The filmmakers behind three of the documentaries shortlisted for this year’s Oscar for Best Documentary Feature sat down with Gold Derby recently and discussed several subjects including their reactions to making the shortlist, the documentaries that influenced them and how they determine what subject they’ll devote the time and effort to chronicle. This was all part of Gold Derby’s Meet the Experts panel on Film Documentaries that included Sara Dosa (“Fire of Love”), Matthew Heineman (“Retrograde”) and Alex Pritz (“The Territory”).
You can watch the film documentary group panel above with the people behind these three projects. Click on each person’s name above to be taken to each exclusive video interview.
On the subject of being shortlisted at the Oscars, Dosa had a bit more to celebrate than the other panelists. That’s because the morning that the interview was recorded, she found out that not...
You can watch the film documentary group panel above with the people behind these three projects. Click on each person’s name above to be taken to each exclusive video interview.
On the subject of being shortlisted at the Oscars, Dosa had a bit more to celebrate than the other panelists. That’s because the morning that the interview was recorded, she found out that not...
- 1/12/2023
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
This Is Climate Change creators Danfung Dennis and Eric Strauss on the Stk Downtown rooftop with the Whitney Museum of American Art in the background Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Virtual Reality Docu-Series This Is Climate Change is being presented by Danfung Dennis and Eric Strauss during the Tribeca Film Festival at the Cinema360 Vr Theater inside the festival Hub at Spring Studios. The directors joined me for a rooftop conversation at Stk Downtown on Little West 12th Street. We started out with Danfung's Melting Ice with Al Gore which premiered at Sundance in 2017 and moved on to Feast showing here with Fire and Famine.
In Feast we land out in the rain forests of Brazil that are being cut down with alarming speed to make room for financially more profitable cattle ranches. The physical closeness to the impressive animals has an emotional effect that should not be underestimated. When the cows are led to the abattoir,...
Virtual Reality Docu-Series This Is Climate Change is being presented by Danfung Dennis and Eric Strauss during the Tribeca Film Festival at the Cinema360 Vr Theater inside the festival Hub at Spring Studios. The directors joined me for a rooftop conversation at Stk Downtown on Little West 12th Street. We started out with Danfung's Melting Ice with Al Gore which premiered at Sundance in 2017 and moved on to Feast showing here with Fire and Famine.
In Feast we land out in the rain forests of Brazil that are being cut down with alarming speed to make room for financially more profitable cattle ranches. The physical closeness to the impressive animals has an emotional effect that should not be underestimated. When the cows are led to the abattoir,...
- 4/25/2018
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
In Feast, when the cows are led to the abattoir, along a narrow walled-in calvary designed by Temple Grandin, we follow them right up to the gate.
Virtual Reality Docu-Series This Is Climate Change will be presented by directors Danfung Dennis and Eric Strauss during the Tribeca Film Festival starting on April 21 at the Cinema360 Vr Theater inside the festival Hub at Spring Studios. Three of the four parts, Fire, Famine and Feast can be viewed. Melting Ice first shown in 2017 at Sundance will not be available for viewing.
This Is Climate Change reminds us that we as humans can still do something about what is happening all over the world if we decide to open our eyes and desire a new reality.
Fire
A look at the violent effects of climate change very close to home. The wildfires in California of last October are shown from the perspective of the firefighters.
Virtual Reality Docu-Series This Is Climate Change will be presented by directors Danfung Dennis and Eric Strauss during the Tribeca Film Festival starting on April 21 at the Cinema360 Vr Theater inside the festival Hub at Spring Studios. Three of the four parts, Fire, Famine and Feast can be viewed. Melting Ice first shown in 2017 at Sundance will not be available for viewing.
This Is Climate Change reminds us that we as humans can still do something about what is happening all over the world if we decide to open our eyes and desire a new reality.
Fire
A look at the violent effects of climate change very close to home. The wildfires in California of last October are shown from the perspective of the firefighters.
- 4/16/2018
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The Sundance Film Festival has long included documentaries that tackle hot button issues, but this year some of those films included virtual reality companion pieces in the New Frontier section. In addition to longstanding issues regarding technical, ethical and narrative complexities of telling stories with new technologies, these Vr additions raised serious questions about the capacity for the medium as an agent of change.
Environmental issues were at the forefront of this year’s festival, and two of the most prominent climate documentaries, “An Inconvenient Sequel” and “Chasing Coral,” presented Vr shorts as well. “An Inconvenient Sequel” shows how grave the climate change crisis has become since Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” debuted a decade ago. In the companion piece, “Melting Ice,” Gore and the film’s creator Danfung Dennis take us on a 360-degree tour of how rising temperatures have wreaked havoc on the climate of Greenland.
The...
Environmental issues were at the forefront of this year’s festival, and two of the most prominent climate documentaries, “An Inconvenient Sequel” and “Chasing Coral,” presented Vr shorts as well. “An Inconvenient Sequel” shows how grave the climate change crisis has become since Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” debuted a decade ago. In the companion piece, “Melting Ice,” Gore and the film’s creator Danfung Dennis take us on a 360-degree tour of how rising temperatures have wreaked havoc on the climate of Greenland.
The...
- 2/3/2017
- by Sara Rafksy
- Indiewire
Top brass at the Park City jamboree announced on Thursday 20 virtual and augmented reality presentations and 11 installations.
The eleventh New Frontier programme includes storyworlds in Augmented Reality headsets, and a Vr beauty salon producing neuroscience data.
Established Vr artist Chris Milk and Aaron Kobli are behind Life Of Us, while immersive journalist Nonny de la Peña will premiere Out Of Exile: Daniel’s Story.
New Frontier will be staged at three Park City venues: Claim Jumper will host ten immersive installations; the Vr Palace will feature 17 Vr experiences alongside an additional installation; and the Vr Bar will offer a line-up of mobile Vr.
Three projects are part of the festival’s New Climate programme highlighting the environment and climate change.
Shari Frilot, Sundance Film Festival senior programmer and chief curator, New Frontier, said: “In an era that has recalibrated economies, redefined social realms and rewired the connection between the individual and the world, we must also...
The eleventh New Frontier programme includes storyworlds in Augmented Reality headsets, and a Vr beauty salon producing neuroscience data.
Established Vr artist Chris Milk and Aaron Kobli are behind Life Of Us, while immersive journalist Nonny de la Peña will premiere Out Of Exile: Daniel’s Story.
New Frontier will be staged at three Park City venues: Claim Jumper will host ten immersive installations; the Vr Palace will feature 17 Vr experiences alongside an additional installation; and the Vr Bar will offer a line-up of mobile Vr.
Three projects are part of the festival’s New Climate programme highlighting the environment and climate change.
Shari Frilot, Sundance Film Festival senior programmer and chief curator, New Frontier, said: “In an era that has recalibrated economies, redefined social realms and rewired the connection between the individual and the world, we must also...
- 12/1/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Top brass at the Park City jamboree announced on Thursday 20 virtual and augmented reality presentations and 11 installations.
The eleventh New Frontier programme includes storyworlds in Augmented Reality headsets, and a Vr beauty salon producing neuroscience data.
Established Vr artist Chris Milk and Aaron Kobli are behind Life Of Us, while immersive journalist Nonny de la Peña will premiere Out Of Exile: Daniel’s Story.
New Frontier will be staged at three Park City venues: Claim Jumper will host ten immersive installations; the Vr Palace will feature 17 Vr experiences alongside an additional installation; and the Vr Bar will offer a line-up of mobile Vr.
Three projects are part of the festival’s New Climate programme highlighting the environment and climate change.
Shari Frilot, Sundance Film Festival senior programmer and chief curator, New Frontier, said: “In an era that has recalibrated economies, redefined social realms and rewired the connection between the individual and the world, we must also...
The eleventh New Frontier programme includes storyworlds in Augmented Reality headsets, and a Vr beauty salon producing neuroscience data.
Established Vr artist Chris Milk and Aaron Kobli are behind Life Of Us, while immersive journalist Nonny de la Peña will premiere Out Of Exile: Daniel’s Story.
New Frontier will be staged at three Park City venues: Claim Jumper will host ten immersive installations; the Vr Palace will feature 17 Vr experiences alongside an additional installation; and the Vr Bar will offer a line-up of mobile Vr.
Three projects are part of the festival’s New Climate programme highlighting the environment and climate change.
Shari Frilot, Sundance Film Festival senior programmer and chief curator, New Frontier, said: “In an era that has recalibrated economies, redefined social realms and rewired the connection between the individual and the world, we must also...
- 12/1/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Top brass at the Park City jamboree announced on Thursday 20 virtual and augmented reality presentations and 11 installations.
The eleventh New Frontier programme includes storyworlds in Augmented Reality headsets, and a Vr beauty salon producing neuroscience data.
Established Vr artist Chris Milk and Aaron Kobli are behind Life Of Us, while immersive journalist Nonny de la Peña will premiere Out Of Exile: Daniel’s Story.
New Frontier will be staged at three Park City venues: Claim Jumper will host ten immersive installations; the Vr Palace will feature 17 Vr experiences alongside an additional installation; and the Vr Bar will offer a line-up of mobile Vr.
Three projects are part of the festival’s New Climate programme highlighting the environment and climate change.
Shari Frilot, Sundance Film Festival senior programmer and chief curator, New Frontier, said: “In an era that has recalibrated economies, redefined social realms and rewired the connection between the individual and the world, we must also...
The eleventh New Frontier programme includes storyworlds in Augmented Reality headsets, and a Vr beauty salon producing neuroscience data.
Established Vr artist Chris Milk and Aaron Kobli are behind Life Of Us, while immersive journalist Nonny de la Peña will premiere Out Of Exile: Daniel’s Story.
New Frontier will be staged at three Park City venues: Claim Jumper will host ten immersive installations; the Vr Palace will feature 17 Vr experiences alongside an additional installation; and the Vr Bar will offer a line-up of mobile Vr.
Three projects are part of the festival’s New Climate programme highlighting the environment and climate change.
Shari Frilot, Sundance Film Festival senior programmer and chief curator, New Frontier, said: “In an era that has recalibrated economies, redefined social realms and rewired the connection between the individual and the world, we must also...
- 12/1/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Top brass at the Park City jamboree announced on Thursday 20 virtual and augmented reality presentations and 11 installations.
The eleventh New Frontiers programme includes storyworlds in Augmented Reality headsets, and a Vr beauty salon producing neuroscience data.
Established Vr artist Chris Milk and Aaron Kobli are behind Life Of Us, while immersive journalist Nonny de la Peña will premiere Out Of Exile: Daniel’s Story.
New Frontiers will be staged at three Park City venues: Claim Jumper will host ten immersive installations; the Vr Palace will feature 17 Vr experiences alongside an additional installation; and the Vr Bar will offer a line-up of mobile Vr.
Three projects are part of the festival’s New Climate programme highlighting the environment and climate change.
Shari Frilot, Sundance Film Festival senior programmer and chief curator, New Frontier, said: “In an era that has recalibrated economies, redefined social realms and rewired the connection between the individual and the world, we must also...
The eleventh New Frontiers programme includes storyworlds in Augmented Reality headsets, and a Vr beauty salon producing neuroscience data.
Established Vr artist Chris Milk and Aaron Kobli are behind Life Of Us, while immersive journalist Nonny de la Peña will premiere Out Of Exile: Daniel’s Story.
New Frontiers will be staged at three Park City venues: Claim Jumper will host ten immersive installations; the Vr Palace will feature 17 Vr experiences alongside an additional installation; and the Vr Bar will offer a line-up of mobile Vr.
Three projects are part of the festival’s New Climate programme highlighting the environment and climate change.
Shari Frilot, Sundance Film Festival senior programmer and chief curator, New Frontier, said: “In an era that has recalibrated economies, redefined social realms and rewired the connection between the individual and the world, we must also...
- 12/1/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Seeing American Bison in Virtual Reality
During a preview in New York of the work Danfung Dennis created with artists Casey Brown and Phil McNally and collaborators Jay Brown, Andrew Delpit and Chris McClanahan, before it was shown in the New Frontier program at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, I was able to come freckled nose to freckled nose with a jaguar, surround myself with monarch butterflies and settle down in the sand with a sea turtle for a few moments.
Dennis has a background as a photojournalist covering war zones and his documentary Hell And Back Again was nominated for a 2012 Academy Award. He developed a new camera capable of stereoscopic 3D, 360-degree video for his technology company Condition One.
In American Bison, wearing a headset, I was dropped off in the midst of a herd of wild buffalo and the effect was spectacular. When you turn your head to the right to.
During a preview in New York of the work Danfung Dennis created with artists Casey Brown and Phil McNally and collaborators Jay Brown, Andrew Delpit and Chris McClanahan, before it was shown in the New Frontier program at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, I was able to come freckled nose to freckled nose with a jaguar, surround myself with monarch butterflies and settle down in the sand with a sea turtle for a few moments.
Dennis has a background as a photojournalist covering war zones and his documentary Hell And Back Again was nominated for a 2012 Academy Award. He developed a new camera capable of stereoscopic 3D, 360-degree video for his technology company Condition One.
In American Bison, wearing a headset, I was dropped off in the midst of a herd of wild buffalo and the effect was spectacular. When you turn your head to the right to.
- 1/31/2016
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Sundance top brass celebrate the tenth anniversary of the New Frontier programme with an exhibition of new work that includes Vr projects involving Björk and Ridley Scott’s global hit The Martian.Scroll Down For Full List
The dynamic roster encompasses features, a live performance, documentary and narrative mobile virtual reality experiences and a look inside the innovations at some of world’s leading media research labs.
Tenth anniversary exhibitions will also be presented with MoMA in New York City in April, and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis as part of Northern Spark in June.
The New Frontiers line-up will take place in Park City’s Claim Jumper, The Gateway, a large-scale installation on Swede Alley by Chris Milk and a performance by Gingger Shankar at Festival Base Camp Presented by Canada Goose.
Beyond the dedicated physical exhibition spaces, audiences can experience more than 20 virtual reality pieces on mobile Vr headsets. This year’s...
The dynamic roster encompasses features, a live performance, documentary and narrative mobile virtual reality experiences and a look inside the innovations at some of world’s leading media research labs.
Tenth anniversary exhibitions will also be presented with MoMA in New York City in April, and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis as part of Northern Spark in June.
The New Frontiers line-up will take place in Park City’s Claim Jumper, The Gateway, a large-scale installation on Swede Alley by Chris Milk and a performance by Gingger Shankar at Festival Base Camp Presented by Canada Goose.
Beyond the dedicated physical exhibition spaces, audiences can experience more than 20 virtual reality pieces on mobile Vr headsets. This year’s...
- 12/3/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Announcements for the lineup for the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, taking place between January 22nd and February 1st, are starting to roll out. Watch this page for updates as more films and sections are revealed.
Premieres
Brooklyn (John Crowley, UK)
Digging for Fire (Joe Swanberg, USA)
Don Verdean (Jared Hess, USA)
End of the Tour (James Ponsoldt, USA)
Experimenter (Michael Almereyda, USA)
Grandma (Paul Weitz, USA)
I Am Michael (Justin Kelly, USA)
I'll See You In My Dreams (Brett Haley, USA)
Last Days in the Desert (Rodrigo Garcia, USA)
Lila & Eve (Charles Stone III, USA)
Mississipi Grind (Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden, USA)
Mistress America (Noah Baumbach, USA)
Seoul Searching (Benson Lee, USA/Korea)
Sleeping with Other People (Leslye Headland, USA)
Ten Thousand Saints (Robert Pulcini & Shari Springer Berman, USA)
True Story (Rupert Goold, USA)
A Walk in the Woods (Ken Kwapis, USA)
Zipper (Mora Stephens, USA)
Documentary Premieres
Beaver Trilogy Part IV (Brad Besser,...
Premieres
Brooklyn (John Crowley, UK)
Digging for Fire (Joe Swanberg, USA)
Don Verdean (Jared Hess, USA)
End of the Tour (James Ponsoldt, USA)
Experimenter (Michael Almereyda, USA)
Grandma (Paul Weitz, USA)
I Am Michael (Justin Kelly, USA)
I'll See You In My Dreams (Brett Haley, USA)
Last Days in the Desert (Rodrigo Garcia, USA)
Lila & Eve (Charles Stone III, USA)
Mississipi Grind (Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden, USA)
Mistress America (Noah Baumbach, USA)
Seoul Searching (Benson Lee, USA/Korea)
Sleeping with Other People (Leslye Headland, USA)
Ten Thousand Saints (Robert Pulcini & Shari Springer Berman, USA)
True Story (Rupert Goold, USA)
A Walk in the Woods (Ken Kwapis, USA)
Zipper (Mora Stephens, USA)
Documentary Premieres
Beaver Trilogy Part IV (Brad Besser,...
- 12/16/2014
- by Notebook
- MUBI
Whenever I go to the Sundance Film Festival, the movies that I look forward to seeing most are the Park City At Midnight films. Those are the crazy fun genre movies that a lot of you would also enjoy watching. Sundance has announced the movie lineup for those film as well as the films in the Spotlight and New Frontier sections. It looks like there are a lot of cool movies that are going to be worth watching this year. Especially in the Park City At Midnight lineup. I'm really excited about going this year! Check out the Competition movie line-up here.
Park City At Midnight
From horror flicks to comedies to works that defy any genre, these unruly films will keep you edge-seated and wide awake.
Cop Car / U.S.A. (Director: Jon Watts, Screenwriters: Christopher D. Ford, Jon Watts) — Two 10-year-old boys steal an abandoned cop car. Cast: Kevin Bacon,...
Park City At Midnight
From horror flicks to comedies to works that defy any genre, these unruly films will keep you edge-seated and wide awake.
Cop Car / U.S.A. (Director: Jon Watts, Screenwriters: Christopher D. Ford, Jon Watts) — Two 10-year-old boys steal an abandoned cop car. Cast: Kevin Bacon,...
- 12/6/2014
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
John Nein was not always a Senior Programmer at the Sundance Film Festival — it’s only been eight years. When he began at Sundance in 2002 he was always watching movies of course. More than that, like John Cooper said, he just didn’t shut up when he was in the room; he was opinionated and spoke his opinions. He also always liked international cinema as he was born in Ireland and grew up in The Netherlands, Belgium and London where his father worked for international companies. When he was 12 he came to the U.S.
The programmers at Sundance do not have a strict formal assignment of areas they program; they see all the films of all the sections, but like his father, international was always of great interest. The same is true for myself, although out of the 118 feature films selected out of 4,105 feature length submissions, many of the U.S. films look great to me as well. For instance, I am so happy that Matt Sobel’s “ Take Me To The River ” which won the prize at Us in Progress this past November in Wroclaw, Poland at The American Film Festival is in the Next section.
John: This year on Day One, January 22, 2015, the Festival will feature one of each type of film shown at the Festival: one shorts program, a U.S. documentary, a U.S. dramatic, an international documentary and an international dramatic which will be the first ever Lithuanian film in Competition, a lesbian love story that is stylish and smartly directed by Alanté Kavaïté with two fantastic actors, Julija Steponaitytė and Aistė Diržiūtė. Actually " The Summer of Sangaile” is a coproduction of Lithuania, France, and Holland . I think Alanté lives in France.
