The Film Society of Lincoln Center today announced the fifth edition of Art of the Real, an essential showcase for the most vital and innovative voices in nonfiction and hybrid filmmaking, taking place April 26 to May 6. The 2018 lineup features a host of brilliant new works and exciting artist spotlights, including one world premiere, eight North American premieres, and seven U.S. premieres, with many of the filmmakers in person.
Netflix has released the Trailer for Come Sunday, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, that premiered earlier this year at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. The film is directed by Joshua Marston whose first film, Maria Full of Grace, won an Audience Award at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Come Sunday, also starring Martin Sheen, Jason Segel, Condola Rashad, Lakeith Stanfield and Danny Glover will launch on Netflix on April 13, 2018.
In the film, internationally-renowned pastor Carlton Pearson, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor – experiencing a crisis of faith – risks his church, family and future when he questions church doctrine and finds himself branded a modern-day heretic. Based on actual events.
Every Sunday, Bishop Carlton Pearson—evangelical megastar, brilliant orator, and television host with millions of followers—preaches the fundamentalist gospel to six thousand supplicants at his Higher Dimensions Church. He’s the pride and joy of his spiritual father, Oral Roberts, and the toast of Tulsa. One day, rattled by an uncle’s suicide and distraught by reports of the Rwandan Genocide, Pearson receives an epiphany. Suddenly it’s crystal clear—God loves all humankind; everyone is already saved, whether Christian or not; and there is no hell. But these ideas are heretical, violating sacrosanct doctrines.
The next Sunday, when Pearson unveils this theology of inclusion to his flock, shock waves sweep the enormous hall. Church leaders and members begin to defect in droves, and his empire topples. Based on the true story of a controversial and courageous man of God, Come Sunday elegantly and respectfully captures the authentic texture and tone of Pearson’s devout world, never resorting to hyperbole. Chiwetel Ejiofor’s tour-de-force performance embodies the effusive charisma and grounded humility of a character with everything to lose, yet even more to gain by heeding his convictions. Sundance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVQFWvm_fbU
AN EVENING WITH BEVERLY LUFF LINN[/caption]
Western Canada’s biggest genre festival, Calgary Underground Film Festival (CUFF) returns for it’s 15th anniversary with its boldest and most eclectic lineup yet, with 43% of the festival’s feature films by female filmmakers. AN EVENING WITH BEVERLY LUFF LINN starring Aubrey Plaza, Jemaine Clement, Emile Hirsch and Craig Robinson will open the festival on Monday, April 16. Director Jim Hosking in attendance.
“I remember the day we started this festival and our vision was to grow within our means, screen provocative, boundary-pushing independent film, build a solid community, and to really make sure we were creating a festival as fans, for fans,” said Co-Founder & Festival Director Brenda Lieberman.
With humble beginnings using fold-out chairs at The Venue (now called HiFi Club) attended by a few hundred fans over three-days; today, CUFF is a seven-day internationally-recognized festival presenting 55 films to nearly 7,000 attendees.
“I’m excited we’ve reached 15 years, continually growing, and achieving what we set out to do! I love this festival, and what we’ve become so far!”
The Calgary Underground Film Festival runs April 16 to 22, 2018 at Globe Cinema; and highlights of this year’s festival include:
The psychological thriller KNUCKLEBALL from local director Mike Peterson, and the international premiere of FREAKS & GEEKS: THE DOCUMENTARY from Alberta filmmaker Brent Hodge, just days after it premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Three more world premieres including THE SECRET POPO from CUFF alumnus Sean Pierce (MEATHEAD GOES HOGWILD); PAPER YEAR, the feature directorial debut from Canadian Rebecca Addelman, a prominent Hollywood screenwriter of the hit TV shows NEW GIRL and LOVE; and SLAVE TO THE GRIND, a documentary about grindcore from DIY filmmaker Doug Brown featuring the local band Wake.
The return of the FOUND FOOTAGE FESTIVAL: VOLUME 8, a one-of-a-kind CUFF-favorite event that showcases footage from videos that were found at garage sales and thrift stores and in warehouses and dumpsters across the country. Curators Nick and Joe will be back at CUFF for the first time in four years.
