The 2015 Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) revealed 11 additional films set to appear in its ‘Cinema of The World’ program. The first new addition to the lineup is the suspenseful and dramatic award-winning film ‘The Clan’, by Argentinian director Pablo Trapero (pictured above), which won the ‘Silver Lion’ award at the 2015 Venice Film Festival. Based on the true story of the Puccio family, ‘The Clan’ follows the disturbing story of a sinister 1970s family whose existence revolves around the kidnapping of wealthy people for ransoms paid by the victims’ families.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWia2xcELuI
Next up is the gripping drama, ‘Truth’, starring Robert Redford and Cate Blanchett. From American director, James Vanderbilt, ‘Truth’ offers a behind-the-scenes look at news anchor, Dan Rather, during his final days at CBS News when he broadcast a damaging report about President Bush’s avoidance of fighting for his country in the Vietnam War. More than a decade after his departure, Dan Rather is given a touching send-off by James Vanderbilt in a compelling dramatization that demonstrates that the truth of the matter is sometimes more complicated than it seems.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqOz8-Sto1g
Renowned filmmaker Kamal Swaroop brings his controversial and highly acclaimed film ‘The Battle for Banaras’ inspired by Nobel laureate Elias Canetti’s book, ‘Crowds and Power’ to DIFF. This searing documentary lays bare the underbelly of politics in the world’s largest democracy interweaving Indian history with contemporary politics. The film is set against the backdrop of elections in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal battle for people’s affection and votes in the holy city of Banaras. ‘The Battle for Banaras’ takes no prisoner’s in uncovering the manipulation of the masses by the country’s political elite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXu3XcTwkDM
The deep scars of civil war are the subject of award-winning filmmaker Dalibor Matanić’s latest feature ‘The High Sun’ which took home the Jury Prize in Un Certain Regard at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Set over 3 consecutive decades in neighbouring Balkan Villages, Matanić’s film examines the inter-ethnic hatred in the former Yugoslavia through three different loves stories. The tension that should drive these forbidden couples apart after years of bitter war is precisely that which brings them together. A visually lush film with superb performances from the two leads; ‘The High Sun’ is arguably Matanić’s strongest film to date and is sure to be an audience favourite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcWDMgipJ78
Set in the final days of a dying logging town, Australian director Simon Stone’s tension-filled family drama ‘The Daughter’ starring Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush follows the story of Christian, a man who returns to his family home for a wedding only to unearth a long-buried family secret. In an attempt to put things right he threatens to shatter the lives of those he left at home all those years ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1Isgwfl9LQ
Irish director Lenny Abrahamson’s latest feature, ‘Room’, is based on Emma Donoghue’s 2010 best-selling novel of the same name, and recently won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, which is often the barometer for future Academy Awards. The drama centres on a mother played by Brie Larson and her young son Jack kidnapped and held in a tiny, windowless room for seven years. Eventually the mother devises an escape plan and they are thrust out into the world beyond the “room” to adjust to the strange, terrifying and wondrous world outside their one-room prison.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPZqF_TPTGs
Directors Andy Schocken and Oscar®–winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s documentary ‘Song of Lahore’, is a moving and uplifting look at cultural preservation and a group of passionate and skilled musicians who risk their own safety to inspire listeners from all over the globe. Since the time of Pakistan’s independence, the city of Lahore was world-renowned for its music. Then with the Islamization of Pakistan in the 1970s, many of Lahore’s most accomplished and celebrated musicians struggled to continue their life’s work. ‘Song of Lahore’ turns the spotlight on a group of brave musicians that kept on playing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_AVWUDomFk
Acclaimed South African director Oliver Hermanus’s ‘The Endless River’ follows the life of a young waitress. The film sees her welcome home her husband to the small South African town of Riviersonderend (Endless River) after a four-year stint in jail. ‘The Endless River’ depicts the hardships of life and sees the young woman form an unlikely bond with a grieving widower as they help each other to transcend their mutual anger, pain and loneliness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybZQx_d38O4
