Posted by editor@vimooz.com on July 29, 2009 under HollyShorts Film Festival | 
Ben Lyons, E! Entertainment Television personality and co-host of the nationally syndicated, “At the Movies,” will host the 5th annual HollyShorts Film Festival (HSFF) opening night celebration, which takes place on Thursday, August 6, 2009 at the DGA Theatre in Hollywood. NBC’s “Open House” and “1st Look” correspondent, Viviana Vigil, will be the special guest presenter. The announcement was made today by Daniel Sol, Festival Director, HollyShorts Film Festival.
Read more of this article »
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on under Tribeca Film Festival Doha |
Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF) today announced key members of the team that will head up the inaugural 2009 Festival. Amanda Palmer, head of entertainment for Al Jazeera English, has been named DTFF Executive Director. Palmer will lead the Festival and work with a team from Tribeca that includes Geoffrey Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer of Tribeca Enterprises, to shape the program. Locally the team will include Arab documentary and short films expert Mohamed Maklouf, serving as the festival’s Regional Programs Advisor, and award-winning Palestinian filmmaker Scandar Copti serving as Community Outreach Programmer.
Doha Tribeca Film Festival will run October 29 to November 1, 2009 and is being produced by Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) in collaboration with the Tribeca Film Festival.
Read more of this article »
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on July 27, 2009 under Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival |
Last Supper No. 3 won Best Film in the Full Length feature category of the all digital 2009 Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival and Competition while Special Jury Prize in the same category was shared by two films—Colorum by Jon Steffan Ballesteros and Ang Panggahasa Kay Fe by Alvin Yapan.
Based on a true story, Last Supper No. 3 is a humorous look at the circuitous path the Philippine legal system takes to justice. The story’s lead character Wilson Nañawa (played by Joey Paras), an assistant production designer, is tasked to look for a Last Supper to use as a prop for a TV commercial. He finds three, but loses one. What happens next changes Wilson forever.
Read more of this article »
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on July 25, 2009 under Toronto International Film Festival |
- Penelope Cruz and Pedro ALMODÓVAR - LOS ABRAZOS ROTOS (Broken Embraces)
The Toronto International Film Festival announces the addition of eight titles to its Special Presentations programming lineup for TIFF09, which runs September 10 to 19, 2009. These include works from Argentina, France, Italy, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. These new films join the nineteen previously announced Special Presentations.
Read more of this article »
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on July 24, 2009 under Independent Features Film Festival |
The Independent Features Film Festival announced their 2009 lineup. Films were selected via Independent Features signature web-based competition. The festival take place July 23-25 on the Upper West Side in New York City and will feature a groundbreaking convention. The Film Industry Networking Convention is a collaboration of Independent Features and NYC Premieres created with the sole purpose of bringing together the film community to help get productions off the ground. Independent Features was founded by two independent filmmakers who learned first hand how hard it is to find an independent film an audience. The company pioneered the Independent Features Film Festival which is the first in which film selection is done online via a web-based competition. Since the company launched in 2006 it has became one of the fastest growing in the film industry and has generated over 405 million media impressions. Find below the 2009 program of the Independent Features Film Festival:
Read more of this article »
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on July 23, 2009 under Durban International Film Festival |
The Durban International Film Festival has worked to highlight the importance of the appreciation and understanding of the cinematic form for a younger generation. As part of this visual literacy effort the DIFF will transport more than 2000 school children to cinemas to view films on the big screen. But parents shouldn’t feel left out. There are ample opportunities for parents and children to share in the magic of film. The films selected here are both entertaining and of artistic merit, a rare combination in this age of the Hollywood blockbuster. In addition, in most of these screenings, the film’s director will be in attendance, and will conduct a post-film Q&A with audiences, giving a rare glimpse into the mechanics and inspiration behind what gets projected on the screen.
Intonga, directed by JJ Van Rensburg, is the first Xhosa-language feature film to emerge from South Africa and is an elegantly constructed tale of Siviwe, a young stick fighter from Fort Beaufort, who moves with his mother to Mdantsane after his father dies. As the new kid in school, Siviwe is bullied by a local boxing champion. One day while running away from the bully, he meets a priest. Siviwe and the priest, who is a former boxer, strike up a friendship and the priest guides the young stick fighter on his challenging journey into the world of boxing. Intonga screens on 24 July at 18h00 at Ekhaya, KwaMashu and on 26 July at 16h00 at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre.
