Men Don’t Cry[/caption]
The Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival (BHFF) in New York City announced the winners of the Golden Apple Awards for the 15th edition of the festival, and presented the BHFF 2018 Jury Special Mention, as well as the BHFF 2018 Golden Apple Audience Award for Best Picture to MEN DON’T CRY by director Alen Drljević. In MEN DON’T CRY, twenty years after the conclusion of the Bosnian War, a group of Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian men meet to discuss their experiences and process the events that shaped their lives decades ago. MEN DON’T CRY embraces moral uncertainty and examines the effects of time on painful memories. It explores themes of ethnic conflict and the impact, both physical and emotional, that war leaves on its participants.
BHFF 2018 jury statement: “There is a part of social life around us that we have to make visible and which is difficult to make visible. The crisis of masculinity in postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina is a topic that has only begun to be addressed and discussed, especially concerning veterans’ trauma and its war implications. MEN DON’T CRY makes a giant step in this direction.”
THE FROG, directed by Elmir Jukić, produced by Ademir Kenović, and starring Emir Hadžihafizbegović, won the BHFF 2018 Golden Apple Jury Award for Best Feature. In THE FROG, Zeko, a barber and a war veteran, attempts to reassemble the pieces of his life by reaching out to his brother Braco, who has been grappling with addiction, and his friend Švabo, a cab driver who spent the war years in Germany and is struggling with his own demons.
BHFF 2018 Jury statement: “The energy this film exudes and enthralls us with is masterfully nuanced in the rhythm of its narration, as well as in the subtle unfolding of characters that capture the spectator and trasfigure her through their life drama. Watching THE FROG engages the audience in a way that has a redemptive effect and results in deep affective bonds with the story and its protagonists.”
Emir Hadžihafizbegović won the BHFF 2018 Jury Award for Best Acting Performance for his role as Zeko in Elmir Jukić’s THE FROG.
BHFF 2018 jury statement: “The unanimously reached decision by the jury on this award is certainly a telltale sign of the force of Emir Hadžihafizbegović’s acting talent and his mastery of the acting craft. Emir Hadžihafizbegović in the role of Zeko in the film THE FROG brings us a luminously moving, darkly troubling and truly loveable character who makes us empathize with his life-story, predicaments, and uncompromising, even if unsettling, humanity.”
Samira Kameli and Sajra Subašić’s TO BE FAR won the BHFF 2018 Golden Apple Jury Award for Best Documentary. In TO BE FAR, the filmmakers attempt to document a refugee center in Bosnia. Denied entry, they instead film the center from afar, reflecting upon the lives of its residents, the services provided to them, and the painful circumstances that brought them to this place.
BHFF 2018 Jury statement: “Through an intriguing and novel anti-documentary perspective, TO BE FAR leaves us thinking ethically and politically about the lines of exclusion and segregation of refugees. It also poses the question of the brutalization of the Bosnian and Herzegovinian society that, despite its recent history of war and mass exile, no longer identifies with the plight of those who lost everything.”
Aleksandra Odić’s GREAT WALL OF CHINA won the BHFF 2018 Golden Apple Jury Award for Best Short Film. In GREAT WALL OF CHINA, the legacy of the conflicts of the 1990s lurks in the background of a family gathering in the Bosnian countryside, as experienced by Maja, a young girl. Maja’s life is upended by the arrival of Aunt Lilija, an impassioned young woman with artistic ambitions.
BHFF 2018 Jury statement: “GREAT WALL OF CHINA makes a deep impression with its poetry of the everyday, and its lyrical images of the lives of women of different generations. The gazes between the main protagonists reveal their complex, untold feelings in a way that is truly remarkable in a cinematic language.”
-
MEN DON’T CRY, THE FROG, TO BE FAR Win at 2018 Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival [Complete List of Winners]
[caption id="attachment_25619" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Men Don’t Cry[/caption]
The Bosnian-Herzegovinian Film Festival (BHFF) in New York City announced the winners of the Golden Apple Awards for the 15th edition of the festival, and presented the BHFF 2018 Jury Special Mention, as well as the BHFF 2018 Golden Apple Audience Award for Best Picture to MEN DON’T CRY by director Alen Drljević. In MEN DON’T CRY, twenty years after the conclusion of the Bosnian War, a group of Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian men meet to discuss their experiences and process the events that shaped their lives decades ago. MEN DON’T CRY embraces moral uncertainty and examines the effects of time on painful memories. It explores themes of ethnic conflict and the impact, both physical and emotional, that war leaves on its participants.
