Sleeping Giant

Palm Springs International Film Festival Announces Complete Line-up of Premieres, New Voices/New Visions Competition and Modern Masters

The 27th Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) running from January 1-11, 2016 in Palm Springs, California, announced its line-up of Premieres, New Voices/New Visions competition and Modern Masters. “I am thrilled at the breadth and depth of this year’s program,” said Festival Artistic Director Helen du Toit. “While Modern Masters showcases such widely acclaimed filmmakers as as Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Barbara Kopple and Terence Davies, our New Voices/New Visions program is evidence that new masters are emerging around the world. The range of approaches is extraordinary. Highlights include Raam Reddy’s Thithi (India), which skillfully juggles myriad characters in a delightful low key comedy; Yorgos Zois’ Interruption (Greece), which challenges the audience with a complex and highly compelling narrative; and Maris Curran’s Five Nights in Maine (USA), featuring David Oyelowo’s nuanced and heartbreaking performance as a widower reconnecting with his estranged mother-in-law.” Showcasing the diversity of international cinema, Festival premieres will include: World premieres: 50 Days in the Desert (Luxembourg) directed by Fabrizio Maltese, Agnes (Germany/Belgium), the documentary Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age (US) featuring Alec Baldwin, Carol Channing, Dick Van Dyke, Jane Fonda and Robert Redford, The Carer (Hungary/UK), Going Going Gone (UK), Searchdog (US) and Set the Thames on Fire (UK). North American premieres: Banat (Italy/Romania/Bulgaria/Macedonia), Death By Death (Belgium/France), A Decent Man (Switzerland), Departure (France/UK), Fly Away Solo (India/France), Interruption (Greece/Croatia), A Korean in Paris (South Korea/France), The Memory of Water (Chile/Spain/Argentina/Germany), Moor (Pakistan), On My Mother’s Side (Canada), Paradise Trips (Belgium/Croatia), Rosita (Denmark), Spy Time (Spain), Tanna (Australia/Vanuatu), Thithi (India/US/Canada), Utopians (Hong Kong) and When a Tree Falls (Spain). U.S. premieres: 1944 (Estonia/Finland), 3000 Nights (Palestine/France/Jordan/Lebanon), Atomic Falafel (Israel/Germany/New Zealand), Belgian Rhapsody (Belgium), Beyond My Grandfather Allende (Chile/Mexico), Born to Dance (New Zealand), Closet Monster (Canada), Enclave (Serbia/Germany), The Endless River (South Africa/France), Endorphine (Canada), Exotica, Erotica, Etc. (France), Fire Song (Canada), Five Nights in Maine (US), A Heavy Heart (Germany), Home Care (Czech Republic/Slovakia), Let Them Come (Algeria/France), My Big Night (Spain), My Internship in Canada (Canada), The Other Side (Italy/France), Our Everyday Life (Bosnia, Herzegovina/Slovenia/Croatia), The Paradise Suite (Netherlands/Sweden/Bulgaria), Parched (India/US/UK), Parisienne (France), Sabali (Canada), Sleeping Giant (Canada), Summer Solstice (Poland/Germany), Trap (Philippines), The Violin Teacher (Brazil), Wedding Doll (Israel) and Zubaan (India). The New Voices/New Visions competition showcases 12 US premieres from top emerging international directors marking their feature film debut at the Festival, with the additional criteria that the films selected are currently without U.S. distribution. Films selected for this year include: Banat (Italy/Romania/Bulgaria/Macedonia), Director Adriano Valerio Death By Death (Belgium/France), Director Xavier Seron Departure (UK/France), Director Andrew Steggall Five Nights in Maine (US), Director Maris Curran and starring David Oyelowo A Heavy Heart (Germany), Director Thomas Stuber Home Care (Czech Republic/Slovakia), Director Slávek Horák Interruption (Greece/Croatia), Director Yorgos Zois Let Them Come (Algeria/France), Director Salem Brahimi Our Everyday Life (Bosnia and Herzegovina/Slovenia/Croatia), Director Ines Tanovic Paradise Trips (Belgium/Croatia), Director Raf Reyntjens Sleeping Giant (Canada), Director Andrew Cividino Thithi (India/US), Director Raam Reddy The Modern Masters section features 10 films from international directors who set the standards for contemporary cinema. Films selected for this year include: Cemetery Of Splendour (Thailand/UK), Director Apichatpong Weerasethakul Dheepan (France), Director Jacques Audiard Miss Sharon Jones! (US), Director Barbara Kopple Mountains May Depart (China/France/Japan), Director Jia Zhangke My Golden Days (France), Director Arnaud Desplechin My Mother (Italy/France), Director Nanni Moretti Our Little Sister (Japan), Director Hirokazu Kore-eda Sunset Song (UK/Luxembourg), Director Terence Davies Sweet Bean (Japan), Director Naomi Kawase Women He’s Undressed (Australia), Director Gillian Armstrong Other Festival films with notable talent and directors include: 45 Years (UK) directed by Andrew Haigh and starring Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay, Anomalisa (US) directed by Duke Johnson and Charlie Kaufman with the voices of David Thewlis and Jennifer Jason Leigh, Chronic (Mexico/France) starring Tim Roth, Closet Monster (Canada) with Connor Jessup and Isabella Rossellini, Eisenstein in Guanajuato (Netherlands/Mexico/Finland/Belgium/France) directed by Peter Greenaway, February (US/Canada) starring Kiernan Shipka and Emma Roberts, Hello, My Name is Doris (US) starring Sally Field, Max Greenfield, Beth Behrs and Stephen Root, Hitchcock/Truffaut (France/US) directed by Kent Jones and featuring Peter Bogdanovich, David Fincher and Richard Linklater, The Invitation (US) starring Logan Marshall-Green and Michiel Huisman, The Lady in the Van (UK) directed by Nicholas Hytner and starring Maggie Smith, Jim Broadbent and James Corden, (pictured above) Louder Than Bombs (USA) starring Jesse Eisenberg, Gabriel Byrne and Isabelle Huppert, Men & Chicken (Denmark) starring Mads Mikkelsen, Papa (Cuba) directed by Bob Yari and starring Giovanni Ribisi, Joely Richardson and Minka Kelly, A Perfect Day (Spain) starring Benicio del Toro, Tim Robbins and Olga Kurylenko, The Seventh Fire (US) executive produced by Terrence Malick, Natalie Portman and Chris Eyre, and Where to Invade Next (US) directed by Michael Moore.
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Toronto Film Critics Association names ‘Carol’ the Best Film of the Year

Todd Haynes’ 1950s melodrama ‘Carol’, the swooning tale of a life-changing love affair, won two top prizes at the 2015 awards of the Toronto Film Critics Association, including Best Picture, and Haynes named Best Director. The film’s stars, Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, were runners-up for this year’s Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress prizes, respectively. Joshua Oppenheimer, who won the Allan King Documentary Award in 2013 for The Act of Killing, won the 2015 prize for its companion piece, The Look of Silence, which revisits the Indonesian genocide from the perspective of an optometrist confronting his brother’s murderers. The membership also chose the three finalists for the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award: The Forbidden Room, directed by Guy Maddin and Evan Johnson; My Internship In Canada, directed by Philippe Falardeau, and Sleeping Giant, directed by Andrew Cividino. The winner will be named at the TFCA’s awards gala, to be held January 5, 2016. Other winners include, Nina Hoss was named Best Actress for her performance as a woman forced to assume her own identity in post-war German in Christian Petzold’s Phoenix, which also won Best Foreign-Language Film. Alicia Vikander won Best Supporting Actress for her work as the calculating android Ava in Alex Garland’s near-future drama Ex Machina, which was named the year’s Best First Feature. The full list of Toronto Film Critics Association Awards winners and runners-up: BEST PICTURE “Carol” (Entertainment One) Runners-up “Mad Max: Fury Road” (Warner Bros.) “Spotlight” (Entertainment One) BEST ACTOR Tom Hardy, “Legend” Runners-up Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant” Michael Fassbender, “Steve Jobs” BEST ACTRESS Nina Hoss, “Phoenix” Runners-up Cate Blanchett, “Carol” Brie Larson, “Room” BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Mark Rylance, “Bridge of Spies” Runners-up Benicio Del Toro, “Sicario” Michael Shannon, “99 Homes” BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Alicia Vikander, “Ex Machina” Runners-up Rooney Mara, “Carol” Kristen Stewart, “Clouds of Sils Maria” BEST DIRECTOR Todd Haynes, “Carol” Runners-up Tom McCarthy, “Spotlight” George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road” Denis Villeneuve, “Sicario” BEST SCREENPLAY, ADAPTED OR ORIGINAL “The Big Short”, Charles Randolph and Adam McKay; based upon the book by Michael Lewis Runners-up “Anomalisa,” Charlie Kaufman; based on his stage play “Carol,” by Phyllis Nagy; based on the novel “The Price of Salt” by Patricia Highsmith “Spotlight,” by Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy BEST FIRST FEATURE “Ex Machina,” directed by Alex Garland Runners-up “Sleeping Giant,” directed by Andrew Cividino “Son of Saul,” directed by Lázsló Nemes BEST ANIMATED FEATURE “Shaun the Sheep Movie” (Elevation Pictures) Runners-up “Anomalisa” (Paramount Pictures) “Inside Out” (Disney*Pixar) BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM “Phoenix” (Films We Like) Runners-up “The Assassin” (Amplify Releasing) “Son of Saul” (Mongrel Media) ALLAN KING DOCUMENTARY AWARD “The Look of Silence” (Blue Ice Docs) Runners-up “Amy” (Mongrel Media) “Listen To Me Marlon” ( distributor unknown ) ROGERS BEST CANADIAN FILM AWARD FINALISTS “The Forbidden Room,” directed by Guy Maddin and Evan Johnson “My Internship in Canada,” directed by Philippe Falardeau “Sleeping Giant,” directed by Andrew Cividino
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Vancouver Film Critics Circle Reveals 2016 Nominations, ‘Room’ Leads Canadian Nominations

Alejandro González Iñárritu’s The Revenant leads all films in the 2016 Vancouver Film Critics Circle International section with three nominations. The nominees for Best Documentary are Amy, Cartel Land and Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, while The Assassin, Goodnight Mommy and Son of Saul are up for Best Foreign Language Film. A riveting and uplifting tale of a mother and son escaping confinement, the Canadian-Irish co-production Room has earned six VFCC nominations in the Canadian categories, including one for Best Canadian Film, and director Lenny Abrahamson is nominated for Best Director of a Canadian Film, Room (pictured above) will face off against Guy Maddin and co-director Evan Johnson’s The Forbidden Room and Andrew Cividino’s Sleeping Giant for Best Canadian Film. Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World will also compete with Jerry Rothwell’s How to Change the World, Alan Zweig’s Hurt and Damien Gillis & Fiona Rayher’s Fractured Land for Best Canadian Documentary. The full list of 2016 Vancouver Film Critics Circle International nominees. BEST FILM Mad Max: Fury Road The Revenant Spotlight BEST ACTOR Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant Michal Fassbender, Steve Jobs Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl BEST ACTRESS Cate Blanchett, Carol Brie Larson, Room Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies Michael Shannon, 99 Homes Sylvester Stallone, Creed BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina BEST DIRECTOR Todd Haynes, Carol Alejandro González Iñárritu, The Revenant George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road BEST SCREENPLAY Emma Donoghue, Room Charlie Kaufman, Anomalisa Josh Singer & Tom McCarthy, Spotlight BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM The Assassin Goodnight Mommy Son of Saul BEST DOCUMENTARY Amy Cartel Land Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief The full list of nominees in the 2016 Vancouver Film Critics Circle Canadian categories. BEST CANADIAN FILM The Forbidden Room Room Sleeping Giant BEST ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM Michael Eklund, Eadweard Christopher Plummer, Remember Jacob Tremblay, Room BEST ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM Marie Brassard, Sabali Brie Larson, Room Julia Sarah Stone, Wet Bum BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM Patrick Huard, My Internship in Canada