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SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 26 – MONDAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2015
AT ZURICH FILM FESTIVAL www.ScreenDaily.com
Page to turn on diverse stories BY WENDY MITCHELL
Freeheld star Ellen Page has declared an ambition to show more diverse stories on screen as she builds up the producing side of her career. “I’m focusing mostly on stories that are meaningful to me and stories for women and supporting more gay characters,” said the actress during a ZFF press conference. Page, who came out during the making of Peter Sollett’s marriage equality drama Freeheld, is one of that film’s producers and was also behind Patricia Rozema’s recent Toronto title, Into The Forest. The star is also producing, alongside Killer Films’ Christine Vachon, another gay love story in which she will star with Kate Mara. “Statistically, there’s less women behind the camera, less women writing the stories, less women acting particularly as protagonists,” she added. “But I feel like the conversation is happening now, that’s shifting, and hopefully that’s going to shift in regards to more diversity in general. “I think what we’re seeing in television is a reflection that audiences do want more diverse storytelling, they want to see other stories and they are responding to that. I feel like the film industry is going to start following that path. Hopefully that will keep changing.”
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Infinity producers take another trip with Bhise BY WENDY MITCHELL
Newcomer Devika Bhise, who landed a choice role opposite Dev Patel in ZFF opening night film The Man Who Knew Infinity, is set to reunite with producers Xeitgeist Entertainment Group on a new drama. Shambhala, which starts shooting on October 12 in India and Singapore, stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers as a mysterious man who is suffering from amnesia after a plane crash in the Himalayas. “He takes the audience on a journey with him. You learn about him as
he learns about himself,” said Pamela Godfrey, an executive producer at Xeitgeist. Summer Nicks, an Australian writer-director who is Xeitgeist’s creative director, directs from his original screenplay. Xeitgeist was founded in 2011 by producers Mark Montgomery and Jomon ‘Joe’ Thomas with aims to create global quality film and TV productions that often bridge East and West. Thomas said future productions are being developed to shoot in China, Mongolia and the Middle East.
The Man Who Knew Infinity, also produced by New York veteran Ed Pressman, marks Xeitgeist’s first feature production. Its second feature, Damascus Cover — an adaptation of Howard Kaplan’s spy novel also starring Rhys Meyers — is now in post. Montgomery told Screen: “It’s important as an emerging production company to back new directors and new talent… we aren’t constrained by the systems of older companies.” Carnaby handles sales for both Damascus Cover and Shambhala.
Tom McCarthy, page 5
NEWS Irons in the fire Jeremy Irons reveals his relish for diverse roles » Page 3
INTERVIEW Tom McCarthy The Spotlight director on how a newspaper rooted out child sex abuse in Boston’s Catholic Church » Page 5
REVIEW Black Mass Johnny Depp scares up the tale of crime lord James ‘Whitey’ Bulger » Page 6
SCREENINGS
» Page 9
Karl Spoerri raises the bar BY MICHAEL ROSSER
Freeheld producer Michael Shamberg, actress-producer Ellen Page and director Peter Sollett at a photo call here in Zurich, where the drama received a gala premiere on Friday. See story, left.
Steve Golin looks to strike balance between film and TV projects BY ANDREAS WISEMAN
US producer Steve Golin, set to receive ZFF’s career achievement award, has spoken to Screen about striking a balance between film and TV projects. The Anonymous Content CEO, who has titles here including Spotlight, The End Of The Tour and TV series Mr. Robot, said: “We have 30-40 things in development on the TV side. I think now we need to concentrate a bit more on the motion picture side.”
TODAY
Steve Golin
Despite witnessing “astronomical” changes to the film landscape since producing David Lynch’s Wild At Heart 25 years
ago, Golin has stayed ahead of the curve, last year signing a TV pact with Paramount Television, which includes Cary Fukunaga-directed crime drama The Alienist. The executive estimates that the company will have around 10 shows either in production or on air next year. Meanwhile, Will Smith feature Collateral Beauty is due to get under way in November. Ahead of receiving the Golden Eye honour here on Monday,
Golin said: “I’m glad to get this award at a time when I feel like we’re making some of the best films and TV I’ve worked on in my career. “It’s very flattering but you also hope there’s a lot ahead of you.” Speaking of Tom McCarthy’s Venice and Toronto hit Spotlight, Golin said: “The bullseye on those films is very small, and if you don’t hit the bullseye like Tom did, then you’re screwed. It’s a high-wire act without a net.”
Zurich Film Festival artistic director Karl Spoerri has said this year’s 11th edition will set a new benchmark. “We always raise the bar higher, and it’s always a challenge, but it’s what I like about this festival,” said Spoerri, who cofounded ZFF in 2005. A boost in budget may help Zurich reach even greater heights, and Spoerri confirms the pot has grown to nearly $8m through partnerships and private sponsorship deals. Titles in this year’s Gala strand include Scott Cooper’s gangster drama Black Mass, starring Johnny Depp, and Ben Wheatley’s highly anticipated High-Rise, starring Tom Hiddleston, fresh from their world premieres in Venice and Toronto respectively. Guests include director Mike Leigh, actor Kiefer Sutherland, action star Arnold Schwarzenegger and industry mogul Harvey Weinstein. Zurich remains a key festival to launch movies into the lucrative German-speaking market, following Berlin in February and Munich in June. “This year will also be a strong one for German titles — and co-productions with German involvement — in our Galas as well as the competition,” Spoerri added.
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Public Screenings: Wednesday, 30.9.15, 20.00, corso 3 Public Screenings: Wednesday, 30.9.15, 20.00, corso 3
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Public Screenings: Wednesday, 30.9.15, 14.15, Arena 8 Public Screenings: Wednesday, 30.9.15, 14.15, Arena 8
La Guerre est déclarée VALÉRIE DONZELLI La Guerre est déclarée VALÉRIE DONZELLI When their young son, Adam, is diagnosed with a serious illness, young
parents Roméo and Juliette unite in the face of adversity and declare When their young son, Adam, is diagnosed with a serious illness, young war on the enemy of their happiness. Their love doesn’t withstand the parents Roméo and Juliette unite in the face of adversity and declare imminent and of downs, but walkingTheir along thedoesn’t beach five years later war on theups enemy their happiness. love withstand the together now healed child, they know will always close. imminentwith ups their and downs, but walking along the they beach five yearsbe later This is director and actress Valérie Donzelli’s authentic and romantic tale together with their now healed child, they know they will always be close. of a modern couple. This is director and actress Valérie Donzelli’s authentic and romantic tale of a modern couple.
Family Drama France, 2011 Family Drama 100 Min, DCP, Colour France, 2011 Language: French 100 Min, DCP, Colour Subtitles: Language:German French Subtitles: German
Public Screenings: Sunday, 04.10.15, 20.45, corso 3 Public Screenings: Sunday, 04.10.15, 20.45, corso 3
Main Partner Main Partner
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NEWS
Swiss cinema clocks up interest amid challenges Fack Ju Göhte 2
Göhte sequel set to go international By Tom Grater
Swiss box-office leader Fack Ju Göhte 2 has scored its first international deals. The comedy sequel has been sold by Berlin-based Picture Tree International to Hungary (Big Bang), Czech Republic and Slovakia (Cinemart), Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania (2i Film), Kazakhstan and Krygyzstan (FIL Vision) and Russia and CIS (Luxor). Released in its native Germany by Constantin Film on September 10, the film’s opening weekend haul of $20m was the biggest ever for a local film and its first-week gross of $33.3m from 4 million cinema-goers secured its position as the most successful theatrical release in Germany this year. The film, which again stars Elyas M’Barek, is directed and written by Bora Dagtekin, who also wrote and directed the first film, which grossed $70m in 2013.