BHFF 2018 jury statement: “There is a part of social life around us that we have to make visible and which is difficult to make visible. The crisis of masculinity in postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina is a topic that has only begun to be addressed and discussed, especially concerning veterans’ trauma and its war implications. MEN DON’T CRY makes a giant step in this direction.”
THE FROG, directed by Elmir Jukić, produced by Ademir Kenović, and starring Emir Hadžihafizbegović, won the BHFF 2018 Golden Apple Jury Award for Best Feature. In THE FROG, Zeko, a barber and a war veteran, attempts to reassemble the pieces of his life by reaching out to his brother Braco, who has been grappling with addiction, and his friend Švabo, a cab driver who spent the war years in Germany and is struggling with his own demons.
BHFF 2018 Jury statement: “The energy this film exudes and enthralls us with is masterfully nuanced in the rhythm of its narration, as well as in the subtle unfolding of characters that capture the spectator and trasfigure her through their life drama. Watching THE FROG engages the audience in a way that has a redemptive effect and results in deep affective bonds with the story and its protagonists.”
Emir Hadžihafizbegović won the BHFF 2018 Jury Award for Best Acting Performance for his role as Zeko in Elmir Jukić’s THE FROG.
BHFF 2018 jury statement: “The unanimously reached decision by the jury on this award is certainly a telltale sign of the force of Emir Hadžihafizbegović’s acting talent and his mastery of the acting craft. Emir Hadžihafizbegović in the role of Zeko in the film THE FROG brings us a luminously moving, darkly troubling and truly loveable character who makes us empathize with his life-story, predicaments, and uncompromising, even if unsettling, humanity.”
Samira Kameli and Sajra Subašić’s TO BE FAR won the BHFF 2018 Golden Apple Jury Award for Best Documentary. In TO BE FAR, the filmmakers attempt to document a refugee center in Bosnia. Denied entry, they instead film the center from afar, reflecting upon the lives of its residents, the services provided to them, and the painful circumstances that brought them to this place.
BHFF 2018 Jury statement: “Through an intriguing and novel anti-documentary perspective, TO BE FAR leaves us thinking ethically and politically about the lines of exclusion and segregation of refugees. It also poses the question of the brutalization of the Bosnian and Herzegovinian society that, despite its recent history of war and mass exile, no longer identifies with the plight of those who lost everything.”
Aleksandra Odić’s GREAT WALL OF CHINA won the BHFF 2018 Golden Apple Jury Award for Best Short Film. In GREAT WALL OF CHINA, the legacy of the conflicts of the 1990s lurks in the background of a family gathering in the Bosnian countryside, as experienced by Maja, a young girl. Maja’s life is upended by the arrival of Aunt Lilija, an impassioned young woman with artistic ambitions.
BHFF 2018 Jury statement: “GREAT WALL OF CHINA makes a deep impression with its poetry of the everyday, and its lyrical images of the lives of women of different generations. The gazes between the main protagonists reveal their complex, untold feelings in a way that is truly remarkable in a cinematic language.”
-
THE DRUMMER AND THE KEEPER Wins Top Award at 2018 Cleveland International Film Festival [ Complete List of Winners]
[caption id="attachment_27286" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
THE DRUMMER AND THE KEEPER[/caption]
After hosting crowds topping 100,000, the 42nd Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) announced the winners of the competitions and awards at the Closing Night Ceremony on Sunday, April 15, 2018. The Drummer and the Keeper, directed by Nick Kelly was awarded the top prize – the Audience Choice Award for Best Film.
The Drummer and the Keeper begins with a pantless man dragging a couch onto a beach. He douses it with gasoline and casually sets it on fire. His name is Gabriel, and he is a drummer for an up-and-coming rock band. His bandmates have had enough of his out-of-control antics, though. He’s constantly drunk, and the couch incident is just one of many. When Gabriel agrees to get help, it’s revealed he’s bipolar. His therapist prescribes medicine and enrolls him in treatment, which includes joining a soccer team with other mental health patients. He reluctantly shows up to practice, where the coach pushes him to befriend Christopher, a teenager with Asperger’s Syndrome. Soon Gabriel can’t seem to get rid of Christopher. But as time goes by, Gabriel will discover Christopher is not just the only friend he really has, but also exactly the kind he needs. This funny, moving film examines an anomalous union that seems doomed from the start. However, their unlikely but beautiful friendship will give them both the pieces they’ve been missing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ExhyLIdEHs
The 43rd Cleveland International Film Festival will take place March 27 to April 7, 2019 at Tower City Cinemas.
