Exclusive: The Sundance Institute and Peter Luo’s Stars Collective (Crazy Rich Asians, Midway, Marshall, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark) have partnered on the new Imagination Award that grants 25,000 each to three metaverse-based projects that show innovation “in a rapidly evolving mediascape.”
Candidates were submitted to the Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontier Program with winners were selected by fest programmers and reps of Stars Collective, a talent incubator.
The award extends a Sundance-Stars Collective partnership from 2020 that launched the Granting Fund to support diverse filmmakers from historically marginalized communities. The cash has provided project advancement and completion support to over 30 films so far, including works by Jamila Wignot (Ailey), Alison O’Daniel (Tuba Thieves), Nikyatu Jusu (Nanny) and Isabel Castro (Mija). Nine have premiered at Sundance.
Inaugural Imagination Award winners:
40 Acres: Lead Artist, Tamara Shogaolu. A multi-platform exploration of Black American farmers and herbalists and their changing relationship to the land.
Candidates were submitted to the Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontier Program with winners were selected by fest programmers and reps of Stars Collective, a talent incubator.
The award extends a Sundance-Stars Collective partnership from 2020 that launched the Granting Fund to support diverse filmmakers from historically marginalized communities. The cash has provided project advancement and completion support to over 30 films so far, including works by Jamila Wignot (Ailey), Alison O’Daniel (Tuba Thieves), Nikyatu Jusu (Nanny) and Isabel Castro (Mija). Nine have premiered at Sundance.
Inaugural Imagination Award winners:
40 Acres: Lead Artist, Tamara Shogaolu. A multi-platform exploration of Black American farmers and herbalists and their changing relationship to the land.
- 1/27/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Cinematography retrospectives are the way to go—more than a thorough display of talent, it exposes the vast expanse a Dp will travel, like an education in form and business all the same. Accordingly I’m happy to see the Criterion Channel give a 25-film tribute to James Wong Howe, whose career spanned silent cinema to the ’70s, populated with work by Howard Hawks, Michael Curtz, Samuel Fuller, Alexander Mackendrick, Sydney Pollack, John Frankenheimer, and Raoul Walsh.
Further retrospectives are granted to Romy Schneider (recent repertory sensation La piscine among them), Carlos Saura (finally a chance to see Peppermint frappe!), the British New Wave, and groundbreaking distributor Cinema 5, who brought to U.S. shores everything from The Man Who Fell to Earth and Putney Swope to Pumping Iron and Scenes from a Marriage.
September also yields streaming premieres for the recently restored Bronco Bullfrog, Ang Lee’s Pushing Hands,...
Further retrospectives are granted to Romy Schneider (recent repertory sensation La piscine among them), Carlos Saura (finally a chance to see Peppermint frappe!), the British New Wave, and groundbreaking distributor Cinema 5, who brought to U.S. shores everything from The Man Who Fell to Earth and Putney Swope to Pumping Iron and Scenes from a Marriage.
September also yields streaming premieres for the recently restored Bronco Bullfrog, Ang Lee’s Pushing Hands,...
- 8/22/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
11/8/16 The Orchard Directors: Duane Andersen, Yung Chang, Garth Donovan, Vikram Gandhi, Raul Gasteazoro, Andrew Beck Grace, Jamie Goncalves, Alma Har’el, Daniel Junge, Alison Klayman, Martha Shane, Ciara Lacy, Elaine McMillion Sheldon, Bassam Tariq, Don Argott, Sheena M. Joyce, Petra Epperlein, Michael Tucker Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 10/24/17 Opens: November 3, 2017 If we […]
The post 11/8/16 Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post 11/8/16 Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 10/30/2017
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
If, like many of us, you plan to stress about the election all day long, here’s a unique way to do it: live on Periscope, as the documentary “11/8/16” is made simultaneously by more than 40 filmmakers throughout the country. David Lowery, Eugene Jarecki and Yung Chang are among the many directors participating; watch their live-streaming efforts in real time here.
Read More: The Orchard’s ’11/8/16′ Is the Most Ambitious Election Day Documentary in History
“11/8/16” is a follow-up of sorts to “11/4/12,” which was likewise produced by Jeff Deutchman. “It’s a counter-programming to what everyone is going to be very anxiously following Tuesday,” said Deutchman in an interview held yesterday. “People are going to be checking the news all day and checking their social feeds, and I really like this idea of providing a third stream of content that that is more human and gives people the opportunity to step into other people’s shoes.
Read More: The Orchard’s ’11/8/16′ Is the Most Ambitious Election Day Documentary in History
“11/8/16” is a follow-up of sorts to “11/4/12,” which was likewise produced by Jeff Deutchman. “It’s a counter-programming to what everyone is going to be very anxiously following Tuesday,” said Deutchman in an interview held yesterday. “People are going to be checking the news all day and checking their social feeds, and I really like this idea of providing a third stream of content that that is more human and gives people the opportunity to step into other people’s shoes.
- 11/8/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
The 2016 presidential election is finally coming to an end, but The Orchard is just getting started on “11/8/16,” the follow-up to Jeff Deutchman’s 2008 documentary about the election of President Obama, “11/4/08.” Produced by Deutchman and directed by more than 40 filmmakers who will capture footage from all over the country on Tuesday, November 8, the film represents the most ambitious Election Day documentary ever produced.
Read More: Hillary Clinton for President: 37 Filmmakers Reveal Why She’s the Best Choice
Filmmakers contributing to the project include “Suited” director Jason Benjamin, who will be following Lena Dunham as she volunteers for the Hillary Clinton campaign; “Bombay Beach” director Alma Har’el, who will be following Clinton’s director of video Sierra Kos; “Being Evel” director Daniel Junge, who will be follwing the Los Angeles Times’ assistant managing editor of politics, Christina Bellantoni; and “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry” director Alison Klayman, who will be following NPR...
Read More: Hillary Clinton for President: 37 Filmmakers Reveal Why She’s the Best Choice
Filmmakers contributing to the project include “Suited” director Jason Benjamin, who will be following Lena Dunham as she volunteers for the Hillary Clinton campaign; “Bombay Beach” director Alma Har’el, who will be following Clinton’s director of video Sierra Kos; “Being Evel” director Daniel Junge, who will be follwing the Los Angeles Times’ assistant managing editor of politics, Christina Bellantoni; and “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry” director Alison Klayman, who will be following NPR...
- 11/8/2016
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
The election will be over in six days, but this cycle has been unprecedented in so many ways — most of them bad — that it’s likely to take years of hindsight and any number of books and movies to fully understand. Jeff Deutchman will start that process with “11/8/16,” a documentary he’s producing that will be directed by a huge group of directors that includes David Lowery, Lena Dunham and Yung Chang. The Orchard will both fund and produce the project, which is being executive produced by Dana O’Keefe, Brad Navin, Paul Davidson and Danielle Digiacomo.
Read More: Career Moves: Jeff Deutchman Leaves Alchemy, Bob Pilon Goes to Participant and More
More than 30 filmmakers total will document Election Day, from early morning until the polls close and the results are announced, in a follow-up to Deutchman’s earlier “11/4/08.” “This election has started to feel like it is testing the...
Read More: Career Moves: Jeff Deutchman Leaves Alchemy, Bob Pilon Goes to Participant and More
More than 30 filmmakers total will document Election Day, from early morning until the polls close and the results are announced, in a follow-up to Deutchman’s earlier “11/4/08.” “This election has started to feel like it is testing the...
- 11/2/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Laura Poitras isn’t waiting for traditional media to tell the stories that will change the world. One year after co-founding Field of Vision, the visual journalism unit of First Look Media, Poitras and co-founders Aj Schnack and Charlotte Cook are doubling down on their efforts to commission original works of nonfiction that address global events.
Read More: Field of Vision Launches New Website and New Slate of Short-Form Documentaries
While Poitras will be leaving The Intercept, the journalism outfit co-founded by Glenn Greenwald and Jeremy Scahill, to focus on expanding Field of Vision, her day-to-day work of commissioning films and short form work will not change, and the two organizations will continue their collaboration on nonfiction storytelling. Field of Vision commissioned 22 nonfiction shorts, three episodic series and two feature-length documentaries in its first year, but Poitras and her team are working to expand their collaborations with filmmakers, reporters and...
