FNC 2013: Uvanga

UVANGA

PRODUCTION TEAM:

Directors: Madeline Ivalu, Marie-Hélène Cousineau
Producer(s): Stéphane Rituit, Marie-Hélène Cousineau
Screenplay: Marie-Hélène Cousineau
Cast: Lukasi Forrest, Marianne Farley, Travis Kunnuk, Madeline Ivalu
Studio: Mongrel Media
Quebec / Canada, 86 min.

FNC OFFICIAL FILM SYNOPSIS:

"Anna (Marianne Farley) returns to Igloolik for the first time with her teenage son Tomas (Lukasi Forrest), whose father, now deceased, was a man she met while working there. As his mother tries to find her bearings in a place that inspires conflicting emotions, Tomas, introduced to his father’s family and his half-brother (Travis Kunnuk), tries to build roots. Both will grow in ways they didn’t expect. Shot on a small island in Nunavut, Uvanga (“myself” in Inuktitut) takes an unvarnished look at a people and a territory often idealized, vilified or reduced to local colour, but mostly just ignored. Avoiding both false hope and despair, the two filmmakers tell a heartwarming story from the inside out, beautifully conveyed by mostly non-professional actors. Visually arresting yet human-scaled, and never skipping over the dark side of the North (addiction, suicide), the film is as luminous as the midnight sun that gleams throughout."

This film is in competition in FOCUS category. It is a beautifully shot film, with stunning vistas of the Canadian High Arctic landscapes. Just the nature shots by themselves make it compelling to see the film and to discover the far north of our country which we, the city dwellers, do not know. 

What is even more important in this film are the human relationships set against the beautiful and yet somehow forbidding scenery. One soon discovers that the people who inhabit this land are not unlike the scenery, with ruff, uncut edges and even self-destructive traits, yet possessing mellow aspects to their personalities which could be as gentle as the subtle colourings of the vast natural vistas.

The acting in the film is surprisingly good, considering the characters were portrayed mostly by non-professional actors. At times the film has a documentary feel to it, especially in the scenes of the traditional hunting a seal skinning. This reinforces the aspect of reality and authenticity of the storyline and of people and situations portrayed in the film.

UVANGA Trailer:

The film was shot in a remote community on Baffin Island. The script is anchored in the culture, lifestyle, people, and place of Igloolik, Nunavut.

FNC 2013: Blind Dates

BLIND DATES

PRODUCTION TEAM:

Director: Levan Kogushvili
Exec. Producer: Keti Machavariani
Producer: Levan Koguashvili, Suliko Tsulikidzi, Olena Yershova
Screenplay: Levan Koguashvili, Boris Frumin
Cinematographer: Tato Kotetishvili
Editor: Nodar Nozadze
Sound: Paata Godziashvili
Prod. Designer: Kote Japaridze
Cast: Andro Shakhvaridze, Ia Sukhitashvili, Archil Kikodze, Kakhi Kavsadze
Production Co.: Kino Iberica, Millimeter Film
Gergia / 2013 / 98 min.

FNC OFFICIAL FILM SYNOPSIS :

"Sandro, a lonely 40-year-old bachelor, still lives with his folks, who fear he’ll never tie the knot. To find him a girlfriend, his buddy Iva signs him up for an online dating service. Sandro, though, shows zero interest in the women he meets on his blind dates. But just as everybody is about to give up hope, our hero falls head over heels for the mother of one of his high school students. Alas, her hotheaded husband will be out of jail soon and tends to settle his differences with his fists. Blind Dates, which had its world premiere at TIFF this year, is a tender look at a man’s fear of committing and facing the responsibilities a relationship entails. Despite its simple premise, the film compassionately explores the universal struggle to find true love. With a narrative that embraces la dolca vita, Levan Koguashvili’s second feature evokes the brilliant work of another Georgian filmmaker, Otar Iosseliani (Monday Morning and Farewell, Home Sweet Home)."

Blind Dates is presented in the International Competition category. It merited the Works in Progress Award at this year's The Karlovy Vary Film Festival. 

