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The AFI FEST Interview: DIVINES Director Houda Benyamina

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Disenchanted and unimpressed by the parameters of life in the slums of Paris, a fearless and ferocious teenager named Dounia unabashedly dreams of prosperity, not only for herself but also for her charismatic best friend and alcoholic mother. In her audacious pursuit of money, power and respect, she aligns herself with a ruthless gangster who uses her as a pawn to exact revenge on a rival drug lord. When their plan goes off the rails and escalates into violent territory, Dounia is forced to reconcile the allure of quietly escaping to the life of her dreams with the reality of the ramifications of her actions. Shot in a style that is at once melodic and discordant, DIVINES is a cinematic haiku of empowerment, youthful angst, racial inequality and the consequences of poverty.

Winner of the Camera d’Or prize at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, DIVINES is the feature film debut of director Houda Benyamina.

AFI: Oulaya Amamra gives an intense performance as the raw and uninhibited protagonist Dounia.  How did you develop that character?

Houda Benyamina: One year of physical training was necessary. Dounia is a fighter whoscreen-shot-2016-11-06-at-10-20-16-am develops an incredible lust for life and you had to feel it through Oulaya’s body. Her body had to embody this strength and this lust for surpassing herself; that is why Oulaya took boxing and parkour lessons. Apart from that, the character had to be in peak physical condition to keep up with the pace of the rehearsals and of the shooting. This was long and intense, and needed stamina.

Dounia has a cat-like side, she slides in and out of underpasses, passageways; she is at the same time deep down and high up. So Oulaya’s task was to watch documentaries on felines to grasp their way of being and moving. She also viewed a lot of gangster films and films in which the hero is transforming. We were looking for an organic transformation and this required an important identifying process. Oulaya suggested lots of ideas of clothing. During a whole year she wore Dounia’s clothes, she ate, slept and lived like Dounia. She even went sleeping in a gypsy camp because she had to understand her character’s rage due to a feeling of injustice, and to be able to find in herself Dounia’s anger for being ostracized.

AFI: What was your rehearsal process?

HB: During the shooting I developed a sort of safety line around the actors to protect them from any lapse in concentration. The camera, for instance, was on all the time so that the crew did not have to care about it and could keep focused on the actors. To me the film set is like a sanctuary, a holy place. I ask everybody to be extremely concentrated, full of solemnity toward the actors acting. And it is very important to me.

AFI: Questions of race and class inequality come up in the script. How did those themes shape the characters and plot?

HB: DIVINES is a film on spirituality and holiness. What was important to me was the apocalyptic ending. How does one rise from the ashes? How does one learn [that] there are so many things which shape us: family, social class, education, politics — but through these primary determinisms, I wanted to raise the question of free will and how it appeared in these characters looking for appreciation and dignity. Injustice is my driving force to creation. I feel close to my characters, who oscillate between darkness and light; I like exploring the two sides of human beings. Social inequality and the hunger to overcome are present for sure, but they are elements of the characters and not their essence. The essence centers on them and their inner lives.

Most important was to arouse emotion, because it makes us think and allows us to understand and question society. I intended to make a universal film with universal issues of love, friendship, the quest for recognition and dignity, and ambition.

AFI: You’re a celebrated short filmmaker. What made you want to make the transition to feature film?

HB: It was important to find someone who understands me and has the same artistic and human values, and I found him: my producer, Marc-Benoît Créancier. Once we had made my medium-length film SUR LA ROUTE DU PARADIS together, it was obvious to me to make a feature film. As a film director and a great believer I have lots of doubts and I ask myself lots of questions. My producer helps me overcome them; he encourages and guides me and he trusts me so much that making a feature film with him was a foregone conclusion.

AFI: In one sentence, what statement or question would like to linger with the audience following the screening?

HB: What do I really need to succeed?

DIVINES screens at AFI FEST 2016 on Saturday, November 12, and Monday, November 14, as part of the New Auteurs section of the festival.