Big hits fresh off their premieres on the film festival circuit including the French-thriller REVENGE (Dir. Coralie Fargeat), a documentary about the history of roller-dancing in Venice Beach ROLLER DREAMS (Dir. Kate Hickey), and Lynne Ramsay’s latest YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE will be presented alongside a retrospective of her past work.
Home[/caption]
The 2018 Tribeca Film Festival will debut highly anticipated TV shows and introduce audiences to online storytellers without boundaries in its Tribeca TV and N.O.W. (New Online Work) sections. The Tribeca TV line-up includes 18 shows made up of eight series premieres, three season premieres, one mid-season premiere, two feature documentaries and five indie pilots.
The 5th edition of N.O.W. includes 12 programs in the Episodic and Short Form Showcases, in addition to the Creators Market. N.O.W. will also present five The New York Times Op-Docs. The Tribeca Film Festival takes place April 18-29.
This year’s Tribeca TV lineup includes world premieres of new series, including Rest In Power: The Trayvon Martin Story, from Executive Producer Jay-Z, based on the timely book of the same title; Sweetbitter, a coming-of-age series about a young woman working the restaurant industry in New York City and Cobra Kai, with Ralph Macchio reprising his iconic role from The Karate Kid franchise.
Two feature films exploring iconic television shows will World Premiere: Freaks and Geeks: The Documentary, looking at the fan favorite with a dedicated cult following, created by Paul Feig and executive produced by Judd Apatow and Mr. SOUL!, which focuses on the groundbreaking show Soul!, which presented the breadth of black artistry and culture for the first time to nationwide audiences via the medium of television. National Geographic’s acclaimed Genius series returns to Tribeca with Genius: Picasso, starring Antonio Banderas, on the heels of the series’ world premiere at last year’s festival. The star-studded cast of HBO’s hit series Westworld, Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, and James Marsden will be in attendance for the New York premiere of season two’s premiere episode. Tribeca TV also presents the best in new independent voices in episodic television with its Pilot Season section with five new unaffiliated projects.
“Tribeca TV has become a destination for some of the most highly anticipated and well-received shows on television,” said Cara Cusumano, Director of Programming at the Tribeca Film Festival. “While we continue that tradition with an exciting slate of new and returning series premieres, we also sought to pay homage to the rich cultural history of TV through two feature documentaries about groundbreaking shows of the past, and all-new episodes of a true-crime trailblazer.”
The N.O.W. Showcase features the latest work from 18 unique online creators who are using their platforms to tell original stories. In the Episodic Showcase the projects range from coming-of-age stories about gender non-conforming friends in Dinette, to Snugglr, a comedic series about a young Turkish woman who takes up the strange profession of cuddling with strangers for profit, to an animated series based on the Oscar®-nominated short film Pig: The Dam Keeper Poems. Some of the works in the Short Form Showcase include a documentary about the devastating water crisis in Flint, Michigan called Flint is a Place; a film set in the dystopian future wherein an aging fisherman in Vietnam discovers an android woman from his past called The Last Fisherman; and Crime Cutz, a hybrid documentary-music video all set to the music of the band Holy Ghost!
These online creators, as well as an additionally curated 15 participants – including, for the first time, VR and immersive filmmakers – are invited to take part in the Tribeca Creators Market – a private industry market that brings creators together with distributors, brands, and MCNs to pitch and discuss their latest work.
“We started Tribeca N.O.W. five years ago to recognize a truly unique brand of storytellers emerging from the online space,” said Liza Domnitz, Senior Programmer, Tribeca Film Festival. “Here were creators who found the Wild West landscape of the web the perfect playground for their hysterical, provocative and moving visions. Tribeca is proud to be a leader in recognizing these diverse filmmakers who, this year, have created vastly different work ranging from an episodic, dark comedy about addiction, to a visual extension of a popular podcast, to a serial version of a beloved Oscar®-nominated animated short film.”
Rest In Power: The Trayvon Martin Story[/caption]
Rest In Power: The Trayvon Martin Story (Paramount Network) – World Premiere
Executive Producers: Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, Michael Gasparro, Nick Sandow, Sybrina Fulton, Tracy Martin, Chachi Senior.
