The South by Southwest film festival, launched in Austin, Texas in 1994, is one of the buzziest film festivals on the calendar for independent filmmakers from around the world to showcase their movies.
SXSW was born as a music festival in March 1987 and has grown from 700 registrants to more than 161,000 attendees in 2018 making it one of the most successful festivals in the United States.
The fest handed out its first award for the Narrative Feature Competition in 1999 to director David Riker’s film La Cuidad (The City) featuring Anthony Rivera, Joseph Rigano and Miguel Maldonado. Since then it has showcased quirky films that have gone on to win the coveted award. Winners include The Fallout (2021); Shithouse (2020); Thunder Road (2018); Krisha (2015) and Tiny Furniture (2010).
Scroll through the photo gallery for all the SXSW Narrative Feature Competition Grand Jury Award winners.
SXSW was born as a music festival in March 1987 and has grown from 700 registrants to more than 161,000 attendees in 2018 making it one of the most successful festivals in the United States.
The fest handed out its first award for the Narrative Feature Competition in 1999 to director David Riker’s film La Cuidad (The City) featuring Anthony Rivera, Joseph Rigano and Miguel Maldonado. Since then it has showcased quirky films that have gone on to win the coveted award. Winners include The Fallout (2021); Shithouse (2020); Thunder Road (2018); Krisha (2015) and Tiny Furniture (2010).
Scroll through the photo gallery for all the SXSW Narrative Feature Competition Grand Jury Award winners.
- 3/8/2023
- by Robert Lang
- Deadline Film + TV
Since any New York City cinephile has a nearly suffocating wealth of theatrical options, we figured it’d be best to compile some of the more worthwhile repertory showings into one handy list. Displayed below are a few of the city’s most reliable theaters and links to screenings of their weekend offerings — films you’re not likely to see in a theater again anytime soon, and many of which are, also, on 35mm. If you have a chance to attend any of these, we’re of the mind that it’s time extremely well-spent.
Film Society of Lincoln Center
“Il Bello Marcello” highlights Italy’s greatest actor and, in turn, its greatest filmmakers.
Stalker continues its run.
Museum of the Moving Image
The Caan Film Festival is underway! Films from Michael Mann, Coppola, Hawks, and more kick it off.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari plays on Sunday.
Metrograph
A...
Film Society of Lincoln Center
“Il Bello Marcello” highlights Italy’s greatest actor and, in turn, its greatest filmmakers.
Stalker continues its run.
Museum of the Moving Image
The Caan Film Festival is underway! Films from Michael Mann, Coppola, Hawks, and more kick it off.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari plays on Sunday.
Metrograph
A...
- 5/18/2017
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
In a miss it if you don’t read the fine print, First Look Media (company motto is Entertainment with something on its mind) announced a new addition to their company structure and the good news: they are developing a film script from writer/director David Riker (La Ciudad, The Girl with Abbie Cornish) based on an unreported, certainly hot topic politically infused report from Jeremy Scahill.
Continue reading...
Continue reading...
- 5/12/2016
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
The company has hired Annie Marter as senior vice-president, feature film, as it seeks to broaden its activities.
First Look Media, who co-financed best picture Oscar-winner Spotlight, also announced it is developing a screenplay from Dirty Wars writer David Riker.
Marter served in executive roles on films like Sunshine Cleaning, Let Me In, Traitor, and The Visitor.
She also produced Transcendence and reports to First Look Media executive vice-president of programming and content Adam Pincus.
The Riker script is based on unpublished reporting by investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill, a founding editor of The Intercept, which is dedicated to producing adversarial journalism.
First Look Media is involved in Laura Poitras’ Cannes selection Risk, which Praxis Films produced in association with First Look Media and Field of Vision.
First Look Media, who co-financed best picture Oscar-winner Spotlight, also announced it is developing a screenplay from Dirty Wars writer David Riker.
Marter served in executive roles on films like Sunshine Cleaning, Let Me In, Traitor, and The Visitor.
She also produced Transcendence and reports to First Look Media executive vice-president of programming and content Adam Pincus.
The Riker script is based on unpublished reporting by investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill, a founding editor of The Intercept, which is dedicated to producing adversarial journalism.
First Look Media is involved in Laura Poitras’ Cannes selection Risk, which Praxis Films produced in association with First Look Media and Field of Vision.
- 5/10/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Few years in film history have been as important and ultimately as influential as the year 1999. With some of the greatest features of the last 20 years, ranging from masterpieces by legendary auteurs (Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut) to underrated entries in lengthy filmographies (Scorsese’s Bringing Out The Dead) and even new auteurs announcing themselves (Spike Jonze’s Being John Malkovich), 1999 is a year truly unlike many others. Michael Mann, Pedro Almodovar, David Lynch, Sofia Coppola and Takashi Miike. David O’ Russell gave us Three Kings and Mike Leigh showed off a different side of himself with Topsy Turvy And yet, this list of great film after great film doesn’t quite scratch the surface of what 1999 had to offer.
Take David Riker’s film La Ciudad for example. Relatively forgotten among the never-ending list of great films debuting in theaters in 1999, this is unlike many of that year’s slate.
Take David Riker’s film La Ciudad for example. Relatively forgotten among the never-ending list of great films debuting in theaters in 1999, this is unlike many of that year’s slate.
- 10/23/2015
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
David Riker, who directed independent immigrant drama La Ciudad, helmed a film in 2012 titled The Girl. This seems at first glance a far-too-general name for a movie about immigration, life on the border, motherhood and desperation. Is the "girl" of the title Ashley (Abbie Cornish, Bright Star, Sucker Punch), a young mother struggling to make money so she can get back custody of her son? The viewer wonders as we see her flustered under the keen eye of a social worker, arguing for more shifts at the grocery store, or riding along with her trucker dad (Will Patton, Remember the Titans, TV show Falling Skies) to Mexico.
Ashley becomes convinced that she can be a coyote -- she desperately needs the money this bad idea will bring her. Among the group of people she picks up in a Nuevo Laredo plaza to convey over the border is a young girl,...
Ashley becomes convinced that she can be a coyote -- she desperately needs the money this bad idea will bring her. Among the group of people she picks up in a Nuevo Laredo plaza to convey over the border is a young girl,...
- 4/22/2014
- by Elizabeth Stoddard
- Slackerwood
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) handed out their annual awards tonight and it was Spike Jonze winning for his original screenplay, Her, while Billy Ray took the adaptation top prize for Captain Phillips, based on the book "A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy Seals, and Dangerous Days at Sea". Both screenplays are nominated for Oscars this year and, in fact, the Original Screenplay nominations match up exactly, but in the Adapted category John Ridley's screenplay for 12 Years a Slave was one of many deemed ineligible due to WGA qualifying rules. So if you think this makes for an "open and shut" case at the Oscars, that's definitely something to consider. That said, the win for Jonze I see as a very big deal in a tough field of competitors. I have Her at the top of my predictions in the Original Screenplay category and this only solidifies my opinion further,...
- 2/2/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Both the Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw) and East (Wgae) have announced nominations for the Writers Guild Awards. The biggest omission? Oscar front-runner "12 Years A Slave!" According to IndieWire, "12 Years A Slave, Fruitvale Station, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, God Loves Uganda, 20 Feet From Stardom, and The Square are indeed ineligible for a WGA nomination because they were not written under the guild's jurisdiction."
Whatever that means! If you're wondering what happened, read the Writers Guild's rules:
Feature films eligible for a Writers Guild Award were exhibited theatrically for at least one week in Los Angeles during 2013 and were written under the WGA.s Minimum Basic Agreement (Mba) or under a bona fide collective bargaining agreement of the Writers Guild of Canada, Writers Guild of Great Britain, Irish Playwrights & Screenwriters Guild, or the New Zealand Writers Guild. Theatrical screenplays produced under the jurisdiction of the WGA or an affiliate...
Whatever that means! If you're wondering what happened, read the Writers Guild's rules:
Feature films eligible for a Writers Guild Award were exhibited theatrically for at least one week in Los Angeles during 2013 and were written under the WGA.s Minimum Basic Agreement (Mba) or under a bona fide collective bargaining agreement of the Writers Guild of Canada, Writers Guild of Great Britain, Irish Playwrights & Screenwriters Guild, or the New Zealand Writers Guild. Theatrical screenplays produced under the jurisdiction of the WGA or an affiliate...
- 1/4/2014
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
WGA Awards 2014 nominations: Woody Allen, ‘American Hustle’ in; ’12 Years a Slave,’ ‘Blue Is the Warmest Color’ ineligible (photo: Cate Blanchett and Woody Allen on the ‘Blue Jasmine’ set) The Writers Guild of America has announced the nominees for the 2014 WGA Awards. The lists — adapted and original screenplay, documentary screenplay — mostly feature the expected titles, in addition to a handful of surprises chiefly because several of this year’s top contenders for screenplay awards have failed to meet the WGA’s strict eligibility rules. Among the out-of-contention screenplays for the 2014 WGA Awards were John Ridley’s 12 Years a Slave, Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope’s Philomena, Asghar Farhadi’s The Past, Abdellatif Kechiche and Ghalia Lacroix’s Blue Is the Warmest Color, William Nicholson’s Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Peter Morgan’s Rush, Destin Daniel Cretton’s Short Term 12, and Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station. The winners of the...
