Every week, I get several press releases, screening invitations and other notifications from a handful of studio contacts. While I won’t be sharing any information regarding my screening invites, some of the press releases might be of interest to my readers, so I thought I’d start sharing them in toto with all of you. These could include new image galleries for various films or important updates to upcoming releases from various smaller studios and art house production companies.

• Press Release: “Tommy’s Honor” Goes Into Production
• Press Release: Film Society of Lincoln Center Hosts Masterpieces of Polish Cinema
• Press Release: Brigade’s 2014 Sundance Film Festival Shorts Slate
• Press Release: Harison Ford Joins the Cast of “The Age of Adaline”
• Press Release: GoDigital and Variance Films Merge into Amplify
• Press Release: Two Films by Josephine Decker to Debut at 2014 Berlin Film Festival
• Press Release: Magnolia Pictures and Paramount Pictures Collaborate on Distribution for “Happy Christmas”
• Press Release: Strategy PR’s Spring 2014 Release Slate
• Press Release: 2014 Jury and Slate Announced for New York International Children’s Film Festival
• Press Release: GKids Picks Up Four Oscar Nomination

Press Release: “Tommy’s Honor” Goes Into Production

“TOMMY’S HONOR”, FEATURE FILM ABOUT THE FOUNDING FATHER AND SON OF MODERN-DAY GOLF, GEARS UP FOR PRODUCTION

Jason Connery Will Direct on Location in Scotland, Picturehouse to Acquire All North American Rights

Los Angeles/London, January 13, 2014: TOMMY’S HONOR, the dramatic father and son story about the pioneers of modern-day professional golf and its beginnings at St. Andrews, Scotland, was announced today by Wind Chill Media’s Jim Kreutzer. Tom Morris and his son, Tommy, overcame incredible odds and tragedy to become inspiring legends, dominating the game in the mid-19th century. TOMMY’S HONOR will be filmed in Scotland with casting currently underway, and production is anticipated to commence in Spring/Summer 2014.

Jason Connery (The Devil’s Tomb, The Philly Kid) will direct this tale of triumph and tragedy from a screenplay by Pamela Marin and Kevin Cook, adapted from Cook’s acclaimed book, which won the U.S. Golf Association’s Book of the Year award in 2007. Producers will be Kreutzer of Wind Chill Media Group, Bob Last of Holdings Ecosse, and Connery. The producers are in final negotiations with Picturehouse to distribute in North America.

TOMMY’S HONOR tells the story of Tom Morris’ relationship with his son Tommy, who showed a remarkable talent of his own and matched his father’s achievement with four Open wins (the first at the age of 17), managing the feat in consecutive championships. Although both father and son profited from their share of rich gamblers’ side bets on the events, times were still hard and life for the Morris family in mid-Victorian Scotland brought its share of drama and tragedy to their story.

Commenting on his aspirations for the project, director Connery stated: “I am so incredibly passionate and excited to tell this story. It is a story that is truly close to my heart as I grew up with my father on a golf course, and I have a home an hour from St. Andrews. This is an extraordinary and intimate tale of love and family at the beginning of the great game of golf. This story has to be told!”

Added producer Kreutzer: “Upon discovering the book on a golf trip to St. Andrews, I knew immediately this was a story that will resonate universally – not only with avid golfers and fans, but also an inspiring father-son tale that audiences everywhere can relate to. We all respect the game and history, so I am confident Jason and the filmmaking team will do this story justice.”

Tom Morris started his golfing life in his home town of St Andrews, Scotland as a club and ball maker. Morris went on to found the “Open” Championship at Prestwick, on a course that he had designed, in 1860. He was runner-up that year, but set aside his initial disappointment with four subsequent wins as the burgeoning competition developed, and he became the oldest Open winner in 1867, at the age of 46. His son Tommy, the first touring professional, went on to surpass his father as a player. Both Tom Morris senior and junior have set records that still stand today. Both have been recognized by induction into The World Golf Hall Of Fame. http://tommyshonor.com/

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ABOUT WIND CHILL MEDIA GROUP
Wind Chill Media Group, LLC provides pre-production and post-production of feature length film projects, ranging from script development to theatrical, video and television distribution of both in-house and acquired content.

Wind Chill’s projects include the critically acclaimed film Just Write, winner of a number of awards and starring “Entourage’s” Jeremy Piven, Sherilynn Fenn and Jo Beth Williams. Wind Chill is also responsible for the creation of the projects successful soundtrack.

Together with Turtles Crossing, Wind Chill distributed Misadventures of Margaret starring Parker Posey. Wind Chill is known for selecting solid marketable independent projects for distribution. Currently, Wind Chill has developed two reality-based television series – “Comings and Goings” and “Recipe for Disaster”. The company also is currently developing two feature film projects – Tommy’s Honor and Dolphin Bay.

ABOUT PICTUREHOUSE
Picturehouse, a New York-based independent film marketing and distribution company, reopened its doors with founder Bob Berney at the helm in 2013. The company has an exclusive, multi-year output deal with Netflix and released Metallica Through the Never, a 3-D feature starring members of the iconic rock band and Dane DeHaan (Chronicle, Place Beyond the Pines, The Amazing Spider-Man 2), in Fall 2013. Picturehouse has also acquired North American rights to The Great Gilly Hopkins, an adaptation of Katherine Paterson’s award-winning young adult novel, to be directed by Stephen Herek (101 Dalmatians, Mr. Holland’s Opus) from the script by David Paterson (Bridge to Terabithia), and produced by William Teitler (The Polar Express, What Maisie Knew, Mr. Holland’s Opus).

Press Release: Film Society of Lincoln Center Hosts Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

From MARTIN SCORSESE, MILESTONE FILM & VIDEO, THE FILM FOUNDATION and THE FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER

THE FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER announces details for Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

21-film series debuts on February 5 with Opening Night screenings of Andrzej Wajda’s MAN OF IRON and Krzysztof Zanussi’s CAMOUFLAGE and includes classic films by Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Krzysztof Kieslowski and Andrzej Munk, among others

New York, NY (January 6, 2014) – The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced today the schedule for Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema, a 21-film series created and organized by Scorsese’s non-profit organization, The Film Foundation in partnership with Propaganda Foundation, DI Factory and CRF, distributed by Milestone Films in cooperation with Janus, featuring classic works from some of Poland’s most accomplished and lauded filmmakers, spanning the period from 1957–1987. Curated by Scorsese from a selection of new digital restorations, the series premieres at the Film Society, February 5-16, and will travel to 30 cities this year. Each film will be presented in brilliantly re-mastered and newly subtitled DCPs.

“Poland has long been home to one of the richest national cinemas, and the period surveyed in this program was an especially fertile one,” said Dennis Lim, the Film Society’s Director of Cinematheque Programming. “We are proud to be partnering with the Film Foundation and Milestone to launch this major national tour. Handpicked by Martin Scorsese, this is an extraordinary selection of films, ranging from classics to rarities, all worthy of discovery and re-discovery.”

Highlights include the Opening Night presentation of Andrzej Wajda’s Palme d’Or winner and Academy Award-nominee MAN OF IRON (1981) about the workers’ strike in Gdańsk that led to the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and Krzysztof Zanussi’s CAMOUFLAGE (1976), a comic story of a contentious relationship between a young linguist and an associate professor; Alexander Ford’s BLACK CROSS (1960), a blockbuster (and the most-viewed Polish film in history) set against a backdrop of medieval battles; Wojciech Has’s mystical film adaptation of THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT (1964), a prize-winner at the Edinburgh and San Sebastian film festivals; Andrzej Munk’s EROICA (1957), a look at the contrast in lives between that of a street-wise bon-vivant and those of righteous Polish officers incarcerated in a German camp during WWII; and Zanussi’s 70s philosophical essay on film incorporating animation, experimental techniques and documentary footage, THE ILLUMINATION (1972).

Other notable films include Jerzy Kawalerowicz’s MOTHER JOAN OF THE ANGELS (1960), NIGHT TRAIN (1959), PHARAOH (1965), Krzysztof Kieslowski’s BLIND CHANCE (1981) and A SHORT FILM ABOUT KILLING (1987), Wajda’s ASHES AND DIAMONDS (1958), INNOCENT SORCERERS (1960), THE PROMISED LAND (1974) and THE WEDDING (1972), and Zanussi’s THE CONSTANT FACTOR (1980).