Madoda Ncayiyana’s My Secret Sky (Izulu Lami) tells the story of Thembi (10) and her brother Khwezi (8) who are left alone in their rural homestead after their mother’s death. All they have to remember her by is the traditional Zulu mat that she hoped to enter in a craft competition in the city. The children decide to take the mat to Durban but when they arrive in the city, their troubles escalate. Filmed in eThekwini and based on the experiences of the city’s homeless children, My Secret Sky is a heartrending tale of suffering and redemption. My Secret Sky screens on 23 July at Nu Metro Cinecentre Suncoast at 19h00, on 25 July at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre at 18h00 and on 29 July at Ekhaya, KawMashu at 18h00.
In The Seven Of Daran - The Battle Of Pareo Rock, by Lourens Blok, Jimmy, an eleven-year-old boy, has his wallet stolen by a homeless young girl called Charita. He chases after her, arriving eventually at an animal market where the two children are surprised to see a white giraffe held captive. The giraffe is a mythical animal who protects Africa and he tells Jimmy that he needs to stop a battle between two rival tribes at Pareo Rock. The two children head off to the sacred rock for an exciting and magical adventure that explores themes of cooperation, self-confidence and the adverse consequences of greed. The public screening of The Seven Of Daran is on 2 August at Cinema Nouveau Gateway at 16h00.
DIFF presents the world premiere of White Lion (directed by Michael Swan), a heart-warming tale of the search for home and triumph over adversity. The film tells the story of a rare and revered albino cub, Letsatsi, who is ostracised for his pale hide and forced to live on the periphery of the pack. A Shangaan man named Gisani rescues him from a pack of hyenas attempting to have him for supper. To the Shangaan, Letsatsi’s white coat is seen as a good omen and Gisani thereafter dedicates his life to protecting the cub - in the end, placing himself in harm’s way. The public screening of White Lion is on 25 July at 18h00 at Nu Metro Cinecentre, Suncoast.
Another animal themed film is the multiple award-winning documentary Saving Luna, which teaches us that a life doesn’t have to be human to be great. Luna, a baby killer whale, gets separated from his family on the wild coast of Vancouver Island. All alone, he seems determined to make friends with humans. People fall in love with him. But the government decides that being friendly with Luna is bad for him, and tries to force him and people apart. This effort becomes hilarious and baffling, because Luna refuses to give up his search for a social life. An unforgettable and brilliant meditation on the extent to which man should interfere with nature, or let it take its own course. Bring your tissues. Saving Luna shows on 25 July at Ster Kinekor Musgrave at 14h00 and on 2 August at Cinema Nouveau Gateway at 14h00.
The festival has also curated two special short film packages entitled Karma Chameleon and Kwasuka Sukela that are suitable for children.
Principal screening venues of the festival are the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre; Nu Metro Cinecentre - Suncoast; Ster Kinekor Junction - Musgrave; Cinema Nouveau - Gateway; Ekhaya Multi-Arts Centre in KwaMashu; and The Royal Hotel, with further screenings in township areas where cinemas are non-existent.
See all film synopses, screening schedules and workshop programme at www.cca.ukzn.ac.za
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on under Durban International Film Festival |
French cinema takes centre-stage at the 30th Durban International Film Festival (DIFF). While the French have always had a strong presence at DIFF, 2009 is a particularly remarkable year given the excellent films available for selection this year from an assortment of styles and themes.
Winner of the Cannes Palmes d’Or, Laurent Cantet’s The Class is a well-crafted drama written by a real life Parisian teacher (François Bégaudeau) who also stars in the film alongside a cast of non-actors who play his students. Set in a tough neighbourhood, the film rejects genre typical stereotypes and presents a fresh look at culture and ethnicity.
The charming Audrey Tautou (Amelie) stars in the period drama Coco Before Chanel, Anne Fontaine’s sumptuous film about the legendary designer who from humble beginnings discovered a talent that would leave an unforgettable impression on the fashion world.
Rachid Bouchareb, a festival favourite, returns with London River, a prize-winner in Berlin, which takes a tender look at two parents from very different backgrounds searching for their respective children following the London underground bombings in 2005.
