Thirty Souls (Trinta Lumes)

  • ALMOST FORTY, I HATE NEW YORK Among Made in Spain Showcase at 2018 San Sebastian International Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_31594" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]I HATE NEW YORK Sophia Lamar in I Hate New York[/caption] Made in Spain, the showcase of the Spanish films at the 2018 San Sebastian International Film Festival  will spotlight eleven productions, including films by directors Daniel Calparsoro, Isabel Coixet, Álex de la Iglesia, Ramón Salazar and David Trueba. The Festival will also serve as the framework for presentation of the documentary Querido Fotogramas, directed by the Brazilian filmmaker Sergio Oksman. Among the first works are Mi querida cofradía, by Marta Díaz de Lope Díaz (Ronda, Málaga, 1988), winner at the Malaga Festival of both the Silver Biznaga for Best Supporting Actress (Carmen Flores) and the Audience Award; and I Hate New York, by the journalist and filmmaker Gustavo Sánchez (Úbeda, Jaén, 1978), produced by the Bayona brothers. Also part of the selection are Diana Toucedo (Pontevedra, 1982) who, having worked on sixteen feature films as an editor and having directed the non-fiction feature En todas as mans, debuted in feature films with Trinta lumes / Thirty Souls, premiered in the Panorama section of the Berlinale; and Les distàncies (Distances) by Elena Trapé (Barcelona, 1976), recipient of the Golden Biznaga for Best Spanish Film and of the Silver Biznagas for Best Director and Best Actress (Alexandra Jiménez) in Malaga. Trapé’s first film, Blog, was selected for Zabaltegi-New Directors eight years ago at the Festival, landing a special mention from the RTVE-Otra Mirada Award. Having worked on eight feature films as an editor, works which have coexisted with her involvement in the film pedagogy project Cinema en curs – which has its corresponding event in San Sebastian through Tabakalera and the Elías Querejeta Zine Eskola (Zinema (h)abian) – Meritxell Colell (Barcelona, 1983) has now directed her first feature film, Con el viento / Amb el vent. Having been selected as a project by the Cinéfondation, the work premiered in the Forum section of the Berlinale. Colell will participate with her second feature film project, Dúo, in the Festival’s Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum. Among the films by long-standing directors are El aviso (The Warning), the latest work from Daniel Calparsoro (Barcelona, 1968), whose films have been presented in Cannes, Berlin and Venice, as well as at the Festival; The Bookshop, by Isabel Coixet (Barcelona, 1960), winner this year of the Goyas for Best Film, Director and Adapted Screenplay; Perfectos desconocidos (Perfect Strangers), latest proposal from the filmmaker Álex de la Iglesia (Bilbao, 1965), a frequent participant in San Sebastian Festival’s Official Selection with several films including La comunidad (Common Wealth, Silver Shell for Carmen Maura), Las brujas de Zugarramurdi (Witching & Bitching) and Mi gran noche (My Big Night); La enfermedad del domingo (Sunday’s Illness) by Ramón Salazar (Málaga, 1973), participant in the Panorama section of the Berlinale; and Casi 40 (Almost 40) by David Trueba (Madrid, 1969), the sequel of his first work, La buena vida (The Good Life), winner of the Jury Special Prize in Malaga. Trueba’s previous feature, Vivir con los ojos cerrados (Living is Easy with Eyes Closed), competed in San Sebastian’s Official Selection and won six Goya awards, including Best Film. CASI 40 (ALMOST FORTY) DAVID TRUEBA (SPAIN) Lucía was a successful singer until separation of the duo that had made her a sensation and earned her fame drove her to a somewhat marginal position in the industry. Now she lives a more stable life, married and with two children, retired from the world of show business. But the plans of an old boyfriend from the days of her youth to make a small concert tour of several Spanish cities give her the excuse to get back onto the road. About to turn 40, the two will have to bear the intimate price of giving up on their life ideals. CON EL VIENTO – AMB EL VENT (FACING THE WIND) MERITXELL COLELL (SPAIN – ARGENTINA – FRANCE) Mónica, a 47 year-old dancer, receives a phone call from Spain: her father is seriously ill. Twenty years down the line, she must return to the remote Burgos town of her birth. By the time she gets there, her father is dead. Her mother, to whom she has hardly spoken in all these years, asks her for help to sell the family house. Winter arrives. The perpetual silence, the extreme cold, and having to deal with her family will be harsh trials for Mónica, who will take refuge in the place she knows best: dancing. The film combines dance, documentary and independent film to construct a singular tale of family ties and relations in a universe of women. EL AVISO (THE WARNING) DANIEL CALPARSORO (SPAIN) We are in 2008. Young Jon is a mathematical whiz kid obsessed with numerical reasoning. He’s a genius whose schizophrenia has deprived him of a promising scientific career, so that he has to make