Winners of 42nd Cleveland International Film Festival
Roxanne T. Mueller Audience Choice Award for Best Film Sponsored by the Callahan Foundation THE DRUMMER AND THE KEEPER, directed by Nick Kelly (Ireland) $15,000 cash prize ReelWomenDirect Award for Excellence in Directing by a Woman Presented with generous support from Deborah Bachman Ratner Dana Nachman (for PICK OF THE LITTER; USA) $10,000 cash prize George Gund III Memorial Central and Eastern European Competition Presented with generous support from The George Gund Foundation MEN DON’T CRY, directed by Alen Drljević (Bosnia, Herzegovina, Slovenia, Croatia, Germany) $10,000 cash prize Nesnadny + Schwartz Portrait Documentary Competition MAY THE SCHWARTZ BE WITH YOU Director’s Award Presented with generous support from Nesnadny + Schwartz LOVE MEANS ZERO, directed by Jason Kohn (USA) $10,000 cash prize New Direction Competition Presented with generous support from CoverMyMeds QUALITY TIME, directed by Daan Bakker (Netherlands, Norway) $10,000 cash prize Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Competition Presented with generous support from The George Gund Foundation 6 WEEKS TO MOTHER’S DAY, directed by Marvin Blunte (USA, Thailand) $7,500 cash prize Global Health Competition Presented by: Cleveland Clinic Global Patient Services Cleveland Clinic Mikati Center for Liver Diseases Cleveland Clinic R.J. Fasenmyer Center for Clinical Immunology BURDEN OF GENIUS, directed by Tjardus Greidanus (USA) $7,500 cash prize American Independents Competition Presented with generous support from Mike and Nicki Cancelliere LIFE HACK, directed by Sloan Copeland (USA) $7,500 cash prize Local Heroes Competition Presented with generous support from Lauren Rich Fine and Gries Financial MANRY AT SEA ~ IN THE WAKE OF A DREAM, directed by Steve Wystrach (USA) $7,500 cash prize Music Movies Competition Presented with generous support from Jules and Fran Belkin IF I LEAVE HERE TOMORROW: A FILM ABOUT LYNYRD SKYNYRD, directed by Stephen Kijak (USA) $7,500 cash prize Ad Hoc Docs Competition Presented with generous support from Anne E. Bloomberg BREAKING THE BEE, directed by Sam Rega (USA) $7,500 cash prize International Narrative Competition Presented with generous support from Tom Piraino and Barbara McWilliams EDIE, directed by Simon Hunter (United Kingdom) $7,500 cash prize FilmSlam Student Choice Award for Best Feature Film Presented with generous support from OverDrive SCIENCE FAIR, directed by Cristina Maria Costantini and Darren Foster (USA) $2,000 Cash Prize Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film Overall Sponsored by Jive City Recordings BAGHEERA, directed by Christopher Watson (India, United Kingdom) $1,000 Cash Prize Best Animated Short Award* Sponsored by Reminger Co., L.P.A. THE DRIVER IS RED, directed by Randall Christopher (USA) $1,000 cash prize Best Documentary Short Award* Sponsored by Jules and Fran Belkin PERIOD. END OF SENTENCE., directed by Rayka Zehtabchi (USA) $1,000 cash prize Best Live Action Short Award* Sponsored by Anne Bloomberg and Alan Gordon Lipson & Judy Harris SACRED HAIR, directed by Mario Morin (Canada) $1,000 cash prize FilmSlam Student Choice Award for Best Short Film Presented with generous support from OverDrive JOINT CUSTODY, directed by Carlus Fábrega (Spain) $1,000 Cash Prize *These award winners will qualify for consideration in the Short Films category of the annual Academy Awards®.
-
ROLL RED ROLL, Nancy Scwartzman’s Docu on Stubenville Sexual Assault Case, to World Premiere at 2018 Tribeca Film Fest [Trailer]
Nancy Schwartzman’s debut documentary feature Roll Red Roll, following a notorious high school sexual assault case in Steubenville, Ohio, will world premiere at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.
Roll Red Roll unpacks toxic masculinity, gender-based violence, sports culture, and the larger systems of complicity at play. With a fast-paced narrative, the storytelling unfolds like a true-crime mystery.
