The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF), celebrating its 12th anniversary and taking place December 1 to 12, revealed the lineup of films screening in the festival’s competition and sidebar sections.
This year, the Festival will showcase more than 130 films from 40 different countries including nine international premieres, 28 Caribbean premieres, and all are Bahamian premieres.
The four competition categories at BIFF are Spirit of Freedom: Narrative; Spirit of Freedom: Documentary; New Visions; and Short Film. Additional categories out of competition are World Cinema Narrative and World Cinema Documentary; Caribbean Spotlight Narrative and Caribbean Spotlight Documentary; Comedy; and non-Jury Short Films.
There will be special screenings throughout the Festival of Brian Klugman’s “Baby Baby Baby”, Ben Bowman’s “Knucklehead”, Daryl Wein’s “Consumed”, Julien Leclercq’s “The Crew”, Samuel Benchetrit’s “Asphalte” (Macadam Stories)” and Jean Michel Costeau’s “The Secret Ocean”.
The official BIFF feature lineup is comprised of the following films:
SPIRIT OF FREEDOM (NARRATIVE)
EADWEARD (Canada) / Director: Kyle Rideout
SHOWING ROOTS (USA) / Director: Michael Wilson
SIN AND ILLY (Germany) / Director: Maria Hengge
THE SLEEPING TREE (Bahrain) / Director: Mohammed Rashed BuAli (pictured above)
unINDIAN (Australia) Director: Anupam SHarma
WILDLIKE (USA) / Director: Frank Hall Green
SPIRIT OF FREEDOM (DOCUMENTARY)
ALL EYES ALL EARS (China, USA) / Director: Vanessa Hope
GAZELLE – THE LOVE ISSUE (Brazil) / Director: Cesar Terranova
I AM THALENTE (South Africa) / Director: Natalie Johns
INDIA’S DAUGHTER (India) Director: Leslee Udwin
MY LIFE IN CHINA (USA) Director: Kenneth Eng
QUEEN MIMI (USA) Director: Yaniv Rokah
SPEED SISTERS (Iran) Director: Amber Fares
MADINA’S DREAM (Sudan) Director: Andrew Berends
CROCODILE GENNADIY (Ukraine) Director: Steve Hoover
NEW VISIONS (Sponsored by JetBlue Airways)
A BEAUTIFUL NOW (USA) / Director: Daniela Amavia
AFTER THE WEDDING (USA) / Director: Claudia Cifuentes
BAD MOON RISING (Japan) / Director: Hiritaka Asano
EMPIRICA (USA) / Director: Patrick Shanahan
GOLDEN KINGDOM ( Myanmar ) / Director: Brian Perkins
JACKRABBIT (USA) / Director: Carleton Ranney
JOHNNY WALKER (USA) / Director: Kris De Meester
THE PREPPIE CONNECTION (USA) / Director: Joseph Castelo
SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE (USA) / Director: Lanre Olabisi
THE AMBASSADOR TO BERN (Hungary) / Director” Attila Szasz
THE CENTER (USA) / Director” Charlie Graik
SINGAPORE SLING (Brazil,USA) / Director: Marcus Sigrist
LA EXTRANA (Dominican Republic) / Director: César Rodríguez
WORLD CINEMA NARRATIVE (Sponsored by CornèrTrader)
ANTI SOCIAL (UK) / Director: Reg Traviss
OMBRE (Bulgaria) / Director: Zachary Iliev Paunov
JASMINE (Hong Kong, USA), / Director: Dax Phelan
MEET PURSUIT DELANGE (UK) / Director: Howard Webster
NORTH VS. SOUTH (UK) / Director: Steven Nesbit
REMITTANCE (Singapore, USA) / Director: Joel Fendelman
WEEPAH WAY FOR NOW SOUND (USA) / Director: Stephen Ringer
