Revenge (2011)

  • 2018 Florida Film Festival Announces Lineup, Opens with “American Animals”

    Jared Abrahamson, Evan Peters, Blake Jenner and Barry Keoghan appear in American Animals by Bart Layton, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute. 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 Premiere

    DOCUMENTARY 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 Showing

    DOCUMENTARY 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 Premiere

    NARRATIVE 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 Premiere

    ANIMATED 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 Premiere

    INTERNATIONAL 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 Premiere

    INTERNATIONAL 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 Premiere

    INTERNATIONAL 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 subtitles

    SUNSPOTS: 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 Premiere

    MIDNIGHT 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 Premiere

    MIDNIGHT 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 Premiere

    SPECIAL 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 Premiere

    FOOD 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 Premiere

    MUSIC 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 Premiere

    FLORIDA 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 MIN

    FLORIDA 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 Premiere

    CLOSING NIGHT RETRO FILM:

    Shadow of a Doubt – Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 1943, 108 minutes, 75th Anniversary Screening!

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  • 2018 Chattanooga Film Festival Releases FIRST WAVE of Films – LU OVER THE WALL, GHOST STORIES and More …

    [caption id="attachment_27508" align="aligncenter" width="1203"]LU OVER THE WALL LU OVER THE WALL[/caption] With the 5th annual Chattanooga Film Festival just under one month away, the first wave of films are here. These films join opening night films ROCK STEADY ROW and SUMMER OF ’84, as well as the world premiere of LIFE AFTER FLASH. Fresh off its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, LU OVER THE WALL is a gorgeously animated hallucinogenic-but-family-friendly take on the classic fairy tale of the little mermaid who falls in love with mankind, and then comes ashore to join a dysfunctional middle school rock band and propel them to fame. Exploring the pre-fame years of the celebrated American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, BOOM FOR REAL: THE LATE TEENAGE YEARS OF JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT shows how New York City, its people, and the tectonically shifting arts culture of the late 1970s and ’80s shaped his vision. In GHOST STORIES, Arch skeptic Professor Phillip Goodman embarks upon a terror-filled quest when he stumbles across a long-lost file containing details of three cases of inexplicable ‘hauntings’. Every once in a while, you see a film you just know is a classic in the making. LOWLIFE is such a film. Director Ryan Prows has crafted a darkly comic sublimely cinematic and strangely heartwarming crime tale that explodes off the screen like a Molotov cocktail. From filmmaker Josephine Decker comes MADELINE’S MADELINE, a drama that centers around a family in Queens, New York. In the film, Miranda July plays Regina, single mother to sixteen-year-old Madeline. Madeline finds herself as the youngest member of an experimental-theater company and begins to take her performance too seriously. For fans of THE EXORCIST, director William Friedkin delivers a chilling documentary with THE DEVIL AND FATHER AMORTH. Having never seen an exorcism, Friedkin wondered how close he came to truly portraying one on screen. Thus, he decided to follow Father Gabriele Amorth, an Italian Roman Catholic Priest and an exorcist of the Diocese of Rome, as he performs his ninth exorcist on an Italian woman. CFF is extremely proud to bring RBG to Chattanooga screens, a documentary about the life and work of legendary Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West interview friends, family, colleagues and the woman herself, RBG. In keeping with the theme of strong, powerful women, but this time of the fictional kind, Coralie Fargeat’s REVENGE is the ultimate tale of payback and signals the arrival of a relentlessly bold new voice. From its eye-popping tracking sequences to a score that would make John Carpenter proud, Fargeat fills every inch of every frame with style, and anger. THE LAST MOVIE STAR finds an aging, former movie star, portrayed by Burt Reynolds, being forced to face the reality that his glory days are behind him. On its surface THE LAST MOVIE STAR is a tale about faded fame, but at its core, it’s a universal story about growing old. Crazy doesn’t scratch the surface of the things you’ll see and hear when you watch THE ROAD MOVIE. Painstakingly compiled entirely from Russian dashboard cams. This is one wildly entertaining car wreck you won’t want to look away from. ICEPICK TO THE MOON, which will make its world premiere at the festival, centers on cult following of the obscure, strip-mine crooner Rev. Fred Lane. His obsessive fans, who have described him as “subversive,” “completely satirical,” “the Dada Duke Ellington,” and “Demon Frank Sinatra,” have spent years examining every detail of Lane’s albums, and yet whatever information they have found out about their hero has led them deeper into blissful confusion. ICEPICK TO THE MOON not only examines the cult of Fred Lane fans, but it also pulls the curtain back on the artist who is Fred Lane, from his early involvement in the Raudelunas arts collective of Alabama in the 1970s to his current occupation making whirligigs to sell on the craft show circuit. Following the screening will be a Q&A with director Skizz Cyzyk. Also making its world premiere is WOLFMAN’S GOT NARDS. This heartfelt documentary explores the power of cult film told through the 1987 classic THE MONSTER SQUAD and the impact it has on fans, cast and crew, and the industry. Director Andre Gower, Ryan Lambert (both stars of The Monster Squad) and producer Henry McComas will be on hand for a post-film Q&A. ONE SINGS, THE OTHER DOESN’T (L’une chante, l’autre pas) is a feminist musical about the bond of sisterhood felt by Pomme and Suzanne throughout years of changes and fraught relationships with men. At the time of release in 1977, director Agnès Varda said, “If I put myself on the screen—very natural and feminist—maybe I’d get ten people in the audience. Instead, I put two nice young females on the screen, and not too much of my own leftist conscience. By not being too radical but truly feminist, my film has been seen by 350,000 people in France.” THE LAPLACE’S DEMON finds a team of seven researchers has developed a software capable of predicting the evolution of common physical events. The final test, the prediction of the exact number of fragments caused by the fall of a glass, was a success. Interested by these results, the mysterious Professor Cornelius invites the working team in his isolated mansion on a deserted island, hiding his true intentions. As time passes, the team will lead to paradoxical situations in a growing tension that will not only test their nerves but also one of their certainties: the free will. WE ARE STILL HERE director Ted Geoghegan is back, but this time with a different kind of story. MOHAWK tracks the events of one very long day late in The War of 1812, during which a young Mohawk woman and her two lovers strike back at a squadron of American soldiers responsible for the death of her people. Although set in 1812, this film with resonate with audiences even more so now than ever. It doesn’t get more wildly influential than the Shaw Brothers’ KING BOXER. Not only was it the first bonafide Kung Fu film to be a hit in the West (under the title FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH) it very literally helped kick off the Kung Fu craze of the 70’s, ushering in an era where Bruce Lee became a household name. There is simply no overstating the cultural importance or even the coolness of this Shaw Studios treasure.