There ares 29 countries represented and 45 first-time filmmakers.
Sydney: I know the Chileans love Sundance. Last year Alejandro Fernández Almendras said in our interview about “To Kill a Man” that Sundance is very important for Chile. I am also a longtime fan of Sebastian Silva since “The Maid”. Two years ago he had two films, “Crystal Fairy” and “Magic, Magic” in Sundance, so why is this Chilean film not in World Competition but in Next?
John: I’m glad Alejandro said that. Yes we like Chile too. They make many good films. But “Nasty Baby” by Sebastian Silva is a U.S. film, about people living in Brooklyn.
He lives in U.S. and has spent a lot of time here. He knows Brooklyn and yet his curiosity and his view of it is that of an outsider. He knows these people because he watches and listens so well. “
Sydney: “Bridesmaids” star and co-writer Kristen Wiig stars. A short promo of “Nasty Baby” was shown to buyers while it was in post-production in Cannes and Toronto. The Chilean production company of Juan de Dios Larrain and Pablo Larrain, Fabula, produced “No” as well as Sebastian’s later films. Papi Boye and Violaine Pichon’s production and international sales agent Versatile out of France along with the film’s international sales agent Funny Balloons — also based in France – helped finance this U.S. Production.
John: World Cinema is now 10 years old. Overall, the Competition sections have evolved over the years. We have a sense of emerging directors here. We have come of age.
All our films are of emerging filmmakers. Either first time directors or highly anticipated second or third features. Of all the festivals worldwide, Sundance has the strongest program of emerging talent. Watch these filmmakers over the next years. Like “Homesick” by Anna Sewitsky. Her previous film “Happy, Happy” showed at Sundance in 2011 and took the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema. “Happy, Happy” also became the Norwegian Official entry for the Academy Awards® .
Sydney: TrustNordisk sold “Happy, Happy” to more than 50 countries, so they must be poised to sell this one as well.
John: But not all the second and third films are from filmmakers whose first films were at Sundance, although Canada’s “ Chorus” director Francois Delisle showed “The Meteor” at Sundance two years ago.
And “Glassland”, was a very anticipated second film. The first film by director and screenwriter, Gerard Barrett, "Pilgrim Hill” won the Galway Film Festival and was very sought after and was signed with a U.S. agent then. “Sangaile" is also a second feature.
Look at the international films in the Premieres section and you will see some international filmmakers there, like “ Brooklyn” which is an immigrant story directed by John Crowley and written by Nick Hornby whose film “Wild” is now playing .
Sydney: I see from IMDbPro that Hanway has already sold Middle Eastern rights to Front Row Entertainment who must have pre-bought “Brooklyn” in Cannes or Toronto.
John: Of the 12 films in World Cinema the less expected films come from Turkey, “Ivy” by the talented director Tolga Karacelik. This is his second film. His first was “Toll Booth” which Global Initiative distributed in the U.S. The Dp on this was Nuri Bilge Ceylan (“Winter’s Sleep”)’s Dp on “Winter’s Sleep”, Gökhan Tiryaki. It is about guys stuck on a freighter whose company goes bankrupt. Power dynamics play out.
Sydney: Have there been Oscar nominated films in Sundance (Aside from “Whiplash” and “Boyhood”)?
John: Yes, “Man on Wire” was not last year but it was foreign. “Ida” was in Spotlight last year and maybe Sundance increased its visibility. Three others were in Sundance last year:
“To Kill a Man” is Chile’s submission, “Difret” which won the Audience Award is Ethiopia’s submission this year and “Liar’s Dice” from India was in World Competition last year. It is a very artful film. We knew it would do well with the critics, but it did extremely well with the audience too. A couple of films in Spotlight will probably be nominated next year. Watch for them.
Sydney : We haven’t even discussed the World documentaries.
John : Are there any that stand out for you?
Sydney: Yes, “Chuck Norris vs. Communism”, from U.K., Romania and Germany. Chuck Norris?
John: How interesting it is that something like Chuck Norris means something very different to others. It is a sign of cultural differences between us. Chuck Norris shows how independent films built a community of counter culture against an authoritarian government.
Sydney: I also notice that there are six docs from the U.K. Out of 12 films.
John: Yes we noticed and discussed that. U.K. really supports documentary filmmaking. Great work is coming out of the U.K. And many of the films are about different countries, so it doesn’t fit so simply into a U.K. pigeon hole.
Sydney : Yes I see “Chuck Norris” is about Romania, “Dreamcatcher” is about teenage prostitution, “How to Change the World” is about Greenpeace, “Listen to Me Marlon” is about a famous U.S. actor, “The Russian Woodpecker” is about a Ukrainian survivor of Chernobyl.
Thank you John for your insights. I think we have a lot to look at here. Thank you for taking this time to talk with me. See you at Sundance!
For a full list thus far of Sundance films, see below.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Advantageous / U.S.A. (Director: Jennifer Phang, Screenwriters: Jacqueline Kim, Jennifer Phang) — In a near-future city where soaring opulence overshadows economic hardship, Gwen and her daughter, Jules, do all they can to hold on to their joy, despite the instability surfacing in their world. Cast: Jacqueline Kim, James Urbaniak, Freya Adams, Ken Jeong, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Kim.
The Bronze / U.S.A. (Director: Bryan Buckley, Screenwriters: Melissa Rauch, Winston Rauch) — In 2004, Hope Ann Greggory became an American hero after winning the bronze medal for the women's gymnastics team. Today, she's still living in her small hometown, washed-up and embittered. Stuck in the past, Hope must reassess her life when a promising young gymnast threatens her local celebrity status.Cast: Melissa Rauch, Gary Cole, Thomas Middleditch, Sebastian Stan, Haley Lu Richardson, Cecily Strong. Day One Film
The D Train / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Jarrad Paul, Andrew Mogel) — With his 20th reunion looming, Dan can’t shake his high school insecurities. In a misguided mission to prove he's changed, Dan rekindles a friendship with the popular guy from his class and is left scrambling to protect more than just his reputation when a wild night takes an unexpected turn. Cast: Jack Black, James Marsden, Kathryn Hahn, Jeffrey Tambor, Mike White, Kyle Bornheimer.
The Diary of a Teenage Girl / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Marielle Heller) — Minnie Goetze is a 15-year-old aspiring comic-book artist, coming of age in the haze of the 1970s in San Francisco. Insatiably curious about the world around her, Minnie is a pretty typical teenage girl. Oh, except that she's sleeping with her mother's boyfriend. Cast: Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgård, Christopher Meloni, Kristen Wiig.
Dope / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Rick Famuyiwa) — Malcolm is carefully surviving life in a tough neighborhood in Los Angeles while juggling college applications, academic interviews, and the Sat. A chance invitation to an underground party leads him into an adventure that could allow him to go from being a geek, to being dope, to ultimately being himself. Cast: Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons, Blake Anderson, Zoë Kravitz, A$AP Rocky.
I Smile Back / U.S.A. (Director: Adam Salky, Screenwriters: Amy Koppelman, Paige Dylan) — All is not right in suburbia. Laney Brooks, a wife and mother on the edge, has stopped taking her meds, substituting recreational drugs and the wrong men. With the destruction of her family looming, Laney makes a last, desperate attempt at redemption. Cast: Sarah Silverman, Josh Charles, Thomas Sadoski, Mia Barron, Terry Kinney, Chris Sarandon.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl / U.S.A. (Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, Screenwriter: Jesse Andrews) — Greg is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films with Earl, his only friend. But both his anonymity and friendship threaten to unravel when his mother forces him to befriend a classmate with leukemia. Cast: Thomas Mann, Rj Cyler, Olivia Cooke, Nick Offerman, Connie Britton, Molly Shannon.
The Overnight / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Patrick Brice) — Alex, Emily, and their son, Rj, are new to Los Angeles. A chance meeting at the park introduces them to the mysterious Kurt, Charlotte, and Max. A family "playdate" becomes increasingly interesting as the night goes on. Cast: Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling, Jason Schwartzman, Judith Godrèche.
People, Places, Things / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: James C. Strouse) — Will Henry is a newly single graphic novelist balancing being a parent to his young twin daughters and teaching a classroom full of college students, all the while trying to navigate the rich complexities of new love and letting go of the woman who left him. Cast: Jemaine Clement, Regina Hall, Stephanie Allynne, Jessica Williams, Gia Gadsby, Aundrea Gadsby.
Results / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski) — Two mismatched personal trainers' lives are upended by the actions of a new, wealthy client. Cast: Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders, Kevin Corrigan, Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Michael Hall, Brooklyn Decker.
Songs My Brothers Taught Me / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Chloé Zhao) — This complex portrait of modern-day life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation explores the bond between a brother and his younger sister, who find themselves on separate paths to rediscovering the meaning of home. Cast: John Reddy, Jashaun St. John, Irene Bedard, Taysha Fuller, Travis Lone Hill, Eléonore Hendricks.
The Stanford Prison Experiment / U.S.A. (Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Screenwriter: Tim Talbott) — This film is based on the actual events that took place in 1971 when Stanford professor Dr. Philip Zimbardo created what became one of the most shocking and famous social experiments of all time. Cast: Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller, Michael Angarano, Tye Sheridan, Johnny Simmons, Olivia Thirlby.
Stockholm, Pennsylvania / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Nikole Beckwith) — A young woman is returned home to her biological parents after living with her abductor for 17 years. Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Cynthia Nixon, Jason Isaacs, David Warshofsky.
Unexpected / U.S.A. (Director: Kris Swanberg, Screenwriters: Kris Swanberg, Megan Mercier) — When Samantha Abbott begins her final semester teaching science at a Chicago high school, she faces some unexpected news: she's pregnant. Soon after, Samantha learns that one of her favorite students, Jasmine, has landed in a similar situation. Unexpected follows the two women as they embark on an unlikely friendship. Cast: Cobie Smulders, Anders Holm, Gail Bean, Elizabeth McGovern.
The Witch / U.S.A., Canada (Director and screenwriter: Robert Eggers) — New England in the 1630s: William and Katherine lead a devout Christian life with five children, homesteading on the edge of an impassable wilderness. When their newborn son vanishes and crops fail, the family turns on one another. Beyond their worst fears, a supernatural evil lurks in the nearby wood. Cast: Anya Taylor Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Lucas Dawson, Ellie Grainger.
Z for Zachariah / U.S.A. (Director: Craig Zobel, Screenwriter: Nissar Modi) — In a post-apocalyptic world, a young woman who believes she is the last human on Earth meets a dying scientist searching for survivors. Their relationship becomes tenuous when another survivor appears. As the two men compete for the woman's affection, their primal urges begin to reveal their true nature. Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Margot Robbie, Chris Pine.
U.S. Documentary Competition
Sixteen world-premiere American documentaries that illuminate the ideas, people, and events that shape the present day.
3½ Minutes / U.S.A. (Director: Marc Silver) — On November 23, 2012, unarmed 17-year-old Jordan Russell Davis was shot at a Jacksonville gas station by Michael David Dunn. 3½ Minutes explores the aftermath of Jordan's tragic death, the latent and often unseen effects of racism, and the contradictions of the American criminal justice system.
Being Evel / U.S.A. (Director: Daniel Junge) — An unprecedented, candid portrait of American icon Robert "Evel" Knievel and his legacy.
Best of Enemies / U.S.A. (Directors: Morgan Neville, Robert Gordon) — Best of Enemies is a behind-the-scenes account of the explosive 1968 televised debates between the liberal Gore Vidal and the conservative William F. Buckley Jr., and their rancorous disagreements about politics, God, and sex.
Call Me Lucky / U.S.A. (Director: Bobcat Goldthwait) — Barry Crimmins was a volatile but brilliant bar comic who became an honored peace activist and influential political satirist. Famous comedians and others build a picture of a man who underwent an incredible transformation.
Cartel Land / U.S.A., Mexico (Director: Matthew Heineman) — In this classic Western set in the 21st century, vigilantes on both sides of the border fight the vicious Mexican drug cartels. With unprecedented access, this character-driven film provokes deep questions about lawlessness, the breakdown of order, and whether citizens should fight violence with violence.
City of Gold / U.S.A. (Director: Laura Gabbert) — Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Jonathan Gold casts his light upon a vibrant and growing cultural movement in which he plays the dual roles of high-low priest and culinary geographer of his beloved Los Angeles.
Finders Keepers / U.S.A. (Directors: Bryan Carberry, Clay Tweel) — Recovering addict and amputee John Wood finds himself in a stranger-than-fiction battle to reclaim his mummified leg from Southern entrepreneur Shannon Whisnant, who found it in a grill he bought at an auction and believes it to therefore be his rightful property.
Hot Girls Wanted / U.S.A. (Directors: Jill Bauer, Ronna Gradus) — Hot Girls Wanted is a first-ever look at the realities inside the world of the amateur porn industry and the steady stream of 18- and 19-year-old girls entering into it.
How to Dance in Ohio / U.S.A. (Director: Alexandra Shiva) — In Columbus, Ohio, a group of teenagers and young adults on the autism spectrum prepare for an iconic American rite of passage — a spring formal. They spend 12 weeks practicing their social skills at a local nightclub in preparation for the dance.
Larry Kramer in Love and Anger / U.S.A. (Director: Jean Carlomusto) — Author, activist, and playwright Larry Kramer is one of the most important and controversial figures in contemporary gay America, a political firebrand who gave voice to the outrage and grief that inspired gay men and lesbians to fight for their lives. At 78, this complicated man still commands our attention.
Meru / U.S.A. (Directors: Jimmy Chin, E. Chai Vasarhelyi) — Three elite mountain climbers sacrifice everything but their friendship as they struggle through heartbreaking loss and nature’s harshest elements to attempt the never-before-completed Shark’s Fin on Mount Meru, the most coveted first ascent in the dangerous game of Himalayan big wall climbing.
Racing Extinction / U.S.A. (Director: Louie Psihoyos) — Academy Award-winner Louie Psihoyos (The Cove) assembles a unique team to show the world never-before-seen images that expose issues surrounding endangered species and mass extinction. Whether infiltrating notorious black markets or exploring humans' effect on the environment, Racing Extinction will change the way you see the world.
(T)Error / U.S.A. (Directors: Lyric R. Cabral, David Felix Sutcliffe) — (T)Error is the first film to document on camera a covert counterterrorism sting as it unfolds. Through the perspective of *******, a 63-year-old Black revolutionary turned FBI informant, viewers are given an unprecedented glimpse of the government’s counterterrorism tactics, and the murky justifications behind them.
Welcome to Leith / U.S.A. (Directors: Michael Beach Nichols, Christopher K. Walker) — A white supremacist attempts to take over a small town in North Dakota.
Western / U.S.A., Mexico (Directors: Bill Ross, Turner Ross) — For generations, all that distinguished Eagle Pass, Texas, from Piedras Negras, Mexico, was the Rio Grande. But when darkness descends upon these harmonious border towns, a cowboy and lawman face a new reality that threatens their way of life. Western portrays timeless American figures in the grip of unforgiving change.
The Wolfpack / U.S.A. (Director: Crystal Moselle) — Six bright teenage brothers have spent their entire lives locked away from society in a Manhattan housing project. All they know of the outside is gleaned from the movies they watch obsessively (and recreate meticulously). Yet as adolescence looms, they dream of escape, ever more urgently, into the beckoning world.
World Cinema Dramatic Competition
Twelve films from emerging filmmaking talents around the world offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles.
Chlorine / Italy (Director: Lamberto Sanfelice, Screenwriters: Lamberto Sanfelice, Elisa Amoruso) — Jenny, 17, dreams of becoming a synchronized swimmer. Family events turn her life upside down and she is forced move to a remote area to look after her ill father and younger brother. It won't be long before Jenny starts pursuing her dreams again. Cast: Sara Serraiocco, Ivan Franek, Giorgio Colangeli, Anatol Sassi, Piera Degli Esposti, Andrea Vergoni. World Premiere
Chorus / Canada (Director and screenwriter: François Delisle) — A separated couple meet again after 10 years when the body of their missing son is found. Amid the guilt of losing a loved one, they hesitantly move toward affirmation of life, acceptance of death, and even the possibility of reconciliation. Cast: Sébastien Ricard, Fanny Mallette, Pierre Curzi, Genevieve Bujold. World Premiere
Glassland / Ireland (Director and screenwriter: Gerard Barrett) — In a desperate attempt to reunite his broken family, a young taxi driver becomes entangled in the criminal underworld. Cast: Jack Reynor, Toni Collette, Will Poulter, Michael Smiley. International Premiere
Homesick / Norway (Director: Anne Sewitsky, Screenwriters: Ragnhild Tronvoll, Anne Sewitsky) — When Charlotte, 27, meets her brother Henrik, 35, for the first time, two people who don't know what a normal family is begin an encounter without boundaries. How does sibling love manifest itself if you have never experienced it before?Cast: Ine Marie Wilmann, Simon J. Berger, Anneke von der Lippe, Silje Storstein, Oddgeir Thune, Kari Onstad. World Premiere. Isa: TrustNordisk
Ivy / Turkey (Director and screenwriter: Tolga Karaçelik) — Sarmasik is sailing to Egypt when the ship's owner goes bankrupt. The crew learns there is a lien on the ship, and key crew members must stay on board. Ivy is the story of these six men trapped on the ship for days. Cast: Nadir Sarıbacak, Özgür Emre Yıldırım, Hakan Karsak, Kadir Çermik, Osman Alkaş, Seyithan Özdemiroğlu. World Premiere
Partisan / Australia (Director: Ariel Kleiman, Screenwriters: Ariel Kleiman, Sarah Cyngler) — Alexander is like any other kid: playful, curious and naive. He is also a trained assassin. Raised in a hidden paradise, Alexander has grown up seeing the world filtered through his father, Gregori. As Alexander begins to think for himself, creeping fears take shape, and Gregori's idyllic world unravels. Cast: Vincent Cassel, Jeremy Chabriel, Florence Mezzara. World Premiere
Princess / Israel (Director and screenwriter: Tali Shalom Ezer) — While her mother is away from home, 12-year-old Adar’s role-playing games with her stepfather move into dangerous territory. Seeking an escape, Adar finds Alan, an ethereal boy that accompanies her on a dark journey between reality and fantasy. Cast: Keren Mor, Shira Haas, Ori Pfeffer, Adar Zohar Hanetz. International Premiere
The Second Mother / Brazil (Director and screenwriter: Anna Muylaert) — Having left her daughter, Jessica, to be raised by relatives in the north of Brazil, Val works as a loving nanny in São Paulo. When Jessica arrives for a visit 13 years later, she confronts her mother's slave-like attitude and everyone in the house is affected by her unexpected behavior. Cast: Regina Casé, Michel Joelsas, Camila Márdila, Karine Teles, Lourenço Mutarelli. World Premiere
Slow West / New Zealand (Director: John Maclean, Screenwriters: John Maclean, Michael Lesslie) — Set at the end of the nineteenth century, 16-year-old Jay Cavendish journeys across the American frontier in search of the woman he loves. He is joined by Silas, a mysterious traveler, and hotly pursued by an outlaw along the way. Cast: Michael Fassbender, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Rory McCann, Ben Mendelsohn, Brooke Williams, Caren Pistorius. World Premiere
Strangerland / Australia, Ireland (Director: Kim Farrant, Screenwriters: Fiona Seres, Michael Kinirons) — When Catherine and Matthew Parker's two teenage kids disappear into the remote Australian desert, the couple's relationship is pushed to the brink as they confront the mystery of their children's fate. Cast: Nicole Kidman, Joseph Fiennes, Hugo Weaving, Lisa Flanagan, Meyne Wyatt, Maddison Brown. World Premiere
The Summer of Sangaile / Lithuania, France, Holland (Director and screenwriter: Alanté Kavaïté) — Seventeen-year-old Sangaile is fascinated by stunt planes. She meets a girl her age at the summer aeronautical show, nearby her parents’ lakeside villa. Sangaile allows Auste to discover her most intimate secret and in the process finds in her teenage love, the only person that truly encourages her to fly. Cast: Julija Steponaitytė, Aistė Diržiūtė. World Premiere. Isa: Films Distribution.
Umrika / India (Director and screenwriter: Prashant Nair) — When a young village boy discovers that his brother, long believed to be in America, has actually gone missing, he begins to invent letters on his behalf to save their mother from heartbreak, all the while searching for him. Cast: Suraj Sharma, Tony Revolori, Smita Tambe, Adil Hussain, Rajesh Tailang, Prateik Babbar. World Premiere
World Cinema Documentary Competition
Twelve documentaries by some of the most courageous and extraordinary international filmmakers working today.
The Amina Profile / Canada (Director: Sophie Deraspe) — During the Arab revolution, a love story between two women — a Canadian and a Syrian American — turns into an international sociopolitical thriller spotlighting media excesses and the thin line between truth and falsehood on the Internet. World Premiere
Censored Voices / Israel, Germany (Director: Mor Loushy) — One week after the 1967 Six-Day War, renowned author Amos Oz and editor Avraham Shapira recorded intimate conversations with soldiers returning from the battlefield. The Israeli army censored the recordings, allowing only a fragment of the conversations to be published. Censored Voices reveals these recordings for the first time. World Premiere
The Chinese Mayor / China (Director: Hao Zhou) — Mayor Geng Yanbo is determined to transform the coal-mining center of Datong, in China’s Shanxi province, into a tourism haven showcasing clean energy. In order to achieve that, however, he has to relocate 500,000 residences to make way for the restoration of the ancient city. World Premiere
Chuck Norris vs Communism / United Kingdom, Romania, Germany (Director: Ilinca Calugareanu) — In 1980s Romania, thousands of Western films smashed through the Iron Curtain, opening a window to the free world for those who dared to look. A black market VHS racketeer and courageous female translator brought the magic of film to the masses and sowed the seeds of a revolution. World Premiere. Producers Rep: UTA
Dark Horse / United Kingdom (Director: Louise Osmond) — Dark Horse is the inspirational true story of a group of friends from a workingman's club who decide to take on the elite "sport of kings" and breed themselves a racehorse. World Premiere
Dreamcatcher / United Kingdom (Director: Kim Longinotto) — Dreamcatcher takes us into a hidden world seen through the eyes of one of its survivors, Brenda Myers-Powell. A former teenage prostitute, Brenda defied the odds to become a powerful advocate for change in her community. With warmth and humor, Brenda gives hope to those who have none. World Premiere
How to Change the World / United Kingdom, Canada (Director: Jerry Rothwell) — In 1971, a group of friends sails into a nuclear test zone, and their protest captures the world’s imagination. Using rare, archival footage that brings their extraordinary world to life, How to Change the World is the story of the pioneers who founded Greenpeace and defined the modern green movement. World Premiere. Day One Film
Listen to Me Marlon / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Stevan Riley, Co-writer: Peter Ettedgui) — With exclusive access to previously unheard audio archives, this is the definitive Marlon Brando cinema documentary. Charting his exceptional career and extraordinary life away from the stage and screen, the film fully explores the complexities of the man by telling the story uniquely in Marlon’s own voice. World Premiere
Pervert Park / Sweden, Denmark (Directors: Frida Barkfors, Lasse Barkfors) — Pervert Park follows the everyday lives of sex offenders in a Florida trailer park as they struggle to reintegrate into society, and try to understand who they are and how to break the cycle of sex crimes being committed. International Premiere
The Russian Woodpecker / United Kingdom (Director: Chad Gracia) — A Ukrainian victim of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster discovers a dark secret and must decide whether to risk his life by revealing it, amid growing clouds of revolution and war. World Premiere
Sembene! / U.S.A., Senegal (Directors: Samba Gadjigo, Jason Silverman) — In 1952, Ousmane Sembene, a Senegalese dockworker and fifth-grade dropout, began dreaming an impossible dream: to become the storyteller for a new Africa. This true story celebrates how the “father of African cinema,” against enormous odds, fought a monumental, 50-year-long battle to give Africans a voice. World Premiere
The Visit / Denmark, Austria, Ireland, Finland, Norway (Director: Michael Madsen) — “This film documents an event that has never taken place…” With unprecedented access to the United Nations' Office for Outer Space Affairs, leading space scientists and space agencies, The Visit explores humans' first encounter with alien intelligent life and thereby humanity itself. "Our scenario begins with the arrival. Your arrival." World Premiere
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Pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling populate this program. Digital technology paired with unfettered creativity promises that the films in this section will shape a “greater” next wave in American cinema. Presented by Adobe.
Bob and the Trees / U.S.A., France (Director: Diego Ongaro, Screenwriters: Diego Ongaro, Courtney Maum, Sasha Statman-Weil) — Bob, a 50-year-old logger in rural Massachusetts with a soft spot for golf and gangsta rap, is struggling to make ends meet in a changed economy. When his beloved cow is wounded and a job goes awry, Bob begins to heed the instincts of his ever-darkening self. Cast: Bob Tarasuk, Matt Gallagher, Polly MacIntyre, Winthrop Barrett, Nathaniel Gregory. World Premiere
Christmas, Again / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Charles Poekel) — A heartbroken Christmas tree salesman returns to New York, hoping to put the past year behind him. He spends the season living in a trailer and working the night shift, until a mysterious woman and some colorful customers rescue him from self-destruction. Cast: Kentucker Audley, Hannah Gross, Jason Shelton, Oona Roche. North American Premiere
Cronies / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael Larnell) — Twenty-two-year-old Louis doesn’t know whether his childhood friendship with Jack will last beyond today. Cast: George Sample III, Zurich Buckner, Brian Kowalski. World Premiere
Entertainment / U.S.A. (Director: Rick Alverson, Screenwriters: Rick Alverson, Gregg Turkington, Tim Heidecker) — En route to meeting with his estranged daughter, in an attempt to revive his dwindling career, a broken, aging comedian plays a string of dead-end shows in the Mojave Desert. Cast: Gregg Turkington, John C. Reilly, Tye Sheridan, Michael Cera, Amy Seimetz, Lotte Verbeek. World Premiere
H. / U.S.A., Argentina (Directors and screenwriters: Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia) — Two women, each named Helen, find their lives spinning out of control after a meteor allegedly explodes over their city of Troy, New York. Cast: Robin Bartlett, Rebecca Dayan, Will Janowitz, Julian Gamble, Roger Robinson. World Premiere
James White / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Josh Mond) — A young New Yorker struggles to take control of his reckless, self-destructive behavior in the face of momentous family challenges. Cast: Chris Abbott, Cynthia Nixon, Scott Mescudi, Makenzie Leigh, David Call. World Premiere
Nasty Baby / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Sebastian Silva) — A gay couple try to have a baby with the help of their best friend, Polly. The trio navigates the idea of creating life while confronted by unexpected harassment from a neighborhood man called The Bishop. As their clashes grow increasingly aggressive, odds are someone is getting hurt. Cast: Sebastian Silva, Tunde Adebimpe, Kristin Wiig, Reg E. Cathey, Mark Margolis, Denis O'Hare. World Premiere
The Strongest Man / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kenny Riches) — An anxiety-ridden Cuban man who fancies himself the strongest man in the world attempts to recover his most prized possession, a stolen bicycle. On his quest, he finds and loses much more. Cast: Robert Lorie, Paul Chamberlain, Ashly Burch, Patrick Fugit, Lisa Banes. World Premiere
" Take Me To The River " / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Matt Sobel) — A naive California teen plans to remain above the fray at his Nebraskan family reunion, but a strange encounter places him at the center of a long-buried family secret.Cast: Logan Miller, Robin Weigert, Josh Hamilton, Richard Schiff, Ursula Parker, Azura Skye. World Premiere. Producer rep: Cinetic Media
Tangerine / U.S.A. (Director: Sean Baker, Screenwriters: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch) — A working girl tears through Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart. Cast: Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian, Mickey O'Hagan, Alla Tumanyan, James Ransone. World Premiere
Spotlight
Regardless of where these films have played throughout the world, the Spotlight program is a tribute to the cinema we love.
6 Desires: Dh Lawrence and Sardinia / United Kingdom, Italy (Director: Mark Cousins) — In winter 1921, Dh Lawrence and his wife journeyed to Sardinia, and he chronicled their experiences in Sea and Sardinia. Now, Mark Cousins retraces Lawrence’s footsteps. The film is conceived partly as a letter to Lawrence — or “Bert” — a detail that’s typical of the film’s inviting sense of conversational intimacy.International Premiere
'71 / United Kingdom (Director: Yann Demange, Screenwriter: Gregory Burke) — ‘71 takes place over a single night in the life of a young British soldier accidentally abandoned by his unit following a riot on the streets of Belfast in 1971. Unable to tell friend from foe, he must survive the night alone and find his way to safety. Cast: Jack O'Connell, Paul Anderson, Richard Dormer, Sean Harris, Barry Keoghan, Martin McCann.
99 Homes / U.S.A. (Director: Ramin Bahrani, Screenwriters: Ramin Bahrani, Amir Naderi, Bahareh Azimi) — A father struggles to get back the home that his family was evicted from by working for the greedy real-estate broker who's the source of his frustration. Cast: Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, Laura Dern, Tim Guinee, Cullen Moss, J.D. Evermore.
Aloft / Spain, France, Canada (Director and screenwriter: Claudia Llosa) — Aloft tells the story of a struggling mother, Nana, and her evolution to becoming a renowned healer. When a young artist tracks down Nana's son 20 years after she abandoned him, she sets in motion an encounter between the two that will bring the meaning of their lives into question. Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Cillian Murphy, Mélanie Laurent, William Shimell. North American Premiere
Eden / France (Director: Mia Hansen-løve, Screenwriters: Mia Hansen-løve, Sven Hansen-løve) — Mia Hansen-løve's electronic-dance-music epic follows the rise and fall of a DJ (based on her brother, Sven, a contemporary of Daft Punk) who gets into the rave scene in 1994 and spends the next 20 years navigating the French club scene. Cast: Félix de Givry, Pauline Etienne, Greta Gerwig, Brady Corbet, Arsinee Khanjian, Vincent Macaigne.
Girlhood / France (Director and screenwriter: Céline Sciamma) — Oppressed by her family, dead-end school prospects, and the boys law in the neighborhood, Marieme starts a new life after meeting a group of free-spirited girls. She changes her name and dress, and quits school to be accepted in the gang, hoping to find a way to freedom. Cast: Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh, Mariétou Touré, Idrissa Diabaté, Simina Soumaré.
The Tribe / Ukraine (Director and screenwriter: Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy) — Set at a Ukrainian boarding school for the deaf, the film’s narrative unfolds purely through sign language without the need for employing subtitles or voiceover, resulting in a unique, never-before-seen cinematic experience that engages the audience on a new level. Cast: Grigoriy Fesenko, Yana Novikova, Rosa Babiy, Alexander Dsiadevich.
White God / Hungary (Director: Kornél Mundruczó, Screenwriters: Kata Wéber, Kornél Mundruczó, Viktória Petrányi) — When young Lili is forced to give up her beloved dog, Hagen, because its mixed-breed heritage is deemed “unfit” by The State, she and the dog begin a dangerous journey back toward each other. Cast: Zsófia Psotta, Sandor Zsótér, Szabolcs Thuróczy, Lili Monori, László Gálffi, Lili Horváth. U.S. Premiere
Wild Tales / Argentina, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Damián Szifrón) — Inequality, injustice, and the demands of the world cause stress and depression for many people. Some of them, however, explode. This is a movie about those people. Vulnerable in the face of an unpredictable reality, the characters of Wild Tales cross the thin line dividing civilization and barbarism. Cast: Ricardo Darín, Julieta Zyberberg, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Darío Grandinetti, Erica Rivas, Oscar Martínez.
Park City At Midnight
From horror flicks to comedies to works that defy any genre, these unruly films will keep you edge-seated and wide awake.
Cop Car / U.S.A. (Director: Jon Watts, Screenwriters: Christopher D. Ford, Jon Watts) — Two 10-year-old boys steal an abandoned cop car. Cast: Kevin Bacon, James Freedson-Jackson, Hays Wellford, Shea Whigham, Camryn Manheim. World Premiere
The Hallow / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Corin Hardy, Screenwriters: Corin Hardy, Felipe Marino) — When a London-based conservationist is sent to Ireland to survey an area of ancient forest believed by the superstitious locals to be hallowed ground, he unwittingly disturbs a horde of terrifying beings and must fight to protect his family. Cast: Joseph Mawle, Bojana Novakovic, Michael McElhatton, Michael Smiley. World Premiere
Hellions / Canada (Director: Bruce McDonald, Screenwriter: Pascal Trottier) — Teenage Dora Vogel must survive a Halloween night from hell when malevolent trick-or-treaters come knocking at her door. Cast: Chloe Rose, Robert Patrick, Rossif Sutherland, Rachel Wilson, Peter DaCunha, Luke Bilyk. World Premiere
It Follows / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Robert Mitchell) — After a strange sexual encounter, a teenager finds herself haunted by nightmarish visions and the inescapable sense that something is after her. Cast: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe.
Knock Knock / U.S.A. (Director: Eli Roth, Screenwriters: Eli Roth, Nicolas Lopez, Guillermo Amoedo) — Two beautiful young girls walk into a married man's life and turn a wild fantasy into his worst nightmare. Cast: Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo, Ana De Armas, Aaron Burns, Ignacia Allamand, Colleen Camp. World Premiere
The Nightmare / U.S.A. (Director: Rodney Ascher) — A documentary-horror film exploring the phenomenon of sleep paralysis through the eyes of eight people. They (and a surprisingly large number of others) often find themselves trapped between the sleeping and awake realms, unable to move but aware of their surroundings while subject to disturbing sights and sounds. World Premiere
Reversal / U.S.A. (Director: J.M Cravioto, Screenwriters: Rock Shaink, Keith Kjornes) — A gritty psychological thriller about a young woman chained in a basement of a sexual predator and manages to escape. However, right when she has a chance for freedom, she unravels a hard truth and decides to turn the tables on her captor. Cast: Tina Ivlev, Richard Tyson, Bianca Malinowski. World Premiere
Turbo Kid / Canada, New Zealand (Directors: Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell, Screenwriters: Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell) — In a post-apocalyptic future, The Kid, an orphaned outcast, meets a mysterious girl. They become friends until Zeus, the sadistic leader of the Wasteland, kidnaps her. The Kid must face his fears, and journey to rid the Wasteland of evil and save the girl. Cast: Munro Chambers, Laurence Leboeuf, Michael Ironside, Aaron Jeffery, Edwin Wright. World Premiere
New Frontier Films
The Forbidden Room / Canada (Directors: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Screenwriters: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Robert Kotyk) — A submarine crew, a feared pack of forest bandits, a famous surgeon, and a battalion of child soldiers all get more than they bargained for as they wend their way toward progressive ideas on life and love. Cast: Geraldine Chaplin, Caroline Dhavernas, Roy Dupuis, Udo Kier, Charlotte Rampling, Karine Vanasse. World Premiere
Liveforever / Colombia, Mexico (Director: Carlos Moreno, Screenwriters: Alberto Ferreras, Alonso Torres, Carlos Moreno) — Driven by the music and dancing she finds along the way, a teenager leaves home willing to try anything her provocative and tolerant city has to offer, even if she burns out in the process. Inspired by the best-selling novel "Que viva la música" by Andres Caicedo. Cast: Paulina Davila, Alejandra Avila, Luis Arrieta, Juan Pablo Barragan, Nelson Camayo, Christian Tappan. World Premiere
The Royal Road / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jenni Olson) — This cinematic essay, a defense of remembering, offers up a primer on the Spanish colonization of California and the Mexican American War alongside intimate reflections on nostalgia, butch identity and Alfred Hitchcock'sVertigo — all against a contemplative backdrop of 16mm urban California landscapes. Cast: Jenni Olson, Tony Kushner. World Premiere
Sam Klemke's Time Machine / Australia (Director: Matthew Bate) — Sam Klemke has filmed and narrated 50 years of his life, creating a strange and intimate portrait of what it means to be human. World Premiere
Station to Station / U.S.A. (Director: Doug Aitken) — Station to Station is composed of 60 individual one-minute films featuring different artists, musicians, places, and perspectives. This revolutionary feature-length film reveals a larger narrative about modern creativity. World Premiere
Things of the Aimless Wanderer / Rwanda, United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Kivu Ruhorahoza) — A white man meets a black girl, then she disappears. The white man tries to understand what happened to her while also trying to finish a travelogue. Things of the Aimless Wanderer is a film about the sensitive topic of relations between “locals” and Westerners, about paranoia, mistrust, and misunderstandings. Cast: Justin Mullikin, Grace Nikuze, Ramadhan Bizimana, Eliane Umuhire, Wesley Ruzibiza, Matt Ray Brown. World Premiere
New Frontier Installations
1979 Revolution Game
Artists: Navid Khonsari, Vassiliki Khonsari
1979 Revolution Game presents an innovative approach to non-fiction storytelling. Designed to engage players with an immersive "on the ground" experience of the Iranian Revolution, the game integrates an emotionally impactful narrative with interactive moral choices and intuitive touchscreen gameplay while remaining true to history.
Assent
Artist: Oscar Raby
This immersive documentary uses virtual reality technology to put the user in the footsteps of Director Oscar Raby's father, who in 1973 was a 22-year-old army officer stationed in the north of Chile, on the day when the Caravan of Death came to his regiment.
Birdly
Artist: Max Rheiner
Flying is one of the oldest dreams of humankind. Birdly is an experiment to capture this dream, to simulate the experience of being a bird from a first-person perspective. This embodiment is conducted through a full-body virtual reality setup.
Dérive
Artist: François Quévillon
This interactive installation uses the audience’s body motions and positions to explore 3-D reconstructions of urban and natural spaces that are transformed according to live environmental data, including meteorological and astronomical phenomena.
Evolution of Verse
Artist: Chris Milk
Chris Milk, working with visual effects powerhouse Digital Domain and virtual reality production company Vrse.works, has created this photo-realistic CGI-rendered 3-D virtual reality film that takes the viewer on a journey from beginning to new beginning.
Kaiju Fury!
