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.Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts
A humble Indonesian woman becomes a stealthy master of revenge in this modern feminist Western.
Directed by Mouly Surya
Starring Marsha Timothy, Dea Panendra, Yoga Pratama, Egi Fedly
Genre(s) Foreign Film
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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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2018 Florida Film Festival Announces Lineup, Opens with “American Animals”
Today the Florida Film Festival announced the program lineup of 183 films representing 38 countries, for the 27th Annual Festival, taking place April 6 to 15, 2018, in Maitland and Winter Park, Florida. The festival will open with American Animals directed by Bart Layton, and close with the 75th Anniversary Screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt.
“This is going to be a banner year in every aspect,” commented Matthew Curtis, Florida Film Festival Programming Director. “With a greater number of films making their Florida debut than ever before, we could not be more excited about introducing these talented filmmakers and presenting such an extraordinary and diverse group of films to our audience. We are proud that this year’s lineup includes 82 women filmmakers–the most ever and more than 45% of our total programming! Their voices will be represented everywhere in the Festival, including our first-ever experimental shorts program (“Sunspots: New Visions of the Avant Garde”), and our first-ever “X Real” Doc shorts program completely directed by women. Let the story-gazing begin!”
The 21 features and 59 short films in the American Independent Competition will be eligible for up to three awards each: a Grand Jury Award for best film in that category, a Special Jury Award given at the jury’s discretion for exceptional achievements, and an Audience Award determined by audience votes for Narrative Feature, Documentary Feature, and Best Short Film. International films are also eligible for Audience Awards for Best International Feature and Best International Short, and an Audience Award will be given for the Best Midnight Short as well.
2018 Florida Film Festival OFFICIAL SELECTION:
OPENING NIGHT FILM:
American Animals – Directed by Bart Layton, USA, 2018, 116 MIN, East Coast Premiere Star Blake Jenner will be in attendance for the Opening Night Film and Party, and will participate in a post-film Q&A with the audience
SPOTLIGHT FILMS:
Borg McEnroe – Directed by Janus Metz, Sweden/Denmark/Finland, 2017, 107 MIN, Rated R, In English and Swedish with English subtitles The Guilty – Directed by Gustav Möller, Denmark, 2018, 85 MIN, In English and Danish with English subtitles, East Coast Premiere Hearts Beat Loud – Directed by Brett Haley, USA, 2018, 97 MIN, East Coast Premiere A Kid Like Jake – Directed by Silas Howard, USA, 2018, 92 MIN, Florida Premiere Lean on Pete – Directed by Andrew Haigh, UK, 2017, 121 MIN, Southeast Premiere RBG – Directed by Julie Cohen and Betsy West, USA, 2018, 97 MIN Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood – Directed by Matt Tyrnauer, USA, 2017, 98 MIN, Southeast Premiere Three Identical Strangers – Directed by Tim Wardle, UK, 2018, 96 MIN Tully – Directed by Jason Reitman, USA, 2018, 94 MIN, Rated R We the Animals – Directed by Jeremiah Zagar, USA, 2018, 94 MIN, East Coast Premiere Won’t You Be My Neighbor? – Directed by Morgan Neville, USA, 2018, 94 MIN
NARRATIVE FEATURES COMPETITION:
Call Me Brother – Directed by David Howe, USA, 2018, 77 MIN, World Premiere Cold November – Directed by Karl Jacob, USA, 2017, 92 MIN, Southeast Premiere The Feels – Directed by Jenée LaMarque, USA, 2017, 90 MIN Locating Silver Lake – Directed by Eric Bilitch, USA, 2018, 110 MINS, East Coast Premiere Prison Logic – Directed by Romany Malco Jr., USA, 2018, 95 MINS, Florida Premiere Quality Problems – Directed by Brooke & Doug Purdy, USA, 2017, 107 MIN, Southeast Premiere Savage Youth – Directed by Michael Curtis Johnson, USA, 2018, 97 MIN, Southeast Premiere Say You Will – Directed by Nick Naveda, USA, 2017, 98 MIN, Southeast Premiere Tatterdemalion – Directed by Ramaa Mosley, USA, 2017, 101 MIN, East Coast Premiere/2nd US Showing White Rabbit – Directed by Daryl Wein, USA, 2018, 71 MIN, East Coast PremiereDOCUMENTARY FEATURES COMPETITION:
Ask the Sexpert – Directed by Vaishali Sinha, USA/India, 2017, 83 MIN, Southeast Premiere Dark Money – Directed by Kimberly Reed, USA, 2018, 98 MIN, Florida Premiere Getting Naked: A Burlesque Story – Directed by James Lester, USA, 2017, 86 MIN, Southeast Premiere The Last Race – Directed by Michael Dweck, USA, 2018, 74 MIN, Florida Premiere Mole Man – Directed by Guy Fiorita, USA, 2017, 87 MIN, Southeast Premiere Mr. Fish: Cartooning from the Deep End – Directed by Pablo Bryant, USA, 2017, 70 MIN, Southeast Premiere My Indiana Muse – Directed by Ric & Jen Serena, USA, 2018, 44 MIN, Southeast Premiere The Power of Glove – Directed by Andrew Austin and Adam Ward, USA, 2017, 65 MIN, Southeast Premiere Samantha’s Amazing Acro-Cats – Directed by Jacob Feiring, USA, 2017, 58 MIN, Southeast Premiere This is Home – Directed by Alexandra Shiva, USA/Jordan, 2018, 91 MIN, Southeast Premiere TransMilitary – Directed by Gabriel Silverman and Fiona Dawson, USA, 2018, 92 MIN, East Coast Premiere/2nd US ShowingDOCUMENTARY SHORTS COMPETITION:
