AFIFEST 2015 Winners!

And the countdown to the 2016 edition of the biggest and most prestigious fall season film festival in the world has begun...

AFI FEST 2015 presented by Audi concluded today, November 12, with the announcement of the features and short films that received this year’s Jury and Audience Awards.

The biggest winner is the powerful Colombian drama "Land and Shade (La Tierra Y La Sombra)", which is one of my favorites at the festival. The film was awarded the New Auteurs Grand Jury Award! Congratulations! Well deserved recognition.

The jury gave special citations to the Alice Winocur film "Disorder" for direction and to the Venezuelan drama "Desde Alla" for writing.

Other winners are:

Grand Jury Award for Live Action Short: BOYS

Grand Jury Award for Animated Short: WORLD OF TOMORROW

Live Action Short Special Mention for Innovative Storytelling: RATE ME

Live Action Short Special Mention for Nonfiction Filmmaking: The Reagan Shorts (RONALD REAGAN LIGHTS THE LIGHTS, RONALD REAGAN PARDONS A TURKEY, MARYLAND PUBLIC TELEVISION INTERVIEWS THE REAGANS)

Animated Short Special Jury Mention for Screenwriting: TEETH

Animated Short Special Jury Mention for Creative Vision: MANOMAN

World Cinema Audience Award: LANDFILL HARMONIC

New Auteurs Audience Award: MUSTANG

American Independents Audience Award: JAMES WHITE

 Breakthrough Audience Award: MA

XXX
Raymond Lo

Film Review: "EL CLUB"

Film Review: "El Club"
Official Submission of Chile to the 88th Academy Awards
AFIFEST 2015 Official Selection
November 2015

First this disclosure: I am a catholic and I know when my faith is being attacked, I get mad but I was taught to be more understanding and forgiving.

I had to compose myself before writing a quick review in my FB account of Pablo Larrain's Berlin-winning follow-up to his Oscar-nominated film "No" because I thought "El Club", a movie about priests with criminal pasts, was vicious, vile and offensive and I was so ready to rip it apart but I realized that it was the exact reaction the filmmaker was aiming for when he made this film and I have to respect  that because in all objectivity his film is a powerful indictment and an eye-opening expose of the apparent hypocrisy of the catholic church.

With that said, I decided to expand my review and give it a full one after I have given it much more thought.

This film is blatantly sacrilegious and it is obvious from the first moment you see the main characters train a racing dog and later engage in gambling which is forbidden by the church, specially among clergymen.

"El Club" tells the story of a group of defrocked priests exiled in a secluded villa in a remote seaside town as punishment and penance for the various sins and offenses they have committed -- their crimes range from kidnapping infants to sexually abusing kids.

They all surprisingly live in relative comfort with the town unaware of their presence or their past crimes but all that comes to a standstill one morning when a new priest is brought into town to join them. The priest is accused of the same crimes as the other tenants in the villa ran by a sweet-talking nun who has come to enjoy looking after the priests and the occasional dog racing they engage in. She considers it her "vocation".

Soon, a seemingly mentally unstable and disheveled stranger shows up at the gate looking for the new priest and starts exposing in lurid details the abuse he suffered at the hands of this priest. This disturbance will end in a tragedy that was so perfectly staged by the director. May I add here that the cinematography is brilliant!

But the tragedy only marks the beginning of what will become an odd investigation of the priests activities, their role in the tragic incident and the threat to permanently close down the villa. How the group resolve this intrusion is where I take strong issue with. The film depicts the group as a gang of criminals who would go to extreme lengths to protect their own, keep their crimes under wraps, while preaching the word of God but to try to condemn the filmmaker's interpretation of the events or to censor and dissuade others from watching this film would be tantamount to endorsing the grossly unchristian acts depicted in the film. I will not do that. Instead, i will give this film the rating it rightfully deserves even if i strongly disagree with its message of hate. I invite you all to watch it and form your own opinion about it.

Rating; 4 1/2 Stars

XXX

Raymond Lo

AFIFEST 2015: Festival Diary

I'm back at the biggest fall season film festival in the world after missing it last year due to a last-minute flight to Chicago to celebrate a very good friend's birthday. This year, I made sure my schedule from November 5 thru November 12 would be free and that my time would only be spent at my day job and my life's passion: watching great films from great directors and filmmakers from great film-making countries all over the world.

AFIFEST 2015 opened with Angelina Jolie's 3rd directorial effort "By The Sea" on Thursday to a decidedly mixed critical reception. Some kinder critics declared it as Angelina's art film effort and lauded her decision to veer away from contending for the Oscars.

On Friday, the highly anticipated Los Angeles debut of "The Lobster", Yorgos Lanthimos' follow-up to his Oscar-nominated film "Dogtooth", took place and a very good friend who loved both Yorgos and Colin Farrell raved about the film and it made me so envious to have missed the film. I will just have to wait for its later screenings in town.

Saturday, Nov 7, was my official first day at the festival. It felt so good to be back! I love to be in the company of fellow film buffs. To be listening in to their conversations about the movies and occasionally butting in with my two cents are some of the best 30 minutes to 1 hour one could ever spend while queuing in line.

I saw 4 films on my first day though I attempted and did not finish 2 others. I saw 4 great films on Sunday, 1 on Monday, skipped Tuesday screenings for work and other commitments and went back yesterday to catch Gabriel Mascaro's latest feature "Neon Bull."

Below are my quick reviews of the films.

(Note: The Festival concludes today with the announcement of the award winners. You will find the list of winners here: AFIFEST 2015 Winners!)

"NAHID"
Dir. Ida Panahandeh (Iran)
Rating: 5 Stars

This film tells the story of a woman in modern-day Iran who must thread her roles as a single mother, a divorcee and a woman in love with a new man. It's a gripping film that examines what life is like when you are forced to choose between your happiness and your child, between what society expects from you and what you can sacrifice to hold on to some perceived good reputation. A very insightful film filled with superlative perfs and great writing. An outstanding film!

"CHEVALIER"
Dir. Athina Rachel Tsangari (Greece)
Rating: 4 1/2 Stars

This is a ridiculously funny movie about a group of friends, all men, who spent a few days together on a boat engaging in various male-bonding activities including a game they concocted called "chevalier" where they measure each other's worth as a friend, as a person, as a man. If you've ever wondered what men really do when they are closely huddled together and have nothing better to do, this film tells us that they surprisingly do things common and superficial like every other person. Excellent film!

"TALE OF TALES"
Dir. Matteo Garrone (France/UK/Italy)
Rating: 3 1/2 Stars

Finally got to see acclaimed Italian director Matteo Garrone's latest film! The film premiered at Cannes this year and it's a visually sumptuous fantasy film filled with exceptional costume, make-up and production design. This is an adaptation of a collection of fairy tales by Italian poet Giambattista Basile and tells the story of three kingdoms whose rulers and heirs are having issues typical in fairy tale stories -- some are interesting but unfortunately a good portion of the film proved to be uninteresting. The film failed to offer much excitement and was not able to sustain the wonderful opening tale of a barren queen who bore a child after eating the heart of a sea monster.

"BASKIN"
Dir. Can Evrenol (Turkey)
Rating: 3 1/2 Stars

This film is a horrifying mash-up of classic horror (think of Eli Roth) and psychological thriller. It tells the story of a squad of Turkish cops who are called to provide back-up to their fellow officers who are engaged with some criminals only to find themselves in an abandoned mansion where they will be later trapped in the basement with a group of devil-worshipping amputees! This is a bloody and gory film with copious amounts of violence and body mutilations that would excite hardcore fans of the genre. For those looking for an allegorical meaning of the film you can start your analysis with the cop characters and the cannibal amputees but this is a midnight movie selection at the festival and I expected this kind of film and I was not disappointed so I will stop there.