Russian director Alexander Sokurov guides the audience on a remarkable artistic journey through history in his latest film ‘Francofonia’ which played to acclaim at the Venice film festival. Sokurov’s inventive film looks at the inner workings of the Louvre, and the history of its great patrons who realised the importance of protecting world art for posterity, particularly during times of war.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGF7vZALBQU
Multi-award winning Romanian filmmaker, Corneliu Poromboiu, brings his acclaimed film ‘The Treasure’ to DIFF audiences. Told through the exploits of a working class father on the hunt for vaguely promised ‘treasure’ that could lead to a better life for him and his young family, this darkly comic feature examines the lengths that an individual will go to in order to achieve their dreams, even when they know reality may not match up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d56mX1P6p2U
One of the defining movements in British history is captured on screen in Sarah Gavorn’s ‘Suffragette.’ This powerful film features powerhouse performances from Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter as Maud Watts and Edith New, two of the central characters in the ‘suffrage’ movement in the early 20th century. ‘Suffragette’ has been praised for its unflinching look at the evolution of the group, from its peaceful origins to the acts of protest that brought the attention of the world to the issue of women’s rights in Britain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=056FI2Pq9RY
Australian actor, director and writer Jeremy Sims rounds off this announcement for the Cinema of The World programme with his heartwarming epic, ‘Last Cab to Darwin’, which tells the tale of Rex, a Broken Hill cab driver, on his 3000km journey across Australia. Having spent his entire life shunning personal relationships, Rex discovers he has stomach cancer and so, unwilling to burden anyone with his care, he begins his epic journey to Darwin where newly passed euthanasia laws would allow him to take his life into his own hands. On his seemingly endless travels across Australia the distant cabbie meets a handful of travelers who force him to reevaluate his life, and it is at this point that Rex decides that a life not shared is a life not lived.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hypCdpjTMDISong of Lahore
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11 More Films Added to 2015 Dubai International Film Festival ‘Cinema of The World’ Program Lineup
The 2015 Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) revealed 11 additional films set to appear in its ‘Cinema of The World’ program. The first new addition to the lineup is the suspenseful and dramatic award-winning film ‘The Clan’, by Argentinian director Pablo Trapero (pictured above), which won the ‘Silver Lion’ award at the 2015 Venice Film Festival. Based on the true story of the Puccio family, ‘The Clan’ follows the disturbing story of a sinister 1970s family whose existence revolves around the kidnapping of wealthy people for ransoms paid by the victims’ families.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWia2xcELuI
Next up is the gripping drama, ‘Truth’, starring Robert Redford and Cate Blanchett. From American director, James Vanderbilt, ‘Truth’ offers a behind-the-scenes look at news anchor, Dan Rather, during his final days at CBS News when he broadcast a damaging report about President Bush’s avoidance of fighting for his country in the Vietnam War. More than a decade after his departure, Dan Rather is given a touching send-off by James Vanderbilt in a compelling dramatization that demonstrates that the truth of the matter is sometimes more complicated than it seems.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqOz8-Sto1g
Renowned filmmaker Kamal Swaroop brings his controversial and highly acclaimed film ‘The Battle for Banaras’ inspired by Nobel laureate Elias Canetti’s book, ‘Crowds and Power’ to DIFF. This searing documentary lays bare the underbelly of politics in the world’s largest democracy interweaving Indian history with contemporary politics. The film is set against the backdrop of elections in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal battle for people’s affection and votes in the holy city of Banaras. ‘The Battle for Banaras’ takes no prisoner’s in uncovering the manipulation of the masses by the country’s political elite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXu3XcTwkDM
The deep scars of civil war are the subject of award-winning filmmaker Dalibor Matanić’s latest feature ‘The High Sun’ which took home the Jury Prize in Un Certain Regard at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Set over 3 consecutive decades in neighbouring Balkan Villages, Matanić’s film examines the inter-ethnic hatred in the former Yugoslavia through three different loves stories. The tension that should drive these forbidden couples apart after years of bitter war is precisely that which brings them together. A visually lush film with superb performances from the two leads; ‘The High Sun’ is arguably Matanić’s strongest film to date and is sure to be an audience favourite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcWDMgipJ78
