Dave Lawrie Aug 4, 2017
Blackfish, The Act Of Killing - we celebrate the great documentaries distributed by the UK's Dogwoof...
Did you know that around 20 percent of the films released in the UK are documentaries? It’s a surprisingly large figure. I think the reason behind it might be that ‘documentary’ is considered to be a genre in and of itself. “And the Academy Award for best documentary feature goes to…”. They're all lumped into the same bracket. Also, they're relatively cheap to make and can be assembled independently by a team of only a few people. Success at the box office is often down on the priorities list for creators wanting to spread a message, tell a story or get a point across and, when they only need to recoup that small amount to be considered successful, documentary cinema becomes fertile ground for ambitions to grow in.
See related Preacher...
Blackfish, The Act Of Killing - we celebrate the great documentaries distributed by the UK's Dogwoof...
Did you know that around 20 percent of the films released in the UK are documentaries? It’s a surprisingly large figure. I think the reason behind it might be that ‘documentary’ is considered to be a genre in and of itself. “And the Academy Award for best documentary feature goes to…”. They're all lumped into the same bracket. Also, they're relatively cheap to make and can be assembled independently by a team of only a few people. Success at the box office is often down on the priorities list for creators wanting to spread a message, tell a story or get a point across and, when they only need to recoup that small amount to be considered successful, documentary cinema becomes fertile ground for ambitions to grow in.
See related Preacher...
- 8/3/2017
- Den of Geek
04.27.17: This list is now final. While I may in the future see additional films that were released in the awards year of 2016, no more films will be added to this list. (I may add links to reviews of films listed here.)
This ranking includes only new theatrical releases viewed for the awards year of 2016 (for eligibility for the Academy Awards and the Ofcs and Awfj awards); some films released in the UK without Us releases (and so ineligible for those awards this year) may also be included, for my own bookkeeping purposes. Links go to my review. Numbers after each entry are Date First Viewed/NYC Release Date/London Release Date; year is 2016 unless otherwise noted.
worth paying multiplex prices for
[5 stars]
Arrival (10.10/11.11/11.10)
La La Land (10.07/12.09/01.13.17)
A Monster Calls (10.06/12.23/01.01.17)
The Lobster (07.16.15/05.13/10.16.15)
Zootropolis (aka Zootopia) (02.22/03.04/03.25)
A Bigger Splash (10.08.15/05.04/02.12)
Miss Sloane (11.20/11.25/05.12.17)
London Road (06.03.15/09.09/06.12.15)
The Girl with All the Gifts (07.26/02.24.17/09.23)
I, Daniel Blake...
This ranking includes only new theatrical releases viewed for the awards year of 2016 (for eligibility for the Academy Awards and the Ofcs and Awfj awards); some films released in the UK without Us releases (and so ineligible for those awards this year) may also be included, for my own bookkeeping purposes. Links go to my review. Numbers after each entry are Date First Viewed/NYC Release Date/London Release Date; year is 2016 unless otherwise noted.
worth paying multiplex prices for
[5 stars]
Arrival (10.10/11.11/11.10)
La La Land (10.07/12.09/01.13.17)
A Monster Calls (10.06/12.23/01.01.17)
The Lobster (07.16.15/05.13/10.16.15)
Zootropolis (aka Zootopia) (02.22/03.04/03.25)
A Bigger Splash (10.08.15/05.04/02.12)
Miss Sloane (11.20/11.25/05.12.17)
London Road (06.03.15/09.09/06.12.15)
The Girl with All the Gifts (07.26/02.24.17/09.23)
I, Daniel Blake...