Go behind the headlines of notorious high school sexual assault to witness the social media-fueled “boys will be boys” culture that let it happen. In small-town Ohio, at a pre-season football party, a horrible incident took place. What transpired would garner national attention and result in the sentencing of two key offenders. As amateur crime blogger Alex Goddard uncovers disturbing evidence on Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter, documenting the assault of a teenage girl by members of the beloved high school football team, questions linger around the collusion of teen and adult bystanders. Roll Red Roll explores the complex motivations of both perpetrators and bystanders in this story, to unearth the attitudes at the core of their behavior. It is a cautionary tale of what can happen when adults look the other way and deny that rape culture exists. With unprecedented access to police documents, exhibits and evidence, the documentary feature unflinchingly asks: “why didn’t anyone stop it?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJze9-ZNIeU
TRIBECA SCREENINGS
Sun. 4/22, 8 p.m., Cinepolis Chelsea 7 – World Premiere Mon. 4/23, 8:30 p.m., Cinepolis Chelsea 3 Tues. 4/24, 6:15 p.m., Regal Cinemas Battery Park 11-1 Sat. 4/28, 5:30 p.m., Regal Cinemas Battery Park 11-4 Sun. 4/29, 5:30 p.m., Regal Cinemas Battery Park 11-4
-
2nd SPECTRUM (LGBTQ+)Film Festival Returns to Martha’s Vineyard, Opens with Documentary THE LAVENDER SCARE | Complete Lineup
[caption id="attachment_28028" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
THE LAVENDER SCARE[/caption]
The SPECTRUM (LGBTQ+) Film Festival returns for the 2nd year at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, from Thursday April 26 through Sunday, April 29, 2018. This year’s Opening Night Event features the new documentary THE LAVENDER SCARE which describes the federal witch hunt for gays and lesbians within all branches of the U.S. government during the McCarthy Era of the 1950s and 1960s. With little regard for its impact on people’s lives, the finger-pointing at gays and lesbians led to ruined careers, shattered families and even death by suicide. Producer/director Josh Howard is scheduled to appear and conduct a post-screening discussion about his film, followed in the Film Center lobby by a wine and dessert reception (sponsored by Tilton Rental).
In a major coup, this year’s festival will conclude on Sunday, April 29 with the full-day event, ANGELS IN AMERICA, The National Theatre’s production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama recorded last summer in London. Running over seven hours in two parts, this production is the same currently running on Broadway, starring Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane. Scheduled with a dinner break, patrons from the Cape will have the ability to watch the entire production and still make the last ferry to Woods Hole.
New this year are All-Access Passes as well as SPECTRUM festival t-shirts (for which all proceeds benefit MVRHS’s Gay-Straight Alliance to help fund the students’ trip to the Boston Youth Pride Event held at Boston City Hall on May 19). Also, this year, any student age 13 to 21 will receive free admission to any SPECTRUM event.
Live music will also be added to this year’s offering as part of the post-show reception following the Friday, April 27 screening of the feature BECKS. Local musicians Siren Mayhew and Sean McMahon will play original music while filmgoers participate in the beer and wine reception (sponsored by MVY Radio).
In an effort to help establish a new memorial scholarship for the late Tony Lombardi (who championed the first SPECTRUM Film Festival in 2017), all ticket purchases (both at the door and online) will include an additional one-dollar surcharge per ticket.
On Saturday, April 28 at 4:30pm, past and present members of the U.S. Military will receive free admission to TRANSMILITARY at the door (pending availability).
This year’s full schedule of events:
THURSDAY, APRIL 26
A MILLION HAPPY NOWS (2017) * PG-13
Making its Massachusetts premiere, A MILLION HAPPY NOWS, winner of multiple film festival awards for “Best First Narrative Feature,” tells the story of a veteran soap opera star who retires early in her career to a beach house with her partner/publicist. Her soon-revealed Early Onset Alzheimer’s strains her ability to interact with the public as well as the couple’s relationship – until they find the strength to redefine what they mean to each other.
BELIEVER (2018) * not rated
In one of its first screenings since this year’s Sundance Film Festival, BELIEVER, a new film by Don Argott, follows Dan Reynolds, lead singer of the American rock band Imagine Dragons, who grew up in the Mormon Church. When he noticed the suicide rate spiking amongst teens in his home state of Utah, Reynolds decided to take on the mission to explore how the Church treated its LGBTQ members.
THE LAVENDER SCARE (2017) * not rated
In its Massachusetts premiere, THE LAVENDER SCARE, narrated by Glenn Close, details the fear of gays and lesbians in the government during the time of the Cold War, delving into the careers ruined, the families torn apart and the brave few who rose to create the first Gay Rights movement in America.
