“Kassim The Dream” is the gripping documentary tale of World Champion Boxer, Kassim “The Dream” Ouma and his fight to survive in and out of the ring. Born in Uganda and kidnapped by the rebel army, Kassim began training as a child soldier at age six. When the rebels rose to power, Kassim became an army soldier, forced into a life of victimizing brutality. Finally the young Kassim sees his ticket to freedom within the army’s boxing team and, after 12 years of warfare, escapes to the United States.
Kassim, who rose to become the Junior Middleweight Champion of the World, seems to be a poster boy for the American Dream with his gutter to glory tale, but as the young boxer trains for his next world title fight, past torments weigh heavy on his mind. Desperate to reunite with his family in Uganda, who he has not seen or heard from in 10 years, Kassim realizes that the only way to return safely is with a military pardon from the government responsible for his childhood abduction.
Award winning director Kief Davidson goes head to head with Kassim Ouma, painting the brutal pictures of his childhood within the boxer’s current world. The result is the portrait of a brave young man, struggling to win the fight of his life.
Posted by dorothy.pranolo@vimooz.com on May 13, 2009 under Film Festival, Premiere | Comments are off for this article
May 13th, 2009 – The hustle and bustle of cinephiles everywhere.The sight of the film industry’s finest suited up in tuxedos and luxurious gowns on the red carpet.The noisy click of flashes going off within thousands of cameras. All of these elements combined with the soft ocean breeze of the French Riviera in the background can only equate to one thing: the worlds most popular and infamous film festival.
The official selection for this year’s lineup brings about various components of both old and new for audiences.Commencement of Cannes begins with a surprising and considerably out of the ordinary choice.The festival opens up with a screening of Disney-Pixar’s new animated 3-D film “Up,” marking the first time an animated or 3-D film has ever opened up the illustrious festival.However, “Up” will not be included in Cannes’ main competition.
Of the 20 films set to contend for the Palme d’Or, this year’s selection lineup unveils an ever-expanding global and cultural hybridity showcased by the film industry’s leading auteurs.Internationally, 2009 Cannes’ competing films hail from such countries as Austria, Spain, Hong Kong, Italy, France, and Belgium (to name a few).Another engaging aspect of this year’s festival is the myriad of top directors behind the films vying for the Palme d’Or – four of which happen to be previous winners of the prestigious award.The 62nd edition of Cannes brings forth many seasoned veterans and frequent regulars of the festival to candidacy.Former winner Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction) enters this year’s competition with his WWII epic “Inglourious Basterds,” while recent 2006 winner Ken Loach exhibits his football film “Looking for Eric” in the main competition.Other films that are confirmed for contention include Pedro Almodóvar’s Spanish drama “Los Abrazos Rotos,” Ang Lee’s “Taking Woodstock,” Michael Haneke’s “Das Weisse Band,” and many other gems from leading directors within the realm of independent cinema. Read more of this article »
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on March 27, 2009 under Premiere, Thriller | Comments are off for this article
America’s fascination with Hollywood that began in the 1930’s with the advent of “the movie star” will come alive with the premiere of the film “Say it in Russian.”
On May 4, 2009, Imperia Entertainment’s award winning independent film, “Say it in Russian” will open in 100 cities across the Midwest and South as part of Carmike Cinemas and Dalton Pictures & Entertainment’s Independent Film Series.
Imperia Entertainment will bring their stars to Gala 1930’s style red carpet premieres in select cities to kick off the theatrical release, at 1970’s ticket prices. The cost of a ticket is only $5.
“We want people to dress up in their Hollywood best to celebrate a return to cinematic values,” said Eade. “And we promise there will be no 21st Century disappointments.” The red carpet will be open to anyone arriving in an antique car or dressed in a Hollywood era costume. And awards for the best costumes will be given to one “Mr. Hollywood” and “Miss Hollywood” at each venue after each showing.
So far, red carpet premieres have been scheduled in Huntsville, Chattanooga, Johnson City, Greensboro, and Raleigh for the week of April 22 through the 26th.
