The 2015 New York Korean Film Festival will run from November 6 to November 11, 2015, at the
Museum of the Moving Image. Korean guests invited to attend include star director Ryoo Seung-Wan and producers Kang Hye-jung and Park Jung (Veteran); directors Shin Suwon (Madonna), Lee Do-yun (Confession), Kang Hyo-jin (Wonderful Nightmare), Oh Seung-uk (The Shameless), and Hong Won-chan (Office); and actress Koh Ah-Sung. The Festival will kick off opening night with the New York Premiere of OFFICE, with director Hong Won-chan and star Ko Ah-sung in attendance.
OPENING NIGHT
Office (오피스) (pictured above)
New York Premiere
With director Hong Won-chan and star Ko Ah-sung in person
Followed by a reception in the Museum lobby and cafe
Dir. Hong Won-chan. 2015, 111 mins. B.R. With: Ko Ah-sung, Park Seong-woong, Bae Seong-woo. After gruesomely murdering his family, a midlevel manager (Bae Seong-woo) dutifully returns to the office, haunting the building like a vengeful ghost and turning the otherwise bland workspace into a house of terror. Legitimately alarmed, his colleagues nonetheless sing his praises to the police—a hint that there’s more to the matter than a disgruntled employee suddenly snapping. Described as “hearty genre entertainment” by Variety, this Cannes “Midnight Madness” selection is a perfect outlet for young leading actress Ko Ah-sung.
“Workplace blues wrought large and crimson red.” — Clarence Tsui,
The Hollywood Reporter
“Razor-sharp satire on petty politics in the corporate world […] laced with wickedly bitchy dialogue” — Maggie Lee,
Variety
Hong Won-chan was the screenwriter for Confession of Murder (2012), The Yellow Sea (2010), The Scam (2009), and The Chaser (2007—a selection at Cannes), before making his directorial debut with Office.
The youngest of three sisters, Ko Ah-sung started acting at an early age and played the memorable role of the daughter in Bong Joon-ho’s The Host (2006). Her film credits include The Beauty Inside (2015), Thread of Lies (2014), Snowpiercer (2013), Duet (2012), After the Banquet (2009), A Brand New Life (2009), Radio Dayz (2008), and The Happy Life (2007).
Trap (덫, 치명적인 유혹)
International Premiere
Dir. Bong Man-Dae. 2015, 107 mins. DCP. With Yoo Ha-joon, Han Je-in, Kang Yong-gyoo.
Maladjusted screenwriter Jeong-min (Yoo Ha-joon) travels to the countryside to rethink his life and concentrate on his career. But instead of working on his screenwriting, he finds transgressive distraction in the person of temptress Yumi (Han Je-in). The frontier between reality and fantasy blurs as Jeong-min’s mind and body are engulfed in a fatal attraction to the innocent-faced but dangerous Lolita, leading him to increasingly poor life decisions. A standout entry in the filmography of softcore erotic meister “Playboy” Bong Man-Dae.
Confession (좋은 친구들)
With director Lee Do-yun in person
New York Premiere
Dir. Lee Do-yun. 2014, 114 mins. DCP. With Ji Sung, Ju Ji-hoon. Since a tragic mountain incident in high school, Min-soo (Lee Kwang-soo), Hyun-tae (Ji Sung) and In-chul (Ju Ji-hoon) have remained best friends through thick and thin. But when two of them agree to burn down an illegal gambling hall for the insurance payout, the spilt blood of loved ones unearths the bitter ghosts of a dark past. Soon, the group of childhood friends turn on each other in the bleakest of fallouts. Lee Do-yun’s debut feature has been compared with the slow-burning noir of Sidney Lumet’s final film, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.
“The film’s stupendous execution and the compelling characters successfully drive the film forward.” -Jason Bechervaise,
Screen International
Lee Do-yun was born in South Korea. He directed the short films We. Trippers and Neighbor. Confession, his first feature, had its international premiere in Toronto last year.
