The 2016 San Francisco International Film Festival, taking place April 21 to May 5, announced the films in competition for the Golden Gate Awards (GGA).
Home Care
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Santa Barbara International Film Festival Lineup, Fest to Open With US Premiere of THE LITTLE PRINCE
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“The Assassin” “Death By Death” “The Birth of Saké” Among Winners of Palm Springs International Film Festival
The 27th Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) held from January 1 to 11, 2016, announced this year’s juried award winners. The Oscar shortlisted The Assassin (Taiwan), directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien won the FIPRESCI Prize for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year. In 9th-century China, during a time of political unrest, a beautiful woman, trained in the arts of swordsmanship, is sent to her home province on a lethal mission. The jury presented the award, “As one of the best films of a master director, and an example of the martial arts genre which is elevated into the realm of art by its superb visual style.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bqNyl72eBw
FIPRESCI Prize for the Best Actor of the Year in a Foreign Language Film went to Sigurður Sigurjónsson and Theodór Júlíusson from Rams (Iceland), directed by Grimur Hakonarson, and the FIPRESCI Prize for Best Actress of the Year in a Foreign Language Film went to Alena Mihulová from Home Care (Czech Republic), directed by Slávek Horák.
The New Voices/New Visions competition included 12 new international talents making their feature film debut at the Festival, with the additional criteria that the films selected are currently without U.S. distribution and are US premieres. The winner of the New Voices/New Visions award is Death By Death (Belgium/France), directed by Xavier Seron. The film is a tale about the relationship of anxious, part-time actor Michel and his ailing, overly attached mother, who has been told that she is living on borrowed time, but has no intention of dying. A special jury mention goes to Thithi (India/US).
The Birth of Saké (Japan), directed by Erik Shirai, received The John Schlesinger Award, which is presented to a first-time documentary filmmaker. The film is about a beautiful and immersive portrait of life at the 144-year old Yoshida Brewery, a producer of world class sake. With changing times ahead and new regime led by the 6th generation heir, this is a rarified look at the personal and professional intensity needed to create a revered product and the artisans behind it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOcLBK5Oay4
The HP Bridging the Borders Award is presented by Cinema Without Borders and Hewlett Packard, which honors the film that is most successful in exemplifying art that promotes bringing the people of our world closer together. Umrika (India), directed by Prashant Nair, received the award. The film traces the journey from mountain village innocence to big city experience of young Rama, who follows in his older brother’s footsteps to discover if he made it to the USA, or came to a sticky end in Mumbai.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFP3XkhfCeI
The complete list of award winners are:
FIPRESCI Prize for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
The Assassin (Taiwan), directed by Hou Hsiao-hsien
FIPRESCI Prize for the Best Actor of the Year in a Foreign Language Film
Sigurður Sigurjónsson and Theodór Júlíusson from Rams (Iceland)
FIPRESCI Prize for Best Actress of the Year in a Foreign Language Film
Alena Mihulová from Home Care (Czech Republic)
New Voices/New Visions Award
Winner: Death By Death (Belgium/France), directed by Xavier Seron
Special Mention: Thithi (India/US), directed by Raam Reddy
The John Schlesinger Award
The Birth of Saké (Japan), directed by Erik Shirai
HP Bridging the Borders Award
Umrika (India), directed by Prashant Nair
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Palm Springs International Film Festival Announces Complete Line-up of Premieres, New Voices/New Visions Competition and Modern Masters
The 27th Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) running from January 1-11, 2016 in Palm Springs, California, announced its line-up of Premieres, New Voices/New Visions competition and Modern Masters.
“I am thrilled at the breadth and depth of this year’s program,” said Festival Artistic Director Helen du Toit. “While Modern Masters showcases such widely acclaimed filmmakers as as Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Barbara Kopple and Terence Davies, our New Voices/New Visions program is evidence that new masters are emerging around the world. The range of approaches is extraordinary. Highlights include Raam Reddy’s Thithi (India), which skillfully juggles myriad characters in a delightful low key comedy; Yorgos Zois’ Interruption (Greece), which challenges the audience with a complex and highly compelling narrative; and Maris Curran’s Five Nights in Maine (USA), featuring David Oyelowo’s nuanced and heartbreaking performance as a widower reconnecting with his estranged mother-in-law.”
Showcasing the diversity of international cinema, Festival premieres will include:
World premieres: 50 Days in the Desert (Luxembourg) directed by Fabrizio Maltese, Agnes (Germany/Belgium), the documentary Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age (US) featuring Alec Baldwin, Carol Channing, Dick Van Dyke, Jane Fonda and Robert Redford, The Carer (Hungary/UK), Going Going Gone (UK), Searchdog (US) and Set the Thames on Fire (UK).
North American premieres: Banat (Italy/Romania/Bulgaria/Macedonia), Death By Death (Belgium/France), A Decent Man (Switzerland), Departure (France/UK), Fly Away Solo (India/France), Interruption (Greece/Croatia), A Korean in Paris (South Korea/France), The Memory of Water (Chile/Spain/Argentina/Germany), Moor (Pakistan), On My Mother’s Side (Canada), Paradise Trips (Belgium/Croatia), Rosita (Denmark), Spy Time (Spain), Tanna (Australia/Vanuatu), Thithi (India/US/Canada), Utopians (Hong Kong) and When a Tree Falls (Spain).
U.S. premieres: 1944 (Estonia/Finland), 3000 Nights (Palestine/France/Jordan/Lebanon), Atomic Falafel (Israel/Germany/New Zealand), Belgian Rhapsody (Belgium), Beyond My Grandfather Allende (Chile/Mexico), Born to Dance (New Zealand), Closet Monster (Canada), Enclave (Serbia/Germany), The Endless River (South Africa/France), Endorphine (Canada), Exotica, Erotica, Etc. (France), Fire Song (Canada), Five Nights in Maine (US), A Heavy Heart (Germany), Home Care (Czech Republic/Slovakia), Let Them Come (Algeria/France), My Big Night (Spain), My Internship in Canada (Canada), The Other Side (Italy/France), Our Everyday Life (Bosnia, Herzegovina/Slovenia/Croatia), The Paradise Suite (Netherlands/Sweden/Bulgaria), Parched (India/US/UK), Parisienne (France), Sabali (Canada), Sleeping Giant (Canada), Summer Solstice (Poland/Germany), Trap (Philippines), The Violin Teacher (Brazil), Wedding Doll (Israel) and Zubaan (India).
The New Voices/New Visions competition showcases 12 US premieres from top emerging international directors marking their feature film debut at the Festival, with the additional criteria that the films selected are currently without U.S. distribution.
Films selected for this year include:
Banat (Italy/Romania/Bulgaria/Macedonia), Director Adriano Valerio
Death By Death (Belgium/France), Director Xavier Seron
Departure (UK/France), Director Andrew Steggall
Five Nights in Maine (US), Director Maris Curran and starring David Oyelowo
A Heavy Heart (Germany), Director Thomas Stuber
Home Care (Czech Republic/Slovakia), Director Slávek Horák
Interruption (Greece/Croatia), Director Yorgos Zois
Let Them Come (Algeria/France), Director Salem Brahimi
Our Everyday Life (Bosnia and Herzegovina/Slovenia/Croatia), Director Ines Tanovic
Paradise Trips (Belgium/Croatia), Director Raf Reyntjens
Sleeping Giant (Canada), Director Andrew Cividino
Thithi (India/US), Director Raam Reddy
The Modern Masters section features 10 films from international directors who set the standards for contemporary cinema. Films selected for this year include:
Cemetery Of Splendour (Thailand/UK), Director Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Dheepan (France), Director Jacques Audiard
Miss Sharon Jones! (US), Director Barbara Kopple
Mountains May Depart (China/France/Japan), Director Jia Zhangke
My Golden Days (France), Director Arnaud Desplechin
My Mother (Italy/France), Director Nanni Moretti
Our Little Sister (Japan), Director Hirokazu Kore-eda
Sunset Song (UK/Luxembourg), Director Terence Davies
Sweet Bean (Japan), Director Naomi Kawase
Women He’s Undressed (Australia), Director Gillian Armstrong
Other Festival films with notable talent and directors include:
45 Years (UK) directed by Andrew Haigh and starring Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay,
Anomalisa (US) directed by Duke Johnson and Charlie Kaufman with the voices of David Thewlis and Jennifer Jason Leigh,
Chronic (Mexico/France) starring Tim Roth,
Closet Monster (Canada) with Connor Jessup and Isabella Rossellini,
Eisenstein in Guanajuato (Netherlands/Mexico/Finland/Belgium/France) directed by Peter Greenaway, February (US/Canada) starring Kiernan Shipka and Emma Roberts,
Hello, My Name is Doris (US) starring Sally Field, Max Greenfield, Beth Behrs and Stephen Root,
Hitchcock/Truffaut (France/US) directed by Kent Jones and featuring Peter Bogdanovich, David Fincher and Richard Linklater,
The Invitation (US) starring Logan Marshall-Green and Michiel Huisman,
The Lady in the Van (UK) directed by Nicholas Hytner and starring Maggie Smith, Jim Broadbent and James Corden, (pictured above)
Louder Than Bombs (USA) starring Jesse Eisenberg, Gabriel Byrne and Isabelle Huppert,
Men & Chicken (Denmark) starring Mads Mikkelsen,
Papa (Cuba) directed by Bob Yari and starring Giovanni Ribisi, Joely Richardson and Minka Kelly,
A Perfect Day (Spain) starring Benicio del Toro, Tim Robbins and Olga Kurylenko,
The Seventh Fire (US) executive produced by Terrence Malick, Natalie Portman and Chris Eyre, and
Where to Invade Next (US) directed by Michael Moore.
