A TAXI DRIVER[/caption]
Fantasia will close its 2017 edition with the International Premiere of A TAXI DRIVER, by director Jang Hoon. On May 18th, 1980, one of the darkest chapters in South Korea’s recent history began. Protesting against Chun Doo-hwan’s dictatorship, hundreds of citizens of Gwangju, particularly students, were beaten, arrested or killed by the army who was hiding behind a well-orchestrated propaganda campaign blinding the entire nation. So when struggling single-father Man-seob decides to take a German journalist from Seoul to Gwangju in his taxi to clear off his debts, he has no idea how dangerous their journey will be. Director Jang Hoon has established himself as one of the most talented and versatile Korean filmmakers with award winning films like ROUGH CUT and THE FRONT LINE. Reteaming with Hoon after the action thriller THE SECRET REUNION, legendary actor Song Kang-ho (THE HOST, SNOWPIERCER) delivers one of the strongest performances of his career in this unforgettable historical drama.
The Fantasia Film Festival announced the remainder of its mammoth 2017 film lineup, in addition to its juries and special events.
A tense, nocturnal odyssey of poor decision-making that escalates to a nearly unbearable pitch, the Safdie brothers’ Cannes Competition sensation GOOD TIME is a high-wire exercise in intensity, starring Robert Pattinson in a career-best performance. Tipping their hats to ’70s thrillers, the Safdies’ new film also builds beautifully on their previous effort, HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT – here’s another maddeningly bleak vision of New York City’s underbelly, nonetheless beaming with humanity and authenticity. North American Premiere. Directors in Attendance.
Directed by David Leitch (JOHN WICK, the upcoming DEADPOOL 2), ATOMIC BLONDE, screening in the Action! section, is a blistering blend of sleek action, gritty sexuality, and dazzling neon-drenched style with a cast that includes Charlize Theron, John Goodman, Til Schweiger, and Sofia Boutella. The film boasts one thrilling fight sequence in particular – set in a stairwell and with no cuts – that has already entered the annals of action film history. Official Selection: SXSW 2017. Special Screening.
Fantasia’s Camera Lucida section is back! Dedicated to the most original and singular visions, at the outer edges of genre cinema, it will close this year’s selection with the World Premiere of Robert Morin’s LE PROBLÈME D’INFILTRATION (INFILTRATION), also screening during the festival’s closing night on August 2, 2017. An experimental film and formal experiment only Morin could have made, LE PROBLÈME D’INFILTRATION (INFILTRATION) is a unique, angst-ridden portrait composed of a series of distinctive, surrealistic long takes, that brilliantly convey the existential crisis and downward spiral of Dr. Louis Richard (Christian Bégin), a plastic surgeon specializing in burn victims. A bold film that simultaneously evokes German Expressionist art and avant-garde video. See below for the rest of the Camera Lucida line-up. Director, Cast, and Crew in Attendance.
The big-screen return of one of Polish Cinema’s national treasures, Agnieszka Holland (EUROPA EUROPA, THE SECRET GARDEN), still such a vibrant filmmaker at nearly 70 years of age, SPOOR took home a richly deserved award at the Berlinale earlier this year. Unconventional, poetic and beguiling, it is a genuinely radical film – some have even called it dangerous – that is one part fantastical murder mystery, one part eco-thriller. A retired teacher who speaks truth to power to protect the region’s wildlife finds herself at the center of a surreal series of happenings, with hunters and authority figures found murdered, various animal tracks near the bodies. Could the animals be having their revenge? One of the most subversive genre works we’ve seen in years. North American Premiere.
Following the 2015 International Premiere of Sion Sono’s Red Light District-set yakuza/talent agency action-drama film SHINJUKU SWAN, Fantasia will unveil the International Premiere of its sequel, SHINJUKU SWAN II! Reuniting maverick filmmaker Sion Sono (TAG, LOVE EXPOSURE, the upcoming Amazon series TOKYO VAMPIRE HOTEL) with superstar Go Ayano (RAGE, LUPIN THE THIRD), this sequel adapts the arc “Yokohama Kingdom” from Ken Wakui’s popular seinen manga series of the same name, and finds the titular, energetic talent scout going head-to-head with a rival Yokohama agency, led by boss Taki (the one and only Tadanobu Asano of SURVIVE STYLE 5+, JOURNEY TO THE SHORE, and ICHI THE KILLER)! International Premiere.
Fantasia audiences may best remember him from THE MAN WHO SAVED THE WORLD (aka TURKISH STAR WARS), but to international audiences, Cüneyt Arkın is a legendary icon whose career spanned 50 glorious years and nearly 300 films. He’s done every conceivable genre from grand historical epics and martial arts to romantic comedies, westerns, and hard-boiled crime flicks. He’s played an Ottoman warrior, cop, heartbreaker, pirate, and even a Turkish Davy Crockett. Over his five decades in cinema, the incredible Arkın was his country’s Jackie Chan – acting, writing, directing, and performing his own stunts!
Fantasia will present a Lifetime Achievement Award to Mr Arkın, and will celebrate his extraordinary career with special repertory screenings of THE MAN WHO SAVED THE WORLD, Çetin İnanç’s WILD BLOOD (aka the Turkish FIRST BLOOD!), and the ninjasploitation head-exploder DEATH WARRIOR.