The genesis of Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema began in December 2011 when Scorsese received an honorary doctoral degree from The Polish National Film, Television, and Theatre School in Łódź, Poland. While there Scorsese met with the Polish organizer of the series, Jędrzej Sabliński—a digital restoration expert now with DI Factory, which provides data processing to motion picture studios and filmmakers. They both discussed the progress of digital film restoration in Poland and how The Film Foundation could help. In the months following his visit, the idea of a North American tour of a series of restored Polish classics came together, with 21 titles selected by Scorsese from the list of digitally restored films. The Film Foundation executive director Margaret Bodde worked with Sabliński to develop the program and recommended Milestone Film as the North American distributor for the series.

Tickets and a discount package for the series will go on sale Thursday, January 16. Single screening tickets are $13; $9 for students and seniors (62+); and $8 for Film Society members. Discount packages start at $30; $24 for students and seniors (62+); and $21 for Film Society members. Discount prices apply with the purchase of tickets to three films or more. Visit FilmLinc.com for more information.

PRESS SCREENING SCHEDULE

Location:
Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center (EBMFC)
144 West 65th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam)

Walter Reade Theater (WRT)
165 West 65th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam)

Wednesday, January 22
10:00AM CAMOUFLAGE (101 min) (EBMFC)

Thursday, January 23
10:00AM JUMP (105 min) (EBMFC)

Friday, January 24
10:00AM MOTHER JOAN OF THE ANGELS (110 min) (WRT)
12:00PM THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT (183 min) (WRT)
3:15PM MAN OF IRON (153 min) (WRT)

Masterpieces of Polish Cinema FILMS & DESCRIPTIONS

Opening Night Selection
CAMOUFLAGE (Barwy ochronne) (1976) 101 min
Director: Krzysztof Zanussi
The shallowness and cynicism of the academic milieu and the hypocrisy of idealism are depicted in the relationship between a young linguist and a diabolical associate professor. A universal story by one of the renowned contemporary Polish directors.
Wednesday, February 5 at 6:00PM – Krzysztof Zanussi will attend the screening.
Friday, February 7 at 7:30PM

Opening Night Selection
MAN OF IRON (Człowiek z żelaza) (1981) 153 min
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Wajda’s Palme d’Or-winning, Oscar®-nominated masterpiece follows the workers’ strike in Gdańsk in August 1980 that led to the formation of the Solidarity trade union.
Wednesday, February 5 at 8:30PM

ASHES AND DIAMONDS (Popiół i diament) (1958) 103 min
Director: Andrzej Wajda
At the end of WWII, a young Polish resistance soldier reaches a crossroads when Nazi rule is replaced by a communist regime that is not what he and his compatriots have been fighting for.
Sunday, February 9 at 6:45PM

AUSTERIA (1982) 107 min
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz
On the first night of WWI, refugees seek sanctuary from the Russian army in a country inn owned by a Jewish family in this intimate drama set against the turbulence of history.
Sunday, February 16 at 9:00PM

BLACK CROSS (Krzyżacy) (1960) 173 min
Director: Aleksander Ford
In this historical blockbuster, the tragic love of Zbyszko and Danusia plays out amidst the Polish-German conflict that lead to the battle of Grunwald.
Monday, February 10 at 8:00PM

BLIND CHANCE (Przypadek) (1981) 123 min
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Kieślowski explores the autonomy of human choices by presenting three alternative versions of the life of 20-year old Witek, whose whole future depends on whether he can catch a train.
Friday, February 14 at 9:30PM
Sunday, February 16 at 2:00PM

THE CONSTANT FACTOR (Constans) (1980) 91 min
Director: Krzysztof Zanussi
A young man who dreams of climbing the Himalayas finds himself compromising his ideals when he takes a job at an international trade company in Zanussi’s award-winning Cannes hit.
Tuesday, February 11 at 9:15PM
Saturday, February 15 at 9:00PM

EROICA (1957) 85 min
Director: Andrzej Munk
Munk contrasts the absurd life of a street-wise bon-vivant with a somber picture of righteous Polish officers incarcerated in a German camp in his ambiguous two-part wartime symphony.
Friday, February 7 at 9:45PM

THE HOUR-GLASS SANATORIUM (Sanatorium pod Klepsydrą) (1973) 124 min
Director: Wojciech Has
Holocaust themes augment this adaptation of Jewish author Bruno Schulz’s visionary and poetic reflection on the nature of time and death, which won the Jury Award at Cannes.
Friday, Feb 14 at 7:00PM
Sunday, Feb 16 at 4:30PM

THE ILLUMINATION (Iluminacja) (1972) 93 min
Director: Krzysztof Zanussi
One of the most interesting works of 1970s Polish cinema. A young provincial man comes to the capital to study physics and must tackle life’s universal questions in this philosophical essay comprising animation, experimental methods and documentary footage.
Friday, February 7 at 2:30PM
Thursday, February 13 at 6:30PM

INNOCENT SORCERERS (Niewinni czarodzieje) (1960) 88 min
Director: Andrzej Wajda
In 1950s Poland, two young people meet in a bar and go from small talk to bed, but as dawn approaches what seemed to be a meaningless episode in their lives gets more complicated.
Sunday, Feb 16 at 7:00PM

JUMP (Salto) (1965) 105 min
Director: Tadeusz Konwicki
In this Polish Western, a man on the run seeks refuge in a ghost town halfway between dream and reality, whose desperate inhabitants can’t decide if he’s a prophet or a common liar.
Sunday, February 9 at 9:00PM

THE LAST DAY OF SUMMER (Ostatni dzień lata) (1958) 62 min
Director: Tadeusz Konwicki
A man and a woman who cannot communicate meet on an empty beach in this subtle tale of a confrontation of two lonely people from which a true closeness cannot result. The film was awarded the Grand Prix in Venice for documentary and short films, as well as the Grand Prix of the EXPO in Brussels and the First Prize of MFF in London.
Monday, Feb 10 at 6:30PM

MOTHER JOAN OF THE ANGELS (Matka Joanna od Aniołów) (1960) 110 min
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz
A young, virtuous exorcist is sent to a mysterious monastery inhabited by beautiful nuns who are said to be possessed by demons in this thrilling and philosophical portrait of human vice.
Saturday, February 8 at 9:00PM
Tuesday, February 11 at 7:00PM

NIGHT TRAIN (Pociąg) (1959) 98 min
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz
A subtle game of emotions between two travelers—changing from mutual aversion to closeness without hope of a future—plays out amidst the human microcosm of a night train.
Sunday, February 9 at 4:30PM

PHARAOH (Faraon) (1965) 152 min
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz
This epic production, complete with huge battle scenes and stunningly choreographed musical pieces, focuses on a young Ramses XIII as he takes over rule of the ancient Egyptian empire.
Friday, February 7 at 4:30PM
Sunday, February 9 at 1:00PM

THE PROMISED LAND (Ziemia Obiecana) (1974) 170 min
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Wajda’s fascinating portrait of the industrial city of Lodz during the birth of gritty 19th century capitalism is also a tale of the strength of masculine friendship.
Saturday, February 15 at 1:30PM

THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT (Rękopis znaleziony w Saragossie) (1964) 183 min
Director: Wojciech Has
Based on one of the greatest works of world literature, a mountain-crossing turns into a sequence of supernatural and frightful events for the skeptical Alphonse van Worden.
Wednesday, February 5 at 2:00PM
Saturday, February 8 at 5:30PM

A SHORT FILM ABOUT KILLING (Krótki film o zabijaniu) (1987) 86 min
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
The paths of three men—a cabbie, a lawyer, and a killer—cross on a somber March day in this psychological and ethical study of murder that launched Kieślowski’s international career.
Thursday, February 13 at 8:30PM

TO KILL THIS LOVE (Trzeba zabić tę miłość) (1972) 92 min
Director: Janusz Morgenstern
As Neil Armstrong lands on the moon, two young Poles kept out of university by communist quotas discover love and life in a big city, dreaming of an independence they cannot enjoy.
Saturday, February 15 at 7:00PM

THE WEDDING (Wesele) (1972) 107 min
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Characters from all walks of life come together at a 19th century wedding party and things take a turn for the uncanny when ghosts from their pasts mingle with the joyful celebrations.
Saturday, February 15 at 4:45PM