The film is a sensitive portrayal of an active searching for a lasting relationship where people resort to blind dating. It presents a common dilemma in the modern society: people failing to marry and to create a family in their twenties and thirties, and still searching for a right partner well into the forties and beyond. And even if they meet somebody they like, their dilemma is not resolved. That other, who seems to be so right, is entangled in their own problems of a failing marriage. The question arises, what is the right action under such circumstances: help to brake the dysfunctional marriage of the person one has met and with whom one feels so right, or step aside and allow the married couple to resolve their problems by themselves, to allow them to brake away on their own from their unsatisfying legal union. At the end, a question still lingers on: did the person step aside to give a loved one a space to brake from their marriage by themselves, or whether this act represented a need to withdraw into oneself and remain single and unattached, and stay away from any possible problems and complications.

One thing perplexing in this film: why do the two men bring their blind dates right away to a hotel room rather than to a more conversation friendly places like a cafe, a restaurant, or a bar. A hotel room has sexual connotations, as if the men were expecting an instant roll in the bed, yet there are no indications in the film that anything sexual takes place. The characters are shown simply sitting on a bed or on two separate beds while trying, quite unsuccessfully, to relate to each other.

The film has a great camera work with many unique and photographically compelling  shots and angles. This helps to create the mood and to project, as well as to understand, the characters disposition and emotive state.

Blind Dates was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in the Contemporary World Cinema category.

FNC 2013: Gare du Nord

Gare du Nord Official Poster

GARE DU NORD

PRODUCTION TEAM:

Director: Claire Simon
Screenwriters: Claire Simon, Shirel Amitay, Olivier Lorelle
Producer: Richard Copans
Directors of photography: Claire Simon, Richard Copans, Laurent Bourgeat
Music: Marc Ribot
Editor: Julien Lacheray
Cast: Nicole Garcia, Reda Kateb, Francois Damiens, Monia Chokri
Production companies: Les Films d’Ici, Productions Thalie
Sales Agent: Les Films d’Ici
France / Canada, 119 minutes

FNC OFFICIAL FILM SYNOPSIS :

"Thousands of people cross paths every day in Paris at the bustling, hectic Gare du Nord. It’s where Ismaël, who’s conducting surveys and completing his thesis on the train station, meets the beautiful 50-year-old Mathilde. Though she first rebuffs him, there’s still a spark and they strike up a conversation. Train stations are known for fleeting encounters, yet this chance meeting between a man and a woman develops into something more, a romance that’s intense, exquisite, but also impossible. As she gets to know Ismaël, Mathilde begins to see the Gare du Nord in a different light. The station has a true soul and teems with life—travellers, workers, merchants, cops and even the gangs that hang out there. Through this simple yet radical exploration, Claire Simon paints a subtle, vibrant portrait of a society founded on extreme mobility, high speed and a state of flux. There’s no lesson to be given here. Instead, this very human film is simply a testament to the powers of observation."

For his role in this film, the lead actor Reda Kateb has received the the Best Actor Award at the FIFF Namur film festival at Belgium. His performance in this film is remarkable, along with the performance of the lead actress Nicole Garcia. Together, they help to create a unique and compelling film that draws a spectator to discover a distinct subculture in a Paris North train station. 

The film forces the spectator to face those who find themselves creating or re-creating their reality, lives, and relationships within the train station's setting. The train station characters are mostly lost, troubled and vulnerable people, for whom it appears no better place exists, no other appropriate location is available within the society, where they can either simply spend their days, or within where they could acquire at least some sense of belonging, meaning and even love. 

Regardless of the age difference between the two leading characters, they are drawn to each as if to combat their personal troubles and loneliness, and the lack of real meaning in their everyday lives. However, they succeed to capture that elusive meaning only momentarily...

Is this film a sociological study or a sentimental story with at times blurred contours of reality? Varying aspects of the visual narrative weave through each other to create a strong and at times a touching, emotional and artistic impact.

The film will be shown:

Sunday, October 13 at 18:30. at Cinéma Imperial

Monday, October 14 at 17:00. at Cinéma Excentris

Film Trailer: GARE DU NORD

For more information on all the films shown during the festival, visit the festival’s website.