These events, in addition to the World Premiere screening of Emir Mavitan’s NOMAD and a free outdoor projection of Ceyda Torun’s documentary sensation KEDI are presented with the support of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Luchador films hold a special place in Fantasia-goers hearts. In the early editions of the festival, screenings of numerous luchador films were held in front of sold out crowds at the 900-seat Imperial Theater. This year marks a very special occasion, as the fest will be graced by one of lucha libre’s most famous heroes, the legendary Mil Máscaras. With Blue Demon and El Santo, this legendary masked wrestler was part of a trio of athletes who, in the 60’s and early 70’s, turned this unique brand of Mexican superhero film into a worldwide phenomenon.
Mil Máscaras will be awarded a Fantasia Lifetime Achievement Award for his extraordinary career as a Mexican film icon and one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. The award will be presented before the presentation of a double bill of two features starring Mil Máscaras: 1972’s LAS MOMIAS DE GUANAJUATO, arguably the most famous luchador film of all time (co-starring El Santo and Blue Demon), and AZTEC REVENGE, Aaron Crozier’s recently-produced American feature from writer Jeffrey Uhlmann, who will be in attendance.
A sensation on the 2017 festival circuit – first unveiled at Sundance, then swerving by SXSW, and recently closing the prestigious Director’s Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) section of the Cannes Film Festival – PATTI CAKE$ now stops at Fantasia for its Canadian Premiere! Starring the amazing newcomer Danielle Macdonald in the lead role of Patricia Dumbrowski, a.k.a. Killa P, a.k.a. Patti Cake$, this is a first feature film from acclaimed music video director Geremy Jasper. Reminiscent of films like LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, 8 MILE, and 2016 Fantasia discovery SOME FREAKS, PATTI CAKE$ is a brilliant cult classic in the making; an empowering outsider story told with unparalleled heart and conviction. Canadian Premiere.
Following a mysterious car crash, a man with no memory of his past becomes inexplicably lethal to anyone in his path. His bizarre death force only appears to be neutralized when in the very close vicinity of Jane, a woman who suffers a similarly clouded memory. Together, they’ll try to recall their past and understand the tie that that seems to bind them. But they can’t ever be more than 50 feet apart or people will die. Directed by SANS DESSEIN filmmakers Caroline Labrèche and Steeve Léonard, RADIUS is the latest project seeing the light because of Frontières, Fantasia’s international co-production market. It’s our pleasure to present the World Premiere of this unique Quebec-made genre work. Directors in Attendance.
Beloved director Takashi Miike (AUDITION, ICHI THE KILLER) may have received a Lifetime Achievement Award at last year’s edition of Fantasia, but he won’t stop delivering over the top crowd pleasers! Reteaming with screenwriter Kankuro Kudo, who also directed last year’s Audience Award winner TOO YOUNG TO DIE!, Miike delivers a crazier and funnier sequel to THE MOLE SONG: SECRET AGENT REIJI loaded with unambiguous sex jokes, strange action scenes, crotch injuries and gorgeous set pieces. Actor Toma Ikuta (THE TOP SECRET: MURDER IN MIND) delivers an incredible physical performance in the role of the libidinous mole Reiji who is now tracked down by the police, the yakuza boss he work for, and a lethal Chinese gang. Miike is back in all his mischievous glory with the Canadian Premiere of THE MOLE SONG: HONG KONG CAPRICCIO!
During one of his many Asian adventures, Patrick (François Arnaud), a visual artist who specializes in Chinese art, encounters a mysterious man who makes him discover his latent gift for time travel. Stunningly directed and compellingly intimate, ORIGAMI is a UFO on the landscape of Quebec cinema that succeeds in applying sci-fi genre markers to a primarily human story. World Premiere. Directors in Attendance.
Fantasia will be presenting the World Premieres of Jenna Cavelle’s BLOOD HEIST – about DIY filmmakers who simultaneously commit a star-crossed armed robbery and shoot a vérité film of it – and Melanie Aitkenhead’s BLOOD RIDE – which depicts the violence and avenging of a ferocious female biker gang lead by Pollyanna McIntosh – as a special rip-roaring indie double bill. Both femme-made, revivalist – nay, revisionist – exploitation films were spearheaded by producer/co-star James Franco and producers Vince Jolivette (SPRING BREAKERS) and Jay Davis. Get ready for blood… and more blood! World Premieres.
After slaying Sundance at its debut and knocking out Cannes (where it had its European Premiere in Director’s Fortnight), BUSHWICK will be making its first Canadian stand at Fantasia 2017! The couldn’t-be-more-timely sophomore feature from directors Cary Murnion and Jonathan Milott (Fantasia 2015’s COOTIES) sees Bushwick, New York erupt into a war zone as Southern nationalist militia forces attack the city. Starring Dave Bautista and Brittany Snow, BUSHWICK almost never stops moving, as Murnion and Milott employ long, fluid takes (shot on real Brooklyn locations) that follow its characters from one hoped-for sanctuary to the next, punctuated by bursts of startling, caught-on-the-fly violence. Canadian Premiere.
To reward himself for his new teaching gig in Sapporo, 29-year-old Manabu decides to celebrate New Year’s Eve with a little treat at a local sex club. On the verge of… climaxing, he’s struck by a brain hemorrhage and ends up buck naked at the hospital surrounded by his worried family who want to know how this happened. Based on the autobiographical manga from Manabu Nakagawa, ALMOST COMING, ALMOST DYING is a funny and endearing independent film from first time filmmaker Toshimasa Kobayashi. With its witty dialogues delivering family interactions worthy of WHAT A WONDERFUL FAMILY! and its creepy bat-wielding giant teddy bear (?!?), Kobayashi perfectly transposes the blend of everyday life situations and weird creativity that made Nakagawa’s manga so popular. International Premiere.
