News

The heart of Paris beats for film industry in June. Industry Week is the professional part of the Champs-Elysées Film Festival.

The submissions for Us in Progress are now open till August 15th here.

This label includes the Us in Progress (USiP) and Les Arc Film Fesstival’s team presenting the Paris Coproduction Village and La Residence de la Cinefondation which welcomes a dozen young directors who come to Paris to work on their first or second fiction feature project for 4 and 1/2 months. All together, they offer 24 film projects at different stages, from development to post production. More than 200 professionals from the industry, producers, international sellers, distributors, etc. are welcomed.

This year Us in Progress broke out. It has become a top event for discovering American independent cinema not only for the Europeans invited to attend, but for Americans who find themselves in Paris for the event or who even...

Works-in-progress event will run June 20-22 in Paris.

Us indie directors Charlie Birns and Madeline Olnek will present features at the sixth edition of Us in Progress in Paris.

Due to take place June 20-22, the event is a joint initiative between the American Film Festival in Wroclaw, the Champs-Elysées Film Festival in Paris and Black Rabbit in New York.

A total of five feature-length fiction works and documentaries will be presented at the event including Birns’s surrogate mother drama Family Affairs, his debut feature after a trio of shorts.

Respected New York playwright and film-maker Madeleine Olnek will present her Emily Dickinson-inspired third feature Wild Nights With Emily.

Rough-cuts of the participating films will be presented to 40 European sales agents, distributors, festival programmers and producers.

The winning film will get post-production, acquisition and promotion services offered by a number of sponsors from the independent cinema scene in Paris.

Us in Progress...

Editor's Note: After a limited theatrical run, XLrator Media has set a September 1, 2015 DVD release date for Keith Miller's critically-acclaimed sophomore feature, "Five Star," which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last year, winning the award for Best Editing in a Narrative Feature, and has played over 30 festivals worldwide garnering numerous awards. Ahead of that release, S&A has been granted 2 DVD copies of the film to giveaway to 2 lucky readers of this site! You can enter to win by simply first reading Zeba Blay's review of the film which follows below, and then watching the trailer embedded under it. After that, send...

Much like any suburban-born child, my only true exposure to “the streets” has come through the lens of Spike Lee, F. Gary Gray, Rick Famuyiwa, John Singleton, and many more filmmakers who have shined a light on the hood’s constant hustle. I’m just a simple Jersey boy learning the lessons of respect through movies set to a concrete jungle backdrop, the latest of which is Keith Miller’s Five Star. Blending the styles of documentary and narrative, Miller explores the ideals of manhood that are birthed from the hardened, gang-ridden streets of New York City – a concept that’s been dealt with time and time again. But Five Star has something say, and enough personality to make you listen.

The story of Five Star is loosely based on the experiences of James ‘Primo’ Grant, who stars as a top-ranking Bloods member with a hard decision to make. After...

Read More: The 13 Indie Films You Must See This August "Five Star" (August 4)Keith Miller's "Five Star" is set amid the perils of gang life in the Brooklyn housing projects, following a lifelong member of the Bloods as he takes the son of his slain mentor under his wings and verses him in the codes of the street. A setting and storyline often sensationalized on the big screen, Miller has earned widespread acclaim for bringing an unflinching realism to the proceedings, going so far as to use non-actors who are actual former gang members riffing on their own lives. The result is a film that creates an almost documentary feel to its narrative structure, blurring the line between fiction and reality for a powerful gang drama that taps into larger truths about its very real world. "Dark Places" (August 7)Based on the book of the same name by "Gone Girl" scribe Gillian Flynn,...

Forming a close and dedicated sense of community amongst the people you care about the most is often one of the most important and meaningful aspects in a person’s life. While people often strive to continuously prove their worthiness and virtue to those they have connected with, those bonds unfortunately don’t always remain in tact, no matter what circumstances they have gone through together, or how they’re related. The powerful examination into the difficulties of keeping those alliances strong is compellingly chronicled in the new independent drama, ‘Five Star.’ The movie, which was written and directed by Keith Miller, and is currently playing in theaters in New York and Los [ Read More ]

The post Interview: Keith Miller, James ‘Primo’ Grant and John Diaz Talk Five Star (Exclusive) appeared first on Shockya.com.

