Ahead of the Cannes Market, several new film projects are being announced before they go out to buyers/distributors. One of those new films is a psychological thriller by writer/director Lance Edmands and boasts an impressive cast.
According to Deadline, Edmands’ “Brightwater” will star Scoot McNairy, Jack Reynor, and Aussie actress Emily Browning in lead roles.
Continue reading ‘Brightwater’: Scoot McNairy, Jack Reynor & Emily Browning To Star In Lance Edmands’ Psychological Thriller at The Playlist.
According to Deadline, Edmands’ “Brightwater” will star Scoot McNairy, Jack Reynor, and Aussie actress Emily Browning in lead roles.
Continue reading ‘Brightwater’: Scoot McNairy, Jack Reynor & Emily Browning To Star In Lance Edmands’ Psychological Thriller at The Playlist.
- 5/9/2022
- by Christopher Marc
- The Playlist
Lance Edmands is finally set to direct his sophomore feature and he’ll have Scoot McNairy, Jack Reynor and Emily Browning‘s moral compasses all misaligned in a L‘Avventura-esque land drama. Deadline don’t give deets on the production start date for Brightwater, but we imagine that this is a summer shoot in Edmands’ beloved Maine. This is produced by Symbolic Exchange’s Joe Pirro and Alex Lipschultz (see our Sundance trading card profile), and James Schamus is joined by Stephen Kelliher and Sophie Green as executive producers. We’re big fans of Edmands’ 2013 debut, Bluebird (read review) — an ensemble drama submerged in collective despondency.…...
- 5/6/2022
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Exclusive: Scoot McNairy (Narcos: Mexico), Jack Reynor (Midsommar) and Emily Browning (American Gods) are set to lead cast in psychological thriller Brightwater, which James Schamus (Brokeback Mountain) is aboard as executive producer.
Bankside Films is launching the package ahead of the impending Cannes market. Verve Ventures co reps domestic.
Brightwater will see a big-city architect travel to an isolated Maine island with plans to build a sprawling luxury resort, but when his girlfriend mysteriously vanishes, he embarks on a desperate search across the unforgiving landscape and into his own psyche.
Currently in pre-production, the project is written and directed by Lance Edmands, whose debut feature Bluebird was invited to the Sundance Institute Screenwriters and Directors Labs and premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Pic is being produced by Joe Pirro of Symbolic Exchange (A Prayer Before Dawn) and Alex Lipschultz (The Last Shift). Stephen Kelliher and Sophie Green of Bankside...
Bankside Films is launching the package ahead of the impending Cannes market. Verve Ventures co reps domestic.
Brightwater will see a big-city architect travel to an isolated Maine island with plans to build a sprawling luxury resort, but when his girlfriend mysteriously vanishes, he embarks on a desperate search across the unforgiving landscape and into his own psyche.
Currently in pre-production, the project is written and directed by Lance Edmands, whose debut feature Bluebird was invited to the Sundance Institute Screenwriters and Directors Labs and premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Pic is being produced by Joe Pirro of Symbolic Exchange (A Prayer Before Dawn) and Alex Lipschultz (The Last Shift). Stephen Kelliher and Sophie Green of Bankside...
- 5/6/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
The current state of American animated cinema is more than a little disappointing; Pixar, Disney, Dreamworks, and more regurgitate the same formula and offer nothing new but a juxtaposition of cartoon designs and hyper-realistic imagery; animation for adults is all too rare. When something like Dash Shaw and Jane Samborski’s Cryptozoo comes along, it’s easy to recognize as one of the most gorgeous works of American animation in ages.
There is a willingness to experiment with animation and layers that is present from the very first frames of Cryptozoo that makes it immediately captivating. One simply watches two hippies roaming through the forest, engaging in their erotic and philosophical musings, without the realization that something so small and dark and intimate will explode into a psychedelic adventure that asks an important question: can humans and cryptids ever truly co-exist in peace?
As amusing as the notion of potentially...
There is a willingness to experiment with animation and layers that is present from the very first frames of Cryptozoo that makes it immediately captivating. One simply watches two hippies roaming through the forest, engaging in their erotic and philosophical musings, without the realization that something so small and dark and intimate will explode into a psychedelic adventure that asks an important question: can humans and cryptids ever truly co-exist in peace?
As amusing as the notion of potentially...
- 1/29/2021
- by Juan Barquin
- The Film Stage
Dash Shaw’s adult animated feature Cryptozoo is a surreal romp into the world of cryptids, mythic creatures whose existence are debated. After stumbling on the titular Cryptozoo, an eclectic team of individuals set out to capture a dream-eating creature called a Baku. Editor Lance Edmands tells us of the unique struggle of balancing dream logic and streamlined editing that went into the development of Cryptozoo. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Edmands: I became friends with Dash Shaw […]
The post "It Was Supposed to be Confusing and Nonsensical": Editor Lance Edmands on Cryptozoo first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post "It Was Supposed to be Confusing and Nonsensical": Editor Lance Edmands on Cryptozoo first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/29/2021
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Dash Shaw’s adult animated feature Cryptozoo is a surreal romp into the world of cryptids, mythic creatures whose existence are debated. After stumbling on the titular Cryptozoo, an eclectic team of individuals set out to capture a dream-eating creature called a Baku. Editor Lance Edmands tells us of the unique struggle of balancing dream logic and streamlined editing that went into the development of Cryptozoo. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Edmands: I became friends with Dash Shaw […]
The post "It Was Supposed to be Confusing and Nonsensical": Editor Lance Edmands on Cryptozoo first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post "It Was Supposed to be Confusing and Nonsensical": Editor Lance Edmands on Cryptozoo first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/29/2021
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
The documentaries “Landfall” and “Five Years North” have won the top jury prizes at the 2020 Doc NYC film festival, the largest festival in the United States devoted to nonfiction filmmaking.
“Landfall,” director Cecilia Aldarondo’s portrait of a Puerto Rican community in the wake of Hurricane Maria, won the Grand Jury Prize in the Viewfinders Competition, with a special jury prize going to “Through the Night.” In the Metropolis Competition, made up of films about New York City, the top winner was “Five Years North,” Zach Ingrasci and Chris Temple’s film about a Cuban-American Ice agent and a teenage Guatemalan immigrant. “Wojnarowicz” received a special award for its use of archival material.
Jury prizes in the Short List: Features section, which was made up of 15 films deemed by Doc NYC programmers to be likely awards contenders, were awarded to “Time” for directing, “Welcome to Chechnya” for producing, “Boys State...
“Landfall,” director Cecilia Aldarondo’s portrait of a Puerto Rican community in the wake of Hurricane Maria, won the Grand Jury Prize in the Viewfinders Competition, with a special jury prize going to “Through the Night.” In the Metropolis Competition, made up of films about New York City, the top winner was “Five Years North,” Zach Ingrasci and Chris Temple’s film about a Cuban-American Ice agent and a teenage Guatemalan immigrant. “Wojnarowicz” received a special award for its use of archival material.
Jury prizes in the Short List: Features section, which was made up of 15 films deemed by Doc NYC programmers to be likely awards contenders, were awarded to “Time” for directing, “Welcome to Chechnya” for producing, “Boys State...
- 11/18/2020
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Ten-day Doc NYC Encore runs through November 29.
Landfall and Five Years North are among the Doc NYC juried award winners announced on Wednesday (November 18), which just announced it will take the unprecedented step of extending its programme for 10 days.
Cecilia Aldarondo’s disaster capitalism film Landfall examines the relationship between the US and Puerto Rico and prevailed over 10 other selections to take the grand jury prize in the Viewfinders Competition.
A special jury recognition went to Loira Limbal’s Ethics Of Care: Through The Night.
The Metropolis Competition grand jury prize from 10 films exploring New Yorkers and New York City...
Landfall and Five Years North are among the Doc NYC juried award winners announced on Wednesday (November 18), which just announced it will take the unprecedented step of extending its programme for 10 days.
Cecilia Aldarondo’s disaster capitalism film Landfall examines the relationship between the US and Puerto Rico and prevailed over 10 other selections to take the grand jury prize in the Viewfinders Competition.
A special jury recognition went to Loira Limbal’s Ethics Of Care: Through The Night.
The Metropolis Competition grand jury prize from 10 films exploring New Yorkers and New York City...
- 11/18/2020
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The 23rd annual Scad Savannah Film Festival has announced this year’s competition award winners. Best narrative feature went to “Killing Eleanor,” while “Kusasa” won best documentary feature. “My Brother’s Keeper” won the Jury Award for exceptional storytelling.
A key stop on the festival circuit leading up to the Academy Awards, Scad screened more than 150 films ranging from narrative features to documentaries and shorts with 14 world premieres.
Thirty-three awards were announced from the 122 films selected to compete in the categories of narrative features, documentary features, professional shorts, animated shorts, student shorts, Global Shorts Forum, Shorts Spotlight and Southern Voices.
