Sew the Winter to my Skin

  • 2019 Palm Springs International Film Festival to Screen 223 Films, Opens with Kenneth Branagh’s ALL IS TRUE

    All is True 
    All is True 

    The 30th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will open with All is True directed by Kenneth Branagh on Friday, January 4,  and close with Ladies in Black, directed by Bruce Beresford on Sunday, January 13. The Festival will screen 223 films from 78 countries, with a focus on cinema from France, India and Mexico, Premieres, Talking Pictures, Book to Screen, Special Presentations, FLOS: Foreign Language Oscar Submissions, Gay!La, Local Spotlight, Modern Masters, True Stories, World Cinema Now, a 30-film retrospective of selections from past festivals and more.

    In All is True, Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench and Ian McKellen star in Branagh’s intimate, revelatory portrait of William Shakespeare in the last act of his life. His career over, he returns to his home in Stratford-upon-Avon to encounter old ghosts, old loves, and his resentful family. Branagh is expected to attend. 

    Ladies in Black, set in Sydney in 1959, Oscar®-nominated writer/director Bruce Beresford takes us back to the heyday of glamorous upscale department stores, when a concierge met you at the door and clerks wore gloves. The film from Lumila Films stars Julia Ormond, Angourie Rice, Rachael Taylor, Ryan Corr, Shane Jacobson and Alison McGirr. Beresford, Ormond, Taylor and McGirr are expected to attend. 

    30th Palm Springs International Film Festival Film Lineup

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  • DOGMAN Wins Top Awards at 2018 Cape Town International Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_31629" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]DOGMAN DOGMAN[/caption] The Italian film, Dogman is the overall winner of this year’s  2018 Cape Town International Film Market and Festival winning three awards including the most coveted award, The Grand Prix, as well as awards for Best Director Award and Best Actor. The film competed at this past year’s Cannes Film Festival where Marcello Fonte also won for Best Actor. The CTIFMF’s Opening Film, and South Africa’s official official submission for the Oscar’s, Sew the Winter to My Skin, directed by Jahmil X. T Qubeka, won the Award for Best South African Feature Film, whilst Rehad Desai’s Everything Must Fall won for Best South African Documentary, and the Best South African Short Film was won by Rea Moeti’s Mma Moeketsi. South African film Kanarie also took home the award for Best LGBTQ Film, while Kenyan Director of Supa Modo, Likarion Wainaina, won the award for Best New Director in the New Voices category and was described by the jury as “a true new voice of contemporary cinema. The director succeeds in bringing its audience into the shoes of a kid, showing us the world through her eyes, without ever trivialising nor overdramatizing a difficult topic such as a child’s illness. The director shows an uncommon capacity of leading his actors and keeping a difficult balance between drama, comedy and fairy tale.” The LGBTQ category jury had this to say of Kanarie: “For skillfully and seemingly effortlessly weaving together multiple compelling characters, along with issues of nationalism, religion and sexuality, we award the prize for Best LGBTQ Film to Christiaan Olwagen’s Kanarie. This well-paced and consistently poignant story of a teenage boy in 1980s South Africa, who joins the national defense force choir, humorously portrays the struggle of finding oneself despite overbearing social pressure. With a stunning central performance, innovative visuals and a sensitive balance between comedy and drama, the film heralds the arrival of a strong new voice on the local cinema landscape.” Additionally, the CTIFMF Market announced the winners of the Works in Progress and Screenwriters Guild Pitch competition. The jury made a unanimous decision to support Buddha in Africa by Nicole Shafer with the highest award: “For its unique subject and its meticulous patient development, for the crossroad of important themes, and for the different worlds that have overlapped and met in tangible captivating characters…the jury chose to give the combined two prizes to the very promising Malawi set film project Buddha in Africa by Nicole Shafer.” “For the subtle way of dealing with witchcraft issues and allowing us, through the eyes of a young character, to get deep into a touching Kenyan grandma and her family, the Jury awarded 2 weeks of Sound Design by Raphsody and 2 Weeks of Final Sound Mix by The Moving Billboard Picture Company to The Letter by Maia Lekow and Chris King.” Rene van Royen is a local voice, and as described by the jury, Toorbos is “an accomplished and assured feature debut from Rene Van Rooyen. While a period setting the skill and voice of this filmmaker is tremendous and undeniably fresh. We are guided through the magic and the wonder of the forest which is beautifully and thoughtfully captured and brought to life through our strong central female character.” Kenya’s Mugambi Nthiga was a cowriter on 2 of the latest Kenyan festival hits, Kathi Kathi and SUPAMODO, which screened as part of the 2018 Festival Program. For its engaging characters and its unexpected and clever use of genre elements to tackle a problem too often ignored in African societies that is post traumatic stress disorder, the jury gives the subtitling and credits award to Lusala. From Madagascar, a place in need of the basics, Madagascar. Bolomboto is an immersion documentary on the daily life of young people detained in Madagascar’s prison. It is an important and political film that offers a unique perspective on the Malagasy youth thanks to a strong cinematic vision.” The producer is invited to the Festival de Amien in France in November to further advance the project. They also will receive Publicity mentorship from Versveld Associates and a 50 000 Rand cash award from Hollard Film Guarantors. Meg Rickards and Tracey Farren with project Snake won WGSA top award and Cate Wood Hunter was runner up with Family Roots.

