Festival to open with European premiere of The Auction House: A Tale of Two Brothers.
Open City Docs Fest holds its fourth edition in London next week from June 18-22.
Kicking off with the European premiere of Edward Owles’ The Auction House: A Tale of Two Brothers on June 17, the festival will also screen the likes of David Graham Scott’s Iboga Nights, Gianfranco Rosi’s Sacro Gra, Marc Silver’s Who is Dayani Cristal? and Hilla Medalia & Shosh Shlam’s Web Junkie.
It will close with the UK premiere of Pavel Loparev & Askold Kurov’s Children 404, followed by an awards ceremony.
This year’s awards are for Best UK Film and Emerging International Filmmaker, as well as a Grand Jury prize awarded by Pawel Pawlikowski (chair), Jeanie Finlay, Dr. Grit Lemke, Diana Tabokov and Chris Wilson.
Events at the festival include a talk with award-winning filmmaker Penny Woolcock, a masterclass held by Avi Mograbi and a...
Open City Docs Fest holds its fourth edition in London next week from June 18-22.
Kicking off with the European premiere of Edward Owles’ The Auction House: A Tale of Two Brothers on June 17, the festival will also screen the likes of David Graham Scott’s Iboga Nights, Gianfranco Rosi’s Sacro Gra, Marc Silver’s Who is Dayani Cristal? and Hilla Medalia & Shosh Shlam’s Web Junkie.
It will close with the UK premiere of Pavel Loparev & Askold Kurov’s Children 404, followed by an awards ceremony.
This year’s awards are for Best UK Film and Emerging International Filmmaker, as well as a Grand Jury prize awarded by Pawel Pawlikowski (chair), Jeanie Finlay, Dr. Grit Lemke, Diana Tabokov and Chris Wilson.
Events at the festival include a talk with award-winning filmmaker Penny Woolcock, a masterclass held by Avi Mograbi and a...
- 6/10/2014
- by ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
- ScreenDaily
Over the past week we have published 5 interview with the directors of some of the most interesting films currently playing in theaters. From acclaimed French auteur Francois Ozon on Young & Beautiful, Marc Silver and his immigration documentary Who is Dayani Cristal?, and Polish visionary Pawel Pawlikowski and his latest work Ida. At the same time we also featured interviews with talented documentarian Richard Ray Perez and his perspective on an icon in Cesar's Last Fast, and Argentinian director Lucia Puenzo's historical fiction The German Doctor. Take look at all these fascinating conversations directly from the source of the art form, the directors.
Francois Ozon on Young & Beautiful
"Beauty can be something difficult to cope with” It is not usual, but he said some of these girls want to go with these dirty old men because their beauty is too much too heavy to carry. They don't want to be humiliated, but they want to feel normal." -Francois Ozon
Full Interview
Lucia Puenzo on The German Doctor
"This is a character that lived 30 years running away from the Mossad, which was always hot on his heels in Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. They never captured him, and he probably died without ever being found, this lends itself for these kinds of conspiracy theories and myths. We can only hope that he died in a prison like many other Nazis that were extradited, and not at the beach in Brazil. He is a character that lends itself to these intriguing stories because they never found him." -Lucia Puenzo
Full Interview
Richard Ray Perez on Cesar's Last Fast
"Cesar is this is uniquely committed man. He is committed in a way I think few people on this Earth are. Now, he has flaws, and probably some serious flaws, but it could take that type of person to make those changes. Yeah, he was probably a control freak, yes he probably didn’t tolerate descent, but if you think about what he did, and the commitment, that’s some heavy stuff. I wouldn’t be able to do it, most people wouldn’t be able to do it. He is a deeply committed man who is complicated, but most interesting human beings are complicated. He made immensely positive impact on society. The fact that he was a flawed man shouldn’t undermine all the positive that he accomplished."-Richard Ray Perez
Interview Part 1
Interview Part 2
Marc Silver on Who is Dayani Cristal?
"I remember being in the car with my friends talking about the situation, and what I found really interesting was to ask myself “If I lived in Honduras, were my chances of earning a living were really small, would I have made that journey for my family?” And you know what, I probably would have. If people start asking that question to themselves it might a more useful way of understanding the immigration debate, more than defending your right-wing or left-wing opinion." -Marc Silver
Full Interview
Paweł Pawlikowski on Ida
"Ida has multiple origins, the most interesting ones probably not quite conscious. Let's say that I come from a family full of mysteries and contradictions and have lived in one sort of exile or another for most of my life. Questions of identity, family, blood, faith, belonging, and history have always been present." -Paweł Pawlikowski
Full Interview...
Francois Ozon on Young & Beautiful
"Beauty can be something difficult to cope with” It is not usual, but he said some of these girls want to go with these dirty old men because their beauty is too much too heavy to carry. They don't want to be humiliated, but they want to feel normal." -Francois Ozon
Full Interview
Lucia Puenzo on The German Doctor
"This is a character that lived 30 years running away from the Mossad, which was always hot on his heels in Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. They never captured him, and he probably died without ever being found, this lends itself for these kinds of conspiracy theories and myths. We can only hope that he died in a prison like many other Nazis that were extradited, and not at the beach in Brazil. He is a character that lends itself to these intriguing stories because they never found him." -Lucia Puenzo
Full Interview
Richard Ray Perez on Cesar's Last Fast
"Cesar is this is uniquely committed man. He is committed in a way I think few people on this Earth are. Now, he has flaws, and probably some serious flaws, but it could take that type of person to make those changes. Yeah, he was probably a control freak, yes he probably didn’t tolerate descent, but if you think about what he did, and the commitment, that’s some heavy stuff. I wouldn’t be able to do it, most people wouldn’t be able to do it. He is a deeply committed man who is complicated, but most interesting human beings are complicated. He made immensely positive impact on society. The fact that he was a flawed man shouldn’t undermine all the positive that he accomplished."-Richard Ray Perez
Interview Part 1
Interview Part 2
Marc Silver on Who is Dayani Cristal?
"I remember being in the car with my friends talking about the situation, and what I found really interesting was to ask myself “If I lived in Honduras, were my chances of earning a living were really small, would I have made that journey for my family?” And you know what, I probably would have. If people start asking that question to themselves it might a more useful way of understanding the immigration debate, more than defending your right-wing or left-wing opinion." -Marc Silver
Full Interview
Paweł Pawlikowski on Ida
"Ida has multiple origins, the most interesting ones probably not quite conscious. Let's say that I come from a family full of mysteries and contradictions and have lived in one sort of exile or another for most of my life. Questions of identity, family, blood, faith, belonging, and history have always been present." -Paweł Pawlikowski
Full Interview...
- 5/2/2014
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
High on the list of divisive issues for a segment American public and the government, is the need for an Immigration Reform that adapts to the circumstances as they are now. Nonetheless, it is hard to ask for empathy when the center of the argument is criminalization, always backed by a numerical value given to those who crossed illegally, those who are deported, and those who died. Numbers in a never-ending battle for what is politically viable and what is humanly imperative. Filmmakers have often tried to put a face to such a controversial topic, to redirect the conversation to what is really important: human lives and the undeniable right to look for survival. Whether that means staying in their homeland to perish or risking every last bit of hope in the quest for at least one chance. British documentary filmmaker Marc Silver brings a riveting and touching vision to the subject in his outstanding and heartbreaking documentary Who is Dayani Cristal?.
The story of a dead body found in the desert and the investigation to find the the man behind the mystery. Helped by Gael García Bernal, who retraces his steps in a dangerous and inspiring journey across Central America and Mexico, the film is a vivid reminder of what politics usually forget. No life is insignificant, and though the law might deemed them illegal, human sacrifice is above any rules. Here is what director Marc Silver told us about his fascinating and thought provoking film.
Aguilar: How did you come across the “Dayani Cristal” case? Did you start making a general film about immigration, which then evolved into this story?
Marc Silver: What happened was that, at the beginning about five years ago here in London, we launched a website that asked people to send in stories against war, barriers, and the disparity between rich and poor. One of the stories that we received was a story about an unidentified skeleton in the desert in Arizona; we saw an image of the police holding the skull in the desert. From that image we then researched the Tucson area and then I managed to make some research trips to be with the search and rescue police when they recover bodies, and with the medical examiner’s office at the morgue, where they investigate the bodies to try to find the identity. Also with the Mexican consulate in Arizona to see the work they do to try to contact the families.
I did a couple of research trip with all three of these agencies. In the summer, August 2010, I spent about four or five weeks in the Tucson area, every time the police would recover a body I would go out there with them, and that’s how I filmed the Dayani Cristal body. We then waited a couple months for this particular person to be identified, and we followed that identification process, which took us all the way back to Honduras. We did all of that, and once we understood the story and the potential journey that this man would have made, that’s when we filmed the journey from South to North with Gael.
Aguilar: Why did you decide to use two different storylines or devices to tell this story, the investigation and Gael’s reenactment of this man’s odyssey?
Silver: The investigation is at the core of the film. I think one of the most interesting parts of the investigation is that it actually shows the Americans doing very significant and important humanitarian work, which I think comes as a surprise to many people because of the negative perception, understandably, of the U.S. immigration policy. It is sort of refreshing for some audiences to see the Americans doing humanitarian work. The investigation is the spine of the whole film, we were able to film a body in the desert and then trace every step of the investigation, and also include this kind of device that involves Gael retracing the man’s footsteps. We did that for a couple of reasons, mainly because we wanted to humanize the icon of the migrant and we wanted to humanize people who are dying with literally no identity. In some cases all there is left is a skeleton, which is a dehumanized version of a human being. We wanted to work with Gael to re-humanize the migrants who are found dead in the desert. Following the footsteps of this man, Yohan, also brings a mythical force to all the other migrants he met in that journey.
Aguilar: How difficult was it to get Gael and the camera in the center of the action the dangerous trains, and all other risky situations shown in the film? It is filmmaking with real life danger and consequences.
Silver: Initially, about ten months before we filmed those scenes, Gael and I made four short films for Amnesty International called The Invisibles. For every film we traveled to shelters, the train tracks, the river crosses, all over this road. Those films are specifically about the human rights of migrants traveling through the Mexican part of their journey. So we had done these sort of research trips in conjunction with Amnesty, so we new the lay of the land. We shot the Dayani Cristal film with a really small crew, we had very small, cinematic quality cameras, so we could be very Dyi, and come in and out of those environments quickly and efficiently. We didn’t have any extra film equipment like lighting, or extra transportation. We would be in 2 regular cars with 8 of us in them, we had some very exciting and dangerous moments like jumping onto the trains or riding the train, and going across desert areas like Nogales. The most important thing to note is that the sort of dangers that we might have experienced, were nothing in comparison to the dangers the migrants face. At the end of the day we were able to get in our cars and go to a hotel and rest, it was Dyi filmmaking, but it doesn’t compare to what the real people making this journey have to endure.
Aguilar: Being a British filmmaker what sort of outside perspective did you bring to the film?
Silver: In the beginning it wasn’t necessarily that I set out to make a film specifically about the U.S/Mexican border. I was generally interested in the fortification of borders all around the world, and the reasons why governments want to build walls. They are happy to pay the costs of ensuring borders, but then they are not so happy about people. I was interested in this generally. We have our similar issue here in Europe with the Mediterranean Sea, which is a place where thousands of migrants die crossing from North Africa to come to Europe, drowning in these terrible boats. When we saw that image of the skull in the desert, it allowed us to ask the question, “What does one dead body in the dessert tells you about the shifts in migration and the disparity between rich and poor?”
The perspective I had as an outsider, it kind of evolved, when we began making the film Immigration Reform had just failed, and the chances of it passing in the U.S. have changed throughout the making of it. Now that the film is finished, and the place where Immigration Reform is at the moment, I think the film is really interesting and useful because the immigration debate is about “Shall we change the lives of 12 million undocumented people? And if we do, it would only happen if we increase border security” There is this kind of tradeoff between legalization and increased border security, I think our film very clearly shows that you shouldn’t forget that increased border security will inevitably mean an increase in terrible deaths. In my understanding about this subject in the U.S, not a lot of people are talking about these deaths, part of the film is to shine a light on that and remind people that this will lead to more deaths.
Aguilar: Does cinema have the power to inspire action?
