU3A
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Vincent Van Gogh Inspired Animated Feature LOVING VINCENT to UK Premiere at London Film Festival | TRAILER
Loving Vincent is a stunning, fully painted animated feature, starring Douglas Booth and Oscar nominated Saoirse Ronan and directed by Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman. The film will have its UK Premiere at the 61st BFI London Film Festival, broadcasting live from the National Gallery on Monday October 9th.
Loving Vincent explores the life and controversial death of Vincent Van Gogh, told by his paintings and by the characters that inhabit them. The intrigue unfolds through interviews with the characters closest to Vincent and through dramatic reconstructions of the events leading up to his death.
Loving Vincent stars Douglas Booth, Jerome Flynn, Chris O’Dowd, Oscar-nominee Saoirse Ronan, Aiden Turner, Helen McCrory, Eleanor Tomlinson and John Sessions. Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman co-directed the feature with Hugh Welchman also producing alongside Sean Bobbitt for the Oscar-winning BreakThru Films (Peter and the Wolf) and Ivan MacTaggart for Trademark Films (Shakespeare in Love). David Parfitt and Silver Reel’s Claudia Bluemhuber and Ian Hutchinson served as executive producers. The film’s musical score was composed and arranged by Grammy nominated Clint Mansell (Black Swan).
Hugh Welchman, co-director of Loving Vincent, says: “The London Film Festival programmes great films, and The National Gallery has one of the great painting collections of the world, so we couldn’t be happier that they have partnered up to do a very special premiere for Loving Vincent.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRDSTw6mNwY
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2017 San Diego International Film Festival Unveils Lineup + Sir Patrick Stewart to Receive Award
Actor Sir Patrick Stewart will be the recipient of the Gregory Peck Award for Excellence in Cinema at the 2017 San Diego International Film Festival (SDiFF). The awards will be presented October 5th at The VARIETY Night of the Stars Tribute.
“Patrick Stewart has captivated audiences for years with spectacular performances, from Star Trek to his career defining performance in Logan earlier this year, as well as his Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated performance as Captain Ahab in Moby Dick, a role which Mr. Peck made famous more than 40 years earlier. We couldn’t be more excited to honor him this year with the Gregory Peck Award,” said Tonya Mantooth, Executive and Artistic Director of the San Diego International Film Festival.
Created in honor of famed actor and San Diego area native Gregory Peck, with the support of his family, this award is given to an individual whose work has made a profound impact on the art of cinema. Launched in 2014, the first recipient of the award was Alan Arkin, with Annette Bening receiving the award last year.
The festival, now in its 16th year, will run from October 4th through October 8th in San Diego, California, and feature a lineup of 117 films total, 10 Narrative Spotlight Competition films, 18 Narrative Competition films, 12 Documentary Competition films, 5 Documentary Spotlight Competition films, and 72 Short films.
2017 San Diego International Film Festival Line-up
Narrative Spotlight Films
The Ballad of Lefty Brown, Dir. Jared Moshe, USA, West Coast Premiere Breathe, Dir. Andy Serkis, USA, West Coast Premiere Thelma, Dir. Joachim Trier, Norway, United States Premiere Dismissed, Dir. Benjamin Arfmann, USA, World Premiere Dog Years, Dir. Adam Rifkin, USA, West Coast Premiere The Divine Order, Dir. Petra Volpe, Switzerland, Southern California Premiere Juvenile, Dir. Bradley Buecker, USA, West Coast Premiere The Bachelors, Dir. Kurt Voelker, USA, San Diego Premiere Thumper, Dir. Jordan Ross, USA, California Premiere My Friend Dahmer, Dir. Marc Meyers, USA, San Diego PremiereNarrative Competition