    When an awkward date on Christmas Eve leads a couple into a strange theater, they’re treated to a bizarre and frightening collection of Christmas stories. The terrifying feature film debut of writer/directors Rebekah and David Ian McKendry, ALL THE CREATURES WERE STIRRING is a frightening and fun journey through the perils of Christmas Eve with an incredible cast and a style all its own. Following the world premiere screening, directors Rebekah McKendry and David Ian McKendry, along with producers Morgan Peter Brown and Joe Wicker will stick around for a Q&A.

    THE FIRST WAVES OF FILMS FOR 2018 CHATTANOOGA FILM FESTIVAL

    LU OVER THE WALL | Director Masaaki Yuasa New kid Kai is talented but adrift, spending his days sulking and isolated in a small fishing village after his family moves from Tokyo. When he demonstrates a proficiency at making music on his synthesizer, his classmates invite him to join their nascent garage band, but their practice sessions soon bring an unexpected guest: Lu, a young mermaid whose fins turn to feet when she hears the beats, and whose singing causes humans to compulsively dance – whether they want to or not. BOOM FOR REAL: THE LATE TEENAGE YEARS OF JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT | Director Sara Driver Exploring the pre-fame years of the celebrated American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, and how New York City, its people, and tectonically shifting arts culture of the late 1970s and ’80s shaped his vision. GHOST STORIES | Directors Jeremy Dyson, Andy Nyman Arch skeptic Professor Phillip Goodman embarks upon a terror-filled quest when he stumbles across a long-lost file containing details of three cases of inexplicable ‘hauntings’. LOWLIFE | Director Ryan Prows The sordid lives of an addict, an ex-con, and a luchador collide when an organ harvesting caper goes very, very wrong. Q&A with director Ryan Prows MADELINE’S MADELINE | Director Josephine Decker A theater director’s latest project takes on a life of its own when her young star takes her performance too seriously. THE DEVIL & FATHER AMORTH | Director William Friedkin Father Gabriele Amorth performs his ninth exorcism on an Italian woman. RBG | Directors Julie Cohen, Betsy West A look at the life and work of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. REVENGE | Director Coralie Fargeat Never take your mistress on an annual guys’ getaway, especially one devoted to hunting – a violent lesson for three wealthy married men. THE LAST MOVIE STAR | Director Adam Rifkin An aging, former movie star is forced to face the reality that his glory days are behind him. On its surface THE LAST MOVIE STAR is a tale about faded fame, but at its core, it’s a universal story about growing old. THE ROAD MOVIE | Director Dmitrii Kalashnikov A documentary comprised entirely of footage from dashboard cameras from Russian cars. ICEPICK TO THE MOON | Director Skizz Cyzyk *WORLD PREMIERE A feature length documentary about strip-mine crooner, Rev. Fred Lane, and the Raudelunas arts collective of Alabama in the Seventies. Q&A with director Skizz Cyzyk. WOLFMAN’S GOT NARDS | Director Andre Gower *WORLD PREMIERE This heartfelt documentary explores the power of cult film told through the lens of the 1987 classic The Monster Squad and the impact it has on fans, cast and crew, and the industry. Q&A with director Andre Gower, producer Henry McComas and Ryan Lambert ONE SINGS, THE OTHER DOESN’T | Director Agnès Varda ONE SINGS, THE OTHER DOESN’T (L’une chante, l’autre pas) is a feminist musical—with lyrics by the director—about the bond of sisterhood felt by Pomme and Suzanne throughout years of changes and fraught relationships with men. THE LAPLACE’S DEMON | Director Giordano Giulivi A team of seven researchers has developed a software capable of predicting the evolution of common physical events. The final test, the prediction of the exact number of fragments caused by the fall of a glass, was a success. Interested by these results, the mysterious Professor Cornelius invites the working team in his isolated mansion on a deserted island, hiding his true intentions. As time passes, the team will lead to paradoxical situations in a growing tension that will not only test their nerves but also one of their certainties: the free will. MOHAWK | Director Ted Geoghegan Late in the War of 1812, a young Mohawk woman and her two lovers battle a squad of American soldiers hell-bent on revenge. Q&A with director/writer Ted Geoghegan and writer Grady Hendrix KING BOXER AKA FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH | Director Chang-hwa Jeong Two martial arts schools prepare for an important tournament. (1972) ALL THE CREATURES WERE STIRRING| Directors David Ian McKendry, Rebekah McKendry *WORLD PREMIERE When an awkward date on Christmas Eve leads a couple into a strange theater, they’re treated to a bizarre and frightening collection of Christmas stories, featuring a wide ensemble of characters doing their best to avoid the horrors of the holidays. From boring office parties and last-minute shopping, to vengeful stalkers and immortal demons, there’s plenty out there to fear this holiday season. Q&A with directors Rebekah McKendry and David Ian McKendry, producers Morgan Peter Brown and Joe Wicker

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  • WHAT THE FEST!? Genre Film Festival at IFC Center in NYC Announces Lineup, OPENS With Coralie Fargeat’s ‘REVENGE’