As part of the closing night events, Fantasia will be showcasing the first public screening of Synapse Films’ long anticipated 4K restoration of Dario Argento’s SUSPIRIA, just in time for its 40th anniversary. A Grand Guignol fairy tale from the darkest recesses of creative brilliance, SUSPIRIA remains one of the most visually and sonically breathtaking genre works in the history of film, its complex aesthetics all but impossible to reproduce with accuracy on any non-Technicolor – let alone non-photochemical – medium to date. For the past three years, Synapse Films have been working on the definitive restoration of Argento’s masterpiece, with the full cooperation, supervision and approval of its celebrated cinematographer Luciano Tovoli, who spared no effort to accurately reproduce the film’s original IB Technicolor visuals. With all the love and obsession that this extraordinary film commands, SUSPIRIA has been restored from the fully uncut, original 35mm Italian camera negative and will be presented with the legendary 4.0 discrete sound mix not heard since its 1977 theatrical release.
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Fantasia Film Festival Announces Final Lineup, Closes with Jang Hoon’s A TAXI DRIVER
[caption id="attachment_22990" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] A TAXI DRIVER[/caption]
Fantasia will close its 2017 edition with the International Premiere of A TAXI DRIVER, by director Jang Hoon. On May 18th, 1980, one of the darkest chapters in South Korea’s recent history began. Protesting against Chun Doo-hwan’s dictatorship, hundreds of citizens of Gwangju, particularly students, were beaten, arrested or killed by the army who was hiding behind a well-orchestrated propaganda campaign blinding the entire nation. So when struggling single-father Man-seob decides to take a German journalist from Seoul to Gwangju in his taxi to clear off his debts, he has no idea how dangerous their journey will be. Director Jang Hoon has established himself as one of the most talented and versatile Korean filmmakers with award winning films like ROUGH CUT and THE FRONT LINE. Reteaming with Hoon after the action thriller THE SECRET REUNION, legendary actor Song Kang-ho (THE HOST, SNOWPIERCER) delivers one of the strongest performances of his career in this unforgettable historical drama.
The Fantasia Film Festival announced the remainder of its mammoth 2017 film lineup, in addition to its juries and special events.
A tense, nocturnal odyssey of poor decision-making that escalates to a nearly unbearable pitch, the Safdie brothers’ Cannes Competition sensation GOOD TIME is a high-wire exercise in intensity, starring Robert Pattinson in a career-best performance. Tipping their hats to ’70s thrillers, the Safdies’ new film also builds beautifully on their previous effort, HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT – here’s another maddeningly bleak vision of New York City’s underbelly, nonetheless beaming with humanity and authenticity. North American Premiere. Directors in Attendance.
Directed by David Leitch (JOHN WICK, the upcoming DEADPOOL 2), ATOMIC BLONDE, screening in the Action! section, is a blistering blend of sleek action, gritty sexuality, and dazzling neon-drenched style with a cast that includes Charlize Theron, John Goodman, Til Schweiger, and Sofia Boutella. The film boasts one thrilling fight sequence in particular – set in a stairwell and with no cuts – that has already entered the annals of action film history. Official Selection: SXSW 2017. Special Screening.
Fantasia’s Camera Lucida section is back! Dedicated to the most original and singular visions, at the outer edges of genre cinema, it will close this year’s selection with the World Premiere of Robert Morin’s LE PROBLÈME D’INFILTRATION (INFILTRATION), also screening during the festival’s closing night on August 2, 2017. An experimental film and formal experiment only Morin could have made, LE PROBLÈME D’INFILTRATION (INFILTRATION) is a unique, angst-ridden portrait composed of a series of distinctive, surrealistic long takes, that brilliantly convey the existential crisis and downward spiral of Dr. Louis Richard (Christian Bégin), a plastic surgeon specializing in burn victims. A bold film that simultaneously evokes German Expressionist art and avant-garde video. See below for the rest of the Camera Lucida line-up. Director, Cast, and Crew in Attendance.
The big-screen return of one of Polish Cinema’s national treasures, Agnieszka Holland (EUROPA EUROPA, THE SECRET GARDEN), still such a vibrant filmmaker at nearly 70 years of age, SPOOR took home a richly deserved award at the Berlinale earlier this year. Unconventional, poetic and beguiling, it is a genuinely radical film – some have even called it dangerous – that is one part fantastical murder mystery, one part eco-thriller. A retired teacher who speaks truth to power to protect the region’s wildlife finds herself at the center of a surreal series of happenings, with hunters and authority figures found murdered, various animal tracks near the bodies. Could the animals be having their revenge? One of the most subversive genre works we’ve seen in years. North American Premiere.
Following the 2015 International Premiere of Sion Sono’s Red Light District-set yakuza/talent agency action-drama film SHINJUKU SWAN, Fantasia will unveil the International Premiere of its sequel, SHINJUKU SWAN II! Reuniting maverick filmmaker Sion Sono (TAG, LOVE EXPOSURE, the upcoming Amazon series TOKYO VAMPIRE HOTEL) with superstar Go Ayano (RAGE, LUPIN THE THIRD), this sequel adapts the arc “Yokohama Kingdom” from Ken Wakui’s popular seinen manga series of the same name, and finds the titular, energetic talent scout going head-to-head with a rival Yokohama agency, led by boss Taki (the one and only Tadanobu Asano of SURVIVE STYLE 5+, JOURNEY TO THE SHORE, and ICHI THE KILLER)! International Premiere.