Say it in Russian is the .. new award winning independent romantic thriller. Andrew Lamont, (Steven Brand) a successful American divorce attorney, travels to Paris, where he’s introduced by Jacqueline De Rossy (Academy Award Winner Faye Dunaway) to Daria Larina (Agata Gotova), a beautiful and enigmatic Russian girl. Head over heels from virtually the minute he sees her, Andrew pursues Daria with intensity. Charming and a bit relentless in his pursuit of Daria, he succeeds in winning her heart, but a greater challenge awaits him when he accompanies Daria to her father’s wedding in Moscow.
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on March 10, 2009 under Premiere | Comments are off for this article
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 09: Actor Clifton Collins Jr. arrives at the Overture Film’s screening of “Sunshine Cleaning” held at Pacific Theaters at The Grove on March 9, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Overture)
Overture Films’ Sunshine Cleaning premiered last night, Monday, March 9th in Los Angeles, California. The film is in select theaters March 13, 2009 and in theaters wide March 27, 2009.
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 09: Actresses Emily Blunt (L) and Amy Adams arrive at the Overture Film’s screening of “Sunshine Cleaning” held at Pacific Theaters at The Grove on March 9, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Overture)
( A first look at hot new indies promising to give the big studios a run for their money. )
Jollenbach is a richly creepy thriller, a hybrid of the Blair Witch Project and The Shining. A true indie rising out of the red hot Austin film scene, Jollenbach is directed by Dana Glover and has its sights set on Cannes 2009. Glover is no stranger to Cannes, every one of his short films have played there. He’s also an industry veteran, a music composer with a long history of ghostwriting scores for major films. Ghostwriter. Think about it.
THE STORY
In 2008, while scouting locations, an independent film company came across a camera and a videotape in an abandoned house. The tape belonged to a young couple, two “amateur ghost hunters” who had come to the house believing it to be haunted. The contents of the video were disturbing and unsettling. It also was the last appearance of the couple. The footage is the beginning of the answer as to where and why this couple disappeared. WHAT HAPPENED?
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on January 15, 2009 under Documentary, Premiere, Television | Comments are off for this article
ESPN will debut the NFL Films documentary “Truth in 24” on Friday, March 20. The broadcast marks the first public distribution of the award-winning film. It will air during primetime from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. the day before the 12 Hours of Sebring race in Florida.
Truth in 24 dramatically captures the bid by Audi’s racing program to extend its nearly decade-long dominance of the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, one of the world’s most fabled and grueling motorsports competitions. Although Audi had won seven of the previous eight Le Mans races, its chances were far from certain in the 2008 race due to impressive new competitor cars.
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on January 13, 2009 under Premiere | Comments are off for this article
The film “X-102 Rediscovers The Rings Of Saturn” will have its German theatrical premiere on Wednesday 28 January 2009 with Jeff Mills present.
A visual and sound graphic expose’ of one of the Universes most beautiful and mysterious planet. In 1992, X-102 (Experimental 102) otherwise known as Underground Resistance. Then, the Detroit-based musical trio of Mike Banks, Jeff Mills and Robert Hood set out to create a musical project about the planet and its rings in a full length LP entitled “X-102 discovers the Rings Of Saturn”. In a attempt to musically describe the physical make-up and contents of and the never-before seen Planet and each of the significant rings (A,B,C, E and F) surrounding the planet, X-102 opened up yet another encrypted chapter of Modern Music that their dedicated listeners and the music world did not expect. [via]
And here we have a glowing example of how almost no money, a great heart and a lot of will can turn out to be the ingredients of a very good movie.
This is …Around, a life based story about – says the director David Spaltro – finding home. About a guy who lives a double life and who has to figure it out one way or the other.
…Around portraits some a few years of the life and the struggling of a wannabe filmmaker, leaving New Jersey to study in New York City and running away from his messed up family and, to him, claustrophobic life.
