If Beyoncé plans to take part in the Oscar festivities this weekend, then her people should reach out to the producers of War Witch . As I wrote yesterday, 16-year-old Rachel Mwanza , who gives a remarkable first-time acting performance in the movie has been granted a visa to attend the Oscars. And her big dream is to meet Sasha Fierce during her trip to the United States. War Witch Producer, Marie-Claude Poulin, told the Los Angeles Times that the filmmakers are trying to arrange for the young actress — who was homeless on the streets of Kinshasha when she was cast — meet Beyoncé, her “ultimate idol.” “That’s all she talks about,” Poulin said. “The only English words she knows are Beyonce and Rihanna songs.” I’ve contacted Beyonce’s spokeswoman and a representative for the film to see if there’s been any movement on that meeting happening. I’ll update if I receive any word. More On ‘War Witch’ Actress, Rachel Mwanza: Beasts Of The African Wild: ‘War Witch’ Star Rachel Mwanza Should Be As Famous As Quvenzhané Wallis [ Los Angeles Times ] Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
“You don’t know if a guy like Dwayne [Johnson] is gonna come in and have the same persona as The Rock, or, is he gonna be able to immerse himself,” Barry Pepper told me at the recent Snitch press junket. “He was just so dedicated to the film…I was really impressed.” I sat down with Dwayne Johnson as well and asked him if he thinks that with racially diverse films like Snitch and the Fast and the Furious franchise, is Hollywood changing? “When the intention is to create a movie that’s authentic and that’s real world…and the studio gets behind that and sees that vision and pushes all their chips in — well, then you get a movie like this where it IS racially diverse and it is the world that we live in today.” The Walking Dead’s Jon Bernthal also co-stars, and just wrapped Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street . Are there any similarities between blue collar and white collar crime? “Trying to take the easy way out, desperation, doing what you can to get by…There’s all sorts of motives for people to make bad decisions. I don’t think it matters what room you wake up in,” Bernthal said. Check out my full interviews with them below: Follow Grace Randolph on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Sofia Coppola has joined the list of filmmakers who will be attending the inaugural First Time Fest fllm festival in New York. The writer-director daughter of Francis Ford Coppola , whose latest film, The Bling Ring , is expected to be released this year, will screen and discuss her dreamy 1999 directorial debut, The Virgin Suicides . Coppola will be joining Nancy Savoca ( True Love ), Christine Vachon ( Poison , which she produced), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Jack Goes Boating) and Darren Aronofsky ( Pi ). The Noah director will receive the John Huston Award for Achievement in Cinema at the festival, which will be hosted by the Players Club in the Gramercy Park section of New York from March 1 through 4. FTF founders Johanna Bennett, the actor and philanthropist daughter of singer Tony Bennett, and producer Mandy Ward ( Palestine Blues ), conceived of the festival to celebrate first-time filmmakers, and the Grand Prize winner will see his or her film released theatrically by Cinema Libre Studio in at least one major city (New York or Los Angeles) with the option for the expansion. The spoils also include DVD and digital release and international sales representation. (Cinema Libre distributed Oliver Stone’s South of the Border and is developing John Perkins’ bestseller, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man .) Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
The mailing of the final Oscar ballots this week signals the final stage of what has been the most volatile and tumultuous Oscar race in years. Between the snubs and the snark (that Anne Hathaway spoof has topped 500,000 hits), this year’s races rival for drama Frank Fane’s ruthless pursuit of Best Actor in The Oscar . At this late date, several races are still very much up for grabs. Let’s go to the Gold Linings Playbook to see how the major Oscar categories are shaping up this week. Best Picture Oscar pundits, we have a problem. In this corner, Hollywood Elsewhere’s Jeff Wells, who, reveling in Lincoln ‘s dwindling Best Picture prospects, called out “all the Gurus of Gold, and Gold Derby prognosticators who stuck with Lincoln all through December and especially January,” before dismissing