- 1/4/2014
- by Steve Montgomery
- Alt Film Guide
Earlier today saw the announcement of the Writers Guild of America‘s nominations for Best Original, Adapted, and Documentary Screenplay for 2013. Of the major guilds (Producers Guild, Directors Guild, etc.), these are usually the awards taken the least seriously due to their silly rules that exclude several of the top contenders each year. This year, major casualties of their rules included 12 Years a Slave (which is on the fast-track to winning the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar), Philomena, and Fruitvale Station. However, this wouldn’t be the first time a disqualified screenplay has gone on to win an Oscar, as we’ve seen previously with Django Unchained and The King’s Speech.
The exclusion of some of these nominees has led to a bit of randomness in their selections, particularly in the Adapted Screenplay category, where we find surprises like August: Osage County and Lone Survivor, two films that were of pretty poor quality.
The exclusion of some of these nominees has led to a bit of randomness in their selections, particularly in the Adapted Screenplay category, where we find surprises like August: Osage County and Lone Survivor, two films that were of pretty poor quality.
- 1/3/2014
- by Jeff Beck
- We Got This Covered
The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae) have announced nominations for outstanding achievement in writing for the screen during 2013. Winners will be honored at the 2014 Writers Guild Awards on Saturday, February 1, 2014, at simultaneous ceremonies in Los Angeles and New York City.
Screen Nominees
Original Screenplay
American Hustle, Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell; Columbia Pictures
Blue Jasmine, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics
Dallas Buyers Club, Written by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack; Focus Features http://focusguilds2013.com/dbcscreenplay/
Her, Written by Spike Jonze; Warner Bros.
Nebraska, Written by Bob Nelson; Paramount Pictures
Original Screenplay
August: Osage County, Screenplay by Tracy Letts; Based on his play; The Weinstein Company
Before Midnight, Written by Richard Linklater & Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke; Based on characters created by Richard Linklater & Kim Krizan; Sony Classics
Captain Phillips, Screenplay by Billy Ray; Based on the...
Screen Nominees
Original Screenplay
American Hustle, Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell; Columbia Pictures
Blue Jasmine, Written by Woody Allen; Sony Pictures Classics
Dallas Buyers Club, Written by Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack; Focus Features http://focusguilds2013.com/dbcscreenplay/
Her, Written by Spike Jonze; Warner Bros.
Nebraska, Written by Bob Nelson; Paramount Pictures
Original Screenplay
August: Osage County, Screenplay by Tracy Letts; Based on his play; The Weinstein Company
Before Midnight, Written by Richard Linklater & Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke; Based on characters created by Richard Linklater & Kim Krizan; Sony Classics
Captain Phillips, Screenplay by Billy Ray; Based on the...
- 1/3/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Today, the Writers Guild of America announced its nominees for this year's Writers Guild Awards, which honor writers in original and adapted screenplay as well as documentary. Sarah Polley's Stories We Tell is nominated for Documentary Screenplay alongside Jeremy Scahill and David Riker's Dirty Wars. Terence Winter gets a nod for adapting Jordan Belfort's memoir, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Tracy Letts for adapting his own play, August: Osage County. Spike Jonze's original screenplay Her is nominated alongside Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine and David O. Russell's American Hustle — all three of them also directed the films they penned. See the entire list of nominees below.Original Screenplay: American Hustle, Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. RussellBlue Jasmine, Written by Woody AllenDallas Buyers Club, Written by Craig Borten & Melisa WallackHer, Written by Spike JonzeNebraska, Written by Bob Nelson Adapted Screenplay: August: Osage County,...
- 1/3/2014
- by Lindsey Weber
- Vulture
The Writers Guild of America award nominations are out, but don’t expect to learn much about the Oscar race from these shortlists.
Too many major screenplays are ineligible for the guild prize, since the organization only honors writers who are union members or films that were made under the auspices of a guild agreement — excluding many foreign and independent movies.
Among those disqualified this year: John Ridley’s script for 12 Years a Slave — considered a frontrunner for the adapted screenplay Oscar — and Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope’s Philomena — another strong contender for that Academy Award. In the original screenplay category,...
Too many major screenplays are ineligible for the guild prize, since the organization only honors writers who are union members or films that were made under the auspices of a guild agreement — excluding many foreign and independent movies.
Among those disqualified this year: John Ridley’s script for 12 Years a Slave — considered a frontrunner for the adapted screenplay Oscar — and Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope’s Philomena — another strong contender for that Academy Award. In the original screenplay category,...
- 1/3/2014
- by Anthony Breznican
- EW - Inside Movies
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has announced the nominees for the 2014 WGA Awards and, as always, there will be Oscar contending screenplays that weren't eligible due to WGA qualifying rules. This year some of the ineligible scripts include 12 Years a Slave, Rush, Fruitvale Station and Philomena (via HitFix). The absence of such titles make the Oscar race a little more interesting, but if you think Lone Survivor is going to get a nomination (as much as I like seeing it recognized) over 12 Years a Slave guess again. In fact, looking at the nominations compared to my current Oscar predictions for Adapted and Original Screenplay you're going to find few differences. In the Original category the biggest difference is yet another snub for Inside Llewyn Davis, which was looked over yesterday by the Producers Guild and again today by the WGA, and once again, in its place we find Dallas Buyers Club,...
- 1/3/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The Oscar race gets more interesting by the day!
The Writers Guild of America unveiled their film nominations today, and among the set are a few surprises - as well as some notable snubs.
In the original screenplay category, mortal lock Woody Allen received his 21st WGA nomination for "Blue Jasmine," while Spike Jonze earned his first for "Her." Rounding out the rest of the field were Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell for "American Hustle," Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack for "Dallas Buyers Club," and Bob Nelson for "Nebraska."
One high-profile movie left out in the cold is Joel and Ethan Coen's "Inside Llewyn Davis." With a snub from the Producers Guild earlier this week, the critically-acclaimed tale of the '60s folk music scene is losing Oscar momentum.
The adapted screenplay category was more muddled this year, with likely Oscar contenders "12 Years a Slave," "Fruitvale Station," and...
The Writers Guild of America unveiled their film nominations today, and among the set are a few surprises - as well as some notable snubs.
In the original screenplay category, mortal lock Woody Allen received his 21st WGA nomination for "Blue Jasmine," while Spike Jonze earned his first for "Her." Rounding out the rest of the field were Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell for "American Hustle," Craig Borten & Melisa Wallack for "Dallas Buyers Club," and Bob Nelson for "Nebraska."
One high-profile movie left out in the cold is Joel and Ethan Coen's "Inside Llewyn Davis." With a snub from the Producers Guild earlier this week, the critically-acclaimed tale of the '60s folk music scene is losing Oscar momentum.
The adapted screenplay category was more muddled this year, with likely Oscar contenders "12 Years a Slave," "Fruitvale Station," and...
- 1/3/2014
- by Kelly Woo
- Moviefone
Last weekend’s celebration of all things cultural in Mexico was a big success (2014 has now been announced) and the film programming presented a number of diverse and interesting offerings from the country.
The following are a handful of the screenings which we were lucky to be invited to.
Opening night film – The Girl
Debuting at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Us filmmaker David Riker’s look at the hazardous world of immigration proved to be a strong choice to open with. In the film, Abbie Cornish (convincingly) plays a white-trash single mother called Ashley. She lives an aimless life close to the Mexican border in San Antonio and is battling to regain custody of her young son after a DUI charge. Discovering her estranged father (Will Patton – grizzled as hell) is using his haulage wagon for other money-making purposes, she foolishly arranges for a group of Mexicans to be smuggled across the border.
The following are a handful of the screenings which we were lucky to be invited to.
Opening night film – The Girl
Debuting at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Us filmmaker David Riker’s look at the hazardous world of immigration proved to be a strong choice to open with. In the film, Abbie Cornish (convincingly) plays a white-trash single mother called Ashley. She lives an aimless life close to the Mexican border in San Antonio and is battling to regain custody of her young son after a DUI charge. Discovering her estranged father (Will Patton – grizzled as hell) is using his haulage wagon for other money-making purposes, she foolishly arranges for a group of Mexicans to be smuggled across the border.
- 7/18/2013
- by Adam Lowes
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Mexican officials are considering further updates to the country’s current film incentives, a panel at London Mexfest reveals.
The ProAV incentive launched six years ago has already seen a number of key changes this year, with smaller-budgeted films now able to access the funding as well as slates or bundles of films able to apply. For the bundles, the lead producers can be different but the same Mexican production company has to be working on all of them.
