Tuesday marks the 24th anniversary of River Phoenix’s untimely death on Oct. 31, 1993.
The actor was just 23 when he died outside the Viper Room in West Hollywood due to a drug overdose, but made his mark on the world after starring in beloved films Stand By Me (1986), Running on Empty (1988) and My Own Private Idaho (1991). His final film, Dark Blood, was completed in 2012.
In Phoenix’s honor, we’re taking a look back at his quick rise to fame and the best work of the gone-but-never-forgotten star.
An Unusual Childhood
Phoenix was born on August 23, 1970 in Madras, Oregon. His family...
The actor was just 23 when he died outside the Viper Room in West Hollywood due to a drug overdose, but made his mark on the world after starring in beloved films Stand By Me (1986), Running on Empty (1988) and My Own Private Idaho (1991). His final film, Dark Blood, was completed in 2012.
In Phoenix’s honor, we’re taking a look back at his quick rise to fame and the best work of the gone-but-never-forgotten star.
An Unusual Childhood
Phoenix was born on August 23, 1970 in Madras, Oregon. His family...
- 10/31/2017
- by Caroline Redmond
- PEOPLE.com
Rose McGowan shifted gears from actor to filmmaker years ago, and while she has yet to make her first feature, she’s already one of the decade’s most audacious feminist voices. Her victimization at the hands of Harvey Weinstein, and a willingness to speak out about pervasive sexism throughout the the film industry, is at the heart of a massive reckoning. For McGowan, however, it’s business as usual. Her outspoken brand of radical feminism may have been marginalized a few weeks ago, but in the wake of the Weinstein scandal, her rage defines the zeitgeist.
On Thursday, Twitter temporarily pulled the plug on McGowan’s account as she ramped up her accusations against male Hollywood executives. The company claimed that she had shared a phone number of an accused predator, violating its terms of service. It didn’t matter: As anger with an oppressive system reached fever pitch,...
On Thursday, Twitter temporarily pulled the plug on McGowan’s account as she ramped up her accusations against male Hollywood executives. The company claimed that she had shared a phone number of an accused predator, violating its terms of service. It didn’t matter: As anger with an oppressive system reached fever pitch,...
- 10/14/2017
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
The Harvey Weinstein scandal has already led to some soul searching in Hollywood, as victims of harassment are finally feeling emboldened to break their silence and report their own stories. Now, Hollywood is seeing its next major target: Roy Price, head of Amazon Studios.
As first reported by Variety, Amazon has placed Price on leave of absence. COO Albert Cheng has been named interim boss.
“Roy Price is on leave of absence effective immediately,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement, also supplied to IndieWire. The statement also added, “We are reviewing our options for the projects we have with The Weinstein Co.”
Read More:Amazon Reconsidering Weinstein Co. Series, Including Expensive David O. Russell Drama, In Assault Scandal Aftermath
The decision to suspend Price came after allegations of sexual harassment became public. As Kim Masters first reported on Aug. 25 in The Information, Price allegedly made sexual remarks to producer Isa...
As first reported by Variety, Amazon has placed Price on leave of absence. COO Albert Cheng has been named interim boss.
“Roy Price is on leave of absence effective immediately,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement, also supplied to IndieWire. The statement also added, “We are reviewing our options for the projects we have with The Weinstein Co.”
Read More:Amazon Reconsidering Weinstein Co. Series, Including Expensive David O. Russell Drama, In Assault Scandal Aftermath
The decision to suspend Price came after allegations of sexual harassment became public. As Kim Masters first reported on Aug. 25 in The Information, Price allegedly made sexual remarks to producer Isa...
- 10/12/2017
- by Michael Schneider
- Indiewire
Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix made their love known during the closing ceremony of the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival on Sunday.
While Mara, 30, and Phoenix, 42, have never publicly commented on the nature of their relationship, it was clear the celebrated thespians -- who co-star in the upcoming drama Mary Magdalene -- have a super sweet connection.
Photos: They Dated?! Surprising Celebrity Hookups
The pair sat beside each other during the star-studded closing ceremony, and were seen sweetly hugging as the event began.
Getty Images
Phoenix was also seen placing his hand on Mara's leg as it was announced that he'd won the award for Best Actor for Lynne Ramsay's thriller You Were Never Really Here.
Etonline
Watch: Joaquin Phoenix Opens Up About Growing Up in the Children of God Cult
The pair embraced as Phoenix reacted with legitimate surprise after being named the winner of the coveted award.
Getty Images
Mara...
While Mara, 30, and Phoenix, 42, have never publicly commented on the nature of their relationship, it was clear the celebrated thespians -- who co-star in the upcoming drama Mary Magdalene -- have a super sweet connection.
Photos: They Dated?! Surprising Celebrity Hookups
The pair sat beside each other during the star-studded closing ceremony, and were seen sweetly hugging as the event began.
Getty Images
Phoenix was also seen placing his hand on Mara's leg as it was announced that he'd won the award for Best Actor for Lynne Ramsay's thriller You Were Never Really Here.
Etonline
Watch: Joaquin Phoenix Opens Up About Growing Up in the Children of God Cult
The pair embraced as Phoenix reacted with legitimate surprise after being named the winner of the coveted award.
Getty Images
Mara...
- 5/29/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
It’s been nine years since Rose McGowan saw herself on a now-infamous cover of Rolling Stone magazine — airbrushed, posing alongside her “Death Proof” co-star Rosario Dawson, the two naked women covered only by bullets — when she decided to leave Hollywood.
“I was like, ‘Holy god, what have they done to you,'” said McGowan in a conversation with SeriesFest’s Randi Kleiner, which was part of Ifp Film Week in Brooklyn.
Read More: Rose McGowan, Damage Inc. Productions & SeriesFest Launch ‘Featuring Women Initiative’ Script Competition
McGowan said seeing the cover was the moment she decided to disengage from Hollywood after 15 years as a successful actress. Once in a while she’d show up “at some weird red carpet, where they’d make me look like a Trump beauty pageant winner” — but McGowan says those high-profile events were simply cover, while she was hard at work on a number of...
“I was like, ‘Holy god, what have they done to you,'” said McGowan in a conversation with SeriesFest’s Randi Kleiner, which was part of Ifp Film Week in Brooklyn.
Read More: Rose McGowan, Damage Inc. Productions & SeriesFest Launch ‘Featuring Women Initiative’ Script Competition
McGowan said seeing the cover was the moment she decided to disengage from Hollywood after 15 years as a successful actress. Once in a while she’d show up “at some weird red carpet, where they’d make me look like a Trump beauty pageant winner” — but McGowan says those high-profile events were simply cover, while she was hard at work on a number of...
- 9/21/2016
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
There’s a brand new feature film in production from “Children of God” (2011) writer/director Kareem J. Moritmer, who is once more filming in his native Bahamas. Mortimer’s new film, "Cargo," is loosely based on his most recent multi-award-winning short film "Passage," and explores the dangerous and pitiless world of human smuggling. "Cargo" stars Warren Brown (BBC’s “Luther”) as a hapless Bahamian fisherman who gets lured into smuggling illegal Haitian migrants through the Bahamas to the United States in order to pay off a gambling debt and provide for his family. According to the film’s publicists, “It’s a story about people who are...
- 12/10/2015
- by Curtis Caesar John
- ShadowAndAct
The Caribbean Film Mart (Cfm) has been in the making for several years and in September its debut took place at the 2015 trinidad+tobago film festival (ttff) . Bruce Paddington, a filmmaker himself as well as an academic and the Founder and Director of the Festival, along with Annebelle Alcazar, Jonathan Ali and Nneka Luke, and spearheading the Cfm and the Caribbean Film Database (Cfdb) , Emilie Upczak and Melanie Archer, have created an A level event which after 10 years now encompasses three important aspects of film beyond the showcasing of the Caribbean and international docs and fiction films: filmmaking, film marketing and film education which this year included an academic symposium through the University of the West Indies, a Youth Jury of young people from 16 to 21 and sold out matinees for school children.
Cfm envisages the Caribbean -- home to the most genetically variegated people of the world -- as a whole whose varied stories will go out into the larger world (much like the Trinis themselves). Coming from islands which remind us of those planets described in Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry ), the Caribbeanos gathered here in Trinidad to receive coaching and positive feedback to extend their reach into the rest of world. Our world, still divided along colonial and post-colonial color and class lines needs this idealistic and inspiring vision.
For more coverage of the event, Lisa Harewood, a Barbados filmmaker, has written about the event in Shadow and Act.
This year 15 feature film projects from 10 countries were pitched and discussed at the inaugural Caribbean Film Mart (Cfm) in parallel with an academic symposium of university professors presenting on films, festivals and markets at the Hyatt Hotel. The unique mix of academics and professionals with upcoming filmmakers was vibrant, alive and upbeat, and we hope it continues to grow even though the financing from Acp Cultures which made this event possible may not continue to lend its support.
The 11 fiction feature projects and four doc projects (out of 100 submissions) selected from Guadaloupe, Cuba, Curaçao, Guyana, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Barbados, Dominican Republic and The Bahamas in development and pre-production were discussed over three days with 30 international film producers, sales agents and film funds coming from diverse countries in the Caribbean, Europe and North America.
The meetings resulted in professional relationships and partnerships that will enable the production and distribution of the participating projects going forward.
“We are pleased that a number of the projects are from ttff alumni, some of whom have gone through our Rbc Focus: Filmmakers’ Immersion, and others the Eave Producers’ training initiative which took place at ttff/14,” said Emilie Upczak, ttff Creative Director.
The selected projects were selected by the ttff, the Global Foundation of Democracy and Development from the Dominican Republic, the Association for the Development of Art Cinema and Practice from Guadeloupe, the Foundation of New Latin American Cinema in Cuba, and the Regional and International Festival of Cinema of Guadeloupe.
The project is co-financed by the Acp Cultures+ Program (Acp Group of States), funded by the European Union ( European Development Fund), and implemented by the Acp Group of States.
The projects were all most interesting visualized stories, and the filmmakers themselves, whether just beginning or with one or two features already under their belts, were all well prepared and professionally aligned with the more seasoned professionals in their objectives. Every one of the selected projects holds a promise of unique enchantments.
Jan Miller the international consultant and trainer specializing in film and television coproduction and coventuring who started Transatlantic Partners after she established Atlantic Partners, part of the Atlantic Film Festival in Nova Scotia, and who has delivered one of the top pitching and content development events for 20 years created a substantive and fun environment intensely devoted to the filmmakers.
The winner of the 15 selected Cfm projects was:
1. "Kidnapping Inc.” a fiction feature from Haiti to be directed by Bruno Mourral and produced by Gaethan Chancy and Remi Grelletty who both produced “Moloch Tropical” and “Murder in Pacot” and Raoul Peck the award winning director who has also produced five features and four docs.
Read more about Raoul Peck and his current production “The Young Karl Marx” on Shadow and Act.
“Kidnapping Inc.” has Canal + Antilles as a coproducer as well as private equity. They are still seeking other coproduction partners.
This twisted, dark comedy is about two delivery men working for an underground kidnapping corporation in Haiti. Doc and Zoe are scheduled to deliver a senator’s son worth $300,000. In the midst of their usual bickering, one kills the senator’s son accidentally. Trying to fix the mess they find themselves in, they stumble upon the senator’s son’s lookalike, which sets them on the craziest kidnapping of their lives.
