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Venice International Film Festival

The three international Juries of the 73rd Venice International Film Festival

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Screen Shot 2016-07-31 at 7.57.00 PMThe selection is complete for the members of the three international Juries (Venezia 73, Orizzonti, “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for Best Debut Film) of the 73rd Venice International Film Festival (31 August-10 September 2016), directed by Alberto Barbera and organized by the Biennale di Venezia chaired by Paolo Baratta.
Venezia 73
The personalities convened as members of the Jury for the Venezia 73 Competition, in addition to the president, director Sam Mendes, are:
  • American artist, singer, director and writer Laurie Anderson, one of the most important and courageous exponents of the creative avant-garde in America today. She is renowned for her vocal and multimedia performances, which cross-pollinate art, theatre and experimental music. In 2015 she directed Heart of a Dog, screenedin Competition in Venice, which won unanimous critical acclaim around the world.
  • British actress Gemma Arterton moved into the limelight in 2008 when she appeared as a Bond Girl in the film Quantum of Solace by Marc Forster. In 2009 she won the Empire Award for Best Newcomer. The star of Tamara Drewe (2010) by Stephen Frears and of Byzantium (2012) by Neil Jordan, she has also appeared in major productions such as Prince of Persia (2010) by Mike Newell.
  • the Italian magistrate, writer, playwright and screenwriter Giancarlo De Cataldo,author of the best-selling novel Romanzo criminale (2002) which inspired the film by Michele Placido (2005) and the television series by Stefano Sollima (2008). He is a two-time winner of the David di Donatello for the screenplays of Romanzo criminale, and of Noi credevamo (2010) by Mario Martone (which also won a Nastro d’argento for the screenplay).
  • German actress Nina Hoss, who works in both film and the theatre, won the Silver Bear as Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival in 2007 with Yella (2007) by Christian Petzold, a director with whom she has worked many times: in Jerichow (2008), screened in Competition in Venice, and in the recent Phoenix (2014), a performance for which she won many important international awards.
  • French actress Chiara Mastroianni, a famous star of European auteur films, who acted alongside her mother Catherine Deneuve at a very young age in Ma maison préférée by André Téchiné (1993, nominated at the César awards for Most Promising Actress). In 2010 she won the Excellence Award at the Locarno Film Festival. In 2014 she participated in the Venice International Film Festival with two films in Competition, Trois Coeurs by Benoît Jacquot and La Rançon de la gloire by Xavier Beauvois.
  • American director Joshua Oppenheimer, who attracted international attention with his two documentaries, both nominated for an Oscar, The Act of Killing (2012) and The Look of Silence (2014), the latter in Competition at the Venice Film Festival where it won the Grand Jury Prize. Since then, the film has won 70 awards, including the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary.
  • Venezuelan director Lorenzo Vigas, who won the Golden Lion for Best Film at last year’s Venice International Film Festival with his debut film Desde allà, the first Latin-American director to win the most important prize on the Lido. The film was later screened at many international festivals and won many awards.
  • Chinese actress, director and singer Zhao Wei, who rose to international fame in the films of Stephen Chow, Ann Hui, He Ping, John Woo and Johnnie To. For her role in Dearest (2014) by Peter Chan, screened Out of Competition at the Venice Film Festival, she won Best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards. In 2013 she made her debut as a director with So Young, the highest-grossing film ever in China for a female director.
The Jury will award the following official prizes to the feature films in Competition:
Golden Lion for Best Film; Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize; Silver Lion for Best Director; Coppa Volpi for Best Actor; Coppa Volpi for Best Actress; “Marcello Mastroianni” Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress; Award for Best Screenplay; and the SpecialJury Prize.
Orizzonti
The members of the international Jury of the Orizzonti section, in addition to its president, French director Robert Guédiguian, are:
  • American film critic and historian Jim Hoberman, long the “senior critic” of the “Village Voice” in New York, who writes a column in “The New York Times”, and is one of the most influential voices in international film criticism. A teacher and exhibition curator, he has been a member of international juries and of the selection committee for the New York Film Festival. He has written thirteen books on cinema.
  • Egyptian actress Nelly Karim, who won the Best Actress Award at the Cairo International Film Festival in 2004 for My Soulmate by Khaled Youssef. In 2012, her performance in Cairo 678 by Mohamed Diab, won her the Best Actress Award at the Arab Film Festival. She took part in the penultimate film by Youssef Chahine, Alexandria…New York (2004). Nelly Karim was the main actress of Clash (2016) by Mohamed Diab, which was in Cannes in Official Competition in Un Certain Regard.
  • Italian actress Valentina Lodovini, one of the most important actresses in Italian cinema in recent years, starting with her role as the star of La giusta distanza (2007) by Carlo Mazzacurati. Winner of the David di Donatello in 2010 for Benvenuti al Sud by Luca Miniero, in 2011 she starred in Cose dell’altro mondo by Francesco Patierno, presented at the Venice Film Festival.
  • The Korean actress and director Moon So-ri has set a milestone in Korean film history with her passionate acting in Lee Chang-dong’s Oasis which earned her the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Emerging Actress at the 2002 Venice Film Festival, for the first time as a Korean actress.
  • Spanish film critic and scholar José Maria (Chema) Prado, the long-standing director (since 1989) of the Filmoteca Española in Madrid. He has been a member of the jury at many international film festivals, including Cannes and Locarno, and has collaborated with the San Sebastian Festival. In 2015 he won the Premio Fénix por la Contribución a la Cultura Cinematográfica de Iberoamérica.
  • Indian director Chaitanya Tamhane, whose debut feature film, Court (2014), premiered at the 71st Venice Film Festival, where it won the Lion of the Future award and the Orizzonti award for Best film. Since then, the film has gone on to win 32 international awards, and it was India’s official entry to the Oscars. He has recently been selected for the Rolex Mentor-Protégé Arts Initiative under the mentorship of Alfonso Cuarón.
The Jury will award the following prizes, with no ex-aequo awards permitted:
Orizzonti Award for Best Film; Orizzonti Award for Best Director; Special Orizzonti Jury Prize; Orizzonti Award for Best Actor or Actress; Orizzonti Award for Best Screenplay; Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film; Venice Short Film Nomination for the European Film Awards 2016.
“Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film – Lion of the Future
The members of the international Jury ofthe “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film – Lion of the Future, in addition to its president, Italian actor Kim Rossi Stuart, are:
  • Spanish producer Rosa Bosch, former Deputy Director of the London Film Festival/National Film Theatre. As a producer, she has worked with directors such as Wim Wenders, Guillermo Del Toro, Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, and Gus Van Sant. In 2003 she became co-managing director of HBO Films in London. She now runs the Havana-based production company CubanStar, which has recently worked for HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, House of Lies, Vanity Fair/Annie Leibovitz, and Chanel.
  • American actor and director Brady Corbet won the “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film – Lion of the Future at the 2015 Venice Film Festival and the Orizzonti Award for Best Director. Previously he had been one of America’s most interesting young actors, as the star, among others, of Mysterious Skin (2004) by Gregg Araki, presented at the Venice Film Festival.
  • Spanish actress Pilar López de Ayala, one of the most highly considered and beloved Iberian stars, won the Silver Shell at the San Sebastian Film Festival and the Goya Prize for her performance as Queen Juana de Castilla in Mad Love (2001) by Vicente Aranda. She was the star of The Strange Case of Angelica (2010) by Manoel de Oliveira, presented in the Un certain regard section of the Cannes Film Festival.
  • French film critic Serge Toubiana, one of the most important film scholars of his generation, critic for Cahiers du cinéma from 1974 to 2000 (and its director for many years), director of the Cinémathèque Française from 2003 through January 2016. He is the author of many books and documentaries. With Kent Jones, he co-authored the documentary Hitchcock Truffaut (2015).
The Jury will award, with no ex-aequo awards permitted, the Lion of the Future – “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film to one of the debut feature-length films selected from the various competition sections of the Venice Film Festival (Official Selection and Independent and Parallel Sidebars). It comes with a cash prize of 100,000 USD donated by Filmauro di Aurelio e Luigi De Laurentiis, to be divided equally between the director and the producer.

