THE LIST: WATCH THE SKIES - THE FIVE BEST U.F.O. FILMS YOU’VE NEVER SEEN

On July 2, stargazers the world over will squint skyward in celebration of World U.F.O. Day. This annual event acknowledges the exponentially expanding community who believe that the truth is up there; that aerial phenomenon - extraterrestrial, transdimensional or otherwise - exists in our airspace. Such conjecture has given rise to some of the most popular movies of all time, from Close Encounters of The Third Kind (1977) to The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951) to Independence Day (1996) to Arrival (2016).

But for every E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), there is a Mac & Me (1988); for every War of The Worlds (2005), there is a Zone Troopers (1985). The U.F.O. subset of the science fiction genre has provided many underseen, underappreciated gems. World U.F.O. Day provides the perfect opportunity to zero-in on five films that explore and celebrate one of mankind’s great conundrums - are we alone…?

The U.F.O. Incident (Dir: Richard A. Colla; stars James Earl Jones, Estelle Parsons, Barnard Hughes; U.S., 1975)
Plot: The alleged UFO abduction of Betty and Barney Hill on September 19, 1961 in the White Mountains of New Hampshire led to shared bouts of crippling anxiety and nightmarish visions for the married couple. They turn to Dr. Benjamin Simon to help piece together the happenings of that night.
Seriously, it’s true: Travis Walton's abduction story was revealed only two weeks after this television movie was broadcast, leading to claims that this film had influenced Walton’s recounting of his own alleged abduction story (filmed as Fire in the Sky, 1993).

Curse of the Man Who Sees UFOs (Dir: Justin Gaar; featuring Christo Roppolo, Dennis Deakin, Laurence Cefalu; U.S., 2016)
Plot: Christo Roppolo claims to have been videotaping and communicating with UFOs around Monterey for several years. In 2013, filmmaker Justin Gaar began documenting the man and his experiences. Christo is revealed as a traveling UFO preacher, explaining his encounters to passersby, asking about their own encounters and spreading his gospel of extraterrestrial salvation.
Seriously, it’s true: In a YouTube announcement on June 25, Christo Roppolo introduced to his fans the sequel, The Man Who Sees UFOs, from director Matthew Kalamane. 

L’Arrivo di Wang (Dir: Antonio & Marco Manetti; stars Ennio Fantastichini, Francesca Cuttica, Juliet Esey Joseph and Li Yong; Italy, 2011) English: The Arrival of Wang
Plot: An extraterrestrial has arrived on earth and it is up to bewildered government investigators to find out its motive; in the meantime, the interpreter senses the alien’s mindgames hold a sinister secret.
Seriously, it’s true: Drew some ire for the filmmaker’s decision to have the alien adopt Mandarin as it’s language. Some critics claimed it was a race-based comment on the perceived global domination of Chinese business interests.

Uchûjin Tôkyô ni arawaru (Dir: Kôji Shima; stars Keizô Kawasaki, Toyomi Karita, Bin Yagisawa; Japan, 1956) English: Warning from Space.
Plot: Starfish-like aliens disguised as humans travel to Earth to warn of the imminent collision of a rogue star into our planet. As the megaton projectile rapidly accelerates toward Earth, the aliens and humankind develop a plan to save our world.
Seriously, it’s true: This was the first color tokusatsu film (a live action work that makes heavy use of special effects) produced in Japan. It beat the Toho Studio's science fiction spectacle, The Mysterians (1957) - the first tokusatsu film in widescreen - into theaters by a year.

Treta sled slantzeto (Dir: Gueorgui Stoyanov; stars Itschak Fintzi, Naum Shopov, Nikolay Nikolaev; Bulgaria, 1972) English: Third Planet in the Solar Sytstem
Plot: In prehistoric times, an alien spaceship delivers its crew to Earth to lay the foundation for a new civilization. Through surgical procedures on apes, the aliens program the future spiritual evolution of Earth (Ed: What the....?).
Seriously, it’s true: The Bulgarian film industry’s first ever science-fiction film. Despite its financial failure, director Gueorgui Stoyanov became a hugely respected elder statesmen of the sector; he would earn the position of the Counselor of Culture at the Bulgarian embassy in Washington D.C. and President of the Bulgarian Filmmaker’s Union.

WORLD UFO DAY event calendar can be found here. 

