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Film Festivals

Docuweeks NY and LA: Clowns, Bipolar Disorders, and Haitian Janitors

without a net docuweeksConducted by The International Documentary Association (IDA) The 16th Annual Docuweeks film festival (August 3 – August 23, 2012 in New York and August 10 – August 30 in LA) brings together that genre of filmmaking that blurs the line between artist and journalist. Docuweeks presents 17 feature films and 11 shorts from 19 different countries.

The New York branch of the film festival at the IFC Center (323 Avenue of the Americas, NY) features a program of 10 short documentaries. The LA branch of the festival at Laemmle Noho 7 (5240 Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood, CA), will lead up to the 28th Annual Documentary Awards in December.

La Source (Dir. Patrick Shen)
Josue Lajeunesse, a Hatian man living in New Jersey and working as a janitor Princeton University and as a taxi driver, has, since 1989, been sending money to his home of La Source so that the villagers their can have access to clean water.

Of Two Minds (Dir. Doug Blush and Lisa Klein)
Of Two Minds examines the lives of people with bipolar disorders. These people must cope with not only their own disorders, which can make life unpredictable, but also with a society that does not understand their affliction.

Without A Net (Dir. Kelly J. Richardson)
Youths living in an impoverished and drug controlled ghetto in Rio de Janeiro make a very brave and mature decision to change their lives by running away to the circus. Now training to be acrobats and contortionists, these young men struggle to take control of their lives.

Other documentaries being shown are:
The Anderson Monarchs
Defiant Requiem
Digital Dharma: One Man's Mission to Save a Culture
Drought
Garden in the Sea (Jardín en el Mar)
Love Free or Die
The Magic Life
Once In a Lullaby: The PS 22 Chorus Documentary

Documentaries are a unique form of filmmaking. A constant interplay between the subject and the film maker raises questions about how the presence of the camera can alter the behavior of subjects or how careful editing can completely alter the tone and message behind someone’s words, but it also brings people much closer to obscure people and ideas and offers new perspectives.  Sometimes a documentary can eclipse a feature film in narrative originality (raise your hand if you think Hearts of Darkness was better than Apocalypse Now). Docuweeks, with its long runtime and varied subjects, strives to bring documentary film making out in to the open and to as many people as possible.

To learn more, go to: http://www.documentary.org/docuweeks2012

Docuweeks
August 3 – August 23, 2012 (New York)
August 10 – August 30, 2012 (LA)

IFC Center
323 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY

LAEMMLE NoHo 7
5240 Lankershim Boulevard
North Hollywood, CA

Lincoln Center and Dubai International Film Fest Team Up for Orientation

Amreeka, Dir. Cherien DabisOrientation: A New Arab Cinema (August 24 – 29, 2012) at the Film Society of Lincoln Center (165 West 65th Street) showcases Arab filmmakers telling stories of a world that has led to, and changed, since the Arab Spring. These are internationally minded filmmakers, many of whom have honed their craft abroad and look to shine new light on subjects where once others feared to tread.

Orientation is conducted in conjunction with the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF), which was founded in 2004 to give Arab filmmakers an international platform to be seen.

Read more: Lincoln Center and Dubai...

Premiere Brazil 2012 at MoMA Brings New Brazilian Directors

premiere brazil now by ourselvesAlong with the Brasil Summerfest, MoMA will be holding its own celebration of Brazilian culture. No stranger to great screening great works of film, The Museum of Modern Art (11 West 53rd Street, NY, NY), in conjunction with the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival, presents the 10th installment of the Premiere Brazil! film series July 12- 24, 2012.

As this is the tenth anniversary of the festival, many of the directors being featured have taken part in previous installments. This includes

  • Eduardo Coutinho
  • Beto Brant
  • Selton Mello
  • Breno Silveira
  • Eryk Rocha

along with several newcomer directors such as Kiko Goifman and Claudia Priscilla.  Films being screened include

  • Heleno
    Dir. José Henrique Fonseca
     
  • As Canções / Songs
    Dir. Eduardo Coutinho
     
  • À Beira do Caminho / Roadside
    Dir. Breno Silveira
     
  • Os Últimos Cangaceiros / The Last Cangaceiros
    Dir. Wolney Oliveira
     
  • O PalhaçoThe Clown
    Dir. Selton Mello
     
  • Transeunte / Passerby
    Dir. Eryk Rocha
     
  • 5 x Pacificação / Peace in Rio
    Dir. Wagner Novais
     
  • São Bernardo 
    Dir. Leon Hirszman
    (Special restored print)
     
  • A Hora e a Vez de Augusto Matraga / Matraga
    Dir. Vinícius Coimbra
     
  • Olhe pra Mim de Novo / Look at Me Again
    Dir. Kiko Goifman
     
  • Corações Sujos / Dirty Hearts
    Dir. Vicente Amorim
     
  • Eu Receberia as Piores Notícias dos seus Lindos Lábios / I’d Receive the Worst News from Your Beautiful Lips
    Dir. Beto Brant
  • 5 x Favela: Now By Ourselves 
    Dir. Cacau Amaral, Rodrigo Felha, Luciano Vidigal, Cadu Barcellos, Luciana Bezerra, Manaíra Carneiro and Wagner Novais 

Premier Brazil offers a great selection of new and old Brazilian directors and continues the tradition of great film series at MoMA.