Artist: Ian Hunter
A dark energy experiment leads to a devastating attack by monstrous Kaiju, and you are standing at ground zero — all in 360-degree, stereoscopic 3-D cinematic virtual reality. You will "be there" as the beasts lay waste to a crumbling city and humanity makes its last stand. Cast: Susie Abromeit, Bill Lippincott, Daniel Martin, Brian Dodge, Vincient Chiantelli.
Paradise
Artist: Pleix
Paradise is certainly not paradisiacal if you look at it through our eyes. But neither is it totally devoid of humor, melancholy and absurdity. Perhaps it is first and foremost life as it is, and then a touch exaggerated in the digital overdrive.
Perspective; Chapter I: The Party
Artists: Rose Troche, Morris May
A young college woman attends a party with the intention of shedding her "shy girl" persona. At the same party, a young man is after a similar reinvention. They meet, drink, and misinterpreted signals turn into things that cannot be undone. Virtual reality simulators let viewers experience both characters. Cast: Tabitha Morella, Caleb Thomas, Zachary Zagoria, Anna Grace Barlow.
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Artists: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
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The programmers at Sundance do not have a strict formal assignment of areas they program; they see all the films of all the sections, but like his father, international was always of great interest. The same is true for myself, although out of the 118 feature films selected out of 4,105 feature length submissions, many of the U.S. films look great to me as well. For instance, I am so happy that Matt Sobel’s “ Take Me To The River ” which won the prize at Us in Progress this past November in Wroclaw, Poland at The American Film Festival is in the Next section.
John: This year on Day One, January 22, 2015, the Festival will feature one of each type of film shown at the Festival: one shorts program, a U.S. documentary, a U.S. dramatic, an international documentary and an international dramatic which will be the first ever Lithuanian film in Competition, a lesbian love story that is stylish and smartly directed by Alanté Kavaïté with two fantastic actors, Julija Steponaitytė and Aistė Diržiūtė. Actually " The Summer of Sangaile” is a coproduction of Lithuania, France, and Holland . I think Alanté lives in France.
There ares 29 countries represented and 45 first-time filmmakers.
Sydney: I know the Chileans love Sundance. Last year Alejandro Fernández Almendras said in our interview about “To Kill a Man” that Sundance is very important for Chile. I am also a longtime fan of Sebastian Silva since “The Maid”. Two years ago he had two films, “Crystal Fairy” and “Magic, Magic” in Sundance, so why is this Chilean film not in World Competition but in Next?
John: I’m glad Alejandro said that. Yes we like Chile too. They make many good films. But “Nasty Baby” by Sebastian Silva is a U.S. film, about people living in Brooklyn.
He lives in U.S. and has spent a lot of time here. He knows Brooklyn and yet his curiosity and his view of it is that of an outsider. He knows these people because he watches and listens so well. “
Sydney: “Bridesmaids” star and co-writer Kristen Wiig stars. A short promo of “Nasty Baby” was shown to buyers while it was in post-production in Cannes and Toronto. The Chilean production company of Juan de Dios Larrain and Pablo Larrain, Fabula, produced “No” as well as Sebastian’s later films. Papi Boye and Violaine Pichon’s production and international sales agent Versatile out of France along with the film’s international sales agent Funny Balloons — also based in France – helped finance this U.S. Production.
John: World Cinema is now 10 years old. Overall, the Competition sections have evolved over the years. We have a sense of emerging directors here. We have come of age.
All our films are of emerging filmmakers. Either first time directors or highly anticipated second or third features. Of all the festivals worldwide, Sundance has the strongest program of emerging talent. Watch these filmmakers over the next years. Like “Homesick” by Anna Sewitsky. Her previous film “Happy, Happy” showed at Sundance in 2011 and took the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema. “Happy, Happy” also became the Norwegian Official entry for the Academy Awards® .
Sydney: TrustNordisk sold “Happy, Happy” to more than 50 countries, so they must be poised to sell this one as well.
John: But not all the second and third films are from filmmakers whose first films were at Sundance, although Canada’s “ Chorus” director Francois Delisle showed “The Meteor” at Sundance two years ago.
And “Glassland”, was a very anticipated second film. The first film by director and screenwriter, Gerard Barrett, "Pilgrim Hill” won the Galway Film Festival and was very sought after and was signed with a U.S. agent then. “Sangaile" is also a second feature.
Look at the international films in the Premieres section and you will see some international filmmakers there, like “ Brooklyn” which is an immigrant story directed by John Crowley and written by Nick Hornby whose film “Wild” is now playing .
Sydney: I see from IMDbPro that Hanway has already sold Middle Eastern rights to Front Row Entertainment who must have pre-bought “Brooklyn” in Cannes or Toronto.
John: Of the 12 films in World Cinema the less expected films come from Turkey, “Ivy” by the talented director Tolga Karacelik. This is his second film. His first was “Toll Booth” which Global Initiative distributed in the U.S. The Dp on this was Nuri Bilge Ceylan (“Winter’s Sleep”)’s Dp on “Winter’s Sleep”, Gökhan Tiryaki. It is about guys stuck on a freighter whose company goes bankrupt. Power dynamics play out.
Sydney: Have there been Oscar nominated films in Sundance (Aside from “Whiplash” and “Boyhood”)?
John: Yes, “Man on Wire” was not last year but it was foreign. “Ida” was in Spotlight last year and maybe Sundance increased its visibility. Three others were in Sundance last year:
“To Kill a Man” is Chile’s submission, “Difret” which won the Audience Award is Ethiopia’s submission this year and “Liar’s Dice” from India was in World Competition last year. It is a very artful film. We knew it would do well with the critics, but it did extremely well with the audience too. A couple of films in Spotlight will probably be nominated next year. Watch for them.
Sydney : We haven’t even discussed the World documentaries.
John : Are there any that stand out for you?
Sydney: Yes, “Chuck Norris vs. Communism”, from U.K., Romania and Germany. Chuck Norris?
John: How interesting it is that something like Chuck Norris means something very different to others. It is a sign of cultural differences between us. Chuck Norris shows how independent films built a community of counter culture against an authoritarian government.
Sydney: I also notice that there are six docs from the U.K. Out of 12 films.
John: Yes we noticed and discussed that. U.K. really supports documentary filmmaking. Great work is coming out of the U.K. And many of the films are about different countries, so it doesn’t fit so simply into a U.K. pigeon hole.
Sydney : Yes I see “Chuck Norris” is about Romania, “Dreamcatcher” is about teenage prostitution, “How to Change the World” is about Greenpeace, “Listen to Me Marlon” is about a famous U.S. actor, “The Russian Woodpecker” is about a Ukrainian survivor of Chernobyl.
Thank you John for your insights. I think we have a lot to look at here. Thank you for taking this time to talk with me. See you at Sundance!
For a full list thus far of Sundance films, see below.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Advantageous / U.S.A. (Director: Jennifer Phang, Screenwriters: Jacqueline Kim, Jennifer Phang) — In a near-future city where soaring opulence overshadows economic hardship, Gwen and her daughter, Jules, do all they can to hold on to their joy, despite the instability surfacing in their world. Cast: Jacqueline Kim, James Urbaniak, Freya Adams, Ken Jeong, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Kim.
The Bronze / U.S.A. (Director: Bryan Buckley, Screenwriters: Melissa Rauch, Winston Rauch) — In 2004, Hope Ann Greggory became an American hero after winning the bronze medal for the women's gymnastics team. Today, she's still living in her small hometown, washed-up and embittered. Stuck in the past, Hope must reassess her life when a promising young gymnast threatens her local celebrity status.Cast: Melissa Rauch, Gary Cole, Thomas Middleditch, Sebastian Stan, Haley Lu Richardson, Cecily Strong. Day One Film
The D Train / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Jarrad Paul, Andrew Mogel) — With his 20th reunion looming, Dan can’t shake his high school insecurities. In a misguided mission to prove he's changed, Dan rekindles a friendship with the popular guy from his class and is left scrambling to protect more than just his reputation when a wild night takes an unexpected turn. Cast: Jack Black, James Marsden, Kathryn Hahn, Jeffrey Tambor, Mike White, Kyle Bornheimer.
The Diary of a Teenage Girl / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Marielle Heller) — Minnie Goetze is a 15-year-old aspiring comic-book artist, coming of age in the haze of the 1970s in San Francisco. Insatiably curious about the world around her, Minnie is a pretty typical teenage girl. Oh, except that she's sleeping with her mother's boyfriend. Cast: Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgård, Christopher Meloni, Kristen Wiig.
Dope / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Rick Famuyiwa) — Malcolm is carefully surviving life in a tough neighborhood in Los Angeles while juggling college applications, academic interviews, and the Sat. A chance invitation to an underground party leads him into an adventure that could allow him to go from being a geek, to being dope, to ultimately being himself. Cast: Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons, Blake Anderson, Zoë Kravitz, A$AP Rocky.
I Smile Back / U.S.A. (Director: Adam Salky, Screenwriters: Amy Koppelman, Paige Dylan) — All is not right in suburbia. Laney Brooks, a wife and mother on the edge, has stopped taking her meds, substituting recreational drugs and the wrong men. With the destruction of her family looming, Laney makes a last, desperate attempt at redemption. Cast: Sarah Silverman, Josh Charles, Thomas Sadoski, Mia Barron, Terry Kinney, Chris Sarandon.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl / U.S.A. (Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, Screenwriter: Jesse Andrews) — Greg is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films with Earl, his only friend. But both his anonymity and friendship threaten to unravel when his mother forces him to befriend a classmate with leukemia. Cast: Thomas Mann, Rj Cyler, Olivia Cooke, Nick Offerman, Connie Britton, Molly Shannon.
The Overnight / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Patrick Brice) — Alex, Emily, and their son, Rj, are new to Los Angeles. A chance meeting at the park introduces them to the mysterious Kurt, Charlotte, and Max. A family "playdate" becomes increasingly interesting as the night goes on. Cast: Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling, Jason Schwartzman, Judith Godrèche.
People, Places, Things / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: James C. Strouse) — Will Henry is a newly single graphic novelist balancing being a parent to his young twin daughters and teaching a classroom full of college students, all the while trying to navigate the rich complexities of new love and letting go of the woman who left him. Cast: Jemaine Clement, Regina Hall, Stephanie Allynne, Jessica Williams, Gia Gadsby, Aundrea Gadsby.
Results / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski) — Two mismatched personal trainers' lives are upended by the actions of a new, wealthy client. Cast: Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders, Kevin Corrigan, Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Michael Hall, Brooklyn Decker.
Songs My Brothers Taught Me / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Chloé Zhao) — This complex portrait of modern-day life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation explores the bond between a brother and his younger sister, who find themselves on separate paths to rediscovering the meaning of home. Cast: John Reddy, Jashaun St. John, Irene Bedard, Taysha Fuller, Travis Lone Hill, Eléonore Hendricks.
The Stanford Prison Experiment / U.S.A. (Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Screenwriter: Tim Talbott) — This film is based on the actual events that took place in 1971 when Stanford professor Dr. Philip Zimbardo created what became one of the most shocking and famous social experiments of all time. Cast: Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller, Michael Angarano, Tye Sheridan, Johnny Simmons, Olivia Thirlby.
Stockholm, Pennsylvania / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Nikole Beckwith) — A young woman is returned home to her biological parents after living with her abductor for 17 years. Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Cynthia Nixon, Jason Isaacs, David Warshofsky.
Unexpected / U.S.A. (Director: Kris Swanberg, Screenwriters: Kris Swanberg, Megan Mercier) — When Samantha Abbott begins her final semester teaching science at a Chicago high school, she faces some unexpected news: she's pregnant. Soon after, Samantha learns that one of her favorite students, Jasmine, has landed in a similar situation. Unexpected follows the two women as they embark on an unlikely friendship. Cast: Cobie Smulders, Anders Holm, Gail Bean, Elizabeth McGovern.
The Witch / U.S.A., Canada (Director and screenwriter: Robert Eggers) — New England in the 1630s: William and Katherine lead a devout Christian life with five children, homesteading on the edge of an impassable wilderness. When their newborn son vanishes and crops fail, the family turns on one another. Beyond their worst fears, a supernatural evil lurks in the nearby wood. Cast: Anya Taylor Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Lucas Dawson, Ellie Grainger.
Z for Zachariah / U.S.A. (Director: Craig Zobel, Screenwriter: Nissar Modi) — In a post-apocalyptic world, a young woman who believes she is the last human on Earth meets a dying scientist searching for survivors. Their relationship becomes tenuous when another survivor appears. As the two men compete for the woman's affection, their primal urges begin to reveal their true nature. Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Margot Robbie, Chris Pine.
U.S. Documentary Competition
Sixteen world-premiere American documentaries that illuminate the ideas, people, and events that shape the present day.
3½ Minutes / U.S.A. (Director: Marc Silver) — On November 23, 2012, unarmed 17-year-old Jordan Russell Davis was shot at a Jacksonville gas station by Michael David Dunn. 3½ Minutes explores the aftermath of Jordan's tragic death, the latent and often unseen effects of racism, and the contradictions of the American criminal justice system.
Being Evel / U.S.A. (Director: Daniel Junge) — An unprecedented, candid portrait of American icon Robert "Evel" Knievel and his legacy.
Best of Enemies / U.S.A. (Directors: Morgan Neville, Robert Gordon) — Best of Enemies is a behind-the-scenes account of the explosive 1968 televised debates between the liberal Gore Vidal and the conservative William F. Buckley Jr., and their rancorous disagreements about politics, God, and sex.
Call Me Lucky / U.S.A. (Director: Bobcat Goldthwait) — Barry Crimmins was a volatile but brilliant bar comic who became an honored peace activist and influential political satirist. Famous comedians and others build a picture of a man who underwent an incredible transformation.
Cartel Land / U.S.A., Mexico (Director: Matthew Heineman) — In this classic Western set in the 21st century, vigilantes on both sides of the border fight the vicious Mexican drug cartels. With unprecedented access, this character-driven film provokes deep questions about lawlessness, the breakdown of order, and whether citizens should fight violence with violence.
City of Gold / U.S.A. (Director: Laura Gabbert) — Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Jonathan Gold casts his light upon a vibrant and growing cultural movement in which he plays the dual roles of high-low priest and culinary geographer of his beloved Los Angeles.
Finders Keepers / U.S.A. (Directors: Bryan Carberry, Clay Tweel) — Recovering addict and amputee John Wood finds himself in a stranger-than-fiction battle to reclaim his mummified leg from Southern entrepreneur Shannon Whisnant, who found it in a grill he bought at an auction and believes it to therefore be his rightful property.
Hot Girls Wanted / U.S.A. (Directors: Jill Bauer, Ronna Gradus) — Hot Girls Wanted is a first-ever look at the realities inside the world of the amateur porn industry and the steady stream of 18- and 19-year-old girls entering into it.
How to Dance in Ohio / U.S.A. (Director: Alexandra Shiva) — In Columbus, Ohio, a group of teenagers and young adults on the autism spectrum prepare for an iconic American rite of passage — a spring formal. They spend 12 weeks practicing their social skills at a local nightclub in preparation for the dance.
Larry Kramer in Love and Anger / U.S.A. (Director: Jean Carlomusto) — Author, activist, and playwright Larry Kramer is one of the most important and controversial figures in contemporary gay America, a political firebrand who gave voice to the outrage and grief that inspired gay men and lesbians to fight for their lives. At 78, this complicated man still commands our attention.
Meru / U.S.A. (Directors: Jimmy Chin, E. Chai Vasarhelyi) — Three elite mountain climbers sacrifice everything but their friendship as they struggle through heartbreaking loss and nature’s harshest elements to attempt the never-before-completed Shark’s Fin on Mount Meru, the most coveted first ascent in the dangerous game of Himalayan big wall climbing.
Racing Extinction / U.S.A. (Director: Louie Psihoyos) — Academy Award-winner Louie Psihoyos (The Cove) assembles a unique team to show the world never-before-seen images that expose issues surrounding endangered species and mass extinction. Whether infiltrating notorious black markets or exploring humans' effect on the environment, Racing Extinction will change the way you see the world.
(T)Error / U.S.A. (Directors: Lyric R. Cabral, David Felix Sutcliffe) — (T)Error is the first film to document on camera a covert counterterrorism sting as it unfolds. Through the perspective of *******, a 63-year-old Black revolutionary turned FBI informant, viewers are given an unprecedented glimpse of the government’s counterterrorism tactics, and the murky justifications behind them.
Welcome to Leith / U.S.A. (Directors: Michael Beach Nichols, Christopher K. Walker) — A white supremacist attempts to take over a small town in North Dakota.
Western / U.S.A., Mexico (Directors: Bill Ross, Turner Ross) — For generations, all that distinguished Eagle Pass, Texas, from Piedras Negras, Mexico, was the Rio Grande. But when darkness descends upon these harmonious border towns, a cowboy and lawman face a new reality that threatens their way of life. Western portrays timeless American figures in the grip of unforgiving change.
The Wolfpack / U.S.A. (Director: Crystal Moselle) — Six bright teenage brothers have spent their entire lives locked away from society in a Manhattan housing project. All they know of the outside is gleaned from the movies they watch obsessively (and recreate meticulously). Yet as adolescence looms, they dream of escape, ever more urgently, into the beckoning world.
World Cinema Dramatic Competition
Twelve films from emerging filmmaking talents around the world offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles.