do with a job in a photocopying shop. One night like many others, on leaving work, Jon and his best friend, David, head for a petrol station to buy drinks for a dinner with Andrea, a childhood friend of both and the girlfriend David is about to propose to. David goes into the shop while Jon waits for him in the car. Just then there is a robbery and David is hit by a bullet that leaves him in an irreversible coma. From then on Jon will stop taking his medication and, crippled by guilt, start looking for meaning in his friend’s murder. He investigates past robberies until finally finding a common mathematical pattern to them. Continuing with this logic, he comes to the conclusion that Nico, a 10 year-old boy, will be murdered in the same place. I HATE NEW YORK GUSTAVO SÁNCHEZ (SPAIN) New York, 2007-2017. Over a decade, and filming only with a home video camera and no script, the director delves into the private world of Amanda Lepore, Chloe Dzubilo, Sophia Lamar and T De Long; four artists and transgender activists from the city’s underground scene. Little by little, their testimonies reveal fragments of a past –sometimes dramatic, always fascinating and simply extraordinary– that formed their identities and transformed their lives. Their words, fears and hopes take the audience from an outsider’s point of view to being emotionally invested in their destiny. LA ENFERMEDAD DEL DOMINGO (SUNDAY’S ILLNESS) RAMÓN SALAZAR (SPAIN) Driven by her husband’s diplomatic career, Anabel dedicates her life to philanthropy. Her selfless devotion to helping others has increased her popularity, and she is the go-to person in her exclusive circle when it comes to obtaining donations for humanitarian organisations. It is precisely at one of these charity dinners that she runs back into her past on recognising one of the waitresses providing the catering service as being her daughter Chiara, the girl she had abandoned at the age of eight and whom she hasn’t seen for thirty-five years. It’s no chance she’s there; Chiara has been looking for her. Mother and daughter embark on a journey into the past, alone, with a hard road before them in the attempt to recover thirty-five years in barely ten days. Or that’s what Anabel believes. The thing is that this journey has a hidden purpose for Chiara. And when Anabel discovers it she will have to make the most difficult decision of her life, after which she will never be the same again. LES DISTÀNCIES (DISTANCES) ELENA TRAPÉ (SPAIN) Olivia, Eloy, Guille and Anna travel to Berlin to surprise their friend Comas with a visit for his 35th birthday. He doesn’t give them the welcome they expected and during the weekend their contradictions grow and their friendship is put to the test. Together they will discover that time and distance can change everything. MI QUERIDA COFRADÍA (HOPELESSLY DEVOUT) MARTA DÍAZ DE LOPE DÍAZ (SPAIN) Carmen, a middle-aged woman from Malaga, Catholic and apostolic, is about to see her lifelong dream come true: to be president of her brotherhood. It will be the first time that a woman will have achieved such an honour. But finally her fellow members decide to choose her biggest rival, a man named Ignacio. Everything becomes even more complicated for Carmen on the day of the Easter procession, when she is involved in a situation she can only get out of with the help of the women around her. PERFECTOS DESCONOCIDOS (PERFECT STRANGERS) ÁLEX DE LA IGLESIA (SPAIN) Four couples meet for dinner on the night of a lunar eclipse. A night of friendship and laughs, until suddenly the idea emerges: Why not do something different? What would happen if we left the mobile phones on the table within reach of everybody? Entire lives shared by everyone as they happen… An innocent game or a dangerous suggestion? Will the group of friends be able to withstand such a degree of sincerity, even if it is only for a time? QUERIDO FOTOGRAMAS SERGIO OKSMAN (SPAIN) The 70th anniversary of the Fotogramas magazine comes in the shape of a sentimental voyage through the history of Spanish cinema thanks to a mosaic of voices represented by people who make films, those who write them and those who consume them. The documentary pays tribute to the readers of Fotogramas helped by the leading figures of Spanish cinema, who will read to the camera the most representative letters received at its offices in the history of the magazine. THE BOOKSHOP ISABEL COIXET (SPAIN – UK) In the late ‘50s, Florence Green decides to make one of her greatest dreams come true: to leave London and open a small bookshop on the British coast. But to her surprise, the decision will trigger all sorts of reactions among the locals. TRINTA LUMES / THIRTY SOULS DIANA TOUCEDO (SPAIN) Alba is 12 years old and eager to discover the unknown, mysterious and fascinating side of death. With her best friend Samuel they enter abandoned houses, wander around rundown villages and make their way into the mountains with their hidden parallel world. A voyage starting from innocence to discover the mystery of the struggle between life and death.