Fantasia audiences may best remember him from THE MAN WHO SAVED THE WORLD (aka TURKISH STAR WARS), but to international audiences, Cüneyt Arkın is a legendary icon whose career spanned 50 glorious years and nearly 300 films. He’s done every conceivable genre from grand historical epics and martial arts to romantic comedies, westerns, and hard-boiled crime flicks. He’s played an Ottoman warrior, cop, heartbreaker, pirate, and even a Turkish Davy Crockett. Over his five decades in cinema, the incredible Arkın was his country’s Jackie Chan – acting, writing, directing, and performing his own stunts!
Fantasia will present a Lifetime Achievement Award to Mr Arkın, and will celebrate his extraordinary career with special repertory screenings of THE MAN WHO SAVED THE WORLD, Çetin İnanç’s WILD BLOOD (aka the Turkish FIRST BLOOD!), and the ninjasploitation head-exploder DEATH WARRIOR.
These events, in addition to the World Premiere screening of Emir Mavitan’s NOMAD and a free outdoor projection of Ceyda Torun’s documentary sensation KEDI are presented with the support of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Luchador films hold a special place in Fantasia-goers hearts. In the early editions of the festival, screenings of numerous luchador films were held in front of sold out crowds at the 900-seat Imperial Theater. This year marks a very special occasion, as the fest will be graced by one of lucha libre’s most famous heroes, the legendary Mil Máscaras. With Blue Demon and El Santo, this legendary masked wrestler was part of a trio of athletes who, in the 60’s and early 70’s, turned this unique brand of Mexican superhero film into a worldwide phenomenon.
Mil Máscaras will be awarded a Fantasia Lifetime Achievement Award for his extraordinary career as a Mexican film icon and one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. The award will be presented before the presentation of a double bill of two features starring Mil Máscaras: 1972’s LAS MOMIAS DE GUANAJUATO, arguably the most famous luchador film of all time (co-starring El Santo and Blue Demon), and AZTEC REVENGE, Aaron Crozier’s recently-produced American feature from writer Jeffrey Uhlmann, who will be in attendance.
A sensation on the 2017 festival circuit – first unveiled at Sundance, then swerving by SXSW, and recently closing the prestigious Director’s Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) section of the Cannes Film Festival – PATTI CAKE$ now stops at Fantasia for its Canadian Premiere! Starring the amazing newcomer Danielle Macdonald in the lead role of Patricia Dumbrowski, a.k.a. Killa P, a.k.a. Patti Cake$, this is a first feature film from acclaimed music video director Geremy Jasper. Reminiscent of films like LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, 8 MILE, and 2016 Fantasia discovery SOME FREAKS, PATTI CAKE$ is a brilliant cult classic in the making; an empowering outsider story told with unparalleled heart and conviction. Canadian Premiere.
Following a mysterious car crash, a man with no memory of his past becomes inexplicably lethal to anyone in his path. His bizarre death force only appears to be neutralized when in the very close vicinity of Jane, a woman who suffers a similarly clouded memory. Together, they’ll try to recall their past and understand the tie that that seems to bind them. But they can’t ever be more than 50 feet apart or people will die. Directed by SANS DESSEIN filmmakers Caroline Labrèche and Steeve Léonard, RADIUS is the latest project seeing the light because of Frontières, Fantasia’s international co-production market. It’s our pleasure to present the World Premiere of this unique Quebec-made genre work. Directors in Attendance.
Beloved director Takashi Miike (AUDITION, ICHI THE KILLER) may have received a Lifetime Achievement Award at last year’s edition of Fantasia, but he won’t stop delivering over the top crowd pleasers! Reteaming with screenwriter Kankuro Kudo, who also directed last year’s Audience Award winner TOO YOUNG TO DIE!, Miike delivers a crazier and funnier sequel to THE MOLE SONG: SECRET AGENT REIJI loaded with unambiguous sex jokes, strange action scenes, crotch injuries and gorgeous set pieces. Actor Toma Ikuta (THE TOP SECRET: MURDER IN MIND) delivers an incredible physical performance in the role of the libidinous mole Reiji who is now tracked down by the police, the yakuza boss he work for, and a lethal Chinese gang. Miike is back in all his mischievous glory with the Canadian Premiere of THE MOLE SONG: HONG KONG CAPRICCIO!
During one of his many Asian adventures, Patrick (François Arnaud), a visual artist who specializes in Chinese art, encounters a mysterious man who makes him discover his latent gift for time travel. Stunningly directed and compellingly intimate, ORIGAMI is a UFO on the landscape of Quebec cinema that succeeds in applying sci-fi genre markers to a primarily human story. World Premiere. Directors in Attendance.
Fantasia will be presenting the World Premieres of Jenna Cavelle’s BLOOD HEIST – about DIY filmmakers who simultaneously commit a star-crossed armed robbery and shoot a vérité film of it – and Melanie Aitkenhead’s BLOOD RIDE – which depicts the violence and avenging of a ferocious female biker gang lead by Pollyanna McIntosh – as a special rip-roaring indie double bill. Both femme-made, revivalist – nay, revisionist – exploitation films were spearheaded by producer/co-star James Franco and producers Vince Jolivette (SPRING BREAKERS) and Jay Davis. Get ready for blood… and more blood! World Premieres.
