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New Directors/New Films · 2014

New Directors/New Films 2014

Features

Programme

29 films · 12 reviews

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20,000 Days On Earth

Review preview for 20,000 Days On Earth

Pollard and Forsyth, who have previously worked with Cave on Bad Seeds videos, turn inner states into inhabitable rooms. What is real and what is unreal is not for the audience to guess.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
An intimate portrait of Nick Cave.

(Country: UK; Year: 2014; Director: Iain Forsyth, Jane Pollard; Stars: Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Blixa Bargeld, Kylie Minogue, Susie Cave, Ray Winstone, Darian Leader, Arthur Cave, Earl Cave)

Full review See: Conversation wth Jane Pollard and Iain Forsyth about 20,000 Days On Earth

The Babadook

Review preview for The Babadook

Jennifer Kent's film creates something original, even frightening

Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
A character in a pop up book haunts the nightscape of a six-year-old boy

(Country: Australia; Year: 2014; Director: Jennifer Kent; Writer: Jennifer Kent; Stars: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Tim Purcell, Benjamin Winspear, Hayley McElhinney, Daniel Henshall)

Full review See: Interview with Jennifer Kent about The Babadook

Buzzard

A darkly comical look at a slacker office temp who gets by on cold Spaghetti hoops while getting off on stealing refund checks from his employer.

(Country: US; Year: 2014; Director: Joel Potrykus; Writer: Joel Potrykus; Stars: Joel Potrykus, Joshua Burge, Jason Roth, Scott Baisden, Lisa Mueller, Joe Anderson, Teri Ann Nelson, Chris Kotcher, Michael Saunders, Alan Longstreet, Rico Bruce Wade, Katie Call, Crystal Hilliard, Chris Wintercorn, Trpl Blk)

Dear White People

Four black students attend an Ivy League college where a riot breaks out over an “African American” themed party thrown by white students. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, the film explores racial identity in postracial America while weaving a story about forging one's unique path in the world.

(Year: 2014; Director: Justin Simien; Writer: Justin Simien)

The Double

Review preview for The Double

I wished for Billy Wilder's spirit from The Apartment to take over the tone just a little bit.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 3 out of 5
Jesse Eisenberg finds his world turned upside down by the arrival of a confident and ambitious doppelganger.

(Country: UK; Year: 2013; Director: Richard Ayoade; Writer: Richard Ayoade, Avi Korine; Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn, Rade Serbedzija, Cathy Moriarty, Gemma Chan, Noah Taylor, James Fox, Yasmin Paige, Nathalie Cox, Phyllis Somerville, Tony Rohr, Joanna Finata, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Jon Korkes) , Official site , Trailer

Full review

Fish And Cat (Mahi va gorbeh, Fish & Cat)

Review preview for Fish And Cat

Awe inspiring.

Andrew Robertson · 4.5 out of 5
A menacing pair descend on a campsite where a group of college kids have gathered for a kite-flying festival.

(Country: Iran; Year: 2013; Director: Shahram Mokri; Writer: Shahram Mokri; Stars: Abed Abest, Mona Ahmadi, Ainaz Azarhoush, Nazanin Babaei, Mohammad Berahmani, Siavash Cheraghipoor, Saeed Ebrahimifar, Alireza Esapoor, Neda Jebraeili, Shadi Karamroudi, Babak Karimi, Mohammad Reza Maleki, Faraz Modiri, Milad Rahimi, Arnavaz Safari)

Full review See: Jytte Jensen talks about New Directors/New Films

North American premiere

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night

Review preview for A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night

An astonishing début that marks out Ana Lily Amirpour as an extraordinary directorial talent.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
A lonely vampire and a young man exhausted by caring for his father come together in a nightmare city.

(Country: US; Year: 2014; Director: Ana Lily Amirpour; Writer: Ana Lily Amirpour; Stars: Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi, Marshall Manesh, Mozhan Marnò, Dominic Rains, Rome Shadanloo, Milad Eghbali, Reza Sixo Safai, Pej Vahdat)

Full review

History Of Fear (Historia del Miedo)

A hot summer. A private district with an enormous park. An abandoned plot of land in the suburbs and an uncontrollable wave of smoke spark uncertainty and chaos.

(Country: Argentina, France, Germany, Uruguay; Year: 2014; Director: Benjamín Naishtat; Writer: Benjamín Naishtat; Stars: Jonathan Da Rosa, Tatiana Giménez, Mirella Pascual, Claudia Cantero, Francisco Lumerman, César Bordón, Valeria Lois, Elsa Bois, Edgardo Castro, Mara Bestelli, Daniel Leguizamón)

North American premiere

The Japanese Dog (Câinele Japonez)

What does it take to change a solitary life? After twenty years, an old man, widowed by the recent floods, and his son, who has been living in Japan, see each other again for the first time. Their expectations run high and during this brief reencounter, both try to overcome the distance that has grown between them.

