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THE HYPOCRITE, 27min., USA Directed by Amie Noel Engerbretson “The Hypocrite” delves into a critical discourse that is resonating with individuals across various spheres. In the context of climate advocacy, the film examines the inherent contradiction between personal actions and systemic efforts. The story is masterfully woven through the perspective of a professional skier, confronting the complex interplay between advocating for change and relying on fossil fuels for athletic pursuits. The film aspires to foster unity and collaboration within the outdoor community, transcending perceived hypocrisy and feelings of not fitting in. It aims to dismantle the culture of individual blame and guilt, focusing instead on the systemic shifts required to pave the way for a sustainable future. By erasing the boundaries that label individuals as hypocrites, the narrative invites viewers to recognize the urgent need for collective action and change. amieenoel@me.com
SITTING IN THE FIRE, 78min., USA Directed by Alec Goldberg, Boston Wang ‘Sitting in the Fire’ examines the spillover effect of rehabilitation programs in prison, on gun violence prevention in communities. Born and raised in Richmond, California to a single mother, Vaughn Miles fell into the dangers of his environment at an early age. After being sentenced to life in prison for murder at twenty years old, it took Vaughn Miles years before his transformation. alec@decadelosangeles.com
A showcase of the best new movies and their respective trailers from around the world today.
AUDIENCE AWARD WINNERS:
Best Story: CANEPA´S ROAD BRIDE Best Editing: WAIT Best Direction: THE MEMORY OF MY HEART Dance Trailer: THE TIDES Student Trailer: DEAR FORGIVENESS Music Video Trailer: FEARLESS Thriller/Suspense Trailer: THE BATON ROUGE SERIAL KILLER Crime/Mystery Trailer: THE D WORD Comedy Trailer: OMG! THE CAPTAIN IS HERE Mockumentary Trailer: THE END OF DAYS Sci-Fi Trailer: BLACK HOLE Mythological Trailer: SICK TWISTED FAIRIES Supernatural Trailer: DELUSIONAL STATE Documentary Trailer: DREAM BIG FOR WHAT YOU WANT TO HAPPEN Horror Trailer: ABHORRENT
See the Full Lineup of Films:
THE TIDES, 2min., Directed by Sophia Williams The beginnings of a movement to amplify the under-heard voices of dance. Created and directed by female Cypriot/New Zealander artistic director, Sophia Williams, and choreographed by Leiland Charles on the Artists of Pointeworks.
DEAR FORGIVENESS, 2min., Directed by Lawrence Dumas Jr. A young and successful entrepreneur is about to launch one of the biggest deals of his life. This deal will put him in the top 1% of the business world. He is striving to honor his mother Sunshine Sandison who passed a year ago. Jaden deals with grief and resentment towards his father Brian who left during Sunshine’s sickness. This is hindering Jaden from completely locking in on the upcoming brand launch.
FEARLESS, 30 seconds Directed by Asel Suluu Our project is a celebration of women’s empowerment, uniqueness, and freedom. It revolves around a fearless female persona who boldly embraces her freedom and refuses to be constrained by boundaries, prejudices, or stereotypes. Her belief is simple but powerful: YOU are in charge of your life, do what you love, and be fearless.
THE BATON ROUGE SERIAL KILLER, 3min., DIrected by Bishop Stevens This film unravels the haunting true story of the first African American serial killer, Derrick Todd Lee, whose chilling reign of terror spanned from 1993 to 2003 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The film exposes a dark chapter in history where racial bias shields a cunning predator, challenging investigators and the community.
OMG! THE CAPTAIN IS HERE. Part 2, 1min. Directed by Anaëlle Morf, Cristina Müller A TikToker explores a haunted boat. Part 2. anaelle.morf@gmail.com
THE END OF DAYS, 1min., DIrected by Jonathan Christopher Martin-Ives In this mock trailer, a British teenager, gifted with clairvoyancy seeks to warn anyone who will listen to her about an impending alien attack. She falls on deaf ears.
BLACK HOLE, 3min., Directed by Jim Territo A Space Probe reflects on all it’s learned and lost as it drifts into oblivion; a “Space Cowboy Ballad”. Michael-Leon Wooley, vocals. Proof-of concept for a full-length animated feature.
WAIT, 1min., Directed by Jared Jacobsen, Lorena Diaz A man and a woman suddenly find themselves alone in a vacant lot and neither can remember how they got there.
KUINERRAQ, 4min., Directed by Magnus Shipe A young seventh grader explores the heritage of his maternal grandma through this glance at a Yu’pik village and his Native Alaskan roots.
