A Fantastic Woman (Una Mujer Fantástica)[/caption]
The Stockholm International Film Festival today revealed the first six titles in the Fall program lineup. The 28th edition of the festival takes place November 8 to 19, 2017
A Fantastic Woman by Sebastian Lelio
The film, which depicts love and battle with great visual confidence, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, where it was awarded three times. Maren Ade, who directed the celebrated movie “Toni Erdmann”, is a co-producer of the film that challenges the audience in the best possible way.
Wasted! The Story of Food Waste by Anna Chai, Nari Kye
Every year, a third of all food is thrown away before it even reaches consumers. The directors Anna Chai and Nari Kye want to change this behaviour with this strong, educational and hopeful documentary.
Amant Double by François Ozon
After the critically acclaimed drama “Frantz”, director François Ozon is back with an erotic thriller. The film had its world premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the prestigious prize La Palme D’or.
Insyriated by Philippe Van Leeuw
“Insyriated” is a strong depiction of how a family caught in an apartment tries to endure another day in the Syrian war. The film blew the crowd away during Berlin film festival earlier this year and was awarded the Panorama Audience Award.
Mr. Long by Sabu
“Mr. Long “depicts the hard-boiled anti-hero from a new angle. With a unique blend of drama, humour and cooking, the film was nominated for the award for best film at the Berlin Film Festival.
This is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous by Barbara Kopple
The documentary “This is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous” is a moving film about the transwoman Gigi Gorgeous’ gender transitioning followed by thousands of fans on YouTube. The director Kopple has previously been awarded with two Oscar awards.
During the Fall, the following acclaimed films will be previewed for the film festival’s members:
On Body and Soul by Ildikó Enyedi (Golden Bear in Berlin)
120 BPM by Robin Campillo (Grand Prix in Cannes)
The Beguiled by Sofia Coppola (Best Director in Cannes)
The Nile Hilton Incident by Tarik Saleh (Grand Jury Price in Sundance)-
A FANTASTIC WOMAN, INSYRIATED, MR LONG Among First 6 Films Revealed for Stockholm International Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_20524" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] A Fantastic Woman (Una Mujer Fantástica)[/caption]
The Stockholm International Film Festival today revealed the first six titles in the Fall program lineup. The 28th edition of the festival takes place November 8 to 19, 2017
A Fantastic Woman by Sebastian Lelio
The film, which depicts love and battle with great visual confidence, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, where it was awarded three times. Maren Ade, who directed the celebrated movie “Toni Erdmann”, is a co-producer of the film that challenges the audience in the best possible way.
Wasted! The Story of Food Waste by Anna Chai, Nari Kye
Every year, a third of all food is thrown away before it even reaches consumers. The directors Anna Chai and Nari Kye want to change this behaviour with this strong, educational and hopeful documentary.
Amant Double by François Ozon
After the critically acclaimed drama “Frantz”, director François Ozon is back with an erotic thriller. The film had its world premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the prestigious prize La Palme D’or.
Insyriated by Philippe Van Leeuw
“Insyriated” is a strong depiction of how a family caught in an apartment tries to endure another day in the Syrian war. The film blew the crowd away during Berlin film festival earlier this year and was awarded the Panorama Audience Award.
Mr. Long by Sabu
“Mr. Long “depicts the hard-boiled anti-hero from a new angle. With a unique blend of drama, humour and cooking, the film was nominated for the award for best film at the Berlin Film Festival.
This is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous by Barbara Kopple
The documentary “This is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous” is a moving film about the transwoman Gigi Gorgeous’ gender transitioning followed by thousands of fans on YouTube. The director Kopple has previously been awarded with two Oscar awards.
During the Fall, the following acclaimed films will be previewed for the film festival’s members:
On Body and Soul by Ildikó Enyedi (Golden Bear in Berlin)
120 BPM by Robin Campillo (Grand Prix in Cannes)
The Beguiled by Sofia Coppola (Best Director in Cannes)
The Nile Hilton Incident by Tarik Saleh (Grand Jury Price in Sundance)
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Sneak Preview of 2017 Rome Film Fest – David Lynch Honored, Steve Soderbergh’s LUCKY LOGAN and More
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Logan Lucky[/caption]
The Artistic Director Antonio Monda today offered a preview of the 12th Rome Film Fest, which will take place from October 26th to November 5th 2017 at the Auditorium Parco della Musica, extending, like last year, even further into the Italian capital. The complete lineup will be announced on Tuesday October 10th.
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
Like every year, ample space will be devoted to the Close Encounters (onstage conversations) with directors, actors and leading cultural figures.
David Lynch | Lifetime Achievement Award
Forty years after the release of his first feature-length film Eraserhead, the Rome Film Fest celebrates the genius of David Lynch with its Lifetime Achievement Award. The American filmmaker, who redefined contemporary cinema with his visionary oneiric style, will meet the audience and go through his extraordinary career from The Elephant Man to Mulholland Drive, from Blue Velvet to Inland Empire to the cult television series Twin Peaks. Lynch will discuss the three films that had the greatest influence on his career, including Federico Fellini’s 8½.
