Film Festials of Summer 2012

This is the time of year in the United States that the movie calendar is full of big budget loud movies meant to appeal to the youngsters on summer break from high school and college. Amidst all the shouting, I like to see what films the festivals in the U.S., and around the world, are highlighting. I love to look for little gems that will be big movies when the major awards season arrives in November.

In Scotland, wedged between the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic games in the U.K., the prestigious Edinburgh International Film Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland (EIFF), opened 20 June 2012, and closed today, 1 July, after the final big screening last night of Disneys latest animation from Pixar, BRAVE. This year, the Festival returned to bestowing awards and the big winners are:

Director Penny Woolcock was awarded The Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film for ONE MILE AWAY, which received its World Premiere at the Festival. The Jury choosing the Michael Powell award winners was chaired by actor Jim Broadbent

Andrea Riseborough and Bríd Brennan jointly won The Michael Powell Award for Best Performance in a British Feature Film for their performances in James Marsh’s SHADOW DANCER, which had its UK Premiere last night.

The Award for Best Film in the International Feature Competition went to the drama HERE, THEN, about rootless youngsters in China, from director Mao Mao, with his first credit as a director. Elliot Gould presided over the Jury.

WEBSITE  

Heart of Sarajevo

Next up is a festival that most in the world may never have heard of, but one that has the backing of the likes of Actor Kevin Spacey and U2's Bono. It's the 18th SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL (SFF) held in Bosnia Herzegovina, opening July 6 and running through the 14th. Because this festival arose from the ashes of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995, we feel it is important to cover it. Last year, Angelina Jolie was awarded the Heart of Sarajevo for her efforts to bring awareness of the war through her movie, LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY.

The Festival Program Journal has been published. It is available at the Main Box Office, and single tickets are on sale. This year the Festival will present 210 films from 57 countries. There is also an online version of this year's Program Journal with information about all the screenings. We highly recommend you take a look at it as it is bilingual with English, and there is a beautiful spread featuring handsome Michael Fassbender:    
JOURNAL

Special screenings will include Steven Spielberg's SCHINDLER'S LIST, and some screenings will take place under the stars. The opening feature is Aida Begic's CHILDREN OF SARAJEVO (Dejeca), which won the Special Distinction of the Jury at this year's Cannes Film Festival. THE ANGEL'S SHARE will close. The already award-winning THE BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, filmed in and around New Orleans will screen in competition, and it is the directorial debut of U.S. director Benh Zeitlin.

WEBSITE (English)   

VENICE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The 69th Venice International Film Festival (VIFF) will run August 29th to September 8th, directed by Alberto Barbera. New features of the next edition include a new foyer of the Palazzo del Cinema; the Venice Film Market, a new service that will join the Industry Office; and Biennale College - Cinema, a workshop open to young filmmakers for the production of low-budget films.

 

The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement has been awarded to Italian director and screenwriter Francesco Rosi. The award will be presented on August 31st, on the occasion of the screening of the restored copy of Rosi's masterpiece, Il caso Mattei (The Mattei Affair, 1972).

WEBSITE

 

 

The 36th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), originally known as the Festival of Festivals, will be held in September from the 6th to 16th in Toronto, Canada. The Festival will be screening more than 300 films from over 60 countries, as it does every September. Tickets sales are available, but the full program has not yet been announced.

Toronto's programers have earned a reputation for excellence, and a diverse array of films are shown. There are Hollywood galas, complete with red carpet glamor but, most of all, the best in international cinema and potential Academy Award winners are screened. Toronto's track record of booking eventual Academy Award winners is legendary.

WEBSITE 

 

Could this be the surprise movie of the year?

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

Berlin Film Festival Winners 2010

SERIES: Major Film Festivals

60th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) awards their Bears at annual gala.

The second major international film festival of 2010, the 60th Anniversary edition of the Berlin International Film Festival (BIFF) closed last night with the presentation of their Gold and Silver Bears, and other awards. The Berlinale, as it is known in Europe, begins the annual official 2010 award season for Europe, as did last month's Sundance (SFF) in the U.S.

Berlin, held in what was known as West Germany, was originally known for screening films that otherwise would not have been shown anywhere outside of the former West and East Germany, the USSR, Yugoslavia, etc. They hold to their basic tradition today in the united Germany, primarily showing German film, but also showing films from Russia and other Eastern Europe countries.

Honorary Golden Bears for lifetime achievement in cinema went to actress Hanna Schygulla and the screenwriter and director Wolfgang Kohlhaase. Schygulla’s name is inseparably connected with the late West German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s films. Wolfgang Kohlhaase adopted a course that was new for DEFA (the publicly-owned film studio in the German Democratic Republic, the former East Germany). Motion pictures in which Schygulla or Kohlhaase had a part were shown in separate programs during the festival. For German cinema, finally a meeting of West and East.

