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.I Am Not a Witch (2017)
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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[/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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Indie Memphis Film Festival Announces 2018 Lineup
[caption id="attachment_31953" align="aligncenter" width="1170"]
MR. SOUL![/caption]
This year’s 2018 Indie Memphis Film Festival is promising to be a very exciting and wildly varied one, with a lineup featuring five World Premiere screenings and one U.S. Premiere screening, as well as Special Presentations such as CABIN BOY with Chris Elliott in attendance and Barbara Loden’s feminist masterpiece WANDA presented by Amy Seimetz (Showtime’s “The Girlfriend Experience”), as well as a retrospective of the recent films of filmmaker Hong Sangsoo.
The Opening Night film is Melissa Haizlip and Samuel D. Pollard’s MR. SOUL!, a documentary chronicling Ellis Haizlip, the host of a groundbreaking weekly TV show called SOUL! that aired from 1968-1973, Barry Jenkins’ IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK as the Centerpiece Presentation, and Andrew Bujaski’s SUPPORT THE GIRLS as the Closing Night selection, followed by Bujalski presenting the “Indie Memphis Actor of the Year” award for an unforgettable role by a promising new performer to one of the film’s stars, Shayna McHayle (aka Junglepussy). As previously announced, SORRY TO BOTHER YOU filmmaker Boots Riley will be the festival’s keynote speaker for the Black Creatives Forum as well as presenting BRAZIL (1985, Terry Gilliam). The festival also includes 165 short films and over 50 music videos.
This year’s festival should prove to be a very diverse one, as fifty percent of the films in the Narrative Competition are directed by female-identifying filmmakers and fifty percent are directed by people of color; in the Documentary Competition, forty-three percent are directed by women and seventy-one percent by people of color. In addition to films from the United States, the festival also boasts titles from Spain, France, South Korea, Israel, Germany, Australia, Zambia, United Kingdom, Portugal, Canada, and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
2018 Indie Memphis Film Festival Slate
OPENING NIGHT
MR. SOUL! (Dirs. Melissa Haizlip, Samuel D. Pollard) Before Oprah – Before Arsenio – there was Mr. SOUL! Ellis Haizlip makes television broadcast history with SOUL!, America’s first “black Tonight Show.” Featuring archive footage of Sidney Poitier, Patti LaBelle, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Harry Belafonte, among others. Filmmaker Melissa Haizlip in attendance. 2018, 90 min, DocumentaryCENTERPIECE
IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK (Dir. Barry Jenkins) After her fiancé is falsely imprisoned, a pregnant young woman in Harlem sets out to clear his name and prove his innocence. 2018, 117 min, DramaCLOSING NIGHT
SUPPORT THE GIRLS (Dir. Andrew Bujalski) The general manager at a highway-side ”sports bar with curves” has her incurable optimism and faith, in her girls, her customers, and herself, tested over the course of a long, strange day. Filmmaker Andrew Bujalski will present “Indie Memphis Actor of the Year” award to Shayna McHayle (aka Junglepussy). 2018, 94 min, ComedyNARRATIVE COMPETITION
CLARA’S GHOST (Dir. Bridey Elliott) Set over the course of a single evening in the Reynolds family home in suburban Connecticut, Clara’s Ghost tells the story of Clara Reynolds who, fed up with constant ribbing from her self-absorbed showbiz family, finds solace in and guidance from the supernatural force she believes is haunting her. Filmmaker Bridey Elliott in attendance. Actors Abby Elliott, Chris Elliott, and Paula Niedert Elliott in attendance. 2018, 98 min, Comedy/Drama JINN (Dir. Nijla Mumin) A shape-shifting, pepperoni-loving, black teenage Instagram celebrity explores her identity and sexuality in the midst of her mother’s conversion to Islam. Filmmaker Nijla Mumin in attendance. 2018, 92 min, Drama JOBE’Z WORLD (Dir. Michael Bilandic) – World Premiere Jobe is a roller-blading delivery dude in NYC who, one endless night, delivers drugs to his favorite actor, Royce David Leslie. Filmmaker Michael Bilandic in attendance. 2018, 67 min, Comedy NEW MONEY (Dir. Jason B. Kohl) A struggling woman abducts her estranged father after he cuts her out of his will. 2018, 85 min, Drama/Thriller SEPULVEDA (Dirs. Jena English, Brandon Wilson) An existential urban road movie about three best friends who decide to drive L.A.’ s longest street. Filmmaker Brandon Wilson in attendance. 2016, 82 min, Comedy/Drama SHOOT THE MOON BETWEEN THE EYES (Dir. Graham Carter) – World Premiere Jerry and Carl have conned their way from one small Texas town to another. The plan for their final con goes haywire when one of them falls in love with Maureen, all while there’s a bumbling P.I. out for vengeance and hot on their trail. Filmmaker Graham Carter in attendance. 2018, 73 min, Comedy/ Drama /Musical/Romance SOLACE (Dir. Tchaiko Omawale) A 17-year-old orphan named Sole is shipped off to her estranged grandmother (Lynn Whitfield from EVE’S BAYOU) in Ladera Heights, Los Angeles. Sole plots her escape to New York while navigating a foreign environment, new friendships and a hidden eating disorder. Filmmaker Tchaiko Omawale in attendance. 2018, 127 min, DramaDOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
ENTRIALGO (Dir. Diego Llorente) – World Premiere A beautiful and meditative study of rural Asturias, Spain. Life goes on with a different pace in Entrialgo. Rubén and Aitor grow with this rhythm. Their life swifts between the solitude of the courtyards of their house, the games mixed with the work of the adults and the school where they interact with their equals. Game, solitude and animals are witnesses and companions of a year in the life of these children. Filmmaker Diego Llorente in attendance. 2018, 65 min, Documentary HALE COUNTY: THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING (Dir. Ramell Ross) Composed of intimate and unencumbered moments of people in a community, HALE COUNTY: THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING allows the viewer an emotive impression of the Historic South — trumpeting the beauty of life and consequences of the social construction of race, while simultaneously a testament to dreaming — despite the odds. Filmmaker RaMell Ross in attendance. 2018, 76 min, Documentary KINSHASA MAKAMBO (Dir. Dieudo Hamadi) Christian, Ben and Jean-Marie are fighting for political change of power and free elections in their country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But the incumbent President refuses to relinquish power. Kinshasa Makambo immerses us in the combat these three activists are engaged in, a combat that neither bullets, nor prison, nor exile seem able to stop. 2018, 74 min, Documentary SHAKEDOWN (Dir. Leilah Weinraub) From 2002 to 2015, filmmaker Leilah Weinraub documents explicit performances in an underground black-lesbian club in Los Angeles. Filmmaker Leilah Weinraub in attendance. 2018, 82 min, Documentary/LGBTQ SPEAK UP! (Dir. Amandine Gay) – US Premiere An exploration of the intersections of discrimination, art and blackness, featuring interviews with black women in France and Belgium. Filmmaker Amandine Gay in attendance; this screening in collaboration with “Blackness in French and Francophone Film” at Columbia University. 2018, 122 min, Documentary THIS ONE’S FOR THE LADIES (Dir. Gene Graham) The Dojo, which is a children’s karate school by day, becomes a male strip joint on Thursday nights where hundreds of women convene for a potluck fundraiser, a sense of community, and the opportunity to throw singles at the New Jersey Nasty Boyz. Filmmaker Gene Graham in attendance. 2018, 82 min, Documentary WRESTLE (Dir. Suzannah Herbert) An intimate and nuanced documentary that follows the wrestling team at J.O. Johnson High School in Huntsville, which has been on Alabama’s failing schools list for decades. Filmmaker Suzannah Herbert in attendance. 2018, 99 min, DocumentarySPOTLIGHT
Narrative: DIAMANTINO (Dirs. Gabriel Abrantes, Daniel Schmidt) Diamantino, the world’s premiere soccer star loses his special touch and ends his career in disgrace. Searching for a new purpose, the international icon sets on a delirious odyssey where he confronts neo-fascism, the refugee crisis, genetic modification, and the hunt for the source of genius. 2018, 92 min, Comedy/Drama/Fantasy I AM NOT A WITCH (Dir. Rungano Nyoni) Shula is the first child taken to a traveling witch camp, where she is told that should she cut the ribbon and attempt to escape, she will be cursed and transformed into a goat. 2017, 93 min, Drama MADELINE’S MADELINE (Dir. Josephine Decker) A theater director’s latest project takes on a life of its own when her young star takes her performance too seriously. 2018, 93 min, Drama/Thriller NOTES ON AN APPEARANCE (Dir. Ricky D’ambrose) A young man leaves behind an obscure cache of letters, postcards, and notebooks when he disappears. Actor Keith Poulson in attendance. 2018, 60 min, Drama SORRY ANGEL (Dir. Christophe Honoré) Jacques is an older writer from Paris. Arthur is a young student in Rennes. They instantly fall in love. But they’ll have to face rejection and sickness to keep it that way. 2018, 133 min, Drama/LGBTQ TYREL (Dir. Sebastián Silva) Tyler goes to an isolated cabin in the Catskills for a raucous all-dude weekend birthday party for a friend. He finds he is the sole black person there and grows increasingly uncomfortable. 2018, 86 min, Comedy/Thriller WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY (Dir. Madeleine Olnek) Dramatization of the little known side of the writer Emily Dickinson’s life, in particular her relationship with another woman. Actor Amy Seimetz in attendance. 2018, 84 min, Comedy Documentary: A BETTER MAN (Dirs. Attiya Khan, Lawrence Jackman) Filmmaker Attiya Khan documents her meetings with an abusive ex-boyfriend to show the healing and revelation that can happen for everyone involved when men take responsibility for their abuse. A fascinating and necessary exploration into restorative justice. 2017, 79 min, Documentary DIVIDE AND CONQUER: THE STORY OF ROGER AILES (Dir. Alexis Bloom) Director Alexis Bloom charts the rise and fall of the late Republican Party booster and controversial Fox News mogul who went down in flames amid multiple sexual harassment allegations. 2018, 107 min, Documentary THE GOSPEL OF EUREKA (Dirs. Michael Palmieri, Donal Mosher) Love, faith, and civil rights collide in the south as evangelical Christians and drag queens step into the spotlight to explore the meaning of belief. Gospel drag shows and passion plays intermix in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. 2018, 75 min, Documentary MATANGI / MAYA /M.I.A (Dir. Stephen Loveridge) Drawn from a never before seen cache of personal footage spanning decades, Stephen Loveridge creates an intimate portrait of the Sri Lankan artist and musician known as M.I.A. 2018, 96 min, Documentary MINDING THE GAP (Dir. Bing Liu) Three young men bond together to escape volatile families in their Rust Belt hometown. As they face adult responsibilities, unexpected revelations threaten their decade-long friendship. 2018, 93 min, DocumentaryDEPARTURES
AUGUST AT AKIKO’S (Dir. Christopher Makoto Yogi) Armed with just his suitcase and a sax, cosmopolitan musician Alex Zhang Hungtai (DIRTY BEACHES) returns home to the Big Island of Hawai‘i having been away for nearly a decade. 2018, 75 min, Experimental Drama BLACK MOTHER (Dir. Khalik Allah) Filmmaker Khalik Allah offers a portrait of Jamaica, the home of his maternal grandparents. He interviews people and edits the audio as if it were music (as much for rhythm as content), exploring various themes while accompanied by his unique visual style. Filmmaker Khalik Allah in attendance. 2018, 77 min, Experimental Documentary LIFE IS FARE (Dir. Sephora Woldu) An experimental musical film exploring wildly different perspectives on the East African nation of Eritrea. Filmmaker Sephora Woldu in attendance. 2018, 62 min, Experimental/Musical THE WASHING SOCIETY (Dir. Lynne Sachs) Filmmaker Lynne Sachs and playwright Lizzie Olesker document the disappearing neighborhood laundromats and the labor that is associated with them. Filmmaker Lynne Sachs in attendance. 2018, 44 min, 2018, Documentary Screening with: “I Am Somebody” (Dir. Madeline Anderson) A short political documentary by Madeline Anderson about black hospital workers on strike in Charleston South Carolina. 1970, 30 min, DocumentarySOUNDS
BETTY: THEY SAY I’M DIFFERENT (Dir. Philip Cox) A creative documentary exploring the extraordinary story of Betty Davis (former wife of Miles Davis) as legendary funk pioneer and a woman who championed the road for all independent female artists who followed. 2017, 54 min, Documentary THE DREAMER’S FIELD (Dir. Noam Stolerman) The heartfelt journey of three childhood friends who wish to escape their boring life in the kibbutz and become London’s hottest rock band. THE DREAMER’S FIELD is a bitter-sweet journey of three misplaced and misguided individuals coming to terms with the real world. 2017, 65 min, Documentary MILFORD GRAVES FULL MANTHIS (Dir. Jake Meginsky) The first ever feature-length portrait of renowned percussionist Milford Graves, exploring his kaleidoscopic creativity and relentless curiosity. 2018, 95 min, Documentary MR. SOUL! (Dirs. Melissa Haizlip, Samuel D. Pollard) Before Oprah, Before Arsenio, there was Mr. SOUL! Ellis Haizlip makes television broadcast history with SOUL!, America’s first “black Tonight Show.” Featuring archival footage of James Baldwin, Nikki Giovanni, Sidney Poitier, Patti LaBelle, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Harry Belafonte, among others. Filmmaker Melissa Haizlip in attendance. 2018, 90 min, DocumentaryHOMETOWNER