It’s the journey of an eighteen years old young man with nothing in his pockets but a dream to pursue and a goal to achive. Soon the protagonist has to face the consequences of his choice, finding himself in extreme poverty, living in the streets with other more experienced homeless people and in a weird relationship with a girl his age, not revealing to anybody what his real life is.
This life based film could be defined a drama, if we really hade to attach a label to it, but it’s packed with funny moments, real life irony and it’s absolutely an easy to follow and enjoyable journey.
The script is smart and funny, the characters believable, the performances realistic and, sometimes, hard to be considered from “not working in Hollywood actors”.
Although the movie might have some technical flaws here and there, they disappear when melted into the wrapping story, interesting and well defined characters and the dramatic and funny moments of the film.
It’s definitely a must see, according to me. It’s not gonna be the easiest movie to find around, but it will soon be released in DVD. Tomorrow (fiday 21) will be playing at the Tribeca Cinemas at 54 Varick Street in Manhattan. Do yourself a favour and go watch it. You won’t be disappointed. Besides, …Around deserves all the attention it gets.
I’ve met with David Spaltro yesterday for a Q/A that turned out to be a very nice chat with a very smart, interesting and modest man. The guy loves what he does. Here is the little interview:
AS I UNDERSTAND, THE MOVIE IS BASED ON YOUR LIFE. HOW FICTIONAL IS IT AND HOW FAITHFULLY PORTRAITS IT?
It’s 90 per cent true life. The “boring” stuff is what structures the story. I moved at 18. During the first year I spent all my money. The second year I was living on the streets. I’ve been living a parallel life for a while, not telling anybody what was going on.
WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL?
When you first meet people, you don’t tell them. You don’t wanna base a relationship on that. I didn’t know how to break it to the people I knew or how to tell it to people that I met. I was afraid. I didn’t want them to think about me like that and I wanted them to have other feelings about me.
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO GIVE YOUR BEST SHOT TO THIS LIFE BASED STORY? WHAT CONVINCED YOU IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO INTERESTING?
I didn’t really. When I finished school I didn’t have a job and didn’t know what I was supposed to do. But you meet people on trains or anywhere else and you tell them about your story and they go: “It’s crazy! Should be a movie”. Finally I had a conversation with a friend and he convinced me to write it down. I started writing a “fake”, creating situations and characters, but it didn’t really work. In 2007 I went to Korea working as an English teacher and there, at one point, I just wrote what happened. It came out naturally.
HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO WRITE THE SCRIPT AND, AFTERWARDS FOR THE PRE-PRODUCTION PROCESS?
The idea was problably february 2006. I wrote it in 15 days. It just came out. I found someone to sublet me an apartment. I had one year not being homeless to make this movie. I cut the movie in one month in October. We hired a sound guy, but he did a horrible job. I had six months to get this movie done. He destroyed my plan. And it took another five months to find somebody I could trust to mix the sound. It was supposed to be 5 weeks and it took almost one year.
WHAT ABOUT THE SHOOTING PROCESS?
Our budget was 175.000$. We had 21 shooting days. We had 190 locations all over nyc, at least three location movings a day. The staff was always ready and did a great job. We used the most of every penny, building locations out of nowhere. When I first sat down to do this, it was, probably to prove something to myself, my friends, myfamily and whatnot. Then, the crew became my family and I had another, better reason to do it. I wanted to repay them, somehow, for the incredibly hard work they put into this project.
IN THE MOVIE THERE ARE MANY RELATIONSHIPS THAT SEEM TO HAVE A VERY STRONG EFFECT ON THE PROTAGONIST’S LIFE, BUT, TO ME, THE MOST CONFLICTED AND MAYBE TORMENTED ONE IS THAT BETWEEN HIM AND HIS MOTHER. DOES IT REFLECT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR OWN FAMILY?
I think this kind of issues are always there. Sometimes more accentuate than others. I think the mother doesn’t hate the kid. She hates her own life and she doesn’t wanna accept it. He feels the same way. They are very much alike. They are a mirror to each other. It’s a strange relationship that never developed properly.