Bruno Mourral is interested in developing the industry in Haiti as well as making movies. He says, “’Kidnapping Inc. is a dark comedy and satire of Haitian society waltzing between ‘City of God’ and ‘Pulp Fiction’. This film depicts the raw complexity and Haiti’s harsh day-to-day and pushes the viewer towards a better understanding of social issues such as color, sexism, machismo, social class discrimination and identity.
2. “The Dragon” is a fictional story from Trinidad and Tobago based upon the novel by the world renowned (but little known in the U.S.) Earl Lovelace and to be directed by his daughter Asha Lovelace. Having read the novel I can say that this story of a Trinidad community of African descendants which has inherited traits cultivated under slavery is immediately riveting. It brings another view of the radical political actions we in the U.S. witnessed in the 70s. Moreover, a musical composition written by a Trini composer who read the novel and was so enamored that he freely and without asking composed an entire opus makes this immediately into a transmedia project which is accessible and exploitable. The novel, the musical opus, and what I hope to see -- the movie -- all tell a tale of a people we can identify with but have never seen like this.
The book is a masterpiece and brings to mind “Black Orpheus” with its setting in the poverty-stricken Calvary Hill whose inhabitants’ lives are centered in the yearly Carnival. It also brings to mind John Steinbeck’s stories with struggling characters in the Salinas Valley.
Director Asha Lovelace’s debut short “George and the Bicycle Pump” premiered at Toronto International Film Festival. She co-wrote, produced and directed her first feature “Joebell and America” which screened at several film festivals and won for Best International Narrative Feature Film at the Women’s International Film Festival in Miami in 2008. She lectures on film at the University of the West Indies, founded and is festival director of Africa Film Trinidad and Tobago, a film festival dedicated to African cinema.
Producer Lesley-Anne Macfarlane has worked in the audio-visual industry in U.K. and Trinidad, graduated with an Ma in Cultural Policy and Management from City University, London and has produced several short films and music videos.
The story centers on Aldrick whose sole responsibility in life is to his dragon masquerade that he plays for Carnival. When he finds himself falling for Sylvia, the most desired young woman on the hill, he is unable to commit to her and she succumbs to the advances of an older man. This plummets Aldrick into a moment of blind rebellion that ends in tragedy and forces him to confront his role as dragon and man.
3. “ Sprinter” from Jamaica will be directed by Storm Saulter whose well-received first feature, the 2010 crime drama “Better Mus’ Come” received U.S. distribution through Ava du Vernay’s Affrm. It is being produced by Donald Ranvaud (“City of God”) who is well known and well loved on the international film circuit.
This fictional feature is set against the world of track and field – an area in which Jamaica has excelled for decades – and addresses urgent and poignant broader themes. “Those images of Rastas smoking ganja on the beach or the gunman from Kingston – it isn’t who we are,” Saulter told Jeremy Kay in a Screen interview.
In his interview with Screen, Jeremy also asked what has it been like pitching to dozens of people here.
“You kind of have to get to the soul of the thing and you see what people respond to. This is about meeting with people that can help with financing and also potentially sales agents and exploring co-production possibilities. Jamaica does not have a treaty with the U.S .but we have treaties with the U.K. and Canada. It’s this whole puzzle you have to put together. The responses have been positive.”
The film is about Akeem, a young Rastafarian, who surprisingly shatters the 200-metre high-school track record. He must make the national team tocompete at the World Youth Championships in Philadelphia if he wants a chance to reunite with his mother who has been living there illegally for ten years. Akeem’s overnight popularity and the sudden return of his estranged older brother disrupt his focus. Meanwhile, a scandal is brewing that threatens to derail his career before it’s even started.
4. “ Beauty Kingdom ” is a Dominican Republic project to be directed by Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas who will also produce along with Mónica De Moya. Guzmán and Cárdenas also worked together on "Sand Dollars" (2014) which premiered at Tiff in 2014, "Jean Gentil" (2010) which premiered in Venice in 2010 and "Cochochi" (2007).
This fictional feature takes place in a magical place in the Caribbean and is about the most expensive film of all time which is about to be shot. The Diva, a 70-year-old eccentric actress (played by Geraldine Chaplin), has arrived to star in the film. She finds herself surrounded by the absurdity that such a film production implies, as she rigorously prepares for her role. All the while, she senses the impending end of the world. Nevertheless, the film must go on.
5. “Doubles With Slight Pepper” is a fiction feature coproduction of Trinidad and Tobago and the U.S. to be directed by Ian Harnarine, produced by Ryan Silbert and exec produced by Spike Lee.
Ian Harnarine , a Trinidadian living in Canada has already won numerous awards for the short that this feature is based upon and has been working on this feature for several years. The film will go into production in Trinidad in November.
In Lisa Harewood’s interview for Shadow and Act , Ian said, "The Caribbean Film Mart was incredibly important in opening up the world (literally!) to the project. To meet face to face with people from Sundance Institute, Tribeca Film Institute, Norwegian South Film Fund, World Cinema Support etc makes the opportunities available to me very real."
Dhani, a young Trinidadian street vendor, struggles to support himself and his mother by selling doubles. When his estranged father, Ragbir, unexpectedly invites him to New York, Dhani must travel to America and decide if he will save his father’s life.
Best Short Film at the Toronto International Film Festival 2011
Best Live Action Short Drama at the Genie Awards 2012 (the Canadian Academy Awards)
Filmmaker Magazine's 25 New Faces of Independent Film:
filmmakermagazine.com/news/people/ian-harnarine/
Watch the short Here.
6. “The Extraordinary Journey of Celeste Garcia” from Cuba will be the first fiction feature to be directed by Arturo Infante. His shorts have shown at home and abroad and have won several awards and he has written several produced scripts such as “Havana Eva” and “L’edad de la peseta”, films which Cuban film fans all know well. His producers,Claudia Calviño and Alejandro Tovar are two of Cuba’s top young producers whose film “Juan of the Dead” is Cuba’s most current best selling satire. Like that, this story highlights characters who must react to a surreal situation in an already slightly surreal country called Cuba.
Celeste is in her sixties and sells tickets at a planetarium. The discovery of an alien race shocks the world. Humans will send a spaceship carrying regular citizens to make contact with the alien civilization. Tired of her monotonous life, Celeste decides to apply for a spot on the ship and embark into the unknown.
What Celeste and the rest of the passengers on the ship seek in another galaxy is the Cuban dream of a better life.
Arturo speaks of his interest in characters, both real and as actors. “Growing up in a family with many women made me develop a special ‘ear’ towards the feminine. I spent my childhood in an old colonial-style house, hearing the voices of my mother, my grandmothers, aunts and neighbors. They all talking from one side to another, sharing their stories, dreams and secrets, but also their visions about the reality and politics of my country. That’s why I think the main character in my story must necessarily be a woman. I realize now that Celeste embodies all those voices of my childhood. Celeste’s character also represents my parents’ generation. A generation that gave their best years to build a utopian project that was diverted into paths that were not exactly the ones they dreamed of. A generation now marked by disenchantment and skepticism, a process of which I have been a constant witness. With my story I want to give Celeste a chance to travel to a new planet, the opportunity to see the rebirth of those fallen dreams of her youth.”
http://www.facebook.com/produccionesdela5taavenida
7. “The Fisherman’s Son” from Puerto Rico and Colombia will be directed by Edgar Deluque. Producer Annabelle Mullen from PR is a former entertainment attorney with several credits to her name. She presented this project about a transsexual running away from the city to his childhood home at a fishermen’s island after murdering a policeman. He must face his father whom he hasn’t seen in fifteen years and who doesn’t want anything to do with his transsexual child.
The writer-director, Edgar Deluque, is an emerging talent from Colombia.
8. “Hello Nicki” from Trinidad and Tobago will be directed by Miquel Galofré whose previous moving doc about songwriters who were in prison in Kingston, Jamaica, “Songs of Redemption”, showed at various festivals including Havana and Krakow. Aside from this Miquel has made six other feature docs This doc, produced by Jean Michel Gibert whose sequel to “Pan! Our Music Odyssey” called “ Re-Percussions! Our African Odyssey ” just won the award for Best Trinidad and Tobago Documentary Feature Film at ttff.
This documentary follows Shanice, a teenage girl from Trinidad, as she seeks to actualize her grand dream of making music and collaborating with Nicki Minaj, a Trinidadian born American rapper – the most popular musical personage in the world today. Shanice is a spirited soul living with cerebral palsy and has a unique way of viewing the world. She is keenly aware of the isolation her appearance has caused, but her personality remains bright, upbeat and hopeful.
http://www.miquelgalofre.com .
You can meet Shanice here: https://vimeo.com/136969025 Password: Shanice
9. “Papa Machete” from Haiti, Barbados and U.S. to be directed by Jonathan David Kane is based upon the short which screened at ttff. The producers, Jason Fitzroy Jeffers and Keisha Rae Witherspoon were discussing the doc as well as the fiction feature to be made. Many of the people they spoke with, including myself, thought the fiction feature would be more accessible, though perhaps a TV doc would also be possible with the footage they have made the 10 minute short with.
The story is fascinating as the machete was used as a weapon 200 years ago when Haitian slaves defeated Napoleon’s armies with the very tool they used to work the land. Papa Machete explores the esoteric martial art that emerged from this victory through the life and recent death of Alfred Avril, a poor farmer who was one of the art’s few remaining masters. With his passing, Avril’s two sons are confronted with loss, legacy and American dreams.
10. “Wind Rush” is conceived as a doc coproduction between Trinidad and Tobago and U.S. director-writer-producer Vashti Harrison lives in Atlanta, Geogia. Her parents are Trinis and she has a great love for Trinidad and its music. This is an experimental doc about Calypso music which serves a significant role in the Caribbean emigrant experience in London, which began in earnest in the 1950s. Calypso was the music of the minority, the voice of the other, and it helped to define the West Indian identity in England. Using the music of calypsonians Lord Beginner and Lord Kitchener as a road map to this journey of discovery and displacement, the film will focus on their homes both in Trinidad and London.
The criticism she received was about obtaining music clearances in U.K. when she herself is not a U.K. resident or citizen. Perhaps she needs to find a U.K. producer who can also access U.K. Funds. Her experimental films and docs have shown around the world at Rotterdam, Edinburgh, N.Y. and Havana Film Festivals. All of her work focuses into her Caribbean heritage and is quite evocative, artistic and well executed.
11. “Conch” from Curaçao will be directed and produced by German Gruber whose first film, urban drama, “Sensei Redenshon” was completed in 2013 and will be released in the Netherlands this fall. This fiction feature about the natural side of Curaçao is a road movie about a young boy who runs away from home after the loss of his mother. Searching for the message that he saw her whisper into a conch shell the night before her death, he seeks clues from the characters he meets along his desolate journey. Between nightmares of drowning and daydreams of becoming a musician, he eventually confronts his fear of the sea to find the answer.
12. “Green Days by the River” is a fiction feature set against the backdrop of rural Trinidad in 1952. A fifteen-year-old boy who has just moved to a village naively seeks the affection of two girls, an attractive rich Indian girl, and a more personable and accessible one. The ensuing triangle forces him to focus on becoming a man as he must make life enduring decisions.
Director Michael Mooleedhar has made several award winning shorts.Producer Christian James graduated in 2014 with an Mfa in Cretive Producing from Columbia College Chicago, has interned with K5 International during 2014 Cannes and participated in the 2015 Rotterdam Film Festival Lab.