Chlorine / Italy (Director: Lamberto Sanfelice, Screenwriters: Lamberto Sanfelice, Elisa Amoruso) — Jenny, 17, dreams of becoming a synchronized swimmer. Family events turn her life upside down and she is forced move to a remote area to look after her ill father and younger brother. It won't be long before Jenny starts pursuing her dreams again. Cast: Sara Serraiocco, Ivan Franek, Giorgio Colangeli, Anatol Sassi, Piera Degli Esposti, Andrea Vergoni. World Premiere
Chorus / Canada (Director and screenwriter: François Delisle) — A separated couple meet again after 10 years when the body of their missing son is found. Amid the guilt of losing a loved one, they hesitantly move toward affirmation of life, acceptance of death, and even the possibility of reconciliation. Cast: Sébastien Ricard, Fanny Mallette, Pierre Curzi, Genevieve Bujold. World Premiere
Glassland / Ireland (Director and screenwriter: Gerard Barrett) — In a desperate attempt to reunite his broken family, a young taxi driver becomes entangled in the criminal underworld. Cast: Jack Reynor, Toni Collette, Will Poulter, Michael Smiley. International Premiere
Homesick / Norway (Director: Anne Sewitsky, Screenwriters: Ragnhild Tronvoll, Anne Sewitsky) — When Charlotte, 27, meets her brother Henrik, 35, for the first time, two people who don't know what a normal family is begin an encounter without boundaries. How does sibling love manifest itself if you have never experienced it before?Cast: Ine Marie Wilmann, Simon J. Berger, Anneke von der Lippe, Silje Storstein, Oddgeir Thune, Kari Onstad. World Premiere. Isa: TrustNordisk
Ivy / Turkey (Director and screenwriter: Tolga Karaçelik) — Sarmasik is sailing to Egypt when the ship's owner goes bankrupt. The crew learns there is a lien on the ship, and key crew members must stay on board. Ivy is the story of these six men trapped on the ship for days. Cast: Nadir Sarıbacak, Özgür Emre Yıldırım, Hakan Karsak, Kadir Çermik, Osman Alkaş, Seyithan Özdemiroğlu. World Premiere
Partisan / Australia (Director: Ariel Kleiman, Screenwriters: Ariel Kleiman, Sarah Cyngler) — Alexander is like any other kid: playful, curious and naive. He is also a trained assassin. Raised in a hidden paradise, Alexander has grown up seeing the world filtered through his father, Gregori. As Alexander begins to think for himself, creeping fears take shape, and Gregori's idyllic world unravels. Cast: Vincent Cassel, Jeremy Chabriel, Florence Mezzara. World Premiere
Princess / Israel (Director and screenwriter: Tali Shalom Ezer) — While her mother is away from home, 12-year-old Adar’s role-playing games with her stepfather move into dangerous territory. Seeking an escape, Adar finds Alan, an ethereal boy that accompanies her on a dark journey between reality and fantasy. Cast: Keren Mor, Shira Haas, Ori Pfeffer, Adar Zohar Hanetz. International Premiere
The Second Mother / Brazil (Director and screenwriter: Anna Muylaert) — Having left her daughter, Jessica, to be raised by relatives in the north of Brazil, Val works as a loving nanny in São Paulo. When Jessica arrives for a visit 13 years later, she confronts her mother's slave-like attitude and everyone in the house is affected by her unexpected behavior. Cast: Regina Casé, Michel Joelsas, Camila Márdila, Karine Teles, Lourenço Mutarelli. World Premiere
Slow West / New Zealand (Director: John Maclean, Screenwriters: John Maclean, Michael Lesslie) — Set at the end of the nineteenth century, 16-year-old Jay Cavendish journeys across the American frontier in search of the woman he loves. He is joined by Silas, a mysterious traveler, and hotly pursued by an outlaw along the way. Cast: Michael Fassbender, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Rory McCann, Ben Mendelsohn, Brooke Williams, Caren Pistorius. World Premiere
Strangerland / Australia, Ireland (Director: Kim Farrant, Screenwriters: Fiona Seres, Michael Kinirons) — When Catherine and Matthew Parker's two teenage kids disappear into the remote Australian desert, the couple's relationship is pushed to the brink as they confront the mystery of their children's fate. Cast: Nicole Kidman, Joseph Fiennes, Hugo Weaving, Lisa Flanagan, Meyne Wyatt, Maddison Brown. World Premiere
The Summer of Sangaile / Lithuania, France, Holland (Director and screenwriter: Alanté Kavaïté) — Seventeen-year-old Sangaile is fascinated by stunt planes. She meets a girl her age at the summer aeronautical show, nearby her parents’ lakeside villa. Sangaile allows Auste to discover her most intimate secret and in the process finds in her teenage love, the only person that truly encourages her to fly. Cast: Julija Steponaitytė, Aistė Diržiūtė. World Premiere. Isa: Films Distribution.
Umrika / India (Director and screenwriter: Prashant Nair) — When a young village boy discovers that his brother, long believed to be in America, has actually gone missing, he begins to invent letters on his behalf to save their mother from heartbreak, all the while searching for him. Cast: Suraj Sharma, Tony Revolori, Smita Tambe, Adil Hussain, Rajesh Tailang, Prateik Babbar. World Premiere
World Cinema Documentary Competition
Twelve documentaries by some of the most courageous and extraordinary international filmmakers working today.
The Amina Profile / Canada (Director: Sophie Deraspe) — During the Arab revolution, a love story between two women — a Canadian and a Syrian American — turns into an international sociopolitical thriller spotlighting media excesses and the thin line between truth and falsehood on the Internet. World Premiere
Censored Voices / Israel, Germany (Director: Mor Loushy) — One week after the 1967 Six-Day War, renowned author Amos Oz and editor Avraham Shapira recorded intimate conversations with soldiers returning from the battlefield. The Israeli army censored the recordings, allowing only a fragment of the conversations to be published. Censored Voices reveals these recordings for the first time. World Premiere
The Chinese Mayor / China (Director: Hao Zhou) — Mayor Geng Yanbo is determined to transform the coal-mining center of Datong, in China’s Shanxi province, into a tourism haven showcasing clean energy. In order to achieve that, however, he has to relocate 500,000 residences to make way for the restoration of the ancient city. World Premiere
Chuck Norris vs Communism / United Kingdom, Romania, Germany (Director: Ilinca Calugareanu) — In 1980s Romania, thousands of Western films smashed through the Iron Curtain, opening a window to the free world for those who dared to look. A black market VHS racketeer and courageous female translator brought the magic of film to the masses and sowed the seeds of a revolution. World Premiere. Producers Rep: UTA
Dark Horse / United Kingdom (Director: Louise Osmond) — Dark Horse is the inspirational true story of a group of friends from a workingman's club who decide to take on the elite "sport of kings" and breed themselves a racehorse. World Premiere
Dreamcatcher / United Kingdom (Director: Kim Longinotto) — Dreamcatcher takes us into a hidden world seen through the eyes of one of its survivors, Brenda Myers-Powell. A former teenage prostitute, Brenda defied the odds to become a powerful advocate for change in her community. With warmth and humor, Brenda gives hope to those who have none. World Premiere
How to Change the World / United Kingdom, Canada (Director: Jerry Rothwell) — In 1971, a group of friends sails into a nuclear test zone, and their protest captures the world’s imagination. Using rare, archival footage that brings their extraordinary world to life, How to Change the World is the story of the pioneers who founded Greenpeace and defined the modern green movement. World Premiere. Day One Film
Listen to Me Marlon / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Stevan Riley, Co-writer: Peter Ettedgui) — With exclusive access to previously unheard audio archives, this is the definitive Marlon Brando cinema documentary. Charting his exceptional career and extraordinary life away from the stage and screen, the film fully explores the complexities of the man by telling the story uniquely in Marlon’s own voice. World Premiere
Pervert Park / Sweden, Denmark (Directors: Frida Barkfors, Lasse Barkfors) — Pervert Park follows the everyday lives of sex offenders in a Florida trailer park as they struggle to reintegrate into society, and try to understand who they are and how to break the cycle of sex crimes being committed. International Premiere
The Russian Woodpecker / United Kingdom (Director: Chad Gracia) — A Ukrainian victim of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster discovers a dark secret and must decide whether to risk his life by revealing it, amid growing clouds of revolution and war. World Premiere
Sembene! / U.S.A., Senegal (Directors: Samba Gadjigo, Jason Silverman) — In 1952, Ousmane Sembene, a Senegalese dockworker and fifth-grade dropout, began dreaming an impossible dream: to become the storyteller for a new Africa. This true story celebrates how the “father of African cinema,” against enormous odds, fought a monumental, 50-year-long battle to give Africans a voice. World Premiere
The Visit / Denmark, Austria, Ireland, Finland, Norway (Director: Michael Madsen) — “This film documents an event that has never taken place…” With unprecedented access to the United Nations' Office for Outer Space Affairs, leading space scientists and space agencies, The Visit explores humans' first encounter with alien intelligent life and thereby humanity itself. "Our scenario begins with the arrival. Your arrival." World Premiere
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Pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling populate this program. Digital technology paired with unfettered creativity promises that the films in this section will shape a “greater” next wave in American cinema. Presented by Adobe.
Bob and the Trees / U.S.A., France (Director: Diego Ongaro, Screenwriters: Diego Ongaro, Courtney Maum, Sasha Statman-Weil) — Bob, a 50-year-old logger in rural Massachusetts with a soft spot for golf and gangsta rap, is struggling to make ends meet in a changed economy. When his beloved cow is wounded and a job goes awry, Bob begins to heed the instincts of his ever-darkening self. Cast: Bob Tarasuk, Matt Gallagher, Polly MacIntyre, Winthrop Barrett, Nathaniel Gregory. World Premiere
Christmas, Again / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Charles Poekel) — A heartbroken Christmas tree salesman returns to New York, hoping to put the past year behind him. He spends the season living in a trailer and working the night shift, until a mysterious woman and some colorful customers rescue him from self-destruction. Cast: Kentucker Audley, Hannah Gross, Jason Shelton, Oona Roche. North American Premiere
Cronies / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael Larnell) — Twenty-two-year-old Louis doesn’t know whether his childhood friendship with Jack will last beyond today. Cast: George Sample III, Zurich Buckner, Brian Kowalski. World Premiere
Entertainment / U.S.A. (Director: Rick Alverson, Screenwriters: Rick Alverson, Gregg Turkington, Tim Heidecker) — En route to meeting with his estranged daughter, in an attempt to revive his dwindling career, a broken, aging comedian plays a string of dead-end shows in the Mojave Desert. Cast: Gregg Turkington, John C. Reilly, Tye Sheridan, Michael Cera, Amy Seimetz, Lotte Verbeek. World Premiere
H. / U.S.A., Argentina (Directors and screenwriters: Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia) — Two women, each named Helen, find their lives spinning out of control after a meteor allegedly explodes over their city of Troy, New York. Cast: Robin Bartlett, Rebecca Dayan, Will Janowitz, Julian Gamble, Roger Robinson. World Premiere
James White / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Josh Mond) — A young New Yorker struggles to take control of his reckless, self-destructive behavior in the face of momentous family challenges. Cast: Chris Abbott, Cynthia Nixon, Scott Mescudi, Makenzie Leigh, David Call. World Premiere
Nasty Baby / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Sebastian Silva) — A gay couple try to have a baby with the help of their best friend, Polly. The trio navigates the idea of creating life while confronted by unexpected harassment from a neighborhood man called The Bishop. As their clashes grow increasingly aggressive, odds are someone is getting hurt. Cast: Sebastian Silva, Tunde Adebimpe, Kristin Wiig, Reg E. Cathey, Mark Margolis, Denis O'Hare. World Premiere
The Strongest Man / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kenny Riches) — An anxiety-ridden Cuban man who fancies himself the strongest man in the world attempts to recover his most prized possession, a stolen bicycle. On his quest, he finds and loses much more. Cast: Robert Lorie, Paul Chamberlain, Ashly Burch, Patrick Fugit, Lisa Banes. World Premiere
" Take Me To The River " / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Matt Sobel) — A naive California teen plans to remain above the fray at his Nebraskan family reunion, but a strange encounter places him at the center of a long-buried family secret.Cast: Logan Miller, Robin Weigert, Josh Hamilton, Richard Schiff, Ursula Parker, Azura Skye. World Premiere. Producer rep: Cinetic Media
Tangerine / U.S.A. (Director: Sean Baker, Screenwriters: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch) — A working girl tears through Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart. Cast: Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian, Mickey O'Hagan, Alla Tumanyan, James Ransone. World Premiere
Spotlight
Regardless of where these films have played throughout the world, the Spotlight program is a tribute to the cinema we love.
6 Desires: Dh Lawrence and Sardinia / United Kingdom, Italy (Director: Mark Cousins) — In winter 1921, Dh Lawrence and his wife journeyed to Sardinia, and he chronicled their experiences in Sea and Sardinia. Now, Mark Cousins retraces Lawrence’s footsteps. The film is conceived partly as a letter to Lawrence — or “Bert” — a detail that’s typical of the film’s inviting sense of conversational intimacy.International Premiere
'71 / United Kingdom (Director: Yann Demange, Screenwriter: Gregory Burke) — ‘71 takes place over a single night in the life of a young British soldier accidentally abandoned by his unit following a riot on the streets of Belfast in 1971. Unable to tell friend from foe, he must survive the night alone and find his way to safety. Cast: Jack O'Connell, Paul Anderson, Richard Dormer, Sean Harris, Barry Keoghan, Martin McCann.
99 Homes / U.S.A. (Director: Ramin Bahrani, Screenwriters: Ramin Bahrani, Amir Naderi, Bahareh Azimi) — A father struggles to get back the home that his family was evicted from by working for the greedy real-estate broker who's the source of his frustration. Cast: Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, Laura Dern, Tim Guinee, Cullen Moss, J.D. Evermore.
Aloft / Spain, France, Canada (Director and screenwriter: Claudia Llosa) — Aloft tells the story of a struggling mother, Nana, and her evolution to becoming a renowned healer. When a young artist tracks down Nana's son 20 years after she abandoned him, she sets in motion an encounter between the two that will bring the meaning of their lives into question. Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Cillian Murphy, Mélanie Laurent, William Shimell. North American Premiere
Eden / France (Director: Mia Hansen-løve, Screenwriters: Mia Hansen-løve, Sven Hansen-løve) — Mia Hansen-løve's electronic-dance-music epic follows the rise and fall of a DJ (based on her brother, Sven, a contemporary of Daft Punk) who gets into the rave scene in 1994 and spends the next 20 years navigating the French club scene. Cast: Félix de Givry, Pauline Etienne, Greta Gerwig, Brady Corbet, Arsinee Khanjian, Vincent Macaigne.
Girlhood / France (Director and screenwriter: Céline Sciamma) — Oppressed by her family, dead-end school prospects, and the boys law in the neighborhood, Marieme starts a new life after meeting a group of free-spirited girls. She changes her name and dress, and quits school to be accepted in the gang, hoping to find a way to freedom. Cast: Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh, Mariétou Touré, Idrissa Diabaté, Simina Soumaré.
The Tribe / Ukraine (Director and screenwriter: Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy) — Set at a Ukrainian boarding school for the deaf, the film’s narrative unfolds purely through sign language without the need for employing subtitles or voiceover, resulting in a unique, never-before-seen cinematic experience that engages the audience on a new level. Cast: Grigoriy Fesenko, Yana Novikova, Rosa Babiy, Alexander Dsiadevich.
White God / Hungary (Director: Kornél Mundruczó, Screenwriters: Kata Wéber, Kornél Mundruczó, Viktória Petrányi) — When young Lili is forced to give up her beloved dog, Hagen, because its mixed-breed heritage is deemed “unfit” by The State, she and the dog begin a dangerous journey back toward each other. Cast: Zsófia Psotta, Sandor Zsótér, Szabolcs Thuróczy, Lili Monori, László Gálffi, Lili Horváth. U.S. Premiere
Wild Tales / Argentina, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Damián Szifrón) — Inequality, injustice, and the demands of the world cause stress and depression for many people. Some of them, however, explode. This is a movie about those people. Vulnerable in the face of an unpredictable reality, the characters of Wild Tales cross the thin line dividing civilization and barbarism. Cast: Ricardo Darín, Julieta Zyberberg, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Darío Grandinetti, Erica Rivas, Oscar Martínez.
Park City At Midnight
From horror flicks to comedies to works that defy any genre, these unruly films will keep you edge-seated and wide awake.
Cop Car / U.S.A. (Director: Jon Watts, Screenwriters: Christopher D. Ford, Jon Watts) — Two 10-year-old boys steal an abandoned cop car. Cast: Kevin Bacon, James Freedson-Jackson, Hays Wellford, Shea Whigham, Camryn Manheim. World Premiere
The Hallow / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Corin Hardy, Screenwriters: Corin Hardy, Felipe Marino) — When a London-based conservationist is sent to Ireland to survey an area of ancient forest believed by the superstitious locals to be hallowed ground, he unwittingly disturbs a horde of terrifying beings and must fight to protect his family. Cast: Joseph Mawle, Bojana Novakovic, Michael McElhatton, Michael Smiley. World Premiere
Hellions / Canada (Director: Bruce McDonald, Screenwriter: Pascal Trottier) — Teenage Dora Vogel must survive a Halloween night from hell when malevolent trick-or-treaters come knocking at her door. Cast: Chloe Rose, Robert Patrick, Rossif Sutherland, Rachel Wilson, Peter DaCunha, Luke Bilyk. World Premiere
It Follows / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Robert Mitchell) — After a strange sexual encounter, a teenager finds herself haunted by nightmarish visions and the inescapable sense that something is after her. Cast: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe.
Knock Knock / U.S.A. (Director: Eli Roth, Screenwriters: Eli Roth, Nicolas Lopez, Guillermo Amoedo) — Two beautiful young girls walk into a married man's life and turn a wild fantasy into his worst nightmare. Cast: Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo, Ana De Armas, Aaron Burns, Ignacia Allamand, Colleen Camp. World Premiere
The Nightmare / U.S.A. (Director: Rodney Ascher) — A documentary-horror film exploring the phenomenon of sleep paralysis through the eyes of eight people. They (and a surprisingly large number of others) often find themselves trapped between the sleeping and awake realms, unable to move but aware of their surroundings while subject to disturbing sights and sounds. World Premiere
Reversal / U.S.A. (Director: J.M Cravioto, Screenwriters: Rock Shaink, Keith Kjornes) — A gritty psychological thriller about a young woman chained in a basement of a sexual predator and manages to escape. However, right when she has a chance for freedom, she unravels a hard truth and decides to turn the tables on her captor. Cast: Tina Ivlev, Richard Tyson, Bianca Malinowski. World Premiere
Turbo Kid / Canada, New Zealand (Directors: Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell, Screenwriters: Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell) — In a post-apocalyptic future, The Kid, an orphaned outcast, meets a mysterious girl. They become friends until Zeus, the sadistic leader of the Wasteland, kidnaps her. The Kid must face his fears, and journey to rid the Wasteland of evil and save the girl. Cast: Munro Chambers, Laurence Leboeuf, Michael Ironside, Aaron Jeffery, Edwin Wright. World Premiere
New Frontier Films
The Forbidden Room / Canada (Directors: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Screenwriters: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Robert Kotyk) — A submarine crew, a feared pack of forest bandits, a famous surgeon, and a battalion of child soldiers all get more than they bargained for as they wend their way toward progressive ideas on life and love. Cast: Geraldine Chaplin, Caroline Dhavernas, Roy Dupuis, Udo Kier, Charlotte Rampling, Karine Vanasse. World Premiere
Liveforever / Colombia, Mexico (Director: Carlos Moreno, Screenwriters: Alberto Ferreras, Alonso Torres, Carlos Moreno) — Driven by the music and dancing she finds along the way, a teenager leaves home willing to try anything her provocative and tolerant city has to offer, even if she burns out in the process. Inspired by the best-selling novel "Que viva la música" by Andres Caicedo. Cast: Paulina Davila, Alejandra Avila, Luis Arrieta, Juan Pablo Barragan, Nelson Camayo, Christian Tappan. World Premiere
The Royal Road / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jenni Olson) — This cinematic essay, a defense of remembering, offers up a primer on the Spanish colonization of California and the Mexican American War alongside intimate reflections on nostalgia, butch identity and Alfred Hitchcock'sVertigo — all against a contemplative backdrop of 16mm urban California landscapes. Cast: Jenni Olson, Tony Kushner. World Premiere
Sam Klemke's Time Machine / Australia (Director: Matthew Bate) — Sam Klemke has filmed and narrated 50 years of his life, creating a strange and intimate portrait of what it means to be human. World Premiere
Station to Station / U.S.A. (Director: Doug Aitken) — Station to Station is composed of 60 individual one-minute films featuring different artists, musicians, places, and perspectives. This revolutionary feature-length film reveals a larger narrative about modern creativity. World Premiere
Things of the Aimless Wanderer / Rwanda, United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Kivu Ruhorahoza) — A white man meets a black girl, then she disappears. The white man tries to understand what happened to her while also trying to finish a travelogue. Things of the Aimless Wanderer is a film about the sensitive topic of relations between “locals” and Westerners, about paranoia, mistrust, and misunderstandings. Cast: Justin Mullikin, Grace Nikuze, Ramadhan Bizimana, Eliane Umuhire, Wesley Ruzibiza, Matt Ray Brown. World Premiere
New Frontier Installations
1979 Revolution Game
Artists: Navid Khonsari, Vassiliki Khonsari
1979 Revolution Game presents an innovative approach to non-fiction storytelling. Designed to engage players with an immersive "on the ground" experience of the Iranian Revolution, the game integrates an emotionally impactful narrative with interactive moral choices and intuitive touchscreen gameplay while remaining true to history.
