Twenty-four feature films from a score of countries are being shown in the World Greats (out of competition) section of the 2015 Montreal World Film Festival (MWFF). Notable among the filmmakers included are Majid Majidi whose Muhammad will be getting its world premiere, Jean-Jacques Annaud, who will be showing the North-American premiere of his latest film, Wolf Totem, Cristina Commencini (Latin Lover), Ventura Pons (The Virus of Fear), Ermanno Olmi (Greenery Will Bloom Again), Vincent Bal (Belgian Rhapsody), Ken Kwapis (A Walk in the Woods, with Robert Redford) and Sergio Castellitto (You Can`t Save Yourself Alone), among others.
MWFF will take place from August 27th to September 7th.
A WALK IN THE WOODS by Ken Kwapis. 2015 / Color / 98 min USA (pictured above)
After spending two decades in England, Bill Bryson returns to the US, where he decides the best way to connect with his homeland is to hike the Appalachian Trail with one of his oldest friends.
AN ITALIAN NAME (IL NOME DEL FIGLIO) by Francesca Archibugi. 2015 / Color / 94 min, Italy
Paolo and Simona are expecting. At a dinner with guests one question will lead to an argument that will disturb the entire evening: the name of Paolo and Simonaís son.
BEFORE SPRING (ABL AL RABIE) by Ahmed Atef. 2015 / Color / 92 min, Egypt
A young blogger who lost both eyes during the Egyptian Revolution recounts in flashback the events of the Spring that eventually came to his country.
BELGIAN RHAPSODY (LA BRABANÇONNE) by Vincent Bal. 2014 / Color / 100 min, Belgium – Luxembourg
Two Belgian brass bands, the Flemish ‘St. Cecilia’ and Walloon ‘En Avant’, have both been selected for the great European final. It is a competition with no holds barred.
BLOOD BEAD (AKAI TAMA) by Banmei Takahashi. 2015 / Color / 108 min, Japan
Tokita would rather be making movies than teaching about them in film school. But it pays the bills and thereís always Yui, the pretty school secretary. Then Ritsuko enters his life…
CHRIEG by Simon Jacquemet. 2014 / Color / 106 min, Switzerland
Matteo, a rebellious 15-year old is sent to a remote farm for rehabilitation. But the farm is run by the inmates. Matteo must quickly learn to run with the pack.
CORPSE COLLECTOR (SUBIRACH NA TRUPOVE) by Dimitar Dimitrov. 2015 / Color / 116 min, Bulgaria
Itzo, who drives a morgue wagon, is loved by young, innocent Mimmy, but prefers tough, experienced Katya who mistreats him. Itzo’s assistant, Buddy, tells him he’s got things all wrong.
EISENSTEIN IN GUANAJUATO by Peter Greenaway. 2015 / Color / 105 min, Netherlands – Mexico – Finland – Belgium
In 1931, at the height of his artistic powers, Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein travels to Mexico to shoot a new film to be titled Que Viva Mexico!
GITEL by Robert Mullan. 2014 / Color / 115 min, United Kingdom – Lithuania
September, 5 1969, and Gitel Bargman is about to attend a party to celebrate her 33rd birthday. Racked by guilt simply for being alive, for her it is hardly cause for celebration.
GREENERY WILL BLOOM AGAIN (TORNERANNO I PRATI) by Ermanno Olmi. 2014 / Color / 95 min, ItalyDedicated to his father who told him stories of the Great War, Ermanno Olmiís film is a touching slice of life in the First World War trenches on the Italian front.
IT’S REALLY KIND OF YOU by So Jae-ick. 2015 / Color / 92 min, South Korea
It is late night and raining hard when a strange woman clad only in underwear rushes up to a man who is fishing at the lake, asking for help. Help to do what ?
LATIN LOVER by Cristina Comencini. 2014 / Color / 104 min, Italy
On the 10th anniversary of the death of Saverio Crispo, Italy’s most famous actor, his 5 daughters, born from different mothers and in different countries, are brought together and get to know each other.
MUHAMMAD (Opening Film) by Majid Majidi. 2015 / Color / 171 min, Iran
The film does not depict Muhammad himself but his world, the pagan age with all its tyranny and oppression as seen through the eyes of young Muhammad from birth to the age of 13.
MY SISTER, THE PIG LADY (DWAEJI GATEUN YEOJA) by Jan Moon-il. 2015 / Color / 104 min, South Korea
In a small seaside village where all the young men left for the city, three young women scheme to catch the eye of the only bachelor left in town.
NECKAN by Gonzalo Tapia. 2015 / Color / 92 min, Spain
In 1956, a young Spaniard arrives in Morocco, soon to be independent, to find out what happened years ago to his family. If he discovers the truth, will it be worth the effort ?
SILVER SKIES by Rosemary Rodriguez. 2015 / Color / 96 min, USA
A group of eccentric retirees’ lives are turned upside down when their beloved apartment complex is suddenly sold out from under them. But you can never be too old for new beginnings.
SIMON by Éric Martin, Emmanuel Causse. 2015 / Color / 96 min, France
Simon, a seventeen-year-old boy is diagnosed with cancer — Ewing’s sarcoma. But he’s not about to bow out without leaving his mark on the world.
SISKA DELUXE by Ian Cvitkovic. 2015 / Color / 108 min, Slovenia – Czech Republic – Macedonia Longtime friends and losers, Mile, Fedr and Zekir need to rescue their calamitous professional and personal lives. An innovative pizzeria comes to the rescue.
THE NEXT GENERATION PATLABOR – TOKYO WAR Mamoru Oshii. 2015 / Color / 93 min Japan / Japan In a world where giant robots are built and used for labour, a special police force of robots is created to handle crimes relating to these machines.
