The Screenwriters Colony and the Nantucket Film Festival (Nff) have joined forces to launch the Screenwriters Colony: Episodic Comedy. Running June 10-23, 2016, four emerging comedy writers will win an all expense paid trip to Nantucket. The program will provide them with mentorship from prominent industry members, as well as time in a writers' room where they can develop their skills and delve into their pilots. Eric Gilliland will serve as Creative Advisor for the two week program this June. A Peabody and Golden Globe-winning writer-producer, Gilliland's filmography includes "Roseanne," "The Wonder Years," "Who's The Boss?" and "That 70's Show." He produced the documentary "God Grew Tired of Us: The Story of The Lost Boys of Sudan," which won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. "We are currently enjoying an amazing golden age of television, and innovative episodic comedy writing is...
- 12/11/2015
- by Jeremy Berkowitz
- Indiewire
Read More: 'The Island President' Sentenced to 13 Years; Can U.S. Film Activists Make a Difference? It's been seven months since the former president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, was taken to Dhoonighoo prison without trial. Having been jailed north of ten times before for his environmental activism, Nasheed is no stranger to the corrupt and unjust government of the Maldives. The documentary "The Island President," directed by John Shenk ("Lost Boys of Sudan") aimed to raise awareness for the major injustice at play back in 2011. As a result, it garnered the attention of other documentary filmmakers and political figures. Most agree that the momentum of this case can be paid in part to the massive exposure the film provided. This morning at a press conference held at London's Doughty Street Chambers, Amal Clooney (barrister at the firm) spoke alongside Nasheed's wife, Laila Ali Abdulla and Jared Gesner,...
- 10/5/2015
- by Elle Leonsis
- Indiewire
Hubert Sauper, a Paris based filmmaker known for his searing eco-disaster exposé in Tanzania, Darwin's Nightmare (2005), continues to document the African continent in his new documentary, We Come As Friends. This time, he sheds light on the post-referendum era Sudan. And it is a damning indictment of new-old colonialism that casts shadows on every corners of the youngest country in the world - South Sudan. Sudan's decades long civil war claimed estimated 2.5 million lives and created the biggest humanitarian crisis since WWII. In the West, Sudan became synonymous with child soldiers, Lost Boys of Sudan and various Human Rights violations.After decades of the bloody conflict, South Sudan's Christian majority finally broke free from Khartoum's merciless Islamic government and voted resounding yes to the...
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- 8/12/2015
- Screen Anarchy
Academy invitee Eddie Redmayne in 'The Theory of Everything.' Academy invites 322 new members: 'More diverse and inclusive list of filmmakers and artists than ever before' The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has offered membership to 322 individuals "who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures." According to the Academy's press release, "those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy's membership in 2015." In case all 322 potential new members say an enthusiastic Yes, that means an injection of new blood representing about 5 percent of the Academy's current membership. In the words of Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs (as quoted in the press release), in 2015 "our branches have recognized a more diverse and inclusive list of filmmakers and artists than ever before, and we look forward to adding their creativity, ideas and experience to our organization." In recent years, the Academy membership has...
- 7/1/2015
- by Anna Robinson
- Alt Film Guide
©Renzo Piano Building Workshop/©Studio Pali Fekete architects/©A.M.P.A.S.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this week that the Los Angeles City Council, in a unanimous vote, approved plans for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Construction will begin this summer, and ceremonial groundbreaking festivities will occur this fall.
“I am thrilled that Los Angeles is gaining another architectural and cultural icon,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “My office of economic development has worked directly with the museum’s development team to ensure that the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will create jobs, support tourism, and pay homage to the industry that helped define our identity as the creative capital of the world.”
“We are grateful to our incredible community of supporters who have helped make this museum a reality,” said Dawn Hudson, the Academy’s CEO. “Building this museum has been an Academy...
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this week that the Los Angeles City Council, in a unanimous vote, approved plans for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Construction will begin this summer, and ceremonial groundbreaking festivities will occur this fall.
“I am thrilled that Los Angeles is gaining another architectural and cultural icon,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “My office of economic development has worked directly with the museum’s development team to ensure that the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will create jobs, support tourism, and pay homage to the industry that helped define our identity as the creative capital of the world.”
“We are grateful to our incredible community of supporters who have helped make this museum a reality,” said Dawn Hudson, the Academy’s CEO. “Building this museum has been an Academy...
- 6/27/2015
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Strangely dropping a press release on a historic day where the nation's attention is elsewhere, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed their annual list of new member invitees this morning. For those who criticize the makeup of the Academy there was some good news and the stark realization the organization still has a long way to go. The Academy has spent the last eight to 10 years attempting to diversify its membership and this year's class mostly reflects that. There are significantly more invitees of Asian and African-American descent, but the male to female disparity is still depressing. Out of the 25 potential new members of the Actor's Branch only seven are women. And, no, there isn't really an acceptable way for the Academy to spin that sad fact. Additionally, It's important to realize the 322 people noted in the release have only been invited to join Hollywood's most exclusive club.
- 6/26/2015
- by Gregory Ellwood
- Hitfix
★★★☆☆ It's not often that an actor who is arguably the fourth lead in a film gets top billing, an unfortunate but necessary marketing tactic for The Good Lie (2014), which uses Reese Witherspoon's face prominently in all advertising despite not being the star. The English language debut of director Philippe Falardeau - Monsieur Lazhar (2011) - tells the story of four Sudanese refugees (known as the 'Lost Boys of Sudan'), forced to walk hundreds of miles to escape war in their country and find a new life in America. Foreign conflict, particularly in Africa, has always been met with patchy portrayals by Hollywood studios. All too often underdeveloped African characters simply wait for a Hollywood actor to come in and save the day.
