Tag Archives: creativity

Nominations for the British Academy Film Awards in 2017

Posted by Larry Gleeson

On 10 January, the nominations for the British Academy Film Awards in 2017 were announced by Sophie Turner and Dominic Cooper.

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Sophie Turner, left, and Dominic Cooper announce the British Academy Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards, January 19th, 2017 at BAFTA Headquarters, 195 Picadilly in London. (Photo via YouTube)

The nominations for the British Academy Film Awards in 2017 have been announced.

La La Land is nominated in 11 categories. Arrival and Nocturnal Animals both receive nine nominations and Manchester by the Sea has six. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Hacksaw Ridge, Lion and I, Daniel Blake receive five nominations each. Moonlight and Florence Foster Jenkins have both been nominated four times.

La La Land is nominated for Best Film, Original Music, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Costume Design and Sound.  Damien Chazelle is nominated for both Director and Original Screenplay and Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone for Leading Actor and Leading Actress.

Arrival receives nominations for Best Film, Adapted Screenplay, Original Music, Cinematography, Editing, Sound and Special Visual Effects, as well as Director for Denis Villeneuve and Leading Actress for Amy Adams.

Nocturnal Animals is nominated for Leading Actor for Jake Gyllenhaal, and for Supporting Actor for Aaron Taylor-Johnson. The film is also nominated for Original Music, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design and Make Up & Hair. Tom Ford is nominated for both Director and Adapted Screenplay.

Manchester by the Sea is nominated for Best Film and Editing. Kenneth Lonergan is nominated for both Director and Original Screenplay. Casey Affleck is nominated for Leading Actor and Michelle Williams for Supporting Actress.

Ken Loach is nominated for Director for I, Daniel Blake, which is also nominated for Best Film, Outstanding British Film, Original Screenplay and Supporting Actress for Hayley Squires.

Moonlight is nominated for Best Film and Original Screenplay with two further nominations for Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris who are nominated for Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress respectively.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is nominated for Outstanding British Film, Production Design, Costume Design, Sound and Special Visual Effects.

Andrew Garfield is nominated for Leading Actor for Hacksaw Ridge, which is also nominated for Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Make Up & Hair and Sound.

Lion is nominated for Adapted Screenplay, Original Music and Cinematography. Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman are nominated for Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress respectively.

Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant are nominated for Leading Actress and Supporting Actor for their roles in Florence Foster Jenkins. The film is also nominated for Costume Design and Make Up & Hair.

Jeff Bridges is nominated for Supporting Actor for Hell or High Water, which is also nominated for Original Screenplay and Cinematography.

Natalie Portman is nominated for Leading Actress for Jackie, which is also nominated for Original Music and Costume Design.

Also receiving acting nominations are: Viggo Mortensen for Leading Actor for Captain Fantastic; Emily Blunt for Leading Actress for The Girl on the Train; and Viola Davis for Supporting Actress for Fences.

The four films nominated for Animated Film are Finding Dory, Kubo and the Two Strings, Moana and Zootropolis. The nominations for Film Not in the English Language are Dheepan, Julieta, Mustang, Son of Saul and Toni Erdmann.

Notes on Blindness is nominated for Documentary and Outstanding British Film. The film also receives a nomination for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for Pete Middleton (Writer/Director/Producer), James Spinney (Writer/Director), and Jo-Jo Ellison (Producer).

The other nominations in the Documentary category are 13th, The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years, The Eagle Huntress and Weiner.

Under the Shadow receives a nomination for Outstanding British Film, as well as for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for Babak Anvari (Writer/Director) alongside the film’s producers Emily Leo, Oliver Roskill and Lucan Toh.

The other nominations for Outstanding British Film are American Honey and Denial.

The remaining nominations for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer are The Girl With All the Gifts (Mike Carey, Writer, Camille Gatin, Producer), The Hard Stop (George Amponsah, Writer/Director/Producer, Dionne Walker, Writer/Producer) and The Pass (John Donnelly, Writer, Ben Williams, Director).

Doctor Strange receives nominations for Production Design, Make Up & Hair and Special Visual Effects. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is nominated for Make Up & Hair and Special Visual Effects.

Five other feature films receive one nomination each: Hidden Figures for Adapted Screenplay; Hail, Caesar! for Production Design; Allied for Costume Design; Deepwater Horizon for Sound and The Jungle Book for Special Visual Effects.

The British Short Animation nominees are The Alan Dimension, A Love Story and Tough. The five nominations for British Short Film are Consumed, Home, Mouth of Hell, The Party and Standby.

