• Deadlines Approachin​g for Academy’s 2012 Nicholl Screenwrit​ing Competitio​n

    The deadlines to submit entries for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 27th annual Don and Gee Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition are: Thursday, March 15, 2012 (early bird); and Tuesday, May 1, 2012 (regular). An entry fee discount applies to scripts submitted by the early bird deadline.

    The Nicholl competition is open to any individual who has not earned more than $5,000 from the sale or option of a screenplay or teleplay, or received a fellowship or prize of more than $5,000 that includes a “first look” clause, an option or any other quid pro quo involving the writer’s work. To enter, writers must submit a completed online application, upload one PDF copy of their original screenplay in English and pay the entry fee US$35 before 11:59 p.m. PT on March 15, or US$52 before 11:59 p.m. PT on May 1.

    Entry scripts must be feature length and the original work of a sole author or of exactly two collaborative authors. The scripts must have been written originally in English. Adaptations and translated scripts are not eligible. The Academy presents up to five $35,000 fellowships each year.

    Last year’s competition drew a record 6,730 entries. Since the program’s inception in 1985, 123 fellowships have been awarded. Among the recent achievements by Nicholl fellows: Destin Daniel Cretton wrote and directed “I Am Not a Hipster,” which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival; Andrew Marlowe created and executive produces and Terri Miller serves as a writer-producer on the ABC series “Castle”; Susannah Grant created and executive produces the CBS series “A Gifted Man”; and Jeffrey Eugenides’ third novel, The Marriage Plot, was a 2012 National Book Critics Circle award nominee.

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  • RiverRun International Film Festival Reveals 2012 Full Lineup of Films

    [caption id="attachment_2290" align="alignnone"]THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES[/caption]

    The RiverRun International Film Festival announced the full lineup of films for the 14th annual Festival, running April 13-22, 2012. This year RiverRun will screen 140 films, which includes 59 features and 81 shorts.

    “We’ve put together a fantastic lineup of films for this year’s Festival, ranging from hysterically funny comedies and powerful issue documentaries to groundbreaking independent works and critically-acclaimed international movies,” said RiverRun Executive Director Andrew Rodgers. “Once again, we’ve selected some of the best cinema from around the world to share with our audiences – and I believe we’ve put together our best program yet!”

    The Festival will open on April 13 with a screening of ONE NIGHT STAND, a brilliant documentary that peeks behind the curtain to show the amazing creative process of some of Broadway’s best, and will close on April 22 with Fred Schepisi’s THE EYE OF THE STORM, about an upper-crust matron (Charlotte Rampling) and her adult children (Geoffrey Rush, Judy Davis). In between, the Festival will feature a wide variety of features, documentaries, shorts and animation in competition sections, as well as many films in non-competition sidebars. Additionally, UNCSA alum Paul Schneider (Lars and the Real Girl, All the Real Girls) will receive RiverRun’s 2012 Emerging Master Award, following a screening of BRIGHT STAR on April 20. Also, for this year’s Centerpiece Premiere on April 18 at the Carolina Theatre in Greensboro, RiverRun will show THE HUNTER, about a man (Willem Dafoe) sent to the Tasmanian wilderness to hunt an endangered animal.

    Included in the non-competition lineup this year is a Spotlight on Science Fiction Favorites from the 60’s and 70’s, featuring classics from Stanley Kubrick, Andrei Tarkovsky,Woody Allen and others. Additional sidebars include a new Focus section and the second year of Altered States: New Directions in American Cinema, which features new works by young American filmmakers.

    2012 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

    NARRATIVE COMPETITION: The 2012 Narrative Competition is incredibly diverse including films from around the world that range from fast paced thrillers to dream-like dramas. The films in the Narrative Competition are eligible for jury prizes and the Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature.

    ELENA  – Russia / Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
    The ages-old adage that a mother will do anything to protect her children finds new meaning in the domestic stunner Elena. When her well-to-do husband takes ill and threatens to excise her parasitic son from the will, Elena must take desperate measures to ensure the security of her progeny.

    THE FAIRY- France / Belgium / Directors: Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon and Bruno Romy
    From the filmmaking team that delighted RiverRun audiences in 2009 with Rumba comes this new lighter-than-air comedic fable, filled with inspired gags and choreographed wonders, about a woman who thinks she’s a fairy and the man who believes in her.

    FOUND MEMORIES – Argentina / Brazil / France / Director: Júlia Murat
    Life is simple and habits beat a warm, familiar cadence in an aging, off-the-map Brazilian village. The sudden appearance of Rita, a dynamic young photographer, disrupts the monotony however, and sets a series of changes in motion that transform daily life in unexpected ways.

    KEEP THE LIGHTS ON – USA / Director: Ira Sachs
    This intense film follows the relationship between a man and his closeted lover. What begins as a highly charged first sexual encounter soon becomes something much more. As the two start building a home and life together, each continues to privately battle their own compulsions and addictions.

    LIFE WITHOUT PRINCIPLE – Hong Kong / Director: Johnnie To
    A low-level gangster, a bank officer and a cop find their fates entwined at the onset of the global economic crisis, when fear and panic seem to take hold. As a result of actions that each takes, their moral compass is tested on a day when clear thinking is already in short supply.

    MONSIEUR LAZHAR – Canada / Director: Philippe Falardeau

    [caption id="attachment_1958" align="alignnone"]MONSIEUR LAZHAR[/caption]

    An endearing and eager Algerian immigrant is hired to replace a teacher who died under mysterious circumstances at a French Canadian elementary school. His presence quickly becomes essential to the grieving and shell-shocked students in this affirming masterpiece, a 2012 Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film.

    OSLO, AUGUST 31st – Norway / Director: Joachim Trier
    Anders is a fortunate but deeply troubled man battling addiction. As part of his rehab he is sent for a job interview in the city, but instead uses the opportunity to wander and visit old friends, reawakening personal demons in his search for love and a new life.

    THE STUDENT – Argentina / Director: Santiago Mitre
    A gritty, energetic university initiates a young man into the fast-paced, cutthroat system of student politics in Buenos Aires, where the students are refreshingly activated in constructing their campus experience. But the line between sexual and political power becomes far more blurred than their textbooks would confess.

    WUTHERING HEIGHTS – UK / Director: Andrea Arnold
    The fearless Andrea Arnold, director of 2009’s critically-acclaimed Fish Tank, reinvents Emily Bronte’s epic love story in a fresh, visually arresting way. A poor boy of unknown origins is taken in by the Earnshaw family, where he develops an intense relationship with his foster sister.

    DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION: The 2012 Documentary Competition includes plenty of commentary on the issues that have so far defined the 21st century. From global warming to American greed to the issue of gay rights to the collapse of US manufacturing, the topics of these works are sure to spark discussions. The films in the Documentary Competition are eligible for jury prizes and the Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature.


    THE BOY WHO WAS A KING – Bulgaria / Germany / Director: Andrey Paounov
    Paounov’s film tells the fascinating story of Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, who at the age of six became the Tsar of Bulgaria, only to then be overthrown by communist dissenters three years later. The film presents Gotha’s harrowing and complicated return to national politics after 50 years in exile.

    CHASING ICE – USA / Director: Jeff Orlowski

    [caption id="attachment_2337" align="alignnone" width="549"]CHASING ICE[/caption]

    One of the most visually stunning films made about global climate change, Orlowski’s work demonstrates how renowned photographer James Balog has captured incontrovertible proof of vanishing glaciers across the Arctic. With astounding time-lapse photography, this film offers a visual face to this dire problem.

    DETROPIA – USA / Directors: Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
    The city of Detroit may have suffered from the collapse of US manufacturing more than any other American city, and its residents have borne more than their share of economic hardships. But as this arresting film shows, the city hasn’t given up and is desperately trying to reclaim its sense of home.

    ETHEL – USA / Director: Rory Kennedy
    Who better to tell the life story of Ethel Kennedy (widow of the late Bobby Kennedy) than her youngest daughter, Rory? Incorporating stories told by many of the Kennedys themselves, this film paints a truly intimate, personal and deeply moving portrait of one of the greatest American political families.

    INDIE GAME: THE MOVIE – Canada / Directors: Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky
    Video games are big business, raking in untold millions for corporations around the globe, who peddle in the latest new releases. Not unlike the music or film industries, however, there are many young video game developers trying to go it alone and make their fortunes by making independent games. This film tells their story.

    THE ISLAND PRESIDENT – USA / Director: Jon Shenk

    [caption id="attachment_1766" align="alignnone"]THE ISLAND PRESIDENT[/caption]

    President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives is credited with bringing democracy to his country. His next challenge is combating a threat that is much harder to control, the possibility of the entire country slowly disappearing under the sea.

    JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI – USA / Director: David Gelb
    One wouldn’t expect to find the finest sushi restaurant in the world in the basement of a nondescript Tokyo office building, but that’s where Sukiyabaski Jiro has worked for a majority of his 85 years. Now, facing retirement, his son Yoshikazu must take over from this sushi master.

    LOVE FREE OR DIE – USA / Director: Macky Alston
    Gene Robinson has become well-known since becoming the first openly gay person to become a bishop in a major Christian denomination. Through this personal story that details Robinson’s life and work, we are given a front-row seat to the Episcopal Church’s struggle to come to terms with homosexuality.

    THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES – USA / Netherlands / UK / Denmark / Director: Lauren Greenfield
    Greefield’s impressive character-driven documentary chronicles a billionaire family and their financial challenges in the wake of the economic crisis. With epic proportions of Shakespearean tragedy, the film follows two unique characters, whose rags-to-riches success stories reveal the innate virtues and flaws of the American Dream.

     


    SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS: This year, RiverRun’s non-competition Special Presentation section features a collection of stunning new films spanning all genres, ranging from comedies about line dancing to documentaries about Broadway musicals.

    BRIGHT STAR – Australia / UK / Director: Jane Campion
    Based on the true story of 19th century poet John Keats and his three-year romance with Fanny Brawne, Jane Campion’s literary biopic also stars UNCSA alum Paul Schneider, who has amassed an impressive array of striking and distinctive film roles. Following the screening, Schneider will participate in a discussion about the film and his career, and will be presented with RiverRun’s 2012 Emerging Master Award.

