The Northwest Film Center revealed the 42nd Portland International Film Festival (PIFF 42) lineup. This year’s Festival begins on Thursday, March 7th and will run through Thursday, March 21st.
THE WILD PEAR TREE (AHLAT AGACI)
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42nd Portland International Film Festival Announces Lineup, Opens with AMATEURS
Amateurs (Amatörer) directed by Gabriela Pichler
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AFI FEST 2018 World Cinema to Showcase 28 Foreign Films
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Capernaum[/caption]
The World Cinema section of AFI FEST 2018 presented by Audi will showcase the most celebrated international films of the year and feature 28 titles from 27 countries. The section includes seven official Best Foreign Language Film Oscar® submissions: CAPERNAUM (DIR Nadine Labaki), DOGMAN (DIR Matteo Garrone), “I DO NOT CARE IF WE GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS BARBARIANS” (DIR Radu Jude), NEVER LOOK AWAY (DIR Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck), SHOPLIFTERS (DIR Hirokazu Kore-eda), SUNSET (DIR László Nemes) and THE WILD PEAR TREE (DIR Nuri Bilge Ceylan).
AFI FEST will also present the North American premiere of the first two episodes of MY BRILLIANT FRIEND as part of the section. Premiering on HBO November 18, the series is an adaptation of author Elena Ferrante’s celebrated international bestseller centered on the complicated friendship between two women across decades.
AFI FEST takes place November 8–15, 2018, in the heart of Hollywood. Screenings, Galas and other events will be held at the TCL Chinese Theatre, the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and The Hollywood Roosevelt.
WORLD CINEMA
3 FACES (SE ROKH) – Jafar Panahi and Iranian actress Behnaz Jafari travel to a small village in northwest Iran to investigate the possible suicide of an aspiring young actress. Content to sit in the car while three generations of women examine their dual oppression, Panahi traverses moral and ideological pathways through rural Iran with trademark heart, charm and wit. DIR Jafar Panahi. SCR Jafar Panahi. CAST Behnaz Jafari, Marziyeh Rezaei, Narges Del Aram, Jafar Panahi, Maedeh Erteghaei. Iran AMATEURS (AMATÖRER) – When German investors show interest in building a superstore in the small town of Lafors, community leaders decide to create a promotional video. Turning to students for help, teenagers Aida and Dana begin filming — and the battle for the true image of Lafors is on. Director Gabriela Pichler returns to AFI FEST with a sharp, funny, youthful and complex drama about giving a voice to those most often unheard. DIR Gabriela Pichler. SCR Gabriela Pichler, Jonas Hassen Khemeri. CAST Zahraa Aldoujaili, Yara Aliadotter, Fredrik Dahl. Sweden ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT – Filmed over three years, the latest documentary from James Longley follows students and teachers at a school in an old neighborhood of Kabul that is slowly rebuilding from past conflicts. Interweaving the modern history of Afghanistan with present-day portraits, the film offers an intimate and nuanced vision of a society living in the shadow of war. DIR James Longley. USA, Denmark, Norway ASH IS PUREST WHITE (JIANGHU ER NV) – Jia Zhang-ke returns to AFI FEST with his latest sprawling masterwork. Centering on the struggles of Qiao (played by Zhao Tao), a gangster’s girlfriend who spends five years in prison after getting caught up in a violent attack, ASH IS PUREST WHITE is a haunting, enigmatic portrait of individuals navigating China’s new “capitalism” at the dawn of the millennium. DIR Jia Zhang-ke. SCR Jia Zhang-ke. CAST Zhao Tao, Liao Fan, Xu Zheng. China, France BULBUL CAN SING – In Rima Das’ lyrical and quietly moving third feature, an independent girl, Bulbul, lives a typical teenage life in the Assam region of India. But when a cruel shaming by a group of local men balloons into a tragedy, Bulbul must learn how to deal with her awakening desires in a restrictive culture. DIR Rima Das. SCR Rima Das. CAST Arnali Das, Manoranjan Das, Bonita Thakuria, Pakija Begum. India CAPERNAUM (CAPHARNAÜM) – CAPERNAUM tells the story of Zain, a Lebanese boy who sues his parents for the “crime” of giving him life. Zain journeys from gutsy, streetwise child to hardened 12-year-old “adult”: fleeing his abusive, negligent parents, surviving through his wits on the streets, and finally, seeking justice in a courtroom. DIR Nadine Labaki. SCR Nadine Labaki, Jihad Hojeily, Michelle Kesrwany. CAST Zain Al Rafeea, Yordanos Shiferaw, Boluwatife Treasure Bankole, Kawthar Al Haddad, Fadi Kamel Youssef, Cedra Izam, Alaa Chouchnieh, Nadine Labaki, Nour el Husseini, Elias Khoury. Lebanon DAUGHTER OF MINE (FIGLIA MIA) – 10-year-old Vittoria is a quiet girl whose uneventful Sardinian summer becomes upended when she discovers her birth mother is the town drunk, Angelica (Alba Rohrwacher). As Vittoria begins to split her time between Angelica and the more stable woman who raised her (Valeria Golino), she finds herself struggling with something deep and innate. DIR Laura Bispuri. SCR Francesca Manieri, Laura Bispuri. CAST Valeria Golino, Alba Rohrwacher, Sara Casu, Michele Carboni, Udo Kier. Italy, Germany, Switzerland DIAMANTINO – When Portuguese soccer god Diamantino blows a chance at World Cup glory, the disgraced footballer finds himself unwittingly tied up in conspiracies involving evil twin sisters, gender bending genetic experimentation, lesbian spies and far-right ultra-nationalists