FNC 2013: Une Vie Pour Deux

Une Vie Pour Deux Official Poster

UNE VIE POUR DEUX

Directors: Luc Bourdon, Alice Ronfard

Play adaptation (script): Evelyne de la Chenelière

Actors:  Violette Chauveau, Jean-François Casabonne and Evelyne de la Chenelière

2013 | O.V. French | Quebec, Canada | 75min | colour

FNC OFFICIAL filM SYNOPSIS :

"What is a couple? Two people who try to build a life together or who simply live under the same roof? Is it easier to accept a man’s indiscretions? Is the first step in dominating a woman to rob her of her voice? French cultural journalist Bernard Pivot asked these questions, and many others, in his interview with Marie Cardinal in 1978, following the publication of her novel Une vie pour deux. It tells the story of Simone and Jean-François, a couple on the verge of breaking up, who are forced to re-examine their relationship after discovering the body of a young woman while on vacation in Ireland. Just as Evelyne de la Chenelière’s theatrical adaptation of the novel is set to return to the stage in Montreal, this film (the product of an artists’ residency at the Prim Centre) links the fascinating interview footage with the play’s subtle yet powerful staging. After winning the award for Best Canadian Feature at the 2008 Festival du Nouveau Cinéma for La mémoire des anges, Luc Bourdon teams up with Marie Cardinal’s daughter, Alice Ronfard, to pay heartfelt homage to this renowned feminist author, who passed away in 2001."

This film will have its world premiere on Monday, October 14, with actors Violette Chauveau, Jean-François Casabonne and Evelyne de la Chenelière attending. The film is presented in the FOCUS section, it is one of 12 features competing in this selection of cinema from Quebec and Canada.

Luc Bourdon partners with stage director Alice Ronfard to offer a fascinating reinterpretation of the theatre play adaptation created by an author and actress Evelyne de la Chenelière, based on the novel Une vie pour deux by Marie Cardinal (Les mots pour le dire), Alice Ronfard’s mother. It is a powerful essay-film, a testimony of creative work. Literature, theatre and cinema combine here to deliver a powerful effect. Une vie pour deux invites spectators to take in the voice of three characters on the screen and witness their struggle to find love and their place in life. Imaginary blends with real, the reconstruction of motives and events takes place to explain things one cannot grasp or understand in another. What is real? What is the expression of oneself that justifies one's life vis-a-vis a life partner or a fleeting lover? Where does one's self ends and the other's self begins?

Freely adapted from a novel, Une vie pour deux (La chair et autres fragments de l'amour), the film is inspired by a true story, the discovery by the husband of the author (stage director Jean-Pierre Ronfard) of the corpse of a young woman on a beach in Ireland at the end of the 70s. With its simultaneously subtle and powerful staging, the play received a very warm welcome from audiences and critics when it was presented at Espace Go in the spring of 2013. Moreover, actress Violette Chauveau won the Best actress of the year award from the Association québécoise des critiques de théâtre.

  

World premiere at Festival du nouveau cinéma

Monday, October 14 at 7 p.m. at Cinéma Excentris – hosted by the film cast and crew

Thursday, October 17 at 1 p.m. at Cinéma Excentris

Film's Trailer:

Une vie pour deux (Luc Bourdon, Alice Ronfard) - Bande annonce

Une vie pour deux was made during a two-year creation and production residency offered by PRIM on the occasion of the centre turning 30.

PRIM - Productions Réalisations Indépendantes de Montréal is a self-managed centre in the service of the creativity of professional motion picture and sound artists who want to make quality independent works, in a context of hybridity of practices. PRIM is subsidized by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Conseil des arts de Montréal.