Read More: Field of Vision Launches New Website and New Slate of Short-Form Documentaries
While Poitras will be leaving The Intercept, the journalism outfit co-founded by Glenn Greenwald and Jeremy Scahill, to focus on expanding Field of Vision, her day-to-day work of commissioning films and short form work will not change, and the two organizations will continue their collaboration on nonfiction storytelling. Field of Vision commissioned 22 nonfiction shorts, three episodic series and two feature-length documentaries in its first year, but Poitras and her team are working to expand their collaborations with filmmakers, reporters and...
- 9/23/2016
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Field of Vision, the cinematic journalism unit of First Look Media, has just kicked off its second year with a new website whose centerpiece is SecureDrop, a means of anonymously leaking newsworthy images and videos. It’s also been announced that Laura Poitras, who won an Academy Award for her 2014 documentary “Citizenfour” and co-created Field of Vision alongside Aj Schnack and Charlote Cook, is leaving The Intercept to focus on expanding the nonfiction platform.
Read More: Field of Vision Founder Aj Schnack’s Powerful Short Visits Sites of Mass Shootings – Watch
“Without the images from Abu Ghraib Prison disclosed by whistleblower Joseph Darby, the world would never know the torture and abuse that occurred there,” Poitras, who co-founded Field of Vision, said in a statement. “Images can literally transform how we understand the world. We believe the public has a right to not only know, but also a right to see.
Read More: Field of Vision Founder Aj Schnack’s Powerful Short Visits Sites of Mass Shootings – Watch
“Without the images from Abu Ghraib Prison disclosed by whistleblower Joseph Darby, the world would never know the torture and abuse that occurred there,” Poitras, who co-founded Field of Vision, said in a statement. “Images can literally transform how we understand the world. We believe the public has a right to not only know, but also a right to see.
- 9/20/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
Independent artists Kris Bowers, Germaine Franco, Danielle Eva Schwob and Jeremy Turner are among the select few for this summer’s Music and Sound Design Labs held at Skywalker Ranch in northern California.
This is the third year that Skywalker Ranch will host the Music and Sound Design Labs, a joint initiative between the Sundance Institute’s Film Music Program and Feature Film and the Film Music Program and Documentary Film Program.
The Music and Sound Design Labs provide workshops and creative exercises for composers, directors and sound designers to collaborate on the process of designing a soundtrack for film.
“This year’s fellows include an outstanding group of composers whose work will deepen and enrich the experience of the diverse personal stories being told by these fiction and documentary filmmakers,” said Sundance Institute Film Music Program director Peter Golub.
“Skywalker Sound is the perfect space for composers, filmmakers and sound designers to come together to explore...
This is the third year that Skywalker Ranch will host the Music and Sound Design Labs, a joint initiative between the Sundance Institute’s Film Music Program and Feature Film and the Film Music Program and Documentary Film Program.
The Music and Sound Design Labs provide workshops and creative exercises for composers, directors and sound designers to collaborate on the process of designing a soundtrack for film.
“This year’s fellows include an outstanding group of composers whose work will deepen and enrich the experience of the diverse personal stories being told by these fiction and documentary filmmakers,” said Sundance Institute Film Music Program director Peter Golub.
“Skywalker Sound is the perfect space for composers, filmmakers and sound designers to come together to explore...
- 6/30/2015
- ScreenDaily
In terms of support, they got a taste for what the Sundance Institute had to offer in concretizing aspects of their respective screenplays and in terms of scenery, they’ll need to pack significantly less heavier suitcases. Nia DaCosta (Little Woods), Olivia Newman (First Match), Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre (pictured above) (Mustang) & Yung Chang (Eggplant), Christopher Makoto Yogi (I Was A Simple Man), Mark Kindred (Rogue) and trio Brent Green, Michael McGinley and Thyra Heder‘s untitled project are technically moving onto the next round working on the directing portion of their projects at the June Directors and Screenwriters Labs. they’ll be joined by The Imposter helmer Bart Layton‘s narrative debut, American Animals. The Screenwriters Lab attendees are Dan Krauss‘ docu-to-feature adaptation of The Kill Team, Boots Riley‘s Sorry to Bother You, Frances Bodomo, Mariam Bakacho Khatchvani and Irakli Solomanashvili‘s Afronauts, and finally Fernando Coimbra‘s The...
- 5/7/2015
- by admin
- IONCINEMA.com
The Sundance Institute has announced the 13 projects selected for the 2015 June Directors and Screenwriters Labs.
The event, taking place at the Sundance Resort in Utah from May 25-June 25, runs annually in order to discover and enhance the up-and-coming independent film artists in film, theatre, new media and episodic content.
Each filmmaker will also work with a group of Creative Advisors, professional actors and production crews, including Robert Redford, Catherine Hardwicke, Ed Harris, Caleb Deschanel and Scott Z Burns.
This year’s selections feature works from six different countries, including the Us, Brazil, China, France, Georgia and the UK and vary from documentary, theatre, music, animation, new media and visual art categories.
The selections are:
Bart Layton / American Animals (UK);
Yung Chang / Eggplant (China-Canada):
Olivia Newman / First Match (USA);
Christopher Makoto Yogi / I Was A Simple Man (USA);
Nia DaCosta / Little Woods (USA);
Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre / Mustang (France);
Mark Kindred / Rogue (USA); and
Brent Green, Michael McGinley and [link...
The event, taking place at the Sundance Resort in Utah from May 25-June 25, runs annually in order to discover and enhance the up-and-coming independent film artists in film, theatre, new media and episodic content.
Each filmmaker will also work with a group of Creative Advisors, professional actors and production crews, including Robert Redford, Catherine Hardwicke, Ed Harris, Caleb Deschanel and Scott Z Burns.
This year’s selections feature works from six different countries, including the Us, Brazil, China, France, Georgia and the UK and vary from documentary, theatre, music, animation, new media and visual art categories.
The selections are:
Bart Layton / American Animals (UK);
Yung Chang / Eggplant (China-Canada):
Olivia Newman / First Match (USA);
Christopher Makoto Yogi / I Was A Simple Man (USA);
Nia DaCosta / Little Woods (USA);
Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre / Mustang (France);
Mark Kindred / Rogue (USA); and
Brent Green, Michael McGinley and [link...
- 5/7/2015
- ScreenDaily
The Berlinale's tenth Forum Expanded program will feature new work by Kevin Jerome Everson, Pierre Huyghe, Ken Jacobs, Michael Snow and others. The International Film Festival Rotterdam’s co-production market, CineMart, has completed its line-up: Sergio Caballero, Nanouk Leopold, Benjamin Naishtat, Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy and more. Slated to attend Sundance's Screenwriters Lab are Eliza Hittman, Yung Chang, Brent Green and more. Selma director Ava DuVernay and RZA join Mark Duplass on SXSW's roster of keynote speakers. And the Edinburgh International Film Festival has got a new artistic director. » - David Hudson...
- 12/18/2014
- Fandor: Keyframe
The Berlinale's tenth Forum Expanded program will feature new work by Kevin Jerome Everson, Pierre Huyghe, Ken Jacobs, Michael Snow and others. The International Film Festival Rotterdam’s co-production market, CineMart, has completed its line-up: Sergio Caballero, Nanouk Leopold, Benjamin Naishtat, Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy and more. Slated to attend Sundance's Screenwriters Lab are Eliza Hittman, Yung Chang, Brent Green and more. Selma director Ava DuVernay and RZA join Mark Duplass on SXSW's roster of keynote speakers. And the Edinburgh International Film Festival has got a new artistic director. » - David Hudson...
- 12/18/2014
- Keyframe
Sundance Institute has announced the 12 projects selected for the 2015 January Screenwriters Lab set to run from January 16-21.
