The world-famous PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL FILM AWARDS GALA is kicking off this year’s festival! This event is sure to be a memorable experience with a stellar line-up of honorees from the greatest of films that Hollywood has to offer this year – Annette Bening, Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman, Casey Affleck, Amy Adams, Ruth Negga,Andrew Garfield, Natalie Portman, Mahershala Ali, the cast of HIDDEN FIGURES, Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst and Jim Parsons and LA LA LAND with director Damien Chazelle, and stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. Now that’s Hollywood glamour.
FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
Viggo Mortensen highlights Talking Pictures. This series of special programs is devoted to exploring the careers and creative choices of some of the top talents in the world of film. Oscar®-caliber directors, actors, screenwriters and other creative talents engage with leading entertainment journalists and audiences in a conversation about contemporary cinema.
BOOK TO SCREEN
Introduced in 2015 by Barbara Keller and Susan Rosser, Book To Screen is a popular Festival sidebar shining a light on the often complex, always invigorating ways in which the written word informs and inspires motion pictures. More movies than not are sourced from literature: novels, short stories, comic books, biographies, journalism and other forms of non-fiction.
Book To Screen is a two-day event covered by a single pass which provides full access to all symposium panels, discussions, and screenings. Day one consists of film screenings. Day two is a symposium featuring conversations with a remarkable array of writers and screenwriters exploring the push-and-pull between the literary and cinematic worlds. Passes are still available at the Festival Ticket and Information Center. Individual tickets for panels and screenings will not be on sale. For more information about Book To Screen click HERE.
DREAM VACATION PALM SPRINGS
VACATION PALM SPRINGS “DREAM VACATION” WINNER WILL RECEIVE:
* A Four (4) night stay for up to 4 people in a luxury 3-bedroom Palm Springs vacation rental home during the 2018 Palm Springs International Film Festival. Winner will also receive the following:
* Opening -or- Closing Night Screening and Gala Reception – 4 Tickets
* Festival Screening Passes – 4 non-transferable passes, good for all regular screenings
Must be at least 25 years of age to enter this contest.
No purchase necessary.
One entry per person; employees of PSIFF are not eligible.
TAKE ME HOME HUEY
World Premiere
U.S. * 2016 * 70 minutes
Directors: Alicia Brauns, Christine Steele
TRUE STORIES
This moving documentary traces the evolution of Steve Maloney’s eponymous mixed-media sculpture, in which he took a wrecked Huey helicopter, restored it and transformed it into a remarkable memorial to the men who served and lost their lives in Vietnam. It’s a salutary reminder of the healing power of art.
*The Huey helicopter will be on display at the Camelot Theatres.
Directors Alicia Brauns and Christine Steele will be attending the screenings.
SAN FRANCISCO—The 60th annual San Francisco International Film Festival will be held April 5, 2017 through April 19, 2017. The festival was created and facilitated by the San Francisco Film Society (SFFS).
The venues hosting this coming year’s festival include the Alamo Drafthouse, the Castro Theatre, the Roxie Theater, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Victoria Theatre, and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. BAMPFA in East Bay will also house part of the film festival.
“The Festival combines a range of marquee premieres, international competitions, compelling documentaries, new media work, musical performances and star-studded events,” states the SFFS website.
The 2016 festival included 252 film screenings of 183 different films from almost 50 countries. There were more than 300 filmmakers and industry affiliates who made appearances, coming from different parts of the world for the event.
All submitted films had to be completed on or after the first day of the 2016 calendar year. Only films that had not been previously broadcasted or exposed at any other festival were considered. Those in the Bay Area community were eligible for an additional category of awards to support and celebrate independent and local works. The filmmakers chosen for the 60th festival screenings will be notified in March 2017.
Those who are SFFS members enjoy perks including discounts and access to private events.
Kollywood is looking for a bright and better 2017, as the industry has undergone a sea change in 2016. All aspects of Tamil film making —funding, distribution, marketing, exhibition, promotions and political climate — have gone through a metamorphosis. Demonetisation and the resulting lack of finance is making producers uneasy.
Last week, the single biggest deal was made for a forthcoming festival film’s most lucrative distribution territory. The deal between the distributor and the production house was done through their bank accounts via RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement) instead of the usual practice of paying cash. The distributor had told theatres willing to pay advance, and in some cases MGs (Minimum Guarantee), for this big hero film, to route it via banks, and made it clear that he will not accept cash payments. The deal went off smoothly, with the distributor bragging that he didn’t even visit the producer’s office to transfer the amount.
