Searching (2018)

  • ‘Love Me’ Starring Kristen Stewart, Steven Yeun Wins Science-In-Film Prize + 3 Filmmakers Awarded Sloan Grants at Sundance

    Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun in Love Me by Sam Zuchero and Andy Zuchero
    Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun in Love Me by Sam Zuchero and Andy Zuchero. Courtesy of Sundance Institute. Photo by Justine Yeung.

    Sundance Institute and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s joint Science-In-Film Initiative awarded Love Me, from filmmaker duo Sam and Andy Zuchero, with this year’s juried Feature Film Prize at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

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  • THE HATE U GIVE is Big Winner of 2019 Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society Awards

    THE HATE U GIVE
    THE HATE U GIVE

    The Hate U Give leads this year’s winners of the 2nd Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society Awards with a total of four awards including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade followed closely with three awards including Best Independent Film, Best First Feature, and Best Performance by an Actress 23 and Under for Elsie Fisher. 

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  • THE FAVOURITE, BLACKkKLANSMAN, EIGHTH GRADE Among Nominees for 2018 Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society Honors

    [caption id="attachment_29297" align="aligncenter" width="926"]BlacKkKlansman BlacKkKlansman[/caption] The Favourite and Black Panther top the 2018 Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society (LAOFCS) nominations list with ten nominations each, followed by A Star is Born with nine and BlacKkKlansman with eight.  Indie films were well represented with Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade scoring six nominations. and Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk scoring a total of five nominations including Best Supporting Actress. The members of the Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society have also voted on some of the more underrepresented films this award season including Fox’s The Hate U Give, Focus Features’ Tully, Sony Pictures’ Searching, and Roadside’s Ben is Back, among several others. “In a year where diversity and representation have been at the forefront of so many conversations, I believe that the LAOFCS nominations this year proves how much representation truly matters. There have been a lot of great films this year that have tackled important issues, so I am thrilled to see that reflected in our nominations,” added LAOFCS’ Scott Menzel. In addition to the film nominations, the LAOFCS will also announce a few other awards including the recipient of this Trailblazer Award which was previously awarded to Jessica Chastain. The Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society (LAOFCS) 2nd Annual Awards Ceremony will be held on January 9th, 2019, at the Taglyan Complex in Los Angeles.

    2018 Los Angeles Online Film Critics SocietyAwards Nominations

    Best Picture

    A Star is Born Eighth Grade Black Panther The Favourite The Hate U Give BlackKklansman Green Book Roma A Quiet Place Searching

    Best Actor

    Rami Malek – Bohemian Rhapsody Bradley Cooper – A Star is Born Christian Bale – Vice Ethan Hawke – First Reformed Viggo Mortensen – Green Book

    Best Actress

    Toni Collette – Hereditary Charlize Theron – Tully Lady Gaga – A Star is Born Olivia Colman – The Favourite Nicole Kidman – Destroyer

    Best Supporting Actor

    Adam Driver – BlackKklansman Mahershala Ali – Green Book Russell Hornsby – The Hate U Give Sam Elliott – A Star is Born Richard E. Grant – Can You Ever Forgive Me?

    Best Supporting Actress

    Elizabeth Debicki – Widows Emma Stone – The Favourite Rachel Weisz – The Favourite Regina King – If Beale Street Could Talk Amy Adams – Vice

    Best Adapted Screenplay

    Bradley Cooper and Eric Roth – A Star is Born Spike Lee, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott, and Charlie Wachtel – BlacKkKlansman Barry Jenkins – If Beale Street Could Talk Audrey Wells – The Hate U Give Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty – Can You Ever Forgive Me?

    Best Original Screenplay

    Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, and John Krasinski – A Quiet Place Bo Burnham – Eighth Grade Tony McNamara and Deborah Davis – The Favourite Boots Riley – Sorry to Bother You Adam McKay – Vice

    Best Male Director

    Alfonso Cuaron – Roma Spike Lee – BlackKklansman Yorgos Lanthimos – The Favourite Bradley Cooper – A Star is Born Ryan Coogler – Black Panther

    Best Female Director

    Chloe Zhao – The Rider Debra Granik – Leave No Trace Tamara Jenkins – Private Life Marielle Heller – Can You Ever Forgive Me? Lynne Ramsey – You Were Never Really Here

    Best Animated Film

    Incredibles 2 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Isle of Dogs Ralph Breaks the Internet Mirai

    Best Foreign Film

    Burning Cold War Roma Shoplifters Girl

    Best Documentary

    Free Solo Minding the Gap RBG Three Identical Strangers Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

    Best Visual Effects

    Ready Player One Mission Impossible – Fallout First Man Black Panther Avengers: Infinity War

    Best Cinematography

    Linus Sandgren – First Man James Laxton – If Beale Street Could Talk Alfonso Cuarón – Roma Robbie Ryan – The Favourite Rachel Morrison – Black Panther

    Best Blockbuster

    Avengers: Infinity War Black Panther Deadpool 2 Mission: Impossible Fallout Ready Player One

    Best Independent Film

    Eighth Grade First Reformed Sorry to Bother You Ben Is Back If Beale Street Could Talk

    Best First Feature

    Bo Burnham – Eighth Grade Bradley Cooper – A Star is Born Ari Aster – Hereditary Paul Dano – Wildlife Aneesh Chaganty – Searching

    Best Comedy/Musical

    Crazy Rich Asians Game Night Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again! The Favourite Bohemian Rhapsody

    Best Action Film

    Mission: Impossible -Fallout Black Panther Avengers: Infinity War Deadpool 2 Widows

    Best Sci-Fi/Horror

    A Quiet Place Annihilation Halloween Hereditary Suspiria

    Best Performance by an Actor 23 and Under

    Alex Wolff – Hereditary Lucas Hedges – Boy Erased Lucas Hedges – Ben Is Back Noah Jupe – A Quiet Place Timothée Chalamet – Beautiful Boy

    Best Performance by an Actress 23 and Under

    Amandla Stenberg – The Hate You Give Elsie Fisher – Eighth Grade Millicent Simmonds – A Quiet Place Milly Shapiro – Hereditary Thomasin McKenzie- Leave No Trace

    Best Breakthrough Performance

    Elsie Fisher – Eighth Grade John David Washington – BlackKklansman Lady Gaga – A Star is Born Yalitza Aparicio – Roma Amandla Stenberg – The Hate U Give

    Best Cast

    Black Panther The Favourite Blackkklansman Crazy Rich Asians Widows

    Best Stunt Work

    Avengers: Infinity War Mission: Impossible – Fallout Black Panther Deadpool 2 Upgrade

    Best Score

    Justin Hurwitz – First Man Nicholas Britell – If Beale Street Could Talk Alexandre Desplat – Isle of Dogs Ludwig Göransson- Black Panther Terence Blanchard – BlackKklansman

    Best Original Song

    All the Stars – Black Panther Shallow – A Star is Born Hollywood Ending – Anna and The Apocalypse Revelation – Boy Erased Hearts Beat Loud – Hearts Beat Loud

    Best Editing

    Adam Gough and Alfonso Cuarón – Roma Nicholas D. Johnson and Will Merrick – Searching Yorgos Mavropsaridis – The Favourite Barry Alexander Brown – BlackKklansman Hank Corwin – Vice

    Best Visual Effects or Animated Performance

    Ben Whishaw – Paddington 2 Jason Liles – Rampage Josh Brolin – Avengers: Infinity War Phoebe Waller-Bridge – Solo: A Star Wars Story Tom Hardy – Venom

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  • National Board of Review Announces 2018 Film Honorees, GREEN BOOK Named Best Film of the Year

    [caption id="attachment_32616" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]“Green Book” directed by Peter Farrelly “Green Book” directed by Peter Farrelly[/caption] The National Board of Review named Green Book as Best Film of the Year, Bradley Cooper as Best Director of the Year for A Star is Born,  Viggo Mortensen as Best Actor of the Year for his performance in Green Book, and Lady Gaga as Best Actress of the Year for her performance in A Star is Born. NBR President Annie Schulhof said, “We are proud to honor Green Book as our best film – it is a warm and heartfelt look at a remarkable friendship, brought to the screen at a moment where its story of love, compassion, and shared humanity deeply resonates. We are also thrilled to award Bradley Cooper as our best director – he is an extraordinary talent behind the camera, bringing a fresh and modern perspective, as well as superb craftsmanship and tremendous heart, to the classic story of A Star is Born.” The 2018 awards continue the NBR’s tradition of recognizing excellence in filmmaking, going back 109 years. This year 261 films were viewed by this select group of film enthusiasts, filmmakers, professionals, academics, and students, many of which were followed by in-depth discussions with directors, actors, producers, and screenwriters. The National Board of Review’s awards celebrate the art of cinema, with categories that include Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Actress, Best Original and Adapted Screenplay, Breakthrough Performance, and Directorial Debut, as well as signature honors such as Freedom of Expression and the William K. Everson Film History Award. The honorees will be feted at the NBR Awards Gala, hosted by Willie Geist, on Tuesday, January 8, 2019 at Cipriani 42nd Street.

