BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99

141 Scores in Contention for Nominations for the 90th Academy Awards

[caption id="attachment_23776" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] BATTLE OF THE SEXES[/caption] 141 scores from eligible feature-length films released in 2017 have qualified to be nominated in the Original Score category for the 90th Academy Awards. To be eligible, the original score must be a substantial body of music that serves as original dramatic underscoring, and must be written specifically for the motion picture by the submitting composer. Scores diluted by the use of preexisting music, diminished in impact by the predominant use of songs or any music not composed specifically for the film by the submitting composer, or assembled from the music of more than one composer shall not be eligible. Nominations for the 90th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 4, 2018, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT. The eligible scores along with their composers are listed below, in alphabetical order by film title: “Alien: Covenant,” Jed Kurzel, composer “All I See Is You,” Marc Streitenfeld, composer “All the Money in the World,” Daniel Pemberton, composer “Annabelle: Creation,” Benjamin Wallfisch, composer “Band Aid,” Lucius, composer “Battle of the Sexes,” Nicholas Britell, composer “Baywatch,” Christopher Lennertz, composer “Beauty and the Beast,” Alan Menken, composer “The Big Sick,” Michael Andrews, composer “Blade Runner 2049,” Benjamin Wallfisch and Hans Zimmer, composers “The Book of Henry,” Michael Giacchino, composer “Born in China,” Barnaby Taylor, composer “The Boss Baby,” Hans Zimmer and Steve Mazzaro, composers “Boston,” Jeff Beal, composer “Brad’s Status,” Mark Mothersbaugh, composer “Brawl in Cell Block 99,” Jeff Herriott and S. Craig Zahler, composers “The Breadwinner,” Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna, composers “Breathe,” Nitin Sawhney, composer “Brigsby Bear,” David Wingo, composer “Brimstone & Glory,” Dan Romer and Benh Zeitlin, composers “Captain Underpants The First Epic Movie,” Theodore Shapiro, composer “Cars 3,” Randy Newman, composer “The Circle,” Danny Elfman, composer “Coco,” Michael Giacchino, composer “Cries from Syria,” Martin Tillman, composer “A Cure for Wellness,” Benjamin Wallfisch, composer “Darkest Hour,” Dario Marianelli, composer “Despicable Me 3,” Heitor Pereira, composer “The Disaster Artist,” Dave Porter, composer “A Dog’s Purpose,” Rachel Portman, composer “Downsizing,” Rolfe Kent, composer “Drawing Home,” Ben Holiday, composer “Dunkirk,” Hans Zimmer, composer “Earth: One Amazing Day,” Alex Heffes, composer “A Fantastic Woman,” Matthew Herbert, composer “The Fate of the Furious,” Brian Tyler, composer “Father Figures,” Rob Simonsen, composer “Ferdinand,” John Powell, composer “Fifty Shades Darker,” Danny Elfman, composer “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool,” J. Ralph, composer “First They Killed My Father,” Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders, composers “Get Out,” Michael Abels, composer “A Ghost Story,” Daniel Hart, composer “Gifted,” Rob Simonsen, composer “The Glass Castle,” Joel P. West, composer “Going in Style,” Rob Simonsen, composer “Good Time,” Daniel Lopatin, composer “Goodbye Christopher Robin,” Carter Burwell, composer “Gook,” Roger Suen, composer “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” Tyler Bates, composer “The Hitman’s Bodyguard,” Atli Ӧrvarsson, composer “Hostiles,” Max Richter, composer “Human Flow,” Karsten Fundal, composer “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power,” Jeff Beal, composer “It,” Benjamin Wallfisch, composer “Jane,” Philip Glass, composer “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” Henry Jackman, composer “Justice League,” Danny Elfman, composer “Kepler’s Dream,” Patrick Neil Doyle, composer “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword,” Daniel Pemberton, composer “Kingsman: The Golden Circle,” Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson, composers “Kong: Skull Island,” Henry Jackman, composer “LA 92,” Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans, composers “LBJ,” Marc Shaiman, composer “Lady Bird,” Jon Brion, composer “Lake of Fire,” Qutub-E-Kripa, composer “Last Flag Flying,” Graham Reynolds, composer “The Lego Batman Movie,” Lorne Balfe, composer “The Lego Ninjago Movie,” Mark Mothersbaugh, composer “The Leisure Seeker,” Carlo Virzì, composer “Let It Fall,” Mark Isham, composer “Life,” Jon Ekstrand, composer “Logan,” Marco Beltrami, composer “The Lost City of Z,” Christopher Spelman, composer “Loveless,” Evgueni Galperine and Sacha Galperine, composers “Loving Vincent,” Clint Mansell, composer “The Man Who Invented Christmas,” Mychael Danna, composer “Mark Felt – The Man Who Brought Down the White House,” Daniel Pemberton, composer “Marshall,” Marcus Miller, composer “Mary and the Witch’s Flower,” Takatsugu Muramatsu, composer “Maudie,” Michael Timmins, composer “Molly’s Game,” Daniel Pemberton, composer “Moomins and the Winter Wonderland,” Łukasz Targosz, composer “The Mountain between Us,” Ramin Djawadi, composer “Mudbound,” Tamar-kali, composer “The Mummy,” Brian Tyler, composer “Murder on the Orient Express,” Patrick Doyle, composer “My Cousin Rachel,” Rael Jones, composer “Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer,” Jun Miyake, composer “Okja,” Jaeil Jung, composer “Oklahoma City,” David Cieri, composer “The Only Living Boy in New York,” Rob Simonsen, composer “Only the Brave,” Joseph Trapanese, composer “Our Souls at Night,” Elliot Goldenthal, composer “Paris Can Wait,” Laura Karpman, composer “Patti Cake$,” Geremy Jasper and Jason Binnick, composers “Phantom Thread,” Jonny Greenwood, composer “The Pirates of Somalia,” Andrew Feltenstein and John Nau, composers “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” Geoff Zanelli, composer “The Post,” John Williams, composer “Professor Marston and the Wonder Women,” Tom Howe, composer “The Promise,” Gabriel Yared, composer “Pulimurugan,” Gopi Sundar, composer “Raw,” Jim Williams, composer “Roman J. Israel, Esq.,” James Newton Howard, composer “Saban’s Power Rangers,” Brian Tyler, composer “Same Kind of Different as Me,” John Paesano, composer “The Second Coming of Christ,” Navid Hejazi, Ramin Kousha and Silvia Leonetti, composers “Served Like a Girl,” Michael A. Levine, composer “The Shack,” Aaron Zigman, composer “The Shape of Water,” Alexandre Desplat, composer “Slipaway,” Tao Liu, composer “Smurfs: The Lost Village,” Christopher Lennertz, composer “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” Michael Giacchino, composer “Split,” West Dylan Thordson, composer “The Star,” John Paesano, composer “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” John Williams, composer “Step,” Laura Karpman and Raphael Saadiq, composers “Stronger,” Michael Brook, composer “Suburbicon,” Alexandre Desplat, composer “Swing Away,” Tao Zervas, composer “Thank You for Your Service,” Thomas Newman, composer “Their Finest,” Rachel Portman, composer “Thelma,” Ola Fløttum, composer “Thor: Ragnarok,” Mark Mothersbaugh, composer “Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Carter Burwell, composer “Tickling Giants,” Paul Tyan, composer “Tommy’s Honour,” Christian Henson, composer “Trafficked,” David Das, composer “Transformers: The Last Knight,” Steve Jablonsky, composer “XXX: Return of Xander Cage,” Brian Tyler and Robert Lydecker, composers “Victoria & Abdul,” Thomas Newman, composer “Voice from the Stone,” Michael Wandmacher, composer “Wakefield,” Aaron Zigman, composer “War for the Planet of the Apes,” Michael Giacchino, composer “Wilson,” Jon Brion, composer “Wind River,” Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, composers “Wonder,” Marcelo Zarvos, composer “Wonder Woman,” Rupert Gregson-Williams, composer “Wonderstruck,” Carter Burwell, composer “Year by the Sea,” Alexander Janko, composer
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70 Original Songs Qualify to Compete in 90th Academy Awards

