Crystal Swan (Khrustal)

  • Seattle International Film Festival 2019 to Celebrate Actress Regina Hall + Announces Lineup

    Regina Hall in SUPPORT THE GIRLS.
    Regina Hall in SUPPORT THE GIRLS.

    The Seattle International Film Festival announced today the complete lineup and as part of this year’s celebration of women in comedy, the Festival will celebrate the work of Regina Hall by presenting her with the Seattle International Film Festival Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinema. In addition to the award presentation, the acclaimed actor is slated for an on-stage interview on Sunday, June 2 at 2:00 PM at SIFF Cinema Egyptian. Following Ms. Hall’s tribute, she will introduce Support the Girls, Andrew Bujalski’s film which won her the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress.

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  • 43rd Atlanta Film Festival Announces Feature Length and Short Films Lineup

    SIMPLE WEDDING Directed by Sara Zandieh
    SIMPLE WEDDING Directed by Sara Zandieh

    Over 11 days, the 2019 Atlanta Film Festival (ATLFF) will present 31 feature length films plus forthcoming Marquee screenings, 98 short films and 36 creative media presentations, including an array of music videos, virtual reality and episodic pilots. The 43rd edition of the festival will take place from Thursday, April 4 to Sunday, April 14, 2019.

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  • 2019 Cleveland International Film Festival Announces Feature Film Juried Competitions Lineups

    GREENER GRASS by Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe
    GREENER GRASS by Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe

    More than 40 films will compete in the three feature film juried competitions at the 43rd Cleveland International Film Festival for $30,000 in cash prizes. The competitions include George Gund III Memorial Central and Eastern European Competition; Nesnadny + Schwartz Portrait Documentary Competition and New Direction Competition.

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  • Cuban Dancer Carlos Acosta Biopic YULI to Open 2019 Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival

    Yuli directed by Icíar Bollaín
    Yuli directed by Icíar Bollaín

    Yuli, a dazzling dramatization of the early life and work of legendary Cuban dancer Carlos Acosta will be the Opening Night Film of this year’s 38th Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, which runs April 4 to 20, 2019.

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  • Santa Barbara International Film Festival Unveils 2019 Film Lineup

    Diving Deep:The Life and Times of Mike deGruy
    Diving Deep:The Life and Times of Mike deGruy

    The 34th Edition of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival taking place from January 30 to February 9, 2019, will feature 63 world premieres and 59 U.S. premieres from 48 countries, along with tributes with the year’s top talent, panel discussions, and free community education and outreach programs. The 34th Festival Poster was unveiled, again created by Barbara Boros who has designed the SBIFF poster each year for 16 years, this year highlighting Butterfly Beach.

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  • 25th Slamdance Film Festival Announces Narrative and Documentary Feature Films + New Breakouts Lineup

    [caption id="attachment_32888" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]We Are Thankful We Are Thankful[/caption] The Slamdance Film Festival today announced the Narrative and Documentary Feature Film Competition programs, as well as the lineup for its new Breakouts section, for their 25th edition, taking place January 25-31, 2019 in Park City. The feature competition lineup boasts 18 premieres, including 10 World, 4 North American, and 4 U.S. debuts. In addition to the United States, films come to Slamdance from countries around the globe, including Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, Germany, India, Italy, Kenya, Poland, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. All competition films are feature length directorial debuts with budgets of less than $1 million USD, and without US distribution. Featured films were selected by a team of Slamdance alumni via a blind submission process and are programmed democratically. Films in both categories are also eligible for the Audience Award and Spirit of Slamdance Award, the latter of which is voted upon by filmmakers at the festival. “When it comes to discovering talent, Slamdance has consistently shown that its artist led community can do it themselves,” said Slamdance Co-founder and President, Peter Baxter. “In a milestone year, our competition lineup symbolizes this ongoing endeavor. It’s full of incredible talent representing a global diversity that we believe will play a significant role in our cultural future.” In addition, the 2019 festival will see the return of the Russo Fellowship — a $25,000 prize launched in 2018 by celebrated festival alumni Anthony and Joe Russo (Captain America: Civil War, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Infinity War) to enable a deserving filmmaker the opportunity to continue their journey with mentorship from the filmmaking duo. Presented by AGBO Films in partnership with the festival, the inaugural fellowship was awarded to filmmaker Yassmina Karajah for her narrative short Rupture. Also announced today is the lineup for the festival’s all-new Breakouts section. Breakouts are films by non-first-time-feature directors who demonstrate a determined vision of filmmaking that is instinctively becoming their own. These artists continue to push boundaries in genre and form, and are beacons of light that predict the future of film. Slamdance’s goal is to help daring and resilient filmmakers connect with bigger audiences and take their well-deserved place on the world cinema stage. The 2019 Breakouts feature the work of several Slamdance alumni, including Steven Soderbergh, who executive produced Beats,and Canadian filmmaker Alexandre Franchi who received the Audience Award for best Narrative Feature at the 2010 festival for The Wild Hunt. “Our newly minted Breakouts section celebrates a group of experienced directors, including some Slamdance alumni, who are genuinely intent on taking bigger risks with their storytelling and career paths,” said Paul Rachman, Slamdance co-conspirator and Breakouts programmer. “These are films from around the world that deliver a bold vision from filmmakers with drive and intent to establish their unique cinematic voices.” Established in 1995, Slamdance is dedicated to discovering and supporting new talents in independent filmmaking. In addition to the Russo Brothers, notable Slamdance alumni include: Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk), Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity), Bong Joon Ho (Okja), Lena Dunham (Girls), Ari Aster (Hereditary), Gina Prince-Blythewood (Shots Fired), and Sean Baker (The Florida Project).