Rest In Power: The Trayvon Martin Story depicts the life and legacy of Trayvon Martin, presenting the definitive look at one of the most talked-about, controversial events of the last decade.
After the screening: A conversation with co-directors Julia Willoughby Nason and Jenner Furst, the parents of Trayvon Martin, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, executive producers Mike Gasparro and Chachi Senior, and special guest.
Screening: Friday, April 20, 5:45 PM, BMCC Tribeca PAC
The Staircase – International Premiere
Executive Producers: Matthieu Belghiti, Jean-Xavier de Lestrade.The true-crime phenomenon The Staircase returns with all-new chapters, as convicted murderer Michael Peterson faces his final trial.
After the screening: A conversation with creator and director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade and producers Matthieu Belghiti and Allyson Luchak
Screening: Saturday, April 28, 6:00 PM, SVA Theatre
Sweetbitter (STARZ) – World Premiere
Executive Producers: Stephanie Danler, Stuart Zicherman, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Sarah Esberg.
New to New York City, 22-year-old Tess is quickly intoxicated by the chaotic, adrenalized world of the upscale restaurant industry, where she tastes expensive wine, explores dive bars, and learns who she can trust. With Ella Purnell, Tom Sturridge, Caitlin FitzGerald, Paul Sparks, Evan Jonigkeit, Eden Epstein, Jasmine Matthews, Daniyar.
After the screening: A conversation with Sweetbitter creator, executive producer, and writer Stephanie Danler, showrunner Stuart Zicherman, and cast-members Ella Purnell, Caitlin FitzGerald, Tom Sturridge, and Paul Sparks.
Screening: Thursday, April 26, 5:00 PM, SVA Theatre
Westworld (HBO) – Season Two, New York Premiere
Executive Producers: Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy, J.J. Abrams, Athena Wickham, Roberto Patino, Richard Lewis, Ben Stephenson.
As a new chapter begins, Westworld continues on its dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin. With Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Ed Harris, Jeffrey Wright, James Marsden, Tessa Thompson.
After the screening: a conversation with co-creators, showrunners, and directors Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, and cast-members Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, and James Marsden.
Screening: Thursday, April 19, 8:30 PM, BMCC Tribeca PAC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvhMHJfB5U8
Snugglr[/caption]
Snugglr, created by Georgia Bernstein, Cemre Paksoy (USA) – World Premiere. Snugglr is an improvised comedy that follows a young Turkish girl, Cemre, who cuddles strangers, professionally as a last resort to make rent. She winds up fully dressed and in bed with all kinds of characters – including a high school student discovering her sexuality, a piano playing dad, and a twelve-year-old with lice, all of whom are looking for more than just a snuggle, in one weird way or another. In English, Turkish with English subtitles.
Georgia Bernstein is a filmmaker from Los Angeles. A recent graduate from Northwestern University, she’s living in Chicago where she created and directed a short film for Condé Nast and Indigenous Media based off her web series, Snugglr. Her first short film about modern neuroticism was an official selection in the 13th annual CineYouth Festival.
Cemre Paksoy is an actor and filmmaker living in Chicago. She recently adapted Snugglr, the web series, into a short film that can be seen on Condé Nast’s The Scene. She’s from Turkey where she windsurfs and pets dogs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-xJZ_Xh7_o
Athina Rachel Tsangari: The Capsule[/caption]
The 30th Filmfest Dresden, one of the most renowned and best-endowed short film festivals in Europe, running from April 17 to 22, 2018, unveiled this year’s anniversary program of 270 short films, as well as panel discussions and other events, enticing short film fans from across the world once more to the capital city of Saxony. One main focus this years is on “Europe”, bringing 30 years of European and the festival’s history together in several programs.
Each year, the festival centrepiece consists of the International and National Competitions: 69 short films from a total of 2,200 submissions are in the running this year for the ten “Golden Horsemen” and four special prizes. In the International Competition section, a total of 23 animation and 19 fictional films are going to be screened in seven programmes during the festival week. These include short films from 28 countries, with France and Canada leading the way here, as well as seven co-productions.