After slaying Sundance at its debut and knocking out Cannes (where it had its European Premiere in Director’s Fortnight), BUSHWICK will be making its first Canadian stand at Fantasia 2017! The couldn’t-be-more-timely sophomore feature from directors Cary Murnion and Jonathan Milott (Fantasia 2015’s COOTIES) sees Bushwick, New York erupt into a war zone as Southern nationalist militia forces attack the city. Starring Dave Bautista and Brittany Snow, BUSHWICK almost never stops moving, as Murnion and Milott employ long, fluid takes (shot on real Brooklyn locations) that follow its characters from one hoped-for sanctuary to the next, punctuated by bursts of startling, caught-on-the-fly violence. Canadian Premiere.
To reward himself for his new teaching gig in Sapporo, 29-year-old Manabu decides to celebrate New Year’s Eve with a little treat at a local sex club. On the verge of… climaxing, he’s struck by a brain hemorrhage and ends up buck naked at the hospital surrounded by his worried family who want to know how this happened. Based on the autobiographical manga from Manabu Nakagawa, ALMOST COMING, ALMOST DYING is a funny and endearing independent film from first time filmmaker Toshimasa Kobayashi. With its witty dialogues delivering family interactions worthy of WHAT A WONDERFUL FAMILY! and its creepy bat-wielding giant teddy bear (?!?), Kobayashi perfectly transposes the blend of everyday life situations and weird creativity that made Nakagawa’s manga so popular. International Premiere.
As part of the closing night events, Fantasia will be showcasing the first public screening of Synapse Films’ long anticipated 4K restoration of Dario Argento’s SUSPIRIA, just in time for its 40th anniversary. A Grand Guignol fairy tale from the darkest recesses of creative brilliance, SUSPIRIA remains one of the most visually and sonically breathtaking genre works in the history of film, its complex aesthetics all but impossible to reproduce with accuracy on any non-Technicolor – let alone non-photochemical – medium to date. For the past three years, Synapse Films have been working on the definitive restoration of Argento’s masterpiece, with the full cooperation, supervision and approval of its celebrated cinematographer Luciano Tovoli, who spared no effort to accurately reproduce the film’s original IB Technicolor visuals. With all the love and obsession that this extraordinary film commands, SUSPIRIA has been restored from the fully uncut, original 35mm Italian camera negative and will be presented with the legendary 4.0 discrete sound mix not heard since its 1977 theatrical release.
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Actress Kristen Bell Records New Song “Tell Me How Long” for CHASING CORAL
Actress and singer Kristen Bell has recorded a new song “Tell Me How Long” for the upcoming original documentary Chasing Coral, directed by Jeff Orlowski. Written by Dan Romer and Teddy Geiger, the song is a rousing plea about the climate crisis and the devastating phenomenon silently raging underwater – the global bleaching of coral reefs.
“I was moved and inspired by Chasing Coral and its message of hope for our planet’s future,” said Kristen Bell. “I feel a responsibility to care for the Earth in whatever way I can and I was honored to lend my voice to the original song. As we strive to make a better world for our children, I hope this film will ignite real action in advancing climate solutions in our global communities.”
Romer’s previous film scores include the Oscar-nominated Beasts of the Southern Wild, Gleason, Finders Keepers, and the Emmy-winning Jim: The James Foley Story. “Tell Me How Long” co-writer Teddy Geiger is a singer-songwriter and producer, known for his compositions “Stitches”, “Treat You Better”, “Mercy”, and “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back”.
Orlowski’s previous film, Chasing Ice, received an Academy Award-nomination for Best Original Song for “Before My Time”, written by J. Ralph and performed by Scarlett Johansson and Joshua Bell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6fHA9R2cKI
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UK Premiere of TASTE OF CEMENT to open London’s Open City Documentary Festival
Taste Of Cement, Ziad Kalthoum’s highly-acclaimed portrait of exiled Syrian construction workers building a skyscraper in Beirut while at the same time their own homes are being shelled, will open London’s Open City Documentary Festival. The film will receive its UK Premiere on Tuesday September 5, 2017, at Picturehouse Central.
Open City Documentary Festival champions new voices in non-fiction storytelling and the program offers a chance to see the best in contemporary, international documentary as well as filmmaker Q&As, industry panels, workshops, networking and parties. The 7th Open City Documentary Festival takes place over six days in venues across London from 5 September to 10 September 2017.
Michael Stewart, Founder of Open City Docs, said: “We are delighted to open this year’s festival with the beautiful, poignant Taste Of Cement. At Open City our aim is to create an open space to nurture and champion the most innovative and creative documentary filmmakers from across the globe and Ziad Kalthoum’s mesmerizing film epitomizes this perfectly.”
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Actress Annette Bening Named Jury President of Venice International Film Festival
Annette Bening (photo Jon Rou/Loyola Marymount University) Actress Annette Bening will be the president of the International Jury of the Competition at the 74th Venice International Film Festival taking place August 30 to September 9, 2017, which will assign the Golden Lion for best film, as well as other official awards.
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Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Announces 2017 Winners of Works in Progress and Eurimages Lab Project Awards
[caption id="attachment_22978" align="aligncenter" width="824"]
Censor (Cenzorka)[/caption]
The Slovakian film Censor (Cenzorka), directed by Peter Kerekes and written by Ivan Ostrochovský, is the winner of the Works in Progress Award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The film received the award for “its original and vivid human portrait of a lonely woman.”
