The film has 37 more days to reach its target funding of $44,000 via the crowd funding site Kickstarter. Here is the synopsis of the film:

Alex is a highly skilled shooter, a hired gun for a special clientele. We follow him on his current job as he retells how he came to be. We learn that his father, who pushed him to focus and hone his ability, trained him from a very young age.

Alex walks us through his first job and how awkward and messy it was. Quick on his feet, he learns fast and soon becomes the most sought after hire in town. We watch him as he floats from job to job with little to no emotional connection to those he shoots.

He tells his story in the first person as he drives along the pacific coast en route to his current gig. He is a man filled with darkness, attitude and cockiness and he has no idea how difficult this job will be. His current target is an attractive woman who will flirt her way into his mind. Alex must overcome her seduction to do his job. By the end we see what he is made of through a surprising twist of events.

Visit the Kickstarter page for this film and help Brown and Sixx reach their goal and be a part of what could be a thrilling intro into indie film from an established director of other mediums.

The athletes in question are a mixed bunch, all with the commonality of thinking outside the box with their respective sports. Danny MacAskill, Scottish Urban Trials rider extraordinaire; Kilian Martin, Spanish skateboarder (and his LA filmmaker Brett Novak); Parkour legends Paul ‘Blue’ Joseph, Phil ‘Professor Longhair’ Doyle and Mathieu Ledoux (working with director Claudiu Voicu); and Keelan Phillips, the amazing British BMX Flatlander all showcase their skills and, too, their personalities and unique approach that inspires them to perform.

Concrete Circus is now available through iTunes in Canada and the UK. Check it out if you are in either of those locales, or watch the trailer and wait for the USA release!

Concrete Circus tease from Mike Christie on Vimeo.

Halle Berry will present at the 84th Academy Awards ceremony, telecast producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer announced today.

Berry won an Oscar® in 2001 for her lead performance in “Monster’s Ball.” She was recently seen in “New Year’s Eve” and will be seen next opposite Tom Hanks and Hugh Grant in Cloud Atlas. Berry’s other film credits include Frankie & Alice, Things We Lost in the Fire, Die Another Day, Swordfish, and the first three X-Men films.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

The details are simple: create a video cinematic experience of almost any genre (refer to the contest rules for any exclusions) and make it 15 minutes or less, submitting it after to the channel to be enjoyed by millions upon millions of viewers. Each film will be judged by the masses and the 10 finalists will be granted a spot at the Venice Film Festival where they will compete for the coveted grand prize: a chance to undergo a new work that will be produced by Ridley Scott and his team (as well as a $500,000 grant).

With the innovations that technology has allowed in video cinema, independent film is taking on the conversation of storytelling in new and compelling ways; a breath of fresh air in a seemingly murky pool of samey singularity.

Visit the Your Film Festival You Tube channel to watch the announcement by Ridley Scott and enter for your chance to make your stories come to life!

The films selected and their filmmakers are listed below:

1. Betty – In 1968, singer/songwriter Betty Mabry thought all of her dreams came true when she married legendary jazz icon Miles Davis…that is, until she met Jimi Hendrix…

Nicole Jefferson Asher is a writer/director and producer who began her career studying ballet at the Dance Theater of Harlem. From there, she went onto earn a BFA in Theater Dancing from UC Berkeley and then a MFA in Film Directing from UCLA. She has numerous credits in theater, film and television, creating projects for HBO, MTV, Nickelodeon Movies and Spike Lee’s 40 Acres and a Mule Film Works. Jefferson served as story producer on Interscope Presents: The Next Episode, a hip-hop reality show from Showtime and has written episodes for the animated children’s program, ToddWorld on Discovery Kids. Most recently, Jefferson completed The Tour, a feature film set in the dance world, produced by Millar Gough Ink. She is also currently writing and directing Betty.

2. Foreign Relations – An American family hosts a South Korean exchange student for a six-week summer home stay. When she accidentally learns all the secrets they’re keeping from one another, she turns their lives upside down.

Jon Goldman is a filmmaker and translator. His short film Diplomacy, a wry take on the power of interpreters in a closed-door negotiation between the United States and Iran, played over two dozen film festivals worldwide, including Abu Dhabi, SXSW and Tokyo, winning jury awards in Paris, Aspen, New York City, Switzerland and Mexico. Goldman is a former AMPAS Nicholl Fellowship Finalist and a Netflix FIND Your Voice Film Competition Finalist. Fluent in French, Goldman has worked on films in both Europe and Hollywood, and continues to indulge a passion for cross-cultural stories.

3. Raw – When Howie’s wife gives him permission to have an affair, he finds himself falling head over heels for a Williamsburg hipster half his age. The result is at once funny and tragic, as Howie discovers adolescent love so late in his life.

Gil Kofman is a writer/director and received his MFA from the Yale School of Drama in playwriting. Before that, he studied Physics at Cornell and was enrolled in the MFA film program at NYU. He wrote and directed the feature film Memory Thief starring Mark Webber and Rachel Miner, which won the Edmonton International Film Festival and Red Rock Film Festival. He was an associate producer/additional editor on the Sundance documentary film Derrida (2002) and co-edited and acted in You Won’t Miss Me (Sundance 2009). Additionally, he shot vérité footage for Kirby Dick’s Outrage and This Film Is Not Yet Rated. This summer, he directed a thriller in China called Case Sensitive in Chinese, which was originally work shopped at the Sundance Producer’s Lab as iCapture. The film had a wide release in China this June. Kofman has had three plays published by Broadway Play Publishing, including American Magic with Sonic Youth doing music and Richard Foreman reading one of the parts, and Pharmacopeia, which received a strong LA premiere. His other plays have been produced in London, New York, Chicago, Dallas Theater Center, Canada and Los Angeles. A short fiction piece was previously published in Gordon Lish’s The Quarterly, and he’s currently working on a feature on the life of Rainer Werner Fassbinder called RWF: The Terror of Dreams Come True with Tanner King Barklow. Kofman recently finished a novel called acKursed! (The Story of Kafka’s Curse as Bestowed Upon Francis Krow). He’s also having a photo show this March and April at dnj Gallery at Bergamot Station.