Selling Isobel, Dir. Rudolf Buitendach, Sweden/USA, World Premiere Butterfly Caught, Dir. Manny Rodriguez Jr., USA, World Premiere The Lonely Italian, Dir. Lee Farber, USA, World Premiere Juggernaut, Dir. Daniel DiMarco, Canada, North American Premiere Otherlife, Dir. Ben C. Lucas, Australia, North American Premiere Storm Letters of Fire, Dir. Dennis Bots, Netherlands, North American Premiere Room for Rent, Dir. Matt Atkinson, Canada, United States Premiere Under the Rose, Dir. Josue Ramos, Spain, United States Premiere A Prominent Patient, Dir. Julius Sevcik, Czech Republic, Slovakia, United States Premiere Life Hack, Dir. Sloan Copeland, USA, West Coast Premiere Heart, Baby!, Dir. Angela Shelton, USA, San Diego Premiere Hard Surfaces, Dir. Zach Brown, USA, San Diego Premiere The Price, Dir. Anthony Onah, USA, West Coast Premiere Scent of Rain and Lightening, Dir. Blake Robbins, USA, California Premiere GUN, Dir. Sam Upton, USA, Southern California Premiere Entanglement, Dir. Jason James, Canada, San Diego Premiere And Then There Was Eve, Dir. Savannah Bloch, USA, San Diego Premiere 20 Weeks, Dir. Leena Pendharkar, USA, San Diego PremiereSpotlight Documentary Films
The Last Animals, Dir. Kate Brooks, UK/USA, California Premiere Apache Warrior, Dir. David Salzberg & Christian Tureaud, USA, World Premiere WASTED! Story of Food Waste, Dir. Anna Chia & Nari Kye, USA, San Diego Premiere Behind the Curtain: Todrick Hall, Dir. Katherine Fairfax Wright, USA, Southern California Premiere Resistance is Life, Dir. Apo W. Bazidi, USA/Turkey, San Diego PremiereDocumentary Competition
Becoming Who I Was, Dir. Moon Chang-Yong & Jeon Jin, South Korea, California Premiere 42 Grams, Dir. Jack C. Newell, USA, California Premiere Herd, Dir. Stefan Morel, Canada, California Premiere Blind Spot; Moments Unseen, Dir. Stefan Morel, Canada, California Premiere Down the Fence, Dir. MJ Isakson, USA, Southern California Premiere Spirit of Discovery, Dir. Eliana Alvarez Martinez, USA, World Premiere RiverBlue: Can Fashion Save the Planet?, Dir. David McIlvride & Roger Williams, Canada, San Diego Premiere Poisoning Paradise, Dir. Keely Shaye Brosnan & Teresa Tico, USA, San Diego Premiere Legion of Brothers, Dir. Greg Barker, USA, California Premiere Mankiller, Dir. Valerie Red-Horse Mohl, USA, San Diego Premiere The Lavender Scare, Dir. Josh Howard, USA, Southern California Premiere Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and Rise of Isis, Dir. Sebastian Junger & Nick Quested, USA, San Diego PremiereShorts Competition
Shorts in front of feature films: Lucky Me, Dir. Thomas Morgan, USA, World Premiere The Horse Whisperer, Dir. Richard Mullane, UK, United States Premiere The Velvet Abstract, Dir. James Hughes, UK, San Diego Premiere Shorts: American Indian Stories: Waabooz, Dir. Molly Katagiri, USA, San Diego Premiere Five Dollars, Dir. Ty Coughenour, USA, San Diego Premiere In the Beginning was Water and Sky, Dir. Ryan Ward, USA, San Diego Premiere Lost Face, Dir. Sean Meehan, Australia/Canada, San Diego Premiere Neemkomok’, Dir. Douglas Cushnie, USA, San Diego Premiere The Gift, Joel Edgerton, USA/Australia, California Premiere Shorts: For Shorts & Giggles: The Bouquet, Dir. Julien Segard & Romain Carciofo, France, San Diego Premiere Ostoja Will Move Your Piano, Dir. Sandra Mitrovic, Serbia, West Coast Premiere Annie Waits, Dir. Marnie Paxton-Harris, UK, San Diego Premiere A Ghost Named George, Dir. Harrison Macks, USA, World Premiere Dollar King, Dir. Drew Pollins, USA, Southern California Premiere The Heist, Dir. Luke Harris, USA, Southern California Premiere Love me Madly, Dir. Emre Okten, USA, World Premiere Shorts: A Stranger in Stranger Land: Picture Wheel, Dir. David O’Donnell, USA/Australia, San Diego Premiere Wyrm, Dir. Christopher Winterbauer, USA, North American Premiere Albedo Absolute, Dir. Vlad Marsavin, USA, Southern California Premiere Time Flies When I am Having Fun, Dir. Johan Tappert, Sweden, West Coast Premiere Cautionary Tales, Dir.Christopher