By Andreas Wiseman
Swiss films have punched above their weight on the international stage this year but the industry continues to face challenges. Stefan Haupt’s local boxoffice hit and Swiss Films champion The Circle, produced by Contrast Film, was sold to Netflix in North America earlier this year after Wide House cut a number of international deals. Swiss films remain in demand for festivals at home and abroad with two titles playing in international competition here at
ZFF: Micha Lewinsky’s A Decent Man and Ruxandra Zenide’s The Miracle Of Tekir. But the local industry faces challenges. Co-productions are more important than ever for local producers since Switzerland opted out of renewing its participation in the MEDIA programme last year. “It’s a problem,” admitted Selina Willemse of promotion agency Swiss Films. “Producers aren’t very happy about this. We’re looking for complementary measures to fill the gap.”
Swiss film-makers, like their international counterparts, are also adjusting to the fast-evolving digital landscape. “We need to see how we can get more Swiss films onto more digital platforms,” continued Willemse. “The industry appreciates the shift but still wants to understand it more”. For that reason, Swiss Films is to facilitate a meeting at ZFF between local producers and digital distribution expert Wendy Bernfeld of consultancy Rights Stuff.
Irons relishes diverse ZFF roles By Wendy Mitchell
Jeremy Irons has said he relishes the extraordinarily diverse roles he has played recently. Here in Zurich, he portrays the emotionally reserved Cambridge mathematics professor GH Hardy in Matt Brown’s prestige drama The Man Who Knew Infinity while in Ben Wheatley’s wild dystopian dark comedy/ thriller High-Rise, he plays a crazed architect. “[My roles] tend to be very disparate, because I tend to get
easily bored and don’t want to do the same thing all the time,” he said at The Man Who Knew Infinity’s ZFF press conference on Thursday. “The reason I was drawn to this film was Matt’s passion to make it. When I see that passion I gravitate towards it because it’s a fairly rare quality.” High-Rise was a different kind of fuel, and he says the film is “extraordinary”. “I said to producer Jeremy Thomas, ‘Why do I never make English independent films?’
And he said, ‘Because you’re too expensive.’ I said, ‘That’s ridiculous. I’ll do anything for anything if I really want to.’” Irons’ current career surge includes Zack Snyder’s 2016 blockbuster Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice, playing Bruce Wayne’s butler, Alfred. “One does Batman v Superman to try to remain in the swill of high-budget movies that are seen by everybody, so that one can help the budget for films like this [The Man Who Knew Infinity].”
EastWest bites for Raffi By Martin Blaney
Vienna-based sales agent EastWest Distribution has picked up international distribution for Raffi (Rettet Raffi) by German film-maker Arend Agthe. The adaptation of Bettina Kupfer and Agthe’s eponymous children’s novel about eightyear-old Sammy’s struggle to save his golden hamster Raffi from the clutches of ruthless kidnappers is screening at Tumbleweeds Film Festival in Salt Lake City and will also screen at Filmfest Hamburg next week. Raffi will be released by MFA+ in German cinemas on October 22. EastWest Distribution was at
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Labyrinth Of Lies
Directors’ Guild enters Labyrinth By Martin Blaney
Oscar submission Labyrinth Of Lies and comedy drama Summers Downstairs are among films on the shortlist for the Metropolis 2015 directing prizes awarded by the German Directors’ Guild. Giulio Ricciarelli’s Labyrinth Of Lies played at ZFF 2014 and is Germany’s submission for the best foreign-language feature at the Academy Awards. Tom Sommerlatte’s Summers Downstairs won a prize at Oldenburg International Film Festival. Both will compete in the New Directing Talent category against Gerd Schneider’s The Culpable. The Best Fiction Feature Direction section will see Oliver Hirschbiegel, director of 13 Minutes, compete against Sönke Wortmann (Frau Müller Muss Weg), Baran Bo Odar (Who Am I — No System Is Safe) and Markus Sehr (Die Kleinen Und Die Bösen). The Metropolis winners will be announced on November 8.
Stuntman to crash Zurich
Raffi
By Wendy Mitchell
this week’s Finnish Film Affair showcase with Taavi Vartia’s family adventure The Island Of Secrets, which it had acquired at Film Affair’s 2014 edition after the pitch by producer Yellow Film & TV.
Actors Stephen Fry, Jeremy Irons and Dev Patel on the green carpet for the European premiere of Matt Brown’s The Man Who Knew Infinity, which opened Zurich Film Festival on Thursday.
Manuel Schweizer, a stuntman on productions including Tatort and Achtung, Fertig, WK!, is to reveal the dangers he faces for the love of film. The 28-year-old from the Swiss region of Toggenburg will speak to festival-goers here as part of the ZFF Talks series at the Festival Centre at 4pm on Saturday, September 26. He will reveal how he prepares for stunts and the dangers faced on set. Other sessions in the ZFF Talks series include Nouvelle Vague au Feminin — a look at French auteur cinema from a new generation of female directors — on Tuesday, September 29 at 1pm.
September 26-28, 2015 Screen International at Zurich 3
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tom mccarthy Interview
reporters or editors they were playing,” says McCarthy. “I was very impressed. Mark Ruffalo was tailing a big case with [Spotlight reporter Mike] Rezendes, even filming him. Rachel was doing the same. And sitting through a ton of interviews. Michael Keaton was hanging out with [Spotlight editor] ‘Robby’ Robinson and following a case while it was unfolding.” Sustaining the tension in such a dialogue-heavy film, however, was always going to be a challenge. “The most difficult part was gathering all the information, keeping the ensemble active and maintaining the emotional level,” says the director.
Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo in Spotlight
Globe theatre Spotlight director Tom McCarthy reveals the challenges of piecing together a serious investigative-journalism drama. Andreas Wiseman reports
G
rowing up an Irish Catholic in New Jersey and later attending Boston College, Spotlight writer-director Tom McCarthy was one of many who suspected impropriety in the region’s Catholic Church. “We heard whispers,” the Oscar-nominated writer tells Screen. The actor-writer-director’s upbringing helped contextualise the true story of how, in 2002, The Boston Globe’s Spotlight unit uncovered the scandal of child molestation and concealment within the local archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core. “I felt an instant connection with the material,” says the director of Win Win and The Visitor, who used to play softball and football on the property belonging to Cardinal Law, the former Archbishop of Boston and a key character in the film. The Globe’s reporting — which earned it a Pulitzer Prize — thrust the issue of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests into the national limelight and led to a number of sentences, settlements and resignations. “It really was the Spotlight team that blew the doors open on the scandal,” McCarthy says. “This was evil on a
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grand scale; institutional-level complicity and deference on a societal level.” However, McCarthy is keen to stress that the shocking story should not tarnish the good work done by the Church. “Part of the reason I wanted to tell the story is because I also think the Catholic Church does a lot of good. My family is a Catholic family and I have good friends who are priests,” he says. The issues raised by Spotlight have personal resonance for the director, but they also chime with more recent corruption scandals involving other large institutions. “This isn’t a condemnation of the Church as much as a condemnation of an institution,” McCarthy says. “There are so many examples of that, from Penn State to the BBC, and of course the Catholic Church.” At the same time, the gripping film is as much a call to arms to support the publishing industry as it is a celebration of the Globe’s heralded investigative department. McCarthy got to know the media world up close when he played a hungry reporter who lets ambition get the better of him in season five of The Wire. “I’m a big a fan of good journalism, which has been decimated in the US,” laments McCarthy, whose acting
‘This was evil on a grand scale; institutionallevel complicity’ Tom McCarthy, director
credits also include Good Night, And Good Luck and TV series Boston Public. “That is very frightening to me. I don’t think the general public has an understanding of the scope of this decimation but it was something I became very acutely aware of on The Wire.” Star power Spotlight’s production corralled an enviable talent roster, including Michael Keaton (selected before the release of Birdman), Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Brian d’Arcy James, John Slattery and Stanley Tucci, all of whom shine. Indeed, the actors relished researching their subjects. “By the time we got together before rehearsal, all the actors had reached out and talked to the
Strong voices Working closely with the acclaimed investigative reporting team and top newspaper editors helped. The production never lacked for an informed second opinion or strong voice from those who were actually there. “We had four reporters and two editors including Marty Baron [The Washington Post editor, then editor of The Boston Globe] — who doesn’t mince words — constantly reading drafts and coming back to us. “Two weeks before shoot, co-writer Josh Singer [The West Wing] and I locked ourselves in The Boston Globe’s editor’s room with Robbie and Rezendes,” McCarthy continues. “We went through the script line by line. It became a six, sevenhour meeting. After that we thought we were in a good place. It had been a twoand-a-half-year script development.” The sensitivity of the material meant the script development — and even the shoot itself — was still a legal minefield. “There was a lot of vetting throughout,” says the director. “We were passed a lot of legal notes.” The reaction from the Spotlight journalists to the final film was inevitably analytical and forensic. “I took it to them to see it in Boston; I hadn’t done that with a film before,” says McCarthy. “Ultimately they are happy. The initial reaction was a bit of a frying pan to the face, however. “When the lights went up there was a long quiet, then we sat there for an hour and a half. Later that night we started getting long e-mails from them, most of them positive,” he laughs. “It was like getting the newspapers to read the first reviews of a show or movie you’ve made.” With Spotlight, McCarthy has made an enthralling and serious film, one with messages that are as pertinent and resonant as ever. “Practical logic tells me this is part of the culture,” he concludes about whether abuses are ongoing. “It s doesn’t just stop.” n
September 26-28, 2015 Screen International at Zurich 5
Reviews Reviews edited by Fionnuala Halligan finn.halligan@screendaily.com
Black Mass Reviewed by Lee Marshall Black Mass turns Aviator shades and a receding hairline into one hell of a scary combo. But Johnny Depp’s broodingly psychotic turn as convicted Boston crime lord James ‘Whitey’ Bulger is not the only tasty thing about Scott Cooper’s tale of the unholy alliance between a south Boston Irish mobster and the FBI. An Irish-American GoodFellas? Sure, but in the end, despite getting lost around its midpoint in the wilderness that so often besets multi-decade true-crime stories, Black Mass shakes off such comparisons to become its own made man. Based on the book of the same name by The Boston Globe reporters Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill, whose breaking of the story features briefly at the end of the film, Black Mass will help to relaunch Depp’s leaky career after a series of clunkers, including Transcendence and Mortdecai. But his assured performance — only occasionally disturbed by something a little too Frankenstein’s monster about that prosthetic forehead and wig — is aided and abetted by a series of other strong acting turns, not least that of Joel Edgerton as the crime king’s fellow ‘Southie’ resident and FBI contact. A stylishly dark package, in which Masanobu Takayanagi’s moody photography and Tom Holkenborg’s
Gala premieres US. 2015. 122mins Director Scott Cooper Production companies Cross Creek Pictures Contact Warner Bros Pictures Producers John Lesher, Brian Oliver, Scott Cooper, Patrick McCormick, Tyler Thompson Screenplay Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth, based on the book by Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill Cinematography Masanobu Takayanagi Production designer Stefania Cella Music Tom Holkenborg Main cast Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Dakota Johnson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rory Cochrane, Jesse Plemons, Peter Sarsgaard
6 Screen International at Zurich September 26-28, 2015
tense musical soundscapes stand out, will help to grease the slipway for Black Mass. Framing the action are a series of interrogation-room testimonies by men who turn out to be accomplices of the crime lord at the centre of the story: Whitey Bulger, who when we pick up the action years earlier, in 1975, is a small-time mobster whose Winter Hill gang works various old-school rackets in Boston’s working-class, predominantly Irish southside. It’s a world of clapboard houses in terraced rows and smoky, low-lit drinking dens, and it’s dominated by family bonds and the keen sense of loyalty to a community that unites Southies as diverse as the borderline-psychotic Whitey, his suave, savvy younger brother Billy (Benedict Cumberbatch) — a senator who served for a record 18 years as president of the Massachusetts Senate — and their mutual friend John Connolly (Joel Edgerton), a street kid who is now a local FBI agent. The neat thing about a script that is cleverer than its episodic structure at first suggests is the way it plays with the dynamics between these three men throughout the course of the film. At first the sheer menacing presence of Whitey, the way he alternately charms, cajoles and threatens his enemies as well as nervous lieutenants such as Kevin (Jesse Plemons) and Flemmi (Rory
Cochrane) — both outstanding in these smaller roles — suggests that Black Mass is essentially a picaresque crime biopic in the Scarface mould. But as the film progresses, and Connolly proposes an alliance with Whitey in exchange for information that will help take down Boston’s Italian mafia — a far more powerful crime syndicate at this juncture — it becomes clear this is as much Edgerton’s film as Depp’s. The kernel of the story is not so much a crime boss’s rise and fall as a morally weak cop’s sneaking admiration for the man he is supposed to be investigating, and misplaced faith in childhood loyalties. With a lot less screen time, Cumberbatch’s character acts as an ambiguous, Machiavellian presence in the background, never allowing himself to be stained by association, yet in his own smooth way as manipulative as his big brother. Sprawling US crime stories often get bogged down in Florida for some reason, and Black Mass is no exception, with a baggy 1980s segment set against the background of the Sunshine State’s jai alai betting scams rescued mostly by Peter Sarsgaard’s rich turn as a small-time local underworld figure. But in its final third, Black Mass gets its mojo back, especially in two tense scenes, one featuring the murder of an airhead prostitute who may or may not have grassed to the police, the next set during an uneasy dinner party.
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» Black Mass p6 » The Program p7 » The Wolfpack p7
The Wolfpack Reviewed by Lee Marshall
The Program Reviewed by Fionnuala Halligan Shot in 2013, Stephen Frears’ The Program is an adaptation of sorts of the memoirs of Irish journalist David Walsh (Chris O’Dowd), whose campaigning work helped to expose drug-cheat cyclist Lance Armstrong (Ben Foster), seven times winner of the Tour de France. For all that it promises the thrill of high-speed racing, the crush of the peloton and the drama of disgrace, The Program works best when it deals with this fascinating case of investigative journalism that saw Walsh doggedly pursue his target through 13 years and the temporary loss of his own reputation. Frears examines in almost forensic detail the process by which Armstrong chemically engineered his own and his US Postal Service team’s performance. But Frears’ long-delayed feature (formerly called Icon) is ultimately unbalanced, fascinatingly dogged in the setup but left to make a speedy rush for the exit as it crashes off track in the last half-hour. Foster delivers a jaw-clenched performance that makes it clear why Armstrong reacted so viciously to Walsh but leaves the viewer puzzled as to how he might have inspired a whole team of cyclists to become infamous drug cheats — it’s the sort of role Woody Harrelson would once have delivered with a mix of charm and steel. But Foster is only given ambition to play with and no family, friends or celebrity fiancées to flesh out the character. There is much in here, however — almost too much — to engage gears as Frears meticulously chronicles the events that led to Armstrong’s rise and fall. There is the brazen competitive streak, his early cancer and the industrial-level cheating supervised by the disgraced Michele Ferrari (played as a transparent fraud by Guillame Canet) and team trainer Johan Bruynel (Denis Menochet, sleazily well-judged). Stylistically, Frears barely leaves a shot unslashed by diagonals, whether they occur naturally from the road and the line of the bicycle, or by shifting the camera on its side or shooting from the up — although bisecting the frame when square-jawed Lance is at home, contemplating nature and his empty life, or an empty hotel room, or an empty house, could be catalogued as taking a visual motif a slash too far.
