The world premiere of GRAVITY, the new film from director Alfonso Cuarón (Y tu mamá también, Children of Men), and starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, will be screened in 3D as the opening film (Out of Competition) of the 70th Venice International Film Festival (August 28 – September 7, 2013).
Aurora
The Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival (CCI-IFF) running concurrently with the Comic-Con International in San Diego unveiled the lineup of films for 2013. The CCI-IFF celebrates independent film, and this year’s schedule including more international films, with submissions from Australia, Canada, Israel, and Spain, in addition to the United States. Now in its 14th year, the CCI-IFF is a juried event – the 2013 judges are: Geoff Boucher, Alex DeMille, and Kathy Najimy.
COUNTERFEIT CULTURE
Three films received the Grand Prix-Best of Festival designation at the 2013 US International Film & Video Festival; “SWEET TOKYO” was chosen Best of Festival-Corporate, “HUMMINGBIRDS-JEWELED MESSENGERS” was selected Best of Festival – Documentary, and Best of Festival – Entertainment went to “STARS.” The documentary “COUNTERFEIT CULTURE” was selected for the One World Award, which recognizes a production that fosters international cooperation and global understanding.
REACHING FOR THE MOON directed by Bruno Barreto
Frameline film festival’s audience selected REACHING FOR THE MOON, directed by Bruno Barreto as the Best Feature Film, and THE NEW BLACK, directed by Yoruba Richen as the Best Documentary Film of the 2013 festival. DIK, directed by Christopher Stollery was selected as the Best Short Film. Since 1984 the audience at the the world’s longest running LGBT film festival has been responsible for selecting the Best Feature Film, Best Documentary Film and Best Short Film of the Festival.
REACHING FOR THE MOON, directed by Bruno Barreto tells the story of poet Elizabeth Bishop and her life-changing relationship with the wealthy—and very butch—architect Lota de Macedo Soares. THE NEW BLACK, directed by Yoruba Richen which also received an Honorable Mention, Outstanding Documentary, gives an inside look at efforts within African American communities and churches across the country to address—and then do something about—same-sex equality.
Short Term 12
The 18th annual Nantucket Film Festival which ran June 25 -30, 2013, is all over and announced its awards – with the top awards as usual honoring screenwriters. The top award – Showtime Tony Cox Award for Best Screenwriting in a Feature Film was awarded to Destin Daniel Cretton’s “SHORT TERM 12.” Winner of the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at SXSW, SHORT TERM 12 is described as the touching and uplifting story of Grace, a twenty-something social worker. Her newest ward, Jayden, forces Grace to relive her own difficult upbringing just as she and her boyfriend Mason are on the cusp of making a decision that will change their lives. Funny, moving, and surprising, the film delivers an emotional powerhouse through tremendous performances and a smart script.
THE PREACHER’S DAUGHTER directed by Michelle Mower
“THE PREACHER’S DAUGHTER” won the Grand Jury Prize Narrative Film, and “THE WITNESSES OF THE WAR” won the Grand Jury Prize Documentary at the 2013 Barcelona International Film Festival. Directed by Michelle Mower, THE PREACHER’S DAUGHTER is the story of Hannah White, the estranged daughter of a small town minister who is forced to return to the strict, religious home of her youth where she must confront the troubled relationships that caused her to leave four years before. “THE WITNESSES OF THE WAR” directed by Sami Solmaz, focuses on what is described as a lasting war in Turkey- off staged and not clarified by the state for some 27 years. In the West, the truth about what has been going on Kurdish territories for 27 years is far from exposed. The national mainstream media networks only broadcast the footage and the texts authorized by the state. The news to be broadcasted is designated by the government and the general staff.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Don Jons Addiction
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has extended invitations to join the organization to 276 artists and executives who “have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures. Those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy’s membership in 2013.” “These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today,” said Academy President Hawk Koch. “Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy.”
A WORLD NOT OURS (ALAM LAYSA LANA) directed by Mahdi Fleifel
“LEVIATHAN” directed by Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel, described as a stunning documentary that immerses the audience in the sights and sounds of commercial fishing in the North Atlantic won the The Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film at the 2013 Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF). “A WORLD NOT OURS” (ALAM LAYSA LANA), directed by Mahdi Fleifel – a personal look into the 70,000 people living in Ain el-Helweh the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, won the The Award for Best Film in the International Competition. The Audience Award was won by “FIRE IN THE NIGHT” directed by Anthony Wonke – about the world’s worst offshore disaster – 6 July 1988, disaster on the North Sea oil rig Piper Alpha.
Isn’t it funny how a movie that starts with a line in voiceover narration like “my story can never be told” ends up being a two hour movie in which that story is told in great detail, right?
Eleanor (Saorise Ronan) and Clara (Gemma Arterton) are 200 year old vampire-like creatures (called “succreants”) in modern day England. Though they refer to each other as sisters, Clara is actually Eleanor’s mother. Eleanor keeps her blood thirst in check by only feeding on dying old people, while Clara supports them by prostituting. After meeting a doughy, bespectacled customer who owns a hotel named Byzantium, Clara sets up a brothel and believes that their problems have been solved. However, Eleanor meets a gangly, nervous teenager named Frank (Caleb Landry Jones) and she finds herself drawn to him. She aches to reveal her true nature to him but Clara has so far kept her unaware of the costs of that decision – they are being tracked by powerful dark forces. Intercut with this narrative is the story of how Clara and Eleanor became succreants and why they must hide their true nature from the world.
Jan Broberg in MANIAC
A victim, twice over, Jan Broberg has emerged as a spokewoman for resiliency and the importance of letting life’s experience serve as a motivation and teaching tool rather than a deterrent. The unfortunate victim of abduction and subsequent brainwashing as a child on two different occasions, Broberg has experienced redemption and solace thereafter.On seperate occasions, which spans a period of four years in total, Jan Broberg was the victim of a kidnapping, where she was restrained in the back of a mobile home, held down and brainwashed by continuous recordings of a monstrouous voice. Hard to explain, even more harder to imagine or survive for that matter. Jan Broberg has emerged victorious in her quest to put that horror behind her, and encourage others that they too can persevere. Playing the role of Rita, also a victim of Frank Zito, played by lead actor Elijah Wood in the filmMANIAC, Broberg has once again been given a platform for the war against what some would consider demons, while she considers it a muse. In this candid interview with the actress, learn about her life, her times of tragedy, as well as redemption and vow to be an example for others who have overcome or are seeking the knowledge to do so.
WHO IS DAYANI CRISTAL?
Six film projects have be selected as recipients for the 2013 Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) New Media Fund. The TFI New Media Fund was established in 2011 through a long-term partnership with the Ford Foundation’s JustFilms Initiative to support non-fiction film projects that go beyond traditional screens, exploring storytelling that is interactive, cross-platform and participatory.
Connie Jackson as Alina, the housekeeper, Damon Shalit as Frikkie and Chella Ferrow as Sussie in African Gothic directed by Gabriel Bologna which will have its SA Premiere at DIFF
AFRICAN GOTHIC, the new international film version of Reza de Wet’s iconic masterpiece, Diepe Grond, will have its South African and African premiere at the 2013 Durban International Film Festival.