WHY DO YOU SMELL LIKE THE OCEAN (USA) / Director: Kevin Baggott
LET’S DANCE TO THE RHYTHM (India) / Director: Bardroy Barretto
WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY (Sponsored by CornèrTrader)
GORED (USA, Spain) / Director: Ido Mizrahy
HYDRO (USA) / Directors: Rafa G. Sánchez, Xavi Tello
NEW CAMBODIAN (Cambodia) / Director: Isabella Astengo
WHEN VOICES MEET (South Africa) / Director: Nancy Sutton Smith
EVERY CHILD COUNTS (Canada) / Director: Wendy Loten
CARIBBEAN SPOTLIGHT NARRATIVE
BATTLE DREAMS CHRONICLES (Martinique) / Director: Alain Bidard
BAZODEE (Trinidad & Tobago) / Director: Todd Kessler
STONE SHACKS (Bahamas) / Director: Tyrone Burrows
TRAFFICKED (Trinidad & Tobago) / Director: Sean Hodgkinson
CARIBBEAN SPOTLIGHT DOCUMENTARY
CONGO BEATS THE DRUM (Israel, Jamaica) / Director: Ariel Tagar
DREADLOCKS STORY (Jamaica) / Director: Linda Aïnouche
EXUMA (Bahamas) / Director: Colin Ruggiero
VANISHING SAIL (The Grenadines) / Director: Alexis Andrews
COMEDY
ART ACHE (USA) / Director: Berty Cadilhac
DEPENDENT’S DAY (USA) / Director: Michael David Lynch
DRIVING WHILE BLACK (USA) / Director: Paul Sapiano
IT HAD TO BE YOU (USA) / Director: Sasha Gordon
THE FUNERAL GUEST (USA) / Director: Matthew Kohnen
THE RIGHT JUICE (UK, Portugal) / Director: Kristjan KniggeJasmine
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2015 Bahamas International Film Festival Reveals Lineup; Incl. THE SLEEPING TREE, SPEED SISTERS
The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF), celebrating its 12th anniversary and taking place December 1 to 12, revealed the lineup of films screening in the festival’s competition and sidebar sections.
This year, the Festival will showcase more than 130 films from 40 different countries including nine international premieres, 28 Caribbean premieres, and all are Bahamian premieres.
The four competition categories at BIFF are Spirit of Freedom: Narrative; Spirit of Freedom: Documentary; New Visions; and Short Film. Additional categories out of competition are World Cinema Narrative and World Cinema Documentary; Caribbean Spotlight Narrative and Caribbean Spotlight Documentary; Comedy; and non-Jury Short Films.
There will be special screenings throughout the Festival of Brian Klugman’s “Baby Baby Baby”, Ben Bowman’s “Knucklehead”, Daryl Wein’s “Consumed”, Julien Leclercq’s “The Crew”, Samuel Benchetrit’s “Asphalte” (Macadam Stories)” and Jean Michel Costeau’s “The Secret Ocean”.
The official BIFF feature lineup is comprised of the following films:
SPIRIT OF FREEDOM (NARRATIVE)
EADWEARD (Canada) / Director: Kyle Rideout
SHOWING ROOTS (USA) / Director: Michael Wilson
SIN AND ILLY (Germany) / Director: Maria Hengge
THE SLEEPING TREE (Bahrain) / Director: Mohammed Rashed BuAli (pictured above)
unINDIAN (Australia) Director: Anupam SHarma
WILDLIKE (USA) / Director: Frank Hall Green
SPIRIT OF FREEDOM (DOCUMENTARY)
ALL EYES ALL EARS (China, USA) / Director: Vanessa Hope
GAZELLE – THE LOVE ISSUE (Brazil) / Director: Cesar Terranova
I AM THALENTE (South Africa) / Director: Natalie Johns
INDIA’S DAUGHTER (India) Director: Leslee Udwin
