VERSAILLES ’73: AMERICAN RUNWAY REVOLUTION
The first ever Capital City Black Film Festival will take place at the Omni Hotel and Stateside at the Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas, September 26 to 28, 2013. Opening night will host the regional premiere of the nationally-acclaimed new documentary by Deborah Riley Draper, “VERSAILLES ’73: AMERICAN RUNWAY REVOLUTION,” which deals with the culturally groundbreaking importance of African-American models in the French and American fashion scenes.
NEBRASKA
The 49th Chicago International Film Festival which runs October 10 to October 24, 2013, has selected Joel and Ethan Coen’s INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS as the Festival’s Closing Night Film; and NEBRASKA, directed by Academy Award®-winner Alexander Payne, as the Festival’s Centerpiece Film. In addition, the festival announced the full lineup of films selected to screen in the International Feature, New Directors, Docufest, After Dark, Q Hugo, and Short Film Competitions.
The 17th Annual Los Angeles International Short Film Festival (LA Shorts Fest) held from September 5- 12, 2013, announced this year’s award winners. Winners automatically become eligible for consideration by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for a possible Academy Award nomination. SEQUENCE (USA), directed by Carles Torrens was selected by the jury as the LA Shorts Fest Best of the Fest Award. Sequence is about a man who wakes up one morning to realize the entire world has dreamed about him the night before.
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS starring Oscar Isaac ,Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, and Justin Timberlake, will be the Centerpiece Film for this year’s Austin Film Festival (AFF) which takes place October 24th to 31st, 2013, in Austin, Texas. Winner of the Grand Prix at the 2013 Cannes International Film Festival, the film follows a week in the life of a young folk singer as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961. Inside Llewyn Davis features the Coen brothers’ fourth collaboration with Grammy and Academy Award®-winning music producer T Bone Burnett. Additionally, the festival announced the full film lineup of over 70 feature films.
AIN’T THEM BODIES SAINTS
Wisconsin native director David Lowery’s AIN’T THEM BODIES SAINTS, starring Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck and Ben Foster has been added to the upcoming Milwaukee Film Festival. The 1970s Texas countryside provides the scene for this gritty Sundance sensation that tracks the collision of love and crime in the tradition of Bonnie and Clyde or Badlands. One fateful move from his pregnant wife (Rooney Mara) during an intense shootout finds a young man (Casey Affleck) staring down a 25-year jail sentence, but a daring escape finds him determined to reunite this family no matter the cost. In addition to David Lowery the festival announced the full line-up of talent scheduled to appear at the 2013 Milwaukee Film Festival. The 5th annual Milwaukee Film Festival will be held September 26 to October 10, 2013.
HOT GUYS WITH GUNS and HETEROSEXUAL JILL
HOT GUYS WITH GUNS and HETEROSEXUAL JILL are two comedy films that will screen at this year’s Cinema Diverse: The Palm Springs Gay and Lesbian Film Festival which opens Thursday, September 19th, and runs through Sunday, September, 22nd, 2013. The first, HOT GUYS WITH GUNS, is a modern (gay) take on the old-fashioned detective story. Imagine Lethal Weapon as a comedy with the Mel Gibson and Danny Glover characters played by younger, hotter ex-boyfriends.” HETEROSEXUAL JILL, is described as a delightful mix of over-the-top comedy, sharp wit, and pathos, from filmmaker and actress, Michelle Ehlen, perhaps best known for her comedic feature, Butch Jamie.
The European Film Academy will honor director Pedro Almodóvar with the honorary award EUROPEAN ACHIEVEMENT IN WORLD CINEMA for his outstanding body of work. Pedro Almodóvar will be an honorary guest at the 26th European Film Awards Ceremony on December 7, 2013 in Berlin. “I am very thankful for this award. From its creation, the European Film Academy has been very generous with me and my closest collaborators,” stated Pedro Almodóvar upon receiving the news, “I […]
Steve McQueen’s 12 YEARS A SLAVE
The 38th Toronto International Film Festival today announced its award recipients at a reception at the Intercontinental Hotel in Toronto. Among the top prizes, Steve McQueen’s 12 YEARS A SLAVE won the BlackBerry People’s Choice Award. The film tells the incredible true story of Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841 and finally freed in 1853. The story is a triumphant tale of one man’s courage and perseverance to reunite with his family that serves as an important historical and cultural marker in American history. The BlackBerry People’s Choice Documentary Award went to Jehane Noujaim for THE SQUARE.
A scene from Flora Lau’s BENDS, the Opening Night film at Hong Kong Cinema, October 4-6 at the Vogue Theatre.
The San Francisco Film Society will kick off its Fall Season with the third annual Hong Kong Cinema festival, October 4 to 6, 2013, at the Vogue Theatre (3290 Sacramento Street). Kicking off the festival is Opening Night film BENDS, the debut full-length production from Flora Lau that features a knockout lead performance from Carina Lau. HK icons appear throughout this year’s festival, including superstar Andy Lau (BLIND DETECTIVE), Chow Yun-fat (THE LAST TYCOON), Aaron Kwok (CONSPIRATORS) and Cantopop sensations Grasshopper and Softhard, subjects of the music documentary THE GREAT WAR. Kung-fu fans will delight in the big-screen presentation of THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN, the universally celebrated martial arts classic that has inspired such luminaries as Quentin Tarantino and the Wu-Tang Clan. The 2013 edition includes an exciting tribute to Lau Kar-leung (aka Liu Chia-liang), the late master of kung-fu fight choreography responsible for many of the beloved genre’s most important works.
Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Mark Mori’s BETTIE PAGE REVEALS ALL will open in theaters in New York City and Los Angeles on November 29, 2013 before expanding to additional markets. BETTIE PAGE REVEALS ALL is described as an intimate look at one of the world’s most recognized sex symbols, featuring Bettie Page herself telling her story for the first time in her own words.
GARIFUNA IN PERIL directed by Filmmakers Alí Allié and Ruben Reyes from Honduras will be one of the highlights of the 8th Annual CaribbeanTales Toronto Film Showcase, September 4 – 14, 2013.
This film follows a Garifuna language teacher, Ricardo, who struggles to preserve his endangered Afro-Amerindian culture by building a language school back in his home village in Honduras, Central America. A business venture with his brother designed to raise money for the school’s construction becomes complicated by the expansion plans of a nearby tourist resort into indigenous territory. Historical parallels are invoked as Ricardo’s son rehearses a stage play about the Garifuna people’s last stand against British colonialism over 200 years ago in their motherland, the island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean.
We’re a few weeks away from the fall weekends when the major studios release their Oscar contenders (both expensive and indie in origin), so you ought to try and see a few more indie films coming out this weekend that might soon be overshadowed by movies with more “weight” behind them and expensive marketing campaigns. Remember, though these films are being initially released this weekend they may not be in your area yet. Check your local theater times and your VOD outlets of choice to see if you can view them now!