"BLOOD OF MY BLOOD"
Dir. Marco Bellocchio (Italy)
No Rating

This is a movie with an ambiguous plot and an ambiguous storytelling structure. At least, that's what i got after watching the first half of this dual narrative film set 300 years apart but set in the same village and populated by the same kind of people with various levels of questionable sanity. Don't get me wrong. The movie is gloriously shot but I just couldn't last. I barely contained myself from dozing off over the extended witch-hunt story of the first half and I thought the search for a modern-day vampire, which makes up the second half of the narrative, would be too much to bear and I would just disturb everyone in the theater if I started snoring. So I left.

"DISORDER"
Dir. Alice Winocour (France)
No Rating

This is what disappointed me the most on my first day. This film is about an ex-soldier with PTSD who gets assigned to protect the wife and child of a wealthy Arab businessman. It's supposed to be a thriller but nearly one hour into the movie, nothing happens except for numerous slow-motion sequences. I went into the theater expecting some high-octane thriller based on the synopsis provided but I spent the first hour waiting for some real action. This is a classic case of Expectation-Versus-Reality conflict -- in this case, the reality did not meet the hype. I feel too bad about not finishing the movie because it stars Diane Kruger and Matthias Schoenaerts. But there are 80 more films to choose from and we only get 8 days.

"NO HOME MOVIE"
Dir. Chantal Akerman (Belgium)
Rating: 4 1/2 Stars

My heart still aches in pain. I just saw Chantal Akerman's final film, the somber and meditative docudrama "No Home Movie", and I felt this connection to her and the mother she lost as if i knew them very well. I am not familiar with the filmmaker's work but a fellow film buff educated me of her work and her contribution to the rise of feminist filmmaking as well as her tragic passing last month when she took her own life in Paris. The film is the filmmaker's love letter to her mother and a document of her finals days. Her mom is a Polish immigrant who survived Auschwitz. The filmmaker's visual compositions, a series of beautifully constructed master shots, reminded me a lot of Haneke's "Amour". One scene where i found myself sobbing, with the rest of the audience, was one of the conversations the filmmaker and her mother had over Skype covering mundane topics but which took on a different, deeper meaning now that both are gone. This film is a must-see for students of film.

"LAND AND SHADE"
Dir. Cesar Augusto Acevedo (Colombia)
Rating: 5 Stars

This is a heart-wrenching film about a family struggling with poverty and the threat of losing their last piece of property, their land, from being completely usurped by sugarcane plantation owners. The story is a sad reflection of the state of poor farmers and laborers today and how they are being left behind by the apparent growth in wealth being touted by the optimists in the world. It's quite sad to see a mother and a father wash the body of their dead son who they couldn't send to a hospital for proper treatment because they couldn't afford it. And it's heartbreaking to see birds ignore your offering of humble food because they feel like you need it more. This film does not tell us a new story but it reminds us that the stories of struggles of poor families in the past continue on today and they may even be multiplying.

"IXCANUL"
Dir. Jayro Bustamante (Guatemala)
Rating: 5 Stars

Finally! Finally! I have been waiting for this film to reach Los Angeles since its award-winning debut at Berlin in February. And it did not disappoint. It is amazing, incredible, masterful! This is the strongest of the Oscar submissions I have seen so far. It tells the story of a poor Mayan family who lives on the foot of an active volcano and whose daughter has been arranged to marry the landowner whom they owe their livelihood from. But the seeming simplicity and ordinariness of the arrangement would have complications later when the daughter suddenly becomes pregnant. The film is an insightful look into the lives of the Mayan people who live on the fringes of Guatemalan society and it touches on several social and economic issues affecting the community. It also offers striking visuals and extraordinary performances from a cast of mostly non-actors.

(Note: The screening I attended was presented to the audience by the the film's very young and talented director Jayro Bustamante and by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rigoberta Menchu. I rarely witness films receiving a standing ovation prior to its screening and it happened tonight at the packed screening of "Ixcanul." Fearless forecast: This film will be shortlisted and could win.)

"A WAR (Krigen)"
Dir. Tobias Lindholm (Denmark)
Rating; 5 Stars

This is the official submission of Denmark to the 88th Academy Awards and it tells the story of a company commander stationed in Afghanistan who must make hard decisions everyday for the young men under his command and for the citizens of the country they are trying to protect while his wife is left to raising their three very young kids back home. Highly acclaimed writer/director Tobias Lindholm ("A Hijacking") shows us the duality and hypocrisy of every war in his powerful new film, which proposes that a soldier must set aside his compassion, harden his heart and turn a blind eye in order to serve right the cause of any war. "A War" starts out as riveting action film filled with impressive combat sequences in the first act and transitions to a gripping morality tale in the second. Actor Pilou Asbæk delivers a haunting performance as soldier torn and conflicted with the decisions he made, could have made and didn't make.

"EL CLUB"
Dir. Pablo Larrain (Chile)
Rating 4 1/2 Stars

I had to compose myself before writing a quick review in my FB account of Pablo Larrain's Berlin-winning follow-up to his Oscar-nominated film "No" because I thought "El Club", a movie about priests with criminal pasts, was vicious, vile and offensive and I was so ready to rip it apart but I realized that it was the exact reaction the filmmaker was aiming for when he made this film and I have to respect  that because in all objectivity his film is a powerful indictment and an eye-opening expose of the apparent hypocrisy of the catholic church... read full review here: "El Club" Full Review

"NEON BULL"
Dir. Gabriel Mascaro (Brazil)
Rating: 4 Stars

This is a very divisive film from the very young Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro, whose previous film "August Winds" i did not particularly enjoy. But fortunately, this film, his 2nd feature is something i did enjoy and thoroughly liked. It's plotless and can feel very slow at times but it's a fascinating look into the Brazilian rodeo subculture and I like how in their world no one has a predefined role. A cowboy can wrangle bulls during the day and sew bikinis at night and dream of becoming a fashion designer. A woman can sell cologne during daytime and moonlight as a security guard at night. A man can spend hours in front of the mirror to straighten his hair but his masculinity is never doubted and a woman can sleep in a shack with other men and never fear of being raped -- she gets to call who gets to fuck her. Very interesting world. Very interesting film!

It was a great 8 days of AFIFEST. Can't wait for next year. Meantime, next stop for festival junkies are the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in February. Oscar screenings and select festivals from various countries are also going on in LA. Happy times!

 XXX
Raymond Lo

AFIFest 2014: Winners!

AFIFest 2014 concludes today with the announcement of the winners. The announcement is currently going on at the cinema lounge inside the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood.

Audience Award Winners

World Cinema Audience Award
RED ARMY
Country: USA | Russia
Year: 2014
Director: Gabe Polsky
Producer: Gabe Polsky
Executive Producers: Werner Herzog, Jerry Weintraub, Liam Satre-Meloy
Directors of Photography: Peter Zeitlinger, Svetlana Cvetko
Editors: Eli Despres, Kurt Engfehr
Music: Christophe Beck, Leo Birenberg
Featuring: Slava Fetisov, Vladislav Tretiak, Scotty Bowman, Vladimir Pozner

New Auteurs Audience Award

GUEROS
Country: Mexico
Year: 2014
Director: Alonso Ruizpalacios
Screenwriters: Alonso Ruizpalacios, Gibrán Portela
Producer: Ramiro Ruiz
Director of Photography: Damián García
Editors: Yibrán Asuad, Ana García
Production Designer: Sandra Cabriada
Music: Tomás Barreiro
Cast: Tenoch Huerta, Sebastián Aguirre, Ilse Salas, Leonardo Ortizgris

