FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For More Information Contact: November 17, 2006 Patrick Hubley, 435.658.3456 [email protected]
FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2007 SUNDANCE/NHK INTERNATIONAL FILMMAKERS AWARDS
New Projects from Emerging Filmmakers from Europe, Latin America, the United States and Japan Selected
Los Angeles, CA–Sundance Institute and NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) announced today the 12 finalists for the 2007 Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Awards. These annual awards recognize emerging artists in international cinema and are presented to film directors from four global regions (Europe, Latin America, the United States, and Japan) to support them in realizing their next projects. The four winners, selected by members of an international jury, will be announced during the 2007 Sundance Film Festival at Park City, Utah, which runs January 18-28. The awards will be presented at the Festival Awards Ceremony on Saturday, January 27.
The 12 finalists for the 2007 Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Awards are:
EUROPE LATIN AMERICA
• Jens Jonsson / THE PING-PONG KING (Sweden) • Lucía Cedrón / AGNUS DEI (Argentina) • Dagur Kári / THE GOOD HEART (Iceland) • Jorge Gaggero / DOG SECURITY (Argentina) • Ursula Meier / HOME (Switzerland) • Josué Méndez / DIOSES (Peru)
JAPAN UNITED STATES
• Isamu Hirabayashi / THE CARE AND FEEDING OF • Caran Hartsfield / BURY ME STANDING INSECTS • Jake Mahaffy / FREE IN DEED • Tomoko Kana / TWO BY THE RIVER • Kazuo Ohno / MR. CRUMPACKER AND THE MAN FROM • Yoshinori Saitou / CHICKEN CHOICE THE LETTER
The winning director from each region will receive a $10,000 award and a guarantee from NHK to purchase the Japanese television broadcast rights upon completion of their project. In addition, Sundance Institute will work closely with the award recipients throughout the year, providing ongoing resources and support in seeking out opportunities to finance and distribute their projects.
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“These projects transcend geographic, cultural and political boundaries and represent the range of stories being developed by filmmakers around the world,” said Alesia Weston, Associate Director of the Feature Film Program, International.
“We’re thrilled by the quality and diversity of the projects being developed by this year’s finalists. These awards are part of Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program which provides year-round support for U.S. and international filmmakers. The Sundance/NHK awards act as a unique catalyst by providing these projects with the leverage to receive other funding that is critical for their completion,” added Michelle Satter, Director, Sundance Institute Feature Film Program.
Past recipients of the award include: Andrucha Waddington, THE HOUSE OF SAND (Brazil); Miranda July, ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW (USA); Lucrecia Martel, LA CIENAGA (Argentina); Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll, WHISKY (Uruguay); Walter Salles, CENTRAL STATION (Brazil); Chris Eyre, SMOKE SIGNALS (USA); György Pálfi, TAXIDERMIA (Hungary) and Catalin Mitulescu, THE WAY I SPENT THE END OF THE WORLD (Romania). Recent winners include Fernando Eimbcke with LAKE TAHOE and Patrice Toye with THE SPRING RITUAL.
The following are descriptions of the projects from the twelve finalists for the 2007 Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Awards:
EUROPE:
Jens Jonsson / THE PING-PONG KING (Sweden) An overweight ping-pong ace is forced to rely on his popular younger brother to defend him from bullies until a surprising revelation threatens their family unity.
Dagur Kári / THE GOOD HEART (Iceland) Jaques, an ailing, middle aged bar owner and Lucas, a young homeless man recovering from an attempted suicide, become friends during their stay in the hospital. Their friendship is tested when a drunken stewardess comes between them as Jaques trains Lucas to take over the bar.
Ursula Meier / HOME (Switzerland) A family gradually barricades themselves as they try to shut out the large highway that has just opened behind their home.