FNC 2013: Bluebird

BLUEBIRD

Director:  Lance Edmands

Screenplay:  Lance Edmands 

Actors:  Amy Morton, John Slattery, Louisa Krause 

2013 | O.V. English | United States | 90min | colour

FNC Official Film SYNOPSIS :

"In a depressed logging town in northern Maine, a school bus driver’s world is turned upside down due to her own negligence. After her shift, Lesley forgets to check the back of the bus and leaves behind a sleeping child. Suffering from hypothermia, the little boy slips into a coma, leaving this already fragile community reeling. Bluebird deftly examines the profound consequences of this roadside tragedy and the psychological toll it takes on the residents of an isolated village. While the premise is reminiscent of The Sweet Hereafter (1997), Atom Egoyan’s adaptation of the Russell Banks novel, Lance Edmands successfully distinguishes his picture from the Canadian film by weaving in multiple storylines that subtly flesh out our understanding of the characters and plot. Understated and beautifully shot in 35mm, Bluebird is anchored by superb performances from Amy Morton, Louisa Krause, John Slattery and Emily Meade, who lend the film its near intolerable yet effective tension. Edmands has made a sensitive and realistic first feature, proving that he’s a talented newcomer to watch."

The Festival du Nouveau Cinema (FNC) presents this film in the International Competition Category - LOUVRE D’OR. The film is competing for the festival's most prestigious prize.

The film is about an unintentional human error, a moment of distraction when a bluebird flies into a school bus, a distracts the bus driver from her usual routine. This leads to grave consequences, and impacts all the characters in the film either directly or indirectly. They all take their individual paths to express their reactions to what had happened, and have to come to terms with that through examining their feelings and relationships.

The film will be shown:

Wednesday, October 14 at 16:00. at Cinéma Excentris

Thursday, October 12 at 21:30. at Cinéma Excentris

FNC webpage

Film Trailer: Bluebird

For more information on all the films shown during the festival, visit the festival’s website.

http://www.nouveaucinema.ca/en/2013/

Festival du Nouveau Cinéma 2013: 42nd Edition

Festival Du Nouveau Cinéma 2013

Ocotober 9 - 20, 2013 

This year the Montreal's film festival Festival du Nouveau Cinéma celebrates its 42nd Edition. 

This festival is dedicated to the dissemination and development of new trends in the field of cinema and new media. It offers a springboard for original and largely unseen works. It has welcomed Quebec, Canadian and international artists in an atmosphere that offers public and professional exchange. 

The festival has been a major presence within the Canadian cinematic landscape since 1971. It has demonstrated its ability to evolve and adapt to the cutting-edge audiovisual practices by incorporating the newest technologies of production and presentation into its programming, and in so doing, it has garnered international renown. The Festival also represents a unique opportunity for artists and their public to explore together the most innovative trends in cinema and new media. Over the course of eleven days, film, video, performance, multimedia work, interactive installations as well as other hybrid artistic forms will converge at the heart of one single even - the Festival du nouveau cinéma.

This year, 273 films will be shown (147 features and 124 shorts) from 47 countries, including 39 world premiers, 33 North American premiers, and 47 Canadian premiers.

To check out to festival's programming, visit the festival's website

http://nouveaucinema.ca/en/2013/

MWFF 2013: Best Screenplay - Ivan Son of Amir

IVAN SON OF AMIR
Best screenplay, Maksim Panfilov & Andrei Osipov (Russia)

The Montreal World Film Festival 2013 Prize for the Best Screenplay, or in other words for the best film's script, went to the Russian film Ivan Son of Amir. It is a remarkable film with a masterfully and very skilfully constructed and executed story line. The plot weaves through two different cultures and presents a human aspect of complex life situations and relationships.

The photos below show Mr. Maksim Panfilov, the Director and Scriptwriter of the film, on the stage at the Maisonneuve Theatre at Place-des-Arts just after having been awarded the Best Screenplay for his film Ivan Son of Amir. On the left, he is delivering his acceptance speech. On the right, he is posing in the middle of the stage for the photo shoot.

The photo below shows Maksim Pantilov at the Maisonneuve Theatre just before the Awards Ceremonies, sitting next to the Quebec actor Marcel Sabourin, who was also honoured that night by winning the Prize for the Best Actor. 