Culture, crisis and common ground are also themes in Philippe Lioret’s masterful Welcome. Bilal is a young Iraqi refugee who needs to get to London to meet his true love and is determined to swim the channel in order to do so. It is impossible, but a meeting with a swimming instructor provides him with hope. The film’s actors Firat Ayverdi and Derya Ayverdi will attend the festival to present their film.
Julie Delpy who charmed audiences with her 2007 directorial debut 2 Days In Paris, returns with the very dark The Countess in which she herself plays a legendary countess who is said to have bathed in the blood of virgins in order to preserve her looks.
French co-productions are plentiful at the DIFF this year and include Three Monkeys, the new masterpiece by the Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, The Absence, a powerful tale of filial responsibility by Mama Këita, the legendary Dardenne brothers’ Lorna’s Silence (Belgium) and the Palestinian films Salt Of This Sea by Annemarie Jacir and Pomegranates and Myrrh by Najwa Najjar. French co-produced documentaries include Jean-Marie Teno’s Sacred Places, a compelling meditation on art, cinema, identity and popular culture; Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love, which follows the deeply religious star through a traumatic experience, and the enchanting Yandé Codou, The Griot Of Senghor, an intimate profile of a true diva who has travelled through Senegalese history.
Creativity, finesse and charm characterise this year’s French films screening at DIFF between 23August and 2July.Principal screening venues of the festival are the Nu Metro Cinecentre - Suncoast; Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre; Ster Kinekor Junction - Musgrave; Cinema Nouveau - Gateway; Ekhaya Multi-Arts Centre in KwaMashu; and The Royal Hotel, with further screenings in township areas where cinemas are non-existent.
Programme booklets with the full screening schedule and synopses of all the films are available free at cinemas, Computicket, and other outlets. Call 031 2602506 or 031 2601650 or visit www.cca.ukzn.ac.za for further details.
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on under Durban International Film Festival |
Indian cinema once again has a strong presence at the 30th Durban International Film Festival which kicks off on 23 July and runs until 2 August at cinemas and alternate venues throughout Durban.
In a fine year for Indian cinema, the festival will present the works of new talents as well as master storytellers from India. The fine actress, Nandita Das, who is well known for her sublime performances in, amongst others, Fire, Earth and Before The Rains, makes her directorial debut with Firaaq, a powerful condemnation of religious violence. Also a debut, The Damned Rain by Satish Manwar is a stirring film about Indian farmers driven to suicide by debts and drought. The third Indian debut is very different. The hilarious Tamil Western Quick Gun Murugan by Shashanka Ghosh is wickedly clever and riotously funny, as we follow our vegetarian hero Murugan as he tries to save the world from a non-veg villain.
Alongside these striking new talents, the festival will present two established filmmakers. Priyadarshan is well known for his commercial hits, but his Kanchivaram is a politically-charged and poetic film. The great Bengali filmmaker, Rituparno Ghosh, will present the World Premiere of his new film After Words, starring Bipasha Basu and Prosenjit, which looks at the troubled relationship between a reckless poet and his anxious wife.
After Words tells the story of Radhika (Basu) and Indranil (Prosenjit), a married couple in crisis. Indranil, a poet and an engineer, pays little attention to his wife and to his financial responsibilities. This drives Radhika into the arms of photographer Shekhar. An unexpected tragedy forces Radhika to learn new things about Indranil and their relationship through his poetry, whose words infuse the film with romance and lyricism. A complex story told with simplicity and elegance, this is another triumph for one of the masters of Bengali cinema. Ghosh will attend the festival to present the film to audiences.
The Damned Rain takes place in a village devastated by the epidemic of farmer suicides which has been gripping India. When a farmer’s wife learns about her neighbour’s suicide, she begins to worry that her husband, who is struggling to survive the effects of drought and merciless moneylenders, will take his own life. Together with her son and her mother-in-law, she constantly monitors him in order to prevent a possible tragedy. The result is a serious film threaded with dark humour. Superbly scripted, this is a surprisingly mature and understated debut from Manwar. The film’s producer Prashant Pethe will attend the festival.