The Lab is one of the Institute’s 24 year-round residency programmes and in this case will work with a team of creative advisors led by artistic director Scott Frank that includes Kasi Lemmons, John Lee Hancock and Naomi Foner.
“Together with my colleague, Labs Director Ilyse McKimmie, we are honoured to welcome our new group of fellows to the January Screenwriters Lab,” said founding director of the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program Michelle Satter.
“They represent a broad spectrum of independent vision with stories that reflect our complex world with emotional truth and urgency. The Lab is the beginning of our year-round support for these film-makers. We look forward to working with them throughout the life cycle of the project.”
The projects and fellows selected for the 2015 January Screenwriters Lab are:
Archive (USA), Jonathan Minard (co-writer-director) and Scott Rashap (co-writer...
The Lab is one of the Institute’s 24 year-round residency programmes and in this case will work with a team of creative advisors led by artistic director Scott Frank that includes Kasi Lemmons, John Lee Hancock and Naomi Foner.
“Together with my colleague, Labs Director Ilyse McKimmie, we are honoured to welcome our new group of fellows to the January Screenwriters Lab,” said founding director of the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program Michelle Satter.
“They represent a broad spectrum of independent vision with stories that reflect our complex world with emotional truth and urgency. The Lab is the beginning of our year-round support for these film-makers. We look forward to working with them throughout the life cycle of the project.”
The projects and fellows selected for the 2015 January Screenwriters Lab are:
Archive (USA), Jonathan Minard (co-writer-director) and Scott Rashap (co-writer...
- 12/17/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Eliza Hittman (was love at first sight for her directorial debut It Felt Like Love) and Yung Chang (a docu-helmer best known for the award-winning portrait of modern China in Up the Yangtze) are just two of the dozen folks/projects invited to the upcoming Sundance Institute 2015 January Screenwriters Lab. The labs work as a testing ground of sorts, with Lab Director Ilyse McKimmie seeing to it that the screenwriters are mentored by filmmaking professionals. I’d wager that a good portion of these projects on paper eventually make it onto the big screen (say about 65 to 70 percent) and about 35-40 percent break into the actual Sundance Film Fest. Not unlike her debut picture, Hittman’s potential sophomore pic Beach Rats features NYC borough backdrop and via a teenage vantage point but is sure to stir the pot with tad bit more destruction. After Up the Yangtze, China Heavyweight, and The Fruit Hunters,...
- 12/16/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Boxing was banned as "too Western and brutal" after the revolution in 1949, but Canadian-Chinese director Yung Chang hopes his documentary China Heavyweight will explore aspects of contemporary life through the medium of the ring. The movie is due to screen at more than 200 theaters nationwide on Dec. 20, making it the most widely-screened documentary in Chinese history. A Canada-China co-production from Montreal's Eyesteel Films and Beijing’s Yuanfang Media, China Heavyweight was tailored for release in both markets. Since the ban on boxing was lifted in 1986 it has become more popular, and Chang's documentary
read more...
read more...
- 12/19/2013
- by Etan Vlessing, Clifford Coonan
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Relaunched food-themed film festival in Nova Scotia, to run Nov 13-17.
Devour! The Food Film Fest will kick off Nov 13 in Wolfville, Nova Scotia with a bounty of food prepared by 11 chefs and the festival’s opening film, The Fruit Hunters from Canadian director Yung Chang.
The five-day programme includes 70 films from 20 countries as well as events and food featuring some of Canada’s top chefs. Other films in the programme will include The Last Shepherd, Mussels in Love, More than Honey and At Any Price.
“We’re so happy we can deliver both on screen and on your plate. The festival will be a most decadent meal from start to finish,” said Lia Rinaldo, Managing Director of Devour! “The enthusiasm for the festival has been humbling. We look forward to hosting all of our special guests from the food and film industry as well as festival participants in beautiful Wolfville.”
The closing...
Devour! The Food Film Fest will kick off Nov 13 in Wolfville, Nova Scotia with a bounty of food prepared by 11 chefs and the festival’s opening film, The Fruit Hunters from Canadian director Yung Chang.
The five-day programme includes 70 films from 20 countries as well as events and food featuring some of Canada’s top chefs. Other films in the programme will include The Last Shepherd, Mussels in Love, More than Honey and At Any Price.
“We’re so happy we can deliver both on screen and on your plate. The festival will be a most decadent meal from start to finish,” said Lia Rinaldo, Managing Director of Devour! “The enthusiasm for the festival has been humbling. We look forward to hosting all of our special guests from the food and film industry as well as festival participants in beautiful Wolfville.”
The closing...
- 10/9/2013
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has revealed its 276-member-strong class of 2013.
The list, published by The Hollywood Reporter, includes actors, cinematographers, designers, directors, documentarians, executives, film editors, makeup artists and hairstylists, "members-at-large," musicians, producers, PR folks, short filmmakers and animators, sound technicians, visual effects artists, and writers.
Jason Bateman, Rosario Dawson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Milla Jovovich, Lucy Liu, Jennifer Lopez, Emily Mortimer, Sandra Oh, Jason Schwartzman, and Michael Peña are among the roster of actors, while "The Heat" and "Bridesmaids" helmer Paul Feig made the directors' cut.
"We did not change our criteria at all," says Academy president Hawk Koch of this year's larger-than-usual class. "Yes, this year there is a tremendous amount of women, a tremendous amount of people of color, people from all walks of life. This year, we asked the branches to look at everybody who wasn't in the Academy but who deserved to be.
The list, published by The Hollywood Reporter, includes actors, cinematographers, designers, directors, documentarians, executives, film editors, makeup artists and hairstylists, "members-at-large," musicians, producers, PR folks, short filmmakers and animators, sound technicians, visual effects artists, and writers.
Jason Bateman, Rosario Dawson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Milla Jovovich, Lucy Liu, Jennifer Lopez, Emily Mortimer, Sandra Oh, Jason Schwartzman, and Michael Peña are among the roster of actors, while "The Heat" and "Bridesmaids" helmer Paul Feig made the directors' cut.
"We did not change our criteria at all," says Academy president Hawk Koch of this year's larger-than-usual class. "Yes, this year there is a tremendous amount of women, a tremendous amount of people of color, people from all walks of life. This year, we asked the branches to look at everybody who wasn't in the Academy but who deserved to be.
- 7/4/2013
- by Laura Larson
- Moviefone
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today the 276 members of the entertainment industry invited to join organization. The list includes actors, directors, documentarians, executives, film editors, producers and more. Of those listed below, those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy's membership in 2013. "These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today," said Academy President Hawk Koch in a press release. "Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy." Koch also told Variety, "In the past eight or nine years, each branch could only bring in X amount of members. There were people each branch would have liked to get in but couldn't. We asked them to be more inclusive of the best of the best, and each branch was excited, because they got...
- 6/28/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The Academy just added 276 Oscar voters.
That’s 100 more than last year, and part of an easing of a longstanding cap on the number of new members allowed to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences each year.
AMPAS usually adds between 130 and 180 new members, replacing those who have quit or passed away. The membership now stands around 6,000.
Jason Bateman, Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emmanuelle Riva, and Chris Tucker are among the actors who have been invited to join, the organization announced today.
Other interesting additions: the musician Prince, Girls and Tiny Furniture writer/director/actress Lena Dunham,...
That’s 100 more than last year, and part of an easing of a longstanding cap on the number of new members allowed to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences each year.
AMPAS usually adds between 130 and 180 new members, replacing those who have quit or passed away. The membership now stands around 6,000.
Jason Bateman, Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emmanuelle Riva, and Chris Tucker are among the actors who have been invited to join, the organization announced today.
Other interesting additions: the musician Prince, Girls and Tiny Furniture writer/director/actress Lena Dunham,...
- 6/28/2013
- by Anthony Breznican
- EW - Inside Movies
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending invitations to join the organization to 276 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures. Those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy’s membership in 2013.
“These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today,” said Academy President Hawk Koch. “Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy.”