[caption id="attachment_19920" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Patti Cake$[/caption] 70 songs from eligible feature-length motion pictures released in 2017 qualify for nomination in the Original Song category for the 90th Academy Awards. To be eligible, a song must consist of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the film. A clearly audible, intelligible, substantive rendition of both lyric and melody must be used in the body of the film or as the first music cue in the end credits. Nominations for the 90th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2018. The 90th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, March 4, 2018, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT. The original songs, along with the motion picture in which each song is featured, are listed below in alphabetical order by film title and song title: “U.N.I (You And I)” from “And the Winner Isn’t” “Love And Lies” from “Band Aid” “If I Dare” from “Battle of the Sexes” “Evermore” from “Beauty and the Beast” “How Does A Moment Last Forever” from “Beauty and the Beast” “Now Or Never” from “Bloodline: Now or Never” “She” from “Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story” “Your Hand I Will Never Let It Go” from “The Book of Henry” “Buddy’s Business” from “Brawl in Cell Block 99” “The Crown Sleeps” from “The Breadwinner” “World Gone Mad” from “Bright” “Mystery Of Love” from “Call Me by Your Name” “Visions Of Gideon” from “Call Me by Your Name” “Captain Underpants Theme Song” from “Captain Underpants The First Epic Movie” “Ride” from “Cars 3” “Run That Race” from “Cars 3” “Tell Me How Long” from “Chasing Coral” “Broken Wings” from “City of Ghosts” “Remember Me” from “Coco” “Prayers For This World” from “Cries from Syria” “There’s Something Special” from “Despicable Me 3” “It Ain’t Fair” from “Detroit” “A Little Change In The Weather” from “Downsizing” “Stars In My Eyes (Theme From Drawing Home)” from “Drawing Home” “All In My Head” from “Elizabeth Blue” “Dying For Ya” from “Elizabeth Blue” “Green” from “Elizabeth Blue” “Can’t Hold Out On Love” from “Father Figures” “Home” from “Ferdinand” “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” from “Fifty Shades Darker” “You Shouldn’t Look At Me That Way” from “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool” “This Is How You Walk On” from “Gifted” “Summer Storm” from “The Glass Castle” “The Pure And The Damned” from “Good Time” “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman” “The Hero” from “The Hero” “How Shall A Sparrow Fly” from “Hostiles” “Just Getting Started” from “If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast” “Truth To Power” from “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power” “Next Stop, The Stars” from “Kepler’s Dream” “The Devil & The Huntsman” from “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” “Have You Ever Wondered” from “Lake of Fire” “I’ll Be Gone” from “Lake of Fire” “We’ll Party All Night” from “Lake of Fire” “Friends Are Family” from “The Lego Batman Movie” “Found My Place” from “The Lego Ninjago Movie” “Stand Up For Something” from “Marshall” “Rain” from “Mary and the Witch’s Flower” “Myron/Byron” from “The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)” “Longing For Summer” from “Moomins and the Winter Wonderland” “Mighty River” from “Mudbound” “Never Forget” from “Murder on the Orient Express” “Hold The Light” from “Only the Brave” “PBNJ” from “Patti Cake$” “Tuff Love (Finale)” from “Patti Cake$” “Lost Souls” from “The Pirates of Somalia” “How A Heart Unbreaks” from “Pitch Perfect 3” “The Promise” from “The Promise” “Kaadanayum Kaalchilambe” from “Pulimurugan” “Maanathe Maarikurumbe” from “Pulimurugan” “Stubborn Angel” from “Same Kind of Different as Me” “Dancing Through The Wreckage” from “Served Like a Girl” “Keep Your Eyes On Me” from “The Shack” “On The Music Goes” from “Slipaway” “The Star” from “The Star” “Jump” from “Step” “Tickling Giants” from “Tickling Giants” “Fly Away” from “Trafficked” “Speak To Me” from “Voice from the Stone” “Walk On Faith” from “Year by the Sea”
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2017 Toronto International Film Festival Awards: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Wins Top Award

The Toronto International Film Festival announced its award winners and the Grolsch People’s Choice Award went to Martin McDonagh for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. The second runner-up is Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name. The first runner-up is Craig Gillespie’s I, Tonya. The Grolsch People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award goes to Joseph Kahn’s Bodied. The second runner-up is Craig Zahler’s Brawl in Cell Block 99. The first runner-up is James Franco’s The Disaster Artist. The Grolsch People’s Choice Documentary Award goes to Agnès Varda and JR’s Faces Places. The second runner-up is Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! The first runner-up is Long Time Running directed by Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas De Pencier.
IWC SHORT CUTS AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN SHORT FILM
The IWC Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Short Film goes to Marc-Antoine Lemire’s Pre-Drink. The jury remarked the film “is a monumental yet intimate portrayal of a woman in transition. Lead by the towering performances of the film’s two actors, both of who are worthy of receiving their own awards. The jury were especially taken by the leading actress who gives one of the best performances we saw in the Short Cuts programs. The 2017 Short Cuts jury honors Pre-Drink for Best Canadian short film.”
IWC SHORT CUTS AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM
The IWC Short Cuts Award for Best Short Film goes to Niki Lindroth von Bahr’s The Burden (Min Börda). The jury remarked, “Whimsical but tragic, imaginative and just plain weird, this is exactly what one can expect from a Scandinavian musical with fish in bath robes singing out their existentialist crisis. This is a film that stands out in this program and any film program it will ever be part of.” The award offers a $10,000 cash prize made possible by IWC Schaffhausen. The jury gave honourable mentions to Matthew Rankin’s The Tesla World Light (Tesla: Lumière Mondiale) and Qiu Yang’s Xiao Cheng Er Yue (A Gentle Night).
CITY OF TORONTO AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN FIRST FEATURE FILM
The City of Toronto Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film goes to Wayne Wapeemukwa’s Luk’ Luk’l. The jury remarked, “The award goes to a striking debut film that disrupts borders – of form and content and suggests new cinematic territories.This beautifully realized film offers a unique Canadian perspective, made with real compassion, insight and remarkable characters from Vancouver’s East Side.” This award carries a cash prize of $15,000, made possible by the City of Toronto. The jury gave honourable mention to Sadaf Foroughi’s Ava.
CANADA GOOSE AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN FEATURE FILM
The Canada Goose Award for Best Canadian Feature Film goes to Robin Aubert’s Les Affamés. The jury remarked, “This year the Canada Goose Award for Best Canadian Feature Film goes to a hybrid art-house film that proved to be something of a revelation. Wonderfully scripted and perfectly cast, this film managed the rare feat of featuring genuinely interesting and well-rounded characters; surprising dramatic and comedic moments with well thought-out multi-generational female roles (who were totally badass, I might add) while also dealing with poignant and contemporary issues, set against a striking rural backdrop and hundreds of ‘ravenous’ zombies.” The jury gave honorable mention to Simon Lavoie’s The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches (La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes).
THE PRIZES OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF FILM CRITICS (FIPRESCI PRIZES)
Prize of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) for the Discovery program is awarded to Sadaf Foroughi for Ava. Prize of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) for Special Presentations is awarded to Manuel Martín Cuenca for The Motive (El Autor).
NETPAC AWARD
As selected by a jury from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Pacific Cinema for the sixth consecutive year, the NETPAC Award for World or International Asian Film Premiere goes to Huang Hsin-Yao’s The Great Buddha+. The jury remarked, “The NETPAC Jury awards The Great Buddha+ for depicting the interface between the haves and have-nots, with black humor and style, innovating with noir in representing the social reality of Taiwan today.”