Alaska DGAF – Directed by David Freid, USA, 2018, 11 MIN, World Premiere Curious Kaleo – Directed by Judie Muhrez, Shana Kheradyar, Dylan McGale, and Tara Salveson, USA, 2018, 11 MIN, East Coast Premiere/2nd US Showing A Few Things About Robert Irwin. – Directed by Lisanne Skyler, USA, 2017, 7 MIN, Southeast Premiere Footprint – Directed by Sara Newens, USA, 2018, 17 MIN, World Premiere The Forger – Directed by Alexandra Garcia, Samantha Stark, and Pamela Druckerman, USA, 2017, 16 MIN, In French with English subtitles, Florida Premiere JessZilla – Directed by Emily Sheskin, USA, 2017, 7 MIN, Florida Premiere Let My People Vote – Directed by Gilda Ann Brasch, USA, 2018, 17 MIN, World Premiere Little Fiel – Directed by Irina Patkanian, USA/Mozambique, 2017, 16 MIN, Southeast Premiere Lotte That Silhouette Girl – Directed by Elizabeth Beecherl and Carla Patullo, USA, 2018, 10 MIN, East Coast Premiere Nueva Vida – Directed by Jonathan Seligson, USA, 2017, 7 MIN, Southeast Premiere Please – Directed by Erica Rose, USA, 2018, 7 MIN, World Premiere The Shift – Directed by Elivia Shaw and Paloma Martinez, USA, 2017, 8 MIN, Southeast Premiere The Tables – Directed by Jon Bunning, USA, 2017, 15 MIN, Florida Premiere Taobao – Directed by Noah Sheldon, USA/China, 2018, 4 MIN, In Mandarin with English subtitles, East Coast Premiere Used: A Documentary – Directed by Rolando Nieves, USA, 2017, 15 MIN, Southeast Premiere Winter’s Watch – Directed by Brian Bolster, USA, 2017, 14 MIN, Florida PremiereNARRATIVE SHORTS COMPETITION:
The Accomplice – Directed by Jonathan Hoeg and John F. Beach, USA, 2017, 8 MIN, Florida Premiere After Her – Directed by Aly Migliori, USA, 2018, 15 MIN, World Premiere An Alien Walks Into A Bar – Directed by Eli Bildner, USA, 2017, 5 MIN, Florida Premiere/2nd US Showing Anna & the Asteroid – Directed by Scott Sherman, USA, 2017, 25 MIN, Southeast Premiere/2nd US Showing Artifice – Directed by Kevin Byrnes, USA, 2018, 4 MIN, World Premiere Caroline – Directed by Celine Held and Logan George, USA, 2018, 12 MIN, Southeast Premiere/2nd US Showing Control – Directed by Kimmy Gatewood, USA, 2017, 15 MIN, Florida Premiere El Afilador (The Sharpener) – Directed by James Casey, USA/MEXICO, 2018, 9 MIN, North American Premiere, In Spanish with English subtitles Emergency – Directed by Carey Williams, USA, 2017, 12 MIN, Southeast Premiere End Times – Directed by Bobby Miller, USA, 2018, 9 MIN, Southeast Premiere/2nd US Showing everything’s gonna be okay – Directed by Matt Soson, USA, 2018, 15 MIN, World Premiere Falling – Directed by Ewen Wright, USA, 2018, 19 MIN, East Coast Premiere Five Minutes – Directed by Justine Bateman, USA, 2017, 10 MIN, Southeast Premiere Flatbush Misdemeanors – Directed by Dan Perlman and Kevin Iso, USA, 2017, 15 MIN, Southeast Premiere Fran This Summer – Directed by Mary Evangelista, USA, 2018, 9 MIN, East Coast Premiere/2nd US Showing Haircut – Directed by David Brundige, USA, 2018, 7 MIN, World Premiere Home Shopper – Directed by Dev Patel, USA/Singapore, 2018, 16 MIN, East Coast Premiere I Got This – Directed by Erik Bork, USA, 2018, 22 MIN, World Premiere Iron Hands – Directed by Johnson Cheng, USA/China, 2017, 11 MIN, In Mandarin with English Subtitles, Florida Premiere Life After – Directed by Ria Tobaccowala, USA, 2018, 12 MIN, Florida Premiere Life Boat – Directed by Lorraine Nicholson, USA, 2017, 18 MIN, Southeast Premiere Magic Bullet – Directed by Amanda Lovejoy Street, USA, 2018, 19 MIN, East Coast Premiere/2nd US Showing Mama Jane – Directed by Lisa Maria Hall, USA, 2018, 12 MIN, World Premiere Men Don’t Whisper – Directed by Jordan Firstman, USA, 2017, 22 MIN, Florida Premiere My Loyal Audience – Directed by Megan Seely, USA, 2017, 12 MIN Painting with Joan – Directed by Jack Henry Robbins, USA, 2018, 4 MIN, East Coast Premiere Sweet & Lo – Directed by Clay Liford, USA, 2018, 14 MIN, World Premiere Valentina – Directed by Mary Angélica Molina, USA, 2017, 8 MIN, Florida Premiere , In English and Spanish with English subtitles Wyrm – Directed by Christopher Winterbauer, USA, 2017, 20 MIN, East Coast PremiereANIMATED SHORTS COMPETITION:
Abnie Oberfork: A Tale of Self-Preservation – Directed by Shannon Fleming, USA, 2017, 5 MIN, Florida Premiere Aquacade – Directed by Caroline Voagen Nelson, USA, 2017, 3 MIN, Southeast Premiere The Driver is Red – Directed by Randall Christopher, USA, 2017, 15 MIN Fired Up – Directed by Elyse Kelly and Dan Fipphen, USA/Colombia/Israel, 2017, 3 MIN, Florida Premiere For Educational Purposes Only – Directed by David Nessl, USA, 2018, 3 MIN, US Premiere Fundamental – Directed by Shih-Chieh Chiu, USA/Taiwan, 2017, 7 MIN, Southeast Premiere Jeom – Directed by Kangmin Kim, USA/South Korea, 2018, 4 MIN, In Korean with English subtitles, Florida Premiere Nevada – Directed by Emily Ann Hoffman, USA, 2017, 12 MIN, Southeast Premiere Phototaxis – Directed by Melissa Ferrari, USA, 2017, 7 MIN, Southeast Premiere Seahorse Man – Directed by Diana Carter, USA, 2018, 3 MIN, East Coast Premiere/2nd US Showing Shahkboy – Directed by Jake Peckar, USA, 2017, 5 MIN, Southeast Premiere/2nd US Showing Undiscovered – Directed by Sara Litzenberger, USA, 2017, 3 MIN The Velvet Underground Played At My High School – Directed by Robert Pietri and Tony Jannelli, USA, 2018, 7 MIN, Southeast Premiere Weekends – Directed by Trevor Jimenez, USA, 2017, 15 MIN, Florida PremiereINTERNATIONAL SHOWCASE:
The Cakemaker – Directed by Ofir Raul Graizer, Israel/Germany, 2017, 104 MIN, In English, Hebrew and German with English subtitles Euthanizer – Directed by Teemu Nikki, Finland, 2017, 85 MIN, In Finnish with English subtitles, East Coast Premiere Mama – Directed by Nicholas Brennan, USA/Uganda, 2017, 7 MIN, In Luganda with English subtitles, Florida Premiere Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts – Directed by Mouly Surya, Indonesia/France/Malaysia/Thailand, 2017, 93 MIN, In Indonesian with English subtitles, Southeast Premiere Soufra – Directed by Thomas Morgan, USA/Lebanon, 2017, 73 MIN, In Arabic with English subtitles, Florida PremiereINTERNATIONAL SHORTS:
The App – Directed by Julián Merino, Spain, 2017, 15 MIN, In Spanish with English subtitles, Florida Premiere Beatrice – Directed by Lorena Alvarado, Italy, 2017, 9 MIN, In Italian with English subtitles, Southeast Premiere Daughter – Directed by Mara Tamkovich, Poland, 2018, 29 MIN, In Polish with English subtitles, World Premiere Do I Have Boobs Now? – Directed by Milena Salazar and Joella Cabalu, Canada, 2017, 7 MIN, East Coast Premiere Fern – Directed by Johnny Kelly, UK, 2017, 6 MIN, East Coast Premiere Gaze – Directed by Farnoosh Samadi, Iran/Italy, 2017, 14 MIN, In Persian with English subtitles, East Coast Premiere Iris – Directed by Gabrielle Demers, Canada, 2017, 10 MIN, In French with English subtitles, Southeast Premiere Limit – Directed by Javad Daraei, Iran, 2017, 8 MIN, In Persian with English subtitles, East Coast Premiere The Log (Halko) – Directed by Teemu Nikki, Finland, 2016, 7 MIN, In Finnish with English subtitles, Florida Premiere Merry-Go-Round – Directed by Ruslan Bratov, Russian Federation, 2017, 13 MIN, In Russian with English subtitles, North American Premiere My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes – Directed by Charlie Tyrell, Canada, 2018, 14 MIN, East Coast Premiere The Old Woman Who Hid Her Fear Under the Stairs – Directed by Faye Jackson, UK, 2018, 16 MIN, World Premiere Shadow Animals – Directed by Jerry Carlsson, Sweden, 2017, 22 MIN, In Swedish with English subtitles, East Coast Premiere Slap Happy – Directed by Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli, Canada, 2017, 11 MIN, East Coast Premiere State of Emergency Motherfucker – Directed by Sébastien Petretti, Belgium, 2017, 6 MIN, In French with English subtitles Thursday Night – Directed by Gonçalo Almeida, Portugal, 2017, 8 MIN, Southeast Premiere True Love in Pueblo Textil – Directed by Horatio Baltz, Cuba/USA, 2017, 5 MIN, In Spanish with English subtitles, Southeast Premiere Wren Boys – Directed by Harry Lighton, UK, 2017, 11 MIN, East Coast PremiereINTERNATIONAL ANIMATED SHORTS:
The Burden – Directed by Niki Lindroth von Bahr, Sweden, 2017, 14 MIN, In Swedish with English subtitles, Southeast Premiere Catherine – Directed by Britt Raes, Belgium, 2017, 12 MIN Dead Horses – Directed by Marc Riba and Anna Solanas, Spain, 2016, 6 MIN, In Catalan with English subtitles, Florida Premiere The Death, Dad & Son – Directed by Denis Walgenwitz and Winshluss, France, 2017, 14 MIN, East Coast Premiere Intimity – Directed by Elodie Dermange, Switzerland, 2017, 5 MIN, East Coast Premiere The Laughing Spider – Directed by Keiichi Tanaami, Japan, 2016, 7 MIN, Florida Premiere Life Before Life – Directed by Rao Heidmets, Estonia, 2017, 7 MIN, In English and Estonian with English subtitles, Florida Premiere Negative Space – Directed by Max Porter and Ru Kuwahata, France, 2017, 6 MIN The Noise of Licking – Directed by Nadja Andrasev, Hungary, 2016, 9 MIN, Southeast Premiere Perfect Town – Directed by Anaïs Voirol, Switzerland, 2017, 4 MIN, Florida Premiere Wicked Girl – Directed by Ayce Kartal. France/Turkey, 2017, 8 MIN, In Turkish with English subtitlesSUNSPOTS: NEW VISIONS OF THE AVANT GARDE:
Animal Cinema – Directed by Emilio Vavarella, USA, 2017, 12 MIN, East Coast Premiere Blot – Directed by Benjamin Rouse, USA, 2017, 2 MIN, Florida Premiere A Diptych to Educate Birds – Directed by Noah Engel, USA, 2017, 1 MIN, East Coast Premiere/2nd US Showing Dot Matrix – Directed by Lauren Cook, USA, 2017, 4 MIN, Southeast Premiere Edge of Alchemy – Directed by Stacey Steers, USA, 2017, 19 MIN, Florida Premiere The Garden of Delight – Directed by Michael Fleming, Netherlands/USA, 2017, 12 MIN, East Coast Premiere Growing Girl – Directed by Marnie Ellen Hertzler, USA, 2017, 12 MIN Holy Pink: Fragrant – Directed by Clementine Leger and Benjamin Whatley, USA, 2018, 2 MIN, World Premiere The Knits – Directed by Lisa Birke, Canada, 2017, 10 MIN, Florida Premiere Mountain Castle Mountain Flower Plastic – Directed by Annapurna Kumar, USA, 2017, 3 MIN, Southeast Premiere OK, Call Me Back – Directed by Emily Ann Hoffman, USA, 2017, 5 MIN, Southeast PremiereMIDNIGHT FEATURES:
Ghost Stories – Directed by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman, UK, 2017, 98 MIN, Florida Premiere King Cohen – Directed by Steve Mitchell, USA/Canada, 2017, 109 MIN Revenge – Directed by Coralie Fargeat, France, 2017, 108 MIN, In English and French with English Subtitles, East Coast Premiere Summer of 84 – Directed by François Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell, USA/Canada, 2018, 105 MIN, East Coast PremiereMIDNIGHT SHORTS:
