• New York Film Festival FREE Convergence Section will Feature VR, Augmented Reality Projects

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    [caption id="attachment_24118" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Reality Jockeys Reality Jockeys[/caption] The sixth edition of the highly anticipated FREE Convergence section of the 2017 New York Film Festival delves into the world of immersive storytelling via interactive experiences, featuring virtual reality, augmented reality, live labs and demos, and more. The Convergence section will include three Virtual Reality horror experiences from Dark Corner Studios, highlighted by the World Premiere of their terrifying project Night Night; Sanctuaries of Silence, which takes viewers virtually through Olympic National Park in search of the quietest place in North America; Reality Jockeys, where audience members collaborate with the creators to form their own immersive, surreal virtual worlds; Virtual Virtual Reality, which imagines the purpose of humans in a future run by machines; and Look But With Love, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s VR documentary series exploring the lives of Pakistani citizens. Complementing these experiential works is an exciting partnership with Lucasfilm to publicly present never-before-seen technology showcasing the future of Virtual Production, which harnesses the power of VR as a tool for filmmakers to compose shots, create virtual storyboards, and more. Its uses within the film community could be boundless, and creators of the technology will be on hand to participate in a conversation about its potential applications, followed by a demonstration allowing audiences to experience the system firsthand. As part of this, Convergence will also host a special workshop with handpicked industry creators, filmmakers, and cinematographers, allowing them to test out how it could be applied to their daily work. Other highlights of Convergence include the return of Gamescape, an exploration of narrative games and the artists who make them—which this year focuses on the comeback of Full Motion Video with a selection of new, playable work from a number of creators; and De-Escalation Room, a live lab with Columbia University’s Digital Storytelling Lab, where audiences will be allowed to take a peek into their process and actively participate in creating the group’s latest project, which tackles the negative behavior of social media. Convergence will take place Friday, September 29, 3-6pm, and Saturday and Sunday, September 30 and October 1, from 12-6pm in the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center. All Convergence events are free and open to the public!

    2017 New York Film Festival Convergence

    VIRTUAL REALITY PROJECTS

    Dark Corner VR: Night Night, Mule, & Catatonic The team at Dark Corner Studios have made a name for themselves on 360-degree virtual reality projects that explore the boundaries of horror cinema by placing audiences in the center of thrilling—and often terrifying—scenarios. Convergence will feature the world premiere of their latest piece Night Night as well Dark Corner’s Mule and Catatonic. Night Night Guy Shelmerdine, USA, 7m World Premiere Night Night takes you from the safety of your childhood bed to a clown filled nightmare dreamscape. A Dark Corner Studios, MPC, and Unit Sofa production. Mule Guy Shelmerdine, USA, 6m A thrilling, emotional journey through the last moments of a man’s life. Choose your ending—do you want to be buried or cremated? A Dark Corner Studios production. Catatonic Guy Shelmerdine, USA, 5m This pioneering horror experience places you in the POV of a new patient as you are welcomed into a sinister psychiatric hospital. A Dark Corner Studios & Here Be Dragons production.

    Look But With Love – Episodes 1 & 2 Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, USA, 2017 Directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and presented by WITHIN, this documentary series follows extraordinary people in Pakistan actively working to change their communities through causes they care deeply about. From a doctor in the slums of Karachi who has dedicated his life to providing free emergency care to children, to a courageous community of women in Nowshera, the epicenter of the terrorist insurgency, Look But With Love explores the lives of Pakistan’s most fearless and passionate citizens one story at a time. Audiences are invited to experience the first two episodes of this exciting project, “A Story of Women” and “A Story of Dance.” The documentary is produced by SOC Films and Here Be Dragons, and will be available on the WITHIN app. Reality Jockeys Virtual Reality Experience Vizor, Finland, 2017 At parties, DJs control the mood by selecting the music, and VJs set the ambience by displaying visuals on screens. With VR headsets such as the Oculus Rift, the experience is more than that, as everything around you can be changed on the fly. Finnish visual artists Fthr and Lintu specialize in creating surreal worlds in real time while interacting with the audience. Using custom software (Vizor Patches) and a variety of materials, they guide you through a trip that starts from nothing and ends in a living, breathing virtual world. Each participant walks away with a personalized piece that is saved on the web and can be relived at home. Sanctuaries of Silence Adam Loften and Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee, USA, 2017 Virtual Reality Project One of the defining characteristics of virtual reality is its fully immersive nature: we gear up, covering our eyes and ears in order to briefly live another person’s story. In Loften and Vaughan-Lee’s piece, the story that we’re asked to experience is that of silence itself, as told through the unique perspective of acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton. “Sanctuaries of Silence” invites its audience to join Hempton as he travels through Olympic National Park, one of the quietest places in North America, searching for a place not impacted by noise pollution—which is fast becoming as threatened as any endangered species. A New York Times Op-Docs production. Virtual Virtual Reality Tender Claws, USA, 2017 The brainchild of Tender Claws, the collective behind PRY (2015), Virtual Virtual Reality ponders humanity’s purpose in a future where our jobs have been co-opted by machines. Will we be little more than relics, reminders…even pets? Activitude, a Virtual Labor System, is here to help, creating an A.I. manager that’s a perfect match for your meaningfulness quotient. It’s Inception meets Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy meets The Wizard of Oz, only there is not just one wizard but a network of wizards living inside wizards, splitting themselves open like nesting dolls, pulling back infinite tiny curtains to reveal a churning multitude of unstable realities. VR and the Future of Virtual Production by Lucasfilm Demo and Talk Rachel Rose, Jose Perez and Nick Rasmussen From the depths of earth’s oceans to galaxies far, far away, VR allows us to be anyone, go anywhere, and see anything. Lucasfilm and its visual effects division, Industrial Light & Magic, have harnessed the power of this medium to create a new Virtual Production toolset, allowing filmmakers to build and scout a virtual set, manipulate props, puppeteer characters and vehicles, even compose shots to create virtual storyboards. It’s a game changing application that is easy to learn, allowing storytellers to focus on the elements that blend together to form great stories. The creators of the toolset will participate in a conversation about the development of the platform and its potential to impact the filmmaking process, followed on Saturday by a public demonstration that will allow audiences to experience the system first hand.