Ian McKellen
An extraordinary Shakespearean actor, winner of a Golden Globe and two Tony Awards, twice nominated for the Academy Award®, Ian McKellen will be the protagonist of a Close Encounter during the Rome Film Fest. The English actor rose to worldwide fame as Magneto in the “X-Men” film saga, and as Gandalf in the “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies. Ian McKellen will share with the audience his deep love for cinema and, in particular, for the comic genius of Jacques Tati.
Xavier Dolan
Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival for Mommy and of the 2016 Grand Prix for It’s Only the End of the World, at the young age of twenty-eight Xavier Dolan is already considered one of the most original and charismatic filmmakers of his generation. The young Canadian director will attend an onstage conversation and will talk about his career as an all-around artist, director and screenwriter of six hit feature-films and two music videos (including “Hello” for Adele), and as a highly regarded film and television actor.
Chuck Palahniuk
A surreal, non-conventional and controversial cult writer, Chuck Palahniuk won international acclaim for his first novel “Fight Club”, which became a world-wide best-seller following its remarkable film adaptation by David Fincher. The Close Encounter with Palahniuk will be called “American Gothic”: the novelist will talk about the horror films that have thrilled and unsettled him most.
Vanessa Redgrave
With a fifty-year career, Vanessa Redgrave is considered one of the greatest living actresses, having worked with great directors such as Michelangelo Antonioni (Blow-Up made her an international star), Fred Zinnemann (his film Julia won her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress), Sidney Lumet, James Ivory and Brian de Palma, among others.
OFFICIAL SELECTION
The official selection of the 12th Rome Film Fest will comprise about 35 feature-length films, including:
Logan Lucky by Steve Soderbergh
Following his incursion into the world of television series with the perturbing Gothic atmospheres of The Knick, Steven Soderbergh returns to the silver screen with Logan Lucky, an epic film that evokes the mood of the “Ocean” trilogy. In his new film, the director and winner of an Academy Award® for Traffic, the filmmaker of celebrated productions ranging from Sex, Lies and Videotape to Magic Mike, narrates a risky and elaborate robbery that takes place during the famous adrenalin-fuelled Nascar races. The star-studded cast features Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Riley Keough, Daniel Craig, Seth MacFarlane, Katie Holmes, Hilary Swank, Katherine Waterston and Sebastian Stan.
SPECIAL EVENT
NYsferatu by Andrea Mastrovito | with the “Luigi Boccherini” Orchestra from Lucca
The Rome Film Fest 2017 will host a special event combining cinema and music: the screening of the film NYsferatu by Andrea Mastrovito accompanied live by the “Luigi Boccherini” Orchestra from Lucca. The Italian artist, who lives and works in New York, has completed a hand-drawn version of one of the masterpieces of silent film, Nosferatu, the 1922 cult classic by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau. The result, which required an extraordinary production effort with three years of work and around thirty-thousand drawings, is an animation film set in a dark and mysterious contemporary New York, rife with racial tension against immigrants.
RETROSPECTIVE
“The Italian School” is the title of the retrospective curated by Mario Sesti, which will take place during the twelfth edition of the Rome Film Fest. Organized in collaboration with the Istituto Luce Cinecittà and the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, “The Italian School” was conceived to spotlight and explore the fundamental, but often lesser-known, work of some of the great professionals – from cinematographers to editors, from set designers to costume designers – who have played such an important role in the history of Italian cinema, without forgetting their contribution to the films of great international directors.
FILM RESTORATIONS
Three newly-restored great Italian films will be featured in the lineup of the Rome Film Fest: Dillinger è morto by Marco Ferreri, Miseria e nobiltà by Mario Mattoli (both in collaboration with the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia) and Sacco e Vanzetti by Giuliano Montaldo (with the Istituto Luce Cinecittà).
INSTALLATION
Contemporary art will be front and centre at the Rome Film Fest with an installation stemming from the creativity and interaction between six artists, six writers and six directors. The works of Piero Pizzi Cannella, Hidetoshi Nagasawa, Roberto Pietrosanti, Marina Sagona, Giuseppe Salvatori and Marco Tirelli engage with the words of Edoardo Albinati, Claudio Damiani, Jhumpa Lahiri, Marco Lodoli, Aurelio Picca and Elena Stancanelli. The narration that ensues becomes moving image in the six short films by young directors that will be screened in the Auditorium. The work was conceived by Simona Marchini for the Associazione Culturale Palatina, with the consultancy of the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia.
THE ROLE OF FILM CRITICISM
Following last year’s success, the Rome Film Fest will continue to discuss the role of international film criticism with some of the finest critics from around the world, such as, A.O.Scott (The New York Times) and Justin Chang (Los Angeles Times). Film historian Annette Insdorf will join the panel.
THE FILMS OF OUR LIVES: MUSICALS
Like every year, the Artistic Director and the members of the Selection Committee will present the films that influenced their passion for the seventh art. After last year’s Westerns, the choice for this year’s twelfth edition will be Musicals. Each film will be accompanied by an onstage conversation with directors, actors and guests. Furthermore, before each screening at the upcoming Rome Film Fest, spectators will enjoy short clips of some of the most famous and evocative musicals.