MEMPHIS MAJIC (Dir. Eddie Bailey) A riveting in-depth look at the city of Memphis through the lens of a 30 year old Memphis-born street dance called “Jookin’.” Filmmaker Eddie Bailey in attendance. 2018, 72 min, Documentary NEGRO TERROR: THE VOICE OF MEMPHIS (Dir. John Rash) – World Premiere A cinematic and musical portrait of a punk band’s role in the vibrant and eclectic underground music community of Memphis, TN. Filmmaker John Rash in attendance; Negro Terror to play live score during the film. 2018, 54 min, Documentary WAITING: THE VAN DUREN STORY (Dir. Greg Carey, Wade Jackson) – World Premiere In the 1970’s, out of the Memphis-Big Star scene came Van Duren, who was tipped to be the next Paul McCartney but instead faded into obscurity. Forty years later, two Australian friends come across his record and set out to discover what went wrong. Filmmakers Greg Carey and Wade Jackson and subject Van Duren in attendance. 2018, 80 min, Documentary RUKUS (Dir. Brett Hanover) A hybrid of documentary and fiction, RUKUS is a queer coming-of-age story set in the liminal spaces of furry conventions, southern punk houses, and virtual worlds. Filmmaker Brett Hanover in attendance. 2018, 87 min, Drama/LGBTQSPECIAL EVENTS
CABIN BOY with Chris Elliott (Dir. Adam Resnick) A fancy lad (Chris Elliott) en route to Hawaii meets unfriendly fishermen when he mistakenly boards their boat The Filthy Whore instead of a cruise ship to Hawaii. Star Chris Elliott in attendance. 1994, 81 min, Comedy Classic Picks with Boots Riley: BRAZIL (Dir. Terry Gilliam) Low-level bureaucrat Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) investigates a case that led to the wrongful arrest and eventual death of an innocent man instead of wanted terrorist Harry Tuttle (Robert De Niro), and gets caught in a web of mistaken identities, mindless bureaucracy and lies. Introduced by filmmaker Boots Riley (“Sorry to Bother You”). 1985, 143 min, Science FictionHong Sang-soo Recent Retro:
Grass (2018, 66 min) In a small Café, Min-hee Kim plays a guest who prefers to observe but not interact with the other guests herself. The Day After (2017, 92 min) When a woman discovers a love poem that was written for her husband, she mistakenly believes that the author is her husband’s new secretary. On the Beach at Night Alone (2017, 101 min) After a publicized affair with her director, an actress leaves South Korea and goes to Hamburg, where she gains insight into the meanings of love and identity. My First Film: Live Cinema w/ Zia Anger Anger will offer live-commentary on previously unseen work, by way of a split screen and text edit, as she attempts to recount the stories behind her lost and abandoned work–including her first feature–and her struggles in an industry often hostile to women filmmakers. Southern Documentary Fund Presents Fresh Docs: Black Genius A free, work-in-progress screening of film by Memphis native Kalimah Abioto, who explores the brilliance of Memphis’ people while also confronting gentrification. This portrait of various Memphis black leaders will be presented by the director, and will be followed by a discussion. Southern Food & Music (Dir. Les Blank + Southern Foodways Shorts) From a Labor Day barbeque in Northern Mississippi with drummer Otha Turner to farm cooking with Texas musician Mance Lipscomb, from Louisiana Cajun cuisine to an award winning pastry chef in Alabama, and even a factory farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, this collection of short films by legendary documentarian Les Blank and Ava Lowrey (Southern Foodways) explores the intersection of music and food in the South. Blues Legend Otha Turner’s Truly Southern Barbecue (Ava Lowrey, 2016, 6 min) A Well Spent Life (Les Blank, 1971, 44 min) Yum! Yum! Yum! A Taste of Cajun and Creole Cooking of Louisiana (Les Blank, 1990, 31 min) Dol (Ava Lowrey, 2018, 6 min) Chicken Real (Les Blank, 1970, 23 min) WANDA (Dir. Barbara Loden) This 1970 independent film was written and directed by actress Barbara Loden, who also plays the title role. Wanda is an abused woman who turns to a life of crime, where she finds more abuse from men. Loden stated she was inspired to write it after reading a newspaper report that a woman had thanked a judge after he sentenced her to prison. Introduced by filmmaker and actress Amy Seimetz (Showtime’s “The Girlfriend Experience”). 1970, 102 min, Drama
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I AM NOT A WITCH, Rungano Nyoni’s Provocative Film on Witchcraft in Zambia to Open on September 7 [Trailer]
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I AM NOT A WITCH[/caption]
I Am Not a Witch, the debut award-winning feature film from Zambian-born Welsh director Rungano Nyoni is described as a striking satire about witchcraft in contemporary Zambia. The film will open on September 7th at Quad Cinema and BAMCinematek in New York City with additional markets to follow.
Nominated for a 2018 Independent Spirit Award for Best International Film and a Golden Camera Award at Cannes, I Am Not a Witch, from the Zambian-born Welsh director Rungano Nyoni is a striking satire about witchcraft in contemporary Zambia. When eight-year-old Shula turns up alone and unannounced in a rural village, the locals are suspicious. A minor incident escalates to a full-blown witch trial, where she is found guilty and sentenced to life on a state-run witch camp. There, she is tethered to a long white ribbon and told that if she ever tries to run away, she will be transformed into a goat. As the days pass, Shula begins to settle into her new community, but a threat looms on the horizon. Soon she is forced to make a difficult decision – whether to resign herself to life on the camp, or take a risk for freedom.
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Rungano Nyoni[/caption]
At times moving, often funny and occasionally surreal, I Am Not a Witch offers spellbinding storytelling with flashes of anarchic humor, showcasing Nyoni as the birth of a significant new screen voice. Festival audiences and juries also agreed, bestowing more than 20 nominations on I Am Not a Witch, including the AFI Fest Audience Award and a nod for “Best British Independent Film”. It has also captured nine awards from “Best Film” at the 2017 Adelaide Film Festival and “Best Directorial Debut” at the Stockholm Film Festival to “Best Director”, “Breakthrough Producer” (Emily Morgan) at the 2017 British Independent Film Awards and Nyoni’s BAFTA for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_0NUA0aEpg
SELECT THEATRICAL DATES
9/7: Quad Cinema & BAMcinematek – NYC 9/7-9: Portland Museum of Art – ME 9/14: Laemmle Glendale – Los Angeles 9/14: Northwest Film Forum – Seattle WA 9/14: The Texas Theater – Dallas TX 9/16: Alamo Drafthouse – Yonkers NY 9/21:The Parkway – Baltimore MD 9/21: The Roxie – San Francisco CA 9/21: The Lyric Cinema – Fort Collins CO 9/28: SIE Film Center – Denver CO 9/28: The Hippodrome – Gainesville FL 10/12: Living Room Theater – Portland OR 10/12: State Theater – Modesto CA 10/19: Living Room Theater – Boca Raton FL
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Oak Cliff Film Festival Announces 2018 Feature Film Lineup, Opens with Joan Jett’s Documentary BAD REPUTATION
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BAD REPUTATION[/caption]
Oak Cliff Film Festival yesterday announced the Feature Program lineup for the 7th annual edition of the festival, taking place June 14-17, 2018 at the historic Texas Theatre, Bishop Arts Theatre Center, Kessler Theater, and numerous other venues around Dallas’ Oak Cliff neighborhood. The schedule is comprised of twenty-five feature-length films, with ten of the films having their Texas premiere at this year’s festival. The festival also includes 40 short films, as well as filmmaking workshops, live music and parties.
Kicking off proceedings with this year’s opening night film are director Kevin Kerslake and writer/editor Joel Marcus in attendance to present the Texas Premiere of BAD REPUTATION, their hard-rocking documentary on legendary rock-n-roll icon Joan Jett. The screening will be followed by a karaoke party behind the screen! The festival closes with NEVER GOIN’ BACK, a raunchy party comedy filmed and set in DFW, from Dallas filmmaker Augustine Frizzell and produced by Sailor Bear.
Additional festival highlights include: MEOW WOLF: ORIGIN STORY, a documentary on the Santa Fe based artist collective famous for their unique and immersive multimedia art installations; a screening of the newly restored 1928 silent film classic THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC, featuring a live score accompaniment composed by indie electronic artist George Sarah and performed by Curtis Heath and his Orchestra; The Zellner Bros’ new comedy western DAMSEL with the film’s composers, Austin-based indietronica band The Octopus Project, playing a live concert at The Texas Theatre; and director Penelope Spheeris in attendance for a new digital theatrical presentation of her rescued-from-obscurity and newly-restored 1987 punk rock western DUDES.
Oak Cliff Film Festival 2018 Feature Program Lineup.
OPENING NIGHT SELECTION
BAD REPUTATION (USA, 95 mins) Dir. Kevin Kerslake TEXAS PREMIERE – Director Kevin Kerslake and writer/editor Joel Marcus in attendance Joan Jett is so much more than “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll.” It’s true, she became mega-famous from the number-one hit, and that fame intensified with its endless play on MTV. But that staple of popularity can’t properly define a musician. Jett put her hard work in long before the fame, ripping it up onstage as the backbone of the hard-rock legends The Runaways, influencing many musicians—both her cohort of punk rockers and generations of younger bands—with her no-nonsense style.CLOSING NIGHT SELECTION
NEVER GOIN’ BACK (USA, 85 mins) Dir. Augustine Frizzell DFW PREMIERE – Producers Toby Halbrooks, James M. Johnston, Liz Cardenas in attendance w/ a special Skype-in from director Augustine Frizzell BFFs Angela (Maia Mitchell) and Jessie (Cami Morrone) are high school dropouts working dead-end waitressing jobs in the same shitty diner. Their dream vacation to sunny Galveston, Texas, is only a few shifts away. But after a drug deal goes bad and their home is invaded—and they have to serve a short stint in juvenile detention—their beach trip is in serious jeopardy. They’ll have to use every bit of guile their perpetually buzzed teenage brains can muster as they try to get (relatively) rich quick while wandering suburban Dallas.NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
BIRDS WITHOUT FEATHERS (USA, 84 mins) Dir. Wendy McColm DFW PREMIERE – Director Wendy McColm in attendance Desperate for human interaction, six emotionally damaged individuals put self respect on the line, shedding their disillusionment in a last grasp for happiness. Birds Without Feathers is a cruel-world dark comedy populated by struggling Instagram stars, Russian cowboys, Self-help gurus and more, as their lives crash and collide in astounding and awkward ways. DON’T LEAVE HOME (USA, 86 mins) Dir. Michael Tully DFW PREMIERE – Director Michael Tully in attendance Melanie Thomas is an American artist whose latest show recounts the infamous Irish urban legend of Father Alistair Burke, who painted a portrait of 8-year-old Siobhan Callahan in 1986. Days later, Siobhan went missing on the very morning that her figure miraculously vanished from the painting as well. Though absolved of any wrongdoing, Burke abandoned the priesthood and went into self-exile. After receiving a bad review before her opening, Melanie is contacted by the reclusive Burke, who offers to fly her to Ireland to create a new sculpture that he will help her to sell while she’s there. Telling no one where she’s going, Melanie never stops to consider that some urban legends are real. I AM NOT A WITCH (UK, ZAMBIA, 93 mins) Dir. Rungano Nyoni TEXAS PREMIERE When eight-year-old Shula turns up alone and unannounced in a rural Zambian village, the locals are suspicious. A minor incident escalates to a full-blown witch trial, where she is found guilty and sentenced to life on a state-run witch camp. There, she is tethered to a long white ribbon and told that if she ever tries to run away, she will be transformed into a goat. As the days pass, Shula begins to settle into her new community, but a threat looms on the horizon. Soon she is forced to make a difficult decision – whether to resign herself to life on the camp, or take a risk for freedom. TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID (Mexico, 83 mins) Dir. Issa López DFW PREMIERE Estrella (Paola Lara), a ten-year-old girl living in Mexico, finds herself the owner of three wishes soon after her mother disappears. After her wish first – the bring her mother back wish – has some unexpectedly frightening repercussions, she finds herself on the streets. Before too long, Estrella partners up with a young boy, El Shine (Juan Ramón López), and his band of orphaned boys. The newly formed group find themselves at war with the local cartel, witnessing and enduring things that no child should ever have to. VIRUS TROPICAL (Colombia, 96 mins) Dir. Santiago Caicedo DFW PREMIERE Born in a not-so-conventional family, Paola grows up between Ecuador and Colombia and finds herself unable to fit in any mold. With a unique feminine vision of the world, she will have to fight against prejudice and struggle for her independence while her universe is struck by a series of crises. Based on the graphic novel by Powerpaola. WINTER BROTHERS (Denmark, Iceland, 94 mins) Dir. Hlynur Pálmason TEXAS PREMIERE We follow two brothers working in the harsh environment of a rural chalk-mining community during a cold winter. Younger brother Emil, who distills moonshine made from stolen chemicals from the factory, is an outsider, an oddball, who made a conscious choice for loneliness and is only accepted by the mining community due to his older brother Johan. When a fellow worker becomes sick, the moonshine and Emil are prime suspects. Gradually a violent feud erupts between him and the tightly-knit mining community. Revenge, loneliness, and lack of love pervade this modern brother odyssey.DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
