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“100 Years” is the David vs. Goliath story of Elouise Cobell, a petite, Native American Warrior who filed the largest class action lawsuit ever filed against the United States Government and won a $3.4 billion settlement for 300,000 Native Americans whose mineral-rich lands were mismanaged by the Department of the Interior.
After getting dropped by her publisher, celebrated novelist Hannah Ryan uses the negative forces in her life to inspire the creation of a pulp crime serial that posts new chapters to subscriber’s devices every week. The initial release is a modest success but the work becomes a massive hit after a real life murder takes place that bears a striking similarity to Hannah’s story. Is it really just a coincidence or is it possible that a copycat serial killer is acting out the fictitious murders in real life? And is he going to strike again once Hannah releases her next chapter?
Jodie Baxter is a Captain returned home from Afghanistan after being injured in a rigged booby trap that has left her scarred both physically and on a deep psychological level. She struggles to reconnect with her husband on a sexual and emotional accord and begins to realise the distance between herself and her child as her daughter hides pivotal moments of puberty that a mother should be there to support. In the middle of moving out of their Service Family Accommodation, Jodie escapes to her one place of solace, a hotel where she resides to be free and remember the past. It is there she notices and becomes obsessed with a couple, an abusive older man and a young prostitute who he humiliates and debases. Following them back to their room, Jodie enters into the situation and it is through an extreme act of violence, lust and in her eyes ‘protection’ she has a revelation concerning what she has experienced and what has been haunting her deep within her cognisance.
A shy investigator assumes the identity of a small town murder victim in order to solve her gruesome death.
A cavalcade of English life from New Year’s Eve 1899 until 1933 seen through the eyes of well-to-do Londoners Jane and Robert Marryot. Amongst events touching their family are the Boer War, the death of Queen Victoria, the sinking of the Titanic and the Great War.
Some people run for exercise, and others for competition, but Johnnie Jameson runs to heal.
“If buildings could talk, what would they say about us?” CATHEDRALS OF CULTURE offers six startling responses. This 3D film project about the soul of buildings allows six iconic and very different buildings to speak for themselves, examining human life from the unblinking perspective of a manmade structure. Six acclaimed filmmakers bring their own visual style and artistic approach to the project. Buildings, they show us, are material manifestations of human thought and action: the Berlin Philharmonic, an icon of modernity; the National Library of Russia, a kingdom of thoughts; Halden Prison, the world’s most humane prison; the Salk Institute, an institute for breakthrough science; the Oslo Opera House, a futuristic symbiosis of art and life; and the Centre Pompidou, a modern culture machine. CATHEDRALS OF CULTURE explores how each of these landmarks reflects our culture and guards our collective memory.
Michael Thomasson has devoted his life to video games. It’s been his passion and his obsession for more than three decades. He owns over 11,000 unique game titles for more than 100 different systems. Why? Because there’s something wrong in the back of my head, he says. His collection is so large, in fact, it’s currently recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records. But there’s one thing Michael loves more than his games: his family. The Last Move chronicles Michael’s attempts to help his mother at an enormous personal cost to himself.
FEMALE PERVERT is a provocative sex comedy by Atlanta based female writer/director Jiyoung Lee (Moral Sleaze, 2013), premiering at Slamdance this year. Actress Jennifer Kim (Mozart In The Jungle) shines as the titular star, a painfully awkward, sex obsessed video game designer who meets a series of men in hopes of sparking a love connection, and follows a twisted path to self-empowerment. The film has a truly absurd, original vision and impeccable comic timing. (more info on the film below).
A humorous and heartwarming documentary feature, CYBER-SENIORS chronicles the extraordinary journey of a group of senior citizens as they discover the world of the Internet through the guidance of teenage mentors. Their exploration of cyberspace is catapulted to another level when 89 year-old Shura decides to create a YouTube cooking video. A spirited video competition for the most “views” evolves as the cyber-seniors’ hidden talents and competitive spirits are revealed. CYBER-SENIORS provides insight into the wonderful things that can happen when generation gaps are bridged, proving you are never too old to get “connected.”