    2018 National Board of Review Award WInners

    Best Film: GREEN BOOK Best Director: Bradley Cooper, A STAR IS BORN Best Actor: Viggo Mortensen, GREEN BOOK Best Actress: Lady Gaga, A STAR IS BORN Best Supporting Actor: Sam Elliott, A STAR IS BORN Best Supporting Actress: Regina King, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK Best Original Screenplay: Paul Schrader, FIRST REFORMED Best Adapted Screenplay: Barry Jenkins, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK Best Animated Feature: INCREDIBLES 2 Breakthrough Performance: Thomasin McKenzie, LEAVE NO TRACE Best Directorial Debut: Bo Burnham, EIGHTH GRADE Best Foreign Language Film: COLD WAR Best Documentary: RBG Best Ensemble: CRAZY RICH ASIANS William K. Everson Film History Award: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND and THEY’LL LOVE ME WHEN I’M DEAD NBR Freedom of Expression Award: 22 JULY NBR NBR Freedom of Expression Award: ON HER SHOULDERS Top Films (in alphabetical order) The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Black Panther Can You Ever Forgive Me? Eighth Grade First Reformed If Beale Street Could Talk Mary Poppins Returns A Quiet Place Roma A Star Is Born Top 5 Foreign Language Films (in alphabetical order) Burning Custody The Guilty Happy as Lazzaro Shoplifters Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order) Crime + Punishment Free Solo Minding the Gap Three Identical Strangers Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order) The Death of Stalin Lean on Pete Leave No Trace Mid90s The Old Man & the Gun The Rider Searching Sorry to Bother You We the Animals You Were Never Really Here  

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  • WE THE ANIMALS, EIGHTH GRADE, FIRST REFORMED Lead Nominations for 2019 Film Independent Spirit Awards

    [caption id="attachment_30337" align="aligncenter" width="1228"]WE THE ANIMALS We the Animals[/caption] We the Animals leads the nominations for the 2019 Film Independent Spirit Awards with 5 nods including Best First Feature, but missed out on a nomination for Best Feature. Nominees for Best Feature are Eighth Grade, First Reformed, If Beale Street Could Talk, Leave No Trace and You Were Never Really Here. Suspiria was selected to receive the Robert Altman Award, which is bestowed upon one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast. The Altman Award was created in 2008 in honor of legendary director Robert Altman who was known for creating extraordinary ensemble casts. Winners of the Spirit Awards Filmmaker Grants will be announced at the Film Independent Spirit Awards Filmmaker Grant and Nominee Brunch on Saturday, January 5, 2019.

    2019 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS

    BEST FEATURE

    (Award given to the producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.) Eighth Grade Producers: Eli Bush, Scott Rudin, Christopher Storer, Lila Yacoub First Reformed Producers: Jack Binder, Greg Clark, Gary Hamilton, Victoria Hill, David Hinojosa, Frank Murray, Deepak Sikka, Christine Vachon If Beale Street Could Talk Producers: Dede Gardner, Barry Jenkins, Jeremy Kleiner, Sara Murphy, Adele Romanski Leave No Trace Producers: Anne Harrison, Linda Reisman, Anne Rosellini You Were Never Really Here Producers: Rosa Attab, Pascal Caucheteux, Rebecca O’Brien, Lynne Ramsay, James Wilson

    BEST FIRST FEATURE

    (Award given to the director and producer) Hereditary Director: Ari Aster Producers: Kevin Frakes, Lars Knudsen, Buddy Patrick Sorry to Bother You Director: Boots Riley Producers: Nina Yang Bongiovi, Jonathan Duffy, Charles D. King, George Rush, Forest Whitaker, Kelly Williams The Tale Director/Producer: Jennifer Fox Producers: Sol Bondy, Lawrence Inglee, Mynette Louie, Oren Moverman, Simone Pero, Reka Posta, Laura Rister, Regina K. Scully, Lynda Weinman We the Animals Director: Jeremiah Zagar Producers: Andrew Goldman, Christina D. King, Paul Mezey, Jeremy Yaches Wildlife Director/Producer: Paul Dano Producers: Andrew Duncan, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riva Marker, Oren Moverman, Ann Ruark, Alex Saks

    JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD

    Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. (Award given to the writer, director and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.) A Bread Factory Writer/Director/Producer: Patrick Wang Producers: Daryl Freimark, Matt Miller En el Séptimo Día Writer/Director/Producer: Jim McKay Producers: Alex Bach, Lindsey Cordero, Caroline Kaplan, Michael Stipe Never Goin’ Back Writer/Director: Augustine Frizzell Producers: Liz Cardenas, Toby Halbrooks, James M. Johnston Sócrates Writer/Director/Producer: Alex Moratto Writer: Thayná Mantesso Producers: Ramin Bahrani, Jefferson Paulino, Tammy Weiss Thunder Road Writer/Director: Jim Cummings Producers: Natalie Metzger, Zack Parker, Benjamin Weissner

    BEST DIRECTOR

    Debra Granik Leave No Trace Barry Jenkins If Beale Street Could Talk Tamara Jenkins Private Life Lynne Ramsay You Were Never Really Here Paul Schrader First Reformed

    BEST SCREENPLAY

    Richard Glatzer (Writer/Story By), Rebecca Lenkiewicz & Wash Westmoreland Colette Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty Can You Ever Forgive Me? Tamara Jenkins Private Life Boots Riley Sorry to Bother You Paul Schrader First Reformed

    BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

    Bo Burnham Eighth Grade Christina Choe Nancy Cory Finley Thoroughbreds Jennifer Fox The Tale Quinn Shephard (Writer/Story By), Laurie Shephard (Story By) Blame

    BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

    Ashley Connor Madeline’s Madeline Diego Garcia Wildlife Benjamin Loeb Mandy Sayombhu Mukdeeprom Suspiria Zak Mulligan We the Animals

    BEST EDITING

    Joe Bini You Were Never Really Here Keiko Deguchi, Brian A. Kates, Jeremiah Zagar We the Animals Luke Dunkley, Nick Fenton, Chris Gill, Julian Hart American Animals Anne Fabini, Alex Hall, Gary Levy The Tale Nick Houy Mid90s

    BEST FEMALE LEAD

    Glenn Close The Wife Toni Collette Hereditary Elsie Fisher Eighth Grade Regina Hall Support the Girls Helena Howard Madeline’s Madeline Carey Mulligan Wildlife

    BEST MALE LEAD

    John Cho Searching Daveed Diggs Blindspotting Ethan Hawke First Reformed Christian Malheiros Sócrates Joaquin Phoenix You Were Never Really Here

    BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

    Kayli Carter Private Life Tyne Daly A Bread Factory Regina King If Beale Street Could Talk Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie Leave No Trace J. Smith-Cameron Nancy

    BEST SUPPORTING MALE

    Raúl Castillo We the Animals Adam Driver BLACKkKLANSMAN Richard E. Grant Can You Ever Forgive Me? Josh Hamilton Eighth Grade John David Washington Monsters and Men

    ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD

    Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast Suspiria Director: Luca Guadagnino Casting Directors: Avy Kaufman, Stella Savino Ensemble Cast: Malgosia Bela, Ingrid Caven, Lutz Ebersdorf, Elena Fokina, Mia Goth, Jessica Harper, Dakota Johnson, Gala Moody, Chloë Grace Moretz, Renée Soutendijk, Tilda Swinton, Sylvie Testud, Angela Winkler

    BEST DOCUMENTARY

    (Award given to the director and producer) Hale County This Morning, This Evening Director/Producer: RaMell Ross Producers: Joslyn Barnes, Su Kim Minding the Gap Director/Producer: Bing Liu Producer: Diane Quon Of Fathers and Sons Director: Talal Derki Producers: Hans Robert Eisenhauer, Ansgar Frerich, Eva Kemme, Tobias N. Siebert On Her Shoulders Director: Alexandria Bombach Producers: Hayley Pappas, Brock Williams Shirkers Director/Producer: Sandi Tan Producers: Jessica Levin, Maya Rudolph Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Director/Producer: Morgan Neville Producers: Caryn Capotosto, Nicholas Ma

    BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

    (Award given to the director) Burning South Korea Director: Lee Chang-Dong The Favourite United Kingdom Director: Yorgos Lanthimos Happy as Lazzaro Italy Director: Alice Rohrwacher Roma Mexico Director: Alfonso Cuarón Shoplifters Japan Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu

    BONNIE AWARD

    Bonnie Tiburzi Caputo joined American Airlines in 1973 at age 24, becoming the first female pilot to fly for a major U.S. airline. In her honor, the second Bonnie Award will recognize a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant, sponsored by American Airlines. Debra Granik Tamara Jenkins Karyn Kusama PRODUCERS AWARD The 22nd annual Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant. Jonathan Duffy and Kelly Williams Gabrielle Nadig Shrihari Sathe

    SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD

    The 25th annual Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant. Alex Moratto Director of Sócrates Ioana Uricaru Director of Lemonade Jeremiah Zagar Director of We the Animals

    TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD

    The 24th annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant. Alexandria Bombach Director of On Her Shoulders Bing Liu Director of Minding the Gap RaMell Ross Director of Hale County This Morning, This Evening

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  • 2018 Fantasia International Film Festival Wraps and Announces Audience Awards Winners

    [caption id="attachment_29286" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]John Cho stars in SEARCHING - directed by Aneesh Chaganty.  Photo Courtesy of Screen Gems John Cho stars in SEARCHING – directed by Aneesh Chaganty. Photo Courtesy of Screen Gems[/caption] The Fantasia International Film Festival wrapped its 2018 edition on August 2nd with the sold out Canadian Premiere of Panos Cosmatos’ MANDY, and announced its final batch of awards, including the Audience Awards.  The 23rd edition of Fantasia will occur July 11th through August 1st, 2019.

    THE AUDIENCE AWARDS

    Best Asian Feature Gold – 1987: When the Day Comes (South Korea, Dir: Jang Joon-hwan) Silver – One Cut of the Dead (Japan, Dir: Shinichiro Ueda) Bronze – The Travelling Cat Chronicles (Japan, Dir: Kôichirô Miki) Best European, North-South American Feature Gold – Terrified (Argentina, Dir: Demián Rugna) Silver – Heavy Trip (Belgium-Finland-Norway, Dir: Jukka Vidgren, Juuso Laatio) Bronze – Searching (USA, Dir: Aneesh Chaganty) Best Canadian or Quebec Feature Gold – Montreal Dead End (Canada, Dir: Various) Silver – Le Nid (Canada, Dir: David Paradis) Bronze – Knuckleball (Canada, Dir: Michael Peterson) Best Animated Feature Gold – Penguin Highway (Japan, Dir: Hiroyasu Ishida) Silver – Crisis Jung (France, Dir: Baptiste Gaubert, Jérémie Hoarau) Bronze – Violence Voyager (Japan, Dir: Ujicha) Guru Prize – Best Action Feature Gold – Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires (UK, Dir: Mike Mort) Silver – The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion (South Korea, Dir: Park Hoon-jung) Bronze – Believer (South Korea, Dir: Lee Hae-young) Best Documentary Gold – Boiled Angels: The Trial of Mike Diana (USA, Dir: Frank Henenlotter) Best Short Film Gold – Fire In Cardboard City (New Zealand, Dir: Phil Brough) Silver – Eau de Jésus (Canada, Dir: Mat Rich) Bronze – Entropia (USA, Dir: Marinah Janello)

    THE ACTION! JURY AWARD

    The Action! jury was comprised of Alain Moussi, Sebastien Landry, and Laurence “Baz” Morais. WINNER: Believer (South Korea, Dir: Lee Hae-young) Jury statement: “A gripping story supported by credible characters, convincingly performed. The direction is flawless, with action scenes in the service of the story, and not the other way around. For these reasons, BELIEVER enters the select club of excellent Korean revenge movies… with a twist.” Special Mention: Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires (UK, Dir: Mike Mort) “Technically flawless, Chuck Steel has the merit of totally owning its DNA: a raw and explosive animated film that never wimps out. A motorcycle ride at 200 km/hour, on a gravel road. Thanks, Chuck Steel!”