BLACK MOTHER (USA, 77 mins) Dir. Khalik Allah TEXAS PREMIERE Part film, part baptism, director Khalik Allah mixes film formats from Super 8mm to HD, while experimenting with voice over audio techniques that cast his view between the prostitutes and churches of Jamaica. Black Mother creates a visual prayer of indelible portraits and an intimate polyphonic symphony. GOSPEL OF EUREKA (USA, 79 mins) Dir. Donal Mosher and Michael Palmieri DFW PREMIERE Love, faith and civil rights collide in a southern town as evangelical Christians and drag queens step into the spotlight to dismantle stereotypes. The film takes a personal, and often comical look at negotiating differences between religion and belief through performance, political action, and partnership. Gospel drag shows and passion plays set the stage for one hell of a show.3-4 sentence summary here. INGRID (USA, 52 mins) Dir. Morrisa Maltz TEXAS PREMIERE – Filmmaker Morrisa Maltz in attendance Ingrid tells the story of a prominent Dallas fashion designer in the 80s–who dropped her life and ran off to the woods in order to pursue a personal and creative one. She has since become a total hermit and spends her time, creating clay sculptures and art out of rocks from the nearby creek. Ingrid peels off the layers of this woman’s persona, questioning what would drive a successful Texas fashion designer to immerse herself in nature to create and become an entirely self sufficient woman of the woods. MAISON DU BONHEUR (Canada, 62 mins) Dir. Sofia Bohdanowicz TEXAS PREMIERE Maison du bonheur is a documentary that studies the day-to-day life of a Parisian astrologer, Juliane Sellam, who has been residing in the same Montmartre apartment for over 50 years. As we listen to her muse about her life as an astrologer, Sellam moves through her daily routine: making her morning coffee, watering plants, putting on makeup. Each segment is narrated by Sellam or the filmmaker herself, slowly constructing a dual portrait of two very different but equally charming women. MILFORD GRAVES FULL MANTIS (USA, 91 mins) Dir. Jake Meginsky and Neil Young DFW PREMIERE – Filmmaker Jake Meginsky in attendance This is the first ever feature-length portrait of renowned percussionist Milford Graves, exploring his kaleidoscopic creativity and relentless curiosity.Graves tells stories of discovery, struggle and survival, ruminates on the essence of ‘swing,’ activates electronic stethoscopes in his basement lab to process the sound of his heart, and travels to Japan where he performs at a school for children with autism, igniting the student body into an ecstatic display of spontaneous collective energy. Oscillating from present to past and weaving intimate glimpses of the artist’s complex cosmology with blistering performances from around the globe, MILFORD GRAVES FULL MANTIS is cinema full of fluidity, polyrhythm and intensity, embodying the essence of Graves’ music itself. OPUNTIA (Mexico/USA, 60 mins) Dir. David Fenster DFW PREMIERE – Filmmaker David Fenster in attendance In 1528 Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca crossed the Gulf of Mexico on a raft made of melted armor and slaughtered horses. Over the next eight years, experiences with various Native American groups transformed him from conquistador to shamanic healer. When he returned to Spain he wrote La Relación, a chronicle of his experiences in the “New World”. Using these writings and with help from a psychic medium, David Fenster (director) attempts to communicate with Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca through a prickly pear cactus, also known as Opuntia, the plant that saved him from starvation.SPOTLIGHT FEATURES
BISBEE ‘17 (USA, 112 mins) Dir. Robert Greene TEXAS PREMIERE An old mining town on the Arizona-Mexico border finally reckons with its darkest day: the deportation of 1200 immigrant miners exactly 100 years ago. Townspeople confront this violent, misunderstood past by staging dramatic recreations of these devastating events. Directed by the Townspeople themselves, these recreations show the personal history of the families affected by the deporations on the 100th anniversary of their occurence. DAMSEL (USA, 112 mins) Dir. David Zellner and Nathan Zellner DFW PREMIERE – Film producers and composers The Octopus Project in attendance It’s the age of The Wild West, circa 1870. An affluent pioneer, Samuel Alabaster (Robert Pattinson) ventures deep into the American wilderness to reunite with and marry the love of his life, Penelope (Mia Wasikowska). For his journey he brings Butterscotch, a miniature horse intended as a wedding present for his bride, and enlists drunkard Parson Henry (David Zellner) to conduct the ceremony. As they traverse the lawless frontier their once simple journey grows treacherous, and the lines between hero, villain, and damsel are blurred. HAL (USA, 90 mins) Dir. Amy Scott TEXAS PREMIERE In the 1970’s Hal Ashby spent 9 years pushing Hollywood norms directing an unconventional, uncompromising string of remarkable films — including The Landlord (1970), Harold and Maude (1971), The Last Detail (1973) and Being There (1979) — that influenced generations of filmmakers to follow. His everlasting legacy on cinema is evident by the group of talented interview subjects including David O. Russell, Judd Apatow, Allison Andres and Jeff and Beau Bridges. However he failed to sustain success fighting for the importance of art and socially consciousness stories against the looming weight of Hollywood’s profit driven machine. HAL is a celebration of his lifework. HALF THE PICTURE (USA, 94 mins) Dir. Amy Adrion DFWPREMIERE – Penelope Spheeris in attendance for Q/A with Seed & Spark Founder Emily Best HALF THE PICTURE consists of interviews with high profile women directors, including Ava DuVernay, Jill Soloway, Lena Dunham, Catherine Hardwicke, Miranda July, Penelope Spheeris and many more. These artists discuss how they made their first features, how they transitioned to studio films or television, how they balance a demanding directing career with family, and the challenges and joys along the way. In addition, experts on gender inequality in Hollywood, including the ACLU’s Melissa Goodman, Vanity Fair’s Rebecca Keegan, and USC’s Dr. Stacy Smith, weigh in on the magnitude of this issue as women are shut out, across the board, of an industry that systemically denies women’s expression and point of view. MEOW WOLF: ORIGIN STORY (USA, 100 mins) Dir. Jilann Spitzmiller and Morgan Capps DFW PREMIERE – Filmmakers Morgan Capps and Jilann Spitzmiller in attendance A group of artists in Santa Fe, NM become a DIY collective called Meow Wolf. Their immersive, large-scale exhibitions crack open a profitable niche in the arts industry, even as their social mission is challenged by the demands of rapid success. The group’s members navigate fracture and loss for years in pursuit of their idealistic vision. When they spark the interest of George R. R. Martin and receive his support to take over an old bowling alley, Meow Wolf builds a massive exhibition with over 140 artists working at a breakneck pace. With the wild success of the House of Eternal Return, Meow Wolf now faces its own internal turmoil as it begins to change the lives of creatives everywhere. PITY (Greece, 97 mins) Dir. Babis Makridis TEXAS PREMIERE A miserable middle aged man enjoys only one thing in life, the sorrow from others. After his wife re-emerges from a long coma he’s willing to do anything to continue to evoke this emotion from those around him. Addicted to misery, this man seeks to maintain the only feeling to give him pleasure, pity. RELAXER (USA, 91 mins) Dir. Joel Potrykus DFW PREMIERE – Director Joel Potrykus, Cinematographer Adam J. Minnick and actor Andre Hyland in attendance Doom and gloom are on the way. The Y2K apocalypse can’t be stopped. Abbie’s older brother issues him the ultimate challenge before it goes down: stay on the couch until he beats the infamous Billy Mitchell record on Pac-Man by getting past level 256. No getting up, no matter what. No quitting. Abbie must survive inside a rotten living room with no food or water, and numbnut friends and toxic gas getting in his face. Luckily, Abbie’s secret 3D glasses begin to give him new abilities, controlling the powers of his tiny universe. SKATE KITCHEN (USA, 100 mins) Dir. Crystal Moselle TEXAS PREMIERE – Members of the filmmaking team in attendance Introverted skateboarder Camille befriends “The Skate Kitchen,” an all-girl skateboarding crew in New York City. She finds the home she never had with her mother in Long Island as she becomes part of the in-crowd. They quickly accept her into this wild new world of trick-shot videos and their own mania filled, underground, New York subculture. However this new friendship becomes tricky to navigate when she falls for a boy skateboarder from a rival group.REPERTORY
BEING THERE (USA, 1979, 130 mins) Dir. Hal Ashby In one of his most finely tuned performances, Peter Sellers plays the pure-hearted, childlike Chance, a gardener who is forced into the wilds of Washington, D.C., when his wealthy guardian dies. Shocked to discover that the real world doesn’t respond to the click of a remote, Chance stumbles into celebrity after being taken under the wing of a tycoon (Melvyn Douglas, in an Oscar-winning performance), who mistakes his protégé’s horticultural mumblings for sagacious pronouncements on life and politics, and whose wife (Shirley MacLaine) targets Chance as the object of her desire. Being There is both deeply melancholic and hilarious; a the culmination of Hal Ashby’s remarkable string of films in the 1970s, and a carefully modulated examination of the ideals, anxieties, and media-fueled delusions that shaped American culture during that decade and still ring true today in 2018. DUDES (USA, 1987, 90 mins) Dir. Penelope Spheeris New DCP with Director Penelope Spheeris in attendance Penelope Spheeris’s 5th feature film which came after her punk soap SUBURBIA and was “released” the year before her magnum opus DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION PART II; DUDES, was never given much of a proper release. Distributors and exhibitors were confused on how to market the punk rock western and it quickly excited theaters. The home video VHS was its last available version until this years HD remaster by SHOUT FACTORY. The film, which features early Cinematography from future three time Oscar winner Robert Richardson and a fantastic punk / metal soundtrack featuring The VANDALS, JANES ADDICTION and MEGADETH exists in a late 80’s ahead of its time capsule. THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC with Live Score Accompaniment (France, 1928, 81 mins) Dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer New Restoration with live score accompaniment composed by indie electronic artist George Sarah, performed by Curtis Heath and his orchestra Spiritual rapture and institutional hypocrisy are brought to stark, vivid life in one of the most transcendent achievements of the silent era. Chronicling the trial of Joan of Arc in the final hours leading up to her execution, Danish master Carl Theodor Dreyer depicts her torment with startling immediacy, employing an array of techniques—including expressionistic lighting, interconnected sets, and painfully intimate close-ups— to immerse viewers in her subjective experience. Anchoring Dreyer’s audacious formal experimentation is a legendary performance by Renée Falconetti, whose haunted face channels both the agony and the ecstasy of martyrdom. Thought to have been lost to fire, the film’s original version was miraculously found in perfect condition in 1981 in a Norwegian mental institution, heightening the mythic status of this widely revered masterwork.
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John McEnroe Documentary Among First Confirmed Films + Events for 2018 Las Vegas Film Festival
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John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection[/caption]
The 11th Annual Las Vegas Film Festival, partnered with CineVegas, announced this morning the initial programming lineup for the 2018 Festival, to be held at Brenden Theatres and Palms Casino Resort June 6 to 10.The lineup includes a mix of feature films and documentaries that have been favorites on the international festival circuit, as well as new additions to this year’s Festival – live discussions and live comedy. 2018 also marks the first year with seasoned film festival programming veteran Mike Plante serving as the Festival’s Captain of Strategy.