REGARDLESS THE SUCCESS THE FILM MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT HAVE, IS THE SATISFACTION OF COMPLETING YOUR WORK ALREADY A FAIR PRIZE, ACCORDING TO YOU?
Absolutely. You have to ask yourself: “why are you really doing this?”. If you are sincere to yourself you’ll never be disappointed. Of course you don’t do it ONLY for the sake of it. You wanna get known, raise something out of it, maybe, but make sure that you’ll have to see through a lot of horrible moments. Sure, there are great moments as well, but it’s very hard going thorough the whole process.
IF YOU COULD GIVE AND ADVICE TO EVERY OTHER POTENTIAL PROFESSIONAL FILMMAKER OUT THERE, WHAT WOULD IT BE, BESIDES NEVER GIVING UP, OF COURSE?
The best advice is be honest with yourself and think deeply about what you wanna do. Because of all the stress and problems involved, it can be very difficult. Sorround yourself with people you trust. If they like you, they are gonna give you more than you asked them, they’re go an extra mile and you’re gonna need it. Treat them wit respect.
I NOTICED A SUDDEND CHANGE OF PACE IN THE MOVIE BY THE END. FOR THE WHOLE FIRST TWO ACTS THERE WAS ALWAYS A THICK VEIN OF IRONY. BY THE END THIS IRONY HAS BEEN REMOVED LEAVING THE FIELD TO THE DRAMA. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO DO IT?
I don’t think I set it out and I feel it’s still there in a more subtle way. In the mother scene, there is still something in the “favorite moment of your life” moment. The story follows the protagonist and his feelings. He’s not getting a break, but he still has something. When he loses this something he crashes. He can’t even laugh at himself and movie follows the same path.
WHERE DID YOU FIND THE BANDS THAT YOU USED FOR THE SOUNDTRACK?
We didn’t have any music. The sound guy was supposed to compose a score. He was gonna bring some friends. We had nothing when he screwed us over. I knew many of these bands. I just wrote them. They were great and so were their agents. Even the ones with albums out are still underground and they are in the same boat I am.
WHO’S THE TARGET OF THIS MOVIE? WHO DO YOU MAINLY WANNA SENT A MESSAGE TO?
People who work or wanna work in film of course, but also anybody who feels that “this place” doesn’t belong to them. Anybody who feels that they can achieve something. If you wanna do something and you don’t give up, you make sacrifices, you will get what you want at some level.
WHAT WILL YOUR NEXT STEP BE? ARE YOU ALREADY PLANNING ANOTHER MOVIE OR YOU’LL WAIT TO SEE WHAT THE RESPONSE TO …AROUND WILL BE?
I’m writing, trying to have at least aother idea to propose to whoever might be interested. It’s always better to be prepared. I’ll try to work the field and show people that I’m capable of working in this business.
WHAT IS THE BEST PART, ACCORDING TO YOU, OF BEING A STORY TELLER?
I love the idea of getting people’s attention. It’s a form of connecting with them. When you have a story to tell, there is no better way to be sending a message and connecting with people.
IS THERE SOMETHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO SAY?
Again, cast and crew were great. Rob, the protagonist, did a great job. He’s from Alabama. He’s a friend of mine and he was cast eight months before the shooting and he worked extremely hard to get the accent, the behaviour and even the moves right. But, even though they don’t get as much praise as he does, without the support of the other artists like the homeless guy and Molly, he couldn’t deliver the same message.
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on November 19, 2008 under Documentary, Premiere | Comments are off for this article
Home Across Lands, a documentary film about refugee resettlement premieres tomorrow night in Providence, Rhode Island.
The film chronicles the work of the International Institute of Rhode Island staff and volunteers as they guide Kunaman refugees from a life of despair in the Shimelba Refugee Camp in northern Ethiopia, to their new home in Providence: from thatched-roof mud huts to a path to self-sufficiency in a new country.
The Kunama featured in the film fled their native Eritrea after war broke out between Eritrea and Ethiopia in 1998. They then spent years in the Shimelba camp until they were granted refugee status by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees that allowed them to come to the United States.
