By Maria Esteves – February 25, 2015

The 87th Academy Awards presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (A.M.P.A.S.) for outstanding film achievements of 2014, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris was held at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre & Highland Center, televised live on ABC Network and in over 220 countries Sunday, February 22, 2015. Four Oscars went to Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) including Best Picture and Best DirectorALEJANDRO G. IÑÁRRITU.

Oscars 2015 winners are:

Best Picture

BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE), directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu Watch trailer

Best Documentary Feature

CITIZENFOUR, directed by Laura Poitras Watch trailer

Best Documentary Short

CRISIS HOTLINE: VETERANS PRESS 1, directed by Ellen Goosenberg Kent Watch trailer 

Best Foreign Language

IDA, directed by Pawel Pawlikowski (Poland) Watch trailer

Best Animated Feature

BIG HERO 6, directed by Don Hall and Chris Williams Watch trailer 

Best Animated Short

FEAST, directed by Patrick Osborne Watch trailer 

Best Live Action Short

THE PHONE CALL, directed by Mat Kirkby Watch trailer 

Best Director

ALEJANDRO G. IÑÁRRITU for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s acceptance speech: Good luck charm work because in the [DGA] Award, I was wearing a Raymond Carver shirt, a Billy Wilder tie and I won. But today, tonight, I am wearing the real Michael Keaton tighty whities. Thank you. They are tight, smell like balls. But it work. I’m here. Thank you, Michael. Honestly, this is crazy in a way, talking about that little prick called ego. Ego loves competition, right? Because for someone to win, someone has to lose. But the paradox is that, you know, true art, true individual expression as all the work of these incredible fellow filmmakers, can’t be compared, can’t be labeled, can’t be defeat because they exist and our work only will be judged, as always, by time. So, I am very thankful, grateful, humbly honored by the Academy, which I thank for this incredible recognition. Which I have it [the Oscar] here because the work of all the actors, all the producers. Chivo Lubezki, which I didn’t mention. Chivo, I love you. You are the genius. You are the artist of our generation. Martín Hernández, Antonio Sanchez, so many people that work in this film and obviously, again, you know I forgot all of you. I forgot so many people. This is like a slow-motion kind of moment in my life, so forget if I forgot anybody. I love all. [Spanish.]

Best Actor

EDDIE REDMAYNE in The Theory of Everything Watch trailer

Best Actress

JULIANNE MOORE in Still Alice Watch trailer

Best Supporting Actor

J.K. SIMMONS in Whiplash Watch trailer

Best Supporting Actress

PATRICIA ARQUETTE in Boyhood Watch trailer

Best Production Design

ADAM STOCKHAUSEN for The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Original Screenplay

BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE), written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. and Armando Bo

Best Adapted Screenplay

THE IMITATION GAME, written by Graham Moore

Best Film Editing

WHIPLASH, editing by Tom Cross

Best Sound Editing

AMERICAN SNIPER, sound editing by Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman

Best Sound Mixing

WHIPLASH, sound mixing by Craig Mann, Ben Wilkins and Thomas Curley

Best Original Score

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, composer Alexandre Desplat

Best Original Song

GLORY from Selma; music and lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn

Best Visual Effects

INTERSTELLAR, visual effects by Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter and Scott Fisher

Best Cinematography

BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE), cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki

Best Costume Design

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, costume designer Milena Canonero

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, makeup and hairstyling artist Frances Hannon and Mark Coulier

By Maria Esteves – March 1, 2015

The 26th Annual New York Oscar Viewing Party celebrated the 87th Academy Awards at DANIEL, Sunday, February 22, 2015. Presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), East Coast Academy members, prior Oscar winners, Oscar nominees, industry executives and special guests enjoyed the evening with an exclusive cocktail reception, French cuisine by award winning chef Daniel Boulud and watched live on big screens Oscars 2015 hosted by Neil Patrick Harris held at Dolby Theatre, Hollywood & Highland Center, California. AMPAS NY Oscar Night Viewing Party arrivals included AMPAS director Patrick Harrison, New York programs and membership; award winning chef owner Daniel Boulud, DANIEL; CEO Arthur Manson, Cinemanson Marketing And Distribution Corp.; Academy Award-winning filmmaker Shawn Christensen; Harvey Kagan, former technical director of Columbia Pictures; Opera singer Allison Charney, PREformances with Allison Charney; animation director Pieter Kroon; animation producer Cecile Kroon and special guests.

The 87th Oscars presented by AMPAS honored excellence in film achievements of 2014. The Oscars were televised in more than 250 countries worldwide.

26th Annual NY Oscar Night Viewing Party arrivals:
chef owner Daniel Boulud, DANIEL.

26th Annual NY Oscar Night Viewing Party arrivals:
AMPAS director Patrick Harrison, New York programs
and membership, left, and chef owner Daniel Boulud, DANIEL.

26th Annual NY Oscar Night Viewing Party arrivals:
from left, AMPAS director Patrick Harrison, New
York programs and membership, actress Tina Louise,
and architect/author Stephen Valentine.

26th Annual NY Oscar Night Viewing Party arrivals:
AMPAS director Patrick Harrison, New York programs
and membership, right, with Arthur Manson,
AMPAS member and friend of the Academy.

26th Annual NY Oscar Night Viewing Party arrivals:
AMPAS member Harvey Kagan, former technical
director of Columbia Pictures, center, with his wife
Hedy Kagan and granddaughter Rosen.

26th Annual NY Oscar Night Viewing Party arrivals:
(L-R) AMPAS member Jordan Charney, with his wife
Nancy Cooperstein-Charney, daughter Opera singer
Allison Charney, and husband Real Estate Consultant
Adam Epstein.

26th Annual NY Oscar Night Viewing Party arrivals: (L-R)
Friends of the Academy Carlos Romero, Julia Joseph,
Amanda La Fontaine, and Dan La Fontaine.

26th Annual NY Oscar Night Viewing Party arrivals:
AMPAS director Patrick Harrison, New York programs and
membership, center, with chief curator of film Rajendra
Roy, MOMA, right, and friend of the Academy.

26th Annual NY Oscar Night Viewing Party arrivals:
AMPAS member Pieter Kroon, animation director,
right, and his wife animation producer Cecile Kroon.

26th Annual NY Oscar Night Viewing Party arrivals:
AMPAS director Patrick Harrison, New York programs
and membership, right, and music manager Tina Davis.

26th Annual NY Oscar Night Viewing
Party arrivals: AMPAS director Patrick
Harrison, New York programs and membership,
right, and Academy member Carmelo Pirrone.