ProAV offers cash rebate of 7.5% of all expenses in Mexico below the line (international producers can also get their Vat returned, so that savings can be up to 17.5%). Digital work, including animation and VFX, can start with the funding at $700,000 and film productions at about $3m. (More details of the current incentives can be found here and here.)
Jorge Sanchez, director of the Mexican Film Institute (Imcine), said the launch of London Mexfest yesterday: “It’s time to...
The ProAV incentive launched six years ago has already seen a number of key changes this year, with smaller-budgeted films now able to access the funding as well as slates or bundles of films able to apply. For the bundles, the lead producers can be different but the same Mexican production company has to be working on all of them.
ProAV offers cash rebate of 7.5% of all expenses in Mexico below the line (international producers can also get their Vat returned, so that savings can be up to 17.5%). Digital work, including animation and VFX, can start with the funding at $700,000 and film productions at about $3m. (More details of the current incentives can be found here and here.)
Jorge Sanchez, director of the Mexican Film Institute (Imcine), said the launch of London Mexfest yesterday: “It’s time to...
- 7/12/2013
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Chicago – The creator behind the provocative new documentary “Dirty Wars” is veteran investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill, and he is unafraid to reveal the dirt on the perpetual conflict under the heading of the war on terror. Scahill is not a stranger to controversy, and his insertion into the film’s narrative is part of the story itself.
In going behind the scenes in Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia, Scahill uncovers some eye-opening circumstances regarding the use of force in the war on terror. The special unit that killed Osama Bin Laden – the Joint Special Operations Command (Jsoc) – is also responsible for the killing of innocents in Afghanistan, and is a sector of the military that seems to have no accountability, either with Congress or the law.
Embedded: Jeremy Scahill (center) in ‘Dirty Wars’
Photo credit: IFC Films
The salient point the Jeremy Scahill makes in “Dirty Wars,” is that besides the...
In going behind the scenes in Afghanistan, Yemen and Somalia, Scahill uncovers some eye-opening circumstances regarding the use of force in the war on terror. The special unit that killed Osama Bin Laden – the Joint Special Operations Command (Jsoc) – is also responsible for the killing of innocents in Afghanistan, and is a sector of the military that seems to have no accountability, either with Congress or the law.
Embedded: Jeremy Scahill (center) in ‘Dirty Wars’
Photo credit: IFC Films
The salient point the Jeremy Scahill makes in “Dirty Wars,” is that besides the...
- 6/18/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – Jeremy Scahill is a relentless investigative reporter, a rare species in an age of increasing corporate control of the media. He goes to terror zones that others fear to tread, and has uncovered stories that comprise his new documentary, “Dirty Wars,” which uncovers dangerous U.S. foreign policy.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
This film is based on the premise that the branches of government have decided that war no longer has to be declared, but perpetually fought, and it is that recent foreign policy that Jeremy Scahill investigates. He inserts himself into the story, becoming an increasingly angry and paranoid participant while shining a light into many dark corners. The game of one specialized military unit maintaining a perpetual war on terror – and draining the United State’s resources while expanding the battle – results in no oversight, no ordinary citizen knowledge of their associative activities and virtually unlimited powers to crash and...
Rating: 3.5/5.0
This film is based on the premise that the branches of government have decided that war no longer has to be declared, but perpetually fought, and it is that recent foreign policy that Jeremy Scahill investigates. He inserts himself into the story, becoming an increasingly angry and paranoid participant while shining a light into many dark corners. The game of one specialized military unit maintaining a perpetual war on terror – and draining the United State’s resources while expanding the battle – results in no oversight, no ordinary citizen knowledge of their associative activities and virtually unlimited powers to crash and...
- 6/14/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – Sundance winner! In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 50 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the Sundance-winning documentary “Dirty Wars” from IFC Films!
“Dirty Wars,” which won the Cinematography Award and was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, is directed by Rick Rowley from writer David Riker and acclaimed writer Jeremy Scahill.
To win your free “Dirty Wars” passes courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just get interactive with our unique Hookup technology below. That’s it! This screening is on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at 7 p.m. in downtown Chicago. The more social actions you complete, the more points you score and the higher yours odds of winning! Completing these social actions only increases your odds of winning; this doesn’t intensify your competition or lower your odds!
Before entering, make sure you allow pop-ups.
If viewing this on your phone,...
“Dirty Wars,” which won the Cinematography Award and was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, is directed by Rick Rowley from writer David Riker and acclaimed writer Jeremy Scahill.
To win your free “Dirty Wars” passes courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just get interactive with our unique Hookup technology below. That’s it! This screening is on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at 7 p.m. in downtown Chicago. The more social actions you complete, the more points you score and the higher yours odds of winning! Completing these social actions only increases your odds of winning; this doesn’t intensify your competition or lower your odds!
Before entering, make sure you allow pop-ups.
If viewing this on your phone,...
- 6/9/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
It's not news that the American "war on terror" has helped create growing anti-American sentiment (in Iraq and Afghanistan, for starters) rooted not in people's envy of our culture or hatred of our values but in the senseless bloodshed suffered by their families and countrymen. A sobering illustration of how the U.S. creates such enemies is merely the starting point of Richard Rowley's documentary Dirty Wars. Written by David Riker and celebrated investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill (author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army), the film follows Scahill as he unpeels the layers of the Joint Special Operations Command, the powerful covert military outfit that answers directly—and only—to the president, and whose maneuver...
- 6/7/2013
- Village Voice
Jeremy Scahill's new documentary, "Dirty Wars," is a cinematic chronicle of one journalist's investigation into America's secret global campaign of targeted killings. It raises a stark question: Is Team Obama's aggressive expansion of drone strikes and night raids doing more harm than good?
The film, co-written by Scahill and David Riker and directed by Rick Rowley, is structured like a noir detective story. It follows Scahill from the lawless hinterlands of Afghanistan, where he interviews the surviving members of the family of a U.S.-trained police chief decimated in a secret night raid; to Yemen, where he inspects the wreckage of a drone strike and meets the father of Anwar al-Awlaki, one of four American citizens to be assassinated abroad by the U.S. (al-Awlaki's 16-year-old son was another); to Somalia, where he tags along with Somali war lords on the U.S. payroll, who brag of committing...
The film, co-written by Scahill and David Riker and directed by Rick Rowley, is structured like a noir detective story. It follows Scahill from the lawless hinterlands of Afghanistan, where he interviews the surviving members of the family of a U.S.-trained police chief decimated in a secret night raid; to Yemen, where he inspects the wreckage of a drone strike and meets the father of Anwar al-Awlaki, one of four American citizens to be assassinated abroad by the U.S. (al-Awlaki's 16-year-old son was another); to Somalia, where he tags along with Somali war lords on the U.S. payroll, who brag of committing...
- 6/6/2013
- by Mike Hogan
- Huffington Post
Title: Dirty Wars Sundance Selects Director: Rick Rowley Screenwriter: David Riker, Jeremy Scahill Cast: Jeremy Scahill, Nasser Al Aulaqi, Saleha Al Aulaqi, Muqbal Al Kazemi, Abdul Rahman Barman, Andrew Exum Screened at: Park Avenue, NYC, 5/15/13 Opens: June 7, 2013 Documentarians are generally to the left of center politically. Think of Michael Moore, who has attacked corporations like General Motors and the Congress for refusing to insure our medical health as do European nations. Think of Morgan Spurlock, who attacked McDonald’s, using himself as a guinea pig to demonstrate the lack of nutrition in that food corporation’s fare. Along comes Rick Rowley who in “Dirty Wars” focuses on Jeremy Scahill, [ Read More ]
The post Dirty Wars Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Dirty Wars Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 6/2/2013
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
Rating: 3.0/5.0
Chicago – Let’s get this out of the way first – Abbie Cornish is simply great in David Riker’s “The Girl,” opening this weekend in Chicago at the AMC River East 21. She’s genuine, believable, and emotional resonant in ways that make this critic truly wish she would get more great roles (go rent “Bright Star” for further proof of her immense talents). Having said that, “The Girl” only barely works. Too much of the dialogue feels forced and the situations purposefully manipulative for it to fall on the right side of the soap opera-drama spectrum. There’s a heartfelt tenderness for this troubled character on Riker & Cornish’s part but it comes at the expense of realism or any serious answers to the questions raised by the film.
Texan Ashley (Abbie Cornish) is going through a serious rough patch in her life. She has lost custody of her...
Chicago – Let’s get this out of the way first – Abbie Cornish is simply great in David Riker’s “The Girl,” opening this weekend in Chicago at the AMC River East 21. She’s genuine, believable, and emotional resonant in ways that make this critic truly wish she would get more great roles (go rent “Bright Star” for further proof of her immense talents). Having said that, “The Girl” only barely works. Too much of the dialogue feels forced and the situations purposefully manipulative for it to fall on the right side of the soap opera-drama spectrum. There’s a heartfelt tenderness for this troubled character on Riker & Cornish’s part but it comes at the expense of realism or any serious answers to the questions raised by the film.