4. The Fencer – A hard-charging female athlete faces personal demons as she vies for a spot on the U.S. Olympic Fencing Team.

Jasmine McGlade Chazelle recently wrote and directed her first feature, Maria My Love, starring Film Independent Spirit Award nominee Judy Marte (Raising Victor Vargas) and Golden Globe winner and Academy Award nominated actress Karen Black (Five Easy Pieces). The film premiered in competition at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival and won Best U.S. Feature at HBO’s New York International Latino Film Festival. Chazelle grew up in Littleton, Colorado and London, England, graduating from Harvard in 2007. While in college, she produced the critically acclaimed feature-length musical Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, which premiered at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, won Special Jury Prize at the Torino Film Festival, was nominated for a Gotham Award and was released in theaters the following year to rave reviews. After college, she worked for Kimberly Peirce (Stop Loss, Boys Don’t Cry). Outside of filmmaking, Chazelle is known as a national champion fencer and four-time U.S. Junior World Team Member. She was voted one of Teen Magazine’s “Athletes of the Year,” has trained at the U.S. Olympic Training Center and is a NCAA All-American athlete. She has won numerous national and international gold medals, including the Junior Olympics, Heidenheim Cadet World Cup, NCAA Championships and the U.S. National Championships.

5. Three – A college professor, his wife and her young lover struggle to create a polyamorous relationship that works.

Anna Kerrigan is a playwright, screenwriter and director based in New York City. Her first independent feature Five Days Gone (which she produced, wrote, directed, edited and starred in) premiered this summer in the Brooklyn Film Festival, where she was awarded Best Screenplay, and the Nantucket Film Festival. Her play, The Talls, premiered this August at Second Stage’s McGinn Cazale Theater. A graduate of Stanford University, Kerrigan has developed plays with Naked Angels, the Williamstown Theatre Festival and the Ensemble Studio Theatre.

6. Unmanned – A young Air Force drone operator struggles to cope with the daily commute between his suburban family life in Las Vegas and the war he fights by remote control.

Casey Cooper Johnson is a writer/director, prior to completing his MFA at AFI, he spent the past ten years in Kosovo as a TV producer, documentary filmmaker and political satirist. Having graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Environmental Studies, he first explored video making during his volunteer work in post-ward Kosovo. Since then, he has produced and directed dozens of documentaries in the Balkan region, collaborating with his wife, Antoneta, and his sister-in-law/cinematographer, Sevdije Kastrati, under their film company, Crossing Bridges Productions. Johnson is best known for his work as co-producer of the acclaimed current affairs show, Life in Kosovo, and his self-directed satirical TV sketches, “Kosova’s Son in Law.” Now a graduate of AFI, he is currently promoting his short film, Unmanned, while developing it into a feature movie.

Narrative Feature Competition:

This year’s 8 films were selected from 1,112 submissions. Each film is a World Premiere.

Films screening in Narrative Feature Competition are:

Booster
Director & Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin
When Simon’s brother is arrested for armed robbery, he is asked to commit a string of similar crimes in an attempt to get his brother acquitted.
Cast: Nico Stone, Adam DuPaul, Seymour Cassel, Kristin Dougherty, Brian McGrail
(World Premiere)

Eden
Director: Megan Griffiths | Screenwriter: Richard B. Phillips & Megan Griffiths | Story by: Richard B. Phillips & Chong Kim
A young Korean-American girl, abducted and forced into prostitution by domestic human traffickers, joins forces with her captors in a desperate plea to survive.
Cast: Jamie Chung, Matt O’Leary, Beau Bridges, Jeanine Monterroza, Scott Mechlowicz
(World Premiere)

Gayby
Director & Screenwriter: Jonathan Lisecki
Jenn and Matt, best friends since college who are now in their thirties, decide to have a child together, the old-fashioned way – even though Matt is gay and Jenn is straight.
Cast: Jenn Harris, Matthew Wilkas, Mike Doyle, Anna Margaret Hollyman, Jack Ferver
(World Premiere)

Gimme the Loot
Director & Screenwriter: Adam Leon
When Malcolm and Sofia’s latest graffiti masterpiece is buffed by a rival gang, these two determined Bronx teens must hustle, steal, and scheme to get spectacular revenge and become the biggest writers in the City.
Cast: Tashiana Washington, Ty Hickson, Meeko, Zoe Lescaze, Sam Soghor
(World Premiere)

Los Chidos (Germany / Mexico / USA)
Director & Screenwriter: Omar Rodriguez Lopez
The Gonzales family tries hard to hold on to their beautiful Latino traditions of misogyny and homophobia when a tall, white, industrialist stranger appears, challenging their place in the exploitative food chain.
Cast: Kim Stodel, María De Jesús Canales Ramírez, Manuel Ramos, Cecillia Gutiérrez
(World Premiere)

Pilgrim Song
Director: Martha Stephens | Screenwriters: Martha Stephens & Karrie Crouse
A pink-slipped music teacher ponders his stalled relationship and place in the world during an arduous trek across Kentucky’s Sheltowee Trace Trail.
Cast: Timothy Morton, Bryan Marshall, Karrie Crouse, Harrison Cole, Michael Abbott Jr.
(World Premiere)

Starlet
Directors: Sean Baker | Screenwriters: Sean Baker & Chris Bergoch
The film explores the unlikely friendship between 21-year-old Jane (Dree Hemingway), and 85 year-old Sadie (Besedka Johnson), two women whose worlds collide in California’s San Fernando Valley.
Cast: Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Stella Maeve, James Ransone, Karren Karagulian
(World Premiere)

The Taiwan Oyster
Directors: Mark Jarrett | Screenwriters: Mark Jarrett, Jordan Heimer, Mitchell Jarrett
Two Ex-Pat Kindergarten teachers in Taiwan embark on a quixotic odyssey to bury a fellow countryman.
Cast: Billy Harvey, Jeff Palmiotti, Leonora Lim
(World Premiere)

Documentary Feature Competition:

This year’s 8 films were selected from 845 submissions. Each film is a World Premiere.