26th Annual NY Oscar Night Viewing
Party arrivals: AMPAS director Patrick
Harrison, New York programs and
membership, left, and Steven Gilroy.

26th Annual NY Oscar Night Viewing Party
arrivals: Actress Tina Louise.

26th Annual NY Oscar Night Viewing Party
arrivals: Academy Award-winning filmmaker
Shawn Christensen.

FANTASPORTO 2015: HUNGARIAN KÁROLY MÉSZÁROS IS THE GREAT WINNER OF THE FANTASY COMPETITION  WITH “LIZA, THE FOX FAIRY”

Hungarian feature “ Liza, the Fox Fairy” is the winner  of the fantasy competition in the 35th edition of the Oporto international Film Festival – Fantasporto. Receiving the Special Effects Award as well, this film was presented in World Premiere at the Portuguese film festival. The director came to the city of portwine to introduce the film about a beautiful nurse who turns in a fox fairy out of jealousy.

The Special Award of the jury went to “Wolfcop” by Canadian director  Lowell Dean  who also presented his film about a cop with drinking problems. Also introduced by the director,  “Hungerford”,  by British director Drew Casson, talks about a very strange invasion in a peaceful small town. The film also won an award for actress Georgia Bradley. Still on the fantasy side, “Horsehead” by French director Romain Basset got the Director’s Award and Rupert Evans saw his work in  the Irish production “The Canal” win   the Best Actor Award.  “Mourning Grave”, by Korean director  Jong-Ho Lee, got the Prize for Best Screenplay. “Habana”, de Edouard Salier, a French-Cuban production got the award of the Best Short in the fantasy competion.

EMIGRATION AND THE CLASH OF CULTURES WERE HIGHLIGHTED IN THE WINNERS OF FANTASPORTO 2015 DIRECTORS WEEK, “MEMORIES ON STONE” AND “EL RAYO” 

German-Iraquian production “Memories on Stone” by Shawkat Amin Korki, came up as the grest winner of the general competition in Fantasporto 2015. The story tells us about a film crew trying to shoot in a post-Sadam Iraque  a feature about a massacre in iraquian Curdistan. The film also won  the Best Screenplay and  a Special Mention of the critics. Also speaking about the complexities of being in a strange land is  Spanish “El Rayo” by Ernesto de Nova, the odyssey of a muslim worker who wants to take home his work tool, a  tractor, to Morocco. The Best Director Award went to  Korean  Shim Sung-Bo,  for his film “Hae Moo”,  which was also the opening film of the festival and won the Asian Films competiton as Best Film. Best Actress award  of this general section went to Maxine Peake in “Keeping Rosy” , a UK production.

Japanese “HAEMOO” AND “CHILDREN’S SHOW” FROM THE PHILIPINES WERE THE WINNERS IN THE ORIENT EXPRESS COMPETITION

OTHER AWARDS AND TRIBUTES

The Critics Award  went to French “Pseudonym”, by  Tierry Sebban, a thriller about a divorced father who gets abducted. Georgian feature  “Landmine Goes Click”, by Levan Bakhia,  got the Audience Award.

Portuguese director Producer  Fernando Vendrell saw the festival pay him a tribute for his body of work. Also actress Catriona MacColl, with a long career in the fantasy genre, especially with Italian director Lúcio Fulci ,was honoured with a Career Award by the Festival.

FANTASPORTO 2016 will be held  February 26th till March 5th.

Produção/Production
Cinema Novo CRL / FANTASPORTO - Festival Internacional de Cinema do Porto
Rua Anibal Cunha, 84 - Sala 1.6 - 4050-048 Porto - Portugal

Fox-fairies are evil demons from Japanese folklore, who rob men of their lives. Liza, a 30-year-old nurse, goes in search of love, but her ill-fated admirers all die on their first date.

Liza has taken care of Marta, widow of the former Japanese ambassador, for the last 12 years. Liza’s only companion is her imaginary friend, Tomy Tani, the ghost of a Japanese pop singer from the 1950s. It’s her birthday, and so Liza goes to a Mekk Burger’s to find romance. While she’s away, Marta dies. Jealous relatives report Liza to the police for murdering Marta to inherit her apartment. Sergeant Zoltan is put on the case. Liza gains confidence and begins to look better when she takes tips from a women’s magazine, but all her dating efforts end in fatal accidents orchestrated by Tomy Tani. Liza is convinced that she has become a fox-fairy, a deadly demon The battle for Liza’s life begins between the mysterious pop singer and Sergeant Zoltan.

The Winter Film Awards festival showcased from February 25-28 productions on a wide range of topics in feature film, shorts and documentary formats. It has become an important platform for independent productions from the United States and foreign countries with entries in virtually all genres. Compared to past editions, the higher production value of submitted films is noteworthy. This results apparently from film makers’ ingenuity but also from the inexpensive sophisticated production and camera equipment now available.  Thus films shot on a limited budget by an ever-growing number of producers and directors come across as professional creations. The festival is run by unpaid volunteers on a narrow financial basis yet as its data indicates it is growing steadily.  Ticket sales have increased by 50% compared to 2014; about 800 individuals bought them, some attending full days of screenings. Its facebook data show that the festival audience has an even male female split trending towards the 25 – 40 age range. Most of the audience is somehow connected to the film industry.  Doubling from 2014, 450 films were submitted for the 2015 edition. 34 films originated in the United States and 42 in foreign languages. The high proportion of foreign language films in this and last year’s edition reflects the international appeal of the Winter Film Awards fest, an important achievement for a relatively small festival.  About half of the directors and producers selected the WithoutABox submission service with the others opting for FilmFreeway which reportedly scored higher in their satisfaction.  The fest reached  filmmakers through Craigslist, Facebook and related groups, Google’s  non-profit services, local educational institutions and ProductionHub  to name but a few.. Among films that attracted my attention were

INNENKIND, Germany, Thomas Lee,

Innenkind is a probing psychological German feature film which portrays the painful breakdown of a marriage. The husband Rudi can no longer cope with the erratic and unpredictable behavior of his wife Suzanne and her failure to communicate. Even flashbacks to happier times show her persistent questioning of his attachment. Some flashbacks show Suzanne growing up strongly attached to her father. She accuses Rudi of infidelities, interferes with his work, engages in irrational behavior and appears to be depressed and anxiety ridden most of the time. Suzanne is also attacking and insulting members of her own family, suggesting that she was abandoned by her father who has passed away. Rudi cannot make sense of her changed behavior. There is no obvious explanation.  He moves out but she remains obsessed with him pursuing him constantly. Though she has filed for divorce she claims that they are in love and that they can fix their five year old marriage. Suzanne remains totally isolated and takes long lonely walks at night time. Rudi seems to be her only link to reality. She phones strangers to talk but cannot reveal the reasons for her calls. Prompting Rudi to see her again she refers to a secret but cannot share it. One flashback reveals that she was raped as a teenager by her father, an experience she cannot articulate. This is a well enacted study of a troubled character living in despair and isolation haunted by a traumatic past.