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(Source: afi.blog.com)

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FILM REVIEW: The Wind Rises (Miyazaki, 2013): Japan

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Reviewed by Larry Gleeson. Viewed during AFI Filmfest 2013.

The Wind Rises, is a new animated, full-length, feature film from legendary Japanese animation director, Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki announced at this year’s Venice Film Festival this will be his last film. In 1997 his Princess Mononoke, was the highest revenue grossing film in the history of Japan at the time of its release and it also received the Japanese equivalent of an Academy Award for Best Film. Miyazaki is also well known for the films Spirited Away, (2001) and Howl’s Moving Castle, (2004) In 2003 Miyazaki received an Oscar for Best Animated Feature for the film Spirited Away.

His films have garnered international acclaim from critics and have provided Miyazaki public recognition within Japan. His films are known for compelling characters, engaging plots and eye-catching animation. Remarkable by today’s standards his films allow no more than 10% of the footage to come from computer animation.

In The Wind Rises, Miyazaki tells the story of Jiro Horikoshi, a real-life aeronautical engineer who designed fighter aircraft in Japan during WWII. The film opens with the young Jiro fantasizing of his plane flying above his hometown. As I watched the scene unfold, a rather powerful ominous feeling surfaced as I was reminded of Leni Riefenstahl’s opening scene from the Nazi propaganda documentary, Triumph of the Will. Nevertheless the early moments of the film are very heartwarming as Miyazaki chooses to highlight Jiro’s youth as an older brother to a delightfully spirited younger sister in a single parented household run by their kind and caring mother.

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Jiro’s passion throughout the film is making good airplanes. Jiro’s daydreaming, which he does a few times during the story’s arc. Admittedly, several of my favorite moments are Jiro’s imaginings with Count Caproni, a larger-than-life mustachioed Italian airplane designer who mentors Jiro with playful and good-natured ribbing, that provide insight into  Jiro’s creative passion. Jiro finds his inspiration through such moments and Miyazaki makes space for them throughout the film.

The story is partially based on Tatsuo Hori’s 1938 novelette, “The Wind Has Risen.” Miyazaki’s animation provides beautiful plush scenery with Monet-like backdrops and landscapes providing striking visuals while creating a powerful nostalgia for a simpler time lightly brushing over the complications of war and economic depression. With such a breathtaking mise-en-scene it’s no wonder a young Jiro falls in love with the  young woman he saved during a traumatic, historic earthquake a few years before (the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake).

In direct juxtaposition to this frantic and rather manic scenario in the aftermath of the earthquake, young Jiro finds himself vacationing in a rural setting enjoying the greenery and the soft “rising” winds complete with majestic and billowing, flowery clouds when he coincidentally crosses paths with the beautiful girl he saved from the earthquake as she paints poetically on a hillside overlooking the spectacular countryside.

The Wind Rises, is a very light-hearted, entertaining film. The film focuses pretty much exclusively on the protagonist, Jiro, as an idealistic engineer whose primary purpose in life is to make planes. Granted, he falls in love and rubs elbows with German plane builders during WWII. Yet, WWII and the social unrest after the  Great Kanto Earthquake are left virtually untouched. Tellingly, Jiro’s concern at the end of the war was over the planes that didn’t come back. Nevertheless, I wholeheartedly recommend the film for children and for adults with a penchant for Monet-esque visuals.

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#AFI, #AFIFEST, Hollywood

AFI FEST 2016 Presented By Audi Announces Conversation and Presentations Lineup

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, LOS ANGELES, CA, NOVEMBER 4, 2016 — The American Film
Institute (AFI) today announced the Conversations and Presentations lineup for AFI FEST
2016 presented by Audi.

