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New Directors/New Films · 2013

New Directors/New Films 2013

Features

Programme

25 films · 15 reviews

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The Act Of Killing

Review preview for The Act Of Killing

Unquestionably and understandably harrowing, in places unbearably so, this reflection upon acts of murder, genocide and torture, told by the perpetrators themselves, is a masterpiece.

Merlin Harries · 5 out of 5
People responsible for the mass murder of suspeced Communists at the onset of the military regime in 1965 are challenged to restage their actions and question the pride they still take in them.

(Country: Denmark, Norway, UK; Year: 2012; Director: Joshua Oppenheimer, Christine Cynn)

Full review

New York premiere

Anton's Right Here (Anton tut ryadom)

Documentary tracking the filmmaker's life as she becomes a care-giver for a boy with autism.

(Country: Russia; Year: 2012; Director: Lyubov Arkus)

Documentary. North American premiere

Blue Caprice (Washington Snipers)

Review preview for Blue Caprice

When it comes to what ultimately drove these two men to kill, Porto and Moors are more interested in difficult questions than easy answers and their film hits its target hard.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Psychological drama about the men responsible for the Beltway sniper attacks.

(Country: US; Year: 2013; Director: Alexandre Moors; Writer: RFI Porto, Alexandre Moors; Stars: Isaiah Washington, Tequan Richmond, Joey Lauren Adams, Tim Blake Nelson, Cassandra Freeman, Leo Fitzpatrick)

Full review See: New Directors/New Films preview

Opening night. New York premiere

Burn It Up Djassa

A story of life, dance and poetry in the Wassakara slum just before the outbreak of war.

(Country: Cote d'Ivoire, France; Year: 2012; Director: Lonesome Solo; Stars: Abdoul Karim Konaté, Adelaïde Ouattara, Mamadou Diomandé, Souleymane Bamba)

US Premiere

The Color Of The Chameleon (The Colour Of The Chameleon)

Review preview for The Color Of The Chameleon

Will best reward those who are prepared to pay attention and stick with its twirls and pirouettes until the complex pay-off.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A young misfit is recruited to infiltrate a book club as a spy, with comic consequences.

(Country: Bulgaria; Year: 2012; Director: Emil Christov; Writer: Vladislav Todorov; Stars: Ruscen Vidinliev, Irena Milyankova, Rousy Chanev, Deyan Donkov, Samuel Finzi, Svetlana Yancheva)

Full review

New York premiere

Les Coquillettes

A group of girls go wild at Locarno Film Festival

(Country: France; Year: 2012; Director: Sophie Letourneur; Writer: Sophie Letourneur; Stars: Florence Alexandre, Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Louis Garrel, Camille Genaud, Carole Le Page, Sophie Letourneur, Mark Peranson)

North American premiere

Die Welt

Fiction/documentary hybrid, depicting Tunisia shortly after the 2011 Jasmine revolution.

(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2013; Director: Alex Pitstra; Writer: Thijs Gloger, Alex Pitstra, Abdallah Rezgui; Stars: Abdelhamid Nawara, Ilse Heus, Judith Van der Meulen, Mohsen Ben Hassen, Rahma Ben Hassen, Marwa Agrebi, Slim Al Amiri, Houcem Al Bib, Brahim Ben Ammar, Mehdi Ben Amor, Ons Bahri, Mariem Bedoui, Mohammed Hassine Belkhala, Kamel Ben Khalfa, Abdelmajid Bibasse)

North American premiere

Emperor Vists The Hell (Tang Huang You Di Fu)

Review preview for Emperor Vists The Hell

Feels like an attempt to stretch out what should really exist as a short film.

Robert Munro · 2 out of 5
A powerful man who offends a divine messenger is condemned to an early death but told he can win a second chance if he can placate the ghosts of his enemies.

(Country: China, Canada; Year: 2012; Director: Li Lou; Stars: Li Wen, Wu Wei, Li Juchuan, Yang Xiao, Li Hao)

Full review

New York premiere

A Hijacking (Kapringen)

Review preview for A Hijacking

Stark, beautifully observed, genuinely captivating, A Hijacking grabs its audience and does not let go.