Set in the final days of a dying logging town, Australian director Simon Stone’s tension-filled family drama ‘The Daughter’ starring Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush follows the story of Christian, a man who returns to his family home for a wedding only to unearth a long-buried family secret. In an attempt to put things right he threatens to shatter the lives of those he left at home all those years ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1Isgwfl9LQ
Irish director Lenny Abrahamson’s latest feature, ‘Room’, is based on Emma Donoghue’s 2010 best-selling novel of the same name, and recently won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, which is often the barometer for future Academy Awards. The drama centres on a mother played by Brie Larson and her young son Jack kidnapped and held in a tiny, windowless room for seven years. Eventually the mother devises an escape plan and they are thrust out into the world beyond the “room” to adjust to the strange, terrifying and wondrous world outside their one-room prison.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPZqF_TPTGs
Directors Andy Schocken and Oscar®–winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s documentary ‘Song of Lahore’, is a moving and uplifting look at cultural preservation and a group of passionate and skilled musicians who risk their own safety to inspire listeners from all over the globe. Since the time of Pakistan’s independence, the city of Lahore was world-renowned for its music. Then with the Islamization of Pakistan in the 1970s, many of Lahore’s most accomplished and celebrated musicians struggled to continue their life’s work. ‘Song of Lahore’ turns the spotlight on a group of brave musicians that kept on playing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_AVWUDomFk
Acclaimed South African director Oliver Hermanus’s ‘The Endless River’ follows the life of a young waitress. The film sees her welcome home her husband to the small South African town of Riviersonderend (Endless River) after a four-year stint in jail. ‘The Endless River’ depicts the hardships of life and sees the young woman form an unlikely bond with a grieving widower as they help each other to transcend their mutual anger, pain and loneliness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybZQx_d38O4
Russian director Alexander Sokurov guides the audience on a remarkable artistic journey through history in his latest film ‘Francofonia’ which played to acclaim at the Venice film festival. Sokurov’s inventive film looks at the inner workings of the Louvre, and the history of its great patrons who realised the importance of protecting world art for posterity, particularly during times of war.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGF7vZALBQU
Multi-award winning Romanian filmmaker, Corneliu Poromboiu, brings his acclaimed film ‘The Treasure’ to DIFF audiences. Told through the exploits of a working class father on the hunt for vaguely promised ‘treasure’ that could lead to a better life for him and his young family, this darkly comic feature examines the lengths that an individual will go to in order to achieve their dreams, even when they know reality may not match up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d56mX1P6p2U
One of the defining movements in British history is captured on screen in Sarah Gavorn’s ‘Suffragette.’ This powerful film features powerhouse performances from Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter as Maud Watts and Edith New, two of the central characters in the ‘suffrage’ movement in the early 20th century. ‘Suffragette’ has been praised for its unflinching look at the evolution of the group, from its peaceful origins to the acts of protest that brought the attention of the world to the issue of women’s rights in Britain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=056FI2Pq9RY
Australian actor, director and writer Jeremy Sims rounds off this announcement for the Cinema of The World programme with his heartwarming epic, ‘Last Cab to Darwin’, which tells the tale of Rex, a Broken Hill cab driver, on his 3000km journey across Australia. Having spent his entire life shunning personal relationships, Rex discovers he has stomach cancer and so, unwilling to burden anyone with his care, he begins his epic journey to Darwin where newly passed euthanasia laws would allow him to take his life into his own hands. On his seemingly endless travels across Australia the distant cabbie meets a handful of travelers who force him to reevaluate his life, and it is at this point that Rex decides that a life not shared is a life not lived.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hypCdpjTMDI
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124 Documentary Features Submitted For 2015 Oscar Race
One hundred twenty-four features have been submitted for consideration in the Documentary Feature category for the 88th Academy Awards®.
