Tuesday, June 19, 2012

10th Anniversary Female Eye Film Festival, June 20-24


The 10th Anniversary Female Eye Film Festival gets underway tomorrow with an opening night screening of Barbara Willis-Sweete's Billy Bishop Goes To War. The film about the World War I flying ace Billy Bishop stars Eric Peterson and award-winning writer/composer John Gray, and is based on the hit play co-written by both. Willis-Sweete has been named the 2012 Honourary Director and will be presented with A Best In The Biz Tribute on Sunday, June 24.

Other honours will be a Best In The Biz Tribute to American director Nancy Savoca, Honourary Maverick award to Carol Whiteman (President & CEO, Creative Women Workshops Association; Producer, The Women in the Director’s Chair Program), and the inaugural Life Time Achievement Award to First Nations Documentary Filmmaker, Alanis Obomsawin.

The closing night film will be Nancy Savoca's Union Square. It's about an unexpected reunion between estranged sisters played by Oscar-winning actress Mira Sorvino and Tammy Blanchard.

The festival also hosts various industry events. The Panels, Workshops and Script Readings are free.

The 2012 Female Eye Film Festival continues until Sunday, June 24 at the Carlton Cinema. Industry events will be based at the Novotel Toronto Centre, 45 The Esplanade.

www.FemaleEyeFilmFestival.com


BEAT DOWN STARRING ROBB WELLS & MARTHE BERNARD AMONG
FEATURE FILMS TO SHOWCASE AT 10TH FEMALE EYE FILM
FESTIVAL


The Female Eye Film Festival (FeFF) is set to celebrate its milestone 10th Anniversary June 20 – 24, 2012. With outstanding feature films including the Gala Opening Feature BILLY BISHOP GOES TO WAR directed by FeFF 2012 HONOURARY DIRECTOR Barbara Willis Sweete and the Closing Gala feature UNION SQUARE by BEST IN THE BIZ TRIBUTE recipient Nancy Savoca, this year’s festival is set to be the best yet. FeFF is thrilled to announce another star studded feature film as its Friday night Canadian Feature Film, the Canadian Premier of BEAT DOWN starring Robb Wells (Trailer Park Boys) and Marthe Bernard (Republic of Doyle).

BEAT DOWN is an irreverent comedy about wrestling, family and following your dreams no matter how painful that can sometimes be. Fran Whiteway (Bernard) is eighteen and a real firecracker. More than anything, Fran dreams of becoming a professional wrestler. Her single-father Whitey (Wells) is a former-pro, aka White Lightning, with broken dreams of his own and is dead set against Fran wrestling. Fran is determined though and when Whitey’s old rival Dark Thunder (Tony Nappo, Saw II) comes to town, she runs away to join his tour. Whitey is devastated and while he tries to get his daughter back, Fran learns the ropes of the wrestling game and of life itself. Beat Down will have a Q&A following the film with Director Deanne Foley (The Magnificent Molly McBride), co-writer Iain MacLeod (Trailer Park Boys) and actors Robb Wells, Marthe Bernard, Tony Nappo, Mark O’Brien (Republic of Doyle), Dan Beirne + Female Wrestlers Laura Dennis (Cherry Bomb), Courtney Rush (French Kiss) and Alex Davidson (Fran’s stunt double). Trailer: http://youtu.be/iZPN0ZxuITY

OTHER NOTABLE FEATURES:

HERE I AM by Australian Director Beck Cole
who will be in attendance for the Q&A. Here I Am tells the story of Karen, a beautiful young woman with a dark past, but she’s got potential and she knows it. Fresh out of prison, she finds herself on the streets with a burning desire to turn her life around but no one to call for help. Eventually she finds a haven at a shelter for women like herself. With the support of her new community of friends, Karen begins the journey of reconnecting with her estranged mother and her young daughter, and she is soon propelled to face the most difficult truths of her life. But she’s determined to never give up. Set and shot in and around Port Adelaide, Here I Am is a moving and hopeful story about the strength and resilience of women. Trailer: http://youtu.be/rcnrNtXTDdU