TORONTO PLATFORM PRIZE PRESENTED BY AIR FRANCE
This is the third year for Platform, the Festival’s juried program that champions directors’ cinema from around the world. The Festival welcomed an international jury comprised of award-winning filmmakers Chen Kaige, Małgorzata Szumowska, and Wim Wenders who unanimously awarded the Toronto Platform Prize, presented by Air France, to Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country. “This is a spiritual epic taking place in 1929 in Australia’s Northern Territory,” said the jury in a statement. “It is a great saga of human fate, and its themes of race and struggle for survival are handled in such a simple, rich, unpretentious and touching way, that it became for us a deeply emotional metaphor for our common fight for dignity. Speaking about their deliberations, the jury added: “We saw 12 films from all over the world that took us into very different universes of the soul and to extremely different places on our planet. We were thankful to be able to see these films and we very much appreciated that actually exactly half of them were made by women. TIFF is leading the way, we feel.” “As we only had one award to give, we had to be quite radical. We also limited ourselves to only one special mention, even if other films might have imposed themselves for best acting, writing or directing.” Awarding a special mention to Clio Barnard’s Dark River, the jury said: “This film, deeply rooted in the Yorkshire countryside, convinced us, as its characters and actors, its photography, its story and its sense of place were all so much ONE, so utterly believable and controlled, that we were totally taken by it.”
GROLSCH PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS
This year marked the 40th year that Toronto audiences were able to cast a ballot for their favorite Festival film for the Grolsch People’s Choice Award. This year’s award goes to Martin McDonagh for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. The award offers a $15,000 cash prize and custom award, sponsored by Grolsch. The second runner-up is Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name. The first runner-up is Craig Gillespie’s I, Tonya. The Grolsch People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award goes to Joseph Kahn’s Bodied. The second runner-up is Craig Zahler’s Brawl in Cell Block 99. The first runner-up is James Franco’s The Disaster Artist. The Grolsch People’s Choice Documentary Award goes to Agnès Varda and JR’s Faces Places. The second runner-up is Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! The first runner-up is Long Time Running directed by Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas De Pencier.
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2017 London Film Festival Unveils Lineup of 242 Feature Films + 128 Shorts

[caption id="attachment_24242" align="aligncenter" width="1144"] The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)[/caption] The 61st BFI London Film Festival today announced its full program, featuring a diverse selection of 242 feature films including 46 documentaries, 6 animations, 14 archive restorations and 16 artists’ moving image features. The program also includes 128 short films, and 67 countries are represented across short film and features. Alongside the Galas, Special Presentations and films in Competitions, the Festival will show a range of new cinema in sections aka strands titled Love, Debate, Laugh, Dare, Thrill, Cult, Journey, Experimenta and Family. In 2017, the LFF debuts a new strand, Create, featuring films that celebrate artistic practice in all its channels and forms the electricity of the creative process, reflecting London’s position as one of the world’s leading creative cities. Audiences will have the opportunity to hear some of the world’s creative leaders through the Festival’s acclaimed talks’ series LFF Connects, which features artists working at the intersection of film and other creative industries, and Screen Talks, a series of in-depth interviews with leaders in contemporary cinema. Participants this year include Julian Rosefeldt & Cate Blanchett, David Fincher, Demis Hassabis, Nitin Sawhney, Johan Knattrup Jensen, Ian McEwan and Takashi Miike.
OFFICIAL COMPETITION
Robin Campillo, 120 BPM (BEATS PER MINUTE) Vivian Qu, ANGELS WEAR WHITE Majid Majidi, BEYOND THE CLOUDS (World Premiere) Nora Twomey, THE BREADWINNER (European Premiere) Juliana Rojas, Marco Dutra, GOOD MANNERS Xavier Beauvois, THE GUARDIANS (European Premiere) Andrew Haigh, LEAN ON PETE Andrey Zvyagintsev, LOVELESS Azazel Jacobs, THE LOVERS (European Premiere) Warwick Thornton, SWEET COUNTRY Cory Finley, THOROUGHBRED (International Premiere) Annemarie Jacir, WAJIB
FIRST FEATURE COMPETITION
Daniel Kokotajlo, APOSTASY Léa Mysius, AVA Michael Pearce, BEAST (European Premiere) Ofir Raul Graizer, THE CAKEMAKER Gilles Coulier, CARGO Kogonada, COLUMBUS Rungano Nyoni, I AM NOT A WITCH Léonor Serraille, JEUNE FEMME Ana Asensio, MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND Carla Simón, SUMMER 1993 Hlynur Pálmason, WINTER BROTHERS John Trengove, THE WOUND
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Maryam Goormaghtigh, BEFORE SUMMER ENDS Elvira Lind, BOBBI JENE Arash Kamali Sarvestani, Behrouz Boochani, CHAUKA, PLEASE TELL US THE TIME (International Premiere) Radu Jude, THE DEAD NATION Shevaun Mizrahi, DISTANT CONSTELLATION Frederick Wiseman, EX LIBRIS – THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY Agnès Varda, JR, FACES PLACES Austin Lynch, Matthew Booth, GRAY HOUSE Brett Morgen, JANE (European Premiere) Lucy Cohen, KINGDOM OF US (World Premiere) Emmanuel Gras, MAKALA Sonia Kronlund, THE PRINCE OF NOTHINGWOOD
SHORT FILM AWARD
Gabriel Abrantes, THE ARTIFICIAL HUMORS Phil Collins, DELETE BEACH Billie Pleffer, FYSH (International Premiere) Anna Cazenave Cambet, GABBER LOVER Karishma Dube, GODDESS Aegina Brahim, LAWS OF THE GAME Jonathan Vinel, MARTIN CRIES Patrick Bresnan THE RABBIT HUNT Moin Hussain, REAL GODS REQUIRE BLOOD Kibwe Tavares, ROBOT & SCARECROW Kazik Radwanski, SCAFFOLD Harry Lighton, WREN BOYS (World Premiere) The Festival program is organized in strands: Love, Debate, Laugh, Dare, Thrill, Cult, Journey, Create, Family, Treasures and Experimenta.
LOVE
The Love Gala is the European Premiere of Dominic Cooke’s quietly heart-breaking film debut ON CHESIL BEACH. Saoirse Ronan and rising actor Billy Howle star as a young couple in the early 1960s struggling to physically connect on their honeymoon, impeccably adapted for the big screen by Ian McEwan from his own Man Booker-shortlisted novela. Other highlights in this section include: CLOSE-KNIT, Naoko Ogigami’s quietly subversive and emotionally rich portrait of a transwoman whose maternal feelings are stirred by the arrival of her boyfriend’s 11-year-old niece; THE GROWN-UPS, Maïte Alberdi’s tender and bittersweet documentary portrait of Chileans Anita and Andres, who have Down’s syndrome and are very much in love; the World Premiere of Carlos Marques Marcet’s ANCHOR AND HOPE, a London-set story about modern love and family featuring Oona Chaplin; John Cameron Mitchell’s cosmic ride HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES, sees aliens have landed in 1970s Croydon in a funny, energetic love story starring Elle Fanning, Alex Sharp and Nicole Kidman; the World Premiere of JOURNEYMAN, features Paddy Considine following up his acclaimed debut Tyrannosaur with the story of a boxer who must rebuild his life after a near-fatal injury; GOING WEST, a World Premiere from Norwegian newcomer Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken who delivers a sweetly delicious road movie; LET THE SUNSHINE IN, Claire Denis’ darkly witty drama starring Juliette Binoche as an artist caught up in a series of unsatisfying affairs, and David Gordon Green’s rousing yet devastating true-story drama STRONGER featuring a remarkable performance by Jake Gyllenhaal as a survivor of the Boston Marathon bombing.
DEBATE
This year’s Debate Gala is Samuel Maoz’s FOXTROT, a film that combines thrilling cinematography with superb performances, and highlights the absurdities of conscripted service. Debate also includes: BIRDS ARE SINGING IN KIGALI, Joanna Kos-Krauze and Krzysztof Krauze’s hard-hitting drama about the intertwined lives of two refugee survivors reeling from the impact of the Rwandan genocide and containing powerful central performances; the World Premiere of THE CLIMB, Michael Woodward’s debut documentary that charts Greenpeace’s daring all-female team that illegally ascended The Shard in protest against petroleum giant Shell’s plans to dig for oil in the Arctic; the World Premiere of THE FORGIVEN, Roland Joffé’s political drama starring Forest Whitaker as Desmond Tutu and Eric Bana as Piet Blomfeld, asking how far we can go in forgiving past crimes; the World Premiere of ISLAND, Steven Eastwood’s haunting and deeply moving documentary combining observational footage with contemplative shots of the costal landscapes of the Isle of Wight, and set among terminally ill cancer patients, and THE VENERABLE W., Barbet Schroeder’s disturbingly illuminating portrait of Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu, who was known for espousing anti-Muslim hatred.