13. “Potomitans : Women Pillars in Revolt” , a doc project from Guadeloupe will be directed by Bouchera Azzouz whose first documentary, “Nos Meres nos daronnes” (“Our Mothers”) aired this year on France 2 (France Televisions) and was one of its biggest audience hits. This is her second work on popular feminism. Producer Nina Vilus' short "Vivre” has won awards and their “Villa Karayib”, a 3 minute 30 second series with 140 episodes aired on Canal + Antilles. Laurence Lascary is coproducing.
This film is an exploratory journey into the heart of the everyday life of five Guadeloupean women who are considered “potomitans”, women who assume professional and familial responsibilities without the help of a man. Everything rests on the courage of these women, who are trying to emancipate themselves by claiming a new way of being a woman.
It is an Art & Vision Productions, De l’autre cote du periph (Dacp) and Canal + Antilles coproduction which Canal + will broadcast in the French Caribbean. 37% of the financing is secured through the Guadeloupe regional council, Agence national pour la cohesion social et l’egalite des chances (Asce), Ministry of French overseas territories. Apcag network of theaters in Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guyana along with Aubervilliers Theater in France will premiere the film.
14. “The Seawall” is a fiction project to be coproduced by Guyana and U.S.
Director Mason Richards says, “My intention for ‘The Seawall’ is to create a dramatic narrative set in Guyana, South America with simple characters navigating through complex issues within the Caribbean cultural context. It is also my intention to make a film that seeks to reconcile our Caribbean and non-Caribbean identities through the journey of my protagonist who returnes “home” to Guyana and is confronted with issues of his past that he has suppressed. The story needs to be told because many of us from the Caribbean diaspora struggle with “trans-national” identities, meaning we are from the Caribbean, however we’ve immigrated to other countries like the U.S. where we’ve adapted to a new dominant culture and way of life. With tht, there is a feeling of “dis-connect” as though we have left something behind, back “home” in the Caribbean, whether it’s family members, our cultural identity, or simply our childhood memories. It is also my intention to make an entertaining, quality film that highlights the beauty of the Caribbean through the stories and hearts of the characters.
The fiscal partner of this project is Frog (Friends and Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Guyana), Verisimiltude in New York City. The executive producer C.R. Wooten has exec produced several film projects for TV and HBO and exec produced the short film, “The Seawall”.
The writer-director, Mason Richards, is an alumnus of Film Independent’s Project Involve, a recipient of Sony Pictures Diversity Fellowship 2012, winner of The Ainslie Alumni Achievement Award 2011 and Guyana’s 46th Independence Golden Arrowhead Award.
Producer Sohini Sengupta is an award-winning of creative director of theatrical campaigns, including “Birdman”, “12 Years a Slave”, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”, “Black Swan” and “Slumdog Millionaire”. She is a production team member of the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles and was named one of Glamour Magazine’s 35 under 35 Women Who Run Hollywood.
Malachi, a struggling young writer in Brooklyn, learns of his girlfriend’s pregnancy and returns to his birth country, Guyana, to sell off his inheritance. In Guyana, Malachi ends up confronting his estranged father who abandoned him as a child. Malachi gets closure, and makes decisions about the kind of father he would be to his unborn child.
15. “Epiphany” by Maria Govan who is a self-taught filmmaker from the island of New Providence in The Bahamas. When she was 18 she moved to L.A. and worked for four years on Hollywood sets. In 1999 she returned home, bought a digital camera and began making small guerilla-style local documentaries. In 2004 she moved to New York and began writing her first narrative script “Rain” which premiered in 2008 at the Toronto International Film Festival, won several awards and aired on Showtime to a strong audience response. Her second film “Play the Devil” was shot entirely in Trinidad in the spring of 2015 and she hopes it will premiere in the winter of 2016.
Producer Abigail Hadeed has worked with Caribbean crews on big budget commercials. She worked on the short “4am” in 2011 which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festval. In 2012 she produced an award winning feature doc “La Giata” and produced “Play the Devil” with Maria.
They are looking for coproducers and can offer a 35% rebate on Trinidadian spend with a 50% rebate on roles in key positions for films shot in Trinidad. Exterior and ocean environments can be shot in the Bahamas.
Set in the Bahamas — Mary, a loner with a passion for spear fishing and the sea, is forced to give up her room to her overbearing cousin’s girlfriend, an “illegal” colorful Cuban named Gabriel. When a love triangle develops and George realizes he’s been betrayed, the women are forced into the dark terrain of human smuggling.
Links to “Rain” (director’s previous work): Trailer
Link to Maria Govan’s Show Reel: https://vimeo.com/35611171
Other films in the program but exceeding the official number of 15 include
16. “Cargo” from The Bahamas, a fiction feature based upon the short film of Kareem Mortimer. Producer Trevite Willis has produced several films including the Lgbt feather “Children of God” with Kareem directing. Producer Alexander Younis now has a doc, “Brigidy Bram ” in post-production.
“Cargo”, based upon Kareem’s short “Passage”, is about a Bahamian fisherman whose life is slowly unraveling. After wasting his remaining money at a gambling house, he is approached by a security guard who suggests that Kevin supplement his income by using his vessel as a means to transport people illegally into the United States. Kevin leads scores of migrants on a treacherous, unsettling and perilous final journey.
17. “Scattered” reminded me of “Desperately Seeking Susan” in the story of an young uptight British woman who has her run-of-the-mill life disrupted when the Caribbean grandmother she barely knew leaves a request for her to scatter her ashes in Trinidad where a free-spirited cousin takes her on a wild road trip that changes her life forever.
The director-producer-cowriter, Karen Martinez, is a Trinidadian filmmaker based in London, U.K. She has worked extensively in the film world in U.K. and the Caribbean. In 2013 she wrote, produced and directed her frist narrative fiction “After Mas”. Her most recent film, “Dreams in Transit” is an essay-style documentary of a contemporary migrant reflcting on identity and the meaning of “home”.
18. “Unfinished Sentences” by writer-director-producer Mariel Brown, an award winning documentary director and founder of the creative and production company Savant. Her documentary films have been screened on television, at festivals and other special events around the world, most recently at the Pan African Film Festival and Clermont-Ferrand.
This is a story of a writer father and a filmmaker daughter who walks the line between adoration and disappointment, success and failure, race, family and art. When he dies, in her great grief she discovers his poetry and prose transcend death, allowing her to hear his voice again and to find a way back to her own self. For more information go to http://www.unfinishedsentencesfilm.com.
19. “Queen of Soca” by Kevin Adams
“’ Queen of Soca’ was inspired by my home base of Laventille, Trinidad and Tobago where the frustration of living a life of restricted opportunity is a narrative I observe often.“
“ Queen of Soca” is the story of Olivia, who lives in an impoverished community and is striving to make a better life for herself. Her life is full of struggles, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
The short version of “Queen of Soca”, entitled “No Soca No Life” premiered at Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival in 2012 and has been well received by movie goers and movie industry practitioners. “No Soca No Life” is currently available on Vimeo, Pay per view.
“We are now focused on the original goal of creating a blockbuster inspirational story for the world to enjoy, and using the Trinidad and Tobago culture as the vehicle for our message. On behalf of myself and my team, thank you for your interest in this project and we look forward to completing this journey with you !”
The Cfm was held from 24-27 September at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Port of Spain, Trinidad. The ttff/15 took place from 15-29 September.
Cfm envisages the Caribbean -- home to the most genetically variegated people of the world -- as a whole whose varied stories will go out into the larger world (much like the Trinis themselves). Coming from islands which remind us of those planets described in Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry ), the Caribbeanos gathered here in Trinidad to receive coaching and positive feedback to extend their reach into the rest of world. Our world, still divided along colonial and post-colonial color and class lines needs this idealistic and inspiring vision.
For more coverage of the event, Lisa Harewood, a Barbados filmmaker, has written about the event in Shadow and Act.
This year 15 feature film projects from 10 countries were pitched and discussed at the inaugural Caribbean Film Mart (Cfm) in parallel with an academic symposium of university professors presenting on films, festivals and markets at the Hyatt Hotel. The unique mix of academics and professionals with upcoming filmmakers was vibrant, alive and upbeat, and we hope it continues to grow even though the financing from Acp Cultures which made this event possible may not continue to lend its support.
The 11 fiction feature projects and four doc projects (out of 100 submissions) selected from Guadaloupe, Cuba, Curaçao, Guyana, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Barbados, Dominican Republic and The Bahamas in development and pre-production were discussed over three days with 30 international film producers, sales agents and film funds coming from diverse countries in the Caribbean, Europe and North America.
The meetings resulted in professional relationships and partnerships that will enable the production and distribution of the participating projects going forward.
“We are pleased that a number of the projects are from ttff alumni, some of whom have gone through our Rbc Focus: Filmmakers’ Immersion, and others the Eave Producers’ training initiative which took place at ttff/14,” said Emilie Upczak, ttff Creative Director.
The selected projects were selected by the ttff, the Global Foundation of Democracy and Development from the Dominican Republic, the Association for the Development of Art Cinema and Practice from Guadeloupe, the Foundation of New Latin American Cinema in Cuba, and the Regional and International Festival of Cinema of Guadeloupe.
The project is co-financed by the Acp Cultures+ Program (Acp Group of States), funded by the European Union ( European Development Fund), and implemented by the Acp Group of States.
The projects were all most interesting visualized stories, and the filmmakers themselves, whether just beginning or with one or two features already under their belts, were all well prepared and professionally aligned with the more seasoned professionals in their objectives. Every one of the selected projects holds a promise of unique enchantments.
Jan Miller the international consultant and trainer specializing in film and television coproduction and coventuring who started Transatlantic Partners after she established Atlantic Partners, part of the Atlantic Film Festival in Nova Scotia, and who has delivered one of the top pitching and content development events for 20 years created a substantive and fun environment intensely devoted to the filmmakers.
The winner of the 15 selected Cfm projects was:
1. "Kidnapping Inc.” a fiction feature from Haiti to be directed by Bruno Mourral and produced by Gaethan Chancy and Remi Grelletty who both produced “Moloch Tropical” and “Murder in Pacot” and Raoul Peck the award winning director who has also produced five features and four docs.
Read more about Raoul Peck and his current production “The Young Karl Marx” on Shadow and Act.
“Kidnapping Inc.” has Canal + Antilles as a coproducer as well as private equity. They are still seeking other coproduction partners.
This twisted, dark comedy is about two delivery men working for an underground kidnapping corporation in Haiti. Doc and Zoe are scheduled to deliver a senator’s son worth $300,000. In the midst of their usual bickering, one kills the senator’s son accidentally. Trying to fix the mess they find themselves in, they stumble upon the senator’s son’s lookalike, which sets them on the craziest kidnapping of their lives.
Bruno Mourral is interested in developing the industry in Haiti as well as making movies. He says, “’Kidnapping Inc. is a dark comedy and satire of Haitian society waltzing between ‘City of God’ and ‘Pulp Fiction’. This film depicts the raw complexity and Haiti’s harsh day-to-day and pushes the viewer towards a better understanding of social issues such as color, sexism, machismo, social class discrimination and identity.
2. “The Dragon” is a fictional story from Trinidad and Tobago based upon the novel by the world renowned (but little known in the U.S.) Earl Lovelace and to be directed by his daughter Asha Lovelace. Having read the novel I can say that this story of a Trinidad community of African descendants which has inherited traits cultivated under slavery is immediately riveting. It brings another view of the radical political actions we in the U.S. witnessed in the 70s. Moreover, a musical composition written by a Trini composer who read the novel and was so enamored that he freely and without asking composed an entire opus makes this immediately into a transmedia project which is accessible and exploitable. The novel, the musical opus, and what I hope to see -- the movie -- all tell a tale of a people we can identify with but have never seen like this.