Films screening in Documentary Feature Competition are:

Bay of All Saints
Director: Annie Eastman
As the last of the notorious water slums is demolished in Bahia, Brazil, will three single mothers face homelessness or rally for a better life?
(World Premiere)

Beware of Mr. Baker
Director: Jay Bulger
Ginger Baker is the original rock ‘n roll madman junkie drummer superstar who everyone thought was dead but somehow survived 50+ years of heroin abuse, disastrous experiments and 5 marriages on 4 continents.
(World Premiere)

The Central Park Effect
Director: Jeffrey Kimball
The film reveals the extraordinary array of wild birds who grace Manhattan’s celebrated patch of green, and the equally colorful, full-of-attitude New Yorkers who schedule their lives around the rhythms of migration.
(World Premiere)

Jeff
Director: Chris James Thompson
A documentary about the people around Jeffrey Dahmer during the 1991 summer of his arrest for the murder of 17 people in Milwaukee.
(World Premiere)

Seeking Asian Female
Director: Debbie Lum
When an American man with “yellow fever” meets a Chinese woman half his age online, documenting their attempt to build a marriage from scratch reveals hilarious and troubling complications for the couple and the filmmaker.
(World Premiere)

The Sheikh and I
Director: Caveh Zahedi
Commissioned by a Middle Eastern Biennial to make a film on the theme of “art as a subversive act,” independent filmmaker Caveh Zahedi (I am a Sex Addict) is threatened with a fatwa.
(World Premiere)

The Source
Director: Jodi Wille & Maria Demopoulos
The Source Family was a radical experiment in ’70s utopian living. Their popular restaurant, rock band, and beautiful women made them the darlings of Hollywood; but their outsider ideals led to their dramatic undoing.
(World Premiere)

Welcome To The Machine
Directors: Avi Zev Weider
Upon fathering triplets, filmmaker Avi Zev Weider explores the nature of technology, seeking answers about what it means to be human.
(World Premiere)

Headliners:

Big names, big talent: Headliners bring star power to SXSW, featuring red carpet premieres and gala film events with some major and rising names in cinema.

Films screening in Headliners are:

21 Jump Street
Director: Phil Lord & Christopher Miller | Screenplay by: Michael Bacall | Story by: Michael Bacall & Jonah Hill
Police officers Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) get sent back to high school as undercover cops in the action-comedy 21 Jump Street.
Cast:Cast: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Brie Larson, Dave Franco, Rob Riggle, with Ice Cube
(World Premiere)

BIG EASY EXPRESS
Director: Emmett Malloy
Emmett Malloy’s latest film invites us aboard a train ride unlike any other with Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show.
(World Premiere)

The Cabin in the Woods
Director: Drew Goddard | Screenwriter: Joss Whedon & Drew Goddard
Five friends go to a remote cabin in the woods. Bad things happen. If you think you know this story, think again. From fan favorites Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard comes The Cabin in the Woods, a mind-blowing horror film that turns the genre inside out.
Cast: Kristen Connolly, Fran Kranz, Anna Hutchison, Chris Hemsworth, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, and Bradley Whitford
(World Premiere)

Decoding Deepak
Director: Gotham Chopra
Filmmaker Gotham Chopra spends a year on the road decoding his father and spiritual icon Deepak Chopra.
(World Premiere)

Girls
Director & Screenwriter: Lena Dunham
Created by and starring Lena Dunham (Tiny Furniture), the HBO show is a comic look at the assorted humiliations and rare triumphs of a group of girls in their early 20s.
Cast: Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet, Adam Driver
(World Premiere)

The Hunter (Australia)
Director: Daniel Nettheim | Screenplay by: Alice Addison | Novel by: Julia Leigh | Original Adaptation by: Wain Fimeri
A mercenary is dispatched from Europe to the Tasmanian wilderness by a mysterious biotech company to search for the last surviving Tasmanian tiger.
Cast: Willem Dafoe, Frances O’Connor, Sam Neill
(U.S. Premiere)

Killer Joe
Director: William Friedkin | Screenwriter: Tracy Letts
A garish, Southwestern tale – a violent black comedy about a desperate Texas debtor (Hirsch) who plots to kill his mother with help of his family (Haden Church, Gershon). They hire a crazy Dallas cop who moonlights as a contract killer (McConaughey) to do the job, but Killer Joe asks for their teenage daughter (Temple) as a retainer. The film is based on Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts’ (August: Osage County) award winning play.
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Gina Gershon, Juno Temple, Thomas Haden Church
(U.S. Premiere)

MARLEY (UK / USA)
Directors: Kevin Macdonald
The definitive life story of Bob Marley – musician, revolutionary, legend – from his early days to his rise to international superstardom. Made with the support of the Marley family, the film features rare footage, incredible performances and revelatory interviews with the people that knew him best. Directed by Academy-Award-Winner Kevin Macdonald.
(North American Premiere)

Narrative Spotlight:

High profile narrative features receiving their World, North American or U.S. Premieres at SXSW.