IF HUMANS WERE PLASTIC BOTTLES, 2min., Directed by Muhammad Wafri Zaidani Telling the feelings of a plastic bottle if it was a human.The film becomes a powerful allegory for environmental sustainability, urging viewers to reflect on their own habits and consider the long-term consequences of a throwaway culture. “If humans were plastic bottles” delivers a poignant message about the importance of individual responsibility, collective action, and the need for a more sustainable way of living.
SICK TWISTED FAIRIES, 3min., Directed by Marisa L. Williams Original music from the motion picture “Demons Among Us” by Thorisaz, Joshua Brian Knight, and Ras Shomari; featuring Flying Veda and Morgan as dark fairies.
THE MEMORY OF MY HEART, 2min,. Directed by Marc Martinez In a quest for healing, a bereaved child psychologist uncovers a sinister secret buried within her patient’s new heart, leading to a dramatic crusade for justice amidst a backdrop of unspoken tensions.
GONE WITH THE WINDSHIELD, 2min., Directed by Lawrence Riggins Crash Test Dummies bust out of their car factory to rescue one of their own. From the Award Winning Screenplay.
CANEPA´S ROAD BRIDE, 2min., Directed by Victor LANGUASCO There is a popular legend “The bride of Canepa’s Road” which was spread among the northern towns in Argentina a long time ago, similar to a Latin American legend called “The Moaning”.
Músika, 4min., Directed by Alberto Herrera A delightfully harmonic tale of the origin of music
ROBOT ASTEROID, 1min., Directed by Paul May A trailer for my sci/fi horror screenplay.
DELUSIONAL STATE, 3min., Directed by Trelanda Lowe Following a near-fatal accident at a party, Ryan McDillon must resolve his issues within thirty days according to Angel and Mr. Grim over a work-related bet the two have together. Ryan must make amends among the people in his life. He must maneuver through his dysfunctional family, a pregnant girlfriend, hiding his boyfriend from his girlfriend, dealing with his long-time best “friend” who only wants to keep Ryan in the party world for selfish reasons, navigating painful PTSD memories from his childhood pastor, and battling sobriety.
DREAM BIG FOR WHAT YOU WANT TO HAPPEN, 3min., Directed by Peter Vordenberg The trailer for Dream Big, a documentary about listening rather than talking in order to make progress in our fight against climate change.
ABHORRENT, 1min. Directed by Anthony Buziak A smalltown deputy must discover the source of a recent slew of animal attacks
With a title like “Eat Your Young” anyone would be a little skeptical at first, but then you hear these glorious harmonies. I’m such a sucker for A Cappella harmonies that have a smidge of dissonance and then it resolves. You might as well have told me I won a trip to Disney World, that’s how excited I get. Eat Your Young did not disappoint me. As the vocalists continued to impress me, as well as make me a little jealous if I am honest, the camera pans to a stunning room with dancers all decked in white dresses.
Since I was so entranced by the music I almost missed how the filmmakers used one continuous shot for the first minute. One. Continuous. Shot. I immediately started the film again and yep, there it was! They did this so seamlessly and the camera work was beyond incredible that my eargasm had to wait. The fluidity of the dancers was a sight to behold and the choreography was sheer perfection. The dancers’ movements accented areas of the music and vice versa, it was bliss.
Without having such fantastic cinematography, that harmony between A Cappella music and dancers would have been lost, but the filmmakers made sure that would never happen. I’m very grateful to them because this entire film was powerful, emotional and just gorgeous. Every moment of this film was done with such precision and it totally pays off with how sensational it is.
By the end, we are left with only these words “Inlight – 10”. Wha??? That’s it? But, but, but…I want to be able to gush about how incredible each individual is. I can’t do that if you leave me with a mystery. I feel I know more about Banksy that I do about the illusive Inlight – 10. All I can say is, you all have outdone yourselves on such an amazing film.
The body of a dying old woman lies in a bed in stillness, while her soul is dancing on the magic stage she dreamt to be all her life. The blinding lights and the clapping of an imaginary audience, accompany her to the final curtain call. In this poetic piece, life and death blend in a metaphoric farewell dance.
Review by Andie Karvelis:
Writer/Director Flaminia Graziadei has delivered a poignant and beautiful film about life transitioning to death. Those precious final moments where the soul breaks free of its mortal bindings.
There are so many things I truly appreciated about this film. It felt like Flaminia Graziadei knew exactly how to take each aspect (music, narrative, dancers, lighting, cinematography, etc, etc) and have them seamlessly fit together to make an exceptional piece of art. The cinematography from Marina Kissopulos was spectacular. Each shot was crafted with an expert eye that flowed gorgeously with the score by Silvia Leonetti. The choreography and dancers Paola Maffoletti and Caterina Genta were an absolute joy to watch.
The story is told through the dance but also through this amazing narrative by Karin Geigerich. Her cadence, inflection and emotion really capture your attention and you can’t help but relate to each word.