Barrett & Luke Taylor, UK, North American Premiere See You Yesterday, Dir. Stefon Bristol, USA, Southern California Premiere Fairy Tales Anonymous, Dir. Jacob Lundgaard Andersen, USA, San Diego Premier Shorts: Illusion: Gridlock, Dir. Ian Hunt Duffy, Ireland, Southern California Premiere Cul-de-sac, Dir. Damon Russell, USA, San Diego Premiere The Obituary, Dir. Jonathan Thompson, USA, Southern California Premiere Standby, Dir. Daumoun Khakpour & Travis Pulchinski, Canada, United States Premiere The Peculiar Abilities of Mr. Mahler, Dir. Paul Philipp, Germany, California Premiere Frederick, Dir. Ty Coughenour, USA, San Diego Premiere Shorts: Independent Animation: The Wall, Dir.Nick Baker & Tristan Klein, Australia, West Coast Premiere Green Light, Dir. Seongmin Kim, South Korea, Southern California Premiere Tanguito Argentino, Dir. Joaquin Braga, Argentina,Southern California Premiere Wishing Box, Dir. Wenli Zhang & Nan Li, USA, San Diego Premiere Hope, Dir. Michael Scherrer, Switzerland, Southern California Premiere First Bloom, Dir. Tingting Liu, China, San Diego Premiere Revelation: City of Haze, Dir. Mao Qichao, China, San Diego Premiere Karma, Dir. Zhaoyu Zhou, USA, World Premiere Shorts: Heart of a Soldier: Orion, Dir. Spencer Currie, USA, San Diego Premiere Corpsman, Dir. Amanda Larsh, USA, World Premiere One Halloween, Dir. Rebecca Murga, USA, World Premiere Tango on the Balcony, Dir. Minos Papas, USA/Cyprus, Southern California Premiere Wandering Soul, Dir. Josh Tanner, Australia, San Diego Premiere Shorts: Twisted Humor: The Dog with the Woman, Dir. Phoebe Arnstein & Stephen Ledger-Lomas, UK, World Premiere A Done Deal, Dir. Pierre-Marc Drouin and Simon Lamarre-Ledoux, Canada, West Coast Premiere Eat and Drink, Dir. Jaime Figueroa, Spain, North American Premiere Nicole’s Cage, Dir. Josef Brandl, Germany, Southern California Premiere Unleaved Bread, Dir. Wilfried Méance, France, Southern California Premiere Shorts: On Pins and Needles: Will Wilson, Dir. David C. Herman, USA, San Diego Premiere Morning Has Broken, Dir. Olga Chajdas, Poland, United States Premiere Icarus, Dir. Tom Teller, USA, Southern California Premiere Warm Springs, Dir. Sean Wang, USA, San Diego Premiere Game, Dir. Joy Webster, Canada, United States Premiere Standby, Dir. Daumoun Khakpour & Travis Pulchinski, Canada, United States Premiere Shorts: When Worlds Collide: Lost Dogs, Dir. Cullan Bruce, USA, San Diego Premiere The Foster Portfolio, Dir. Danielle Katvan, USA, San Diego Premiere The Transfer, Dir. Michael Grudsky, Germany/Israel, San Diego Premiere Pickle, Dir. Grant Moore, USA, San Diego Premiere Brainstorm, Dir. Christophe Clin, Belgium, San Diego Premiere Temporary, Dir. Milena Govich, USA, San Diego Premiere Shorts: Global Consciousness: Shine, Dir. Barrett Lewis, Daniel Andreani & Austin Bousley, USA, World Premiere Witnesses, Dir. David Koch, France, California Premiere All of Us, Dir. Katja Benrath, Germany/ Kenya, United States Premiere Ravage, Dir. Leon Lee, Canada, West Coast Premiere Citizen, Dir. Robert Bracker, USA, West Coast Premiere The Fare, Dir. Santiago Paladines, Equador/USA, San Diego Premiere Shorts: Student Track: I Have to Kill my Professor, Dir. Jonathan Pickett, USA, World Premiere Dated, Dir. Daniel Lachman, USA, California Premiere Uncle Tommy, Dir. Tan Shi Ying, Singapore, World Premiere Hurt People, Dir. Gabriel Gaurano, Jayden Gillespie & Navin Bose, USA, World Premiere Dibashram, Dir. Weilee Yap, Singapore, World Premiere Head Above Water, Dir. Eric Shahinian, USA, West Coast Premiere Chicken Beauty Pageant, Dir. Nurul Amirah, Singapore, World Premiere
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Filmmaker Spike Lee Will be Lauded as Special Guest of Virginia Film Festival
Filmmaker Spike Lee will be a guest at the upcoming 2017 Virginia Film Festival, where he will present a pair of films as part of a larger program around the living legacy of slavery, presented in collaboration with James Madison’s Montpelier.