Title: Five Star XLrator Media Director: Keith Miller Writer: Keith Miller Cast: James “Primo” Grant, John Diaz, Jasmin Burgos, Tamara Robinson, Wanda Colon Running time: 83 minutes, Not Rated (Language, Violence, Mild Sensuality) In theaters July 31, 2015 VOD And iTUNES August 4, 2015 A pseudo-fictional tale starring the real James “Primo” Grant, gang leader of the East New York Bloods and “Five Star General.” In the opening scene, Primo delivers a humble story of the day he missed his son’s birth because he was in prison. He vowed to never allow himself to miss another milestone in his children’s life. Primo acts as parent for John (John Diaz), the son of [ Read More ]

The post Five Star Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

A Star is Born: Miller’s Returns to Saga of the Streets

Director Keith Miller returns to a similar style of filmmaking with his sophomore film Five Star, once again utilizing non-actors basically playing extended versions of their own selves as seen in his 2012 debut Welcome to Pine Hill. Casting certainly lends the film a bit of authentic integrity, although this doesn’t necessarily translate into innovative filmmaking. A somewhat beleaguered first act slowly gives way to a more absorbing finale, but the film ends just as it finally seems to begin.

Here we focus on the member of a notorious gang, the Bloods, provocatively portrayed by a man who has lived the lifestyle since the age of twelve. However, this sounds much more dramatic than the film actually is, and some of the more laborious aspects on display in Miller’s previous film have a tendency to overpower...

To say that the world of fiction and non-fiction, in cinema, has become blurred is to grossly understate to which boundaries have been pushed. Fiction filmmakers are taking cues aesthetically from the world of documentary cinema, while non-fiction directors are slowly adopting fiction-esque narrative ideas, turning the form into something entirely new.

And then there’s Five Star and its writer/director Keith Miller.

Jumping onto the scene with the superb Welcome To Pine Hill, Miller is back with yet another intimate and neo-documentary style look into a section of the world many of us are not privy to. Miller introduces us in his new picture to a man named James Grant, but introduced to us as Primo. A member of the Bloods since the age of 12 (both here in the picture and in his actual life, hinting at the film’s mix of fact and fiction), Primo is now...

With a documentary feel, a magnetic leading man and some smart storytelling, this film is an impressive poke at cliche-riddled TV crime shows but lacks pizazz

“These streets” is a commonly heard phrase in Five Star. Not, when discussing the ubiquitous danger and hardship the urban environment represents, “the streets”. This simple linguistic tic represents everything that makes Five Star – an extremely low-budget, brief, plot-light film with non-professional actors – worth seeking out. Director Keith Miller has done a remarkable job of inserting himself into the culture of housing projects, drug runners and gangs, giving his coming-of-age tale a near-documentary feel. This is both a blessing and a curse. The verisimilitude is a poke at the cliche-riddled work seen on television crime shows, but its lack of stylisation and mundane focus can leave you thirsting for, if not some drama, at least a tad more pizzazz.

We open with a lengthy,...

In 2012, writer-director Keith Miller made his feature debut with "Welcome to Pine Hill," an unhurried drama about a reformed drug dealer in New York City. The movie was imperfect but effective in many ways, mostly thanks to Miller's skill in getting moving performances from non-actors playing versions of themselves. With "Five Star," Miller once again demonstrates his ability to extract nuance from novices, telling another a story about drug dealers struggling with identity. Miller's tale is a kind of coming-of-age story, set in the projects of Brooklyn and following two men linked by tragedy. Primo (real life gang leader James 'Primo' Grant), is a five-star general...

Note: This article first appeared when "Five Star" screened in competition at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival. We are republishing it now that "Five Star" will hit theaters on July 24 and VOD and iTunes on August 4. In Keith Miller's "Five Star," the director uses non-actors to create an almost documentary feel to his narrative film. Relying on both documentary and fictional storytelling techniques, Miller blurs the line between the two. Though "Five Star" is entirely scripted, the powerful gang drama taps into a larger truth. Below, Miller writes about how -- and why -- he purposely blurred the line between fact and fiction. One of the first questions people ask about "Five Star" is, "How much of it is scripted?" I began to think about the interesting underlying question there, which seems to be, What is real here? For me, the question ends up pointing directly to what interests me in this mode of storytelling,...

