The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF), celebrating its 14th edition this year, and taking placeDecember 10-17, today revealed the lineup of films screening in the festival’s competition and sidebar sections. The program was announced by BIFF Founder and Executive Director Leslie Vanderpool.
This year, the Festival will showcase more than 82 films from 28 different countries including twelve world premiere, 4 international premieres, 57 Caribbean premieres, and all are Bahamian premieres.
The four competition categories at BIFF are Spirit of Freedom: Narrative; Spirit of Freedom: Documentary; New Visions; and Short Film. Additional categories out of competition are World Cinema; Special Screenings; Environmental and Oceans Spotlight and non-Jury Short Films.
The Festival’s opening night will kick off with one highly acclaimed film screening on December 10th in Harbour Island -- Sean Baker’s drama “The Florida Project” starring Willem Dafoe.”
Said Vanderpool, “My wish is to introduce the public attending the Festival to the films and the culture of different countries every year. Often movies that are normally unable to be seen inspire young filmmakers and resonate in their imagination for years to come. I believe that this program presents elements to please and interest everybody, balancing amusement with more engaging stories.”
Vanderpool added, “I’m particularly excited to be showing an amazing and powerful film to open our Festival this year. This film (‘The Florida Project’)has created such a buzz internationally and will no doubt be a highly sought-after ticket at BIFF. It is a likely frontrunner in the coming awards season in Hollywood so we’re honored to be showcasing it in the Bahamas for BIFF audiences.”
The official BIFF feature lineup is comprised of the following films:
SPIRIT OF FREEDOM (NARRATIVE)
ALINA (USA, Russia) / Director: Ben Behernholtz AT EYE LEVEL (Germany) / Directors: Evi Goldbrunner & Joachim Dollhopf LANE 1974 (USA) / Director: Chiro LIYANA (Swaziland, USA, Qatar) / Directors: Aaron Kopp & Amanda Kopp
The Drawer Boy
The Hudson Tribes
Tinker
SPIRIT OF FREEDOM (DOCUMENTARY)
BY ALL MEANS: A ROCK ‘N ROLL STORY / Director: Patrick Hewlett DELICATE BALANCE (Spain) / Director: Guillermo Garcia Lopez I AM SHAKESPEARE (USA) / Director: Stephen Dest MY ENEMY, MY BROTHER (Canada) / Director: Ann Shin SACRED WATER (Rwandan) / Director: Olivier Jourdain SHINGALI, WHERE ARE YOU? (Turkey) / Director: Angelos Rallis THE GOLDEN AGE (USA, India) / Director: Justin Connor
NEW VISIONS – JURY FILMS 7X7(USA) / Director: Liam Hughes ALASKA IS A DRAG (USA) / Director: Shaz Bennett BEAUTY MARK (USA) / Director: Harris Doran BLANK 13 (Japan) / Director: Takumi Saito DIM THE FLORESCENTS (Canada) / Director: Daniel Warth DR. BRINKS & DR. BRINKS (USA) / Director: Josh Crockett GREEN DAYS BY THE RIVER (Trinidad and Tobago) / Director: Michael Mooleedhar INTERLUDE (France) / Director: Bernard Tanguy JUGGERNAUT (USA) / Director: Daniel DiMarco MILLION LOVES IN ME (Hong Kong) / Director: Sampson Yuen NOBLE EARTH (Italy) / Director: Ursula Grisham THE DEFINITES (Canada) / Directors: Hannah Cheesman & Mackenzie Donaldson THE DUNNING MAN (USA) / Director: Michael Clayton THE LINES (USA) / Director: Kiku Ohe TISAY (Philippines) / Director: Alfonso Torre TOURNAMENTS OF LOVE (France) / Director: Caroline Jules
OCEAN & ENVIRONMENT THEME
AN OCEAN MYSTERY THE MISSING CATCH (USA, Bahamas) / Director: Alison Barrat CUT BAIT (USA, Bahamas) / Director: Robert Walkine EARTHY ENCOUNTERS (UK) / Director: Sam Johnson LA PESCA (Columbia) / Director: Pablo Alvarez LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLE (USA) / Director: Cynthia Neal STRAWS (USA) / Director: Linda Booker VIRE (Guadeloupe) / Director: Hugo Rousselin
SHORT FILM Narrative Short Jury Films
