Haru Kuroki named Festival Muse for 29th Tokyo International Film Festival!

The 29th Tokyo International Film Festival has welcomed actress Haru Kuroki for the Festival Muse. Ms. Kuroki will appear at the opening ceremony and other official events as the face of the 29th TIFF. The festival is scheduled to run October 25th through November 3rd, 2016.

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Haru Kuroki

Kuroki was born in Osaka on March 14, 1990 and made her debut in 2010 as a heroine in Noda Map’s extra performance “Omote ni Deroi!”. Her film debut was in Tokyo Oasis (2011, Kana Matsumoto and Kayo Nakamura). In 2014 she won the Silver Bear at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival and the Japan Academy Prize for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Yoji Yamada’s The Little House. She won the Japan Academy Prize for Best Supporting Actress again in the following year for My Mother (2015, Yoji Yamada). Her filmography includes The Great Passage (2013, Yuya Ishii), Solomon’s Perjury Part 1: Suspicion and Part 2: Judgment (2015, Izuru Narushima), A Bride for Rip Van Winkle (2016, Shunji Iwai), “Hanako to Anne” (2014, NHK), “The Emperor’s Cook” (2015, TBS), “Sanada Maru” (2016, NHK), and “Juhan Shuttai” (2016, TBS). The Long Excuses (Miwa Nishikawa), Chotto Ima kara Shigoto Yametekuru (Izuru Narushima) are due to be released soon.

The festival is scheduled to run October 25th through November 3rd, 2016.

(Source: tiff-jp press release)

La La Land to get Early Release on December 9

La La Land,  the sophomore feature follow-up by critically acclaimed Whiplash director, Damien Chazelle, is scheduled for a limited release beginning on December 9th. La La Land, an early favorite for Oscar nominations after strong showings at the Venice, Toronto and Telluride film festivals, is a musical drama about a jazz pianist who falls for an aspiring actress in Los Angeles, California. Ryan Gosling plays the jazz pianist, Sebastian while Emma Stone plays the aspiring actress/playwright Mia. Ms. Stone captured hearts at Venice receiving a Silver Lion for Best Actress for her role as Mia.In addition, La La Land won the coveted Audience Award at the Toronto Film Festival.

The official roll-out release remains scheduled for December 16th.

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(Sources: http://www.variety.com, http://www.thedailystar.net)

Sandstorm Unhinged

As wedding festivities get underway in a Bedouin village in Southern Israel, Jalila finds herself in the awkward position of hosting her husband Suliman’s marriage to a second, much younger wife. During the celebration, Jalila stumbles across her eldest daughter Layla’s involvement with a boy from her university—a strictly forbidden liaison that would shame the family. Burying the indignity of Suliman and his new bride living next door, Jalila also tries to contain Layla’s situation by clamping down on her. But Layla sees a different life for herself…

sand-storm

Written and Directed by Elite Zexer
Starring Khadija Alakel, Haitham Omari, Ruba Blal-Asfour, Lamis Ammar,
Jalal Masarwa
Country of Origin: Israel
Running Time: 87 min
Not Rated
Subtitled

Here’s what leading critics are saying:

“Critics’ Pick. Coursing with feeling – an ethnographic melodrama, rich in cultural specifics, but also universal longings.”
– Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice

“One of the most-admired films at this year’s Sundance. A lovely, deeply affecting film.”
– Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine

“A complex drama with characters to match. The choices (Zexer) makes in terms of visuals, tone and script establish her as a strong directorial presence.”
– Kimber Myers, The Playlist

Get SBIFF Showcase Series Tickets Here

Screening:
Sunday October 2 @ 2:00pm
Monday October 3 @ 7:30pm
Tuesday October 4 @ 5:00pm
Wednesday October 5 @ 7:30pm
at the Riviera Theatre
2044 Alameda Padre Serra

See you at the cinema!

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(Source: http://www.sbiff.org)