The nominees for the Rising Star Award, announced last week, are Anya Taylor-Joy, Laia Costa, Lucas Hedges, Ruth Negga and Tom Holland. This audience award is voted for by the British public and presented to an actress or actor who has demonstrated exceptional talent and has begun to capture the imagination of the UK public.

The British Academy Film Awards take place on Sunday 12 February at the Royal Albert Hall, London. The ceremony will be hosted by Stephen Fry and will be broadcast exclusively on BBC One and BBC One HD. The ceremony is also broadcast in all major territories around the world.

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About BAFTA

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is an independent charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public. In addition to its Awards ceremonies, BAFTA has a year-round programme of learning events and initiatives – featuring workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes – in the UK, USA and Asia; it offers unique access to the world’s most inspiring talent and connects with a global audience of all ages and backgrounds.

(Source: bafta.org)

Hugh Jackman’s Logan claws out world premiere in Berlin film festival

Posted by Larry Gleeson

By Andrew Pulver

Logan, the third and final standalone Wolverine film to star Hugh Jackman as the adamantine-clawed mutant, is to receive its world premiere at the Berlin film festival in February.

Logan, which follows X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and The Wolverine (2013) in featuring the character as its main protagonist, revolves around an ageing Wolverine whose powers are failing. Directed by James Mangold, and co-starring Patrick Stewart and Dafne Keen, Logan will screen an as out-of-competition film, ahead of its cinematic release in early March.

Also receiving its world premiere at the festival will be Viceroy’s House, the Gurinder Chadha-directed historical drama about the end of the Raj and the partition of India, featuring Hugh Bonneville as Lord Mountbatten, the last viceroy of India, and Gillian Anderson as Lady Edwina Mountbatten.

Like Logan, Viceroy’s House will screen in an out-of-competition slot; as will T2 Trainspotting, the long-awaited sequel to the 1996 Irvine Welsh adaptation. Although T2 Trainspotting will have been released in the UK before the festival begins, its screening at the festival is billed as an “international premiere”.

These films join the already announced lineup, which includes the Richard Gere thriller The Dinner, Penélope Cruz in The Queen of Spain and Aki Kaurismäki’s latest, The Other Side of Hope. The festival also revealed recently that this year’s opening film would be Django, a biopic of the jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt directed by Étienne Comar.

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The Berlin international film festival runs from 9-18 February.

(Source: theguardian.com)

The Berlinale Festival profile

Posted by Larry Gleeson

Berlin: an exciting, cosmopolitan cultural hub that never ceases to attract artists from around the world. A diverse cultural scene, a critical public and an audience of film-lovers characterize the city. In the middle of it all, the Berlinale: a great cultural event and one of the most important dates for the international film industry. More than 335,000 sold tickets, more than 20,000 professional visitors from 122 countries, including more than 3,800 journalists: art, glamour, parties and business are all inseparably linked at the Berlinale.

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The entire world of film

The public program of the Berlin International Film Festival shows about 400 films per year, mostly international or European premieres. Films of every genre, length and format find their place in the various sections: great international cinema in the Competition, independent and art house in Panorama, films for young audiences in Generation, new discoveries and promising talents from the German film scene in Perspektive Deutsches Kino, avant garde, experimental and unfamiliar cinematography in the Forum and Forum Expanded, and an exploration of cinematic possibilities in Berlinale Shorts. The Berlinale Special, including Berlinale Special Gala, is showing new and extraordinary productions and honours great cinema personalities. Berlinale Special Series, which began in 2015, presents selected international series. The program is rounded out by a Retrospective as well as an Homage, which focuses on the œuvre of a great personality of cinema, curated by the Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen. Beginning in 2013, the Retrospective expanded to include presentations of Berlinale Classics. They show current restorations of film classics as well as rediscovered films.

Furthermore the Berlinale has regularly organized a program of special presentations that open up new perspectives, provide insight into key themes, make new connections and explore realms where film intersects with other creative disciplines. Food, pleasure and the environment – these are the topics that lie at the centre of the Culinary Cinema. Berlinale Goes Kiez is traveling from arthouse cinema to arthouse cinema within the city to present selected films from the Berlinale program and NATIVe – A Journey into Indigenous Cinema is devoted to the cinematic story-telling of Indigenous peoples worldwide.

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The film industry at the Berlinale

The Berlin International Film Festival is a source of inspiration in the global film community: film programs, workshops, panel discussions, joint projects with other social and cultural actors – the forms of cooperation and the possibilities for creative interaction are countless.

The most important meeting point is the European Film Market (EFM). Around 550 companies and more than 9,000 professionals from 110 countries build and foster contacts here, strengthen their position in the industry or negotiate film rights.