The book is a masterpiece and brings to mind “Black Orpheus” with its setting in the poverty-stricken Calvary Hill whose inhabitants’ lives are centered in the yearly Carnival. It also brings to mind John Steinbeck’s stories with struggling characters in the Salinas Valley.
Director Asha Lovelace’s debut short “George and the Bicycle Pump” premiered at Toronto International Film Festival. She co-wrote, produced and directed her first feature “Joebell and America” which screened at several film festivals and won for Best International Narrative Feature Film at the Women’s International Film Festival in Miami in 2008. She lectures on film at the University of the West Indies, founded and is festival director of Africa Film Trinidad and Tobago, a film festival dedicated to African cinema.
Producer Lesley-Anne Macfarlane has worked in the audio-visual industry in U.K. and Trinidad, graduated with an Ma in Cultural Policy and Management from City University, London and has produced several short films and music videos.
The story centers on Aldrick whose sole responsibility in life is to his dragon masquerade that he plays for Carnival. When he finds himself falling for Sylvia, the most desired young woman on the hill, he is unable to commit to her and she succumbs to the advances of an older man. This plummets Aldrick into a moment of blind rebellion that ends in tragedy and forces him to confront his role as dragon and man.
3. “ Sprinter” from Jamaica will be directed by Storm Saulter whose well-received first feature, the 2010 crime drama “Better Mus’ Come” received U.S. distribution through Ava du Vernay’s Affrm. It is being produced by Donald Ranvaud (“City of God”) who is well known and well loved on the international film circuit.
This fictional feature is set against the world of track and field – an area in which Jamaica has excelled for decades – and addresses urgent and poignant broader themes. “Those images of Rastas smoking ganja on the beach or the gunman from Kingston – it isn’t who we are,” Saulter told Jeremy Kay in a Screen interview.
In his interview with Screen, Jeremy also asked what has it been like pitching to dozens of people here.
“You kind of have to get to the soul of the thing and you see what people respond to. This is about meeting with people that can help with financing and also potentially sales agents and exploring co-production possibilities. Jamaica does not have a treaty with the U.S .but we have treaties with the U.K. and Canada. It’s this whole puzzle you have to put together. The responses have been positive.”
The film is about Akeem, a young Rastafarian, who surprisingly shatters the 200-metre high-school track record. He must make the national team tocompete at the World Youth Championships in Philadelphia if he wants a chance to reunite with his mother who has been living there illegally for ten years. Akeem’s overnight popularity and the sudden return of his estranged older brother disrupt his focus. Meanwhile, a scandal is brewing that threatens to derail his career before it’s even started.
4. “ Beauty Kingdom ” is a Dominican Republic project to be directed by Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas who will also produce along with Mónica De Moya. Guzmán and Cárdenas also worked together on "Sand Dollars" (2014) which premiered at Tiff in 2014, "Jean Gentil" (2010) which premiered in Venice in 2010 and "Cochochi" (2007).
This fictional feature takes place in a magical place in the Caribbean and is about the most expensive film of all time which is about to be shot. The Diva, a 70-year-old eccentric actress (played by Geraldine Chaplin), has arrived to star in the film. She finds herself surrounded by the absurdity that such a film production implies, as she rigorously prepares for her role. All the while, she senses the impending end of the world. Nevertheless, the film must go on.
5. “Doubles With Slight Pepper” is a fiction feature coproduction of Trinidad and Tobago and the U.S. to be directed by Ian Harnarine, produced by Ryan Silbert and exec produced by Spike Lee.
Ian Harnarine , a Trinidadian living in Canada has already won numerous awards for the short that this feature is based upon and has been working on this feature for several years. The film will go into production in Trinidad in November.
In Lisa Harewood’s interview for Shadow and Act , Ian said, "The Caribbean Film Mart was incredibly important in opening up the world (literally!) to the project. To meet face to face with people from Sundance Institute, Tribeca Film Institute, Norwegian South Film Fund, World Cinema Support etc makes the opportunities available to me very real."
Dhani, a young Trinidadian street vendor, struggles to support himself and his mother by selling doubles. When his estranged father, Ragbir, unexpectedly invites him to New York, Dhani must travel to America and decide if he will save his father’s life.
Best Short Film at the Toronto International Film Festival 2011
Best Live Action Short Drama at the Genie Awards 2012 (the Canadian Academy Awards)
Filmmaker Magazine's 25 New Faces of Independent Film:
filmmakermagazine.com/news/people/ian-harnarine/
Watch the short Here.
6. “The Extraordinary Journey of Celeste Garcia” from Cuba will be the first fiction feature to be directed by Arturo Infante. His shorts have shown at home and abroad and have won several awards and he has written several produced scripts such as “Havana Eva” and “L’edad de la peseta”, films which Cuban film fans all know well. His producers,Claudia Calviño and Alejandro Tovar are two of Cuba’s top young producers whose film “Juan of the Dead” is Cuba’s most current best selling satire. Like that, this story highlights characters who must react to a surreal situation in an already slightly surreal country called Cuba.
Celeste is in her sixties and sells tickets at a planetarium. The discovery of an alien race shocks the world. Humans will send a spaceship carrying regular citizens to make contact with the alien civilization. Tired of her monotonous life, Celeste decides to apply for a spot on the ship and embark into the unknown.
What Celeste and the rest of the passengers on the ship seek in another galaxy is the Cuban dream of a better life.
Arturo speaks of his interest in characters, both real and as actors. “Growing up in a family with many women made me develop a special ‘ear’ towards the feminine. I spent my childhood in an old colonial-style house, hearing the voices of my mother, my grandmothers, aunts and neighbors. They all talking from one side to another, sharing their stories, dreams and secrets, but also their visions about the reality and politics of my country. That’s why I think the main character in my story must necessarily be a woman. I realize now that Celeste embodies all those voices of my childhood. Celeste’s character also represents my parents’ generation. A generation that gave their best years to build a utopian project that was diverted into paths that were not exactly the ones they dreamed of. A generation now marked by disenchantment and skepticism, a process of which I have been a constant witness. With my story I want to give Celeste a chance to travel to a new planet, the opportunity to see the rebirth of those fallen dreams of her youth.”
http://www.facebook.com/produccionesdela5taavenida
7. “The Fisherman’s Son” from Puerto Rico and Colombia will be directed by Edgar Deluque. Producer Annabelle Mullen from PR is a former entertainment attorney with several credits to her name. She presented this project about a transsexual running away from the city to his childhood home at a fishermen’s island after murdering a policeman. He must face his father whom he hasn’t seen in fifteen years and who doesn’t want anything to do with his transsexual child.
The writer-director, Edgar Deluque, is an emerging talent from Colombia.
8. “Hello Nicki” from Trinidad and Tobago will be directed by Miquel Galofré whose previous moving doc about songwriters who were in prison in Kingston, Jamaica, “Songs of Redemption”, showed at various festivals including Havana and Krakow. Aside from this Miquel has made six other feature docs This doc, produced by Jean Michel Gibert whose sequel to “Pan! Our Music Odyssey” called “ Re-Percussions! Our African Odyssey ” just won the award for Best Trinidad and Tobago Documentary Feature Film at ttff.
This documentary follows Shanice, a teenage girl from Trinidad, as she seeks to actualize her grand dream of making music and collaborating with Nicki Minaj, a Trinidadian born American rapper – the most popular musical personage in the world today. Shanice is a spirited soul living with cerebral palsy and has a unique way of viewing the world. She is keenly aware of the isolation her appearance has caused, but her personality remains bright, upbeat and hopeful.
http://www.miquelgalofre.com .
You can meet Shanice here: https://vimeo.com/136969025 Password: Shanice
9. “Papa Machete” from Haiti, Barbados and U.S. to be directed by Jonathan David Kane is based upon the short which screened at ttff. The producers, Jason Fitzroy Jeffers and Keisha Rae Witherspoon were discussing the doc as well as the fiction feature to be made. Many of the people they spoke with, including myself, thought the fiction feature would be more accessible, though perhaps a TV doc would also be possible with the footage they have made the 10 minute short with.
The story is fascinating as the machete was used as a weapon 200 years ago when Haitian slaves defeated Napoleon’s armies with the very tool they used to work the land. Papa Machete explores the esoteric martial art that emerged from this victory through the life and recent death of Alfred Avril, a poor farmer who was one of the art’s few remaining masters. With his passing, Avril’s two sons are confronted with loss, legacy and American dreams.
10. “Wind Rush” is conceived as a doc coproduction between Trinidad and Tobago and U.S. director-writer-producer Vashti Harrison lives in Atlanta, Geogia. Her parents are Trinis and she has a great love for Trinidad and its music. This is an experimental doc about Calypso music which serves a significant role in the Caribbean emigrant experience in London, which began in earnest in the 1950s. Calypso was the music of the minority, the voice of the other, and it helped to define the West Indian identity in England. Using the music of calypsonians Lord Beginner and Lord Kitchener as a road map to this journey of discovery and displacement, the film will focus on their homes both in Trinidad and London.
The criticism she received was about obtaining music clearances in U.K. when she herself is not a U.K. resident or citizen. Perhaps she needs to find a U.K. producer who can also access U.K. Funds. Her experimental films and docs have shown around the world at Rotterdam, Edinburgh, N.Y. and Havana Film Festivals. All of her work focuses into her Caribbean heritage and is quite evocative, artistic and well executed.
11. “Conch” from Curaçao will be directed and produced by German Gruber whose first film, urban drama, “Sensei Redenshon” was completed in 2013 and will be released in the Netherlands this fall. This fiction feature about the natural side of Curaçao is a road movie about a young boy who runs away from home after the loss of his mother. Searching for the message that he saw her whisper into a conch shell the night before her death, he seeks clues from the characters he meets along his desolate journey. Between nightmares of drowning and daydreams of becoming a musician, he eventually confronts his fear of the sea to find the answer.
12. “Green Days by the River” is a fiction feature set against the backdrop of rural Trinidad in 1952. A fifteen-year-old boy who has just moved to a village naively seeks the affection of two girls, an attractive rich Indian girl, and a more personable and accessible one. The ensuing triangle forces him to focus on becoming a man as he must make life enduring decisions.
Director Michael Mooleedhar has made several award winning shorts.Producer Christian James graduated in 2014 with an Mfa in Cretive Producing from Columbia College Chicago, has interned with K5 International during 2014 Cannes and participated in the 2015 Rotterdam Film Festival Lab.
13. “Potomitans : Women Pillars in Revolt” , a doc project from Guadeloupe will be directed by Bouchera Azzouz whose first documentary, “Nos Meres nos daronnes” (“Our Mothers”) aired this year on France 2 (France Televisions) and was one of its biggest audience hits. This is her second work on popular feminism. Producer Nina Vilus' short "Vivre” has won awards and their “Villa Karayib”, a 3 minute 30 second series with 140 episodes aired on Canal + Antilles. Laurence Lascary is coproducing.
This film is an exploratory journey into the heart of the everyday life of five Guadeloupean women who are considered “potomitans”, women who assume professional and familial responsibilities without the help of a man. Everything rests on the courage of these women, who are trying to emancipate themselves by claiming a new way of being a woman.
