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A young man spends most of his time recording self-tapes for parts he never gets. After multiple rejections for a series of nightmarish commercial auditions, he takes it upon himself to find a new part to play.
The story of Christopher Reeve is an astonishing rise from unknown actor to iconic movie star, and his definitive portrayal of Clark Kent/Superman set the benchmark for the superhero cinematic universes that dominate cinema today. Reeve portrayed the Man of Steel in four Superman films and played dozens of other roles that displayed his talent and range as an actor, before being injured in a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down. After becoming a quadriplegic, he became a charismatic leader and activist in the quest to find a cure for spinal cord injuries, as well as a passionate advocate for disability rights and care – all while continuing his career in cinema in front of and behind the camera and dedicating himself to his beloved family.
With heart and determination, Antoine Griezmann overcame his small stature to become one of the world’s top soccer players and a World Cup champion.
A film that follows Ryan Giggs through the 2013/14 Premiership season, as the greatest ever Manchester Utd player became the clubs manager and allowed unprecedented access behind the scenes at Old Trafford.
Martina Navrátilová, the legendary tennis player and admirable woman from Řevnice near Prague, reminisces and takes stock, but at the same time, with unflagging vigour, she is making new plans for her life.
Martina Navrátilová, perhaps the best tennis player of all time, will turn 60 this year. She spent her childhood in Czechoslovakia during the communist era. After emigrating to the United States, she became world number one within four years. She worked hard and there were times when her opponents considered her unbeatable. The media called her a pioneer, an activist, an icon. Why is that? Only she can describe it.
The story tells of the granddaughter of the political family Uta, who is kidnapped. The kidnappers’ demand is not money, but for the politician to hold a press conference and confess to the crime. Kentaro Nakashima plays the protagonist, Koji Uta, the second son of the Vice Minister of the Cabinet, Seijiro Uta (played by Shinichi Tsutsumi). Despite his reservations about his father’s actions, he reluctantly takes on the role of his father’s secretary, and the kidnapping incident plunges the Uta family into unprecedented predicaments.
Amin, an aspiring screenwriter living in Paris, returns home for the summer, to a fishing village in the South of France. It is a time of reconnecting with his family and his childhood friends. Together with his cousin Tony and his best friend Ophélie, he spends his time between the Tunisian restaurant run by his parents, the local bars and the beaches frequented by girls on holiday. Enchanted by the many female characters who surround him, Amin remains in awe of these summer sirens while his dionysiac cousin throws himself into their carnal delights with euphoria. Armed with his camera and guided by the bright simmer light of the Mediterranean coast, Amin pursues his philosophical quest while gathering inspiration for his screenplays. When it comes to love, only Mektoub (‘destiny’ in Arabic) can decide.
A ruined Baron Philippe de baron, meets one day a troupe of traveling actors led by Herod. Attracted by the one who plays the role of the ingenue: Isabella, and by the dynamism and enthusiasm of his companions, he takes the place of the deceased poet of the troupe. And during performances, Philippe became the captain Sunder. For his part, Isabelle loves Philip, but does not consider marriage, nobility him missing, she refuses to harm the career of Baron. And one day, the Duke of Vallombrosa, seduced by Isabella, finds himself challenged to a duel by Philippe for touching the girl. Defeated, he launched his men against Sunder, then removes Isabelle. The actors throw themselves then to storm the castle where she is being held. This time Vallombrosa was seriously injured, and the duke’s own father, rushed to the scene, Isabelle discovers the girl he had once been an actress. Nothing stands now the union of Sunder and Isabella, under the tender gaze of the actors Herod and Scapin.
An elderly gentleman lives alone with his maid Louise. He spends his days chatting with the confectioner who lives and works downstairs, playing chess with his brother Karl Fredrick, and content with his memories. His young wife Gerda ran out on him five years ago, taking their young daughter with her. Now, unbeknownst to the gentleman, she’s back… and living in the upstairs apartment with the child and her new husband. When Gerda finally faces the man, sparks will fly and old wounds will be reopened. Bergman’s TV adaptation of August Strindberg’s play “Storm” was presented on the 111th anniversary of the author’s birth. The production was also shown in Denmark and Norway and received glowing reviews. Bergman was celebrated as an outstanding TV director and was praised for his tact and sympathy in depicting old age, his superior lighting and fine camera work as well as his understanding of the medium in his use of close-ups.
The first woman rabbi in the world, Regina Jonas, comes to light, courtesy of Rachel Weisz – who plays her – and her father George Weisz, who was the executive producer for this poetic and beautiful documentary. The daughter of an Orthodox Jewish peddler, Jonas was ordained in Berlin in 1935. During the Nazi era and the war, her sermons and her unparalleled devotion brought encouragement to the persecuted German Jews. Regina Jonas was murdered in Auschwitz in 1944. The only surviving photo of Jonas serves as a leitmotif for the film, showing a determined young woman gazing at the camera with self-confidence.