 

Biographies


Venezia73
Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson is one of America’s most renowned – and daring- creative pioneers. As writer, director, visual artist and vocalist she has created groundbreaking works that span the worlds of art, theater, and experimental music. In 2002, Anderson was appointed the first artist-in-residence of NASA which culminated in her 2004 touring solo performance The End of the Moon. In 2007 she received the prestigious Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize for her outstanding contribution to the arts. In 2011 her exhibition of all new work titled Forty-Nine Days In the Bardo opened at the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia. That same year she was awarded with the Pratt Institute’s Honorary Legends Award.  She has recently finished residencies at both CAP in UCLA in Los Angeles and EMPAC in Troy New York.  In 2015 her film Heart of a Dog was chosen in Competition at the 2015 Venice and as an official selection of theToronto Film Festivals and her exhibition Habeas Corpus opened at the Park Avenue Armory to wide critical acclaim.  Anderson lives in New York City.
Gemma Arterton
Beautiful English actress Gemma Arterton is well known for her stage and screen presence. After gaining an award for Best Supporting Actress for Kent, she gained a full scholarship to RADA where she took lead roles in productions such as An Ideal Husband, Titus Andronicus and The Beggar’s Opera. In 2008, Gemma starred as iconic Bond Girl Strawberry Fields in Quantum of Solace, directed by Marc Forster. Her other film credits include Guy Ritchie’s gangster film RocknRolla. In 2010 she played the lead female role in Disney’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time directed by Mike Newell. In 2012 she starred in the title role in Tamara Drewe directed by award-winning director Stephen Frears. In 2013, Gemma starred in four feature films; Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters by Tommy Wirkola, Song for Marion by Paul Andrew Williams, in Neil Jordan’s Byzantium and in the Brad Furman thriller Runner, Runner. September 2014 saw Gemma play the title lead in Gemma Bovery directed by Anne Fontaine and starring Fabrice Luchini. The film premiered at Toronto Film Festival.
Giancarlo De Cataldo
Giancarlo De Cataldo was born in Taranto but has lived in Rome since 1978, where he is a Judge for the Court of Assizes of Appeal. He is a writer, translator, playwright and screenwriter. He writes for the daily newspaper Repubblica and Espresso newsmagazine. His works include Romanzo criminale (Einaudi, Stile Libero, 2002) which inspired a film directed by Michele Placido and two television series for Sky directed by Stefano Sollima; Cocaina (Einaudi Stilelibero 2013, with Carlo Lucarelli and Gianrico Carofiglio) and Suburra (Einaudi, Stilelibero, 2013), written with Carlo Bonini, and adapted by Stefano Sollima for the eponymous film. His novels have been translated into French, Spanish, German, English, Dutch. With Mario Marton, he wrote the screenplay for Noi credevamo, presented in Competition at the Venice Film Festival in 2010. He won the David di Donatello for Best Screenplay twice (Romanzo Criminale and Noi credevamo), and the Nastro d’argento for Best Screenplay (Noi credevamo).
Nina Hoss
Known for her extensive career in both theatre and film, Nina Hoss won the Silver Bear at the 2007 Berlinale for her performance in Christian Petzold’s Yella and returned to the festival in 2011 as one of their jurors. A year later she collaborated with Petzold again in the multi-award winning film Barbara, a role for which she received international acclaim. In 2014 she returned to Schaubuehne Berlin where she worked with Thomas Ostermeier and was on screen in Anton Corbijn’s A Most Wanted Man with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Christian Petzold’s Phoenix, for which she was rewarded the Golden Space Needle as best actress at Seattle International Film Festival in 2015 and as well the Toronto film critics award in the same category. Recently she played in the US hit series Homeland. This year she worked under Volker Schlöndorff with Stellan Skarsgard in Return to Montauk. Nina Hoss lives in Berlin.
Chiara Mastroianni
Chiara Mastroianni  is a French actress born in Paris in 1972. She was offered her first role in 1993 by André Techine in Ma saison préférée (a film that won her a nomination for a César award as Most Promising Actress. She then worked with Arnaud Desplechin in Comment je me suis disputé (ma vie sexuelle), followed by Xavier Beauvois in N’oublie pas que tu vas mourir (winner of the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival), Raoul Ruiz in Trois vies et une seule mort (selected for the Official Competition of the Cannes Film Festival in 1996), Robert Altman in Prêt-à-porter”, Laetitia Masson in “À vendre, and Nowhere by Gregg Araki. She worked again with Raoul Ruiz in Le temps retrouvé (selected for the Official Competition of the Cannes Film Festival), Manoel de Oliveira in La Lettre (a modern adaptation of La princesse de Clèves, and winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes in 1998); with Francesca Comencini in Zeno: Le parole di mio padre (selected for the Un certain regard section at the Cannes Film Festival in 2001), Delphine Gleize in Carnages (selected for the Un certain regard section at the Cannes Film Festival); with Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi in Il est plus facile pour un chameau. In 2007, she worked with Arnaud Desplechin again in Un conte de Noël, selected for the Official Competition of the Cannes Film Festival; with Marjane Satrapi  in Persepolis which won the Jury Prize at Cannes in 2007 and the César award for Best First Feature Film;  with Christophe Honoré in Les chansons d’amour (selected for the Official Competition of the Cannes Film Festival), in Non ma fille tu n’iras pas danser (nominated for the César award for Best Actress, and for the Globe de crystal) and in Bien-Aimés, presented in the Official Competition of the Cannes Film Festival in 2010. In 2013, Chiara starred in Les salauds directed by Claire Denis, ( in the “un certain regard” section at Cannes) and in 2013 in Trois coeurs by Benoit Jacquot (presented in Competition at the Venice International Film Festival). She is currently starring in Good luck Algeria.
Joshua Oppenheimer
Born in 1974, USA, his debut feature film, The Act of Killing (2014 Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary), was named Film of the Year in the 2013 by the Guardian and the Sight and Sound Film Poll, and won 72 international awards, including a European Film Award, a BAFTA, an Asia Pacific Screen Award, a Berlinale Audience Award. His second film, The Look of Silence (2016 Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary), premiered at the 71st Venice Film Festival, where it won five awards, including the Grand Jury Prize, the international critics award (FIPRESCI Prize) and the European film critics award (FEDEORA Prize). Since then, The Look of Silence has received 70 international awards, including an Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary, an International Documentary Association Award for Best Documentary. In 2015, Joshua Oppenheimer received a MacArthur Fellowship.
Lorenzo Vigas
In 2015, the Venezuelan filmmaker Lorenzo Vigas, became the first Latin-American to receive the Golden Lion for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival, for his directorial debut Desde allá  (From Afar). After graduating in biology in 1994, and while doing a master in molecular biology, he decided to move to New York and enroll in filmmaking workshops at New York University. Subsequently, he worked in Caracas directing the documentary TV series  Expedición, produced by RCTV, and also directing institutional documentaries for the production company Cinesa.       In 2004, he premiered at Cannes’s International Critics Week, his short film Los Elefantes Nunca Olvidan (Elephants never forget), the first part of the trilogy that delves into the father figure in Latin America. Currently, he is working in the last part of the trilogy, the feature film La caja, to be filmed in Mexico during 2017.
Zhao Wei
One of Asia’s most coveted actresses, director and singer, Zhao Wei burst into international limelight with Stephen Chow’s Shaolin Soccer (2001), He Ping’s Warriors of Heaven and Heart (2004), John Woo’s Red Clift (2009) and Johnnie To’s Three (2016). She has also worked with filmmakers like Ann Hui, Zhang Yuan, Doze Niu and Wu’ersan. Her performance in Peter Chan’s Dearest (2014)- shown out of competition at 71st Venice Film Festival – won Best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2015. In 2013, Zhao released her directorial debut So Young was a critical hit and commercial success. It set the record of the highest grossing film by a female director in China. She recently finished primary shooting for her second directorial feature.
Orizzonti
Jim Hoberman