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Gala premieres US-UK. 2015. 113 mins Director Stephen Frears Production company Working Title International sales StudioCanal Producers Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Tracey Seaward, Kate Solomon Cinematography Danny Cohen Screenplay John Hodge, from the book Seven Deadly Sins by David Walsh Editor Valerio Bonelli Production design Alan Macdonald Music Alex Heffes Main cast Ben Foster, Chris O’Dowd, Guillame Canet, Jesse Plemons, Lee Pace, Denis Menochet, Edward Hogg, Dustin Hoffman
There are documentaries that raise questions about their themes and subjects, and others that raise questions about their methods. The reason The Wolfpack is so fascinating, and at times so disturbing, is because it keeps us teetering uneasily between empathy for a remarkable human drama and the suspicion that we’re not getting the whole truth, let alone nothing but the truth. Seven strikingly handsome yet also unsettlingly intense siblings ranging in age (we guess) from their early teens to their mid-twenties have grown up in nearseclusion in a City Housing Authority apartment in New York’s Lower East Side, being home-schooled and rarely venturing outside. This pressure-cooker environment, combined with a well-stocked home DVD and VHS library, has prompted them to take refuge in play-acting, but of a very special kind: they re-enact their favourite movies — such as Reservoir Dogs — scene by scene, doing the voices and making all the costumes and props out of whatever they can get their hands on. Weird? You bet. The oddness of this hothouse world is compounded by a growing sense of menace in the apartment where most of the documentary is filmed — a menace that centres on Oscar, the father, a Peruvian follower of Hare Krishna (hence the kids’ Hindu-deity names), who met his children’s mother when she was on the Machu Picchu hippy trail and who seems to tyrannise over the roost from behind a closed door. There are dark suggestions (not pursued) that Oscar’s abuse may in the past have extended to his children, but when — in a way that feels too artfully deferred — Oscar himself is interviewed, it’s a bit of a letdown. Spouting paranoid, conspiracy-theory drivel, he feels like a washed-out shell of a man compared to his dynamic, creative brood; or is this just a front for the camera? The likeable brothers journey from oppression into freedom as film-maker Crystal Moselle shows at first one brother and then the whole pack dissipate, no longer held back by the paternal ogre. Whether this story arc corresponds to the reality of the Angulo siblings’ experience is a question that is never fully resolved.
» The Hallow p8 » The Dressmaker p8
Documentary competition US. 2015. 90 mins Director Crystal Moselle Production companies Kotva Films, Verisimilitude US distribution Magnolia Pictures International sales Magnolia Pictures, www.magpictures.com Producers Izabella Tzenkova, Crystal Moselle, Hunter Gray, Alex Orlovsky Executive producers Tyler Brodie, Louise Ingalls Sturges, Cameron Brodie, David Cross Cinematography Crystal Moselle Editor Enat Sidi Main cast Bhagavan Angulo, Govinda Angulo, Narayana Angulo, Mukunda Angulo, Krisna Angulo, Jagadesh Angulo, Visnu Angulo, Susanne Angulo, Oscar Angulo
September 26-28, 2015 Screen International at Zurich 7
reviewS
The Dressmaker Reviewed by Sarah Ward Light comedy, romantic drama, small-town secrets and revenge schemes might not seem an easy or winning mix; however the combination fits in The Dressmaker. Making her first film since 1997’s A Thousand Acres, director/co-writer Jocelyn Moorhouse adapts Rosalie Ham’s 2000 novel of the same name into a handsome, heartfelt crowd-pleaser.
The Hallow Reviewed by Charles Gant Corin Hardy makes a slick, confident debut with supernatural horror The Hallow. Demonstrating a facility with storytelling almost as skilful as his nimble orchestration of animatronics and visual effects, this pleasingly old-school Irish-backwoods scarer should appeal to fans of Guillermo del Toro, while setting the film-maker along a similar Hollywood-bound path. Hardy and co-writer Felipe Marino deliver an economical set-up, revealing that an Irish forest is set to change from public to private hands. Plant scientist Adam Hitchens (Joseph Mawle) is surveying the health of the timber, an activity that makes him and his wife Clare (Bojana Novakovic) unwelcome additions to the local community. Interaction is minimal, however, since the couple and their infant son Finn are — you guessed it — staying at a remote house, deep in the forest. Their only neighbour, farmer Colm Donnelly (Michael McElhatton), is openly hostile, warning the family they are trespassing. Adam is more preoccupied with analysing the sample of filthy slime he collects from a dead deer — containing “the Trojan horse of parasitic fungi”, he declares after microscope inspection. Clare brings his attention to a similar-looking viscous substance dripping from the ceiling on to Finn’s cot. The intriguing build-up takes its time revealing the real reason for Colm’s distress: the forest belongs to the Hallow, tree-dwelling banshees that snatch babies, replace them with changelings and more besides. Colm lost his own daughter to the beasts, who are repelled by iron and all light sources. (Clare’s early removal of all the rusty metal bars from the house’s windows turns out to be an unwise act.) Mawle, highly respected in British casting circles but rarely afforded lead roles, registers strongly as Adam. Hardy’s fanboy affection for his unsightly antagonists — he’s been making monster special-effects for his Super 8 films since the age of 12 — pushes The Hallow into an over-extended action climax that finally outstays its welcome, although hardcore genre fans may disagree on that point.
8 Screen International at Zurich September 26-28, 2015
Special screening UK. 2015. 97mins Director Corin Hardy Production companies Occupant Entertainment, Fantastic Films, Hyperion Media Group, Irish Film Board, Prescience Film Finance International sales Altitude Film Entertainment, info@altitudefilment.com Producers Joe Neurauter, Felipe Marino Screenplay Corin Hardy, Felipe Marino Cinematography Martijn van Broekhuizen Editor Nick Emerson Production design Mags Linnane Music James Gosling Main cast Joseph Mawle, Bojana Novakovic, Michael McElhatton, Michael Smiley
The performance of Kate Winslet as Myrtle ‘Tilly’ Dunnage has much to do with the film’s charms, though The Dressmaker is more than just a vehicle for its leading lady. A cast of recognisable local actors include Judy Davis and Hugo Weaving as fleshed-out comic relief, plus Liam Hemsworth as the requisite loveable hunk. Perfecting an antipodean accent again (after 1999’s Holy Smoke), Winslet’s Tilly arrives in town under the cover of night, lights a cigarette and exhales the film’s first words with a cloud of smoke: “I’m back, you bastards.” After two decades away from Dungatar, that include studying haute couture in Paris, her impeccably dressed homecoming is far from happy or welcome. Determined to uncover the truth of her past, Tilly starts to reconcile with her mother Molly, reluctantly falling for kindly local lad Teddy McSwiney (Hemsworth) in the process while endearing herself to the populace with her sewing skills. Set in 1951 and always looking the period part, The Dressmaker provides many a ravishing costume sight with the intricate work of designers Marion Boyce and Margot Wilson clearly pivotal. The narrative is also as engaging as the aesthetics and scenic shots over the dust-laced setting, as co-translated to the screen by the director and her film-maker husband PJ Hogan (Muriel’s Wedding). Hogan also took on second-unit directing duties as he did on Moorhouse’s Proof and How To Make An American Quilt. Flitting from mystery to tragedy to laughs, the graceful changes in tone provide some of the film’s highlights. In Moorhouse’s gentle yet spirited direction, local quirkiness and universal themes of retribution and redemption make for a film that’s sincere and smart as it tells of clothing, clandestine affairs and comeuppance.