Read More: Tribeca Review: You've Never Seen a Gang Movie Like the Startlingly Realistic 'Five Star' It's been a long road to release for Keith Miller's ambitious and resonant new film, "Five Star," which premiered to rave reviews at last year's Tribeca Film Festival. Now over a year later, XLrator Media is preparing its long-awaited theatrical launch. "Five Star" explores masculinity and familial ties through an autobiographical lens. Here's the official synopsis: "A member of the notorious Bloods since he was 12 years old -- both in the film and in real life -- Primo takes John, the son of his slain mentor, under his wing, versing him in the code of the streets. Set in East New York, 'Five Star' blends documentary and fictional storytelling as director Keith Miller carefully avoids worn clichés of gang culture to offer a compelling portrait of two men forced...

It’s been over a year since we caught director Keith Miller’s intimate and authentic “Five Star” at the Tribeca Film Festival where it grabbed our attention (check out our review), and after spending much of last year doing the festival rounds, the picture is now headed to cinemas and it's one you should make a little time for. Starring James 'Primo' Grant and John Diaz, the story follows John, who gets taken under the wing of Bloods member Primo, after his father is killed on the streets. John's father looked out for Primo, and Primo decides to do the same for John, offering him an easy entrance into gang brotherhood if he wants it. But John is uncertain, and even Primo considers a life where he focus on being a husband and father first. Read More: Tribeca Review: Keith Miller's 'Five Star' Is An Affecting...

XLrator Media’s Pace multi-cultural label will be releasing "Five Star," director Keith Miller's sophomore feature which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last year, winning the award for Best Editing in a Narrative Feature, and has played over 30 festivals worldwide garnering numerous awards. Ahead of its theatrical debut, S&A has your exclusive first look at the film's release poster art (below), as well as several still images (above and below) from the award-winning film. We can also announce that XLrator has set a July 24th, 2015 theatrical release for the film, which will be followed by a VOD premiere on August 4, 2015. In 2012,...

XLrator Media’s Pace multi-cultural label will be releasing "Five Star," director Keith Miller's sophomore feature which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last year, winning the award for Best Editing in a Narrative Feature, and has played over 30 festivals worldwide garnering numerous awards. Ahead of its theatrical debut, S&A has your exclusive first look at the film's release poster art (below), as well as several still images (above and below) from the award-winning film. We can also announce that XLrator has set a July 24th, 2015 theatrical release for the film, which will be followed by a VOD premiere on August 4, 2015. In 2012,...

Announced today, XLrator Media has acquired North American distribution rights to "Five Star" director Keith Miller's sophomore feature, which premiered at Tribeca 2014. XLrator Media’s multi-cultural Pace label will release the film this summer, although no specific date is given. Here's our review of the film... In 2012, writer-director Keith Miller made his feature debut with "Welcome to Pine Hill," an unhurried drama about a reformed drug dealer in New York City. The movie was imperfect but effective in many ways, mostly thanks to Miller's skill in getting moving performances from non-actors playing versions of themselves. This year, with "Five...

Read More: Tribeca Review: You've Never Seen a Gang Movie Like the Startlingly Realistic 'Five Star' XLrator has acquired the drama "Five Star," written and directed by Keith Miller. The film will be released via the distributor's new label Pace. The film, which won Best Editing at Tribeca in 2014, follows James "Primo" Grant as he takes the son of his slain mentor, John Diaz, under his wing. The pair must then confront the question of what it means to be a man. Miller used non-actors with real-life experience in gang culture in a way that combines both documentary and fictional storytelling to deliver a powerfully realistic film. Our own review said: "...its real triumph is that the cast delivers, yielding a story in which the heightened suspense emerges organically from a gritty foundation of realism." XLrator will release the film sometime this summer. Read More: Tribeca Film Festival:...

Lightning has struck twice for helmer Keith Miller. After seeing his debut film Welcome to Pine Hill find theatrical release partners in the Oscilloscope folks, Deadline reports that XLrator Media’s Barry Gordon has taken Five Star off the streets and is setting it up with a logical, yet-to-be-determined summer release via their Pace label.