To learn more, go to http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/films/1283

Premiere Brazil
July 12-24

The Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd Street
New York, NY 10019

17th Annual GenArt Film Fest -- 7 Shorts/Features/Parties in 7 Days

genart-sized

Nearly 20 years ago GenArt was launched as an arts and entertainment organization dedicated to supporting emerging talent, especially of its founders' generation. To support that mission it founded the GenArt Film Festival (GAFF) which continues this month in its 17th edition.

GAFF has established itself as one of New York’s most celebrated film festivals showcasing emerging filmmakers and actors.

Running from August 8-14, 2012, the festival’s unique format premieres one feature film and one short for seven consecutive nights, each followed by a Q&A with the cast and after-party. GAFF uniquely allows film lovers to experience a movie premiere like a true insider.

The 14 selected films include performances from actors such as Bryan Greenberg, Laura Prepon, Kathy Bates, Dreama Walker, and Mickey Sumner, with directorial debuts from Ryan Eggold and Jaime King.

Opening the festival will be the comedy Missed Connections, directed by Martin Snyder and starring Jon Abrahams, Mickey Sumner, Julia Jones, and Malcolm Barrett. And closing this year’s festival will be the world premiere of The Kitchen, directed by Isai Shetton and starring Laura Prepon, Dreama Walker, and Bryan Greenberg.

Confirmed notable attendees include:

Bryan Greenberg
Laura Prepon
Mickey Sumner
Toby Hemingway
Julia Jones
Jon Abrahams
Waris Ahluwalia
Greta Gerwig
Chris Benz
Annabelle Dexter Jones
Martin Snyder (Missed Connections director)
John Shepard
Gina Busch
Nelson Cheng (The Magic Life director)
Michael Friedland
Megan Boone
Jennifer Clary (The Silent Thief director)
Josh Pence
Nathan and Marc Zellner
Tate Ellington
Pepper Binkley
Adam Chambers
Jillian Clare
Vito Cottone
Ishai Setton (The Kitchen director)
Ryan Eggold (Literally, Right Before Aaron director)
Adam Rose
members of the band MGMT
GenArt CEO Marc Lotenberg

Jury members include award-winning writer, director, and producer Jay Duplass; entertainment journalist Ben Lyons; Webby-Award winning critic and host Matt Singer; and ABC News Radio host David Blaustein.

Each night the fest follows a basic schedule of a cocktail reception at 6:30  and then, at 7:30 the screening begins followed by Q&A with cast and after-party.

SCHEDULE:

  • Wednesday, August 8
    Feature: Missed Connections directed by Martin Snyder; starring Jon Abrahams, Mickey Sumner – Comedy; Short: “Old Man” directed by Leah Shore – Animated Documentary
  • Thursday, August 9
    Feature: Privacy directed by Jorg Ihle; starring John Shepard, Gina Busch – Thriller
    Short: Rolling on the Floor Laughing directed by Russell Harbaugh– Drama
  • Friday, August 10
    Feature: The Magic Life directed by Nelson Cheng – Documentary
    Short: Cadaver directed by Jonah Ansell; starring Christopher Lloyd, Kathy Bates, Tavi Gevinson – Animation 
  • Saturday, August 11
    Feature: Leave Me Like You Found Me directed by Adele Romanski; starring Megan Boone, David Nordstrom – Drama
    Short: Latch Key directorial debut from Jaime King; starring Spencer Susser, Kyle Newman – Drama
  • Sunday, August 12
    Feature: The Silent Thief directed by Jennifer Clary; starring Toby Hemingway, Cody Longo, Scout Taylor-Compton, Kurt Fuller, John Billingsley – Thriller
    Short: Reform directed by Jamal Caesar; starring Jake Hoffman – Drama
  • Monday, August 13
    Feature: Kid-Thing, A Zellner Brothers film; starring Sydney Aguirre, David Wingo, Nathan, David Zellner – Drama
    Short: Carbon for Water directed by Evan Abramson and Carmen Lopez Abramson – Documentary
  • Tuesday, August 14
    Feature: The Kitchen directed by Ishai Shetton; starring Laura Prepon, Dreama Walker, Bryan Greenberg – Comedy – *World Premiere
    Short: Literally, Right Before Aaron directorial debut from Ryan Eggold; starring Adam Rose, Lindsey Kraft – Comedy

The GenArt Film Festival’s week of premieres has spotlighted some of the talented emerging filmmakers in North America. GenArt’s roster of events and programs are tailored to give up-and-coming filmmakers a platform to propel them into the spotlight. GenArt has helped launch the careers of countless influential filmmakers including: 

  • Brad Anderson
  • Richard Shepard
  • George Ratliff
  • Jesse Peretz
  • Adrienne Shelly
  • Tim Blake Nelson,
  • Cary Fukunaga
  • Drake Doremus

Now noted actors who have all made debuts with GenArt as well include:

  • Rooney Mara
  • Malin Ackerman
  • Krysten Ritter
  • Adrien Grenier
  • Josh Radnor
  • Adrien Brody

For updates regarding the GenArt Film Festival follow on Twitter (@GenArt) and through the festival’s hashtag: #genartfilmfest or go to: www.genart.com

The 17th Annual GenArt Film Festival
August 8 - 14, 2012

School of Visual Arts Theatre
333 West 23rd Street
New York City

August 8-13 after-parties: 

Thompson LES
190 Allen St.
Lower East Side

Closing night party, August 14:  

Gallery Bar
120 Orchard St.
Lower East Side

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