LATIN AMERICA:
Lucía Cedrón / AGNUS DEI (Argentina) A young woman’s elderly grandfather is kidnapped for ransom during a crime wave following the Argentinean economic crisis of 2002. She learns about his role in the military dictatorship of the 1970’s and must then consider one of the paradoxes of Argentinean society: what can we forgive and how much can we forget?
Jorge Gaggero / DOG SECURITY (Argentina) In a society that fosters fear and paranoia, the Goldenberg family takes measures to protect their home only to find themselves mirroring the violence they were trying to escape.
Josué Méndez / DIOSES (Peru) Members of a dysfunctional, white, upper class family in Peru grapple with their own prejudices and inter- personal issues when the patriarch brings home his new, lower class, “mestizo” girlfriend who also happens to be his former secretary. -more-
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UNITED STATES:
Caran Hartsfield / BURY ME STANDING A random act of violence triggers a change within a bizarre family dynamic, as each member reexamines the ignored, the hidden and the things left unsaid.
Jake Mahaffy / FREE IN DEED A desperate man’s attempt at deliverance while trying to perform a miracle fails and results in the death of a young boy. Recently released from prison, the man returns to the same small town where now his own child has fallen ill.
Kazuo Ohno / MR. CRUMPACKER AND THE MAN FROM THE LETTER Prompted by a series of mysterious letters, a crass and overbearing businessman decides to reconfigure his company as a place of philosophical inquiry.
JAPAN:
Isamu Hirabayashi / THE CARE AND FEEDING OF INSECTS The relationship between a young boy who is fascinated by insects and his mother is tested by her long- standing phobia of insects.
Tomoko Kana / TWO BY THE RIVER An elderly man has an increasingly hard time caring for his infirm wife until finally, with only memories of their life together to offer solace, he feels compelled to make a very difficult choice.
Yoshinori Saitou / CHICKEN CHOICE An older man volunteers for an organization that reaches out to other socially withdrawn people. He meets a boy who won’t leave his bedroom and tries to coax him out by relating the story about an outcast girl with blue eyes who works as a chicken sexer (someone who determines the sex of baby chicks).
NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) is Japan’s largest broadcaster. Since 1925, it has continued to offer fair impartial reporting and high quality programs, earning the viewers’ trust as the nation’s sole public broadcaster. Through its five 24-hour TV channels (two terrestrial/three satellite) and three radio channels, NHK provides programs of all genres from news and education to sports and entertainment and serves as the hub of Japanese visual culture. NHK’S arts and entertainment satellite channel, which was introduced in 1989, broadcasts more than 600 high quality international films each year. In order to contribute to the development of film culture and the promotion of cultural exchange, NHK is devoted to supporting burgeoning filmmakers who have the potential to guide the industry’s future development. Along with the “Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award,” NHK also produces the “Asian Film Festival” which offers opportunities to emerging film directors in Asia.
The Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award is part of the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program. The Feature Film Program was established in 1981 to identify and foster a new generation of leading film artists and support them throughout the creation of a specific film project. The program features lab residencies in writing, directing, and producing, year-round creative and business support, and the Annenberg film fellowships, providing strategic financial support to filmmakers during the development and completion stages of a project. Over the years, the Feature Film Program has supported the early visionary work of Ryan Fleck (HALF NELSON), Hany Abu-Assad (PARADISE NOW), Josh Marston (MARIA FULL OF GRACE), Peter Sollett (RAISING VICTOR VARGAS), Tamara Jenkins (SLUMS OF BEVERLY HILLS), Paul T. Anderson (HARD EIGHT), Quentin Tarantino (RESERVOIR DOGS), and Kimberly Peirce (BOYS DON'T CRY), among many others.
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Sundance Institute Dedicated year-round to the development of artists of independent vision and to the exhibition of their new work, Sundance Institute celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2006. Since its inception, the Institute has grown into an internationally recognized resource for thousands of independent artists through its Sundance Film Festival and artistic development programs which provide a range of concentrated creative and financial support for screenwriters, directors, documentary filmmakers, composers, playwrights and theatre artists. The original values of independence, creative risk-taking, and discovery continue to define and guide the work of Sundance Institute, both with US artists and, increasingly, with artists from other regions of the world.