'VIVI IL CINEMA!': CANNES 2020 TITLES COUNTER COVID CANCELLATION

PARIS: Artistic director Thierry Fremaux and president Pierre Lescure shared the stage at the UGC Normandie Theatre to announce the line-up of the 73rd Festival de Cannes overnight. In a year when tradition has made way for the practicalities of pandemic living, the pair favoured a television interview format over the usual press conference to reveal the 56 films to earn the ‘Cannes 2020’ Official Selection label.

"This selection was built with the prospect of seeing the Cannes Film Festival assume more than ever its primary mission: to promote films, artists and professionals by showing their work, to be the bridge between the screen and the public," said Frémaux, via a prepared statement. "Cinema makes a difference thanks to those who make it, those who give it life and those who receive it and make it glorious." 

With the cancellation of the physical event, the iconic In Competition, Un Certain Regard and Out of Competition strands have made way for a new set of categorizations. ‘The Faithful’ is a collection of 14 films from directors who have been to the Croisette at least once before; ‘The Newcomers’ are 14 festival debutants; and, ‘The First Features’ includes 15 films from first-time directors. Also In the mix are ‘Five Comedy Films’, ‘Four Animated Features’, ‘Three Documentary Films’ and a single ‘Omnibus Film’. (Pictured, right; a scene from director Maïwenn’s French/Algerian co-production, DNA, chosen in 'The Faithful' lineup)  

Other notable statistics that indicate the festival is still the premiere international film event, even in the face of unprecedented disruption to the global festival circuit, include a submission record of 2067 films; an increase to 16 in the number of women filmmakers in the lie-up; and, the feature film first-time directors representing 28% of the selection roster.

The Short Film competition, Cinéfondation competition selections and Cannes Classics program will be revealed in the days ahead. Already announced is a 4K-remastered edition of Wong Kar-Wai’s masterpiece In the Mood for Love, which will be released in French theaters next December. 

The 2020 Festival de Cannes line-up is:

THE FAITHFUL:
THE FRENCH DISPATCH by Wes Anderson (USA; trailer, below)
SUMMER 85 by François Ozon (France)
ASA GA KURU (True Mothers) by Naomi Kawase (Japan)
LOVERS ROCK by Steve McQueen (England)
MANGROVE by Steve McQueen (England)
DRUK (Another Round) by Thomas Vinterberg (Denmark)
Maïwenn’s DNA (DNA) (Algeria / France)
LAST WORDS by Jonathan Nossiter (USA)
HEAVEN: TO THE LAND OF HAPPINESS by IM Sang-Soo (Korea)
EL OLVIDO QUE SEREMOS (Forgotten we’ll be) by Fernando Trueba (Spain)
PENINSULA by YEON Sang-Ho (Korea)
IN THE DUSK (At dusk) by Sharunas BARTAS (Lithuania)
DES HOMMES (Home Front) by Lucas BELVAUX (Belgium)
THE REAL THING by Kôji Fukada (Japan)

THE NEWCOMERS:
PASSION SIMPLE by Danielle Arbid – (Lebanon)
A GOOD MAN by Marie Castille Mention-Schaar (France)
THE THINGS YOU SAY, THE THINGS YOU DO by Emmanuel Mouret (France)
SOUAD by Ayten Amin (Egypt)
LIMBO by Ben Sharrock (England)
ROUGE (Red Soil) by Farid Bentoumi (France)
SWEAT by Magnus Von Horn (Sweden)
TEDDY by Ludovic and Zoran Boukherma (France)
FEBRUARY (February) by Kamen Kalev (Bulgaria)
AMMONITE by Francis Lee (England)
A NIGHT DOCTOR by Elie Wajeman (France)
ENFANT TERRIBLE by Oskar Roehler (Germany)
NADIA, BUTTERFLY by Pascal Plante (Canada; trailer, below)
HERE WE ARE by Nir Bergman (Israel)

THE FIRST FEATURES:
FALLING by Viggo Mortensen (USA)
PLEASURE by Ninja Thyberg (Sweden)
SLALOM by Charlène Favier (France)
CASA DE ANTIGUIDADES (Memory House) by Joao Paulo Miranda Maria (Brazil)
BROKEN KEYS (False note) by Jimmy Keyrouz (Lebanon)
IBRAHIM by Samir Guesmi (France)
BEGINNING (In the beginning) by Déa Kulumbegashvili (Georgia)
GAGARINE by Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh (France)
16 SPRING by Suzanne Lindon (France)
VAURIEN by Peter Dourountzis (France)
GARÇON CHIFFON by Nicolas Maury (France)
SI LE VENT TOMBE ( Should the Wind Fall ) by Nora Martirosyan (Armenia)
JOHN AND THE HOLE by Pascual Sisto (USA)
INTO THE WIND ( Running with the Wind ) by Shujun WEI (China)
THE DEATH OF CINEMA AND MY FATHER TOO ( The film Death and my father too ) by Dani Rosenberg (Israel)