    EXPERIENCES AND TALKS

    Arilyn Augmented Reality Installation With Augmented Reality, which superimposes images, video, and other content onto our flesh and bone world, the line between the virtual and the real can blur to the point of being indistinguishable—with little more than a cell phone. Helsinki-based Arylin has created a number of installations and activations that leverage the power of AR to great effect: paintings that come to life and everyday objects that spawn interactive videos. A number of these pieces will be on display throughout the festival venues—simply download the Arilyn app to experience AR for yourself. Gamescape: The Revenge of Full Motion Video It’s 1983. You find yourself in an arcade in the ’burbs. Among the future classics—Galaga, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong—you find something different: Sega’s Astron Belt or Cinematronics’ Dragon’s Lair, games that eschewed pixelated sprites for video and vivid animation. Full Motion Video games were movies you could play—to a point: the technical execution left something to be desired. Games were unreliable, systems crashed, and FMV all but disappeared. But FMV is making a comeback as creators breathe new life into this 35-year-old form. The 2017 edition of Gamescape celebrates some of the best new FMV work and looks back on titles both famous and infamous from the golden age of the arcade. GameScape is co-curated by Clara Fernandez-Vara, of the NYU Game Lab. Featuring: Her Story (Sam Barlow, UK, 2015) Mind Trapped (Claire Carre, USA, 2017) Loop Record (Nicolai Troshinsky, Spain, 2017) PRY (Tender Claws, 2015) Cibele (Nina Freeman, 2016) Last Night (Dejobaan Games, 2018) De-Escalation Room: Live Lab with Columbia Digital Storytelling Lab Talk and Rapid Prototyping Session Presented by Lance Weiler Founded in 2014, Columbia University’s Digital Storytelling Lab was created to explore ways of telling stories that incorporate technology and disciplines from across the humanities. A champion of iterative, collaborative design, the DSL will pull back the curtain on its creative process during this special session, and invite the festival audience to become participants in developing the group’s next project, the De-Escalation Room. A collaboration with SAFELab, the De-Escalation Room aims to create an immersive storytelling space that reckons with the negative behaviors of social media, forcing its players to work together to defuse an otherwise dangerous situation.

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  • Ruben Östlund’s THE SQUARE is Sweden’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER

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    The Square by Ruben Östlund Ruben Östlund’s The Square, 2017 Palme d’Or winner, has been selected as Sweden’s official entry for the 2018 Foreign Language Oscar category. Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, Dominic West and Terry Notary star in the satirical drama set in the art world,  about an art museum chief curator whose plans to promote an exhibit spiral out of control. Christian is the respected curator of a contemporary art museum, a divorced but devoted father of two who drives an electric car and supports good causes. His next show is “The Square”, an installation which invites passersby to altruism, reminding them of their role as responsible fellow human beings. But sometimes, it is difficult to live up to your own ideals: Christian’s foolish response to the theft of his phone drags him into shameful situations. Meanwhile, the museum’s PR agency has created an unexpected campaign for ”The Square”. The response is overblown and sends Christian, as well as the museum, into an existential crisis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcmMYzyVt5Y This is Ruben Ostlund’s third time representing Sweden at the Oscars – Involuntary was the official submission in 2009, and he made the shortlist in 2014 with Force Majeure but was disappointedly not nominated. In response he made the YouTube video “Swedish director freaks out when he misses out on Oscar nomination.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYTWqLmnjt0

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  • Fatih Akin’s IN THE FADE is Germany’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER

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    In the Fade (Aus dem Nichts) Fatih Akin’s In the Fade (Aus dem Nichts) will represent Germany as the country’s official submission for the 90th Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. In the film, Katja’s (played by Diane Kruger) life collapses after the death of her husband and son in a bomb attack. The police arrest two suspects: a young neo-Nazi couple. Katja wants justice – for her, there is no alternative. In the Fade world premiere in competition at the 70th Cannes Film Festival, where Diane Kruger won the award for Best Actress. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKBqOE3WNu0

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  • 6 Films on Calgary International Film Festival Late Shows Series Lineup, ‘BITCH’ and More

    [caption id="attachment_24104" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]BITCH – Directed by Marianna Palka BITCH – Directed by Marianna Palka[/caption] The Late Shows Series, known for presenting the darker, creepier side of Calgary International Film Festival will feature six films at this year’s festival. “This year’s lineup is a mix of genres,” said Brenda Lieberman, the Calgary International Film Festival’s Programming Manager and Late Shows Programmer. “We’ll be screening everything from comedy to horror, crime, thriller, docu-drama, and just different levels of fun. These films all push boundaries in different ways, and we’re looking forward to unleashing them on our audience. Keep an eye on calgaryfilm.com for late additions too!”