Gist: After John’s absent father is struck by a stray bullet, Primo takes it upon himself to verse the young boy in the code of the streets—one founded on respect and upheld by fear. A member of the Bloods since the age of twelve—both in the film and in reality—the streets of Brooklyn are all Primo has ever known. While John questions whether or not to enter into this life, Primo must decide whether to leave it all behind as he vows to become a better husband and father.

Worth Noting:...

XLrator Media has acquired North American distribution rights to Keith Miller’s inner-city drama Five Star, which played at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival in the World Narrative competition. A summer release is planned on the indie distributor’s Pace label. The pic stars James "Primo" Grant and John Diaz. The East New York-set plot centers on a member of the notorious Bloods — both in the film and in real life — Primo takes John, the son of his slain mentor, under his…...

17th edition of festival to open with Quentin Dupieux’s Reality and Sacha Jenkins’ Fresh Dressed.

RiverRun International Film Festival has unveiled the full lineup for its 17th edition, expanding from 10 to 11 days and running April 16-26.

The festival will open with Quentin Dupieux’s Reality and Sacha Jenkins’ hip-hop and fashion documentary Fresh Dressed, while David Gordon Green’s Manglehorn will close this year’s edition.

Overall, the festival will screen 165 films, 74 of which are features, from 35 countries.

Its narrative competition will screen 10 films, including Jessica Hausner’s Amour Fou, Keith Miller’s Five Star and Naomi Kawase’s Still the Water, while Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Look of Silence and Nick Broomfield’s Tales of the Grim Sleeper are among the 10 films screening in the documentary competition.

Along with its openiing and closing films, RiverRun will host special presentations of Benoit Jacquot’s 3 Hearts, Anne Fontaine’s Gemma Bovery and John Maclean’s Slow West, among...

Five Star screens on November 15 at the Tivoli Theatre at 7 Pm as part of the 23rd Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival. Get ticket information here

Once again film makers return to the mean streets of NYC for another look at gang culture. This is not another historical epic like Gangs Of New York, nor do the young toughs suddenly break into dance moves as in West Side Story. Writer/director Keith Miller’s Five Star is set squarely in today’s Manhattan where danger lurks on every corner and crime destroys families. As the film opens, the camera rests on the weary face of ‘Primo’ (played by real life Bloods gang member James Grant) as he tearfully recalls not being there for the birth of his youngest son due to his latest incarceration (the title’s five stars refers to his tattoo which indicates a gang member’s...

The festival’s 25th edition will feature a contribution from Ai Weiwei and competition titles including Whiplash, Nightcrawler and Foxcatcher.

The Stockholm International Film Festival (Nov 5-16) is to present its Achievement Award to Us actress Uma Thurman.

The Kill Bill star will will visit Stockholm to receive the prestigious Bronze Horse and meet the audience during an exclusive “Face2Face”.

Thurman will also take part in the inauguration ceremony, which will include the unveiling of an ice sculpture by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.

Weiwei was a Stockholm jury member last year but since he wasn’t allowed to leave China, he sent an empty chair named ”The Chair for Non-attendance” as symbol of his absence.

He is still not allowed to leave China so will send a design that will be portrayed in the form of a large ice sculpture symbolising this years’ Spotlight theme - Hope.

Brazil

The festival will focus this year on Brazil...

The Venice International Film Festival is in the process announcing the lineup for its 71st edition. Here's what we know so far:

Competition

The Cut (Fatih Akin)

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (Roy Andersson)

99 Homes (Ramin Bahrani)

Tales (Rakhshan Bani E'temad)

La rancon de la gloire (Xavier Beauvois)

Hungry Hearts (Saverio Costanzo)

Le dernier coup de marteau (Alix Delaporte)

Pasolini (Abel Ferrara)

Manglehorn (David Gordon Green)

Birdman or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance (Alejandro González Iñárritu)

Three Hearts (Benoît Jacquot)

The Postman's White Nights (Andrei Konchalovsky)

Il Giovane Favoloso (Mario Martone)

Sivas (Kaan Mujdeci)

Anime Nere (Francesco Munzi)

Good Kill (Andrew Niccol)

Loin des hommes (David Oelhoffen)

The Look of Silence (Joshua Oppenheimer)

Nobi (Shinya Tsukamoto)

Red Amnesia (Wang Xiaoshuai)

Out Of Competition

Joe Date. Photo by Evan Dickson.