BFF Girls – Directed by Brian Lonano, USA, 2018, 13 MIN, In English and Japanese with English subtitles, Southeast Premiere/2nd US Showing Bigfoot’s Love Slave – Directed by Heather Tom, USA, 2017, 5 MIN, Southeast Premiere Cee Cee’s Bedtime Stories #3 Cee Cee and the Ex-Calibahhh – Directed by Joy Buran and Noelle Melody, USA, 2017, 1 MIN, Southeast Premiere/2nd US Showing DaemonRunner – Directed by Kiah Roache-Turner, Australia, 2017, 5 MIN, East Coast Premiere Empire of Dirt – Directed by Adam Mason, USA, 2018, 8 MIN, US Premiere Hair Wolf – Directed by Mariama Diallo, USA, 2018, 12 MIN, East Coast Premiere The Jerry Show – Directed by Stephen Stull, USA, 2017, 9 MIN Little Donnie (The Ten Inch Terror) – Directed by Chel White, USA, 2018, 4 MIN, North American Premiere Little Wonder – Directed by Jordan Carlman, USA, 2018, 3 MIN, East Coast Premiere/2nd US Showing Master Blaster – Directed by Sawako Kabuki, Japan, 2016, 4 MIN, In Japanese with English subtitles, East Coast Premiere The Order of the Orchid – Directed by Alex Italics, USA, 2018, 7 MIN, East Coast Premiere/2nd US Showing Peen Zine – Directed by Simeon Kondev, USA, 2017, 3 MIN, East Coast Premiere/2nd US Showing We Love You, Stephanie! – Directed by Sara Ambra, USA, 2018, 6 MIN, World Premiere We Summoned a Demon – Directed by Chris McInroy, USA, 2017, 6 MIN, Florida Premiere Zablah – Directed by Rachel Nakawatase and Ryan Betschart, USA, 2018, 4 MIN, World PremiereSPECIAL SCREENINGS:
FAMILY FILMS:
The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales… – Directed by Benjamin Renner and Patrick Imbert, France/Belgium, 2017, 83 MIN, Rated G, In French with English subtitles, Southeast Premiere Lu Over the Wall – Directed by Masaaki Yuasa, Japan, 2017, 112 MIN, Southeast PremiereFOOD FILMS:
Back to Burgundy – Directed by Cédric Klapisch, France, 2017, 113 MIN, In English, French, and Spanish with English subtitles Ramen Heads – Directed by Koki Shigeno, Japan, 2017, 93 MIN, In Japanese with English subtitles, Florida PremiereMUSIC FILMS:
40 Years in the Making: The Magic Music Movie – Directed by Lee Aronsohn, USA, 2017, 99 MIN, Southeast Premiere The Godfathers of Hardcore – Directed by Ian McFarland, USA/Belgium/Cuba/France/Germany/Italy/Netherlands/Switzerland, 2017, 95 MIN, Florida Premiere Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami – Directed by Sophie Fiennes, Ireland/UK, 2017, 115 MIN, East Coast PremiereFLORIDA FILMS:
FLORIDA SHORTS: THE BEST OF BROUHAHA:
Barely There – Directed by Hannah Lee, USA, 2017, 2 MIN Blood for Blood – Directed by Jared Bolhuis, USA, 2017, 8 MIN The Day Comedy Died – Directed by Nick Pletcher and Angelo Guevara-Malavé, USA, 2017, 6 MIN Extinguished – Directed by Ashley Anderson and Jacob Mann, USA, 2017, 4 MIN Flicker – Directed by Amanda Belawski, USA, 2018, 3 MIN, World Premiere A Grave Matter – Directed by Dylan Thompson, USA, 2017, 6 MIN, World Premiere If – Directed by Gabriel Valbuena, USA, 2017, 7 MIN, Florida Premiere In a Heartbeat – Directed by Esteban Bravo and Beth David, USA, 2017, 4 MIN Mama I Wanna March – Directed by Malcolm Baity, USA, 2017, 15 MIN Peacekeeper – Directed by Tyler Knutt and Nicholas Markart, USA, 2017, 13 MIN The Stranger – Directed by Katherine Oostman, USA, 2018, 13 MIN, World Premiere Thump – Directed by Ben Roth, USA, 2017, 2 MIN Tom in Couchland – Directed by James Just, USA, 2017, 2 MINFLORIDA FILMS:
A Greater Society – Directed by Craig A. Colton and Stacy Goldate, USA, 2018, 87 MIN, World Premiere Long Time Coming – Directed by Jon Strong, USA, 2018, 90 MIN, World Premiere A Mediocre Documentary with Tom and Dan – Directed by Kirk Murray, USA, 2018, 77 MIN, World PremiereCLOSING NIGHT RETRO FILM:
Shadow of a Doubt – Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 1943, 108 minutes, 75th Anniversary Screening!
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AFI FEST 2017 Announces World Cinema, Midnight and Youth and Family Lineup
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APRIL’S DAUGHTER (LAS HIJAS DE ABRIL)[/caption]
The American Film Institute announced today the films that will be featured in the World Cinema, Midnight and Youth and Family sections at AFI FEST 2017 presented by Audi.
The World Cinema section showcases the most celebrated international films of the year and features 30 films from 39 countries. The section includes 13 official Best Foreign Language Film Oscar® entries: A CIAMBRA (DIR Jonas Carpignano), A FANTASTIC WOMAN (UNA MUJER FANTASTICA) (DIR Sebastián Lelio), FOXTROT (DIR Samuel Maoz), HAPPY END (DIR Michael Haneke), HOCHELAGA, LAND OF SOULS (DIR François Girard), IN THE FADE (AUS DEM NICHTS) (DIR Fatih Akin), THE INSULT (L’INSULTE) (DIR Ziad Doueiri), LOVELESS (NELYUBOV) (DIR Andrey Zvyagintsev), NEWTON (DIR Amit V Masurkar), ON BODY AND SOUL (TESTRŐL ÉS LÉLEKRŐL) (DIR Ildikó Enyedi), SPOOR (POKOT) (DIR Agnieszka Holland), THELMA (DIR Joachim Trier) and WAJIB (DIR Annemarie Jacir).
The festival’s Midnight section will enthrall and petrify audiences with three international, genre-bending films: GOOD MANNERS (DIR Juliana Rojas, Marco Dutra), LET THE CORPSES TAN (DIR Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani) and V.I.P. (DIR Park Hoon-Jung).
AFI FEST will offer Youth and Family Programming for the next generation of storytellers and moviegoers, with the films THE BREADWINNER (DIR Nora Twomey) and MARY AND THE WITCH’S FLOWER (DIR Hiromasa Yonebayashi). At these screenings, AFI FEST will host students from several public middle and high schools across Los Angeles County for educational experiences. MARY AND THE WITCH’S FLOWER will also screen for the festival’s public audience.
