Her Love Boils Bathwater

  • “Ice Mother” and “Science Fair” Win Top Audience Awards at 41st Portland International Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_27542" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Ice Mother (Czech Republic) directed by Bohdan Sláma Ice Mother[/caption] Ice Mother (Czech Republic) directed by Bohdan Sláma and Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster’s Science Fair (United States) snagged the top audience accolades at the 41st Portland International Film Festival. Ice Mother won the award for Best Narrative Feature and Science Fair took the Best Documentary Feature award. Director Ryôta Nakano is the winner of this year’s Best New Director award for his debut feature, Her Love Boils Bathwater (Japan). Tehran Taboo (Austria/Germany) director Ali Soozandeh takes home the Audience Award for Best Animated Feature. This year’s Best International Short Film Award goes to director Britt Raes for her film Catherine (Belgium). Portland-based director Dawn Jones Redstone’s film We Have Our Ways is the recipient of the Best Oregon Short Film Award.

    Best Narrative Feature

    1. Ice Mother / Czech Republic/France/Slovakia / dir. Bohdan Sláma *winner Best Narrative Feature 2. A Taxi Driver / South Korea / dir. Hun Jang 3. Foxtrot / Israel/Switzerland/Germany/France / dir. Samuel Maoz

    Best Documentary Feature

    1. Science Fair / United States / dir. Cristina Costantini, Darren Foster *winner Best Documentary Feature 2. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? / United States / dir. Morgan Neville 3. Soufra / Lebanon/United States/Singapore / dir. Thomas A. Morgan

    Best New Director

    1. Her Love Boils Bathwater / Japan / dir. Ryôta Nakano *winner Best New Director 2. Bad Genius / Thailand / dir. Nattawut Poonpiriya 3. The Rider / United States / dir. Chloé Zhao

    Best Animated Feature

    1. Tehran Taboo / Austria/Germany / dir. Ali Soozandeh *winner Best Animated Feature 2. The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales / France / dir. Benjamin Renner, Patrick Imbert 3. Big Fish & Begonia / China / dir. Xuan Liang, Chun Zhan

    Best International Short Film

    1. Catherine / Belgium / dir. Britt Raes *winner Best International Short Film 2. World of Tomorrow Episode Two / United States / dir. Don Hertzfeldt 3. Edith & Eddie / United States / dir. Laura Checkoway

    Best Oregon Short Film

    1. We Have Our Ways / Portland, OR / dir. Dawn Jones Redstone *winner Best Oregon Short Film 2. Lovely Legs / Portland, OR / dir. Abby Thompson 3. Two Balloons / Portland, OR / dir. Mark Smith

    Best of Masters sidebar

    On Body and Soul / Hungary / dir. Ildikó Enyedi

    Best of PIFF After Dark sidebar

    Bodied / United States / dir. Joseph Kahn

    Best of Ways of Seeing sidebar

    The Nothing Factory / Portugal / dir. Pedro Pinho

    Best of Films for Families sidebar

    Science Fair / United States / dir. Cristina Costantini, Darren Foster

    Best of Global Panorama sidebar

    A Taxi Driver / South Korea / dir. Hun Jang

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  • #PIFF41 2018 Portland International Film Festival Announces Lineup

