There’s a scene in the 2010 film Eat Pray Love where Julia Roberts’s character Liz basks in the experience of eating a guilt-free pizza. It was an important character moment for her–and for many audience members. And whatever your specific dietary preferences or requirements may be, we hope that you’ll enjoy whatever your guilt-free “pizza moment” is this Thanksgiving, surrounded by friends and family (chosen or otherwise.)
Food, of course, has played as major a role in cinema as any other basic human biological function, from the sprawling bowls of pasta in the works of Martin Scorsese, to the last decade’s trend of thoughtfully investigative health-leaning food docs such as Food Inc. and Forks Over Knives. Today, though, we’re leaving the scare-mongering at the kids’ table and indulging in some seriously calorie-dense, celebratory depictions of food on film.
So cinch up that lobster bib and...
Food, of course, has played as major a role in cinema as any other basic human biological function, from the sprawling bowls of pasta in the works of Martin Scorsese, to the last decade’s trend of thoughtfully investigative health-leaning food docs such as Food Inc. and Forks Over Knives. Today, though, we’re leaving the scare-mongering at the kids’ table and indulging in some seriously calorie-dense, celebratory depictions of food on film.
So cinch up that lobster bib and...
- 11/21/2023
- by Film Independent
- Film Independent News & More
David goes to live with his grandfather in an observant Jewish community and finds he is not the only one keeping secrets
This is the fiction feature debut from film-maker Eric Steel, previously responsible for the controversial documentary The Bridge, about people who kill themselves by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. Minyan is a subdued, withdrawn emotional drama set in the 1980s among the Russian Jewish immigrant community of New York’s “Little Odessa”. David (Samuel H Levine) is a young Jewish gay man who reads a lot of James Baldwin; he is at odds with his overbearing parents and much closer to his recently widowed grandfather Josef (Ron Rifkin) who has now got a modest but comfortable apartment in a much sought-after subsidised residency building for observant Jews. David comes to live there, too, both agreeing to make up the numbers required (the “minyan”) for public worship.
David...
This is the fiction feature debut from film-maker Eric Steel, previously responsible for the controversial documentary The Bridge, about people who kill themselves by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. Minyan is a subdued, withdrawn emotional drama set in the 1980s among the Russian Jewish immigrant community of New York’s “Little Odessa”. David (Samuel H Levine) is a young Jewish gay man who reads a lot of James Baldwin; he is at odds with his overbearing parents and much closer to his recently widowed grandfather Josef (Ron Rifkin) who has now got a modest but comfortable apartment in a much sought-after subsidised residency building for observant Jews. David comes to live there, too, both agreeing to make up the numbers required (the “minyan”) for public worship.
David...
- 1/3/2022
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Strand Releasing has acquired U.S. rights to Georgis Grigorakis’ feature debut “Digger,” Greece’s official entry for the Oscars’ international feature film race.
Set in the rich forests of Northern Greece, “Digger” is a modern-day psychological Western starring Vangelis Mourikis as an iconoclastic farmer at war against the encroachments of a ravenous industry and the demons of his past. When his estranged son appears on his doorstep, with a motorcycle and a grudge, nature itself will shake at their clash.
Grigorakis wrote the film, which was produced by Athens-based banner Haos Film. “Digger” had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival where it won the Cicae prize and went on to have a successful career in festivals, including Sarajevo, Thessaloniki and Philadelphia, and won several awards at the Hellenic Film Academy Awards. The movie has also had a strong box office run in Greece.
”We’re thrilled to...
Set in the rich forests of Northern Greece, “Digger” is a modern-day psychological Western starring Vangelis Mourikis as an iconoclastic farmer at war against the encroachments of a ravenous industry and the demons of his past. When his estranged son appears on his doorstep, with a motorcycle and a grudge, nature itself will shake at their clash.
Grigorakis wrote the film, which was produced by Athens-based banner Haos Film. “Digger” had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival where it won the Cicae prize and went on to have a successful career in festivals, including Sarajevo, Thessaloniki and Philadelphia, and won several awards at the Hellenic Film Academy Awards. The movie has also had a strong box office run in Greece.
”We’re thrilled to...
- 11/11/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Although primarily known as a documentary filmmaker, director Eric Steel makes his narrative feature debut with Minyan, a faithful yet surprising adaptation of a coming-of-age short story by David Bezmozgis. Set in the Russian Jewish community of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn in the 1980s, Minyan tells the story of David (Samuel H. Levine) who, while helping his grandfather (Ron Rifkin) transition into a retirement home, befriends two closeted gay men. As David begins to identify and expand on his own desires, his sense of self begins […]
The post Brighton Beach and the East Village in the ’80s: Eric Steel on Minyan first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Brighton Beach and the East Village in the ’80s: Eric Steel on Minyan first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 10/27/2021
- by Erik Luers
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The year is 1986, the setting is New York City, and the AIDS epidemic is running rampant. Our hero David (Samuel H. Levine) is a teenager living in Brighton Beach, going to school while doing his damndest to get his grandfather (the great Ron Rifkin) into a retirement home nearby. The young man has a temper that stems from a budding rebellious streak, the long-gestating product of his strict Russian Jewish upbringing.
Directed by Eric Steel, who co-wrote the script with Daniel Pearle, Minyan is a deeply personal piece of work. Adapted from David Bezmozgis’s short story of the same name, it’s clear Steel is pulling from his own experience in bringing the written word to the big screen. Levine is sufficiently awkward as the lead, manifesting many of David’s growing pains quite literally on camera. This is an unsure soul, whether it be regarding his sexuality, his religion,...
Directed by Eric Steel, who co-wrote the script with Daniel Pearle, Minyan is a deeply personal piece of work. Adapted from David Bezmozgis’s short story of the same name, it’s clear Steel is pulling from his own experience in bringing the written word to the big screen. Levine is sufficiently awkward as the lead, manifesting many of David’s growing pains quite literally on camera. This is an unsure soul, whether it be regarding his sexuality, his religion,...
- 10/19/2021
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
Strand Releasing has unveiled the trailer for Eric Steel’s coming-of-age film “Minyan” which world premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and won a special mention at the Jerusalem fest.
The feature debut will have its North American premiere in New York on Oct. 22., followed by a release in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and across the country. On top of its win at Jerusalem, the movie won the Grand Jury Prize for best U.S. narrative feature at Outfest.
“Minyan” tells the story of David, a young man from Brooklyn coming to terms with his sexual identity amidst the AIDS crisis in the 80’s, as well as his place within the Jewish community. He bonds with older gay couple whom he ends up supporting when one dies and the other is forced with an eviction from his housing project. David eventually creates a “minyan” to help provide protection for...
The feature debut will have its North American premiere in New York on Oct. 22., followed by a release in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and across the country. On top of its win at Jerusalem, the movie won the Grand Jury Prize for best U.S. narrative feature at Outfest.
“Minyan” tells the story of David, a young man from Brooklyn coming to terms with his sexual identity amidst the AIDS crisis in the 80’s, as well as his place within the Jewish community. He bonds with older gay couple whom he ends up supporting when one dies and the other is forced with an eviction from his housing project. David eventually creates a “minyan” to help provide protection for...
- 9/20/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
“Minyan,” an acclaimed tale of sexual and spiritual identity directed by Eric Steel, has sold to Strand Releasing in North America.
The film, starring stage breakout Samuel H. Levine of Broadway and the West End’s “The Inheritance,” played in the official selection at last year’s Berlin International Film Festival and went on to win Outfest’s grand jury prize for U.S. narrative feature.
In Judaism, a minyan refers to the minimum amount of celebrants required for certain religious traditions. Set in 1980s Brighton Beach, the film follows a young Russian Jewish immigrant who is caught up in the tight constraints of his community. He develops a close friendship with his grandfather’s new neighbors — two elderly closeted gay men who open his imagination to the possibilities of love and the realities of loss. In the East Village, he finds a world teeming with the energy of youth,...
The film, starring stage breakout Samuel H. Levine of Broadway and the West End’s “The Inheritance,” played in the official selection at last year’s Berlin International Film Festival and went on to win Outfest’s grand jury prize for U.S. narrative feature.
In Judaism, a minyan refers to the minimum amount of celebrants required for certain religious traditions. Set in 1980s Brighton Beach, the film follows a young Russian Jewish immigrant who is caught up in the tight constraints of his community. He develops a close friendship with his grandfather’s new neighbors — two elderly closeted gay men who open his imagination to the possibilities of love and the realities of loss. In the East Village, he finds a world teeming with the energy of youth,...
- 1/26/2021
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television have cast the new group of teenagers (and a couple of adults) at the center of the I Know What You Did Last Summer series reboot.
Madison Iseman (Jumanji: The Next Level), Brianne Tju (Light as a Feather), Ezekiel Goodman, Ashley Moore (Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping), Sebastian Amoruso (Solve), Fiona Rene (Stumptown), Cassie Beck (Connecting), Brooke Bloom (Homecoming) and Bill Heck (I’m Your Woman) are set to star in the YA horror series, a modern take on the hit 1997 slasher film. Production will begin this month in Hawaii.
Written by Sara Goodman (Preacher) based on the 1973 novel by Lois Duncan, the I Know What You Did Last Summer series has the same premise as the movie adaptation: In a town full of secrets, a group of teenagers are stalked by a mysterious killer a year after a fatal accident on their graduation night.
Madison Iseman (Jumanji: The Next Level), Brianne Tju (Light as a Feather), Ezekiel Goodman, Ashley Moore (Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping), Sebastian Amoruso (Solve), Fiona Rene (Stumptown), Cassie Beck (Connecting), Brooke Bloom (Homecoming) and Bill Heck (I’m Your Woman) are set to star in the YA horror series, a modern take on the hit 1997 slasher film. Production will begin this month in Hawaii.
Written by Sara Goodman (Preacher) based on the 1973 novel by Lois Duncan, the I Know What You Did Last Summer series has the same premise as the movie adaptation: In a town full of secrets, a group of teenagers are stalked by a mysterious killer a year after a fatal accident on their graduation night.
- 1/11/2021
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
The festival unfolded mainly online with special socially distanced screenings for Israeli works.
Ukrainian producer and director Valentyn Vasyanovych’s drama Atlantis has won best film at the 37th edition of the Jerusalem Film Festival (Jff), which is running as an online event December 10-20 due to Israel’s ongoing Covid-19 lockdown.
Set in war-torn eastern Ukraine in the near future, the film revolves around a former soldier suffering from Ptsd, who is trying to rebuild his life against the backdrop of his environmentally devastated homeland.
It is Vasyanovych’s third feature and Ukraine’s submission to the best international film category of the 2021 Oscars.
Ukrainian producer and director Valentyn Vasyanovych’s drama Atlantis has won best film at the 37th edition of the Jerusalem Film Festival (Jff), which is running as an online event December 10-20 due to Israel’s ongoing Covid-19 lockdown.
Set in war-torn eastern Ukraine in the near future, the film revolves around a former soldier suffering from Ptsd, who is trying to rebuild his life against the backdrop of his environmentally devastated homeland.
It is Vasyanovych’s third feature and Ukraine’s submission to the best international film category of the 2021 Oscars.
- 12/16/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The 32nd annual NewFest, New York’s LGBTQ Film Festival is bringing queer cinema to audience’s homes this year in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The diverse offerings at this year’s virtual festival should delight LGBTQ cinephiles of many tastes. The queer film fest will offer screenings through October 27, and the following five movies are some of the best on display.
“Ammonite”
NewFest 2020 is not completely devoid of in-person events, thanks to a select few drive-in screenings. The first of which was “Ammonite,” the highest profile awards contender of the lineup. The film by Francis Lee depicts the real life relationship between paleontologist Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) and a young woman (Saorise Ronan) in the 1840s. Those in attendance at the Queen’s Drive-In were lucky enough not only to experience the sweeping period romance, but also witnessed Winslet virtually present the inaugural World Queer Visionary Award to director Francis Lee.
“Ammonite”
NewFest 2020 is not completely devoid of in-person events, thanks to a select few drive-in screenings. The first of which was “Ammonite,” the highest profile awards contender of the lineup. The film by Francis Lee depicts the real life relationship between paleontologist Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) and a young woman (Saorise Ronan) in the 1840s. Those in attendance at the Queen’s Drive-In were lucky enough not only to experience the sweeping period romance, but also witnessed Winslet virtually present the inaugural World Queer Visionary Award to director Francis Lee.
- 10/26/2020
- by Sam Eckmann
- Gold Derby
While independent filmmakers have taken a hit with all the festival postponements, cancelations, and re-imaginings, there is a silver lining to upending business as usual. In the past, LGBTQ cinephiles hungry for quality films that represent the breadth and depth of queer life would have to go to a queer film festival to see the international titles or small comedies that may never make their way to Netflix. This year, they can stream some of the freshest films from all across the globe at home.
Which is why the 2020 Outfest Film Festival is more exciting than ever, with drive-ins, a streaming platform, and plenty of world premieres. In this year’s lineup, 70 percent of the films are directed by women or filmmakers of color. Beginning August 20 and lasting for 11 days, the films will be available to stream via Vimeo’s Ott platform. In addition, the festival will host six nights...
Which is why the 2020 Outfest Film Festival is more exciting than ever, with drive-ins, a streaming platform, and plenty of world premieres. In this year’s lineup, 70 percent of the films are directed by women or filmmakers of color. Beginning August 20 and lasting for 11 days, the films will be available to stream via Vimeo’s Ott platform. In addition, the festival will host six nights...
- 8/21/2020
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Outfest Los Angeles is going virtual this year and they have unveiled their stacked lineup for the 11-day festival which kicks off August 20.
The LGBTQ film fest fest will include over 160 films with 35 world premieres, 10 North American premieres and 4 U.S. premieres to Los Angeles for 2020. The fest will live on http://www.outfestla2020.com and there will also be “Outfest LA Under the Stars”, a drive-in experience will take place at the stunning Calamigos Ranch in Malibu, where for two extended weekends the Festival will be hosting a series of drive-in screenings across six-nights on two lots, including both kick-off and closing events. The drive-in screenings will start with the Sundance pic The Nowhere Inn starring musicians Annie Clark and Carrie Brownstein. Other screenings will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
Over 70% of films at Outfest LA directed by female, trans, and Poc filmmakers. The Breakthrough Centerpiece will be...
The LGBTQ film fest fest will include over 160 films with 35 world premieres, 10 North American premieres and 4 U.S. premieres to Los Angeles for 2020. The fest will live on http://www.outfestla2020.com and there will also be “Outfest LA Under the Stars”, a drive-in experience will take place at the stunning Calamigos Ranch in Malibu, where for two extended weekends the Festival will be hosting a series of drive-in screenings across six-nights on two lots, including both kick-off and closing events. The drive-in screenings will start with the Sundance pic The Nowhere Inn starring musicians Annie Clark and Carrie Brownstein. Other screenings will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
Over 70% of films at Outfest LA directed by female, trans, and Poc filmmakers. The Breakthrough Centerpiece will be...
- 8/11/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Best known for the unexpectedly soul-shattering San Francisco suicide doc “The Bridge,” indie filmmaker Eric Steel came out and came of age in 1980s New York at a moment just before AIDS devastated the city’s gay community. Such timing must have been surreal, to assume something so liberating about one’s own identity, only to watch in fear and uncertainty as this fraternity of newfound freedom collapsed around him. One can feel the traces of that experience — nostalgia for old-school, in-person sexual discovery, tinged with survivor’s guilt — lurking in Steel’s narrative debut, “Minyan,” a movie about an outsider among outsiders: a closeted kid adrift in Brighton Beach’s Russian Jewish community circa 1986.
Steel took a long time to make his narrative debut, and he comes to the project in the wake of other adolescent tales depicting the same era and milieu, such as Dito Montiel’s relatively...
Steel took a long time to make his narrative debut, and he comes to the project in the wake of other adolescent tales depicting the same era and milieu, such as Dito Montiel’s relatively...
- 3/28/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
‘Minyan’: An Outsider Struggles To Find His Identity In A Tedious Coming-Of-Age Tale [Berlin Review]
How many times can the same stories be retold? Comparable to the enduring adage that nothing new exists under the sun, countless coming-of-age films continually fail to gaze beyond their illusion of self-importance and resultingly spiral into rehashing the same accounts, an epidemic that proves the subgenre needs to either revitalize itself or die out for good. To be fair, Eric Steel’s debut feature “Minyan” lacks any elements that would rank as irredeemable or offensive, but the filmmaker’s introduction into the world of fictional filmmaking, regrettably, fails to impress.
Continue reading ‘Minyan’: An Outsider Struggles To Find His Identity In A Tedious Coming-Of-Age Tale [Berlin Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Minyan’: An Outsider Struggles To Find His Identity In A Tedious Coming-Of-Age Tale [Berlin Review] at The Playlist.
- 2/24/2020
- by Jonathan Christian
- The Playlist
Documentary maker Eric Steel interweaves multiple threads with admirable skill and balance in his engrossing narrative feature debut, Minyan. Samuel H. Levine, who has turned heads this season on Broadway as one of the leads in the two-part play The Inheritance, brings sensitivity, heart and questioning intelligence to the central role of David, the 17-year-old gay son of a Russian Jewish family in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, in the 1980s. The shadow of AIDS looms as he explores his sexuality, while religious tradition, immigrant isolation and community expectations all weigh on his search for identity in a minor-key drama observed with a lucid ...
- 2/22/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Documentary maker Eric Steel interweaves multiple threads with admirable skill and balance in his engrossing narrative feature debut, Minyan. Samuel H. Levine, who has turned heads this season on Broadway as one of the leads in the two-part play The Inheritance, brings sensitivity, heart and questioning intelligence to the central role of David, the 17-year-old gay son of a Russian Jewish family in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, in the 1980s. The shadow of AIDS looms as he explores his sexuality, while religious tradition, immigrant isolation and community expectations all weigh on his search for identity in a minor-key drama observed with a lucid ...
- 2/22/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
The 2020 Berlin International Film Festival is officially underway in Europe, and as with year’s past, the event marks one of the first fests of the year and is already shaping up to be one of the best. And one of the films that are hoping to make waves at this year’s prestigious event is “Minyan.”
Read More: 12 Most Anticipated Films Of The 2020 Berlin International Film Festival
With “Minyan” set to have its world premiere this weekend in Berlin, we’re proud to offer our readers an exclusive clip from the film, showcasing why the drama is poised to be a highlight of the festival.
Continue reading ‘Minyan’ Exclusive Clip: Eric Steel’s Drama About A Russian Jewish Immigrant In The ’80s Premieres In Berlin at The Playlist.
Read More: 12 Most Anticipated Films Of The 2020 Berlin International Film Festival
With “Minyan” set to have its world premiere this weekend in Berlin, we’re proud to offer our readers an exclusive clip from the film, showcasing why the drama is poised to be a highlight of the festival.
Continue reading ‘Minyan’ Exclusive Clip: Eric Steel’s Drama About A Russian Jewish Immigrant In The ’80s Premieres In Berlin at The Playlist.
- 2/21/2020
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
Ryan Kampe screening all three in the market.
Visit Films heads to the Efm in Berlin this week with a slate bolstered by Sundance acquisitions The Last Shift and Feels Good Man, and Berlin Panorama selection Minyan.
Ryan Kampe and his team will screen all three in Berlin, alongside previously announced punk rock documentary and Generations selection White Riot, Park City premieres Summer White and Dinner In America, and Toronto title Hearts And Bones starring Hugo Weaving.
The Last Shift stars Richard Jenkins and Shane Paul McGhie and screened in the Premieres section. Jenkins plays a fast food worker about...
Visit Films heads to the Efm in Berlin this week with a slate bolstered by Sundance acquisitions The Last Shift and Feels Good Man, and Berlin Panorama selection Minyan.
Ryan Kampe and his team will screen all three in Berlin, alongside previously announced punk rock documentary and Generations selection White Riot, Park City premieres Summer White and Dinner In America, and Toronto title Hearts And Bones starring Hugo Weaving.
The Last Shift stars Richard Jenkins and Shane Paul McGhie and screened in the Premieres section. Jenkins plays a fast food worker about...
- 2/17/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
The Berlin International Film Festival (February 20 – March 1) continues to add to its 2020 line-up, with new titles today unveiled for its Panorama and Berlinale Special programs.
Joining the Panorama line-up is Bassam Tariq’s Mogul Mowgli (previously Mughal Mowgli), starring Riz Ahmed as a young Brit rapper who is about to start his first world tour when a crippling illness strikes him down. Ahmed also co-wrote the screenplay and is producing.
Also new in Panorama are the world premieres of Eric Steel’s Us pic Minyan – set in New York in the 1980s and following a 17-year-old who questions the strict rules of his Jewish community while beginning to live out his homosexuality in the East Village gay scene – and Bastian Günther’s Germany-us co-pro One Of These Days, featuring Carrie Preston and Joe Cole and depicting a Texan ‘Hands on a Hardbody’ competition.
Aneil Karia’s Surge, staring Ben Whishaw,...
Joining the Panorama line-up is Bassam Tariq’s Mogul Mowgli (previously Mughal Mowgli), starring Riz Ahmed as a young Brit rapper who is about to start his first world tour when a crippling illness strikes him down. Ahmed also co-wrote the screenplay and is producing.
Also new in Panorama are the world premieres of Eric Steel’s Us pic Minyan – set in New York in the 1980s and following a 17-year-old who questions the strict rules of his Jewish community while beginning to live out his homosexuality in the East Village gay scene – and Bastian Günther’s Germany-us co-pro One Of These Days, featuring Carrie Preston and Joe Cole and depicting a Texan ‘Hands on a Hardbody’ competition.
Aneil Karia’s Surge, staring Ben Whishaw,...
- 1/21/2020
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
The section will also showcase the world premiere of Srdan Golubović’s Father
The Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 20-Mar 1) has completed the line-up of its Panorama strand with a further 15 world premieres.
The newly announced titles take the Panorama total to 35, after a first wave of features for the strand were announced last month.
They include the world premiere of Bassam Tariq’s Mogul Mowgli (previously titlted Mughal Mowgli), which stars Riz Ahmed as a UK rapper on the verge of international stardom when a crippling illness strikes him down, and he is forced to move back in with his family.
The Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 20-Mar 1) has completed the line-up of its Panorama strand with a further 15 world premieres.
The newly announced titles take the Panorama total to 35, after a first wave of features for the strand were announced last month.
They include the world premiere of Bassam Tariq’s Mogul Mowgli (previously titlted Mughal Mowgli), which stars Riz Ahmed as a UK rapper on the verge of international stardom when a crippling illness strikes him down, and he is forced to move back in with his family.
- 1/21/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
A look at the list of my favorite movies from 2014 reveals the presence of six extraordinary nonfiction films, and that’s just a taste of the seeming hundreds of docs released last year-- not all of them extraordinary, of course, but all of them indicative of a trend toward the making of the availability of more nonfiction filmmaking than it seems we’ve likely ever seen in this country. And speaking of availability, the six I listed—Ron Mann’s Altman, Joey Figueroa and Zak Knutson’s Milius, Orlando von Einsidel’s Virunga, Chaplain and Maclain Way’s The Battered Bastards of Baseball, Stephanie Spray and Pancho Velez’s Manakamana and Errol Morris’s The Unknown Known— were all pictures I caught courtesy of Netflix Streaming. (Virunga was actually produced under the company’s auspices.)
I have a special place in my cinematic heart for nonfiction, both bound between covers and on the screen,...
I have a special place in my cinematic heart for nonfiction, both bound between covers and on the screen,...
- 10/4/2015
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
★★★☆☆"There's no one as foolish as a fisherman," declares one of Kiss the Water's (2013) contributors, though it could be said that any individual attempting to create an intriguing documentary based on the life of deceased salmon fly fabricator Megan Boyd is as equally imprudent. However, Eric Steel's elegantly sketched film, released on DVD by Soda Pictures this week, is almost as faint and intricate as the flies we witness being meticulously constructed throughout the film. Burrowed away within an isolated cottage on the North West coast of Scotland, Boyd spent her days delicately entwining feathers, floss and silk to create miniature works of art.
- 4/22/2014
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Kiss the Water is subtitled “A Love Story.” But what, exactly, is the love story at the heart of this documentary? Is it about the love that expert and renowned (at least in Scotland) fishing fly maker Megan Boyd had for her craft? Is it about the love that fishermen have for their sport and the fishing flies that aid them? Or is it about the love that documentary filmmaker Eric Steel has for lyrical, poetic filmmaking? The answer could be any or all of the above.
Read more...
Read more...
- 3/10/2014
- by John Keith
- JustPressPlay.net
There's much to admire in this documentary about fly-fishing
Reading this on mobile? Click here to watch video
With its lyrical blend of atmospheric Highland footage and expressionist animation, this is much more than a documentary about the dying art of hand-fashioned fishing hooks. Centring on the life of renowned fly-tier Megan Boyd who wound up providing bespoke flies by royal appointment, Kiss the Water dances around the mystical ripples of salmon fishing like a perfectly cast line skimming gently across the surface of a river.
Structured around reflective interviews that unfurl at an unhurried pace, the film teases away at the contradictions of its subject's art: flies fashioned to attract fisherman rather than their prey; the impenetrable nature of the salmon's own breeding/feeding habits; Boyd's hatred of the fact that her creations were used to "kill fish". There's a contrived analogy with the Charles and Diana story that...
Reading this on mobile? Click here to watch video
With its lyrical blend of atmospheric Highland footage and expressionist animation, this is much more than a documentary about the dying art of hand-fashioned fishing hooks. Centring on the life of renowned fly-tier Megan Boyd who wound up providing bespoke flies by royal appointment, Kiss the Water dances around the mystical ripples of salmon fishing like a perfectly cast line skimming gently across the surface of a river.
Structured around reflective interviews that unfurl at an unhurried pace, the film teases away at the contradictions of its subject's art: flies fashioned to attract fisherman rather than their prey; the impenetrable nature of the salmon's own breeding/feeding habits; Boyd's hatred of the fact that her creations were used to "kill fish". There's a contrived analogy with the Charles and Diana story that...
- 1/12/2014
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
12 Years A Slave | The Railway Man | Delivery Man | After Tiller | 1: Life On The Limit | Exposed: Beyond Burlesque
12 Years A Slave (15)
(Steve McQueen, 2013, Us/UK) Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano. 134 mins
What with the acclaim, the awards buzz and the harrowing subject matter, finally seeing McQueen's slavery drama now feels like a duty. But this is an "issue movie" unlike any other, both in its deliberate formalism and its under-represented history. Along with Ejiofor's abductee, we're fully immersed in a slavery system so brutally oppressive even the expression of suffering is forbidden. McQueen gives us a study of institutionalised cruelty, the forces propping it up and its innumerable victims.
The Railway Man (15)
(Jonathan Teplitzky, 2013, Aus/UK) Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman. 116 mins
Middle-aged romance is rapidly derailed by events of the past in this earnest bio-drama, as Kidman spurs Scotsman Firth to revisit his Asian prisoner-of-war days,...
12 Years A Slave (15)
(Steve McQueen, 2013, Us/UK) Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano. 134 mins
What with the acclaim, the awards buzz and the harrowing subject matter, finally seeing McQueen's slavery drama now feels like a duty. But this is an "issue movie" unlike any other, both in its deliberate formalism and its under-represented history. Along with Ejiofor's abductee, we're fully immersed in a slavery system so brutally oppressive even the expression of suffering is forbidden. McQueen gives us a study of institutionalised cruelty, the forces propping it up and its innumerable victims.
The Railway Man (15)
(Jonathan Teplitzky, 2013, Aus/UK) Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman. 116 mins
Middle-aged romance is rapidly derailed by events of the past in this earnest bio-drama, as Kidman spurs Scotsman Firth to revisit his Asian prisoner-of-war days,...
- 1/11/2014
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
An intriguing documentary about a real eccentric – Megan Boyd who crafted fishing flies with a passion
What seems at first an impossibly flimsy and meagre documentary subject slowly reveals itself as cine-miniaturism with charm. Eric Steel – who directed The Bridge, about suicides on San Francisco's Golden Gate – was inspired by a New York Times obituary of Megan Boyd. Boyd had lived in a tumbledown cottage in remote northern Scotland and had been awarded the British Empire medal for creating fishing flies with passionate dedication and craft. Fishing aficionados and connoisseurs valued her work, and jealously guarded their relationship with her. The Prince of Wales was a regular customer. Steel talks to Boyd's friends, neighbours and customers and builds up an intriguing portrait of a real eccentric: a woman who dressed mannishly, drove outrageously, danced vigorously and played bridge with abandon. Teasingly, Steel withholds footage of Boyd until the end, and...
What seems at first an impossibly flimsy and meagre documentary subject slowly reveals itself as cine-miniaturism with charm. Eric Steel – who directed The Bridge, about suicides on San Francisco's Golden Gate – was inspired by a New York Times obituary of Megan Boyd. Boyd had lived in a tumbledown cottage in remote northern Scotland and had been awarded the British Empire medal for creating fishing flies with passionate dedication and craft. Fishing aficionados and connoisseurs valued her work, and jealously guarded their relationship with her. The Prince of Wales was a regular customer. Steel talks to Boyd's friends, neighbours and customers and builds up an intriguing portrait of a real eccentric: a woman who dressed mannishly, drove outrageously, danced vigorously and played bridge with abandon. Teasingly, Steel withholds footage of Boyd until the end, and...
- 1/10/2014
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
“Why does a salmon take a fly?” That’s the question asked by Eric Steel’s quietly beguiling documentary. Its subject is Megan Boyd, a woman from the West Highlands who became celebrated for her extraordinary skill at tying fishing flies. Boyd, whose fervent admirers included Prince Charles, died in 2001. Steel speaks to those who knew her or used her flies, and films the rugged Scottish landscapes where she lived and worked.
- 1/9/2014
- The Independent - Film
Sales outfit picks up Eric Steel’s Tribeca and Edinburgh documentary Kiss the Water.
Fortissimo Films has picked up rights to Eric Steel’s Tribeca and Edinburgh documentary Kiss the Water.
The deal was done by Fortissimo’s executive vice president sales and acquisitions Winnie Lau with producer/director Steel.
Kiss the Water tells the story of a Scottish woman whose life, livelihood and love were wrapped up in the mysterious fishing flies she created from bits of exotic feather, fur and tinsel.
Steel previously directed 2006 doc The Bridge.
Fortissimo Films has picked up rights to Eric Steel’s Tribeca and Edinburgh documentary Kiss the Water.
The deal was done by Fortissimo’s executive vice president sales and acquisitions Winnie Lau with producer/director Steel.
Kiss the Water tells the story of a Scottish woman whose life, livelihood and love were wrapped up in the mysterious fishing flies she created from bits of exotic feather, fur and tinsel.
Steel previously directed 2006 doc The Bridge.
- 8/12/2013
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Maniac, a horror movie starring Elijah Wood as a serial killer, won.t be released commercially in cinemas or on DVD in New Zealand after being given a festivals-only classification.
The Australasian distributor Monster Pictures is disappointed by the Kiwi Office of Film and Literature Classification ruling but is confident the film will be cleared for cinema and DVD release in Australia.
.We don.t anticipate any problems here,. said Monster.s Neil Foley, who is about to submit the film to the Australian Classification Board.
Last year the board granted the film an exemption enabling it to screen to audiences aged 18+ at the Melbourne International Film Festival, Monster Fest and the Cockatoo Island Film Festival.
Maniac is the first film to get a festival-only classification in New Zealand since The Bridge, Eric Steel's documentary which showed people jumping to their deaths from San Francisco.s Golden Gate Bridge,...
The Australasian distributor Monster Pictures is disappointed by the Kiwi Office of Film and Literature Classification ruling but is confident the film will be cleared for cinema and DVD release in Australia.
.We don.t anticipate any problems here,. said Monster.s Neil Foley, who is about to submit the film to the Australian Classification Board.
Last year the board granted the film an exemption enabling it to screen to audiences aged 18+ at the Melbourne International Film Festival, Monster Fest and the Cockatoo Island Film Festival.
Maniac is the first film to get a festival-only classification in New Zealand since The Bridge, Eric Steel's documentary which showed people jumping to their deaths from San Francisco.s Golden Gate Bridge,...
- 7/24/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Attention, New Zealand... Get a grip, will ya? According to Deadline, New Zealand’s Office of Film and Literature Classification says Maniac can be shown only if it’s being used in a tertiary media, a film studies course, or screened as part of a festival. It cannot and will not be shown theatrically.
The ruling also means the film cannot be released on DVD. The ban beyond festival screenings “is an insult to the intelligence of the adult population of New Zealand and does little more than to serve as an open invitation to illegally pirate the film. We are flabbergasted,” said Neil Foley of Melbourne, Australia-based distributor Monster Pictures.
In a blog post, Monster said it will “explore every option” to have the ban revoked, “but at this stage it ain’t looking good.” Maniac is the first film to receive the festival-only classification since Eric Steel’s...
The ruling also means the film cannot be released on DVD. The ban beyond festival screenings “is an insult to the intelligence of the adult population of New Zealand and does little more than to serve as an open invitation to illegally pirate the film. We are flabbergasted,” said Neil Foley of Melbourne, Australia-based distributor Monster Pictures.
In a blog post, Monster said it will “explore every option” to have the ban revoked, “but at this stage it ain’t looking good.” Maniac is the first film to receive the festival-only classification since Eric Steel’s...
- 7/24/2013
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
A documentary celebrating the eccentric master of fish flies, Megan Boyd; how Mamma Mia! star Dominic Cooper got a taste for real ale; and Woody Allen steps out from behind the camera
Fishing for film gold
The Edinburgh international film festival starts this week, casting its net wide with Korean films and American indies. But this 67th edition might be remembered for a very local tale and one of the unlikeliest documentaries that's ever hooked me. It's called Kiss the Water: A Love Story, a portrait of an eccentric, almost hermit-like woman called Megan Boyd who became the world's foremost maker of salmon flies. Seriously. Prince Charles was one of her loyal clients, even delivering her OBE to her cottage because Boyd couldn't be bothered with the fuss of going to the palace to accept it from the Queen.
The film is by American doc maker Eric Steel, whose last film,...
Fishing for film gold
The Edinburgh international film festival starts this week, casting its net wide with Korean films and American indies. But this 67th edition might be remembered for a very local tale and one of the unlikeliest documentaries that's ever hooked me. It's called Kiss the Water: A Love Story, a portrait of an eccentric, almost hermit-like woman called Megan Boyd who became the world's foremost maker of salmon flies. Seriously. Prince Charles was one of her loyal clients, even delivering her OBE to her cottage because Boyd couldn't be bothered with the fuss of going to the palace to accept it from the Queen.
The film is by American doc maker Eric Steel, whose last film,...
- 6/15/2013
- by Jason Solomons
- The Guardian - Film News
Poetic documentary Kiss The Water had its premiere at Tribeca Film Festival. Although on its surface, the film is a consideration of eccentric Scottish fly maker Megan Boyd, its currents also carry an elegy to the art of fly-making itself and wistful tribute to the sport of salmon fishing in general. When I caught up with documentarian Eric Steel to talk about the film, he told me "the stories are so parallel and connected".
His journey into the world of Boyd's began - as does his documentary - with her obituary in the New York Times. Steel says he spent years imagining Boyd's life and his desire to encourage the audience to create their own picture of the woman is one of the reasons he doesn't use actual footage of her until the end credits.
"When I clipped her obituary, I know there was...
His journey into the world of Boyd's began - as does his documentary - with her obituary in the New York Times. Steel says he spent years imagining Boyd's life and his desire to encourage the audience to create their own picture of the woman is one of the reasons he doesn't use actual footage of her until the end credits.
"When I clipped her obituary, I know there was...
- 5/9/2013
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
On April 18, 2012, Frédéric Boyer announced at the Tribeca Film Festival opening media breakfast for his inaugural year as Artistic Director, that he wanted to have more "World Premières" as he did when he was heading the Directors’ Fortnight program at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2013, he has succeeded triumphantly with the MoMA PS1 collaboration for Michelangelo Frammartino's Alberi and other innovative approaches to cinema, like Paul Verhoeven's latest film Tricked (Steekspel), which was presented in the Tribeca Talks After the Movie series. I asked Verhoeven at the North American premiere about the birth of his Dada Dial M For Murder moment and got an answer that revealed the process of the unprecedented script collaboration. Eric Steel's devastatingly luminescent Kiss The Water also had its world premiere at this year's festival. The documentary about a Scottish fishing fly-maker transforms itself...
- 4/25/2013
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
In the UK, you could be forgiven that the dominant trend for documentary filmmakers is to make hot issue films, as these seem more popular with our domestic distributors. But there is also a strong trend for intimate studies of single - and singular - people. Tribeca's slate this year includes the comprehensive and compelling Gore Vidal: The United States Of Amnesia and the movingly candid Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me - which was followed by the most incredible Q&A session I can personally remember. At the other end of the fame spectrum sits Eric Steel's Kiss The Water, an enigmatic, wistful look at the life of salmon fly-maker Megan Boyd. I would also add Matt Wolf's fascinating documentary Teenage to the list, which although it concerns the 'race' we now refer to as teenagers, presents the (not-so) changing face of them as a sort of first-person every(wo)man.
- 4/23/2013
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
A former executive for Disney and Scott Rudin, Eric Steel decided he wanted to make movies instead of sit behind a desk. While he's produced films such as "Bringing Out the Dead" and "Julie and Julia" and made his directorial debut with "The Bridge," Steel brings us his first documentary feature with "Kiss the Water." Through both animation and documentary the film tells the story of internationally renowned fishing fly-maker Megan Boyd from the highlands of Scotland. What it's about: It’s at once a documentary and a dream -- about a woman I knew only from her obituary. She lived in a cottage all alone, spinning fishing flies that were magical and deadly. About the filmmaker: I worked for many years as an executive -- at Disney, then at Cinecom, and then for Scott Rudin. I told people I made movies, but mostly I sat behind a desk and talked about making movies.
- 4/15/2013
- by Indiewire
- Indiewire
Since his directorial debut with 2006's controversial Tribeca-screening documentary "The Bridge," Eric Steel has kept relatively quiet, with only a producing credit on the Julia Child biopic "Julie and Julia" to his name in the years since. But now 7 years later, Steel is returning once again to Tribeca with his second documentary feature "Kiss The Water," and we have an exclusive poster of his new film ahead of its world premiere during this month's festival. "Kiss The Water," follows renowned fly fishing expert Megan Boyd, living remotely in Scotland's northern highlands, whose self-taught and made fishing flies have brought her great acclaim and reverence, making her something of a legend among fly-fishing enthusiasts. With admirers as distinguished as Prince Charles, among others, she has throughout her life become internationally renowned for her startling abilities, which Steel documents through interviews, animations, and stunning images of the landscape that she calls...
- 4/15/2013
- by Cameron Sinz
- Indiewire
March is just about winding down and you know what that means; the Tribeca Film Festival is right around the corner! Shockya.com will be on the ground in New York City when the festival kicks off on April 17th, but we’ve got the pleasure of beginning our Tff 2013 coverage early with an exclusive animated photo from the documentary “Kiss The Water.” Director Eric Steel takes us to the far northern highlands of Scotland where the internationally renowned Megan Boyd crafted fishing flies for local and high profile clientele including Prince Charles, work that was also worthy of collectors’ eyes and installations in museums. Through interviews, animations, and images of [ Read More ]
The post Exclusive: Animated Photo From Tribeca Film Festival Documentary Kiss The Water appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Exclusive: Animated Photo From Tribeca Film Festival Documentary Kiss The Water appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 3/29/2013
- by Perri Nemiroff
- ShockYa
Tribeca Film Festival organizers on Wednesday announced 46 of the 89 feature films screening at the New York-set festival starting next month, including selections in the World Narrative and Documentary Competition film sections, as well as out-of-competition Viewpoints screenings.
"Big Men," a documentary about American corporations pursuing oil reserves in Africa, will serve as the opening night film for the World Documentary portion; "Bluebird," a small-town drama featuring "Girls" star Adam Driver, will kick-off the World Narrative slate. "Flex Is Kings," a documentary about Brooklyn street performers, is the Viewpoints opener. All three films premiere on April 18. The Tribeca Film Festival runs from April 17 through April 28, with "Mistaken For Strangers," a documentary about The National, serving as the fest's opening night film.
"Our competition selections embody the quality and diversity of contemporary cinema from across the globe,” Tribeca Film Festival Artistic Director Frederic Boyer said in a release. “The cinematic proficiency that...
"Big Men," a documentary about American corporations pursuing oil reserves in Africa, will serve as the opening night film for the World Documentary portion; "Bluebird," a small-town drama featuring "Girls" star Adam Driver, will kick-off the World Narrative slate. "Flex Is Kings," a documentary about Brooklyn street performers, is the Viewpoints opener. All three films premiere on April 18. The Tribeca Film Festival runs from April 17 through April 28, with "Mistaken For Strangers," a documentary about The National, serving as the fest's opening night film.
"Our competition selections embody the quality and diversity of contemporary cinema from across the globe,” Tribeca Film Festival Artistic Director Frederic Boyer said in a release. “The cinematic proficiency that...
- 3/5/2013
- by Christopher Rosen
- Huffington Post
The Tribeca Film Festival announced the first half of its 2013 movie slate today, including its World Narrative and Documentary Competition film categories, along with selections from the out-of-competition Viewpoints section, which highlights international and independent cinema. Festival organizers reviewed more than 6,000 submissions to select 89 feature-length films from 30 different countries for this year’s festival, which boasts 53 world premieres. “Our competition selections embody the quality and diversity of contemporary cinema from across the globe,” said Frederic Boyer, Tribeca’s artistic director. “The cinematic proficiency that harnesses this lineup is remarkable and we’re looking forward to sharing these new perspectives, powerful performances,...
- 3/5/2013
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
2010 Tribeca Film Festival Announces Awards
* * *
When We Leave (Die Fremde), Dog Pound, Monica & David, And The Arbor Win Top Awards In Juried World Competitions
* * *
More Than $150,000 Handed Out In Cash Prizes
[April 29, 2010 – New York, NY] –The ninth annual Tribeca Film Festival, co-founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, and presented by founding sponsor American Express, announced the winners of its world competition categories tonight at a ceremony hosted at the W Union Square in New York City.
The world competition winners for narrative and documentary films were chosen from 12 narrative and 12 documentary features from 20 countries. Two awards were given to honor New York films, which were chosen from seven narrative and six documentary features. Awards were also given for the best narrative, best documentary and student visionary films in the short film competitions. This year’s Festival included 85 features and 47 short films from 38 countries.
Also announced at the awards were the...
* * *
When We Leave (Die Fremde), Dog Pound, Monica & David, And The Arbor Win Top Awards In Juried World Competitions
* * *
More Than $150,000 Handed Out In Cash Prizes
[April 29, 2010 – New York, NY] –The ninth annual Tribeca Film Festival, co-founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, and presented by founding sponsor American Express, announced the winners of its world competition categories tonight at a ceremony hosted at the W Union Square in New York City.
The world competition winners for narrative and documentary films were chosen from 12 narrative and 12 documentary features from 20 countries. Two awards were given to honor New York films, which were chosen from seven narrative and six documentary features. Awards were also given for the best narrative, best documentary and student visionary films in the short film competitions. This year’s Festival included 85 features and 47 short films from 38 countries.
Also announced at the awards were the...
- 4/30/2010
- Makingof.com
The 2010 Tribeca Film Festival handed out its jury awards last night, in a reportedly swift ceremony held at NYC's W Union Square hotel. The winners of the narrative competition were chosen and presented by a group including actresses Hope Davis and Cheryl Hines, actor Aaron Eckhart, writer John Ridley (U Turn) and directors Gary Winick (13 Going on 30), Gary Ross (Pleasantville) and John Hamburg (I Love You, Man). The German drama Die Fremde (When We Leave) took the top prize, called The Founders Award, while the film's star, Sibel Kekilli, won Best Actress. Other narrative honors went to director Kim Chapiron (Dog Pound), actor Eric Elmosnino (Gainsbourg, Je t'Aime...Moi Non Plus) and the Italian film Mine vaganti (Loose Cannons), which received a special jury mention "for making us laugh, cry and immediately want to book a trip to Southern Italy."
Documentary winners Monica & David, Budrus and director Clio Barnard (The Arbor...
Documentary winners Monica & David, Budrus and director Clio Barnard (The Arbor...
- 4/30/2010
- by Christopher Campbell
- Cinematical
The juror panel at the Tribeca Film Festival is going to look like the red carpet at a major Hollywood premiere.
Several celebrities, including Jessica Alba, Whoopi Goldberg, Aaron Eckhart and Brooke Shields, were asked to serve on the six competitive festival categories. They will announce the winning films, filmmakers and actors in their respective categories at the Tff Awards Night Party, which will be held on April 29. The 2010 Tribeca Festival runs from April 21 to May 2 in New York City.
“This year’s jury features the same impressive range and depth as our films playing in competition. They are distinctive and accomplished storytellers, artists and entrepreneurs from the worlds of film, theater, culture, fashion, television and new media – all of whom share a passion for film, a thirst for discovery and a spirit of independence,” said Jane Rosenthal, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival.
Here’s a list of all...
Several celebrities, including Jessica Alba, Whoopi Goldberg, Aaron Eckhart and Brooke Shields, were asked to serve on the six competitive festival categories. They will announce the winning films, filmmakers and actors in their respective categories at the Tff Awards Night Party, which will be held on April 29. The 2010 Tribeca Festival runs from April 21 to May 2 in New York City.
“This year’s jury features the same impressive range and depth as our films playing in competition. They are distinctive and accomplished storytellers, artists and entrepreneurs from the worlds of film, theater, culture, fashion, television and new media – all of whom share a passion for film, a thirst for discovery and a spirit of independence,” said Jane Rosenthal, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival.
Here’s a list of all...
- 4/13/2010
- by Sean O'Connell
- Hollywoodnews.com
The Tribeca Film Festival announced Tuesday morning the 35 jurors for its six competition categories.
Filmmakers, actors, screenwriters, journalists and media figures such as Aaron Eckhart, Jessica Alba, Cheryl Hines, America Ferrera, Alicia Keys, Zach Braff, Hope Davis, Gary Ross, Whoopi Goldberg and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey will participate on the juries.
"This year's jury features the same impressive range and depth as our films playing in competition," fest co-founder Jane Rosenthal said. "They are distinctive and accomplished storytellers, artists and entrepreneurs from the worlds of film, theater, culture, fashion, television and new media -- all of whom share a passion for film, a thirst for discovery and a spirit of independence."
Winners in the world narrative, world documentary, New York narrative, New York documentary, narrative short and documentary and student short film categories will be announced at the awards night party April 29. Together, the six juries will award $130,000 in cash and prizes,...
Filmmakers, actors, screenwriters, journalists and media figures such as Aaron Eckhart, Jessica Alba, Cheryl Hines, America Ferrera, Alicia Keys, Zach Braff, Hope Davis, Gary Ross, Whoopi Goldberg and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey will participate on the juries.
"This year's jury features the same impressive range and depth as our films playing in competition," fest co-founder Jane Rosenthal said. "They are distinctive and accomplished storytellers, artists and entrepreneurs from the worlds of film, theater, culture, fashion, television and new media -- all of whom share a passion for film, a thirst for discovery and a spirit of independence."
Winners in the world narrative, world documentary, New York narrative, New York documentary, narrative short and documentary and student short film categories will be announced at the awards night party April 29. Together, the six juries will award $130,000 in cash and prizes,...
- 4/13/2010
- by By Jay A. Fernandez
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
24-year-old star Amy Adams was seen attending the Los Angeles premiere of her new flick "Julie & Julia" at the Mann Village Theatre in Westwood, California on Monday, July 27. Donning a beautiful white dress paired with white shoes, Adams happily posed for pics at the event's red carpet.
Joining her to come to the premiere was Meryl Streep, the depicter of Julia Child on the film. Other cast of the flick, including Jane Lynch and Mary Lynn Rajskub, were all in attendance.
In addition to the film's cast members, "Twilight" actress Ashley Greene was also seen coming to the event. Then, Giada de Laurentiis, who becomes the host of TV show entitled "Giada at Home", hit the venue by wearing a purple tank top matched with black trousers.
"Julie & Julia" is a biography-drama movie which is helmed by Nora Ephron, who also produces it along with Laurence Mark, Amy Robinson, and Eric Steel.
Joining her to come to the premiere was Meryl Streep, the depicter of Julia Child on the film. Other cast of the flick, including Jane Lynch and Mary Lynn Rajskub, were all in attendance.
In addition to the film's cast members, "Twilight" actress Ashley Greene was also seen coming to the event. Then, Giada de Laurentiis, who becomes the host of TV show entitled "Giada at Home", hit the venue by wearing a purple tank top matched with black trousers.
"Julie & Julia" is a biography-drama movie which is helmed by Nora Ephron, who also produces it along with Laurence Mark, Amy Robinson, and Eric Steel.
- 7/28/2009
- by celebrity-mania.com
- Celebrity Mania
NEW YORK -- Chris Messina is in negotiations to star opposite Amy Adams and Meryl Streep in Nora Ephron's comedy Julie & Julia for Columbia.
Messina is in line to play the husband of Adams' title character, a depressed government worker trying to add spice to her marriage and life by making every recipe in Julia Child's book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." Streep plays the famed cookbook author in a parallel post-World War II story line. Stanley Tucci is set to play Child's husband.
Ephron adapted the script from Julie Powell's autobiographical book "Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen." Powell's husband Eric urged her to start a blog about the undertaking, which led to a large online following and her 2005 nonfiction best-seller.
Amy Robinson, Eric Steel, Laurence Mark and Ephron are producing the film. Scott Rudin and Dana Stevens will executive produce.
Principal photography is tentatively set to begin in March. Andrea Giannetti is overseeing the project for Columbia.
Messina is in line to play the husband of Adams' title character, a depressed government worker trying to add spice to her marriage and life by making every recipe in Julia Child's book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." Streep plays the famed cookbook author in a parallel post-World War II story line. Stanley Tucci is set to play Child's husband.
Ephron adapted the script from Julie Powell's autobiographical book "Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen." Powell's husband Eric urged her to start a blog about the undertaking, which led to a large online following and her 2005 nonfiction best-seller.
Amy Robinson, Eric Steel, Laurence Mark and Ephron are producing the film. Scott Rudin and Dana Stevens will executive produce.
Principal photography is tentatively set to begin in March. Andrea Giannetti is overseeing the project for Columbia.
- 12/13/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- Your eye immediately finds him among the passersby. Tall, saturnine, long raven hair fluttering in the breeze, the obligatory dark glasses and leather jacket. Contemplative, almost brooding, he resembles some troubled figure emerged from rock and roll mythology. Morrison just after he arrived in Paris. Leaning forward, he looks out over the water, just another tourist taking in the famous view. Until he climbs onto the railing, spreads his arms as if they were wings, and drops from the frame. For a moment you forget he can’t fly. Every year, more people commit suicide on San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge than anywhere else in the world. In his thoughtful, provocative, ultimately enthralling documentary The Bridge, director Eric Steel (executive producer of Angela’s Ashes) explores the pain that compels people to embark on that final plunge. Steel and his crew spent an entire year watching the celebrated national landmark.
- 10/30/2006
- IONCINEMA.com
SAN FRANCISCO -- Eric Steel's documentary, The Bridge, opens with a picturesque shot of the Golden Gate Bridge, one of the great architectural and engineering feats of the 20th century. Less than five minutes into the film, a man casually climbs over the bridge railing and jumps 225 feet to his death in the chilly waters of San Francisco Bay. This is one of six such episodes shown in the film out of more two dozen caught by Steel's camera crew, who shot the bridge every day in 2004. (One man happily chats on his cell phone moments before leaping.)
Despite Steel's admirable intention to stimulate discussion about two taboo subjects -- suicide and mental illness -- its morbid fascination with the physical reality of death and what drives people to override the primal instinct to survive is what sustains interest in an otherwise unremarkable film. The Bridge has a television deal with IFC, which plans to broadcast it sometime in 2007.
Lengthy interviews with family and friends of the six victims, culled from over 100 hours of footage, needs tighter editing, and are, for the most part, presented in a mundane fashion. Steel cuts back and forth between those interviews and Peter McCandless' awe-inspiring cinematography of the bridge, captured at nearly every time of day and from every conceivable angle. Eerie music by Alex Heffes sets a mood of apprehension and dread.
The rhythm is repetitive and grows monotonous. In fact, the entire film could have used a more structured approach. "What was in their minds when they jumped?" is asked over and over again by those left behind. The question is given a partial answer by Kevin Hines, 25, who struggled with mental illness for most of his young life, and miraculously survived his jump into the bay. Segments that feature him are engrossing.
Steel, who produced major Hollywood features such as Angela's Ashes, Bringing Out the Dead and Shaft, works on a smaller, more intimate scale in his directorial debut. One of the faults of the film is its perspective is too narrow. Steel may have chosen to do this in an attempt to force the audience to confront the central issue, though he decided to make the film after reading Tad Friend's New Yorker article, Jumpers, which provided context by looking at the debate over whether or not a suicide barrier should be installed on the bridg.
When first screened at the San Francisco Film Festival, the film met with protests and controversy. For one, Steel misled the bridge district as to the purpose of the filming. And, even though the victims chose to commit suicide in a public setting, there's an ethical question in regard to showing images of people going to their deaths, some shot through a telephoto lens. It's a violation of their privacy on what had to be the loneliest and most desperate day of their lives and a form of voyeurism, however inadvertent. Still, it's difficult to avert one's eyes and therein lays the problem. These moments are inherently dramatic, shocking -- and, for some, perversely exciting to watch.
The Bridge
IFC presents an Easy There Tiger Production
Credits:
Writer/director: Eric Steel
Producer: Eric Steel
Executive producer: Alison Palmer Bourke, Evan Shapiro
Director of photography: Peter McCandless
Music: Alex Heffes
Editor: Sabine Krayenbuhl
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 93 minutes...
Despite Steel's admirable intention to stimulate discussion about two taboo subjects -- suicide and mental illness -- its morbid fascination with the physical reality of death and what drives people to override the primal instinct to survive is what sustains interest in an otherwise unremarkable film. The Bridge has a television deal with IFC, which plans to broadcast it sometime in 2007.
Lengthy interviews with family and friends of the six victims, culled from over 100 hours of footage, needs tighter editing, and are, for the most part, presented in a mundane fashion. Steel cuts back and forth between those interviews and Peter McCandless' awe-inspiring cinematography of the bridge, captured at nearly every time of day and from every conceivable angle. Eerie music by Alex Heffes sets a mood of apprehension and dread.
The rhythm is repetitive and grows monotonous. In fact, the entire film could have used a more structured approach. "What was in their minds when they jumped?" is asked over and over again by those left behind. The question is given a partial answer by Kevin Hines, 25, who struggled with mental illness for most of his young life, and miraculously survived his jump into the bay. Segments that feature him are engrossing.
Steel, who produced major Hollywood features such as Angela's Ashes, Bringing Out the Dead and Shaft, works on a smaller, more intimate scale in his directorial debut. One of the faults of the film is its perspective is too narrow. Steel may have chosen to do this in an attempt to force the audience to confront the central issue, though he decided to make the film after reading Tad Friend's New Yorker article, Jumpers, which provided context by looking at the debate over whether or not a suicide barrier should be installed on the bridg.
When first screened at the San Francisco Film Festival, the film met with protests and controversy. For one, Steel misled the bridge district as to the purpose of the filming. And, even though the victims chose to commit suicide in a public setting, there's an ethical question in regard to showing images of people going to their deaths, some shot through a telephoto lens. It's a violation of their privacy on what had to be the loneliest and most desperate day of their lives and a form of voyeurism, however inadvertent. Still, it's difficult to avert one's eyes and therein lays the problem. These moments are inherently dramatic, shocking -- and, for some, perversely exciting to watch.
The Bridge
IFC presents an Easy There Tiger Production
Credits:
Writer/director: Eric Steel
Producer: Eric Steel
Executive producer: Alison Palmer Bourke, Evan Shapiro
Director of photography: Peter McCandless
Music: Alex Heffes
Editor: Sabine Krayenbuhl
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 93 minutes...
- 6/22/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- [Pierre-Alexandre Despatis suffers for his cinema. Now covering his second edition, our official festival reporter and multi-function human cyborg will provide us the sights (plenty of cool pics!), the sounds, the reviews and the occasional interviews of the still very young 5th edition of the Tribeca film festival. Below are some of Pierre-Alexandre’s reviews in easy to read, insightful capsule form. Enjoy!] The BRIDGEMany documentaries about suicide and suicide-related subjects vary in their aesthetics; Eric Steel’s The Bridge really stands among Tribeca’s other documentary selections. There is something eerie about the doc, the unpleasant sight of seeing people jumping off the bridge brings back thoughts of those who had the same fate with the World Trade Center – except here the debate is about the choice. The other jarring item is that the film contains interviews with the families of the people who we see committing suicide – reliving the final moments of their loved ones. The filmmaker filmed the bridge from a distance and later contacted the families of the jumpers they filmed. The result is a very unique and strange montage! The interviews with the families are truly outstanding and they avoid any over-dramatization. Made in collaboration with IFC, the film will definitely find its way outside of the Tribeca film festival.
- 5/2/2006
- IONCINEMA.com
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