Under the theme “Beyond Borders: Storytelling Across Time,” this year the citywide 26th edition of the New York African Film Festival (NYAFF) launches at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s BAMcinématek in May, heads to Film at Lincoln Center (FLC) from May 30 through June 4, and closes at Maysles Cinema. The festival lineup includes 68 films of multiple genres from 31 countries across the diaspora, and is presented by FLC and African Film Festival, Inc.
International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) revealed the complete selection of 47 feature films from all over the world in its Bright Future section, the festival’s home for upcoming filmmakers with their own style and vision. All feature film debuts that have their world or international premiere in Bright Future are selected for the Bright Future Competition and vie for a €10,000 award.
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The 54th Chicago International Film Festival hosted its Awards Ceremony and taking home the top prize, the Gold Hugo for Best Film, in the International Feature Film Competition, is director Alice Rohrwacher’s Happy as Lazzaro, a film the jury recognized for its poetic cinematic language and formal rigor. The Silver Hugo for Best Director was awarded to Jia Zhangke for Ash Is Purest White and the Silver Hugo Special Jury Prize was awarded to Joy, directed by Sudabeh Mortezai.
Director Ash Mayfair took home top honors in the New Directors Competition with a Gold Hugo for The Third Wife and the Silver Hugo was awarded to Joël Karekezi for The Mercy of the Jungle. The Roger Ebert Award, presented to an emerging filmmaker with a fresh and uncompromising vision, was awarded to directors Andréa Bescond and Eric Métayer for Little Tickles, and the Chicago Award was presented to Michael Paulucci for Hashtag Perfect Life. The Founder’s Award, given to one film across all categories that captures the spirit of the Chicago International Film Festival for its unique and innovative approach to the art of the moving image, was presented to Felix van Groeningen’s Beautiful Boy.
“Each year, the films presented in our competitions represent the excellence and diversity of filmmaking from around the world, and this year was no exception,” said Festival Artistic Director Mimi Plauché. “We are proud to honor these extraordinary films from around the world and here at home, saluting a diverse lineup of singular filmmakers and their work.”
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The Toronto International Film Festival revealed the 46 breakout films from 50 international storytellers that will screen in its 2018 Discovery lineup, marking a record year for the program. Hailing from 37 different countries, these promising new filmmakers present works that explore identity, complex portraits of women, and youth as they struggle to navigate a fragile world. Twenty-nine of the films will make their World Premieres at the Festival. The lineup stands out for the impressive number of Asian and Eastern European films — accounting for 26% of the Discovery program — and the number of films directed by women.
Opening this year’s Discovery program will be Bai Xue’s The Crossing, a captivating Chinese film following the journey of an ordinary teenage girl who becomes entangled in illicit activities.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVd56lm-8Cs
The program’s highlights include: Adina Pintilie’s innovative Touch Me Not, winner of the Golden Bear and Best First Feature in Berlin; Syrian director Soudade Kaadan’s The Day I Lost My Shadow, a bewitching film on the Syrian conflict; Nino Zhvania’s Parade, the only Georgian feature in the selection; Lithuanian director Marija Kavtaradze’s touching Summer Survivors; Han Ka-ram’s charming Our Body; and renowned Nigerian actor Genevieve Nnaji’s exciting directorial debut, Lionheart.
This year’s lineup also stands out for the strong portrayals of sensitive and witty women within it. Among them are Arturo Infante’s sci-fi comedy The Extraordinary Journey of Celeste García , starring popular actor María Isabel Díaz; Mexican director Lila Avilés’ The Chambermaid; Arash Lahooti’s Orange Days; Nikos Labôt’s Her Job; and Woman at War by Icelandic director Benedikt Erlingsson, which has already earned critical praise.
Putting the struggles of young characters front and centre, the Discovery program includes UK actor-director Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s Farming, which tells the story of a Nigerian immigrant facing a racist skinhead gang in 1980s England; Carmel Winters’ beautiful Float Like a Butterfly; Lukas Dhont’s Girl; Daniel Sawka’s Icebox; Rosanne Pel’s Light as Feathers; Darko Štante’s Consequences; Ash Mayfair’s The Third Wife; Imogen Thomas’ poetic Emu Runner; Ethiopian–Israeli filmmaker Aäläm-Wärqe Davidian’s Fig Tree; and Joël Karekezi’s The Mercy of the Jungle, showcasing the breakthrough performance of TIFF International Rising Star Stéphane Bak.
Risk-takers and daring artists also stand out in this year’s slate, as in Wanuri Kahiu’s Rafiki, an electric female LGBTQ+ love story set in Kenya, where homosexuality is illegal; Sameh Zoabi’s border-crossing dark comedy Tel Aviv on Fire; Ognjen Glavonić’s The Load; and Irish brothers Andy and Ryan Tohill’s suspenseful thriller The Dig. Bold Australian filmmaker Benjamin Gilmour will present the groundbreaking Jirga .
To close this bright selection, Palestinian director Bassam Jarbawi will introduce North American audiences to his exceptional first feature film, Screwdriver, a gripping drama that examines the psychological impact of the Palestinian–Israeli conflict.
The 43rd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 to 16, 2018