    Winners of 2018 Cape Town International Film Market and Festival Awards

    Best South African Short Film Rea Moeti Mma Moeketsi SPECIAL MENTION Buks Rossouw Cast Iron can’t be welded Best International Short Film Aldo Sotelo Lázaro Stardust 2018 Cape Town International Film Festival Winners Awards Best Documentary Feature Leonard Retel Helmrich The Long Season Best South African Documentary Rehad Desai Everything must Fall Best Editing Lee Chatametikool Chonlasit Upanigkit Malila the Farewell Flower Best Cinematography Mong-Hong Chung The Great Buddha+ Best Script Alec Figuracion The Eternity Between Seconds Best Actress Ariane Ascaride Isabella Best Actor Marcello Fonte DogMan Best South African Feature Film Jahmil X.T. Qubeka Sew The Winter To My Skin Best LGBTQ Film Christiaan Olwagen Kanarie SPECIAL MENTION Alvaro Delgado Aparicio Retablo Best New Director Likarion Wainaina Supa Modo Best Asian Film Anucha Boonyawatana Malila the Farewell Flower Best Director Mateo Garone Dogman Grand Prix Matteo Garone Dogman

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  • 87 Countries Submit Films in 2018 Oscar Foreign Language Competition

    [caption id="attachment_31248" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]El Angel directed by Luis Ortega El Angel directed by Luis Ortega[/caption] Eighty-seven countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 91st Academy Awards. Malawi and Niger are first-time entrants. Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 22, 2019. The 91st Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide. The 2018 submissions are: Afghanistan, “Rona Azim’s Mother,” Jamshid Mahmoudi, director; Algeria, “Until the End of Time,” Yasmine Chouikh, director; Argentina, “El Ángel,” Luis Ortega, director; Armenia, “Spitak,” Alexander Kott, director; Australia, “Jirga,” Benjamin Gilmour, director; Austria, “The Waldheim Waltz,” Ruth Beckermann, director; Bangladesh, “No Bed of Roses,” Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, director; Belarus, “Crystal Swan,” Darya Zhuk, director; Belgium, “Girl,” Lukas Dhont, director; Bolivia, “The Goalkeeper,” Rodrigo “Gory” Patiño, director; Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Never Leave Me,” Aida Begić, director; Brazil, “The Great Mystical Circus,” Carlos Diegues, director; Bulgaria, “Omnipresent,” Ilian Djevelekov, director; Cambodia, “Graves without a Name,” Rithy Panh, director; Canada, “Family Ties,” Sophie Dupuis, director; Chile, “…And Suddenly the Dawn,” Silvio Caiozzi, director; China, “Hidden Man,” Jiang Wen, director; Colombia, “Birds of Passage,” Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra, directors; Costa Rica, “Medea,” Alexandra Latishev, director; Croatia, “The Eighth Commissioner,” Ivan Salaj, director; Czech Republic, “Winter Flies,” Olmo Omerzu, director; Denmark, “The Guilty,” Gustav Möller, director; Dominican Republic, “Cocote,” Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias, director; Ecuador, “A Son of Man,” Jamaicanoproblem, director; Egypt, “Yomeddine,” A.B. Shawky, director; Estonia, “Take It or Leave It,” Liina Trishkina-Vanhatalo, director; Finland, “Euthanizer,” Teemu Nikki, director; France, “Memoir of War,” Emmanuel Finkiel, director; Georgia, “Namme,” Zaza