    2017 Calgary International Film Festival Late Shows Series

    BITCH – Directed by Marianna Palka Lonely housewife Jill is transformed by her monotonous lifestyle in this strange tragic comedy from the United States. Actor Jason Ritter stars alongside Marianna Palka, who multitasks as screenwriter and director. BUCKOUT ROAD – Directed by Matthew Currie Holmes (previously featured in our Alberta announcement) The first feature for this Calgarian director pays homage to the midnight movies of the ’80s while still freshening up its genre. FAKE BLOOD – Directed by Rob Grant Co-produced by local Calgary Film alumnus Mike Peterson (director of the 2017 short film selection CONSUME) and directed by Vancouver’s Rob Grant FAKE BLOOD is a compelling film that blurs the line between fiction and reality. LOWLIFE – Directed by Ryan Prows Three unlikely criminal allies must unite to save a pregnant woman in this wacky violent dark comedy. This first time feature took home the Silver Prize Audience Award and a special jury mention from the 2017 Fantasia Film Festival. THE MISANDRISTS – Directed by Bruce LaBruce Directed by Canadian filmmaker Bruce LaBruce (GERONTOPHILIA) this dark comedy was nominated for a Teddy for Best Feature Film at Berlinale and stars a cast of dynamic women, led by Susanne Sachße, Kita Updike, and Olivia Kundisch. TRAGEDY GIRLS – Directed by Tyler MacIntyre (previously featured in our Alberta announcement) In this dark satire from Alberta’s Tyler MacIntyre, two teen girls with a popular blog manipulate a local serial killer into doing their bidding.

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  • Former VP Al Gore and Blumhouse Productions Jason Blum to Be Honored at 2017 IFP Gotham Awards

    Former VP Al Gore and Blumhouse Productions Jason Blum Former Vice President Al Gore will receive the Humanitarian Tribute and Film Producer and Founder of Blumhouse Productions Jason Blum will receive the Industry Tribute at the 2017 IFP Gotham Awards.  The ceremony will be held on Monday, November 27, 2017, at Cipriani Wall Street, New York City. “We are thrilled to be presenting Vice President Al Gore with the Humanitarian Tribute and Jason Blum with the Industry Tribute” said Joana Vicente, Executive Director of IFP and the Made in NY Media Center. “Mr. Gore’s urgent message on the dangers of climate change has been heard and seen around the globe, motivating individuals, communities, businesses, and world leaders to take action, reminding us of the power of cinema and its ability to affect change. Jason Blum has shown the industry how creative and innovative models that support smart, original filmmakers- and produced with an economy of means –can be a potent force in connecting with audiences and achieving popular success.” The IFP Humanitarian Tribute recognizes an individual who, through cinema, has had a profound, transformative global impact.  Vice President Gore is the ideal recipient recognizing his decades of work on the climate crisis, most recently brought to the attention of audiences through his films Academy Award®-winner AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH (2006) and AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL: TRUTH TO POWER (2017).   The Industry Tribute is awarded each year to an individual whose unique vision, innovation and contributions have made a significant impact on the motion picture and television industry. Jason Blum has proven himself to be such by pioneering a new model of high-quality micro-budget films. As founder of the multi-media company, Blumhouse Productions, Blum has produced more than 70 films and as well as numerous television projects, making Blumhouse one of the most prolific production companies in the industry. Earlier this year, Blum expanded his television footprint by launching an indie TV Studio. Blum founded Blumhouse Productions, known for leading the “low budget” horror film genre in 2000. PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, which was made for $15,000 and grossed nearly $200 million worldwide, launched the Blumhouse model and became the most profitable film of all time. In 2017 Blumhouse produced the blockbusters SPLIT from M. Night Shyamalan and GET OUT from Jordan Peele, which with combined budgets of less than $15 million, have already grossed more than $500 million worldwide.  In addition, Blumhouse has produced the highly profitable THE PURGE, INSIDIOUS, SINISTER and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY franchises which together have grossed more than $1.7 billion at the global box office. In addition to his staggering commercial success, Blum is an Academy Award®-nominated and two-time Emmy® and Peabody Award-winning producer. He was nominated for an Academy Award® for producing WHIPLASH, won Emmys® for producing HBO’s The Normal Heart and The Jinx and two Peabody Awards for The Jinx and the documentary How to Dance in Ohio. In addition, Blum received the 2016 Producer of the Year Award at CinemaCon and was named to the TIME 100 list of the world’s most influential people in 2017. Before launching Blumhouse, Blum served as Co-President of Acquisitions at Miramax.

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  • Actor Bill Pullman (THE BALLAD OF LEFTY BROWN) to Receive Acting Award at Woodstock Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_20966" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]The Ballad of Lefty Brown Bill Pullman (THE BALLAD OF LEFTY BROWN)[/caption] Actor Bill Pullman will receive the 2017 Excellence in Acting Award at the Woodstock Film Festival on Saturday October 14. Director Jared Moshe (The Ballad of Lefty Brown) will present Bill Pullman with the award In addition to receiving the award, the Woodstock Film Festival will screen The Ballad of Lefty Brown in which Bill Pullman gives a tour de force performance as the title character. Festival attendees will also have the opportunity to interact with Pullman, at the annual Actor’s Dialogue on Sunday, October 15. Bill Pullman commented that he was “Honored to be receiving the Excellence in Acting Award at this year’s Woodstock film festival. I am particularly looking forward to screening The Ballad of Lefty Brown at the Woodstock Film Festival in October – audiences there are ready for an unusually intimate Western that is the coming of age story of a sixty-something sidekick. It was shot in the fall in Montana, so we can see how it stacks up against the foliage colors in Woodstock – both so spectacular.” Bill Pullman’s versatile acting spans from dramatic roles to comedic roles. Pullman’s acting career also led him into the role of Clyde in Andrew and Alex Smith’s Walking Out, which recently screened as part of the Woodstock Film Festival’s summer screening series. “Bill Pullman is one of the finest and most versatile actors today,” said Woodstock Film Festival executive director Meira Blaustein. “His performance in The Ballad of Lefty Brown is absolutely outstanding. It is a privilege to recognize his diverse body of work at this year’s festival and we look forward to having him here with us this fall”.

