• Cameron Bailey Promoted to Artistic Director and Co-Head of TIFF

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    Cameron Bailey The Board of Directors of TIFF this week promoted Cameron Bailey to the newly created position of Artistic Director and Co-Head of TIFF.  The role is a promotion and expansion of Bailey’s current position of Artistic Director, which he has held since 2012. Prior to that, Bailey held the role of Festival Co-Director from 2008-2012. Bailey will report directly to the Board of Directors effective October 1, 2018. Since CEO Piers Handling’s announcement last July that the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival would be his last, the TIFF Board engaged in a process for CEO transition, including a review of the organization’s current structure. After their assessment, the Board decided on a two-headed structure for TIFF, with one position (Bailey’s) focused on the artistic direction of the organization, and the other, Managing Director & Co-Head, focused on the business and revenue optimization. These two positions will work closely together to set the tone and lead the organization, bringing the new strategic plan to life.  They will both report directly to the Board of Directors. “With a five year strategic plan for TIFF launched this year, and more changes on the horizon for our industry, we believe a two-headed structure is right for the future success of TIFF,” explained Jennifer Tory.  “Cameron is a film industry veteran who has earned a reputation for discerning, expansive curation since joining TIFF as a programmer in 1990. Combined with his accomplishments as TIFF’s Artistic Director,  we have full confidence in his vision for the direction of the organization.” “Piers has done a remarkable job during his tenure as Director & CEO and Artistic Director before that,” continued Tory.  “We are indebted to him for the vision and strategy – and the elegance he brought to the role.” “I have tremendous respect for Cameron and his longstanding contribution to TIFF’s success,” said Piers Handling. “His passion and vision for the future of the organization underlines his deep leadership skills. It gives me great comfort to know TIFF is in such good hands.” “I’ve been fortunate to work alongside Piers for so many years. We programmed Canadian films together, we made our first programming trip to Burkina Faso together and we’ve spent countless hours working out how best to engage audiences with the power of film,” said Cameron Bailey. “I am honoured to be entrusted with guiding the future of TIFF.” A search committee of the Board of Directors has been working with Caldwell Partners to identify candidates for the Managing Director & Co-Head role.  The search is international in scope and is expected to result in an announcement prior to this September’s Festival.

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  • First Look at Women Commandos Fighting Isis in Documentary ‘Commander Arian – A Story of Women, War and Freedom’ [VIDEO]

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    Commander Arian – A Story of Women, War and Freedom Here is a first look at Commander Arian – A Story of Women, War and Freedom, a dangerously intimate documentary directed by Alba Sotorra that follows a woman commando unit as it takes on ISIS.  Commander Arian – A Story of Women, War and Freedom will World Premiere at the 2018 Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival on Sunday April 29.
    When we meet Arian, a 30-year-old commander of the YPJ, the Kurdish-Syrian Women’s Protection Unit, she is struggling to recover from multiple ISIS sniper wounds. But her greatest worry is to be sent home. “If I live an ordinary life, I will be scared of death,” she says. The words reflect the dual motivations that inspired Kurdish women to literally take arms against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria as it gobbled territory and slaughtered villagers in their homeland. She and her all-female comrades know the stakes involved in stopping the ultra-fundamentalist insurgency from overrunning them. “To them, a piece of fabric is worth more than a woman,” Arian says angrily in an earlier interview from the battlefield. “To end their threat to women, we will fight them until there is no one left.” But Alba Sotorra’s riveting documentary Commander Arian – A Story of Women, War and Freedom, is about more than the threat in front of these women. It’s about their camaraderie. And it’s about what they left behind that they would like to see change in the face of a victory over the Islamic extremists. The documentary jumps regularly between the post-recovery Arian – who wants nothing more than to get back in battle – and the YPJ fighters as they make village-by-village progress to the occupied Syrian city of Kobane, “the heart of Kurdistan.” We witness Arian in her role as a de facto life coach toward fellow soldiers who have left a life where they were only expected to be wives and mothers. “What kind of woman do you want to be?” she repeatedly asks those under her command. As a fellow fighter named Nupelda offers in advance of the next fire-fight, “Here, there is a goal, to enrich my thoughts and be free.” There is tragedy along with the high ideals. Some of the women we meet en route to Kobane will be injured and killed. But the push forward continues, along with the dreams for a better life than before. “When the war in Syria broke out, Kurdish women took arms against Daesh (ISIS),” director Sotorra says. “Having followed the news about the atrocities committed in the region, especially against women, I thought it was incredible that a female force was emerging as the fiercest power against these monsters.” When the YPJ was taking back Kobane and repelling attacks, Sotorra undertook a risky filmmaking mission via contacts in Turkey, arriving in time to see a city in ruins and without power. “I decided to travel to Kobane and meet the women who had led that battle. I wanted to share their feminist struggle and, as a woman filmmaker, it almost felt like my duty to document it. “It was an adventure. I had no idea what I was getting into. Sometimes I think if I had been aware of all the things I would experience, I wouldn’t have had the courage to go. But ignorance is bliss and this is a story about courage.” [gallery size="large" link="file" columns="4" ids="28288,28289,28290,28291,28292,28293,28294,28295,28296,28297,28298,28299,28300,28301,28287"]  