PUBLIC SCREENING SCHEDULE

All screenings in the Walter Reade Theater unless otherwise noted
165 West 65th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam)

Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center (EBMFC)
144 West 65th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam)

Wednesday, February 5
2:00PM THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT (183 min)
6:00PM CAMOUFLAGE (106 min)
8:30PM MAN OF IRON (153 min)

Thursday, February 6
No Masterpieces of Polish Cinema screenings

Friday, February 7
2:30PM THE ILLUMINATION (93 min)
4:30PM PHAROAH (152 min)
7:30PM CAMOUFLAGE (101 min)
9:45PM EROICA (85 min)

Saturday, February 8
5:30PM THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT (183 min)
9:00PM MOTHER JOAN OF THE ANGELS (110 min)

Sunday, February 9
1:00PM PHARAOH (152 min)
4:30PM NIGHT TRAIN (98 min)
6:45PM ASHES AND DIAMONDS (103 min)
9:00PM JUMP (104 min)

Monday, February 10
6:30PM THE LAST DAY OF SUMMER (62 min)
8:00PM BLACK CROSS (173 min)

Tuesday, February 11
7:00PM MOTHER JOAN OF THE ANGELS (110 min)
9:15PM THE CONSTANT FACTOR (91 min)

Wednesday, February 12
No Masterpieces of Polish Cinema screenings

Thursday, February 13
6:30PM THE ILLUMINATION (93 min) **(EBMFC)
8:30PM A SHORT FILM ABOUT KILLING (86 min) **(EBMFC)

Friday, February 14
7:00PM THE HOUR-GLASS SANATORIUM (124 min) **(EBMFC)
9:30PM BLIND CHANCE (123 min) **(EBMFC)

Saturday, February 15
1:30PM THE PROMISED LAND (170 min)
4:45PM THE WEDDING (107 min)
7:00PM TO KILL THIS LOVE (92 min)
9:00PM THE CONSTANT FACTOR (91 min)

Sunday, February 16
2:00PM BLIND CHANCE (123 min)
4:30PM THE HOUR-GLASS SANATORIUM (124 min)
7:00PM INNOCENT SORCERERS (88 min)
9:00PM AUSTERIA (107 min)

Film Society of Lincoln Center was founded in 1969 to celebrate American and international cinema, the Film Society of Lincoln Center works to recognize established and emerging filmmakers, support important new work, and to enhance the awareness, accessibility and understanding of the moving image. The Film Society produces the renowned New York Film Festival, a curated selection of the year’s most significant new film work, and presents or collaborates on other annual New York City festivals including Dance on Camera, Film Comment Selects, Human Rights Watch Film Festival, LatinBeat, New Directors/New Films, NewFest, New York African Film Festival, New York Asian Film Festival, New York Jewish Film Festival, Open Roads: New Italian Cinema and Rendez-vous With French Cinema. In addition to publishing the award-winning Film Comment Magazine, The Film Society recognizes an artist’s unique achievement in film with the prestigious Chaplin Award. The Film Society’s state-of-the-art Walter Reade Theater and the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, located at Lincoln Center, provide a home for year round programs and the New York City film community.

The Film Society receives generous, year-round support from Royal Bank of Canada, Jaeger-LeCoultre, American Airlines, The New York Times, Stonehenge Partners, Stella Artois, the Kobal Collection, Trump International Hotel and Tower, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts. For more information, visit www.filmlinc.com and follow @filmlinc on Twitter.

Milestone Films was started in 1990 by Amy Heller and Dennis Doros and has since gained an international reputation for releasing classic cinema masterpieces, groundbreaking documentaries and American independent features. Thanks to the company’s work in rediscovering and releasing important films such as Charles Burnett’s Killer of Sheep, Kent Mackenzie’s The Exiles, Lionel Rogosin’s On the Bowery, Mikhail Kalatozov’s I Am Cuba, Marcel Ophuls’s The Sorrow and the Pity, the Mariposa Film Group’s Word is Out, and the films of Shirley Clarke, Milestone has long occupied a position as one of the country’s most influential independent distributors. The company’s many awards include five Archival and Film Heritage Awards from the National Society of Film Critics; two commendations from the New York Film Critics Circle; the International Film Seminars’ prestigious Leo Award; and honors from the Fort Lee Film Commission, Il Cinema Ritrovato, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and Anthology Film Archives. Doros has served on the Board of Directors of the Association of the Moving Image Archivists since 2008 and established the organization’s press office. www.milestonefilms.com

The Film Foundation was created in 1990 by Martin Scorsese, The Film Foundation (film-foundation.org) is dedicated to protecting and preserving motion picture history. By working in partnership with the leading archives and studios, the foundation has saved over 600 films. In addition to the preservation, restoration, and presentation of classic cinema, the foundation teaches young people about film language and history through The Story of Movies, the organization’s groundbreaking educational program that is currently used in over 100,000 classrooms. Joining Scorsese on the board of directors are Woody Allen, Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Curtis Hanson, Peter Jackson, Ang Lee, George Lucas, Alexander Payne, Robert Redford, and Steven Spielberg. The Film Foundation is aligned with the Directors Guild of America. Margaret Bodde is executive director and Jennifer Ahn is managing director of the foundation.

Propaganda Foundation is an independent organization aimed at cultural development in the fields of contemporary art, theater, and film. Established in 2009, Propaganda focuses on projects that approach issues of cultural identity, peripheral areas of art, and the international exchange of culture. The foundation maintains ongoing exhibition programs in its own gallery space in Warsaw, acts as an independent publisher, and coordinates collaborative projects with similar international institutions. An art curator with many years of experience, Jacek Sosnowski is president of Propaganda Foundation.

DI Factory was co-founded by Jędrzej Sabliński, CEO. As a member of film industry since 1993, Mr. Sabliński worked as sales director of motion picture products for Eastman Kodak. Later, as president of The Chimney Pot, Warsaw, he initiated the development and introduction of digital image processing services. Mr. Sabliński supervised post production and digital image processing for more than 100 feature films. In 2008 he introduced the process of digital feature film restoration in Poland and oversaw the digital restoration of more than 30 films, including The Saragossa Manuscript, Pharaoh and Promised Land.

CRF (Digital Film Repository) manages the remastering and distribution of digital collections and has helped coordinate the digital remastering for KinoRP Project. The Digital Film Repository has participated in the digital remastering of more than 120 films.

The films featured in Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema are represented by three Polish studios:

Film Studio Kadr is where Andrzej Wajda, Andrzej Munk, Kazimierz Kutz and Tadeusz Konwicki created some of their most important films. Since it launched a new chapter of its operations in 2008, Kadr’s lineup of productions has included Borys Lankosz’s Reverse; Jan Komasa’s Suicide Room; Marek Koterski’s Man, Chicks Are Just Different; Leszek Dawid’s You Are God; and most recently, Lukasz Barczyk’s superproduction, Influence.

Tor Film Production was founded in 1967 and has produced TV series, miniseries, documentaries and more than 100 feature films. The studio also provides services for many foreign production companies. Stanisław Różewicz was Tor’s longtime artistic director (1967– 68 and 1972–80). Since 1980, filmmaker Krzysztof Zanussi has served as the studio’s director.

Zebra Film Studio was established in 1988 by founder and director Juliusz Machulski, who is well known as a filmmaker, writer and producer of many popular Polish films. Zebra Film Studio represents 130 feature films, 39 television films and 22 television series. The studio participates in both national and international co-productions.

Press Release: Brigade’s 2014 Sundance Film Festival Shorts Slate

2014 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL: SHORTS SLATE

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Below please find a list of the shorts Brigade will be handling at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival (in alphabetical order).

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DAWN

Directed by: Rose McGowan
Written by: M.A. Fortin, Joshua John Miller
Cast: Tara Barr, Reiley McClendon, Hannah Marks, Michael Moskewicz, Julia Sanford, John Grady

Dawn (Tara Barr) is a quiet young teenager living in Kennedy era America who longs for something or someone to free her from her sheltered life. When she strikes up an innocent flirtation with the boy who works at her local gas station (Reiley McClendon), she thinks that he is perhaps the answer to her teenage dreams. Though when she invites the boy and his friends into her otherwise cloistered world, she gets a lot more than she bargained for.

