TMCnet News
FOREIGN OSCAR DOSSIER 2005(Weekly Variety) The Aura (Fabian Bielinsky, Argentina) Synopsis: A shy taxidermist prone to epileptic seizures encounters a crime ring during a hunting trip. Cast: Ricardo Darin, Dolores Fonzi, Alejandro Awada, Pablo Cedron, Jorge D'Elia Festivals: San Sebastian, Sundance Sales: Celluloid Dreams The Green Shade (Humayun Ahmed, Bangladesh) Synopsis: During Bangladesh's war of liberation against Pakistan, a group ventures on a boat out of harm's way. Ahmed adapted his 1973 novel for the screen. Cast: Humayun Faridi, Shaon , Reaz , Ahmed Rubel Festivals: Palm Springs Sales: Impress Telefilm (Dhaka) The Child (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Belgium) Synopsis: Mired in a life of petty crime, a young father sells his out-of-wedlock child for cash. The Dardenne brothers won their second Palme d'Or at Cannes for "The Child," following their win for "Rosetta" in 1999. Cast: Jeremie Renier, Deborah Francois, Jeremie Segard, Fabrizio Rongione Festivals: Cannes, La Rochelle, ERA New Horizons, Karlovy Vary, Midnight Sun, Telluride, Toronto, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Edmonton, Valladolid, Iceland, Oslo, London, Pusan, Moscow, Palm Springs Prizes: Palme d'Or, Cannes U.S. distrib: Sony Pictures Classics Totally Personal (Nedzad Begovic, Bosnia-Herzegovina) Synopsis: Begovic creates a shot-on-video diary of his attempt to make a filmic masterpiece, blurring the line between fiction and doc as he casts his family members as themselves. Cast: Amina, Nedzad, Sabrina, Naida, Hasiba and Sulejman Begovic Festivals: Tribeca, Sarajevo, Palm Springs Sales: EastWest Film Distribution The Two Sons of Francisco (Breno Silveira, Brazil) Synopsis: Based on the true story of superstar duo Zeze Di Camargo and Luciano, a peasant father supports the dreams of two of his nine children to become musicians. Silveira's debut film is one of Brazil's top grossers of 2005. Cast: Angelo Antonio, Marcio Kieling, Thiago Mendonca Festivals: Palm Springs Sales: The Works Stolen Eyes (Radoslav Spassov, Bulgaria) Synopsis: A young non-Muslim Bulgarian official becomes involved in the affairs of a Muslim Bulgarian woman. Cast: Vesela Kazakova, Valeri Yordanov Festivals: Sofia, Moscow, Copenhagen, Palm Springs Prizes: Actress, Moscow festival Sales: Gala (Sofia) C.R.A.Z.Y. (Jean-Marie Vallee, Canada) Synopsis: Growing up during the 1970s, a kid in a large family copes with the growing sense that he's a tad different from his more macho brothers and dad. Pic was the runaway hit at the Canadian box office in 2005. Cast: Marc-Andre Grondin, Michel Cote, Pierre-Luc Brilliant, Danielle Proulx Festivals: Venice, Toronto, Vancouver, Marrakech, Bergen, AFI, Quebec Cinema Week (Paris), Palm Springs Prizes: Canadian film, Toronto; audience award, AFI; jury prize, Marrakech Sales: Films Distribution Play (Alicia Scherson, Chile) Synopsis: A nurse from the country restlessly exploring the city of Santiago snoops on an unemployed architect who's just been mugged. Cast: Viviana Herrera, Andres Ulloa, Aline Kuppenheim, Coca Guazzini Festivals: Tribeca, Montreal, Chicago, Mannheim, Fort Lauderdale, Thessaloniki, Palm Springs Prizes: New narrative filmmaker, Tribeca; Latin American film, Montreal Sales: Washington Square Films The Promise (aka The Master of the Crimson Armor) (Chen Kaige, China) Synopsis: A royal concubine is cursed to never have true love until time is made to flow backwards, but a slave in love with her will try to do anything to lift the curse. Reportedly the