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Previews
Palm Springs International ShortFest 2012
- Details
- Parent Category: Film Festivals
- Category: Previews
- Published on Monday, 25 June 2012 23:10
- Written by Joanne Choi
The 2012 Palm Springs International ShortFest & Film Market runs from June 19 - 25, 2012, at the Camelot Theatres (2300 East Baristo Road) in Palm Springs, CA.
Marking its 18th year, ShortFest showcases 50 World Premieres, 63 North American Premieres and 21 U.S. Premieres. The selection of films entering this year features stars and award-winning films from 52 different countries around the globe including:
- Europe
- USA
- Canada
- South America
- Asia
- Australia
The films are categorized into a total of 53 programs covering a wide range of genres such as:action, comedies, dramas, horror stories, thrillers and mysteries – and themes such as animals, art, communication, crime, dreams, family, taboos, love, memories, siblings, war, travel, work, GLBT and kids’ shorts.
Various stars and guests are expected to attend this special event, including Shia La Beouf (director of HowardCantour) and Matthew Modine (writer, co-director and stars in Jesus Was a Commie).
This year’s star-studded shorts feature Academy Award winners and nominees, as well as film and television stars:
- Cadaver
USA
Director, Jonah D. Ansell
Christopher Lloyd and Kathy Bates
- Double or Nothing
USA
Director, Nathaniel Krause
Adam Brody
- Friend Request Pending
UK
Director, Chris Foggin
Judi Dench, Tom Hiddleston
- I’m Coming Over
USA
Director, Sam Handel
Lauren Ambrose, Hamish Linklater
- Lois
Australia/Greece
Director, Alexandra Schepisi
Jacki Weaver
- Our Need for Consolation
Sweden
Director, Dan Levy Dagerman
Stellan Skarsgard
- Picture Paris
USA
Director, Brad Hall
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Rachael Harris
- Pitch Black Heist
UK
Director, John Maclean
Michael Fassbender
- Queen
USA
Director, Adam Rose
Evan Peters
- The End
France
Director, Didier Barcelo
Charlotte Rampling
- The Five Stages of Grief
USA
Director, Jessica Brickman
Jason Ritter
- The Gruffalo’s Child
UK
Director, Uwe Heidschötter, Johannes Weiland
Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane and Tom Wilkinson
- The Mapmaker
UK
Director, Stephen Johnson
Charles Dance
- The Perfect Fit
USA
Director, Beth Grant
Octavia Spencer, Frances Fisher
- The Procession
USA
Director, Robert Festinger
Lily Tomlin, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Lucy Punch
- Up the Valley and Beyond
USA
Director, Todd Rosken
Jim Parrack
- No Rest for the Wicked
USA
Director, Ryan Schifrin
Malcolm McDowell
- Would You
USA
Director, Rod Blackhurst, Brian McGinn
Betsy Franco, Dave Franco and Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Jane Schoettle (International Programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival), Lael Loewenstein, (President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and a critic for Variety) and Richard Abramowitz (President of Abramorama, distribution and marketing company) serve on the ShortFest jury.
In accordance with the Palm Springs International ShortFest, the ShortFest Online Film Festival will be running its second year. A total of 10 films will be picked to represent the online portion of the festival (www.psfilmfest.org/shortfest).
People also get a chance to vote for their favorite shorts online in unison. The “ShortFest Online Audience Award” will be announced on Closing Night of the Festival Award Ceremony.
Designated by AMPAS as an award-qualifying festival, and accredited by the International Short Film Conference, the Palm Springs InternationalShortFest and its Short Film Market are the largest and most prominent short film showcase in North America. The Festival and its concurrent 3,000-film Market continue to serve as a scouting ground for new filmmaking talent and are well attended by those in the business of buying and selling short films.
For more info on this event visit: www.psfilmfest.org
2012 Palm Springs International ShortFest
June 19th - 25th, 2012
Camelot Theatres
2300 East Baristo Road
Palm Springs, CA 92262
Human Rights Watch Film Fest 2012 At Lincoln Center
- Details
- Parent Category: Film Festivals
- Category: Previews
- Published on Friday, 22 June 2012 15:55
- Written by Renzo Adler
A perennial favorite on the New York film festival calendar, the Human Rights Watch Film Festival will be at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center (70 Lincoln Center Plaza) June 14 - 28, 2012. Developed and sponsored by The Human Rights Watch, the international non-governmental organization conducts research and advocacy on human rights.
This year's festival organized around several themes:
- health, development, and the environment
- lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and migrants’ rights
- personal testimony and witnessing
- reporting in crises
- women’s rights
A mix of dramatic and documentary films, HRWFF a traveling film festival that focuses on creating “…a forum for courageous individuals on both sides of the lens to empower audiences with the knowledge that personal commitment can make a difference”
Many fine award-winning films are in the fest's collection among this list of the daring and thought-provoking films are:
- Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
dir. Alison Klayman
(United States)
(New York Premiere) - In this unprecedented look at Ai Weiwei and those close to him, filmmaker Alison Klayman captures the artist's forthright and unequivocal stance against China's oppression, painting a picture of the artist as an individual and as a powerful voice for human rights.
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry chronicles the complexities of Ai's life for three years, beginning with his rise to public prominence via blog and Twitter after he questioned the deaths of more than 5,000 students in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Screening followed by discussion with Alison Klayman, Filmmaker; Sophie Richardson, China Director, Asia Division, Human Rights Watch; and Tong Yi, former activist in China, licensed attorney in the US.
