Month: May 2010

Hollywood romantic actor Richard Gere starrer “Hachiko” and Duplass Brothers’ “Cyrus” To Bookend The Aruba International Film Festival As the Opening and Closing Night Films

Aruba – May 20, 2010 – Program details for the inaugural Aruba International Film Festival (AIFF), which takes place June 4-11, 2010, were announced today. The Festival will showcase 28 films from 18 different countries, featuring several international premieres and many Caribbean/South American premieres. The lineup was announced by AIFF Artistic Director Claudio Masenza along with Festival founders Giuseppe Ciocarrelli and Jonathan Vieira.

Films having their international premiere at the Festival include the Dutch drama “Amsterdam,” directed by Ivo van Hove; the Italian dark comedy “Questione di Cuore,” directed by Francesca Archibugi; the Susanna White directed English family comedy “Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang” starring Emma Thompson, Ralph Fiennes, Ewan McGregor, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Maggie Smith and Rhys Ifans; and the English horror/drama “Black Death” starring Sean Bean, diected by Christopher Smith.

AIFF will open with the drama “Hachiko” starring Richard Gere, who will open the Festival as its official host. In addition to opening the Festival, Gere will be bestowed with a special humanitarian award and participate in the Festival’s “In Conversations With” series engaging the Festival audience.

Fox Searchlight’s comedy “Cyrus,” directed by Jay and Mark Duplass and starring John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, Marisa Tomei and Catherine Keener, has been selected as the closing night film.

Commented Masenza, “The first year of a Festival is a double test: the director is testing the reactions of his audience, knowing that the audience is testing him. I believe that this program presents elements to please and interest everybody, balancing amusement with more engaging stories. I chose films coming from almost all of the Latin nations because the Aruba culture is very close to theirs. I also chose several American movies, mainly independent, and included a special ‘window’ on Italy, my home country, that could give an idea of the contemporary industry there.”

Masenza added, “My wish is to introduce the public attending the Festival to the films and the culture of a different European country every year. Often movies that are normally unable to be seen inspire young filmmakers and resonate in their imagination for years to come.”

The official lineup is comprised of the following films:

► 3 IDIOTS (Country: India / Director: Rajkumar Hirani)

► ABEL (Country: USA / Director: Diego Luna)

► ALAMAR (Country: Mexico / Director: Pedro Gonzales-Rubio)

► AMSTERDAM (Country: Netherlands / Director: Ivo van Hove)

► A NY THING (Country: USA / Director: Oliver Lecot)

► BARRY MUNDAY (Country: USA / Director: Chris D’Arienzo)

► BLACK DEATH (Country: UK / Director: Christopher Smith)

► BOY ECURY (Country: Netherlands / Director: Frans Weisz)

► CAIRO TIME (Country: Canada/Ireland/Egypt / Director: Ruba Nadda)

► CHRISTINA (Country: USA / Director: Larry Brand)

► CYRUS (Country: USA / Director: Jay and Mark Duplass)

► DELHI 6 (Country: India / Director: Rakesh Omprakash Mehra)

► EL SECRETO DE SUS OJOS (Country: Argentina/Spain / Director: Juan Jose Campanella)

► HACHIKO (Country: USA / Director: Lasse Hallstrom)

► HAPPY FAMILY (County: Italy / Director: Gabriele Salvatores)

► HOLLY ROLLERS (Country: USA / Director: Kevin Asch)

► I TRAVEL BECAUSE I HAVE TO I COME BACK BECAUSE I LOVE YOU (Country: Brazil / Director: Karim Ainouz)

► LUCKY COUNTRY (Country: Australia / Director: Kriv Stenders)

► MINE VAGANTI (Country: Italy / Director: Ferzan Ozpetek)

► MY QUEEN KARO (Country: Netherlands/Belgium / Director: Dorothee van Den Berghe)

► NANNY MACPHEE (Country: UK/France/USA / Director: Susanna White)

► PENSO CHE UN SOGNO COSI (Country: Italy / Director: Marco De Luca)

► QUESTIONE DI CUORE (Country: Italy / Director: Francesca Archibugi)

► RABIA (Country: Mexico/Spain/Columbia / Director: Sebastián Cordero)

► SELL OUT (Country: Malaysia / Director: Yeo Joon Han)

► THE BURNING PLAIN (Country: USA/Mexico / Director: Guillermo Arriaga)

► THE TRAVELER (Country: USA / Director: Michael Oblowitz)

► VENEZZIA (Country: Venezuela / Director: Haik Gazarian)

Complete film details are provided in the accompanying AIFF program overview.

