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Jennifer Hudson to Sing Title Anthem ‘I’ll Fight’ for RBG Documentary [Trailer]

Documentary

Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Grammy Award-winning actress and singer Jennifer Hudson will sing “I’ll Fight,” the stirring, powerful anthem for RBG, a documentary about the life and legal legacy of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The original song is written and arranged by the Grammy, Emmy, and Golden Globe-winning, and 9-time Academy Award-nominated, songwriter Diane Warren. The song will be released by Epic Records on Friday, May 4, to coincide with the domestic release of the film. The music single, “I’ll Fight,” sung by Jennifer Hudson, will be available wherever music is sold. RBG is told through the voices of Ginsburg’s friends, former clients and colleagues, and includes interviews with historic figures and her family, including Gloria Steinem, Eugene Scalia, NPR’s Nina Totenberg, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Lilly Ledbetter, and others. In recent years, Justice Ginsburg, now approaching her 25th year of service on the U.S. Supreme Court in the summer of 2018, has also become an intergenerational pop culture icon. West’s and Cohen’s extraordinary access for the film includes interviews with Justice Ginsburg that are interwoven with never-before-seen home movies, images, and scenes from her career achievements and her private life. Throughout the film, there is an exploration of her decades-long romance with her husband, the late Martin Ginsburg, whom she credits with making her contributions to American life possible. “Last year, I wrote, ‘Stand Up For Something’ for Marshall, the film about U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Now, I have written a song, ‘I’ll Fight,’ for another legendary Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It has been an honor to write a song about such a badass, inspiring, and iconic woman. And, it’s a dream-come-true to have my friend, Jennifer Hudson, one of the greatest voices on the planet, sing this song,” said Warren. Bonnie Greenberg, executive music producer for RBG, collaborated with the production to ensure that the anthem would enhance and support the visual images of the film. Greenberg brought in Diane Warren to write the inspirational song, ‘I’ll Fight;’ Jennifer Hudson’s soaring vocals make the anthem transformational. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biIRlcQqmOc RBG is directed and produced by award-winning filmmakers Betsy West and Julie Cohen and is co-produced by Storyville Films and CNN Films. RBG is executive produced by Amy Entelis and Courtney Sexton of CNN Films; the film premiered to critical acclaim at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, where it was acquired by Magnolia Pictures and Participant Media for worldwide distribution, including theatrical, home video, SVOD, and international television. CNN Films has U.S. broadcast rights to the film.
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SERVED LIKE A GIRL Chronicling Female Veterans Competing for Ms. Veteran America to Premiere on PBS on Memorial Day [Trailer]

Documentary

Served Like a Girl, directed by Lysa Heslov, is a powerful and poignant look at a group of diverse female veterans as they transition from active duty to civilian life after serving tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Struggling with PTSD, homelessness, broken families, serious illness, physical injuries, and military sexual abuse, these inspiring women find ways to adapt to the challenges they face through participation in the “Ms. Veteran America” competition. Guided by event founder and veteran Major Jas Boothe, the women work hard to prepare for the competition, and, in the process, recover parts of their identities they had lost on the battlefield. Filled with humor and heart in equal measures, Served Like a Girl premieres on Independent Lens on Memorial Day, Monday, May 28, 2018, 10:00-11:30 PM ET on PBS. Wounded U.S. female service personnel often return home to a stark reality; many face debilitating emotional, social and economic challenges. The Ms. Veteran America competition was established in 2012 to encourage women veterans to recognize and support their sisters as they return to civilian life. More than a vehicle for shared recovery, the competition’s main mission is to raise funds and awareness for America’s 55,000 homeless women veterans, a goal that resonates strongly with the women profiled in the film. Served Like a Girl features: Sergeant Nichole Alred served six years in the Army as a mechanic, including one tour in Kuwait and two in Iraq. Nichole joined the Army as a single mother in an effort to give her son a better life. Nichole and her mother share a special relationship; her mother was her biggest supporter during both her time in the military and in the Ms. Veteran America competition. Nichole lives in Alabama with her husband. Major Jas Boothe is a Chicago native, disabled veteran, cancer survivor, and international speaker who served 17 years in the Army. She founded Final Salute in 2010 and the Ms. Veteran America competition in 2012, which have collectively raised over $2 million and assisted over 3600 women veterans and children in over 30 states and territories. In honor of her leadership and positive impact on the community, Boothe has been recognized by Oprah Winfrey, Toyota, People Magazine, CNN Heroes, and the Department of Defense. She lives in Northern Virginia. Lieutenant Commander Rachel Engler is second-generation Navy on both her mother and father’s side. A former NFL cheerleader and a registered nurse, she received her officer’s commission straight out of college and deployed to Afghanistan. In 2011, she was diagnosed with a chronic neuromuscular illness called Myasthenia Gravis, a condition that still affects her life today, but which hasn’t slowed her volunteer work on behalf of her fellow veterans. She lives in Arlington, Virginia. Master-at-Arms First Class Hope Garcia served ten years in the Navy before being placed on the Permanent Disability Retired list. She struggles with PTSD and the trauma resulting from military sexual assault. But Hope continues to work for a better life for herself and her sons. At the time of filming Hope was working her way through school while attempting to build a career as a pin-up model. Through participating in the Ms. Veteran America competition, Hope was reunited with her mother and the two were able to start rebuilding their relationship. She lives in Los Angeles. Master Sergeant Denyse Gordon comes from a family with a long and proud history of military and civic service. Her maternal grandfather served during WWII, her stepfather was a Vietnam- era veteran and served in the U.S. Navy, her sister is a U.S. Army Reserve Captain who is a veteran of both the Gulf War and Operation Enduring/Iraqi Freedom, her mother retired as an Executive Officer with the New York City Police Department Traffic Division, and Denyse, who is also an Operation Enduring/Iraqi Freedom combat veteran, is a 22-and-a-half-year U.S. Air Force Reserves Master Sergeant, having served 12 years on active duty. In 2012, she was crowned the first Ms. Veteran America and continues with the competition as its director. She lives in Northern Virginia. Specialist Marissa Strock lost both lower legs in 2005, when an IED detonated beneath her Army Humvee outside Baghdad. Three of the five people on board were killed, and Marissa spent weeks in a medically induced coma. After competing in Ms. Veteran America 2013 and taking home three trophies, including one for significant military achievement, this self-proclaimed “glamputee” has served as the event’s master of ceremonies in subsequent years. She has an impressive collection of fabulous shoes and refuses to let the loss of her legs slow her down. She lives in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Sergeant Andrea Waterbury enlisted in the Army two days after 9/11 and was deployed in Iraq for two years starting in 2003. A dynamic, small-town woman and divorced mother of four, she works as the Cavalier Cadet Corp instructor at Chillicothe High School in Ohio and continues to serve proudly in the Army Reserves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLRDXIXm1HA Image: Denyse Gordon, Joanne Makay, Hope Garcia, Rachel Engler, Jas Boothe, Nichole Alred and Andrea Waterbury – INDEPENDENT LENS “Served Like a Girl”
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7 Bold, Visionary Writers Selected for Film Independent’s 20th Screenwriting Lab

