SFFLA 2017

18th Scandinavian Film Festival L.A.

14, 15, 21, 22, 2017 - WGA in Beverly Hills

Screening Schedule:

Saturday, January 14

12:00 The Crossing (documentary 55 min) - Norway
01:30 Sparrows (99 min) - Iceland
04:00 The Happiest Day in the Life of Ollie Mäki (92 min) - Finland
06:00 Opening Gala Reception
07:30 Opening Night Film: Land of Mine (100 min) - Denmark

 

Sunday, January 15

11:00 Beauty Bites Beast (83 min) - Norway
12:00 Eternal Summer (107 min) - Sweden
02:00 Mariupolis (documentary 96 min) - Lithuania
04:30 Bird Hearts (short 30 min) - Norway
05:00 All the Beauty (91 min) - Norway
07:00 Ghettoswedish (short 10 min) - Sweden
07:15 A Man Called Ove (116 min) - Sweden

Saturday, January 21

01:00 Heartstone (129 min) - Iceland
03:30 An Empty Space (short 10 min) - Estonia
04:00 Mother (89 min) - Estonia
06:30 The Commune (115 min) - Denmark

 

Sunday, January 22

01:00 A Holy Mess (108 min) - Sweden
02:45 Awesome Beetles (short 3 min) - Latvia
03:00 Dawn (90 min) - Latvia
05:00 Little Wing (100 min) - Finland
07:00 The King's Choice (133 min) - Norway

For more information please visit SFFLA2017

TOP 30 - BEST OF 2016

My favorite 30 BEST FILMS of 2016  (in alphabetical order):

 AQUARIUS

Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brazil)

 BEING 17

Quand on a 17 ans

André Téchiné (France)

 CEMETERY OF SPLENDOR

Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand)

DON’T CALL ME SON

Mãe só há uma 

Anna Muylaert (Brazil)

 ELLE

Paul Verhoeven (France)

 EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT

El abrazo de la serpiente 

Ciro Guerra (Colombia)

I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO

Raoul Peck (US)

 I, DANIEL BLAKE

Ken Loach (UK)

 KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS

Travis Knight (US)

 LA SAPIENZA

Eugène Green (France/Italy)

 THE TOURNAMENT

Le Tournoi 

Élodie Namer (France)

 LAND OF MINE

Martin Zandvliet (Denmark)

 LOUDER THAN BOMBS

Joachim Trier (Norway)

 MANCHESTER BY THE SEA

Kenneth Lonergan (US)

 MISTER UNIVERSO

Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel (Italy)

 MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI

Ma vie de Courgette

Claude Barras (Switzerland)

 NOCTURAMA

Bertrand Bonello (France)

 PARADISE

Рай

Andrei Konchalovsky (Russia)

 PARIS 05:59 – THÉO + HUGO

Théo et Hugo dans le même bateau

Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau (France)

 STEFAN ZWEIG: FAREWELL TO EUROPE

Vor der Morgenröte  

Maria Schrader (Austria)

 THE DEMONS

 Les Démons 

Philippe Lesage (Canada)

 THE HANDMAIDEN

아가씨 

Park Chan-wook (S. Korea)

 THE KIND WORDS

המילים הטובות‎‎ 

Shemi Zarhin (Israel)

 THE MAN WHO BECAME A HORSE

مردی که اسب شد

Amir Hossein Saghafi (Iran)

 THE MAN WHO SAW TOO MUCH

El hombre que vio demasiado 

Trisha Ziff (Mexico)

 THE SALESMAN

 فروشنده‎‎  

Asghar Farhadi (Iran)

 THE UNTAMED

La Región Salvaje 

Amat Escalante (Mexico)

THE WAILING

곡성 

Na Hong-jin (S. Korea)

THINGS TO COME

L'Avenir 

Mia Hansen-Løve (France)

 TONI ERDMANN

Maren Ade (Germany)

Argentina: New Cinema 2016

15th Annual Argentine Film Festival in Los Angeles

Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood - December 2-4, 2016

 

Presented by the American Cinémathèque and the Consulate General and Promotion Center of the Argentine Republic in Los Angeles, with the support of APERTURA Latino Media in Hollywood and LATAM Airlines.