In the film, Irina Alexandrovna works as a censor in an Odessa prison. The inspection of letters is required by law in order to prevent the continuation of criminal activity. But the real criminals use smartphones, and old-fashioned letters are only used for declarations of love. So Irina spends eight hours a day in her office reading love letters. Through her, we follow various love affairs that only she can observe. Although she sees how women being used, and how the relationships end in disaster for them, she cannot take any action. Our heroine is a single woman and after twelve years of reading love letters full of the lies men tell, she is not capable of any relationship. If a guy on a date says “You are special,” she feels sick. But of course even she dreams of love.
The film, also produced by Peter Kerekes, is based on real situations and real characters and involved in-depth research conducted by the filmmakers at numerous prisons. The script was distilled from these materials, stories and characters. The plot follows the tragicomic micro-love stories between jailed men and women on the outside, as seen through the main protagonist. The film was shot with actors and non-actors (prisoners and ex-prisoners), mostly in a real setting, a real prison. The film’s expected premiere is in 2018.
The Stand-In (La Controfigura), directed and written by Rä di Martino was awarded the Eurimages Lab Project Award for its “ironic visual experimental approach to innovative narrative and for being an intersection of art and film.”
In The Stand-In, a small crew has been traveling around Marrakech and its surroundings looking for swimming pool locations for the remake of an American movie in which a man crosses the county, pool by pool, to reach his home. The filmmakers rehearse the shots to find the path through the city and the pools that the main actor will run and swim through. As we watch his struggles to become more than just a stand-in figure, the real actors and film crew burst onto the scene on a set where nobody seems to be in the right place. A film in search of itself, looking for where the real film is.
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10 Films Selected for 2017 European Parliament LUX Film Prize | Trailers
[caption id="attachment_22969" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
SUMMER 1993[/caption]
The ten films selected for the 11th European Parliament’s LUX Film Prize were revealed on Sunday at the 52nd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
From the 10 films in the Official Selection, 3 entries will be selected and announced at the Venice Days press conference in Rome at the end of July 2017 as those taking part in the LUX Film Prize Competition. These films will compete to be the winner of the 2017 LUX Film Prize, and will become the core of the 2017 LUX Film Days.
The 2017 LUX Film Prize winner will be awarded on November 15 in Strasbourg.
The LUX FILM PRIZE Official Selection (in alphabetical order)
A CIAMBRA by Jonas Carpignano (Italy/Brazil/United States/France/Germany/Sweden)
BPM (BEATS PER MINUTE) by Robin Campillo (France)
GLORY by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov (Bulgaria/Greece)
HEARTSTONE by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson (Iceland/Denmark)
KING OF THE BELGIANS by Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth (Belgium/Netherlands/Bulgaria)
SÁMI BLOOD by Amanda Kernell (Sweden/Denmark/Norway)
SUMMER 1993 by Carla Simón (Spain)
THE LAST FAMILY by Jan P Matuszyński (Poland)
THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE by Aki Kaurismäki (Finland/Germany)
WESTERN by Valeska Grisebach (Germany/Bulgaria/Austria)
More about the 10 films…
SUMMER 1993 is an intimate, autobiographical study of how hard it can be to fit in; it portrays a child’s experience of learning to live with grief and harsh reality after she finds herself orphaned at just six years old.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAnezFuhUBs
HEARTSTONE tells the story of two teenagers from rural Iceland getting to grips with their own identity and sexuality, as well as with the delicate and cruel transition to adulthood.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9Tcw-_SrcA
A CIAMBRA traces the rite of passage to adulthood of a 14-year-old Roma boy living in the neighborhood of the same name in Calabria, a marginalized community described by journalists as a real ghetto.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cizugv2Y1AY
SÁMI BLOOD tells the vibrant tale of a young Lapp girl who dreams of a different life and distances herself from her community with great anguish because of the racist attitudes they have to face.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zpt2yf0nCM
BPM (BEATS PER MINUTE) follows a group of Act Up activists who fight to lend the AIDS problem more visibility in 1992 France and encourage faster progress to be made in terms of research and prevention.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fhO2A4SL24
WESTERN injects a story about German workers on a construction site for a hydroelectric power station in Bulgaria with ingredients from the cowboys-and-Indians classics, addressing the issues of economic immigration and integration.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8f8zHDwv_c
THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE weaves together the stories of two men who have both struck out in search of a new life: an old Finnish man who buys a restaurant and a young Syrian immigrant who struggles to find a safe haven in Europe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I5Tnaf28kk
GLORY follows a poor, middle-aged linesman for Bulgaria’s national railway company, who decides to hand piles of banknotes he finds on the rails one day in to the police, triggering a fight against corruption, as well as one for justice and dignity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeEs2_6-AXU
THE LAST FAMILY shows the lives of the family of Polish painter Zdzisław Beksiński, in what could be described as a compact version of a 28-year reality show, as he recorded most of his day-to-day life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfFt9RfO9Bc
KING OF THE BELGIANS follows a fictitious King of Belgium forced to come back from an official trip when Wallonia suddenly declares its independence, while a solar storm causes communications to collapse and airspace to shut down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG9vmzUIOSk
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Adrien Brody to Receive Locarno Festival’s 2017 Leopard Club Award
Academy Award-winning actor Adrien Brody will receive the 2017 Leopard Club Award at the 70th Locarno Festival.