FEATURE FILMS
Clara’s Ghost / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Bridey Elliott; Producer: Sarah Winshall) — Ted Reynolds, an aging comedian, lives a quiet life in rural Connecticut with his wife Clara. When they invite their two daughters home to celebrate the family dog’s birthday, the vodka-loving clan devolves into a drunken mess, and Clara finds herself face-to-face with a supernatural spirit only she can see. Cast: Paula Niedert Elliott, Chris Elliott, Abby Elliott, Bridey Elliott, Haley Joel Osment Damsel / U.S.A. (Directors and Screenwriters: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner; Producers: Nathan Zellner, Chris Ohlson, David Zellner) — Samuel Alabaster (Robert Pattinson), an affluent pioneer, ventures across the American Frontier to marry the love of his life, Penelope (Mia Wasikowska). As Samuel traverses the Wild West with a drunkard named Parson Henry (David Zellner) and a miniature horse called Butterscotch, their once-simple journey grows treacherous, blurring the lines between hero, villain and damsel. Cast: Robert Pattinson, Mia Wasikowska I Am Not a Witch / United Kingdom – (Director and Screenwriter: Rungano Nyoni; Producers: Juliette Grandmont and Emily Morgan) When eight-year-old Shula turns up alone and unannounced in a rural Zambian village, the locals are suspicious. A minor incident escalates to a full-blown witch trial, where she is found guilty and sentenced to life on a state-run witch camp. There, she is tethered to a long white ribbon and told that if she ever tries to run away, she will be transformed into a goat. As the days pass, Shula begins to settle into her new community, but a threat looms on the horizon. Soon she is forced to make a difficult decision – whether to resign herself to life on the camp, or take a risk for freedom. Cast: Maggie Mulubwa, Henry B.J. Phiri, Nancy Mulilio Nancy / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Christina Choe; Producers: Amy Lo, Michelle Cameron, Andrea Riseborough) – NANCY is a provocative psychological thriller about love, intimacy, and trust – and what happens when lies become truth. Craving connection with others, Nancy creates elaborate identities and hoaxes under pseudonyms on the internet. When she meets a couple whose daughter went missing thirty years ago, fact and fiction begin to blur in Nancy’s mind, and she becomes increasingly convinced these strangers are her real parents. As their bond deepens, reasonable doubts give way to willful belief – and the power of emotion threatens to overcome all rationality. Cast: Andrea Riseborough, J. Smith-Cameron, Steve Buscemi, Ann Dowd, John Leguizamo Sadie / U.S.A. (Director: Megan Griffiths; Producers: Lacey Leavitt and Jennessa West; Executive Producer: Eliza Shelden) – While her father is away serving in the military, Sadie (Sophia Mitri Schloss) battles to preserve his place on the home front when her mother, Rae (Melanie Lynskey,) takes an interest in a new man, Cyrus (John Gallagher, Jr.) When Sadie sees the relationship developing, she pledges to come between them, whatever it takes. Cyrus becomes the enemy, and if she’s learned nothing else from the world she inhabits, it’s that the enemy deserves no mercy. Cast: Sophia Mitri Schloss, Melanie Lynskey, John Gallagher, Jr., Danielle Brooks, Tony Hale The Unicorn / U.S.A. (Director: Robert Schwartzman; Screenwriters: Will Elliott & Kirk C. Johnson & Nicholas Rutherford; Producer: Russell Wayne Groves) – When an engaged couple, Caleb and Malory are forced to go to Palm Springs for a weekend to celebrate Malory’s parents’ 25th wedding vow renewal, they discover the secret to their happy marriage—threesomes. Horrified but intrigued, and determined to properly celebrate their own ‘re-engagement,’ they set out on a wild night in search of a threesome of their own. Cast: Lauren Lapkus, Nick Rutherford, Lucy Hale, Beck Bennett, Dree Hemingway When She Runs / U.S.A. (Directors: Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck; Producer: Laura Heberton) – A young mother of limited means puts everything on the line to pursue her dream of becoming a competitive runner. Her marriage failing, exhausted and broke, Kirstin has left her husband, Ivan, and their very young son, Jonah, seeking refuge across town. When She Runs follows Kirstin through the last day before the trial that could change her life forever. Cast: Kirstin Anderson, Ivan Gehring, Jonah GrahamDOCUMENTARY FILMS
John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Julien Faraut; Producers: William Jehannin and Raphaelle Delauche) – Written and directed by Faraut and narrated by Mathieu Amalric, John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection revisits the rich bounty of 16-mm-shot footage of the left-handed tennis star John McEnroe, at the time the world’s top-ranked player, as he competes in the French Open at Paris’s Roland Garros Stadium. Close-ups and slow motion sequences of McEnroe competing, as well as instances of his notorious temper tantrums, highlight a “man who played on the edge of his senses.” Far from a traditional documentary, Faraut probes the archival film to unpack both McEnroe’s attention to the sport and the footage itself, creating a lively and immersive look at a driven athlete, a study on the sport of tennis and the human body and movement, and finally how these all intersect with cinema itself. Minding the Gap / U.S.A. (Director and producer: Bing Liu, Producers: Diane Quon and Joshua Altman) – First-time filmmaker Bing Liu’s documentary Minding the Gap is a coming-of-age saga of three skateboarding friends in their Rust Belt hometown hit hard by decades of recession. In his quest to understand why he and his friends all ran away from home when they were younger, Bing follows 23-year-old Zack as he becomes a father and 17-year-old Keire as he gets his first job. As the film unfolds, Bing is thrust into the middle of Zack’s tumultuous relationship with his girlfriend and Keire’s inner struggles with racial identity and his deceased father. While navigating a complex relationship between his camera and his friends, Bing explores the gap between fathers and sons, between discipline and domestic abuse, and ultimately that precarious chasm between childhood and becoming an adult. Cast: Zack Mulligan, Keire Johnson, Bing Liu, Nina Bowgren, Kent Abernathy Narcissister Organ Player / U.S.A. (Director: Narcissister) — American performance artist Narcissister takes a smart, sassy, spectacle-rich approach to exploring the kinds of sexual fetishism that notoriously fix racial and gender stereotypes. She combines unabashed eroticism, humor, and poignancy to stretch viewers’ sensibilities and achieve surprising psychic effects. Narcissister Organ Player is originally a Bessie Awards–nominated performance that takes place in a metaphorical restaurant where Narcissister, unsated by a few spinach leaves, tries to eat the restaurant furniture and ends up “consuming herself” by entering and traveling through her own body, represented by an enormous onstage puppet. As the performance plays out on stage, in real life, her mother’s long-term illness brings on a decline that ends in death. The artist’s loss provokes an exploration of how her own complex, interracial family history has compelled her to create the masked, erotic performance character Narcissister. Sammy Davis Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me / U.S.A. (Director: Sam Pollard; Screenwriter and Co-Producer: Laurence Maslon; Executive Producer and Producer: Michael Kantor; Producer: Sally Rosenthal) – Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me is the first major film documentary to examine Davis’ vast talent and his journey for identity through the shifting tides of civil rights and racial progress during 20th-century America. Featuring new interviews with such luminaries as Billy Crystal, Norman Lear, Jerry Lewis, Whoopi Goldberg and Kim Novak, with never-before-seen photographs from Davis’ vast personal collection and excerpts from his electric performances in television, film and concert, Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me explores the life and art of a uniquely gifted entertainer whose trajectory blazed across the major flashpoints of American society from the Depression through the 1980s.LIVE EVENTS
Bobcat Goldthwait and Friends Live – Veteran film director Bobcat Goldthwait first came to CineVegas with Windy City Heat in 2004 and brought his first film Shakes the Clown to the Las Vegas Film Festival two years ago. Now he returns to the stage in Vegas for some much-needed comedy. Christine Vachon in Conversation with Mary Ann Marino – The Black Mountain Institute will sponsor a live discussion with acclaimed producer Christine Vachon, who co-founded Killer Films with Pamela Koffler in 1995. Since then, they have produced over 100 films including: Carol (nominated for six Academy Awards), Far From Heaven (nominated for four Academy Awards), Still Alice (Academy Award winner), Boys Don’t Cry (Academy Award winner), and I’m Not There (Academy Award nominated). Killer also produced Z: The Beginning of Everything for Amazon Studios, as well as Todd Haynes’ latest film, Wonderstruck. Mary Ann Marino is a longtime producer and current head of physical production for Amazon Studios. An Evening With Don Hertzfeldt / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Don Hertzfeldt) — The highly anticipated follow-up to Don Hertzfeldt’s “World of Tomorrow” finds Emily Prime swept inside the brain of an incomplete back-up clone of her future self, who’s on a mission to reboot her broken mind. Continuing the tradition of the first film, “World of Tomorrow Episode Two” was written entirely around candid audio recordings of Hertzfeldt’s five-year-old niece. Cast: Julia Pott and Winona Mae The Rudy Casoni Boozebag Revue – The Rudy Casoni Boozebag Revue returns to Las Vegas. Sinatra’s Singing Bastard brings his drunken and dangerous lounge act to Fremont Street. See him croon the standards and selected punk covers with his swing band as his show of comedians and low rent, dumdum, variety acts, careens off the rails and slams headfirst into a rat pack nightmare. Cast: Toby Huss, Mark Fite, Billy the Mime, Pat Healy, and the Dago5 Band and featuring mostly nude dancers who are mostly women.
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Seattle International Film Festival Announces 2018 Lineup of Over 400 Films
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Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot[/caption]
This year’s 44th edition of the Seattle International Film Festival revealed today the complete lineup of 433 films, plus guests and events for the 25-day Festival that runs May 17 to June 10, 2018. Opening night kicks off Thursday, May 17 with The Bookshop from acclaimed Spanish filmmaker Isabel Coixet (Learning to Drive, Elegy), distributed by Greenwich Entertainment. The film is set in a seaside village in England where a grieving widow (Emily Mortimer) pursues her lifelong dream of opening a bookshop. She introduces the townsfolk to the world’s best literature and stirs a cultural awakening, but her efforts are ruthlessly opposed by a powerful local (Patricia Clarkson) causing a reclusive resident (Bill Nighy) to join the fight to keep the bookshop open. The film is based on the bestselling novel by Penelope Fitzgerald.
The annual Centerpiece Gala, Sorry to Bother You, pulls no punches in its portrayal of racial dynamics in the workplace. This new film ushers in an utterly original and wildly creative new voice on the film scene from debut director and musician Boots Riley. Director Boots Riley is scheduled to attend the Seattle premiere to take place Saturday, June 2, at 5:30 PM, at the SIFF Cinema Egyptian.
The Seattle premiere of Ethan Hawke’s Blaze will also screen at the historic SIFF Cinema Egyptian as SIFF honors Mr. Hawke’s work with the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinema. In addition to the award presentation and screening, the acclaimed actor is slated for an on-stage interview at the Friday, June 8 event.
Also scheduled is An Afternoon with Melanie Lynskey, where the Festival pays tribute to this celebrated actress. The iconic scene-stealing actress makes her way to SIFF on Sunday, May 27 for the Seattle premiere of Northwest Filmmaker Megan Griffiths’ film Sadie with an onstage discussion following the film.
Seattle favorite, Gus Van Sant’s Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot, closes SIFF 2018 with a bang! Starring Joaquin Phoenix in a transformative performance as Portland cartoonist John Callahan who, after a car accident leaves him disabled, uses his sardonic humor and brutal honesty to battle with a lifetime of addiction.
“Sifting through over 4,000 film submissions each year, finding just 240 features is somewhat of a treasure hunt,” said SIFF Artistic Director Beth Barrett. “We’re looking for dynamic, diverse stories. This year, we’re overjoyed to share that over 43-percent of the feature films are female directed. We’re thrilled to jump into the 44th Festival and share these voices from around the globe with over 150,000 film enthusiasts in Seattle over the course of 25 days.”
