Havana Motor Club

  • Eye in the Sky Starring Helen Mirren Kicks Off Lineup for Gasparilla International Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_11912" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]Eye in the Sky Eye in the Sky[/caption] The 2016 Gasparilla International Film Festival today unveiled the 10th year Anniversary edition film lineup. Opening the festival is Eye in the Sky directed by Gavin Hood and starring Helen Mirren; and closing night film is Everybody Wants Some directed by Richard Linklater. OPENING NIGHT FILM (NARRATIVE): Eye in the Sky (UK): Complications arise when a lieutenant general and a colonel order a drone missile strike to take out a group of terrorists in Nairobi, Kenya. Cast: Alan Rickman, Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul. Director Gavin Hood scheduled to attend. CLOSING NIGHT FILM (NARRATIVE): Everybody Wants Some (USA): A group of college baseball players navigate their way through the freedoms and responsibilities of unsupervised adulthood. Director & Screenwriter Richard Linklater NARRATIVE FEATURES: Precious Cargo (World Premiere): After a botched heist, Eddie, a murderous crime boss, hunts down the seductive thief Karen, who failed him. In order to win back Eddie’s trust, Karen recruits her ex-lover and premier thief Jack. Starring Bruce Willis, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Claire Forlani. Directed by Max Adams. Ma Ma (SPAIN. USA Premiere): A woman recently diagnosed with cancer forms an unexpected bond with a soccer scout (Luis Tosar) whose wife has been gravely injured in a car accident. Cast: Academy Award winner Penélope Cruz. Directed by Julio Medem. Love and Friendship (FRA/NETHERLANDS. Florida Premiere): In the 18th century, the seductive and manipulative Lady Susan uses devious tactics to win the heart of the eligible Reginald De Courcy. Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Chloe Sevigny. Directed by Chloe Sevigny. The Daughter (AUS. Florida Premiere): In an unnamed, present-day logging town that has seen better times, Henry Neilson, a well-to-do mill owner, announces to his employees that the economy has forced him to close. Cast: Geoffrey Rush, Miranda Otto, Odessa Young and Sam Neill. Directed by Simon Stone. The Debt (USA. Florida Premiere): A hedge fund honcho puts through the deal of a lifetime: the redemption of a billion-dollar debt owed by the Peruvian government to its citizens. The quick buck soon turns into a nightmare. Cast: Stephen Dorff, Alberto Ammann, Carlos Bardem, and David Strathairn. Directed by: Barney Elliott. The Adderall Diaries (USA. Florida Premiere): Thriller based on a “true-crime memoir” book of the same name by Stephen Elliott, based on the Hans Reiser murder case. Cast: James Franco, Ed Harris and Amber Heard. Written and directed by Pamela Romanowsky. One More Time (USA. Florida Premiere): Beautiful aspiring rock star Jude is stuck in a rut—relegated to recording commercial jingles and lost in a series of one night stands. Cast: Amber Heard, Kelli Garner and Christopher Walker. Director Robert Edwards scheduled to attend. A Beautiful Now (USA. Florida Premiere): As a beautiful dancer balances reality and fantasy, she asks her friends to help her figure out the passions and relationships that have shaped her identity. Cast: Abigail Spencer, Cheyenne Jackson, Collette Wolfe. Directed by Daniela Amavia. Puerto Ricans in Paris (USA. Florida Premiere): Two Puerto Rican NYPD detectives head to Paris to track down a stolen handbag. Cast: Luiz Guzman, Rosie Perez, Rosario Dawson. Directed by Ian Edelman. DOCUMENTARIES: Hano! A Century in the Bleachers (Florida Premiere): Meet Arnold Hano, 93, legendary sportswriter and social activist. Baseball fan, war veteran and storyteller emeritus: few have lived and chronicled the American experience as extensively. Director Jon Leonoudakis scheduled to attend. SMART (Florida Premiere): Groundbreaking feature-length documentary about a group of highly trained, adrenaline-fueled professionals who risk life and limb to rescue animals. They’re Los Angeles’ Specialized Mobile Animal Rescue Team! Director Justin Zimmerman scheduled to attend. Hair I Go Again (World Premiere): Facing a mid-life crossroads, two longtime friends risk everything as they set out to fulfill their dreams of achieving rock & roll stardom. Director Steve McClure scheduled to attend. No Greater Love (Florida Premiere): U.S. Army Chaplain Justin Roberts goes on missions with the legendary NO SLACK battalion in Afghanistan in 2010-2011 armed with only a camera. Director Justin Roberts scheduled to attend. CUBAN SIDEBAR: Films focusing on Cuba Craving Cuba (World Premiere): A Cuban-American woman seeks to understand her true identity. Directed by Zuzy Martin Lynch and Rick Lynch. The Forbidden Shore (World Premiere): The amazing diversity of contemporary Cuban music is gorgeously explored in Ron Chapman’s third documentary feature. Chapman captures the full gamut of what’s happening now in Cuba, both the most exciting artists and the distinct musical scenes they move in. Director Ron Chapman scheduled to attend. Havana Motor Club (Florida Premiere): Reforms have offered opportunity in Cuba, but the children of the Revolution are unsure of the best route forward. For a half-dozen drag racers, this means last-minute changes to their beloved American muscle cars as they prepare for the first sanctioned race in Cuba since 1960. Director Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt scheduled to attend. FLORIDA FOCUS: World premiere of independent films made in Florida Waiting on Mary: A struggling actor, traumatized by a brutal divorce, assumes the personality of a colonial character he played at a failed amusement park as a way of retreating from his pain. Directed by Corey Horton. Bear With Us: A modern farce about a guy who attempts to propose to his girlfriend in the most romantic way possible, but his plan falls apart when a ravenous bear stumbles on their charming cabin in the woods. Directed by William J. Stribling. Dooder And the Lighthouse: Dooder Parker is eighty-six and full of life. When the historic lighthouse in his hometown becomes doomed to fall into the Gulf, his recounting of local history evolves into a reflection on his love for his wife. Stories intertwine to paint a portrait of a vanishing way of life. Directed by Clayton and Lisa Long. In addition to feature length films, GIFF will present over 70 short films. Short film blocks include: “LOL”: Comedic short films “Films on a Mission”: Short films focusing on a specific cause “Thrill Ride”: Thriller, action, and horror short films “Love is In the Air”: Romantic short films “ Films in Motion”: Short films related to music “Save the Drama”: Drama short films “Films 101”: College made short films “High School Film Showcase”: GIFF’s high school filmmaking competition Sponsored by Suncoast Credit Union