Andrew Robertson · 5 out of 5
A brutal drama about a ship hijacked by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean and the subsequent struggles for survival and freedom.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2012; Director: Tobias Lindholm; Writer: Tobias Lindholm; Stars: Pilou Asbæk, Søren Malling, Dar Salim)

Full review

New York premiere

Hold Back (Rengaine)

Low budget love story shot on the streets of Paris

(Country: France; Year: 2012; Director: Rachid Djaidani; Writer: Rachid Djaidani; Stars: Slimane Dazi, Sabrina Hamida, Stéphane Soo Mongo, Nina Morato, Hakim Ammar Boudjelal, Mourad Hocine, Matisse Tiby, Mehdi Djaïdani, Jude Camilus, Brendan Backmann, Stéphane Riah, Kamel Zouaoui, Rachida Naceur, Marcelline Ngossoo Mongo, Gharib El Mezdari)

US premiere

The Interval (L'Intervallo)

A captive girl and the boy who is guarding her in an abandoned building gradually overcome mistrust and form a tentative bond.

(Country: Italy, Switzerland; Year: 2012; Director: Leonardo di Costanzo; Writer: Leonardo di Costanzo, Mariangela Barbanente, Maurizio Braucci; Stars: Francesca Riso, Alessio Gallo, Carmine Paternoster)

New York premiere

Jards

Documentary portrait of Brazilian composer and musician Jards Macalé.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2012; Director: Eryk Rocha)

Documentary. North American premiere

Jiseul

In 1948, as the Korean government ordered the Communists’ eviction to Jeju Island, the military invaded a calm and peaceful village. Townsfolk took sanctuary in a cave and debated moving to a higher mountain.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2013; Director: Muel O; Writer: Muel O; Stars: Min-chul Sung, Jung-won Yang, Young-soon Oh, Soon-dong Park, Suk-bum Moon, Kyung-sub Jang.)

New York premiere

Lions (Leones)

Review preview for Lions

Jazmin López’s debut feature is in narrative terms a bit too foggy to sustain one’s emotional engagement.

Michael Pattison · 2.5 out of 5
Five young people are lost in a forest - and perhaps in time itself.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2012; Director: Jazmín López; Writer: Jazmín López; Stars: Macarena del Corro, Tomas Mackinlay, Pablo Sigal, Diego Vegezzi, Julia Volpato)

Full review

North American premiere

Mold (Küf)

An ageing railroad inspector spends his nights writing letters to try to track his missing son.

(Country: Turkey, Germany; Year: 2012; Director: Ali Aydin; Writer: Ali Aydin; Stars: Ercan Kesal, Muhammet Uzuner, Tansu Biçer, Ali Çoban, Serpil Goral)

North American premiere

Our Nixon

Review preview for Our Nixon

A fascinating watch.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Super-8 film shot by Nixon's aides documenting the presidency.

(Country: US; Year: 2013; Director: Penny Lane; Stars: Richard Nixon, H R Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, Dwight Chapin, Spiro Agnew, Neil Armstrong, Edward Cox, Walter Cronkite, John Denver, Phil Donahue, Daniel Ellsberg, Sam Ervin, Hubert H. Humphrey, Lyndon B. Johnson, John Kerry)

Full review

Closing night. New York premiere

People's Park

Review preview for People's Park

Sniadecki and Cohn draw us into this space at the same time as frustrating all notions of narrative, momentum or rhythm.

Michael Pattison · 3 out of 5
A single tracking shot captures life in the People's Park in Chengdu, China.