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THE BIG SICK and MONKEY BUSINESS Win Top Awards at Nantucket Film Festival
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The Big Sick[/caption]
The Big Sick, written by Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani and based on their real-life, cross-cultural relationship, and directed by Michael Showalter, was awarded Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 22nd annual Nantucket Film Festival. The atmospheric Native American reservation-set mystery Wind River, written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, is runner up.
Monkey Business: The Curious Adventures of George’s Creators, directed by Ema Ryan Yamazaki is the winner of theAudience Award for Best Documentary Feature, and Joe Kean’s Holocaust-focused After Auschwitz: The Stories of Six Women is the runner up. Maximilien Van Aertryck and Axel Danielson’s study of human vulnerability, Ten Meter Tower, is the winner of the Audience Award for Best Short film, and Tom Scott and Dan Honan’s inspirational portrait, The Illumination, is the runner-up.
NFF also announced the winner of the Adrienne Shelly Foundation Excellence in Filmmaking Award, a $5,000 grant to an emerging female filmmaker in honor of writer, director, and actor Adrienne Shelly and her contributions to film. This year’s recipient is Alexandra Dean, director of Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, which focuses on the Hollywood star’s groundbreaking but under-acknowledged work as an inventor.
In the Showtime Tony Cox Screenplay Competition, which recognizes the best-unproduced screenplays and television pilots by emerging writers, Moon Molson’s Johnny Ace received the top prize as the winner of the Feature Screenplay Competition. The Episodic Screenplay nods went to Tesia Walker’s for The Line and to Kaitlin Fontana for Casey Can’t. The Short Screenplay Competition was won by Rajiv Shah, with Jesse Wang and Robert Berg for The Yao Of Tao.
Moon Molson’s Johnny Ace follows two Houston homicide detectives as they investigate the seemingly accidental death of a popular R&B singer in 1954. Molson received a $5000 cash prize, VIP access to this year’s Festival, a bound copy of his script, and an exclusive spot in the Screenwriters Colony writers retreat on Nantucket for the entire month of October.
The Showtime Tony Cox Award for Episodic 60 Minute Pilot, The Line by Tesia Walker, is set in a small South Carolina historically black university, in the early 1960s. Walker received a $1000 cash prize, as well as a consultation with a Showtime executive.
The Half-Hour Episodic Screenplay winner, Casey Can’t by Kaitlin Fontana, is a dark comedy that tells the story of a flawed writer being blackmailed into managing a hipster music blog by its man-child owner. Fontana receives a $1000 cash prize, a consultation with a Showtime executive, and one of only four slots in the Screenwriters Colony: Episodic Comedy, a two-week immersive writing and mentorship program on Nantucket earlier this month.
The Short Screenplay Competition winner, The Yao Of Tao by Rajiv Shah, with Jesse Wang and Robert Berg, follows a Chinese caregiver for a Isaac, a dying cancer patient as he finds himself at odds with Isaac’s estranged daughter. Shah receives a $500 cash prize.
The Festival’s Teen View Jury Award, selected by a group of Nantucket junior high school students, went to Game, written and directed by Jeannie Donohoe.
“We were thrilled to present Nantucket audiences with a diverse offering of films and special events celebrating the craft of screenwriting and storytelling,” said Mystelle Brabbee, Executive Director of the Nantucket Film Festival and Basil Tsiokos, Film Program Director of the Nantucket Film Festival. “We are thankful to our audiences and to all of the screenwriters and filmmakers who shared their work with us this year.”
Actor, writer, director, producer and NFF Board Member Ben Stiller hosted the Screenwriters Tribute Awards from the Siaconset Casino on Friday, June 23rd. Director and Academy Award®-winning screenwriter Tom McCarthy accepted the Screenwriting Tribute Award, given to him by Emmy Award®-winning actor Bobby Cannavale.
Ground-breaking television creators and Emmy®-nominated writing team Jeffrey Klarik and David Crane (“Friends,” “Mad About You,” “Episodes”) received the Creative Impact in Television Writing Award, presented to them by “Episodes” actress Kathleen Rose Perkins. Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield (NFF Centerpiece Film (Whitney. “can I be me”) accepted the A&E Special Achievement in Documentary Storytelling Award, presented to him by journalist Regina Weinreich, while the New Voices in Screenwriting Award was presented to Geremy Jasper (NFF Spotlight Film Patti Cake$) by comedian, actress, and performer Bridget Everett.
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New Trailer + Poster + Images for French Musical Comedy FOOTNOTES
Footnotes, the French whimsical musical comedy has released a new trailer and poster. The film directed by Paul Calori and Kostia Testut, and starring Pauline Etienne, Olivier Chantreau, François Morel, Loïc Corbery and Julie Victor, opens in New York on Friday, July 14th at the Village East Cinema with a national release to follow.
