The 8th annual Montclair Film Festival (MFF) taking place May 3 to 12, 2019, in Montclair, NJ will feature over 150 films, events, discussions, and parties. The festival will open on Friday, May 3, with Tom Harper’s WILD ROSE, and on Saturday, May 11, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM will screen as the festival’s Closing Film.
GLAAD, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, announced the nominees for the 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards at the Sundance Film Festival. Among the nominees: The Favourite, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Boy Erased, Love Simon, and The Miseducation of Cameron Post. GLAAD announced Special Recognition Awards for Nanette, a Netflix special starring queer comedian Hannah Gadsby; TransMilitary, a documentary which premiered on Logo and spotlighted the lives of transgender service members; and House of Mamis, a Spanish-language docuseries about a LGBTQ voguing community in Mexico City which ran on LGBTQ site INTOMore.com.
Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind[/caption]
One hundred sixty-six features have been submitted for consideration in the Documentary Feature category for the 91st Academy Awards®. 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. This year, for the first time, films that have won a qualifying award at a competitive film festival or have been submitted in the Foreign Language Film category as their country’s official selection, are also eligible in the category. A shortlist of 15 films will be announced on December 17.
Films submitted in the Documentary Feature category may also qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture.
Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 22, 2019.
The 91st Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
The submitted features, listed in alphabetical order, are:
“Above and Beyond: NASA’S Journey to Tomorrow”
“Active Measures”
“Amazing Grace”
“American Chaos”
“Andy Irons: Kissed by God”
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Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco[/caption]
“Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco”
“Avicii: True Stories”
“Bali: Beats of Paradise”
“Bathtubs over Broadway”
“Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché”
“Believer”
“Better Angels”
“Bill Coors: The Will to Live”
“Bisbee ’17”
“The Bleeding Edge”
“Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat”
“Breaking Point: The War for Democracy in Ukraine”
“Call Her Ganda”
“Charm City”
“Chef Flynn”
“The China Hustle”
“Christian Audigier The Vif”
“The Cleaners”
“Communion”
“Crime + Punishment”
“Dark Money”
“Daughters of the Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders”
“The Dawn Wall”
“The Distant Barking of Dogs”
“Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes”
“Drug$”
“Eating Animals”
“Eldorado”
“Fahrenheit 11/9”
“Fail State”
“Family in Transition”
“Far from the Tree”
“Filmworker”
“The First Patient”
“Foreign Land”
“40 Years in the Making: The Magic Music Movie”
“Free Solo”
“Garry Winogrand: All Things Are Photographable”
“Generation Wealth”
“Ghost Hunting”
“Ghosthunter”
“The Gilligan Manifesto”
“The Gospel According to André”
“Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami”
“Graves without a Name”
“The Great Buster: A Celebration”
“Hal”
“Hale County This Morning, This Evening”
“Half the Picture”
“The Heart of Nuba”
“Hillbilly”
“The Homeless Chorus Speaks”
“Hondros”
“Howard”
“In Search of Greatness”
“In the Land of Pomegranates”
“Inventing Tomorrow”
“Invisible Hands”
“Itzhak”
“Jane Fonda in Five Acts”
“John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection”
“The Judge”
“Kangaroo: A Love Hate Story”
“Killer Bees”
“The King”
“King in the Wilderness”
“Kusama – Infinity”
“The Last Race”
“Leaning into the Wind: Andy Goldsworthy”
“Letter from Masanjia”
“Licu, a Romanian Story”
“Living in the Future’s Past”
“Liyana”
“Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle”
“Love & Bananas: An Elephant Story”
“Love, Cecil”
“Love, Gilda”
“Love Is Tolerance – Tolerance Is Love – Make Tolerance Great Again!”
“Making The Five Heartbeats”
“Maria by Callas”
“Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.”