(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Libbie Dina Cohn, JP Sniadecki)

Full review

Documentary. New York premiere

The Shine Of Day (Der Glanz Des Tages)

An encounter with a drifter reminds a young actor that life is not just a stage.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2012; Director: Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel; Stars: Walter Saabel, Philipp Hochmair, Vitali Leonti)

New York premiere

Soldate Jeannette (Soldier Jane)

Review preview for Soldate Jeannette

Don't expect anyone to smile in this humorous and provoking film.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
The language of fashion reveals disconnection in an improvised examination of modern life.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2013; Director: Daniel Hoesl; Writer: Daniel Hoesl; Stars: Johanna Orsini-Rosenberg, Christina Reichsthaler, Josef Kleindienst, Aurelia Burckhardt, Julia Schranz, Ines Rössl, Gerald Matt)

Full review See: New Directors/New Films preview , Interview with Daniel Hoesl about Soldate Jeannette , Interview with Daniel Hoesl about Soldate Jeannette

New York premiere

Stories We Tell

Review preview for Stories We Tell

What is not in doubt is the raw emotion in this work - from Polley quivering with nervous energy as she watches her father read some of the more revelatory pieces of script - to the visible impact airing the family's dirty linen in public has on her sibli

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Sarah Polley investigates secrets in her own family.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2012; Director: Sarah Polley; Writer: Sarah Polley, Michael Polley; Stars: Michael Polley, Harry Gulkin, Susy Buchan, John Buchan, Mark Polley, Joanna Polley, Cathy Gulkin, Marie Murphy, Robert MacMillan, Anne Tait, Deirdre Bowen, Victoria Mitchell, Mort Ransen, Geoffrey Bowes, Tom Butler)

Full review

Documentary. New York premiere

They Will Return (Eles Voltam)

Review preview for They Will Return

Riding along on the strength of its central mystery, They Will Return just about gets away with its unevenly paced story and variable acting.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Two children are mysteriously abandoned by their parents.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2012; Director: Marcelo Lordello; Writer: Marcelo Lordello; Stars: Maria Luiza Tavares, Geórgio Kokkosi, Elayne de Moura, Mauricéia Conceição, Jéssica Gomes de Brito, Irma Brown, Germano Haiut, Teresa Costa Rêgo, Clara Oliveira, Georgio Kokkosi)

Full review

North American premiere

Tower

Review preview for Tower

If you're looking for something personal, something that dares to explore what is often avoided, this is well worth seeking out.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
An isolated, nerdy man with poor social skills embarks on a romantic relationship, but can it help him connect to the wider world?

(Country: Canada; Year: 2012; Director: Kazik Radwanski; Writer: Kazik Radwanski; Stars: Derek Bogart, Nicole Fairbairn, Deborah Sawyer)

Full review

New York premiere

Towheads

Review preview for Towheads

Through disguises, Plumb deconstructs societal expectations and performs a few answers to Sigmund Freud's famous question 'What does a woman want?'

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4.5 out of 5
A Brooklyn mother finds comic relief from domestic drudgery.

(Country: US; Year: 2013; Director: Shannon Plumb; Writer: Shannon Plumb; Stars: Shannon Plumb, Derek Cianfrance, Cody Cianfrance, Walker Cianfrance, Lora Lee Gayer, Yinka Adeboyeku, Michael Massimino, Monika Stanislawek-Stribling, Alexandra Henrikson, Naomi Waring, Liza Cassidy, Neal Louie D'Avanzo, Leslie C. Nemet, Darren Whitfield, Jason Quarles)

Full review See: New Directors/New Films preview

North American premiere

Upstream Color (Upstream Colour)

Review preview for Upstream Color

The subject of understanding and mystery prove a sticking point, with the film remaining so wilfully opaque that it is more frustrating than rewarding by the end credits.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
A man and woman are drawn together as they try to reassemble their wrecked lives.

(Country: US; Year: 2013; Director: Shane Carruth; Writer: Shane Carruth; Stars: Amy Seimetz, Shane Carruth, Andrew Sensenig, Thiago Martins)

Full review See: New Directors/New Films preview

New York premiere

Viola

Review preview for Viola

Being disorientated is part of the game of art - from William Shakespeare to the present.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
The lines between fiction and reality blur for an all-female Shakespeare troupe.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2012; Director: Matías Piñeiro; Stars: María Villar, Romina Paula, Agustina Muñoz, Elisa Carricajo, Esteban Bigliardi)

Full review See: New Directors/New Films preview

New York premiere