Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World

  • 124 Documentary Features Submitted For 2015 Oscar Race

    Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom, directed by Evgeny Afineevsky One hundred twenty-four features have been submitted for consideration in the Documentary Feature category for the 88th Academy Awards®. The submitted features, listed in alphabetical order, are: “Above and Beyond” “All Things Must Pass” “Amy” “The Armor of Light” “Ballet 422” “Batkid Begins” “Becoming Bulletproof” “Being Evel” “Beltracchi – The Art of Forgery” “Best of Enemies” “The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution” “Bolshoi Babylon” “Brand: A Second Coming” “A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story” “Call Me Lucky” “Cartel Land” “Censored Voices” “Champs” “CodeGirl” “Coming Home” “Dark Horse” “Deli Man” “Dior and I” “The Diplomat” “(Dis)Honesty – The Truth about Lies” “Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll” “Dreamcatcher” “dream/killer” “Drunk, Stoned, Brilliant, Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon” “Eating Happiness” “Every Last Child” “Evidence of Harm” “Farewell to Hollywood” “Finders Keepers” “The Forecaster” “Frame by Frame” “Gardeners of Eden” “A Gay Girl in Damascus: The Amina Profile” “Godspeed: The Story of Page Jones” “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief” “He Named Me Malala” “Heart of a Dog” “Hitchcock/Truffaut” “How to Change the World” “Human” “The Hunting Ground” “I Am Chris Farley” “In Jackson Heights” “In My Father’s House” “India’s Daughter” “Ingrid Bergman – In Her Own Words” “Iraqi Odyssey” “Iris” “Janis: Little Girl Blue” “Karski & the Lords of Humanity” “Killing Them Safely” “Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck” “Lambert & Stamp” “A Lego Brickumentary” “Listen to Me Marlon” “Live from New York!” “The Look of Silence” “Meet the Patels” “Meru” “The Mind of Mark DeFriest” “Misery Loves Comedy” “Monkey Kingdom” “A Murder in the Park” “My Italian Secret” “My Voice, My Life” “1971” “Of Men and War” “One Cut, One Life” “Only the Dead See the End of War” “The Outrageous Sophie Tucker” “Peace Officer” “The Pearl Button” “Pink & Blue: Colors of Hereditary Cancer” “Poached” “Polyfaces” “The Prime Ministers: Soldiers and Peacemakers” “Prophet’s Prey” “Racing Extinction” “The Resurrection of Jake the Snake” “Ride the Thunder – A Vietnam War Story of Victory & Betrayal” “Rosenwald” “The Russian Woodpecker” “Searching for Home: Coming Back from War” “Seeds of Time” “Sembene!” “The Seven Five” “Seymour: An Introduction” “Sherpa” “A Sinner in Mecca” “Something Better to Come” “Song from the Forest” “Song of Lahore” “Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine” “Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans” “Stray Dog” “Sunshine Superman” “Sweet Micky for President” “Tab Hunter Confidential” “The Tainted Veil” “Tap World” “(T)error” “Thao’s Library” “Those Who Feel the Fire Burning” “3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets” “The Touch of an Angel” “TransFatty Lives” “The True Cost” “Twinsters” “Very Semi-Serious: A Partially Thorough Portrait of New Yorker Cartoonists” “The Wanted 18” “We Are Many” “We Come as Friends” “We Were Not Just…Bicycle Thieves. Neorealism” “Welcome to Leith” “What Happened, Miss Simone?” “What Our Fathers Did: A Nazi Legacy” “Where to Invade Next” “Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” (pictured above) “The Wolfpack” Several of the films have not yet had their required Los Angeles and New York qualifying releases. Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements and comply with all of the category’s other qualifying rules in order to advance in the voting process. A shortlist of 15 films will be announced in December. Films submitted in the Documentary Feature category may also qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture, provided they meet the requirements for those categories. The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 14, 2016, at 5:30 a.m. PT at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The 88th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

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  • Imperial Dreams Win Top Awards at 2015 Ashland Independent Film Festival

    Imperial Dreams directed by Malik Vitthal The Ashland Independent Film Festival announced the 2015 juried and audience award winning films at an Awards Celebration gala at the Historic Ashland Armory. Imperial Dreams (pictured above), directed by Malik Vitthal was the big winner of this year’s festival, taking home both the Jury Award and Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature film. In Imperial Dreams,  21-year-old Bambi returns home to Los Angeles and his old stomping grounds in Watts, fresh off a 28-month stint in prison for gang activity, Now educated and eager to pursue his dream of becoming a published writer, he must first come to terms with his role as the sole caretaker of his 3-year-old son. To have any hope of reaching his goal and giving his son the upbringing he deserves, he needs to get a job and get off parole. Bambi’s dreams of a legitimate life are challenged by both the red tape of government bureaucracy and the pressure to return to his old gangster life. Even so, he finds hope where it is scarce, and learns what it really means to be a father. In total, twelve awards were presented to attending filmmakers, honoring their work screened at the 14th annual festival. The AIFF presented the 2015 Rogue Award to Olympic Champion Greg Louganis. In 1988, Louganis became the first man to sweep the diving events in consecutive Olympic games. His legendary grace, beauty, and courage sparked a worldwide fascination with diving. Louganis shared his story in the documentary Back on Board: Greg Louganis, directed by Cheryl Furjanic, which  screened Saturday evening. The film reveals the complicated life of the pioneering, openly gay athlete who revealed his HIV-positive status, at great risk to his career. Earlier in the week, the AIFF presented Award-winning Director Ondi Timoner with the inaugural AIFF “No Limits” Award in recognition of her fearless filmmaking and unique storytelling style in her latest film, BRAND: A Second Coming. The film follows comedian, author, and activist Russell Brand’s (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) evolution from a superficial Hollywood star and addict to a political disrupter and unexpected hero to the underserved. BRAND: A Second Coming screened Opening Night. Western, directed by Bill and Turner Ross, took home the Les Blank Award for Best Feature Length Documentary, bestowed by the festival’s jurors. This real-life western is a dazzling vérité portrait that puts a human face on an uncertain new reality of two border towns. Barge and Cartel Land received Honorable Mentions. It was a tie for The Rogue Creamery Audience Award for Best Documentary. Sharing the honor are FRAME BY FRAME and Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World. Imperial Dreams, directed by Malik Vitthal, received the festival’s jury award for Best Narrative Feature film and won the Varsity Audience Award for Best Feature. Another double winner was One Year Lease, taking home the Juried Best Short Documentary prize and the Audience Award for Best Short Documentary. Birthday took home the Jim Teece “Local Hero” Audience Award for Best Short Film. The Audience Family Choice Award went to The Dam Keeper. The jury award for Best Editing: Feature Length Documentary went to Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, directed by Brett Morgan. The juried award for Best Short Film went to SKUNK. Stop received an Honorable Mention. Wildlike won The Jim Giancarlo Award for Best Acting Ensemble and received the Gerald Hirschfeld A.S.C. Award for Best Cinematography. Proud Citizen received an Honorable Mention. Hirschfeld was the 2007 A.S.C President’s Award Honoree and Director of Photography for films such as Young Frankenstein and My Favorite Year. Most Juried and Audience Award-winning documentary, feature and short films will receive encore presentations, Monday April 13 at the Varsity Theatre in downtown Ashland.

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