In addition to its Competition sections, the 30th Filmfest Dresden also has an extensive array of 27 special programs. For young audiences, there are five children and youth programs for differing age groups with the latest and most exciting short films from throughout the world. International short film entertainment under the open skies can again be enjoyed by all at the Festival Open-Air event on Dresden’s Neumarkt square. This is drawing the crowds on the festival weekend with a special program for the whole family.
* The Unfinished Adventure Named Europe
The great European dreams after the end of the Cold War are now being overshadowed by crises. And Europe is wrestling with its identity. These conflicts and confrontations, as well as the inner plurality of the European construct are also reflected in short film. In the three “A Path to Freedom”, “Border Regions” and “Europe Is Falling Apart” programs, which embrace both historic and current perspectives and are intended to explore the utopian as indeed the dystopian horizons here, Filmfest Dresden is looking back on 30 years of Europe. Among others, the themes include the euphoria in Germany immediately after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the question about the geographic and formal-aesthetic borders of Europe, as well as the unvanquished nationalism in the fortress of Europe. The films in the “Focus Europe” program debunk their discourse as being “post-truth”, while providing thought-provoking impulses and posing questions: How can the political regression within the EU be brought to an end? And does the Europe project still have a chance?
The first trailer is here for Under the Silver Lake, the contemporary neo-noir thriller from writer-director David Robert Mitchell (It Follows), starring Andrew Garfield, Riley Keough, and Topher Grace. The film will be released in theaters on June 22, 2018.
From the dazzling imagination that brought you It Follows comes a delirious neo-noir fever dream about one man’s search for the truth behind the mysterious crimes, murders, and disappearances in his East L.A. neighborhood.
Sam (Andrew Garfield) is a disenchanted 33-year-old who discovers a mysterious woman, Sarah (Riley Keough), frolicking in his apartment’s swimming pool. When she vanishes, Sam embarks on a surreal quest across Los Angeles to decode the secret behind her disappearance, leading him into the murkiest depths of mystery, scandal, and conspiracy in the City of Angels.
From writer-director David Robert Mitchell comes a sprawling, playful and unexpected mystery-comedy detective thriller about the Dream Factory and its denizens—dog killers, aspiring actors, glitter-pop groups, nightlife personalities, It girls, memorabilia hoarders, masked seductresses, homeless gurus, reclusive songwriters, sex workers, wealthy socialites, topless neighbors, and the shadowy billionaires floating above (and underneath) it all. Mining a noir tradition extending from Kiss Me Deadly and The Long Goodbye to Chinatown and Mulholland Drive, Mitchell uses the topography of Los Angeles as a backdrop for a deeper exploration into the hidden meaning and secret codes buried within the things we love.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwgUesU1pz4
One October, the documentary chronicling radio host Clay Pigeon as he talks to a diverse cross-section of people throughout New York city, exploring a microcosm of themes and issues including race, religion, economics, politics and culture, will be released nationally starting Friday, May 11.
Filmed entirely in October of 2008, a time when gentrification is rapidly displacing the working and middle classes, Wall Street is plummeting, and then-Senator Barack Obama is making his first presidential bid, One October is a lyrical time capsule that captures the heart and spirit of New York. When seen from our current vantage point, the film foreshadows the roiling political upheaval spreading across the country today in 2018. Directed by Rachel Shuman and executive produced by three-time Academy Award® nominee Edward Norton (“Primal Fear,” “American History X” and “Birdman”), this captivating feature documentary, which had its World Premiere at the 2017 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, chronicles intrepid radio host Clay Pigeon as he talks to a beautifully diverse cross-section of people throughout the city, exploring a microcosm of themes and issues including race, religion, economics, politics and culture. With today’s news filled with ratings-hungry, sensationalist headlines and political pundits yelling over one another, Pigeon is quite the antithesis with his man-on-the-street style interviews, offering an authentic, warm-hearted and more humanitarian approach to journalism.