(Year: 2013; Director: Tudor Cristian Jurgiu )

Mouton (Sheep)

Story of the friends of a man who was murdered.

(Country: France; Year: 2012; Director: Gilles Deroo, Marianne Pistone; Writer: Gilles Deroo, Marianne Pistone; Stars: David Merabet, Michael Mormentyn, Cindy Dumont, Benjamin Cordier, Emmanuel Legrand)

US premiere

Obvious Child

Review preview for Obvious Child

This is really a film that rests on Slate’s charm, which fortunately she delivers in spades.

Owen Van Spall · 3.5 out of 5
A struggling comedian loses her boyfriend, her home and her job, then accidentally gets pregnant from a one night stand.

(Country: US; Year: 2014; Director: Gillian Robespierre; Writer: Gillian Robespierre, Gillian Robespierre, Karen Maine, Elisabeth Holm, Anna Bean, Gillian Robespierre; Stars: Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffmann, Gabe Liedman, David Cross, Richard Kind, Polly Draper, Paul Briganti, Cindy Cheung, Stephen Singer, Emily Tremaine, Crystal Lonneberg, Ernest Mingione, Julie Zimmer)

Full review

Of Horses and Men (Hross í oss)

Review preview for Of Horses and Men

Cinematographer Bergsteinn Björgúlfsson captures Iceland at its wildest and yet this is also a tale of intimacy without romanticism.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
A country romance about the human streak in the horse and the horse in the human.

(Country: Iceland; Year: 2013; Director: Benedikt Erlingsson; Writer: Benedikt Erlingsson; Stars: Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson, Maria Ellingsen, Helgi Björnsson, Kristbjörg Kjeld, Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, Atli Rafn Sigurðsson, Steinn Ármann Magnússon, Charlotte Bøving, Kjartan Ragnarsson, Sigríður María Egilsdóttir, Juan Camillo Roman Estrada, Erlingur Gíslason)

Full review See: Benedikt Erlingsson interview about Of Horses And Men

US premiere

Person To Person

A man is baffled when he finds a beautiful woman sleeping on his floor the morning after a party - and becomes even more so when she refuses to leave.

(Country: US; Year: 2014; Director: Dustin Guy Defa; Writer: Dustin Guy Defa; Stars: Bene Coopersmith, Deragh Campbell, Zachary Levy)

Showing with Buzzard

Quod Erat Demonstrandum

A gifted mathematician whose career advancement is blocked because he is not a member of the Communist party, comes to the attention of the security services after he secretly arranges for an academic paper on his new theorem to be published in an American journal. With practiced insidiousness, the Securitate start their investigation.

(Country: Romania; Year: 2014; Director: Andrei Gruzsniczki; Writer: Andrei Gruzsniczki; Stars: Sorin Leoveanu, Ofelia Popii, Florin Piersic Jr., Virgil Ogasanu, Tora Vasilescu, Marc Titieni, Dorian Boguta, Alina Berzunteanu, Lucian Ifrim, George Alexandru, Adelaida Zamfira, Paul Ipate, Mihai Calin, Dan Tudor, Medeea Marinescu)

North American premiere

Return To Homs

Review preview for Return To Homs

The film has been impressively edited by Anne Fabini, so that despite the inevitable rough and ready nature of some of the footage captured under fire, the end result feels taut and cohesive.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Documentary about rebel fighters in the besieged Syrian city.

(Country: Syria, Germany; Year: 2013; Director: Talal Derki; Writer: Talal Derki)

Full review

Salvation Army (L'armée du salut)

A young gay man’s sexual awakening.

(Country: France, Morocco, Switzerland; Year: 2013; Director: Abdellah Taia; Writer: Abdellah Taia; Stars: Said Mrini, Karim Ait M'Hand, Amine Ennaji, Frédéric Landenberg, Hamza Slaoui, Malika El Hamaoui, Abdelhak Swilah, Youness Chara, Oumaima Miftah, Souhaila Achike, Houda Mokad, Ibtissam Es Shaimi, Hasna Boulahana, Amal Maarouf, Amin Labsal)

US premiere

Salvo

Review preview for Salvo

Saleh Bakri is superb in the central role, at first chilling, then lurching between brutality and incongruous tenderness.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Life changes for a professional assassin because of a witness.