“McQueen”
“Minding the Gap”
“Monrovia, Indiana”
“The Most Unknown”
“New Moon”
“93Queen”
“Nossa Chape”
“Of Fathers and Sons”
“Of Love & Law”
“On Her Shoulders”
“Opera about Poland”
“The Opera House”
“The Oslo Diaries”
“The Other Side of Everything”
“The Panama Papers”
“Path of Blood”
“People’s Republic of Desire”
“Philosopher King – Lee Teng-hui’s Dialogue”
“Pick of the Litter”
“Piripkura”
“Police Killing”
“Pope Francis – A Man of His Word”
“The Price of Everything”
“The Price of Free”
“Qiu (Inmates)”
“Quincy”
“RBG”
“The Rachel Divide”
“The Raft”
“Recovery Boys”
“Restoring Tomorrow”
“Reversing Roe”
“The Road Movie”
“Robin Williams: Come inside My Mind”
“Ruben Blades Is Not My Name”
“Samouni Road”
“Saving Brinton”
“Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland”
“Science Fair”
“Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood”
“Searching for Ingmar Bergman”
“Seeing Allred”
“The Sentence”
“Shirkers”
“Shot in the Dark”
“The Silence of Others”
“Sisters of the Wilderness”
“A Son of Man”
“Songwriter”
“Stan”
“Studio 54”
“Summer in the Forest”
“Tea with the Dames”
“That Summer”
“That Way Madness Lies…”
“They Fight”
“They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead”
“This Is Congo”
“This Is Home: A Refugee Story”
“Three Identical Strangers”
“To Be Continued”
“Transformer”
“Travel Ban”
“The Trial”
“Triumph: The Untold Story of Perry Wallace”
“Trust Machine”
“Under the Wire”
“United Skates”
“Unknown Distance”
“Up Down and Sideways”
“The Waldheim Waltz”
“We Could Be Heroes”
“Weed the People”
“What Haunts Us”
“What Lies Upstream”
“Whitney”
“Wonderful Losers: A Different World”
“Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
“Yellow Is Forbidden”
“Yellowing”
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?[/caption]
The Cinema Eye Honors unveiled the first awards announcements for their 12th Annual awards, including The Unforgettables, their annual list of notable and significant nonfiction film subjects; The Shorts List, an annual list of the year’s ten top Nonfiction Short Films; and nominees in four categories: Broadcast Film; Broadcast Series; the Heterodox Award, which recognizes fiction films that actively blur the line between fiction and documentary; and the annual Audience Choice Prize. The full list of nonfiction film and craft nominees, including the five nominees for Outstanding Nonfiction Short Film, will be revealed on Thursday, November 8.
Eight films – Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s Free Solo, Stephen Loveridge’s Mantangi/Maya/M.I.A., Bing Liu’s Minding the Gap, Alexandria Bombach’s On Her Shoulders, Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s RBG, Sandi Tan’s Shirkers, Tim Wardle’s Three Identical Strangers and Morgan Neville’s Won’t You Be My Neighbor? – were nominated for the Audience Choice Prize and also saw their subjects recognized amongst this year’s Unforgettables. Rashida Jones and Alan Hicks’ Quincy and Dava Whisenant’s Bathtubs Over Broadway round out this year’s Audience Choice nominees.
This is the first year that Cinema Eye will have an award to recognize Outstanding Nonfiction Series for Broadcast. Inaugural nominees in the Series category are Steve James’ America to Me (STARZ), Trey Borzilleri & Barbara Schroeder’s Evil Genius (Netflix), Zackary Canepari, Drea Cooper & Jessica Dimmock’s Flint Town (Netflix) Liz Garbus’ The Fourth Estate (Showtime) Matthew Heineman’s The Trade (Showtime) and Chapman Way & Maclain Way’s Wild Wild Country (Netflix).
The 12th Annual Cinema Eye Honors will be presented on Thursday, January 10, 2019 at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City.
John Cho stars in SEARCHING – directed by Aneesh Chaganty. Photo Courtesy of Screen Gems[/caption]
The Fantasia International Film Festival wrapped its 2018 edition on August 2nd with the sold out Canadian Premiere of Panos Cosmatos’ MANDY, and announced its final batch of awards, including the Audience Awards. The 23rd edition of Fantasia will occur July 11th through August 1st, 2019.
HAPPY AS LAZARRO[/caption]
Hong Kong’s Summer International Film Festival (SummerIFF), to be held from 18 to 28 August 2018, will open with Mirai, directed by the leading Japanese anime master Mamoru Hosoda, and close with Happy as Lazzaro, winner of Best Screenplay at Cannes Film Festival, directed by acclaimed Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher. Highlights among the 36 films presented in this year’s SummerIFF include award-winning works from the world’s top film festivals, hot picks from Japan and Korea, as well as a special program dedicated to the legendary star Audrey Hepburn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgy0dGg2EVA
Mandy[/caption]
Fantasia International Film Festival dropped the final wave of 2018 announcements including the North American Premieres of Takashi Miike’s LAPLACE’S WITCH and Erick Zonca’s BLACK TIDE, the International Premiere of Joel Potrykus’ RELAXER, and the Canadian Premiere of Nicolas Pesce’s PIERCING.