J. Hoberman is a New York City-based author and cultural critic. He began reviewing films for The Village Voice in 1978, initially specializing in avant-garde cinema, and continued for 33 years, succeeding Andrew Sarris as senior film critic in 1988. Since leaving the Voice, Hoberman has written on art and cinema for Artforum, The New York Review of Books, and Film Comment, among other publications; he also has a regular column in The New York Times. He has lectured widely, and taught cinema history at the Cooper Union in New York, where he was the Gelb Professor of Humanities, as well as courses in cinema studies at New York University, Harvard University and Columbia University. He has served on juries at the Berlin, Jerusalem, Naples, and Rotterdam film festivals, as well as the selection committee for the New York Film Festival. Several of his essays were anthologized in the Library of America collection, American Movie Critics.
Nelly Karim
Born in Alexandria, from an Egyptian father and a Russian mother, Nelly Karim started out as a ballet dancer, trained at the Academy of Arts in Cairo, before she became a model and an actress. She has played in about 25 films and television series, including Youssef Chahine’s second to last film, Alexandria…New York (2004). She was  awarded the Best My soulmate Actress prize at the Cairo International Film Festival for Khaled Youssef’s. She was one of the heroines in Mohamed Diab’s Cairo 678 (2012), and together with her partners on screen Bushra and Hajed El Sebai, she won the Jury Grand Prize at the 2011 Asian Pacific Screen Awards. For her role in Cairo 678 she has also received the Award for best actress at Arab Film Festival in 2012. Nelly Karim was the main actress of Clash (2016) by Mohamed Diab, which was in Cannes in Official Competition in Un Certain Regard.
Valentina Lodovini
Valentina Lodovini is an Italian actress. A student of Nicolaj Karpov, she earned her diploma at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, and made her debut as an actress in 2006 in the film The Family Friend (L’Amico di famiglia) by Paolo Sorrentino. She has worked with Italian directors such as Carlo Mazzucurati, Francesca Comencini, Daniele Vicari and Marco Risi. Her commitment to independent cinema took her to the Sundance Film Festival in 2008 with the film Good Morning Heartache (Riprendimi); she also worked beside Shirley MacLaine and Malcolm McDowell in the television production Coco Chanel by Christian Duguay. In 2010 she starred in the comedy box-office hit Benvenuti al Sud and won the David di Donatello for her performance. In 2008 she won the Guglielmo Biraghi prize for her performance in the film The Right Distance (La giusta distanza).She participated in the Venice International Film Festival in 2011 in the Controcampo Italiano section as the star of the film Things from Another World (Cose dell’altro mondo) by Francesco Patierno.
Moon So-ri
Moon So-ri is a representative actress in the Korea’s movie circles. After debuted in Lee Chang-dong’s acclaimed movie Peppermint Candy in 1999, Moon has set a milestone in the Korean film history with her passionate acting in Lee Chang-dong’s Oasis which earned her the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Emerging Actor or Actress at the 2002 Venice Film Festival, for the first time as a Korean actress. Moon has been described as a towering presence in the domestic film domain which received such praises as ‘Not a single work of Moon has disappointed the public and critics.’ In addition to building an impressive filmography as an actress, Moon has turned into a movie director, actively pursuing her career in various areas of the film world.
Josè Maria (Chema) Prado
After earning his degree in interior architecture, and collaborating with specialized film magazines, he began to work for the Filmoteca Española as director of programming through 1987, the year in which he was appointed Deputy Director. In 1989 he was appointed Director of the Filmoteca, a position he would hold through 2016. From 1993 to 1999, he was a member of the executive committee of the International Federation of Film Archives. He was a consultant to the San Sebastian Film Festival, and has been a member of the jury in many film festivals, including Cannes, Sundance, Valladolid, Locarno, Los Angeles, Montpellier, Guadalajara, La Havana, Miami and Venice. He was named Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres of the French Republic in 1995, Gold Medalist of the Accademia Gallega dell’Audiovisivo in 2004, and was honoured with a medal for Civil Merit in 2011. Since 1993 he has dedicated himself to artistic photography, and regularly exhibits his work.
Chaitanya Tamhane
Born in Mumbai in 1987, Chaitanya Tamhane is an English literature graduate from Mithibai College of Arts. Six Strands (2010), his first fictional short film was screened at various international film festivals including Rotterdam International Film Festival, Clermont- Ferrand International Film Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Slamdance, and many others. Chaitanya’s debut feature film, Court (2014), premiered at the 71st Venice Film Festival, where it won the Lion of the Future award and the Orizzonti award for Best film. Since then, the film has gone on to win 32 international awards at various prestigious film festivals as well as India’s National Award for Best Feature Film. It was India’s official entry to the Oscars. In 2016, Chaitanya was featured in Forbes Asia’s list of 300 young achievers under the age of 30. He has recently been selected for the Rolex Mentor-Protégé Arts Initiative under the mentorship of Alfonso Cuarón.
“Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film – Lion of the Future
Rosa Bosch
Deputy Director of the London Film Festival/National Film Theatre where she remained for 10 years, Rosa moved to the industry side as co-founder of the Mexican company Tequila Gang. During this time she was involved with Buena Vista Social Club by Wim Wenders, El Espinazo del Diablo (The Devil’s Backbone) by Guillermo del Toro, Lost in la Mancha by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe, and Amores Perros by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. In 2003, she established and was Co-Managing Director of HBO Films in London, where she handled Elephant (double winner of the Palme d’Or and Best Director at Cannes) amongst others. Rosa is a member of the European Film Academy and BAFTA. She now runs the Havana-based production company CubanStar which develops new content and provides film services on the island, recently for HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, House of Lies, Vanity Fair/Annie Leibovitz and Chanel.
Brady Corbet
Writer/Director/Actor Brady Corbet began his career at age eleven, acting in acclaimed films such as Thirteen (2003), Mysterious Skin (2004), Funny Games (2007), Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011), Simon Killer (2012), Clouds Of Sils Maria (2014), and Melancholia (2011). Corbet’s television acting credits include 24, Law & Order and The King of Queens. He presented his writing and directorial debut, the short film Protect Me and You at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009. The film was shot by legendary cinematographer Darius Khondji, and recognized for “Honorable Mention in Short Filmmaking.” In 2015, Corbet made his feature directorial debut with the visionary film The Childhood of a Leader, which was lauded at the Venice Film Festival with the Orizzonti Best Director and Luigi De Laurentiis Lion of the Future awards.  He currently resides in New York City.
Pilar López de Ayala
One of the most valued and loved Spanish actresses, Pilar has participated in films that have enjoyed recognition in important film festivals with some of the most renowned independent directors on the international scene, such as José Luis Guerín (In the City of Sylvia), Golden Lion Nominated Venice Film Festival; Manoel de Oliveira (The Strange case of Angelica) Nominated Un Certain Regard Cannes Film Festival, and for which the Cahiers du Cinéma France valued Pilar´s role as one of the top ones of that year; or Raya Martin (Buenas Noches, España). Mad Love, by Vicente Aranda, led her to win the Silver Shell of San Sebastian International Film Festival and the Goya Award for Best Leading Actress for her performance as Queen Joanna of Castile. She has repeatedly been Goya Award nominated but has also earned numerous international awards, as the New York Film Critics Circle Award Best Supporting Actress in Obaba (Montxo Armendáriz), French Raimu de la Comédie Award New Actress in Comme les Autres (Vincent Garenq), or Best Actress Award Toulouse Film Festival in Hand in Globe (Josetxo San Mateo). Her recent works include Night Has Settled (Steve Clark), Jury Prize and Festival Prize Award Winner at the International Soho Film Festival.
Serge Toubiana
Born in Sousse in Tunisia in 1949, Serge Toubiana was a critic for the Cahiers du Cinema from 1974 to 2000, during which the magazine reached the height of its circulation. From 1993 to 1995 he was a General Delegate for the Premier siècle du cinéma association, the purpose of which was to organize the Centennial of the birth of Cinema in France. From 2003 to 2016 he was director of the Cinémathèque française, and from 2014 to 2015 he was president of the Commission d’avance sur recettes at the Centre National du Cinéma. He is the author and co-author of many books on the history of cinema and on illustrious exponents of French cinema and others. His many works include the documentary François Truffaut, Portraits volés (with Michel Pascal, 1993), the biography François Truffaut (Gallimard, 1996, with Antoine de Baecque), Amos Gitai, exils et territoires (Cahiers du Cinéma, 1999), Isabelle Huppert, Une vie pour jouer (MK2 TV/Arte, 2001), the series of 10 documentaries Chaplin aujourd’hui (MK2 TV, 2003).
Venice International Film Festival