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  • 2017 Whistler Film Festival Reveals First 15 Films, PRODIGALS, NOBODY FAMOUS and More

    [caption id="attachment_24091" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Tulipani, Love, Honour and a Bicycle Tulipani, Love, Honour and a Bicycle[/caption] The 2017 Whistler Film Festival (WFF) taking place from November 29th to December 3rd, today offered a sneak peek including the first 15 confirmed films, plus industry and event programming highlights. WFF’s Director of Programming Paul Gratton had this to say about the 2017 lineup confirmed to date: “The Whistler Film Festival is a must-attend event for film fans, emerging filmmakers and anyone who cares about quality cinema. We continue to pursue our own unique festival niche by offering an impressive selection of films, featuring Oscar hopefuls and emerging talent, with a particular focus on female directors. Our Summit will complement our film programming by addressing key trends and opportunities facing the industry, and our Signature Series events will shine the spotlight on some of the top filmmakers of the day. While our final programming is far from complete, we will continue to build on the momentum established over our last few years, and are confident that this will be our best year ever. This year, we are particularly gratified to note the large number of alumni returning to Whistler with their new films. Toplining this year’s Canadian titles are the following World Premiere selections, some of which are eligible for WFF’s coveted Borsos Competition for Best Canadian Feature, featuring a $15,000 cash prize sponsored by the Directors Guild of Canada, British Columbia PRODIGALS: After the success of After-Party at WFF 2013, BC director Michelle Ouellet returns with a searing drama about a man who revisits his home town for a trial, where an ex-girlfriend and a checkered past await him, with David Alpay and Sara Canning (I PUT A HIT ON YOU, 2014). THE MOMENT: Whistler is the perfect location to World Premiere BC filmmaker Darcy Turenne’s exhaustive and definitive history of dirt bike mountain racing that features breathtaking archival footage and stunt biking. SOMEONE ELSE’S WEDDING: Following 2013’s THREE NIGHT STAND, director Pat Kiely offers up another hilarious comedy about a family gathering for an unusual wedding in Montreal, featuring Kathleen Turner, Jessica Paré, Jacob Tierney, Wallace Shawn, Frances Fisher, Kevin Zegers and Luke Kirby. THE OTHER SIDE OF PORCUPINE LAKE: Director Julian Papas captures the unique camaraderie and DIY craziness on the set of Ingrid Veninger’s PORCUPINE LAKE. 8 MINUTES AHEAD: Director Ben Hoskyn’s first feature film shot in Vancouver and Hong Kong is about two brothers who have never met, but who fight over their late father’s business inheritance, even though they live in entirely different socioeconomic worlds and two very different cities. NOBODY FAMOUS: A scathing black comedy from director Sarah Rotella about the jealousies and competitiveness of aspiring actors, as one gets a great role while spending a friendly weekend at the cottage with other wannabes. Canadian Premieres include: THE LEARS: Award winning filmmaker Carl Bessai met producer Irwin Olian from NeoClassics Films during the Whistler Film Festival in 2016 and the result is this well acted drama about a dysfunctional family gathering around their aging, cantankerous architect dad (Bruce Dern) hoping to score some inheritance points as he is about to retire. Also featuring Sean Astin and Anthony Michael Hall. SANTA STOLE OUR DOG: A MERRY DOGGONE CHRISTMAS: Peterborough-born Bryan Michael Stoller is another master of the DIY school of filmmaking. Bryan moved to Hollywood many years ago, wrote the best-selling book “Filmmaking for Dummies”, and makes his own charming indie films, the last three of which have also starred his own pet dog. This one features Ed Asner as Santa, Eric Roberts and internet sensation Yvette Rachelle, who also serves as co-producer on the project. PAINLESS: Canadian actor Joey Klein gives a remarkable performance as a man who is incapable of feeling any pain, but spends his life seeking a scientific cure for his ailment. Directed by Jordan Horowitz. Other programming highlights confirmed for this year include: PORCUPINE LAKE: After the success of THE ANIMAL PROJECT in 2013 and the Borsos cinematography win for HE HATED PIGEONS in 2015, Ingrid Veninger returns to present her latest feature, a charming study of that special inexplicable best girlfriends forever bond that consumes many young women at the onset of puberty. THE PRODIGAL DAD: Vancouver based filmmaker Robert Wenzek’s first feature is a delightful character comedy about a young woman’s dad who shows up on her doorstep uninvited and becomes a hit with her friends, much to her embarrassment. A sort of Canadian Toni Erdmann. With Michelle Harrison and Mackenzie Gray. CARDINALS: Sheila McCarthy gives one of her finest screen performances as a self-described recovering alcoholic stalked by the son of a man she killed in a car accident. Directed by Grayson Moore and Aidan Shipley, with Katie Boland and Noah Reid. MOBILE HOMES: Imogen Poots, Callum Turner and Callum Keith Rennie star in this dark drama about a directionless young mother, saddled with an eight year old son and a shiftless druggie boyfriend. A French co production directed by Vladimir de Fontenay. Poots is outstanding in the lead role. OCTAVIO IS DEAD: Sarah Gadon in a role that will surprise her fans, as she slowly discovers the secrets of her late father’s life, including his sexual predilections, which began to fascinate her. The latest gender bending provocation from director Sook-Yin Lee, with Rosanna Arquette. BECOMING BURLESQUE: A shy Muslim woman takes a great risk when she joins a local burlesque repertory company of extraordinary women on the burlesque stage. Featuring many real-life burlesque dancers and many exotic routines. Directed by Jackie English, with Shiva Negar and Pastel Supernova. TULIPANI: LOVE, HONOUR AND A BICYCLE: A beautiful story about a romantic Dutch man who cycles to Italy and plants a field of tulips in the sweltering heat of Puglia. Co-produced by Don Carmody, directed by award winning Mike Van Diem and starring Giancarlo Giannini and Ksenia Solo. The full film lineup will be released on November 1.  