GALAS
Opening Night Gala The Bookshop Spanish director Isabel Coixet heads to the English coast circa 1959, where a headstrong widow (Emily Mortimer) opens a bookstore in a sleepy village and encounters both pride and prejudice from the provincial locals. Winner of Best Film, Director, and Screenplay at Spain’s Goya Awards. (d: Isabel Coixet c: Emily Mortimer, Bill Nighy, Patricia Clarkson, Julie Christie, Hunter Tremayne, United Kingdom 2017, 110 min) Centerpiece Gala Sorry to Bother You Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, and Armie Hammer star in the exhilarating directorial debut of musician Boots Riley, a biting and bonkers satire that follows a black telemarketer who discovers an unknown skill which gives him magical selling powers that shoot him up the corporate ladder. (d: Boots Riley c: Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Steven Yeun, Jermaine Fowler, Armie Hammer, Omari Hardwick, David Cross, Danny Glover, USA 2018, 112 min) Closing Night Gala Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot Joaquin Phoenix gives a transformative performance in Gus Van Sant’s sensitive and caustically funny portrait of Portland cartoonist John Callahan who, after a car accident leaves him disabled, uses his sardonic humor and brutal honesty to battle with a lifetime of addiction. The outstanding supporting cast includes Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, Jack Black, and musician Beth Ditto in her impressive film debut. (d: Gus Van Sant c: Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, Jack Black, Beth Ditto, USA 2018, 113 min)SPECIAL GUESTS
AN AFTERNOON WITH Melanie Lynskey FILM: Sadie Since making her debut at age 16 opposite a young Kate Winslet in Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures, the New Zealand-born Melanie Lynskey has become one of American cinema’s most reliable character actors. From Ever After: A Cinderella Story to Shattered Glass, The Informant! to The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Hello I Must Be Going to I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore, and TV work ranging from HBO’s “Togetherness” and “Animals” and Cartoon Network’s “Over the Garden Wall” to 12 years on CBS’ “Two and a Half Men,” her passionate dedication to her craft has created a class of charismatic characters defined by their grace, sensitivity, quirkiness, and kindness. This afternoon, SIFF will welcome her to the stage for an interview featuring film clips from her career, followed by a screening of one of Lynskey’s latest films, Sadie, directed by Seattle-based Megan Griffiths (The Night Stalker, Lucky Them, Eden), with music by Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready. There will also be an opportunity for audience questions following the screening.OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMA
A Tribute to Ethan Hawke FILM: Blaze A modern day renaissance artist, Ethan Hawke’s creative talent continues to flourish in several realms of expression. An actor, screenwriter, novelist, and filmmaker, his body of work is broad as it is deep in a career that now spans three decades. From portraying a rock-steady police sergeant and cowboy, to a sensitive teenage poet and young heartthrob, his versatility as an actor is renowned, cementing him as one of the great performers of this generation. SIFF will present Ethan Hawke with the Seattle International Film Festival Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinema. A Q&A with Hawke will follow the screening of his new film, Blaze. Past honorees of the SIFF Outstanding Achievement Awards include Anjelica Huston, Laura Dern, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Viggo Mortensen, Kyle MacLachlan, Sir Ben Kingsley, Kevin Bacon, Edward Norton, Sissy Spacek, Joan Allen, Spike Lee, among others.FILMS WITH PARTIES
Saturday Film and Party The Cake General, North American Premiere SATURDAY, MAY 19, 5:30 PM – Party to follow screening FILM: MAJESTIC BAY PARTY: NORDIC MUSEUM Based on a true story, the directorial debut of popular Swedish personalities Filip and Fredrik is an outrageous, unconventional comedy set in the 1980s about an eccentric resident of “the most boring town in Sweden” who decides to put his sleepy hamlet on the map by assembling the world’s longest layer cake. (d: Filip Hammar, Fredrik Wikingsson c: Mikael Perssbrandt, Helena Bergström, Agnes Lindström Bolmgren, Tomas von Brömssen, Sweden 2018, 101 min) Saturday Film and Party Won’t You Be My Neighbor? SATURDAY, MAY 26, 6:00 PM – Party to follow screening FILM: SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN PARTY: THE HOUSE STUDIOS Oscar®-winning director Morgan Neville (20 Feet From Stardom) presents the heartwarming life of Fred Rogers, whose cherished PBS series, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” used cardigans, puppets, and the Land of Make-Believe to imaginatively and compassionately inspire children, while not shying away from complicated issues. (d: Morgan Neville f: Fred Rogers, USA 2018, 93 min) Kirkland Opening Night The Drummer and the Keeper THURSDAY, MAY 31, 8:00 PM – Party to precede screening PARTY AND FILM: KIRKLAND PERFORMANCE CENTER When a drummer for an up-and-coming Dublin rock band is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, he is forced to join a weekend mixed-ability soccer team and makes fast friends with a 17-year-old with Asperger’s Syndrome in this poignant and charming bro-com between two odd and lonely souls. (d: Nick Kelly c: Dermot Murphy, Jacob McCarthy, Peter Coonan, Ireland/USA 2017, 93 min)SPECIAL PRESENTATION
L’INFERNO WITH LIVE SCORE BY MY GOODNESS Thursday, May 31 | 7:00 PM | The Triple Door Seattle rock band My Goodness bring their expansive blues-inspired sound to The Triple Door for a live accompaniment to the 1911 Italian silent film, a macabre tour de force inspired by Dante’s “Divine Comedy,” featuring ground-breaking special effects and a cast of thousands.SPOTLIGHT PRESENTATIONS
HIGHLANDER WITH LIVE SOUNDTRACK BY DJ NICFIT Wednesday, May 23 | 6:30 PM | SIFF Cinema Egyptian When originally released in 1986, this franchise-inspiring fantasy adventure about an immortal Scottish swordsman featured a handful of new songs from rock icons Queen. Now, Seattle’s own DJ NicFit reimagines the cult classic with a decades-spanning all-Queen playlist performed live on two turntables. FOUND FOOTAGE FESTIVAL: CHERISHED GEMS Wednesday, June 6 | 9:15 PM | SIFF Cinema Egyptian Ranging from industrial training videos to forsaken home movies, comedians Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher’s vast VHS library features the world’s largest collection of strange, outrageous, and profoundly stupid videos, the best (and worst) of which they have carefully curated and present along with live comedy commentary. EIGHTH GRADE Saturday June, 9, 6:30 PM | SIFF Cinema Egyptian Sunday, June 10, 12:30 PM | SIFF Cinema Uptown Newcomer Elsie Fisher, in a star-making performance, perfectly captures the everyday humiliations and triumphs of a modern-day thirteen-year-old making her way through the last week of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year in the auspicious filmmaking debut of comedian Bo Burnham.COMPETITIONS
Official Competition
The Devil’s Doorway (d: Aislinn Clarke, United Kingdom 2018, World Premiere) Garbage (d: Q (Qaushiq Mukherjee), India 2018, North American Premiere) The Heiresses (d: Marcelo Martinessi, Paraguay/Uruguay/Germany/Brazil/Norway/France 2018, US Premiere) Leave No Trace (d: Debra Granik, USA 2018) Luna (d: Elsa Diringer, France 2017) Pig (d: Mani Haghighi, Iran 2018, North American Premiere) The Reports on Sarah and Saleem (d: Muayad Alayan, Palestine/Netherlands/Germany/Mexico 2018, North American Premiere) Something Useful (d: Pelin Esmer, Turkey/France/Netherlands/Germany 2017, North American Premiere) Team Hurricane (d. Annika Berg, Denmark 2017)New Directors Competition
After the War (d: Annarita Zambrano, France/Italy/Belgium/Switzerland 2017) Amateurs (d: Gabriela Pichler, Sweden 2018) The Blessed (d: Sofia Djama, France/Belgium 2017) The Charmer (d: Milad Alami, Denmark/Sweden 2017) Dead Pigs (d: Cathy Yan, China/USA 2018) Retablo (d: Alvaro Delgado-Aparicio L., Peru/Germany/Norway 2018, North American Premiere) Sashinka (d: Kristina Wagenbauer, Canada (Québec) 2017, US Premiere) Scary Mother (d: Ana Urushadze, Georgia/Estonia 2017) Shuttle Life (d: Tan Seng Kiat, Malaysia 2017, US Premiere) Supa Modo (d: Likarion Wainaina, Kenya/Germany 2018)Ibero-American Competition
Champions (d: Javier Fesser, Spain 2018, North American Premiere) Giant (d: Jon GaranÞo, Aitor Arregi, Spain 2017) Gold Seekers (d: Juan Carlos Maneglia, Tana Schémbori, Paraguay 2017) Killing Jesus (d: Laura Mora Ortega, Colombia/Argentina 2017) Lots of Kids, A Monkey and a Castle (d: Gustavo Salmerón, Spain 2017) Marilyn (d: Martiìn Rodriguez, Argentina/Chile 2018, North American Premiere) Rush Hour (d: Luciana Kaplan, Mexico 2017) Rust (d: Aly Muritiba, Brazil 2018) Virus Tropical (d: Santiago Caicedo, Colombia/Ecuador 2017)New American Cinema Competition
Jinn (d: Nijla Mu’min, USA 2018) My Name Is Myeisha (d: Gus Krieger, USA 2018) Noble Earth (d: Ursula Grisham, USA 2017, US Premiere) Prospect (d: Zeek Earl, Chris Caldwell, USA/Canada 2018) Sadie (d: Megan Griffiths, USA 2018) Thunder Road (d: Jim Cummings, USA 2018) Tyrel (d: Sebastián Silva, USA 2018) Wild Nights With Emily (d: Madeleine Olnek, USA 2018)Documentary Competition
Afghan Cycles (d: Sarah Menzies, USA/France/Afghanistan 2018, US Premiere) Inventing Tomorrow (d: Laura Nix, USA 2018) MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A. (d: Stephen Loveridge, Sri Lanka/United Kingdom/USA 2018) People’s Republic of Desire (d: Hao Wu, China 2018) Queerama (d: Daisy Asquith, United Kingdom 2017) The Return (d: Malene Choi, Denmark 2018) Unarmed Verses (d: Charles Officer, Canada 2017, US Premiere) Warrior Women (d: Elizabeth A. Castle, Christina D. King, USA 2018, US Premiere)AFRICAN PICTURES
The African Storm (d: Sylvestre Amoussou, Benin/France 2017) The Blessed (d: Sofia Djama, France/Belgium 2017) Cook Off (d: Tomas L. Brickhill, Zimbabwe 2017, North American Premiere) Ellen (d: Daryne Joshua, South Africa 2017, North American Premiere) I Am Not a Witch (d: Rungano Nyoni, Zambia/France/United Kingdom 2017) Looking for Oum Kulthum (d: Shirin Neshat, Germany/Austria/Italy/Lebanon/Qatar 2017) Maki’la (d: Machérie Ekwa Bahango, Democratic Republic of Congo/France 2018, North American Premiere) Razzia (d: Nabil Ayouch, France/Morocco/Belgium 2017) Silas (d: Hawa Essuman, Anjali Nayar, Canada/South Africa/Kenya 2017) Supa Modo (d: Likarion Wainaina, Kenya/Germany 2018)CHINA STARS
Awards will be presented to: Best New Talent Award: Mingming Yang for Girls Always Happy Best First Film Award: Dead Pigs by Cathy Yan Best Film Award: The Taste of Betel Nut – Angels Wear White (d: Vivian Qu, China/France 2017) Dead Pigs (d: Cathy Yan, China/USA 2018) Girls Always Happy (d: Mingming Yang, China 2018, North American Premiere) Love Education (d: Sylvia Chang, Mainland China/Taiwan 2017) People’s Republic of Desire (d: Hao Wu, China 2018) The Silk and the Flame (d: Jordan Schiele, USA/China 2018, US Premiere) Susu (d: Yixi Sun, China/United Kingdom 2017, US Premiere) The Taste of Betel Nut (d: Jia Hu, Mainland China/Hong Kong 2017, North American Premiere) The Widowed Witch (d: Chenglie Cai, China 2018, North American Premiere) Wrath of Silence (d: Yukun Xin, China 2017, North American Premiere)CULINARY CINEMA
Brewmaster (d: Douglas Tirola, USA/Czech Republic 2018) Constructing Albert (d: Laura Collado, Jim Loomis, Spain 2017) Cuban Food Stories (d: Asori Soto, Cuba/USA 2018) Michelin Stars: Tales from the Kitchen (d: Rasmus Dinesen, Denmark 2017) Schumann’s Bar Talks (d: Marieke Schroeder, Germany 2017) Scotch – A Golden Dream (d: Andrew Peat, Taiwan 2017) Soufra (d: Thomas Morgan, USA 2017)FACE THE MUSIC
Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story (d: Steve Sullivan, United Kingdom 2018) Blaze (d: Ethan Hawke, USA 2018) Industrial Accident – The Story of Wax Trax! Records (d: Julia Nash, USA/Belgium/Canada/Germany 2018) Looking for Oum Kulthum (d: Shirin Neshat, Germany/Austria/Italy/Lebanon/Qatar 2017) Making the Grade (d: Ken Wardrop, Ireland 2017) MATANGI / Maya / M.I.A (d: Stephen Loveridge, Sri Lanka/United Kingdom/USA 2018) Nico, 1988 (d: Susanna Nicchiarelli, Italy/USA 2017) Rubén Blades Is Not My Name ( d: Abner Benaim, Panama/Argentina/Colombia 2018) Ryuichi Sakamoto:Coda (d: Stephen Nomura, Japan/USA 2017)NORTHWEST CONNECTIONS
Afghan Cycles (d: Sarah Menzies, USA/France/Afghanistan 2018, US Premiere) Automata (d: Van Alan, USA 2017) The Faces of Zandra Rhodes (d: David Wiesehan, USA 2018, World Premiere) The Most Dangerous Year (d: Vlada Knowlton, USA 2018, World Premiere) Prospect (d: Zeek Earl, Chris Caldwell, USA/Canada 2018) Return to Mount Kennedy (d: Eric Becker, USA 2018) Sadie (d: Megan Griffiths, USA 2018)
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Natalie Portman Curates First-ever Boston Calling Film Festival
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Natalie Portman[/caption]
Boston Calling revealed the details for its first-ever Boston Calling Film Festival, curated by Academy award-winning actress, producer and director Natalie Portman. The film festival will showcase a series of films that explore similar themes told from the perspective of either male or female directors. The film festival will lead up to Boston Calling Music Festival and take place Tuesday, May 22nd to Thursday, May 24th at the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square (40 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA). Additionally, Natalie is curating and hosting a series of special programming, held indoors at the music festival’s arena throughout the weekend, May 25th – May 27th.
“I’m so excited to show films that I love that explore the female gaze,” says Natalie Portman. “I don’t think there is anything inherently different between male and female artists, but these are examples of great works of art in which similar storylines have female tropes that play out quite differently depending on who is telling the story. I’m looking forward to sharing these with an audience and hearing their reactions. It makes it an even more special opportunity to watch these incredible films on the big screen at one of my favorite movie theaters.”
Boston Calling Film Festival
“The Female Gaze”
Tuesday, May 22nd
4:15pm
Lolita, the 1962 British-American drama directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Sue Lyon and James Mason
7:15pm
The Holy Girl, directed by Lucretia Martel and starring Mercedes Morán, María Alche, and Carlos Belloso
9:30pm
Diary of a Teenage Girl, the bold, coming-of-age film directed by Marielle Heller and starring Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgård, and Kristen Wiig
Wednesday, May 23rd
4:30pm
Jeanne Dielman, Chantal Akerman’s cult classic starring Delphine Seyrig
8:30pm
Belle de Jour, a new restoration of the 1967 French drama directed by Luis Buñue and starring Catherine Deneuve
Thursday, May 24th
7:30pm
I Am Not A Witch, Rungano Nyoni’s feature debut film starring newcomer Maggie Mulubwa
9:30pm
The Exorcist, the extended director’s cut of the legendary 1973 film directed by William Friedkin and starring Linda Blair, Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, and Lee J. Cobb
Now in its ninth edition, Boston Calling Music Festival will take place for the second consecutive year at the Harvard Athletic Complex in Allston (65 North Harvard Street, Boston) on Memorial Day Weekend, May 25th – 27th, 2018. Headlined by Eminem, The Killers, and Jack White, Boston Calling 2018 will deliver over 54 performances from musicians, bands, and comedians across its three stages and the festival’s indoor arena.