This feature documentary portrays one of the most important museums in the world, the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien. It presents a unique look behind the scenes of this fascinating institution and encounters a number of charismatic protagonists and their working fields unfolding the museum’s special world – as an art institution as well a vehicle for state representation.
The story of Sport and Spoon – two young hustlers who attend the eponymous convention, only to get tangled up in a financial disagreement that leads to a shootout, police chase and finishes with Sport on death row, weighing up what it all means. Taking its title from the album, the film blends archive photos with interviews and uses unique animated sequences set to the album. It portrays Hustlers Convention in its wider social context and Jalal’s personal story as one of rap’s undisputed pioneers.
A prime-time network news magazine show premieres controversial leaked footage from a highly-classified U.S. government program named Nocturne Six that recruits citizens with extrasensory abilities. Forced into the program by unscrupulous means, these gifted, yet apprehensive citizens, known as “guardians”, are sent to parallel planes of Earth in order to thwart imminent attacks by dangerous supernatural entities. A live investigation by the news show at the abandoned site of the Nocturne Six program quickly devolves and exposes the unearthly evils that the guardians faced in their treacherous missions.
Inspired by a 1970’s science fiction novel entitled ALTERNATIVE 3, one man, armed with nothing but a camera and an open mind, sets forth on a journey to reveal the truth behind what may well be one of the most startling secrets: An elite group is said to be secretly building an exclusive off-world survival colony on planet Mars. Credible individuals have begun to emerge claiming to have been actual Mars recruits including the great granddaughter of a historically significant American president.
This essay film tells of the ocean as a place of yearning, of the world of giant container ships and their crews, and the women that wait for them in ports and drinking holes. The protagonists’ thoughts are rendered as inner monologues in voiceover, all set to striking documentary images. Sandy represents all the women willing to give themselves to strange men, the perfect complement for the desire of all those roaming restlessly from port to port. The film has an affectionate eye for this eccentric former prostitute, for her body marked by life, lust, and the men she’s met, as well as for her free, yet romantic idea of love. She is a siren and Penelope in equal measure.
Drawing on the collections of major Russian institutions, contributions from contemporary artists, curators and performers and personal testimony from the descendants of those involved, the film brings the artists of the Russian Avant-Garde to life. It tells the stories of artists like Chagall, Kandinsky and Malevich – pioneers who flourished in response to the challenge of building a new art for a new world, only to be broken by implacable authority after 15 short years and silenced by Stalin’s Socialist Realism.
An origin story, of sorts–LIGHTNINGFACE stars Oscar Isaac as Basil Stitt, who in the aftermath of an inexplicable incident, decides to sequester himself inside his apartment, setting the stage for a profound transformation.
Music is an integral part of most films, adding emotion and nuance while often remaining invisible to audiences. Matt Schrader shines a spotlight on the overlooked craft of film composing, gathering many of the art form’s most influential practitioners, from Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman to Quincy Jones and Randy Newman, to uncover their creative process. Tracing key developments in the evolution of music in film, and exploring some of cinema’s most iconic soundtracks, ‘Score’ is an aural valentine for film lovers.
“How comes no one has ever made a film about The Melvins?” Well, no one has ever tried or thought it even possible…..until now that is. The Colossus Of Destiny – A Melvins Tale is a film about a band who have defied all the rules, for over 32 years and counting, and still managed to succeed and do it their own way. The journey of band members King Buzzo and Dale Crover leads us from the backwards-waters of the Chehalis River in Washington State, down through the Golden Gate of Northern California, and finally settling into the Los Angeles River Basin of Southern California. With the rest of the world thrown in along the way. You will witness first hand the beliefs and attitudes, values and obscenities, slows and fasts, triumphs and toils, loves and hates, wits and giggles of a hugely talented and influential band. And you will also come away with a lesson in how to survive in the wicked world of the music biz without taking yourself too damn seriously.
