49 films have been named by the European Film Academy for this year’s EFA Feature Film Selection,
The House by the Sea
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2018 Berkshire International Film Festival to Showcase 80 Films, AMERICAN ANIMALS, BAD REPUTATION and More..
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AMERICAN ANIMALS[/caption]
The 13th Annual Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFF) will showcase 80 of the latest in independent feature, documentary, short and family films from 28 countries, from May 31 to June 3 in Great Barrington and June 1 to 3 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
“Among the many things I love about the BIFF is its increasing reflection on and discovery of our global community,” notes the festival’s Founder and Artistic Director, Kelley Vickery. “The characters and stories in this year’s films are as diverse as ever—showing us unique perspectives of what life is like for a broad range of people in very different places and circumstances. BIFF always celebrates independent filmmakers and we are especially excited to honor the talented and evocative career of Rachel Weisz. We are continuing our “Tea Talks” series with engaging films and discussions and very proud to have a special event with a screenplay reading of MUMBET. We strive to bring a special festival to our vibrant community, so we truly believe there is something for everyone!”
On Thursday, May 31, in Great Barrington, the festival opens this year with the Sundance hit AMERICAN ANIMALS. This docudrama is the extraordinary and thrilling true story of four friends who brazenly attempt to execute one of the most audacious art heists in US history.
The following day, on June 1, In Pittsfield, BIFF will open at the Beacon in Pittsfield with the rock-and-rolling BAD REPUTATION about the one and only Joan Jett. The documentary follows her incredible, uncompromising and influential career. You will leave singing “I love rock ‘n’ roll!” The opening night begins with a party at the Beacon Cinema followed by the presentation of the NINTH annual “Next Great Filmmaker Award.”
On Friday, June 1 – Tribute Night – The festival will pay tribute to the Academy Award-winning actor, Rachel Weisz for her remarkable achievement in film. Over the past 25 years, Ms. Weisz has displayed her fearlessness, intelligence and talent in over 64 roles and has won or been nominated for nearly every industry award – from a BAFTA, to a Golden Globe, to an Oscar. We celebrate the incredible body of work she has already created and the creative peaks she continues to climb. As part of the tribute, Ms. Weisz will be in conversation with David Edelstein, New York chief film critic on the stage of the Mahaiwe following by a screening of her new film DISOBEDIENCE.
The festival will host the Special Event – Staged script reading of the upcoming film MUMBET and Q&A after the reading with the cast and crew. Director/Producer Alethea Root, writer Stephen Glantz, producer Kim Waltrip, executive producers Jayne Atkinson and Elizabeth Aspenlieder, co-producer Jana Laiz, Diane Pearlman and Jameelah Nuruddin, production designer Carl Sprague, and costume designer Kevin Draves, Governor Deval Patrick and State Representative Smitty Pignatelli will all be in attendance.
She could neither read nor write, yet with fearless courage, Elizabeth “Mumbet” Freeman used the very words written by the men she served, “all men are created free and equal” to challenge the courts and sue for her freedom, changing the course of history 80 years before the Emancipation Proclamation. This is the true story of an unsung American hero who was truly a founding Mother of our country.”
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Won’t You Be My Neighbor?[/caption]
On Sunday, June 3, BIFF will close with the highly acclaimed Sundance hit, WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? about the life and legacy of Mr. Rogers. The film was directed by Academy Award-winning director Morgan Neville and produced by Nicholas Ma who will be in attendance for a Q&A after the screening. Film courtesy of Focus Features.