American Independents Audience Award
10,000 KM

Country: Spain | USA
Year: 2014
Director: Carlos Marques-Marcet
Screenwriters: Clara Roquet, Carlos Marques-Marcet
Producers: Tono Folguera, Jana Díaz Juhl, Sergi Moreno
Executive Producers: Mayca Sanz, Pau Brunet, Danielle Schleif
Director of Photography: Dagmar Weaver-Madsen
Editors: Julia Montañés, Carlos Marques-Marcet
Production Designer: Laia Ateca
Cast: Natalia Tena, David Verdaguer

Breakthroughs Audience Award
THE MIDNIGHT SWIM

Country: USA

Year: 2014

Director: Sarah Adina Smith

Screenwriter: Sarah Adina Smith

Producers: Jonako Donley, Mary Pat Bentel

Executive Producers: Jennifer Wilson, Steve Pearson, Samuel T. Bauer

Director of Photography: Shaheen Seth

Editor: Sarah Adina Smith

Music: Ellen Reid

Cast: Lindsay Burdge, Aleksa Palladino, Jennifer Lafleur, Ross Partridge, Beth Grant, Michelle Hutchison, Shirley Venard 

http://raymonddeasislo.blogspot.com/2014/10/afifest2014-midnight-swim.html

Jury Award Winners

• Special Jury Prize for Collection to David O'Reilly for his three films: CHILDREN'S SONG, NDA, WRONG NUMBER

• Grand Jury Award Animated Short winner: YEARBOOK

• Special Jury Mention for Breakthrough Filmmaker winner: GRAY HAS AN AIDS SCARE

• Special Jury Mention for Vision winner: SOUND THAT

• Special Jury Mention for Direction winner: SHIPWRECK

• Grand Jury Award Live Action Short Film winner: BUFFALO JUGGALOS

• Special Jury Mention for Screenwriting: GUEROS

• Special Jury Mention for Cinematography: VIOLET

• The @VIZIO Visionary Special Jury Award: THE TRIBE

• New Auteurs Critic's Award: SELF MADE

Congratulations to all the winners!

XXX

Raymond Lo

AFIFest 2014: "From What is Before"

Lav Diaz's award-winning film "FROM WHAT IS BEFORE" finally had its US premiere today at the AFIFest. There were about 40 in attendance. By the 2 hour mark, about 5 left the screening. By the 4th hour, a third of the audience were gone.

When the film ended, a handful politely applauded the movie. A few left in a hurry. And my eyewitness source? She was disappointed with the film but praised the cinematography.

Her final text: "Very few clapped. Bitin ang ending." That's something for a movie that lasted nearly six hours!

The audience were provided with free refreshments and chips. Someone asked if there would be an intermission. The festival programmer introduced the film as "One-of-a-kind" --- literally, I guess.

The movie will have another screening tomorrow, November 13.

XXX
Raymond Lo

AFIFest2014: World Premiere of "American Sniper"

The AFIFest has revealed that the secret screening they teased last week would be the world premiere of "American Sniper", Clint Eastwood's latest film starring Bradley Cooper. The screening is scheduled on November 11, 2014 at 9PM at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. Free tickets are still available at the AFIWebsite: http://afifest2.afi.com/sections/T3487

"American Sniper" is one of the few unseen films that are being considered by many as strong contenders at the Oscars this year. Angelina Jolie's "Unbroken" and the civil rights movement drama "Selma" starring Oprah Winfrey.

In the film, Bradley Cooper stars as Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history. But there is much more to him than his skill as a sharpshooter. U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle is sent to Iraq with only one mission: to protect his brothers-in-arms. His pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and, as stories of his courageous exploits spread, he earns the nickname "Legend." However, his reputation is also growing behind enemy lines, putting a price on his head and making him a prime target of insurgents. He is also facing a different kind of battle on the home front: striving to be a good husband and father from halfway around the world. Despite the danger, as well as the toll on his family at home, Chris serves through four harrowing tours of duty in Iraq, personifying the spirit of the SEAL creed to "leave no one behind." But upon returning to his wife, Taya (Sienna Miller), and kids, Chris finds that it is the war he can't leave behind.

The movie will open in limited release on December 25, 2014.

Watch the explosive and intense trailer here:



See you at the festival!

XXX
Raymond Lo

Trailers: Mark Wahlberg's "The Gambler"

The trailer for Mark Wahlberg's latest film "The Gambler" was released today. Check it out below. The Gambler will hold its world premiere at the AFIFest this year. See related story here: http://raymonddeasislo.blogspot.com/2014/10/afifest-204-world-premiere-slated-for.html

Jim Bennett (Academy Award® nominee Mark Wahlberg) is a risk taker. Both an English professor and a high-stakes gambler, Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster (Michael Kenneth Williams) and offers his own life as collateral. Always one step ahead, Bennett pits his creditor against the operator of a gambling ring (Alvin Ing) and leaves his dysfunctional relationship with his wealthy mother (Academy Award® winner Jessica Lange) in his wake. He plays both sides, immersing himself in an illicit, underground world while garnering the attention of Frank (John Goodman), a loan shark with a paternal interest in Bennett’s future. As his relationship with a student (Brie Larson) deepens, Bennett must take the ultimate risk for a second chance…    

XXX
Raymond Lo

AFIFest2014: 3 Films in Focus

Free tickets are still being distributed until the start of the Festival on November 3. You may consider below three films when selecting what movies to watch. The subjects are diverse and the screening schedules are not in conflict.

To get your free tickets courtesy of Audi, go to this link: http://afi.com/AFIFEST/freetickets.aspx

REALITY (RÉALITÉ)

Belgium, France. 

North American Premiere.

Director: Quentin Dupieux (RUBBER)
Screenplay: Quentin Dupieux
Cast: Alain Chabat, Jonathan Lambert, Elodie Bouchez, Kyla Kenedy, John Glover, Eric Wareheim, Jon Heder

Synopsis: 
A cameraman for a TV show is offered a chance to direct in this tapestry of dream logic that slides from one brilliantly bizarre situation to the next.

Festival screenings: Saturday, November 8, 9:30 PM and Sunday, November 9, 4:00 PM. 

THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY
United Kingdom

Director: Peter Strickland (BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO)
Screenplay: Peter Strickland (BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO)
Cast:Sidse Babett Knudsen, Chiara D'anna

Synopsis:
An amateur butterfly collector and her housekeeper can’t get enough of their sadomasochistic games in this phantasmic tale.

Festival screenings: Tuesday, November 11, 10:00pm and Wednesday, November 12, 6:30pm.

GETT: THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM 
Israel
Official Israel selection for the 87th Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

Director: Ronit Elkabetz and Shlomi Elkabetz
Screenplay: Ronit Elkabetz and Shlomi Elkabetz
Cast: Ronit Elkabetz, Menashe Noy, Simon Abkarian, Sasson Gabay , Eli Gorstein, Rami Danon, Roberto Pollack.

Synopsis:

Unfolding entirely in a small courtroom, this edge-of-your-seat film follows Viviane Amsalem’s tense battle for a divorce in Israel’s strict rabbinical court. 

Festival screenings: Saturday, November 8, 2:00pm and Wednesday, November 12, 7:45pm.

See you at the festival!

xxx
Raymond Lo

AFIFest2014: "The Midnight Swim"

THE MIDNIGHT SWIM 
US Premiere (Breakthrough Category)

Screening dates: 
Friday November 7 - 7:00PM Chinese Theater 5
Saturday November 8 - 1:00PM Chinese Theater 5

Synopsis:
When their mother goes missing in Spirit Lake, three half-sisters travel home to settle her affairs. The youngest sister, June (Lindsay Burge), a documentary filmmaker, captures their bittersweet homecoming. But when the sisters jokingly summon a local ghost, their relationship begins to unravel and they find themselves drawn deeper and deeper into the true mystery of the lake.