Mr. Lee will present his Oscar-nominated documentary 4 Little Girls, about one of America’s most despicable hate crimes – the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Church in Birmingham, Alabama that left four African American girls Denise McNair, Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robinson and Cynthia Wesley, dead, and served as a catalyst for the American Civil Rights Movement. The program will also include I Can’t Breathe, a short video piece that combines footage of the chokehold death of Eric Garner at the hands of the New York City Police Department with footage of the similar death of the Radio Raheem character in Lee’s iconic 1989 film Do The Right Thing – highlighting a most tragic example of how the filmmaker’s art has been reflected in life.
“We have for many years been interested in bringing Spike Lee to the Virginia Film Festival as he remains one of the most talented, innovative, and socially conscious filmmakers in our world today,” said Jody Kielbasa, director of the VFF and Vice Provost for the Arts at the University of Virginia. “We first reached out to Mr. Lee in the spring to include him in our upcoming collaboration with Montpelier, and of course, the recent events in Charlottesville have made his participation more compelling, relevant, and vital.” The visit marks a return to UVA for the filmmaker, who spoke to a packed house at the UVA Amphitheater on April 17, 1993 about his own career and the significant challenges faced by him and his fellow African American filmmakers at the time.
The collaboration with James Madison’s Montpelier will explore both how the legacies of slavery continue to affect the lives of African Americans and how they are dealt with and depicted in cinema and media. Montpelier has recently opened an exhibition entitled, The Mere Distinction of Colour, which highlights the reality of the institution of slavery in the U.S. by sharing stories of Montpelier’s slaves and their descendants. In an effort to illuminate the struggles and emphasize the humanity of the enslaved community, Montpelier has engaged descendants of enslaved individuals to present a clear and honest picture of slavery at the time of our nation’s founding, and to explore the personal lives and connections of those who were enslaved there and in the surrounding area.
In addition to the event with Spike Lee, the VFF will present a series featuring a number of additional screenings and conversations with high profile filmmakers, scholars, and historians, all as part of the collaboration with Montpelier.
The 30th Annual Virginia Film Festival will take place from November 9 to 12 in Charlottesville and will include more than 130 films and 150 industry guests from around the world.
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WHEN THEY AWAKE, Documentary on Canadian Indigenous Musical Artists, to Open Calgary International Film Festival
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When They Awake[/caption]
When They Awake, an uplifting, energetic documentary about the groundswell of exciting, critically acclaimed indigenous musical artists in Canada, will open the 2017 Calgary International Film Festival. The film is directed by PJ Marcellino and Herman Farahi.
The Festival revealed the remaining 65 feature films officially selected to screen at this year’s festival, one third of this year’s films are from a first-time feature filmmaker, and one third of the selected films are also from a female director.
“This year we had more submissions than ever before – over 2,700 – up by almost 600 over last year,” said Steve Schroeder, the Executive Director of the Calgary International Film Festival. “The quality of the films, the special Behind the Screen events we have lined up, and our biggest Opening Gala party ever are combining to bring the festival to a new level.”
“The film that begins our festival was an unsolicited submission, meaning it came to us through our open submission process, which is really what film festivals are all about,” continued Steve. “Finding those previously unheralded gems, and giving talented filmmakers the chance to shine.”