    CHIMPANZEE – USA / Directors: Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield
    Celebrate Earth Day with a film from the Disneynature series that transports you to the tropical jungles of the Ivory Coast and Uganda to meet Oscar, an adorable baby chimp, whose playful curiosity and zest for discovery demonstrates the intelligence and ingenuity of one of the most extraordinary personalities in the animal kingdom.

    THE HUNTER – Australia / Director: Daniel Nettheim
    Willem Dafoe stars as a mercenary sent to the Tasmanian wilderness by a mysterious biotech company in search of the last remaining Tasmanian tiger. His job becomes complicated, however, by uncooperative and occasionally hostile locals, the unforgiving terrain and a young family who prompt him to question his assignment. CENTERPIECE PREMIERE

    THE EYE OF THE STORM – Australia / Director: Fred Schepisi
    Elizabeth Hunter (Charlotte Rampling) controls every aspect of her stiff upper-crust life: society, her staff, her children (played wonderfully by Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis); but the once great beauty will now carry out her most defiant act as she chooses her time to die. CLOSING NIGHT

    THE GOOD DOCTOR – USA / Director: Lance Daly
    Orlando Bloom stars as a socially aloof doctor who befriends a pretty young patient with a kidney infection. He likes having her around so much, in fact, that he starts tampering with her treatment in order to keep her sick and in the hospital near him.

    ONE NIGHT STAND – USA / Directors: Elisabeth Sperling and Trish Dalton
    Ever wonder how much work goes into making a musical? In this brilliant and charming documentary, audiences are given a back-stage pass to watch the creative process as a collection of Broadway’s best artists race to create, rehearse and perform a series of 20-minute musicals… all within 24 hours. OPENING NIGHT

    QUEENS OF COUNTRY – USA / Directors: Ryan Page & Christopher Pomerenke
    Jolene (Lizzy Caplan) lives in a fantasy world of bygone country songs. When she discovers a lost iPod with her boyfriend (Ron Livingston), she becomes convinced that the owner is her soul mate and is thrust into a sexy, heartwarming and hilarious adventure while searching for the iPod’s true owner.

    RETURN – USA / Director: Liza Johnson
    A soldier, dazzlingly played by Linda Cardellini, returns from a tour of duty in Afghanistan to her children, friends, job and loving husband, played by 2011 Emerging Master honoree Michael Shannon. But the PTSD she suffers from makes every day a struggle.

    SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT – USA / Director: Hal Needham
    A maverick racecar driver is hired to run a tractor-trailer full of beer over county lines with a pesky sheriff in hot pursuit. To coincide with the release of his memoir, Stuntman!, RiverRun has invited legendary Hollywood stuntman and director Hal Needham to reflect on this film (his directorial debut) and his illustrious career.

    Spotlight on Science Fiction Favorites: Rather than focusing on a specific country, the 2012 Spotlight will showcase a particular genre – Science Fiction – and will include landmark films of the genre, cult classics, campy B-movies and even a comedy. This Spotlight was designed to highlight seminal works of Science Fiction film from the 60s and 70s, specifically pre-Star Wars. The films selected include in this section include:

    2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY – USA / UK / Director:  Stanley Kubrick
    Based on Arthur C. Clarke’s story “The Sentinel,” this landmark 1968 epic is a mind-bending, sci-fi symphony. Director Stanley Kubrick spent more than two years meticulously creating the most “realistic” depictions of outer space ever seen, pushing the limits of narrative and special effects toward a meditation on technology and humanity.

    THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN – USA / Director: Robert Wise
    A deadly alien virus is brought to Earth when a research satellite crashes near a tiny Arizona town. A team of scientists is recruited from labs all over North America to don radiation suits and race against time to destroy the virus. This film returns director Wise to the genre he first explored with The Day the Earth Stood Still.

    LOGAN’S RUN – USA / Director:
    Set in a dystopian future where population and the consumption of resources are managed and maintained by killing everyone who reaches the age of thirty, this cult classic follows the title character as he attempts to escape from society’s lethal demand.

    THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH – UK / Director: by Nicolas Roeg
    In this deeply allegorical science-fiction drama, an alien lands on Earth seeking a way to ship water to his home planet, which is suffering from a severe drought. The film achieved cult status for David Bowie’s performance and the surreal imagery of director Nicolas Roeg.

    SLEEPER – USA / Director: Woody Allen
    In Allen’s futuristic comedy, a neurotic health food store owner is cryogenically frozen in 1973 and defrosted 200 years later in an inept totalitarian state. A mix of bizarre sight gags and clever one-liners, Allen’s film is filled with plot points that parody or spoof the works of H.G. Wells, George Orwell and other sci-fi greats.

    SOLARIS – SOVIET UNION / Director: Andrei Tarkovsky
    Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival, Tarkovsky’s masterpiece centers on a widowed psychologist who is sent to a space station to investigate the mysterious death of a doctor, as well as the mental problems plaguing the dwindling number of cosmonauts on the station.

    SOYLENT GREEN – USA / Director: Richard Fleischer
    Set in the future, as Earth suffers from pollution, overpopulation, depleted resources, poverty and global warming, a New York police detective finds himself marked for murder by government agents when he gets too close to a bizarre state secret involving the origins of a revolutionary and needed new foodstuff.

    ALTERED STATES: NEW DIRECTIONS IN AMERICAN CINEMA: With technological breakthroughs and new distribution models rapidly democratizing the landscape of the motion picture industry, this program features a new wave of exciting, independent American filmmakers who are exploring new territory within the medium.

    BAD FEVER – USA / Director: Dustin Guy Defa
    Fixated on securing a gig at a second-rate Salt Lake City comedy club to impress a street urchin girl he’s befriended, socially adrift naïf Eddie sets down a heartbreakingly hopeless path in seeking to forge the real human connection that’s always eluded him.

    GREEN – USA / Director: Sophia Takal
    Sensitive NYC dilettante Genevieve retreats to a rural Virginia cottage with her boyfriend Sebastian, a pedantic journalist working on a story about sustainable farming.  When Genevieve befriends saccharine local Robin, however, a tense triangle of brooding jealousy and attraction develops that tests the self-control of all.

    KEVIN – USA / Director: Jay Duplass
    Filmmaker Jay Duplass’ documentary investigates the story of Kevin Gant, an inspired and beloved Austin musician who disappeared from the scene in 1995. Who is Kevin? What happened to him and can he get back what he lost? Features a special live musical performance from Kevin Gant.

    A LITTLE CLOSER – USA / Director: Matthew Petock
    In a backwater Virginia town, a single mom struggles to raise two unruly boys growing increasingly independent and preoccupied with the opposite sex. Petock’s debut feature presents a moving and naturalistic sketch of a working-poor family trying desperately to keep their heads above water.          

    MAGIC VALLEY – USA / Director: Jaffe Zinn
    On the surface, the small town of Buhl, Idaho appears the picture postcard of a wholesome, close-knit Western community.  The daylong search for a fish farmer’s missing daughter unearths strata of civil dysfunction and unrest that belie its unassuming exterior, however, in this grippingly atmospheric piece.

    PILGRIM SONG – USA / Director: Martha Stephens
    A recently laid-off high-school music teacher embarks on a cathartic solo backpacking adventure along Kentucky’s Sheltowee Trace Trail, seeking to rediscover a lost sense of personal fulfillment. UNCSA alum Martha Stephens (Passenger Pigeons) returns to RiverRun with her quietly assured and gently arresting second feature.

    SAWDUST CITY – USA / Director: David Nordstrom
    An estranged pair of brothers reunite for a frostbitten Wisconsin Thanksgiving, and the family bonds are quickly re-formed as the daylong search for their alcoholic father leads to a whirlwind tour of the local dives full of bittersweet revelry and revelation.

    SMALL, BEAUTIFULLY MOVING PARTS – USA / Directors: Annie Howell and Lisa Robinson
    Technology-obsessed Sarah finds the chaos and unpredictability of her recent pregnancy daunting, sparking an impulsive road trip to reconnect with her absentee mother living in parts unknown out in the Western desert. Howell and Robinson’s film dazzles as a comic coming-of-parenthood tale for the internet age.

    FOCUS: This year RiverRun introduces a new non-competition sidebar, featuring films of all shapes and sizes. Including films from emerging talents, RiverRun alums, veteran filmmakers and living legends alike, this section highlights a variety of film styles and stories, presenting a collection of some of our favorites.

    ANDREW BIRD: FEVER YEAR – USA / Director: Xan Aranda
    An amazing amalgamation of concert footage, studio work and personal introspection, this documentary delves deep into the life of musician Andrew Bird and follows him along his year-long rigorous tour across the country ending with the concert in his hometown of Chicago.

    CRAZY HORSE – USA / France / Director: Frederick Wiseman
    Legendary documentarian Frederick Wiseman turns his lens on the world famous Le Crazy Horse de Paris, a landmark nude dance club in Paris.  Priding itself on world class choreography, this club sets itself apart by mixing burlesque with Broadway-like numbers as well as Cirque de Soleil style feats. 

    DARWIN – Switzerland / Director: Nick Brandestini
    An isolated community, Darwin, CA, population 35, prides itself as a city on the fringes of society, one who doesn’t need the government. Yet, the town is fragile and depends more on the outside world than it realizes. This documentary shows that Darwin is a true, unique American story.

    GIRL MODEL- USA / Russia / Japan / France / Directors: Ashley Sabin and David Redmon
    This documentary is a unique examination into the, not so glamorous, world of international modeling. Following a 13 year-old girl from Siberia who dreams of making it big, the scout that finds her and the people in the industry she encounters, this film reveals a world rarely seen by outsiders. 

    THE INVISIBLE WAR – USA / Director: Kirby Dick
    An intensely powerful and emotional documentary, this astonishing new film from Oscar-nominated documentarian Kirby Dick (Twist of Faith) details just how vast a problem sexual abuse and rape are within the United States military today and how poorly it is being handled.

    THE SALT OF LIFE – Italy / Director: Gianni Di Gregorio
    In this follow-up to the RiverRun 2010 hit, Mid-August Lunch, we catch back up with Gianni who is attempting to have a wild love affair, in an effort to spice up his life, but ends up hilariously and poignantly unsuccessful in his endeavors.

    SEE GIRL RUN – USA / Director: Nate Meyer
    Featuring Robin Tunney and Adam Scott, this film sheds both a comic and poignant light on the problems of letting the “what ifs” of past romantic involvements get in the way of the love that is right in front of your face.