- 4/27/2017
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
A simple listing, duplicated from the in cinemas Us and Canada page, of new releases and other stuff currently available, for the benefit of those playing along by RSS or keeping up via the Daily Digest emails (sign up here).
opening this week The Lego Batman Movie Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts (89th Academy Awards) Speed Sisters A United Kingdom Fifty Shades Darker I’m planning to see… John Wick: Chapter Two Oscar Nominated Animation Shorts (89th Academy Awards) Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts (89th Academy Awards)
2016’s films, ranked by maryann (still ongoing, now open to all readers)
2017’s films, ranked by maryann (subscribers only until the end of the year)
get all reviews since 1997 here
now in cinemas Allied Antarctica: Ice and Sky (aka Ice and the Sky) Arrival The Eagle Huntress Fences The Founder A Good American Hidden Figures I, Daniel Blake Jackie La La Land Lion Loving...
opening this week The Lego Batman Movie Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts (89th Academy Awards) Speed Sisters A United Kingdom Fifty Shades Darker I’m planning to see… John Wick: Chapter Two Oscar Nominated Animation Shorts (89th Academy Awards) Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts (89th Academy Awards)
2016’s films, ranked by maryann (still ongoing, now open to all readers)
2017’s films, ranked by maryann (subscribers only until the end of the year)
get all reviews since 1997 here
now in cinemas Allied Antarctica: Ice and Sky (aka Ice and the Sky) Arrival The Eagle Huntress Fences The Founder A Good American Hidden Figures I, Daniel Blake Jackie La La Land Lion Loving...
- 2/10/2017
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
For her first foray into full-length documentary filmmaking, director Amber Fares snagged not just an original topic — the first all-woman race car driving team from the Middle East — but a pack of compelling and original subjects who speedily illuminate Fares’ inside look at a burgeoning sport and the women who love it. Although Fares’ film offers an intimate and often very personal look at the Speed Sisters, it struggles to keep up the kind of momentum that should be readily built into an uplifting sports documentary with high stakes to spare.
The Speed Sisters are a Palestinian race car driving team comprised entirely of ladies, and Fares wisely turns her camera on a wide variety of intriguing subjects, including champion Marah, the dogged Noor, the barrier-breaking Mona and born-into-it Betty. The racers may have joined up with the Sisters and the sport for different reasons, but they are all bonded...
The Speed Sisters are a Palestinian race car driving team comprised entirely of ladies, and Fares wisely turns her camera on a wide variety of intriguing subjects, including champion Marah, the dogged Noor, the barrier-breaking Mona and born-into-it Betty. The racers may have joined up with the Sisters and the sport for different reasons, but they are all bonded...
- 2/7/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
On Wednesday, November 9 to Sunday, November 13, the Loft Cinema presents the seventh annual Loft Film Fest, featuring appearances by an amazing array of acclaimed filmmakers and a stellar program of world, North American, Southwest and Arizona premieres selected from prestigious festivals around the globe, including Berlin, Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, Venice and more.
Playing at this well-known, though rather out-of-the-way film festival in Tucson, Arizona are exciting new films starring such big screen favorites as Gael Garcia Bernal in “Neruda”, the possible Oscar Winner for Best Foreign Language Film, Catherine Deneuve in “The Brand New Testament” one of the funniest and most original stories I have ever seen; Michael Fassbender in “Trespass Against Us”, Adam Smith’s gangster film, so far unknown in the U.S., — except that whatever Michael Fassbender, the Irish-German actor, is in is always astounding.
Catherine Deneuve in “The Brand New Testament”
Opening night features the North...
Playing at this well-known, though rather out-of-the-way film festival in Tucson, Arizona are exciting new films starring such big screen favorites as Gael Garcia Bernal in “Neruda”, the possible Oscar Winner for Best Foreign Language Film, Catherine Deneuve in “The Brand New Testament” one of the funniest and most original stories I have ever seen; Michael Fassbender in “Trespass Against Us”, Adam Smith’s gangster film, so far unknown in the U.S., — except that whatever Michael Fassbender, the Irish-German actor, is in is always astounding.
Catherine Deneuve in “The Brand New Testament”
Opening night features the North...
- 11/2/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Here’s your daily dose of an indie film, web series, TV pilot, what-have-you in progress, as presented by the creators themselves. At the end of the week, you’ll have the chance to vote for your favorite.