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  • Cuban Drag Racing Documentary HAVANA MOTOR CLUB by Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt to Get 2016 Release | TRAILER

    Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt’s "Havana Motor Club" Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt’s “Havana Motor Club” which had its world premiere at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival is set to be released in 2016 via Samuel Goldwyn Films. HAVANA MOTOR CLUB tells a personal, character-driven story about Cuba’s vibrant community of underground drag racers and their quest to hold Cuba’s first official car race since shortly after the 1959 Revolution. It tackles how Cuba’s recent reforms — the owning of property, allowance of small businesses, and greater exchange between Cubans, Cuban Americans, tourists, and other foreigners — have affected the lives of these racers and their families. One racer enlists the help of a Cuban American patron in Miami to bring in parts for his modern Porsche. His main competitor is a renowned mechanic who uses ingenuity rather than resources to create a racing machine out of his 1955 Chevy Bel Air. Another racer ponders whether he will participate in the race or sell his motor — one that he recovered on the ocean floor from a ship used to smuggle Cubans off the island — in order to flee Cuba on a raft headed to Florida. Meanwhile, the race itself is in jeopardy of coming to fruition due to factors ranging from its status as an elitist sport to the arrival of the Pope in Cuba. Through the experiences of these racers and their community, HAVANA MOTOR CLUB explores how Cuba is changing today but also what its future holds in light of Obama’s recent move to normalize relations with the island nation. Perlmutt previously co-directed the documentary “Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel,” about the prolific Harpers Bazaar editor. The film was also released by Samuel Goldwyn Films. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUTeldvSM3s

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  • 2015 Jalopnik Film Festival Moves to LA, Opens with WINNING: THE RACING LIFE OF PAUL NEWMAN

    Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman The Jalopnik Film Festival is going on a road trip for 2015, motoring west to Los Angeles for its 3rd Annual edition, set to run the weekend of Friday, September 25th through Saturday, September 26th, complete with Mazda as its new presenting sponsor. The 2015 Jalopnik Film Festival will kick off on Friday at the Santa Monica Airport’s Barker Hangar with a gala screening of Adam Carolla’s new documentary Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman, followed by a Q&A with Carolla and an after-party. Prior to the screening there will be an exclusive Ride & Drive Experience with the all-new 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata. https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1&v=4Szj0gCkFuk Saturday will feature a full day of screenings at The Ace Hotel in Downtown L.A., with a mix of new documentaries and narrative films including Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt’s Havana Motor Club, which celebrates Cuba’s racing culture, a screening of Steve McQueen: The Man and Le Mans, a doc chronicling actor Steve McQueen’s passion for racing, directed by Gabriel Clarke and John McKenna, and a screening of Daniel Junge’s Being Evel , a documentary about legendary daredevil Evel Knievel, featuring appearances by Johnny Knoxville, Tony Hawk, George Hamilton, and the late Frank Gifford. In addition to the new movies, the festival also will offer film buffs rare big-screen showings of two epic car-chase fan favorites, George Miller’s original Mad Max and John Frankenheimer’s Ronin. Other films include Luke Huxham’s In Loving Memory, a look at the famous (and deadly) Isle of Man TT motorcycle race, and a sneak preview of The Smoking Tire’s All Cars Go to Heaven: Volume Two. The festival also will include a reader-submitted short film competition, judged by Carolla, L.A. Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson, filmmaker Jeff Zwart, and TV personality Spike Feresten. Discussing this year’s fest and the move to LA, Jalopnik Editor-in-Chief Matt Hardigree said, “Jalopnik believes that cars matter, so it’s great to have a partner like Mazda who believes that driving matters. It’s also a dream to bring the festival to Los Angeles, where car culture meets film culture and the weather is always great.” “We’re excited to be working with Matt Hardigree and the great people at Jalopnik, said Mazda’s Russell Wager, vice president, Marketing, Mazda North American Operations. “Los Angeles is the perfect combination of cars and cinema, and we’re looking forward to showcasing the new Mazda MX-5for their audiences.” Friday’s Ride & Drive experience will feature an exclusive opportunity to get behind the wheel of the 2016 Mazda MX-5 with Jalopnik editors, pro drivers — and a surprise guest. The Ride & Drive experience requires reservations and will take place from 4–7p.m. via press release

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