LEBEN (Touching Life), Germany, Carolin Faerber

This persuasive short film portrays Ben who lives in social isolation carefully avoiding other people and touching objects. He suffers from a compulsive disorder forcing him to constantly wash his hands and disinfecting whatever he is touches. He tries to break out of this behavioral prison and successfully applies for a job given his outstanding qualifications and even secures a date with a young woman attracted to him in spite of his disorder. He seems to be set free yet a disaster prevents a full escape. This short is certainly successful in its brief presenting of a troubled individual’s condition.

H.O.P.E. Was ereHereHere, USA, Mark Debega

In the U.S. tourism industry there is a relatively new and growing segment aptly called voluntourism serving mainly college students.  Well intentioned work as volunteers during their college vacation in domestic or foreign settings is appealing. Hope was here is a thought provoking documentary about a group of students from a Boston college. They spend one week in the slum of Lima’s Canto Grande area while housed in the religious Peyton Center. Recording the group’s activities the film shows the students in various settings, communicating with school children, helping in clean ups and sports,   engaging in a rehab center, as well as  participating in  excursions. Given the limited time spent there and the linguistic limitations of the students one wonders about the merits of this short form voluntourism.  The brief visits to schools and rehabcenters does not really  contribute to a betterment of these settings, more interrupting than ameliorating the work carried out. They are welcome guests, but they have a hard time spelling out the benefits the slum children will derive from their visits. Coming from upscale backgrounds paying annual college fees of $50,000 or more these students would have more of an impact if they were to donate the costs of their one week stay to the institutions they claim to help. If their limited exposure to slum life and poverty has a lasting impact on their life remains to be seen but is doubtful.

Generation ’89: Growing up in the Year of Change, Germany, Anker Renter

This surprising documentary provides a new perspective on the 1989 unification of Germany which tends to be perceived by most as a resounding story of success. Based on the recollections of six individuals who were teenagers at that time, the film probes their lives in the German Democratic Republic and their interpretation of the dramatic 1989 changes, as well as the rapid collapse of the DDR and its aftermath. Coming from middle strata backgrounds they did not anticipate nor celebrate the unification of Germany. Rather, their critical minds deplore having lost a historical chance of changing the DDR into a democratic state and at least retaining some positive DDR features. Instead, the DDR became part of the federal republic. Massive support from the East German population was drawn by the promise of a higher standard of living, resulting in the majority of votes going to West German parties during the first free elections in May 1880 The CDU and its allied Western parties scored an absolute majority and the  newly formed East German party Buendnis 1989 which was instrumental for the  change received only 2.9% backing. The Berlin wall fell, but the mental wall persisted for many years, differentiating between Ossies (individuals from East Germany) and Wessies (those from West Germany). Some ossies were treated as second hand citizens or as reported in the film ‘as Turks” in the West, many subjected to arrogance. Large demonstrations for democratic changes in the DDR before its breakdown were well covered by the Western press but also demonstrations by democratic groups against unification received scarce media attrition. Such opposition is still rarely if ever discussed in the West and now documented for the first time in this important film. The film maker uses illustrative family images and films from that period. After 25 years the teenagers are now adults and certainly do not desire life in a DDR like state, but they have a fractured sense of what their ‘Heimat’ (homeland) is.

Given this year’s performance one hopes that the Winter Film Awards festival will continue to expand and retain its important function for independent film makers ftrom the US and foreign countries.

Claus Mueller 

filmexchange@gmail.com  

The 25th Annual San Diego Jewish Film Festival, presented by the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS, finished its ten days of screenings. The Festival showcased over 96 of the best contemporary Jewish themed films from around the world celebrating life, human rights, and freedom of expression.  The mission of the Film Festival is to offer outstanding world cinema that promotes awareness, appreciation and pride in the diversity of the Jewish people to attendees of the community at large.

In addition to the carefully selected short-subject, documentary, and feature length films, the Film Festival featured an international roster of visiting guest artists, included were actors, filmmakers, and scholars, who introduced their work, participated in panel discussions, and met and greeted the festival patrons.

With over 110 time slots, attendance records were broken with advance ticket sales and sales at the door.  In addition to the high attendance, audience members had an opportunity to vote for their favorite film this year. Here are the winners:

Awards were given in the following categories:

Best Drama or Comedy:

Runner up:  God's Slave directed by Joel Novoa

Winner:  24 Days, directed by Alexandre Arcady

Best Documentary:

Runner up:  Theodore Bikel, directed by John Lollas

Winner: Above and Beyond, directed by Roberta Grossman

Best Director:

Runner up:  24 Days, directed by Alexandre Arcady

Winner: Next to Her, directed by Asaf Karman

Special Jury Award:

Winner:  Apples in the Desert, directed by Arik Labetzy

Special Closing Night Film Award:

Winner:  Little White Lie, directed by Lacey Schwartz

Best Film:

Runner up: Suicide, directed by Benny Ferdman

Winner: The Art Dealer, directed by Francois Margolin

The Audience Favorite Award was given to Above and Beyond, directed by Roberta Grossman.

On February 9th, a day was devoted to short films (THE JOYCE FORUM), which was a juried competitive program of short films.  The jury named the following winners:

Awards were given in the following categories:

The Joyce Award for Best Short Documentary

1.     Death and The Maiden, directed by  Yael Lotem / Israel and German

2.     White Mist (Honorable Mention), directed by Itay Netzer / Israel.

The Joyce Award for Best Director

1.     The Funeral, directed by Nick Green / UK

The Joyce Award for Best Drama or Comedy

1.     In the Still of the Night, directed by Erich Steiner / Austria

2.     Silent (Honorable Mention), directed by Jaco Dukes / USA

The Joyce Award for Special Jury Award

1.      Of Many, directed by Linda Mills / USA

2.. Never A Bystander(Honorable Mention),directed by Evelyn Neuhaus / USA

The Joyce Award for Best Film

1.     Ischler, directed by Attila Hartung / Hungary

The Audience Favorite Award for a short film went to The Cancer Mirror, directed by Sophie Tuttleman.