Highlights include an AFI Master Class on CITIZEN KANE with Peter Bogdanovich following a 75th anniversary screening of the film; Academy Award® nominee David O. Russell discussing the 20th anniversary of his sophomore feature FLIRTING WITH DISASTER; a panel on THE LOST CITY OF CECIL B. DEMILLE; director Barry Jenkins discussing his groundbreaking MOONLIGHT with cast members of the film; a roundtable of documentary filmmakers including Werner Herzog and Barbara Kopple, presented by the Los Angeles Times; The Hollywood Reporter Indie Contenders Roundtable with nine standout artists; and more. Click here to see the entire lineup release: afi-fest-2016-conversations-and-presentations-final

Free Tickets Available at AFI.com

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#AFI, #AFIFEST, Feature Film, Hollywood, Press Conference, Venice International Film Festival

La La Land ‘Dreamers’ trailer released

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If there’s only one movie you can see this year make it La La Land. With an early limited release scheduled for December 9th in Los Angeles and New York followed up by a nation-wide roll-out, put on your seat belts for this emotional roller-coaster.

Brilliantly conceptualized from the Damien Chazelle team, La La Land tells the story of two young Los Angeleans, Mia and Sebastian seeking fulfillment through the entertainment industry. Mia is an aspiring actress and Sebastian is a classical jazz pianist who doesn’t believe in compromising his convictions for anyone or anything. Mia, on the other hand, can’t seem to finish an audition without being interrupted. It’s only when their paths cross and the stars align do these two traverse the path of fulfillment.

As performances go, Emma Stone as Mia delivers an all-encompassing performance delicately balancing the drama of her personal life with an expressiveness she’s honed over the last twelve years as an actress in Hollywood.  Ryan Gosling as Sebastian delivers an understated performance that matches his character. Together, the two have made cinematic magic in the spirit and image of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astair, Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds.

La La Land is a film for the ages. Exceptional camera work, ardent choreography, exquisite production design, catchy, melodic musical score, strong direction and over-the-top performances catapult La La Land to the top of the year’s best films. La La Land is the stuff dreams are made of.

 

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FILM REVIEW: Charlie Victor Romeo (Berger, Daniels, Michelson, 2013): USA

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Reviewed by Larry Gleeson. Viewed during the AFI Filmfest 2013.

Interestingly, the film Charlie Victor Romeo, evolved from an award-winning play created in 1999 by Daniels, Berger and Gregory. The play captured two Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Unique Theatrical Experience and Outstanding Sound Design and received recognition from Time Magazine in 2004 as Best Theatre Top Ten plays. The 1999 theatre version eventually was videotaped and the Smithsonian Aviation Museum reviewed it. Shortly thereafter, the aviation community picked it up and incorporated it into its repetoire of training tools for its pilots’ Crew Resource Management. After its 1999 opening at Collective:Unconscious in New York City, the played toured internationally and nationally until 2008.

The film version of  Charlie Victor Romeo, is a collaborative effort between Collective:Unconscious and 3LD Art & Technology Center. The production was filmed at 3LD Art & Technology Center as part of its new 3LD/3D+ program, a cross-platform for distribution and production of experimental work and made its West Coast premiere on Saturday, November 9th, at the AFI Filmfest 2013. Following the second viewing at the Filmfest on November 11th, the cast of Patrick Daniels, Irving Gregory, Noel Dinneen, Sam Zuckerman, Debbie Troche and Nora Woolley hosted a Q & A. Producer Catarina Bartha was also in the house to support her cast.

Berger, when asked what was the motivation behind the project, conveyed that it wasn’t anything political that it was simply trying to make something of interest to an audience.

In its most basic sense, Charlie Victor Romeo, dramatizes the human intensity that surfaces during the distressed descents of six airline crashes culled from dialogs taken from the surviving black box transcripts. In introducing the affected flights overlay schematics display the failed mechanical parts of the air crafts.