@la_Biennale di Venezia will pay a Special Tribute to U.S. producer Chris Meledandri

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La Biennale di Venezia will pay a Special Tribute to U.S. producer Chris Meledandri, the Academy Award®-nominated founder and CEO of Illumination Entertainment, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the development of the field of animated films.

Meledandri will be presented on Monday, September 5th 2016, at 3 pm, at the Sala Giardino in the Lido, during the 73rd Venice International Film Festival. In addition to receiving this prestigious tribute, Meledandri will participate in an exclusive festival “In Conversation” event, culminating in a presentation of footage from the forthcoming Illumination Entertainment movie SING (2017).

Here’s a peak at the film’s Official Trailer:

 

The tribute will begin with the Italian Public Premiere of Illumination Entertainment’s THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS (2016) at the Sala Giardino on September 4th at 9:00 pm.
Here’s a look at the film’s Official Teaser Trailer:
THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS opens in theaters in Italy on October 6, 2016.
Festival Director Alberto Barbera comments:
alberto-barbera-1-foto-asac-e1438170611394“Chris Meledandri has revolutionized our way of understanding and making animated film with his more than excellent achievements, both in terms of quality and box office, thanks to careful and skilfully-targeted investments. Under his leadership, Illumination Entertainment has grown into one of the most dynamic and innovative creative hubs in the world of animation in a matter of years. This tribute from the Festival wishes to spotlight the artist’s extraordinary contribution, leading to worldwide hits such as Despicable Me and Minions, both of which changed our relationship with cartoons forever”.
Chris Meledandri, the Academy Award®-nominated founder and CEO of Illumination Entertainment, is responsible for the hugely successful Despicable Me, Ice Age and animated Dr. Seuss franchises, which have collectively grossed close to $6 billion worldwide. Meledandri has built Illumination Entertainment into one of the entertainment industry’s leading producers of all-audience event films.
 
Illumination Entertainment, which has an exclusive financing and distribution partnership with Universal Pictures, is the creator of the hugely successful Despicable Me franchise, which includes Minions, the second-highest-grossing animated film of all time, as well as the Academy Award®-nominated film for Best Animated Feature Film Despicable Me 2. In all, Illumination Entertainment’s films, which also include Hop (2011) and Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (2012), have grossed more than $3.5 billion in worldwide box-office revenues and feature some of the world’s most renowned talent.
 
Upcoming Illumination Entertainment films include Sing (2016), Despicable Me 3 (2017) and Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2018).
Meledandri also oversees Illumination Entertainment’s creation of content for marketing campaigns, mobile platforms, consumer goods, social media and theme parks such as Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem in 3D at Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood, ensuring the same high level of quality he brings to his feature productions. The company’s first mobile game, “Despicable Me: Minion Rush,” has been downloaded more than 750 million times.
 
Prior to Illumination Entertainment, Meledandri was a senior executive at 20th Century Fox. He became the founding president of 20th Century Fox Animation, where he created original material with the birth of the Ice Age franchise and also shepherded existing brands into the feature space, including The Simpsons and the Dr. Seuss library (Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!).
 
Meledandri has received numerous awards for his work with Illumination Entertainment including the Producers Guild of America’s 2014 Visionary Award as well as being named to Vanity Fair’s “New Establishment” list and by The Hollywood Reporter as one of the “most powerful people in entertainment” on The THR 100 list.
 

THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS – For their fifth fully-animated feature-film collaboration, Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures present The Secret Life of Pets, a comedy about the lives our pets lead after we leave for work or school each day. The Secret Life of Pets opens in theaters October 6th 2016.

SING – Set in a world like ours but entirely inhabited by animals, a dapper Koala who presides over a once-grand theater that has fallen on hard times. Buster is an eternal optimist—okay, maybe a bit of a scoundrel—who loves his theater above all and will do anything to preserve it. Now facing the crumbling of his life’s ambition, he has one final chance to restore his fading jewel to its former glory by producing the world’s greatest singing competition. In theaters January 26th 2017.

 

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

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AFI DOCS 2016 Wrap Up

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With ninety-four films from over 30 countries the 2016 AFI DOCS had something for just about every documentary film lover. The Opening Night film dazzled the at-capacity audience at the Newseum with Alex Gibney’s North American Premiere of Zero Days,a detailed account of claims the US and Israeli governments unleashed a sophisticated virus to thwart the Iranian nuclear enrichment program. The film also addressed the issue of retaliation and made for a lively conversation and Q & A following the screening. Highly recommended.