Silver: Absolutely. I’m interested in using the medium of documentary to highlight issues that are not widely spoken about. We as consumers are widely connected to the issues, and sometimes the real stories are hidden in plain view. Not a lot of people know that migrants die in the desert in Arizona, and even outside of the U.S, most people don’t even know there is a wall between Mexico and the U.S. I want to use cinema to bring attention to some of these issues, by no means should everyone do that, but that’s what I’m interested in. If you are inspired by the film we encourage you to visit our website where you can take action and learn more about the issues rose by the film. We are also just finishing off an e-book that you will be able to download for free.
Aguilar: The Migrant’s Prayer plays a crucial role throughout the film, it expressed hope, fear, and represents the only source of comfort the migrants have. How did this prayer become a part of the story?
Silver: Initially, the prayer was actually on Yohan’s body when they found him. That was real. Then when we started planning the Gael part of the journey we realized that at some point maybe he had been given that prayer, because we knew about the church-sponsored shelters for migrants, we thought we could make a connection between the religious charity work and his story. The prayer was already in the documentary, because it was found on his body, and we bumped that up a little bit. Another thing I found interesting is that all throughout this journey, from Yohan’s family, to all the migrants traveling through Mexico, and even what is found on the dead bodies in the morgue, there were all sorts of Christian iconography, prayers, crosses, pictures, etc. They were all throughout the journey, which of course, is all about praying for safety and also hope for the future. This is part of the migrants’ mentality from the moment they leave home until the reach the U.S. In many cases praying is the only sense of protection they will get because the road is so dangerous. The prayer and the religious iconography became a much bigger part of the journey that I would have ever imagined in the beginning.
Aguilar: "Who Is Dayani Cristal?" focuses on a single life, yet it is more insightful about the issue that any data or numerical values related to immigration phenomenon.
Silver: My personal opinion is that there is so much information about immigration from the left-wing point of view or the right-wing point of view. They have statistics and data, etc. If you want to learn anything in this manner you can simply go into Google. What I wanted to do is not have that kind of attitude in the film, all we had to do is argue one point of view to show that many times we don’t remember that what we are talking about is life and death, and hopes, and dreams, and a future. What I thought was more important was tt id we were able to show one human being’s journey, it wouldn’t be about statistics it would be more about the power of empathy. I remember being in the car with my friends talking about the situation, and what I found really interesting was to ask myself “If I lived in Honduras, were my chances of earning a living were really small, would I have made that journey for my family?” And you know what, I probably would have. If people start asking that question to themselves it might a more useful way of understanding the immigration debate, more than defending your right-wing or left-wing opinion.
The story of a dead body found in the desert and the investigation to find the the man behind the mystery. Helped by Gael García Bernal, who retraces his steps in a dangerous and inspiring journey across Central America and Mexico, the film is a vivid reminder of what politics usually forget. No life is insignificant, and though the law might deemed them illegal, human sacrifice is above any rules. Here is what director Marc Silver told us about his fascinating and thought provoking film.
Aguilar: How did you come across the “Dayani Cristal” case? Did you start making a general film about immigration, which then evolved into this story?
Marc Silver: What happened was that, at the beginning about five years ago here in London, we launched a website that asked people to send in stories against war, barriers, and the disparity between rich and poor. One of the stories that we received was a story about an unidentified skeleton in the desert in Arizona; we saw an image of the police holding the skull in the desert. From that image we then researched the Tucson area and then I managed to make some research trips to be with the search and rescue police when they recover bodies, and with the medical examiner’s office at the morgue, where they investigate the bodies to try to find the identity. Also with the Mexican consulate in Arizona to see the work they do to try to contact the families.
I did a couple of research trip with all three of these agencies. In the summer, August 2010, I spent about four or five weeks in the Tucson area, every time the police would recover a body I would go out there with them, and that’s how I filmed the Dayani Cristal body. We then waited a couple months for this particular person to be identified, and we followed that identification process, which took us all the way back to Honduras. We did all of that, and once we understood the story and the potential journey that this man would have made, that’s when we filmed the journey from South to North with Gael.
Aguilar: Why did you decide to use two different storylines or devices to tell this story, the investigation and Gael’s reenactment of this man’s odyssey?
Silver: The investigation is at the core of the film. I think one of the most interesting parts of the investigation is that it actually shows the Americans doing very significant and important humanitarian work, which I think comes as a surprise to many people because of the negative perception, understandably, of the U.S. immigration policy. It is sort of refreshing for some audiences to see the Americans doing humanitarian work. The investigation is the spine of the whole film, we were able to film a body in the desert and then trace every step of the investigation, and also include this kind of device that involves Gael retracing the man’s footsteps. We did that for a couple of reasons, mainly because we wanted to humanize the icon of the migrant and we wanted to humanize people who are dying with literally no identity. In some cases all there is left is a skeleton, which is a dehumanized version of a human being. We wanted to work with Gael to re-humanize the migrants who are found dead in the desert. Following the footsteps of this man, Yohan, also brings a mythical force to all the other migrants he met in that journey.
Aguilar: How difficult was it to get Gael and the camera in the center of the action the dangerous trains, and all other risky situations shown in the film? It is filmmaking with real life danger and consequences.
Silver: Initially, about ten months before we filmed those scenes, Gael and I made four short films for Amnesty International called The Invisibles. For every film we traveled to shelters, the train tracks, the river crosses, all over this road. Those films are specifically about the human rights of migrants traveling through the Mexican part of their journey. So we had done these sort of research trips in conjunction with Amnesty, so we new the lay of the land. We shot the Dayani Cristal film with a really small crew, we had very small, cinematic quality cameras, so we could be very Dyi, and come in and out of those environments quickly and efficiently. We didn’t have any extra film equipment like lighting, or extra transportation. We would be in 2 regular cars with 8 of us in them, we had some very exciting and dangerous moments like jumping onto the trains or riding the train, and going across desert areas like Nogales. The most important thing to note is that the sort of dangers that we might have experienced, were nothing in comparison to the dangers the migrants face. At the end of the day we were able to get in our cars and go to a hotel and rest, it was Dyi filmmaking, but it doesn’t compare to what the real people making this journey have to endure.
Aguilar: Being a British filmmaker what sort of outside perspective did you bring to the film?
Silver: In the beginning it wasn’t necessarily that I set out to make a film specifically about the U.S/Mexican border. I was generally interested in the fortification of borders all around the world, and the reasons why governments want to build walls. They are happy to pay the costs of ensuring borders, but then they are not so happy about people. I was interested in this generally. We have our similar issue here in Europe with the Mediterranean Sea, which is a place where thousands of migrants die crossing from North Africa to come to Europe, drowning in these terrible boats. When we saw that image of the skull in the desert, it allowed us to ask the question, “What does one dead body in the dessert tells you about the shifts in migration and the disparity between rich and poor?”
The perspective I had as an outsider, it kind of evolved, when we began making the film Immigration Reform had just failed, and the chances of it passing in the U.S. have changed throughout the making of it. Now that the film is finished, and the place where Immigration Reform is at the moment, I think the film is really interesting and useful because the immigration debate is about “Shall we change the lives of 12 million undocumented people? And if we do, it would only happen if we increase border security” There is this kind of tradeoff between legalization and increased border security, I think our film very clearly shows that you shouldn’t forget that increased border security will inevitably mean an increase in terrible deaths. In my understanding about this subject in the U.S, not a lot of people are talking about these deaths, part of the film is to shine a light on that and remind people that this will lead to more deaths.
Aguilar: Does cinema have the power to inspire action?
Silver: Absolutely. I’m interested in using the medium of documentary to highlight issues that are not widely spoken about. We as consumers are widely connected to the issues, and sometimes the real stories are hidden in plain view. Not a lot of people know that migrants die in the desert in Arizona, and even outside of the U.S, most people don’t even know there is a wall between Mexico and the U.S. I want to use cinema to bring attention to some of these issues, by no means should everyone do that, but that’s what I’m interested in. If you are inspired by the film we encourage you to visit our website where you can take action and learn more about the issues rose by the film. We are also just finishing off an e-book that you will be able to download for free.
Aguilar: The Migrant’s Prayer plays a crucial role throughout the film, it expressed hope, fear, and represents the only source of comfort the migrants have. How did this prayer become a part of the story?
Silver: Initially, the prayer was actually on Yohan’s body when they found him. That was real. Then when we started planning the Gael part of the journey we realized that at some point maybe he had been given that prayer, because we knew about the church-sponsored shelters for migrants, we thought we could make a connection between the religious charity work and his story. The prayer was already in the documentary, because it was found on his body, and we bumped that up a little bit. Another thing I found interesting is that all throughout this journey, from Yohan’s family, to all the migrants traveling through Mexico, and even what is found on the dead bodies in the morgue, there were all sorts of Christian iconography, prayers, crosses, pictures, etc. They were all throughout the journey, which of course, is all about praying for safety and also hope for the future. This is part of the migrants’ mentality from the moment they leave home until the reach the U.S. In many cases praying is the only sense of protection they will get because the road is so dangerous. The prayer and the religious iconography became a much bigger part of the journey that I would have ever imagined in the beginning.
Aguilar: "Who Is Dayani Cristal?" focuses on a single life, yet it is more insightful about the issue that any data or numerical values related to immigration phenomenon.
Silver: My personal opinion is that there is so much information about immigration from the left-wing point of view or the right-wing point of view. They have statistics and data, etc. If you want to learn anything in this manner you can simply go into Google. What I wanted to do is not have that kind of attitude in the film, all we had to do is argue one point of view to show that many times we don’t remember that what we are talking about is life and death, and hopes, and dreams, and a future. What I thought was more important was tt id we were able to show one human being’s journey, it wouldn’t be about statistics it would be more about the power of empathy. I remember being in the car with my friends talking about the situation, and what I found really interesting was to ask myself “If I lived in Honduras, were my chances of earning a living were really small, would I have made that journey for my family?” And you know what, I probably would have. If people start asking that question to themselves it might a more useful way of understanding the immigration debate, more than defending your right-wing or left-wing opinion.
- 4/25/2014
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
Body Talk: Bernal & Silver’s Doc an Empathetic Experiment
A three pronged approach to uncovering the identity of an illegal immigrant’s corpse in the Arizona desert coalesce uneasily for a well-meaning message in Who is Dayani Cristal?, a project created by director Marc Silver and actor Gael Garcia Bernal. While Bernal’s name is an immeasurable asset to getting a project like this out there, his presence is about as equally detrimental to the success of the end result. Reenactments spliced with real time interview coverage get sewn together to varied effect in this depiction of the horrors faced by illegal immigrants due to increasingly difficult sanctions developed by the unfairly xenophobic Us government. Its target audience will assumedly be wholeheartedly in agreement with the filmmakers’ agenda, though with a little luck, this will be seen by those blissfully ignorant of the unfortunate plight of those seeking the chance...
A three pronged approach to uncovering the identity of an illegal immigrant’s corpse in the Arizona desert coalesce uneasily for a well-meaning message in Who is Dayani Cristal?, a project created by director Marc Silver and actor Gael Garcia Bernal. While Bernal’s name is an immeasurable asset to getting a project like this out there, his presence is about as equally detrimental to the success of the end result. Reenactments spliced with real time interview coverage get sewn together to varied effect in this depiction of the horrors faced by illegal immigrants due to increasingly difficult sanctions developed by the unfairly xenophobic Us government. Its target audience will assumedly be wholeheartedly in agreement with the filmmakers’ agenda, though with a little luck, this will be seen by those blissfully ignorant of the unfortunate plight of those seeking the chance...
- 4/23/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
The Sonora Desert in Arizona is freezing at night, brutally hot in the day. The documentary Who is Dayani Cristal? reveals that the infrastructure dealing with illegal immigration into the United States from points south is likewise hot, cold, and unnecessarily deadly.
We meet Americans dedicated to identifying, even humanizing, the bodies found there. But the system is by design a trap. Director Marc Silver covers one immigrant's journey, starting with his death.
He shows the workaday investigation by American officials and foreign consulates, and finds the people who knew the man, while Mexican actor Gael García Bernal retraces his migration, jumping on trains and bivouacking in shelters. (Most documentary acting is a drag, but Bernal is part in charact...
We meet Americans dedicated to identifying, even humanizing, the bodies found there. But the system is by design a trap. Director Marc Silver covers one immigrant's journey, starting with his death.
He shows the workaday investigation by American officials and foreign consulates, and finds the people who knew the man, while Mexican actor Gael García Bernal retraces his migration, jumping on trains and bivouacking in shelters. (Most documentary acting is a drag, but Bernal is part in charact...