The Berlinale Co-Production Market, affiliated to the EFM, offers fertile ground for international co-productions.

Berlinale Talents brings high profile professionals attending the Berlinale to workshops and discussions with 250 promising young film talents from all over the world. Both sides benefit. The talents profit from the experience of the professionals, who in turn gain fresh ideas from taking part.

The World Cinema Fund (WCF) provides financial support to film projects in countries with weak film infrastructure thereby helping strengthen the regions’ position on the international film market.

The Berlinale Residency program offers international directors a grant to come to Berlin for several months. Working in close contact with individually selected mentors and market experts, the directors can take a decisive step toward placing their next film project on the way to a successful theatrical release.

The close connection between the festival and market is a unique characteristic of the Berlinale and always results in exceptional synergies.

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(Source: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin)

Competition and Berlinale Special

Posted by Larry Gleeson

Danny Boyle, Hong Sangsoo, Thomas Arslan, Volker Schlöndorff, Sabu, Álex de la Iglesia and Josef Hader’s Directorial Debut in the Competition Programme

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Competition

The following films will be celebrating world or international premieres in the Competition of the Berlinale 2017.

Bamui haebyun-eoseo honja (On the Beach at Night Alone)
South Korea
By Hong Sangsoo (Nobody’s Daughter Haewon, Right Now, Wrong Then)
With Kim Minhee, Seo Younghwa, Jung Jaeyoung, Moon Sungkeun, Kwon Haehyo, Song Seonmi, Ahn Jaehong, Park Yeaju
World premiere

El Bar (The Bar)
Spain
By Álex de la Iglesia (Mad Circus, The Day of the Beast, The Oxford Murders)
With Blanca Suárez, Mario Casas, Carmen Machi, Terele Pávez, Secun de la Rosa, Alejandro Awada, Joaquín Climent, Jaime Ordóñez
World premiere – Out of competition

Helle Nächte (Bright Nights)
Germany / Norway
By Thomas Arslan (Dealer, Vacation, In the Shadows, Gold)
With Georg Friedrich, Tristan Göbel, Marie Leuenberger, Hanna Karlberg
World premiere

Joaquim
Brazil / Portugal
By Marcelo Gomes (Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures, The Man of the Crowd, I Travel Because I Have to, I Come Back Because I Love You)
With Julio Machado, Isabél Zuaa, Nuno Lopes, Rômulo Braga, Welket Bungué, Karay Rya Pua
World premiere

Logan
USA
By James Mangold (Girl, Interrupted, Walk The Line, The Wolverine)
With mit Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Doris Morgado, Sienna Novikov, Elizabeth Rodriguez
World premiere – Out of competition

Mr. Long
Japan / Germany / Hong Kong, China / Taiwan
By Sabu (Monday, Chasuke’s Journey)
With Chen Chang, Sho Aoyagi, Yiti Yao, Junyin Bai
World premiere

Return to Montauk
Germany / France / Ireland
By Volker Schlöndorff (The Tin Drum, Diplomatie)
With Stellan Skarsgård, Nina Hoss, Susanne Wolff, Niels Arestrup
World premiere

T2 Trainspotting
United Kingdom
By Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, The Beach, Slumdog Millionaire)
With Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller, Ewen Bremner
International premiere – Out of competition

Viceroy’s House
India / United Kingdom
By Gurinder Chadha (Bend it like Beckham, What’s Cooking)
With Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson, Manish Dayal, Huma Qureshi
World premiere – Out of competition

Wilde Maus (Wild Mouse)
Austria
By Josef Hader
With Josef Hader, Pia Hierzegger, Georg Friedrich, Jörg Hartmann, Denis Moschitto
World premiere – First Feature

Berlinale Special Gala at the Friedrichstadt-Palast

Es war einmal in Deutschland… (Bye Bye Germany)
Germany / Luxemburg / Belgium
By Sam Garbarski (The Rashevski’s Tango, Irina Palm, Quartier Lointain)
With Moritz Bleibtreu, Antje Traue, Mark Ivanir, Tim Seyfi, Hans Löw, Anatol Taubman, Pál Mácsai, Vaclav Jakoubek
World premiere

Berlinale Special Gala at the Zoo Palast

In Zeiten des abnehmenden Lichts (In Times of Fading Light)
Germany
By Matti Geschonneck (Boxhagener Platz, Das Zeugenhaus)
In collaboration with Wolfgang Kohlhaase
With Bruno Ganz, Hildegard Schmahl, Sylvester Groth, Evgenia Dodina, Natalia Belitski, Alexander Fehling, Gabriela Maria Schmeide
World premiere

Berlinale Special at Kino International

Masaryk (A Prominent Patient)
Czech Republic / Slovakia
By Julius Sevcík (Restart, Normal – The Düsseldorf Ripper)
With Karel Roden, Hanns Zischler, Arly Jover, Oldrich Kaiser, Dermot Crowley, Milton Welsch, Eva Herzigová
World premiere

A further 13 films have thus been invited to screen in the Competition and Berlinale Special section at the 67th edition ofthe Berlin International Film Festival.