“Killing Eleanor,” directed by Rich Newey, is about a terminally ill elderly woman who convinces a self-destructive addict to help her die on her terms in exchange for clean urine. Meanwhile, “Our Side,” directed by Nicola Rinciari, won best live action short by a Scad student. The story follows an African...
A key stop on the festival circuit leading up to the Academy Awards, Scad screened more than 150 films ranging from narrative features to documentaries and shorts with 14 world premieres.
Thirty-three awards were announced from the 122 films selected to compete in the categories of narrative features, documentary features, professional shorts, animated shorts, student shorts, Global Shorts Forum, Shorts Spotlight and Southern Voices.
“Killing Eleanor,” directed by Rich Newey, is about a terminally ill elderly woman who convinces a self-destructive addict to help her die on her terms in exchange for clean urine. Meanwhile, “Our Side,” directed by Nicola Rinciari, won best live action short by a Scad student. The story follows an African...
- 10/30/2020
- by Natalie Oganesyan
- Variety Film + TV
"Excuse me, sir? Are you okay?" In addition to Sam Mendes' long-take 1917 movie coming up this fall, we have another thrilling one-long-take film to watch right now. Whiteout is an 10-minute short film directed by up-and-coming filmmaker Lance Edmands, and it's a single-take drama set on a snowy road. When a young couple encounters a strange old man wandering in a snowstorm, they must decide if he needs help, or if he has more sinister intentions. Starring David Call and Sarah Tihany, with Patrick M. Walsh. It's a seriously suspenseful thriller that will turn your stomach. Edmands states that is intentions are to ask tough questions: "But what happens when we let our fear overwhelm our empathy?" It's a very provocative short that makes you confront your own feelings in a situation like this, a bit like Ruben Östlund's Force Majeure. Thanks to Short of the Week for debuting this.
- 11/26/2019
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Like most actors – or, at least, most actors who want to keep getting cast in quality projects – Adam Driver is quick to refer to filmmaking as a director’s medium. In doing so, he reveals a key aspect of his success to date.
“I don’t like being labeled as a certain kind of person or a certain kind of actor,” he told IndieWire in a recent interview. “Hopefully you get a chance to stretch and not stay in one mode.”
Read More: ‘Silence’ Review: Martin Scorsese Delivers a Gorgeous Crisis-of-Faith Drama
It’s easy dismiss such generic statements as aspirational, but Driver’s varied choices back it up. To date, none of his roles look much alike, but they constantly hit the right notes.
In just seven years on screen, the actor has worked with the likes of lauded masters like Clint Eastwood, the Coen Brothers and Steven Spielberg,...
“I don’t like being labeled as a certain kind of person or a certain kind of actor,” he told IndieWire in a recent interview. “Hopefully you get a chance to stretch and not stay in one mode.”
Read More: ‘Silence’ Review: Martin Scorsese Delivers a Gorgeous Crisis-of-Faith Drama
It’s easy dismiss such generic statements as aspirational, but Driver’s varied choices back it up. To date, none of his roles look much alike, but they constantly hit the right notes.
In just seven years on screen, the actor has worked with the likes of lauded masters like Clint Eastwood, the Coen Brothers and Steven Spielberg,...
- 12/15/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Bluebird, Lance Edmands’s directorial debut, is a slow burning examination of the ways in which grief and guilt affect the residents of a small town following a seemingly pointless and tragic event. In the dead of winter, in a logging town in Maine, school bus driver Lesley (Amy Morton) is distracted from her nightly checks […]
The post Bluebird Review appeared first on HeyUGuys.
The post Bluebird Review appeared first on HeyUGuys.
- 7/22/2016
- by Lauren Burgess
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Shortly after the Sundance Institute named their January Screenwriter’s Lab roster, it’s another West coast entity that is offering some support to the next gen of producers. The San Francisco Film Society folks have bestowed the Producer Fellowships to Reena Dutt, Kyle Martin (who is know best from producing Lena Dunham’s Tiny Furniture and Lance Edmands’ Bluebird) and Kimberly Parker (who most recently produced Katie Says Goodbye – a title we had pegged for Sundance). Here is the press release.
This round of Sffs Producer Fellowships runs from January to June 2016, kicking off with a 5-day networking trip to the Sundance Film Festival. In addition to this excursion, over the course of the Fellowship each winner will receive:
A $25,000–$40,000 cash grant to be used for living expenses. Individual amounts depend on place of residence and estimated travel costs to participate in Bay Area fellowship components.
Placement in our...
This round of Sffs Producer Fellowships runs from January to June 2016, kicking off with a 5-day networking trip to the Sundance Film Festival. In addition to this excursion, over the course of the Fellowship each winner will receive:
A $25,000–$40,000 cash grant to be used for living expenses. Individual amounts depend on place of residence and estimated travel costs to participate in Bay Area fellowship components.
Placement in our...
- 1/15/2016
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Have you ever wondered what are the films that inspire the next generation of visionary filmmakers? As part of our monthly Ioncinephile profile, we ask the filmmaker the incredibly arduous task of identifying their top ten favorite films of all time. As is the case with some of our previous profiled folks, sometimes we don’t receive a set ten, in this case, Lance Edmands‘ (his feature debut Bluebird gets released theatrically today via the Factory 25 Folks) delivered a hard eight. Here are Lance’s top eight, in his own words…
Making a list of my top ten films of all time is a next-to-impossible task for me. That list is constantly growing, shifting, evolving, and is probably closer to a hundred films than to ten. For me, it’s probably more relevant to list the films that inspired Bluebird specifically. That said, many of these films are also on my list of all-time favorites,...
Making a list of my top ten films of all time is a next-to-impossible task for me. That list is constantly growing, shifting, evolving, and is probably closer to a hundred films than to ten. For me, it’s probably more relevant to list the films that inspired Bluebird specifically. That said, many of these films are also on my list of all-time favorites,...
- 2/28/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Ioncinema.com’s Ioncinephile of the Month feature focuses on an emerging filmmaker from the world of cinema. Prior to the film’s TriBeCa Film Festival world premiere debut, we’ve had the pleasure to profile Lance Edmands on a couple of occasions, namely, our In the Pipeline spotlight. Matching the frigid, desolate Maine backdrop with a communal sense of sorrow, Bluebird features an outstanding group performance with Amy Morton leading a cast comprised of Louisa Krause, Emily Meade, Margo Martindale, Adam Driver and John Slattery (the Karlovy Vary Film Festival honored the four women). Usually, we get more into the mechanics of the film, but we took the opportunity to discuss technology and distribution – both changed tremendously during the film’s journey. Here’s this month (February/March) profile on Lance, and as always, make sure to click on over to his Top Ten Films of All Time list...
- 2/28/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
A frosty night alone inside an unheated school bus puts a hypothermic gradeschooler at death’s door. The multiple protagonists in model ensemble Bluebird milk the mishap, each in their own way. In an oddly similar fashion, director Lance Edmands works — let’s say plays — his audience. He short-circuits a chilling overview of the mishap’s immediate impact in favor of charging a profound visual essay on the power of love — ongoing, terminated, or altogether lacking. The titles of the two mournful vintage pop songs most prominent on the soundtrack evoke cataclysms, in theory echoing the emotional toll on those […]...
- 2/27/2015
- by Howard Feinstein
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
A frosty night alone inside an unheated school bus puts a hypothermic gradeschooler at death’s door. The multiple protagonists in model ensemble Bluebird milk the mishap, each in their own way. In an oddly similar fashion, director Lance Edmands works — let’s say plays — his audience. He short-circuits a chilling overview of the mishap’s immediate impact in favor of charging a profound visual essay on the power of love — ongoing, terminated, or altogether lacking. The titles of the two mournful vintage pop songs most prominent on the soundtrack evoke cataclysms, in theory echoing the emotional toll on those […]...
- 2/27/2015
- by Howard Feinstein
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Subtle, nuanced, and absorbing, Lance Edmands’ directorial debut, “Bluebird,” is a remarkable first feature and wise beyond his and its years. Carefully shot, well-observed, and featuring terrific performances from an excellent slate of experienced, yet largely unknown actors (aside from the “Mad Men” and HBO stars), “Bluebird” is an affecting and moving examination of family, mothers, connectedness, and the ripple effect of tragic consequences. In the cold, wintry northern corners of a small decaying logging-town in Maine, a local school bus driver, Lesley (Amy Morton, Tony winner for “August: Osage County”), goes about her day, driving kids back and forth from school. Her distant husband of 20 years, Richard (John Slattery), is elsewhere, preoccupied with the imminent closing of the paper mill that sustains this town and will eventually affect his logging job. Their teenage daughter, Paula (Emily Meade), is also disaffected, struggling with boys, sex, and the estrangement...