    2019 Slamdance Film Festival Narrative and Documentary Feature Film Competition

    NARRATIVE FEATURES

    A Great Lamp (USA) – World Premiere Director: Saad Qureshi Screenwriters: Saad Qureshi, Donald R. Monroe, Max Wilde On the river towns of North Carolina, two sad vandals and an unemployed loner wait for a fabled rocket launch. Cast: Max Wilde, Spencer Bang, Steven Maier, Julian Semilian, Laura Ingram Semilian, Netta Green, Connie Stewart, Smokey, Spaz Boni Bonita (Brazil, Argentina) – North American Premiere Director/Screenwriter: Daniel Barosa Reeling from the death of her mother, Beatriz moves to Brazil where she begins an intense and toxic relationship with Rogério, an older musician struggling with his family’s artistic legacy. Cast: Ailín Salas, Caco Ciocler Cat Sticks (India) – World Premiere Director: Ronny Sen Screenwriters: Ronny Sen, Soumyak Kanti DeBiswas A pack of Calcutta youth seek greater lust and life in their relentless pursuit of Brown Sugar (dirty heroin)… and it’s unsustainable high. Cast: Tanmay Dhanania, Sumeet Thakur, Joyraj Bhattacharjee, Rahul Dutta, Saurabh Saraswat, Sreejita Mitra, Raja Chakravorty, Kalpan Mitra Crystal Swan (Belarus, USA, Germany, Russia) – North American Premiere Director: Darya Zhuk Screenwriter: Helga Landauer In mid-90s Belarus, a young DJ’s big overseas plans get derailed when a typo on her Visa application sends her to a backwater factory town where she is determined to fake her way to the American dream. Cast: Alina Nassibulina, Ivan Mulin, Yury Borisov Dollhouse: The Eradication of Female Subjectivity from American Popular Culture (USA, Canada) – North American Premiere Director/Screenwriter: Nicole Brending A puppet-animation charting the rise and fall of fictional child pop star, Junie Spoons. Cast: Aneikit Bonnel, Sydney Bonar, Nicole Brending, Erik Hoover, Maggie Morrisson, Peter Ooley, Adam Sly Hurry Slowly (Norway) Director/Screenwriter: Anders Emblem Hurry Slowly follows Fiona over a few life-changing summer months on the north-western coast of Norway, where she juggle the care of her brother, her job at the local ferry and her interest in music. Cast: Amalie Ibsen Jensen, David Jakobsen, Lars Halvor Andreassen Impetus (Canada) – US Premiere Director/Screenwriter: Jennifer Alleyn In the process of her ongoing film shoot in New York City, a filmmaker finds herself questioning the origin of impulsion. As she tries to overcome loss through creation, an unexpected event enlightens her journey. Cast: Pascale Bussières, Emmanuel Schwartz, Jorn Reissner, Esfyr Dyachkov Lost Holiday (USA) – World Premiere Directors/Screenwriters:Michael Matthews, Thomas Matthews Two old highschool friends solve a Christmas mystery in D.C. Cast: Kate Lyn Sheil, Thomas Matthews, Keith Poulson, William Jackson Harper, Ismenia Mendes, Tone Tank, Joshua Leonard and Isiah Whitlock Jr. Spiral Farm (USA) – World Premiere Director/Screenwriter: Alec Tibaldi When two outsiders arrive on an isolated intentional community, seventeen-year old Anahita begins to question her role at home, and what a future out in the world-at-large could be. Cast: Piper de Palma, Amanda Plummer, Jade Fusco, Teo Halm, Cosimo Fusco, Landen Beattie, Akuyoe Graham, Kayleigh Gilbert The Vast of Night (USA) – World Premiere Director: Andrew Patterson Screenwriter: James Montague, Craig W. Sanger At the dawn of the space-race in America, two radio-obsessed teens discover a strange frequency over the airwaves that could change their lives, their small town, and all of Earth… forever. Cast: Sierra McCormick, Jake Horowitz, Gail Cronauer, Bruce Davis We Are Thankful (South Africa) – North American Premiere Director/Screenwriter: Joshua Magor When Siyabonga, a young South African actor hungry to expand his craft, gets wind of a movie production that is shooting in a neighboring town, the eager thespian decides to set out a journey that will take him away from his quiet home life and out into a bustling world of possibility. Cast: Siyabonga Majola, Sabelo Khoza, Xolani “X” Malinga, Amanda Ncube, Percy Mncedicy Zulu, Ntokozo Mkhize, Sibusiso “Sbu” Nzama, Luthando “Cminzah” Ngcobo

    DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

    Behind the Bullet (USA) – World Premiere Director/Screenwriter: Heidi Yewman An in-depth look at four individuals who have pulled the trigger and the profound impact it’s had on their lives. The Beksinskis. A Sound and Picture Album (Poland) – US Premiere Director/Screenwriter: Marcin Borchardt A famous Polish painter known for his dark and twisted imagery chronicles his son’s troubled life from the 1950s through the millennium. Desolation Center (USA) – US Premiere Director: Stuart Swezey Screenwriters: Stuart Swezey, Tyler Hubby The untold story of a series of Reagan-era anarchic punk rock desert happenings that still reverberate throughout our culture. Dons of Disco (USA) Director: Jonathan Sutak A lip-syncing scandal pits an American singer against an Italian male model over the legacy of 1980s ‘Italo Disco’ star Den Harrow. Markie in Milwaukee (USA) – World Premiere Director: Matt Kliegman A mid-western transgender woman struggles with the prospect of de-transitioning under the pressures of her fundamentalist church, family and community. Memphis ‘69 (USA) – World Premiere Director: Joe LaMattina, Screenwriters: Joe LaMattina, Lisa LaMattina A year after Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated, a group of blues legends came together to celebrate the 150 year anniversary of Memphis, TN. This concert documentary, shot over 3 days in June of 1969, celebrates an American art form that unites us all. The Professional: A Stevie Blatz Story (USA) – US Premiere Director/Screenwriter: Daniel La Barbera A behind-the-scenes look at the magic of Stevie Blatz, an entertainment entrepreneur in Bethlehem, PA. Seadrift (USA) – World Premiere Director/Screenwriter: Tim Tsai In 1979, the fatal shooting of a white crab fisherman in a Texas fishing village ignites a maelstrom of hostilities against Vietnamese refugees along the Gulf Coast. Sudan: The Last Male Standing (USA, Kenya) – World Premiere Director: David Hambridge Through the conservation efforts of a rhino caretaker unit in Kenya, we peer past the headlines into the emptiness of extinction in real time.