The team of screenwriters, Berger, Daniels and Gregory, scoured the typed transcripts of scores of airline emergencies and crashes, finally settling on the six presented. The criteria used in choosing which emergencies to dramatize the team wanted scenarios with enough emotional intensity that they could perform the scenes dramatically. They also wanted situations that illuminated the aviation perspective. And, finally, they wanted material that allowed their performances to create a bridge for the audience between professional aviation and their art in portraying  the human aspect of handling an aviation emergency while in inflight when things go horribly wrong. All the flights selected had issues due to mechanical failures.

Charlie Victor Romeo, creates a spell-binding, psychologically thrilling techno experience within a tension-filled cockpit as the flight crews provide testament to the ability to live life to the very last second while deftly providing insight into who the people are that we entrust our lives to during airline flights and what they do when things go horribly wrong. Furthermore, the conscious decision to use 3D technology enabled the troupe to help bring the reality of being in the cockpit directly to the audience consciousness during the catastrophic experience as the pilots fight to save their passengers and themselves from an impending disaster.

In my opinion, Charlie Victor Romeo, pushes boundaries proving stereoscopic lensing is no longer the exclusive d0main of the epic major studios productions. But more than that, Charlie Victor Romeo, takes real-life aviation emergencies and brings them into the mainstream consciousness in a very humanistic way. Recommended

 

#AFI, #AFIFEST, Documentary, Hollywood

FILM CAPSULE: The Central Park Five (Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, 2012): USA

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Reviewed by Larry Gleeson.  Viewed at the AFI Fest 2012 at Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, Calif.

In 1989, five black and Latino teenagers from Harlem are arrested and  convicted of raping a white woman jogging in New York City’s Central Park. They are incarcerated in prison ranging between 6 and 13 years  before a serial rapist confesses to one of the erroneously convicted that he alone had committed the crime, leading to the  convictions of those erroneously imprisoned being overturned. Set against a backdrop of a decaying city beset by violence and racial tension during the mid 80’s crack cocaine boom, The Central Park Five,  tells the story of crime, a miscarriage of justice, the push by the police for confessions, a sensationalized media frenzy clamoring for emotionally charged stories and a public pushed to the brink with the common place Central Park “wildings’ occurring each weekend , and the five lives upended by the police department, the prosecutor’s office and the New York City Mayor’s Office. The five youths admitted they were in the park that evening committing other crimes.

The film is directed by legendary documentarian Ken Burns and his newcomer daughter Sarah Burns, who is the driving force behind the making of the film as she wrote her college thesis on the five falsely accused teens. Extensive use of archival footage combined with photos and current seated interviews provide an authenticity to the storytelling. At times it’s difficult to fathom how these young men were coerced into confessing. Yet, the Burns’ take the viewer on an “inch by inch” journey culminating in the release of the Central Park Five from their respective incarcerations. The question propagated being: was justice carried out? The obvious answer is not for these five young men. Other questions come to mind when these men are shown present day as they are finding it challenging to live life on life’s terms.

In a Q & A following the film (three of the Central Park Five were present and participated in a panel along with Ken and Sarah Burns), a civil suit against the prosecutor’s office and the police department came to light. The lawsuit is now nine years old and depositions haven’t even begun. The general consensus being that two to three more years will pass before the depositions are completed. Then, and only then, will the case be heard.

Yesterday’s headline news again reported a female jogger being approached by another group of five  young, teen-age men around 8:30 P/M in the northern part of New York City’s Central Park seeking the woman to provide them with kisses. The woman rebuffed the advances and police officers claim one of the teens touched her genital/groin area and purportedly ran off. The Central Park Five, is a very provocative film revolving around the issue of what constitutes justice and what collateral damage occurs in carrying out a Machiavellian “the end justifies the means” brand of justice.

 

#AFI, #AFIFEST, Feature Film, Hollywood

M. Night Shyamalan’s SPLIT Added to AFI FEST 2016

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Universal Pictures’ SPLIT — from Academy Award®-nominated director/writer/producer M. Night Shyamalan and Academy Award®-nominated producer Jason Blum — will play as a Special Screening at AFI FEST 2016 presented by Audi. Watch the trailer below.