Inspired by the films of Jacques Demy and Stanley Donen, Footnotes is a whimsical and original musical comedy about Julie, a young woman struggling to make ends meet in France’s radically changing economy. Living out of a backpack, Julie spends her days jumping from job to job until she’s finally offered a temporary stockroom position at a women’s luxury shoe factory. After making friends with the boss’s spunky receptionist Sophie and the ever-charming factory truck driver Samy, Julie thinks the hard times are behind her. But Julie’s dreams of stability collapse when management threatens to close down the factory. As her intrepid group of female colleagues get together to go on strike, Samy and the other truck drivers decide to side with the company’s scheming CEO. Julie must choose whether to keep a low profile (and a shot at permanent employment) or to resist and fight back on the picket line.
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New York Latino Film Festival is Back, Sets Date of October 11-15
The New York Latino Film Festival (NYLFF), presented by HBO, will make its much-anticipated return to the Big Apple October 11-15, 2017. Unveiling a new Logo and website, founder Calixto Chinchilla announced today that submissions for the 13th edition of the iconic film festival are now being accepted through August 4, 2017.
The premier marketplace for Latino films in the U.S., the NYLFF will once again showcase a diverse slate, spanning all genres and formats including features, shorts, documentaries and experimental films featuring, about and/or for the U.S. Latino community. Submission forms and complete information regarding eligibility for the 2017 NYLFF are available at www.NYLatinoFilmFestival.com.
“It’s a remarkable honor to announce the reemergence of the NYLFF to New York City, during a moment where content distribution is taking on this innovative expansion. Our event is about galvanizing and empowering community. It is incredible to have such a strong supporter in HBO, our founding partner, and Time Warner, who have been an integral part through every step of this continuing journey,” said Chinchilla.
“We have been eagerly awaiting the rebirth of the NYLFF. The importance of Latino voices in our industry is evident to anyone watching television, going to the movies, listening to music, or just walking and breathing in this country,” said Dennis Williams, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Social Responsibility, HBO. “As a founding partner of the NYLFF, we are once again lending our support as presenting sponsor to what we believe is one of the most groundbreaking Latino film festivals in the United States.”
To be considered, all projects must have been completed by deadline of August 4, 2017. Projects in a language other than English must have English-language subtitles. Films cannot have been broadcast (television or Internet) or distributed commercially in the U.S. prior to the festival. Exceptions may be granted for short films and documentaries.
New York agency sociedAD led the rebranding efforts, including the creation of the Festival’s new logo. The website was created in partnership with Gala Festival Engine.
Since its inception in 1999, each year the NYLFF brings together more than 20,000 movie fans and industry executives over the course of several days.
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2017 Palm Springs International ShortFest Announces Winners, FACING MECCA Wins Best Of Festival Award
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Facing Mecca[/caption]
The 2017 Palm Springs International ShortFest announced its Festival award winners on Sunday, June 25, 2017, with Swiss film Facing Mecca directed by Jan-Eric Mack winning the prize for the Best of Festival Award.
“After spending a week in and out of theaters, and talking with filmmakers and audiences, we close out the festival with such a strong sense of community,” said Festival Director Lili Rodriguez. “Filmmakers are making movies about the changing world around them. I think our award winners showcase an understanding and compassion for people and it’s a great thing to see.”
The 2017 Palm Springs International ShortFest award winners are:
JURY AWARDS
BEST OF FESTIVAL AWARD – Winner received $5,000 cash prize courtesy of the Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau. The winner of this award may be eligible to submit their film to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Oscar® consideration. Facing Mecca (Switzerland), Jan-Eric Mack Pensioner Roli comes to Fareed’s assistance when the Syrian refugee is faced with a bewildering forest of Swiss bureaucracy before he can bury his Muslim wife. GRAND JURY AWARD – Winner received a $2,000 cash prize. The Head Vanishes (France/Canada), Franck Dion Jacqueline, no longer quite in her right mind, still goes on her annual summer trip. This year, she’s followed by some woman who claims to be her daughter. PANAVISION BEST NORTH AMERICAN SHORT – The use of a camera package valued at $60,000 courtesy of Panavision. Dekalb Elementary (USA), Reed Van Dyk Inspired by an actual 911 call placed during a school shooting incident in Atlanta, Georgia. NON-STUDENT COMPETITION AWARDS All first place winners in the non-student categories received a cash award of $2,000 and may be eligible to submit their film to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for Oscar® consideration. BEST ANIMATED SHORT The Head Vanishes (France/Canada), Franck Dion Jacqueline, no longer quite in her right mind, still goes on her annual summer trip. This year, she’s followed by some woman who claims to be her daughter. BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT OVER 15 MINUTES Retouch (Iran), Kaveh Mazaheri Maryam’s husband does weightlifting at home. When a weight falls on his throat and puts him near death, Maryam makes a decision. BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT 15 MINUTES AND UNDER Great Choice (USA), Robin Comisar A woman gets stuck in a Red Lobster commercial. BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT Edith + Eddie (USA), Laura Checkoway Ninety-something Edith and Eddie are America’s oldest interracial newlyweds, whose unusual and idyllic love story is disrupted by a family feud that threatens to tear them apart.STUDENT COMPETITION AWARDS