- 4/23/2014
- Village Voice
Title: Who Is Dayani Cristal? Kino Lorber Films Reviewed for Shockya by Harvey Karten. Data-based on Rotten Tomatoes Grade: A- Director: Gael García Bernal, Marc Silver Screenplay: Mark Monroe Cast: Gael García Bernal Screened at: Review 1, NYC, 4/16/14 Opens: April 25, 2014 They like us! They really like us! No, not the Lebanese or Pakistanis, Slovenians or Russians. They’re Mexicans, many of whom literally risk their lives to cross to us at the fenced-in border between our two countries. Never mind that the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo lifted parts of California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado from our loving neighbors to the South, reliving the Mexicans [ Read More ]
The post Who is Dayani Cristal? Movie review. appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Who is Dayani Cristal? Movie review. appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 4/21/2014
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
Kino Lorber has dated documentary "Who is Dayani Cristal?," winner of the Sundance 2013 World Cinema documentary award, for theatrical release. The documentary directed by Marc Silver and written by "doc fixer" Mark Monroe ("The Summit," "Chasing Ice," "The Cove") focuses on the human toll of the U.S. immigration crisis. Starring Mexican actor/activist and Canana producer Gael García Bernal ("Y Tu Mamá También," "No") the film will open on April 25th in New York, followed by a release to select cities nationwide. (My interview with Monroe is here.) García Bernal traces the steps of one of many workers on the Central American migrant trail who have died in the Arizona border desert known as “the corridor of death.” Aided by the forensic examiners of the Pima County Morgue in Arizona, the filmmakers look into the mystery surrounding the death of this unidentified man. During the investigation, Bernal embeds himself...
- 3/20/2014
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The distributor has acquired Us rights to Marc Silver’s Sundance 2013 documentary Who Is Dayani Cristal?
Gael García Bernal investigates the death of a migrant worker who lost his life in a notorious stretch of Arizona desert known as The Corridor Of Death. Bernal embeds himself among migrant travellers on their mission to cross the border.
Who Is Dayani Cristal? won the Sundance cinematography award and will opened in spring 2014. Mundial represents international rights.
Kino Lorber CEO Richard Lorber and vp Elizabeth Sheldon brokered the deal with Josh Braun of Submarine Entertainment.
London-based Pulse Films produced with Canana and the support of Impact Partners, Candescent Films, Britdoc Foundation, Oak Foundation, Ford Foundation and The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Fund.
Gael García Bernal investigates the death of a migrant worker who lost his life in a notorious stretch of Arizona desert known as The Corridor Of Death. Bernal embeds himself among migrant travellers on their mission to cross the border.
Who Is Dayani Cristal? won the Sundance cinematography award and will opened in spring 2014. Mundial represents international rights.
Kino Lorber CEO Richard Lorber and vp Elizabeth Sheldon brokered the deal with Josh Braun of Submarine Entertainment.
London-based Pulse Films produced with Canana and the support of Impact Partners, Candescent Films, Britdoc Foundation, Oak Foundation, Ford Foundation and The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Fund.
- 11/11/2013
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Kino Lorber has acquired Marc Silver's feature-length documentary "Who is Dayani Cristal?" "Who is Dayani Cristal?" follows Gael Garcia Bernal as he traces a migrant worker's footsteps through the Arizona desert before his tragic death. As the film unfolds Bernal witnesses first-hand the unforgiving and often fatal struggles migrant workers face in attempting to reach and find work in the United States. "It's hard to hold back the tears in this wrenching testament of a film," Kino Lorber CEO Richard Lorber commented. In delivering the film's heartfelt social message, Bernal goes as far as to embed with a group of migrant travelers attempting to cross the border. "Who is Dayani Cristal?" won the Sundance 2013 cinematography award and was nominated in the World Documentary Competition. It was also an official selection at the 51st New York Film Festival. "Who is Dayani Cristal?" is set for a Spring 2014 U.S. theatrical release.
- 11/11/2013
- by Ramzi De Coster
- Indiewire
Actor prizes go to Dame Judi Dench and Jesse Eisenberg; Enough Said, starring the late James Gandolfini, wins audience award.Scroll down for full list of winners
The 7th Abu Dhabi Film Festival handed out its Black Pearl awards at a closing ceremony tonight (Oct 31), including cash prizes amounting to around $700,000.
The Black Pearl for Narrative Feature, worth $100,000, went to A Touch of Sin (Tian zhu ding) directed by Jia Zhangke.
The film, which played in competition at Cannes where it won the best screenplay award, revolves around four threads set in vastly different geographical and social milieus across modern-day China and features random acts of violence.
The Narrative jury, presided over by two-time Oscar nominated actress Jacki Weaver, gave the special jury award ($50,000) to Hiner Saleem’s My Sweet Pepper Land, centred on a law man in a small town on the border of Iran, Iraq and Turkey.
In addition, Dame Judi Dench won best...
The 7th Abu Dhabi Film Festival handed out its Black Pearl awards at a closing ceremony tonight (Oct 31), including cash prizes amounting to around $700,000.
The Black Pearl for Narrative Feature, worth $100,000, went to A Touch of Sin (Tian zhu ding) directed by Jia Zhangke.
The film, which played in competition at Cannes where it won the best screenplay award, revolves around four threads set in vastly different geographical and social milieus across modern-day China and features random acts of violence.
The Narrative jury, presided over by two-time Oscar nominated actress Jacki Weaver, gave the special jury award ($50,000) to Hiner Saleem’s My Sweet Pepper Land, centred on a law man in a small town on the border of Iran, Iraq and Turkey.
In addition, Dame Judi Dench won best...
- 10/31/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Actor prizes go to Dame Judi Dench and Jesse Eisenberg; Enough Said, starring the late James Gandolfini, wins audience award.
The 7th Abu Dhabi Film Festival handed out its Black Pearl awards at a closing ceremony tonight (Oct 31), including cash prizes amounting to around $700,000.
The Black Pearl for Narrative Feature, worth $100,000, went to A Touch of Sin (Tian zhu ding) directed by Jia Zhangke.
The film, which played in competition at Cannes where it won the best screenplay award, revolves around four threads set in vastly different geographical and social milieus across modern-day China and features random acts of violence.
The Narrative jury, presided over by two-time Oscar nominated actress Jacki Weaver, gave the special jury award ($50,000) to Hiner Saleem’s My Sweet Pepper Land, centred on a law man in a small town on the border of Iran, Iraq and Turkey.
In addition, Dame Judi Dench won best actress for her performance in Stephen Frears’ [link...
The 7th Abu Dhabi Film Festival handed out its Black Pearl awards at a closing ceremony tonight (Oct 31), including cash prizes amounting to around $700,000.
The Black Pearl for Narrative Feature, worth $100,000, went to A Touch of Sin (Tian zhu ding) directed by Jia Zhangke.
The film, which played in competition at Cannes where it won the best screenplay award, revolves around four threads set in vastly different geographical and social milieus across modern-day China and features random acts of violence.
The Narrative jury, presided over by two-time Oscar nominated actress Jacki Weaver, gave the special jury award ($50,000) to Hiner Saleem’s My Sweet Pepper Land, centred on a law man in a small town on the border of Iran, Iraq and Turkey.
In addition, Dame Judi Dench won best actress for her performance in Stephen Frears’ [link...
- 10/31/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Just this past Monday, 30 undocumented immigrants who had returned to Mexico (either through deportation or voluntarily) attempted to enter the U.S. through a legal port of entry in Laredo, Texas. Known as the Dream 30, they are young people who grew up in the United States but have no claim to American citizenship. It was an act of protest, wearing caps and gowns they approached the border chanting "Undocumented! Unafraid!"
What inspired such a risky move? Filmmakers Michael Camerini and Shari Robertson have spent almost a decade trying to figure that out. How Democracy Works Now is a documentary project of epic proportions. It is an anthology told in twelve chapters. Each story delves deep into the nitty-gritty details of a herculean task: the attempt to pass comprehensive immigration reform. In the Spotlight on Documentary section the New York Film Festival is showcasing the entire block of completed films. (They've finished nine so far.) It's the first time they are all being screened together.
Similar in theme but completely different in approach is Who Is Dayani Cristal? -- another documentary playing at Nyff. The stylized, picturesque, and sometimes hauntingly beautiful film chronicles a mystery of sorts. It traces the identification of a dead body found decomposing in the harsh Sonoran desert not far from Tucson, Arizona. It's likely the body of a migrant who never made it across the border. Rarely carrying identification in an attempt to conceal their identity immigrants who lose their life in the desert often become nameless statistics. Investigators in Tucson are tasked with solving these cases and are overwhelmed. The coroner explains, "We are knee-deep in border crossing deaths."
One of the Forensic Anthropologists at the Medical Examiner's office wonders, "How many deaths does it take to say enough is enough? There's gotta be some number where someone in Washington says, we can't have this happen anymore."
Migrants crossing the border risk their lives and the Dream 30 are confronting the possibility of being held in detention centers. What will it take to pass immigration reform? Why can't Congress change things? Having watched How Democracy Works Now I finally understood what the hold up was: pure politics.
In Marking Up the Dream, the sixth installment of the series, the Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors Act, also known as the Dream Act, is snaking its way through the old, creaky bureaucratic process in the Senate. The bill, first introduced in 2001, offered in-state college tuition and a pathway to legal status for undocumented high school graduates but never passed. In 2009, the Dream Act was resurrected by its authors. The film follows the bill as it shuttles through the brutal amendment stage at a snail's pace. (Let's hope the government shut down doesn't last as long.)
We are privy to private conversations and back-room deals. It's as if you are a fly-on-the-wall in a Senator's office sneakily listening to their congressional aides take frantic calls and broker last minute negotiations. It's a maddening process to watch. Politicians flip-flop, alliances are broken, and tense conversations are on the verge of boiling over. It's like Survivor only worse. The future of America is at stake.
After watching the constant back-and-forth and never ending delays the arguments seem futile. How hard is it to come to an agreement on something? Marc Silver -- the director of Who Is Dayani Cristal? -- thinks Congress is just too far removed from the issue. He says, "It's easier for politicians to argue when they take the humanity out of it." His film tries to combat their thinking.
The body found in the desert is of an adult male with a unique tattoo that may help investigators ID him. Scrawled across his chest in curly script are the words "Dayani Cristal." It's the story of this one singular person that Silver hopes will illuminate the direct effects of U.S. immigration policy.
While the real-life investigation unfolds, Gael Garcia Bernal, a Mexican actor best known for his roles in the indie hits Amores Perros, Y Tu Mama Tambien, and Motorcycle Diaries retraces the long journey the unidentified man took from his home country of Honduras to the border. It's a hybrid documentary that blends observational footage with dramatizations of the past and is an insightful companion to How Democracy Works Now.
The countless hours of footage taken by the filmmakers of How Democracy Works Now over the course of ten years still doesn't have a resolution. And with the federal government in the midst of a complete shut down immigration reform doesn't seem likely any time soon. Meanwhile, the Dream 30 and other activists continue to take bold steps to push immigration to the forefront of the national conversation. They use civil disobedience to avoid the calls for reform from being drowned out by other hot-button issues. It's difficult to know what it will take for changes to be made. In how many more years will How Democracy Works Now finally get it's fairy-tale ending?...
What inspired such a risky move? Filmmakers Michael Camerini and Shari Robertson have spent almost a decade trying to figure that out. How Democracy Works Now is a documentary project of epic proportions. It is an anthology told in twelve chapters. Each story delves deep into the nitty-gritty details of a herculean task: the attempt to pass comprehensive immigration reform. In the Spotlight on Documentary section the New York Film Festival is showcasing the entire block of completed films. (They've finished nine so far.) It's the first time they are all being screened together.
Similar in theme but completely different in approach is Who Is Dayani Cristal? -- another documentary playing at Nyff. The stylized, picturesque, and sometimes hauntingly beautiful film chronicles a mystery of sorts. It traces the identification of a dead body found decomposing in the harsh Sonoran desert not far from Tucson, Arizona. It's likely the body of a migrant who never made it across the border. Rarely carrying identification in an attempt to conceal their identity immigrants who lose their life in the desert often become nameless statistics. Investigators in Tucson are tasked with solving these cases and are overwhelmed. The coroner explains, "We are knee-deep in border crossing deaths."