most expensive mainland Chinese film ever made. Cast: Cecilia Cheung, Jang Dong-Kun, Hiroyuki Sanada, Liu Ye, Nicholas Tse, Chen Hong, Cheng Qian Festivals: Palm Springs U.S. distrib: Weinstein Co. The Wandering Shadows (Ciro Alfonso Guerra, Colombia) Synopsis: In downtown Bogota, a man who has lost a leg meets a fellow who charges a fee to carry people on his back. Cast: Cesar Badillo, Ignacio Prieto, Ines Prieto Saravia, Lowin Allende Festivals: San Sebastian, Huelva, Havana, Guadalajara, Mar del Plata, Toulouse, Istanbul, Tribeca, Seattle, Pesaro, Los Angeles Latino, Rio de Janeiro, Palm Springs Prizes: Work in progress, San Sebastian Sales: Tucan (Bogota) Caribe (Esteban Ramirez, Costa Rica) Synopsis: Trouble is in the air for a biologist-plantation owner when his wife's half-sister and an American oil company intrude on his seemingly blissful life. Cast: Jorge Perrugoria, Cuca Escribano, Maya Zapata, Roberto McLean Festivals: Havana, Miami, Trieste, Huelva, Mar del Plata, Lleida, Palm Springs Prizes: Audience award, Huelva; director, Trieste Sales: Cinetel (San Juan) A Wonderful Night in Split (Arsen Anton Ostojic, Croatia) Synopsis: In the last two hours of New Year's Eve celebrations in the city of Split, three sets of characters experience life-altering events. Cast: Dino Dvornik, Coolio, Marinko Prga, Mladen Vulic, Marija Skaricic, Vicko Bilandzic, Nives Ivankovic, Ivana Roscic Festivals: Sarajevo, Pula, Cottbus, Palm Springs, Belgrade, Queens Prizes: Special jury prize and actress, Sarajevo; first film, critics award, cinematography and editing, Pula; special jury prize, Cottbus; critics prize, Belgrade; director, Queens Sales: EastWest Film Distribution Viva Cuba (Juan Carlos Cremata Malberti, Cuba) Synopsis: A girl and a boy journey across the span of Cuba with a seemingly impossible plan to stop the girl's mom from emigrating to the U.S. This is the first independently made Cuban film shot on digital video. Cast: Malu Tarrau Broche, Jorgito Milo Avila, Larisa Vega Alamar, Luisa Maria Jimenez Rodriquez Festivals: Cannes, Giffoni, Vancouver, Rio de Janeiro Prizes: Children's cinema grand prize, Cannes Sales: Latido Films Something Like Happiness (Bohdan Slama, Czech Republic) Synopsis: Three friends living marginally in a small Czech city confront a crisis when one of them succumbs to mental illness. Cast: Pavel Liska, Tatiana Vilhelmova, Ana Geislerova, Marek Daniel, Zuzana Kronerova Festivals: Toronto, San Sebastian, Montreal Festival of New Cinema, Cottbus, New York, London, Palm Springs Prizes: Film, actress, San Sebastian; grand prize, Montreal Festival of New Cinema; Fipresci Prize, Cottbus Sales: Wild Bunch Adam's Apples (Anders Thomas Jensen, Denmark) Synopsis: The evil ways of a neo-Nazi convict clash in black comic style with the ultra-rosy optimism of a rural preacher. Cast: Ulrich Thomsen, Mads Mikkelsen, Nicolas Bro, Paprika Steen, Ali Kazim Festivals: Toronto, Helsinki, Reykjavik, Warsaw, Hamburg, Marrakech, Sao Paolo, Thessaloniki, Brussels, San Francisco, Sundance Prizes: DKK Nordisk award; audience award (foreign film), Sao Paolo; audience award, Hamburg Sales: Nordisk Film Intl. Sales Shop of Dreams (Peeter Urbia, Estonia) Synopsis: A costume designer, a seamstress and a makeup artist, thrown out of work when a TV studio goes bankrupt, start a new company and enter the big bad world of business. Cast: Maarja Jakobson, Anne Reemann, Evelin Pang, Karol Kuntsel, Meelis Rammeld Festivals: Palm Springs Sales: Exitfilm (Talinn) The Land Has Eyes (Vilsoni Hereniko, Fiji) Synopsis: A young girl comes of age on the island of Rotuma, encountering conflicts between traditional and Christianized colonial ways. Cast: Sapeta Taito, Rena Owen, Voi Fesaitu, John Fatiaki Festivals: Sundance, Rotterdam, Hawaii, Moscow, Montreal, Waiora Maori, Shanghai, Palm Springs Prizes: Premiere festival prize, Waiora Maori Sales: Te Maka Prods. (Honolulu) Mother of Mine (Klaus Haro, Finland) Synopsis: A mother sends her young son from war-ravaged Finland to safe haven in Sweden, but after a difficult adjustment, the lad realizes his love is torn between his birth mother and the one taking care of him. Cast: Topi Majaniemi, Marjaana Maijala, Maria Lundqvist, Michael Nyqvist, Esko Salminen Festivals: Haugesund, Nordic, Toronto, Palm Springs Prizes: Audience award, Baltic Critics award, Nordic Sales: Nordisk Film Intl. Sales Merry Christmas (Christian Carion, France) Synopsis: Opposing armies in the northern French trenches endorse a mini-armistice on Christmas Eve, raising the specter that they may put down their arms for good. Inspired by events during WWI. Cast: Benno Furmann, Guillaume Canet, Gary Lewis, Dany Boon, Diane Kruger, Daniel Bruhl Festivals: Cannes, Valladolid, Ghent, Leeds, AFI, Palm Springs Prizes: Fipresci prize, Valladolid; audience award, Leeds U.S. distrib: Sony Pictures Classics Tbilisi-Tbilisi (Levan Zakareishvili, Georgia) Synopsis: A struggling filmmaker in Tbilisi envisions vignettes based on characters he knows around town, ranging from a down-and-out film professor to street thugs. Cast: George Maskharashvili, Eka Nijaradze, Baadur Tsuladze, Rusiko Kobiashvili Festivals: Tbilisi, AFI, Stockholm, Palm Springs Sales: Georgian National Film Center Sophie Scholl --- The Final Days (Marc Rothemund, Germany) Synopsis: Dramatization based on documents of anti-Nazi and White Rose activist Sophie Scholl's arrest, interrogation, trial and execution in the waning days of WWII. Cast: Julia Jentsch, Alexander Held, Fabian Hinrichs, Johanna Gastdorf, Andre Hennicke Festivals: Berlin, Copenhagen, Munich, Rio de Janeiro, Pusan, Hamptons, German Films in Rome, Oslo, Leipzig, Brasilia, German Films in Paris, Shanghai, Ljubljana, AFI, Palm Springs Prizes: Director, actress, Ecumenical prize, Berlin; film, actress, audience award, Lolas (German film awards); audience award, Hamptons; director, audience award, Brasilia; audience award, German Films in Rome; Bernard Wicki award, Munich; audience award, German Films in Paris; German film, Leipzig U.S. distrib: Zeitgeist Films Perhaps Love (Peter Ho-Sun Chan, Hong Kong) Synopsis: In this time-shifting musical, a Chinese director toys with reality and movie magic to subvert a reignited romance between his co-star lover and the leading man. Cast: Jacky Cheung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Jin-hee Ji, Zhou Xun Festivals: Venice, Palm Springs Sales: Celestial Pictures Fateless (Lajos Koltai, Hungary) Synopsis: An account of a 14-year-old Hungarian Jewish boy's survival in the Nazi extermination camps, based on Imre Kertesz's semi-autobiographical novel. Cast: Marcell Nagy, Aron Dimeny, Andras M. Kecskes, Jozsef Gyabronka, Endre Harkanyi, Daniel Craig Festivals: Hungarian, Berlin, Karlovy Vary, Copenhagen, Palic, Telluride, Toronto, Chicago, AFI, Denver, Edinburgh, Melbourne, Rio de Janeiro, Lubuskie , Intl. Film Camera , Mill Valley, Haifa, Kyiv , Boston Jewish, U.K. Jewish, Woodstock, FilmColumbia, Cine-World , Palm Springs Prizes: Audience award, Palic; cinematography, Copenhagen U.S. distrib: ThinkFilm Ahead of Time (Agust Gudmundsson, Iceland) Synopsis: A graying pop group reunites after 20 years and goes on the road to see if it can manage a comeback. Pic is a rough sequel to Gudmundsson's 1982 film about the same band, "On Top." Cast: Pordur Arnason, Jakob Magnusson, Egill Olafsson, Helga Braga Jonsdottir, Ragnhildur Gisladottir Festivals: Palm Springs Sales: Bjarmaland (Reykjavik) Paheli (Amol Palekar, India) Synopsis: Bollywood mixes with folklore in this adaptation of Vijayadan Detha's classic tale of a newlywed couple tricked by a spirit residing in a roadside inn. Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Anupam Kher, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Aasif Sheikh Festivals: San Francisco South Asian, Cambridge, Palm Springs U.S. distrib: Eros Gie (Riri Riza, Indonesia) Synopsis: Biographical portrait of idealistic 1960s Indonesian student activist Soe Hok Gie, who battles the establishment through the regimes of Sokarno and Soeharto. Cast: Nicholas Saputra, Lukman Sardi, Sita Nursanti, Indra Birowo Festivals: Vancouver, Pusan, Cinemanila, Palm Springs Prizes: Hubert Bals award, Rotterdam Sales: Miles Films (Jakarta) So Close, So Far (Reza Mir-Karimi, Iran) Synopsis: A neurologist learns that his son, away on a field trip, has an inoperable brain tumor, and has a spiritual experience en route to tell him the bad news. Cast: Masoud Raygan, Afsin Hashemi, Elham Hamidi Festivals: Fajr, Palm Springs Prizes: Film, cinematography, production design, music, costume design, makeup, sound editing, Fajr Sales: Farabi Cinema Foundation (Tehran) Requiem of Snow (Jamil Rostami, Iraq) Synopsis: While trying to survive in a drought-ridden region, a woman in crisis appeals to a stranger for help. Rostami's film is in the Kurdish language. Cast: Shadi Variani, Mohayeddin Variani, Masoud Yousefi, Abdollah Ahmadi, Jalil Mohammad Veysi, Delnia Farajpour, Anvar Farajpour CQ Festivals: Fajr, Isfahan, Palm Springs Prizes: Director, Fajr; special jury prize, Isfahan Sales: Mahed Media Intl. What a Wonderful Place (Eyal Halfon, Israel) Synopsis: A web of characters, including an ex-cop involved with gangsters, a Ukrainian maid, a farmer, Thai workers and a Filipino nurse, intersect with each other as they confront the realities of Israel's immigrant and guest worker communities. Cast: Uri Gavriel, Evelyne Kaplun, Avi Oria, Yossi Graber, Yoav Hait, Ramon Bagatsing, Chredpong Laoyont, Mymy Davao, Marina Shoif, Evelin Agoel, Dvir Benedek Festivals: Karlovy Vary, Jerusalem, AFI, Israel, Palm Springs Prizes: Special jury prize, actor (tie), Karlovy Vary; picture, actor, Jerusalem Sales: Norma Prods. (Tel Aviv) Don't Tell (Cristina Comencini, Italy) Synopsis: A happy woman's traumatic nightmare compels her to explore her past and uncover terrible secrets about her father. Cast: Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Stefania Rocca, Angela Finocchiaro, Alessio Boni, Luigi Lo Cascio. Festivals: Venice, Haifa, Annecy, Seville, Stockholm, Palm Springs Prizes: Actress, film (UNICEF award); film (award of the City of Rome); film (young cinema award), Wella Prize, Venice Sales: TF1 Intl. Blood and Bones (Yoichi Sai, Japan) Synopsis: A Korean immigrant in Osaka in 1920 makes himself into a business success but, as the years pass, grows from an abusive husband into a tyrannical monster. Cast: Takeshi Kitano, Hirofumi Arai, Tomoko Tabata, Jo Odagiri, Kyoka Suzuki, Mihoko Suino, Shigemori Matsu, Yuko Nakamura Festivals: Pusan, Deauville Asian, Dejima, London, La Rochelle, Tbilisi, Melbourne, Taipei, Helsinki, Hong Kong Asian, Palm Springs Prizes: Director, actress, supporting actor, Japanese Academy Awards; director, Hochi Film Awards; director, actor, supporting actor, screenplay, Kinema Junpo awards; supporting actor, Blue Ribbon (Japanese critics) award; film, actor, supporting actor, supporting actress, Mainichi Film Concours U.S. distrib: Tartan Films Welcome to Dongmakgol (Park Kwang-hyun, Korea) Synopsis: In the mountain village of Dongmakgol in 1950, North and South Korean troops face off in an unlikely truce, influenced by the locals who aren't aware that a war is going on. This is the top-grossing Korean film of 2005 and No. 4 on the all-time list. Cast: Shin Ha-kyun, Jung Jae-young, Gang Hye-jung Festivals: Hawaii, Palm Springs Sales: Showbox/Mediaplex Renart the Fox (Thierry Schiel, Luxembourg) Synopsis: The only animated feature in the foreign-language Oscar competition is an adaptation of the medieval tale about a clever fox who outwits a king searching for the elixir to eternal life. Cast: Frederic Diefenthal, Lorant Deutsch, Patrick Prejean Festivals: Anima Brussels, Lama, Imagina Monaco, Seoul Animation, Montreal Children's, Luxembourg Animation Prizes: Grand prize, Anima Brussels; special jury prize, Montreal Children's Sales: Oniria Prods. On the Other Side (Gustavo Loza, Mexico) Synopsis: Three interlocking tales of a Mexican boy enchanted by a mythic princess in a lake, a Cuban boy yearning for his father in the U.S. and a Moroccan girl venturing on her own to Spain to find her long-absent father. Cast: Nuria Badih, Adrian Alonso, Jorge Milo, Carmen Maura, Naoufal Azzouz, Vanessa Bauche, Alejandro Lago, Susana Gonzalez Festivals: AFI, Mannheim, Palm Springs Prizes: Audience award, cinema owners jury prize, Mannheim Sales: Matatena Films Cave of the Yellow Dog (Byambasuren Davaa, Mongolia) Synopsis: Spanning a season with a nomadic family on the Mongolian plain, Davaa's first narrative feature explores a young girl's development as she grows fond of a lovable pooch. Cast: Batchuluun Urjindorj, Buyandulam Daramdadi Batchuluun, Nansal Batchuluun, Nansalmaa Batchuluun, Batbayar Batchuluun. Festivals: Munich, Hamptons, San Sebastian, Pusan, Warsaw, Oulu, Palm Springs Prizes: Signis award (special mention), San Sebastian; Golden Starfish prize, cinematography, Kodak award, Artemis movie score award, Hamptons Sales: Telepool Kissed by Winter (Sara Johnsen, Norway) Synopsis: A female physician flees from a family tragedy to the countryside, but becomes involved in a hit-and-run accident with wide cultural implications. Cast: Annika Hallin, Kristoffer Joner, Goran Ragnerstam, Fridtjov Saheim, Linn Skaber, Axel Zuber, Jade Francis Haj, Michalis Koutsonniannakis Festivals: Karlovy Vary, Brussels, Haugesund, AFI, Palm Springs Prizes: Actress, debut film, Norwegian Amanda awards Sales: NonStop Sales Paradise Now (Hany Abu-Assad, Palestine) Synopsis: Two seemingly laid-back guys are actually suicide bombers who, when called into action, encounter snafus and other problems en route to their mission. Cast: Kais Nashef, Ali Suliman, Lubna Azabal, Amer Hlehel Festivals: Berlin, Karlovy Vary, Buenos Aires, Telluride, Toronto, Emden, Oslo, Nederlands, New York, Bergen, Sydney, Mill Valley, Arab, Durban, Moscow, Zagreb, Cairo, Capetown, Dubai, Haifa, Intl. Film Camera, Sarajevo, Brisbane, Melbourne, Galway, Natfilm, Perth, Palm Springs Prizes: Amnesty Intl. prize, Blue Angel prize, Berliner Morgenpost reader prize, Berlin; film, editing, Nederlands; Bernard Wicki prize, Emden; special mention, Capetown; director, Durban U.S. distrib: Warner Independent Pictures Days of Santiago (Josue Mendez, Peru) Synopsis: A young Peruvian soldier finds the transition back to civilian life extremely difficult. Cast: Pietro Sibille, Lili Urbina, Milagros Vidal, Marisela Puicon, Alheli Castillo Festivals: Rotterdam, Buenos Aires, Fribourg, Lima Larin, Transylvania, Valladolid, Palm Springs Prizes: Actor, Buenos Aires; actor, critics award, Lima Larin; Transylvania trophy, Transylvania; grand prize, Fipresci award, Fribourg Sales: Venevision The Collector (Feliks Falk, Poland) Synopsis: An arrogant repo man comes face to face with the tragic consequences of his actions and haplessly tries to make amends. Cast: Andrzej Chyra, Kinga Preis, Malgorzata Kozuchowska, Marian Opania, Jan Frycz, Slawomir Orzechowski, Marian Dziedziel Festivals: Gdynia, Polish Los Angeles, Palm Springs Prizes: Film, screenplay, actor, supporting actress, cinematography, Gdynia; film, director, actor, screenplay, Belgian film industry awards; screenplay, cinematography, Intl. Film Camera Sales: Telewizja Polska In the Darkness of Night (Joao Canijo, Portugal) Synopsis: A dysfunctional family running a hostess club and prostitution ring in the Portuguese provinces tangles with the Russian mafia. Canijo's drama is based on Euripides' "Iphegenia in Aulis." Cast: Beatriz Batarda, Cleia Almeida, Fernando Luis, Rita Blanco Festivals: Cannes, Copenhagen, Bergen, Montreal, Coimbra, Vancouver, Kerala, Sao Paolo, Indielisboa, Haifa, Portuguese Film Week (Hungary), Cineport (Brazil), Palm Springs Prizes: Film, actress, editing, Cineport; film, press award, Coimbra; actress, SIC Golden Globe (Portuguese TV) Sales: Gemini Films Cayo (Vicente Juarbe, Puerto Rico) Synopsis: Saga of three friends growing up on the Puerto Rican island of Culebras, coming of age in the '60s as they experience bitter emotional separations. Cast: Rosalyn Sanchez, Ivan Camilo, Ineabelle Colon, Carlos Esteban Fonseca, Idalis Perez Garay Festivals: Palm Springs Sales: Producciones Paractuar (San Juan) The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (Cristi Puiu, Romania) Synopsis: In the wee hours, an elderly man falls ill and gets shunted around by ambulance from one overworked and callous hospital to another. Cast: Ion Fiscuteanu, Luminta Gheorghiu, Gabriel Spahiu, Doru Ana, Dana Dogaru Festivals: Cannes, European (Bucharest), Transylvania, Alba-Regia, La Rochelle, Bergen, Cluj, Motovun, Haugesund, Sarajevo, Copenhagen, Toronto, Rio de Janeiro, Reykjavik, Namur, Palic, Vienna, Intl. Festival of French-Speaking Cinema; Cinessonne, Warsaw, Chicago, London, Leeds, Delray Beach, Seville, Arras, Tirgu Mures, Palm Springs Prizes: Un Certain Regard, Fondation GAN prize, Cannes; director, actor, actress, Romanian film, Fipresci award, audience award, Transylvania; film, actress, jury special mention, Namur; grand prize, actor, Copenhagen; film, Norwegian critics award; film, actress, Intl. Festival of French-Speaking Cinema; main prize (New Vision), Reykjavik; grand prize, student award, Cinessonne; Silver Hugo special jury prize, Chicago; director, actor, actress, Fipresci, public prize, film (Romanian screenings), Cluj; film, Amnesty Intl. prize, Motovun; main jury prize, Haugesund; Silver Orb, Alba-Regia; film (Golden Tower), Palic; actor, Tirgu Mures; Ecumenical prize, Seville U.S distrib: Tartan Films The Italian (Andrei Kravchuk, Russia) Synopsis: An adoption agent and a 6-year-old orphan are at the center of this drama about a Russian orphanage. Cast: Kolya Spiridonov, Maria Kuznetsova, Nikolai Reutov, Denis Moiseenko, Sasha Sirotkin, Andrei Yelizarov Festivals: Berlin, Ale Kino, Taipei Prizes: Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk grand prize, Crystal Bear (special mention), Berlin; Golden Poznan Goat, Ale Kino Sales: Lenfilm (St. Petersburg) Midwinter Night's Dream (Goran Paskaljevic, Serbia & Montenegro) Synopsis: A Serb returns to his home after being released from prison, only to find it occupied by a Bosnian refugee mother and her 12-year-old autistic daughter. Cast: Lazar Ristovski, Jasna Zalica, Jovana Mitic Festivals: Toronto, San Sebastian, Pusan, Marrakech, Haifa, Thessaloniki, Palm Springs, Tromso, Buenos Aires, Nashville, Tirana, Karlovy Vary, Seattle, Human Rights Watch, Adelaide, Edinburgh, La Rochelle, Warsaw, Palm Springs Prizes: Special jury prize, Signis award, San Sebastian; Fipresci award, Tromso; honorable mention, Haifa; Dreammaker award, Nashville Sales: Bavaria Film Intl. Be With Me (Eric Khoo, Singapore) Synopsis: Interlaced stories --- involving a lonely shopkeeper widower, a desirous security guard and two teenage girls in love with each other --- are woven into a real-life account of blind and deaf Theresa Chan. Cast: Theresa Chan, Ezann Lee, Samantha Tan, Seet Keng Yew, Chiew Sung Ching, Lynn Poh Festivals: Cannes (Directors Fortnight---opening film), Brussels Cinedecouvertes, Paris Cinema, Ghent, Telluride, Toronto, Vancouver, Pusan, Chicago, Tokyo, Antalya Golden Orange, Haifa, Hofer Filmdays, CJ Asian Independent (Seoul), Turin, Thessaloniki, Gijon, Palm Springs Prizes: Screenplay, Ghent; director, screenplay (special mention), CinemAvvenire award, Turin; Asian film (special mention), Tokyo Sales: Bavaria Film Intl. The City of the Sun (Martin Sulik, Slovak Republic) Synopsis: In the rust-belt city of Ostrava, four friends, laid off from their factory jobs, try to turn their lives around with shaky business schemes. Cast: Oldrich Navrati, Ivan Martinka, Lubos Kostelny, Igor Bares Festivals: Karlovy Vary, Pilsen, Ghent, Warsaw, Vancouver, Pusan, Marrakech, Gezici, London, Cinema of Politics (Barcelona), Palm Springs Prizes: Film, Amiens; Silver Hugo new director, Chicago; youth jury award, Locarno; grand prize, Pilsen Sales: Prvni Verejnopravni (Bratislava) The Ruins (Janez Burger, Slovenia) Synopsis: A theater director uses the tensions among his cast members as grist for the mill for a play to open a major international festival. Cast: Darko Rundek, Natasa Matjasec, Matjaz Tribuson, Milan Stefe, Vesna Jevnikar Festivals: Rotterdam, Copenhagen, Karlovy Vary, Pecs, Slovene Film (Ljubljana), Braunschweig, Lecce, Palm Springs Prizes: Film, director, actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, cinematography, music, audience award, Slovene Film; special jury prize, Lecce Sales: Emotionfilm (Ljubljana) Tsotsi (Gavin Hood, South Africa) Synopsis: A gang leader must care for an infant he finds in the back seat of a car he stole. Based on Athol Fugard's only novel. Cast: Presley Chweneyagae, Terry Pheto, Kenneth Nkosi, Mothusi Magano, Zeno Ngqobe, Zola Festivals: Edinburgh, Toronto, Amiens, Locarno, AFI, Chicago, Denver, Capetown, Thessaloniki, St. Louis, Bath, Camerimage, Palm Springs Prizes: Audience award, Michael Powell award, Edinburgh; People's Choice award, Toronto; audience award, AFI; People's Choice award, Denver; South African feature, actor, Capetown; Human Values award, Independence Days award, Thessaloniki; film, St. Louis U.S. distrib: Miramax Obaba (Montxo Armendariz, Spain) Synopsis: An art student visits a Basque village to make a video diary documenting its eccentric denizens, but she's soon drawn into the place's many mysteries. Freely adapted from Bernardo Atxaga's prize-winning book "Obabakoak." Cast: Pilar Lopez de Ayala, Juan Diego Botto, Peter Lohmeyer, Mercedes Sampietro, Eduard Fernandez, Barbara Lennie Festivals: Toronto, San Sebastian (opening night), Rio de Janeiro, Manresa, New York Spanish, Valladolid, Palm Springs Sales: Bavaria Film Intl. Zozo (Josef Fares, Sweden) Synopsis: After fleeing the Lebanese civil war, a young refugee tries to adjust to his new life with relatives in Sweden. Cast: Imad Creidi, Antoinette Turk, Elias Gergi, Carmen Lebbos, Viktor Axelsson, Charbel Iskandar, Yasmine Awad, Jad Stephan Festivals: Toronto, Helsinki, Pusan, AFI, London, Thessaloniki, Ghent, Bahamas, Palm Springs Sales: Trust Film Sales One Long Winter Without Fire (Greg Zglinski, Switzerland) Synopsis: Grieving and guilt-ridden three years after their young daughter's death in a fire, a farming couple is barely staying financially afloat and may need to sell the family homestead. Cast: Aurelien Recoing, Marie Matheron, Gabriela Muskala, Blerim Gjoci, Nathalie Boulin, Antonio Buil, Michel Voita Festivals: Venice, Valladolid, Tromso, Copenhagen, Vancouver, Namur, Palm Springs Prizes: Swiss Film Prize; first film, Signis award, Venice; audience award, Namur Sales: CAB (Lausanne) The Wayward Cloud (Tsai Ming-liang, Taiwan) Synopsis: During a massive drought in Taipei, where everyone dreams in musical numbers, a female museum worker becomes fascinated with a male porn actor and tries to grab his attention. Cast: Lee Kang-sheng, Chen Shiang-chyi, Lu Yi-ching, Yang Kuei-mei, Sumono Yozakura Festivals: Berlin, ERA New Horizons, Brisbane, Toronto, Rio de Janeiro, Cinefan, Melbourne, Bergen, Chicago, London, Nantes, Istanbul, Sitges Prizes: Silver Bear, Fipresci award, Alfred Bauer award, Berlin; Golden Tulip, Istanbul; director, actor (special mention), Nantes; actor, special jury award, critics award, Sitges, Palm Springs Sales: Wild Bunch The Tin Mine (Jira Maligool, Thailand) Synopsis: A failed student learns some life lessons while working in a tin mine in the 1940s. Cast: Pijaya Vachajitpan, Sonthaya Chitmanee, Jumpol Thongtan, Donlaya Madcha, Anthony Howard Gould, Niran Satta Festivals: Pusan, Hong Kong, Asiatica Film Mediale, Palm Springs Sales: GMM Tai Hub Lovelorn (Yavuz Turgul, Turkey) Synopsis: A retired teacher who returns home after being abroad for 15 years falls into a difficult situation with a nightclub hostess who has fled her abusive husband with her young daughter. Cast: Sener Sen, Meltem Cumbul, Timucin Esen, Sumur Tilmac, Guven Tirac, Devin Ozgun Cinar, Erdal Tosun Festivals: New York Turkish, Queens, Southeast Europe (Ottawa), Medfilm (Rome), Istanbul, Damascus, Palm Springs Prizes: Film, Queens Sales: Filma-Cass Film Yapim ve Pazaralama (Istanbul) Buffalo Boy (Minh Nguyen-Vo, Vietnam) Synopsis: Epic tale of the son of a Vietnamese buffalo-herding family and his passage into manhood during the French occupation in the 1940s. Cast: Le The Lu, Nguyen Thi Kieu Trinh, Kra Zan Sram, Nguyen Huu Thanh Festivals: Toronto, Amiens, Bangkok, Rotterdam, Vietnamese, Locarno, Singapore, Asian Marine, Melbourne, Brazil, Chicago, Cinema Novo, St. Louis, Ljubljana, Sydney, Capetown, Palm Springs Prizes: Film, Amiens; Silver Hugo new director, Chicago; youth jury award, Locarno; Amazonas special jury award, Brazil; director, Capetown U.S. distrib: Global Film Initiative |