With the final wave of programming, the 2018 edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival has now released its full lineup of over 125 features and 220 shorts, featuring the premieres of more than 100 cutting-edge visions from across the world.
Fantasia’s 22nd edition will close with the Canadian Premiere of the thunderously-acclaimed MANDY (Official Closing Film), Panos Cosmatos’ long awaited sophomore feature following the stunning BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW. The film makes its first screening in the country after transfixing audiences at Sundance and Cannes’ Director’s Fortnight. Starring an especially strong Nicolas Cage in a performance that seethes with internalized rage, MANDY also features a shredding experimental electronic score from the late Jóhann Jóhannsson that works hypnotically with the film’s pacing and imagery to create a dreamy mood of near-death intoxication. MANDY is a pounding, bleeding act of cinema that’s as singular as it is sensational.
Imagine Dragons frontman and Mormon Dan Reynolds recently embarked on a new mission: to explore and influence how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints treats its LGBTQ members.
THE LAVENDER SCARE[/caption]
The SPECTRUM (LGBTQ+) Film Festival returns for the 2nd year at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, from Thursday April 26 through Sunday, April 29, 2018. This year’s Opening Night Event features the new documentary THE LAVENDER SCARE which describes the federal witch hunt for gays and lesbians within all branches of the U.S. government during the McCarthy Era of the 1950s and 1960s. With little regard for its impact on people’s lives, the finger-pointing at gays and lesbians led to ruined careers, shattered families and even death by suicide. Producer/director Josh Howard is scheduled to appear and conduct a post-screening discussion about his film, followed in the Film Center lobby by a wine and dessert reception (sponsored by Tilton Rental).
In a major coup, this year’s festival will conclude on Sunday, April 29 with the full-day event, ANGELS IN AMERICA, The National Theatre’s production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama recorded last summer in London. Running over seven hours in two parts, this production is the same currently running on Broadway, starring Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane. Scheduled with a dinner break, patrons from the Cape will have the ability to watch the entire production and still make the last ferry to Woods Hole.
New this year are All-Access Passes as well as SPECTRUM festival t-shirts (for which all proceeds benefit MVRHS’s Gay-Straight Alliance to help fund the students’ trip to the Boston Youth Pride Event held at Boston City Hall on May 19). Also, this year, any student age 13 to 21 will receive free admission to any SPECTRUM event.
Live music will also be added to this year’s offering as part of the post-show reception following the Friday, April 27 screening of the feature BECKS. Local musicians Siren Mayhew and Sean McMahon will play original music while filmgoers participate in the beer and wine reception (sponsored by MVY Radio).
In an effort to help establish a new memorial scholarship for the late Tony Lombardi (who championed the first SPECTRUM Film Festival in 2017), all ticket purchases (both at the door and online) will include an additional one-dollar surcharge per ticket.
On Saturday, April 28 at 4:30pm, past and present members of the U.S. Military will receive free admission to TRANSMILITARY at the door (pending availability).
This year’s full schedule of events:
THURSDAY, APRIL 26
A MILLION HAPPY NOWS (2017) * PG-13
Making its Massachusetts premiere, A MILLION HAPPY NOWS, winner of multiple film festival awards for “Best First Narrative Feature,” tells the story of a veteran soap opera star who retires early in her career to a beach house with her partner/publicist. Her soon-revealed Early Onset Alzheimer’s strains her ability to interact with the public as well as the couple’s relationship – until they find the strength to redefine what they mean to each other.
BELIEVER (2018) * not rated
In one of its first screenings since this year’s Sundance Film Festival, BELIEVER, a new film by Don Argott, follows Dan Reynolds, lead singer of the American rock band Imagine Dragons, who grew up in the Mormon Church. When he noticed the suicide rate spiking amongst teens in his home state of Utah, Reynolds decided to take on the mission to explore how the Church treated its LGBTQ members.
THE LAVENDER SCARE (2017) * not rated
In its Massachusetts premiere, THE LAVENDER SCARE, narrated by Glenn Close, details the fear of gays and lesbians in the government during the time of the Cold War, delving into the careers ruined, the families torn apart and the brave few who rose to create the first Gay Rights movement in America.
FRIDAY, APRIL 27
LOVE, SIMON (2018) * PG-13
In the first Hollywood studio film centered on a gay teen protagonist, LOVE, SIMON is based on a best-selling YA novel, in which a high school boy keeps a huge secret from his family, his friends, and all of his classmates: he’s gay. When that secret is threatened, Simon must face everyone and come to terms with his identity.