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  • Rare Prince Concert Film Documentary SIGN O’THE TIMES to Air on Showtime

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    Prince concert film Sign o' the Times The rarely seen Prince concert film Sign o’ the Times, will air on American television for the first time in more than a decade, premiering September 16 on Showtime.  Created as a companion to the 1987 Prince double album of the same name, Sign o’ the Times features live performances of songs including “U Got the Look” (with Sheena Easton), “If I Was Your Girlfriend” and “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man,” in addition to the title song and a striking rendition of the Prince classic, “Little Red Corvette.” Much of the film was shot at Prince’s own Paisley Park Studios, as well as on tour in the Netherlands and Belgium. Sign o’ the Times captures Prince at a critical juncture in his career, immediately after the disbanding of his group The Revolution and on the heels of Purple Rain and Under the Cherry Moon. Rock critic Robert Christgau declared that the film, directed by Prince, was a contender to rival Stop Making Sense as the greatest rock concert movie ever, yet it was never issued on DVD. Prince’s visual and musical passion reigns throughout the 84-minute project, a must-see for anyone seeking a full understanding of the performance legend, whose Sign o’ the Times was named the top album of 1987 in Village Voice’s Pazz and Jop Critics Poll. Produced by Robert Cavallo, Joseph Ruffalo and Steven Fargnoli, Sign o’ the Times joins an esteemed list of projects airing on Showtime that focus on the lives and legacies of culture-defining figures, including Whitney. “can I be me” (which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 26 before airing on Showtime beginning August 25) and Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars, which will have its world premiere at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival before airing nationally on Showtime next year.  

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  • Gürcan Keltek’s METEORS Wins Locarno Film Festival’s Cinelab Award

    [caption id="attachment_24087" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Gürcan Keltek Gürcan Keltek[/caption] Meteors (Meteorlar) by Gürcan Keltek which World Premiered at the 2017 Locarno Film Festival has been voted winner of the festival’s Cinelab Award. The second edition of the initiative by the Locarno Festival in partnership with Festival Scope presented a selection of 10 films from the Concorso Cineasti del presente. After its premiere at the Festival, each film was screened until August 20. [caption id="attachment_24088" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Meteors (Meteorlar) by Gürcan Keltek. Meteors (Meteorlar) by Gürcan Keltek.[/caption] For this year’s Cinelab Award, the audience chose Meteorlar by Gürcan Keltek. The Award was exclusively given by the Locarno Festival initiative on Festival Scope. The winner is given technical services worth 22,000€, which is offered by Cinelab Bucharest. Meteorlar had its world premiere in Locarno. It is Turkish filmmaker Gürcan Keltek’s debut feature. Meteorlar also won Locarno Festival’s Swatch Art Peace Hotel Award. They come at night and everybody steps out. They light torches and remember those who have walked these streets before them. In the coming hours, the city wil be on lockdown: an eclipse appears and meteors start to fall.

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  • Milwaukee Film Festival Reveals Spotlight Films, STUMPED to Open + LANDLINE to Close Fest