The 2013 invitees are:
Actors
Jason Bateman – “Up in the Air,” “Juno”
Miriam Colon – “City of Hope,” “Scarface”
Rosario Dawson – “Rent,” “Frank Miller’s Sin City”
Kimberly Elise – “For Colored Girls,” “Beloved”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – “Lincoln,” “The Dark Knight Rises”
Charles Grodin – “Midnight Run,” “The Heartbreak Kid”
Rebecca Hall – “Iron Man 3,” “The Town”
Lance Henriksen – “Aliens,” “The Terminator”
Jack Huston – “Not Fade Away,” “Factory Girl”
Milla Jovovich – “Resident Evil,...
“These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today,” said Academy President Hawk Koch. “Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy.”
The 2013 invitees are:
Actors
Jason Bateman – “Up in the Air,” “Juno”
Miriam Colon – “City of Hope,” “Scarface”
Rosario Dawson – “Rent,” “Frank Miller’s Sin City”
Kimberly Elise – “For Colored Girls,” “Beloved”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – “Lincoln,” “The Dark Knight Rises”
Charles Grodin – “Midnight Run,” “The Heartbreak Kid”
Rebecca Hall – “Iron Man 3,” “The Town”
Lance Henriksen – “Aliens,” “The Terminator”
Jack Huston – “Not Fade Away,” “Factory Girl”
Milla Jovovich – “Resident Evil,...
- 6/28/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Finding The Forbidden: Chang Indulges In Produce
It seems that for some, the appetite for rare and exotic fruits extends far beyond mere curious fascination and well on into the realm of impassioned obsession. They’re appreciative of harvest heritage and community farming, craving unique local flavors home grown in the untapped wilderness or bought and sold via small provincial marketplaces. Exploring lighter, sweeter fare than his previous China focused efforts, Up The Yangtze and China Heavyweight, director Yung Chang follows the winding path to the gardens of Eden in his tangy exposé, The Fruit Hunters.
Following the pursuits of horticulturalists, pomologists, and backyard enthusiasts as they search for white fleshed mangoes and forgotten fruits preserved within Renaissance paintings, we travel the globe learning of fruits rarely tasted in the western world. As it turns out, actor Bill Pullman (of Independence Day and Lost Highway fame) is also a fruit fanatic.
It seems that for some, the appetite for rare and exotic fruits extends far beyond mere curious fascination and well on into the realm of impassioned obsession. They’re appreciative of harvest heritage and community farming, craving unique local flavors home grown in the untapped wilderness or bought and sold via small provincial marketplaces. Exploring lighter, sweeter fare than his previous China focused efforts, Up The Yangtze and China Heavyweight, director Yung Chang follows the winding path to the gardens of Eden in his tangy exposé, The Fruit Hunters.
Following the pursuits of horticulturalists, pomologists, and backyard enthusiasts as they search for white fleshed mangoes and forgotten fruits preserved within Renaissance paintings, we travel the globe learning of fruits rarely tasted in the western world. As it turns out, actor Bill Pullman (of Independence Day and Lost Highway fame) is also a fruit fanatic.
- 5/16/2013
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
It would be a stretch to say The Fruit Hunters is the weirdest movie Bill Pullman has ever been in, but it might feature the weirdest appearance by the actor. And yet he’s just himself, apparently a fruit-obsessed man with an orchard in the backyard of his Hollywood home and — this is credited as being revealed in this very documentary — no sense of smell (which is pretty noteworthy in a food doc given the link between smell and taste). Maybe “weird” is not the correct word. That sounds sort of negative. “Strange” is better, if only because it’s not well known that Pullman has such a hobby in rare tree-borne delicacies. Or that it’s a hobby at all. The unknown is typically a great subject for nonfiction films, and this is no exception. How often do we think about the endangerment of fruit varieties? We barely even think about fruit at all, and...
- 5/15/2013
- by Christopher Campbell
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Welcome to Bill Pullman's backyard orchard of exotic fruit! That's right, smack dab in the middle of Hollywood, Pullman is growing a collection of trees that bare fruit unlike anything most of us have ever tasted. Rebelling against industrialized monoculture, Pullman and other "fruit hunters" are leading a movement to open the world's eyes to a magical Wonka Land of fruit species, all the while saving these long forgotten varieties from extinction. Just because practically every grocery store around the world only sells Cavendish bananas does not mean that is the only banana that exists; it just means that the Cavendish is the only variety of banana that is grown, harvested and transported for mass consumption. The theory is that corporate agricultural entities researched and developed certain varieties of fruits that could withstand worldwide distribution; but what will happen if, for instance, the Cavendish banana is exposed to a disease that renders it extinct?...
- 5/13/2013
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
DVD Release Date: Jan. 15, 2013
Price: DVD $29.99
Studio: Zeitgeist
Qi Moxiang puts up his dukes in China Heavyweight.
The Best Documentary Winner at the 2012 Taiwan Golden Horse Awards (the Chinese Oscars), China Heavyweight is the latest film from Yung Chang, the award-winning director/producer of the acclaimed documentaries Up the Yangtze and Last Train Home.
The2012 movie focuses in on the charismatic Qi Moxiang, a former boxing star and state coach who recruits young fighting talent from the impoverished farms and villages across the Sichuan province. A select few boys (and girls) are sent to national training centers, with the hope of discovering China’s next Olympic heroes. But will these potential boxing champions leave it all behind to be the next Mike Tyson? Their rigorous training, teenage trials and family tribulations are intertwined with Coach Qi’s own desire to get back in the ring for one more shot at victory.
Price: DVD $29.99
Studio: Zeitgeist
Qi Moxiang puts up his dukes in China Heavyweight.
The Best Documentary Winner at the 2012 Taiwan Golden Horse Awards (the Chinese Oscars), China Heavyweight is the latest film from Yung Chang, the award-winning director/producer of the acclaimed documentaries Up the Yangtze and Last Train Home.
The2012 movie focuses in on the charismatic Qi Moxiang, a former boxing star and state coach who recruits young fighting talent from the impoverished farms and villages across the Sichuan province. A select few boys (and girls) are sent to national training centers, with the hope of discovering China’s next Olympic heroes. But will these potential boxing champions leave it all behind to be the next Mike Tyson? Their rigorous training, teenage trials and family tribulations are intertwined with Coach Qi’s own desire to get back in the ring for one more shot at victory.
- 1/7/2013
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Actor Bill Pullman and director Yung Chang attended the Us premiere of the film The Fruit Hunters at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Environmental documentaries come in all shapes and sizes, but chances are you have not seen one as appetizing as this sensual and seductive tribute to nature’s sweetest bounty.
There is a reason that so many painters have turned to the bowl of fruit for inspiration, and if filmmakers have been slow to follow suit, Yung Chang (Up the Yangtze; China Heavyweight) is quick to make amends. Inspired by Adam Leith Gollner’s book of the same name, and accompanied by a motley group of fruit fanatics including the Hollywood actor Bill Pullman, Chang explores a wider, weirder world of fruit: stinky durians, cherimoyas, icecream beans.
Adventurers Noris Ledesma and Richard Campbell scour the jungle for rare mangos, hoping to intervene before the plants are steamrolled by industrialization. Pioneering scientist Juan Aguilar races to breed bananas resistant to a deadly fungus that threatens the worldwide crop. And fruit detectives including Isabella Dalla Ragione investigate Renaissance-era paintings for clues, hoping to rediscover lost varietals. Pullman’s efforts to seed a community orchard in the Hollywood hills are interspersed with juicy historical titbits tracing cultivation across centuries and continents.
There is a reason that so many painters have turned to the bowl of fruit for inspiration, and if filmmakers have been slow to follow suit, Yung Chang (Up the Yangtze; China Heavyweight) is quick to make amends. Inspired by Adam Leith Gollner’s book of the same name, and accompanied by a motley group of fruit fanatics including the Hollywood actor Bill Pullman, Chang explores a wider, weirder world of fruit: stinky durians, cherimoyas, icecream beans.