The taut directorial debut of Rose McGowan (DEATHPROOF, SCREAM), DAWN is a disturbing tale of a young girl’s budding sexuality and one’s desire to experience the unknown.

TRT: 17 minutes
Country: USA
Language: English

Genre: Thriller

Screenings:
Premiere Screening – Thursday, January 16th, 8:30pm (Egyptian, Park City)
Public Screening #1 – Friday, January 17th, 11:30pm (Prospector, Park City)
Public Screening #2 – Saturday, January 18th, 3:00pm (Broadway 6, Salt Lake City)
Public Screening #3 – Wednesday, January 22nd, 6:00pm (Yarrow, Park City)
Public Screening #4 – Thursday, January 23rd, 12:00pm (Sundance Resort, Provo)

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DIG

Written and Directed by: Toby Halbrooks
Cast: Mallory Mahoney, Jonny Mars, Augustine Frizzell, Myles Brooks, Kaitlyn Neill, Kelsey Walton

A young girl (Mallory Mahoney) watches her father dig a hole in their backyard. Her father (Jonny Mars) becomes increasingly unraveled as he digs and draws negative attention from his neighbors – and disdain from his wife – while his daughter vehemently defends him. As the hole grows larger, the suspicion over his actions also grows until tensions reach a boiling point.

Director Toby Halbrooks creates an intriguing slice of life with DIG, marking his directorial debut. A former member of The Polyphonic Spree, he had two films in competition at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival: AIN’T THE BODIES SAINTS (as Producer) and UPSTREAM COLOR (as Co-Producer). He is also Producer on the Sundance 2014 film LISTEN UP PHILIP. With AIN’T THEM BODIES SAINTS Director David Lowery and James M. Johnston, he formed the production company Sailor Bear.

TRT: 10 minutes
Country: USA
Language: English

Genre: Drama

Screenings:
Premiere Screening – Saturday, January 18th, 6:00pm (Broadway 6, Salt Lake City)
Public Screening #1 – Sunday, January 19th, 6:30pm (Redstone 1, Park City)
Public Screening #2 – Wednesday, January 22nd, 9:00pm (Temple Theatre, Park City)
Public Screening #3 – Saturday, January 25th, 8:30pm (Holiday 1, Park City)

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RAT PACK RAT

Written and Directed by: Todd Rohal
Cast: Eddie Rouse, Steve Little, Margie Beegle

A mother hires a Sammy Davis, Jr. impersonator (Eddie Rouse) from a Craigslist ad to cheer up her Rat Pack-obsessed son (Steve Little, EASTBOUND AND DOWN) in his final hours. However, what starts as a fleeting soft shoe performance – and a quick $100 – for “Sammy” morphs into a reading of the sick man’s last rites.

In RAT PACK RAT, Sundance vet Todd Rohal (THE CATCHISM CATACLYSM, THE GUATAMALAN HANDSHAKE) creates a bizarre universe that perfectly juxtaposes the poignant and the grotesque to an unnerving and hilarious effect. An incredibly unique film, RAT PACK RAT makes you yearn for a longer peak into Rohal’s ingenious brain

TRT: 19 minutes
Country: USA
Language: English

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Screenings:
Premiere Screening – Friday, January 17th, 9:30pm (Redstone 1, Park City)
Public Screening #1 – Saturday, January 18th, 9:00pm (Broadway 6, Park City)
Public Screening #2 – Tuesday, January 21st, 2:30pm (Prospector, Park City)
Public Screening #3 – Friday, January 24th, 1:00pm (Holiday 4, Park City)

Press Release: Harison Ford Joins the Cast of “The Age of Adaline”

HARRISON FORD JOINS THE AGE OF ADALINE

Ford Joins Blake Lively and Ellen Burstyn in Romantic Drama for Lionsgate, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Lakeshore Entertainment

SANTA MONICA and LOS ANGELES, CA (January 15, 2014) – Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Lakeshore Entertainment have cast Harrison Ford in the upcoming romantic drama THE AGE OF ADALINE. Ford joins previously announced stars Blake Lively and Academy Award®-winner Ellen Burstyn. Principal photography will begin in March with Lionsgate set to release the film in the US.

“We are very excited to be working with Harrison Ford,” stated Lakeshore’s President Gary Lucchesi. “He’s one of the great actors of our time, and will be perfect for the role of William in THE AGE OF ADALINE.”

The original screenplay was written by J. Mills Goodloe and Salvador Paskowitz, with revisions by Allison Burnett, and will be directed by Lee Toland Krieger. THE AGE OF ADALINE will be produced by Sidney Kimmel, Tom Rosenberg, and Gary Lucchesi. Jim Tauber and Eric Reid will executive produce.

“We are absolutely thrilled to have such a talented superstar as Harrison Ford join this project and can’t wait for production to get underway,” said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-Chairs Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger.

THE AGE OF ADALINE follows the miraculous life of 29-year old Adaline, who stops aging after recovering from a near-fatal accident. Over the course of the 20th century she embarks on an epic, but isolated worldwide journey, keeping her secret, until she meets a man who forever alters her life.

Ford recently starred in ENDER’S GAME and 42. He is represented by UTA.

ABOUT LAKESHORE ENTERTAINMENT
Lakeshore Entertainment is one of the leading independent production, finance and international sales and distribution companies. Founded in 1994 by Chairman and CEO Tom Rosenberg, Lakeshore has produced more than 60 films including the Academy Award® winning MILLION DOLLAR BABY as well as RUNAWAY BRIDE, THE UGLY TRUTH, THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES, the UNDERWORLD franchise, EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE, CRANK, THE GIFT, AUTUMN IN NEW YORK and ARLINGTON ROAD. Lakeshore’s recent films include THE LINCOLN LAWYER, starring Matthew McConaughey, UNDERWORLD AWAKENING starring Kate Beckinsale and released by Sony Pictures, and STAND UP GUYS, starring Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin. Lakeshore is currently in post-production on THE VATICAN TAPES starring Michael Pena, Dougray Scott, and Djimon Hounsou. Upcoming Lakeshore releases include: I, FRANKENSTEIN with Aaron Eckhart, produced in conjunction with Lionsgate and Hopscotch Pictures, which Lionsgate will release January 24, 2014, and WALK OF SHAME, starring Elizabeth Banks and James Marsden, which will be released in April 2014.

ABOUT LIONSGATE
Lionsgate is a leading global entertainment company with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, family entertainment, digital distribution, new channel platforms and international distribution and sales. Lionsgate currently has more than 30 television shows on 20 networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as the multiple Emmy Award-winning Mad Men and Nurse Jackie, the comedy Anger Management, the network series Nashville, the syndication success The Wendy Williams Show and the critically-acclaimed new series Orange is the New Black.

Its feature film business has been fueled by such recent successes as the blockbuster first and second installments of THE HUNGER GAMES franchise, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN – PART 2, NOW YOU SEE ME, KEVIN HART: LET ME EXPLAIN, WARM BODIES, THE EXPENDABLES 2, THE POSSESSION, SINISTER, ARBITRAGE, MUD and Pantelion Films’ breakout hit INSTRUCTIONS NOT INCLUDED, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.

Lionsgate’s home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rate. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 15,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company’s core businesses. The Lionsgate and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.

Press Release: GoDigital and Variance Films Merge into Amplify

GODIGITAL AND VARIANCE FILMS TO MERGE, CREATING AMPLIFY, AN ALL-RIGHTS FILM DISTRIBUTION COMPANY

Innovative new company to release 7-10 films per year across all platforms

New York, NY (January 15, 2014) GoDigital, Inc. and Variance Films are merging and will rebrand as Amplify, a new all-rights film distribution company, it was announced today by GoDigital CEO Logan Mulvey and Variance Films President Dylan Marchetti.

Marchetti will serve as Amplifys Executive Vice President of Theatrical Distribution & Marketing and will join Kent Sanderson in Amplifys New York City office. Sanderson was recently brought on to serve as Executive Vice President of Distribution & Merchandising from Focus Features. Mulvey will function as Amplifys CEO, overseeing operations and administration, and will work directly with Marchetti and Sanderson to lead the merged company.