- 2/26/2015
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
Lance Edmands’ ensemble drama Bluebird sets its story in a blue collar, hardworking industrialized town. The screenplay uses a tragic instance of negligence to connect age-defining experiences (first love, job frustration, potential loss of a family member) in the complex lives of its multitude of characters. Distracted by the title bird, driver Leslie (played by Amy Morton) fails to see an unconscious student in the back of her schoolbus before going home; when he’s discovered near-dead the next day, she’s accused of not doing her job properly, leading to everyone having an opinion about her. Featuring some beautiful, quietly arresting snow-covered images caught on […]...
- 2/26/2015
- by Erik Luers
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Lance Edmands’ ensemble drama Bluebird sets its story in a blue collar, hardworking industrialized town. The screenplay uses a tragic instance of negligence to connect age-defining experiences (first love, job frustration, potential loss of a family member) in the complex lives of its multitude of characters. Distracted by the title bird, driver Leslie (played by Amy Morton) fails to see an unconscious student in the back of her schoolbus before going home; when he’s discovered near-dead the next day, she’s accused of not doing her job properly, leading to everyone having an opinion about her. Featuring some beautiful, quietly arresting snow-covered images caught on […]...
- 2/26/2015
- by Erik Luers
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Lives of Quiet Desperation: Edmond’s Masterful, Eloquent Debut
“I stand in awe of my body. This matter to which I am bound,” is the poetic quote form Henry David Thoreau opening Lance Edmands’ impressive directorial debut, Bluebird. Dealing with a tragedy that has a rippling effect throughout a northern rural community in Maine, we’ve seen this type of dramatic dynamic countless times before, yet Edmands manages a haunting portrait of unhappy, increasingly desperate lives within a small community of deferred dreams and staunch facades. Originally premiering at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, the title ends its weary trek through the festival circuit to a much deserved theatrical release, though this type of grim, upsetting drama may have difficulty finding an audience due to its sobering subject matter. Dramatically restrained, Edmands deftly navigates the sadness of disconnect in our daily lives, and how terrible circumstances are often the impetus for waking up from that slumber.
“I stand in awe of my body. This matter to which I am bound,” is the poetic quote form Henry David Thoreau opening Lance Edmands’ impressive directorial debut, Bluebird. Dealing with a tragedy that has a rippling effect throughout a northern rural community in Maine, we’ve seen this type of dramatic dynamic countless times before, yet Edmands manages a haunting portrait of unhappy, increasingly desperate lives within a small community of deferred dreams and staunch facades. Originally premiering at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, the title ends its weary trek through the festival circuit to a much deserved theatrical release, though this type of grim, upsetting drama may have difficulty finding an audience due to its sobering subject matter. Dramatically restrained, Edmands deftly navigates the sadness of disconnect in our daily lives, and how terrible circumstances are often the impetus for waking up from that slumber.
- 2/26/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Ioncinema.com’s In the Pipeline is a monthly in-depth conversation about the decision making and creative process surrounding American independent film productions. It features first-time filmmakers who are moments from yelling “cut” or somewhere in post-production bliss. This month, we feature: Lance Edmands. Originally published January 24th, 2011; Factory 25 releases Bluebird in theatres Friday, February 27th.
If you live there, you know Maine is much more than just lobsters and lighthouses. Filmmaker, Lance Edmands, is going to introduce the rest of us to the local side of his home state in his feature film debut, Bluebird. Set in a small Maine town, it’s about a school bus driver who accidentally locks a young boy in a school bus on a cold winter night. The boy is taken to the hospital the next day. The story follows the aftermath of this tragedy and how it affects and changes the families involved.
If you live there, you know Maine is much more than just lobsters and lighthouses. Filmmaker, Lance Edmands, is going to introduce the rest of us to the local side of his home state in his feature film debut, Bluebird. Set in a small Maine town, it’s about a school bus driver who accidentally locks a young boy in a school bus on a cold winter night. The boy is taken to the hospital the next day. The story follows the aftermath of this tragedy and how it affects and changes the families involved.
- 2/26/2015
- by Nicole Emanuele
- IONCINEMA.com
You know how three-quarters of the way through most conventionally plotted movies it looks as if things couldn't get more bleak for the protagonists? Lance Edmands's haunted hard-times drama Bluebird starts at that point, and then sinks from there, seemingly out of some conviction that this is what life's really like in small-town America.
So, within the first twenty minutes, a father (John Slattery) has learned his job's going away, and his wife (a superb Amy Morton) discovers that one neglected child never got off the bus she drives after she parked it for the night — and, this being Maine, in winter, that kid's now in a hypothermic coma. And then the bottom falls out on all these lives, again, and on all the lives they touch: Nobody in this film can ...
So, within the first twenty minutes, a father (John Slattery) has learned his job's going away, and his wife (a superb Amy Morton) discovers that one neglected child never got off the bus she drives after she parked it for the night — and, this being Maine, in winter, that kid's now in a hypothermic coma. And then the bottom falls out on all these lives, again, and on all the lives they touch: Nobody in this film can ...
- 2/25/2015
- Village Voice
It’s been a bit of a long time coming for the indie film “Bluebird,” but it’s almost here. The film debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2013 and we raved about it. The directorial debut of Lance Edmands (an editor who worked with Lena Dunham on “Tiny Furniture”), “Bluebird” boasts a terrific cast of character actors — including “Mad Men” star John Slattery and Adam Driver from “Girls” — but it's the women of the movie (Amy Morton, Tony-winner for “August: Osage County,” also George Clooney’s sister in “Up In The Air”; Louisa Krause, the bitchy, scene-stealing hotel clerk in "Young Adult"; and Emily Meade from "The Leftovers") who are the heart and soul of the story. All of them made our Artists To Watch list from the festival that year. And oh yeah, Margo Martindale co-stars and she's great too. The picture is terrific, a moody, well-observed meditation...
- 2/5/2015
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
Brooklyn-based indie film and music label Factory 25 has acquired North American theatrical rights to the drama Bluebird, starring John Slattery, Amy Morton, Margo Martindale, Adam Driver, Louisa Krause and Emily Meade. The film marks the directorial debut of Tiny Furniture editor Lance Edmands. Bluebird — which screened at the Tribeca, Provincetown and other festivals, starting in 2013 — won the best actress prize at the 2013 Karlovy Vary film festival. Bluebird explores the interconnectedness of a small logging town in Maine, showing that even the slightest actions have consequences. Morton plays a local school bus driver who fails to
read more...
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- 12/2/2014
- by Hilary Lewis
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
In a deal that has been closed for some time now, but Factory 25 are cutting, skidding and loading Lance Edmands’ directorial debut onto their 2015 slate with the seasonally thematic release date of February 27th (NYC). It’ll have been almost two years since Bluebird received its world premiere at Tribeca ’13, but this rural community drama packs a punch with one of the better ensemble dramas casts in John Slattery, Amy Morton, Louisa Krause, Emily Meade, Margo Martingale and Adam Driver.
Gist: This explores the interconnectedness of a small town in the northern reaches of Maine. When Lesley, the local school bus driver (Morton), becomes distracted during her end-of-day inspection, she fails to notice a sleeping boy in the back of the bus. What happens next shatters the tranquility of her small logging town, proving that even the slightest actions have enormous consequences. Stricken by an overwhelming sense of guilt, Lesley...
Gist: This explores the interconnectedness of a small town in the northern reaches of Maine. When Lesley, the local school bus driver (Morton), becomes distracted during her end-of-day inspection, she fails to notice a sleeping boy in the back of the bus. What happens next shatters the tranquility of her small logging town, proving that even the slightest actions have enormous consequences. Stricken by an overwhelming sense of guilt, Lesley...
- 12/2/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Adopt Films has picked up Effie Gray for the Us and plans a spring theatrical release.
Emma Thompson wrote the screenplay to Effie Gray starring Dakota Fanning stars in the title role as the former teen bride of 19th century art critic John Ruskin.
Gray later married pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millais and bore eight children.
Factory 25 has acquired North American theatrical rights to Lance Edmands’ directorial debut drama Bluebird starring John Slattery, Amy Morton, Louisa Krause, Emily Meade, Margo Martindale and Adam Driver. The distributor has set a February 27 New York release followed by nationwide theatrical roll-out. Sundance Artist Services will oversee the digital release via iTunes, Amazon and other outlets.Gravitas Ventures has taken North American theatrical, VOD and DVD rights to Stephen Kijak’s documentary Backstreet Boys: Show ‘Em What You’re Made Of and set a January 30 VOD release.
Emma Thompson wrote the screenplay to Effie Gray starring Dakota Fanning stars in the title role as the former teen bride of 19th century art critic John Ruskin.
Gray later married pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millais and bore eight children.
Factory 25 has acquired North American theatrical rights to Lance Edmands’ directorial debut drama Bluebird starring John Slattery, Amy Morton, Louisa Krause, Emily Meade, Margo Martindale and Adam Driver. The distributor has set a February 27 New York release followed by nationwide theatrical roll-out. Sundance Artist Services will oversee the digital release via iTunes, Amazon and other outlets.Gravitas Ventures has taken North American theatrical, VOD and DVD rights to Stephen Kijak’s documentary Backstreet Boys: Show ‘Em What You’re Made Of and set a January 30 VOD release.