in delightfully sharp, future cult classic. DIR Gabriel Abrantes, Daniel Schmidt. SCR Gabriel Abrantes, Daniel Schmidt. CAST Carloto Cotta, Cleo Tavares, Anabela Moreira, Margarida Moreira, Carla Maciel, Filipe Vargas, Manuela Moura Guedes, Joana Barrios, Maria Leite. Portugal, France, Brazil DOGMAN – Matteo Garrone’s latest film is a gripping drama about Marcello, a gentle yet cowardly dog groomer who finds himself caught up in Italy’s criminal underworld. Marcello forms a dangerous, one-sided relationship with former boxer and cokehead Simone, who terrorizes the community. Before long, Marcello is part of his reckless antics. DOGMAN will screen at AFI FEST in partnership with Cinema Italian Style, an annual showcase of contemporary Italian cinema in Los Angeles. DOGMAN will be the opening night film of Cinema Italian Style. DIR Matteo Garrone. SCR Ugo Chiti, Maurizio Braucci, Matteo Garrone, Massimo Gaudioso. CAST Marcello Fonte, Edoardo Pesce, Nunzia Schiano, Adamo Dionisi, Francesco Acquaroli. Italy, France FUGUE (FUGA) – Alicja suffers from memory loss and has rebuilt her own free-spirited way of life. Two years later, she returns to her family and unwillingly resumes her role as wife, mother and daughter. FUGUE evokes the social taboos around motherhood and the pressure on women to accept maternity without hesitation or reflection. DIR Agnieszka Smoczyńska. SCR Gabriela Muskała. CAST Gabriela Muskała, Łukasz Simlat, Iwo RajskiMałgorzata Buczkowska, Zbigniew Waleryś, Halina Rasiakówna, Piotr Skiba. Poland, Czech Republic, Sweden GENESIS (GENÈSE) – While Guillaume, an outwardly confident teenager in a posh boarding school, struggles with surprising new feelings of love and alienation, his older sister Charlotte navigates a thorny path of relationships with disappointing men in Québécois director Philippe Lesage’s detailed, incisive portrait of adolescent yearning. DIR Philippe Lesage. SCR Philippe Lesage. CAST Noée Abita, Théodore Pellerin, Jules Roy-Sicotte, Maxime Dumontier, Edouard Tremblay-Grenier, Emilie Bierre, Pier-Luc Funk, Vassili Schneider, Mylène Mackay. Canada HAPPY AS LAZZARO (LAZZARO FELICE) – In auteur Alice Rohrwacher’s stunning third feature, a simple young man named Lazzaro works with other unpaid laborers on an isolated estate in the Italian countryside. But when Lazzaro suffers an accident, HAPPY AS LAZZARO kicks into high gear as a work of fantastic time-jumping poetry and grounded social critique. DIR Alice Rohrwacher. SCR Alice Rohrwacher. CAST Adriano Tardiolo, Agnese Graziani, Alba Rohrwacher, Luca Chikovani, Tommaso Ragno, Sergi López, Natalino Balasso, Gala Othero Winter, David Bennent, Nicoletta Braschi. Italy HOTEL BY THE RIVER (GANGBYUN HOTEL) – A getaway destination along the frozen Han River is the setting for Hong Sang-soo’s latest, a simmering and melancholic family drama, lensed in stark black and white, about an aging poet facing mortality and his two competing sons who cross paths with a woman nursing the wounds of a scarring breakup. DIR Hong Sang-soo. SCR Hong Sang-soo. CAST Ki Joo-bong, Kim Min-hee, Song Seon-mi, Kwon Hae-hyo, Yu Jun-sang, Park Ran, Shin Seok-ho. South Korea “I DO NOT CARE IF WE GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS BARBARIANS” (ÎMI ESTE INDIFERENT DACA ÎN ISTORIE VOM INTRA CA BARBARI) – Mariana is a young, defiant artist mounting a theatrical production of the Odessa massacre, in which Romanian soldiers killed thousands of Ukrainian Jews. As she attempts to stage a realistic reenactment, to force her fellow Romanians to confront their sins of the past, she meets with stiff resistance from local powers. Radu Jude’s latest masterpiece is at once funny, uncomfortable and profound. DIR Radu Jude. SCR Radu Jude. CAST Ioana Iacob, Alexandru Dabija, Alex Bogdan. Romania, Czech Republic, France, Bulgaria, Germany MAYA – Mia Hansen-Løve reunites with Roman Kolinka for her sixth feature. As the French protagonist Gabriel, he travels to India after a traumatic stint of forced captivity and encounters the charming Maya. What takes shape is a subtle increase of silent attraction as the two explore his childhood home in this gentle film filled with yearning, wandering and rumination. DIR Mia Hansen-Løve. SCR Mia Hansen-Løve. CAST Roman Kolinka, Aarshi Banerjee, Alex Descas. France MY BRILLIANT FRIEND (L’AMICA GENIALE) – MY BRILLIANT FRIEND adapts the first book in Elena Ferrante’s renowned coming-of-age epic, beginning in 1950s Naples and spanning six decades. An unexpected phone call prompts Elena to reflect on her relationship with her brilliant friend Lila and the complexities of female friendship in a community replete with male violence. DIR Saverio Costanzo. SCR Elena Ferrante, Francesco Piccolo, Laura Paolucci and Saverio Costanzo. CAST Valentina Acca, Antonio Buonanno, Gennaro Canonico, Pina Di Gennaro, Sarah Falanga, Luca Gallone. Italy NEVER LOOK AWAY (WERK OHNE AUTOR) – Inspired by real events and spanning three eras of German history, NEVER LOOK AWAY tells the story of an art student Kurt, who falls in love with classmate Ellie. Ellie’s father, Professor Seeband, is dismayed at his daughter’s choice of boyfriend, and will stop at nothing to destroy the relationship. DIR Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. SCR Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. CAST Tom Schilling, Sebastian Koch, Paula Beer, Oliver Masucci Saskia Rosendahl. Germany, Italy NON-FICTION (DOUBLE VIES) – Olivier Assayas’ latest is a delightful, breezy comedy centering on a married couple (Juliette