Deborah Graham at her home in Salisbury, North Carolina. Film still from FROM THE ASHES. Credit: Jonathan Furmanski.[/caption]
From the Ashes, a feature documentary that explores one of the country’s most contentious topics — coal and the mining industry, has been acquired by the National Geographic for release in the US.
Distributed under the National Geographic Documentary Films banner, From the Ashes will have its world premiere at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival on April 26, followed by a limited theatrical release this summer and will air globally on National Geographic in 171 countries and 45 languages later in 2017.
Produced by the Academy Award- and Emmy-winning production company RadicalMedia, directed by Emmy-nominated filmmaker Michael Bonfiglio, produced by Sidney Beaumont, and executive produced by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger — as well as Jon Kamen, Katherine Oliver and Justin Wilkes, in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies — From the Ashes captures Americans in communities across the country as they wrestle with the legacy of the coal industry, and what its future should be under the Trump administration.
From Appalachia to the West’s Powder River Basin, the film goes beyond the rhetoric of the “war on coal” to present compelling and often-heartbreaking stories about what is at stake for our economy, health and climate. The film invites audiences to learn more about an industry on the edge and what it means for their lives.
“For over a century, mining and energy companies have been privatizing coal’s profits while socializing its costs. Coal plant pollution kills 7,500 Americans a year and causes many more serious illnesses,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and co-author of the new book “Climate of Hope.” “From the Ashes shows the risks we face as a nation if we continue to rely on coal and examines how Americans in local communities, including in coal country, are helping to lead the transition toward cleaner air and stronger economies.”
From the Ashes builds on Bloomberg’s environmental philanthropic work. Bloomberg Philanthropies has committed over $100 million to move the U.S. away from coal and toward clean energy through its Clean Energy Initiative and Beyond Coal efforts. As a UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Cities and Climate Change, and in partnership with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Bloomberg convened more than 500 global cities at the first-ever Climate Summit for Local Leaders at Paris City Hall during COP21. Beyond Coal, which aims to secure the retirement of half the nation’s coal fleet, has already led to the closure or phasing out of 250 coal-fired power plants and helped to prevent more than 5,550 premature deaths per year. Additionally, Bloomberg Philanthropies supports sustainability in cities around the globe through C40, a network of more than 90 global megacities, and other grants.
“Using media and technology to inform, connect and prompt action is in the DNA of Bloomberg and we’re excited to harness the power of storytelling to reach new audiences and inspire change at such a critical time in our history,” shared Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Katherine Oliver, who also serves as executive producer.
The world premiere of From the Ashes will take place at the Festival Hub at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 26, 2017, at 6 p.m. ET. Before the film festival screening there will be a special introduction by Bloomberg, a former three-term mayor of New York City. Immediately following the premiere, there will be a conversation with the director of the film, Bonfiglio, and other special guests to discuss the state of the American coal industry.
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Tribeca 2017: National Geographic to Release Coal Mining Documentary FROM THE ASHES | Trailer
[caption id="attachment_21921" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Deborah Graham at her home in Salisbury, North Carolina. Film still from FROM THE ASHES. Credit: Jonathan Furmanski.[/caption]
From the Ashes, a feature documentary that explores one of the country’s most contentious topics — coal and the mining industry, has been acquired by the National Geographic for release in the US.
Distributed under the National Geographic Documentary Films banner, From the Ashes will have its world premiere at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival on April 26, followed by a limited theatrical release this summer and will air globally on National Geographic in 171 countries and 45 languages later in 2017.
Produced by the Academy Award- and Emmy-winning production company RadicalMedia, directed by Emmy-nominated filmmaker Michael Bonfiglio, produced by Sidney Beaumont, and executive produced by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Joe Berlinger — as well as Jon Kamen, Katherine Oliver and Justin Wilkes, in partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies — From the Ashes captures Americans in communities across the country as they wrestle with the legacy of the coal industry, and what its future should be under the Trump administration.
From Appalachia to the West’s Powder River Basin, the film goes beyond the rhetoric of the “war on coal” to present compelling and often-heartbreaking stories about what is at stake for our economy, health and climate. The film invites audiences to learn more about an industry on the edge and what it means for their lives.
“For over a century, mining and energy companies have been privatizing coal’s profits while socializing its costs. Coal plant pollution kills 7,500 Americans a year and causes many more serious illnesses,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and co-author of the new book “Climate of Hope.” “From the Ashes shows the risks we face as a nation if we continue to rely on coal and examines how Americans in local communities, including in coal country, are helping to lead the transition toward cleaner air and stronger economies.”
From the Ashes builds on Bloomberg’s environmental philanthropic work. Bloomberg Philanthropies has committed over $100 million to move the U.S. away from coal and toward clean energy through its Clean Energy Initiative and Beyond Coal efforts. As a UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Cities and Climate Change, and in partnership with Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Bloomberg convened more than 500 global cities at the first-ever Climate Summit for Local Leaders at Paris City Hall during COP21. Beyond Coal, which aims to secure the retirement of half the nation’s coal fleet, has already led to the closure or phasing out of 250 coal-fired power plants and helped to prevent more than 5,550 premature deaths per year. Additionally, Bloomberg Philanthropies supports sustainability in cities around the globe through C40, a network of more than 90 global megacities, and other grants.
“Using media and technology to inform, connect and prompt action is in the DNA of Bloomberg and we’re excited to harness the power of storytelling to reach new audiences and inspire change at such a critical time in our history,” shared Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Katherine Oliver, who also serves as executive producer.
The world premiere of From the Ashes will take place at the Festival Hub at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 26, 2017, at 6 p.m. ET. Before the film festival screening there will be a special introduction by Bloomberg, a former three-term mayor of New York City. Immediately following the premiere, there will be a conversation with the director of the film, Bonfiglio, and other special guests to discuss the state of the American coal industry.