Yours is a wonderful film worth watching more than once
The film’s premise is simple enough that it can be stated in one line.Women previously sexually harassed by Fox News CEO Roger Ailesstand up and expose Ailes for his crime.
BOMBSHELL is a no-nonsense drama.It gets right to the crux the matter with little humour and with no side-stories.The film therefore turns out an uncomfortable and occasionally gut-wrenching watch (even if one is a male) but this is a story that needs to be told – for the women and others to stand up and make a difference so that what has happened in the past will never happen again.
The script by Charles Randolph details the pure hell the abused women have to go through to attack Ailes.“You must be prepared when Ailes summons everything and goes all out to destroy you,’ warn the lawyers taking up the case.The truth can be seen in how the career, family and personal life have been made a living hell.
While most of the characters in the film are real-life characters, the film clearly states at the start that a few fictional ones have been added to dramatize the events.One such character is a Fox worker, Kayla played by Margot Robbie, a victim who comes out to tell the story and cries why others have not done ether duty.
The single best performance belongs to Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly.Besides looking like a dead ringer for Megan Kelly, she totally inhabits the role.Those who have followed the news on the subject will likely find it difficult to distinguish between Theron and Kelly.This is how good Theron is and her performance has been praised widely by critics everywhere.The other best performance belongs to John Lithgow who is daring enough to put on prosthetics to look evenmore disgusting and older that Roger Ailes.Ailes has passed away sine the movie had been completed.
Director Jay Roach known especially for his Austin Powers movies tackles BOMBSHELL with dead seriousness and little humour.The one funniest punchline in the film is uttered by Roger Ailes when accused of sexually harassment of the women: “I never used to be this ugly.”Roach has made political films before, as in TRUMBO (blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo)and the TV dramas such as GAME CHANGE and RECOUNT.
The success of BOMBSHELL might see the emergence of the similar sexual harassment case of Harvey Weinstein, which would likely have juicier bits.
The film ends with titles informing certain events that have happened since the making of the film.The titles mention the settlement amounts the sexually harassed victims obtained which is just as much as Ailes’ severance pay after his resignation.The second statement is meant to anger the audience so that more can do their part to ensure sexual harassment and bullying stops, once and for all.BOMBSHELL is a film about real life events that needs to be told.The heroes in this movie are the victims who risk all to do all that needs to be done.
An editor discovers a novel that she considers to be a masterpiece, in a library whose particularity is to collect the manuscripts refused by the publishers. The text is signed Henri Pick, a Breton pizza maker who died two years earlier.
A bold inventive comedy that is ripe for Hollywood to remake.While conducting a television interview with the widow of pizza restaurateur Henri Pick, who is the posthumous author of a bestseller, talk show host Jean-Michel Rouche (Fabrice Luchini) attracts the wrath of his employer and the spectators by suggesting the book could be a sham. The same evening, his wife leaves him and he is fired from his job at the network. This double disgrace reinforces his desire to prove that he is right.As Rouche acts not only like a know-it-all proud peacock but an asshole, the audience is only too glad to witness his downfall.But Rouche is not without charm.
He is joined in his investigation by the late author’s bookworm daughter, Josephine (Camille Cottin), after convincing her the book couldn’t have been written by her father. Echoing Agatha Christie, false leads and literary fun abound in this charming French affair.There is no romance here not even a little hint, but the story works as both a clever whodunit or rather whowroteit as well as a study of characters in a French literary setting.Luchini exhibits charm as the disgraced host who eventually redeems himself. A mysterious pleasure of a film.
A tale of women’s empowerment, The Warrior Queen of Jhansi tells the true story of Lakshmibai, the historic Queen of Jhansi who fiercely led her army against the British East India Company in the infamous mutiny of 1857.
Columbus, Tallahassee, Wichita, and Little Rock move to the American heartland as they face off against evolved zombies, fellow survivors, and the growing pains of the snarky makeshift family.
ZOMBIELAND begins with the Lady Statue of Liberty Sony Pictures Logo coming off her pedestal and whacking off two zombies, reminiscent of the time she drew guns from her cowboy belt way back when in 1965 at the start of the Jane Fonda western comedy hit CAT BALLOU.Expect the same zaniness.
ZOMBIELAND takes half the film to pick up.The first half is a little slow, boring and annoying wth little action, silly special effects, unfunny jokes and impromptu nonsense from the actors.But be a little patient.The film improves.It calls for the narrator Columbus to bring the audience up to date with the state of affairs.The audience is informed that there are three categories of zombies, the very slow, the stealthy and the new almost invincible breed.