Khalvashi, director; Germany, “Never Look Away,” Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, director; Greece, “Polyxeni,” Dora Masklavanou, director; Hong Kong, “Operation Red Sea,” Dante Lam, director; Hungary, “Sunset,” László Nemes, director; Iceland, “Woman at War,” Benedikt Erlingsson, director; India, “Village Rockstars,” Rima Das, director; Indonesia, “Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts,” Mouly Surya, director; Iran, “No Date, No Signature,” Vahid Jalilvand, director; Iraq, “The Journey,” Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji, director; Israel, “The Cakemaker,” Ofir Raul Graizer, director; Italy, “Dogman,” Matteo Garrone, director; Japan, “Shoplifters,” Hirokazu Kore-eda, director; Kazakhstan, “Ayka,” Sergey Dvortsevoy, director; Kenya, “Supa Modo,” Likarion Wainaina, director; Kosovo, “The Marriage,” Blerta Zeqiri, director; Latvia, “To Be Continued,” Ivars Seleckis, director; Lebanon, “Capernaum,” Nadine Labaki, director; Lithuania, “Wonderful Losers: A Different World,” Arunas Matelis, director; Luxembourg, “Gutland,” Govinda Van Maele, director; Macedonia, “Secret Ingredient,” Gjorce Stavreski, director; Malawi, “The Road to Sunrise,” Shemu Joyah, director; Mexico, “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón, director; Montenegro, “Iskra,” Gojko Berkuljan, director; Morocco, “Burnout,” Nour-Eddine Lakhmari, director; Nepal, “Panchayat,” Shivam Adhikari, director; Netherlands, “The Resistance Banker,” Joram Lürsen, director; New Zealand, “Yellow Is Forbidden,” Pietra Brettkelly, director; Niger, “The Wedding Ring,” Rahmatou Keïta, director; Norway, “What Will People Say,” Iram Haq, director; Pakistan, “Cake,” Asim Abbasi, director; Palestine, “Ghost Hunting,” Raed Andoni, director; Panama, “Ruben Blades Is Not My Name,” Abner Benaim, director; Paraguay, “The Heiresses,” Marcelo Martinessi, director; Peru, “Eternity,” Oscar Catacora, director; Philippines, “Signal Rock,” Chito S. Roño, director; Poland, “Cold War,” Pawel Pawlikowski, director; Portugal, “Pilgrimage,” João Botelho, director; Romania, “I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians,” Radu Jude, director; Russia, “Sobibor,” Konstantin Khabensky, director; Serbia, “Offenders,” Dejan Zecevic, director; Singapore, “Buffalo Boys,” Mike Wiluan, director; Slovakia, “The Interpreter,” Martin Šulík, director; Slovenia, “Ivan,” Janez Burger, director; South Africa, “Sew the Winter to My Skin,” Jahmil X.T. Qubeka, director; South Korea, “Burning,” Lee Chang-dong, director; Spain, “Champions,” Javier Fesser, director; Sweden, “Border,” Ali Abbasi, director; Switzerland, “Eldorado,” Markus Imhoof, director; Taiwan, “The Great Buddha+,” Hsin-Yao Huang, director; Thailand, “Malila The Farewell Flower,” Anucha Boonyawatana, director; Tunisia, “Beauty and the Dogs,” Kaouther Ben Hania, director; Turkey, “The Wild Pear Tree,” Nuri Bilge Ceylan, director; Ukraine, “Donbass,” Sergei Loznitsa, director; United Kingdom, “I Am Not a Witch,” Rungano Nyoni, director; Uruguay, “Twelve-Year Night,” Álvaro Brechner, director; Venezuela, “The Family,” Gustavo Rondón Córdova, director; Vietnam, “The Tailor,” Buu Loc Tran, Kay Nguyen, directors; Yemen, “10 Days before the Wedding,” Amr Gamal, director.