Two longtime rivals and elementary school teachers duke it out during the holidays in a Christmas cookie bake-off, but their real feud ignites over a shared interest in a handsome single dad. With both determined to win the prize and the romance, their competitiveness could jeopardize what matters most this Christmas season.
Legends speak of Giants that once walked the earth. In America alone there have been over 1,500 newspaper accounts, including 3,781 skeletons of a race of blond-haired giants discovered and exhumed. Where did the evidence go? Did the Smithsonian Institution cover it up?
Creative and competitive, members of the Evil Geniuses Starcraft 2 team must prove themselves to make the cut in professional video gaming. Good Game follows the team as they discover that one wrong move could end their dreams.
The DigiDestined inaugurate their newest members, Meiko Mochizuki and Meicoomon, with a trip to a nearby hot spring. Meanwhile, Joe is becoming more distant, struggling to balance his duty as a DigiDestined and the competitive world of academics. As the damage caused by Alphamon is slowly repaired, another infected Digimon, Ogremon, suddenly appears, and although they only have good intentions, the decisions the DigiDestined make now will have unforeseen consequences.
Created from a treasure trove of archive, Queerama traverses a century of gay experiences, encompassing persecution and prosecution, injustice, love and desire, identity, secrets, forbidden encounters, sexual liberation and pride. The soundtrack weaves the lyrics and music of John Grant, Goldfrapp and Hercules & Love Affair with the images and guides us intimately into the relationships, desires, fears and expressions of gay men and women in the 20th century – a century of incredible change.
Beyond Food explores the ways a group of extraordinary people live amazing lives, eat delicious food while extracting more energy and mental focus from their daily rituals. Biohackers, Paleo, Vegan, Neuroscientists, Athletes, Foragers, Ranchers, Farmers, Gut scientists. Some of our characters are Dave Asprey (Bulletproof Exec), Mariel Hemingway, Laird Hamilton, James Hardt (Biocybernaut Institute Advanced Neurofeedback) Our target audience is everyone who is desiring to learn how to fuel and create an extraordinary life. Our main purpose is to share the lessons from the journey we lived because it changed our lives.
In her first feature-length documentary, director Mina Shum (Double Happiness) takes a penetrating look at the Sir George Williams University riot of February 1969, when a protest against institutional racism snowballed into a 14-day student occupation at the Montreal university.
Snuffet is a found footage snuff film with a psychotic twist. The victims are all puppets. Imagine a world exactly like our own except for one crucial detail… puppets are real and they coexist with humanity. Just like our world there is a seedy underbelly beneath the surface. Puppet racism, puppet hate crimes, puppet civil rights issues, and of course puppet serial killers. Human serial killers who hunt puppets to be specific. Our story follows a maniac’s video diary as he hunts, mutilates, dismembers, and violates poor hapless Puppet Americans. Watch as they scream, bleed, and beg for mercy as a masked psychopath dismantles them one stitch at a time.
Chinatown Fair opened as a penny arcade on Mott Street in 1944. Over the decades, the dimly lit gathering place, known for its tic-tac-toe playing chicken, became an institution, surviving turf wars between rival gangs, changing tastes and the explosive growth of home gaming systems like Xbox and Playstation that shuttered most other arcades in the city. But as the neighborhood gentrified, this haven for a diverse, unlikely community faced its strongest challenge, inspiring its biggest devotees to next-level greatness.
Tom “Putuparri” Lawford is a man caught between two worlds: his past and present in modern society, where he battles with alcoholism and domestic violence; and his future as a leader of his people, reconnecting with his ancestral lands, learning about his traditional culture and shouldering his responsibility to pass this knowledge on to the next generation. Director Nicole Ma spent more than a decade documenting Putuparri’s journey, travelling with him and his family on numerous occasions to Kurtal, in the Kimberley’s Great Sandy Desert region – traditionally a site of great significance as a place where people ritually make rain – as they fight for their native title claim over the area. Set against the backdrop of this long fight for ownership of traditional lands, the MIFF Premiere Fund-supported Putuparri and the Rainmakers is an emotional, visually breathtaking story of love, hope and the survival of Aboriginal law and culture against all odds.