The submitted features, listed in alphabetical order, are:
“Above and Beyond”
“All Things Must Pass”
“Amy”
“The Armor of Light”
“Ballet 422”
“Batkid Begins”
“Becoming Bulletproof”
“Being Evel”
“Beltracchi – The Art of Forgery”
“Best of Enemies”
“The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution”
“Bolshoi Babylon”
“Brand: A Second Coming”
“A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story”
“Call Me Lucky”
“Cartel Land”
“Censored Voices”
“Champs”
“CodeGirl”
“Coming Home”
“Dark Horse”
“Deli Man”
“Dior and I”
“The Diplomat”
“(Dis)Honesty – The Truth about Lies”
“Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll”
“Dreamcatcher”
“dream/killer”
“Drunk, Stoned, Brilliant, Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon”
“Eating Happiness”
“Every Last Child”
“Evidence of Harm”
“Farewell to Hollywood”
“Finders Keepers”
“The Forecaster”
“Frame by Frame”
“Gardeners of Eden”
“A Gay Girl in Damascus: The Amina Profile”
“Godspeed: The Story of Page Jones”
“Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief”
“He Named Me Malala”
“Heart of a Dog”
“Hitchcock/Truffaut”
“How to Change the World”
“Human”
“The Hunting Ground”
“I Am Chris Farley”
“In Jackson Heights”
“In My Father’s House”
“India’s Daughter”
“Ingrid Bergman – In Her Own Words”
“Iraqi Odyssey”
“Iris”
“Janis: Little Girl Blue”
“Karski & the Lords of Humanity”
“Killing Them Safely”
“Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck”
“Lambert & Stamp”
“A Lego Brickumentary”
“Listen to Me Marlon”
“Live from New York!”
“The Look of Silence”
“Meet the Patels”
“Meru”
“The Mind of Mark DeFriest”
“Misery Loves Comedy”
“Monkey Kingdom”
“A Murder in the Park”
“My Italian Secret”
“My Voice, My Life”
“1971”
“Of Men and War”
“One Cut, One Life”
“Only the Dead See the End of War”
“The Outrageous Sophie Tucker”
“Peace Officer”
“The Pearl Button”
“Pink & Blue: Colors of Hereditary Cancer”
“Poached”
“Polyfaces”
“The Prime Ministers: Soldiers and Peacemakers”
“Prophet’s Prey”
“Racing Extinction”
“The Resurrection of Jake the Snake”
“Ride the Thunder – A Vietnam War Story of Victory & Betrayal”
“Rosenwald”
“The Russian Woodpecker”
“Searching for Home: Coming Back from War”
“Seeds of Time”
“Sembene!”
“The Seven Five”
“Seymour: An Introduction”
“Sherpa”
“A Sinner in Mecca”
“Something Better to Come”
“Song from the Forest”
“Song of Lahore”
“Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine”
“Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans”
“Stray Dog”
“Sunshine Superman”
“Sweet Micky for President”
“Tab Hunter Confidential”
“The Tainted Veil”
“Tap World”
“(T)error”
“Thao’s Library”
“Those Who Feel the Fire Burning”
“3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets”
“The Touch of an Angel”
“TransFatty Lives”
“The True Cost”
“Twinsters”
“Very Semi-Serious: A Partially Thorough Portrait of New Yorker Cartoonists”
“The Wanted 18”
“We Are Many”
“We Come as Friends”
“We Were Not Just…Bicycle Thieves. Neorealism”
“Welcome to Leith”
“What Happened, Miss Simone?”
“What Our Fathers Did: A Nazi Legacy”
“Where to Invade Next”
“Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom” (pictured above)
“The Wolfpack”
Several of the films have not yet had their required Los Angeles and New York qualifying releases. Submitted features must fulfill the theatrical release requirements and comply with all of the category’s other qualifying rules in order to advance in the voting process. A shortlist of 15 films will be announced in December.
Films submitted in the Documentary Feature category may also qualify for Academy Awards in other categories, including Best Picture, provided they meet the requirements for those categories.
The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 14, 2016, at 5:30 a.m. PT at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
The 88th Oscars® will be held on Sunday, February 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
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San Francisco Film Society Launches Doc Stories, Opens With New York Times Op-Docs
The San Francisco Film Society is launching a new documentary film series, Doc Stories, with the inaugural edition taking place November 5 to 8, 2015. Alongside the feature film selections, 2015 Doc Stories will also include a number of programs of short films, which will explore the importance of the form to contemporary journalism and the realities of online content consumption. The Opening Night will feature New York Times Op-Docs, and the Closing Night will feature Heart of a Dog directed by Laurie Anderson.