    SEMPER FI: ALWAYS FAITHFUL – USA / Director: Tony Hardmon and Rachel Libert
    After the young daughter of a life-long Marine dies of a rare form of leukemia, his search for answers, portrayed in this stirring documentary, leads to the startling discovery that the Corps had been covering up the largest water contamination incident in American history… at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

    THE TENTS – USA / Director: James Belzer
    New York Fashion Week, one of the most photographed, reported and attended events in the fashion world, is put under the microscope in this film by James Belzer. Chock full of interviews with legendary fashion icons, Belzer’s documentary conveys the history and importance of those famous white tents.

    UNDER AFRICAN SKIES – USA / Director: Joe Berlinger
    Twenty-five years after his album “Graceland” became an international sensation, musician Paul Simon returns to South Africa to reconnect with his collaborators and perform again with them. He also sits down with his most vocal critics, who asserted in the 1980s that he hindered the fight against apartheid.

    LATE NIGHT:  Every year, RiverRun searches for films that shock, scare or otherwise tantalize late night thrill-seekers. The 2012 Late Night lineup is no exception to this standard.

    THE BROOKLYN BROTHERS BEAT THE BEST – USA / Director: Ryan O’Nan
    After being dumped by both his girlfriend and his band, Alex is in a depressing rut, toiling away at his comically pathetic dead-end job. When he gets the opportunity to leave his life behind and go on a bizarre cross-country music tour with a new, eccentric friend, Alex jumps at the chance.

    FRIDAY THE 13th – USA / Director: Sean S. Cunningham
    In honor of the fact that RiverRun opens on Friday the 13th this year – not something likely to reoccur often – we just couldn’t resist the obvious! And so, fans of campy horror, enjoy our bonus opening night presentation of this cult classic, in which a group of summer camp counselors are stalked and murdered by an unknown and mysterious killer.

    GOD BLESS AMERICA – USA / Director: Bobcat Goldthwait
    When a terminally ill man in his 40s meets a 16-year-old firebrand, the two launch into a Bonnie and Clyde-esque killing spree of reality TV stars, talk show hosts and anyone else corrupting American culture in this absurdly comic farce from director and RiverRun alum Bob Goldthwait (World’s Greatest Dad).

    LATE NIGHT SHORTS
    Once again, we’ve found a variety of ways to disturb and delight our late night audiences. Including the Oscar nominated animated short A MORNING STROLL, we think this year’s program will thrill those ready for some late night scandal.

    FILMS WITH CLASS: In addition to our regular programming, RiverRun presents free public screenings to students and participating schools throughout the year and during the run of the annual Festival. This education outreach initiative, “Films With Class” is one of the most active components of RiverRun’s year-round activities. For this year’s Festival, the education department selected three films that will be screened privately for Forsyth County students and publicly during the festival.

    HYMAN BLOOM: THE BEAUTY OF ALL THINGS – USA / Director: Angelica Brisk
    Following the career of renowned abstract expressionist Hyman Bloom, Brisk’s film explores Bloom’s life from his birth in Latvia to his youth in Boston and his adult life as a Harvard student and artist in New England.  Audiences will come away with a unique look into an extraordinary artist’s life.

    REMEMBERING FREDERIC – THE GENIUS OF CHOPIN – USA / Directors: Pam Howland and Daniel McKinny
    Take a film exploration into the world of one of the most famous pianists of all time, Frédéric Chopin.  Through personal reflection, interviews and beautiful journeys through Chopin’s homeland of Warsaw, Poland, this film will enlighten and enliven audiences’ knowledge of the great composer.

    WHY I WRITE: THE TWIN POETS – USA / Director: Sharon Baker
    Life in poor, violence-ridden areas can be arduous for young children exposed to these harsh realities, but artists and social workers Nnamdi Chukwuocha and Albert Mills have made it their mission to help the youths in their Delaware neighborhood through the art of spoken word poetry and outreach.

    COMMUNITY CINEMA INITIATIVE: For the second year, we will offer free community screenings to connect with audiences from throughout the community. This program also furthers our outreach efforts and ensures the Festival’s demographics match both the diversity of our local community and the diversity of the films we present.

    ACE VENTURA: PET DETECTIVE – USA / Director: Tom Shadyac,
    This classic comedy about a goofy detective is RiverRun’s 2012 “Fido Frolic and Film” selection, where audiences are encouraged to bring their dogs to the film. Sponsored by PetSmart and The Winston-Salem Dash.

    E.T.: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL – USA / Director: Steven Spielberg,
    This Oscar-winning film about a boy and a stranded alien serves as a family-friendly introduction to RiverRun’s 2012 Spotlight theme on “Science Fiction Favorites.” Sponsored by Hanesbrands Inc.

    WHY I WRITE: THE TWIN POETS – USA / Director: Sharon Baker
    (See description above in “Films With Class” section.) Sponsored in part by the North Carolina Arts Council.

    SHORTS: This year the Festival will be continuing the competitive Narrative, Documentary and Animated Shorts sections while adding, for the second time, special selections of North Carolina Shorts. This program will screen some of the best short films received from N.C. filmmakers this year in two different programs, while giving attendees a chance to support local artists.

     

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  • Films from Denmark, Japan, Norway and UK at 2012 Florida Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_2573" align="alignnone" width="550"]TURN ME ON, DAMMIT![/caption]

    The 2012 Florida Film Festival International Showcase lineup announced today includes an outrageous adventure, a moving tale of childhood wishes, a sexually-charged coming-of-age comedy, and a darkly witty take on the afterlife.
    2012 FLORIDA FILM FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL SHOWCASE

    CLOWN, Denmark (Director: Mikkel Nørgaard) SOUTHEAST PREMIERE
    In Danish with English subtitles
    Frank and Casper planned an elaborate adventure to an exclusive brothel under the guise of a canoe trip. The problem is Frank just discovered his girlfriend is pregnant, and she’s none too certain he’s fatherhood material. But a fortuitous occurrence has left Frank in charge of his 12-year-old nephew. Eager to prove he doesn’t hate children while not disrupting Casper’s weekend escapades, Frank brings the kid along. Featuring a cast of Danish film luminaries, it’s a rare production that leaves you laughing till it hurts while at the same time shouting, “Oh no, they did not!”

    I WISH (KISEKI), Japan (Director: Hirokazu Kore-Eda) FLORIDA PREMIERE
    In Japanese with English subtitles
    Twelve-year-old Koichi regrets that his parents have split. He lives with his mother and maternal grandparents in small-town Kagoshima; his younger brother lives with their slacker rock-musician father in big city Hakata.  A new bullet train line will soon run between the two cities. Koichi comes to believe that where the two trains pass on their maiden voyage, wishes can come true. Enlisting friends and adults, all with their own wishes, he journeys to reunite his family.  Japanese master filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-Eda (Afterlife, FFF1999) shows the inventiveness and resilience of children and the power of the imagination.

    TURN ME ON, DAMMIT!, Norway (Director: Jannicke Systad Jacobsen) SOUTHEAST PREMIERE
    In Norwegian with English Subtitles
    Alma is a teenage girl living in the confines of a small town, utilizing every inch of her imagination to escape the mundane lifestyle in which she is trapped. Fortunately (and unfortunately) for her, she is now at that age where her more-than-active libido is taking her places most wouldn’t have dared to travel before. TURN ME ON, DAMMIT! is an entertaining, sweet-natured, comedic look at that awkward stage of our adolescence most of us spent years trying to erase from our memories.

    UP THERE, United Kingdom (Director: Zam Salim) EAST COAST PREMIERE
    At many points of our lives, there are moments where we think it simply couldn’t get any worse.  Then comes death.  For Martin, coping with the afterlife is a challenge. 
    Writer/director Zam Salim constructs a beautiful, touching, and darkly witty comedy about the value of life and death. UP THERE is the type of film that reminds us how good we have it while we are here, and how the grass might not always be greener on the other side.    

    This year’s Festival features a record-breaking 167 films representing 31 countries and runs April 13-22, 2012.

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  • Tribeca Film Festival Reveals 2012 Short Film Selections

    [caption id="attachment_2571" align="alignnone" width="550"]Turning a Corner [/caption]

    The 2012 Tribeca Film Festival (TFF) today revealed its lineup of 60 short films, 26 of which are world premieres.

    For the second year running, the winner of the Tribeca Film Festival’s Best Narrative Short award will qualify for consideration in the Short Films category of the annual Academy Awards® without the standard theatrical run. The 2011 TFF Narrative Short Pentecost was nominated for Best Live Action Short at this year’s annual Academy Awards®, while last year’s award-winning TFF documentary short Incident in New Baghdad was nominated for Best Documentary Short.

    The year’s lineup includes “Triptych,” a documentary program focusing on art, music and physical beauty, to a decidedly testosterone-heavy edition of our ever-popular New York shorts program (titled “Men-Hattan” this year in honor of its unusually masculine bent), which will include the world premiere of writer-director (and TFF alum) Neil LaBute’s BFF.  Performers and interviewees include Jamie Lee Curtis, Rachel Dratch, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michael Fassbender, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Rachael Harris, Hugh Masekela, Sting, and Lily Tomlin.

    Returning TFF directors joining Neil LaBute include Julia Bacha, Matthew Bonifacio, Shawn Christensen, David Darg, Sasha-Waters Freyer, Martin Laporte, David B. Levy, Charles Lim, Bryn Mooser, Jay Rosenblatt, and Joel Schlemowitz.

    Following is a listing of the selected short films in the nine programs in which they will be presented:

    2012 Tribeca Film Festival Short Film Program

    Men-Hattan – Narrative

    Our New York shorts program takes a decidedly masculine turn in these testosterone-infused tales. In 1964 a young pediatrician begins his residency at Willowbrook, only to discover that the institution’s medical personnel are conducting U.S. Army-funded experiments on the children (based on true events). A poor kid from Brooklyn with college dreams fights the fates for a chance to change his life in Turning a Corner. Each morning Vincent, a down-on-his-luck New Yorker, waits at the B61 bus stop, but when mysterious Sal joins him, an unlikely friendship develops. A conservative Seattle shoe designer travels to New York City for the first time and experiences an unforgettable night in Migraine. Jack and Jill have been “best friends forever,” and when Jill suspects that her boyfriend is cheating on her, Jack offers to help her in BFF. At the lowest point of his life, Richie gets a call from his estranged sister, asking him to look after his nine-year-old niece Sophia for a few hours in Curfew. A young man suspects the girl he is dating to be hiding a secret after she routinely orders massive amounts of food to go in Doggy Bags.