FRIDAY, DEC. 2 at 7:30 PM

Argentina’s Official Oscar Submission!

THE DISTINGUISHED CITIZEN

EL CIUDADANO ILUSTRE

2016, 118 min, Argentina/Spain, Dir: Gastón Duprat, Mariano Cohn

 

                

Writer Daniel Mantovani (Oscar Martínez) left Argentina decades ago but still draws upon memories of his hometown for his books. After he wins the Nobel Prize, Daniel is invited to return to the place of his birth to accept a “Distinguished Citizen” award … and gets to see how far the little village has diverged from the fictional version he’s created of it. A laugh-filled look at how art and celebrity transform our lives.

SATURDAY, DEC. 3 at 7:30 PM - Double Feature!

KÓBLIC

2016, 92 min, Argentina, Dir: Sebastián Borensztein

 

 

Director Sebastián Borensztein reunites with his CHINESE TAKE-OUT star Ricardo Darín in this taut thriller. Darin plays the title character, a pilot haunted by memories of “flights of death” that the Argentine dictatorship used to eliminate dissenters. But when he tries to escape his past in a remote Pampas village, Kóblic crosses paths with a corrupt police chief (a thoroughly menacing Oscar Martinez). Co-starring Inma Cuesta.

AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

AL FINAL DEL TÚNEL

2016, 120 min, Argentina/Spain, Dir: Rodrigo Grande

 

                

In this REAR WINDOW-esque thriller, wheelchair-bound Joaquin (Leonardo Sbaraglia) discovers that a tunnel is being dug under his building in preparation for a bank robbery - and he wants a share of the loot for his silence. Terrific performances from Sbaraglia and Pablo Echarri (as the thieves’ sadistic leader) keep the suspense at fever pitch throughout. “The movie finally feels as sweaty, claustrophobic and nervous as the title implies, staying on just the right side of excess.” - Jonathan Holland, The Hollywood Reporter.

 

SUNDAY, DEC. 4 at 7:30 PM - Double Feature!

SAFE PASSAGE

PASAJE DE VIDA

2015, 100 min, Argentina/Spain, Dir: Diego Corsini

 

                

Mario (Javier Godino) arrives at a Spanish hospital to find his father, Miguel (Miguel Ángel Solá), suffering from a degenerative brain disease and trapped in the past, desperate to find someone named “Diana.” Though Mario knows little of Miguel, he soon learns that his father was an Argentine activist who fled the coup in 1976, leaving behind his great love. Through flashbacks featuring Carla Quevedo and Chino Darín (as the young Miguel), this richly layered film becomes an effective mix of family drama and political thriller.

Discussion between films with SAFE PASSAGE director Diego Corsini.

THE FUTURE PERFECT

EL FUTURO PERFECTO

2016, 65 min, Argentina, Dir: Nele Wohlatz

 

                

Xiaobin doesn’t speak a word of Spanish when she arrives in Buenos Aires, but she’s a quick study; through role-playing language classes, the 17-year-old gets a new name (Beatriz) and a new job at a Chinese supermarket. Though eager to fit in, her tradition-bound family lives in the parallel universe of their laundromat, and Xiaobin deals with the contradictions of her new life using the film as a rehearsal room. Winner of the best debut feature prize at the Locarno Film Festival. “It takes skill to successfully handle heavy issues with a light touch, but that's what German-born, Argentina-based writer-director Nele Wohlatz pulls off with her delightfully original documentary/fiction hybrid.” - Neil Young, The Hollywood Reporter.

 

Venezia Winners 2016

73rd Venice International Film Festival Winners

MAIN COMPETITION

Golden Lion: The Woman Who Left, directed by Lav Diaz
Grand Jury Prize: Nocturnal Animals, directed by Tom Ford
Silver Lion, Best Director: Amat Escalante, La Region Salvaje AND Andrei Konchalovsky, Paradise
Volpi Cup, Best Actress: Emma Stone, La La Land
Volpi Cup, Best Actor: Oscar Martinez, El Ciudadano Ilustre
Best Screenplay: Noah Oppenheim, Jackie
Special Jury Prize: The Bad Batch, dir: Ana Lily Amirpour
Marcello Mastroianni Award for for Best New Young Actor or Actress: Paula Beer, Frantz

VENICE HORIZONS

Best Film: Liberami, directed by Federica di Giacomo
Best Director: Fien Troch, Home
Special Jury Prize: Big Big World, directed by Reha Erdem
Best Actress: Ruth Diaz, The Fury Of A Patient Man
Best Actor: Nuno Lopes, Sao Jorge
Best Screenplay: Wang Bing, Bitter Money
Best Short Film: La Voz Perdida, directed by Marcelo Martinessi

Lion of the Future – “Luigi de Laurentiis” Award for a Debut Film: The Last Of Us, directed by Ala Eddine Slim

VENICE CLASSICS

Best Restoration: Break-Up – The Man With The Balloons, directed by Marco Ferreri
Best Documentary on Cinema: Le Concours, directed by Claire Simon

QUEER LION

Best Film: Heartstone, directed by Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson

LOCARNO WINNERS 2016

LOCARNO WINNERS 2016

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

Golden Leopard: Godless by Ralitza Petrova (Bulgaria/Denmark/France)
Special Jury Prize: Inimi Cicatrizate (Scarred Hearts) by Radu Jude (Romania/Germany)
Best Director: João Pedro Rodrigues for O Ornitólogo (Portugal/France/Brazil)
Best Actress: Irena Ivanova for Godless by Ralitza Petrova (Bulgaria/Denmark/France)
Best Actor: Andrzej Seweryn for Ostatnia Rodzina (The Last Family) by Jan P. Matuszyński (Poland)
Special Mention: Mister Universo by Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel (Austria/Italy)

FILMMAKERS OF THE PRESENT

Golden Leopard – Premio Nescens: El Auge del Humano by Eduardo Williams (Argentina/Brazil/Portugal)
Special Jury Prize: The Challenge by Yuri Ancarani (Italy/France/Switzerland)
Best Emerging Director: Mariko Tetsuya for Destruction Babies (Japan)
Special Mention: Viejo Calavera by Kiro Russo (Bolivia/Qatar)

FIRST FEATURE

Best First Feature: El Futuro Perfecto by Nele Wohlatz (Argentina)
Swatch Art Peace Hotel Award: Maud Alpi for Gorge Cœur Ventre (France)
Special Mention: El Auge del Humano by Eduardo Williams (Argentina/Brazil/Portugal)

LEOPARDS OF TOMORROW

Golden Leopard for Best International Short: L’immense Retour (Romance) by Manon Coubia (Belgium/France)
Silver Leopard: Cilaos by Camilo Restrepo (France)
Locarno Nomination for the European Film Awards – Premio Pianifica: L’immense Retour (Romance) by Manon Coubia (Belgium/France)
Film and Video Subtitling: Valparaiso by Carlo Sironi (Italy)
Special Mention: Non Castus by Andrea Castillo (Chile)

NATIONAL COMPETITION

Golden Leopard for Best Swiss Short – Premio Swiss Life: Die Brücke Über Den Fluss by Jadwiga Kowalska (Switzerland)
Silver Leopard: Genesis by Lucien Monot (Switzerland)
Best Swiss Newcomer Award: La Sève by Manon Goupil (Switzerland)
Audience Award: I, Daniel Blake by Ken Loach (United Kingdom/France/Belgium)
Variety Piazza Grande Award: Moka by Frédéric Mermoud (France/Switzerland)

Oscar Entries 2016

Submissions to the 89th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film

Switzerland announced today its submission to the 89th Academy Awards to compete for the Best Foreign Language Film Award. The stop motion animated film, My Life as a Zucchini (Ma vie de courgette) directed by Claude Barras, was screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. It won the Audience Award and the Cristal for Best Feature Film at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.

Stay tuned for all the other submissions as they get announced. The deadline for submissions is on October 3, 2016. The Academy is scheduled to announce a list of eligible submissions in late October from which nine finalists will be shortlisted on December 15, 2016. The final five nominees will be announced on January 24, 2017. The winner will be announced on February 26, 2017 at the Oscar ceremony held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Today, October the 11th, The Academy of Motion Pictures announced the 85 submissions. Here is the complete list followed by my rating:

• Albania - Chromium ★★★
• Algeria - The Well ★★★
• Argentina - The Distinguished Citizen ★★★★
• Australia - Tanna ★★★
• Austria - Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe ★★★★★
• Bangladesh - The Unnamed
• Belgium - The Ardennes ★★★★
• Bolivia - Sealed Cargo
• Bosnia & Herzegovina - Death in Sarajevo
• Brazil - Little Secret
• Bulgaria - Losers ★★★★
• Cambodia - Before the Fall ★★
• Canada - It's Only the End of the World ★★
• Chile - Neruda ★★★★
• China - Xuan Zang
• Colombia - Alias María ★★
• Costa Rica - About Us
• Croatia - On the Other Side ★★★
• Cuba - The Companion ★★
• Czech Republic - Lost in Munich ★★★
• Denmark - Land of Mine ★★★★
• Dominican Republic - Sugar Fields
• Ecuador - Such is Life in the Tropics
• Egypt - Clash ★★★★
• Estonia - Mother ★★★
• Finland - The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki ★★★
• France - Elle ★★★★★
• Georgia - House of Others ★★
• Germany - Toni Erdmann ★★★★
• Greece - Chevalier ★★
• Hong Kong - Port of Call 
• Hungary - Kills on Wheels ★★★
• Iceland - Sparrows ★★★★
• India - Interrogation (Visaaranai) ★★★
• Indonesia - Letters from Prague
• Iran - The Salesman ★★★★★
• Iraq - El Clásico
• Israel - Sand Storm ★★★
• Italy - Fire at Sea ★★★
• Japan - Nagasaki: Memories of My Son ★★★
• Jordan - 3000 Nights
• Kazakhstan - Amanat
• Kosovo - Home Sweet Home ★★
• Kyrgyzstan - A Father's Will
• Latvia - Dawn ★★★
• Lebanon - Very Big Shot ★★★★
• Lithuania - Seneca's Day
• Luxembourg - Voices of Chernobyl
• Macedonia - The Liberation of Skopje ★★★
• Malaysia - Beautiful Pain (Redha) ★★★
• Mexico - Desierto ★★★
• Montenegro - The Black Pin ★★
• Morocco  - A Mile in My Shoes ★★★
• Nepal - The Black Hen
• Netherlands - Tonio ★★
• New Zealand - A Flickering Truth
• Norway - The King's Choice ★★
• Pakistan - Mah e Mir
• Palestine - The Idol ★★★★
• Panama - Salsipuedes
• Peru - Videophilia (and Other Viral Syndromes) ★★
• Philippines - Ma' Rosa ★★★★
• Poland - Afterimage ★★★
• Portugal - Letters from War ★★
• Romania - Sieranevada ★★
• Russia - Paradise ★★★★
• Saudi Arabia - Barakah Meets Barakah ★★★★
• Serbia - Train Driver's Diary ★★★
• Singapore - Apprentice ★★★★
• Slovakia - Eva Nová ★★★
• Slovenia - Houston, We Have a Problem! ★★★
• South Africa - Call Me Thief
• South Korea - The Age of Shadows ★★★★
• Spain - Julieta ★★★★
• Sweden - A Man Called Ove ★★★
• Switzerland - My Life as a Zucchini ★★★★★
• Taiwan - Hang in There, Kids!
• Thailand - Karma
• Turkey - Cold of Kalandar
• Ukraine - Ukrainian Sheriffs ★★
• United Kingdom - Under the Shadow ★★ 
• Uruguay - Breadcrumbs
• Venezuela - From Afar (Desde allá) ★★★★
• Vietnam - Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass
• Yemen - I Am Nojoom, Age 10 and Divorced