About the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture

San Diego’s only Jewish institution dedicated solely to presenting high quality, nationally recognized arts, culture & Jewish education programs. The San Diego Center for Jewish Culture, while a separate non-profit, is housed at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center and acts as the education and cultural arts arm of the Center. The mission of the CJC is to expand and enrich cultural life in San Diego by presenting the finest in Jewish artistic expression, encouraging the preservation of Jewish culture and heritage, and nurturing new creativity in the arts. The CJC offers a wide variety of multidisciplinary artistic programs that explore cultural identities and perspectives, promote cross cultural understanding, and highlight human themes of family, tolerance, compassion, and hope. Its facilities feature a 500-seat theatre, a Judaica library, an art gallery, and a community Holocaust Memorial Garden.

About the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS

The mission of the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS is to provide social, cultural, educational, and recreational programs to individuals and families of all ages, religions, races, and financial, physical and mental abilities.  Likewise, the JCC provides equal opportunity employment to individuals of all religions and backgrounds.  The JCC welcomes San Diego’s diverse Jewish community and the community at large.  The Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, JACOBS FAMILY CAMPUS is located at 4126 Executive Drive in La Jolla.

Thanks to all the Festival attendees. We hope to see you at FreeB in Beacon Hill Park and throughout the year at the Vic Theatre!

FIRST TIME FEST Third Time’s The Charm

March 5-9, 2015

Is Proud To Announce Its Grand Prize Winner Of Theatrical Distribution & International Sales From Cinema Libre Studio Is Awarded To

INFILTRANT

Directed By Director Shariff Korver(Holland)

FTF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Directing

SHARIFF KORVER

(INFILTRANT)

FTF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Acting

JAMES MOLES

(Other Madnesses)

FTF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography

JARIN BLASCHKE

(I Believe In Unicorns)

FTF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Editing

LAUREN BECKETT JACKSON

(Beneath The Olive Tree)

FTF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Scoring

CEDRIC KAYEM

(Void)

Competition Jury Members

Scott Feinstein, Rafael Fogel,

Maureen Masters, Nile Rodgers & Harper Simon

CLOSING NIGHT HONOREE

Harvey Weinstein

In Tribute To His Support Of First Time Filmmakers

Harvey Weinstein, has been a champion of first-time filmmakers at Miramax Films and The Weinstein Company. Among the many first-time films his companies have distributed are Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino), Sex, Lies, and Videotape (Steven Soderbergh), Chicago (Rob Marshall), Strictly Ballroom (Baz Luhrmann), Kids (Larry Clark), Sling Blade (Billy Bob Thornton), Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (George Clooney), A Single Man (Tom Ford), Citizen Ruth (Alexander Payne), Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler), and Bob Roberts (Tim Robbins). Weinstein will receive a special award from the Festival and participate in a conversation about his support of first-time films.  “As a distributor and producer with extraordinary vision and taste, Harvey Weinstein has discovered many great first-time filmmakers and brought their work to the attention of American audiences,” said First Time Fest co-founders Johanna Bennett and Mandy Ward. “We are proud to honor him.”

FIRST TIME FEST is a unique film festival celebrating first-time feature filmmakers. Aimed at discovering and providing exposure for the next generation of great filmmakers from around the world, FTF is a five-day event with a competition section showcasing new and exciting debut films, and a series of panels and programs. 

Competition Films:

THE INTRUDER {INFILTRANT} (US Premiere) US Premiere. Holland, 2014, 87 mins. Directed by Shariff Korver. Written by Korver and Rogier de Blok. Produced by Eva Eisensioeffel, Joost de Vries, Leontine Petit. Photographed by Alex Wuijts. Production design by Elza Kroonenberg. Edited by Ruben van der Hammen. Music by Helge Slikker. With Nasrdin Dchar, Rachid El Ghazaoul, Walid Benmbarek. Synopsis - In this intelligent and intense thriller, a Dutch cop of Moroccan descent goes undercover to infiltrate a drug-trafficking Moroccan family. His world is turned upside down when he starts to feel at home with his new family, and disillusioned by the police force. Neither is what they seem. This deeply personal film is about a man trying to figure out where he truly belongs.

VOID {WAYNON} (North American Premiere) Lebanon, 2013, 78 mins. Written by Georges Khabbaz. Directed by Maria Abdel Karim, Naji Bechara, Jad Beyrouthy, Salim Habr, Christelle Ighniades, Tarek Korkomaz, Zeina Makki. Produced by Nicolas Khabbaz, Sam Lahoud, George John Tarabay. Photographed by Kmal Bou Nassar. Music by Cedric Kayem. Edited by Salim Habr. With Carol Abboud, Diamand Bou Abboud, Carmen Lebros, Latife Moultaka, Takla Chamoun, Nada Abou Farhat.  Synopsis - Six Lebanese women, different ages, await the return of their sons, brothers, husbands or lovers, who have been missing since the Civil War. Void depicts the events that take place on the eve of the Beirut Parliament Square sit-in, where the women petition to renew the cases of their missing men. The lives of these women revolve around waiting for the men in their lives. A wait filled with uncertainty, and hope.  Winner of Best Screenplay, Best Actress (Diamond Bou Abboud), and Best Ensemble Cast at the recent Lebanon film awards.

BENEATH THE OLIVE TREE U.S., 2015, 74 mins. Work-in-progress screening. Directed by Stavroula Toska. Written and produced by Toska and Sophia Antonini.  Photographed by Sophia Antonini. Edited by Lauren Beckett Johnson. Music by Tao Zervas. Narrated by Olympia Dukakis.  Synopsis - U.S., 2015, 74 mins. Work-in-progress screening. Directed by Stavroula Toska. Written and produced by Toska and Sophia Antonini.  Photographed by Sophia Antonini. Edited by Lauren Beckett Johnson. Music by Tao Zervas. Narrated by Olympia Dukakis.  Synopsis - This deeply-moving, personal, and eye-openng documentary focuses on the true stories of women exiled to Trikeri Island; the biggest women’s concentration camp during the Greek Civil War (1946-49).  Years after the camps were phased out, seven notebooks written in secrecy and buried under a tree have surfaced, revealing the truth about their suffering and their survival. The women’s journals, and Toska’s film, bring to light some history the Greek government continues to manipulate and repress.