- 4/22/2015
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
In Atlanta, Georgia, thousands of miles away from a war-ravaged homeland, there exists a community of Sudanese refugees. Many of these individuals have been dubbed the "Lost Boys of Sudan" by aid workers who have likened them to the wandering youth in Peter Pan. Many of the refugees survived starvation, disease and militia attacks in Darfur, and when civil war broke out in Ethiopia around a refugee camp, they came to America. What happened before they made their way to the Land of Opportunity is said to have been featured in the 2014 feature film The Good Lie, starring Reese
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- 2/24/2015
- by Eriq Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
60 Minutes has lost a member of the family. Veteran journalist Bob Simon was killed in a car crash Wednesday night in New York City, CBS News reports. He was 73. Simon, who joined 60 Minutes nearly 20 years ago and was most recently the CBS newsmagazine show's senior foreign correspondent, won 24 Emmys and was a three time Peabody Award winner. Over the course of his five-decade career he reported from all over world, serving as a war correspondent for CBS News during Vietnam, reporting on Middle East affairs in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s and profiling the Lost Boys of Sudan. His book Forty Days chronicled the 40 days he and his fellow CBS News teammates spent in an Iraqi prison...
- 2/12/2015
- E! Online
Fox Searchlight
“I’ve done some movies that aren’t challenging at all,” a newly reinvigorated Reese Witherspoon confessed in an interview with Vulture a few months back.
That’s most certainly true, although recently the actress has dug in deep for a set of unquestionably challenging projects. In addition to a starring role in the Lost Boys of Sudan drama The Good Lie, Witherspoon produced David Fincher’s stellar missing-wife thriller Gone Girl and pops up in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice. She also took on her guttiest role in years with Wild, which is based on the best-selling memoir by Cheryl Strayed and casts Witherspoon as a soul-searching woman embarking on a thousand-mile hike.
Breaking into Hollywood at age 14 with the 1991 coming-of-age drama, The Man In The Moon, Witherspoon originally made her name with a double dose of dark teen drama: Cruel Intentions and the wry Election in 1999.
With 2001′s Legally Blonde,...
“I’ve done some movies that aren’t challenging at all,” a newly reinvigorated Reese Witherspoon confessed in an interview with Vulture a few months back.
That’s most certainly true, although recently the actress has dug in deep for a set of unquestionably challenging projects. In addition to a starring role in the Lost Boys of Sudan drama The Good Lie, Witherspoon produced David Fincher’s stellar missing-wife thriller Gone Girl and pops up in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice. She also took on her guttiest role in years with Wild, which is based on the best-selling memoir by Cheryl Strayed and casts Witherspoon as a soul-searching woman embarking on a thousand-mile hike.
Breaking into Hollywood at age 14 with the 1991 coming-of-age drama, The Man In The Moon, Witherspoon originally made her name with a double dose of dark teen drama: Cruel Intentions and the wry Election in 1999.
With 2001′s Legally Blonde,...
- 1/16/2015
- by Jesse Gumbarge
- Obsessed with Film
What started out as an activity to pass time and take his mind off severe hunger pains turned into a life's work for Sudan native Majur Juac. Juac - who is unsure of his age, but believes to be in his early 30s - was one of the 20,000 Lost Boys of Sudan who were displaced or orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War lasting from 1983 to 2005. He discovered his passion for chess at a Kenyan refugee camp he escaped to after his village was burning down, as reported in the Wall Street Journal. The 200 people in his group at the...
- 12/14/2014
- by Alexandra Zaslow, @alexandrazaslow
- PEOPLE.com
What started out as an activity to pass time and take his mind off severe hunger pains turned into a life's work for Sudan native Majur Juac. Juac - who is unsure of his age, but believes to be in his early 30s - was one of the 20,000 Lost Boys of Sudan who were displaced or orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War lasting from 1983 to 2005. He discovered his passion for chess at a Kenyan refugee camp he escaped to after his village was burning down, as reported in the Wall Street Journal. The 200 people in his group at the...
- 12/14/2014
- by Alexandra Zaslow, @alexandrazaslow
- PEOPLE.com
The Good Lie gets its title from a classroom discussion of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that takes place halfway through the narrative. Mamere (Arnold Oceng), a twenty-something Sudanese refugee at a Kansas City night school, raises his hand enthusiastically to explain the concept. A “good lie” is told with good intentions, such as when Huck fibs to protect Jim, so that the latter will not be sold back into slavery. Mamere knows all about good lies: many years earlier, during an 800-mile walk from war-ravaged South Sudan to a refugee camp in Kenya, his older brother, Theo, told a good lie. Theo stood up to a pair of soldiers approaching Mamere and his pals, and gave himself up, explaining that there was nobody else with him.
As a result of that “good lie,” the South Sudan orphans could evade capture and continue their walk. It is powerful, poignant moments...
As a result of that “good lie,” the South Sudan orphans could evade capture and continue their walk. It is powerful, poignant moments...
- 10/7/2014
- by Jordan Adler
- We Got This Covered
"The Good Lie" opened on October 3 in limited release following a September bow at the Toronto Film Festival. It features Reese Witherspoon as an American woman who helps four Sudanese refugees – among more than 20,000 children known as the Lost Boys of Sudan – adjust to life in the United States, but the real stars of the film are the Lost Boys themselves. Actors Emmanuel Jal, Ger Duany, and Kuoth Wiel were among the real Lost Boys, and Arnold Oceng, in a noteworthy breakthrough performance, is a British-raised son of a Sudanese man. -Break- Oscars: Black Performers--Filmmakers After a screening on September 30, the Us ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, made sure to remind the audience that the violence and displacement that plagued the nation aren't finished. South Sudan broke off from Sudan in 2011 after a long fight for independence, but it erupted into another civil war in 2013. Of the film,...