LAUGH
This year’s Laugh Gala is Noah Baumbach’s THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES (NEW AND SELECTED). A stellar cast give uniformly excellent performances, including Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Elizabeth Marvel and Emma Thompson. Through the madcap antics of a neurotic, failure-obsessed clan, Baumbach surfaces bigger questions about how to value family and the meaning of success. Laugh also includes: the World Premiere of Adrian Shergold’s FUNNY COW, which contains a formidable performance from Maxine Peake as an aspiring stand-up comic confronting her violent husband and the sexist Northern England club circuit; INGRID GOES WEST, Matt Spicer’s jet-black stalker comedy brilliantly skewers dangerous obsession and the sham of Instagrammed perfection with wicked and fearless performances from Elizabeth Olsen and Aubrey Plaza; joy and grace flow out of Dustin Guy Defa’s observational comedy drama PERSON TO PERSON, starring Michael Cera as a reporter keen on quoting (his own) heavy metal lyrics; Daan Bakker’s QUALITY TIME is perfect for lovers of experimental and irreverent cinema offering a portmanteau selection of stories of male arrested development; and Henrik Ruben Genz’s WORD OF GOD is set months after the Chernobyl disaster and provides dark and dirty humour where pretty much nothing is off limits.
DARE
The Dare Gala is François Ozon’s frisky new thriller, AMANT DOUBLE, a deliciously duplicitous tale of psychoanalysis and seduction that channels the spirits of Hitchcock and De Palma at their naughtiest and stars Jérémie Renier, Marine Vacth and Jacqueline Bisset. Other highlights in the strand include: Eliza Hittman’s BEACH RATS, a gripping investigation of repressed sexual desire in a hyper-masculine environment; Jon Garaño and Aitor Arregi’s touching drama GIANT, set in 19th century Spain and based on the true story of Mikel Jokin Eleizegi, allegedly the tallest man of his time; Semih Kaplanoğlu’s spellbinding dystopian sci-fi, GRAIN in which climate change has caused the nearextinction of human life; Liu Jian’s adult animé HAVE A NICE DAY, a biting, bone-dry satire on contemporary Chinese social mores and featuring plenty of bloodthirsty Tarantino-esque genre thrills; the European Premiere of Bornila Chatterjee’s THE HUNGRY, which reworks Shakespeare’s bloody Titus Andronicus into a macabre modern tragedy set in Northern India; Barbara Albert’s resplendent drama MADEMOISELLE PARADIS, based on the true story of Maria Theresia ‘Resi’ von Paradis, a gifted blind musician and contemporary of Mozart, paraded through Vienna’s courts to perform; Jean Libon and Yves Hinant’s jawdropping and extraordinary documentary SO HELP ME GOD, which details the work of an unorthodox Belgian judge Anne Gruwez as she tackles gruesome crimes, domestic violence and other sordid cases; and WESTERN, director Valeska Grisebach’s contemporary western in which tensions mount between German construction workers and Bulgarian villagers in a small rural town.
THRILL
This year’s Thrill Gala is Takashi Miike’s savage and inventive action thriller, BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL, based on the famous manga series by Hiroaki Samurai about a samurai cursed with immortal life and has the distinction of being Miike’s 100th feature film. Thrill also features: the European Premiere of Nattawut Poonpiriya’s Thai teen thriller BAD GENIUS, in which young brainiac Lynn uses a very special set of skills to cheat on behalf of her classmates in the high-stakes world of entrance exams for elite international universities; the European Premiere of Anurag Kashyap’s THE BRAWLER in which a young and talented Indian boxer dreams of being champion, but is knocked sideways when he falls for the niece of the man blocking his road to success; Aaron Katz’s GEMINI in which a heinous crime tests the complex relationship between a tenacious personal assistant, Jill played by Lola Kirke and her Hollywood movie star boss Heather played by Zoë Kravitz; the Safdie brothers’ latest film GOOD TIME features Robert Pattinson as a small-time New York criminal, who after a bank robbery goes seriously wrong, devises a plan to spring his injured accomplice from police custody; Jennifer Peedom’s spectacular documentary MOUNTAIN, is a mind-blowing symphony of images and sound chronicling the powerful attraction mountains hold over us; love, crime and action combine in a taut and twisty thriller-cum-romance in Michaël R. Roskam’s RACER AND THE JAILBIRD starring Adèle Exarchopoulos as Bibi, a young racing driver and Matthias Schoenaerts as Gigi the Jailbird, a dashing playboy with, it seems, time and money to burn; Ian Nelms and Eshom Nelms’ blackly comic, crime noir, SMALL TOWN CRIME (European Premiere) stars John Hawkes as alcoholic former cop Mike, channelling a drunk Columbo who embarks on his own unofficial crime investigation while Octavia Spencer plays his supportive sister Kelly who is starting to lose patience with Mike’s lying, drifting and drinking; and the International Premiere of Xin Yukun’s sophisticated arthouse thriller, WRATH OF SILENCE featuring martial arts maestro Song Yang, as a mute bruiser who returns to his home, a remote farming village, following the disappearance of his son. With tight plotting, memorable characters and an unforgettable climax, director Xin Yukun establishes himself as a new international filmmaker you need to know.
CULT
The Cult Gala is Joachim Trier’s subtle shocker THELMA, a supernaturally-tinged tale of a young woman’s macabre coming of age. Other titles in the strand include: S. Craig Zahler’s genre-bending, bone-crunching exercise in slow-burn suspense, BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99, starring Vince Vaughn as a former boxer-turned mechanic involved in a drug deal that goes wrong that sees him behind bars; the walking dead get a second chance at life in David Freyne’s debut THE CURED starring Ellen Page in an inventive and surprising post-zombie era drama where a cure has been found for the infected and the rehabilitated are transitioned back into society; the World Premiere of Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman’s GHOST STORIES in which they bring their hit London stage play to the big screen, with suitably chilling results. Nyman plays Phillip Goodman, an academic and professional sceptic out to debunk claims of the supernatural , but when he stumbles across a long lost file containing three unsolved cases of the Occult, his whole belief system – not to mention his sanity – is thrown into question; LET THE CORPSES TAN is directing duo Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani’s adaptation of JeanPatrick Manchette’s influential 1971 crime novel and the result is a sun-drenched Western-tinged, crimecaper; MY FRIEND DAHMER is director Marc Meyers’ adaptation of John Backderf’s revered graphic novel and is an unnerving portrait of one of America’s most prolific murderers, Jeffrey Dahmer; and Paco Plaza’s much-anticipated new horror film, VERONICA, inspired by an actual unsolved case in Spain and a no-holds barred supernatural shocker.
JOURNEY
This year’s Journey Gala is Todd Haynes’ new film WONDERSTRUCK, an enthralling adaptation of Brian Selznick’s acclaimed young adult novel. Featuring Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams in supporting roles alongside a gifted young cast, Oakes Fegley and newcomer Millicent Simmonds, a deaf actress making her film debut, it is both a whimsical children’s film for adults and a refreshingly grown-up film for children. Other Journey titles include: Arshad Khan’s ABU, a compelling documentary about a young Pakistani man’s difficulties in coping with migration and the resultant cultural change, his emerging sexuality and an increasingly orthodox father; Iraqi filmmaker Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji’s THE JOURNEY, a taut, thoughtprovoking thriller that tackles what might just be the final moments of a potential suicide bomber’s life; David Batty’s stylish documentary MY GENERATION, presented and narrated by Michael Caine, playfully explores the impact of Britain’s working class cultural revolution in the 1960s and features a wealth of archive footage and a spot-on soundtrack from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and The Who, which makes for an exhilarating journey back in time; the European Premiere of Egyptian director Amr Salama’s SHEIKH JACKSON, a bittersweet and poignant tale of an Islamist preacher experiencing a crisis of faith following the death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson; Marc J. Francis and Max Pugh’s fascinating and immersive exploration of mindfulness, WALK WITH ME, featuring narration by Benedict Cumberbatch, follows the daily rituals and routine of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh and offers a rare insight into life within a monastic community; and the World Premiere of THE WHITE GIRL, where debut director Jenny Suen collaborates with legendary cinematographer Christopher Doyle on an intoxicating and textually rich film.