- 12/2/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Some indie projects take their time to find proper footing. After falling in the laps of David Gordon Green, Jeff Nichols and actor Emile Hirsch, according to TheWrap, Brad Land’s Goat appears to have a new set of four legs in James Franco, Rabbit Bandini’s James Franco and Vince Jolivette is teaming with those that originally optioned the book almost a decade back in Killer Films’ Christine Vachon and David Hinojosa (associate producer for Lance Edmands’ Bluebird). Best know for “phoning” in King Kelly back in 2012 — the Louise Krause starrer premiered at SXSW, Andrew Neel has reworked the script and is tapped to direct — the only question now is to put the screenplay out to upcomer “it” type actors. Expect future casting announcements in the near future. Serving as as executive producer is John Wells (Love & Mercy).
Gist: Based on the screenplay by David Gordon Green, with revisions...
Gist: Based on the screenplay by David Gordon Green, with revisions...
- 10/2/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
About 3 months ago we made the decision to self-distribute Bluebird in North America. From the beginning, our goal was to make an intimate, quietly affecting ensemble drama. For writer/director Lance Edmands, there was a specific kind of feeling he was trying to express with the film. There was a unique sense of loneliness, solitude, and isolation that was linked directly to a region of Northern Maine and the culture that permeates the area. Lance grew up in Maine, and he felt that these melancholy emotions stood in stark contrast with the great rugged beauty of the state. We wanted to explore that conflicted feeling in way that would resonate personally with a viewer. It was important to us to maintain the subtle, quiet tone of the film both in the way we made it and the way we brought the film to an audience. With that in mind, we...
- 7/16/2014
- by Kyle Martin
- Hope for Film
A few days ago, I happened to walk past a small school bus in Manhattan. It was parked on a quiet, shady street, in front of a brick-built public school. On its back window, a small sign declared “This Bus Has Been Checked For Sleeping Children.” If you know anything about Lance Edmands‘ debut film, Bluebird, you’ll understand why this kind of sign (and the kind of practice it’s meant to encourage) is so necessary. You might also find yourself getting sniffly while looking at a random school bus in the middle of the day, but that’s something for later. Edmands’ film is set in snowy and desolate northern Maine, where a small town is rocked by the revelation that one of its beloved school bus drivers didn’t check her bus after a morning run, and all the horrifying consequences that follow from that. The drama of the film relies on the interconnectedness...
- 6/27/2014
- by Kate Erbland
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Now this ain’t right. Lance Edmands’ “Bluebird” was one of our favorite films of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival. It had its international premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and it won the award for Best Actress (shared by its female ensemble) and the Ecumenical Jury Prize. It screened at festivals worldwide including Busan (Korea), Stockholm, Thessaoloniki (Greece), Chicago, Maryland, and the Viennale. But apparently no one’s manned up to give it distribution in the U.S. (which is a bit bullshit considering some of the indies the usual domestic indie distrib suspects release, but we’ll refrain from naming names). And thus, Edmands and his producers have had to go the Kickstarter route to get the film on digital outlets. They explain here: Despite the success we’ve had on the festival circuit and a few offers for traditional distribution, we felt that the film deserved a more nuanced,...
- 6/25/2014
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
Following their win of the 2014 Audience Award at Sundance for their short film Chapel Perilous , writer/director Matthew Lessner and producer David Gerson's new feature film Automatic at Sea has been selected as 1 of 4 auteur American films to screen at the Black Rabbit U.S. In Progress Paris program as a work in progress.
U.S. in Progress Paris will take place during the third edition of the Champs Elysées Film Festival in Paris, on June 11-12 2014. The program will present 4 Us indie films in post-production to European buyers in order to achieve completion and to foster the circulation and distribution of American indie films in Europe.
We are excited to announce the selection for the third edition of Us in Progress Paris:
« Automatic at Sea » by Matthew Lessner
« Creative Control » by Benjamin Dickinson
« Eugenia and John » by Hossein Keshavarz
« Plastic Jesus » by Erica Dunton
Previous participants of Us in Progress included:
1982
by Tommy Oliver (Toronto 2013),
Ping Pong Summer
by Michael Tully (Sundance 2014, world sales by Films Boutique),
Bluebird
by Lance Edmands (Tribeca 2013, Karlovy Vary 2013),
I Used To Be Darker
by Matthew Porterfield (Sundance 2013, Berlinale 2013),
Milkshake
by David Andalman (Sundance 2013),
Hide Your Smiling Faces
by Daniel Patrick Carbone (Berlinale Generation 14Plus 2013, Tribeca 2013),
A Teacher
by Hannah Fidell (Sundance 2013, SXSW 2013), Jason Cortlund & Julia Halperin’s
Now, Forager: a Film About Love and Fungi
by Jason Cortlund & Julia Halperin (Rotterdam 2012, New Directors/New Films 2012, Gotham Awards nominee)
Sun Don’t Shine
by Amy Seimetz (SXSW 2012, Edinburgh Iff 2013, Gotham Awards nominee 2012)
Not Waving But Drowning
by Devyn Waitt (Sarasota Ff, world sales by Premium Films).
More information here:
http://www.blackrabbitfilm.com/us-in-progress/paris-2014-edition/
www.montelomax.com
http://www.ioncinema.com/news/us-in-progress-paris-tully-meyerhoff-and-zinn-among-6-selected...
U.S. in Progress Paris will take place during the third edition of the Champs Elysées Film Festival in Paris, on June 11-12 2014. The program will present 4 Us indie films in post-production to European buyers in order to achieve completion and to foster the circulation and distribution of American indie films in Europe.
We are excited to announce the selection for the third edition of Us in Progress Paris:
« Automatic at Sea » by Matthew Lessner
« Creative Control » by Benjamin Dickinson
« Eugenia and John » by Hossein Keshavarz
« Plastic Jesus » by Erica Dunton
Previous participants of Us in Progress included:
1982
by Tommy Oliver (Toronto 2013),
Ping Pong Summer
by Michael Tully (Sundance 2014, world sales by Films Boutique),
Bluebird
by Lance Edmands (Tribeca 2013, Karlovy Vary 2013),
I Used To Be Darker
by Matthew Porterfield (Sundance 2013, Berlinale 2013),
Milkshake
by David Andalman (Sundance 2013),
Hide Your Smiling Faces
by Daniel Patrick Carbone (Berlinale Generation 14Plus 2013, Tribeca 2013),
A Teacher
by Hannah Fidell (Sundance 2013, SXSW 2013), Jason Cortlund & Julia Halperin’s
Now, Forager: a Film About Love and Fungi
by Jason Cortlund & Julia Halperin (Rotterdam 2012, New Directors/New Films 2012, Gotham Awards nominee)
Sun Don’t Shine
by Amy Seimetz (SXSW 2012, Edinburgh Iff 2013, Gotham Awards nominee 2012)
Not Waving But Drowning
by Devyn Waitt (Sarasota Ff, world sales by Premium Films).
More information here:
http://www.blackrabbitfilm.com/us-in-progress/paris-2014-edition/
www.montelomax.com
http://www.ioncinema.com/news/us-in-progress-paris-tully-meyerhoff-and-zinn-among-6-selected...
- 5/23/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The family name got him onto film sets (on our end we call that the best film school), but it’s 2012 Chronicle that set the wind in the sails for Max Landis. When the uber film-geek wasn’t ranting about men with wear capes or penning another half dozen projects, he was directing his debut feature with what we can justifiably call a weirdo ensemble: Haley Joel Osment, Alia Shawkat, Casey Wilson, Geena Davis, Lance Henriksen, Scott Bakula, Dustin Milligan, Angela Sarafyan, and future it girl Emily Meade (look for her nuanced perf in Lance Edmands’ Bluebird). Shooting began this summer and all points toward Sundance. The Prod Co., Big Beach Films have been doing comedy right for some time now, and as indie producers they have a direct line to Park City programmers – just about everything they’ve produced since Little Miss Sunshine has preemed in Park City, including...
- 11/20/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Alexander Payne’s Nebraska to close the 10-day festival in the Greek city.
The 54th Thessaloniki International Film Festival is set to kick off today with the gala presentation of Only Lovers Left Alive in the presence of director Jim Jarmusch.
Jarmusch will attend following several efforts to lure him to the festival in northern Greece.
Only Lovers Left Alive, which played in competition at Cannes, was executive produced by Greece’s Christos Konstantakopoulos of Faliro House Productions.
The festival will wrap on Nov 10 with Alexander Payne’s Nebraska, for which lead actor Bruce Dern won best actor at Cannes.
Greek-American Payne returns to the festival to present the film and will preside over the international jury.
A total of 14 titles make up the competition and the award for the Golden and Silver Alexander will be decided by a jury including Romanian producer Ada Solomon, Cannes Directors Fortnight head Edouard Weintrop, Variety chief critic...
The 54th Thessaloniki International Film Festival is set to kick off today with the gala presentation of Only Lovers Left Alive in the presence of director Jim Jarmusch.