Locarno’s salute to Adrien Brody will include a screening of the film The Pianist and a meeting of the actor with the Festival public. Brody will receive the tribute of the Piazza Grande audience and the Festival on Friday August 4th.
Named after the Association which supports the Festival, the Leopard Club Award pays homage to a major film personality whose work has made a lasting impact on the collective imagination. Recipients from previous editions include Faye Dunaway (2013), Mia Farrow (2014), Andy Garcia (2015) and Stefania Sandrelli (2016).
Carlo Chatrian, Artistic Director of the Locarno Festival: “With a richly varied and still flourishing career, Adrien Brody has worked with some of the great American directors, from Coppola to Wes Anderson, from Malick to Soderbergh, always displaying the adaptability and technical skills that put him at ease in a remarkable spectrum of performing registers. All the same, this is also a classic case of a single performance which won him a lasting place in movie-lovers’ hearts, not so much for the Academy Award it brought him, as for the way he brought to life a character who is both a man like all of us and the symbol of a tragedy which we must constantly recall.”
In bestowing the Leopard Club Award on Adrien Brody, the Locarno Festival will recognize one of the most brilliant figures in American film, an Academy Award winner at the age of only 29. Brody gained a lasting place in the collective imagination of the movie-going public when he played composer Wladyslaw Szpilman in The Pianist (2002), and has since demonstrated his status as one of the most versatile of actors, appreciated by filmmakers in Hollywood and beyond.
Born in New York City and son of Sylvia Plachy, an artist and acclaimed photographer, and Elliot Brody, a retired history professor, Brody was still a teenager when he made his acting debut in Francis Ford Coppola’s New York Stories (1989), before working with Steven Soderbergh (King of the Hill, 1993) and Oliver Stone (Natural Born Killers, 1994). Shortly after, in two unforgettable pictures, Adrien Brody became the pain-stricken human face in the most dehumanized of all settings: war. His performances in Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line (1998) and The Pianist by Roman Polanski won over audiences by the sheer power of expression, often wordless, with which he conveyed the sufferings of being a man amid the darkness of conflict.
In a career of nearly 30 years, Brody has been both popular and critically admired by his ability to interpret a remarkable variety of roles, always capturing the gaze and appreciation of audiences. He struck intimate, psychological and social notes in Ken Loach’s U.S. debut Bread and Roses (2000) and Detachment (2011) by Tony Kaye, and went brilliantly over the top for Spike Lee in Summer of Sam (1999). Undaunted by the pace and spectacular scale of King Kong (Peter Jackson, 2005) and Predators (Nimród Antal, 2010), he also found a sophisticated, carefree register for director Wes Anderson, with whom he played Peter Whitman in The Darjeeling Limited (2007) and Dmitri in The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). Other filmmakers with whom Brody has worked include Barry Levinson (Liberty Heights, 1999), Paul Haggis (Third Person, 2013) and Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris, 2011).
The 70th Locarno Festival will be held from August 2nd to 12th, 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAWhVP9YHYU
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2017 Marrakech International Film Festival CANCELLED, Festival to Resume in 2018
The Foundation of the Marrakech International Film Festival (FIFM) that organizes the Marrakech International Film Festival has decided to cancel 2017 edition of the festival, and resume in 2018.
In a statement, Sarim Fassi Fihri, vice president of the Marrakech International Film Festival said “The reflection on the future of the festival began a year ago, and our goal is to make it evolve and to better respond to the Moroccan and world audience with the digital tools and means of the 21st century, but also to meet expectations Of Moroccan professionals ”
Image via Facebook
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VIDEO: Watch Trailer for Award-Winning Indie Film SOME FREAKS, in Theaters on August 4
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SOME FREAKS[/caption]
The award winning indie film Some Freaks starring Thomas Mann (ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL) and breakout Lily Mae Harrington (“The Glee Project”) will open in theaters and On Demand on August 4, 2017.
Some Freaks, written by, and the directorial debut of Ian MacAllister-McDonald, follows one-eyed high school senior Matt (Thomas Mann) who meets plus size Jill (Lily Mae Harrington) and falls more in love than he ever thought possible. However, when graduation comes and Jill moves cross-country to go to college, she undergoes a major physical transformation – much to Matt’s surprise when he arrives to visit her. While Matt struggles to accept Jill’s new look, Jill begins to question whether Matt is really the man she thought she knew. As the distance widens between them, the characters are forced to confront who they are, who they were, and who everyone thinks they’re supposed to be.
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CONTACT DANCE EVERY BODY Wins Gold Jury Award at Contact Dance International Film Festival
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Contact Dance Every Body by Olya Glotka[/caption]
Contact Dance Every Body by Olya Glotka danced away with the Gold Jury Award at the Contact Dance International Film Festival (CDIFF). The film features StopGap Foundation founder Luke Anderson as he dances using his wheelchair to gracefully lift his dance partner Laura Storey as they intertwine tenderly in the galleries of the Art Gallery of Ontario. Olya Glotka is a young, self-made filmmaker who is in search of ways to empower people and make the world a better place through the power of filmmaking and dance.
Parcon NYC #1: Subway Stops won the Silver Jury Award, filmed by Satoko Sugiyama, Martin Henson, and Parcon NYC. Capturing the story of an everyday subway ride home for a Latinx girl from the Bronx, the environment around her comes alive with dancers performing a genre that fuses parkour with contact dance improvisation called parcon.