    [caption id="attachment_24083" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Stumped Stumped[/caption] The 2017 Milwaukee Film Festival announced the full lineup for Spotlight Presentations, including the multiple award-winning Opening Night film Stumped, directed by MFF alum Robin Berghaus, and Closing Night film Landline, directed by Gillian Robespierre (Obvious Child) and starring Jenny Slate and Jay Duplass. Milwaukee was first introduced to STUMPED director Robin Berghaus when her short film of the same name screened at the 2014 Milwaukee Film Festival. Following the rehabilitation of quadrilateral amputee, Will Lautzenheiser, as he coped with his trauma through stand-up comedy, Berghaus expanded the film into a feature when Lautzenheiser took a chance on a risky double arm transplant surgery. A documentary both funny and deeply moving, STUMPED tells the story of a truly indomitable spirit. Both Berghaus and Lautzenheiser are scheduled to attend the screening. Celebrating the art of cocktails and a U.S Premiere, the documentary Schumann’s Bar Talks has world-renowned bartender, Charles Schumann, taking audiences on a tour of some of the world’s finest bars. The 2017 Milwaukee Film Festival will take place at the Landmark Oriental Theatre, Landmark Downer Theatre, Fox-Bay Cinema Grill, Times Cinema, and Avalon Theater from September 28th – October 12th. FILMS OPENING NIGHT STUMPED (USA / 2017 / Director: Robin Berghaus) Will Lautzenheiser thought he was on the verge of realizing his dreams, teaching film classes at Montana State University, when what he thought was an extreme pulled muscle suddenly escalated into something far more severe—a bacterial infection that forced doctors to amputate all of his limbs in order to save his life. Instead of letting this unimaginable setback defeat him, Will took his trauma head-on, performing stand-up comedy to cope with his new normal. But as Will begins to adjust to his new life with the help of his loving partner, Angel, news breaks of a risky, experimental double-arm transplant that offers him the hope of reclaiming his independence. A medical mystery tucked in a comedy nestled in a deeply moving personal portrait, STUMPED is a funny, character-driven exploration into cutting-edge medicine that happens to coincide with the story of a truly indomitable spirit. CENTERPIECE The Blood Is at The Doorstep (USA / 2017 / Director: Erik Ljung) It’s a scene Milwaukee natives will not soon forget: Dontre Hamilton, an unarmed Black man resting in Red Arrow Park, shot 14 times by a police officer in broad daylight, leaving behind a devastated family to pick up the pieces and bringing a community already struggling to maintain positive police-community relations even closer to the brink. Filmed over a three-year period, The Blood Is at the Doorstep focuses intimately on the Hamilton family’s strength in the face of unspeakable tragedy, as we follow mother Maria and older brother Nate as they turn to community organizing as a means of honoring Dontre’s memory while still doggedly pursuing answers, with public outcry intensifying the longer none are given. A heart-rending portrait of justice deferred from director Erik Ljung, illuminating one family’s remarkable ability to channel their grief into fuel for activism and community building, and a sobering reminder of the chasm that so often divides us. https://vimeo.com/205828363   CLOSING NIGHT Landline (USA / 2017 / Director: Gillian Robespierre) It’s 1995 in Manhattan, and the Jacobs sisters are struggling to get along. Older sister Dana (the ever-effervescent Jenny Slate) is acting out in response to her recent engagement to the stable, straight-laced Ben (Jay Duplass) while younger sister Ali (fantastic newcomer Abby Quinn) is living a life of drugs, parties, and promiscuity despite still being in high school. But when the sisters discover evidence of their father’s (John Turturro) infidelities, it brings them closer as they attempt to expose him without alerting their tightly wound mother (Edie Falco) in this warmly ingratiating portrait of family dysfunction from the creative team behind Obvious Child. Cannily observed ’90s nostalgia intermingles with a wittily acerbic screenplay to bring back to life an era when families couldn’t hide their animus behind the glow of a cell phone screen, a celebration of life and family in all its imperfection, and the ways in which our endless mistakes only serve to bring us closer together. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aIu1zB4o9c AlphaGo (USA / 2017 / Director: Greg Kohs) Think Kasparov vs. Deep Blue on steroids and you’ve got the story behind the engrossing documentary AlphaGo. The game: Go, an ancient board game played the world over, with nearly infinite complexity. The players: Lee Sedol, a South Korean Go player widely considered the world’s best, facing the titular AlphaGo, an artificial intelligence developed by Google’s DeepMind whose modus operandi is to play the game beyond human capacity. What follows is a gripping battle of man vs. machine, a cerebral competition unlike any in human history! The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography (USA / 2016 / Director: Errol Morris) Acclaimed documentarian Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line) turns his camera on lifelong friend and photographer Elsa Dorfman in this entertaining and profound portrait of a portraitist. From her start in literary circles, where she photographed cultural titans of the day to her eventual discovery of her preferred format—large-scale 20-by-24-inch Polaroids of her subjects, always taking two, allowing them to choose so she could keep the titular B-sides—Morris warmly illuminates Dorfman’s analog process for our digital world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZSTFnUaKsM I, Daniel Blake (UK, France, Belgium / 2016 / Director: Ken Loach) Trailer: youtube.com/watch?v=ahWgxw9E_h4 I, Daniel Blake, the 2016 Palme d’Or winner from director Ken Loach (The Angels’ Share, MFF2013) is a work of startling empathy and relevancy about the working class coming together as a community. It’s the story of one man’s struggle for dignity as he navigates byzantine British bureaucracy in an attempt to maintain welfare benefits as he recovers from a heart attack. As this old dog attempts to learn new tricks to get by (using computers and smartphones), he befriends a single mother and her two children on this gripping journey toward compassion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahWgxw9E_h4 The Lost World (feat. Alloy Orchestra) (USA / 1925 / Director: Harry O. Hoyt) Alloy Orchestra returns to the historic Oriental Theatre, and this time things are going to get prehistoric! This silent adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic tale of a ragtag crew in search of a dinosaur-filled land untouched by time is a rip-roaring adventure that’s fun for the whole family. Combine Willis O’Brien’s pioneering stop-motion effects (eight years before his work on King Kong!) with the vibrant electric accompaniment only Alloy Orchestra can provide and you have the recipe for an unforgettable night at the movies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6aabhIo6Bk Schumann’s Bar Talks (Germany / 2017 / Director: Marieke Schroeder) U.S. premiere! Charles Schumann is a bartender par excellence—known the world over for his iconic Munich-based Schumann’s Bar— and best-selling author of a cocktail guide the New York Times called “the drink-mixer’s bible.” Here Schumann is your tour guide through some of the finest bars the world has to offer, traveling from New York to Tokyo with numerous stops in between to explore the fascinating history and rich culture behind these monuments to social imbibing, a pursuit all Milwaukeeans agree is in need of extensive documentary study. Stop Making Sense (USA / 1984 / Director: Jonathan Demme) The Milwaukee Film Festival’s annual screening/dance party/best concert film ever made/unforgettable filmgoing experience returns for yet another year! The late, great Jonathan Demme combined forces with David Byrne and the Talking Heads to make cinematic history, the rare concert picture that makes you feel like you’re in attendance, experiencing the performance for the first time. From the stripped down “Psycho Killer” opener all the way to its joyous “Crosseyed and Painless” finale, Stop Making Sense is certain to burn down THE house yet again. https://vimeo.com/5804404

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  • Lady Gaga Documentary GAGA: FIVE FOOT TWO to World Premiere at Toronto International Film Festival