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  • First Look at ‘SAY HER NAME: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland’ Documentary Premiering At Tribeca Film Festival [VIDEO]

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    Sandra Bland in SAY HER NAME: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF SANDRA BLAND. Ahead of its April 25th World Premiere at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, HBO Documentary Films shared a first look and official poster for the highly anticipated documentary, SAY HER NAME: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland. The documentary which is directed by Kate Davis and David Heilbroner, will premiere on HBO. SAY HER NAME: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland. Poster

    In 2015, Sandra Bland, a politically active 28-year-old black woman from Chicago was arrested for a traffic violation in a small Texas town. Three days later, Sandra was found hanging from a noose in her jail cell. Though ruled a suicide, her death sparked allegations of racially-motivated police murder and Sandra became a poster child for activists nationwide, leaving millions to question, “What really happened to Sandra Bland?”

    Ten days after Sandra’s death, the filmmakers began working closely with the family’s legal team, tracking the two-year battle between Sandra’s aggrieved family and Texas authorities. With disturbing, never-before-told details about the case, the film is punctuated by Sandra’s own passionate and moving commentary.

    Approximately 30 “Sandy Speaks” video blogs, which Sandra created herself, allowed the filmmakers to get to know Sandra Bland in a deeply personal way. Via these videos, Sandy herself emerges as a central voice in SAY HER NAME — an empowered, enlightened woman of color whose sharp, humorous, charismatic remarks address subjects from educating kids about black history to police brutality to the importance of natural hair.

    Part legal thriller, part parable about race in America, SAY HER NAME takes viewers deep inside a story that galvanized activists across the country.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pybBqJNg5ds

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  • See Trailer + Poster for New British Film OBEY World Premiering at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival [VIDEO]

    OBEY Marcus Rutherford Sophie Kennedy Clark Obey, the powerful new British film set during the time of the London Riots (which took place in 2011) will World Premiere in the International Narrative Competition category at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday, April 22, 2018. Obey is about Leon, a nineteen-year-old boy with an alcoholic mother who has grown up in and out of care. Introducing Marcus Rutherford as Leon, who plays the film’s central character, Obey also stars Sophie Kennedy Clark (Philomena, Nymphomaniac, Black Mirror) as Twiggy and T’Nia Miller (Wagstaffe, Stud Life, Marcella, Guilt) as Leon’s mother. Obey is raw and uncompromising and set against the backdrop of social unrest in London. It is the directorial debut feature from Jamie Jones whose award-winning short film THE NEST starring Vicky McClure was recently selected for Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival and Tampere Film Festival 2017. Produced by Emily Jones of Beyond Fiction and Ross Williams of Harvest Pictures, Executive Produced by John Giwa-Amu (The Party, The Silent Storm, The Machine) of Red & Black Films and with Sound Design by Ben Baird (Lady Macbeth, The Levelling). OBEY Kids Gang Finally free from adult supervision, Leon begins to rail against the injustice of his reality as his dreams become more and more unattainable and distant. Oppressed at home and hunted on the streets by local gangs, Leon’s existence is suffocating, and all too real. When he meets Twiggy, a beautiful blond girl living in a local squat something stirs inside of him. As she introduces him to her world, the weight of his past lifts. He is in love for the first time and for a moment escapes the reality of his unrelenting existence. But naïve to the affluent world supporting Twiggy’s hedonistic lifestyle, Leon is unprepared when Twiggy no longer wants him around. Leon withdraws, allowing his raw and unhampered emotions to take over in the blind fight against his unjust existence with terrifying and brutal consequences. OBEY Poster Director Jamie Jones said: “I’m delighted to have our World Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival. The journey to get to this point has been long – so i am thrilled that the cast and crew who have worked so hard can bask in this glory! Without their determination and dedication we wouldn’t have got this far. It’s been such a collaborative process every step of the way and we are such a tight team, so really this is a dream for us all. Obey is a social drama – a politically driven film that highlights the tough plight and frustrations of young adults growing up in London so I am hopeful that it resonates with NY audiences. London and New York are both global cities with complex multi-cultural societies, and I am excited to show an aspect of London that is often unrepresented in cinema to a New York audience.”

