Artistic Director Mark Adams today unveiled details of the program for the upcoming Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), taking place next month 20 June to 1 July, 2018.
Kayak to Klemtu
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Edinburgh International Film Festival Reveals Full 2018 Program incl. World Premiere of THE PARTING GLASS
THE PARTING GLASS
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Zoe Hopkins’ Family-Adventure Drama, ‘KAYAK TO KLEMTU’ Heads to Cannes Film Festival Marché du Film [Trailer]
Canadian Heiltsuk/Mohawk filmmaker Zoe Hopkins’ family adventure, ‘Kayak to Klemtu’ is a story about a grieving family who kayaks to the island of Klemtu, only to find that true adventure is with each other.
Directed by Zoe Hopkins (‘Mohawk Midnight Runners’) and co-written by Hopkins and Michael Sparaga (‘Servitude’), ‘Kayak to Klemtu’ follows 14-year-old Ella (Ta’kaiya Blaney) on her journey to fulfill her Uncle David’s (Evan Adams) dying wish – to kayak to the remote island of Klemtu and to stand and testify to protect their ancestral land from an oil pipeline. To honor her Uncle’s memory and fulfill his dying wish, Ella makes it her mission to kayak from Tai’Amin to Klemtu, where she can lay her Uncle to rest at his home and stand in his place to defend their beloved homeland waters. Ella’s strong, youthful self is prepared for the hardships of kayaking down the currents of the Inside Passage and braving the wildlife of B.C.’s stunning Great Bear Rainforest that will surround her. But, Ella’s biggest challenge will be with who accompanies her on the adventure – her other grouchy Uncle Don (Lorne Cardinal), her compulsive and recently widowed Aunt Cory (Sonja Bennett), and her Uncle Dave’s clumsy stepson, Alex (Jared Ager-Foster). On the family’s kayak trip, they will have to learn to navigate the waters, while searching for ways to cope with the loss of their loved one. Can the family work together to survive the beautiful but dangerous trip and still make it on time to save their indigenous homeland waters?
Produced by Sheryl Kotzer and Daniel Bekerman from Scythia Films, the leading Canadian service producer, ‘Kayak to Klemtu’ is about more than family, ethnic loyalties, and the loss of a loved one, but rather, a film deeply rooted in humanity, which spotlights the possible catastrophic effects that could occur on any part of our world’s coastlines and waterways.
‘Kayak to Klemtu’ had its world premiere on Oct. 20th at the 2017 TIFF Bell Lightbox. Since, the film has successfully competed in several film festivals, including Cine Las Americas, Powel River Film Festival, imagineNative Film + Media Arts Festival (2017), receiving the Audience Choice Award, and Victoria Film Festival Canada (2008), where the film departed with the Festival Prize for Best Canadian First Feature.
TriCoast Worldwide CEOs, Strathford Hamilton and Marcy Levitas Hamilton will represent Hopkins’ ‘Kayak to Klemtu’ at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for worldwide rights, excluding Canada.
‘Kayak to Klemtu’ stars several Canadian-native and award winning actors, including Evan Adams (‘Lost in the Barrens’, ‘Smoke Signals’), Jared Ager Foster (‘Horns’, ‘The X-Files’, ‘Proof’), Sonja Bennett (‘The Fog’, ‘Fido’, ‘Preggoland’), Lorne Cardinal (‘Corner Gas’ ‘Insomnia’, FX’s (‘Fargo’) and Ta’kaiya Blaney (‘Savage’, ‘Shi-Shi-Etko’).
https://vimeo.com/265839810
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TORMENTS OF LOVE Win Top Prizes at 21st Cine Las Americas International Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_28932" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Tourments d’amour / Torments of Love[/caption]
The 21st Cine Las Americas International Film Festival (CLAIFF21) concluded on Sunday, May 6th with announcements of the winners, presented by festival director Jean Anne Lauer. The evening’s ceremony was followed by a screening of the closing night film Kayak to Klemtu (Canada), with writer and director Zoe Hopkins in attendance.
“This year’s closing night celebrated 21 years of Cine Las Americas in the company of many returning fans and supporters, as well as with attendees who were joining us for the first time – which is everything any festival team hopes for” stated Lauer. “We opened the festival with a life-affirming journey from South America to Europe, and ended it with a kayak adventure along the west coast of Canada, and throughout the week we enjoyed hearing audience responses to those films and every one they viewed in between.”