    Gaga: Five Foot Two The all-access documentary Gaga: Five Foot Two, a rare, revealing snapshot of a music icon that delves into duality of the raucously public Lady Gaga and the offstage woman that is, Stefani Joanne Germanotta, will World Premiere at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. In the documentary, Lady Gaga offers a vulnerable look at her life during one of the most pivotal periods in her career yet. Directed by Emmy-nominated filmmaker Chris Moukarbel (Banksy Does New York, Me at the Zoo), the film is shot in the style of cinema verité, giving viewers unfiltered, behind-the-scenes access as Gaga spends time with close friends and family members, records and releases her 2016 album Joanne and, deals with personal struggles. Moukarbel’s compelling portrait captures Lady Gaga’s life over an eight-month period. On top of professional triumphs, viewers will see her cope with intense emotional and physical pain. Other moments reflect more ordinary aspects of her life, whether it’s attending a family christening, visiting her grandmother or cooking and playing with her dogs at home. The film may help viewers understand how all of these experiences contribute to Gaga’s art – and how, in just a few years, the 5-foot-2 performer has become such a relatable and beloved figure worldwide. “Moukarbel’s documentary offers an unprecedented look at Lady Gaga in full creative mode: the ideas, the emotion, the sheer work it takes to do what she does,” said TIFF Artistic Director Cameron Bailey. “We’re thrilled to be bringing this film to audiences in Toronto, and even more excited that Lady Gaga will follow the screening with a performance. This one is for all her fans, Little Monsters, and movie lovers alike, who want to share in this once-in-a-lifetime experience.” “I had a rare opportunity to create a portrait of an artist with such an open heart and mind. I feel really lucky that Gaga trusted me and my vision,” said director Chris Moukarbel. The Netflix original documentary is directed by Chris Moukarbel and produced by Heather Parry for Live Nation Productions, Bobby Campbell for Mermaid Films, and Moukarbel. Gaga: Five Foot Two is Executive Produced by Michael Rapino, Kim Ray, Lisa Nishimura, and Benjamin Cotner. The 42nd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 7 to 17, 2017. Gaga: Five Foot Two will screen at the Princess of Wales Theatre on Friday, September 8.

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  • 10 New Films from Darren Aronofsky, Sean Baker and More Complete San Sebastian Festival Pearls Lineup