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  • Tribeca 2018: Watch First Trailer for McQUEEN, Documentary on Designer Alexander McQueen [VIDEO]

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    Alexander McQueen in MCQUEEN. Bleeker Street has released the first teaser trailer for the documentary “McQueen“, which will have its World Premiere on Sunday, April 22, 2018 at the Tribeca Film Festival and released in select theaters on July 13, 2018. The documentary is directed by Ian Bonhôte and co-directed/written by Peter Ettedgui. McQueen is described as a personal look at the extraordinary life, career and artistry of Alexander McQueen. Through exclusive interviews with his closest friends and family, recovered archives, exquisite visuals and music, McQueen is an authentic celebration and thrilling portrait of an inspired yet tortured fashion visionary.

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  • Tribeca 2018: Watch Clip from TIME FOR ILHAN , Documentary on Muslim Somali-American Ilhan Omar’s Political Campaign [VIDEO]

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    Time For Ilhan Norah Shapiro documentary “Time For Ilhan“, which will have its World Premiere at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday, April 21, has released the first video clip.  Ilhan Omar, a young, hijab-wearing mother of three, takes on two formidable opponents in a highly-contested race for a seat in the Minnesota State Legislature. If successful, she will become the first Muslim Somali- American woman lawmaker in the United States. Similar to the classic tale of David and Goliath, Omar, who is up against a 43-year incumbent, is the “outsider”- a Muslim, refugee, woman of color – who seeks to challenge the party’s status quo while simultaneously defying the gender norms within her own Muslim community. Time For Ilhan shadows Ilhan and her scrappy group of dedicated campaign staffers throughout the entire campaign’s dramatic uphill battle. A fresh take on the old story of the American Dream, the film offers an inspiring, stereotype-busting portrait of a rising political star and a vision of what is truly possible for women and New Americans in politics today. Norah Shapiro is a Minneapolis-based filmmaker who left a decade-long career as a public defender to pursue documentary filmmaking, and hasn’t looked back since. Her first feature film MISS TIBET: BEAUTY IN EXILE (2014) premiered at the 2014 DOC NYC Film Festival. Additional screenings include the 2015 Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival where it received the “Best Minnesota Made Feature Documentary” award; SF DOCFEST; the Asian American International Film Festival in New York City; and others around the globe. She received a McKnight Filmmaking Fellowship in 2012 and has received numerous production and completion funding awards from funders including the Jerome Foundation, and the Minnesota Filmmakers Legacy Fund. She is also currently producing a new documentary about the recently solved 27-year old abduction of Jacob Wetterling, a young Minnesota boy in rural Minnesota and its far reaching impact.
    2018 Tribeca Film Festival Screening Schedule: WORLD PREMIERE: Saturday, April 21, 2018 at 3:30 PM at CIN-08 Cinepolis Chelsea (CIN) 260 West 23 Street, between 7 and 8 Avenue, New York, NY 10011 Sunday, April 22, 2018 at 8:15PM at REGAL-06 Regal Battery Park Stadium 11 (RGL) 102 North End Ave, New York, NY 10281 Monday, April 23, 2018 at 3:45PM at CIN-02 Cinepolis Chelsea (CIN) 260 West 23 Street, between 7 and 8 Avenue, New York, NY 10011 Friday, April 27, 2018 at 8:15PM at REGAL-06 Regal Battery Park Stadium 11 (RGL) 102 North End Ave, New York, NY 10281

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  • Director David Cronenberg to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at Venice Film Festival