FOUR ANIMATED FEATURES:
AYA TO MAJO (Earwig and the Witch) by Gorô Miyazaki (Japan)
FLEE by Jonas Poher Rasmussen (Denmark)
JOSEP by Aurel (France)
SOUL by Pete Docter (USA; trailer, above)

FIVE COMEDY FILMS:
ANTOINETTE IN THE CÉVÈNNES by Caroline Vignal (France)
LES DEUX ALFRED by Bruno Podalydès (France)
UN TRIOMPHE ( The big hit ) by Emmanuel Courcol (France)
THE ORIGIN OF THE WORLD by Laurent Lafitte ( France)
THE SPEECH by Laurent Tirard (France)

THREE DOCUMENTARY FILMS:
THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw (USA)
9 DAYS AT RAQQA by Xavier de Lauzanne (France)
ON THE ROUTE FOR THE BILLION ( The Billion Road ) by Dieudo Hamadi (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

OMNIBUS FILM:
SEPTET: THE STORY OF HONG KONG by Ann Hui, Johnnie To, Tsui Hark, Sammo Hung, Yuen Woo-Ping and Patrick Tam (Hong Kong)

VIRTUAL INDIGENOUS FILM FESTIVAL TO LAUNCH IN RECONCILIATION WEEK

The burgeoning online film festival landscape expands further with the launch of the 2020 Virtual Indigenous Film Festival this week. In conjunction with National Reconciliation Week, streaming provider Fanforce TV will present in-home content that speaks directly to the history, culture and society of Australia’s indigenous people.

National Reconciliation Week aims to teach all Australians about our shared histories, cultures and achievements. This year's theme, #InThisTogether, reminds us that we all shape our country’s journey towards an equitable and reconciled nation. National Reconciliation Week is held annually from 27 May to 3 June, as these dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey - respectively, the successful 1967 referendum and the High Court Mabo decision. 

The programming of the Virtual Indigenous Film Festival highlights narratives that address the intertwined ancient and contemporary indigenous experience. The six films to screen are Maya Newell’s In My Blood it Runs (pictured, right), a coming-of-age story pitting the traditions of the Arrernte/Garrwa people against state education; Daniel Gordon’s account of footballer Adam Goodes’ journey, The Australian Dream; Paul Williams’ biography of the late singer/songwriter, Gurrumul; Nicholas Wrathall’s Undermined: Tales From the Kimberley, an insight into the industrial exploitation of First Nation’s sacred land; Sera Davies’ chronicle of a family fighting for the return of their patriarch’s legacy, Namatjira Project; and, Aaron Petersen’s moving account of a disenfranchised Aboriginal youth and his rite-of-passage to manhood, Zach’s Ceremony (pictured, top).

In addition to the feature films, Fanforce TV enables audiences to ask questions and discuss topics in real time with the guest speakers and community leaders via live chat and live streaming features. Speakers and panelists include Zach and Alec Doomadgee, the stars of Zach’s Ceremony; Elke Smirl, from Mullum Mullum Indigenous Gathering Place; and, representatives from such bodies as the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, Reconciliation S.A. and Mallee District Aboriginal Services.

"It will be a great opportunity for us to speak directly to people everywhere about our film and its educational programs that have been making a real impact,” says Zach Domadgee (pictured, right), via press release. “This is what Reconciliation Week is about."

“We are hoping that the Festival will inspire lots of discussion with audiences right across Australia and New Zealand.” says Fanforce founder Danny Lachevre. “At most festivals it is difficult or intimidating for the audience to ask questions or join the conversation. This will remove those barriers and enable everyone to join in from the privacy of their homes.”

The 2020 VIRTUAL INDIGENOUS FILM FESTIVAL will run May 27 to June 3. Ticket sales and further information are available at FANFORCE TV. 

SCREEN-SPACE acknowledges and pays respect to past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that the festival may contain images or names of people who have passed away.

VALE LYNN SHELTON: HOLLYWOOD REACTS...

