23 films from 19 countries will be competing for the Golden and the Silver Bear as well as the Audi Short Film Award, worth € 20,000, and a nomination for the European Film Awards at the 2017 edition of Berlinale Shorts. The Algerian film Monangambeee, produced in 1969 and directed by Sarah Maldoror, will also be screened out of competition.
The International Short Film Jury 2017 will be composed of Christian Jankowski, artist and professor at the Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design, curator and social media manager of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York Kimberly Drew and the artistic director of SANFIC Santiago International Film Festival Carlos Núñez (see press release from December 13, 2016).
The Berlinale Shorts competition will feature works from a wide range of filmmakers including Gabriel Abrantes, Salomé Lamas, Jonathan Vinel, Victor Lindgren, Lukas Marxt and Marcel Odenbach, Bárbara Wagner and Benjamin de Burca, David OReilly and Rainer Kohlberger.
Curator Miake Mia Hohne (Photo via Berlinale Media Archive)
“A preconceived image, a clichéd notion of something or someone, can only alter its form if my own view of things expands to include a new perspective. All of the films selected for Berlinale Shorts 2017 have in common the fact that they invite one to recalibrate one’s own perception,” commented curator Maike Mia Höhne in reference to this year’s programme.
In his new film keep that dream burning, Berlin-based director Rainer Kohlberger visualizes an intimation for everything new that comes into being: a promise of the greatest possible indeterminacy. The Boy from H2 on the other hand, produced by the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem, takes us right out on the street so that we may be able to experience what it means to live as a 12-year-old in the divided city of Hebron, opposite ever-present security forces.
David O’Reilly (Please Say Something, Golden Bear for Best Short Film 2009 & RGB XYZ, Berlinale Shorts 2008 ), who will also speak about his filmmaking philosophy at the 2017 edition of Berlinale Talents, will present his new computer game Everything. Everything is the complete opposite of how we commonly conceive of games – there are no levels to be reached, instead there is only the possibility to become anyone and everything. The insight acquired along the way represents a reframing.
Jonathan Vinel (Notre Héritage, Berlinale Shorts 2016 & Tant qu’il nous reste des fusils à pompe, Golden Bear for Best Short Film 2014, both created in collaboration with Caroline Poggi) rearranges sequences from the video game Grand Theft Auto V into a new narrative about losing one’s friends in his film Martin Pleure.
In Avant l’envol, the modern, futuristic architecture that sprang up in Ivory Coast in the wake of independence from France assumes the role of protagonist, an architecture that stands for the newly gained self-confidence of the period.
The film Monangambeee, which is part of the collection of Arsenal – Institute for Film and Video Art e. V. and was only recently digitized, bears witness to a cinematic practice in opposition to colonial oppression.
The extraordinary diversity of Portuguese cinema is represented by no less than four productions at Berlinale Shorts, including among others the most recent work from filmmaker Salomé Lamas (Eldorado XXI, Forum 2016 & Terra de ninguém, Forum 2013), Coup de Grâce, in which a father and daughter explore a space marked by absence. João Salaviza’s new film Altas Cidades de Ossadas follows a Creole rapper on a deep dive into the darkness of night and the aggressive poetry of his lyrics. In 2012 Salaviza took home the Golden Bear for Best Short Film for Rafa, dedicating the award to the Portuguese government: “We are in a moment where we really don’t know what will happen,” Salaviza declared at the time, adding that the dedication was contingent on the administration taking a stand to improve conditions for the country’s filmmakers.