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I AM NOT A WITCH and MINDING THE GAP Win Top Awards at 20th Sarasota Film Festival [Complete List of Winners]
[caption id="attachment_25151" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] I AM NOT A WITCH[/caption]
The 20th Anniversary edition of the Sarasota Film Festival celebrated its Closing Night on Saturday with a screening of Rory Kennedy’s new film from Discovery, ABOVE AND BEYOND: NASA’S JOURNEY TO TOMORROW, along with the presentation of this year’s jury and audience award winners. I AM NOT A WITCH directed by Rungano Nyoni took home this year’s Narrative Feature Jury prize, and MINDING THE GAP directed by Bing Liu was the Documentary Feature Jury Prize winner. During the Closing Night, actor Steve Guttenberg and Academy Award©-nominated actress Virginia Madsen received Career Achievement Awards.
The festival’s Independent Visions Jury Prize, which includes a distribution deal from FACTORY 25, went to MILFORD GRAVES: FULL MANTIS directed by Jake Meginsky and Neil Young.
The Terry Porter Visionary Award presented by The Huisking Foundation went to THE RIDER directed by Chloé Zhao for its spirit of independence and experimentation.
The jury awarded a special recognition award for Breakthough Performance to Helena Howard in MADELINE’S MADELINE; a special mention for Visionary Storytelling to NOTES ON AN APPEARANCE; and a Special Jury Prize for Social Commentary to THE SENTENCE.
This year’s Animated Shorts Jury Prize winner is THE BURDEN, directed by Niki Lindroth von Bahr. The jury awarded LUNCH TIME, directed by Alireza Ghasemi, best Narrative Short and the Documentary Short award winner is SAND MEN, directed by Tal Amiran.
This year’s Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature was HEARTS BEAT LOUD directed by Brett Haley.
The Audience Award for Best Documentary was presented to RBG, director Betsy West and Julie Cohen.
The Best In World Cinema Audience Award went to MAKTUB, directed by Oded Raz.
MR. CONNOLLY HAS ALS, directed by Dan Habib won the Audience Award for Best Short Film.
During the Closing Night, actor Steve Guttenberg and Academy Award-nominated actress Virginia Madsen received Career Achievement Awards.
“We couldn’t be more pleased with the 20th Anniversary of the Sarasota Film Festival, which brought together groundbreaking films and important conversations for our audiences,” said President of the Sarasota Film Festival, Mark Famiglio. “Congratulations to this year’s winners, the esteemed Festival Jury and our audiences have thoroughly enjoyed your engaging and inspiring films, and we thank you for letting us showcase them here in Sarasota.”
2018 winners of The Sarasota Film Festival Awards:
Jury Awards
Narrative Feature Competition Winner I Am Not A Witch Director – Rungano Nyoni Documentary Feature Competition Winner Minding the Gap Director – Bing Liu Independent Vision Competition Winner Milford Graves: Full Mantis Director – Jake Meginsky and Neil Young Animated Shorts Competition Winner The Burden Niki Lindroth von Bahr Narrative Short Competition Winner Lunch Time Alireza Ghasemi Documentary Short Competition Winner Sand Men Tal AmiranAudience Awards
Best Narrative Feature Hearts Beat Loud Director – Brett Haley Best Documentary Feature RBG Director – Betsy West and Julie Cohen Best Short Film Mr. Connolly Has ALS Director – Dan Habib Best In World Cinema Maktub Director – Oded Raz
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2018 Sarasota Film Festival Announces Lineup, ‘1985’ EIGHTH GRADE’ ‘THE RIDER’ and More…
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EIGHTH GRADE[/caption]
The 2018 Sarasota Film Festival (SFF) announced its full line-up, including its Centerpiece, Spotlight, Narrative Feature Competition, Independent Visions Competition, Documentary Feature Competition, Narrative, Documentary, and Short Films. The Festival also announced its five SFF Focus Panels – Sports in Cinema, Environment, Science, and Sustainability, Women’s Comedic Voices, Redefining Manhood, and Musings on Musicians.
“In honor of our 20th anniversary, we have programmed a lineup that celebrates the past, present, and future of the Sarasota Film Festival that is sure to delight our dedicated and passionate audiences,” said Mark Famiglio, Chairman and President of the Sarasota Film Festival. “The selection includes a diverse group of narratives and voices that will create engaging conversations about today’s most important topics.”
In the Festival’s Centerpiece section is 1985, about a closeted gay man, unable to come out to his friends and family during the beginning of the AIDS crisis, staring Academy Award®-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, who will be attendance at the Festival. Also a Centerpiece selection is Bo Burnham’s feature film directorial debut, EIGHTH GRADE, a portrait of young teenagers discovering their identities online and in reality. Bo will be in attendance for a Q&A following the film’s screening during the Festival.
The Spotlight section will include narrative films Brett Haley’s HEARTS BEAT LOUD, Silas Howard’s A KID LIKE JAKE, Andrew Haigh’s LEAN ON PETE, Hannah Fidell’s THE LONG DUMB ROAD, Dominic Cooke’s ON CHESIL BEACH, Chloé Zhao’s THE RIDER, and Madeline Olnek’s WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY, and documentary films Eugene Jarecki’s THE KING, Ali Weinstein’s MERMAIDS, Barbara Kopple’s A MURDER IN MANSFIELD, and Morgan Neville’s WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?
Each year the Sarasota Film Festival focuses on social issues to highlight throughout its program. The Sports in Cinema Focus returns this year, welcoming Ben and Orson Cummings and their film KILLER BEES, produced by Shaquille O’Neill. Other films in this focus include the Closing Day Film, Jason Kohn’s LOVE MEANS ZERO and Dana Adam Shapiro’s DAUGHTERS OF THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE DALLAS COWBOY CHEERLEADERS.
In consideration of sustainability of communities and the planet, films in the SFF Environment, Science, and Sustainability Focus include Susan Kucera’s LIVING IN THE FUTURE’S PAST, Chad Freidrichs’ EXPERIMENTAL CITY, Quinn Costello, Chris Metzler, and Jeff Springer’s RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE, and Rory Kennedy’s ABOVE AND BEYOND: NASA’S JOURNEY TO TOMORROW.
In a groundbreaking year for women, the festival presents SFF Focus: Women’s Comedic Voices, a lineup featuring all female directors. Films in the category include Wendy McColm’s BIRDS WITHOUT FEATHERS, Bridey Elliott’s CLARA’S GHOST, Caroline Golum’s A FEAST OF MAN as well as LONG DUMB ROAD and WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY.
The films in the SFF Focus: Redefining Manhood, provide a glimpse at the questions regarding masculine identities, include Bing Liu’s MINDING THE GAP, as well as 1985, THE RIDER, and WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?
The final SFF Focus: Musings on Musicians, presents an array of films exploring the relationships between music and film. Films in the category include Laura Parnes’ TOUR WITHOUT END, T.G. Herrington and Danny Clinch’s A TUBA TO CUBA, Derek Ahonen’s THE TRANSCENDENTS, Sophie Fiennes’ GRACE JONES: BLOODLIGHT AND BAMI, Jake Meginsky and Neil Young’s MILFORD GRAVES FULL MANTIS, Scott Smith’s CHASING THE BLUES, Stephen Loveridge’s MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A, as well as THE KING and HEARTS BEAT LOUD.
The Narrative Feature Competition will showcase DON’T LEAVE HOME directed by Michael Tully, I AM NOT A WITCH, directed by Rungano Nyoni, MADELINE’S MADELINE, directed by Josephine Decker, THE QUEEN OF FEAR directed by Valeria Bertuccelli and Fabiana Tiscornia, THE SEEN AND THE UNSEEN directed by Kamila Andini, SUPPORT THE GIRLS directed by Andrew Bujalski as well as CLARA’S GHOST.
The Documentary Feature Competition will include GENERATION WEALTH directed by Lauren Greenfield, GENESIS 2.0 directed by Christian Frei and Maxim Arbugaev, HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING directed by RaMell Ross, OF FATHERS AND SONS directed by Talal Derki, THE SENTENCE directed by Rudy Valdez, as well as DAUGHTERS OF THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE DALLAS COWBOY CHEERLEADERS and MINDING THE GAP.
The Independent Visions Competition will feature BLACK MOTHER directed by Khalik Allah, LIFE AND NOTHING MORE directed by Antonio Méndez Esparza, MAISON DU BONHEUR directed by Sofia Bohdanowicz, NOTES ON APPEARANCE directed by Ricky D’Ambrose, as well as BIRDS WITHOUT FEATHERS, A FEAST OF MAN, MILFORD GRAVES FULL MANTIS, and TOUR WITHOUT END.
The jury for the competition films will consist of the following individuals: producer Autumn Bailey-Ford, Emmy®-nominated writer and producer Mark Bailey, documentary filmmaker Orson Cummings, New York Magazine film critic David Edelstein, Factory 25 film distributor Matt Grady, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Director – New York Programs and Membership Patrick Harrison, film professor Del Jacobs, Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Penny Lane, actress Penelope Ann Miller, The Hollywood Reporter film writer Tatiana Siegel, founder and publisher of Women and Hollywood Melissa Silverstein, and Sarasota County Circuit court judge and filmmaker Charles Williams.
Narrative films include: ALL YOU CAN EAT BUDDHA directed by Ian Lagarde, AMERICAN ANIMALS directed by Bart Layton, AUGUST IN BERLIN directed by Becky Smith, BIKINI MOON directed by Milcho Manchevski, BLACK KITE directed by Tarique Qayumi, CAN HITLER HAPPEN HERE? directed by Saskia Rifkin, COLD SKIN directed by Xavier Gens, COME SUNDAY directed by Joshua Marston, DELENDA directed by Ralph Moffettone, DIMINUENDO directed by Adrian Stewart, EN EL SÉPTIMO DÍA directed by Jim McKay, FIRST REFORMED directed by Paul Schrader, A FRENCHMAN IN FLORIDA directed by Dante Rhev, HOLIDAY directed by Isabella Eklof, LET THE SUNSHINE IN directed by Claire Denis, MAKTUB directed by Oded Raz, SANTA INOCENCIA directed by Maritxell Campos Olivé, SHELTER directed by Eran Riklis, TATTERDEMALION directed by Ramaa Mosley, TINKER directed by Sonny Mahrler, VIRGINIA, MINNESOTA directed by Daniel Stine, VIRUS TROPICAL directed by Santiago Caicedo, WE THE ANIMALS directed by Jeremiah Zagar, WHITE RABBIT directed by Daryl Wein, ZAMA directed by Lucrecia Martel, as well as CHASING THE BLUES and THE TRANSCENDENTS.
Documentary films include: 306 HOLLYWOOD directed by Elan Bogarin and Jonathan Bogarin, ANTONIO LOPEZ 1970: SEX FASHION & DISCO directed by James Crump, ASK THE SEXPERT directed by Vaishali Sinha, BISBEE ’17 directed by Robert Greene, CHEF FLYNN directed by Cameron Yates, CRACKING ACES: A WOMAN’S PLACE AT THE TABLE directed by H. James Gilmore, CRIME + PUNISHMENT directed by Stephen Maing, DISTANT CONSTELLATION directed by Shevaun Mizrahi, FATHER’S KINGDOM directed by Lenny Feinberg, FREEDOM FOR THE WOLF directed by Rupert Russell, THE GREAT FLIP-OFF directed by Dafna Yachin, HALF THE PICTURE directed by Amy Adrion, LA FLOR DE LA VIDA directed by Adriana Leoff and Claudia Abend, LOTS OF KIDS, A MONKEY AND A CASTLE directed by Gustavo Salmerón, MAYNARD directed by Sam Pollard, OLD DOG directed by Sally Rowe, ON HER SHOULDERS directed by Alexandria Bombach, THE PAIN OF OTHERS directed by Penny Lane, RBG directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen, SISTERS directed by Justyna Tafel, THAT SUMMER directed by Göran Hugo Olsson, THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS directed by Tim Wardle as well as THE EXPERIMENTAL CITY, GRACE JONES: BLOODLIGHT AND BAMI, KILLER BEES, LIVING IN THE FUTURE’S PAST, MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A., RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE, and A TUBA TO CUBA.
As previously announced Golden Globe®-nominated and Independent Spirit Award®-nominated Eric Stoltz’s coming-of-age comedy CLASS RANK will be the Festival’s Opening Night film and Academy Award®-nominated and Emmy®-winning Rory Kennedy’s ABOVE AND BEYOND: NASA’S JOURNEY TO TOMORROW will serve as Closing Night film. The Festival will also be honoring renowned actor Steve Guttenberg and Academy Award®-nominated actress Virginia Madsen with Career Achievement Awards during the closing weekend.