- 10/6/2014
- Gold Derby
Reese Witherspoon may be the most famous face in The Good Lie, but the film's real stars are the actors who play the four Sudanese immigrants at the heart of the story: Arnold Oceng, Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, and Kuoth Wiel. Set during the Second Sudanese Civil War, which raged from 1983 to 2005, the film follows four children who survive the slaughter and then walk 800 miles to a refugee camp in Kenya. Though only two are biologically related, they become the only family any of them know, and 13 years later, they immigrate to the U.S. as part of the group...
- 10/3/2014
- by Nicole Sperling
- EW - Inside Movies
Fictionalizing a true-life story has many pitfalls, but The Good Lie dodges most of them as it creates a genuinely moving drama, unapologetically wearing its heart on its sleeve. If you want a “pure” version of this material, check out Lost Boys of Sudan (2003) or God Grew Tired of Us (2006). But since most moviegoers don’t seek out documentaries, this studio production, with Reese Witherspoon in a key role, will bring the heart-rending story of the Sudanese immigrants to a much wider audience. It’s difficult to imagine all that the “lost boys” have endured, fleeing from brutal violence in their war-ravaged villages, losing their parents and closest family members, walking...
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- 10/3/2014
- by Leonard Maltin
- Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy
From 1983 to 2005 the Second Sudanese Civil War saw millions of innocent people killed and just as many displaced, with the term "Lost Boys of Sudan" being coined to acknowledge thousands of children living in refugee camps in Africa. Now the new film The Good Lie is a fictionalized account that sheds light on a group of grown up "Lost Boys" sent to live in America during the lottery system of the early 2000s.
- 9/29/2014
- Comingsoon.net
The producers of Reese Witherspoon drama The Good Lie have established a fund to help the children uprooted and orphaned during the Sudanese civil war that stretched from 1983 to 2005. The Good Lie Fund, whose initial focus will be the Kakuma refugee camps in Kenya, was announced Monday as Warner Bros.' The Good Lie, focusing on what's known as the Lost Boys of Sudan, made its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. Alcon Media and Black Label Media, who produced the movie with Imagine Entertainment, are seeding the fund. The fund is seeking to raise worldwide awareness
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- 9/8/2014
- by Pamela McClintock
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
By Anjelica Oswald
Managing Editor
Reese Witherspoon has had a bumpy nine years since her portrayal of June Carter Cash in Walk the Line (2005) led to a best actress win at the 2006 Academy Awards. Despite a few pitfalls, Witherspoon is on an uphill climb that could possibly lead straight to her second Oscar nomination for her role in Wild, director Jean-Marc Vallee’s adaption of Cheryl Strayed’s memoir.
Critics have praised Witherspoon’s performance of Strayed, a woman determined to overcome her personal challenges — drug use, divorce and grief — by hiking more than 1,000 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail alone. Her gritty performance paired with Vallee’s directorial prowess (Dallas Buyers Club won Academy Awards for best actor and best supporting actor) may be the right recipe for Oscar success.
Prior to her role in Walk the Line, Witherspoon was well-known for her roles in romantic-comedies, such as Legally Blonde...
Managing Editor
Reese Witherspoon has had a bumpy nine years since her portrayal of June Carter Cash in Walk the Line (2005) led to a best actress win at the 2006 Academy Awards. Despite a few pitfalls, Witherspoon is on an uphill climb that could possibly lead straight to her second Oscar nomination for her role in Wild, director Jean-Marc Vallee’s adaption of Cheryl Strayed’s memoir.
Critics have praised Witherspoon’s performance of Strayed, a woman determined to overcome her personal challenges — drug use, divorce and grief — by hiking more than 1,000 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail alone. Her gritty performance paired with Vallee’s directorial prowess (Dallas Buyers Club won Academy Awards for best actor and best supporting actor) may be the right recipe for Oscar success.
Prior to her role in Walk the Line, Witherspoon was well-known for her roles in romantic-comedies, such as Legally Blonde...
- 9/3/2014
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
“Honestly, I’ve done some movies that were really challenging, and I’ve done some movies that aren’t challenging at all,” confesses Reese Witherspoon, who dug in deep for a suite of provocative fall projects. In addition to a starring role in the Lost Boys of Sudan drama The Good Lie, Witherspoon produced David Fincher’s highly anticipated missing-wife thriller Gone Girl and pops up in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice. She also took on her meatiest role in years with Wild (out December 5), which is based on the best-selling memoir by Cheryl Strayed and casts Witherspoon as a soul-searching woman embarking on a thousand-mile hike. “It’s rare to have the kind of opportunities I had making this film,” says Witherspoon, “and I treasured it.”In Wild, you play a character who’s addicted to heroin and sleeping around. We don’t often see you in projects like these.
- 8/27/2014
- by Kyle Buchanan
- Vulture
The Oscars don't take place until February next year, but for awards hopefuls like Robert Downey Jr., Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell, the campaign starts in September at the Toronto International Film Festival. The festival announced its lineup Tuesday, featuring several fall films with lots of buzz, including two from Witherspoon: Wild, based on the best-selling memoir by Cheryl Strayed, and The Good Lie, a drama about several of the Lost Boys of Sudan, who are taken in by an American (see the trailer below). Other noteworthy films include Cannes favorite Foxcatcher starring Carell and Channing Tatum, The Equalizer with Denzel Washington,...