Amplify plans to release seven to ten films per year across all platforms, with an emphasis on matching quality films with the proper release strategy on a film-by-film basis, whether that be a day and date, traditional, or completely non-traditional pattern. Amplify will be attending the upcoming Sundance Film Festival in a full acquisitions capacity.

Variance and GoDigital will continue to exist as individual brands under Amplify, with Variance partnering directly with filmmakers to release the most exciting independent and foreign films, and GoDigital remaining a major player in the digital distribution space. Marchetti will lead the Variance Films business unit with Sanderson overseeing the core digital distribution business of GoDigital.

Said Mulvey of the announcement, Dylan and his team at Variance are among the best in the business as theatrical distributors and marketers, and I am truly looking forward to seeing their talents applied to a wider array of films at Amplify.

For the last five and a half years, Variance has had the privilege of helping everyone from first-time filmmakers to the founders of independent film release their films theatrically. Now its time to take the next step, and GoDigital is the perfect partner to do it with, said Dylan Marchetti. The industry is evolving fast, and Amplify is going to be the best of both worlds: aggressive in making sure that our films stand out from the pack in a very loud way, while remaining constantly innovative and filmmaker-friendly.

The deal was orchestrated by Kevin Iwashina on behalf of Preferred Ventures, the digital media VC launched by former Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Chris Kelly and FreeCreditReport.com founder Ed Ojdana. Preferred Ventures has been a majority shareholder of GoDigital, Inc. since 2012.

ABOUT GODIGITAL
GoDigital was co-founded by Mulvey in 2008, originally as a distributor of music and filmed entertainment content via digital platforms. In 2012, GoDigital received an investment from Preferred Ventures, the digital media VC fund launched by FreeCreditReport.com founder and former Experian Interactive CEO Ed Ojdana with former Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Chris Kelly. Both Ojdana and Kelly joined the GoDigital Board with Ojdana serving as its Chairman. In 2013, Internet Entrepreneur Charles Chase joined GoDigital as an investor and Board Member.

ABOUT VARIANCE FILMS
Founded in 2008 by Dylan Marchetti, Variance partners with leading independent filmmakers to distribute the most exciting independent films to theaters across the US and Canada, using innovative release strategies that focus on collaborative, grassroots marketing tactics to drive audiences to theaters. Recent and upcoming releases include Dave Grohls SOUND CITY, Carl Deal and Tia Lessins CITIZEN KOCH, Roger Ross Williams GOD LOVES UGANDA, Spike Lees RED HOOK SUMMER, John Sayles GO FOR SISTERS and AMIGO, Johnnie Tos DRUG WAR, and Wilson Yips IP MAN and IP MAN 2: LEGEND OF THE GRANDMASTER.

Press Release: Two Films by Josephine Decker to Debut at 2014 Berlin Film Festival

2014 BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL TO PREMIERE TWO FILMS BY JOSEPHINE DECKER

WORLD PREMIERE OF “THOU WAST MILD & LOVELY” STARRING JOE SWANBERG AND SOPHIE TRAUB

WORLD PREMIERE OF “BUTTER ON THE LATCH” STARRING SARAH SMALL AND ISOLDE CHAE-LAWRENCE

January 16, 2014 (New York, NY) — A powerful new female voice in indie film has arrived. The 2014 Berlin International Film Festival will premiere two films from Josephine Decker next month. About Josephine Decker, Lead Programmer of the Berlinale Forum Section, Christoph Terhechte, says, “I haven’t seen such a powerful filmmaking in a long time.”

“Thou Wast Mild & Lovely” and “Butter on the Latch” are both set in sensuous, subtly dangerous spaces, and blossom into wildly climactic endings.

A filmmaker and performer, Decker has collaborated on many works with acclaimed indie director Joe Swanberg. In a role reversal, she directs him in “Thou Wast Mild and Lovely,” world premiering in the Berlinale 2014 Forum Section. Set in the delicate blue hills of Kentucky, “Thou Wast Mild and Lovely” is a highly intimate and subtly erotic thriller centering on a father and daughter whose world is turned upside down upon the arrival of a young farmhand. The film features scorching central performances by Swanberg and Sophie Traub who makes her return to the screen after starring in Hollywood blockbusters as a child actress in films such as “Tenderness” opposite Russell Crowe. Robert Longstreet (“Take Shelter”) also stars.

The Berlinale 2014 Forum section will also feature the world premiere of Decker’s unique “Butter on the Latch,” a work-in-progress version of which screened at the Maryland Film Festival last May. The work-in-progress version has received acclaim on the festival circuit and was called “an utter exhilaration of cinematic imagination” by The New Yorker and “a sexy, wild romp you have to see to believe” by Indiewire. It was recently named to Film Comment’s “Best Undistributed Films of 2013” list. “Butter on the Latch” follows Sarah (Sarah Small) and Isolde (Isolde Chae-Lawrence), two friends who reunite during their stay at a Balkan music camp in the beautiful woods of Mendocino, California. Their trip, initially a fun bonding experience, takes a southward turn when Sarah becomes interested in handsome fellow camper Steph (Charlie Hewson).

While unafraid of pushing boundaries to their extremes and of dismissing convention, Decker makes strong narrative choices in both films. Exploring a darkness akin to that of murder ballads and folk tales, she draws from the greats. “Thou Wast Mild and Lovely” was inspired by Steinbeck’s East of Eden while “Butter on the Latch” grew out of a Bulgarian folk song.

The double-bill will be a return to Berlin for Josephine. She played one of the lead roles in Joe Swanberg’s “Art History,” which premiered in Berlin in 2011.

Josephine is thrilled to return to Berlinale with these strong films. She says, “Going to the Berlinale with two films is a life dream. My time there three years ago was like an entrance to another world – I met filmmakers from around the globe, and was deeply inspired by the sense of possibility at such an enormous festival and market. I cannot wait to return to the bristling excitement of such a place with two films of my own!”

Paradigm is handling North American Sales on “Thou Wast Mild and Lovely.”

ABOUT JOSEPHINE DECKER
Having started her career in documentaries, helping to produce for A&E, ABC and Discovery, Josephine Decker often builds her work from improvisation and collaboration with real communities. In addition to making her own work, Josephine Decker spent the past two years acting in films by directors like Joe Swanberg, Onur Tukel, Adam Wingard and Spencer Parsons, producing short videos for United Way, and creative producing a doc for performance artist Sarah Small.

In 2008, Josephine directed the documentary feature “Bi The Way,”exploring the rise of bisexuality in America and available on Logo and Netflix. The film screened at SXSW, Silverdocs, and about 100 festivals worldwide and received write‐ups in The Austin Chronicle, Curve Magazine, The New York Times, New York Magazine, and The Dallas Morning News, among others. Josephine’s short films and music videos have played at MoMA, SXSW, Cucalorus, Maryland, and Austin Film Festival, have won children’s programming awards, and can be seen on PBS and Kidzbop. Her short “Me The Terrible,” about a child pirate who tries to conquer New York City, received a glowing review in The New Yorker.

Fortunate to be collaborating with artists she admires, Josephine also raises awareness about environmental issues through her performance art.

Press Release: Magnolia Pictures and Paramount Pictures Collaborate on Distribution for “Happy Christmas”

Magnolia Pictures and Paramount Pictures Collaborate on Worldwide Distribution of Sundance Feature HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Park City, UT (January 16, 2014) – The Wagner/Cuban Company’s Magnolia Pictures and Paramount Pictures announced today a collaboration to bring HAPPY CHRISTMAS to theatrical and home viewing audiences. The new film, written and directed by Joe Swanberg (Drinking Buddies) and produced by Swanberg, Peter Gilbert and co-produced by Alicia Van Couvering, will have its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival this Sunday. HAPPY CHRISTMAS stars Anna Kendrick, Melanie Lynskey,
Mark Webber, Lena Dunham and Swanberg.

Magnolia Pictures is handling U.S. theatrical and VOD distribution, while Paramount Home Media Distribution will handle U.S. physical home entertainment and all international rights.

Anna Kendrick plays Jenny, an irresponsible 20-something who comes to Chicago to live with her older brother Jeff (Swanberg), a young filmmaker living a happy existence with his novelist wife Kelly (Lynskey) and their two-year-old son. Jenny’s arrival shakes up their quiet domesticity as she and her friend Carson (Dunham) instigate an evolution in Kelly’s life and career. Meanwhile, Jenny strikes up a rocky relationship with the family’s baby sitter-cum-pot dealer (Webber).