The members of a dysfunctional family find themselves mysteriously trapped in an antiquated furniture store when their elderly matriarch suddenly refuses to get up from one of the display couches. Reluctantly assembled, her three estranged children – David, Gruffudd, and Linda – must figure out how to escape this bizarre predicament. With the help of the store managers, Marco & Marcus, and their daughter Bella the siblings embark on a mind-bending odyssey that forces them to face life-altering truths about their own lives and upbringing.
William Hoy was one of the first Deaf Major League Baseball players in the 1800’s. Being deaf, he introduced hand signals for strike and ball to the game and overcame many obstacles to become one of the greatest players of his time.
Alexandra came to help her mother, a newspaper sales woman, in a kiosk located in a wealthy area of Paris. From the discovery of the job to the intimacy built with the customers, the film deals playfully and generously with a number of issues, not least the media’s publishing crisis. A whole world enters this little space.
The story of Ray-Ray McElrathbey, a freshman football player for Clemson University, who secretly raised his younger brother on campus after his home life became too unsteady.
A docu-film that traces the victorious ride of Mancini’s Azzurri, from the debut match to the final against England. A troupe lived with the Azzurri for a month, to bring the spectators into the lives of the players and all the members of the staff, between training sessions, matches, travels and celebrations. An adventure told through the voices of the protagonists, who confided dreams, joys, pains and hopes to the cameras. “Blue Dream, the road to Wembley” is the completion of a project started a year ago together with the FIGC, to tell the national team’s approach to the European Championships through the 4 episodes aired in the days immediately preceding the European Championship, bringing the new television language of the docu-series to one of the most important time slots of the first generalist network. “Blue Dream, the road to Wembley” is a project of the New Formats Development Department
After attending a local comic book convention, three filmmakers are so moved by the stories shared with them by cosplayers that they decide to investigate geek culture even further. Attending other conventions across the country and speaking with legendary creators such as Kevin Eastman, Stan Lee and George R.R. Martin, the trio not only begins to find answers to why people gravitate towards superheroes and stories about superheroes, but how being a geek could help them live deeper, richer lives. Geek, and You Shall Find tells the stories behind the creation of several popular stories including Superman, Star Wars, Game of Thrones and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In sharing how these characters and their worlds came to be, creators reveal how often they have been inspired by real-life social ills. Most importantly, by continuing to speak with fans who have been inspired by these creations, this film reveals how superheroes have the potential to combat these social issues as well.
This debut feature from Newfoundland’s G. Patrick Condon (Infanticide, Audition) is an inspired, meta take on the classic “cabin in the woods” horror trope. After squandering the money lent to him by a mysterious cinematic organization, a creatively frustrated writer / director, G. Patrick Condon, played by Stephen Oates (Frontier, Riverhead), has to take matters into his own hands by locking aspiring actress Grace (MJ Kehler) and the rest of the cast of actors in a rented house filled to the brim with security cameras and a script-spitting dot matrix printer. As time moves on, Condon slowly becomes the villain in his own movie by playing off the actor’s need to give the best performances they possibly can, while also satisfying his increasingly sinister demands; even if it kills them. Part Milgram Experiment, part A Cabin in the Woods, G. Patrick Condon’s Incredible Violence will have audiences talking for years to come.
INVALID is the story of a woman (Agnes played by Joni Durian) who is tasked with caring for her vegetative brother (Andrew played by Brandon Salkil). Things get strange when Agnes begins to hear her brother’s voice in her head, and he demands blood. Its Maniac meets Psycho meets Patrick with camera work and lighting inspired by the Italian greats like Bava, Fulci, and Argento. Sleaze, art, and emotion collide in INVALID.
Cameras follow David Beckham as he attempts to play a football match on all seven continents and get back in time for his own UNICEF fundraising match at Old Trafford. On the journey, he discovers what football means to the many different people he meets and plays with, as well as some of the universal truths about the game itself, including its ability to inspire and unite people.
Discovered at a young age, the shy, squeaky-voiced Michel’le was plucked straight from South Central, Los Angeles and catapulted into the spotlight while riding N.W.A.’s rocket ride of early success. Surrounded by industry visionaries from Eazy-E to Tupack Skaur, Michel’le quickly climbed the charts, but her musical successes were soon overshadowed by betrayal and corruption. A nearly decade-long romance with the infamous Dr. Dre pushed her into a life tarnished by alcohol, drugs and violence until her savior came in the unlikely form of Suge Knight, co-founder of Death Row Records and Dre’s business partner. Friendship would turn into a courtly romance, but the union Michel’le thought they had did not end happily ever after. With children from both men and a career to protect, Michel’le’s voice became silenced by Compton’s biggest power players. Until now.