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RBG, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Docu to Open 2018 Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival | Trailer
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Ruth Bader Ginsburg in RBG by Betsy West and Julie Cohen[/caption]
RBG, the acclaimed documentary celebrating the life and lasting influence of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be the opening night film of the 37th Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival.
Charting Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s life through growing up in Brooklyn, RBG shows Ginsburg pursuing her education, falling in love, her friendship with the late Justice Antonin Scalia and eventual appointment as Justice of the Supreme Court. A fighting force, Ginsburg’s determination throughout her life and career has earned her the title of “notorious” both in politics and the wider public discourse. As a history-making public figure, Ginsburg has become “notorious” through her championing of women, her ever-persistent work ethic, and her commitment to democracy. Program: Special Presentation, Women & Film. Directed by Julie Cohen, Betsy West. USA. 2018. English. 97 min. Documentary Feature.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biIRlcQqmOc
In addition to the the opening night film, the festival selected the Women & Film and Spotlight on the World: Chasms and Bridges titles.
WOMEN & FILM
MSPIFF’s showcase female directors from around the globe and a short list of this year’s many titles includes: Sofia Djama’s The Blessed (from Algeria), Vivian Qu’s Angels Wear White (China) and Rungano Nyoni’s I Am Not A Witch (Zambia). THE BLESSED (LES BIENHEUREUX) In postwar Algiers, Amal and Samir are a middle-aged couple hoping to celebrate their twentieth wedding anniversary. Drifting through their day, they eventually find themselves at a restaurant. Here, they confront their differences and disillusionment, threaded with the unsettled atmosphere of postwar society. Outside, their teenaged son Fahim and his friends, Feriel and Reda, spend their day on the streets of Algiers. They too reveal ideological differences among them, their banter soon leading to the reveal of hidden wounds left by the Algerian Civil War that shaped their current world. Program: Images of Africa, Women & Film. Directed by Sofia Djama. Algeria, Belgium, France. 2018. Arabic, French w/English subtitles. 102 min. Narrative Feature. ANGELS WEAR WHITE (JIA NIAN HUA) Xiaomi, a motel cleaner, watches as a district-commissioner checks in alongside two girls, Xiaowen and Xin Xin. On the surveillance monitor, Xiaomi sees the commissioner push his way into the girls’ room, and she decides to record the event with her smartphone. In the wake of the assault, Xiaomi’s story does little good for the girls as they face their unconcerned families and a society that would rather put the blame on them than offend their attacker. Program: Asian Frontiers, Women & Film. Directed by Vivian Qu. China, France. 2018. Chinese (Mandarin) w/English subtitles. 107 min. Narrative Feature. I AM NOT A WITCH Shula is young woman accused by an older woman of being a witch. Adorned with a spindle to “tether” her to the ground and carted off to a camp for witches that bares little difference to your standard zoo, Shula is then forced to perform her “magic” for a corrupt official. Rungano Nyoni’s debut feature-film renders Shula’s journey by exploring themes of femininity, superstition and acceptance, while also keeping Shula herself a mystery to all the spectators that attempt to control her world. Program: Images of Africa, Women & Film. Directed by Rungano Nyoni. Zambia, UK, France. 2017. English. 90 min. Narrative Feature.CHASMS AND BRIDGES: CINEMA AND THE SEARCH FOR COMMON GROUND
The 2018 MSPIFF Spotlight on the World is Chasms and Bridges: Cinema and the Search for Common Ground. Tackling the lines that divide us and the dramatic potential for reconciliation and compassion, this special series of titles and related panel discussions and workshops, are designed to open up conversations on the social and ideological divides and shifting social order shaping our world today. Such stories can be found in fiction: A Syrian outsider finds both love and bigotry in Finland (A Moment in the Reeds); a powerful business woman comes face-to-face with the glass ceiling (Number One) ; upper and middle classes collide in Iran as a minor accident turns into major tragedy (No Date, No Signature). And non-fiction: Delve into the day-to-day life of radical Islamist family (Of Father and Sons); see the 2016 US election from the Russian perspective (Our New President); take a frustrating look at the corruption inside the NYPD (Crime + Punishment). A MOMENT IN THE REEDS (TÄMÄ HETKI KAISLIKOSSA) After moving to Paris for university, handsome literature student Leevi returns to his native Finland for the summer to help his estranged father renovate the family lake house so it can be sold. Tareq, a recent asylum seeker from Syria, has been hired to help with the work, and when Leevi’s father has to return to town on business, the two young men establish a connection and spend a few days discovering one another during the Finnish midsummer. Program: Midnight Sun, LGBTQ Currents, Spotlight. Directed by Mikko Makela. Finland, UK. 2017. English, Finnish w/English subtitles. 108 min. Narrative Feature. NUMBER ONE (NUMÉRO UNE) When Emmanuelle, an executive in a French energy firm, reaches the glass ceiling, but refuses to recognize her limited options. For years she has refused to acknowledge the sexism inherent in her workplace, but when chauvinistic male colleagues work to undermine her rise in the ranks, Emmanuelle pulls out all the stops in an attempt to capture what is rightly hers. Program: World Cinema, Women & Film, Spotlight. Directed by Tonie Marshall. France. 2017. French w/English subtitles. 110 min. Narrative Feature. OF FATHERS AND SONS The roots of home run deep in Talal Derki’s latest eye-opening feature. Returning to his homeland of Syria, documentary filmmaker Derki encounters Abu Osama and his family. Masqurading as a jihadist sympathizer, Derki integrates himself into the household of Osama, an Al-Nusra Front member. Program: World Cinema, Spotlight. Directed by Talal Derki. Germany, Syria, Lebanon, Qatar. 2018. Arabic w/English subtitles. 99 min. Documentary Feature. OUR NEW PRESIDENT In this era of fake news v. real news, acclaimed documentarian Maxim Pozdorovkin has crafted a startling cine-essay, pulling together footage from the 2016 election from YouTube, Russian-government run RT, and other sources to dig deep into the propaganda machine that may ultimately have altered the U.S. Presidential election. Program: World Cinema, Spotlight. Directed by Maxim Pozdorovkin. Russia, USA. 2017. English, Russian w/English subtitles. 77 min. Documentary Feature. CRIME + PUNISHMENT Shocking and true, Crime + Punishment explores the internal corruption of the New York City Police Department and the undeniably racist system that has persisted well past early revelations. Back in 2013, a group of 12 police officers had dared to take the NYPD to court for the corruption, but the case’s federal hearing did not lead to reform. Cut to 2017, and director Stephen Maing reconnects with the police officers who first took a stand, to find them more determined than ever to speak out against the continued injustice. Program: New American Visions, Spotlight. Directed by Stephen Maing. USA. 2018. English. 112 min. Documentary Feature NO DATE, NO SIGNATURE (BEDOONE TARIKH, BEDOONE EMZA) While on his way home from work, forensics doctor Dr. Kaveh Nariman is nearly hit by a reckless driver and in the chaos hits a motorcycle carrying Moosa, Leila, and their children. Moosa and Leila are uninjured, along with their daughter, but their young son, Amir Ali, appears to have a concussion. Brushing off a hospital visit, Kaveh and the family go their separate ways, only for the latter to discover the next day that one of the incoming bodies at the morgue where he works is Amir. Fellow colleague Dr. Sayeh Behbahnani deduces that the boy’s death was due to botulism caused by eating cheap chicken, but Nariman remains convinced that it was the motorcycle accident that ultimately caused it. Program: World Cinema, Spotlight. Directed by Vahid Jalilvand. Iran. 2017. Farsi w/English subtitles. 100 min. Narrative Feature.
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2018 San Francisco International Film Festival Reveals Feature Films in Golden Gate Award Competition
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Tre Maison Dasan[/caption]
The San Francisco International Film Festival announced the feature film in competitions for the 2018 Golden Gate Awards. The upcoming festival will run from April 4th to 17th, 2018, and the Golden Gate Awards ceremony will take place on Sunday, April 15th.
The Golden Gate Awards will distribute nearly $40,000 in total prizes this year in various narrative and documentary categories. The McBaine Bay Area Documentary Feature winner will receive $5,000 while the New Directors Prize & the McBaine Documentary Feature winners will receive a cash prize of $10,000.
In addition to the narrative and documentary features in contention, the Golden Gate Awards will include competitors in six short film categories.
GOLDEN GLOBE AWARD NEW DIRECTORS (NARRATIVE FEATURE) COMPETITION
Djon África | Directors: João Miller Guerra and Felipa Reis, Portugal/Brazil/Cape Verde At loose ends in Lisbon, Miguel (Miguel Moreira) is prompted by a chance encounter to search for the father he has never known in Cape Verde, where he encounters a diverse mélange of residents. From cheeky bus riders to a ribald farmwoman who serves as a kind of cultural griot, Guerra and Reis’s winning and funny debut uses the road movie format as its jumping-off point for a culturally rich portrait of the verdant and beautiful landscapes of Cape Verde. I Am Not a Witch | Director: Rungano Nyoni, UK/France “The child is a witch,” exclaim the villagers in the opening of this strikingly beautiful first feature by Rungano Nyoni. When young Shula is accused of witchcraft in her village, she is exiled, her movements constrained, and she is expected to perform miracles; however, she is not prepared to live this way forever. Employing breathtaking composition, Nyoni layers magical realism, satire, and social critique to blur reality with the surreal in this original and unforgettable story. Night Comes On | Director: Jordana Spiro, USA Jordana Spiro’s heartfelt and nuanced debut feature concerns Angel, just out of juvenile detention, and her sister, currently in a foster home. Angel is determined to confront her father about their past, while her sibling needs her to stay out of trouble so they can build on their bond. Newcomers Dominique Fishback (The Deuce) and Tatum Marilyn Hall give authentic and grounded performances, intimately capturing the close bond of sisterhood as they desperately try to remain a family against their complex circumstances. Ravens | Director: Jens Assur, Sweden A young boy, whose aspirations lie away from the family farm, tries to take a stand against his father, a stubborn and taciturn man who extols the virtues of toil and sacrifice. As their conflict butts up against challenging economic and emotional realities, the lives of all family members, including the boy’s dissatisfied mother, are profoundly altered. With a stark visual sensibility and powerful performances, Assur’s debut feature beautifully renders the story of a life that seems to offer little way out. Scary Mother | Director: Ana Urushadze, Georgia/Estonia Manana, a wild-haired 50-something mother of three, has just written a book. The problem is that the novel is clearly autobiographical and leaves no family member unscathed. As the ramifications of her artistic endeavor unravel in compellingly bizarre fashion, Manana’s single-minded pursuit of her new calling leads the film into brave and uncharted territory. The Sower | Director: Marine Francen, France In a rural mountain village in 1851, it is up to the women to bring in the grain harvest after all their men have been arrested for sedition. Under these challenging circumstances, their livelihoods as well as their desire for children become an obsession and when a mysterious man appears, these concerns play out in continually surprising and erotic fashion in this frank, feverish, and ravishingly beautiful film. Suleiman Mountain|Director: Elizaveta Stishova, Kyrgyzstan/Russia Without preamble, a young Kyrgyz boy is taken out an orphanage and into the lives of his supposed parents who make ends meet by running various cons on unsuspecting villagers. Director Stishova weaves mythological and even comedic elements into a beautifully filmed tale that centers around the titular mountain, a mysterious and holy place where the prophet Solomon is said to be buried and where the film’s characters aim to find their destinies. Those Who Are Fine | Director: Cyril Schäublin, Switzerland Through striking framing, intense angles, fragmented scenes, and amusing conversations that at first seem to be unrelated, Those Who Are Fine weaves together stories of a young woman at a telemarketing company who takes advantage of the elderly by convincing them to give her large sums of cash. Director Cyril Schäublin’s bold and precisely assembled debut astutely captures a world where every character is either on or using a device and surveillance is everywhere but fails to protect. Tigre |Directors: Ulises Porra Guardiola and Silvina Schnicer, Argentina In a boarded-up family estate situated in Argentina’s mysterious and ancient Tigre delta, three generations gather to decide whether to sell their property to developers. As the family navigates their relationship to their home, their interpersonal conflicts lead to them to a unique and beautiful farewell. Winter Brothers |Director: Hlynur Pálmason, Denmark/Iceland A powerful batch of moonshine made in the barracks of an industrial compound causes problems for Emil after his coworkers become ill. Already an outcast, resentment grows as he blunders everything that he tries to pursue – including the only woman in town. Set in an ashen-grey wilderness, where everything is covered in a clay-like dust, director Hlynur Pálmason’s drama distinctly captures each character’s bumbling rage with sly humor in this debut feature film.GOLDEN GATE AWARDS MCBAINE DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