FUTURE FILMMAKER AWARD – Winner received a $2,000 cash prize. Where You Found Refuge (France), Guillaume Legrand After Didier finds his daughter living in a cult, he decides to bring her home by force. Special Mention: Fry Day (USA), Laura Moss An adolescent girl comes of age against the backdrop of serial killer Ted Bundy’s execution in 1989. All first place winners in these categories received a $500 cash prize. BEST STUDENT ANIMATION Sog (Germany), Jonatan Schwenk After a flood, the fish are stuck in trees, in danger of drying out. They scream sharply, disturbing the inhabitants of a nearby cave. BEST STUDENT LIVE ACTION SHORT OVER 15 MINUTES Facing Mecca (Switzerland), Jan-Eric Mack Pensioner Roli comes to Fareed’s assistance when the Syrian refugee is faced with a bewildering forest of Swiss bureaucracy before he can bury his Muslim wife. BEST STUDENT LIVE ACTION SHORT 15 MINUTES AND UNDER Iron Hands (USA/China), Johnson Cheng A 12-year old girl tries out for the traditionally all-boys’ Chinese youth Olympic weightlifting team. And makes an unlikely connection with the weightlifting gym’s reclusive groundskeeper. BEST STUDENT DOCUMENTARY SHORT Searching for Wives (Singapore), Zuki Juno Tobgye Male migrant workers from South India living in Singapore send photos back home in the hope of finding suitable and willing marriage partners. Special Jury Mention: I Made You, I Kill You (Romania/France), Alexandru Petru Badelita In a remarkable cinematic diary, by turns touching and disturbing, Badelita looks back at his traumatic childhood growing up in rural Romania.AUDIENCE AWARDS
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT Red Light (Bulgaria/Croatia), Toma Waszarow A bus stops at a village’s only intersection, where the traffic light is stuck on red. The driver refuses to move forward BEST ANIMATION SHORT Coin Operated (USA), Nicholas Arioli Seventy years pass in the life of one naïve explorer. BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT Kayayo (Norway), Mari Bakke Riise Elementary-school-age Bamunu works as a kayayo (a living shopping cart) at the markets in Accra thousands of miles from her village. SHORTFEST ONLINE AUDIENCE AWARD Lost Face (Australia/Canada), Sean Meehan Based on a classic story by Jack London set in mid-1800s Alaska, a man makes a deal with a native chief in hopes to save his life.ADDITIONAL PRIZES
ALEXIS AWARD FOR BEST EMERGING STUDENT FILMMAKER – The Alexis Award is selected by the Festival’s programming team and was created in honor of Alexis Echavarria, whose talent as a budding filmmaker and gift for inspiring excellence among his fellow students were cut short suddenly in 2005 at age 16. The recipient received Final Cut Pro X courtesy of Apple. Chebet (Kenya/USA), Tony Koros A pregnant woman in the Kenyan highlands decides to take drastic action when she finds her husband passed out in front of their house yet again. HP BRIDGING THE BORDERS AWARD PRESENTED BY CINEMA WITHOUT BORDERS – The award goes to a film that is most successful in bringing and connecting the people of our world closer together. The winner received an HP ZBook 17 Mobile Workstation valued at $3,000. Pantheon (France), Ange-Régis Hounkpatin Son of a Beninese immigrant, cut off from his roots, Solomon is about to donate his deceased father’s Voodoo costume to a museum when a young street-dancer reminds him of the ancestral soul. YOUTH JURY AWARD – The winner received a $500 cash prize. Everybody Else is Taken (New Zealand), Jessica Grace Smith Meet Mika, a girl who refuses to let her gender define her place in one of the harshest environments on Earth-the play-ground.
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ALMOST SUNRISE Award-Winning Documentary on Veterans “Moral Injury” Opens July 14 in NY | Trailer
Almost Sunrise, a feature documentary by the award-winning filmmaking team behind Give Up Tomorrow (a 2013 News & Documentary Emmy nominee) Michael Collins (director) and Marty Syjuco (producer), is a timely and groundbreaking look at what could be a missing piece of the puzzle—the true nature of the psychological wounds of returning soldiers known as “moral injury” and the undeniable potential power of meditation and nature therapy in helping veterans to reclaim their lives.
As part of the film’s week-long theatrical release at IFC Center in New York, Collins and Syjuco along with Tom Voss and Anthony Anderson, the subjects of Almost Sunrise, will participate in a Q&A at a special screening on opening night, Friday, July 14 (time TBD), and throughout the film’s opening weekend.
Almost Sunrise tells the inspiring story of Voss and Anderson, two Iraq veterans, who, in an attempt to put their haunting combat experience behind, embark on an extraordinary 2,700-mile trek on foot across America. While the physical trek across snowy mountains and vast deserts is punishing, the inner journey proves to be, by far, the most dangerous mission they will ever undertake. Like many of their fellow returned servicemen and women, Tom and Anthony are tackling post traumatic stress, or PTS, but the pair are simultaneously dealing with an unseen battle scar called “moral injury”—often manifested as an extreme brand of guilt and shame that arises when one goes against one’s own moral code. While PTS, characterized by fear, can be treated with drugs, therapists are finding that no amount of medication can treat the pain that comes from carrying a moral burden. Almost Sunrise is the first feature documentary film to introduce the emerging term “moral injury,” what some experts believe may eventually be recognized as the signature war wound of our generation.