I have had the privilege of seeing many of the films from DEFA and UFA made before unification. For anyone interested in German films made at DEFA, the DEFA Film Library is now at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. It is the only archive and study center outside Europe devoted to the study of a broad spectrum of films by East German filmmakers or related to East Germany from 1946 to the present. Here's the UMASS link.

But, you came here to see the winners. Roman Polanski won the Silver Bear for Best Director for his latest film, THE GHOST WRITER. He did not attend. The major movie winners are, HONEY; IF I WANT TO WHISTLE, I WHISTLE; HOW I ENDED THIS SUMMER; and APART TOGETHER. Here are the major winners by award, name of film, and director (where appropriate):

GOLDEN BEAR FOR THE BEST FILM - HONEY (Bal, Turkey) directed by Semih Kaplanoglu;

JURY GRAND PRIX SILVER BEAR - IF I WANT TO WHISTLE, I WHISTLE (Eu cand vreau sa fluier, fluier, Romania) by Florin Serban;

SILVER BEAR FOR BEST DIRECTOR - Roman Polanski for THE GHOST WRITER (France, Germany, UK), based on the novel The Ghost by Robert Harris, who adapted the screenplay;

SILVER BEAR FOR BEST ACTRESS Shinobu Terajima in CATEPILLAR (Kyatapirâ, Japan) by Koji Wakamatsu;

SILVER BEAR FOR BEST ACTOR - Sergei Puskepalis for HOW I ENDED THIS SUMMER (Kak ya provel etim letom, Russia) by Alexei Popogrebsky;

SILVER BEAR FOR AN OUTSTANDING ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT IN THE CATEGORY CAMERA - Pavel Kostomarov for the camera in HOW I ENDED THIS SUMMER by Alexei Popogrebsky;

SILVER BEAR FOR THE BEST SCRIPT - Wang Quan'an and Na Jin for APART TOGETHER (Tuan Yuan, China) by Wang Quan'an;

ALFRED BAUER PRIZE, awarded in memory of the Festival founder, for a work of particular innovation - IF I WANT TO WHISTLE, I WHISTLE by Florin Serban.

For all awards, download the .pdf file here. Click the title of this post to link to the Official Festival Site. To find out more about individual films at a glance, visit the IMDb.

Sundance Festival Winners

SERIES: Major Film Festivals





The 2010 Sundance Film Festival (SFF) awards were presented Saturday, 30 January, by actor David Hyde Pierce. Yes, I know that was a week ago, but so many awards are being given at one time it is very hard on my staff - - me, myself, and I.



WINTER'S BONE

Debra Granik's WINTER'S BONE was the big winner in Park City, as it won both the dramatic competition Grand Jury prize and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award in Park City. Earlier in the day, the gritty drama secured North American distribution through Roadside Attractions for release later this year.

The movie, about an unflinching Ozark Mountain girl trudging through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her missing father, was adapted from the Missouri-based author Daniel Woodrell's novel by Granik and Anne Rosellini. Rosellini and Alix Madigan, produced. Jonathan Scheuer and Shawn Simon executive produced. Granik's previous film, the 2004 Sundance entry DOWN TO THE BONE, won her a dramatic directing award

Here are the winners this year:



AUDIENCE AWARDS ~ ~

U.S. Dramatic – Josh Radnor, happythankyoumoreplease;
U.S. Documentary – Davis Guggenheim, WAITING FOR SUPERMAN;
World Cinema: Documentary – Lucy Walker, WASTE LAND;
World Cinema: Dramatic – Javier Fuentes-León (Peru), CONTRACORRIENTE.



JURY AWARDS ~ ~

Grand Jury Prize: U. S. Dramatic – Debra Granik, WINTER'S BONE;
Grand Jury Prize: U. S. Documentary - Sebastien Junger and Tim Hetherington, RESTREPO;

Jury Prize: World Cinema Dramatic – David Michôd, ANIMAL KINGDOM;
Jury Prize: World Cinema Documentary – Mads Brügger, THE RED CHAPEL.



SPECIAL JURY AWARDS ~ ~

U.S. Dramatic – Mark Ruffalo, SYMPATHY FOR DELICIOUS;
U.S. Documentary – Josh Fox, GASLAND;
World Cinema Documentary – Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE;
World Dramatic Breakout Performance – Tatiana Maslany in GROWN UP MOVIE STAR.



OTHER SPECIAL ~ ~

Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize – Diane Bell, OBSELIDIA;
Best of NEXT – Todd Barnes and Brad Barnes, HOMEWRECKER.