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  • Jahmil X.T Qubeka’s SEW THE WINTER TO MY SKIN to Open Cape Town International Film Market and Festival [Trailer]

    Sew the Winter to My Skin Jahmil X.T Qubeka’s epic existential-adventure film Sew the Winter to My Skin, which will have its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this week, will be the opening night film of this year’s 2018 Cape Town International Film Market and Festival. Set in South Africa’s rural Great-Karoo region in the 1950s, the film chronicles the exploits of the outlaw John Kepe and the various individuals his escapades affected. This Robin-hood-esque figure would steal primarily livestock from the white settler farmers, terrorizing them for over a decade. Led by the hardliner General Botha, a mammoth manhunt ensues in the mountain where Kepe was rumored to occupy a Noah’s Ark like cave. This spectacle ingratiated Kepe in the hearts of the marginalized indigenous-population who turn Kepe’s miscreant deeds into the stuff of legend making him a threat to the very fabric of the colonial society. Director Jahmil X.T Qubeka says this of the making of the film and its selection as the CTIFMF’s Opening Night film, “It is my intention with projects like this to explore and to dissect the impact of the Apartheid experience on the psychology of self. The very roots of external struggles such as land redistribution are inherently imbedded in an internal meditation or yearning. Dignity seems to be the pursued pot of gold at the end of this rainbow. I wanted to offer some insight into what I believe to be mankind’s inherent need to feed into mythologies that conveniently suit the order of the day. With this film, I am endeavouring to create a visual experience that crosses the boundaries and limitations of spoken language. I am honored to have Sew the Winter to my Skin invited as the opening film for the Cape Town International Film Festival, it is important for us to bring the film to its intended audience and celebrate South African cinema.” The film’s producer Layla Swart, who hails from Cape Town and studied film at The University of Cape Town, elaborates further, “Sew the Winter to my Skinis an epic ballad to the art of visual storytelling and is a benchmark film in the tapestry of South African cinema. Selected in 2017 for the prestigious Cannes L’Atelier program, the film was also awarded the Berlinale World Cinema Fund 2017 and has garnered incredible responses at screenplay level alone. I believe that films like Sew the Winter to my Skin not only contribute to a universally accessible understanding of African storytelling, but raise the benchmark for the young South African directors who are emerging with a burning desire to canonize their experience, their heroes, their legacy. We are indeed very excited to share this film with the audience at the Cape Town International Film Festival.” CTIFMF Marketing Director Jehad Kasu also has this to say of the selection, “Having access to this level of quality South African filmmaking that conveys a local story as an opening night film, is half of the reason why the CTIFMF exists – to exhibit the excellence in local story telling and production. The other half is to create an enabling film business environment for this kind of content to reach as many other parts of the world as possible. This second objective has the dual benefit of educating/entertaining global audiences with African cultures, traditions and daily life, while simultaneously boosting the economic growth of the local film and television industry. We also congratulate the whole team, including Layla and every other woman blazing a blinding trail of success in this industry. In years to come we look forward to the problem where our programmers have the difficulty in selecting an opening night film from an array of world-class local productions – that are later snapped up by foreign sales and distribution companies.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrLepWsV1EQ

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  • Toronto International Film Festival to Spotlight 48 Films in 2018 Contemporary World Cinema Program

    [caption id="attachment_31415" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Look at Me Look at Me[/caption] The Toronto International Film Festival will spotlight 48 films from international filmmakers in this year’s 2018 Contemporary World Cinema roster  with a strong presence from Latin America and Eastern Europe — telling stories of identity, depicting family dynamics, and making bold political statements. Several of the the impressive 27 World Premieres in the program are from TIFF veterans, including Belmonte from Uruguay’s Federico Veiroj, The Other Story from Israel’s Avi Nesher, Stupid Young Heart from Finnish Academy Award nominee Selma Vilhunen, Quién te Cantará from Spain’s Carlos Vermut, and Look at Me from Tunisia’s Nejib Belkadhi. The program also highlights film selections that have already captivated audiences worldwide this year, including “I Do Not Care If We Go Down In History As Barbarians” by Radu Jude, Birds of Passage by directing duo Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra, and Border by Ali Abbasi.