MY LIFE IN CHINA (USA) Director: Kenneth Eng
QUEEN MIMI (USA) Director: Yaniv Rokah
SPEED SISTERS (Iran) Director: Amber Fares
MADINA’S DREAM (Sudan) Director: Andrew Berends
CROCODILE GENNADIY (Ukraine) Director: Steve Hoover
NEW VISIONS (Sponsored by JetBlue Airways)
A BEAUTIFUL NOW (USA) / Director: Daniela Amavia
AFTER THE WEDDING (USA) / Director: Claudia Cifuentes
BAD MOON RISING (Japan) / Director: Hiritaka Asano
EMPIRICA (USA) / Director: Patrick Shanahan
GOLDEN KINGDOM ( Myanmar ) / Director: Brian Perkins
JACKRABBIT (USA) / Director: Carleton Ranney
JOHNNY WALKER (USA) / Director: Kris De Meester
THE PREPPIE CONNECTION (USA) / Director: Joseph Castelo
SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE (USA) / Director: Lanre Olabisi
THE AMBASSADOR TO BERN (Hungary) / Director” Attila Szasz
THE CENTER (USA) / Director” Charlie Graik
SINGAPORE SLING (Brazil,USA) / Director: Marcus Sigrist
LA EXTRANA (Dominican Republic) / Director: César Rodríguez
WORLD CINEMA NARRATIVE (Sponsored by CornèrTrader)
ANTI SOCIAL (UK) / Director: Reg Traviss
OMBRE (Bulgaria) / Director: Zachary Iliev Paunov
JASMINE (Hong Kong, USA), / Director: Dax Phelan
MEET PURSUIT DELANGE (UK) / Director: Howard Webster
NORTH VS. SOUTH (UK) / Director: Steven Nesbit
REMITTANCE (Singapore, USA) / Director: Joel Fendelman
WEEPAH WAY FOR NOW SOUND (USA) / Director: Stephen Ringer
WHY DO YOU SMELL LIKE THE OCEAN (USA) / Director: Kevin Baggott
LET’S DANCE TO THE RHYTHM (India) / Director: Bardroy Barretto
WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY (Sponsored by CornèrTrader)
GORED (USA, Spain) / Director: Ido Mizrahy
HYDRO (USA) / Directors: Rafa G. Sánchez, Xavi Tello
NEW CAMBODIAN (Cambodia) / Director: Isabella Astengo
WHEN VOICES MEET (South Africa) / Director: Nancy Sutton Smith
EVERY CHILD COUNTS (Canada) / Director: Wendy Loten
CARIBBEAN SPOTLIGHT NARRATIVE
BATTLE DREAMS CHRONICLES (Martinique) / Director: Alain Bidard
BAZODEE (Trinidad & Tobago) / Director: Todd Kessler
STONE SHACKS (Bahamas) / Director: Tyrone Burrows
TRAFFICKED (Trinidad & Tobago) / Director: Sean Hodgkinson
CARIBBEAN SPOTLIGHT DOCUMENTARY
CONGO BEATS THE DRUM (Israel, Jamaica) / Director: Ariel Tagar
DREADLOCKS STORY (Jamaica) / Director: Linda Aïnouche
EXUMA (Bahamas) / Director: Colin Ruggiero
VANISHING SAIL (The Grenadines) / Director: Alexis Andrews
COMEDY
ART ACHE (USA) / Director: Berty Cadilhac
DEPENDENT’S DAY (USA) / Director: Michael David Lynch
DRIVING WHILE BLACK (USA) / Director: Paul Sapiano
IT HAD TO BE YOU (USA) / Director: Sasha Gordon
THE FUNERAL GUEST (USA) / Director: Matthew Kohnen
THE RIGHT JUICE (UK, Portugal) / Director: Kristjan Knigge
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2015 Anchorage International Film Festival Lineup; Opens with “Eadweard”
The 2015 Anchorage International Film Festival revealed the lineup of independent films from around the world to screen December 4-13, 2015 at the BearTooth Theatrepub, Alaska Experience Theater, Anchorage Museum and the Snow Goose Performing Arts Theatre.