21st CINE LAS AMERICAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS
Narrative Feature Competition (for a 1st or 2nd Feature)
Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature TOURMENTS D’AMOUR (TORMENTS OF LOVE) Dir. Caroline Jules, France/Guadeloupe/French West Indies Statement from the Jury: “Caroline Jules’ poetic use of camera evokes all your senses, and in an instant makes you feel the lingering pain of your inner child. It explores the complexity of father-child relationships and invites the audience to be empathetic with those who struggle with connecting with their family. It shows the pain and reality of unresolved family problems.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-IGj1K2xXE Audience Award for Narrative Feature TOURMENTS D’AMOUR (TORMENTS OF LOVE) Dir. Caroline Jules, France/Guadeloupe/French West Indies InkTip Award As part of the narrative feature prize package, Caroline Jules, director of TOURMENTS D’AMOUR (TORMENTS OF LOVE) will be offered an InkTip Script Listing. InkTip Script Listings provide writers/filmmakers with the opportunity to get their scripts read by InkTip’s extensive network of producers, reps, managers, agents, and other qualified industry professionals.Documentary Feature Competition
Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature NADA QUEDA SINO NUESTRA TERNURA (NOTHING IS LEFT BUT OUR TENDERNESS) Dir. Sébastien Jallade, Peru Statement from the Jury: “NADA QUEDA SINO NUESTRA TERNURA (NOTHING IS LEFT BUT OUR TENDERNESS) opens the doors to the lives of families who suffer the horrors of war and who sing songs of forgetting. Just as we see a bridge being built out of clay, director Sébastien Jallade crafts the story so that we walk next to the souls of these people. Through gorgeous composition of shots the viewer experiences the literal and lyrical bridge as a catharsis, opening our eyes to the global issue of displacement.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMmnSxEf9Os Audience Award for Documentary Feature MY BOLIVIA, REMEMBERING WHAT I NEVER KNEW Dir. Rick Tejada-Flores, USA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz3zbk9nw8QNarrative Short Film Competition
Jury Award for Best Narrative Short LA HORA DE LA MERIENDA (TEATIME) Dir. Alba González de Molina, SpainDocumentary Short Competition
Jury Award for Best Documentary Short SIGO ACÁ (I’M STILL HERE) Dir. Tana Gilbert, ChileHecho en Tejas Competition
Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI) Award HAKLA (STAMMER) Dir. Tania Romero, USA Statement from the Jury: “The films of the Hecho en Tejas Showcase were absolutely brilliant, beautiful and left me wanting to see more. It was incredibly difficult to select only one winner but I am happy to announce that HAKLA (STAMMER) ultimately won my heart. I enjoyed the relationships between Ish, his father and late mother, Ish’s determination to pursue and continue dancing through heartbreak, and most especially the salsa-bollywood fusion dance that I felt was so unique and super cool. It looked like it was a fun film to make. Congratulations!” Hecho en Tejas Audience Award A STRIKE AND AN UPRISING (IN TEXAS) Dir. Anne Lewis, USAMusic Video Competition
Audience Award for Best Music Video NO REGRESO Dir. Hugo Rubiano, USA/ColombiaEmergencia Youth Film Competition
Audience Award for Best Youth Film FIND A WAY Dirs. Akil Carrillo, Ellie Aronica BAYCAT, San Francisco, CA, USA
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2018 Cine Las Americas International Film Festival to Open with EL ÚLTIMO TRAJE (THE LAST SUIT) [ Complete Lineup ]
EL ÚLTIMO TRAJE (THE LAST SUIT) This year’s twenty-first Cine Las Americas International Film Festival (CLAIFF21) will kick off on Wednesday, May 2nd, with the drama/comedy EL ÚLTIMO TRAJE (THE LAST SUIT), directed by Pablo Solarz and starring Miguel Ángel Solá.
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Zoe Hopkins’ KAYAK TO KLEMTU Wins Audience Award at imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
Kayak to Klemtu by Zoe Hopkins has been voted the winner of the Air Canada Audience Choice Award at the 2017 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival.
Kayak to Klemtu, which had it’s world premiere at the festival, is the first feature film by Zoe Hopkins.
When Dave Ellis (Evan Adams), a prominent Kitasoo/Xai’Xais activist, passes away, his 14-year-old niece Ella (Ta’Kaiya Blaney) makes it her mission to take his ashes home to Klemtu and stand in his place at a community gathering against a proposed pipeline that would bring oil tankers through their beloved homeland waters. Strengthened by her determination and her youthful spirit, Ella embarks on the kayak journey she planned to take with her Uncle Dave through the Inside Passage along the beautiful shores of the Great Bear Rainforest. Along for the journey are her aunt, cousin, and her cranky uncle Don (Lorne Cardinal). It’s a race against the clock, as the four paddle to make the community gathering in time for Ella to give the speech of her life.
The central character in Kayak to Klemtu aims to stop tanker traffic along the coast of the Great Bear Rainforest, in order to prevent oil and fuel spills in her people’s territory. Days after principal photography wrapped, a tug boat ran aground near Director Zoe Hopkins’ home community of Bella Bella, BC where she was born, and where they shot several important scenes for the film. Over 100,000 liters of diesel and heavy fuels were spilled into their clam beds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqaVf35VuuQ