The Santa Barbara International Film Festival has unveiled its 2015 line-up which includes films representing 54 countries, 23 world premieres and 53 U.S. premieres. The U.S. premiere of Niki Caro’s McFarland USA will close out the 30th fest. Based on the 1987 true story and starring Kevin Costner and Maria Bello, the film follows novice runners from McFarland, an economically challenged town in California’s farm-rich Central Valley, as they give their all to build a cross-country team under the direction of Coach Jim White (Costner), a newcomer to their predominantly Latino high school. The unlikely band of runners overcomes the odds to forge not only a championship cross-country team but an enduring legacy as well.
The festival runs from January 27-February 7.
Below is the list of World and U.S. Premiere films followed by the list of titles by sidebar categories.
World Premieres
A Better You, USA
Directed by Matt Walsh
Cast: Brian Huskey,...
The festival runs from January 27-February 7.
Below is the list of World and U.S. Premiere films followed by the list of titles by sidebar categories.
World Premieres
A Better You, USA
Directed by Matt Walsh
Cast: Brian Huskey,...
- 1/8/2015
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline
A self-acknowledged "showcase for Academy Award frontrunners," the Santa Barbara International Film Festival is often overlooked for the actual films that earn it festival status. An amalgamation of international discoveries and ’merica’s circuit highlights, the Sbiff curates a week of best-of-the-best to pair with their star-praising. The 2015 edition offers another expansive selection, bookended by two films that aren’t on any radars just yet. Sbiff will open with "Desert Dancer," producer Richard Raymond’s directorial debut. Starring Reece Ritchie and Frieda Pinto, the drama follows a group of friends who wave off the harsh political climate of Iran’s 2009 presidential election in favor of forming a dance team, picking up moves from Michael Jackson, Gene Kelly and Rudolf Nureyev thanks to the magic of YouTube. The festival will close with "McFarland, USA," starring Kevin Costner and Maria Bello. Telling the 1987 true story of a Latino high school’s underdog cross-country team,...
- 1/8/2015
- by Matt Patches
- Hitfix
Onir’s I Am will open the 13th edition of the London Asian Film festival which will take place from March 18-27, 2011.
The other films that will be screened in the festival are Dilip Mehta’s Cooking With Stella, Murali Subramani’s Natural Selection, Sona Jain’s For Real, Rakesh Mehta’s Khudakhushi, Avantika Hari’s Land Gold Women, Anusha Rizvi’s Peepli Live, Laurens Corneliz Postma’s The Interview, S M Raju’s Varnam, Rajeev Patil’s Jogwa, Sundaran’s Thittukudi, Andrew Piddington’s Killing of John Lennon, Sander Francken’s BardSongs, Jeet Matharru’s Women from the East, Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi, Nayan Padrai’s When Harry tries to Marry and Sudipto Chattopadhyay’s Pankh.
Ajay Naidu’s Ashes will be the closing film of the festival.
The short films which will compete in the festival are : Wild Things by Sandeep Sharma, The Invigilator by Manesh Nesaratnam,...
The other films that will be screened in the festival are Dilip Mehta’s Cooking With Stella, Murali Subramani’s Natural Selection, Sona Jain’s For Real, Rakesh Mehta’s Khudakhushi, Avantika Hari’s Land Gold Women, Anusha Rizvi’s Peepli Live, Laurens Corneliz Postma’s The Interview, S M Raju’s Varnam, Rajeev Patil’s Jogwa, Sundaran’s Thittukudi, Andrew Piddington’s Killing of John Lennon, Sander Francken’s BardSongs, Jeet Matharru’s Women from the East, Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi, Nayan Padrai’s When Harry tries to Marry and Sudipto Chattopadhyay’s Pankh.
Ajay Naidu’s Ashes will be the closing film of the festival.
The short films which will compete in the festival are : Wild Things by Sandeep Sharma, The Invigilator by Manesh Nesaratnam,...