    [caption id="attachment_24221" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Revenge, Coralie Fargeat REVENGE[/caption] What the Fest!?, a four-day showcase of outrageous content — horror, sci-fi, documentary, thrillers, and beyond — will run from March 29th through April 1st, 2018, at the IFC Center in NYC. What the Fest!? will feature under the radar cinematic finds, film festival hits from Sundance, TIFF, and Rotterdam, and the world premiere of a new digital restoration of a film never before released in the U.S. Opening night of What the Fest!? will feature the New York Premiere of Coralie Fargeat’s REVENGE, a thriller about a mistress who exacts “revenge” on her married lover and his friends, turning their annual hunting trip into a decidedly deadlier adventure. The closing night film will be Jenn Wexler’s THE RANGER, about a group of teen punks on the lam, who hide out from the cops in a remote cabin… only to run into bigger troubles. Highlights include the World Premiere of BOILED ANGELS: THE TRIAL OF MIKE DIANA, a documentary chronicling the obscenity trail of the eponymous comic book artist Mike Diana, directed by cult favorite Frank Henenlotter (BASKET CASE); Henenlotter and Diana will appear in person. There will also be a sneak peek of an unseen episode from the new AMC series “The Terror,” with star Jared Harris of “Mad Men” in person for a Q&A, the critically lauded horror film GHOST STORIES starring Martin Freeman, and the World Premiere restoration of the never-before-seen-in-the-U.S., CURSE OF SNAKES VALLEY, a.k.a “The Soviet Indiana Jones.” REVENGE (NY Premiere) Synopsis: Three wealthy, married men learn the hard way that you should never bring your mistress along on a guys’ getaway, especially when there’s hunting involved. A Neon release. Written & Directed by: Coralie Fargeat Starring: Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz, Kevin Janssens, Vincent Colombe, & Guillaume Bouchède TRT: 108 min. Country: France Language: English; French (with English subtitles)

    VALLEY OF SHADOWS (U.S. Premiere) Synopsis: In this mesmerizing Scandinavian Gothic fable shot on 35mm, a small boy sets out into the deep, dark woods in search of a mysterious creature. Directed by: Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen Written by: Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen & Clement Tuffreau Starring: Adam Ekeli, Kathrine Fagerland, Jørgen Langhelle, Jone Hope Larsen, & Lennard Salamon TRT: 91 min. Country: Norway Language: Norwegian (with English subtitles)

    THE ENDLESS Synopsis: Two brothers (played by co-directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, of SPRING and RESOLUTION) return to the cult they fled years ago, only to discover that the group’s beliefs may make much more sense than they once thought. A Well Go USA release. Directed by: Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead Written by: Justin Benson Starring: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, Tate Ellington, Callie Hernandez, & Lew Temple TRT: 112 min. Country: U.S. Language: English

    BLUE MY MIND (NY Premiere) Synopsis: As if adapting to a new town and a new life weren’t enough, 15-year-old Mia faces an overwhelming transformation when her body starts to change radically. Written & Directed by: Lisa Brühlmann Starring: Luna Wedler, Zoë Pastelle Holthuizen, & Regula Grauwiller TRT: 97 min. Country: Switzerland Language: Swiss German (with English subtitles)

    BOILED ANGELS: THE TRIAL OF MIKE DIANA (World Premiere) Synopsis: Jailed for comics?! The true story of Mike Diana, the only American artist ever convicted of obscenity, directed by cult filmmaker Frank Henenlotter (BASKET CASE, BRAIN DAMAGE, FRANKENHOOKER). Directed by: Frank Henenlotter Featuring: Mike Diana, George A. Romero, Neil Gaiman, Peter Bagge, Jay Lynch, Stephen Bissette, Peter Kuper, & more TRT: 105 min. Country: U.S. Language: English

    GHOST STORIES (NY Premiere) Synopsis: Arch-skeptic professor Phillip Goodman embarks upon a terror-filled quest when he stumbles across three long-lost cases of unexplainable “hauntings.” Written & Directed by: Jeremy Dyson & Andy Nyman Starring: Martin Freeman, Andy Nyman, Alex Lawther, & Paul Whitehouse TRT: 98 min. Country: U.K. Language: English

    SATAN’S SLAVES (NY Premiere) Synopsis: A hit at Rotterdam, acclaimed director Joko Anwar’s (MODUS ANOMALI, A COPY OF MY MIND) remake of a beloved 1982 Indonesian horror classic (reputedly itself inspired by PHANTASM) is a delightfully terrifying haunted house movie — and the country’s biggest box office smash of 2017. Written & Directed by: Joko Anwar Starring: Bront Palarae, Tara Basro, Endy Arfian, & Dimas Aditya TRT: 106 min. Country: Indonesia Language: Indonesian (with English subtitles)

    CURSE OF SNAKES VALLEY, a.k.a. “The Soviet Indiana Jones” (World Premiere Restoration) Synopsis: This unseen 1980s Eastern Bloc-buster presents the Soviet answer to Indiana Jones in a tale that combines snakes and jungle traps and the “classic weirdness” of Polish sci-fi! Directed by: Marek Piestrak Written by: Wojciech Nizynski, Marek Piestrak, & Vladimir Valutskiy Starring: Krzysztof Kolberger, Roman Wilhelmi, & Ewa Salacka TRT: 94 min. Country: Estonia, Poland Language: Russian (with English subtitles)

    LOWLIFE (NY Premiere) Synopsis: The sordid lives of an addict, an ex-con, and a luchador collide when an organ harvesting caper goes very, very wrong. An IFC Midnight release. Directed by: Ryan Prows Written by: Tim Cairo, Jake Gibson, Shaye Ogbonna, Ryan Prows, & Maxwell Michael Towson Starring: Jon Oswald, Nicki Micheaux, Mark Burnham, & Ricardo Adam Zarate TRT: 96 min. Country: U.S. Language: English, Spanish (with English subtitles)

    “The Terror” (Episode Sneak Preview) Synopsis: Join star Jared Harris for a sneak preview of AMC’s new series based on Dan Simmons’s 2007 bestseller, the true-life tale of a group of sailors confronting certain death at the frozen ends of the earth. Starring: Jared Harris, Ciarán Hinds, & Tobias Menzies TRT: 144 min (Episodes 1-3 of the first season) Country: U.S. Language: English

    THE RANGER (NY Premiere) Synopsis: Teen punks on the run from the cops hide out in a remote cabin, only to find out that the forest has its own law. Directed by: Jenn Wexler Written by: Giaco Furino & Jenn Wexler Starring: Chloe Levine, Jeremy Holm, & Larry Fessenden TRT: 80 min. Country: U.S. Language: English

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  • 2018 Boston Underground Film Festival Reveals First Wave of Films, Opens with Award Winning “My Name is Myeisha”