In addition to the previously announced titles (see press releases from January 4, 2017 and December 15, 2016), productions from Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong – China, India, Ireland, Japan, Luxemburg, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, United Kingdom and the USA have now been added to the programme. Austrian actor Josef Hader will be presenting his directorial debut in the Berlinale Competition 2017.

The complete programme of the Competition and Berlinale Special will be announced soon.

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(Source: Berlinale Press Office)

19 Filmmakers from the United States at Berlinale Talents 2017

Posted by Larry Gleeson

Berlinale Talents welcomes 250 of the best emerging film and drama series professionals from 71 countries as 2017 Talents.

19 of the selected Talents are living and working in the United States, of whom 11 have US citizenship. The group is comprised of 6 directors, 4 producers, 3 production designers, 3 cinematographers, 1 distributor, and 2 actors.

In addition, 2 Talents with US citizenship are living abroad: Bryerly Long (Japan), Jordan Schiele (China).

The Talents will take part in an expansive six-day programme featuring around 100 events with internationally renowned experts holding master classes and workshops, many of which are open to the public.

Berlinale Talents takes place at the HAU Hebbel am Ufer, February 11 – 16, 2017.

(Source: Berlinale Talents Press Department)

Berlinale Talents: 250 Young Filmmakers from 71 Countries Invited – ARRI new Partner

Posted by Larry Gleeson

Berlinale Talents welcomes 250 emerging professionals from 71 countries to its 15th edition. Exploring the theme “Courage: Against All Odds”, the Talents will participate in a six-day programme featuring over 100 events, with many open to the public. Environmental sculptor Christo is going to join Berlinale Talents. The acclaimed artist will be one of around 100 internationally renowned experts presenting and discussing their work. Berlinale Talents will again take place in the theatres of HAU Hebbel am Ufer from February 11 to 16, 2017.

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Festival Director Dieter Kosslick comments on the upcoming anniversary edition: “Since 2003 we have welcomed 5,128 young Talents to Berlin, with over 100 returning to the festival or the film market each year. This extended network symbolises cultural exchange across all borders, keeps the festival cutting-edge and is living proof that talent development always pays off.”

An international selection committee chose the 250 Talents out of 2,711 applicants from 127 nations based on their prior achievements and the impact and relevance of their artistic work in their home countries. The 2017 Talents hail from the fields of directing (106), producing (49), acting (15), screenwriting (5), cinematography (17), editing (14), production design (13), film criticism (8), sales and distribution (10), score composing (6) and sound design (8). Out of these, 40 participants with projects in development have been selected for Project Labs in the categories documentary, fiction and short film. The Talents are usually five to ten years into their careers and have extensive professional expertise, considerable festival exposure and, often times, award-winning films under their belts.

ARRI New Co-Partner of Berlinale Talents

In order to further boost its talent development, Berlinale Talents is delighted to welcome ARRI as a co-partner in 2017. Boasting a long tradition, the company is a global leader in the development, manufacturing and marketing of camera and lighting systems for the film industry, and is also active as an integrated media service provider in postproduction and in the rental of camera, lighting and stage equipment. ARRI will support the 2017 Berlinale Talents programme with several events focusing on technical innovation in image and light design as well as digital postproduction. These include, among others, a workshop with leading experts at the “Camera Studio” and a case study on a large TV drama series production.

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Berlinale Talents Project Manager Christine Trostrum (Photo via berlinale media archive)

“ARRI and Berlinale Talents share core values such as a pioneering spirit, a dedication to perfecting their craft and a passion for artistic work. It is an honour for us to have gained a strong and visionary partner such as ARRI, especially on its 100th company anniversary,” Berlinale Talents Project Manager Christine Tröstrum comments.

Dr. Jörg Pohlman, Managing Director of ARRI AG, adds: “Berlinale Talents is where success stories are created and future trends are forged. It’s important to us to actively support this major platform for talent development and to help shape the programme. We very much look forward to the ideas and contributions of the international Talents and wish all participants a successful Berlinale Talents 2017.”