Gala premieres Aus. 2015. 118mins Director Jocelyn Moorhouse Production company Film Art Media International sales Embankment Films, mp@ embankmentfilms.com Producer Sue Maslin Screenplay Jocelyn Moorhouse, PJ Hogan, based on Rosalie Ham’s novel Cinematography Donald McAlpine Editor Jill Bilcock Production design Roger Ford Main cast Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Kerry Fox, Liam Hemsworth, Hugo Weaving, Sarah Snook
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Screenings
Further coverage, see screendaily.com
Edited by Paul Lindsell Screening times and venues are correct at time of press but are subject to alteration
Saturday Sept 26
Captain Viktor Rebrow is the only survivor of a mysterious bomb attack.
09:30 The Dressmaker
TVision Arena 8
Australia, 2015, 118mins. English with German subtitles. Dir: Jocelyn Moorhouse. Cast: Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Liam Hemsworth. It’s the 1950s and after years of working as a seamstress for the fashion houses of London, Milan and Paris, the stylish beauty Myrtle ‘Tilly’ Dunnage returns to her hometown in Australia. Gala Premieres Arthouse Piccadilly Press & Industry
09:45 Mother’s Wish
Finland, Sweden, Denmark, 2015, 85mins. English, Finnish, French, Nepali, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Xhosa with German and English subtitles. Dir: Joonas Berghall. Portrays 10 women from different cultural and social backgrounds. International Documentary Film/Competition Arena 8 Press & Industry
11:00 Jeremy
Mexico, 2015, 99mins. Spanish with German live synchro subtitles. Dir: Anwar Safa. Cast: Martin Castro, Karem Momo Ruiz, Isela Vega. Jeremías is an extremely clever young boy. But his extra brains brings with it problems. ZFF for Kids Arena 4
11:45 Colonia
Germany, Luxembourg, France, 2015, 110mins. English with German subtitles. Dir: Florian Gallenberger. Cast: Emma Watson, Daniel Brühl, Michael Nyqvist. Chile, 1973. Entangled in the military coup against President Salvador Allende, Lena and her boyfriend, Daniel, become caught in the claws of Augusto
www.screendaily.com
15:00 The Miracle of Tekir
Switzerland, Romania, 2015, 90mins. Romanian with German and English subtitles. Dir: Ruxandra Zenide. Cast: Dorotheea Petre, Elina Lowensohn, Bogdan Dumitrache. The struggle of a young woman to protect her unborn child, which she believes is a miracle.
FESTIVAL 15:30 Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
US, 2015, 120mins. English with German subtitles. Dir: Alex Gibney. Cast: Lawrence Pinochet’s secret police. Gala Premieres Arthouse Piccadilly Press & Industry
12:30 Shadows
Romania, 2015, 45mins. Romanian with English subtitles. Dir: Igor Cobileanski, Bogdan Mirica. Cast: Serban Pavlu, Maria Obretin. Relu is a taxi driver, father and money collector for the local mafia. He has everything under control, until he accidentally commits a murder. TVision Arena 8
13:00 A Decent Man
Switzerland, 2015, 92mins. German, Swiss German with English subtitles. Dir: Micha Lewinsky. Cast: Devid Striesow, Maren Eggert, Annina Walt. Thomas Engel is always anxious to avoid conflict. This compulsive striving for harmony proves to be his road to ruin. International Feature Film/ Competition Corso 3 Press & Industry
Wright, Mike Rinder, Marty Rathbun. An in-depth look at the inner workings of the Church of Scientology. Gala Premieres Arena 5
13:30
German, English, Russian, Swahili, Kalenjin with German subtitles. Dir: Daniel Andreas Sager. Portrays two athletes and their manager. Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria Corso 4
14:00 I’m not Angry!
Special Screenings Corso 2
Iran, 2014, 105mins. Farsi with English subtitles. Dir: Reza Dormishian. Cast: Baran Kosari, Navid Mohammadzadeh, Reza Behboudi, Misagh Zare. A journey into the lively yet prospectless world of a generation of young Iranians.
Landfill Harmonic
New World View: Iran Filmpodium
A Midsummer’s Fantasia
South Korea, Japan, 2014, 96mins. Japanese, Korean with English subtitles. Dir: Jang Kunjae. Cast: Kim Sae-byuk, Lim Hyung-kook. A story about the process of making a film.
US, Paraguay, 2015, 84mins. English, Spanish with German live synchro subtitles. Dir: Brad Allgood, Graham Townsley. How do you teach music to children when you can’t afford instruments? Favio Chavez has an idea — make them out of rubbish. ZFF for Kids Arena 4
Shadows
Romania, 2015, 45mins. Romanian with English subtitles. TVision Arena 8
13:45 The Long Distance
Germany, 2015, 91mins.
International Feature Film/ Competition Corso 3 Press & Industry
15:15 Inglourious Basterds
US, Germany, 2009, 153mins. German, English, French, Italian with German subtitles. Dir: Quentin Tarantino. Cast: Brad Pitt. In Nazi-occupied France during the Second World War, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish US soldiers coincides with a theatre owner’s vengeful plans. Corso 1 Special Screenings
15:30 Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief See box, above
We are fine
Germany, 2015, 96mins. German with English subtitles. Dir: Henri Steinmetz. Cast: Angela Winkler, Franz Rogowski, Denis Moschitto. About a small group of people who have lost their grip on reality. Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria Arthouse Piccadilly Press & Industry
14:45 The Pack
Poland, 2014, 45mins. Polish with English subtitles. Dir: Michal Gazda, Kasia Adamik. Cast: Leszek Lichota, Bartlomiej Topa.
15:45 The Pack
Poland, 2014, 45mins. TVision Arena 8
16:00 The Club
Chile, 2015, 97mins. Spanish with English subtitles. Dir: Pablo Larrain. Cast: Alfredo Castro, Roberto Farias, Antonia Zegers. Four priests’ apparent idyll is shattered when a new priest arrives. Window: San Sebastian Arthouse Le Paris
Republic, 2015, 106mins. Slovak with German and English subtitles. Dir: Marko Skop. Cast: Emilia Vasaryova, Milan Ondrik, Aniko Vargova. Eva would do anything to regain the love of the one she hurt most — her son. International Feature Film/ Competition Corso 2
Secret Society of Souptown
Estonia, Finland, 2015, 105mins. Estonian with German live synchro subtitles. Dir: Margus Paju. Cast: Olivia Viikant, Arabella Antons, Hugo Soosaar. Four children set out in search of an antidote to a deadly illness. ZFF for Kids Arena 4
16:15 The Chosen Ones
Mexico, France, 2015, 105mins. Spanish with German and English subtitles. Dir: David Pablos. Cast: Nancy Talamantes, Oscar Torres, Leidi Gutierrez. An organisation kidnaps girls and enslaves them in a life of prostitution. International Feature Film/ Competition Arthouse Piccadilly Press & Industry
Kings of Nowhere
Mexico, 2015, 83mins. Spanish with German and English subtitles. Dir: Betzabe Garcia. Cast: Irineo Osuna Enciso, Maria Aura Zazueta Lamphar, Ramiro Osuna Moreno. Three families live in a village partially submerged by water. International Documentary Film/Competition Corso 4
16:30 The Pack
Poland, 2014, 45mins. TVision Arena 8
16:45
Eva Nova
Paradise
Slovakia, Czech
Iran, Germany, 2015,
September 26-28, 2015 Screen International at Zurich 9
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SCREENINGS
100mins. Farsi with German and English subtitles. Dir: Sina Ataeian Dena. Cast: Dorn Dibaj, Fateme Naghavi, Fariba Kamran. A trenchant study of state education and control. New World View: Iran Filmpodium
17:30 Sleepers
US, 1996, 147mins. English with German subtitles. Dir: Barry Levinson. Cast: Robert De Niro, Kevin Bacon, Brad Pitt. After a prank ends fatally, four boys are sent to a detention centre. Years later, the men reunite. Retro: Steve Golin Corso 3
18:15 Sex Life of Plants
Chile, 2015, 94mins. Spanish with English subtitles. Dir: Sebastian Brahm. Cast: Francisca Lewin, Mario Horton, Cristian Jimenez. Barbara loves the clever Guille and wants to have his child. However, Guille hits his head in an accident. Arena 8 Window: San Sebastian
The Wolfpack
US, 2015, 89mins. English with German and French subtitles. Dir: Crystal Moselle. Locked away from society in an apartment, the Angulo brothers learn about the outside world through the films that they watch. International Documentary Film/Competition Corso 4
18:30 The Dressmaker
Australia, 2015, 118mins. Gala Premieres Corso 1
winter solstice. Next to their camp is a small hut occupied by three cooks. New World View: Iran Arthouse Piccadilly
taking an opportunity to escape for a week, hides out in the home of her new friend, 16-year-old Annika.