A leading financier says, “Demonetisation and the number of raids that followed have ensured that producers settle their financiers in cashless transactions via cheques, RTGS, NEFT etc. Now, financiers are wary of funding films based on its negative rights. We need to know their financial background and if they will be able to pay via banks at the time of settlement before going forward.”
One of the lessons Kollywood learnt in 2016 is the importance of marketing and promotions in the success of a film. Films which were torn apart by critics, like Kabali, Remo and others, went on to become hits, based on their marketing, with influential local distributors getting them wide releases.
Today, top stars visit popular screens in suburbs and small towns at the time of their film’s release. Dhanush’s visit to Tirunelveli Ram Muthuram for Kodi promotions resulted in huge collections for the film at that screen, and it featured at number four among the theatre’s top 10 collecting films of 2016.
The number of shows a screen allocates to a film too has become a barometer. At the same time, more than half the films suffer as theatres don’t give prime slots. The trouble is that theatres in the State have found alternative content, which is far more lucrative than Tamil films. Last year, the Tamil dubbed versions of The Jungle Book, The Conjuring 2, M.S.Dhoni: The Untold Story and Dangal did better business than certain straight Tamil hits. These four dubbed films will easily walk into the top ten collecting films of 2016 from Tamil Nadu theatricals based on ROI.
Last week, some screens in Chengalpet area on Monday cut down the number of shows of new Tamil films released for Christmas on Friday and replaced them with Dangal!
It is clear that Tamil films that don’t open well during the weekend are today dumped, without even informing the distributor. Earlier, even if a film flops, it would survive a week, with the same number of shows given at the time of release. Theatres across Tamil Nadu are now finding it better to go for online ticketing, which brings them extra money via service charges. This has created a situation where online booking, especially in Chennai city and Chengalpet areas, will determine the number of shows allotted for a film.
The myth of so-called “low-class masala entertainers” performing better in B and C markets has also been blown away. 2017 will see a more unified box-office performance market across the State, which means that producers can’t make meaningless potboilers and say it is meant for a particular section of the audience. Non-big hero films are now in a process of cost-cutting, with production managers being pulled up and asked to reduce the number of shooting days. Directors, especially newcomers, have been told to bring down the number of scenes, with the final edited copy not exceeding 140 minutes.
As satellite prices are no longer attractive for small and medium films, producers are trying to explore digital platforms. The new team, which will take over the Tamil Film Producers Council in the first week of February, has their job cut out. A lot has been written about piracy eating into collections as technology improves, with many new films being uploaded on Facebook on the release day itself. Hence, the window between a theatrical and digital release will have to come down drastically this year. Tamil cinema producers and actors should realise that budget is the key to box-office success. The Tamil Nadu government should also implement the High Court order to increase ticket prices, which have not been modified for the last 10 years. Hopefully, Kollywood will see a new beginning this year.
Finnish cinema is back in a major next year as Aki Kaurismäki will soon debut his first feature since 2001’s Le Havre. Set for a world premiere at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival in early February, we’ve been anticipating The Other Side of Hopefor some time now and the first trailer has finally arrived today.
Starring Sakari Kuosmanen and Sherwan Haji, the story follows a poker-playing restauranteur and former traveling salesman who befriends a group of refugees newly arrived from Finland. While there’s no subtitles, a good amount of the dialogue is in English, which gives us a strong sense for what to expect for the film, hopefully picking up U.S. distribution soon.
This series of special programs is devoted to exploring the careers and creative choices of some of the top talents in the world of film. Oscar®-caliber directors, actors, screenwriters and other creative talents engage with leading entertainment journalists and audiences in a conversation about contemporary cinema. Each program begins with a screening of our guest’s latest film, which is followed by an in-depth conversation hosted by a moderator. For information on additional Talking Pictures visit the Palm Springs International Film Festival website.
Viggo Mortensen
Captain Fantastic
Tuesday, January 3 – 7:45 pm
Annenberg Auditorium
118 Minute Running Time
In CAPTAIN FANTASTIC, Ben Cash (Viggo Mortensen) is raising his six children in the wilds of the Pacific Northwest, putting them through both vigorous physical and intellectual exercises in the mountains’ fresh air. Far away from Snapchat and Snapple, the kids develop a unique sense of themselves and their family identity. But Cash’s tough homeschooling challenges conventional ideas about family and childhood. Ben has given up the outside world and whatever personal ambitions it held for him to devote his life to being the best father he thinks he can be. The question becomes: is he the best father in the world or the worst? Is what he’s doing insane or insanely great?