    [caption id="attachment_27273" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]My Name is Myeisha My Name is Myeisha[/caption] The 20th annual Boston Underground Film Festival returns to Harvard Square, bringing with it a five day fever dream of vanguard and description-defying filmmaking, including soul- thrillers/killers/chillers, to the Brattle Theatre and Harvard Film Archive from March 21st through the 25th, 2018. Kicking off the festival is the East Coast premiere of My Name is Myeisha, a phantasmagorical meditation on a beloved teen’s life cut tragically short, told from her perspective at the moment of her unjust death. On the heels of its 2018 Slamdance world premiere, where it garnered both the Audience Award for Beyond Feature and the Slamdance Acting Award for breakout performance by lead Rhaechyl Walker, My Name is Myeisha is a bold and beautiful adaptation of co-writer Rickerby Hinds’ play, Dreamscape, that demands and deserves your attention. Director Gus Krieger and star Walker will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A. BUFF is taking its love of the beyond to the next level with a rare repertory screening of Slava Tsukerman’s underground masterpiece of avant-garde sci-fi and queer cinema, Liquid Sky. Nearly 35 years to the day since its theatrical release, BUFF is ecstatic to be presenting this neon-drenched, new wave, electroclashtastic cult classic on lush 35mm. BUFF is bringing double trouble from the French film vanguard with the East Coast premiere of Coralie Fargeat‘s genre-flipping, outré feature debut Revenge and the New England premiere of BUFF alumni Bruno Forzani & Hélène Cattet’s piece de resistance, Let the Corpses Tan. Fargeat revamps the rape-revenge thriller subgenre, spinning a subversive monomythic tale of female survival and rebirth with fierce and formidable Matilda Lutz in the lead. Forzani and Cattet deliver another gorgeous, sensory-saturated homage to vintage genre, this time honing their craft in pulpy poliziotteschi perfection against a bullet-riddled spaghetti-Western backdrop. Bleeding into the realm of real-world horror, BUFF will host the US premiere of Turkish writer-director Onur Saylak’s chilling debut Daha and the New England premiere of British writer-director Deborah Haywood’s stunning, deeply personal first feature Pin Cushion. While Haywood explores the visible and invisible wounds of intergenerational bullying as experienced by a mother and daughter in small town England, Saylak examines the cycle of intergenerational violence between a father and son caught up in the refugee smuggling trade in small town Turkey. On the lighter side, BUFF will present the World Premiere of Stacy Buchanan & Jess Barnthouse’s homegrown horror doc Something Wicked This Way Comes and the New England Premiere of Aaron McCann & Dominic Pearce’s Aussie-by-way-of-Japan mocku-doc Top Knot Detective. Buchanan & Barnthouse give New England’s pop-horror-culture the full-feature treatment, exploring the region’s viability for growing our independent film scene with input from genre luminaries, horror fans, natives, and local filmmakers. McCann & Pearce explore Japan’s most beloved ronin detective, Sheimasu Tantai, from the 1970s style martial arts series RONIN SUIRI TENTAI (Deductive Reasoning Ronin), and his Oz-based cult fandom so thoroughly and hilariously that it’s nigh impossible to discern fact from fiction…it’s somehow beyond both. As usual, the festival will present the kid-friendly annual Saturday Morning Cartoons program with cereal smorgasbord, programmed and hosted by renowned curator, author, publisher, and founder of the Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies, Kier-La Janisse; a veritable bounty of shorts programming celebrating fantastic music videos, animation, transgressive horror; and more!

    BOSTON UNDERGROUND FIRST WAVE

    MY NAME IS MYEISHA – Opening Night | East Coast Premiere Gus Krieger | USA | 2018 On the evening of December 28th, 1998, Myeisha Jackson’s night ends with her asleep in her car, her cousins outside, and police on the way. In the fleeting moments before the unthinkable occurs, she awakes with a start inside her inner dreamscape and contemplates her life–what it was and what it was going to be. A metaphysical trip into Myeisha’s mind reveals a life brimming with promise on the cusp of adulthood–her secrets, goals, flaws, strengths, loves, and talents–and is fueled and expressed by her love of hip hop, dance, and spoken word as she comes to terms with what’s happened to her. DAHA – US Premiere Onur Saylak | Turkey | 2017 Young Gaza lives in a small town on Turkey’s Aegean coast and dreams of escaping the soul-crushing drudgery of the family business: smuggling refugees. Studious and still imbued with a youthful sense of optimism and innocence, Gaza is pulled deeper and deeper into a dark, immoral world of human suffering and exploitation by his domineering father; will he avoid becoming the monster he’s being raised to be? LET THE CORPSES TAN – New England Premiere Bruno Forzani, Hélène Cattet | France, Belgium | 2017 After stealing a cache of gold, Rhino and his gang discover a near-abandoned Mediterranean hamlet hideout, occupied by an inspiration-seeking woman. Their bucolic surroundings become a horrific battlefield when uninvited guests arrive on the scene to foil everyone’s plans. LIQUID SKY – 35th Anniversary Slava Tsukerman | USA | 1982 Heroin-seeking invisible aliens land on top of a NYC apartment inhabited by a drug dealer and her androgynous, bisexual, nymphomaniac, fashion model lover: Margaret (played by co-writer Anne Carlisle). The aliens quickly get hip to a better drug–orgasmic pheromones–and start vaporizing her casual sex partners. Things get weirder as Margaret’s arch nemesis Jimmy (also played by Carlisle), a lonely, horny neighbor across the street, and a German scientist get involved in the proceedings. PIN CUSHION – New England Premiere Deborah Haywood | UK | 2017 New to town, the inseparable dafty duo Lyn and her daughter Iona are excited to have a fresh start. Determined to establish herself successfully after a rocky start, Iona drifts away from her bestie/mum and becomes BFFs with the school’s equivalent of the “Heathers.” Forlorn, Lyn attempts to make friends of her own, but after a lifetime of being othered, she still struggles with the same vicious trials and tribulations of being different that her daughter now faces. REVENGE – New England Premiere Coralie Fargeat | France | 2017 What starts as a weekend getaway between a married man and his mistress quickly devolves into a deadly game of cat and mouse when his hunting buddies arrive. Director Fargeat revamps and recalibrates the rape-revenge trope from a female perspective, creating a violent, visceral monomyth about the rebirth and survival of a woman wronged seeking to even the score. SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES – World Premiere Jessica Barnthouse, Stacy Buchanan | USA | 2018 Something Wicked This Way Comes is a full-feature exploration into the popular horror culture of New England. Through discussions with genre luminaries, horror fans, and natives, the film discovers popular conventions within the genre and identifies how they’re driven by the history, eerie settings, and social issues of the area. And through the stories of actors and local filmmakers, it aims to discover if the area’s passion is strong enough to help grow an independent film industry. TOP KNOT DETECTIVE – New England Premiere Aaron McCann, Dominic Pearce | Australia, Japan | 2017 This is the story of how a failed Japanese samurai series, RONIN SUIRI TENTAI (Deductive Reasoning Ronin), became an instant Australian cult classic. Badly acted, translated and edited, the show centered around a detective samurai who solved crimes and killed monsters while avenging his master’s murder. This hilarious doc digs up the bizarre behind the scenes antics that it’s creator and co-stars got up to, and investigates how the main star ended up in jail 20 years later…or maybe not!