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Tribeca 2017: Watch Josephine Decker and Zefrey Throwell Document Their Relationship in Trailers for FLAMES
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Actors Josephine Decker and Zefrey Throwell make love in the bathroom. Film still from FLAMES. Photo by Ashley Connor.[/caption]
Here are the new trailers – red band and green band – for FLAMES directed by and featuring real-life couple Josephine Decker and Zefrey Throwell. Filmed over five years, FLAMES follows the couple from the white-hot passion of first love to the heartbreak of the bitter end.
Flames will World Premiere at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival on Thursday, April 20.
High on their intense connection, the pair of artists document their relationship’s every beat, from their adventurous sex life, to their performance art collaborations, to a spur-of-the-moment getaway to the Maldives. But when the romantic vacation doesn’t exactly go as planned, the now-former couple are left to decide what to do with their film-in-progress, and for these two filmmakers, the end of the relationship isn’t the end of the story.
As they continue filming, reconstructing what happened and where it all went wrong, lines begin to blur between what was real and what was “the film”—if there’s even a difference anymore. Equal parts performance piece and penetrating rumination on the way some relationships are never finished even after they end, FLAMES is an extraordinary docu-art hybrid- a raw nerve of a film that finds within its unique idiosyncrasies and eccentricities a universally affecting manifesto of heartbreak.
The Couple: Josephine Decker and Zefrey Throwell
Said to be ushering in a “new grammar of narrative” by The New Yorker, Josephine Decker aims to spark curiosity and wonder in audiences while delving into the ways we classify ourselves and others. Part of Time Warner’s 150 incubator, a recent Sundance Institute’s New Frontier Lab Fellow and one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film, Josephine Decker premiered her first two narrative features, BUTTER ON THE LATCH and THOU WAST MILD AND LOVELY, at the Berlinale Forum 2014. The films were listed #2 and #10 on The New Yorker’s Top Ten List of 2014, played about a hundred festivals around the world (including Torino, London BFI, BAM Cinemafest), won Sarasota Film Festival’s Independent Visions Award, Tangerine Entertainment’s prize for a rising female director and many other awards. Her third narrative feature, starring Molly Parker and Miranda July, is currently in post-production, and this fall, she incubated a dance-theater-film hybrid at Princeton University with butoh choreographer Vangeline. Interested in melding unconventional movement and dance into narrative film, Josephine spent a year in Pig Iron Theater’s Advanced Performance Training to learn theater-based techniques of collaborative writing. She is using that training to create Virtual Reality narratives, including one currently with Wolf Cinema in Berlin and another developed by Kaleidoscope VR, DevLab and The Sundance Institute. Zefrey Throwell is a NYC based artist who uses the mediums of film, performance, photography and painting to orchestrate his inquisitive perspective. 1000 car horn symphonies, a weeklong strip poker critique of modern economics, a massive food fight- Throwell’s projects have been featured in The New York Times, CNN, NPR, NBC, Artforum, Art in America, Artinfo and Modern Painters. Throwell has work in The Museum of Modern Art and other major collections. His films have shown at the Cannes Film Festival and other festivals around the world. He is currently directing three feature films and organizing the longest choir in history- a 10,000 opera singer project that stretches over the alps from Italy to Germany, as well as a 10 cruise ship symphony surrounding Miami Beach. Throwell’s latest feature film “Flames” will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2017.Red Band Trailer
Green Band Trailer
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Alex Gibney’s NO STONE UNTURNED Pulled from Tribeca Film Festival
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NO STONE UNTURNED – Alex Gibney[/caption]
The producers of Academy Award-winningAlex Gibney’s No Stone Unturned has withdrawn the film from the upcoming 2017 Tribeca Film Festival citing outstanding legal issues. The film was to have its World Premiere on Sunday April 23.
The documentary takes a look back to 1994, in Loughinisland, Northern Ireland where six men were gunned down and five wounded in a pub while watching a World Cup soccer match. With a police investigation that was perfunctory at best, the case remained unsolved. In this film, Gibney reopens the original case to investigate why no culprit was ever brought to justice.
In a statement, the festival said, “We were notified today from the producers of Alex Gibney’s No Stone Unturned that there are outstanding legal issues surrounding the film and they will need to withdraw the documentary from the Festival. We are very disappointed that audiences will not be able to see the film at Tribeca and we know Alex is equally disappointed that his film will not have its world premiere at the Festival.”
The festival has removed the film from the website and refunded the customers who have purchased tickets.
The producer Trevor Birney, Fine Point Films said in a statement, “We are bitterly disappointed that as a result of ongoing legal issues relating to the subject matter of the film, No Stone Unturned (Director: Alex Gibney) is not yet ready to be screened at Tribeca 2017. No one will feel this disappointment more than the families at the centre of the film, whose quest for justice has been both inspiring and unstinting these last 23 years. It is our deepest hope that these sensitive issues can be resolved as soon as possible so that we can share this important film with the world.”
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LA Film Festival Unveils Official 2017 Poster Created by Yoskay Yamamoto
The LA Film Festival today unveiled the official 2017 poster, created by Japanese-born, LA-based artist Yoskay Yamamoto. Following on the acrylic-splattered heels of such past Festival poster artists as Ed Ruscha, Noah Davis and Carolyn Castaño, Yamamoto’s design is yet another in long tradition eye-catching images meant to capture the uniqueness and diversity of both the Festival and Los Angeles itself.
“I’m thrilled to have Yoskay Yamamoto as this year’s Festival artist,” said Jennifer Cochis, LA Film Festival Director. “I immediately fell in love with his work and was drawn in by its dreamy, story-like qualities. I’m excited for people to see his work around the city in the lead up to the Festival.”
The 2017 LA Film Festival will take place June 14 to 22 headquartered at ArcLight Cinemas Culver City.
Read about artist Yoskay Yamamoto approach to designing this year’s poster, what makes the moon such a fun image to draw, Manga and much, much more.
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2nd China Stars Showcase Series Returns to 2017 Seattle International Film Festival
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The Knife In The Clear Water / WANG Xuebo[/caption]
The China Stars Showcase series returned to the 43rd annual Seattle International Film Festival for the second year, presenting twelve feature films along with five short films from students of the Beijing Film Academy.