    THE SÉQUENCES JURY PRIZE

    The Séquences jury was comprised of Donato Totaro (President), Jules Couturier, and Pascal Grenier. WINNER: Bodied (USA, Dir: Joseph Kahn) “For its exciting re-invention of the sports film as a performance art that breathlessly captures the kinetic energy, tension, danger and social power (and fun) of battle rap.”

    THE L’ÉCRAN FANTASTIQUE AWARD

    The L’Écran Fantastique Award for the 2018 edition of Fantasia goes to to Mari Okada’s Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms. This distinction is conferred on the film for the high quality of its animation, its exceptional sense of staging, at once epic and intimate, and the universal depth of its script, questioning notions surrounding parent-child relationships, and this, in a context both fantastic in the universe it depicts, and sharply realist in its humanist discourse. The Prix L’Écran Fantastique rewards a fantasy, horror, or sci-fi feature film produced in 2017 or 2018, unreleased in France and presented as part of Fantasia. The prize consists of a two- to four-page report confirmed for publication in an upcoming edition (with mention of the honorary title awarded as part of Fantasia), and a full page of free publicity during the release of the film in theatres in France. L’Écran Fantastique, which has been in existence for 49 years, is distributed in Europe and Quebec. Its head office is in Paris. Alain Schlockoff is the editor and Yves Rivard, the Canadian correspondent.

    MY FIRST FANTASIA AWARD

    The MFF jury was comprised of Amy Lachapelle, Adèle Fortier, Félix Primeau, and Corinne Raymond Gold – Wishing Box (USA, Dir:Lizzie Zhang) Silver – Made in France (France, Dir: Various) Bronze – Drôle de poisson (France-Switzerland, Dir:Krishna Chandran A. Nair)

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  • 71st Locarno Festival Announces Complete Film Program Lineup, Jury + Tributes

    [caption id="attachment_30681" align="aligncenter" width="1023"]I FEEL GOOD by Benoît Delépine, Gustave Kervern I FEEL GOOD by Benoît Delépine, Gustave Kervern[/caption] The official program of the 71st edition of the Locarno Festival was announced at a press conference today, Wednesday July 11, 2018. The line-up for the official juries was also announced as were tributes to Wolf-Eckart Bühler, Pierre Rissient, Francis Reusser and Claude Lanzmann. The 71st Locarno Festival will take place from August 1 to 11, 2018. In the program introduction, Carlo Chatrian, Artistic director, notes “This year’s program also includes films that, instead of portraying the conflicts raging around the world, concentrate on private stories, while allowing the present to resonate like the echoes of a thunderstorm. Examples are Yara by Abbas Fahdel, who following his epic Homeland (Iraq Year Zero) has left the war zone to plunge into the Lebanese countryside; or the portrait which Ethan Hawke – Excellence Award 2018 – dedicates in the eponymous film to the musician BLAZE, conflicted but charming hero, a rebel against the system and a profoundly free spirit, fated for a tragic end. These are just two films that create a bond between the self and the world, between the details of an individual life and the universal truths revealed by their story. Another of their common traits is also found in many other titles: the courage shown by their protagonists when faced with an insurmountable obstacle. Perhaps that’s why these and so many other films this year simply take a name for their title (Diane, Alice T., M., Menocchio, Sibel, Ray & Liz, Siyabonga). It may well be a sign of renewed trust in film as an art form capable of telling the stories of men and women without filtering them through symbolism, proof that the human face may be back as the be-all and end-all of a film. If so, I should like to present this year’s program as a single, magnificent and very long portrait gallery of unique faces, disarming even when well aware of the artfulness of their fiction. From Stan Laurel to the young Israeli Menahem and his disturbing statements in M.; from Mae West’s opulence to the sublime beauty of Julio Bressane’s muse in Sedução da Carne; from the discreet charm of Ingrid Bergman to the appeal of Noée Abita in Genèse; from the madcap elegance of Irene Dunne to the disenchanted appeal of Mary Kay Place in Diane.”

    Official Juries

    The Jury of the Concorso internazionale

    President: Jia Zhang-ke, Filmmaker (China) Emmanuel Carrère, Writer (France) Sean Baker, Filmmaker (United States of America) Tizza Covi, Filmmaker (Italy/Austria) Isabella Ragonese, Actress (Italy)

    The Jury of the Concorso Cineasti del presente

    President: Andrei Ujică, Filmmaker (Romania) Ben Rivers, Filmmaker (United Kingdom) Lætitia Dosch, Actress (Switzerland/France)

    The Jury of the Pardi di domani

    President: Yann Gonzalez, Filmmaker (France) Deepak Rauniyar, Filmmaker (Nepal) Marta Mateus, Filmmaker (Portugal)

    The Jury of Signs of Life

    Emilie Bujès, Festival Director (Switzerland) Josh Siegel, Curator (United States of America) Tiziana Finzi, Curator (Italy)

    The Jury of the First Feature

    Funa Maduka, Creative and Acquisitions Executive (United States of America) Susan Vahabzadeh, Film Critic (Germany) Kieron Corless, Film Critic (United Kingdom)

    Piazza Grande

    BLACKKKLANSMAN by Spike Lee USA – 2018 – 135’ with John David Washington, Adam Driver, Topher Grace, Corey Hawkins, Laura Harrier, Ryan Eggold, Jaspar Pääkkönen, Ashlie Atkinson Production: Focus Features Swiss distributor: Universal Pictures International Switzerland BLAZE by Ethan Hawke USA – 2017 – 128’ with Ben Dickey, Alia Shawkat, Josh Hamilton, Charlie Sexton Production: Under the Influence Productions, Ansgar Media/Village Studios, Cinetic Media Swiss distributor: Look Now! Film Distribution International Premiere COINCOIN ET LES Z’INHUMAINS by Bruno Dumont France – 2018 – 4×52’ with Alane Delhaye, Bernard Pruvost, Philippe Jore, Julien Bodart, Christophe Verheeck, Alexia Depret, Lucy Caron, Marie-Josée Wlodarczack, Jason Cirot, Nicolas Leclaire, Priscilla Benoist Production: Taos Films Co-production: ARTE France Cinéma World Sales: Doc & Film International Swiss distributor: Praesens-Film World Premiere Closing Film I FEEL GOOD by Benoît Delépine, Gustave Kervern France – 2018 – 103’ with Jean Dujardin, Yolande Moreau Production: JD PROD, No Money Productions Co-production: ARTE France Cinéma, Hugar Prod World Sales: Wild Bunch Swiss distributor: Praesens-Film World Premiere LE VENT TOURNE by Bettina Oberli Switzerland/France – 2018 – 86’ with Mélanie Thierry, Pierre Deladonchamps, Nuno Lopes, Anastasia Shevtsova Production: Rita Productions Co-production: Silex Films World Sales: Be for Films Swiss distributor: Filmcoopi Zürich World Premiere Opening Film LES BEAUX ESPRITS by Vianney Lebasque France – 2017 – 93’ with Ahmed Sylla, Olivier Barthelemey, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Camélia Jordana Production: Monkey Pack Films, M.E.S Productions World Sales: SND Distribution Swiss distributor: Impuls Pictures World Premiere LIBERTY by Leo McCarey USA – 1929 – 23’ – Intertitles English with Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Tom Kennedy, Sam Lufkin, James Finlayson Production: Hal Roach Studios L’ORDRE DES MÉDECINS by David Roux France – 2018 – 93’ with Jérémie Renier, Marthe Keller, Zita Hanrot Production: ElianeAntoinette, Reboot Films World Sales: Pyramide International World Premiere, First Feature L’OSPITE by Duccio Chiarini Italy/Switzerland/France – 2018 – 94’ with Daniele Parisi, Silvia D’Amico, Anna Bellato, Thony ., Sergio Pierattini, Milvia Marigliano, Daniele Natali, Guglielmo Favilla Production: Mood Film Co-production: House on Fire, Cinédokké, Relief World Sales: Urban Distribution International Swiss distributor: First Hand Films World Premiere MAYNILA SA MGA KUKO NG LIWANAG (Manila in the Claws of Light) by Lino Brocka Philippines – 1975 – 126’ with Hilda Koronel, Bembol Roco, Lou Salvador Jr., Joonee Gamboa Production: Cinema Artists PÁJAROS DE VERANO (Birds of Passage) by Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra Colombia – 2018 – 125’ with Carmina Martinez, José Acosta, John Narváez, José Vicente Cotes, Juan Martinez, Natalia Reyes Production: Ciudad Lunar Bogota World Sales: Films Boutique Swiss distributor: trigon-film RUBEN BRANDT, COLLECTOR by Milorad Krstic Hungary – 2018 – 94’ with Gabriella Hámori Hámori, Iván Kamarás, Csaba “Kor” Márton Production: Ruben Brandt LLC. World Premiere, First Feature SE7EN by David Fincher USA – 1995 – 127’ with Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, John C. McGinley Production: Cecchi Gori Pictures, Juno Pix, New Line Cinema World Sales: Park Circus SEARCHING by Aneesh Chaganty USA – 2018 – 101’ with John Cho, Debra Messing, Joseph Lee, Michelle La, Sara Sohn Swiss distributor: Sony Pictures Releasing Switzerland First Feature THE EQUALIZER 2 by Antoine Fuqua USA – 2018 – 121’ Swiss distributor: Sony Pictures Releasing Switzerland with Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo, Jonathan Scarfe UN NEMICO CHE TI VUOLE BENE by Denis Rabaglia Italy/Switzerland – 2018 – 97’ with Denis Rabaglia, Diego Abatantuono, Antonio Folletto, Mirko Trovato, Sandra Milo, Roberto Ciufoli, Annabella Calabrese, Gisella Donadoni Production: Falkor Production Co-production: Turnus Film Swiss distributor: Filmcoopi Zürich World Premiere WAS UNS NICHT UMBRINGT by Sandra Nettelbeck Germany – 2018 – 110’ with August Zirner, Johanna Ter Steege, Barbara Auer, Oliver Broumis, Jenny Schily, Christian Berkel Production: Sommerhaus filmproduktion Co-production: Zdf, Cine Plus Filmpoduktion, RuhrsoundStudios World Sales: Beta Cinema World Premiere