In the meantime: Is this a project you’d want to see? Tell us in the comments.
Raisin’ Cain: The History of Cain’s Ballroom
Logline: “Raisin’ Cain” will be a cinematic journey told through the music and artists that have made this Tulsa music venue legendary. It will celebrate its 92 years, exploring the ties between Cain’s, the Tulsa Sound, and a myriad of musical genres.
Elevator Pitch:
We hope to preserve the storied history of the legendary Honky-Tonk, Cain’s Ballroom. “The Home of Bob Wills” has hosted 3 generations of Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Wanda Jackson to the Sex Pistols, The Police, U2 and many others. The film will tell...
In the meantime: Is this a project you’d want to see? Tell us in the comments.
Raisin’ Cain: The History of Cain’s Ballroom
Logline: “Raisin’ Cain” will be a cinematic journey told through the music and artists that have made this Tulsa music venue legendary. It will celebrate its 92 years, exploring the ties between Cain’s, the Tulsa Sound, and a myriad of musical genres.
Elevator Pitch:
We hope to preserve the storied history of the legendary Honky-Tonk, Cain’s Ballroom. “The Home of Bob Wills” has hosted 3 generations of Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Wanda Jackson to the Sex Pistols, The Police, U2 and many others. The film will tell...
- 11/2/2016
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Wednesday, November 9 — Sunday, November 13Presented by Desert Diamond Casinos & Entertainment
This November, The Loft Cinema presents the seventh annual Loft Film Fest, featuring appearances by an amazing array of acclaimed filmmakers and a stellar program of world, North American, Southwest and Arizona premieres selected from prestigious festivals around the globe, including Berlin, Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, Venice and more!
Playing at this well-known, though rather out-of-the-way film festival in Tucson, Arizona are exciting new films starring such big screen favorites as Gael Garcia Bernal in “Neruda”, the possible Oscar Winner for Best Foreign Language Film), Catherine Deneuve in “Brand New Testament” one of the funniest and most original stories I have ever seen; Michael Fassbender in “Trespass Against Us”, a complete unknown except that whatever Michael Fassbender, the Irish-German actor, is in is always astounding, John Malkovich, another great actor, too rarely seen, in “Dominion” about the last days of the...
This November, The Loft Cinema presents the seventh annual Loft Film Fest, featuring appearances by an amazing array of acclaimed filmmakers and a stellar program of world, North American, Southwest and Arizona premieres selected from prestigious festivals around the globe, including Berlin, Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, Venice and more!
Playing at this well-known, though rather out-of-the-way film festival in Tucson, Arizona are exciting new films starring such big screen favorites as Gael Garcia Bernal in “Neruda”, the possible Oscar Winner for Best Foreign Language Film), Catherine Deneuve in “Brand New Testament” one of the funniest and most original stories I have ever seen; Michael Fassbender in “Trespass Against Us”, a complete unknown except that whatever Michael Fassbender, the Irish-German actor, is in is always astounding, John Malkovich, another great actor, too rarely seen, in “Dominion” about the last days of the...
- 11/1/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
For one week in November, virtually the entire documentary film community will gather in New York City for the Doc NYC film festival, where this year’s most acclaimed non-fiction films will screen. With all that talent and experience gathered in one place, Doc NYC has decided to channel it toward a new eight-day conference focusing on the tools and skills needed to fund, create and distribute documentary films.
Read More: ‘Weiner,’ Yes; ‘The Eagle Huntress,’ No: The 15 Documentaries on the Doc NYC Short List
Doc NYC Pro is geared toward documentary professionals looking to advance their careers and filmmaking skills and will be comprised of talks, panels, masterclasses and pitch sessions featuring filmmakers and decision makers behind films like “Weiner,” “O.J.: Made in America,” “Amanda Knox” and “Cartel Land.”
Each day of Doc NYC Pro will begin with a “morning manifesto,” featuring speakers Laura Poitras (“Citizenfour”), Josh Kriegman and...