Included among the films to be screened at Berlinale Shorts 2017 are:
Altas Cidades de Ossadas (High Cities of Bone), João Salaviza, Portugal, 19’ (WP) Avant l’envol, Laurence Bonvin, Switzerland, 20’ (IP) The Boy from H2, Helen Yanovsky, Israel / Palestinian Territories, 21’ (WP) Call of Cuteness, Brenda Lien, Germany, 4’ (WP) Centauro (Centaur), Nicolás Suárez, Argentina, 14’ (IP) Cidade Pequena (Small Town), Diogo Costa Amarante, Portugal, 19’ (IP) Coup de Grâce, Salomé Lamas, Portugal, 26’ (WP) The Crying Conch, Vincent Toi, Canada, 20’ (WP) Ensueño en la Pradera (Reverie in the Meadow), Esteban Arrangoiz Julien, Mexiko, 17’ (WP) Estás vendo coisas (You are seeing things), Bárbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca, Brazil, 18’ (IP) Everything, David OReilly, USA / Ireland, 11’ (WP) Le film de l’été (A Summer’s Film), Emmanuel Marre, France / Belgium, 30’ (WP) Fishing Is Not Done On Tuesdays, Lukas Marxt & Marcel Odenbach, Germany / Austria, 15’ (WP) Fuera de Temporada (Out of Season), Sabrina Campos, Argentina, 23’ (WP) Hiwa, Jacqueline Lentzou, Greece, 11’ (WP) Os Humores Artificiais (The Artificial Humors), Gabriel Abrantes, Portugal, 30’ (WP) keep that dream burning, Rainer Kohlberger, Germany / Austria, 8’ (WP) Kometen (The Comet), Victor Lindgren, Sweden, 11’ (IP) Martin Pleure (Martin Cries), Jonathan Vinel, France, 16’ (WP) Miss Holocaust, Michalina Musielak, Poland / Germany, 22’ (WP) Monangambeee, Sarah Maldoror, Algeria, 15’ – Out of competition Oh Brother Octopus, Florian Kunert, Germany, 27’ (WP) The Rabbit Hunt, Patrick Bresnan, USA / Hungary, 12’ (IP) Street of Death, Karam Ghossein, Libanon / Germany, 23’ (WP)
For further information regarding the Berlinale Shorts programme please contact:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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).
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
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.
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 10 – 5:00 PM – Mary Pickford
Sat, Jan 14 – 4:30 PM – Regal
Director, Julia Vargas Weise to attend January 10.
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
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.
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.
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?
Tra la la! La La Land scores a record seven Golden Globe Awards!
Here’s a list of this year’s winner and nominees for this year’s film awards:
Best Motion Picture – Drama
Best Motion Picture – Drama:
“Hacksaw Ridge”
“Hell or High Water”
“Lion”
“Manchester by the Sea” “Moonlight” (WINNER)
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy:
“20th Century Women”
“Deadpool”
“Florence Foster Jenkins”
“Sing Street” “La La Land” (WINNER)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama:
Amy Adams – “Arrival”
Jessica Chastain – “Miss Sloane”
Ruth Negga – “Loving”
Natalie Portman – “Jackie” Isabelle Huppert – “Elle” (WINNER)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama:
Joel Edgerton – “Loving”
Andrew Garfield – “Hacksaw Ridge”
Viggo Mortensen – “Captain Fantastic”
Denzel Washington – “Fences” Casey Affleck – “Manchester by the Sea” (WINNER)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy:
Annette Bening – “20th Century Women”
Lily Collins – “Rules Don’t Apply”
Hailee Steinfeld – “The Edge of Seventeen”
Meryl Streep – “Florence Foster Jenkins” Emma Stone – “La La Land” (WINNER)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy:
Colin Farrell – “The Lobster”
Hugh Grant – “Florence Foster Jenkins”
Jonah Hill – “War Dogs”
Ryan Reynolds – “Deadpool” Ryan Gosling – “La La Land” (WINNER)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture:
Naomie Harris – “Moonlight”
Nicole Kidman – “Lion”
Octavia Spencer – “Hidden Figures”
Michelle Williams – “Manchester by the Sea” Viola Davis – “Fences” (WINNER)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture:
Mahershala Ali – “Moonlight”
Jeff Bridges – “Hell or High Water”
Simon Helberg – “Florence Foster Jenkins”
Dev Patel – “Lion” Aaron Taylor-Johnson – “Nocturnal Animals” (WINNER)
Best Director – Motion Picture
Best Director – Motion Picture:
Tom Ford – “Nocturnal Animals”
Mel Gibson – “Hacksaw Ridge”
Barry Jenkins – “Moonlight”