Films screening in Narrative Spotlight are:

The Babymakers
Director: Jay Chandrasekhar | Screenwriters: Peter Gaulke & Gerry Swallow
Unable to impregnate his wife, Tommy and friends rob a sperm bank – to get Tommy’s long-ago donated sperm back. The crazy plan goes hilariously awry and shows how far a couple will go to create a new life.
Cast: Paul Schneider, Olivia Munn, Kevin Heffernan, Wood Harris, Nat Faxon
(World Premiere)

Crazy Eyes
Director: Adam Sherman | Screenwriters: Adam Sherman, Dave Reeves & Rachel Hardisty
Just another story about love.
Cast: Lukas Haas, Madeline Zima, Jake Busey, Tania Raymonde, Regine Nehy
(World Premiere)

Do-Deca-Pentathalon
Director & Screenwriter: Jay Duplass & Mark Duplass
Two brothers compete in their own private 25-event Olympics.
Cast: Mark Kelly, Steve Zissis, Elton LeBlanc
(World Premiere)

Fat Kid Rules The World
Director: Matthew Lillard | Screenwriters: Michael M.B. Galvin, Peter Speakman
Troy, a depressed overweight teenager, gets sucked into the punk rock world by Marcus, a charming street musician. But when Troy discovers Marcus’ drug addiction, he suddenly must figure out the true boundaries of friendship.
Cast: Jacob Wysocki, Matt O’Leary, Billy Campbell, Lilli Simmons, Dylan Arnold
(World Premiere)

Frankie go boom
Director & Screenwriter: Jordan Roberts
a flick by bruce about his little brother frank who’s a crybaby fuck who shouldn’t do lame-ass embarrassing shit if he dozn’t want people 2 see it
Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Chris O’Dowd, Lizzy Caplan, Ron Perlman, Chris Noth
(World Premiere)

Hunky Dory (UK)
Director: Marc Evans | Screenwriters: Laurence Coriat
From the producer of Billy Elliot comes this funny, coming of age film featuring songs from artists such as David Bowie, Lou Reed, The Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkel, Dusty Springfield and Electric Light Orchestra.
Cast: Minnie Driver, Aneurin Barnard, Danielle Branch, Robert Pugh, Haydn Gwynne
(North American Premiere)

In Our Nature
Director & Screenwriter: Brian Savelson
Taking place over a single weekend, an estranged father and son accidentally end up in the same country house with their two girlfriends.
Cast: Zach Gilford, Jena Malone, John Slattery, Gabrielle Union
(World Premiere)

Keyhole (Canada)
Directors: Guy Maddin | Screenwriters: Guy Maddin & George Toles
I’m only a ghost… but a ghost isn’t nothing.
Cast: Isabella Rossellini, Jason Patric, Udo Kier, Kevin McDonald, Tattiawna Jones
(U.S. Premiere)

See Girl Run
Directors & Screenwriter: Nate Meyer
What happens when a 30-something woman allows life’s “what ifs” to overwhelm her appreciation for what life actually is. Disregarding her current obligations, she digs into her romantic past in hopes of invigorating her present.
Cast: Robin Tunney, Adam Scott, Jeremy Strong, William Sadler, Josh Hamilton
(World Premiere)

Small Apartments
Directors: Jonas Åkerlund | Screenwriters: Chris Millis
When Franklin Franklin accidentally kills his landlord, he must hide the body; but, the wisdom of his beloved brother and the quirks of his neighbors, force him on a journey where a fortune awaits him.
Cast: Matt Lucas, Billy Crystal, James Caan, Johnny Knoxville, Juno Temple
(World Premiere)

Somebody Up There Likes Me
Directors & Screenwriter: Bob Byington
Thirty-five years in the life of Max, his best friend Sal, and a woman they both adore. A deadpan fable about time sneaking up on and swerving right around us.
Cast: Keith Poulson, Nick Offerman, Jess Weixler, Stephanie Hunt, Kevin Corrigan
(North American Premiere)

Documentary Spotlight:

Shining a light on new documentary features receiving their World, North American or U.S. Premieres at SXSW.

Films screening in Documentary Spotlight are:

$ELLEBRITY
Director: Kevin Mazur
Renowned celebrity photographer, Kevin Mazur, gives us an all access pass to the life behind the velvet rope and in front of the camera. Candid, revealing and bold interviews with Jennifer Aniston, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jennifer Lopez, Elton John and more, take us inside the blurred lines of privacy, pliable journalism, celebrity, fame and what it feels like to be consumed.
(World Premiere)

America’s Parking Lot
Director: Jonny Mars
Pull up a front row seat as two die-hard fans of ‘America’s Team’ spend their last season with the Dallas Cowboys at historic Texas Stadium, and scramble to preserve their place in America’s Parking Lot.
(World Premiere)

The Announcement
Director: Nelson George
On Thursday, November 7, 1991, Earvin “Magic” Johnson made the stunning announcement that he was HIV-positive and would be retiring from basketball immediately. The Announcement gets to the core of Magic’s incredible personal journey.
(World Premiere)

Beauty Is Embarrassing
Director: Neil Berkeley
A funny, irreverent and inspirational look into the life and times of one of America’s most important artists, Wayne White.
(World Premiere)

Brooklyn Castle
Director: Katie Dellamaggiore
Amidst financial crises and unprecedented public school budget cuts, Brooklyn Castle takes an intimate look at the challenges and triumphs facing members of a junior high school’s champion chess team.
(World Premiere)

Code of the West
Director: Rebecca Richman Cohen
Frames a high stakes showdown in the halls of the Montana State Legislature. The future of medical marijuana is at stake.
(World Premiere)

Degenerate Art: The Art and Culture of Glass Pipes
Director: M. Slinger
A true document of the art and culture of glass pipe-making. It is the first film to ever bring to light this invisible sub-culture in a comprehensive and well-informed format.
(World Premiere)

Girl Model
Directors: A. Sabin, David Redmon
Young Russian girls join a modeling agency to seek work in Japan, but get caught up in an unregulated system that reveals an unseemly side of the fashion industry.
(U.S. Premiere)

Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters
Directors: Ben Shapiro
Acclaimed photographer Gregory Crewdson’s 10-year quest to create a series of haunting, surreal, and stunningly elaborate portraits of small-town American life — filmed with unprecedented access as he makes perfect renderings of a disturbing, imperfect world.
(World Premiere)

Just Like Being There
Directors: Scout Shannon
Through the eyes of Daniel Danger, Jay Ryan, and the gig poster community, Just Like Being There focuses on poster artists, the music they commemorate, MONDO film posters, fans, bloggers, galleries, collectors and everything in between.
(World Premiere)