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  • 2018 Berlin Film Festival Unveils Full Panorama Lineup, Opens with Wolfgang Fischer’s STYX

    [caption id="attachment_26726" align="aligncenter" width="960"]Styx, Wolfgang Fischer Styx[/caption] The 2018 Berlin International Film Festival has revealed the full lineup of the Panorama program, which will feature a total of 47 films from 40 countries, with 37 world premieres and 16 directorial debuts. 20 films will be screened in the scope of Panorama Dokumente , while 27 fiction features are shown in Panorama Special as well as the main program. The section takes a look at Wolfgang Fischer’s Styx , which will open Panorama Special on February 16 at Zoo Palace. Nearly dialogue-free, the film tells the story of a female doctor on a sailing vacation. A Czech production opens Panorama Dokumente. Jan Gebert’s Až přijde válka ( When the War Comes ) is the global trend of a socially acceptable form of nationalism using the example of the Slovak Slovenski Branci Slovak paramilitary organization. Árpád Bogdán’s feature film Genezis ( Genesis ) takes place on the series of attacks on Roma in Hungary in 2008/2009, exposing their effects on the victimized families and the community as well as casting light on the failures of the Hungarian judicial system pursuit of those guilty of crimes perpetrated under the dictatorial Franco regime is depicted in The Silence of Others, produced by Pedro Almodóvar. Former Brazilian president Dilma Roussef’s impeachment can be witnessed firsthand in O processo ( The Trial ). In Generation Wealth , Lauren Greenfield raises awareness for the self-indulgent quest for luxury and the total surrender to vanity leading to a sort of “ultra-decadence,” while in Lemonade , produced by Cristian Mungiu, the American Dream remains tauntingly out of reach for those who can not afford to buy a piece of it. In the French-German production Game Girls , two women try to escape life on Skid Row, the USA’s “Capital City of the Homeless”. Shakedown immerses the viewer in the Afro-American queer strip club scene of Los Angeles 1990s, relating its protagonists’ search for freedom and self-determination to great immediacy. In the Italian production country, Iranian director Babak Jalali who is defending their cultural identity with dignity. Family dynamics under the microscope: In Al Gami’ya ( What Comes Around ), the residents of one of Cairo’s poorest districts have developed a bank-free financing system for themselves. Two intimate portraits of rural conflict, set in Central China’s Henan province and the German state of Saxony-Anhalt respectively, are drawn in Jordan Schiele’s The Silk and the Flame and Rosa Hannah Ziegler’s family life ( Family Life ). Yang Mingming’s debut film Rou Qing Shi ( Girls Always Happy ) showcases the verbal duels of an odd mother-daughter duo looking for happiness in style or daydreams of getting rich quick. In La enfermedad del domingo ( Sunday’s Illness ), a mother and her daughter return to one another following years of estrangement. In Jibril , her final work for the Babelsberg University of Applied Sciences KONRAD WOLF, Henrika Kull depicts the isolation and love in the interaction between a single mom and a prison inmate. The Argentinian production Marilyn and the Brazilian film Tinta Bruta ( Hard Paint ) both show the isolation and the inherent in their protagonists’ search for their place in the world. In the mafia tale La terra dell ‘abbastanza ( Boys Cry ), two young men discover an ostensibly simple way out of a sticky situation. A complex web of responsibilities is included in the two instalments of the miniseries Ondes de choc ( Shock Waves ), directed by Lionel Baier and Ursula Meier. Three further films serve as reflections on cinema itself: Mes provinciales ( A Paris Education ), which is set in a Parisian millennial student milieu; Depending vois rouge ( I See Red People ), In Which Bojina Payanotova Confronts her parents With Their possible