Assent
Artist: Oscar Raby
This immersive documentary uses virtual reality technology to put the user in the footsteps of Director Oscar Raby's father, who in 1973 was a 22-year-old army officer stationed in the north of Chile, on the day when the Caravan of Death came to his regiment.
Birdly
Artist: Max Rheiner
Flying is one of the oldest dreams of humankind. Birdly is an experiment to capture this dream, to simulate the experience of being a bird from a first-person perspective. This embodiment is conducted through a full-body virtual reality setup.
Dérive
Artist: François Quévillon
This interactive installation uses the audience’s body motions and positions to explore 3-D reconstructions of urban and natural spaces that are transformed according to live environmental data, including meteorological and astronomical phenomena.
Evolution of Verse
Artist: Chris Milk
Chris Milk, working with visual effects powerhouse Digital Domain and virtual reality production company Vrse.works, has created this photo-realistic CGI-rendered 3-D virtual reality film that takes the viewer on a journey from beginning to new beginning.
Kaiju Fury!
Artist: Ian Hunter
A dark energy experiment leads to a devastating attack by monstrous Kaiju, and you are standing at ground zero — all in 360-degree, stereoscopic 3-D cinematic virtual reality. You will "be there" as the beasts lay waste to a crumbling city and humanity makes its last stand. Cast: Susie Abromeit, Bill Lippincott, Daniel Martin, Brian Dodge, Vincient Chiantelli.
Paradise
Artist: Pleix
Paradise is certainly not paradisiacal if you look at it through our eyes. But neither is it totally devoid of humor, melancholy and absurdity. Perhaps it is first and foremost life as it is, and then a touch exaggerated in the digital overdrive.
Perspective; Chapter I: The Party
Artists: Rose Troche, Morris May
A young college woman attends a party with the intention of shedding her "shy girl" persona. At the same party, a young man is after a similar reinvention. They meet, drink, and misinterpreted signals turn into things that cannot be undone. Virtual reality simulators let viewers experience both characters. Cast: Tabitha Morella, Caleb Thomas, Zachary Zagoria, Anna Grace Barlow.
Possibilia
Artists: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
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- 12/6/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
99 Homes
Following yesterday’s announcement of the 2015 Sundance Film Festival’s In-Competition films, the festival has released its lineup of Spotlight, Park City At Midnight and New Frontier Films.
Among the lineup is 99 Homes, Ramin Bahrani’s Middle-America drama on foreclosures starring Michael Shannon and Andrew Garfield. The film premiered at Toronto and Venice earlier this year and will finally get a release early in 2015. Joining it are the British Independent Film Award-nominated ’71, and the much hyped Eden from Mia Hansen-Løve and Girlhood from Céline Sciamma.
On the At Midnight circuit, the hot ticket is Knock Knock from Director Eli Roth and starring Keanu Reeves in what Deadline describes as a “psychosexual home invasion pic”.
Also included in this announcement is a lineup of New Frontier art installations that will be visible across Park City, including one called Way to Go by artist Vincent Morisset, a big collaborator with Arcade Fire.
Following yesterday’s announcement of the 2015 Sundance Film Festival’s In-Competition films, the festival has released its lineup of Spotlight, Park City At Midnight and New Frontier Films.
Among the lineup is 99 Homes, Ramin Bahrani’s Middle-America drama on foreclosures starring Michael Shannon and Andrew Garfield. The film premiered at Toronto and Venice earlier this year and will finally get a release early in 2015. Joining it are the British Independent Film Award-nominated ’71, and the much hyped Eden from Mia Hansen-Løve and Girlhood from Céline Sciamma.
On the At Midnight circuit, the hot ticket is Knock Knock from Director Eli Roth and starring Keanu Reeves in what Deadline describes as a “psychosexual home invasion pic”.
Also included in this announcement is a lineup of New Frontier art installations that will be visible across Park City, including one called Way to Go by artist Vincent Morisset, a big collaborator with Arcade Fire.
- 12/5/2014
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
It’s less than two months until the streets and theaters of Park City are going to be packed with filmmakers, film fans and buyers attending the 2015 Sundance Film Festival from January 22 to February 1. Yesterday the Robert Redford-founded fest announced its U.S. and World Cinema dramatic and documentary competition selections along with the pics in its Next section. Today, with some Andrew Garfield, Keanu Reeves, Greta Gerwig, Kevin Bacon and Charlotte Rampling starrers among them, Sundance revealed its non-competitive Spotlight and Park City At Midnight slates along with the films and installations of the New Frontier category - see the full list below.
Like yesterday’s slate announcements there are some big, big screen names appearing at Sundance this year. Garfield, who has that other gig as certain webslinger, is in the Ramin Bahrani-directed 99 Homes with Michael Shannon and Laura Dern. Having played at Tiff and Venice,...
Like yesterday’s slate announcements there are some big, big screen names appearing at Sundance this year. Garfield, who has that other gig as certain webslinger, is in the Ramin Bahrani-directed 99 Homes with Michael Shannon and Laura Dern. Having played at Tiff and Venice,...
- 12/4/2014
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline
One day after announcing the World and Us Drama and Documentary Competition entries for both, Sundance revealed the films in the Spotlight and Park City at Midnight programs, as well as the films and art installations that will be part of the New Frontiers program at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. Drew McWeeny will be handling the Park City at Midnight announcement, just as he'll be handling our coverage of the Midnight slate from Sundance. The Spotlight program is set aside for films that may have played in festivals around the world or even domestically, but have support amidst the Sundance selectors. The high profile entries in the Spotlight program include Kornél Mundruczó's "White God," which won the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes last summer. It's the story of a girl who has to give up her mixed-breed dog and the journey girl and dog take to be reunited.
- 12/4/2014
- by Daniel Fienberg
- Hitfix
The 2015 selection includes a strong Latin American flavour, led by Eli Roth’s Chilewood psychosexual Park City At Midnight entry Knock Knock starring Keanu Reeves and Lorenza Izzo.
Mexico-based Dark Factory’s thriller Reversal also premieres in the section, while the New Frontier film slate includes Carlos Moreno’s Liveforever from Colombia-Mexico.
Spotlight — Sundance programmers’ tribute to their favourite films of 2014 — includes Argentinean box office smash and Academy Awards submission Wild Tales (pictured) from Damián Szifrón.
Among the Midnight films are Rodney Ascher’s sleep paralysis documentary The Nightmare, Bruce McDonald’s Hellions from Canada, Cop Car from the Us starring Kevin Bacon and Irish-uk forest-set The Hallow from Corin Hardy.
Spotlight selections also feature Yann Demange’s feted UK thriller ‘71, Kornél Mundruczó’s Hungarian drama White God and Mia Hansen-Løve’s Eden from France. Canadian auteur Guy Maddin is back withThe Forbidden Room, which he co-directed with Evan Johnson, in New Frontier...
Mexico-based Dark Factory’s thriller Reversal also premieres in the section, while the New Frontier film slate includes Carlos Moreno’s Liveforever from Colombia-Mexico.
Spotlight — Sundance programmers’ tribute to their favourite films of 2014 — includes Argentinean box office smash and Academy Awards submission Wild Tales (pictured) from Damián Szifrón.
Among the Midnight films are Rodney Ascher’s sleep paralysis documentary The Nightmare, Bruce McDonald’s Hellions from Canada, Cop Car from the Us starring Kevin Bacon and Irish-uk forest-set The Hallow from Corin Hardy.
Spotlight selections also feature Yann Demange’s feted UK thriller ‘71, Kornél Mundruczó’s Hungarian drama White God and Mia Hansen-Løve’s Eden from France. Canadian auteur Guy Maddin is back withThe Forbidden Room, which he co-directed with Evan Johnson, in New Frontier...
- 12/4/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
During these past four years I have been asked to provide the curation for this initiative, on behalf of the College Of Motion Picture Arts, in support of our Student Veterans the annual featured motion picture presentation. This initiative provides a platform, utilizing cinema to engage conversation surrounding issues facing our student veterans returning from their service. The Collegiate Veterans Association leaders created the concept for this festival. As the Executive Director of the Florida State University College of Motion Picture ArtsTorchlight Program, and Faculty Executive Producer to the Fsu Svff, I have been able to merge my independent film industry background with educational opportunities at the University with the vision of expanding learning opportunities through cinema.
In year one the film selected to present was ”Hell and Back Again”, directed by Danfung Dennis, which went on to be nominated for an Oscar in 2011. Year two the Svff presented “The Invisible War”, directed by Kirby Dick, which also went on to be nominated, this time, for the Oscar in 2012. In November 2013 we presented Sebastian Junger with the Fsu Student Veteran Torchlight Award for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking for his documentary, "Which Way Is The Front Line From Here? The Life And Time of Tim Hetherington". This year Rory Kennedy with her documentary will be the recipient of our 2014 award.
The Collegiate Veterans Association at Florida State University is one of the most universally known and well-respected student veteran groups in the nation. The university, the administration, and the student body have joined together in an effort to make Florida State University one of the most veteran friendly public universities, in the nation. Inherent in this goal is our effort to raise awareness and promote veteran’s issues. The Student Veteran Film Festival is one of our primary vehicles for achieving these goals.
The Student Veteran Film Festival is an annual event at the Florida State University that highlights veteran issues on campus, in the local community, and nationally. This event has a proud tradition of elegance, prestige, and creation of intense dialogue between filmmakers, students, and veterans.
The education and awareness that this event has been able to cultivate for issues such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Military Sexual Trauma has been both significant and impactful. The inaugural event showcased the film ”Hell and Back Again” The nature of these films show that our student veterans are not afraid of engaging in difficult conversations and are serious about impacting real, meaningful, change.
This year, Florida State University students will bring filmmaker Rory Kennedy and her documentary film “Last Days in Vietnam” to the 4th Annual Student Veteran Film Festival Tuesday, Nov. 11.
The film, which captures the thrilling account of United States service members evacuating their South Vietnamese colleagues and friends during the closing days of the Vietnam War, will be followed by a discussion with Kennedy.
Kennedy, daughter of the late Sen. Robert Kennedy, is an Emmy Award-winning independent documentary filmmaker, as well as cofounder and president of Moxie Firecracker Films. Her films cover an array of issues ranging from poverty to politics to human rights and have been shown on HBO, A&E, MTV, Lifetime and PBS.
Kennedy also will receive the “Fsu Student Veteran Torchlight Award for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking” following the screening of the film. The award, which comes with a $25,000 honorarium, is presented annually to a filmmaker who illuminates issues affecting veterans returning from their service.
“Florida State is committed to becoming the most veteran-friendly university in the nation, and recognizing filmmakers who document topics related to the military is another way we raise awareness and pay tribute to our veterans,” said Interim President Garnett S. Stokes. “We are pleased to honor Rory Kennedy with this award for her enthralling story about the final days of the Vietnam War.”
The film festival is intended to raise awareness of student-veterans’ issues and bridge the gap between veterans and the community.
As executive director of the College of Motion Picture Arts' Torchlight Program, I secured the rights to this year’s film from The American Experience Films and PBS. The film will make its broadcast debut April 28, 2015 on PBS.
The Student Veteran Film Festival and its Student Veteran Torchlight Award is attracting national film industry attention, which resonates on the university’s commitment and dedication to our student veterans.
In year one the film selected to present was ”Hell and Back Again”, directed by Danfung Dennis, which went on to be nominated for an Oscar in 2011. Year two the Svff presented “The Invisible War”, directed by Kirby Dick, which also went on to be nominated, this time, for the Oscar in 2012. In November 2013 we presented Sebastian Junger with the Fsu Student Veteran Torchlight Award for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking for his documentary, "Which Way Is The Front Line From Here? The Life And Time of Tim Hetherington". This year Rory Kennedy with her documentary will be the recipient of our 2014 award.
The Collegiate Veterans Association at Florida State University is one of the most universally known and well-respected student veteran groups in the nation. The university, the administration, and the student body have joined together in an effort to make Florida State University one of the most veteran friendly public universities, in the nation. Inherent in this goal is our effort to raise awareness and promote veteran’s issues. The Student Veteran Film Festival is one of our primary vehicles for achieving these goals.
The Student Veteran Film Festival is an annual event at the Florida State University that highlights veteran issues on campus, in the local community, and nationally. This event has a proud tradition of elegance, prestige, and creation of intense dialogue between filmmakers, students, and veterans.
The education and awareness that this event has been able to cultivate for issues such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Military Sexual Trauma has been both significant and impactful. The inaugural event showcased the film ”Hell and Back Again” The nature of these films show that our student veterans are not afraid of engaging in difficult conversations and are serious about impacting real, meaningful, change.
This year, Florida State University students will bring filmmaker Rory Kennedy and her documentary film “Last Days in Vietnam” to the 4th Annual Student Veteran Film Festival Tuesday, Nov. 11.
The film, which captures the thrilling account of United States service members evacuating their South Vietnamese colleagues and friends during the closing days of the Vietnam War, will be followed by a discussion with Kennedy.
Kennedy, daughter of the late Sen. Robert Kennedy, is an Emmy Award-winning independent documentary filmmaker, as well as cofounder and president of Moxie Firecracker Films. Her films cover an array of issues ranging from poverty to politics to human rights and have been shown on HBO, A&E, MTV, Lifetime and PBS.
Kennedy also will receive the “Fsu Student Veteran Torchlight Award for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking” following the screening of the film. The award, which comes with a $25,000 honorarium, is presented annually to a filmmaker who illuminates issues affecting veterans returning from their service.
“Florida State is committed to becoming the most veteran-friendly university in the nation, and recognizing filmmakers who document topics related to the military is another way we raise awareness and pay tribute to our veterans,” said Interim President Garnett S. Stokes. “We are pleased to honor Rory Kennedy with this award for her enthralling story about the final days of the Vietnam War.”
The film festival is intended to raise awareness of student-veterans’ issues and bridge the gap between veterans and the community.
As executive director of the College of Motion Picture Arts' Torchlight Program, I secured the rights to this year’s film from The American Experience Films and PBS. The film will make its broadcast debut April 28, 2015 on PBS.
The Student Veteran Film Festival and its Student Veteran Torchlight Award is attracting national film industry attention, which resonates on the university’s commitment and dedication to our student veterans.
- 11/11/2014
- by Paul Cohen
- Sydney's Buzz
Zero Point, a meta-documentary about the virtual reality industry, is about to remove the popular practice of 3D filmmaking from theaters. Founded by Oscar-nominated director Danfung Dennis, the tech company Condition One has created the first film to be viewed with Oculus Rift, those nifty goggles made for 3D gaming. The virtual reality headset will allow the viewer to control the visuals through movement — effectively positioning the audience as a character, or even a real-time cinematographer, in the film. Condition One plans to project Zero Point on “the inside of an imaginary sphere, surrounding a viewer with an [Oculus] Rift headset,” according […]...
- 2/20/2014
- by Sarah Salovaara
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Zero Point, a meta-documentary about the virtual reality industry, is about to remove the popular practice of 3D filmmaking from theaters. Founded by Oscar-nominated director Danfung Dennis, the tech company Condition One has created the first film to be viewed with Oculus Rift, those nifty goggles made for 3D gaming. The virtual reality headset will allow the viewer to control the visuals through movement — effectively positioning the audience as a character, or even a real-time cinematographer, in the film. Condition One plans to project Zero Point on “the inside of an imaginary sphere, surrounding a viewer with an [Oculus] Rift headset,” according […]...
- 2/20/2014
- by Sarah Salovaara
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
This November 11th will be the third year of The Florida State University Student Veteran Film Festival (Svff) . For the past three years I have been asked to be the executive advisor to this initiative to provide opportunity to curate on behalf of the College Of Motion Picture Arts, and at the request of my Dean Frank Patterson and the University President, Dr. Eric Barron, in support of our Student Veterans the annual featured motion picture presentation. This initiative provides a platform, utilizing cinema to engage conversation surrounding issues facing our returning student veterans returning from their service. The Collegiate Veterans Association leaders created the concept for this festival, and I have had the honor to participate in the opportunity. As the Executive Director of the Florida State University College of Motion Picture ArtsTorchlight Program, and Executive Advisor to the Fsu Svff, I have been able to merge my independent film industry background with educational opportunities at the University with the vision of expanding learning opportunities through cinema.
In year one the film selected to present was ”Hell and Back Again”, directed by Danfung Dennis, which went on to be nominated for an Oscar in 2011. Year two the Svff presented “The Invisible War”, directed by Kirby Dick, which went on to be nominated for the Oscar in 2012. Fsu President Eric Barron created an award that year to honor Kirby Dick for his filmmaking, the Fsu Student Veteran Torchlight Award (described in the material provided). This year, the award will be presented to Sebastian Junger for his documentary, "Which Way Is The Front Line From Here? The Life And Time of Tim Hetherington".
The Collegiate Veterans Association at Florida State University is one of the most universally known and well-respected student veteran groups in the nation. The university, the administration, and the student body have joined together in an effort to make Florida State University one of the most veteran friendly public universities, in the nation. Inherent in this goal is our effort to raise awareness and promote veteran’s issues. The Student Veteran Film Festival is one of our primary vehicles for achieving these goals.
The Student Veteran Film Festival is an annual event at the Florida State University that highlights veteran issues on campus, in the local community, and nationally. This event has a proud tradition of elegance, prestige, and creation of intense dialogue between filmmakers, students, and veterans.
The education and awareness that this event has been able to cultivate for issues such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Military Sexual Trauma has been both significant and impactful. The inaugural event showcased the film ”Hell and Back Again” with the following year hosting “The Invisible War”. The nature of these films show that our student veterans are not afraid of having difficult conversations and are serious about impacting real, meaningful, change.
Third Annual Student Veteran Film Festival To Feature Award-winning Author And Film Director Sebastian Junger
Tallahassee – Florida State University students will bring award-winning author and filmmaker Sebastian Junger and his critically acclaimed documentary film “Which Way is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Times of Tim Hetherington” to the 3rd Annual Student Veteran Film Festival on Monday, Nov. 11.
A collaborative effort among the Collegiate Veterans Association , Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Association and College of Motion Picture Arts, the event will feature a discussion with Junger about the film, which traces Hetherington’s work across the world's battlefields to reveal what made him such a singular talent — and remarkable human being. The film also illuminates the incredible risks combat journalists face, at a time when they are dying with greater frequency in war zones.