Adventurers Noris Ledesma and Richard Campbell scour the jungle for rare mangos, hoping to intervene before the plants are steamrolled by industrialization. Pioneering scientist Juan Aguilar races to breed bananas resistant to a deadly fungus that threatens the worldwide crop. And fruit detectives including Isabella Dalla Ragione investigate Renaissance-era paintings for clues, hoping to rediscover lost varietals. Pullman’s efforts to seed a community orchard in the Hollywood hills are interspersed with juicy historical titbits tracing cultivation across centuries and continents.
- 1/7/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Over the long weekend, plenty of folks got the news that they’ve had their feature, doc or short films accepted into the Sundance Film Festival. This Wednesday, the festival begins making their line-up official while keeping the short film announcements for the following week. The previous week we’ve made some prognostications as to what should be included in the 2013 edition. Here’s an easy to click recap of some of those predictions. We’ve added those who’ve been mentioned in Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film, the fortunate ones who’ve had their work run inside the Sundance Labs, those who are working from a Blacklist named screenplay, those who are basing their feature on a short film that was accepted into the festival in a previous edition and finally those who’ve had funding via Kickstarter. * denotes feature directorial debut while ++ denotes that person...
- 11/26/2012
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Sticking with the whole erotica theme that I think will play out at the fest this year, you can’t get more exotic with The Fruit Hunters – a doc about obscure, hard to find fruits and its select fans – which includes Bill Pullman. With a sneak preview screening at this year’s Tiff and debut at Ridm, filmmaker Yung Chang will likely be invited to Park City again – as it was the lieu for U.S premieres of his award-winning Up the Yangtze (Sundance ’08) and China Heavyweight (Sundance ’12). To the publicist: I definitely want an after-screening party invite for this one.
Gist: Co-written by Chang and Mark Slutsky, this is an adaptation of Adam Gollner’s bestselling nonfiction book of the same title. From Borneo to Hollywood, from Honduras to the monasteries of Umbria, the filmmaker follows these dogged fruit collectors (including actor Bill Pullman, among the most dogged of...
Gist: Co-written by Chang and Mark Slutsky, this is an adaptation of Adam Gollner’s bestselling nonfiction book of the same title. From Borneo to Hollywood, from Honduras to the monasteries of Umbria, the filmmaker follows these dogged fruit collectors (including actor Bill Pullman, among the most dogged of...
- 11/20/2012
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
For some people, grabbing a piece of fruit means popping out to the market for an apple or orange. For others, it involves plane rides to the ends of the Earth, hacking with a machete through dense underbrush and seeking out increasingly odd and interesting fruits.
A new documentary from director Yung Chang called "The Fruit Hunters" explores the world of these obsessive rare fruit seekers, which though unsurprisingly few in number, include Hollywood actor Bill Pullman. The trailer is full of barefooted fruit enthusiasts scaling mango trees and spreads of other exotic fruits, which Pullman says are often displayed "the way your drug dealer will sit you down at the table" to show off narcotics.
There's also a shot of Pullman sniffing something or other that made us giggle.
The Fruit Hunters hits screens in Montreal on November 23 and Toronto, but we hope this gets a U.S. release sometime soon.
A new documentary from director Yung Chang called "The Fruit Hunters" explores the world of these obsessive rare fruit seekers, which though unsurprisingly few in number, include Hollywood actor Bill Pullman. The trailer is full of barefooted fruit enthusiasts scaling mango trees and spreads of other exotic fruits, which Pullman says are often displayed "the way your drug dealer will sit you down at the table" to show off narcotics.
There's also a shot of Pullman sniffing something or other that made us giggle.
The Fruit Hunters hits screens in Montreal on November 23 and Toronto, but we hope this gets a U.S. release sometime soon.
- 11/13/2012
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
Title: China Heavyweight Director: Yung Chang Award-winning filmmaker Yung Chang drew praise for 2007′s “Up the Yangtze,” which focused on the many socioeconomically disadvantaged people impacted by the building of the massive Three Gorges Dam in Hubei. With his latest movie, he returns to China for another unexpectedly lyrical snapshot of that country’s rapidly changing economic landscape. A nonfiction look at the recruitment and training of young boxers for future hopeful Olympic glory, “China Heavyweight” is an unadorned, guileless work that starts slowly but accrues a deeper emotional hold and resonance as it winds on. In not dissimilar fashion from “Pelotero: Ballplayer,” the recent documentary which examined teenage baseball prospects in [ Read More ]...
- 7/20/2012
- by bsimon
- ShockYa
A mighty summer trio of "Beasts of the Southern Wild," "Moonrise Kingdom" and "To Rome With Love" continued to boost the summer indie box office, each finding very strong numbers in expansion. That overshadowed a generally uneventful batch of openers, which included "China Heavyweight," "The Do-Deca-Penathlon" and "The Magic of Belle Isle." A few days after we published an annual mid-year box office report that suggested things were coming along quite nicely so far this year, it seems the second half of 2012 is continuing that trend. Check out the full rundown below. The Debuts: "China Heavyweight" (Zeitgeist) Director Yung Chang ("Up The Yangtze") saw his latest film "China Heavyweight" open on a single screen care of Zeitgeist Films (which also released "Yangtze"). The film -- which looks at boxing in China -- took in $4,004 from its exclusive engagement. ...
- 7/8/2012
- by Peter Knegt
- Indiewire
Pulling No Punches, Boxing Gives Hope For Poor Rural Youth
Modern China is a place that revels in tradition, honor, and hard work – ethics that pervade the nationally sponsored youth boxing programs that have grown after the long running ban on the sport was lifted in 1986. In the southwest Sichuan Province of China, Huili County is one of the many rural communities being skimmed by selfless boxing coaches for young recruits who may one day become China’s Olympic competitors. Chinese Canadian director Yung Chang and a wholly Chinese film crew embedded themselves in the Huili countryside, sublimely documenting a group of fledgling boxers and their inspiring coaching staff as they brave through rigorous training, confer with fellow trainees, and confront their deeply conflicted, tobacco farming families.
China’s very first professional boxer, Qi Moxiang, turned to coaching after he resigned from the national team in 2004. Since then he has...
Modern China is a place that revels in tradition, honor, and hard work – ethics that pervade the nationally sponsored youth boxing programs that have grown after the long running ban on the sport was lifted in 1986. In the southwest Sichuan Province of China, Huili County is one of the many rural communities being skimmed by selfless boxing coaches for young recruits who may one day become China’s Olympic competitors. Chinese Canadian director Yung Chang and a wholly Chinese film crew embedded themselves in the Huili countryside, sublimely documenting a group of fledgling boxers and their inspiring coaching staff as they brave through rigorous training, confer with fellow trainees, and confront their deeply conflicted, tobacco farming families.
China’s very first professional boxer, Qi Moxiang, turned to coaching after he resigned from the national team in 2004. Since then he has...
- 7/5/2012
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Back in 2007, Montreal-based filmmaker Yung Chang examined the deleterious effects of grand-scale modernization in China on two cruise-ship employees in his celebrated documentary Up the Yangtze. Trailing his subjects as they minister to the needs of well-to-do passengers embarking on “goodbye tours” of river communities that will soon be flooded to make way for the Three Gorges Dam, Chang offered a moving account of the wealth divide as well as the impact of unprecedented change on common people. Up the Yangtze screened at numerous festivals including Sundance, Full Frame, Hot Docs, and Idfa, winning Best Documentary at the Vancouver International Film Festival, and earned the director an Independent Spirit Award nomination. Regrouping with his Canadian colleagues at EyeSteelFilm (the producers of Lixin Fan’s Last Train Home) for China Heavyweight, which debuted at Sundance in January, Chang turns his attention to the rise of amateur boxing in the hyperdeveloping Asian nation,...
- 7/4/2012
- by Damon Smith
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
I’m not the biggest fan of sports documentaries, but you throw Western boxing into the middle of nowheresville China, and a bunch of poor kids trying to make it, and suddenly it’s the most interesting thing in the world. Or at least, more interesting than if it didn’t have those two elements. Yung Chang’s “China Heavyweight” is opening in limited release this July, then continuing around the States throughout the year. Until then, check out the trailer. Award-winning filmmaker Yung Chang (Up the Yangtze) returns to China for another riveting documentary on that country’s ever-changing economic landscape—this time through the lens of sports. In China Heavyweight, Chang follows the charismatic Qi Moxiang, a former boxing star and state coach who recruits young fighting talent from the impoverished farms and villages across Sichuan province. A select few boys (and girls) are sent to national training centers,...