For more information on the Berlinale Talents Click Here

The full Berlinale Talents programme will be published on January 31, 2017.

Press contact Berlinale Talents:
Malte Mau

phone +49 30 259 20-518
fax +4930 259 20-534

Berlinale Talents is an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival, a business division of the Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin GmbH, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, in cooperation with the Creative Europe MEDIA programme of the European Union, Robert Bosch Stiftung, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the German Federal Foreign Office and the German Federal Film Board.

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(Source: Berlinale Press Office)

Palm Springs International Film Festival – January 9

Posted by Larry Gleeson

See some of the day’s top films! Here’s my tip sheet for some of the day’s most spectacular screenings!

MORE GREAT FILMS SCREENING ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 10

THE LAST FAMILY

Poland – 2016 – 123 minutes
Director: Jan P. Matuszyński
FOCUS ON POLAND
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Drawing on an incredibly dense personal archive compiled by surrealist Zdzislaw Beksinski, Matuszynski has fashioned not a traditional portrait of the artist, but an immersive chronicle of an extreme, morbid domesticity in late 20th-century Poland. Winner: Best Actor, Locarno; Best Film, Denver, Lisbon & Estoril, and Polish (Gdynia).

Tue, Jan 109:30 AM – Regal
Thu, Jan 127:00 PM – Regal
Purchase tickets HERE

A SERIOUS GAME

Sweden/Denmark/Norway – 2016 – 115 minutes
Director: Pernilla August
WORLD CINEMA NOW
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An achingly sensual story of love and adultery set in the early years of the 20th century, this is an adaptation of a classic 1912 novel by Hjalmar Söderberg about a passionate affair between a painter and a journalist. “A visual delight [with] a deft screenplay by Lone Scherfig.” Screen

Tue, Jan 1010:00 AM – Mary Pickford

Purchase tickets HERE.

YOU CAN READ THE PSIFF PROGRAM BOOK ONLINE!
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You can read the official 2017 Palm Springs International Film Festival
Souvenir Program Book online.
Just click HERE.

THE NET

South Korea – 2016 – 114 minutes
Director: Kim Ki-duk
MODERN MASTERS

 

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The provocative auteur Kim Ki-Duk delivers his most restrained and nuanced work in some time with The Net, a story about a simple North Korean family man who inadvertently drifts into South Korean waters, where he is brought in for questioning and accused of being a spy.

Tue, Jan 104:30 PM – Camelot
Fri, Jan 138:30 PM – Regal
Purchase tickets HERE.

SEALED CARGO

Bolivia/France/Mexico/Venezuela – 2015
108 minutes
Director: Julia Vargas Weise
AWARDS BUZZ-BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
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A crew of hapless police and a stowaway make their way across Bolivia in an aged train, searching for a place to dump highly toxic cargo in this sharp, witty satire. “Boundlessly energetic.” Hollywood Reporter.

 

Tue, Jan 105:00 PM – Mary Pickford
Sat, Jan 144:30 PM – Regal

Director, Julia Vargas Weise to attend January 10.

Purchase tickets HERE.

FESTIVAL MERCHANDISE

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A stand-alone Film Festival Store  for the Palm Springs International Film Festival is featuring a complete collection of Film Festival Merchandise at Destination PSP. The Festival Store is now open and will be open every day through January 16.
The Festival Store is located in the Regal Cinema Courtyard Plaza, unit 16,
just down from the Regal Cinemas and across the courtyard from the
Festival Ticket and Information Center.

You can also shop online at Destination PSP by clicking HERE

SOUVENIR

Belgium/Luxembourg/France – 2016 – 90 minutes
Director: Bavo Defurne
WORLD CINEMA NOW
US Premiere

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Huppert sings! The radiant Isabelle Huppert does it again in Defurne’s musical romance, playing a former Eurovision star who lets her handsome co-worker (Kévin Azaïs) convince her to make a comeback. A sweet and simple gem from the director of North Sea Texas.

Tue, Jan 105:30 PM – Camelot
Fri, Jan 134:00 PM – Regal
Sun, Jan 1512:45 PM – PSHS
Director, Bavo Defurne to attend January 10.
Purchase tickets HERE
GREAT FILMS, GREAT Q&As 
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THE ARDENNES

Belgium – 2015 – 96 minutes
Director: Robin Pront
AWARDS BUZZ-BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
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Belgium’s Oscar® submission is a wintery crime drama about two brothers with bad blood and a trust deficit between them. A downbeat first half quickens into a brutal, unnerving climax with an extra helping of “crazy” on the side.
Tue, Jan 107:00 PM – Regal
Thu, Jan 1210:00 AM – Mary Pickford
Purchase tickets HERE.