“We are proud to screen this acclaimed film and host an event that facilitates discussion about what life is like in war-torn parts of the world, which Tim Hetherington captured so movingly through his images,” said Ryan Taylor, president of the Fsu Collegiate Veterans Association.
Junger is a bestselling author (“The Perfect Storm,” “War”) who, with Hetherington, co-directed “Restrepo,” an Academy Award nominated documentary about an American combat outpost in Afghanistan.
Junger will also receive the “Fsu Student Veteran Torchlight Award for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking” following the screening of the film. The award, which comes with a $25,000 honorarium, is given annually to a filmmaker who illuminates issues affecting veterans.
"As part of Florida State’s commitment to become the most veteran-friendly university in the nation, we are recognizing filmmakers who explore issues that affect military service members, veterans and their families,” said Fsu President Eric J. Barron. “I am pleased to honor Sebastian Junger with this award for his poignant tribute to Tim Hetherington."
The film festival is intended to raise awareness of student-veterans’ issues and bridge the gap between veterans and the community. Paul Cohen, director of the College of Motion Picture Arts’ Torchlight program, secured the rights to screen “Which Way is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Times of Tim Hetherington.” The film, telecast and distributed by HBO, was screened at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.
The Student Veteran Film Festival will take place:
Monday, Nov. 11
3 – 7:30 P.M.
Ruby Diamond Concert Hall
222 S. Copeland St.
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Fla.
Student Veteran Film Festival website – http://vetfilmfest.fsu.edu Svff page on the Student Veterans Center website – http://veterans.fsu.edu/Student-Veteran-Film-Festival (As mentioned, the story on this page will be replaced by the news release, once its been finalized by the Communications office.) Svff Tickets – http://tickets.fsu.edu Ruby Diamond Concert Hall - http://tickets.fsu.edu/Venue-Information/Ruby-Diamond-Concert-Hall...
In year one the film selected to present was ”Hell and Back Again”, directed by Danfung Dennis, which went on to be nominated for an Oscar in 2011. Year two the Svff presented “The Invisible War”, directed by Kirby Dick, which went on to be nominated for the Oscar in 2012. Fsu President Eric Barron created an award that year to honor Kirby Dick for his filmmaking, the Fsu Student Veteran Torchlight Award (described in the material provided). This year, the award will be presented to Sebastian Junger for his documentary, "Which Way Is The Front Line From Here? The Life And Time of Tim Hetherington".
The Collegiate Veterans Association at Florida State University is one of the most universally known and well-respected student veteran groups in the nation. The university, the administration, and the student body have joined together in an effort to make Florida State University one of the most veteran friendly public universities, in the nation. Inherent in this goal is our effort to raise awareness and promote veteran’s issues. The Student Veteran Film Festival is one of our primary vehicles for achieving these goals.
The Student Veteran Film Festival is an annual event at the Florida State University that highlights veteran issues on campus, in the local community, and nationally. This event has a proud tradition of elegance, prestige, and creation of intense dialogue between filmmakers, students, and veterans.
The education and awareness that this event has been able to cultivate for issues such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Military Sexual Trauma has been both significant and impactful. The inaugural event showcased the film ”Hell and Back Again” with the following year hosting “The Invisible War”. The nature of these films show that our student veterans are not afraid of having difficult conversations and are serious about impacting real, meaningful, change.
Third Annual Student Veteran Film Festival To Feature Award-winning Author And Film Director Sebastian Junger
Tallahassee – Florida State University students will bring award-winning author and filmmaker Sebastian Junger and his critically acclaimed documentary film “Which Way is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Times of Tim Hetherington” to the 3rd Annual Student Veteran Film Festival on Monday, Nov. 11.
A collaborative effort among the Collegiate Veterans Association , Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Association and College of Motion Picture Arts, the event will feature a discussion with Junger about the film, which traces Hetherington’s work across the world's battlefields to reveal what made him such a singular talent — and remarkable human being. The film also illuminates the incredible risks combat journalists face, at a time when they are dying with greater frequency in war zones.
“We are proud to screen this acclaimed film and host an event that facilitates discussion about what life is like in war-torn parts of the world, which Tim Hetherington captured so movingly through his images,” said Ryan Taylor, president of the Fsu Collegiate Veterans Association.
Junger is a bestselling author (“The Perfect Storm,” “War”) who, with Hetherington, co-directed “Restrepo,” an Academy Award nominated documentary about an American combat outpost in Afghanistan.
Junger will also receive the “Fsu Student Veteran Torchlight Award for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking” following the screening of the film. The award, which comes with a $25,000 honorarium, is given annually to a filmmaker who illuminates issues affecting veterans.
"As part of Florida State’s commitment to become the most veteran-friendly university in the nation, we are recognizing filmmakers who explore issues that affect military service members, veterans and their families,” said Fsu President Eric J. Barron. “I am pleased to honor Sebastian Junger with this award for his poignant tribute to Tim Hetherington."
The film festival is intended to raise awareness of student-veterans’ issues and bridge the gap between veterans and the community. Paul Cohen, director of the College of Motion Picture Arts’ Torchlight program, secured the rights to screen “Which Way is the Front Line from Here? The Life and Times of Tim Hetherington.” The film, telecast and distributed by HBO, was screened at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.
The Student Veteran Film Festival will take place:
Monday, Nov. 11
3 – 7:30 P.M.
Ruby Diamond Concert Hall
222 S. Copeland St.
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Fla.
Student Veteran Film Festival website – http://vetfilmfest.fsu.edu Svff page on the Student Veterans Center website – http://veterans.fsu.edu/Student-Veteran-Film-Festival (As mentioned, the story on this page will be replaced by the news release, once its been finalized by the Communications office.) Svff Tickets – http://tickets.fsu.edu Ruby Diamond Concert Hall - http://tickets.fsu.edu/Venue-Information/Ruby-Diamond-Concert-Hall...
- 11/11/2013
- by Paul Cohen
- Sydney's Buzz
Gotham Awards 2013: Nominations don’t necessarily mean Oscar 2014 recognition (photo: Gotham Award nominee Robert Redford in ’All Is Lost’) Nominations for the indie-oriented, East Coast-based Gotham Awards, announced a few days ago, don’t necessarily translate into nominations for the equally indie-oriented, West Coast-based Spirit Awards. And they certainly don’t mean the likelihood of a matching Academy Award nod. (See list of 2013 Gotham Awards nominations.) In fact, in the last five years (2012-2008), of the 25 nominees in the Gotham Awards’ Best Feature category, only seven films — or less than one in three — received matching Academy Award nominations despite the fact that since 2009 up to ten films have been eligible for the Best Picture Oscar. Gotham Awards’ Best Feature vs. Academy Awards’ Best Picture The Gotham Awards’ Best Feature / Academy Awards’ Best Picture "double nominees" were the following: Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker Joel and Ethan Coen’s...
- 10/29/2013
- by Zac Gille
- Alt Film Guide
Cinedigm announced today it will be elevating its Docurama Films independent label into a multi-platform 'Docurama" brand with a series of national theatrical screening events and a streaming network service. For almost 15 years, Docurama Films has presented acclaimed documentaries, including Kirby Dick's "The Invisible War," Danfung Dennis' "Hell and Back Again," Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing's "Detropia" and genre classics such as D.A. Pennebaker's "Don't Look Back" and Robert Drew's "Primary." The Docurama platform will launch on April 22 with a 7-week, 7-film series of screenings across the country, with its free streaming service launching at the same time. Stated Cinedigm chairman and CEO Chris McGurk: "These outstanding films deserve a theatrical release, the boost from which provides ongoing community engagement and discussion. We fervently believe that most consumers desire to see what they want, when they want, on the device of their choosing. This program satisfies.
- 4/2/2013
- by Beth Hanna
- Thompson on Hollywood
I first met writer/director K. Lorrel Manning and actor/producer Michael Cuomo at the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival, where we found ourselves the fish-out-of-water New Yorkers in a sea full of Southwest cinephiles. Their SXSW 2011 (sold out) hit Happy New Year is grounded in star Cuomo’s nuanced portrayal of a fictional outsider named Cole Lewis, a sergeant who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and now finds himself battling demons both mental and physical in the psych ward of a veterans hospital. I spoke with the two about their veterans outreach effort, Indiegogo versus Kickstarter, and the best places to start a revolution over breakfast.
Filmmaker: Over the past couple years, there’ve been a slew of nonfiction flicks – such as Danfung Dennis’s Hell and Back Again and Heather Courtney’s Where Soldiers Come From – that address the difficulties encountered by Iraq and Afghanistan war vets returning home.
Filmmaker: Over the past couple years, there’ve been a slew of nonfiction flicks – such as Danfung Dennis’s Hell and Back Again and Heather Courtney’s Where Soldiers Come From – that address the difficulties encountered by Iraq and Afghanistan war vets returning home.
- 6/11/2012
- by Lauren Wissot
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The Ida’s annual summer DocuWeeks program, which for 15 years has pursued its mission to help documentaries qualify for Oscar consideration, was in danger of being victimized by the Academy’s new rules. The Ida now says that it has resolved the issue and will be unhampered in its ability to prep films for the awards race. The new Academy rule in question stipulates that a theatrically screened film must be reviewed in either the Los Angeles Times or the New York Times. This was a problem because the New York Times considers DocuWeeks a festival, and thus refuses to review its selections. With that road blocked, Ida executive director Michael Lumpkin secured a guarantee from the L.A. Times that the paper would review all the films in the DocuWeeks program. "It is upon the filmmakers to follow the review guidelines," Lumpkin says, “but we'll be qualifying films as we've done for 15 years already.
- 5/3/2012
- by Jay A. Fernandez
- Indiewire
Oscar nominated documentary Hell and Back Again on Independent Lens airs on PBS this Memorial Day, Monday, May 28 At 10 Pm. From PBS What does it mean to lead men in war? What does it mean to come home -- injured physically and psychologically -- and build a life anew? As more and more veterans return from deployment these questions will have to be answered not only by those who fought, but by their families, friends and fellow citizens. Filmed and directed by Danfung Dennis, Hell and Back Again seamlessly transitions from stunning war reportage to an intimate, visceral portrait of one man's personal struggle back home. There Sergeant Nathan Harris confronts the physical and...
- 4/30/2012
- by April MacIntyre
- Monsters and Critics
The Artist tops off its triumphant run throughout this awards season with a big night at the Oscars. And the winners are... in bold:
Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse
Directing
The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants, Alexander Payne
Hugo, Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
Actor In A Leading Role
Demián Bichir in A Better Life
George Clooney in The Descendants
Jean Dujardin in The Artist
Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt in Moneyball
Actor In A Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh in My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill in Moneyball
Nick Nolte in Warrior
Christopher Plummer in Beginners
Max von Sydow in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Actress In A Leading Role
Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis in The Help...
Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse
Directing
The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants, Alexander Payne
Hugo, Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
Actor In A Leading Role
Demián Bichir in A Better Life
George Clooney in The Descendants
Jean Dujardin in The Artist
Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt in Moneyball
Actor In A Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh in My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill in Moneyball
Nick Nolte in Warrior
Christopher Plummer in Beginners
Max von Sydow in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Actress In A Leading Role
Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis in The Help...
- 2/27/2012
- MUBI
Seth Rogen hosted the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday evening and the winners are:
Best Feature: The Artist. Also nominated: 50/50, Beginners, Drive, Take Shelter and The Descendants.
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist). Nominated: Mike Mills (Beginners), Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive), Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter), and Alexander Payne (The Descendants).
Best First Feature: Margin Call. Nominated: Another Earth, In The Family, , Martha Marcy May Marlene and Natural Selection.
Best Male Lead Performance: Jean Dujardin (The Artist). Nominated: Demián Bichir (A Better Life), , Ryan Gosling (Drive), Woody Harrelson (Rampart) and Michael Shannon (Take Shelter).
Best Female Lead Performance: Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn). Nominated: Lauren Ambrose (Think of Me), Rachel Harris (Natural Selection), Adepero Oduye (Pariah) and Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene).
Best Supporting Male Performance: Christopher Plummer (Beginners). Nominated: Albert Brooks (Drive), John Hawkes (Martha Marcy May Marlene), John C Reilly (Cedar Rapids) and Corey Stoll (Midnight in Paris...
Best Feature: The Artist. Also nominated: 50/50, Beginners, Drive, Take Shelter and The Descendants.
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist). Nominated: Mike Mills (Beginners), Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive), Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter), and Alexander Payne (The Descendants).
Best First Feature: Margin Call. Nominated: Another Earth, In The Family, , Martha Marcy May Marlene and Natural Selection.
Best Male Lead Performance: Jean Dujardin (The Artist). Nominated: Demián Bichir (A Better Life), , Ryan Gosling (Drive), Woody Harrelson (Rampart) and Michael Shannon (Take Shelter).
Best Female Lead Performance: Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn). Nominated: Lauren Ambrose (Think of Me), Rachel Harris (Natural Selection), Adepero Oduye (Pariah) and Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene).
Best Supporting Male Performance: Christopher Plummer (Beginners). Nominated: Albert Brooks (Drive), John Hawkes (Martha Marcy May Marlene), John C Reilly (Cedar Rapids) and Corey Stoll (Midnight in Paris...
- 2/27/2012
- MUBI
Crowded House said it best in the lyrics “Hey now, hey now, don’t dream its over.” Yes, the awards season officialy came to an end tonight at the Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood, CA. Tears, jubilation, substance and style were all memorable moments at the 84th Academy Awards hosted by Billy Crystal. With Sacha Baron Cohen’s shenanigans earlier on the red carpet and no huge upsets, Cirque du Soleil’s performance was the highlight of the evening.
The Oscar for Best Motion Picture of the Year went to “The Artist” produced by Thomas Langmann and Michel Hazanavicius won for Achievement in Directing. The movie becomes the first silent film to take the gold since the original Oscar ceremony 83 years ago when Wings won.
Christopher Plummer was the winner for a Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for his role in “Beginners”; Octavia Spencer, was the...
The Oscar for Best Motion Picture of the Year went to “The Artist” produced by Thomas Langmann and Michel Hazanavicius won for Achievement in Directing. The movie becomes the first silent film to take the gold since the original Oscar ceremony 83 years ago when Wings won.
Christopher Plummer was the winner for a Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for his role in “Beginners”; Octavia Spencer, was the...
- 2/27/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, The Artist Best picture * The Artist (The Weinstein Company) A La Petite Reine/Studio 37/La Classe Américaine/Jd Prod/France3 Cinéma/Jouror Productions/uFilm Production, Thomas Langmann, Producer The Descendants (Fox Searchlight) An Ad Hominem Enterprises Production, Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Warner Bros.) A Warner Bros. Pictures Production, Scott Rudin, Producer The Help (Touchstone) A DreamWorks Pictures Production, Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers Hugo (Paramount) A Paramount Pictures and Gk Films Production, Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers Midnight in Paris (Sony Pictures Classics) A Pontchartrain Production, Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers Moneyball (Sony Pictures Releasing) A Columbia Pictures Production, Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers The Tree of Life (Fox Searchlight) A River Road Entertainment Production, Nominees to be determined War Horse (Touchstone) A DreamWorks Pictures Production, Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy,...
- 2/27/2012
- by Steve Montgomery
- Alt Film Guide
"Hugo" took home the most awards with five, but it didn't earn any of the big awards. "The Artist" took home Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor, while Best Actress (in a bit of a surprise, considering Viola Davis' previous wins) went to Meryl Streep, and the Supporting awards went to Octavia Spencer and Christopher Plummer, both of which have won all awards season.
The full list of movies:
Best Picture
"War Horse"
"The Artist"
"Moneyball"
"The Descendants"
"The Tree of Life"
"Midnight in Paris"
"The Help"
"Hugo"
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Glenn Close, "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis, "The Help"
Rooney Mara, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams, "My Week with Marilyn"
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Demian Bichir, "A Better Life"
George Clooney, "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"
Gary Oldman, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt,...
The full list of movies:
Best Picture
"War Horse"
"The Artist"
"Moneyball"
"The Descendants"
"The Tree of Life"
"Midnight in Paris"
"The Help"
"Hugo"
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Glenn Close, "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis, "The Help"
Rooney Mara, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams, "My Week with Marilyn"
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Demian Bichir, "A Better Life"
George Clooney, "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"
Gary Oldman, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt,...
- 2/27/2012
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
The 84th Annual Academy Awards became a rightful homage to French cinema! "The Artist," distributed by The Weinstein company but the creative team is composed mostly of French folks, took home the big prize, the Best Picture award! "The Artist" won a total of 5 Oscars including Jean Dujardin for Best Actor, Michel Hazanavicius for Best Director, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Score.
But "Hugo" also won 5 Oscars, mostly technical and artistic merits, such as Best Art Direction, Cinematography, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects.
"Hugo," of course, was itself an homage to George Melies, the French illusionist who gave us the trippy "A Trip to the Moon."
Both "The Artist" and "Hugo" led the Oscar nominations with 10 and 11 nods respectively.
There was really no "oh gosh what a surprise" moment of the evening except for Meryl Streep taking home the Best Actress Oscar from the perceived surefire winner Viola Davis of "The Help.
But "Hugo" also won 5 Oscars, mostly technical and artistic merits, such as Best Art Direction, Cinematography, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects.
"Hugo," of course, was itself an homage to George Melies, the French illusionist who gave us the trippy "A Trip to the Moon."
Both "The Artist" and "Hugo" led the Oscar nominations with 10 and 11 nods respectively.
There was really no "oh gosh what a surprise" moment of the evening except for Meryl Streep taking home the Best Actress Oscar from the perceived surefire winner Viola Davis of "The Help.
- 2/27/2012
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Click to enter!
I am live-blogging the 84th Annual Academy Awards, I will begin when Billy Crystal walks out on stage. Why am I doing this? I watch the Oscars, therefore I know how boring it can be. I will have my laptop on hand so I figure I will bring some praise and cynicism to the party.
Winners will be in Red.
Click ‘Continue Reading’ to enter the Live Blog.
09:39pm
Goodnight everyone, see you at the movies.
09:38pm
It was a good show, celebrating movies never gets old for me. Congrats to The Artist, well deserved.
09:36pm
Damn right you bring that dog on stage.
09:35pm
Best Picture
“The Artist” Thomas Langmann, Producer
“The Descendants” Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” Scott Rudin, Producer
“The Help” Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
“Hugo” Graham King and Martin Scorsese,...
I am live-blogging the 84th Annual Academy Awards, I will begin when Billy Crystal walks out on stage. Why am I doing this? I watch the Oscars, therefore I know how boring it can be. I will have my laptop on hand so I figure I will bring some praise and cynicism to the party.
Winners will be in Red.
Click ‘Continue Reading’ to enter the Live Blog.
09:39pm
Goodnight everyone, see you at the movies.
09:38pm
It was a good show, celebrating movies never gets old for me. Congrats to The Artist, well deserved.
09:36pm
Damn right you bring that dog on stage.
09:35pm
Best Picture
“The Artist” Thomas Langmann, Producer
“The Descendants” Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” Scott Rudin, Producer
“The Help” Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
“Hugo” Graham King and Martin Scorsese,...