FRIDAY, APRIL 27
LOVE, SIMON (2018) * PG-13
In the first Hollywood studio film centered on a gay teen protagonist, LOVE, SIMON is based on a best-selling YA novel, in which a high school boy keeps a huge secret from his family, his friends, and all of his classmates: he’s gay. When that secret is threatened, Simon must face everyone and come to terms with his identity.
BECKS (2017) * PG-13
After a breakup with her girlfriend, a Brooklyn musician (Tony Award-winner Lena Hall) moves back with her Midwestern mother (Oscar-winner Christine Lahti). As she navigates her hometown, playing for tips in a friend’s bar, an unexpected relationship begins to take shape.
SATURDAY, APRIL 28
TRANSMILITARY (2018) * not rated
Currently, over active 15,000 service members in the U.S Armed Forces identify themselves as transgendered. In one of its first screenings since its premiere at last month’s SXSW Festival, the award-winning documentary TRANSMILITARY follows the story of four outstanding soldiers as they contend with a bureaucracy of ignorance and rules that defy their understanding of Self.
DISOBEDIENCE (2018) * R
Directed by Sebastián Lelio (director of the Oscar-winning A FANTASTIC WOMAN) and based on the best-selling novel, DISOBEDIENCE follows a rabbi’s non-practicing, lesbian daughter (Rachel Weisz) as she returns to the world of the Orthodox Jewish community in London, only to find her former lover (Rachel McAdams) married to her cousin.
SUNDAY, APRIL 29
ANGELS IN AMERICA (2017) * not rated
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and considered to be one of the most important plays of the last hundred years, ANGELS IN AMERICA was captured live in performance on the London stage last summer.
Starring Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane, ANGELS IN AMERICA is a complex, symbolic look at homosexuality and AIDS in America in the 1980s.
Over seven-hours long, this epic event is performed in two parts and is the same production that is simultaneously playing on Broadway:
Part One: Millennium Approaches has a running time of 3 hours and 30 minutes (including two intermissions) and begins at 12:30pm.
There will be a 75-minute break for dinner from 4:00pm to 5:15pm.
Part Two: Perestroika has a running time of four hours (including two intermissions) and begins at 5:15pm, ending at 9:15pm – in time to allow Cape patrons to take the 9:30pm ferry from Vineyard Haven to Woods Hole.
-
Films by Spike Lee, Jean-Luc Godard, Nandita Das Among 2018 Cannes Film Festival Official Selection Lineup | Complete List [ VIDEO ]
The Cannes Film Festival yesterday announced the Official Selections of the 71st edition of the festival. The titles include the feature films in Competition, at Un Certain Regard, Out of Competition, in Midnight Screenings and in Special Screenings.
The 71st Cannes Film Festival will take place May 8 to 19, 2018.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0swRBkl11rI
In Competition
Opening Film Asghar FARHADI TODOS LO SABEN (EVERYBODY KNOWS)
Stéphane BRIZÉ AT WAR Matteo GARRONE DOGMAN Jean-Luc GODARD THE IMAGE BOOK (LE LIVRE D’IMAGE) Ryusuke HAMAGUCHI NETEMO SAMETEMO (ASAKO I & II) (ASAKO I & II) Christophe HONORÉ SORRY ANGEL Eva HUSSON GIRLS OF THE SUN JIA Zhang-Ke ASH IS PUREST WHITE KORE-EDA Hirokazu SHOPLIFTERS Nadine LABAKI CAPERNAUM LEE Chang-Dong BUH-NING (BURNING) Spike LEE BLACKKKLANSMAN David Robert MITCHELL UNDER THE SILVER LAKE Jafar PANAHI THREE FACES Pawel PAWLIKOWSKI ZIMNA WOJNA (COLD WAR) Alice ROHRWACHER LAZZARO FELICE Kirill SEREBRENNIKOV LETO A.B SHAWKY YOMEDDINEUn Certain Regard
Ali ABBASI GRÄNS (BORDER) Meryem BENM’BAREK SOFIA Andréa BESCOND, Eric METAYER LITTLE TICKLES BI Gan LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT Nandita DAS MANTO Antoine DESROSIÈRES SEXTAPE Lukas DHONT GIRL Vanessa FILHO ANGEL FACE Valeria GOLINO EUPHORIA Gaya JIJI MY FAVORITE FABRIC Wanuri KAHIU RAFIKI (FRIEND) Etienne KALLOS DIE STROPERS (THE HARVESTERS) Ulrich KÖHLER IN MY ROOM Luis ORTEGA EL ANGEL Adilkhan YERZHANOV THE GENTLE INDIFFERENCE OF THE WORLDOut of Competition
Ron HOWARD SOLO A STAR WARS STORY Gilles LELLOUCHE LE GRAND BAINMidnight Screenings