Some of the festival’s most buzzworthy films include Indian Horse, directed by Stephen Campanelli. This Canadian narrative feature tells the story of an Ojibway boy raised in a residential school who grows up to be a hockey player, but is haunted by his past. In addition to the director, attending guests will be include Sladen Peltier, Forrest Goodluck, Ajuawak Kapashesit and Edna Manitowabi.
After winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes 2017, Swedish director Ruben Östlund brings The Square to the festival’s World Cinema Series. The Square was partly inspired by Östlund’s own experiences at one of his own art installations in the city of Värnamo. The Florida Project, directed by Sean Baker (the follow-up to his 2015 break-through film Tangerine), tells the story of a six-year-old living in the shadows outside Disney World with her unconventional family. With a cast that includes Willem Dafoe and newcomer Brooklynn Prince and a festival career that includes Cannes, Toronto and New York, this film promises big buzz.
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World Premiere of ITZHAK to Open and 7 More Films Added to Hamptons International Film Festival
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Itzhak[/caption]
The World Premiere of Alison Chernick’s compelling documentary Itzhak, which chronicles the extraordinary life of Israeli violin virtuoso and conductor Itzhak Perlman, will open the 2017 Hamptons International Film Festival on Thursday, October 5th. Itzhak Perlman, an East End resident, will be in attendance.
The festival will also feature seven additional World Premieres, including 11/8/16, curated and produced by Jeff Deutchman, which is directed by over 40 filmmakers and captures footage from across the country documenting Election Day; Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah’s The First To Do It, recounting the life of Earl Lloyd, the first African American to play in the NBA, which features interviews with NBA players Carmelo Anthony and Kawhi Leonard, and is executive produced by Anthony, Leonard, Tony Parker, Michael Finley & P.J. Tucker; and Ben & Orson Cummings’ Killer Bees, a story that follows the local Bridgehampton High School basketball team and their community as they try to defend their state championship title, produced by Shaquille O’Neal and executive produced by Larry Gagosian.
Additional films include Tiffany Bartok’s Larger Than Life: The Kevin Aucoin Story, profiling the professional and personal life of iconic makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin, featuring interviews with Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and more; Onur Tukel’s The Misogynists, a narrative following the tales of characters coming and going from a hotel room on the night of the 2016 general election, starring Dylan Baker; Brendan & Emmett Malloy’s The Tribes Of Palos Verdes, a coming-of-age drama centering around the lives of a family who move to affluent LA suburb Palos Verdes, starring Jennifer Garner, Justin Kirk, Elisabeth Rohm, Goran Višnjić, and Joely Fisher; and Josh Klausner’s Wanderland, which was filmed on the East End, telling the story of a character escaping his isolated life only to find himself lost on a surreal, all-night musical odyssey of misadventures, starring Tate Ellington, Dree Hemingway, Ronald Guttman, Harris Yulin & Tara Summers.
Jennifer Garner, Deon Cole, Michael Finley, Spencer Haywood, Oscar Robertson and P.J. Tucker will attend the festival.
“We are thrilled to announce Alison Chernick’s Itzhak as our opening night feature, and to have the talented Itzhak Perlman himself join us for our anniversary year. This diverse array of films announced today, many with local ties, are sure to be some of the most talked about films at this year’s Festival,” said Hamptons International Film Festival Artistic Director David Nugent.
The 25th annual Hamptons International Film Festival will take place over Columbus Day Weekend, October 5th – 9th, 2017.
Itzhak
World Premiere
Director: Alison Chernick
Alison Chernick’s documentary Itzhak examines the life and music of Itzhak Perlman, widely considered to be the world’s greatest living violinist. Exploring the ways in which Perlman’s passion for music allowed him to find a platform for personal expression against tremendous circumstances, Chernick creates a portrait of man whose remarkable will to survive is never removed from his tremendous generosity and humor. Through it all, the discipline we see at work is starkly contrasted with the world we see at home, as a modern Jewish family continues to embrace their heritage against a world of changing expectations.
