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The Florida Project[/caption]
The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF), celebrating its 14th edition this year, kicks off today Sunday, December 10th with Sean Baker’s drama “
The Florida Project” starring Willem Dafoe. BIFF 2017 will run through Sunday, December 17th.
For the sixth consecutive year, BIFF will be headed to Harbour Island on December 10-13 and concluding in Nassau from December 14-17, showcasing more than 82 films from 28 different countries including twelve world premiere, 4 international premieres, 57 Caribbean premieres, and all are Bahamian premieres.
The four competition categories at BIFF are Spirit of Freedom: Narrative; Spirit of Freedom: Documentary; New Visions; and Short Film. Additional categories out of competition are World Cinema; Special Screenings; Environmental and Oceans Spotlight and non-Jury Short Films.
2017 Bahamas International Film Festival Lineup:
SPIRIT OF FREEDOM (NARRATIVE)
ALINA / Director: Ben Behernholtz
AT EYE LEVEL / Directors: Evi Goldbrunner & Joachim Dollhopf
LANE 1974 / Director: Chiro
LIYANA / Directors: Aaron Kopp & Amanda Kopp
THE DRAWER BOY /
Director: Arturo Perez Torres
THE HUDSON TRIBES / Director:
John Marco Lopez
TINKER /Director: Sonny Marler
SPIRIT OF FREEDOM (DOCUMENTARY)
BY ALL MEANS: A ROCK ‘N ROLL STORY / Director: Patrick Hewlett
DELICATE BALANCE / Director: Guillermo Garcia Lopez
I AM SHAKESPEARE / Director: Stephen Dest
MY ENEMY, MY BROTHER / Director: Ann Shin
SACRED WATER / Director: Olivier Jourdain
SHINGALI, WHERE ARE YOU? / Director: Angelos Rallis
THE GOLDEN AGE / Director: Justin Connor
NEW VISIONS – JURY FILMS
7X7 / Director: Liam Hughes
ALASKA IS A DRAG / Director: Shaz Bennett
BEAUTY MARK / Director: Harris Doran
BLANK 13 / Director: Takumi Saito
DIM THE FLORESCENTS / Director: Daniel Warth
DR. BRINKS & DR. BRINKS / Director: Josh Crockett
GREEN DAYS BY THE RIVER / Director: Michael Mooleedhar
INTERLUDE / Director: Bernard Tanguy
JUGGERNAUT / Director: Daniel DiMarco
MILLION LOVES IN ME / Director: Sampson Yuen
NOBLE EARTH / Director: Ursula Grisham
THE DEFINITES / Directors: Hannah Cheesman & Mackenzie Donaldson
THE DUNNING MAN / Director: Michael Clayton
THE LINES / Director: Kiku Ohe
TISAY / Director: Alfonso Torre
TOURNAMENTS OF LOVE / Director: Caroline Jules
OCEAN & ENVIRONMENT THEME
AN OCEAN MYSTERY THE MISSING CATCH (USA, Bahamas) / Director: Alison Barrat
CUT BAIT (USA, Bahamas) / Director: Robert Walkine
EARTHY ENCOUNTERS (UK) / Director: Sam Johnson
LA PESCA (Columbia) / Director: Pablo Alvarez
LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLE (USA) / Director: Cynthia Neal
STRAWS (USA) / Director: Linda Booker
VIRE (Guadeloupe) / Director: Hugo Rousselin
SHORT FILM Narrative Short Jury Films
ANOTHER GIRL (USA) / Director: Austin Kase
ASLEEP (Canada) / Director: Mak Abdelhai
BAD NEWS (Italy) / Director: Matteo Petrelli
CASSANDRA (France) / Director: Joffrey Renambatz
CATFISH (Iran) / Director: Sourena Bayramloo
COMFORT AND JOY (UK) / Directors: Will Jeffs & AJ Simmons
COWBOY & INDIAN (USA) / Director: Sujata Day
DEVILS LUCK (USA) / Director: Robert C. Eaton
EARTHY ENCOUNTERS (UK) / Director: Sam Johnson
EAST (USA) / Director: Dana Marisa S Choenfeld
FOREVER NOW (Denmark) / Director: Kristin Håskjold
JC (USA) / Director: Matt Boatright-Simon
LACRIMOSA (Austria) / Director: Tanja Mairitsch
LAWMAN (USA) / Director: Matthew Gentile
LEO JOHNSON (USA) / Director: Evan Bluestein