Transporting its audience to a place drenched in the supernatural, THE MIDNIGHT SWIM is an eerie, atmospheric exploration of the inexplicable pull towards the unknown. In her first feature, Sarah Adina Smith has created a world that is reminiscent of PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, subverting the obvious genre tropes in favor of a touching tale of three women struggling to say goodbye.

THE MIDNIGHT SWIM stars Lindsay Burdge (A TEACHER), Jennifer Lafleur (DO-DECA PENTATHALON), Aleksa Palladino (“Boardwalk Empire”), Ross Partridge (BAGHEAD, THE OFF HOURS), Beth Grant (NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, THE ARTIST), Michelle Hutchison (FARGO, THIN ICE), and Shirley Venard (THE CURE).

THE MIDNIGHT SWIM is directed and written by Sarah Adina Smith. Producers are Mary Pat Bentel and Jonako Donley, with Executive Producers Jennifer Wilson, Samuel T. Bauer, and Steve Pearson. Director of Photography is Shaheen Seth and soundscape is by Ellen Reid.

USA / 2014 / 88 mins / DCP / English

Check out the film's website for more details: http://themidnightswim-movie.com/ 

See you at the Festival!

XXX
Raymond Lo

AFIFest2014: Full Program Slate

Click here to get FREE tickets to the festival sponsored by Audi.
http://www.afi.com/afifest/freetickets.aspx

GALAS

Opening Night (Thursday, November 6, 2014)

A MOST VIOLENT YEAR – Set in 1981, during one of the most crime-ridden winters in New York City’s history, A MOST VIOLENT YEAR follows the lives of Abel and Anna Morales (Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain) as they attempt to capitalize on the American Dream, while the rampant violence, decay, and corruption of the day drag them in and threaten to destroy all they have built.  World Premiere.

Centerpiece Galas 

INHERENT VICE – INHERENT VICE is the seventh feature from Academy Award® nominee Paul Thomas Anderson and the first ever film adaptation of a Thomas Pynchon novel.  When private eye Doc Sportello’s ex-old lady suddenly out of nowhere shows up with a story about her current billionaire land developer boyfriend whom she just happens to be in love with, and a plot by his wife and her boyfriend to kidnap that billionaire and throw him a loony bin…well, easy for her to say.  It’s the tail end of the psychedelic ‘60s and paranoia is running the day and Doc knows that “love” is another of those going around at the moment, like “trip” or “groovy,” that’s being way too overused—except that this one usually leads to trouble.  With a cast of characters that includes surfers, hustlers, dopers and rockers, a murderous loan shark, LAPD Detectives, a tenor sax player working undercover, and a mysterious entity knows as the Golden Fang, which may only be a tax dodge set up by some dentist…Part surf noir, part psychedelic romp – all Thomas Pynchon.

Screening Schedule: Saturday, November 8, 2014

THE GAMBLER – Jim Bennett (Academy Award® nominee Mark Wahlberg) is a risk taker.  Both an English professor and a high-stakes gambler, Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster (Michael Kenneth Williams) and offers his own life as collateral.  Always one step ahead, Bennett pits his creditor against the operator of a gambling ring (Alvin Ing) and leaves his dysfunctional relationship with his wealthy mother (Academy Award® winner Jessica Lange) in his wake.  He plays both sides, immersing himself in an illicit, underground world while garnering the attention of Frank (John Goodman), a loan shark with a paternal interest in Bennett’s future.  As his relationship with a student (Brie Larson) deepens, Bennett must take the ultimate risk for a second chance… World Premiere.

Screening Schedule: Monday, November 10, 2014

THE HOMESMAN – When three women living on the edge of the American frontier are driven mad by harsh pioneer life, the task of saving them falls to the pious, independent-minded Mary Bee Cuddy (Hilary Swank).   Transporting the women by covered wagon to Iowa, she soon realizes just how daunting the journey will be, and employs a low-life drifter, George Briggs (Tommy Lee Jones), to join her. The unlikely pair and the three women (Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto, Sonja Richter) head east, where a waiting minister and his wife (Meryl Streep) have offered to take the women in. But the group first must traverse the harsh Nebraska Territories marked by stark beauty, psychological peril and constant threat.

Screening Schedule: Tuesday, November 11, 2014

A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO SOPHIA LOREN – The evening will celebrate Loren’s illustrious career and coincides with the 50th anniversary of her Academy Award® nominated role in MARRIAGE ITALIAN STYLE [MATRIMONIO ALL’ITALIANA] (DIR Vittorio De Sica, 1964). A screening of her son Edoardo Ponti’s short film HUMAN VOICE (VOCE UMANA) in which she stars and MARRIAGE ITALIAN STYLE [MATRIMONIO ALL’ITALIANA] (DIR Vittorio De Sica, 1964).  MARRIAGE ITALIAN STYLE was restored in 2014 by Cineteca di Bologna, the Technicolor Foundation for Cinema Heritage and MEMORY! Cinéma Association and Surf Film.

Screening Schedule: Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Closing Night (Thursday, November 13, 2014)

FOXCATCHER – FOXCATCHER tells the story of Olympic Gold Medal-winning wrestler Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum), who sees a way out from the shadow of his more celebrated wrestling brother Dave (Mark Ruffalo) and a life of poverty when he is summoned by eccentric multi-millionaire John du Pont (Steve Carell) to move onto his estate and train for the 1988 Seoul Olympics.  Desperate to gain the respect of his disapproving mother, du Pont begins "coaching" a world-class athletic team and begins to lure Mark into an unhealthy lifestyle and erodes the athlete's already shaky self-esteem.  Fueled by du Pont's mercurial personality, increasing paranoia and alienation from the brothers, the trio is propelled towards a tragedy no one could have foreseen.  Based on actual events, FOXCATCHER, directed by Bennett Miller, is a gripping and profoundly American story of brotherly love, misguided loyalty, and the corruption and emotional bankruptcy that can accompany great power and wealth.


SPECIAL SCREENINGS

CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA
MERCHANTS OF DOUBT
MOMMY (Official Oscar Entry from Canada)
MR. TURNER
SAINT LAURENT (Official Oscar Entry from France)
STILL ALICE
TALES OF THE GRIM SLEEPER
TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT (DEUX JOURS, UNE NUIT) (Official Oscar Entry from Belgium)

Click here for more details: http://raymonddeasislo.blogspot.com/2014/10/afifest2014-8-must-see-special.html

CONVERSATIONS

ON ACTING: A CONVERSATION WITH MICHAEL KEATON AND EDWARD NORTON – Known for creative fearlessness and meticulous approaches to their craft, actors Michael Keaton and Edward Norton will discuss their careers.   Keaton and Norton currently star opposite each other in BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) (DIR Alejandro González Iñárritu).

ON CINEMATOGRAPHY: A CONVERSATION WITH ROGER DEAKINS – Legendary director of photography and 11-time Academy Award® nominee Roger Deakins shares his wisdom and expertise in a discussion about the art of cinematography, and his upcoming release UNBROKEN (DIR Angelina Jolie).

INDIE CONTENDERS ROUNDTABLE – The Hollywood Reporter presents a diverse panel of distinguished filmmakers who have done standout work this year in independent films.  The discussion, moderated by THR’s columnist and blogger Scott Feinberg, will touch on their lives, careers and influences, as well as the challenges and rewards of working on indies.

YOUNG HOLLYWOOD ROUNDTABLE – The Los Angeles Times returns with its very popular Young Hollywood Roundtable.  Some of the year’s hottest rising starts will engage in a lively discussion with the Times’ Amy Kaufman on their life in the industry and being thrust into the limelight.