Read More: ‘Weiner,’ Yes; ‘The Eagle Huntress,’ No: The 15 Documentaries on the Doc NYC Short List
Doc NYC Pro is geared toward documentary professionals looking to advance their careers and filmmaking skills and will be comprised of talks, panels, masterclasses and pitch sessions featuring filmmakers and decision makers behind films like “Weiner,” “O.J.: Made in America,” “Amanda Knox” and “Cartel Land.”
Each day of Doc NYC Pro will begin with a “morning manifesto,” featuring speakers Laura Poitras (“Citizenfour”), Josh Kriegman and...
- 10/14/2016
- by Casey Coit
- Indiewire
Tensions mount on and off the track in this documentary about Palestine’s first all-female motor racing team
Amber Fares’s rubber-burning documentary follows an all-female Palestinian motor racing team (the first) as they compete with and against each other in wheel-spinning time-trials. “It’s like we put the pepper on the food,” one petrolhead explains. “The race without girls – it’s no fun.” Social conventions are overturned (one internet troll describes the women’s success as a sign of the apocalypse) as the Speed Sisters carve out their own space in occupied territory. But things take a turn for the dramatic when Israeli soldiers take aim at the women en route to a training session, and alarming injuries are sustained on-camera. There’s some nail-biting internecine tension as a climactic race result goes down to the wire, but the overall tone is celebratory and affirmative.
Continue reading...
Amber Fares’s rubber-burning documentary follows an all-female Palestinian motor racing team (the first) as they compete with and against each other in wheel-spinning time-trials. “It’s like we put the pepper on the food,” one petrolhead explains. “The race without girls – it’s no fun.” Social conventions are overturned (one internet troll describes the women’s success as a sign of the apocalypse) as the Speed Sisters carve out their own space in occupied territory. But things take a turn for the dramatic when Israeli soldiers take aim at the women en route to a training session, and alarming injuries are sustained on-camera. There’s some nail-biting internecine tension as a climactic race result goes down to the wire, but the overall tone is celebratory and affirmative.
Continue reading...
- 3/27/2016
- by Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
- The Guardian - Film News
Zootropolis | Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice | Court | Disorder | The Club | Welcome To Me | Mojave | My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 | Speed Sisters | Iona
The city’s a jungle, or is the jungle a city? Disney’s latest gives us a society where prey and predator have put aside their natural urges and put on clothes, although a bunny is still judged on her “cuteness” when she tries to join the police. The conceit proves remarkably durable: on the surface you get a snappy, witty buddy-cop caper, but beneath this it’s a laudable primer in identity politics.
Continue reading...
The city’s a jungle, or is the jungle a city? Disney’s latest gives us a society where prey and predator have put aside their natural urges and put on clothes, although a bunny is still judged on her “cuteness” when she tries to join the police. The conceit proves remarkably durable: on the surface you get a snappy, witty buddy-cop caper, but beneath this it’s a laudable primer in identity politics.
Continue reading...
- 3/25/2016
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
★★★☆☆ The young ladies of Amber Fares' Speed Sisters are very much doing it for themselves. Tyres squeal, engines roar, rubber bullets are fired and tear gas canisters thrown in a documentary which charts the pioneering activities of the first and only all-female Palestinian motor racing team against the backdrop of a perennial conflict. Hailing from a region of the world where women are so often subjugated to little more than submissive housewives, in both cinema and the media at large, the steadfast courage and well-rounded identities painted by Fares makes for an offbeat, engaging and insightful watch.
- 3/23/2016
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Amber Fares’ swift and bustling documentary follows the first ever female racing team in the Middle East as they prepare for a series of races throughout Palestine. Director Fares packs character and punchy bluster into a fleeting 80 minutes but fails to delve into any of the intriguing cultural/political topics it coolly skims across. Instead
The post Speed Sisters Review appeared first on HeyUGuys.