RECOGNITION AWARDS ~ ~

U.S. Directing: Dramatic – Eric Mendelsohn, 3 BACKYARDS;

U.S. Directing: Documentary – Leon Gast, SMASH HIS CAMERA;
U.S. Waldo Salt Screenwriting – Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini, WINTER'S BONE;
U.S. Documentary Editing– Penelope Falk, JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK;
U.S. Excellence in Cinematography - Dramatic – Zak Mulligan, OBSELIDIA;
U.S. Excellence in Cinematography - Documentary – Kirsten Johnson, Laura Poitras, THE OATH;
World Cinema Directing: Dramatic – Juan Carlos Valdivia, SOUTHERN DISTRICT;
World Cinema Directing: Documentary – Christian Frei, SPACE TOURISTS;
World Cinema Screenwriting – Juan Carlos Valdivia, SOUTHERN DISTRICT;
World Cinema Documentary Editing– Joëlle Alexis, A FILM UNFINISHED;
World Cinema Cinematography - Dramatic – Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat, THE MAN NEXT DOOR;

World Cinema Cinematography - Documentary – Kate McCullough and Michael Lavelle, HIS & HERS.

SHORT FILMS (announced earlier) ~ ~

Jury Prize in U.S. – DRUNK HISTORY;
International Jury Prize – THE SIX DOLLAR FIFTY MAN;
Honorable Mention – QUADRANGLE; DOCK ELLIS & THE LSD NO - NO;
ROB and VALENTYNA in SCOTLAND; YOUNG LOVE; BORN SWEET, and CAN WE TALK?

Also announced earlier, Slamdance Festival Awards, where the Grand Jury awards went to, Charles-Olivier Michaud's narrative film SNOW and ASHES, and Mark Claywell's documentary AMERICAN JIHADIST, plus the Sundance / NHK International Filmmakers Awards.

Read more about the awards. To visit the Festival's Website and read more there, plus access videos, click the title of this post.

Major Film Festivals in January 2010

SERIES: Major Film Festivals

Twenty-First PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (PSIFF), Palm Springs, California, 5 - 17 JANUARY 2010. http://www.psfilmfest.org/

About Elly, Iran, 2009. In years past, this festival was a big party in the desert for the celebrity crowd but last year the PSIFF goers chose Japan's DEPARTURES by director Yojiro Takita as the Audience Award winner. It went on to win the Oscar® for Best Foreign Language Film, and this festival's standing among U.S. festivals was immediately elevated. This year, the Festival offers 41 foreign films, including the acclaimed ABOUT ELLY, submitted by Iran for Oscar nomination consideration in the Best Foreign Language Film category. See full list. Will this year's audience award be an Oscar portend?

The PSIFF opened last Tuesday, 5 January, with an awards gala, usually held the last night of a festival. As do the people in Utah's Sundance FF, they do things differently in Palm Springs.

The festival will close 17 January with another gala and the screening of THE LIGHTKEEPERS, directed by Daniel Adams, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Blythe Danner, Tom Wisdom, Bruce Dern and Mamie Gummer. The next day, the Festival will screen "The Best of the Fest." The list will be announced on the 17th.

Yesterday was Australian Film Day but if you missed it, there will be repeat screenings of new Australian films throughout the festival. http:// www.australia-week.com. Also, there will be more about the festival on this blog as news from the PSIFF warrants.

Twenty-Sixth SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL (SFF), Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, Utah, 21 - 31 January 2010, sponsored by the Sundance Institute.
http://www.sundance.org/festival/

I'M PAT, director: Amir Bar-Lev, screenplay: Mark Monroe, USA, 2009. In the U.S., Sundance is the first festival of prominence at the beginning of each year. Sorry, Palm Springs, it is a fact. It is also one of the best showcases for independent movies and documentaries in the U.S.

With an emphasis on feature documentaries as well as being a launching pad for independent art-house titles, it has always focused on filmmaking outside the commercial mainstream. The festival's commitment to documentary has been driven by the personal connection that President and Founder Robert Redford feels for the genre.

First of all, there are passes still for sale, but you better hurry! Second there's an iPhone App for Sundance. It is available through iTunes Store for $4.99+.

The 2010 Sundance Film Festival will open with our annual celebration as filmmakers and festival friends reunite or meet for the first time, Thursday, 21 January 2010, 10:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m., Legacy Lodge,1310 Lowell Ave. The opening screening will be director Aaron Schneider's GET LOW, and will be held in Salt Lake City, Friday, 22 January 22, 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, and screening tickets required.

Closing Night Screening, 29 January, director Joel Schumacher's TWELVE, 9:30 p.m., Eccles Theatre.

Awards Ceremony, Saturday, 30 January 30, Time TBA, Park City Racquet Club, 1200 Little Kate Rd. Among the most anticipated, the Audience Awards, which are decided by the festival attendees and awarded to films in each of the four competition categories. The ceremony will be followed with the closing night gala party.

Here's access to the festival film guide:

If widget doesn't work for you, download (PDF) Competition Film Guide, and other guides: http://festival.sundance.org/2010/boxoffice/.

There will be more about the festival on this blog as news from the SIFF warrants. The last week of this month watch for SERIES: Major Film Festivals, "Major Film Festivals in February," with the upcoming Santa Barbara IFF (SBIFF) as lead festival.