Jarmusch will attend following several efforts to lure him to the festival in northern Greece.
Only Lovers Left Alive, which played in competition at Cannes, was executive produced by Greece’s Christos Konstantakopoulos of Faliro House Productions.
The festival will wrap on Nov 10 with Alexander Payne’s Nebraska, for which lead actor Bruce Dern won best actor at Cannes.
Greek-American Payne returns to the festival to present the film and will preside over the international jury.
A total of 14 titles make up the competition and the award for the Golden and Silver Alexander will be decided by a jury including Romanian producer Ada Solomon, Cannes Directors Fortnight head Edouard Weintrop, Variety chief critic...
- 11/1/2013
- by alexisgrivas@yahoo.com (Alexis Grivas)
- ScreenDaily
Short Term 12 and Big Easy Express took home top prizes at the 4th American Film Festival in Wroclaw.
The American Film Festival (Aff) in Wrocław, Poland has awarded the audience award for Best Narrative Feature ($10,000) to Destin Daniel Cretton’s Short Term 12.
The audience award for the Best Documentary Feature ($5,000) went to Emmett Malloy for Big Easy Express.
The festival, focused entirely on independent American cinema, closed with the Polish premiere of Steven Soderbergh’s Behind the Candelabra on Oct 27.
A total of 80 films were screened at the Nowe Horyzonty cinema in Wrocław, of which 52 films received their Polish premiere such as Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive, As I Lay Dying by James Franco and Don Jon by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. There were three European premieres and one world premiere, Blue Highway by Kyle Smith.
The number of admissions exceeded 17,000 for the second consecutive year.
The Aff also featured a retrospective of Shirley Clarke, a mini-retrospective...
The American Film Festival (Aff) in Wrocław, Poland has awarded the audience award for Best Narrative Feature ($10,000) to Destin Daniel Cretton’s Short Term 12.
The audience award for the Best Documentary Feature ($5,000) went to Emmett Malloy for Big Easy Express.
The festival, focused entirely on independent American cinema, closed with the Polish premiere of Steven Soderbergh’s Behind the Candelabra on Oct 27.
A total of 80 films were screened at the Nowe Horyzonty cinema in Wrocław, of which 52 films received their Polish premiere such as Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive, As I Lay Dying by James Franco and Don Jon by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. There were three European premieres and one world premiere, Blue Highway by Kyle Smith.
The number of admissions exceeded 17,000 for the second consecutive year.
The Aff also featured a retrospective of Shirley Clarke, a mini-retrospective...
- 10/31/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
A lone bluebird, separated from its mate, its flock, and the weather it deserves, serves as a prevalent symbol in Lance Edmands’ Bluebird. It’s as if all the characters are that feathered friend, away from where they should be, but stuck having to deal with circumstances beyond their control.
And that’s really where Edmands’ film separates itself from most small-town indies. It isn’t about these characters finding a way to escape the dreary small-town lifestyle they’re stuck in. Instead, there’s almost no change at all for anyone, and a bunch of characters you care about failing to change their lives for the better can make for quite a depressing film.
In Bluebird, Lesley (Amy Morton) gets onto her school bus early one morning in the dead of winter and finds that somehow she missed a boy that was left on the bus the night before.
And that’s really where Edmands’ film separates itself from most small-town indies. It isn’t about these characters finding a way to escape the dreary small-town lifestyle they’re stuck in. Instead, there’s almost no change at all for anyone, and a bunch of characters you care about failing to change their lives for the better can make for quite a depressing film.
In Bluebird, Lesley (Amy Morton) gets onto her school bus early one morning in the dead of winter and finds that somehow she missed a boy that was left on the bus the night before.
- 10/28/2013
- by Alexander Lowe
- We Got This Covered
Sun Belt Express and Lake Los Angeles win main prizes.
The third Us in Progress Wrocław - a works-in-progress event targeted at Us independent filmmakers and European buyers - has handed its main prizes to Sun Belt Express and Lake Los Angeles.
This year, six films selected from around 40 submissions competed for prizes consisting of post-production and promotional services worth $60,000.
The main awards went to Sun Belt Express by Evan Wolf Buxbaum, produced by Noah Lang and Iyabo Boyd, and Lake Los Angeles by Mike Ott, produced by Athina Rachel Tsangari.
Sun Belt Express received Di image post-production from Platige Image studio (Warsaw), foley from Aeroplan Studio (Warsaw), final sound mix from Alvernia Studios (Kraków) and soundtrack from composer Maciej Zieliński of Soundflower Studio (Warsaw).
Lake Los Angeles was offered Di image post-production from Di Factory studio (Warsaw), foley from Aeroplan Studio (Warsaw), Dcp creation from Dcinex, subtitling from Vsi Paris/Chinkel and the promotional award from Europa...
The third Us in Progress Wrocław - a works-in-progress event targeted at Us independent filmmakers and European buyers - has handed its main prizes to Sun Belt Express and Lake Los Angeles.
This year, six films selected from around 40 submissions competed for prizes consisting of post-production and promotional services worth $60,000.
The main awards went to Sun Belt Express by Evan Wolf Buxbaum, produced by Noah Lang and Iyabo Boyd, and Lake Los Angeles by Mike Ott, produced by Athina Rachel Tsangari.
Sun Belt Express received Di image post-production from Platige Image studio (Warsaw), foley from Aeroplan Studio (Warsaw), final sound mix from Alvernia Studios (Kraków) and soundtrack from composer Maciej Zieliński of Soundflower Studio (Warsaw).
Lake Los Angeles was offered Di image post-production from Di Factory studio (Warsaw), foley from Aeroplan Studio (Warsaw), Dcp creation from Dcinex, subtitling from Vsi Paris/Chinkel and the promotional award from Europa...
- 10/27/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Opening with Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive the latest edition of the American Film Festival in Wroclaw, Poland (22-27 October 2013) has screened some of the most important American independent films of the year. Being the only festival of its class in Eastern and Central Europe the festival has become the most important venue to connect American filmmakers with European buyers and audiences through programs like U.S. in Progress Wrocław (23-25 October 2013).
This year's program taking place at the New Horizons cinema presented 80 movies out of which 42 are Polish premieres, 3 are European premieres and 1 is a World Premiere. Among them 10 documentaries and 17 feature films competed for cash prizes in the audience-vote competitions.
The first competitive section - Spectrum ($10,000 audience award for the Best Narrative Feature) included films that have been well-received here in the U.S such as A Teacher by Hannah Fidell, Blue Caprice by Alexandre Moors, Afternoon Delight by Jill Soloway, Short Term 12 by Destin Cretton, The Spectacular Now by James Ponsoldt, and Bluebird by Lance Edmands. The second competition - American Docs ($5,000 audience award for Best Documentary Feature) had a selection of films depicting varied current issues in American society including Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia by Nicholas Wrathall, The Armstrong Lie by Alex Gibney, Our Nixon by Penny Lane, Northern Light by Nick Bentgen, Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton by Eric Slade and Stephen Silha and Before You Know It by Pj Raval.
The American Film Festival also ran a retrospective of Shirley Clarke and presented Polish premieres of high-profile films such as As I Lay Dying by James Franco, Quentin Dupieux’s Wrong Cops, Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein’s Lovelace, Much Ado About Nothing by Joss Whedon, Touchy Feely by Lynn Shelton, At Any Price by Ramin Bahrani, and Maladies by Carter. The festival also screened Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Sundance hit Don Jon along several U.S. in Progress participants and festival hits like I Used to be Darker by Matt Porterfier and Hide Your Smiling Faces by Daniel Patrick Carbone. Lastly, a special section titled 'Masterpieces of American Cinema 90 Years of Warner Bros." showed 14 digitally-remastered productions by the studio from The Jazz Singer by Alan Crosland (1927) through A Clockwork Orange ,The Exorcist and Christopher Nolan’s Inception
The festival will close on October 27th with Steven Soderbergh's Emmy Award-winning film Behind the Candelabra.