    41st Portland International Film Festival The Portland International Film Festival (PIFF 41) has revealed the lineup for this year’s 41st edition of the Festival, which begins on Thursday, February 15th and runs through Thursday, March 1st. The Opening Night selection is the new comedy The Death of Stalin from writer/director Armando Iannucci (Veep, In the Loop). The film, adapted from the graphic novel by Fabien Nury, stars Steve Buscemi, Olga Kurylenko, Jason Isaacs, and Michael Palin. In addition to the Opening Night film, the Festival will host the Portland premiere of a handful of Oscar-nominated films, including Ildikó Enyedi’s On Body and Soul (Hungary), nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award, Laura Checkoway’s Edith & Eddie (United States), which is in competition for the Best Documentary (Short Subject) Oscar, and Reed Van Dyk’s Dekalb Elementary (United States), nominated for the Best Short Film (Live Action) Academy Award. Also present in the lineup are multiple Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award submissions, including Tatiana Huezo’s Tempestad (Mexico), Jonas Carpignano’s A Ciambra (Italy), Deepak Rauniyar’s White Sun (Nepal), Ryôta Nakano’s Her Love Boils Bathwater (Japan), Lucrecia Martel’s Zama (Argentina), Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson’s Under the Tree (Iceland), and many others. Submissions for the Best Animated Feature Film Academy Award in the festival include Kenji Kamayama’s Napping Princess (Japan), Alberto Vázquez and Pedro Rivero’s Birdboy: The Forgotten Children (Spain), and Benjamin Renner and Patrick Imbert’s The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales (France). As in past years, the Festival features an abundance of short films. This year’s lineup boasts eight discrete short film programs, including two blocks devoted entirely to films made in Oregon, an animated shorts program, a collection exploring innovative experimental short form works, and a program of short films by Charlie Chaplin featuring live musical accompaniment by silent film composer and pianist Robert Israel. Israel has performed solo, and with orchestras, worldwide, in addition to past performances at the festival. Other highlights of PIFF 41 include screenings of Andrew Haigh’s (45 Years) Lean on Pete, Morgan Neville’s (20 Feet from Stardom) Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Valeska Grisebach’s (Longing) Western, Portland-based director Sky Fitzgerald’s (50 Feet from Syria) 101 Seconds, the late Abbas Kiarostami’s (A Taste of Cherry) final film 24 Frames, Thomas Riedelsheimer’s (Rivers and Tides) Leaning Into the Wind: Andy Goldsworthy, Joseph Kahn’s (Detention) Bodied, Xuan Liang and Chun Zhan’s animated debut Big Fish & Begonia, Sergei Loznitsa’s (My Joy) A Gentle Creature, former Portlander Aaron Katz’ (Cold Weather) Gemini, a trio of features (Claire’s Camera, The Day After, and On the Beach At Night Alone) from South Korean director Hong Sang-Soo (The Day He Arrives), Christina Costantini and Darren Foster’s documentary debut Science Fair, Michael Matthew’s debut feature Five Fingers for Marseilles, Joshua Bonnetta and J.P. Sniadecki’s (People’s Park) El Mar La Mar, Rungaro Nyoni’s debut feature I Am Not a Witch, Ben Russell’s (A Spell to Ward Off the Darkness) Good Luck, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s (Spring) The Endless, Neïl Beloufa’s (Tonight and the People) Occidental, Samuel Maoz’ (Lebanon) Foxtrot, Warwick Thornton’s (Samson & Delilah) Sweet Country, Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani’s (Amer) Let the Corpses Tan, Milad Alami’s (Nordic Factory) The Charmer, Cory Finley’s feature debut Thoroughbreds, and many others.

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  • 92 countries in Competition for Foreign Language Film Oscar at the 90th Academy Awards