WORLD CINEMA SELECTIONS (29 titles)

'71
THE ABSENT (LOS AUSENTES)
AUGUST WINDS (VENTOS DE AGOSTO)
BLACK COAL, THIN ICE (BAI RI YAN HUO)
BREATHE (RESPIRE)
THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY
EDEN
THE FOOL (DURAK)
FROM WHAT IS BEFORE (MULA SA KUNG ANO ANG NOON)
GETT, THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM (Official Oscar Entry from Israel)
GIRLHOOD (BANDE DE FILLES)
GOODNIGHT MOMMY (ICH SEH, ICH SEH)
HAEMOO (Official Oscar Entry from South Korea)
HUMAN CAPITAL (IL CAPITALE UMANO) (Official Oscar Entry from Italy)
THE IRON MINISTRY
JAUJA
LEVIATHAN (Official Oscar Entry from Russia)
MANOS SUCIAS
OVER YOUR DEAD BODY (KUIME)
REALITY (RÉALITÉ)
RED ARMY
THE SALT OF THE EARTH
SONG OF THE SEA
STATIONS OF THE CROSS (KREUZWEG)
TIMBUKTU (Official Oscar Entry from Mauritania)
TITLI
TU DORS NICOLE
VILLA TOUMA
WILD TALES (RELATOS SALVAJES) (Official Oscar Entry from Argentina)

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MIDNIGHT SELECTIONS (4 titles)

ALLELUIA – A hustler has the tables turned on him when a besotted con victim becomes his partner in crime in this genre-bending tale of sex and obsession.  DIR Fabrice Du Welz.  SCR Fabrice Du Welz & Vincent Tavier.  CAST Laurent Lucas, Lola Dueñas, Stéphane Bissot, Edith Le Merdy, Anne-Marie Loop, Helena Noguerra, Pili Groyne, David Murgia.  France, Belgium.

A HARD DAY (KKEUT-KKA-JI GAN-DA) – When corrupt Detective Ko is involved in a hit-and-run, a chain of events is unleashed that pits him against a diabolical nemesis.  DIR Kim Seong-hun.  SCR Kim Seong-hun.  CAST Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Jin-woong.  South Korea.

IT FOLLOWS – A group of friends is plagued by a nightmarish supernatural threat in this coming-of-age horror film from AFI FEST alum David Robert Mitchell.  DIR David Robert Mitchell.  SCR David Robert Mitchell.  CAST Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe.  USA.

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS – In this hilarious mockumentary, the undead lives of five flat-mates are thrown into pandemonium when a recently turned hipster tries to join the party.  DIR Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement.  SCR Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement.  CAST Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonathan Brugh, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Stu Rutherford, Jackie Van Beek, Ben Fransham.  New Zealand.


BREAKTHROUGH SELECTIONS (4 titles)

The Breakthrough section is dedicated to the true discoveries of the programming process. It exists as a platform for artists at a crucial stage in their career to share their innovative work with enthusiastic audiences.

THE BLUE WAVE (MAVI DALGA) – Deniz and her friends are restless Turkish teenagers, distracted by love interests and ever-changing friendship dynamics, as they await the end of high school.  DIR Zeynep Dadak & Merve Kayan.  SCR Zeynep Dadak & Merve Kayan.  CAST Ayris Alptekin, Onur Saylak, Baris Hacihan.  Turkey, Germany, Netherlands, Greece.

FISH & CAT – Achieved in one stunning long take, this Iranian arthouse slasher follows a group of students in the woods and the sinister crooks they encounter there.  DIR Shahram Mokri.  SCR Shahram Mokri.  CAST Babak Karimi, Saeed Ebrahimifar, Abed Abest, Ainaz Azarhoush, Mona Ahmadi, Neda Jebraieli, Parinaz Tayeb, Samaneh Vafaiee.  Iran.

MAY ALLAH BLESS FRANCE! (QU’ALLAH BENISSE LA FRANCE!) – French rapper Abd Al Malik adapts his raw memoir chronicling the way religion and hip-hop saved him from the streets.  DIR Abd Al Malik.  SCR Abd Al Malik.  CAST Marc Zinga, Sabrina Ouazani, Larouci Didi, Mickaël Nagenraft, Matteo Falkone, Stéphane Fayette-Mikano.  France.  U.S. Premiere.

THE MIDNIGHT SWIM – Three half-sisters try to unlock the mystery of their mother’s deep-water disappearance in this unsettling tale, part ghost story and part family drama.  DIR Sarah Adina Smith.  SCR Sarah Adina Smith.  CAST Lindsay Burdge, Aleksa Palladino, Jennifer Lafleur, Ross Partridge, Beth Grant, Michelle Hutchison, Shirley Venard.  USA.  U.S. Premiere.


CINEMA’S LEGACY SELECTIONS (4 titles)

Now in its second year, Cinema’s Legacy is AFI FEST’s celebration of motion picture history, and a special opportunity to screen recent restorations of film classics and films about the history of cinema.

CINEMA PARADISO (1989) - A famous Italian film director reflects on his childhood friendship with a local theater projectionist in this must-see classic.  DIR Giuseppe Tornatore.  SCR Giuseppe Tornatore. CAST Philippe Noiret, Jacques Perrin, Antonella Attili, Enzo Cannavale, Isa Danieli, Leo Gullotta, Marco Leonardi, Pupella Maggio, Agnese Nano, Leopoldo Trieste, Salvatore Cascio.  Italy.

LOVE STREAMS  (1984) - Centering on a boozy, hedonistic writer and his beleaguered sister, this latter-era film by the great John Cassavetes celebrates its 30th anniversary.  DIR John Cassavetes. SCR John Cassavetes.  CAST Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes, Diahnne Abbott, Seymour Cassel, Eddy Donno, Tom Badal, Joan Foley, Jakob Shaw, Al Ruban, Margaret Abbott.  USA.

MAGICIAN: THE ASTONISHING LIFE AND WORK OF ORSON WELLES (2014) – Combining extensive filmmaker interviews and rare archival footage, Chuck Workman’s documentary takes us through the life of one of cinema’s greatest masters: Orson Welles.  DIR Chuck Workman.   USA.

YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW (IERI, OGGI, DOMANI) (1963) - Vittorio De Sica’s unique, three-part omnibus film features the mega-watt star coupling of international icons Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni.  DIR Vittorio De Sica.  SCR Eduardo De Filippo, Isabella Quarantotti, Cesare Zavattini, Bella Billa and Lorenza Zanuso.  CAST Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Aldo Giuffrè, Agostino Salvietti, Lino Mattera, Tecla Scarano, Silvia Monelli, Carlo Croccolo, Pasquale Cennamo, Armando Trovajoli.  Italy, France.

NEW AUTEURS SELECTIONS (10 titles)

ALIVE (SANDA)
BLIND
FLAPPING IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE (ÐAP CÁNH GIUA KHÔNG TRUNG)
GÜEROS
RUN
SELF MADE (BOREG)
THE TRIBE (PLEMYA)
VIKTORIA
VIOLET
THE WONDERS (LE MERAVIGLIE)

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SHORTS SELECTIONS (45 titles)

8 BULLETS (8 BALLES) - A grief-stricken expat hunts the man he believes is responsible for killing his family in this mixed-media fever dream.  DIR Frank Ternier.  SCR Frank Ternier.  France.

130919 • A PORTRAIT OF MARINA ABRAMOVIĆ - This one-take 3D film majestically documents legendary performance artist Marina Abramović in a manner befitting her art.  DIR Matthu Placek.  SCR Matthu Placek.  CAST Marina Abramović.  USA.

AFRONAUTS - Inspired by true events, It's July 16, 1969: America is preparing to launch Apollo 11. Thousands of miles away, the Zambia Space Academy hopes to beat them to the moon.  DIR Frances Bodomo.  SCR Frances Bodomo.  CAST Diandra Forrest, Yolonda Ross, Hoji Fortuna.  USA.