WORLD CINEMA
APRIL’S DAUGHTER (LAS HIJAS DE ABRIL) – In AFI FEST alum Michel Franco’s latest feature, a domineering mother suddenly arrives to assist with her teenage daughter’s pregnancy. But her true motives will soon emerge. DIR Michel Franco. SCR Michel Franco. CAST Emma Suárez, Ana Valeria Becerril, Enrique Arrizon, Joanna Larequi, Hernán Mendoza. Mexico BEAUTY AND THE DOGS – Following a sexual assault, a young Tunisian woman must descend into a bureaucratic hell to report the incident and find justice. DIR Kaouther Ben Hania. SCR Kaouther Ben Hania. CAST Mariam Al Ferjani, Ghanem Zrelli, Noomane Hamda, Mohamed Akkari, Chedly Arfaoui, Anissa Daoud, Mourad Gharsalli. Tunisia, France, Sweden, Norway, Lebanon, Qatar, Switzerland BRIGHT SUNSHINE IN (UN BEAU SOLEIL INTÉRIEUR) – Juliette Binoche shines in the latest work from auteur Claire Denis, centering on a middle-aged woman hungry to find and hold onto love. DIR Claire Denis. SCR Claire Denis, Christine Angot. CAST Juliette Binoche, Xavier Beauvois, Philippe Katerine, Josiane Balasko, Sandrine Dumas, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Alex Descas, Laurent Grévill. France A CIAMBRA – Jonas Carpignano’s sophomore feature follows Pio, a streetwise teen in Calabria who must step up when his older brother lands in trouble with the police. DIR Jonas Carpignano. SCR Jonas Carpignano. CAST Pio Amato, Koudous Seihon, Iolanda Amato, Damiano Amato, Francesco Pio Amato, Patrizia Amato, Rocco Amato, Susanna Amato. Italy, USA, France, Sweden CLAIRE’S CAMERA (KEUL-LE-EO-UI-KA-ME-LA) – This charming entry from Hong Sang-soo centers on the friendship between a Korean woman (Kim Min-hee) who’s recently lost her job and a wise Parisian teacher (Isabelle Huppert). DIR Hong Sang-soo. SCR Hong Sang-soo. CAST Isabelle Huppert, Kim Min-hee, Chang Mi-hee, Jung Jin-young. South Korea THE DAY AFTER (GEU-HU) – Infused with director Hong Sang-soo’s signature realism and humor, this film follows an aspiring writer who gets caught up in the spectacular drama of her boss’ personal life. DIR Hong Sang-soo. SCR Hong Sang-soo. CAST Kwon Haehyo, Kim Min-hee, Kim Sae-byuk, Cho Yun-hee, Ki Ju-bong, Park Yea-ju, Kang Taeu. South Korea A FANTASTIC WOMAN (UNA MUJER FANTASTICA) – In Sebastián Lelio’s follow-up to GLORIA, trans actress Daniela Vega gives an astonishing debut performance as a woman who must navigate a hostile society after the death of her lover. DIR Sebastián Lelio. SCR Sebastián Lelio, Gonzalo Maza. CAST Daniela Vega, Francisco Reyes, Luis Gnecco, Aline Kuppenheim, Nicolás Saavedra, Amparo Noguera, Néstor Cantillana, Alejandro Goic, Antonia Zegers, Sergio Hernández. Chile, USA, Germany, Spain FOXTROT – An Israeli couple mourns the death of their soldier son in this audacious depiction of war and loss. DIR Samuel Maoz. SCR Samuel Maoz. CAST Lior Ashkenazi, Sarah Adler, Yonatan Shiray, Gefen Barkai, Dekel Adin, Shaul Amir, Itay Exlroad. Israel, Germany, France, Switzerland A GENTLE CREATURE (KROTKAYA) – An unnamed woman, trying to reach her imprisoned husband, descends into the bureaucratic hell of the Russian penal system in this masterful epic. DIR Sergei Loznitsa. SCR Sergei Loznitsa. CAST Vasilina Makovtseva, Marina Kleshcheva, Lia Akhedzhakova, Valeriu Andriuta, Boris Kamorzin, Sergei Kolesov. France, Germany, Lithuania, The Netherlands HAPPY END – Austrian auteur Michael Haneke returns with another chilling masterwork starring Isabelle Huppert and Jean-Louis Trintignant, focusing on a dysfunctional wealthy family. DIR Michael Haneke. SCR Michael Haneke. CAST Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Mathieu Kassovitz, Fantine Harduin, Franz Rogowski, Laura Verlinden, Aurelia Petit, Toby Jones. France, Austria, Germany HOCHELAGA, LAND OF SOULS (HOCHELAGA, TERRE DES ÂMES) – The history of Montreal is told with a poetic, episodic structure in this time-jumping drama, arriving in the year of Canada’s 150th anniversary. DIR François Girard. SCR François Girard. CAST Samian, Vincent Perez, Raoul Trujillo, Wahiakeron Gilbert, Emmanuel Schwartz, Tanaya Beatty, David La Haye, Sébastien Ricard, Siân Phillips, Linus Roache, Gilles Renaud, Naïade Aoun, Tony Nardi. Canada IN THE FADE (AUS DEM NICHTS) – Diane Kruger gives a career-topping performance in Fatih Akin’s complex thriller that follows a woman’s search for justice after an act of terrorism shatters her life. DIR Fatih Akin. SCR Fatih Akin, Hark Bohm. CAST Diane Kruger, Denis Moschitto, Johannes Krisch, Samia Chancrin, Numan Acar, Ulrich Tukur, Rafael Santana, Hanna Hilsdorf. Germany, France THE INSULT (L’INSULTE) – When a Palestinian refugee and a Christian nationalist have a fateful crossing of paths, long-simmering tensions in modern-day Lebanon rise to the surface — and spiral out of control. DIR Ziad Doueiri. SCR Ziad Doueiri, Joëlle Touma. CAST Adel Karam, Kamel El Basha, Camille Salameh, Diamand Bou Abboud, Rita Hayek, Talal El Jurdi, Christine Choueiri, Julia Kassar, Rifaat Torbey, Carlos Chahine. Lebanon, France LOVELESS (NELYUBOV) – Russian auteur Andrey Zvyagintsev returns to AFI FEST with a gut-wrenching drama about a divorcing couple who just want to offload their young son — that is, until he disappears. DIR Andrey Zvyagintsev. SCR Oleg Negin, Andrey Zvyagintsev. CAST Maryana Spivak, Alexey Rozin, Matvey Novikov, Marina Vasilyeva, Andris Keishs, Alexey Fateev. Russia, France, Belgium, Germany A MAN OF INTEGRITY – When an Iranian farmer refuses to play ball with corrupt local thugs, he soon learns the steep price for holding onto his principles. DIR Mohammad Rasoulof. SCR Mohammad Rasoulof. CAST Reza Akhlaghirad, Soudabeh Beizaee, Nasim Adabi, Missagh Zareh, Zeinab Shabani, Zhila Shahi, Majib Potki. Iran MARLINA THE MURDERER IN FOUR ACTS (MARLINA SI PEMBUNUH DALAM EMPAT BABAK) – A humble Indonesian woman becomes a stealthy master of revenge in this modern feminist Western. DIR Mouly Surya. SCR Mouly Surya, Rama Adi. CAST Marsha Timothy, Dea Panendra, Yoga Pratama, Egi Fedly. Indonesia, France, Malaysia, Thailand MR. LONG – In this deft, soulful work of genre filmmaking, a notorious hitman trying to allude gangsters finds refuge in a dilapidated part of Tokyo, where he befriends a troubled mother and her child. DIR SABU. SCR SABU. CAST Chang Chen, Sho Aoyagi, Yiti Yao, Runyin Bai. Japan, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Germany MRS HYDE (MADAME HYDE) – Isabelle Huppert is sublime as MADAME HYDE, a meek chemistry teacher who experiences a fantastic awakening following a lab accident. DIR Serge Bozon. SCR Axelle Ropert, Serge Bozon. CAST Isabelle Huppert, Romain Duris, José Garcia, Adda Senani, Guillaume