    Willowbrook · Directed by Ross Cohen, written by Andrew Rothschild · USA · World Premiere

    Turning a Corner · Directed and written by David B. Levy · USA · New York Premiere

    B61 · Directed and written by Michael Buscemi · USA · World Premiere

    Migraine · Directed and written by Matthew Bonifacio · USA · World Premiere

    BFF · Directed and written by Neil LaBute · USA · World Premiere

    Curfew · Directed and written by Shawn Christensen · USA · New York Premiere

    Doggy Bags · Directed and written by Edward Burns · USA · World Premiere



    Character Flaws –Narrative

    These shorts provide a glimpse into self-identity and self-discovery. Yasemin lives in her own world of fantasy with the notes she feels and the sounds she sees, as she spends a day with her mother and grandfather in Time of the Plums. In Donkey, David, a London banker who was the most popular child in class, bumps into Stanley, whom he bullied in high school, resulting in a powerful encounter. The Fourth of July in Los Angeles is always about Fireworks, as two adolescent brothers set out on a quest to impress a group of girls. Once the show begins at this drive-in theater, the concession stand closes for the clerk’s private performance, but tonight his victims seek revenge during Intermission Time. After participating in an execution by lethal injection, a doctor is so overcome by Angst that he decides to find a way out. A 12-year-old boy in a war-torn fishing village in Somalia must decide between falling into the pirate life or rising above to choose the path of an honest fisherman in Asad. Overweight Maori woman Kiri awakens powerful memories when she takes a trip with family and friends to the Whakatiki River, where she spent many summers as a girl. Teacher of the Year is a day in the life of Ethan Collins, a severely depressed, foul-mouthed elementary school teacher whose wife’s recent infidelity and departure have left him questioning everything in his life.

    Time of the Plums (Erik Zamani) · Directed by Sezen Kayhan, written by Sezen Kayhan and Cemil Kavukçu · Turkey · New York Premiere

    Donkey · Directed and written by Keir Burrows · UK · New York Premiere

    Fireworks · Directed by Victor Hugo Duran, written by Kevin James McMullin · USA · World Premiere

    Intermission Time · Directed by Michael Degg · USA · New York Premiere

    Angst (Angustia) · Directed by León Rechy · Mexico · International Premiere

    Asad · Directed and written by Bryan Buckley · USA · World Premiere

    Whakatiki · Directed by Louise Leitch, written by Bernadette Murphy · New Zealand · World Premiere

    Teacher of the Year · Directed by Chris Modoono, written by Chris Modoono and Gil Zabarsky · USA · World Premiere



    Status Update – Narrative

    Life’s surprising twists and turns change the direction of these short films. In Rung, after a cathedral bell ringer passes away, his spot on the bell-ringing choir is up for grabs and two women find themselves in an unlikely competition for the coveted position. A couple’s relationship goes through its first big test in a crowded spot in Café Regular Cairo. GABI is a sassy, sexy, and strong Puerto Rican woman, but an unexpected family death forces her to return to her native homeland, confronting a place she thought she had left behind. When a man brings his eight-year-old son to a soccer game and the ticket price is higher than he expected, he is desperate not to disappoint the boy in Bad Gones. In Screenshot Kate meets an old friend through Facebook and discovers just how unfriendly a place the internet can be. On his way to a statistics conference, John Wilkins is the victim of a freak accident, sucked out of a plane when an emergency door fails mid-flight at 43,000 Feet. Clark and Becca leave a bar after a night out with friends, and when they pass a homeless man on the street Clark gets an idea in Double or Nothing. Liam and Michael are professional safecrackers who meet on a simple job to relieve an office safe of its contents, but there’s a catch—a light-activated alarm system impels the men to embark on a Pitch Black Heist.

    Rung · Directed by Chris Hanratty, written by Mike McPhaden · Canada · International Premiere

    Café Regular Cairo · Directed and written by Ritesh Batra · Egypt, India · North American Premiere

    GABI · Directed and written by Zoeì Salicrup Junco · Puerto Rico · U.S. Premiere

    Bad Gones · Directed and written by Steìphane Demoustier · France · International Premiere

    Screenshot · Directed and written by Cathal Burke · Ireland · New York Premiere

    43,000 Feet · Directed by Campbell Hooper, written by Matthew Harris · New Zealand · World Premiere

    Double or Nothing · Directed by Nathaniel Krause, written by Neil LaBute · USA · World Premiere

    Pitch Black Heist · Directed and written by John Maclean · UK · New York Premiere



    Escape Clause –Narrative

    These shorts ponder personal predicaments and the pursuit of happiness. An Air Force drone pilot operates air strikes in Afghanistan from a base in America, returning each day to his wife and son in suburbia, but when his team makes a lethal mistake, he is forced to face reality beyond the cubicle in Unmanned. Alone in a brightly lit studio, a ballerina recalls her old choreography, leaping and spinning in front of an invisible audience in Prima. Amit and her female life partner Noa have decided to take a crucial step and have a baby, but despite their strong self-confidence, after the baby’s birth neither one of them knows what to do next in Stitches. A French narrator jumps from one dramatic scene to another, confused about the story that he is trying to tell in Voice Over. When Jason and his mother attend a funeral service of someone they have never met, they accidentally wind up leading The Procession. An ordinary suburban mom carefully plans a life-changing trip to Paris, but when her plans go terribly awry, she finds herself alone on the banks of the Seine wondering why the city of dreams cannot magically fill her life with meaning in Picture Paris.

    Unmanned · Directed and written by Casey Cooper Johnson · USA · New York Premiere

    Prima · Directed and written by Miguel Calayan · Philippines · World Premiere

    Stitches (Tfarim) · Directed and written by Adiya Imri Orr · Israel · World Premiere

    Voice Over · Directed by Martin Rosete, written by Luiso Berdejo · Spain · North American Premiere

    The Procession · Directed and written by Robert Festinger · USA · World Premiere

    Picture Paris · Directed and written by Brad Hall · USA · New York Premiere



    Fallout – Narrative

    Decisions and repercussions confront the characters in these short films. Following the tsunami that claimed the lives of his parents, Adirake searches for the white elephant his mother spoke of in this coming-of-age story. After passing the civil service examination Sung-joo returns to her hometown to spend the day with her friend, Shin-hee, who stayed behind, in Chupachups. Taking place in the ex-Yugoslavia of the 1970s, a mother secretly celebrates Easter at home with her children when their father, an army officer and ingrained communist, discovers his family’s clandestine festivities in Easter Eggs. Trotteur is a tale of man versus machine in a duel between a young man and a locomotive. A young couple trapped in a remote estate of empty houses and shrieking Foxes is beckoned from their isolation into a twilight world. Following a deadly pandemic that has decimated the world’s population, a father drives his nine-year-old daughter from the west coast of Australia to the safe zone in Transmission. A young Irishman traveling All That Way For Love across the African continent to get to his doctor girlfriend hitches a ride with a nomadic older couple and becomes embroiled in their complicated history.

    Adirake · Directed and written by Tati Barrantes and Andinh Ha · Thailand · International Premiere

    Chupachups · Directed by Ji-suk Kyung · South Korea · North American Premiere

    Easter Eggs · Directed by Slobodan Karajlovic, written by Slobodan Karajlovic and Jelena Svilar · Croatia · New York Premiere

    Trotteur · Directed by Arnaud Brisebois and Francis Leclerc, written by Arnaud Brisebois · Canada · New York Premiere

    Foxes · Directed by Lorcan Finnegan, written by Garret Shanley · Ireland · New York Premiere

    Transmission · Directed and written by Zak Hilditch · Australia · International Premiere

    All That Way For Love · Directed by Henry Mason, written by Thomas Martin · UK · New York Premiere



    Long Story Short – Documentary

    Past, present and future coexist in this program of short docs from here and abroad. A Soviet family searching for a modest paradise is swept into the immense Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986, recalled through small episodes as Leonid’s Story. Experience the Egyptian revolution through the eyes of a Bedouin falcon trainer who sees the regime fall from afar and speaks of how falconry and government are similar in A Falcon, A Revolution. Over the course of The New Yorker magazine cartoonists’ weekly lunch, four prominent artists share their styles, inspirations, and creative processes in Every Tuesday: A Portrait of the New Yorker Cartoonists. Ballet shoes are worn by delicate girls, but they’re crafted by burly men whose hands tell another story in The Perfect Fit. For the last 53 years, The Last Ice Merchant Baltazar Ushca has harvested glacial ice from the tallest mountain in Ecuador, prompting this tale of cultural change and indigenous people. A tour of the Oregon State Hospital conducted to uncover the deplorable conditions there uncovers thousands of corroded copper urns containing the cremated remains of unclaimed psychiatric patients in Library of Dust.

    Leonid’s Story (Istoriya Leonida) · Directed and written by Rainer Ludwigs · Germany, Ukraine · New York Premiere

    A Falcon, A Revolution · Directed and written by Md Rezwan Al Islam and Jassim Al Rumaihi · Qatar · North American Premiere

    Every Tuesday: A Portrait of the New Yorker Cartoonists · Directed by Rachel Gordon Loube · USA · World Premiere

    The Perfect Fit · Directed by Tali Yankelevich · Scotland · New York Premiere

    The Last Ice Merchant (El Uìltimo Hielero) · Directed by Sandy Patch · USA · World Premiere

    Library of Dust · Directed by Ondi Timoner and Robert James · USA · New York Premiere



    Help Wanted – Documentary

    Political or personal, these short documentaries address some life-challenging situations. German engineer Jürgen Perthold was intrigued about where his newly adopted stray, Mr. Lee, disappeared to for days on end, so he developed the CatCam to help solve the mystery. Three Mexican immigrants who risk their lives every day rappelling down some of the tallest skyscrapers in Chicago reveal their thoughts about work, mortality, and the people they observe inside the high-rises they clean in Paradise. As the cholera epidemic rages in Haiti and the UN denies responsibility for introducing the disease despite mounting evidence, witness the stories of a young baseball player named Joseph and a Haitian lawyer fighting for victim compensation in Baseball in the Time of Cholera. By vacating the apartment of an elderly building manager we discover the soul of Jean Lewis, a former female Hollywood reporter connected to some of the most renowned stars of her time. Benjaman Kyle was found unconscious outside a Burger King in 2004 without any clothes, identification, or memories, and seven years later no one knows who he is, even the FBI, in Finding Benjaman. Mohammed El Kurd is a Palestinian teenager growing up in the heart of East Jerusalem, but when his family is forced to give up a part of their home to Israeli settlers, local residents begin peaceful protests and in a surprising turn, are quickly joined by scores of Israeli supporters in My Neighbourhood.