All competitions titles:
Spectrum
American Milkshake by David Andalman, Mariko Munro, USA 2012, 82'
Blue Highway by Kyle Smith, USA 2013, 70'
Coldwater by Vincent Grashaw, USA 2013, 104'
The Spectacular Now by James Ponsoldt, USA 2013, 95'
Drinking Buddies by Joe Swanberg, USA 2013, 90'
Lily by Matt Creed, USA 2013, 85'
A Teacher by Hannah Fidell, USA 2013, 75'
Blue Caprice by Alexandre Moors, USA 2013, 93'
Pearblossom Hwy by Mike Ott, USA 2012, 78'
Afternoon Delight by Jill Soloway, USA 2013, 105'
Stand Clear of the Closing Doors by Sam Fleischner, USA 2013, 102'
Short Term 12 by Destin Cretton, USA 2013, 96'
The Cold Lands by Tom Gilroy, USA 2013, 100'
In a World... by Lake Bell, USA 2013, 93'
A Song Still Inside by Gregory Collins, USA 2013, 82'
Bluebird by Lance Edmands, USA 2013, 90'
American Docs
Big Easy Express by Emmett Malloy, USA 2012
Off Label by Michael Palmieri, Donal Mosher, USA 2012
Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia by Nicholas Wrathall, USA, Italy 2013
Fall and Winter by Matt Anderson, USA 2013
The Armstrong Lie by Alex Gibney, USA 2013
Lenny Cooke by Ben Safdie, Joshua Safdie, USA 2012
Our Nixon by Penny Lane, USA 2013
Northern Light by Nick Bentgen, USA 2013
Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton by Eric Slade, Stephen Silha, USA 2013
Before You Know It by Pj Raval, USA 2012
U.S. Progress Projects
This year 6 projects in the final production stages were chosen to take part in the two-day workshop knows as U.S. in Progress Wroclaw (23-25 October, 2013). The event presents the American independent projects to European buyers, post-production houses and festivals in order to help them achieve completion and to foster the circulation and distribution of these films in Europe.
Selected from over 40 submission the chosen projects are the dramas Lake Los Angeles by Mike Ott (produced by Athina Rachel Tsangari), Happy Baby by Stephen Elliott (produced by Jessica Caldwell ) and Some Beasts by Cameron Nelson (produced by Ashley Maynor and Courtney Ware), crime story Wild Canaries by Lawrence Michael Levine (produced by Sophia Takal, Kim Sherman and McCabe Walsh), frontier black comedy Sun Belt Express by Evan Wolf Buxbaum (producers: Noah Lang and Iyabo Boyd) and Summer of Blood – a New York vampire comedy by director-producer Onur Tukel.
The prizes are awarded by a jury of professionals and include post-production services from European partner companies worth almost $60.000 and promotional services from other partners. Us in Progress’ partners are: Platige Image (Warsaw), Di Factory (Warsaw), Alvernia Studios (Krakow), composer Maciej Zielinski of Soundflower Studio (Warsaw), Soundplace (Warsaw), DCinex (Belgium), Vsi (Paris), Europa Distribution, Cicae and Cannes Marche du Film’s Producers Network.
U.S. in Progress Wrocław (formerly Gotham in Progress) was started in 2011 by the New Horizons Association and Black Rabbit Film. Previous films presented at the event included, among others: I Used To Be Darker by Matt Porterfield, American Milkshake by David Andalman (both shown at Sundance Ff in 2013), Hide Your Smiling Faces by Daniel Carbone (Berlinale Generation, Tribeca), Bluebird by Lance Edmands (Tribeca, Karlovy Vary), Jason Cortlund & Julia Halperin’s Now, Forager: a Film About Love and Fungi (Rotterdam, New Directors/New Films, Gotham Awards nominee), Amy Seimetz’s Sun Don’t Shine (SXSW, Edinburgh Iff, Gotham Awards nominee) and Devyn Waitt’s Not Waving But Drowning (Sarasota Ff).
U.S. in Progress Wrocław is supported by the City of Wrocław, American Embassy in Warsaw and Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
For more information on the American Film Festival and the U.S. in Progress projects visit Here...
This year's program taking place at the New Horizons cinema presented 80 movies out of which 42 are Polish premieres, 3 are European premieres and 1 is a World Premiere. Among them 10 documentaries and 17 feature films competed for cash prizes in the audience-vote competitions.
The first competitive section - Spectrum ($10,000 audience award for the Best Narrative Feature) included films that have been well-received here in the U.S such as A Teacher by Hannah Fidell, Blue Caprice by Alexandre Moors, Afternoon Delight by Jill Soloway, Short Term 12 by Destin Cretton, The Spectacular Now by James Ponsoldt, and Bluebird by Lance Edmands. The second competition - American Docs ($5,000 audience award for Best Documentary Feature) had a selection of films depicting varied current issues in American society including Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia by Nicholas Wrathall, The Armstrong Lie by Alex Gibney, Our Nixon by Penny Lane, Northern Light by Nick Bentgen, Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton by Eric Slade and Stephen Silha and Before You Know It by Pj Raval.
The American Film Festival also ran a retrospective of Shirley Clarke and presented Polish premieres of high-profile films such as As I Lay Dying by James Franco, Quentin Dupieux’s Wrong Cops, Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein’s Lovelace, Much Ado About Nothing by Joss Whedon, Touchy Feely by Lynn Shelton, At Any Price by Ramin Bahrani, and Maladies by Carter. The festival also screened Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Sundance hit Don Jon along several U.S. in Progress participants and festival hits like I Used to be Darker by Matt Porterfier and Hide Your Smiling Faces by Daniel Patrick Carbone. Lastly, a special section titled 'Masterpieces of American Cinema 90 Years of Warner Bros." showed 14 digitally-remastered productions by the studio from The Jazz Singer by Alan Crosland (1927) through A Clockwork Orange ,The Exorcist and Christopher Nolan’s Inception
The festival will close on October 27th with Steven Soderbergh's Emmy Award-winning film Behind the Candelabra.
All competitions titles:
Spectrum
American Milkshake by David Andalman, Mariko Munro, USA 2012, 82'
Blue Highway by Kyle Smith, USA 2013, 70'
Coldwater by Vincent Grashaw, USA 2013, 104'
The Spectacular Now by James Ponsoldt, USA 2013, 95'
Drinking Buddies by Joe Swanberg, USA 2013, 90'
Lily by Matt Creed, USA 2013, 85'
A Teacher by Hannah Fidell, USA 2013, 75'
Blue Caprice by Alexandre Moors, USA 2013, 93'
Pearblossom Hwy by Mike Ott, USA 2012, 78'
Afternoon Delight by Jill Soloway, USA 2013, 105'
Stand Clear of the Closing Doors by Sam Fleischner, USA 2013, 102'
Short Term 12 by Destin Cretton, USA 2013, 96'
The Cold Lands by Tom Gilroy, USA 2013, 100'
In a World... by Lake Bell, USA 2013, 93'
A Song Still Inside by Gregory Collins, USA 2013, 82'
Bluebird by Lance Edmands, USA 2013, 90'
American Docs
Big Easy Express by Emmett Malloy, USA 2012
Off Label by Michael Palmieri, Donal Mosher, USA 2012
Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia by Nicholas Wrathall, USA, Italy 2013
Fall and Winter by Matt Anderson, USA 2013
The Armstrong Lie by Alex Gibney, USA 2013
Lenny Cooke by Ben Safdie, Joshua Safdie, USA 2012
Our Nixon by Penny Lane, USA 2013
Northern Light by Nick Bentgen, USA 2013
Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton by Eric Slade, Stephen Silha, USA 2013
Before You Know It by Pj Raval, USA 2012
U.S. Progress Projects
This year 6 projects in the final production stages were chosen to take part in the two-day workshop knows as U.S. in Progress Wroclaw (23-25 October, 2013). The event presents the American independent projects to European buyers, post-production houses and festivals in order to help them achieve completion and to foster the circulation and distribution of these films in Europe.
Selected from over 40 submission the chosen projects are the dramas Lake Los Angeles by Mike Ott (produced by Athina Rachel Tsangari), Happy Baby by Stephen Elliott (produced by Jessica Caldwell ) and Some Beasts by Cameron Nelson (produced by Ashley Maynor and Courtney Ware), crime story Wild Canaries by Lawrence Michael Levine (produced by Sophia Takal, Kim Sherman and McCabe Walsh), frontier black comedy Sun Belt Express by Evan Wolf Buxbaum (producers: Noah Lang and Iyabo Boyd) and Summer of Blood – a New York vampire comedy by director-producer Onur Tukel.
The prizes are awarded by a jury of professionals and include post-production services from European partner companies worth almost $60.000 and promotional services from other partners. Us in Progress’ partners are: Platige Image (Warsaw), Di Factory (Warsaw), Alvernia Studios (Krakow), composer Maciej Zielinski of Soundflower Studio (Warsaw), Soundplace (Warsaw), DCinex (Belgium), Vsi (Paris), Europa Distribution, Cicae and Cannes Marche du Film’s Producers Network.
U.S. in Progress Wrocław (formerly Gotham in Progress) was started in 2011 by the New Horizons Association and Black Rabbit Film. Previous films presented at the event included, among others: I Used To Be Darker by Matt Porterfield, American Milkshake by David Andalman (both shown at Sundance Ff in 2013), Hide Your Smiling Faces by Daniel Carbone (Berlinale Generation, Tribeca), Bluebird by Lance Edmands (Tribeca, Karlovy Vary), Jason Cortlund & Julia Halperin’s Now, Forager: a Film About Love and Fungi (Rotterdam, New Directors/New Films, Gotham Awards nominee), Amy Seimetz’s Sun Don’t Shine (SXSW, Edinburgh Iff, Gotham Awards nominee) and Devyn Waitt’s Not Waving But Drowning (Sarasota Ff).