The following photo was taken on the red carpet just before the entry into the Maisonneuve Theatre. Here, Maksim Panfilov is posing with Richard Stark, the Director of a short film 30-LOVE that also received a prize that night - the Public Award for the Best Canadian Short Film.

Read more about Maksim Pantilov's film Ivan Son of Amir in an earlier post in this blog

World Film Festival 2013: Ivan Son of Amir

Click on images to enlarge them.

All photos in this article by Nadia Slejskova.

©2013 Nadia Slejskova

MWFF 2013: Best Actress

Tuesday, September 03, 2013

JÖRDIS TRIEBEL
Best Actress, film WESTEN (WEST)

The Montreal World Film Festival 2013 Prize for the Best Actress was awarded to JÖRDIS TRIEBEL for her lead role in the film WESTEN (WEST) by Christian Schwochow (Germany). The prize is well deserved since her acting in this film is quite remarkable and very powerful. It is well appreciated to honour an actress who can interpret a character with such intensity and edginess required for the part.

Below are photos of Jordis Triebel during the Montreal World Film Festival. The two pictures just below were taken before the press conference at the Hyatt Hotel on August 25, 2013. 

Below on the left is a photo of Jordis Triebel at the press conference. On the right Jordis Triebel relaxes at the Hyatt Hotel's terrace.

Here is the Official Synopsis of the Westen:

"Two suitcases, a schoolbag, a plush toy – that’s all Nelly Senff and her son Alexei take with them to begin their new life. A Volkswagen stops in front of their house in East Berlin. Nelly is nervous. The year is 1978. It’s summer, three years after Wassilly’s death. Nelly’s boyfriend and Alexei’s father died in a car accident in Russia. Since he is dead, Nelly wants to leave too. Away from the GDR, to leave the grief and the memories behind. To get a fresh start. That should be possible in the West, or so Nelly believes. When she leaves, when she gets into the car, she is wearing a floral dress, But over there in the West, she doesn’t know anybody. The first place of refuge for immigrants from the East is Marienfelde, a cramped emergency camp in West Berlin. Marienfelde is a hotspot between two political systems. And the place where her past catches up to her. The West German secret police take her aside for interrogation; they ask her about Wassily. Nelly has to decide whether she will let the trauma of the past destroy the future she had in mind for her and her son."

Information about the film's production team:

Director : Christian Schwochow

Screenwriter : Heide Schwochow. D'après le roman/Based on the novel: Lagerfeuer. De/By: Juli Franck

Cinematographer : Frank Lamm

Editor : Jens Klüber

Cast : Jördis Triebel, Tristan Göbel, Alexander Scheer, Jacky Ido

Music : Lorenz Dangel

Film production and Sales : Thomas Kufus, Katrin Schlösser, Christoph Friedel, Zero One Film GmbH, Lehrterstr. 57, 10557 Berlin (Allemagne), tél.: (+49-30) 390 66 30, office@zeroone.de 

Click on images to enlarge them.

Image at the top courtesy of MWFF.

All photos in this article by Nadia Slejskova.

© 2013 Nadia Slejskova

MWFF 2013: Tribute to Kathleen Turner

Tuesday, September 03, 2013

Ttribute TO KATHLEEN TURNER AT THE Montreal World Film Festival 2013

The celebrated American star of the screen and stage Kathleen Turner was honoured by the Montreal World Film Festival this year. Ms Turner received a Special Grand Prix (Prize) of the Americas.

The honour included a prestigious Award presentation preceded by an onstage interview covering her illustrious career. Screenings of several of her films also took place during the course of the Festival. "We are very pleased to welcome Kathleen Turner to Montreal,” said Serge Losique, president of the MWFF. “Her presence here honours us and reflects the Festival’s reputation in the international film community.”

The photos below show the American Actress Kathleen Turner posing in front of the official Montreal World Film Festival poster alone and also with her daughter Rebecca just before the Press Conference at the Hyatt Hotel in Montreal on August 29, 2013.

The two photos below show Kathleen Turner at the cocktail party on the terrace of the Hyatt Hotel. This event preceded the Closing Ceremony of the Montreal World Film Festival 2013.