The festival will begin with the Opening Night screening of “Eadweard,” at the BearTooth Theatrepub, 8 PM on Friday, Dec. 4. Eadweard is the story of a world-famous, turn-of-the-century photographer, Eadweard Muybridge, later to be known as the “Godfather of Cinema.” This psychological thriller follows Muybridge from his work in Alaska shortly after its purchase from Russia. The story portrays an unconventional photographer as he seeks to capture life in “motion,” developing the first body of stop-motion photography–over 100,000 images depicting animals and humans in motion, and nude and deformed subjects. Director Kyle Rideout will be in attendance for the Opening Night screening.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VAds0GH_8E
Among the many cinematic highlights anticipated for this festival are some collaborative screenings including the Alaska Moving Image Preservation Association (AMIPA) debut of a rare, thought-to-be-lost, early Sci-Fi film from 1929 called “High Treason,” which has been in the restoration process for ten years, from Alaska to the Library of Congress. Also on the docket is an Indie Lens Pop-up series documentary from Alaska Public Media, “Autism in Love”, screening at Anchorage Museum, directly after the annual “Family Day” program, offered for free to the public.
2015 FILM SELECTIONS:
Narrative Feature Selections at AIFF 2015 are:
And The Circus Leaves Town (d. Mete Sozer, Turkey)
Creditors (d. Ben Cura, United Kingdom)
Death on a Rock (d. Scott Ballard, United States)
Diablo (d. Lawrence Roeck, Canada)
Eadweard (d. Kyle Rideout, Canada)
Jasmine (d. Dax Phelan, Hong Kong)
Living With the Dead (d. Rebekah Nelson, United States)
Magic Utopia ( d. Shoji Toyama, Shuichi Tan, Japan)
Midori in Hawaii (d. John Hill, United States)
Orphans & Kingdoms (d. Paolo Rotondo, New Zealand)
Status:single (d. Pavel Ruminov, Russian Federation)
The David Dance (d. Aprill Winney, United States)
The Descendants (d. Yaser Talebi, Islamic Republic of Iran)
The Incredible Adventures of Jojo (and his annoying little sister Avila) (d. Ann-Marie Schmidt, Brian Schmidt, United States
They Look Like People (d. Perry Blackshear, United States)
Under Construction (d. Rubaiyat Hossain, Bangladesh)
When the Ocean Met the Sky (d. Phillip Thomas, Canada)
Documentary selections at AIFF 2015 are:
A Courtship (d. Amy Kohn, United States)
A Journey to Namie (d. Sulfikar Amir, Singapore)
Above & Below (d. Nicolas Steiner, Switzerland)
Bihttoš (d. Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Canada)
Children of the Arctic (d. Nick Brandestini, Switzerland)
Circus Without Borders (d. Susan Gray, Linda Matchan, United States)
Code: Debugging the Gender Gap (d. Robin Hauser Reynolds, United States)
Dance of the People (d. Marc Menish, United States)
Free Custom Poetry (d. Cory Wilson, United States)
From This Day Forward (d. Sharon Shattuck, United States)
Harry & Snowman (d. Ron Davis, United States)
Janey Makes a Play (d. Jared Callahan, United States)
Keeping Country (d. Andrew Quinn, Australia)
Knit Me Some Happiness (d. Sofia Olins, United Kingdom)
Lost & Found (d. Nicolina Lanni, Canada)
Love Between the Covers (d. Laurie Kahn, Australia, United States)
Madina’s Dream (d. Andrew Berends, United States)
Man in the Can (d. Noessa Higa, United States)
No Greater Love (d. Justin Roberts, United States)
Riding My Way Back (d. Robin Fryday, Peter Rosenbaum, United States)
Right Footed (d. Nick Spark, United States)
Stink! (d. Jon J. Whelan, United States)
Superjednostka (d. Teresa Czepiec, Poland)
The Brainwashing of My Dad (Work in Progress screening)(d. Jen Senko, United States)
The House is Innocent (d. Nicholas Coles, United States)
To Scale (d. Alex Gorosh, United States)