2015 Doc Stories Lineup
New York Times Op-Docs OPENING NIGHT
Filmmakers in conversation with Op-Docs series producer Kathleen Lingo
The New York Times, perhaps the world’s most influential and important media company, has been creating short-form content since 2011 and has also been especially supportive of Bay Area filmmakers. This program runs the gamut from Pentecostal preachers to klezmer-playing Holocaust survivors and celebrates this exceptional fusion of groundbreaking journalism and inspirational documentary filmmaking. (70 min)
Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom
Evgeny Afineevsky (Ukraine/USA/UK 2015, 102 min)
This on-the-ground document of the Ukrainian civic uprising that resulted in the departure of President Viktor Yanukovych melds startling footage of events as they unfold with subsequent testimonials from witnesses and participants to create a visceral portrait of historic events and some of the individuals who made up a popular movement. Director Evgeny Afineevsky skillfully manages multiple perspectives and stories to create a coherent and vital rendering of history unfolding moment to moment.
Song of Lahore
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (USA/Pakistan 2015, 82 min) Director and special guests in person
Pakistan’s Sachel Studios was founded in 2004 in an attempt to preserve and revive centuries-old musical traditions that faced extinction after the imposition of Sharia law in the ’70s and more current Taliban pressure discouraging musical performance. When a video of the group’s version of Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” performed on traditional Pakistani instruments goes viral online, they get a chance to gain the kind of acclaim that Lahore’s musicians once enjoyed.
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Liz Garbus (USA 2014, 102 min) Director and special guest in person
After its glorious reception at SFIFF58, the Film Society offers another opportunity to see this extraordinary documentary on the big screen. A full biography filled with candid conversations, interviews, letters and performances, this film is the definitive take on Nina Simone’s life. Paying special attention to her career-jeopardizing choices during the Civil Rights movement and her insistence on justice and unflinching when presenting her surprising weaknesses, What Happened, Miss Simone? is a fitting portrait of an inimitable and powerful artist.
Cartel Land
Matthew Heineman (USA/Mexico 2015, 100 min) Director and special guests in person
This bold film gives extraordinary access to dangerous and sometimes deadly skirmishes in the Mexico-US drug wars, following vigilante groups on either side of the border as they empower themselves to take action against drug cartels that they feel are endangering their everyday lives. A vivid and sometimes brutal portrait of citizens motivated to take the law into their own hands, Cartel Land reveals fault lines and grey areas in every aspect of the conflict.
A Conversation with Davis Guggenheim
Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim will participate in an intimate onstage conversation about his documentary work and current film, He Named Me Malala, an intimate portrait of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai and her fight for the rights of girls around the world. Guggenheim has directed some of the most successful documentaries of the last decade and this will be a rare opportunity to hear about his approach to his craft, and thoughts about the documentary form. (70 min)
Field of Vision
Series co-founder AJ Schnack in person
Launched in late September, Field of Vision is a new film unit committed to artistically thoughtful documentaries, rooted in investigative journalism. Created by Oscar winner Laura Poitras (Citizenfour), AJ Schnack (Caucus) and Charlotte Cook, Field of Vision will pair filmmakers with developing and ongoing stories around the globe. Join co-creator AJ Schnack for a selection of original films from the inaugural season and a conversation about the series’ creation and the current state of short-form documentary. (TRT 90 min)
Janis: Little Girl Blue
Amy Berg (USA 2015, 106 min) Director and special guests in person
Most of us are familiar with the iconic Janis Joplin, troubled wild child of the San Francisco music scene of the ’60s who died tragically of an overdose at the age of 27. Amy Berg goes beyond the legend to present an intimate portrait of a complicated artist, weaving archival material-some of it never seen before-with compelling interviews and Joplin’s reflective letters to friends and family, read with a bright sweetness by Chan Marshall (Cat Power).
Profiles in Courage: Short Documentaries from HBO
Filmmakers in person
Ebola in Liberia, LGBT rights in Cuba, a brave Nepalese couple seeking to regain their eyesight. HBO has long been the acknowledged leader in the documentary world, and never more so than now. These inspiring short films-all strong contenders for the Academy’s short list for short documentary films-show the unique global perspective and entertaining storytelling style that make HBO such an important contributor to film culture. (TRT 93 min)
Thank You for Playing
David Osit and Malika Zouhali-Worrall (USA 2015, 82 min) Co-directors in person
When video game developer Ryan Green’s very young son Joel is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, he turns to what he knows best to combat his family’s emotional upheaval-he creates a game. With great emotional power, co-directors David Osit and Malika Zouhali-Worrall create an intimate space for their heart-rending documentary that demonstrates how art and technology can help process grief and combat the various dragons everyone must try to slay.