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  • Alexander Payne’s DOWNSIZING to Close + Final Wave of Films Announced for 2017 Fantastic Fest

    [caption id="attachment_24425" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]DOWNSIZING DOWNSIZING[/caption] The 2017 Fantastic Fest announced its final wave of films, along with Alexander Payne’s miniature masterpiece DOWNSIZING as the closing night film. Rounding out a trio of Fantastic-Fest first-timers making their way to Austin is Cory Finley and his jaw dropping debut THOROUGHBRED, and fan-favorite tough guy extraordinaire Frank Grillo for the World Premiere of his nail-biting getaway drama, WHEELMAN. In keeping with world premieres, Fantastic Fest announced a fistful of titles that will receive their big screen bows. Screen great Barbara Crampton will be in attendance with director Bradford Baruh for a ride in his chilling APPLECART, featuring over forty minutes of zero gravity footage; Russia’s SALYUT-7 is guaranteed to pop 3D eyes; HAUNTERS: THE ART OF THE SCARE walks us through the world’s most terrifying haunted houses; and TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID delivers a contemporary fairytale from within the world of the mexican cartels. “I’m incredibly proud of the vast array of filmmaking on display in this year’s program,” said Fantastic Fest Creative Director Evrim Ersoy. “From the most highly acclaimed studio titles to the smallest independent debuts, it’s exhilarating to embrace unique creativity from the four corners of the world. Bringing filmmakers together in a program that highlights the increasing diversity of cinema is truly an honor that we can’t wait to share with our audience.” Female filmmakers once again deliver powerful voices with three of the most dynamic films of the festival. Angel Robinson will be in attendance to share the controversially kinky true story behind the year’s biggest superhero with PROFESSOR MARSTON & THE WONDER WOMEN; Lisa Bruhlmann makes a stunning entrance with her fantastical coming-of-age debut BLUE MY MIND; and not to be outdone, first time feature-maker Coralie Fargeat turns the revenge genre upside down with her outrageous femme fatale fiesta, REVENGE. A mainstay of Fantastic Fest has been showcasing world cinema’s finest exports and this year is no exception. Asia basks in the glory of master Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s return to the apocalyptic fold with BEFORE WE VANISH (Japan), while his countryman Sôichi Umezawa delivers the outlandish midnight spectacle of VAMPIRE CLAY (Japan). South Korea represents with the year’s toughest crime caper, THE MERCILESS, and serial killer shocker V.I.P., while NYAFF award-winner BAD GENIUS represents Thailand. And Taiwan shows school students no mercy with the hyper-violent MON MON MON MONSTERS. Not to be outdone, Europe comes out swinging with Hungarian auteur Kornél Mundruczó’s follow up to WHITE GOD, the stunning JUPITER’S MOON, French filmmakers Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani splash their hyper-stylized western LET THE CORPSES TAN across the screen and Norway’s Joachim Trier delivers one of the most quietly impressive films of the year, the assured THELMA. The world premiere of Don Hertzfeldt’s WORLD OF TOMORROW EPISODE 2: THE BURDEN OF OTHER PEOPLE’S THOUGHTS highlights an animated sidebar that pushes the medium into brave new spaces. Rounding out the fantastical trio is the debut feature from Studio Ponoc, MARY AND THE WITCHES FLOWER, from ex Studio Ghibli key animator Hiromasa Yonebayashi, and JUNK HEAD, Takahide Hori’s claymation feature that took him over seven years to complete, entirely by himself. American Genre Film Archive makes its triumphant return to Fantastic Fest with two movies that will rot your libido in the best way. BAT PUSSY, the world’s first X-rated parody, shares the spotlight the world premiere of a brand new 2K transfer of one of the most sought-after lost films in the history of exploitation cinema in a very special secret screening. Additional rep titles include the world premiere of the Takashi Miike-approved 4K restoration of ICHI THE KILLER, the digital remaster of the seminal Indian cult movie BAASHA, and Jean Rollin’s THE NUDE VAMPIRE, presented by Kier-la Janisse in celebration of her new book Lost Girls: The Phantasmagorical Cinema of Jean Rollin. True to form, Fantastic Fest will be re-writing reality once more with a crowded cornucopia of events that invade all corners of the fest. Gross-out grub-gorging spectacle Puke and Explode rumbles once more, notorious VHS archival warriors Everything is Terrible return with an all-new show to both delight and horrify. Comedy legend Gilbert Gottfried will be performing and screening the incredible biographical doc GILBERT, and the seminal Fantastic Debates marks its 10-year anniversary of polemic pugilism in spectacular fashion.