Derrick De Marney finds himself in a 39 Steps situation when he is wrongly accused of murder. While a fugitive from the law, De Marney is helped by heroine Nova Pilbeam, who three years earlier had played the adolescent kidnap victim in Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much. The obligatory “fish out of water” scene, in which the principals are briefly slowed down by a banal everyday event, occurs during a child’s birthday party. The actual villain, whose identity is never in doubt (Hitchcock made thrillers, not mysteries) is played by George Curzon, who suffers from a twitching eye. Curzon’s revelation during an elaborate nightclub sequence is a Hitchcockian tour de force, the sort of virtuoso sequence taken for granted in these days of flexible cameras and computer enhancement, but which in 1937 took a great deal of time, patience and talent to pull off. Released in the US as The Girl Was Young, Young and Innocent was based on a novel by Josephine Tey.
This harrowing war film is an epic dramatization of the first battle of World War II. The Battle of Westerplatte that began on 1 September 1939 will forever be remembered as the one that announced the beginning of the Second World War in Europe. Over one week, fewer than 200 Polish soldiers fought against heavy German bombardment and in the process came to symbolize the power of resistance. As the violence rages, a complex battle of a more personal nature plays out between two Polish commanders over how to best lead their men. Amid the bloodshed, they must ask themselves – should they fight until the last man standing or surrender in the face of overwhelming odds? What unfolds is a stirring exploration of the fight against the forces of tyranny.
Written by Pulitzer Prize-winner Paula Vogel, created by Ms. Vogel and Rebecca Taichman, and directed by Ms. Taichman, Indecent is about the love and passion to create theatre, even in the most difficult of circumstances. The play follows a troupe of actors, the cast of Sholem Asch’s God of Vengeance, who risked their lives and careers against enormous challenges to perform a work in which they deeply believed, at a time when art, freedom and truth were on trial. It is a story told with compassion and honesty, but also with great theatricality, and joyous songs and dances. The capture of Indecent was completed just prior to its final Broadway performance in August. Eight high-definition cameras captured every heartbreaking moment of this production at Broadway’s Cort Theatre.
Once upon a time, villagers in a tiny hill town in Tuscany came up with a remarkable way to confront their issues: they turned their lives into a play. Every summer, their piazza became their stage and residents of all ages played a part – the role of themselves. Monticchiello’s annual tradition has attracted worldwide attention and kept the town together for 50 years, but with an aging population and a future generation more interested in Facebook than farming, the town’s 50th–anniversary performance just might be its last. SPETTACOLO tells the story of Teatro Povero di Monticchiello, interweaving episodes from its past with its modern-day process as the villagers turn a series of devastating blows into a new play about the end of their world.
A cameraman is knocked over during a football game. His brother in law as the king of the ambulance chasing lawyers starts a suit while he’s still knocked out. The cameraman is against it until he hears that his ex-wife will be coming to see him. He pretends to be injured to get her back, but also sees what the strain is doing to the football player who injured him.
“Beyond the Supernova” is a tour documentary that offers a glimpse into the mind of the guitarist. Join Satriani while he performs music from Shockwave Supernova through Asia and Europe as he looks back on his career. We learn of the autobiographical concept behind the record and how it plays into determining Joe Satriani’s next creative step. We’ll also go behind the scenes of the Surfing To Shockwave World Tour featuring performances from Joe, Mike Keneally, Bryan Beller and Marco Minnemann, as well as cameo appearances by guitarists Steve Vai and Guthrie Govan.
The film represents life in a godforsaken Russian village. The only way to reach the mainland is to cross the lake by boat and a postman became the only connection with the outside world. A reserved community has been set up here. Despite the modern technologies and a spaceport nearby the people of the village live the way they would in the Neolithic Era. There is neither government nor social services or jobs. The postman’s beloved woman escapes the village life and moves to the city. Postman’s outboard engine gets stolen and he can no longer deliver mail. His normal pattern of life is disrupted. The postman makes a decision to leave for the city too but returns before long with no certain reason. The script is based on real characters’ stories. People from the village play their own parts in the film. The search for the protagonist lasted for over a year.