    Concorso internazionale

    A FAMILY TOUR by YING Liang Taiwan/Hong Kong/Singapore/Malaysia – 2018 – 107’ with An Nai, Zhe Gong, Pete Teo, Xin Yue Tham Production: Taiwan Public Television Service, 90 Minutes Film Studio, Potocol, Shine Pictures World Sales: Golden Scene World Premiere A LAND IMAGINED by YEO Siew Hua Singapore/France/Netherlands – 2018 – 95’ with Peter Yu, Xiaoyi Liu, Luna Kwok, Jack Tan, Ishtiaque Zico Production: Akanga Film Asia, mm2 Entertainment, Films de Force Majeure, Volya Films World Premiere ALICE T. by Radu Muntean Romania/France/Sweden – 2018 – 105’ with Andra Guti, Mihaela Sîrbu, Cristine Hămbăşanu, Ela Ionescu, Bogdan Dumitrache Production: Multi Media Est Co-production: Les Film de l’apres-Midi, Chimney, Film i Väst World Sales: Films Boutique World Premiere DIANE by Kent Jones USA – 2018 – 94’ with Mary Kay Place, Jake Lacy, Andrea Martin, Estelle Parsons, Deirdre O’Connell, Joyce van Patten, Phyllis Somerville, Glynnis O’Connor Production: AgX, Sight Unseen Pictures World Sales: Visit Films International Premiere GANGBYUN HOTEL (Hotel by the River) by HONG Sangsoo South Korea – 2018 – 96’ with KI Joobong, KIM Minhee, SONG Seonmi, KWON Haehyo, YU Junsang Production: Jeonwonsa Film World Sales: Finecut World Premiere GENÈSE by Philippe Lesage Canada – 2018 – 130’ with Noée Abita, Théodore Pellerin, Édouard Tremblay-Grenier, Pier-Luc Funk, Émilie Bierre, Maxime Dumontier, Paul Ahmarani, Jules Roy Sicotte, Antoine Marchand-Gagnon Production: Productions l’unité centrale World Sales: Be For Films World Premiere GLAUBENBERG by Thomas Imbach Switzerland – 2018 – 115’ with Zsofia Körös, Francis Meier, Milan Peschel, Bettina Stucky, Morgane Ferru, Nikola Šošić, Ilayda Akdoğan, Gonca De Haas, Erol Afşin Production: Okofilm Productions World Premiere LA FLOR by Mariano Llinás Argentina – 2018 – 815’ with Elisa Carricajo, Pilar Gamboa, Valeria Correa, Laura Paredes Production: El Pampero Cine International Premiere M by Yolande Zauberman France – 2018 – 106’ with Menahem Lang Production: CG Cinema, Phobics World Premiere MENOCCHIO by Alberto Fasulo Italy/Romania – 2018 – 103’ with Marcello Martini Production: Nefertiti Film Co-production: RAI Cinema, Hai Hui Entertainment World Premiere RAY & LIZ by Richard Billingham United Kingdom – 2018 – 108’ with Ella Smith, Justin Salinger, Patrick Romer, Deirdre Kelly, Sam Gittins, Joshua Millard-Lloyd Production: Primitive Film World Sales: Luxbox World Premiere, First Feature SIBEL by Çağla Zencirci, Guillaume Giovanetti Turkey/France/Germany/Luxembourg – 2018 – 95’ Production: Les Films du Tambour Co-production: Riva Filmproduktion, Bidibul Productions, Mars Production, Reborn Production World Sales: Pyramide International World Premiere TARDE PARA MORIR JOVEN by Dominga Sotomayor Chile/Brazil/Argentina/Netherlands/Qatar – 2018 – 110’ with Demian Hernández, Antar Machado, Magdalena Tótoro, Matías Oviedo, Antonia Zegers, Alejandro Goic, Mercedes Mujica, Eyal Meyer, Gabriel Cañas, Andrés Aliaga Production: Cinestación, RT Features Co-production: Ruda Cine, Circe Films World Premiere WINTERMÄRCHEN by Jan Bonny Germany – 2018 – 125’ with Thomas Schubert, Ricarda Seifried, Jean-Luc Bubert Production: Heimatfilm World Premiere YARA by Abbas Fahdel Lebanon/Iraq/France – 2018 – 101’ with Michelle Wehbe, Elias Freifer, Mary Alkady, Elias Alkady, Charbel Alkady Production: Stalker Production World Premier

    Concorso Cineasti del presente

    ALLES IST GUT by Eva Trobisch Germany – 2018 – 93’ with Aenne Schwarz, Andreas Döhler, Hans Löw, Tilo Nest, Lisa Hagmeister, Lina Wendel Production: TRIMAFILM Co-production: Starhaus FilmproduktionInternational International Premiere, First Feature CEUX QUI TRAVAILLENT by Antoine Russbach Switzerland/Belgium – 2018 – 102’ with Olivier Gourmet, Adèle Bochatay, Delphine Bibet, Michel Voïta, Pauline Schneider Production: Box Productions Co-production: Novak Prod World Sales: Be For Films Swiss distributor: Outside the Box World Premiere, First Feature CHAOS by Sara Fattahi Austria/Syria/Lebanon/Qatar – 2018 – 100’ Production: Little Magnet Films World Premiere CLOSING TIME by Nicole Vögele Switzerland/Germany – 2018 – 116’ with KUO Chung-Shu, LIN Li-Jiao Production: Beauvoir Films Co-production: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg World Sales: Taskovski Films Swiss distributor: Xenix Filmdistribution World Premiere FAMILIA SUMERGIDA by María Alché Argentina/Brazil/Germany/Norway – 2018 – 91’ with Mercedes Morán, Marcelo Subiotto, Esteban Bigliardi, Diego Velazquez, Laila Maltz Production: Pasto Cine Co-production: Bubbles Project, Pandora Film Produktion, 4 1/2 World Premiere, First Feature FAUSTO by Andrea Bussmann Mexico/Canada – 2018 – 70’ with Victor Pueyo, Fernando Renjifo, Ziad Chakaroun, Alberto Núñez, Gabino Rodríguez World Premiere, First Feature HATZLILA (The Dive) by Yona Rozenkier Israel – 2018 – 90’ with Yoel Rozenkier, Micha Rozenkier, Yona Rozenkier, Claudia Dulitchi, Miki Marmor, Daniel Sabag, Shmuel Edelman Production: Gaudeamus Productions World Sales: Stray Dogs International Premiere, First Feature JIAO QU DE NIAO (Suburban Birds) by QIU Sheng China – 2018 – 118’ with LEE Mason, HUANG Lu Production: Chan Films Co-production: Flash Forward Entertainment World Sales: Luxbox, Flash Forward Entertainment International Premiere, First Feature L’ÉPOQUE by Matthieu Bareyre France – 2018 – 94’ Production: Artisans du Film Co-production: Alter Ego, ADF L’Atelier World Sales: BAC Films World Premiere, First Feature LIKEMEBACK by Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli Italy/Croatia – 2018 – 80’ with Angela Fontana, Denise Tantucci, Blu Yoshimi, Goran Marković Production: Nightswim, Essentia, RAI Cinema, Indiana Production Co-production: Antitalent World Sales: Media Luna World Premiere NEBULA (DEAD HORSE NEBULA) by Tarık Aktaş Turkey – 2018 – 73’ with Barış Bilgi, Ali Beyazit, Ömer Bora, Serkan Aydın, Dilara Topuklular, Hasan Türker, Mümin Süren Production: Hay Film World Premiere, First Feature SIYABONGA (We are thankul) by Joshua Magor SouthAfrica/United Kingdom – 2018 – 93’ with Siyabonga Majola, Sabelo Khoza, Xolani Malinga, Percy Zulu, Amanda Ncube, Ntokozo Mkhize, Sibusiso Nzama, Luthando Ngcobo, Mancane Dlomo, Nkanyiso Ndumiso, Nonduh Zuma, Mondli Ndlovu, Joshua Magor Production: Other People World Sales: Other People World Premiere, First Feature SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS by Virgil Vernier France – 2018 – 98’ with Dewi Kunetz, Sandra Poitoux, Hugues Njiba-Mukuna, Bruck , Lilith Grasmug Production: Kazak Productions World Sales: mk2 Films World Premiere TEGNAP (Hier) by Bálint Kenyeres Hungary/Germany/France/Netherlands/Morocco/Sweden – 2018 – 119’ with Vlad Ivanov, Feodor Atkine, Jo Prestia, Rainer Kühn, Djemel Barek, Nadia Niazi, Amine Ennaji, Salah Bensalah, Gamil Ratib, Oussama Oussous, Mohamed Rabiaa, Abdelhamid Ait Abbou Ali, Milhoudia Nassih, Toulou Kiki, Johanna Ter Steege, Issaka Sawadogo, Jacques Weber Production: Mirage Film Co-production: One Two Films, Les Films de l’Après-Midi, Film i Väst, Chimney, La Prod, Saarländischer Rundfunk, Eye-Lite, Travissss Film, Rotterdam Films World Premiere, First Feature TEMPORADA (Long way Home) by André Novais Oliveira Brazil – 2018 – 112’ with Grace Passô, Russo APR, Rejane Faria, Renato Novaes, Juliana Abreu, Hélio Ricardo Production: Filmes de Plástico World Sales: FiGa Films World Premiere TROTE by Xacio Baño Spain/Lithuania – 2018 – 83’ with María Vázquez, Celso Bugallo, Diego Anido, Tamara Canosa Production: Frida Films Co-production: M-Films World Premiere, First Feature