Binoche and Guillaume Canet) as they navigate the swiftly evolving landscape of the modern publishing industry, and the ever-thorny issue of monogamy (or lack thereof) in long-term relationships. DIR Olivier Assayas. SCR Olivier Assayas. CAST Guillaume Canet, Juliette Binoche, Vincent Macaigne. France OF FATHERS AND SONS – Award-winning documentarian Talal Derki gained the trust of a radical Islamist family in Syria and filmed their daily lives for two years. The result is OF FATHERS AND SONS, a jaw-dropping, intensely uninhibited look at young boys training as Jihadi fighters, and their Caliphate-obsessed father. DIR Talal Derki. Germany, Syria, Lebanon OUR TIME (NUESTRO TIEMPO) – Two-time AFI FEST alum Carlos Reygadas returns to the festival with an intensely personal project. OUR TIME tells the story of an upper-middle-class rancher (Reygadas) whose wife (played by Reygadas’ real-life spouse) draws him into a cuckolding fetish. As the emotional stakes rise, life on the idyllic landscape becomes threatened. DIR Carlos Reygadas. SCR Carlos Reygadas. CAST Carlos Reygadas, Natalia López, Eleazar Reygadas, Rut Reygadas, Phil Burgers. Mexico, France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden PIG (KHOOK) – Past-his-prime filmmaker Hasan is having a crisis of ego. A serial killer is offing local filmmakers, and Hasan wants to know why he isn’t being targeted. In veteran filmmaker Mani Haghighi’s wonderfully bizarre dark comedy, the satire is heavy and hilarious, and gender stereotypes get smashed right and left. DIR Mani Haghighi. SCR Mani Haghighi. CAST Hasan Majuni, Leila Hatami, Leili Rashidi, Parinaz Izadyar, Mina Jafarzadeh, Aynaz Azarhoosh. Iran PUTIN’S WITNESSES (SVIDETELI PUTINA) – With PUTIN’S WITNESSES, Vitaly Mansky returns to footage he filmed when commissioned — and provided with unnervingly intimate access — on a propaganda film promoting Vladmir Putin’s first presidential election. In this captivating portrait, Mansky both chronicles the alarming ease of the dictator’s rise to power and examines his own complicity in his near two-decade rule. DIR Vitaly Mansky. SCR Vitaly Mansky. Latvia, Switzerland, Czech Republic SHOPLIFTERS (MANBIKI KAZOKU) – The winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, SHOPLIFTERS tells the tender story of a family of misfits and grifters struggling to make ends meet. After taking in a girl off the street, a sudden incident upends their lives and exposes their secrets. Director Hirokazu Kore-eda returns to the screen with a nuanced class critique, and a beautiful portrait of family life. DIR Hirokazu Koreeda. SCR Hirokazu Kore-eda. CAST Lily Franky, Sakura Ando, Jyo Kairi, Miyu Sasaki, Kiki Kirin. Japan SUNSET (NAPSZALLTA) – As World War I approaches, Irisz arrives in Budapest with the dream to work as a milliner at Leiter, a store once owned by her family. Her hopes dashed by the new proprietor, she discovers news that a previously unknown sibling may exist, and sets out to meet them. DIR László Nemes. SCR László Nemes, Clara Royer, Matthieu Taponier. CAST Juli Jakab, Vlad Ivanov, Evelin Dobos, Marcin Czarnik, Judit Bárdos, Benjamin Dino, Balázs Czukor, Christian Harting, Levente Molnár. Hungary, France TOO LATE TO DIE YOUNG (TARDE PARA MORIR JOVEN) – Sixteen-year-old Sofia navigates the usual pitfalls of her age against the unusual backdrop of a burgeoning utopian society in the Chilean jungle of the 1990s. A moody, atmospheric period piece, this third feature firmly establishes Sotomayor as one of today’s most original filmmakers. DIR Dominga Sotomayor. SCR Dominga Sotomayor. CAST Demian Hernández, Antar Machado, Magdalena Tótoro. Chile VISION – Juliette Binoche stars in Naomi Kawase’s latest, a meditative journey into the heart of Japan, and a mysterious portrait of one woman’s search for meaning. When Jeanne (Binoche) seeks a rare medicinal plant in the forested Nara region, her quest is aided by a ranger who helps to reveal painful fragments of her past. DIR Naomi Kawase. SCR Naomi Kawase. CAST Juliette Binoche, Masatoshi Nagase. Japan, France THE WILD PEAR TREE (AHLAT AGACI) – THE WILD PEAR TREE is a portrait of an ambitious young writer returning home after college. At once languid and rhapsodic, Palme d’Or winner Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s film is a profound and poetic look at a misspent youth grasping at a maturity that, once attained, is revealed to be the ultimate disappointment. DIR Nuri Bilge Ceylan. SCR Akin Aksu, Ebru Ceylan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan. CAST Aydin Doğu Demirkol, Murat Cemcir, Hazar Ergüçlü, Serkan Keskin, Tamer Levent, Akin Aksu, Öner Erkan, Ahmet Rifat Şungar, Kubilay Tunçer, Kadir Çermik, Özay Fecht, Ercüment Balakoğlu, Asena Keskinci. Turkey YARA – Yara lives alone with her grandmother on a remote Lebanese mountain-side. A farmer brings supplies, a tour guide assists with odd tasks and, lost on a hike, a charismatic young hiker happens upon Yara hanging her underwear. A gently paced romance, Abbas Fahdel’s YARA captures the elation of first love and the crushing pain of its loss. DIR Abbas Fahdel. SCR Abbas Fahdel. CAST Michelle Wehbe, Elias Freifer, Mary Alkady. Lebanon, Iraq, France
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87 Countries Submit Films in 2018 Oscar Foreign Language Competition
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El Angel directed by Luis Ortega[/caption]
Eighty-seven countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 91st Academy Awards. Malawi and Niger are first-time entrants.
Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 22, 2019.
The 91st Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
The 2018 submissions are:
Afghanistan, “Rona Azim’s Mother,” Jamshid Mahmoudi, director;
Algeria, “Until the End of Time,” Yasmine Chouikh, director;
Argentina, “El Ángel,” Luis Ortega, director;
Armenia, “Spitak,” Alexander Kott, director;
Australia, “Jirga,” Benjamin Gilmour, director;
Austria, “The Waldheim Waltz,” Ruth Beckermann, director;
Bangladesh, “No Bed of Roses,” Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, director;
Belarus, “Crystal Swan,” Darya Zhuk, director;
Belgium, “Girl,” Lukas Dhont, director;
Bolivia, “The Goalkeeper,” Rodrigo “Gory” Patiño, director;
Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Never Leave Me,” Aida Begić, director;
Brazil, “The Great Mystical Circus,” Carlos Diegues, director;
Bulgaria, “Omnipresent,” Ilian Djevelekov, director;
Cambodia, “Graves without a Name,” Rithy Panh, director;
Canada, “Family Ties,” Sophie Dupuis, director;
Chile, “…And Suddenly the Dawn,” Silvio Caiozzi, director;
China, “Hidden Man,” Jiang Wen, director;
Colombia, “Birds of Passage,” Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra, directors;
Costa Rica, “Medea,” Alexandra Latishev, director;
Croatia, “The Eighth Commissioner,” Ivan Salaj, director;
Czech Republic, “Winter Flies,” Olmo Omerzu, director;
Denmark, “The Guilty,” Gustav Möller, director;
Dominican Republic, “Cocote,” Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias, director;
Ecuador, “A Son of Man,” Jamaicanoproblem, director;
Egypt, “Yomeddine,” A.B. Shawky, director;
Estonia, “Take It or Leave It,” Liina Trishkina-Vanhatalo, director;
Finland, “Euthanizer,” Teemu Nikki, director;
France, “Memoir of War,” Emmanuel Finkiel, director;
Georgia, “Namme,” Zaza Khalvashi, director;
Germany, “Never Look Away,” Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, director;
Greece, “Polyxeni,” Dora Masklavanou, director;
Hong Kong, “Operation Red Sea,” Dante Lam, director;
Hungary, “Sunset,” László Nemes, director;
Iceland, “Woman at War,” Benedikt Erlingsson, director;
India, “Village Rockstars,” Rima Das, director;
Indonesia, “Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts,” Mouly Surya, director;
Iran, “No Date, No Signature,” Vahid Jalilvand, director;
Iraq, “The Journey,” Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji, director;
Israel, “The Cakemaker,” Ofir Raul Graizer, director;
Italy, “Dogman,” Matteo Garrone, director;
Japan, “Shoplifters,” Hirokazu Kore-eda, director;
Kazakhstan, “Ayka,” Sergey Dvortsevoy, director;
Kenya, “Supa Modo,” Likarion Wainaina, director;
Kosovo, “The Marriage,” Blerta Zeqiri, director;
Latvia, “To Be Continued,” Ivars Seleckis, director;
Lebanon, “Capernaum,” Nadine Labaki, director;
Lithuania, “Wonderful Losers: A Different World,” Arunas Matelis, director;
Luxembourg, “Gutland,” Govinda Van Maele, director;
Macedonia, “Secret Ingredient,” Gjorce Stavreski, director;
Malawi, “The Road to Sunrise,” Shemu Joyah, director;
Mexico, “Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón, director;
Montenegro, “Iskra,” Gojko Berkuljan, director;
Morocco, “Burnout,” Nour-Eddine Lakhmari, director;
Nepal, “Panchayat,” Shivam Adhikari, director;
Netherlands, “The Resistance Banker,” Joram Lürsen, director;
New Zealand, “Yellow Is Forbidden,” Pietra Brettkelly, director;
Niger, “The Wedding Ring,” Rahmatou Keïta, director;
Norway, “What Will People Say,” Iram Haq, director;
Pakistan, “Cake,” Asim Abbasi, director;
Palestine, “Ghost Hunting,” Raed Andoni, director;
Panama, “Ruben Blades Is Not My Name,” Abner Benaim, director;
Paraguay, “The Heiresses,” Marcelo Martinessi, director;
Peru, “Eternity,” Oscar Catacora, director;
Philippines, “Signal Rock,” Chito S. Roño, director;
Poland, “Cold War,” Pawel Pawlikowski, director;
Portugal, “Pilgrimage,” João Botelho, director;
Romania, “I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians,” Radu Jude, director;
Russia, “Sobibor,” Konstantin Khabensky, director;
Serbia, “Offenders,” Dejan Zecevic, director;
Singapore, “Buffalo Boys,” Mike Wiluan, director;
Slovakia, “The Interpreter,” Martin Šulík, director;
Slovenia, “Ivan,” Janez Burger, director;
South Africa, “Sew the Winter to My Skin,” Jahmil X.T. Qubeka, director;
South Korea, “Burning,” Lee Chang-dong, director;
Spain, “Champions,” Javier Fesser, director;
Sweden, “Border,” Ali Abbasi, director;
Switzerland, “Eldorado,” Markus Imhoof, director;
Taiwan, “The Great Buddha+,” Hsin-Yao Huang, director;
Thailand, “Malila The Farewell Flower,” Anucha Boonyawatana, director;
Tunisia, “Beauty and the Dogs,” Kaouther Ben Hania, director;
Turkey, “The Wild Pear Tree,” Nuri Bilge Ceylan, director;
Ukraine, “Donbass,” Sergei Loznitsa, director;
United Kingdom, “I Am Not a Witch,” Rungano Nyoni, director;
Uruguay, “Twelve-Year Night,” Álvaro Brechner, director;
Venezuela, “The Family,” Gustavo Rondón Córdova, director;
Vietnam, “The Tailor,” Buu Loc Tran, Kay Nguyen, directors;
Yemen, “10 Days before the Wedding,” Amr Gamal, director.