Texan Ashley (Abbie Cornish) is going through a serious rough patch in her life. She has lost custody of her...
- 3/21/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
“The Girl” is one of the most challenging films for Australian actress Abbie Cornish. The actress showed her acting range as a struggling and depressed mother who is trying to win back her son from child protective services. Her life then changes after an encounter with a young girl in Mexico that starts towards her life-changing journey to truly realize what it really means for motherhood.
In a recent phone interview with Latino-Review, Cornish talked about working on the project with director David Riker and acting newcomer Maritza Santiago Hernandez. She even discussed her research on the life and culture of both sides of the borders. She also mentioned the challenges with developing a Texan accent and learning the Spanish language for the movie.
As an added bonus, Cornish eagerly talked about her experiences on the set of the upcoming “RoboCop” film and working with the respected thespian Gary Oldman.
In a recent phone interview with Latino-Review, Cornish talked about working on the project with director David Riker and acting newcomer Maritza Santiago Hernandez. She even discussed her research on the life and culture of both sides of the borders. She also mentioned the challenges with developing a Texan accent and learning the Spanish language for the movie.
As an added bonus, Cornish eagerly talked about her experiences on the set of the upcoming “RoboCop” film and working with the respected thespian Gary Oldman.
- 3/12/2013
- by Gig Patta
- LRMonline.com
Director David Riker's The Girl played the Tribeca Film Festival last year and is now coming to theaters. In it, Abbie Cornish plays a struggling single mother who stumbles into the practice of smuggling Mexicans across the border into the U.S. She's introduced to this underbelly by her father, a shifty character played by Will Patton, who has played his fair share of shifty characters, though just as often some good, if unassuming, ones. In order to give you a bit of an assist on why Patton's face looks super familiar, here's a quick primer. You've Most Likely Seen Him In ... ... a major studio blockbuster as either the second-in-command to or antagonist of the big star. Most prominently, this has been on display in the 1998 asteroid romance Armageddon, where Patton played Bruce Willis's trusty lieutenant; and as the antagonist football coach to Denzel Washington in Remember the Titans.
- 3/8/2013
- TribecaFilm.com
It is one’s tragedy that will lead to another one’s awakening.
The indie film “The Girl” reflects a soul-searching journey of a woman named Ashley (played by Abbie Cornish), who lost her child to child protection services years ago. She places the blame on everyone for the loss of her child—the foster parents, the government, the court and even her work. And most of all, she blames her problem with the lack of money in order to get her child back.
With the lack of money, a dead end job and living in a trailer park, her father Tommy (played by Will Patton) surprises her with a visit and they both travel to Mexico. She soon learns that her father smuggles Mexicans across the border for great sums of cash.
In desperation for money and to win her son back, she takes her own operation to smuggle...
The indie film “The Girl” reflects a soul-searching journey of a woman named Ashley (played by Abbie Cornish), who lost her child to child protection services years ago. She places the blame on everyone for the loss of her child—the foster parents, the government, the court and even her work. And most of all, she blames her problem with the lack of money in order to get her child back.
With the lack of money, a dead end job and living in a trailer park, her father Tommy (played by Will Patton) surprises her with a visit and they both travel to Mexico. She soon learns that her father smuggles Mexicans across the border for great sums of cash.
In desperation for money and to win her son back, she takes her own operation to smuggle...
- 3/7/2013
- by Gig Patta
- LRMonline.com
It’s been over 14 years since director David Riker was at the helm for the thought-provoking film “La Ciudad.” Riker returns with another Latino-themed film with “The Girl.”
Here’s the synopsis of the film:
Struggling with the loss of her child to Social Services, a single mother is trapped in the quicksand of her south Texas life, unwilling to accept the consequences of her actions. When her path collides with a young child from Mexico, she begins a journey that will change her life — teaching her that she is the architect of her own fate and learning what it is that truly defines home.
Latino-Review had an exclusive telephone interview with Riker as he promotes his emotional film “The Girl.” We discussed certain topics about immigration, the characters, motherhood and political/social themes from the film. And there were also certain challenges of adapting a script that was in...
Here’s the synopsis of the film:
Struggling with the loss of her child to Social Services, a single mother is trapped in the quicksand of her south Texas life, unwilling to accept the consequences of her actions. When her path collides with a young child from Mexico, she begins a journey that will change her life — teaching her that she is the architect of her own fate and learning what it is that truly defines home.
Latino-Review had an exclusive telephone interview with Riker as he promotes his emotional film “The Girl.” We discussed certain topics about immigration, the characters, motherhood and political/social themes from the film. And there were also certain challenges of adapting a script that was in...
- 3/7/2013
- by Gig Patta
- LRMonline.com
With 3 new clips available ahead of its release, buzz is steadily building for "The Girl," the first feature in over a decade from NY based writer-director David Riker. Riker's previous work "The City (La Ciudad)," a quartet of neo-realist vignettes detailing the experiences of Latin American immigrants in New York, evoked a strong critical response and picked up a handful of awards on the indie festival circuit. "The Girl" returns to the subject of immigration and stars Abbie Cornish, who impressed in Jane Campion's sensuous 2009 John Keats biopic “Bright Star” and has since gone on to supporting roles in "Limitless," "Sucker Punch" and "Seven Psychopaths." Cornish plays a troubled single mother living hand-to-mouth in the fraught territory of the Texas-Mexico border. After accepting a job driving illegal immigrants across the border, she finds her fate entangled with that of a young Mexican girl. Riker has said he spent a...
- 3/6/2013
- by Kieran McMahon
- The Playlist
Inquiring minds want to know, what has the Peruvian-American multi-media artist and filmmaker of the radical film Sleep Dealer been up to since he broke through at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. I had a chance to catch up with Alex and find out what’s shaking.
Sleep Dealer had been percolating through development for a few years when it participated in the 2001 Sundance Institute Screenwriters lab. It premiered in the festival’s Us Dramatic Competition in 2008 where it was bestowed with the Waldo Screenwriting Award for Alex and his co-writer David Riker. The ambitious and thoughtful genre bender (eco/romance/sci-fi/adventure/socio-political thriller), was a uniquely original feature debut which earned him lots of buzz including a spot on Variety’s Ten Directors to Watch. On the heels of all the Sundance momentum, Alex was courted around town for various projects, mostly speculative script work (aka free labor). One of the projects he became attached to write and direct was a film based on the Wired article “La Vida Robot,” then being produced by Salma Hayek and John Wells. Meanwhile, Sleep Dealer was released by Maya Entertainment in April 2009. Unfortunately, Maya’s theatrical releases struggled to make much profit (the company quietly shuttered last year to dissolve its debt). Sleep Dealer averaged 2k in its 18 booked theaters NY/La Opening Weekend engagement. My opinion? Lack of a strong and savvy marketing campaign along with Maya’s model of booking the film at its out of the way fringe theater markets hurt the film’s shot at targeting the audience it eventually found elsewhere. And where it did find a cultish nerd-like audience was in the educational space. Alex has traveled to over 50 campuses and continues to do so in order to discuss and engage with the complex layers and themes the film generates - a testament to the heavily research based scientific, sociological and immigration alchemy of the film.
So let’s hear what else Alex has been up to. {redacted transcription of our recorded conversation}.
What are some of the exciting things you’ve worked on immediately after Sleep Dealer?
David Riker and I developed a TV series. It’s called “Blink!” It’s about a woman who suffers a strange accident, loses her eyesight, and is given digital retinas, a technology that is currently being developed. Shortly after she starts to see again, she realizes something is terribly wrong – her head is transmitting. You can see what she sees through a live video feed. She doesn’t know if her eyes are malfunctioning, if she’s been ‘hacked,’ etc. The show follows Blink as she tries to unravel what’s inside her head and the possibility that she is part of a conspiracy that might even be altering her reality. We still have the material and are looking for a partner for it, we’ve had different partners along the way.
One of the more surprising developments for me was an ongoing collaboration with the community of activists working around the cause of immigration. The National Day Laborer Organizing Network became aware of my work through Sleep Dealer. They are really active working with day laborers in this grassroots way, but they also have a unique cultural strategy. They happened to be in touch with Manu Chao, the legendary and popular World music artist, who in his work sings about the experience of migration. They put me in touch with him and we produced a video in Arizona. We did the same thing with Ana Tijoux, a Latin Hip Hop artist, and we are dialoging with other artists like Zack de Rocha and La Santa Cecilia, a local La group Latino music mashup group. It’s been deeply fulfilling not going through agencies but rather activists that are committed to the same values that I am committed to. So that kind of has been my reality; partly working with these activist groups on these cultural projects, partly shopping around ideas in this system like the Sci-Fi TV series, and partly supporting Sleep Dealers’s after life.