connections to the Bulgarian secret police; and Hotel Jugoslavija , in which director Nicolas Wagnières elevates at abandoned Grand Hotel to the status of contemporary witness to history, acting on his principle of “filming to retain and regain”. Fluid boundaries between reality and fiction are especially present in four productions. Xiao Mei investigates the enigma surrounding the disappearance of a young woman while the dark fairy tale Koly padayut pereva ( When the Trees Fall ) includes the frightening and enchanting experiences of three generations of women. In a hybrid form between fiction and documentary film, Trinta Lumes ( Thirty Souls ) reimagines the Galician backcountry as a mythical place populated by both the living and the dead. Finally, in the deceptively calm flow of horizon ‘s ( Horizon ) images, a man is at risk of losing his footing in life after a separation. The hard reality reflected in two productions from India and the Democratic Republic of the Congo was in stark contrast in this context. In Garbage , a young woman’s endures a nightmare of male violence. Kinshasa Makambo on the other hand provides insight into the brutal everyday existence of Congolese resistance fighters. In addition to their appearance in  Yocho , cinematic dystopias and allegories of reality are featured in Kim Ki-duk’s Inkan, gongkan, sikan grigo inkan ( Human, Space, Time and Human ) , in which of the widely differing backgrounds assembled on a warship develop a bestial need for patriarchal domination. From Iran comes the film Hojoom (Invasion ), which adeptly establishes an oppressive mood with its post-apocalyptic science-fiction world devoid of sunlight. Partisan takes a look back at Frank Castorf’s twenty-five year legacy at Berlin’s Volksbühne theater. Chilly Gonzales, self-proclaimed president of the Berlin Underground, is the subject of Shut Up and Play the Piano . MATANGI / MAYA / MIA The Sri Lankan Resistance artist portrays the controversial star between the labels attached to the music and media industries. In Idris Elba’s directorial debut, Yardie , the score by Dickon Hinchcliffe (“Tindersticks”) accentuates the journey of a young man from Kingston to London . Al Gami’ya ( What Comes Around ) – Lebanon / Egypt / Greece / Qatar / Slovenia By Reem Saleh Documentary World Premiere Až přijde válka ( When the War Comes ) – Czech Republic / Croatia By Jan Gebert Documentary World Premiere La enfermedad del domingo ( Sunday’s Illness ) – Spain By Ramón Salazar With Bárbara Lennie, Susi Sánchez, Greta Fernández, Miguel Ángel Solá, Richard Bohringer World premiere Familienleben ( Family Life ) – Germany By Rosa Hannah Ziegler Documentary World Premiere Game Girls – France / Germany By Alina Skrzeszewska Documentary World Premiere  Garbage – India By Q With Tanmay Dhanania, Trimala Adhikari, Satarupa The World Premiere Generation Wealth – USA By Lauren Greenfield Documentary International Premiere Genezis ( Genesis ) – Hungary By Árpád Bogdán With Anna Marie Cseh, Enikő Anna Illési, Milán Csordá’s World Premiere Hojoom ( Invasion ) – Iran By Shahram Mokri With Abed Abest, Elaheh Bakhshi, Babak Karimi, Pedram Sharifi, Mehdi Etemad Saied International Premiere Horizonti ( Horizon ) – Georgia / Sweden By Tinatin Kajrishvili With George Bochorishvili, Ia Sukhitashvili, Jano Izoria, Soso Gogichaishvili World Premiere Hotel Jugoslavija – Switzerland By Nicolas Wagnières Documentary European Premiere Inkan, gongkan, sikan grigo inkan ( Human, Space, Time and Human ) – Republic of Korea By Kim Ki-dukWith Mina Fujii, Jang Keun-suk, Ahn Sung-ki, Lee Sung-jae, Ryoo Seung-bum, Sung Ki-youn, Joe Odagiri World premiere  Je vois rouge ( I See Red People ) – France / Bulgaria By Bojina Panayotova Documentary World Premiere Jibril – Germany By Henrika Kull With Susana Abdulmajid, Malik Adan, Doua Rahal, Emna El-Aouni World Premiere Kinshasa Makambo – Democratic Republic of the Congo / France / Switzerland / Germany / Qatar / Norway By Dieudo Hamadi Documentary