Jerusalem Film Festival Winners + Slamdance Call for Entries

2008 Jerusalem Film Festival Awards

2008 Jerusalem Film Festival: July 10–19

Ronit Elbabetz and Shlomi Elkabetzs 7 Days: “One of the brothers of the Ohaion family dies. It is a large family. According to the tradition, the period of mourning begins after the funeral: the entire family goes to the home of the deceased, and nobody can leave for seven days. One must dedicate oneself to prayer for the soul of the deceased and tell him goodbye. Over the course of the week, they will sleep together on slim mattresses, eat light food, and go without shaving, taking a shower, or even changing clothes. The mourners are the six brothers, the two sisters, the spouse and her two children, as well as the mother. To these twelve people are added the brothers wives, and some close friends. The action takes place during the 1991 Gulf War, and Saddam Husseins missiles constitute a permanent threat. The family business of aluminum painting, which is their mutual source of income, is on the brink of bankruptcy, and debts pile up. With these multiple pressures, the Seven Days will put the family structure to the test. All the familys members must unite and show solidarity towards one another. They should be mourning their deceased brother and put aside any material worries, but instead, they reject the idea of death and the purpose of their meeting, to leave room for their old demons.” Synopsis from the Jerusalem Film Festival website.

The Wolgin Award for Best Feature Film: 7 Days, directors Ronit Elbabetz and Shlomi Elkabetz

The Award for the Best Actress: Hana Azulay Hasfary, for her role in 7 Days

The Award for Best Actor: Alon Aboutboul and Moshe Ivgy, for their roles in Out of the Blue

The Wolgin Award for Best Documentary: The Tale of Nicolai & the Law of Return, director David Ofek

Special Mention: Nuran, directed by Amikam Shossberger

The Wolgin Award for Best Short Film: Around Trip by Gur Bentwich

Special Mentions: The Repentance of Rachamim Hanuka directed by Ariel Benbaji, and Bait, directed by Michal Vinik

The Award in Memory of Anat Pirchi for Best Single Drama: And Thou Shalt Love, director Chaim Elbaum

Special Mention: Anthem, directed by Elad Keidan

Award for Best Television Series: Arab Labor, creators Daniel Paran, Sayed Kashua, and Roni Ninio

Special Mention: A Taste of Conflict, creators Uri Barbash and Ronit Weiss-Berkowitz

The “In the Spirit of Freedom” Awards: Hunger, director Steve McQueen, and Little Moth, Peng Tao

Special mention: Under the Bombs, directed by Philippe Aractingi

FIPRESCI International Critics Award: My Marlon and Brando, directed by Hüseyin Karabey

The Jewish Experience Awards: Outside Love, director Daniel Espinosa, and The Green Dumpster Mystery (above), director Tal Haim Yoffe

The “Shavim” (Equals) Production Grant: “Lod Bypass,” to be directed by Orna Raviv and produced by Shula Spiegel

Israeli Film Survey Winners:

Avanti Popolo, Atash-Thirst, Late Wedding

Wim van Leer Young Filmmakers award:

Fiction film: On Top of the Water, directed by Efrat Raz

Documentary Film: Nadine, directed by Nadine Abu Lashin

Wolgin Award Jury: Gila Almagor stage and screen actress (Israel), Marion Döring Director, European Film Academy (Germany), Hüseyin Karabey Director (Turkey), Nino Kirtadze Director (France), Haim Yavin Television and radio presenter, documentary director (Israel).

Moscow Film Festival winners

Moscow Film Festival 2008: June 19-28.

Reza Mir Karimis As Simple As That depicts a day in the life of an Iranian housewife who, despite her best efforts, feels that she is underappreciated by those around her.

Golden George for best film

Be hamin sadegi / As Simple As That, dir. Reza Mir Karimi, Iran

The special jury prize Silver George

Un coeur simple / The Simple Heart, dir. Marion Laine, France

Silver George for best director

Javor Gardev (Zift, Bulgaria)

Silver George for best actor

Richard Jenkins (The Visitor, USA)

Silver George for best actress

Margherita Buy, Giorni e nuvole / Days and Clouds, Italy / Switzerland

Best film in the Perspectives sidebar

Cumbia callera / Cumbia Connection, dir. Rene U Villareal, Mexico

Special prize for outstanding contribution to world cinema

Takeshi Kitano (Japan)

The special prize “I believe. K. Stanislavsky” for outstanding achievement in “acting and devotion to the principles of K. Stanislavskys school”

Isabelle Huppert (France)

International film critics jury (FIPRESCI) prize

Odnazhdy v provintsii / Once Upon a Time in the Provinces, dir. Katya Shagalova, Russia

Russian film critics prize (Main Competition)

Be Hamin sadegi / As Simple As That, dir. Reza Mir Karimi, Iran

Russian film critics prize (Perspectives Sidebar)

One shot, dir. Linda Wendel, Denmark

Audience Award (Main Competition)

For my father, dir. Dror Zahavi, Israel

Russian film clubs federation prize (Main Competition)

Zift, dir. Javor Gardev, Bulgaria

Russian film clubs federation prize (Russian Program)

Dont think about white monkeys, dir. Yury Mamin

Main Competition Jury: Liv Ullmann (Chairman), actress, director; Michael Glawogger, writer, director; Irina Rozanova, actress; Derek Malcolm, film critic; Sebastián Alarcón, director.

Perspectives Competition Jury: Janos Szasz, director; Anna Melikian, director, producer; Stefan Kitanov, producer, MIFF director in Sofia.

Slamdance Film Festival: Call for Entries

The 2009 Annual Slamdance Film Festival, which is scheduled to take place from Jan. 15–23, in Park City, Utah, has launched its call for entries today. As per the festival's press release, they're “looking for short and feature film submissions in all genres” in addition to, for the first time, music video submissions. Entry forms, rules, and regulations are available on the Slamdance website. The early submission deadline is August 25, 2008; it includes a “significant” entry fee discount. The final submission deadline is October 10.

Slamdance 2009, presented by Kodak and Indie Road, will screen approximately 100 films. The film selections will be posted on the 2008 festival page in the second week of December.

The 2008 Slamdance festival received more than 3,300 submissions from all over the world, though only 20 films in the narrative and documentary feature categories were screened in the main competition, “which is strictly devoted to films without domestic theatrical distribution, from first-time feature directors, working with relatively low budgets.”

As stated in its press release, “Slamdance serves as a showcase for the discovery of new and emerging talent and is dedicated to the nurturing and development of new filmmakers and their cinematic vision. The feature competition programs are reserved for first time directors working with limited budgets, thus enabling the Festival's mission to give exposure to emerging filmmaking talent. Slamdance is programmed through a unique democratic method, just one of many elements that make Slamdance a pioneering standout among its festival counterparts. Every film is programmed by majority rule by a committee of filmmakers. Slamdance alumni are recruited to serve as programmers, so first-timers are represented and assisted by Slamdance veterans. The mantra of 'by filmmakers, for filmmakers' resounds at every level of the organization, and plays a part in all of its undertakings.”

Slamdance also features writing competitions for screenplays, teleplays, and horror scripts; the Anarchy Online Short Film Competition; the Dirty Dozen Short Film DVD Series; and a $99 Special short film production project.

Acquisitions from the 2008 Slamdance festival include Paranormal Activity, which will be released by DreamWorks; Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer; and Trailer Park of Terror. Among former Slamdancers are Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess ('03 Peluca); The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan ('99 award-winner Following); and Marc Forster ('96 Audience Award winner Loungers), the director of Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland, and the upcoming James Bond flick The Quantum Solace.