Viggo Mortensen and Writer/Director, Matt Ross will be present for an onstage discussion of the film following the screening.
BY DAN ALLEN | The eagerly anticipated ABC miniseries When We Rise will have its North American premiere at the 2017 Palm Springs International Film Festival, which opens next Thursday (January 5) in the desert metropolis and runs through January 15.
When We Rise is an upcoming American docudrama miniseries written by Dustin Lance Black.
The festival’s unique timing—at the start of every new year, just before both the Sundance Film Festival and the Academy Awards—gives it an important place on the international film calendar, and its consistently excellent roster of new global cinema—including a big selection of exciting gay titles—makes it one of Southern California’s most important annual film events.
“Gay films have always been a very important part of the festival,” says longtime movie critic David Ansen, who’s now in his second year as PSIFF’s lead programmer.
“There’s of course a sizable gay community in Palm Springs—we’ve even had a couple of gay mayors—so there’s definitely an audience for gay films here and across Southern California.”
Highlighting the LGBTQ slate at PSIFF this year will be the North American premiere of Dustin Lance Black and Gus Van Zant’s highly anticipated When We Rise, a seven-part miniseries set to debut on ABC in February.
Chronicling the history of the LGBTQ rights movement as seen through the prism of three connected characters, the miniseries stars Guy Pearce, Mary-Louise Parker and Rachel Griffiths, and features cameos from the likes of Rosie O’Donnell and Whoopi Goldberg.
As part of its annual Gay!La evening within the festival on January 12, PSIFF will be showing the miniseries’ first extended episode, which is directed by Van Zant (who’ll be attending, along with Black, Pearce and Griffiths).
“The whole miniseries covers many decades, but each part stands on its own,” says Ansen. “The first part is largely set in San Francisco in the ‘60s, where the three main characters sort of converge from different places. Cleve Jones, who was an assistant to Harvey Milk, came from Arizona, where his father was a shrink who disapproved of his being gay.
One of the characters is a black Navy guy who’s coming back from Vietnam and encounters a fair amount of racism within the gay community—the show doesn’t shy away from a lot of stuff. The third character is a sort of initially closeted woman from Boston who gets very involved in the women’s movement, and then realizes that within the women’s movement there’s a lot of anti-gay sentiment, which of course there was. And their paths all cross in San Francisco.”
Another debut at PSIFF will be the American premiere of the stylishly quirky German film Center of My World, directed by Jacob M. Erwa. “The simplest way to describe it is a coming-of-age movie, but it’s one with many facets,” says Ansen. “The heart of it is a sort of love story between two teenage boys. The main character comes back to his family’s retreat in the forest, where he lives with his mother—a very interesting character, the mother, who’s a sort of expatriate American living in Germany, who won’t tell him who his father was. She’s had a lot of affairs. And he has a sister that he was close to who has mysteriously gotten sort of removed and detached, and there’s a lot of family secrets that come out in the course of the movie. It’s both sexy and complex.”
Starring in the movie as the young main character Phil is 19-year-old German actor Louis Hofmann, who also stars in the Danish film Land of Mine, which is currently shortlisted as a Best Foreign Language Oscar nominee.
Center of My World is one of two European coming-of-age movies at PSIFF this year—the other is Iceland’s Heartstone, directed by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson. “This is a beautiful Icelandic film,” says Ansen. “It also deals with the difficulty of growing up gay in a very small-town remote environment. It’s beautifully done.”
Chile’s Rara is a coming-of-age story of a different kind, following 13-year-old Sara and her younger sister as they adjust to life with their mother and her first female partner. Also from Chile is musician Alex Anwandter’s first film, You’ll Never Be Alone, which shows the cold and uncaring social aftermath faced by the father of a savagely beaten gay teenager.