    Pardi di domani

    Concorso internazionale

    3 ANOS DEPOIS by Marco Amaral – Portugal – 2018 – 13’ A COLD SUMMER NIGHT by Yash Sawant – India – 2018 – 21’ D’UN CHÂTEAU L’AUTRE by Emmanuel Marre – Belgium/France – 2018 – 40’ EL LABERINTO by Laura Huertas Millán – France/Colombia/USA – 2018 – 21’ FRASE D’ARME by Federico Di Corato – Italy/France – 2018 – 30’ FUCK YOU by Anette Sidor – Sweden – 2018 – 15’ GRBAVICA by Manel Raga Raga – Portugal/Bosnia and Herzegovina/Spain – 19’ HEART OF HUNGER by Bernardo Zanotta – Netherlands – 2018 – 29’ HI I NEED TO BE LOVED by Marnie Ellen Hertzler – USA – 2018 – 11’ JE SORS ACHETER DES CIGARETTES by Osman Cerfon – France – 2018 – 13’ KAUKAZAS (Caucasus) by Laurynas Bareisa – Lithuania – 2018 – 14’ LA CARTOGRAPHE by Nathan Douglas – Canada – 2018 – 34’ LA MÁXIMA LONGITUD DE UN PUENTE by Simón Vélez – Colombia/Argentina – 2018 – 13’ LAST YEAR WHEN THE TRAIN PASSED BY by HUANG Pang-Chuan – France – 2018 – 17’ LUNAR-ORBIT RENDEZVOUS by Mélanie Charbonneau – Canada – 2018 – 15’ MALO SE SJEĆAM TOG DANA (I Can Barely Remember the Day) by Leon Lučev – Croatia – 2018 – 21’ MY EXPANDED VIEW by Corey Hughes – USA – 2018 – 8’ OUT by Alon Sahar – Israel – 2018 – 27’ PATUL LUI PROCUST (Bed of Procustes) by Andrian Împărățel – Romania – 2018 – 17’ REKONSTRUKCE (Reconstruction) by Jiří Havlíček, Ondřej Novák – Czech Republic – 2017 – 16’ RENEEPOPTOSIS by Renee Zhan – USA/Japan – 2018 – 9’ SARAS INTIME BETROELSER (Sara’s Intimate Confessions) by Emilie Blichfeldt – Norway – 2018 – 22’ SASHLELI (Eraser) by Davit Pirtskhalava – Georgia – 2018 – 18’ SMERT MENYA (The Death of Father Men) by Mikhail Maksimov – Russia – 2018 – 12’ THE SILENCE OF THE DYING FISH by Vasilis Kekatos – Greece/France – 2018 – 19’ TOURNEUR by Yalda Afsah – Germany – 2018 – 14’ VIOLETA + GUILLERMO by Óscar Vincentelli – Spain/Venezuela – 2018 – 6’ WORDS, PLANETS by Laida Lertxundi – USA/Spain – 2018 – 11’ ZHI SHUO YI CI (Dream Speaking) by CHAN Paine – China – 2018 – 19’

    Concorso nazionale

    ABIGAÏL by Magdalena Froger – Switzerland – 2018 – 20’ CIRCUIT by Delia Hess – Switzerland – 2018 – 8’ EVA by Xheni Alushi – Switzerland – 2018 – 15’ FAIT DIVERS by Léon Yersin – Switzerland – 2018 – 17’ HIER by Loïc Kreyden – Switzerland – 2018 – 4’ ICI LE CHEMIN DES ÂNES by Lou Rambert Preiss – Switzerland – 2018 – 22’ IN LOVING MEMORY OF THE FUTURE by Laurence Favre – Switzerland/Germany – 2018 – 8’ LA SOURCE by Yatoni Roy Cantù – Switzerland – 2018 – 16’ LE SENS DE LA MARCHE by Jela Hasler – Switzerland – 2018 – 9’ LES ÎLES DE BRISSOGNE by Juliette Riccaboni – Switzerland – 2018 – 23’ LOS QUE DESEAN by Elena López Riera – Spain/Switzerland – 2018 – 24’ MONTE AMIATA by Tommaso Donati – Switzerland – 2018 – 22’ SELFIES by Claudius Gentinetta – Switzerland – 2018 – 4′

    Signs of Life

    Awards The Jury awards the following prizes: Signs of Life Award ELECTRONIC-ART FOUNDATION to the Best Film 5,ooo CHF to the director. Casa Wabi-Mantarraya Award Fundación Casa Wabi and Mantarraya Productions, in partnership with Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia, will support the Fundación Casa Wabi – Mantarraya Award, consisting in a residence at Casa Wabi – Puerto Escondido (Mexico) lasting between 1 to 1.5 months. These prizes can not be awarded ex aequo. A ROOM WITH A COCONUT VIEW by Tulapop Saenjaroen Thailand – 2018 – 28’ Production: Electric Eel Films World Premiere COMMUNION LOS ANGELES by Adam R. Levine, Peter Bo Rappmund USA – 2018 – 68’ World Premiere COMO FERNANDO PESSOA SALVOU PORTUGAL by Eugène Green Portugal/France/Belgium – 2018 – 27’ with Eugène Green, Carloto Cotta, Manuel Mozos, Diogo Dória, Alexandre Pieroni Calado, Ricardo Gross, Mia Tomé Production: Les Films du Fleuve, Noodles Production, O Som E A Fúria World Sales: Agencia – Portuguese Short Film Agency International Premiere DULCINEA by Luca Ferri Italy – 2018 – 66’ with Vincenzo Turca, Naomi Morello, Dario Bacis Production: ENECE FILM World Premiere GULYABANI by Gürcan Keltek Netherlands/Turkey – 2018 – 32’ with Zeynep Kumral Production: 29P Films BV World Premiere HAI SHANG CHENG SHI (The Fragile House) by LIN Zi China – 2018 – 81’ with ZENG Xiaolian, WOO Hye Kyung, XIAO Jie, SANG Guosheng, REN Yue World Premiere, First Feature JING LI DE REN (Man in the Well) by Hu Bo China – 2017 – 16’ with ZHANG Xiaoqian, QU Yiyi, GAO Tieguang Production: FIRST International Film Festival World Sales: Rediance World Premiere LA CASA DE JULIO IGLESIAS by Natalia Marín Spain – 2018 – 12’ World Premiere LE DISCOURS D’ACCEPTATION GLORIEUX DE NICOLAS CHAUVIN by Benjamin Crotty France – 2018 – 26’ with Ragnar Arni Agustsson, Alexis Manenti, Pauline Jacquard, Caroline Deruas, Antoine Cholet, Rei Yazaki Production: Les Films du Bal World Premiere SEDUÇÃO DA CARNE by Júlio Bressane Brazil – 2018 – 70’ with Mariana Lima Production: TB Produções World Premiere SOBRE TUDO SOBRE NADA by Dídio Pestana Portugal – 2018 – 90’ Production: Kintop World Sales: Kintop World Premiere, First Feature THE GRAND BIZARRE by Jodie Mack USA – 2018 – 60’ World Premiere, First Feature TIRSS, RIHLAT ALSOO’OUD ILA ALMAR’I (Erased, Ascent of the Invisible) by Ghassan Halwani Lebanon – 2018 – 74’ World Sales: mec film World Premiere, First Feature VESLEMØY’S SONG by Sofia Bohdanowicz Canada – 2018 – 9’ with Deragh Campbell, Joan Benac, Steve Benac World Premiere

    Fuori concorso

    AMUR SENZA FIN by Christoph Schaub Switzerland – 2018 – 91’ with Rebecca Indermaur, Bruno Cathomas, Tonia Maria Zindel, Beat Marti, Murali Perumal, Marietta Jemmi, René Schnoz Production: Zodiac Pictures, SRG SSR World Premiere DE CHAQUE INSTANT by Nicolas Philibert France/Japan – 2018 – 105’ Production: France 3 Cinéma, Longride, Archipel 35 World Sales: Doc & Film International World Premiere INSULAIRE by Stéphane Goël Switzerland – 2018 – 92’ Production: Climage World Premiere MUDAR LA PIEL by Ana Schulz, Cristóbal Fernández Spain – 2018 – 89’ with Juan Gutierrez, Frauke Schulz Utermöhl, Ana Schulz, Mingo Rafols Production: Sr. y Sra. Co-production: Labyrinth Films World Premiere, First Feature MY HOME, IN LYBIA by Martina Melilli Italy – 2018 – 66’ with Mahmoud , Antonio Melilli, Narcisa Bertipaglia Production: Stefilm World Sales: Deckert Distribution World Premiere, First Feature NARCISSISTER ORGAN PLAYER by Narcissister USA – 2017 – 92’ with Narcissister , Sarah Lumpkin, Oscar Lumpkin, Bernard Lumpkin, Carmine Boccuzzi Production: Narcissister International Premiere, First Feature ORA E SEMPRE RIPRENDIAMOCI LA VITA by Silvano Agosti Italy – 2018 – 94’ with Bernardo Bertolucci, Dario Fo, Franca Rame, Nuto Revelli, Massimo Cacciari Production: Edizioni l’Immagine World Sales: Edizioni l’Immagine, Istituto Luce Cinecittà World Premiere RŪGŠTUS MIŠKAS (Acid Forest) by Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė Lithuania – 2018 – 63’ Production: neon realism World Sales: neon realism World Premiere, First Feature SEMBRA MIO FIGLIO by Costanza Quatriglio Italy/Croatia/Belgium – 2018 – 103’ with Basir Ahang, Tihana Lazovic, Dawood Yousefi Production: Ascent Film Co-production: Caviar Films, Antitalent World Sales: True Colours World Premiere THE SENTENCE by Rudy Valdez USA – 2018 – 87’ Production: Park Pictures World Sales: Cinetic Media International Premiere, First Feature WALKING ON WATER by Andrey Paounov USA/Italy – 2018 – 100’ with Christo, Vladimir Yavachev Production company: Kotva Films C-production company: Ring Film World Sales: CAA (Creative Artists Agency) World Premiere

    Shorts

    SHORT POLAR COLLECTION CANAL+ / SO FILM 4 “thriller” short films from the Canal+ / So Film genre À NOUS DEUX ! by Marie Loustalot – France – 2018 – 20’ DIVERSION by Mathieu Mégemont – France – 2018 – 23’ LA BELLE AFFAIRE by Constance Meyer – France – 2018 – 23’ TOMATIC by Christophe Saber – France/Switzerland – 2018 – 20