With support from WASA North America Group and Hainan Airlines to foster cross-cultural exchange and artistic vision, the China Stars Showcase features stories that range from thriller (Evil Minds) to family friendly comedy (Tea Pets), familial obligations (Knife in the Clear Water) to a fantastic discovery of an inter-dimensional portal (The Door). The twelve films in the selection reflect the breadth of independent films in China today.
Curated by SIFF film programmers Beth Barrett, Dustin Kaspar, and Mr. Eugene Zhang of WASA North America Group, the China Stars Showcase will also include an archival presentation of Love and Duty presented alongside a live accompaniment by Donald Sosin as well as the newest film by legendary actress YI Qin, The Beautiful Kokonor Lake. The full China Stars Showcase can be found below.
The Beautiful Kokonor Lake
d. XING-HAO Shen | China 2017 | 98 min
Inspired by the true stories of the difficult construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, 95-year-old Chinese film icon YI Qin wrote, produced, and stars in this romantic drama about a pair of courageous meteorological engineers who fall in love with the region.
The Door | North American Premiere
d. DONG Liang | China 2017 | 104 min
A working-class auto mechanic discovers a magical door to an alternate world in which his life choices made him a wealthy playboy who seemingly has it all. Fantastical comic moments lead to self-reflection as he discovers that cross-dimensional existence has its problems.
Evil Minds d. XIE Dongshen | China 2017 | ~100 minIn this suspenseful, action-packed thriller, criminal profiler Fang Mu (Li Yifeng) is renowned for his gifted insights, but when a police detective brings him in to solve a bizarre campus murder, it proves to be a case that may be too much even for his skills.
Father and Son d. YUAN Weidong | China 2017 | ~100 minA young businessman fakes his own father’s death in order to collect condolence money to repay some menacing gangsters, but the plan goes from crafty to farcical when his ex-military father returns “from the dead” to help.
Free and Easy d. JUN Geng | China 2016 | 99 minA soap-peddling shyster lands in a desolate northern China factory town filled with idiosyncratic con artists in Jen Geng’s deadpan Jarmusch-style satire, winner of the Special Jury Award for Cinematic Vision at the Sundance Film Festival.
God of War d. Gordon Chan | China 2017 | 130 min A period war action film about how Chinese general Qi Jiguang defeated Japanese pirates that proliferated along the Chinese coastline during 16th century. Have a Nice Day d. LIU Jian | China 2017 | 77 min Driver Xiao Zhang robs one million dollars from his boss in order to fix his girlfriend’s failed plastic surgery, but he is soon faced with a bigger predicament when a hitman, a gangster and a robber go after him and the money. Knife in the Clear Water | US Premiere d. WANG Xuebo | China 2016 | 93 minThe hauntingly beautiful fable of an elderly farmer in China’s primarily Muslim Ningxia province who finds that affection for his beloved bull makes it impossible to sacrifice the animal in a religious ceremony―until the bull inexplicably stops eating.
Love and Duty d. WANCANG Bu | China 1931 | 153 minChinese silent film icon Ruan Lingyu, frequently called the Greta Garbo of Shanghai, stars in this newly restored edition of one of the biggest films of early Chinese cinema, a decades-spanning romantic drama about a woman who pays dearly for following her heart. With live accompaniment by Donald Sosin.
The Song of Cotton d. ZHU Yuancheng | China 2016 | 90 minAfter accepting the job as a full time caretaker for an ex-boxer who suffers from senile dementia, a young woman develops a close bond with her patient. A heartfelt drama based on a short story by National Book Award-winning author Ha Jin.
Soul on a String d. ZHANG Yang | China 2016 | 142 minA compassionate Buddhist embarks on a mystical quest through Tibet, pursued by black-market traders and a man hell-bent on vengeance. Along the way they encounter mysterious travelers, among them a loyal elf, a lovestruck woman, and a mute psychic.
Tea Pets d. Gary Wang | China 2017 | 93 minPopping off the screen with vivacious colors and beautifully composed action sequences, a group of tea pets―cute clay figurines that are good-luck charms for tea drinkers―embark on a magical animated adventure to find a fabled mystic.
Short Films from Beijing Film Academy Students
Bloom d. SUN Yiran and XU Jiyao | China 2017 | 8 min Elephant King d. FU Yan and FU Chao | China 2017 | 11 min Free Throw Line d. ZHANG Yixin | China 2017 | 7 min I Come From Prairie d. Nuhan Arisbek | China 2017 | 8 min The Sea d. LI Yifan | China 2017 | 7 min Seattle International Film Festival is pleased to present the following awards at the China Stars Award Ceremony on Friday, June 9th at the Seattle Pan Pacific Hotel. Lifetime Achievement YI Qin Emergent Talent DONG Liang Film Award Wanda Films
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Cannes Film Festival Announces 2017 Official Selection of Short Films
The Cannes Film Festival announced the 2017 Official Selection of short films In Competition and the Cinéfondation Selection. The Cinéfondation and Short Films Jury, presided by Cristian Mungiu, will then decide on the best films both from the Short Films Competition and the Cinéfondation.
The 2017 Short Films Competition comprises 9 films (8 works of fictions and 1 animation), from Finland, France, United Kingdom, Denmark, Greece, Iran, USA, Poland, China, Colombia and Sweden. These films are all in the running for the 2017 Short Film Palme d’or, to be awarded by Cristian Mungiu, President of the Jury, at the official award ceremony of the 70th Festival de Cannes on 28th May.
To mark its 20th year, the Cinéfondation Selection has chosen 16 films (14 works of fiction and 2 animations), from among the 2,600 works submitted this year by film schools from all over the world. Fourteen countries from three continents are represented. Four of the films selected come from schools taking part for the first time. The three Cinéfondation prizes will be awarded at a ceremony preceding the screening of the prize-winning films on Friday 26th May in the Buñuel Theatre.