The Miracle of Tekir
Retro: Steve Golin Corso 3
Switzerland, Romania, 2015, 90mins. International Feature Film/ Competition Arthouse Le Paris
18:45 A Decent Man
Switzerland, 2015, 92mins. International Feature Film/ Competition Arena 5
19:00 The Dressmaker
Australia, 2015, 118mins. Gala Premieres Corso 2
19:15
21:00 3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets
US, 2015, 98mins. English with German subtitles. Dir: Marc Silver. Florida, November 23, 2012. Two cars pull into a gas station. An argument about loud rap music breaks out. A gun is drawn. Three and a half minutes and 10 bullets later, 17-year-old African American Jordan Davis is dead. International Documentary Film/Competition Corso 4
Welcome to Leith
Regression
US, 2015, 86mins. English with German subtitles. Dir: Michael Beach Nichols, Christopher K Walker. Chronicling the attempted takeover of a small town in North Dakota by notorious white supremacist Craig Cobb.
Spain, Canada, 2015, 106mins. English with German and French subtitles. Dir: Alejandro Amenabar. Cast: Ethan Hawke, Emma Watson, David Thewlis. A father is accused of a crime he has no memory of committing.
International Documentary Film/Competition Arena 4
Gala Premieres Arthouse Le Paris
19:30 Drone
Norway, Denmark, 2014, 78mins. English, Pashto, Urdu with English subtitles. Dir: Tonje Hessen Schei. A documentary about the covert CIA drone war. Border Lines Filmpodium
20:30 We are fine
21:15 Sicario
US, 2015, 121mins. English with German and French subtitles. Dir: Denis Villeneuve. Cast: Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin. An idealistic FBI agent is enlisted by an elected government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs. Arena 5 Gala Premieres
Germany, 2015, 96mins. Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria Arena 8
20:45
Fish & Cat
Laggies
Iran, 2013, 134mins. Farsi with German subtitles. Dir: Shahram Mokri. Cast: Abed Abest, Mona Ahmadi. A number of students have travelled to the Caspian region in order to participate in a kiteflying event during the
US, 2014, 104mins. English with German subtitles. Dir: Lynn Shelton. Cast: Keira Knightley, Sam Rockwell, Chloe Grace Moretz, Ellie Kamper, Jeff Garlin, Mark Webber. Megan panics when her boyfriend proposes, then,
10 Screen International at Zurich September 26-28, 2015
Wednesday, May 9
Iran, 2015, 102mins. Farsi with English subtitles. Dir: Vahid Jalilvand. Cast: Niki Karimi, Amir Aghaei, Shahrokh Forootanian. An advertisement printed in the morning paper is the source of confusion. New World View: Iran Arthouse Piccadilly
21:30 Coconut Hero
Germany, 2015, 100mins.
English with German subtitles. Dir: Florian Cossen. Cast: Alex Ozerov, Bea Santos, Krista Bridges. In the middle of Nowheresville lives 16-yearold Mike, who wants out of his crappy life. Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria Arena 4
Colonia
Germany, Luxembourg, France, 2015, 110mins. Gala Premieres Corso 1
The Treasure
Romania, France, 2015, 89mins. Romanian with English subtitles. Dir: Corneliu Porumboiu. Cast: Cuzin Toma, Adrian Purcarescu, Corneliu Cozmei. The most bizarre treasure hunt ever seen. Special Screenings Filmpodium
22:00
Sunday Sept 27 09:30 Black Mass
US, 2015, 122mins. English with German and French subtitles. Dir: Scott Cooper. Cast: Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch. The true story of Boston criminal Whitey Bulger. Gala Premieres Arthouse Piccadilly Press & Industry
10:15 The Living Fire
Ukraine, 2015, 77mins. Ukrainian with German and English subtitles. Dir: Ostap Kostyuk. Cast: Ivan Mykhailyuk, Ivan Besashchuk, Vasyl Tonyuk. Three Carpathian shepherds set off with their flock into the mountains. International Documentary Film/Competition Arena 8 Press & Industry
11:00
The Chosen Ones
Landfill Harmonic
Mexico, France, 2015, 105mins.
US, Paraguay, 2015, 84mins. English, Spanish with German live synchro subtitles.
International Feature Film/ Competition Corso 2
23:00 The Hallow
UK, Ireland, 2015, 92mins. English with subtitles. Dir: Corin Hardy. Cast: Joseph Mawle, Bojana Novakovic, Michael McElhatton. A family who move into a remote millhouse in Ireland find themselves in a fight for survival. Special Screenings Arena 8
Kung Fu Killer
Hong Kong, 2014, 100mins. Cantonese, Mandarin with English subtitles. Dir: Teddy Chan. Cast: Donnie Yen, Charlie Yeung, Baoqiang Wang. A police martial arts instructor is imprisoned after accidently killing a man. When a killer targets martial arts masters, the instructor offers to help the police in return for his freedom. Window: Hong Kong Corso 3
ZFF for Kids Arena 4
12:00 Chaebols and Chabolas — The Struggle for Work
Switzerland, 2015, 97mins. German, English, Korean, Spanish with German subtitles. Dir: Christian Neu. How different cultures deal with unemployment. Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria Arena 5 Press & Industry
The Dark Side of the Moon
Germany, 2015, 97mins. German with English subtitles. Dir: Stephan Rick. Cast: Moritz Bleibtreu, Nora von Waldstatten. A psychedelic mushroom trip turns a successful lawyer into a wanted man. Gala Premieres Arthouse Piccadilly Press & Industry
Durrenmatt — A Love Story
Switzerland, 2015,
79mins. German, Swiss German with German and English and French subtitles. Dir: Sabine Gisiger. December 14, 2015 will be the 25th anniversary of the death of one of Switzerland’s most significant intellectuals. Gala Premieres Corso 3
12:15 Vera Drake
UK, France, 2004, 125mins. English with German and French subtitles. Dir: Mike Leigh. Cast: Imelda Staunton, Richard Graham, Eddie Marsan. A woman performs illegal abortions on young women, for free. Retro: Mike Leigh Filmpodium
12:30 Shadows
Romania, 2015, 45mins. TVision Arena 8
12:45 Couple in a Hole
UK, Belgium, France, 2015, 105mins. English, French with German and English subtitles. Dir: Tom Geens. Cast: Paul Higgins, Kate Dickie, Jerome Kircher. A British couple end up living like savages in a hole in a vast forest. International Feature Film/ Competition Corso 4 Press & Industry
13:00 Brothers
Poland, 2015, 68mins. Polish, Russian with English subtitles. Dir: Wojciech Staron. Cast: Mieczyslaw Kulakowski, Alfons Kulakowski. The two brothers, Mieczyslaw and Alfons, both 90, have a moving and sorrowful life behind them. Special Screenings Corso 2
13:15 Results
US, 2015, 105mins. English with German subtitles. Dir: Andrew Bujalski. Cast: Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders, Kevin Corrigan.