Reece Moffett, Sleeping Giant Nick Serino, Sleeping Giant BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM Joan Allen, Room Suzanne Clement, My Internship in Canada Tara Pratt, No Men Beyond This Point BEST SCREENPLAY FOR A CANADIAN FILM Benjamin August, Remember Andrew Cividino, Blain Watters & Aaron Yeger, Sleeping Giant Emma Donoghue, Room BEST DIRECTOR OF A CANADIAN FILM Lenny Abrahamson, Room Andrew Cividino, Sleeping Giant Atom Egoyan, Remember BEST CANADIAN DOCUMENTARY Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World Fractured Land How to Change the World Hurt BEST FIRST FILM BY A CANADIAN DIRECTOR Hit 2 Pass, Kurt Walker Sleeping Giant, Andrew Cividino Wet Bum, Lindsay Mackay BEST BRITISH COLUMBIA FILM Eadweard Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World No Men Beyond This Point
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TANGERINE, JAMES WHITE, ROOM, NASTY BABY Among 2015 Los Cabos International Film Festival Official Selections

The 2015 Los Cabos International Film Festival announced the films chosen for its fourth edition’s Official Selection, which is composed of Competencia Los Cabos (Mexico, USA and Canada) and México Primero sections. Nine films are in competition for Competencia Los Cabos, where North American films appear side-by-side, films that are from or co-produced with Mexico, USA and/or Canada can participate; and six films are in competition for México Primero, focusing on Mexican films. The nine films in competition for Competencia Los Cabos: From Afar “Desde allá” by Lorenzo Vigas (Mexico/Venezuela). Tangerine by Sean Baker (USA) – Premiere in Mexico. (pictured above) Room by Lenny Abrahamson (Canada/Ireland) Chronic by Michel Franco (Mexico). James White by Josh Mond (USA) – Premiere in Latin America The Loved Ones “Les Êtres Chers” by Anne Émond (Canada) – Premiere in Mexico A Monster with a Thousand Heads “Un monstruo de mil cabezas” by Rodrigo Plá (Mexico/France). Nasty Baby by Sebastián Silva (USA/Chile) – Premiere in Mexico. Sleeping Giant by Andrew Cividino (Canada). The six competing films for México Primero are: Semana Santa by Alejandra Márquez. Sabrás qué hacer conmigo by Katina Medina Mora. Charity “La caridad” by Marcelino Islas. The Chosen Ones “Las elegidas” by David Pablos. I Promise You Anarchy “Te prometo anarquía” by Julio Hernández Cordón. Almacenados by Jack Zagha.
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HE NAMED ME MALALA Among Young Film Enthusiasts Top 10 2015 TIFF Picks

The TIFF Next Wave committee of young film enthusiasts has hand-picked 10 Toronto International Film Festival films that will resonate with their peers. Founded in 2010, the TIFF Next Wave Committee is a group of 12 students ranging in age from 15 to 18 and selected from a competitive pool of young film enthusiasts, hailing from schools across the Greater Toronto Area. In order to help their peers navigate the Festival, the Committee has identified the following youth-driven 2015 TIFF selections that will appeal specifically to the next generation of movie aficionados: As I Open My Eyes (A peine j’ouvre les yeux) Leyla Bouzid, Tunisia/France/Belgium (Contemporary World Cinema) North American Premiere Born To Dance Tammy Davis, New Zealand (Discovery) World Premiere The Final Girls Todd Strauss-Schulson, USA (Midnight Madness) International Premiere Girls Lost Alexandra-Therese Keining, Sweden (Contemporary World Cinema) World Premiere He Named Me Malala (pictured above) Davis Guggenheim, USA (TIFF Docs) International Premiere The Idol (Ya Tayr El Tayer) Hany Abu-Assad, United Kingdom/Palestine/Qatar/ United Arab Emirates (Special Presentations) World Premiere Ixcanul Jayro Bustamante, Guatemala/France (Discovery) Canadian Premiere Keeper Guillaume Senez, Belgium/Switzerland/France (Discovery) North American Premiere My Name is Emily Simon Fitzmaurice, Ireland (Discovery) North American Premiere Sleeping Giant Andrew Cividino, Canada (Discovery) North American Premiere The 40th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 10 to 20, 2015.
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