Maysles Cinema in Harlem, NYC, where several of the scenes in the documentary were filmed, will host a week-long theatrical release of One October, screening along with the short documentary THE MONOLITH, directed by Angelo J. Guglielmo, Jr., about pioneering NYC artist Gwyneth Leech, starting Friday, May 11. One October will also be released nationally on VOD on May 11 via Passion River Films on iTunes, Amazon Prime, Google Play, Microsoft XBOX and other digital platforms. The film will also screen nationwide in select cities.
One October begins with Pigeon, a radio host from WFMU in Jersey City, NJ, who takes to the streets of New York City to talk to everyday citizens about their lives, their dreams and their relationships in the face of uncertain change in a transforming city. As part of what he calls a “radio experiment,” this transplanted Iowan roams the streets bearing a handheld recorder and a kindly probing nature: “Has he popped the question?” “When is the last time you’ve had a regular roof over your head?” “Do you love America?” These revealing interviews are woven between vivid scenes of New York’s eccentric byways, which together reveal a city—and a nation—at a crossroads.
During his neighborhood rambles, Pigeon meets people like Kristin, an optimistic young woman who has just arrived from the Midwest; Mark, a union construction worker still dusty from his workday and deeply in debt; Nicole, a transgender woman looking for an accepting community; and Stacie, a single mother in Harlem worried about gentrification.
Pigeon’s encounters interweave with observational passages that poignantly reveal urbanist and author Jane Jacobs’s (The Death and Life of Great American Cities) idea of the “ballet of the good city sidewalk”: rollerskaters wind their way through Central Park, city dwellers seek blessings for a motley group of pets on St. Francis Day, observant Jews toss breadcrumbs into the Hudson River on Rosh Hashanah, and Muslims mark the end of their Ramadan fast with Eid al-Fitr prayers and expressions of forgiveness. Amid these celebrations of daily life we see the shifting landscape of the city: big-box stores and mega-chains rapidly replace independent businesses, giant glass buildings are erected where flea markets once stood, and luxury condos loom over small brick tenements.
Nuanced, cinematic and often humorous, One October charts the chasm between one’s desires and one’s means, explores the urgent need to conserve the old amid the glorification of the new, and affirms the notion that a varied streetscape is essential to the health of a dynamic metropolis.
https://vimeo.com/260800683
“I wanted to make a film in response to the homogenization and hypergentrification of neighborhoods in New York City and chose to set it in October 2008, a tumultuous moment when the housing market collapse was becoming a worldwide economic crisis and much of the country was swept up in Obama’s presidential campaign,” said One October director Rachel Shuman. “In retrospect, almost exactly a decade later now, I am releasing the film in another period of change in our country, and I hope that it will present a story of diversity and resiliency that unites people.”
Edward Norton is an environmental, social and civic activist who has substantially contributed to the development of the cultural and civic life of the city. When asked why he wanted to become involved in this film, Norton stated, “Like E.B. White’s classic ‘Here is New York,’ One October captures the complexity of our culture at a moment in time and distills the zeitgeist of optimism and hope surrounding the election of Barack Obama. Viewed today, it’s especially poignant and inspiring.”
Unapologetic[/caption]
Nine filmmakers and six projects have been selected for Film Independent’s 2018 Documentary Lab, an intensive five-week program designed to help filmmakers who are currently in post-production on their feature-length documentary films.
This year’s projects span the globe – from a film about undocumented youth in the US, to an indigenous family in the Andes standing up to one of the largest gold producers in the world, to an unexpected environmental film about invisible elves, the free market and the surprising power of belief told through an Icelandic grandmother’s quest to save a threatened landscape.
“We’re delighted to welcome this talented group of filmmakers who will be joining us for the eighth year of the Documentary Lab from diverse regions across the US and as far away as Egypt,” said Jennifer Kushner, Director of Artist Development. “Through mentorship, career development and a lively collaborative work environment, the Lab provides support to filmmakers as they work to bring these meaningful nonfiction stories to audiences.”
Through a series of meetings and workshops, the Documentary Lab provides creative feedback and story notes to participating filmmakers, while helping them strategize for the completion, distribution and marketing of their films.