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Two mismatched personal trainers’ lives are upended by the actions of a wealthy client. Corso 1 Special Screenings
13:30 Secret Society of Souptown
Estonia, Finland, 2015, 105mins. ZFF for Kids Arena 4
14:00 Miss You Already
UK, 2015, 112mins. English with German and French subtitles. Dir: Catherine Hardwicke. Cast: Drew Barrymore, Toni Collette, Dominic Cooper. The friendship between two life-long girlfriends is put to the test.
urban life. Gala Premieres Arthouse Le Paris
15:00 3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets
US, 2015, 98mins. International Documentary Film/Competition Corso 4
Dear Prudence
France, 2010, 80mins. French with English subtitles. Dir: Rebecca Zlotowski. Cast: Lea Seydoux, Anais Demoustier, Agathe Schlencker. Two teenage girls bond over drugs, partying and music after being arrested. Window: The New Female Wave Filmpodium
Eva Nova
The Pack
International Feature Film/ Competition Corso 2
TVision Arena 8
Slovakia, Czech Republic, 2015, 106mins.
The Pack The Survivalist
Poland, 2014, 45mins.
UK, 2015, 105mins. English with German subtitles. Dir: Stephen Fingleton. Cast: Martin McCann, Mia Goth. A survivalist lives off a small plot of land hidden deep in the forest.
TVision Arena 8
International Feature Film/ Competition Arthouse Piccadilly Press & Industry
14:15
15:45 The Little Prince
France, 2015, 108mins. English with German and French subtitles. Dir: Mark Osborne. A pilot crashes in the desert and meets a little boy from a distant planet. Special Screenings Corso 1
Outside the Box
Germany, 2015, 85mins. German, English, Italian with German subtitles. Dir: Philip Koch. Cast: Volker Bruch, Samuel Finzi, Sascha Alexander Gersak. A management consultant is invited to participate in a special kind of teambuilding event. Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria Arena 5 Press & Industry
14:45 In Jackson Heights
US, 2015, 190mins. Arabic, English, Spanish with German and English subtitles. Dir: Frederick Wiseman. A portrait of globalised
www.screendaily.com
Gala Premieres Corso 3 Press & Industry
The Propaganda Game — (WIP)
Spain, France, Germany, 2015, 90mins. English, Korean, Spanish with English subtitles. Dir: Alvaro Longoria. Alvaro Longoria gained exclusive ‘official’ access via the only foreigner working for the North Korean government. Border Lines Arthouse Piccadilly
16:45
Iran, 2015, 105mins. Farsi with German and French subtitles. Dir: Ida Panahandeh. Cast: Sareh Bayat, Pejman Bazeghi. A woman tries to mend the pieces of her life. New World View: Iran Arena 4
17:00 Breaking a Monster
US, 2015, 93mins. English with German subtitles. Dir: Luke Meyer. Cast: Malcolm Brickhouse, Jarad Dawkins, Alec Atkins. Chronicles the breakout year of the band Unlocking The Truth. International Documentary Film/Competition Arena 8
The Pack
Poland, 2014, 45mins.
Meantime
Arena 8 TVision
UK, 1984, 102mins. English with subtitles. Dir: Mike Leigh. A stark study of the English working class.
16:00 Dope
US, 2015, 105mins. English with subtitles. Dir: Rick Famuyiwa. Cast: Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori. Life changes for geek Malcolm after a chance invitation to an underground party. Special Screenings Arena 5
16:15 La passion d’Augustine
Canada, 2015, 103mins. French with German and
18:15 The Dark Side of the Moon
Germany, 2015, 97mins. Gala Premieres Corso 1
18:30 The Game
Nahid
Gala Premieres Corso 3 Press & Industry
Poland, 2014, 45mins.
English subtitles. Dir: Lea Pool. Cast: Valerie Blais, Celine Bonnier, Anne-Elisabeth Bosse. Mother superior runs a small convent school with great fervour.
Filmpodium Retro: Mike Leigh
17:30 The Living Fire
Ukraine, 2015, 77mins. International Documentary Film/Competition Corso 4
17:45 The Survivalist
UK, 2015, 105mins. International Feature Film/ Competition Corso 2
US, 1997, 129mins. English with German subtitles. Dir: David Fincher. Wealthy San Francisco financier Nicholas Van Orton gets a strange birthday present. Retro: Steve Golin Corso 3
A Perfect Day
Spain, 2015, 106mins. Bosnian, English, French, Spanish with German subtitles. Dir: Fernando Leon de Aranoa. Cast: Benicio Del Toro, Tim Robbins. A group of aid workers try to resolve a crisis. Border Lines Arena 5
Risk of Acid Rain
Iran, 2015, 105mins. Farsi with English subtitles. Dir: Behtash Sanaeeha. Cast: Shams Langeroodi, Maryam Moghaddam. Sixty-year-old Manouchehr sets off for Tehran. New World View: Iran Arthouse Piccadilly
18:45 La passion d’Augustine
How difficult but equally exciting the road to independence and adulthood can be. Special Screenings Filmpodium
19:30 Mr. Robot
US, 2015, 44mins. English with subtitles. Dir: Niels Arden Oplev. By day, computer programmer Elliot works for a company specialising in internet security. By night, the loner uses his hacker knowledge to dish out justice. TVision Arena 8
20:00 Mother’s Wish
Finland, Sweden, Denmark, 2015, 85mins. English, Finnish, French, Nepali, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Xhosa with German and English subtitles. Dir: Joonas Berghall. International Documentary Film/Competition Corso 4
20:30 Couple in a Hole
UK, Belgium, France, 2015, 105mins. International Feature Film/ Competition Corso 2
21:00 Black Mass
US, 2015, 122mins. Gala Premieres Corso 1
Canada, 2015, 103mins. Gala Premieres Arthouse Le Paris
19:00 Thank You for Bombing
Austria, 2015, 103mins. German, English, Pashto, Serbo-Croat, Dari with German subtitles. Dir: Barbara Eder. Three reporters. Three episodes. Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria Arena 4
19:15 When Winter Ends
Switzerland, 2015, 52mins. French with German subtitles. Dir: Bastien Bosiger, Adrien Bordone.
Z for Zachariah
US, Iceland, 2015, 95mins. English with German subtitles. Dir: Craig Zobel. Ann Burden believes she is the last survivor of an atomic apocalypse. Special Screenings Arena 5
21:15 13
Iran, 2014, 90mins. Farsi with English subtitles. Dir: Hooman Seyedi. Cast: Yasna Mirtahmasb, Azadeh Samadi, Amir Jafari, Rima Raminfar, Amir Jadidi, Navid Mohammadzadeh. Coming-of-age drama. New World View: Iran Corso 3
A War
Denmark, 2015, 116mins. Danish with German and English subtitles. Dir: Tobias Lindholm. During a routine mission in Afghanistan, Claus makes a decision that has grave consequences. International Feature Film/ Competition Arena 8
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
US, 2015, 120mins. Arthouse Piccadilly Gala Premieres
Miss You Already
UK, 2015, 112mins. Gala Premieres Arthouse Le Paris
Short Films from Iran
Iran, 2015, 81mins. Dir: Maryam Tafakory, Keywan Karimi, Ali Asagari, Iman Behrouzi, Esmaeel Monsef. New World View: Iran Filmpodium
21:30 Chaebols and Chabolas — The Struggle for Work
Switzerland, 2015, 97mins. Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria Arena 4
Monday Sept 28 09:30 Spotlight
US, 2015, 126mins. English with German and French subtitles. Dir: Thomas McCarthy. Cast: Rachel McAdams. How The Boston Globe uncovered the scandal of child molestation within the Catholic Archdiocese. Gala Premieres Arthouse Piccadilly Press & Industry
09:45 Secret Society of Souptown
Estonia, Finland, 2015, 105mins. ZFF for Kids Arena 4
10:30 The Miracle of Tekir
Switzerland, Romania, 2015, 90mins. International Feature Film/ Competition Arena 5
September 26-28, 2015 Screen International at Zurich 11
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SCREENINGS
12:00
13:45
The Program
Deep Web
UK, France, 2015, 103mins. English with German and French subtitles. Dir: Stephen Frears. A sports journalist becomes convinced Lance Armstrong’s cycling performances are fuelled by banned substances.