I BELIEVE IN UNICORNS U.S., 2014, 80 mins. Written and directed by Leah Meyerhoff. Produced by Heather Rae. Photographed by Jarin Blaschke. Edited by Rebecca Laks and Michael Taylor. Music by Sasha Gordon. With Natalia Dyer, Peter Vack, Julia Game.  Synopsis - Davina is an imaginative and strong-willed teenage girl who often escapes into a beautifully twisted fantasy life. Having grown up as the sole caretaker of her disabled mother, she looks for salvation in a new relationship with an older boy. Davina is swept into a whirlwind of romance and adventure, but the enchantment of her new relationship quickly fades. I Believe in Unicorns takes us on a road trip through the stunning and complex landscape of troubled young love.  A festival favorite around the world since its premiere in 2014 at SXSW.

OTHER MADNESSES (World Premiere) U.S., 2015, 105 mins. Written, directed, photographed, and edited by Jeremy Carr. Produced by Dawn Fidrick, Music by Stephen Light. With James Moles, Natia Dune.  Synopsis - Ed Zimmer is a reclusive, New York City tour guide who suffers from recurring nightmares. The haunting premonitions force him to take violent action against the perceived threats all around him, as he attempts to maintain a relationship with a Russian tourist named Lucya, who just might be the girl of his dreams. Jeremy Carr’s mesmerizing debut film is a dark character study that evokes Taxi Driver and other 1970s American films.  Six years in the making, the film was almost lost to flooding during Hurricane Sandy.

COME SIMI (NY Premiere) U.S., 2015, 82 mins. Directed by Jenica Bergere. Produced by Keth Kjarval, James Portolese, Mary Vernieu. Written by Doc Pedrolie and Jenica Bergere. Photographed by Peter Mosiman. Production designer, Lauree Martel. With Fionulla Flanagan, Jenica Bergere, Joshua Funk, Karen Landry, Tawny Kitaen.  Synopsis - A neurotic pregnant woman on the verge of giving birth attempts to reunite her estranged family, which includes a mother riddled deeply with Alzheimer's, an aging porn-star sister and an intense aunt, whom the family hasn't seen in eighteen years. All of this is in an effort to fix her family history before giving birth. The colorful journey travels from Venice to Van Nuys to Simi Valley and in the end, love must win out.  The very pregnant writer/director/star Jenica Bergere made the film in ten days, and incorporated actual footage of her own delivery.

No festival happens on its own and we’d like to thank our sponsors and collaborators: Big Vision Empty Wallet; B Bar & Grill; Intandem Creatives; CORE: Club; Gansevoort Hotel Group; Cinema Libre Studio; Raptor Films; Lazar; Gibson; Tascam; DeepEddy Vodka; The Circuit; Women Make Movies; Asellina; Peroni; Qui Tequilla; Madiba; and all our other supporters and friends.

Hungarian feature “ Liza, the Fox Fairy” is the winner of the fantasy competition in the 35th edition of the Oporto international Film Festival – Fantasporto. Receiving the Special Effects Award as well, this film was presented in World Premiere at the Portuguese film festival. The director came to the city of portwine to introduce the film about a beautiful nurse who turns in a fox fairy out of jealousy.
The Special Award of the jury went to “Wolfcop” by Canadian director Lowell Dean who also presented his film about a cop with drinking problems. Also introduced by the director, “Hungerford”, by British director Drew Casson, talks about a very strange invasion in a peaceful small town. The film also won an award for actress Georgia Bradley. Still on the fantasy side, “Horsehead” by French director Romain Basset got the Director’s Award and Rupert Evans saw his work in the Irish production “The Canal” win the Best Actor Award. “Mourning Grave”, by Korean director Jong-Ho Lee, got the Prize for Best Screenplay. “Habana”, de Edouard Salier, a French-Cuban production got the award of the Best Short in the fantasy competion.
EMIGRATION AND THE CLASH OF CULTURES WERE HIGHLIGHTED IN THE WINNERS OF FANTASPORTO 2015 DIRECTORS WEEK, “MEMORIES ON STONE” AND “EL RAYO”
German-Iraquian production “Memories on Stone” by Shawkat Amin Korki, came up as the grest winner of the general competition in Fantasporto 2015. The story tells us about a film crew trying to shoot in a post-Sadam Iraque a feature about a massacre in iraquian Curdistan. The film also won the Best Screenplay and a Special Mention of the critics. Also speaking about the complexities of being in a strange land is Spanish “El Rayo” by Ernesto de Nova, the odyssey of a muslim worker who wants to take home his work tool, a tractor, to Morocco. The Best Director Award went to Korean Shim Sung-Bo, for his film “Hae Moo”, which was also the opening film of the festival and won the Asian Films competiton as Best Film. Best Actress award of this general section went to Maxine Peake in “Keeping Rosy” , a UK production.
JAPANESE “HAEMOO” AND “CHILDREN’S SHOW” FROM THE PHILIPINES WERE THE WINNERS IN THE ORIENT EXPRESS COMPETITION
Orient Express, the competition for Asian films was won by “Hae Moo”, about the drama of clandestine passengers, and the Special Jury Award went to the surprising “Children’s Show”, by Roderick Cabrido, about the world of children exploitation.
“RENAISSANCE” WINS THE PORTUGUESE CINEMA COMPETION AND THE LUSOFONA UNIVERSITY IS CONSIDERED THE BEST FILM SCHOOL OF 2015.
Nuno Noivo and João Fanfas short film “Renaissance” is the winner of the Portuguese competion , receiving the Best Film Award. Lisbon Lusófona University got the top prize in a competition that envolved 6 film schools.
OTHER AWARDS AND TRIBUTES
The Critics Award went to French “Pseudonym”, by Tierry Sebban, a thriller about a divorced father who gets abducted. Georgian feature “Landmine Goes Click”, by Levan Bakhia, got the Audience Award. 
Portuguese director Producer Fernando Vendrell saw the festival pay him a tribute for his body of work. Also actress Catriona MacColl, with a long career in the fantasy genre, especially with Italian director Lúcio Fulci ,was honoured with a Career Award by the Festival. 

Fest Head Jesús de la Pena Sevilla, FIPRESCI General Secretary Klaus Eder

IBAFF, the International Film Festival of Murcia, Spain, presented an Honorific Award to FIPRESCI. Film critics would, so the motivation, "for more than half a century have had the courage to stimulate works that have been formally daring. These works have determined the course, in one way or another and sometimes radically, of the cinematic universe of their time".