Verdier, Patricia Barzyk, Pierre Léon, Jamal Barbouche. France, Belgium NEWTON – An idealistic election monitor is determined to make the voices of 76 villagers heard in this humorous and humanistic portrait of Indian democracy. DIR Amit V Masurkar. SCR Mayank Tewari, Amit V Masurkar. CAST Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Anjali Patil, Raghubir Yadav. India ON BODY AND SOUL (TESTRŐL ÉS LÉLEKRŐL) – In this Berlinale Golden Bear winner, two very different employees at a slaughterhouse discover they share the same dreams at night. DIR Ildikó Enyedi. SCR Ildikó Enyedi. CAST Alexandra Borbély, Géza Morcsányi, Réka Tenki, Zoltán Schneider, Ervin Nagy, Pál Mácsai, Itala Békés, Tamás Jordán, Éva Bata. Hungary THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE (TOIVON TUOLLA PUOLEN) – Finnish auteur Aki Kaurismäki turns his sights on a Syrian refugee in Helsinki in this moving, hopeful and hilariously deadpan masterwork. DIR Aki Kaurismäki. SCR Aki Kaurismäki. CAST Sherwan Haji, Sakari Kuosmanen, Ilkka Koivula, Janne Hyytiäinen, Nuppu Koivu, Kaija Pakarinen, Niroz Haji, Simon Hussein Al-Bazoon. Finland, Germany A SEASON IN FRANCE (UNE SAISON EN FRANCE) – A migrant from the Central African Republic struggles to gain asylum in France and raise his two children in this urgently empathetic new work from Chadian auteur Mahamat-Saleh Haroun. DIR Mahamat-Saleh Haroun. SCR Mahamat-Saleh Haroun. CAST Eriq Ebouaney, Sandrine Bonnaire, Aalayna Lys, Ibrahim Burama Darboe, Bibi Tanga, Léonie Simaga, Régine Conas, Khampha Thammavongsa. France A SKIN SO SOFT (TA PEAU SI LISSE) – Denis Côté returns to AFI FEST with this hybrid documentary examining hyper-masculinity within a group of Québécois bodybuilders. DIR Denis Côté. SCR Denis Côté. CAST Alexis Légaré, Benoit Lapierre, Cédric Doyon, Jean-François Bouchard, Ronald Yang, Maxim Lemire. Canada SPOOR (POKOT) – Polish master Agnieszka Holland delivers an animal rights murder mystery for the ages in this genre-bending, gloriously twisted thriller. DIR Agnieszka Holland. SCR Olga Tokarczuk, Agnieszka Holland. CAST Agnieszka Mandat, Wiktor Zborowski, Miroslav Krobot, Jakub Gierszał, Patricia Volny, Tomasz Kot, Borys Szyc, Andrzej Grabowski. Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Sweden, Slovak Republic SWEET COUNTRY – An Aboriginal man and his wife are forced to go on the run into the Outback in this brilliant, heart-rending revisionist Western set in 1929 Australia. DIR Warwick Thornton. SCR David Tranter, Steven McGregor. CAST Sam Neill, Bryan Brown, Ewen Leslie, Hamilton Morris, Thomas M. Wright, Matt Day, Natassia Gorey-Furber. Australia THELMA – A young Norwegian woman from a devoutly Christian background begins experiencing fantastic powers in the latest work from Joachim Trier. DIR Joachim Trier. SCR Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier. CAST Eili Harboe, Kaya Wilkins, Henrik Rafaelsen, Ellen Dorrit Petersen, Grethe Eltervåg, Marte Magnusdotter Solem, Anders Mossling, Vanessa Borgli, Steinar Klouman Hallert, Ingrid Giæver, Oskar Pask, Gorm Grømer, Camilla Belsvik, Martha Kjørven. Norway, Sweden, France, Denmark WAJIB – A Palestinian father and son deal with ideological differences as they drive around Nazareth delivering wedding invitations in this moving, subtle drama. DIR Annemarie Jacir. SCR Annemarie Jacir. CAST Mohammad Bakri, Saleh Bakri, Maria Zreik, Rana Alamuddin. Palestine, France, Germany, Colombia, Norway, Qatar, United Arab Emirates WALKING PAST THE FUTURE (LU GUO WEI LAI) – A young woman and her family deal with the fallout of widespread factory layoffs in this elegant portrait of the socioeconomic realities of contemporary China. DIR Li Ruijun. SCR Li Ruijun. CAST Yang Zishan, Yin Fang. China WESTERN – Masculine hostility and violence simmer to the surface in this slow-burn masterstroke from new German auteur Valeska Grisebach. DIR Valeska Grisebach. SCR Valeska Grisebach. CAST Meinhard Neumann, Reinhardt Wetrek, Syuleyman Alilov Letifov, Veneta Frangova, Vyara Borisova, Kevin Bashev. Germany, Bulgaria, Austria THE WORKSHOP (L’ATELIER) – Facing a dangerous threat, a Parisian teacher must teach her students how to stand up for what’s right in the latest film from Laurent Cantet (Palme d’Or winner THE CLASS). DIR Laurent Cantet. SCR Robin Campillo, Laurent Cantet. CAST Marina Foïs, Matthieu Lucci, Warda Rammach, Issam Talbi, Florian Beaujean, Mamadou Doumbia, Julien Souve, Mélissa Guilbert, Olivier Thouret, Lény Sellam. FranceMIDNIGHT
GOOD MANNERS (AS BOAS MANEIRAS) – Clara gets a nanny job for a high-class woman with an intensifying hunger for meat in this genre-bending tale of love, sacrifice and compassion. DIR Juliana Rojas, Marco Dutra. SCR Juliana Rojas, Marco Dutra. CAST Isabél Zuaa, Marjorie Estiano, Miguel Lobo. Brazil, France LET THE CORPSES TAN (LAISSEZ BRONZER LES CADAVRES) – A sun-soaked adventure fueled by machine-gunfire and leather, LET THE CORPSES TAN is an audacious heist film with style to burn. DIR Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani. SCR Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani. CAST Elina Löwensohn, Stéphane Ferrara, Hervé Sogne, Bernie Bonvoisin, Pierre Nisse, Marc Barbé, Michelangelo Marchese. Belgium, France V.I.P. – A buttoned-up federal agent, a world-weary cop and a mysterious lone wolf join forces to take down a serial killer in this tense Korean thriller. DIR Park Hoon-Jung. SCR Park Hoon-Jung. CAST Jang Dong-gun, Kim Myung-min, Park Hee-soon, Lee Jong-suk. South KoreaYOUTH AND FAMILY
THE BREADWINNER – This timely, inspiring and beautifully animated tale follows an 11-year-old girl growing up under the Taliban in Afghanistan, who must disguise herself as a boy to support her family. DIR Nora Twomey. SCR Anita Doron. CAST Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Laara Sadiq, Shaista Latif, Ali Badshah, Kawa Ada, Noorin Gulamgaus. Canada, Ireland, Luxembourg MARY AND THE WITCH’S FLOWER (MEARI TO MAJO NO HANA) – Based on Mary Stewart’s 1971 children’s book “The Little Broomstick,” this film tells the story of a young girl who discovers a flower that grants magical powers, but only for one night. DIR Hiromasa Yonebayashi. SCR Riko Sakaguchi, Hiromasa Yonebayashi. CAST Ruby Barnhill, Kate Winslet, Jim Broadbent, Ewen Bremner, Lynda Baron. Japan AFI FEST takes place November 9 to 16, 2017, in the heart of Hollywood. Screenings, Galas and other events will be held at the TCL Chinese Theatre, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre, Dolby Cinema at the Vine, the Mark Goodson Screening Room at the American Film Institute and The Hollywood Roosevelt.