THE SECRET OF ITALIA (IL SEGRETO DI ITALIA) by Antonello Belluco. 2014 / Color / 98 min, Italy
Italy, May 1945. The war is over. But for a 15-year-old girl called Italia in a small town in the region of Venice, the tragedy has just begun.
VIRUS OF FEAR (EL VIRUS DE LA POR) by Ventura Pons. 2015 / Color / 76 min, Spain
A small boy is being taught to swim at a Barcelona municipal pool. He he terrified of the water and the swimming instructor tries to calm him with a kiss. He is immediately accused of abuse.
WINTER by Heidi Greensmith. 2015 / Color / 95 min, United Kingdom
Devastated by the death of his beloved wife, Woods, a successful artist can no longer connect with his two sons. Motherless, will they have to take of him as well ?
WOLF TOTEM by Jean-Jacques Annaud. 2015 / Color / 98 min, France – China
The story of young Beijing intellectual’s fascination with the wolves he encounters when he’s sent to teach Mandarin to minority nomadic herders in the majestic, scenic grasslands of Inner Mongolia.
YOU CAN’T SAVE YOURSELF ALONE (NESSUNO SI SALVA DA SOLO) Sergio Castellitto. 2015 / Color / 103 min, Italy
When a separated couple meet to discuss the terms of their children’s holidays, the meal immediately becomes a wide reflection on their past ten years.-
A WALK IN THE WOODS + Films by Notable Filmmakers on World Greats Program of 2015 Montreal World Film Festival
Twenty-four feature films from a score of countries are being shown in the World Greats (out of competition) section of the 2015 Montreal World Film Festival (MWFF). Notable among the filmmakers included are Majid Majidi whose Muhammad will be getting its world premiere, Jean-Jacques Annaud, who will be showing the North-American premiere of his latest film, Wolf Totem, Cristina Commencini (Latin Lover), Ventura Pons (The Virus of Fear), Ermanno Olmi (Greenery Will Bloom Again), Vincent Bal (Belgian Rhapsody), Ken Kwapis (A Walk in the Woods, with Robert Redford) and Sergio Castellitto (You Can`t Save Yourself Alone), among others.
MWFF will take place from August 27th to September 7th.
A WALK IN THE WOODS by Ken Kwapis. 2015 / Color / 98 min USA (pictured above)
After spending two decades in England, Bill Bryson returns to the US, where he decides the best way to connect with his homeland is to hike the Appalachian Trail with one of his oldest friends.
AN ITALIAN NAME (IL NOME DEL FIGLIO) by Francesca Archibugi. 2015 / Color / 94 min, Italy
Paolo and Simona are expecting. At a dinner with guests one question will lead to an argument that will disturb the entire evening: the name of Paolo and Simonaís son.
BEFORE SPRING (ABL AL RABIE) by Ahmed Atef. 2015 / Color / 92 min, Egypt
A young blogger who lost both eyes during the Egyptian Revolution recounts in flashback the events of the Spring that eventually came to his country.
BELGIAN RHAPSODY (LA BRABANÇONNE) by Vincent Bal. 2014 / Color / 100 min, Belgium – Luxembourg
Two Belgian brass bands, the Flemish ‘St. Cecilia’ and Walloon ‘En Avant’, have both been selected for the great European final. It is a competition with no holds barred.
BLOOD BEAD (AKAI TAMA) by Banmei Takahashi. 2015 / Color / 108 min, Japan
Tokita would rather be making movies than teaching about them in film school. But it pays the bills and thereís always Yui, the pretty school secretary. Then Ritsuko enters his life…
CHRIEG by Simon Jacquemet. 2014 / Color / 106 min, Switzerland
Matteo, a rebellious 15-year old is sent to a remote farm for rehabilitation. But the farm is run by the inmates. Matteo must quickly learn to run with the pack.
CORPSE COLLECTOR (SUBIRACH NA TRUPOVE) by Dimitar Dimitrov. 2015 / Color / 116 min, Bulgaria
Itzo, who drives a morgue wagon, is loved by young, innocent Mimmy, but prefers tough, experienced Katya who mistreats him. Itzo’s assistant, Buddy, tells him he’s got things all wrong.
EISENSTEIN IN GUANAJUATO by Peter Greenaway. 2015 / Color / 105 min, Netherlands – Mexico – Finland – Belgium
In 1931, at the height of his artistic powers, Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein travels to Mexico to shoot a new film to be titled Que Viva Mexico!
GITEL by Robert Mullan. 2014 / Color / 115 min, United Kingdom – Lithuania
September, 5 1969, and Gitel Bargman is about to attend a party to celebrate her 33rd birthday. Racked by guilt simply for being alive, for her it is hardly cause for celebration.
GREENERY WILL BLOOM AGAIN (TORNERANNO I PRATI) by Ermanno Olmi. 2014 / Color / 95 min, ItalyDedicated to his father who told him stories of the Great War, Ermanno Olmiís film is a touching slice of life in the First World War trenches on the Italian front.
IT’S REALLY KIND OF YOU by So Jae-ick. 2015 / Color / 92 min, South Korea
It is late night and raining hard when a strange woman clad only in underwear rushes up to a man who is fishing at the lake, asking for help. Help to do what ?
LATIN LOVER by Cristina Comencini. 2014 / Color / 104 min, Italy
On the 10th anniversary of the death of Saverio Crispo, Italy’s most famous actor, his 5 daughters, born from different mothers and in different countries, are brought together and get to know each other.
MUHAMMAD (Opening Film) by Majid Majidi. 2015 / Color / 171 min, Iran
The film does not depict Muhammad himself but his world, the pagan age with all its tyranny and oppression as seen through the eyes of young Muhammad from birth to the age of 13.