11/8/16
World Premiere
Curator & Producer: Jeff Deutchman
On the day of the 2016 presidential election, filmmaker Jeff Deutchman surveys the thoughts and feelings of ordinary Americans as they head to the ballot box. Told in brief vignettes from across the country, and focusing on voters from every side of the political spectrum—ranging from a Sikh man and his family in New York City to a coal miner in West Virginia—the film humanizes the electorate in an age of sweeping generalizations. In its panoramic form and disparate viewpoints, 11/8/16 provides a necessary counterpoint, finding moments of common humanity within a seemingly unbridgeable divide.
The First To Do It
World Premiere
Directors: Coodie Simmons and Chike Ozah
In 1950, three years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball, Earl Lloyd stepped onto an NBA basketball court and changed the game forever. During Lloyd’s 22-year NBA career, he became its first African American player, its first African American scout, and its first African American full time head coach. Through intimate conversations with family, childhood friends, and the legendary players whose lives he touched (including Oscar Robertson, Dave Bing, and Kawhi Leonard), The First To Do It chronicles the experience of Lloyd and other early African American players against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement and explores the role of sports in the lasting legacy of desegregation today. The film is produced in association with the National Basketball Players Association and with the support of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Killer Bees
World Premiere
Directors: Ben Cummings & Orson Cummings
Killer Bees spotlights the famed Bridgehampton basketball team as they prepare to defend their state championship title. Following the young men on and off the court, filmmakers Benjamin and Orson Cummings explore the Bees’ historical importance within the local community. More than just a high school team, the Bees are a symbol of hope—particularly to those who are struggling to survive in one of the wealthiest districts in the country. Produced by NBA legend Shaquille O’Neill, Killer Bees is a nuanced look at the powerful role sports play in overcoming racial, social, and economic adversity.
Larger Than Life: The Kevin Aucoin Story
World Premiere
Director: Tiffany Bartok
Larger Than Life: The Kevin Aucoin Story explores the life of the iconic make-up artist, who transformed the profession into a prominent and influential art form. Director and fellow make-up artist Tiffany Bartok paints a beautiful and deeply personal portrait of a man who, as both an artist and LGBTQ advocate, dedicated his life to elevating the inner confidence and presence of others. Through intimate archival footage and interviews with his famous friends and clients, Bartok weaves through the journey of Aucoin’s life up until his tragic end—reminding everyone that he truly was larger than life.
The Misogynists
World Premiere
Director: Onur Tukel
In a single, fully-stocked hotel room on the night of the 2016 general election, two Trump supporters celebrate the results that halted the ongoing “end of man,” in the latest from indie provocateur Onur Tukel. As the night rages on, an ensemble of characters venture in and out of the room. Some match the two’s enthusiasm while others voice their terror at the prospect of the incoming President, but most struggle to find a reason to care less about the results that caused the debauched celebration occurring around them. Led by Dylan Baker’s gleefully deranged lead performance, Tukel’s tongue-in-cheek exploration of a divided America digs deep into the night’s mass existential crisis, and leaves with some disquieting results.
The Tribes Of Palos Verdes
World Premiere
Director: Emmett Malloy & Brendan Malloy
When teenage Medina (Maika Monroe) moves with her family to the picture-perfect paradise of Palos Verdes, California, they seem headed for a happy new chapter in their lives. But old troubles soon catch up to them, as the disintegration of Medina’s parents’ marriage leads her mother (Jennifer Garner) into an emotional freefall and pushes her brother towards addiction. Caught in the middle of it all, Medina must rely on her inner strength to become the stabilizing force in her family, while finding refuge in a new passion: surfing. Set amidst the sun-kissed beaches and crystal blue waters of the California coast, The Tribes Of Palos Verdes is a stirring look at how life’s greatest challenges forge who we become.
Wanderland
World Premiere
Director: Josh Klausner
In an effort to briefly escape his humdrum life of isolation in New York City, Alex (Tate Ellington) impulsively accepts an invitation from an online acquaintance (Dree Hemingway) to house-sit at her picturesque “Enchanted Cottage” on Long Island. Despite his best attempts for a quiet weekend of relaxation, Alex suddenly finds himself lost on a surreal, all-night musical odyssey of misadventures. Filmed in and around the Hamptons area, and featuring a cast of wonderfully kooky local characters, Josh Klausner’s Wanderland is a madcap East End experience.