While the film exposes some of the brutality of war, it does not dwell there. “It’s ultimately a story of hope and potential solutions,” Collins says. Most importantly, the film reveals the promise of holistic practices for healing. When Tom signs up for a special breathing workshop for veterans, he must confront his deepest spiritual identity. He encounters Father Thomas Keating, a renowned Trappist monk who has counseled veterans for decades, who gently illuminates the need to turn inward to achieve true peace, guidance that culminates in a remarkable transformation, rarely depicted on screen. Where the stereotypes of “the broken veteran” and “homecoming hero” leave off, Almost Sunrise continues onward, presenting audiences with an unprecedented portrait of those who return from war; richer, far more complex beings—driven by a universal human aspiration for happiness—who discover life’s soaring possibilities.
“One of the main pillars of our Impact Campaign is ‘Connecting Communities,’ and every week we experience this in meaningful ways at screenings across the country,” says Syjuco. “Our vision for the campaign is to walk with veterans on a path towards healing by following these four pillars: 1. Educate on Moral Injury; 2. Promote Wellness; 3. Connect Communities; and 4. Change Legislation.”
Since making its World Premiere on Memorial Day 2016 at Telluride Mountainfilm Festival, where it also launched its immersive two-year Impact Campaign, Almost Sunrise has gone on to screen at impressive 125+ festival, community and live-event screenings across the country, including VA Hospitals and a special screening at the Wisconsin State Senate. University and academic screenings have included Harvard, Columbia, Georgetown, NYU, Stanford, Yale and International House NYC.
The many awards and accolades for Almost Sunrise include the 2017 Media Award for Best Film from the National Association of Social Workers (NASW)—social workers comprise highest number of staff at VA hospitals. At Telluride Mountainfilm, the film won the “Moving Mountains” Award, a top jury prize, which recognizes a film with a powerful social impact. It was also an official selection of the prestigious Human Rights Watch Film Festival, AFI Docs, and was the Centerpiece Presentation at Milwaukee Film Festival. It also took home the Audience Award at Reelworld Toronto and won Best Thought Provoking Film at Waimea Ocean Hawaii.
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Watch Chadwick Boseman as Thurgood Marshall in First Trailer for MARSHALL
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Marshall[/caption]
The official trailer has been released for Marshall, the biopic on Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American justice of the Supreme Court. The film directed by Reginald Hudlin and starring Chadwick Boseman, Kate Hudson, will open in theaters on October 13, 2017.
Long before he sat on the United States Supreme Court or claimed victory in Brown v. Board of Education, Thurgood Marshall (Chadwick Boseman) was a young rabble-rousing attorney for the NAACP. The new motion picture, Marshall, is the true story of his greatest challenge in those early days – a fight he fought alongside attorney Sam Friedman (Josh Gad), a young lawyer with no experience in criminal law: the case of black chauffeur Joseph Spell (Sterling K. Brown), accused by his white employer, Eleanor Strubing (Kate Hudson), of sexual assault and attempted murder.
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Six MIFF Premiere Fund Films to World Premiere at Melbourne International Film Festival
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JUNGLE Daniel Radcliffe (Yossi), Thomas Kretschmann (Karl)[/caption]
The MIFF Premiere Fund will world premiere six films at the 66th Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), including opening night survival thriller Jungle and the joyous Indigenous feature documentary The Song Keepers.
The Premiere Fund, celebrating its tenth anniversary, offers minority co-financing to new Australian quality theatrical (narrative and documentary) feature films that then premiere at MIFF.
Six films will have their red-carpet world premiere screening at this year’s MIFF, as follows:
The Butterfly Tree stars Melissa George (The Good Wife), Ewen Leslie (The Daughter), Ed Oxenbould (Paper Planes) and Sophie Lowe (The Slap) in a visually sumptuous coming-of-age tale of love and loss, tinged with magical realism, from feature debut director Priscilla Cameron and producer Bridget Callow-Wright.
Central Australia’s answer to The Buena Vista Social Club, Naina Sen’s The Song Keepers, from producers Rachel Clements and Trisha Morton-Thomas, tells an incredible story about a hidden musical legacy of ancient Aboriginal languages and German baroque songs that are being preserved by the Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir.
From director Eddie Martin (Lionel, All This Mayhem) and producer Sarah Shaw (Snowtown) comes Have You Seen the Listers? which provides a moving personal account of the artistic and commercial rise of Australia’s most renowned street artist, coupled with a deep personal cost.
In Westwind: Djalu’s Legacy, director Ben Strunin portrays Yolngu elder Djalu Gurruwiwi’s quest to pass his people’s ancient songlines and culture to the next generation – with a little help from global pop star Gotye. Producers: Kate Pappas, Ben Pederick, Virginia Whitwell and Nick Batzias (That Sugar Film).
Rabbit is a chilling fairytale feature debut from director Luke Shanahan and producer David Ngo (One Eyed Girl), in which identical twins are linked by more than just DNA, starring Alex Russell (Cut Snake) and Adelaide Clemens (The Great Gatsby).
