Beirut[/caption]
The 2018 Annapolis Film Festival will screen more than 80 films from 28 countries during the festival taking place March 22 to 25, 2018, including a U.S. premiere and four films from Sundance making their East Coast premiere, The Festival’s new theme: Voices Strong. Minds Open, is threaded throughout the four-day program of films, panels, parties, showcases, coffee talks, and Q&As with filmmakers.
“The diversity in this year’s slate is more than we have ever had. Audiences will get to experience firsthand the depth of this slate because many great directors, producers and talent are accompanying their films,” said Patti White, Festival Director. Some films have been sourced locally right here in Maryland, others come from afar including, Armenia, Australia, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Israel, Italy, Iran, Ireland, France, Georgia, Germany, Norway, Pakistan, Spain, Sweden, Slovenia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom and Venezuela.
Narrative films include the Opening Night political thriller, Beirut, directed by Brad Anderson and starring Jon Hamm and Rosamund Pike, at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, which will be followed by a Q&A with producer Monica Levinson and industry professionals.
Other narrative films selected are: Beauty and the Dogs – Khaled Walid Barsaoui, Kaouther Ben Hania; Beauty Mark – Harris Doran; Bernard and Huey – Dan Mirvish; Butterfly Kisses – Erik Kristopher Myers; Cardinals – Grayson Moore, Aidan Shipley; Come Sunday – Joshua Marston; A Crooked Somebody– Trevor White; Disappearance – Ali Asgari; Flock of Four – Gregory Caruso; Hearts Beat Loud – Brett Haley; Humor Me – Sam Hoffman; Kiss Me! – Océane Michel, Cyprien Vial; Mary Goes Round – Molly McGlynn; The Miracle Season – Sean McNamara; The Rider – Chloé Zhao; Spinning Man – Simon Kaijser; Wallay – Berni Goldblat, and What Will People Say– Iram Haq.
Documentary features have also been chosen, including: Acorn and the Firestorm – Reuben Atlas, Samuel D. Pollard; Coyote: The Mike Plant Story – Thomas M. Simmons; Finding Home – AB Troen; Itzhak – Alison Chernick; Kim Swims – Kate Webber; Liyana – Aaron Kopp, Amanda Kopp; Lots of Kids, A Monkey, and a Castle – Gustavo Salmerón; Love Means Zero – Jason Kohn; New Wave: Dare To Be Different – Ellen Goldfarb; Resistance is Life – Apo W. Bazidi; Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me – Samuel D. Pollard; Stumped – Robin Berghaus; Three Identical Strangers – Tim Wardle; True Conviction – Jamie Meltzer; Waiting for the Sun – Kaspar Astrup Schröder; and What Lies Upstream – Cullen Hoback, and a special screening of the NBC Originals documentary Courageous: Ted Turner and the 1977 America’s Cup.
The film debuting for its U.S. premiere is The Miracle Season, directed by Sean McNamara and starring Helen Hunt as the coach of a volleyball team who must unite the team in hopes of winning the state championship in the wake of the tragic death of a star player. The four films making their East Coast premiere include Beirut; Come Sunday, directed by Joshua Marston and starring Martin Sheen and Chiwetel Ejiofor as real-life American evangelical preacher Carlton Pearson, who risks everything when he questions church doctrine and is branded a modern-day heretic; Hearts Beat Loud, directed by Brett Haley and starring Nick Offerman as a record store owner, who is forced to close his shop, and decides to form a band with his college-bound daughter; and documentary Three Identical Strangers, directed by Tim Wardle, which follows the incredible true story of triplets who learned of one another’s existence only at age 19, their initial joy giving way to increasingly unsettling discoveries.
In addition to award-winning features, AFF has made its mark now in its sixth year by continually bringing a lineup of compelling short films. Two shorts that screened at last year’s AFF landed on the Oscar’s Shortlist for Best Live Action Shorts, with DeKalb Elementary still contending for the Oscar at the upcoming 90th Academy Awards.
Kim Swims
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2018 Annapolis Film Festival to Screen Over 80 Films, “Beirut” “The Miracle Season” and More..
[caption id="attachment_27333" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Beirut[/caption]
The 2018 Annapolis Film Festival will screen more than 80 films from 28 countries during the festival taking place March 22 to 25, 2018, including a U.S. premiere and four films from Sundance making their East Coast premiere, The Festival’s new theme: Voices Strong. Minds Open, is threaded throughout the four-day program of films, panels, parties, showcases, coffee talks, and Q&As with filmmakers.
“The diversity in this year’s slate is more than we have ever had. Audiences will get to experience firsthand the depth of this slate because many great directors, producers and talent are accompanying their films,” said Patti White, Festival Director. Some films have been sourced locally right here in Maryland, others come from afar including, Armenia, Australia, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Israel, Italy, Iran, Ireland, France, Georgia, Germany, Norway, Pakistan, Spain, Sweden, Slovenia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom and Venezuela.
Narrative films include the Opening Night political thriller, Beirut, directed by Brad Anderson and starring Jon Hamm and Rosamund Pike, at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, which will be followed by a Q&A with producer Monica Levinson and industry professionals.