It is an Art & Vision Productions, De l’autre cote du periph (Dacp) and Canal + Antilles coproduction which Canal + will broadcast in the French Caribbean. 37% of the financing is secured through the Guadeloupe regional council, Agence national pour la cohesion social et l’egalite des chances (Asce), Ministry of French overseas territories. Apcag network of theaters in Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guyana along with Aubervilliers Theater in France will premiere the film.
14. “The Seawall” is a fiction project to be coproduced by Guyana and U.S.
Director Mason Richards says, “My intention for ‘The Seawall’ is to create a dramatic narrative set in Guyana, South America with simple characters navigating through complex issues within the Caribbean cultural context. It is also my intention to make a film that seeks to reconcile our Caribbean and non-Caribbean identities through the journey of my protagonist who returnes “home” to Guyana and is confronted with issues of his past that he has suppressed. The story needs to be told because many of us from the Caribbean diaspora struggle with “trans-national” identities, meaning we are from the Caribbean, however we’ve immigrated to other countries like the U.S. where we’ve adapted to a new dominant culture and way of life. With tht, there is a feeling of “dis-connect” as though we have left something behind, back “home” in the Caribbean, whether it’s family members, our cultural identity, or simply our childhood memories. It is also my intention to make an entertaining, quality film that highlights the beauty of the Caribbean through the stories and hearts of the characters.
The fiscal partner of this project is Frog (Friends and Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Guyana), Verisimiltude in New York City. The executive producer C.R. Wooten has exec produced several film projects for TV and HBO and exec produced the short film, “The Seawall”.
The writer-director, Mason Richards, is an alumnus of Film Independent’s Project Involve, a recipient of Sony Pictures Diversity Fellowship 2012, winner of The Ainslie Alumni Achievement Award 2011 and Guyana’s 46th Independence Golden Arrowhead Award.
Producer Sohini Sengupta is an award-winning of creative director of theatrical campaigns, including “Birdman”, “12 Years a Slave”, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”, “Black Swan” and “Slumdog Millionaire”. She is a production team member of the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles and was named one of Glamour Magazine’s 35 under 35 Women Who Run Hollywood.
Malachi, a struggling young writer in Brooklyn, learns of his girlfriend’s pregnancy and returns to his birth country, Guyana, to sell off his inheritance. In Guyana, Malachi ends up confronting his estranged father who abandoned him as a child. Malachi gets closure, and makes decisions about the kind of father he would be to his unborn child.
15. “Epiphany” by Maria Govan who is a self-taught filmmaker from the island of New Providence in The Bahamas. When she was 18 she moved to L.A. and worked for four years on Hollywood sets. In 1999 she returned home, bought a digital camera and began making small guerilla-style local documentaries. In 2004 she moved to New York and began writing her first narrative script “Rain” which premiered in 2008 at the Toronto International Film Festival, won several awards and aired on Showtime to a strong audience response. Her second film “Play the Devil” was shot entirely in Trinidad in the spring of 2015 and she hopes it will premiere in the winter of 2016.
Producer Abigail Hadeed has worked with Caribbean crews on big budget commercials. She worked on the short “4am” in 2011 which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festval. In 2012 she produced an award winning feature doc “La Giata” and produced “Play the Devil” with Maria.
They are looking for coproducers and can offer a 35% rebate on Trinidadian spend with a 50% rebate on roles in key positions for films shot in Trinidad. Exterior and ocean environments can be shot in the Bahamas.
Set in the Bahamas — Mary, a loner with a passion for spear fishing and the sea, is forced to give up her room to her overbearing cousin’s girlfriend, an “illegal” colorful Cuban named Gabriel. When a love triangle develops and George realizes he’s been betrayed, the women are forced into the dark terrain of human smuggling.
Links to “Rain” (director’s previous work): Trailer
Link to Maria Govan’s Show Reel: https://vimeo.com/35611171
Other films in the program but exceeding the official number of 15 include
16. “Cargo” from The Bahamas, a fiction feature based upon the short film of Kareem Mortimer. Producer Trevite Willis has produced several films including the Lgbt feather “Children of God” with Kareem directing. Producer Alexander Younis now has a doc, “Brigidy Bram ” in post-production.
“Cargo”, based upon Kareem’s short “Passage”, is about a Bahamian fisherman whose life is slowly unraveling. After wasting his remaining money at a gambling house, he is approached by a security guard who suggests that Kevin supplement his income by using his vessel as a means to transport people illegally into the United States. Kevin leads scores of migrants on a treacherous, unsettling and perilous final journey.
17. “Scattered” reminded me of “Desperately Seeking Susan” in the story of an young uptight British woman who has her run-of-the-mill life disrupted when the Caribbean grandmother she barely knew leaves a request for her to scatter her ashes in Trinidad where a free-spirited cousin takes her on a wild road trip that changes her life forever.
The director-producer-cowriter, Karen Martinez, is a Trinidadian filmmaker based in London, U.K. She has worked extensively in the film world in U.K. and the Caribbean. In 2013 she wrote, produced and directed her frist narrative fiction “After Mas”. Her most recent film, “Dreams in Transit” is an essay-style documentary of a contemporary migrant reflcting on identity and the meaning of “home”.
18. “Unfinished Sentences” by writer-director-producer Mariel Brown, an award winning documentary director and founder of the creative and production company Savant. Her documentary films have been screened on television, at festivals and other special events around the world, most recently at the Pan African Film Festival and Clermont-Ferrand.
This is a story of a writer father and a filmmaker daughter who walks the line between adoration and disappointment, success and failure, race, family and art. When he dies, in her great grief she discovers his poetry and prose transcend death, allowing her to hear his voice again and to find a way back to her own self. For more information go to http://www.unfinishedsentencesfilm.com.
19. “Queen of Soca” by Kevin Adams
“’ Queen of Soca’ was inspired by my home base of Laventille, Trinidad and Tobago where the frustration of living a life of restricted opportunity is a narrative I observe often.“
“ Queen of Soca” is the story of Olivia, who lives in an impoverished community and is striving to make a better life for herself. Her life is full of struggles, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
The short version of “Queen of Soca”, entitled “No Soca No Life” premiered at Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival in 2012 and has been well received by movie goers and movie industry practitioners. “No Soca No Life” is currently available on Vimeo, Pay per view.
“We are now focused on the original goal of creating a blockbuster inspirational story for the world to enjoy, and using the Trinidad and Tobago culture as the vehicle for our message. On behalf of myself and my team, thank you for your interest in this project and we look forward to completing this journey with you !”
The Cfm was held from 24-27 September at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Port of Spain, Trinidad. The ttff/15 took place from 15-29 September.
- 10/7/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
I remember the first time I heard Pink Floyd. Not a song. Not a concert. But the actual words Pink Floyd. Two glorious words. And my first introduction to pop music. Growing up in the Children of God cult, I was not allowed to listen to music that was not produced by the group. We kids knew well the story of Jeremy Spencer, world-famous slide guitarist of Fleetwood Mac, who one night at a concert met some eccentric people backstage and left his band to join the Children of God. He never looked back. The Children of God attracted many young, talented musicians from the ’60s. Music, songs, and dancing were abundant and common. But any music produced outside of the group was forbidden and shunned.I was sitting in the back seat of a Chevrolet Cavalier with my two sisters when Pink Floyd came up. I was 15 years old...
- 3/24/2015
- by Flor Edwards
- Vulture
Exclusive: The actor is going from the supernatural on the small screen to the controversial world of cults on the big screen. Orlando Jones and his Drive-By Entertainment partner Noam Dromi have optioned the rights to cult deprogrammer Ted Patrick’s story. Jones and Dromi intend to write the screenplay as a starring vehicle for the actor who is currently finishing up his second season as Captain Frank Irving on the Fox hit Sleepy Hollow. Jones and Dromi will produce the feature with docu filmmaker Tracy Funches. . Prominent in the 1970s, Patrick was known as the “father of deprogramming” and seen as savior to many parents who had seemingly lost their children to cults. The Special Assistant for Community Relations for then Governor Ronald Reagan, the civil rights activist’s life was upended when his 14 year-old son was nearly converted by the Children of God cult. Subsequently, Patrick reached out...
- 2/6/2015
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline
Marry Me‘s Casey Wilson has her first bun in the oven, Cake Boss star Buddy Valastro gets himself into trouble, Bruce Jenner‘s mom hates his transformation and more of today’s First Dibs.
Casey Wilson and her husband David Caspe are expecting their first baby together. [Us Weekly] Buddy Valastro wanted to have his cake and eat it too while caught drinking and driving in Manhattan. [TMZ] Bruce Jenner is getting some icy shade… from his own mother. [Us Weekly] A Broadway musical inspired by Duck Dynasty is actually happening. [Vulture] Bette Midler and the stars of Hocus Pocus push for a sequel. [E!] Joaquin Phoenix opens up about growing up in the religious cult Children of God. [Us Weekly] Actress Niecy Nash says, “A Bj a day keeps the divorce attorney away.” Words to live by. [E!] Bryan Cranston gives kids a lesson they’ll never forget with “You Have to F—ing Eat.” Get ready for all the memorable moments,...
Casey Wilson and her husband David Caspe are expecting their first baby together. [Us Weekly] Buddy Valastro wanted to have his cake and eat it too while caught drinking and driving in Manhattan. [TMZ] Bruce Jenner is getting some icy shade… from his own mother. [Us Weekly] A Broadway musical inspired by Duck Dynasty is actually happening. [Vulture] Bette Midler and the stars of Hocus Pocus push for a sequel. [E!] Joaquin Phoenix opens up about growing up in the religious cult Children of God. [Us Weekly] Actress Niecy Nash says, “A Bj a day keeps the divorce attorney away.” Words to live by. [E!] Bryan Cranston gives kids a lesson they’ll never forget with “You Have to F—ing Eat.” Get ready for all the memorable moments,...
- 11/13/2014
- by Taylor Ferber
- VH1.com
Marry Me‘s Casey Wilson has her first bun in the oven, Cake Boss star Buddy Valastro gets himself into trouble, Bruce Jenner‘s mom hates his transformation and more of today’s First Dibs.
Casey Wilson and her husband David Caspe are expecting their first baby together. [Us Weekly] Buddy Valastro wanted to have his cake and eat it too while caught drinking and driving in Manhattan. [TMZ] Bruce Jenner is getting some icy shade… from his own mother. [Us Weekly] A Broadway musical inspired by Duck Dynasty is actually happening. [Vulture] Bette Midler and the stars of Hocus Pocus push for a sequel. [E!] Joaquin Phoenix opens up about growing up in the religious cult Children of God. [Us Weekly] Actress Niecy Nash says, “A Bj a day keeps the divorce attorney away.” Words to live by. [E!] Bryan Cranston gives kids a lesson they’ll never forget with “You Have to F—ing Eat.” Get ready for all the memorable moments,...
Casey Wilson and her husband David Caspe are expecting their first baby together. [Us Weekly] Buddy Valastro wanted to have his cake and eat it too while caught drinking and driving in Manhattan. [TMZ] Bruce Jenner is getting some icy shade… from his own mother. [Us Weekly] A Broadway musical inspired by Duck Dynasty is actually happening. [Vulture] Bette Midler and the stars of Hocus Pocus push for a sequel. [E!] Joaquin Phoenix opens up about growing up in the religious cult Children of God. [Us Weekly] Actress Niecy Nash says, “A Bj a day keeps the divorce attorney away.” Words to live by. [E!] Bryan Cranston gives kids a lesson they’ll never forget with “You Have to F—ing Eat.” Get ready for all the memorable moments,...