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NY Film Festival Announces Special Events + Premiere of Barry Jenkins’s IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
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If Beale Street Could Talk[/caption]
The Special Events section for the 56th New York Film will feature the U.S. premiere of If Beale Street Could Talk will at the world famous Apollo Theater, the first time that the festival will present a screening at the historic theater. The film was largely shot in New York City, including many Harlem locations. In celebration of the vibrant community and their support of the film, Annapurna, the Film Society of Lincoln Center, and the Apollo Theater will work together to present a host of outreach programs. Local students as well as Harlem residents will be among the first audiences invited to see the James Baldwin adaptation, in the neighborhood that is home to its characters. The film will also screen on the Lincoln Center campus during the festival.
Writer-director Barry Jenkins said, “It’s been an honor working with the estate to bring this piece of James Baldwin’s legacy to the screen. From the birthplace of Baldwin to the streets and homes within which we made this film, the honor is doubly felt in the NYFF’s generous offer to widen its borders for our U.S. premiere: up on 125th Street, in the community Jimmy forever knew as HOME.”
The Festival will screen Orson Welles’s long-awaited The Other Side of the Wind, finally completed by his collaborators this year, which follows the last night in the life of a legendary Hollywood filmmaker as he completes his final film. Wind will screen alongside Morgan Neville’s in-depth documentary They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead, which uncovers the fascinating story behind Welles’s last completed film, 50 years in the making.
Rex Ingram’s World War I epic The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), the breakout film for iconic silent actor Rudolph Valentino, will screen on a beautiful 35mm print from Martin Scorsese’s collection, accompanied by the North American premiere of a new live score written and performed by a five-piece orchestra led by Matthew Nolan.
The sixth annual Film Comment Presents selections are Ali Abbasi’s genre-friendly fantasy-drama Border, which won Cannes’ Un Certain Regard award, and The Wild Pear Tree, an intimate portrait of a promising but adrift young literary graduate from Turkish Palme d’Or winner Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, NYFF49). In previous years, Film Comment has championed films such as Sergei Loznitsa’s A Gentle Creature, Terence Davies’s A Quiet Passion, Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, and László Nemes’s Son of Saul. The magazine will also host three live events: a roundtable discussion with a trio of NYFF filmmakers about their experiences as movie lovers and creators, a dialogue on representation in cinema, and a critical wrap report of the festival’s highs and lows. All three will also be recorded for the weekly Film Comment Podcast.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Dir. Rex Ingram, USA, 1921, 132m, 35mm
Rex Ingram’s adaptation of the famous novel by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez gave us one of cinema’s greatest antiwar films and catapulted actor Rudolph Valentino into history as one of the first screen idols. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is a devastating epic centered around a divided Argentine family fighting on opposite sides during World War I. Famously remembered for the cool, sensual, and powerful tango sequence lead by Valentino, the film endures for Ingram’s meticulous attention to mise en scène—beautiful and macabre compositions alike—and the nuanced performances from a cast including Alice Terry and Josef Swickard. The Film Society is pleased to present the North American premiere of a live score written and performed by Matthew Nolan (electric guitar/electronics), Seán Mac Erlaine (reeds/electronics/vocal), Adrian Crowley (Mellotron/vocal), Kevin Murphy (cello/vocal), and Barry Adamson (bass guitar/percussion/synths/vocal). The score was commissioned by and premiered at the St. Patrick’s Festival Dublin in March 2018. Supported by Culture Ireland. Special 35mm print courtesy of Martin Scorsese from the M.S. Collection at the George Eastman Museum. The Other Side of the Wind Dir. Orson Welles, USA, 2018, 122m Cinema lovers around the world have been waiting to see this legendary movie for more than 40 years. Orson Welles started shooting in 1970 with a precarious funding scheme, an ever-mutating script, and the lead role of Jake Hannaford, an old-guard macho Hollywood director at the end of his tether, yet to be cast. When he died fifteen years later, the film was not only unfinished but in legal limbo. Almost 50 years after Welles started shooting, The Other Side of the Wind has finally been completed by Welles’s collaborators. The film features a collection of actors as eclectic as the cast of Touch of Evil, including John Huston as Hannaford, Peter Bogdanovich, Oja Kodar, Edmund O’Brien, Susan Strasberg, Lilli Palmer, Paul Stewart, Mercedes McCambridge, Cameron Mitchell, Paul Mazursky, Henry Jaglom, Claude Chabrol, and, in a movie-stealing performance as Hannaford’s right-hand man, Welles’s old collaborator Norman Foster. A Netflix release. They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead Dir. Morgan Neville, USA, 2018, 98m The story of the making of The Other Side of the Wind is as engrossing and rich in character and incident, and perhaps even more epic in scale, than the film itself. Morgan Neville’s documentary complements and deepens the experience of Welles’s film by placing it within the context of his life and career, setting the scene and the particular mood of Hollywood in the early 1970s, and chronicling every last creative, legal, financial, and behavioral twist and turn on the circuitous road from the first set-up to the first official screening almost 50 years later. The title, of course, comes from none other than Welles himself. A Netflix release. FILM COMMENT AT NYFF