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48 Films from International Filmmakers Among Contemporary World Cinema Slate of 2017 Toronto International Film Festival
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Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (Marlina si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak)[/caption]
The Contemporary World Cinema slate of the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival will feature 48 titles from international filmmakers, that covers disparate regions of the world with a strong presence from Latin America, Scandinavia, and Central Europe.
“Each film in Contemporary World Cinema offers a much-needed look at another part of the world through the eyes of a storyteller embedded in that culture,” said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of TIFF. “Taken together, these four dozen films invite us all to expand and deepen our picture of the world.”
The Contemporary World Cinema program is being bolstered with a series of 23 World Premieres, among them Argentinian filmmaker Diego Lerman’s A Sort of Family, South African Khalo Matabane’s The Number, Iraqi Mohamed Jabarah Al-daradji’s The Journey, Finnish Teemu Nikki’s Euthanizer and Australian actor Simon Baker’s directorial debut, Breath. The program also highlights an impressive selection of films that have captivated audiences worldwide, including Félicité by Alain Gomis and the animated film The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales by Benjamin Renner and Patrick Imbert.
2017 Toronto International Film Festival Contemporary World Cinema Program
A Ciambra Jonas Carpignano, Italy/France/USA/Germany International Premiere A Sort of Family (Una Especie de Familia) Diego Lerman, Argentina/Brazil/France/Poland World Premiere Alanis Anahí Berneri, Argentina World Premiere Ana, mon amour Călin Peter Netzer, Romania/Germany/France North American Premiere Angels Wear White (Jia Nian Hua) Vivian Qu, China/France North American Premiere April’s Daughter (Las Hijas de Abril) Michel Franco, Mexico North American Premiere Arrhythmia Boris Khlebnikov, Russia/Finland/Germany North American Premiere Beyond Words Urszula Antoniak, Netherlands/Poland World Premiere Birds Without Names (Kanojo ga Sono Na wo Shiranai Toritachi) Kazuya Shiraishi, Japan World Premiere Breath Simon Baker, Australia World Premiere Dark is the Night (Madilim ang Gabi) Adolfo Alix Jr., Philippines World Premiere Directions (Posoki) Stephan Komandarev, Bulgaria/Germany/Macedonia North American Premiere Disappearance (Verdwijnen) Boudewijn Koole, Netherlands/Norway International Premiere Euthanizer (Armomurhaaja) Teemu Nikki, Finland World Premiere Félicité Alain Gomis, France/Senegal/Belgium/Germany/Lebanon North American Premiere Good Favour Rebecca Daly, Ireland/Belgium/Denmark/Netherlands World Premiere Hannah Andrea Pallaoro, Italy/Belgium/France North American Premiere Insyriated Philippe Van Leeuw, Belgium/France/Lebanon Canadian Premiere Life and nothing more Antonio Méndez Esparza, Spain/USA World Premiere Longing (Gaagua) Savi Gabizon, Israel North American Premiere Looking for Oum Kulthum Shirin Neshat, Germany/Austria/Italy/Lebanon/Qatar North American Premiere Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts (Marlina si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak) Mouly Surya, Indonesia/France/Malaysia/Thailand North American Premiere Miami Zaida Bergroth, Finland International Premiere Motorrad Vicente Amorim, Brazil World Premiere Nina Juraj Lehotský, Slovakia/Czech Republic North American Premiere On Body and Soul Ildikó Enyedi, Hungary North American Premiere Samui Song (Mai Mee Samui Samrab Ter) Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Thailand/Germany/Norway North American Premiere Sergio & Sergei (Sergio & Serguéi) Ernesto Daranas Serrano, Spain/Cuba World Premiere The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales (Le Grand Méchant Renard et autres contes) Benjamin Renner, Patrick Imbert, France North American Premiere The Insult (L’Insulte) Ziad Doueiri, France/Lebanon Canadian Premiere The Journey (Al Rahal) Mohamed Jabarah Al-daradji, Iraq/United Kingdom/France/Qatar/Netherlands World Premiere The Lodgers Brian O’Malley, Ireland World Premiere The Number Khalo Matabane, South Africa World Premiere The Royal Hibiscus Hotel Ishaya Bako, Nigeria World Premiere The Summit (La Cordillera) Santiago Mitre, Argentina/Spain/France North American Premiere Tulipani, Love, Honour and a Bicycle Mike van Diem, Netherlands/Italy/Canada World Premiere Under the Tree (Undir Trénu) Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, Iceland/Denmark/Poland/Germany International Premiere Veronica (Verónica) Paco Plaza, Spain International Premiere Wajib Annemarie Jacir, Palestine/France/Germany/Colombia/Norway/Qatar/United Arab Emirates North American Premiere Western Valeska Grisebach, Germany/Bulgaria/Austria North American Premiere Previously announced Canadian titles in the Contemporary World Cinema programme include Simon Lavoie’s The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond Of Matches, Adam MacDonald’s Pyewacket, Kyle Rideout’s Public Schooled, Ingrid Veninger’s Porcupine Lake, Mina Shum’s Meditation Park, Robin Aubert’s Les Affamés, Pat Mills’ Don’t Talk to Irene, and Tarique Qayumi’s BLACK KITE. The 42nd Toronto International Film Festival runs September 7 to 17, 2017.
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Melbourne International Film Festival to Feature 35 Films From Cannes
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The Square[/caption]
The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) will present big award winners from this year’s Cannes Film Festival, including the 2017 Palme d’Or winning The Square, a deliriously strange detonation of art and imagination from Swedish director Ruben Öslund (Force Majeure, MIFF 14), featuring a riveting performance from Danish actor Claes Bang and scene stealing performances from Elizabeth Moss (also appearing in Top of the Lake: China Girl, MIFF 17) and Dominic West. Other films include Loveless, the must-see winner of the Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes – a razor-sharp portrayal of a marriage in the state of collapse from one of the greatest Russian filmmakers working today, Andrey Zvyagintsev (Leviathan, Elena, MIFF 11); and BPM, from French director Robin Campillo, (Eastern Boys, MIFF 14; They Came Back, MIFF 05) winner of this year’s Cannes Grand Jury Prize and Queer Palm winner, which dives headfirst into the passions, protests and politics of ‘90s AIDS activism.
International purveyor of the bizarre and MIFF favourite Yorgos Lanthimos is back with regular co-writer Efthymis Filippou (The Lobster, MIFF 15; Alps MIFF 12) for The Killing of a Sacred Deer – bringing Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman together in a darkly comic modern rendering of an ancient Greek morality play; and Julianne Moore reunites with Todd Haynes for the enchanting Wonderstruck, an intoxicating, visually ravishing adaptation of Brian Selznick’s (writer of Hugo) illustrated tale of two deaf runaways and the glimmering, redemptive magic of cinema.