Additionally, the program serves to advance the careers of its Fellows by making introductions to film professionals who can advise on both the craft and business of documentary filmmaking. Lab Fellows attend multiple guest speaker and workshopping sessions with established documentary directors, institutional funders, legal professionals, festival programmers and distributors, and each is paired with an experienced Creative Advisor who provides one-on-one support and insight as the Fellows ready their projects for release.
This year’s Documentary Lab Advisors and Guest Speakers include Ramona S. Diaz (Motherland), Greg Finton (Editor, A River Runs Through It, Dazed and Confused), Amy Halpin of the International Documentary Association, Alexandra Johnes (The Square), Senain Kheshgi of Majority Film, Jeff Malmberg (Spettacolo, Marwencol), Marjan Safinia (But You Speak Such Good English), Chris Shellen (Spettacolo, Marwencol) and Rahdi Taylor of Concordia Films (Blue Note).
Notable past Documentary Lab projects include Tracy Droz Tragos and Andrew Droz Palmero’s Rich Hill; Marah Strauch’s Sunshine Superman; Sarita Khurana and Smriti Mundhra’s A Suitable Girl; Dustin Nakao Haider, Daniel Dewes and Derek Doneen’s Shot in the Dark; and Bing Liu and Diane Quon’s Minding the Gap, winner of the 2018 US Documentary Competition Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking at Sundance.
Film Independent Artist Development promotes unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work through its Filmmaker Labs (Directing, Documentary, Episodic, Producing and Screenwriting), Grants Program which awards over $800K annually to filmmakers, the Fast Track finance market, Fiscal Sponsorship and Project Involve, celebrating 25 years of mentoring the next generation of visual storytellers and working toward an inclusive industry.
The 2018 Documentary Lab projects and Fellows are:
Title: I am a Script Girl
Director/Producer: Mina Nabil
Logline: I Am a Script Girl is an up close and personal examination of the life, challenges and career of the unstoppable Sylvette Baudrot who at 89-years old recounts her journey from Egypt to Paris where she became a trusted confidant to the great auteurs of 20th century cinema.
Title: Pathways
Director: Florencia Krochik
Logline: Pathways tells the stories of six “DACA-mented” & undocumented youth and the struggles they face pursuing higher education. The film weaves together their captivating stories and explores the crippled US immigration policies that have led to the hardships they and their families face.
Title: Sage Country
Director: Yuri Chicovsky
Producer: Lauren Blair
Logline: A Colorado sheep rancher who inherits a beloved piece of land and way of life must come to terms with his legacy and his life’s dream.
Title: The Seer and the Unseen
Director/Producer: Sara Dosa
Producer: Shane Boris
Logline: The Seer and the Unseen is an unexpected environmental film about invisible elves, the free market and the surprising power of belief told through an Icelandic grandmother’s quest to save a threatened landscape – and the beloved home her family has lived in for generations.
Title: Unapologetic
Director: Ashley O’Shay
Logline: After two Black Chicagoans are murdered by the police, young Black citizens begin challenging the city’s corrupt policies while redefining the meaning of community organizing. Unapologetic goes behind the veil with two Black, queer women, providing an intimate peek into the personal lives that sustain a movement.
Title: Untitled Claudia Sparrow Documentary
Director: Claudia Sparrow
Producer: Ryan Schwartz
Logline: An indigenous family from the Andes stands up to one of the largest gold producers in the world defending their right to live off their land and protect natural resources from devastating corporate greed.
Emir Hadžihafizbegović[/caption]
Legendary actor Emir Hadžihafizbegović will participate in two Q&As at the upcoming 2018 Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival (BHFF), following screenings of his two films Men Don’t Cry and The Frog. On Friday, April 13, Hadžihafizbegović joins director Alen Drljević for a Q&A following the 9:30pm screening of Men Don’t Cry. On Saturday, April 14, Hadžihafizbegović joins renowned producer Ademir Kenović and emerging director Elmir Jukić for a Q&A following the 6:00PM screening of their film The Frog. Both events take place at SVA Theatre in New York City.