    Open Doors Screenings

    The Open Doors Screenings (1 – 11 August 2018) will present to the Locarno audience a selection of shorts and feature films that are particularly representative of the world of contemporary cinema in a particular area of the South and East world. This year, the section will end its three-year cycle on South Asia, bringing to Locarno films from the contemporary scene of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

    Full-length features

    DEMONS IN PARADISE by Jude Ratnam – Sri Lanka/France – 2017 – 93’ LAILA AT THE BRIDGE by Gulistan Mirzaei, Elizabeth Mirzaei – Canada/Afghanistan – 2018 – 97’ LIVE FROM DHAKA by Abdullah Mohammad Saad – Bangladesh – 2016 – 91’ MUNMO TASHI KHYIDRON (Honeygiver Among the Dogs) by Dechen Roder – Bhutan – 2016 – 132’ SETO SURYA (White Sun) by Deepak Rauniyar – Nepal/USA/Qatar/Netherlands – 2016 – 89’ THE ROAD TO MANDALAY by Midi Z – Taiwan/Myanmar/France/Germany – 2016 – 108’ THUNDENEK (Her. Him. The other) by Asoka Handagama, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Prasanna Vithanage – Sri Lanka – 2018 – 153’ ZINDA BHAAG (Run for your Life) by Meenu Gaur, Farjad Nabi – Pakistan/India – 2013 – 115’

    Short films

    298-C by Nida Mehboob – Pakistan – 2018 – 15’ – World Première A SONG OF SILENCE by Kelzang Dorjee – Bhutan – 2016 – 16’ DADYAA: THE WOODPECKERS OF ROTHA by Pooja Gurung, Bibhusan Basnet – Nepal/France – 2016 – 17’ DEATH OF A READER by Mahde Hasan – Bangladesh – 2017 – 9’ DIA by Hamza Bangash – Pakistan/United Kingdom – 2018 – 24’ – World Première SILVER BANGLES by Roshan Bikram Thakuri – Nepal – 2017 – 15’ SORKHE TIRAH (Dark Red) by Diana Saqeb – Afghanistan – 2017 – 19’ – World Première SUPERMONK by Shenang Gyamjo Tamang – Nepal/Taiwan – 2018 – 19’ – World Première THE LAST POST OFFICE by Aung Rakhine – Bangladesh – 2018 – 20’ – World Première THE OPEN DOOR by Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk – Bhutan/United Kingdom – 2018 – 15’ – World Première TRADITION by Lanka Bandaranayake – Sri Lanka – 2016 – 11’ WITT YONE (The Robe) by WeRa – Myanmar – 2016 – 19’ YAR-THI MOE (Seasonal Rain) by Aung Phyoe – Myanmar – 2016 – 30’

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  • Fantasia 2018 Unleashes Second Wave of Films, Opens with JUST A BREATH AWAY

    [caption id="attachment_30222" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Just a Breath Away (Dans la brume) Just a Breath Away (Dans la brume)[/caption] The Fantasia International Film Festival, celebrating its 22nd Anniversary in Montreal this summer, from July 12 to August 1, revealed a selected Second Wave of titles and events. Its Frontières International Co-Production Market will be held July 19 to 22. The festival’s 22nd edition will open with the North American Premiere of DANS LA BRUME (“Just a Breath Away”), a large-scale genre co-production between France and Canada, directed by celebrated Quebec filmmaker Daniel Roby (LOUIS CYR, WHITE SKIN), starring Romain Duris (MOOD INDIGO), Olga Kurylenko (QUANTUM OF SOLACE), and Fantine Harduin (HAPPY END). Paris is hit by an earthquake, then filled with a mysterious toxic gas that seems to come from below ground. A family attempts to survive the massive catastrophe, but first… they will have to face the fog.

    THE WORLD PREMIERE OF RUSTY CUNDIEFF AND DARIN SCOTT’S TALES FROM THE HOOD 2

    Fantasia will present the highly-anticipated world premiere of Universal 1440 Entertainment’s TALES FROM THE HOOD 2. The sequel to the groundbreaking original film TALES FROM THE HOOD reunites Executive Producer Spike Lee and writers/directors/producers Rusty Cundieff and Darin Scott for an all-new gripping, horrifying, and oftentimes devilishly comical anthology. This next installment will keep viewers on the edge of their seats, as they course through several stories that explore socially relevant topics from the past and present.

    WORLD PREMIERIN’ SATOSHI MIKI’S LOUDER! CAN’T HEAR WHAT YOU’RE SINGIN’, WIMP!

    After a five-year hiatus from feature-filmmaking following 2013’s IT’S ME, IT’S ME, Fantasia favorite Satoshi Miki is back with LOUDER! CAN’T HEAR WHAT YOU’RE SINGIN’, WIMP! An explosive musical comedy with energy to spare, Miki’s usually quirky, offbeat characters, extravagant hairdos and vintage costumes are back, colliding here with a renewed sense of energy and chaos, as the charismatic Sin (THE APOLOGY KING’S Sadao Abe), a rock musician with an superhuman, steroid-enhanced voice, meets the shy Fuka (AKEGARASU’S Riho Yoshioka), a gifted busker with a whisper quiet style. With an eclectic soundtrack oscillating from J-pop to metal to clerical music, with contributions from TOO YOUNG TO DIE!’s Kankuro Kudo, Hyde from L’Arc~en~Ciel, and comedian Abe himself, this is the rock ‘n’ roll feel-good-movie for the ages!

    SAM ELLIOTT IS THE MAN WHO KILLED HITLER AND THEN THE BIGFOOT (World Premiere)

    Sam Elliott stars as a legendary World War II veteran who many years ago assassinated Adolf Hitler – an incredible secret that he’s frustratingly unable to share with the world. One day, just as he’s coming to terms with rounding out his life, Calvin gets a visit from the FBI and RCMP. They need him to take out Bigfoot. A wondrous feature debut from writer/director Robert D. Krzykowski, featuring visual effects by celebrated two-time Academy Award Winner Douglas Trumbull (2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, BLADE RUNNER), who also co-produced alongside the great John Sayles and Lucky McKee. A fantastical discourse on the melancholia of old age and a singular blast of entertaining wit, THE MAN WHO KILLED HITLER AND THEN THE BIGFOOT (World Premiere) also stars Aidan Turner, Caitlin FitzGerald, and Ron Livingston.

    THE INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE OF THE BLOODY ACTION-FANTASY THE WITCH: PART 1. THE SUBVERSION

    A nefarious agency has been genetically engineering children. One of the telekinetic kids escapes and goes into hiding with an adopted family. Ten years later, she appears on a talent show, where she’s spotted by the bad guys and becomes prey for both her peers and a hit squad. Writer/Director Park Hoon-jung, who wrote the savage I SAW THE DEVIL, is back with THE WITCH: PART 1. THE SUBVERSION. Nothing will prepare you for the fusion of over-the-top sci-fi thrills, surprising twists and a climactic bloodbath that will leave you gasping. After THE VILLAINESS, South Korea has a new girl in town (Kim Da-mi) to kick butts and give action fans what they always dreamed of.

    ACHIEVEMENT AWARD GOES TO THE LEGENDARY CYNTHIA ROTHROCK

    Fantasia will bestow its first-ever Action! Achievement Award upon U.S. athlete and action legend Cynthia Rothrock, an unstoppable action starlet who inspired a generation of martial artists and kicked open doors for women in the male-dominated action industry. Her skills, courage, and determination – along with black belts in seven separate martial arts – paved the way for today’s action starlets such as Charlize Theron, Gina Carano, and Milla Jovovich. Rothrock – or Law Fu Lok, as she was known to millions of Hong Kong cinephiles – was a five-time World Champion before becoming the first western actor to headline a Hong Kong action film with 1989’s THE BLONDE FURY. A member of Black Belt Magazine’s Hall of Fame and the inspiration for the Mortal Kombat character Sonya Blade, Rothrock would go on to star in over thirty martial arts films and inspire a generation. Fantasia is deeply honored to bestow their debut Action! Achievement Award to the amazing Cynthia Rothrock, a true pioneer in the worlds of martial arts and action cinema.

    CANADIAN PREMIERE OF SEARCHING

    [caption id="attachment_29286" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]John Cho stars in the LAAPFF Audience Award Winning film SEARCHING - directed by Aneesh Chaganty. Photo Courtesy of Screen Gems John Cho stars in the LAAPFF Audience Award Winning film SEARCHING – directed by Aneesh Chaganty. Photo Courtesy of Screen Gems[/caption] Fantasia will be showcasing the Canadian Premiere of Aneesh Chaganty’s Sundance smash SEARCHING, produced by Timur Bekmambetov (working with Sev Ohanian, Natalie Qasabian, and Adam Sidman) in his innovative “screenlife” storytelling approach that brilliantly captures the way we engage online. After David Kim (John Cho)’s sixteen-year-old daughter goes missing, a local investigation is opened and a detective is assigned to the case. But 37 hours later and without a single lead, David decides to search the one place no one has looked yet, where all secrets are kept today: his daughter’s laptop. In a hyper-modern thriller told via the technology devices we use every day to communicate, David must trace his daughter’s digital footprints before she disappears forever.

    DENNISON RAMALHO’S AMONG THE LIVING (World Premiere)

    Brazilian Writer/Director Dennison Ramalho instantly captured the hearts and nightmares of legions with his brilliant shorts LOVE FROM MOTHER ONLY (2003) and NINJAS (2011), in addition to scripting José Mojica Marins’ celebrated Coffin Joe comeback EMBODIMENT OF EVIL (2008). His entry in ABCS OF DEATH 2 (2014) further cemented the filmmaker as a hellishly original talent to watch in world horror cinema. Fantasia will proudly be bringing Brazil’s subterranean maestro of the macabre back to Montreal for the World Premiere of his long-awaited feature debut, AMONG THE LIVING, a film brimming with grotesque imagination and otherworldly magick in which a morgue attendant working the night shift in a very large, very violent city possesses an occult ability to communicate with cadavers. He commits the sin of acting on information obtained from the dead and horrifically curses himself and those that he loves. Brace yourself.