    David Cronenberg David Cronenberg will receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement for directors at the 75th Venice International Film Festival, taking place August 29 to September 8, 2018. Accepting the award, David Cronenberg declared: “I’ve always loved the Golden Lion of Venice. A lion that flies on golden wings––that’s the essence of art, isn’t it? The essence of cinema. It will be almost unbearably thrilling to receive a Golden Lion of my own.” With regard to this prize, Festival Director, Alberto Barbera declared: “Although Cronenberg was originally relegated to the margins of the horror genre, right from his first, scandalously subversive movies, the director has shown that he wants to take his audiences well beyond the cinema of exploitation, as he constructs an original and highly personal structure, movie after movie. Revolving around the inseparable relationship of body, sex, and death, his universe is populated by grotesque deformities and terrifying couplings, a horror which reflects the fear of mutations inflicted on bodies by science and technology, of disease and physical decay, of the unresolved conflict between spirit and flesh. Violence, sexual transgression, confusion between what is real and what is virtual, the image’s deforming role in contemporary society: these are a few of the recurring themes which have helped make him one of the most daring and stimulating filmmakers ever, a tireless innovator of forms and languages.” Director David Cronenberg’s reputation as an authentic auteur has been firmly established by his uniquely personal body of work which includes: Shivers, Rabid, Fast Company, The Brood, Scanners, Videodrome, The Fly, Dead Ringers, Naked Lunch, Crash, eXistenZ, The Dead Zone, M. Butterfly, Spider, A History of Violence, Eastern Promises, A Dangerous Method, Cosmopolis and Maps to the Stars. In 1991, Cronenberg was nominated for the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival for Naked Lunch and won this award in 1999 for eXistenZ. Cronenberg’s films Crash, Spider, A History of Violence and Cosmopolis have all been in competition for the Palme d’Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1996, Crash received a Special Jury Prize from the Festival. Most recently, in 2011, A Dangerous Method was nominated for a Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival. Frequently lauded as one of the world’s greatest and most influential directors, Cronenberg’s films have earned him critical praise and recognition internationally. In 1999, he presided over the Cannes Film Festival jury and in 2006, was awarded the Festival’s lifetime achievement award, the Carrosse d’Or. Collectively, his films have been nominated for seven Golden Globes; received BAFTA and France’s César Award nominations for A History of Violence and Eastern Promises; four Academy Award nominations; prizes from the Toronto International Film Festival, Directors Guild of Canada and Canada’s Genie Awards. Cronenberg’s short film, At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the World, in which he also stars, was created for the Chacun son cinema collection of films commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Cannes International Film Festival. Other special commissions include Camera (2000), created for the 25th anniversary of the Toronto International Film (TIFF) and The Nest (2013) as part of TIFF’s David Cronenberg Evolution exhibition and retrospective. In 2006, Cronenberg worked with the Art Gallery of Ontario as a guest curator for the exhibition, Andy Warhol/Supernova: Stars, Deaths and Disasters, 1962-1964. David created an innovative soundtrack audio guide with additional commentary by several of Warhol’s contemporaries. Further challenging himself outside the realm of film, David brought the opera of the The Fly to the stage for the Théâtre du Châtelet and LA Opera in 2008. Turning his hand to fiction in 2014, David debuted his first novel, Consumed. The inventive and disturbing work was mounted as a stage play by Theatre Bremen in 2015 and is currently being developed for television. Recognition of Cronenberg’s contribution to art and culture has included an appointment as an Officer to the Order of Canada in 2003, a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2014, investiture in France’s Order of Arts and Letters in 1990 and the Légion d’Honneur in 2009. Cronenberg was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in 2011.

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  • Funk Queen Betty Davis Documentary BETTY – THEY SAY I’M DIFFERENT to Premiere at Red Bull Music Festival New York [Trailer]