Thrillers that packed a punch include Good Time, where Robert Pattinson electrifies in the pulse-quickening heist thriller from American indie stars Josh and Benny Safdie who were subjects of a MIFF focus in 2015, with an electronic score by Oneohtrix Point End; and In the Fade, from Germany’s Faith Akin where Diane Kruger delivers her Best Actress-winning performance as a mother dealing with the aftermath of her Kurdish husband and young son’s death in a neo-Nazi hate crime.
Films from European directors that set Cannes ablaze include master auteur Michael Haneke’s (Amour, MIFF 12, The White Ribbon, MIFF 09) Happy End, which sees the director reunite with the great Isabelle Huppert and Jean-Louis Trintignant in a cutting portrait of bourgeois European Life; Let the Sunshine In, the Directors’ Fortnight award-winning new film from iconic French director Claire Denis (Bastards, MIFF 13), with Juliette Binoche delivering a shining performance in the starring role; and veteran French director Philippe Garrel’s (In the Shadow of Women, MIFF 15) Lover for a Day, shot in lyrical monochrome and starring his daughter Esther in her first major role, which once again brings a poetic touch to his perennial themes of fidelity and sexual freedom.
Also from France, the grande dame of the French New Wave Agnès Varda revives the spirit of The Gleaners and I (MIFF 01) with Faces Places, a picaresque romp through rural France, where she is joined in her travel by the artist JR; and The Venerable W, which sees Barbet Schroeder complete his “trilogy of evil” with a stunning portrayal of xenophobic demagogy in an unexpected quarter: Buddhist monks in the Republic of Myanmar.
Films exploring corruption and injustice include the winner of the prestigious Un Certain Regard prize A Man of Integrity, from acclaimed Iranian writer/director Mohammed Rasoulof (Manuscripts Don’t Burn, MIFF 13; Iron Island, MIFF 05), which is a potent thriller that captures one man’s desperate battle to stand up to a corrupt system; and Tehran Taboo, the boundary-pushing new animation from Iranian-born first-time feature director Ali Soozandeh, which tackles the sexual taboos of Islamic society and reveals a world of hypocrisy and political corruption.
Works of distinct individuality from exciting new voices in the cinematic landscape include the satirical and witty I Am Not a Witch, inspired by real-life rural witch camps in Africa and directed by first-time feature director Ryngano Nyoni, with cinematography by David Gallego (Embrace of the Serpent); Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts, a “feminist Indonesian Spaghetti Western” (The Irish Times) directed by a shining star of the blossoming Indonesian film industry, Mouly Surya; and Michael Franco’s (Chronic, MIFF 15) Un Certain Regard Jury Prize winner April’s Daughter, a gripping depiction of maternal devotion gone wrong, with Emma Suárez (Pedro Almodóvar’s Julieta, MIFF 16) mesmerising as the ruthlessly calculating mother.
Continuing to uncover and capture the bizarre and bold, the festival is proud to present Nothingwood, first-time documentarian Sonia Krunlund’s rousing portrait of Afghani writer/actor/director Salim Shaheen that captures the auteur using the resources available to him to make cheap, fast, out-of-nothing films starring himself, his friends and his family, which bring hope to his adoring fans in Afghanistan’s climate of violence; co-produced by Toni’s Erdmann’s Maren Ade, Western is the acclaimed Cannes hit from German writer/director Valeska Grisebach (Longing, MIFF 05) that uses non-actors in a European standoff to evoke the spirit of the titular American genre; starring and co-written by Saturday Night Live’s Kyle Mooney, helmed by frequent collaborator Dave McCary and produced by Andy Samberg, Brigsby Bear is the latest thigh-slapping comedic effort to double as an SNL “Where Are They Now?” reunion special; and hope springs from Josh Hartnett, a blonde wig and a Tokyo-to-California jaunt in Oh Lucy!, Atsuko Hirayangi’s affectionate expansion of her MIFF 2014 short of the same name.
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Patti Cake$[/caption]
The festival will feature the Australian premiere of the entire second season of Top of the Lake: China Girl, directed by Jane Campion and MIFF Accelerator alumnus Ariel Kleiman, and offering a unique opportunity to see the series before its television premiere on BBC First on Foxtel; and Patti Cake$, music video director Jeremy Gasper’s feature debut about an aspiring rapper, starring Australian actress Danielle McDonald in her sensational breakout performance.
Slower, more meditative works centered around image, exploration and self-reflexivity include Claire’s Camera, in which Isabelle Huppert reunites with director Hong Sang-soo to present an uncomplicated and refreshing meditation on the joy of chance encounters and the power of art; 24 Frames, a minimalist hymn to the capturing of images and the final work by the late Iranian master Abbas Kiarostami; and Naomi Kawase’s (Still the Water, MIFF 14) Radiance, which explores the complexity of cinematic images through description alone, as protagonist Misako writes voiceovers for vision impaired film viewers.
Scoring an award at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, Jonas Carpignano’s (Mediterranea, MIFF 15) latest, A Ciambra, explores the European refugee crisis in a heart-wrenching, ultra-realist tour of the outcast and refugee communities of Italy’s south; and in Hungarian phenomenon Kornél Mundruczó’s (White God, MIFF 14) Jupiter’s Moon, the superhero genre collides with the rolling tragedy of that same crisis in an action-packed assault on tribalism, human indecency of the basic laws of gravity.
Set to screen at MIFF as part of Night Shift, A Prayer Before Dawn is a claustrophobic, face-pulping mash of growling sound, kinetic editing and so-real-you-have-to-flinch fight scenes from French provocateur Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire (Johnny Mad Dog, MIFF 08); and Blade of the Immortal is samurai, swords and Takashi Miike – celebrating his 100th feature with the tale of an immortal swordsman looking to reclaim his soul.
Hot from the Un Certain Regard section, Closeness explores family relations intermingled with ethnic tensions in a stunning, disturbing debut from young Russian filmmaker Kantemir Balagov; shot in nine parts, each in sweeping unbroken takes, Beauty and the Dogs is based on a real incident of a young Tunisian student plunged into an infuriating and intimidating bureaucratic nightmare; and Until the Birds Return, a film of three stunningly rendered dispatches from the still-scarred people and landscapes of modern Algeria, by young gun of North African cinema Karim Moussaoui.
And finally, Chilean filmmaker Marcela Said’s sophomore feature Los Perros explodes class privilege when a wealthy woman – the dynamite Antonia Zeger – falls for her older riding instructor, a man accused of war crimes; and A Gentle Creature, the latest film by Sergei Loznitsa (The Event MIFF 16; In the Fog, MIFF 12) that shifts from rusted realism to dreamy fantasy as it follows a woman (Vasilina Makovtseva) on a voyage through multiple layers of violence, indignity and human cruelty.