    FINAL WAVE OF FILM:

    AGFA + SOMETHING WEIRD PRESENT: BAT PUSSY and SECRET SCREENING American Genre Film Archive makes its triumphant return to Fantastic Fest with two movies that will rot your libido in the best way. BAT PUSSY, the world’s first X-rated parody, is what happens when an anonymous smut producer gets inspired by the 1960s BATMAN TV show but only has $5. It’s also what happens when your wildest dreams and most horrifying nightmares collide in an explosion of flaccid stupefaction. Next up, after years of detective work, AGFA presents the world premiere of a brand new 2K transfer of one of the most sought-after lost films in the history of exploitation cinema. LOST GIRLS Book Launch: THE NUDE VAMPIRE presented by Kier-la Janisse THE NUDE VAMPIRE France, 1970 Repertory, 88 min Director – Jean Rollin Jean Rollin’s THE NUDE VAMPIRE (1970) follows a sinister businessman who’s keeping a young vampire girl captive and experimenting on her in the hope that he finds the key to eternal life. The film will be screened in celebration of the launch of the new book from publisher Spectacular Optical, LOST GIRLS: THE PHANTASMAGORICAL CINEMA OF JEAN ROLLIN, the first examination of Rollin’s work to be written by all women critics, scholars and film historians, and will be introduced by the book’s publisher Kier-La Janisse. 3FT BALL & SOULS Japan, 2017 International Premiere, 93 min Director – Yoshio Kato Four strangers come together to commit suicide using explosives. But they discover that every time they blow up, they’re sent back to just before they killed themselves. APPLECART USA, 2017 World Premiere, 86 min Director – Bradford Baruh An idyllic weekend vacation to a secluded cabin turns deadly when the Pollack family discovers an unconscious woman whose sinister plans will pit the family members against each other. BAASHA India, 1995 Repertory/International Premiere, 165 min Director – Suresh Krissna Superstar Rajinikanth plays a rickshaw driver with a history of violence in this genre-defining musical gangster romance epic from the director of AALAVANDHAN. BAD GENIUS Thailand, 2017 Texas Premiere, 130 min Director – Nattawut Poonpiriya A quartet of high school students are better at cheating than anything you’ve ever done in your life in this epic nail-biter about the standardized tests that level the playing field for all kids, smart and dumb, rich and poor. BEFORE WE VANISH Japan, 2017 North American Premiere, 129 min Director – Kiyoshi Kurosawa Kurosawa’s latest film is a sci-fi thriller about an invasion in which aliens must come to understand humanity through understanding human emotion — most importantly, our collective capacity for love. BLUE MY MIND Switzerland, 2017 North American Premiere, 97 min Director – Lisa Brühlmann BLUE MY MIND follows 15-year-old Mia (Luna Wedler) as she undergoes a life-changing transformation, one that leaves her examining her body and her very existence in a new light. BRIMSTONE & GLORY Mexico, USA, 2017 Regional Premiere, 67 min Director – Viktor Jakovleski Tultepec is a small Mexican town that celebrates its love of fireworks with a yearly week-long festival. This festival is captured in a glorious documentary that is pure cinema. THE CURED Ireland, UK, France, 2017 US Premiere, 95 min Director – David Freyne A zombie virus has hit the world… but it has been cured. What’s next for the ex-zombies who have returned to normal? David Freyne’s debut feature throws lots of food for thought into the mouth of your mind. DARKLAND Denmark, 2017 US Premiere, 113 min Director – Fenar Ahmad An Iraqi doctor in Denmark seeks vigilante justice for his brother’s murder when the police come up short, biting off more than he can chew in a world of gangs, drugs and underground fight rings. FIRSTBORN Latvia, 2017 North American Premiere, 90 min Director – Aik Karapetian Provocative Latvian director Aik Karapetian returns to Fantastic Fest with a new thriller that explores how far a meek architect will go to protect his dignity in the eyes of his wife in the aftermath of an attack. FIVE FINGERS FOR MARSEILLES South Africa, 2017 US Premiere, 120 min Director – Michael Matthews A troubled young man returns to the town he fled as a youth and is forced to confront his past (and the town’s difficult future) in this gorgeous Xhosa language western. GEMINI USA, 2017 Special Screening, 93 min Director – Aaron Katz Our understandings of friendship, truth and celebrity are challenged when a heinous crime tests the complex relationship between a tenacious personal assistant (Lola Kirke) and her Hollywood starlet boss (Zoe Kravitz) in Aaron Katz’s latest. GILBERT USA, 2017 Regional Premiere, 99 min Director – Neil Berkeley GILBERT is the story of Gilbert Gottfried as never seen before, both a behind-the-scenes documentary and a poignant look at the life of a comedian who has more layers than most people can imagine. GOOD MANNERS Brazil, France, 2017 North American Premiere, 135 min Directors – Juliana Rojas & Marco Dutra When lonely nurse Clara is hired as a nanny by wealthy Ana, she hardly expects anything like the friendship she finds with the lonely, pregnant woman. However, both women have dark secrets which will engulf all that they hold dear. HAUNTERS: THE ART OF THE SCARE USA, 2017 World Premiere, 88 min Director – Jon Schnitzer Delving behind the scenes of one of America’s most beloved seasonal pastimes, HAUNTERS shows the world of the people who make the scariest houses, mazes and experiences that range from the traditional to the controversial. ICHI THE KILLER – 4K RESTORATION Japan, 2001 Repertory/World Premiere of Restoration, 129 min Director – Takashi Miike The yakuza occupy a murky universe with more twists and turns than the Shinjuku alleys they call home. The mysterious disappearance of a Tokyo mob boss triggers a hunt to find him, dead or alive. The search leads to the city’s most depraved clubs and sex dens and eventually to Ichi, the schizophrenic hitman behind the crime. Even more shocking is the discovery that the mastermind who hired Ichi is a fellow gangster out for revenge. JUNK HEAD Japan, 2017 US Premiere, 114 min Director – Takahide Hori Humanity is dying. It’s been 1200 years since our rebellious clone workforce moved underground, and the only way we can survive is by plunging into the depths to learn more about our terrifying creations. JUPITER’S MOON Hungary, Germany, 2017 North American Premiere, 123 min Director – Kornél Mundruczó The most ambitious science fiction film of the year is also perhaps the most visually stunning. Aryan is a refugee who finds himself with the power to levitate after being shot. Stern is a disgraced, corrupt doctor. The two will meet and alter the entire world. LES AFFAMES Canada, 2017 US Premiere, 100 min Director – Robin Aubert In the remote Quebec countryside, things are not well. A plague has infected the land, affecting almost all the residents of a small village. The survivors have to navigate their new existence as well as deal with the infected with an appetite for flesh. LET THE CORPSES TAN Belgium, France, 2017 US Premiere, 92 min Directors – Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani On a beautiful corner of the Mediterranean, Rhino and his men take refuge after the robbery of 250 kilograms of gold. The plan is simple: Wait and split. But