MY SISTER, THE PIG LADY (DWAEJI GATEUN YEOJA) by Jan Moon-il. 2015 / Color / 104 min, South Korea
In a small seaside village where all the young men left for the city, three young women scheme to catch the eye of the only bachelor left in town.
NECKAN by Gonzalo Tapia. 2015 / Color / 92 min, Spain
In 1956, a young Spaniard arrives in Morocco, soon to be independent, to find out what happened years ago to his family. If he discovers the truth, will it be worth the effort ?
SILVER SKIES by Rosemary Rodriguez. 2015 / Color / 96 min, USA
A group of eccentric retirees’ lives are turned upside down when their beloved apartment complex is suddenly sold out from under them. But you can never be too old for new beginnings.
SIMON by Éric Martin, Emmanuel Causse. 2015 / Color / 96 min, France
Simon, a seventeen-year-old boy is diagnosed with cancer — Ewing’s sarcoma. But he’s not about to bow out without leaving his mark on the world.
SISKA DELUXE by Ian Cvitkovic. 2015 / Color / 108 min, Slovenia – Czech Republic – Macedonia Longtime friends and losers, Mile, Fedr and Zekir need to rescue their calamitous professional and personal lives. An innovative pizzeria comes to the rescue.
THE NEXT GENERATION PATLABOR – TOKYO WAR Mamoru Oshii. 2015 / Color / 93 min Japan / Japan In a world where giant robots are built and used for labour, a special police force of robots is created to handle crimes relating to these machines.
THE SECRET OF ITALIA (IL SEGRETO DI ITALIA) by Antonello Belluco. 2014 / Color / 98 min, Italy
Italy, May 1945. The war is over. But for a 15-year-old girl called Italia in a small town in the region of Venice, the tragedy has just begun.
VIRUS OF FEAR (EL VIRUS DE LA POR) by Ventura Pons. 2015 / Color / 76 min, Spain
A small boy is being taught to swim at a Barcelona municipal pool. He he terrified of the water and the swimming instructor tries to calm him with a kiss. He is immediately accused of abuse.
WINTER by Heidi Greensmith. 2015 / Color / 95 min, United Kingdom
Devastated by the death of his beloved wife, Woods, a successful artist can no longer connect with his two sons. Motherless, will they have to take of him as well ?
WOLF TOTEM by Jean-Jacques Annaud. 2015 / Color / 98 min, France – China
The story of young Beijing intellectual’s fascination with the wolves he encounters when he’s sent to teach Mandarin to minority nomadic herders in the majestic, scenic grasslands of Inner Mongolia.
YOU CAN’T SAVE YOURSELF ALONE (NESSUNO SI SALVA DA SOLO) Sergio Castellitto. 2015 / Color / 103 min, Italy
When a separated couple meet to discuss the terms of their children’s holidays, the meal immediately becomes a wide reflection on their past ten years.
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MI AMERICA Film Explores Violence Against Migrant Workers Sets Release Date
As the immigration debate takes center stage in a presidential campaign marked by increasingly divisive and racially charged rhetoric, a new film MI AMERICA offers an on-the-ground look at some of the reality of this conflict.
The film is inspired by true stories from around the country and delivers a harrowing narrative on the conflict between disenfranchised Americans and immigrant workers. MI AMERICA opens in theaters on October 16th and is directed by Robert Fontaine who also stars in the film. The cast also includes Michael Brainard, Brad Lee Wind, Grant Boyd, Michael Derek, Stephen Booth and Annemarie Lawless.
The story explores the circumstances surrounding a brutal hate crime targeting five Hispanic migrant laborers. Rolando Ramirez (Robert Fontaine) has been assigned to this case by chance. This journey will force him to question his own identity, and beliefs, on what it means to be an American, and in turn, attempt to bring those who committed this crime to justice.
A hate-crime has been committed, that has upset the delicate balance of a small, ethnically diverse waterfront city Braxton in upstate New York. The film explores the circumstances around the kidnapping and disappearance of Five Hispanic migrant labors.
Rolando Ramirez (a Hispanic-American Detective, and a longtime resident of the community), has been assigned to this case by chance. Or was it fate? His journey will force him to question his own identity, and beliefs, on what it means to be a North American, and in turn, attempt to bring those who committed this crime to justice…some of whom were close friends from childhood.
Violence against Latinos and the story told in MI AMERICA is not unfamiliar to cities and towns across the U.S. where the conflict of disenfranchised Americans and immigrant workers have resulted in tragedy. The immigration dilemma and debate continues to rage on as we enter the politically charged battlefield of the 2016 election and Latinos continue to be targets.
This gripping murder mystery offers a potent opportunity to take a closer look at this dire issue in the media.
[via release]
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RIGHT NOW, WRONG THEN Wins Top Award at 68th Locarno Film Festival | TRAILER
RIGHT NOW, WRONG THEN by the South Korean director HONG Sangsoo is the winner of the Pardo d’oro, the top award, of the 68th Locarno Film Festival, along with award for Best Actor. In RIGHT NOW, WRONG THEN, film director Ham Chun-su arrives in Suwon a day early by mistake, and has time to kill before his screening with a debate the next day. He stops by a restored, old palace and meets an artist named Yoon Hee-jung who introduces him to her paintings. They spend time together visiting her studio, having sushi and soju for dinner, spending time drinking with Hee-jung’s friends and they end up growing close to each other. But when Chun-su is asked if he is married, he has no choice but to reveal that he is, deeply disappointing Hee-jung.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBjQP6FbQEM
THITHI by Indian director Raam Reddy won two top awards, Pardo d’oro Cineasti Del Presente Premio Nescens and Swatch First Feature Award. THITHI tells the story of how three generations of sons react to the death of Century Gowda, their grandfather, a 101-year-old man, in a remote village in South India.