U.S. in Progress Wrocław is supported by the City of Wrocław, American Embassy in Warsaw and Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
For more information on the American Film Festival and the U.S. in Progress projects visit Here...
- 10/26/2013
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave to open festival; director Peter Greenaway to receive Visionary Award.Scroll down for full line-up
Steve McQueen’s historic drama 12 Years a Slave is to open the Stockholm International Film Festival (Nov 6-17) and is nominated in the Stockholm Xxiv Competition.
Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, the drama about free black man kidnapped from his family and sold into slavery in the 1850s debuted at Telluride and has received positive reactions throughout its festival tour of Toronto, New York and London among others.
It will be released in Sweden on Dec 20 by Ab Svensk Filmindustri.
Screenwriter John Ridley, who will be present during the festival, is nominated for the Aluminum Horse in the category Best Script.
McQueen’s Hunger won Best Directorial Debut at Stockholm in 2008.
Line-up
The 24th Siff includes more than 180 films from more than 50 countries.
As previously announced, the spotlight of this year’s festival is freedom but Chinese artist...
Steve McQueen’s historic drama 12 Years a Slave is to open the Stockholm International Film Festival (Nov 6-17) and is nominated in the Stockholm Xxiv Competition.
Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, the drama about free black man kidnapped from his family and sold into slavery in the 1850s debuted at Telluride and has received positive reactions throughout its festival tour of Toronto, New York and London among others.
It will be released in Sweden on Dec 20 by Ab Svensk Filmindustri.
Screenwriter John Ridley, who will be present during the festival, is nominated for the Aluminum Horse in the category Best Script.
McQueen’s Hunger won Best Directorial Debut at Stockholm in 2008.
Line-up
The 24th Siff includes more than 180 films from more than 50 countries.
As previously announced, the spotlight of this year’s festival is freedom but Chinese artist...
- 10/22/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Bluebird
Written and directed by Lance Edmands
USA, 2013
Borne from the current economic crisis, Bluebird is set in an obscure and isolated logging town in Maine. Coated in snow that seems to be barely ever cleared, there is a lingering fear that the mill will close and the town will fade even deeper into the past. Lost in the rituals of daily life, it is only through accidental tragedy that a true sense of malaise and hopelessness comes rising from below the surface.
Two seemingly conflicting images face off in Bluebird: all the workings of the pulp and paper industry, and the bluebird. Among the industries hit hardest by the economic crisis, forestry has suffered problems due to increasingly stringent environmental regulations, the failing newspaper industry, and the housing crisis. It is made clear within the first ten minutes that the town depends almost entirely on this industry, and...
Written and directed by Lance Edmands
USA, 2013
Borne from the current economic crisis, Bluebird is set in an obscure and isolated logging town in Maine. Coated in snow that seems to be barely ever cleared, there is a lingering fear that the mill will close and the town will fade even deeper into the past. Lost in the rituals of daily life, it is only through accidental tragedy that a true sense of malaise and hopelessness comes rising from below the surface.
Two seemingly conflicting images face off in Bluebird: all the workings of the pulp and paper industry, and the bluebird. Among the industries hit hardest by the economic crisis, forestry has suffered problems due to increasingly stringent environmental regulations, the failing newspaper industry, and the housing crisis. It is made clear within the first ten minutes that the town depends almost entirely on this industry, and...
- 10/18/2013
- by Justine Smith
- SoundOnSight
Kill Your Darlings producer to receive Indie Star Award at Polish festival.
Christine Vachon to receive the Indie Star Award from Wrocław’s American Film Festival (Oct 22-27).
The producer and co-founder of the cult production company Killer Films is best-known for her work on Larry Clark’s controversial Kids; Kimberly Pierce’s Oscar-winner Boys Don’t Cry; Todd Solondz’s Happiness; and all Todd Haynes’ features including Poison, Velvet Goldmine and Far From Heaven.
As a guest of the festival, Vachon will speak about her career during a master class on Oct 26 and she will also meet with audiences at the American Corner on Oct 25.
As part of Vachon’s mini retrospective in Wroclaw, there will be screenings of Haynes’ Velvet Goldmine and John Cameron Mitchell’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch as well as new productions: John Krokidas’ Kill Your Darlings, Ramin Bahrani’s At Any Price and Lance Edmands’ Bluebird, which Vachon...
Christine Vachon to receive the Indie Star Award from Wrocław’s American Film Festival (Oct 22-27).
The producer and co-founder of the cult production company Killer Films is best-known for her work on Larry Clark’s controversial Kids; Kimberly Pierce’s Oscar-winner Boys Don’t Cry; Todd Solondz’s Happiness; and all Todd Haynes’ features including Poison, Velvet Goldmine and Far From Heaven.
As a guest of the festival, Vachon will speak about her career during a master class on Oct 26 and she will also meet with audiences at the American Corner on Oct 25.
As part of Vachon’s mini retrospective in Wroclaw, there will be screenings of Haynes’ Velvet Goldmine and John Cameron Mitchell’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch as well as new productions: John Krokidas’ Kill Your Darlings, Ramin Bahrani’s At Any Price and Lance Edmands’ Bluebird, which Vachon...
- 10/10/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
American Film Festival in Wroclaw to close with Steven Soderbergh’s Behind the Candelabra; competition and programme highlights announced.Scroll down for competition titles
The fourth American Film Festival (Aff) in Wrocław, Poland is to feature 80 films comprising 42 Polish premieres; three European premieres and one world premiere.
The event, which is focused on independent Us cinema, will run from Oct 22-27.
It will open with Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive and close with Steven Soderbergh’s Behind the Candelabra, both of which played in competition at Cannes.
Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra recently picked up 11 Emmy awards, including best television movie, best leading actor for Michael Douglas and best director.
Dutch experimental lutenist Jozef van Wissem will conduct a live performance of the soundtrack for Only Lovers Left Alive, which won the Cannes Soundtrack Award, on Oct 23 - the day after its opening night screening.
Competitions
A total of 10 documentaries and 16 narrative feature films will compete...
The fourth American Film Festival (Aff) in Wrocław, Poland is to feature 80 films comprising 42 Polish premieres; three European premieres and one world premiere.
The event, which is focused on independent Us cinema, will run from Oct 22-27.
It will open with Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive and close with Steven Soderbergh’s Behind the Candelabra, both of which played in competition at Cannes.
Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra recently picked up 11 Emmy awards, including best television movie, best leading actor for Michael Douglas and best director.
Dutch experimental lutenist Jozef van Wissem will conduct a live performance of the soundtrack for Only Lovers Left Alive, which won the Cannes Soundtrack Award, on Oct 23 - the day after its opening night screening.
Competitions
A total of 10 documentaries and 16 narrative feature films will compete...
- 10/8/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
This fall, one of Montreal’s most intriguing film festivals the Festival du Nouveau Cinema (Fnc) offers sixteen films as part of their international showcase. This showcase provides a platform for fresh, personal and visionary films from around the world. Films in this competition come from Quebec, Morocco, France, Poland, Mexico, Singapore, Austria, Venezuela, Georgia and more. Themes range from vengeance, drama, youth, daily violence, questions of identity, to migrant life, mystery, and love.
Some of these titles have already won awards (despite their short time on the festival circuits), including Escalante’s Heli, Chen’s Illo,Ilo, Guiraudie’s L’Inconnu du Lac, Avranas’ Miss Violence (picture on right), and Dolan’s Tom à la ferme (featured image). However, this doesn’t mean the prize is in the bag for these front runners.
The program is from Oct. 9th to Oct. 20th, 2013:
Arwad, Samer Najari et Dominique Chila (Québec)
Au nom du fils,...
Some of these titles have already won awards (despite their short time on the festival circuits), including Escalante’s Heli, Chen’s Illo,Ilo, Guiraudie’s L’Inconnu du Lac, Avranas’ Miss Violence (picture on right), and Dolan’s Tom à la ferme (featured image). However, this doesn’t mean the prize is in the bag for these front runners.
The program is from Oct. 9th to Oct. 20th, 2013:
Arwad, Samer Najari et Dominique Chila (Québec)
Au nom du fils,...
- 9/28/2013
- by Pamela Fillion
- SoundOnSight
Six projects selected for this year’s works-in-progress event targeted at Us independent filmmakers and European buyers.
Poland’s Us in Progress Wrocław event has announced the six projects that will feature in its 2013 edition.
The two-day works-in-progress event presents Us films in the final stages of production stages to European buyers, post-production houses and festivals in order to help them achieve completion and to foster the circulation and distribution of Us indie films in Europe.
The invite-only screenings and one-to-one meetings will take place as part of of the 4th American Film Festival in Wrocław, Poland (Oct 23-25).
The films, selected from around 40 submissions, include:
Lake Los Angeles by Mike Ott (produced by Athina Rachel Tsangari),
Happy Baby by Stephen Elliott (produced by Jessica Caldwell )
Some Beasts by Cameron Nelson (produced by Ashley Maynor and Courtney Ware)
Wild Canaries by Lawrence Michael Levine (produced by Sophia Takal, Kim Sherman and McCabe Walsh)
Sun Belt Express by [link...