The stars will be shining bright at this year’s AIFF. In addition to legendary leading man and activist Richard Gere being in attendance, Academy Award® winning filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci (The Last Emperor, Last Tango in Paris) will be bestowed with The Golden Aruba Award for outstanding achievement in film.

Notable guests participating in the “In Conversation With” series inclide Oscar® and Golden Globe® nominee Guillermo Arriaga (“Babel” “21 Grams”), whose highly acclaimed film “The Burning Plain” is screening in the festival; multiple Academy Award® winner Thelma Schoonmaker (“The Departed” “Goodfellas” “The Aviator”); Academy Award® nominated actress Patricia Clarkson (“Pieces of April” “Shutter Island” “Lars and the Real Girl”); Oscar® nominated actor Griffin Dunne (“Game 6” “My Girl” “Johnny Dangerously”) and famous Indian choreographer Longiness Fernandes (“Slumdog Millionaire”).

The Festival will also host a special Bollywood night, which serves to celebrate Indian cinema and attract many people of Indian descent residing in nearby islands who often to do not get the opportunity to see new Bollywood films in local theaters. A day dedicated to Indian films (Thursday, June 10th) will be capped off with a magnificent Bollywood themed party that same night. Films being shown include “3 Idiots” and “Delhi 6.”

The full AIFF program is available to print online at www.arubafilmfest.com. Tickets can be purchased online or in person at the AIFF’s office at Paseo Herencia. Tickets are available in a variety of price ranges, from a simple movie ticket to packages of multi–event attendance, to top accreditation tickets for VIP events.

About the Aruba International Film Festival

Taking place June 4-11, 2010, the breathtaking Caribbean island of Aruba provides the backdrop for the film industry’s newest “must-attend” event, with an inviting atmosphere, suited like none other, to attract actors, directors, filmmakers, and film lovers for a one-of-a-kind festival experience.

AIFF stands to further global awareness for the Island of Aruba as a center of art, culture and creativity and serve as a platform to promote the understanding and appreciation for the art of cinema and filmmaking. With participants enjoying a relaxed Aruban ambiance, AIFF promotes a more casual interaction between filmmakers and audience, making the film festival friendly and accessible to all participants.

The annual AIFF will bring people from around the world to view a wide selection of films, join in discussions and attend special parties and events.

AIFF has a mission to encourage, educate and activate young Aruban filmmakers. Throughout the Festival, notable film professionals will be conducting master classes on all facets of filmmaking and the creative process.

For more information please visit the Aruba International Film Festival website at www.arubafilmfest.com

Femi Odugbemi

Femi Odugbemi’s Bariga Boy Wins AfroPop Prize for Best film

Femi Odugbemi’s short documentary Bariga Boy has won another international award at the 5th Real-Life Documentary Film Festival (May 18th to 25th /Screening May 21st to 25th) in Accra, Ghana. Last Wednesday, it was awarded the AfroPop Prize for Best film. In April, Bariga Boy was given the award for the Best Documentary at the AMAA 2010 in Bayelsa state, Nigeria.

The AfroPop Prize of the Real Life Documentary Festival is sponsored by the National Black Programming Consortium, in the United States. The prize is connected to the US-based public television show featuring independent documentaries and short films about life art and culture from the contemporary African Diaspora.

“For Africa to catch up with the world infrastructurally, politically and economically, artistes of all shades must stand up to be counted. Our talent must speak out to challenge power and inspire change,” Odugbemi said while receiving the prize.

“I am very happy that Femi Odugbemi got the AfroPop Prize. He did a beautiful work and I really enjoyed the way he portrayed a young gifted Nigerian artiste and its neighborhood. The awards are for me very important because it is a great opportunity for the festival to give recognition to contemporary African visual productions, ” said Lydie Diakhate, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Real Life Festival.

Tears of empathy flowed copiously for heart broken Chanda, the 12 year old heroine of the South African AIDS film Life, Above All as viewers were gripped by the heartrending film Tuesday morning in the Salle Debussy at the world premiere as an official selection of the 63rd Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard category.