THE JURY
The BIFF’s EIGHTH Annual Jury includes actors Karen Allen, Jayne Atkinson, Scott Cohen, Michel Gil and Peter Riegert, distribution guru Josh Braun, New York Film Festival director Kent Jones, past Academy president and producer Sid Ganis and producer Nancy Hult Ganis and award-winning producer Darren Dean. There will be five films in competition for feature documentaries and five films in the narrative category. The award will carry a $5,000 prize sponsored by GWFF USA to be presented on Sunday, June 4 at Allium in Great Barrington. The BIFF has become the festival of choice for filmmakers and film lovers who are seeking a unique Berkshire experience and a place to indulge their passion for film. The Festival connects audiences to compelling documentaries, award-winning international releases with incredible parties and events, all just a short drive from New York City and Boston. Films and events will be held throughout Great Barrington and Pittsfield, including the Triplex Cinema, the historic Mahaiwe Theatre, and the Beacon Cinema, as well as area restaurants. The NINTH annual “Next Great Filmmaker” Competition created and sponsored by Berkshire Bank will kick-off online on Friday, April 27. Voting will continue through to May 30 and the winner announced at the opening night presentation in Pittsfield, Friday, June 1 at the Beacon.BIFF FILMMAKERS SUMMIT
For the SEVENTH year, the BIFF will present the annual Filmmakers Summit—a two-day talent academy offered to the 2018 film selection filmmakers. Offering a diverse, multi-dimensional program of panel discussions, lectures, special events, and breakout sessions lead by known industry professionals, the BIFF Filmmakers Summit celebrates and supports the advancement of filmmakers and recognizes film as a relevant and important medium. Beginning on Wednesday, May 31, the Filmmakers Summit is an integral part of the festival experience for filmmakers. Ensuring the freshest and most poignant dialogue in conjunction with incredibly unique events, this Summit goes way beyond networking; it will fortify the festival experience. The Summit features special effects legend Douglas Trumbull, head of CNN Documentaries, and other industry professionals.THE LINEUP: FEATURES, DOCUMENTARIES, AND SHORTS
NARRATIVE FEATURES
AMERICAN ANIMALS, US (d. Bart Layton with: Evan Peters. Barry Keoghan, Blake Jenner, Jared Abrahamson, Ann Dowd, Udo Kier *EDIE, UK (d: Simon Hunter with: Sheila Hancock, Kevin Guthrie, Amy Manson, Paul Brannigan, Wendy Morgan) Q&A with Simon Hunter following the screening EIGHTH GRADE, US (d. Bo Burnahm with: Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton) HOCHELAGA, TERRA DES AMES, Canada (d: Francois Girard with: Samian, Raoul Max Trujillo, Vincent Perez) *L’INSTANT INFINI, France/Switzerland (d. Doulgas Beer with: Jennifer Rihouey, Leonard Delacroix, Mathieu Chardet) Q&A with Douglas Beer following the screening *JULIE, BLUE, US/Ukraine (d: Roxy Topoworyc with: Polina Snisarenko) Q&A with Roxy Topoworyc following the screening LOVELING, Brazil/Uruguay (d: Gustavo Pizzi with: Karine Teles, Otavio Muller, Adriana Esteves, Konstantinos Sarris, Cesar Troncoso) MAZE, Ireland (d: Stephen Burke with: Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Barry Ward, Martin McCann,Eileen Walsh, Niamh McGrady, Ross McKinney) NO DATE, NO SIGNATURE, Iran (d: Vahid Jalilvand with: Navid Mohammadzadeh, Amir Agha’ee, Hediyeh Tehrani, Zakiyeh Behbahani, Sa’eed Dakh, Alireza Ostadi) PIEDS NUS DANS L’AUBE, Canada (d: Frederic LeClerc with: Shauna Bonaduce, Roy Dupuis, Marianne Fortier) SCAFFOLDING, Israel (d: Matan Yair with: Asher Lax, Ami Smolartchik, Yaacov Cohen, Keren Berger) SHELTER, Israel (d: Eran Riklis with: Golshifteh Farahani, Neta Riskin, orald Liddawi, Haluk Bilginer, Mark Waschke) *SILK ROAD, Denmark (d: Mark de Cloe with: Olivia Lonsdale, Gijs Blom, Jonas Smulders ) Q&A with Mark de Cloe following the screening STREAKERS, Switzerland (d: Peter Luisi with: Beat Schlatter, Doro Muggler, Bendrit Bajra, Luna Wedler) THE CHARMER, Iran/Holland (d: Milad Alami with: Ardalan Esmaili, Lars Brygmann, Stine Fischer Christensen, Austa Lee Jesperson) THE ETERNAL FEMININE, Mexico (d: Natalia Beristain with: Karina Gidi, Tessa La, Danie Gimenez Cacho, Pedro De Tavira) THE GUILTY, Denmark (d: Gustav Moller with: Jakob Cedergren, Jessica Dinnage, Johan Olsen, Omar Shargawi) THE HOUSE BY THE SEA, France (d: Robert Guediguian with: Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Gerard Meylan, Jacques Boudet, Anais Demoustier) THE INVISIBLES, Germany (d: Claus Rafle with Max Mauff, Alice Dwyer, Ruby O. Fee, Aaron Altaras, Victoria Schulz, Florian Lukas) THE JUNIOR LEAGUE, Canada (d: Eric Tessier with: Antoine-Olivier Pilon, Rémi Goulet, Alice Morel-Michaud) *THE LONG DUMB ROAD, US (d: Hannah Fidell with: Tony Revolori, Jason Mantzoukas, Taissa Farmiga, Grace Gummer, Ron Livingtson, Casey Wilson) THREE PEAKS, Germany/Italy (d: Jan Zabeil with: Alexander Fehling, Berenice Bejo, Arian Montgomery) UNDER THE EIFFLE TOWER, US/France (d: Archie Borders with: Matt Walsh, Judith Godrèche, Reid Scott) UNDER THE TREE, Iceland (d: Hafsteinn Gunnar Siguross with: Steinpor Hrooar Steinborsson, Edda Bjorgvinsdottir, Sigurour Sigurjonsson, Porsteinn Bachmann, Selma Bjornsdottir) WOMAN WALKS AHEAD, US (d: Susanna Wright with: Jessica Chastain, Sam Rockwell, Ciaran Hinds, Michael Nouri, David Midthunder, Michael Greyeyes, Bill Camp)DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
*306 HOLLYWOOD, US/Hungary (d: Elan Boagarin/Jonathan Boagarin) Q&A with filmmaker following the screening *BAD REPUTATION, US (d: Kevin Karslake) Q&A with filmmaker following the screening *BREWMASTER, US (d: Douglas Tirola/Susan Bedusa) Q&A with filmmaker following the screening *GETTING NAKED: A BURLESQUE STORY, US (d: James Lester) Q&A with filmmaker following the screening RYUICHI SAKAMOTO: CODA, Japan/US (d: Stephen Nomura Schibl) CRIME + PUNISHMENT, US (d: Stephen Maing) DARK MONEY, US (d: Kimberly Reed) *DATELINE: SAIGON, US (d: Thomas Herman) Q&A with filmmaker following the screening *GRIT, US/Indonesia (d: Cynthia Wade) Q&A with filmmaker following the screening THE HUMAN ELEMENT, US/Iceland (d: Matthew Testa) *GONE IN AN INSTANT, US (d: Anthony Holt) Q&A with filmmaker after screening *IMPOSED PIECE, Belgium (d: Brecht Vanhoenacker) Q&A with filmmaker following the screening *IT WILL BE CHAOS, US (d: Lorena Luciano, Filippo Piscopo) Q&A with filmmaker following the screening *MOVING STORIES, US (d: Rob Fruchtman) Collaboration with Jacob’s Pillow with Q&A following the screening with filmmaker and dancers *LOVE, GILDA, US (d: Lisa Dapolito) ) Q&A with filmmaker following the screening OF FATHERS AND SONS, Germany/Syria/Lebanon/Qatar (d: Talal Derki) ON HER SHOULDERS, US (d: Alexandra Bombach) *OUT OF MY HEAD, US (d: Susanna Styron) Q&A with filmmaker following the screening *RESTORING TOMORROW, US (d: Aaron Wolf) *DAUGHTERS OF THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION, US (d: Dana Adam Shapiro) Q&A with filmmaker after screening STUDIO 54, US (d: Matt Tyranauer) THE GODDESSES OF FOOD, France (d: Verane Frediani) THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ANDRE, US (d: Kim Novack) THE WORKERS CUP, UK (d: Adam Sobel) THIS IS HOME, US/Jordan (d: Alexandra Shiva) THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS, US (d: Tim Wardle) WHAT LIES UPSTREAM, US (d: Cullen Hoback) *WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? US (d: Morgan Neville) Q&A with filmmaker following the screeningSHORTS