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BACKGROUNDER For More Information Contact Patrick Hubley, 435.658.3456 [email protected]
2007 SUNDANCE/NHK INTERNATIONAL FILMMAKERS AWARD FINALIST BIOS
EUROPE:
Jens Jonsson / THE PING-PONG KING (Sweden) Swedish director Jens Jonsson studied graphic design at Konstfack (The University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm) and film directing at Dramatiska Institutet (University College of Film, Radio, Television and Theatre in Stockholm) where he made Reparation (2001) and K-G for Better or for Worse (2002), both of which won the silver medal in the Cinéfondation competition at Cannes and led to “La Résidence du Festival de Cannes” the following year. His short, Brother of Mine, won the Silver Bear at the 2002 Berlin International Film Festival and a retrospective of his films was held at the 2006 Clermont- Ferrand International Film Festival. His highly popular series, Good Morning Children, was broadcast on Swedish television in 2005.
Dagur Kári / THE GOOD HEART (Iceland) Icelandic, but born in France, Dagur Kári studied directing at The National Filmschool of Denmark. He graduated in 1999 with the award winning short LOST WEEKEND. His feature debut NOI ALBINOI became an international hit in 2003. His second feature, DARK HORSE (2005), was selected for “Un Certain Regard” at the Cannes Film Festival. Kári also works as a musician with the band Slowblow, which has released 4 albums and scored both of Dagur’s feature films.
Ursula Meier / HOME (Switzerland) Ursula Meier, of dual Swiss and French nationality, studied cinema at the Institute of Broadcast Arts (IAD) in Belgium where she made the award-winning short film SLEEPLESS (1999). Her second short, TABLE MANNERS (2001), was selected by more than 80 film festivals around the world and received more than two dozen international awards. Meier’s documentaries include AUTOR DE PINGET. Her first feature, STRONG SHOULDERS (2003), which was developed for ARTE Television as part of its “Feminine-Masculine” Collection was released internationally and met with critical and public acclaim. Most recently, Ursula was a 2006 resident at Cannes’ L’Atelier du Festival, where she developed HOME.
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LATIN AMERICA:
Lucía Cedrón / AGNUS DEI (Argentina) Born in Argentina, Lucía Cedrón and her family moved to France when her father died under mysterious circumstances. At the Sorbonne, Cedrón received degrees in Literature, History and Film Studies. Following graduation, Lucía produced documentaries for French television but decided to return to Buenos Aires in 2002 where she made her first short film, EN AUSENCIA, winner of the Silver Bear in Berlin in 2003. AGNUS DEI will be her first feature-length film.
Jorge Gaggero / DOG SECURITY (Argentina) A graduate of the AFI masters program in film, JORGE GAGGERO won the Director’s Guild of America Award for Best Latino Student Filmmaker for his short, A PIECE OF EARTH. His feature debut, LIVE-IN MAID, won several international awards including the Special Jury Prize at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Competition, and was programmed at MOMA and Lincoln Center’s New Directors/ New Films festival. He also produced and directed the feature documentary LIVING IN A FALCON which was awarded the Special Jury Prize at the 2005 Buenos Aires Independent Film Festival.
Josué Méndez / DIOSES (Peru) Born in Perú, Josué Méndez studied cinema at Yale University. His first feature, DAYS OF SANTIAGO, released by Lion’s Gate in the U.S.A. and sold to over 12 territories worldwide, won the FIPRESCI Award at Rotterdam, became the most awarded film in Peru’s history, and was Peru’s 2005 entry for the Academy Award’s Foreign Language Film Category. Josué was a 2005 resident at Cannes’ L’Atelier du Festival, where he developed DIOSES.