BECKS (2017) * PG-13
After a breakup with her girlfriend, a Brooklyn musician (Tony Award-winner Lena Hall) moves back with her Midwestern mother (Oscar-winner Christine Lahti). As she navigates her hometown, playing for tips in a friend’s bar, an unexpected relationship begins to take shape.
SATURDAY, APRIL 28
TRANSMILITARY (2018) * not rated
Currently, over active 15,000 service members in the U.S Armed Forces identify themselves as transgendered. In one of its first screenings since its premiere at last month’s SXSW Festival, the award-winning documentary TRANSMILITARY follows the story of four outstanding soldiers as they contend with a bureaucracy of ignorance and rules that defy their understanding of Self.
DISOBEDIENCE (2018) * R
Directed by Sebastián Lelio (director of the Oscar-winning A FANTASTIC WOMAN) and based on the best-selling novel, DISOBEDIENCE follows a rabbi’s non-practicing, lesbian daughter (Rachel Weisz) as she returns to the world of the Orthodox Jewish community in London, only to find her former lover (Rachel McAdams) married to her cousin.
SUNDAY, APRIL 29
ANGELS IN AMERICA (2017) * not rated
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and considered to be one of the most important plays of the last hundred years, ANGELS IN AMERICA was captured live in performance on the London stage last summer.
Starring Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane, ANGELS IN AMERICA is a complex, symbolic look at homosexuality and AIDS in America in the 1980s.
Over seven-hours long, this epic event is performed in two parts and is the same production that is simultaneously playing on Broadway:
Part One: Millennium Approaches has a running time of 3 hours and 30 minutes (including two intermissions) and begins at 12:30pm.
There will be a 75-minute break for dinner from 4:00pm to 5:15pm.
Part Two: Perestroika has a running time of four hours (including two intermissions) and begins at 5:15pm, ending at 9:15pm – in time to allow Cape patrons to take the 9:30pm ferry from Vineyard Haven to Woods Hole.
TULLY[/caption]
Jason Reitman latest film Tully, written by Diablo Cody and starring Charlize Theron, will premiere as the Opening Night film of the 35th edition of Miami Film Festival, on Friday, March 9th at the Olympia Theater.
“Charlize Theron’s fearless performance as a struggling suburban mother on the brink of losing mental control is made possible by another brilliant collaboration by the creators of Juno and Young Adult,” said Festival director Jaie Laplante. “Tully is both a parable and a salve for our stressed-out times – it reminds us all of who we are, and there is no more beautiful way to open our 35th edition than with this film.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRtBP07gIHY
The Festival will give its Precious Gem – Icon Award to the great French actress Isabelle Huppert, recent Oscar nominee for Elle and the most nominated actress in César Award history – a total of 16 nominations from France’s Academy – winning twice. She has also twice won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival, in a career that has seen her work with some of the greatest directors of contemporary times. Huppert will be honored on Friday, March 16th at the Olympia Theater.
“Isabelle Huppert has made profound contributions to cinema over the course of her illustrious career,” Laplante said. “With her recent performances in Things to Come and Elle, as well as Souvenir and Claire’s Camera, both of which we will be screening in conjunction with her Festival appearance, Ms. Huppert reaches ever-new pinnacles that continually astonish us, and add to her iconic status.”
The Festival will give its Precious Gem – Master Award to Spain’s greatest living filmmaker, Carlos Saura, on the occasion of a new documentary about the master’s career and family life, Félix Viscarret’s Goya-lauded Saura(s), on Sunday, March 11th at the Olympia Theater.
“Carlos Saura returns to Miami after receiving the Festival’s Career Achievement Tribute Award at our 20th edition in 2003,” said Laplante. “At that time, he was 71. Now, he’s 86 and has made eight more brilliant films since his last visit to Miami – but with Saura(s), we see him in a new light, as both a filmmaker and a family-maker. He is a peerless master, and we celebrate the life that continues to nourish his art.”
In all, the Festival will present 148 feature narratives, documentaries and short films of all genres, from 50 different countries, including three countries being represented in the Festival’s Official Selection for the first time– Benin, Georgia and Swaziland. The 35th edition of the Festival runs March 9th – 18th. Thirty-eight of the films are directed or co-directed by women filmmakers. The Festival will wrap up with an Awards Night Gala screening at Olympia Theater of the International premiere of Curro Velázquez’s smash hit Spanish comedy Holy Goalie (Que baje Dios y lo vea), with star Alain Hernández in attendance. All Olympia Theater screenings are part of the Festival’s CINEDWNTWN GALA series, sponsored by Miami Downtown Development Authority. A KORBEL Awards Night Party at The Historic Alfred I. Dupont Building will follow the Awards Night ceremony and screening.