- 11/13/2014
- by Taylor Ferber
- TheFabLife - Movies
Here’s the second and final installment of my Aesthetica Short Film Festival coverage, a little later than expected but no less enthusiastic for it! Let’s dive right into the last day of the fest:
One of the more enlightening screenings from the festival was Sunday’s showing of films from Iraq with an introduction from Human Film’s Isabelle Stead, who gave some interesting context to the shorts her company had helped Iraqi filmmakers produce. The first film shown, Lipstick, was a quietly touching portrait of school life and excruciating adolescence for one boy in an all-male class and their hard-nosed female teacher. Two other shorts that stood out for me, Children of War and Children of God, took different approaches to exploring the effects of the Gulf War on the country’s youth. The former is a mix of live-action and animated footage, the bulk of the...
One of the more enlightening screenings from the festival was Sunday’s showing of films from Iraq with an introduction from Human Film’s Isabelle Stead, who gave some interesting context to the shorts her company had helped Iraqi filmmakers produce. The first film shown, Lipstick, was a quietly touching portrait of school life and excruciating adolescence for one boy in an all-male class and their hard-nosed female teacher. Two other shorts that stood out for me, Children of War and Children of God, took different approaches to exploring the effects of the Gulf War on the country’s youth. The former is a mix of live-action and animated footage, the bulk of the...
- 11/13/2014
- by Mark Allen
- Nerdly
He’s known for portraying eccentric characters on the big screen, and it’s quite possible that Joaquin Phoenix pulls inspiration from living with the Children of God religious group when he was a child.
In a recent interview with Playboy magazine, the “Master” actor opens up about joining the group, which critics have called a cult, with his parents.
"My parents had a religious experience and felt strongly about it. They wanted to share that with other people who wanted to talk about their experience with religion. These friends were like, 'Oh, we believe in Jesus as well,'" Phoenix explained.
"I think my parents thought they’d found a community that shared their ideals. Cults rarely advertise themselves as such. It’s usually someone saying, 'We’re like-minded people. This is a community,' but I think the moment my parents realized there was something more to it,...
In a recent interview with Playboy magazine, the “Master” actor opens up about joining the group, which critics have called a cult, with his parents.
"My parents had a religious experience and felt strongly about it. They wanted to share that with other people who wanted to talk about their experience with religion. These friends were like, 'Oh, we believe in Jesus as well,'" Phoenix explained.
"I think my parents thought they’d found a community that shared their ideals. Cults rarely advertise themselves as such. It’s usually someone saying, 'We’re like-minded people. This is a community,' but I think the moment my parents realized there was something more to it,...
- 11/12/2014
- GossipCenter
It's time to talk! Joaquin Phoenix got candid in the December 2014 issue of Playboy, sharing his childhood experience of being raised in the religious group Children of God and whether his encounter was nearly as traumatizing as other stars have claimed. The actor's parents joined the controversial cult in the 1970s and took Joaquin and his siblings — the late River Phoenix, Rain, Liberty, and Summer — to travel through Central and South America with the group. Eventually, his parents ended up becoming disillusioned with Children [...]...
- 11/12/2014
- Us Weekly
Joaquin Phoenix is finally talking about what really happened during his infamous interview with David Letterman back in 2009.The actor's bizarre behavior and bushy beard left many wondering if he was on drugs or mentally ill -- but now, he's setting the record straight about his strange sit-down with the late night host. "David Letterman was not in on the joke," the "Inherent Vice" star tells Playboy's Stephen Rebello. "My agents, my publicist Sue Patricola -- she’s really good in the movie because she seems so concerned, right? They were all in on it, of course.""But look, David Letterman is one of the smartest guys on television. There’s no way that guy doesn’t know what’s going on in some way. That’s what I’ll say about it," he adds.Check out the clip below to see his crazy antics for yourself! During his interview with Playboy,...
- 11/12/2014
- by tooFab Staff
- TooFab
Though the typically reclusive Joaquin Phoenix rarely talks about his unconventional upbringing, the Oscar-winning actor gets candid with Playboy Interview about his experience being born into the Children of God cult, as well as his infamous 2009 Late Show with David Letterman appearance.
Joaquin's parents joined the controversial religious group Children of God in the early 1970s and traveled throughout South America along with him and his siblings -- including the late River Phoenix, who died of a drug overdose in 1993 -- but left when they became disenchanted with the group.
"When people bring up Children of God, there's always something vaguely accusatory about it," the Her star, now 40, tells the magazine. "It's guilt by association. I think it was really innocent on my parents' part. They really believed, but I don’t think most people see it that way. I've always thought that was strange and unfair."
Video: Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix Reunite In '[link...
Joaquin's parents joined the controversial religious group Children of God in the early 1970s and traveled throughout South America along with him and his siblings -- including the late River Phoenix, who died of a drug overdose in 1993 -- but left when they became disenchanted with the group.
"When people bring up Children of God, there's always something vaguely accusatory about it," the Her star, now 40, tells the magazine. "It's guilt by association. I think it was really innocent on my parents' part. They really believed, but I don’t think most people see it that way. I've always thought that was strange and unfair."
Video: Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix Reunite In '[link...
- 11/12/2014
- Entertainment Tonight
Joaquin Phoenix knows a thing about cult followings - and not just the Hollywood fandom kind. In the December issue of Playboy, which hits newsstands Friday, the actor opens up about his family's involvement in the Children of God religious group during the '70s - a topic, he says, that still has the public intrigued. "When people bring up Children of God, there's always something vaguely accusatory about it," Phoenix, 40, says. "It's guilt by association. I think my parents thought they'd found a community that shared their ideals. Cults rarely advertise themselves as such … But I think the moment...
- 11/12/2014
- by Ron Kelly
- PEOPLE.com
Blonde Electra escaped their father's religious cult to appear on 'The X Factor'. Ruby and Jazzy King have confessed their Catholic missionary parents used to belong to the notorious Children of God cult before leaving and setting up their own, more restrictive sect, of which they were forced to be members until they left home aged just 12 and 15-years-old. Ruby, 22, explained: ''Our parents left, thank God, because I don't know where we would be at this point. ''But our dad created his own cult. It was very restrictive - we were very isolated.'' 24-year-old Jazzy added: ''Our dad thinks he's God's prophet,...
- 10/10/2014
- Virgin Media - TV
Joaquin Phoenix's life is as unique as the characters he plays onscreen.
The actor has been working on and off since the early '80s, though it wasn't until his star turn opposite Russell Crowe in "Gladiator" (2000) that Phoenix became a household name. Since then, Phoenix has turned in a string of unforgettable performances, most notably his incredible portrayal of Johnny Cash in "Walk the Line" (2005).
Whether or not you've had a chance to see Phoenix fall in love with a computer in this year's Oscar-nominated "Her," there's still much to know about the established star. From his unusual upbringing to his music videos, here are 17 things you probably don't know about Joaquin Phoenix.
1. The actor was born in 1974 and is the third of five children: River (b. 1970), Rain (b. 1972), Liberty (b. 1976), and Summer (b. 1978).
2. His parents were members of the religious group the Children of God, leading to...
The actor has been working on and off since the early '80s, though it wasn't until his star turn opposite Russell Crowe in "Gladiator" (2000) that Phoenix became a household name. Since then, Phoenix has turned in a string of unforgettable performances, most notably his incredible portrayal of Johnny Cash in "Walk the Line" (2005).
Whether or not you've had a chance to see Phoenix fall in love with a computer in this year's Oscar-nominated "Her," there's still much to know about the established star. From his unusual upbringing to his music videos, here are 17 things you probably don't know about Joaquin Phoenix.
1. The actor was born in 1974 and is the third of five children: River (b. 1970), Rain (b. 1972), Liberty (b. 1976), and Summer (b. 1978).
2. His parents were members of the religious group the Children of God, leading to...
- 1/24/2014
- by Jonny Black
- Moviefone
Hany Abu-Assad’s Omar won best film in the Muhr Arab feature competition at this year’s Dubai International Film Festival (Diff), while Anthony Chen’s Ilo Ilo won best film in the Muhr AsiaAfrica section.
Abu-Assad also won best director in the Arab feature section, while Yasmine Raees won best actress for Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Khan’s Factory Girl. Best actor went to Hassan Badida for Moroccan filmmaker Hicham Lasri’s They Are The Dogs, which also picked up the Special Jury Prize.
Special Mentions went to Mohamed Amin Benamraoui for Adios Carmen and to Moroccan actress Raouia for her roles in Rock The Casbah and Pillow Secrets.
Ilo Ilo was also a multiple prize-winner, adding to an already weighty awards stash, by taking best actress for Yeo Yann Yann’s performance. Best actor in the AsiaAfrica section went to Irrfan Khan for his role in Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox, which also won...
Abu-Assad also won best director in the Arab feature section, while Yasmine Raees won best actress for Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Khan’s Factory Girl. Best actor went to Hassan Badida for Moroccan filmmaker Hicham Lasri’s They Are The Dogs, which also picked up the Special Jury Prize.
Special Mentions went to Mohamed Amin Benamraoui for Adios Carmen and to Moroccan actress Raouia for her roles in Rock The Casbah and Pillow Secrets.
Ilo Ilo was also a multiple prize-winner, adding to an already weighty awards stash, by taking best actress for Yeo Yann Yann’s performance. Best actor in the AsiaAfrica section went to Irrfan Khan for his role in Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox, which also won...
- 12/13/2013
- by lizshackleton@gmail.com (Liz Shackleton)
- ScreenDaily
Sandeep Ray won best director award for his short Shirno Bahu (Thin Arms)
Irrfan Khan won best actor award for his role in Ritesh Batra’s “The Lunchbox”. The film also won the writer-director a special mention for screenplay in the Muhr Asia Africa category. The jury was headed by Shekhar Kapoor.
Sandeep Ray’s short film “Shirno Bahu” (Thin Arms) won him the best director award in the Muhr Asia Africa shorts category.
“Shirno Bahu” tells the story of an octogenarian woman who undergoes treatment for a debilitating medical condition. The 10 minute film is in Bengali language.
Actor-producer Sanjay Suri was a part of Arab competition jury.
“The Lunchbox” also won two Asia Pacific Screen Awards recently.
Full list of awards at Dubai International Film Festival:
Muhr AsiaAfrica Feature:
Special Mention: Souleymane Démé for his role in Grigris(France, Chad)
Special Mention: Ritesh Batra for the screenplay of The Lunchbox...
Irrfan Khan won best actor award for his role in Ritesh Batra’s “The Lunchbox”. The film also won the writer-director a special mention for screenplay in the Muhr Asia Africa category. The jury was headed by Shekhar Kapoor.
Sandeep Ray’s short film “Shirno Bahu” (Thin Arms) won him the best director award in the Muhr Asia Africa shorts category.
“Shirno Bahu” tells the story of an octogenarian woman who undergoes treatment for a debilitating medical condition. The 10 minute film is in Bengali language.
Actor-producer Sanjay Suri was a part of Arab competition jury.
“The Lunchbox” also won two Asia Pacific Screen Awards recently.
Full list of awards at Dubai International Film Festival:
Muhr AsiaAfrica Feature:
Special Mention: Souleymane Démé for his role in Grigris(France, Chad)
Special Mention: Ritesh Batra for the screenplay of The Lunchbox...