UNITED STATES:
Caran Hartsfield / BURY ME STANDING Caran Hartsfield received her MFA from the Graduate Film Department of New York University where she made the short films DOUBLE-HANDED and KISS IT UP TO GOD. Her short films went on to win many awards including 2nd place at the Cannes Film Festival Cinéfondation, the DGA Award, the Martin Scorsese Fellowship, and the Spike Lee Fellowship. Her first feature screenplay, BURY ME STANDING, was developed at the Cannes Film Festival's Cinéfondation Residency in Paris, was workshopped at the Sundance Screenwriter's and Filmmaker's Labs and has numerous awards including the IFP Gordon Parks Screenplay Award and The Media Arts Grant. She is currently in post-production on a segment of 7 THINGS I NEVER TOLD YOU, which is being made collectively by seven directors
Jake Mahaffy / FREE IN DEED Jake Mahaffy was born and raised in Ohio, studied filmmaking at the Russian State Institute of Cinematography in Moscow and co-founded the Handcranked Film Projects collaborative in Boston. Mahaffy created the filmmaking curriculum at Hollins College in Virginia and is currently developing a new film program at Wheaton College in Massachusetts. Mahaffy's short films and feature, WAR (2004), have screened in festivals and competitions including Sundance, Rotterdam, Edinburgh, Stockholm, Cinematexas, Ann Arbor and the Student Academy Awards. His screenplay, FREE IN DEED has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Creative Capital Grant, the Sundance Institute’s inaugural Lynn Auerbach Screenwriting Fellowship, and an Annenberg Film Fellowship after developing the project at the 2006 Sundance Filmmaker’s Lab.
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Kazuo Ohno / MR. CRUMPACKER AND THE MAN FROM THE LETTER Kazuo Ohno grew up in Tokyo and New York and is a graduate of the MFA Film Program at Columbia University where he made the short film FOR OUR MAN which won numerous awards including a Gold Medal from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the 29th Annual Student Academy Awards competition in the Alternative Film category; Best Narrative Short at the South By Southwest Film Festival; Best of the Festival at the Ann Arbor Film Festival; Prix Panavision at the Avignon Film Festival; a Directors Guild of America Student Filmmaker Award and a New Line Cinema Award for Overall Achievement in Filmmaking, at the Columbia University Film Festival. Kazuo attend the 2004 January Screenwriters Lab and June Directors Lab, and a recipient of a Sundance Institute/Annenberg Film Fellowship.
JAPAN:
Isamu Hirabayashi / THE CARE AND FEEDING OF INSECTS Isamu Hirabayashi is a graduate of Musashino Art University. His short films have screened internationally at numerous festivals and have won the following awards: The Grand Prize at the 2004 Image Forum Festival in 2004 for TEXTISM (2003); First Prize in the International Competition at the 2004 Bangkok Short Film and Video Festival and the Grand Prize at the Short Short Film Festicval in LA for HELMUT (2003); and the Grand Prize at the Busan Asian Short Film Festival for DORON (2006). He is currently working as a director for TV commercials.
Tomoko Kana / TWO BY THE RIVER Formally a producer at NHK, Tomoko Kana has become a crusading filmmaker whose travels in Southeast Asia inspired MARDIYEM (2001) a documentary about Indonesian “comfort women” who had been forced into prostitution by Japanese troops. Later, during a trip to China, she was inspired to make NIGAI NAMIDA NO DAICHI KARA (FROM THE LAND OF BITTER TEARS - 2004) which chronicles the plight of Chinese victims still affected by old, discarded Japanese ordnance. BITTER TEARS was awarded a Rookie Award from the Japanese Congress of Journalists.
Yoshinori Saitou / CHICKEN CHOICE Yoshinori Saitou is a graduate of Senshu University where he made several 8mm short films. He now works as a television director, making corporate promotional films and programs for Communication Satellite TV.
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