Other narrative films selected are: Beauty and the Dogs – Khaled Walid Barsaoui, Kaouther Ben Hania; Beauty Mark – Harris Doran; Bernard and Huey – Dan Mirvish; Butterfly Kisses – Erik Kristopher Myers; Cardinals – Grayson Moore, Aidan Shipley; Come Sunday – Joshua Marston; A Crooked Somebody– Trevor White; Disappearance – Ali Asgari; Flock of Four – Gregory Caruso; Hearts Beat Loud – Brett Haley; Humor Me – Sam Hoffman; Kiss Me! – Océane Michel, Cyprien Vial; Mary Goes Round – Molly McGlynn; The Miracle Season – Sean McNamara; The Rider – Chloé Zhao; Spinning Man – Simon Kaijser; Wallay – Berni Goldblat, and What Will People Say– Iram Haq.
Documentary features have also been chosen, including: Acorn and the Firestorm – Reuben Atlas, Samuel D. Pollard; Coyote: The Mike Plant Story – Thomas M. Simmons; Finding Home – AB Troen; Itzhak – Alison Chernick; Kim Swims – Kate Webber; Liyana – Aaron Kopp, Amanda Kopp; Lots of Kids, A Monkey, and a Castle – Gustavo Salmerón; Love Means Zero – Jason Kohn; New Wave: Dare To Be Different – Ellen Goldfarb; Resistance is Life – Apo W. Bazidi; Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me – Samuel D. Pollard; Stumped – Robin Berghaus; Three Identical Strangers – Tim Wardle; True Conviction – Jamie Meltzer; Waiting for the Sun – Kaspar Astrup Schröder; and What Lies Upstream – Cullen Hoback, and a special screening of the NBC Originals documentary Courageous: Ted Turner and the 1977 America’s Cup.
The film debuting for its U.S. premiere is The Miracle Season, directed by Sean McNamara and starring Helen Hunt as the coach of a volleyball team who must unite the team in hopes of winning the state championship in the wake of the tragic death of a star player. The four films making their East Coast premiere include Beirut; Come Sunday, directed by Joshua Marston and starring Martin Sheen and Chiwetel Ejiofor as real-life American evangelical preacher Carlton Pearson, who risks everything when he questions church doctrine and is branded a modern-day heretic; Hearts Beat Loud, directed by Brett Haley and starring Nick Offerman as a record store owner, who is forced to close his shop, and decides to form a band with his college-bound daughter; and documentary Three Identical Strangers, directed by Tim Wardle, which follows the incredible true story of triplets who learned of one another’s existence only at age 19, their initial joy giving way to increasingly unsettling discoveries.
In addition to award-winning features, AFF has made its mark now in its sixth year by continually bringing a lineup of compelling short films. Two shorts that screened at last year’s AFF landed on the Oscar’s Shortlist for Best Live Action Shorts, with DeKalb Elementary still contending for the Oscar at the upcoming 90th Academy Awards.
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International Ocean Film Festival Opens on International Women’s Day with KIM SWIMS
Question: what would you do if your doctor told you your leg would be amputated in half an hour? For Kim Chambers the answer was this: swim 30 miles through shark infested waters. With exquisite timing, on International Women’s Day – March 8, 2018 – the San Francisco based International Ocean Film Festival opens its 15th anniversary year with Kim Swims – the stirring documentary based on Chamber’s epic journey.
A special preview of the film will be shown on Saturday, February 10 during the Festival’s “Off the Reef” gala fundraiser at The Pearl (601 9th Street, San Francisco). The evening will feature food, fine wine and a silent auction: 5:30pm – 7pm cocktail reception; 7pm-9pm dinner and program; 9pm ’til 10:30pm music by DJ Bryce and remarks by this year’s “Ocean Champion” honoree, Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Louie Psihoyos. Individual tickets are $ 250 and can be purchased online.
“It would be hard to find a greater example of personal heroism matched with a love of the ocean than the story of Kim Chambers,” said Ana Blanco, Executive Director for the International Ocean Film Festival. “As told on the screen by Kate Webber and David Orr alongside Oscar-and-Emmy-winner Brad Herschberger, it is the perfect film to open our 15th anniversary season.”
Kim Swims is a documentary about the inspiring story of Chambers, once facing a radical amputation following a freak accident, and her attempt to become the first woman to complete a solo swim from the Farallon Islands to the Golden Gate Bridge – a 30-mile stretch of water known for frigid temperatures, swirling currents and the world’s largest Great White sharks. Many consider it to be the hardest marathon swim in the world, and rightfully so, as only four other men have completed the swim. Through the physically and emotionally challenging lead-up to the swim, the swim itself, and the candid interviews with her and others, we present a look into what propels Kim to conquer her fear, pursue her passion and achieve her greatest potential, and hopefully inspire others to do the same.
Since its launch in 2004, the San Francisco-based International Ocean Film Festival has attracted thousands of spectators of all ages from around the world, including film enthusiasts, sea athletes, educators, and environmental supporters. Since then, the Festival has presented over 50 films from 15 different countries and featured post-film Q&A sessions with visiting filmmakers, special panel discussions with content experts, and the 11th Annual Free Student Education Program. It was the first event of its kind in North America, inspired by the well-established ocean festival in Toulon, France, which has continued to draw large audiences for more than 40 years.
The full slate of films for the 15th Anniversary International Ocean Film Festival will be announced January 19.
The 15th Annual International Ocean Film Festival will take place March 8 to 11, 2018 at San Francisco’s Cowell Theatre at Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture.