SUFFRAGETTE from BAFTA Award-winning director Sarah Gavron will open the 2015 Savannah Film Festival taking place October 24 to 31, 2015. “Suffragette” is a moving drama that will empower all who are striving for equal rights in our own day and age. Written by Emmy Award winner Abi Morgan, “Suffragette” is inspired by the early-20th-century campaign of the Suffragettes, who were activists for Women’s Suffrage – risking their very lives for the right of women to vote. The cast includes Academy Award nominees Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter, Golden Globe Award nominees Brendan Gleeson and Romola Garai, British Independent Film Award winner Anne-Marie Duff, BAFTA Award winner Ben Whishaw, and three-time Academy Award winner Meryl Streep.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4jBXQM7mIk
Additional films confirmed for the 2015 Savannah Film Festival include:
“Brooklyn” – The profoundly moving story of Eilis Lacey, a young Irish immigrant navigating her way through 1950s Brooklyn. Lured by the promise of America, Eilis departs Ireland and the comfort of her mother’s home for the shores of New York City. The initial shackles of homesickness quickly diminish as a fresh romance sweeps Eilis into the intoxicating charm of love. But soon, her new vivacity is disrupted by her past, and Eilis must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within. The film is distributed by Fox Searchlight. Director: John Crowley. Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson, Julie Walters and Jim Broadbent.
“I Saw the Light” – “I Saw the Light” tells the story of Hank Williams, the iconic, influential country singer and songwriter of the 1940’s and early 50’s whose meteoric rise and fall, including his death at age 29, has become part of American folklore. Writer-director Marc Abraham has created a compelling, historically accurate narrative of Hank’s career that examines his tormented creative genius and the turbulent domestic life that inspired him to write some of his best-known songs. By literally going back in time, you see Hank as he was, living his life on his terms, battling his demons and ultimately creating music for the ages. The film is distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. Director: Marc Abraham. Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth Olsen, Cherry Jones, Bradley Whitford, Maddie Hasson and Wren Schmidt.
“Krisha” – The story of a woman’s return to the family she abandoned years before, set entirely over the course of one turbulent Thanksgiving. When Krisha shows up at her sister’s Texas home on Thanksgiving morning, her close and extended family greet her with a mixture of warmth and wariness. Almost immediately, a palpable unease permeates the air, one which only grows in force as Krisha gets to work cooking the turkey and trying to make up for lost time by catching up with her various relatives, chief among them her nephew, Trey. As Krisha’s attempts at reconciliation become increasingly rebuffed, tension and suspicion reach their peak, with long-buried secrets and deep-seated resentments coming to the fore as everyone becomes immersed in an emotionally charged familial reckoning. The film is distributed by A24. Director: Trey Edward Shults. Cast: Krisha Fairchild, Robyn Fairchild, Bill Wise and Trey Edward Shults. “Lady in the Van” – A big screen adaptation of writer Alan Bennett’s iconic and celebrated memoir. The film tells the true story of the relationship between Alan Bennett and the singular Miss Shepherd, a woman of uncertain origins who ‘temporarily’ parked her van in Bennett’s London driveway and proceeded to live there for 15 years. Their unique story is funny, poignant and life-affirming. The film is distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. Director: Nicholas Hytner. Cast: Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings, Jim Broadbent, Frances De La Tour, and Roger Allam.
“Mia Madre” – Margherita is a director shooting a film with the famous American actor, Barry Huggins, who is quite a headache on set. Away from the shoot, Margherita tries to hold her life together, despite her mother’s illness and her daughter’s adolescence. The film is distributed by Alchemy. Director: Nanni Moretti. Cast: Margherita Buy and John Turturro.
“Miss You Already” – The friendship between two life-long girlfriends is put to the test when one starts a family and the other falls ill. The film is distributed by Roadside Attractions. Director: Catherine Hardwicke. Cast: Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette.
“Room” – Both highly suspenseful and deeply emotional, “Room” is a unique and touching exploration of the boundless love between a mother and her child. After 5-year-old Jack and his Ma escape from the enclosed surroundings that Jack has known his entire life, the boy makes a thrilling discovery: the outside world. As he experiences all the joy, excitement, and fear that this new adventure brings, he holds tight to the one thing that matters most of all—his special bond with his loving and devoted Ma. Based on the international bestselling book by Emma Donoghue. The film is distributed by A24. Director: Lenny Abrahamson. Cast: Brie Larson, William H. Macy, Joan Allen and Jacob Tremblay.
“Son of Saul” – Saul Ausländer is a Hungarian member of the Sonderkommando, the group of Jewish prisoners isolated from the camp and forced to assist the Nazis in the machinery of large-scale extermination. While working in one of the crematoriums, Saul discovers the body of a boy he takes for his son. As the Sonderkommando plans a rebellion, Saul decides to carry out an impossible task: save the child’s body from the flames, find a rabbi to recite the mourner’s Kaddish and offer the boy a proper burial. The film is distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. Director: László Nemes. Cast: Géza Röhrig, Levente Molnár, Urs Rechn, Todd Charmont, Sándor Zsótér and Marcin Czarnik.
“Touched With Fire” – Two manic depressives meet in treatment and begin a romance that brings out all of the beauty and horror of their condition. The film is distributed by Roadside Attractions. Director: Paul Dalio. Cast: Katie Holmes, Luke Kirby and Christine Lahti.
“Truth” – Based on the book “Truth and Duty” by Mary Mapes that tells the incredible true story of Mary Mapes (played by Cate Blanchett), an award-winning CBS News Journalist and Dan Rather’s producer, who broke the Abu-Ghraib prison abuse story, among others. The film chronicles the story Mapes and Rather uncovered that a sitting US president may have been AWOL from the United States National Guard for over a year during the Vietnam War. When the story blew up in their face, the ensuing scandal ruined Dan Rather’s career, nearly changed a US Presidential election, and almost took down all of CBS News in the process. The film is distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. Director: James Vanderbilt. Cast: Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, Topher Grace, Elisabeth Moss and Dennis Quaid.
“Youth” – From Paolo Sorrentino, the director of Italy’s Oscar foreign language winner “The Great Beauty” comes “Youth,” about two longtime friends vacationing in the Swiss Alps. Oscar winning actor Michael Caine plays Fred, an acclaimed composer and conductor, who brings along his daughter (Rachel Weisz) and best friend Mick (Harvey Keitel), a renowned filmmaker. While Mick scrambles to finish the screenplay for what he imagines will be his last important film, Fred has no intention of resuming his musical career. The two men reflect on their past, each finding that some of the most important experiences can come later in life. The film is distributed by Fox Searchlight. Director: Paolo Sorrentino. Cast: Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz and Jane Fonda.Son of Saul
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SUFFRAGETTE to Open 2015 Savannah Film Festival; Lineup Includes BROOKLYN, SON OF SAUL, TRUTH, YOUTH
SUFFRAGETTE from BAFTA Award-winning director Sarah Gavron will open the 2015 Savannah Film Festival taking place October 24 to 31, 2015. “Suffragette” is a moving drama that will empower all who are striving for equal rights in our own day and age. Written by Emmy Award winner Abi Morgan, “Suffragette” is inspired by the early-20th-century campaign of the Suffragettes, who were activists for Women’s Suffrage – risking their very lives for the right of women to vote. The cast includes Academy Award nominees Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter, Golden Globe Award nominees Brendan Gleeson and Romola Garai, British Independent Film Award winner Anne-Marie Duff, BAFTA Award winner Ben Whishaw, and three-time Academy Award winner Meryl Streep.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4jBXQM7mIk
Additional films confirmed for the 2015 Savannah Film Festival include:
“Brooklyn” – The profoundly moving story of Eilis Lacey, a young Irish immigrant navigating her way through 1950s Brooklyn. Lured by the promise of America, Eilis departs Ireland and the comfort of her mother’s home for the shores of New York City. The initial shackles of homesickness quickly diminish as a fresh romance sweeps Eilis into the intoxicating charm of love. But soon, her new vivacity is disrupted by her past, and Eilis must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within. The film is distributed by Fox Searchlight. Director: John Crowley. Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson, Julie Walters and Jim Broadbent.
“I Saw the Light” – “I Saw the Light” tells the story of Hank Williams, the iconic, influential country singer and songwriter of the 1940’s and early 50’s whose meteoric rise and fall, including his death at age 29, has become part of American folklore. Writer-director Marc Abraham has created a compelling, historically accurate narrative of Hank’s career that examines his tormented creative genius and the turbulent domestic life that inspired him to write some of his best-known songs. By literally going back in time, you see Hank as he was, living his life on his terms, battling his demons and ultimately creating music for the ages. The film is distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. Director: Marc Abraham. Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth Olsen, Cherry Jones, Bradley Whitford, Maddie Hasson and Wren Schmidt.
“Krisha” – The story of a woman’s return to the family she abandoned years before, set entirely over the course of one turbulent Thanksgiving. When Krisha shows up at her sister’s Texas home on Thanksgiving morning, her close and extended family greet her with a mixture of warmth and wariness. Almost immediately, a palpable unease permeates the air, one which only grows in force as Krisha gets to work cooking the turkey and trying to make up for lost time by catching up with her various relatives, chief among them her nephew, Trey. As Krisha’s attempts at reconciliation become increasingly rebuffed, tension and suspicion reach their peak, with long-buried secrets and deep-seated resentments coming to the fore as everyone becomes immersed in an emotionally charged familial reckoning. The film is distributed by A24. Director: Trey Edward Shults. Cast: Krisha Fairchild, Robyn Fairchild, Bill Wise and Trey Edward Shults. “Lady in the Van” – A big screen adaptation of writer Alan Bennett’s iconic and celebrated memoir. The film tells the true story of the relationship between Alan Bennett and the singular Miss Shepherd, a woman of uncertain origins who ‘temporarily’ parked her van in Bennett’s London driveway and proceeded to live there for 15 years. Their unique story is funny, poignant and life-affirming. The film is distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. Director: Nicholas Hytner. Cast: Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings, Jim Broadbent, Frances De La Tour, and Roger Allam.
“Mia Madre” – Margherita is a director shooting a film with the famous American actor, Barry Huggins, who is quite a headache on set. Away from the shoot, Margherita tries to hold her life together, despite her mother’s illness and her daughter’s adolescence. The film is distributed by Alchemy. Director: Nanni Moretti. Cast: Margherita Buy and John Turturro.
“Miss You Already” – The friendship between two life-long girlfriends is put to the test when one starts a family and the other falls ill. The film is distributed by Roadside Attractions. Director: Catherine Hardwicke. Cast: Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette.
“Room” – Both highly suspenseful and deeply emotional, “Room” is a unique and touching exploration of the boundless love between a mother and her child. After 5-year-old Jack and his Ma escape from the enclosed surroundings that Jack has known his entire life, the boy makes a thrilling discovery: the outside world. As he experiences all the joy, excitement, and fear that this new adventure brings, he holds tight to the one thing that matters most of all—his special bond with his loving and devoted Ma. Based on the international bestselling book by Emma Donoghue. The film is distributed by A24. Director: Lenny Abrahamson. Cast: Brie Larson, William H. Macy, Joan Allen and Jacob Tremblay.
“Son of Saul” – Saul Ausländer is a Hungarian member of the Sonderkommando, the group of Jewish prisoners isolated from the camp and forced to assist the Nazis in the machinery of large-scale extermination. While working in one of the crematoriums, Saul discovers the body of a boy he takes for his son. As the Sonderkommando plans a rebellion, Saul decides to carry out an impossible task: save the child’s body from the flames, find a rabbi to recite the mourner’s Kaddish and offer the boy a proper burial. The film is distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. Director: László Nemes. Cast: Géza Röhrig, Levente Molnár, Urs Rechn, Todd Charmont, Sándor Zsótér and Marcin Czarnik.
“Touched With Fire” – Two manic depressives meet in treatment and begin a romance that brings out all of the beauty and horror of their condition. The film is distributed by Roadside Attractions. Director: Paul Dalio. Cast: Katie Holmes, Luke Kirby and Christine Lahti.
“Truth” – Based on the book “Truth and Duty” by Mary Mapes that tells the incredible true story of Mary Mapes (played by Cate Blanchett), an award-winning CBS News Journalist and Dan Rather’s producer, who broke the Abu-Ghraib prison abuse story, among others. The film chronicles the story Mapes and Rather uncovered that a sitting US president may have been AWOL from the United States National Guard for over a year during the Vietnam War. When the story blew up in their face, the ensuing scandal ruined Dan Rather’s career, nearly changed a US Presidential election, and almost took down all of CBS News in the process. The film is distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. Director: James Vanderbilt. Cast: Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, Topher Grace, Elisabeth Moss and Dennis Quaid.
“Youth” – From Paolo Sorrentino, the director of Italy’s Oscar foreign language winner “The Great Beauty” comes “Youth,” about two longtime friends vacationing in the Swiss Alps. Oscar winning actor Michael Caine plays Fred, an acclaimed composer and conductor, who brings along his daughter (Rachel Weisz) and best friend Mick (Harvey Keitel), a renowned filmmaker. While Mick scrambles to finish the screenplay for what he imagines will be his last important film, Fred has no intention of resuming his musical career. The two men reflect on their past, each finding that some of the most important experiences can come later in life. The film is distributed by Fox Searchlight. Director: Paolo Sorrentino. Cast: Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz and Jane Fonda.
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2015 Virginia Film Festival Unveils Lineup, to Open with Hank Williams Film I SAW THE LIGHT
The Virginia Film Festival returns to Charlottesville for its 28th year from November 5 to 8, 2015. Opening the 2015 Virginia Film Festival will be I Saw the Light, the Hank Williams film from director Marc Abraham that chronicles the country music legend’s meteoric rise to fame and its tragic consequences on a life cut short at the age of only 29. The film stars Tom Hiddleston in the lead role and Elizabeth Olsen as Williams’ wife Audrey Mae, and is directed by Marc Abraham, a University of Virginia alumnus and VFF Advisory Board member. Marc will be on hand to present the film along with cast members including theater legend and Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor Cherry Jones, and rising Hollywood star Maddie Hasson, who plays Williams’ second wife and widow. “We are delighted to share this film with our audiences,” Kielbasa said “and to celebrate a University of Virginia alumnus and his film, which shines a light on the incredible legacy and troubled life of one of America’s most renowned musical figures.”
The Centerpiece Film is The Lady in the Van, starring the legendary Maggie Smith, in this funny, poignant, and life-affirming true story about an elderly woman of uncertain origins who “temporarily” parked in the London driveway of acclaimed writer Alan Bennett (History Boys) …and proceeded to stay for 15 years. The film is directed by longtime Bennett collaborator Nicholas Hytner (The Madness of King George), and also stars Alex Jennings and Jim Broadbent.
Closing Night Film is Son of Saul, Hungarian director László Nemes’ astonishing directorial debut that created an international sensation when it captured the Grand Prix at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The film offers a raw and rarely-seen first-person perspective on the unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust through the story of a Jewish prisoner and Sonderkommando worker forced to work in a Nazi crematorium. When the man comes across the body of a boy he takes to be his son, he embarks on the impossible task of saving the body from the flames, finding a rabbi to recite the mourner’s Kaddish, and offering the boy a proper burial.
Ithaca – Featuring Special Guest Meg Ryan
The famed actor’s directorial debut, filmed in Virginia, tells the story of a 14-year-old boy in 1942 working as a bike messenger to deliver messages of love, hope, pain…and death, to the people of Ithaca, and how he deals with one particular message that will change him forever. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Saroyan’s 1943 novel The Human Comedy, Ithaca is a coming-of-age story about the exuberance of youth, the abruptness of change, the sweetness of life, the sting of death, and the sheer goodness that lives in each and every one of us.
Spotlight Screenings
Carol – Set in 1952 New York, this new film from award-winning director Todd Haynes tells the story of an aspiring young photographer (Rooney Mara) whose chance department store encounter with an older, married woman (Cate Blanchett) sparks a relationship that changes both of their lives forever.
Entertainment – Richmond, Virginia native Rick Alverson presents this nightmarish account of an entertainer on the brink as an aging comedian tours a series of fourth-rate venues in the California desert while trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Director Alverson will be on hand for a post-film discussion.
In Transit – The final project of the late legendary documentarian Albert Maysles takes viewers on a journey into the hearts and minds of everyday passengers aboard Amtrak’s Empire Builder, America’s busiest long-distance train route, capturing a beautiful portrait of America told in gorgeous landscapes and fascinating interconnected vignettes.
Lamb – A man’s journey to self-discovery, fueled by the disintegration of his marriage and death of his father, takes an unexpected detour when he meets an awkward and unpopular eleven-year-old girl who he takes on a mountain road trip that affects them both in surprising ways. The film’s writer, director and star Ross Partridge will be on hand for a discussion of the film.
Last Days in the Desert – Ewan McGregor plays Jesus and The Devil in an imagined chapter from his 40 days in the desert that finds the two tangling over the fate of a family in crisis in this latest film from director Rodrigo Garcia and produced by U.Va. alumna Julie Lynn and her producing partner Bonnie Curtis at Mockingbird Pictures. Lynn will be on hand for a discussion of the film.
A Light Beneath Their Feet – A high school senior must choose between going to college and taking care of her bipolar mother (played by Taryn Manning) in this film starring Maddie Hasson, who will be on hand to participate in a discussion of the film.
Louder Than Bombs – Writer/director Joachim Trier’s drama follows a father (Gabriel Byrne) and his two sons, played by Jesse Eisenberg and Devin Druid, as they confront their very different memories of their wife and mother, a famed war photographer. Druid will be on hand to discuss the film along with its producer, VFF Advisory Board member Ron Yerxa.
Mully – Actor Scott Haze, a graduate of The Miller School in Albemarle County, makes his directorial debut with this inspiring story of Charles Mully, a one-time Kenyan orphan who rose to great wealth and power then risked it all to launch a foundation dedicated to creating a better life for orphans in the country today. Haze will be on hand for a discussion of the film along with the film’s executive producer, Academy Award-winning filmmaker James Moll.
Project Greenlight Film – Enjoy a sneak peek at the result of HBO’s acclaimed documentary series about filmmaking from executive producers Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. The series focuses on the challenges facing a first-time director as cameras roll from pre-production to casting through principal photography and post production. Director Jason Mann will take part in a conversation about the film.
Documentary Films
Another Way of Living: The Story of Reston, VA –Visionary American planner Robert Simon dreamed of “another way of living” in the suburbs, and in 1964 created the New Town of Reston, Virginia. The film follows his unwavering belief in the project, despite being fired due to financial challenges in its earliest stages, and highlights his insistence that the town remain true to its core principles, even with the challenges brought on by financial success.
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution –Filmmaker Stanley Nelson (Freedom Riders) examines the rise of the Black Panther Party in the 1960s and its impact on civil rights and American culture. Nelson weaves together a treasure trove of source material with the voices of those who lived it- from the Black Panthers themselves to detractors, FBI informants, journalists, white allies, and others.
Bound: Africans versus African Americans – Controversial and illuminating, this documentary from Kenyan-born Peres Owino uses testimonials to expose the seldom-discussed ways that Africans and African Americans view each other, and looks at the cultures’ shared history to foster mutual understanding. Owino will be present to share her film and a post-screening discussion.
Generation A: Portraits of Autism in the Arts – This powerful and insightful film, which features Temple Grandin and Ed Asner, shows how young people on the autism spectrum use the arts to reach their highest potential and to connect with others and build pathways into their community.
Harry & Snowman – This heartwarming documentary about renowned Central Virginian equestrian Harry deLeyer tells the Cinderella love story that began when he paid $80 for a broken down Amish plow horse headed for the glue factory. Two years later, the pair won the triple crown of show jumping, gaining worldwide fame and forging friendship that lasted a lifetime.
Imba Means Sing – An eight-year-old star drummer from Uganda’s Grammy®-nominated African Children’s Choir leads audiences on an inspirational journey highlighted by a life-changing opportunity and showcasing the importance of education.
Rosenwald – Filmmaker Aviva Kempner’s latest film tells the incredible yet too-little-known story of how businessman and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald joined with African-American communities in the South to build schools during the early part of the 20th century, and the ongoing efforts to reconfigure those schools. The screening will be in tribute to Julian Bond, who is featured in the film. Mr. Bond’s wife, Pamela Horowitz, Rita Dove, and director Kempner will be in attendance.
Selma: The Bridge to the Ballot – The true story of the forgotten heroes in the fight for voting rights—the courageous students and teachers of Selma, Alabama, who stood up against injustice despite facing intimidation, arrests, and violence. Presented in partnership with the U.Va. Center for Politics.
Sol LeWitt: Wall Drawings – Filmmakers Edgar B. Howard and Tom Piper present a retrospective of LeWitt’s wall drawings in North Adams, Massachusetts. Born in 1928, LeWitt is considered one of the key pioneers of conceptual art for his belief that concept is more important than execution. This screening supports an exhibition this fall at the Fralin Art Museum.
Until 20 – When James Ragan was 13, he received the most devastating news: he had a rare childhood cancer. What he did after he heard that news is the basis for this film, a moving account of James’ life after his diagnosis that asks the question “how would you live if you knew your life would end at 20?”
Spotlight on Virginia Filmmaking
Coming Through the Rye – Jamie Schwartz, obsessed with Holden Caulfield, runs away from boarding school in the year 1969 to find reclusive author JD Salinger. Inspired by actual events, Jamie’s search for Salinger becomes a journey into sexual awakening, love, and loss in this film directed by James Steven Sadwith.
H8RZ – With the intrigue of a crime thriller, this story of a mysterious high school “incident” tells a many-layered story that unravels throughout the course of the school’s investigation, and cleverly deals with issues of bullying, school corruption, and the darker side of teen interactions. The screening will feature a discussion with writer/director Derrick Borte (from Norfolk, Virginia) and the film’s star, Israel Broussard.
Monroe Hill –This historical documentary-essay film from Charlottesville-based documentarian Eduardo Montes-Bradley traces the roots and historical context of James Monroe’s first home in Albemarle County. The property known as Monroe Hill serves today as the administrative offices of Brown Residential College and is located on the Grounds of the University of Virginia.
Paradise–Produced over the course of eight years beginning in 2007, Paradise is a feature-length non-fiction video by U.Va. professor Lydia Moyer that focuses on seven American stories of abandoned sites, including Wounded Knee, South Dakota; the mining town of Centralia, Pennsylvania; and the site of the Jonestown massacre in Guyana. Moyer’s work will also be featured in this year’s Digital Media Gallery, located in Second Street Gallery.
Polyfaces – Four years in the making, this documentary celebrates the unique connection between food and community found at the third-generation family farm of internationally-acclaimed author and activist Joel Salatin (called the “world’s most innovative farmer” by Time Magazine). The screening will feature a conversation with Joel Salatin alongside filmmakers Lisa Heenan and Darren Doherty.
Night of the Living Deb –Endearingly awkward Deb wakes up in the apartment of the most attractive guy in Portland, Maine. One problem…she doesn’t remember how she ended up there. A second problem…said guy ushers her out the door…and straight into a full-scale zombie apocalypse! Virginia native director Kyle Baker, star Maria Thayer, and cinematographer Tom Ackerman will be present to discuss the film.
International Films
Cemetery of Splendour (Thailand) – Palme d’Or winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives) returns in this mysterious and funny new film about a young medium and middle-aged hospital volunteer who investigate a case of mass sleeping sickness that may have supernatural roots.
Dough (UK/Hungary) – An endearing and heartfelt tale about an old Jewish baker (Jonathan Pryce) who is struggling to keep his business afloat, and then sees sales soar when a young Muslim apprentice accidentally drops cannabis into the dough.
Eisenstein In Guanajuato (Netherlands/Mexico) – Filmmaker Peter Greenaway looks into the mind of the Russian creative genius Sergei Eisenstein and how that filmmaker’s ten days in Mexico in 1931 and the desires and fears of love, sex, and death, he faced there, helped shape the career and legacy of one of the great Masters of Cinema.
In the Basement (Austria) – Ulrich Seldl heads deep into his nation’s consciousness by delving into what its people get up to in their basements, one of the most utilized rooms in Austrian homes. The answers run the gamut from mundane hobbies to shocking obsessions and reveal, in some cases, more than we ever hoped to know.
The Kindergarten Teacher (Israel/France) – A young woman becomes enchanted, then obsessed, with the otherworldly poetic talents of a five-year-old boy, ultimately pushing boundaries in an effort to protect that talent before his purity is lost.
The Pearl Button (Chile) The great Chilean filmmaker Patricio Guzmán uses the metaphor of water, inspired by his nation’s vast coastline, to chronicle the history of the indigenous peoples of Chilean Patagonia, whose decimation by colonial conquest foretold the brutal Pinochet dictatorship.
Mountains May Depart (China) – A sweeping tale from noted Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhang-ke about a town beauty and two suitors that that jumps from the past to the near future to show how China’s economic boom has impacted the bonds of family, tradition, and love.
My Friend Victoria (France) – Adapted from a short story by Nobel Prize®-winning writer Doris Lessing, this powerful tale of race and privilege shifts the scene to Paris to focus on a young orphan girl whose one night in the home of a wealthy family changes has reverberations that change the course of her life.
Sembene! (Senegal) – The unbelievable real life epic about Ousmane Sembene, the “father of African cinema,” tells the tale of an ordinary man who fought enormous odds to give African stories to Africans from the perspective of the man who knew him best.
Summer of Sangaile (Lithuania/France/Netherlands) – A chance meeting between two restless teenagers sets the stage for a summer of awakening, learning to fly, and learning to love, in this beautiful film that earned a prestigious World Cinema Directing Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Taxi (Iran) – Exiled Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi takes the helm, and the wheel, in this slice-of-life documentary that finds him posing as a taxi driver to get a look inside the lives of Tehran residents. The film earned the coveted Golden Bear at the 2015 Berlin Film Festival.
Victoria (Germany) – Shot in a single two hour-plus take, this edge-of-your-seat thriller tells the story of a runaway party girl who spontaneous night out with three men turns into a bank robbery.
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2015 Hamptons International Film Festival to Close with BRIDGE OF SPIES; Reveals Spotlight Films and World Cinema
The 2015 Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) will close with Steven Spielberg’s BRIDGE OF SPIES on Monday, October 12, 2015 at Guild Hall in East Hampton. The festival announced its Spotlight Films along with its World Cinema and Shorts programs; and also revealed that Emily Blunt, Michael Moore and Dan Rather will be in attendance to take part in “A Conversation With…” for the 23rd installment.
The Festival’s closing night film is three-time Academy Award®-winning Steven Spielberg’s BRIDGE OF SPIES, a dramatic thriller set against the backdrop of a series of historic events, BRIDGE OF SPIES is the story of James Donovan (two-time Academy Award® winner Tom Hanks), a Brooklyn lawyer who finds himself thrust into the center of the Cold War when the CIA sends him on the near impossible task to negotiate the release of a captured American U-2 pilot. Written by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen, BRIDGE OF SPIES stars: three-time Tony Award® winner Mark Rylance, Scott Shepherd, Academy Award nominee Amy Ryan, Sebastian Koch, and Academy Award nominee Alan Alda. The Walt Disney Studios and Touchstone Pictures film will release in theaters on October 16, 2015.
This year’s Spotlight Films include the North American Premiere of A ROYAL NIGHT OUT, the US Premieres of I SAW THE LIGHT, THE LADY IN THE VAN, LOUDER THAN BOMBS, the East Coast Premieres of ANOMALISA and MACBETH, and a Sneak Preview of BORN TO BE BLUE. The Spotlight Films will also feature SUFFRAGETTE, WHEN I LIVE MY LIFE OVER AGAIN, BROOKLYN, EXPERIMENTER, MEADOWLAND, and WHERE TO INVADE NEXT directed by Michael Moore, who will attend the festival along with taking part in “A Conversation With…” on Sunday, October 11th, at NOON at Bay Street Theater.
This year’s World Cinema Documentary titles include the World Premieres of THE C WORD, CLASS DIVIDE, HARRY BENSON: SHOOT FIRST, the North American Premiere of BY SIDNEY LUMET, an American Masters Film, the US Premieres of BOLSHOI BABYLON, and the East Coast Premiere of SHERPA. Other films in the section include CROCODILE GENNADIY, DREAM/KILLER, HARRY & SNOWMAN, HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO, IN TRANSIT, PALIO, THE RUSSIAN WOODPECKER “OROSZ HARKÁLY.”
The World Cinema Narrative films include the World Premiere of THE PREPPIE CONNECTION, the North American Premieres of CAFÉ DERBY, BABAI and A MONSTER WITH A THOUSAND HEADS “UN MONSTRU DE MIL CABEZAS,” the US Premieres of 11 MINUTES “11 MINUT,” ALL ABOUT THEM “À TROIS ON Y VA,” DHEEPAN, DISORDER “MARYLAND,” and the East Coast Premieres of 45 YEARS, ROOM, and THE WAVE. The section also includes THE CLUB “EL CLUB,” KRISHA, SON OF SAUL “SAUL FIA.”
The 2015 Hamptons International Film Festival will also present a special screening of Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon’s BEST OF ENEMIES, winner of the 2015 SummerDocs Audience Award.
HIFF will present 10 programs of short films this year, including the Narrative Short Film and Documentary Short Film Competition programs, the New York Women In Film and Television: Women Calling The Shots program, the Ahoy! Shorts for All Ages program and the Crafted program, which features three short films about auteur Claude Lanzmann, and artists Phil Toledano and Hilary Knight.
HIFF previously announced Paolo Sorrentino’s YOUTH as the Southampton Opening Night Film, Tom McCarthy’s SPOTLIGHT as the Saturday Centerpiece Film and Todd Haynes’ CAROL as the Sunday Centerpiece Film, and its Documentary and Narrative Competition Films, which now also includes the North American Premiere of Jonas Carpignano’s MEDITERRANEA.
The full line-up of the 23rd Hamptons International Film Festival is below.
OPENING NIGHT FILM
TRUTH (USA)
Director: James Vanderbilt
Academy Award® winners Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford star in James Vanderbilt’s sharp and insightful take on the controversial CBS 60 Minutes investigation of George W. Bush’s military record that ended Dan Rather’s career as the network’s anchorman. Adapted from producer Mary Mapes’ (Blanchett) account in her book “Truth and Duty: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power,” and featuring exceptional performances by a stellar cast, including Elisabeth Moss, Dennis Quaid, and Topher Grace, TRUTH is a polished and absorbing dramatization of the ever-changing relationship between journalism and politics in today’s media.
SOUTHAMPTON OPENING NIGHT FILM
YOUTH (Italy/France/UK/Switzerland)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Paolo Sorrentino
The stunning new film from Academy Award® winner Paolo Sorrentino (THE GREAT BEAUTY), YOUTH follows two old friends as they vacation in a Swiss luxury resort. Fred (Michael Caine) is a retired composer and conductor, enjoying his retirement and Mick (Harvey Keitel) a film director planning his final film. While musing about their lives and illustrious careers, their pasts resurface and a sense of melancholy disrupts the vacation. With a phenomenal cast of characters, played by Rachel Weisz, Paul Dano, and the iconic Jane Fonda, YOUTH is a whimsical meditation on the crossroads of friendship and aging. Lusciously lensed and scored, the Swiss Alps serve as magical setting for this mesmerizing tour de force.
CENTERPIECE SATURDAY
SPOTLIGHT (USA)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Tom McCarthy
Oscar® nominees Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, and Rachel McAdams star as the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team, assigned by their newly appointed editor Martin Baron (Liev Schreiber) to investigate the allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church. For over a year, they pursued the story relentlessly, despite intense resistance from the highest levels of Boston’s religious, legal, and government establishment. Tom McCarthy’s SPOTLIGHT examines the true story of the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation that uncovered a massive web of pedophilia and systemic cover-ups within the Catholic Church. Aided by a fantastic supporting cast (Stanley Tucci, Billy Crudup), SPOTLIGHT is a nuanced and thrilling procedural about the power and impact of great investigative journalism.
CENTERPIECE SUNDAY
CAROL (UK/USA)
Director: Todd Haynes
With groundbreaking performances from Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara (winner of the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival) as two women entangled in an intoxicating love affair, director Todd Haynes (FAR FROM HEAVEN) illuminates the delicate intricacies of navigating forbidden desire in 1950s New York. Adapting Patricia Highsmith’s semi-autobiographical novel “The Price of Salt,” CAROL is the story of an unlikely bond between an ingenue shop girl dreaming of a better life and an older sophisticated woman trapped in a loveless marriage. A masterfully crafted love story, CAROL is an exquisite and poignant meditation on longing.
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
BRIDGE OF SPIES (USA)
Director: Steven Spielberg
A dramatic thriller set against the backdrop of a series of historic events, BRIDGE OF SPIES is the story of James Donovan (two-time Academy Award® winner Tom Hanks), a Brooklyn lawyer who finds himself thrust into the center of the Cold War when the CIA sends him on the near-impossible task to negotiate the release of a captured American U-2 pilot. Directed by three-time Academy Award®-winning director Steven Spielberg and written by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen, BRIDGE OF SPIES stars: three-time Tony Award® winner Mark Rylance as Rudolf Abel, a KGB agent defended by Donovan; Scott Shepherd as CIA operative Hoffman; Academy Award nominee Amy Ryan as James’ wife, Mary; Sebastian Koch as East German lawyer Vogel; and Academy Award nominee Alan Alda as Thomas Watters, a partner at Donovan’s law firm. Inspired by remarkable true events, Spielberg captures the essence of a man who risked everything and vividly brings his personal journey to life.
SPOTLIGHT FILMS
BORN TO BE BLUE (USA/Canada/UK)
Sneak Preview
Director: Robert Budreau
An intimate portrait of jazz legend Chet Baker (Ethan Hawke), BORN TO BE BLUE is a remarkable reimagining of the iconic musician’s comeback in the 1960s. When approached to star in a film about his heyday and given a chance at redemption, he finds that re-entering the spotlight may not come as smoothly as the notes that made him famous. With girlfriend Jane (Carmen Ejogo, SELMA) by his side, he struggles against addiction and a career-threatening injury to reclaim his former self. With a delicate touch, writer/director Robert Budreau paints an immersive and imaginative look at the trumpeter’s fragile story.
BROOKLYN (Ireland/UK/Canada)
Director: John Crowley
Waving good-bye to her mother and sister in Ireland, Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan) sets sail to follow her American dream in 1950s Brooklyn. With the support of a kind priest, Eilis finds work at an upscale department store and enrolls in school, but it’s only after she meets Tony (Emory Cohen) that she finally feels at home and romance heals her loneliness. When an unexpected tragedy forces Eilis to return home, she finds a renewed love for Ireland. With award-worthy performances and exquisite cinematography, John Crowley’s BROOKLYN is a beautiful tale of a young woman torn between two worlds.
EXPERIMENTER (USA)
Director: Michael Almereyda
EXPERIMENTER follows the infamous social psychologist Stanley Milgram (Peter Sarsgaard), who conducted a series of highly controversial experiments on obedience and authority in the 1960s. In an attempt to better understand the horrific events of the Holocaust, Milgram observed and recorded the responses of a group of subjects instructed to deliver potentially fatal electric shocks to strangers concealed behind a closed door. A refreshing departure from the traditional biopic formula, director Michael Almereyda deftly investigates the inner psyche of this notorious character. With nuanced performances by Sarsgaard and Winona Ryder as Milgram’s wife, EXPERIMENTER is a compelling look at our willingness to follow orders despite our better judgment.
I SAW THE LIGHT (USA)
US Premiere
Director: Marc Abraham
Country music legend Hank Williams is brought to life in Marc Abraham’s I SAW THE LIGHT, a moving tale of success and personal hardship based on Colin Escott’s award-winning biography. Celebrated as one of the most influential singersongwriters of the 20th century, Williams compiled a lasting body of work before his untimely death at the age of 29. With brilliant and complex performances by Tom Hiddleston as Williams and Elizabeth Olsen as his ambitious wife, the film chronicles a restless soul, driven towards the spotlight and unable to resist the temptations that destroyed his health and personal life.
THE LADY IN THE VAN (UK)
US Premiere
Director: Nicholas Hytner
In this “mostly true” story, based on writer Alan Bennett’s (THE MADNESS OF GEORGE III, THE HISTORY BOYS) memoir and popular West End play, the extraordinary Maggie Smith stars as Miss Mary Shepherd, an eccentric high-born woman living out of her van. When Alan (Alex Jennings) moves into his new London home, he soon discovers Miss Shepherd, who mysteriously claims to speak directly with the Virgin Mary, and reluctantly offers her his driveway as a temporary home. Fifteen years later, she is still there. THE LADY IN THE VAN is a hilariously witty story of two strangers who form an unlikely friendship and lasting bond despite their best attempts to be left alone.
LOUDER THAN BOMBS (Norway/France/Denmark)
US Premiere
Director: Joachim Trier
On the eve of an exhibition honoring noted war photographer Isabelle Reed (Isabelle Huppert), whose career was cut short in the wake of her untimely death, a father and two sons grapple with her domestic and professional legacy. Flashbacks of Isabelle’s life intermingle with the present-day attempts of the Reeds to manage their grief amid combat of a different kind. Family patriarch Gene (Gabriel Byrne) discovers secrets about his late spouse while pursuing a new romance and struggling to connect with teenage son Conrad (Devin Druid) and adult son Jonah (Jesse Eisenberg). Past and present coalesce in sharp focus as the surviving Reeds come to terms with love and loss — locating in memories both painful and joyous the skills they need to soldier on…
ANOMALISA (USA)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson
Michael Stone is a man crippled by the mundanity of his life. On a business trip to Cincinnati, he checks into the Fregoli Hotel, where he is amazed to discover a possible escape from his desperation in the form of an unassuming Akron baked goods sales rep who may or may not be the love of his life. A beautifully tender and absurdly humorous dreamscape from the brilliant minds of Charlie Kaufman (SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK) and Duke Johnson (“Community”), this is a darkly comedic and surreal journey. ANOMALISA confirms Charlie Kaufman’s place amongst the most important of American filmmakers, and announces Duke Johnson as a major creative force.
MACBETH (France/UK/USA)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Justin Kurzel
Director: Justin Kurzel Set in the war-torn countryside of 11th century Scotland, MACBETH is the classic story of a brutal warrior who is consumed and eventually defeated by his uncontrollable ambition. In this impressive update, Michael Fassbender and Academy Award® winner Marion Cotillard give award-worthy performances as one of literature’s most notorious couples. After a trio of witches prophesize his ascent to the throne, Macbeth and his cunning wife decide to seize the crown for themselves through brutality and murder. Violent and visceral, director Justin Kurzel delivers an exhilarating adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most renowned tragedies.
MEADOWLAND (USA)
Director: Reed Morano
In her dreamy directorial debut, celebrated cinematographer Reed Morano (KILL YOUR DARLINGS) examines the visceral and isolating experience of grief, and the distortion of reality that occurs following the loss of a child. MEADOWLAND follows distraught parents Sarah (Olivia Wilde) and Phil (Luke Wilson) a year after their 8- year-old son mysteriously disappeared from a gas station bathroom. In the wake of this unimaginable tragedy, they each struggle in their own way to heal. Phil attempts to ease his suffering with the help of a support group, while Sarah seeks a more destructive path. Wilde and Wilson, who give raw, emotional performances as the unraveling couple, are backed by an impressive cast of supporting actors, including Elisabeth Moss, John Leguizamo, Giovanni Ribisi, and Kevin Corrigan.
A ROYAL NIGHT OUT (UK)
North American Premiere
Director: Julian Jarrold
It’s Victory in Europe Day in 1945, and while the King and Queen of England (Rupert Everett and Emily Watson) prefer to observe the end of the Second World War as solemnly as possible, Princesses Elizabeth (Sarah Gadon) and Margaret (Bel Powley) are quite eager to participate in the revelry in the heart of London. Never before allowed to roam freely about in public, each girl is given a disguise, a chaperone, and a curfew. However, the girls quickly ditch their disapproving mother’s itineraries for an unforgettable night of adventure, drinking, and romance.
SUFFRAGETTE (UK)
Director: Sarah Gavron
Inspired by true events, SUFFRAGETTE movingly explores the passion and heartbreak of those who risked all they had for women’s right to vote–their jobs, their homes, their children, and even their lives. Academy Award® nominees Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter, and three-time Academy Award® winner Meryl Streep lead the cast of the powerful drama about the fight for equality in early-20th- century Britain. The stirring story centers on Maud, a working wife and mother who becomes an activist for the Suffragette cause alongside women from all walks of life. SUFFRAGETTE is directed by BAFTA Award winner Sarah Gavron and written by Emmy Award® winner Abi Morgan
WHEN I LIVE MY LIFE OVER AGAIN (USA)
Director: Robert Edwards
Escaping New York City, Jude (Amber Heard) heads to the wintry, desolate Hamptons for some self-reflection and reinvention. The daughter of a famed romantic crooner, Paul Lombard (Christopher Walken), Jude has inherited not only his musical talent, but also his vice of self-destruction. When the aging Paul attempts to revitalize his career with a self-penned comeback song, Jude is pressured to take initiative to shape her life. With a supporting cast that includes Oliver Platt and Hamish Linklater, WHEN I LIVE MY LIFE OVER AGAIN is a charming examination of regret, family, and the evolution of life.
WHERE TO INVADE NEXT (USA)
Director: Michael Moore
In an unexpected twist, Michael Moore’s (BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE, FAHRENHEIT 9/11, SICKO) latest project, WHERE TO INVADE NEXT, does not refer to American imperialism, but rather to Moore himself. Armed with a camera and a flag, the Oscar®-winning documentarian “invades” a slew of European countries in an attempt to learn more about their successful practices and programs. From Norwegian prisons to female-run Icelandic banks, to Italian employee benefits, Moore travels around the world with the intention of bringing these progressive philosophies back to the States. A surprising departure, WHERE TO INVADE NEXT is a refreshingly optimistic look at the possibilities for the future.
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
CHUCK NORRIS VS COMMUNISM (UK/Romania/Germany)
New York Premiere
Director: Ilinca Calugareanu
In the 1980s, the last decade before the revolution overthrew communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, Romania was marred by intense austerity, isolationism and a pervasive cultural blackout. For the oppressed population, a new form of escapism emerged: illicit video nights in which smuggled Western films were shown. The majority of the films were dubbed by the same person, Irina Nistor, one of the most recognizable voices in pre-revolution Romania. First-time director Ilinca Calugareanu’s endearing and entertaining documentary shows how the magic of film created an awakening that helped to instill the seeds of the revolution.
A GERMAN YOUTH “UNE JEUNESSE ALLEMANDE” (France)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Jean-Gabriel Périot
Covering a decade of worldwide political unrest (1965-1975), A GERMAN YOUTH is a compelling portrait of the Baader-Meinhof Group (a.k.a The Red Army Faction), a radical movement which drew into its orbit not only disillusioned students, but also established journalists and intellectuals as well as important filmmakers such as Michelangelo Antonioni, Jean Luc Godard and RW Fassbinder. Culled together from a fascinating pastiche of agitprop, news broadcasts, interviews, student films, and other archival footage, A GERMAN YOUTH provides the context for an ideology that shaped an entire generation.
MISSING PEOPLE (USA)
East Coast Premiere
Director: David Shapiro
Fifteen years after his debut film KEEP THE RIVER ON THE RIGHT, director David Shapiro returns to HIFF with MISSING PEOPLE. The documentary follows Martina Batan, the director of a prominent New York art gallery as she investigates her young brother’s long unsolved murder. At the same time, she obsessively researches and collects the work of New Orleans artist Roy Ferdinand whose paintings are known for their violent and graphic content depicting African American culture in pre-Katrina New Orleans. Martina’s journey is driven by both a hunger for closure and an inexplicable fascination with Ferdinand as an artist and as a loved one to a family she wedges herself into.
NEWMAN (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Jon Fox
Orphan. Entrepreneur. Recluse. Genius. Megalomaniac. Inventor Joseph Newman is all of the above. A controversial figure in the scientific community, Newman rose to notoriety with “The Newman Device,” an electromagnetic machine that he claimed produced more energy than it took to power it. What should have been a revolutionary discovery was stopped by a lengthy and disheartening legal battle with the United States Patent Office. In his enthralling debut, filmmaker Jon Fox deftly seeks to understand the enigmatic inventor — through intimate discussions with Newman’s colleagues and, surprisingly, with the man himself.
THE VISIT “A LÁTOGATÁS” (Finland/Denmark)
New York Premiere
Director: Michael Madsen
Imagining an event that has yet to happen – an alien invasion on Earth – Michael Madsen’s engrossing new documentary leads us on a captivating journey through surreal, slow-motion, dream-like tableaus intercut with interviews with scientists from NASA, SETI (Search For Extraterrestrial Life Institute) and experts from the UN. THE VISIT takes an imagined encounter and stimulates the implications and the potential response from humankind. With questions such as “What makes you happy?,” “Do you know what is good and what is evil?,” “How do you think?” and of course, “Why are you here?,” Madsen constructs an unsettling scenario that forces us to reconfigure our insular mentality and reflect on humanity.
NARRATIVE COMPETITION
EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT “EL ABRAZO DE LA SERPIENTE” (Colombia)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Ciro Guerra
Inspired by the real experiences of explorers in the Amazon, EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT (Colombia’s submission for the Oscars®) centers on the relationship between Karamakate, a shaman of an extinct tribe carrying secrets and traditions, and two scientists in search of a sacred plant, capable of immense healing. Opting for powerful black and white cinematography, director Ciro Guerra tracks their parallel stories over 40 years with trips deep into the jungle. Winner of the top prize at the Cannes Directors Fortnight, the film intimately captures the thirst for knowledge and the ravages of colonialism that have destroyed the harmony and balance at the heart of the indigenous way of life.
FRENCH BLOOD “UN FRANÇAIS” (France)
US Premiere
Director: Diastème
Marco (Alban Lenoir) is a young Neo-Nazi and skinhead who, along with his friends, terrorizes the lower-class suburbs of Paris hoping to clear out the “scum” that is polluting the pure, white landscape of their beloved country. Spanning almost 3 decades in Marco’s life as he struggles to understand his own anger and brutal actions, this evocative and moving portrait–the sophomore effort from writer-director Diastème–offers a rare and unsettling look into the rise of xenophobia in France. With a brilliant performance by Lenoir, this poignant drama distinguishes itself as a unique and powerful work by an emerging talent.
MEDITERRANEA (Italy/France/USA)
North American Premiere
Director: Jonas Carpignano
Ayiva (Koudous Seihon) seizes the opportunity to leave Burkina Faso and find a better life for his daughter in Jonas Carpignano’s gripping feature debut, MEDITERRANEA. Joined by his best friend Abas (Alassane Sy), they embark on the treacherous journey by boat to Italy, only to find that getting to dry land is merely half the battle. Expanding on his award-winning short, A CHJÀNA (HIFF 2014), Carpignano artfully presents a complex portrait of immigration with both urgency and a humanist approach to understanding life on the margins. Inspired by real events and Seihon’s personal journey, MEDITERRANEA offers a profound and intimate look at the migrant crisis.
RAMS “HRÚTAR” (Iceland)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Grímur Hákonarson
Brothers Gummi (Sigurður Sigurjónsson) and Kiddi (Theodór Júlíusson) live side-byside but have not spoken in forty years. Stubborn and competitive, they only communicate via handwritten notes delivered by their loyal sheepdog Somi. When a deadly virus threatens their prize-winning sheep and livelihood, they are forced to come together to save their unique family breed, and themselves, from extinction. Winner of the Un Certain Regard Award in Cannes, RAMS (Iceland’s submission for the Oscars®) details the hardships of daily farm work in remote Iceland with humanism and humor. Stunningly combining otherworldly landscapes and powerful performances, director Grímur Hákonarson expertly builds this gentle comedy to reveal a deeper and emotionally moving tale.
TAKE ME TO THE RIVER (USA)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Matt Sobel
Accompanying his parents to a Nebraskan family reunion couldn’t be more uncomfortable for Ryder (Logan Miller), a gay Californian teenager. For his mother’s sake he agrees to act “normal,” but nonetheless attracts some unwanted attention from his conservative relatives. The only one who seems to like him is 9-year-old Molly (Ursula Parker), but a strange encounter between the two of them raises many questions and places Ryder at the center of a long-buried family secret. A superbly acted drama from first-time filmmaker Matt Sobel, TAKE ME TO THE RIVER reveals itself through Ryder’s perplexed point of view, unfolding in an atmosphere of mystery and trepidation.
WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY
BOLSHOI BABYLON (UK)
New York Premiere
Director: Nick Read
Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet is one of the most esteemed ballet institutions in the world. A high-stakes environment in which some of the best ballet dancers in the world vie for the top spot, only an injury away from a complete career collapse. Behind its gleaming facade lies a world of boundless ambition, intrigue, and corruption that all came to a tragic apex in the 2013 acid-attack against its creative director, Sergei Filin by one of the company’s dancers. Benefiting from an unprecedented access, director Nick Reed follows the company’s attempts to recover after the incident and to redirect the focus back to the talent and artistic brilliance of its dancers.
BY SIDNEY LUMET (USA)
North American Premiere
Director: Nancy Buirski
Nancy Buirski’s BY SIDNEY LUMET is an enthralling portrait of the work and life of one of American cinema’s most accomplished and prolific directors. In a neverbefore-seen conversation recorded three years before his death, Sidney Lumet looks back on everything from his early years growing up in the Yiddish theater world to his distinguished career as a filmmaker. From his classic breakout hit, 12 ANGRY MEN, to his gritty, socially conscious masterpieces DOG DAY AFTERNOON, SERPICO, and NETWORK, Lumet has captivated audiences for decades with his powerful and timeless films. With humor and humility, the celebrated director speaks candidly about his legacy as an artist.
THE C WORD (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Meghan O’Hara
Filmmaker and cancer survivor Meghan O’Hara (producer of FAHRENHEIT 9/11, BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE) wants to change the way we think about cancer. In this daring and intimate film, she investigates the connection between the current cancer epidemic and our western lifestyle, including medical professionals’ tendency to treat only the symptoms and not the underlying causes. Backed by personal experiences and the scientific validation of Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, O’Hara asks us to reconsider the way we currently treat cancer, and advocate instead for societywide lifestyle changes. Narrated by Academy Award® winner Morgan Freeman, THE C WORD challenges us to step up and take control of our health.
CLASS DIVIDE (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Marc Levin
Director Marc Levin (SCHMATTA: RAGS TO RICHES TO RAGS, HIFF ‘09 and HARD TIMES: LOST ON LONG ISLAND, Audience Award HIFF ‘11) presents CLASS DIVIDE, a look into the modern effects of gentrification in West Chelsea, New York, seen through the eyes of students from both sides of the street—one avenue and worlds apart. On one side of the intersection of 10th Avenue and 26th Street sits Avenues, a world-class private school with a $50,000 per year price tag; on the other side sits the Elliott-Chelsea public housing projects, home to thousands of low-income and underemployed residents. In the face of rising inequality, stagnant class mobility, gentrification and much more, the kids from both sides of the street grapple with their relationship to each other amid the stark transformation.
CROCODILE GENNADIY (USA/Ukraine)
Director: Steve Hoover
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Ukraine was left with dysfunctional social and political institutions, resulting in an increase in child homelessness. Pastor Gennadiy Mokhnenko takes matters into his own hands by forcibly abducting drug-addicted children from the streets, and rehabilitating them at his in-patient facility. Over the course of a decade, Gennadiy builds a reputation as a local hero to some, an anarchic vigilante to others. Director Steve Hoover meticulously chronicles this thrilling story with style and dedication. From executive producer Terrence Malick comes CROCODILE GENNADIY, a complex character study of a man who will stop at nothing to carry out his mission.
DREAM/KILLER (USA)
Director: Andrew Jenks
In 2005, Ryan Ferguson, a 21-year-old from Columbia, Missouri, was wrongly convicted of murder by way of a drug addict’s false confession. Andrew Jenks’ timely documentary DREAM/KILLER follows Ryan’s father, Bill, as he wages a decadelong war to prove Ryan’s innocence and overturn his 40-year sentence. Bill’s restless efforts eventually lead to the discovery of legal misconduct, exposing fault lines in the American criminal justice system. Digging into a father’s fight to free his son, Jenks offers a sobering look at how easily a life can be lost to miscarriages of justice, and how an unwavering family bond can make all the difference.
GOOD THINGS AWAIT “SÅ MEGET GODT I VENTE”(Denmark)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Phie Ambo
Biodynamic farmer Niels Stokholm is committed to raising his herd of rare, Danish Red cattle according to their natural instincts. Practicing ancient agricultural techniques, all living things on his farm live in spiritual harmony. In his attempt to get an organic certification for his farm, Stokholm must overcome the unyielding bureaucracy of the EU. Risking everything for his beliefs, Stokholm hopes he won’t be one of the last biodynamic farmers, but rather the first of a new generation. Offering a refreshing alternative to “factory farming,” Phie Ambo’s visually stunning documentary makes a compelling case for nutrition, sustainability, and animal welfare.
THE GREAT ALONE (USA)
New York Premiere
Director: Greg Kohs
This is the inspiring comeback story of underdog Lance Mackey as he tries to live up to his father’s legendary 1978 win of the Iditarod race. His attempt to match his progenitor’s success was postponed when Lance was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2001. Through use of archival footage and home videos, we witness Lance’s unprecedented resilience and desire for greatness. An exhilarating experience, THE GREAT ALONE follows his lifelong journey to overcome his illness and become one of the greatest sled dog racers of all time.
HARRY & SNOWMAN (USA)
New York Premiere
Director: Ron Davis
At the end of World War II, Harry deLeyer journeyed to Long Island, New York, where he made a name for himself as a horse trainer and riding instructor at the exclusive Knox School. His career took a new turn when he paid $80 for an Amish plow horse named Snowman, bound for the glue factory. With the odds against them, Harry and Snowman went on to break show jumping records, becoming household names in the late 1950’s after winning the sport’s Triple Crown. The award winning documentary HARRY & SNOWMAN is a touching tale of a unique, decade-long friendship, told first-hand by Harry, now 85.
HARRY BENSON: SHOOT FIRST (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Matthew Miele, Justin Bare
HARRY BENSON: SHOOT FIRST chronicles the illustrious career of the prolific photographer who initially rose to fame alongside The Beatles, having been assigned to cover their inaugural trip to the United States. With unprecedented “behind the scenes” access, Benson captured some of the most vibrant and intimate portraits ever taken of the most popular band in history. His extensive portfolio includes iconic images of Winston Churchill, Bobby Fischer, Muhammad Ali, Greta Garbo, Michael Jackson, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Robert F. Kennedy assassination. Now 85, workaholic Benson has no intention of stopping.
HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO (USA)
Director: Alexandra Shiva
Finding a date, getting dressed up, and going to a school dance can be difficult for any teenager. For many living with autism, the idea of going to a spring formal is even more intimidating (and even frightening), considering the need to navigate social cues they don’t understand. Alexandra Shiva’s HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO follows a group of young people as they attempt to overcome their fears and prepare mentally, emotionally, and physically for this rite of passage. With a gentle and sensitive eye, Shiva follows the group through counseling and a series of role-play exercises leading up to the big dance.
IN TRANSIT (USA)
Directors: Albert Maysles, Lynn True, Nelson Walker, David Usui, Ben Wu
In his final film, legendary documentarian Albert Maysles (GREY GARDENS, GIMME SHELTER, and HIFF Audience Award winner IRIS) boards the Empire Builder, the most active long-distance train route in America. In a series of thoughtful vignettes, Maysles and his four co-directors quietly capture the journeys of the various passengers and employers aboard the train. Against the backdrop of the wintry North American landscape, we learn each of their stories through personal anecdotes, snippets of overheard conversation, and hushed confessions between new friends. Harrowingly intimate, IN TRANSIT offers a new perspective on the cross-country journey, and acts as a moving farewell to the celebrated filmmaker.
INDIAN POINT (USA)
Director: Ivy Meeropol
Just 35 miles from Times Square looms Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant, an aging facility that has raised a great deal of controversy in the surrounding community. Supported by the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission), the plant’s safety has been a topic of debate for many years. With over 50 million people living in close proximity to the facility, director Ivy Meeropol offers a startling reality check in this powerful documentary. Compiling arguments from environmental activists, journalists, power plant employees and local residents, INDIAN POINT features varied points of view about one of the most concerning issues of our time.
MY LOVE, DON’T CROSS THAT RIVER (South Korea)
Director: Mo-young Jin
An intimate portrait of an elderly couple nearing the end of life, MY LOVE, DON’T CROSS THAT RIVER is as delicate as it is raw. Observing this fragile couple in their South Korean home, director Mo-Young Jin’s camera acts as a fly-on-the-wall, observing a deep love painted through simple acts of affection—from a goodnatured leaf fight to a gentle caress of the cheek. No filmmaking tricks are necessary, as the honest and tender feelings emoted by this husband and wife are all that’s needed to tell this story of true love.
PALIO (UK/Italy)
Director: Cosima Spender
Twice a summer, the Italian city of Siena transforms into a fierce battleground of jockeys representing each of the city’s ten districts in the Palio, the oldest horse race in the world. At the heart of the race are the jockeys, whose success means highesteemed praise but for whom failure could mean dishonor. Following the legendary Gigi Bruscheli, winner of 13 races, and his young protége Giovanni, PALIO gives a rich, all-access account of the city’s passionate relationship with the annual event. Playing like a classic sports drama, director Cosima Spender’s third documentary is a colorful and thrilling cinematic experience.
THE RUSSIAN WOODPECKER “OROSZ HARKÁLY” (Ukraine/UK/USA)
Director: Chad Gracia
The Chernobyl disaster remains a mystery and for Ukrainian artist Fedor Alexandrovic, it fuels an obsession. Haunted by the events that forced his family to evacuate, Fedor begins to investigate the Duga, a massive radio antenna next to the nuclear plant. Once the most expensive Cold War weapon and possibly the key to understanding the explosion, the Duga leads Fedor and filmmaker Chad Gracia on a wild hunt for the truth. Weaving Soviet history with the current events in Ukraine, the Sundance Grand Jury prizewinner THE RUSSIAN WOODPECKER is a highly thrilling documentary about an artist’s courage and determination.
SHERPA (Australia/Nepal)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Jennifer Peedom
April 18, 2014. A 14,000-ton block of ice barrels down Mount Everest, killing 16 Sherpas in its frightening path. In the wake of the worst tragedy to ever befall the mountain, the remaining Sherpas unite to fight for respect and better working conditions, as their share of profits is not proportionate to the risks they regularly take. In Jennifer Peedom’s suspenseful documentary, these unsung heroes of the mountain they call Chomolungma, men who for over 60 years have guided Westerners to triumph upon Everest’s peak, step into the spotlight to tell their story.
SONG OF LAHORE (USA/Pakistan)
Directors: Andy Schocken, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Lahore, Pakistan, was once known for its musical legacy, but with the Islamization of Pakistan in the 1970s, musicians have since struggled to continue their life’s work. When the talented musicians of Sachal Studios decide to fuse their traditional eastern sound with that of Dave Brubeck Quartet’s famous “Take Five,” they create a unique hybrid that unexpectedly finds its audience through social media. Garnering the attention of thousands, including legendary trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, they are invited to perform at Jazz at Lincoln Center. From directors Andy Schocken and Oscar® winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, SONG OF LAHORE is a real-life Cinderella story about the universal power of music.
WORLD CINEMA NARRATIVE
11 MINUTES “11 MINUT” (Poland/Ireland)
US Premiere
Director: Jerzy Skolimowski
After a 5-year absence from filmmaking, celebrated Polish auteur Jerzy Skolimowski (KNIFE IN THE WATER, ESSENTIAL KILLING) makes his glorious return with the gripping 11 MINUTES. Written and directed by Skolimowski, the thriller follows the same 11 minutes as experienced by a diverse group of characters, including a struggling actress, an ambulance driver, a would-be thief, and a hot dog vendor, whose lives are destined to intersect over a single day in Warsaw. Weaving through hotel rooms, private homes, and public spaces, Skolimowski captures the kinetic energy of a major metropolis filled with unique stories. Beautifully photographed and expertly paced, 11 MINUTES will keep you guessing until the very last second.
45 YEARS (UK)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Andrew Haigh
In the midst of planning their 45th anniversary celebration, Kate (Charlotte Rampling) and Geoff’s (Tom Courtenay) seemingly happy marriage is suddenly called into question when he receives a letter concerning his first lover. Haunted by the past, Geoff withdraws into his memories, leaving Kate bewildered and insecure. As their anniversary approaches, Kate becomes increasingly troubled by how little she knows of her husband’s former affair, and how it may have unknowingly affected their own marriage. With outstanding and nuanced performances by Rampling and Courtenay, 45 YEARS quietly exposes the fragility of human relationships.
ALL ABOUT THEM “À TROIS ON Y VA” (France)
US Premiere
Director: Jérôme Bonnell
Charlotte (Sophie Verbeeck) and Micha (Félix Moati) are drifting away from each other and into the arms of Mélodie (Anaïs Demoustier), a young ambitious lawyer. Unaware that the other is having an affair with the same woman, their charade snowballs into a complicated mess of lies and lust, forcing each to reevaluate their relationship. Mélodie, on the other hand, is falling in love with both of them and finding it hard to juggle her romantic entanglements with work. Director Jérôme Bonnell’s ALL ABOUT THEM is a thoughtful rumination on the nature of relationships, carried by strong performances, humor, and passion.
APRIL AND THE EXTRAORDINARY WORLD “AVRIL ET LE MONDE TRUQUÉ”
(France/Canada/Belgium)
East Coast Premiere
Directors: Christian Desmares, Franck Ekinci
In an alternate reality, where scientific innovation has stalled and electricity has yet to be invented, April (voiced by Academy Award® winner Marion Cotillard) is a young scientist trying to find her parents, who were mysteriously abducted while researching a powerful longevity serum. Accompanied by her talking cat Darwin and new friend Julius, April bravely embarks on a journey to discover the truth. From the producers of PERSEPOLIS and renowned graphic novelist Jacques Tardi, APRIL AND THE EXTRAORDINARY WORLD is a riveting adventure through a dystopian society where government agents and a master conspiracy stand in the way of human progress.
BABAI (Germany/Kosovo/Macedonia/France)
North American Premiere
Director: Visar Morina
Ten-year-old Nori (Val Maloku) and his father Gezim (Astrit Kabashi) roam the streets of Kosovo selling cigarettes and barely earning a living. Only a few years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Gezim is lured west to Germany, leaving his son behind in search of a new life. Feeling deserted and desperate to claim some sense of stability, Nori embarks on a dangerous journey to Germany in search of his father—his “babai.” His tenacity, resilience, and sheer grit must be enough to guide him. BABAI (Kosovo’s submission for the Oscars®) marks the feature debuts of Maloku and Kosovo-born writer/director Visar Morina, both of whom demonstrate a profound maturity and quiet intensity in their respective crafts.
CAFÉ DERBY (Belgium)
International Premiere
Director: Lenny Van Wesemael
A born salesman, George can sell anything to anyone. When he hears about the Pope’s visit to a neighboring town, the anticipation of large crowds leads him to uproot his family and move his restaurant for the event that is sure to make him a millionaire. With unconditional support from his youngest daughter Sara, the wild adventure begins! Based on the true story of her extraordinary family, director Lenny Van Wesemael’s feature debut is a visual treat—a roller coaster ride seen through the unassuming eyes of young Sara, whose coming-of-age transpires softly throughout the film.
THE CLUB “EL CLUB” (Chile)
New York Premiere
Director: Pablo Larraín
In a quiet seaside town lies a home of repentance, inhabited by four dishonored priests and a former nun. After the admittance of a new priest creates a fatal stir, bringing unwelcomed visitors, including a victim of child molestation and a church bureaucrat, the home’s still atmosphere trembles. As old demons are brought to light, the priests are forced to bear the weight of their transgressions. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival and Chile’s submission for the Oscars®, THE CLUB’s muted colors, stellar ensemble cast, and dramatic score establish a somber mood that chillingly echoes the crimes of its lead characters.
DHEEPAN (France)
US Premiere
Director: Jacques Audiard
Winner of the Palm D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, DHEEPAN is the stirring new film from renowned French director Jacques Audiard (A PROPHET, RUST AND BONE). Finding himself on the losing side of the brutal civil war in Sri Lanka, a Tamil rebel fighter (Antonythasan Jesuthasan) assumes the identity of a dead man named Dheepan in order to flee the country. Hoping to increase his chances of being granted asylum in Europe, he also finds a “wife” and a “daughter” to serve as his makeshift family. A fascinating observation on the immigrant experience, DHEEPAN follows the family as they struggle to build a new life and unexpectedly find themselves at the center of another conflict.
DISORDER “MARYLAND” (France/Belgium)
US Premiere
Director: Alice Winocour
Vincent (Matthias Schoenaerts, RUST AND BONE) is a Special Forces agent suffering from PTSD after a recent tour in Afghanistan. In between assignments, he is hired to protect the lavish estate of a wealthy Lebanese businessman. While the owner is away, Vincent is charged to look after his beautiful wife Jessie (Diane Kruger, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS) and their young son Ali. Disoriented by paranoia and anxiety, Vincent obsessively looks for danger in every corner of the seemingly peaceful home. Expertly helmed by director Alice Winocour, DISORDER seamlessly transitions from nuanced character drama into a riveting, suspenseful thriller.
FELL (Australia)
North American Premiere
Director: Kasimir Burgess
Having lost his daughter in a tragic accident, Thomas (Matt Nable) withdraws from city life and takes on a new identity as a logger in the town where the accident took place, working side by side with the man who was responsible for his daughter’s death. Marden Dean’s breathtaking cinematography captures the lush, foreboding Victorian Alps and gracefully guides the viewer between two painfully divisive worlds. A tonal achievement, it’s hard to believe that this contemplative, image driven drama is Australian filmmaker Kasimir Burgess’s feature debut.
JAMES WHITE (USA)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Josh Mond
James (Christopher Abbott) is a troubled, unemployed twenty-something trying to survive the chaos of New York City one vice at a time. However, his perpetual adolescence is abruptly put on hold when his mother’s (Cynthia Nixon) battle with cancer forces him to sober up and take care of her. With the pressures and responsibilities of adulthood looming over him, James lashes out and alienates himself from his loved ones, but when his mother’s health takes a turn for the worse, James must find new strength or risk total self-destruction. With his directorial debut JAMES WHITE, Josh Mond explores the deep and complicated relationship between a mother and son, and features a breakout performance from Abbott.
KRISHA (USA)
Director: Trey Edward Shults
Krisha is doing fine. Krisha is doing much better. She will face her family for Thanksgiving because she is sober and she is ready. After years of absence from her family, she returns to reconnect with her son, cook dinner, and prove to her family that she has changed for the better. Completely panicked and teetering on the edge of delirium, Krisha comes face-to-face with her past in the narrative feature Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award winner at this year’s SXSW. With knockout performances, the film tears apart the common portrait of addiction, favoring inventive sound design and raw cinematography. KRISHA is unlike anything you’ve seen before, yet strangely familiar.
LABYRINTH OF LIES “IM LABYRINTH DES SCHWEIGENS” (Germany)
Director: Giulio Ricciarelli
Johann Radmann (Alexander Fehling, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS) is a recently appointed public prosecutor frustrated by the tedious traffic offenses assigned to him. When a local journalist tries to bring the crimes committed at Auschwitz to public attention, Radmann takes on the case against the orders of his supervisor. Fighting against ignorance and willful denial, his investigation uncovers the real horror and lasting wounds in 1958 Germany. Giulio Ricciarelli’s moving and thoughtprovoking LABYRINTH OF LIES (Germany’s submission for the Oscars®) is an artfully rendered account of the fight to identify, locate, and bring the Nazis responsible to trial.
A MONSTER WITH A THOUSAND HEADS “UN MONSTRU DE MIL CABEZAS”
(Mexico)
North American Premiere
Director: Rodrigo Plá
When her insurance company refuses to approve the care her husband needs to survive, Sonia Bonet (Jan Raluy) takes things into her own hands. Up against an unyielding bureaucracy and disinterested workers, she is pushed to her breaking point: with her son in tow, she attempts to fight the system. Rodrigo Plá’s (LA DEMORA, HIFF 2012) new film A MONSTER WITH A THOUSAND HEADS combines socio-political commentary with a tense hostage thriller. With his expertly executed look at fury in the face of injustice, award-winning Plá delivers on the tension and keeps you on the edge of your seat.
THE PREPPIE CONNECTION (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Joseph Castelo
Based on a true story, THE PREPPIE CONNECTION chronicles the exploits of Toby Hammel (Thomas Mann, ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL), a working class prodigy who steps into the elite corridors of Sage Hall, a prep school in his hometown, yet a world away. Vying for acceptance in the privileged culture and trying to charm Alex Hayes (Lucy Fry, VAMPIRE ACADEMY), the beautiful and elusive girl of his dreams, Toby quickly learns the way into the “Preppies” is different than he expected – supplying them with cocaine. Toby uses his connections and fearlessness to impress his new friends, but finds that accessing the world of privilege comes at a steep cost. Director Joseph Castelo’s edgy new film offers a unique and intriguing twist on the line between friendship and fitting in, especially when taken too far.
ROOM (Ireland/Canada)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Lenny Abrahamson
Adapted from the bestselling novel by author and screenwriter Emma Donoghue, ROOM follows Jack (Jacob Tremblay) and his Ma (Brie Larson), who live in a small, locked room. Having never left Room, Jack believes that only the things in the room are real and that everything he sees on TV is make-believe. Right after his fifth birthday, Ma reveals the secret that has kept them confined to the room all these years. A harrowing journey of discovery ensues, and Jack has to come to terms with the fact that there’s more to the world outside Room. A profoundly emotional exploration of the bond between mother and son with gripping performances, including Academy Award® nominees Joan Allen and William H. Macy, ROOM demonstrates the unstoppable force with which these bonds prevail even in the darkest circumstances.
SON OF SAUL “SAUL FIA” (Hungary)
Director: László Nemes
Winner of the Grand Prix Award at the Cannes Film Festival and Hungary’s submission for the Oscars®, SON OF SAUL is the monumental debut feature from Hungarian director László Nemes. Saul Auslander (Géza Röhrig) is a JewishHungarian prisoner in Auschwitz and a member of its Sonderkommando (the body disposal team). With a haunting opening scene that lingers on Saul’s ashen face, his journey through the inferno is transfixing and, ultimately, a poignant danse macabre. When he discovers the body of a boy among the corpses he risks everything to save the corpse from cremation and find a rabbi to recite Kaddish and give him a proper burial. With tightly lensed cinematography, Nemes skillfully recreates the claustrophobic, dehumanizing atmosphere of the camp and its unsettling banality of evil.
UMRIKA (India)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Prashant Nair
In the small Indian village of Jitvapur, America (UMRIKA, as it’s known in the local vernacular) is an alluring utopia, vividly detailed in the fantastic letters Udai sends to his younger brother Ramakant. With Udai’s precise whereabouts unknown, Ramakant embarks on a journey to locate his older brother. What unfolds is a refreshingly energetic coming-of-age film in which idyllic images of America help shape and catalyze Ramakant’s entry into adulthood. With a strong cast that includes Suraj Sharma (LIFE OF PI) and Tony Revolori (THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL), UMRIKA is an inspired tale of love, disappointment, and growth.
VIRGIN MOUNTAIN “FÚSI” (Iceland/Denmark)
Director: Dagur Kári
Shy and awkward, Fusi (Gunnar Jónsson ) is in in his forties and still lives with his mother. Expecting little from his routine life and seldom socializing with others, he floats through a life within his own barriers until the bouncy Sjöfn (Ilmur Kristjánsdóttir) unexpectedly enters his life and he is forced to take a leap. Director Dagur Kári’s fourth film, the award-winning VIRGIN MOUNTAIN is a skillfully told balancing act of two outcasts—a timid hermit and a seemingly grounded extrovert who forces the former out of his shell.
THE WAVE “BØLGEN” (Norway)
East Coast Premiere
Director: Roar Uthaug
Norway’s submission for the Academy Awards®, THE WAVE is based on a terrifyingly plausible scenario. Nestled among Norway’s stunning fjords, Geiranger is one of the most spectacular tourist destinations on the planet. But above it looms a mountain that geologists know will one day collapse, triggering a massive tsunami. When seismic readings on the mountainside start producing unusual data, no one wants to believe that this could be the big one, especially with tourist season at its peak. When the mountain does begins to crumble, every soul in Geiranger has just ten minutes to get to high-ground before the tsunami hits, consuming everything in its path in this pulse-pounding thriller.
FILMS OF CONFLICT AND RESOLUTION
THE ARMOR OF LIGHT (USA)
Director: Abigail E. Disney
With her directorial debut, THE ARMOR OF LIGHT, Abigail Disney presents a candid portrait of a brave evangelical minister who questioned whether someone could be both pro-life and pro-gun. A leader of the anti-abortion movement and his church, Reverend Rob Schenck was forced to reconsider his position after meeting Lucy McBath, a fellow Christian and gun control activist, whose son, Jordan Davis, was shot in Florida. Forming an unlikely alliance, the two embarked on a courageous journey, taking on the NRA and the church, giving hope to the idea that we can unite across party lines and find a common ground.
DEMOCRATS (Denmark)
Director: Camilla Nielsson
More than two decades after president Robert Mugabe’s corrupt dictatorship began, international pressure forced Zimbabwe to assemble a bipartisan committee to begin writing the country’s first democratic constitution. With remarkable access and over the course of three years, director Camilla Nielsson traces the arduous process of negotiations led by two rivals appointed to head the committee as they compete and debate the democratic process. At times dramatic and often comical, DEMOCRATS balances the clash of personalities against the backdrop of Mugabe’s regime with intimate moments of honesty and respect.
HE NAMED ME MALALA (USA)
Director: Davis Guggenheim
Academy Award® winner Davis Guggenheim’s (AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, WAITING FOR SUPERMAN) latest documentary is a candid look into the life of Malala Yousafzai, the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. An advocate for education and children’s rights, Malala was rushed to the hospital after being attacked by the Taliban on October 9, 2012. With the entire world rallied behind her, Malala recovered and co-founded The Malala Fund to empower girls worldwide by facilitating access to education with the belief that “one child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.”
THE HIGH SUN “ZVIZDAN” (Croatia/Slovenia/Serbia)
US Premiere
Director: Dalibor Matanic
The inter-ethnic wars that tore Yugoslavia apart loom large in the background of Dalibor Matanić’s latest film THE HIGH SUN, winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and Croatia’s submission for the Oscars®. Although never shown on screen, the tumult of the conflict seeps through and disrupts the lives of three young couples in stories that mirror the turmoil and healing process of a nation at war with itself. The tryptic spans decades: the first story is set in 1991 at the beginning of the war, the second one in 2001 at the end of the war, and the final one a decade later. With superb performances by Tihana Lazovic and Goran Markovic, THE HIGH SUN illuminates the tenacity of love across hatred and ethnic divides.
THE UNCONDEMNED (USA)
World Premiere
Directors: Michele Mitchell, Nick Louvel
THE UNCONDEMNED tells the gripping and world-changing story of a group of young international lawyers and activists who fought to make rape a crime of war, and the Rwandan women who came forward to testify, to win justice, where there had been none. Up until this point, rape had not been considered a war crime and was committed with impunity. A courtroom thriller and personal human drama, THE UNCONDEMNED beautifully interweaves the stories of the characters in this odyssey, leading to the trial in the International Criminal Court–and the results that changed the world of criminal justice forever
COMPASSION, JUSTICE & ANIMAL RIGHTS
THE CHAMPIONS (USA)
World Premiere
Director: Darcy Dennett
THE CHAMPIONS is the powerful story of the brave individuals who rescued, rehabilitated, and adopted the pit-bulls from NFL quarterback Michael Vick’s violent dog-fighting ring. Despite tremendous pressure from animal welfare organizations to euthanize these animals, a handful of men and women stepped in to give the dogs a second chance. With her inspiring documentary, first time filmmaker Darcy Dennett proves the power of resilience and addresses a variety of important issues, including the unfair stigma surrounding this misunderstood breed, the exploitation of animals for the sake of entertainment, and the way society is too quick to forgive its star athletes.
HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD (UK/Canada)
Director: Jerry Rothwell
In 1971, a group of journalists, scientists, and hippies set sail on a mission to prevent American atomic tests on an Alaskan Island. Transformed by the experience, this small grassroots band of activists launched the start of the Greenpeace movement. Young, media-savvy, and with cameras in hand, they campaigned against the whaling industry and made front-page news. Compiling never before seen footage into a thrilling and high-energy film, Jerry Rothwell’s HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD chronicles the rise of Greenpeace, their dynamic personalities, and the internal ideological debates about the mission of the organization.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
BEST OF ENEMIES (USA)
Audience Award Winner: SummerDocs
Directors: Morgan Neville, Robert Gordon
In 1968, liberal Gore Vidal and conservative William F. Buckley, Jr. were invited to participate in a series of nationally televised debates on the Democratic and Republican national conventions as an attempt to bump up ratings for ABC. BEST OF ENEMIES is the behind-the-scenes look at the explosive live event, filled with deep insults, both personal and political, that launched the shift in public debate from substance to spectacle. From filmmakers Robert Gordon and Academy Award® winner Morgan Neville (TWENTY FEET FROM STARDOM) comes a brilliant and often hilarious take on the verbal boxing match that changed the way we talk about politics.
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2015 Fantastic Fest Announces Final Wave of Films and Events
The 2015 Fantastic Fest running September 24 to October 1st in Austin, Texas, announced its final wave of features and events. Joining Fantastic Fest for the first time, Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson will be in attendance to share their wildly inventive world of stop motion animation ANOMALISA, Cannes Grand Prix winner SON OF SAUL is screening in glorious 35mm, the stunning adult fairytale from GOMORRAH director Matteo Garrone TALE OF TALES will unfurl, Jerusalem Film Festival’s top prize winner TIKKUN, and the World Premiere of the action-thriller CAMINO with Zoe Bell and Fantastic Fest veteran / mayor Nacho Vigalondo as a religious psychopath.
Asia is well represented with a diverse array of titles including Hou Hsiao-hsien’s breathtaking Taiwanese martial arts ballet THE ASSASSIN, Japanese wonder-animator Mamoru Hosoda’s THE BOY AND THE BEAST, and two seminal repertory titles from Hong Kong’s legendary Shaw Brothers Studio. Getting the royal treatment are two wuxia masterpieces, Cheng Pei Pei’s COME DRINK WITH ME and Gordon Liu’s EIGHT DIAGRAM POLE FIGHTER. The Shaw Brothers Studio screenings are being screened in 35mm with COME DRINK WITH ME coming directly from the Shaw Brothers’ archive in China.
Fantastic Fest welcomes back celebrated genre writer Kier-La Janisse to close out the festival’s rep slate with a rare 35mm screening of satanic shocker EVILSPEAK.
Presented by Starz’s ASH VS EVIL DEAD, the FF tradition FANTASTIC DEBATES returns, featuring four rock-’em-sock-’em matches between visiting filmmakers, actors, and journalists. Each debate begins with two rounds of verbal conflict before the stage is transformed into a battleground for full-tilt boxing! Past debaters have included Keanu Reeves, Elijah Wood, Michelle Rodriguez, Uwe Boll, Ti West, and dozens of others ferocious fighters from across the globe!
Other events see Jonah Ray and Kumail Nanjiani make their triumphant return to Fantastic Fest for another night of stand up as they host a live version of Comedy Central’s The Meltdown With Jonah And Kumail. A double helping of Doug Benson serves up a very special Movie Interruption featuring the animal apocalypse extravaganza ROAR and a live recording of his Doug Loves Movies podcast while legendary turntablist, artist and music producer Kid Koala finally joins the Fantastic fray. After nearly two decades of crafting some of the most singularly eclectic turntable creations of all time, Kid Koala will perform live at the Fantastic Fest party as the composer of this year’s genre-bending official selection ZOOM.
See below for the full lineup of newly announced film titles for Fantastic Fest 2015.
ANOMALISA
United States, 2015
Regional Premiere, 90 min
Directors – Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson
Charlie Kaufman’s newest story, a revolutionary and emotional stop-motion animation, follows an unhappy customer service guru looking for an escape from the monotony of his life.
THE ASSASSIN (pictured above)
Taiwan, 2015
US Premiere, 104 min
Director – Hou Hsiao-hsien
After failing to dispatch a corrupt government official, an assassin is disciplined by her master with a mission to murder her cousin (and former betrothed) in order to steal her heart against sentimentality. An immaculate and arresting romantic wu-xia from Taiwan’s chief art-house auteur Hou Hsiao-Hsien.
THE BOY AND THE BEAST
Japan, 2015
US Premiere, 119 min
Director – Mamoru Hosoda
In the latest breathtaking animation by Fantastic Fest veteran Mamoru Hosoda (SUMMER WARS, THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME), nine-year-old Ren becomes the apprentice to beast warrior Kumatetsu and finds himself on the adventure of a lifetime in the beast world Jutengal.
CAMINO
United States, 2015
World Premiere, 104 min
Director – Josh C. Waller
A photojournalist gets more than she bargained for when she snaps a photo of a shadowy religious figure in the jungles of Colombia, triggering a flight – and fight – for her life.
COME DRINK WITH ME
Hong Kong, 1966
Repertory Screening, 95 min
Director – King Hu
One of the foundational classics on which all martial arts cinema is built, COME DRINK WITH ME stars the incomparably talented Chang Pei-Pei as an avenging warrior, Golden Swallow, on a mission to save the local governor’s son from the Jade-Faced Tiger’s gang.
DAG
Norway, 2015
World Premiere, 92 min
Director – Oystein Karlsen
A misanthropic relationship counselor, his (mostly) reformed hippy girlfriend, and his sex addict best friend drive this hugely popular Norwegian TV comedy from the creators of previous fest hit FUCK UP.
DANIEL’S WORLD
Czech Republic, 2015
North American Premiere, 75 min
Director – Veronika Lišková
Veronika’s Lisková’s brave documentary from the Czech Republic takes a very open, unflinching and non-emotional view of the most despised, misunderstood and taboo trait: pedophilia.
THE DEVIL’S CANDY
United States, 2015
U.S. Premiere, 90 min
Director – Sean Byrne
A struggling painter, his wife and his young daughter move into their dream house in rural Austin, Texas, but soon find themselves targeted by both satanic forces and the house’s previous occupants.
DOGLEGS
Japan/ USA, 2015
US Premiere, 89 min
Director – Heath Cozens
A look inside one of the world’s oddest wrestling leagues, where disabled fighters take on able-bodied opponents in brutal and bloody fights for their own dignity and self-respect. From where else but Japan?
THE EIGHT DIAGRAM POLE FIGHTER
Hong Kong, 1984
Repertory Screening, 98 min
Director – Chia-Liang Liu
The great martial arts choreographer Lau Kar-Leung directs this dark tale of betrayal, vengeance and honor, starring Gordon Liu and Alexander Fu Sheng (in his final screen role) as the sole surviving sons of a powerful family massacred in an act of brutal treachery.
FOLLOW
United States, 2015
World Premiere, 74 min
Director – Owen Egerton
When he blacks out after receiving a strange Christmas gift from his girlfriend, Quinn (Noah Segan) wakes the next morning to find his whole world crumbling around him.
THE GLORIOUS WORKS OF G.F. ZWAEN
The Netherlands, 2015
World Premiere, 110 min
Director – Max Porcelijn
A struggling writer turns to his accountant for help and instead discovers a trio of corpses and a bag of money. Could this be help of a different sort, or just a whole new world of trouble?
SATANIC PANIC Book Launch + Screening of EVILSPEAK (in 35mm!)
United States, 1981
Special Screening, 97 min
Director – Eric Weston
The hysteria known as the “Satanic Panic” made its way through every pop-culture pathway in the ‘80s. Relive the era with the launch of SATANIC PANIC: POP CULTURAL PARANOIA IN THE 1980s and a rare 35mm screening of occult fave EVILSPEAK.
SCHNEIDER VS BAX
The Netherlands/Belgium, 2015
US Premiere, 96 min
Director – Alex van Warmerdam
A contract killer’s birthday plans are disrupted when he’s sent to dispatch a drunken writer in this delightfully dark comedy from Dutch auteur Alex van Warmerdam (BORGMAN).
SON OF SAUL
Hungary, 2015
Texas Premiere, 107 min
Director – László Nemes
Saul Ausländer is a Hungarian member of the Sonderkommando, the group of Jewish prisoners isolated from the camp and forced to assist the Nazis in the machinery of large-scale extermination. While working in one of the crematoriums, Saul discovers the dead body of a boy he takes for his son. As the Sonderkommando plans a rebellion, Saul decides to carry out an impossible task: save the child’s body from the flames, find a rabbi to recite the mourner’s Kaddish and offer the boy a proper burial.
SOUTHBOUND
United States, 2015
U.S. Premiere, 87 min
Directors – Radio Silence, Roxanne Benjamin, Patrick Horvath and David Bruckner
Somewhere on a stretch of desert highway, five groups of travelers will find themselves confronting an ever-changing feeling of dread through five interlocking, horrific stories.
TALE OF TALES
France, 2015
U.S. Premiere, 125 min
Director – Matteo Garrone
Monsters, magic and mayhem abound in the incredible stories of three royal families from nearby kingdoms in this ambitious fairy tale epic from acclaimed Italian auteur Matteo Garrone (GOMORRAH, REALITY).
TIKKUN
Israel, 2015
Texas Premiere, 120 min
Director – Avishai Sivan
God’s plan for a Yeshiva student is disrupted when CPR saves his life. He is reborn into a surreal, sexual and disturbing new existence that tests his faith and his father’s mercy.
THE TREACHEROUS
South Korea, 2015
North American Premiere, 131 min
Director – Kyu-dong MIN
Considered the worst tyrant in the long and rather oppressive history of Korea, King Yeonsan enslaved a thousand women to serve his carnal desires. This bawdy, unexpurgated and almost surely exaggerated tale of his sexual exploits is the heir apparent to the notorious 1980s era Hong Kong CAT III classics.
THE WAVE
Norway, 2015
U.S. Premiere, 105 min
Director – Roar Uthaug
A Norwegian geologist and his family fight for their lives after the Akneset mountain pass crumbles into the fjord below, creating a huge tsunami that threatens to wipe out their town.
ZOOM
Canada/ Brazil, 2015
US Premiere, 96 min
Director – Pedro Morelli
Three very different people — an aspiring comic book artist with body image issues, an action director trying to make a more meaningful film, and a model struggling with her first novel — find their stories intersect in earth-shaking ways.
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2015 Telluride Film Festival Official Program Revealed, Incl. CAROL, STEVE JOBS, BLACK MASS
Telluride Film Festival, considered a major launching ground for the fall season’s most talked-about films and award contenders announced its official program selections of over seventy-five feature films, short films and revival programs representing twenty-seven countries, along with special artist Tributes, Conversations, Panels, Student Programs and Festivities. The 2015 Telluride Film Festival will take place Friday, September 4 to Monday, September 7, 2015.
42nd Telluride Film Festival will present the following new feature films to play in its main program:
CAROL (d. Todd Haynes, U.S., 2015) (pictured above)
AMAZING GRACE (d. Sydney Pollack, U.S., 1972/2015)
ANOMALISA (d. Charlie Kaufman, U.S., 2015)
BEAST OF NO NATION (d. Cary Fukunaga, U.S., 2015)
HE NAMED ME MALALA (d. Davis Guggenheim, U.S., 2015)
STEVE JOBS (d. Danny Boyle, U.S., 2015)
IXCANUL (d. Jayro Bustamante, Guatemala, 2015)
BITTER LAKE (d. Adam Curtis, U.K., 2015)
ROOM (d. Lenny Abrahamson, England, 2015)
BLACK MASS (d. Scott Cooper, U.S., 2015)
SUFFRAGETTE (d. Sarah Gavron, U.K., 2015)
SPOTLIGHT (d. Tom McCarthy, U.S., 2015)
RAMS (d. Grímur Hákonarson, Iceland, 2015)
MOM AND ME (d. Ken Wardrop, Ireland, 2015)
VIVA (d. Paddy Breathnach, Ireland, 2015)
TAJ MAJAL (d. Nicolas Saada, France-India, 2015)
SITI (d. Eddie Cahyono, Indonesia, 2015)
HEART OF THE DOG (d. Laurie Anderson, U.S. 2014)
45 YEARS (d. Andrew Haigh, England, 2015)
SON OF SAUL (d. Lázló Nemes, Hungary, 2015)
ONLY THE DEAD (d. Michael Ware, Bill Guttentag, U.S.- Australia, 2015)
TAXI (d. Jafar Panahi, Iran, 2015)
HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT (d. Kent Jones, U.S., 2015)
TIME TO CHOOSE (d. Charles Ferguson, U.S., 2015)
MARGUERITE (d. Xavier Giannoli, France, 2015)
TIKKUN (d. Avishai Sivan, Israel, 2015)
WINTER ON FIRE: UKRAINE’S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM (d. Evgeny Afineevsky, Russia-Ukraine, 2015)
The 2015 Silver Medallion Awards, given to recognize an artist’s significant contribution to the world of cinema, go to filmmaker Danny Boyle (TRAINSPOTTING, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE) who will present his latest film, STEVE JOBS; documentary filmmaker Adam Curtis (THE POWER OF NIGHTMARES) who will present his latest work, BITTER LAKE; and actress Rooney Mara (THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO) who will present CAROL. Films will be shown following the on-stage interview and medallion presentation.
Guest Director Rachel Kushner, who serves as a key collaborator in the Festival’s program, presents the following revival programs:
THE MOTHER AND THE WHORE (d. Jean Eustache, France, 1973)
MES PETITES AMOUREUSES (d. Jean Eustache, France, 1974)
WAKE IN FRIGHT (d. Ted Kotcheff, Australia, 1971)
COCKSUCKER BLUES (d. Robert Frank, U.S., 1979)
A DAY IN THE COUNTRY (d. Jean Renoir, France, 1936) + UNCLE YANCO (d. Agnès Varda, France, 1967)
THE MATTEI AFFAIR (d. Francesco Rosi, Italy, 1972)
Additional film revival programs include DIE NIBELUNGEN (d. Fritz Lang, Germany, 1924) presented by Pordenone Silent Film Festival; L’INHUMAINE (d. Marcel L’Herbier, France, 1924) with the Alloy Orchestra; RETOUR DE FLAMME, a collection of short films curated by Serge Bromberg; and RESTORING NAPOLEON with Georges Mourier who is currently overseeing the six-and-half-hour restoration of the film for Cinémathèque Francaise.
Backlot, Telluride’s intimate screening room featuring behind-the-scenes movies and portraits of artists, musicians and filmmakers, will screen the following nine programs:
CINEMA: A PUBLIC AFFAIR (d. Tatiana Brandrup, Russia, 2015)
THE CENTURY OF THE SELF (d. Adam Curtis, U.K., 2002)
INGRID BERGMAN – IN HER OWN WORDS (d. Stig Björkman, Sweden, 2015)
IN THE SHADOW OF THE GREAT OAKS (d. George Mourier, France, 2005)
PEGGY GUGGENHEIM: ART ADDICT (d. Lisa Immordino Vreeland, U.S., 2015)
SEMBENE! (d. Samba Gadjigo, Jason Silverman, U.S.-Senegal, 2015)
DREAMING AGAINST THE WORLD (d. Tim Sternberg, Francisco Bello, U.S., 2015) + TYRUS (Pamela Tom, U.S., 2015)
Telluride Film Festival annually celebrates a hero of cinema that preserves, honors and presents great movies. The 2015 Special Medallion award goes to Participant Media. Jonathan King and Diane Weyermann will be presented the award prior to a screening of HE NAMED ME MALALA. Other Participant Media films in the festival include SPOTLIGHT and BEASTS OF NO NATION.
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MUSTANG and TOTO AND HIS SISTERS Win Top Awards at 21st Sarajevo Film Festival
MUSTANG directed by Deniz Gamze Ergüven is the winner of the Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Feature Film at the 21st Sarajevo Film Festival. Mustang stars Güneş Sensoy, Doğba Doğuslu, Tuğba Sunguroğlu, Elit Işcan, Ilayda Akdoğan, Nihal Koldaş, and Ayberk Pekcan.
It’s the beginning of the summer. In a village in the north of Turkey, Lale and her four sisters come home from school, innocently playing with boys. The supposed debauchery of their games causes a scandal with unintended consequences. The family home slowly turns into a prison, classes on housework and cooking replace school, and marriages begin to be arranged. The five sisters, driven by the same desire for freedom, fight back against the limits imposed on them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU9JAN8LtIk TOTO AND HIS SISTERS / TOTO ŞI SURORILE LUI directed by Alexander Nanau is the winner of the Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Documentary Film.TOTO ŞI SURORILE LUI brings us the astonishing family story of Toto (10), and his sisters, Ana (17) and Andreea (15). During their mother’s imprisonment, Toto passionately learns dancing, reading and writing, while his sisters try to keep the family together in a world that has long forgotten what the innocence of childhood should be. What happens when we discover that we can get more from life than our parents have to offer ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXtjJbB1Oh4 21st Sarajevo Film Festival Awards OFFICIAL AWARDS COMPETITION PROGRAM – FEATURE FILM HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST FEATURE FILM MUSTANG Turkey, France, Germany, Qatar Director: Deniz Gamze Ergüven SPECIAL JURY PRIZE SON OF SAUL / SAUL FIA Hungary Director: László Nemes SPECIAL JURY MENTION CHEVALIER Greece Director: Athina Rachel Tsangari HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST ACTRESS Güneş Şensoy, Doga Doğuşlu, Tuğba Sunguroğlu, Elit İşcan, Ilayda Akdoğan (MUSTANG / Turkey, France, Germany, Qatar) HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST ACTOR Yorgos Kéntros, Vangelis Mouríkis, Panos Kóronis, Makis Papadimitríou, Yorgos Pyrpassópoulos, Sakis Rouvás (CHEVALIER / Greece) COMPETITION PROGRAMME – SHORT FILM HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST SHORT FILM A MATTER OF WILL / BISERNA OBALA Montenegro Director: Dušan Kasalica SPECIAL JURY MENTION DAMAGED GOODS / KALO Bosnia and Herzegovina Director: Nermin Hamzagić SPECIAL JURY MENTION TUESDAY / SALI Turkey, France Director: Ziya Demirel COMPETITION PROGRAMME – DOCUMENTARY FILM HEART OF SARAJEVO FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM TOTO AND HIS SISTERS / TOTO ŞI SURORILE LUI Romania Director: Alexander Nanau SPECIAL JURY PRIZE FOR COMPETITION PROGRAMME DOCUMENTARY FILM TITITÁ Hungary Director: Tamás Almási SPECIAL JURY MENTION FLOTEL EUROPA Denmark, Serbia Director: Vladimir Tomić HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD ONE DAY IN SARAJEVO / JEDAN DAN U SARAJEVU Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria Director: Jasmila Žbanić Award for the best film of the Competition Programme – Documentary Film dealing with the subject of human rights. HONORARY HEART OF SARAJEVO Atom Egoyan, director Benicio Del Toro, actor KATRIN CARTLIDGE FOUNDATION AWARD 2015 Ran Huang CINELINK AWARDS EURIMAGES COPRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT AWARD A BALLADE Aida Begić / Adis Đapo ARTE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS CINELINK AWARD HAMARAT APARTMENT Huseyin Karabey / Su Baloglu MACEDONIAN FILM AGENCY CINELINK AWARD THE SON Ines Tanović / Alem Babić LIVING PICTURES SERVICE CINELINK AWARD SOLDIERS Ivana Mladenović / Ada Solomon SYNCHRO FILM VIENNA CINELINK AWARD A BALLADE Aida Begić / Adis Đapo HAMARAT APARTMENT Huseyin Karabey / Su Baloglu THE SON Ines Tanović / Alem Babić EAVE SCHOLARSHIP Alem Babić WORK IN PROGRESS AWARDS POST REPUBLIC AWARD THE FIXER Adrian Sitaru / Anamaria Antoci RESTART AWARD GODLESS Ralitza Petrova / Rossitsa Valkanova YOUNG AUDIENCE AWARD NEXT TO ME Serbia Stevan Filipović 21st SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL PARTNERS AWARDS HT ERONET AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST FEATURE FILM MUSTANG Turkey, France, Germany, Qatar Deniz Gamze Erguven HT ERONET AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM CHASING A DREAM Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia Mladen Mitrović ASSOCIATION OF FILMMAKERS IN B&H – “IVICA MATIĆ” AWARD Mirsad Purivatra for his contribution to B&H cinema Zoran Galić for his contribution to B&H cinema CINEUROPA PRIZE SUPERWORLD Austria Karl Markovics CICAE AWARD THE HIGH SUN Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia Dalibor Matanić EDN TALENT GRANT I LIKE THAT SUPER MOST THE BEST Croatia Eva Kraljević SARAJEVO SHORT FILM NOMINEE FOR THE EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS 2015 TRANSLATOR Turkey Emre Kayiş Best Pack & Pitch Award (Talents Sarajevo Pack & Pitch) The best pitch Anda Puscas Ismet Kurtulus BH FILM STUDENT PROGRAMME AWARD Best film: VEJDA: ENCHANTED WORLD OF FAIRIES Julia Klier (ASU Sarajevo) Special Jury Award IMPERATIV Jelena Ilić Todorović (Akademija umjetnosti Banja Luka) Special Jury Mention WOYZECK Adi Selimović (ASU Sarajevo) DOCU ROUGH CUT BOUTIQUE AWARDS Work in Progress Digital Cube Award KORIDA Siniša Vidović HBO Adria Award KORIDA Siniša Vidović IDFA Award LITTLE BERLIN WALL Toma Chagelishvili CAT &Docs Award CINEMA, MON AMOUR Alexandru Belc Croatian Radiotelevision Award (HRT) CINEMA, MON AMOUR Alexandru Belc
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SON OF SAUL, Paul Thomas Anderson’s JUNUN Among 53rd New York Film Festival Special Events and Revivals Lineup
The 53rd New York Film Festival (NYFF), taking place September 25 – October 11 announced the lineup for Special Events and Revivals. The Special Events lineup includes important new works and premieres, as well as a very special celebration of a beloved musical fantasia. The Revivals selections includes 11 international masterpieces from renowned filmmakers whose diverse and eclectic works have been digitally remastered, restored, and preserved with the assistance of generous partners, including Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation, celebrating its 25th anniversary.
The Special Events lineup returns with Film Comment Presents, originally launched during NYFF in 2013 with the premiere of the award-winning 12 Years a Slave. This year’s selection, Son of Saul, (pictured above) László Nemes’s shattering film about the horror of Auschwitz, recently won the Grand Prix at Cannes, and has been selected as Hungary’s official entry for the foreign-language film category of the Academy Awards. Making its North American Premiere in the festival is Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow’s film portrait De Palma, chronicling director Brian De Palma’s illustrious six-decade-long career, his life, and his personal views on the filmmaking process (De Palma’s masterful Blow Out will also screen in Revivals). Another established American filmmaker turning his attention from narrative to intimate documentary study is Paul Thomas Anderson, whose latest film, Junun, will World Premiere in the Special Events section. Junun follows the musical journey of his close friend and collaborator Jonny Greenwood to northern India, to record an album with an Israeli musician Shye Ben Tzur and illustrious local musicians.
Additional highlights include renowned artist Laurie Anderson (this year’s NYFF poster designer!) who will premiere her first feature in 30 years, a personal essay entitled Heart of a Dog. Anderson’s response to a commission from Arte, the film is a work of braided joy and heartbreak and remembering and forgetting, at the heart of which is a lament for her late beloved piano-playing and finger-painting dog Lolabelle. The recently announced NYFF Filmmaker in Residence, Athina Rachel Tsangari, will also present her latest film, Chevalier, which will be making its U.S. Premiere fresh on the heels of the Locarno and Toronto International Film Festivals.
Following the NYFF tradition of special anniversary screenings (which in the past have included The Princess Bride’s 25th anniversary, This Is Spinal Tap’s 30th anniversary, and Dazed and Confused’s 20th anniversary), the festival is proud to present a special evening celebrating the 15th anniversary of Joel and Ethan Coen’s beloved roots-musical fantasia O Brother, Where Art Thou?, set in the rural south in the 1930s and based on Homer’s The Odyssey. The Coen Brothers and cast members will be on hand for this journey, and there will be a special musical performance.
The Revivals selection for this year’s festival includes a diverse group of 11 international offerings from master filmmakers like Akira Kurosawa, Brian De Palma, Hou Hsiao-hsien, King Hu, Manoel de Oliveira, and more. These restorations include a suite of movies that have been restored with the assistance of Martin Scorsese’s nonprofit Film Foundation. Established in 1990, the Foundation has helped to save, protect, and preserve over 700 films, working in partnership with archives and studios from around the globe. This year’s Revivals section includes seven films restored with the Foundation’s help: Ousmane Sembene’s Black Girl, Hou Hsiao-hsien’s The Boys from Fengkuei, Ernst Lubitsch’s Heaven Can Wait, Lino Brocka’s Insiang, John Ford’s The Long Voyage Home, Marcel Ophüls’ The Memory of Justice, and Luchino Visconti’sRocco and His Brothers. The Lubitsch film will be screened in a new 35mm print, courtesy of 20th Century Fox.
Not to be missed is Akira Kurosawa’s astonishing Ran, the NYFF’s 1985 Opening Night selection, returning to the festival in a newly restored version, where the color palette is unlike that of any other movie made before or since. King Hu’s three-years-in-the-making masterpiece, A Touch of Zen, will also be shown in a beautiful restoration, which was presented at this year’s edition of Cannes, 40 years after the film’s first unveiling to Western eyes. The late, great Manoel de Oliveira’s 1982 film Visit, or Memories and Confessions will also be included in the Revivals lineup this year, after having been hidden away from audiences by the filmmaker himself for over 30 years.
FILMS & DESCRIPTIONS
Special Events
Filmmaker in Residence Screening:
Chevalier
Athina Rachel Tsangari, Greece, 2015, DCP, 104m
Greek with English subtitles
Six men set out on the Aegean Sea aboard a yacht, and before long, male bonding and one-upmanship give way to a loosely defined yet hotly contested competition to determine which of them is “the best in general.” As the games and trials grow more elaborate and absurd—everything is up for judgment, from sleeping positions to cholesterol levels to furniture-assembly skills—insecurities emerge and power relations shift. As in her 2010 breakthrough, Attenberg, Athina Rachel Tsangari, the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s 2015 Filmmaker in Residence, balances anthropological precision with a wry and wholly original sense of humor. Impeccably staged, crisply photographed, and buoyed by eclectic soundtrack choices (Petula Clark, Mark Lanegan), this maritime psychodrama becomes both funnier and richer in its implications as it progresses. What begins as a lampoon of bourgeois machismo and male anxiety develops into an incisive allegory for the state of contemporary Greece, and leaves a final impression as an empathetic, razor-sharp study of human nature itself. The Filmmaker in Residence program was launched in 2013 by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Jaeger-LeCoultre as an annual initiative designed to support filmmakers at an early stage in the creative process against the backdrop of New York City and the New York Film Festival (NYFF). U.S. Premiere
De Palma
Noah Baumbach & Jake Paltrow, USA, 2015, DCP, 107m
Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow’s fleet and bountiful portrait covers the career of the number one iconoclast of American cinema, the man who gave us Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Blow Out, and Carlito’s Way. Their film moves at the speed of De Palma’s thought (and sometimes works in subtle, witty counterpoint) as he goes title by title, covering his life from science nerd to New Hollywood bad boy to grand old man, and describes his ever-shifting position in this thing we call the movie business. Deceptively simple, De Palma is finally many things at once. It is a film about the craft of filmmaking—how it’s practiced and how it can be so easily distorted and debased. It’s an insightful and often hilarious tour through American moviemaking from the 1960s to the present, and a primer on how movies are made and unmade. And it’s a surprising, lively, and unexpectedly moving portrait of a great, irascible, unapologetic, and uncompromising New York artist. In conjunction with this film, we will also be showing De Palma’s masterpiece Blow Out. North American Premiere
Heart of a Dog
Laurie Anderson, USA/France, 2015, DCP, 75m
In Laurie Anderson’s plainspoken all-American observational-autobiographical art, voices and harmonies and rhythms and images are juxtaposed and layered, metaphors are generated, and the mind of the viewer/listener is sent spinning into the stratosphere. It’s been nine years since her last film and almost 30 since her last feature. Heart of a Dog is her response to a commission from Arte, a work of braided joy and heartbreak and remembering and forgetting, at the heart of which is a lament for her late beloved piano-playing and finger-painting dog Lolabelle. Life in the neighborhood—downtown New York after 9/11… the archiving of surveillance records in ziggurat-like structures… Lolabelle’s passage through the bardo… recollections of deaths and near-deaths, terrors personal and global, sad goodbyes and funny ones, dreams and imagined flights… acceptance: Heart of a Dog is as immediate as a paragraph by Kerouac, as disarmingly playful as a Cole Porter melody, as rhapsodically composed as a poem by Whitman, and a thing of rare beauty.
Junun
Paul Thomas Anderson, USA, 2015, English and Indian, DCP, 54m
English, Hindu, Hebrew, and Urdu with English subtitles
Earlier this year, Paul Thomas Anderson joined his close friend and collaborator Jonny Greenwood on a trip to Rajasthan in northwest India, where they were hosted by the Maharaja of Jodhpur, and he brought his camera with him. Their destination was the 15th-century Mehrangarh Fort, where Greenwood (with the help of Radiohead engineer Nigel Godrich) was recording an album with Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur and an amazing group of musicians: Aamir Bhiyani, Soheb Bhiyani, Ajaj Damami, Sabir Damami, Hazmat, and Bhanwaru Khan on brass; Ehtisham Khan Ajmeri, Nihal Khan, Nathu Lal Solanki, Narsi Lal Solanki, and Chugge Khan on percussion; Zaki Ali Qawwal, Zakir Ali Qawwal, Afshana Khan, Razia Sultan, Gufran Ali, and Shazib Ali on vocals; and Dara Khan and Asin Khan on strings. The finished film, just under an hour, is pure magic. Junun lives and breathes music, music-making, and the close camaraderie of artistic collaboration. It’s a lovely impressionistic mosaic and a one-of-a-kind sonic experience: the music will blow your mind. World Premiere
Anniversary Screening:
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Joel and Ethan Coen, 2000, USA, DCP, 107m
This year marks the 15th anniversary of Joel and Ethan Coen’s beloved roots-musical fantasia, “based upon The Odyssey, by Homer,” about three escaped convicts (George Clooney, Tim Blake Nelson, and John Turturro) trying to get back home in the rural South of the 1930s. Bigger than life, endlessly surprising, eye-popping (“they wanted it to look like an old hand-tinted picture,” said DP Roger Deakins), and as giddily and defiantly unclassifiable as all other Coen films, O Brother, Where Art Thou? is, among many other things, a celebration of American music. With a score curated and produced by T-Bone Burnett, the movie sings with voices and sounds of some of the best musicians in the country, including Ralph Stanley, the Fairfield Four, Alison Krauss, John Hartford, Emmylou Harris, and Gillian Welch, and the melodies of classics like “Big Rock Candy Mountain,” “I’ll Fly Away,” and the film’s touchstone, “Man of Constant Sorrow.” Cast members, musical guests, and Joel and Ethan Coen will be on hand. Bring your instrument! A Touchstone Pictures and Universal Pictures release.
Film Comment Presents:
Son of Saul
László Nemes, Hungary, 2015, 35mm, 107m
Hungarian and German with English subtitles
A film that looks into the abyss, this shattering portrait of the horror of Auschwitz follows Saul (Géza Röhrig), a Sonderkommando tasked with delivering his fellow Jews to the gas chamber. Determined to give a young boy a proper Jewish burial, Saul descends through the death camp’s circles of Hell, while a rebellion brews among the prisoners. A bombshell debut from director and co-writer László Nemes, Son of Saul is an utterly harrowing, ultra-immersive experience, and not for the fainthearted. With undeniably virtuoso plan-séquence camerawork in the mode of Nemes’s teacher Béla Tarr, this startling film represents a new benchmark in the historic cinematic depictions of the Holocaust. A deeply troubling work, sure to be one of the year’s most controversial films. A Sony Picture Classics release.
Revivals
Blow Out
Brian De Palma, USA, 1981, 35mm, 107m
One of Brian De Palma’s greatest films and one of the great American films of the 1980s, Blow Out is such a hallucinatory, emotionally and visually commanding experience that the term “thriller” seems insufficient. De Palma takes a variety of elements—the Kennedy assassination; Chappaquiddick; Antonioni’s Blow-Up; the slasher genre that was then in full flower; elements of Detective Bob Leuci’s experiences working undercover for the Knapp Commission; the harshness and sadness of American life; and, as ever, Hitchcock’s Vertigo—and swirls and mixes them into a film that builds to a truly shattering conclusion. With John Travolta, in what is undoubtedly his greatest performance, as the sound man for low-budget movies who accidentally records a murder; Nancy Allen, absolutely heartbreaking, as the girl caught in the middle; John Lithgow as the hired killer; and De Palma stalwart Dennis Franz as the world’s biggest sleaze. This was the second of three collaborations between De Palma and the master DP Vilmos Zsigmond. MGM Home Entertainment.
Ran
Akira Kurosawa, Japan/France, 1985, DCP, 160m
Japanese with English subtitles
The 1985 New York Film Festival opened with Akira Kurosawa’s astonishing medieval epic, inspired by the life of Mori Motonari, a 16th-century warlord with three sons. It was only after he began writing that the filmmaker started to see parallels with King Lear. It took a decade for Kurosawa to bring his grand conception to the screen—he actually painted storyboards of every shot along the way, and made another great film, Kagemusha, as a dry run. The finished work he eventually gave us was, to put it mildly, a mind-blowing experience. Tatsuya Nakadai is the warlord, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, and Daisuke Ryu are his sons, Mieko Harada is the terrifying Lady Kaede, the score is by Toru Takemitsu, but the dominant force looming over every single element of this film, down to the smallest detail, is Kurosawa himself. The color palette of Ran is unlike that of any other movie made before or since, as you’ll see in this newly restored version. Restoration by StudioCanal with the participation of Kadokawa Pictures. A Rialto Films release.
A Touch of Zen
King Hu, Hong Kong, 1971/75, DCP, 200m
Mandarin with English subtitles
When it comes to the wuxia film, all roads lead back to the great King Hu: supreme fantasist, Ming dynasty scholar, and incomparable artist. For years, Hu labored on his own, creating one exquisitely crafted film after another (with astonishing pre-CGI visual effects), elevating the martial-arts genre to unparalleled heights and, as the film critic and producer Peggy Chiao noted in her obituary for Hu, single-handedly introducing Chinese cinema to the rest of the world. Hu’s three-years-in-the-making masterpiece, A Touch of Zen, was released in truncated form in Hong Kong in 1971 and yanked from theaters after a week. A close-to-complete version was constructed by Hu and shown at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival, where Hu won a grand prize for technical achievement (which earned King Hu an apology from his studio heads). This beautiful restoration of A Touch of Zen was presented at this year’s edition of Cannes, 40 years after the film’s first unveiling to Western eyes. Restored in 4K by L’Immagine Ritrovata, with original materials provided by the Taiwan Film Institute. A Janus Films release.
Visit, or Memories and Confessions
Manoel de Oliveira, Portugal, 1982, 35mm, 73m
Portuguese with English subtitles
The late, great Manoel de Oliveira stipulated that this film—made in 1982—be screened publicly only after his death. One of the Portuguese master’s most exquisite and moving films, and certainly his most personal, Visit assumes the rare form of an auto-elegy. A prowling camera finds Oliveira, who died at 106 this past April, in the Porto house where he had lived for four decades and that he is preparing to leave due to mounting debts. He addresses the audience directly, setting the film’s droll, convivial tone, and discusses a wide range of topics (family history, cinema, architecture), shares home movies, and reenacts his run-in with the military dictatorship. Oliveira’s improbable career took the form of a long goodbye, but this actual farewell is no less touching in its simplicity and lucidity. He made the film at age 73, presumably expecting he was near the end of his life. He would in fact live another 33 years and make another 25 or so films, some of them among his greatest, in an extended twilight that was also an artistic prime unlike any other. An Instituto Portugues de Cinema release.
Celebrating 25 Years of The Film Foundation
This year marks the 25th anniversary of The Film Foundation. Following his successful campaign in the early ’80s to develop a more durable color film stock, Martin Scorsese founded the organization to raise awareness of the fragility of film and to create a genuine consciousness of film preservation. Since its inception in 1990, TFF has partnered with archives, studios, and labs around the world to restore over 700 films. We’re presenting seven of their newest restorations.
Black Girl / La Noire de…
Ousmane Sembene, France/Senegal, 1965, DCP, 65m
French with English subtitles
Ousmane Sembene’s first feature—really, the movie that opened the way for African cinema in the West—is by turns tough, swift, and true in its aim. A young woman (Mbissine Thérèse Diop) leaves Senegal with dreams of a more carefree and glamorous existence in France, where she procures a job as a live-in maid and nanny for a young couple in the French Riviera. She is gradually deadened by the endless routines and tasks and rhythms of life in the tiny apartment, and by the dissatisfactions felt by the husband and wife, which they project onto their “black girl.” Sembene’s “perfect short story,” wrote Manny Farber, naming it as his movie of 1969, “is unlike anything in the film library: translucent and no tricks, amazingly pure, but spiritualized.” A formative and eye-opening work, and one of Sembene’s finest. Restored by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project in collaboration with the Sembene Estate, Institut National de l’Audiovisuel, INA, Eclair laboratories, and Centre National de Cinématographie. Restoration carried out at Cineteca di Bologna/L’Immagine Ritrovata Laboratory. A Janus Films release.
The Boys from Fengkuei
Hou Hsiao-hsien, Taiwan, 1983, DCP, 101m
Mandarin with English subtitles
This “group portrait of four laddish adolescents on the razzle in Kaohsiung as they approach the onset of adult life” (Tony Rayns) is Hou Hsiao-hsien’s fourth film, but he has long considered it to be the real beginning of his career as a moviemaker. “I had very intense feelings at the time,” Hou told Sam Ho, “and I think the film has an intense energy. An artist’s early work might be lacking in craft but, at the same time, be very powerful, very direct. Later, when I wanted to return to that initial intensity, I no longer could.” In the tradition of Fellini’s I Vitelloni, The Boys from Fengkuei is a deeply personal look back at the director’s own adolescence—at the boredom of living in the middle of nowhere and the overwhelming need to get up and move, and get out and away to the big city. A glorious young-man’s film, and the first great work of the Taiwanese New Wave. Restoration by the Cineteca di Bologna. A Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique release.
Heaven Can Wait
Ernst Lubitsch, USA, 1943, 35mm, 112m
The legendary Ernst Lubitsch’s portrait of a turn-of-the-century hedonist extraordinaire begins at the gate of hell—not Dante’s Inferno but a handsome art-deco waiting room, where a courtly Satan (Laird Cregar) conducts an admission interview with the recently deceased Henry Van Cleve (Don Ameche). Henry’s leisurely stroll through the past is a very funny comedy of manners and a lovely rendering of Old New York. Lubitsch’s writing with Samson Raphaelson — Satan: “I presume your funeral was satisfactory.” Henry: “Well, there was a lot of crying, so I believe everybody had a good time.”—and his meticulous direction are all of a piece. The film’s glorious, candy-box Technicolor has now been beautifully restored by Schawn Belston and his team at 20th Century Fox, just in time for the 100th Anniversary of the Fox Film Corporation. With Gene Tierney, Louis Calhern, Eugene Pallette, Marjorie Main, and Charles Coburn as Henry’s grandfather and fellow black sheep. Restored by 20th Century Fox in collaboration with the Academy Film Archive and The Film Foundation. A 20th Century Fox release.
Insiang
Lino Brocka, Philippines, 1976, DCP, 95m
Tagalog and Filipino with English subtitles
In Lino Brocka’s searing 1976 melodrama (one could use the same adjective to describe all of his melodramas), the eponymous heroine, played by Hilda Koronel, is raped by her mother’s boyfriend, then blamed for provoking the act and forced out of her own home. “Insiang is, first and foremost, a character analysis,” wrote the director. “I need this character to recreate the ‘violence’ stemming from urban overpopulation, to show the annihilation of a human being, the loss of human dignity caused by the physical and social environment…” The people in Brocka’s films live in dire circumstances, offset by their extreme vitality and their electrically charged encounters. Insiang, a failure on its home ground but the first film from the Philippines to be invited to Cannes, is one of its director’s best. It is also the second of Brocka’s works to be restored by the World Cinema Project. With Mona Lisa as Insiang’s mother. Restored in 2015 by Cineteca di Bologna/L’Immagine Ritrovata. Restoration funding provided by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and the Film Development Council of the Philippines. A Film Foundation release.
The Long Voyage Home
John Ford, USA, 1940, DCP, 105m
Independently produced by Walter Wanger, John Ford’s soulful, heartbreaking film is based on four Eugene O’Neill one-acts about life at sea (the playwright himself loved the movie so much that he acquired his own 16mm print). Ford, working with his screenwriter Dudley Nichols and his brilliant cameraman Gregg Toland (they had just collaborated on The Grapes of Wrath), updates the plays to World War II and condenses the action, creating tonal variations on the aching loneliness of life at sea and the longing for home. In the words of Ford biographer Joseph McBride, the director and his DP “broke all the rules of conventional Hollywood cinematography” and created “a doom-laden mood with deep pools of light and shadow”—seen to full advantage in this beautiful restoration. The Long Voyage Home is a true ensemble piece featuring many of the actors that comprised Ford’s “stock company,” including Thomas Mitchell, Barry Fitzgerald and his brother Arthur Shields, John Qualen, and, unforgettably, John Wayne as the Swedish sailor Ole. Restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Restoration funding provided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and The Film Foundation. A Westchester Films and Shout! Factory release.
The Memory of Justice
Marcel Ophüls, UK/USA/France/Germany, 1976, DCP, 278m
French with English subtitles
The third of Marcel Ophüls’ monumental inquiries into the questions of individual and collective guilt fueling the calamities of war and genocide, The Memory of Justice examines the defining tragedies of the Western world in the second half of the 20th century, from the Nuremberg trials through the French-Algerian war to the disaster of Vietnam, building from a vast range of interviews, from Telford Taylor (Counsel for the Prosecution at Nuremberg, later a harsh critic of our escalating involvement in Vietnam) to Nazi architect Albert Speer to Daniel Ellsberg and Joan Baez. As Vincent Canby wrote in The New York Times when The Memory of Justice was screened at the 1976 New York Film Festival, Ophüls’ film “expands the possibilities of the documentary motion picture in such a way that all future films of this sort will be compared to it.” Seldom seen since its premiere and then only in rare 16mm prints, the film has now been painstakingly restored. Restored by the Academy Film Archive in association with Paramount Pictures and The Film Foundation. Restoration funding provided by The Material World Charitable Foundation, Righteous Persons Foundation, and The Film Foundation. A Film Foundation release.
Rocco and His Brothers
Luchino Visconti, Italy/France, 1960, DCP, 177m
Italian with English subtitles
Luchino Visconti’s rich and expansive masterpiece, the story of a mother and her grown sons who head north from Lucania in search of work and new lives, has an emotional intensity and a tragic grandeur matched by few other films. Visconti turned to Giovanni Testori, Thomas Mann, Dostoyevsky, and Arthur Miller for inspiration, and he achieved an truly epic sweep: in one beautifully realized scene after another, we observe the tragic progress of a tightly knit family coming apart, one frayed thread at a time. Alain Delon is Rocco, Renato Salvatori is his brother Simone, Annie Girardot is the woman who comes between them, and Katina Paxinou is the matriarch, Rosaria. Rocco and His Brothers, one of the great and defining films of its era, has now been beautifully restored, and Giuseppe Rotunno’s black-and-white images are once again as pearly and lustrous as they were meant to be. Restored by Cineteca di Bologna/L’Immagine Ritrovata in association with Titanus, TF1 Droits Audiovisuels, and The Film Foundation. Restoration funding provided by Gucci and The Film Foundation. A Milestone Film release.
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Woody Allen’s new film, IRRATIONAL MAN + Major Titles to Have Spanish Premiere at 63rd San Sebastian Festival
The 63rd San Sebastian Festival will offer, as part of its Pearls section, the Spanish premiere of some of the most important films presented during the year at different international festivals.
Among the films selected are the Golden Bear-winner at the Berlin Festival, Taxi Teheran by Jafar Pahani; Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, by Alfonso Gómez-Rejón, Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival; Nie yinniang / The Assassin, by Hou Hsiao-Hsien, the Jury Grand Prix-winner and Best Director Award at the Cannes Festival, Saul Fia / Son of Saul, by László Nemes. The section will similarly include works by directors such as Arnaud Desplechin, Jia Zhang-ke, Charlie Kaufman, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Nanni Moretti, Pablo Trapero and Denis Villeneuve.
Woody Allen’s new film, Irrational Man (pictured above), will also be screened out of competition in the section. The remaining Pearls will compete for the Audience Award, decided according to the votes cast by attendees of the first public screening of each film in the section. The Audience Award comes with two prizes: a First Prize for the Best Film, with €50,000, and a Second Prize for the Best European Film, with €20,000. The Audience Award goes to the distributor of the film in Spain.
ANOMALISA
CHARLIE KAUFMAN, DUKE JOHNSON (USA)
Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson tell the tale of a man who struggles with his inability to connect with other people. Spanish premiere following its screening at the Venice Festival.
BLACK MASS
SCOTT COOPER (USA)
Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton and Benedict Cumberbatch star in this film presented out of competition at the Venice Festival. FBI Agent John Connolly persuades Irish mobster Jimmy Bulger to collaborate with the FBI and eliminate a common enemy: the Italian mob. This unholy alliance spirals out of control.
EL CLAN (THE CLAN)
PABLO TRAPERO (ARGENTINA – SPAIN)
Pablo Trapero’s new movie is a competitor at the Venice Festival. Argentina, in the early 80s. Behind the facade of a typical family from the upmarket San Isidro neighbourhood lurks a sinister clan that kidnaps and murders for a living.
HITCHCOCK / TRUFFAUT
KENT JONES (FRANCE – USA)
Fifty years after the publication of François Truffaut’s book “Cinema According to Hitchcock” filmmaker Kent Jones invites some of the best directors of our time (Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Richard Linklater, Wes Anderson, James Gray, Olivier Assayas…) to share their thoughts on the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock.
ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL
ALFONSO GÓMEZ-REJÓN (USA)
The amusing and moving tale of Greg, a student in his last year of high school who navigates the minefield of adolescent social life by steering away from all close relations. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.
MIA MADRE
NANNI MORETTI (ITALY – FRANCE – GERMANY)
Nanni Moretti competed at the Cannes Festival with this film about Margherita, a director shooting a film with a famous American actor, who is quite a character on set. Away from the shoot, Margherita tries to hold her life together while feeling powerless when facing her mother’s illness and her daughter’s adolescence.
NIE YINNIANG / THE ASSASSIN
HOU HSIAO-HSIEN (TAIWAN)
Hou Hsiao-Hsien won Best Director at the Cannes Festival with his latest work. China, 9th century. Nie Yinniang comes home after years in exile, now a trained vigilante. When her mistress orders her to kill her cousin, she will have to choose between the man she loves and her loyalty to the “order of the Assassins”.
SAUL FIA / SON OF SAUL
LÁSZLÓ NEMES (HUNGARY)
Winner of the Jury Grand Prix at the Cannes Festival, this debut by Hungarian moviemaker László Nemes is set in Auschwitz, 1944. Saul Auslander is a Hungarian prisoner assigned to one of the Auschwitz crematorium ovens. He tries to save the body of a young boy he believes to be his son from the flames.
SHAN HE GU REN / MOUNTAINS MAY DEPART
JIA ZHANG-KE (CHINA – FRANCE – JAPAN)
Spanish premiere of Jia Zhang-ke’s latest movie following its screening in the official competition at the Cannes Festival. China, 1999, two childhood friends court a young girl from Fenyang. One has his future mapped out for him, but not the other. The young girl’s heart is divided between the two, but she must take a decision that will mark her life, and that of her son.
SICARIO
DENIS VILLENEUVE (USA)
In the border area stretching between the U.S. and Mexico, an FBI agent is enlisted by an elite North American government task force official to aid in the escalating war against drugs. The new film by Denis Villeneuve competed in the Cannes Official Selection 2015.
TAXI TÉHÉRAN
JAFAR PANAHI (IRAN)
Golden Bear-winner at the last Berlin Festival. A yellow taxi drives through the hustling, bustling streets of Teheran. The taxi picks up all sorts of passengers, each one more colourful than the last. All talk frankly to the driver. What they don’t realise is that the person interviewing them is none other than the director Jafar Pahani, one of the biggest names in today’s Iranian cinema.
TROIS SOUVENIRS DE MA JEUNESSE / MY GOLDEN DAYS
ARNAUD DESPLECHIN (FRANCE)
Arnaud Desplechin revisits the rich emotional landscape of Comment je me suis disputé… (My Sex Life…) and Un conte de Noël (A Christmas Tale) with this film presented at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. Paul remembers his youth and his first, and only, true love…
UMIMACHI DIARY / OUR LITTLE SISTER
HIROKAZU KORE-EDA (JAPAN)
A film by Japanese moviemaker Hirokazu Kore-eda which competed in the Cannes Official Selection. Three sisters share a house in the city. They haven’t seen their father for 15 years. When he dies, the three travel to the countryside for his funeral. There they meet their shy teenage half-sister. It won’t be long before they grow fond of the girl.
Not in competition
IRRATIONAL MAN
WOODY ALLEN (USA)
Not in competition
Woody Allen’s new film, presented at the last Cannes Festival, is about a tormented philosophy professor who finds a will to live when he commits an existential act.
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2015 Cannes Film Festival Awards, DHEEPAN by Jacques Audiard Wins Palme d’or
The Jury of the 68th Cannes Film Festival, presided by Joel and Ethan Coen picked DHEEPAN by Jacques Audiard (pictured above) the winner of Palme d’or award. In the film, “to escape the civil war in Sri Lanka, a former soldier, a young woman and a little girl pose as a family. They end up settling in a housing project outside Paris. They barely know one another, but try to build a life together.”
After receiving the prize, presented by the actress Cécile de France and the two Presidents of the Feature Films Jury, Joel and Ethan Coen, Jacques Audiard said: “I am very moved. I knew it would have an effect on me. I’d like to thank Michael Haneke for not filming this year. I’d also like to thank my actors, without whom there would be no film, nor a Palme d’or. Receiving a prize from the Coen brothers is just incredible! Alexandre Dumas’ son spoke about his father as “this child I had so young”. Tonight, I’m thinking of my father”.
The Grand Prix, considered the runner up prize, was awarded to Saul Fia (Son of Saul) by László Nemes. Described as “October 1944, Auschwitz-Birkenau. Saul Ausländer is a Hungarian member of the Sonderkommando, the group of Jewish prisoners isolated from the camp and forced to assist the Nazis in the machinery of large-scale extermination. While working in one of the crematoriums, Saul discovers the corpse of a boy he takes for his son. As the Sonderkommando plans a rebellion, Saul decides to carry out an impossible task: save the child’s body from the flames, find a rabbi to recite the mourner’s Kaddish and offer the boy a proper burial.”
After he had received the prize from the Danish actor, Mads Mikkelsen, László Nemes declared: ” This was my first time in Cannes. We wanted this film to tell the new generation about the destruction of European Jews, I’m happy to have made this film using roll. It’s the magic of cinema! ”
The complete list of winners of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival awards
FEATURE FILMS – COMPETITION
Palme d’or
DHEEPAN by Jacques Audiard
Grand Prix
SAUL FIA (Son of Saul) by László Nemes
Best Director Award
Hou Hsiao-Hsien for NIE YINNIANG (The Assassin)
Jury Prize
THE LOBSTER by Yorgos Lanthimos
Best Actress Award
Rooney Mara in CAROL by Todd Haynes
Emmanuelle Bercot in MON ROI by MAÏWENN
Best Actor Award
Vincent Lindon in LA LOI DU MARCHÉ (The Measure of a Man) by Stéphane Brizé
Best Screenplay Award
Michel Franco for CHRONIC
SHORT FILMS – COMPETITION
Palme d’or
WAVES ’98 by Ely Dagher
UN CERTAIN REGARD
UN CERTAIN REGARD AWARD
HRÚTAR (Rams) by Grímur Hákonarson
JURY PRIZE
ZVIZDAN (The High Sun) by Dalibor Matanić
BEST DIRECTOR PRIZE
Kiyoshi Kurosawa for KISHIBE NO TABI (Journey to the Shore)
UN CERTAIN TALENT PRIZE
COMOARA (Treasure) by Corneliu Porumboiu
Joint PROMISING FUTURE PRIZE
MASAAN (Fly Away Solo) by Neeraj Ghaywan
NAHID by Ida Panahandeh
CAMÉRA D’OR
LA TIERRA Y LA SOMBRA (Land and Shade) by César Augusto Acevedo
CINÉFONDATION
First Prize
SHARE by Pippa Bianco
AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women, USA
Second Prize
LOCAS PERDIDAS (Lost Queens) by Ignacio Juricic Merillán
Carrera de Cine y TV Universidad de Chile, Chile
Joint Third Prize
THE RETURN OF ERKIN by Maria Guskova
High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors, Russia
Joint Third Prize
VICTOR XX by Ian Garrido López
ESCAC, Spain
The Jury of the CST awarded the VULCAN AWARD OF THE TECHNICAL ARTIST to:
Tamas ZANYI, sound engineer, for the outstanding contribution of sound to the narration of SAUL FIA (Son of Saul) by László NEMES.