THE SHORT FILMS COMPETITION 2017
Teppo Airaksinen – KATTO (Ceiling) Finland Lucrèce Andreae – PÉPÉ LE MORSE – animation (Grandpa Walrus) France Mahdi Fleifel – A DROWNING MAN United Kingdom, Denmark, Grece Alireza Ghasemi – LUNCH TIME Iran Fiona Godivier – ACROSS MY LAND USA Grzegorz Molda – KONIEC WIDZENIA (Time to go) Poland Qiu Yang – XIAO CHENG ER YUE (A Gentle Night) China Andrés Ramirez Pulido – DAMIANA Colombia Julia Thelin – PUSH IT SwedenTHE CINÉFONDATION SELECTION 2017
Yuval Aharoni – BEN MAMSHICH (Heritage) – Steve Tisch School of Film & Television, Tel Aviv University, Israel Bahman Ark, Bahram Ark – HEYVAN (Animal) – Iranian National School of Cinema, Iran Michal Blasko – ATLANTÍDA, 2003 (Atlantis, 2003) – FTF VŠMU, Slovakia Stijn Bouma – LEJLA – Sarajevo Film Academy, Bosnia-Herzegovina Eduardo Brandao Pinto – VAZIO DO LADO DE FORA (Empty on the Outside) – Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil Aya Igashi – TOKERU – Toho Gakuen Film Techniques Training College, Japan Payal Kapadia – AFTERNOON CLOUDS – Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), India Léa Krawczyk – À PERDRE HALEINE – La Poudrière, France Marian Mathias – GIVE UP THE GHOST – NYU Tisch School of the Arts, USA Valentina Maurel – PAUL EST LÀ (Paul is Here) – INSAS, Belgium Imge Özbilge – CAMOUFLAGE – KASK, Belgium Roberto Porta – PEQUEÑO MANIFIESTO EN CONTRA DEL CINE SOLEMNE (Little Manifesto Against Solemn Cinema) – Universidad del Cine (FUC), Argentina Rory Stewart – WILD HORSES – NFTS, UK Áron Szenpeteri – LÁTHATATLANUL (Invisibly) – Színház-és Filmművészeti Egyetem, Hungaria Tommaso Usberti – DEUX ÉGARÉS SONT MORTS – La Fémis, France WANG Yi-Ling – YIN SHIAN BIEN JIAN GON LU (Towards the Sun) – National Taiwan University of Arts, Taiwan
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San Francisco International Film Festival Announces 2017 Golden Gate Award Winners
[caption id="attachment_19896" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Everything Else, Natalia Almada (Todo lo demás
Doña Flor (Adriana Barraza))[/caption] The San Francisco International Film Festival announced the winners of the juried 2017 Golden Gate Award (GGA) competitions, with the Golden Gate Awards New Directors going to Everything Else, directed by Natalia Almada; and the McBaine Documentary Feature Award going to Brimstone & Glory directed by Viktor Jakovleski. This year the Festival awarded nearly $40,000 in prizes to emerging and established filmmakers.GOLDEN GATE NEW DIRECTORS (NARRATIVE FEATURE) PRIZE
GGA New Directors Prize winner: Everything Else, Natalia Almada (Mexico/USA/France) Receives $10,000 cash prize In a statement, the jury noted: “For its humanism, its consistency of vision, its formal rigor, and its remarkable blend of fiction and non-fiction, we give the New Directors award to Natalia Almada and her film Everything Else.”MCBAINE DOCUMENTARY FEATURE AWARDS
McBaine Documentary Feature Award Winner: Brimstone & Glory, Viktor Jakovleski (USA) Receives $10,000 cash prize The jury noted in a statement: “Spectacular and visceral, dangerous and spiritual, this high-flying documentary transports us into the ecstatic rituals of a Mexican town.” McBaine Bay Area Documentary Feature Award: The Force, Peter Nicks (USA) Receives $5,000 cash prize The jury noted: “For it’s timely and in-depth examination of the relationship between the police and the community, unafraid to show the complex humanity of all sides of this fraught subject, we give this award to Peter Nicks’ gripping and finely crafted documentary.” Special Jury Prize: School Life (formerly In Loco Parentis), Neasa Ní Chianáin, David Rane (Ireland/Spain) The jury noted: “The jury would like to give a special jury prize to a movie that take us into an eccentric and idyllic world with intuitive grace and a richly empathetic vision.”GOLDEN GATE AWARDS FOR SHORT FILMS
Best Narrative Short winner: Univitellin, Terence Nance (France) Receives $2,000 cash prize Special Jury Prize for Narrative Short: A Brief History of Princess X, Gabriel Abrantes (Portugal/France/UK) Best Documentary Short winner: The Rabbit Hunt, Patrick X Bresnan (USA) Receives $2,000 cash prize Best Animated Short winner: Hot Dog Hands, Matt Reynolds, (USA) Receives $2,000 cash prize Best New Visions Short winner: Turtles Are Always Home, Rawane Nassif (Qatar/Lebanon/Canada) Receives $1,500 cash prize Bay Area Short First Prize winner: In the Wake of Ghost Ship, Jason Blalock (USA) Receives $1,500 cash prize Bay Area Short Second Prize winner: American Paradise, Joe Talbot, USA. Receives $1,000 cash prizeGOLDEN GATE AWARD FOR FAMILY FILM
Best Family Film winner: Valley of a Thousand Hills, Jess Colquhoun (South Africa/UK) Receives $1,000 cash prize The jury noted: “This film is a moving, refreshing, and unexpected portrait of a section of the culture of South Africa, feeling so far away geographically but so easy to relate to emotionally. We were drawn into the ease and dynamics of the kids’ friendships. The authenticity of the storytelling from its young subjects helped create a deeper connection to the audience. It was hopeful, inspiring, reassuring, and visually stunning. We feel audience members of a wide range of ages can walk away with a lasting impression that captures the simplicity of childhood layered with life lessons on focus, respect, and friendship.” Special Jury Prize: Summer Camp Island, Julia Pott (USA) The jury noted: “We want to see more of this and wish it could be turned into a series. We love the quirky originality of the story, animation, and characters.”GOLDEN GATE AWARD FOR YOUTH WORK
Best Youth Work winner: Cycle, Caleb Wild (USA) Receives $1,000 cash prize The jury noted: “Cycle presented an honest portrait of a young man coming-of-age that examined his character beyond the typical tropes of masculinity, offering viewers an engaging journey that felt personal and surprising with strong cinematography.”GOOGLE BREAKTHROUGH IN TECHNOLOGY AWARD
Google presents the Breakthrough in Technology Award for the best use or display of technology and innovation. The award honors filmmakers who go the extra mile to highlight the use of computer science and technology to solve a problem and make the world a better place, and aspires to promote diversity in tech while disrupting negative stereotypes in STEM fields. Google Breakthrough in Technology Award winner: N.O.VI.S., Arthur Rodger ‘Harley’ Maranan (Phillipines) Receives $500 cash prize donated by Google Inc.