You also work with other filmmakers on an ongoing basis, talk about your collective:
I’ve been working with other filmmakers for the past 14 years through a small distribution company called SubCine, like subliminal, subliminated. The idea behind the name is that experimental films, documentaries and risky fiction films are already shut out of the mainstream film culture, so then if you are making that kind of work from the Latino perspective its yet another level of marginalization. Its like we are the outsiders of the outsiders. It’s an exciting place to be, to think, imagine and attack from. We are a small collective of filmmakers like myself, Jim Mendiola Gregorio Rocha, Jesse Lerner, Cristina Ibarra, Natalia Almada, Dolissa Medina. A lot of us were making our films in the 90s and selling our films individually. We decided that instead of selling them individually, to compile a catalog together. From one day to the next, a distributor was born. We have a warehouse that keeps the films, does all the fulfillment and billing so we don’t have to lick the stamps anymore. Most traditional distributors pay filmmakers 40% minus expenses. We pay 70% with no expenses taken out of that. We are a very slender operation but set up to make the sales and get the money to the filmmakers. Right now we have almost 50 films in the catalog and over 20 filmmakers that we work with. I manage that on a month to month basis as one of my many other side projects. It’s been super fulfilling because its getting the films seen. They are sold to only a little segment; the libraries, universities and colleges to be used in classroom. Those institutions will pay $300 more or less for a DVD because they are using it in the institutional context. Then that work is seen by young people hungry to learn, whose ideas about the world and ideas about film are being shaped, so its a win-win-win.
That’s an interesting model, you think there is room for more of these kind of distribution platforms for Latino filmmakers?
We were inspired by New Day Films, a social issue documentary distribution collective. It’s a lot of the same thought; Lets not work alone, lets work together. If you sell your film maybe the person who bought it would want to buy my film. It’s like this collective spirit of a distributor that’s owned by the filmmakers. The educational market doesn’t sound glamorous, but it’s absolutely essential for students to see the wide variety of films and it gets to them when their brains are soft and squishy and malleable. It’s an influential moment to reach that audience. And they still pay - librarians still care about getting a licensed copy of a film for their collection and are willing to pay for it. In a day and age when nobody seems to get paid, this market is a unique space to be.
With all these side projects and day to day busy-ness and constant fellow filmmaker collaboration and stimulation how do you concentrate on developing your own projects and tell us what personal project are you focusing on now?
I have a curious mind and active imagination, which is a curse and a blessing. Definitely over the years I have had many ideas and I try to do everything I just mentioned plus develop my own material. About a year ago I got interested in the story of a legendary Chicano activist - somebody who should be as well known as Martin Luther King, Malcolm X or Cesar Chavez but who is not. His name is Reies López Tijerina. He led an armed movement in New Mexico to reclaim part of the land for the original Mexican families that had settled there before it was the United States - the land that was stolen after the war with Mexico. Tijerina is a fascinating character and there are parts of his story that are like a Quentin Tarantino film. Like he would wear a suit in the desert while armed, trying to arrest police officers….it has that kind of great genre and humor in it, but it also taps into extraordinary realities and histories about The Southwest which have, for the most part, been forgotten.
How much does the general public know about this man?
I think the general public knows close to nothing. People who study Chicano history would run into his story but not everybody even in that category…We live in a strange age where there are 53 million Latinos in this country and yet if you ask, ‘Who are some great Latino figures in U.S. history?’ most folks can’t name five. Whether it’s the result of a concerted effort or not, the history is missing. I mean, you look at Arizona and they are banning books about Chicano history, you start to think maybe it is concerted. Either way, you don’t get 50 million people here overnight. There’s a long history that has been erased and its part of the duty of artists who define themselves as Latino to rescue parts of that history because we deserve to know it. Tijerina is one of those incendiary, wild and fantastic stories and there should be many films about it and yet it is exactly the opposite. He’s nearly completely forgotten and he’s not the only one, there is a whole series of these kind of figures that have been swept under the rug. It’s a problem and also an opportunity because it is definitely time now to think of ways that are visually exciting to tell these stories. When I talk about history, it’s not to put someone to sleep, its not a Ken Burns treatment. This is life and death, sex, people fighting over billions of dollars that are at stake, the future of the country - these are high stakes, thrilling stories going back to days of the Conquest up until today.
How would you go about rescuing these histories and making it modern, relevant and accessible in order to capture people’s interest in unknown historical figures?
All the way through, if you look at any chapter in Latino history, and as I would define it, it starts with the conquest when the Spanish meet Native Americans and start to kill each other and enslave each other and make babies together and create a whole new race -is there anything more Shakespearean? More dramatic? No. Obviously Mel Gibson took a stab at that time period with Apocalpyto, which was wildly successful commercially. Why? Because he used a kind of genre approach. It’s not a historical film, it’s an action film. Now I didn’t love the film but I can respect that it’s a piece of pop culture that is also telling a part of history. Do I love its point of view? No. But I respect the craft. And so starting with that going up to, anywhere you drop the needle on Latino history there is something equally dramatic going on..…In the Us Mexico war countless moments and characters and stories could be told through the genre of a heightened western that would be incredible. Quentin Tarantino has just shown that films that are set in historical contexts but that us the energy and aesthetics of genre filmmaking can be wildly successful. So the approach needs to be creative, elevated, the approach needs to push the envelope. You can mine these histories for all kinds of fantastic narratives. And, of course, the future can be mined as well.
Thanks to Alex for sharing!
Sleep Dealer had been percolating through development for a few years when it participated in the 2001 Sundance Institute Screenwriters lab. It premiered in the festival’s Us Dramatic Competition in 2008 where it was bestowed with the Waldo Screenwriting Award for Alex and his co-writer David Riker. The ambitious and thoughtful genre bender (eco/romance/sci-fi/adventure/socio-political thriller), was a uniquely original feature debut which earned him lots of buzz including a spot on Variety’s Ten Directors to Watch. On the heels of all the Sundance momentum, Alex was courted around town for various projects, mostly speculative script work (aka free labor). One of the projects he became attached to write and direct was a film based on the Wired article “La Vida Robot,” then being produced by Salma Hayek and John Wells. Meanwhile, Sleep Dealer was released by Maya Entertainment in April 2009. Unfortunately, Maya’s theatrical releases struggled to make much profit (the company quietly shuttered last year to dissolve its debt). Sleep Dealer averaged 2k in its 18 booked theaters NY/La Opening Weekend engagement. My opinion? Lack of a strong and savvy marketing campaign along with Maya’s model of booking the film at its out of the way fringe theater markets hurt the film’s shot at targeting the audience it eventually found elsewhere. And where it did find a cultish nerd-like audience was in the educational space. Alex has traveled to over 50 campuses and continues to do so in order to discuss and engage with the complex layers and themes the film generates - a testament to the heavily research based scientific, sociological and immigration alchemy of the film.
So let’s hear what else Alex has been up to. {redacted transcription of our recorded conversation}.
What are some of the exciting things you’ve worked on immediately after Sleep Dealer?
David Riker and I developed a TV series. It’s called “Blink!” It’s about a woman who suffers a strange accident, loses her eyesight, and is given digital retinas, a technology that is currently being developed. Shortly after she starts to see again, she realizes something is terribly wrong – her head is transmitting. You can see what she sees through a live video feed. She doesn’t know if her eyes are malfunctioning, if she’s been ‘hacked,’ etc. The show follows Blink as she tries to unravel what’s inside her head and the possibility that she is part of a conspiracy that might even be altering her reality. We still have the material and are looking for a partner for it, we’ve had different partners along the way.
One of the more surprising developments for me was an ongoing collaboration with the community of activists working around the cause of immigration. The National Day Laborer Organizing Network became aware of my work through Sleep Dealer. They are really active working with day laborers in this grassroots way, but they also have a unique cultural strategy. They happened to be in touch with Manu Chao, the legendary and popular World music artist, who in his work sings about the experience of migration. They put me in touch with him and we produced a video in Arizona. We did the same thing with Ana Tijoux, a Latin Hip Hop artist, and we are dialoging with other artists like Zack de Rocha and La Santa Cecilia, a local La group Latino music mashup group. It’s been deeply fulfilling not going through agencies but rather activists that are committed to the same values that I am committed to. So that kind of has been my reality; partly working with these activist groups on these cultural projects, partly shopping around ideas in this system like the Sci-Fi TV series, and partly supporting Sleep Dealers’s after life.
You also work with other filmmakers on an ongoing basis, talk about your collective:
I’ve been working with other filmmakers for the past 14 years through a small distribution company called SubCine, like subliminal, subliminated. The idea behind the name is that experimental films, documentaries and risky fiction films are already shut out of the mainstream film culture, so then if you are making that kind of work from the Latino perspective its yet another level of marginalization. Its like we are the outsiders of the outsiders. It’s an exciting place to be, to think, imagine and attack from. We are a small collective of filmmakers like myself, Jim Mendiola Gregorio Rocha, Jesse Lerner, Cristina Ibarra, Natalia Almada, Dolissa Medina. A lot of us were making our films in the 90s and selling our films individually. We decided that instead of selling them individually, to compile a catalog together. From one day to the next, a distributor was born. We have a warehouse that keeps the films, does all the fulfillment and billing so we don’t have to lick the stamps anymore. Most traditional distributors pay filmmakers 40% minus expenses. We pay 70% with no expenses taken out of that. We are a very slender operation but set up to make the sales and get the money to the filmmakers. Right now we have almost 50 films in the catalog and over 20 filmmakers that we work with. I manage that on a month to month basis as one of my many other side projects. It’s been super fulfilling because its getting the films seen. They are sold to only a little segment; the libraries, universities and colleges to be used in classroom. Those institutions will pay $300 more or less for a DVD because they are using it in the institutional context. Then that work is seen by young people hungry to learn, whose ideas about the world and ideas about film are being shaped, so its a win-win-win.