A small series of FIPRESCI-awarded films included: 
— "Memories of Underdevelopment (Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Cuba 1968),
— "La ciénaga" (Lucrecia Martel, Argentina 2001),
— "Jauja" (Lisandro Alonso, Argentina, 2014),
— "Sacrifice" (Andrei Tarkovski, Sweden 1986),
— "El sol del membrillo" (Victor Erice, Spain 1992),
— "Blisfully Yours" (Apichatpong Weerasethekul, Thailand 2001),
— "Leviathan" (Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Véréna Paravel, Puerto Rico 2013), and
— "Entranced Earth" (Glauber Rocha, Brazil 1967).

"The selected works", stated the festival, "share the editorial policy of our festival and have become not only study cases, but also emblematic works that are part of the emotional and sensorial memory of many generations of cinephiles."

Murcia fest head Jesús de la Pena handed the prize over to FIPRESCI General Secretary Klaus Eder.

This year at the International Women's Film Festival in Dortmund, the RWE Film Award is being conferred for a sixth time on a feature film director. With the prize money totalling €15,000, eight feature films have been entered – all made by women directors who can look back on a long and notable career of film-making. Including works from Poland, Colombia, Japan and Iran, the spectrum ranges from a Balkan comedy to a radical docufiction drama about cancer and thus celebrates a wealth of film creativity that could hardly be more diverse. Four of the films to be screened in Dortmund are receiving their German premieres.

The award will be decided by an international jury: Kate Kinninmont, Chair of Women in Film & Television UK and the film director and festival manager Amal Ramsis, who comes from Egypt, confirmed their participation yet.

The prize money is to be divided between the director (€5,000) and the German distributing company (€10,000) to help promote the cinema release of the winning film in Germany.

Silke Räbiger, Festival Director of the Dortmund | Cologne International Women's Film Festival: "In recent times, there's been a lot of movement come into the issue of gender equality in the movie business – with the Dortmund | Cologne festival having played no small part. After all, it is one of the most active women's film festivals around the world in terms of initiating networks and debates."

Carl Ernst Giesting, CEO of RWE Vertrieb AG, a power company: "The International Women's Film Festival is an inseparable part of the cultural life of the city. RWE Vertrieb AG is pleased once again to support this future-oriented project for the entire region."

Birgit Jörder, Mayor and Festival Patron: "Here we get to see the entire gamut of female film-making creativity while also giving career starters an opportunity to come and see their role models."

BODY by Małgorzata Szumowska (PL), EDEN by Mia Hansen-Løve (F), ELLA by Libia Stella Gomez (COL), FRAILER by Mijke de Jong (NL), FUTATSUME NO MADO by Naomi Kawase (JP/F/ES),
LOVE ISLAND by Jasmila Žbanić (HR/B|H/D/CH), PELO MALO by Mariana Rondón (VEN), RED ROSE by Sepideh Farsi (IR/GR/F).

All films also compete for the audience award sponsored by trailer ruhr magazine.

 

 

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This year at the International Women's Film Festival in Dortmund, the RWE Film Award is being conferred for a sixth time on a feature film director. With the prize money totalling €15,000, eight feature films have been entered – all made by women directors who can look back on a long and notable career of film-making. Including works from Poland, Colombia, Japan and Iran, the spectrum ranges from a Balkan comedy to a radical docufiction drama about cancer and thus celebrates a wealth of film creativity that could hardly be more diverse. Four of the films to be screened in Dortmund are receiving their German premieres.

The award will be decided by an international jury: Kate Kinninmont, Chair of Women in Film & Television UK and the film director and festival manager Amal Ramsis, who comes from Egypt, confirmed their participation yet.

The prize money is to be divided between the director (€5,000) and the German distributing company (€10,000) to help promote the cinema release of the winning film in Germany.

Silke Räbiger, Festival Director of the Dortmund | Cologne International Women's Film Festival: "In recent times, there's been a lot of movement come into the issue of gender equality in the movie business – with the Dortmund | Cologne festival having played no small part. After all, it is one of the most active women's film festivals around the world in terms of initiating networks and debates."

Carl Ernst Giesting, CEO of RWE Vertrieb AG, a power company: "The International Women's Film Festival is an inseparable part of the cultural life of the city. RWE Vertrieb AG is pleased once again to support this future-oriented project for the entire region."

Birgit Jörder, Mayor and Festival Patron: "Here we get to see the entire gamut of female film-making creativity while also giving career starters an opportunity to come and see their role models."

BODY by Małgorzata Szumowska (PL), EDEN by Mia Hansen-Løve (F), ELLA by Libia Stella Gomez (COL), FRAILER by Mijke de Jong (NL), FUTATSUME NO MADO by Naomi Kawase (JP/F/ES),
LOVE ISLAND by Jasmila Žbanić (HR/B|H/D/CH), PELO MALO by Mariana Rondón (VEN), RED ROSE by Sepideh Farsi (IR/GR/F).

All films also compete for the audience award sponsored by trailer ruhr magazine.

 

 

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At the festive opening of HAFF the winner of the Professional Award was presented and the nominees for the Grand Prix of Dutch Animation were revealed.

Professional Award for Dutch animation
The Professional Award for Dutch animation was awarded to The Black Room by Robbie Cornelissen & Kees Went.
The expert jury, consisting of Marieke van Middelkoop (filmmaker, NL), Menno de Nooijer (performer and filmmaker, NL) and Serge Onnen (filmmaker, NL), said this about the film:
‘Using the most basic drawing tools, Robbie Cornelissen has been building his own world for years. And since a few years, this world is put into motion in richly layered animations. This is how simple it can be, and how complex the game played with it. A triptych where a dark choreography of lines and side wings encloses the spectator and releases him again: air & earth, breath & suffocation, play & coercion, freedom & captivity, black & white. Pencils never get boring.
The soundtrack was made by editor Kees Went, turning the film into a seamless whole, so the viewer gets sucked into it even more. The expert jury opted to reward a groundbreaking project.’

Nominations Grand Prix for Dutch animation
Also on Wednesday, the professional jury revealed the nominations for the Grand Prix for Dutch Animation. Three films were selected:
Descentby Johan Rijpma, in which a cylinder-shaped cup falls and breaks into pieces. Every frame of this recorded movement is then manually translated into ceramic layers made from the original remains of the cup. The contagious music video for Nobody Beats the Drum: Let it Go (2014), made by Max Italiaander and Levi Jacobs, about a man who leaves his stressful life behind and sets off on an adventure on Planet Tropicana. And Ultrakort Leader (2014) by Patrick Raats, with a dachshund featuring in the announcement of a series of ultrashort animation films.

The winner of the Grand Prix for Dutch animation will be proclaimed Sunday March 22 at 16.30, just as the winners of the competition for features, shorts, students and HAFF Junior. The MovieZone jury, consisting of young adults between 15 and 19 years old, will also present their favorite short.