- 12/13/2013
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Recently we attended a press day for Spike Lee's upcoming flick Oldboy with several other outlets, and Bloody Disgusting's Evan Dickson got Spike to speak about his latest Kickstarter project, which has already been filmed. Read on for details.
The film is called Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, and it's now complete with Broadway actor Stephen Tyrone Williams (Children of God) playing the lead. “It’s scary. Humorous. Bloody. Sexy,” said Lee, adding that the film uses blood as a “metaphor. As we all know, human beings have many addictions. Drugs, sex, alcohol, power, money, Air Jordans [laughs]. In this one they’re addicted to blood. We shot in New York, Martha’s Vineyard, and we’re editing now. We shot it in 16 days, and we were one day ahead of schedule.”
Look for more on this one soon!
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
The film is called Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, and it's now complete with Broadway actor Stephen Tyrone Williams (Children of God) playing the lead. “It’s scary. Humorous. Bloody. Sexy,” said Lee, adding that the film uses blood as a “metaphor. As we all know, human beings have many addictions. Drugs, sex, alcohol, power, money, Air Jordans [laughs]. In this one they’re addicted to blood. We shot in New York, Martha’s Vineyard, and we’re editing now. We shot it in 16 days, and we were one day ahead of schedule.”
Look for more on this one soon!
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
- 11/16/2013
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
River, one of Hollywood’s most promising actors, died a tragic death at the age of 23 outside a famous La club. In a new biography exposing his life, he started doing drugs at an early age with another child star — keep reading to find out who it was.
It’s been said that River Phoenix could have had a career like Brad Pitt or Leonardo DiCaprio, had he lived a longer life. Rolling Stone writer Gavin Edwards‘ new book, Last Night at the Viper Room: River Phoenix and the Hollywood He Left Behind, reveals the sad beginnings of the talented actor’s life that led him to fatally overdose on heroine and cocaine.
River Phoenix & Corey Feldman Smoked Marijuana Together For The First Time
In an excerpt from Gavin’s book, River, whose brother is actor Joaquin Phoenix, and fellow former child star, Corey Feldman, met as teens in La...
It’s been said that River Phoenix could have had a career like Brad Pitt or Leonardo DiCaprio, had he lived a longer life. Rolling Stone writer Gavin Edwards‘ new book, Last Night at the Viper Room: River Phoenix and the Hollywood He Left Behind, reveals the sad beginnings of the talented actor’s life that led him to fatally overdose on heroine and cocaine.
River Phoenix & Corey Feldman Smoked Marijuana Together For The First Time
In an excerpt from Gavin’s book, River, whose brother is actor Joaquin Phoenix, and fellow former child star, Corey Feldman, met as teens in La...
- 11/1/2013
- by Ivy Jacobson
- HollywoodLife
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It was 20 years ago today that River Phoenix died on a dirty sidewalk in Hollywood. If that sentence sounds a bit harsh, well, it’s supposed to. That’s the unfortunate reality of the what happened on October 31, 1993. One of the most promising actors of his generation had just been inside of Johnny Depp‘s notoriously hedonistic rock club, the Viper Room, hoping to join his buddy Flea (from the Red Hot Chili Peppers) on-stage, but instead decided to ingest a cocktail—a literal cocktail!—that contained heroin and cocaine. Just a few minutes later, he was convulsing near a parking meter on Sunset Boulevard; he never regained consciousness. He was 23 years old.
Sadly, we’ll never get to know whether or not River Phoenix would’ve been able to successfully traverse that very fine tightrope that popular child actors must cross to carry them into the realm of successful adult actors.
It was 20 years ago today that River Phoenix died on a dirty sidewalk in Hollywood. If that sentence sounds a bit harsh, well, it’s supposed to. That’s the unfortunate reality of the what happened on October 31, 1993. One of the most promising actors of his generation had just been inside of Johnny Depp‘s notoriously hedonistic rock club, the Viper Room, hoping to join his buddy Flea (from the Red Hot Chili Peppers) on-stage, but instead decided to ingest a cocktail—a literal cocktail!—that contained heroin and cocaine. Just a few minutes later, he was convulsing near a parking meter on Sunset Boulevard; he never regained consciousness. He was 23 years old.
Sadly, we’ll never get to know whether or not River Phoenix would’ve been able to successfully traverse that very fine tightrope that popular child actors must cross to carry them into the realm of successful adult actors.
- 10/31/2013
- by Mark Graham
- TheFabLife - Movies
Spike Lee‘s Kickstarter for The Newest Hottest Spike Lee Joint (here’s hoping he announces a real title soon and I can stop typing out all that word salad) ended just a few hours ago, more than $150,00 over its $1.25m goal. But even before the Kickstarter ended, Lee was hard at work assembling a cast for his crowd-funded feature. First came Stephen Tyrone Williams, a stage actor with a handful of film credits to his name (Children of God, Restless City), but a few hours later came a far more famous Williams. Michael K. Williams of The Wire and Boardwalk Empire has joined the film too. This casting alone guarantees that hordes of obsessive Wire fans will turn up to see Lee’s latest joint, which will be a love story about “human beings who are addicted to blood.” Williams (Michael K., that is) will not be playing the lead- that role will go to the...
- 8/21/2013
- by Adam Bellotto
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
• Rachel McAdams is set to join Wim Wenders’ Every Thing Will Be Fine, which tells the story of a writer (James Franco) who causes the death of a young boy. McAdams will take on the role of Franco’s girlfriend — a part that Sarah Polley was originally attached to play. Charlotte Gainsbourg (Melancholia) will appear as the slain boy’s mother. The story chronicles the 10 years after the accident. [THR]
• Idris Elba, who recently battled giant monsters in Pacific Rim, is set to star in and produce Cary Fukunaga’s Beasts of No Nation, based on Uzodinma Iweala’s novel. The...
• Idris Elba, who recently battled giant monsters in Pacific Rim, is set to star in and produce Cary Fukunaga’s Beasts of No Nation, based on Uzodinma Iweala’s novel. The...
- 8/21/2013
- by Lindsey Bahr
- EW - Inside Movies
Writer/Director J.D. Walker along with her producer Trevite Willis (Children of God, 2010) are seeking crowdfunding via Kickstarter for their upcoming feature film The Postwoman, a dramatic love story about a divorced single mom who is forced to confront her ex-husband, dysfunctional family, and teenage daughter about her secret life with another woman. The Postwoman highlights the private, complex and, often times, lonely battle mothers endure when they seek to wrest control of their own destiny in the face of adversity, intense scrutiny, and homophobia. This feature film is based on a short by Walker (also called "The Postwoman") that screened at Qwocmap (where...
- 7/16/2013
- by Curtis Caesar John
- ShadowAndAct
Great news, gay cinephiles! LogoTV snapped up a compelling catalog of gay movies and has made them available for free online streaming! (Sorry international folks, we only have U.S. distribution rights, so like so much else these days, these are geo-blocked.)
Now these are small indie films, so while they all have gay storylines and most feature cute male casts, not all of them are cinematic gems. But hey, on the whole they don’t suck!
Some of them are actually pretty good. In fact, we count five that made our reader ranked list of the Top 100 Greatest Gay Movies: Eating Out 2 (#85), Adam & Steve (#79), Eating Out (#56), Boy Culture (#36) and Latter Days (#5).
In Latter Days a young and promiscuous gay man sets his sights on seducing his Mormon missionary neighbor. The resulting affair changes both their lives. The film stars Wes Ramsey and Steve Sandvoss and also has Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a supporting role.
Now these are small indie films, so while they all have gay storylines and most feature cute male casts, not all of them are cinematic gems. But hey, on the whole they don’t suck!
Some of them are actually pretty good. In fact, we count five that made our reader ranked list of the Top 100 Greatest Gay Movies: Eating Out 2 (#85), Adam & Steve (#79), Eating Out (#56), Boy Culture (#36) and Latter Days (#5).
In Latter Days a young and promiscuous gay man sets his sights on seducing his Mormon missionary neighbor. The resulting affair changes both their lives. The film stars Wes Ramsey and Steve Sandvoss and also has Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a supporting role.
- 5/31/2013
- by Dennis Ayers
- The Backlot
How many books and DVDs do you have on your Amazon wish list? How often do you remember to look at it? I always forget to check it, but I took a look at it today, and there are 100 items.
No, I am not soliciting here. My birthday isn’t for another six months, Chanukah and Christmas are too far off to think about, and I’m not your mother, so forget about Mother’s Day, which is this Sunday, btw – although there is Alix, whom I always alert to her mom’s new column. Big Hint, Alix!
I do have to delete some of the books and DVDs; I’ve ordered them without looking at my wish list because, well, I forget to check the damn thing, but there’s still a lot there. The oldest item was added on June 11, 2006; it’s Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Complete Third Season (DVD,...
No, I am not soliciting here. My birthday isn’t for another six months, Chanukah and Christmas are too far off to think about, and I’m not your mother, so forget about Mother’s Day, which is this Sunday, btw – although there is Alix, whom I always alert to her mom’s new column. Big Hint, Alix!
I do have to delete some of the books and DVDs; I’ve ordered them without looking at my wish list because, well, I forget to check the damn thing, but there’s still a lot there. The oldest item was added on June 11, 2006; it’s Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Complete Third Season (DVD,...
- 5/6/2013
- by Mindy Newell
- Comicmix.com
This three-time Oscar nominee -- who this year is up for Best Actor for his powerful portrayal in The Master -- shockingly announced in 2008 that he was retiring from acting to pursue a career in hip-hop music. It was later revealed that the announcement -- along with consistently erratic behavior and appearances -- was faked as part of a mockumentary he was filming with Casey Affleck.
1. Born Joaquin Rafael Bottom on October 28, 1974 in Puerto Rico. He was the middle child in a brood of five and his parents were missionaries for the Children of God religious movement.
Pics: Look Who's Presenting at The Oscars!
2. As part of research for his role in the 2004 film Ladder 49, he actually graduated from the Baltimore Fire Academy and spent a month living and working with real firefighters and helping fight real fires.
3. A strict vegan and animal rights activist, he once refused to wear shoes during a photo shoot for designer...
1. Born Joaquin Rafael Bottom on October 28, 1974 in Puerto Rico. He was the middle child in a brood of five and his parents were missionaries for the Children of God religious movement.
Pics: Look Who's Presenting at The Oscars!
2. As part of research for his role in the 2004 film Ladder 49, he actually graduated from the Baltimore Fire Academy and spent a month living and working with real firefighters and helping fight real fires.
3. A strict vegan and animal rights activist, he once refused to wear shoes during a photo shoot for designer...
- 2/20/2013
- Entertainment Tonight
The second and third "Avatar" films are currently in pre-production, but director James Cameron already has his post-Na'vi project all lined up. 20th Century Fox announces Tuesday (Oct. 23) that Cameron will direct an adaptation of the novel "The Informationist."
Cameron and business partner Jon Landau acquired the rights to Taylor Stevens' book, which was published in October 2011.
The story focuses on information specialist Vanessa "Michael" Munroe, "whose work is in-demand by corporations, heads of state, private clients, and anyone else who can pay for her unique brand of expertise," according to Fox's press release. Munroe is hired by a Texas oil billionaire to find his missing daughter, forcing Munroe to "come face-to-face with the past that she's tried for so long to forget."
"Taylor Stevens' Vanessa 'Michael' Munroe is an intriguing and compelling heroine with an agile mind and a thirst for adventure," Cameron says in the release. "Equally fascinating...