    CatCam · Directed by Seth Keal · USA · New York Premiere

    Paradise (Paraíso) · Directed by Nadav Kurtz · USA · New York Premiere

    Baseball in the Time of Cholera · Directed by David Darg and Bryn Mooser · Haiti · World Premiere

    Jean Lewis · Directed by Pascui Rivas · USA · New York Premiere

    Finding Benjaman · Directed and written by John Wikstrom · USA · New York Premiere

    My Neighbourhood · Directed by Julia Bacha, Rebekah Wingert-Jabi, written by Rebekah Wingert-Jabi · USA, Israel, Palestine · World Premiere



    Triptych – Documentary

    This trio of short documentaries delves into art, music, and physical beauty. Dreamscapes looks behind and beyond the canvas of artist Stephen Hannock, following him from his Newcastle opening to the canals of Venice and the streets of New York. Alekesam is the story of Hugh Masekela, an international jazz icon and apartheid activist who was exiled from his homeland South Africa for 30 years, and his son Selema, who attempts to embrace the roots of his identity through music and reconnect with his father. Beauty Culture investigates our obsession with beauty and the influence of photographic representations on female body image and the persistent “beauty contest” of daily life.

    Dreamscapes · Directed by Wolfram Hissen · USA, France · World Premiere

    Alekesam · Directed by Jason Bergh, written by Jason Bergh and Kevin Barth · USA · World Premiere

    Beauty Culture · Directed by Lauren Greenfield · USA · World Premiere


    Journeys Across Cultural Landscapes – Experimental

    Spanning creative journeys across four continents. The assembled filmmakers invoke diverse cultural landscapes, suggesting a collective struggle of humanity between apocalyptic visions of the past, present, and future, and the redemptive power of the human spirit. Cinematic techniques comprising found footage imagery, historic audio recordings, still photography, animation, collage, Super 8mm (celluloid) filmmaking, and digital cinematography comprise the rich visual and audio landscapes of these films, all made by talented artists, ranging from emerging student voices to experienced filmmakers returning to TFF.

    An Incomplete History of the Travelogue, 1925 · Directed and written by Sasha Waters Freyer · USA · New York Premiere

    Scenes From a Visit to Japan · Directed by Joel Schlemowitz · USA, Japan · World Premiere

    The Valley · Directed and written by Leif Huron · USA · World Premiere

    Sinews of Peace · Directed and written by Timo Franc · UK · World Premiere

    Barcelona · Directed by Martin Laporte · Canada · World Premiere

    Democratic Locations · Directed and written by Thomas Kutschker · Germany · World Premiere

    Abyss of Man’s Conscience (ReconoceR) · Directed by Juan Camilo Gonzaìlez · Colombia, USA · New York Premiere

    Inquire Within · Directed by Jay Rosenblatt · USA · North American Premiere

    All the Lines Flow Out · Directed by Charles Lim · Singapore · North American Premiere

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  • Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Picks 57 films for 2012 NEW DOCS program

    [caption id="attachment_2480" align="alignnone" width="549"]Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry[/caption]

    57 films have been selected for the 2012 NEW DOCS program at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival.

    The 2012 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival will be held April 12-15, in Durham, N.C..


    2012 NEW DOCS                         * Indicates short film, 40 minutes or under in length
    Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry     (Director: Alison Klayman)
    This portrait of the intrepid artist and his work is also a reflection on modern-day China and the struggle for freedom of expression.   

    An Angel in Doel (De Engel van Doel)     (Director: Tom Fassaert)   
    In this mesmerizing black-and-white elegy to the Belgian village of Doel, Emilienne, an older resident, is caught between past and future. US Premiere

    Aranda     (Director: Anu Kuivalainen)
    Existential explorers aboard a marine research vessel contemplate iceburgs, ocean currents, and life itself. North American Premiere

    Beauty Is Embarrassing     (Director: Neil Berkeley)   
    Paul Reubens, Todd Oldham, Mark Mothersbaugh, Matt Groening, and Mimi Pond love this LBJ puppet suit–wearing, profanity-spewing, banjo-picking artist and iconoclast—you will too!

    CatCam *     (Director: Seth Keal)
    Ever wonder what your pet does all day? This romp with Mr. Lee satisfies an itch most animal owners never dreamed they’d get to scratch.

    Chasing Ice     (Director: Jeff Orlowski)   
    Scientific fact and aesthetic beauty merge in monumental and dramatic time-lapse photos illustrating global warming’s chilling ravages.

    Children of the Sea (Les enfants de la mer/mère) *     (Director: Annabel Verbeke)
    Students at Belgium’s Ibis school are urchins in uniform, reflecting the maritime tradition of this institution for troubled boys.

    Cutting Loose *     (Directors: Finlay Pretsell, Adrian McDowall)
    Francis Duffy, three-time champ of the Scottish Prison Service hairdressing competition, defends his title just days before his release.

    The D Train *     (Director: Jay Rosenblatt)    
    To the accompaniment of a jaunty Shostakovich waltz, black-and-white found footage tells a life story, at once singular and universal.

    DETROPIA     (Directors: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady)
    An affecting and surprising portrait of Detroit, heart of the American Dream, and the unprecedented challenges facing its citizens.

    Eating Alabama     (Director: Andrew Beck Grace)   
    Attempts to eat locally in Alabama yield surprising, often funny results, for one couple on a quest for a simpler life.

    ESCAPE FIRE: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare      (Directors: Matthew Heineman, Susan Froemke)
    American healthcare has evolved into a profit-driven disease-care system—this film closely examines the medical industry and bold new measures that may help ease what ails us.

    Ethel      (Director: Rory Kennedy)
    Ethel Kennedy’s life, told in intimate interviews and never-before-seen archival footage, reveals her place, both public and private, in the Kennedy legacy.

    Fanuzzi’s Gold *     (Director: Georgia Gruzen)   
    Ed Fanuzzi is a Staten Island inventor, treasure hunter, and eternal optimist—he sees gold where others see trash.   World Premiere

    Five Star Existence     (Director: Sonja Lindén)   
    A stimulating and exquisitely filmed exploration of technology’s ever-increasing affect on our lives—its benefits, and its limitations. North American Premiere

    A Girl Like Her     (Director: Ann Fessler)   
    “Nice” girls didn’t get pregnant in the 50s and 60s. They had their babies far away from prying eyes and were then forced to give them up. World Premiere

    Girl Model     (Directors: David Redmon, A. Sabin)
    Hunting for beauty and the fulfillment of dreams, two women bookend this story of hope, ambition and exploitation.   

    Grandmothers (Abuelas) *     (Director: Afarin Eghbal)
    This animated documentary about Argentina’s Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo features stories of women who search for their missing grandchildren.

    Herman’s House     (Director: Angad Singh Bhalla)    
    An artist forms a relationship with a man who’s been in solitary confinement for over three decades, embarking on a project to design and construct his dream home. World Premiere

    The House I Live In     (Director: Eugene Jarecki)
    The impact of narcotics on one family’s lives gives way to this comprehensive, multilayered interpretation of America’s War on Drugs.

    How to Survive a Plague     (Director: David France)
    Astounding archival footage chronicles the courageous, and innovative, battle waged by early AIDS activists against drug companies and the government as they fight the epidemic.

    I Send You This Place     (Directors: Andrea Sisson, Peter Ohs)   
    A personal and experimental essay that transports the viewer to and from Iceland in search of clues to a family mystery. World Premiere

    The Imposter     (Director: Bart Layton)   
    A Texas boy who mysteriously disappeared resurfaces years later in Spain. There’s a remarkable reunion, but something’s not quite right.

    The Invisible War     (Director: Kirby Dick)   
    A shocking percentage of servicewomen and men are sexually assaulted by fellow soldiers. This film bears witness to their powerful and emotional stories.

    ITALY LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT     (Directors: Gustav Hofer, Luca Ragazzi)
    A couple sets out on a road trip through Italy, to decide whether or not they should stay in the country, or leave it, like so many of their other friends have done already.

    Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet     (Director: Jesse Vile)   
    Twenty years after being diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, the metal guitar god has not only survived, he continues to compose music.

    Justice for Sale     (Directors: Ilse van Velzen, Femke van Velzen)
    Attorney Claudine Tsongo winds her way through the Congo’s evolving justice system in search of truth in the case of a soldier who may have been unjustly convicted of rape. North American Premiere   

    The Kingdom of Mister Edhi     (Director: Amélie Saillez)
    Mr. Edhi’s kingdom is a sprawling network of support systems for Pakistan’s most vulnerable, especially at-risk women and children. North American Premiere  

    Kiss the Paper *     (Director: Fiona Otway)    
    No amount of technology has been able to curb one man’s passion for hand-set type and the poetry of letterpress printing.

    The Law in These Parts (Shilton Ha’Chok)     (Director: Ra’anan Alexandrowicz)   
    A meticulously constructed exploration of the complex military laws imposed by Israel on citizens in the occupied territories.

    A Letter to Dad (Pismo ocu)      (Director: Srdjan Keca)   
    When his father dies unexpectedly in a Serbian hospital, a son interviews close friends and family to piece together his own unfocused recollections. North American Premiere

    The Lifeguard (El Salvavidas) *     (Director: Maite Alberdo)   
    A Chilean beach is the setting for this vividly filmed collection of interactions with Mauricio, the complicated titular subject. North American Premiere

    Light Plate *     (Director: Josh Gibson)   
    Hand processed film presents an evocative, whimsical and contemplative document of an Italian interlude.

    Mr. Cao Goes to Washington     (Director: S. Leo Chiang)   
    Rookie congressman Joseph Cao of Louisiana angers fellow Republicans by befriending President Obama; will bipartisanship reward or ruin his chances for re-election?

    Nation (Nació)     (Director: Homer Etminani)   
    A young man in Catalonia tirelessly trains amidst a sprawling landscape in this meditation on extensive preparation toward a mysterious end. North American Premiere

    Needle Exchange *     (Director: Colm Quinn)    
    Spencer and Glenn are best mates and recovering addicts who have traded heroin for copious amounts of tattoo ink, and each other.