The Shameless (무뢰한)
With director Oh Seung-uk in person
New York Premiere
Dir. Oh Seung-uk. 118 mins. DCP. With Jeon Do-yeon, Kim Nam-gil, Park Sung-Woong. In Oh Seung-uk’s highly anticipated return to the director’s chair since his debut masterpiece Kilimanjaro in 2000, Cannes award-winning actress Jeon Do-yeon plays a bar hostess in love with a suspected murderer. Kim Nam-gil (The Pirates) is outstanding as a detective who plays a game of seduction with a dangerous woman. Selected for the Un Certain Regard program at the Cannes Film Festival, The Shameless is an unforgettably stylish noir.
“A mellow pleasure to be slowly savored, this polished work should be welcomed at festivals” — Maggie Lee,
Variety
Oh Seung-uk (b.1963) began his career as an assistant director of Lee Chang-dong, co-writing his debut feature Green Fish. In the late ’90s, he co-wrote the landmark romance Christmas in August and Park Kwang-su’s ambitious historical drama The Uprising. Oh made his debut as a director with the crime thriller Killimanjaro in 2000. The Shameless is his long-awaited second feature.
Assassination (암살)
Dir. Choi Dong-hoon. 2015, 140 mins. B.R. With Jeon Ji-hyun, Lee Jung-hae, Ha Jung-woo. Choi Dong-hoon’s follow-up to his 2012 hit The Thieves was Korea’s biggest box office hit of the year. Drawing inspiration from 1980s Hong Kong action comedies and South Korea’s little-known 1960s Manchurian Westerns, Assassination follows the journey of three resistance fighters as their mission takes them to the Manchurian countryside, pre-war Shanghai, and Japanese-occupied Seoul to assassinate an evil Japanese governor and his Korean acolyte. Boasting an all-star cast led by screen-goddess Jeon Ji-hyun and superstar Lee Jung-jae, Assassination is “a sensationally entertaining mash-up of historical drama, Dirty Dozen style shoot-‘em-up, spaghetti Western-flavored flamboyance, and extended action set pieces that suggest a dream-team collaboration of Sergio Leone, John Woo and Steven Spielberg” according to
Variety’s Joe Leydon.
Madonna (마돈나)
With director Shin Su-Won in person
New York Premiere
Dir. Shin Su-won. 2015, 121 mins. DCP. With Seo Young-hee, Kwon So-hyun, Kim Young-min.
After her festival hit Pluto (2012), a critically acclaimed high-school drama about bullying and murder which won a Special Mention at the 2013 Berlinale, director Shin Su-won delivers a shocking, noir-tinged tale of privilege and poverty: a nurse’s aide uncovers and tries to prevent the horrific use of a brain dead pregnant street-walker for a heart transplant to a rich patient.
Director Shin Su-Won was a middle school teacher before she began a directing career. Her short, Circle Line, won the Canal+ Prize for Best Short Film at Cannes 2012, and her debut feature, Passerby #3 (2010), won awards at the Tokyo International Film Festival and Jeonju International Film Festival. Her films include Modern Family (2012) and Pluto (2013).
The Beauty Inside (뷰티 인사이드)
Dir. Baik (Baek Jong-yeol), 2015, 127 mins. B.R. With Han Hyo-joo, Park Seo-jun, Mun Suk, Lee Dong-hwi, Lee Mi-do. Since his 18th birthday, Woo-jin wakes up each morning as a different person in a new body. Sometimes he’s old, sometimes he’s young, sometimes he’s not Korean…or even a man. But inside, he remains the same down-to-earth, honest cabinet maker devoted to his craft. And each day he fights to connect with the woman he loves (Han Hyo-joo, in a luminous, standout performance). Beneath the slick romantic fantasy and the gorgeous cinematography, the film asks real questions about identity and true love.