Academy Award winning filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) and revered American screenwriter and director Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, Affliction) will attend the Festival for Marquee presentations of their newest films. The Festival’s Marquee series features screenings accompanied by on-stage conversations with major film personalities of the moment, discussing their career and sharing an exciting new work. Hazanavicius will present Godard Mon Amour, his serio-comic look at Jean-Luc Godard’s love affair with the actress Anne Wiazemsky during the shooting of his classic films La Chinoise and Weekend. Schrader will present First Reformed, a dramatic thriller starring Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried and Cedric The Entertainer. They join (previously announced) Mateo Gil and Jean-Marc Barr in the Marquee section.
Ten finalists were selected for the Festival’s signature $40,000 Knight Competition, open to feature films directed by filmmakers who have presented at least one feature in a previous edition of the Festival. Three of these films will also screen as CINEDWNTWN GALAS at the Olympia Theater.
The finalists are:
Another Story of the World (Uruguay, directed by Guillermo Casanova).
April’s Daughter (Mexico, directed by Michel Franco).
In Love & In Hate (Argentina, directed by Alejandro Maci). *CINEDWNTWN GALA
The Laws of Thermodynamics (Spain, directed by Mateo Gil). *WORLD PREMIERE
My Love or My Passion (Argentina, directed by Marcos Carnevale). *CINEDWNTWN GALA
Sergio and Sergei (Cuba/Spain, directed by Ernesto Daranás).
A Sort of Family (Argentina, directed by Diego Lerman).
The Summit (Argentina/Spain, directed by Santiago Mitre). *CINEDWNTWN GALA
Time Share (Mexico, directed by Sebastián Hofmann).
The Warning (Spain, directed by Daniel Calparsoro).
Eleven finalists were selected for the Festival’s inaugural $10,000 Knight Made in MIA Competition, which is open to any film – short or feature, documentary or narrative – in the Festival’s Official Selection that features a qualitatively/quantitatively substantial portion of its content (story, setting and actual filming location) in South Florida, from West Palm Beach to the Florida Keys, and that most universally demonstrates a common ground of pride, emotion, and faith for the South Florida community. The new award was inspired by the international success and 2017 Best Picture Oscar win by the Miami-set Moonlight, directed by former Miami resident Barry Jenkins and co-written by Tarell McCraney. The finalists are:
“#THECONNECTEDMAN”, directed by Fabián Cárdenas.
“Ayita’s Dream”, directed by Isis Masoud, Roger Ingraham.
“Fight Like a Girl”, directed by Agustín Gonzalez, Nicole Wulf.
Gladesmen: The Last of The Sawgrass Cowboys, directed by David Abel.
Latinegras: The Journey of Self-Love Through An Afrolatina Lens, directed by Omilani Alarcón. *WORLD PREMIERE
Love in Youth, directed by Quincy Perkins. *WORLD PREMIERE
Make Love Great Again, directed by Aaron Agrasanchez.
“Noa”, directed by Angel Barrota. *WORLD PREMIERE
Operation Odessa, directed by Tiller Russell.
“Roadside Attraction”, directed by Ivette Lucas, Patrick Bresnan.
“Supermarket”, directed by Rhonda Mitrani. *WORLD PREMIERE
Two significant Soiree nights will pair a major film event with one of Miami Film Festival’s world-famous parties. An Evening with Tim Clancy, the showrunner of HBO’s acclaimed Vice series through six seasons, will present a big-screen return look at three significant Vice episodes, followed by an in-depth, on-stage conversation about Vice’s Emmy Award-winning approach, philosophies and techniques. “HBO NIGHT” continues with a party at downtown Miami’s newest hotspot, The Wharf. Greg Berlanti’s Love, Simon will have its Festival premiere at the Regal Cinemas South Beach and continue with a Light Box Love Story soiree at Miami Light Project’s Goldman Warehouse in Wynwood.