Martin Henson and Satoko Sugiyama are independent filmmakers with hundreds of films and television commercials to their name. Parcon NYC is a collective of artists, movers and healers dedicated to inclusion and investigating human connection with others and place through weight sharing, balance and touch.
The Bronze Jury Award was awarded to Wake Me Up, a short film by Celine Poon. The film started as a school project at the International Baccalaureate school, Fairview International School in Kuala Lumpur after two young girls, Sonia and Leila, discovered contact dance improvisation. The result is a delightful and honest portrayal of friendship that is the epitome of contact dance improvisation all levels approach.
The CDIFF finishes up its third season today with a post-festival film workshop with Gold Jury award-winning filmmaker Olya Glotka and guests making dance films in various locations in High Park.
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Justine Skye, Tyler Dean Flores and Seann William Scott to Star, Keanu Reeves to Exec Produce GREEN DOLPHIN
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Justine Skye, Tyler Dean Flores and Seann William Scott[/caption]
Justine Skye, Tyler Dean Flores and Seann William Scott will lead the cast of Green Dolphin, written and directed by Chris Kenneally. The film is produced by Russell Geyser of RainMaker Films, Jordan Yale Levine and Jordan Beckerman of Yale Productions, and Shruti Ganguly of Honto88. Keanu Reeves and Clay Pecorin serve as Executive Producers.
A dramatic coming-of-age road movie, Green Dolphin follows 15 year old Robinson (Tyler Dean Flores) and 20 year old Keesha (Justine Skye) as they venture cross-country in an attempt to escape the grasp of abusive foster parent and drug-dealer Martin (Seann William Scott). When they breakdown midway, Keesha and Robinson discover a new family that could turn their life around.
The film marks the narrative feature debut for writer/director Chris Kenneally. Kenneally previously directed the acclaimed feature documentary Side by Side, which featured interviews with iconic directors including Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, David Lynch and Richard Linklater. Keanu Reeves produced and narrated the film; Green Dolphin marks Reeves and Kenneally’s second collaboration.
Green Dolphin marks the feature film debut for rapidly rising R&B singer/songwriter Justine Skye. Signed to Roc Nation Records, Skye’s latest EP 8 Ounces combines the legendary songwriting skills of The Dream, award winning production of Tricky Stewart and Justine’s raw emotion and talent. Justine Skye is currently working on her debut album.
Lead actor Tyler Dean Flores previously appeared in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises and in television series including Blindspot and Chicago Fire. Seann William Scott has starred in many iconic hit films including Role Models, The Rundown, Old School, T, the critically acclaimed Goon and the billion dollar comedy American Pie franchise. Scott will next be seen starring in the sequel Goon 2: Last of the Enforcers, coming out this September.
“I could not be more pleased to have Justine and Tyler on board to bring our central characters Keesha and Robinson to life on film,” commented Kenneally. “They are remarkably gifted rising talents, and I can’t wait to see them work opposite Seann William Scott, whose challenging role allows him to show off his dramatic chops.”
Executive Producer Keanu Reeves added, “Chris and I first started discussing the concept for Green Dolphin when we worked together on Side by Side. This a true passion project for me and Chris and we’re so thrilled to get started on production.”
Justine Skye is represented by SupaNova Management and MBK Entertainment. Tyler Dean Flores is represented by CESD. Seann William Scott Scott is represented by ICM Partners, 3 Arts, and legal firm Sloane, Offer, Weber, and Dern.
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Russian Film LOVELESS Wins Best International Film at Munich Film Festival
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Loveless[/caption]
The Russian film “Loveless” by Andrey Zvyagintsev won the ARRI / OSRAM Award for best international film, at the Munich Film Festival. “Loveless” tells the story of Boris and Zhenya, going through a cruel divorce full of hatred and mutual accusations. Both have already have found new partners and both want as quickly as possible to leave the past behind. The past includes their son Alyosha, who suddenly disappears without a trace. “Loveless” won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. A special mention was given to the Belgian film “Home” directed by Fien Troch.
The CineVision Award for the best international junior film was won by The Nothing Factory (A Fábrica de Nada) directed by Pedro Pinho. The jury commented “The film tells the story of a group factory workers who lose their jobs, but refuse to give up. The story is told in a very emphatic way, played and filmed, but to want without arousing cheap pity. The film provides no easy answers, but forces us thinking itself. It is a startling and highly entertaining form of agitprop for the 21st century.” A special mention was awarded to “Los Perros” by the Chilean director Marcela Said.
“Blind & Ugly” by Tom Lass won the FIPRESCI Prize 2017. The jury praised the balanced mix of drama, comedy and romance, as well as the successful occupation.
The audience prize went to the film “Still Young” by David Schlichter and Fabian Halbig. The film portrays the story of four boys from Dillingen who met each other at school and wanted to play German rock: the band Killerpilze.
The Children’s Film Festival Audience Award this year went to the team of directors Jakob Schuh, Jan Lachauer and Bin Han To for their animated film “Once Upon a Time … by Roald Dahl” ( “Revolting Rhymes“), co-produced by BBC and ZDF.
ONE FUTURE PRIZE is awarded to the Italian film Pure Hearts (Cuori Puri) . The jury justified its decision by saying, “. Roberto de Paolis complex debut film opened an intelligent and very touching look at the socio-political problems of contemporary Italy First seemingly only a love story about two young people from very different social backgrounds, taking the 1980 in Rome born director refugee issues increasingly into focus. “