    [caption id="attachment_19636" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Pop Aye – Kirsten Tan Pop Aye – Kirsten Tan[/caption] A record 92 countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 90th Academy Awards.  Haiti, Honduras, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mozambique, Senegal and Syria are first-time entrants. The 2017 submissions are: Afghanistan, “A Letter to the President,” Roya Sadat, director; Albania, “Daybreak,” Gentian Koçi, director; Algeria, “Road to Istanbul,” Rachid Bouchareb, director; Argentina, “Zama,” Lucrecia Martel, director; Armenia, “Yeva,” Anahit Abad, director; Australia, “The Space Between,” Ruth Borgobello, director; Austria, “Happy End,” Michael Haneke, director; Azerbaijan, “Pomegranate Orchard,” Ilgar Najaf, director; Bangladesh, “The Cage,” Akram Khan, director; Belgium, “Racer and the Jailbird,” Michaël R. Roskam, director; Bolivia, “Dark Skull,” Kiro Russo, director; Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Men Don’t Cry,” Alen Drljević, director; Brazil, “Bingo – The King of the Mornings,” Daniel Rezende, director; Bulgaria, “Glory,” Petar Valchanov, Kristina Grozeva, directors; Cambodia, “First They Killed My Father,” Angelina Jolie, director; Canada, “Hochelaga, Land of Souls,” François Girard, director; Chile, “A Fantastic Woman,” Sebastián Lelio, director; China, “Wolf Warrior 2,” Wu Jing, director; Colombia, “Guilty Men,” Iván D. Gaona, director; Costa Rica, “The Sound of Things,” Ariel Escalante, director; Croatia, “Quit Staring at My Plate,” Hana Jušić, director; Czech Republic, “Ice Mother,” Bohdan Sláma, director; Denmark, “You Disappear,” Peter Schønau Fog, director; Dominican Republic, “Woodpeckers,” Jose Maria Cabral, director; Ecuador, “Alba,” Ana Cristina Barragán, director; Egypt, “Sheikh Jackson,” Amr Salama, director; Estonia, “November,” Rainer Sarnet, director; Finland, “Tom of Finland,” Dome Karukoski, director; France, “BPM (Beats Per Minute),” Robin Campillo, director; Georgia, “Scary Mother,” Ana Urushadze, director; Germany, “In the Fade,” Fatih Akin, director; Greece, “Amerika Square,” Yannis Sakaridis, director; Haiti, “Ayiti Mon Amour,” Guetty Felin, director; Honduras, “Morazán,” Hispano Durón, director; Hong Kong, “Mad World,” Wong Chun, director; Hungary, “On Body and Soul,” Ildikó Enyedi, director; Iceland, “Under the Tree,” Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, director; India, “Newton,” Amit V Masurkar, director; Indonesia, “Turah,” Wicaksono Wisnu Legowo, director; Iran, “Breath,” Narges Abyar, director; Iraq, “Reseba – The Dark Wind,” Hussein Hassan, director; Ireland, “Song of Granite,” Pat Collins, director; Israel, “Foxtrot,” Samuel Maoz, director; Italy, “A Ciambra,” Jonas Carpignano, director; Japan, “Her Love Boils Bathwater,” Ryota Nakano, director; Kazakhstan, “The Road to Mother,” Akhan Satayev, director; Kenya, “Kati Kati,” Mbithi Masya, director; Kosovo, “Unwanted,” Edon Rizvanolli, director; Kyrgyzstan, “Centaur,” Aktan Arym Kubat, director; Lao People’s Democratic Republic, “Dearest Sister,” Mattie Do, director; Latvia, “The Chronicles of Melanie,” Viestur Kairish, director; Lebanon, “The Insult,” Ziad Doueiri, director; Lithuania, “Frost,” Sharunas Bartas, director; Luxembourg, “Barrage,” Laura Schroeder, director; Mexico, “Tempestad,” Tatiana Huezo, director; Mongolia, “The Children of Genghis,” Zolbayar Dorj, director; Morocco, “Razzia,” Nabil Ayouch, director; Mozambique, “The Train of Salt and Sugar,” Licinio Azevedo, director; Nepal, “White Sun,” Deepak Rauniyar, director; Netherlands, “Layla M.,” Mijke de Jong, director; New Zealand, “One Thousand Ropes,” Tusi Tamasese, director; Norway, “Thelma,” Joachim Trier, director; Pakistan, “Saawan,” Farhan Alam, director; Palestine, “Wajib,” Annemarie Jacir, director; Panama, “Beyond Brotherhood,” Arianne Benedetti, director; Paraguay, “Los Buscadores,” Juan Carlos Maneglia, Tana Schembori, directors; Peru, “Rosa Chumbe,” Jonatan Relayze, director; Philippines, “Birdshot,” Mikhail Red, director; Poland, “Spoor,” Agnieszka Holland, Kasia Adamik, directors; Portugal, “Saint George,” Marco Martins, director; Romania, “Fixeur,” Adrian Sitaru, director; Russia, “Loveless,” Andrey Zvyagintsev, director; Senegal, “Félicité,” Alain Gomis, director; Serbia, “Requiem for Mrs. J.,” Bojan Vuletic, director; Singapore, “Pop Aye,” Kirsten Tan, director; Slovakia, “The Line,” Peter Bebjak, director; Slovenia, “The Miner,” Hanna A. W. Slak, director; South Africa, “The Wound,” John Trengove, director; South Korea, “A Taxi Driver,” Jang Hoon, director; Spain, “Summer 1993,” Carla Simón, director; Sweden, “The Square,” Ruben Östlund, director; Switzerland, “The Divine Order,” Petra Volpe, director; Syria, “Little Gandhi,” Sam Kadi, director; Taiwan, “Small Talk,” Hui-Chen Huang, director; Thailand, “By the Time It Gets Dark,” Anocha Suwichakornpong, director; Tunisia, “The Last of Us,” Ala Eddine Slim, director; Turkey, “Ayla: The Daughter of War,” Can Ulkay, director; Ukraine, “Black Level,” Valentyn Vasyanovych, director; United Kingdom, “My Pure Land,” Sarmad Masud, director; Uruguay, “Another Story of the World,” Guillermo Casanova, director; Venezuela, “El Inca,” Ignacio Castillo Cottin, director; Vietnam, “Father and Son,” Luong Dinh Dung, director. 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 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

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  • HER LOVE BOILS BATHWATER is Japan’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER

    Her Love Boils Bathwater (湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛 / Yu o Wakasu Hodo no Atsui Ai) Ryota Nakano’s Her Love Boils Bathwater (湯を沸かすほどの熱い愛 / Yu o Wakasu Hodo no Atsui Ai) has been selected by Japan as the country’s submission in the foreign-language category at the 2018 Oscars. The film stars Rie Miyazawa, Hana Sugisaki, Yukiko Shinohara, Taro Suruga, Aoi Ito, Tori Matsuzaka, Joe Odagiri InHer Love Boils Bathwater,  Futaba is a loving but strict single mother whose world is shaken when she discovers she has terminal cancer and has only a few months to live. Newly determined, she decides to use the brief amount of time she has left to bring back her husband, reopen their shut-down bathhouse, and set her teenage daughter on the path to independence. As she attempts to reconcile her splintered family before it is too late, long-repressed revelations rise to the surface. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQYrbqO0d48

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