Joe PENNA ARCTIC YOON Jong-Bin GONGJAK (THE SPY GONE NORTH)Special Screenings
Aditya ASSARAT, Wisit SASANATIENG, Chulayarnon SRIPHOL, Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL 10 YEARS IN THAILAND Nicolas CHAMPEAUX, Gilles PORTE THE STATE AGAINST MANDELA AND THE OTHERS Carlos DIEGUES O GRANDE CIRCO MÍSTICO (THE GREAT MYSTICAL CIRCUS) Romain GOUPIL LA TRAVERSÉE Michel TOESCA TO THE FOUR WINDS WANG Bing DEAD SOULS Wim WENDERS POPE FRANCIS – A MAN OF HIS WORD
-
Films by Boots Riley and Gus Van Sant Selected as Closing Night and Centerpiece Films of Seattle International Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_28016" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot[/caption]
Sorry to Bother You, the new film from debut director and musician Boots Riley that pulls no punches in its portrayal of racial dynamics in the workplace, has been selected as the Centerpiece film of the 2018 Seattle International Film Festival. Closing Night sees the return of Seattle favorite Gus Van Sant with his latest film Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot, a bitingly sharp yet tender portrait of Portland-based cartoonist John Callahan, starring Joaquin Phoenix.
“We are constantly looking for dynamic, diverse stories, and we certainly found them with these two unforgettable films,” said SIFF Artistic Director Beth Barrett. “With these two Galas we’re thrilled to spotlight both an established filmmaker and a bold new voice, each with vision and strong storytelling powers.”
Centerpiece Film & Gala
Saturday, June 2
Sorry to Bother You | Director Boots Riley
Screening at SIFF Cinema Egyptian | Centerpiece Party at DAR Rainier Chapter House
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XthLQZWIshQ
Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, and Armie Hammer star in the exhilarating directorial debut of musician Boots Riley, a biting and bonkers satire that follows a black telemarketer who discovers an unknown skill which gives him magical selling powers that shoot him up the corporate ladder. An Annapurna Pictures release.
Closing Night Film & Gala
Sunday, June 10, 2018
Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot | Director Gus Van Sant
Screening at SIFF Cinema Egyptian | Closing Party at MOHAI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjYJ-YI5AXU
Joaquin Phoenix gives a transformative performance in Gus Van Sant’s sensitive and caustically funny portrait of Portland cartoonist John Callahan who, after a car accident leaves him confined to a wheelchair, uses his sardonic humor and brutal honesty to battle with a lifetime of addiction. The outstanding supporting cast includes Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, Jack Black, and musician Beth Ditto in her impressive film debut. An Amazon Studios release.
-
Cannes Film Festival Reveals 2018 Short Films Competition and Cinéfondation Selection
Following the release of the official poster, Cannes Film Festival announced the Official Selection of the Short Films in Competition and the Cinéfondation Selection 2018.
This year, the selection committee received 3,943 short films.The 2018 Short Films Competition comprises eight films (7 works of fictions and 1 animation), from Australia, China, France, Iran, Japan, Philippines, Poland and USA. These films are all in the running for the 2018 Short Film Palme d’or, to be awarded by Bertrand Bonello, President of the Jury, at the official award ceremony of the 71st Festival de Cannes on May 19th.
The Cinéfondation Selection has chosen 17 films this year (14 live-action and 3 animated films), from among the 2,426 submitted by film schools all over the world. Fourteen countries on four continents will be represented. Twelve of the twenty-two directors selected for this program are women.
Following their deliberations, the Cinéfondation and Short Films Jury, presided by Bertrand Bonello, will decide on the best films both from the Short Films Competition and the Cinéfondation.
The jury will hand over the three Cinéfondation prizes at a ceremony preceding the screening of the awarded films on Thursday 17th May, in the Buñuel Theatre.