US, 2015, 90mins. English with German subtitles. Dir: Alex Winter. The rise of a new internet.
Gala Premieres Arthouse Piccadilly Press & Industry
Life
International Documentary Film/Competition Arena 8 Press & Industry
14:30
TVision Arena 8
Canada, Australia, Germany, 2015, 110mins. English with German subtitles. Dir: Anton Corbijn. The friendship between a photographer and James Dean.
Thank You for Bombing
Gala Premieres Arthouse Piccadilly Press & Industry
12:30 Shadows
Romania, 2015, 45mins.
Austria, 2015, 103mins. Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria Filmpodium
13:00 Beck’s last Summer
Germany, 2015, 98mins. German with English subtitles. Dir: Frieder Wittich. Robert Beck once stood on stage in front of thousands. Now he stands in front of a group of bored school children. Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria Corso 3 Press & Industry
Landfill Harmonic
US, Paraguay, 2015, 84mins. ZFF for Kids Arena 4
13:15 3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets
US, 2015, 98mins. International Documentary Film/Competition Corso 4
13:30 A Decent Man
Switzerland, 2015, 92mins. International Feature Film/ Competition Corso 2
14:50 Sleeping Giant
Canada, 2015, 90mins. English with German subtitles. Dir: Andrew Cividino. Teenager Adam’s dull routine is shattered when he befriends Riley and Nate. International Feature Film/ Competition Arena 4 Press & Industry
15:00 Mediterranea
Italy, France, US, Germany, Qatar, 2015, 110mins. Arabic, English, French, Italian with German and English subtitles. Dir: Jonas Carpignano. Two men make the journey from Africa to Italy for a better life. International Feature Film/ Competition Arthouse Le Paris Press & Industry
15:15 Being John Malkovich
US, 1999, 112mins. English with German subtitles. Dir: Spike Jonze. A puppeteer discovers a portal that leads into the head of John Malkovich. Retro: Steve Golin Filmpodium
Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria Arena 5
Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria Corso 3 Press & Industry
15:30 The Wolfpack
US, 2015, 89mins. International Documentary Film/Competition Corso 4
16:00 The Chosen Ones
Mexico, France, 2015, 105mins. International Feature Film/ Competition Corso 2
We are fine
Germany, 2015, 96mins. Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria Arena 8
16:30 Bob and the Trees
US, France, 2015, 92mins. English with German subtitles. Dir: Diego Ongaro. Cast: Matt Gallagher, Polly MacIntyre, Bob Tarasuk. A fifty-something logger struggles to make ends meet. International Feature Film/ Competition Arena 5 Press & Industry
16:45
Gruber is leaving
Austria, 2015, 105mins. German with English subtitles. Dir: Marie Kreutzer.
12 Screen International at Zurich September 26-28, 2015
English, Shona with English subtitles. Dir: Camilla Nielsson. In politically unstable Zimbabwe, a new constitution is being put together.
La passion d’Augustine
Border Lines Filmpodium
New World View: Iran Filmpodium
18:15
Canada, 2015, 103mins. Gala Premieres Corso 4
Risk of Acid Rain
Iran, 2015, 105mins.
21:00
Deep Web
Another Year
US, 2015, 90mins.
UK, 2010, 129mins. English with German subtitles. Dir: Mike Leigh. Cast: Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville. A look at four seasons in the lives of a happily married couple.
International Documentary Film/Competition Corso 4
18:30 Outside the Box
Germany, 2015, 85mins. Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria Arena 8
Retro: Mike Leigh Corso 3
Night on Earth
Angry Indian Goddesses
France, Japan, UK, US, Germany, 1991, 129mins. German, English, Finnish, French, Italian, Japanese with German and French subtitles. Dir: Jim Jarmusch. Five cities. Five taxi rides. Five episodes. Special Screenings Arthouse Le Paris
18:45 The Dark Side of the Moon
Germany, 2015, 97mins. Gala Premieres Arena 5
13
21:15
I Want to Be a King
Iran, 2014, 72mins. Farsi with English subtitles. Dir: Mehdi Ganji. Abbas has turned his own home into a guest house. New World View: Iran Arthouse Piccadilly
The Program
Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria Corso 2
UK, France, 2015, 103mins.
Window: San Sebastian Arthouse Piccadilly
17:45 Mr. Turner
UK, France, Germany, 2014, 150mins. English with German subtitles. Dir: Mike Leigh. An exploration of painter JMW Turner’s life. Retro: Mike Leigh Corso 3
18:00 Spotlight Gala Premieres Corso 1
Democrats
Denmark, 2014, 99mins.
19:00 Sleeping Giant
Gala Premieres Corso 1
21:30
Canada, 2015, 90mins.
Bob and the Trees
International Feature Film/ Competition Arena 4
US, France, 2015, 92mins. English with German subtitles. Dir: Diego Ongaro.
19:15 Atlan
Iran, 2014, 62mins. Farsi with English subtitles. Dir: Moein Karimoddini. Ali is a Turkman horse trainer. Horses are his life. New World View: Iran Arthouse Piccadilly
20:45
Michael Rosser, michael. rosser@screendaily.com Chief reporter Andreas Wiseman, andreas. wiseman@screendaily.com Reviews editor Fionnuala Halligan, finn. halligan@screendaily.com Group head of production and art Mark Mowbray, mark.mowbray@ screendaily.com paullindsell@gmail.com Advertising Tel +44 (0) 7540 100 254 International account manager Gunter Zerbich gunter.zerbich@ screendaily.com Sales manager Scott Benfold, scott. benfold@screendaily.com +44 (0) 7765 257 260 Commercial director Nadia Romdhani +44 (0) 20 8102 0881 Production manager Neil Sinclair, neil.sinclair@ mb-insight.com +44 (0) 7826 942 693 Chief executive, MBI Conor Dignam Printer Horisberger Regensdorf, Bahnstrasse 20, 8105 Regensdorf
International Feature Film/ Competition Arena 4
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Canada, Australia, Germany, 2015, 110mins.
Scrutton Street, London,
Gala Premieres Arthouse Le Paris
Subscription enquiries
Mediterranea
Austria, 2015, 105mins.
Italy, France, US, Germany, Qatar, 2015, 110mins.
Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria Arena 8
International Feature Film/ Competition Corso 2
Gruber is leaving
News and daily editor
+44 (0) 7540 100 254
Germany, 2015, 98mins.
The Club
Tel +44 7843 078 926
Special Screenings Arena 5
Beck’s last Summer
Chile, 2015, 97mins. Spanish with English.
Editorial
Sub-editor Paul Lindsell
New World View: Iran Arena 4
17:00
Editorial office: Alpha Sprach Studios 3rd floor Stadelhoferstrasse 10, 8001 Zurich
India, Germany, 2015, 103mins. English, Hindi with German and English subtitles. Dir: Pan Nalin. A portrait of women in India today.
Iran, 2014, 90mins.
US, 2015, 126mins.
The Long Distance
Germany, 2015, 91mins.
Gruber lives his life exactly the way he wants to.
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