Film Comment Presents:
Border Dir. Ali Abbasi, Sweden/Denmark, 2018, 108m Scandinavian mythology makes for a visceral fantastical drama on the mystery of identity in this adaptation of a story by Let the Right One In writer John Ajvide Lindqvist. Ali Abbasi’s twisty Cannes award-winner (Un Certain Regard, 2018) centers on a customs inspector, Tina, who possesses the ability to sniff out contraband and moral corruption. Her findings lead her into a criminal investigation, but the heart of Border lies with Tina, who tires of her deadbeat roommate and experiences a full-bodied awakening like little else seen on screen. Grounding it all is Eva Melander’s outstanding, minutely sensitive performance, the true north for Abbasi’s genre-driven momentum. A NEON release. The Wild Pear Tree Dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkey, 2018, 188m The gorgeous backdrop of rolling country and idyllic farmland are cold comfort to the frustrated hero of The Wild Pear Tree. Turkish auteur Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia) captures the wrenching struggles of a bright literary graduate, Sinan (Aydın Doğu Demirko), who is trying to take flight in a world he can’t entirely accept. Ceylan revives a deeply humanist cinema of ideas in tracking Sinan’s path through the more urgent questions of youth, romance, religious orthodoxy, and shaking off the burdens of your family—without ennobling the all-too-human Sinan. Often shooting in unbroken takes, Ceylan compellingly “renders the frustrations of this young man as so much misplaced passion” (Kent Jones, Film Comment). A Cinema Guild release.Film Comment Live:
The Cinema of Experience At this year’s NYFF, filmmakers are rising to the challenge of representing diverse experiences at a pivotal time in our nation’s history. Our guests will discuss how cinematic technique is used to reflect such experiences and what is different about the latest generation of storytelling. Filmmakers Chat For the third year, Film Comment gives you the rare chance to see some of today’s most important filmmakers in dialogue with each other. A selection of directors whose films are screening at this edition of NYFF will talk together in a discussion moderated by Film Comment editor-in-chief Nicolas Rapold. Festival Wrap In what is becoming an annual tradition, Film Comment contributing critics and editors gather for the festival’s last weekend and talk about the films they’ve seen, discussing—or arguing about—the selections in the lineup, from Main Slate and beyond.
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49 Feature Films Eligible for European Film Awards 2018
BORG/McENROE 49 films have been named by the European Film Academy for this year’s EFA Feature Film Selection,
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Keira Knightley’s COLLETTE, Hilary Swank’s WHAT THEY HAD Added to Calgary International Film Festival
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Colette[/caption]
Fourteen more films, including Keira Knightley in COLETTE, Salma Hayek in THE HUMMINGBIRD PROJECT, and Hilary Swank in WHAT THEY HAD, have added to this year’s Calgary International Film Festival.
The Festival also announced Alberta Music Seen for this year’s Showcase Alberta, a celebration of the power of the music video as an art form featuring 10 music videos produced in Alberta, screening at Studio Bell, Home of the National Music Centre on September 26, followed by more music at the King Eddy. Showcase Alberta is a three-year tradition at the festival. Past screening events have included HEARTLAND and WYNONNA EARP.
3 FACES directed by Jafar Panahi
A popular Iranian actress Behnaz Jafari (playing herself) is upset when she sees a video made by a provincial girl asking for her help. In the video, the young girl claims her family is not letting her pursue an acting dream. She’s distraught that Jafari has ignored her previous pleas. Jafari asks director Jafar Panahi (playing himself as well) to accompany her to the girl’s village. The two take a road journey to a northwestern part of Iran and encounter some surprises along the way.
ALL THESE CREATURES directed by Charles Williams
An adolescent boy attempts to untangle his memories of a mysterious infestation, the unravelling of his father, and the little creatures inside us all. A short from Australia.
ASH IS THE PUREST WHITE directed by Jia Zhang-Ke
Qiao (an outstanding Zhao Tao) and her gangster boyfriend Bin (Liao Fan) are a formidable duo who oversee the local criminal network in Datong. When a fight with a rival gang places Bin in danger, Qiao fires a gun to protect him resulting in five years of prison time. After she is released, Qiao goes to look for Bin hoping to continue their relationship. A perceptive depiction of the Chinese landscape, both social and economical, over the course of two decades.
CLIMAX directed by Gaspar Noé
A troupe of young dancers gathers in a remote and empty school building to rehearse. Shot by Noé himself, the troupe begins an all-night celebration that turns nightmarish as the dancers discover they’ve been pounding cups of sangria laced with potent LSD. Tracking their journey from jubilation to chaos and full-fledged anarchy, Noé observes crushes, rivalries, and violence amid a collective psychedelic meltdown. Starring Sofia Boutella (ATOMIC BLONDE) and a cast of professional dancers, CLIMAX is Noé’s most brazen and visionary statement yet.