Tips for Thursday
Start your day well with a good conversation with your favorite animator at Meet the Filmmakers in Das Kabinett. Join Daily Masters shortly after that in LHC4. Paul Wells will talk about the connection between sports and animation using exemplary footage. Dive in a seat at LHC3 to watch the Korean thriller On the White Planet and get out in the sun afterwards for a walk to Goede Vrijdag. In this tiny café is an exposition of HAFF festival posters through the years. We hope to see you back in Louis Hartlooper Complex in the evening for our other competition programmes! 

Text and photos: Leopoldo Soto

del Toro

JAIRO BUSTAMENTE

MARIA MERCEDES CROY IXCANUL 

PEDRO HARES Best Short

RETES-Y-ARAU

STEPHANIE-SIGMNA

Ivan Trujillo, head dean film festival in Mexico has been instrumental in consolidating this celebration as one of the most important in Latin America, and why not; the world.

Trujillo; has the consensus of filmmakers, producers, sustained confidence in the years chaired the Film Library of the UNAM, and was World President of Film Archives.

Victoria Abril, Alfonso Arau, Guillermo del Toro, Jorge Fons, Angélica Aragón, Stephanie Bond girl next Sigman- significant presences.

The jury comprised: Alfonso Arau (Jury President) Jacopo Quadri; Juan Pablo Gugliota, Laura Astorga; and Michael Kutza had consensus public and press, including coincided with the Berlinale, recognize Ixcanul, Jairo Bustamante, and 600 miles Gabriel Ripstein.

LATIN AMERICAN AWARD

SCRIPT: "The Thin Yellow Line / The Thin yellow line" (Mexico, 90 min.)

Dir. Celso Garcia.

Cinematography: Juan Carlos Gil “Viva la música” "! (Col.-Mexico, 102 min.)

ACTRESS: Claudia Muñiz, Marianela Pupo and Maribel García Garzón "Venice" (Cuba / Colombia, 74 min.) Dir Kiki Alvarez..

ACTOR: Furriel Joaquín "El Patrón, radiograph of a crime / The boss, Anatomy of a crime" (Argentina, 98 min Dir Sebastian Schindel...

OPERA PRIMA "El Patrón, radiograph of a crime / The boss, Anatomy of a crime" (Argentina, 98 min.) Dir Sebastian Schindel..

Special Jury Award: "The Thin Yellow Line / The Thin yellow line" (Mexico, 90 min.) Dir Celso Garcia.

DIRECTOR: Dir JaIro Bustamante,  "Ixcanul" (Guatemala-France, 90 min.)

BEST MEXICAN FILM AUDIENCE AWARD: "The Thin Yellow Line" (Mexico) Dir Celso Garcia.

 FILM: "Ixcanul" (Guatemala-France, 90 min.) Dir Jayro Bustamante.. The jury decided to recommend to the movie "Ixcanul" Golden Globes Awards 2016.

SPECIAL MENTION, Mexican Doc.:

"Time Suspended / Suspended time" (Mexico, 65 min.) Dir. Natalia Bruschtein.

SPECIAL MENTION: "Shih" (Spain / Mexico / Argentina, 107 min.) Dir Bruno and Rafael Ortega Zaffora Velderrain..

MEXICAN FILM: "600 miles" (Mexico, 85 min.) Dir Gabriel Ripstein..

 
Grand Prix narrative short

House of Unconciousness, Priit Tender, Eesti Joonisfilm, Kalev Tamm, Estonia, 2015

Grand Prix non-narrative short
Dark Mixer, Hirotoshi Iwasaki, Hirotoshi Iwasaki, Japan, 2014

Grand Prix feature film
On the White Planet, Bum-wook Hur, The Korean Academy Of Film Arts, Ki-Hwan Kim, South Korea, 2014

Grand Prix student film
Small People with Hats, Sarina Nihei, Royal College of Art, Joan Ashworth, United Kingdom, 2014

Grand Prix for Dutch animation
Nobody Beats the Drum: Let it Go, Max Italiaander, Levi Jacobs, Maxmana, Max Italiaander, Netherlands, 2014

On Sunday March 22 the awards for several competitions were presented at the Holland Animation Film Festival in Louis Hartlooper Complex in Utrecht.

Best Short films
Grand Prix narrative short
House of Unconciousness, Priit Tender, Eesti Joonisfilm, Kalev Tamm, Estonia, 2015

From the jury report:
Led by electric guitar noises, fluid visuals create seamless sceneries which keep drawing us into the world filled with beautiful symbolism and bizarreness.

 

Grand Prix non-narrative short
 

Dark Mixer, Hirotoshi Iwasaki, Hirotoshi Iwasaki, Japan, 2014

From the jury report:
Because of the way it combines parts of the real world to make something new out of it, suggesting a twisted reality.





Best feature film
Grand Prix feature film

On the White Planet, Bum-wook Hur, The Korean Academy Of Film Arts, Ki-Hwan Kim, South Korea, 2014

From the jury report:
A simple but effective style, as the French writer Céline said: ‘L’important, c’est le style’.






Best student film
Grand Prix student film 
Small People with Hats, Sarina Nihei, Royal College of Art, Joan Ashworth, United Kingdom, 2014

From the jury report: The jury members were impressed by her command of timing, character design and acerbic wit.






Best Dutch animation
Grand Prix for Dutch animation

Nobody Beats the Drum: Let it Go, Max Italiaander, Levi Jacobs, Maxmana, Max Italiaander, Netherlands, 2014

From the jury report:
A cheeky clip; the granular images go well with the music. Raw, funny and beautifully colored.

Other awards

HAFF Audience Award Dutch animation
A Single Life, Job, Joris & Marieke, Job, Joris & Marieke, Netherlands, 2014/

HAFF Junior Audience Award (in cooperation with EYE)
Historia de un Oso (Bear Story), Gabriel Osorio, Punkrobot Animation Studio, Pato Escala, Chile, 2014/

MovieZone HAFF Award (in cooperation with EYE)
Splintertime, Rosto, Studio Rosto A.D, Rosto, Autour de Minuit Productions, Nicolas Schmerkin, S.O.I.L., Geert van Goethem, Netherlands, France, Belgium, 2014

 

Ceau, Cinema! Festival from Timisoara, Romania announces the call for entry to the international competition section dedicated to feature films (fiction, non-fiction or animation). The call is open for filmmakers from countries with minorities in the Banat region.