Written and directed by Shyamalan, SPLIT is an original thriller that delves into the mysterious recesses of one man’s fractured, gifted mind. Though Kevin (James McAvoy) has evidenced 23 personalities to his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley), there remains one still submerged who is set to materialize and dominate all the others. Compelled to abduct three teenage girls led by the willful, observant Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), Kevin reaches a war for survival among all of those contained within him — as well as everyone around him — as the walls between his compartments begin to shatter apart.

Following last year’s THE VISIT, Shyamalan reunites with producers Blum and Marc Bienstock and executive producers Ashwin Rajan and Steven Schneider for the film, which also stars Jessica Sula and Haley Lu Richardson.

SPLIT joins the already announced Special Screenings BRIGHT LIGHTS: STARRING CARRIE FISHER AND DEBBIE REYNOLDS (DIRS Fisher Stevens, Alexis Bloom), THE COMEDIAN (DIR Taylor Hackford), LION (DIR Garth Davis), MISS SLOANE (DIR John Madden), MOANA (DIRS Ron Clements, John Musker), PATERSON (DIR Jim Jarmusch) and TONI ERDMANN (DIR Maren Ade).

Free tickets to AFI FEST will be available on AFI.com beginning November 1. For the full slate of previously announced titles screening at the festival, visit the Film Guide, now online here.

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(Source:www.blog.afi.com)

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FILM REVIEW: Holy Motors (Carax, 2012): France

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Reviewed by Larry Gleeson.

mv5bodk2mdc4mdk2of5bml5banbnxkftztcwmtcyody1oa-_v1_uy268_cr00182268_al_Viewed at the AFI Fest 2012 at the Egyptian Theatre. Holy Motors, winner of the 2012 Cannes Film Festival’s Award of the Youth and the Hugo Award for Best Feature at the 2012 Chicago International Film Festival, directed by controversial Frenchman Leos Carax of Tokyo! fame, tells a beguiling tale of one Monsieur Oscar, a master of disguise, as he journeys from one appointment to another through the course of the dark hours of the night in Paris.  He is, in turn, a beggar,  captain of industry, an assassin, a bizarre reptilian-like virtual sexcapade participant, a sewer-dwelling, underground railroad member resurfacing as a  cemetery-robbing monster gorging himself on flower bouquets and eventually kidnapping a famous model (played stunningly by Eva Mendez) complete in accompaniment with accordion players and more bizarre culinary choices with Ms. Mendez’s hair and paper Euros.

The film opens with a beautiful shot of the night sky. From there the unusualness begins. We see a sleeping audience. Then, the “appointments” begin with the old woman without a care begging on the sidewalk.While his stretch limo motors from locale to locale Monsieur Oscar utilizes the commute time to change his appearance through elaborate forms of  make-up and disguise techniques. Carax gives the viewer an eyeful with a frontal nudity scene while paying tribute to American Beauty with rose petals and in a more human form with the camera presence of beauty Mendez. Throughout Holy Motors Carax allows famed cinematographer, Caroline Champetier (Of Gods & Men ) the camera ample time in the limo itself. This choice amplifies the effects of Monsieur Oscar’s ability to metamorphisize while on the go from appointment to appointment lending a genius effect that Monsieur Oscar is involved in transacting business, of sorts.

I initially was excited to see Parisian scenes and the River Seine. And while I did get to see these, I also got to see a lot more in the way of artistic license as Carax pushes the limits of normalcy through the antics of Monsieur Oscar through the dark of night in an unseen before Parisian form. Finally, towards the end of the night the viewer is returned to a sense of normalcy as Monsieur Oscar plays a caring family only to be trumped by a surprise ending

I do recommend this film. It has a most interesting style of storytelling. While it may or may not be mainstream, it has unusual artistic value in the subtlety Carax implements to drive home his point that in the end French cinema is all about business in one form or another. Well done, Mr. Carax.