- 6/7/2012
- by Nix
- Beyond Hollywood
Following the critical and commercial success of his 2007 documentary, Up the Yangtze, director Yung Chang once again turns his camera towards a rapidly-modernizing China in China Heavyweight. The day before his film is set to have its Canadian premier at Toronto's Hot Docs Film Festival, Chang and I meet in a park to talk about it. Having not yet seen the film, our conversation takes an immediate turn to one of common ground -- documentaries we'd seen at the festival so far. We joke about the after-effects of being inundated with documentaries, that suddenly anything and everything has revealed itself as potential fodder. He is warm yet animated, and listens with his chin resting on clasped hands whilst we compare notes, giving off the...
- 6/6/2012
- Screen Anarchy
China Heavyweight
Directed by Yung Chang
Canada, 2012
In 1959, Chairman Mao banned Western-style boxing for being too American and too violent. Thirty years later, the ban was lifted. Although symptomatic of China’s ameliorating progress, Canadian director Yung Chang, in his documentary, China Heavyweight, exhibits how the country has yet to purge itself of Mao’s irreparable social and economic legacies.
The film documents the story of two teenagers in rural Sichuan, China, hoping to become the next big thing in international boxing. Coached by the dedicated Qi Moxiang, they try to rise through the amateur level in order to become professional boxers, and to break out of their substandard social-economic situations.
The best way to describe China Heavyweight is to call it the boxing equivalent of Steve James’ basketball documentary, Hoop Dreams. Rife with dialectical feelings of both desperation and aspiration, Heavyweight is an essential social document on the hardships...
Directed by Yung Chang
Canada, 2012
In 1959, Chairman Mao banned Western-style boxing for being too American and too violent. Thirty years later, the ban was lifted. Although symptomatic of China’s ameliorating progress, Canadian director Yung Chang, in his documentary, China Heavyweight, exhibits how the country has yet to purge itself of Mao’s irreparable social and economic legacies.
The film documents the story of two teenagers in rural Sichuan, China, hoping to become the next big thing in international boxing. Coached by the dedicated Qi Moxiang, they try to rise through the amateur level in order to become professional boxers, and to break out of their substandard social-economic situations.
The best way to describe China Heavyweight is to call it the boxing equivalent of Steve James’ basketball documentary, Hoop Dreams. Rife with dialectical feelings of both desperation and aspiration, Heavyweight is an essential social document on the hardships...
- 4/19/2012
- by Justin Li
- SoundOnSight
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Announces 188 Outstanding Films For 2012 Edition Presented By Visual Communications
Southern California.s Largest Asian Film Festival Runs May 10 . 20, 2012, Will Present 188 Films From
Over 20 Countries Featuring World Premieres, Sneak Previews; Showcasing Documentaries and Narratives
Focusing on the Voices of Asian Americans and Asian Peoples from Around the World.
The Launch of the C3: Project Market and the Vc Film Development Fund
Festival Opening Night Selection Shanghai Calling, Directed By Festival Alum Daniel Hsia, Starring: Daniel Henney, Eliza Coupe and Bill Paxton.
Centerpiece Presentations, SXSW favorite Sunset Stories, Directed by Ernesto Foronda and Silas Howard; Sundance Winner Valley Of Saints directed by Musa Syeed. Saturday Night Gala Yes, We.Re Open, directed by Festival Alum Richard Wong.
Joyful Reunion Directed by Tsao Jui Yuan, Selected as Closing Night Gala Presentation.
Visual Communications (Vc), the nation.s premier Asian Pacific American media arts center, announced its...
Southern California.s Largest Asian Film Festival Runs May 10 . 20, 2012, Will Present 188 Films From
Over 20 Countries Featuring World Premieres, Sneak Previews; Showcasing Documentaries and Narratives
Focusing on the Voices of Asian Americans and Asian Peoples from Around the World.
The Launch of the C3: Project Market and the Vc Film Development Fund
Festival Opening Night Selection Shanghai Calling, Directed By Festival Alum Daniel Hsia, Starring: Daniel Henney, Eliza Coupe and Bill Paxton.
Centerpiece Presentations, SXSW favorite Sunset Stories, Directed by Ernesto Foronda and Silas Howard; Sundance Winner Valley Of Saints directed by Musa Syeed. Saturday Night Gala Yes, We.Re Open, directed by Festival Alum Richard Wong.
Joyful Reunion Directed by Tsao Jui Yuan, Selected as Closing Night Gala Presentation.
Visual Communications (Vc), the nation.s premier Asian Pacific American media arts center, announced its...
- 4/6/2012
- by Melissa Howland
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Zeitgeist Films has acquired Us rights to Yung Chang's "China Heavyweight," the documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. The film is Chang's follow-up to the acclaimed "Up The Yangtze," which Zeitgeist also distributed. A Summer 2012 release in planned. Full press release below. Zeitgeist has announced today that they have acquired U. S. rights from EyeSteelFilms to Yung Chang's latest film 'China Heavyweight'. EyeSteel was also the producer of Yung Chang's 'Up the Yangtze' and Lixin Fan's 'Last Train Home', both of which Zeitgeist distributed in the U. S. In southwestern China, a Master coach recruits poor rural teenagers and turns them into Western-style boxing champions. Through hard work and discipline, these boys and girls come of age, trained in the art of boxing and the game of life. They are filled with Olympic...
- 4/4/2012
- by Peter Knegt
- Indiewire
Following two event-filled weekends, March 1-4 and 9-11, the third edition of the AmérAsia Film Festival has come to a close. This year the festival featured about 50 Asian and Asian-Canadian films including Cannes and Academy Award-winning productions from China, Kyroskistan, India, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam, as well a number of Quebec-origin films. Over 100 invited guests from as far as Japan and South Korea were in attendance at five different venues across Montreal, mixing with homegrown filmmakers and academics. Sound On Sight contributor Edgar Chaput was present for the majority of the event, providing some excellent coverage. Here is a quick break down of some of his reviews:
Pearls of the Far East
Directed by Cuong Ngo
Written by Minh Ngoc Nguyen and Matt Guerin
Vietnam, 2011
Any young director is faced with a steep challenge when shifting his or her focus from the realm of short films to that of the feature length.
Pearls of the Far East
Directed by Cuong Ngo
Written by Minh Ngoc Nguyen and Matt Guerin
Vietnam, 2011
Any young director is faced with a steep challenge when shifting his or her focus from the realm of short films to that of the feature length.
- 3/15/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
As we roll into Berlin where War Witch (aka Rebelle) (Isa: Films Distribution) by Kim Nguyen is in Competition. While it’s Kim’s 4th feature, this is the first of his films to have a world premiere at an international festival. This is exceptional as well because the last time the Canadians had a Canadian director in Competition at the Berlinale was in 1999 with Emporte-Moi ! Guy Madden’s Keyhole holds a Berlinale Special slot. Guy is Canada’s cultural ambassador in Berlin and a regular at the Festival and sat on the Berlinale’s Official Jury last year – with Isabella Rossellini.
Sheldon Larry’s Leave It on the Floor (Isa: Arrow) is a U.S.-Canadian Co-pro which has played Laff, Tiff and is now in the Panorama.
Films in the Forum include Green Laser by another Berlinale favorite, John Greyson. Green Laser is his 8th film at the festival. His first was Urinal in 1989. Denis Côté’s Bestiary, straight from Sundance, and Francine, the first narrative feature by Melanie Shatzky (Canada) and Brian M. Cassidy (U.S.) the team that directed Patron Saints (Tiff 2011, Rotterdam 2012) are are all in the Forum.