 

 

Kicking off the first full day, I had the good fortune of seeing seven short documentaries under the guise of Shorts: Outside In; Tracks, The Great Theatre, Rotatio, Neige, Fundir and Chocolate Mountain Metal, Shorts: Outside In. Warmly recommended.

Winding up a busy Day 2 at the Newseum, an interactive museum of news and journalism in downtown Washington, DC, Newtown, an emotionally, powerful look at the local community two years after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre from acclaimed director Kim Snyder, and Audrie & Daisy, a story of two high school girls who were sexually assaulted in indefensible states and their vilification on social media with tragic consequences, were shown. Both are must-see films. Highly recommended.

 

Day 3 brought  After Spring, a telling tale of the relocation of Syrian refugees and the challenges they face at the Zaatari relocation camp inside the Jordanian border. Directors Steph Ching and Ellen Martinez attended the screening and made themselves available to discuss the making of the film. Recommended.


Almost Sunrise, explores an alternative approach to the traditional diagnosis and treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Director Michael Collins chronicles the journey of two Iraq War veterans as they share a 2700 mile hike from the Midwest to the state of California to create an awareness of their trauma. Along the way, the two are warmly greeted and supported by fellow veterans and communities alike. Warmly recommended.

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Unfortunately, due to an overwhelming demand for seats at the Guggenheim Symposium and Screening, I was not granted a place for the evening’s conversation with Werner Herzog and Ramin Bahrani including clips from Herzog’s storied career and a screening of his latest work, Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World. Nevertheless, I made my way over to Silver Spring, MD, AFI Silver Theater for Cinema, Mon Amour, a wonderful story of a Romanian family and their ‘never say quit’ spirit as they work determinedly to keep open the last of Romania’s grand movie palaces.

Day Four began with a visit to the AFI DOCS Lounge for the Filmmakers Forum and the making of short documentaries. Quick and to the point, storytellers and the movers and shakers of the industry engaged in an informative format as filmmakers and producers provided guidance and probed the issues in today’s filmmaking environment.

Full of vigor, the featured Command And Control,directed by Robert Kenner, recounted a 1980 nuclear accident with surreal details. Highly recommended.command-and-control-tribeca

Next, I dropped in on Vanessa Gould’s Obit, an insider’s guide to the world of who’s who in the annals of lives lived through the eyes of the legendary New York Times obituaries desk. Obit reveals a unique form of journalism and the idiosyncrasies of the writers and editors who create and compose these celebrations of extraordinary lives lived. Warmly recommended and my personal favorite!

Closing out the evening again at the Newseum with a Spotlight Screening of Check It.  Check It, a mesmerizing look at an inner city, Washington DC, gang composed of gay and transgendered teens who allied themselves together for protection and survival out on the streets of the nation’s capitol over a three year period, was directed by Toby Oppenheimer and Dana Flor. Over the course of the film, the Check It gang comes to the realization that while surviving is critical so is leading a productive and useful life. Warmly recommended.

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Day 5 kicked into gear with another visit to the AFI DOCS Lounge for Part Four of the Filmmakers Forum. I arrived early and met Discovery’s Gina Scarpulla. Unbeknownst to me, Ms. Scarpulla and her team at Discovery are pioneering virtual reality in film. Virtual headsets, known as lunchboxes were made available before and after the forum. See my full write up here: AFI DOCS Filmmaking Forum on Virtual Reality

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next came the Chicken People, directed by Nicole Lucas Haimes. Chicken People delves into the worlds of the contestants and their contenders, pure bred chickens,  as they vie for best fowl at the Ohio National Poultry Show and the title of Super Grand Champion. Warmly recommended and A Don’t Miss!

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Doc & Darryl, a soon-to-be-aired ESPN 30 for 30 film, depicts the trials and tribulations of the 1986 Major League Baseball World Champions New York Mets and the meteoric rise and setbacks of the team’s two most talented players, Dwight ‘Doc’ Gooden and Darryl Strawberry. The film was co-directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio. See my write up: Doc & Darryl

Closing out the 2016 AFI DOCS was Norman Lear: Just Another Version Of You, directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. This is a masterpiece of television history. Breathtaking images of actors, writers and directors watching clips from  All In The Family, The Jeffersons, Maude and Good Times juxtaposed against their commentaries, highlight this cinematic gem. Another must see film! And I know Norman Lear wouldn’t have it any other way. Highly recommended.

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Norman Lear , center, on the red carpet with filmmakers Heidi Ewing, right, and Rachel Grady, left, before the screening of the 2016 AFI DOCS Closing Night film, Norman Lear: Just Another Version Of You, June 26, 2016, at the Newseum in downtown Washington, D.C. (Photo credit: Larry Gleeson)

This was my first AFI DOCS. Set in our nation’s Capitol, the festival ran smoothly. Two venues were in downtown Washington, DC, and were within walking distance of one another. Also, both venues were easily accessible by the Metro and had plenty of shops, coffee bars, sports bars, and restaurants nearby. The third venue was in Silver Spring, Maryland, home of the AFI DOCS Silver Theater and Cultural Center. Again, plenty of shops and nearby eateries and fairly easy to get to by Metro. The Washington Post calls AFI DOCS “The nation’s leading documentary film festival.” I couldn’t agree more.

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Until next year, I’ll see you at the movies!

#AFIDOCS, Documentary, World Premiere

Why Doc & Darryl

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At AFI DOCS, I caught up with Judd Apatow, co-director of the new documentary Doc & Darryl before its world premiere. This was one of my must-see films. And, as usual with any film festival, my best efforts led me to an opportunity to cover the closing night film and after party for Music Box Films’ NORMAN LEAR: JUST ANOTHER VERSION OF YOU, directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. I heard Mr. Apatow was in the house minutes before the screening of Doc & Darryl was slated to begin. Knowing I only had 45 minutes to view his film and wouldn’t have the opportunity to attend the Q & A scheduled for after the screening. I grabbed my camera and hurried to the red carpet area.

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Fortunately, Jacqueline Gross had Mr. Apatow’s attention. I quickly got into place and managed to get off a few shots and as Ms. Gross finished, I stood upright, reached out my hand, introduced myself and posed the question, “Why a sports film?” There we stood eye-to-eye, man-to-man, baseball aficionado to baseball aficionado. As gracious, and probably more gracious than any other industry professional I’ve managed to engage, Mr. Apatow matter of factly responded, “Well, I was on twitter one night with someone from ESPN and I told him how much I liked the 30 for 30 films. His response was ‘why don’t you do one.’ So, I did. And these guys were my heroes growing up.” I thanked Mr. Apatow for his time and made my way back to my seat inside the theater for Doc & Darryl.

While I didn’t see the film in its entirety, what I did see was a above and beyond any other 30 for 30 film I had seen to date – purely from a production standpoint. You be the judge of the narrative!

Doc & Darryl will air July 14 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN. Watch a trailer for it here: Doc & Darryl

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(Photo source: espn.go.com)

 

 

#AFIDOCS, Uncategorized

FILM REVIEW: Audrie and Daisy

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Audrie & Daisy, a new documentary co-directed by Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk, takes an in-depth look at the effects of cyber bullying following the aftermath when two teenage girls are sexually assaulted. The girls went to parties, drank alcohol to excess and were then sexually assaulted by boys and young men they believed were their friends. The shame and scorn the girls were subjected to resulted in a suicide of a Saratoga, Georgia high school student, Audrie, who believed her reputation was beyond repair. The culprits in the assault eventually reached a plea agreement so the young men could graduate from high school. The agreement included an admission of guilt and a public apology as well as a 45 minute videotaped interview. In the case of Audrie, a Missouri resident in the small town of Maryville in Nodaway County, all charges were dropped in a highly publicized news reported court judgement.

