A Boy A Girl A Dream. (2019)

On the night of the 2016 Presidential election, Cass, an L.A. club promoter, takes a thrilling and emotional journey with Frida, a Midwestern visitor. She challenges him to revisit his broken dreams – while he pushes her to discover hers.

Directed by Qasim Basir

Starring Omari Hardwick, Meagan Good, Jay Ellis, Kenya Barris, Dijon Talton, Wesley Jonathan

Genre(s) Thriller Film

A BOY. A GIRL. A DREAM Starring Omari Hardwick and Meagan Good Acquired by Starz

Omari Hardwick and Meagan Good appear in A Boy, A Girl, A Dream. by Qasim Basir.

Datari Turner Productions’ critically-acclaimed film A Boy. A Girl. A Dream, starring Omari Hardwick and Meagan Good has been acquired by Starz. The Sundance Film Festival selection, directed by Qasim Basir and produced by prolific film/television producer Datari Turner, will make its television debut on Starz on Tuesday, August 6.

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Diverse Films from 19 Countries on 2018 Stony Brook Film Festival Program

[caption id="attachment_29880" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Aurora Borealis: Északi fény[/caption] The 2018 Stony Brook Film Festival presented by Island Federal Credit Union presents films of great diversity this summer, both in their themes and their settings. The schedule for the ten-day Festival, held at Staller Center at Stony Brook University from July 19-28, is available online at stonybrookfilmfestival.com. Alan Inkles, founder and director of the Stony Brook Film Festival, comments, “Films from nineteen different countries, from Scotland to Spain, Argentina to Afghanistan, and coast to coast across the United States, promise to take filmgoers on an extraordinary journey. We have carefully curated this Festival to give patrons a great mix of the best in new independent films. Many filmmakers and actors are coming to the Festival to represent their films and will take the stage for questions and answers. It’s a highlight of the Festival to hear from them.” This year the Stony Brook Film Festival travels from a war-torn past to an embattled future, from light-hearted comedies to heart-stopping thrillers, and from modern class struggles to sexual abuse stories that feel straight out of the #MeToo movement. Some of the films take place over decades, while others unfold in real time. There are social-media addicted mobsters, Shakespearian partygoers, and a shoe-stealing soccer prodigy. The opening night film, Shelter, is an international spy thriller from returning filmmaker Eran Riklis (Lemon Tree, Zaytoun) that follows an Israeli agent protecting a Lebanese informant in Germany, and features actress Golshifteh Farahani (best known to U.S. audiences from Paterson, and to Stony Brook audiences from My Sweet Pepperland and About Ella) as well as acclaimed Israeli actress Neta Riskin. (Thursday, July 19 at 8:00 pm) The closing night film, Aurora Borealis: Északi fény, was directed and co-written by the incredible Márta Mészáros, who—with 65 directing credits to her name going all the way back to 1954—is one of Hungary’s most accomplished female directors. A film that is part mystery and part war-drama, it not only uncovers atrocities during the Soviet occupation of Hungary, it also confronts secrets from the past and the measures people will take to protect those they love. (Saturday, July 28 at 8:00 pm)
Premieres at the Stony Brook Film Festival
The World Premiere of Dean Darling on Saturday, July 21st at 4:00 pm is an ambitious, coming-of-age drama created by local, Long Island talent and shot entirely in Smithtown and Coney Island on a miniscule budget. The film was written and directed by Calogero Carucci and features Douglas Towers, Joel Widman and Allison Frasca. [caption id="attachment_29879" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The Etruscan Smile[/caption] Acclaimed actor Brian Cox returns to the Stony Brook Film Festival in the U.S. Premiere of The Etruscan Smile, in which a rugged, old Scotsman who has reluctantly left his beloved Scottish Isle for medical treatment finds his life transformed by a new-found bond with his baby grandson. This gem also stars Thora Birch, JJ Field, and Roseanna Arquette, with several of the actors planning to be in attendance at the 9:30 pm screening on Saturday, July 21st. Other U.S. Premieres include Octav, a nostalgic, life-affirming story from Romania (Saturday, July 21st at 7:00 pm), Outdoors, a captivating film about a city couple building a home in the country from Israel (Tuesday, July 24 at 7:00 pm), Growing Up, a riotous, romantic comedy from Spain (Friday, July 20 at 9:30 pm), and A Dysfunctional Cat, a quirky story about two Iranians navigating their arranged marriage—and a very bizarre cat—while living in Germany (Wednesday, July 25 at 7:00 pm).
Female Filmmakers at the Stony Brook Film Festival
Fourteen films are by female directors, with Growing Up written and directed by Spanish filmmaker Clara Martínez-Lázaro, and A Dysfunctional Cat, written and directed by Iranian-German filmmaker Susan Gordanshekan. Another female-helmed feature, The Tale, has writer and director Jennifer Fox recounting her personal story of sexual abuse at a very young age in an intense, unnerving and cathartic work starring Laura Dern, Elizabeth Debicki, Ellen Burstyn and Isabelle Nélisse (Friday, July 27 at 7:00 pm). Other women filmmakers include writer and director Isabel Coixet, whose film The Bookshop was adapted from the novel by Penelope Fitzgerald about a widow who puts her grief behind her and opens a bookshop in a small, seaside town in England (Friday, July 20 at 7:00 pm). Virna Molina, who co-wrote and co-directed Symphony for Ana, recounts the struggle of high school students during the bloodiest coup d’etat in Argentina (Thursday, July 26 at 7:00 pm). Writer and director Samantha Davidson Green, whose Thrasher Road is a big-hearted father/daughter road trip, screens on Sunday, July 22 at 9:30 pm. Skye Borgman, director of the documentary Abducted in Plain Sight, recounts the absolutely bizarre double-kidnapping of Jan Broberg in the 70’s (Sunday, July 22 at 4:00 pm). Female-directed short films have been chosen that will stretch boundaries and touch hearts– shorts by Amy Wang, writer/director/actress Ashley Grace, Tesia Walker, Jackie L. Stone, and Helen Crosse.
Films with Heart and Films with Guts
Other selected films include My Brother Simple, a heart-warming and humorous story about a young man trying to take custody of his mentally-handicapped adult brother, screening on Sunday, July 22 at 7:00 pm. The Guilty, an edge-of-your-seat thriller from Denmark that takes place entirely in an alarm dispatch facility, screens on Monday, July 23 at 9:30 pm. Trauma, an intense documentary about the medics and pilots of a US Black Hawk medevac unit in Afghanistan screens on Tuesday, July 24 at 9:30 pm. Wednesday, July 25 at 9:30 pm showcases Funny Story, a dark comedy about a womanizing former TV star trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter. The emotional journey of A Boy, A Girl, A Dream unfolds in real time against the backdrop of the 2016 Presidential election on Thursday, July 26 at 9:30 pm. Other shorts include stories about a young woman with cerebral palsy falling in love, an Israeli patient finding out she has an Arab doctor, a foreman protecting her workers from the Department of Labor, and a law school student trying to explain a rather dire situation to police detectives. Images credit: The Etruscan Smile (Rosanna Arquette and Brian Cox pictured), photo credit: Po Valley Productions Aurora Borealis: Eszaki feny (Closing Night feature, Franciska Töröcsik pictured) photo credit: The Hungarian National Film Fund
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American Black Film Festival Announces 2018 Official Selections

[caption id="attachment_29489" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Jinn – Nijla Mu’min[/caption] The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) continues its 22-year legacy of providing a platform for diverse storytelling and emerging filmmakers, by announcing the 2018 official selections in all screening categories. The festival returns to Miami Beach, FL from June 13-17. From nearly 700 submissions, more than 40 films were selected for the 2018 ABFF lineup, representing a varied group of filmmakers who explore thought-provoking topics affecting people from around the world. The list also includes five alumni filmmakers and four world premieres. “ABFF attendees will experience groundbreaking works from a global selection of independent filmmakers. We are excited to showcase the films from our finalists this June in Miami Beach, Florida,” says Lamonia Deanne Brown, Director of Programming at ABFF Ventures. In 2017,the festival drew more than 8,500 attendees, generating millions of dollars in economic activity in Miami Beach and supported numerous local businesses along Lincoln Road. The 2018 American Black Film Festival Line Up (all categories):
NARRATIVE FEATURES (In Competition)
ANIMATOR / U.S.A. Director:Logan Hall and Julian Jones Cast: Levenix Riddle, McKenzie Chinn, Phillip Edward Van Lear, Anita Chandwaney and Geno Walker An artist gains the power to draw the future. When his girlfriend commits suicide, he learns he can erase the past, with chilling consequences. World Premiere BEFORE THE VOWS / Ghana Director:Nicole Amarteifio Cast:John Dumelo, Maame Adjei and Nathaniel Kweku Nii and Afua, a happy couple based in Ghana, devise an unconventional plan to ensure a long and happy marriage. CANAL STREET / U.S.A. Director:Rhyan LaMarr Cast:Bryshere Y. Gray, Mykelti Williamson, Mekhi Phifer, Woody McClain and Jamie Hector After a young mans is accused of murdering his classmates, his father, who is an attorney, defends him in court and struggles to hold onto his faith. World Premiere JINN / U.S.A. Director: Nijla Mu’min Cast:Zoe Renne, Simone Missick, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Hisham Tawfiq, Kelly Jenrette, Ashlei Foushee, Damien Smith and Maya Morales A shape-shifting, pepperoni-loving black teenage Instagram celebrity, exploresher identity and sexuality in the midst of her mother’s conversion to Islam. SPRINTER / Jamaica, U.S.A. Director: Storm Saulter Cast:Dale Elliott, Kadeem Wilson, Shantol Jackson and Bryshere Y. Gray A Jamaican teen hopes a meteoric RISE in TRACK AND FIELD can reunite him with his mother who has lived illegally in the U.S. for over a decade. World Premiere
NARRATIVE SHOWCASE (Non-Competitive)
A BOY. A GIRL. A DREAM. / U.S.A. Director: Qasim Basir Cast:Omari Hardwick, Meagan Good, Jay Ellis and Dijon Talton On the night of the 2016 presidential election, Cass, an L.A. club promoter, takes a thrilling and emotional journey with Frida, a Midwestern visitor. CHILDREN OF MUD / Nigeria Director: Imoh Umoren Cast:Liz Benson, Matilda Obaseki and Bassey Ekpenyong Children of Mudis a Nollywood story about love, hope and overcoming obstacles. THE FLEA / U.S.A. Director:Nicanson Guerrier Cast: Isaac Beverly, Sh’Kia Dennis and Kendall Mason Set in the Miami landmark, Flea Market USA, we follow assistant manager Quentin Parker on what is supposed to be his last day at the flea market. World Premiere
HBO SHORTS
EMERGENCY / U.S.A. Director: Carey Williams Cast:Darrell Lake, Jason Woods, Peter Pasco, Michael Segovia and Shaw Jones A group of young Black and Latino boys come home to their worst nightmare: An unconscious White girl on the floor of their apartment. Faced with this emergency, they weigh the pros and cons of calling the police. HAIR WOLF / U.S.A. Director: Mariama Diallo Cast:Kara Young, Taliah Webster, Madeline Weinstein, Trae Harris and Jermaine Crawford Set in a black hair salon in rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn, New York, the local residents fend off a strange new monster: white women intent on sucking the lifeblood from black culture. MOTHS & BUTTERFLIES / U.S.A. Director: Alfonso Johnson Cast: Amari Cheatom and Gillian Glasco “Moths” follows Lenny, a socially awkward, schizoaffective man & Cherisse, a high-energy BOUNDLESS soul, as they try to accept themselves in this New York tale about mental illness, love, and the longing to be understood. DAYS AFTER YOUR DEPARTURE / Haiti, U.S.A. Director: Sam Sneed Cast: Joekenneth Museau After losing his mother to a years long battle with cancer, Joekenneth Museau is left to question the meaning of his own existence. SUITABLE / U.S.A. Director:Thembi L. Banks Cast: Kelli Jordan, Tiffany Tenille and Derick Anthony Brandy, a high school tom boy, comes to terms with her sexuality when she decides what she’ll wear to the prom. At its core, this film tackles issues of sexuality, gender and the realities young, black women face as they come-of-age in modern society.