- 2/26/2012
- by Graham McMorrow
- City of Films
For the past twelve years, the Independent Spirit Awards have been held the night before the Oscars, and although the two sets of nominees sometimes overlap, traditionally the Spirit Awards end up honouring most of the films that the Academy ignores. This year things might be a little bit different, however, as Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist ended up taking home a handful of the major Spirit Awards including Best Feature, Best Director and Best Male Lead. As far as I know, the Spirit Awards and the Academy Awards have only picked the same Best Picture once before: Oliver Stone's Platoon in 1986. Christopher Plummer also won for Best Supporting Male, while Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn) won for Best Female Lead. Is this all a sign of what's to come tomorrow night? There are at least a few Spirit Award winners who won't be repeating at the Academy...
- 2/26/2012
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
Tomorrow is the day where the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences celebrates the movies. We’ve waited all year and its finally here. By the time host Billy Crystal delivers his last punchline and concludes the 84th Academy Awards, the evening will have seen many celebrity-presenters appear on the Oscar stage at the Kodak Theatre.
Here’s my predictions for Hollywood’s big night.
Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir in .A Better Life.
George Clooney in .The Descendants.
Jean Dujardin in .The Artist.
Gary Oldman in .Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
Brad Pitt in .Moneyball.
Clooney’s performance was like none other he’s given before and with Slumdog Millionaire, Natalie Portman (Black Swan) and Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), Fox Searchlight is on a roll. However, The Artist’s Dujardin will take home his first Academy Award.
Possible upset – Brad Pitt is an all around good guy...
Here’s my predictions for Hollywood’s big night.
Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir in .A Better Life.
George Clooney in .The Descendants.
Jean Dujardin in .The Artist.
Gary Oldman in .Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
Brad Pitt in .Moneyball.
Clooney’s performance was like none other he’s given before and with Slumdog Millionaire, Natalie Portman (Black Swan) and Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), Fox Searchlight is on a roll. However, The Artist’s Dujardin will take home his first Academy Award.
Possible upset – Brad Pitt is an all around good guy...
- 2/26/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, handed out top honors to The Artist, The Descendants and Margin Call at this afternoon’s 27th Film Independent Spirit Awards. My Week With Marilyn, Beginners, 50/50, A Separation and The Interrupters also received awards at the ceremony, held in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica.
Tune in to IFC tonight at 10:00 pm Et/Pt to catch all the action at the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards, with actor, writer and producer Seth Rogen hosting. Highlights include: John Waters as the Voice of God, musical performances by My Morning Jacket and K’Naan.
The Spirit Awards was the first event to exclusively honor independent film, and over the past 27 years, has become the premier awards show for the independent film community, celebrating films made by filmmakers who embody independence and originality. Artists...
Tune in to IFC tonight at 10:00 pm Et/Pt to catch all the action at the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards, with actor, writer and producer Seth Rogen hosting. Highlights include: John Waters as the Voice of God, musical performances by My Morning Jacket and K’Naan.
The Spirit Awards was the first event to exclusively honor independent film, and over the past 27 years, has become the premier awards show for the independent film community, celebrating films made by filmmakers who embody independence and originality. Artists...
- 2/26/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Michel Hazanavicius' "The Artist" was the big winner at the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards. The black-and-white silent film took home Best Feature, Director for Hazanavicius, Best Male Lead for Jean Dujardin, and Best Cinematography for Guillaume Schiffman.
In the performance categories, Michelle Williams took home the Best Female Lead award for her Marilyn Monroe portrayal in "My Week with Marilyn." Shailene Woodley, snubbed by the Academy for her memorable performance as George Clooney's daughter in "The Descendants," won Best Supporting Actress while Oscar frontrunner, Christopher Plummer, received the Best Supporting Actor award for his performance in "Beginners."
Held on Santa Monica Beach and hosted by Seth Rogen, the 27th Film Independent Spirit Awards will be broadcast by IFC at 10 p.m. Pst/Est.
Here's the complete list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of the Independent Spirit Awards:
Best Feature
50/50 - Producers: Evan Goldberg, Ben Karlin, Seth Rogen...
In the performance categories, Michelle Williams took home the Best Female Lead award for her Marilyn Monroe portrayal in "My Week with Marilyn." Shailene Woodley, snubbed by the Academy for her memorable performance as George Clooney's daughter in "The Descendants," won Best Supporting Actress while Oscar frontrunner, Christopher Plummer, received the Best Supporting Actor award for his performance in "Beginners."
Held on Santa Monica Beach and hosted by Seth Rogen, the 27th Film Independent Spirit Awards will be broadcast by IFC at 10 p.m. Pst/Est.
Here's the complete list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of the Independent Spirit Awards:
Best Feature
50/50 - Producers: Evan Goldberg, Ben Karlin, Seth Rogen...
- 2/26/2012
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, The Artist The Artist, Jean Dujardin, Michelle Williams: Spirit Award Winners Best Feature (Award given to the producer) 50/50 Producers: Evan Goldberg, Ben Karlin, Seth Rogen Beginners Producers: Miranda de Pencier, Lars Knudsen, Leslie Urdang, Dean Vanech, Jay Van Hoy Drive Producers: Michel Litvak, John Palermo, Marc Platt, Gigi Pritzker, Adam Siegel Take Shelter Producers: Tyler Davidson, Sophia Lin * The Artist Producer: Thomas Langmann The Descendants Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor Best Director * Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist Mike Mills – Beginners Jeff Nichols – Take Shelter Alexander Payne – The Descendants Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive Best Screenplay Joseph Cedar – Footnote Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist Tom McCarthy – Win Win Mike Mills – Beginners * Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash – The Descendants Best International Film (Award given to the director) * A Separation (Iran) Director: Asghar Farhadi Melancholia (Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany) Director: Lars von Trier Shame (UK) Director: Steve McQueen...
- 2/25/2012
- by Steve Montgomery
- Alt Film Guide
Hardly a surprise to anyone, The Artist dominated the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards, winning for Best Feature, Director (Michel Hazanavicius), Actor (Jean Dujardin) and Cinematography (Guillaume Schiffman). There were some complaints in the Twitter-verse as Penelope Anne Miller accepted the awards for The Artist up until Hazanavicius and the rest of The Artist team arrived five minutes before Hazanavicious was named Best Director. The reason? They'd just landed at Lax after flying in from France where The Artist won six awards at the Cesar Awards, France's equivalent of the Oscars, last night. A police escort managed to get them to the Spirits just in time for their third win of the night... also in time to take the stage to accept Best Feature Film. The Artist went into the Spirits with Take Shelter as the leading nominees with both receiving five nominations each. Take Shelter, however, only ended up going home...
- 2/25/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
For most of us, the war in Afghanistan is nothing more than an abstraction. It isn't our sons and daughters who are doing the fighting and dying and we don't have to sacrifice in order to pay for this war. It's no surprise, then, that we know little, if anything, about what the war means for the men and women serving in Afghanistan, and to their readjustment at home. I'm as haunted by this reality today as I was 40 years ago when I returned, relatively unscathed, from the war in Vietnam and began to help my fellow Vietnam veterans who weren't as fortunate. The sad truth is that we still haven't brought thousands of those Vietnam veterans home. Now, 40 years later, a new generation of U. S. soldiers, some of them the sons and daughters of my fellow Vietnam vets, are struggling with their own physical and psychological scars. And...
- 2/24/2012
- by Doug Bradley
- Moviefone
On Wednesday of Oscar Week, the third annual “Docs!” night spotlighted the work of the nominated filmmakers in the Documentary Short Subject and Documentary Feature categories. The program included film clips from all of the nominated documentaries in both categories, followed a panel discussion with each group of nominees. On hand was program host Michael Moore - Oscar-winning director and Documentary Branch governor.
In his intro to the various clips, Moore remarked that nothing compares to watching a film with other fellow Americans in a theater and something that should be experienced together collectively. According to the director, “the public has turned to the documentary genre recently to learn the truth.” I was pleased with his enthusiastic acknowlegement of the Documentary Women filmmakers. “There are more women in the documentary branch than any other branches.”
My personal favorite of the group is God Is Bigger Than Elvis – in 1963 actress Delores Hart,...
In his intro to the various clips, Moore remarked that nothing compares to watching a film with other fellow Americans in a theater and something that should be experienced together collectively. According to the director, “the public has turned to the documentary genre recently to learn the truth.” I was pleased with his enthusiastic acknowlegement of the Documentary Women filmmakers. “There are more women in the documentary branch than any other branches.”
My personal favorite of the group is God Is Bigger Than Elvis – in 1963 actress Delores Hart,...
- 2/23/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Oscar 2012 group photo The nominees for the 2012 Academy Awards pose for a (very, very, very large) group photo at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Oscar Nominees Luncheon, held in Beverly Hills on Monday, February 6, 2012. Here's the link to the full-size Oscar 2012 group photo. Seated (left to right): Matthew Butler, Julie Anderson, Kira Carstensen Tsunami, Mark Bridges, Demián Bichir, Lon Bender, Michael De Luca, Danfung Dennis, Rebecca Cammisa, Joe Berlinger, Bérénice Bejo, Letty Aronson, Max von Sydow, Kirk Baxter and J.C. Chandor. (Photo: Greg Harbaugh / © A.M.P.A.S.) 2nd row (left to right): Erik Aadahl, Ron Bochar, Deb Adair with guest, Amanda Forbis, Stan Chervin, Glenn Close, Jean Dujardin, George Clooney, Chris Columbus, Marshall Curry, Ludovic Bource, Terry George, Patrick Doyon, Gigi Causey, Erik Nash, Jeff Cronenweth, Viola Davis, Siedah Garrett, Dave Giammarco, Lisy Christl, Nick Dudman, Enrico Casarosa, Sam Cullman, Kenneth Branagh, and Scott Benza.
- 2/23/2012
- by D. Zhea
- Alt Film Guide
The 84th Academy Awards will pay homage to the Golden Age of Hollywood. The perceived Oscar frontrunner, .The Artist,. is a black-and-white silent movie, while one of the Oscar Best Picture contenders, .Hugo,. touches upon the life of Georges Méliès and his magical .Trip to the Moon. (1902). Even Marilyn Monroe is being honored via a Best Actress nomination for Michelle Williams who played the icon in .My Week with Marilyn..
Amidst the glamour and the spectacle, this is one of the most unpredictable Oscars in recent memory. There is no clear-cut favorite. Even the awards darling .The Artist. may lose its voice on Oscar night. But I am marching forward to reveal my fearless 2012 Oscar predictions. (Read after the jump for my complete predictions on 24 categories, watch the video for the majors!)
Best Picture
*** "The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"
"The Help"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"Moneyball"
"The Tree of Life...
Amidst the glamour and the spectacle, this is one of the most unpredictable Oscars in recent memory. There is no clear-cut favorite. Even the awards darling .The Artist. may lose its voice on Oscar night. But I am marching forward to reveal my fearless 2012 Oscar predictions. (Read after the jump for my complete predictions on 24 categories, watch the video for the majors!)
Best Picture
*** "The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"
"The Help"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"Moneyball"
"The Tree of Life...
- 2/17/2012
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
The Documentary Feature Academy Awards race is always one of the most unpredictable and this year is no different. Indiewire got to speak with all 2012 documentary nominees over the last year; get to know the films and their filmmakers by checking out our profiles below. Danfung Dennis, "Hell and Back Again" Award-winning war photographer Danfung Dennis had no intention of making a film when he embedded himself with troops in Afghanistan in 2009. Accredited as a New York Times photographer, Dennis dropped down in the war zone with body armor, a backpack and a camera to capture the battle from the front of the line. Cut to two years later and he's a first-time filmmaker thanks to his award-winning documentary, "Hell and Back Again." Says Danfung: "I’d mostly been working in conflict zones. I thought it was going to be some kind of big picture piece on where the war was at.
- 2/17/2012
- Indiewire
Here’s a glimpse inside the Oscar Nominees Luncheon for the 84th Academy Awards which took place in Beverly Hills, California, Monday, February 6, 2012. The 84th Academy Awards will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. On the menu was chopped vegetable salad, roasted Asian barbecued duck, soy-mirin seared Atlantic Salmon and a trio of sorbets in a chocolate cup.
Anne Thompson reported, “Oscarcast co-producer Brian Grazer promised a classy show. Filming of the Billy Crystal intro skit is under way (along with interviews with many of the nominees) — “everyone is in the film,” he said. The Kodak Theatre stage will be dressed like an old-time movie palace to sell the theme of going out to the movies. “Seeing films in that environment is a magnifier of how you feel emotionally,” he said. “You’ll feel like...
Anne Thompson reported, “Oscarcast co-producer Brian Grazer promised a classy show. Filming of the Billy Crystal intro skit is under way (along with interviews with many of the nominees) — “everyone is in the film,” he said. The Kodak Theatre stage will be dressed like an old-time movie palace to sell the theme of going out to the movies. “Seeing films in that environment is a magnifier of how you feel emotionally,” he said. “You’ll feel like...
- 2/7/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Has the Academy chosen wisely? What about the glaring omissions? And who will win? Our panel of experts review the shortlist – and dare to give some predictions
Flattery will get you everywhere in Hollywood. So it is that the films leading the nominations haul for this year's Oscars – to be presented on Sunday 26 February – are both love letters to movie making.
Martin Scorsese's Hugo is, essentially, about the need to preserve film history, couched in a kids' adventure that pays homage to George Méliès, the early effects pioneer. Michel Hazanavicius's The Artist is a paean to old Hollywood itself, to the silver screen, to studio moguls and to old-school Beverly Hills glamour. Academy voters in their retirement homes must be lapping it up – art telling old artists their art was important, and still is.
After a few years wringing its hands over Iraq, in documentary and feature form,...
Flattery will get you everywhere in Hollywood. So it is that the films leading the nominations haul for this year's Oscars – to be presented on Sunday 26 February – are both love letters to movie making.
Martin Scorsese's Hugo is, essentially, about the need to preserve film history, couched in a kids' adventure that pays homage to George Méliès, the early effects pioneer. Michel Hazanavicius's The Artist is a paean to old Hollywood itself, to the silver screen, to studio moguls and to old-school Beverly Hills glamour. Academy voters in their retirement homes must be lapping it up – art telling old artists their art was important, and still is.
After a few years wringing its hands over Iraq, in documentary and feature form,...
- 1/29/2012
- by Jason Solomons, Philip French, Bidisha, Mariella Frostrup
- The Guardian - Film News
An Australian have been nominated for the 84th Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards announced overnight, with one more likely to be announced.
Included in the Oscars nomination line up is Australian film editor Kirk Baxter with producer Grant Hill likely to be recognised also.
Baxter, who won last year for David Fincher’s The Social Network, has been nominated for his work on David Fincher’s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Hill, producer of Terrence Mallick’s Tree of Life will most likely be nominated, with the film up for best picture, but the nominees yet to be determined. Hill was also a producer of Mallick’s Thin Red Line and the Wachowski brothers’ Matrix Trilogy and V for Vendetta.
It is a relatively quiet year for Australians at the Oscars, compared to last year seven nominations in which seven nominations were received. Wins went not only...
Included in the Oscars nomination line up is Australian film editor Kirk Baxter with producer Grant Hill likely to be recognised also.
Baxter, who won last year for David Fincher’s The Social Network, has been nominated for his work on David Fincher’s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Hill, producer of Terrence Mallick’s Tree of Life will most likely be nominated, with the film up for best picture, but the nominees yet to be determined. Hill was also a producer of Mallick’s Thin Red Line and the Wachowski brothers’ Matrix Trilogy and V for Vendetta.
It is a relatively quiet year for Australians at the Oscars, compared to last year seven nominations in which seven nominations were received. Wins went not only...
- 1/24/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
Update (January 30, 2012): Australian producer Grant Hill is one of four producers that will accept the Oscar should Terence Malick's Tree of Life win Best Picture. The film's nominees were originally listed as 'to be determined', following the Academy's decision that only a maximum of three producers would be recognised per best picture contender.
It was decided on Friday that Tree of Life represented 'extraordinary circumstances' and the rule was waived. Should the film upset popular contenders Hugo and The Artist, the Oscar will be accepted by Hill alongside fellow producers Sarah Green, Bill Pohlad and Dede Gardner.
Correction: Sound re-recording mixer Andy Nelson, who received his thirteen nomination for best achievement in sound for Steven Spielberg's War Horse, is in fact British. In 2001, Nelson received an Australian Centenary Medal for his services to Australian film production for his work on Moulin Rouge.
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January 25, 2012: The nominations for the 2012 Academy Awards were announced overnight,...
It was decided on Friday that Tree of Life represented 'extraordinary circumstances' and the rule was waived. Should the film upset popular contenders Hugo and The Artist, the Oscar will be accepted by Hill alongside fellow producers Sarah Green, Bill Pohlad and Dede Gardner.
Correction: Sound re-recording mixer Andy Nelson, who received his thirteen nomination for best achievement in sound for Steven Spielberg's War Horse, is in fact British. In 2001, Nelson received an Australian Centenary Medal for his services to Australian film production for his work on Moulin Rouge.
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January 25, 2012: The nominations for the 2012 Academy Awards were announced overnight,...
- 1/24/2012
- by Amanda Diaz
- IF.com.au
First the nominations, then a few notes after the list.
Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse
Directing
The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants, Alexander Payne
Hugo, Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
Actor In A Leading Role
Demián Bichir in A Better Life
George Clooney in The Descendants
Jean Dujardin in The Artist
Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt in Moneyball
Actor In A Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh in My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill in Moneyball
Nick Nolte in Warrior
Christopher Plummer in Beginners
Max von Sydow in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Actress In A Leading Role
Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis in The Help
Rooney Mara in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady...
Best Picture
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse
Directing
The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants, Alexander Payne
Hugo, Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen
The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
Actor In A Leading Role
Demián Bichir in A Better Life
George Clooney in The Descendants
Jean Dujardin in The Artist
Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt in Moneyball
Actor In A Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh in My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill in Moneyball
Nick Nolte in Warrior
Christopher Plummer in Beginners
Max von Sydow in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Actress In A Leading Role
Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis in The Help
Rooney Mara in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady...
- 1/24/2012
- MUBI
Owen Wilson, Léa Seydoux in Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris Best picture The Artist (The Weinstein Company) A La Petite Reine/Studio 37/La Classe Américaine/Jd Prod/France3 Cinéma/Jouror Productions/uFilm Production, Thomas Langmann, Producer The Descendants (Fox Searchlight) An Ad Hominem Enterprises Production, Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Warner Bros.) A Warner Bros. Pictures Production, Scott Rudin, Producer The Help (Touchstone) A DreamWorks Pictures Production, Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers Hugo (Paramount) A Paramount Pictures and Gk Films Production, Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers Midnight in Paris (Sony Pictures Classics) A Pontchartrain Production, Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers Moneyball (Sony Pictures Releasing) A Columbia Pictures Production, Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers The Tree of Life (Fox Searchlight) A River Road Entertainment Production, Nominees to be determined War Horse (Touchstone) A DreamWorks Pictures Production,...
- 1/24/2012
- by Steve Montgomery
- Alt Film Guide
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