- 3/2/2011
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Artist Sam Taylor-Wood surprises us with an old-fashioned, affecting film exploring John Lennon's early years, writes Philip French
As composers, performers, producers and the subjects of documentaries, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr have made a remarkable contribution to the cinema over the years. The dominant figure, of course, has been Lennon. He's been impersonated by his fellow Liverpudlian Ian Hart in both Backbeat, Iain Softley's film about the Beatles in Hamburg, and The Hours and Times, Christopher Munch's picture about his 1963 trip with Brian Epstein to Barcelona, and more fleetingly in Todd Haynes's Bob Dylan movie I'm Not There. He's at the centre of a fascinating documentary on his political activities, The Us vs John Lennon (2006) and haunts the shadowy edges of The Killing of John Lennon, Andrew Piddington's 2006 portrait of his assassin, Mark Chapman. Now we have Sam Taylor-Wood's feature debut,...
As composers, performers, producers and the subjects of documentaries, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr have made a remarkable contribution to the cinema over the years. The dominant figure, of course, has been Lennon. He's been impersonated by his fellow Liverpudlian Ian Hart in both Backbeat, Iain Softley's film about the Beatles in Hamburg, and The Hours and Times, Christopher Munch's picture about his 1963 trip with Brian Epstein to Barcelona, and more fleetingly in Todd Haynes's Bob Dylan movie I'm Not There. He's at the centre of a fascinating documentary on his political activities, The Us vs John Lennon (2006) and haunts the shadowy edges of The Killing of John Lennon, Andrew Piddington's 2006 portrait of his assassin, Mark Chapman. Now we have Sam Taylor-Wood's feature debut,...
- 12/27/2009
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
- Like what had occurred over at the Golden Globes, it comes as no surprise that the Brits backed homegrown Joe Wright period piece of Atonement. Picking up a grand total of 14 nominees, the BAFTAs also gave There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men and Michael Clayton to celebrate. See the complete list below to see how they do things on the other side of the Atlantic. The full list of nominations follows:film“American Gangster” — Brian Grazer/Ridley Scott“Atonement” — Tim Bevan/Eric Fellner/Paul Webster“The Lives of Others” — Quirin Berg/Max Wiedemann“No Country for Old Men” — Scott Rudin/Joel Coen/Ethan Coen“There Will Be Blood” — JoAnne Sellar/Paul Thomas Anderson/Daniel LupiBRITISH Film“Atonement” — Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster, Joe Wright, Christopher Hampton“The Bourne Ultimatum” — Frank Marshall, Patrick Crowley, Paul L. Sandberg, Paul Greengrass, Tony Gilroy, Scott Z. Burns, George Nolfi“Control” — Orian Williams,
- 1/17/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
LONDON -- Joe Wright's "Atonement" leads the field of nominations for this year's British Academy Film Awards, securing 14 noms, ahead of the Coen brothers' "No Country for Old Men" and Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood", both of which took nine slots.
The trio of titles are all in the race for the best film award along with Ridley Scott's "American Gangster" and last year's foreign-language Oscar winner Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's "The Lives of Others". Both "Gangster" and "Others" scored five nominations.
Wright, Joel and Ethan Coen, Anderson and Henckel von Donnersmark also will battle it out with Paul Greengrass for the evening's best director nod, with Greengrass nominated for "The Bourne Ultimatum".
The best British film award, one of 23 awards dished out by the British Academy of Film and Television, will go to one from "Atonement", "Ultimatum", "Control", "Eastern Promises" and "This Is England".
George Clooney ("Michael Clayton"), Daniel Day-Lewis ("There Will Be Blood"), James McAvoy ("Atonement"), Viggo Mortensen ("Eastern Promises") and Ulrich Muehe ("The Lives of Others") all secure nominations for best actor.
Cate Blanchett has two nominations, for leading actress in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" and supporting actress in "I'm Not There".
Blanchett will have to triumph over Julie Christie ("Away From Her"), Marion Cotillard ("La Vie en Rose"), Keira Knightley ("Atonement") and Ellen Page ("Juno") to secure the best actress nod.
And Kelly Macdonald ("No Country"), Samantha Morton ("Control"), Saoirse Ronan ("Atonement") and Tilda Swinton ("Michael Clayton") might have something to say in the supporting actress race.
Javier Bardem and Tommy Lee Jones (both for "No Country"), Paul Dano ("Blood"), Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Charlie Wilson's War") and Tom Wilkinson ("Michael Clayton") are slugging it out for supporting actor.