    Betty - They Say I'm Different After a premiere in Europe at the 2017 Amsterdam IDFA film festival and pre-release screenings in Pittsburgh, Betty – They Say I’m Different will have its US premiere at the Billie Holiday Theatre in New York on Wednesday 23rd May as part of the Red Bull Music Festival New York. The film will run in selected independent cinemas across North America from June 2018. Funk Queen Betty Davis changed the landscape for female artists in America. She “was the first…” as former husband Miles Davis said. “Madonna before Madonna, Prince before Prince”. An aspiring songwriter from a small steel town, Betty arrived on the 70’s scene to break boundaries for women with her daring personality, iconic fashion and outrageous funk music. She befriended Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone, wrote songs for the Chambers Brothers and the Commodores, and married Miles – startlingly turning him from jazz to funk on the album she named “Bitches Brew”. She then, despite being banned and boycotted, went on to become the first black woman to perform, write and manage herself. Betty was a feminist pioneer, inspiring and intimidating in a manner like no woman before. Then suddenly – she vanished. Creatively blending documentary and animation this movie traces the path of Betty’s life, how she grew from humble upbringings to become a fully self-realized black female pioneer the world failed to understand or appreciate. After years of trying, the elusive Betty, forever the free-spirited Black Power Goddess, finally allowed the filmmakers to creatively tell her story based on their conversations. Directed and written by British filmmaker Phil Cox (The Bengali Detective / Love Hotel), the documentary films for the first time with the infamously reclusive Funk Queen. Composed around Betty’s song lyrics, interviews, animations and a creative narrative, Betty finally shares her extraordinary story – including her short marriage to Miles Davis, befriending Jimi Hendrix and her 35-year disappearance. The documentary also includes stunning never before seen film archive of Betty Davis performing and a host of new and exclusive photos. “It was an incredible experience to collaborate with Betty across four years. Her cultural and musical importance as a free thinking female pioneer, who paved the way for so many artists to follow, must now be recognized. Her fearless stand as an independent artist, years before anyone else was ‘doing it’ led to great hardship, but her blistering funk albums still stand strong alongside those of her contemporaries Sly Stone, Funkadelic and others. Betty is still unique – it was an honor to make this very personal film with her,” said director / writer Phil Cox. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYCHRXpCz8c

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  • Richmond International Film Festival to Honor Governor Terry McAuliffe + “Thank You For Your Service” for Military Spotlight

    Terry McAuliffe, Virginia governor, meets with Soldiers during a visit to Fort Eustis, Va., Dec. 2, 2014. During his visit, McAuliffe asked the Soldiers questions about their military experiences, and thanked them for their service. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Kimberly Nagle/Released) Each year Richmond International Film Festival honors state and national leaders who are paving a future path in leadership and evoking inspiring change in our communities. This year the festival’s Pioneer Award for Excellence in Public Service & Leadership will be awarded to Governor Terry McAuliffe for his extraordinary work in public service, national leadership, and in successfully ending veteran’s homelessness in Virginia as he promised and helping get them into programs that create new purpose upon transitioning to civilian life. The Pioneer Award will be presented to Governor Terry McAuliffe by Governor Ralph Northam during RIFF”s Sunday, April 29 Military Spotlight at 2:30pm. The Military Spotlight will feature a screening of Thank You For Your Service, a groundbreaking feature documentary that investigates the failed mental health policies within the US military and the deadly consequences to the troops. The film will screen Sunday, April 29 at 2:30pm at the Byrd Theatre, and will be followed by the Pioneer Award presentation and an extensive Q&A with filmmaker, Tom Donahue & leading experts Carrie Ann Alford (Director of Policy and Planning, Virginia Department of Veterans Services, William Rodriguez MSW (Founder at Torii Coaching and Consulting), and Brian Meyer (Clinical Psychologist and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder/Substance Use Disorders Specialist at the H.H. McGuire Veterans Administration Medical Center). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50LQGcb5knE RIFF will bring another special guest to the festival, Rene Balcer, a top influencer in television and film who will present his feature documentary, Above the Drowning Sea with co-executive Producer, Carolyn & Hsu Balcer. The film is a documentary about WWII and Austrian immigrants who fled to Shanghai to escape Hitler and the Nazis and narrated by Julianna Margulies, Tony Goldwyn, and Nick Mancuso. It will screen Thursday, April 26th at 8pm at the Byrd Theatre with an extensive Q&A to follow. Rene Balcer is a co-Creator, writer, and executive producer of Law & Order. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkbUwHimFGg Image: Terry McAuliffe, Virginia governor, meets with Soldiers during a visit to Fort Eustis, Va., Dec. 2, 2014. During his visit, McAuliffe asked the Soldiers questions about their military experiences, and thanked them for their service. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Kimberly Nagle/Released)

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  • FOX Sports Soccer Documentary Mini-Series PHENOMS to World Premiere at Tribeca Film Festival [Trailer]