That’s an interesting model, you think there is room for more of these kind of distribution platforms for Latino filmmakers?
We were inspired by New Day Films, a social issue documentary distribution collective. It’s a lot of the same thought; Lets not work alone, lets work together. If you sell your film maybe the person who bought it would want to buy my film. It’s like this collective spirit of a distributor that’s owned by the filmmakers. The educational market doesn’t sound glamorous, but it’s absolutely essential for students to see the wide variety of films and it gets to them when their brains are soft and squishy and malleable. It’s an influential moment to reach that audience. And they still pay - librarians still care about getting a licensed copy of a film for their collection and are willing to pay for it. In a day and age when nobody seems to get paid, this market is a unique space to be.
With all these side projects and day to day busy-ness and constant fellow filmmaker collaboration and stimulation how do you concentrate on developing your own projects and tell us what personal project are you focusing on now?
I have a curious mind and active imagination, which is a curse and a blessing. Definitely over the years I have had many ideas and I try to do everything I just mentioned plus develop my own material. About a year ago I got interested in the story of a legendary Chicano activist - somebody who should be as well known as Martin Luther King, Malcolm X or Cesar Chavez but who is not. His name is Reies López Tijerina. He led an armed movement in New Mexico to reclaim part of the land for the original Mexican families that had settled there before it was the United States - the land that was stolen after the war with Mexico. Tijerina is a fascinating character and there are parts of his story that are like a Quentin Tarantino film. Like he would wear a suit in the desert while armed, trying to arrest police officers….it has that kind of great genre and humor in it, but it also taps into extraordinary realities and histories about The Southwest which have, for the most part, been forgotten.
How much does the general public know about this man?
I think the general public knows close to nothing. People who study Chicano history would run into his story but not everybody even in that category…We live in a strange age where there are 53 million Latinos in this country and yet if you ask, ‘Who are some great Latino figures in U.S. history?’ most folks can’t name five. Whether it’s the result of a concerted effort or not, the history is missing. I mean, you look at Arizona and they are banning books about Chicano history, you start to think maybe it is concerted. Either way, you don’t get 50 million people here overnight. There’s a long history that has been erased and its part of the duty of artists who define themselves as Latino to rescue parts of that history because we deserve to know it. Tijerina is one of those incendiary, wild and fantastic stories and there should be many films about it and yet it is exactly the opposite. He’s nearly completely forgotten and he’s not the only one, there is a whole series of these kind of figures that have been swept under the rug. It’s a problem and also an opportunity because it is definitely time now to think of ways that are visually exciting to tell these stories. When I talk about history, it’s not to put someone to sleep, its not a Ken Burns treatment. This is life and death, sex, people fighting over billions of dollars that are at stake, the future of the country - these are high stakes, thrilling stories going back to days of the Conquest up until today.
How would you go about rescuing these histories and making it modern, relevant and accessible in order to capture people’s interest in unknown historical figures?
All the way through, if you look at any chapter in Latino history, and as I would define it, it starts with the conquest when the Spanish meet Native Americans and start to kill each other and enslave each other and make babies together and create a whole new race -is there anything more Shakespearean? More dramatic? No. Obviously Mel Gibson took a stab at that time period with Apocalpyto, which was wildly successful commercially. Why? Because he used a kind of genre approach. It’s not a historical film, it’s an action film. Now I didn’t love the film but I can respect that it’s a piece of pop culture that is also telling a part of history. Do I love its point of view? No. But I respect the craft. And so starting with that going up to, anywhere you drop the needle on Latino history there is something equally dramatic going on..…In the Us Mexico war countless moments and characters and stories could be told through the genre of a heightened western that would be incredible. Quentin Tarantino has just shown that films that are set in historical contexts but that us the energy and aesthetics of genre filmmaking can be wildly successful. So the approach needs to be creative, elevated, the approach needs to push the envelope. You can mine these histories for all kinds of fantastic narratives. And, of course, the future can be mined as well.
Thanks to Alex for sharing!
- 2/27/2013
- by Christine Davila
- Sydney's Buzz
Abbie Cornish stars as a single mom trying to earn money to get her child back in The Girl. The indie film from director David Riker (La Cuidad) opens in New York March 8th and Los Angeles March 15.
Abbie Cornish plays Ashley, a young single mom struggling with the loss of her child to Social Services, unwilling to accept the consequences of her actions and trapped in the quicksand of her south Texas life. Also starring Will Patton, and introducing Maritza Santiago Hernandez as the Mexican girl.
When Ashley's path collides with Rosa (Maritza Santiago Hernandez), a strong-minded girl who has lost her mother while crossing the Rio Grande, she unwittingly begins a journey that will change her life forever.
Starting in a big box store in Texas and ending in
Read more...
Abbie Cornish plays Ashley, a young single mom struggling with the loss of her child to Social Services, unwilling to accept the consequences of her actions and trapped in the quicksand of her south Texas life. Also starring Will Patton, and introducing Maritza Santiago Hernandez as the Mexican girl.
When Ashley's path collides with Rosa (Maritza Santiago Hernandez), a strong-minded girl who has lost her mother while crossing the Rio Grande, she unwittingly begins a journey that will change her life forever.
Starting in a big box store in Texas and ending in
Read more...
- 2/12/2013
- CineMovie
As immigration reform once again begins a hotly debated topic among the halls of Washington power players, there is perhaps no better time for "The Girl" to be hitting theaters. After premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival last spring, and hitting the Austin Film Festival last year as well, the picture is finally gearing up for audiences everywhere. And we have some exclusive new images and a featurette for the picture that boasts a strong lead turn from Abbie Cornish. The rising actress stars as Ashley, a troubled single mother living on the Texas and Mexico border. Needing the money, she takes a gig driving illegal immigrants over into the United States, but soon finds herself wrapped up in the fate of a little girl, and the ensuing events will change her life forever. The film is the first feature from writer/director David Riker in over a decade, but...
- 1/31/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
In this new documentary, the Nation's investigative reporter lifts the lid on the ugly reality of Us counter-terror operations
As President Barack Obama prepared to be sworn in for his second term as the 44th president of the United States, two courageous journalists premiered a documentary at the annual Sundance Film Festival. Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield reaffirms the critical role played by independent journalists like the film's director, Rick Rowley, and its narrator and central figure, Jeremy Scahill.
The increasing pace of Us drone strikes, and the Obama administration's reliance on shadowy special forces to conduct military raids beyond the reach of oversight and accountability, were summarily missed over the inaugural weekend by a Us press corps obsessed with first lady Michelle Obama's new bangs. Dirty Wars, along with Scahill's forthcoming book of the same title, is on target to break that silence … with a bang that matters.
As President Barack Obama prepared to be sworn in for his second term as the 44th president of the United States, two courageous journalists premiered a documentary at the annual Sundance Film Festival. Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield reaffirms the critical role played by independent journalists like the film's director, Rick Rowley, and its narrator and central figure, Jeremy Scahill.
The increasing pace of Us drone strikes, and the Obama administration's reliance on shadowy special forces to conduct military raids beyond the reach of oversight and accountability, were summarily missed over the inaugural weekend by a Us press corps obsessed with first lady Michelle Obama's new bangs. Dirty Wars, along with Scahill's forthcoming book of the same title, is on target to break that silence … with a bang that matters.
- 1/28/2013
- by Amy Goodman
- The Guardian - Film News
Sundance Selects has acquired North American rights to Richard Rowley's "Dirty Wars," the company announced Sunday. "Dirty Wars" premiered in the U.S. documentary competition section at the Sundance Film Festival. Rowley's film follows investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill on an unexpected journey as he chases down the truth behind America's covert wars. The film, with a screenplay by Jeremy Scahill and David Riker, was produced by Anthony Arnove, Brenda Coughlin, and Scahill. "Our entire team was blown away by 'Dirty Wars,' Richard Rowley's tough-minded, gripping film that plays out like a detective story," said...