Filmmaking

Seven screenwriters have been selected for Film Independent’s 20th annual Screenwriting Lab, an intensive four-week workshop designed to facilitate each writer’s unique voice through the development of a single feature screenplay. Eighty-five percent of this year’s participants are from communities underrepresented in film and over half the participants are women. Fellows will workshop their projects over the course of the Lab under the guidance of Creative Advisors Rodrigo García (Nine Lives, HBO’s In Treatment), Pamela Ribon (Moana, Wreck-It Ralph 2) and Jeff Stockwell (Bridge to Terabithia). Additional guest speakers and advisors include Andrew Ahn (Spa Night), Script Consultant Ruth Atkinson, Jelani Johnson of CAA and Virgil Williams (Mudbound). “We are extremely proud that Film Independent’s 20th Screenwriting Lab is made up of seven bold, visionary writers whose diverse perspectives represent our continued commitment to fostering inclusion in the film industry. We look forward to nurturing their projects in the Lab and their careers as artists in the long term,” said Jennifer Kushner, Director of Artist Development at Film Independent. For the seventh year, Film Independent will present the Loyola Marymount University School of Film and Television Screenwriting Fellowship. This year’s Fellowship is being awarded to Margaret Hedderman who will receive a $10,000 grant to support the development of her script, The Code of the West, through the Screenwriting Lab. Past Screenwriting Lab projects include Spirit Award Winner Andrew Ahn’s Spa Night, which premiered in competition at Sundance and won the Grand Jury prize at Outfest; Chloé Zhao’s Spirit Award nominated Songs My Brothers Taught Me, which premiered in competition at Sundance and in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes; and Robbie Pickering’s SXSW winner Natural Selection. The 2018 Screenwriting Lab participants and their projects are: Title: At Risk Writer: Jenny Halper Logline: A ten-year-old budding scientist becomes obsessed with a turtle he believes has been alive since the time of the dinosaurs as his sister’s AIDS diagnosis turns his family into pariahs in their small New England town. Based on Alice Hoffman’s novel. Title: Bury Me on Gold Mountain Writer/Director: Li Lu Logline: In 1872, a young Chinese woman fights to survive after being sold to an unknown man in a remote Idaho gold mining town. Title: Hombrecito Writer/Director: Miguel Nuñez Logline: A romantic little fella leads a peasant revolt against the abuses of a foreign cotton company. On his odyssey to defend their right to the land, Hombrecito has kung-fu fights, is stalked by a ghost, and ends up as a misfit cowboy. Title: Juveniles Writer/Director: Joshua James Richards Logline: Teenage love and rebellion in a juvenile correctional facility. Title: SOAD Writer/Director: Ayten Amin Logline: 12-year old Rabad lives in Zaqazig, a small conservative town in Egypt. After her older sister, Soad falls down an online rabbit hole with tragic consequences, Rabad embarks on a journey looking for answers. Title: The Code of the West Writer: Margaret Hedderman Logline: A directionless musician takes her young son on a road trip to find his father – whom he imagines is a John Wayne-esque figure. They find him on a New Mexico ranch that’s under threat from energy development. The boy tries to save the day. Title: Zenith Writer/Director: Ellie Foumbi Logline: An adopted Black Mennonite leaves the rural White community she was raised in and travels to an inner-city neighborhood to find her biological mother. In the process, she discovers what it means to be Black.
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Toronto International Film Festival Reveals 2018 Programs and Programmers

Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) today revealed their 2018 lineup of programs and programming team, comprised of 22 of the industry’s most seasoned and talented film experts and curators, consisting of nine men and 12 women. “In 2017, the TIFF programming team worked tirelessly to curate a Festival experience that resulted in the release of some of year’s most critically acclaimed films, including Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri (Winner, TIFF 2017 Grolsch People’s Choice Award), The Shape of Water, Lady Bird, I, Tonya, Faces Places and A Fantastic Woman, among many others,” said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of TIFF. “As the 2018 Festival lineup comes together, the programming team is working to curate the most memorable experience possible for our audiences, through a diverse selection of the highest-quality films from around the globe.” TIFF’s representation of women amongst its programmers is reflective of the organization’s continuing commitment to normalizing gender parity and equality for future generations. With a clear understanding that there is still much more work to be done, TIFF intends to continue its strong representation of women in the Festival programming team. “Being a woman in a leadership position at TIFF allows me to be the change I want to see by supporting, inspiring and empowering the women around me,” comments Kerri Craddock, Director of Programming for the Festival. “With TIFF’s mission being to transform the way people see the world through film, we need to create an environment where people have what they need to be their best. Diversity across all levels of our Festival programming team is key to achieving that goal.” This year, Danis Goulet will be programming Canadian Features alongside Steve Gravestock. Goulet programmed Short Cuts, the Festival’s annual showcase of the best in Canadian and international short film, between 2015 and 2017, previously worked as Short Cuts Programming Associate and has had her own short films presented at TIFF. Lisa Haller, Festival Programming’s Manager and Shorts Programmer, will be filling Goulet’s shoes as co-programmer for Short Cuts. Haller has worked for TIFF since 2010. In addition to her work as the Programming Associate for Short Cuts for the last three years, she has also managed Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival, including programming the student shorts selection for the past three years, and began programming short films for TIFF Kids International Film Festival in 2018. Jennifer Barkin, Senior Manager of Festival Programming, will be making her debut as the TIFF Kids programmer for the Festival after managing and programming for the TIFF Kids International Film Festival for the last eight years. Barkin will also continue in her role as the programmer for Festival Street, TIFF’s annual closure of King and John Streets near TIFF Bell Lightbox, which features stage performances, nightly film screenings, and other fun activities during the first four days of the Festival.
2018 Toronto International Film Festival Programs
Contemporary World Cinema Compelling stories, global perspectives. Discovery Directors to watch. The future of world cinema. Gala Presentations Movie stars. Red-carpet premieres. Major audience interest. In Conversation With… Engaging onstage conversations with leaders in the film industry and beyond. Masters The latest from the world’s most influential art-house filmmakers. Midnight Madness The wild side: midnight screenings of the best in action, horror, shock and fantasy cinema. Platform Directors’ cinema now. Launched in 2015, this juried programme shines a light on up to 12 selections that demonstrate directorial vision from international filmmakers. Primetime Serial storytelling: television in its artistic renaissance. Short Cuts The world. In short form. Special Presentations High-profile premieres and the world’s leading filmmakers. TIFF Cinematheque Curated gems from the history of Canadian and international cinema. TIFF Docs Candid and unscripted: the best non-fiction cinema from around the world. Wavelengths Daring, visionary and autonomous voices. Works that expand our notions of the moving image.
2018 Toronto International Film Festival Sub-Programs
TIFF Kids Entertaining and illuminating family-friendly films from around the world. TIFF Next Wave Perspectives for the next generation of film lovers. TIFF Speaker Series Watch, experience, and participate in post-screening discussions with film directors and subject experts.
2018 Toronto International Film Festival Programmers
Piers Handling Western Europe, Italy, Poland; Gala Presentations, Platform Cameron Bailey South Asia; Gala Presentations, Special Presentations Michèle Maheux Ireland, the Netherlands; Gala Presentations Kerri Craddock Western Europe, USA, Turkey; Gala Presentations, Special Presentations Jennifer Barkin TIFF Kids & Festival Street Brad Deane TIFF Cinematheque Dimitri Eipides Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Western Asia Giovanna Fulvi East and Southeast Asia Steve Gravestock Canada, the Philippines, Nordic Region Danis Goulet Canada Peter Kuplowsky Midnight Madness Michael Lerman Primetime Andrea Picard Wavelengths Thom Powers TIFF Docs Kiva Reardon Africa and the Middle East Diana Sanchez Spain, Portugal, Latin America, Caribbean Theresa Scandiffio In Conversation With… Jane Schoettle Australia, New Zealand, Israel, USA Producer, TIFF Talent Jason Anderson Short Cuts Lisa Haller Short Cuts Karina Rotenstein Industry programming Natalie Semotiuk Producer, Rising Stars
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4 Filmmakers Win 2018 Oregon Media Arts Fellowship

Filmmaking

[caption id="attachment_28743" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Roland Dahwen Wu[/caption] The Northwest Film Center, Oregon Arts Commission, and The Oregon Community Foundation announced Julia Oldham, Howard Mitchell, Roland Dahwen Wu, and Arianna Gazca as the winners of the 2018 Oregon Media Arts Fellowship (OMAF). Julia Oldham’s work combines live action video with traditional animation to create narratives about science and nature. She creates fantastical worlds by layering animated sequences and video footage, and through this process explores the far reaches of outer space and the deep seas, has dreamlike encounters with animated birds and coyotes, and finds the potential for romance in mathematical equations. Her work has been screened/exhibited at Art in General in New York, NY; MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, NY; BRIC in Brooklyn, NY; Northwest Film Center in Portland, OR, and many other locations. Oldham’s OMAF funded project will concern packs of dogs living in the wake of the Chernobyl Power Plant disaster. She plans to make a dialogue-free short film called Fallout Dogs in the exclusion zone of the region, following and filming the strays littered throughout the zone in order to capture an impression of Chernobyl through the eyes of the dogs. Portland-based director Howard Mitchell (aka El Gato Negro) was born in Panama to an Afro-Panamanian mother and an American father. As an artist, he’s taken what he’s learned from his background as a painter, poet, and musician and combined these disciplines. Mitchell says, “I believe in viewing art and cinema as a means of elevating consciousness, politically and culturally…as a liberating art.” Mitchell’s work has screened at the Toronto International Film and Video Awards, the Portland International Film Festival, and other festivals, and has also appeared on OPB’s Open Lens program. The OMAF funding will support the production of Mitchell’s short film Killingsworth, a noir thriller that touches on issues surrounding displacement and gentrification in the African American community, shedding light on voices and experiences that are being misheard, misrepresented or worse, muzzled. Roland Dahwen Wu is a filmmaker whose work explores migration, race, and memory. His films and installations have been shown at CalArts, Time Based Art Festival, Northwest Film Center, and numerous galleries. He is a 2018 artist-in-residence at Portland Institute for Contemporary Art’s Creative Exchange Lab. His films span nonfiction, experimental, and narrative genres, and are commonly marked by poetry: from his first documentary about the whistling language of the Canary Islands (There are no birds in the nests of yesterday) to his recent short film about 20th century Asian migration (Haft-Seen). Wu’s Fellowship award will help fund his upcoming short film Borrufa. Based on true events and shot on Super 16mm, Borrufa involves a grown son and his parents when they learn that his father has a secret, second family. Following the lives of an immigrant family in Oregon, Borrufa is a subtle, introspective work about loneliness, betrayal, and reconciliation. Arianna Gazca is a Portland-based artist and filmmaker who works with mixed media through the moving image. Her work often deals with visual music and color psychology, and has been featured in screenings and exhibitions including the Punto y Raya Festival 2016, the Melbourne International Animation Festival 2017, Bogota Experimental Film Festival/CineAutopsia 2017, and Regional Arts & Culture Council and Open Signal’s Night Lights Series 2016. She holds a B.F.A. in Animated Arts from Pacific Northwest College of Art. Gazca will apply her OMAF grant funds towards producing a short, experimental animated visual music film called Metanoia. Inspired by the work of avant-garde artist and filmmaker Viking Eggeling, Gazca intends to, “create a genuine, significant connection with its audience through abstraction and characters that don’t explicitly represent anything concrete or realistic, but are still understood for something.” The completed project will combine live action footage with post-production digital manipulation and traditional ink and paint based animation to realize a highly textured visual accompaniment to the musical elements of her piece. The Oregon Media Arts Fellowship supports filmmakers who have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to the media arts. Jurors reviewed 50 submissions from applicants throughout the state, weighing artistic merit, the potential of the proposed activity to advance the artist’s work, and the feasibility of the projects proposed. This year’s combined $23,000 of Fellowship awards are funded by the Oregon Arts Commission and The Oregon Community Foundation and administered by the Northwest Film Center. The application deadline for the 2019 Oregon Media Arts Fellowships is January 1, 2019. Applications are available online.
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Sundance Institute Selects 6 Projects for 2018 New Frontier Story Lab