Kenneth Lonergan – “Manchester by the Sea” Damien Chazelle – “La La Land” (WINNER)
Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Best Screenplay:
“Nocturnal Animals”
“Moonlight”
“Manchester by the Sea”
“Hell or High Water” “La La Land” (WINNER)
Best Motion Picture – Animated
Best Motion Picture – Animated:
“Kubo and the Two Strings”
“Moana”
“My Life as a Zucchini”
“Sing” “Zootopia” (WINNER)
Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language
Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language:
“Divines” – France
“Neruda” – Chile
“The Salesman” – Iran/France
“Toni Erdmann” – Germany “Elle” – France (WINNER)
Best Original Score – Motion Picture
Best Original Score – Motion Picture:
Nicholas Britell– “Moonlight”
Johann Johannsson – “Arrival”
Dustin O’Halloran, Hauschka – “Lion”
Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams, Benjamin Wallfisch – “Hidden Figures” Justin Hurwitz – “La La Land” (WINNER)
Best Original Song – Motion Picture
Best Original Song – Motion Picture:
“Can’t Stop the Feeling” – “Trolls”
“Faith” – “Sing”
“Gold” – “Gold”
“How Far I’ll Go” – “Moana” “City of Stars” – “La La Land” (WINNER)
TALKING PICTURES – Eyes on the Prize:
Foreign Language Oscar Directors in Discussion
Moderated by Scott Feinberg of the Hollywood Reporter.
Seemingly, more and more submissions are competing for the handful of spots in the Academy’s Best Film in a Foreign Language category. This year there were 89, of which 85 were accepted. In December that field was shortlisted to nine, and the final five nominees will be announced January 24th.
No audience anywhere will have the chance to see as many of these movies side by side as at PSIFF. Over the past three years PSIFF has been delighted to bring together a panel of international filmmakers whose work is being showcased in this forum, to talk about their art, international exposure, awards, audiences, and whatever else is top of mind at this time.
A loving, close-knit Pakistani family living in Belgium is slowly torn apart when 18-year-old daughter Zahira (the mesmerizing Lina El Arabi) resists her parents’ decision to force her into an arranged marriage. Streker has fashioned a terrifically acted tale for our times.
Sun, Jan 8 – 8:00 PM – Palm Canyon
Mon, Jan 9 – 1:30 PM – Regal
Wed, Jan 11 – 10:30 AM – Regal
Director, Stephan Streker is attending on January 8 & 9.
This slyly satiric mockumentary follows the staid King Nicholas III of Belgium and his entourage as they are forced by a political crisis and a freak storm to flee Turkey in disguise and wend their way home through the Balkans.
Mon, Jan 9 – 3:30 PM – Regal
Wed, Jan 11 – 10:00 AM – Mary Pickford
Director, Jessica Woodworth to attend on January 9.
An entertaining and heart-warming story about two ordinary people who fall in love in extraordinary times, this poignant animated feature provides a hilarious and touching tribute to author Raymond Briggs’ parents, and illustrates the immense social change that swept over the UK through the 20th century.
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.
A UNITED KINGDOM
UK – 2016 – 111 minutes
Director: Amma Asante
WORLD CINEMA NOW
U.S. Premiere
Belle director Amma Asante returns with another stirring interracial love story, this time based on the 1948 marriage between Prince Seretse of Bechuanaland (now Botswana) and an English clerk. Their union affronts her parents and his, his subjects, her superiors and both governments, and jeopardizes British colonial rule in southern Africa.
The thrumming mean streets of Mali’s capital, Bamako, are the setting for writer/director Coulibaly’s gritty drama. A palpable urgency accompanies his take on the transformation of a lowly bus driver into a successful drug dealer headed for a fall… “Like a Malian riff on Brian De Palma’s Scarface.” Variety
If you’re going to one of the great Festival films at the Mary Pickford (or even if you’re not) our 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
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!
*SCHEDULE CHANGES
Please note the following schedule changes –
– The screening of UNA on Friday, January 13 at 8:00 pm has been moved to the Regal Cinemas Palm Springs.
– The screening of THE UNKNOWN GIRL on Saturday, January 14 at 7:00 pm
has been moved to the Camelot Theatres at 8:30 pm.