And Alex Russell also features alongside Daniel Radcliffe in Wolf Creek director Greg McLean’s MIFF opening night selection Jungle in a gloriously tense survival thriller based on the bestselling real-life story of adventurer Yossi Ghinsberg.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Premiere Fund, MIFF looks back at the Fund’s early years with screenings of three classics:
Balibo (2009) the riveting political thriller starring Oscar Isaac and Anthony LaPaglia from Robert Connolly (Paper Planes).
Bastardy (2008), a poetic and impressionistic portrait of the life of Indigenous arts personality Jack Charles from director Amiel Courtin-Wilson (The Silent Eye, MIFF 2017).
Blessed (2009), a powerful and evocative story from director Ana Kokkinos (Head On) of families, love and loss with a star-studded ensemble cast including Frances O’Connor, Miranda Otto, Deborra-Lee Furness, William McInnes, Sophie Lowe, Harrison Gilbertson and Reef Ireland.
The Premiere Fund has a proud history of assisting the telling of a diverse range of stories from a diverse range of talent and voices.
Over its ten years:
Nearly 32% of Premiere Fund movies have had female directors (versus Screen Australia-reported industry average of 16%);
Nearly 59% have had female producers (versus industry average of 32%);
41% included youth themes (including Paper Planes);
27% had elements portraying Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Communities (CALDs), with 5% having CALD creative principals (director and/or producer(s));
16% included Indigenous themes and/or characters (including Bran Nue Dae), with nearly 7% having Indigenous creative principals;
13% included LGBTI characters and/or issues, with 18% involving LGBTI creative principals
Some 50% of Premiere Fund movies are helmed by first-time directors
Other key milestones include:
Children’s film Paper Planes grossed almost $10 million at the Australia/NZ box office and won the inaugural CineFest $100,000 film prize in 2014
Premiere Fund titles have won more than 55 awards and more than 280 key festival selections including Berlin (Make Hummus Not War, Tim Winton’s The Turning, Galore, Paper Planes, Bran Nue Dae, Monsieur Mayonnaise, EMO The Musical); Cannes (These Final Hours); Rotterdam (Electric Boogaloo, Not Quite Hollywood); Toronto (Cut Snake, Electric Boogaloo, Paper Planes, Downriver, Balibo, Blessed, Bran Nue Dae, Not Quite Hollywood, Blame, Machete Maidens Unleashed, Mother of Rock, Loved Ones)
Indigenous-themed feature documentary Putuparri & The Rainmakers won the 2015 CineFest $100,000 Film Prize, with Cinefest Jury Chair David Wenham remarking: “A story and characters so compelling and emotionally engaging that it reinforced the power of cinema to entertain, touch us deeply and stay with us forever.”
“We are so proud of the films that have come through the Fund over the last 10 years and we take our hat off to the talented filmmakers that we have the privilege of working with,” said MIFF Premiere Fund Executive Producer Mark Woods. “The talent we have been able to support has been incredible – 19% of Premiere Fund films are directed by alumni of MIFF emerging director workshop Accelerator Lab and 48% advanced their funding at MIFF’s film financing event 37ºSouth Market – so we really do feel like we come on a long journey with these projects.”
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New York Asian Film Festival Announces Awardees, Lifetime Achievement Award for Eric Tsang
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Eric Tsang[/caption]
The 16th New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF) will present five awards, including the Star Hong Kong Lifetime Achievement Award to Eric Tsang, two Star Asia Awards, the Screen International Rising Star Award to Thailand’s Chutimon “Aokbab” Chuengcharoensukying, and the Daniel E. Craft Award for Excellence in Action Cinema to South Korea’s Jung Byung-gil.
Gang Dong-won, China’s Duan Yihong will be awarded the Star Asia Award at the 16th New York Asian Film Festival on 1st July 2017. It is in recognition for his entire body of work. It will be presented in person to the actor before screenings of Extraordinary Mission and Battle of Memories at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
This is the first time that a Star Asia Award has been presented to an actor from China. Previous recipients include Donnie Yen, Miriam Yeung and South Korea’s Lee Byung-hun. The festival’s Screen International Rising Star Asia Award recognizing new talent has previously been presented to two actors from China, Huang Bo in 2010 and Jelly Lin in 2016.
“We’re honored to give one of our top awards to Duan Yihong, who we regard as one of China’s greatest modern actors,” said Samuel Jamier, the festival’s executive director. “The cinema of China is now central to our lineup, in recognition that it is not only at the forefront of genre cinema in Asia, but is also making the most perceptive, honest films about human relationships.”
Chinese-language films in this year’s selection include Yang Shupeng’s Blood of Youth, Han Han’s Duckweed, Liu Yulin’s Someone to Talk To, Zhang Yang’s Soul on a String, Leste Chen’s Battle of Memories and Extraordinary Mission, directed by Alan Mak and Anthony Pun.
The Excellence in Action Cinema Award will be presented to South Korea’s Jung Byung-gil. The maverick director is a former guest of the festival in 2008 when he attended the international premiere of his debut feature Action Boys. He returns to New York almost a decade later with his reinvention of action cinema, The Villainess, which will be the closing film.
