Pop Aye – Kirsten Tan[/caption]
A record 92 countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 90th Academy Awards. Haiti, Honduras, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mozambique, Senegal and Syria are first-time entrants.
The 2017 submissions are:
Afghanistan, “A Letter to the President,” Roya Sadat, director;
Albania, “Daybreak,” Gentian Koçi, director;
Algeria, “Road to Istanbul,” Rachid Bouchareb, director;
Argentina, “Zama,” Lucrecia Martel, director;
Armenia, “Yeva,” Anahit Abad, director;
Australia, “The Space Between,” Ruth Borgobello, director;
Austria, “Happy End,” Michael Haneke, director;
Azerbaijan, “Pomegranate Orchard,” Ilgar Najaf, director;
Bangladesh, “The Cage,” Akram Khan, director;
Belgium, “Racer and the Jailbird,” Michaël R. Roskam, director;
Bolivia, “Dark Skull,” Kiro Russo, director;
Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Men Don’t Cry,” Alen Drljević, director;
Brazil, “Bingo – The King of the Mornings,” Daniel Rezende, director;
Bulgaria, “Glory,” Petar Valchanov, Kristina Grozeva, directors;
Cambodia, “First They Killed My Father,” Angelina Jolie, director;
Canada, “Hochelaga, Land of Souls,” François Girard, director;
Chile, “A Fantastic Woman,” Sebastián Lelio, director;
China, “Wolf Warrior 2,” Wu Jing, director;
Colombia, “Guilty Men,” Iván D. Gaona, director;
Costa Rica, “The Sound of Things,” Ariel Escalante, director;
Croatia, “Quit Staring at My Plate,” Hana Jušić, director;
Czech Republic, “Ice Mother,” Bohdan Sláma, director;
Denmark, “You Disappear,” Peter Schønau Fog, director;
Dominican Republic, “Woodpeckers,” Jose Maria Cabral, director;
Ecuador, “Alba,” Ana Cristina Barragán, director;
Egypt, “Sheikh Jackson,” Amr Salama, director;
Estonia, “November,” Rainer Sarnet, director;
Finland, “Tom of Finland,” Dome Karukoski, director;
France, “BPM (Beats Per Minute),” Robin Campillo, director;
Georgia, “Scary Mother,” Ana Urushadze, director;
Germany, “In the Fade,” Fatih Akin, director;
Greece, “Amerika Square,” Yannis Sakaridis, director;
Haiti, “Ayiti Mon Amour,” Guetty Felin, director;
Honduras, “Morazán,” Hispano Durón, director;
Hong Kong, “Mad World,” Wong Chun, director;
Hungary, “On Body and Soul,” Ildikó Enyedi, director;
Iceland, “Under the Tree,” Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, director;
India, “Newton,” Amit V Masurkar, director;
Indonesia, “Turah,” Wicaksono Wisnu Legowo, director;
Iran, “Breath,” Narges Abyar, director;
Iraq, “Reseba – The Dark Wind,” Hussein Hassan, director;
Ireland, “Song of Granite,” Pat Collins, director;
Israel, “Foxtrot,” Samuel Maoz, director;
Italy, “A Ciambra,” Jonas Carpignano, director;
Japan, “Her Love Boils Bathwater,” Ryota Nakano, director;
Kazakhstan, “The Road to Mother,” Akhan Satayev, director;
Kenya, “Kati Kati,” Mbithi Masya, director;
Kosovo, “Unwanted,” Edon Rizvanolli, director;
Kyrgyzstan, “Centaur,” Aktan Arym Kubat, director;
Lao People’s Democratic Republic, “Dearest Sister,” Mattie Do, director;
Latvia, “The Chronicles of Melanie,” Viestur Kairish, director;
Lebanon, “The Insult,” Ziad Doueiri, director;
Lithuania, “Frost,” Sharunas Bartas, director;
Luxembourg, “Barrage,” Laura Schroeder, director;
Mexico, “Tempestad,” Tatiana Huezo, director;
Mongolia, “The Children of Genghis,” Zolbayar Dorj, director;
Morocco, “Razzia,” Nabil Ayouch, director;
Mozambique, “The Train of Salt and Sugar,” Licinio Azevedo, director;
Nepal, “White Sun,” Deepak Rauniyar, director;
Netherlands, “Layla M.,” Mijke de Jong, director;
New Zealand, “One Thousand Ropes,” Tusi Tamasese, director;
Norway, “Thelma,” Joachim Trier, director;
Pakistan, “Saawan,” Farhan Alam, director;
Palestine, “Wajib,” Annemarie Jacir, director;
Panama, “Beyond Brotherhood,” Arianne Benedetti, director;
Paraguay, “Los Buscadores,” Juan Carlos Maneglia, Tana Schembori, directors;
Peru, “Rosa Chumbe,” Jonatan Relayze, director;
Philippines, “Birdshot,” Mikhail Red, director;
Poland, “Spoor,” Agnieszka Holland, Kasia Adamik, directors;
Portugal, “Saint George,” Marco Martins, director;
Romania, “Fixeur,” Adrian Sitaru, director;
Russia, “Loveless,” Andrey Zvyagintsev, director;
Senegal, “Félicité,” Alain Gomis, director;
Serbia, “Requiem for Mrs. J.,” Bojan Vuletic, director;
Singapore, “Pop Aye,” Kirsten Tan, director;
Slovakia, “The Line,” Peter Bebjak, director;
Slovenia, “The Miner,” Hanna A. W. Slak, director;
South Africa, “The Wound,” John Trengove, director;
South Korea, “A Taxi Driver,” Jang Hoon, director;
Spain, “Summer 1993,” Carla Simón, director;
Sweden, “The Square,” Ruben Östlund, director;
Switzerland, “The Divine Order,” Petra Volpe, director;
Syria, “Little Gandhi,” Sam Kadi, director;
Taiwan, “Small Talk,” Hui-Chen Huang, director;
Thailand, “By the Time It Gets Dark,” Anocha Suwichakornpong, director;
Tunisia, “The Last of Us,” Ala Eddine Slim, director;
Turkey, “Ayla: The Daughter of War,” Can Ulkay, director;
Ukraine, “Black Level,” Valentyn Vasyanovych, director;
United Kingdom, “My Pure Land,” Sarmad Masud, director;
Uruguay, “Another Story of the World,” Guillermo Casanova, director;
Venezuela, “El Inca,” Ignacio Castillo Cottin, director;
Vietnam, “Father and Son,” Luong Dinh Dung, director.
Nominations for the 90th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2018.
The 90th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 4, 2018, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.SMALL TALK
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92 countries in Competition for Foreign Language Film Oscar at the 90th Academy Awards
[caption id="attachment_19636" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Pop Aye – Kirsten Tan[/caption]
A record 92 countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 90th Academy Awards. Haiti, Honduras, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mozambique, Senegal and Syria are first-time entrants.
The 2017 submissions are:
Afghanistan, “A Letter to the President,” Roya Sadat, director;
Albania, “Daybreak,” Gentian Koçi, director;
Algeria, “Road to Istanbul,” Rachid Bouchareb, director;
Argentina, “Zama,” Lucrecia Martel, director;
Armenia, “Yeva,” Anahit Abad, director;
Australia, “The Space Between,” Ruth Borgobello, director;
Austria, “Happy End,” Michael Haneke, director;
Azerbaijan, “Pomegranate Orchard,” Ilgar Najaf, director;
Bangladesh, “The Cage,” Akram Khan, director;
Belgium, “Racer and the Jailbird,” Michaël R. Roskam, director;
Bolivia, “Dark Skull,” Kiro Russo, director;
Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Men Don’t Cry,” Alen Drljević, director;
Brazil, “Bingo – The King of the Mornings,” Daniel Rezende, director;
Bulgaria, “Glory,” Petar Valchanov, Kristina Grozeva, directors;
Cambodia, “First They Killed My Father,” Angelina Jolie, director;
Canada, “Hochelaga, Land of Souls,” François Girard, director;
Chile, “A Fantastic Woman,” Sebastián Lelio, director;
China, “Wolf Warrior 2,” Wu Jing, director;
Colombia, “Guilty Men,” Iván D. Gaona, director;
Costa Rica, “The Sound of Things,” Ariel Escalante, director;
Croatia, “Quit Staring at My Plate,” Hana Jušić, director;
Czech Republic, “Ice Mother,” Bohdan Sláma, director;
Denmark, “You Disappear,” Peter Schønau Fog, director;
Dominican Republic, “Woodpeckers,” Jose Maria Cabral, director;
Ecuador, “Alba,” Ana Cristina Barragán, director;
Egypt, “Sheikh Jackson,” Amr Salama, director;
Estonia, “November,” Rainer Sarnet, director;
Finland, “Tom of Finland,” Dome Karukoski, director;
France, “BPM (Beats Per Minute),” Robin Campillo, director;
Georgia, “Scary Mother,” Ana Urushadze, director;
Germany, “In the Fade,” Fatih Akin, director;
Greece, “Amerika Square,” Yannis Sakaridis, director;
Haiti, “Ayiti Mon Amour,” Guetty Felin, director;
Honduras, “Morazán,” Hispano Durón, director;
Hong Kong, “Mad World,” Wong Chun, director;
Hungary, “On Body and Soul,” Ildikó Enyedi, director;
Iceland, “Under the Tree,” Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson, director;
India, “Newton,” Amit V Masurkar, director;
Indonesia, “Turah,” Wicaksono Wisnu Legowo, director;
Iran, “Breath,” Narges Abyar, director;
Iraq, “Reseba – The Dark Wind,” Hussein Hassan, director;
Ireland, “Song of Granite,” Pat Collins, director;
Israel, “Foxtrot,” Samuel Maoz, director;
Italy, “A Ciambra,” Jonas Carpignano, director;
Japan, “Her Love Boils Bathwater,” Ryota Nakano, director;
Kazakhstan, “The Road to Mother,” Akhan Satayev, director;
Kenya, “Kati Kati,” Mbithi Masya, director;
Kosovo, “Unwanted,” Edon Rizvanolli, director;
Kyrgyzstan, “Centaur,” Aktan Arym Kubat, director;
Lao People’s Democratic Republic, “Dearest Sister,” Mattie Do, director;
Latvia, “The Chronicles of Melanie,” Viestur Kairish, director;
Lebanon, “The Insult,” Ziad Doueiri, director;
Lithuania, “Frost,” Sharunas Bartas, director;
Luxembourg, “Barrage,” Laura Schroeder, director;
Mexico, “Tempestad,” Tatiana Huezo, director;
Mongolia, “The Children of Genghis,” Zolbayar Dorj, director;
Morocco, “Razzia,” Nabil Ayouch, director;
Mozambique, “The Train of Salt and Sugar,” Licinio Azevedo, director;
Nepal, “White Sun,” Deepak Rauniyar, director;
Netherlands, “Layla M.,” Mijke de Jong, director;
New Zealand, “One Thousand Ropes,” Tusi Tamasese, director;
Norway, “Thelma,” Joachim Trier, director;
Pakistan, “Saawan,” Farhan Alam, director;
Palestine, “Wajib,” Annemarie Jacir, director;
Panama, “Beyond Brotherhood,” Arianne Benedetti, director;
Paraguay, “Los Buscadores,” Juan Carlos Maneglia, Tana Schembori, directors;
Peru, “Rosa Chumbe,” Jonatan Relayze, director;
Philippines, “Birdshot,” Mikhail Red, director;
Poland, “Spoor,” Agnieszka Holland, Kasia Adamik, directors;
Portugal, “Saint George,” Marco Martins, director;
Romania, “Fixeur,” Adrian Sitaru, director;
Russia, “Loveless,” Andrey Zvyagintsev, director;
Senegal, “Félicité,” Alain Gomis, director;
Serbia, “Requiem for Mrs. J.,” Bojan Vuletic, director;
Singapore, “Pop Aye,” Kirsten Tan, director;
Slovakia, “The Line,” Peter Bebjak, director;
Slovenia, “The Miner,” Hanna A. W. Slak, director;
South Africa, “The Wound,” John Trengove, director;
South Korea, “A Taxi Driver,” Jang Hoon, director;
Spain, “Summer 1993,” Carla Simón, director;
Sweden, “The Square,” Ruben Östlund, director;
Switzerland, “The Divine Order,” Petra Volpe, director;
Syria, “Little Gandhi,” Sam Kadi, director;
Taiwan, “Small Talk,” Hui-Chen Huang, director;
Thailand, “By the Time It Gets Dark,” Anocha Suwichakornpong, director;
Tunisia, “The Last of Us,” Ala Eddine Slim, director;
Turkey, “Ayla: The Daughter of War,” Can Ulkay, director;
Ukraine, “Black Level,” Valentyn Vasyanovych, director;
United Kingdom, “My Pure Land,” Sarmad Masud, director;
Uruguay, “Another Story of the World,” Guillermo Casanova, director;
Venezuela, “El Inca,” Ignacio Castillo Cottin, director;
Vietnam, “Father and Son,” Luong Dinh Dung, director.
Nominations for the 90th Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 23, 2018.
The 90th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 4, 2018, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
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2017 Open City Documentary Festival Unveils Lineup
[caption id="attachment_23329" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
MOTHERLAND OR DEATH, Vitaly Mansky[/caption]
The 2017 Open City Documentary Festival today announced the program for the 7th edition of the festival, taking place in London from September 5 to 10, 2017.
The festival opens on Tuesday September 5 with the UK Premiere of Ziad Kalthoum’s TASTE OF CEMENT an inventively cinematic portrait of exiled Syrian workers trapped in a skyscraper that they are building in Beirut and unable to shake off memories of the shelling of their own homes.
The UK Premiere of Lee Ann Schmitt’s PURGE THIS LAND will close the Festival on Sunday September 10. The film retells the history of racism and slavery in modern America through the prism of John Brown – a white, militant abolitionist – who was sentenced to death in 1859 for a failed attempt to start an armed revolution. Poignant and thought-provoking, the film spans one hundred and seventy years of American history and will screen at Regent Street Cinema.
IN FOCUS: VITALY MANSKY
Open City will celebrate the distinguished career of Ukrainian-born Vitaly Mansky – one of Russia’s most acclaimed documentary filmmakers who now lives in exile in Riga. Mansky has tirelessly chronicled political and social developments in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union through examining the struggles of everyday-lives. The films in this selection blend myth, reality, propaganda and fiction to reveal the many-sided legacy of the Soviet dream. PRIVATE CHRONICLES. MONOLOGUE, Vitaly Mansky, Russia, 1999 BROADWAY. BLACK SEA, Vitaly Mansky, Russia, 2002 GAGARIN’S PIONEERS, Vitaly Mansky, Russia, 2005 MOTHERLAND OR DEATH, Vitaly Mansky, Russia, 2011IN FOCUS: PIERRE-YVES VANDEWEERD
Open City will also showcase the work of Belgian filmmaker Pierre-Yves Vandeweerd by screening his three most recent films – a loose trilogy – including the UK Premiere of this year’s THE ETERNALS. Filmed mostly in 16mm and Super 8, and with scores from British avant-garde musician Richard Skelton, these extraordinary works investigate the correlation between war, madness and memory through the lives of those who are victims of conflict and exile. LOST LAND, Pierre-Yves Vandeweerd, Belgium, 2011 FOR THE LOST, Pierre-Yves Vandeweerd, Belgium, 2014 THE ETERNALS (UK Premiere), Pierre-Yves Vandeweerd, Belgium, 2017AWARDS AND COMPETITIONS:
GRAND JURY AWARD
BITTER MONEY (UK Premiere), Wang Bing, China, 2016 FROM A YEAR OF NON-EVENTS (UK Premiere), Ann Carolin Renninger & René Frölke, Germany, 2017 PURGE THIS LAND (UK Premiere), Lee Anne Schmitt, USA, 2017 THE ETERNALS (UK Premiere), Pierre-Yves Vandeweerd, Belgium, 2017EMERGING INTERNATIONAL FILMMAKER AWARD
A MOON OF NICKEL AND ICE (UK Premiere), François Jacob, Quebec, 2016 ATELIER DE CONVERSATION (UK Premiere), Bernhard Braunstein, Austria / France / Liechtenstein, 2017 MEMORY EXERCISES (UK Premiere), Paz Encina, Paraguay, 2016 TASTE OF CEMENT (UK Premiere), Ziad Kalthoum, Germany / Lebanon / Syria / United Arab Emirates / Qatar, 2017OFFICIAL SELECTION
ALMOST HEAVEN, Carol Salter, UK, 2017 BURNING OUT (UK Premiere), Jerome Le Maire, Belgium, 2016 CALABRIA (UK Premiere), Pierre-François Sauter, Switzerland, 2016 CONTEMPORARY COLOR (UK Premiere), Ross Bros, USA, 2016 CRAIGSLIST ALLSTARS (UK Premiere), Samira Elagoz, The Netherlands / Finland, 2016 DARK SKULL (UK Premiere), Kiro Russo, Bolivia / Qatar, 2016 DONKEYOTE, Chico Pereira, Germany / UK / Spain, 2017 LIBERA NOS, Federica Di Giacomo, Italy / France, 2016 LINEFORK (UK Premiere), Jeff Silver, USA, 2016 95 AND 6 TO GO (UK Premiere), Kimi Takesue, 2016 PHOTON (UK Premiere), Norman Leto, Poland, 2017 PUMP (UK Premiere), Joseph David, France, 2017 REBEL OF THE KEYS, Mark Charles, UK, 2016 SANCTUARY (UK Premiere), Ashley Sabin / David Redmon, Canada / USA / United Kingdom, 2017 SMALL TALK (UK Premiere), Hui-chen Huang, Taiwan, 2016 SPECTRES ARE HAUNTING EUROPE, Maria Kourkouta / Niki Giannari, France / Greece, 2016 THE LURE, Tomas Leach, UK, 2016SPECIAL EVENTS:
MARC ISAACS: OUT OF TIME In his first ever video exhibition, filmmaker Marc Isaacs will present four new works offering an encounter with intimacy, human fragility and the passage of time. Isaacs goes back to original material gathered over a fifteen year period and which has mostly never been screened before. THE PLAYROOM BOOTHS / DON’T ASK, DON’T APOLOGISE Three story enclaves will bring together an immersive set, video projection and interviews taking people into the story of rave, soundsystem and queer culture – exploring how these alternative scenes not only changed the musical landscape but also, by physically reclaiming city space changed how we relate to its invisible power structures. THE ISLAND OF ST MATTHEWS Open City will present a special prelude to Tate Modern’s So I Can Get Them Told season, a retrospective of the films of American artist Kevin Jerome Everson. This screening features Everson’s 16mm feature film The Island of St. Matthews, a poem and paean to the citizens of Westport, Mississippi, recalling all that was lost during the 1973 flooding of a nearby river. EDGE The Edge project is a narrative driven exploration of contemporary situated practice in ‘edge’ urban settings, focusing on in-between spaces and the creative ways to which these can be used. Screenings will be held at three locations each of which are situated on the High Speed 1 rail link (HS1) route between London and Folkestone and will explore one of the symposiums’ three key themes – Gateway, Periphery and Border. In association with Urban Labs, Film + Place + Architecture and The Bartlett School of Architecture. WHICKER’S WORLD FOUNDATION PRESENTS: WE WERE KINGS Open City will host the World Premiere of We Were Kings in partnership with the British Library, a rediscovery of Burma’s lost royal family. Deposed and exiled by Britain, they are now emerging from the shadows in a country experiencing seismic change. This intriguing documentary won the Whicker’s World Foundation inaugural Funding Award for historian and first time director, Alex Bescoby. ANAGRAM PRESENTS THE DAY IS MY ENEMY This special live event will bring together rarely seen film archive charting the story of how music subculture has shaped the metropolis with a live soundtrack scored in collaboration with musicians.SHORTS:
This year’s shorts’ program promises an eclectic selection of shorts from across the globe and compilations include A PLACE TO BE, FRAGMENTS OF THE INFINITE, LOST IN TIME and SMALL HOURS. The nominees for the Best UK Short Award include Duncan Cowles’ ALEXITHYMIA, Oliver Wilkins’ HIDDEN, Tom Jeffrey’s INHERENT and Marie-Cécile Embleton’s THE WATCHMAKER. DocHeads will also be partnering with Open City to present a special program of some of the best short form documentaries made in the UK. JOHN SMITH: LOST IN LEYTONSTONE John Smith’s short films, known for their anarchic wit and oblique narratives, create mysterious and sometimes fantastical scenarios from documentary records of everyday life. Open City will screen a trio of his short films (THE BLACK TOWER, SLOW GLASS and BLIGHT) which all focus on the built environment and were made between 1985 and 1996, while Smith was living in short-term housing in Leytonstone. BY HYPER MEDIA, FOR HYPER MEDIA Lost Futures will present a series of recent artists’ moving image works exploring the internet, digital technologies, virtual realities and other forms of networked existence. Together these short films open a window into outer realms of the digital present, ruminate on our connected past, or speculate towards unknown futures.INDUSTRY EVENTS:
Open City offers a comprehensive package for industry delegates which includes entry to press and industry screenings, workshops, surgeries, panels and access to the Festival Video Library. Highlights from the industry programme include: a Vitaly Mansky masterclass, Mania Akbari talking The Body Politic, John Smith’s Give Chance a Chance, a workshop discussing the fictionalising turn in Radical Anthropological film, the Essay Film Festival workshop on bringing experimental sensibility into documentary film culture, a day dedicated to sound and audio including sessions presented by In the Dark and School of Sound and a masterclass on intimacy and performance from Kaitlin Prest of The Heart podcast. There will also be five days of VR exhibition and discussion. On Wednesday 6 September, Digital Catapult will host six sessions with leading international immersive and interactive storytellers. Speakers include Arnaud Colinart (Notes on Blindness), Lindsey Dryden (Unrest) and William Uricchio (MIT Open Documentary Lab). From Thursday 7, eight of the best current VR experiences will be on public exhibition at Bargehouse, Southbank.
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2017 QDoc, Portland’s LGBTQ Doc Fest, to Open with THE UNTOLD TALES OF ARMISTEAD MAUPIN
[caption id="attachment_22202" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
THE UNTOLD TALES OF ARMISTEAD MAUPIN[/caption]
QDoc, the only film festival in the United States (and one of only two in the world) devoted exclusively to LGBTQ documentaries kicks of Thursday, May 18 at the historic Hollywood Theatre in Portland, Oregon with THE UNTOLD TALES OF ARMISTEAD MAUPIN and continues through May 21 with 11 additional films, broadly exploring LGBTQ history, culture and politics.
Thursday, May 18 at 7:30pm: THE UNTOLD TALES OF ARMISTEAD MAUPIN
The Untold Tales Of Armistead Maupin examines the life and work of one of the world’s most beloved storytellers. The film follows Armistead Maupin’s evolution from a son of the Old South — at one time even a staffer for arch-conservative Senator Jesse Helms — into a gay rights pioneer whose novels (Tales of the City) have inspired millions to claim their own truth. Filmmaker and two-time QDoc alum Jennifer Kroot captures the playful, poignant and laugh-out-loud funny perspective of a literary legend. Subject Armistead Maupin, director Jennifer Kroot and co-director/editor Bill Weber will be in attendance.
Friday, May 19 at 6:30pm: JEWEL’S CATCH ONE
Jewel Thais-Williams helped changed laws, save lives and influence communities across Los Angeles at her legendary nightclub, a home for LGBTQ people of color for 42 years. Through interviews with clubgoers Sharon Stone, Sandra Bernhard and Bonnie Pointer, among others, director C. Fitz draws a portrait of a determined entrepreneur who overcame the challenges of being black, female, poor and lesbian to create a lasting legacy in the community. Subject Jewel Thais-Williams and director C. Fitz will be in attendance.
Friday, May 19 at 8:45pm: BAYARD & ME (short)
Iconic U.S. civil rights leader Bayard Rustin and his longtime partner, Walter Naegle, wanted to legally marry in the 1980s, but that was not possible. Still wanting legal protection for their union, Bayard adopted Naegle, who was 30 years his junior. In this intimate love story, Naegle remembers Bayard and a time when same-sex marriage was inconceivable. He reflects on the little-known phenomena of intergenerational gay adoption and its connection to the civil rights movement.
Friday, May 19 at 8:45pm A GIANT’S LOVE (immediately following Bayard & Me) Leonardo Munoz was born in 1943 in Argentina. At the age of 14, Leonardo became Mariela. Being transgender under a right-wing military dictator was not without complication. A loved and loving woman, Mariela welcomed, fostered and raised 17 abandoned children in her lifetime, and became the first transgender person ever to obtain legal documents, thus setting a precedent in Argentina. Through the testimonies of her children and others close to her, A Giant’s Love traces the fight for the recognition of Mariela’s identity in a country under military junta and highlights her commitment to the protection of the oppressed. Director Maria Audras will be in attendance.
Saturday, May 20 at 1pm: MY WONDERFUL WEST BERLIN
My Wonderful West Berlin offers a brilliant homage to hedonism, the story of 1960s West Berlin and the righteous freedom of the gay community of the era. Weaving archival material with contemporary footage, director Jochen Hick offers a bittersweet tribute to a city whose bars, cruising, radical bookstores and left-wing politics paved the way for new German attitudes toward liberation. Director Jochen Hick will be in attendance.
Saturday, May 20 at 3:30pm: THE DEATH AND LIFE OF MARSHA P. JOHNSON Who killed Marsha P. Johnson? When the beloved, self-described “street queen” of New York’s Christopher Street was found floating in the Hudson River in 1992, the NYPD called her death a suicide. Protests erupted, but the police remained impassive and refused to investigate. Now, 25 years on, Oscar-nominated director and journalist David France (How to Survive a Plague) re-examines the death of a beloved icon of the trans world while celebrating the story of two landmark pioneers of the trans rights movement.
Saturday, May 20 at 6:30pm: CHAVELA
According to The Guardian, legendary Mexican singer Chavela Vargas is “probably Donald Trump’s ultimate nightmare: a Mexican lesbian diva who can wring your very soul.” The Hollywood Reporter calls her “a trailblazing free spirit whose appetite for tequila and women was as legendary as her soul-stirring vocals.” Through its lyrical structure, Chavela takes viewers on an evocative, thought-provoking journey through the life of this iconoclastic, game-changing artist. Director/producer Catherine Gund will be in attendance.
Saturday, May 20 at 9pm: THE FABULOUS ALLAN CARR
For someone who spent most of his Hollywood career behind the scenes, Allan Carr lived a lavish lifestyle that was made for the spotlight. A producer, manager and marketing genius, Carr built his bombastic reputation amid a series of successes including the mega-hit musical film Grease, until it all came crashing down when he produced the 1989 Academy Awards, a notorious debacle. Directed by Jeffrey Schwarz (past QDoc favorites I Am Divine, Tab Hunter Confidential, Vito), The Fabulous Allan Carr brings this complex character to life through cheeky animated sequences and heartfelt interviews. Director Jeffrey Schwarz in attendance.
Sunday, May 21 at noon: CONVERSATIONS WITH GAY ELDERS
QDoc co-founder and filmmaker David Weissman (The Cockettes and We Were Here) returns with a recently completed Conversation featuring Portland resident Kerby Lauderdale, who has been active in Portland’s LGBT community since the early 1980s. The father of Pink Martini founder Thomas Lauderdale, Kerby’s story differs from others in the series because he was in a heterosexual marriage for many years. The editor of this piece is Michiel Thomas, who directed the 2015 QDoc opening night film, Game Face. Director David Weissman, subject Kerby Lauderdale, and editor Michiel Thomas will be in attendance.
Sunday, May 21 at 2:30pm SMALL TALK
In Taiwanese culture, questioning a mother’s love is taboo. But as filmmaker Hui-chen Huang sets out on a journey with her mother, such an inquiry forms the basis for an intimate exploration of a complex and nuanced relationship. Huang seeks to understand her mother, Anu, who took the radical step in the 1970s of leaving her violent husband and raising her two children alone, forging an unusual path in which her female lovers have all shared her profession as a Taoist priestess and professional mourner. Through often-unresolved conversations with her mother, as well as interviews with her mother’s siblings and ex- lovers, Huang reveals the complex and changing landscape for Taiwanese women. Teddy Award winner for Best Documentary at the Berlinale film festival.
Sunday, May 21 at 4:30pm THE LAVENDER SCARE
With the United States gripped in the panic of the Cold War, President Dwight D. Eisenhower deemed homosexuals to be “security risks” and ordered the immediate firing of any government employee discovered to be gay or lesbian. It triggered a vicious witch-hunt that lasted for 40 years and ruined thousands of lives, while thrusting an unlikely hero into the forefront of what would become the modern LGBT rights movement. The Lavender Scare is a compelling story of one man’s fight for justice — and a chilling reminder of how easy it can be, during a time of fear and uncertainty, to trample the rights of an entire class of people in the name of patriotism and national security. Josh Howard, 24-time Emmy- winning producer and director of the film, will be in attendance.
Sunday, May 21 at 7:30pm REBELS ON POINTE
Exploring universal themes of identity, dreams, family, loss and love, filmmaker Bobbi Jo Hart’s Rebels on Pointe is the first-ever documentary celebrating the world-famous Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. The notorious all-male, comic ballet troupe was founded more than 40 years ago in New York City on the heels of the Stonewall riots, and has a passionate cult following around the world. The film blends intimate, behind-the- scenes access with rich archives and history, engaging character-driven stories and live performances. Rebels on Pointe is a creative mix of gender-bending artistic expression, diversity, passion and purpose. A story that ultimately proves that a ballerina is not only a woman dancing — but an act of revolution in a tutu. Subject Bobby Carter will be in attendance.
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SOME FREAKS, THE EREMITES, DOG YEARS Win Top Feature Film Prizes at 2017 Nashville Film Festival
SOME FREAKS directed by Ian MacAllister McDonald Some Freaks, The Eremites, Dog Years, Revengeance, The Nest, A Closer Walk With Thee are the winners of the top prizes in feature filmmaking at the 2017 Nashville Film Festival.
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Nashville Film Festival Announces Competition Feature Films with Bruce Dern, Tom Hanks, Aisha Tyler
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Tom Hanks in CALIFORNIA TYPEWRITER[/caption]
Following the earlier announcement of the Music Films/Music City selection, Nashville Film Festival announced 48 additional feature films in the Narrative, Documentary, New Directors and Graveyard Shift competitions. The selections include familiar faces such as Bruce Dern, Tom Hanks, Jonathan Pryce, Maggie Grace, Aisha Tyler, Anthony Michael Hall, Katee Sackhoff, Jeremy Sisto and Heather Matarazzo.
“The films present a wide view of the world from contemporary issues to historic dramas; from deeply intimate personal dramas to wide open epics,” said Artistic Director, Brian Owens. “Diversity is really on display in these films.”
The 48th Annual Nashville Film Festival will open April 20 and conclude April 29.
NARRATIVE COMPETITION
Egon Schiele – Death and The Maiden / Austria | Luxembourg (Director: Dieter Berner) — At the beginning of the 20th Century, Egon Schiele is one of the most provocative artists in Vienna. His life and work are driven by beautiful women and an era that is coming to an end. Two women will have a lasting impact on him – his sister and first muse Gerti, and 17-year-old Wally, arguably Schiele’s one true love, immortalised in his famous painting ‘Death and the Maiden’. Cast: Noah Saavedra | Maresi Riegner | Valerie Pachner. Southeast US Premiere Flowers of Evil / Finland (Director: Antti J. Jokinen) — With unrest long simmering below the surface in a majority immigrant Helsinki suburb, half-brothers Sipe and Juno struggle for a better future, an end to their alienation and to find new opportunities in life. Cast: Viljami Nojonen | Juno | Eero Aho | Mikael Gabriel | Diana Tenkorang. North American Premiere Krotoa / South Africa (Director: Roberta Durrant) — Krotoa, a feisty, bright, young 11-year-old girl is removed from her close-knit Khoi tribe to serve her uncle’s trading partner with the Dutch East India Company in 1652. She grows into a visionary young woman and an influential translator who takes to the Dutch language and culture but is rejected by her own people as she tries to navigate two cultures about to collide. Cast: Crystal-Donna Roberts | Armand Aucamp | Jacques Bessenger | Brendon Daniels | Deon Lotz | Roeline Daneel. US Premiere The Lears / USA (Director: Carl Bessai) — Writer-director Carl Bessai’s modern day homage to Shakespeare’s KING LEAR is a black comedy about a dysfunctional family headed by patriarch Davenport Lear who tests the love and worthiness of his children at a family retreat as he contemplates his death and legacy. Cast: Anthony Michael Hall | Bruce Dern | Sean Astin | Victoria Smurfit | Aly Michalka | Nic Bishop. World Premiere The Migrumpies / Austria (Director: Arman T. Riahi) — For a TV documentary, two unemployed friends, Benny and Marko, pretend to be petty criminals with immigrant background until the coin flips and reality turns against them. Cast: Faris Rahoma | Aleksandar Petrović | Doris Schretzmayer | Zijah A. Sokolović | Daniela Zacherl | Josef Hader. North American Premiere Play the Devil / Trinidad and Tobago (Director: Maria Govan) — Set against the backdrop of Trinidad and Tobago’s mystical Carnival, a gifted and struggling young man becomes the object of intrigue for an older, well-meaning businessman until their worlds collide. Cast: Petrice Jones | Gareth Jenkins | Akil Nicholas | Penelope Spencer. Tennessee Premiere The Relationtrip / USA (Director: Renée Felice Smith, C.A. Gabriel) — At an age when everyone around them is settling down and finding love, Beck and Liam are self proclaimed loners, emotionally hibernating through adulthood. After bonding over their mutual disinterest in relationships, they decide to go away together on a ‘friend’ trip. And that’s when things get weird. Really, really weird. Cast: | Matt Bush | Eric Christian Olsen | Linda Hunt | Nelson Franklin | Brandon Kyle Goodman.Southeast US Premiere The Scent of Rain and Lightning / USA (Director: Blake Robbins) — When Jody Linder learns her parents’ killer has been released from jail, she is forced to revisit old wounds while discovering the destructive power of hate and the true cost of family secrets. Based on the novel THE SCENT OF RAIN & LIGHTNING by Nancy Pickard. Cast: Maika Monroe | Maggie Grace | Mark Webber | Will Patton | Justin Chatwin | Logan Miller. Tennessee Premiere Signature Move / USA (Director: Jennifer Reeder) — A new romance with Alma forces Zaynab to confront her relationship with her recently widowed mother who escapes to TV dramas and finding her daughter a husband. As a result, Zaynab copes by taking up Lucha-style wrestling in this coming-of-age Muslim melodrama. Cast: Fawzia Mirza | Shabana Azmi | Sari Sanchez | Charin Alvarez | Audrey Francis. Southeast US Premiere Some Freaks / USA (Director: Ian MacAllister McDonald) — A charming romance develops between a boy with one eye and an overweight girl, though when she loses her weight after going to college, their relationship is tested in devastating ways they never dreamed would happen. Cast: Lachlan Buchanan | Lily Mae Harrington | Marin Ireland | Thomas Mann | John Thorsen. Tennessee Premiere The Student / Russia (Director: Kirill Serebrennikov) — A high school student becomes convinced that the world has been lost to evil, and begins to challenge the morals and beliefs of the adults around him. Cast: Yuliya Aug | Pyotr Skvortsov | Viktoriya Isakova | Aleksandra Revenko | Svetlana Vragarnik | Aleksandr Gorchilin. Southeast US Premiere Sundowners / Canada (Director: Pavan Moondi) — Filming weddings is a thankless job, so when Alex and Justin get the chance to shoot a destination wedding in Mexico, they take the opportunity to escape their sheltered lives. But, with their boss playing fast and loose with the details, they’ll be lucky to even find it. Cast: Phil Hanley | Luke Lalonde | Tim Heidecker | Nick Thorbun | Nick Flanagan | Cara Gee. World Premiere Tatara Samurai / Japan (Director: Yoshinari Nishikori) — In 16th century Japan, a young man has to choose between becoming a master steel maker like his father and grandfather before him, or becoming a samurai so that he can help protect his village from attacks by the various clans which want the high-quality steel made there. Cast: Sho Aoyagi | Naoki Kobayahsi | Akira | Tomoko Tabata | Anna Ishii | Masahiko Tsugawa. Southeast US Premiere We’ve Forgotten More Than We Ever Knew / USA (Director: Thomas Woodrow) — In the aftermath of an unknown calamity, two survivors travel through a hostile wilderness, guided only by a distant memory of home. When they encounter the ruins of a vanished society, everything they know is called into question, threatening their relationship, their memories and their future. Cast: Louisa Krause | Aaron Stanford | Doug Jones. Tennessee Premiere The White King / UK (Director: Alex Helfrecht | Jorg Tittel) — Djata is a care-free 12-year-old growing up in a brutal dictatorship shut off from the outside world. When the government imprisons his father, Djata and his mother must survive a world of savage lies and abuse as they try to find out what exactly has happened to him. Cast: Lorenzo Allchurch | Jonathan Pryce | Agyness Deyn | Fiona Shaw | Greta Scacchi | Clare Hope Ashitey. Southeast US PremiereDOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
44 Pages / USA (Director: Tony Shaff) — Following the creation of HIGHLIGHTS MAGAZINE’S 70th Anniversary issue, from the first editorial meeting to its arrival in homes, this film introduces the people who passionately produce the monthly publication for “the world’s most important people,”…children. Tennessee Premiere Actors of Sound / USA (Director: Lalo Molina) — From footsteps to bone cracks, Foley artists bring films to life with their imaginative sound effects. As digital technology goes full speed ahead in 21st century moviemaking, can Hollywood’s low tech Foley artist survive in this high tech age? Cast: Gregg Barbanell | Marko A. Costanzo | Catherine Harper | John Roesch | Kitty Malone | Charles L. Campbell. Southeast US Premiere Augie / USA (Director: James Keach) — Armed with irreverent humor and the love of his life by his side, paralysis has done little to slow down the beast inside the genius entrepreneur and LifeFitness mogul, Augie Nieto, who continues to work everyday to find the cure for ALS. Backpack Full of Cash / USA (Director: Sarah Mondale) — Filmed in Philadelphia, New Orleans, Nashville and other cities, BACKPACK FULL OF CASH explores the privatization of public education and its devastating impact on the nation’s most vulnerable children. Cast: Matt Damon (Narrator). Southeast US Premiere California Typewriter / USA (Director: Doug Nichol) — CALIFORNIA TYPEWRITER shows a portrait of artists, writers, and collectors who remain steadfastly loyal to the typewriter as a tool and muse. The film also movingly documents the struggles of one of the last standing repair shops in America dedicated to keeping the aging machines clicking. Cast: Tom Hanks | John Mayer | Sam Shepard | David McCullough | Mason Williams. Southeast US Premiere Chasing Evel: The Robbie Knievel Story / Canada (Director: Jesse James Miller) — Robbie Knievel, 52 years old and the owner of 20 world records and 350 jumps worldwide, life is uncovered through his personal pursuit of sobriety and the need of continuing his father’s legacy by jumping once again. Tennessee Premiere Finding Kim / USA (Director: Aaron Bear) — 50 year-old Kim has made a decision a lifetime in the making: transitioning to a man. FINDING KIM bears witness to the entire process, both physical and emotional, as he experiences life the way he always felt he should: as a happy and confident human being. Cast: Kim B. | Dan Savage | Buck Angel | Carmen Carerra | Calpernia Addams | Jamison Green |. Southeast US Premiere The Gateway Bug / USA (Director: Johanna B Kelly) — Over 2 billion people on earth eat insects for protein. Following the rise and dramatic fall of edible insect start-ups in America, this inspiring film exposes America’s disconnect with food as climate catastrophe and explores how changing daily eating habits can feed humanity in an uncertain age, one meal at a time. Cast: Andrew Zimmern | Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy | Kevin Bachhuber | Pat Crowley | Tyler Isaac. Southeast US Premiere Quest / USA (Director: Jonathan Olshefski) — QUEST intimately captures ten years in the life of an African-American family living in North Philadelphia. Cast: Christopher Rainey | Christine’a Rainey | Patricia (PJ) Rainey | William Withers | PRICE.Southeast US Premiere The Road Movie / Belarus | Russia | Serbia | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Croatia (Director: Dmitrii Kalashnikov) — Objective dashboard cam videos takes us on a raucous, occasionally hopeful tour of the Russian countryside and national character. Southeast US Premiere Small Talk / Taiwan (Director: Hui-Chen Huang) — A few simple questions spark a series of conversations revealing some things that neither the filmmaker nor her mother are ready to face. Southeast US Premiere Spettacolo / USA (Director: Jeff Malmberg | Chris Shellen) — Once upon a time there was a tiny hill town in Tuscany that found a remarkable way to confront their issues: they turned their lives into a play. Every summer for the past 50 years, their piazza becomes their stage and villagers from 6 to 90 play a part – the role of themselves. Cast: Andrea Cresti | Chiara Del Ciondolo | Alpo Mangiavacchi. Tennessee Premiere Swim Team / USA (Director: Lara Stolman) — SWIM TEAM chronicles the extraordinary rise of the Jersey Hammerheads, a competitive team of diverse teens on the autism spectrum, capturing a moving quest for inclusion, independence and a life that feels winning. Cast: Robert Justino | Michael McQuay, Jr. | Kelvin Truong. Tennessee Premiere Unrest / USA (Director: Jennifer Brea) — When Harvard PhD student Jennifer Brea is struck down at 28 by a fever that leaves her bedridden, doctors tell her it’s “all in her head.” Determined to live, she turns her camera on herself and her community, a hidden world of millions confined to their homes and bedrooms by myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), commonly called chronic fatigue syndrome. Southeast US PremiereNEW DIRECTORS COMPETITION
Apricot Groves / Armenia (Director: Pouria Heidary Oureh) — Aram, a young Iranian-Armenian man who immigrated to the US as a child, returns to Armenia for the first time to propose to his Armenian-American girlfriend. Cast: Pedram Ansari | Narbe Vartan | Samvel Sarkisyan | Hovhannes Azoyan | Allison Gangi | Araik Sargsyan. Tennessee Premiere AXIS / USA (Director: Aisha Tyler) — On the day he is set to star in a career-changing blockbuster film, an Irish actor with a rocky and self-destructive past confronts a series of devastating events that threaten to disrupt his newfound sobriety and potentially, his life. Cast: Emmett Hughes | Ciarán Hinds | Thomas Gibson | Paula Malcomson | Adam Rodriguez | Bronagh Waugh. Tennessee Premiere Bomb City / USA (Director: Jameson Brooks) — Based on the 1997 true story of Brian Deneke, BOMB CITY is a crime-drama about a group of punk rockers in a conservative Texas town. Their ongoing battle with a rival, more-affluent group of jocks leads to a controversial hate crime that raises questions about the morality of American justice. Cast: Dave Davis | Glenn Morshower | Logan Huffman | Henry Knotts | Lorelei Linklater | Luke Shelton. Southeast US Premiere Boomtown / USA (Director: Sabyn Mayfield) — In an effort to make ends meet, John “JT” Turner leaves his family behind to pursue a grueling, yet highly coveted, job in a now booming oil industry. Along the way, he encounters the trials and tribulations shared by thousands of Americans every year as they stake their claim on the American Dream. Cast: Tyler Riggs | Boyd Holbrook | Rachel Brosnahan | Jocelin Donahue | Dwight Yoakam. World Premiere Easy Living / USA (Director: Adam Keleman) — Sherry, a self-destructive makeup saleswoman, hopes a new man and business venture will provide her a fresh start. After her plans are foiled, she takes control of her life in a dramatic turn of events. Cast: Caroline Dhavernas | McCaleb Burnett | Elizabeth Marvel | Jen Richards | Charlie Hofheimer | C.J. Wilson |.Southeast US Premiere The Eremites / Germany (Director: Ronny Trocker) — Like an abandoned animal that keeps coming back to its territory, an introverted farmer’s son keeps returning to his childhood Alpine home despite his mother’s wishes. Cast: Ingrid Burkhard | Andreas Lust | Orsi Tóth | Hannes Perkmann | Peter Mitterrutzner | Georg Kaser. North American Premiere Girl Flu / USA (Director: Dorie Barton) — Bird, 12, has to become a woman whether she wants to or not when – in the worst week of her life – she gets her first period, is ditched by her impulsive, free spirited mom, and learns that you can never really go back to where you came from. Cast: Katee Sackhoff | Jade Pettyjohn | Jeremy Sisto | Heather Matarazzo | Judy Reyes | Diego Josef. Tennessee Premiere Park / Greece | Poland (Director: Sofia Exarchou) — Athens Olympic Village, ten years after the Games: wilding youths, injured retired athletes and stray dogs among ruins and decaying sports venues. Cast: Dimitris Kitsos | Dimitra Vlagopoulou | Enuki Gvenatadze | Lena Kitsopoulou | Yorgos Pandeleakis | Thomas Bo Larsen. Southeast US Premiere La Soledad / Venezuela (Director: Jorge Thielen Armand) — José, a young father, discovers that the dilapidated mansion he inhabits will soon be demolished. Desperate to save his family from homelessness, he begins a search for a cursed treasure that is said to be buried in the house. Cast: José Dolores López | Jorge Roque Thielen | María Agámez Palomino | Adrializ López | Marley Alvillares. Tennessee PremiereGRAVEYARD SHIFT COMPETITION
Birdboy: The Forgotten Children / Spain (Director: Pedro Rivero | Alberto Vázquez) — An ecological event has devastated an entire island. Birdboy hides himself away, his inner turmoil gnawing at him while avoiding the island’s scavenging inhabitants and local police, who suspect he is dealing drugs. Cast: Andrea Alzuri | Eva Ojanguren | Josu Cubero.Tennessee Premiere Bloodlands / Albania | Australia (Director: Steven Kastrissios) — A struggling family in Albania, wrestling with tradition, must unite against a mysterious clan’s aggressions, leading to a ‘blood feud’ that is all too familiar in the Balkans. Cast: Gëzim Rudi | Emiljano Palali | Suela Bako | Alesia Xhemalaj. US Premiere A Closer Walk With Thee / USA (Director: John C. Clark | Brie Williams) — An Evangelical boy with homosexual urges agrees to a gay-curing exorcism, performed by the object of his desire, in this queer erotic horror. Cast: Aj Knight | Gregory Shelby | Kelsey Boze | Megan Hensley. Southeast US Premiere Industrial Accident – The Story of Wax Trax! Records / USA (Director: Julia Nash) — The true story of a Chicago record store and label that united punks, queers and criminals and accidentally changed music history along the way. Cast: Al Jourgensen | Dave Grohl | Paul Barker | Groovie Mann | Richard 23 | Jello Biafra. World Premiere Insomnium / USA (Director: Scott Powers) — As George investigates his roommate’s increasingly disturbing nocturnal behavior, he suspects that his friend has become possessed by a dark entity. Cast: Brad Pennington | Clint Browning | Gena Shaw | Larena Reyna | Leon Shparaga | Brian Julian. Tennessee Premiere JackRabbit 29 / USA (Director: Kyle Klubal) — When a young couple goes missing in Texas, a large reward is issued for their return. The reward attracts an eccentric mix of characters to the town including bounty hunters, hit-men, and more. Cast: Jason Johnson | Izzy Pollak. Tennessee Premiere The Night Watchmen / USA (Director: Mitchell Altieri) — A mistaken warehouse delivery unleashes a horde of hungry vampires, and three inept night watchmen, aided by a young rookie and a fearless tabloid journalist, must not only save themselves but also stop the scourge that threatens to take over the city of Baltimore. Cast: Ken Arnold | Kevin Jiggetts | Dan DeLuca | Kara Luiz | Max Gray Wilbur | Matt Servitto. Nashville Premiere Show Yourself / USA (Director: Billy Ray Brewton) — When his friend Paul dies unexpectedly, Travis heads into the woods to say goodbye. As Travis deals with his grief, and the way it has affected the relationships in his life, he starts to realize that he actually might not be alone in the woods. Curiosity turns to horror as Travis comes face-to-face with something both inexplicable and frighteningly familiar. Cast: Ben Hethcoat | Corsica Wilson | Barak Hardley | David McElwee | Stephen Cone | Robert Longstreet. Southeast US Premiere The Void / Canada (Director: Jeremy Gillespie | Steven Kostanski) — A blood-soaked man limping down a deserted road is rushed by Officer Carter to a nearby hospital with a skeleton crew. Trapped inside by hooded figures, Carter discovers that the patients and staff are transforming into something inhuman. Cast: Aaron Poole | Ellen Wong | Kenneth Walsh | Kathleen Munroe. Nashville Premiere Without Name / Ireland (Director: Lorcan Finnegan) — You‘re not alone in the woods. Cast: Alan McKenna | Niamh Algar | James Browne. Tennessee Premiere
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Berlinale 2017: Complete List of Awards – ON BODY AND SOUL Wins Golden Bear
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On Body and Soul (Testről és lélekről) by Ildikó Enyedi[/caption]
A slaughterhouse in Budapest is the setting of a strangely beautiful love story, the Hungarian film On Body and Soul by Ildikó Enyedi, crowned winner of the Golden Bear for Best Film at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival. The film also is the winner of the Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Jury Award.
THE AWARDS OF THE 67th BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
PRIZES OF THE INTERNATIONAL JURY
GOLDEN BEAR FOR BEST FILM (awarded to the film’s producer) Testről és lélekről On Body and Soul by Ildikó Enyedi SILVER BEAR GRAND JURY PRIZE Félicité by Alain Gomis SILVER BEAR ALFRED BAUER PRIZE for a feature film that opens new perspectives Pokot Spoor by Agnieszka Holland SILVER BEAR FOR BEST DIRECTOR Aki Kaurismäki for Toivon tuolla puolen (The Other Side of Hope/Die andere Seite der Hoffnung) SILVER BEAR FOR BEST ACTRESS Kim Minhee in Bamui haebyun-eoseo honja (On the Beach at Night Alone) by Hong Sangsoo SILVER BEAR FOR BEST ACTOR Georg Friedrich in Helle Nächte (Bright Nights) by Thomas Arslan SILVER BEAR FOR BEST SCREENPLAY Sebastián Lelio and Gonzalo Maza for Una mujer fantástica (A Fantastic Woman) by Sebastián Lelio SILVER BEAR FOR OUTSTANDING ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTION in the categories camera, editing, music score, costume or set design Dana Bunescu for the editing in Ana, mon amour by Călin Peter NetzerGWFF BEST FIRST FEATURE AWARD
GWFF BEST FIRST FEATURE AWARD Estiu 1993 Summer 1993 Sommer 1993 by Carla SimónGLASHÜTTE ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY AWARD
GLASHÜTTE ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY AWARD Istiyad Ashbah Ghost Hunting by Raed AndoniPRIZES OF THE INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM JURY
GOLDEN BEAR FOR BEST SHORT FILM Cidade Pequena Small Town Kleine Stadt by Diogo Costa Amarante SILVER BEAR JURY PRIZE (SHORT FILM) Ensueño en la Pradera Reverie in the Meadow Träumerei in der Prärie by Esteban Arrangoiz Julien AUDI SHORT FILM AWARD Street of Death by Karam Ghossein SPECIAL MENTION Centauro Centaur Zentaur by Nicolás Suárez BERLIN SHORT FILM NOMINEE FOR THE EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS Os Humores Artificiais The Artificial Humors Die Künstlichen Humore by Gabriel AbrantesPRIZES OF THE JURIES GENERATION
Children’s Jury Generation Kplus CRYSTAL BEAR for the Best Film Piata loď Little Harbour Das fünfte Schiff by Iveta Grófová SPECIAL MENTION Amelie rennt Mountain Miracle — An Unexpected Friendship by Tobias Wiemann CRYSTAL BEAR for the Best Short Film Promise Versprechen by Xie Tian SPECIAL MENTION Hedgehog’s Home Das Haus des Igels by Eva CvijanovicInternational Jury Generation Kplus
THE GRAND PRIX OF THE GENERATION KPLUS INTERNATIONAL JURY for the best feature-length film Becoming Who I Was Werden wer ich war by Chang-Yong Moon and Jin Jeon tie Estiu 1993 Summer 1993 Sommer 1993 by Carla Simón THE SPECIAL PRIZE OF THE GENERATION KPLUS INTERNATIONAL JURY for the best short film Aaba Grandfather Großvater by Amar Kaushik SPECIAL MENTION Sabaku by Marlies van der WelYouth Jury Generation 14plus
CRYSTAL BEAR for the Best Film Butterfly Kisses by Rafael Kapelinski SPECIAL MENTION Ceux qui font les révolutions à moitié n’ont fait que se creuser un tombeau Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves by Mathieu Denis and Simon Lavoie CRYSTAL BEAR for the Best Short Film Wolfe by Claire Randall SPECIAL MENTION SNIP by Terril CalderInternational Jury Generation 14plus
THE GRAND PRIX OF THE GENERATION 14PLUS INTERNATIONAL JURY for the best feature-length film, Shkola nomer 3 School Number 3 by Yelizaveta Smith and Georg Genoux SPECIAL MENTION Ben Niao The Foolish Bird by Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka THE SPECIAL PRIZE OF THE GENERATION 14PLUS INTERNATIONAL JURY for the best short film, The Jungle Knows You Better Than You Do by Juanita Onzaga SPECIAL MENTION U Plavetnilo Into the Blue by Antoneta Alamat KusijanovićPRIZES OF INDEPENDENT JURIES
PRIZES OF THE ECUMENICAL JURY Competition Testről és lélekről (On Body and Soul) by Ildikó Enyedi Special Mention: Una mujer fantástica (A Fantastic Woman) by Sebastián Lelio Panorama Tahqiq fel djenna (Investigating Paradise) by Merzak Allouache Special Mention: I Am Not Your Negro by Raoul Peck Forum Maman Colonelle (Mama Colonel) by Dieudo Hamadi Special Mention: El mar la mar by Joshua Bonnetta and J.P. Sniadecki PRIZES OF THE FIPRESCI JURY Competition: Testről és lélekről (On Body and Soul) by Ildikó Enyedi Panorama: Pendular by Julia Murat Forum: Shu’our akbar min el hob (A Feeling Greater Than Love) by Mary Jirmanus Saba GUILD FILM PRIZE The Party by Sally Potter CICAE ART CINEMA AWARD Panorama: Centaur by Aktan Arym Kubat Forum: Newton by Amit V Masurkar LABEL EUROPA CINEMAS Insyriated by Philippe Van Leeuw TEDDY AWARD Best Feature Film: Una mujer fantástica (A Fantastic Woman) by Sebastián Lelio Best Documentary/Essay Film: Ri Chang Dui Hua (Small Talk) by Hui-chen Huang Best Short Film: Min Homosyster (My Gay Sister/Meine Homoschwester) by Lia Hietala Special Jury Award: Karera ga Honki de Amu toki wa (Close-Knit) by Naoko Ogigami Special Teddy Award: Monika Treut CALIGARI FILM PRIZE El mar la mar by Joshua Bonnetta and J.P. Sniadecki PEACE FILM PRIZE El Pacto de Adriana (Adriana’s Pact) by Lissette Orozco AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL FILM PRIZE La libertad del diablo (Devil’s Freedom) by Everardo González (Berlinale Special) HEINER CAROW PRIZE Fünf Sterne (Five Stars) by Annekatrin HendelREADERS’ JURIES AND AUDIENCE AWARD
PANORAMA AUDIENCE AWARD Fiction Film Insyriated by Philippe Van Leeuw PANORAMA AUDIENCE AWARD Documentary Film I Am Not Your Negro by Raoul Peck BERLINER MORGENPOST READERS’ JURY AWARD Testről és lélekről (On Body and Soul) by Ildikó Enyedi TAGESSPIEGEL READERS’ JURY AWARD Maman Colonelle (Mama Colonel) by Dieudo Hamadi HARVEY – MÄNNER READERS’ JURY AWARD God’s Own Country by Francis LeeDEVELOPMENT AWARDS
COMPASS-PERSPEKTIVE-AWARD Die beste aller Welten (The Best Of All Worlds) by Adrian Goiginger Special Jury Prize: Final Stage by Nicolaas Schmidt KOMPAGNON-FELLOWSHIP System Crasher (Systemsprenger) by Nora Fingscheidt (Berlinale Talents 2017) Der grüne Wellensittich by Levin Peter and Elsa Kremser (Perspektive Deutsches Kino 2016) ARTE INTERNATIONAL PRIZE Lost Country by Vladimir Perišić (Serbia), produced by KinoElektron (France), MPM Film (France) and Trilema Films (Serbia) EURIMAGES CO-PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT AWARD Razor Film Produktion (Germany) for The Wife of the Pilot (Director: Anne Zohra Berrached) VFF TALENT HIGHLIGHT AWARD Producer Nefes Polat (Turkey) for The Bus to Amerika (Director: Derya Durmaz)
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‘HONEY BUDDIES’ ‘THE MILLION DOLLAR DUCK’ ‘DRIFTWOOD’ Win Top Awards at Slamdance Film Festival
The 22nd Slamdance Film Festival announced the feature and short film recipients of this year’s Sparky awards in the Audience, Jury, and Sponsored Categories. The Audience Award for Narrative Feature went to HONEY BUDDIES by Alex Simmons (pictured), and the Audience Award for Documentary Feature went to THE MILLION DOLLAR DUCK by Brian Golden David. THE MILLION DOLLAR DUCK by Brian Golden David also won the Jury Award for Documentary Feature, and DRIFTWOOD by Paul Taylor is the winner of the Jury Award for Narrative Feature.
“Congratulations to all of the filmmakers this year. Outside of winning a Sparky, as a collective they showed us the power of real independent film and how much it enriches our lives,” stated Peter Baxter, Slamdance President and Co-founder.
AUDIENCE AWARDS
Audience Award for Narrative Feature:
HONEY BUDDIES dir. by Alex Simmons
When David is dumped just days before his wedding, Flula, his upbeat and very German best man, convinces him to go on David’s honeymoon together: a seven-day backpacking trip through the Oregon wilderness. On the trail, the two friends meet a conspiracy theorist, a friendly backpacker, and a bloodthirsty predator, on an unrelenting trek that tests their friendship and their lives.
Audience Award for Documentary Feature:
THE MILLION DOLLAR DUCK dir. by Brian Golden David
The Million Dollar Duck dives into the wonderfully eccentric world of the Federal Duck Stamp Contest, the only juried art competition run by the U.S. government. The Duck Stamp is among the most successful conservation tools ever created, spawning a uniquely American subculture brimming with talent, big money, and migratory birds. The film follows the artists who competitively paint waterfowl in their obsessive quests to win the “Olympics of wildlife art.”
JURY AWARDS – NARRATIVE
This year’s Slamdance Narrative Jury Prizes were selected by the esteemed panel of industry members Julie La’Bassiere, Erik Jambor, & Damon Russell.
Jury Award for Narrative Feature:
DRIFTWOOD dir. by Paul Taylor
“A thoroughly original outsider voice that leaves us eager to see what the filmmaker creates next.”
The award winner was granted $3,500 in legal services from Pierce Law Group.
Jury Honorable Mention for Acting-Narrative Feature:
HUNKY DORY dir. by Michael Curtis Johnson, starring Tomas Pais and Edouard Holdener
“Two breakout performances; a heartfelt story about love and families, both biological and chosen.”
JURY AWARDS – DOCUMENTARY
This year’s Slamdance Documentary Jury Prizes were selected by the esteemed panel of industry members Skizz Cyzyk, Vanessa Hope, & Steve Yu.
Jury Award for Documentary Feature:
THE MILLION DOLLAR DUCK, dir. by Brian Golden Davis
“With humor and empathy, The Million Dollar Duck looks into the little-known world of avid, nature-loving duck painters who seek to win the glory and financial dividend of being on a federal stamp. Artfully shot and edited, with a colorful cast of characters, the film weaves these human stories into the larger picture of how the annual competition has served to create and protect America’s many wildlife refuges. It’s about more than the duck.”
The award winner was granted $3,500 in legal services from Pierce Law Group.
Jury Honorable Mention for Documentary Feature:
ART OF THE PRANK, dir. by Andrea Marini
“Shining a spotlight on an interesting person whose mission isn’t likely to get exposure from the media, since the media is his deserving victim. Told with a mischievous glee, the artfulness of this film mirrors its content.”
Jury Award for Documentary Short:
IF MAMA AIN’T HAPPY, NOBODY’S HAPPY, dir. by Mea de Jong
“Multi-generational traditions examined from two very different perspectives within a family. Charming sweetness and comedic sadness, all rolled into one thought-provoking short film. A film that makes clear the power of women who go it alone and take charge of their lives when men disappoint.”
The award winner qualifies for the Annual Academy Awards®.
Jury Honorable Mention for Cinematography- Documentary Short:
THE BULLET, dir. by Jordan Bahat, cinematography by Mike Gioulakis
“Beautiful cinematography offering a peek into a profession most of us would never consider. And who doesn’t love the circus?”
JURY AWARDS – SHORT FILMS
The below Short Film Jury Prizes were selected by the esteemed panel of industry members Steve Montal, Ina Pira, and Mark Shapiro.
Jury Award for Narrative Short:
WINTER HYMNS, dir. by Dusty Mancinelli
“A story where innocence, mischief and brazen confidence abruptly meet at a tragic crossroads. There is beauty and sadness here, and the director handles both with natural, unpretentious skill.”
The award winner qualifies for the Annual Academy Awards®.
Jury Honorable Mention for Narrative Short:
THE BEAST, dir. by Daina Oniunas Pusic
“The Beast, produced in Croatia, portrays the strained and codependent relationship of two aging women. It is a sophisticated and elegant portrayal of anger and despair.”
Jury Award for Animation Short:
MY DAD, dir. by Marcus Armitage
“My Dad expresses compelling universal themes — the director’s powerful, heartbreaking message and the film’s bold, colorful palette are perfectly suited to his experimental animation format.”
The award winner qualifies for the Annual Academy Awards®.
Jury Honorable Mention for Animation Short:
FLAWS, dir. by Josh Shaffner
“Flaws brilliantly portrays the trajectory of life and death within a world of helplessness. It beautifully interlaces images, icons, words and music to deliver a powerful piece of thought-provoking cinema in under three minutes.”
The below Short Film Jury Prizes were selected by esteemed industry members Wally Chung, Dekker Dreyer, & Jack Sargeant.
Jury Award for Experimental Short:
INFRASTRUCTURES, dir. by Aurèle Ferrier
“A pensive and serene vision that challenges the audience to consider and reevaluate not just the structure of film, but also the world in which we live.”
Jury Honorable Mention for Experimental Short:
CUP OF STARS, dir. by Ryan Betschart, Tyler Betschart
“The beauty of the mutable universe and the individual; finding the transcendent in the everyday.”
Jury Award for Anarchy Short:
DISCO INFERNO, dir. by Alice Waddington
“An emerging voice with a powerful aesthetic that pays homage to classic cinema while simultaneously affirming a future for visionary film.”
Jury Honorable Mention for Anarchy Short:
GWILLIAM, dir. by Brian Lonano
“Fucking visceral. A fresh take on goblin fun.”
Jury Honorable Mention for Anarchy Short:
HI HOW ARE YOU DANIEL JOHNSTON? dir. by Gabriel Sunday
“A dream meditation on music creativity, mental health, and lost love. A poignant journey into the psyche of the creative mind.”
SPECIAL AWARDS
Spirit of Slamdance Award:
Cast and crew of FURSONAS, dir. by Dominic Rodriguez
The Spirit of Slamdance is awarded by the filmmakers of Slamdance 2016. It goes to the filmmaker who best embodies the spirit of the festival, creatively promoting their film, joyfully participating in screenings and events, and generally putting good energy into the festival.
The Digital Bolex Fearless Filmmaking awards were selected by the esteemed panel of industry members Jeremy Osbern, Misti Boland, Lindsey Haun, Michael Dunaway, Ben Kasulke, Leah Shore & Tina Mabry.
Digital Bolex Fearless Filmmaking Grand Prize:
SMALL TALK dir. by Hilary Campbell
Digital Bolex Fearless Filmmaking Honorable Mention:
YOU WILL FIND A WAY dir. by A.J. Molle
Digital Bolex Fearless Filmmaking Honorable Mention:
EYES OF THE CITY, dir. by Luke Randall