WEB SERIES
AVANT GUARDIANS / U.S.A. Director: Clarence Williams, IV Cast:Alesia Etinoff and Zainab Johnson A woke dramedy that covers a range of social justice topics such as mass incarceration, trans/homophobia, and bullying. The Guardian Angel to the 12 year-old future 3rdBlack President, Razz, is mandated to go to therapy with an ArchAngel, Dr. Hanniel. THE YARD / U.S.A. Director:John “Dr. Teeth” Tucker Cast:Fonzworth Bentley, Montrel Miller, Shaina Farrow, DJ Baby Yu and Korey Bryant Set on the campus of Booker A&T, a fictional historically black university, The Yard, is an animated sitcom that follows the comical adventures of five freshmen. Together these flawed students are about to get their first taste of the real world and experience numerous missteps as they navigate college and life. KELOID / U.S.A. Director:Huriyyah Muhammad Cast:Reynaldo Piniella and Kenna Jackson The story revolves around know-it all teenager Keloid, who is born with super abilities he neither wants nor is able to control and his strong-willed, overprotective mother, Marielle. Together they must find a way to survive Keloid’s adolescence, while maintaining SECRETS that keep them safe, and hiding from mistakes in their past that haunt them. BROOKLYNIFICATION / U.S.A. Director: Keith Miller Cast: Karl Williams, Felecia Harrelson, Lamar Cheston and Tallie Medel Brooklynificationis an uncomfortable comedy series about gentrification in New York’s most storied borough. This diverse cast of characters takes on the good, the bad, and the awkward as transforming neighborhoods face the unexpected encounters of Brooklyn’s rapidly changing streets. I AM NOT CHARLOTTE / U.S.A. Director:Jean Pierre Chapoteau Cast: Yani Simone and Darriel Violenes Charlotte, a college student, discovers she is in love with Jake and is convinced that inviting him to dinner will seal the deal. Charlotte takes advice from a few people that she knows all too well to help her win over her crush.
DOCUMENTARIES
FANTASTIC: THE LEGACY OF SLUM VILLAGE / U.S.A. Directors: Moe Lynch Cast: T3, Baatin, J Dilla, Q-tip, Common, Sway and Elzhi Fantastic tells the story of how three young men from the east side of Detroit formed one of the most underrated groups in hip hop history. From hustle to success through tragedy and breakups, the legacy of Slum Village lives on. World Premiere NOT IN MY NEIGHBOURHOOD / South Africa, Brazil, U.S.A. Director:Kurt Orderson Cast:Real life citizens Not in my Neigbourhoodgives the account of citizens on the FRONTLINE of the struggle against the intersectional nature of Gentrification from three seemingly World Class Cities: Cape Town, S?o Paulo, and New York. It follows their daily struggles, trials and triumphant moments, as they try to shape the cities they live in, from the bottom up. MAYNARD / U.S.A. Director: Sam Pollard Cast:President Bill Clinton, Ambassador Andrew Young, Rev. Al Sharpton, Mayor Kasim Reed, Mayor Shirley Franklin, Mayor Bill Campbell, Mayor Sam Massel, Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Joseph Lowery He was Obama before Obama, Maynard Holbrook Jackson became first black Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia in 1973 and this film is an exploration into a man who had dreams and ambitions to be a public servant for his people seeing that it was the next logical step in THE JOURNEY that had been started by Dr. King and so many others who had blazed the trail during the years of horrific segregation.
EMERGING DIRECTORS – Section #1
UP NORTH / U.S.A. Directors:Emil Pinnock, Damaine Radcliff Cast:Eugene Clark, Ian Duff, Gabriel Ellis, Kris Lofton, Emil Pinnock, Damaine Radcliff When it comes to the prison system, it’s just as hard getting out as going in. Mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, predators and prey FIGHT TO SURVIVE on the streets of Harlem and in the prisons of New York. Up North, an Independent Original Series for TV, explores systems of incarceration, and systems of marginalization in modern day America. SEARCHING FOR ISABELLE / U.S.A. Director: Stephanie Jeter Cast: Charlee Marie Cotton, Stephanie Stockstill, Aida Delaz, Gage Wallace, Joshua J. Volkers While being held captive, Isabelle discovers a mysterious ability to project herself to the outside world. When she appears to her friends in a desperate appeal for help, they work together to try and find her – but time is running out. LALO’S HOUSE / Haiti, U.S.A. Director: Kelley Kali Cast:Garcelle Beauvais, Jimmy Jean-Louis, Jasmin Jean-Louis, Kyra Rose Inspired by true events, two young sisters must escape a child sex trafficking ring disguised as a Catholic orphanage after being taken from their home in Haiti. MOTHERS / U.S.A. Director:Aurora Ferlin Cast:Mickaëlle X. Bizet, Marta Cross, Mark Anthony Williams, Victor Rodriguez, Keena Ferguson When the teenage son of Denise Matthews is murdered, she struggles not to surrender to her grief. Despite her husbands’ concerns, Denise is determined to confront the accused killer in court. The morning of the arraignment she finds support in a chance encounter with an unlikely stranger. World Premiere
EMERGING DIRECTORS – Section #2
PAS HONTEUX / U.S.A. Director:John D. Tucker Cast:Travis LaBranch, Leon Lamar, Javicia Leslie, LaToya Edwards The story of a young African American slacker that wakes up one day speaking French. The film brings to light the fact that we not only judge people by their looks but also by the way they speak. So, what if a young urban African American suddenly speaks French? World Premiere FRENCH FRIES / U.S.A. Director:Janine Sherman Barrois Cast: Rebecca Naomi Jones, Carl McDowellMAYNARD A young, hip African-American foodie couple fights to resolvecommunication problems in a modern marriage of six years, four months and three and a half days. Sydney comes home to find that her husband, Jason, having an impromptuguys’ night. She winds up escaping to a hotel to work in silence, though that is not how the night unfolds. World Premiere TRAPEZE /U.S.A. Director:Mark Anthony Green Cast:Rance Nix, Otmara Marrero, Kitty Cash, Sinead Bovell, David Deblinger Oren got the email of his dreams-an invitation to a meeting his company’s CEO. That is if he can actually make it to the meeting. As he navigates through New York City’s decrepit public transportation, women who are out of his league, and a right-winged pedi-cab driver, he’s faced with an even bigger obstacle: political correctness. World Premiere JITTERS / U.S.A. Director: Otoja Abit Cast: Otoja Abit, Jason Patric, Walker Hare Minutes before nuptials, a neurotic young man locks himself away in the back room of a church with the best man he knows.
EMERGING DIRECTORS – Section #3
A CRAFTSMAN / U.S.A. Director:Sanford Jenkins Jr. Cast: Marvin Gay, Shirley Jordan, Leonard R. Garner Jr. Overcome with grief, as his late wife’s presence permeates the space they once share, a rural woodworker builds a coffin to be his final resting place. Until a neighbor visits. A FATHER’S LOVE / U.S.A. Director:RonReaco Lee Cast:Terayle Hill, Adriyan Rae, Tichina Arnold, E Roger Mitchell On the toughest day of his life, HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL stand-out Andrew is dealing with what teenagers go through and he has a difficult choice to make in regard to his girlfriend and her being pregnant. World Premiere BODEGA! / U.S.A. Directors: Donna Augustin-Quinn & Talibah L. Newman Cast:Aleksandr Krasnopolskiy, Anna Orlova, Eric Jennings, Hadiyah Robinson, Asha Winter, Eden Marryshow, Layla Silvestre, Sawandi Wilson, William Perry In a community facing rapid gentrification, Bodega takes an intimate, yet comedic and dramatic, look at what can happen when people are made to feel like strangers in a city they helped build. When a middle class family moves into Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, an elder in THE FAMILY says something inappropriate, causing the local African American community to take extreme measures in order to receive an apology. FEVAH / U.S.A. Director:Randall Dottin Cast:Russell Hornsby, LaRoyce Hawkins, and Melissa Jackson Indira holds onto her heartbreak like a lost treasure. It’s hers and no one is going to tell her what to do with it. Her one-and-only love disappeared 18 months ago leaving her alone to take care of their son. Finally back on her feet with a new place and a new man, she’s ready for the next chapter when her child’s father shows up-making her question the very nature of the treasure she’s been holding onto for so long. PROTOTYPE / U.S.A. Director:Christopher Ortega Cast:Adrian Snow, Milena Phillips, Preston Butler, III, Kali Raquel An Afrofuturist, sci-fi film about a mother and daughter living in isolation on a remote Science compound who work to quickly patent the most human-like artificial intelligence on Earth. As prototype after prototype fail, Sol, who conducts empathy tests on her mother’s android creations, is pressured by her mom, Annette, to deliver a passing test or continue to be confined to the limits of the property. World Premiere WHERE THE WATER RUNS / U.S.A. Director: DuBois Ashong Cast: Darryl Dunning II, Bria Wade, Kyra Locke, Joseph Callari Set during the worst drought in LA history a water transporter uncovers a plot to privatize South Central’s dwindling water supply.
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BAMcinemaFest 2018 Announces Festival Lineup, Opens with Boots Riley’s SORRY TO BOTHER YOU

[caption id="attachment_27436" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Lakeith Stanfield and Tessa Thompson appear in Sorry to Bother You by Boots Riley[/caption] BAM unveiled the lineup for the tenth annual BAMcinemaFest taking place June 20 to July 18, 2018. Opening this year’s festival on Wednesday, June 20 is the head-spinningly surreal debut from musician-turned-filmmaker Boots Riley, Sorry to Bother You. Struggling to make ends meet in Oakland, CA, Cassius Green (Lakeith Stanfield) lands a job as a RegalView telemarketer. Realizing perfecting his “white voice” is the key to his monetary success, Green soon discovers it’s not without considerable consequences. Also starring Armie Hammer as RegalView’s callous CEO and a beguiling Tessa Thompson as Green’s activist-artist love interest. This year’s Closing Night selection on Saturday, June 30 is the New York premiere of Brooklyn filmmaker Josephine Decker’s third feature, Madeline’s Madeline. It stars writer/actor/director Miranda July as single mother Regina and dazzling young newcomer Helena Howard as her daughter Madeline. The film chronicles a volatile mother-daughter relationship which slowly intensifies with Madeline’s participation in an improvisational theater class led by an unscrupulous stage director (played by Molly Parker). This year’s Centerpiece selection is Leave No Trace. Eight years after Winter’s Bone, director Debra Granik returns with an arresting portrait of a father and daughter living a transient lifestyle off the grid. Starring Ben Foster and newcomer Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie in a mesmerizing breakout performance, Leave No Trace is a Bleeker Street release. This year’s Spotlight selections are Eighth Grade and Crime + Punishment. Bo Burnham’s much talked about Sundance film Eighth Grade follows 13-year-old Kayla (a riveting portrayal by newcomer Elsie Fisher), who, just having been awarded the status of ‘Most Quiet’ by her peers, ironically finds a voice in making inspirational videos for teens on YouTube. At once unflinchingly honest and unfailingly empathetic, Burnham’s auspicious directorial debut is as relatable as it is hilarious. Eighth Grade is an A24 release. Stephen Maing’s Crime + Punishment is a galvanizing documentary chronicling 12 New York Police Department minority officers who risk everything, speaking out against the continued use of quotas that unfairly target young black and Hispanic men. With unprecedented fly-on-the-wall access, the film exposes racism, corruption, and intimidation within the NYPD. Crime + Punishment is a Film Collaborative release. Kasi Lemmons’ Eve’s Bayou (1997) has been selected as the festival’s free, outdoor screening happening on Thursday, June 28 at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Relayed through the eyes of 10-year-old Eve (Jurnee Smollett), this Southern Gothic saga transpires over the course of a Louisiana summer after Eve discovers her picture-perfect family is something else entirely. The BAMcinemaFest main slate includes 20 feature films, with three world and two North American premieres, as well as nine documentary titles. The world premieres include Chained for Life, Feast of the Epiphany, and Two Plains & a Fancy. Aaron Schimberg’s Chained for Life is a reflexive look at the making of a controversial art film, with a heartbreaking performance by Adam Pearson (Under the Skin), featuring familiar faces from BAMcinemaFest’s past. Feast of the Epiphany, by film critic Michael Koresky and BAMcinemaFest alums Jeff Reichert and Farihah Zaman (Remote Area Medical) explores metaphysical connections among guests at an urban dinner party in the wake of a loss. BAMcinemaFest alums Whitney Horn and Lev Kalman (L is For Leisure) return with Two Plains & a Fancy, a spa-Western-comedy following three hapless tourists as they encounter ghosts, time travelers, and lonesome cowboys. This year’s BAMcinemaFest includes two short film programs, one comprising six narrative short films. The second, a documentary shorts program, is paired with the North American premiere of Lizzie Olesker and Lynne Sachs’ documentary The Washing Society, about the behind-the-scenes labor involved in the laundromat industry. Penny Lane’s documentary The Pain of Others, about controversial Morgellons disease sufferers, is the festival’s second North American premiere, and screens with the short film The Water Slide (Nathan Truesdell).