    BREAKOUT FEATURES

    Beats (UK) – North American Premiere Director: Brian Welsh, Screenwriter: Kieran Hurley, Brian Welsh A universal story of friendship, rebellion and the irresistible power of gathered youth – set to a soundtrack as eclectic and electrifying as the scene it gave birth to, BEATS is a story for our time. Cast: Cristian Ortega, Lorn Macdonald, Laura Fraser Demolition Girl (Japan) – World Premiere Director: Genta Matsugami, Screenwriters: Yoshitaka Kasui, Genta Matsugami A high-school girl who lives in a rural town in Japan struggles to define her own way in life. To help her impoverished family she works as a video fetish performer which leads to problems for her and her family with a criminal underworld. Cast: Aya Kitai,Hiroki Ino,Haruka Imo,Yura Komuro,Yota Kawase,Ko Maehara,Ryohei Abe,Nobu Morimoto Happy Face (Canada) – US Premiere Director: Alexandre Franchi, Screenwriter: Alexandre Franchi, Joëlle Bourjolly Desperate to become less shallow, a handsome teenage boy deforms his face with bandages and attends a support group for disfigured people. Cast: Robin L’Houmeau, Debbie Lynch-White, David Roche, E.R. Ruiz, Alison Midstokke, Cindy Nicholsen, Noémie Kocher. History of Love (Slovenia, Italy, Norway) – North American Premiere Director/Screenwriter: Sonja Prosenc A teenage swimmer/high diver Iva, endures a grieving process, as family secrets and mysteries, especially her mother’s, unveil. Cast: Doroteja Nadrah, Kristoffer Joner, Matej Zemljic, Zoja Florjanc Lukan, Matija Vastl, Zita Fusco

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  • FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY, BORDER, BLACK SHEEP Win at 63rd Cork Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_31993" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Float Like a Butterfly Float Like a Butterfly[/caption] Float Like a Butterfly, written and directed by Carmel Winters, which had its European Premiere as the Opening Night Gala film at the 63rd Cork Film Festival, went on to win the The Audience Award at the festival. On winning the award, Carmel Winters said: “Winning the audience prize at the oldest and largest festival in Ireland is the greatest gift I could wish for. So many of us bared heart and soul to make this film. Thank you, thank you, thank you Cork for championing the right of all of us to be our truest and best selves.” The Gradam Spiorad Na Féile / Spirit of The Festival Award went to Ali Abbasi’s Border (Gräns). Based on a short story by John Ajvide Lindqvist, the author of Let the Right One In, Ali Abbasi’s second feature is one of the year’s great discoveries – an extraordinary, highly original work that melds modern Nordic noir with the region’s folklore. Irish short Stigma, directed by Helen Warner, won the prestigious award of Grand Prix Irish Short Award, and now join the longlist for the Academy Awards® in 2020 in the Live Action Short Film category. The Festival’s second Academy Awards® qualifying award, for the Grand Prix International Short Award, was Maria Eriksson’s Schoolyard Blues (Skolstartssorg) a Swedish short film which the judges recognised as being “both uplifting and heart-breaking and prompts us to consider continuity and change, the struggle for survival on the margins and the enduring and potentially restorative power of love”. The Cork Film Festival Short Film Candidate for the 2019 European Film Awards is Black Sheep, directed by Ed Perkins, and produced by Academy Awards® winners Simon Chinn and Jonathan Chinn. This short documentary is about a young man who finds himself the target of extreme racial abuse, and follows his decision to become more like the people who hated him. The award for Documentary Short went to Black Line, directed by Mark Olexa and Francesca Scalisi (Switzerland), and the Best Cork Short Award, proudly presented by Media Partner RedFM, was won by Megan K Fox for her film, The Shift, set in the final disco of the Gaeltacht, and one 15-year-old who is determined to get the shift against all odds. The new award for Best Director: Irish Short, supported by Screen Directors’ Guild Ireland, went to Oonagh Kearney, for her short Five Letters for the Stanger Who Will Dissect My Brain. The film provides an insight into the soul-searching journey of first-year medical student Viv, whose first encounter with a cadaver in the anatomy room sends her on a quest into the nature of what it means to be alive. Other prize winners announced at the Awards ceremony included Hale County This Morning, This Evening, directed by RaMell Ross, which won the Gradam Na Féile Do Scannáin Faisnéise / Award for Cinematic Documentary. The film presents an intimate and heart-breaking depiction of the Southern African American experience and was the recipient of the Special Documentary Jury Prize at Sundance earlier this year too. The Cork Film Festival Youth Jury Award went to Crystal Swan (Khrustal), directed by Darya Zhuk, who attended the Festival to present her debut film, a fascinating study of post-communist youth. Speaking on the 63rd edition of the Cork Film Festival, Cork Film Festival Producer and CEO Fiona Clark stated: “It has been an inspiring 10 days of exceptional cinema in Cork. From the high calibre of award winners, to the strength of the Opening and Closing Gala films, and with over 250 Irish and international features and shorts in between, this year’s Festival has been an unforgettable experience for everyone involved. We welcomed over 170 filmmakers and special guests to Cork this year and 18,000 people joined them for many sold-out screenings. “We look forward to building on this success for 2019 and beyond, and would like to thank all our funders, sponsors, partners, friends, jurors, filmmakers and audience who together make Cork Film Festival possible.”