In Kanchivaram, named for the famous silk-producing region, a poor weaver named Vengadam makes a public promise that his young daughter will one day be married in a silk sari; a promise met with derision by his neighbours. Nevertheless, determined to make good his promise to the future, he starts to steal a thread a day. As the years pass Vengadam becomes a spokesman for his fellow weavers and becomes increasingly politicised. The result is a narrative that is as rich in texture as the cloth produced by the film’s weavers. Priyadarshan, responsible a number of Bollywood hits, has made a beautiful and stridently political film.
Quick Gun Murugan is a genre-bending spoof that blends a rigorous intelligence with an enthusiastic anti-corporatism. The film opens in rural India, where the vegetarian inhabitants of a peaceful town have been brought to their knees by the evil Rice-Plate Reddy and his carnivorous bandits. Murugan, a gun-toting vegetarian and sworn protector of cows, attempts to stop Reddy’s reign of terror. But he is killed in battle, only to be reincarnated in contemporary Mumbai, where the karmic cowboy must prevent his nemesis from achieving world domination with his McDosa chain of meat-based restaurants. An instant comic classic… Mind it!
One of the most acclaimed actresses in contemporary Indian cinema, Nandita Das makes her first visit to DIFF with her directorial debut Firaaq which is set against the sectarian violence which took place in Gujarat in 2002 in which 3 000 Muslims were killed. The film tells several separate stories of disparate individuals who are bound together by a sense of loss and fear in the face of pointless terror. This directorial debut from Das is both a terrifying account of one the many dark periods in human history and an exquisite work of humanist cinema whose narrative remains urgently topical.
Also note a fascinating Dutch-made documentary Babaji, an Indian Love Story, about an elderly Indian man’s rather eccentric preparation for death where he will meet his dearly departed wife. DIFF’s short film programme includes Supriyo Sen’s Wagah, a brilliant gem about the lowering of the flags ceremony on the border between India and Pakistan - this highly humorous film won the Berlin Today award in 2009.
Principal screening venues of the festival are the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre; Nu Metro Cinecentre - Suncoast; Ster Kinekor Junction - Musgrave; Cinema Nouveau - Gateway; Ekhaya Multi-Arts Centre in KwaMashu; and The Royal Hotel, with further screenings in township areas where cinemas are non-existent.
Programme booklets with the full screening schedule and synopses of all the films are available free at cinemas, Computicket, and other outlets. Call 031 2602506 or 031 2601650 or visit www.cca.ukzn.ac.za for further details.
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on under Rooftop Films |
Rooftop’s eighteen remaining screenings include stunning short films, fantastic fiction and daring documentary features. In keeping with our programming goals of bringing you films you won’t see anywhere else, three feature films are NY, US and World Premieres: St. Nick (August 28), the acclaimed neo-Badlands pre-teen fiction from David Lowery; Rock Heart Beijing (August 21), a political rock n roll doc from China, and Burning in the Sun (Sept. 19), which tells the story of a young man bringing solar power to his native Mali (the screening itself will be held at Solar One, and will be solar powered!)
Also on the slate is Rooftop Films first venture into the Bronx (August 29), and a return to the scenic beach at Governors Island, where we will host a new co-presentation with The Fledgling Fund. The special screening of The End of the Line (August 22), a documentary about over-fishing the world’s oceans, will be an integrated event raising awareness about this vital issue.
Rooftop’s short film programs include our energetic “INDUSTRIANCETM” show (August 1), in which man battles machine battles nature; our annual screening of “Home Movies” (August 14), in which filmmakers capture life’s most intimate moments. Other screenings include exciting programs of short films on rooftops in East Harlem at El Museo del Barrio (August 15) and in the Lower East Side at Open Road Rooftop (September 5). “Rooftop Shots” (Sept. 11), our annual celebration of the finest short films in the world, kicks off our official closing weekend, while a new addition to one of our most popular shows, “Brooklyn Non-Fiction” (Sept. 12) marks the end of our summer.
Finally, Rooftop’s annual partnership with IFP during Independent Film Week closes out the 2009 Summer Series, with a sneak peak at the 2009 IFP Narrative and Doc Lab selections, films that are sure to be next year’s hot festival and indie releases.