The film will be shown at 7 p.m. at the Columbus Theatre, 270 Broadway. The event begins at 6:30 p.m.: suggested donation is $35; patrons, $100.
APPALACHIA: A History of Mountains and People is the first environmental history series ever made.
Narrated by Academy Award Winner, Sissy Spacek. A Film Series by Jamie Ross and Ross Spears
An all-star cast, including Pulitzer Prize-winning biologist E.O. Wilson and best-selling novelist Barbara Kingsolver, explore the intersection of natural history and human history in one of America’s grandest treasures.
Presented in four parts, the series comes to PBS in early 2009.
Producer Jamie Ross and director Ross Spears will be at Berea Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 20-22, for the screenings and a public talk. On Thursday, Nov. 20, they will present a program as part of Berea’s Convocations Series, beginning at 3 p.m. in Phelps Stokes Auditorium. For their program titled “Appalachia: Where Is That, and Why Haven’t I Been There?” Ross and Spears will show excerpts from the film and discuss their philosophy of film as social commentary.
The documentary will be shown on Nov. 21 (parts 1 and 2) and Nov. 22 (parts 3 and 4). Both screenings will be in Phelps Stokes Auditorium beginning at 7 p.m., followed both evenings by a Talk Back with Ross and Spears. [via]
Part One: Time and Terrain
The series begins with Earth’s oldest mountains – the Appalachians. We see how continents over millions and millions of years collide in a slow dance which ultimately results in the formation of the mountains we now know as the Appalachians. We trace the evolution of the Great Forest which blankets the region in green, forming a home for a unique mosaic of plant and animal species
We watch as the first humans who arrived as early as 12,000 B.C. develop a complex and sophisticated relationship with the natural world. In Appalachia, we soon discover, geology is destiny. We see portraits of Appalachia’s Principal People at the time of European contact: the Cherokee, Shawnee, and Iroquois – vibrant, adaptive cultures with finely tuned relationships to their environment, a complex ecological community with amazing biological diversity. The arrival of the Europeans signals vast cultural and biological upheavals
Part Two: New Green World
Two cultures, Native American and European, collide in a struggle for control of the mountains. In the conquest of new land, first come the surveyors and mapmakers, including young George Washington, then come the road and cabin builders. From ecologists, anthropologists, and geographers, we hear of the vast differences between the Native American and the European perceptions of the land and its resources, all of which comes to a head when gold is discovered in 1828 in the mountains of Georgia. Once again, geology is destiny.
We see a new inhabitant, the pioneer, carving out a life on the Appalachia frontier, coming to terms with the wilderness, and creating a way of life unique to the mountains, one which will endure in different forms through the centuries.
Part Three: Mountain Revolutions
A rich agrarian society is torn asunder by the cataclysm of the Civil War. “The race for the prize is on,” wrote Harper’s Magazine in 1872 as railroads pushed ever further into the mountains. Speculators spread through every timber rich and mineral infused hollow, making deals. The third hour of the series will tell the story of the region as it confronts this strange new industrial age.
The story begins in the Great Forest, where virgin timber still abounded as late as 1880. Coal camps replace villages; mountain farms are abandoned; missionary schools spring up; the land, the people, the wildlife and the culture are endangered. Foresters, botanists, geologists, novelists, and historians all recount the changes in the land and its people as the coal is dug and the ancient trees are felled to fuel the nation‘s booming new industrial economy.
Part Four: Power and Place
The story of twentieth century Appalachia is the story of a rich but deeply troubled region forging its own distinct identity. From the union battles of the 1920s to the celebration of its rich cultural heritage in music, art and literature, to the enduring environmental and cultural dilemmas of our own time, Part IV will explore the heartbreak and hope of modern Appalachia.
Sociologists and ecologists point to Appalachia’s own inner eye, the ways in which trouble and pain, discovery and self-discovery fortify the region’s soul and backbone. We see new attitudes and new environmental challenges, old people coming back, new mountain lovers moving in – symbolized by an old tree with a new genetic make-up – the American Chestnut.
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