“Blessed with a MLB roster’s worth of veteran character players (Kim Sang-ho, Kim Min-jae, Jo Dal-hwan), and buzzy young stars”—Elizabeth Kerr,
The Hollywood Reporter
Veteran (베테랑)
With director Ryoo Seung-wan in person
U.S. Festival Premiere
Dir. Ryoo Seung-wan. 2015, 123 mins. DCP. With Hwang Jung-min, Yoo Ah-in, Yoo Hae-jin. In this instant action/comedy classic—a massive theatrical hit earlier this summer—hardboiled detective Seo Do-cheol (top actor Hwang Jung-min can throw—and take—a punch) and his misfit team defend the powerless against the vicious scion of a prominent family (played with villainous delight by heartthrob Yoo Ah-in, in a widely acclaimed performance).
Ryoo Seung-wan was born in Onyang, South Korea. His films include The Berlin File (2013), The Unjust (2010), Dachimawa Lee (2008), The City of Violence (2006), Crying Fist (2005), Arahan (2004), No Blood No Tears (2002), and Die Bad (2000). He won “Best Director” at the Blue Dragon Film Awards in 2011.
Wonderful Nightmare (미쓰 와이프)
With director Kang Hyo-jin in person
New York Premiere
Dir. Kang Hyo-jin. 2015, 125 mins. DCP. With Uhm Jung-hwa, Song Seung-heon, Seo Shin-Ae. Heaven makes a clerical error, so ambitious lawyer Yeon-woo (played by superstar Uhm Jung-hwa) returns to Earth to find herself married to a salaryman and mother to a rebellious teenager and know-it-all six-year-old. A sharp, hilarious satire about the shift in gender roles in contemporary Korean society that struck a deep chord with local audiences.
Director Kang Hyo-jin’s independent feature, Kill’em with Bare Hands (2004), won the audience award at the Seoul Independent Film Festival. His films include Dirty Blood (2012), Twilight Gangsters (2010), and Punch Lady (2007).
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The 2015 Tallgrass Film Festival announced their filmmaker awards during a rousing ceremony preceding their Closing Night Gala screening of Ian and Eshom Nelms’ WAFFLE STREET on Sunday, October 18 at the Orpheum Theater in Wichita, Kansas.
Matt Sobel’s TAKE ME TO THE RIVER, (pictured above) was named “Best Narrative Feature,” and Abigail Disney & Kathleen Hughes’ ARMOR OF LIGHT, chosen as “Best Documentary Feature.”
Justin Johnson’s DOUBLE DIGITS: THE STORY OF A NEIGHBORHOOD MOVIE STAR (pictured above) got the nod for both “Best First Feature,” as well as the Golden Strands Vanguard Award for “Dedication to the Craft of Filmmaking” for the film’s subject, R.G. Miller.
The Vimeo Audience Awards were led by Emily Ting, who added to her big night by receiving the $1000 Narrative prize for ALREADY TOMORROW IN HONG KONG. Producer Dennie Aig was on hand to accept the $1000 Documentary prize for Philllip Barbeau’s UNBRANDED. Benjamin Wolff’s BIS GLIECH took home the Audience Award and $500 prize for the short film category. The awards for Emily Ting provided a happy exclamation point to the filmmaker’s return to Tallgrass following her films MAN FROM RENO (2014), THE KITCHEN (2012), and BIG BAD SWIM (2005) (all of which she served as either a producer, associate producer or executive producer).
