Álex de la Iglesia’s (Witching & Bitching, The Last Circus) ensemble black comedy MY BIG NIGHT (MI GRAN NOCHE) will be released in the U.S. via Breaking Glass.
In MY BIG NIGHT, the backstage preparations for a New Year’s Eve TV spectacular become a FLASHPOINT for comic mayhem. Breaking Glass is planning a theatrical release for April 2016.
MY BIG NIGHT stars Spanish superstar Raphael, Mario Casas (Witching & Bitching, “The Boat”), Blanca Suarez (The Skin I Live In, I’m So Excited) and Hugo Silva (Witching & Bitching). MY BIG NIGHT premiered at Toronto International Film Festival in 2015. The film went on to play San Sebastian International Film Festival and Opening Night at Miami International Film Festival.
It’s only October, but the network’s annual black-tie New Year’s Eve spectacular has already been in production for a grueling week and a half, and setbacks continue to accumulate. A falling crane has just taken out an extra, and the show’s hosts are at each other’s throats. Oversexed pop sensation Adán (Mario Casas) discovers he’s been duped by a semen thief, while legendary divo Alphonso (real-life singer Raphael) is stalked by an armed and unstable would-be songwriter (Jaime Ordóñez) who’s disgruntled after years of rejection. Meanwhile, just outside the studio, riot police move in as demonstrators demand the arrest of the shows corrupt producer (Santiago Segura). My Big Night is a frenetic brew of Fellini, Altman and Almodóvar, building steadily toward a finale that’s a grand collapse into utter chaos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBahnqECT7oMy Big Night (Mi gran noche)
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Spanish Black Comedy MY BIG NIGHT Set for April 2016 Release Date in U.S.
Álex de la Iglesia’s (Witching & Bitching, The Last Circus) ensemble black comedy MY BIG NIGHT (MI GRAN NOCHE) will be released in the U.S. via Breaking Glass.
In MY BIG NIGHT, the backstage preparations for a New Year’s Eve TV spectacular become a FLASHPOINT for comic mayhem. Breaking Glass is planning a theatrical release for April 2016.
MY BIG NIGHT stars Spanish superstar Raphael, Mario Casas (Witching & Bitching, “The Boat”), Blanca Suarez (The Skin I Live In, I’m So Excited) and Hugo Silva (Witching & Bitching). MY BIG NIGHT premiered at Toronto International Film Festival in 2015. The film went on to play San Sebastian International Film Festival and Opening Night at Miami International Film Festival.
It’s only October, but the network’s annual black-tie New Year’s Eve spectacular has already been in production for a grueling week and a half, and setbacks continue to accumulate. A falling crane has just taken out an extra, and the show’s hosts are at each other’s throats. Oversexed pop sensation Adán (Mario Casas) discovers he’s been duped by a semen thief, while legendary divo Alphonso (real-life singer Raphael) is stalked by an armed and unstable would-be songwriter (Jaime Ordóñez) who’s disgruntled after years of rejection. Meanwhile, just outside the studio, riot police move in as demonstrators demand the arrest of the shows corrupt producer (Santiago Segura). My Big Night is a frenetic brew of Fellini, Altman and Almodóvar, building steadily toward a finale that’s a grand collapse into utter chaos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBahnqECT7o
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Palm Springs International Film Festival Announces Complete Line-up of Premieres, New Voices/New Visions Competition and Modern Masters
The 27th Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) running from January 1-11, 2016 in Palm Springs, California, announced its line-up of Premieres, New Voices/New Visions competition and Modern Masters.
“I am thrilled at the breadth and depth of this year’s program,” said Festival Artistic Director Helen du Toit. “While Modern Masters showcases such widely acclaimed filmmakers as as Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Barbara Kopple and Terence Davies, our New Voices/New Visions program is evidence that new masters are emerging around the world. The range of approaches is extraordinary. Highlights include Raam Reddy’s Thithi (India), which skillfully juggles myriad characters in a delightful low key comedy; Yorgos Zois’ Interruption (Greece), which challenges the audience with a complex and highly compelling narrative; and Maris Curran’s Five Nights in Maine (USA), featuring David Oyelowo’s nuanced and heartbreaking performance as a widower reconnecting with his estranged mother-in-law.”
Showcasing the diversity of international cinema, Festival premieres will include:
World premieres: 50 Days in the Desert (Luxembourg) directed by Fabrizio Maltese, Agnes (Germany/Belgium), the documentary Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age (US) featuring Alec Baldwin, Carol Channing, Dick Van Dyke, Jane Fonda and Robert Redford, The Carer (Hungary/UK), Going Going Gone (UK), Searchdog (US) and Set the Thames on Fire (UK).
North American premieres: Banat (Italy/Romania/Bulgaria/Macedonia), Death By Death (Belgium/France), A Decent Man (Switzerland), Departure (France/UK), Fly Away Solo (India/France), Interruption (Greece/Croatia), A Korean in Paris (South Korea/France), The Memory of Water (Chile/Spain/Argentina/Germany), Moor (Pakistan), On My Mother’s Side (Canada), Paradise Trips (Belgium/Croatia), Rosita (Denmark), Spy Time (Spain), Tanna (Australia/Vanuatu), Thithi (India/US/Canada), Utopians (Hong Kong) and When a Tree Falls (Spain).