Cohen and Shenk open the film with a slow pan of empty desks in a classroom as a voice over about the Audrey case begins. A cut is made to a high school football practice with the diagetic sounds of grunting, helmets and pads colliding and thudding with the sounds of whistles chirping. An audio deposition of Jon B., not the perpetrator’s real name,  is heard as an image shows the critical information of what is occurring in a black and white frame as the film’s narrative is slowly opening. In a taped 2015 interview, Audrey’s mother and father, Larry and Sheila Pott talk candidly about Audrey while pictures of Audrey range from the time she was a baby up into her high school years. Sheila reminisced how she and Audrey cooked together while they watched the food network together.  Audrey’s best friend from the time of middle school, Amanda Le, opened up about their experiences together through adolescence. Le remembers Audrey developed early physically and by high school was well developed. A group of boys from junior high began a Yahoo! group where they shared nude pictures of their classmates. Le stated Audrey received a lot of requests for pictures, however, as Audrey was quite self-conscious she didn’t provide any pictures. Audrey was popular and had many friends. One night at a party Audrey drank too much. In a deposition, her “friend” stated her carried Audrey upstairs and laid her on a bed. Two other young men entered the room and closed the door. With Audrey, unmoving on the bed, the three boys stripped her naked. They took turns sexually assaulting her with their fingers. They painted half her face black and placed indelible lewd comments on her body. Photographs were taken and videos were recorded while Audrey laid defenseless.

Through the use of textual overlays from conversations Audrey initiated with her “friend,” Cohen and Shenk create a sense of real-time. Audrey does not recollect what happened and pleads with her friend and others to tell her what happened. Her “friend” tells her it will blow over in a week. Yet, when Audrey gets to school, she  comes to a realization that everyone in school is aware of what happened and the images of her assaulted naked body have made their way online. Shamed and humiliated, Audrey feels her reputation is beyond repair and commits suicide.

Daisy Coleman, a perky blonde-haired, blue-eyed freshman, and new to the small town of Maryville, Missouri also is subjected to shame, humiliation and ridicule following her sexual assault. Daisy and her 8th grade friend who according to an official police investigator looked about eight are invited to a “party.” While at the party held in the basement of one of the three older high school males present, both girls are raped while incapacitated. The following morning Daisy is found on her home’s lawn with her hair frozen to the grass. What unfolds in Daisy’s story is the difficulty is prosecuting an assault without hard evidence. None of the males were over 17. A video was recorded and shared and subsequently deleted without means of retrieval. Consequently, all charges were dropped.

Nevertheless, the maelstrom created by Daisy coming forth had severe repercussions for Daisy on social media. Slowly diminishing in spirit, Daisy began sinking further and further into the rabbit hole when a young woman who had endured and survived a similar sexual assault reached out to Daisy via social media. Delaney Henderson heard about Daisy and used the Facebook chat feature to tell Daisy she understood the feelings and what Daisy was going through. The two young women have started and joined a survivors’ group facilitated by a professional counselor. In a Q & A following the screening, it was revealed Daisy Coleman received an athletic scholarship to Mountain Valley College. Daisy stated with strength and conviction, “I’m done with being mad. I finally wanted to move on. I’m not forgetting the past. I’m forgiving the past.”

Hear Daisy and what the filmmakers have to say the making of Audrie & Daisy:

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High in production values complete with traditional interviews, archival news footage, original evidence-gathering investigation-room interviews, panning location shots, photographs as well as masked caricatures of the depositions, Audrie & Daisy, is a must-see documentary.

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Pictured from left to right are Delaney Henderson and Daisy Coleman. (Photo from American Film Institute Magazine/Blog)
#AFIDOCS, Documentary, Short Film

The AFI DOCS Interview: TRAIN SURFERS Director Adrien Cothier

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June 21, 2016

In Adrien Cothier’s short film TRAIN SURFERS, thrill-seeking young men tempt fate doing stunts on Mumbai’s high-speed trains. AFI spoke to director Adrien Cothier ahead of the film’s AFI DOCS premiere. He is a New York-based filmmaker who cut his teeth working on the set of Wes Anderson’s FANTASTIC MR. FOX.

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Adrien Cothier on Twitter: “Very proud to have TRAIN SURFERS premiere at this year’s @AFIDOCS festival. <3 https://t.co/aeK67ooI4X&#8221;

 

What led you to documentary filmmaking?

My background is in narrative filmmaking and advertising. In both, I always try to recreate a certain reality whereas in documentaries, you have to use reality in order to create a narrative. This organic creative process led me to docs. There is definitely something pure about a documentary. The goal with TRAIN SURFERS was not to make a commercial film, clearly, but rather, to expose a certain truth about the world we live in.

What inspired you to tell this story?

I was finishing my first semester of grad school and had decided that I needed to get out of my comfort zone and explore a part of the world I had never seen. India seemed like a perfect mix of spiritual and adventurous journey. While I was researching where to go, I ended up on a viral video of a “train surfer” in Mumbai. I had never seen anything like it. It was a strange mix of absolute beauty and danger. I instantly called my friend and producer. I told him that if there’s a chance we can meet somebody like this, we had to document it, no matter the cost. That’s how it all started.

How did you find your subjects?

It wasn’t as hard as I expected it to be. I started researching local news stories of teenagers getting arrested for train-surfing. The more I accumulated information, the closer I came to understanding that this phenomenon happened in a few specific areas of Mumbai. Then, I hired a local translator in order to get in touch with the surfers in case we encountered them. After two days of waiting in train stations, we saw a teenager on the roof of a speeding train. We chased him down and convinced him to let us meet him again with his friends. The next day we went to visit him in his home.

What was a particular obstacle you faced while making the film?

Filming on the trains or outside the tracks is completely forbidden in India. I think this phobia came from the terrorist attacks in south Mumbai in 2008. Since then the police have been extremely weary, especially with tourists like myself. We had to hide the camera as much as we could and shoot without any permits. At the end, I think that our gorilla approach gave us incredible footage in which the audience can really feel taken on a forbidden ride in the world of the kids.

What do you want audiences to walk away with after screening your film?

I’d like them to realize that all around world, the exact same human dynamics are happening but under very different social circumstances. Whether in the rugged outskirts of Mumbai, these kids are in many ways behaving in the same way that New York kids would. In this way it’s a story about friendship and I’d like people to feel it. But I cannot deny that it’s also a story about how being trapped in a life of poverty with very few chances of changing your life and how this will impact the decisions you make as a young person.

Why do you think Washington, DC, is a valuable location to screen your film?

This doc is definitely not political but its intrinsic message deals with the notions of freedom, poverty and the pursuit of happiness, which to me are clear American values emanating from the declaration of independence displayed in DC.

TRAIN SURFERS plays before the feature film VISITOR’S DAY on Thursday, June 23 and Sunday, June 26. Buy tickets here.