    63rd Cork Film Festival Award Winners

    Stigma, directed by Helen Warner — Grand Prix Irish Short Award Schoolyard Blues (Skolstartssorg), directed by Maria Eriksson — Grand Prix International Short Award Float Like a Butterfly, written and directed by Carmel Winters — Audience Award Border (Gräns) , directed by Ali Abbasi — Gradam Spiorad na Féile (Spirit of the Festival Award) Black Sheep, directed by Ed Perkins — Cork Film Festival Candidate for the European Film Awards 2019 Black Line, directed by Mark Olexa and Francesca Scalisi — Documentary Short Award The Shift, directed by Megan K Fox — Best Cork Short Award Oonagh Kearney (Five Letters for the Stranger Who Will Dissect My Brain) — Best Director: Irish Short Hale County This Morning, This Evening, directed by RaMell Ross — Gradam na Féile do Scannáin Faisnéise (Award for Cinematic Documentary) Crystal Swan (Khrustal), directed by Darya Zhuk — Cork Film Festival Youth Jury Award

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  • 87 Countries Submit Films in 2018 Oscar Foreign Language Competition

    [caption id="attachment_31248" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]El Angel directed by Luis Ortega El Angel directed by Luis Ortega[/caption] Eighty-seven countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 91st Academy Awards. Malawi and Niger are first-time entrants. 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 by the ABC Television Network. The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide. The 2018 submissions are: Afghanistan, “Rona Azim’s Mother,” Jamshid Mahmoudi, director; Algeria, “Until the End of Time,” Yasmine Chouikh, director; Argentina, “El Ángel,” Luis Ortega, director; Armenia, “Spitak,” Alexander Kott, director; Australia, “Jirga,” Benjamin Gilmour, director; Austria, “The Waldheim Waltz,” Ruth Beckermann, director; Bangladesh, “No Bed of Roses,” Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, director; Belarus, “Crystal Swan,” Darya Zhuk, director; Belgium, “Girl,” Lukas Dhont, director; Bolivia, “The Goalkeeper,” Rodrigo “Gory” Patiño, director; Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Never Leave Me,” Aida Begić, director; Brazil, “The Great Mystical Circus,” Carlos Diegues, director; Bulgaria, “Omnipresent,” Ilian Djevelekov, director; Cambodia, “Graves without a Name,” Rithy Panh, director; Canada, “Family Ties,” Sophie Dupuis, director; Chile, “…And Suddenly the Dawn,” Silvio Caiozzi, director; China, “Hidden Man,” Jiang Wen, director; Colombia, “Birds of Passage,” Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra, directors; Costa Rica, “Medea,” Alexandra Latishev, director; Croatia, “The Eighth Commissioner,” Ivan Salaj, director; Czech Republic, “Winter Flies,” Olmo Omerzu, director; Denmark, “The Guilty,” Gustav Möller, director; Dominican Republic, “Cocote,” Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias, director; Ecuador, “A Son of Man,” Jamaicanoproblem, director; Egypt, “Yomeddine,” A.B. Shawky, director; Estonia, “Take It or Leave It,” Liina Trishkina-Vanhatalo, director; Finland, “Euthanizer,” Teemu Nikki, director; France, “Memoir of War,” Emmanuel Finkiel, director; Georgia, “Namme,” Zaza Khalvashi, director; Germany, “Never Look Away,” Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, director; Greece, “Polyxeni,” Dora Masklavanou, director; Hong Kong, “Operation Red Sea,” Dante Lam, director; Hungary, “Sunset,” László Nemes, director; Iceland, “Woman at War,” Benedikt Erlingsson, director; India, “Village Rockstars,” Rima Das, director; Indonesia, “Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts,” Mouly Surya, director; Iran, “No Date, No Signature,” Vahid Jalilvand, director; Iraq, “The Journey,” Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji, director; Israel, “The Cakemaker,” Ofir Raul Graizer, director; Italy, “Dogman,” Matteo Garrone, director; Japan, “Shoplifters,” Hirokazu Kore-eda, director; Kazakhstan, “Ayka,” Sergey Dvortsevoy, director; Kenya, “Supa Modo,” Likarion Wainaina, director; Kosovo, “The