    Peak     (Director: Hannes Lang)   
    The Alps are the backdrop for this wry take on climate change and the idiosyncratic responses to its affects on natives and tourists alike. North American Premiere

    A People Uncounted     (Director: Aaron Yeger)   
    This film bears witness to the Porrajmos or “devouring” of the Roma by the Nazis during WWII and their ongoing struggles.

    The Photographer’s Wife (Die Frau des Fotografen) *     (Directors: Karsten Krause, Philip Widmann)
    A widow revisits four decades of photos her husband took of her—nude portraits taken at home, in cars, and in the great outdoors. North American Premiere

    Radio Unnameable     (Directors: Paul Lovelace, Jessica Wolfson)   
    Bob Fass has been broadcasting his midnight free-form show from New York City for nearly 50 years to reflect the decades’ alternative cultural scenes.  World Premiere

    Raising Resistance     (Directors: Bettina Borgfeld, David Bernet)   
    For some in Paraguay transgenic soy is “green gold,” but for others it is an unprecedented ecological and cultural disaster. North American Premiere

    Reportero     (Director: Bernardo Ruiz)   
    A veteran journalist and his fearless colleagues at the Mexican newspaper Zeta investigate corrupt officials and drug lords despite increasing violence and repeated death threats. US Premiere

    Santa Land *    (Director: Kim Nguyen)   
    Meet a husband and wife Mr. and Mrs. Claus team and the Real Bearded Santas—men so committed to portraying Santa they maintain their lustrous whiskers year-round. North American Premiere

    Silent Springs *     (Director: Erin Espelie)   
    Taking a cue from Rachel Carson, this experimental film attempts to make visible what’s hard to see, the disappearance of species and a natural world under mortal threat.

    Sivan *     (Director: Zohar Elefant)
    A minimalist portrait of an Israeli soccer fan in thrall to a team and an obsession.

    Special Flight (Vol Spécial)     (Director: Fernand Melgar)   
    Tensions build at a Swiss detention center as rejected asylum seekers await their forced removal from the country they now call home. US Premiere

    Tahrir: Liberation Square     (Director: Stefano Savona)
    An intense and deft account of the first weeks of protest in Cairo’s Tahrir Square at the beginning of the Egyptian Arab Spring.   

    The Time We Have (Den tid vi har) *     (Director: Mira Jargil)   
    A beautiful, intimate, and deeply tender look at saying goodbye to the love of your life after 67 years of marriage. US Premiere

    Trash Dance     (Director: Andrew Garrison)    
    An unusual partnership between a dancer and the Austin Solid Waste Services to stage a public performance starring man, music, and machine.

    The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom *    (Director: Lucy Walker)   
    Survivors of Japan’s recent tsunami find courage and solace in the cherry blossoms that emerge not long after the disaster.

    Unfinished Spaces     (Directors: Alysa Nahmias, Benjamin Murray)
    A thrilling and unknown story of the visionary architecture of the early Cuban revolution—its creation, decay, renewal, and rediscovery.

    Violated Letters (Cudze Listy)     (Director: Maciej Drygas)   
    The Polish Secret Service monitored private correspondence during the Cold War. Brilliantly edited footage sets the stage for this story of repression, censorship, letters never delivered.  North American Premiere

    The Waiting Room     (Director: Peter Nicks)   
    This gripping vérité film is a symphony of patients, caregivers, and loved ones, bureaucracy and hard choices, in an Oakland ER’s waiting room. World Premiere

    While You Were Gone (Medan du var borta) *     (Director: Frida Kempff)
    Absence doesn’t always make the heart grow fonder. It can sometimes make it cold, violent, or even forgiving.

    Winter Light (Vinterlys) *     (Director: Skule Eriksen)   
    In the Arctic archipelago of Lofoten in Norway, winter sun makes for a subtle yet spectacular landscape.

    Without A Fight     (Director: Jason Arthurs)    North American Premiere
    Far more than a mere sport, soccer equals survival and a sensible haven for the young men of Kibera, Kenya’s largest slum. North American Premiere

    Young Bird Season *     (Director: Nellie Kluz)   
    The flyers at the Braintree Pigeon Racing Club pass the time as their treasured birds race the hundreds of miles back home.

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  • Disney-Pixar animated film “Brave” to Close Edinburgh International Film Festival

    The Disney-Pixar animated film “Brave”, which is set in mythical Scotland will receive a glittering European premiere in Edinburgh, on the closing night of the 66th Edinburgh International Film Festival.

    Chris Fujiwara, Artistic Director, Edinburgh International Film Festival, said: “We’re delighted to host the premiere of Brave and continue the Festival’s long relationship with Disney. Though we are an international film festival, we’re mindful that we have a special responsibility to Scotland’s cinematic image. It makes perfect sense that this film, which is so strongly tied to the cultural mythology of Scotland and the beauty of the Scottish landscape, and in which Scottish talent has such a significant involvement, should be part of our festival.”

    The 66th Edinburgh International Film Festival takes place 20 June – 1 July 2012.

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  • KEEP THE LIGHTS ON from 2012 Sundance Film Festival to be Released by Music Box Films

    Music Box Films has picked up KEEP THE LIGHTS ON, the latest film from Ira Sachs which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.  Keep The Lights On also screened at the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival where it received the Teddy Award, the prize for the best film with an LGBT theme.

    In his autobiographically inspired, fictional relationship drama KEEP THE LIGHTS ON, filmmaker – and recipient of Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize in 2005 for his film FORTY SHADES OF BLUE – Ira Sachs chronicles the emotionally and sexually charged journey through the love, addiction, and friendship of two men (portrayed by Thure Lindhardt and Zachary Booth). The film was produced by Sachs, Marie Therese Guirgis, and Lucas Joaquin, and the stellar supporting cast includes Julianne Nicholson (HBO’s Boardwalk Empire), Souléymane Sy Savané (GOODBYE SOLO) and Paprika Steen (APPLAUSE). The film will screen at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival next month.

    Written by Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias, KEEP THE LIGHTS ON is an honest, unflinching portrait of a relationship between two men in New York City. Despite meeting through a casual sexual encounter, documentary filmmaker Erik (Lindhardt) and closeted lawyer Paul (Booth) find a deeper connection and become bonded in an almost decade-long relationship defined by highs, lows and dysfunctional patterns. Through it all, Erik struggles to negotiate his own boundaries and dignity and to be true to himself.

    No release date is available yet.

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  • Chilean Film “Bonsai” Wins Miami International Film Festival Grand Jury Prize

    [caption id="attachment_2564" align="alignnone" width="550"]Knight Foundation Grand Jury Prize: Bonsái from Chile[/caption]

    The 29th annual Miami International Film Festival wrapped and presented juried awards in the following competition categories: Ibero-American and Documentary; Short Film,  and Ibero-American Opera Prima.

    THE 2012 MIAMI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL WINNERS ARE:

    KNIGHT FOUNDATION IBERO-AMERICAN COMPETITION:

    Knight Foundation Grand Jury Prize: Bonsái from Chile, a co-production with Argentina, Portugal and France, directed by Cristián Jiménez –  a $30,000 USD cash prize awarded by the Miami-based John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which will be split with US distributor Strand Releasing.

    Grand Jury Discretionary Prize: Blood of My Blood, from Portugal, directed by João Canijo– a $5,000 USD cash prize awarded by the Miami-based John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

    Grand Jury Discretionary Prize:  Violeta Went to Heaven, from Chile, a co-production with Argentina and Brazil, directed by Andrés Wood – a $5,000 USD cash prize awarded by the Miami-based John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

    KNIGHT FOUNDATION IBERO-AMERICAN DOCUMENARY COMPETITION:

    Knight Foundation Grand Jury Prize: The Imposter from United Kingdom, directed by Bart Layton – a $10,000 USD cash prize awarded by the Miami-based John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

    Honorable Mention: Unfinished Spaces, from USA, directed by Alysa Nahmias and Benjamin Murray

    Honorable Mention: The Strawberry Tree, from Canada, directed by Simone Rapisarda Casanova

    THE JORDAN ALEXANDER RESSLER SCREENWRITING AWARD:

    Bonsái from Chile, a coproduction with Argentina, Portugal and France, screenplay by Cristián Jiménez, based on the novel by Alejandro Zambra —a $5,000 USD cash prize awarded by the Jordan Alexander Ressler Charitable Fund; open to films in the Ibero-American Competition

    UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SHORTS COMPETITION:

    University of Miami Grand Jury Award for Best Short Film: Catharsis, from France, directed by Cédric Prévost —a $2,500 USD cash prize awarded by the University of Miami

    LEXUS IBERO-AMERICAN OPERA PRIMA competition  –

    Lexus Opera Prima Award: Expiration Date, from Mexico, directed by Kenya Márquez — $5,000 USD cash prize sponsored by Lexus, official automotive sponsor of MIFF.

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  • Juan Of The Dead Wins Lexus Audience Award at 2012 Miami International Film Festival

    Director Alejandro Brugués’ film Juan Of The Dead won the coveted Lexus Audience Award at the just concluded 29th annual Miami International Film Festival (MIFF).

    “It’s a great honor for my film to have been chosen by the audience and that I was able to share this amazing moment with my family and friends,” said Brugués. “I love Miami and would like to thank the Festival for all its support.”

    Juan Of The Dead follows Juan (Alexis Díaz de Villegas) and some of his friends as they realize something is amiss in Havana, which is gradually being taken over by zombies. As the social order begins to crumble, the two launch a thriving business, hiring themselves out to people who need to put their beloved ones out of their zombie misery.

    Juan of the Dead will make its U.S. theatrical debut starting today, Tuesday, March 13th, opening in Miami and subsequently expanding to other markets.

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  • Eight Feature Film Projects Selected For First-Ever Mumbai Mantra | Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab

    [caption id="attachment_2560" align="alignnone" width="550"]Anurag Kashyap, kalki Koechlin and Sudhir Mishra attend Mumbai Mantra | Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab 2012.[/caption]

    The inaugural Mumbai Mantra | Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab 2012 has selected eight feature film projects of Indian screenwriters.

    These Screenwriting Fellows will have the opportunity to work intensely on their feature film scripts with the support of Creative Advisors (established Screenwriters and Directors).