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A GOOD WIFE, NO SMOKING IN SARAJEVO Win at 2017 Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival in NYC
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A Good Wife, Mirjana Karanović, 2017 Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival[/caption]
A Good Wife, Mirjana Karanović’s story of a woman whose life is shaken when she discovers a video that implicates her husband Vlada in war crimes, won the Golden Apple Jury Award for Best Feature at 2017 Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival (BHFF) in New York City. Mirjana Karanović also won the BHFF’s first ever Jury Award for Best Acting Performance for her role inA Good Wife.
A Good Wife is a powerful film that was awarded for relevant, timely and brave script, an important theme and skillfully executed storytelling and cinematography.
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NO SMOKING IN SARAJEVO, Gianluca Loffredo – 14th Annual Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival Awards Presentation[/caption]
No Smoking In Sarajevo, Gianluca Loffredo’s retrospective on iconic Bosnian rock band No Smoking, and the unique period that ushered in the region’s comic and sharp-edged New Primitivism movement, won the BHFF 2017 Golden Apple Jury Award for Best Documentary.
No Smoking In Sarajevo was awarded for a perceptive storytelling and weaving of a complex and subtle narrative, from an outsider looking into a tragic story that is symbolic of so many breakups of the last 25 years.
Goran Kapetanović’s Refugee 532, in which twelve-year-old refugee Sevko must adapt to his new life in Sweden while overcoming adversity and waiting for news from home, won the BHFF 2017 Golden Apple Jury Award for Best Short Film.
Refugee 532 is wonderfully cast and with satisfying script and emotional performances, a story that not only speaks of our recent past but also of our global present.
Danis Tanović’s Death In Sarajevo, a biting satire mirroring the precariousness of modern Europe, won the BHFF 2017 Golden Apple Audience Award for Best Picture.
Films receiving Jury Awards were selected by the official BHFF 2017 Jury, an expert panel, comprised of renowned photojournalist Ron Haviv; filmmaker and author Zlata Filipović, and acclaimed costume designer Amela Bakšić.
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Stranger With My Face International Film Festival Announces Key 2017 Titles and Guests
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XX, Roxanne Benjamin[/caption]
The 5th edition of Stranger With My Face International Film Festival will take place in Hobart, Tasmania, from May 4 to 7, 2017 , with a line-up of feature films, a shorts program, a symposium, industry events and an art exhibition. Stranger With My Face focuses on women’s perspectives in genre filmmaking with an emphasis on horror and related genres.
The 2017 program includes a retrospective of the celebrated New Zealand filmmaker Gaylene Preston; the Tasmanian premiere of the all-female horror anthology XX with one of the filmmakers, Roxanne Benjamin, in person; and a screening of Wes Craven’s The People Under the Stairs with its cinematographer, Sandi Sissel ASC.
“Stranger With My Face is a place for newcomers get their films seen and to meet like-minded artists,” says Festival Director Briony Kidd, “But it’s also very much about highlighting older work that’s ripe for rediscovery.”
In addition to appearing for Q&As after screenings of their work, Gaylene Preston and Roxanne Benjamin will take on the role of mentors for the festival’s filmmaker development program The Attic Lab, which returns after a successful first year in 2016.
Roxanne Benjamin is well-known as the producer of the V/H/S films, credited by many as kicking off the ongoing ‘revival’ of the horror anthology feature film. She recently produced, directed and wrote segments of two new anthologies, Southbound, which premiered at TIFF in 2015 and XX this year, which opens this year’s Stranger With My Face after premiering at Sundance
Gaylene Preston ONZM is one of New Zealand’s most highly regarded filmmakers, with a career spanning more than four decades. While primarily known for her work in documentary and factually inspired drama, Preston is influential genre circles with two films in particular, both of which will screen at Stranger With My Face 2017.
PERFECT STRANGERS (1991) is a “chilling romance” which stars Rachel Blake and Sam Neill, and the lesser known MR WRONG (1983) which has recently been championed by cult cinema connoisseur Quentin Tarantino, who said “I loved the woman who was the lead in it… she would never be the lead in the American version of that movie. And there was something so authentic about seeing her trapped into this supernatural story.”
Rounding out the The Attic Lab mentor team for is veteran cinematographer Sandi Sissel (CHICKEN RANCH, SALAAM BOMBAY, MASTER AND COMMANDER) who will be in attendance for a screening of THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS, followed by an in-depth discussion around the artistic challenges involved in the 1991 Wes Craven production.
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TRIBECA 2017: Kino Lorber to Release TOM OF FINLAND Biopic in the US
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Tom of Finland[/caption]
TOM OF FINLAND, Dome Karukoski’s biopic about the life and work of Finnish artist and gay icon Touko Laaksonen, best known by his pseudonym Tom of Finland, has been acquired by Kino Lorber for release in the US.
Dome Karukoski’s Tom Of Finland is set to have its North American premiere at the upcoming Tribeca Film Festival, after a world premiere at the Goteborg Film Festival in February. It’s also in high demand among LGBTQ U.S. festivals. The film’s world premiere was followed by a release in its home territory, whereTom Of Finland has taken close to $1m at the local box office.