Marriage,” Blerta Zeqiri, director; Latvia, “To Be Continued,” Ivars Seleckis, director; Lebanon, “Capernaum,” Nadine Labaki, director; Lithuania, “Wonderful Losers: A Different World,” Arunas Matelis, director; Luxembourg, “Gutland,” Govinda Van Maele, director; Macedonia, “Secret Ingredient,” Gjorce Stavreski, director; Malawi, “The Road to Sunrise,” Shemu Joyah, director; Mexico, “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón, director; Montenegro, “Iskra,” Gojko Berkuljan, director; Morocco, “Burnout,” Nour-Eddine Lakhmari, director; Nepal, “Panchayat,” Shivam Adhikari, director; Netherlands, “The Resistance Banker,” Joram Lürsen, director; New Zealand, “Yellow Is Forbidden,” Pietra Brettkelly, director; Niger, “The Wedding Ring,” Rahmatou Keïta, director; Norway, “What Will People Say,” Iram Haq, director; Pakistan, “Cake,” Asim Abbasi, director; Palestine, “Ghost Hunting,” Raed Andoni, director; Panama, “Ruben Blades Is Not My Name,” Abner Benaim, director; Paraguay, “The Heiresses,” Marcelo Martinessi, director; Peru, “Eternity,” Oscar Catacora, director; Philippines, “Signal Rock,” Chito S. Roño, director; Poland, “Cold War,” Pawel Pawlikowski, director; Portugal, “Pilgrimage,” João Botelho, director; Romania, “I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians,” Radu Jude, director; Russia, “Sobibor,” Konstantin Khabensky, director; Serbia, “Offenders,” Dejan Zecevic, director; Singapore, “Buffalo Boys,” Mike Wiluan, director; Slovakia, “The Interpreter,” Martin Šulík, director; Slovenia, “Ivan,” Janez Burger, director; South Africa, “Sew the Winter to My Skin,” Jahmil X.T. Qubeka, director; South Korea, “Burning,” Lee Chang-dong, director; Spain, “Champions,” Javier Fesser, director; Sweden, “Border,” Ali Abbasi, director; Switzerland, “Eldorado,” Markus Imhoof, director; Taiwan, “The Great Buddha+,” Hsin-Yao Huang, director; Thailand, “Malila The Farewell Flower,” Anucha Boonyawatana, director; Tunisia, “Beauty and the Dogs,” Kaouther Ben Hania, director; Turkey, “The Wild Pear Tree,” Nuri Bilge Ceylan, director; Ukraine, “Donbass,” Sergei Loznitsa, director; United Kingdom, “I Am Not a Witch,” Rungano Nyoni, director; Uruguay, “Twelve-Year Night,” Álvaro Brechner, director; Venezuela, “The Family,” Gustavo Rondón Córdova, director; Vietnam, “The Tailor,” Buu Loc Tran, Kay Nguyen, directors; Yemen, “10 Days before the Wedding,” Amr Gamal, director.

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  • CRYSTAL SWAN is Belarus Entry in Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | Trailer

    Crystal Swan In a series of first, Darya Zhuk’s debut feature “Crystal Swan” about a young female DJ in Belarus who hope to emigrate to the U.S, which world premieres at the 2018 Karlovy Vary Film Festival has been selected as Belarus’ submission for the Oscars’ foreign-language film category for the 91st Academy Awards reports Variety. This is the first country to publicly announce their selection for the 91st Academy Awards race, and it is the first time Belarus has entered a film in the Oscars competition for 22 years. Crystal Swan
    In post-Soviet Belarus, unemployed raver Velya dreams of emigrating to the U.S. After purchasing blank letterhead and forging proof of employment to win a much-coveted visa, her dream appears within reach… Until Velya realizes the American consulate plans to call the fake phone number on her application to confirm her employment.  Velya’s only solution is to endure a week in a small factory town to convince the authorities of her supposed job. She locates the cramped Soviet apartment on the other end of the line, overrun by a family preparing for the wedding of their son.  The imperious mother refuses to lie for her, but Velya negotiates a solution: she can answer the phone during business hours as if she works at the factory.  But Velya’s presence soon upends both the family’s and the town’s order, with potentially disastrous consequences for all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eav__UGDdQ

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