2018 BAMcinemaFest Lineup
“A Boy. A Girl. A Dream” (Qasim Basir) NY Premiere Narrative The boy is Cass (Omari Hardwick), an LA nightclub promoter whose once-promising filmmaking career has been put on hold. The girl is Frida (Meagan Good), a lawyer visiting from the Midwest, whom he meets on election night 2016. The dream is what unfolds before our eyes in one seemingly continuous, hallucinatory take as the two navigate a will-they or won’t-they mutual attraction; open up to one another about their hopes and disappointments; and—along with the rest of the world—begin to process the momentous political sea change washing over America, all in the course of a single evening. More than just a dazzling technical achievement, A Boy. A Girl. A Dream. takes viewers on a profound emotional journey as it explores how everything can change in an instant. A Samuel Goldwyn Films release. “América” (Erick Stoll & Chase Whiteside) NY Premiere Documentary When we first meet Diego—the magnetic emotional center of this sunny, warmhearted family portrait— he’s unicycling around a town square, disco-strutting on stilts, and beach-bumming around Puerto Vallarta. But when his frail but sweet-natured 93-year-old grandmother, América, is suddenly left without a caretaker, Diego—along with his two equally acrobatic brothers—leaves behind his laid-back life to return to his home in Colima, Mexico. In images at once meticulously composed and bursting with vitality, filmmakers Chase Whiteside and Erick Stoll celebrate the selflessness of caregiving and the infinite love coursing between generations. “Bisbee ‘17” (Robert Greene) NY Premiere Documentary A town’s traumatic past reverberates into the present in this stirring, complex look at American struggle and resistance. In 1917, the copper mining workers of Bisbee, Arizona—many of them immigrants—went on strike to fight for safer working conditions. In response, a posse of 2,000 men rounded up 1,200 strikers, dumped them in the desert, and effectively exiled them from the town forever. One hundred years later, Bisbee’s residents prepare to reenact this dark episode—a sort of historical exorcism that brings to light contemporary tensions between labor and management, union-building and capitalism, immigrants and nationalists. Directed with rousing cinematic flair by Robert Greene (Kate Plays Christine, BAMcinemaFest 2016), Bisbee ’17 resurrects a neglected slice of American history and connects it to our own urgent political moment. Co-presented with Rooftop Films. “Chained for Life” (Aaron Schimberg) World Premiere Narrative Building on the promise of his hallucinogenic debut Go Down Death, Brooklyn filmmaker Aaron Schimberg delivers another brilliantly oddball, acerbically funny foray into gonzo surrealism. In a deft tragicomic performance, Jess Weixler (Teeth) plays Mabel, a movie star “slumming it” in an outré art- horror film being shot in a semi-abandoned hospital. Cast opposite her is Rosenthal (Under the Skin’s Adam Pearson), a gentle-natured young man with a severe facial deformity. As their relationship evolves both on and offscreen, Schimberg raises provocative questions about cinematic notions of beauty, representation, and exploitation. Tod Browning crossed with Robert Altman crossed with David Lynch only begins to describe something this startlingly original and deeply felt. “Crime + Punishment” (Stephen Maing) NY Premiere Documentary This galvanizing documentary goes behind the scenes and undercover to expose racism, corruption, and intimidation within the New York Police Department. Shot between 2014 and 2017, Crime + Punishment chronicles the efforts of the NYPD 12, a band of minority officers who speak out against the continued use of arrest and summons quotas—an officially illegally practice that overwhelmingly targets young black and Hispanic men. Putting their careers on the line, the officers mount a David vs. Goliath legal challenge—only to find themselves weathering harassment and retaliation from within their own departments. With remarkable, fly-on-the-wall access, director Stephen Maing crafts a jolting 21st-century Serpico that unfolds with the verve and style of a Hollywood policier. “Clara’s Ghost” (Bridey Elliot) NY Premiere Narrative Families don’t get much more poisonous than the one at the center of this pitch-black, disturbingly funny nightmare comedy. Casting her own family as the gruesome clan in question, Bridey Elliott chronicles one epic night of debauchery in the Reynolds household as monstrously superficial daughters Julie and Riley (former SNL cast member Abby Elliott & the filmmaker)—former child stars à la Mary-Kate and Ashley— return home to Connecticut to celebrate their dog’s birthday with ham actor father Ted (comedian Chris Elliott) and harried mother Clara (Paula Niedert Elliott). As the vodka flows, things go from scathingly hilarious to increasingly unsettling—especially when Clara begins communing with a spirit. Something like Cassavetes’ A Woman Under the Influence played as an unsparing cringe comedy, Clara’s Ghost heralds the arrival of Bridey Elliott as a bold new directorial voice. “Distant Constellation” (Shevaun Mizrahi) NY Premiere Documentary This hushed, hypnotic documentary floats ghost-like through the rooms and corridors of an Istanbul retirement home, an uncanny alternate reality where time seems to stand still as the world outside changes rapidly. Director Shevaun Mizrahi’s observant camera bears witness to the testimonies of the home’s residents: an aging roué who speaks about his sexual escapades in 1950s Paris; a hunched-over woman scarred by memories of the Armenian genocide; a former photographer now losing his sight. By turns tragic, humorous, and surreal, Distant Constellation is a meditation on time, memory, and the endless human cycle of life and death. “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot” (Gus Van Sant) NY Premiere Narrative Joaquin Phoenix adds to his impressive roster of transformative, totally committed performances with this irresistibly offbeat charmer from Gus Van Sant. Based on the memoirs of puckishly irreverent Portland cartoonist John Callahan (Phoenix), the film traces Callahan’s journey towards self-actualization after a car accident leaves him paralyzed and forces him to confront his alcohol addiction. Aided by a uniquely colorful AA support group, he finds redemption in art and in his own brilliantly warped imagination. Boasting scene-stealing supporting performances from Jonah Hill, Jack Black, and Rooney Mara—along with memorable turns by Kim Gordon, musician Beth Ditto, and cult fave Udo Kier—Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot is as skewed, funny, and inspirational as its subject. “Eighth Grade” (Bo Burnham) NY Premiere Narrative Comedian Bo Burnham makes the leap to filmmaker with this refreshingly real, sharply observed, and devastatingly funny look at growing up in the age of Snapchat. In a naturalistic breakout performance, Elsie Fisher stars as Kayla, a social media-hooked 13-year-old who projects confidence and cool on her barely watched YouTube channel, but in real life is painfully shy, endearingly awkward, and practically invisible to her classmates. With high school just around the corner, can she reconcile her online persona with her real self? At once unflinchingly honest and unfailingly empathetic, Burnham’s auspicious directorial debut is as relatable as it is hilarious. “Feast of the Epiphany” (Michael Koresky, Jeff Reichert & Farihah Zaman) World Premiere Narrative/Documentary Two halves form a harmonious whole in this ingenious documentary-narrative shape-shifter. In part one, Abby, a 20-something Brooklynite, prepares to throw an intimate dinner party, a meticulously planned evening that takes an unexpected turn when the guest of honor shows up and raw emotions rise to the surface. Then suddenly, audaciously, we are whisked away to an altogether different reality—one that both deepens and challenges our understanding of what came before. Hinging on this daring gambit, Feast of the Epiphany blossoms into a subtly profound reminder that behind every story are a multitude of others waiting to be told. “The Gospel of Eureka” (Michael Palmieri & Donal Mosher) NY Premiere Documentary Welcome to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, a one-of-a-kind oasis in the Ozarks where Christian piety rubs shoulders with a thriving queer community. Narrated with homespun humor by Mx Justin Vivian Bond, this lushly photographed documentary spotlights the space where the town’s seemingly contradictory factions intersect: Lee and Walter, out and proud husband-owners of a local gay bar they liken to a “hillbilly Studio 54,” talk about their deep-seated faith; a Christian t-shirt designer describes his love for his gay father; and everything comes together in a show-stopping mash-up of a spectacular passion play and raucous drag show. The result is a joyously offbeat slice of Americana that breaks down the red-state-blue-state divide. “Leave No Trace” (Debra Granik) NY Premiere Narrative Eight years after Winter’s Bone, Debra Granik returns with another arresting portrait of life on the margins featuring a mesmerizing breakout performance from a young actress to watch. Will (Ben Foster), a veteran wrestling with PTSD, and his teenage daughter Tom (newcomer Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie) live in a makeshift campsite in the Oregon wilderness, cut off from nearly all human contact and surviving by their wits. When social services intervenes, their harmonious isolation—and the deep bond between them—is threatened. With clear-eyed naturalism and an unwavering compassion for her outsider subjects, Granik creates a tough, tender, and deeply moving look at a father and daughter searching for their own idea of home. “Madeline’s Madeline” (Josephine Decker) NY Premiere Narrative One of independent cinema’s most exciting new voices, Josephine Decker (Thou Wast Mild and Lovely, BAMcinemaFest 2014) continues to push boundaries with her thrillingly visceral third feature, set in New York’s experimental theater scene. This tour-de-force head trip evokes the fractured psyche of an unstable teenage girl (riveting newcomer Helena Howard), whose rocky relationship with her mother (Miranda July) splinters as the girl comes under the influence of an exploitative stage director (Molly Parker). “Minding the Gap” (Bing Liu) NY Premiere Documentary In his emotionally stunning debut feature, rising documentary talent Bing Liu reimagines the skate video as a vehicle for raw personal expression. Minding the Gap opens with Liu’s dynamic camera gliding along the streets of Rockford, Illinois, a struggling post-industrial city where the filmmaker and his longtime friends Keire and Zack find community in a close-knit band of fellow skateboarders. But skating is just a respite from their tumultuous lives at home. As Liu digs deeper into his friends’ personal demons, he hits upon a shared thread of troubled masculinity, domestic abuse, and fractured families—building powerfully towards a bracing confrontation with his own past. “The Pain of Others” (Penny Lane) North American Premiere Documentary It begins with crawling sensations beneath the skin. Sores erupt. Then wiry, multicolored fibers sprout forth from the lesions—seemingly the outgrowths of an alien parasite. It’s called Morgellons disease and thousands around the world purport to suffer from it. The problem: the medical community at large says it isn’t real, attributing the epidemic to psychosomatic delusion spread by internet-fueled paranoia. In this provocative found-footage work, director Penny Lane assembles clips from YouTube videos uploaded by people who believe they are afflicted: wrenching face-to-face encounters with anguish both physical and mental. The result is a chilling deep dive into mass hysteria in the internet age. “Polly: Recent Films and Collaborations by Kevin Jerome Everson” (Kevin Jerome Everson) North American Premiere Narrative/Documentary Journeying from 16th-century Florence to the 2017 solar eclipse, the latest films from the restlessly inventive, ultra-prolific experimentalist Kevin Jerome Everson blend past and present, documentary and reenactment to illuminate hidden fragments of black life and history. “Relaxer” (Joel Potrykus) NY Premiere Narrative Joel Potrykus (The Alchemist Cookbook, BAMcinemaFest 2016), Michigan’s greatest underground auteur, returns with another gonzo transmission from America’s heartland. Set on the eve of Y2K, Relaxer unfolds almost entirely in a squalid living room