One of the Forensic Anthropologists at the Medical Examiner's office wonders, "How many deaths does it take to say enough is enough? There's gotta be some number where someone in Washington says, we can't have this happen anymore."
Migrants crossing the border risk their lives and the Dream 30 are confronting the possibility of being held in detention centers. What will it take to pass immigration reform? Why can't Congress change things? Having watched How Democracy Works Now I finally understood what the hold up was: pure politics.
In Marking Up the Dream, the sixth installment of the series, the Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors Act, also known as the Dream Act, is snaking its way through the old, creaky bureaucratic process in the Senate. The bill, first introduced in 2001, offered in-state college tuition and a pathway to legal status for undocumented high school graduates but never passed. In 2009, the Dream Act was resurrected by its authors. The film follows the bill as it shuttles through the brutal amendment stage at a snail's pace. (Let's hope the government shut down doesn't last as long.)
We are privy to private conversations and back-room deals. It's as if you are a fly-on-the-wall in a Senator's office sneakily listening to their congressional aides take frantic calls and broker last minute negotiations. It's a maddening process to watch. Politicians flip-flop, alliances are broken, and tense conversations are on the verge of boiling over. It's like Survivor only worse. The future of America is at stake.
After watching the constant back-and-forth and never ending delays the arguments seem futile. How hard is it to come to an agreement on something? Marc Silver -- the director of Who Is Dayani Cristal? -- thinks Congress is just too far removed from the issue. He says, "It's easier for politicians to argue when they take the humanity out of it." His film tries to combat their thinking.
The body found in the desert is of an adult male with a unique tattoo that may help investigators ID him. Scrawled across his chest in curly script are the words "Dayani Cristal." It's the story of this one singular person that Silver hopes will illuminate the direct effects of U.S. immigration policy.
While the real-life investigation unfolds, Gael Garcia Bernal, a Mexican actor best known for his roles in the indie hits Amores Perros, Y Tu Mama Tambien, and Motorcycle Diaries retraces the long journey the unidentified man took from his home country of Honduras to the border. It's a hybrid documentary that blends observational footage with dramatizations of the past and is an insightful companion to How Democracy Works Now.
The countless hours of footage taken by the filmmakers of How Democracy Works Now over the course of ten years still doesn't have a resolution. And with the federal government in the midst of a complete shut down immigration reform doesn't seem likely any time soon. Meanwhile, the Dream 30 and other activists continue to take bold steps to push immigration to the forefront of the national conversation. They use civil disobedience to avoid the calls for reform from being drowned out by other hot-button issues. It's difficult to know what it will take for changes to be made. In how many more years will How Democracy Works Now finally get it's fairy-tale ending?...
- 10/9/2013
- by Vanessa Erazo
- Sydney's Buzz
The full line up has been unveiled for the 7th edition of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival.
Daniel Schechter’s Life Of Crime will open the 7th edition of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, which runs Oct 24- Nov 2.
13 Arab feature films (seven of which are world premieres) will compete across different sections of the festival, including Rani Massalha’s Giraffada and Nejib Belkhadi’s Bastardo in the New Horizons Competition, Ahmed Abdallah’s Rags And Tatters and Hicham Ayouch’s Fevers in the Narrative Feature Competition, and Sherief Elkatsha’s Cairo Drive and Mohammad Soueid’s The Boy From Aleppo in the Documentary Feature Competition.
Tobe Hooper’s UAE horror Djin will screen in the festival’s Showcase section.
Films competing in the Narrative Feature Competition include Jun Robles Lana’s Barber’s Tales, Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners, Danis Tanovic’s An Episode In The Life Of An Iron Picker, Jasmila Zbanic’s [link...
Daniel Schechter’s Life Of Crime will open the 7th edition of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, which runs Oct 24- Nov 2.
13 Arab feature films (seven of which are world premieres) will compete across different sections of the festival, including Rani Massalha’s Giraffada and Nejib Belkhadi’s Bastardo in the New Horizons Competition, Ahmed Abdallah’s Rags And Tatters and Hicham Ayouch’s Fevers in the Narrative Feature Competition, and Sherief Elkatsha’s Cairo Drive and Mohammad Soueid’s The Boy From Aleppo in the Documentary Feature Competition.
Tobe Hooper’s UAE horror Djin will screen in the festival’s Showcase section.
Films competing in the Narrative Feature Competition include Jun Robles Lana’s Barber’s Tales, Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners, Danis Tanovic’s An Episode In The Life Of An Iron Picker, Jasmila Zbanic’s [link...
- 10/1/2013
- by sarah.cooper@screendaily.com (Sarah Cooper)
- ScreenDaily
The full line up has been unveiled for the 7th edition of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival.
Daniel Schechter’s Life Of Crime will open the 7th edition of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, which runs Oct 24- Nov 2.
13 Arab feature films (seven of which are world premieres) will compete across different sections of the festival, including Rani Massalha’s Giraffada and Nejib Belkhadi’s Bastardo in the New Horizons Competition, Ahmed Abdallah’s Rags And Tatters and Hicham Ayouch’s Fevers in the Narrative Feature Competition, and Sherief Elkatsha’s Cairo Drive and Mohammad Soueid’s The Boy From Aleppo in the Documentary Feature Competition.
Tobe Hooper’s UAE horror Djin will screen in the festival’s Showcase section.
Films competing in the Narrative Feature Competition include Jun Robles Lana’s Barber’s Tales, Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners, Danis Tanovic’s An Episode In The Life Of An Iron Picker, Jasmila Zbanic’s [link...
Daniel Schechter’s Life Of Crime will open the 7th edition of the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, which runs Oct 24- Nov 2.
13 Arab feature films (seven of which are world premieres) will compete across different sections of the festival, including Rani Massalha’s Giraffada and Nejib Belkhadi’s Bastardo in the New Horizons Competition, Ahmed Abdallah’s Rags And Tatters and Hicham Ayouch’s Fevers in the Narrative Feature Competition, and Sherief Elkatsha’s Cairo Drive and Mohammad Soueid’s The Boy From Aleppo in the Documentary Feature Competition.
Tobe Hooper’s UAE horror Djin will screen in the festival’s Showcase section.
Films competing in the Narrative Feature Competition include Jun Robles Lana’s Barber’s Tales, Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners, Danis Tanovic’s An Episode In The Life Of An Iron Picker, Jasmila Zbanic’s [link...
- 10/1/2013
- by sarah.cooper@screendaily.com (Sarah Cooper)
- ScreenDaily
The Zurich Film Festival (Zff), in cooperation with Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (Msf), to screen six films including the new feature from Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi and the world premiere of Leaving Greece.
Six films have been selection for Zff’s Border Lines sidebar dealing with conflict situations and people in need, compiled in coopration with charity parter and international medical and humanitarian aid organization Médecins Sans Frontières.
Receiving its world premiere in this section will be Anna Brass’ German documentary Leaving Greece, which uses Greece as a basis to explore Europe’s refugee policy.
The following films will be shown at the Zff (all are documentaries except Closed Curtain):
Fire In The Blood (India) Dylan Mohan Gray
Panel discussion with the filmmaker and experts from Msf
“The only reason we are dying is because we are poor”, says an AIDS activist in South Africa as the large pharmaceutical companies take legal action against...
Six films have been selection for Zff’s Border Lines sidebar dealing with conflict situations and people in need, compiled in coopration with charity parter and international medical and humanitarian aid organization Médecins Sans Frontières.
Receiving its world premiere in this section will be Anna Brass’ German documentary Leaving Greece, which uses Greece as a basis to explore Europe’s refugee policy.
The following films will be shown at the Zff (all are documentaries except Closed Curtain):
Fire In The Blood (India) Dylan Mohan Gray
Panel discussion with the filmmaker and experts from Msf
“The only reason we are dying is because we are poor”, says an AIDS activist in South Africa as the large pharmaceutical companies take legal action against...
- 9/16/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Cannes titles including Heli and La jaula de oro among titles to compete in Horizontes Latinos at the 61st San Sebastian Festival
The programme of Horizontes Latinos at the 61st San Sebastian Festival has been revealed, including 11 productions from Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Brazil and Uruguay. All have either competed or been presented at major international festivals, but have not yet been screened released in Spain.
Diego Quemada-Díez’s La Jaula De Oro will open the section.
The selected films will compete for the Horizontes Award, to be decided by a specific jury and carrying $47,000 (€35,000), of which $13,000 (€10,000) will go to the director of the winning film and the remaining amount to the distributor in Spain.
Horizontes Latinos
Anina
Alfredo Soderguit (Uruguay-Colombia)
First work from the illustrator and animator Alfredo Soderguit, starring the 10-year-old Anina, whose palindromic name brings mockery from her schoolmates, and particularly Yisel, a girl she calls “the elephant”. Anina loses her patience and the two...
The programme of Horizontes Latinos at the 61st San Sebastian Festival has been revealed, including 11 productions from Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Brazil and Uruguay. All have either competed or been presented at major international festivals, but have not yet been screened released in Spain.
Diego Quemada-Díez’s La Jaula De Oro will open the section.
The selected films will compete for the Horizontes Award, to be decided by a specific jury and carrying $47,000 (€35,000), of which $13,000 (€10,000) will go to the director of the winning film and the remaining amount to the distributor in Spain.
Horizontes Latinos
Anina
Alfredo Soderguit (Uruguay-Colombia)
First work from the illustrator and animator Alfredo Soderguit, starring the 10-year-old Anina, whose palindromic name brings mockery from her schoolmates, and particularly Yisel, a girl she calls “the elephant”. Anina loses her patience and the two...
- 8/27/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Six interactive non-fiction transmedia projects awarded a total of $400,000.
The Tribeca Film Institute (Tfi) has announced the grant recipients for the 2013 Tfi New Media Fund.
In partnership with the Ford Foundation’s JustFilms Initiative, the six interactive non-fiction transmedia projects from around the world were awarded between $50,000 and $100,000 apiece with funding effective immediately. Total funding equalled $400,000.
The recipients will also take part in regular peer-to-peer meetings and a lab focused on interactive storytelling to help them develop their projects and build engagement with audiences.
Selected from a pool of 285 submissions, the projects selected are as follows:
Chasing the Sun
Key participants: Paul Shoebridge, Michael Simons (The Goggles)
The Yes Men are Revolting
Key participants: Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno, Laura Nix, Mary Notari, The Public Society, Glocal
Who is Dayani Cristal?
Key participants: Gael Garcia Bernal, Marc Silver, Lina Srivastava
This is My Backyard (Logs of War)
Key participants: Anjali Nayar, Jude Mwenda...
The Tribeca Film Institute (Tfi) has announced the grant recipients for the 2013 Tfi New Media Fund.
In partnership with the Ford Foundation’s JustFilms Initiative, the six interactive non-fiction transmedia projects from around the world were awarded between $50,000 and $100,000 apiece with funding effective immediately. Total funding equalled $400,000.
The recipients will also take part in regular peer-to-peer meetings and a lab focused on interactive storytelling to help them develop their projects and build engagement with audiences.
Selected from a pool of 285 submissions, the projects selected are as follows:
Chasing the Sun
Key participants: Paul Shoebridge, Michael Simons (The Goggles)
The Yes Men are Revolting
Key participants: Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno, Laura Nix, Mary Notari, The Public Society, Glocal
Who is Dayani Cristal?
Key participants: Gael Garcia Bernal, Marc Silver, Lina Srivastava
This is My Backyard (Logs of War)
Key participants: Anjali Nayar, Jude Mwenda...
- 6/27/2013
- by ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
- ScreenDaily
Gael Garcia Bernal was a big presence at Sundance this year, appearing in two of the best received films at the festival: the Academy Award-nominated "No" and the opening night documentary "Who Is Dayani Cristal?" In director Pablo Larraín's "No," which took the top prize at last year's Directors' Fortnight sidebar at Cannes, Bernal stars in the true story as Rene Saavedra, an advertising executive asked to campaign voter resistance to Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet in light of a forthcoming referendum. Marc Silver's quasi-doc "Who Is Dayani Cristal?" centers on the mystery surrounding an anonymous body found in the Sonora desert. Bernal, who produced the film, stars in the dramatic reenactments featured in it. Indiewire had the chance to sit down with Bernal in Park City to discuss his involvement with both projects, their unique similarities, and the challenges associated with portraying...