BIFF will present two short film programs showcasing 22 shorts. Filmmakers will be in attendance at selected screenings.Shorts #1
*GAME (d: Jeannie Donohue), #SELFIE (d: David M. Lorenz), *DEPORTING MYSELF (d: Julie Neumann), BABS (d: Celine Hand, Logan George), *SURVIVING NEW YORK (d: Megan Miller), *FLY LADY FLY (d: Lucien Flores/Michaela Smith), COOLPOOL ( d: Zachary Myers), NIGHT (d: Christian Scales and *ADVENTURE NOT WAR (d: Max Lowe)Shorts #2
*THE LONG RED LIGHT (d: Chris Hume), EMERGENCY (d: Carey Williams), WALLS (d: Fatmir Dolci/Maik Schuster/Max Poschke), *FEVAH (d: Randall Dottin), *HEIMLICH (d: Lisanne Santor), YOU’RE WELCOME (d: Rebecca Panian), THE SILENT (d: Karen Turner/Dom Lee), *JITTERS (d: Otoja Abit), *EVE (d: Susan Bay Nimoy) and *WITH MY TWO HANDS (d: Michael Baraocas). *denotes filmmakers in attendance.VENUES AND TICKETS
Venues for all of the weekend-long events and screenings include the Triplex Cinema, Daniel Arts Center at Simon’s Rock and the historic Mahaiwe Theatre in Great Barrington and the Beacon Cinema and Hotel on North in Pittsfield.
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10 New Films from Darren Aronofsky, Sean Baker and More Complete San Sebastian Festival Pearls Lineup
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Mother!, starring Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem[/caption]
Ten new films including the latest from Darren Aronofsky, Sean Baker, Michael Haneke, Martin McDonagh, will complete the Pearls section of the 2017 San Sebastian Festival. All will compete for the City of Donostia / San Sebastian Audience Awards.
Mother!, starring Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem and Michelle Pfeiffer, is the latest film from Darren Aronofsky (New York, 1969), the maker of Pi (1998), Best Director Award at Sundance; the cult movie Requiem for a Dream (2000); The Wrestler (2008), Golden Lion in Venice; and Black Swan, Academy Award for Best Actress (Natalie Portman). His latest production is a psychological thriller that will compete at the coming Venice Festival.
The Florida Project was one of the most applauded films at the last Cannes Festival, where it participated in the Directors’ Fortnight. Here, Sean Baker (Summit, United States, 1971) tells us about the summer holidays spent by a six year-old girl and her friends, while the adults around them struggle through hard times, after presenting at Sundance 2015 Tangerine, his fourth feature and the first to be completely shot with an iPhone, which harvested around twenty awards.
The author of Marius et Jeannette / Marius and Jeanette (1997), Best Actress César for Ariane Ascaride; Marie-Jo et ses 2 amours / Marie-Jo and Her Two Lovers (2002), which competed at Cannes; and Les neiges du Kilimandjaro / The Snows of Kilimanjaro (2012), selected for Un Certain Regard, congregates his regular accomplices on the cast of La villa / The House by the Sea. Robert Guédiguian (Marseille, France, 1953) brings a tale of three siblings who reunite at their father’s house in a small cove near Marseille at the height of winter, and which will compete in Venice. In 1998 Guédiguian won the Special Jury Prize for À la place du Coeur / Where the Heart Is in San Sebastian, to which he returned in 2004 with Mon père est ingenieur / My Father is an Engineer.