The post Speed Sisters Review appeared first on HeyUGuys.
- 3/22/2016
- by Daniel Goodwin
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The Aldeburgh Documentary Festival | Cine-City | UK Jewish Film Festival | Underground Film Club/Birdes Crazy Golf Club
A small but worthwhile festival on the Suffolk coast that punches well above its weight. Robert Peston leads a discussion following My Nazi Legacy and Natasha Walter chairs a debate on 21st-century womanhood following India’s Daughter, on the rape and murder of a Delhi bus passenger in 2012. Among the film-makers, Hubert Sauper presents We Come As Friends, his incendiary tour of wartorn South Sudan, and Rachel Shabi’s Speed Sisters joins Palestine’s all-female racing team.
Continue reading...
A small but worthwhile festival on the Suffolk coast that punches well above its weight. Robert Peston leads a discussion following My Nazi Legacy and Natasha Walter chairs a debate on 21st-century womanhood following India’s Daughter, on the rape and murder of a Delhi bus passenger in 2012. Among the film-makers, Hubert Sauper presents We Come As Friends, his incendiary tour of wartorn South Sudan, and Rachel Shabi’s Speed Sisters joins Palestine’s all-female racing team.
Continue reading...
- 11/6/2015
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Brazilian feature film Neon Bull and documentary Speed Sisters have walked away with the major prizes at this year.s Adelaide Film Festival.
Neon Bull was announced as winner of the Foxtel Movies International Award for Best Feature Film at this year.s Festival..
The Festival also announced Speed Sisters winner of its Documentary Award, sponsored by Flinders University.
Neon Bull director and screenwriter Gabriel Mascaro was awarded a $25,000 cash prize.
Ten features from around the globe competed for the Award, including films from the Us, Denmark, Ethiopia, South Korea, Vanuatu and Australia.
Foxtel Movies International Feature Jury President Christian Jeune paid tribute to Mascaro as a leading figure in a burgeoning new wave film movement coming out of Recife in Brazil.s north-east.
Jeune said Neon Bull was a project that impressed with its cinematic vision..
.This work allows us into a place where both animal and human bodies...
Neon Bull was announced as winner of the Foxtel Movies International Award for Best Feature Film at this year.s Festival..
The Festival also announced Speed Sisters winner of its Documentary Award, sponsored by Flinders University.
Neon Bull director and screenwriter Gabriel Mascaro was awarded a $25,000 cash prize.
Ten features from around the globe competed for the Award, including films from the Us, Denmark, Ethiopia, South Korea, Vanuatu and Australia.
Foxtel Movies International Feature Jury President Christian Jeune paid tribute to Mascaro as a leading figure in a burgeoning new wave film movement coming out of Recife in Brazil.s north-east.
Jeune said Neon Bull was a project that impressed with its cinematic vision..
.This work allows us into a place where both animal and human bodies...
- 11/4/2015
- by Inside Film Correspondent
- IF.com.au
The Look of Silence and new music from members of Sigur Ros to open festival; Monty Python documentary to close.
Sheffield Doc/Fest (June 5-10) has revealed the line-up of its 2015 edition, which will open with two events.
The first is the UK premiere of Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Look of Silence, the follow-up to critically acclaimed The Act of Killing, in which a family that survives the genocide in Indonesia confronts the men who killed one of their brothers.
The second is the world premiere of Icelandic director Benedikt Erlingsson’s The Greatest Shows on Earth: A Century of Funfairs, Circuses and Carnivals – a music and archive film that will feature a new score by Georg Hólm and Orri Páll Dýrason of Sigur Rós and the head of the Pagan Church in Iceland, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson.
The film centres on the lives of travelling showpeople and has been created with exclusive access to the University of Sheffield...
Sheffield Doc/Fest (June 5-10) has revealed the line-up of its 2015 edition, which will open with two events.
The first is the UK premiere of Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Look of Silence, the follow-up to critically acclaimed The Act of Killing, in which a family that survives the genocide in Indonesia confronts the men who killed one of their brothers.