- 2/15/2013
- by Nigel M Smith
- Indiewire
Here is a complete listing of the films that were shown/covered by the Ioncinema.com team comprised of Nicholas Bell (Nb), Jordan M. Smith (Js) and Eric Lavallee (El). We’ll be populating this page up until March.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Afternoon Delight – Jill Soloway: Nb (★★ 1/2): Review
Ain’T Them Bodies Saints – David Lowery: El (★★★ 1/2), Nb (★★★ 1/2): Review // Interview
Austenland- Jerusha Hess: Nb (★): Review
C.O.G.- Kyle Patrick Alvarez: Js (★★ 1/2), Nb (★★ 1/2): Review
Concussion – Stacie Passon: El (★★★), Js (★★★ 1/2), Nb (★★★): Review // Interview
Emanuel And The Truth About Fishes – Francesca Gregorini: Js (★★★), Nb (★★★ 1/2): Review
Fruitvale – Ryan Coogler: El (★★★), Js (★★★★★), Nb (★★★★): Review // Interview // Video
In A World… – Lake Bell: El (★★★): Review
Kill Your Darlings – John Krokidas: El (★★★), Nb (★★★): Review
The Lifeguard – Liz W. Garcia: El (★★ 1/2): Review
May In The Summer...
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Afternoon Delight – Jill Soloway: Nb (★★ 1/2): Review
Ain’T Them Bodies Saints – David Lowery: El (★★★ 1/2), Nb (★★★ 1/2): Review // Interview
Austenland- Jerusha Hess: Nb (★): Review
C.O.G.- Kyle Patrick Alvarez: Js (★★ 1/2), Nb (★★ 1/2): Review
Concussion – Stacie Passon: El (★★★), Js (★★★ 1/2), Nb (★★★): Review // Interview
Emanuel And The Truth About Fishes – Francesca Gregorini: Js (★★★), Nb (★★★ 1/2): Review
Fruitvale – Ryan Coogler: El (★★★), Js (★★★★★), Nb (★★★★): Review // Interview // Video
In A World… – Lake Bell: El (★★★): Review
Kill Your Darlings – John Krokidas: El (★★★), Nb (★★★): Review
The Lifeguard – Liz W. Garcia: El (★★ 1/2): Review
May In The Summer...
- 1/29/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale and Steve Hoover’s Blood Brother were the big winners at the 2013 edition of the Sundance Film Festival – both picked up the Audience awards and Grand Jury Prizes in their respective categories. Here’s the complete list of 2013 Sundance Film Festival Award winners:
Grand Jury Prize, Dramatic: “Fruitvale,” directed by Ryan Coogler
Grand Jury Prize, Documentary: “Blood Brother,” directed by Steve Hoover
World Cinema Jury Prize, Dramatic: “Jiseul,” directed by Muel O
World Cinema Jury Prize, Documentary: “A River Changes Course,” directed Kalyanee Mam
Dramatic Audience Award: “Fruitvale,” directed by Ryan Coogler
Documentary Audience Award: “Blood Brother,” directed by Steve Hoover
World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award: “Metro Manila,” directed by Sean Ellis
World Cinema Documentary Audience Award: “The Square,” directed by Jehane Noujaim
The Best of Next Audience Award: “This Is Martin Bonner,” directed by Chad Hartigan
Directing Award, Dramatic: Jill Solloway, “Afternoon Delight”
Directing Award,...
Grand Jury Prize, Dramatic: “Fruitvale,” directed by Ryan Coogler
Grand Jury Prize, Documentary: “Blood Brother,” directed by Steve Hoover
World Cinema Jury Prize, Dramatic: “Jiseul,” directed by Muel O
World Cinema Jury Prize, Documentary: “A River Changes Course,” directed Kalyanee Mam
Dramatic Audience Award: “Fruitvale,” directed by Ryan Coogler
Documentary Audience Award: “Blood Brother,” directed by Steve Hoover
World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award: “Metro Manila,” directed by Sean Ellis
World Cinema Documentary Audience Award: “The Square,” directed by Jehane Noujaim
The Best of Next Audience Award: “This Is Martin Bonner,” directed by Chad Hartigan
Directing Award, Dramatic: Jill Solloway, “Afternoon Delight”
Directing Award,...
- 1/29/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
It seems 2013 may very well be the year for Chilean directors. First Pablo Larraín’s critically acclaimed historical drama “No” receives a nod from the Academy for Best Foreign Language Film and now Santiago-born Sebastián Silva takes home the Directing Award for World Cinema Dramatic at the Sundance Festival for his drug-infused comedy “Crystal Fairy.”
While Silva also presented his thriller “Magic Magic” at the festival earlier this month, it was the film about a drug-loving Jaime (Michael Cera), a very nude woman known as Crystal Fairy (Gaby Hoffmann), and a trio of brothers’ journey around Chile in search of a hallucinogenic cactus that won audiences over.
“I think Silva always probably writes stories based on the emotional elements -- and that's really happened to him with "Crystal Fairy.” So he had the experience in his mind and I think he knew that the story he wanted to tell was an emotional one,...
While Silva also presented his thriller “Magic Magic” at the festival earlier this month, it was the film about a drug-loving Jaime (Michael Cera), a very nude woman known as Crystal Fairy (Gaby Hoffmann), and a trio of brothers’ journey around Chile in search of a hallucinogenic cactus that won audiences over.
“I think Silva always probably writes stories based on the emotional elements -- and that's really happened to him with "Crystal Fairy.” So he had the experience in his mind and I think he knew that the story he wanted to tell was an emotional one,...
- 1/28/2013
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
Yesterday at Park City, the awards were handed out with one of the hotly buzzed titles of the festival taking two major prizes.
The intense drama Fruitvale won both the Audience Award and U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, which reminds of when Precious won both in 2009, a year before it went on to become a Best Picture Oscar nominee.
The Ryan Coogler‘s film tells the story of the hours leading up to New Year’s Day in 2009, when the 22-year-old Oscar Grant was pulled off a rowdy Bart train at the Fruitvale station and was shot in the back, dying from his wounds.
The former chairman of 20th Century Fox, Tom Rothman said when presenting the prize:
This will not be the last time you guys walk to a podium.
Well, this statement suggests that history may well be getting ready to repeat itself.
The intense drama Fruitvale won both the Audience Award and U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, which reminds of when Precious won both in 2009, a year before it went on to become a Best Picture Oscar nominee.
The Ryan Coogler‘s film tells the story of the hours leading up to New Year’s Day in 2009, when the 22-year-old Oscar Grant was pulled off a rowdy Bart train at the Fruitvale station and was shot in the back, dying from his wounds.
The former chairman of 20th Century Fox, Tom Rothman said when presenting the prize:
This will not be the last time you guys walk to a podium.
Well, this statement suggests that history may well be getting ready to repeat itself.
- 1/27/2013
- by Nick Martin
- Filmofilia
Ryan Coolger's "Fruitvale" and Steve Hoover's "Blood Brother" dominated the 2013 Sundance Film Festival awards! "Fruitvale," the true story of Oscar Grant, a 22-year old Bay Area resident shot in the back by Oakland transportation police, won the Grand Jury Prize (dramatic). Meanwhile, "Blood Brother," a documentary by Steve Hoover about Rocky Braat who went to India as a disillusioned American tourist and became an ally of children living with HIV/AIDS, took home the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary.
But what I'm very excited about is "Metro Manila" from BAFTA and Oscar-nominated director Sean Ellis. Shot in my homeland of the Philippines and using our dialect, Tagalog, entirely, "Metro Manila" is about Oscar Ramirez (Jake Macapagal) and his family who flee their impoverished life in the rice fields of the northern Philippines in order to seek a brighter future in Manila.
Here's the full list of winners of 2013 Sundance Film Festival:
Grand Jury Prize,...
But what I'm very excited about is "Metro Manila" from BAFTA and Oscar-nominated director Sean Ellis. Shot in my homeland of the Philippines and using our dialect, Tagalog, entirely, "Metro Manila" is about Oscar Ramirez (Jake Macapagal) and his family who flee their impoverished life in the rice fields of the northern Philippines in order to seek a brighter future in Manila.
Here's the full list of winners of 2013 Sundance Film Festival:
Grand Jury Prize,...
- 1/27/2013
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Marc Silver's acclaimed opening night documentary, "Who is Dayani Cristal?," tells the true story of one migrant worker who found himself in that deadly stretch of desert known as the "corridor of death," to provide a tragic testimony to the results of the U.S. war on immigration. Silver does so by using beautifully realized dramatic sequences with famed actor Gael García Bernal (who also served as a producer on the film). Below, Silver and Bernal tell Indiewire about the process of making their hybrid documentary. What's Your Film About? “One of the main factors that has shaped the history of mankind and the planet: Migration.” - Gael García Bernal Now what's it Really about? “Yeah, that’s kind of what it is about; the body of a migrant, found in the desert of Arizona. Tracing back where he comes from and at the same time, us (as filmmakers...
- 1/24/2013
- by Indiewire
- Indiewire
Mundial has acquired the Gael García Bernal-produced documentary "Who Is Dayani Cristal?," the company announced Monday morning. The film was the first to screen at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Marc Silver, the documentary is produced by Lucas Ochoa, Thomas Benski and Bernal, who also stars in it. The movie retraces the journey of Dayani Cristal, an immigrant whose body was discovered rotting along the border between Arizona and Mexico. Tattooed on his body was his name. Throughout the film, Bernal investigates who the man was and shows how difficult...
- 1/21/2013
- by Alexander C. Kaufman
- The Wrap
I need a scorecard to keep up with all these upstart distributors at Sundance. Mundial, a new joint venture sales lable from IM Global and Canana, has acquired Who Is Dayani Cristal? Pic opened the World Cinema Documentary competition. From the release announcing the deal: Park City, January 21: Mundial, the recently announced international sales joint venture of prolific Hollywood film financing and sales company Im Global and Canana, one of Latin America’s top production and distribution companies, has acquired international rights to the critically acclaimed Who Is Dayani Cristal?, it was announced jointly today by Mundial Vice President Cristina Garza and Canana partner Pablo Cruz. The film, which was the first film to screen at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, opening the World Cinema Documentary section, is directed by Marc Silver, and produced by Lucas Ochoa, Thomas Benski, and Gael García Bernal. Bernal also stars in the film.