CREATE
The brand new Create strand channels the electricity of the act of creation, celebrating artistic expression in all its forms. The inaugural Create Gala is Michel Hazanavicius’ REDOUBTABLE, an audacious, multi-layered biopic of French cinema’s most notorious director, Jean-Luc Godard. Also in Create: Greg Kohs’ ALPHAGO the story of how Google’s DeepMind team took on Go world champion Lee Sedol, posing questions about whether computers can think creatively and whether there is an algorithm for intuition; the World Premiere of THE BALLAD OF SHIRLEY COLLINS, Rob Curry and Tim Plester’s portrait of one of the great British folks singers who mysteriously lost her voice in 1980; G-FUNK tells the story of how three childhood friends from East Long Beach Warren G, Snoop Dogg and the late great Nate Dogg, transformed hip-hop into a global phenomenon and changed the world; the World Premiere of William Badgely’s HERE TO BE HEARD: THE STORY OF THE SLITS is a riveting film about the game-changing and largely female feminist punk band; Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman’s LOVING VINCENT is a stunning, fully painted animated feature created in the style of Van Gogh’s paintings matching extraordinary style with richly satisfying storytelling, broadcast live from the National Gallery to cinemas nationwide; and Julian Rosefeldt’s MANIFESTO starring Cate Blanchett as thirteen different characters in this energetic tribute to artistic troublemakers.
FAMILY
Showcasing films for the young, as well as the young at heart the Family Gala is THE BIG BAD FOX AND OTHER TALES, an outstanding, laugh-a-minute animation from Benjamin Renner and Patrick Imbert, the team behind Ernest & Celestine (LFF 2012, Family Gala) and is guaranteed to appeal to adults as much as it will to children. Other highlights include Chang-yong Moon and Jin Jeon’s beautifully made documentary BECOMING WHO I WAS about a young monk Padma Angdu, who is said to be the latest incarnation of a religious teacher, known as a Rinpoche, and his attempts to reach the home he had in a former life; Xuan Liang and Chun Zhang’s visually breath-taking Chinese animated fantasy, BIG FISH & BEGONIA is as near to the best of Studio Ghibli as you’re likely to find anywhere; Meikeminne Clinckspoor’s family adventure CLOUDBOY is about 12- year-old Niilas who is sent away against his wishes to spend the summer with his estranged mother in Swedish Lapland, among the indigenous reindeer herding Sami people; and winner of the top prize at this year’s Annecy Animation Film Festival, Masaaki Yuasa’s anime LU OVER THE WALL brings human and merfolk together with surprising outcomes. This funky, upbeat tale is full of energy, features cute ‘merdogs’, musical mermaids and a giant humanoid shark and has a really cool soundtrack. This section also includes a program of animated shorts for younger audiences which bring together eclectic, exciting and colourful films from all around the globe.
TREASURES
The Treasures selection brings recently restored cinematic classics from archives around the world to the Festival in London. The Archive Gala is the World Premiere of the BFI National Archive restoration of the silent film SHIRAZ: A ROMANCE OF INDIA (1928), a ravishing, romantic tale based on the story of the 17th century Mughal ruler Shah Jahan, his queen and the building of the world’s most beautiful monument to love, the Taj Mahal. Directed by Franz Osten, based on a play by Niranjan Pal and starring and produced by Himansu Rai, the film was shot entirely in India and performed by an all-Indian cast. Other highlights include the World Premieres of the 4K restoration by Sony Pictures Entertainment of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (1946); the digitally remastered experimental documentary FRANTZ FANON: BLACK SKIN WHITE MASK (1996), directed by artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien, as well as the new 4K restoration, by The BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation, with funding provided by the George Lucas Family Foundation, of Terry Gilliam’s first feature as a solo director, JABBERWOCKY (1977). The Festival will also screen the 4K restoration of Toshio Matsumoto’s FUNERAL PARADE OF ROSES (1969), a wild, kaleidoscopic vision of the underground scene in 1960s Japan and a significant influence on Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange and Italian genre-master Dario Argento’s eye-popping slice of technicolour terror, SUSPIRIA (1977) with stunning 4K restoration.
EXPERIMENTA
Experimenta features films and videos by artists who transform our experience of seeing moving images. Highlights include: the World Premiere of Benedict Seymour’s DEAD THE ENDS, a politically urgent retelling of Chris Marker’s La Jetée bookended by the 2011 London riots; ERASE AND FORGET, Andrea Luka Zimmerman’s film is an excavation of the influence of fiction on truth in the American imagination of warfare and gun culture; the World Premiere of LEK AND THE DOGS, Andrew Kötting’s account of the ultimate outsider uses a range of visual styles derived from avant garde and genre cinema, and Kevin Jerome Everson’s TONSLER PARK uses an unobtrusive observational style to divulge the mechanisms behind the operation of Election Day at polling stations in Charlottesville, Virginia.
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RLJE Films to Release BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99 Starring Vince Vaughn

Brawl in Cell Block 99 starring Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Carpenter, Marc Blucas, Udo Kier, and Don Johnson has been acquired by RLJE Films for release in the US. RLJE Films plans to release Brawl in Cell Block 99 in theaters on October 6, 2017. The film will first make its World Premiere at the 2017 Venice International Film Festival and will continue on to screen at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest. In Brawl in Cell Block 99, a former boxer named Bradley (Vince Vaughn) loses his job as an auto mechanic, and his troubled marriage is about to end. At this crossroads in his life, he feels that he has no better option than to work for an old buddy as a drug courier. This improves his situation until the terrible day that he finds himself in a gunfight between a group of police officers and his own ruthless allies. When the smoke clears, Bradley is badly hurt and thrown in prison, where his enemies force him to commit acts of violence that turn the place into a savage battleground. Writer/director S. Craig Zahler is an award-winning screenwriter, director, novelist, cinematographer and musician. Zahler’s newest novel Hug Chickenpenny: The Panegyric of an Anomalous Child is set for publication this fall.