Scarlet Road (Australia)
Directors: Catherine Scott
The film follows the extraordinary work of Australian sex worker, Rachel Wotton. Impassioned about freedom of sexual expression and the rights of sex workers, she specializes in a long over-looked clientele – people with disability.
(North American Premiere)

Trash Dance
Directors: Andrew Garrison
A choreographer finds beauty and grace in garbage trucks, and against the odds, rallies reluctant city trash collectors to perform an extraordinary dance spectacle. On an abandoned airport runway, two dozen sanitation workers — and their trucks — inspire an audience of thousands.
(World Premiere)

Waiting For Lightning
Directors: Jacob Rosenberg
From the producers of Step into Liquid, comes the story of visionary skateboarder Danny Way, who jumped China’s Great Wall and created a new movement in sport.
(World Premiere)

Wikileaks: Secrets & Lies (UK)
Directors: Patrick Forbes
The in-depth story of Wikileaks told by all the key players. Sulphurous, personal and moving, it documents history in the making at the lawless frontier of new technology and mainstream media.
(North American Premiere)

WONDER WOMEN! The Untold Story of American Superheroines
Directors: Kristy Guevara-Flanagan
This documentary examines the fascinating evolution and legacy of Wonder Woman and introduces audiences to a dynamic group of real life superheroes who continue to fight the good fight both on and off the screen.
(World Premiere)

Emerging Visions:

Audacious, risk-taking artists in the new cinema landscape that demonstrate raw innovation and creativity in documentary and narrative filmmaking.

Films screening in Emerging Visions are:

Black Pond (UK)
Director: Tom Kingsley, Will Sharpe | Writer: Will Sharpe
An ordinary family is accused of murder when a stranger dies at their dinner table. Stars BAFTA-winner Chris Langham and British Comedy Award Winner Simon Amstell.
Cast: Chris Langham, Simon Amstell, Amanda Hadingue, Colin Hurley, Will Sharpe
(North American Premiere)

Dollhouse (Ireland)
Director & Writer: Kirsten Sheridan
Five street teens break into a house in a rich Dublin suburb for a night of partying. But games are twisted into something more emotional and ultimately out of control through a series of surprising revelations,
Cast: Seana Kerslake, Johnny Ward, Kate Stanley Brennan, Shane Curry, Ciaran McCabe
(North American Premiere)

Eating Alabama
Director: Andrew Beck Grace
A quest to eat locally becomes a meditation on community, the South and sustainability. Eating Alabama is a story about why food matters.
(World Premiere)

Electrick Children
Director & Writer: Rebecca Thomas
Rachel, a 15-year-old fundamentalist Mormon, believes she’s had an immaculate conception by listening to rock and roll. She flees to Las Vegas to escape an arranged marriage, seeking answers to her mysterious pregnancy.
Cast: Julia Garner, Rory Culkin, Liam Aiken, Billy Zane
(North American Premiere)

Extracted
Director & Writer: Nir Paniry
A scientist is trapped in the memories of a criminal and must solve a crime in order to get back home to his family.
Cast: Sasha Roiz, Dominic Bogart, Jenny Mollen, Nick Jameson, Brad Culver
(World Premiere)

Francine (Canada / USA)
Director & Writer: Brian M. Cassidy, Melanie Shatzky
Academy-Award-winner, Melissa Leo, plays Francine, a woman struggling to find her place in a downtrodden lakeside town after leaving behind a life in prison.
Cast: Melissa Leo, Keith Leonard, Victoria Charkut
(North American Premiere)

Funeral Kings
Director & Writer: Kevin Mcmanus, Matthew Mcmanus
For three 14-year-old boys at St. Mark’s Middle School, it’s always a good day for a funeral.
Cast: Dylan Hartigan, Alex Maizus, Jordan Puzzo, Charles Odei, Kevin Corrigan
(World Premiere)

Hard Labor
Director & Writer: Juliana Rojas, Marco Dutra
Helena prepares to open her own business: a neighborhood grocery store. She hires a maid. But when her husband Octavio is suddenly fired from his job, Helena is left to support the family alone.
Cast: Helena Albergaria, Marat Descartes, Naloana Lima, Marina Flores
(US Premiere)

La Camioneta – The Journey of One American School Bus
Director: Mark Kendall
On a 3,000-mile adventure across the borders between the Americas, La Camioneta follows the journey of one out-of-service American school bus as it is repaired, repainted and resurrected into a Guatemalan camioneta.
(World Premiere)

The Last Fall
Director & Writer: Matthew A. Cherry
An NFL journeyman struggles to deal with life’s complexities after his professional career is over at age 25.
Cast: Lance Gross, Nicole Beharie, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Harry Lennix, Keith David
(World Premiere)

Leave Me Like You Found Me
Director & Writer: Adele Romanski
Big trees, broken hearts. The story of a lovesick couple’s breakup & makeup while camping in the wilds of California.
Cast: Megan Boone, David Nordstrom
(World Premiere)

PAVILION
Director & Writer: Tim Sutton
Max, a quietly troubled 15-year-old, leaves his lakeside town to live with his father on the sun-blasted fringe of suburban Arizona. What begins in a calm and lush environment ends in a drastic, frayed confusion.
Cast: Max Schaffner, Zach Cali, Cody Hamric, Addie Barlett, Aaron Buyea
(World Premiere)

Sun Don’t Shine
Director & Writer: Amy Seimetz
Two lovers, on the back roads of Florida, do very bad things.
Cast: Kate Lyn Sheil, Kentucker Audley, AJ Bowen, Kit Gwinn, Mark Reeb
(World Premiere)

Sunset Stories
Director: Silas Howard, Ernesto Foronda | Writer: Valerie Stadler
Two lovers, on the back roads of Florida, do very bad things.
Cast: Monique Curnen, Sung Kang, Joshua Leonard, Mousa Kraish, Michelle Krusiec
(World Premiere)

Tchoupitoulas
Director: Bill Ross, Turner Ross
Three young brothers’ immersive journey into the sensory wonders of the New Orleans night.
(World Premiere)

Thale (Norway)
Director & Writer: Aleksander L. Nordaas
The film revolves around huldra, a mythical, tailed creature, found by two crime scene cleaners in a concealed cellar. Someone’s been keeping her down here for decades, for reasons soon to surface.
Cast: Silje Reinåmo, Jon Sigve Skard, Erlend Nervold, Morten Andresen
(North American Premiere)

Wildness
Director: Wu Tsang
A magical-realist portrait of the Silver Platter, a historic bar in Los Angeles that provides a safe space for Latin/LGBT immigrant and queer art communities to come together in love and conflict.