A shocking story about addiction and attempts to overcome it. The script is based on Jerzy Plich’s excellent novel “The Mighty Angel” (alternative title: “The Strong Angel Inn”). Jerzy (Robert Więckiewicz) is a writer and a heavy drinker. We meet him at the point when he believes that he can beat his addiction. He falls in love with a young girl (Julia Kijowska) and finally feels that he has got the person and the reason to live for. But soon he yields to his addiction.
Eva Hendrickx is an ambitious young journalist working on the team of television legend Herman Verbeeck. She’s determined to bring a story about the riots in the suburbs of Brussels. While the city spins further away in a spiral of violence, Eva meets Lahbib, a Moroccan with a heavy past. He escorts her into his complex and hard world. Meanwhile, Herman Verbeeck sees a way to exploit Eva’s story in the ever-competitive mediagame…
Before Dawn charts the years of exile in the life of famous Jewish Austrian writer Stefan Zweig, his inner struggle for the “right attitude” towards the events in war torn Europe and his search for a new home.
A military expedition in Siberia gone wrong. The existence of humanity is in peril as Inanna, Sumerian goddess of lust and war has summoned a giant meteor to destroy the planet, after being accidentally set free from her ancient prison. The government has been overturned in a Communist take-over and the citizens of the world; brainwashed. In humanity’s darkest hour, the ancient entity of Gilgamesh, older than the cosmos themselves, must decide whether or not to serve of mankind’s final hope. Meanwhile, Inanna has hand selected the one man; married man and archaeologist, David Murphy, to live out the rest of eternity with her. Gilgamesh and Inanna are quickly targeted by the new government as potential weapons of mass destruction, and soon the apocalypse has begun.
Jack to a King is a passionate portrait of the rise of Swansea City Football Club from near oblivion to the world stage of the Premier League. It is the story of a city and the people who made the club what it is today. An independent feature from film makers, Mal Pope and Edward Thomas, YJB Films’, Jack to a King is about more than just a football club, it is about a city that survives against all odds – through the Blitz, industrial decline and recession. It tells a universal story of how football plays into the lives of ordinary people. It touches on the Welsh attitude to defeat and victory and the relationship between sport and money. The story is told through the characters involved, capturing the rhythm of their lives and presenting a portrait of where they live. Through it all, there is one dream, one ambition which unites everyone – The Premier League.
The Surire Salt Flat is located at an altitude of 4300 m in the Chilean High Plateau and is one of the most remote places in the world, keeping the treasure of untouched nature with all its beauty but also holding an allurement: a huge amount of borax, promising the mining industry profits at unknown levels. Surire, metaphorically tells us in an outstanding visual way the story of our planet – about the very important subjects of the disappearance of traditional indigenous culture, untouched nature, the environment, and the clash of new and old.
After his family falls apart Joshua (writer/co-director/star Aaron Ellis) is forced to move to Canada. It is there he meets Jay (Justin Liles), a local tattoo artist who fled the violent actions of his parents back home in Alabama. Both young men, abandoned and lonely in their own way, find themselves falling for one another… until a pair of high school brats intrude on the boys’ growing relationship. This LGBT film has won numerous awards at film festivals, including Best LGBT Feature Film at the Accolade Competition and the Independent Filmmakers Showcase IFS Film Festival, as well as Best Leading Actor and Narrative Feature at the IndieFEST Film Awards.
Filmed live in San Francisco, Janeane Garofalo takes on society’s intolerance of gluten and House Hunters International. With her unapologetic attitude, Janeane proudly states her AARP membership, her love for Febreze but the disdain for their commercials, and her disinterest in doctors.
Arima Kousei won numerous piano competitions while under the strict watch of his mother. He was known as the human metronome during that time. Since the death of his mother, Kousei has been unable to hear the sound of his piano. He then meets Miyazono Kaori through childhood friend Sawabe Tsubaki. Kaori plays the violin and has a free sprit. Since meeting her, Kousei is able to face the piano again. Meanwhile, Kaori holds a secret.