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First Wave of Films Announced for 2017 Fantastic Fest , Opens with THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI

[caption id="attachment_23572" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI[/caption] Fantastic Fest returns for its thirteenth year, kicking off with this year’s opening night film, the US premiere of Martin McDonagh’s THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI, a beautifully comic and delightfully dark tale of loss and redemption. S. Craig Zahler makes his triumphant return with the US premiere of 2018’s most hyper-violent slice of brute force, BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99. Not to be outmuscled, Zahler’s bringing backup in the form of the thunderous trifecta of Vince Vaughn, Don Johnson and Udo Kier. And Barry Keoghan marks his first Fantastic Fest, sharing Yorgos Lanthimos’ savage horror epic THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER for the first time in the US. Embracing cinema spanning from Egypt to Lebanon to Iraq to Afghanistan, the festival turns an eye to celebrate the best of the region. Highlights include Egypt’s rarely seen Rocky Horror Picture Show adaptation ANYAB and the International Premiere of the box office smash AL ASLEYEEN (aka THE ORIGINALS) directed by Marwan Hamed. “It’s truly a joy to be able to showcase a variety of Arabic genre films never before seen in the US to shatter preconceptions.” said Fantastic Fest Creative Director Evrim Ersoy. “Cinema from this region is as exciting, inventive and as wild as anything we’ve ever seen and we’re here to prove it. It’s going to be a wild ride! Yalla, Habibi!” Fantastic Fest’s global reach isn’t relegated exclusively to Arabic nations, as it has once again scoured the corners of the globe to bring the best cinema to Austin, TX. Sweden is well represented with Ruben Ostlund’s brilliantly sardonic THE SQUARE; Japan’s master of malevolence, Takashi Miike, hits a bloody century with his 100th feature, BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL; Scotland flies its flesh-eating flag with John McPhail’s zombie musical, ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE; and Austrian Oscar winner Stefan Ruzowitsky delivers a brutal and relentless ride with COLD HELL. Maine’s finest son, Stephen King, is gorgeously represented with two standouts from Netflix’s burgeoning genre slate. GERALD’S GAME receives its US premiere along with the welcome return of Fantastic Fest alumni Mike Flanagan, who delivers a chilling adaptation of one of King’s most beloved bedside tales starring Carla Gugino and Bruce Greenwood. And Fantastic Fest first-timer Zak Hilditch will be in attendance to share his perfectly precise vision of King’s uber-creepy novella, 1922, for its world premiere. Sticking with the theme of world premieres, this year’s program features a selective set of titles from first-time feature filmmakers whose wildly impressive debuts belie the depth of their filmographies. Spanish short master Yayo Herrero excels with his fantasy horror, MAUS; Bradley Buecker explores wasted youth and packs a visceral punch from the wrong side of the tracks with JUVENILE; and Lukas Feigelfeld shocks with his atmospheric exploration of a medieval hell in HAGAZUSSA – A HEATHEN’S CURSE. Fantastic Fest alumni are well represented this year as DAN DREAM reunites KLOWN’s dynamic duo of Casper Christensen and Frank Hvam for an electric road trip back to the ‘80s; GENERATION B sees WASTE LAND director Pieter Van Hees return with a mad comedy; and RON GOOSSENS: LOW-BUDGET STUNTMAN delivers the warm embrace of directors Steffen Haars and Flip van der Kuil, whose previous NEW KIDS features and BROs BEFORE HOs crushed at previous editions of Fantastic Fest.
2017Fantastic Fest FIRST WAVE FILM
1922 USA, 2017 World Premiere, 101 mins Director – Zak Hilditch 1922 is based on Stephen King’s 131-page story telling of a man’s confession of his wife’s murder. The tale is told from from the perspective of Wilfred James, the story’s unreliable narrator who admits to killing his wife, Arlette, in Nebraska. But after he buries her body, he finds himself terrorized by rats and, as his life begins to unravel, he becomes convinced his wife is haunting him. 78/52 USA, 2017 Regional Premiere, 91 min Director – Alexandre O. Philippe This masterful documentary focuses on a single aspect of Hitchcock’s PSYCHO to demonstrate the master’s technical ability in storytelling. With expert interviews and rollicking analysis, 78/52 sets a new bar in how to examine film overall. ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE Scotland, 2017 World Premiere, 107 min Director – John McPhail Anna’s life is dominated by the typical concerns of her youthful peers until the Christmas season in her small town brings not Santa, but an outbreak of the undead in this genre-mashing holiday horror musical. Yep. Musical. ANYAB Egypt, 1981 Repertory, 100 min Director – Mohammed Shebl ANYAB (FANGS) is an oddity worth rediscovering! An Egyptian take on THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, this eye-popping musical of madness manages to cram horror, science fiction and even social commentary together while charming with its outrageous costumes and action. BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL Japan, 2017 US Premiere, 141 min Director – Takashi Miike Takashi Miike’s 100th journey is an adaptation of the BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL manga. Manji, a samurai who cannot die, crosses paths with Rin Asano, a young girl whose parents were killed. Manji swears to help Rin Asano avenge her parents’ deaths. BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99 USA, 2017 US Premiere, 132 min Director – S. Craig Zahler S. Craig Zahler (BONE TOMAHAWK) returns with his sophomore feature, BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99. An exhilarating exercise in analog violence, CELL BLOCK follows the brutal exploits of a former boxer who finds himself incarcerated after a drug deal goes wrong. Trapped in a maximum security facility, he must fight to stay alive and to protect those he loves. COLD HELL Germany, 2017 US Premiere, 91 min Director – Stefan Ruzowitzsky A young Turkish woman living in Vienna feels increasingly lonely after she witnesses a murder and finds herself next on the killer’s agenda in this smart and gritty thriller from the director of ANATOMY and the Oscar-winning THE COUNTERFEITERS. DAN DREAM Denmark, 2017 US Premiere, 97 min Director – Jesper Rofelt KLOWN duo Casper Christensen and Frank Hvam reunite for a true-life tale of epic failure. Witness the non-arrival of the Danish electric car! THE ENDLESS USA, 2017 Texas Premiere, 111 min Directors – Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead When brothers Justin and Aaron return to the cult that they escaped from ten years ago, they encounter a web of secrets and mysteries that threatens to tear them apart. GENERATION B (GENERATIE B) Belgium, 2017 ep. 1-4 = North American Premiere; ep. 5-6 = World Premiere, 210 min Director – Pieter Van Hees The generation gap has never been wider than it is in Pieter Van Hees’ deliriously absurd satire, pitting old generation money against Millennial apathy — and the occasional naked anarchist — following Belgium’s economic collapse. GERALD’S GAME USA, 2017 US Premiere, 103 mins Director – Mike Flanagan Flanagan unites with master of the macabre Stephen King for his cinematic interpretation of King’s beloved GERALD’S GAME. Starring Carla Gugino and Bruce Greenwood, GERALD’S GAME delivers pitch-perfect performances in a faithful adaptation where the horrors of the mind are much worse than what’s in front of you. HAGAZUSSA – A HEATHEN’S CURSE Germany, 2017 World Premiere, 102 min Director – Lukas Feigelfeld Set in the 15th Century in the Austrian Alps, Lukas Feigelfeld’s HAGAZUSSA takes us back to a dark period in which even the remotest parts of Europe suffered from the paranoia and superstition of the time. JAILBREAK Cambodia, 2017 US Premiere, 92 min Director – Jimmy Henderson Cambodia’s traditional martial art of bokator is unleashed in all its bone crunching fury in this action-packed tale of police trapped in the midst of a raging prison riot. JUVENILE USA, 2017 World Premiere, 87 min Director – Bradley Buecker The emotionally powerful story of Billy, an angry youth who spends his evenings stealing cars with best friend Mikey while attempting to cultivate a stable relationship with his girlfriend Jules. THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER Ireland / United Kingdom, 2017 US Premiere, 120 min Director – Yorgos Lanthimos The life of a brilliant surgeon is thrown into disarray when his friendship with a bizarre teenager threatens the lives of his entire family. Faced with a frightening choice, the man will be forced to assess all that he’s ever done. KING COHEN USA, 2017 US Premiere, 104 min Director – Steve Mitchell Featuring interviews from some of the biggest names in genre cinema including Joe Dante, Robert Forster and Fred Williamson, this documentary tells the story of one of the best and hardest working exploitation filmmakers. MAUS Spain, 2017 World Premiere, 90 min Director – Yayo Herrero Yayo Herrero’s directorial debut is a couple’s nightmare journey into the heart of darkness. A superlative horror parable, this shocking film is an indictment of modern history, war and the difficulties of reconciliation. It is a story for our times. MY FRIEND DAHMER USA, 2017 Texas Premiere, 107 min Director – Marc Meyers This is the story of Jeffrey Dahmer, a high school loner whose life would shape up to be something far more frightening than anyone could have imagined. THE ORIGINALS Egypt, 2017 International Premiere, 125 mins Director – Marwan Hamed Samir works for a bank, provides for his ever-demanding family and dreams of being in an Egyptian talent show. When he’s unexpectedly fired, Samir finds himself recruited to be part of a secret society and finds a darker side to life in Egypt. RON GOOSSENS: LOW-BUDGET STUNTMAN The Netherlands, 2017 US Premiere, 78 min Directors – Steffen Haars & Flip van der Kuil The latest from the comedic team behind the NEW KIDS films and BROs BEFORE HOs. Ron Goossens is totally shitfaced. Only by working as a movie stuntman and bedding the hottest actress in the Netherlands can Ron save his marriage. THE SQUARE Sweden, 2017 US Premiere, 150 min Director – Ruben Östlund An art museum director’s life becomes a comedy of errors when trying to put together his latest exhibit in FORCE MAJEURE director Ruben Ostlund’s latest, which won the Palme D’Or at this year’s Cannes. SUPER DARK TIMES USA, 2017 Regional Premiere, 102 min Director – Kevin Phillips A split-second act of violence forever changes the lives of two ‘90s kids. Now they must cope with both the fallout of that moment and the pressures of high school in this clever and bloody coming-of-age thriller. THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI USA, 2017 US PREMIERE, 110 min Director – Martin McDonagh A grieving mother takes drastic measures in an attempt to catch her daughter’s killer. Challenging the police to solve the case, she posts a series of billboards that threaten the fabric of rural, Missouri. TIGER GIRL Germany, 2017 US Premiere, 90 min Director – Jakob Lass Failing to crack the ranks as a would-be cop, Maggie begrudgingly settles for a security guard job until she encounters Tiger, a fierce young woman whose rebellious antics leave Maggie questioning which side of the law she truly belongs on. TOP KNOT DETECTIVE Australia, 2016 North American Premiere, 87 min Directors – Aaron McCann & Dominic Pearce Aliens! Ninjas! Robots! Enormous egos! Get ready to enter the world of TOP KNOT DETECTIVE! Possibly the greatest cult TV series you’ve never heard of, TOP KNOT DETECTIVE and its creator Takashi Tawagoto come to life in this gonzo documentary.