A trailblazing figure in post-World War II erotic art, Touko Laaksonen drew thousands of fantasy-filled, homoerotic images of intensely masculine (and muscular) men, often liberated from the moral codes of their times. Quickly spreading throughout the world, these images went on to play a significant role in the transnational gay liberation movement that continues to make strides to this day, also becoming iconic symbols for generations of LGBT people worldwide.
Director Dome Karukoski is an acclaimed Finnish filmmaker with six features to his credit including The Grump (2014), Heart Of A Lion (2013) and Lapland Odyssey (2010).
The film was produced by Finnish production outfit Helsinki Film, with a screenplay by Aleksi Bardy. The cast includes Pekka Strang, Lauri Tilkanen, Jessica Grabowsky, Taisto Oksanen, Seumas Sargent, Jakob Oftebro and Niklas Hogner.
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2017 Tribeca Film Festival Announces Jury – Zachary Quinto, Christina Ricci, Ruth Wilson, and More
The 2017 Tribeca Film Festival announced its jurors – comprised of a group of critically acclaimed filmmakers, award-winning actors working across film, television, and stage, accomplished producers, and cultural leaders. The winning films, filmmakers, actors, and storytellers in each category will be announced at the Tribeca Film Festival Awards ceremony hosted by Michael Rapaport on Thursday, April 27 . The 2017 Tribeca Film Festival runs from April 19 –30.
The nine Tribeca juries for the film and immersive storytelling categories will award cash and prizes. Ten of the winners will also receive a work of original art by a renowned contemporary artist as part of the Tribeca Film Festival Artists Awards program, sponsored by CHANEL.
“This year’s jury reflects the diverse artistry represented in our Festival program, which has evolved over the past 15 years to showcase the breadth of storytelling across all mediums,” said Jane Rosenthal, co-founder, Tribeca Film Festival, and Executive Chair, Tribeca Enterprises. “Selecting winners in each category is no easy task, and we look forward to the thoughtful perspective and spirited debate our jurors will bring to the job.”
In addition to the main competition juries, the Festival also announced the all-female jury for the 2017 Nora Ephron Prize, which was founded four years ago to honor a woman filmmaker whose work embodies the spirit and vision of the legendary filmmaker and writer Nora Ephron. Tribeca previously announced five jurors for the second annual Tribeca X Award, which celebrates branded storytelling at the intersection of advertising and entertainment.
Following is a list of all 2017 Festival jurors and their respective categories.
Feature Film Competition Categories
The jurors for the 2017 US Narrative Competition section are: Josh Lucas: Actor Josh Lucas is best known for his roles in the films A Beautiful Mind, Sweet Home Alabama, Poseidon, and Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar, as well as on stage in “The Glass Menagerie” and “Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell.” He can currently be seen in Netflix’s The Most Hated Woman In America. Lucas is based in NYC. Melanie Lynskey: New Zealand born Melanie Lynskey’s first role came in 1994 with her award winning performance in Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures opposite Kate Winslet. Since then, she has amassed a number of credits both in features and television. Her credits include Steven Soderbergh’s The Informant, Tom McCarthy’s Win Win, Billy Ray’s Shattered Glass, Sam Mendes’ Away We Go, and Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air. Denis O’Hare: Denis O’Hare is a Tony Award winning and Emmy-nominated actor. Screen credits include Charlie Wilson’s War, Milk, Dallas Buyers Club, and American Horror Story. Alex Orlovsky: Alex Orlovsky has been working as a producer for 15 years. In that time, he has produced The Discovery, The Wolfpack, I Origins, The Place Beyond the Pines, Blue Valentine, and Half Nelson, among others. Orlovsky’s films have been nominated for Academy Awards, Golden Globes, Independent Spirit Awards, and Gotham Awards, and have played in a number of major film festivals including Berlin, Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, Tribeca, and Venice. Stephanie Zacharek: Stephanie Zacharek is the film critic for Time magazine. She was previously chief film critic for the Village Voice and Salon.com, and was a finalist for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize in criticism. The jurors for the 2017 International Narrative Competition section are: Willem Dafoe: Two-time Academy Award nominee Willem Dafoe is one of today’s most highly accomplished and versatile American film actors. He has performed in over 100 films in Hollywood and abroad. Peter Fonda: Peter Fonda is an award-winning actor who co-wrote, produced, and starred in the iconic film Easy Rider. Since his legendary role, he has continued to deliver impressive performances seen in films such as Ulee’s Gold, The Tempest, 3:10 to Yuma, and Ghost Rider. Tavi Gevinson: Tavi Gevinson is an actress, writer, and the editor-in-chief of “Rookie”, a website for teenage girls which she founded in 2011. She can soon be seen opposite Michael Cera and Abbi Jacobson in the upcoming film Person To Person, which follows a variety of New York characters as they navigate personal relationships and unexpected problems over the course of one day. Alessandro Nivola: Alessandro Nivola is a Tony Award nominated film and stage actor and television producer. Film credits include American Hustle, Junebug, Coco Before Chanel, A Most Violent Year, and Selma. Ruth Wilson: Two-time Olivier Award-winner, Golden Globe winner and Tony Award nominated actress Ruth Wilson has paved her way in theatre, television and film. Best known for her portrayal of the character Alison in The Affair and of Alice in Luther, and for her work on the London stage, Wilson has become one of Britain’s most lauded young actresses. The jurors for the 2017 World Documentary Competition section are: R.J. Cutler: R.J. Cutler is an award-winning