Michael Haneke (Munich, Germany, 1942), one of the essential directors of today’s cinema, will present Happy End. The author of Funny Games (1997), La pianiste / The Piano Teacher (2001), Das Weisse Band /The White Ribbon (2009) and Amour / Love (2012) has been acclaimed throughout his career with around a hundred awards coming from festivals and international accolades. Happy End, his snapshot from the life of a bourgeois European family, was selected for the Cannes Official Selection.
Hirokazu Koreeda (Tokyo, 1962), who has competed four times for the Golden Shell -Wandafuru raifu / After Life (1998), Hana yori mo naho / Hana (2006), Aruitemo, aruitemo / Still Walking (2008) and Kiseki / I Wish (2011), winner of the Best Screenplay Award – has won San Sebastian’s Audience Award twice: in 2013 with Soshite chichi ni naru / Like Father Like Son and in 2015 with Umimachi Diary / Our Little Sister. In Sando-me no satsujin / The Third Murder, to compete at Venice, he follows a lawyer who doubts his client’s guilt.
Xavier Legrand, whose short Avant que de tout perdre won the César, four awards at Clermont-Ferrand and landed an Academy Award nomination, debuts in feature films with the story of a son of divorced parents with his shared custody. Jusqu’à la garde / Custody has been selected for the official selection in Venice.
Martin McDonagh (Camberwell, United Kingdom, 1970) won, with Six Shooter (2004), the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. His first feature film, In Bruges (2008), won the BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay and an Oscar nomination in the same category, and his second, Seven Psychopaths (2012) received the Audience Award in Toronto’s Midnight Madness section. In Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, to compete at Venice, he narrates the confrontation between a woman (Frances McDormand), whose daughter was murdered months ago without the culprit being arrested, and the local police, headed by two officers played by Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell.
After placing his camera in a Danish regiment in Afghanistan (Armadillo) and shooting an episode of the series True Detective, Janus Metz (Denmark, 1974) presents Borg/McEnroe. The film, to open Toronto Festival, recreates the 1980 Wimbledon final between the Swedish and North American tennis players.
Lynne Ramsay (Glasgow, United Kingdom,1969) competed at Cannes with her previous film We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011), winner of Best Director at the British Independent Film Awards and Best European Actress Award (Tilda Swinton). You Were Never Really Here, written and directed by the Scottish filmmaker, was acknowledged with the Best Screenplay and Best Actor (Joaquin Phoenix) Awards at the last Cannes Festival.
Paolo Virzì (Livorno, Italy, 1964) is one of today’s most important Italian directors. Some of his most remarkable films are Il capitale umano / Human Capital (2013), winner of the David di Donatello Awards for Best Screenplay, Director and Actress, and his penultimate work, La pazza gioia / Like Crazy (2016), winner of the David for Best Film and, once again, Best Director and Best Actress. The Leisure Seeker, starring Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland, is his first film shot in the USA and will compete at Cannes.
These titles join the others already announced: Teströl és lékekröl / On Body and Soul by Ilkidó Eneydi; Nelyubov / Loveless by Andrey Zvyagintsev; 120 battements par minute (120 BPM) / 120 Beats Per Minute, by Robin Campillo; Wonderstruck, by Todd Haynes; The Big Sick, by Michael Showalter; Call Me By Your Name, by Luca Guadagnino; and Loving Pablo, by Fernando León de Aranoa, which will close the section out of competition.
The City of Donostia / San Sebastian Audience Award is split into two accolades: the Best Film Award, with 50,000 euros, and the Best European Film, with 20,000 euros.