    2018 Toronto International Film Festival Contemporary World Cinema Program

    The Accused ( Acusada) Gonzalo Tobal | Argentina North American Premiere Angel (Un Ange) Koen Mortier | Belgium/Netherlands/Senegal International Premiere Asako I & II ( Netemo Sametemo) Ryusuke Hamaguchi | Japan/France North American Premiere Before the Frost ( Før Frosten) Michael Noer | Denmark World Premiere Belmonte Federico Veiroj | Uruguay/Spain/Mexico World Premiere Birds of Passage ( Pájaros de verano) Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra | Colombia/Denmark/Mexico/France Canadian Premiere Black 47 Lance Daly | Ireland/Luxembourg North American Premiere The Black Book Valeria Sarmiento | Portugal/France World Premiere Border ( Gräns) Ali Abbasi | Sweden/Denmark North American Premiere Bulbul Can Sing Rima Das | India World Premiere Core of the World Natalia Meshchaninova | Russia/Lithuania International Premiere The Dive ( Hatzlila) Yona Rozenkier | Israel North American Premiere Donbass Sergei Loznitsa | Germany/Ukraine/France/Netherlands/Romania North American Premiere El Ángel Luis Ortega | Argentina/Spain North American Premiere EXT. Night ( Leil Khargi ) Ahmad Abdalla | Egypt/United Arab Emirates World Premiere The Factory (Завод (Zavod)) Yury Bykov | Russia/France/Armenia World Premiere Florianópolis Dream ( Sueño Florianópolis) Ana Katz | Argentina/Brazil/France North American Premiere “I Do Not Care If We Go Down In History As Barbarians” ( Îmi este indiferent dacă în istorie vom intra ca barbari) Radu Jude | Romania/Czech Republic/France/Bulgaria/Germany North American Premiere Jinpa ( Zhuang Si Le Yi Zhi Yang ) Pema Tseden | China North American Premiere Let Me Fall (Lof mer ad falla) Baldvin Z | Iceland/Finland/Germany International Premiere Look at Me Nejib Belkadhi | Qatar/France/Tunisia World Premiere Minuscule – Mandibles From Far Away ( Minuscule – Les Mandibules du Bout du Monde) Thomas Szabo, Hélène Giraud | France World Premiere The Most Beautiful Couple (Das schönste Paar) Sven Taddicken | Germany/France World Premiere Museum (Museo) Alonso Ruizpalacios | Mexico North American Premiere One Last Deal (Tuntematon mestari) Klaus Härö | Finland World Premiere The Other Story (Sipur Acher) Avi Nesher | Israel World Premiere Quién te Cantará Carlos Vermut | Spain/France World Premiere The Realm (El Reino) Rodrigo Sorogoyen | Spain/France World Premiere Redemption (Geula) Boaz Yehonatan Yacov, Joseph Madmony | Israel North American Premiere Retrospekt Esther Rots | Netherlands/Belgium World Premiere Roads in February (Les routes en février) Katherine Jerkovic | Canada/Uruguay World Premiere Rosie Paddy Breathnach | Ireland World Premiere Sew the Winter to my Skin Jahmil X.T. Qubeka | South Africa/Germany World Premiere Sibel Çagla Zencirci, Guillaume Giovanetti | France/Germany/Luxembourg/Turkey North American Premiere Stupid Young Heart (Hölmö nuori sydän) Selma Vilhunen | Finland/Netherlands/Sweden World Premiere Styx Wolfgang Fischer | Germany/Austria North American Premiere The Sweet Requiem (Kyoyang Ngarmo) Ritu Sarin, Tenzing Sonam | India/USA World Premiere That Time of Year (Den Tid På Året) Paprika Steen | Denmark World Premiere Ulysses & Mona Sébastien Betbeder | France World Premiere The Vice of Hope (Il Vizio Della Speranza) Edoardo de Angelis | Italy World Premiere Winter Flies (Všechno bude) Olmo Omerzu | Czech Republic/Slovenia/Poland/Slovakia International Premiere Working Woman (Isha Ovedet) Michal Aviad | Israel International Premiere Previously announced Canadian titles in the Contemporary World Cinema program include Darlene Naponse’s Falls Around Her, Bruce Sweeney’s Kingsway, Renée Beaulieu’s Les Salopes or the Naturally Wanton Pleasure of Skin, Thom Fitzgerald’s Splinters, Sébastien Pilote’s The Fireflies Are Gone, and Maxime Giroux’s The Great Darkened Days.

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