U.S. premieres: 1944 (Estonia/Finland), 3000 Nights (Palestine/France/Jordan/Lebanon), Atomic Falafel (Israel/Germany/New Zealand), Belgian Rhapsody (Belgium), Beyond My Grandfather Allende (Chile/Mexico), Born to Dance (New Zealand), Closet Monster (Canada), Enclave (Serbia/Germany), The Endless River (South Africa/France), Endorphine (Canada), Exotica, Erotica, Etc. (France), Fire Song (Canada), Five Nights in Maine (US), A Heavy Heart (Germany), Home Care (Czech Republic/Slovakia), Let Them Come (Algeria/France), My Big Night (Spain), My Internship in Canada (Canada), The Other Side (Italy/France), Our Everyday Life (Bosnia, Herzegovina/Slovenia/Croatia), The Paradise Suite (Netherlands/Sweden/Bulgaria), Parched (India/US/UK), Parisienne (France), Sabali (Canada), Sleeping Giant (Canada), Summer Solstice (Poland/Germany), Trap (Philippines), The Violin Teacher (Brazil), Wedding Doll (Israel) and Zubaan (India).
The New Voices/New Visions competition showcases 12 US premieres from top emerging international directors marking their feature film debut at the Festival, with the additional criteria that the films selected are currently without U.S. distribution.
Films selected for this year include:
Banat (Italy/Romania/Bulgaria/Macedonia), Director Adriano Valerio
Death By Death (Belgium/France), Director Xavier Seron
Departure (UK/France), Director Andrew Steggall
Five Nights in Maine (US), Director Maris Curran and starring David Oyelowo
A Heavy Heart (Germany), Director Thomas Stuber
Home Care (Czech Republic/Slovakia), Director Slávek Horák
Interruption (Greece/Croatia), Director Yorgos Zois
Let Them Come (Algeria/France), Director Salem Brahimi
Our Everyday Life (Bosnia and Herzegovina/Slovenia/Croatia), Director Ines Tanovic
Paradise Trips (Belgium/Croatia), Director Raf Reyntjens
Sleeping Giant (Canada), Director Andrew Cividino
Thithi (India/US), Director Raam Reddy
The Modern Masters section features 10 films from international directors who set the standards for contemporary cinema. Films selected for this year include:
Cemetery Of Splendour (Thailand/UK), Director Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Dheepan (France), Director Jacques Audiard
Miss Sharon Jones! (US), Director Barbara Kopple
Mountains May Depart (China/France/Japan), Director Jia Zhangke
My Golden Days (France), Director Arnaud Desplechin
My Mother (Italy/France), Director Nanni Moretti
Our Little Sister (Japan), Director Hirokazu Kore-eda
Sunset Song (UK/Luxembourg), Director Terence Davies
Sweet Bean (Japan), Director Naomi Kawase
Women He’s Undressed (Australia), Director Gillian Armstrong
Other Festival films with notable talent and directors include:
45 Years (UK) directed by Andrew Haigh and starring Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay,
Anomalisa (US) directed by Duke Johnson and Charlie Kaufman with the voices of David Thewlis and Jennifer Jason Leigh,
Chronic (Mexico/France) starring Tim Roth,
Closet Monster (Canada) with Connor Jessup and Isabella Rossellini,
Eisenstein in Guanajuato (Netherlands/Mexico/Finland/Belgium/France) directed by Peter Greenaway, February (US/Canada) starring Kiernan Shipka and Emma Roberts,
Hello, My Name is Doris (US) starring Sally Field, Max Greenfield, Beth Behrs and Stephen Root,
Hitchcock/Truffaut (France/US) directed by Kent Jones and featuring Peter Bogdanovich, David Fincher and Richard Linklater,
The Invitation (US) starring Logan Marshall-Green and Michiel Huisman,
The Lady in the Van (UK) directed by Nicholas Hytner and starring Maggie Smith, Jim Broadbent and James Corden, (pictured above)
Louder Than Bombs (USA) starring Jesse Eisenberg, Gabriel Byrne and Isabelle Huppert,
Men & Chicken (Denmark) starring Mads Mikkelsen,
Papa (Cuba) directed by Bob Yari and starring Giovanni Ribisi, Joely Richardson and Minka Kelly,
A Perfect Day (Spain) starring Benicio del Toro, Tim Robbins and Olga Kurylenko,
The Seventh Fire (US) executive produced by Terrence Malick, Natalie Portman and Chris Eyre, and
Where to Invade Next (US) directed by Michael Moore.
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2015 Toronto International Film Festival Reveals Vanguard Film Program Lineup
The 2015 Toronto International Film Festival revealed today its Vanguard program featuring new work from 14 daring filmmakers who are transcending the boundaries of creative vision where art house and genre films will spectacularly collide.