Filmmaking

[caption id="attachment_28747" align="aligncenter" width="1227"] Sundance Institute Announces 2018 New Frontier Story Lab Fellows. Nitzan Bartov | Charlotte Simpson | Michèle Stephenson | Joe Brewster | Raqi Syed | Areito Echevarria | Stephanie Dinkins |Sadé Dinkins | Shariffa Chelimo Ali | Yetunde Dada | Kevin Cornish | Seyward Darby[/caption] Sundance Institute has selected six projects for the annual New Frontier Story Lab, which supports independent artists working at the cutting-edge convergence of film, art, media, live performance and technology. The New Frontier Story Lab is a week-long immersive experience that empowers creatives with individual story sessions, conversations about key artistic, design and technology issues and case study presentations from experts in multiple disciplines. Past participants include Roger Ross Williams, Josephine Decker, Silas Howard, Tracy Fullerton, Yung Jake, Chris Milk, Hasan Minhaj, Tommy Pallotta, Amelia Winger-Bearskin, Hank Willis Thomas, Jillian Mayer, Heather Dewey-Hagborg, Navid and Vassiliki Khonsari, A Dandy Punk, Nicolas Peufaillit, and Yasmin Elayat. The Lab takes place May 16-21 at the Sundance Resort in Utah, under the guidance of Sundance Institute Feature Film Program Founding Director Michelle Satter and Kamal Sinclair, Director of New Frontier Lab Programs. Sinclair said, “The intersection of artists and technologists at New Frontier Story Lab this year is going to create a unique experience where the Fellows are able to challenge each other to take risks and interact with stories in different ways. Creative Advisors and Industry Mentors will come together to explore the convergence of art and technology and engage in ground-breaking work in the full spectrum of immersive media, connected environments and machine learning.” Creative Advisors and Industry Mentors for the Lab include: Reggie Watts (Creator, Spatial), Nick Fortugno (Co-Creator, Frankenstein AI), Rashida Bumbray (Curator, Funk, God, Jazz and Medicine: Black Radical Brooklyn), Katerina Cizek (Creator, HIGHRISE), Toby Coffey (Head of Digital Development, National Theatre in London), Kirsten Johnson (Director, Cameraperson), Lauren McCarthy (Creative Coder, p5.js), Mark Monroe (Writer, The Cove), Arnaud Colinart (Co-Founder, AtlasV), Dr.Joy DeGruy (Author, Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome), Katherine Dieckmann (Writer/Director, Strange Weather), Sylvio Drouin (Vice President Research Labs, Unity Technologies) , Moira Griffin (Executive Director of Production, Creative Labs at Fox Networks Group), Scott Norville (Vice President, Digital Audience Development at Fox), Torfi Frans Ólafsson (Design Director, Minecraft at Microsoft), Opeyemi Olukemi (Vice President, POV’s Digital Production and Innovation), Melissa Painter (Creator, HEROS), Joan Tewkesbury (Writer, Nashville), Saschka Unseld (Director, The Blue Umbrella), Diana Williams (Executive Vice President of Creative at Madison Wells Media) and Anthony Sparks (Co-Executive Producer, Queen Sugar). The Creative teams and Projects Selected for The 2018 Sundance Institute New Frontier Story Lab: Alexa, Call Mom! Nitzan Bartov and Charlotte Simpson Alexa, Call Mom! is a connected environment installation featuring Alexa and other interactive devices working as a conduit between the living and the dead. It is the seance experience of the future! Nitzan Bartov is a game designer and architect based in Brooklyn. In VR, interactive and spatial media, her work mixes pop culture and sci-fi with computational design and sculptural elements, exploring representations of time and beauty in the flaws of the digital world. Charlotte Simpson writes interactive fiction and designs narrative formulas for gamified texts, VR, and immersive experiences. Her focus is stories that encourage an extranoematic interaction between the reader and text. Changing Same: The Untitled Racial Justice Project Michèle Stephenson and Joe Brewster Changing Same: The Untitled Racial Justice Project is a magical-realist journey through the uninterrupted cycle of white racial oppression from slavery to now to an afro-futurist world of freedom, liberation and equity. Michèle Stephenson pulls from her Panamanian and Haitian roots to tell provocative stories that are created by, for and about communities of color. Stephenson’s most recent feature documentary, American Promise, was nominated for three Emmys, garnered a Sundance Film Festival Jury Award, and won a Britdoc Puma Award for Impact. Her collaborative short-film series with New York Times Op-Docs, Conversations on Race, won an Online Journalism Award for Commentary. Joe Brewster is a physician who uses his psychiatrist training to inform the social issues he tackles as a filmmaker. Brewster has created stories using a variety of mediums that have garnered support from critics and audiences internationally. Brewster is a Guggenheim Fellow and Spirit Award and three-time Emmy Award nominee. His recent documentary, American Promise, won the Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival. Brewster’s outreach accomplishments include a NAACP Image Award for his book Promises Kept, and a BritDoc Prize for developing one of the most innovative outreach campaigns. Minimum Mass Raqi Syed and Areito Echevarria After a series of miscarriages, a young woman is convinced her children were born into another dimension. Through immersive media, this story of loss, fear and reunion penetrates the unseen portal between worlds. Raqi Syed is a writer and artist who has worked on films such as Tangled, District 9, Avatar, Dawn of The Planet of the Apes, and The Hobbit Trilogy. In 2017, The Los Angeles Times pegged Syed for its list of 100 Industry professionals who can help fix Hollywood’s diversity problem. Syed’s writing focuses on film and gender, film technology, the historiography of visual effects, and the business of visual effects. Her essays have appeared in TechCrunch, Vice, Salon, Quartz, and The Los Angeles Review of Books. Areito Echevarria is an Academy Award winning artist and researcher, specializing in computational creativity and design. His feature film experience includes work on films such as War for the Planet of the Apes, Godzilla, The Hobbit Trilogy, Avatar and Black Hawk Down. In 2014, Echevarria was awarded the Scientific and Technical Academy Award for his work developing Deep Compositing, an imaging technology that fundamentally changed the nature of compositing workflows in the feature film industry. Not The Only One Stephanie Dinkins and Sadé Dinkins Not the Only One is the multigenerational memoir of one black American family told from the mind of an artificial intelligence of evolving intellect. Stephanie Dinkins is a transdisciplinary artist interested in creating platforms for ongoing dialog about artificial intelligence as it intersects race, gender, aging, the proliferation of knowledge(s) and our future histories. She is particularly driven to work with communities of color to develop deep-rooted AI literacy and co-create more equitable artificial intelligence. Sadé Dinkins is passionate about social justice and the need for a future that reflects us, as representation has growing effect on the human psyche, public policy. She has an external drive to seek and establish representation for blackness and women in media as well as in the technological sector as it increasingly intersects our lives. Evolve | Revolve Shariffa Chelimo Ali and Yetunde Dada Circle the Mugumo tree seven times and transform from masculine to feminine or feminine to masculine; and live in your new identity forever. This is the ritual of the Kikuyu ancestors that no contemporary person has experienced until now. Shariffa Chelimo Ali is an Afropolitan creative leader committed to working with an open-heart at the intersection of the performing arts and humanitarianism. Ali works as a Community Coordinator at the Public Theater in New York. Selected directing credits include: Detroit 67 (Brooklyn College, NY), We are Proud to Present…(Yale Dramatic Society, Yale University, CT), Eclipsed (Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton University, NJ), The Year of the Bicycle (C.M.O.R.E Festival, The Cell Theatre, NY) and Evolve | Revolve (formerly known as Round Round, VR film), winner of the Digital Lab Africa Competition. Yetunde Dada’s background is in photography, design and technology and she is currently completing her MBA at the Said Business School, University of Oxford. She passionate about using art and technology for social change and founded a social impact art, design and music magazine called Our Friends. True Crime Kevin Cornish and Seyward Darby Unearth stories by speaking with the witnesses, family members, detectives and towns people who lived the nightmares of this True Crime series. These conversational documentaries put the viewer face to face with the subjects and let’s them ask the questions to discover the multifaceted truth. Kevin Cornish, director of cinematic immersive experiences, is the CEO and Co-Founder of Conversive, an immersive conversation engine, and the founder of Moth+Flame agency. Cornish has created immersive experiences for AMC’s The Walking Dead and Pandas AR for IMAX, which allows kids to have conversations with a talking panda in augmented reality. He’s also the creator of Fall in Love, an AI-powered VR experience inspired by The New York Times article “36 Questions to Fall in Love,” which was shortlisted for an Innovation Lion at Cannes and uses natural language processing to enhance first-person storytelling. Seyward Darby is a magazine editor who specializes in longform narrative nonfiction. Currently, she is the executive editor of The Atavist Magazine, an award-winning publication that delivers cinematic true stories featuring in-depth reporting, compelling writing and the most elegant design on the web. She is also a writer and is currently working on a book about how women have shaped white nationalism in America (Little, Brown, 2020).
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Richmond International Film & Music Festival Announces 2018 Award Winners

Richmond International Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_20689" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The Best of All Worlds (Die Beste aller Welten) by Adrian Goiginger[/caption] The 2018 Richmond International Film & Music Festival (RIFF) wrapped on Sunday and handed out lots of awards to the wining writers, filmmakers, and musicians. The Richmond International Film Festival featured seven days of 150 cutting edge award-winning films from 35 countries – from France to Brazil, Australia to Cuba – plus up to 50 bands, panels, and daily events at various venues across Richmond.
2018 Richmond International Film & Music Festival Winners
2018 PIONEER AWARD Excellence in Public Service & Leadership Governor Terry McAuliffe 2018 LEGACY AWARD Danny Glover 2018 FOUNDERS AWARD Kate Bosworth
RIFF GRAND JURY AWARDS
2018 BEST FEATURE FILM Best of All Worlds 2018 BEST SHORT FILM Bagheera 2018 BEST FEATURE SCREENPLAY Wonder Drug 2018 BEST SHORT SCREENPLAY Mused
BEST OF FEST AWARDS
2018 BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE Streaker 2018 BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE Becoming Who I Was 2018 BEST NARRATIVE SHORT Whole World For A Little World 2018 BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT Two Steps Back 2018 BEST ANIMATED SHORT Negative Space 2018 BEST EXPERIMENTAL SHORT The Last Dance 2018 BEST MUSIC VIDEO Glendale 2018 BEST WEB SERIES Dear Mankind
OUTSTANDING MERIT AWARD
2018 TRIBUTE AWARD “OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC” James Carrington for Edge of Daybreak
MUSIC AWARDS
2018 GRAND JURY PRIZE Rodney “The Soul Singer” Stith 2018 BEST AMERICANA Ezra Vancil 2018 BEST ALTERNATIVE INDIE Lauren Marsh 2018 LOCAL FAVORITE Mighty Joshua 2018 BEST WORLD Rumput Band with Danis Sugiyanto 2018 BEST R&B Zaxai 2018 BEST HIP HOP Angelo 2018 BEST CONTEMPORARY POP Kendra Black 2018 BEST ROCK Virginia Man 2018 BEST COUNTRY OR FOLK Mariana Bell 2018 BEST DJ Blacklight 2018 CRITICS’ CHOICE AWARD Marcaux
TRIBUTE AWARD
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC Sparky Quano
CERTIFICATES FOR MUSIC
2018 INNOVATION AWARD Jump In 2018 EMERGING ARTIST AWARD Tahj
CERTIFICATES FOR FILM
2018 BEST DIRECTING Can Ulkay for Ayla Daughter of War 2018 BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Edwin Stevens for Hunting Lands 2018 BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC 40 Years In The Making: The Magic Music Band 2018 BEST ACTOR Danila Kozlovsky for In The Hood 2018 BEST ACTRESS Sulem Calderon for Nona 2018 BEST ENSEMBLE CAST My Brothers 2018 RISING STAR AWARD Jeremy Miliker for Best of All Worlds 2018 RISING STAR AWARD Kyung-kin Lee for Ayla Daughter of War 2018 BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY (TIE) Michael Polish for Nona Sophie Davout for My Brothers
SCREENPLAY GENRE WINNERS
2018 BEST ORIGINAL GENRE SCREENPLAY Amanda Keener for Fireflies 2018 BEST ORIGINAL FAMILY SCREENPLAY Lawrence Whitener for Finding Grace 2018 BEST ORIGINAL THRILLER SCREENPLAY Paul Littell for Breakthrough 2018 BEST ORIGINAL COMEDY SCREENPLAY Brian Schwab for Out Of The Woods 2018 BEST ORIGINAL ACTION SCREENPLAY Todd Sorrell for Parousia
AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS
FOR BEST FEATURE FILM Young and Innocent FOR BEST SHORT FILM (TIE) An Act of Terror The Break 2018 GRAND JURY HONORABLE MENTION AWARDS That Way Madness Lies UNAUTHORIZED! The Fighting Sioux In Faith We Grow: The Story of Pasture Valley Children’s Home 2e: Teaching the Twice Exceptional FIDDLIN’ Life Goes On Voices Beyond the Wall- Twelve Love Poems from the Murder Capital of the World
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM AND PUBLIC SERVICE
Spec Campen
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC
James Carrington for the film Edge of Daybreak
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Watch First Trailer for THE TALE Starring Laura Dern, Sets HBO Premiere Date

Independent Film

HBO today released the trailer for The Tale starring Laura Dern that chronicles one woman’s powerful investigation into her own childhood memories, as she is forced to reexamine her first sexual experience – and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive. Debuting Saturday, May 26 at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT), the HBO Films presentation is written and directed by Sundance Grand Prize winner and Emmy(R) nominee Jennifer Fox, who based it on her own true story. The film will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and partners’ streaming platforms. The Tale stars Laura Dern (Oscar(R) nominee for “Wild” and “Rambling Rose”; Emmy(R) winner for HBO’s “Big Little Lies”; Emmy(R) nominee for HBO’s “Enlightened,” “Recount” and “Afterburn”), Isabelle Nélisse (“Mama”), Elizabeth Debicki (“The Night Manager”), Jason Ritter (“Kevin (Probably) Saves the World”), Frances Conroy (Emmy(R) nominee for HBO’s “Six Feet Under”) and John Heard (Emmy(R) nominee for HBO’s “The Sopranos”), with Common (Oscar(R) winner for “Selma”) and Ellen Burstyn (Academy Award(R) winner for “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”). An accomplished documentarian working in New York, Jennifer (Laura Dern) is completing her latest project about the lives of women around the world. She receives a series of phone calls from her mother, Nettie (Ellen Burstyn), who has found a short story Jennifer wrote at age 13, in which she describes various encounters with her riding instructor, Mrs. G (Elizabeth Debicki), and her running coach, Bill (Jason Ritter), while at summer camp. Nettie is unnerved by the implications of her daughter’s writing, but Jennifer is nonplussed. She has always looked back with fondness on the time she spent with these two charismatic adults. Egged on by Nettie and encouraged by her supportive fiancé (Common), Jennifer yearns to know more and sets out on a journey, 30 years later, to find those people from her past – the children, now adults, who also attended the camp back then – and eventually the coaches themselves. But the more she learns, the more her memories shift and the more questions she unearths. As Jennifer’s frustration mounts, she finds herself turning inward to get to the truth, imagining conversations with her 13-year-old self (Isabelle Nélisse) and even Mrs. G and Bill in an effort to understand how and why events occurred so long ago. An unforgettable meditation on the elusive nature of memory, The Tale is the first narrative feature from Jennifer Fox, whose documentary films have earned international acclaim for their groundbreaking artistry and unflinching honesty. Based on Fox’s own life story, The Tale sees the filmmaker bravely pushing forward the boundaries of conventional storytelling, creating a dialogue between past and present to illustrate the interplay between memory and trauma. “My goal was not to ask, ‘Did this happen?,’ because I always remembered it,” explains writer and director Fox. “It was, ‘How and why did it happen, and how and why did I spin it as a positive story to myself?’ There was a lightbulb moment when I was making another film about women all around the world, and it seemed that every other woman – regardless of class, culture or color – had an abuse story to tell. Their stories just floored me, because they had a system or a paradigm that looked like my story. Suddenly, I couldn’t see it as my own private little narrative and knew that it was time to investigate what happened in the open space of a fictional film.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXpYsr3AL4U The Tale is produced by Jennifer Fox, Oren Moverman, Laura Rister, Mynette Louie, Simone Pero, Lawrence Inglee, Sol Bondy, Regina K. Scully, Lynda Weinman and Reka Posta. Julie Parker Benello, Dan Cogan, Geralyn Dreyfous, Wendy Ettinger, Abigail E. Disney, Robert & Penny Fox, Jayme Lemons, Amy Rodrigue, Ali Jazayeri, Jason Van Eman, David Van Eman, Ross Marroso and Ben McConley are executive producers.
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WIND TRACES and MAN MADE Win Top Awards at 2018 Atlanta Film Festival

Atlanta Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_28682" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Wind Traces (Restos de viento)[/caption] The 42nd annual Atlanta Film Festival which took place April 13 to 22, 2018, awarded its top jury prizes to Wind Traces (Restos de Viento) and Man Made. The festival screened nearly 100 narrative features, documentaries and blocks of short films, selections from among the 7,600 submissions the festival received this year from 56 different countries.
2018 Atlanta Film Festival winners
Narrative Feature Jury Award Wind Traces (Restos de Viento) Narrative Feature Special Jury Prize Disappearance Documentary Feature Jury Award Man Made Documentary Feature Special Jury Award Nos Llaman Guerreras (They Call Us Warriors) Narrative Short Jury Award For Nonna Anna Documentary Short Jury Award Zion Animated Short Jury Award Fundamental WonderFilm Award (presented by WonderRoot) Walls of Hope Georgia Film Award Still Filmmaker-to-Watch Award Connor Simpson (Kudzu) Innovator Award Daveed Diggs (Blindspotting) Rebel Award Jason Reitman (Tully) Phoenix Award Kiersey Clemons (Hearts Beat Loud)
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BIPOLAR ROCK ‘N ROLLER, Documentary on Sportscaster Mauro Ranallo Battle with Mental Illness to Debut on Showtime [Trailer]

Documentary

Prolific combat sports broadcaster Mauro Ranallo and his lifelong battle with mental illness are the subject of a new documentary film from Showtime Sports. Bipolar Rock N Roller – named for the moniker Ranallo gave himself as a broadcast personality and DJ in the early 90’s – will premiere on Showtime during Mental Health Awareness Month on Friday, May 25 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Ranallo has Bipolar Affective Disorder, a condition afflicting nearly five percent of the U.S. population according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI.org). As a national sportscaster for preeminent boxing, mixed martial arts and WWE events, Ranallo has long been an advocate for ending the stigma of mental illness. Now, for the first time, he exposes the true extent of his daily struggle. Through extensive behind-the-scenes video footage, candid personal interviews and detailed accounts from his loved ones and doctors, Bipolar Rock N Roller takes an unflinching look at mental illness and its effects. The film explores Ranallo’s career, including his work on the two biggest pay-per-view events in television history, and his relentless pursuit of a childhood dream despite seemingly insurmountable odds. Through this deeply personal portrait, Ranallo hopes that the film might inspire others to persevere in pursuing their dreams despite the challenges of a mental health condition. “I have always tried to do my part to bring awareness to mental health issues,” said Ranallo. “Over the last several years, I allowed my best friend, Haris (Usanovic), to film me at my lowest points as well as at my highest. The idea is simply to show others who suffer that they are not alone and that, even when the outlook is bleak, you can overcome and achieve success. Mental illness is a life sentence – there is no cure – but it doesn’t have to be a death sentence.” “Through Bipolar Rock N Roller, Mauro Ranallo has chosen to share not only his life’s dreams, but his nightmares as well,” said Stephen Espinoza, President, Sports and Event Programming for Showtime Networks Inc. “Having reached the pinnacle of his profession, Mauro bravely turns his keen observational skills inward to examine his own life-long battle. The result is a raw, poignant and ultimately inspirational film that personifies Mauro’s courage and selflessness.” Ranallo is a popular fixture on today’s combat sports scenes. In a career that has spanned more than 30 years, he has called everything from “All-Star Wrestling,” a Canadian professional wrestling outfit, to historic MMA events for Pride Fighting Championships out of Japan, to WWE SmackDown Live on USA Network, to many of the biggest boxing events in the world for Showtime Sports. Ranallo was the first broadcaster to call play-by-play on boxing, kickboxing, MMA and professional wrestling events on national television. Today, Ranallo is the voice of three prominent nationally televised series: Showtime Championship Boxing (R), WWE’s weekly show NXT on WWE Network, and Bellator MMA on Paramount Network. Perhaps best known for his dramatic, excitable style, Ranallo is a student of the English language. He has already made a lasting mark on the industry having called the two biggest pay-per-view events in television history: Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao (May 2015, international telecast); and Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor (Aug. 2017, Showtime PPV(R)). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NAkbSIXxVc Bipolar Rock N Roller is produced by Brian Dailey, the network’s Vice President, Sports Digital Content and Strategy, and MALKA MEDIA GROUP. Directed by first-time filmmaker Haris Usanovic, the film is executive produced by Stephen Espinoza and Showtime Sports.
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2018 Nantucket Film Festival to Open with BOUNDARIES, Close with LOVE, GILDA

Nantucket Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_28675" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Boundaries[/caption] The 23rd Nantucket Film Festival taking place June 2 to 25, 2018, will open with “Boundaries,” written and directed by Shana Feste. The film tells the story of single mom Laura (Vera Farmiga) who is forced to drive her estranged, pot-dealing father Jack (Christopher Plummer) from Seattle to Los Angeles after he is kicked out of a retirement home. The comedy also stars Bobby Cannavale, Peter Fonda, Christopher Lloyd and Kristen Schaal. [caption id="attachment_26877" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Love, Gilda[/caption]
“Love, Gilda,” directed by Lisa D’Apolito, will close the festival. The documentary reveals the personal side of iconic comedian Gilda Radner through rare personal recordings and journal entries.

Morgan Neville’s “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?″ will screen as the festival’s centerpiece film. The documentary depicts the life and legacy of the late Fred Rogers, host of the popular children’s television series “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” and a longtime Nantucket summer resident.

For the ninth year in a row, the festival will screen a Disney‒Pixar film on opening day. This year the studio will showcase the animated feature “Incredibles 2,” with Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Samuel L. Jackson, John Ratzenberger and director Brad Bird reprising their characters from the first film.

The festival will also continue its relationship with the Berklee Silent Film Orchestra in screening a classic silent film accompanied by a new orchestral score. This year, Berklee students will perform their original score for the new restoration of “The Man Who Laughs”(1928), based on the Victor Hugo novel and starring Mary Philbin and Conrad Veidt. Veidt’s character is widely acknowledged to have been the genesis of the iconic Batman villain, the Joker.

Nearly 50 feature selections have been announced, including two world premieres: Galt Niederhoffer’s “10 Things We Should Do Before We Break Up,” starring Christina Ricci and Hamish Linklater as strangers who decide to try to be a couple when a one-night stand results in pregnancy; and Donal Lardner Ward’s “We Only Know So Much,” a multigenerational family drama featuring Jeanne Tripplehorn and “Stranger Things’ ” Noah Schnapp.

The festival will also present four Sundance Audience Award winners: Andrew Heckler’s KKK drama “Burden,” starring Garrett Hedlund, Forest Whitaker and Andrea Riseborough; Aneesh Chaganty’s “Searching,” a thriller starring John Cho and Debra Messing which takes place entirely on a laptop screen; Rudy Valdez’s personal documentary about his incarcerated sister, “The Sentence;” and Alexandra Shiva’s “This Is Home,” a documentary about Syrian refugees adjusting to life in Baltimore.

Notable among this year’s narrative titles are several which highlight strong female leads, including Susanna White’s “Woman Walks Ahead,” starring Jessica Chastain; Isabel Coixet’s “The Bookshop,” starring Emily Mortimer and Patricia Clarkson; Marianna Palka’s “Egg,” starring Christina Hendricks and Alysia Reiner; Marc Turtletaub’s “Puzzle,” starring Kelly Macdonald; Bo Burnham’s “Eighth Grade,” starring newcomer Elsie Fisher; Björn Runge’s “The Wife,” starring Glenn Close; and Richard Eyre’s “The Children Act,” starring Emma Thompson.

Other highlights include new films by acclaimed documentary filmmakers, including Marina Zenovich’s “Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind,” Lauren Greenfield’s “Generation Wealth,” Susan Lacy’s “Jane Fonda In Five Acts,” Rory Kennedy’s “Above And Beyond: NASA’s Journey To Tomorrow,” Barbara Kopple’s “A Murder In Mansfield,” Eugene Jarecki’s “The King” and Dana Adam Shapiro’s “Daughters Of The Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story Of The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.”

“We always aim to bring a mix of programming that is equally entertaining, eye-opening and engaging to the festival each year, and this year’s lineup continues that tradition,” festival film-program director Basil Tsiokos said. “And, of course, foremost in our minds is to share with our audience really great stories, artfully told, and these films won’t disappoint.”

Oscar-nominated writer/director Noah Baumbach will receive the 2018 Screenwriters Tribute Saturday, June 23. Neville, also an Oscar winner, will receive the Special Achievement in Documentary Storytelling Award and Andrew Heckler the New Voices in Screenwriting Award. Ben Stiller will present and participate in The All-Star Comedy Roundtable, “The Improv Takeover,” an evening of spontaneous storytelling and improvisational comedy, featuring actors and comedians Thomas Middleditch (“Silicon Valley”) and Ben Schwartz (“Parks and Recreation”) on Friday, June 22. In addition, the festival will present a live taping of NPR’s “Ask Me Another” with host Ophira Eisenberg Thursday, June 21.

Over the past 22 years the festival has mixed highly-anticipated awards contenders with the films of emerging and established filmmakers, and brought together the film industry’s most recognized screenwriters and storytellers, including Oliver Stone, Steve Martin, Judd Apatow, Tom McCarthy, Beau Willimon, Kathryn Bigelow, Sarah Silverman, Alexander Payne, David O. Russell, Diane Keaton, Robert Towne, Glenn Close and Aaron Sorkin.
It has also produced the All-Star Comedy Roundtable Presented by Ben Stiller, and the conversation series “In Their Shoes With . . .,” which has included Robin Wright and Beau Willimon with Chris Matthews, Tom McCarthy with Bobby Cannavale, Molly Shannon with Michael Ian Black and Bradley Whitford with Matthews.
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HBO to Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month With ‘Visionary’ Short Film Program [Video]

Short Films

[caption id="attachment_28669" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] From left: HBO APA Visionaries finalists Huay-Bing Law, Feng-I Fiona Roan, and Maritte Go.[/caption] In celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, HBO will premiere the second installment of Asian Pacific American Visionaries, a short film program featuring the works of emerging Asian American directors on May 7th. The trio of films, which explores historic – and timely – issues of immigration, racism and assimilation, will be available to stream across all of HBO’s on-demand and digital platforms (including HBO NOW®, HBO GO®, HBO On Demand® and streaming partner platforms) through the end of the month.
About the films
[caption id="attachment_28670" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Remittance[/caption] ‘Remittance’ by Maritte Go, is the story of a Filipino cruise worker who receives a call informing her that her son is in the hospital. [caption id="attachment_28671" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] June[/caption] ‘June,‘ directed by Huay-Bing Law, is set on an American college campus during the 1960s and chronicles the experience of a young Chinese woman as she attends her husband’s graduation. [caption id="attachment_28672" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Jie Jie[/caption] ‘Jiejie,‘ directed by Feng-I Fiona, is a portrait of two young sisters being raised by a single immigrant mother in Los Angeles during the 1990s. The three shorts are the top finalists of this year’s HBO Asian Pacific American Visionaries, a national competition that offers emerging directors of Asian and/or Pacific Islander descent the opportunity to showcase their work. Launched in 2016, the contest was created to help further the dialogue about race, diversity and representation in Hollywood while also identifying new cinematic storytellers who offer unique perspectives of the Asian Pacific American experience. The winner of this year’s competition will be announced on May 7 at HBO Asian Pacific American Visionaries. “HBO is proud to provide these young artists the opportunity to showcase their talents and share their unique stories through Asian Pacific American Visionaries,” said Jackie Gagne, VP Multicultural Marketing at HBO. “As a leader in the conversation about diversity in Hollywood, initiatives like Asian Pacific American Visionaries enable new voices to be seen and heard.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJeAi4Z84Mc
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