the picture (and its 12 nominations) as “a grandfather clock of a movie.” And in the opposing corner we have Awards Daily’s Sasha Stone and Entertainment Weekly’s Thom Geier, Lincoln’ s staunchest defenders, railing against those who would question its Oscar cred. Stone calls Lincoln Spielberg’s “meditative masterpiece,” and, rather than switch to Argo , resolves to “adhere to the stats in the face of confusion,” while Geier, during a podcast with GD’s Tom O’Neil, reasoned: “I find it hard to imagine that when you’re filling out a ballot with 26 categories, the only thing you’re checking off is Argo for Best Picture. It’s possible that it could pick up some technical awards. It might pick up adapted screenplay over Lincoln . It could get editing. But it’s kind of hard for me to imagine an Argo sweep, which is what you tend to get with a Best Picture winner.” (Except in the case of Crash , O’Neil countered). The latest broadside against Lincoln came this week, from of all places, Connecticut. Congressman Joe Courtney, in an open letter to Spielberg that instantly went viral, hit the meticulously mounted film where it hurts: Its historical accuracy. In the film’s climactic roll call, two of three Connecticut’s representatives vote against abolishing slavery. Historical records prove otherwise and Courtney cried foul: “In many movies, including your own E.T . and Gremlins, for example, suspending disbelief is part of the cinematic experience and is critical to enjoying the film. But in a movie based on significant real-life events—particularly a movie about a seminal moment in American history so closely associated with Doris Kearns Goodwin and her book, Team of Rivals —accuracy is paramount. I understand that artistic license will be taken and that some facts may be blurred to make a story more compelling on the big screen, but placing the State of Connecticut on the wrong side of the historic and divisive fight over slavery is a distortion of easily verifiable facts and an inaccuracy that should be acknowledged, and if possible, corrected before Lincoln is released on DVD” And then there’s Argo . Ben Affleck’s triumph last weekend at the Directors Guild Awards sealed the deal on this scrappy film’s frontrunner status. Those not onboard the Argo bandwagon have pointed out that in 80 years only one film– Driving Miss Daisy -won Best Picture without receiving a Best Director nomination. But this week, a new narrative emerged: the spectre of Ron Howard’s Apollo 13 . Like Argo, Apollo 13 rocketed through the awards season. It won the Producers Guild Award, the Director’s Guild Award (without a corresponding Best Director Oscar nomination), and an ensemble honor from the Screen Actors Guild. And then on Oscar night, it lost to Braveheart . Glenn Whipp, in The Los Angeles Times , offered a reality check to supporters of the other eight Best Picture nominees: “…the Argo opposition’s last-gasp hope — that Oscar voters will look at all this awards-season love and somehow wearily decide that enough is enough — is patently absurd. People in Hollywood, like moviegoers in general, genuinely like this movie. And with a preferential system that rewards films that voters rank near the top of their ballot, passion counts and polarity dooms.” In other words, proclaims Huffington Post’s Michael Hogan on his “For Your Consideration” blog, “Caveats here for the cliches “nobody knows anything” and “it’s not over ’til it’s over,” but: we know something, and it’s that the Best Picture race is over.” 1. Argo 2. Lincoln 3. Silver Linings Playbook 4. Life of Pi 5. Zero Dark Thirty 6. Beasts of the Southern Wild 7. Les Miserables 8. Amour 9. Django Unchained Best Director So where does that leave the Best Director race? Only six times since 1949 when it was first presented has the DGA Award not anticipated the Best Director Oscar-winner. This year’s Oscar slate does not include Kathryn Bigelow , Tom Hooper, or Ben Affleck . Affleck’s snub would seem to be Steven Spielberg‘s gain. Lincoln, its Connecticut gaffe notwithstanding, has the most Oscar nominations, three of its cast members are up for the major acting honors, and it’s Spielberg. His closest competition, according to pundits, is Life of Pi director Ang Lee . Gold Derby’s Tariq Khan this week counted down five reasons why Lee could pull an upset. Some are subjective (“He really does deserve it,” “The Academy may enjoy seeing a surprise here”), others more provocative (“He may get the most support from the tech branches”). And what of Michael Haneke , whose Amour , Stone notes, may be pulling a Polanski with a film that, that like The Pianist is catching fire at the last minute? Variety ’s Bob Verini this week summed up the situation succinctly: “The Oscar race is up for grabs for sure.” 1.Steven Spielberg ( Lincoln ) 2. Ang Lee ( Life of Pi ) 3. David O. Russell ( Silver Linings Playbook ) 4. Michael Haneke ( Amour ) 5. Benh Zeitlin ( Beasts of the Southern Wild )
The first thing I thought when I saw this trailer for Rob Zombie’s The Lords of Salem was, oh good, someone’s finally made a movie about what it was like to live on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in the late 1980s, before things got all handcrafted and artisanal. The second thing I thought was, this clip appears to have little to do with the synopsis for the movie that accompanied the trailer. Here’s what it says: From the singular mind of horror maestro Rob Zombie comes a chilling plunge into a nightmare world where evil runs in the blood. The Lords of Salem tells the tale of Heidi (Sheri Moon Zombie), a radio station DJ living in Salem, Massachusetts, who receives a strange wooden box containing a record, a “gift from the Lords.” Heidi listens, and the bizarre sounds within the grooves immediately trigger flashbacks of the town’s violent past. Is Heidi going mad, or are the “Lords of Salem” returning for revenge on modern-day Salem? A previous synopsis described Heidi, who’s played by the writer-director’s wife, as a “blond rock chick,” and the dreadlocks telegraph that much. But I didn’t see any reference in the trailer to the creepy vinyl record that, I understand, becomes a big hit in the movie. Instead, I get more of a crust-punk Rosemary’s Baby vibe from the proceedings. (Meanwhile, the trailer’s soundtrack is reminiscent of the one used in Prometheus teasers.) As for the goat at the top of the clip, the Lower East Side had them back in the day. Live chickens, too. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Can I get a Hoo-Ah ? Al Pacino has had a good run playing reviled real-life characters in HBO movies and miniseries, and, based on this trailer for Phil Spector , he’s going to keep his streak alive when the movie debuts on March 24. The actor, who played suicide machine inventor Jack Kevorkian in the 2010 HBO biopic You Don’t Know Jack , and was particularly brilliant as the homophobic gay lawyer Roy Cohn in the cable network’s adaptation of Lincoln screenwriter Tony Kushner’s Angels in America in 2003, dons quite a few wacky wigs in this clip to play the legendary 60s music producer who’s serving 19 years to life in a California prison for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson . It’s not just the hair though. The picture was written and directed by David Mamet , whose mean, hard-boiled writing sounds great coming out of Pacino’s mouth. “First time you got felt up, guess what? You were listening to one of my songs,” the actor brazenly tells Helen Mirren who plays his defense attorney. And then there’s the disembodied voice who, referring to Spector, tells Mirren: “He’s a freak. Theyr’e going to convict him of I just don’t like you.” Make that a talented freak. Spector produced albums by the Crystals, Darlene Love, the Ronettes, the Righteous Brothers, John Lennon , the Ramones and Leonard Cohen’s famous disaster of an album, Death of a Ladies Man. His Wall of Sound production technique influenced Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run , among other albums. The scene in the trailer where Spector pulls a gun and shoots it into the ceiling next to a guitarist looks like it may be a recreation of a recording session with John Lennon. The former Beatle told Spector: “Phil, if you’re going to kill me, kill me. But don’t fuck with my ears. I need ‘em.” Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Holy Nakatomi Plaza! July 15 marks the 25th anniversary of the release of the original Die Hard , a movie that occupies a revered place in my pantheon of smart-ass films. And with the latest sequel, A Good Day to Die Hard , hitting theaters on Feb. 14, Fox has released the Die Hard: 25th Anniversary Collection on Blu-Ray. In addition to the first four Die Hard movies, the set includes a Decoding Die Hard bonus disc of featurettes. Included is Bad to the Bone , posted below, which celebrates the various villains that Bruce Willis’ character, John McClane, has gone up against over the course of his totally implausible but highly entertaining life of coincidental run-ins with evil terrorists and master criminals. You really don’t need to watch the clip to understand this about the franchise: Alan Rickman , who played deliciously contemptuous Hans Gruber n the first film, remains, far and away, the best Die Hard baddie of the franchise. His simpering imitation of an American hostage when McClane first encounters him is a thing of enduring beauty. Why Rickman hasn’t been made a Bond villain by now is beyond me. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
Like those vintage 1980s Reese’s Peanut Butter cup ads built around the “Two great tastes that taste great together,” tag line, this photo tweeted by J.J. Abrams ‘ Bad Robot production company is a cool visual mash-up of the filmmaker’s past and future work. No pressure, Mr. Abrams! If you’ve never seen the Reese’s ads, here’s a particularly gooey one. For the record, I have never seen an actual human walking in public while eating from a container of peanut butter, emblazoned with the words “peanut butter.” If you have, please record your sightings in the comments section below and I’ll get the folks at Fringe on it right away. They’ve got some time on their hands. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
The Super Bowl’s notoriously pricey ad spots already cost a chunk of change well into the seven figures last year and it’s set to head well northward for 30 seconds of airtime this Sunday. But that has not scared away movie studios from snapping up commercial time on Super Bowl XLVII. Studios will air ads for upcoming blockbusters including Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man 3 , J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Into Darkness , Johnny Depp’s The Lone Ranger , James Franco and Michelle Williams’ Oz The Great And Powerful and Vin Diesel’s The Fast and the Furious 6 . Brad Pitt’s World War Z is slated for a pre-game spot. Disney’s The Lone Ranger , with a July release, is the pic with the longest wait-time before its theatrical release. Last year, 30 seconds on the sky high rated sports event cost $3.5 million, but that has jumped to a cool $4 million for a half-minute in the match-up between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers. Among the non-studio ads set to air Sunday are spots from Chrysler, Tide, Best Buy, Coke and the new BlackBerry 10, according to Deadline. [ Sources: Huffington Post , Deadline ]
The Sundance Film Festival closed out 2013 awarding Fruitvale and Blood Brother its top Dramatic and Documentary award winners respectively. Fruitvale had been the favored winner among insiders neck-n-neck with Ain’t Them Bodies Saints which captured a lot of attention at the fest. In a festival rarity, both Fruitvale and Blood Brother also took the prizes in the Audience categories as well. In other top winners, A River Changes Course took Sundance’s World Cinema Documentary prize, while South Korea’s Jisuel won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize. Jill Soloway won the Director’s nod in the U.S. Dramatic category. The 2013 Sundance Film Festival Awards: The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic: Fruitvale / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ryan Coogler) — The true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family and strangers on the last day of 2008. Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Melonie Diaz, Ahna O’Reilly, Kevin Durand, Chad Michael Murray. The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary: Blood Brother / U.S.A. (Director: Steve Hoover) — Rocky went to India as a disillusioned tourist. When he met a group of children with HIV, he decided to stay. He never could have imagined the obstacles he would face, or the love he would find. The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary: A River Changes Course / Cambodia, U.S.A. (Director: Kalyanee Mam) — Three young Cambodians struggle to overcome the crushing effects of deforestation, overfishing, and overwhelming debt in this devastatingly beautiful story of a country reeling from the tragedies of war and rushing to keep pace with a rapidly expanding world. The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic: Jiseul / South Korea (Director and screenwriter: Muel O) — In 1948, as the Korean government ordered the Communists’ eviction to Jeju Island, the military invaded a calm and peaceful village. Townsfolk took sanctuary in a cave and debated moving to a higher mountain. Cast: Min-chul SUNG, Jung-won YANG, Young-soon OH, Soon-dong PARK, Suk-bum MOON, Kyung-sub JANG. The Directing Award: U.S. Documentary: Cutie and the Boxer / U.S.A. (Director: Zachary Heinzerling ) — This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role of assistant to her overbearing husband, Noriko seeks an identity of her own. The Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic: Afternoon Delight / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jill Soloway ) — In this sexy, dark comedy, a lost L.A. housewife puts her idyllic life in jeopardy when she tries to rescue a stripper by taking her in as a live-in nanny. Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor, Jane Lynch. The Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary: The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear / Georgia, Germany (Director: Tinatin Gurchiani ) — A film director casting a 15-23-year-old protagonist visits villages and cities to meet people who answer her call. She follows those who prove to be interesting enough through various dramatic and funny situations The Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic: Crystal Fairy / Chile (Director and screenwriter: Sebastián Silva ) — Jamie invites a stranger to join a road trip to Chile. The woman’s free and esoteric nature clashes with Jamie’s acidic, self-absorbed personality as they head into the desert for a Mescaline-fueled psychedelic trip. Cast: Michael Cera, Gaby Hoffmann, Juan Andrés Silva, José Miguel Silva, Agustín Silva. The Audience Award: U.S. Documentary: Blood Brother / U.S.A. (Director: Steve Hoover) — Rocky went to India as a disillusioned tourist. When he met a group of children with HIV, he decided to stay. He never could have imagined the obstacles he would face, or the love he would find. The Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic: Fruitvale / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ryan Coogler) — The true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family and strangers on the last day of 2008. Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Melonie Diaz, Ahna O’Reilly, Kevin Durand, Chad Michael Murray. The Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary: The Square (Al Midan) / Egypt, U.S.A. (Director: Jehane Noujaim) — What does it mean to risk your life for your ideals? How far will five revolutionaries go in defending their beliefs in the fight for their nation? The Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic: Metro Manila / United Kingdom, Philippines (Director: Sean Ellis, Screenwriters: Sean Ellis, Frank E. Flowers) — Seeking a better life, Oscar and his family move from the poverty-stricken rice fields to the big city of Manila, where they fall victim to various inhabitants whose manipulative ways are a daily part of city survival. Cast: Jake Macapagal, John Arcilla, Althea Vega. The Audience Award: Best of NEXT : This is Martin Bonner / U.S.A.(Director and screenwriter: Chad Hartigan) — Martin Bonner has just moved to Reno for a new job in prison rehabilitation. Starting over at age 58, he struggles to adapt until an unlikely friendship with an ex-con blossoms, helping him confront the problems he left behind. Cast: Paul Eenhoorn, Richmond Arquette, Sam Buchanan, Robert Longstreet, Demetrius Grosse. The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic: In a World… / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lake Bell) — An underachieving vocal coach is motivated by her father, the king of movie-trailer voice-overs, to pursue her aspirations of becoming a voiceover star. Amidst pride, sexism and family dysfunction, she sets out to change the voice of a generation. Cast: Lake Bell, Demetri Martin, Rob Corddry, Michaela Watkins, Ken Marino, Fred Melamed. The Screenwriting Award: World Cinema Dramatic: Wajma (An Afghan Love Story) / Afghanistan (Director and screenwriter: Barmak Akram) — A young man in Kabul seduces a girl. When she tells him she’s pregnant, he questions having taken her virginity. Then her father arrives, and a timeless, archaic violence erupts – possibly leading to a crime, and even a sacrifice. Cast: Wajma Bahar, Mustafa Habibi, Haji Gul, Breshna Bahar. The Editing Award: U.S. Documentary: Gideon’s Army / U.S.A. (Director: Dawn Porter) — Gideon’s Army follows three young, committed Public Defenders who are dedicated to working for the people society would rather forget. Long hours, low pay and staggering caseloads are so common that even the most committed often give up. The Editing Award: World Cinema Documentary: The Summit / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Nick Ryan) — Twenty-four climbers converged at the last stop before summiting the most dangerous mountain on Earth. Forty-eight hours later, 11 had been killed or simply vanished. Had one, Ger McDonnell, stuck to the climbers’ code, he might still be alive. The Cinematography Award: U.S. Documentary: Dirty Wars / U.S.A. (Director: Richard Rowley) — Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill chases down the truth behind America’s covert wars. The Cinematography Award: U.S. Dramatic: Bradford Young for Ain’t Them Bodies Saints and Mother of George: Ain’t Them Bodies Saints / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Lowery) — The tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met. Cast: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Nate Parker, Keith Carradine. Mother of George / U.S.A. (Director: Andrew Dosunmu, Screenwriter: Darci Picoult) — A story about a woman willing to do anything and risk everything for her marriage. Cast: Isaach De Bankolé, Danai Gurira, Tony Okungbowa, Yaya Alafia, Bukky Ajayi. The Cinematography Award: World Cinema Documentary: Who is Dayani Cristal? / United Kingdom (Director: Marc Silver) — An anonymous body in the Arizona desert sparks the beginning of a real-life human drama. The search for its identity leads us across a continent to seek out the people left behind and the meaning of a mysterious tattoo. The Cinematography Award: World Cinema Dramatic: Lasting / Poland, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Jacek Borcuch) — An emotional love story about two Polish students who fall in love with each other while working summer jobs in Spain. An unexpected nightmare interrupts their carefree time in the heavenly landscape and throws their lives into chaos. Cast: Jakub Gierszal, Magdalena Berus, Angela Molina. A U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Achievement: Inequality for All / U.S.A. (Director: Jacob Kornbluth) — In this timely and entertaining documentary, noted economic-policy expert Robert Reich distills the topic of widening income inequality, and addresses the question of what effects this increasing gap has on our economy and our democracy. A U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Achievement in Filmmaking to: American Promise / U.S.A. (Directors: Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson) — This intimate documentary follows the 12-year journey of two African-American families pursuing the promise of opportunity through the education of their sons. A U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting: Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley in The Spectacular Now / U.S.A. (Director: James Ponsoldt, Screenwriters: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber) — Sutter is a high school senior who lives for the moment; Aimee is the introvert he attempts to “save.” As their relationship deepens, the lines between right and wrong, friendship and love, and “saving” and corrupting become inextricably blurred. Cast: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler. A U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Sound Design: Shane Carruth and Johnny Marshall for Upstream Color / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shane Carruth) — A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives. Cast: Amy Seimetz, Shane Carruth, Andrew Sensenig, Thiago Martins. A World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Circles / Serbia, Germany, France, Croatia, Slovenia (Director: Srdan Golubovic, Screenwriters: Srdjan Koljevic, Melina Pota Koljevic) — Five people are affected by a tragic heroic act. Twenty years later, all of them will confront the past through their own crises. Will they overcome guilt, frustration and their urge for revenge? Will they do the right thing, at all costs? Cast: Aleksandar Bercek, Leon Lucev, Nebojsa Glogovac, Hristina Popovic, Nikola Rakocevic, Vuk Kostic. A World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for “Punk Spirit”: Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer / Russian Federation, United Kingdom (Directors: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin) — Three young women face seven years in a Russian prison for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral. But who is really on trial: the three young artists or the society they live in? The Short Film Audience Award: Catnip: Egress to Oblivion? / U.S.A.(Director: Jason Willis) — Catnip is all the rage with today’s modern feline, but do we really understand it? This film frankly discusses the facts about this controversial substance.