KEEP QUIET

UK/Hungary – 2016 – 97 minutes
Directors: Sam Blair, Joseph Martin
TRUE STORIES
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While still young, anti-Semite Csanád Szegedi became vice president of Jobbik, Hungary’s far-right political party. Then he discovered he was Jewish and converted to Orthodox Judaism… Sam Blair and Joseph Martin’s captivating film is judiciously even-handed about Szegedi’s supposed change of heart. Or is it?
Tue, Jan 107:30 PM – Palm Canyon
Purchase tickets HERE

(Source:psiff.org)

Palm Springs Film Festival – January 6th

Posted by Larry Gleeson

SUNNY SKIES AND WARM TEMPERATURES FOR FRIDAY, JANUARY 6TH

FILM SUGGESTIONS FOR SATURDAY, JANUARY 7

 

EVERYBODY LOVES SOMEBODY

Mexico – 2017 – 90 minutes
Director: Catalina Aguilar Mastretta
WORLD CINEMA NOW
World Premiere

everybody_loves_somebody_psiffLiving a picture-perfect life while in the fog of heartbreak, successful Mexican-American obstetrician Clara is on the verge of letting love back into her life just as her ex, Daniel, unexpectedly reappears, forcing a major life reappraisal in this funny and bittersweet bilingual romantic comedy.

Sat, Jan 78:00 PM – Annenberg
Sun, Jan 810:00 AM – Mary Pickford
Fri, Jan 1310:00 AM – Regal
Writer/Director, Catalina Aguilar Mastretta and Actors, Karla Souza, José María Yazpik and Ben O’Toole will be attending.
Purchase tickets HERE.

BOUNDARIES

Canada – 2016 – 100 minutes
Director: Chloé Robichaud
NEW VOICES/NEW VISIONS

boundaries_psiffQuebecois filmmaker Chloé Robichaud arrives with her anticipated sophomore feature after 2013’s acclaimed Sarah Prefers to Run. An ambitious feminist political satire, Boundaries follows three women as they negotiate a deal that will allow foreign companies access to natural resources on a tiny Canadian island.

Sat, Jan 71:30 PM – Mary Pickford
Director, Chloé Robichaud to attend.
Purchase tickets HERE.
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On Wednesday, January 4th some fascinating conversations occurred at Book To Screen, an event that shines a light on the often complex, always invigorating ways in which the written word informs and inspires motion pictures.

NO LIGHT AND NO LAND ANYWHERE

U.S. – 2016 – 75 minutes
Director: Amber Sealey
WORLD CINEMA NOW

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In this raw, sexually graphic and unsettling odyssey, a lost, lonely Londoner, her marriage over, flies to Los Angeles, where she holes up in a seedy motel and searches for the father who abandoned her when she was an infant.

Sat, Jan 72:30 PM – Regal
Sun, Jan 88:00 PM – Regal
Director, Amber Sealey to attend.

Purchase tickets HERE.

BRIMSTONE

Netherlands – 2016 – 148 minutes
Director: Martin Koolhoven
AFTER DARK
U.S. Premiere

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A fiery reverend (Guy Pearce) terrorizes a mute midwife (Dakota Fanning) in Koolhoven’s grim, violent Western. Told in reverse chronological order, this dark drama doesn’t want for blood and thunder.

Sat, Jan 74:15 PM – Annenberg
Sat, Jan 147:00 PM – Mary Pickford

Purchase tickets 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:dream_vacation_psiff
* Opening -or- Closing Night Screening and Gala Reception – 4 Tickets
* Festival Screening Passes – 4 non-transferable passes, good for all regular screenings
Enter NOW through January 16, 2017
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.

X500

Canada/Colombia/Mexico – 2016 – 108 minutes
Director: Juan Andrés Arango
WORLD CINEMA NOW
U.S. Premiere

x500_psiffIn Canada, Colombia and Mexico, three young migrants undergo familiar struggles with anguish, displacement and violence in this visually stunning sophomore film from acclaimed writer/director Juan Andrés Arango (La Playa DC).