- 1/20/2013
- by Todd Cunningham
- The Wrap
Documentaries continue to get snatched up in the early says of the Sundance Film Festival. Sunday, Sundance Selects nailed down a deal for North American rights to “Dirty Wars,” Richard Rowley’s look at investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill’s quest to expose America’s covert operations abroad. The film, part of the U.S. documentary competition, premiered at the Temple Theatre Friday night and screened again Saturday afternoon before the deal closed. Scahill and David Riker wrote the screenplay. Anthony Arnove, Brenda Coughlin and Scahill produced. “Our entire team was blown away by ‘Dirty Wars,’ Richard Rowley's tough-minded, gripping film that plays out like a detective story,” said Sundance Selects/IFC Films president Jonathan Sehring. “Jeremy Scahill's investigation into the war on terror being waged around the world is a vital, disturbing and incredibly humane story that will have people on both...
- 1/20/2013
- by Jay A. Fernandez and Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Can’t believe I’m writing this, but AMC’s Sundance Selects is so far dominating the acquisitions marketplace at the Sundance Film Festival, even if it’s doing small documentary deals. They’ve just bought North American on Dirty Wars, the Richard Rowley-directed pic. That follows yesterday’s deal for The Summit. Here’s the announcement: Park City, Ut (January 20, 2013) – Sundance Selects announced today from the 2013 Sundance Film Festival that the company is acquiring North American rights to Richard Rowley’s Dirty Wars, which premiered in the U.S. documentary competition section. The film, with a screenplay by Jeremy Scahill and David Riker, was produced by Anthony Arnove, Brenda Coughlin, and Scahill. Rowley’s film follows investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill on an unexpected journey as he chasesdown the truth behind America’s covert wars. Jonathan Sehring, President of Sundance Selects/IFC Films, said: “Our entire team was blown away by Dirty Wars,...
- 1/20/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
The Guadalajara International Film Festival (Ficg) is taking part in the year’s first celebration of the seventh art—the Palm Springs International Film Festival—where it is slated to present the Cine Latino Award to the best Iberoamerican film screened at the 24th edition of the California festival, which will run from January 3rd to 14th, 2013.
The award is accompanied by a cash prize of Us$5,000 contributed by the Guadalajara International Film Festival and the University of Guadalajara Foundation/USA located in Los Angeles, California.
The Cine Latino Award highlights the enormous creativity of new talents in the world of Iberoamerican cinema, at the same time underlining the commitment of the Ficg and the University of Guadalajara Foundation/USA to the consolidation of culture and the arts in the region and to the wider interchange of ideas within a global context.
I will have the pleasure of being on the jury along with Juan Carlos Arciniegas (Ccn en Español), a journalist with an established career in the area of motion picture and entertainment criticism and analysis—and Iván Trujillo Bolio, director of the Guadalajara International Film Festival.
Listed below are the 22 films eligible for the award. They include some of the productions from Iberoamerican countries nominated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the Foreign Language Film category of the 85th Academy Awards, to be held on February 24th, 2013.
7 Boxes (Paraguay), (Isa:Shoreline Entertainment)
Director: Juan Carlos Maneglia, Tana Schémbori
After Lucia (Mexico), (Isa: Bac Films)
Director: Michel Franco
Beauty (Argentina), (Isa: Campo Cine)
Director: Daniela Seggiaro
Blancanieves (Spain/France) (Dreamcatchers)
Director: Pablo Berger
Checkmate (Dominican Republic)
Director: José María Cabral
Clandestine Childhood (Argentina/Brazil/Spain)
Director: Benjamín Ávil
The Cleaner (Peru) (Isa: Flamingo Films)
Director: Adrian Saba
The Clown (Brazil)
Director: Selton Mellobr
The Dead Man and Being Happy (Spain) (Isa: Udi)
Director: Javier Rebollo
Drought (Mexico) (Isa:imcine)
Director: Everardo González
The Girl (USA/Mexico) (Isa: Goldcrest Fims)
Director: David Riker
Here and There (Spain/USA/Mexico) (Isa: Alpha Violet)
Director: Antonio Méndez Esparza
La Playa D.C. (Colombia/Brazil/France) (Isa: Cineplex)
Director: Juan Andrés Arango García
Multiple Visions (The Crazy Machine) (Mexico/France/Spain)
Director: Emilio Maillé
The Passion of Michelangelo (Chile/France)
Director: Esteban Larraín
Sadourni’s Butterflies (Argentina)
Director: Darío Nardi
The Sleeping Voice (Spain) (Isa: The Match Factory)
Director: Benito Zambrano
The Snitch Cartel (Colombia)
Director: Carlos Moreno
Tabu (Portugal/Brazil/France/Germany)
Director: Miguel Gomes
The End (Spain)
Director: Jorge Torregrossa
Una Noche (Cuba/UK/USA)
Director: Lucy Mulloy
White Elephant (Argentina/Spain/France)
Director: Pablo Trapero
Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara.
Nebulosa 2916, Jardines del Bosque C.P. 44520 Guadalajara, Jal., México
Teléfonos: +52 (33) 3121-7461, 3122-7827, 3121-6860
Fax: 3121 7426
www.ficg.mx
Todos los derechos reservados ® Pficg | Patronato del Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara.
The award is accompanied by a cash prize of Us$5,000 contributed by the Guadalajara International Film Festival and the University of Guadalajara Foundation/USA located in Los Angeles, California.
The Cine Latino Award highlights the enormous creativity of new talents in the world of Iberoamerican cinema, at the same time underlining the commitment of the Ficg and the University of Guadalajara Foundation/USA to the consolidation of culture and the arts in the region and to the wider interchange of ideas within a global context.
I will have the pleasure of being on the jury along with Juan Carlos Arciniegas (Ccn en Español), a journalist with an established career in the area of motion picture and entertainment criticism and analysis—and Iván Trujillo Bolio, director of the Guadalajara International Film Festival.
Listed below are the 22 films eligible for the award. They include some of the productions from Iberoamerican countries nominated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the Foreign Language Film category of the 85th Academy Awards, to be held on February 24th, 2013.
7 Boxes (Paraguay), (Isa:Shoreline Entertainment)
Director: Juan Carlos Maneglia, Tana Schémbori
After Lucia (Mexico), (Isa: Bac Films)
Director: Michel Franco
Beauty (Argentina), (Isa: Campo Cine)
Director: Daniela Seggiaro
Blancanieves (Spain/France) (Dreamcatchers)
Director: Pablo Berger
Checkmate (Dominican Republic)
Director: José María Cabral
Clandestine Childhood (Argentina/Brazil/Spain)
Director: Benjamín Ávil
The Cleaner (Peru) (Isa: Flamingo Films)
Director: Adrian Saba
The Clown (Brazil)
Director: Selton Mellobr
The Dead Man and Being Happy (Spain) (Isa: Udi)
Director: Javier Rebollo
Drought (Mexico) (Isa:imcine)
Director: Everardo González
The Girl (USA/Mexico) (Isa: Goldcrest Fims)
Director: David Riker
Here and There (Spain/USA/Mexico) (Isa: Alpha Violet)
Director: Antonio Méndez Esparza
La Playa D.C. (Colombia/Brazil/France) (Isa: Cineplex)
Director: Juan Andrés Arango García
Multiple Visions (The Crazy Machine) (Mexico/France/Spain)
Director: Emilio Maillé
The Passion of Michelangelo (Chile/France)
Director: Esteban Larraín
Sadourni’s Butterflies (Argentina)
Director: Darío Nardi
The Sleeping Voice (Spain) (Isa: The Match Factory)
Director: Benito Zambrano
The Snitch Cartel (Colombia)
Director: Carlos Moreno
Tabu (Portugal/Brazil/France/Germany)
Director: Miguel Gomes
The End (Spain)
Director: Jorge Torregrossa
Una Noche (Cuba/UK/USA)
Director: Lucy Mulloy
White Elephant (Argentina/Spain/France)
Director: Pablo Trapero
Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara.
Nebulosa 2916, Jardines del Bosque C.P. 44520 Guadalajara, Jal., México
Teléfonos: +52 (33) 3121-7461, 3122-7827, 3121-6860
Fax: 3121 7426
www.ficg.mx
Todos los derechos reservados ® Pficg | Patronato del Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara.
- 1/9/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Title: The Girl Director: David Riker Starring: Abbie Cornish, Will Patton, Maritza Santiago Hernandez A well-meaning but rather inert borderland drama about a single Texas mother who, while in the process of trying to reunite with her son, becomes entangled with a young would-be illegal immigrant, “The Girl” is a decent showcase for the Australian-born Abbie Cornish, which explains its limited, awards-qualifying run in advance of its wider, March 2013 theatrical release. Still, the film is too limited in scope and predictable to transcend its social-issue movie-of-the-week roots as a tear-jerker designed to play on the feelings of particularly maternal independent film fans. Ashley (Cornish) is poor and not particularly [ Read More ]
The post The Girl Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post The Girl Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 12/20/2012
- by bsimon
- ShockYa
Well-told, well-shot and featuring a strong, but restrained and internalized performance from actress Abbie Cornish, director David Riker's "The Girl" is a mannered and in-the-pocket indie drama that might be a total subdued winner if it weren't for its dubious political ideologies, an irony considering the film's DNA is clearly built on humanist tendencies. While the Australian Cornish does have mild issues with sticking the landing on her Texas accent, it's her meatiest role since the deeply underrated "Bright Star" and lesser-seen, but no less valuable indies like "Somersault" and "Candy" (the latter featuring her going toe-to-toe with Heath Ledger and giving as good as she got) and she makes the most of it. She leads the pic as the emotionally distraught and financially destitute Ashley (played quietly with an internal smoldering), and as the narrative unfolds through the mundane, we learn that her...