- 7/22/2014
- by Mary Green
- PEOPLE.com
The Oscars don't take place until February next year, but for awards hopefuls like Robert Downey Jr., Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell, the campaign starts in September at the Toronto International Film Festival. The festival announced its lineup Tuesday, featuring several fall films with lots of buzz, including two from Witherspoon: Wild, based on the best-selling memoir by Cheryl Strayed, and The Good Lie, a drama about several of the Lost Boys of Sudan, who are taken in by an American (see the trailer below). Other noteworthy films include Cannes favorite Foxcatcher starring Carell and Channing Tatum, The Equalizer with Denzel Washington,...
- 7/22/2014
- by Mary Green
- PEOPLE.com
The Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) has fired its awards season opening salvo, announcing a slew of world premieres for the September edition, which will close with Alan Rickman’s A Little Chaos.Scroll down for full list
Not to be outdone by the New York Film Festival, which has staked a claim to the world premieres of Gone Girl and Inherent Vice, and Venice, which will open with Birdman, artistic director Cameron Bailey and his team announced on Tuesday (22) close to 50 galas and special presentations.
Two factors are certain to ratchet up the sense of anticipation heading into September. Most of these titles are without Us distribution and that said, it remains to be seen which films will qualify for a coveted first-weekend slot.
Tiff top brass made it clear earlier this year that any title that sneaks into Telluride will be forced to screen after the first four days of the festival. Tiff runs from...
Not to be outdone by the New York Film Festival, which has staked a claim to the world premieres of Gone Girl and Inherent Vice, and Venice, which will open with Birdman, artistic director Cameron Bailey and his team announced on Tuesday (22) close to 50 galas and special presentations.
Two factors are certain to ratchet up the sense of anticipation heading into September. Most of these titles are without Us distribution and that said, it remains to be seen which films will qualify for a coveted first-weekend slot.
Tiff top brass made it clear earlier this year that any title that sneaks into Telluride will be forced to screen after the first four days of the festival. Tiff runs from...
- 7/22/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Early Tuesday morning, the Toronto International Film Festival will announce its initial wave of films for the 2014 edition of the festival. As usual, there will be a slew of films that have played at either Cannes or Sundance, a number of star-filled projects looking for distribution, some broader studio films that may or may not be awards season fodder and then, of course, the potential Oscar players. Toronto has long had to juggle landing the best premieres with Venice, but more recently has found their thunder stolen by a little festival in Colorado that actually has Academy members in attendance: Telluride. Tiff has reportedly threatened less-prestigious galas or slots after Wednesday (gasp! not after Wednesday!), but for the most part, Hollywood's studios seem to have taken it all with a collective yawn. Toronto is important, yes. What's best for each individual film's release and publicity campaign is slightly more important.
- 7/21/2014
- by Gregory Ellwood
- Hitfix
It's nice to have supportive parents, especially in the movie business. FedEx CEO Fred Smith came to town this week to meet with Warner Bros. marketing chief Sue Kroll to discuss the studio's fall release of Alcon Entertainment and Black Label Media's “The Good Lie,” a Reese Witherspoon drama about the Lost Boys of Sudan. He got on the phone with TheWrap to discuss the project, calling it a fantastic movie. “The big issue will be the marketing, because it's an esoteric subject,” he said. “It's an adult movie, not ‘The Avengers.'” See video: Reese Witherspoon Is a ‘Great...
- 7/2/2014
- by Jeff Sneider
- The Wrap
A trailer for Reese Witherspoon's upcoming film The Good Lie has been unveiled.
The Good Lie dramatises the plight of Sudanese refugees who fight for relocation to the Us.
Reese Witherspoon, Lionsgate producing Ya adaptation The Outliers
Witherspoon portrays determined advocate Carrie Davis, who works tirelessly on behalf of four young Lost Boys of Sudan once they arrive in the Us.
The movie was shot on location in Atlanta, Georgia, based on a script from Margaret Nagle (Boardwalk Empire).
Also starring in The Good Lie are House of Cards actor Corey Stoll, Sarah Baker and Joshua Mikel.
The Good Lie will be released on October 3 in the Us and on September 26 in the UK.
The Good Lie dramatises the plight of Sudanese refugees who fight for relocation to the Us.
Reese Witherspoon, Lionsgate producing Ya adaptation The Outliers
Witherspoon portrays determined advocate Carrie Davis, who works tirelessly on behalf of four young Lost Boys of Sudan once they arrive in the Us.
The movie was shot on location in Atlanta, Georgia, based on a script from Margaret Nagle (Boardwalk Empire).
Also starring in The Good Lie are House of Cards actor Corey Stoll, Sarah Baker and Joshua Mikel.
The Good Lie will be released on October 3 in the Us and on September 26 in the UK.
- 6/20/2014
- Digital Spy
Over the weekend, I was in Austin for the third annual Atx Television Festival, featuring lots of panels, parties and other opportunities for passionate TV fans to rub elbows with both one another and, at times, the people responsible for their favorite shows. As happens at an event like this, there was a lot of talk about TV both during the panels and between them, and one of the recurring questions (even before the screening of this week's episode) was this: How in the world does "Fargo" not only exist, but exist at the level of quality it's at? And that, in turn, led me to a related question: Which show's greatness is more improbable: "Fargo" or "Hannibal"? Now, I'm not wondering which show is better, but how steeply the odds were stacked against each to function as even good television, let alone as two of the best shows of...