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Toronto International Film Festival Launches 2017 Midnight Madness Lineup, Opens with Joseph Kahn’s BODIED

[caption id="attachment_23401" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Bodied[/caption] Midnight Madness has just launched its lineup for the 42nd Toronto International Film Festival, and opens with Joseph Kahn’s provocative World Premiere of Bodied. Midnight Madness also presents the World Premiere of The Disaster Artist, directed by James Franco and based on the making of Tommy Wiseau’s 2003 cult film, The Room. Kuplowsky also welcomes back several Festival alumni, including David Bruckner, Ryuhei Kitamura, S. Craig Zahler, Hélène Cattet, and Bruno Forzani. A new film directed by Canadian musician Seth A. Smith of Dog Day will also screen, as well as the Canadian Premiere of the acclaimed short-film Great Choice, which will precede the World Premiere of Brian Taylor’s Mom and Dad, starring Nicholas Cage and Selma Blair. Finally, the section will introduce two new feature filmmakers with Coralie Fargeat’s Revenge and the section’s Closing Night presentation of Sôichi Umezawa’s Vampire Clay. “We can’t wait to unleash Peter on Midnight Madness audiences,” said TIFF Artistic Director Cameron Bailey. “He’s tracked down 10 films that preserve the section’s legendary kick-out-the-jams approach, while still putting his own ruthless stamp on it. Just watch.” “With my inaugural lineup, I’ve sought to assemble an eclectic group of films that expand and explode traditional definitions of genre and shock cinema,” said Peter Kuplowsky, Programmer for Midnight Madness. “Starting with Joseph Kahn’s proverbial mic-drop Bodied, a transgressive and self-critical battle rap satire produced by Eminem, and ricocheting between occult rituals and brutal brawls, the tropes across these 10 Midnights may be familiar, but the execution always innovates, be it in their distillation, fragmentation or subversion. Some will terrify, and others may mystify, but all will electrify audiences well past the witching hour.” Under Kuplowsky’s new direction, Midnight Madness will continue to showcase the classically terrifying, as well as boundary-pushing, stylized and innovative films — wiring up and energizing its loyal late-night fang-club! The 42nd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 7 to 17, 2017. Films screening as part of the Midnight Madness program include: Midnight Madness Opening Film. Bodied Joseph Kahn, USA World Premiere Brawl in Cell Block 99 S. Craig Zahler, USA North American Premiere The Crescent Seth A. Smith, Canada World Premiere The Disaster Artist James Franco, USA World Premiere Downrange Ryuhei Kitamura, USA World Premiere Great Choice Robin Comisar, USA Canadian Premiere Let the Corpses Tan Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani, Belgium/France North American Premiere Mom and Dad Brian Taylor, USA World Premiere Revenge Coralie Fargeat, France World Premiere The Ritual David Bruckner, UK World Premiere Midnight Madness Closing Film. Vampire Clay Sôichi Umezawa, Japan World Premiere
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2017 Venice Film Festival Unveils Official Lineup Featuring George Clooney, Darren Aronofsky and More

[caption id="attachment_23335" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Suburbicon[/caption] The Venice Film Festival today revealed the official lineup of films for the 74th edition of the festival taking place August 30 to September 9, 2017. The in-competition lineup features films Mother! by Darren Aronofsky, Suburbicon by George Clooney, and Downsizing by Alexander Payne.
Venezia 74
International competition of feature films, presented as world premieres AI WEIWEI – HUMAN FLOW Germany, USA, 140’ DARREN ARONOFSKY – MOTHER! USA, 120’ Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Gleeson, Ed Harris GEORGE CLOONEY – SUBURBICON USA, 104’ Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Noah Jupe, Oscar Isaac GUILLERMO DEL TORO – THE SHAPE OF WATER USA, 119’ Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, Octavia Spencer ZIAD DOUEIRI – L’INSULTE France, Lebanon, 110’ Adel Karam, Kamel El Basha, Camille Salameh, Rita Hayek ROBERT GUÉDIGUIAN – LA VILLA France, 107’ Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Gérard Meylan, Jacques Boudet, Anaïs Demoustier, Robinson Stévenin ANDREW HAIGH – LEAN ON PETE United Kingdom, 121’ Charlie Plummer, Steve Buscemi, Chloë Sevigny ABDELLATIF KECHICHE – MEKTOUB, MY LOVE: CANTO UNO France, Italy, 180’ Shain Boumedine, Ophélie Baufle, Salim Kechiouche, Lou Luttiau, Alexia Chardard, Hafsia Herzi KOREEDA HIROKAZU – SANDOME NO SATSUJIN (THE THIRD MURDER) Japan, 124’ Fukuyama Masaharu, Yakusho Koji, Hirose Suzu XAVIER LEGRAND – JUSQU’À LA GARDE France, 90’ Denis Ménochet, Léa Drucker, Thomas Gioria, Mathilde Auneveux, Saadia Bentaïeb MANETTI BROS. – AMMORE E MALAVITA Italia, 133’ Giampaolo Morelli, Serena Rossi, Claudia Gerini, Carlo Buccirosso SAMUEL MAOZ – FOXTROT Israel, Germany, France, Switzerland, 113’ Lior Ashkenazi, Sarah Adler, Yonatan Shiray MARTIN MCDONAGH – THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI United Kingdom, 110’ Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Abbie Cornish, John Hawkes, Peter Dinklage ANDREA PALLAORO – HANNAH Italy, Belgium, France, 95’ Charlotte Rampling, André Wilms ALEXANDER PAYNE – DOWNSIZING USA, 140’ Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau, Kristen Wiig VIVIAN QU – JIA NIAN HUA (ANGELS WEAR WHITE) China, France, 107’ Wen Qi, Zhou Meijun, Shi Ke, Geng Le, Liu Weiwei, Peng Jing SEBASTIANO RISO – UNA FAMIGLIA Italy, 105’ Micaela Ramazzotti, Patrick Bruel PAUL SCHRADER – FIRST REFORMED USA, 108’ Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried, Cedric Kyles WARWICK THORNTON – SWEET COUNTRY Australia, 112’ con Sam Neill, Bryan Brown, Hamilton Morris, Thomas M. Wright PAOLO VIRZÌ – THE LEISURE SEEKER Italia, 112’ Helen Mirren, Donald Sutherland FREDERICK WISEMAN – EX LIBRIS. THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY USA, 197’