JULY-AUGUST-SEPTEMBER SCHEDULE:
Fri., July 24
ANIMATION BLOCK PARTY
Some call it punk rock, some call it grass roots, but labels aside, NYC-based Animation Block Party is dedicated to exhibiting the world’s best independent, professional and student animated short films. www.animationblockparty.com
Venue: On the lawn of Automotive High School
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Live music presented by Sound Fix Records
9:00PM: Film
11:30PM-1:00AM: After-party: Open Bar at Matchless (557 Manhattan Ave. @ Driggs) Courtesy of Radeberger Pilsner
Tickets: $9 at the door or online
Sat., July 25
STAY THE SAME NEVER CHANGE
(Laurel Nakadate | New York & Kansas City | 93 min.)
Celebrated video artist Nakadate’s first feature-length film, a hilarious and horrifying work starring a series of teenage girls in their own rooms and clothes, in a world in which the banal becomes extreme and the normal is infused with a chronic and discomforting strangeness.
Venue: On the roof of the Old American Can Factory
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Sound Fix presents live music
9:00PM: Film
10:30PM: Filmmaker Q & A
11-1AM: After-party
Tickets: $9 at the door or online
Thu., July 30
TROLL 2
The legendary worst movie ever made, according to IMDB ratings. Come see how great a bad movie can be.
Venue: On the lawn of Automotive High School
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Sound Fix Records presents live music
9:00PM: Film
11:30PM-1:00AM: After-party: Open Bar at Matchless (557 Manhattan Ave. @ Driggs) Courtesy of Radeberger Pilsner
Tickets: $11 at the door or online
Ticket includes admission to BEST WORST MOVIE on July 31st.
Fri., July 31
BEST WORST MOVIE
(Michael Paul Stephenson | Los Angeles, CA | www.bestworstmovie.com | 92 min.)
An acclaimed feature length documentary that takes us on an off-beat journey into the undisputed worst movie in cinematic history: Troll 2. Directed by the now grown child star of the awful horror classic, this documentary is both hilarious and touching, providing insights into artistic vision and dashed dreams.
Venue: On the lawn of Automotive High School
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Sound Fix Records presents live music
9:00PM: Film
10:30PM: Filmmaker Q & A
11:30PM-1:00AM: After-party: Open Bar at Matchless (557 Manhattan Ave. @ Driggs) Courtesy of Radeberger Pilsner
Tickets: $9 at the door or online
Sat., August 1
INDUSTRIANCETM SHORT FILMS
Short films that explore the changing landscape in industry, architecture and labor, through personal and unusual stories, gorgeous filmmaking and fascinating unexplored spaces.
Venue: On the roof of the Old American Can Factory
Address: 232 3RD St. @ 3rd Ave. (Gowanus/ Park Slope, Brooklyn)
Directions: F/G to Carroll St. or M/R to Union Ave.
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Sound Fix presents live music
9:00PM: Film
11-1AM: After-party
Tickets: $9 at the door or online
Friday, August 7
CANARY
(Alejandro Adams | San Jose, CA | www.canarymovie.com | 93 min.)
A subtly horrifying, naturalistic contemporary sci-fi dystopian film about an organ harvesting company, the media attention that surrounds it, and the banality of ethical squirrelliness.
Venue: On the roof of the Old American Can Factory
Address: 232 3rd St. @ 3rd Ave. (Gowanus/ Park Slope, Brooklyn)
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Live music presented by Sound Fix Records
9:00PM: Films
10:30PM: Filmmaker Q & A
11:00PM-12:30AM: Reception in courtyard including free sangria courtesy of Carlo Rossi
Tickets: $9 at the door or online
Sunday, August 9
Red Heroine
The Devil Music Ensemble performs a LIVE score, accompanying the only surviving Chinese silent martial arts film, Hong Xia’s 1929 film, Red Heroine
Venue: On the lawn of Automotive High School
Address: 50 Bedford Ave. @ North 13th St. (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Martial Arts Demonstration
9:00PM: Film
11:30PM-1:00AM: After-party: Open Bar at Matchless (557 Manhattan Ave. @ Driggs) Courtesy of Radeberger Pilsner
Tickets: $9 at the door or online
Friday, August 14
HOME MOVIES (short films)
Short films and video about moments in time, capturing and imagining what it felt like to be there.