BORG/MCENROE
JANUS METZ (SWEDEN – DENMARK – FINLAND)
Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Sverrir Gudnason, Stellan Skarsgård, Tuva Novotny
Biopic about the rivalry between two of world tennis’s biggest icons: the imperturbable Björn Borg and the temperamental North American John McEnroe, through their legendary confrontation at Wimbledon 1980. Two sportsmen completely different from one another who became legends and the price they had to pay for it. Fire and ice on the court.
HAPPY END
MICHAEL HANEKE (FRANCE – AUSTRIA – GERMANY)
Cast: Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Mathieu Kassovitz
All around us, the world, and we, in its midst, blind. A snapshot from the life of a bourgeois European family.
JUSQU’À LA GARDE / CUSTODY
XAVIER LEGRAND (FRANCE)
Cast: Denis Ménochet, Léa Drucker, Thomas Gioria, Mathilde Auneveux, Saadia Bentaïeb, Sophie Pincemaille, Emilie Incerti-Formentini
Myriam and Antoine are divorced. She asks for exclusive guardianship to protect her young son from her violent husband, but the judge decides to award both spouses shared custody. The victim of a jealous father, in the endeavour to protect his abused mother, Julien will do everything he can to stop the worst from happening.
LA VILLA / THE HOUSE BY THE SEA
ROBERT GUÉDIGUIAN (FRANCE)
Cast: Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Gérard Meylan, Anaïs Demoustier, Robinson Stevenin
In a little cove near Marseille, at the height of winter, Angèle, Joseph and Armand return to their elderly father’s home. Angèle is an actress living in Paris and Joseph has just fallen in love with a girl half his age. Armand is the only one who had stayed behind in Marseille to run his father’s small restaurant. It’s time for them to weigh up what they have inherited of their patriarch’s ideals and the community spirit he created in this magical place around a restaurant for workers. But the arrival of a group of boat people will change their reflections…
MOTHER!
DARREN ARONOFSKY (USA)
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ed Harris
A couple’s relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence. A riveting psychological thriller about love, devotion and sacrifice.
SANDO-ME NO SATSUJIN / THE THIRD MURDER
HIROKAZU KOREEDA (JAPAN)
Cast: Kasaharu Fukuyama, Kôji Yakuso, Suzu Hirose
Attorney Shigemori takes on the defence of murder-robbery suspect Misumi who served jail time for another murder 30 years ago. Shigemori’s chances of winning the case seem low – his client freely admits his guilt, despite facing the death penalty if he is convicted. But as he digs deeper into the case and hears the testimonies of Mishumi and his family, Shigemori begins to doubt whether his client is the murderer after all.
THE FLORIDA PROJECT
SEAN BAKER (USA)
Cast: Willem Dafoe, Brooklynn Prince, Valeria Cotto, Bria Vinaite, Caleb Landry Jones
The Florida Project tells the story of Moonee, a precocious six-year-old and her ragtag group of friends whose summer break is filled with childhood wonder, possibility and a sense of adventure, while the adults around them struggle with hard times. All over the United States, cheap motels have become the last refuge for those unable to secure a permanent home. These invisible destitute people are increasingly greater in number, and 41% are families who struggle every day to keep a roof over their heads. This story is set in the suburbs of Orlando, holiday capital par excellence, home to “the most magical place on earth”. All along the road wending through the land of theme parks and resorts, the cheap hotels that in their day attracted tourists, exploiting the mysticism of Disney, now house homeless families. Moonee and her mother Halley, 22, live in one of these places: the Magic Castle Motel.
THE LEISURE SEEKER
PAOLO VIRZÌ (ITALY )
Cast: Helen Mirren, Donald Sutherland
Ella and John are fleeing the suffocating care of their doctors and grown children. He is distracted but strong. She is frail but sharp. The journey aboard their faithful old camper takes them from Boston to Key West in the USA. Sharing moments of exhilaration and anguish, they recapture their passion for life and their love for others, seeing differently and with perspective the things they’ve left behind. And this means that the way they see each other too will change during their adventure.