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Complete List of Films + Trailers for 81 Countries in Competition for 2015 Foreign Language Film Oscar
Eighty-one countries have submitted films for consideration in the 2015 Foreign Language Film Oscar category for the 88th Academy Awards.
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American Film BOB AND THE TREES Win Top Prize at 50th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
The American film, Bob and the Trees, starring Bob Tarasuk, playing himself, as Bob, a fifty-year old logger, struggling to make ends meet in a threatened industry, was awarded with the Crystal Globe at the 50th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Tarasuk accepted the Festival Grand Prix in person, together with director Diego Ongaro (pictured above).
“This really is a surprise. We had virtually no money to shoot the film so I had to invest my and my wife’s money, and I would like to thank everybody involved in making the film” stated director Ongaro, noting that he still has not found a distributor. Bob Tarasuk, too, expressed his amazement: “I have never won anything so far. Indeed, I have never left the States before, but my grandmother was Czech and my grandfather Ukrainian so I dedicate this award to them.”
The Special Jury Prize went to Austrian director Peter Brunner for the film Those Who Fall Have Wings, a drama on coming to terms with the death of a loved one.
Kosovan Visar Morina received the Best Director Award for his film Babai, a story about a small boy setting off on a journey to find his father.
The Grand Prix for Best Documentary Film went to Helena Třeštíková for Mallory. Life hasn’t been easy on Mallory but after the birth of her son she tries desperately to kick her drug habit, and to stop living on the street. She wants to turn her back on her dark past and help those she knows best – people on the fringes of society. In her latest long-term documentary, Helena Třeštíková demonstrates that even seemingly hopeless lives needn’t be cut short halfway.
The prize for the best film of the East of the West Competition was awarded to social drama The Wednesday Child by the Hungarian director Lili Horváth, a tale of a young girl who wants to secure better circumstances for her child than she had.
OFFICIAL SELECTION – COMPETITION
GRAND JURY
Tim League, USA
Angelina Nikonova, Russia
Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Iceland
Hengameh Panahi, France
Ondřej Zach, Czech Republic
GRAND PRIX – CRYSTAL GLOBE (25 000 USD)
The financial award is shared equally by the director and producer of the award-winning film.
Bob and the Trees
Directed by: Diego Ongaro
USA, 2015
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE (15 000 USD)
The financial award is shared equally by the director and producer of the award-winning film.
Those Who Fall Have Wings / Jeder der fällt hat Flügel
Directed by: Peter Brunner
Austria, 2015
BEST DIRECTOR AWARD
Visar Morina for the film Babai
Germany, Kosovo, Macedonia, France, 2015
BEST ACTRESS AWARD
Alena Mihulová for her role in the film Home Care / Domácí péče
Directed by: Slávek Horák
Czech Republic, Slovakia, 2015
EAST OF THE WEST – COMPETITION
EAST OF THE WEST JURY
Gaby Babić, Germany
Alexis Grivas, Greece
Tomáš Luňák, Czech Republic
Ivan I. Tverdovsky, Russia
Olena Yershova, Ukraine
EAST OF THE WEST AWARD (20 000 USD)
The financial award is shared equally by the director and producer of the award-winning film.