Bright sunny day, Medical Students He Xinyue, Xiao-Li Ma, Ng Yen Yen, Leiyong Han, Yang Gang and Zeng Ping – Meet six people have already abandoned the old school came to play. Six months ago, the school there was a bizarre murder, a woman died of “friends, back to back,” the horror rumors, everyone here was something fishy about the legend, once traumatic panic. Fearless young men and women regardless of the care of the old school of Qin master warning, insisted on a two-day stay here. As night fell, the feeling of insecurity, was seen fleeting ghost, some hearts desires expansion.
The Pilliga Yowie, – or ‘Jingra’ – has haunted the Australian outback for centuries, stalking a remote part of New South Wales, where men seldom dare tread, content to keep to itself… until now. Blokish truck driver Jay and his cameraman buddy Dylan journey into the PIlliga National Park with Liz and Tammy, two good time girls they meet in a pub. Things take a sinister turn when a local legend comes out to play – complete with big teeth, sharp claws and a craving for human flesh!
Over a million women have modeling portfolios online. BROKEN SIDE OF TIME is the story of Dolce, one of the models who’ve made a career of it. But now 30, and tired of competing with 18-year-olds, Dolce realizes what makes her feel most alive is also killing her. Before starting a new career behind the camera, she embarks on a long road trip home, shooting with her favorite photographers one last time, and shedding her lifestyle-acquired vices along the way. Combing real photoshoots shot cinéma vérité-style with a narrative based on some very real-life adventures in front of the lens, BROKEN SIDE OF TIME is a dark, sexual glimpse into a world never before captured in a film. A world where any woman can play the role of a model, and any man can be a photographer, and where even the best of them must consider whether the fame and money is worth the cost.
Sexy. Style-conscious. Extreme love affairs. Complicated friendships. Life happens all too quickly when Cloey is reluctantly plucked from her comfort zone and complete reliance on others is overturned – a secure relationship with her boyfriend unravels, her childhood best friend is moving away and daddy’s (Daniel Baldwin) checkbook closes. City Baby comments on the ladder-climbing mentality of always reaching for the next bigger, better thing – relationship, city, job – when sometimes what’s right in front of us is just fine. Scattered with cameos from Portland musicians like Stephen Malkmus of Pavement, live musical performances by Glass Candy and Starfucker, and a thoughtful soundtrack featuring all Portland bands and musicians, City Baby depicts a playground for semi-adults, revolving through the lives of cool kids.
Flora Lau’s debut feature is a beautifully formed, subtle film that focuses on the lives of two people with very different prospects – a wealthy Hong Kong woman and her mainland Chinese chauffeur – both trying to cope with life’s unexpected dramas. Anna (Carina Lau) struggles to maintain appearances with her status-conscious friends after her husband mysteriously vanishes. Fai’s (Chen Kun) wife is heavily pregnant with their second child, has no health care entitlements in Hong Kong and cannot give birth in their homeland without incurring penalties for breaching the one-child policy. While their daily routines intersect, their fates only momentarily converge and Lau elegantly critiques the social contradictions at play by paralleling their predicaments rather than constructing drama between the two protagonists. (Source: LFF programme)
It is New Year’s weekend and the friends of Peter (Fry) gather at his newly inherited country house. Ten years ago, they all acted together in a Cambridge University student comedy troupe, but it’s less clear how much they have in common now.Peter’s friends are Andrew (Branagh), now a writer in Hollywood; married jingle writers Roger (Laurie) and Mary (Staunton); glamorous costume designer Sarah (Emmanuel); and eccentric Maggie (Thompson), who works in publishing. Cast in sharp relief to the university chums are Carol (Rudner), the American TV star wife of Andrew; and loutish Brian (Slattery), Sarah’s very recently acquired lover. Law plays Peter’s disapproving housekeeper, Vera; and Lowe, her son Paul. Briers appears in a cameo role as Peter’s father.
Rational, exacting, and self-controlled theater director, Henrik Vogler, often stays after rehearsal to think and plan. On this day, Anna comes back, ostensibly looking for a bracelet. She is the lead in his new production of Stindberg’s “A Dream Play.” She talks of her hatred for her mother, now dead, an alcoholic actress, who was Vogler’s star and lover. Vogler falls into a reverie, remembering a day Anna’s mother, Rakel, late in life, came after rehearsal to beg him to come to her apartment. He awakes and Anna reveals the reason she has returned: she jolts him into an emotional response, rare for him, and the feelings of a young woman and an older man play out.
Lucky Bastard is a “found footage” thriller about a porn website run by Mike (Don McManus) that invites fans to have sex with porn stars. Jay Paulson plays Dave, an eager young fan given a chance to have sex with the fabulous Ashley Saint (Betsy Rue). But everyone gets more than they bargained for in the seemingly mild-mannered Dave… with gruesome results. The film is captured by the “Lucky Bastard” porn cameras for a fresh take on the “found footage” genre