This is Kendrick’s second collaboration with Joe Swanberg following Drinking Buddies, also distributed by Magnolia. As in Drinking Buddies, Swanberg’s unique improvisational techniques in HAPPY CHRISTMAS create a dramatic experience full of naturalism, humor and warmth.

“I’m excited to continue my relationship with the innovative people at Magnolia and to start a new relationship with Paramount,” said Swanberg. “HAPPY CHRISTMAS is a personal and important film for me and I can’t imagine better partners to help connect it with audiences around the world.”

“We’re thrilled to be in business with Joe again on this lovely gem of a film,” said Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles. “Joe’s skill with actors is formidable, and this terrific cast gives wonderful performances all around.”

“We are looking forward to bringing this original, fresh film to home viewing audiences in the U.S. and internationally,” said Syrinthia Studer, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Acquisitions, Paramount Home Media Distribution. “HAPPY CHRISTMAS has broad appeal, an exceptional cast and an engaging story that we believe will be well received both here and abroad.”

The deal was negotiated by Paramount Home Media Distribution, Magnolia SVP of Acquisitions

Dori Begley and Magnolia VP of Acquisitions Peter Van Steemburg, with Swanberg, Alicia Van Couvering and André Des Rochers of Gray Krauss Stratford Sandler Des Rochers LLP on behalf of the filmmakers.

Magnolia is eyeing a theatrical release in the summer of 2014.

About Magnolia
Magnolia Pictures (www.magpictures.com) is the theatrical and home entertainment distribution arm of the Wagner/Cuban Companies, a vertically-integrated group of media properties co-owned by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban that also includes the Landmark Theatres chain and AXS TV. Recent releases include the riveting killer whale doc Blackfish, David Gordon Green’s Prince Avalanche, Terrence Malick’s To The Wonder, Joe Swanberg’s Drinking Buddies,Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt, Danish thriller A Hijacking, Kevin Macdonald’s How I Live Now, hit documentaries Muscle Shoals, Jiro Dreams of Sushi and The Queen of Versailles, and the Academy Award nominated A Royal Affair. Magnolia’s upcoming releases include Lars Von Trier’s Nymphomaniac, Richard Ayoade’s dystopian vision The Double, the raucous Alan Partridge starring Steve Coogan, Lukas Moodysson’s We Are the Best!, Norwegian thrillers Pioneer and Ragnarok, and many more.

About Paramount Home Media Distribution
Paramount Home Media Distribution (PHMD) is part of Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment. PPC is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. The PHMD division oversees PPC’s home entertainment, digital and television distribution activities worldwide. The division is responsible for the sales, marketing and distribution of home entertainment content on behalf of Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and CBS and for providing home entertainment fulfillment services for certain DreamWorks Animation Home Entertainment titles. PHMD additionally manages global licensing of studio content and distribution across worldwide digital and television distribution platforms including online, mobile and portable devices and emerging technologies.

Press Release: Strategy PR’s Spring 2014 Release Slate

2014 SPRING FILM PREVIEW

Joe Lynch’s KNIGHTS OF BADASSDOM (Distributor: eOne Films US; opens January 21 TUGG, February 11 VOD)
Starring Peter Dinklage, Ryan Kwanten, Steve Zahn, Jimmy Simpson and Summer Glau

Live-action role players conjure up a demon from Hell by mistake and they must deal with the consequences.

Denis Villeneuve’s ENEMY (Distributor: A24 Films; opens March 14)
Starring Jaky Gyllenhaal, Mélanie Laurent, Isabella Rosellini and Sarah Gadon

A man seeks out his exact look-alike after spotting him in a movie.

Jeremiah Chechik’s THE RIGHT KIND OF WRONG (Distributor: Magnolia Pictures; opens March 14, February 6 VOD)
Starring Ryan Kwanten, Sara Canning, Ryan McPartlin, Kristen Hager, James A. Woods, Will Sasso and Catherine O’Hara

A young man falls in love with a bride on the day of her wedding – to another man.

Raymond De Felitta’s ROB THE MOB (Distributor: Millennium Entertainment; opens March 21)
Starring Michael Pitt, Nina Arianda, Andy Garcia, Michael Rispoli, Samira Wiley and Ray Romano

A couple targets the Mafia for heists and stumbles upon something big at an underground club.

James Griffiths’ CUBAN FURY (Distributor: eOne Films US; opens April 2014)
Starring Rashida Jones, Nick Frost, Chris O’Dowd and Olivia Colman

A former salsa prodigy attempts a comeback years after his career was ruined.

James Gray’s THE IMMIGRANT (Distributor: RADiUS-TWC; opens April 2014)
Starring Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Renner

This 1920s set drama stars Marion Cotillard as Ewa, a Polish woman who, after immigrating to New York in the hope of a better life for her and her sister, falls prey to a mysterious man named Bruno (Joaquin Phoenix).

Steven Knight’s LOCKE (Distributor: A24 Films; opens April 25)
Starring Tom Hardy, Ruth Wilson, Olivia Colman, Andrew Scott, Tom Holland and Bill Milner

A man’s life unravels during a 90-minutes race against time.

Richard Linklater’s BOYHOOD (Distributor: IFC Films; opens May/June TBD)
Starring: Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Ellar Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater

One family’s journey shot over the course of 12 years.

Perri Peltz and Geeta Gandbhir’s REMEMBERING THE ARTIST: ROBERT DE NIRO, SR.(Distributor: HBO Documentary Films; opens Summer 2014)
Remembering The Artist: Robert De Niro, SR. is a portrait of the esteemed figurative painter by the man who knew him best: his son. In intimate interviews, Robert De Niro, Jr. profiles an artist whose talent went largely unrecognized as the pop art movement swept the nation, and looks at the relationship between a father and son.

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KNIGHTS OF BADASSDOM

KNIGHTS OF BADASSDOM follows three best friends (Peter Dinklage, Steve Zahn and Ryan Kwanten) and dedicated LARPers (Live Action Role Players) as they take to the woods to reenact a dungeons and dragons-like scenario fresh out of the mythical Middle Ages. Trouble arises after they unwittingly conjure up some serious evil in the form of a blood-lusting Succubus, from the pits of hell.

Fantasy and reality collide on the Fields of Evermore in an all-out epic battle of make-believe wizards, demons and assorted mythical creatures. Their courage and friendship is put to the test as they attempt to vanquish the evil they have summoned. Will the group prove to simply be foam sword-wielding LARPers, or true “Knights of Badassdom?”

Release Date: January 21st (TUGG), February 11th (VOD)
Director: Joe Lynch
Writer: Kevin Dreyfuss and Matt Wall
Featuring: Peter Dinklage, Ryan Kwanten, Steve Zahn, Jimmy Simpson and Summer Glau
Run Time: 85 minutes
Distributor: eOne

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ENEMY

Academy Award Nominee Jake Gyllenhaal reteams with his PRISONERS director, Academy Award Nominee Denis Villeneuve, in this sexy and hypnotically surreal psychological thriller that breathes new life into the doppleganger tradition.

Adam Bell (Gyllenhaal) is a glum, disheveled history professor, who seems disinterested even in his beautiful girlfriend, Mary (Laurent). Watching a movie on the recommendation of a colleague, Adam spots his double, a bit-part actor named Anthony Clair, and decides to track him down. The identical men meet and their lives become bizarrely and irrevocably intertwined.

Gyllenhaal is transfixing as both Adam and Anthony, provoking empathy as well as disapproval while embodying two distinct personas. With masterfully controlled attention to detail, Villeneuve takes us on an enigmatic and gripping journey through a world that is both familiar and strange – and hard to shake off long after its final, unnerving image.

ENEMY, adapted from Nobel Prize-winning author José Saramago’s 2004 novel The Double, is about the power of the subconscious. In the end, only one man can survive.

Release Date: March 14th
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Writer: Javier Gullón (screenplay), José Saramago (novel)
Featuring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mélanie Laurent, Isabella Rosellini and Sarah Gadon
Run Time: 90 minutes
Distributor: A24

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THE RIGHT KIND OF WRONG

In this new romantic comedy, The Right Kind of Wrong, Leo Palamino is a failed-writer-turned-dishwasher made famous for his many flaws and shortcomings in a blog called “Why You Suck,” a huge Internet success written by his ex-wife. Then Leo meets Colette, the girl of his dreams… on the day she is marrying the perfect man. And so, the ultimate underdog story begins as Leo, a fearless dreamer, risks all to show Colette and the whole wide world all that is right with a man famous for being wrong.

Release Date: March 14th (Theatrical), February 6 (VOD)
Director: Jeremiah Chechik
Writer: Megan Martin
Featuring: Ryan Kwanten, Sara Canning, Ryan McPartlin, Kristen Hager, James A. Woods, Will Sasso and Catherine O’Hara
Run Time: 97 minutes
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures

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ROB THE MOB

ROB THE MOB is the true-life story of a crazy-in-love Queens couple who robbed a series of mafia social clubs and got away with it…for a while…until they stumble upon a score bigger than they ever planned and become targets of both the mob and the FBI.

Release Date: March 21st
Director: Raymond De Felitta
Writer: Jonathan Fernandez
Featuring: Michael Pitt, Nina Arianda, Andy Garcia, Michael Rispoli, Samira Wiley and Ray Romano
Run Time: 104 minutes
Distributor: Millennium Entertainment

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CUBAN FURY

Shamed into leaving the world of professional dance, former prodigy Bruce Garrett (Nick Frost) has resigned himself to a hapless and ordinary existence. But after Bruce learns that his beautiful new boss Julia (Rashida Jones) has a secret love for salsa dancing, he decides to reignite the fire in his heels and get back on the dance floor. Unfortunately for him, Drew (Chris O’Dowd), an obnoxious alpha male coworker, has also set his sights on Julia, leaving Bruce no choice but to lace up his shoes and unleash his inner fury.

Release Date: April TBD
Director: James Griffiths
Writer: Jon Brown
Featuring: Rashida Jones, Nick Frost, Chris O’Dowd and Olivia Colman
Run Time: 98 minutes
Distributor: eOne

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THE IMMIGRANT

1921. In search of a new start and the American dream, Ewa Cybulski and her sister sail to New York from their native Poland. When they reach Ellis Island, doctors discover that Magda is ill, and the two women are separated. Ewa is released onto the mean streets of Manhattan while her sister is quarantined. Alone, with nowhere to turn and desperate to reunite with Magda, Ewa quickly falls prey to Bruno, a charming but wicked man who takes her in and forces her into prostitution.

The arrival of Orlando – a dashing stage magician who is also Bruno’s cousin – restores her self-belief and hopes for a brighter future, but she has not reckoned with Bruno’s jealousy.

Release Date: April TBD
Director: James Gray
Writer: James Gray, Ric Menello
Featuring: Jeremy Renner, Joaquin Phoenix and Marion Cotillard
Run Time: 120 minutes
Distributor: RADiUS-TWC

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LOCKE

Ivan Locke (Hardy) has worked diligently to craft the life he has envisioned, dedicating himself to the job that he loves and the family he adores. On the eve of the biggest challenge of his career, Ivan receives a phone call that sets in motion a series of events that will unravel his family, job, and soul. All taking place over the course of one absolutely riveting car ride, LOCKE is an exploration of how one decision can lead to the complete collapse of a life.

Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Steven Knight (EASTERN PROMISES, DIRTY PRETTY THINGS) and driven by an unforgettable performance by Tom Hardy, LOCKE is a thrillingly unique cinematic experience of a man fighting to salvage all that is important to him.

Release Date: April 25th
Director: Steven Knight
Writer: Steven Knight
Featuring: Tom Hardy, Ruth Wilson, Olivia Colman, Andrew Scott, Tom Holland and Bill Milner
Run Time: 85 minutes
Distributor: A24

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NIGHT MOVES

NIGHT MOVES, the fifth feature film from acclaimed filmmaker Kelly Reichardt, is the story of three radical environmentalists coming together to execute the most intense protest of their lives: the explosion of a hydroelectric dam-the very source and symbol of the energy-sucking, resource-devouring industrial culture they despise.

Harmon is a former Marine, radicalized by tours of duty overseas. His life in the military is behind him, but at heart he remains the same reckless alpha male he always was, eager for adventure, excited by the prospect of mayhem and destruction. Dena is a high society dropout, sickened by the consumer economy into which she was born. She’s moved west and cut ties with her family, edging ever deeper into radical politics. And Josh, their leader, is a self-made militant, devoted to the protection of the Earth by any means necessary. A son of the middle class who works on an organic farm, he’s an intensely private person by nature and may have the deepest convictions of them all.

NIGHT MOVES is a tale of suspense and a meditation on the consequences of political extremism. When do legitimate convictions truly demand illegal behaviors? What happens to a person’s idealism when they find their back against the wall?

Reichardt’s award-winning films include RIVER OF GRASS, OLD JOY, WENDY AND LUCY and the acclaimed Michelle Williams-starring Western MEEK’S CUTOFF. NIGHT MOVES is her fifth feature film. The suspense-filled film adds a “noir-thriller” to Reichardt’s already impressive and diverse body of work.

Release Date: April 2014
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Featuring: Dakota Fanning, Jesse Eisenberg, Peter Sarsgaard
Run Time: 112 minutes
Distributor: Cinedigm

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THE TRIP TO ITALY

Michael Winterbottom’s largely improvised 2010 film, The Trip, took comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon-or semifictionalized versions thereof-on a restaurant tour around northern England. In this witty and incisive follow-up, Winterbottom reunites the pair for a new culinary road trip, retracing the steps of the Romantic poets’ grand tour of Italy and indulging in some sparkling banter and impersonation-offs. Rewhetting our palates from the earlier film, the characters enjoy mouthwatering meals in gorgeous settings from Liguria to Capri while riffing on subjects as varied as Batman’s vocal register, the artistic merits of “Jagged Little Pill,” and, of course, the virtue of sequels.

Release Date: May 30, 2014
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Writer: Rob Brydon, Steve Coogan, Michael Winterbottom
Featuring: Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon
Run Time: 115 Minutes
Distributor: IFC Films

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BOYHOOD

Filmed over short periods from 2002 to 2013, Boyhood is a groundbreaking cinematic experience covering 12 years in the life of a family. At the center is Mason, who with his sister Samantha, are taken on an emotional and transcendent journey through the years, from childhood to adulthood.

Release Date: May/June TBD
Director: Richard Linklater
Writer: Richard Linklater
Featuring: Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Ellar Coltrane and Lorelei Linklater
Run Time: 160 minutes
Distributor: IFC Films

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REMEMBERING THE ARTIST: ROBERT DE NIRO, SR.

Remembering The Artist: Robert De Niro, Sr., an official selection of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, is a portrait of the esteemed figurative painter by the man who knew him best: his son. In intimate interviews, Robert De Niro, Jr. profiles an artist whose talent went largely unrecognized as the pop art movement swept the nation, and looks at the relationship between a father and son. Directed by Perri Peltz (HBO’s “The Education of Dee Dee Ricks”) and Geeta Gandbhir (Emmy®-winning editor of HBO’s “If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise”).

Release Date: Summer TBD
Director: Perri Peltz and Geeta Gandbhir
Producer: Perri Peltz
Executive Producers: Sheila Nevins, Jane Rosenthal
Cinematographer: Rudy Valdez
Editor: Geeta Gandbhir
Associate Producer: Michael Kaplan
Music Supervisor: Trevor Gureckis
Distributor: HBO Documentary Films

Press Release: 2014 Jury and Slate Announced for New York International Children’s Film Festival

NEW YORK INT’L CHILDREN’S FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2014 JURY AND SLATE PREVIEW

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FULL SLATE ANNOUNCED AND TICKETS ON SALE FEB 3
EVENT RUNS MARCH 7-30
OSCAR®-QUALIFYING FEST FOR SHORT ANIMATION & LIVE ACTION
OVER 30,000 EXPECTED FOR 100+ FILMS

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SLATE PREVIEW:
AMAZONIA – US PREMIERE OPENING NIGHT
MUPPETS MOST WANTED – SPECIAL PREVIEW SCREENING
RIO 2 – SPECIAL PREVIEW SCREENING
ERNEST & CELESTINE (ENGLISH LANGUAGE) – THEATRICAL PREMIERE
AUNT HILDA – NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
BOY AND THE WORLD – US PREMIERE
FOOSBALL 3D – US PREMIERE

NYICFF 2014 JURY INCLUDES: UMA THURMAN, RICHARD PEÑA, BILL PLYMPTON, HENRY SELICK GEENA DAVIS, MATTHEW MODINE, SUSAN SARANDON, GUS VAN SANT, JEFFREY WRIGHT, CHRISTINE VACHON

New York, New York, Jan 17, 2014 – The critically acclaimed New York Int’l Children’s Film Festival has announced its 2014 jury and slate preview for the upcoming event, which runs March 7-30 at New York’s DGA Theater, IFC Center, Scholastic Theater, SVA Theatre, and Village East Cinema. Now in its 17th year, NYICFF is the nation’s largest festival for children and teens and will present four weeks of groundbreaking and thought-provoking films for ages 3-18, with 100 new animated, live action, documentary, and experimental shorts and features, opening and closing night galas, studio showcases, retrospectives, filmmaker Q&As, filmmaking workshops, and the NYICFF Awards Ceremony. The complete festival lineup will be announced on February 3 and tickets for the festival will go on sale at www.gkids.com.