director and producer. His work includes the feature film If I Stay, the documentaries Listen to Me Marlon, The World According to Dick Cheney, The September Issue, A Perfect Candidate, and The War Room, and the television series Nashville, American High, Freshman Diaries, Black/White, and 30 Days. Alma Har’el: Alma Har’el’s award winning, visionary work plunges deep into the heart of imagination and produces genre-redefining and fearless work that artistically blurs the line between documentary and fiction. In 2016, Har’el founded Free The Bid, an initiative designed to fight gender bias in the advertisement industry. Barbara Kopple: Barbara Kopple is a two-time Academy Award winning filmmaker. She has produced and directed over 35 films, and counting. Anne Thompson: Anne Thompson is Editor at Large at Indiewire, founder of Thompson on Hollywood, author of “The $11 Billion Year” and cohost of the weekly Screen Talk podcast. David Wilson: David Wilson is a filmmaker and co-founder of the True/False Film Fest in Columbia, Missouri. The jurors for the 2017 Best New Narrative Director Competition are: Bryan Buckley: Bryan Buckley is the director of the films Asad, The Bronze, and upcoming release, Dabka. He is known for his extensive commercial work, directing more than 50 Super Bowl spots. Clea Duvall: Clea DuVall is an actress and filmmaker. She currently stars in the Emmy award winning HBO series Veep, and recurs in AMC’s Better Call Saul. She starred in many award winning films including Argo, Passengers, Zodiac, Girl, Interrupted, and the cult favorites But I’m A Cheerleader and The Faculty. Michael Pitt: Michael Pitt is an American actor, writer, director, producer, and musician. Credits include Boardwalk Empire, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The Dreamers, I Origins, Funny Games, and Last Days. His most recent role was Kuze in Ghost in the Shell. In 2015, Michael Pitt made his directorial debut with The Driver. The jurors for the 2017 Albert Maysles Award (Best New Documentary Director Award) are: Amy Berg: Amy Berg is a critically acclaimed, Emmy-award winning and Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker whose company, Disarming Films, writes and produces docuseries for television and long-form documentaries focusing on social justice. Alice Eve: Alice Eve is an acclaimed British actress known for her roles in Star Trek into Darkness and Before We Go opposite Chris Evans. She can soon be seen in upcoming feature Please Stand By opposite Dakota Fanning and Toni Collette and Replicas opposite Keanu Reeves. Marilyn Ness: Marilyn Ness is a two-time Emmy®, DuPont, and Peabody Award-winning documentary producer and director best known for her work producing Cameraperson, Trapped, E-Team, and 1971 (Tribeca Film Festival 2014). Zachary Quinto: Zachary Quinto is a film, stage and television actor as well as a producer. His credits include Star Trek, Snowden, The Glass Menagerie, Heroes and two seasons of American Horror Story. In 2008, he began his production company Before the Door Pictures, which has gone on to produce such films as Margin Call, All Is Lost, Banshee Chapter, Breakup At a Wedding, A Most Violent Year, and the upcoming film Aardvark. Shaul Schwarz: Shaul Schwarz is a conflict photojournalist turned filmmaker. He’s the director of the feature documentaries Narco Cultura (2013) and Trophy (2017).Short Film Competition Categories
The jurors for the 2017 Narrative Short Film Competition are: Udi Aloni: Udi Aloni is a filmmaker and writer whose works frequently explore the interrelationships between art, theory, and activism. His most recent film, Junction 48, won the Best International Narrative Feature award at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival and the Audience Award at the Berlinale, among other awards. Brennan Brown: Brennan Brown can be currently seen as Robert Childan on the hit Amazon series The Man in the High Castle, as Dr. Sam Abrams on Chicago Med, and Edward Biben on Mozart in the Jungle. A graduate of Yale School of Drama, his many film credits include I Love You Phillip Morris, Focus, and State of Play. Gilbert Gottfried: As a famed comic’s comic, Gilbert Gottfried puts aside political correctness for his live performance and fires an onslaught of jokes that know no boundaries. Credits include: a cast member on SNL, Beverly Hills Cop II, The Cosby Show, Late Night with David Letterman, The Howard Stern Show, and Aladdin, as the voice of the wise cracking parrot Iago. Amy Heckerling: Amy Heckerling came from the Bronx and wrote Clueless. Sheila Nevins: Sheila Nevins is President, HBO Documentary Films. She has been responsible for overseeing the development and production of more than 1,000 documentaries for HBO, HBO2, and Cinemax. As an executive producer or producer, she has received 32 Primetime Emmy® Awards, 7 News and Documentary Emmys®, and 42 George Foster Peabody Awards. During her tenure, HBO’s critically-acclaimed documentaries have gone on to win 26 Academy Awards®. Mark O’Brien: Mark O’Brien is an award-winning actor and filmmaker, best known for his roles in the Academy-Award nominated film Arrival and the AMC series Halt & Catch Fire. He can next be seen in the upcoming Sony/Amazon series The Last Tycoon, and a number of feature films including Kin, State Like Sleep, and Parallel. ·Jesse Plemons: Jesse Plemons is an actor. Credits include: Friday Night Lights, Breaking Bad, Fargo, Black Mass, Bridge of Spies, The Master, and Other People. He will next appear in American Made, Hostiles, Black Mirror, and The Discovery. The jurors for the 2017 Documentary and Student Visionary Competitions are: Priyanka Chopra: Priyanka Chopra is a multifaceted personality and one of the most recognized and applauded talents in the world. With more than 50 film credits, Priyanka currently stars in ABC’s hit show Quantico and can be seen in the upcoming Baywatch movie, premiering on May 26th. Olivia Thirlby: A native New Yorker, Olivia Thirlby is best known for her work in features such as Juno, United 93, The Wackness, 2012 Tribeca film Being Flynn, The Stanford Prison Experiment, Between