– The screening of ELLE originally scheduled on Saturday, January 14 at 8:30 pm
has been changed to screen at the Camelot Theatres on Friday, January 13 at 8:00 pm. The film’s star, Isabelle Huppert will be in attendance
for a post-screening Talking Pictures.
All existing tickets will be honored at the new screening times/venues.
There are no winners or losers at AFI AWARDS. Instead, AFI recognizes all of the creative ensembles behind the year’s most outstanding storytelling in film and television. The talented members of these teams gathered in Beverly Hills yesterday to be honored at the AFI AWARDS 2016 luncheon. Guests at the event included the best of the best in the entertainment community, such as Clint Eastwood, Ryan Gosling, Naomie Harris, Chris Pine, Michelle Williams and more.
A packed house on Opening Night saw the World Premiere of “The Sense of an Ending” starring Jim Broadbent and Charlotte Rampling. The director, Ritesh Batra, was in attendance along with PSIFF Artistic Director, Michael Lerman, PSIFF Chairman of the Board, Harold Matzner and Palm Springs Mayor, Robert Moon.
The screening was followed by a rousing reception at the Palm Springs Art Museum.
TALKING PICTURES: AQUARIUS
FASCINATING FILMS ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 8
WHITE SUN
Nepal/U.S./Qatar/Netherlands – 2016 – 88 minutes
Director: Deepak Rauniyar
NEW VOICES/NEW VISIONS
U.S. Premiere
A dark comedy about two brothers from each side of the Nepalese civil war brought together after 10 years for their father’s funeral. A trenchant, eye-catching parable, this is the best film to come out of Nepal in years. Winner: Interfilm Award, Venice.
Sun, Jan 8 – 10:30 AM – Camelot
Wed, Jan 11 – 6:30 PM – Rega
Director, Deepak Rauniyar and Actors, Dayahang Rai, Rabindra Singh Baniya to attend the January 8 screening. Purchase tickets HERE.
JEWEL’S CATCH ONE
U.S. – 2016 – 90 minutes
Director: C. Fitz
TRUE STORIES
North American Premiere
For 40 years the L.A. disco Catch One thrived against all odds as a haven for the black and brown LGBT community, thanks to the tenacity of its remarkable founder, Jewel Thais-Williams, who is celebrated in this vibrant history of the “West Coast Studio 54.”
A German woman is told her unborn baby will probably have Down syndrome and must decide whether to abort the pregnancy in this moving drama. “A wrenchingly affecting picture… It’s an incredible, revealing performance from Jentsch (Sophie Scholl).” Screen
Kenya’s Rift Valley produces many of the world’s top marathon runners. It’s also a place of gun-toting cattle rustlers. In this enthralling documentary, Julius Arile and Robert Matanda trade their AK-47s for running shoes… and a dream for a better life.
Sun, Jan 8 – 1:30 PM – Mary Pickford
Sat, Jan 14 – 5:15 PM – Palm Canyon
Sun, Jan 15 – 11:00 AM – Palm Canyon
Director, Anjali Nayar to attend January 8 screening.
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.
THE CONCESSIONAIRES MUST DIE!
U.S. – 2016 – 88 minutes
Director: America Young
WORLD CINEMA NOW
World Premiere
In another world not entirely unlike this one, the dedicated staff of a single screen repertory theatre put their heads together to keep their beloved picture palace open. This affectionate slacker comedy mixes pop culture trivia with goofy shoestring parodies of Hollywood classics new and old.
Sun, Jan 8 – 4:00 PM – Mary Pickford
Mon, Jan 9 – 6:30 PM – Rega
Director, America Young, Actors David Blue, Talia Tabin and John M. Keating to attend.
Master filmmaker Olivier Assayas and Kristen Stewart re-team after Clouds of Sils Maria with another surprising collaboration. Personal Shopper is a most unusual and artful ghost story, a tense and eerie tale of a medium trying to reconnect with her recently deceased twin brother. Winner: Best Director, Cannes.
An intimate, metaphysical art-house drama, Blindness posits a 1962 meeting between a now repentant Julia Prajs Brystygier, aka “Bloody Luna,” the former head of Department V in the Stalinist-era Ministry of Information, and Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, a man whose 1953 arrest she had facilitated.