The fiercely-contested, audience-voted $10,000 Knight Documentary Achievement Award, sponsored by Knight Foundation, returns with 24 finalists, including 4 world premieres, and new films from Oscar winner Morgan Neville (20 Feet From Stardom), Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond, In America), Goya winners Félix Viscarret and Gustavo Salmerón, Emmy winner Rene Balcer (Law & Order), Sundance 2018 prize winners Tim Wardle and Maxim Pozdorovkin, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist David Abel and the late Oscar winner Jonathan Demme, as executive producer on The Foreigner’s Home. Subjects featured in the films include Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Edwidge Danticat, Toni Morrison, Mr. Rogers, Andre Agassi, Imagine Dragons’ Dan Reynolds in the Live Nation production Believer, Cuban-America playwright María Irene Fornés and Miami’s Rene Lecour. The finalists are:
6 Weeks To Mother’s Day (USA, directed by Marvin Blunte).
Above The Drowning Sea (Canada, directed by Rene Balcer, Nicola Zavaglia).
Amigo Skate, Cuba (USA, directed by Vanesa Wilkey-Escobar). *WORLD PREMIERE
Believer (USA, directed by Don Argott).
Cuban Food Stories (USA, directed by Asori Soto).
Dolphin Man (Greece/Canada/France/Japan, directed by Lefteris Charitos).
Foreign Land (Israel, directed by Shlomi Eldar).
The Foreigner’s Home (USA/France, directed by Rian Brown, Geoff Pingree).
Gladesmen: The Last of The Sawgrass Cowboys (USA, directed by David Abel).
In Search of Voodoo: Roots To Heaven (USA/Benin, directed by Djimon Hounsou). *WORLD PREMIERE
Liyana (USA/Qatar/Swaziland, directed by Aaron Kopp, Amanda Kopp).
Lots of Kids, A Monkey and a Castle (Spain, directed by Gustavo Salmerón).
Love Means Zero (USA, directed by Jason Kohn).
The Music of the Spheres (Cuba/USA, directed by Marcel Beltrán). *WORLD PREMIERE
Nuyorican Basquet (Puerto Rico, directed by Julio César Torres, Ricardo Olivero Lora).
The Oldies (Cuba/USA/Venezuela, directed by Rosana Matecki).
Operation Odessa (USA, directed by Tiller Russell).
Our New President (USA, directed by Maxim Pozdorovkin).
RBG (USA, directed by Betsy West, Julie Cohen).
The Rest I Make Up (USA, directed by Michelle Memran).
Saura(s) (Spain, directed by Félix Viscarret).
Three Identical Strangers (USA, directed by Tim Wardle).
When The Beat Drops (USA, directed by Jamal Sims). *WORLD PREMIERE
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (USA, directed by Morgan Neville).
HBO returns as sponsor of the Festival’s $10,000 Ibero-American Feature Film Competition, this year featuring 25 finalists, including three world premieres. Three of the films in this section star Argentine actress Dolores Fonzi, prompting Festival organizers to declare Monday, March 12th “DOLORES FONZI DAY” at Miami Film Festival. The finalists are:
Al Berto (Portugal, directed by Vicente Alves do Ó).
Another Story of the World (Uruguay, directed by Guillermo Casanova).
April’s Daughter (Mexico, directed by Michel Franco).
Ashes (Ecuador/Uruguay, directed by Juan Sebastián Jácome). *WORLD PREMIERE
Bingo: The King of the Mornings (Brazil, directed by Daniel Rezende).
Candelaria (Colombia/Cuba/Argentina/Germany/Norway, directed by Jhonny Hendrix-Hinestroza).
Cocote (Dominican Republic, directed by Nelson Carlo de Los Santos Arias).
The Eternal Feminine (Mexico, directed by Natalia Beristáin).
The Future Ahead (Argentina, directed by Constanza Novick). *DOLORES FONZI DAY Film
Hunting Season (Argentina/USA/Germany/France, directed by Natalia Garagiola).
In Love & In Hate (Argentina, directed by Alejandro Maci). *CINEDWNTWN GALA
Killing Jesus (Colombia/Argentina, directed by Laura Mora).
La Familia (Venezuela/Chile/Norway, directed by Gustavo Rondón Córdova).
The Last Suit (Argentina/Spain, directed by Pablo Solarz).
The Laws of Thermodynamics (Spain, directed by Mateo Gil). *WORLD PREMIERE
On The Seventh Day (USA, directed by Jim McKay).
The River (Bolivia/Ecuador, directed by Juan Pablo Richter). *WORLD PREMIERE
Sergio and Sergei (Cuba/Spain, directed by Ernesto Daranás).
The Skin of the Wolf (Spain, directed by Samu Fuentes).
A Sort of Family (Argentina, directed by Diego Lerman).
The Summit (Argentina/Spain, directed by Santiago Mitre). *CINEDWNTWN GALA
Tigre (Argentina, directed by Silvina Schnicer, Ulises Porra Guardiola).