where Abbie (the Keatonesque Joshua Burge), commanded by his sadistic brother (David Dastmalchian), takes up a nigh-impossible challenge: beating the all-time Pac-Man high score without leaving the couch until he does. As Abbie’s quest devolves into a months-long absurdist nightmare, Potrykus guides this daringly demented black comedy into increasingly disturbing realms. The result is a grungy, noxiously funny vision of Gen X complacency hurtling towards oblivion. “Shirkers” (Sandi Tan) NY Premiere Documentary In 1992, Sandi Tan was a film-obsessed teenage punk when she and her two best friends made a New Wave-inspired, feminist slasher movie, shot guerrilla style on the streets of Singapore. Then Georges, her enigmatic American mentor, absconded with the footage, never to be seen again. Twenty-five years later, Tan revisits the episode, interweaving the newly rediscovered footage with her search for answers: Who was Georges? And what drove him to steal her art? Working in a charmingly lo-fi, handmade-collage style, Tan turns the central mystery of her life into a captivating essay on friendship, cinephilia, and the dashed dreams of youth. A Netflix release. “Skate Kitchen” (Crystal Moselle) NY Premiere Narrative Crystal Moselle follows up her Sundance Grand Prize-winning documentary hit The Wolfpack with her equally impressive narrative debut. Inspired by and starring real-life members of New York City’s hippest all-girl skate crew, Skate Kitchen follows the journey of Camille (Rachelle Vinberg), a Long Island teen whose fraught home life and passion for skateboarding lead her to the Lower East Side. There, she finds her Eden among a band of street-savvy fellow female shredders—but the complexities of love and friendship threaten to upset their sisterhood. Propelled by the cool girl charisma of its leads, this authentic deep-dive into a vibrant youth subculture plays like a blissed-out, female-powered Kids for today’s New York. A Magnolia Pictures release. “Sorry to Bother You” (Boots Riley) NY Premiere Narrative The audacious, deliriously inventive debut from musician-turned-filmmaker Boots Riley marks the arrival of one of American cinema’s most exhilarating new talents. “Use your white voice.” With that simple piece of advice, stuck-on-the-bottom-rung telemarketer Cassius Green (Lakeith Stanfield) goes from living in his uncle’s garage to rocketing up the corporate ladder as the company’s newest rising star “power caller.” But just what is he selling? Abetted by game performances from Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, and Armie Hammer as a crazed capitalist super-villain, Riley blends head-spinning surrealism with bomb-throwing sociopolitical satire for a cracked and brilliant anarcho-comedy that keeps topping its own craziness. An Annapurna release. “Support the Girls” (Andrew Bujalski) NY Premiere Narrative With a huge amount of heart and a healthy sprinkling of irreverent one-liners, Andrew Bujalski (Computer Chess, BAMcinemaFest 2013; Beeswax, BAMcinemaFest 2009) crafts a funny, human portrait of women banding together to get it done. Lisa (Regina Hall)—the fiercely devoted manager of Double Whammies, a Hooters-like Houston sports bar—has a seemingly superhuman ability to handle whatever life throws at her. On this particular day, that means protecting her staff from lecherous men, dealing with an attempted robbery, raising money for a waitress in trouble, and contending with Double Whammies’ unseemly owner, all while keeping the restaurant running smoothly. Buoyed by a magnificent performance from Regina Hall, this deceptively breezy comedy folds serious issues of sexism, racism, and capitalism into a generous tribute to female friendship and empowerment. “The Task” (Leigh Ledare) NY Premiere Documentary Twenty-eight strangers shuffle into a nondescript room where they sit down for day three of a radical social experiment orchestrated by taboo-breaking artist Leigh Ledare. Veering between brutal honesty, righteous indignation, manipulative caginess, and suspicion of the inscrutable “task” at hand, the participants—spread across race, age, gender, and class lines—relentlessly analyze each and every interaction that passes between them until even an act as small as changing one’s seat becomes charged with explosive tension. Provocative, at times uncomfortable, and always riveting, The Task is an unsettling mirror reflection of our societal fault lines. “Two Plains & a Fancy” (Lev Kalman & Whitney Horn) World Premiere Narrative BAMcinemaFest alums Lev Kalman and Whitney Horn (L for Leisure, 2014) return with this deliciously deadpan, lo-fi acid-western comedy. Colorado, 1893: a trio of New York city slickers—a hippy-dippy mystic (Marianna McClellan), a French geologist (Laetitia Dosch), and a foppish artist (Benjamin Crotty)— wander the desert in search of the relaxing waters of the hot springs, along the way encountering from- the-future time travelers, kinky sex ghosts, spirit cats, and a pair of surprisingly fashionable cowboys. Shot on shimmering, sun-splashed 16mm, this hallucinogenic Old West road movie meanders in a blissful stoner haze from the wryly funny to the cosmic. “The Washing Society” (Lizzie Olesker & Lynne Sachs) North American Premiere Documentary When you drop off a bag of dirty laundry, who’s doing the washing and folding? Mixing revealing interviews with poetic performance, filmmaker Lynne Sachs and playwright Lizzie Olesker go behind the scenes of New York City’s laundromats to uncover the hidden labor that goes into cleaning your clothes— a story that intersects with history, immigration, race, community, and capitalism. “Wild Nights with Emily” (Madeleine Olnek) NY Premiere Narrative According to received wisdom, Emily Dickinson was a fragile recluse who spent her life holed up in her childhood home, a shrinking violet spinster too timid to publish her poems. Forget all that. In this delightfully funny historical burlesque, Madeleine Olnek (The Foxy Merkins, BAMcinemaFest 2014) offers a refreshing, much-needed reappraisal of Dickinson (Molly Shannon) as an ambitious, vivacious rebel whose passionate, lifelong love affair with childhood friend and later sister-in-law Susan Gilbert (Susan Ziegler) fueled her creativity. Balancing irreverent humor with a tender love story, Wild Nights With Emily challenges the sexist historical record, brilliantly reclaiming the writer’s reputation as a lesbian icon and a feminist trailblazer.
Shorts
“Are You Tired of Forever?” 6min NY Premiere—Experimental Directed by Caitlin Craggs A schizoid self-portrait writ in a day-glo kaleidoscope of stop-motion cutouts, picnic food, jellified brains, and sprinkles. “Black 14” 15min NY Premiere—Documentary Directed by Darius Clark Monroe In 1969, a group of fourteen black football players at the University of Wyoming took a stand against racism in college athletics—and paid the price for speaking out. A tribute to the fearlessness of those who paved the way for today’s activist athletes. “Creature Companion” 30min North American Premiere—Narrative/Experimental Directed by Melika Bass Over the course of languorous summer days and nights, two women enter into a twitchy, sensuous symbiosis in this hypnotic performance piece. “Edgecombe” 15min World Premiere—Documentary Directed by Crystal Kayiza Three snapshots of black life in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, a place where the racial injustices of the past continue into the present. “Fucked Like a Star” 8min NY Premiere—Experimental Directed by Stefani Saintonge A poetic meditation on women’s work and the dreamlife of ants set to the words of Toni Morrison. “Hair Wolf” 12min—Narrative Directed by Mariama Diallo There’s something strange in the neighborhood salon… She’s white, she wants braids, and she will touch your black hair. “Reenactment” 8min NY Premiere—Narrative/Experimental Directed by Young Jean Lee A no-nonsense police report becomes a harrowing, flesh-and-blood encounter with domestic violence and toxic masculinity. “To Be Free” 12min NY Premiere—Narrative Directed by Adepero Oduye Nina Simone takes the stage for a defiant, soul-stirring performance. “The Water Slide” 9min NY Premiere—Documentary (screens with The Pain of Others) Directed by Nathan Truesdell News clips and promotional videos tell the chilling story of how the building of an amusement park water slide led to an American tragedy. “What We Have Built” 19min—Documentary Directed by Adrián Gutiérrez & Grace Remington A group of immigrants living in the Bronx join forces to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to improve their hometown in Mexico. A story of community, collective action, and the meaning of home.
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Samuel Goldwyn Films Acquires ‘A BOY. A GIRL. A DREAM’ Starring Omari Hardwick and Meagan Good [ CLIP]

Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired the acclaimed Sundance Film A BOY. A GIRL. A DREAM directed by Qasim Basir and starring Omari Hardwick (“Power”), Meagan Good (A GIRL LIKE GRACE). The film which co-stars Jay Ellis (“Insecure”), Dijon Talton (“Glee”), Wesley Jonathan (ROLL BOUNCE), and Affion Crockett (THE WEDDING RINGER), was written by written by Qasim Basir & Samantha Tanner. The story follows a Los Angeles club promoter named Cass (Hardwick), who on the night of the 2016 Presidential Election meets a woman named Free (Good) who challenges him to revisit his broken dreams. This happens during a series of unfortunate events during the time that Trump is surging ahead of Hilary Clinton. “I can’t think of a better company to partner with for this next phase of the journey of getting our film out to the world,” says director/writer Qasim Basir. “Samuel Goldwyn has a solid track record. They were extremely passionate about our film and the talented people involved with making it so we believe we are in good hands,” added producer Datari Turner. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g25UY0Pwctc
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‘A Boy. A Girl. A Dream’ Starring Omari Hardwick and Meagan Good Headed to San Francisco Film Festival | Video

A Boy. A Girl. A Dream – the critically-acclaimed one-take film that premiered at Sundance in January – will screen at the 2018 San Francisco Film Festival (SFFILM) on Tuesday, April 10 at 6:00pm and Friday, April 13 at 9:00pm. Director Qasim Basir and producer Datari Turner will attend on individual nights and participate in a Q&A talk-back (Turner on 4/10 and Basir on 4/13). Starring Omari Hardwick (Starz’ “Power”), Meagan Good (Hulu’s upcoming “Foxy Brown”), Jay Ellis (HBO’s “Insecure”), and Kenya Barris (ABC’s “black-ish”), A Boy. A Girl. A Dream is set on the night of the 2016 Presidential election, when “Cass” (Hardwick), an L.A. club promoter, takes a thrilling and emotional journey with “Free” (Good), a Midwestern visitor. She challenges him to revisit his broken dreams – while he pushes her to discover hers. Written by Basir and Samantha Turner, A BOY. A GIRL. A DREAM was produced by Datari Turner through his Production Banner Datari Turner Productions. Executive producers on the film are Jash’d Kambui Belcher, Louis Steyn, TJ Steyn, Jamal Chilton, Tim Weatherspoon, Phil Thornton, Meagan Good, and Omari Hardwick. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlrZrGG1d8U
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2018 Sundance Film Festival Unveils Feature Film Lineup of 110 Films

[caption id="attachment_25705" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The Kindergarten Teacher[/caption] The 2018 Sundance Film Festival returns to Park City, Salt Lake City and at Sundance Mountain Resort, from January 18 to 28, and today announced the feature films lineup showcasing bold, independent storytelling. For the 2018 Festival, 110 feature-length films were selected, representing 29 countries and 47 first-time filmmakers, including 30 in competition.These films were selected from 13,468 submissions including 3,901 feature-length films and 8,740 short films. Of the feature film submissions, 1,799 were from the U.S. and 2,102 were international. One-hundred feature films at the Festival will be world premieres Robert Redford, President and Founder of Sundance Institute, said, “The work of independent storytellers can challenge and possibly change culture, illuminating our world’s imperfections and possibilities. This year’s Festival is full of artfully-told stories that provoke thought, drive empathy and allow the audience to connect, in deeply personal ways, to the universal human experience.”