- 6/12/2014
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Hitfix
Warner Bros. on Tuesday pushed its limited release of the Reese Witherspoon drama “The Good Lie” four weeks back, to Oct. 3. The film, based on real-life events, features Witherspoon as an American woman assigned to help four young Sudanese refugees — some of “the Lost Boys of Sudan” — who win a lottery for relocation to the United States. It had been scheduled for a platform release on Sept. 10. Corey Stoll and Sarah Baker co-star in the film, which was written by TV veteran Margaret Nagle (“Warm Springs”) and directed by Philipp Falardeau. It's produced by Broderick Johnson, Molly...
- 5/27/2014
- by Todd Cunningham
- The Wrap
Sundance Institute, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, today announced a new project that will harness the power of independent film to create a global conversation about extreme hunger and poverty. The Sundance Institute Short Film Challenge will spur the production of documentary and narrative films – through a global open call for three-to-eight-minute submissions – that will celebrate imaginative solutions real people are creating to overcome the challenges of extreme hunger and poverty. The project supports Sundance Institute’s mission to empower independent storytellers and connect their work to communities around the world.
The Institute is working with Tongal.com to manage the online call for entries. Winning films will receive a $10,000 grant and travel to a premiere at a private event at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. Users can submit through July 1, 2014. There is no fee to apply. More information can be found at www.sundance.org/anotheryou.
Five new films made with production grants to launch the project premiered earlier today at a private screening co-hosted with the Gates Foundation at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. These five films will become available to audiences online throughout the year via digital media platforms.
Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, said, “With the support of the Gates Foundation, we are proud to launch this short film challenge and support filmmakers around the world in telling stories that inform and engage audiences in ways that are as innovative and imaginative as the solutions people are putting into action every day. ”
The first five films for the Sundance Institute Short Film Challenge are:
After My Garden Grows
Director: Megan Mylan
India / Documentary
A young girl in rural India tills a small plot of land to feed her family and plant seeds of independence and financial freedom in her male dominated community.
Director Megan Mylan directed and produced the Oscar-winning film Smile Pinki, which broadcast on HBO and the Sundance Channel. Her film, Lost Boys of Sudan, had a 70-city theatrical release and a national television broadcast on PBS's Pov.
Am I Going Too Fast?
Directors: Hank Willis Thomas, Christopher Myers
Kenya / Experimental Doc
Am I Going Too Fast? is a digital tapestry of the intersecting worlds and interactions of craftspeople, shopkeepers, and ordinary folks whose lives have been transformed by new technologies, cell phone banking, and micro-finance; threads that weave together to form a web of connection and possibility in contemporary Nairobi.
Hank Willis Thomas is the creator of Question Bridge: Black Male, a non-fiction new media project and recipient of a New Media Fellowship, New Media Fund grant from the Tribeca Film Institute and Aperture West Book Prize.
Co-Director Christopher Myers is an artist and writer best known for his books for young people, which have garnered Caldecott Honors and been shortlisted for the National Book Award.
Kombit
Directors: Jeff Reichert, Farihah Zaman
Haiti / Documentary
Haiti's internally displaced people start a micro-garden movement to combat post-earthquake hunger and despair.
Jeff Reichert and Farihah Zaman produced and directed the feature documentary Remote Area Medical, which premiered at the 2013 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival and was supported by the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program.
The Masterchef
Director: Ritesh Batra
India / Narrative
Akhil, a young shoeshine boy, dreams of becoming a gourmet chef when he has a chance encounter with India's most popular TV cuisiner.
Director Ritesh Batra's The Lunchbox will screen at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. It won the Grand Rail d'Or at Cannes 2013 and was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics for North America. Batra also won the Best Director prize at the Odessa International Film Festival.
Vezo
Director: Tod Lending
Africa, Madagascar / Documentary
A 9-year-old girl tells a tale about how her family and village came back from near starvation after their fishing village adopted sustainable fishing practices.
Director Tod Lending is an Academy Award-nominated and national Emmy-winning producer, director, and cinematographer whose work has aired nationally on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, HBO, Al Jazeera.
While on the subject of shorts, you can watch and vote for 15 Sundance shorts on You Tube right Here.
The Institute is working with Tongal.com to manage the online call for entries. Winning films will receive a $10,000 grant and travel to a premiere at a private event at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. Users can submit through July 1, 2014. There is no fee to apply. More information can be found at www.sundance.org/anotheryou.
Five new films made with production grants to launch the project premiered earlier today at a private screening co-hosted with the Gates Foundation at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. These five films will become available to audiences online throughout the year via digital media platforms.
Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, said, “With the support of the Gates Foundation, we are proud to launch this short film challenge and support filmmakers around the world in telling stories that inform and engage audiences in ways that are as innovative and imaginative as the solutions people are putting into action every day. ”
The first five films for the Sundance Institute Short Film Challenge are:
After My Garden Grows
Director: Megan Mylan
India / Documentary
A young girl in rural India tills a small plot of land to feed her family and plant seeds of independence and financial freedom in her male dominated community.
Director Megan Mylan directed and produced the Oscar-winning film Smile Pinki, which broadcast on HBO and the Sundance Channel. Her film, Lost Boys of Sudan, had a 70-city theatrical release and a national television broadcast on PBS's Pov.
Am I Going Too Fast?
Directors: Hank Willis Thomas, Christopher Myers
Kenya / Experimental Doc
Am I Going Too Fast? is a digital tapestry of the intersecting worlds and interactions of craftspeople, shopkeepers, and ordinary folks whose lives have been transformed by new technologies, cell phone banking, and micro-finance; threads that weave together to form a web of connection and possibility in contemporary Nairobi.
Hank Willis Thomas is the creator of Question Bridge: Black Male, a non-fiction new media project and recipient of a New Media Fellowship, New Media Fund grant from the Tribeca Film Institute and Aperture West Book Prize.