- Salaam Dunk
dir. David Fine
(United States)
(New York premiere) - With plenty of pop music and 'girl power', Salaam Dunk delivers a tale of hope and inspiration, courtesy of one winning group of Iraqi women basketball players at the American University in Sulaimani, Iraq.Bidder 70 (New York Premiere)
- Bidder 70
dir. Beth and George Gage
(United States)
Bidder 70 tells the story of Tim DeChristopher and his stunning act of civil disobedience in a time of global climate chaos. On December 19, 2008, DeChristopher, as Bidder #70, derailed the Bush administration's last minute, widely disputed Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Oil and Gas lease auction, acting to safeguard thousands of acres of Utah land.
Bidding $1.7 million, Tim won 22,000 acres of land with no intention to pay for it or drill there. For his disruption of the auction, DeChristopher was indicted on two federal charges.
- Bitter Seeds
dir. Micha X. Peled
(U.S./India)
(New York Premiere)
Manjusha Amberwar, a young journalist, examines the causes of an epidemic of farmer suicides in India — one every 30 minutes — that includes her own father. She hopes that by drawing attention to their plight, she can bring an end to this tragedy. But it won't be easy.
- War Witch
dir. Kim Nguyen
(Canada)
At 14, Komona has lived through horrors that eclipse an adult's worst nightmares. In this mesmerizing, otherworldly drama, shot entirely in the Democratic Republic of Congo, comes a story of incredible human resilience.
The screening will be followed by discussion with Jo Becker, Advocacy Director, Children’s Rights Division, Human Rights Watch and Grace Akallo, former child soldier and co-author of Girl Soldier: A Story of Hope for Northern Uganda’s Children.
The HRWFF is also active in cities in the US and Europe, including Chicago, London, Toronto, San Diego, Washington DC, and more.
Said Film Society of Lincoln Center executive director Rose Kuo, “For over 20 years, the Human Rights Watch Film Festival has provided a forum for the creative community to share stories that bear witness to the human condition.”
To learn more, go to: www.hrw.org
The Human Rights Watch Film Festival
June 14 – 28, 2012
The Walter Reade Theater
70 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York, NY 10023
Look East Korean Film Festival (LEF) 2012
- Details
- Parent Category: Film Festivals
- Category: Previews
- Published on Wednesday, 20 June 2012 19:20
- Written by Joanne Choi
The Look East Korean Film Festival (LEF) will be held Saturday and Sunday June 23-24 2012, at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, CA. This is also the first time in Grauman’s 85-year history, that Korean actors Lee Byung-Hun and Ahn Sung-Ki will place hand and footprints in cement in front of the legendary theater.
Lee, Ahn, and international filmmaker Pierre Rissient will be honored at the opening ceremony. Both events will be taking place on Saturday, June 23. Special guests, celebrities and VIPs are expected to attend.
Also joining this event will be esteemed chef Ludo Lefebvre, preparing a special menu for the celebrity VIP dinner following the opening ceremony. Ludo is named one of the World’s 50 Greatest Chefs by Relais & Chateaux and was nominated by the James Beard Foundation for a Rising Star chef Award.
The screenings scheduled include:
- 3 Iron (Bin Jip)
- A Bittersweet Life (Dar Kom Hahn Inseng) including a Q&A with star Byung-hun Lee
- The Day He Arrives (Book Chon Bahng Yang)
- Flower in Hell (Jiok Hwa) – U.S. premiere
- A Hometown in Heart (Maum Ae Gohyang) – U.S. premiere
- The Host 3D (Gae Mur)
- Pierre Rissient: Man of Cinema – including a Q&A with subject/star Pierre Rissient
- Poetry (Shi) including a Q&A with director Chang-dong Lee
- Punch (Wahn D'Ghi)
- Unbowed (Booruh Jin Hwa Sal) including a Q&A with star and Hand and Footprint honoree Sung-ki Ahn
- Thirst (Bahk Ji) including a Q&A with director Chan-wook Park
Tickets to the screenings, Q&A, opening ceremony, VIP dinner, and cocktail party can be purchased at www.LookEastFestival.com, www.ChineseTheatres.com and www.Movietickets.com or by calling 323-431-4111.
For full schedule and more details on this exclusive event visit: www.LookEastFestival.com
Look East Korean Film Festival (LEF) 2012
June 23-24 2012
Grauman’s Chinese Theatre
6925 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood, CA
BAMcinemaFest 2012
- Details
- Parent Category: Film Festivals
- Category: Previews
- Published on Tuesday, 19 June 2012 17:50
- Written by Renzo Adler
From June 20 to July 1, 2012, the BAMcinemaFest film festival returns to Brooklyn.
The opening night feature is the New York premiere of comedian Mike Birbiglia’s Sleepwalk With Me, introduced by Birbiglia and co-writer Ira Glass, followed by a BAM-wide party for ticket holders.
This autobiographical film stars Birbiglia as a bartender at a Park Slope comedy club who moves in with his long-term girlfriend (Lauren Ambrose). Struggling with his relationship and his stand-up career, he also battles an extreme form of sleepwalking where he acts out his dreams -- even going so far as to throw himself out of a second story window.