Cameron and business partner Jon Landau acquired the rights to Taylor Stevens' book, which was published in October 2011.
The story focuses on information specialist Vanessa "Michael" Munroe, "whose work is in-demand by corporations, heads of state, private clients, and anyone else who can pay for her unique brand of expertise," according to Fox's press release. Munroe is hired by a Texas oil billionaire to find his missing daughter, forcing Munroe to "come face-to-face with the past that she's tried for so long to forget."
"Taylor Stevens' Vanessa 'Michael' Munroe is an intriguing and compelling heroine with an agile mind and a thirst for adventure," Cameron says in the release. "Equally fascinating...
- 10/24/2012
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
James Cameron may have told the New York Times back in May that he’s in the “Avatar business,” but 20th Century Fox has announced he’ll direct an adaptation of the novel The Informationist for the studio after he completes the second and third Avatar films, now in pre-production.
Cameron will co-produce The Informationist with Jon Landau, his partner at Lightstorm Entertainment, which has acquired the rights to the book by Taylor Stevens published in October 2011, according to a Fox press release Tuesday. The pair expect to hire a writer soon to adapt the book.
Stevens’ thriller, in the...
Cameron will co-produce The Informationist with Jon Landau, his partner at Lightstorm Entertainment, which has acquired the rights to the book by Taylor Stevens published in October 2011, according to a Fox press release Tuesday. The pair expect to hire a writer soon to adapt the book.
Stevens’ thriller, in the...
- 10/23/2012
- by Solvej Schou
- EW - Inside Movies
James Cameron has lined up his next film project that he'll start working on as soon as he's finished with his next two Avatar movies. His production Company Lightstorm Entertainment has acquired the film rights to a novel written by Taylor Stevens called The Informationist, and it will be developed over at 20th Century Fox.
The book was published back in 2011, and the story "centers on Vanessa 'Michael' Munroe, an information specialist, whose work is in-demand by corporations, heads of state, private clients, and anyone else who can pay for her unique brand of expertise. When a Texas oil billionaire hires her to find his daughter who vanished in Africa four years ago, Munroe finds herself back in the lands of her childhood. Betrayed, cut off from civilization, and left for dead, she must come face-to-face with the past that she's tried for so long to forget."
This seems like...
The book was published back in 2011, and the story "centers on Vanessa 'Michael' Munroe, an information specialist, whose work is in-demand by corporations, heads of state, private clients, and anyone else who can pay for her unique brand of expertise. When a Texas oil billionaire hires her to find his daughter who vanished in Africa four years ago, Munroe finds herself back in the lands of her childhood. Betrayed, cut off from civilization, and left for dead, she must come face-to-face with the past that she's tried for so long to forget."
This seems like...
- 10/23/2012
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Lightstorm Entertainment has acquired motion picture rights to the acclaimed 2011 novel The Informationist by Taylor Stevens, as vehicle for James Cameron to direct for 20th Century Fox Film. The Informationist will be a project for Cameron after he completes work on the second and third “Avatar” films, which are currently in pre-production.
Added Landau:
“This was an opportunity to continue our relationship with Fox and Jim Gianopulos beyond the ‘Avatar’ films. We were drawn to this book because of the terrific, compelling narrative and the character, who typifies the strong female protagonists that have inhabited Jim’s work – in this case Vanessa Munroe is essentially a mix of Lisbeth Salander and Jason Bourne.”
A second “Vanessa Michael Munroe” novel, The Innocent, was published earlier this year.
Author Taylor Stevens has a background every bit as intriguing as her heroine’s. Born in New York State, and into the Children of God,...
Added Landau:
“This was an opportunity to continue our relationship with Fox and Jim Gianopulos beyond the ‘Avatar’ films. We were drawn to this book because of the terrific, compelling narrative and the character, who typifies the strong female protagonists that have inhabited Jim’s work – in this case Vanessa Munroe is essentially a mix of Lisbeth Salander and Jason Bourne.”
A second “Vanessa Michael Munroe” novel, The Innocent, was published earlier this year.
Author Taylor Stevens has a background every bit as intriguing as her heroine’s. Born in New York State, and into the Children of God,...
- 10/23/2012
- by Kellvin Chavez
- LRMonline.com
The Cinema Guild folks have picked up the prestigious 2011 winner of the Idfa's Best Feature-Length Documentary Award. A portrait that will likely leave makes waves on the upcoming festival circuit (not unlike the Idfa's previous winners in Last Train Home, Burma VJ, Stranded) Seung-jun Yi’s “Planet of Snail" will receive several local U.S festival showings (e.g. Hot Docs, Silverdocs) this Spring and Summer before receiving its theatrical run. Gist: Young-Chan has been deaf and blind since childhood. As he puts it himself, "In the beginning there was darkness and silence, and the darkness and silence were with god. And when 'I' arrived, they came to me." Young-Chan has no idea how to participate in the world until he meets Soon-Ho, who also has a physical handicap. He marries her and learns to communicate with the outside world through her. Worth Noting: Documentarian Seung-jun Yi directed 2008's “Children of God”. Do We Care?...
- 2/23/2012
- IONCINEMA.com
The Cinema Guild folks have picked up the prestigious 2011 winner of the Idfa's Best Feature-Length Documentary Award. A portrait that will likely leave makes waves on the upcoming festival circuit (not unlike the Idfa's previous winners in Last Train Home, Burma VJ, Stranded) Seung-jun Yi’s “Planet of Snail" will receive several local U.S festival showings (e.g. Hot Docs, Silverdocs) this Spring and Summer before receiving its theatrical run. Gist: Young-Chan has been deaf and blind since childhood. As he puts it himself, "In the beginning there was darkness and silence, and the darkness and silence were with god. And when 'I' arrived, they came to me." Young-Chan has no idea how to participate in the world until he meets Soon-Ho, who also has a physical handicap. He marries her and learns to communicate with the outside world through her. Worth Noting: Documentarian Seung-jun Yi directed 2008's “Children of God”. Do We Care?...
- 2/23/2012
- IONCINEMA.com
Actress Rose McGowan still shudders when she recalls the Italian hippie commune where she spent her childhood - because she can't imagine living life with a group of unwashed people today.
The star's parents were part of the Children of God cult when McGowan was growing up and she was whisked off to Rome, where she'd sing hymns and religious songs on the streets for cash.
The Grindhouse actress can't imagine what her parents were thinking - and hates to be reminded of the time she spent in the commune.
She says, "I don't like stinky people around me. I don't like, generally, people around me... They were hippies for Jesus.
"My father ran the Italian chapter, if you will, so River Phoenix and Joaquin Phoenix (who were also child members of the cult), they were in Venezuela, in the jungles. I got Rome. I had to sing Jesus songs on the streets of Rome.
"We lived in farmhouses."
It all went sour for the young McGowan when her family returned to the U.S.
She adds, "I landed from Rome in Oregon, a backwater town in Oregon."...
The star's parents were part of the Children of God cult when McGowan was growing up and she was whisked off to Rome, where she'd sing hymns and religious songs on the streets for cash.
The Grindhouse actress can't imagine what her parents were thinking - and hates to be reminded of the time she spent in the commune.
She says, "I don't like stinky people around me. I don't like, generally, people around me... They were hippies for Jesus.
"My father ran the Italian chapter, if you will, so River Phoenix and Joaquin Phoenix (who were also child members of the cult), they were in Venezuela, in the jungles. I got Rome. I had to sing Jesus songs on the streets of Rome.
"We lived in farmhouses."
It all went sour for the young McGowan when her family returned to the U.S.
She adds, "I landed from Rome in Oregon, a backwater town in Oregon."...
- 8/14/2011
- WENN
Mercedes Quintero, Lucas Ferraro, Manuel Vignau in Marco Berger‘s Plan B (top); Tim Bergmann, Sascha Kekez in Dennis Todorovic‘s Sasha (upper middle); Andy Blubaugh‘s The Adults in the Room (lower middle); Johnny Ferro, Stephen Tyrone Williams in Kareem Mortimer‘s Children of God (bottom) Outfest 2010: Children Of God, Bloomington, Light Gradient, Plan B Synopses Marco Berger‘s Plan B, Susan Koch‘s The Other City, Dennis Todorovic‘s Sasha, Andy Blubaugh‘s The Adults in the Room, and Kareem Mortimer‘s Children of God are some of the highlights at Outfest 2010, the 28th edition of the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, on Saturday, July 10. In the Argentinean romantic-triangle-of-sorts Plan B, a young man (Manuel Vignau) dumped by his girlfriend (Mercedes Quintero) not only befriends the young woman’s new boyfriend (Lucas Ferraro), but also attempts to seduce him. Note: This may sound like a comedy,...
- 7/9/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
The film is called Children Of God, and is written and directed by Kareem Mortimer, a name I wasn’t at all familiar with, prior to the email I received on the film.
Although he’s produced and directed a handful of award-winning documentaries, Children Of God is Kareem’s feature film debut.
Synopsis: Jonny is a young depressed white Bahamian artist who faces losing his scholarship at a local University if he does not live up to the potential his professors believe he has. Faced with this challenge, after severe beatings from homophobic bullies, and rejection from his alcoholic father, Jonny escapes from his gritty inner-city life in Nassau to the under populated and dramatic Bahamian island of Eleuthera.
Lena Mackey is an extremely conservative forty year old anti-gay activist who upon finding out that her husband is not who he represents himself to be, believes that the only...
Although he’s produced and directed a handful of award-winning documentaries, Children Of God is Kareem’s feature film debut.
Synopsis: Jonny is a young depressed white Bahamian artist who faces losing his scholarship at a local University if he does not live up to the potential his professors believe he has. Faced with this challenge, after severe beatings from homophobic bullies, and rejection from his alcoholic father, Jonny escapes from his gritty inner-city life in Nassau to the under populated and dramatic Bahamian island of Eleuthera.
Lena Mackey is an extremely conservative forty year old anti-gay activist who upon finding out that her husband is not who he represents himself to be, believes that the only...
- 2/4/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
The Bahamas International Film Festival announced Tuesday that the indie dramas "Children of God" and "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' By Sapphire" will open and close its sixth annual festival, which runs Dec. 10-17 on Paradise Island and Nassau.
"Children of God" was written, directed and produced by Bahamian filmmaker Kareem Mortimer, who shot the film locally in Nassau and Eleuthera. As the fest's opening-night film, "Children of God" (originally titled "Daybreak") will screen at the Atlantis Theatre on Paradise Island on Dec. 11.
"The film is a subtle and haunting look at race, sexuality and religion in the Bahamas, which makes it a very timely and important film and also an extremely gorgeous one to look at," Mortimer said. "We are very proud of this effort, and to open at the Bahamas International Film Festival is a dream come true."
"Precious," written by Geoffrey Fletcher and directed by Lee Daniels,...
"Children of God" was written, directed and produced by Bahamian filmmaker Kareem Mortimer, who shot the film locally in Nassau and Eleuthera. As the fest's opening-night film, "Children of God" (originally titled "Daybreak") will screen at the Atlantis Theatre on Paradise Island on Dec. 11.
"The film is a subtle and haunting look at race, sexuality and religion in the Bahamas, which makes it a very timely and important film and also an extremely gorgeous one to look at," Mortimer said. "We are very proud of this effort, and to open at the Bahamas International Film Festival is a dream come true."
"Precious," written by Geoffrey Fletcher and directed by Lee Daniels,...
- 11/10/2009
- by By Jay A. Fernandez
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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