(Source: American Film Institute Magazine/AFI Blog)

#AFI, #AFIDOCS

THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES AFI DOCS 2016 FILMMAKER FORUM AND IMPACT LAB

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Filmmakers Will Connect With Industry Professionals and

National Opinion Leaders for a Series of Professional Development Events

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — JUNE 17, 2016, WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the American Film Institute (AFI) announced the AFI DOCS 2016 Filmmaker Forum program and Impact Lab participants.  The four-day Filmmaker Forum will take place June 23–26 at the AFI DOCS Festival Hub — located at the District Architecture Center, 421 7th St., NW in Washington, DC — and is open to AFI DOCS Priority and Industry passholders as well as festival filmmakers.  Filmmakers and industry professionals will meet for a series of professional development and networking events focused on diversity in documentary filmmaking, new technologies and the expanding world of documentary short filmmaking.

 

Sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, days one and two of the Filmmaker Forum will connect attendees with independent producers, leaders in public media and cultural critics as they examine the issues of diversity and equality within the documentary community.  Additional Forum highlights include a panel discussion with award-winning filmmakers on the advantages of short-format documentary filmmaking; and a panel discussion on the Virtual Reality revolution featuring VR makers, journalists, academics and industry insiders.  The Filmmaker Forum is presented in association with the International Documentary Association and Women Make Movies.

 

The second edition of the AFI DOCS Impact Lab, produced in partnership with Picture Motion and in collaboration with NBC Universal, will take place June 21–22.  The intensive program provides filmmakers with issue-driven films with unique training opportunities in the areas of advocacy, grassroots communication and engagement.  After completion of the Lab, participating projects are eligible to apply for the AFI DOCS/NBCUniversal Impact Grants, which support the outreach and social action campaigns of select Lab participants.  Other supporters of the Impact Lab include CrossCurrents Foundation and The Fledgling Fund.

 

Selected from films screening at AFI DOCS 2016, the 10 films participating in the 2016 Impact Lab are ALMOST SUNRISE (DIR Michael Collins, USA), AMERICAN BAGHDAD (DIR Ron Najor, USA), CARE (DIR Deirdre Fishel, USA), CHECK IT (DIRS Toby Oppenheimer, Dana Flor, USA), FAREWELL FERRIS WHEEL (DIRS:  Jamie Sisley, Miguel “M.i.G.” Martinez, USA), THE ISLANDS AND THE WHALES (DIRS Mike Day, DENMARK, USA, UK), NEWTOWN (DIR Kim A. Snyder, USA), THE OPPOSITION (DIR Hollie Fifer, AUSTRALIA), RAISING BERTIE (DIR Margaret Byrne, USA) and THEY CALL US MONSTERS (DIR Ben Lear, USA).

 

“Both the AFI DOCS Filmmaker Forum and Impact Lab provide unique opportunities to convene documentary filmmakers with policymakers and industry professionals in our nation’s capital,” said Michael Lumpkin, Director of AFI DOCS.  “Through the Filmmaker Forum’s conversations with experts and the Impact Lab’s advocacy training, we hope to inspire documentarians to leverage the power of nonfiction storytelling and create meaningful change.”

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(Michael Lumpkin, AFI DOCS  Director)

The 14th edition of AFI DOCS will run June 22–26 in Washington, DC, and Silver Spring, Maryland.  For more information about the Impact Lab and Filmmaker Forum, please visit AFI.com/afidocs.

 

About AFI DOCS

AFI DOCS is the American Film Institute’s annual documentary festival in the Washington, DC area.  Presenting the year’s best documentaries, AFI DOCS is the premier festival in the U.S. dedicated to screenings and events that connect audiences, filmmakers and policy leaders in the seat of our nation’s government.  The AFI DOCS advisory board includes Ken Burns, Davis Guggenheim, Chris Hegedus, Werner Herzog, Rory Kennedy, Barbara Kopple, Spike Lee, Errol Morris, Stanley Nelson, D A Pennebaker, Agnès Varda and Frederick Wiseman.  Now in its 14th year, the festival will be held June 22­–26, 2016 in landmark Washington, DC venues and the historic AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, MD.  Visit AFI.com/afidocs and connect on twitter.com/afidocs, facebook.com/afidocs and youtube.com/AFI.

About the American Film Institute

AFI is America’s promise to preserve the heritage of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers.  AFI programs include the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and the AFI Archive, which preserve film heritage for future generations; the AFI Life Achievement Award, the highest honor for a career in film; AFI AWARDS, honoring the most outstanding movies and TV series of the year; AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies television events and movie reference lists, which have introduced and reintroduced classic American movies to millions of film lovers; year-round and special event exhibition through AFI FEST presented by Audi, AFI DOCS and the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center; and educating the next generation of storytellers at the world-renowned AFI Conservatory.  For more information about AFI, visit AFI.com or connect with AFI at twitter.com/AmericanFilm, facebook.com/AmericanFilmInstitute, instagram.com/AmericanFilmInstitute and youtube.com/AFI.

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CONTACT:

Gabrielle Flamand, AFI DOCS PR, 202.339.9598 or gabrielle@prcollaborative.com

Liza Ameen, American Film Institute, 323.856.7885 or LAmeen@AFI.com

Documentary, Uncategorized

Art Bastard

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Yesterday, I had the good fortune to meet Robert Cenedella, the subject of a heartfelt, insightful documentary, Art Bastard. Open and candid, Mr. Cenedella has a message about the state of today’s business of art: “It’s not what they show, It’s what they don’t show.”

Art Bastard is a new documentary produced by Chris T. Concannon, Concannon Productions, in association with Cavu Pictures, and celebrates the extraordinary life and work of painter Cenedella. Ten years in the making Concannon doggedly pursued the project rifling through directors until meeting writer and director, Victor Kanefsky.

Pictured left to right, Art Bastard, Robert Cenedella and writer/director Victor Kanefsky at the Laemmle Monica Film Center in Santa Monica, Calif., during a Q & A following the pre-Opening Weekend screening of the new Cris Concannon documentary, Art Bastard.
Executive Producer, Chris Concannon, at Laemmle Monica Film Center during a Q & A, following the pre-OPening Weekend screening of his first feature documentary, Art Bastard.

 

In a Q & A, following last night’s Los Angeles pre-opening screening, Concannon quipped “in two days with Victor (Kanefsky) I accomplished more than I did with any other director in two years.”

In taking on the project, Kanefsy painstakingly poured through the hundred plus hours of film and pensively scoured the transcripts to reveal the truth of Robert Cenedella, the Art Bastard. Utilizing telling interviews with family members, New York power brokers, art students, art critics, museum curators and Mr. Cenedella himself, Kanefsky takes the viewer on an adventure through the Andy Warhol Pop Art era into the present day with Cenedella reflecting on his body of work as well as his current role as mentor and teacher at the Art Students League of New York.

What is revealed is an intimate portrait of the heart and soul of a young man who, upon being expelled for penning and distributing a satirical expose on the mundane routine of his high school’s Atom Bomb Drill, discovers himself and comes to terms with life on life’s terms through his commitment to his art. On more than one occasion, Cenedella mouths his mantra “I have a moral obligation to my artwork.”

Editor Jim MacDonald and Director of Photography Douglas Meltzer combine forces in presenting a dazzling array of shots zooming into the paintings of the Art Bastard mesmerizing the audience as minute details become postcard portraits unto themselves punctuated by Mario Sprouse’s musical score. And behind each painting lies a story.