MYSTICO FANTASTICO by former FeFF award winning Director Anita Doron
. The film stars Beatriz Yuste and was filmed at the Beach of the Dead, Oaxaca, Mexico. This dreamlike film is both sweet and funny, and brings the genre of magical realism to the screen with a deft touch. The relaxed acting, quietly amusing narration, and radiant performance by Yuste as Louise make this film a delight. Trailer: http://vimeo.com/19098701

BEIRUT HOTEL dir. Danielle Arbid. One evening in a Beirut hotel bar, Zoha (Darine Hamze), a sultry Lebanese lounge singer, meets Mathieu (Charles Berling), a French lawyer in the city on business. Embroiled in a difficult divorce from her possessive and domineering husband, Zoha seeks solace in a passionate affair with Mathieu; but over the course of ten days, Mathieu’s activities arouse suspicions that he may be a spy for the French government. A stylish romantic thriller shrouded in tension, intrigue and sudden violence, Beirut Hotel aroused international controversy when it was banned from Lebanese theatres due to its mentioning of the notorious assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri (2011, Romantic Thriller, 99 min., Lebanon / France) Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nubF2fhR_Q

THE GOOD SON (Hyvä Poika), dir. Zaida Bergroth. At the age of 17, Iltima has spent much of his life looking after his mother, the mercurial Leila, a veteran actress who’s successful and famous enough to be constant tabloid fodder. His mother’s neglect has filled him with a rage he now considers normal. An unsettling modern domestic tragedy about how small the gap can be between childhood and adulthood, especially when adults are given license, The Good Son belongs in the tradition of Vittorio de Sica’s The Children Are Watching USA (2011, Drama, 88 min., Finland) Trailer: http://youtu.be/TjhmLted6u4

BIR AVUC DENIZ (A HANDFUL OF SEA) dir. Leyla yilmaz. Mert is a well-educated successful young man who is the role model of his social class. After living in New York for several years, he decides to come back to Istanbul to start a new life close to his parents, especially to his mother Rana. Mert and his girlfriend Dilek run a sailing cruise on the Aegean with their close friends. The serene atmosphere of the cruise is interrupted by the unexpected stopover of Deniz. She blatantly seduce Mert. Mert finds himself in a fervent relationship with Deniz. The apparent changes in Mert`s life and behavior on account of Deniz are observed and disapproved of by his mother Rana. She is not to let him lose whatever it that makes him the person he is. (CP, 2011, Drama, 01 hr : 53 min., Turkey) Trailer: http://youtu.be/nUXmYGl6UYU

THE HOUSE, dir. Desiree Lim
. Jean just quit her coveted job as an investment banker on Wall Street. After a soul- searching journey traveling around the world, she retreats to an empty vacation home owned by a friend’s rich family. She unexpectedly finds herself sharing the place with some former occupants – a cynical college professor, his bitter sister married to a devoted husband, a disgruntled cab driver and a washed-up drifter; all of whom are not even supposed to be there, because they’re actually dead. As Jean reluctantly confronts these souls as tormented as herself, they inevitably end up in an entangled mass of secrets and lies… This imaginative thriller roams in an out of the lives of lost souls, weaving reality with the other side. (WP, 2011, 02 hr., Drama, BC, Canada) Trailer: http://youtu.be/69PIS_n11IE

PATIENT 17, dir. Tuyet Le. Two interns are asked to investigate new patient Sarah Benedict after her failed suicide attempt. When they search into her past, they discover disturbing events that put their lives in danger. At first rivals, they finally team up to uncover the dark secret of Sarah Benedict. (CP, 2011, Surreal /Thriller, 1 hr. 18 min., United Kingdom) Trailer: http://youtu.be/S-4EWx_WtQU

The 10th Anniversary Female Eye Film Festival presents 72 films including the Aboriginal Filmmaker Series Industry Initiatives Program, Best In The Biz Tributes, Script Readings, 3rd edition of Directors Round Table and the Closing Award Ceremony. Film Screenings and Best In The Biz Tributes: $10; Students and seniors $5 Panels, Workshops and Script Readings: FREE Tickets available at the door and for advance tickets visit www.Ticketbreaks.com For more information visit: www.FemaleEyeFilmFestival.com

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