SILVERDOCS WINNERS ANNOUNCED

AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs Documentary Festival (held June 21 to 27) announced its distinguished winners. Best Feature directors receive $5,000.

Best US Feature: WO AI NI MOMMY (I LOVE YOU, MOMMY) directed by Stephanie Wang-Breal, which documents eight-year-old Chinese Fang Sui Yong and her adoption by a Jewish couple from Long Island who name her “Faith.” The film follows Faith and her parents’ twist-and-turn journey over a year and a half.

Best World Feature: THE WOMAN WITH THE 5 ELEPHANTS directed by Vadim Jendreyko, which chronicles eighty-five-year-old Svetlana Geier who has dedicated her life to language. Considered the greatest translator of Russian literature into German, Svetlana has just concluded her magnum opus, completing new translations of Dostoyevsky’s five great novels-known as the five elephants.

Special Jury mention: STEAM OF LIFE directed by Joonas Berghäll and Mika Hotakainen, whose film allows the viewer to become a fly on the wall as it listens in on men-naked men-talking to other men in the sanctuary of Finland’s ubiquitous saunas.

The Sterling Award for Best Short Film: THIS CHAIR IS NOT ME directed by Andy Taylor Smith, which documents Alan Martin, whose cerebral palsy confines him to a wheelchair and inhibits his speech, but he refuses to limit himself. When he gains access to technology that enables him to find a voice, his life is transformed. Utilizing stunning visual vocabulary and subtle re-enactment, the film presents a cinematic experience as unique as the subject himself.

A Special Jury Mention: BETWEEN DREAMS directed by Iris Olsson which tells the story of a hundred souls lost in dreams in the dead of night as they cross a Siberian moonscape aboard a battered train.

A second Special Jury Mention: THE POODLE TRAINER directed by Vance Malone, which chronicles Irina Markova, a Russian poodle trainer who has dedicated her life to training her 20 colorfully costumed poodles.

The Cinematic Vision Award: MARWENCOL directed by Jeff Malmberg. The film captures Mark Hogancamp who suffers a savage beating with near-total amnesia and severe physical injuries. With no money for traditional therapy, … Read the rest

“THE PEOPLE VS. GEORGE LUCAS” TO HIT EDINBURGH, LA, SILVERDOCS AND MUNICH

After hit screenings at SXSW and HotDocs, Alexandre O. Philippe‘s The People vs. George Lucas will be shown at four film festivals this month: Edinburgh International, LA, AFI’s Silverdocs,  and Munich.  Philippe’s film examines the relationship between filmmaker George Lucas and his fans over the past thirty years.  PvG is one of six documentaries at SILVERDOCS nominated for the WGA Documentary Screenplay Award this year.

You can catch the film at any of the following screenings:

KIRBY DICK,”OUTRAGE”

By Nick Dawson

POLICE MUGSHOTS OF POLITICIAN LARRY CRAIG AS FEATURED IN DIRECTOR KIRBY DICK’S OUTRAGE. COURTESY MAGNOLIA PICTURES.

Whether his subjects have been small and personal or large and institutional, documentarian Kirby Dick has always dedicated himself to telling important and often provocative stories. Dick was born in Tucson, Arizona, in 1952, graduated from the Film and Video Program at the California Institute of the Arts and subsequently did postgraduate studies at the American Film Institute. He made his directorial debut in 1986 with Private Practices: The Story of a Sex Surrogate, but afterwards segued into television work, taking eleven years before he returned with his sophomore film. However that movie, Sick: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist, made a huge impact on the festival circuit and on its release with its graphic and compelling depiction of the eponymous performance artist. (In 1997, Dick also wrote the script for Michael Lindsay Hogg’s Guy, a fiction film about documentary filmmaking.) Dick followed up this success with a cinematic take on the chain letter Chain Camera (2001), and a portrait of the father of deconstructionism, Derrida (2002), co-directed with Amy Ziering. In 2004, he made both The End, a TV documentary on terminally ill cancer patients, and Twist of Faith, about a victim of sexual abuse by a Catholic priest, with the latter being nominated for Best Documentary at the Oscars. Most recently, This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006), Dick’s most high-profile and accessible movie, scandalously lifted the lid on the clandestine inner workings of the MPAA, the movie industry’s ratings body.

Audiences who liked Dick’s irreverent attack on the MPAA will definitely appreciate his new film, in which the director takes aim at another sacred cow: closeted politicians. Outrage specifically puts the spotlight on secretly gay political figures whose homophobic stances have had a detrimental effect on the homosexual community which, as the film points out, they are a part of and expect to protect them. Dick’s movie is certainly scandalous – it names names, dishes dirt, treats nothing and no one as exempt … Read the rest

AFI FILM FESTIVAL By Justin Lowe

Always an indication of the imminent onset of awards season, AFI Fest typically gets ahead of the curve with world and local premieres of would-be contenders. For some films, it’s a prestigious Hollywood launching pad to build momentum toward the Golden Globes, guild honors and the Oscars, while for others it’s a brief moment in the spotlight before getting eclipsed by higher-profile titles.