Writer/director Lynn Shelton, one of independent cinema's strongest auteur voices and a leading creative influence within the television sector, passed away from a blood disorder on Friday, at the age of 54.

The Ohio native, who became a prominent advocate for and beloved figure in the Seattle filmmaking scene, was recognised as an innovative storyteller, whose naturalistic dialogue and character-focussed drama made her a critical favourite and indie sector champion. From her introspective debut feature We Go Way Back (2006), which earned her the Slamdance Film Festival Best Director award, and 2008 sophomore effort My Effortless Brilliance (2008) Shelton was lauded as one of the strongest proponents of the ‘mumblecore’ film movement.

Her third feature, Humpday (2009), would prove her breakout festival hit. Labelled by the British Film Institute as, “a fiercely astute, frequently hilarious riff on the ‘bromantic’ comedy sub-genre”, it starred fellow mumblecore figurehead Mark Duplass and Joshua Leonard (pictured, right; with Shelton) as straight friends coerced into a ‘homosexual art project’. A Sundance Jury Prize winner and National Board of Review Top Independent Film honoree, Humpday paved the way for Shelton’s distinctive and adored feature film output, which included Your Sister’s Sister (2011), Touchy Feely (2013), Laggies (2014), Outside In (2017) and Sword of Trust (2019).

Posting a statement on Twitter, Duplass said…

The industry response to Duplass' tweet, from such peers as Olivia Wilde, Josh & Benny Safdie, Greg Mottola, Shawn Levy and Chris O’Dowd, was indicative of Shelton’s standing within the film community.

Between feature films, Lynn Shelton made some of the most critically acclaimed television hours of the last decade. Her unmistakable energy and honesty enlivened episodes of Mad Men, New Girl, The Mindy Project, The Good Place, Santa Clarita Diet, Shameless, Touchy Feely, Dickinson and Fresh Off the Boat. Most recently, she directed Reese Witherspoon (pictured, right; with her director) and Kerry Washington in four episodes of Little Fires Everywhere, streaming service Hulu’s acclaimed adaptation of Celeste Ng's 2017 bestselling book. Witherspoon, who also worked with Shelton on the Apple TV series The Morning Show, took to her social profile on Twitter to express her sadness…

In recent years, she entered into first a creative partnership, then a romantic one, with actor/comedian Marc Maron. Having directed episodes of his debut series Maron, the pair became close. She would direct him in her last feature, Sword of Trust as well as five episodes of his hit Netflix series GLOW, opposite Alison Brie, and two stand-up specials, ‘Too Real’ (2017) and his most recent, ‘End Times Fun’ (2020).

Maron addressed her shock passing in a public statement that read, in part, “I loved her very much as I know many of you did as well. It’s devastating. I am leveled, heartbroken and in complete shock and don’t really know how to move forward in this moment. She was a beautiful, kind, loving, charismatic artist. Her spirit was pure joy. She made me happy. I made her happy. We were happy. I made her laugh all the time. We laughed a lot. We were starting a life together. I really can’t believe what is happening. This is a horrendous, sad loss.”

Many entertainment industry figures who were touched by her talent have expressed their grief...

(Pictured, above; Brie and her GLOW director Shelton in a pic courtesy of the actress' Instagram page)

CRITERION CHANNEL GRILL SAFDIE BROS ON THE FILMS THEY LOVE

The Criterion Channel continues to provide premium viewing options over the isolation period. A jewel in their programming crown is Adventures in Moviegoing, the ‘films that inspire me’ series that has gone one-on-one with such talents as Sofia Coppola, Paul Feig, Guillermo del Toro, Brad Bird and Julie Taymor. This Sunday May 3, presenter Peter Becker goes one-on-two, when he chats with Josh and Benny Safdie, the filmmaking brothers behind such anxiety-inducing thrillers as Uncut Gems (2019), Good Times (2017) and Heaven Knows What (2014).

Ahead of the latest episode, a handful of works that The Safdies will be referencing were announced, allowing fans time to catch up with the films and filmmakers that rev up the already frantic creative impulses of two of Hollywood’s most exciting young directors...

THE NAKED CITY (Dir: Jules Dassin; U.S.A., 1948) Stars: Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff (pictured, right) and Dorothy Hart. WINNER - 1949 Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Editing.
Plot: Two New York City detectives investigate the death of an attractive young woman. The apparent suicide turns out to be murder.
Need to know…: One of the first films to list technical credits at the end of the movie; a young photographer named Stanley Kubrick shot behind-the-scenes stills for Look magazine. 