some unwanted visitors are about to turn this idyllic corner into a bloodbath. LETTERKENNY Canada, 2016 US Premiere, 151 min Director – Jacob Tierney The spiritual successors to STRANGE BREW’s Bob and Doug MacKenzie, the rural residents of the fictitious town of LETTERKENNY deliver a hysterical slice of Canadiana in the comedy phenomenon chronicling the daily problems of hicks, skids, hockey players and Christians. THE LINE Slovakia, Ukraine, 2017 North American Premiere, 112 min Director – Peter Bebjak One line is literal, the border between Slovakia and Ukraine. Criminal Adam Krajnak (Tomas Mastalir) crosses it often, smuggling product and people. The other line is metaphorical, and crossing it leads to a death spiral of violence and vengeance. LOVE AND SAUCERS USA/Canada, 2017 Texas Premiere, 67 min Director – Brad Abrahams David Huggins, a 72-year-old man who claims to have lost his virginity as a young man to an extraterrestrial being, turned to art to express his interspecies romance and lifelong relationship with the otherworldly. MARY AND THE WITCH’S FLOWER Japan, 2017 North American Premiere, 102 min Director – Hiromasa Yonebayashi Directing the first film out of Studio Ponoc, Hiromasa Yonebayashi (WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE) creates the dazzling and heartwarming story of an ordinary girl who becomes an extraordinary witch. THE MERCILESS South Korea, 2017 North American Premiere, 117 min Director – Byun Sung-hyun Cribbing liberally from the history of gangster films, Byun Sung-hyun’s hard-boiled Korean crime saga is filled with all manner of murder, deceit, double and triple crosses… and, oh yeah, slap-fighting. MOM AND DAD USA, 2017 US Premiere, 83 min Director – Brian Taylor Selma Blair and Nicolas Cage are seemingly ideal parents until an unknown force causes their town’s adults to murder their offspring. MON MON MON MONSTERS Taiwan, 2017 Regional Premiere, 112 min Director – Giddens Ko A bullied schoolboy is teamed up with his tormentors to do community social work. While on duty, they encounter a strange creature which they kidnap, and take bullying to a whole new level. THE PRINCE OF NOTHINGWOOD France, Germany, 2017 US Premiere, 85 min Director – Sonia Kronlund Meet Salim Shaheen: Afghani auteur, prolific actor and one-man moviemaking industry. Along with his trusted troupe of actors, he defies all the odds in the Middle East to fulfill his dreams of making movies. PROFESSOR MARSTON & THE WONDER WOMEN USA, 2017 US Premiere, 108 min Director – Angela Robinson In a superhero origin tale unlike any other, this film is the incredible true story of what inspired Harvard psychologist Dr. William Moulton Marston to create the iconic Wonder Woman character in the 1940s. RABBIT Australia, 2017 International Premiere, 99 min Director – Luke Shanahan After a full year, Maude is still stricken by visions of her sister Cleo’s kidnapping. Believing that Cleo is still alive, Maude undergoes a suspenseful journey to find her in this stunning, atmospheric feature debut from Luke Shanahan. RADIUS Canada, 2017 US Premiere, 91 min Directors – Caroline Labrèche & Steeve Léonard When a man wakes up from a car crash with no memory of what happened, his first instinct is to find help. However, as he gets closer to civilization and other people, an ugly truth will rear its head and affect all those who surround him. REVENGE France, 2017 US Premiere, 108 min Director – Coralie Fargeat Three rich male thrill-seekers discover that Jennifer isn’t the human sex doll that they assumed she was when they invited her on their isolated hunting getaway. Jennifer teaches them fundamental lessons about consent in a manner that they — and we — won’t soon forget. RIFT Iceland, 2017 Texas Premiere, 111 min Director – Erlingur Thoroddsen After a phone call from his ex wakes him late one night, Gunnar drives out to a secluded vacation cottage to save Einar from himself, but what awaits him there is mystery and confusion. SALYUT-7 Russia, 2017 World Premiere, 119 min Director – Klim Shipenko Based on a true story, SALYUT-7 is the little-known mission to dock with an unmanned space station in order to stop it from crashing into Earth, a feat never before attempted in space history. THELMA Norway, 2017 Texas Premiere, 116 min Director – Joachim Trier A conservative young woman attending college in Oslo begins to fall in love while discovering her burgeoning supernatural powers in a stunning new film from Norway. THOROUGHBRED USA, 2017 Austin Premiere, 92 min Director – Cory Finley Two teenage girls in suburban Connecticut rekindle their unlikely friendship after years of growing apart. In the process, they learn that neither is what she seems to be, and that a murder might solve both of their problems. TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID Mexico, 2017 World Premiere, 83 min Director – Issa López When her mother suddenly disappears with no one to care for her, young Estrella ends up on the street and joins a gang of children, triggering a dangerous and tragic chain of events in the third feature from Mexican filmmaker Lopez. UNDER THE TREE Iceland, Denmark, Poland, Germany, 2017 US Premiere, 89 min Director – Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson On the outskirts of Reykjavik, the shadow cast by a tree triggers a feud between two neighboring families, with tragic and darkly comic consequences. V.I.P. South Korea, 2017 International Premiere, 128 min Director – Hoon-jung Park A notorious serial killer who happens to be the son of a defecting DPRK official sends South Korea’s National Intelligence, police from both states and even international brass into a mad political scramble in this thrilling neo-noir. VAMPIRE CLAY Japan, 2017 US Premiere, 80 min Director – Soichi Umezawa A class of art school hopefuls is stalked by blood-thirsty, flesh-hungry clay in this bizarre practical effects-heavy horror assault from THE ABCs OF DEATH 2 segment director and longtime special makeup effects artist Umezawa. VIDAR THE VAMPIRE Norway, 2017 Texas Premiere, 82 min Directors – Thomas Aske Berg & Fredrik Waldeland Christian farmer Vidar has a boring life, living with his mom and tending sheep. When he wishes for more excitement he wakes up undead, hangs out with vampire Jesus and discovers that sometimes the party can go on too long. WHEELMAN USA, 2017 World Premiere, 82 min Director – Jeremy Rush Frank Grillo (KINGDOM; CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR) stars as the wheelman, a getaway driver thrust into a high stakes race to survive after a bank robbery goes terribly wrong. With a car full of money and his family on the line, the clock is ticking to figure out who double-crossed him and the only person he can trust… his 14-year-old daughter. All reasons to think fast and drive faster. WORLD OF TOMORROW EPISODE TWO: THE BURDEN OF OTHER PEOPLE’S THOUGHTS USA, 2017 World Premiere, 22 min Director – Don Hertzfeldt The highly anticipated follow-up to Don Hertzfeldt’s Oscar-nominated WORLD OF TOMORROW finds Emily Prime swept into the brain of an incomplete backup clone of her future self, who’s on a mission to reboot her broken mind. Continuing the tradition of the first film, WORLD OF TOMORROW EPISODE TWO was written entirely around candid audio recordings of Hertzfeldt’s five-year-old niece.