Vanishing Sail (d.Alexis Andrews, Antigua & Barbuda)
Very Semi-Serious (d. Leah Wolchok, United States)
War of Lies (d. Matthias Bittner, Germany)
Short Film Selections at AIFF 2015 are:
20 Meters of Love in Montmartre (d. Pierre Gaffié, France)
Adolescence (d. Daniel Milan, Mexico)
Birthday (d. Chris King, United States)
Hirsit (d. Selcen Yilamzoglu, Turkey)
Joe Will Die (d. David Janove, United States)
Merry X-mas (d. Boman Modine, United States)
Mike (d. Petros Silvestros, United Kingdom)
Moving On (d. Mike Spear, Marcia Fields, United States)
My Heart (d. Yser Talebi, Islamic Republic of Iran)
Nkosi Coiffure (d. Frederike Migom, Belgium)
One-Minute Time Machine (d. Devon Avery, United States)
Scary Larry (d. Greg Ivan Smith, United States)
The Bravest, The Boldest (d. Moon Molson, United States)
The Call (d. Zamo Mkhwanazi, South Africa)
The Poem of a Memory (d. Christhian Andrews, United States)
The Red Thunder (d. Alvaro Ron, United States)
The Story of a Rainy Night (d. Mehdi Fard Ghaderi, Iran)
Unleaded (d. Luke Davies, United Kingdom)
Winter (d. Lina Roessler, Canada)
Zawadi (d. Richard Card, Kenya)
Animation
Chhaya (d. Debanjan Nandy, United Kingdom)
Golden Shot (d. Gokalp Gonen, Turkey)
In the forest (d. Li Xia, United States)
Mr. McBob (d. Pierre Schantz, United States)
Olilo (d. Ao Li, United States)
Ripple (d. Conner Griffith, United States)
Rosso Papavero (d. Martin Smetana, Slovakia)
Scaredy Bat (d. Greg Perkins, United States)
Sleepy Steve (d. Meghann Artes, United States)
Switch Man (d. Hsun-Chun Chuang , Shao-Kuei Tong, Taiwan)
The Apple Tree (d. Scott Storm, United States)
The Looking Planet (d. Eric Law Anderson, United States)
The Present (d. Jacob Frey, Germany)
Untitled (d. Sean McCarthy, United States)
wHole (d. Verena Klinger, Robert Banning, Germany)
Made In Alaska
3022 Ft. (d. Max Romey, United States)
Degrees North (Switzerland) 52 min.
Easy Money (d. Zayn Roohi, United States)
Heart of Alaska (d. Bjørn Olson, United States)
Hunting in Wartime (d. Samantha Farinella, United States)
I Follow Rivers (d. Ellie Schmidt, United States)
Pushing Out Daisy (d. Allison Week, United States)
Seahorse (d. Kamell Allaway, United States)
Storis: The Galloping Ghost of the Alaska Coast (d. Damon Stuebner, United States)
The Muse (d. Christopher Gage Tucker, United States)
The Ruthless Rhymer (d. Quinton Oliver Smith, United States)
Through the Wires (d. Greg Chaney, United States)
We Are All Related Here (d. Brian McDermott, United States)
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2015 Dallas Intl Film Festival Announces First 10 Films
PLAYING IT COOLThe 9th annual Dallas International Film Festival taking place April 9-19, 2015, announced the first 10 films, including the North American premiere of PLAYING IT COOL, a romantic comedy starring Chris Evans and Michelle Monaghan.
Making its world premiere at this year’s Festival is the Civil War drama ECHOES OF WAR, starring James Badge Dale, Ethan Embry and William Forsythe.
Director John Landis will receive the Dallas Star Award at Dallas Film Society Honors on Friday, April 17 at the Highland Hotel in Dallas. The Dallas Star Award honors individuals who have made significant contributions to modern cinema and the advancement of the art of film. The award presentation will be followed by a special screening of John Landis’s 1980 comedy classic THE BLUES BROTHERS on Saturday, April 18. John Landis has left a lasting impression on the film world as director of many iconic comedies such as NATIONAL LAMPOON’S ANIMAL HOUSE, ¡3 AMIGOS!, COMING TO AMERICA, TRADING PLACES, and INTO THE NIGHT. John Landis also wrote and directed AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON and the groundbreaking theatrical short MICHAEL JACKSON’S THRILLER.