BATH HOUSE (SIMHALL) - The mice are going after the bath house safe in this droll stop-motion puppet short.  DIR Niki Lindroth von Bahr.  SCR Niki Lindroth von Bahr & Jerker Virdborg.  Sweden.

BUFFALO JUGGALOS - There is a secret land in upstate New York, where the Juggalos roam free...  DIR Scott Cummings.  SCR Scott Cummings.  USA.

THE CHAPERONE 3D - More than 10,000 drawings intersect with a series of animation techniques to tell the true story of a lone teacher's stand against a motorcycle gang in the 1970s.  DIR Fraser Munden.  SCR Fraser Munden & Neil Rathbone.  CAST Ralph Whims, Stefan Czernatowicz.  Canada.

CHILDREN'S SONG - Children sing a song.  DIR David O'Reilly.  USA.

THE CUT (LA COUPE) - A father and daughter fluctuate between proximity and detachment during the course a haircut.  DIR Geneviève Dulude-De Celles.  SCR Geneviève Dulude-De Celles.  CAST Milya Corbeil-Gauvreau, Alain Houle.  Canada.

DAY 40 - Sinister forces take hold in the untold sordid story of what really happened on Noah's Ark.  DIR Sol Friedman.  SCR Evan Morgan.  CAST John Boylan, Rowie Spodek.  Canada.

THE DIGGERS - These are the grave diggers. This is their day.  DIR Robert Machoian & Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck.  USA.

THE DRAGON IS THE FRAME - This experimental detective film explores the enigma of depression and its subtle interplay between presence and absence.  DIR Mary Helena Clark.  USA.

EXCHANGE AND MART - An unorthodox self-defense class at a remote Scottish boarding school yields unusual results.  DIR Cara Connolly & Martin Clark.  SCR Cara Connolly.  CAST Ewen Bremner, Grace Chilton.  United Kingdom.

FUNNEL - A man's car breaks down and sends him on a quest across town that slowly turns into the most fantastically mundane adventure.  DIR Andre Hyland.  SCR Andre Hyland.  CAST Andre Hyland.  USA.

GARY HAS AN AIDS SCARE - Gary might have a bit of a problem...  DIR Joe Callander.  USA.

HACKED CIRCUIT - This circular study of the Foley process portrays sound artists at work constructing complex layers of fabrication and imposition.  DIR Deborah Stratman.  USA.

THE HAIRCUT - In 1976, Amy defies expectations and joins the first class of female cadets accepted for military service. She'll have to prove to all that she has what it takes.  DIR Alexis O. Korycinski.  SCR Julia Cox.  CAST Bailey Noble, Molly Quinn, David Starzyk, Walter Fauntleroy, Chad Michael Collins.  USA.

HAZE - A well-intentioned young man struggles to explain last night.  DIR Chloe Domont.  SCR Chloe Domont.  CAST Casey Drogin, Hannah Gross.  USA.

HERE I AM...THERE YOU ARE... - When a married couple’s foreplay veers into domination, reality is stronger than the imagination.  DIR Dikla Jika Elkaslassy.  SCR Dikla Jika Elkaslassy.  CAST Ohad Knoller.  Israel.

HOLE - A fearless portrait of a disabled man in search of intimacy.  DIR Martin Edralin.  SCR Martin Edralin.  CAST Ken Harrower, Sebastian Deery, April Lee.  Canada.

HUMAN VOICE (VOCE UMANA) - Sophia Loren stars in this spirited adaptation of Jean Cocteau's one-woman play.  DIR Edoardo Ponti.  SCR Erri De Luca & Edoardo Ponti.  CAST Sophia Loren, Virginia Da Brescia, Enrico LoVerso.  Italy.

LIGHT - After suffering a devastating loss, a Lebanese man is challenged by a mother's request.  DIR Yassmina Karajah.  SCR Yassmina Karajah.  CAST Ahmed Muslimani, Soad Karim, Timothy J O'Leary.  Canada, Lebanon.

MAN ON THE CHAIR (L'HOMME SUR SA CHAISE) - Does the man on the chair exist?  DIR Dahee Jeong.  SCR Dahee Jeong.  France, South Korea.

MASTER MUSCLES - Veronica and Efren take an explosive road trip through a strange America.  DIR Efrén Hernández.  SCR Efrén Hernández.  CAST Jehina Malik, Efrén Hernández.  USA.

MI NINA MI VIDA - The bustling crowds and noisy rides of the amusement park won't be enough to make Jack smile today.  DIR Yan Giroux.  SCR Yan Giroux.  CAST Joël Henriques.  Canada.

MIGRATION - Observe the migration patterns of a most unusual herd.  DIR Fluorescent Hill.  SCR Mark Lomond.  Canada.

NDA - Man enacts legal fantasy.  DIR David O'Reilly.  USA.

THE OBVIOUS CHILD - Somebody broke the girl's parents. The rabbit was there when it happened. It was an awful mess.  DIR Stephen Irwin.  SCR Stephen Irwin.  CAST Ron Masa.  United Kingdom.

ONE YEAR LEASE - Brian and Thomas document one year's worth of their communication from their landlady, who has an itchy speed-dial finger and much to say.  DIR Brian Bolster.  CAST Brian Bolster, Thomas Harrington.  USA.

PERSON TO PERSON - A stranger passed out on his floor after last night's party. Now she won't leave. At least it will make a good story.  DIR Dustin Guy Defa.  SCR Dustin Guy Defa.  CAST Bene Coopersmith, Deragh Campbell.  USA.

THE PRESENT - An Eastern ghost story with haunting implications.  DIR Joe Hsieh.  SCR Joe Hsieh & Ching-Chwang Ho.  CAST Yu-Jane Liu, Pi-Li Yeh, Ming-Shiou Tsai.  Taiwan.

RABBITLAND - Those brainless rabbits are completely fulfilled. Why should their votes matter?  DIR Ana Nedeljkovic & Nikola Majdak Jr.  SCR Ana Nedeljkovic.  CAST Masa Mileusnic.  Serbia.

RAT PACK RAT - Even Sammy Davis Jr. impersonators have it tough.  DIR Todd Rohal.  SCR Todd Rohal.  CAST Steve Little, Eddie Rouse, Margie Beegle.  USA.

SEND - The Internet can be a dangerous place for teenage girls.  DIR Peter Vack.  SCR Peter Vack.  CAST Julia Garner, Jake Cannavale.  USA.

SHIPWRECK - A tour de force rumination on the terrible tragedy that befell a boat carrying 500 Ethiopian refugees on October 3, 2013.  DIR Morgan Knibbe.  SCR Morgan Knibbe.  Netherlands.

SILENT - A magical contraption brings the history of the movies to life!  DIR Brandon Oldenburg & Limbert Fabian.  SCR Limbert Fabian & Brandon Oldenburg.  USA.

SLAP - A teenage boxer comes to terms with his true self.  DIR Nick Rowland.  CAST Joe Cole, Elliott Tittensor, Skye Lourie, Stephen Bent.  United Kingdom.

SLEEPING GIANT - The chaotic nature of boys is captured in this lyrical coming-of-age journey.  DIR Andrew Cividino.  SCR Andrew Cividino.  CAST Isaac Wiebe, Nick Serino, Reece Moffett, Zoey Sawdo.  Canada.

SLUT - A young girl with love in her heart unwittingly attracts the attention of a murderous sociopath.  DIR Chloe Okuno.  SCR Chloe Okuno.  CAST Molly McIntyre, James Gallo, Sally Kirkland, Kasia Pilewicz, Cody Beverstock.  USA.

SOUND THAT - A few minutes spent looking for leaks in the infrastructure with the employees of the Cleveland Water Department.  DIR Kevin Jerome Everson.  SCR Kevin Jerome Everson.  CAST Kaulee Miller, Mark Pottinger, Terrance Martin.  USA.