ZOMBIELAND picks up, fortunately once a few comedic set ups set in.It is clear that the single premise of human beings fighting zombies is insufficient material for an entire film.One setup involves the meeting of Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) with a musician and their quest to find their Utopia, which in this case is Babylon.The problem with this one is the really annoying musician boyfriend, (Avan Joglia’s Berkeley) who is as unfunny as he is unoriginal.Babylon is a sort of hippie haven. Another set-up, the film funniest and best has the two Columbus and Tallahassee meet their doppelgangers.Each are unaware oftener own doubles, which make the situation even funnier.Columbus’s double is as dorky as himself with his own rules which he calls commandments.
A little romance is provided.One is the couple played by Emma Stone (as Wichita) and Jesse Eisenberg which is a little played out and manipulative.The other between Harrelson and Rosario Dawson (as Madison) is the wilder but funnier one which is more in tone with the movie.
Performances-wise, Harrelson and Eissenberg deliver exactly what audiences would expect of them.Harrelson overacts the way he normally does, screaming out his lines while jumping all over the place.Eissenberg does his usual talky dorky bit.The two opposites make the perfect unlikely buddies.
For a big budget zombie horror comedy, the special effects are excellent as is expected.There are lots of gore and violence with some good vomit thrown in.Chopped limbs, severed heads, gushing blood are plentiful whenever there is a zombie attack.
The film’s climax is the big zombie attack on Babylon after the residents celebrate with fireworks thus attracting the monsters.Special effects are turned on to the maximum with lots of pyrotechnics and explosions.
There is one last comedic set-up at the end so audiences that leave at the beginning of the closing credits.Bill Murray plays himself being interviewed at some sort of comic con convention promoting what is his new GARFIELD 3 movieWhen trying to churn out a fur ball with his interviewer, the interviewer strut spewing out vomit and while the convention is then attacked by zombies who are fought off by Murray.
Is ZOMBIELAND DOUBLE TAP better than the original?Hard to say as many will not remember the original (back in 2009) being quite some time back.
When Fred Flarsky reunites with his first crush, one of the most influential women in the world, Charlotte Field, he charms her. As she prepares to make a run for the Presidency, Charlotte hires Fred as her speechwriter and sparks fly.
The third remake after the Judy Garland/James Mason and Barbra Streisand/Kris Kristofferson entries, A STAR IS BORN, Academy Award Best Actor nominee Bradley Cooper’s
directorial and screenwriting debut arrives in Toronto for a commercial release right after great hype at both the Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals.Having high expectations, I was ultimately disappointed.The film is good but not that good, falling into the trap of the typical failed romantic drama due to personal demons and artistic conflict – predictable storyline of personal conflict and over-staged drama.
The film opens with super singer Jackson Maine (Cooper) performing live at a huge concert.It is an amazingly shot scene complete with a screaming crowd, astounding acoustics and musical performance, setting the stage for more outstanding performances to come.And they thankfully are, whether performed by Jackson or his rising star, Ally (Lady Gaga).But Jackson is clearly on a self destructive course.He arrives at a bar after the opening concert, dropped off by his chauffeur.He ends up in a drag bar (because Lady gag has the hit gay positive song, “Born This Way”) where he is impressed by Ally’s performance of La Vie En Rose.Apparently she is so good, she is the only non drag performer allowed to sing there.Jackson takes her home and this is the beginning of the relationship in which Jackson also grooms Ally to be a star.
The rest is history and the story almost everyone in the movies is aware off.As Ally rises to fame, Jackson downward spirals into losing his.Jackson also suffers from a hearing problem and has a rift with his older brother and manager (Sam Elliot, who is good but mumbles half his dialogue).
Cooper’s film captures the atmosphere of the rich and famous, from the parties, the glare of the spotlight, the attraction of fame as well as the pain that comes with it.
The main trouble is that it can safely be said that the audience has seen all this before -a star’s rise to fame, her lose of identity (clearly mentioned a few times to make its point) and conflict of interest.Cooper’s film attempts to bridge the gap between having a solid relationship and a successful singing career This does not happen.One basically has to give up family life for musical fame.This story is more effectively told in the gut wrenching documentary BAD REPUTATION, about the life and career of girl rock and roller Joan Jett, that coincidentally also opens this week.BAD REPUTATION puts A STAR IS BORN to shame.BAD REPUTATION is the real thing where Jett maintains her identity, ditches family life to launch a successful music career that audiences can root for an identify with.A STAR IS BORN, unfortunately sinks into predictable melodramaat many points.
The film also suffers from having two protagonists Jackson and Ally instead of just concentrating on Ally.Cooper is ok, he has his star charm but it is Lady gaga that makes the movie.She does not look anything like the Lady Gaga everyone is used to seeing and it is her that the audience sees that a real young and rising star is born.Move over Madonna!
Still A STAR IS BORN will be well received by many as a love story that hovers between the shadow of tragedy and the bright light of artists at their peak as observed by many of the teary eyed audience (mainly females) who left the theatre at the promo screening.
Festival Reviews 