2015 Tallgrass Film Festival Filmmaker Awards
Vimeo Audience Awards
Audience Award Winning Narrative Film:
($1,000) IT’S ALREADY TOMORROW IN HONG KONG, Directed by Emily Ting
Vimeo Audience Award Winning Documentary Film:
($1,000) UNBRANDED, Directed by Phillip Barbeau
Vimeo Audience Award winning Short Film:
($500) BIS GLIECH (Germany), directed Benjamin Wolff
Golden Strands Programming Awards
Best Emerging Student Award:
THE GIRL, WHO’S SHADOW REFLECTS THE MOON, Directed by Walaa Al Alawi (Syria)
Best Kansas Short Film Award:
EPIC OF HERSHEY, Douglas McGinness, New York/Wichita, KS
Golden Strands Award, Outstanding Female Filmmaker:
Emily Ting, IT’S ALREADY TOMORROW IN HONG KONG
(Award is the Venus Award which is designed by Glass Artist Claire Anderson
and is a representation of a Paleolithic Era Venus de Lespugue)
Golden Strands Award for Courage in Filmmaking:
PERVERT PARK, Directed by Frida & Lasse Barkfors of Sweden
Golden Strands Award, Outstanding Cinematography:
OMO CHILD: THE RIVER AND THE BUSH, Sebastian Humphreys
Golden Strands Award, Outstanding Ensemble Cast:
TANGERINE
Golden Strands Vanguard Award for Dedication to the Craft Of Filmmaking:
R.G. Miller, DOUBLE DIGITS (Award designed by Fisch Haus)
Golden Strands Award, Best First Feature:
DOUBLE DIGITS: THE STORY OF A NEIGHBORHOOD MOVIE STAR, Directed by Justin Johnson
Golden Strands Award, Outstanding Documentary Short Film:
LAST DAY OF FREEDOM, Directors Dee Hibbert-Jones/Nomi Talisman
Golden Strands Award, Outstanding Narrative Short Film:
GUEST ROOM, Directed by Joshua Tate
Golden Strands Award, Outstanding Documentary Feature:
ARMOR OF LIGHT, Abigail Disney & Kathleen Hughes
Golden Strands Award, Outstanding Narrative Feature:
TAKE ME TO THE RIVER, Directed by Matt Sobel
The 51st Chicago International Film Festival announced its Competition Juries, with Director/Producer/Writer Andrew Davis serving as President of this year’s 
Jerrold Tarog’s HENERAL LUNA the Philippines’ submission for 2015 Foreign Language Film Oscar category for the 88th Academy Awards, 
Two more Centerpiece Galas, WHERE TO INVADE NEXT, directed by Michael Moore, and THE 33, directed by Patricia Riggen have been added to 2015 AFI FEST. WHERE TO INVADE NEXT, directed by Michael Moore, will screen on Saturday, November 7 at the Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre at the Egyptian.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei747zi9iYY
THE 33, directed by Patricia Riggen and starring Antonio Banderas, Rodrigo Santoro, Juliette Binoche, James Brolin, Lou Diamond Phillips, Mario Casas, Juan Pablo Raba, Adriana Barraza, Kate del Castillo, Cote de Pablo, Bob Gunton and Gabriel Byrne, will screen on Monday, November 9 at the TCL Chinese Theatre.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOoIBOYqHyw
AFI FEST’s Special Screenings section will feature 45 YEARS (DIR Andrew Haigh); ANOMALISA (DIR Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson, AFI Class of 2006); CAROL (DIR Todd Haynes); LAST DAYS IN THE DESERT (DIR Rodrigo García); THE LOBSTER (DIR Yorgos Lanthimos); MACBETH (DIR Justin Kurzel); and QUEEN OF THE DESERT (DIR Werner Herzog).
The full festival lineup and schedule will be unveiled on Wednesday, October 21. The 29th edition of 
SHE’S WILD AGAIN TONIGHT, Fia Sandlund’s contemporary interpretation of the play, Miss Julie, will world premiere at 
The thriller COLLIDE, originally titled Autobahn, directed by Eran Creevy, and starring Nicholas Hoult, Academy Award nominee Felicity Jones, and Academy Award winners Anthony Hopkins and Ben Kingsley 
ANGUISH, a thriller written and directed by Sonny Mallhi, which premiered in July at the 
2015 Los Cabos International Film Festival 
Chevalier directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari is the winner of the Best Film Award at the 2015 London Film Festival. In the film, six men set out on the Aegean Sea aboard a yacht, and before long, male bonding and one-upmanship give way to a loosely defined yet hotly contested competition to determine which of them is “the best in general.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZckUiocInM
Pawel Pawlikowski, whose Ida won the LFF Best Film prize in 2013, and is the president of the Official Competition jury at this year’s 
The 2015 Anchorage International Film Festival revealed the lineup of independent films from around the world to screen December 4-13, 2015 at the BearTooth Theatrepub, Alaska Experience Theater, Anchorage Museum and the Snow Goose Performing Arts Theatre.