Click on images to enlarge them.

All photos in this article by Nadia Slejskova.

©2014 Nadia Slejskova

MWFF 2013: Awards

Tuesday, September 03, 2013

AWARDS  2013

MONTREAL WORLD FILM FESTIVAL

AWARDS OF THE WORLD FILM FESTIVAL – Montréal 2013

Jury

President : JIRI MENZEL, director (Czech Republic)

CAROLINE DHAVERNAS, actress (Canada)

MICHAEL KUTZA, festival director (USA)

PEDRO OLEA, director, scriptwriter, producer (Spain)

DAI SIJIE, director and writer (China - France)

FEATURE FILMS

Grand prix des Americas:

LIFE FEELS GOOD (CHCE SIEZ ZYC) by Maciej Pieprzyca (Poland)

Special Grand Prix of the jury:

A THOUSAND TIMES GOODNIGHT by Erik Poppe (Norway)

Best Director:

HET VONNIS (THE VERDICT) by Jan Verheyen (Belgium)

Best Actress :

JÖRDIS TRIEBEL for the film WESTEN (WEST) by Christian Schwochow (Germany)

Best Actors :

MARCEL SABOURIN for the film ANOTHER HOUSE by Mathieu Roy (Canada)

PETER PLAUGBORG for the film THE MIRACLE (MIRAKLET) by Simon Staho (Danemark)

Best Screenplay:

IVAN SON OF AMIR by Maksim Panfilov, screeplay by Maksim Panfilov & Andrei Osipov (Russie)

Best Artistic Contribution :

ASK THIS OF RIKYU by Mitsutoshi Tanaka (Japan)

LANDES by François-Xavier Vives (France)

Innovation Award:

FEED ME by Yazhou Yang & Bo Yang (China)

SHORT FILMS

1st prize:

HELP! by Jean Marboeuf (France)

Jury Award:

WOLSMELK (WOLF’S MILK) by Hans Vercauter (Belgique)

ZENITHS FOR THE BEST FIRST FICTION FEATURE FILMS 2012

Members of the jury of the First Fiction Films:

Pierre-Henri Deleau (France)

Wieland Speck (Germany)

Raymond Zhou (China)

Golden Zenith for the Best First Fiction Feature film:

THE LONG WAY HOME (EVE DÖNÜS SARKAMIS 1915) by Alphan Eseli (Turkey)

Silver Zenith for the First Fiction Feature Film : 

PUERTO PADRE by Gustavo Fallas (Costa Rica / Mexico)

Bronze Zenith for the First Fiction Feature Film : 

FINSTERWORLD by Frauke Finsterwalder (Germany)

PUBLIC AWARDS

The public was invited to vote for the most popular films in different categories:

Public Awards for the most popular film of the Festival:

LIFE FEELS GOOD (CHCE SIEZ ZYC) by Maciej Pieprzyca (Poland)

Public Award for the most popular Canadian Feature Film:

L’AUTRE MAISON (ANOTHER HOUSE) by Mathieu Roy (Canada)

Glauber Rocha Award for the Best Latin American Film:

LA DISTANCIA MAS LARGA (THE LONGEST DISTANCE) by Claudia Pinto Emperador (Venezuela / Spain)

Award for Best documentary:

WAGNERWAHN (THE WAGNER FILES) by Ralf Pleger (Germany)

Award for Best Canadian Short Film:

30-LOVE de Richard Stark (Canada)

FIPRESCI PRIZE 

FIPRESCI Prize for a film in the World Competition:
WESTEN (WEST) by Christian Schwochow (Germany)

FIPRESCI Prize for a film in the First Films Competition:
THE LONG WAY HOME (EVE DÖNÜS SARKAMIS 1915) by Alphan Eseli (Turkey)

ECUMENICAL PRIZES

LIFE FEELS GOOD (CHCE SIEZ ZYC) by Maciej Pieprzyca (Pologne)

Special mention of the Ecumenical jury:

A THOUSAND TIMES GOODNIGHT by Erik Poppe (Norway)

THE FERRY by Shi Wei (China)