The second is the world premiere of Icelandic director Benedikt Erlingsson’s The Greatest Shows on Earth: A Century of Funfairs, Circuses and Carnivals – a music and archive film that will feature a new score by Georg Hólm and Orri Páll Dýrason of Sigur Rós and the head of the Pagan Church in Iceland, Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson.
The film centres on the lives of travelling showpeople and has been created with exclusive access to the University of Sheffield...
- 5/7/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
When you're a first-time documentary filmmaker (or even an established one), there's always one key hurdle to surmount: funding. As Maya Newell, the Australian director of "Gayby Baby," told a crowd of budding documentarians at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival this week, "No one knows who you are, so they don't want to give you money." But that didn't stop Newell, or the other first-timer directors who spoke on the Bell Media Kickstart panel "My First Doc," Canadians Suzanne Crocker ("All the Time in the World") and Amber Fares ("Speed Sisters"), all of whom shared advice on how to get funding and make your film in the right way. Read More: Making a Living at Documentary Filmmaking is Harder Than Ever. Here's Why Here are six tips from these trailblazing nonfiction filmmakers: 1. Crowdfund. For both Newell and Fares, crowdfunding campaigns provided an initial boost to get their projects moving forward.
- 5/1/2015
- by Anthony Kaufman
- Indiewire
While Vin Diesel and co. are crushing the box office with "Furious 7," thanks to the franchise's increasing series of improbable mega-stunts, nothing beats the real thing. In an unlikely part of the world, an even unlikelier group of drivers are making waves with their skills behind the wheel. We have the exclusive trailer and poster for "Speed Sisters" making its International Premiere at the Hot Docs Film Festival. Directed by Amber Fares, the documentary follows Marah, Mona, Betty, Noor —the Middle East’s first all-female race car team— and their manager Maysoon as they engage in the emerging speed racing scene that has seen contests between cities on the West Bank and drawn thousands of avid spectators despite the constant danger from the ongoing Israeli occupation. Check out the trailer and poster and hit the Hot Docs page for screening times and to buy tickets.
- 4/27/2015
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
It seems like the latest line-up for the Hot Docs Film Festival will include a host of some of the biggest documentaries on the festival circuit once again.
The line-up for the festival was released on Tuesday and featured some hits from the on-going Tribeca Film Festival as well as SXSW this year. The festival opens on Friday with the premiere of Tig, which follows comedian Tig Notaro, and features a question and answers session with her following the showing.
The rest of the line-up includes Uncertain. This film follows a southern gothic tale set on the Texas/Louisiana boarder in a town called Uncertain, population 94. As the town struggles to save their lake, and livelihood, from an invasive aquatic weed, three men battle their own demons in search of forgiveness and redemption.
Also showing is A Sinner in Mecca, Speed Sisters, and Peace Officer.
A Sinner in Mecca is...
The line-up for the festival was released on Tuesday and featured some hits from the on-going Tribeca Film Festival as well as SXSW this year. The festival opens on Friday with the premiere of Tig, which follows comedian Tig Notaro, and features a question and answers session with her following the showing.
The rest of the line-up includes Uncertain. This film follows a southern gothic tale set on the Texas/Louisiana boarder in a town called Uncertain, population 94. As the town struggles to save their lake, and livelihood, from an invasive aquatic weed, three men battle their own demons in search of forgiveness and redemption.
Also showing is A Sinner in Mecca, Speed Sisters, and Peace Officer.
A Sinner in Mecca is...
- 4/21/2015
- by Zach Dennis
- SoundOnSight
Now that the busy winter fest schedule of Sundance, Rotterdam and the Berlinale has concluded, we’ve now got our eyes on the likes of True/False and SXSW. While, True/False does not specialize in attention grabbing world premieres, it does provide a late winter haven for cream of the crop non-fiction fare from all the previously mentioned fests and a selection of overlooked genre blending films presented in a down home setting. This year will mark my first trip to the Columbia, Missouri based fest, where I hope to catch a little of everything, from their hush-hush secret screenings, to selections from their Neither/Nor series, this year featuring chimeric Polish cinema of decades past, to a spotlight of Adam Curtis’s incisive oeuvre. But truth be told, it is SXSW, with its slew of high profile world premieres being announced, such as Alex Gibney’s Steve Jobs...