Venue: On the lawn of Automotive High School
Address: 50 Bedford Ave. @ North 13th St. (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Live music presented by Sound Fix Records
9:00PM: Films
11:30PM-1:00AM: After-party: Open Bar at Matchless (557 Manhattan Ave. @ Driggs) Courtesy of Radeberger Pilsner
Tickets: $9 at the door or online
Saturday, August 15
WHERE YOU LIVE (short films)
Short films that show us where you live and how you live. From the harshest African deserts to the fertile Irish countryside, from rapidly growing guesthouses in Hong Kong to the slowly fading inner city of Detroit, these fun and fascinating documentaries invite you into unique communities world wide.
Venue: On the roof of El Museo Del Barrio
Address: 1230 Fifth Ave. @ 104th St. (East Harlem)
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Live music presented by Sound Fix Records
9:00PM: Films
11:00PM-12:30AM: After-party on the roof: Open bar courtesy of Radeberger Pilsner and Carlo Rossi
Tickets: $9 at door or online
Friday, August 21
ROCK HEART BEIJING
(Karen Winther | China & Norway | 60 min.)
US Premiere
If you think it’s hard being a punk rocker in the USA, try making it in China. The debut feature film from Karen Winther is a global, political, rock n’ roll doc about the dynamic Chinese punk band Subs, following them from their homeland to their first European tour. Filmmaker in attendance.
Venue: On the roof of the Old American Can Factory
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Live music presented by Sound Fix Records
9:00PM: Films
10:30PM: Filmmaker Q & A
11:00PM-12:30AM: Reception in courtyard including free sangria courtesy of Carlo Rossi
Tickets: $9 at the door or online
Saturday, August 22
Rooftop Films & the Fledgling Fund present
THE END OF THE LINE
(Rupert Murray | United Kingdom | 90 min.)
Imagine an ocean without fish. Imagine your meals without seafood. Imagine the global consequences.
Venue: The Beach at Governor’s Island
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Live music presented by Sound Fix Records
9:00PM: Film
Tickets: $12 online at www.rooftopfilms.com
Friday, August 28
ST. NICK
(David Lowery | Austin, TX | 87 min.)
Lowery’s debut feature is a pre-teen Badlands, a lush and visceral young American drifter tragedy. Astonishing imagery, evocative soundscapes, heartbreakingly smart and subtle performances, and a story that reveals layer after layer of complexity form a masterpiece of introspection and exploration.
Venue: On the roof of the Old American Can Factory
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Live music presented by Sound Fix Records
9:00PM: Film
10:30PM: Filmmaker Q & A
11:00PM-12:30AM: Reception in courtyard including free sangria courtesy of Carlo Rossi
Tickets: $9 at the door or online
Saturday, August 29
BRONX PRINCESS
A free screening of two films about strong-willed women surviving, learning and dancing in their journeys between New York and Africa.
Venue: On the lawn of Mullaly Park in the Bronx
7:00PM: Live music and performances presented by Sound Fix Records
9:00PM: Films
10:30PM: Filmmaker Q & A
Tickets: Free
Saturday, August 29
P-STAR RISING
At age 9, Priscilla, an adorable yet precocious little girl, tells her single-father, Jesse,: “I am going to become a rapper and fulfill your dreams of succeeding in the music business.”
Venue: On the lawn of Ft. Greene Park
8:30PM: Live music presented by Sound Fix Records
9:00PM: Films
10:30PM: Filmmaker Q & A
Tickets: Free
Saturday, September 5
STORMS EXPECTED (short films)
A burning piano falls from the sky. A city burns to the ground. Hundreds of Santas party in the streets. And then-then!-the unexpected happens. These astonishing documentaries, fictional dramas and music videos unleash a storm that is sure to enchant and illuminate.
Venue: On the Open Road Rooftop above New Design High School
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Live music presented by Sound Fix Records
9:00PM: Films
11:30PM-1:00AM: After-party: Open Bar at Fontana’s (105 Eldridge St. @ Grand) Courtesy of Radeberger Pilsner
Tickets: $9 at the door or online
Friday, September 11
ROOFTOP SHOTS (short films)
The official Closing Weekend for Rooftop Films 2009 Summer Series. The sharpest short films fired from the roof.
