AFI FEST 2013 presented by Audi, a program of the American Film Institute, has announced the remaining sections and films that will screen in the festival’s World Cinema, American Independents, Breakthrough, Midnight, Cinema’s Legacy and Presentations programs.
Skimming through the list I was immediately able to identify 2 films that S&A readers will be familiar with and interested in, especially if you live in Los Angeles, where the AFI FEST is held.
Both films will be making their USA premieres – Biyi Bandele’s Half Of A Yellow Sun – a film adaptation of celebrated author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Orange Prize-winning novel of the same name – will make its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival; and Chika Anadu’s feature film debut, B For Boy, which was developed at the Cannes Cinefondation Residence Programme in Paris, and which made its debut at the BFI in London this year. Look for a post on that project later.
A few weeks ago, we featured Chika Anadu’s short film titled The Marriage Factor – a contemporary comedy/drama about a young woman and her marriage-minded mother. Watch it HERE if you missed it.
The short film combines scripted elements, with documentary footage, and dance sequences to tell a tale that many (women, especially, even if you’re not Nigerian) will identify with – the pressure one’s parents, in this case mothers, put on their daughters to find Mr Right, walk down the isle and eventually give birth to grandchildren.
Anadu’s B For Boy feature film debut is described as an elegant realist drama that questions Nigeria’s gender divide as middle-class Amaka resorts to desperate measures after a miscarriage.
Even though I’ve yet to see B For Boy, I immediately thought of Andrew Dosunmu’s Mother Of George, which tells a somewhat similar tale of Nigeria’s gender divide, but instead of the lead female character resorting to desperate measures after a miscarriage, she (played by Danai Gurira) resorts to desperate measures in other to give birth.
According to the AFI FEST press release, the World Cinema showcase, which both films are screening under, features the most anticipated and prize-winning international films of the year; while the American Independents section features work by U.S. filmmakers; the Breakthrough section highlights work discovered only through the blind submission process, and the Midnight selections tend toward the macabre and Cinema’s Legacy highlights restorations and classic films.
Expect Tambay to take a much closer look at this year’s lineup, highlighting any Diaspora films you should know about.
The complete AFI FEST 2013 program includes 119 films (83 features, 36 shorts), representing 43 countries. There are 27 films directed/co-directed by women and 10 documentaries.
For the fifth consecutive year, AFI FEST will offer free tickets to all screenings, but only the Cinepass Express will provide priority entry to all regular screenings including all sections announced today, as well as access to the cinema lounge. These and other AFI FEST Passes are on sale now at AFI.com/AFIFEST.
Free individual tickets to AFI FEST screenings and galas will be available to AFI members on Monday, October 28 and Tuesday, October 29 in a 48-hour advance window before they become available to the general public on Wednesday, October 30 and Thursday, October 31. In addition, AFI members at the Two-Star level and above receive a 10% discount on all AFI FEST Patron Packages and Passes. Information about AFI membership is available at AFI.com/membership.
For the 10th year, Audi returns as the festival’s presenting sponsor.
The selections announced today follow below:
WORLD CINEMA SELECTIONS (32 titles)
This section presents new work by many of the world’s most renowned filmmakers.
BABY BLUES – DIR/SCR Kasia Rosłaniec. Poland.
BETHLEHEM – DIR Yuval Adler. SCR Yuval Adler, Ali Waked. Isarel.
BORGMAN – DIR/SCR Alex van Warmerdam. Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark.
CHILD’S POSE – DIR Călin Peter Netzer. SCR Răzvan Rădulescu, Călin Peter Netzer. Romania.
CLOSED CURTAIN – DIR Jafar Panahi, Kamboziya Partovi. SCR Jafar Panahi. Iran.
THE CONGRESS – DIR/SCR Ari Folman. Israel, Germany, Poland, Luxembourg.
AN EPISODE IN THE LIFE OF AN IRON PICKER – DIR/SCR Danis Tanovic. Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Slovenia.
EXHIBITION – DIR/SCR Joanna Hogg. United Kingdom.
GABRIELLE – DIR/SCR Louise Archambault. Canada.
GLORIA – DIR Sebastián Lelio. SCR Sebastián Lelio, Gonzalo Maza. Chile, Spain.
GRAND CENTRAL – DIR Rebecca Zlotowski. SCR Gaëlle Mace, Rebecca Zlotowski. France, Austria.
THE GREAT BEAUTY – DIR Paolo Sorrentino. SCR Paolo Sorrentino, Umberto Contarello. Italy, France.
HALF OF A YELLOW SUN – DIR/SCR Biyi Bandele. Nigeria, United Kingdom.
HELI – DIR Amat Escalante. SCR Amat Escalante, Gabriel Reyes. Mexico, France, Germany, Netherlands.
JUVENILE OFFENDER – DIR Kang Yi-kwan. SCR Kang Yi-kwan, Park Joo-young. South Korea.
LA JAULA DE ORO – DIR Diego Quemada-Diez. SCR Diego Quemada-Diez, Gibrán Portela, Lucía Carrera. Mexico, Spain.
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON – DIR/SCR Hirokazu Kore-eda. Japan.
THE LUNCHBOX – DIR/SCR Ritesh Batra. India, France, Germany.
MANAKAMANA – DIR Stephanie Spray, Pacho Velez. Nepal, USA.
MANUSCRIPTS DON’T BURN – DIR Mohammad Rasoulof. Iran.
MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS – DIR Thomas Imbach. SCR Thomas Imbach, Andrea Štaka, Eduard Habsburg. Switzerland, France.
THE MISSING PICTURE – DIR Rithy Panh. SCR Christophe Bataille. Cambodia, France.
MOEBIUS – DIR/SCR Kim Ki-duk. South Korea.
OMAR – DIR/SCR Hany Abu-Assad. Palestine.
OUR SUNHI – DIR/SCR Hong Sang-soo. South Korea.
THE ROCKET – DIR/SCR Kim Mordaunt. Australia.
STRANGER BY THE LAKE – DIR/SCR Alain Guiraudie. France.
TOM AT THE FARM – DIR Xavier Dolan. SCR Xavier Dolan, Michel Marc Bouchard. Canada, France.
VIC + FLO SAW A BEAR – DIR/SCR Denis Côté. Canada.
WE ARE THE BEST! – DIR/SCR Lukas Moodysson. Sweden.
WHEN EVENING FALLS ON BUCHAREST OR METABOLISM – DIR/SCR Corneliu Porumboiu. Romania, France.
THE WIND RISES – DIR/SCR Hayao Miyazaki. Japan.
AMERICAN INDEPENDENTS SELECTIONS (6 titles)
The American Independents section features work by emerging U.S. filmmakers.
AWFUL NICE – DIR Todd Sklar. SCR Todd Sklar, Alex Rennie. USA.
BLUE RUIN – DIR/SCR Jeremy Saulnier. USA.
BREATHE IN – DIR Drake Doremus. SCR Drake Doremus, Ben York
Jones. USA.
CAUCUS – DIR AJ Schnack. USA.
CHARLIE VICTOR ROMEO – DIR Robert Berger, Patrick Daniels, Karlyn Michelson. SCR Robert Berger, Patrick Daniels, Irving Gregory. USA.
WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE – DIR Zeke Hawkins, Simon Hawkins. SCR Dutch Southern. USA.
BREAKTHROUGH SELECTIONS (4 titles)
B FOR BOY – DIR/SCR Chika Anadu. Nigeria. North American Premiere.
CONGRATULATIONS! – DIR/SCR Mike Brune. USA.
LITTLE BLACK SPIDERS – DIR Patrice Toye. SCR Ina Vandewijer, Patrice Toye. Belgium.
MY AFGHANISTAN – LIFE IN THE FORBIDDEN ZONE – DIR/SCR Nagieb Khaja. Denmark.
MIDNIGHT SELECTIONS (5 titles)
This section showcases comedy and horror programming worth staying up late for.
BIG BAD WOLVES – DIR/SCR Navot Papushado, Aharon Keshlaes. Israel.
THE GREEN INFERNO – DIR Eli Roth. SCR Eli Roth, Guillermo Amoedo. USA, Chile.
R100 – DIR/SCR Hitoshi Matsumoto. Japan.
THE SACRAMENT – DIR/SCR Ti West. USA.
THE STRANGE COLOUR OF YOUR BODY’S TEARS – DIR/SCR Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani.. Belgium, France, Luxembourg.
CINEMA’S LEGACY SELECTIONS (3 titles)
THE COURT JESTER (1955) – DIR/SCR Norman Panama, Melvin Frank. USA.
MARY POPPINS (1964) – DIR Robert Stevenson. SCR Bill Walsh, Don DaGradi. USA.
THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (1964) – DIR/SCR Jacques Demy. France.
PRESENTATIONS SELECTIONS (2 titles)
The Whitewater Films Roundtable
Micro-Budget Filmmaking – The New Paradigm
Producer and Director Rick Rosenthal brings the famed Whitewater Films roundtable to AFI FEST for a conversation about how micro-budget filmmaking has emerged as the new paradigm for independent filmmakers. The conversation will be followed by a screening of Rosenthal’s micro-budget film DRONES.
DRONES – DIR Rick Rosenthal. SCR Matt Witten. USA.
Michael Stevens presents HERBLOCK: THE BLACK AND THE WHITE
Special guests join director Michael Stevens for a panel discussion about the influence of the political cartoons of Herbert Lawrence Block. The conversation will be followed by a screening of Stevens’ HERBLOCK: THE BLACK AND THE WHITE.
HERBLOCK: THE BLACK AND THE WHITE – DIR Michael Stevens. SCR Sara Lukinson, Michael Stevens. USA.