The prize for best animated film will be drawn by "Ratatouille", "Shrek the Third" or "The Simpsons Movie".
Nominations for the Carl Foreman Award for special achievement by a British director, writer or producer in their first feature include Chris Atkins for writing and directing the documentary "Taking Liberties", Mia Bays for her producer role on documentary "Scott Walker: 30 Century Man", Sarah Gavron for helming "Brick Lane", Matt Greenhalgh for penning "Control" and Andrew Piddington for writing and directing "The Killing of John Lennon".
The original screenplay prize is a contest between Steven Zailian ("American Gangster"), Diablo Cody ("Juno"), Henckel von Donnersmarck ("Lives of Others"), Tony Gilroy ("Michael Clayton") and Shane Meadows ("This Is England").
Nominations for adapted screenplay are Christopher Hampton ("Atonement"), Ronald Harwood ("The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"), David Benioff ("The Kite Runner"), the Coens ("No Country") and Anderson ("Blood").
The winners will be announced Feb. 10 at London's Royal Opera House.
A complete list of nominations follows:
Best film
"American Gangster" -- Brian Grazer/Ridley Scott
"Atonement" -- Tim Bevan/Eric Fellner/Paul Webster
"The Lives of Others" -- Quirin Berg/Max Wiedemann
"No Country for Old Men" -- Scott Rudin/Joel Coen/Ethan Coen
"There Will Be Blood" -- JoAnne Sellar/Paul Thomas Anderson/Daniel Lupi
British film
"Atonement" -- Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster, Joe Wright, Christopher Hampton
"The Bourne Ultimatum" -- Frank Marshall, Patrick Crowley, Paul L.
The trio of titles are all in the race for the best film award along with Ridley Scott's "American Gangster" and last year's foreign-language Oscar winner Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's "The Lives of Others". Both "Gangster" and "Others" scored five nominations.
Wright, Joel and Ethan Coen, Anderson and Henckel von Donnersmark also will battle it out with Paul Greengrass for the evening's best director nod, with Greengrass nominated for "The Bourne Ultimatum".
The best British film award, one of 23 awards dished out by the British Academy of Film and Television, will go to one from "Atonement", "Ultimatum", "Control", "Eastern Promises" and "This Is England".
George Clooney ("Michael Clayton"), Daniel Day-Lewis ("There Will Be Blood"), James McAvoy ("Atonement"), Viggo Mortensen ("Eastern Promises") and Ulrich Muehe ("The Lives of Others") all secure nominations for best actor.
Cate Blanchett has two nominations, for leading actress in "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" and supporting actress in "I'm Not There".
Blanchett will have to triumph over Julie Christie ("Away From Her"), Marion Cotillard ("La Vie en Rose"), Keira Knightley ("Atonement") and Ellen Page ("Juno") to secure the best actress nod.
And Kelly Macdonald ("No Country"), Samantha Morton ("Control"), Saoirse Ronan ("Atonement") and Tilda Swinton ("Michael Clayton") might have something to say in the supporting actress race.
Javier Bardem and Tommy Lee Jones (both for "No Country"), Paul Dano ("Blood"), Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Charlie Wilson's War") and Tom Wilkinson ("Michael Clayton") are slugging it out for supporting actor.
The prize for best animated film will be drawn by "Ratatouille", "Shrek the Third" or "The Simpsons Movie".
Nominations for the Carl Foreman Award for special achievement by a British director, writer or producer in their first feature include Chris Atkins for writing and directing the documentary "Taking Liberties", Mia Bays for her producer role on documentary "Scott Walker: 30 Century Man", Sarah Gavron for helming "Brick Lane", Matt Greenhalgh for penning "Control" and Andrew Piddington for writing and directing "The Killing of John Lennon".
The original screenplay prize is a contest between Steven Zailian ("American Gangster"), Diablo Cody ("Juno"), Henckel von Donnersmarck ("Lives of Others"), Tony Gilroy ("Michael Clayton") and Shane Meadows ("This Is England").
Nominations for adapted screenplay are Christopher Hampton ("Atonement"), Ronald Harwood ("The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"), David Benioff ("The Kite Runner"), the Coens ("No Country") and Anderson ("Blood").