Emir Hadžihafizbegović is a Bosnian film, theater, and television actor. Emir has appeared and been in more than 80 roles in theater and on TV spanning a 30 year career. Mr Hadžihafizbegović was born in the Bosnian city of Tuzla in 1961. He received his diploma in acting at the Academy of Arts in Sarajevo in 1986. He was awarded the Golden Arena for best actor at the Pula Film Festival and Best Actor Award at the Durban International Film Festival. Hadžihafizbegović was also the Minister of Culture and Sport in Sarajevo Canton. Hadžihafizbegović is twice nominated for the BHFF 2018 Jury Award for Best Acting Performance, for his roles in The Frog and Men Don’t Cry.
Drljević’s Men Don’t Cry, starring Hadžihafizbegović, is an unflinching look at one of the most troubling consequences of the war: the long-term psychological trauma of war veterans, and the social stigma placed on their wounded masculinity. Based on the true story of former soldiers from all ethnic sides coming together to participate in drama workshops and share their war traumas with one another, Hadžihafizbegović leads a stellar cast of regional actors who all give powerhouse performances.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dgSSQGJSe4
The Frog, starring Hadžihafizbegović and directed by Jukić, is an intensely emotional portrayal of an encounter between several men in a barber shop, where unresolved family issues and war wounds bubble up to the surface. With a tour de force performance by Hadžihafizbegović, Frog is an insightful study of PTSD, masculinity, as well as the social hardships facing Bosnia’s present.
https://vimeo.com/232259400
Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco and Matt Bomer Star in Maryam Keshavarz’s VULTURE CLUB[/caption]
YouTube has completed principal photography on the upcoming film VULTURE CLUB starring Academy Award-winner Susan Sarandon and award-winning actors Edie Falco and Matt Bomer. In VULTURE CLUB, a veteran emergency room nurse secretly struggles to free her grown son, a journalist, from capture by a terrorist group. After running into roadblocks with government agencies, she discovers a clandestine community of journalists and advocates who might be able to help her. VULTURE CLUB will debut in theaters and then on YouTube Red later this year.
VULTURE CLUB was directed by Maryam Keshavarz (writer-director of Circumstance) and was co-written with Jonathan Mastro. This powerful film is a thought-provoking story about a mother forced to take drastic measures to try and save her only son.
“VULTURE CLUB follows the singular journey of a woman abandoned by her government who finds community in the most unexpected places,” says Maryam Keshavarz. “It’s an honor to work with Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco and Matt Bomer who are the incredible talents and an innovator like YouTube to tell this timely story.”
“This emotional drama grapples with relevant issues journalists around the world face today. Maryam Keshavarz lends her powerful perspective as an Iranian-American filmmaker, and Susan Sarandon’s moving performance immediately drew us into this compelling film,” said Susanne Daniels, Global Head of Original Content, YouTube. “We are excited to be in business with Anna Gerb, Neal Dodson, and J.C. Chandor and work with the extremely talented cast of Vulture Club.”
VULTURE CLUB features Academy Award and BAFTA Award-winning actress Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking, Thelma & Louise) who plays “Helen” a mother desperate to rescue her son. Sarandon was recently nominated for a 2017 Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe and a SAG Award for Feud. Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning actress Edie Falco (The Sopranos, Nurse Jackie) plays “Charlotte” who is also the mother of a journalist. Golden Globe Award-winning and Primetime Emmy-nominated actor Matt Bomer (Normal Heart, White Collar, Magic Mike) plays “Sam,” a journalist who is trying to help Helen save her son. Julian Morris (Pretty Little Liars, Mark Felt) plays Helen’s son “Andy,” a war journalist covering dangerous international events. Rounding out the cast are Lola Kirke (Mozart In The Jungle, Gone Girl) who plays “Amy” the mother of a patient at the hospital, Adepero Oduye (12 Years A Slave, The Big Short) plays “Keesha,” the head emergency room nurse at the hospital, and Sheila Vand (Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Girl Walks Home Alone At Night) as “Sheila,” a journalist and Andy’s former girlfriend.
The award-winning film “Murder in the Woods” directed and produced by Mexican filmmaker Luis Iga, will screen at the upcoming 20th Annual XicanIndie Film Fest in Denver. The film written and produced by Chicana filmmaker Yelyna De Leon, stars José Julián (A Better Life) and features distinguished actor Danny Trejo (Machete).