WOLF
Director & Writer: Ya’ke Smith
A family is shaken to the core when they discover their son has been molested. As they struggle to deal with the betrayal, their son heads towards a total mental collapse.
Cast: Irma P. Hall, Mikala Gibson, Jordan Cooper, Shelton Jolivette, Eugene Lee
(World Premiere)

24 Beats Per Second

Showcasing the sounds, culture and influence of music and musicians, with an emphasis on documentary.

Films screening in 24 Beats per Second are:

Amor Cronico (Cuba / USA)
Director: Jorge Perugorria
Weaving footage of singer Cucu Diamantes’ Cuban tour into a fictional love story. The result is an energetic display of her glamorous and infectious performance style and a fascinating portrait of Cuba today.
Cast: Cucu Diamantes, Adela Legra, Liosky Clavero, Andres Levin, Jorge Perugorria
(World Premiere)

Bad Brains: Band in DC
Directors: Mandy Stein, Benjamen Logan
How four young men from DC changed music forever.
(World Premiere)

Charles Bradley: Soul of America
Director: Poull Brien
The incredible late-in-life rise of 62-year-old aspiring soul singer Charles Bradley, whose debut album rocketed him from a hard life in the projects to Rolling Stone magazine’s top 50 albums of 2011.
(World Premiere)

Daylight Savings
Director: Dave Boyle | Writer: Dave Boyle, Michael Lerman, Joel Clark, Goh Nakamura
After a devastating breakup, musician Goh Nakamura hits the road with his irresponsible cousin to pursue a promising rebound with fellow musician Yea-Ming Chen. Cast: Goh Nakamura, Michael Aki, Yea-Ming Chen, Lynn Chen, Ayako Fujitani
(World Premiere)

Grandma Lo-fi: The Basement Tapes of Sigrídur Níelsdóttir (Iceland / Denmark)
Director: Kristín Björk Kristjánsdóttir
At the tender age of 70 she started making music – and then she couldn’t stop! A tribute to the Danish/Icelandic artist and late bloomer Sigrídur Níelsdóttir.

Paul Williams Still Alive
Director: Steven Kessler
A documentary filmmaker tracks down actor/singer/songwriter Paul Williams in an attempt to find out what happened to his idol.
(US Premiere)

Rock ‘N’ Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen (UK)
Director: Don Letts
Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry, Yoko Ono, Alice Cooper, Billie Joe Armstrong and others discuss the incredible life and work of the world’s foremost rock ‘n’ roll photographer, Bob Gruen.
(North American Premiere)

Sunset Strip
Director: Hans Fjellestad
The 100-year history of the loudest street on the planet, The Sunset Strip.
(World Premiere)

Under African Skies
Director: Joe Berlinger
Paul Simon returns to South Africa to explore the incredible journey of his historic Graceland album, including the political backlash he received for allegedly breaking the UN cultural boycott of South Africa designed to end the Apartheid regime.

Uprising: Hip Hop & The LA Riots
Director: Mark Ford
20 years after riots ripped through Los Angeles, Uprising documents how hip hop forecasted – and some say ignited – the worst civil unrest of the 20th century.
(World Premiere)

SX Global:

A diverse panorama of international filmmaking talent, including premieres, interactive documentaries and shorts.

Films screening in SX Global are:

BIJUKA (India)
Director: Ashtar Sayed | Writer: Dr. Mahendra Purohit
Inspired by a true event. Scarecrow tells the true story of a young woman who is attempting to escape from an abusive arranged marriage.
Cast: Arti Rautela, Amit Purohit
(North American Premiere)

Crulic – The Path to Beyond (Romania / Poland)
Director: Anca Damian
The animated documentary feature-length “Crulic – The Path to Beyond” tells the story of the life of Crulic, the 33-year-old Romanian who died in a Polish prison while on hunger strike.

Cubaton – El Medico Story (Estonia / Sweden)
Director: Daniel Fridell
El Medico – a Cuban house doctor who wants to become a cubaton star – is facing a serious choice between serving the state and becoming a popstar.
(North American Premiere)

Her Master’s Voice (UK)
Director: Daniel Fridell
Watching someone talk to themselves has never been so interesting.
(World Premiere)

ITALY LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT (Italy / Germany)
Directors: Gustav Hofer, Luca Ragazzi
Gustav and Luca, two Italians, have to decide: Should they stay in Italy, or leave it? .
(North American Premiere)

Mustafa’s Sweet Dreams (Greece / UK)
Director: Angelos Abazoglou
Gustav and Luca, two Italians, have to decide: Should they stay in Italy, or leave it? .
(North American Premiere)

Pompeya (Argentina)
Director: Tamae Garateguy | Writer: Tamae Garateguy, Diego A. Fleischer
When a film director hires two screenwriters to make a gansters movie, a fiction feast starts: femmes fatales, mobs fighting for the same neighborhood and a limitless hero who defies every movie concept.
Cast: José Luciano González, Joel Drut, Chang Sung Kim, Vladimir Yuravel, Miguel Forza de Paul
(US Premiere)

¡Vivan las Antipodas! (Germany / The Netherlands / Argentina / Chile))
Director: Victor Kossakovsky
Haven’t we all wondered at some point what was happening just at this moment beneath our very feet at the other side of the planet?