PUSHING DEAD: James Roday AND DANNY GLOVER STAR IN A comedy about the challenges faced by HIV survivors
On a lighter note—though it may not seem like it at first glace—is the American film Pushing Dead, directed by Tom E. Brown. “Pushing Dead is a kind of low-key comedy set in San Francisco about a guy who’s HIV-positive and is reliant on lots of AIDS drugs. But such is the bureaucracy that when he gets a birthday check from his mom, it puts his bank account like $60 over what he’s supposed to have, so his medications are no longer covered by his insurance. That’s sort of the starting point for what is surprisingly a comedy, with a lot of interesting characters. He works with Danny Glover, who’s having problems with his wife. He lives with Robin Weigert (Concussion), who’s the sister of his ex-lover, who died. And all of this sounds heavy, but it’s done with a light touch. It has a lot of charm to it. It’s kind of a surprising unexpected comedy. And it’s about creating your own family—as we all know in the gay world, your family isn’t necessary the one who were born into.”
It’s Only the End of the World is a 2016 Canadian-French drama film written, edited and directed by Xavier Dolan.
Also dealing with HIV—though it’s never clearly spelled out as such in the film—is the latest from Canadian director Xavier Dolan, It’s Only the End of the World. Based on a French play, it’s the story of writer Louis, who returns home from Paris to provincial France after many years away to tell his estranged and extremely dysfunctional family that he’s dying. It’s another of the nine films currently shortlisted as potential nominees for the Best Foreign Language Oscar.
For the true cinema lover comes Portuguese filmmaker João Pedro Rodrigues’s The Ornithologist, the gorgeous myth-like tale of an incredibly hunky birdwatcher (French actor Paul Hamy) who gets lost in the wilderness and encounters a series of bizarre characters as his journey increasingly mirrors that of Saint Anthony. “This is the art film, the cineaste’s gay film, by an openly gay filmmaker,” says Ansen. “I think it’s Rodrigues’s most accessible movie really. There’s some very erotic sequences in it, where the main character encounters this young deaf shepherd.”
Even more out there is the truly bizarre Mexican film The Untamed, from Cannes Best Director winner Amat Escalante. “The Untamed is the wildest of these movies,” says Ansen. “It’s not a gay film in the obvious sense, but has a very strong gay component, and certainly deals a lot with macho Mexican society and homophobia. There’s a character in it who’s a married macho guy who’s having an affair with his wife’s brother. But it has this whole other kind of science fiction element to it, which is also a sexual element, which is quite—once you see it, you won’t be able to forget it. There’s an alien creature who gets ‘involved’ with several of the characters. I’ll say no more. But visually it’s going to gross a lot of people out, I’m sure. It’s a very controversial movie. Not for the faint of heart.”
Another film with a less overt LGBTQ theme is Israel’s In Between, directed by Maysaloun Hamoud. “It’s the story of three Palestinian women, one of whom is a lesbian, living in Tel Aviv,” says Ansen. “It’s a first film by a very talented woman director, and has three terrific characters. It reminds me of last year’s Gay!La film, the documentary Oriented, which featured three gay Palestinian friends also living in Tel Aviv.”
The documentary lineup at this year’s PSIFF includes another Israeli film, Who’s Gonna Love Me Now?, which follows an HIV-positive former army paratrooper living in London as he returns home to Israel to reconcile with his religious family. No Dress Code Required tells the story of Mexicali, Mexico couple Víctor and Fernando, who face continued legal obstacles as they prepare for their wedding. (“It’s infuriating how difficult they make it for them,” says Ansen. “Just when they think they’re going to go forward, they keep finding more and more outrageous ways to deny them the chance to get married.”) Rounding out this year’s LGBTQ docs is Jewel’s Catch One, which reveals the fascinating and fantastic history of the Los Angeles nightclub of the same, and its amazing founder Jewel Thais-Williams—who’s expected to be in attendance at the film’s screening, as is director C. Fitz, and perhaps Sharon Stone, who frequented the club and is interviewed in the documentary.
The festival’s star-studded Awards Gala will be held especially early this year on January 2, three days before the festival’s official Opening Night, so as not to compete with the Golden Globes the following weekend. Unlike most film festivals, PSIFF’s awards honor talent not from its own current-year films, but from all movies released during the previous year—making it a keen predictor of Oscar nominations.
This year’s honorees include Mahershala Ali (Moonlight), Natalie Portman (Jackie), Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea), Andrew Garfield (Hacksaw Ridge), Amy Adams (Arrival), Tom Hanks (Sully), Emma Stone and the cast of La La Land, Ruth Negga (Loving), Nicole Kidman (Lion), Taraji P. Henson and the cast of Hidden Figures, and Annette Bening.