Words with Gods (Guillermo Arriaga, Emir Kusturica, Amos Gitai, Mira Nair, Warwick Thornton, Hector Babenco, Bahman Ghobadi,...

Films by David Gordon Green, Andrew Niccol and Abel Ferrara will bring world premieres to the Lido di Venezia this year, as the Venice Film Festival has announced its selections for the 71st edition of the oldest such event in the world. Green's "Manglehorn" with Al Pacino, Niccol's "Good Kill" with Ethan Hawke and Ferrara's "Pasolini" with Willem Dafoe promise to bring a fair share of star power to the event, while actors such as Viggo Mortensen, Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver feature in films sprinkled throughout the Competition. "The Act of Killing" director Joshua Oppenheimer will also continue his look at the Indonesian genocide with a new documentary, "The Look of Silence." Playing out of competition are films by Barry Levinson ("The Humbling," also starring Pacino), James Franco ("The Sound and the Fury") and Lisa Cholodenko ("Olive Kitteridge"), while Focus Features will bring the new Laika film, "The Boxtrolls,...

Shawn Christensen’s Before I Disappear in 12-strong competition line-up.Scroll down for full list

Venice Days (Aug 27 to Sept 6) has unveiled the line-up for its 11th edition, opening with Kim Ki-Duk’s One On One and closing with Alex de la Iglesia’s footballer documentary, Messi.

The 11-day event, which runs as an independent sidebar of the Venice Film Festival, will play 12 features in competition – the first time Venice Days has hosted a competitive element.

Those competing for the €20,000 ($27,000) Venice Days Award, split between the winning director and international distributor of the film, include Shawn Christensen’s SXSW winner Before I Disappear; Guy Myhill’s The Goob; and Laurent Cantet’s Return to Ithaca.

The jurors for the Venice Days Award will be 28 young participants – one from each of the 28 EU member countries.

A total of 678 feature films were submitted between January and July. Including films viewed at festivals and markets, a total of...

Talya Lavie’s Israeli film Zero Motivation (pictured) claimed the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature while Marshall Curry’s Point And Shoot was named best documentary feature as the New York festival came to a close at the weekend.

Meanwhile, Jon Favreau’s Chef and Alan Hicks’ Keep On Keepin’ On claimed the narrative and documentary Heineken audience awards.

Returning to the juried awards, Paul Schneider was named best actor in a narrative feature for Goodbye to All That and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi took corresponding best actress honours for Human Capital.

Damian García won the cinematography prize for Güeros, Guillaume Nicloux the screenplay award for The Kidnapping Of Michel Houellebecq and Keith Miller the editing prize for Five Star.

Sabine Lubbe Bakker and Niels van Koevorden earned documentary editing honours for Ne Me Quitte Pas.

Best New Narrative Director went to Josef Wladyka director for Manos Sucias and Hicks was named best new documentary director for Keep...

Talya Lavie’s Israeli film Zero Motivation (pictured) claimed the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature while Marshall Curry’s Point And Shoot was named best documentary feature as the New York festival came to a close at the weekend.

Meanwhile, Jon Favreau’s Chef and Alan Hicks’ Keep On Keepin’ On claimed the narrative and documentary Heineken audience awards.

Returning to the juried awards, Paul Schneider was named best actor in a narrative feature for Goodbye to All That and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi took corresponding best actress honours for Human Capital.

Damian García won the cinematography prize for Güeros, Guillaume Nicloux the screenplay award for The Kidnapping Of Michel Houellebecq and Keith Miller the editing prize for Five Star.

Sabine Lubbe Bakker and Niels van Koevorden earned documentary editing honours for Ne Me Quitte Pas.

Best New Narrative Director went to Josef Wladyka director for Manos Sucias and Hicks was named best new documentary director for Keep...

Zero Motivation, a dark comedy about the lives of Israeli female soldiers, was named the top film at the 13th Tribeca Film Festival. Writer/director Tayla Lavie accepted the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature, as well as the Nora Ephron Prize, which goes to the female filmmaker who best embodies Ephron’s spirit and vision. “In her unique and ambitious first feature, deftly handled such difficult themes as the military, sexism, love, ambition, and friendship,” the jury noted. “This filmmaker also pulled off the awesome feat of managing multiple characters and storylines. In what was definitely the most hilarious...