    This year’s Screenwriting Fellows who will go through a five day workshop (March 11-16) at a Club Mahindra Resort are:

    Charudutt Acharya (Sonali Cable Centre)
    Shonali Bose & Nilesh Maniyar (Margarita, With a Straw)
    Vikas Chandra (Toothache)
    Rajnesh Domalpalli (Avani)
    Prashant Nair (Umrica)
    Anusha Rizvi & Mahmood Farooqui (Opium)
    Ajitpal Singh (Manjhi)
    Kartik Singh (Public School)

    The group of Creative Advisors, include Guillermo Arriaga (Amores Perros, 21 Grams), Marcos Bernstein (Central Station, Foreign Land), Michael Goldenberg (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Contact), Asif Kapadia (The Warrior, Senna), Shekhar Kapur (Bandit Queen, Elizabeth), Kasi Lemmons (Talk to Me, Eve’s Bayou), Anjum Rajabali (Rajneeti, Aaraakshan), José Rivera (The Motorcycle Diaries, On the Road), Howard A. Rodman (Savage Grace, Joe Gould’s Secret), Malia Scotch-Marmo (Hook, Once Around), and Audrey Wells (Under the Tuscan Sun, Guinevere).

    The Mumbai Mantra | Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab is the first step in a three-year creative and strategic partnership that includes a robust plan to help Indian filmmakers connect to ever-increasing global audiences.

    In addition to the annual Screenwriters Lab, the group has also instituted the Sundance Institute | Mahindra Global Film Making Award (GFA). The 2012 award winners were Etienne Kallos / Vrystaat (FREE STATE) (South Africa), Ariel Kleiman / Partisan (Australia), Dominga Sotomayor / Tarde Para Morir Joven (Late To Die Young) (Chile), and Shonali Bose / Margarita. With a Straw. (India).

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  • Sundance Institute’s Film Forward Program Selects 10 Films for International Tour

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    [caption id="attachment_785" align="alignnone"]Beginners [/caption]

    FILM FORWARD: Advancing Cultural Dialogue, a program that promotes cultural dialogue through independent documentary and narrative film, is travelling from March 15 to 22, 2012 to five locations in India: Mumbai, New Delhi, Aligarh, Gurgaon and Noida.

    The FILM FORWARD program, an initiative of Sundance Institute and the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, includes 10 films, filmmaker appearances and workshops at multiple venues in the five cities.

    A total of 10 films and filmmakers from the U.S. and abroad were selected by Sundance Institute and the partners to participate in the 2012 FILM FORWARD program.

    2012 FILM FORWARD Films

    Another Earth / USA (Director: Mike Cahill) – After the discovery of a duplicate Earth, tragedy strikes, and the lives of these strangers become irrevocably intertwined.  When one of them is presented with the opportunity to travel to the other Earth and embrace an alternative reality, which new life will they choose?  Cast: Brit Marling (also a co-writer), William Mapother, Matthew-Lee Erlbach

    Beginners / USA  (Director: Mike Mills) – BEGINNERS imaginatively explores the hilarity, confusion, and surprises of love through the evolving consciousness of Oliver, whose life is rocked by two announcements from his elderly father: that he has terminal cancer, and that he has a young male lover. Cast: Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Melanie Laurent

    Bran Nue Dae / Australia (Director: Rachel Perkins) – This musical, set in the Summer of 1969, tells the story of a young man who flees the Catholic mission where he is studying to join the priesthood.  He journeys across Australia on a life-changing journey that ultimately leads him back home.  Cast: Rocky McKenzie, Jessica Mauboy, Geoffrey Rush

    Buck / USA (Director: Cindy Meehl) – BUCK profiles famous “horse whisperer” Buck Brannaman, tracing his life from an abusive childhood to his career as a world-renowned horse handler and trainer. By teaching people to communicate with horses through instinct, not punishment, he frees the spirit of the horse and its human comrade.

    Grbavica / Bosnia and Herzegovina (Director: Jasmila Zbanic) – GRBAVICA explores the painful long-term effects of war on a Bosnian woman and her daughter as they struggle to make a life in post-war Sarajevo.  Removing the veil from the ultimate taboo of the war in the Balkans, the use of rape as a weapon, the film reveals that the post-war denial of this war crime is as devastating as the crime itself.  Cast: Mirjana Karanovic, Luna Mijovic, Leon Lucev.

    The Green Wave / Germany (Director: Ali Samadi Ahadi) – Ali Samadi Ahadi’s timely documentary reveals how Iranian civilians reacted to the 2009 Iranian Presidential elections.  Using actual footage of the protests as well as interviews with Iranian bloggers and political leaders, Ahadi paints a compelling portrait of a nation on the brink of revolution.

    On the Ice / USA (Director: Andrew Okpeaha MacLean) – Two Alaskan teenagers deal with guilt and a web of deceit after accidentally killing a friend in a fight that got out of control. With their future in the balance, the two boys are forced to explore the limits of friendship and honor. Cast: Frank Irelan, Adamina Kerr, John Miller

    Senna / UK (Director: Asif Kapadia) -The story of Ayrton Senna, perhaps the greatest race car driver who ever lived, is an epic tale that literally twists at every turn. Facing titanic struggles, he conquered Formula One and became a global icon who was idolized in his home country.

    Somewhere Between / USA (Director: Linda Goldstein Knowlton) – Somewhere Between tells the story of four teenaged girls adjusting to life in the US after their Chinese birth parents are forced to part with them due to China’s “One-Child” policy.  The film provides an intimate look into the lives of teenage adoptees as they come to terms with their unique identities.

    Unfinished Spaces (Directors: Benjamin Murray, Alysa Nahmias)- Fidel Castro invites 3 exiled architects back to Cuba to finish work on art school they started 40 years ago.  Featuring intimate footage of Fidel Castro, the documentary offers a remarkable view into Cuba’s past, present, and future.

    Upcoming FILM FORWARD Tour Dates
    China: March 14-22
    India: March 15-23
    Imperial Valley: May 1-4
    Morocco: May 6-13
    Colombia: July 9-14
    Puerto Rico: August 22-26
    Oklahoma: September 6-8
    UNESCO, Paris: September dates tbd

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  • TIFF Kids International Film Festival Short Film Lineup Includes Films and Lively Animations

    [caption id="attachment_2557" align="alignnone" width="549"]Joe & Jack: Garden Party[/caption]

    This year’s TIFF Kids International Film Festival short film program is said to be brimming with exhilarating stories and lively animations from the world over. The six shorts programmes include several films with programme run times between 50 and 90 minutes.

    SHORTS PROGRAMME: REEL RASCALS — SPRING INTO SPRING!
    Spring into spring with Little Nutbrown Hare, Pickels the pig, MuMuHug, the purple and green monsters and a menagerie of other furry friends in this fun-filled hour of imagination and discovery for TIFF Kids’ youngest audience. Age recommendation: 3 to 6.

    Guess How Much I Love You: Scents of Spring, Australia Toronto Premiere It’s springtime and the Little Nutbrown Hare wakes to find the air filled with the most delightful smells.

    A Friend Like Me, director: Maggie Rogers, United Kingdom World Premiere Big, strong Lester the lion couldn’t be friends with a tiny, squeaky little mouse… could he?

    Dipdap – Scary Thing, director: Steve Roberts, United Kingdom
    Canadian Premiere Boo! Dipdap discovers that scary is sometimes just a matter of perspective.

    Fitting In, director: Taylor Annisette, Canada On her first day of school, an octagon learns not to get bent out of shape about being different.

    Joe & Jack: Garden Party, director: Stuart Shankly, Ireland
    Toronto Premiere
    When Joe and Jack learn of all the great snacks that can grow in a garden, they get to work planting chocolate cake seeds!

    A to B, director: Malcolm Sutherland, Canada There’s more than one way to get from A… to B!

    A Monster Mess, director: Susie Jones, United Kingdom
    North American Premiere A dinner invitation from the green monster to the purple monster turns out to be a recipe for culinary catastrophe!

    Pickels in a Pickle, director: Steffen Schaeffler, Germany
    Canadian Premiere The heat is on and everyone’s looking forward to a dip in the pond—but Pickels might have gotten into a bit of a pickle with their plans for the swimming hole.

    MuMuHug: Bubble Bubble Do-Re-Mi, director: Stella Huang, Taiwan
    North American Premiere Things get a bit silly on the beach when the adorable MuMuHug and his friends discover bubbles.

    Sea Friends, director: Todd St. John, USA Dive into this musical aquatic adventure and learn about our friends who live under the sea.

    Doggy Day School: A Heroic Rescue, director: Marcelo De Moura, Brazil/Canada
    Canadian Premiere The gang of pooches at doggy day school learn the importance of good, neighbourly behaviour.

    SHORTS PROGRAMME: REEL RASCALS — MOVIN’ AND GROOVIN’!
    Whether boogieing to a beat or embarking on an adventure, the characters in this shorts programme are in for one exciting ride! Age recommendation: 3 to 6.

    The Beet Party: UnderWaterMelon, directors: Paul Brown, Paul Hunt, Canada World Premiere The gang at the Australian Beet Party tests their skills at boomerang with hilarious results and end the night with a disco celebration.

    Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks, director: Shaun Seong-young Kim, USA
    Toronto Premiere As baby chicks break out of their shell one by one, they join the ever-growing chorus line.

    The Squeakiest Roar, director: Maggie Rogers, United Kingdom
    World Premiere The littlest lion in this family just can’t seem to find his big, bad roar—but his little squeak sound might just turn out to be his greatest asset.

    Mobile, director: Verena Fels, Germany
    When a cow decides to join the rest of the animals on the other side of the mobile, the balance is thrown off and everyone falls into a tailspin.

    Stella and Sam: Trip to the Moon, directors: Dave Merritt, Ray Jafelice, Canada
    Join popular storybook siblings Stella and Sam as they embark on a camping trip and blast off to meet the man on the moon.

    Papa’s Boy, director: Leevi Lemmetty, Finland/Poland/Ireland
    Canadian Premiere To his father’s dismay, this little mouse just can’t stop himself from dancing.

    New Adventures for Friends: Small, but Mighty, directors: Theresa Strozyk, Tony Loeser, Germany
    Canadian Premiere When the hens leave their eggs in the care of Franz the rooster and Johnny the mouse, Johnny must prove to Franz that just because he is small, it doesn’t mean he can’t help care for the eggs.