U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION
American Animals / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Bart Layton, Producers: Derrin Schlesinger, Katherine Butler, Dimitri Doganis, Mary Jane Skalski) — The unbelievable but mostly true story of four young men who mistake their lives for a movie and attempt one of the most audacious art heists in U.S. history. Cast: Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan, Blake Jenner, Jared Abrahamson, Ann Dowd, Udo Kier. World Premiere BLAZE / U.S.A. (Director: Ethan Hawke, Screenwriters: Ethan Hawke, Sybil Rosen, Producers: Jake Seal, John Sloss, Ryan Hawke, Ethan Hawke) — A reimagining of the life and times of Blaze Foley, the unsung songwriting legend of the Texas Outlaw Music movement; he gave up paradise for the sake of a song. Cast: Benjamin Dickey, Alia Shawkat, Josh Hamilton, Charlie Sexton. World Premiere Blindspotting / U.S.A. (Director: Carlos Lopez Estrada, Screenwriters: Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs, Producers: Keith Calder, Jess Calder, Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs) — A buddy comedy in a world that won’t let it be one. Cast: Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casal, Janina Gavankar, Jasmine Cephas Jones. World Premiere. DAY ONE Burden / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Heckler, Producers: Robbie Brenner, Jincheng, Bill Kenwright) — After opening a KKK shop, Klansman Michael Burden falls in love with a single mom who forces him to confront his senseless hatred. After leaving the Klan and with nowhere to turn, Burden is taken in by an African-American reverend, and learns tolerance through their combined love and faith. Cast: Garrett Hedlund, Forest Whitaker, Andrea Riseborough, Tom Wilkinson, Usher Raymond. World Premiere Eighth Grade / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Bo Burnham, Producers: Scott Rudin, Eli Bush, Christopher Storer, Lila Yacoub) — Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school — the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year — before she begins high school. Cast: Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton. World Premiere. I Think We’re Alone Now / U.S.A. (Director: Reed Morano, Screenwriter: Mike Makowsky, Producers: Fred Berger, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Fernando Loureiro, Roberto Vasconcellos, Peter Dinklage, Mike Makowsky) — The apocalypse proves a blessing in disguise for one lucky recluse – until a second survivor arrives with the threat of companionship. Cast: Peter Dinklage, Elle Fanning. World Premiere The Kindergarten Teacher / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Sara Colangelo, Producers: Celine Rattray, Trudie Styler, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Osnat Handelsman-Keren, Talia Kleinhendler) — Lisa Spinelli is a Staten Island teacher who is unusually devoted to her students. When she discovers one of her five-year-olds is a prodigy, she becomes fascinated with the boy, ultimately risking her family and freedom to nurture his talent. Based on the acclaimed Israeli film. Cast: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Parker Sevak, Rosa Salazar, Anna Barynishikov, Michael Chernus, Gael Garcia Bernal. World Premiere Lizzie / U.S.A. (Director: Craig William Macneill, Screenwriter: Bryce Kass, Producers: Naomi Despres, Liz Destro) — Based on the 1892 murder of Lizzie Borden’s family in Fall River, MA, this tense psychological thriller lays bare the legend of Lizzie Borden to reveal the much more complex, poignant and truly terrifying woman within — and her intimate bond with the family’s young Irish housemaid, Bridget Sullivan. Cast: Chloë Sevigny, Kristen Stewart, Jamey Sheridan, Fiona Shaw, Kim Dickens, Denis O’Hare. World Premiere The Miseducation of Cameron Post / U.S.A. (Director: Desiree Akhavan, Screenwriters: Desiree Akhavan, Cecilia Frugiuele, Producers: Cecilia Frugiuele, Jonathan Montepare, Michael B. Clark, Alex Turtletaub) — 1993: after being caught having sex with the prom queen, a girl is forced into a gay conversion therapy center. Based on Emily Danforth’s acclaimed and controversial coming-of-age novel. Cast: Chloë Grace Moretz, Sasha Lane, Forrest Goodluck, John Gallagher Jr., Jennifer Ehle. World Premiere Monster / U.S.A. (Director: Anthony Mandler, Screenwriters: Radha Blank, Cole Wiley, Janece Shaffer, Producers: Tonya Lewis Lee, Nikki Silver, Aaron L. Gilbert, Mike Jackson, Edward Tyler Nahem) — “Monster” is what the prosecutor calls 17 year old honors student and aspiring filmmaker Steve Harmon. Charged with felony murder for a crime he says he did not commit, the film follows his dramatic journey through a complex legal battle that could leave him spending the rest of his life in prison. Cast: Kelvin Harrison Jr., Jeffrey Wright, Jennifer Hudson, Rakim Mayers, Jennifer Ehle, Tim Blake Nelson. World Premiere Monsters and Men / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Reinaldo Marcus Green, Producers: Elizabeth Lodge Stepp, Josh Penn, Eddie Vaisman, Julia Lebedev, Luca Borghese) — This interwoven narrative explores the aftermath of a police killing of a black man. The film is told through the eyes of the bystander who filmed the act, an African-American police officer and a high-school baseball phenom inspired to take a stand. Cast: John David Washington, Anthony Ramos, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Chanté Adams, Nicole Beharie, Rob Morgan. World Premiere NANCY / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Christina Choe, Producers: Amy Lo, Michelle Cameron, Andrea Riseborough) — Blurring lines between fact and fiction, Nancy becomes increasingly convinced she was kidnapped as a child. When she meets a couple whose daughter went missing thirty years ago, reasonable doubts give way to willful belief – and the power of emotion threatens to overcome all rationality. Cast: Andrea Riseborough, J. Smith-Cameron, Steve Buscemi, Ann Dowd, John Leguizamo. World Premiere Sorry to Bother You / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Boots Riley, Producers: Nina Yang Bongiovi, Forest Whitaker, Charles King, George Rush, Jonathan Duffy, Kelly Williams) — In a speculative and dystopian not-too-distant future, black telemarketer Cassius Green discovers a magical key to professional success – which propels him into a macabre universe. Cast: Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Steven Yeun, Jermaine Fowler, Armie Hammer, Omari Hardwicke. World Premiere The Tale / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jennifer Fox, Producers: Oren Moverman, Lawrence Inglee, Laura Rister, Mynette Louie, Sol Bondy, Simone Pero) — An investigation into one woman’s memory as she’s forced to re-examine her first sexual relationship and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive; based on the filmmaker’s own story. Cast: Laura Dern, Isabel Nelisse, Jason Ritter, Elizabeth Debicki, Ellen Burstyn, Common. World Premiere TYREL / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Sebastian Silva, Producers: Jacob Wasserman, Max Born) — Tyler spirals out of control when he realizes he’s the only black person attending a weekend birthday party in a secluded cabin. Cast: Jason Mitchell, Christopher Abbott, Michael Cera, Caleb Landry Jones, Ann Dowd. World Premiere Wildlife / U.S.A. (Director: Paul Dano, Screenwriters: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Producers: Andrew Duncan, Alex Saks, Oren Moverman, Ann Ruark, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riva Marker) — Montana, 1960: A portrait of a family in crisis. Based on the novel by Richard Ford. Cast: Carey Mulligan, Ed Oxenbould, Bill Camp, Jake Gyllenhaal. World Premiere
U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Bisbee ’17 / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Robert Greene, Producers: Douglas Tirola, Susan Bedusa, Bennett Elliott) — An old mining town on the Arizona-Mexico border finally reckons with its darkest day: the deportation of 1200 immigrant miners exactly 100 years ago. Locals collaborate to stage recreations of their controversial past. Cast: Fernando Serrano, Laurie McKenna, Ray Family, Mike Anderson, Graeme Family, Richard Hodges. World Premiere Crime + Punishment / U.S.A. (Director: Stephen Maing) — Over four years of unprecedented access, the story of a brave group of black and Latino whistleblower cops and one unrelenting private investigator who, amidst a landmark lawsuit, risk everything to expose illegal quota practices and their impact on young minorities. World Premiere Dark Money / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kimberly Reed, Producer: Katy Chevigny) — “Dark money” contributions, made possible by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, flood modern American elections – but Montana is showing Washington D.C. how to solve the problem of unlimited anonymous money in politics. World Premiere The Devil We Know / U.S.A. (Director: Stephanie Soechtig, Producers: Kristin Lazure, Stephanie Soechtig, Joshua Kunau, Carly Palmour) — Unraveling one of the biggest environmental scandals of our time, a group of citizens in West Virginia take on a powerful corporation after they discover it has knowingly been dumping a toxic chemical — now found in the blood of 99.7% of Americans — into the local drinking water supply. World Premiere. THE NEW CLIMATE Hal / U.S.A. (Director: Amy Scott, Producers: Christine Beebe, Jonathan Lynch, Brian Morrow) — Hal Ashby’s obsessive genius led to an unprecedented string of Oscar®-winning classics, including Harold and Maude, Shampoo and Being There. But as contemporaries Coppola, Scorsese and Spielberg rose to blockbuster stardom in the 1980s, Ashby’s uncompromising nature played out as a cautionary tale of art versus commerce. World Premiere Hale County This Morning, This Evening / U.S.A. (Director: RaMell Ross, Screenwriter: Maya Krinsky, Producers: Joslyn Barnes, RaMell Ross, Su Kim) — An exploration of coming-of-age in the Black Belt of the American South, using stereotypical imagery to fill in the landscape between iconic representations of black men and encouraging a new way of looking, while resistance to narrative suspends conclusive imagining – allowing the viewer to complete the film. World Premiere Inventing Tomorrow / U.S.A. (Director: Laura Nix, Producers: Diane Becker, Melanie Miller, Laura Nix) — Take a journey with young minds from around the globe as they prepare their projects for the largest convening of high school scientists in the world, the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). Watch these passionate innovators find the courage to face the planet’s environmental threats while navigating adolescence. World Premiere. THE NEW CLIMATE Kailash / U.S.A. (Director: Derek Doneen, Producers: Davis Guggenheim, Sarah Anthony) — As a young man, Kailash Satyarthi promised himself that he would end child slavery in his lifetime. In the decades since, he has rescued more than eighty thousand children and built a global movement. This intimate and suspenseful film follows one man’s journey to do what many believed was impossible. World Premiere. DAY ONE Kusama – Infinity / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Heather Lenz, Producers: Karen Johnson, Heather Lenz, Dan Braun, David Koh) — Now one of the world’s most celebrated artists, Yayoi Kusama broke free of the rigid society in which she was raised, and overcame sexism, racism, and mental illness to bring her artistic vision to the world stage. At 88 she lives in a mental hospital and continues to create art. World Premiere The Last Race / U.S.A. (Director: Michael Dweck, Producers: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw) — A cinematic portrait of a small town stock car track and the tribe of drivers that call it home as they struggle to hold onto an American racing tradition. The avant-garde narrative explores the community and its conflicts through an intimate story that reveals the beauty, mystery and emotion of grassroots auto racing. World Premiere Minding the Gap / U.S.A. (Director: Bing Liu, Producer: Diane Quon) — Three young men bond together to escape volatile families in their Rust Belt hometown. As they face adult responsibilities, unexpected revelations threaten their decade-long friendship. World Premiere On Her Shoulders / U.S.A. (Director: Alexandria Bombach, Producers: Marie Therese Guirgis, Hayley Pappas, Brock Williams, Bryn Mooser, Adam Bardach) — A Yazidi genocide and ISIS sexual slavery survivor, 23-year-old Nadia Murad is determined to tell the world her story. As her journey leads down paths of advocacy and fame, she becomes the voice of her people and their best hope to spur the world to action. International Premiere The Price of Everything / U.S.A. (Director: Nathaniel Kahn, Producers: Jennifer Blei Stockman, Debi Wisch, Carla Solomon) — With unprecedented access to pivotal artists and the white-hot market surrounding them, this film dives deep into the contemporary art world, holding a funhouse mirror up to our values and our times – where everything can be bought and sold.World Premiere Seeing Allred / U.S.A. (Directors: Sophie Sartain, Roberta Grossman, Producers: Roberta Grossman, Sophie Sartain, Marta Kauffman, Robbie Rowe Tollin, Hannah KS Canter) — Gloria Allred overcame trauma and personal setbacks to become one of the nation’s most famous women’s rights attorneys. Now the feminist firebrand takes on two of the biggest adversaries of her career, Bill Cosby and Donald Trump, as sexual violence allegations grip the nation and keep her in the spotlight. World Premiere The Sentence / U.S.A. (Director: Rudy Valdez, Producers: Sam Bisbee, Jackie Kelman Bisbee) — Cindy Shank, mother of three, is serving a 15-year sentence in federal prison for her tangential involvement with a Michigan drug ring years earlier. This intimate portrait of mandatory minimum drug sentencing’s devastating consequences, captured by Cindy’s brother, follows her and her family over the course of ten years. World Premiere Three Identical Strangers / U.S.A. (Director: Tim Wardle, Producer: Becky Read) — New York,1980: three complete strangers accidentally discover that they’re identical triplets, separated at birth. The 19-year-olds’ joyous reunion catapults them to international fame, but also unlocks an extraordinary and disturbing secret that goes beyond their own lives – and could transform our understanding of human nature forever. World Premiere
WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION
And Breathe Normally / Iceland, Sweden, Belgium (Director and screenwriter: Ísold Uggadóttir, Producers: Skúli Malmquist, Diana Elbaum, Annika Hellström, Lilja Ósk Snorradóttir, Inga Lind Karlsdóttir) — At the edge of Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula, two women’s lives will intersect – for a brief moment – while trapped in circumstances unforeseen. Between a struggling Icelandic mother and an asylum seeker from Guinea-Bissau, a delicate bond will form as both strategize to get their lives back on track. Cast: Kristín Thóra Haraldsdóttir, Babetida Sadjo, Patrik Nökkvi Pétursson. World Premiere Butterflies / Turkey (Director and screenwriter: Tolga Karaçelik, Producers: Tolga Karaçelik, Diloy Gülün, Metin Anter) — In the Turkish village of Hasanlar, three siblings who neither know each other nor anything about their late father, wait to bury his body. As they start to find out more about their father and about each other, they also start to know more about themselves. Cast: Tolga Tekin, Bartu Küçükçağlayan, Tuğçe Altuğ, Serkan Keskin, Hakan Karsak. World Premiere Dead Pigs / China (Director and screenwriter: Cathy Yan, Producers: Clarissa Zhang, Jane Zheng, Zhangke Jia, Mick Aniceto, Amy Aniceto) — A bumbling pig farmer, a feisty salon owner, a sensitive busboy, an expat architect and a disenchanted rich girl converge and collide as thousands of dead pigs float down the river towards a rapidly-modernizing Shanghai, China. Based on true events. Cast: Vivian Wu, Haoyu Yang, Mason Lee, Meng Li, David Rysdahl. World Premiere The Guilty / Denmark (Director: Gustav Möller, Screenwriters: Gustav Möller, Emil Nygaard Albertsen, Producer: Lina Flint) — Alarm dispatcher Asger Holm answers an emergency call from a kidnapped woman; after a sudden disconnection, the search for the woman and her kidnapper begins. With the phone as his only tool, Asger enters a race against time to solve a crime that is far bigger than he first thought. Cast: Jakob Cedergren, Jessica Dinnage, Johan Olsen, Omar Shargawi. World Premiere Holiday / Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden (Director: Isabella Eklöf, Screenwriters: Isabella Eklöf, Johanne Algren, Producer: David B. Sørensen) — A love triangle featuring the trophy girlfriend of a petty drug lord, caught up in a web of luxury and violence in a modern dark gangster tale set in the beautiful port city of Bodrum on the Turkish Riviera. Cast: Victoria Carmen Sonne, Lai Yde, Thijs Römer. World Premiere Loveling / Brazil, Uruguay (Director: Gustavo Pizzi, Screenwriters: Gustavo Pizzi, Karine Teles, Producers: Tatiana Leite, Rodrigo Letier, Agustina Chiarino, Fernando Epstein) — On the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Irene has only a few days to overcome her anxiety and renew her strength before sending her eldest son out into the world. Cast: Karine Teles, Otavio Muller, Adriana Esteves, Konstantinos Sarris, Cesar Troncoso. World Premiere. DAY ONE Pity / Greece, Poland (Director: Babis Makridis, Screenwriters: Efthimis Filippou, Babis Makridis, Producers: Amanda Livanou, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Klaudia Śmieja, Beata Rzeźniczek) — The story of a man who feels happy only when he is unhappy: addicted to sadness, with such need for pity, that he’s willing to do everything to evoke it from others. This is the life of a man in a world not cruel enough for him. Cast: Yannis Drakopoulos, Evi Saoulidou, Nota Tserniafski, Makis Papadimitriou, Georgina Chryskioti, Evdoxia Androulidaki. World Premiere The Queen of Fear / Argentina, Denmark (Directors: Valeria Bertuccelli, Fabiana Tiscornia, Screenwriter: Valeria Bertuccelli, Producers: Benjamin Domenech, Santiago Gallelli, Matias Roveda, Juan Vera, Juan Pablo Galli, Christian Faillace) — Only one month left until the premiere of The Golden Time, the long-awaited solo show by acclaimed actress Robertina. Far from focused on the preparations for this new production, Robertina lives in a state of continuous anxiety that turns her privileged life into an absurd and tumultuous landscape. Cast: Valeria Bertuccelli, Diego Velázquez, Gabriel Eduardo “Puma” Goity, Darío Grandinetti. World Premiere Rust / Brazil (Director: Aly Muritiba, Screenwriters: Aly Muritiba, Jessica Candal, Producer: Antônio Junior) — Tati and Renet were already trading pics, videos and music by their cellphones and on the last school trip they started making eye contact. However, what could be the beginning of a love story becomes an end. Cast: Giovanni De Lorenzi, Tifanny Dopke, Enrique Diaz, Clarissa Kiste, Duda Azevedo, Pedro Inoue. World Premiere Time Share (Tiempo Compartido) / Mexico, Netherlands (Director: Sebastián Hofmann, Screenwriters: Julio Chavezmontes, Sebastián Hofmann, Producer: Julio Chavezmontes) — Two haunted family men join forces in a destructive crusade to rescue their families from a tropical paradise, after becoming convinced that an American timeshare conglomerate has a sinister plan to take their loved ones away. Cast: Luis Gerardo Mendez, Miguel Rodarte, Andrés Almeida, Cassandra Ciangherotti, Monserrat Marañon, R.J. Mitte. World Premiere Un Traductor / Canada, Cuba (Directors: Rodrigo Barriuso, Sebastián Barriuso, Screenwriter: Lindsay Gossling, Producers: Sebastián Barriuso, Lindsay Gossling) — A Russian Literature professor at the University of Havana is ordered to work as a translator for child victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster when they are sent to Cuba for medical treatment. Based on a true story. Cast: Rodrigo Santoro, Maricel Álvarez, Yoandra Suárez. World Premiere Yardie / United Kingdom (Director: Idris Elba, Screenwriters: Brock Norman Brock, Martin Stellman, Producers: Gina Carter, Robin Gutch) — Jamaica, 1973. When a young boy witnesses his brother’s assassination, a powerful Don gives him a home. Ten years later he is sent on a mission to London. He reunites with his girlfriend and their daughter, but then the past catches up with them. Based on Victor Headley’s novel. Cast: Aml Ameen, Shantol Jackson, Stephen Graham, Fraser James, Sheldon Shepherd, Everaldo Cleary. World Premiere
WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
A Polar Year / France (Director: Samuel Collardey, Screenwriters: Samuel Collardey, Catherine Paillé, Producer: Grégoire Debailly) — Anders leaves his native Denmark for a teaching position in rural Greenland. As soon as he arrives, he finds himself at odds with tightly-knit locals. Only through a clumsy and playful trial of errors can Anders shake his Euro-centric assumptions and embrace their snow-covered way of life. Cast: Anders Hvidegaard, Asser Boassen, Julius B. Nielsen, Tobias Ignatiussen, Thomasine Jonathansen, Gert Jonathansen. World Premiere Anote’s Ark / Canada (Director: Matthieu Rytz, Producers: Bob Moore, Mila Aung-Thwin, Daniel Cross, Shari Plummer, Shannon Joy) — How does a nation survive being swallowed by the sea? Kiribati, on a low-lying Pacific atoll, will disappear within decades due to rising sea levels, population growth, and climate change. This exploration of how to migrate an entire nation with dignity interweaves personal stories of survival and resilience. World Premiere. THE NEW CLIMATE The Cleaners / Germany, Brazil (Directors: Moritz Riesewieck, Hans Block, Screenwriters: Moritz Riesewieck, Hans Block, Georg Tschurtschenthaler, Producers: Christian Beetz, Georg Tschurtschenthaler, Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, Fernando Dias, Mauricio Dias) — When you post something on the web, can you be sure it stays there? Enter a hidden shadow industry of digital cleaning, where the Internet rids itself of what it doesn’t like: violence, pornography and political content. Who is controlling what we see…and what we think? World Premiere Genesis 2.0 / Switzerland (Directors: Christian Frei, Maxim Arbugaev, Producer: Christian Frei) — On the remote New Siberian Islands in the Arctic Ocean, hunters search for tusks of extinct mammoths. When they discover a surprisingly well-preserved mammoth carcass, its resurrection will be the first manifestation of the next great technological revolution: genetics. It may well turn our world upside down. World Premiere MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A. / Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, U.S.A. (Director: Stephen Loveridge, Producers: Lori Cheatle, Andrew Goldman, Paul Mezey) — Drawn from a never before seen cache of personal footage spanning decades, this is an intimate portrait of the Sri Lankan artist and musician who continues to shatter conventions. World Premiere Of Fathers and Sons / Germany, Syria, Lebanon (Director: Talal Derki, Producers: Ansgar Frerich, Eva Kemme, Tobias N. Siebert, Hans Robert Eisenhauer) — Talal Derki returns to his homeland where he gains the trust of a radical Islamist family, sharing their daily life for over two years. His camera focuses on Osama and his younger brother Ayman, providing an extremely rare insight into what it means to grow up in an Islamic Caliphate. North American Premiere The Oslo Diaries / Israel, Canada (Directors and screenwriters: Mor Loushy, Daniel Sivan, Producers: Hilla Medalia, Ina Fichman) — In 1992, Israeli-Palestinian relations reached an all time low. In an attempt to stop the bloodshed, a group of Israelis and Palestinians met illegally in Oslo. These meetings were never officially sanctioned and held in complete secrecy. They changed the Middle East forever. World Premiere Our New President / Russia, U.S.A. (Director: Maxim Pozdorovkin, Producers: Maxim Pozdorovkin, Joe Bender) — The story of Donald Trump’s election told entirely through Russian propaganda. By turns horrifying and hilarious, the film is a satirical portrait of Russian media that reveals an empire of fake news and the tactics of modern-day information warfare. World Premiere. DAY ONE Shirkers / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Sandi Tan, Producers: Sandi Tan, Jessica Levin, Maya Rudolph) — In 1992, teenager Sandi Tan shot Singapore’s first indie road movie with her enigmatic American mentor Georges – who then vanished with all the footage. Twenty years later, the 16mm film is recovered, sending Tan, now a novelist in Los Angeles, on a personal odyssey in search of Georges’ vanishing footprints. World Premiere This is Home / U.S.A., Jordan (Director: Alexandra Shiva, Producer: Lindsey Megrue) This is an intimate portrait of four Syrian families arriving in Baltimore, Maryland and struggling to find their footing. With eight months to become self-sufficient, they must forge ahead to rebuild their lives. When the travel ban adds further complications, their strength and resilience are put to the test. World Premiere Westwood / United Kingdom (Director: Lorna Tucker, Producers: Eleanor Emptage, Shirine Best, Nicole Stott, John Battsek) — Dame Vivienne Westwood: punk, icon, provocateur and one of the most influential originators in recent history. This is the first film to encompass the remarkable story of one of the true icons of our time, as she fights to maintain her brand’s integrity, her principles – and her legacy. World Premiere A Woman Captured / Hungary (Director and screenwriter: Bernadett Tuza-Ritter, Producers: Julianna Ugrin, Viki Réka Kiss, Erik Winker, Martin Roelly) — A European woman has been kept by a family as a domestic slave for 10 years – one of over 45 million victims of modern-day slavery. Drawing courage from the filmmaker’s presence, she decides to escape the unbearable oppression and become a free person. North American Premiere