The 69th Festival del film Locarno will take August 3 –13, 2016
Concorso internazionale
Pardo d’oro
JIGEUMEUN MATGO GEUTTAENEUN TEULLIDA (Right Now, Wrong Then) by HONG Sangsoo, South Korea
Premio speciale della giuria (Special Jury Prize)
TIKKUN by Avishai Sivan, Israel
Pardo per la miglior regia (Best direction)
ANDRZEJ ZULAWSKI for COSMOS, France/Portugal
Pardo per la miglior interpretazione femminile (Best actress)
TANAKA SACHIE, KIKUCHI HAZUKI, MIHARA MAIKO, KAWAMURA RIRA for HAPPY HOUR by HAMAGUCHI Ryusuke, Japan
Pardo per la miglior interpretazione maschile (Best actor)
JUNG JAE-YOUNG for JIGEUMEUN MATGO GEUTTAENEUN TEULLIDA (Right Now, Wrong Then) by HONG Sangsoo, South Korea
Special Mention
For the script of HAPPY HOUR by HAMAGUCHI Ryusuke, Japan
For the cinematography by Shai Goldman for TIKKUN by Avishai Sivan, Israel
Concorso Cineasti del presente
Pardo d’oro Cineasti del presente – Premio Nescens
THITHI by Raam Reddy, India/USA/Canada
Premio speciale della giuria Ciné+ Cineasti del presente (Special Jury prize)
DEAD SLOW AHEAD by Mauro Herce, Spain/France
Premio per il miglior regista emergente (Prize for the best emerging director)
LU BIAN YE CAN (Kaili Blues) by BI Gan, China
First Feature
Swatch First Feature Award (Prize for Best First Feature)
THITHI by Raam Reddy, India/USA/Canada
Swatch Art Peace Hotel Award
SINA ATAEIAN DENA for MA DAR BEHESHT (Paradise), Iran/Gemany
Special Mentions
LU BIAN YE CAN (Kaili Blues) by BI Gan, China
KIEV/MOSCOW. PART 1 by Elena Khoreva, Russia/Estonia/Ukraine
Pardi di domani
Concorso internazionale
Pardino d’oro per il miglior cortometraggio internazionale – Premio SRG SSR
MAMA by Davit Pirtskhalava, Georgia
Pardino d’argento SRG SSR per il Concorso internazionale
LA IMPRESIÓN DE UNA GUERRA by Camilo Restrepo, France/Colombia
Locarno Nomination for the European Film Awards – Premio Pianifica
FILS DU LOUP by Lola Quivoron, France
Premio Film und Video Untertitelung
MAMA by Davit Pirtskhalava, Georgia
Special Mention
NUEVA VIDA by Kiro Russo, Argentina/Bolivia
Concorso nazionale
Pardino d’oro per il miglior cortometraggio svizzero – Premio Swiss Life
LE BARRAGE by Samuel Grandchamp, Switzerland/USA
Pardino d’argento Swiss Life per il Concorso nazionale
D’OMBRES ET D’AILES by Eleonora Marinoni, Elice Meng, Switzerland/France
Best Swiss Newcomer Award
LES MONTS S’EMBRASENT by Laura Morales, Switzerland
Prix du Public UBS
DER STAAT GEGEN FRITZ BAUER by Lars Kraume, Germany
Variety Piazza Grande Award
LA BELLE SAISON by Catherine Corsini, France
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14 Latin American Films on Horizontes Latinos Program at 63rd San Sebastian Festival
The Horizontes Latinos program of the 63rd San Sebastian Festival will include fourteen films from Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Cuba, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. Films that have competed or premiered at important international festivals, but which have not yet been screened at a Spanish festival or had their commercial release in Spain.
The Horizontes Latinos program will open with Pablo Larraín’s El club, Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the last Berlin Festival. The film tells the tale of four men who share a secluded house in a small beach town, sent there to purge the sins they have committed in the past.
The selected films compete for the Horizontes Award, decided by a specific jury and coming with €35,000, of which €10,000 will go to the director of the winning film, and the remaining €25,000 to its distributor in Spain.
EL CLUB (THE CLUB) (pictured in main image above)
PABLO LARRAÍN (CHILE)
Opening Night Film
Pablo Larraín won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the last Berlin Festival with this film. Four men share a secluded house in a small beach town, sent there to purge the sins they have committed in the past.
600 MILLAS (600 MILES)
GABRIEL RIPSTEIN (MEXICO)
Arnulfo Rubio, a young gun trafficker between the United States and Mexico, is being followed by ATF agent Hank Harris. After a risky mistake by Harris, Rubio makes a desperate decision: he smuggles the agent to Mexico. Best First Feature Award in the Panorama section of the Berlin Festival.
EL ABRAZO DE LA SERPIENTE (EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT)
CIRO GUERRA (COLOMBIA – ARGENTINA – VENEZUELA)
Premiered at the Cannes Festival Directors’ Fortnight, the latest film from Ciro Guerra tells the epic story of the first contact, encounter, approach, betrayal and, eventually, life-transcending friendship, between an Amazonian shaman and two Western explorers.
EL BOTÓN DE NÁCAR (THE PEARL BUTTON)
PATRICIO GUZMÁN (FRANCE – CHILE – SPAIN )
Chilean filmmaker Patricio Guzmán talks to us in his latest documentary about water, the cosmos and ourselves, human beings. It all begins with the discovery of two mysterious buttons in the depths of the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Chile.
CHRONIC
MICHEL FRANCO (MEXICO – FRANCE)
David is a nurse who works with terminally ill patients. Efficient and dedicated to his profession, he develops strong and even intimate relationships with each person he cares for. But outside of his work David is ineffectual, awkward, and reserved. Best Screenplay Award-winner at the Cannes Festival.
DESDE ALLÁ (FROM AFAR)
LORENZO VIGAS (VENEZUELA)
Armando, aged 50, looks for young men in the streets of Caracas and pays them to come back to his house with him. He also regularly spies on an older man with whom he seems to have ties from the past. One day he meets Elder, aged 17, leader of a small band of thugs. Competitor in the Official Selection of the Venice Festival.
LAS ELEGIDAS (THE CHOSEN ONES)
DAVID PABLOS (MEXICO – FRANCE)
David Pablos’s second film took part at the San Sebastian Co-production Forum in 2014 and premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes Festival. Sofia, 14 years old, is in love with Ulises. Because of him, in spite of him, she is forced into a prostitution ring in Mexico. To set her free, Ulises will have to find another girl to replace her.
IXCANUL
JAYRO BUSTAMANTE (GUATEMALA – FRANCE)
María, a 17 year-old Mayan girl, lives and works with her family in a plantation on the Guatemalan plateau. Her days go by uneventfully until her parents arrange her marriage to the estate foreman, Ignacio. A film that landed a special mention at the last edition of Films in Progress and competed at the Berlin Festival, where it won the Alfred Bauer Award.
MAGALLANES
SALVADOR DEL SOLAR (PERU – ARGENTINA – COLOMBIA – SPAIN)
Winner of Films in Progress at last year’s Festival. Magallanes recognises a woman getting into a taxi. It’s Celina, the young peasant girl he randomly arrested more than twenty years ago, when he was a soldier. They both have unfinished business. And for Magallanes, this is an opportunity to redeem himself. Damián Alcázar, Magaly Solier and Federico Luppi play the leading parts.
LA OBRA DEL SIGLO (THE PROJECT OF THE CENTURY)
CARLOS M. QUINTELA (CUBA – ARGENTINA – GERMANY -SWITZERLAND)
Amidst a mosquito plague, Leonardo, struggling with the breakdown of his relationship, moves back to live with a grandfather who fights with everyone and everything, and a father living with the melancholy of the unfinished. Tiger Award-winner at the last Rotterdam Festival.
PAULINA
SANTIAGO MITRE (ARGENTINA – BRAZIL – FRANCE)
Paulina decides to leave her brilliant law career to teach in a downtrodden Argentinian region. In a hostile atmosphere, she will set about her pedagogical mission, even if it means losing her boyfriend and confrontation with her father. Fipresci Prize-winner at the last Cannes Festival Critics’ Week.
PARA MINHA AMADA MORTA (TO MY BELOVED)
ALY MURITIBA (BRAZIL)
Fernando is a good man who takes care of his only child, Daniel, a shy and sensitive boy. Following the death of his wife Ana, every night Fernando recalls their love as he sorts out his beloved dead spouse’s belongings. One day he finds a VHS tape that will change everything. This movie participated in the Films in Progress section at the last Festival. The film took part at the Co-Production Forum in 2014.
TE PROMETO ANARQUÍA (I PROMISE YOU ANARCHY)
JULIO HERNÁNDEZ CORDÓN (MEXICO – GERMANY)
Julio Hernández Cordón’s new film was selected for the Locarno Festival Competition. Miguel and Johnny have known each other since childhood. They spend their time skateboarding and having fun. To make easy money and continue skateboarding, they sell their own blood clandestinely. They turn the ploy into a business, until a major transaction doesn’t turn out as they’d expected.
LA TIERRA Y LA SOMBRA / LAND AND SHADE
CÉSAR AUGUSTO ACEVEDO (COLOMBIA – CHILE – BRAZIL – NETHERLANDS – FRANCE)
Winner of the Caméra d’Or at the Cannes Festival, after having participated at the San Sebastian Co-Production Forum in 2013, this film portrays a family as they try to repair the fragile ties that bind them in the face of their imminent disappearance, brought about by the overwhelming power of progress.
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PICNIC and THE HOUSE IS INNOCENT Are Grand Prize Winners of 2015 Rhode Island International Film Festival
The FLICKERS: . The 2015 Grand Prize winners are “Picnic,“ directed by Jure Pavlovic from Croatia (pictured above) that takes place in Sarajevo during rush hour.
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‘Back to the Future’ Documentary BACK IN TIME Eyes Future Release | TRAILER
“Back to the Future” fans will love this. Gravitas Ventures will release the documentary Back in Time, which takes a look at the very real impact the Back to the Future movies have had on our culture. Back in Time will receive a limited theatrical and VOD release later this year in October.
Directed by Jason Aron the documentary film Back in Time is, described as at its heart, a look at the very real impact the Back to the Future movies have had on our culture. What was once a little idea that spawned a tightly-focused documentary has grown into something truly amazing over two years of filming. Back in Time is a cinematic monument to the vastness of the trilogy’s fandom. In addition to the footage and interviews revolving around the time machine itself, the crew found that simply by delving into the impact of the trilogy an epic journey began to unfold before them. The crew captured countless hours of footage during filming. From Steven Spielberg to Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, to the Sheas and Hollers, and from James Tolkan and Lea Thompson to Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox, Back in Time features interview after interview that simply must be seen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvzcYS_NH7I
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Museum of the Moving Image in NYC to Honor Alex Ross Perry with a Retrospective
From August 22 through 25, 2015, Museum of the Moving Image in New York City will honor director Alex Ross Perry with a Retrospective, and will present all of his features, including a special preview screening of the new film Queen of Earth.
“Alex Ross Perry’s two most recent films feature unforgettable and vivid performances—most notably Elisabeth Moss’s daring portrayal of emotional despair in the astonishing Queen of Earth,” said Chief Curator David Schwartz. “The Museum is pleased to offer New Yorkers an opportunity to catch up on an impressive body of work by this unique emerging talent who has incorporated his love of cinema into his own original vision.”
Impolex
SATURDAY, AUGUST 22, 4:30 P.M.
Dir. Alex Ross Perry. 2009, 73 mins. 35mm. With Riley O’Bryan, Kate Lyn Sheil, Bruno Meyrick Jones. In his feature debut, Perry was loosely inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow. Taking place just after World War II, the film follows the shambling young soldier Tyrone S. as he wanders through the forest looking for German V2 rockets and encounters a number of inexplicably figures, including an eyepatch-wearing Englishman, a garrulous octopus, and the girlfriend he left behind to join the army.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJqIOt7UHI0
The Color Wheel
SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 3:00 P.M.
Dir. Alex Ross Perry. 2011, 83 mins. 35mm. With Carlen Altman, Alex Ross Perry. Having recently broken up with her boyfriend and former professor, aspiring TV weathergirl JR calls on her estranged younger brother Colin to help retrieve her possessions at her ex’s apartment. What follows is one of the most uncomfortable road movies ever, as the two equally despicable characters incessantly pick on, undercut, and attack one another. “Perry gives a harsh, sarcastic twist to the intimate rivalry of siblings…. [He] directs these uproarious rapid-fire flareups with exquisite comic timing and incisive comic framing,” wrote Richard Brody in The New Yorker.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOtO8JBtxpE
Listen Up Philip
SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, 5:30 P.M.
Dir. Alex Ross Perry. 2014, 109 mins. With Jason Schwartzman, Elisabeth Moss, Jonathan Pryce. Feeling alienated by the pressures of the New York literary world and the girlfriend who financially supports him, the narcissistic and self-involved author Philip Lewis Friedman seeks refuge in the country home of his equally self-obsessed idol, the older, more established writer Ike Zimmerman. “Words do more than hurt, they also slash and burn in this sharp, dyspeptic, sometimes gaspingly funny exploration of art and life […],” noted Manohla Dargisin The New York Times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jkjn5ICqmJI
SPECIAL PREVIEW SCREENING
Queen of Earth
With Elisabeth Moss and Alex Ross Perry in person
TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 7:30 P.M.
Dir. Alex Ross Perry. 90 mins. With Elisabeth Moss, Patrick Fugit, Katherine Waterson. Catherine (played in what Variety calls “an utterly fearless central performance by Elisabeth Moss”) has entered a particularly dark period in her life. Following her father’s death and a bad breakup with her longtime boyfriend, she decides to spend a week recuperating in the lake house of her best friend, Virginia. However, fissures between the two women begin to appear, sending Catherine into a downward spiral of delusion and madness. As Scott Foundas points out in his Variety review, ”Perry is working in a style that seems equally influenced by doppelganger narratives like Bergman’s Persona and Brian De Palma’s Sisters.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU3a8oniq2s
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PALIO,””Rocky” on Horseback”, Documentary Official Trailer, Sets US Release Date
The official trailer is released for the Italian horse racing documentary Palio directed by Cosima Spender, that premiered earlier this year at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the award for Best Editing. The NY Times in a glowing article, noted “Cosima Spender’s “Palio” takes an equally offbeat subject, the brutally competitive semiannual horse races in the piazza of Siena, Italy, and treats it as if it were a classic sports movie — “Rocky” on horseback…”
In the heart of Tuscany, the dusty terra-cotta-tinged city of Siena is home to the world’s oldest horse race: the Palio. Twice a summer jockeys representing ten of the city’s historic districts maneuver through a frenzied course in the central Piazza del Campo, cheered and jeered in equal measure by passionate local supporters. The cutthroat spirit of the race speaks to its medieval roots, as riders are compelled to do whatever it takes to win both on the course and off; to succeed in the Palio taking bribes and making deals is just as essential as being a good rider. A master of the game’s complex strategies, renowned jockey Gigi Bruschelli needs just two more victories to become the winningest rider in the Palio’s storied history. But his former trainee Giovanni Atzeni, a young upstart keen to enter the pantheon of the race’s legends, stands in the way of his throne. With breathtaking cinematography, director Cosima Spender’s enthralling documentary captures the intensity of the event as well as the beauty of Siena. All together creating a mesmerizing portrait of an age-old tradition and the larger-than-life personalities who keep the spirit of the race alive each year. Tribeca Film Festival
Palio will be released in the U.S. on November 6, and on iTunes later that month. The next Palio race takes place this Sunday, August 16, in Siena, Italy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NGAIKMtvxY
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Inspirational Documentary ZEMENE to Close 2015 Harlem International Film Festival | TRAILER
The Harlem International Film Festival (Hi) celebrating its 10th Anniversary, will take place September 9-13 featuring MIST Harlem as its primary 2015 theatrical venue.
Wednesday, September 9 at 7 PM Hi kicks off its lineup with award-winning Stories of Our Lives chronicling the hidden struggles of lovers, fighters and rebels that characterize the criminalized LGBT community in Kenya.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxDr1ue-lHc
Other highlights include the East Coast Premiere of the award-winning America is Still the Place, based on the unbelievable true story of Charlie Walker, the black man behind the clean up of one of the biggest oil spills in US history. The film features the unforgettable performance of Mike Colter, star of Marvel’s brand new Netflix series, Luke Cage, who will join director Patrick Gilles for Q&A.
https://vimeo.com/116602949
Closing Night Film is Melissa Donovan’s “must-see inspirational” documentary Zemene about a young Ethiopian girl’s bravery in the face of enormous odds. Living in a remote village with a rare curvature of the spine, she struggles with poverty, poor education, and potentially life-threatening illnesses. But a chance encounter in the streets of Gondar with Dr. Rick Hodes sets in motion a series of events that will change Zemene and the future of her village forever. Shot throughout the beautiful countryside, the film is a poetic testament to the power of compassion and the potential within us all. Zemene screened at the Library of Congress on August 12, 2015 and will be catalogued and become part of the official collection of the world’s largest library.
https://vimeo.com/97292617
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Danish War Drama LAND OF MINE to Premiere at Toronto International Film Festival
Martin Zandvliet’s war drama “Land of Mine” will open the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival’s brand new section, Platform. The film, Zandvliet’s third, unearths a lesser known chapter of Danish postwar history
Taking place in May 1945 only a few days after the end of the war, the film tells the story of how a group of German prisoners of war were brought to Denmark and forced to disarm the two million land mines that had been scattered along the West Coast by the German occupying forces. In charge of the enfeebled young men performing the dangerous task is Sergeant Carl Leopold Rasmussen. Like so many of his fellow Danes, he has a deep hatred for the Germans after having suffered five years of hardships during the occupation. He lets his rage rain down on the prisoners, until one day a tragic incident makes him change his view of the enemy even if it may be too late. Actor Roland Møller takes his first lead as the Danish sergeant in charge of the prisoners. Møller made his screen debut in Tobias Lindholm and Michael Noer’s prison drama “R” and went on to perform in Lindholm’s “A Hijacking” and Noer’s “Northwest”. Among the Danish cast is also Mikkel Boe Følsgaard (“A Royal Affair”), while the young Germans all are amateur actors, discovered through Berlin-based casting expert Simone Bär who has collaborated with Michael Haneke, among others. Zandvliet’s debut feature “Applause” (2009) received numerous awards, with quite a few directed at the film’s lead actress Paprika Steen. The film was selected for the Toronto Film Festival, as was Zandvliet’s second feature, “A Funny Man” (2011), which also enjoyed great domestic success with a total of 10 Robert and Bodil awards, Denmark’s highest film distinctions.
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World Premiere of REGRESSION Starring Ethan Hawke, Emma Watson to Open San Sebastian Film Festival | TRAILER
Alejandro Amenábar’s latest film, Regression, will open the coming edition of the San Sebastian Festival. The world premiere of the film, presented in the Official Selection out of competition, will take place on September 18.
Regression has an international cast headlining Ethan Hawke, Emma Watson, David Thewlis and David Dencik. In his sixth feature film, Alejandro Amenábar, who also wrote the screenplay, returns to a psychological thriller, a genre to which he has contributed already classic titles such as The Others, Abre los Ojos (Open Your Eyes) andTesis (Thesis). The film, shot in Canada in English, is produced by Fernando Bovaira.
Minnesota, 1990. Detective Bruce Kenner (Ethan Hawke) investigates the case of young Angela (Emma Watson), who accuses her father, John Gray (David Dencik), of an unspeakable crime. When John unexpectedly and without recollection admits guilt, renowned psychologist Dr. Raines (David Thewlis) is brought in to help him relive his memories and what they discover unmasks a horrifying nationwide mystery.
Regression will open in Spain on October 2 followed by key territories, including Germany, UK, France, Italy, China and Korea later this Fall. The remaining worldwide releases will take place in the months to follow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNxl56_ExWY
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12 Bold + Unique Films In Inaugural Platform Lineup of 40th Toronto International Film Festival
The 40th Toronto International Film Festival revealed the inaugural lineup for Platform, the new juried program that champions director’s cinema from around the world.
“We created this new program as a way to sharpen our focus on artistically ambitious cinema in our 40th year and we are thrilled to be able to put the spotlight on these 12 brilliant filmmakers this September,” said Piers Handling, Director and CEO of TIFF. “They are major creative forces: the next generation of masters whose personal vision will captivate audiences, industry members and media from around the world.”
“Each of the filmmakers in the program fearlessly transforms a wide range of compelling realities through their unique visual and narrative styles, and they do so with incredible command and precision,” said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of the Toronto International Film Festival. “From a stark coming-of-age story, a retro-futuristic science-fiction and a lyrical post-western to an abduction thriller, a raw documentary and hard-hitting and topical dramas, this lineup reflects the diversity of international directors’ cinema today.”
Platform films will screen from Thursday, September 10 to Thursday, September 17. Each film will have its first screening for public, press and industry at the Visa Screening Room at the Elgin Theatre.
An international jury composed of acclaimed filmmakers Jia Zhang-ke, Claire Denis and Agnieszka Holland will award the Toronto Platform Prize ($25,000 CAD) to the best film in the program, which will be announced at the Awards Ceremony on September 20, 2015.
Bang Gang (A Modern Love Story)
Eva Husson, France
World Premiere
Biarritz. Sixteen-year-old George, a beautiful high-school student, falls in love with Alex. To get his attention, she initiates a group game with Alex, Nikita, Laetitia and Gabriel during which they will discover, test, and push the limits of their sexuality. Through scandals, love and the breakdown of their value systems, each of them manages this intense period in radically different ways. Starring Daisy Broom, Fred Hotier, Lorenzo Lefebvre, Marilyn Lima, and Finnegan Oldfield.
The Clan (El Clan)
Pablo Trapero, Argentina/Spain
North American Premiere
Within a typical family home in the traditional neighborhood of San Isidro, a sinister clan makes its living off kidnapping and murder. Arquímedes, the patriarch, heads and plans the operations. Alejandro, his eldest son, is a star rugby player who gives into his father’s will and identifies possible candidates for kidnapping. To a greater or lesser extent, the members of the family are accomplices in this dreadful venture as they live off the benefits yielded by the large ransoms paid by the families of their victims. Based on the true story of the Puccio family, this film full of suspense and intrigue takes place in the context of the final years of the Argentine military dictatorship and incipient return to democracy. Starring Guillermo Francella and Peter Lanzani.
French Blood (Un Français)
Diastème, France
International Premiere
This is the story of a Frenchman, born in 1965 on the outskirts of Paris. The story of a skinhead, who hates Arabs, Jews, blacks, communists and gays. An anger that will take 30 years to die out. A bastard, who will take 30 years to become someone else. And he will never forgive himself for it. Starring Alban Lenoir, Paul Hamy, Samuel Jouy and Patrick Pineau.
Full Contact
David Verbeek, Netherlands/Croatia
World Premiere
A contemporary tale of a man who accidentally bombed a school through a remotely operated drone plane. Modern warfare keeps Ivan safe and disconnected from his prey. But after this incident, this disconnectedness starts to apply to everything in his life. He is unable to process his overwhelming feelings of guilt, but needs to open up to his new love Cindy. Only by facing his victims can he rediscover his humanity and find a new purpose in life. Starring Grégoire Colin, Lizzie Brocheré and Slimane Dazi.
High-Rise
Ben Wheatley, United Kingdom
World Premiere
1975. Two miles west of London, Dr. Laing moves into his new apartment seeking soulless anonymity, only to find that the building’s residents have no intention of leaving him alone. Resigned to the complex social dynamics unfolding around him, Laing bites the bullet and becomes neighborly. As he struggles to establish his position, Laing’s good manners and sanity disintegrate along with the building. The lights go out and the elevators fail but the party goes on. People are the problem. Booze is the currency. Sex is the panacea. Starring Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans and Elisabeth Moss.
HURT
Alan Zweig, Canada
World Premiere
Steve Fonyo is a one-legged cancer survivor who completed a cross-Canada run raising $13 million in 1985. The next 30 years were straight downhill: petty theft, larceny and drug addiction. The run has nothing to do with the life of this one-time hero, and everything to do with it. Starring Steve Fonyo.
Land of Mine (Under Sandet / Unter dem Sand)
Martin Zandvliet, Denmark/Germany
World Premiere
A story never told before. WWII has ended. A group of German POWs captured by the Danish army, boys rather than men, are forced into a new kind of service under the command of a brusque Danish Sergeant. Risking life and limbs, the boys discover that the war is far from over. Starring Roland Møller, Louis Hofmann, Joel Basman, Emil Buschow, Oskar Buschow and Mikkel Boe Følsgaard.
Looking for Grace
Sue Brooks, Australia
North American Premiere
Grace, 16, runs away from home. Her parents, Dan and Denise, head off on the road across the Western Australian wheat belt with a retired detective, Norris, to try and get her back. But life unravels faster than they can put it back together. Grace, Dan and Denise learn that life is confusing and arbitrary, but wonderful. Starring Richard Roxburgh, Radha Mitchell, Odessa Young and Terry Norris.
Neon Bull (Boi Neon) (pictured above)
Gabriel Mascaro, Brazil/Uruguay/Netherlands
North American Premiere
Iremar and his makeshift family travel through Northeast Brazil taking care of bulls at the Vaquejadas, a Brazilian rodeo. But the region’s booming clothing industry has stirred new ambitions and filled Iremar’s mind with dreams of pattern-cutting and exquisite fabrics. Starring Juliano Cazarré, Aline Santana, Carlos Pessoa and Maeve Jinkings.
The Promised Land (Hui Dao Bei Ai De Mei Yi Tian)
He Ping, China
World Premiere
Ai Ling, growing up in a small town, loses her fiancé Jiang He in Beijing. After returning to her hometown with a broken heart, she has to face all the complications life and love have in store for her. Starring Jiajia Wang, Yi Zhang, and Zhiwen Wang.
Sky
Fabienne Berthaud, France/Germany
World Premiere
Romy is on holiday in the USA with her French husband, but the journey quickly turns into a settling of old scores for this worn out couple. After a huge argument, Romy decides to break free. She cuts her ties to a stable and secure life that has become alienating and escapes to the unknown. Drifting through a noisy Las Vegas to the wondrous high desert, she goes on with her solitary journey, abandoning herself to her sole intuitions and making it up as she goes. Liberated, she will cross paths with a charismatic and solitary man, with whom she’ll share an inconceivable but pure love. Starring Diane Kruger, Norman Reedus, Gilles Lellouche, Lena Dunham and Q’orianka Kilcher.
The White Knights (Les Chevaliers Blancs)
Joachim Lafosse, France/Belgium
World Premiere
Critically acclaimed Joachim Lafosse brings to the screen the Zoe’s Ark controversy which made headlines in 2007: a story about the limits of the right of interference. Jacques Arnault, head of Sud Secours NGO, is planning a high impact operation: he and his team are going to exfiltrate 300 orphans, victims of Chadian civil war and bring them to French adoption applicants. Françoise Dubois, a journalist, is invited to come along with them and handle the media coverage for this operation. Completely immersed in the brutal reality of a country at war, the NGO members start losing their convictions and are faced with the limits of humanitarian intervention. Starring Vincent Lindon, Valérie Donzelli, Reda Kateb, Louise Bourgoin and Rougalta Bintou Saleh.
The 40th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 10 to 20, 2015.