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  • Coralie Fargeat’s Blood-Pumping Debut REVENGE Heads to Shudder + Theaters in 2018

    Revenge, Coralie Fargeat Coralie Fargeat’s blood-pumping debut Revenge which is set to world-premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival next month has been snapped up by AMC Networks’ Shudder.  The film will be available on the premium thriller, suspense and horror video streaming service, and play theatrically in early 2018. Revenge will also play at this year’s Fantastic Fest. Soaking the perennial rape/Revenge thriller in a strikingly hypnotic style, writer-director Coralie Fargeat’s compelling feature debut reframes the genre’s typical proclivities with a gaze that scrutinizes male bodies and foregrounds its protagonist’s transformation into a hardened vehicle of vengeance. Jen (Matilda Lutz), arrives at a remote desert villa with her millionaire Adonis boy toy (Kevin Jannsens) expecting a weekend of romantic and illicit frivolity. Things take a turn for the worse with her lover’s unseemly hunting pals and Jen must seek vengeance on her attackers as they try to sweep her assault under the rug. Revenge plunges Jen into an arid, drug-induced hell, but one she resolves to emerge from, leaving a tidal wave of righteous violence in her wake. Revenge is the latest all-rights acquisition for Shudder, following the acquisitions of Stefan Ruzowitzsky’s thriller Cold Hell, Graham Skipper’s sci-fi romance Sequence Break, Joe Lynch’s violent corporate satire Mayhem and Chris Peckover’s Christmas-set black comedy Better Watch Out. With multiple exclusives premiering on the service every month alongside a rapidly expanding collection of genre favorites, Shudder is deeply committed to bringing the best of horror and thriller to all of its members. Coralie Fargeat, director of Revenge, said: “ As a true fan of genre films, I am extremely proud that my first feature is being released by Shudder. Having the support of such an impressive new player within the genre space will help the film find an enthusiastic and passionate audience. I am delighted that they will be accompanying me to the world premiere at TIFF!”

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  • Toronto International Film Festival Launches 2017 Midnight Madness Lineup, Opens with Joseph Kahn’s BODIED

    [caption id="attachment_23401" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Bodied Bodied[/caption] Midnight Madness has just launched its lineup for the 42nd Toronto International Film Festival, and opens with Joseph Kahn’s provocative World Premiere of Bodied.  Midnight Madness also presents the World Premiere of The Disaster Artist, directed by James Franco and based on the making of Tommy Wiseau’s 2003 cult film, The Room. Kuplowsky also welcomes back several Festival alumni, including David Bruckner, Ryuhei Kitamura, S. Craig Zahler, Hélène Cattet, and Bruno Forzani. A new film directed by Canadian musician Seth A. Smith of Dog Day will also screen, as well as the Canadian Premiere of the acclaimed short-film Great Choice, which will precede the World Premiere of Brian Taylor’s Mom and Dad, starring Nicholas Cage and Selma Blair. Finally, the section will introduce two new feature filmmakers with Coralie Fargeat’s Revenge and the section’s Closing Night presentation of Sôichi Umezawa’s Vampire Clay. “We can’t wait to unleash Peter on Midnight Madness audiences,” said TIFF Artistic Director Cameron Bailey. “He’s tracked down 10 films that preserve the section’s legendary kick-out-the-jams approach, while still putting his own ruthless stamp on it. Just watch.” “With my inaugural lineup, I’ve sought to assemble an eclectic group of films that expand and explode traditional definitions of genre and shock cinema,” said Peter Kuplowsky, Programmer for Midnight Madness. “Starting with Joseph Kahn’s proverbial mic-drop Bodied, a transgressive and self-critical battle rap satire produced by Eminem, and ricocheting between occult rituals and brutal brawls, the tropes across these 10 Midnights may be familiar, but the execution always innovates, be it in their distillation, fragmentation or subversion. Some will terrify, and others may mystify, but all will electrify audiences well past the witching hour.” Under Kuplowsky’s new direction, Midnight Madness will continue to showcase the classically terrifying, as well as boundary-pushing, stylized and innovative films — wiring up and energizing its loyal late-night fang-club! The 42nd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 7 to 17, 2017. Films screening as part of the Midnight Madness program include: Midnight Madness Opening Film. Bodied Joseph Kahn, USA World Premiere Brawl in Cell Block 99 S. Craig Zahler, USA North American Premiere The Crescent Seth A. Smith, Canada World Premiere The Disaster Artist James Franco, USA World Premiere Downrange Ryuhei Kitamura, USA World Premiere Great Choice Robin Comisar, USA Canadian Premiere Let the Corpses Tan Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani, Belgium/France North American Premiere Mom and Dad Brian Taylor, USA World Premiere Revenge Coralie Fargeat, France World Premiere The Ritual David Bruckner, UK World Premiere Midnight Madness Closing Film. Vampire Clay Sôichi Umezawa, Japan World Premiere

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