City of the Sun | Director: Rati Oneli, Georgia/USA/Qatar/Netherlands The lives, dreams, and desires of three stalwart denizens of a desolate Georgian mining town provide the framework for this observational and gorgeously rendered film. With precise attention to landscape and architecture, director Rati O’Neli focuses on Archil, a miner with an operatic flair for theater, the workouts of twin sprinters, and Zurab, an impassioned man working to keep Georgian music and culture alive. The Distant Barking of Dogs | Director: Simon Lereng Wilmont, Denmark/Sweden/Finland – NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE In the midst of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, a loving, wise, and defiant grandmother raises her two young grandsons. Living under the omnipresent threat of war, the spirited boys, Oleg and Yarik, learn to adapt to their precarious situation and playfully wander through their neighborhood oblivious to the dangers around them. With a warm gaze toward his beguiling protagonists, director Simon Lereng Wilmot lends sensitivity and entrancing visuals – intimately framed close-ups and vibrant rural landscapes – to deliver a nuanced portrait of war and its corrosive effect. Hale County This Morning, This Evening | Director: RaMell Ross, USA “I already had my troubles for today, so I can’t worry about tomorrow,” states Daniel, one of the protagonists in award-winning photographer RaMell Ross’s inspired and intimate portrait of a place and its people. Set in an African-American community in rural Alabama where the director moves to coach basketball in 2009, the film captures small, but nevertheless precious, moments in Black lives – church services, a toddler running circles, an eclipse – with rapturous attention. The Judge | Director: Erika Cohn, USA/Palestine Judge Kholoud Al-Faqih became the first female appointed to any of the Middle East’s Shari’a courts in 2009, challenging longstanding traditions and customs of women’s roles in society. Constantly battling controversy over her position, Al-Faqih offers guidance, mentorship, and support both in and outside the courts. In this intimate portrait, director Erika Cohn captures the determined and compassionate judge as she strives to achieve justice in a system that so often does not favor women. Minding the Gap | Director: Bing Liu, USA In Rockford, Illinois, Bing Liu has been filming his friends Zack and Kiere on and off their skateboards for ten years. Weaving archival footage, interviews, and incredible skate videos, Liu chronicles in simple and poetic fashion the lives of his inner circle of friends and family, revealing the damaging circumstances in which they all grew up. Less a film about skate culture and more an unusual and powerful coming-of-age story, Liu’s feature documentary is fresh and powerful. The Next Guardian | Directors: Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó, Hungary/Netherlands In the Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan, teenage siblings, Gyembo and Tashi share a passion for soccer, Facebook, and girls. Gyembo enjoys reading classmates Facebook posts while Tashi turns heads with her confident, boyish demeanor. As technology and social media become more accessible, these youthful amusements collide with the father’s desire for Gyembo to inherit the family monastery. Co-directors Arun Bhattarai and Dorottyya Zurbó present a penetrating and compassionate portrait of globalization and fundamental change in a country immersed in tradition and culture. The Other Side of Everything | Director: Mila Turajlić, Serbia/France/Qatar In 1945, filmmaker Mila Turajlić’s (Cinema Komunisto, Festival 2011) family apartment was divided and redistributed by the state government. Her mother’s political activism meant that they were spied on from the very rooms they used to own. Now her fascinating mother, Srbijanka, can talk about that “other side.” A staunch public advocate and voice of resistance against Slobodan Milosevic for years, she discusses with her daughter their complicated personal and political histories, while reflecting on the divided past they share. The Rescue List | Directors: Alyssa Fedele and Zachary Fink, USA/Ghana – WORLD PREMIERE Lake Volta in Ghana is the largest man-made lake in the world; it is also notorious as a locale for forced child labor. Bay Area filmmakers Zachary Fink and Alyssa Fedele’s beautifully shot documentary charts the courageous efforts of a local safe house to rescue the kids, give them schooling and therapy, and prepare them for reintegration into their families. Though it contains many intimate and moving moments with the children, the star of the film is real life hero Kwame, who initiates several dramatic rescues and is a former child slave himself. Shirkers | Director: Sandi Tan, USA “When I was 18, I had so many ideas,” reflects Sandi Tan in this buoyant personal documentary. 25 years ago, Tan and two cinephile friends made a film in Singapore, but the reels disappeared, along with a mysterious man named Georges Cardona who had been acting as the project’s mentor. Recently, the footage was found, which prompts this constantly surprising and reflective film about movie love, female friendship, and the urge for creative expression. Tre Maison Dasan | Director: Denali Tiller, USA – WORLD PREMIERE Tre, Maison, and Dasan are three boys who all share something in common – one of their parents is in jail. Following their separate lives through boyhood and weaving their stories together, first-time documentary filmmaker Denali Tiller tenderly observes each youngster’s life, as the kids come to understand more about the world around them. Capturing loving, frustrating, and heart wrenching moments between parent and child, Tre Maison Dasan approaches the issue of mass-incarceration by exposing the effects of the criminal justice system on young men.
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2018 BAFTA Awards: “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri ” Wins Top Awards
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Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri[/caption]
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri was the big winner at 2018 EE British Academy Film Awards, winning five BAFTAs including Best Film and Outstanding British Film, with Martin McDonagh winning Original Screenplay, Sam Rockwell taking Supporting Actor, and Frances McDormand receiving the BAFTA for Leading Actress.
The Shape of Water won three awards: Guillermo del Toro won for Director and composer Alexandre Desplat collected the Original Music award, his third BAFTA win; the film also won Production Design.
Gary Oldman won Leading Actor for Darkest Hour, and Supporting Actress went to Allison Janney for her role as Tonya Harding’s mother in I, Tonya.
Raoul Peck won the Documentary award for I Am Not Your Negro. Film Not in the English Language was won by South Korean drama The Handmaiden and Coco took the BAFTA for Animated Film.
Writer/director Rungano Nyoni and producer Emily Morgan received the award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for I Am Not a Witch.
James Ivory won for Adapted Screenplay for Call Me by Your Name and Dunkirk for Sound. Cowboy Dave won the British Short Film award.
The Special Award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema was presented to the National Film and Television School (NFTS). The school has trained generations of BAFTA-nominated film talent; this year’s British Short Animation award was won by Poles Apart, which is the 13th NFTS graduation film to win a BAFTA.
The Fellowship, the highest honor the Academy can bestow was presented to director and producer Sir Ridley Scott by HRH The Duke of Cambridge, President of BAFTA, and Sir Kenneth Branagh.
The EE Rising Star Award, voted for by the public, went to Daniel Kaluuya.
Winners of the EE British Academy Film Awards in 2018
FELLOWSHIP SIR RIDLEY SCOTT OUTSTANDING BRITISH CONTRIBUTION TO CINEMA NATIONAL FILM AND TELEVISION SCHOOL (NFTS) BEST FILM CALL ME BY YOUR NAME Emilie Georges, Luca Guadagnino, Marco Morabito, Peter Spears DARKEST HOUR Tim Bevan, Lisa Bruce, Eric Fellner, Anthony McCarten, Douglas Urbanski DUNKIRK Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas THE SHAPE OF WATER Guillermo del Toro, J. Miles Dale THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Martin McDonagh OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM DARKEST HOUR Joe Wright, Tim Bevan, Lisa Bruce, Eric Fellner, Anthony McCarten, Douglas Urbanski THE DEATH OF STALIN Armando Iannucci, Kevin Loader, Laurent Zeitoun, Yann Zenou, Ian Martin, David Schneider GOD’S OWN COUNTRY Francis Lee, Manon Ardisson, Jack Tarling LADY MACBETH William Oldroyd, Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly, Alice Birch PADDINGTON 2 Paul King, David Heyman, Simon Farnaby THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI Martin McDonagh, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER THE GHOUL Gareth Tunley (Writer/Director/Producer), Jack Healy Guttmann & Tom Meeten (Producers) I AM NOT A WITCH Rungano Nyoni (Writer/Director), Emily Morgan (Producer) JAWBONE Johnny Harris (Writer/Producer), Thomas Napper (Director) KINGDOM OF US Lucy Cohen (Director) LADY MACBETH Alice Birch (Writer), William Oldroyd (Director), Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly (Producer) FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ELLE Paul Verhoeven, Saïd Ben Saïd FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER Angelina Jolie, Rithy Panh THE HANDMAIDEN Park Chan-wook, Syd Lim LOVELESS Andrey Zvyagintsev, Alexander Rodnyansky THE SALESMAN Asghar Farhadi, Alexandre Mallet-Guy DOCUMENTARY CITY OF GHOSTS Matthew Heineman I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO Raoul Peck ICARUS Bryan Fogel, Dan Cogan AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk JANE Brett Morgen, Bryan Burk ANIMATED FILM COCO Lee Unkrich, Darla K. Anderson LOVING VINCENT Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman, Ivan Mactaggart MY LIFE AS A COURGETTE Claude Barras, Max Karli DIRECTOR BLADE RUNNER 2049 Denis Villeneuve CALL ME BY YOUR NAME Luca Guadagnino DUNKIRK Christopher Nolan THE SHAPE OF WATER Guillermo del Toro THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI Martin McDonagh ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY GET OUT Jordan Peele I, TONYA Steven Rogers LADY BIRD Greta Gerwig THE SHAPE OF WATER Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI Martin McDonagh ADAPTED SCREENPLAY CALL ME BY YOUR NAME James Ivory THE DEATH OF STALIN Armando Iannucci, Ian Martin, David Schneider FILM STARS DON’T DIE IN LIVERPOOL Matt Greenhalgh MOLLY’S GAME Aaron Sorkin PADDINGTON 2 Simon Farnaby, Paul King LEADING ACTRESS ANNETTE BENING Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool FRANCES McDORMAND Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri MARGOT ROBBIE I, Tonya SALLY HAWKINS The Shape of Water SAOIRSE RONAN Lady Bird LEADING ACTOR DANIEL DAY-LEWIS Phantom Thread DANIEL KALUUYA Get Out GARY OLDMAN Darkest Hour JAMIE BELL Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET Call Me by Your Name SUPPORTING ACTRESS ALLISON JANNEY I, Tonya KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS Darkest Hour LAURIE METCALF Lady Bird LESLEY MANVILLE Phantom Thread OCTAVIA SPENCER The Shape of Water SUPPORTING ACTOR CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER All the Money in the World HUGH GRANT Paddington 2 SAM ROCKWELL Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri WILLEM DAFOE The Florida Project WOODY HARRELSON Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri ORIGINAL MUSIC BLADE RUNNER 2049 Benjamin Wallfisch, Hans Zimmer DARKEST HOUR Dario Marianelli DUNKIRK Hans Zimmer PHANTOM THREAD Jonny Greenwood THE SHAPE OF WATER Alexandre Desplat CINEMATOGRAPHY BLADE RUNNER 2049 Roger Deakins DARKEST HOUR Bruno Delbonnel DUNKIRK Hoyte van Hoytema THE SHAPE OF WATER Dan Laustsen THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI Ben Davis EDITING BABY DRIVER Jonathan Amos, Paul Machliss BLADE RUNNER 2049 Joe Walker DUNKIRK Lee Smith THE SHAPE OF WATER Sidney Wolinsky THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI Jon Gregory PRODUCTION DESIGN BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer BLADE RUNNER 2049 Dennis Gassner, Alessandra Querzola DARKEST HOUR Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer DUNKIRK Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis THE SHAPE OF WATER Paul Austerberry, Jeff Melvin, Shane Vieau COSTUME DESIGN BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Jacqueline Durran DARKEST HOUR Jacqueline Durran I, TONYA Jennifer Johnson PHANTOM THREAD Mark Bridges THE SHAPE OF WATER Luis Sequeira MAKE UP & HAIR BLADE RUNNER 2049 Donald Mowat, Kerry Warn DARKEST HOUR David Malinowski, Ivana Primorac, Lucy Sibbick, Kazuhiro Tsuji I, TONYA Deborah La Mia Denaver, Adruitha Lee VICTORIA & ABDUL Daniel Phillips, Lou Sheppard WONDER Naomi Bakstad, Robert A. Pandini, Arjen Tuiten SOUND BABY DRIVER Tim Cavagin, Mary H. Ellis, Dan Morgan, Jeremy Price, Julian Slater BLADE RUNNER 2049 Ron Bartlett, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill, Mark Mangini, Mac Ruth DUNKIRK Alex Gibson, Richard King, Gregg Landaker, Gary A. Rizzo, Mark Weingarten THE SHAPE OF WATER Christian Cooke, Nelson Ferreira, Glen Gauthier, Nathan Robitaille, Brad Zoern STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick, Stuart Wilson, Matthew Wood SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS BLADE RUNNER 2049 Richard R. Hoover, Paul Lambert, Gerd Nefzer, John Nelson DUNKIRK Paul Corbould, Scott Fisher, Andrew Jackson, Andrew Lockley THE SHAPE OF WATER Dennis Berardi, Trey Harrell, Mike Hill, Kevin Scott STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI Stephen Aplin, Chris Corbould, Ben Morris, Neal Scanlan WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES Daniel Barrett, Dan Lemmon, Joe Letteri, Joel Whist BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION HAVE HEART Will Anderson MAMOON Ben Steer POLES APART Paloma Baeza, Ser En Low BRITISH SHORT FILM AAMIR Vika Evdokimenko, Emma Stone, Oliver Shuster COWBOY DAVE Colin O’Toole, Jonas Mortensen A DROWNING MAN Mahdi Fleifel, Signe Byrge Sørensen, Patrick Campbell WORK Aneil Karia, Scott O’Donnell WREN BOYS Harry Lighton, Sorcha Bacon, John Fitzpatrick EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public) DANIEL KALUUYA FLORENCE PUGH JOSH O’CONNOR TESSA THOMPSON TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET