The Best for Fests aka The Ones to Watch by filmfestivals.com founder
These are the films that Bruno Chatelin has curated, carefully selecting films which will fare well on the festival circuit, based on his past distributor's experience running Sony and UGC/Fox in France and filmfestivals.com founder !
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54 titles
- DirectorMaurice HaeemsStarsHenry Ian CusickKathleen QuinlanErika ErvinA brilliant but disturbed scientist freezes his children alive, while he races to cure their deadly genetic disease by decoding the DNA of the immortal Turritopsis jellyfish.
- DirectorSusan KuceraStarsJeff BridgesPiers SellersWesley ClarkWhat kind of future do we want to live in? Jeff Bridges presents this beautifully photographed 4K tour de force of original thinking on who we are and the life challenges we face. This film upends our way of thinking and provides original insights into our subconscious motivations, the unintended consequences, and how our fundamental nature influences our future as mankind.
- DirectorBrian A. MetcalfStarsEsmé BiancoJordan DangerWilliam SadlerVampires have just made themselves public. Now a group of documentarians have been granted access to learn how they live and coexist with humans. But as reality sets in, the crew realize their very lives are in danger.
- DirectorStephen Cyrus SepherStarsD.B. SweeneyLillo BrancatoScottie ThompsonA pharmaceutical sales rep visits a small town in Louisiana on business. He finds himself in a dark world of corruption and murder with 24 hours to live, running from the police, the mob and a sheriff that wants him dead.
- DirectorAndrew GettyStarsSean Patrick FlaneryDina MeyerFrederick KoehlerA lonely, mentally handicapped boy befriends his reflection in an antique mirror. This demonic creature orders him to go on a murderous rampage to kill the people he loves most.
- DirectorJonathan HeapStarsDavid LipperDina MeyerBree WilliamsonAfter the death of a much despised patriarch, a mysterious box shows up during the reading of the will, forcing the family to reckon with each of their own deadly sins.
- DirectorSteve LichtagStarsPierce BrosnanOldrich KaiserImpressive family film offers a unique stories of the wonderful animals who inhabit the Aldabra atoll, were born here, create communities, give birth to young and struggle for their survival.
- DirectorRob StewartStarsRob StewartPaul WatsonErich RitterAn investigation of sharks' importance to ecosystems and humankind's mass destruction of shark species worldwide.
- DirectorRob StewartStarsRob StewartRebecca AldworthWill AllenFilmmaker Rob Stewart exposes the illegal fishing industry that threatens the survival of the world's sharks.
- DirectorJowan CarbinStarsBrad DourifWilliam BaldwinJohn RobinsonStruggling with his new life in New Orleans, Clive follows Trevor, a former professor to his country home on the bayou to gain a new perspective. While Trevor helps Clive deal with his demons, Clive is sucked into a mission to kill.
- DirectorBartle BullStarsBrian AdamsTeddy AtlasDuquan ChambersThree young people battle to change their lives through a three-month odyssey of the New York Daily News Golden Gloves-the biggest and oldest amateur boxing tournament in the world.
- DirectorMarc GoldsteinStarsBilly BoydDominic GouldGérard DepardieuSynopsis Henry and Jack are two famous and talented pianists: they are rivals and try to outdo each other in the various music events where they regularly compete. They have known each other since their days at the music academy and developed a very strong friendship. They met Lana there and Jack had an affair with her then. This friendship deteriorated along the years and Lana left Jack for Henry. Jack's resentment towards Henry will increase even further when he realizes that although his talent as a pianist is as great a talent as Henry's, he always ended up second... behind Henry. Simultaneously, Lana slowly realized that the only thing Henry cares about is his job. When she gets pregnant, he tells her he doesn't want the child and she leaves him, taking refuge with Jack who thus finds a way to get back at Henry. From that point, the former friends will clash with no mercy, from contest to contest until the day a domestic robot, GLENN, enters their lives. GLENN will jeopardize everybody and everything around them but will also lead them into the most challenging soul searching. NB: to be updated by Marc Goldstein
- DirectorDover KoshashviliStarsAndrew ScottFiona GlascottTobias MenziesIn ANTON CHEKHOV'S THE DUEL, escalating animosity between two men with opposing philosophies of life is played out against the backdrop of a decaying seaside resort along the Black Sea coast. Laevsky is a dissipated romantic given to gambling and flirtation. He has run off to the sea with beautiful, emotionally empty, Nadia, another man's wife. Laevsky has now grown tired of her, but two obstacles block his route to escape: he is broke, and he faces the absolute enmity of Von Koren, an arrogant zoologist and former friend who can no longer tolerate Laevsky's irresponsibility. Soon Laevsky confronts Von Koren, accusing him of meddling in his affairs, but Von Koren maneuvers a criticism Laevsky makes of their mutual friend, Dr. Samoylenko, into a challenge to a duel. Utterly discombobulated and honor bound, Laevsky agrees to this absurdity -- a duel it shall be! A duel as comically inadvertent as it is inevitable.
- DirectorJonathan FordStarsRussell FloydLisa EichhornFred TatienA retired couple are targeted by a cruel gang of street youths . A new breed of technological psychopath. This is the old generation vs the new.
- DirectorManoj AnnaduraiStarsChris RiggiAdam LaVorgnaRebecca BlumhagenA perpetually miserable man finds happiness when he starts dating a manic pixie dream girl, to the befuddlement of his cynical best friend.
- DirectorOlivier PeyonStarsBernadette LafontAdèle CsechLucas FranchiOn an impulse Danièle takes her grandchildren for a holiday herself without the permission of their parents. As time proceeds it becomes less clear if she and the children will ever return and resume their lives as before.
- DirectorReinhard RadkeStarsHardy Krüger Jr.Join an expedition across the 30,000 square kilometres of African savannah that makes up The Serengeti. Observe cheetahs on the hunt, stampeding wildebeest and crocodile attacks with slow-motion cameras that capture every breathtaking moment at 2,000 frames a second.
- DirectorDaryl CloranAnita DoronMateo GuezStarsBenz AntoineJerry AzzopardiMarc BendavidEyelids smeared with black shadow, a teenage girl stands at the foot of the bed and pulls the trigger. The man waking from sleep barely knows what has just happened to him. In a single moment, lives can shatter: An oblivious and regretful mother is haunted by love, lust, betrayal and memories of a dead man. She lives in a world of denial. A repressed middle-aged security guard has lost everything his marriage, a thriving career, and the respect of his teenage son. He sees real blood on the floor. Then its gone. A beautiful young man has a penchant for cutting himself in ritual sessions of self-abuse. Onstage in a nightclub, he dances provocatively for an older man. He could be a lover. Or a father. Or a stranger. Faye, Kevin and Théo three troubled strangers, three lives fractured by thoughts and acts of violence. In the interactive feature film Late Fragment, their narratives interlock in a unique cinematic experience in which you play a creative and interactive role. Navigating through the movie, you uncover their stories, and their secrets, at will, controlling the flow and direction of the elaborate sequencing with a simple click. These characters, unknown to one another as well as to themselves, would never have met were it not for their participation in a series of Restorative Justice group sessions. In this process, perpetrators and victims of violent crime, broken by their lives, look for wholeness, balance, forgiveness, safety and perhaps even redemption. In just such a setting, Faye, Kevin and Théo are compelled to confront their histories and unravel their secrets. The truth can be plain but it is not often simple. Restorative Justice is one thing; personal amnesty, quite another. You, the audience, piece together, both literally and figuratively, the cinematic narrative in front of you.
- DirectorDror ShaulStarsTomer SteinhofRonit YudkevitzShai AviviSet in mid-70's, 12-year old Dvir Avni navigates between the equality values of his home-born Kibbutz and the relationship with his undermined mother, whom the Kibbutz members will to denounce.
- DirectorArthur KanegisStarsPierre BergéEsther Peter DavisGarry DavisA song and dance man from the Golden Age of Broadway, now in his 90s, returns to the stage to enthrall us with his astounding journey from the Broadway Stage, as Danny Kaye's understudy, to the World Stage, as the first official World Citizen. His true life story cuts through the barbed-wire borders imprisoning our minds and takes us dancing into a future with No Borders! No Boundaries! No Fear! Albert Einstein says Garry Davis has grasped the key to the very survival of the human species.
- DirectorGreg ReitmanStarsPete SeegerDeepak ChopraDesmond TutuROOTED in PEACE challenges viewers to examine their values as Americans and human beings. Today we are at war within ourselves, with our environment, and with the world. Director and award-winning filmmaker Greg Reitman invites viewers on a film journey to take notice of the world we live in, proactively seek ways to find personal and ecological peace, and stop the cycle of violence.
- DirectorManoj AnnaduraiStarsChris RiggiAdam LaVorgnaRebecca BlumhagenA perpetually miserable man finds happiness when he starts dating a manic pixie dream girl, to the befuddlement of his cynical best friend.
- DirectorJason LesterStarsEllie BamberJustin ChonHannah MarksHigh Resolution, an adaptation of Tao Lin's novel Taipei, tracks Paul and Erin as they confront what it means to be young and in love in the early days of the 21st century.
- DirectorMatthew TaylorStarsMarina AbramovicWilliam AnastasiBradley BaileyThe film explores the life, philosophy and impact of one of the most influential early 20th century modernists, Marcel Duchamp. The film breaks down Duchamp's ideas and applies them to both historical events and the modernist explosion that blanketed the early 20th century. Art of the Possible isn't simply a biopic; rather, the film shows how Duchamp's ideas changed the public consciousness, and our understanding of aesthetics, art, and culture. The film highlights the singular impact of Duchamp's philosophy on art, and, more importantly, examines how Duchamp's revolutionary ideas from the early 20th century have shaped the 21st century and modern day.
- DirectorM.A. TaylorStarsRobert EpsteinJordan B. PetersonPeter SchweizerThe Creepy Line reveals the stunning degree to which society is manipulated by Google and Facebook and how they do it.
- DirectorBarbara BentreeStarsTom BrokawDave GrusinQuincy JonesMillions of people all over the world love the music of Dave Grusin but most do not realize the full extent of his extraordinary career.8
- DirectorRobert HeydonStarsAmanda CrewAdam BrodyZoë BelkinA young couple's dream of starting a family shatters as they descend into the depths of paranoia and must struggle to survive an evil presence that wants nothing more than their very own lives.
- DirectorElena DemidovaThis cinematic study tells us a story of one of the most famous lamas in Russia and Buryatia, XII Pandido Khambo Lama Dashi Dorzho Itigelov.
- DirectorBrian A. MetcalfStarsThomas Ian NicholasMickey RourkePenelope Ann MillerA rideshare driver discovers that his sister is in debt to a dangerous crime syndicate.
- DirectorBrian FollmerStarsAdam LeottaBrian FollmerBlake AdamsTravis's tight social group of friends and lovers splits apart when his childhood friend, O'Brien becomes severely mentally ill. Now alone, the characters go their separate ways: Travis helps crowd-fund a socialist revolution in Mexico, O'Brien succumbs to mania and becomes a satirical Youtube celebrity, Kate seeks stability in online dating, and Lox embarks on his first indie rock tour. Their lives continue to cross paths and reconnect through the internet.
- DirectorBruno MercierStarsMark AustinAlice CarelMorgan PerezWho can you trust if you can't trust your best friends? In "Les Beaux Menteurs" ("The Beautiful Liars"), an American plumber crashes a French dinner party and reminds everyone -- all we need is love, love, love.
- DirectorSally SteeleStarsBilly BurnetteRocky BurnetteGary BuseyThis is an untold tale of Rock history finally revealed.
- DirectorKacey CoxStarsManny DrukierAnna AndlauerStephen BaldwinThe chance discovery of an online article sends Manny Drukier, a Holocaust survivor, on an unexpected trip to visit the orphanage where he was rescued to after the war.8
- DirectorJulia VerdinStarsJane WiddopOlivia d'AboRandall BatinkoffAfter escaping from a sex trafficking ring, one teenage girl struggles to reconnect with herself and her family. To rescue her helpless friends, she must confront her own fears and help lead the police to her traffickers - at all costs.
- DirectorIgor Ivanov IziStarsNatasha PetrovicIgor AngelovOliver MitkovskiONLY HUMAN - Homo - stages 6 profiles in 6 sequences cleverly interwoven. A dramatic story featuring desperate characters in their quest for survival and love, or redemption.
- DirectorM.A. TaylorStarsJohn BurnettSteve ForbesAllen Guelzo"What if something you changed caused unintended consequences you never imagined?" Safeguard: An Electoral College Story asks that question about presidential elections. How does the system really work? And what would happen if we changed the rules? Alexander Hamilton and James Madison worked to create and defend the Electoral College system in the U.S. Constitution. The process is democratic-but it works in stages, and through the states. This design forces candidates to reach out across the country rather than focusing on just one region or group of population centers. And it keeps presidents from controlling elections-including their own reelections. Publisher and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes, Princeton historian Allen Guelzo, and a host of experts explain why we really have the Electoral College, what it does, and what could happen if we got rid of it. The New York Times warned in 1977, "the political habits, traditions and expectations that have grown up around the Electoral College have served the nation well. If they are to be maintained, the College has to be preserved rather than lightly abandoned in favor of a vacuum." Is any of that still true today? Safeguard: An Electoral College Story avoids the partisan bickering to ask the big questions. Is democracy just "two wolves and a lamb voting on what's for dinner," like some people say? Or can a democratic system be designed to protect minority rights? Does our Constitution strike the right balance? "The Constitution - must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard for our liberties." -Abraham Lincoln.
- DirectorThomas VerretteStarsCady ColemanAdrien EngelderJack FischerZero Gravity follows a diverse group of middle-school students from San Jose, CA, who compete in a nationwide tournament to code satellites aboard the International Space Station.
- DirectorDaizy GedeonStarsDarina Al JoundiWalid AlamiMichel AounThe film follows the Australian-Lebanese filmmaker Daizy Gedeon's independent introspection into how Lebanon has ended up in a state of complete catastrophe, exposing the country's dark underbelly which is its most sinister enemy.
- DirectorMatthew TaylorStarsMarina AbramovicWilliam AnastasiBradley BaileyThe film explores the life, philosophy and impact of one of the most influential early 20th century modernists, Marcel Duchamp. The film breaks down Duchamp's ideas and applies them to both historical events and the modernist explosion that blanketed the early 20th century. Art of the Possible isn't simply a biopic; rather, the film shows how Duchamp's ideas changed the public consciousness, and our understanding of aesthetics, art, and culture. The film highlights the singular impact of Duchamp's philosophy on art, and, more importantly, examines how Duchamp's revolutionary ideas from the early 20th century have shaped the 21st century and modern day.
- DirectorNickolas BirdEleanor SharpeStarsNed BoultingJoel FelicioMatt KeenanThe life of legendary television commentator Phil Liggett MBE is inextricably entwined with the history of professional cycling. During a career that has spanned five decades, 15 Olympic games and 47 Tours de France, Phil Liggett has been there for every key moment in cycling over the last half century. The heroic triumphs, the appalling tragedies, the scandals and the controversies; Phil has seen it all, and told us about it with passion, knowledge and his trademark wit. As much as anyone, Phil Liggett has shaped the way the world sees cycling Born in wartime England in 1943, Phil began riding at age twelve and was quickly hooked. Phil aspired to be a professional cyclist and, during the 1960s, raced with a number of elite amateur teams. Phil supported himself by working at the local zoo where his life-long love of animals was born, and where he once memorably crashed his bicycle into an elephant. Phil was offered a professional cycling contract in 1967, but he turned the offer down. He was racing against the likes of the legendary Eddy Merckx and knew that he wasn't in the same league. Instead, Phil chose to pursue a career as a sports journalist. Initially he wrote for newspapers and had no ambition to be a commentator. Then, one fateful day, he picked up a microphone at a local bike race and called the finish for the watching crowd, "just because nobody else was." Phil found he had a natural ability to talk about cycling. His career as a television cycling commentator began and took off into the stratosphere. Phil Liggett became known globally as "the Voice of Cycling", "the Soundtrack to Summer", "the Jewel of July" and "the Talk of the Tour". For generations of sports fans, he is as famous as the riders about whom he commentates. His thoughtful commentary is imbued with gentle humour and an astounding knowledge of cycling. He is legendary for his florid commentary and unique turn of phrase, known around the world as "Liggettisms". Now in the twilight of his career, Phil looks back on his own life and on his decades behind the microphone. Phil has seen the giants of cycling come and go, and he has outlasted them all. He paints a vivid picture of his own personal highlights and the quiet moments of personal triumph and unsung heroism he has witnessed over the years. Phil recalls the bad times: the time his car was blown up by terrorists, the devastating recent loss of his long-time commentary partner Paul Sherwen, and the doping scandals that almost destroyed the sport. In particular, he recalls Lance Armstrong, a man whose legend he helped create, and whom he publicly defended to the detriment of his own professional reputation. Phil also looks back on forty-eight years of marriage. Phil and his wife Trish, a former Olympic speed-skater and highly regarded wildlife photographer, unpack a complex relationship that began on the way to a local bike race and has navigated the all-consuming demands of life on the international cycling circuit. Today, Phil Liggett still loves his job and has no plans to hang up his microphone. However, broadcasters are increasingly looking for younger commentators to be the face of their network, and Phil's fans are wondering aloud if it is time for Phil to retire. Is Phil an endangered species? With the clock ticking on his career, Phil is pondering life beyond the commentary booth. Career success and global fame have given him the ability to make a difference. Phil and Trish have become leading activists in the battle to save rhinos from extinction as poachers decimate the species in South Africa, a country they have adopted as their second home. Fame is a currency and Phil is finally cashing his in for a cause close to his heart. Phil Liggett: The Voice of Cycling is a fascinating insider's look at fifty years of professional cycling and an intimate portrait of the gentle man whose passion and quiet charm has come to personify the sport for so many.
- DirectorBayou BennettDaniel LirStarsBerite LabelleValerie QiJordy TullenersA writer examines in her novel what it means to be a woman and conjures up Cleopatra, and feminist writer/philosopher Mary Wollenstonecraft (mother of Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein) They cross deserts of eternal time to meet.
- DirectorGordy De St. JeorStarsAidan BrowneSofia MassonA young guitarist is about to play the biggest show of his life. Things don't quite go as expected.
- DirectorClémentine CélariéStarsLoris FreemanElodie GodartClémentine CélariéFamily Roland lives in Etretat. Jeanne, the youngest, inherits Mr Marechal's fortune, a friend of the parents. Pierre the elder brother, bogged down in questions, questions the sacredness of the family. Is this money hiding a heavy secret?
- DirectorMatthew TaylorStarsNicole GelinasMichael GoodwinLarry MoneOnce a failing city that by 1990 had over 2,200 murders and 93,000 violent robberies annually, New York went on to be the revitalized word capital.
- DirectorPelayo De LarioStarsClive RussellBillie GadsdonStephanie LouiseFour different hit-men find themselves viewing for a job without knowing the others are involved. Crime, money and violence in London are at the center of this tale of modern Babylon.8
- DirectorJane SpencerStarsMichael MadsenJudd NelsonWilliam BaldwinIn 2038 earth enters a mysterious universe. People hide behind a gigantic wall and engage in wars. In this dystopian wonderland, Denise walks on thin ice spurred on by Tom, a caretaker, who promises that a renaissance is on its way.6
- DirectorAly YeganehStarsLaëtitia EïdoMélissa BorosRusen HoussinIraq, 2014. ISIS invades Sinjar, home to the Yazidis. Sibel, a 13-year-old girl, witnesses the slaughter of her entire family. She is then kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery.8
- DirectorTobias ElvhageLiza MorbergStarsPhoenix AnderssonDavid BaconJennifer BilekIt will unveil what actually happens to those who started to change their gender, its implications, the financial interests behind the transgender movement, and the political and societal mechanisms in play.8
- DirectorCindy DrukierStarsNikki HollandPeter McCulloughErnest RamirezSome who took vaccine experienced unexpected debilitating aftereffects. Instead of compassion, they were met with skepticism; instead of being helped they were shunned; instead of being heard, they were silenced.8
- DirectorJulia VerdinStarsPatricia VelasquezRumer WillisRena OwenWhen a 15-year old, seeking an escape from her alcoholic mother's abusive boyfriend, is lured into a sex trafficking scheme by a man she met online, she must realize the difference between love and manipulation to return to those who care.7