This year’s fest (Oct. 30 – Nov. 9) hit a significant snag even before kicking off, when Paramount pulled opener The Soloist, which will now premiere in theaters in March, 2009, from opening night. AFI Fest fortuitously filled the slot with the world premiere of Miramax’s Doubt, writer-director John Patrick Shanley’s dour inquisition of a suspected pedophile priest (resolutely played by Philip Seymour Hoffman), adapted from the filmmaker’s original Broadway stage production.

After opening night at the Arclight Cinerama Dome, AFI Fest screenings expanded to the historic Grauman’s Chinese Theater and adjacent multiplex in the heart of Hollywood. With the apparent goal of adding another prominent gala venue, the growing scope of the festival proved a challenge for screenings scheduled at different theaters, although a reliable shuttle service connected the Roosevelt Hotel, site of the badgeholders’ Cinema Lounge, to the Arclight complex down Sunset Blvd.

Castmembers from Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler were among those walking the red carpet at the Grauman, including a reinvigorated Mickey Rourke, who gives a staggering performance as middle-aged Randy “The Ram” Robinson, a third-rate professional pugilist confronting health problems and an emotional crisis that threaten not only his career but his fundamental self-image. Kudos came to the The Wrestler’s rescue late in the fall, with Golden Globe and Spirit Award nominations.

Somewhat skirting the limelight prior to the spring 2009 release of Sugar, directors Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden brought their newest indie drama to the fest. The film recounts the recruitment of Dominican baseball pitcher “Sugar” Santos (Algenis Perez Soto) for the U.S. minor leagues with a familiar immigrant arc coupled to a somewhat unconventional warts-and-all sports drama. Spot-on casting, sensitive storytelling and authentic performances – particularly by … Read the rest

DEFIANCE CONCLUDES AFI FEST

AFI Fest wrapped Nov. 9 at the Arclight Cinerama Dome in Hollywood with the world premiere of Defiance (pictured right), AFI alum Ed Zwick’s Paramount Vantage Nazi-resistance actioner, scheduled for limited release Dec. 31.

Midway through the screening, a fire alarm — which turned out to be accidental – interrupted the screening, shutting down the projector and switching on the house lights. While most of the audience sat through the unscheduled 20-minute intermission, a handful departed before the film resumed.

Starring Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber, and adapted from a nonfiction book recounting how a group of Eastern European Jewish resistance fighters took refuge in the Belorussian forests and launched guerilla attacks on German forces rather than face extermination by the invading Nazis, Defiance curiously lacks vitality. The inspirational storyline and Zwick’s typically dynamic directing style don’t adequately animate the strained relationship between the two brothers leading the partisans, played by Craig and Schreiber, whose performances often seem disengaged from one another.

Enthusiasm for the film was muted at a post-screening party, where some attendees seemed more inclined to discuss the recent election results or the upcoming awards season and Sundance Film Festival.

At a private award-winners’ brunch earlier in the day, AFI Fest announced the festival prize recipients in the feature, documentary and shorts categories. Director Kief Davidson’s Kassim the Dream – a doc recounting the journey of Ugandan Kassim Ouma from abduction and forced labor as a child soldier to world junior-middleweight boxing champion — came out the big winner of both the jury and audience awards, sharing the latter documentary prize with The World We Want, an invigorating account of international youth activists.

Following is the full list of AFI Fest prizewinners:

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE COMPETITION

GRAND JURY PRIZE: ACNE

DIR: Federico Veiroj

SPECIAL MENTION: NIRVANA

DIR: Igor Volshin

INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

GRAND JURY PRIZE: KASSIM THE DREAM

DIR: Kief Davidson

SPECIAL MENTION: THE LAST DAYS OF SHISHMAREF

DIR: Jan Louter

INTERNATIONAL SHORTS COMPETITION

GRAND JURY PRIZE: THE LEGLESS BOY CANNOT DANCE

DIR: Michel Lipkes

SPECIAL MENTION: THE APOLOGY LINE

DIR: James Lees… Read the rest

AFI FEST TRIBUTES SWINTON AND BOYLE

Following an a abbreviated schedule Tuesday to accommodate election night (and an enthusiastic impromptu party celebrating Obama’s win in the festival’s Cinema Lounge at the Roosevelt Hotel), the mid-week stretch at AFI Fest continued with an event honoring Academy Award-winning actor Tilda Swinton — featuring a highlight reel from her film career and discussion with journalist David Poland — and a Friday tribute to renowned director Danny Boyle, paired with a screening of his new film, Slumdog Millionaire.