Co-Director Christopher Myers is an artist and writer best known for his books for young people, which have garnered Caldecott Honors and been shortlisted for the National Book Award.
Kombit
Directors: Jeff Reichert, Farihah Zaman
Haiti / Documentary
Haiti's internally displaced people start a micro-garden movement to combat post-earthquake hunger and despair.
Jeff Reichert and Farihah Zaman produced and directed the feature documentary Remote Area Medical, which premiered at the 2013 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival and was supported by the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program.
The Masterchef
Director: Ritesh Batra
India / Narrative
Akhil, a young shoeshine boy, dreams of becoming a gourmet chef when he has a chance encounter with India's most popular TV cuisiner.
Director Ritesh Batra's The Lunchbox will screen at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. It won the Grand Rail d'Or at Cannes 2013 and was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics for North America. Batra also won the Best Director prize at the Odessa International Film Festival.
Vezo
Director: Tod Lending
Africa, Madagascar / Documentary
A 9-year-old girl tells a tale about how her family and village came back from near starvation after their fishing village adopted sustainable fishing practices.
Director Tod Lending is an Academy Award-nominated and national Emmy-winning producer, director, and cinematographer whose work has aired nationally on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, HBO, Al Jazeera.
While on the subject of shorts, you can watch and vote for 15 Sundance shorts on You Tube right Here.
- 1/21/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Exclusive: German director Tom Tykwer is to direct his first TV series, Babylon Berlin, as an internationally financed, German-language production.
The 12-part series is based on a series of books by German writer Volker Kutscher and centre on the figure of Inspector Gereon Rath who hails from Cologne and arrives in the Berlin of 1920s, the epicentre of politicial and social changes of those years.
Speaking exclusively to ScreenDaily, series producer Stefan Arndt of Berlin production powerhouse X Filme Creative Pool explained that Tykwer is working with screenwriters Achim von Borries (4 Tage im Mai) and Hendrik Handloegten (Fenster zum Sommer) on the adaptation of Kutscher’s novels for the small screen.
Last year, X Filme acquired the rights to the four existing Gereon Rath novels and any future books in the books series from publisher Kiepenheuer & Witsch against rival bids from other production houses.
Two of the novels - The Wet Fish and The Silent Death - have...
The 12-part series is based on a series of books by German writer Volker Kutscher and centre on the figure of Inspector Gereon Rath who hails from Cologne and arrives in the Berlin of 1920s, the epicentre of politicial and social changes of those years.
Speaking exclusively to ScreenDaily, series producer Stefan Arndt of Berlin production powerhouse X Filme Creative Pool explained that Tykwer is working with screenwriters Achim von Borries (4 Tage im Mai) and Hendrik Handloegten (Fenster zum Sommer) on the adaptation of Kutscher’s novels for the small screen.
Last year, X Filme acquired the rights to the four existing Gereon Rath novels and any future books in the books series from publisher Kiepenheuer & Witsch against rival bids from other production houses.
Two of the novels - The Wet Fish and The Silent Death - have...
- 10/22/2013
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- 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
We always like to bring to attention Kickstarter campaigns for films that we think are of interest, and filmmaker Bill Gallagher's new documentary, currently in production, Runner Without A Country, definitely fits that description. The film is about Olympic marathon runner Guor Marial, who, as one of the "Lost Boys of Sudan," was kidnapped and forced to do manual labor when he was 8 years old. Despite escape attempts, he was repeatedly captured, while also experiencing the tragic deaths of eight of his brothers and sisters. He eventually left Sudan for the U.S., 14 years ago, where he became a star high school and college track athlete, setting new records. However, when...
- 4/6/2013
- by Sergio
- ShadowAndAct
• Joaquin Phoenix is currently in talks to join Paul Thomas Anderson’s adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice, a classic Los Angeles noir set around the time of the Manson family arrest and trial. Robert Downey, Jr.’s name had been floating around the project for a little while, but we’ll be thrilled if Inherent Vice brings The Master duo together again. [Variety]
• Reese Witherspoon is in talks to star in a film about the Lost Boys of Sudan – the name given to the over 20,000 boys who were displaced after the devastating Second Sudanese Civil War. Reportedly titled The Good Lie,...
• Reese Witherspoon is in talks to star in a film about the Lost Boys of Sudan – the name given to the over 20,000 boys who were displaced after the devastating Second Sudanese Civil War. Reportedly titled The Good Lie,...
- 1/25/2013
- by Lindsey Bahr
- EW - Inside Movies
Reese Witherspoon is in talks to star in "The Good Lie," a movie about the Lost Boys of Sudan that Molly Smith's Black Label Media and Imagine are producing. Philippe Falardeau will direct the film from a screenplay by "Warm Springs" scribe Margaret Nagle. Nagle developed the screenplay in the Imagine Writer's Lab, reviving a project that had stalled at Paramount years ago. The story follows four boys who fled Sudan as violence tore the country apart. After spending years in a refugee camp, they were selected to come to the United States...
- 1/24/2013
- by Lucas Shaw
- The Wrap
DVD Release Date: Nov. 13, 2012
Price: DVD $27.95
Studio: First Run Features
Mohamed Nasheed, the former president of the Maldives.
The 2011 documentary film The Island President looks at Mohamed Nasheed, the former president of the Maldives, and his attempts to save his nation from the recent changes in the climate and sea level.
The fourth president of the Maldives from 2008 to 2012, Nasheed put some serious time and effort into handling the threat posed to the very low-lying Maldive Island (1,200 of them!) by climate and sea level changes reportedly caused by global warming. The Island President examines how Nasheed pledged to set an example by making the Maldives carbon-neutral within a decade by moving to wind and solar power and how he presided over the world’s first underwater cabinet meeting in October, 2009, with the participants meeting underwater in scuba gear. The following month, Nasheed founded the Climate Vulnerable Forum, an association of...