The 2014 jury includes actors Geena Davis, Matthew Modine, Susan Sarandon, Uma Thurman, and Jeffrey Wright and filmmakers and animators John Canemaker, Bill Plympton, Henry Selick, Gus Van Sant and Taika Waititi (complete jury below). As an Oscar®-qualifying festival, NYICFF jury winners qualify for consideration for the 2015 Academy Awards® in the Live Action and Animated Short Film categories.

SLATE PREVIEW:

• Amazonia, Opening Night Film – US Premiere, France, Live Action, Thierry Ragobert
• Aunt Hilda – North American Premiere, France, Animation Jacques-Rémy Girerd.
• Boy and the World – US Premiere, Brazil, Animation, Alê Abreu.
• Ernest & Celestine (English Version) – Theatrical Premiere, France, Animation, Renner/Patar/Aubier.
• Foosball 3D – New York Premiere, Argentina, Animation, Juan José Campanella.
• Muppets Most Wanted – Special Preview Screening, USA, Live Action, James Bobin.
• Rio 2 – Special Preview Screening, USA, Animation, Carlos Saldanha.

NYICFF 2014 JURY:

• John Canemaker – Academy Award®-winning animator (The Moon and the Son)
• Geena Davis – Academy Award®-winning actor and Founder, Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
• Lynne McVeigh – Associate Professor of Children’s Media at NYU Tisch School of the Arts
• Matthew Modine – Award-winning actor (Full Metal Jacket, The Dark Knight Rises)
• Richard Peña – Director Emeritus New York Film Festival, Columbia University Professor of Film Studies
• Bill Plympton – Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker (Guard Dog, Idiots and Angels)
• Dana Points – Editor-in-Chief of Parents magazine
• Susan Sarandon – Academy Award®-winning actor (Dead Man Walking, Arbitrage)
• James Schamus – Award-winning filmmaker (Brokeback Mountain, The Ice Storm)
• Henry Selick– Academy Award®-nominated director (Coraline)
• Evan Shapiro – President, Participant Television
• Uma Thurman – Academy Award®-nominated actor (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2)
• Christine Vachon – Award-winning filmmaker (Boys Don’t Cry, Mildred Pierce)
• Gus Van Sant – Award-winning director (Good Will Hunting, Milk)
• Taika Waititi – Academy Award®-nominated writer/director (Two Cars One Night, Boy)
• Jeffrey Wright – Award-winning actor (Basquiat, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire)

ABOUT NYICFF:
Established in 1997, NYICFF is an Oscar®-qualifying event and North America’s largest film festival for children and teens ages 3-18. The most recent edition attracted a sold-out-in-advance audience of 30,000. NYICFF 2014 takes place March 7-30, with 100+ films from around the world, plus gala premieres, retrospectives, filmmaker Q&As, filmmaking workshops, audience voting, and the NYICFF Awards Ceremony. Festival sponsors include Whole Foods, Meredith Parents Network, and Scholastic, with funding support by National Endowment for the Arts, NY State Council on the Arts, and NYC Department of Cultural Affairs. In addition to the annual March festival, NYICFF presents year-round film programming both in New York and nationally, including annual children’s film festivals in Boston, Los Angeles, Miami and Philadelphia.

Press Release: GKids Picks Up Four Oscar Nomination

INDIE DISTRIBUTOR GKIDS NABS FOURTH ANIMATED OSCAR® NOMINATION

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“ERNEST & CELESTINE” NOMINATED FOR BEST ANIMATED FEATURE AT 2014 ACADEMY AWARDS®

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LAFCA WINNER SCREENS AT SUNDANCE JAN 18
OPENS THEATRICALLY MARCH 14

New York, New York – January 17, 2014 – GKIDS, a distributor of award-winning animation for both adult and family audiences, received an unprecedented fourth Best Animated Feature Oscar® nomination yesterday with ERNEST & CELESTINE. GKIDS previously scored nominations with THE SECRET OF KELLS in 2010 and both A CAT IN PARIS and CHICO & RITA in 2012. This marks the most Best Animated Feature nominations by an independent distributor since the category was established.

ERNEST & CELESTINE is the charming and beautifully hand-drawn new film from the creators of the Oscar® nominated Triplets of Belleville and The Secret of Kells. The film received six 2014 Annie Awards nominations, the most for any independent or internationally produced film. The film was also awarded Best Animated Feature by LA Film Critics Association. ERNEST & CELESTINE premiered at Cannes, won France’s Cesar for Best Animated Feature, and currently has a 100% rating on RottenTomatoes.com

GKIDS will release both the original French language version and a new English language version theatrically on March 14 in New York and Los Angeles, followed by national expansion to all major US markets.

The new English version premieres at Sundance on January 18 and features the voices of Forest Whitaker (Lee Daniels’ The Butler), Mackenzie Foy (Twilight: Breaking Dawn), Lauren Bacall (The Big Sleep), Paul Giamatti (John Adams), William H. Macy (Fargo), Megan Mullally (Will and Grace), Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation), and Jeffrey Wright (Boardwalk Empire).

ABOUT ERNEST & CELESTINE
From the creators of the Academy Award®-nominated Triplets of Belleville and The Secret of Kells comes a visually stunning, enormously entertaining new film with generation-spanning appeal. Deep below snowy, cobblestone streets, tucked away in networks of winding subterranean tunnels, lives a civilization of hardworking mice, terrified of the bears who live above ground. Unlike her fellow mice, Celestine is an artist and a dreamer – and when she nearly ends up as breakfast for ursine troubadour Ernest, the two form an unlikely bond. But it isn’t long before their friendship is put on trial by their respective bear-fearing and mice-eating communities.

Fresh from standing ovations at Cannes and Toronto, ERNEST & CELESTINE joyfully leaps across genres and influences to capture the kinetic, limitless possibilities of animated storytelling. Like a watercolor painting brought to life, a constantly shifting pastel color palette bursts and drips across the screen, while wonderful storytelling and brilliant comic timing draw up influences as varied as Buster Keaton, Bugs Bunny and the outlaw romanticism of Bonnie and Clyde. Based on the Belgian book series by Gabrielle Vincent, ERNEST & CELESTINE is winner of the Cesar Award for Best Animated Feature and numerous festival prizes.

ABOUT GKIDS
GKIDS is a distributor of award-winning filmed entertainment specializing in animation for both adult and family audiences. The company has scored four Best Animated Feature Oscar® nominations, with The Secret of Kells in 2010, both A Cat in Paris and Chico & Rita in 2012 – marking the first time an independent distributor has had two simultaneous nominations in the category – and Ernest & Celestine in 2014. Upcoming releases include Ignacio Ferreras’ Wrinkles, featuring Martin Sheen, Matthew Modine and George Coe, as well as Ernest & Celestine, from producers Les Armateurs, and A Letter to Momo, from Japan’s Production I.G. GKIDS also handles North American theatrical distribution for Oscar®-winner Hayao Miyazaki’s famed Studio Ghibli library of films, one of the world’s most coveted animation collections with titles Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke and others. GKIDS is producer of the New York Int’l Children’s Film Festival, an Oscar®-qualifying event and North America’s largest festival of film for children and teens.