(Country: Italy, France; Year: 2013; Director: Fabio Grassadonia, Antonio Piazza; Writer: Fabio Grassadonia, Antonio Piazza; Stars: Saleh Bakri, Sara Serraiocco, Luigi Lo Cascio, Redouane Behache)

Full review See: Interview with Antonio Piazza and Fabio Grassadonia about Salvo

She's Lost Control

A sex surrogate runs into problems.

(Country: US; Year: 2014; Director: Anja Marquardt; Writer: Anja Marquardt; Stars: Brooke Bloom, Marc Menchaca, Dennis Boutsikaris, Laila Robins, Tobias Segal, Robert Longstreet, Roxanne Day, Ryan Homchick, Gregory Korostishevsky, Henry Stram, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Michael Medeiros, Pierre Epstein, Danny Boushebel, Vin Scialla)

Shlomo X

A car mechanic is at the nexus between fictional and real-life stories.

(Country: Israel; Year: 2013; Director: Ruth Patir)

Showing with Youth

A Spell To Ward Off The Darkness

A journey of the spirit across northern landscapes towards transcendence.

(Country: France, Germany, Estonia; Year: 2013; Director: Ben Rivers, Ben Russell; Writer: Ben Rivers, Ben Russell; Stars: Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe)

The Strange Colour Of Your Body's Tears (L'étrange Couleur Des Larmes De Ton Corps, The Strange Color Of Your Body's Tears)

Review preview for The Strange Colour Of Your Body's Tears

For all that its often said "they don't make them like they used to" this is very, very close.

Andrew Robertson · 3.5 out of 5
A woman's disappearance forms the central mystery in this visually stylish neo-giallo.

(Country: Belgium, France, Luxembourg; Year: 2013; Director: Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani; Writer: Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani; Stars: Klaus Tange, Jean-Michel Vovk, Sylvia Camarda, Sam Louwyck, Anna D'annunzio, Manon Beuchot)

Full review

Stop The Pounding Heart

A home schooled youngster calls her lifestyle into question after meeting a young man at a rodeo.

(Year: 2013; Director: Roberto Minervini)

US premiere

Story Of My Death (Historia De La Meva Mort)

(Country: Spain, France; Year: 2013; Director: Albert Serra; Stars: Vincenc Altaio Morral, Lluis Massanellas Serrat, Clara Visa, Noelia Rodenas, Jordi Pau Costa)

US premiere

The Strange Little Cat (Das Merkwürdige Kätzchen)

Review preview for The Strange Little Cat

Zürcher's film may not follow traditional storytelling lines but it is bold in form and, for all its lack of story, memorable in content.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
An intimate look at a family preparing to eat dinner togather in a Berlin apartment.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2013; Director: Ramon Zürcher; Writer: Ramon Zürcher; Stars: Jenny Schily, Anjorka Strechel, Mia Kasalo, Luk Pfaff, Matthias Dittmer)

Full review See: Ramon Zürcher in conversation on The Strange Little Cat , Jytte Jensen talks about New Directors/New Films

To Kill A Man (Matar Un Hombre)

Review preview for To Kill A Man

The act of revenge here is presented not as an outlet for anger but as one of desperation, an emotion that runs through the film.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
A man is pushed to the limit by a thug who badly injures his son.

(Country: Chile, France; Year: 2014; Director: Alejandro Fernandez Almendras; Writer: Alejandro Fernandez Almendras; Stars: Daniel Candia, Daniel Antivilo, Alejandra Yañez, Ariel Mateluna)

Full review

Trap Street (Shuiyin Jie)

A romance is abruptly derailed by a boy’s disappearance.

(Country: China; Year: 2013; Director: Vivian Qu; Writer: Vivian Qu; Stars: Wenchao He, Yulai Lu)

The Vanquishing Of The Witch Baba Yaga

Combines animation, traditional storytelling, and contemporary nonfiction filmmaking styles to recount the Slavic folktale of the frightful Baba Yaga, a witch said to live in a woodland hut perched on chicken legs who roasts her guests for dinner.

(Country: US, Ukraine, Russia, Poland; Year: 2013; Director: Jessica Oreck; Writer: Jessica Oreck)

World premiere

We Come As Friends

We Come as Friends views colonisation as a human phenomenon through both explicit and metaphoric lenses without oversimplified accusations or political theorising. Alarmingly, It is not a historical film since colonisation and the slave trade still exist.

(Country: France; Year: 2014; Director: Hubert Sauper)

Youth

Two men trying to be good sons and save their families from ruin become violent kidnappers.

(Country: Israel, Germany; Year: 2013; Director: Tom Shoval; Stars: Eitan Cunio, David Cunio, Moshe Ivgy, Gita Amely, Shirili Deshe)

US premiere