Festival Favorites:

Acclaimed standouts and selected previous premieres from festivals around the world.

Films screening in Festival Favorites are:

Beast (Denmark)
Director & Writer: Christoffer Boe
How long will you go, to hold on to the person you love?
Cast: Nicolas Bro, Marijana Jankovic, Nikolaj Lie Kaas

The Comedy
Director: Rick Alverson | Writer: Robert Donne, Colm O’Leary
Indifferent even to the prospects of inheriting his father’s estate, Swanson (Tim Heidecker), a desensitized, aging Brooklyn hipster, strays into a series of reckless situations that may offer the promise of redemption or the threat of retribution.
Cast: Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, James Murphy, Kate Lyn-Sheil, Alexia Rassmusen

Dreams of a Life (UK / Ireland)
Director: Carol Morley
An imaginative quest to go beyond the newspaper reports and solve the mystery of who thirty-eight year old Joyce Vincent was and why she lay undiscovered for three years after her death in one of the busiest parts of London.
(North American Premiere)

God Bless America
Director & Writer: Bobcat Goldthwait
Loveless, jobless, possibly terminally ill, Frank has had enough of the downward spiral of America. With nothing left to lose, Frank takes his gun and offs the stupidest, cruelest, and most repellent members of society.
Cast: Joel Murray, Tara Lynne Barr
(North American Premiere)

The Imposter (UK)
Director: Bart Layton
In 1994 a 13-year-old disappears without trace in Texas. Three years later he resurfaces in Spain with accounts of a horrifying kidnap. His family is overjoyed – but all is not as it seems.

Indie Game: The Movie (Canada)
Director: Lisanne Pajot, James Swirsky
With the twenty-first century comes a new breed of artist: the indie game designer. These innovators design and program their distinctly personal games in the hope that they may find connection and success.

KID-THING
Director & Writer: David Zellner
A fever-dream fable about Annie, a rebellious girl devoid of parental guidance or a moral compass. She roams the countryside looking for adventure, and finds it one day in the form of an abandoned well.
Cast: Sydney Aguirre, Susan Tyrrell, Nathan Zellner, David Zellner, David Wingo
Last call at the Oasis
Director: Jessica Yu
A powerful argument for why the global water crisis will be the central issue facing our world this century.

Lovely Molly
Director: Eduardo Sanchez | Writer: Eduardo Sanchez, Jamie Nash
Exploring the parallels between psychosis, addiction and demonic possession, Lovely Molly tells the story of what really happens before the exorcist arrives.
Cast: Gretchen Lodge, Johnny Lewis, Alexandra Holden
(US Premiere)

The Raid (Indonesia)
Director & Writer: Gareth Huw Evans
Rama and his special forces team fight their way through a rundown apartment block with a mission to remove its owner, a notorious drug lord.
Cast: Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Doni Alamsyah, Yayan Ruhian, Pierre Gruno
(US Premiere)

WE ARE LEGION: The Story of the Hacktivists
Director: Brian Knappenberger
We Are Legion takes us inside the world of Anonymous, the radical “hacktivist” collective that has redefined civil disobedience for the digital age.

Special Event:

Live Soundtracks, cult re-issues and much more. Our Special Events section offers unusual, unexpected and unique film event one-offs.

Films screening in Special Events are:

An Evening With Sacred Bones Records
Director: Jacqueline Castel
Brooklyn-based record label Sacred Bones presents an evening of original and curated programming of music videos, short films, works in progress, and a rare screening of their first film production, Twelve Dark Noons.
(World Premiere)

Bernie (UK)
Director: Richard Linklater | Writer: Richard Linklater, Skip Hollandsworth
Based on real-life events, this dark comedy follows Bernie Tiede, his recently deceased friend Marjorie Nugent and District Attorney Danny Buck Davidson who is determined to get to the bottom of the crime.
Cast: Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey, Brady Coleman, Richard Robichaux

Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me
Director: Drew Denicola
A feature-length documentary about the massive critical acclaim, dismal commercial failure, and enduring legacy of pop music’s greatest cult phenomenon, Big Star.
(Work in Progress)

Casa de mi Padre
Director: Matt Piedmont | Writer: Andrew Steele
Will Ferrell plays a Mexican rancher who must defend his father’s home against the country’s most infamous drug lord.
Cast: Will Ferrell, Gael García Vernal, Diego Luna, Genesis Rodriguez, Pedro Armendáriz Jr., Nick Offerman

Girl Walk // All Day
Director & Writer: Jacob Krupnick
A feature-length dance music film that combines freestyle dance with the daily chaos of New York City, set to Girl Talk’s recent mashup album, All Day.
Cast: Anne Marsen, John Doyle, Daisuke Omiya

Re:Generation
Director: Amir Bar Lev
5 DJ’s Turn the Table on The History of Music.

Renga (UK)
Directors: Adam Russell, John Sear
A ground breaking feature-length show controlled entirely by the audience using laser pointers. It is the first viable example of a standalone interactive experience capable of running in commercial movie theatres.
(North American Premiere)

The Oyster Princess (1919) with original live score by Bee vs. Moth (Germany)
Director: Ernst Lubitsch | Writer: Hanns Kraly & Ernst Lubitsch
The Oyster Princess is Ernst Lubitsch’s tart 1919 silent comedy that parodies the rich and the spoiled. Austin jazz/rock band Bee vs. Moth performs their original score live with the film for the first time. (World Premiere)

SBIFF’s Directors on Directing panel will take place Saturday, February 4, at 11:00 a.m. at the Lobero Theatre. Moderated by Variety’s Peter Bart, this ever-popular panel will feature: Gore Verbinski (Rango), Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist), Paul Feig (Bridesmaids), Terry George (The Shore), Jennifer Yuh Nelson (Kung Fu Panda 2), and Chris Miller (Puss in Boots).

