Tony Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated director Julie Taymor will be the FIRST TIME FEST’S 2014 John Huston Award For Achievement In Cinema recipient, announced FTF Co-Founders Johanna Bennett and Mandy Ward. Ms. Taymor will also be represented in the Fest’s ‘First Exposure’ Retrospective Program where she will attend to present and discuss with the audience her first feature film, Titus.
by Francesca McCaffery
John Maloof and his brother were raised working at outdoor flea markets and swap meets with their father…From a very early age, John Maloof could spot a deal. When working on a book about the history of Chicago, he attended an Auction at a small auctioneer’s store, sitting quietly in the back, and bidded a mere $780 for a box containing over 25,000 negatives shot by an unknown, female photographer. A savvy veteran of these auctions, and now a real estate agent and local historian, he was looking for photos and negatives of old-time Chicago, he was hoping to get a little lucky. He ended up purchasing, for even less money, tens of thousands of more negs and rolls of film, as well as most of her rmaining personal possessions from storage, from another buyer. All of these images had been taken by a woman named Vivian Maier.
As his life and work on the Chicago book took over, Maloof ended up simply stashing away the old boxes in a closet for a long while. Dusting them off one day, hunting again for some random, still images of Chicago, he began to discover some of the most insightful, gorgeous and timely images of street photography he had ever seen. Entranced by the glorious, black and white stills, and in possession of a sophisticated artistic instinct and taste, he then set about to find out, exactly, just who this Vivian Maeir woman really was.
By Francesca McCaffery
Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac: Vol 2, picks right up where Nymphomaniac, Vol 1 left off: the Young Joe (Stacy Martin) is in the midst of her relationship with her once long lost true love, Jerôme (Shia LaBeouf). (Here is my review on Vol 1 here.)
The problem is, the sexually rapacious Joe had, in her own words, “Lost all feeling in my cunt.” Her genuine fillings for Jerome have left her unable to enjoy sexual intercourse with Jerôme. They keep trying unsuccessfully to get Joe off, until finally, an exhausted Jerôme declares that she’s like a wild animal, and well, he needs some “help with the feeding.”
Charleston International Film Festival unveiled its 2014 workshop schedule, which includes a session with esteemed casting directors Laray Mayfield (Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and Laura Verbeke (Flight of the Conchords), as well as actor and former professional athlete Ed Marinaro (Hill Street Blues, Blue Mountain State).
The four workshops planned for the seventh annual festival this April 9th – 13th feature insight and advice from the best in the business on topics ranging from casting and acting to video editing and virtual cinematography. As always, these valuable sessions are free and open to the public.
Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst star in Hossein Amini’s thriller, THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY
The 57th San Francisco International Film Festival taking place April 24 to May 8, 2014, kicks off with the Opening Night presentation of Hossein Amini’s gripping Patricia Highsmith adaptation the Two Faces of January (UK 2014) starring Oscar Issac, Viggo Mortensen and Kirsten Dunst. The Festival will close with Chris Messina’s drama Alex of Venice (USA 2014), starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Messina and Don Johnson.
James Brown
The Tribeca Film Festival taking place from April 16 to 27, 2014, in New York City has added two feature films, both music documentaries, to the special screenings program: Alex Gibney’s work-in-progress, Untitled James Brown Documentary, and the world premiere of Björk: Biophilia Live. It was also announced that TFF’s Opening Night, the world premiere of Time is Illmatic followed by a performance by legendary rapper Nas, will take place at the iconic Beacon Theatre with tickets for sale to the public.
The Sarasota Film Festival, taking place April 4-13, 2014, announced today Richard Jenkins, star of John Slattery’s GOD’S POCKET, will attend the festival screening of the film at The Sarasota Opera House and participate in a Conversation with New York Magazine critic David Edelstein on Friday, April 11 at 3:00 PM at The Florida Studio Theatre’s Bowne’s Lab.
Richard Jenkins has appeared in over 100 films and television series, including his memorable role as Nathaniel Fischer on HBO’s beloved series SIX FEET UNDER and the 2008 SFF film THE VISITOR, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award® For Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.