- 1/21/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
Well it is not as cold as we all thought it would be, but there is snow everywhere. My first rented car was not a 4 wheel drive and so I could not drive up the unpaved, snow-packed road to my host's large house in the Wasatch mountains. I got lost and the sun set, a beautiful pink sky over white mountains, really spectacular. The highway patrolman was kind enough to lead me up the dark mountain road to where my host awaited me and my hostess laid out a delicious meal of vegetarian quiche, green salad and cherry pie which we ate after a good shot of scotch and where we got to know each other a bit. Their home accommodates their 7 grown children and their 14 grandchildren. Since no one is visiting now, we have a third of the house for ourselves. It is surrounded by snowy acres of land where deer, elk and moose roam. My hosts are friends of my friend and former Sundance roommate from the early days in the 80s at Sundance when he, Todd McCarthy and I used to share a condo in Deer Valley. Harlan Jacobson of Talk Cinema invited Peter and me to stay with him again. I just saw him last month in Cuba at the Havana Film Festival, and this continuation is perfect. However so far, I am alone here in Sundance, driving unfamiliar cars up unfamiliar roads, because my partner Peter was felled by the flu and had to stay home. We hope he gets better so he can join me on Saturday. Job One on Day One was to return my car and find a 4 wheel drive somewhere, which I did online from Budget, so I returned to the airport, returned my first car at one company and went to the other, took the car and got lost again returning to Park City. I thought I would reach Nebraska as I realized I was driving on the I 80 East way too far. Saw some spectacular mountains until I turned off at Castle Rock, read about the Mormon's migration through the area and found my way back where I registered with the festival with very little trouble. I thought I had plenty of time for the 6:00 pm press screening of the Marc Silver-directed, Gael Garcia Bernal-produced documentary, Who is Dayani Cristal? except my car got stuck in a snowbank and I had to wait for Aaa to tow me out. However, I still made it to this beautiful and very sad film about the too well known story of young migrants coming from South and Central America to North America in pursuit of the American Dream. Those that die in the Arizona desert (the numbers of deaths per year has reached 2,000 in spite of increasing the size of the border patrol and building a wall between Mexico and USA which cost billions of dollars to build – money that could have better been spent on human beings seeking a better life from countries our own country has exploited for the past two centuries. An anonymous body found in the desert sparked the beginning of a real-life human drama as a group formed to track down the identities and seek the families of those who die so anonymously found his home in Honduras, the former Banana Republic and the poorest of all Latin American countries. The human face this documentary puts on this cycle of human migration, like salmon spawning upstream, was inexplicably beautiful and deeply moving. With an hour to kill, I went to my favorite sports store near the Holiday Village (where my films are showing) and bought me a sleeping shirt with the motto, "My second bike is a bike", listened to a funny story of the salesman about a colleague, and then went to stand in line for an hour for the next film. What's great about these cattle lines you must stand in for an hour (I'll send a picture next time) is you see people and actually can catch up with news. Richard Lorber of Kino Lorber and several other brands of showcase films was my partner in line, and I got to hear news not only from him but all the friends also lining up five deep. Richard picked up 129 films last year. Discussions with peers are so valuable as they are all about the new forms of distribution, theatrical and digital, that are quickly evolving by being tested, some working well, others being discarded, and mostly being shared among distributors and theater exhibitors. The previous day I had attended the Arthouse Convergence, now in its 6th year and grown from 20 to 350 attendees. The energy was incredible, again with sharing among all the arthouse owners of what works or does not work and what are the new challenges they are all facing. I attended only one session on Day Three, to hear my much admired colleague, Ula Sneigowska the Director of Programming for The American Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland and Us in Progress (for films in post). Us in Progress is held in November during The American Film Festival and also in July in Paris! I was lucky to be on all 3 editions' jury. Only in its second year, it can boast of 3 films here in Sundance which were in post production when I last saw them -- The winner in Paris: A Teacher, and last November in Wroclaw: Milkshake and I Used to be Darker. All are in the next section of the festival and it looks like a good relationship between Us in Progress and Sundance is beginning. Ula previously curated an arthouse theater in Warsaw for ten years and so was an authoritative speaker on behalf of Cicae, the International Association of Arthouse Cinemas on a panel moderated by David Bordwell from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The panel, The Digital ArtHouse: Lessons and Experiences from Europe, composed entirely of women, included Sophie DeVinck, a senior researcher of iMinds-smit, a think tank based at the Free University Brussels (Vrij Universitat Bruxelles), devoted to studying digital challenges facing the European film industry; Fatima Djoumer, head of international relations for Cinemas Europa, an association of theater owners throughout Europe and extending to the Americas, Asia and Africa, and Ann Overbergh of Bam Art (www.bamart.be), the Flemish (Belgian) institute for the audiovisual and cinema, visual and media arts dedicated to keeping these creative sectors informed and knowledgeable in contemporary programming, work and business models. The audience left feeling upbeat to hear there is more than merely adversarial relations possible between the distributors and the exhibitors. In Europe the age-old rivalry, akin to "the farmer and the cowboy" syndrome in America seems to have been resolved when it comes to digitizing all the theaters and even keeping 35mm projectors working. To return to Day One at Sundance, Ula and Karolina Pasternak, a Polish film journals and I exited Crystal Fairy with mixed feelings which we discussed as we proceeded to the annual Indiewire Chili (cooked by Dana Harris herself!) party and then to Sundance's official Day One party for filmmakers and the press. Crystal Fairy's director Sebastian Silva (The Maid) and his two Chilean brothers, Juan Andres and Jose Miguel are wonderful to watch, dryly funny, infinitely patient and totally accepting of the two young, naïve Americans who go on trip with them seeking mescaline. Ula loved the film and the funniness of the Americans; Carolina and I both were put off by the typical American naiveté of the two young people. I was especially peeved and even embarrassed by their neurotic self-centeredness. It is only now, the following morning, as I write this that I realize the title Chrystal Fairy means much more because of the revelation of Isabelle which was witnessed by the others. Now I love the film and once again congratulate Chile on what this new generation of filmmakers is bringing to the world. Everyone is aware that Chile is outpacing Argentina in producing new and interesting films in Latin America. But watch out for Peru which is gaining on them from what I hear. Certainly another prize winner from Palm Springs which first played in Havana, The Cleaner (El Limpiador) is a great beginning for its director, Adian Saba. El Limpiador will next be in Guadalajara Film Festival in March.
The parties were filled with good people we knew and new acquaintances like Jacques Telemaques of Filmmakers Alliance and Todd Goldman (www.WestRimPictures.com), finally realizing this feature film worked on for the past 17 years (!), Melissa a beautiful young actress caught in the drama of the house she and three other couch-surfers are staying and many others and Roger M. Mayer of Brooklyn Reptyle Films from Studio City California and here with his second film. Coincidently, Melissa said as we were cruising the room at the Day One Party, her three roommates are also Polish. Just as she said that, they appeared. Three Lodz University graduates, these young women are at Sundance with their short, On Suffocation. The director Jenifer Malmqvist (www.tangramfilm.se) turns out to be Swedish, her producer is French and their star is actually Polish. This international mix of talent, even at the primarily American indie Sundance Film Festival, is so on the mark for me about why I love the film business. The international mix of films and people creates an excitement and belief that films can and do change the world. See you tomorrow!
The parties were filled with good people we knew and new acquaintances like Jacques Telemaques of Filmmakers Alliance and Todd Goldman (www.WestRimPictures.com), finally realizing this feature film worked on for the past 17 years (!), Melissa a beautiful young actress caught in the drama of the house she and three other couch-surfers are staying and many others and Roger M. Mayer of Brooklyn Reptyle Films from Studio City California and here with his second film. Coincidently, Melissa said as we were cruising the room at the Day One Party, her three roommates are also Polish. Just as she said that, they appeared. Three Lodz University graduates, these young women are at Sundance with their short, On Suffocation. The director Jenifer Malmqvist (www.tangramfilm.se) turns out to be Swedish, her producer is French and their star is actually Polish. This international mix of talent, even at the primarily American indie Sundance Film Festival, is so on the mark for me about why I love the film business. The international mix of films and people creates an excitement and belief that films can and do change the world. See you tomorrow!
- 1/19/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Park City, Utah — Gael Garcia Bernal has journeyed north to the Sundance Film Festival to share the tragic story of another traveler.
The Mexican actor is a producer on the immigration documentary "Who Is Dayani Cristal?", in which Bernal also appears on-screen to dramatize the path that the film's subject took to the United States.
Bernal and director Marc Silver sought to unravel the mystery of a body found rotting in the Arizona desert in August 2010. The man bore the tattoo "Dayani Cristal" across his chest.
The films blends interviews and conventional documentary segments with Bernal's travels through Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico to reveal the circumstances that led the man on a 2,000-mile trek that ended in the desert. And it provides a tearful answer for its title when it reveals the identity of Dayani Cristal.
Bernal and Silver said the intent was to put a human face on one...
The Mexican actor is a producer on the immigration documentary "Who Is Dayani Cristal?", in which Bernal also appears on-screen to dramatize the path that the film's subject took to the United States.
Bernal and director Marc Silver sought to unravel the mystery of a body found rotting in the Arizona desert in August 2010. The man bore the tattoo "Dayani Cristal" across his chest.
The films blends interviews and conventional documentary segments with Bernal's travels through Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico to reveal the circumstances that led the man on a 2,000-mile trek that ended in the desert. And it provides a tearful answer for its title when it reveals the identity of Dayani Cristal.
Bernal and Silver said the intent was to put a human face on one...
- 1/18/2013
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Sundance opener documentary about a migrant worker found dead in the Arizona desert is a touching, if slightly moralistic, tale
This time last year Sundance kicked off with two very popular documentaries, Searching for Sugar Man and The Queen of Versailles – both, in their way, unlikely redemption stories for recessionary times. The first of the 2013 batch, however, began the festival in a less crowd-pleasing fashion. Though well-intentioned, well-crafted and sometimes breathtakingly beautiful in its cityscapes, Marc Silver's Who Is Dayani Cristal? seems like a step backwards towards the more didactic, moralistic docs of old, leaving little for viewers to deduce or feel for themselves.
In structure, the film does break with the old-school talking-heads model, using reconstruction and fictional flourishes in the style of Bart Layton's The Imposter (or, more pertinently, Carol Morley's Dreams of a Life), to investigate the life of a migrant worker found dead in the Arizona desert.
This time last year Sundance kicked off with two very popular documentaries, Searching for Sugar Man and The Queen of Versailles – both, in their way, unlikely redemption stories for recessionary times. The first of the 2013 batch, however, began the festival in a less crowd-pleasing fashion. Though well-intentioned, well-crafted and sometimes breathtakingly beautiful in its cityscapes, Marc Silver's Who Is Dayani Cristal? seems like a step backwards towards the more didactic, moralistic docs of old, leaving little for viewers to deduce or feel for themselves.
In structure, the film does break with the old-school talking-heads model, using reconstruction and fictional flourishes in the style of Bart Layton's The Imposter (or, more pertinently, Carol Morley's Dreams of a Life), to investigate the life of a migrant worker found dead in the Arizona desert.
- 1/18/2013
- by Damon Wise
- The Guardian - Film News
From Rory Kennedy's documentary short "The Fence" to Cary Fukunaga's bracing-yet-lyrical "Sin Nombre," the border experience and America's immigration failures have been reliable Sundance staples in recent years, so it was fitting to have Marc Silver and Gael Garcia Bernal's "Who Is Dayani Cristal?" kicking off the 2013 Festival on Thursday (January 17) night. "Who Is Dayani Cristal?" takes the familiar backdrop and attempts to present it in a complicated way, creating a well-intentioned documentary that makes admirable intellectual sense on paper, but becomes an occasional semiotic nightmare in execution. On one hand, had this been yet another straight-ahead...
- 1/18/2013
- by Daniel Fienberg
- Hitfix
Park City — More elegy than mystery, Who Is Dayani Cristal? also has an unavoidable political thrust: There is no way to seek the identity of a dead migrant in the Sonora Desert without discussing why men and women are compelled to enter the United States illegally, and how our politics have forced them to do so in increasingly dangerous ways. Through a novel combination of investigation and quasi-reenactment, Marc Silver and Gael García Bernal have found a haunting way of telling their story that respects its particulars while illuminating the ways in which the story is far too
read more...
read more...
- 1/18/2013
- by John DeFore
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Last week I offered up my top 5 fiction films to look out for in 2013, and as promised, here is my non-fiction list of films coming through the pipeline bound to make an impression and impact this year. Two are profiles of influential iconic American activists whose work and spirit have left indelible marks on their generation and reintroduction through the docs will serve to celebrate and carry on their positive influence as Latinos. The other films deal with redefining our perception of American identity, gender and human rights while wielding cinematic ingenuity and power. As these films prove, docs can be just as striking in their characterization and cinematic form as their fiction counterparts, in addition to their intrinsic educational value. Take note, all of these are seeking opportunities to engage with their audiences so again click on the links to follow and show your interest in their work so we can bring awareness and demand their exhibition.
1. Las Marthas by Cristina Ibarra, produced by Erin Ploss-Campoamor
In Laredo Texas, there exists a debutante ball held by the exclusive Society of Martha Washington that takes place every year celebrating George Washington's birthday. A 114 year-old tradition, the lavish affair presents members' daughters- all of aristocratic pedigree and lineage dating back to the foundation of Texas, who dress up in grand, colonial gowns representing characters from the American Revolution. Las Marthas follows a couple of high achieving, bi-literate and conscious young Mexican Americans going through the lengthy preparations as they enter this rite of passage that ends with a parade that draws huge crowds. What's especially remarkable about the whole patriotic event is that we are talking about a city that is 94% Latino. Laredo became part of Texas in 1848, when everything north of the Rio Grande became the United States. Many families who stayed, benefited off the oil boom and settled into an upper class aristocracy. Many generations later these are still the most prominent Laredo citizens and proud bearers of this historic tradition.