#AFI, #AFIFEST, Hollywood

PATRIOTS DAY Will Close AFI FEST 2016

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AFI FEST 2016 presented by Audi will close with the Special Closing Night Gala Presentation of CBS Films and Lionsgate’s PATRIOTS DAY, directed by Peter Berg and starring Academy Award® nominee Mark Wahlberg. The Closing Night Gala will take place on November 17, 2016, at the TCL Chinese Theatre. Watch the film’s trailer below.

An account of the Boston Marathon bombing, PATRIOTS DAY is the powerful story of a community’s courage in the face of terror. In the aftermath of an unspeakable attack, Police Sergeant Tommy Saunders (Wahlberg) joins courageous survivors, first responders and investigators in a race against the clock to hunt down the bombers before they strike again. Weaving together the stories of Special Agent Richard DesLauriers (Kevin Bacon), Police Commissioner Ed Davis (John Goodman), Sergeant Jeffrey Pugliese (Academy Award® winner J.K. Simmons) and nurse Carol Saunders (Michelle Monaghan), this visceral and unflinching chronicle captures the suspense of one of the most sophisticated manhunts in law enforcement history and celebrates the strength of the people of Boston.

Patron Packages can include access to Galas and other high-demand films and events. Individual tickets will be available on AFI.com/AFIFEST beginning November 1.

(Source:www.blog.afi.com)

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FILM CAPSULE: 42nd Street (Bacon, 1933): USA

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By Larry Gleeson.

Viewed at the AFI Fest 21012 the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, Calif.

42nd Street, a Vitaphone and Warner Bros. picture, directed by Lloyd Bacon, has stood the test of time as the epitome film about those who dream of becoming a star on Broadway. Long-time and highly successful director Julian Marsh, played by Warner Baxter, returns to produce a final Broadway show despite his poor health. The show’s financing comes from a wealthy older man, Abner Dillon, played by Guy Kibbee, who is in love with the leading lady and star of the show, Dorothy Brock, played by Bebe Daniels. But Dorothy’s not interested in his love, because she’s still in love with her previous partner. On the night before the show’s premiere, Dorothy breaks her ankle, and Peggy Sawyer, a novice chorus girl played by Ruby Keeler, tries to fill the role of the fallen star. Several subplots add an extra dimension giving a deeper emotional attachment to the main characters and a breath of originality to the old Cinderella story line.

As a viewer, look forward to lots of singing and dancing, especially toe-tapping, some excellent use of comedic timing and some highly imaginative mise-en-scene. Yet, also be prepared for a taste of the old backstage Broadway magic and excitement that seems to go hand-in-hand with Broadway shows not to mention, the debut of legendary and ground-breaking choreographer Busby Berkeley, and some rather catchy musical numbers like “Shuffle Off To Buffalo”, “You’re Getting To Be A Habit With Me”, and “42nd Street.” One of the beauties of the film is each musical coincides with an important story event.  “Shuffle Off To Buffalo” coincides with honeymooning in nearby Niagara Falls,  “You’re Getting To Be A Habit With Me” expresses Dorothy’s feelings for her new lover and the show-stopper “42nd Street,” gives the distinct melding of the elite to the underworld.

Technically, the film is in black and white print and cinematographer Sal Polito provides a very efficient, hard, unglamorous look to the film utilizing for extended dialog a two-person medium full shot extensively, makes good use of tracking shots to guide the viewer’s eyes and uses high overhead shots to showcase the intricacies of choreographer Busby Berkeley introductory work.

I’ve seen the musical “42nd Street” on stage several times and chose to see it on film at the Hollywood Egyptian as I’ve seen Rear Window (Hitchcock, 1954); USA and Lolita (Kubrick, 1962): USA on the big Egyptian screen during previous AFI Fests. All I can say is it’s a real treat and if anyone has the opportunity to see any of  the classics at the Egyptian I fully encourage it. Take a minute and check out the trailer. You’ll be happy you did!