2014 Tribeca Film Festival winners were announced Friday, as chosen by the various juries, with the Israeli film Zero Motivation earning top honors including the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature.

Zero Motivation writer/director Talya Lavie also won the Nora Ephron Prize for her film, a dark comedy about female Israeli soldiers.

“We believe a new, powerful, voice has emerged,” the jury said about Lavie.

Best Actor in a Narrative Feature went to Paul Schneider, who stars in Goodbye to All That, the directorial debut from Junebug scribe Angus MacLachlan.

“This performance reminded us that even in the most ordinary settings, our lives can summon extraordinary humor, pain, awkwardness, and if we earn it… dignity,” the jury remarked.

Complete List of Winners:

Best Narrative Feature: Zero Motivation – Talya Lavie

Best Actor in a Narrative Feature Film: Paul Schneider – Goodbye To All That

Best Actress in a Narrative Feature Film: Valeria Bruni...

In 2012, writer-director Keith Miller made his feature debut with Welcome to Pine Hill, an unhurried drama about a reformed drug dealer in New York City. The movie was imperfect but effective in many ways, mostly thanks to Miller's skill in getting moving performances from non-actors playing versions of themselves.  This year, with Five Star, Miller once again demonstrates his ability to extract nuance from novices, telling another a story about drug dealers struggling with identity.  Miller's tale is a kind of coming-of-age story, set in the projects of Brooklyn and following two men linked by tragedy. Primo (real life gang leader James 'Primo' Grant), is a five-star general of...

Writer-director Keith Miller's feature-length debut "Welcome to Pine Hill" showed an ambitious willingness to merge documentary and fictional storytelling methods, but with "Five Star," the filmmaker truly manages to fuse them into a compelling whole. Once again relying on non-actors to imbue his narrative with naturalistic intensity, "Five Star" is set amid the perils of gang life in the Brooklyn housing projects and features performances by actual former gang members riffing on their own lives. As a sociological experiment, "Five Star" offers plenty of talking points, but its real triumph is that the cast delivers, yielding a story in which the heightened suspense emerges organically from a gritty foundation of realism. "Five Star" makes its unorthodox production style clear in its prolonged opening sequence, during which bearded, muscular Primo (James "Primo" Grant) sits behind the wheel of his car and recalls the trauma of being behind bars while his son was born.

A generational meditation on masculinity, Keith Miller’s sophomore film Five Star explores the relationship between Primo — a Blood since puberty — and his would-be protégé, John. Set against sun-scorched Brooklyn projects, the film folds a casual shooting style into heavier thematic territory. Maintaining an alternately protective and imposing arm, Primo struggles to reconcile his history with his paternal instincts as John is pulled deeper into the gang’s underbelly. Filmmaker spoke to Miller about the film’s non-fictional foundations and his collaboration with the leading “non-actors.” Five Star world premieres today in the World Narrative Competition at the Tribeca Film Festival. Filmmaker: This is a world […]...

A generational meditation on masculinity, Keith Miller’s sophomore film Five Star explores the relationship between Primo — a Blood since puberty — and his would-be protégé, John. Set against sun-scorched Brooklyn projects, the film folds a casual shooting style into heavier thematic territory. Maintaining an alternately protective and imposing arm, Primo struggles to reconcile his history with his paternal instincts as John is pulled deeper into the gang’s underbelly. Filmmaker spoke to Miller about the film’s non-fictional foundations and his collaboration with the leading “non-actors.” Five Star world premieres today in the World Narrative Competition at the Tribeca Film Festival....

The 2014 Tribeca Film Festival - which kicks off tomorrow, April 16, running through April 27 - film selections includes feature films from 32 countries, including 55 World Premieres, 6 International Premieres, 12 North American Premieres, 9 U.S. Premieres and 5 New York Premieres. A total of 102 directors will present feature works at the Festival, with 37 of these filmmakers making their feature directorial debuts. The 2014 film slate was chosen from a total of 6,117 submissions.Of note, in terms of African diaspora films (since that's our focus here), is Keith Miller's exploration of masculinity and gang culture in Five Star, a mix of fiction and documentary...