I'm so proud of this chicana sister for revealing this world. She has intuitively seized on and explored this unique legacy, which clearly demonstrates the vibrant bi-culture of Texas and shows how aptly the founding father narrative belongs to Mexican Americans. She is also working on a fiction feature titled Love and Monster Trucks about an 18-year-old Chicana artist named Impala Mata who can't wait to escape her 4x4 truck-obsessed, Texas bordertown family. Sounds so cool. Need to track that one too. Filmmakers website here
2. Cesar'S Last Fast by Richard Ray Perez, produced by Molly O'Brien
Back in the Spring on Chavez's anniversary I wrote about this documentary in progress here on the site. Cut to today and I’m happy to share it is just about ripe and ready for its premiere. Wisely and effectively entering the vast legacy by angling on Chavez's 1988 Fast for Life, the film focuses on conveying the private sacrifice and spiritual conviction behind Chavez's struggle for the humane treatment of American farm workers. With each and every day adding up that he refused to eat in protest of the rampant use and ill effects of growers spraying pesticides on farm workers, Chavez seriously risked his health and life and in turn inspired a nation. It boasts never-before-seen footage in which artists and activists came to see him, endeared in solidarity by his fortitude, including the likes of Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Kennedy family, interviews with his son Paul Chavez, Chicano filmmaker Luis Valdez, activist veteran, Dolores Huerta and Martin Sheen, along with showing the press hoopla this man was able to attract back then It’s taken years for the family to trust someone with his story so it’s telling that Rick has managed to gain their support.
Film contact <CesarsLastFast@earthlink.net>
Website, Facebook
3. Ruben Salazar: Man In The Middle by Phillip Rodriguez, produced by City Projects
On August 29 1970, just as the Chicano Moratorium March, a protest denouncing the extremely high number of Chicano soldier casualties in Vietnam (front of the line browns), was winding down, a tear gas canister was suddenly thrown by La County police into the old Silver Platter Cafe on Whittier Blvd, killing the pioneering civil rights journalist Ruben Salazar. Set to broadcast on PBS in the Fall, this documentary is the first thorough investigation into the life and mysterious death of Salazar who was raised in El Paso and went on to become a brilliant reporter covering Vietnam, the Olympics and the Chicano movement for the La Times and Kmex TV 34 television, making him the first Mexican American to cover news for mainstream outlets. In that critical and turbulent moment in the Chicano rights movement, Salazar gave voice, rationale and dignity to Chicanos’ fight to demand equality. An inquest was later regarding his untimely death made but murder charges were never brought. Instead Los Angeles County paid $700,000 to the Salazar family to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit.
Just last month, after two years of requests, Philip Rodriguez finally won the battle to uncover case details when Maldefsued Sheriff Lee Baca for withholding unredacted records regarding the 42 year old case. This new unearthed footage, photos and documents will appear in the film along with interviews with Salazar’s family, friends, colleagues as well as the deputy who threw the fatal tear gas missile, Tom Wilson. So the story goes, there had been allegedly a tip that an armed man entered the bar (hence blindly throwing tear gas while folks were in there?). For the first time we might get answers and insight surrounding the mysterious and suspicious circumstances of this leading Latino voice. As quoted on Kpcc, Phillip Rodriguez says, “I think this is one of the most important stories that has remained on the margins and that has been characterized as a regional or an ethnic story and it’s a fantastic American story”.
4. The Wildness by Wu Tsang produced by Kathy Rivkin
Although this premiered at a few noteworthy film festivals in 2012 including Austin's SXSW, Outfest in Los Angeles and Moma in NYC last December, I’m thrilled to know there is still a long life ahead towards sharing this beautiful experience with the public so it definitely deserves to be on the Watch Out For list. A dazzling requiem to the 7th & Alvarado corner bar joint, Silver Platter, specifically the transformation and haven as a Latin/Lgbt/immigrant community spurred on by the introduction of performance parties known as Wildness, produced by a fiercely talented collective including Wu Tsang, the director of the film. The intersection of stories and people borne out of that multi cultural, trans and cross-generational magic potion is fascinating and poignant to behold in this cinematic and audiovisual piece. The cinematography captures the wonderful and tragic beauty, and by personifying the bar as a majestic hostess welcoming all wayward transients, the film pulses with heart. Currently looking for distribution opportunities (repped by Cinetic). Check out the trailer below and go to the Facebook for more info.
5. Who Is Dayani Crystal? by Marc Silver, produced by Canana and Pulse
I highlighted this unique docu-drama about the discovery of a migrant found dead in the border desert and the unfolding mystery of his identity with the parallel of retracing his journey, as part of my Wtf is Latino at Sundance post. The film will open the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival this Thursday and I will be onsite to cover the audience's reaction (Don't forget to follow me on twitter for my sporadic Sff coverage). Not only is it a feat of ingenuity in the way the narrative is structured, it's an extremely urgent topic deserving a larger audience to provoke more humanity and thought into the pressing immigration reform debate. I guarantee this one will travel to many festivals in 2012 and get theatrical distribution, in no small part helped by the compassionate and driven producer and narrator, Gael Garcia Bernal. Last year, Searching for Sugarman screened in the same Day One screening slot, was subsequently snapped up by Sony Pictures and as of last week officially nominated for an Academy Award. Hmmmm. Get updates by following their twitter @DayaniCristal
Film Contact: lucas@pulsefilms.co.uk...
1. Las Marthas by Cristina Ibarra, produced by Erin Ploss-Campoamor
In Laredo Texas, there exists a debutante ball held by the exclusive Society of Martha Washington that takes place every year celebrating George Washington's birthday. A 114 year-old tradition, the lavish affair presents members' daughters- all of aristocratic pedigree and lineage dating back to the foundation of Texas, who dress up in grand, colonial gowns representing characters from the American Revolution. Las Marthas follows a couple of high achieving, bi-literate and conscious young Mexican Americans going through the lengthy preparations as they enter this rite of passage that ends with a parade that draws huge crowds. What's especially remarkable about the whole patriotic event is that we are talking about a city that is 94% Latino. Laredo became part of Texas in 1848, when everything north of the Rio Grande became the United States. Many families who stayed, benefited off the oil boom and settled into an upper class aristocracy. Many generations later these are still the most prominent Laredo citizens and proud bearers of this historic tradition.
I'm so proud of this chicana sister for revealing this world. She has intuitively seized on and explored this unique legacy, which clearly demonstrates the vibrant bi-culture of Texas and shows how aptly the founding father narrative belongs to Mexican Americans. She is also working on a fiction feature titled Love and Monster Trucks about an 18-year-old Chicana artist named Impala Mata who can't wait to escape her 4x4 truck-obsessed, Texas bordertown family. Sounds so cool. Need to track that one too. Filmmakers website here
2. Cesar'S Last Fast by Richard Ray Perez, produced by Molly O'Brien
Back in the Spring on Chavez's anniversary I wrote about this documentary in progress here on the site. Cut to today and I’m happy to share it is just about ripe and ready for its premiere. Wisely and effectively entering the vast legacy by angling on Chavez's 1988 Fast for Life, the film focuses on conveying the private sacrifice and spiritual conviction behind Chavez's struggle for the humane treatment of American farm workers. With each and every day adding up that he refused to eat in protest of the rampant use and ill effects of growers spraying pesticides on farm workers, Chavez seriously risked his health and life and in turn inspired a nation. It boasts never-before-seen footage in which artists and activists came to see him, endeared in solidarity by his fortitude, including the likes of Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Kennedy family, interviews with his son Paul Chavez, Chicano filmmaker Luis Valdez, activist veteran, Dolores Huerta and Martin Sheen, along with showing the press hoopla this man was able to attract back then It’s taken years for the family to trust someone with his story so it’s telling that Rick has managed to gain their support.
Film contact <CesarsLastFast@earthlink.net>
Website, Facebook
3. Ruben Salazar: Man In The Middle by Phillip Rodriguez, produced by City Projects
On August 29 1970, just as the Chicano Moratorium March, a protest denouncing the extremely high number of Chicano soldier casualties in Vietnam (front of the line browns), was winding down, a tear gas canister was suddenly thrown by La County police into the old Silver Platter Cafe on Whittier Blvd, killing the pioneering civil rights journalist Ruben Salazar. Set to broadcast on PBS in the Fall, this documentary is the first thorough investigation into the life and mysterious death of Salazar who was raised in El Paso and went on to become a brilliant reporter covering Vietnam, the Olympics and the Chicano movement for the La Times and Kmex TV 34 television, making him the first Mexican American to cover news for mainstream outlets. In that critical and turbulent moment in the Chicano rights movement, Salazar gave voice, rationale and dignity to Chicanos’ fight to demand equality. An inquest was later regarding his untimely death made but murder charges were never brought. Instead Los Angeles County paid $700,000 to the Salazar family to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit.
Just last month, after two years of requests, Philip Rodriguez finally won the battle to uncover case details when Maldefsued Sheriff Lee Baca for withholding unredacted records regarding the 42 year old case. This new unearthed footage, photos and documents will appear in the film along with interviews with Salazar’s family, friends, colleagues as well as the deputy who threw the fatal tear gas missile, Tom Wilson. So the story goes, there had been allegedly a tip that an armed man entered the bar (hence blindly throwing tear gas while folks were in there?). For the first time we might get answers and insight surrounding the mysterious and suspicious circumstances of this leading Latino voice. As quoted on Kpcc, Phillip Rodriguez says, “I think this is one of the most important stories that has remained on the margins and that has been characterized as a regional or an ethnic story and it’s a fantastic American story”.
4. The Wildness by Wu Tsang produced by Kathy Rivkin
Although this premiered at a few noteworthy film festivals in 2012 including Austin's SXSW, Outfest in Los Angeles and Moma in NYC last December, I’m thrilled to know there is still a long life ahead towards sharing this beautiful experience with the public so it definitely deserves to be on the Watch Out For list. A dazzling requiem to the 7th & Alvarado corner bar joint, Silver Platter, specifically the transformation and haven as a Latin/Lgbt/immigrant community spurred on by the introduction of performance parties known as Wildness, produced by a fiercely talented collective including Wu Tsang, the director of the film. The intersection of stories and people borne out of that multi cultural, trans and cross-generational magic potion is fascinating and poignant to behold in this cinematic and audiovisual piece. The cinematography captures the wonderful and tragic beauty, and by personifying the bar as a majestic hostess welcoming all wayward transients, the film pulses with heart. Currently looking for distribution opportunities (repped by Cinetic). Check out the trailer below and go to the Facebook for more info.
5. Who Is Dayani Crystal? by Marc Silver, produced by Canana and Pulse
I highlighted this unique docu-drama about the discovery of a migrant found dead in the border desert and the unfolding mystery of his identity with the parallel of retracing his journey, as part of my Wtf is Latino at Sundance post. The film will open the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival this Thursday and I will be onsite to cover the audience's reaction (Don't forget to follow me on twitter for my sporadic Sff coverage). Not only is it a feat of ingenuity in the way the narrative is structured, it's an extremely urgent topic deserving a larger audience to provoke more humanity and thought into the pressing immigration reform debate. I guarantee this one will travel to many festivals in 2012 and get theatrical distribution, in no small part helped by the compassionate and driven producer and narrator, Gael Garcia Bernal. Last year, Searching for Sugarman screened in the same Day One screening slot, was subsequently snapped up by Sony Pictures and as of last week officially nominated for an Academy Award. Hmmmm. Get updates by following their twitter @DayaniCristal
Film Contact: lucas@pulsefilms.co.uk...
- 1/17/2013
- by Christine Davila
- Sydney's Buzz
Here are some of the twitter feeds for those participating in the Sundance Film Festival’s 2013 Premieres and Docu Premieres section including (image featured above) Who is Dayani Cristal?. If you know of any other twitter feeds (producers, production houses, editors, Dps, scribes – etc.) we can add for each individual film – please let us know.
World Cinema Dramatic Competition
The Future
Director and screenwriter Alicia Scherson – @scherson
Houston
Actor Garret Dillahunt – @garretdillahunt
Metro Manila
Actors Jake Macapagal – @jakepromac, John Arcilla – @JohnArcilla, Althea Vega – @altheavega
Soldate Jeannette – @Jeannette_film
What They Don’t Talk About When They Talk About Love
Director and screenwriter Mouly Surya – @moulysurya
World Cinema Documentary Competition
Fire in the Blood – @fitbmovie
Director Dylan Mohan Gray – @DylanMohanGray
Google and the World Brain
Director Ben Lewis – @artsafarist
The Moo Man
Directors Andy Heathcote – @moomanmovie, Heike Bachelier – @HeikeBachelier
Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer – @PussyRiotDoc
Co-director Maxim Pozdorovkin – @pozdor
A River...