The festival will begin with the Opening Night screening of “Eadweard,” at the BearTooth Theatrepub, 8 PM on Friday, Dec. 4. Eadweard is the story of a world-famous, turn-of-the-century photographer, Eadweard Muybridge, later to be known as the “Godfather of Cinema.” This psychological thriller follows Muybridge from his work in Alaska shortly after its purchase from Russia. The story portrays an unconventional photographer as he seeks to capture life in “motion,” developing the first body of stop-motion photography–over 100,000 images depicting animals and humans in motion, and nude and deformed subjects. Director Kyle Rideout will be in attendance for the Opening Night screening.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VAds0GH_8E
Among the many cinematic highlights anticipated for this festival are some collaborative screenings including the Alaska Moving Image Preservation Association (AMIPA) debut of a rare, thought-to-be-lost, early Sci-Fi film from 1929 called “High Treason,” which has been in the restoration process for ten years, from Alaska to the Library of Congress. Also on the docket is an Indie Lens Pop-up series documentary from Alaska Public Media, “Autism in Love”, screening at Anchorage Museum, directly after the annual “Family Day” program, offered for free to the public.
2015 FILM SELECTIONS:
Narrative Feature Selections at AIFF 2015 are:
And The Circus Leaves Town (d. Mete Sozer, Turkey)
Creditors (d. Ben Cura, United Kingdom)
Death on a Rock (d. Scott Ballard, United States)
Diablo (d. Lawrence Roeck, Canada)
Eadweard (d. Kyle Rideout, Canada)
Jasmine (d. Dax Phelan, Hong Kong)
Living With the Dead (d. Rebekah Nelson, United States)
Magic Utopia ( d. Shoji Toyama, Shuichi Tan, Japan)
Midori in Hawaii (d. John Hill, United States)
Orphans & Kingdoms (d. Paolo Rotondo, New Zealand)
Status:single (d. Pavel Ruminov, Russian Federation)
The David Dance (d. Aprill Winney, United States)
The Descendants (d. Yaser Talebi, Islamic Republic of Iran)
The Incredible Adventures of Jojo (and his annoying little sister Avila) (d. Ann-Marie Schmidt, Brian Schmidt, United States
They Look Like People (d. Perry Blackshear, United States)
Under Construction (d. Rubaiyat Hossain, Bangladesh)
When the Ocean Met the Sky (d. Phillip Thomas, Canada)
Documentary selections at AIFF 2015 are:
A Courtship (d. Amy Kohn, United States)
A Journey to Namie (d. Sulfikar Amir, Singapore)
Above & Below (d. Nicolas Steiner, Switzerland)
Bihttoš (d. Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Canada)
Children of the Arctic (d. Nick Brandestini, Switzerland)
Circus Without Borders (d. Susan Gray, Linda Matchan, United States)
Code: Debugging the Gender Gap (d. Robin Hauser Reynolds, United States)
Dance of the People (d. Marc Menish, United States)
Free Custom Poetry (d. Cory Wilson, United States)
From This Day Forward (d. Sharon Shattuck, United States)
Harry & Snowman (d. Ron Davis, United States)
Janey Makes a Play (d. Jared Callahan, United States)
Keeping Country (d. Andrew Quinn, Australia)
Knit Me Some Happiness (d. Sofia Olins, United Kingdom)
Lost & Found (d. Nicolina Lanni, Canada)
Love Between the Covers (d. Laurie Kahn, Australia, United States)
Madina’s Dream (d. Andrew Berends, United States)
Man in the Can (d. Noessa Higa, United States)
No Greater Love (d. Justin Roberts, United States)
Riding My Way Back (d. Robin Fryday, Peter Rosenbaum, United States)
Right Footed (d. Nick Spark, United States)
Stink! (d. Jon J. Whelan, United States)
Superjednostka (d. Teresa Czepiec, Poland)
The Brainwashing of My Dad (Work in Progress screening)(d. Jen Senko, United States)
The House is Innocent (d. Nicholas Coles, United States)
To Scale (d. Alex Gorosh, United States)
Vanishing Sail (d.Alexis Andrews, Antigua & Barbuda)
Very Semi-Serious (d. Leah Wolchok, United States)
War of Lies (d. Matthias Bittner, Germany)
Short Film Selections at AIFF 2015 are:
20 Meters of Love in Montmartre (d. Pierre Gaffié, France)
Adolescence (d. Daniel Milan, Mexico)
Birthday (d. Chris King, United States)
Hirsit (d. Selcen Yilamzoglu, Turkey)
Joe Will Die (d. David Janove, United States)
Merry X-mas (d. Boman Modine, United States)
Mike (d. Petros Silvestros, United Kingdom)
Moving On (d. Mike Spear, Marcia Fields, United States)
My Heart (d. Yser Talebi, Islamic Republic of Iran)
Nkosi Coiffure (d. Frederike Migom, Belgium)
One-Minute Time Machine (d. Devon Avery, United States)
Scary Larry (d. Greg Ivan Smith, United States)
The Bravest, The Boldest (d. Moon Molson, United States)
The Call (d. Zamo Mkhwanazi, South Africa)
The Poem of a Memory (d. Christhian Andrews, United States)
The Red Thunder (d. Alvaro Ron, United States)
The Story of a Rainy Night (d. Mehdi Fard Ghaderi, Iran)
Unleaded (d. Luke Davies, United Kingdom)
Winter (d. Lina Roessler, Canada)
Zawadi (d. Richard Card, Kenya)
Animation
Chhaya (d. Debanjan Nandy, United Kingdom)
Golden Shot (d. Gokalp Gonen, Turkey)
In the forest (d. Li Xia, United States)
Mr. McBob (d. Pierre Schantz, United States)
Olilo (d. Ao Li, United States)
Ripple (d. Conner Griffith, United States)
Rosso Papavero (d. Martin Smetana, Slovakia)
Scaredy Bat (d. Greg Perkins, United States)
Sleepy Steve (d. Meghann Artes, United States)
Switch Man (d. Hsun-Chun Chuang , Shao-Kuei Tong, Taiwan)
The Apple Tree (d. Scott Storm, United States)
The Looking Planet (d. Eric Law Anderson, United States)
The Present (d. Jacob Frey, Germany)
Untitled (d. Sean McCarthy, United States)
wHole (d. Verena Klinger, Robert Banning, Germany)
Made In Alaska
3022 Ft. (d. Max Romey, United States)
Degrees North (Switzerland) 52 min.
Easy Money (d. Zayn Roohi, United States)
Heart of Alaska (d. Bjørn Olson, United States)
Hunting in Wartime (d. Samantha Farinella, United States)
I Follow Rivers (d. Ellie Schmidt, United States)
Pushing Out Daisy (d. Allison Week, United States)
Seahorse (d. Kamell Allaway, United States)
Storis: The Galloping Ghost of the Alaska Coast (d. Damon Stuebner, United States)
The Muse (d. Christopher Gage Tucker, United States)
The Ruthless Rhymer (d. Quinton Oliver Smith, United States)
Through the Wires (d. Greg Chaney, United States)
We Are All Related Here (d. Brian McDermott, United States)
The 29th AFI FEST taking place November 5 to 12, 2015 in the heart of Hollywood, revealed 20 more films on the lineup – the films that will be featured in the New Auteurs and American Independent programs during AFI FEST 2015.