COLLETTE directed by Wash Westmoreland
Based on the real life story about the famous French writer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, the film depicts her bold attempt to get her voice heard. Colette (Keira Knightley) is transported from the French countryside to Paris after she marries Willy (Dominic West), a successful Parisian writer. Colette quickly finds her footing while Willy is losing his. When Willy is struggling to pay his bills, he convinces Colette to ghostwrite a novel for him. Her novel about a country girl named Claudine becomes an instant hit, resulting in multiple subsequent Claudine novels. Willy gets all the acclaim yet the real author Colette remains in the shadows, forcing her to fight for creative ownership of her works.
THE DRIVER IS RED directed by Randall Christopher
Set in Argentina 1960, this true crime documentary follows the story of secret agent Zvi Aharoni as he hunted down one of the highest-ranking Nazi war criminals on the run. This will be the Canadian Premiere for this American short film.
THE HUMMINGBIRD PROJECT directed by Kim Nguyen
In this epic tale of humanity versus corporate greed, director of Academy Award nominated WAR WITCH, Kim Nguyen exposes the ruthless edge of our increasingly digital world. Cousins from New York, Vincent (Jesse Eisenberg) and Anton (Alexander Skarsgård) are players in the high- stakes game of High Frequency Trading, where winning is measured in milliseconds. Their dream? To build a bre-optic cable in a straight line between Kansas and New Jersey, making them millions. But nothing is straightforward for this awed pair, and together they push each other and everyone around them to the breaking point on their quixotic adventure.
SHARKWATER: EXTINCTION directed by Rob Stewart
Director Rob Stewart was dedicated to sharing his love and admiration for a misunderstood animal, and died in a scuba incident while filming. Criss-crossing the oceans, his third and final film is a thrilling expose of a multi-billion dollar industry tied to black markets and criminal activity. This inspiring posthumous follow-up to the award-winning SHARKWATER is a passionate plea about the dire need to address our relationship with nature and change our consumer habits before it’s too late.
SHOPLIFTERS directed by Hirokazu Kore-Eda
Winner of this year’s prestigious Palme d’Or at Cannes. During one of their shoplifting sessions, Osamu and his son come across a young girl Yuri freezing in the cold. Although Osamu’s wife Nobuyo is reluctant to add another member to a struggling household, she agrees after learning of Yuri’s hardships. When Yuri’s family report her as missing, Osamu and his family’s bonds are tested.
THROUGH BLACK SPRUCE directed by Don McKellar
The disappearance of a young Cree woman named Suzanne Bird triggers events in two worlds: the remote Northern Ontario town she fled years ago, and the big city where she became a successful model. Up north, her uncle Will clashes with a local drug dealer who’s looking for Suzanne, and believes Will knows her whereabouts. Meanwhile, her fiercely independent twin sister Annie travels to Toronto to retrace her sibling’s footsteps… and finds herself drawn into the seductively glamorous life Suzanne left behind. Starring Tantoo Cardinal, Brandon Oakes, Graham Greene and Tanaya Beatty, THROUGH BLACK SPRUCE is the story of a family fractured by tragedy, and held together by love.
TRANSIT directed by Christian Petzold
Georg, a German refugee, evades the German troops in Paris and escapes to Marseille. At the port city, he awaits to secure a life saving spot on a ship to North America. Georg doesn’t have a visa, but through a case of mistaken identity he can leave for Mexico by using papers belonging to a writer named Weidel. Things get complicated when Weidel’s mysterious wife Marie shows up. Georg falls for Marie and is forced to make a tough decision.
UNDER THE SILVER LAKE directed by David Robert Mitchell
Sam (Andrew Garfield) finds a mysterious woman swimming in his apartment’s pool one night. The next morning, she disappears. Sam sets off across LA to find her, and along the way he uncovers a conspiracy far more bizarre. A dream cast populates this dream-like thriller, including Andrew Garfield (THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, THE SOCIAL NETWORK), Topher Grace (BLACKKKLANSMAN, “That 70’s Show”), Sydney Sweeney (“The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Sharp Objects”), Jimmi Simpson (“Westworld,” “Black Mirror”) and Riley Keough (LOGAN LUCKY, IT COMES AT NIGHT).
WHAT THEY HAD directed by Elizabeth Chomko
When her Alzheimer’s-suffering mother, Ruth, wanders into a blizzard on Christmas Eve, Bridget Ertz travels back to her hometown to help her brother convince their father to put Ruth in a nursing home and face the end of their life-long love affair. Starring Hilary Swank, Michael Shannon, Robert Forster, Blythe Danner, Taissa Farmiga and Josh Lucas.
THE WILD PEAR TREE directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan
After completing university, Sinan needs to write an additional exam to become a teacher like his father Idris, but Sinan’s dream is to publish his novel. It doesn’t take long for him to have some run-ins with locals who want their debts paid, a by-product of his father’s gambling habits that almost sank the family. The irony is that Sinan may have to take on a debt himself in order to get his novel published.
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Toronto International Film Festival to Spotlight 11 Films by International Legends in 2018 Masters Program
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Peterloo[/caption]
The Toronto International Film Festival today unveiled the lineup for the 2018 Masters program, comprised of 11 daring new films by acclaimed, established auteurs with remarkable bodies of work. Included in the 2018 Masters lineup are new works by three acclaimed European directors that unwaveringly address contemporary adversities: the debut of the single-installment version of Italian maestro Paolo Sorrentino’s corrosive comedy, Loro, which stars Toni Servillo as infamous politician Silvio Berlusconi; legendary French—Swiss auteur Jean-Luc Godard’s The Image Book, winner of the inaugural 2018 Special Palme d’Or at Cannes; and German director Christian Petzold’s daring Transit, an adaptation of Anna Seghers’ World War II novel set in an era resembling the present day, which offers subtle and timely reflections on rootlessness and exile.