The film will play at the XicanIndie Film Fest on Friday April 6th at 7:45pm with a Q&A session with the filmmakers to follow.
“I’m humbled and honored to be part of XicanIndie Film Fest. I want to thank ‘Su Teatro’ and Festival Director Daniel Salazar for being pioneers in reshaping how the world sees Chicanos and Latinos in cinema. I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to showcase ‘Murder in the Woods’ in such an iconic venue for Chicanos and Latinos. My goal with this film is to showcase and empower the amazing LatinX talent that we have in our communities in the US,” said director and producer Luis Iga. “My vision is to create content by Latinos that is universal in theme and crosses over to the general market transforming how Chicanos and Latinos are viewed around the globe,” he added.
For over 40 years, “Su Teatro” has established a national reputation for displaying homegrown productions that speak to the history and experience of Chicanos. “We’re exhilarated to premiere ‘Murder in the Woods’ at the 20th anniversary of ‘Su Teatro’ XicanIndie Film Fest. We’re the third oldest Chicano Teatro in the US; our audience is 75% Latino. The all-Chicano cast featured injects a distinct spin that keeps it real for us. We’re privileged to welcome the fresh young talent, faces we know we’ll be seeing more of in the future,” said Festival Director Daniel Salazar.
“As a Chicana, who majored in Chicano Studies and Film and TV at UCLA, I am so honored to be able to bring a film with Latino and Chicano leads to Denver. Growing up, I always loved the arts but the lack of content and great roles for Chicanas were far and few between, which is why I decided to create better roles and projects that could star people of color. Because although there is a lot of talk about the diversity and inclusion problem that Hollywood has, the projects being made for us and by us, are still only a handful, so we decided to make a film to help solve that issue. Because representation matters and the truth is that brown is beautiful. I am so very grateful for the opportunity to screen in Denver at the XicanIndie Fest and can’t wait to meet aspiring actors at ‘Su Teatro’ to hopefully help inspire them, because we need more projects being made for us, by us,” added writer and producer Yelyna De Leon.
“Murder in the Woods” distinguishes itself as being an All-American horror / slasher film in English, with an All-Latino cast in non- stereotypical roles, created by Latinos with a story that is of universal interest. The award-winning film had its Festival Premiere at the legendary “Festival Internacional de Cine de Guadalajara en LA” (FICG in LA) at the TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood. The film will also be playing at the renowned 34th Annual Chicago Latino Film Festival (CLFF) on Saturday April 7th at 9:15pm and Monday April 9th at 8:45pm with Q&A sessions with the filmmakers to follow.
“Murder in the Woods” has received six nominations and has won six awards including Best Film at the LA Skins Film Festival; Best Supporting Actor (Kade Wise), Best Sound Design and Best Soundtrack at the Macabre Faire Film Festival in New York; the Panavision New Filmmakers Grant and the Luminys Grant. The ensemble lead cast includes actors Jose Julian (A Better Life, Shameless), Jeanette Samano (ISA, Female Fight Squad), Chelsea Rendon (Vida), Catherine Toribio (Jane the Virgin), Jordan Diambrini (The Outfield) and Kade Wise (Empire). It also features Danny Trejo (Machete), Soledad St. Hilaire (Beatriz at Dinner), Kurt Caceres (Lawless Range) and Rolando Molina (American Dad!).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo4EjP5S_fY
On Chesil Beach[/caption]
The Ashland Independent Film Festival announced its lineup for the five-day festival taking place April 12 to 16, 2018, and featuring over 120 films chosen from nearly a thousand films submitted to the festival, or specially selected by AIFF Artistic and Executive Director Richard Herskowitz.
Special screenings include the upcoming features First Reformed (directed by Paul Schrader and starring Ethan Hawke), On Chesil Beach with Saoirse Ronan, Brett Haley’s Hearts Beat Loud with Nick Offerman, Andrew Haigh’s Oregon-filmed Lean on Pete, and Borg vs. McEnroe, starring Shia LeBoeuf, plus 2018 Sundance Film Festival award-winning documentaries Minding the Gap, On Her Shoulders, and Crime + Punishment.