Time Share (Mexico, directed by Sebastián Hofmann).
The Warning (Spain, directed by Daniel Calparsoro).
Wind Traces (Mexico, directed by Jimena Montemayor Loyo). *DOLORES FONZI DAY Film
The highly sought-after $10,000 Jordan Ressler Screenwriting Award, won in recent years by Oscar nominated Theeb, Venice Golden Lion winner From Afar and Chilean world premiere launch Little White Lie, has 20 diverse and intriguing first-produced screenplays in competition. All but two of the finalists also directed his or her screenplay. The finalists are:
Michael Pearce for Beast (UK).
Cory Bowles for Black Cop (Canada).
Taylor Allen, Andrew Logan for Chappaquiddick (USA).
Nelson Carlo de Los Santos Arias for Cocote (Dominican Republic).
Xavier Legrand for Custody (France).
Feifei Wang for From Where We’ve Fallen (China).
Constanza Novick for The Future Ahead (Argentina).
Sonja Maria Kröner for The Garden (Germany).
Lucien Bourjeily for Heaven Without People (Lebanon).
Natalia Garagiola for Hunting Season (Argentina).
Christian Papierniak for Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town (USA).
Blake Jenner for Juvenile (USA).
Quincy Perkins for Love in Youth (USA). *WORLD PREMIERE
Molly McGlynn for Mary Goes Round (Canada).
Ziyang Zhou for Old Beast (China).
Juan Pablo Richter for The River (Bolivia/Ecuador). *WORLD PREMIERE
Ana Urushadze for Scary Mother (Georgia).
Samu Fuentes for The Skin of the Wolf (Spain).
Silvina Schnicer for Tigre (Argentina).
Hlynur Palmason for Winter Brothers (Denmark).
Films showing out of competition include selections by Oscar-nominee Michaël R. Roskam (Bullhead), Oscar-nominee and Emmy-winner Armando Iannucci (In the Loop, HBO’s Veep), and a US premiere starring retired NFL veteran and South Florida resident, actor/producer Thomas Q. Jones (A Violent Man). The films are:
Ali’s Wedding (Australia, directed by Jeffrey Walker).
Darling (Denmark, directed by Birgitte Stærmose).
The Death of Stalin (UK, directed by Armando Iannucci).
“The Driver is Red” (USA, directed by Randall Christopher).
Grace and Splendor (Panama/Dominican Republic, directed by Arturo Montenegro).
The Journey (Iran/UK/France/Qatar/The Netherlands, directed by Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji).
Kiss Me Not (Egypt, directed by Ahmed Amer).
Life is a Bitch (Brazil, directed by Julia Rezende).
Racer and the Jailbird (Belgium/France, directed by Michaël R. Roskam).
Sollers Point (USA, directed by Matthew Porterfield).
Three Peaks (Germany/Italy, directed by Jan Zabeil).
Under The Tree (Iceland/Denmark/Poland/Germany, directed by Hafsteinn Gummar).
A Violent Man (USA, directed by Matthew Berkowitz).
Wajib (Palestine/France/Germany/Colombia/Norway/Qatar, directed by Annemarie Jacir).
The Festival takes a special look at the Chinese film market this year in Cinema & China. This section features the Florida premiere of the Cannes Film Festival 2017’s Palme d’Or winner for Best Short Film, “A Gentle Night”, directed by Yang Qui, and the documentary Above the Drowning Sea, a historical look at an amazing story of European Jews being safeguarded by Shanghai and Chinese diplomats during World War II. A day-long symposium on the trends and markets will be held, in conjunction with the Festival screening of four Chinese-produced features:
From Where We’ve Fallen, directed by Feifei Wang.
Love Education, directed by Sylvia Chang.
Old Beast, directed by Ziyang Zhou. *KEYNOTE FILM
Walking Past The Future, directed by Li Ruijun.
The Festival’s exceedingly popular Reel Music section returns with five outstanding selections, including a world premiere from Panama and a feature about famed flamenco star Diego “El Cigala” as he explores the world of salsa in Cuba and beyond:
Guaco: Semblanza (Venezuela, directed by Alberto Arvelo).
I Tita, A Life of Tango (Argentina, directed by Teresa Constantini).
Indestructible: The Soul of Salsa (Spain, directed by David Pareja).
Me, My Father and the Cariocas: 70 Years of Music in Brazil (Brazil, directed by Lucia Verissimo).