Hitchcock/Truffaut
Kent Jones (France/USA 2015, 80 min) Director in person
One of cinema’s most influential books is brought vividly to life in Kent Jones’s enjoyable and expertly constructed documentary that illuminates the careers of and relationship between two of cinema’s greats, Alfred Hitchcock and François Truffaut. Featuring audio recordings of the interview between the two masters, gorgeous film clips and interviews with directors such as Wes Anderson, David Fincher, Olivier Assayas and Martin Scorsese, this is essential viewing for any lover of cinema.
Heart of a Dog CLOSING NIGHT
Laurie Anderson (USA 2015, 75 min) Director in person
Laurie Anderson’s playful essay film is nominally a tribute to her rat terrier, Lolabelle. In her inimitable way, Anderson takes this canine paean as her center and folds in a world of moving, funny and salient ideas about life, death, love, truth, memory, Buddhism and our four-legged soul mates. Skillfully weaving personal memories with inspired connections to current events and philosophy, Anderson creates a funny and moving meditation for dog lovers and other humans.
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KING JACK, TRANSFATTY LIVES Win Audience Awards of 2015 Tribeca Film Festival
King Jack, directed by Felix Thompson, won the Audience Award for Best Narrative, and TransFatty Lives, directed by Patrick O’Brien, won the Audience Award for Best Documentary award at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival (TFF).
“The awards go to two powerful and charming stories of young men facing their deepest fears and overcoming their own challenges,” said Genna Terranova, Festival Director, Tribeca Film Festival. “These fiction and non-fiction stories of triumph and resilience clearly resonated with audiences this year.”
King Jack, directed and written by Felix Thompson. (USA) (pictured above) – World Premiere, Narrative. Growing up in a rural town filled with violent delinquents, Jack has learned to do what it takes to survive, despite having an oblivious mother and no father. After his aunt falls ill and a younger cousin comes to stay with him, the hardened 15-year-old discovers the importance of friendship, family, and looking for happiness even in the most desolate of circumstances.
TransFatty Lives, directed by Patrick O’Brien, co-written by Patrick O’Brien, Scott Crowningshield, Lasse Jarvi, Doug Pray. (USA) – World Premiere, Documentary. Director Patrick O’Brien is TransFatty, the onetime NYC deejay and Internet meme-making superstar. In 2005, O’Brien began to document his life after being diagnosed with ALS and given only two to five years to live. TransFatty Lives is a brazen and illustrative account of what it’s like to live when you find out you are going to die.
The runners-up were Song of Lahore, directed by Andy Schocken and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, for the documentary audience award and Sleeping With Other People, directed by Leslye Headland, for the narrative audience award. Throughout the Festival, which kicked off on April 15, audiences were able to vote by completing nomination ballots upon exiting screenings of TFF films. Films in the World Narrative Competition, World Documentary Competition, Viewpoints, Spotlight, and Midnight sections were eligible.
Song of Lahore, directed by Andy Schocken and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. (USA, Pakistan) – World Premiere, Documentary. Until the late 1970s, the Pakistani city of Lahore was world-renowned for its music. Following the Islamization of Pakistan, many artists struggled to continue their life’s work. Song of Lahore turns the spotlight on a group of stalwart musicians that kept playing and ultimately attracted listeners from around the world. In English, Punjabi, and Urdu with subtitles.
Sleeping With Other People, directed and written by Leslye Headland. (USA) – New York Premiere, Narrative. Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie star as two romantic failures whose years of serial infidelity and self-sabotage have led them to swear that their relationship will remain strictly platonic. But can love still bloom while you’re sleeping with other people? Writer/director Leslye Headland’s (Bachelorette) sexy romantic comedy co-stars Amanda Peet, Adam Scott, and Natasha Lyonne. An IFC Films Release