    Percussions, director: Lucie Julliat, France
    Toronto Premiere The kitchen is this chef’s orchestra as he prepares for the nightly dinner rush.

    The Adventures of Pim & Pom: The Dance Party (De avonturen van Pim & Pom), director: Gioia Smid, The Netherlands North American Premiere Pim wants to have a dance party, but Pom isn’t confident in his own dance moves so Pim takes the lead to show him that everyone can boogie!

    The Tadpole, director: Guillaume Delaunay, France
    In this charming story, a sleepy, little tadpole is determined to find serenity come rain or shine.

    Jungle Beat: This Little Light of Mine, director: Brent Dawes, South Africa
    With a bright light following him wherever he goes, this poor firefly just can’t catch any z’s.

    The Sandpixies: Da Capo George (Die Sandmanzen: Da Capo Schorsch), director: Ralf Kukula, Germany
    Festival favourites The Sandpixies are back to stir up mischief as each decides to learn to play an instrument!

    The Beet Party: A Fridge Down Under, directors: Paul Brown, Paul Hunt, Canada World Premiere Who knows what the beat-boxing beets will get up to when the fridge door closes. 


    SHORTS PROGRAMME: FOR THE LOVE OF…
    Soccer! Football! Fütbol! Calcio! Whatever name you prefer for the world’s most popular sport, you’ll agree that this teaming of shorts from around the globe scores a series of brilliant goals! Age recommendation: 7 to 10.

    41 Days (41 Youm), director: Ahmed Abdelaziz, Egypt North American Premiere It’s the 1994 World Cup and young soccer fan, Youssef is forbidden to watch TV—even the Cup games—in keeping with mourning traditions after the passing of his aunt. In his time of soccer need, Youssef seeks help from an unlikely ally.

    Play Lunch, director: Cassandra Nguyen, Australia Toronto Premiere Molly would rather play football than make good on a promise to her mother to eat her lunch. She soon realizes that by sharing, she can make her mum happy, make new friends and have time to play!

    The Number Ten (Il dieci), director: Daniel Mejía, Italy
    North American Premiere Antonio wears his soccer jersey with pride, but unfortunately he’s never picked to play at soccer camp. One day, when his teammates realize how much they need him, Antonio may not want to play after all.

    Cristiano’s Shirt (Le maillot de Cristiano), director: Vincent Bruno, Belgium
    Tom and P’tit Lu dream of owning the same jersey as their idol, Cristiano Ronaldo. Entrepreneurial and resourceful, the boys devise a plan to raise some money. But with only a limited number of jerseys available to purchase, their scheming might have come too late.

    TMB Panyee FC, directors: The Glue Society, Thailand
    In 1986, the youth of Koh Panyee, a village on a small floating island in Thailand, inspired a generation by following their dream to play football by building their own field on the water with limited resources. Based on a true story, this heartwarming short film was commissioned by the Thai Military Bank.

    The Little Team (L’équip petit), directors: Roger Gómez, Daniel Resines, Spain Canadian Premiere In this sweet and charming documentary, the children’s football team Margatania FC reminds us that it’s more important to have fun than to win.

    SHORTS PROGRAMME: CANADA FOR KIDS
    From the backyard ice rink to the playground jungle, with trips to places far, wide and in between, Canadian filmmakers have plenty of great stories to tell. Age recommendation: 7 to 11.

    Leash, director: Kevin Doherty, Canada
    After almost three months, Alan and his dad get the phone call they’ve been hoping for: someone has found their lost dog! But when it turns out not to be theirs, they decide to take the friendly canine in and set out in search of its owner.

    Hothouse 7: The Big Swing, director: Paula Gillgannon, Canada Be careful on the big swing!

    The Rink, director: Thelon Oeming, Canada
    Canadian Premiere In order to gain the attention of his father and brothers, Charlie straps on his ice skates and gets a helping hand from an unexpected source.

    Ormie, director: Rob Silvestri, Canada
    In this hilarious, award-winning animation, Ormie the Pig tries everything he can think of—and then some!—to get at the cookies that sit just out of reach on top of the fridge.

    Little Mao, director: Allan Tong, Canada World Premiere After he accidentally takes a baseball to the head, a young boy takes on a curious new persona.

    Vistas: Dancers of the Grass, director: Melanie Jackson, Canada
    Traditional hoop dance is explored using stop-motion animation in this fascinating look at a native Canadian ritual.

    Tommy, director: Theodore Bezaire, Canada
    World Premiere
    Ollie has to say goodbye to his pet turtle, Tommy, but he’s in for a big surprise first!

    Luna, director : Donna Brockopp, Canada
    Toronto Premiere
    One fateful night, a larva falls in love at first sight with a beautiful moth—but can a flamenco dance woo her?

    Joanna Makes A Friend, director: Jeremy Lutter, Canada Toronto Premiere When Joanna’s father tells her to ?make a friend,? she takes it a little too literally!

    Sheared, director: Nikolas Ilic, Canada
    A wily sheep looks to dodge the shearing scissors in this homage to Saturday morning cartoons.

    For All the Marbles, director: Kris Booth, Canada
    When his prized cat’s eye marble is nabbed by a bully, Jeff embarks on a quest through the playground jungle to get it back.

    SHORTS PROGRAMME: LOOT BAG — LAUGH AND A HALF!
    From the jungles of Africa to the woodlands of England and the castles of Germany, this collection of hilarious, animated adventures traverses the globe. Age recommendation: 7 to 11.

    Floyd the Android: Teleporter and Dim Bulb, director: Jonathan Lyons, USA Floyd the Android finds everyday life isn’t always quite so simple in these slapstick shorts.

    The Sparrow Who Kept his Word (Vorobej kotoryi umel dergat’ slovo), director: Dmitry Geller, Russia Canadian Premiere An honest, little sparrow braves the cold, wind and rain in order to hold true to his noble and kindhearted promise.

    The Princess’ Painting (Das Bild der Prinzessin), directors: Klaus Morschheuser, Johannes Weiland, Germany Toronto Premiere A rather entitled young princess learns a valuable lesson in the appreciation of art—and life.

    Jungle Beat: Somewhere Over the Rainbow, director: Brent Dawes, South Africa
    A colourful chameleon meets a rainbow on a dazzlingly bright summer day in the jungle.

    The Beet Party Pilot: Double Your Celery, directors: Paul Brown, Paul Hunt, Canada
    World Premiere The beets are just chillin’ in the fridge, keepin’ things fresh with some beat-tastic break dancing.

    Paint Showers, director: Miguel Jiron, USA
    Toronto Premiere The pitter-patter of little paint drops swells into a torrential rainstorm of colour and imagination that’s sure to wash you away.

    Mouse for Sale, director: Wouter Bongaerts, Belgium Toronto Premiere A little mouse in a pet store who is desperate for a new home perks up and performs when a young boy enters the picture. But will anyone take notice?

    Shaun the Sheep: Pig Trouble, director: Lee Wilton, United Kingdom
    When Bitzer the dog needs a timeout for bed rest, the pesky pigs get up to no good. Only loyal Shaun the sheep can somehow outsmart them and restore order.

    Hooked, director: Friedl Joost, South Africa Canadian Premiere A little fish finds out there might be something strange going on above the surface in this sweet and clever short that’s guaranteed to reel in some laughs.

    At the Opera, director: Juan Pablo Zaramella, Argentina
    Toronto Premiere
    It’s hard to not come to tears in this highly dramatic operatic (and aromatic) short.

    The Gruffalo’s Child, directors: Uwe Heidschötter, Johannes Weiland, United Kingdom
    Canadian Premiere The long-awaited sequel to author Julia Donaldson’s Academy Award®–nominated The Gruffalo sees the youngest member of the Gruffalo clan boldly venturing into the woods one snowy night in search of the legendary big, bad mouse.

    SHORTS PROGRAMME: LOOT BAG — FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS
    Featuring several of the year’s best 3D animated shorts across a variety of animation styles, this shorts programme will whisk you away on otherworldly flights of filmic fancy. Age recommendation: 9 to 13.

    The Bicycle Animation, director: Katy Beveridge, United Kingdom
    Paper craft and cycling unite to produce this delightful real-time animation that’s sure to leave you geared up to try something crafty at home!

    The Magic Piano, 3D (Zaczarowany Fortepian), director: Martin Clapp, Poland/China/Norway Canadian Premiere In celebration of the 200th anniversary of Chopin’s birth, this stop-motion animation unfolds to the sounds of world-renowned classical pianist Lang Lang’s sublime interpretations of Chopin’s Études.

    The Big Brother (Der Grosse Bruder), directors: Jesús Pérez, Elisabeth Hütterman, Switzerland/Germany
    Toronto Premiere When an animator is called away from his drawing pad, his half-finished sketches come to life and decide to write their own story.

    Origin of Mass, director: Aleksandar Rodic, USA Canadian Premiere This abstract animation about the origin of mass is a particle-ularly stimulating kaleidoscope of colour, form and energy.

    Burning Stage, director: Sunoki Yang, South Korea
    In this mesmerizing re-enactment of Swan Lake, magnificent water droplets dance across the screen until they begin to clash with the elements.

    Orange O Despair (Orange Ô Desespoir), director: John Banana, France Canadian Premiere A hopeful, young orange can’t help but dream that life is sweeter outside of the fruit stand.

    Where There Here, director: Soyeon Kim, South Korea
    Canadian Premiere Inspired by African sound and design, black sand moves effortlessly, continually morphing into new images until nothing is left.

    The Boy in the Bubble, 3D, director: Kealan O’Rourke, Ireland Canadian Premiere Doesn’t life seem like it would be easier if we could just while away the days in an impenetrable, problem-proof bubble?

    Runout (Durchgebrannt), directors: Thomas Schienagel, Michael Haas, Germany Canadian Premiere Facing the dim prospects of obsolescence, a plucky light bulb gets a bright idea and heads off on an adventure with his uplifting friend, the moth.

    Tuurngait, 3D, directors: Paul-Emile Boucher, Remy Dupont, Benjamin Flouw, Mickaël Riciotti, Alexandre Toufaili, France Toronto Premiere This absolutely stunning film about a boy, his stone bear and the mysterious ice formations near his home will leave audiences breathless, exhilarated and inspired.

    The TIFF Kids International Film Festival takes place at TIFF Bell Lightbox from April 10 through April 22. The TIFF Kids school programme runs April 10–13 and April 16–20, and public programme from April 13–15 and April 21–22.

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