Santa Fe Rider by Robert Cenedella
Heinz 57 by Robert Cenedella

A variety of Cenedella’s artwork is featured throughout Art Bastard including “Impeachment Off The Table” (2008), “Southern Dogs” (1965), “Heinz 57” (1963), “The Balcony” , “2001 – A Stock Odyssey” (1986) , “Santa Fe Rider” , “The Death of George Grosz” (1962) , the highly controversial “The Presence of Man” (1988) and the widely popular “Le Cirque – The First Generation” (1998). Other artists included are Warhol, Jackson Pollock, George Bellows, Thomas Hart Benton, Reginald Marsh, Rembrandt, Raphael, El Greco and Hans Holbein the Elder. In addition, works by his Art Student League mentor George Grosz, whom Cenedella credits with forming his technique and claims he was the first adult he ever respected, are illustrated, presented and intertwined with the telling of the Art Bastard’s journey.

 

Cenedella lays claim to being “the most widely written about unknown artist in America.” Not for long, however. As the Art Bastard navigates the festival circuit, awards are being bestowed upon the filmmakers as they have garnered three 2016 winners, including Best Documentary at the Manchester Film Festival, Best Documentary at Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema, and Best Director, Documentary at Idyllwild. These follow the 2015 Focus On Art Award from the Orlando Film Festival and the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Creativity at the Utopia Film Festival. Furthermore, Art Bastard was named an official selection for the Santa Fe Film Festival, the Big Apple Film Festival and the Newport Beach Film Festival.

Art Bastard opened June 3rd in New York and is scheduled to open this weekend, in Los Angeles, Calif., at the Laemmle’s Monica Film Center followed by Q & A’s with Robert Cenedella, The Art Bastard, after the Friday, June 17th 7:30 P.M. show and on Saturday June 18th after the 2:30 P.M., 5:00 P.M., and the 7:30 P.M. shows. His art exhibit will also be featured at the theater. The Los Angeles opening will be proceeded by a June 24th opening in Pasadena and Orange County.

Highly recommended.

 

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#AFIDOCS, AFIDocs, Documentary, Spotlight Screening

AUDRIE & DAISY

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Spotlight Screening
AUDRIE & DAISY tells the story of two teenage girls who went to parties, drank alcohol, passed out, and were sexually assaulted by guys they thought were their friends.  In the aftermath, both girls discovered that the crimes were documented on cell phones.  Video and pictures were passed around.  Their lives were changed forever.

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A riveting examination of the frightening consequences of social media gone out of control, AUDRIE & DAISY focuses on the traumatic aftermath for two teenage girls who were sexually assaulted in 2012. As evidence of the crimes went viral, the victims were scorned by their communities and cyber-bullied by their peers — to tragic ends. This heartbreaking film makes a powerful plea to end the cultures of shame and silence surrounding rape in the digital age. — Chuck Willett

 

Director’s Statement

As directors and parents of teenagers, we are struck by the frequency of sexual assaults in high schools across the country and have been even more shocked by the pictures and videos, posted online – almost as trophies – by teens that have committed these crimes.  This has become the new public square of shame for our adolescents.   Unfortunately, the story of drunken high school parties and sexual assault is not new.  But today, the events of the night are recorded on smartphones and disseminated to an entire community and, sometimes, the nation.  Such was the case for Audrie Pott and Daisy Coleman, two teenage girls, living thousands of miles apart but experiencing the same shame from their communities.  While the subject matter is dark, we are inspired by these stories to make a film that captures these truths but can also help audiences digest the complexities of the world teenagers live in today.

As we began our research, the Steubenville, Ohio High School rape case was underway.  At the time, there was wide criticism directed at national news outlets for their lack of focus on the victim and perceived sympathy for the perpetrators.  As more cases have come to light since then, this damaging attitude – stemming from what many refer to as pervasive “rape culture” in American society – has remained largely in tact.  However, journalists need stories and stories require characters.  As is the norm in underage rape cases, in Steubenville, the survivor chose (understandably) to maintain her anonymity as a “Jane Doe.” We decided then that a genuinely emotional, meaningful film about teenage sexual assault required the affirmative on- camera participation of the survivor.  Our main subjects, Daisy Coleman and Audrie Pott, involuntarily lost their anonymity when rumors, insults and photos about their assaults circulated around school and on social media.  Identified by name and subjected to online character assassination, Daisy decided with great courage to speak out publicly.  Audrie’s parents chose to go public with their daughter’s story after the unspeakable tragedy of Audrie’s suicide, as well. Thus, using their deeply personal – and, now public – stories as a starting point, we launched into production of our film.

AUDRIE & DAISY, directed by Bonni Cohen and Joe Shenk is screening Thursday, June 23rd, 2016, at the Newseum at 8:15 P.M. Click here for tickets.

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#AFIDOCS, Documentary, Feature Film

The AFI DOCS Interview: #NEWTOWN Director Kim A. Snyder

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June 1, 2016

On December 14, 2012, a 20-year-old gunman forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and murdered 20 schoolchildren and six educators. In the aftermath of the killings, filmmaker Kim Snyder traveled to Newtown and trained her lens on a grieving community, following several families who came face to face with tragedy. NEWTOWN reveals both the indelible scars gun violence leaves behind and the resilience of people who come together to heal.

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AFI spoke to director Snyder ahead of the film’s AFI DOCS premiere.

What led you to documentary filmmaking?

I was working on the production side of narrative filmmaking when a turn in my personal life compelled me to direct my first documentary. I have been doing it ever since.

What inspired you to tell this story?

I was drawn to the profound effects of collective trauma and the need for many people in Newtown to be heard on their own terms in an effort to make meaning out of the unthinkable. I wanted to pierce through a growing desensitization to these escalating incidents of mass gun violence through creating an emotional experience that humanizes the issue in a universal way.

How did your subjects?

It was like peeling an onion. In that first year, I did not feel comfortable penetrating the privacy of those most affected. My first connections were with the Interfaith community, which informed an intimacy and framing that was at once philosophic, existential and spiritual to some extent; it lent a holistic approach to a community wrestling with the darkest of journeys. Friar Bob, the priest who buried eight of the 20 children, was among those severely affected in terms of trauma. As I organically developed relationships with others through careful trust building, I began to develop a story of a town through a number of prisms, including that of parents of loss, educators, first responders, neighbors, youth — faces that render a portrait of any town and one that would redefine what it means to be a victim, while exploring the profound effects of survivor guilt and the resilience required to repair the social fabric of the entire community in the wake of the tragedy.

What was a particular obstacle you faced while making the film?

I faced a profound sense of responsibility in not wanting the process of the film to add to the ongoing trauma of those who participated, and in keeping my own psychological and emotion reactions to the material in check.

What do you want audiences to walk away with?

I want them to take away a profoundly emotional but rewarding journey to experience in their own community. I want them to experience perspective, anger and uplift from a community that offers profound truth and life perspective. Most importantly, I want them to leave with the conviction to participate in effecting change.

Why is Washington, DC, a valuable location to screen your film?

It is perhaps the most essential place for us to screen. Presenting an intimate exploration of the aftermath of the deadliest mass shooting of schoolchildren in American history in the seat of government and policymaking will be extremely powerful. We hope to maximize this potential.

NEWTOWN plays AFI DOCS on Thursday, June 23 at 5:45. Buy tickets here.

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[Source: American Film Magazine (blog)]

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