World Premiere Koly padayut dereva ( When the Trees Fall ) – Ukraine / Poland / Macedonia By Marysia Nikitiuk With Anastasiia Pustovit, Sofia Halaimova, Maksym Samchyk, Mariya Svizhynska, Alla Samoilenko World Premiere  Country – Italy / France / Netherlands / Mexico By Babak Jalali With Rod Rondeaux, Florence Klein, James Coleman, Wilma Pelly World Premiere  Lemonade – Romania / Germany / Canada / Sweden By Ioana Uricaru With Mina Manovici, Steve Bacic, Dylan Scott Smith, Milan Hurduc, Ruxandra Maniu World Premiere Marilyn – Argentina / Chile By Martín Rodríguez Redondo With Walter Rodriguez, Catalina Saavedra, Germán de Silva, Ignacio Giménez, Rodolfo Garcia Werner World Premiere MATANGI / MAYA / MIA – USA / United Kingdom / Sri Lanka By Steve Loveridge With Maya Arulpragasam Documentary International Premiere Mes provinciales ( A Paris Education ) – France By Jean Paul Civeyrac With Andranic Manet, Corentin Fila, Gonzague Van Bervesselès, Diane Rouxel, Jenna Thiam, Sophie Verbeeck World Premiere O processo ( The Trial ) – Brazil / Germany / Netherlands By Maria Ramos Documentary World Premiere Ondes de choc – Journal de ma tête ( Shock Waves – Diary of My Mind ) – Switzerland By Ursula Meier With Fanny Ardant, Kacey Mottet-Klein, Jean-Philippe Ecoffey, Carlo Brandt, Stéphanie Blanchoud, Jean-Quentin Châtelain International Premiere Ondes de choc – Prénom: Mathieu ( Shock Waves – First Name: Mathieu ) – Switzerland By Lionel Baier With Maxime Gorbatchevsky, Michel Vuillermoz, Ursina Lardi, Mickael Amman, Adrien Barazzone, Piere-Isaïe Duc, Nastassja Tanner International Premiere Partisan – Germany By Lutz Pehnert, Matthias Ehlert, Adama Ulrich With Frank Castorf, Sophie Rois, Kathrin Angerer, Herbert Fritsch, Henry Hübchen, Alexander Scheer Documentary World Premiere Rou qing shi ( Girls Always Happy ) – People’s Republic of China Yang Mingming With Nai An, Yang Mingming, Zhang Xianmin, Li Qinqin, Huang Wei, Yuan Li World Premiere Shakedown – USA By Leilah Weinraub Documentary World Premiere Shut Up and Play the Piano – Germany / France / United Kingdom By Philip Jedicke With Chilly Gonzales, Peaches, Feist, Sibylle Berg, Jarvis Cocker Documentary World Premiere La terra dell’abbastanza ( Boys Cry ) – Italy By Damiano D’Innocenzo, Fabio D’Innocenzo With Matteo Olivetti, Andrea Carpenzano, Milena Mancini, Max Tortora, Luca Zingaretti World Premiere The Silence of Others – USA / Spain By Almudena Carracedo, Robert Bahar Documentary World Premiere The Silk and the Flame – United States By Jordan Schiele Documentary World Premiere  Styx – Germany / Austria By Wolfgang Fischer With Susanne Wolff, Gedion Oduor World Premiere Tinta bruta ( Hard Paint )- BrazilBy Marcio Reolon, Filipe Matzembacher With Shico Menegat, Bruno Fernandes, Guega Peixoto, Sandra Dani, Frederico Vasque’s World Premiere  Trinta Lumes ( Thirty Souls )- SpainBy Diana Toucedo With Alba Arias, Samuel Vilariño’s World Premiere  Xiao Mei – Taiwan By Maren Hwang With Chen Yi-Wen, Liu Kuan-Ting, Na Dow, Wu Chien-Ho, Yin Shin, Laurence Chiu, Chang Shao-Huai, Samantha Ko, Wu Kang-jen, Jao Cincin World Premiere Yardie – United Kingdom By Idris Elba With Aml Ameen, Shantol Jackson, Stephen Graham, Fraser James, Sheldon Shepherd, Everaldo Creary European Premiere Already featured films: L’Animale – Austria by Katharina Mückstein Bixa Travesty ( Tranny Fag ) – Brazil by Claudia Priscilla, Kiko Goifman Ex Pajé ( Ex Shaman ) – Brazil by Luiz Bolognesi Malambo, el hombre bueno (Malambo, the Good Man) – Argentina by Santiago Loza Obscuro Barroco – France / Greece by Evangelia Kranioti La omisión ( The Omission ) – Argentina / Netherlands / Switzerland by Sebastián Schjaer River’s Edge – Japan by Isao Yukisada Profiles – USA / UK / Cyprus by Timur Bekmambetov That Summer – Sweden / Denmark, USA by Göran Hugo Olsson Yocho (Foreboding) – Japan by Kiyoshi Kurosawa Central Airport THF ( Central Airport THF ) – Germany / France / Brazil by Karim Aïnouz

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