The NYAFF will honor the great Eric Tsang with the Lifetime Achievement Award. This is a change from the previously announced awardee Tony Leung Ka-fai, who is unfortunately no longer able to attend the festival due to extenuating circumstances. The festival describes Tsang as the perfect choice in a year in which the festival is championing first-time filmmakers from Hong Kong. Although best known as an actor, Tsang’s most vital contribution to Greater China cinema is as an investor, producer and supporter of new directors. The festival is showing his new film Mad World by first-time director Wong Chun, also attending.
The festival will screen 57 feature films over 17 days. The festival opens on 30 June with the international premiere of Thai high-school thriller Bad Genius and closes on 16 July with the U.S. premiere of South Korean revenge thriller The Villainess. The festival’s centerpiece gala is Mikhail Red’s ecological thriller Birdshot from the Philippines.
The festival this year launches its competition for first- and second-time directors whose films are receiving their North American premiere at the festival. The seven films competing are Bad Genius (Thailand), Birdshot (Philippines), A Double Life (Japan), Jane (South Korea), Kfc (Vietnam), and With Prisoners (Hong Kong).
The 16th New York Asian Film Festival will be held at Film Society of Lincoln Center June 30 to July 13, 2017; and SVA Theater from July 14 to July 16, 2017.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZVtP80s2RE
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Kino Lorber and Zeitgeist Films Team Up for Multi-Year Strategic Alliance
Kino Lorber is forming a multi-year strategic alliance with renowned film distributor Zeitgeist Films, founded and run by industry leaders Nancy Gerstman and Emily Russo.
Going forward, Kino Lorber and Zeitgeist Films will co-acquire four to five theatrical titles per year to be marketed and released by Zeitgeist Films, which continues to be operated and controlled by co-presidents Gerstman and Russo.
In addition, Kino Lorber will become the exclusive distributor of all Zeitgeist Films titles for the home video and educational markets, as well as all digital media, adding Zeitgeist’s library of more than 130 award-winning titles to Kino Lorber’s library of over 1500 acclaimed new and classic films.
Founded in 1988, Zeitgeist Films has distributed first films by such notable directors as Todd Haynes, Christopher Nolan, Laura Poitras, François Ozon, Atom Egoyan and the Quay Brothers. Their catalogue includes films from the world’s most outstanding filmmakers, such as Agnès Varda, Guy Maddin, Olivier Assayas, Abbas Kiarostami, Derek Jarman, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Peter Greenaway, Yvonne Rainer, Jan Svankmajer, Andrei Zyvagintsev, Astra Taylor and Raoul Peck, to name a few.
Five Zeitgeist films have been nominated for Academy Awards and one, NOWHERE IN AFRICA, won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and went on to gross over $6 million at the U.S. box office. Among the company’s other most successful theatrical releases are: BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK, THE CORPORATION, AIMEE & JAGUAR, SOPHIE SCHOLL: THE FINAL DAYS, BALLETS RUSSES, and INTO GREAT SILENCE.
Starting in July, Nancy Gerstman and Emily Russo will relocate to Kino Lorber’s midtown office in Manhattan along with Adrian Curry, an integral member of the Zeitgeist team since 1991. Curry will become Design Director for Kino Lorber and Zeitgeist Films.
Zeitgeist Co-Presidents Nancy Gerstman and Emily Russo enthused: “Our collaboration with Kino Lorber is a major step for us; possibly the most significant since we began our company 28 years ago. We are like-minded companies in many ways and anticipate a very successful partnership.”
Richard Lorber, CEO of Kino Lorber stated: “Nancy and Emily share our DNA in their passion for great cinema. Their superb taste and astute judgment distinguishes them as the leading curators in the world of art house distribution. We foresee compelling synergies as we pursue our joint mission with joined forces.”
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Actress Lauren Hutton to Receive Maine International Film Festival’s Mid-Life Achievement Award
Actress Lauren Hutton will receive the Maine International Film Festival‘s 2017 Mid-Life Achievement Award at a special ceremony held at the Waterville Opera House on the evening of July 20.
“Lauren’s immediacy and talent was always evident on the screen, as it is now, a presence and intelligence and pride that is unique and distinct, and that was made for lights and drama and comedy,” said MIFF Programming Director Ken Eisen. “It’s a pleasure to welcome her and her fine films to MIFF this year, and to honor her film career with our annual Midlife Achievement Award.”
The award presentation will be held after a screening of American Gigolo, a romantic crime film directed and written by Paul Schrader, on Thursday, July 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the Waterville Opera House. The film centers on a male escort (played by Richard Gere) who is framed for a murder he did not commit. Hutton will be in Waterville for several days of the festival with screenings of The Gambler, A Wedding, and Welcome to L.A. Last year, actor Gabriel Byrne was presented with the Mid-Life Achievement Award. Previous winners include Glenn Close, Jonathan Demme, Peter Fonda, Ed Harris, Sissy Spacek, and John Turturro, among others.
“As we celebrate an incredible MIFF milestone this year – our 20th anniversary – we could not have asked for a more interesting special guest than Lauren, whose groundbreaking career has crossed genres as well as decades,” said Festival Director Shannon Haines.