Sun, Jan 8 – 7:30 PM – Camelot
Mon, Jan 9 – 7:30 PM – Camelot
Wed, Jan 11 – 5:00 PM – Camelot
Director, Ryszard Bugajski; Actor, Maria Mamona to attend.
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
Living 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 7 – 8:00 PM – Annenberg
Sun, Jan 8 – 10:00 AM – Mary Pickford
Fri, Jan 13 – 10:00 AM – Regal
Writer/Director, Catalina Aguilar Mastretta and Actors, Karla Souza, José María Yazpik and Ben O’Toole will be attending.
Quebecois 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.
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
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.
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.
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.
X500
Canada/Colombia/Mexico – 2016 – 108 minutes
Director: Juan Andrés Arango
WORLD CINEMA NOW
U.S. Premiere
In 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).
This 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
A 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.
When 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.
If you’re going to one of the great Festival films at the Mary Pickford (or even if you’re not) our 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
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!
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.
With Academy Award qualifying status and numerous well-attended shorts programs, NashFilm has screened many prize-winning narrative and animated shorts.
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.
This year’s Writers Guild Screenplay Awards Nominations were announced today, Wednesday, January 4th, 2017, under strict eligibility parameters as follows:
“Feature films eligible for a Writers Guild Award were exhibited theatrically for at least one week in Los Angeles during 2016 and were written under the WGA’s Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) or under a bona fide collective bargaining agreement of the Writers Guild of Canada, Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, Writers Guild of Ireland, Writers’ Guild of South Africa, New Zealand Writers Guild, Film Writers’ Association (India), La Guilde Francaise des Scénaristes (France), Scriptwriters Guild of Israel, Société des Auteurs de Radio, Télévision et Cinéma (Québec), or Verband Deutscher Drehbuchautoren (VDD/Germany), collectively known as affiliate Guilds. Theatrical screenplays produced under the jurisdiction of the WGA or an affiliate Guild must have been submitted for Writers Guild Awards consideration. Documentaries eligible for a Writers Guild Award featured an onscreen writing credit and were exhibited theatrically in Los Angeles or New York for one week during 2016. Theatrical documentaries must have been produced under the jurisdiction of the WGA or an affiliate Guild to be eligible for awards consideration.”
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Hell or High Water, Written by Taylor Sheridan; CBS Films
Manchester by the Sea, Written by Kenneth Lonergan; Amazon Studios/Roadside Attractions
Moonlight, Screenplay by Barry Jenkins, Story by Tarell McCraney; A24
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Arrival, Screenplay by Eric Heisserer; Based on the Story “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang; Paramount Pictures
Deadpool, Written by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick; Based on the X-Men Comic Books; Twentieth Century Fox Film
Fences, Screenplay by August Wilson; Based on his Play; Paramount Pictures
Hidden Figures, Screenplay by Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi; Based on the Book by Margot Lee Shetterly; Twentieth Century Fox Film
Nocturnal Animals, Screenplay by Tom Ford; Based on the Novel Tony and Susan by Austin Wright; Focus Features
DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
Author: The JT LeRoy Story, Written by Jeff Feuerzeig; Amazon Studios
Command and Control, Telescript by Robert Kenner & Eric Schlosser, Story by Brian Pearle and Kim Roberts; Based on the book Command and Control by Eric Schlosser; American Experience Films
Zero Days, Written by Alex Gibney; Magnolia Pictures
The Writers Guild Awards honor outstanding writing in film, television, new media, videogames, news, radio, promotional, and graphic animation categories. The awards will be presented at concurrent ceremonies on Sunday, February 19, 2017, in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hilton and in New York City at the Edison Ballroom. For more information about the 2017 Writers Guild Awards, please visit http://www.wga.org or http://www.wgaeast.org.
Seemingly, more and more submissions are competing for the handful of spots in the Academy’s Best Film in a Foreign Language category. This year there were 89, of which 85 were accepted. In December that field was shortlisted to nine, and the final five nominees will be announced 
our friend Chef Hector Salvatierra at Bonta Restaurant & Bar, is offering a special discount to those attending the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Living 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.
Quebecois 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.
In 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).
This 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
A 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.
When 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.