The Festival will also celebrate the incredible life and career of Texas writer, actor and producer L.M. Kit Carson by featuring his 1983 film BREATHLESS. Carson is recognized for writing the Palme d’Or winning PARIS, TEXAS, and also for inventing the first ‘mockumentary’ with his film DAVID HOLZMAN’S DIARY.
5 FLIGHTS UP
Director: Richard Loncraine
USA
Cast: Morgan Freeman; Diane Keaton; Cynthia Nixon
Synopsis: Over one crazy weekend, a long-time married couple discovers that finding a new apartment is not about winding down, but starting a new adventure.BEING EVEL
Director: Daniel Junge
USA
Synopsis: Millions know the man, but few know his story. In BEING EVEL, Academy Award® winning filmmaker Daniel Junge (SAVING FACE) and actor/producer Johnny Knoxville take a candid look at American daredevil and icon Robert “Evel” Knievel, while also reflecting on our voracious public appetite for heroes and spectacle.ECHOS OF WAR (World premiere)
Director: Kane Senes
USA
Cast: James Badge Dale; Ethan Embry; William Forsythe; Maika Monroe
Synopsis: A Civil War veteran returns home to the quiet countryside, only to find himself embroiled in a conflict between his family and the brutish cattle rancher harassing them.HOLLOW
Director: Ham Tran
Vietnam
Cast: Kieu Chinh; Jayvee Mai The Hiep; Ngoc Hiep Nguyen
Synopsis: A young girl falls into a river and drowns. When her body is found in a remote village along the river, her uncle arrives to claim her body, only to find that she is very much alive. But when she returns to her family, unexplainable occurrences lead them to believe she is possessed.JASMINE
Director: Dax Phelan
USA
Cast: Jason Tobin; Byron Mann; Sarah Lian
Synopsis: JASMINE is a gripping and chilling psychological thriller about a man still struggling to come to terms with his grief nearly a year after his wife’s unsolved murder.THE BLUES BROTHERS
Director: John Landis
USA
Cast: John Belushi; Dan Aykroyd; James Brown; Cab Calloway; Ray Charles; Aretha Franklin; John Lee Hooker
Synopsis: Jake Blues, just out from prison, puts together his old band to save the Catholic home where he and brother Elwood were raised.THE LOOK OF SILENCE
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer
Denmark/Finland/Indonesia/Norway/UK
Synopsis: In Joshua Oppenheimer’s companion piece to the Oscar® nominated THE ACT OF KILLING, a family of survivors of the 1965 Indonesian genocide discovers how their son was murdered and the identity of the men who killed him. The youngest brother is determined to break the spell of silence and fear under which the survivors live, and so confronts the men responsible for his brother’s murder – something unimaginable in a country where killers remain in power.PLAYING IT COOL (North American Premiere)
Director: Justin Reardon
USA
Cast: Chris Evans; Michelle Monaghan; Luke Wilson; Aubrey Plaza; Topher Grace; Anthony Mackie
Synopsis: It’s this generation’s SWINGERS meets (500) DAYS OF SUMMER. The story is fresh, quirky, and weirdly relatable as this young, slightly pretentious man falls for an unlikely girl, and will stop at nothing to get her even after realizing she’s already in a relationship.WELCOME TO LEITH
Director: Michael Beach Nichols; Christopher K. Walker
USA
Synopsis: A white supremacist attempts to take over a small town in North Dakota.WESTERN
Director: Bill Ross; Turner Ross
USA/Mexico
Synopsis: For generations, all that distinguished Eagle Pass, Texas from Piedras Negras, Mexico was the Rio Grande. But when darkness descends upon these harmonious border towns, a cowboy and lawman face a new reality that threatens their way of life.