The American Independents section represents the best of independent filmmaking this year includes 9 films; and the New Auteurs section includes 11 first and second-time narrative feature film directors from around the world, whose films will be eligible for the Grand Jury Prize.
NEW AUTEURS
DESDE ALLÁ – When a middle-aged man is assaulted and robbed by a young criminal, an unlikely relationship develops. DIR Lorenzo Vigas. SCR Lorenzo Vigas. CAST Alfredo Castro and Luis Silva. Venezuela/Mexico. U.S. Premiere
DISORDER – Matthias Schoenaerts plays an ex-soldier who becomes locked in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with ski-masked home invaders at a wealthy estate. DIR Alice Winocour. SCR Alice Winocour. CAST Matthias Schoenaerts, Diane Kruger, Paul Hamy, Zaïd Errougui-Demonsant, Percy Kemp, Victor Pontecorvo, Mickaël Daubert, Franck Torrecillas, Chems Eddine, Philippe Haddad, Jean-Louis Coulloc’h. France/Belgium
EVOLUTION – On an island inhabited only by women and boys, a 10-year-old receiving strange medical treatment investigates the horrific things the women do at night. DIR Lucile Hadžihalilović. SCR Lucile Hadžihalilović, Alanté Kavaïté, Geoff Cox. CAST Max Brebant, Roxane Duran, Julie-Marie Parmentier. France
THE GULLS (CHAIKI) – In winter near the Caspian Sea, a fisherman’s wife becomes free of her suppressed domestic existence after a life-altering event. DIR Ella Manzheeva. SCR Ella Manzheeva. CAST Evgeniya Mandzhieva, Sergey Adianov, Evgeny Sangadzhiev, Lyubov Ubushieva, Dmitry Mukeyev. Russian Federation. North American Premiere
IXCANUL – A young Mayan woman becomes pregnant outside of an impending arranged marriage, throwing her and her family’s future into dire uncertainty. DIR Jayro Bustamante. SCR Jayro Bustamante. CAST María Mercedes Coroy, María Telón, Manuel Antún, Justo Lorenzo, Marvin Coroy. Guatemala/France
LAND AND SHADE (LA TIERRA Y LA SOMBRA) – An aging farmer returns to rural Colombia where the family and land he long ago abandoned have been devastated by industrial progress. DIR César Augusto Acevedo. SCR César Augusto Acevedo. CAST Haimer Leal, Hilda Ruiz, Edison Raigosa, Marleyda Soto, José Felipe Cárdenas, Edison Raigosa. Colombia/France/Netherlands/Chile/Brazil. U.S. Premiere
MEDITERRANEA – In this timely film, a migrant from Burkina Faso makes a perilous journey from North Africa to Europe. DIR Jonas Carpignano. SCR Jonas Carpignano. CAST Koudous Seihon, Alassane Sy, Adam Gnegne, Davide Schipilliti. Italy/France/USA/Germany
MOUNTAIN – To escape her troubles at home, a young Orthodox Jewish woman falls in with a nocturnal community of prostitutes and drug dealers in the ancient cemetery atop Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives. DIR Yaelle Kayam. SCR Yaelle Kayam. CAST Shani Klein, Avshalom Pollak, Haitham Ibrahem Omari. Israel/Denmark. U.S. Premiere
MUSTANG – Five Turkish sisters must fight back against harsh societal restrictions when a seemingly innocent act is blown out of proportion. DIR Deniz Gamze Ergüven. SCR Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Alice Winocour. CAST Günes Sensoy, Doga Zeynep Doguslu, Tugba Sunguroglu, Elit Iscan, Ilayda Akdogan, Ayberk Pekcan. France/Germany/Turkey