    WITTY COMEDY-FANTASY I HAVE A DATE WITH SPRING

    Multiple award-winning director Baek Seung-bin brings us to doomsday with a smile in the omnibus styled intimist South Korean apocalyptic dramedy I HAVE A DATE WITH SPRING (North American Premiere). Different characters, all with unique personalities, celebrate their birthday the day before the end of the world, meeting bizarre individuals in surreal circumstances in this truly unique gem of a film that debuted at 2018’s International Film Festival Rotterdam.

    HURT (World Premiere)

    The world first discovered Sonny Mallhi’s poignant style of character-driven horror storytelling with 2015’s ANGUISH (a Fantasia World Premiere). Earlier this year, his second feature, the vampiric drug addiction chiller FAMILY BLOOD debuted on Netlfix. And now, Sonny Mallhi has teamed with Blumhouse for his third feature, HURT, in which the collective psychosis of American culture is an inescapable horror film and a waking nightmare. Its story honors masked mascots of fear such as Jason, Freddy, and Michael…. but explores those who helplessly wear a mask of normalcy while desperately fighting the traumatic monsters within.

    WORLD PREMIERE OF PLEDGE

    It’s not getting into an exclusive fraternity that three geeky college freshmen need to worry about, it’s getting out – alive! Boasting amazingly well-rounded characters, endearing performances, a wicked streak of black humour, and a desperate situation that erupts into sickening violence, in many ways Daniel Robbins’ PLEDGE (World Premiere) is an intense, acceptance-themed companion film to Jeremy Saulnier’s similarly gasp-inducing GREEN ROOM. Rats, torture, knife fights, and vodka shots – who’s ready to pledge?

    WRITER/DIRECTOR LEE CHANG-HEE’S THE VANISHED (North American Premiere)

    In this clockwork thriller, nothing is what it seems – not even a corpse. THE VANISHED (North American Premiere) is a piece of classic cinematic construction right out of the Golden Age of Hollywood, polished to a sleek modern sheen, South Korean-style. Without an ounce of padding, this is modern suspense in gothic drag, full of old school brio, dolly zooms, a ticking clock, entitled murderers, and vengeful ghosts.

    CAMERA LUCIDA UNVEILS TWO INTERNATIONAL PREMIERES: TADASHI NAGAYAMA’S BEING NATURAL AND AARON SCHIMBERG’S CHAINED FOR LIFE!

    The Camera Lucida section, dedicated to experimental, boundary-pushing and auteur-driven works on the borders of genre cinema, unveils two major International premieres! Taka (SAUDADE’s Yota Kawase) is a bong-playing, turtle-loving saint. When a hypocritical couple from Tokyo moves into town, intent on opening a health-conscious, eco-friendly coffee shop at all costs, the man’s peaceful existence is shattered to pieces. Tadashi Nagayama’s second feature, BEING NATURAL, is a total revelation; a surprising and eccentric satirical rural comedy, with a dash of the absurd and the supernatural! A unique introduction to one of Japanese cinema’s most promising new auteurs! The beautiful Mabel (TEETH’s Jess Weixler) admits to being pushed outside of her comfort zone on the set of a foreign auteur’s shlocky English-language horror film debut. Playing the role of a blind woman, she soon meets her disabled co-star Rosenthal (UNDER THE SKIN and DRIB’s Adam Pearson) and soon, the boundaries between fiction, reality, exploitation, and fair representation become blurry. GO DOWN DEATH’s Aaron Schimberg returns to Fantasia with CHAINED FOR LIFE, a reflexive and surreal black comedy about life on set – casting a critical eye on cinematic representations of disability and difference, from ELEPHANT MAN to FREAKS and beyond. The full Camera Lucida lineup will be unveiled on June 26.

    FANTASIA 2018’S ACTION! SECTION UNVEILS BUYBUST, CHUCK STEEL: NIGHT OF THE TRAMPIRES, AND LÔI BÁO

    Dedicated to discovering the world’s best undiscovered action films, Fantasia’s Action! Section, now in its seventh year, is proud to announce three new titles and one incredible retrospective film. Following the section becoming competitive in 2017, Action! will introduce its debut Action! Achievement Award, which will be bestowed on U.S. martial arts legend Cynthia Rothrock. For the occasion, Fantasia will present a 35mm print of the 1989 Hong Kong classic THE BLONDE FURY with star Rothrock in attendance. Four years after seducing Fantasia audiences with his short film RAGING BALLS OF STEEL JUSTICE, Michael Mort will return to the festival with his animated feature debut, CHUCK STEEL: NIGHT OF THE TRAMPIRES (North American Premiere), hot off its World Premiere at Annecy. Chuck Steel is a maverick, renegade, loose cannon, lone wolf, cop-on-the-edge who doesn’t play by the rules. He’s the best goddamn man on the force and, once again, Los Angeles needs him to save the city from an army of Trampires – a mutated hybrid of vampire and hobo. With LÔI BÁO (North American Premiere), Vietnam has officially jumped on the wave of superhero movies in a very big way. Without a single cape or hero clad in spandex, Victor Vu’s clever interpretation of what it means to be a superhero brings a wildly unique vision to the genre, as a man on the receiving end of a head transplant finds himself suddenly granted a seemingly endless supply of superhuman abilities. With LÔI BÁO, Vietnam has created a world of very unlikely superheroes – and villains – like no other. [caption id="attachment_30085" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]BuyBust BuyBust[/caption] Five years after the impressive ON THE JOB, director Erik Matti returns to Fantasia with the Canadian Premiere of BUYBUST, one of the most action-packed movies ever to come out of the Philippines. Here he writes, produces, and directs a truly one-of-a-kind actioner about a rookie female cop who finds herself in hot water with an anti-narcotics squad. Starring Filipino superstar Anne Curtis, over 1200 extras, and featuring an unbelievable 300 stuntmen and women, BUYBUST is packed with spectacular gunplay, nonstop hand-to-hand combat, and a nearly-uncountable number of people being stabbed in the face. As of 2017, all titles selected in the Action! Section are eligible for Fantasia’s Best Action Film Award, awarded by a jury composed of Quebec director Alain Desrochers (BON COP BAD COP 2), actor/stuntman Alain Moussi (KICKBOXER: VENGEANCE), and filmmaking duo Sebastien Landry and Laurence Morais-Lagace (GAME OF DEATH).

    MAJOR ANIME PREMIERES ARAGNE: SIGN OF VERMILLION AND PENGUIN HIGHWAY

    Fantasia’s Axis section is thrilled to announce two more anime titles in its lineup, each a major premiere. Something sinister is manifesting itself – something at the cursed crossroads of mythology, monstrosity, and medical science – in Saku Sakamoto’s ARAGNE: SIGN OF VERMILLION, a potent new slash of independent, high-standard horror anime from Japan making its World Premiere at Fantasia this summer. One memorable summer, a precocious schoolboy contends with a crush on an older woman and a strange penguin invasion in the sentimental, surreal science fiction anime PENGUIN HIGHWAY (International Premiere). The first feature from Japanese director Hiroyasu Ishida, creator of the 2009 indie online sensation FUMIKO’S CONFESSION, and his colleagues at Studio Colorido, PENGUIN HIGHWAY is a delight for the mind, eye, and heart.

    FANTASIA UNDERGROUND’S INSPIRED 2018 LINEUP REVEALED!

    Fantasia’s section dedicated to bold, ultra-independent, outsider works returns with a charming, counter-cultural teen film made by a twenty-year-old girl who cut classes to shoot it, a single-take Japanese zombie oddity, a genuinely shocking and surprising black comedy/crime thriller from Colorado, and a Mexican-Canadian action siege assault that’s likely the bloodiest coming-of-age film ever made. Described at the latest Berlinale as the “distant cousin of Louis Malle’s ZAZIE DANS LE MÉTRO crossed with the DIY spirit of punk Japanese cinema from the 1980s (Tsukamoto, Sogo Ishii, and co.), one thing’s for sure: twenty-year-old Yoko Yamanaka’s AMIKO (North American Premiere) will instantly charm you with its gleeful irreverence, and its crystalline, sour-sweet candied confection of extreme emotions, forged in the fiery pits of adolescence, and effectively turning the schoolgirl into a counter-culture icon. Let’s be honest – a low-budget zombie movie shot in one take about a film crew shooting a low-budget zombie movie in one take sounds bad. Add the fact that the indie film crew stumbles across real-life zombies and Shunichiro Ueda’s debut, ONE CUT OF THE DEAD (Canadian Premiere) sounds worse. And you couldn’t be more wrong. This indie marvel isn’t a just zombie movie or even a one-take stunt. Instead, it’s Japan’s smartest comedy of the year: a touching father-daughter story, a tale about the value of perseverance, and a meta puzzlebox that cleverly unpacks itself onscreen, one severed limb at a time. Pick your rotting jaw up off the floor, because this is pure horror-comedy gold in the vein of SHAUN OF THE DEAD. A neurotic, introverted young military veteran forces himself to go to a party to meet new people and finds himself plunged into a bizarre criminal underworld of sex and blood in Drew Barnhardt’s utterly mad RONDO (World Premiere). An exuberantly seedy, obsessively well-directed gonzo thriller that’s funny in the darkest ways, RONDO’s violent twists and genuinely uncomfortable moments will leave you breathless from gasping, laughing, and screaming – possibly at the same time. Oddly reminiscent of CRIMEWAVE-era John Paizs by way of De Palma, this is a squirm-inducing, one-of-a-kind exploitation oddity that even the most brazen viewers will never be able to unsee. Award-winning Mexican-Canadian filmmaker Gigi Saul Guerrero bathes the screen with ferocity in her scorching web series LA QUINCEAÑERA (Canadian Premiere), in which a girl’s fifteenth birthday party becomes a demented, blood-fuelled journey of revenge when the cartel shows up to attack her relatives. This ultra-violent homage to the strength of women and the power of family may be the bloodiest coming-of-age tale ever told.