WASHINGTONIA - The Washingtonia is the only palm tree whose heart is not devoured by the red beetle, because its heart is small and dry and no one likes small, dry hearts.  DIR Konstantina Kotzamani.  SCR Konstantina Kotzamani.  CAST Mamadu Dialo.  Greece.

WHITE MORNING - The violent little boys become violent little men.  DIR Paul Barritt.  SCR Paul Barritt.  United Kingdom

WRONG NUMBER - Girl can't throw up.  DIR David O'Reilly.  USA.

YEARBOOK - A man is hired to compile the definitive history of human existence before Earth blows up.  DIR Bernardo Britto.  SCR Bernardo Britto.  USA.

YES WE LOVE (JA VI ELSKER) - Four generations, each in crisis on Norwegian Independence Day.  DIR Hallvar Witzø.  SCR Hallvar Witzø.  CAST Edvard Hægstad, Terje Ranes, Hanne Skille Reitan, Johan Fredrik Bergflødt-Johannessen.  Norway.

YOUNG LIONS OF GYPSY (A CIAMBRA) - Over the course of one long night, a young Romani boy grows up.  DIR Jonas Carpignano.  SCR Jonas Carpignano.  Italy, France.


AMERICAN INDEPENDENTS (8 titles)

10,000 KM
BUZZARD
FAULTS
FELT
HAPPY VALLEY
HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT
THOU WAST MILD & LOVELY
THE VANQUISHING OF THE WITCH BABA YAGA

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About the American Film Institute

AFI is America’s promise to preserve the history of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers.  AFI programs include the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and AFI Archive, which preserve film heritage for future generations; the AFI Life Achievement Award, the highest honor for a career in film; AFI Awards, honoring the most outstanding motion pictures and television programs of the year; AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies television events and movie reference lists, which have introduced and reintroduced classic American movies to millions of film lovers; year-round and special event exhibition through AFI FEST presented by Audi, AFI DOCS and the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center; and educating the next generation of storytellers at the world-renowned AFI Conservatory.  For more information about AFI, visit AFI.com or connect with AFI at twitter.com/AmericanFilm, facebook.com/AmericanFilmInstitute and youtube.com/AFI.

About AFI FEST presented by Audi

A program of the American Film Institute, AFI FEST presented by Audi is a celebration of global cinema and today’s Hollywood ­– an opportunity for master filmmakers and emerging artists to come together with audiences in the movie capital of the world.  AFI FEST is the only festival of its stature that is free to the public.  The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognizes AFI FEST as a qualifying festival for both Short Film categories for the annual Academy Awards®.  This year’s edition takes place November 6 – 13, 2014.  Additional information about AFI FEST is available at AFI.com/AFIFEST.  Connect with AFI FEST at facebook.com/AFIFEST, twitter.com/AFIFEST and youtube.com/AFIFEST.

About Audi 

Audi of America Inc. and its U.S. dealers offer a full line of German-engineered luxury vehicles.  AUDI AG is among the most successful luxury automotive brands globally.  The Audi Group delivered 1,575,500 vehicles to customers globally in 2013, and broke all-time company sales records for the fourth straight year in the U.S.  Through 2018, AUDI AG will invest about $30 billion in new products, facilities and technologies.  Visit www.audiusa.com or www.audiusanews.com for more information regarding Audi vehicles and business topics.

See you at the festival!!!

XXX
Raymond Lo

AFIFest2014: "Haemoo", "From What is Before", "Wild Tales" in World Cinema Selections

Melanie Laurent "Breathe"

The American Film Institute announced today the 29 films selected for the World Cinema Section of this year's AFIFest.

The second directorial film of acclaimed French actress Melanie Laurent, "Breathe", is in the lineup along with the new film, "'71", starring the sensational Irish actor (and this generation's Daniel Day-Lewis) Jack O'Connel and the Locarno-winning film, "From What is Before", from Filipino filmmaker Lav Diaz.

Other titles in the selection are films competing for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar this year: "Leviathan" (Russia), "Wild Tales" (Argentina), "GETT: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem" (Israel), "Timbuktu" (Mauritania), "Haemoo" (South Korea) and "Human Capital" (Italy).

AFIFest 2014 runs from November 6-13.

WORLD CINEMA SELECTIONS

'71 - A rookie British soldier (rising star Jack O’Connell) must survive one night in war-torn Belfast at the height of the Troubles in this taut thriller.  DIR Yann Demange.  SCR Gregory Burke.  CAST Jack O'Connell, Paul Anderson, Richard Dormer, Sean Harris, Barry Keoghan, Martin McCann, Charlie Murphy, Sam Reid.   UK.

THE ABSENT (LOS AUSENTES) – When an elderly man loses his isolated cabin deep in the Mexican woods, he also loses his grip on reality.  DIR Nicolás Pereda.  SCR Alejandro Mendoza.  CAST Guadalupe Cárdenas, Eduard Fernández, Gabino Rodríguez.  Mexico.  U.S. Premiere.

AUGUST WINDS (VENTOS DE AGOSTO) – When a young Brazilian couple makes a discovery in the ocean waters off their small village, they must confront the realities of life and death.  DIR Gabriel Mascaro.  SCR Gabriel Mascaro & Rachel Ellis.  CAST Dandara de Morais, Geová Manoel dos Santos, Maria Salvino dos Santos, Gabriel Mascaro.  Brazil.

BLACK COAL, THIN ICE (BAI RI YAN HUO) – In this Berlin Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner, a down-and-out former detective is lured back to an old murder case when the brutal killer re-emerges.  DIR Diao Yinan.  SCR Diao Yinan.  CAST Liao Fan, Gwei Lun Mei, Wang Xuebing, Wang Jingchun, Yu Ailei, Ni Jingyang.  China, Hong Kong.   This screening is co-presented by the China Onscreen Biennial 2014 and is the closing night screening of their Los Angeles series.

BREATHE (RESPIRE) – High school student Charlie is sent reeling after her intense friendship with Sarah falls apart in Mélanie Laurent’s sophomore feature.  DIR Mélanie Laurent.  SCR Mélanie Laurent & Julien Lambroschini.  CAST Joséphine Japy, Lou de Laâge, Isabelle Carré, Claire Keim.  France.

THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY – An amateur butterfly collector and her housekeeper can’t get enough of their sadomasochistic games in this phantasmic tale.  DIR Peter Strickland.  SCR Peter Strickland.  CAST Sidse Babett Knudsen, Chiara D'anna.  UK.

EDEN – Mia Hansen-Løve’s 20-year journey through the electronic dance music scene follows DJ Paul, whose love for the turntables stays strong even after the craze has ended.  DIR Mia Hansen-Løve.  SCR Mia Hansen-Løve & Sven Hansen-Løve.  CAST Felix De Givry, Pauline Etienne, Vincent Macaigne, Greta Gerwig, Golshifteh Farahani, Laura Smet, Vincent Lacoste.  France.

THE FOOL (DURAK) – A small-town plumber must evacuate a building before its occupants are put in a deadly situation, but citywide corruption makes it nearly impossible to find help.  DIR Yury Bykov.  SCR Yury Bykov.  CAST Artem Bystrov, Natalia Surkova, Dmitry Kulichkov, Ilya Isaev, Maxim Pinsker, Lyubov Rudenko.  Russia.