Poland’s Us in Progress Wrocław event has announced the six projects that will feature in its 2013 edition.
The two-day works-in-progress event presents Us films in the final stages of production stages to European buyers, post-production houses and festivals in order to help them achieve completion and to foster the circulation and distribution of Us indie films in Europe.
The invite-only screenings and one-to-one meetings will take place as part of of the 4th American Film Festival in Wrocław, Poland (Oct 23-25).
The films, selected from around 40 submissions, include:
Lake Los Angeles by Mike Ott (produced by Athina Rachel Tsangari),
Happy Baby by Stephen Elliott (produced by Jessica Caldwell )
Some Beasts by Cameron Nelson (produced by Ashley Maynor and Courtney Ware)
Wild Canaries by Lawrence Michael Levine (produced by Sophia Takal, Kim Sherman and McCabe Walsh)
Sun Belt Express by [link...
- 9/27/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
The Yellow Affair to take Us drama, starring Amy Morton and Mad Men’s John Slattery, to Toronto.
Scandinavia-based sales agency The Yellow Affair has acquired Us drama Bluebird.
It will handle world sales (excluding North America) and will be taking the film, as a part of its line-up to the Toronto International Film Festival.
The cast includes Mad Men’s John Slattery, Amy Morton, Louisa Krause, Emily Meade, Margo Martindale and Adam Driver.
It has played in competition at the Tribeca Film Festival and won the Special Jury Ecumenical Award plus four Best Actress Awards at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
Set in Maine, the film is about Lesley, who does her end-of-the-day bus check, only to be surprised by the entry of a tiny bluebird. This distraction makes her forget to check the back of a bus, where a young boy is sleeping - an oversight that has tragic consequences.
Bluebird is written...
Scandinavia-based sales agency The Yellow Affair has acquired Us drama Bluebird.
It will handle world sales (excluding North America) and will be taking the film, as a part of its line-up to the Toronto International Film Festival.
The cast includes Mad Men’s John Slattery, Amy Morton, Louisa Krause, Emily Meade, Margo Martindale and Adam Driver.
It has played in competition at the Tribeca Film Festival and won the Special Jury Ecumenical Award plus four Best Actress Awards at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
Set in Maine, the film is about Lesley, who does her end-of-the-day bus check, only to be surprised by the entry of a tiny bluebird. This distraction makes her forget to check the back of a bus, where a young boy is sleeping - an oversight that has tragic consequences.
Bluebird is written...
- 9/2/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
The 48th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Kviff) came to a close in the Bohemian town of the same name this weekend, with Hungarian WWII tale "Le Grand Cahier," based on the bestseller "The Notebook" from Agota Kristof, taking the Crystal Globe for best feature. The competition jury, presided over by Polish director Agnieszka Holland ("In Darkness," episodes of "Treme," "The Wire" and "The Killing") and also including Tribeca Artistic Director Frédéric Boyer, awarded Ben Wheatley's black-and-white oddity "A Field in England" their Special Jury Prize, while U.S. indie "Bluebird" from Lance Edmands, which premiered at Tribeca, walked away with a shared Best Actress award. Local arthouse veteran Jan Hrebejk, whose "Divided We Fall" was nominated for an Oscar in 2001, won Best Director for his latest film, "Honeymoon," which stars his regular lead actress Anna Geislerova as a bride who discovers an ugly episode in...
- 7/8/2013
- by Boyd van Hoeij
- Indiewire
The 48th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival came to a close this weekend, with János Szász's "A grand cahier" winning the festival's Grand Prix and Ben Wheatley's "A Field In England" taking the Special Jury Prize. Full list of winners below. Check out our list of the 7 best films at the festival here. Grand Prix - Crystal Globe (25 000 Usd) The financial award is shared equally by the director and producer of the award-winning film. Le grand cahier / A nagy füzet Directed by: János Szász Hungary, Germany, Austria, France, 2013 Special Jury Prize (15 000 Usd) The financial award is shared equally by the director and producer of the award-winning film. A Field in England Directed by: Ben Wheatley United Kingdom, 2013 Best Director Award Jan Hřebejk for the film Honeymoon / Líbánky Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, 2013 Best Actress Award Amy Morton for her role in the film Bluebird Directed by: Lance Edmands USA,...
- 7/8/2013
- by Peter Knegt
- Indiewire
Janos Szasz’s Le Grand Cahier walked away with the Crystal Globe at the 48th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.Scroll down for full list of winners
The Hungarian film impressed jury and industry alike with its depiction of 13-year-old twins sent to their grandmother during the Second World War (it is based on Agota Kristof’s award-winning novel The Notebook).
The producer of the film, Sandor Soth [pictured], picked up the award in front of a delighted audience. Le Grand Cahier was co-produced with Austria (Amour Fou), France (Dolce Vita) and Germany (Intuit), and it is the first completed feature to be backed by the new Hungarian Film Fund (the Hungarian production company was Hunnia Film Studio.
The Kviff top prize comes with $25,000 to be split by director and producer. The film also won the Europa Cinemas Label.
Ben Wheatley won the special jury prize (worth $15,000) for A Field In England and appeared in a special video thank...
The Hungarian film impressed jury and industry alike with its depiction of 13-year-old twins sent to their grandmother during the Second World War (it is based on Agota Kristof’s award-winning novel The Notebook).
The producer of the film, Sandor Soth [pictured], picked up the award in front of a delighted audience. Le Grand Cahier was co-produced with Austria (Amour Fou), France (Dolce Vita) and Germany (Intuit), and it is the first completed feature to be backed by the new Hungarian Film Fund (the Hungarian production company was Hunnia Film Studio.
The Kviff top prize comes with $25,000 to be split by director and producer. The film also won the Europa Cinemas Label.
Ben Wheatley won the special jury prize (worth $15,000) for A Field In England and appeared in a special video thank...
- 7/7/2013
- ScreenDaily
The Hungarian film Le Grand Cahier (A Nagy Füzet) directed by János Szász took the top prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival this weekend (6/7July). The prize is worth 25,000 dollars, shared between the producer and the director of the film in which two teenage twin brothers are confronted with the horrors and realities of war.
Sandor Söth producer of the film Le Grand Cahier ((A Nagy Füzet) with the Grand Prix - Crystal Globe.
Other accolades bestowed by the jury head by Polish director Agnieszka Holland went to Ben Wheatley's low budget A Field In England (with a 15,000 dollar award) while the best director honour was awarded to Jan Hřebejk for Honeymoon / Líbánky from the Czech Republic. The best actress award was shared by Amy Morton for her role in Bluebird by Lance Edmands (a Us-Swedish co-production) with her co-actors Louisa Krause, Emily Meade and Margo Martindale.
Sandor Söth producer of the film Le Grand Cahier ((A Nagy Füzet) with the Grand Prix - Crystal Globe.
Other accolades bestowed by the jury head by Polish director Agnieszka Holland went to Ben Wheatley's low budget A Field In England (with a 15,000 dollar award) while the best director honour was awarded to Jan Hřebejk for Honeymoon / Líbánky from the Czech Republic. The best actress award was shared by Amy Morton for her role in Bluebird by Lance Edmands (a Us-Swedish co-production) with her co-actors Louisa Krause, Emily Meade and Margo Martindale.
- 7/6/2013
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The first awards from this year's 48th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival were announced this afternoon.
Women on the verge ... in the Russian drama Shame which won the Fipresci jury award at Karlovy Vary.
The international critics Fipresci jury chose Russian drama Shame from the main competition, inspired by the Kursk submarine disaster, for offering "a claustrophobic drama about an isolated community of women in a realistic and captivating style reminiscent of Greek tragedies."
The Fedeora Award of the Federation of Film Critics of Europe and the Mediterranean of Film went to a film screened in the East of the West Section, the Slovak-Czech-Croatian Velvet Terrorist for "an innovative approach to portraying Communist past with humor and creative balance between the film’s scripted scenes and documentary sections".
The Ecumenical Jury Award went to Bluebird, an American-Swedish film about a bus driver whose momentary lapse of attention causes a tragedy.
Women on the verge ... in the Russian drama Shame which won the Fipresci jury award at Karlovy Vary.
The international critics Fipresci jury chose Russian drama Shame from the main competition, inspired by the Kursk submarine disaster, for offering "a claustrophobic drama about an isolated community of women in a realistic and captivating style reminiscent of Greek tragedies."
The Fedeora Award of the Federation of Film Critics of Europe and the Mediterranean of Film went to a film screened in the East of the West Section, the Slovak-Czech-Croatian Velvet Terrorist for "an innovative approach to portraying Communist past with humor and creative balance between the film’s scripted scenes and documentary sections".
The Ecumenical Jury Award went to Bluebird, an American-Swedish film about a bus driver whose momentary lapse of attention causes a tragedy.
- 7/5/2013
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
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