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306 Hollywood / U.S.A., Hungary (Directors: Elan Bogarín, Jonathan Bogarín, Screenwriters: Jonathan Bogarín, Elan Bogarín, Nyneve Laura Minnear, Producers: Elan Bogarín, Jonathan Bogarín, Judit Stalter) — When two siblings undertake an archaeological excavation of their late grandmother’s house, they embark on a magical-realist journey from her home in New Jersey to ancient Rome, from fashion to physics, in search of what life remains in the objects we leave behind. World Premiere. DAY ONE A Boy, A Girl, A Dream. / U.S.A. (Director: Qasim Basir, Screenwriters: Qasim Basir, Samantha Tanner, Producer: Datari Turner) — On the night of the 2016 Presidential election, Cass, an L.A. club promoter, takes a thrilling and emotional journey with Frida, a Midwestern visitor. She challenges him to revisit his broken dreams – while he pushes her to discover hers. Cast: Omari Hardwick, Meagan Good, Jay Ellis, Kenya Barris, Dijon Talton, Wesley Jonathan. World Premiere An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn / United Kingdom, U.S.A. (Director: Jim Hosking, Screenwriters: Jim Hosking, David Wike, Producers: Sam Bisbee, Theodora Dunlap, Oliver Roskill, Emily Leo, Lucan Toh, Andy Starke) — Lulu Danger’s unsatisfying marriage takes a fortunate turn for the worse when a mysterious man from her past comes to town to perform an event called ‘An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn For One Magical Night Only.’ Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Emile Hirsch, Jemaine Clement, Matt Berry, Craig Robinson. World Premiere Clara’s Ghost / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Bridey Elliott, Producer: Sarah Winshall) — Set over the course of a single evening at the Reynolds’ family home in Connecticut, Clara, fed up with the constant ribbing from her self-absorbed showbiz family, finds solace in and guidance from the supernatural force she believes is haunting her. Cast: Paula Niedert Elliott, Chris Elliott, Abby Elliott, Bridey Elliott, Haley Joel Osment, Isidora Goreshter. World Premiere Madeline’s Madeline / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Josephine Decker, Producers: Krista Parris, Elizabeth Rao) — Madeline got the part! She’s going to play the lead in a theater piece! Except the lead wears sweatpants like Madeline’s. And has a cat like Madeline’s. And is holding a steaming hot iron next to her mother’s face – like Madeline is. Cast: Helena Howard, Molly Parker, Miranda July, Okwui Okpokwasili, Felipe Bonilla, Lisa Tharps. World Premiere Night Comes On / U.S.A. (Director: Jordana Spiro, Screenwriters: Jordana Spiro, Angelica Nwandu, Producers: Jonathan Montepare, Alvaro R. Valente, Danielle Renfrew Behrens) — Angel LaMere is released from juvenile detention on the eve of her 18th birthday. Haunted by her past, she embarks on a journey with her 10 year-old sister that could destroy their future. Cast: Dominique Fishback, Tatum Hall, John Earl Jelks, Max Casella, James McDaniel. World Premiere Search / U.S.A. (Director: Aneesh Chaganty, Screenwriters: Aneesh Chaganty, Sev Ohanian, Producers: Timur Bekmambetov, Sev Ohanian, Adam Sidman, Natalie Qasabian) — After his 16-year-old daughter goes missing, a desperate father breaks into her laptop to look for clues to find her. A thriller that unfolds entirely on computer screens. Cast: John Cho, Debra Messing. World Premiere. WINNER: 2018 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize. Skate Kitchen / U.S.A. (Director: Crystal Moselle, Screenwriters: Crystal Moselle, Ashlihan Unaldi, Producers: Lizzie Nastro, Izabella Tzenkova, Julia Nottingham, Matthew Perniciaro, Michael Sherman, Rodrigo Teixeira) — Camille’s life as a lonely suburban teenager changes dramatically when she befriends a group of girl skateboarders. As she journeys deeper into this raw New York City subculture, she begins to understand the true meaning of friendship as well as her inner self. Cast: Rachelle Vinberg, Dede Lovelace, Jaden Smith, Nina Moran, Ajani Russell, Kabrina Adams. World Premiere We The Animals / U.S.A. (Director: Jeremiah Zagar, Screenwriters: Daniel Kitrosser, Jeremiah Zagar, Producers: Jeremy Yaches, Christina D. King, Andrew Goldman, Paul Mezey) — Us three, us brothers, us kings. Manny, Joel and Jonah tear their way through childhood and push against the volatile love of their parents. As Manny and Joel grow into versions of their father and Ma dreams of escape, Jonah, the youngest, embraces an imagined world all his own. Cast: Raul Castillo, Sheila Vand, Evan Rosado, Isaiah Kristian, Josiah Santiago. World Premiere White Rabbit / U.S.A. (Director: Daryl Wein, Screenwriters: Daryl Wein, Vivian Bang, Producers: Daryl Wein, Vivian Bang) —A dramatic comedy following a Korean American performance artist who struggles to be authentically heard and seen through her multiple identities in modern Los Angeles. Cast: Vivian Bang, Nana Ghana, Nico Evers-Swindel, Tracy Hazas, Elizabeth Sung, Michelle Sui. World Premiere
PREMIERES
A Kid Like Jake / U.S.A. (Director: Silas Howard, Screenwriter: Daniel Pearle, Producers: Jim Parsons, Todd Spiewak, Eric Norsoph, Paul Bernon, Rachel Song) — As married couple Alex and Greg navigate their roles as parents to a young son who prefers Cinderella to G.I. Joe, a rift grows between them, one that forces them to confront their own concerns about what’s best for their child, and each other. Cast: Claire Danes, Jim Parsons, Octavia Spencer, Priyanka Chopra, Ann Dowd, Amy Landecker. World Premiere Beirut / U.S.A. (Director: Brad Anderson, Screenwriter: Tony Gilroy) — A U.S. diplomat flees Lebanon in 1972 after a tragic incident at his home. Ten years later, he is called back to war-torn Beirut by CIA operatives to negotiate for the life of a friend he left behind. Cast: Jon Hamm, Rosamund Pike, Shea Whigham, Dean Norris. World Premiere The Catcher Was a Spy / U.S.A. (Director: Ben Lewin, Screenwriter: Robert Rodat, Producers: Kevin Frakes, Tatiana Kelly, Buddy Patrick, Jim Young) — The true story of Moe Berg – professional baseball player, Ivy League graduate, attorney who spoke nine languages – and a top-secret spy for the OSS who helped the U.S. win the race against Germany to build the atomic bomb. Cast: Paul Rudd, Mark Strong, Sienna Miller, Jeff Daniels, Guy Pearce, Paul Giamatti. World Premiere Colette / United Kingdom (Director: Wash Westmoreland, Screenwriters: Wash Westmoreland, Richard Glatzer, Producers: Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon, Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley) — A young country woman marries a famous literary entrepreneur in turn-of-the-century Paris: At her husband’s request, Colette pens a series of bestselling novels published under his name. But as her confidence grows, she transforms not only herself and her marriage, but the world around her. Cast: Keira Knightley, Dominic West, Fiona Shaw, Denise Gough, Elinor Tomlinson, Aiysha Hart. World Premiere Come Sunday / U.S.A. (Director: Joshua Marston, Screenwriter: Marcus Hinchey, Producers: Ira Glass, Alissa Shipp, Julie Goldstein, James Stern, Lucas Smith, Cindy Kirven) — Internationally-renowned pastor Carlton Pearson — experiencing a crisis of faith — risks his church, family and future when he questions church doctrine and finds himself branded a modern-day heretic. Based on actual events. Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Glover, Condola Rashad, Jason Segel, Lakeith Stanfield, Martin Sheen. World Premiere Damsel / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner, Producers: Nathan Zellner, Chris Ohlson, David Zellner) — Samuel Alabaster, an affluent pioneer, ventures across the American Frontier to marry the love of his life, Penelope. As Samuel, a drunkard named Parson Henry and a miniature horse called Butterscotch traverse the Wild West, their once-simple journey grows treacherous, blurring the lines between hero, villain and damsel. Cast: Robert Pattinson, Mia Wasikowska, David Zellner, Robert Forster, Nathan Zellner, Joe Billingiere. World Premiere Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot / U.S.A. (Director: Gus Van Sant, Screenwriters: Gus Van Sant (screenplay), John Callahan (biography), Producers: Charles-Marie Anthonioz, Mourad Belkeddar, Steve Golin, Nicolas Lhermitte) — John Callahan has a talent for off-color jokes…and a drinking problem. When a bender ends in a car accident, Callahan wakes permanently confined to a wheelchair. In his journey back from rock bottom, Callahan finds beauty and comedy in the absurdity of human experience. Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, Jack Black. World Premiere Futile and Stupid Gesture / U.S.A. (Director: David Wain, Screenwriters: John Aboud, Michael Colton, Producers: Peter Principato, Jonathan Stern) — The story of comedy wunderkind Doug Kenney, who co-created the National Lampoon, Caddyshack, and Animal House. Kenney was at the center of the 70’s comedy counter-culture which gave birth to Saturday Night Live and a whole generation’s way of looking at the world. Cast: Will Forte, Martin Mull, Domhnall Gleeson, Matt Walsh, Joel McHale, Emmy Rossum. World Premiere The Happy Prince / Germany, Belgium, Italy (Director and screenwriter: Rupert Everett) — The last days of Oscar Wilde—and the ghosts haunting them—are brought to vivid life. His body ailing, Wilde lives in exile, surviving on the flamboyant irony and brilliant wit that defined him as the transience of lust is laid bare and the true riches of love are revealed. Cast: Colin Firth, Emily Watson, Colin Morgan, Edwin Thomas, Rupert Everett. World Premiere Hearts Beat Loud / U.S.A. (Director: Brett Haley, Screenwriters: Brett Haley, Marc Basch, Producers: Houston King, Sam Bisbee, Sam Slater) — In Red Hook, Brooklyn, a father and daughter become an unlikely songwriting duo in the last summer before she leaves for college. Cast: Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemons, Ted Danson, Sasha Lane, Blythe Danner, Toni Collette. World Premiere Juliet, Naked / United Kingdom (Director: Jesse Peretz, Screenwriters: Tamara Jenkins, Jim Taylor, Phil Alden Robinson, Evgenia Peretz, Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa) — Annie is the long-suffering girlfriend of Duncan, an obsessive fan of obscure rocker Tucker Crowe. When the acoustic demo of Tucker’s celebrated record from 25 years ago surfaces, its release leads to an encounter with the elusive rocker himself. Based on the novel by Nick Hornby. Cast: Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke, Chris O’Dowd. World Premiere Ophelia / United Kingdom (Director: Claire McCarthy, Screenwriter: Semi Chellas, Producers: Daniel Bobker, Sarah Curtis, Ehren Kruger, Paul Hanson) — A mythic spin on Hamlet through a lens of female empowerment: Ophelia comes of age as lady-in-waiting for Queen Gertrude, and her singular spirit captures Hamlet’s affections. As lust and betrayal threaten the kingdom, Ophelia finds herself trapped between true love and controlling her own destiny. Cast: Daisy Ridley, Naomi Watts, Clive Owen, George MacKay, Tom Felton, Devon Terrell. World Premiere Puzzle / U.S.A. (Director: Marc Turtletaub, Screenwriter: Oren Moverman, Producers: Peter Saraf, Wren Arthur, Guy Stodel) — Agnes, taken for granted as a suburban mother, discovers a passion for solving jigsaw puzzles which unexpectedly draws her into a new world – where her life unfolds in ways she could never have imagined. Cast: Kelly Macdonald, Irrfan Khan, David Denman, Bubba Weiler, Austin Abrams, Liv Hewson. World Premiere Untitled Debra Granik Project / U.S.A. (Director: Debra Granik, Screenwriters: Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini, Producers: Anne Harrison, Linda Reisman, Anne Rosellini) — A father and daughter live a perfect but mysterious existence in Forest Park, a beautiful nature reserve near Portland, Oregon, rarely making contact with the world. A small mistake tips them off to authorities sending them on an increasingly erratic journey in search of a place to call their own. Cast: Ben Foster, Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie, Jeff Korber, Dale Dickey. World Premiere What They Had / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Elizabeth Chomko) — Bridget returns home to Chicago at her brother’s urging to deal with her mother’s Alzheimer’s and her father’s reluctance to let go of their life together. Cast: Hilary Swank, Michael Shannon, Blythe Danner, Robert Forster. World Premiere
DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES
Bad Reputation / U.S.A. (Director: Kevin Kerslake, Screenwriter: Joel Marcus, Producers: Peter Afterman, Carianne Brinkman) — A look at the life of Joan Jett, from her early years as the founder of The Runaways and first meeting collaborator Kenny Laguna in 1980 to her enduring presence in pop culture as a rock ‘n’ roll pioneer . World Premiere Believer / U.S.A. (Director: Don Argott, Producers: Heather Parry, Sheena M. Joyce, Robert Reynolds) — Imagine Dragons’ Mormon frontman Dan Reynolds is taking on a new mission to explore how the church treats its LGBTQ members. With the rising suicide rate amongst teens in the state of Utah, his concern with the church’s policies sends him on an unexpected path for acceptance and change. World Premiere Chef Flynn / U.S.A. (Director: Cameron Yates, Producer: Laura Coxson) — Ten-year-old Flynn transforms his living room into a supper club, using his classmates as line cooks and serving a tasting menu foraged from his neighbors’ backyards. With sudden fame, Flynn outgrows his bedroom kitchen and mother’s camera, and sets out to challenge the hierarchy of the culinary world. World Premiere The Game Changers / U.S.A. (Director: Louie Psihoyos, Screenwriters: Mark Monroe, Joseph Pace, Producers: Joseph Pace, James Wilks) — James Wilks, an elite special forces trainer and winner of The Ultimate Fighter, embarks on a quest for the truth in nutrition and uncovers the world’s most dangerous myth. World Premiere Generation Wealth / U.S.A. (Director: Lauren Greenfield, Producers: Lauren Greenfield, Frank Evers) — Lauren Greenfield’s postcard from the edge of the American Empire captures a portrait of a materialistic, image-obsessed culture. Simultaneously personal journey and historical essay, the film bears witness to the global boom–bust economy, the corrupted American Dream and the human costs of late stage capitalism, narcissism and greed. World Premiere. DAY ONE Half The Picture / U.S.A. (Director: Amy Adrion, Producers: Amy Adrion, David Harris) — At a pivotal moment for gender equality in Hollywood, successful women directors tell the stories of their art, lives and careers. Having endured a long history of systemic discrimination, women filmmakers may be getting the first glimpse of a future that values their voices equally. World Premiere Jane Fonda in Five Acts / U.S.A. (Director: Susan Lacy, Producers: Susan Lacy, Jessica Levin, Emma Pildes) — Girl next door, activist, so-called traitor, fitness tycoon, Oscar winner: Jane Fonda has lived a life of controversy, tragedy and transformation – and she’s done it all in the public eye. An intimate look at one woman’s singular journey. World Premiere King In The Wilderness / U.S.A. (Director: Peter Kunhardt, Producers: George Kunhardt, Teddy Kunhardt) From the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 to his assassination in 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. remained a man with an unshakeable commitment to nonviolence in the face of an increasingly unstable country. A portrait of the last years of his life. World Premiere Quiet Heroes / U.S.A. (Director: Jenny Mackenzie, Co-Directors: Jared Ruga, Amanda Stoddard, Producers: Jenny Mackenzie, Jared Ruga, Amanda Stoddard) — In Salt Lake City, Utah, the socially conservative religious monoculture complicated the AIDS crisis, where patients in the entire state and intermountain region relied on only one doctor. This is the story of her fight to save a maligned population everyone else seemed willing to just let die. World Premiere RBG / U.S.A. (Directors and producers: Betsy West, Julie Cohen) — An intimate portrait of an unlikely rock star: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. With unprecedented access, the filmmakers show how her early legal battles changed the world for women. Now this 84-year-old does push-ups as easily as she writes blistering dissents that have earned her the title “Notorious RBG.” World Premiere Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind / U.S.A. (Director: Marina Zenovich, Producers: Alex Gibney, Shirel Kozak) — This intimate portrait examines one of the world’s most beloved and inventive comedians. Told largely through Robin’s own voice and using a wealth of never-before-seen archive, the film takes us through his extraordinary life and career and reveals the spark of madness that drove him. World Premiere STUDIO 54 / U.S.A. (Director: Matt Tyrnauer, Producers: Matt Tyrnauer, John Battsek, Corey Reeser) — Studio 54 was the pulsating epicenter of 1970s hedonism: a disco hothouse of beautiful people, drugs, and sex. The journeys of Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell — two best friends from Brooklyn who conquered New York City — frame this history of the “greatest club of all time.” World Premiere Won’t You Be My Neighbor? / U.S.A. (Director: Morgan Neville, Producers: Caryn Capotosto, Nicholas Ma) — Fred Rogers used puppets and play to explore complex social issues: race, disability, equality and tragedy, helping form the American concept of childhood. He spoke directly to children and they responded enthusiastically. Yet today, his impact is unclear. Have we lived up to Fred’s ideal of good neighbors? World Premiere. SALT LAKE CITY OPENING NIGHT FILM
MIDNIGHT
Arizona / U.S.A. (Director: Jonathan Watson, Screenwriter: Luke Del Tredici, Producers: Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, Ryan Friedkin, Danny McBride, Brandon James) — Set in the midst of the 2009 housing crisis, this darkly comedic story follows Cassie Fowler, a single mom and struggling realtor whose life goes off the rails when she witnesses a murder. Cast: Danny McBride, Rosemarie DeWitt, Luke Wilson, Lolli Sorenson, Elizabeth Gillies, Kaitlin Olson. World Premiere Assassination Nation / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Sam Levinson, Producers: David Goyer, Anita Gou, Kevin Turen, Aaron L. Gilbert, Matthew J. Malek) — This is a one-thousand-percent true story about how the quiet, all-American town of Salem, Massachusetts, absolutely lost its mind. Cast: Odessa Young, Suki Waterhouse, Hari Nef, Abra, Bill Skarsgard, Bella Thorne. World Premiere Mandy / Belgium, U.S.A. (Director: Panos Cosmatos, Screenwriters: Panos Cosmatos, Aaron Stewart-Ahn, Producers: Daniel Noah, Josh Waller, Elijah Wood, Nate Bolotin, Adrian Politowski) — Pacific Northwest. 1983 AD. Outsiders Red Miller and Mandy Bloom lead a loving and peaceful existence. When their pine-scented haven is savagely destroyed by a cult led by the sadistic Jeremiah Sand, Red is catapulted into a phantasmagoric journey filled with bloody vengeance and laced with fire. Cast: Nicolas Cage, Andrea Riseborough, Linus Roache, Olwen Fouéré, Richard Brake, Bill Duke. World Premiere Never Goin’ Back / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Augustine Frizzell, Producers: Toby Halbrooks, Liz Cardenas , James Johnston, David Lowery) — Jessie and Angela, high school dropout BFFs, are taking a week off to chill at the beach. Too bad their house got robbed, rent’s due, they’re about to get fired and they’re broke. Now they’ve gotta avoid eviction, stay out of jail and get to the beach, no matter what!!! Cast: Maia Mitchell, Cami Morrone, Kyle Mooney, Joel Allen, Kendal Smith, Matthew Holcomb. World Premiere Piercing / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Nicolas Pesce, Producers: Josh Mond, Antonio Campos, Schuyler Weiss, Jake Wasserman) — In this twisted love story, a man seeks out an unsuspecting stranger to help him purge the dark torments of his past. His plan goes awry when he encounters a woman with plans of her own. A playful psycho-thriller game of cat-and-mouse based on Ryu Murakami’s novel. Cast: Christopher Abbott, Mia Wasikowska, Laia Costa, Marin Ireland, Maria Dizzia, Wendell Pierce. World Premiere Revenge / France (Director and screenwriter: Coralie Fargeat, Producers: Marc-Etienne Schwartz, Jean-Yves Robin, Marc Stanimirovic) — Three wealthy married men get together for their annual hunting game in a desert canyon. This time, one of them has brought along his young mistress, who quickly arouses the interest of the other two. Things get dramatically out of hand as a hunting game turns into a ruthless manhunt. Cast: Matilda Lutz, Kevin Janssens, Vincent Colombe, Guillaume Bouchede, Jean-Louis Tribes. Utah Premiere Summer of ’84 / Canada, U.S.A. (Directors: Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell, Yoann Whissell, Screenwriters: Matt Leslie, Stephen J. Smith, Producers: Shawn Williamson, Jameson Parker, Matt Leslie, Van Toffler, Cody Zwieg) — Summer, 1984: a perfect time to be a carefree 15-year-old. But when neighborhood conspiracy theorist Davey Armstrong begins to suspect his police officer neighbor might be the serial killer all over the local news, he and his three best friends begin an investigation that soon turns dangerous. Cast: Graham Verchere, Judah Lewis, Caleb Emery, Cory Grüter-Andrew, Tiera Skovbye, Rich Sommer. World Premiere
SPOTLIGHT
BEAST / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Michael Pearce, Producers: Ivana MacKinnon, Lauren Dark, Kristian Brodie) — In a small island community, a troubled young woman falls for a mysterious outsider who empowers her to escape from her oppressive family. When he comes under suspicion for a series of brutal murders, she learns what she’s capable of as she defends him at all costs. Cast: Jessie Buckley, Johnny Flynn, Trystan Gravelle, Geraldine James, Charley Palmer Rothwell. U.S. Premiere The Death of Stalin / France, United Kingdom, Belgium (Director: Armando Iannucci, Screenwriters: Armando Iannucci, David Schneider, Ian Martin, Producers: Yann Zenou, Laurent Zeitoun, Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Kevin Loader) — The internal political landscape of 1950’s Soviet Russia through a darkly comic lens. In the days following Stalin’s collapse, his core ministers tussle for control; some want positive change, others have more sinister motives. Their one common trait? They’re all just desperately trying to remain alive. Cast: Steve Buscemi, Jeffrey Tambor, Andrea Riseborough, Rupert Friend, Olga Kurylenko, Jason Isaacs. U.S. Premiere Foxtrot / Israel (Director and screenwriter: Samuel Maoz, Producers: Michael Weber, Viola Fügen, Eitan Mansuri, Cedomir Kolar, Marc Baschet, Michel Merkt) — Michael and Dafna are devastated when army officials show up at their home, announcing the death of their son Jonathan. While his sedated wife rests, Michael spirals into a whirlwind of anger only to experience one of life’s unfathomable twists, which rivals his son’s surreal military experiences. Cast: Lior Ashkenazi, Sarah Adler, Yonatan Shiray. I Am Not a Witch / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Rungano Nyoni, Producers: Juliette Grandmont, Emily Morgan) — After a minor incident, nine-year old Shula is exiled to a witch camp where she is told that if she escapes, she’ll be transformed into a goat. As she navigates through her new life, she must decide whether to accept her fate or risk the consequences of seeking freedom. Cast: Margaret Mulubwa, Henry B.J. Phiri, Nancy Mulilo, Margaret Sipaneia. U.S. Premiere The Rider / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Chloé Zhao, Producers: Chloé Zhao, Bert Hamelinck, Sacha Ben Harroche, Mollye Asher) — After a tragic riding accident, young cowboy and rising rodeo circuit star Brady Jandreau is told that his competition days are over. In an attempt to regain control of his fate, Brady undertakes a search for new identity and tries to redefine his idea of manhood in America’s heartland. Cast: Brady Jandreau, Tim Jandreau, Lily Jandreau, Lane Scott, Cat Clifford. Utah Premiere Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! / U.S.A. (Director: Morgan Spurlock, Screenwriters: Jeremy Chilnick, Morgan Spurlock, Producers: Keith Calder, Jessica Calder, Spencer Silna, Nicole Barton, Jeremy Chilnick, Matthew Galkin) — Muckraking filmmaker Morgan Spurlock reignites his battle with the food industry – this time from behind the register – as he opens his own fast food restaurant. U.S. Premiere
KIDS
Lu Over the Wall / Japan (Director: Masaaki Yuasa, Screenwriters: Reiko Yoshida, Masaaki Yuasa, Producer: Eunyoung Choi) — Kai is a lonely teenage boy who lives in a small fishing village. One day, he meets and befriends Lu, a fun-loving mermaid whose singing is hypnotic to all who hear it. But the townspeople have always thought that mermaids bring disaster… World Premiere Science Fair / U.S.A. (Directors: Cristina Costantini, Darren Foster, Producers: Cristina Costantini, Darren Foster, Jeffrey Plunkett) — Nine high school students from around the globe navigate rivalries, setbacks, and of course, hormones, on their journey to compete at the international science fair. Facing off against 1,700 of the smartest, quirkiest teens from 78 different countries, only one will be named Best in Fair. World Premiere White Fang / U.S.A. (Director: Alexandre Espigares, Screenwriters: Dominique Monfery, Philippe Lioret, Serge Frydman, Producers: Jeremie Fajner, Clement Calvet, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub) — An updated reimagining of Jack London’s classic novel, this thrilling tale of kindness, survival and the twin majesties of the animal kingdom and mankind traces the loving and magnificent hero White Fang, whose intense curiosity leads him on the adventure of a lifetime. Cast: Rashida Jones, Nick Offerman, Eddie Spears, Paul Giamatti. World Premiere
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