“Delving into the dark side of humanity and dangerously sexy, this year’s Vanguard lineup has something unique for everyone,” says International Programmer Colin Geddes. “We’re leading audiences into a wild world of emotional sensations, demons and strange sea creatures — delivered with Vanguard’s distinctive twist on storytelling.”
The 2015 selection includes a mysterious fantasy from French director Lucile Hadžihalilović; an eccentric comedy from Spanish cult favourite Álex de la Iglesia; an erotic 3D epic from Gaspar Noé; a twisted family tale from Danish filmmaker Anders Thomas Jensen and South Korea’s Ryoo Seung-wan busts out with action and thrills.
Films screening as part of the Vanguard programme include:
Collective Invention (Dolyeon Byeoni)
Kwon Oh-kwang, South Korea World Premiere
Young and unemployed Gu is desperate to make some money and participates in a clinical trial for a pharmaceutical company’s new drug. As an unknown side effect, he slowly transforms into a fish. This bizarre situation becomes Korea’s hottest news and fish man Gu is catapulted into the spotlight and becomes a superstar, only to fall from grace just as quickly.
Demon
Marcin Wrona, Poland/Israel World Premiere
Peter is a stranger in the hometown of his future wife Janet. As a wedding gift from the bride’s grandfather, he receives a piece of land where the two can build a house and raise a happy family. While preparing the land for construction, Peter finds hidden bones of human bodies in the ground beneath his new property. Then very strange things begin to happen.
Der Nachtmahr
AKIZ, Germany North American Premiere
When 17-year -old Tina passes out at a party, she assumes it was just the side-effect of her wild lifestyle on the decadent Berlin-party scene. Soon she becomes unsettled and nervously manic as a mysterious ugly creature starts to haunt her, in both her dreams and waking hours, and nobody believes her.
Evolution
Lucile Hadžihalilović, France World Premiere
A 10-year-old boy discovers a dead body in the sea just before he is brought to the hospital for a mysterious injection. Before long, something appears to be growing inside of him.
February
Osgood Perkins, USA/Canada World Premiere
In February, beautiful and haunted Joan makes a bloody and determined pilgrimage across a frozen landscape toward a prestigious all girls prep school, where Rose and Kat find themselves stranded after their parents mysteriously fail to retrieve them for winter break. As Joan gets closer, terrifying visions begin plaguing Kat while Rose watches in horror as she becomes possessed by an unseen evil force.
Lace Crater
Harrison Atkins, USA World Premiere
On a weekend trip to the Hamptons with friends, Ruth (Lindsay Burdge) encounters a mysterious ghost (Peter Vack) haunting the guest house. One thing leads to another and they find themselves in the throes of an unexpected one-night stand. Soon, Ruth begins suffering from a bizarre sexually-transmitted disease that leaves doctors and friends confused and frightened. As her body and social connections begin to disintegrate, she must find a way to reconcile her condition with the world around her, or risk losing herself to a void from which she may never emerge.
Love
Gaspar Noé, France North American Premiere
January 1, early morning. The telephone rings. Murphy wakes up next to his young wife and two-year-old child. He listens to his voicemail: Electra’s mother, sick with worry, wants to know whether he has heard from her daughter. Electra’s been missing for a long time. She’s afraid something really bad has happened to her. Over the course of a long rainy day, Murphy finds himself alone in his apartment, reminiscing about the greatest love affair of his life: his two years with Electra. A burning passion full of promises, games, excess and mistakes.
Men & Chicken (Mænd og Høns)
Anders Thomas Jensen, Denmark North American Premiere (pictured above)
Men & Chicken revolves around two special-natured brothers, Elias and Gabriel (Mads Mikkelsen and David Dencik). Upon their father’s passing, they find out through their father’s will that they are adopted. Elias and Gabriel decide to seek out their natural father and set out for the island Ork, where their biological father lives. Here they discover a most paralyzing, yet liberating truth about themselves and their family.
My Big Night (Mi Gran Noche)
Álex de la Iglesia, Spain World Premiere
The story unfolds amidst a frenzied and lavish New Year’s Eve television special, taped during a sweltering hot August in Madrid. An unemployed Jose is sent to join hundreds of extras cooped up on set, day and night, as they hysterically celebrate the fake coming of the New Year — over and over again. The star of the show, Alphonso, is a charismatic ratings-chasing diva; and Adán, a young Latino singer, is being hounded by fans that are trying to blackmail him.
The Missing Girl
A.D. Calvo, USA World Premiere
The Missing Girl tells the story of Mort, the lonely and disillusioned owner of a comic book shop, and Ellen, the emotionally disruptive, aspiring graphic novelist he’s hired. The story involves the search for a girl who isn’t missing and the discovery that it’s never too late for late bloomers.
Veteran
Ryoo Seung-wan, South Korea North American Premiere
A tough cop targets the tyrannical heir to a mega-corporation in this hard-hitting thriller from South Korean cult auteur Ryoo Seung-wan (Crying Fist, City of Violence).
Previously announced Canadian titles in the Vanguard programme include André Turpin’s Endorphine, Bruce McDonald’s Hellions, and Mark Sawers’ No Men Beyond This Point.
The 40th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 10 to 20, 2015.