The Wednesday Child / Szerdai gyerek
Directed by: Lili Horváth
Hungary, Germany, 2015
SPECIAL JURY MENTION
The World Is Mine / Lumea e a mea
Directed by: Nicolae Constantin Tănase
Romania, 2015
DOCUMENTARY FILMS – COMPETITION
DOCUMENTARY FILMS JURY
Paolo Bertolin, Italy
Teodora Ana Mihai, Romania
Ivana Pauerová Miloševič, Czech Republic
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM OVER 60 MINUTES (5 000 USD)
Mallory
Directed by: Helena Třeštíková
Czech Republic, 2015
SPECIAL JURY MENTION
The Father Tapes / Vaterfilm
Directed by: Albert Meisl
Austria, 2015
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM UNDER 30 MINUTES (5 000 USD)
White Death / Muerta Blanca
Directed by: Roberto Collío
Chile, 2015
SPECIAL JURY MENTION
Women in Sink
Directed by: Iris Zaki
Great Britain, Israel, 2015
FORUM OF INDEPENDENTS – COMPETITION
FORUM OF INDEPENDENTS JURY
Katrin Gebbe, Germany
Michael Málek, Czech Republic
Yeo Joon Han, Malaysia
FORUM OF INDEPENDENTS AWARD
The winning film will be purchased by Czech Television for the flat fee of 5000 EUR.
Tangerine
Directed by: Sean Baker
USA, 2015
AUDIENCE AWARD
Youth / La giovinezza
Directed by: Paolo Sorrentino
Italy, France, Switzerland, Great Britain, 2015
Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema
Richard Gere, USA
Festival President’s Award for Contribution to Czech Cinematography
Iva Janžurová, Czech Republic
NON-STATUTORY AWARDS
AWARD OF INTERNATIONAL FILM CRITICS (FIPRESCI)
Awarded by The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI).
FIPRESCI JURY
Pamela Cohn, USA, Germany
Swapan Kumar Ghosh, India
Radovan Holub, Czech Republic
Eva Peydró, Spain
Srđan Vucinic, Serbia
Box
Directed by: Florin Şerban
Romania, Germany, France, 2015
THE ECUMENICAL JURY AWARD
THE ECUMENICAL JURY
Michael Otřísal, Czech Republic
Vít Poláček, Czech Republic
Lothar Strüber, Germany
Rita Weinert, Germany
Bob and the Trees
Directed by: Diego Ongaro
USA, 2015
SPECIAL JURY MENTION
Song of Songs / Pesn pesney
Directed by: Eva Neymann
Ukraine, 2015
FEDEORA AWARD
Awarded by the Federation of Film Critics of Europe and The Mediterranean (FEDEORA) to the best film from East of the West – Competition
FEDEORA JURY
Ronald Bergan, United Kingdom
James Evans, United Kingdom
Dubravka Lakić, Serbia
Heavenly Nomadic / Sutak
Directed by: Mirlan Abdykalykov
Kyrgysztan, 2015
The Wednesday Child / Szerdai gyerek
Directed by: Lili Horváth
Hungary, Germany 2015
EUROPA CINEMAS LABEL AWARD
For the best European film in the Official Selection – Competition and in the East of the West – Competition.
Europa Cinemas Label jury
Erika Borsos, Hungary
Caroline Dragacci, France
David O’Mahony, Ireland
Jens Schneiderheinze, Germany
Babai
Directed by: Visar Morina
Germany, Kosovo, Macedonia, France, 2015
BEST ACTOR AWARD
Kryštof Hádek for his role in the film The Snake Brothers / Kobry a užovky
Directed by: Jan Prušinovský
Czech Republic, 2015
SPECIAL JURY MENTION
The Magic Mountain / La montagne magique
Directed by: Anca Damian
Romania, France, Poland, 2015
SPECIAL JURY MENTION
Antonia
Directed by: Ferdinando Cito Filomarino
Italy, Greece, 2015
Works in Progress 2015
15 selected projects were presented in the Works in Progress 2015. The most promising project selected by the International Jury received the award of 10 000 Euros in services from the event’s partner Barrandov Studios.
THE WORKS IN PROGRESS JURY 2015
Paz Lázaro, Berlin International Film Festival (Germany)
Titus Kreyenberg, unafilm (Germany)
Jan Naszewski, New Europe Film Sales (Poland)
AWARD OF 10 000 EUROS IN SERVICES FOR THE MOST PROMISING PROJECT
Park
Directed by: Sofia Exarchou
Greece, 2015
image via 50th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