Ceau, Cinema! Competition provides a setting for the cinematographic expression of the traditional minorities from the Banat region. Productions or co-productions from the following countries are accepted in competition: Armenia, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Israel, Italy, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine, Hungary, and also productions which bring into the spotlight different ethnic groups such as Aromanians, Rroma, Tatars. In case of co-productions, we will only accept films with their main co-producer coming from a country listed above.

To be eligible, the submitted films must meet the following criteria:

1. To be feature films which were released (date of the premiere) after January 1st, 2014

2. The submitted disc must be HD DVD.

3. The films will be presented in the original version with English and/or Romanian subtitles. Romanian films entered in the competition do not need to have subtitles. In case the film is selected, the distributor/ producer must provide  the organizers the film dialogue list in English/ Romanian, in a common format that MUST contain the film timecode (.srt, .stl, .sub, .ssa etc.). No .pdf or .xls files are accepted.

4. There is no maximum time limit (but it must have at least 60 minutes) or other restrictions regarding the feature film genre. Fiction films, as well as non-fiction (documentary) and animations are admitted.

5. The festival DOES NOT pay screening rights for the films entered in competition.

The producer or distributor who owns the screening rights of the film must fill in the entry form and send a printed copy of the entry form along with a DVD and a synopsis of the film to 6 Crivaia Street, Timisoara 300764, Romania no later than May 15th, 2015.

The Ceau Cinema! Festival Award is endowed with 1,000 euro. The prize will be awarded to the film director. There will also be an Audience Award, in value of 500 euro.

We have created this interethnic competition section to reflect the multiculturality of the Banat region, through a fresh and succulent film cocktail. The curator of the competition is the journalist and film critic Ionut Mares.

Further details on the competition, the entry form and FAQ are available on www.ceaucinema.ro or through e-mail at: festival@ceaucinema.ro.

The second edition of Ceau, Cinema! will take place between July 22nd and July 26th, 2015, in Timisoara and Gottlob (the first village in Romania with a renovated movie theater) and will host numerous screenings, workshops and outdoor events, in cinemas and alternative spaces of screening.

The Ceau, Cinema! Film Festival is organized by the Associations Marele Ecran and Pelicula Culturala. It is the first film festival dedicated to the European film in Timisoara. The event is entirely accomplished by volunteers.

Partners: Vitas Romania, Kathrein Romania, [e-spres-oh], Timis County Department of Culture, Gottlob City Hall, French Institute of Timisoara, German Cultural Centre, Balamuc, Super Smooth Studio, Electronic Resistance.

Barbara Pichler bids adieu after seven years as director of the Diagonale Film Festival, which had a record 27,300 visitors, closing on March 22 in Graz.

Displaying openness and consistency in the program selection, an insistence on the diverse forms of cinematic expression, and a connection to sociopolitical discourse, Barbara Pichler has successfully repositioned the Festival of Austrian Film over the past seven years. An enormous increase in visitor numbers, no least, attests to this. In addition, the festival has modernized over the years and become increasingly international. As the Pichler era comes to a close, the Diagonale enjoys universal respect as a platform for Austrian film and great international acclaim.

The 18th edition of the Diagonale has once again made Graz the center of Austria’s film world. As always, the festival distinguished itself as an indispensable location for encounter and dialogue between the film branch and audience. With 27,300 visitors enjoying splendid springtime weather, the Diagonale 2015 announces a strong plus in visitor numbers (2014: 25.500). Not only the numerous anxiously awaited premiers proved to be visitor magnets. Also well frequented beyond the cinema halls were workshop talks, panel discussions, the film industry forum, exhibitions, and the nightline.

Through a focused selection, the festival program reflects the range of current Austrian film creation. Diverse, unique, experimental, emerging, and quality are but a few of the terms already used to comment on Diagonale 2015. A total of 157 films were shown this year, 97 of them in the competition program. The program included no fewer than 50 premiers and 25 Austrian premiers; 96 directors were personally present at the screenings.
The retrospective devoted to documentary filmmaker Nikolaus Geyrhalter presented a highlight. And this year’s tribute guest Mia Hansen-Løve advanced as audience favorite. Equally popular with the audience were the special film historical program and the re-discovered TV series Draußen in der Stadt. A strong positive echo also came from the ca. 150 participants in this year’s film industry forum on film financing/film promotion.

Prizes totaling ca. 165,000 euros were awarded within the Diagonale framework. At the awards ceremony, 17 film prizes were presented, including the Grand Prize of the State of Styria, with 21,000 euros each for the best Austrian feature film and feature documentary. Ich seh Ich she/Goodnight Mommy by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala was honored as best Austrian feature film—as the jury states, the film “…has everything, clarity and mystery, psychological drama and horror.” This is the second honor for the directors in the context of the Diagonale 2015, following the Thomas Pluch Special Jury Prize. Nikolaus Geyrhalter’s sensitive long-term observation Über die Jahre/Over the Years, which according to the jury “explores the traces of time in individuals’ lives,” won the Grand Diagonale Documentary Prize. Exhibition Talks by Sasha Pirker and Lotte Schreiber, which the jury praised as a “tactile merging of undeveloped space and the idea of cinema,” won the City of Graz’s Innovative Cinema Prize. This year’s Diagonale Acting Prize in cooperation with VDFS went to Ulrike Beimpold for her role in SUPERWELT/Superworld and to Murathan Muslu for his appearance in Risse im Beton/Cracks in Concrete. Within the context of a separate event, Christian Frosch was honored with the Audience Prize from the Kleinen Zeitung for his feature film Von jetzt an kein Zurück/Rough Road Ahead. Tobias Moretti was honored already at the opening with the Grand Diagonale Acting Award for service to Austrian film culture. A detailed list of all Diagonale film prizes 2015 can be found on our website www.diagonale.at/film-awards/.

The Diagonale 2016 will take place from March 8–13 under the directorship of Sebastian Höglinger and Peter Schernhuber.

Photo: Diagonale 2015 award winners, jury members and award sponsors (c) Diagonale/Martin Stelzl
 

Selfie with President Jokowi (the whole EFX Team and panelists are in the room, Filmfestivals.com Bruno Chatelin, top right in blue taking the picture :-) above and below. What an amazing conclusion to a very exciting moments and panels. See you all for the next edition coming to Jakarta October 21 - 25, 2015:

A fusion of film expo & tradeshow with a focus on Australia and the USA for Industry Professionals Film students and General public

International showcase of latest technologies, film schools & institutions, tourism boards for shooting locations, leading production & post-production houses & much more. Trade show and conferences Details coming soon.