The 28th Palm Springs International Film Festival runs from January 5 to 15, 2017. Most films will screen more than once, at various venues around the greater Palm Springs area. Tickets are available via the festival’s website, www.psfilmfest.org/2017-ps-film-festival.
Exclusively screening in Los Angeles, New York, and Santa Barbara
The eventful and unorthodox life of the Nobel Prize–winning poet, politician, committed communist, unapologetic hedonist, and Chilean cultural icon Pablo Neruda provides plentiful territory for cinematic exploration. The poet’s early-1950s exile in Procida previously inspired Michael Radford’s Il Postino, a fictionalized story about Neruda’s relationship with a local postman that left few cinemagoers dry-eyed. Now, Pablo Larraín, Chile’s most inventive and provocative contemporary filmmaker, takes a wholly unique approach to his famous countryman’s life and work with Neruda, which is set during the poet’s sojourn underground in the late 1940s.
“Exceptional.”
Joe Morgenstern – The Wall Street Journal
“Grade A – brilliant. Riffs on Neruda’s life in a near-frenzy of visual and narrative inventiveness. Gael Garcia Bernal is outstanding.”
Jessica Kiang – The Playlist
“Thoughtful and provocative. A very beautiful made film.”
Kenneth Turan – LA Times
“An Inventive, incredibly entertaining drama.”
Benjamin Lee – the guardian
Screening:
Friday, December 30 @ 11:00am Saturday, December 31 @ 11:00am Sunday, January 1 @ 2:00pm Monday, January 2 @ 7:30pm Tuesday, January 3 @ 5:00pm Wednesday, January 4 @ 7:30pm
at the Riviera Theatre – 2044 Alameda Padre Serra
NERUDA
Directed by Pablo Larraín
Written by Guillermo Calderón
Starring Gael García Bernal, Luis Gnecco,Alfredo Castro, Michael Silva, Mercedes Morán, Pablo Derqui
Runtime: 107 Minutes
Rated R (for sexuality/nudity and some language)
Subtitled
Biennale College Cinema – Virtual Reality is calling for proposals to find nine teams to work on VR projects.
(Photo courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia Cinema)
With the support of experts and international specialists in the field, Biennale College Cinema – Virtual Reality will help existing independent filmmakers and creative professionals from all over the world to appropriate the medium of VR and learn how to adapt their knowledge to VR in a fluid transitional way. In the process participants will acquire the specific know-how around 360° immersive storytelling that will redefine the relationship between story and audience.
Biennale College Cinema – Virtual Reality will select 9 director and producer teams to work on the development of VR projects of between 10-20 minutes duration, at concept stage, helping them to advance their projects covering creative, production, audience/market and financial concerns.
As part of the programme we aim to financially support the production of up to 3 VR projects with € 30,000 each to premiere at the 74th Venice International Film Festival in early September 2017 and to present the other developed projects at the Venice Production Bridge as part of the Gap Financing Market activities.
The Biennale College Cinema – Virtual Reality, realized with the support the Creative Europe – Support for Training, will be collaborating with the Netherlands Film Funds and the TorinoFilmLab.
Deadline for the call for applications is8th February 2017 and the selection of the 9 teams will be announced on 28th February 2017.
For further information and the submission form:
Biennale College Cinema > COLLEGE CINEMA VR
(Photos courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia Cinema)
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have announced that 10 films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 89th Academy Awards®.
The films are listed below in alphabetical order:
“Arrival”
“The BFG”
“Captain America: Civil War”
“Deepwater Horizon”
“Doctor Strange”
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”
“The Jungle Book”
“Kubo and the Two Strings”
“Passengers”
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”
The Academy’s Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the shortlist. All members of the Visual Effects Branch will now be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the shortlisted films on Saturday, January 7, 2017. Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar® consideration.
Nominations for the 89th Oscars® will be announced on Tuesday, January 24, 2017.
The 89th Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that seven films remain in competition in the Makeup and Hairstyling category for the 89th Academy Awards®.
The films are listed below in alphabetical order:
“Deadpool”
“The Dressmaker”
“Florence Foster Jenkins”
“Hail, Caesar!”
“A Man Called Ove”
“Star Trek Beyond”
“Suicide Squad”
On Saturday, January 7, 2017, all members of the Academy’s Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the seven shortlisted films. Following the screenings, members will vote to nominate three films for final Oscar consideration.
Nominations for the 89th Oscars® will be announced on Tuesday, January 24, 2017.
The 89th Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live on the ABC Television Network at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