THE 2018 SHORT FILMS COMPETITION
GABRIEL Oren Gerner – France 15′ JUDGEMENT Raymund Ribay Gutierrez -Philippines 15’ CAROLINE Celine Held, Logan George -USA 12’ TARIKI (Umbra) Saeed Jafarian – Iran 14’ III animation movie Marta Pajek – Poland 12’ DUALITY Masahiko Sato, Genki Kawamura, Yutaro Seki, Masayuki Toyota, Kentaro Hirase – Japan 14’ ON THE BORDER Wei Shujun – China 15′ ALL THESE CREATURES Charles William – Australia 13’THE CINÉFONDATION SELECTION 2018
DOLFIN MEGUMI (Rubber Dolphin) Ori AHARON Steve Tisch School of Film & Television,Tel Aviv University, Israël 28’ END OF SEASON Zhannat ALSHANOVA The London Film School, UK 23’ SAILOR’S DELIGHT Louise AUBERTIN, Éloïse GIRARD, Marine MENEYROL, Jonas RITTER, Loucas RONGEART, Amandine THOMOUX ESMA, France 6’ INANIMATE Lucia BULGHERONI NFTS, UK 8’ EL VERANO DEL LEÓN ELÉCTRICO (The Summer of the Electric Lion) Diego CÉSPEDES Universidad de Chile – ICEI, Chile 22’ PALM TREES AND POWER LINES Jamie DACK NYU Tisch School of the Arts, USA 15’ DONG WU XIONG MENG (The Storms in Our Blood) DI Shen Shanghai Theater Academy, China 31’ FRAGMENT DE DRAME (A Piece of Tragedy) Laura GARCIA La Fémis, France 24’ CINCO MINUTOS AFUERA (Five Minutes Outside) Constanza GATTI Universidad del Cine (FUC), Argentina 10’ LOS TIEMPOS DE HÉCTOR (Hector’s Nightfall) Ariel GUTIÉRREZ CCC, Mexico 29’ DOTS Eryk LENARTOWICZ AFTRS, Australia 23’ INNY (The Other) Marta MAGNUSKA PWSFTviT, Poland 5’ ALBASTRU SI ROSU, IN PROPORTII EGALE (Equally Red and Blue) Georgiana MOLDOVEANU UNATC I.L. CARAGIALE, Romania 21’ COSÌ IN TERRA (As It Is on Earth) Pier Lorenzo PISANO Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, Italy 13’ KALENDAR (Calendar) Igor POPLAUHIN Moscow School of New Cinema, Russia 28’ MESLE BACHE ADAM (Like a Good Kid) Arian VAZIRDAFTARI Tehran University of Dramatic Arts, Iran 20’ I AM MY OWN MOTHER Andrew ZOX San Francisco State University, USA 23’
-
Cannes Film Festival Unveils Official 2018 Poster Featuring Jean-Luc Godard’s Film ‘Pierrot le fou’
Cannes Film Festival today released the official poster of the 71st Festival – featuring a woman and a man engaged in a passionate kiss – taken from Pierrot le Fou, a 1965 French film directed by Jean-Luc Godard, and inspired by the work of Georges Pierre (1927-2003).
This immense still photographer immortalized the shooting of over a hundred films in a 30-year career that began in 1960 with Jacques Rivette, Alain Resnais and Louis Malle. He then worked in partnership with Robert Enrico, Yves Robert, Claude Sautet, Bertrand Tavernier, Andrzej Zulawski, Andrzej Wajda, and of course Jean-Luc Godard. Committed to achieving recognition for stills photographers as artists in their own right, Georges Pierre founded the Association des Photographes de Films, tasked with defending the material and moral interests of cinema photographers.
The poster itself is the work of graphic designer Flore Maquin. Inspired by pop culture, this 27-year-old illustrator blends drawing, painting and digital art in a vibrant and colourful world. A passionate film buff, she works with Universal Pictures, Paramount Channel, Europacorp, Wild Side, and Arte, revisiting or creating alternatives for film posters.
-
See Trailer + Poster for HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES Starring Elle Fanning, Alex Sharp, Nicole Kidman
A24 released the official trailer for How to Talk to Girls at Parties, starring Elle Fanning, Alex Sharp, Nicole Kidman, and Ruth Wilson, that tells the story of a boy falling in love with a girl in 1970s London. The movie which is based on Neil Gaiman‘s short story of the same name, is directed by John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Shortbus).
From the raucous dual imaginations of fantasy laureate Neil Gaiman (“American Gods,” CORALINE) and glamrock multi-hyphenate John Cameron Mitchell (HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, SHORTBUS) comes the electrifying and singular pop extravaganza film, HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES.