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
MARTIN MCDONAGH (UK)
Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Peter Dinklage, Abbie Cornish, Lucas Hedges, Caleb Landry Jones
After months have passed without a culprit in her daughter’s murder case, Mildred Hayes makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at William Willoughby, the town’s revered chief of police. When his second-in-command officer, Dixon, an immature mother’s boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing’s law enforcement is only exacerbated.
YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE
LYNNE RAMSAY (USA – FRANCE)
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix. Ekaterina Samsonov, Alessandro Nivola, Alex Manette, John Doman, Judith Roberts
A missing teenage girl. A brutal and tormented enforcer on a rescue mission. Corrupt power and vengeance unleash a storm of violence that may lead to his awakening.
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RAINBOW – A PRIVATE AFFAIR plus 10 More Films Among 2017 Toronto International Film Festival Masters Program
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Rainbow – A Private Affair[/caption]
The lineup for the Masters program of the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival will feature a slate of 11 films, including an outstanding list of prolific filmmakers known for taking stylistic and thematic risks with their work, including Alanis Obomsawin, the first and only First Nations female filmmaker to be featured in the Masters program.
“These are some of the greatest and most respected filmmakers working today, and we are excited to bring their latest films to TIFF audiences,” said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of TIFF. “This year’s Masters programme is a master class in creating bold, groundbreaking films that leave a mark on our cultural landscape.”
Paolo and Vittorio Taviani bring the World Premiere of Rainbow – A Private Affair to TIFF. This classical piece of filmmaking tells the story of a young love triangle in Italy during the Second World War. Now in their 80s, the Taviani brothers have written or directed more than 20 films together and have won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Lucrecia Martel, one of the most important filmmakers from Latin America and a reference point for international cinema, is also featured in the lineup. Her latest offering, Zama, is a cinematic masterpiece with a unique language and a particular point of view that reinforce her status as a master of the craft.
Finnish master Aki Kaurismäki’s latest film, The Other Side of Hope (Toivon tuolla puolen), is a timely and touching film that follows a young Syrian seeking refuge in Finland as he searches for his sister. The film earned Kaurismäki the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival.
Veterans of the industry, these filmmakers bring decades of experience as screenwriters, directors, producers, film critics and actors. Collectively, they have produced feature films, documentaries, short films, television series, theatre productions and art installations. Many have received or been nominated for jury prizes at international film festivals, while others have served as members of juries. Known to challenge audiences, these filmmakers are true masters of the craft and are sure to excite and inspire audiences with their latest entries in the 2017 TIFF Masters programme.
The 42nd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 7 to 17, 2017.
2017 Toronto International Film Festival Masters Program
The Day After (Geu-hu) Hong Sangsoo, South Korea North American Premiere Faces Places (Visages Villages) Agnès Varda, JR, France Canadian Premiere First Reformed Paul Schrader, USA Canadian Premiere Happy End Michael Haneke, France/Austria/Germany North American Premiere The House by the Sea (La Villa) Robert Guédiguian, France North American Premiere Loveless (Nelyubov) Andrey Zvyagintsev, Russia/France/Belgium/Germany Canadian Premiere The Other Side of Hope (Toivon tuolla puolen) Aki Kaurismäki, Finland/Germany Canadian Premiere Our People Will Be Healed Alanis Obomsawin, Canada World Premiere *Previously announced with the Canadian feature lineup Rainbow – A Private Affair (Una questione privata) Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani, Italy/France World Premiere The Third Murder (Sandome no Satsujin) Hirokazu Kore-eda, Japan North American Premiere Zama Lucrecia Martel, Argentina/Brazil/Spain/France/Netherlands/Mexico/Portugal/USA North American Premiere