The winners will be announced Feb. 10 at London's Royal Opera House.
A complete list of nominations follows:
Best film
"American Gangster" -- Brian Grazer/Ridley Scott
"Atonement" -- Tim Bevan/Eric Fellner/Paul Webster
"The Lives of Others" -- Quirin Berg/Max Wiedemann
"No Country for Old Men" -- Scott Rudin/Joel Coen/Ethan Coen
"There Will Be Blood" -- JoAnne Sellar/Paul Thomas Anderson/Daniel Lupi
British film
"Atonement" -- Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster, Joe Wright, Christopher Hampton
"The Bourne Ultimatum" -- Frank Marshall, Patrick Crowley, Paul L.
- 1/17/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IFC Films
NEW YORK -- The Killing of John Lennon boasts an undeniable technical proficiency and historical authenticity, but this docudrama detailing assassin Mark David Chapman's obsession, stalking and eventual murder of the beloved Beatle nonetheless has an unavoidably exploitative feel.
One of two movies -- Chapter 27, starring a fattened-up Jared Leto, is the other -- recently made concerning the event, the film lacks the depth that might justify its existence. The picture opened Wednesday for an exclusive engagement at New York's IFC Center.
In both his screenplay and his visuals, filmmaker Andrew Piddington applies a powerful documentary-style approach to the material, filming for the most part on actual locations (the shooting at the Dakotas, thank goodness, was re-created on a soundstage) and incorporating numerous excerpts from the killer's diaries as voice-overs.
The film dutifully covers all of the story's important elements, including Chapman's leaving his Japanese-American wife (Mie Omori) in Honolulu; traveling to New York and spending several months doggedly trailing his prey; the obsession with Catcher in the Rye and his view of Lennon's supposed hypocrisy that fueled his rage; and the immediate aftermath of the killing, including a less-than-illuminating session with a police shrink.
The filmmaker attempts to give us clues to the killer's mental state with effective stylistic devices, as well as several fantasy sequences, including one in which Chapman imagines shooting a homosexual couple.
But despite such attempts at providing psychological context for his actions, Chapman inevitably remains an enigma, a severely disturbed young man whose motivations necessarily resist explication. And the film does itself no favors with its direct quoting of touchstones of this genre such as Taxi Driver.
Jonas Ball delivers an impressively restrained performance in the central role, his deadpan facial expressions and monotone vocals proving far more creepy than he if had indulged in histrionics.
NEW YORK -- The Killing of John Lennon boasts an undeniable technical proficiency and historical authenticity, but this docudrama detailing assassin Mark David Chapman's obsession, stalking and eventual murder of the beloved Beatle nonetheless has an unavoidably exploitative feel.
One of two movies -- Chapter 27, starring a fattened-up Jared Leto, is the other -- recently made concerning the event, the film lacks the depth that might justify its existence. The picture opened Wednesday for an exclusive engagement at New York's IFC Center.
In both his screenplay and his visuals, filmmaker Andrew Piddington applies a powerful documentary-style approach to the material, filming for the most part on actual locations (the shooting at the Dakotas, thank goodness, was re-created on a soundstage) and incorporating numerous excerpts from the killer's diaries as voice-overs.
The film dutifully covers all of the story's important elements, including Chapman's leaving his Japanese-American wife (Mie Omori) in Honolulu; traveling to New York and spending several months doggedly trailing his prey; the obsession with Catcher in the Rye and his view of Lennon's supposed hypocrisy that fueled his rage; and the immediate aftermath of the killing, including a less-than-illuminating session with a police shrink.
The filmmaker attempts to give us clues to the killer's mental state with effective stylistic devices, as well as several fantasy sequences, including one in which Chapman imagines shooting a homosexual couple.
But despite such attempts at providing psychological context for his actions, Chapman inevitably remains an enigma, a severely disturbed young man whose motivations necessarily resist explication. And the film does itself no favors with its direct quoting of touchstones of this genre such as Taxi Driver.
Jonas Ball delivers an impressively restrained performance in the central role, his deadpan facial expressions and monotone vocals proving far more creepy than he if had indulged in histrionics.
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