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    PHENOMS: GOALKEEPERS FOX Sports will world premiere the action-packed soccer documentary mini-series, PHENOMS, at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, in its Tribeca TV section. The network will showcase the FOX Sports Films series’ third episode, “Goalkeepers,” introducing audiences to the behind-the-scenes journey with these future stars, who act as the true last line of defense for their countries on the global stage. The premiere will take place on Wednesday, April 25 at 8:30pm ET at SVA Theatre (333 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011), followed by a panel discussion about the upcoming mini-series and road to the FIFA World Cup. The post-film panel, hosted by FOX Sports’ Rachel Bonnetta, includes guests Mario Melchiot (Executive Producer, PHENOMS; former professional player); David Worthen Brooks (Executive Producer, PHENOMS; EVP, ALL CITY); Arbi Pedrossian (Producer, PHENOMS); Chris Perkel (Series Creative Director, PHENOMS); Directors Jane Hicks, Jeff Zimbalist and Michael Zimbalist; and Thomas Verette (editor, PHENOMS). In its May network television premiere, PHENOMS will kick-off with back-to-back episodes, “Attackers” and “Defenders,” on Friday, May 25 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FOX. Episode 3, “Goalkeepers,” will air on Friday, June 1, at 9 p.m. ET/PT, ahead of the finale on June 8, when Episodes 4 and 5, “Playmakers” and “Creators,” will air back-to-back at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET/PT. The five-part documentary chronicles the journey of the next great soccer players on their quests to represent their respective countries in the 2018 FIFA World Cup(TM). The series allows fans and viewers to experience the personal lives of players through unprecedented behind-the-scenes access. Some of the players featured include young stars from the world’s top clubs and countries such as Dele Alli, Davinson Sanchez, Marco Asensio, Paulo Dybala, Gabriel Jesus, Ousmane Dembele, Adrien Rabiot, Leon Goretzka, Corentin Tolisso, Hirving Lozano and Marquinhos. This captivating global sports documentary series has been created by the world’s top sports documentarians and award-winning storytellers — filmmakers who’ve won Emmys, Peabodys and Academy Awards, including Jeff and Michael Zimbalist, Kevin Klauber, Chris Perkel, Leo Pearlman, Jane Preston, Alastair Uhlig, Lovinsa Kavuma, Bart van den Aardweg, Mirko Dreiling, Marco Schillaci, Gilles Rof, Joan Lloret and Sofia Geveyler. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1TeBHXgquI  

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  • 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival is a Wrap – ‘Eighth Grade’ and ‘A Thousand Thoughts’ Win Audience Awards

    [caption id="attachment_27753" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]EIGHTH GRADE EIGHTH GRADE[/caption] After over two weeks of screening 186 films from 45 countries, the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival came to a close on Tuesday, April 17th. [caption id="attachment_28203" align="aligncenter" width="1280"]A Thousand Thoughts – A Live Documentary by Sam Green and Kronos Quartet A Thousand Thoughts – A Live Documentary by Sam Green and Kronos Quartet[/caption] The 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival Festival Audience Awards gave festival-goers the opportunity to select their favorite narrative and documentary features. The Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature went to Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade (USA), with Un Traductor by Rodrigo Barriuso and Sebastián Barriuso (Canada/Cuba) also scoring highly with Festival audiences. The Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature went to Sam Green’s A Thousand Thoughts – A Live Documentary by Sam Green and Kronos Quartet, while Betsy West and Julie Cohen’s RBG (USA) was another favorite at the Festival.

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  • FIVE SEASONS: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf, Documentary on Inspirational Designer and Plantsman, Sets Release Date [ Trailer ]

    [caption id="attachment_28200" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]FIVE SEASONS: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf Piet Oudolf photographing wildflowers in the Texas Hill Country.[/caption] After completing a feature documentary on New York’s High Line, award-winning filmmaker Thomas Piper met the inspirational designer and plantsman, Piet Oudolf, and the idea for a new project was born – FIVE SEASONS: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf. The documentary immerses viewers in Oudolf’s work and takes us inside his creative process, from his beautifully abstract sketches, to theories on beauty, to the ecological implications of his ideas. This award-winning film will open at IFC Center in New York on Wednesday, June 13, and at the Laemmle Royal in Los Angeles on Friday, June 29; Other cities will follow. Intimate discussions take place through all four seasons in Piet’s own gardens at Hummelo, and on visits to his signature public works in New York, Chicago, and the Netherlands, as well as to the far-flung locations that inspire his genius, including desert wildflowers in West Texas and post-industrial forests in Pennsylvania. As a narrative thread, the film also follows Oudolf as he designs and installs a major new garden at Hauser & Wirth Somerset, a gallery and arts center in Southwest England, a garden he considers his best work yet. Piet Oudolf has radically redefined what gardens can be. As Rick Darke, the famous botanist, says to Piet in the film, “your work teaches us to see what we have been unable to see.” Through poetic cinematography and unique access, FIVE SEASONS will reveal all that Piet sees, and celebrate all that we as viewers have been unable to see.

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