Following at 2:00 pm, also at the Lobero Theatre, is the Movers & Shakers panel which brings together some of today’s most established producers to share their insights in sparkling conversation. Moderated by Los Angeles Times columnist Patrick Goldstein, this year’s panelists include; Letty Aronson (Midnight in Paris), Jim Burke (The Descendants), Bill Pohlad (The Tree of Life), Mike De Luca (Moneyball), Thomas Langmann (The Artist), and Graham King (Hugo).

Visit the festival website here for more information.

Echotone is a cultural portrait of the modern American city examined through the lyrics and lens of its creative class.

There is rising star soul revivalist Black Joe Lewis selling out concert halls by night and delivering fish by day. There’s Cari Palazzolo of synth pop sensation Belaire, poised for commercial success, but conflicted over the thought of her music turning into a commodity. Then there is experimental troubadour Bill Baird, whose band Sound Team enjoyed a major label deal with Capitol Records and were subsequently dropped after one album. Interweaving the tales of these young artists to form a mosaic illustrating the universal struggle many contemporary fringe cultures are experiencing, Echotone is a modern parable on integrity set against the back drop of a global economic, political, and cultural paradigm shift.

Otto’s Shrunken Head is located in the East Village at 538 East 14th Street (New York, NY 10009), only one block from the 1st Avenue L Train stop between Avenue A and Avenue B. Come out and enjoy Echotone, tiki drinks, and IndiePixers!

The QUAD is a venerable theater owned and beautifully maintained by the same family since 1972. Located in the heart of Greenwich Village, New York, it’s an area inhabited by passionate moviegoers eager to see the best in independent, foreign and documentary films. We employ a first-rate staff including unionized projectionists and managers, each with over 25 years experience working at the QUAD. It has a reputation for being a well-run and successful venue, and books films from such major distributors as Miramax, Sony Pictures Classics, Fox Searchlight, Focus, Paramount, IFC, Weinstein, MGM, Warner Bros., Universal and Lionsgate.

This film is a dangerous, sexy, poignant and at times darkly funny story about two people who desperately want intimacy but have fashioned lives of reclusivity and emotional fracture which ultimately spells the doom of their great love. The film begins with Michael, in his mid forties, suicidal about his writing career, which once flourished and now is on a downturn. He leaves his home in New York and goes to Paris in hopes of igniting his passion for writing and life. He also has a penchant for S and M. Soon after his arrival he meets Sophie, a sexy, smart, soulful, nurse who helps dying people transition to the after world. She and Michael instantly have chemistry albeit combative. Sophie has a secret. Her other job is being a dominatrix. Throughout the film, Sophie is nursing a little girl, Anais, who is dying of leukemia. (Running time 2:10)

The Quad will have its final showing of After Fall, Winter on Thursday, February 2 with Writer/Director/Producer Eric Schaeffer present for a brief Q&A session after the 7:00 PM showing. Click here to visit their webpage for more info.

It’s clear the film aims to change people’s perspectives on these so-called “terrorists” but what was your main motivation for making the film?

The story was really driven by a question: how did someone like Daniel McGowan — who was a business major in college, whose dad was a NY policeman—wind up facing life in prison for terrorism? It’s a question that’s really relevant given the emerging Occupy movements, and the film has generated a lot of great, energetic debates. It’s the story of a protest movement in the 90’s that shared a lot of similarities with the Occupy groups today, and the film is a cautionary tale for activists that encourages them to think carefully about the ethics and legality and effectiveness of different tactics. And it’s also a cautionary tale to government about what happens when people feel that their voices are not being heard. There are some reactions to activism—like pepper-spraying non-violent protesters—that radicalize people. And other reactions that bring people into the democratic argument.

Was it difficult gaining access to the ELF members with their trials looming?

Access was definitely the most difficult part of making the film. The activists were reluctant to talk with us because many of them were facing life in prison, and they feared that we would do what the media usually did—paint them as crazy “eco-terrorists” to sensationalize the story. And the law enforcement folks and arson-victims were also reluctant to talk. They were afraid we had an agenda and would distort what they said or cut the film to make them look bad. We had to spend a lot of time explaining to them that we were honestly interested in their points of view. I think that it’s much more interesting to let people’s best arguments bang against each other and create sparks, than to just set up straw men and knock them down. In the end, I think everyone who participated in the film—from the ELF members to the prosecutor and detective who were chasing them—felt that the movie was a fair and nuaced telling of a morally complex story.

Do you believe using your voice, such as with this film, will ever make change on the scale ELF hoped?

This is not really a polemical film that is trying to foment revolution. It’s trying, instead to nudge people – on all sides of the issue—out of their comfort zones. To get them to consider the world from someone else’s perspective. To stretch their view and hopefully to generate questions and further discussion about environmentalism, activism, terrorism, and law enforcement. Sometimes change comes by getting people to take a deep breath and think.

How was it getting to know Daniel leading up to his trial and sentencing?

He’s an interesting guy—very different from what my stereotype was of someone facing life in prison for terrorism. Whenever reality cuts against my stereotype, and the world turns out to be different from what I thought, I find that intriguing. Sam Cullman and I worked hard to get to know Daniel during the months before he went to prison. We wanted to understand what led him to do these arsons. What was his political philosophy? And also—just as important– what emotions, what experiences made him who he is.? It’s so easy in today’s political climate to just write off your opponents as crazy, and to caricature them. We wanted to get below the surface.

Did you run into any other complications with making the film, perhaps with people close to the actions of ELF?

We ran into thousands of complications—getting access, raising money, editing a complex story into a movie that plays like a dramatic thriller. Making a documentary is always harder than you think it is going to be. It’s a little like having children—if you knew what labor was going to feel like, you’d never do it—but once your kids are born, you forget all of the agony behind the birthing and just enjoy their existence.

What is your next project?

I have a few things that I’m working on, but the main one now is about the boxer Lennox Lewis, who retired a few years ago as the undisputed heavyweight champ. Now he’s 46 and has achieved the thing he set out to do and is trying to figure out what’s next.