Sat, Jan 76:30 PM – Regal
Mon, Jan 98:00 PM – Mary Pickford
Director, Juan Andrés Arango to attend.
Purchase tickets HERE

NELLY

Canada – 2016 – 100 minutes
Director: Anne Émond
WORLD CINEMA NOW
 

nelly_psiffThis inventive, non-linear biopic explores the life and work of the French Canadian author and former sex worker Nelly Arcan in explicit, sometimes erotic, sometimes anguished detail. “A movie every bit as racy, rough-edged and conflicted as the woman whose story it tells.” Montreal Gazette

Sat, Jan 77:00 PM – Camelot
Sun, Jan 810:30 AM – Mary Pickford
Mon, Jan 92:15 PM – Palm Canyon
Director, Anne Émond to attend.
Purchase tickets HERE
 

BREAKABLE YOU

U.S. – 2017 – 120 minutes
Director: Andrew Wagner
SPECIAL PRESENTATION
World Premiere

breakable_you_psiffA smart and sophisticated movie about smart and sophisticated (but flawed and unfulfilled) people, this sensitive adaptation of Brian Morton’s novel about an over-the-hill writer, his ex and his fragile daughter is buoyed by beautifully calibrated performances from a terrific cast led by Holly Hunter and Tony Shalhoub.

Sat, Jan 77:30 PM – PSHS
Sun, Jan 810:00 AM – PSHS
Director, Andrew Wagner to attend
Purchase tickets HERE

THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS

UK/U.S. – 2016 – 110 minutes
Director: Colm McCarthy
AFTER DARK

THE_GIRL_PSIFF.jpgWhen a viral outbreak transforms millions of people into flesh-eating predators, could the fate of civilization rest on the slender shoulders of Melanie, a young “hungry” who’s retained her genius-level IQ? Stylish and sophisticated, Colm McCarthy’s impeccably cast, post-apocalyptic thriller is calibrated for maximum tension.

Sat, Jan 710:00 PM – Mary Pickford
Sun, Jan 87:15 PM – PSHS
Fri, Jan 1310:00 PM – Mary Pickford
Purchase tickets HERE

BONTA Restaurant & Bar

If you’re going to one of the great Festival films at the Mary Pickford (or even if you’re not) bonta-webour friend Chef Hector Salvatierra at Bonta Restaurant & Bar, is offering a special discount to those attending the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
10% off entire check includes all bar items and dinner menu!
Bonta is located at 68510 E Palm Canyon Drive, Suite 140, Cathedral City, CA 92234 (across the street from the Mary Pickford Theatres in the Desert Cinema building). Telephone: 760-832-6100.
Ticket and Pass holders need to show their pass or ticket they have purchased at any time during the Festival. Tickets will be honored throughout the festival dates, they expire at end of festival.
They will be serving lunch from 11:00 am until 2:00 pm, Happy hour from 2:00 pm until 7:00 pm, dinner from 4:00 pm. Cocktails $4.50, Wine $5.00. Martinis $5.50.
They will also have take-out lunch boxes:
Soup and Salad or soup and Sandwich combos
Our Famous Homemade Chips and Chef Hectors Famous Chili and Split Pea soup
 
Check out their full menu HERE.
Make sure to stop by and say hello to Chef Hector and enjoy his truly amazing food. Tell him Larry sent you for a special treat!
(Source: psiff.org)

Nashville Film Festival Competitions Closing

Posted by Larry Gleeson

Competitions Closing this Sunday!!

Don’t miss the chance to enter the 2017 Nashville Film Festival.  Nashville Film Festival was voted one of “25 film festivals worth the entry fee” by MovieMaker Magazine and highlighted as One of the Best Film Festival Prizes by Film Festival Today. Brooks Institute named it one of the top 5 film festivals in the U.S. See the links for your gateway to entry!

Enter the Film Competition

Enter the Screenwriting Competition

Enter the Virtual Reality/360 Film Competition 

More on NashFilm

NashFilm presents the best in World Cinema, American Indies, documentaries, and numerous short form programs by veteran masters, up-and-coming directors, and first-time filmmakers. NashFilm films have won the highest honors in the film world.  Films screened in the past include 13 Assassins, (500) Days of Summer, Cyrus, Terri, Buck, Nowhere Boy, Project Nim and Academy Award nominees, I Am Love, Ajami, and Dogtooth.

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With Academy Award qualifying status and numerous well-attended shorts programs, NashFilm has screened many prize-winning narrative and animated shorts.

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NashFilm is also the place where many up-and-coming filmmakers get their first big break. Craig Brewer – Footloose, Hustle & Flow, and Black Snake Moon won his first award at NashFilm. Most recently, Clay Jeter received the Ground Zero Tennessee Spirit Award for Best Short Film and used the finishing funds to complete Jess + Moss, which then premiered at Sundance and was accepted for competition in Berlin before returning to the NashFilm 2011.

The 48th Annual Nashville Film Festival will take place April 20 – 29, 2017 at Regal Cinema Hollywood in Nashville, TN.