- 2/27/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Besides being slickly made, this documentary about Palestinian female rally-race drivers, directed by first-time filmmaker Amber Fares, delivers a spirited, crowd-pleasing portrait of four tenacious, strong-minded young women determined to express themselves in their heavily male-dominated culture and sport. That’s a message worth pushing in this region of the world, and kudos to Al Remaihi for giving the film a high-profile Middle East platform. But “Speed Sisters” will puncture a few Western stereotypes as well, such as what everyday life is like for West Bank Palestinians or assumptions that Arab-speaking women have no voice. It’s all handled very lightly and there was arguably a more painful, hard-hitting story to be told here, but effective punches can still be landed with a gentle delivery. Sequences showing one Speed Sister (Betty) being struck by a tear-gas shell fired by an Israeli soldier and another (Marah) traversing a West Bank-Israeli checkpoint don’t.
- 12/9/2014
- by Matt Mueller
- Thompson on Hollywood
Turkey or no turkey, these next couple of days lucky filmmakers who’ve been selected to screen as part of the Sundance Film Festival will get the invitation notice straight from John Cooper and the Park City programming team, and thus, those that we’re betting have made the cut have also inched up the list a bit. One of those that seem an obvious choice to premiere at the fest is director Steve Hoover and producer Danny Yourd’s Crocodile Gennadiy. Following up their Grand Jury Prize winning Blood Brother with incredible turnaround time, our new most anticipated film tracks the delicate operations of Gennadiy Mokhnenko, a Ukrainian activist, orphanage manager and savior of countless children whose addict parents favor injected cold medicine and alcohol over them. Part heartwrenching domestic drama, part sleuth thriller, the film looks to use the Ukrainian uprising as a backdrop to highlight its protagonist...
- 11/27/2014
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Second edition of the Ajyal Youth Film Festival in Doha to include 90 films from 43 countries.
A total of 90 films have been selected for the second edition of the Ajyal Youth Film Festival (Dec 1-6) at the Cultural Village Katara in Doha.
Ten of these features are by first and second-time filmmakers including Macondo by Sudabeh Mortezai, Antboy by Ask Hasselbalch, #chicagoGirl: The Social Network Takes On a Dictator by Joe Piscatella and the opening night world premiere of Speed Sisters by Amber Fares.
Other highlights of this year’s feature film line-up include the Mena premiere of Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, produced by and starring Salma Hayek-Pinault. The animated feature, which is the Festival’s closing night gala presentation, is an adaptation of Gibran’s book directed by Roger Allers (The Lion King), featuring sequences by directors including Gulf animator Mohammed Saeed Harib.
Special guests confirmed to attend the festival include a delegation from Kahlil Gibran...
A total of 90 films have been selected for the second edition of the Ajyal Youth Film Festival (Dec 1-6) at the Cultural Village Katara in Doha.
Ten of these features are by first and second-time filmmakers including Macondo by Sudabeh Mortezai, Antboy by Ask Hasselbalch, #chicagoGirl: The Social Network Takes On a Dictator by Joe Piscatella and the opening night world premiere of Speed Sisters by Amber Fares.
Other highlights of this year’s feature film line-up include the Mena premiere of Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, produced by and starring Salma Hayek-Pinault. The animated feature, which is the Festival’s closing night gala presentation, is an adaptation of Gibran’s book directed by Roger Allers (The Lion King), featuring sequences by directors including Gulf animator Mohammed Saeed Harib.
Special guests confirmed to attend the festival include a delegation from Kahlil Gibran...
- 11/12/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
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