Venue: On the Open Road Rooftop above New Design High School
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Live music presented by Sound Fix Records
9:00PM: Films
11:30PM-1:00AM: After-party: Open Bar at Fontana’s (105 Eldridge St. @ Grand) Courtesy of Radeberger Pilsner
Tickets: $9 at the door or online
Saturday, September 12
BROOKLYN NON-FICTION (short films)
Closing Weekend of Rooftop Films 2009 Summer Series. “New York Non-Fiction,” one of our long-standing most popular shows, at last begets a natural partner . . . or rival. With these short films, Brooklyn’s here to represent. It’s your borough. Take a look.
Venue: On the roof of the Old American Can Factory
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Live music presented by Sound Fix Records
9:00PM: Films
10:30PM: Filmmaker Q & A
11:00PM-12:30AM: Reception in courtyard including free sangria courtesy of Carlo Rossi
Tickets: $9 at the door or online
Saturday, September 19
Rooftop Films and IFP present
BURNING IN THE SUN
(Cambria Matlow & Morgan Robinson | New York & Mali | www.birdgirlproductions.com | 65 min.)
World Premiere
2008 IFP Documentary Lab selection
Presented outdoors at a solar energy center, this exciting documentary follows a young man’s quest to start a local business building solar panels in his homeland of Mali-the first of its kind in the sun drenched nation.
Venue: on the pier at Solar One
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Live music presented by Sound Fix Records
9:00PM: Film
10:30PM: Filmmaker Q & A
11:00PM-12:30AM: Reception on-site: Open bar courtesy of Radeberger Pilsner
Tickets: Free
Sunday, September 20
IFP Independent Filmmaker Labs Sneak Preview Showcase
IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Labs are a highly immersive free mentorship program for first feature films at the rough cut stage. Here’s a sneak peek at trailers and scenes from narrative and documentary films from the 2009 Labs-next year’s hot festival and indie releases. IFP will begin accepting applications for the 2010 Labs in January. www.labs.ifp.org
Venue/Address/Directions: TBA
8:00PM: Doors open
8:30PM: Live music presented by Sound Fix Records
9:00PM: Films
Tickets: Free!
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on under Durban International Film Festival |
With the fast escalating global climate crisis, the 30th Durban International Film Festival (23 July to 02 August) seeks to give voice to some of the critical issues with a selection of documentaries addressing environmental concerns.
The respected Foster Brothers, Craig and Damon, have two films at the DIFF this year, the first the World Premiere of Ice Man about Lewis Pugh who conducts long distance swims in the Arctic and Antarctic to highlight the perils of the melting ice caps. Pugh pushes himself to the absolute limits of human endurance and physiology. The Nature Of Life addresses climate change from a unique African perspective and showcases innovative local solutions to the environmental crisis. This inspirational call to action seeks to convince the audience that we all have the potential to adapt and overcome the biggest threat mankind has ever faced. Catch this doubleheader show at 18h00 on 24th July at Suncoast NuMetro CineCentre or at the Royal Hotel at 13h00 on 28th, or at Ekhaya 14h00 on 1st August.
Bound to captivate the audience’s imagination is Saving Luna a masterfully shot film about a baby killer whale separated from his family on the wild coast of Vancouver Island. Luna is determined to make friends with humans who in turn fall in love with him, much to the disapproval of local government. An insightful and moving look at the ethical dilemmas of bridging the gap between species.
Canadian filmmaker Shannon Walsh presents her debut feature length film H2Oil, a film that exposes the desecration of the pristine Alberta’s boreal forest and contamination of the fresh waters in the use of the Canadian oil sands as America’s number one supplier for oil. Another film on oil and the environment is Poison Fire whose producers gave the camera to the communities of the Niger Delta, allowing them to shape the story of how oil companies are endangering lives through uncontained gas emissions and oil spills while maintaining a system characterized by rampant corruption.
The Lake that was is a story about a disappearing lake in Iran threatened by lack of rain, exploited underground water resources and the construction of dams. This film will be shown as part of the festival’s Short Documentary Package 1. Its Up To You takes a look at the challenges faced by small scale farmers from different parts of the world, as they battle the same enemy - industrial agriculture and globalization.
Also look out for The Yes Men Fix The World about two gonzo political activists who infiltrate the world of big business and pull off outrageous pranks that highlight the ways that corporate greed is destroying the planet.
For full programme details visit www.cca.ukzn.ac.za