A Night of Calypso (Panama, directed by Fernando Muñoz). *WORLD PREMIERE
MIFFecito, the beloved Films for Families section, returns with four new feature films for film fans of all ages. This section includes Fishtronaut The Movie (Brazil), Home Team (Uruguay/Brazil/Argentina), Lila’s Book (Colombia/Uruguay) and Zombillenium (France/Belgium). An animated short film winner from MDC’s Miami Animation and Gaming International Complex 2017 MIA Animation Conference & Festival will also be shown in this section.
South Florida’s college film students will again battle it out in Cinemaslam 2018. The nine finalists include films from Center of Cinematography, Arts & Television’s Lidia Rosa Hernandez; Miami Dade College’s Armando Stephano Rivero, Robert Requejo Ramos, Christopher Foode and Fernando Dumas; and University of Miami’s Chantal Gabriel, Jorge Martinez and Vasisth Sukul.
The Festival’s parallel industry activities include a French film market sponsored by Unifrance, and a Producing in South Florida panel moderated by Kevin Sharpley.
The Festival will co-present three special events during this year’s event. A “From The Vault” of Todd Haynes’ classic Velvet Goldmine will be held on Sunday, March 11th in partnership with Flaming Classics. On Friday, March 16th, in partnership with The Black Lounge Series, a screening of In The Morning with filmmaker Nefertiti Nguvu in person. In celebration of the Festival’s Tribute to Carlos Saura, one of Saura’s greatest classics, Cría cuervos, will screen on Sunday, March 18th at Miami Beach Cinematheque.
Science Fair directed by Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster[/caption]
Science Fair directed by Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster is the winner of the first-ever Festival Favorite Award at the Sundance Film Festival, which ran January 18 to 28, 2018. The Award was selected by audience votes from the 123 feature films screened at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
Science Fair, which had its world premiere at the 2018 Festival, follows nine high school students from around the globe as they navigate rivalries, setbacks, and of course, hormones, on their journey to compete at the international science fair. As they face off against 1,700 of the smartest, quirkiest teens from 78 different countries, only one will be named Best in Fair. The film was directed by Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster, and produced by Cristina Costantini, Darren Foster, Jeffrey.
John Cooper, Director, Sundance Film Festival, said “Audiences responded to the hope in this film, and how it thoughtfully depicted a rising generation of innovators. The film was so engaging and inspiring that we felt it would delight audiences and be a strong contender for this award.”
Runners-up for the Festival Favorite, as ballots were counted, included:
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
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
Other strong-showing audience favorites included:
Assassination Nation / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Sam Levinson, Producers: David S. 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 absolutely lost its mind. Cast: Odessa Young, Suki Waterhouse, Hari Nef, Abra, Bill Skårsgard, Bella Thorne. 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. CLOSING NIGHT FILM
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, Jeffrey Soros) — 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
What They Had / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Elizabeth Chomko, Producers: Keith Kjarval, Bill Holderman, Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa, Alex Saks, Andrew Duncan)— 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
The 2019 Sundance Film Festival will take place January 24 to February 3, 2019.
Image: A film still from Science Fair directed by Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster, an official selection of the Kids program at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Pete Alton. 
The powerful documentary Believer, directed by Don Argott, follows Mormon Dan Reynolds, frontman for the Grammy Award-winning band Imagine Dragons, as he takes on a new mission to explore how the Mormon 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 of acceptance and change.
Believer, from Live Nation Productions, will have its world premiere in the Documentary Premieres section of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, and will debut this summer on HBO.
The film documents this past year of Reynolds’ life during the process of organizing the first-ever LoveLoud Festival concert in Orem, Utah, to benefit such gay rights organizations as GLAAD and the Trevor Project, among others. While Believer takes a broader look at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ treatment of LGBTQ members, it also focuses on the suicide rate in the community, which has skyrocketed in the last decade.
Reynolds hopes Believer will continue to force discussion of gay rights within Mormonism on a larger scale. “LoveLoud reached 20,000 people in Utah, which is really small compared to the number of people who need to be reached,” he notes. “I think the reason the film needs to happen is because I feel like this is a way that nobody can turn their heads away.”
Believer centers on Reynolds, Aja Volkman, his wife and fellow musician, and Tyler Glenn, frontman for Neon Trees, among others.
Hans Zimmer composed the score for Believer and contributed to one of the two original songs Reynolds wrote for the film, giving music an integral role in the documentary.
Image: Dan Reynolds appears in Believer by Don Argott, an official selection of the Documentary Premieres program at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Don Argott.