Among the auteurs in the lineup are: Algerian visionary Merzak Allouache, who explores religious radicalization with Divine Wind, the latest in a remarkable filmography that spans over four decades; acclaimed Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, who is known for his distinct cinematic use of landscape and who returns to the Festival with The Wild Pear Tree; Mexican master Carlos Reygadas, who delivers an existential meditation on a couple’s open relationship in Our Time; South Korean director Hong Sang-soo, who returns to the program with Hotel by the River, a black-and white-drama set in an isolated hotel during a cold winter; British director Mike Leigh, who explores the history of British parliamentary reform in Peterloo; and Iranian maverick Jafar Panahi, who presents 3 Faces, a thoughtful examination of traditional gender roles and artistic independence.
Chinese pioneer Jia Zhang-ke will introduce his largest production to date, Ash Is Purest White, a look at the rapid evolution of Chinese capitalist society explored through the romance between two mismatched people, while veteran Japanese director Shinya Tsukamoto will present Killing, an ambitious samurai genre film set in mid-19th century Japan.
The 43rd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 to 16, 2018.
2018 Toronto International Film Festival Masters Program
3 Faces Jafar Panahi | Iran North American Premiere Ash Is Purest White ( Jiang Hu Er Nü) Jia Zhang-ke | China/France North American Premiere Divine Wind ( Rih rabani) Merzak Allouache | Algeria/France/Qatar/Lebanon World Premiere Hotel by the River ( Gangbyun Hotel) Hong Sang-soo | South Korea North American Premiere Killing ( Zan) Shinya Tsukamoto | Japan North American Premiere Loro Paolo Sorrentino | Italy/France World Premiere Our Time ( Nuestro Tiempo) Carlos Reygadas | Mexico/France/Germany/Denmark/Sweden North American Premiere Peterloo Mike Leigh | United Kingdom Canadian Premiere The Image Book ( Le livre d’image) Jean-Luc Godard | Switzerland/France North American Premiere The Wild Pear Tree ( Ahlat Ağacı) Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Turkey/France/Germany/Bulgaria North American Premiere Transit Christian Petzold | Germany North American Premiere
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More Films incl. Return of Lars von Trier with ‘The House That Jack Built’ Added to 71st Cannes Film Festival [Video]
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The House That Jack Built by Lars von Trier[/caption]
The Cannes Film Festival has added more films to the Official Selection 2018, and will welcome back the Danish director Lars von Trier, winner of the 2000 Palme d’or, to the Official Selection. His new film The House That Jack Built by Lars von Trier starring Matt Dillon and Uma Thurman will be screened Out of Competition.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAaLDuEPglI
Mr. von Trier, who won the Palme d’Or in 2000 for “Dancer in the Dark,” has been absent from the Cannes festival for seven years, after comments he made during the news conference for his 2011 competition title “Melancholia.”
Mr. von Trier began by referring to his discovery, as an adult, that he had a German family. “What can I say? I understand Hitler,” he said. “I think he did some wrong things, yes, absolutely, but I can see him sitting in his bunker in the end.”
As the actress Kirsten Dunst squirmed and shook her head in the seat beside him, Mr. von Trier added, “He’s not what you would call a good guy, but yeah, I understand much about him and I sympathize with him a little bit. But come on! I’m not for the Second World War, and I’m not against Jews.”
The festival board voted to declare Mr. von Trier persona non grata. He was barred from that year’s prize ceremony or from entering the festival headquarters, although “Melancholia” stayed in the competition. via NY Times
Competition
Added films are: UN COUTEAU DANS LE CCEUR (KNIFE + HEART) by the French Yann Gonzalez starring Vanessa Paradis. AYKA by the Russian Sergey Dvortsevoy, director of Tulpan, wiiner of the Prize Un Certain Regard 2008. Thes two films by Yann Gonzalez and Sergey Dvortsevoy are both directors’ second feature. It will be their first time in Competition. AHLAT AGACI (THE WILD PEAR TREE) by the Turkish Nuri Bilge Ceylan, winner of the Palme d’or 2014 for Winter Sleep. The Competition 2018 will be composed of 21 films.Out of Competition
Festival President Pierre Lescure and his board of directors will welcome back the Danish director Lars von Trier, winner of the 2000 Palme d’or, to the Official Selection. His new film will be screened Out of Competition. THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT by Lars von Trier starring Matt Dillon and Uma ThurmanUn Certain Regard
MUERE, MONSTRUO, MUERE (MEURS, MONSTRE, MEURS) by the Argentinean Alejandro Fadel. CHUVA E CANTORIA NA ALDEIA DOS MORTOS (THE DEAD AND THE OTHERS) by the Portugese João Salaviza and the Brasilian Renée Nader Messora. And : DONBASS by the Ukranian Sergey Loznitsa which will open Un Certain Regard 2018 on Wednesday May 9.Special Screening
The animated film: ANOTHER DAY OF LIFE by Damian Nenow and Raul De La Fuente.Midnight Screenings
WHITNEY, a documentary by the Scottish Kevin Macdonald, about the life of the singer Whitney Houston. FAHRENHEIT 451 by the American Ramin Bahrani with Sofia Boutella, Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon. It’s the second adaptation of the novel by Ray Bradbury, after the one made by François Truffaut.Closing film
THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE by the British Terry Gilliam, with Adam Driver, Jonathan Pryce and Olga Kurylenko The screening will take place on Saturday May 19 after the Closing ceremony and the film will be released in France on the same day.