Price: DVD $27.95
Studio: First Run Features
Mohamed Nasheed, the former president of the Maldives.
The 2011 documentary film The Island President looks at Mohamed Nasheed, the former president of the Maldives, and his attempts to save his nation from the recent changes in the climate and sea level.
The fourth president of the Maldives from 2008 to 2012, Nasheed put some serious time and effort into handling the threat posed to the very low-lying Maldive Island (1,200 of them!) by climate and sea level changes reportedly caused by global warming. The Island President examines how Nasheed pledged to set an example by making the Maldives carbon-neutral within a decade by moving to wind and solar power and how he presided over the world’s first underwater cabinet meeting in October, 2009, with the participants meeting underwater in scuba gear. The following month, Nasheed founded the Climate Vulnerable Forum, an association of...
- 11/8/2012
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Eugene Jarecki is a smart cookie; at his first meeting with Brad Pitt and Plan B Entertainment he recognized a fellow traveler. This wasn't like his other studio meetings. "He's a ridiculously bright and thoughtful guy,"Jarecki says. "He chooses projects carefully, he talks about rich content: 'is there meaning, is there a transcendent reason to do a movie here?'" So Jarecki was encouraged to bring up some of his best ideas--including a doc on the war on drugs that, years later, became "The House I Live In." Pitt was behind it all the way, and Jarecki kept him informed as the years went by. Pitt finally saw the film, which won the Grand Jury doc prize at Sundance, a few months ago in London. And now he's doing a rare thing for him--he did it only once before, he says, on the 2006 Lost Boys of Sudan doc "God Grew Tired of Us...
- 10/14/2012
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Title: The Island President Director: Jon Shenk It’s pretty amazing to see the impact one small island nation and their leader have on the world environmental landscape. The actions of larger nations like the United States affect every other nation in the world. The new film by filmmaker Jon Shenk (Lost Boys of Sudan), “The Island President,” which was also part of the Doc NYC Film Festival last year, explores the environmental effects on the small island nation of the Republic of Maldives and what their president and leader, Mohamed Nasheed, will do to prevent his nation from extinction. The Republic of Maldives is an island nation in the middle [ Read More ]...
- 3/31/2012
- by Rudie Obias
- ShockYa
In early February this year, Mohamed Nasheed, the first democratically elected (in 2008) president of the republic of Maldives, a tiny nation consists of 1,200 islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean, was forced to resign in a military coup by the loyalists to Maumood Abdul Gayoom, the former president. This bizarre and tragic turn of event needs the world's attention because Nasheed's victory over Gayoom, an autocrat who ruthlessly ruled the country for 30 years, precedes the Egypt Revolt and the Arab Spring. The Island President's release couldn't have come at any more opportune time than now.Filmmaker Jon Shenk (Lost Boys of Sudan, The Rape of Europa) documents with unprecedented access, Nasheed's first year in the office as the beacon in the fight...
- 3/26/2012
- Screen Anarchy
If you haven't heard about "The Island President" yet, you soon will. The documentary from filmmaker Jon Shenk ("Lost Boys Of Sudan") premiered at Telluride last year and from there headed to Toronto where it picked up a People's Choice Award for Best Documentary. Since then, the film has played a handful of festivals on the way to its release next month, but it has been picking up additional attention thanks to recent events that are making "This Island President" more relevant than ever.
The documentary is a chronicle of President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, the pro-democracy leader who helped oust the brutal regime of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. But that just be the beginning of his story, as he soon became faced with the reality that the islands themselves are in grave danger due to rising ocean levels that could render them uninhabitable unless something is done. And thus begins another journey,...
The documentary is a chronicle of President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, the pro-democracy leader who helped oust the brutal regime of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. But that just be the beginning of his story, as he soon became faced with the reality that the islands themselves are in grave danger due to rising ocean levels that could render them uninhabitable unless something is done. And thus begins another journey,...
- 2/28/2012
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
If you haven't heard about "The Island President" yet, you soon will. The documentary from filmmaker Jon Shenk ("Lost Boys Of Sudan") premiered at Telluride last year and from there headed to Toronto where it picked up a People's Choice Award for Best Documentary. Since then, the film has played a handful of festivals on the way to its release next month, but it has been picking up additional attention thanks to recent events that are making "This Island President" more relevant than ever. The documentary is a chronicle of President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, the pro-democracy leader who helped oust the brutal regime of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. But that just be the beginning of his story, as he soon became faced with the reality that the islands themselves are in grave danger due to rising ocean levels that could render them uninhabitable unless something is done. And thus begins another journey,...
- 2/28/2012
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- Indiewire
Exclusive: The Island President, the film about Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed and his quest to lobby for reforms that will ease global warming, has taken on a new context for Samuel Goldwyn Films after Nasheed was forced yesterday to resign at gunpoint. The distributor acquired the film at the 2011 Toronto Film Festival, where it won the audience award. The message of the movie is all about the environment, because because the Maldives is one of the most low-lying countries in the world, and a rise of just three feet in sea level would submerge the 1200 islands surrounded by the Indian Ocean, making them uninhabitable. There is new urgency for Nasheed, who, after bringing democracy to the Maldives following 30 years of despotic rule and using his presidency as a platform for environmental reforms, is in danger. Since being forced to resign, word is that the president and his party engaged in...