    2018 DOCUMENTARIES FROM THE EDGE LINEUP REVEALED!

    Fantasia’s showcase of compelling documentary works returns with a trio of docs hailing from Quebec, China, and the USA. Jailed for comics?! The unbelievable true story of the only U.S. artist convicted of obscenity is explored in the chilling and captivating BOILED ANGELS: THE TRIAL OF MIKE DIANA (International Premiere), directed by the legendary Frank Henenlotter (BASKET CASE, BAD BIOLOGY) and narrated by Dead Kennedys’ Jello Biafra, neither of whom are strangers to censorship struggles themselves. The obsessively well-researched doc features Neil Gaiman, Stephen Bissette, Peter Bagge, and Diana himself, alongside the case’s investigating officers, prosecution, defense, and even members of the local Florida press who initially reported on the situation. This truly thoughtful account won a well-deserved Audience Award at NYC’s What The Fest!? and should be considered required viewing for anyone remotely interested in confrontational art or stories of overreaching law enforcement. Marginally-talented internet personalities skyrocket to fame in Hao Wu’s provocative, dystopian documentary PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF DESIRE (Quebec Premiere), where hordes of devoted fans tune in to find comfort in virtual relationships through live streaming. A Grand Jury Prize-winner at SXSW, the film tracks China’s emergent breed of off-the-rails celebrity-making obsession, and the impact of plunging into the virtual to satisfy real human needs. Fantasia’s screening will be a co-presentation with the RIDM. Shot over a period of three years, Jean-Simon Chartier’s PLAYING HARD (Quebec Premiere) gives us a sprawling behind-the-scenes window into the drama, tension, and compromises behind the creation of a blockbuster Ubisoft video game, and the grueling personal tolls the process can take on its creators, both in terms of fractured relationships and mental anguish. An engrossing film that met with major acclaim at its recent Hot Docs launch.

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  • ‘SEARCHING’ ‘MINDING THE GAP’ ‘IN THE LIFE OF MUSIC’ Win Audience Awards at 34th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_29286" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]John Cho stars in the LAAPFF Audience Award Winning film SEARCHING - directed by Aneesh Chaganty.  Photo Courtesy of Screen Gems John Cho stars in the LAAPFF Audience Award Winning film SEARCHING – directed by Aneesh Chaganty. Photo Courtesy of Screen Gems[/caption] The 34th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) came to a close this past weekend and announced their audience awards for best films at this year’s film extravaganza that began on May 3 and ended on May 12, 2018. The thriller, mystery film “SEARCHING” – directed by first time feature filmmaker Aneesh Chaganty – won the LAAPFF Audience Award for Outstanding North American Narrative Feature Film. The film, starring John Cho and Debra Messing, was a double award winner at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, as well. Audiences at LAAPFF were impressed by the cast, the screenplay, and the direction of the film that centered on a father’s search for his missing teenage daughter and has to turn to the Internet to try and find her. Audiences were abuzz about the film throughout the eight-day festival. “SEARCHING” will open nationally in August in theaters through Screen Gems. The personal documentary “MINDING THE GAP” – directed by Bing Liu – won the LAAPFF Audience Award for Outstanding North American Documentary Feature. Audiences were moved by the filmmaker’s intimate story of three friends who come of age in their twenties and have to face growing up and possibly giving up their skateboarding days. The film also won the LAAPFF Special Jury Prize for Best Director and was an award winner at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, as well. In the International Narrative Feature category, the LAAPFF Audience Award went to “IN THE LIFE OF MUSIC” – directed by Caylee So and Visal Sok – for telling a powerful inter-generational tale that explores love, war, and a family’s relationship to the song Champa Battambang, made famous by Sinn Sisamouth, the King of Cambodian music. The film depicts the lives of people whose world is inevitably transformed by the emergence of the Khmer Rouge. The film also won the LAAPFF Special Jury Prize for Best Director in the International Narrative Feature category. In the International Documentary Feature category, the audience gave the award to “LATE LIFE: THE CHIEN-MING WANG STORY” – directed by Frank W. Chen. This moving film chronicles the life of Taiwanese pro-baseball player Chien-Ming Wang, who was once so dominating on the mound that he was named New York Yankees’ starting pitcher for the inaugural game at New Yankee Stadium in 2009. But after a terrible ankle injury, Wang’s pitches lost their effectiveness, and he soon fell off major league rosters. LATE LIFE follows Wang through his grueling workout routines and unglamorous minor league pit stops as he mounts his remarkable comeback. He is helped along the way by his loyal agent, trainers, Yankees fans, and his family, creating a de-facto support network that keeps him going.

    2018 LAAPFF AUDIENCE AWARD WINNERS

    NORTH AMERICAN NARRATIVE FEATURE

    SEARCHING Directed by Aneesh Chaganty

    NORTH AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

    MINDING THE GAP Directed by Bing Liu

    INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE FEATURE

    IN THE LIFE OF MUSIC Directed by Caylee So and Visal Sok

    INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

    LATE LIFE: THE CHIEN-MING WANG STORY Directed by Frank W. Chen

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  • 2018 Nantucket Film Festival to Open with BOUNDARIES, Close with LOVE, GILDA

    [caption id="attachment_28675" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Boundaries Boundaries[/caption] The 23rd Nantucket Film Festival taking place June 2 to 25, 2018, will open with  “Boundaries,” written and directed by Shana Feste. The film tells the story of single mom Laura (Vera Farmiga) who is forced to drive her estranged, pot-dealing father Jack (Christopher Plummer) from Seattle to Los Angeles after he is kicked out of a retirement home. The comedy also stars Bobby Cannavale, Peter Fonda, Christopher Lloyd and Kristen Schaal. [caption id="attachment_26877" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Love, Gilda Love, Gilda[/caption]

    Love, Gilda,” directed by Lisa D’Apolito, will close the festival. The documentary reveals the personal side of iconic comedian Gilda Radner through rare personal recordings and journal entries.

    Morgan Neville’s “Won’t You Be My Neighbor? will screen as the festival’s centerpiece film. The documentary depicts the life and legacy of the late Fred Rogers, host of the popular children’s television series “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” and a longtime Nantucket summer resident.

    For the ninth year in a row, the festival will screen a Disney‒Pixar film on opening day. This year the studio will showcase the animated feature “Incredibles 2,” with Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Samuel L. Jackson, John Ratzenberger and director Brad Bird reprising their characters from the first film.

    The festival will also continue its relationship with the Berklee Silent Film Orchestra in screening a classic silent film accompanied by a new orchestral score. This year, Berklee students will perform their original score for the new restoration of “The Man Who Laughs”(1928), based on the Victor Hugo novel and starring Mary Philbin and Conrad Veidt. Veidt’s character is widely acknowledged to have been the genesis of the iconic Batman villain, the Joker.

    Nearly 50 feature selections have been announced, including two world premieres: Galt Niederhoffer’s “10 Things We Should Do Before We Break Up,” starring Christina Ricci and Hamish Linklater as strangers who decide to try to be a couple when a one-night stand results in pregnancy; and Donal Lardner Ward’s “We Only Know So Much,” a multigenerational family drama featuring Jeanne Tripplehorn and “Stranger Things’ ” Noah Schnapp.

    The festival will also present four Sundance Audience Award winners: Andrew Heckler’s KKK drama “Burden,” starring Garrett Hedlund, Forest Whitaker and Andrea Riseborough; Aneesh Chaganty’s “Searching,” a thriller starring John Cho and Debra Messing which takes place entirely on a laptop screen; Rudy Valdez’s personal documentary about his incarcerated sister, “The Sentence;” and Alexandra Shiva’s “This Is Home,” a documentary about Syrian refugees adjusting to life in Baltimore.

    Notable among this year’s narrative titles are several which highlight strong female leads, including Susanna White’s “Woman Walks Ahead,” starring Jessica Chastain; Isabel Coixet’s “The Bookshop,” starring Emily Mortimer and Patricia Clarkson; Marianna Palka’s “Egg,” starring Christina Hendricks and Alysia Reiner; Marc Turtletaub’s “Puzzle,” starring Kelly Macdonald; Bo Burnham’s “Eighth Grade,” starring newcomer Elsie Fisher; Björn Runge’s “The Wife,” starring Glenn Close; and Richard Eyre’s “The Children Act,” starring Emma Thompson.

    Other highlights include new films by acclaimed documentary filmmakers, including Marina Zenovich’s “Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind,” Lauren Greenfield’s “Generation Wealth,” Susan Lacy’s “Jane Fonda In Five Acts,” Rory Kennedy’s “Above And Beyond: NASA’s Journey To Tomorrow,” Barbara Kopple’s “A Murder In Mansfield,” Eugene Jarecki’s “The King” and Dana Adam Shapiro’s “Daughters Of The Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story Of The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.”

    “We always aim to bring a mix of programming that is equally entertaining, eye-opening and engaging to the festival each year, and this year’s lineup continues that tradition,” festival film-program director Basil Tsiokos said. “And, of course, foremost in our minds is to share with our audience really great stories, artfully told, and these films won’t disappoint.”

    Oscar-nominated writer/director Noah Baumbach will receive the 2018 Screenwriters Tribute Saturday, June 23. Neville, also an Oscar winner, will receive the Special Achievement in Documentary Storytelling Award and Andrew Heckler the New Voices in Screenwriting Award. Ben Stiller will present and participate in The All-Star Comedy Roundtable, “The Improv Takeover,” an evening of spontaneous storytelling and improvisational comedy, featuring actors and comedians Thomas Middleditch (“Silicon Valley”) and Ben Schwartz (“Parks and Recreation”) on Friday, June 22. In addition, the festival will present a live taping of NPR’s “Ask Me Another” with host Ophira Eisenberg Thursday, June 21.

    Over the past 22 years the festival has mixed highly-anticipated awards contenders with the films of emerging and established filmmakers, and brought together the film industry’s most recognized screenwriters and storytellers, including Oliver Stone, Steve Martin, Judd Apatow, Tom McCarthy, Beau Willimon, Kathryn Bigelow, Sarah Silverman, Alexander Payne, David O. Russell, Diane Keaton, Robert Towne, Glenn Close and Aaron Sorkin.

    It has also produced the All-Star Comedy Roundtable Presented by Ben Stiller, and the conversation series “In Their Shoes With . . .,” which has included Robin Wright and Beau Willimon with Chris Matthews, Tom McCarthy with Bobby Cannavale, Molly Shannon with Michael Ian Black and Bradley Whitford with Matthews.

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