LIFE IN OTHER WORDS (Bangladesh) / Director: Abrar Athar
LIMBO (Greece) / Director: Konstantina Kotzamani
MACKENZIE (USA) / Director: Sofia Astrom
OUTSIDE THE LINES (USA) / Director: Joshua Jacobs
OWEN (USA) / Director: Kelly Pike
PRIA (Indonesia) / Director: Yudho Aditya
RETOUCH (Iran) / Director: Kaveh Mazaheri
ROSARIO (Mexico) / Director: Marlen Ríos-Farjat
ROSELYN (Bahamas) / Director: Jason Evans
SHORT DROP (Trinidad and Tobago) / Director: Maya Cozier
SILENT NIGHTS (Denmark) / Director: Aske Bang
THE ADVENTURES OF SELIKA (UK) / Director: Sybil Mair
THE ASPEN PROJECT (USA) / Director: Chino Maurice
THE DARKNESS OF THE MOOR (USA) / Director: James Everett
THE GIRLS WERE DOING NOTHING (UK) / Director: Dekel Berenson
THE LIFE OF MARIE (Germany) / Director: Rolf Kasteleiner
THE REAL THING (USA) / Director: Brandon Kelley
TOFFEE (India) / Director: Tahira Kashyap
WHAT REMAINS OF YOU (France) / Director: Kevin Dresse
YOURS SINCERELY, LOIS WEBER (USA) / Director: Svetlana Cvetko
OUT OF COMPETITION
LOGGERHEAD SEAT TURTLE (USA) / Director: Cynthia Neal
STRAWS (USA) / Director: Linda Booker
VIRE (Guadeloupe) / Director: Hugo Rousselin
LA PESCA (Columbia) / Director: Pablo Alvarez
CUT BAIT (USA, Bahamas) / Director: Robert Walkine
GUAVA DUFF (Bahamas) / Director: Anaya and Santia Dean
WORLD CINEMA (DOCUMENTARY)
BAREFOOT RASTA (Germany, Ethiopia, Canada)) / Director: Andy Siege
BETWEEN 2 SHORES (Guadeloupe) / Director: Mariette Monpierre
I DO? (USA) / Director: Joe Brandmeier
REBELS ON POINTE (Canada) / Director: Bobbi Jo Hart
SUSANNE BARTSCH: ON TOP (USA) / Directors: Anthony Caronna & Alexander Smith
SPECIAL SCREENING
SLIM AARONS: THE HIGH LIFE (USA) / Director: Fritz Mitchell
STUDENT FILM WORKSHOP (Bahamas) / Five Films by Students
JUNOD (Japan) / Director: Shinichiro KIMURA
JOHN “CHIPPIE” CHIPMAN (Bahamas) / Director: Thriston & Verline Ewing
OPENING NIGHT FILM
THE FLORIDA PROJECT (USA) / Director: Sean Baker
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ON THE ROOF[/caption]
The 20th annual Cine Las Americas International Film Festival (CLAIFF20) concluded with announcements of the winners, followed by the closing night film Sueño en Otro Idioma / I Dream in Another Language (Mexico/Netherlands), directed by Ernesto Contreras and with actor Eligio Meléndez in attendance.
“The closing night ceremonies are always a special time for us to come together to honor the winners and celebrate the festival as a whole. This year was no exception, as it marked the twentieth festival wrap for Cine Las Americas. The films in competitive categories are a sample of an extensive program, through which we aim to showcase the diversity and excellence of contemporary Ibero-American and American Indigenous films and videos. We hope that audience members have enjoyed this year’s festival experience, from the film screenings, to discussions with invited guests and filmmakers, to the special programs, all of which are representative of the voices of amazing talent emanating from all over the Americas and beyond” stated Lauer.
The festival showcased contemporary films from the US, Canada, Latin America, and the Iberian Peninsula. The selection was comprised of 172 films and videos representing 28 countries in production or co-production of the titles. All films were presented in English and/or subtitled. The festival granted jury and audience awards in nine categories, including the annual Hecho en Tejas competition, and the Emergencia Youth Film competition. Please join us in congratulating the following winners.