A contemporary romantic epic, Slumdog chronicles the rise of a slum-dwelling boy (Dev Patel) growing up on Mumbai’s mean streets to become a top-winning contestant on India’s version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” and his enduring love for a childhood sweetheart (Freida Pinto).

Starring relative unknowns in the lead roles and supported by some of Bollywood’s biggest-name stars, the film is a bravura celebration of the human spirit and the city of Mumbai (Bombay), written by The Full Monty scribe Simon Beaufoy and showcasing Boyle’s characteristically dynamic visual style.

In a conversation with the L.A. Time’s John Horn, Boyle described the technical and logistical challenges of making Slumdog on the teeming streets of Mumbai — the capital of India’s movie industry. “It’s a bit naïve thinking a foreigner can go there and make a movie,” Boyle observed, but noted that after reading Beaufoy’s script he realized “it was a portrait of a city — I couldn’t wait to get there.”

Working with a predominantly local crew and shooting on a new, compact digital prototype camera with hard-drive data storage (similar to the RED system Soderbergh used on Che), 35mm and even the video setting on a Canon EOS digital still camera, Boyle and frequent collaborating cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle capture some indelible images at a variety of striking locations. The smaller cameras made it easier to move around and shoot on crowded streets without attracting attention from ardent local film fans. “You need to flow with the city,” observed Boyle about filming in Mumbai.

“I think movies are about forward motion,” he commented about Slumdog’s headlong … Read the rest

AFI FEST SHUFFLES DECK TO LEAD OFF OPENING WEEKEND

After clearing a last-minute pre-festival hurdle following Paramount’s late decision to pull initial opening night film The Soloist — now rescheduled for March next year — AFI Fest kicked off Oct. 30 with Miramax’s hastily drafted Doubt as the replacement world premiere.

Although still unfinished, director John Patrick Shanley’s dour inquisition of a suspected pedophile priest, resolutely played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, received a receptive response.

Adapted from Shanley’s original Broadway stage production, the film may ultimately play as too austere and theatrical for many viewers when it opens Dec. 12, although Meryl Streep’s impressive performance as a crusading nun looks likely to attract awards attention. The screening was relocated from the renowned Cinerama Dome to the main Arclight multiplex after Shanley reportedly balked at projecting the film on the dome’s massive curved screen.

IFC Film’s Che held down opening weekend’s Centerpiece gala slot at the historic Grauman’s Chinese Theater in the heart of Hollywood. Presented as a double-feature (referred to simply as Part One and Part Two in the program notes) and running nearly four-and-a-half hours, the epic biopic provides generous detail on the political motives and military campaigns that brought Fidel Castro to power.

Ironically however, director Steven Soderbergh’s faithful interpretation of historical events results in a fairly prosaic visual style that’s effective but unremarkable, while Benicio Del Toro’s role paradoxically sheds little light on Che’s personal motivations for fomenting revolution, despite a career-defining performance.

The festival concludes Nov. 9 with the world premiere of Defiance, co-writer/director Ed Zwick’s Nazi-resistance period drama, staring Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber. … Read the rest

AZAZEL JACOBS, “MOMMA’S MAN”

By Nick Dawson

MATT BOREN, FLO JACOBS AND KEN JACOBS IN DIRECTOR AZAZEL JACOBS’ MOMMA’S MAN. COURTESY KINO INTERNATIONAL.

Trying to make it as a director is difficult – and particularly so when your father is one of the most respected filmmakers in his field – however in the last few years Azazel Jacobs has made a name for himself in his own right with a string of individual and resonant films. Jacobs, the son of avant garde filmmaker Ken Jacobs and painter Flo Jacobs, grew up in New York City and studied film at Purchase University in upstate New York. His graduation film, Kirk and Kerry, won best short film at Slamdance in 1997, and he began making his first feature, Nobody Needs to Know while studying for his Masters at AFI in Los Angeles. The film, which played the festival circuit in 2003, fused conventional narrative with more experimental elements as Jacobs grappled with the idea of “honest” filmmaking. He followed it up in 2005 with the delightful offbeat comedy drama The GoodTimesKid, which he made for just $10,000 in collaboration with Jacobs’ girlfriend Sara Diaz and Drama/Mex director (and fellow AFI alum) Gerardo Naranjo. (The GoodTimesKid is forthcoming on the Benten Films DVD label.)