SWORN VIRGIN (VERGINE GIURATA) – A young Albanian woman bucks her destiny by appealing to an ancient regional law allowing her to live free as a man if she takes an oath of eternal virginity. DIR Laura Bispuri. SCR Francesca Manieri, Laura Bispuri. CAST Alba Rohrwacher, Flonja Kodheli, Lars Eidinger, Luan Jaha, Bruno Shllaku, Ilire Celaj, Drenica Selimaj, Dajana Selimaj, Emily Ferratello. Italy/Switzerland/Germany/Albania/Republic of Kosovo
UNTIL I LOSE MY BREATH – A Turkish teenager dreams of leaving her abusive home and moving in with her father, a long-distance truck driver. DIR Emine Emel Balcı. SCR Emine Emel Balcı. CAST Esme Madra, Rıza Akın, Sema Keçik, Gizem Denizci, Ece Yüksel, Uğur Uzunel, Yavuz Pekman, Pinar Gök, Yavuz Özata. Turkey/Germany. North American Premiere
AMERICAN INDEPENDENTS
BOB AND THE TREES – A middle-aged logger gambles his personal and professional livelihood on harvesting an unyielding piece of land. DIR Diego Ongaro. SCR Diego Ongaro, Courtney Maum, Sasha Statman-Weil. CAST Bob Tarasuk, Matt Gallagher, Polly MacIntyre, Richard Bradley, Winthrop Barrett. USA
FIELD NIGGAS – Khalik Allah’s stylized documentary chronicles summer nights spent at the intersection of 125th Street and Lexington Avenue in Harlem. DIR Khalik Allah. USA
FUNNY BUNNY – A trio of people look to make meaningful connections in this sweet natured comedy. DIR Alison Bagnall. SCR Alison Bagnall. CAST Kentucker Audley, Joslyn Jensen, Olly Alexander, Louis Cancelmi, Josephine Decker, Anna Margaret Hollyman, Grace Gonglewski, Caridad de la Luz, Nicholas Webber. USA (pictured in main image above)
H. – Two different Helens of Troy live parallel lives in this brilliantly unnerving apocalyptic vision. DIR Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia. SCR Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia. CAST Robin Bartlett, Rebecca Dayan, Will Janowitz, Julian Gamble, Roger Robinson. USA/Argentina
JAMES WHITE – A young New Yorker is forced to take control of his self-destructive lifestyle as he navigates his mother’s fight with a serious illness. DIR Josh Mond. SCR Josh Mond. CAST Christopher Abbott, Cynthia Nixon, Scott Mescudi, Makenzie Leigh, Ron Livingston. USA
KRISHA – Estranged relative Krisha shows up to a family Thanksgiving to make amends, but as the day unfolds she can’t escape her dark past. DIR Trey Edward Shults. SCR Trey Edward Shults. CAST Krisha Fairchild, Robyn Fairchild, Bill Wise, Trey Edward Shults, Chris Doubek, Olivia Grace Applegate, Alex Dobrenko, Chase Joliet. USA
MEN GO TO BATTLE – In this indie American period piece, two farming brothers in 1861 are torn apart by the encroaching Civil War. DIR Zachary Treitz. SCR Kate Lyn Sheil, Zachary Treitz. CAST David Maloney, Timothy Morton, Kate Lyn Sheil, Rachel Korine. USA
SONGS MY BROTHERS TAUGHT ME – A brother and sister living on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation cope with the loss of their father in very different ways. DIR Chloé Zhao. SCR Chloé Zhao. CAST John Reddy, Jashaun St. John, Irene Bedard, Eleonore Hendricks, Taysha Fuller, Cat Clifford. USA
STINKING HEAVEN – When a new member arrives at a home for sober living, a self-destructive spiral begins. DIR Nathan Silver. SCR Nathan Silver, Jack Dunphy. CAST Deragh Campbell, Keith Poulson, Hannah Gross, Eléonore Hendricks, Tallie Medel, Henri Douvry, Jason Giampietro, Jason Grisell, Eileen Kearney, Larry Novak. USA