4 films are in the Forum Expanded:
Chris Kennedy’s 349 (For Sol LeWitt)(1min long!) in Tiff 2011 Wavelength Program: Schedule
American Colour, Tiff 2011 Wavelength Program: Schedule
Road Movie by Elle Flanders and Tamira Sawatzkystarring Melissa Leo (Frozen River) Tiff 2011 Future Projections: Schedule, a 6-channel installation produced by The National Film Board of Canada. Elle Flanders’ documentary Zero Degrees of Separation was screened in the Forum section of the Berlin Festival in 2005.
The Tiny Ventriloquist by Steve Reinke, (with contribution from James Richards). The installation will be presented at the McLuhan Salon of the Canadian Embassy
In Berlinale Shorts Competition, The Man That Got Away by Trevor Anderson is his second film in this section (2009 The Island). His doc short The High Leve Bridge was in Sundance in 2010.
All we have to do now is wait to see which prizes go to them! Last year Canadian productions came away with three.
Perspective Canada will present 16 titles at the Market:
Café de Flore - Jean-Marc Vallée, Films Distribution, France
China Heavyweight (Straight from Sundance) - doc - Yung Chang Cat & Docs, France & EyeSteelFilms
Décharge (Trash) - Benoit Pilon, eOne
Edwin Boyd - Nathan Morlando, Myriad Pictures, USA
French Kiss - Sylvain Archambault ,Delphis
Goon - Michael Dowse, Myriad Pictures, USA
La Peur de l'eau - Gabriel Pelletier, eOne
Marécages - Guy Édoin, Fortissimo Films
Monsieur Lazhar - Philippe Falardeau, Films Distribution, France
Nuit #1 - Anne Émond, Wide Management, France
Payback (Straight from Sundance) - doc- Jennifer Baichwal, National Film Board of Canada
Pink Ribbons - doc - Léa Pool, National Film Board of Canada
Pour l'amour de dieu - Micheline Lanctôt, Filmoption
Roméo onze - Ivan Grbovic, Reprise Films
Surviving Progress - doc- Mathieu Roy + Harold Crooks, National Film Board of Canada
Take this Waltz - Sarah Polley, TF1 International, France...
Sheldon Larry’s Leave It on the Floor (Isa: Arrow) is a U.S.-Canadian Co-pro which has played Laff, Tiff and is now in the Panorama.
Films in the Forum include Green Laser by another Berlinale favorite, John Greyson. Green Laser is his 8th film at the festival. His first was Urinal in 1989. Denis Côté’s Bestiary, straight from Sundance, and Francine, the first narrative feature by Melanie Shatzky (Canada) and Brian M. Cassidy (U.S.) the team that directed Patron Saints (Tiff 2011, Rotterdam 2012) are are all in the Forum.
4 films are in the Forum Expanded:
Chris Kennedy’s 349 (For Sol LeWitt)(1min long!) in Tiff 2011 Wavelength Program: Schedule
American Colour, Tiff 2011 Wavelength Program: Schedule
Road Movie by Elle Flanders and Tamira Sawatzkystarring Melissa Leo (Frozen River) Tiff 2011 Future Projections: Schedule, a 6-channel installation produced by The National Film Board of Canada. Elle Flanders’ documentary Zero Degrees of Separation was screened in the Forum section of the Berlin Festival in 2005.
The Tiny Ventriloquist by Steve Reinke, (with contribution from James Richards). The installation will be presented at the McLuhan Salon of the Canadian Embassy
In Berlinale Shorts Competition, The Man That Got Away by Trevor Anderson is his second film in this section (2009 The Island). His doc short The High Leve Bridge was in Sundance in 2010.
All we have to do now is wait to see which prizes go to them! Last year Canadian productions came away with three.
Perspective Canada will present 16 titles at the Market:
Café de Flore - Jean-Marc Vallée, Films Distribution, France
China Heavyweight (Straight from Sundance) - doc - Yung Chang Cat & Docs, France & EyeSteelFilms
Décharge (Trash) - Benoit Pilon, eOne
Edwin Boyd - Nathan Morlando, Myriad Pictures, USA
French Kiss - Sylvain Archambault ,Delphis
Goon - Michael Dowse, Myriad Pictures, USA
La Peur de l'eau - Gabriel Pelletier, eOne
Marécages - Guy Édoin, Fortissimo Films
Monsieur Lazhar - Philippe Falardeau, Films Distribution, France
Nuit #1 - Anne Émond, Wide Management, France
Payback (Straight from Sundance) - doc- Jennifer Baichwal, National Film Board of Canada
Pink Ribbons - doc - Léa Pool, National Film Board of Canada
Pour l'amour de dieu - Micheline Lanctôt, Filmoption
Roméo onze - Ivan Grbovic, Reprise Films
Surviving Progress - doc- Mathieu Roy + Harold Crooks, National Film Board of Canada
Take this Waltz - Sarah Polley, TF1 International, France...
- 2/11/2012
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The Year of the Dragon calls for boldness, passion and power. What better way for Sundance to usher in the new year than a dragon dance up and down the aisles of the Yarrow Theatre? Cavorting to drums and cymbals, the dragons were introducing the world premiere of the documentary, China Heavyweight.
China Heavyweight is the second feature-length doc from Montreal’s Yung Chang, who helmed the award-winning Up The Yangtze. Chang follows coach Qi Moxiang and his two boxers, Zongli He and Yunfei Miao, in southwestern China as they train for the championships. The area they come from is poor, isolated and a breeding ground for kids looking for a way out. One way is boxing. These kids dream of being world stars like Mike Tyson, amazing given the fact that during his reign Chairman Mao Tse-tung banned pugilism for being violent and decadent.
Like Up The Yangtze, China Heavyweight...
China Heavyweight is the second feature-length doc from Montreal’s Yung Chang, who helmed the award-winning Up The Yangtze. Chang follows coach Qi Moxiang and his two boxers, Zongli He and Yunfei Miao, in southwestern China as they train for the championships. The area they come from is poor, isolated and a breeding ground for kids looking for a way out. One way is boxing. These kids dream of being world stars like Mike Tyson, amazing given the fact that during his reign Chairman Mao Tse-tung banned pugilism for being violent and decadent.
Like Up The Yangtze, China Heavyweight...
- 1/29/2012
- by Allan Tong
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Trailer roundups can grow to be rather unwieldy and slow to load, so I'm rounding up trailers for films screening at this year's Sundance Film Festival in two batches, the competitions and all the other programs.
Us Dramatic Competition
Ira Sachs's Keep the Lights On
Ava DuVernay's Middle of Nowhere
Youssef Delara and Michael D Olmos's Filly Brown
Us Documentary Competition
Alison Klayman's Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
Kirby Dick's The Invisible War
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady's Detropia
Sam Pollard's Slavery by Another Name
World Cinema Dramatic Competition
The trailer for Keiichi Kobayashi's About the Pink Sky is here.
Luciano Moura's Father's Chair (A Cadeira do Pai)
Babis Makridis's L
Armando Bó's The Last Elvis (El Ultimo Elvis)
David Trueba's Madrid, 1987
Andrés Wood's Violeta Went to Heaven
Kieran Darcy-Smith's Wish You Were Here
And the trailer for...
Us Dramatic Competition
Ira Sachs's Keep the Lights On
Ava DuVernay's Middle of Nowhere
Youssef Delara and Michael D Olmos's Filly Brown
Us Documentary Competition
Alison Klayman's Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
Kirby Dick's The Invisible War
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady's Detropia
Sam Pollard's Slavery by Another Name
World Cinema Dramatic Competition
The trailer for Keiichi Kobayashi's About the Pink Sky is here.
Luciano Moura's Father's Chair (A Cadeira do Pai)
Babis Makridis's L
Armando Bó's The Last Elvis (El Ultimo Elvis)
David Trueba's Madrid, 1987
Andrés Wood's Violeta Went to Heaven
Kieran Darcy-Smith's Wish You Were Here
And the trailer for...