World Cinema Dramatic Competition
The Future
Director and screenwriter Alicia Scherson – @scherson
Houston
Actor Garret Dillahunt – @garretdillahunt
Metro Manila
Actors Jake Macapagal – @jakepromac, John Arcilla – @JohnArcilla, Althea Vega – @altheavega
Soldate Jeannette – @Jeannette_film
What They Don’t Talk About When They Talk About Love
Director and screenwriter Mouly Surya – @moulysurya
World Cinema Documentary Competition
Fire in the Blood – @fitbmovie
Director Dylan Mohan Gray – @DylanMohanGray
Google and the World Brain
Director Ben Lewis – @artsafarist
The Moo Man
Directors Andy Heathcote – @moomanmovie, Heike Bachelier – @HeikeBachelier
Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer – @PussyRiotDoc
Co-director Maxim Pozdorovkin – @pozdor
A River...
- 1/17/2013
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Park City, Utah — Film festivals can get off to a slow start. All that planning, all that travel booking for stars coming to pillage the gift suites, then everyone stands around waiting for a single movie, that big opening-night premiere, to get things rolling.
It's a lot to ask of one movie to set a tone for scores of films to follow over a week and a half. The Cannes Film Festival practically put itself on suicide watch in 2008 by opening with the bleak plague drama "Blindness." A year later, Cannes organizers lightened up and started with the warm-hearted animated tale "Up."
The Sundance Film Festival, which begins Thursday, used to face a similar dilemma. How do you pick that one film to stand as torchbearer for the 120 movies to come?
Three years ago, Sundance founder Robert Redford and festival director John Cooper scrapped the glitzy opening-night premiere and jumped right into the competition lineup,...
It's a lot to ask of one movie to set a tone for scores of films to follow over a week and a half. The Cannes Film Festival practically put itself on suicide watch in 2008 by opening with the bleak plague drama "Blindness." A year later, Cannes organizers lightened up and started with the warm-hearted animated tale "Up."
The Sundance Film Festival, which begins Thursday, used to face a similar dilemma. How do you pick that one film to stand as torchbearer for the 120 movies to come?
Three years ago, Sundance founder Robert Redford and festival director John Cooper scrapped the glitzy opening-night premiere and jumped right into the competition lineup,...
- 1/17/2013
- by AP
- Huffington Post
The Sundance Institute has announced the films selected for the Us and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competitions and the out-of-competition Next section of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, which will run from January 17-27 in Utah.
The UK has a particularly strong showing in the World Documentary Competition line-up, with films including John Akomfrah's The Stuart Hall Project (about the anti-nuclear campaigner, not the It's A Knockout presenter), Andy Heathcote and Heike Bachelier's film about the year in the life of a farmer, The Moo Man, and Who is Dayani Cristal? about the drama sparked by the discovery of an anonymous body in the Arizona desert, directed by Marc Silver.
Other UK co-productions include Kim Longinotto's Salma, about the plight of a young Indian girl once she hits puberty, internet exploration Google And The World Brain, directed by Ben Lewis, Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin's Pussy Riot - A World Prayer,...
The UK has a particularly strong showing in the World Documentary Competition line-up, with films including John Akomfrah's The Stuart Hall Project (about the anti-nuclear campaigner, not the It's A Knockout presenter), Andy Heathcote and Heike Bachelier's film about the year in the life of a farmer, The Moo Man, and Who is Dayani Cristal? about the drama sparked by the discovery of an anonymous body in the Arizona desert, directed by Marc Silver.
Other UK co-productions include Kim Longinotto's Salma, about the plight of a young Indian girl once she hits puberty, internet exploration Google And The World Brain, directed by Ben Lewis, Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin's Pussy Riot - A World Prayer,...
- 11/29/2012
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
While the Us doc lineup is leaning hard-nose, the international competition is looking a lot more varied, with eight of the twelve slots being filled with world premieres. Running with this year’s international headlines and coming partially from the source itself, Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin’s Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer will make its debut running between art and politics. Profiling the life and challenges of individuals, The Stuart Hall Project by helmer John Akomfrah (who two years ago released The Nine Muses) and Andy Heathcote The Moo Man. Long a contributor to the non-fiction filler of Entertainment Tonight and Dr. Phil, Marc Silver’s directorial debut, Who is Dayani Cristal? delves into pure cinematic mystery. A trio of Idfa preemed titles in Tinatin Gurchiani’s The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear, Qi Zhao’s Fallen City, and Dylan Mohan Gray’s Fire in the Blood. Among the...
- 11/29/2012
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Los Angeles — The Sundance Film Festival has an apparent record lineup of female directors competing for its top honor this January.
Half the entries – eight of the 16 films – announced Wednesday in the festival's U.S. dramatic competition were directed by women for the next installment of Robert Redford's independent-cinema showcase, which runs Jan. 17-27 in Park City, Utah.
Going back to 1992, the best showing previously for female filmmakers was in 2000, when six of the 16 U.S. dramatic contenders were directed by women.
Sundance organizers were still trolling back to the early years of the festival's 33-year history, but this January's eight competition films appears to be most ever from women and the first time the entries have been evenly split between female and male directors.
Among the competition films from female filmmakers are Francesca Gregorini's "Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes," whose cast includes Jessica Biel and Frances O'Connor...
Half the entries – eight of the 16 films – announced Wednesday in the festival's U.S. dramatic competition were directed by women for the next installment of Robert Redford's independent-cinema showcase, which runs Jan. 17-27 in Park City, Utah.
Going back to 1992, the best showing previously for female filmmakers was in 2000, when six of the 16 U.S. dramatic contenders were directed by women.
Sundance organizers were still trolling back to the early years of the festival's 33-year history, but this January's eight competition films appears to be most ever from women and the first time the entries have been evenly split between female and male directors.
Among the competition films from female filmmakers are Francesca Gregorini's "Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes," whose cast includes Jessica Biel and Frances O'Connor...
- 11/28/2012
- by AP
- Huffington Post
The 2013 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 17-27 and today the fest unveiled their competition slates including film in the Dramatic, Documentary, World Cinema Dramatic, Word Cinema Documentary and Next competitions. As always, these lineups are incredibly hard to predict, but amid this group there are a few interesting titles. The Dramatic competition includes Jill Soloway's Afternoon Delight, a dark comedy starring Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor and Jane Lynch that centers on a L.A. housewife who hires a stripper as a live-in nanny. I had not heard of David Lowery's Ain't Them Bodies Saints, but a cast that includes Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Nate Parker and Keith Carradine is immediately appealing, while the plot compares itself to Terrence Malick's Badlands and Bonnie & Clyde telling a story of Bob Muldoon and Ruth Guthrie, two young outlaws who are brought down by the authorities in the hills of Texas.
- 11/28/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
British co-production Dayani Cristal among recipients.
UK co-production Dayani Cristal is among the 29 feature documentaries to receive $582,000 in grants from the Sundance Institute's Documentary Film Program.
London-born director Marc Silver's film is an examination of the deaths of migrants in Arizona's desert, focusing on an unknown dead man, whose only identifying feature was a tattoo reading "Dayani Cristal".
Omar Mullick, also originally from London is also among the recipients of development cash for his portrait of Pakistan (co-directed with Us documentarian...
UK co-production Dayani Cristal is among the 29 feature documentaries to receive $582,000 in grants from the Sundance Institute's Documentary Film Program.
London-born director Marc Silver's film is an examination of the deaths of migrants in Arizona's desert, focusing on an unknown dead man, whose only identifying feature was a tattoo reading "Dayani Cristal".
Omar Mullick, also originally from London is also among the recipients of development cash for his portrait of Pakistan (co-directed with Us documentarian...
- 11/27/2011
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Gulabi (India / Norway) to be directed by Nishtha Jain has received a $25,000 grant from the Sundance Documentary Film Program. The documentary traces Sampat Pal and the fiery women of her Gulabi Gang who take up the fight against gender violence, caste oppression and widespread corruption in Bundelkhand.
Gulabi is one among the 29 feature-length documentary films that will receive the grant.
The Documentary Film Program celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2012 and since its inception has awarded grants to more than 300 documentary filmmakers in 61 countries.
Complete list:
Development
The Bill (U.S. / Philippines)
Director: Ramona Diaz
A political firestorm hits the Philippines when “The Bill,” a reproductive health bill that could legalize birth control in the world’s 12th most populous nation, pits tradition against reform and brings the culture war into the streets and churches.
Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield (U.S.)
Director: Richard Rowley
Reporting from the battlefields of the war on terror,...
Gulabi is one among the 29 feature-length documentary films that will receive the grant.
The Documentary Film Program celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2012 and since its inception has awarded grants to more than 300 documentary filmmakers in 61 countries.
Complete list:
Development
The Bill (U.S. / Philippines)
Director: Ramona Diaz
A political firestorm hits the Philippines when “The Bill,” a reproductive health bill that could legalize birth control in the world’s 12th most populous nation, pits tradition against reform and brings the culture war into the streets and churches.
Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield (U.S.)
Director: Richard Rowley
Reporting from the battlefields of the war on terror,...
- 11/23/2011
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Three UK projects among recipients of of £358,000 funding
The UK films are among the 29 documentaries that have been selected to receive $575,000 (£358,000) of funding as part of the Sundance Institute's spring Documentary Film Programme.
Among the UK productions and co-productions that will receive help at the development stage are Turn It Loose director Alastair Siddons' latest project Inside Out - examining the global impact of French artist Jr's decision to create a global art project. Director Marc Silver will also receive...
The UK films are among the 29 documentaries that have been selected to receive $575,000 (£358,000) of funding as part of the Sundance Institute's spring Documentary Film Programme.
Among the UK productions and co-productions that will receive help at the development stage are Turn It Loose director Alastair Siddons' latest project Inside Out - examining the global impact of French artist Jr's decision to create a global art project. Director Marc Silver will also receive...
- 7/3/2011
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Films that form part of a campaign for social justice are regularly appearing online – greatly increasing their reach and impact
Documentaries that have a campaign at their core have traditionally had strong points of view, but in the past few years the rise of the internet and social media has opened up the conversation and helped galvanise campaigns around these kinds of films.
"People are putting across a strong argument through documentary. It is a very powerful medium," says Fred Grace of Fat Rat Films, who with his partner, Gemma Atkinson, has been making films for charities for 10 years, including UK Uncut, made for BBC's Newsnight in January this year. "People see the film then show it to friends, but it's nothing without the campaigning that comes after it, creating a whole world through social media, websites and grassroots campaigning that galvanises people."
The film, which highlighted the campaign against...
Documentaries that have a campaign at their core have traditionally had strong points of view, but in the past few years the rise of the internet and social media has opened up the conversation and helped galvanise campaigns around these kinds of films.
"People are putting across a strong argument through documentary. It is a very powerful medium," says Fred Grace of Fat Rat Films, who with his partner, Gemma Atkinson, has been making films for charities for 10 years, including UK Uncut, made for BBC's Newsnight in January this year. "People see the film then show it to friends, but it's nothing without the campaigning that comes after it, creating a whole world through social media, websites and grassroots campaigning that galvanises people."
The film, which highlighted the campaign against...
- 6/6/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
The first photos of Antonio Banderas in Jean-Jacques Annaud's Black Gold while video behind-the-scenes of the impressive scale is up at WDef.
New stills from 11-11-11, the first photo of Peter Dinklage in The Knights of Badassdom, art book photos for Sucker Punch, and new posters for I Saw the Devil, Oranges and Sunshine, Water for Elephants, Atlas Shrugged and The Resident.
A fun infographic breaks down the basics of Doctor Who for those who want to catch up.
"The Farrelly Brothers say they'll reveal the cast of their upcoming "Three Stooges" biopic in about a month..." (full details)
"Roberto Orci says he aims to turn in the first full draft of "Star Trek 2" by the end of next month. This could mean a late Summer start of shooting..." (full details)
"Florian Gallenberger has been hired to re-write the script which explores the rise and fall of fraudulent 80's singers Milli Vanilli.
New stills from 11-11-11, the first photo of Peter Dinklage in The Knights of Badassdom, art book photos for Sucker Punch, and new posters for I Saw the Devil, Oranges and Sunshine, Water for Elephants, Atlas Shrugged and The Resident.
A fun infographic breaks down the basics of Doctor Who for those who want to catch up.
"The Farrelly Brothers say they'll reveal the cast of their upcoming "Three Stooges" biopic in about a month..." (full details)
"Roberto Orci says he aims to turn in the first full draft of "Star Trek 2" by the end of next month. This could mean a late Summer start of shooting..." (full details)
"Florian Gallenberger has been hired to re-write the script which explores the rise and fall of fraudulent 80's singers Milli Vanilli.
- 2/14/2011
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
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