- 2/9/2012
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
The Sundance Film Festival is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, the festival is a showcase for new work from American and international independent filmmakers. The Festival has changed over the decades from a low-profile venue for small-budget, independent creators from outside the Hollywood system to a media extravaganza for Hollywood celebrity actors, paparazzi, and luxury lounges set up by companies that are not affiliated with Sundance.
Now the festival is getting ready for the 2012 edition and today they announced the jury members for this year’s Festival. They include Shari Berman, Scott Burns, Charles Ferguson, Nick Fraser, Mike Judge, Justin Lin, Anthony Mackie, Cliff Martinez, Julia Ormond, Dee Rees and Lynn Shelton.
Here is the official press release:
Park City, Ut — Sundance Institute announced today the 22 members of the six juries awarding prizes at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival,...
Now the festival is getting ready for the 2012 edition and today they announced the jury members for this year’s Festival. They include Shari Berman, Scott Burns, Charles Ferguson, Nick Fraser, Mike Judge, Justin Lin, Anthony Mackie, Cliff Martinez, Julia Ormond, Dee Rees and Lynn Shelton.
Here is the official press release:
Park City, Ut — Sundance Institute announced today the 22 members of the six juries awarding prizes at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival,...
- 1/10/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
The final of Lord Alan Sugar's Young Apprentice averaged 4.3m (17%) on BBC One last night, overnight figures indicate. The reality show won its timeslot in the 9pm hour, but it wasn't enough to guide the channel to primetime victory. Panorama preceded Young Apprentice with 2.59m (9.9%) while A Question of Sport quizzed 2.96m (19.9%) from 10.35pm. ITV1's Countrywise Kitchen cooked up 3.2m (12.5%) from 8pm, with 9pm's The Real Thumbelina taking 3.63m (14.3%) and an additional 199k (1.1%) on +1. BBC Two's night started with Return of the Lost Boys of Sudan (642k/2.7%) from 7pm, followed by University Challenge (2.89m/11.2%), MasterChef: The Professionals (2.8m/10.7%), I Had The X Factor... 25 Years Ago: A Wonderland Special (2.06m/8.1%) and Never Mind the Buzzcocks (1.75m/8.4%). (more)...
- 12/13/2011
- by By Ben Lee
- Digital Spy
Samuel Goldwyn Films has picked up U.S. rights to "The Island President" and plans a February 2012 release, the company announced Monday. Jon Shenk ("Lost Boys of Sudan") directed the documentary. Richard Berge and Bonni Cohen ("The Rape of Europa") produced it. "The Island President" won the Audience Award for a documentary at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this year. In a written statement, Samuel Goldwyn's head of acquisitions, Peter Goldwyn, said, "We are ecstatic to release this extraordinary and inspirational film. After incredibly successful screenings in Telluride and Toronto, we are...
- 11/7/2011
- by Joshua L. Weinstein
- The Wrap
Samuel Goldwyn Films acquired Us rights to The Island President, the documentary that won the Audience Award at the Toronto Film Festival. Goldwyn will release the film in February and is hopeful that it will make noise in the Oscar race. The Jon Shenk-directed film tells the story of President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives and his campaign to save his country. After bringing democracy to the Maldives after three decades of despotic rule, he wages a campaign against global warming. To him it is a life or death struggle: as one of the most low-lying countries in the world, a rise of three feet in sea level would put the 1200 Maldive islands underwater and render them uninhabitable. It brings him to the Copenhagen Climate Summit in 2009, where he makes his impassioned plea. Shenk directed Lost Boys of Sudan. The film’s produced by Richard Berge and Bonni Cohen...
- 11/7/2011
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation The Maldives
Perhaps no other head of state is more closely attuned to rising sea levels than the president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed.
The lowest country on earth, with a population of nearly 400,000 people living across some 200 islands in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives are the proverbial canary in the coalmine for global warming watchers. If rising sea levels continue, Nasheed has often said, “We will die.”
The star of a new documentary, “The Island President...
Perhaps no other head of state is more closely attuned to rising sea levels than the president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed.
The lowest country on earth, with a population of nearly 400,000 people living across some 200 islands in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives are the proverbial canary in the coalmine for global warming watchers. If rising sea levels continue, Nasheed has often said, “We will die.”
The star of a new documentary, “The Island President...
- 9/8/2011
- by Anthony Kaufman
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
As the country heals from decades of civil war, recent voting-related violence and a fresh referendum that may change Sudan forever, Nico Ajak Bior gives Fast Company his take on the country's startup potential.
On January 9th, Southern Sudanese voted on whether to become a separate, independent nation. While the results of that vote are still up in the air (though early indications reveal a majority voted for secession from the North), one fearless entrepreneur, Nico Ajak Bior, already has his sights set on a new entrepreneurial country of South Sudan, focusing first on an ailing, insecure agricultural industry.
"My idea is to start vegetable farming through the use of greenhouses in Juba and my hometown of Bior in Jonglei state," Bior tells Fast Company. "This was inspired by the lack of fresh vegetables in my country--currently Southern Sudan imports all the vegetables and fruit from neighbouring countries and this...
On January 9th, Southern Sudanese voted on whether to become a separate, independent nation. While the results of that vote are still up in the air (though early indications reveal a majority voted for secession from the North), one fearless entrepreneur, Nico Ajak Bior, already has his sights set on a new entrepreneurial country of South Sudan, focusing first on an ailing, insecure agricultural industry.
"My idea is to start vegetable farming through the use of greenhouses in Juba and my hometown of Bior in Jonglei state," Bior tells Fast Company. "This was inspired by the lack of fresh vegetables in my country--currently Southern Sudan imports all the vegetables and fruit from neighbouring countries and this...
- 1/18/2011
- by Jenara Nerenberg
- Fast Company
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