- 12/14/2012
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
"You know the only reason you've got my Georgie and not me is because of money," a Texas woman (Abbie Cornish) slings at her mother early into the trailer for David Riker's "The Girl," and she's right. Issues of money are what set the trailer, and the film, into motion -- but it seems money has no true place on the journey these characters take through the rest of the trailer. Money is the reason she loses custody of her son; money is what she needs for her forthcoming custody battle; money is why she decides to help smuggle illegal immigrants over the border. But, when a dangerous trek through the Rio Grande with a pack of human cargo leaves her to care for a young, now-motherless Mexican girl, income seems to lose its once-shining value. Can money right what's been wronged? Can money bring the young girl's mother back?...
- 12/10/2012
- by Justin Krajeski
- Indiewire
Today we have the trailer for "The Girl" drama, starring Abbie Cornish (RoboCop, Sucker Punch) and Will Patton. The film appeared at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year. Check out the trailer below. Plot: Ashley (Cornish) is an emotionally distraught woman whose child was taken away by Social Services. Being in dire straits financially, she begins to smuggle illegal immigrants across the border from Mexico into Texas. But when a young girl named Rosa comes into her care, everything begins to change for Ashley. The new movie is written and directed by David Riker, and is set to get a limited theatrical release on December 14th. Trailer:...
- 12/10/2012
- WorstPreviews.com
No, this isn't the HBO film about Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren that goes by the same name. Instead, this film called The Girl, which played at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year, features Abbie Cornish in a lead role as a struggling mother, coming to terms with the loss of her child to Social Services. But as with all indie films like this, she comes into contact with someone who will change her life: a little girl from Mexico who obviously has some things to teach her. It looks like a decent performance for Cornish, but I can't help but see this film as too familiar. Of course, that's the case with a lot of films nowadays. Watch! Here's the first official trailer for David Riker's The Girl, originally from Yahoo: Struggling with the loss of her child to Social Services, a single mother (Abbie Cornish) is...
- 12/7/2012
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
The journey will change her forever. I just saw this completely fresh trailer for the upcoming drama The Girl, and I must say that Abbie Cornish definitely rocks! I mean, ok, we already had a chance to hear that David Riker‘s movie deals with motherhood, immigration and politics, but somewhere in between – I think we’re actually dealing with a quite powerful story of love & commitment. Take a look, and let us know what you think!
As we previously reported, the movie which comes from writer/director David Riker debuted at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, and beside great Abbie Cornish, it also stars Will Patton and young Maritza Santiago Hernandez.
Cornish stars as a single mother named Ashley, described as an emotionally distraught woman coming to grips with her child being taken away by Social Services. She is also in dire straits financially, and soon begins to...
As we previously reported, the movie which comes from writer/director David Riker debuted at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, and beside great Abbie Cornish, it also stars Will Patton and young Maritza Santiago Hernandez.
Cornish stars as a single mother named Ashley, described as an emotionally distraught woman coming to grips with her child being taken away by Social Services. She is also in dire straits financially, and soon begins to...
- 12/7/2012
- by Jeanne Standal
- Filmofilia
Abbie Cornish stars in David Riker's drama The Girl which now gets a first poster, and tells of a young Texan mother, after losing her child to foster care, starts smuggling Mexicans across the border. Riker directs and scripts the film which was nominated for Best Narrative Feature at this year's Tribeca Film Festival. The cast also includes Will Patton, Giovanna Zacarías, Luci Christian, Austin West and Santiago Maritza. The Girl is produced by Paul S. Mezey.
- 11/15/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Abbie Cornish stars in David Riker's drama The Girl which now gets a first poster, and tells of a young Texan mother, after losing her child to foster care, starts smuggling Mexicans across the border. Riker directs and scripts the film which was nominated for Best Narrative Feature at this year's Tribeca Film Festival. The cast also includes Will Patton, Giovanna Zacarías, Luci Christian, Austin West and Santiago Maritza. The Girl is produced by Paul S. Mezey.
- 11/15/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
It rumbles and wheezes along the sparse, desolate southwest, but there was no better place for David Riker to talk about his new film, The Girl, than on the roof of a New York City hotel. From there, he could toss a baseball and, with the day’s wind whipping, have it land in what remains of the Garment District, a little pocket of western Manhattan where generations of immigrants began sewing and sweating their way to the American dream -- or the promise thereof. It was in that nearly-forgotten time portal that Riker made his 1998 film La Cuidad, about
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- 5/7/2012
- by Jordan Zakarin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
That's it. It's a wrap. The Tribeca Film Festival is over for another 12 months. And while it was an improvement from years past, despite a promising line-up the festival proved to be somewhat disappointing: most of the best regarded films ("2 Days In New York," "Take This Waltz," Searching For Sugar Man" being three prime examples) had premiered elsewhere, while the more high-profile, star-laden of their world or North American exclusives landed with a thud.
However, even while the festival still grapples with its own identity, there were some real gems in the line-up: there are a few films that justify whatever else we had to sit through in the course of the last few weeks. And let's not forget the festival did secure "The Avengers" and "The Five-Year Engagement," two films we loved (though try and ask any civillian who got into either and you'll hear a lot of crickets). Below,...
However, even while the festival still grapples with its own identity, there were some real gems in the line-up: there are a few films that justify whatever else we had to sit through in the course of the last few weeks. And let's not forget the festival did secure "The Avengers" and "The Five-Year Engagement," two films we loved (though try and ask any civillian who got into either and you'll hear a lot of crickets). Below,...
- 5/2/2012
- by Oliver Lyttelton
- The Playlist
The 2012 Tribeca Film Festival opened and closed with two glossy, star-studded premieres, as the raunchy rom-com "The Five-Year Engagement" and the surefire summer blockbuster "The Avengers" bookended the event.
But it was the far more modestly budgeted films in between that made the 11th annual Tribeca fest a success, with audiences and critics alike discovering gems you probably won't see plastered on the side of a bus anytime soon.
Our 10 favorites ranged from music documentaries ("Searching for Sugar Man") to quote-unquote mumblecore ("Your Sister's Sister"), but they share one common thread, at least in our eyes: They deserve a much wider audience. Maybe even on bus ads. – By Jason Guerrasio, Kevin Polowy, Nigel Smith and Brooke Tarnoff
'The Giant Mechanical Man'
Jenna Fischer stars in this charming, off-beat exploration of casual existentialism; the movie, written and directed by her husband, Lee Kirk, makes the most of the regular-person...
But it was the far more modestly budgeted films in between that made the 11th annual Tribeca fest a success, with audiences and critics alike discovering gems you probably won't see plastered on the side of a bus anytime soon.
Our 10 favorites ranged from music documentaries ("Searching for Sugar Man") to quote-unquote mumblecore ("Your Sister's Sister"), but they share one common thread, at least in our eyes: They deserve a much wider audience. Maybe even on bus ads. – By Jason Guerrasio, Kevin Polowy, Nigel Smith and Brooke Tarnoff
'The Giant Mechanical Man'
Jenna Fischer stars in this charming, off-beat exploration of casual existentialism; the movie, written and directed by her husband, Lee Kirk, makes the most of the regular-person...
- 5/1/2012
- by NextMovie Staff
- NextMovie
The emotion in the room was palpable as writer-director David Riker took the stage alongside producer Tania Zarak following the final Tff 2012 screening of their film, The Girl. As Riker explained, The Girl continues the conversation sparked in his first film, La Ciudad (The City), which explored the lives of Hispanic immigrants in New York City. Yet despite the evocative tone of La Ciudad, 'Q and As just like this one' illuminated a sobering reality: audiences 'were very moved, but spoke of [the migrant workers] as having nothing to do with them[selves]' - as though the characters' experiences were 'so far removed' from their own. Compelled to show the universality of their journeys, Riker went down to the Mexican-American border - admittedly harboring 'all sorts of false or incomplete' impressions - intent on demystifying America's idea that 'the villages these people leave are without hope. That the very fact that every night...
- 5/1/2012
- TribecaFilm.com
New York – After focusing on the hardships of undocumented Latino workers in New York City in his 1998 neo-realist drama La Ciudad (The City), writer-director David Riker returns to illegal immigration and the myth of the instantly attainable American Dream in The Girl, but this time as background to a more intimate, minor-key character portrait. Observed with a piercing eye for detail and a refined grasp of visual storytelling, the film’s integrity is somewhat compromised by its narrative ellipses and slight turn toward sentimentality at the end. But Abbie Cornish’s contained yet emotionally raw performance provides
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- 4/30/2012
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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