See you there!

(Source: nashvillefilmfestival.org)

Note from Roger – Neruda

Posted by Larry Gleeson

11162014-Roger-Durling_t479Dear Cinephiles,

NERUDA is an extraordinary film about the extraordinary poet Pablo Neruda.  It makes the beautiful connection that film owes a lot to poetry.  It’s one of the best films of the year, and I would encourage you not to miss it.  I’m attaching the New York Times review below. See… its last showing…(Wednesday) at 7:30pm at the Riviera Theatre.

See you at the movies!
Roger Durling

Get Tickets Here

neruda

‘Neruda’ Pursues the Poet as Fugitive
By A. O. Scott – New York Times

“Neruda,” Pablo Larraín’s semifantastical biopic, is a warmhearted film about a hot-blooded man that is nonetheless troubled by a subtle, perceptible chill. Blending fact with invention, it tells the story of a confrontation between an artist (the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda) and an emerging dictatorship, and more generally illuminates the endless struggle between political authority and the creative imagination. For anyone who believes that poetry and democracy spring from the same source and provoke the same enemies, this movie provides both encouragement and warning.

It starts, cameras whirling and swooping, in 1948, with Neruda (Luis Gnecco), a prominent leftist politician as well as a literary celebrity, in a rhetorical war with Chile’s president, Gabriel González Videla, an erstwhile ally in the process of moving from left to right. When Videla bans the Communist Party, Neruda — who represents that party in the Chilean Senate — goes from opposition figure to outlaw. Much of “Neruda” is a shaggy-dog cat-and-mouse game, as Neruda and his wife, Delia (Mercedes Morán), are pursued by Oscar Peluchonneau (Gael García Bernal), a preening police inspector who stakes his professional honor on his ability to track down the country’s most famous fugitive.

Peluchonneau is an invented character, a creature conjured from crime fiction and touched with philosophical melancholy as well as ruthlessness. Whippet-thin and strait-laced, he stands in dour contrast to Neruda, a plump sensualist with a robust sense of mischief and an inexhaustible appetite for pleasure. With and without Delia, the poet manages to stay one step ahead of his nemesis, executing a series of escapes that seem equally inspired by Hitchcock and those old Peter Sellers “Pink Panther” movies.

Neruda also composes “Canto General,” his great, Whitmanesque work on the glories and miseries of Latin America. Pages are distributed clandestinely, and committed to memory by workers and peasants. Their popularity, and Neruda’s easygoing populism, are a rebuke to the arrogance of the ruling class and the Chilean state. And Mr. Larraín’s eye for the rugged beauty of Chile’s protean landscapes implies a similar argument. The poet is open to nature and humanity. The policeman is consumed by rules, tactics and procedures.

Peluchonneau is a tragically constricted soul, but not an entirely unsympathetic character. Neruda is a heroic figure — comic and Dionysian, brilliant and naughty — but his personal Javert is in some ways the film’s protagonist. Neruda is annoyed and sometimes amused by the detective’s doggedness, but Peluchonneau is haunted by the poet’s mystique, and by a growing sense of his own incompleteness. A curious symbiosis develops between them, a dynamic more complex and strange than the simple conflict of good and evil.

Mr. Larraín is a master of moral ambiguity. His previous films about Chile — “Tony Manero,” “No” (which also starred Mr. Bernal) and “The Club” — are interested in collaboration as well as resistance, in the inner lives of the corrupt as well as the actions of the virtuous. Those movies, in particular “Tony Manero,” set during the military dictatorship in the 1970s, and “The Club,” about a group of disgraced priests, are studies in claustrophobia, with cloudy cinematography and grubby behavior.

“Neruda” has a looser story, richer colors and a more buoyant spirit. It is less abrasive than Mr. Larraín’s Chilean trilogy, and less intensely focused than “Jackie,” his new English-language film about Jacqueline Kennedy in the aftermath of her husband’s assassination. But like that unorthodox foray into history, this one approaches political issues from an oblique angle, looking for the idiosyncrasies and ironies that humanize the pursuit of ideals and the exercise of power.

The period details cast a romantic glow over Neruda’s flight, which feels more swashbuckling than desperate. But the film casts a shadow forward in time, into the darkness of Chile’s later, bloodier period of military rule, and beyond that into the political uncertainties of the present, in Latin America and elsewhere. Mr. Larraín invites us to believe that history is on the side of the poets and the humanists, and that art will make fools of politicians and policemen. But he is also aware, as Pablo Neruda was, that history sometimes has other plans.

(Source: sbiff.org)