IN A LONELY PLACE (Dir: Nicholas Ray; U.S.A., 1950) Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame and Frank Lovejoy.
Plot: A potentially violent screenwriter is a murder suspect until his lovely neighbor clears him. However, she soon starts to have her doubts.
Need to know…: Included in the National Film Registry in 2007; the marriage of star Gloria Grahame and director Nicholas Ray dissolved during filming, the pair keeping it secret from the studio for fear that one of them would be replaced.

CAMERA BUFF (Dir: Krzysztof Kieślowski; Poland, 1979) Stars: Jerzy Stuhr, Malgorzata Zabkowska and Ewa Pokas. WINNER - Golden Prize and FIPRESCI Prize at the 1979 Moscow International Film Festival. 
Plot: When a young father buys an eight-millimetre movie camera to record his new baby’s growth, he inadvertently becomes the official photographer for the local bureaucracy. His new passion comes with domestic stress and fresh philosophical dilemmas.
Need to know…: One of four films shot by Kieślowski in 1979, alongside Seven Women of Different Ages, From a Night Porter’s Point of View, and Kartoteka.   

GLORIA (Dir: John Cassavetes; U.S.A., 1980) Stars: Gena Rowlands (pictured, right), Buck Henry and Julie Carmen. WINNER - 1980 Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
Plot: When a young boy's family is killed by the mob, their tough neighbor Gloria becomes his reluctant guardian and the pair go on the run in New York.
Need to know…: After Faces (1968) and A Woman Under the Influence (1974), this was John Cassavetes’ third film to receive an Academy Award nomination - for his wife Gena Rowlands, for Best Actress. 

BLESS THEIR LITTLE HEARTS (Dir: Billy Woodberry, 1984) Stars: Nate Hardman, Kaycee Moore and Angela Burnett. WINNER - Otto Dibelius ‘New Cinema’ Film Award at the 1984 Berlin International Film Festival.
Plot: Charlie Banks views his chronic unemployment as a spiritual trial, but he can’t sustain a family of five. While his wife works to support them with dignity, Charlie has an affair that threatens his marriage and family.
Need to know…: Included in the 2013 National Film Registry; featured in Thom Andersen’s landmark 2003 collage film, Los Angeles Plays Itself.

MEANTIME (Dir: Mike Leigh, 1984) Stars Marion Bailey, Tim Roth and Phil Daniels. 
Plot: A working-class family struggles to stay afloat during the recession under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Mother is working, but father and the couple’s two sons are on the dole.
Need to know…: Gary Oldman suffered an eye injury when Tim Roth threw a milk bottle into a fluorescent lighting strip, showering Oldman in glass and requiring a hospital stay; was made for British television, though scored theatrical seasons internationally after critical success at home.

CLOSE-UP (Dir: Abbas Kiarostami, 1990; pictured, right) Stars Hossain Sabzian, Mohsen Makhmalbaf and Abolfazl Ahankhah. NOMINEE - Cahiers du Cinéma Top 10 Films of 1991 (5th place)
Plot: Pretending to be filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf, a conman enters a middle class home in Tehran, offering a prominent part in a next movie. The actual people involved in the incident re-enact the events that followed.
Need to know…: Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

HERO (Dir: Stephen Frears; U.S.A., 1992) Stars Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis and Andy Garcia.
Plot: A down-on-his-luck thief tops of a bad day when he loses a shoe while rescuing passengers of a plane crash. Celebrity beckons for the petty crook and he plans to take advantage, but then someone else claims credit for it.
Need to know…: Mariah Carey originally recorded her hit single, "Hero", for this movie, Sony Records did not think the power ballad was a good fit; Chevy Chase appears uncredited in the Columbia Pictures release because of contractual obligations he had with Warner Bros at the time.

THE MIRROR (Dir: Jafar Panahi; Iran, 1997) Stars Mina Mohammad Khani, Aida Mohammadkhani and Kazem Mojdehi. WINNER - Golden Leopard at the 1997 Locarno International Film Festival. 
Plot: When a young girl becomes lost in the hustle and bustle of Tehran, her journey turns into a dazzling exercise on the nature of film itself.
Need to know…: Panahi has said that the film was meant to show how "reality and the imagination are intertwined, they are very similar".

ADVENTURES IN MOVIEGOING with JOSH and BEN SAFDIE will have its international premiere on Sunday May 3 via The Criterion Channel.