Enn (Tony Award-winner Alex Sharp) is a shy suburban London teenager in 1977, sneaking out with his best friends to after-hours punk parties. One night they stumble upon a bizarre gathering of sexy teenagers who seem like they are from another planet. In fact, they are from another planet, visiting Earth to complete a mysterious rite of passage. That doesn’t stop Enn from falling madly in love with Zan (Elle Fanning), a beautiful and rebellious alien teenage who, despite her allegiance to her strange colony, is fascinated by Enn. Together they embark on a delirious adventure through the kinetic punk rock world of 1970s London, inadvertently setting off a series of events that will lead to the ultimate showdown of punks vs. aliens, and test the limits of how far each of them will go for true love.
How to Talk to Girls at Parties will be released on May 11th in the UK and on May 18th in the US.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWzHaRM8jeo
-
HBO Developing DocuSeries Based on Michelle McNamara’s Bestselling True-Crime Book “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark”
HBO Documentary Films has acquired the rights to the true-crime bestseller “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer,” by Michelle McNamara, and will develop a documentary series based on the book, it was announced today by Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller, executive vice presidents, HBO Documentary Films.
“I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” is a meticulous exploration of the case of an elusive, violent predator who terrorized California in the late ’70s and early ’80s by journalist Michelle McNamara, who died tragically while investigating the unsolved crimes. Framed by an introduction by Gillian Flynn and afterword by McNamara’s husband, Patton Oswalt, the book was completed by McNamara’s lead researcher, Paul Haynes, and a close colleague, Billy Jenkins.
A chilling investigation of the mysterious serial killer and the wreckage he left behind, “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” is also a compelling self-portrait of the author that reveals her obsession with solving crimes, and her unflagging search for the truth and for justice for the victims and their families.
“HBO taking on this story will advance the passionate pursuit that Michelle shared with dozens of men and women in law enforcement? – ?to solve the mystery of one of California’s most notorious serial killers,” commented Oswalt.
Creator of the popular website TrueCrimeDiary.com, McNamara was determined to find the violent psychopath she dubbed “The Golden State Killer,” who committed 50 home-invasion sexual assaults in Northern California before moving south, where he perpetrated ten murders. Then he disappeared, eluding multiple police forces and some of the best detectives in the area. Obsessed with the case three decades later, McNamara pored over police reports, interviewed victims and embedded herself in the online communities that were as obsessed with the case as she was. “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” also explores her own past, including her years growing up in Oak Park, Ill. in a large family, and the reverberations of the unsolved murder that haunted her youth.
Published earlier this year, the book debuted at #1 on the New York Times combined print and e-book bestseller list. “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer” was hailed by the New York Times as “a vivid and meticulous investigation” and “a wrenching personal account from a writer who became consumed by her subject.”
-
Watch Trailer for MERCURY 13 – Remarkable Story of 13 Women Tested for Spaceflight in 1961
The Netflix documentary “Mercury 13” directed by David Sington and Heather Walsh is a remarkable story of the women who were tested for spaceflight in 1961 before their dreams were dashed in being the first to make the trip beyond Earth. An Official Selection of the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival and the 2018 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, Mercury 13 will premiere on Netflix on April 20, 2018.
On April 9, 1959, NASA introduced their first astronaut class of all men, Mercury 7, to the world.
This is the story of the 13 women who were just as deserving of their place in space.
Mercury 13 is a remarkable story of the women who were tested for spaceflight in 1961 before their dreams were dashed in being the first to make the trip beyond Earth. NASA’s ‘man in space’ program, dubbed ‘Project Mercury’ began in 1958. The men chosen – all military test pilots – became known as The Mercury 7. But away from the glare of the media, behind firmly closed doors, female pilots were also screened. Thirteen of them passed and, in some cases, performed better than the men. They were called the Mercury 13 and had the ‘right stuff’ but were, unfortunately, the wrong gender. Underneath the obsession of the space race that gripped America, the women were aviation pioneers who emerged thirsty for a new frontier, but whose time would have to wait. The film tells the definitive story of thirteen truly remarkable women who reached for the stars but were ahead of their time. A Netflix original documentary directed by David Sington (The Fear of 13) and Heather Walsh.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpiVx2mQhKI

Scary Mother[/caption]
This afternoon the 2018 San Francisco International Film Festival announced the winners of the juried Golden Gate Award (GGA) competitions and awarded nearly $40,000 in prizes to emerging and established filmmakers. The jury awarded the Golden Gate prize and $10,000 cash prize to Ana Urushadze for