ANOTHER GIRL (USA) / Director: Austin Kase ASLEEP (Canada) / Director: Mak Abdelhai BAD NEWS (Italy) / Director: Matteo Petrelli CASSANDRA (France) / Director: Joffrey Renambatz CATFISH (Iran) / Director: Sourena Bayramloo COMFORT AND JOY (UK) / Directors: Will Jeffs & AJ Simmons COWBOY & INDIAN (USA) / Director: Sujata Day DEVILS LUCK (USA) / Director: Robert C. Eaton EARTHY ENCOUNTERS (UK) / Director: Sam Johnson EAST (USA) / Director: Dana Marisa S Choenfeld FOREVER NOW (Denmark) / Director: Kristin Håskjold JC (USA) / Director: Matt Boatright-Simon LACRIMOSA (Austria) / Director: Tanja Mairitsch LAWMAN (USA) / Director: Matthew Gentile LEO JOHNSON (USA) / Director: Evan Bluestein LIFE IN OTHER WORDS (Bangladesh) / Director: Abrar Athar LIMBO (Greece) / Director: Konstantina Kotzamani MACKENZIE (USA) / Director: Sofia Astrom OUTSIDE THE LINES (USA) / Director: Joshua Jacobs OWEN (USA) / Director: Kelly Pike PRIA (Indonesia) / Director: Yudho Aditya RETOUCH (Iran) / Director: Kaveh Mazaheri ROSARIO (Mexico) / Director: Marlen Ríos-Farjat ROSELYN (Bahamas) / Director: Jason Evans SHORT DROP (Trinidad and Tobago) / Director: Maya Cozier SILENT NIGHTS (Denmark) / Director: Aske Bang THE ADVENTURES OF SELIKA (UK) / Director: Sybil Mair THE ASPEN PROJECT (USA) / Director: Chino Maurice THE DARKNESS OF THE MOOR (USA) / Director: James Everett THE GIRLS WERE DOING NOTHING (UK) / Director: Dekel Berenson THE LIFE OF MARIE (Germany) / Director: Rolf Kasteleiner THE REAL THING (USA) / Director: Brandon Kelley TOFFEE (India) / Director: Tahira Kashyap WHAT REMAINS OF YOU (France) / Director: Kevin Dresse YOURS SINCERELY, LOIS WEBER (USA) / Director: Svetlana Cvetko
OUT OF COMPETITION
LOGGERHEAD SEAT TURTLE (USA) / Director: Cynthia Neal STRAWS (USA) / Director: Linda Booker VIRE (Guadeloupe) / Director: Hugo Rousselin LA PESCA (Columbia) / Director: Pablo Alvarez CUT BAIT (USA, Bahamas) / Director: Robert Walkine GUAVA DUFF (Bahamas) / Director: Anaya and Santia Dean
WORLD CINEMA (DOCUMENTARY)
BAREFOOT RASTA (Germany, Ethiopia, Canada)) / Director: Andy Siege BETWEEN 2 SHORES (Guadeloupe) / Director: Mariette Monpierre I DO? (USA) / Director: Joe Brandmeier REBELS ON POINTE (Canada) / Director: Bobbi Jo Hart SUSANNE BARTSCH: ON TOP (USA) / Directors: Anthony Caronna & Alexander Smith
SPECIAL SCREENING
SLIM AARONS: THE HIGH LIFE (USA) / Director: Fritz Mitchell STUDENT FILM WORKSHOP (Bahamas) / Five Films by Students JUNOD (Japan) / Director: Shinichiro KIMURA JOHN “CHIPPIE” CHIPMAN (Bahamas) / Director: Thriston & Verline Ewing
OPENING NIGHT FILM
THE FLORIDA PROJECT (USA) / Director: Sean Baker
BIFF 2017 kicks off on Sunday, December 10th and will run through Sunday, December 17th. For the sixth consecutive year, BIFF will be coming to Harbour Island on December 10-13 and concluding in Nassau from December 14-17, showcasing a diverse presentation of films from around the world accompanied by a group of local and international filmmakers.
Additional announcements pertaining to the Festival and filmmakers attending will be made in the coming weeks. For additional information, please visit http://www.bintlfilmfest.com/.
About the Bahamas International Film Festival
The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) is a nonprofit organization committed to providing the local community and international festival-goers with a diverse presentation of films from The Bahamas and around the world. In addition to showcasing films that might not otherwise be released theatrically, BIFF provides unique cultural experiences, educational programs, and forums for exploring the past, present and future of cinema. BIFF aims to raise the level of filmmaking, participation and education throughout The Bahamas and the world.
BIFF has created a legacy of excellence in presenting The Bahamas as a premier film destination to the international cinematic community. Apart from showcasing 1000+ local and international films, we have introduced our culture to more than one million film professionals and enthusiasts from around the world.
Each successive year, BIFF grows significantly, with public relations dollar value over $20 million, according to the renowned publicity firm Rogers and Cowan. BIFF has attracted A-List celebrities such as Johnny Depp, Nicolas Cage, Laurence Fishburne, Chaz Ebert, Debra Messing, Danny Glover, Heather Graham, Alan Arkin, Sir Sean Connery, Roger Corman, Daryl Hannah, Sophie Okonedo, Anna Faris, Naomie Harris, Zoe Kravitz, Lenny Kravitz, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Roger Guenveur Smith, Lee Daniels and many more
For additional information, please visit www.bintlfilmfest.com