Out of Competition
Important works by directors already established in previous editions of the Festival JON ALPERT – CUBA AND THE CAMERAMAN [NON-FICTION] USA, 113’ GIANNI AMELIO – CASA D’ALTRI [SPECIAL EVENTS] Italy, 16’ RITESH BATRA – OUR SOULS AT NIGHT USA, 101’ Jane Fonda, Robert Redford DAVID BATTY – MY GENERATION [NON-FICTION] United Kingdom, 85’ Michael Caine ANTONIETTA DE LILLO – IL SIGNOR ROTPETER Italy, 37’ Marina Confalone ABEL FERRARA – PIAZZA VITTORIO [NON-FICTION] Italy, 82’ STEPHEN FREARS – VICTORIA & ABDUL United Kingdom, 149’ Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Eddie Izzard WILLIAM FRIEDKIN – THE DEVIL AND FATHER AMORTH [NON-FICTION] USA, 68’ RACHID HAMI – LA MÉLODIE France, 102’ Kad Merad, Samir Guesmi, Renély Alfred, Youssouf Gueye TAKESHI KITANO – OUTRAGE CODA Japan, 104’ Beat Takeshi, Nishida Toshiyuki JERRY KRAMER – MAKING OF MICHAEL JACKSON’S THRILLER [SPECIAL EVENTS] USA, 45’ JOHN LANDIS – MICHAEL JACKSON’S THRILLER 3D [SPECIAL EVENTS] USA, 14’ Michael Jackson, Ola Ray FERNANDO LEÓN DE ARANOA – LOVING PABLO Spain, Bulgaria, 123’ Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Peter Sarsgaard LUCRECIA MARTEL – ZAMA Argentina, Brazil, 115’ Daniel Giménez Cacho, Lola Dueñas, Matheus Nachtergaele, Juan Minujín DANIEL MCCABE – THIS IS CONGO [NON-FICTION] Congo, 91’ ERROL MORRIS – WORMWOOD USA, 300’ (TV series, 6 episodes) Peter Sarsgaard, Molly Parker, Christian Camargo, Scott Shepherd, Tim Blake Nelson, Bob Balaban STEPHEN NOMURA SCHIBLE – RYUICHI SAKAMOTO: CODA [NON-FICTION] USA, Japan, 100’ FRANCESCO PATIERNO – DIVA! Italy, 75’ Barbora Bobulova, Anita Caprioli, Carolina Crescentini, Silvia D’Amico, Isabella Ferrari, Carlotta Natoli, Greta Scarano, Anna Foglietta, Michele Riondino MICHAËL R. ROSKAM – LE FIDÈLE Belgium, France, Netherlands, 130’ Matthias Schoenaerts, Adèle Exarchopoulos CHRIS SMITH – JIM & ANDY: THE GREAT BEYOND. THE STORY OF JIM CARREY, ANDY KAUFMAN AND TONY CLIFTON [NON-FICTION] USA, Canada, 90’ SILVIO SOLDINI – IL COLORE NASCOSTO DELLE COSE Italy, Switzerland, 115’ Valeria Golino, Adriano Giannini, Arianna Scommegna, Laura Adriani JAMES TOBACK – THE PRIVATE LIFE OF A MODERN WOMAN USA, 71’ Sienna Miller, Alec Baldwin, Charles Grodin, Colleen Camp, Carl Icahn GIOVANNI TOTARO – HAPPY WINTER [NON-FICTION] Italy, 91’ S. CRAIG ZAHLER – BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99 USA, 132’ Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson, Udo Kier
Venice Virtual Reality
Competitive section of VR films, with a selection of out-of-competition VR films NICOLÁS ALCALÁ – MELITA USA, 24’ (Animation) LAURIE ANDERSON, HUANG HSIN-CHIEN – LA CAMERA INSABBIATA USA, 20’ (Animation) GABO ARORA – THE LAST GOODBYE USA, 20’ LYSANDER ASHTON, LEO WARNER – MY NAME IS PETER STILLMAN United Kingdom, 6’ (Amimation) MATHIAS CHELEBOURG – ALICE, THE VIRTUAL REALITY PLAY France, 20’ Robin Berry, Josh Jefferies EUGENE YK CHUNG – ARDEN’S WAKE EXPANDED USA, 16’ (Animation) NONNY DE LA PEÑA – GREENLAND MELTING USA, 11’ GINA KIM – DONGDUCHEON (BLOODLESS) South Korea, USA, 12’ URI KRANOT, MICHELLE KRANOT – NOTHING HAPPENS Denmark, France, 14’ (Animation) MI LI – SHI MENG LAO REN (THE DREAM COLLECTOR) China, 11’ (Animation) RICHARD MILLS, KIM-LEIGH PONTIN – NEFERTITI United Kingdom, 15’ (Animation) RAFAEL PAVÓN, NICOLÁS ALCALÁ – SNATCH VR HEIST EXPERIENCE USA, 5’ Rupert Grint, Luke Pasqualino, Lucien Laviscount, Phoebe Dynevor
Orizzonti
A competition dedicated to films that represent the latest aesthetic and expressive trends in international cinema ALI ASGARI – NAPADID SHODAN (DISAPPEARANCE) Iran, Qatar, 89′ with Sadaf Asgari, Amir Reza Ranjbaran, Nafiseh Zare, Sahar Sotoodeh GILLES BOURDOS – ESPÈCES MENACÉES France, Belgium, 105’ with Alice Isaaz, Vincent Rottiers, Grégory Gadebois, Suzanne Clément NANCY BUIRSKI – THE RAPE OF RECY TAYLOR Usa, 91′ LUCIEN CASTAING-TAYLOR, VERENA PARAVEL – CANIBA France , 90′ SOFIA DJAMA – LES BIENHEUREUX France, Belgium, 102′ with Sami Bouajila, Nadia Kaci, Amine Lansari, Lyna Khoudri ANNE FONTAINE – MARVIN France , 115′ with Finnegan Oldfield, Isabelle Huppert, Grégory Gadebois, Vincent Macaigne PABLO GIORGELLI – INVISIBLE Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Germany, 87’ with Mora Arenillas, Mara Bestelli, Diego Cremonesi COSIMO GOMEZ – BRUTTI E CATTIVI Italy, France, 87’ with Claudio Santamaria, Marco D’Amore, Sara Serraiocco TZAHI GRAD – HA BEN DOD (THE COUSIN) Israel, 92′ with Ala Dakka, Tzahi Grad, Osnat Fishman AMICHAI GREENBERG – HA EDUT (THE TESTAMENT) Israel, Austria, 91’ with Ori Pfeffer, Rivka Gur, Hagit Dasberg Shamul, Ori Yaniv
Cinema nel Giardino
Films, talks, and visions DARIO ALBERTINI – MANUEL Italy, 97’ Andrea Lattanzi, Giulia Elettra Gorietti, Francesca Antonelli, Raffaella Rea RÄ DI MARTINO – CONTROFIGURA Italy, France, Morocco, Switzerland, 75’ Valeria Golino, Filippo Timi, Corrado Sassi, Nadia Kounda, Younes Bouab KATE MULLEAVY, LAURA MULLEAVY – WOODSHOCK USA, 116’ Kirsten Dunst, Pilou Asbaek, Joe Cole, Stephan Duvall BRUNO OLIVIERO – NATO A CASAL DI PRINCIPE Italy, Spain, 96’ Alessio Lapice, Massimiliano Gallo, Donatella Finocchiaro, Lucia Sardo, Antonio Pennarella MICHELE PLACIDO, ANDREA MOLAIOLI, GIUSEPPE CAPOTONDI – SUBURRA. LA SERIE Italy, 100’ Alessandro Borghi, Giacomo Ferrara, Eduardo Valdarnini, Francesco Acquaroli, Filippo Nigro, Claudia Gerini FRANÇOIS TROUKENS, JEAN-FRANÇOIS HENSGENS – TUEURS Belgium, France, 86’ Olivier Gourmet, Lubna Azabal, Kevin Janssens, Bouli Lanners
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