Jacobs’ third feature, Momma’s Man, sees him return home with the story of Mikey (Matt Boren), who stays at his parents’ house while on a business trip to New York. Lulled by the security of these familiar surroundings, he starts concocting reasons why he can’t return to his wife and baby daughter in California, pushing the responsibilities of his new life from his mind as he slips back into the world of his adolescence. Inspired by Jacobs’ own feelings of comfort in his childhood home, Momma’s Man draws on much from Jacobs’s life, as Ken and Flo Jacobs play Mikey’s concerned parents and it was shot in their Tribeca loft, Jacobs’ childhood home. As a result of this, the film is particularly resonant and moving, as well as being funny and tender, and Ken and Flo Jacobs both give surprising, strong … Read the rest

GEORGINA RIEDEL, “HOW THE GARCIA GIRLS SPENT THEIR SUMMER”

By Nick Dawson

AMERICA FERRERA, LUCY GALLARDO AND ELIZABETH PEÑA IN DIRECTOR GEORGINA RIEDEL’S HOW THE GARCIA GIRLS SPENT THEIR SUMMER. COURTESY MAYA RELEASING.

Like her friends Azazel Jacobs, Gerardo Naranjo and Goran Dukic, Georgina Riedel is a distinctive new voice in American independent filmmaking. A first generation Mexican American who grew up in Arizona, Riedel studied film at the University of Arizona where she made a series of shorts. She gained her MFA at the American Film Institute, where she became friends with fellow directing students Jacobs, Naranjo and Dukic. Riedel’s graduation film, One Night It Happened (2002), a black-and-white romance about a one night stand starring Jacobs, played at festivals worldwide, and in 2005 she produced Jacobs’ second film, The GoodTimesKid.

Riedel’s debut feature, How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer, which is released this week, premiered at Sundance in 2005 and is based on an idea for a short she had while still at AFI. The plot revolves around three generations of the Garcia family, teenager Blanca (America Ferrera), her divorced mother Lolita (Elizabeth Peña) and her headstrong grandmother Doña Genoveva (Lucy Gallardo). Over the course of a hot Arizona summer, the three “girls” flirt with the possibility of love and sex, each both tentative yet passionate in her own way. Beautifully shot in 35mm, Riedel’s film captures the rhythms of small town life and excels particularly in the portrayal of its female leads. The film’s protagonists are complex, strong-minded and sexual, and even in the case of 70-year-old Doña Genoveva this last trait is never sensationalized, but is treated with a rare sensitivity and humour.

Filmmaker spoke to Riedel about the real-life inspiration for the film, tackling old-age sexuality, and her lack of desire to have a penis.

DIRECTOR GEORGINA RIEDEL TALKS WITH ACTRESS AMERICA FERRERA DURING THE SHOOTING OF HOW THE GARCIA GIRLS SPENT THEIR SUMMER. COURTESY MAYA RELEASING.

Filmmaker: I believe the idea for this film stemmed from a question you asked your grandmother.

Riedel: I asked my grandmother what she wanted for Christmas, and I was only half listening because … Read the rest

GERARDO NARANJO, “DRAMA/MEX”

By Nick Dawson

DIANA GARCIA IN GERARDO NARANJO’S DRAMA/MEX. COURTESY IFC FIRST TAKE.

Not many people can genuinely claim that cinema is their savior, but Gerardo Naranjo is probably one of the few. Growing up in the small Mexican town of Salamanca, he frequently got into trouble and was forced to move from school to school as a result of his problems with authority, but managed to escape his difficulties while watching movies. He ended up studying at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, where he founded a cinema club called Zero for Conduct, — named after the Jean Vigo movie, a favorite which appealed to his sense of rebellion — in order to screen classic films he loved. While in Mexico City, he wrote film criticism and directed his first short, Perro Negro (1997), which ultimately led to him taking a Masters in Directing at American Film Institute in L.A. There he became best friends with fellow students Goran Dukic (whose Wristcutters: A Love Story is released next month) and Azazel Jacobs, the son of Ken Jacobs, who shared his anarchic spirit. After another acclaimed short, The Last Attack of the Beast (2002), Naranjo made his feature debut with the Scorsese-esque Malachance (2004) before co-writing and co-starring in Azazel Jacobs’ The GoodTimesKid (2005).

Naranjo’s sophomore effort, Drama/Mex, is a triptych following three interweaving stories set in Acapulco: Fernanda (Diana Garcia) discovers that her ex-lover Chano (Emilio Valdés) is back in town, putting her relationship with new boyfriend Gonzalo (Juan Pablo Castañeda) in doubt; aging office clerk Jaime (Fernando Becerril) decides to steal from his boss, quit his job and then kill himself; and teen runaway Tigrillo (Miriana Moro) joins a gang of delinquent girls who prey on tourists. Drama/Mex is stylishly shot, insightfully written and sensitively directed, and Naranjo’s emotionally resonant depiction of characters on the edge is never less than compelling. In the hands of a lesser director, the material would have become bleak and overblown yet Naranjo instils a sense of unshakeable optimism, simultaneously creating one of the most accomplished films of the year.

Filmmaker spoke to Naranjo … Read the rest