Us, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2016, and the Amazon/David E. Kelly series Goliath. Ryan Eggold: Ryan Eggold is an actor, writer, director, producer, and composer. He currently stars as the male lead in NBC’s The Blacklist: Redemption, the spinoff from the thriller drama, The Blacklist in which he also stars. Ryan has starred in various acclaimed film, TV, and theatre projects, and is also an accomplished musician, singer, and playwright. Brendan Fraser: Brendan Fraser is an award-winning actor. Credits include the Mummy franchise, The Quiet American, and Crash. He recently starred in the third season of Showtime’s award-winning TV show, The Affair. Ileen Gallagher: Ileen Gallagher produces memorable experiences and destinations, in projects ranging from new museums, corporate attractions, and citywide film/media celebrations to exhibitions, special events, the organization of archives, and beyond.Storyscapes
The jurors for the 2017 Storyscapes Competition are: Lily Baldwin: Lily Baldwin is an NYC/LA-based filmmaker and dancer, whose directing work has appeared at SXSW, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the V&A Museum London, Art Basel Miami, ShortsHD, Filmmaker Magazine, NOWNESS, Fandor, and BitTorrent. Charlotte Cook: Charlotte Cook is a Co-Creator and Executive Producer of Field of Vision, and a programmer at CPH:DOX. Julia Kaganskiy: Julia Kaganskiy is the founding Director of NEW INC, the New Museum’s incubator for art, design and technology. Michael Premo: Michael Premo is an artist, journalist, and filmmaker. Sarah Wolozin: Sarah Wolozin is director of the MIT Open Documentary Lab.Nora Ephron Prize
The jurors for the 2017 Nora Ephron Prize are: Dianna Agron: Dianna Agron was last seen in Luc Besson’s The Family opposite Robert DeNiro and Michelle Pfeiffer. She will next be seen Sony Pictures Classics Novitiate which recently screened at the Sundance Film Festival. Agron is previously known for her roles on Glee and the feature film I Am Number Four. Joy Bryant: Award-winning actress Joy Bryant is best known as the star of NBC’s Parenthood. A former model, Bryant most recently portrayed civil rights activist Eleanor Holmes Norton in the Amazon series Good Girls Revolt and has a memorable cameo in the final season of HBO’s Girls. Diane Lane: Diane Lane has been hailed as Best Actress by the New York Film Critics and National Society of Film Critics, and received Academy Award®, Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe® and Emmy® nominations for her career work-to-date. Her next film, Paris Can Wait, directed by Eleanor Coppola will be released on May 12. Zoe Lister-Jones: Zoe Lister-Jones is an actor, writer, producer and director, currently starring on CBS’ Life in Pieces and in the indie comedy Band Aid, in which she also makes her directorial debut. Christina Ricci: Christina Ricci can currently be seen in the Amazon original series Z: The Beginning of Everything, in which she plays Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald.
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Cannes Film Festival Unveils 2017 Official Selections – Noah Baumbach, Sofia Coppola, Todd Haynes and More
The Cannes Film Festival unveiled the Official Selection of the 70th edition during the Press Conference held earlier this morning by Pierre Lescure and Thierry Frémaux in Paris. The festival will take place May 17 to 28, 2017.
Official Selection COMPETITION
Opening film: Arnaud Desplechin – LES FANTÔMES D’ISMAËL Out of Competition Fatih Akin – AUS DEM NICHTS (IN THE FADE) Noah Baumbach – THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES (NEW AND SELECTED) Bong Joon-Ho – OKJA Robin Campillo – 120 BATTEMENTS PAR MINUTE Sofia Coppola – THE BEGUILED Jacques Doillon – RODIN Michael Haneke – HAPPY END Todd Haynes – WONDERSTRUCK Michel Hazanavicius – LE REDOUTABLE Hong Sangsoo GEU-HU (THE DAY AFTER) Naomi Kawase – HIKARI (RADIANCE) Yorgos Lanthimos – THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER Sergei Loznitsa – A GENTLE CREATURE Kornél Mundruczo – JUPITER’S MOON François Ozon – L’AMANT DOUBLE Lynne Ramsay – YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie – GOOD TIME Andrey Zvyagintsev – NELYUBOV (LOVELESS)Official Selection UN CERTAIN REGARD
Opening film: Mathieu Amalric – BARBARA Cecilia Atan, Valeria Pivato – LA NOVIA DEL DESIERTO (THE DESERT BRIDE) 1st film Kantemir Balagov – TESNOTA (CLOSENESS) 1st film Kaouther Ben Hania – AALA KAF IFRIT (BEAUTY AND THE DOGS) Laurent Cantet – L’ATELIER Sergio Castellitto – FORTUNATA (LUCKY) Michel Franco – LAS HIJAS DE ABRIL (APRIL’S DAUGHTER) Valeska Grisebach – WESTERN Stephan Komandarev – POSOKI (DIRECTIONS) Gyorgy Kristof – OUT 1st film Kurosawa Kiyoshi – SANPO SURU SHINRYAKUSHA (BEFORE WE VANISH) Karim Moussaoui – EN ATTENDANT LES HIRONDELLES (UNTIL THE BIRDS RETURN) 1st film Mohammad Rasoulof – LERD (DREGS) Léonor Serraille JEUNE FEMME 1st film Taylor Sheridan – WIND RIVER 1st film Annarita Zambrano – APRÈS LA GUERRE (AFTER THE WAR) 1st filmOfficial Selection OUT OF COMPETITION
Miike Takashi – MUGEN NO JŪNIN (BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL) John Cameron Mitchell – HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES 1h42 Agnès Varda Jr. – VISAGES, VILLAGESOfficial Selection MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS
Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire – A PRAYER BEFORE DAWN Byun Sung-Hyun – BULHANDANG (THE MERCILESS) Jung Byung-Gil – AK-NYEO (THE VILLAINESS)Official Selection SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk – AN INCONVENIENT SEQUE Raymond Depardon – 12 JOURS (12 DAYS) Anahita Ghazvinizadeh – THEY 1st film Hong Sangsoo – KEUL-LE-EO-UI KA-ME-LA (CLAIR’S CAMERA) Eugene Jarecki – PROMISED LAND Claude Lanzmann – NAPALM Jude Ratman – DEMONS IN PARADISE 1st film Vanessa Redgrave – SEA SORROWOfficial Selection VIRTUAL REALITY (Film / Installation / Exhibition)
Alejandro G. Inarritu – CARNE Y ARENAOfficial Selection 70TH ANNIVERSARY EVENTS
Jane Campion, Ariel Kleiman – TOP OF THE LAKE: CHINA GIRL Abbas Kiarostami – 24 FRAMES David Lynch – TWIN PEAKS Kristen Stewart – COME SWIM