Lav Diaz "From What is Before"

FROM WHAT IS BEFORE (MULA SA KUNG ANO ANG NOON) – Filipino arthouse sensation Lav Diaz’s latest epic centers on a coastal village haunted by strange and supernatural occurrences.  DIR Lav Diaz.  SCR Lav Diaz.  CAST Perry Dizon, Roeder Camañag, Hazel Orencio, Karenina Haniel, Joel Saracho, Reynan Abcede, Ching Valdes-Aran, Mailes Kanapi, Ian Lomongo, Noel Sto. Domingo, Evelyn Vargas, Bambi Beltran, Teng Mangansakan.  Philippines.  U.S. Premiere.

"Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem"

GETT, THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM – Unfolding entirely in a small courtroom, this edge-of-your-seat film follows Viviane Amsalem’s tense battle for a divorce in Israel’s strict rabbinical court.  DIR Ronit Elkabetz & Shlomi Elkabetz.  SCR Ronit Elkabetz & Shlomi Elkabetz.  CAST Ronit Elkabetz, Menashe Noy, Simon Abkarian, Sasson Gabay , Eli Gorstein, Rami Danon, Roberto Pollack.  Israel.

GIRLHOOD (BANDE DE FILLES) – Teenager Marieme drops out of school and finds acceptance with a gang of free-spirited girls, while taking on a new feminine identity.  DIR Céline Sciamma.  SCR Céline Sciamma.  CAST Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh, Mariétou Touré.  France.

GOODNIGHT MOMMY (ICH SEH, ICH SEH) – Twin boys fear that their mother, whose face is masked with bandages after plastic surgery, has been subsumed by an evil being.  DIR Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala.  SCR Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala.  CAST Susanne Wuest, Elias Schwarz, Lukas Schwarz.  Austria.

"Haemoo"

HAEMOO – Amid a shroud of sea fog, the voyage of a South Korean boat smuggling a group of illegal immigrants turns into a catastrophe.  DIR Shim Sung-bo.  SCR Shim Sung-bo & Bong Joon-ho.  CAST Kim Yoon-seok, Park Yu-chun, Han Ye-ri.  South Korea.

HUMAN CAPITAL (IL CAPITALE UMANO) – The fates of two seemingly unrelated families become increasingly intertwined in this stylish Italian murder mystery.  DIR Paolo Virzì.  SCR Paolo Virzì, Francesco Bruni and Francesco Piccolo.  CAST Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Valeria Golino, Fabrizio Gifuni, Luigi Lo Cascio.  Italy.

THE IRON MINISTRY – Three years spent on China’s vast train system are distilled into a one-of-a-kind sensory experience in this immersive, formally daring documentary.  DIR J.P. Sniadecki.  China, USA.

JAUJA - Viggo Mortensen stars as a 19th-century Danish general who must search the unforgiving Patagonian wilderness for his runaway daughter.  DIR Lisandro Alonso.  SCR Lisandro Alonso & Fabián Casas.  CAST Viggo Mortensen, Viilbjork Malling Agger, Ghita Nørby. Argentina, USA, Netherlands, France, Mexico.

LEVIATHAN – In the latest work from Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev, a small-town auto mechanic becomes embroiled in a property dispute with devastating consequences.  DIR Andrey Zvyagintsev.  SCR Oleg Negin & Andrey Zvyagintsev.  CAST Alexey Serebryakov, Elena Lyadova, Vladimir Vdovitchenkov, Roman Madyanov, Anna Ukolova, Alexey Rozin, Sergey Pokhodaev. Russia.

MANOS SUCIAS – Brothers Jacobo and Delio agree to transport millions of dollars of cocaine into Panama in this suspenseful portrait of lives forever altered by the drug trade.  DIR Josef Kubota Wladyka.  SCR Alan Blanco & Josef Kubota Wladyka.  CAST Cristian Advincula, Jarlin Martinez, Manuel David Riascos, Hadder Blandon.  Colombia, USA.

OVER YOUR DEAD BODY (KUIME) – Actors rehearsing a classic play find their violent, double-crossing stage roles seeping into real life in a ghost story from Takashi Miike.  DIR Takashi Miike.  SCR Kikumi Yamagishi.  CAST Ebizo Ichikawa, Ko Shibasaki, Hideaki Ito, Miho Nakanishi, Maiko, Toshie Negishi, Hiroshi Katsuno, Ikko Furuya.  Japan.

REALITY (RÉALITÉ) – A cameraman for a TV show is offered a chance to direct in this tapestry of dream logic that slides from one brilliantly bizarre situation to the next.  DIR Quentin Dupieux.  SCR Quentin Dupieux.  CAST Alain Chabat, Jonathan Lambert, Elodie Bouchez, Kyla Kenedy, John Glover, Eric Wareheim, Jon Heder.  Belgium, France.  North American Premiere.

RED ARMY – The Cold War plays out with vivid intensity – on the ice – in this vibrant documentary on the history of the Soviet Union’s Red Army hockey team.  DIR Gabe Polsky.  FEATURING Slava Fetisov, Vladislav Tretiak, Scotty Bowman, Vladimir Pozner.  USA, Russia.

THE SALT OF THE EARTH – This documentary on Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado, often referred to as the master of black-and-white photojournalism, is co-directed by filmmaker Wim Wenders and Salgado’s son, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado.  DIR Wim Wenders & Juliano Ribeiro Salgado.  SCR Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, Wim Wenders and David Rosier.  France.

SONG OF THE SEA – In this Irish animated film, a brother and sister embark on a magical journey to discover their connection to the mythical selkies.  DIR Tomm Moore.  SCR Will Collins.  CAST Brendan Gleeson, Fionnula Flanagan, Pat Shortt, Jon Kenny, Liam Hourican, Colm Ó’Snodaigh, Lucy O’Connell, Kevin Swierszcz, David Rawle, Lisa Hannigan.  Ireland.  U.S. Premiere.

STATIONS OF THE CROSS (KREUZWEG) – Fourteen masterfully composed single-shot scenes tell the story of adolescent Maria, a girl caught between a secular world and the strict religious teachings of her church.  DIR Dietrich Brüggemann.  SCR Anna Brüggemann & Dietrich Brüggemann.  CAST Lea van Acken, Franziska Weisz, Florian Stetter.  Germany.

"Timbuktu"

TIMBUKTU – Mauritania’s official entry for the Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar® centers on the 2012 Islamic jihadist takeover of northern Mali, and its toll on the region’s civilians.  DIR Abderrahmane Sissako.  SCR Abderrahmane Sissako & Kessen Tall.  CAST Ibrahim Ahmed, Toulou Kiki, Abel Jafri, Fatoumata Diawara.  France, Mauritania.

TITLI – Young Titli must risk everything to escape his life of abject poverty and intergenerational crime in this assured debut feature.  DIR Kanu Behl.  SCR Sharat Katariya & Kanu Behl.  CAST Ranvir Shorey, Amit Sial, Lalit Behl, Shivani Raghuvanshi, Shashank Arora.  India.

TU DORS NICOLE – Nicole trips aimlessly through her post-college summer in this delightfully light and sublime film.  DIR Stéphane Lafleur.  SCR Stéphane Lafleur.  CAST Julianne Côté, Catherine St-Laurent, Francis La Haye, Simon Larouche, Godefroy Reding, Marc-André Grondin.  Canada.

VILLA TOUMA – A teenage Palestinian orphan’s life is turned upside down when she goes to live in the secluded home of her three aristocrat aunts.  DIR Suha Arraf.  SCR Suha Arraf.  CAST Nisreen Faour, Ula Tabri , Cherien Dabis , Maria Zriek.

"Wild Tales"

WILD TALES (RELATOS SALVAJES) – Characters are pushed to delightfully deranged savagery in this anthology of six sublimely absurd short films.  DIR Damián Szifrón.  SCR Damián Szifrón.  CAST Ricardo Darin, Oscar Martinez, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Érica Rivas, Rita Cortese, Julieta Zylberberg, Dario Grandinetti.  Argentina, Spain.




See you at the festival

XXX
Raymond Lo