    [caption id="attachment_24073" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Mother!, starring Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem and Michelle Pfeiffer Mother!, starring Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem[/caption] Ten new films including the latest from Darren Aronofsky, Sean Baker, Michael Haneke, Martin McDonagh, will complete the Pearls section of the 2017 San Sebastian Festival.  All will compete for the City of Donostia / San Sebastian Audience Awards. Mother!, starring Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem and Michelle Pfeiffer, is the latest film from Darren Aronofsky (New York, 1969), the maker of Pi (1998), Best Director Award at Sundance; the cult movie Requiem for a Dream (2000); The Wrestler (2008), Golden Lion in Venice; and Black Swan, Academy Award for Best Actress (Natalie Portman). His latest production is a psychological thriller that will compete at the coming Venice Festival. The Florida Project was one of the most applauded films at the last Cannes Festival, where it participated in the Directors’ Fortnight. Here, Sean Baker (Summit, United States, 1971) tells us about the summer holidays spent by a six year-old girl and her friends, while the adults around them struggle through hard times, after presenting at Sundance 2015 Tangerine, his fourth feature and the first to be completely shot with an iPhone, which harvested around twenty awards. The author of Marius et Jeannette / Marius and Jeanette (1997), Best Actress César for Ariane Ascaride; Marie-Jo et ses 2 amours / Marie-Jo and Her Two Lovers (2002), which competed at Cannes; and Les neiges du Kilimandjaro / The Snows of Kilimanjaro (2012), selected for Un Certain Regard, congregates his regular accomplices on the cast of La villa / The House by the Sea. Robert Guédiguian (Marseille, France, 1953) brings a tale of three siblings who reunite at their father’s house in a small cove near Marseille at the height of winter, and which will compete in Venice. In 1998 Guédiguian won the Special Jury Prize for À la place du Coeur / Where the Heart Is in San Sebastian, to which he returned in 2004 with Mon père est ingenieur / My Father is an Engineer. Michael Haneke (Munich, Germany, 1942), one of the essential directors of today’s cinema, will present Happy End. The author of Funny Games (1997), La pianiste / The Piano Teacher (2001), Das Weisse Band /The White Ribbon (2009) and Amour / Love (2012) has been acclaimed throughout his career with around a hundred awards coming from festivals and international accolades. Happy End, his snapshot from the life of a bourgeois European family, was selected for the Cannes Official Selection. Hirokazu Koreeda (Tokyo, 1962), who has competed four times for the Golden Shell -Wandafuru raifu / After Life (1998), Hana yori mo naho / Hana (2006), Aruitemo, aruitemo / Still Walking (2008) and Kiseki / I Wish (2011), winner of the Best Screenplay Award – has won San Sebastian’s Audience Award twice: in 2013 with Soshite chichi ni naru / Like Father Like Son and in 2015 with Umimachi Diary / Our Little Sister. In Sando-me no satsujin / The Third Murder, to compete at Venice, he follows a lawyer who doubts his client’s guilt. Xavier Legrand, whose short Avant que de tout perdre won the César, four awards at Clermont-Ferrand and landed an Academy Award nomination, debuts in feature films with the story of a son of divorced parents with his shared custody. Jusqu’à la garde / Custody has been selected for the official selection in Venice. Martin McDonagh (Camberwell, United Kingdom, 1970) won, with Six Shooter (2004), the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. His first feature film, In Bruges (2008), won the BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay and an Oscar nomination in the same category, and his second, Seven Psychopaths (2012) received the Audience Award in Toronto’s Midnight Madness section. In Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, to compete at Venice, he narrates the confrontation between a woman (Frances McDormand), whose daughter was murdered months ago without the culprit being arrested, and the local police, headed by two officers played by Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell. After placing his camera in a Danish regiment in Afghanistan (Armadillo) and shooting an episode of the series True Detective, Janus Metz (Denmark, 1974) presents Borg/McEnroe. The film, to open Toronto Festival, recreates the 1980 Wimbledon final between the Swedish and North American tennis players. Lynne Ramsay (Glasgow, United Kingdom,1969) competed at Cannes with her previous film We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011), winner of Best Director at the British Independent Film Awards and Best European Actress Award (Tilda Swinton). You Were Never Really Here, written and directed by the Scottish filmmaker, was acknowledged with the Best Screenplay and Best Actor (Joaquin Phoenix) Awards at the last Cannes Festival. Paolo Virzì (Livorno, Italy, 1964) is one of today’s most important Italian directors. Some of his most remarkable films are Il capitale umano / Human Capital (2013), winner of the David di Donatello Awards for Best Screenplay, Director and Actress, and his penultimate work, La pazza gioia / Like Crazy (2016), winner of the David for Best Film and, once again, Best Director and Best Actress. The Leisure Seeker, starring Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland, is his first film shot in the USA and will compete at Cannes. These titles join the others already announced: Teströl és lékekröl / On Body and Soul by Ilkidó Eneydi; Nelyubov / Loveless by Andrey Zvyagintsev; 120 battements par minute (120 BPM) / 120 Beats Per Minute, by Robin Campillo; Wonderstruck, by Todd Haynes; The Big Sick, by Michael Showalter; Call Me By Your Name, by Luca Guadagnino; and Loving Pablo, by Fernando León de Aranoa, which will close the section out of competition. The City of Donostia / San Sebastian Audience Award is split into two accolades: the Best Film Award, with 50,000 euros, and the Best European Film, with 20,000 euros. BORG/MCENROE JANUS METZ (SWEDEN – DENMARK – FINLAND) Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Sverrir Gudnason, Stellan Skarsgård, Tuva Novotny Biopic about the rivalry between two of world tennis’s biggest icons: the imperturbable Björn Borg and the temperamental North American John McEnroe, through their legendary confrontation at Wimbledon 1980. Two sportsmen completely different from one another who became legends and the price they had to pay for it. Fire and ice on the court. HAPPY END MICHAEL HANEKE (FRANCE – AUSTRIA – GERMANY) Cast: Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Mathieu Kassovitz All around us, the world, and we, in its midst, blind. A snapshot from the life of a bourgeois European family. JUSQU’À LA GARDE / CUSTODY XAVIER LEGRAND (FRANCE) Cast: Denis Ménochet, Léa Drucker, Thomas Gioria, Mathilde Auneveux, Saadia Bentaïeb, Sophie Pincemaille, Emilie Incerti-Formentini Myriam and Antoine are divorced. She asks for exclusive guardianship to protect her young son from her violent husband, but the judge decides to award both spouses shared custody. The victim of a jealous father, in the endeavour to protect his abused mother, Julien will do everything he can to stop the worst from happening. LA VILLA / THE HOUSE BY THE SEA ROBERT GUÉDIGUIAN (FRANCE) Cast: Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Gérard Meylan, Anaïs Demoustier, Robinson Stevenin In a little cove near Marseille, at the height of winter, Angèle, Joseph and Armand return to their elderly father’s home. Angèle is an actress living in Paris and Joseph has just fallen in love with a girl half his age. Armand is the only one who had stayed behind in Marseille to run his father’s small restaurant. It’s time for them to weigh up what they have inherited of their patriarch’s ideals and the community spirit he created in this magical place around a restaurant for workers. But the arrival of a group of boat people will change their reflections… MOTHER! DARREN ARONOFSKY (USA) Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ed Harris A couple’s relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence. A riveting psychological thriller about love, devotion and sacrifice. SANDO-ME NO SATSUJIN / THE THIRD MURDER HIROKAZU KOREEDA (JAPAN) Cast: Kasaharu Fukuyama, Kôji Yakuso, Suzu Hirose Attorney Shigemori takes on the defence of murder-robbery suspect Misumi who served jail time for another murder 30 years ago. Shigemori’s chances of winning the case seem low – his client freely admits his guilt, despite facing the death penalty if he is convicted. But as he digs deeper into the case and hears the testimonies of Mishumi and his family, Shigemori begins to doubt whether his client is the murderer after all. THE FLORIDA PROJECT SEAN BAKER (USA) Cast: Willem Dafoe, Brooklynn Prince, Valeria Cotto, Bria Vinaite, Caleb Landry Jones The Florida Project tells the story of Moonee, a precocious six-year-old and her ragtag group of friends whose summer break is filled with childhood wonder, possibility and a sense of adventure, while the adults around them struggle with hard times. All over the United States, cheap motels have become the last refuge for those unable to secure a permanent home. These invisible destitute people are increasingly greater in number, and 41% are families who struggle every day to keep a roof over their heads. This story is set in the suburbs of Orlando, holiday capital par excellence, home to “the most magical place on earth”. All along the road wending through the land of theme parks and resorts, the cheap hotels that in their day attracted tourists, exploiting the mysticism of Disney, now house homeless families. Moonee and her mother Halley, 22, live in one of these places: the Magic Castle Motel. THE LEISURE SEEKER PAOLO VIRZÌ (ITALY ) Cast: Helen Mirren, Donald Sutherland Ella and John are fleeing the suffocating care of their doctors and grown children. He is distracted but strong. She is frail but sharp. The journey aboard their faithful old camper takes them from Boston to Key West in the USA. Sharing moments of exhilaration and anguish, they recapture their passion for life and their love for others, seeing differently and with perspective the things they’ve left behind. And this means that the way they see each other too will change during their adventure. THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI MARTIN MCDONAGH (UK) Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Peter Dinklage, Abbie Cornish, Lucas Hedges, Caleb Landry Jones After months have passed without a culprit in her daughter’s murder case, Mildred Hayes makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at William Willoughby, the town’s revered chief of police. When his second-in-command officer, Dixon, an immature mother’s boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing’s law enforcement is only exacerbated. YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE LYNNE RAMSAY (USA – FRANCE) Cast: Joaquin Phoenix. Ekaterina Samsonov, Alessandro Nivola, Alex Manette, John Doman, Judith Roberts A missing teenage girl. A brutal and tormented enforcer on a rescue mission. Corrupt power and vengeance unleash a storm of violence that may lead to his awakening.

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