- 1/16/2012
- MUBI
"China Heavyweight" (alternative title: 千錘百煉, screening in the World Documentary competition at Sundance) documents the industry of Chinese boxing coaches recruiting talent from remote rural areas of the country. Director Yung Chang ("Up the Yangtze") told Indiewire that the film was inspired by such films as "Raging Bull" and "Enter the Dragon," and he confessed to Indiewire that a Mike Tyson cameo never materialized. The up-and-coming doc director is now hard at work at a documentary called "The Fruit Hunters," a film about the fruit underground based on the book of the same name by Adam Gollner. What's it about? 千錘百煉 means "To be tried and tested a thousand times." This is a kung-fu meets boxing documentary about a coach & his 2 boxers in new China. Says director Yung Chang: "For someone like myself, who grew up in two worlds, it is inevitable that you love kung-fu movies (the...
- 1/5/2012
- Indiewire
This week's production column, 'In the Works', checks in with acclaimed producer Peter Wintonick ("Manufacturing Consent," "Earthkeepers") on his new project with "Up the Yangtze" director Yung Chang, “China Heavyweight,” then profiles a few upcoming films featured on crowd-funding website IndieGoGo and elsewhere. Editors Note: "In the Works" is a weekly column taking a look at upcoming films, in addition to projects in production. It spotlights films in development, as well ...
- 5/6/2010
- Indiewire
- The pitch is simple. The line-up is impressive. 42 directors explore their dreams in 42 seconds. I'm not sure what relation the 4 minute trailer (see below) has to do with the individual works, but the concept alone merits our Eye Candy mention of the week. Visit the site here. Sponsored by the vodka brand 42 Below, this project includes some bona-fide stars in the auteur cinema field and a good portion of plenty unknowns. Among the names that I consider myself a fan we have the likes of David Lynch and Carlos Reygadas, but we'll be looking out for those in the near future since they have yet to post their contribution, but a small sampling is available on the site. Among those available, we have what I would call more of a day dream from Asia Argento's part "S/He" - her curiosity on transexuals was the basis of her film,
- 6/13/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television had announced the winners of the 2009 Genie Awards on Saturday night, April 4, and "Passchendaele" came up victorious. On the awards ceremony held at Canada Aviation Museum in Ottawa, the World War I drama was announced this year's Best Motion Picture in addition to receiving five other nods.
Being the one which collected the most prizes on the special night, this Paul Gross-directed war movie also won kudos for Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design, Achievement in Costume Design, Achievement in Overall Sound and Achievement in Sound Editing. It brought home the Golden Reel Award as well for being the biggest box office gross of the year.
"The Necessities of Life" was another big winner as the movie about an Inuit hunter stranded in a Quebec hospital grabbed four kudos at the awards. It collected Best Director title for Benoit Pilon and Best Leading Actor for Natar Ungalaaq.
Being the one which collected the most prizes on the special night, this Paul Gross-directed war movie also won kudos for Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design, Achievement in Costume Design, Achievement in Overall Sound and Achievement in Sound Editing. It brought home the Golden Reel Award as well for being the biggest box office gross of the year.
"The Necessities of Life" was another big winner as the movie about an Inuit hunter stranded in a Quebec hospital grabbed four kudos at the awards. It collected Best Director title for Benoit Pilon and Best Leading Actor for Natar Ungalaaq.
- 4/6/2009
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
2009 Genie Awards 2009 Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television’s Genie Award nominations: Feb. 10, 2009 2009 Genie Award winners: Ottawa, April 4, 2009 ("*" denotes the winner in each category) Best Motion Picture / Meilleur Film Amal - David Miller, Steven Bray Ce qu’il faut pour vivre / The Necessities of Life - Bernadette Payeur, René Chénier Normal - Andrew Boutilier, Carl Bessai * Passchendaele - Niv Fichman, Francis Damberger, Paul Gross, Frank Siracusa Tout est Parfait / Everything is Fine - Nicole Robert Best Documentary / Meilleur Documentaire Infiniment QUÉBEC - Jean-Claude Labrecque, Yves Fortin, Christian Medawar My Winnipeg - Guy Maddin, Phyllis Laing, Jody Shapiro * Up The Yangtze - Yung Chang, Mila Aung-Thwin, John Christou, Germaine Ying-Gee Wong Best Direction / Meilleure RÉALISATION Richie Mehta - Amal Lyne Charlebois - Borderline * Benoit Pilon - Ce qu’il faut pour vivre / The Necessities of Life Carl Bessai - Normal Yves-Christian Fournier - Tout est Parfait / Everything is Fine Performance By...
- 4/5/2009
- by Deborah Arthur
- Alt Film Guide
After time off for good behavior, Indie Roundup returns with an opinionated look at recent news.
Awards. The Cinema Eye Honors seek to recognize "the breadth of the [documentary] genre." Their second annual awards were handed out on Sunday, with James Marsh's superb Man on Wire deservedly taking home prizes for Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking, Production, and Editing. Ari Folman's Waltz with Bashir received awards in the International Feature, Direction, and Graphic Design and Animation categories. Yung Chang's Up the Yangtze won the Audience Choice Award and Debut Feature Film honors, while Werner Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World was recognized for Peter Zellner's cinematography. More information on the films is available at the official site of the Cinema Eye Honors.
Deals. IFC Films acquired Alexis Dos Santos' Unmade Beds and plans to make it available via their IFC in Theaters or IFC Festival Direct...
Awards. The Cinema Eye Honors seek to recognize "the breadth of the [documentary] genre." Their second annual awards were handed out on Sunday, with James Marsh's superb Man on Wire deservedly taking home prizes for Nonfiction Feature Filmmaking, Production, and Editing. Ari Folman's Waltz with Bashir received awards in the International Feature, Direction, and Graphic Design and Animation categories. Yung Chang's Up the Yangtze won the Audience Choice Award and Debut Feature Film honors, while Werner Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World was recognized for Peter Zellner's cinematography. More information on the films is available at the official site of the Cinema Eye Honors.
Deals. IFC Films acquired Alexis Dos Santos' Unmade Beds and plans to make it available via their IFC in Theaters or IFC Festival Direct...
- 4/2/2009
- by Peter Martin
- Cinematical
Lou Reed was in the audience of last night's Cinema Eye Honors, accompanying wife Laurie Anderson, who introduced the award for music competition. Morgan Spurlock, Albert Maysles, Chris Hegedus and Da Pennebaker also took the stage as presenters. If reconciling an award ceremony's needs for glitz and celebrity with the unfussy world of documentary film doesn't seem like the simplest of tasks, the Cinema Eyes are doing an able job of it, moving uptown to posher confines of the Times Center for their second year.
A self-described commemoration of the "craft and artistry of nonfiction filmmaking," the Honors are, as co-chair Thom Powers suggested, "not just about celebration, they're about vindication." And in a testament to that spirit, Ari Folman's "Waltz with Bashir," ineligible for a doc Oscar nomination due to its release date, was the biggest winner of the night, pulling in four wins, including Outstanding Achievement in Direction.
A self-described commemoration of the "craft and artistry of nonfiction filmmaking," the Honors are, as co-chair Thom Powers suggested, "not just about celebration, they're about vindication." And in a testament to that spirit, Ari Folman's "Waltz with Bashir," ineligible for a doc Oscar nomination due to its release date, was the biggest winner of the night, pulling in four wins, including Outstanding Achievement in Direction.
- 3/31/2009
- by Alison Willmore
- ifc.com
Ari Folman's Waltz With Bashir took home four awards including Outstanding Achievement in Direction at last night's Cinema Eye Honors, which highlight the year's achievements in non-fiction. Handed out by the event's creators -- filmmaker Aj Schnack and Thom Powers, documentary programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival -- at the Times Center in the New York Times building, James Marsh's Oscar winning doc Man on Wire was awarded the evening's big award, Outstanding Achievement in Non-Fiction, along with two other prizes. Yung Chang's Up the Yangtze won the Debut Feature award as well as Audience Choice. The full list of winners are below. Outstanding Achievement in Non-Fiction Feature Filmmaking Man On Wire directed by James...
- 3/30/2009
- by Jason Guerrasio
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
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