Allan Stratton, 59, the author of Chanda’s Secrets the young adult novel that was adapted for the film Life, Above All said he was already in tears when he saw only the rushes during the filming in South Africa.

Allan Stratton (centre) Thato Kgaladi (Soly, the boy) and Mapaseka Matheba (Iris, the girl) on the set of film Life, Above All in South Africa.

“I wrote Chanda’s Secrets to put a human face to the Sub-Saharan AIDS pandemic. It’s a visually charged story that reaches audiences of all ages. A film version, created on location by South African director Oliver Schmitz, is a dream come true,” Allan Stratton said.

Chanda’s Secrets has won many prizes since 2005, including the Africana Book Award, Michael L. Printz Honor Book award and a finalist for the Prix Sorciere of France and it has been translated into over ten languages.

Life above All was directed by Oliver Schmitz, the South African director whose apartheid films Mapantsula and Hijack Stories have also been screened at the Cannes in 1988 and 2001.

“I think Allan Stratton found a very good way of showing the impact of AIDS in South Africa,” said Schmitz.
“Although the main story remains the same, many little changes were made. Allan Stratton’s novel is located in Africa, but we have tried to remain very specific in terms of language and culture. For me, this sort of detail is crucial because I want to be sure that I’m faithfully representing our universal history.”

The author said he spent a month in Botswana to research for the facts.
“I knew what it felt like to lose a loved one and what AIDS panic looked like, but I did want to see what was different. In Africa, instead of attacking a subset of society, it’s attacked entire societies. Two things I didn’t expect: Internet cafés everywhere, and the joy in people. When you watch the news, you see people in postures of despair and flies buzzing around babies and glassy expressions. But the truth is that there is so much fire and laughter and joy. It made me think of how resilient people are and how, against probability, there are people who are able to grow and thrive — and that’s the story of Chanda, ”

Chanda’s Secrets was produced by German filmmaker Oliver Stoltz whose chance meeting with Allan Stratton during a reading tour in Germany in 2005 led to the film adaptation of the novel.

SYNOPSIS:
Nothing is more contagious than lies

Just after the death of her newly-born baby sister, Chanda, 12 years old, learns of a rumor that spreads like wildfire through her small, dust-ridden village near Johannesburg. It destroys her family and forces her mother to flee. Sensing that the gossip stems from prejudice and superstition, Chanda leaves home and school in search of her mother and the truth.

CREDITS

• Oliver SCHMITZ – Director
• Dennis FOON – Screenplay
• Bernhard JASPER – Cinematography
• Christiane ROTH – Set Designer
• Ali N. ASKIN – Music
• Dirk GRAU – Film Editor

ACTORS

• Thato KGALADI – Soly
• Keaobaka MAKANYANE – Esther
• Harriet MANAMELA – Mrs Tafa
• Khomotso MANYAKA – Chanda
• Mapaseka MATHEBE – Iris
• Tinah MNUMZANA – Aunt Lizbet
• Lerato MVELASE – Lillian
• Aubrey POOLO – Jonah

The story:
Chanda, 16, is a smart and determined South African girl on track to win a scholarship – but she’s suddenly thrust into an impossible situation, forcing her to adopt maturity beyond her years. When we first meet her, she’s making funeral arrangements for her year-old sister, Sara. If people begin to suspect Sara’s death was due to more than a passing flu, Chanda will be faced with shame and stigma, not only for the victim, but also for their entire family.

When Lilian’s (Chanda’s mother) illness becomes impossible to hide, their nosy, eccentric next-door neighbor, Mrs. Tafa, engages a spirit doctor to perform a startling ritual. The spirit doctor determines that a curse is hanging over her and her children. In order to lift it,

Lilian must return to the village from where she was banished decades before, leaving Chanda alone to care for her siblings.

Meanwhile, Chanda’s best friend, Esther, has turned to prostitution in a desperate attempt to survive and reunite her own family. Though the community shuns Esther, Chanda refuses to reject her friend. To the horror of those around her, Chanda opens her house to Esther at her friend’s moment of greatest need. That’s just the beginning of Chanda’s fight against convention.

When Chanda discovers that her mother may have gone away to die in order to spare her children shame, she ignores the cautions of the meddling Mrs. Tafa, and embarks on a fateful journey to bring her mother home. And in doing so, challenges the people around her to reject their prejudices and embrace the truth.