Next Goal Wins
The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), announced the return of their signature free community events: the Tribeca Drive-In (April 17-19), Family Festival Street Fair (April 26), Tribeca/ESPN Sports Day (April 26), Tribeca Family Screenings (April 26 and 27).
TFF also announced three film additions to the program which will screen for free at the Tribeca Drive-In movie series on the waterfront plaza at Brookfield Place, sponsored by AT&T and hosted by Brookfield Place. The series will kick off on Thursday, April 17 with the 50th anniversary screening of the classic Disney film Mary Poppins, the 30th anniversary of Ron Howard’s Splash starring Tom Hanks, John Candy, and Daryl Hannah on Friday, April 18, and closing with the world premiere screening of the soccer documentary Next Goal Wins on Saturday, April 19.
DRAFT DAY, starring Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, and Sam Elliott
The 7th Annual Charleston International Film Festival (CIFF), taking place April 9th to 13th, 2014, in historic downtown Charleston, revealed a lineup 78 films, including features, documentaries, animations, and shorts, including from the festival’s own Lowcountry film community.
This year’s opening day feature is a sneak preview of the soon-to-be released film DRAFT DAY, starring Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, and Sam Elliott. Directed by Ivan Reitman, who produced the cult-classic Animal House and directed family-favorite films such as Ghostbusters, DRAFT DAY follows general manager Sonny Weaver (Costner) on the day of the NFL Draft, as he has the opportunity to rebuild his team if he can trade for the number one draft pick. He must quickly decide what he’s willing to sacrifice in pursuit of perfection on a life-changing day for a few hundred young men with dreams of playing in the NFL. Football and film fans alike are sure to love this sports drama, which won’t release into theaters until April 11.
Alive Inside: A Story of Music & Memory
The full film slate is unveiled for the upcoming PFF: Spring Showcase, a new spring extension of the Philadelphia Film Festival, which will be held Friday, April 11 to Thursday, April 17, 2014. In its opening weekend, the Showcase will feature 17 films currently screening through the international film festival circuit. The remainder of the event will feature evening screenings highlighting the creative and visually captivating films of 2014 Oscar Winner for Best Director, Alfonso Cuarón. The retrospective series will screen all of Cuarón’s features in chronological order beginning with his first, 1991’s SÓLO CON TU PAREJA.
John Carney’s comedy, BEGIN AGAIN (formerly Can A Song Save Your Life?), starring Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo, Hailee Steinfeld, and Adam Levine, will close the 13th edition of the Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), on Saturday, April 26th at BMCC Tribeca PAC.
From writer-director John Carney (Once), BEGIN AGAIN is a soul-stirring comedy about what happens when lost souls meet and make beautiful music together. Gretta (Keira Knightley) and her long-time boyfriend Dave (Adam Levine) are college sweethearts and songwriting partners who decamp for New York when he lands a deal with a major label. But the trappings of his new-found fame soon tempt Dave to stray, and a reeling, lovelorn Gretta is left on her own. Her world takes a turn for the better when Dan (Mark Ruffalo), a disgraced record-label exec, stumbles upon her performing on an East Village stage and is immediately captivated by her raw talent. From this chance encounter emerges an enchanting portrait of a mutually transformative collaboration, set to the soundtrack of a summer in New York City. The film will be released by The Weinstein Company in July.
The Rijksmuseum is a Dutch national museum dedicated to arts and history in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Built in 1895 by architect Pierre Cuypers, it is considered one of the world’s preeminent art museums. If you’ve visited Amsterdam, you’ve probably been to the Rijksmuseum, U.S. President Obama is scheduled to visit the Rijksmuseum this coming Monday, March 24, 2014. But if you live in Portland Oregon, the Northwest Film Center will screen the film THE NEW RIJKSMUSEUM, April 12 to 13, 2014 at Northwest Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium Portland Art Museum. The film follows the renovation of the museum that took ten long and expensive years and described as a messy, complicated story but one with a glorious ending.