Keith Miller has been crafting shorts, documentaries, and features since 2005 (including last year's "Welcome to Pine Hill" with Jaiden Kaine). Exploring gang life, urbanity, and manhood, Miller brings "Five Star" to Tribeca, the story of a gang leader's relationship to a young man caught at a crossroad.  Tell us about yourself: I began my creative work as a painter, which I still feel integral to my thinking. Over the course of that practice, my work got more narrative and I began to edit video and start to think about film. As I developed my film-making practice, over the past 7 or 8 years, I saw the potential to push the narrative work to a more active engagement with social and personal issues. This goal is one of the central things that lead me to Five Star. I have always been interested in the 19th century ideas around Realism and the challenge of...

The 2014 Tribeca Film Festival - which kicks off April 16, running through April 27 - film selections includes feature films from 32 countries, including 55 World Premieres, 6 International Premieres, 12 North American Premieres, 9 U.S. Premieres and 5 New York Premieres. A total of 102 directors will present feature works at the Festival, with 37 of these filmmakers making their feature directorial debuts. The 2014 film slate was chosen from a total of 6,117 submissions.Of note, in terms of African diaspora films (since that's our focus here), is Keith Miller's exploration of masculinity and gang culture in Five Star, a mix of fiction and documentary...

When the greatest city in the world (patent pending) is home to your film festival, it seems pretty obvious that said film festival should play plenty of films about said city — a love letter or ten, if you will — and this year’s Tribeca Film Festival appears to be taking that to heart. The festival, now in its thirteenth year, will hit New York City this April 16 through April 27, and the first half of the festival’s slate (the second half will be announced tomorrow) is very heavy on the Gotham-influenced fare. Think of it this way — at this year’s Tribeca, you can take in at least seven films about New York and its various neighborhoods, and then you can step outside into that actual city. Wild stuff, you guys. These seven films span the city and its far reaches, while also spanning a number of cinematic genres (there’s comedy here, but...

By the looks of it, the Tribeca Film Festival might finally be growing out of their awkward teenage phase and moving into a new era where the nab more than just Sundance and SXSW festival rejects. Artistic Director Frederic Boyer has managed to nab some noteworthy American indie projects such as Lou Howe’s Gabriel (see pic above), Keith Miller’s Five Star, Adam Rapp’s Loitering with Intent, and Tristan Patterson’s Electric Slide.

On the docu front, we’ve got the latest from the likes of notable documentarians Marshall Curry and Jessica Yu. Think Ewan McGregor’s Long Way Round meets child solider movie for Curry’s awesomely titled Point and Shoot — where the Libyan rebel army take hold of Curry’s subject. Yu moves from water shortage in Last Call at the Oasis (read our review) to the biggest pandemic of all; Misconception looks at the consequences...

Not much here in terms of African diaspora films (since that's our focus here), based on a first glance. But I'll be scrubbing the list, looking at it much closer for any titles that didn't immediately jump out at me. Of note however, is Keith Miller's exploration of masculinity and gang culture in Five Star, a mix of fiction and documentary filmmaking, making its World Premiere at the festival. Miller's last work, the meditative Welcome to Pine Hill, was an S&A highlight in 2012. And in the pure documentary films section is Virunga, directed and written by Orlando von Einsiedel. Also making its World Premiere, the film centers on Virunga, in...

On the heels of their Time Is Illmatic opening night announcement, Tribeca has released the first 47 of its 89 feature-length titles in the World Narrative and Documentary Competitions, as well as the non-competitive Viewpoints. Gabriel, the debut film from 25 New Face Lou Howe, which I can’t recommend enough, will open the Narrative section, with Dior and I and Onur Turkel’s Summer of Blood kicking off the Docs and Viewpoints, respectively. Other notable titles include Keith Miller’s latest, Five Star; Junebug scribe Angus MacLachlan’s directorial debut Goodbye to All That; d.p. Jody Lee Lipes’s Ballet 422; the Golden Bear-winning Black Coal, Thin Ice; Sundance hit The Overnighters and British prison drama Starred Up. Find the full list below. […]...

On the heels of their Time Is Illmatic opening night announcement, Tribeca has released the first 47 of its 89 feature-length titles in the World Narrative and Documentary Competitions, as well as the non-competitive Viewpoints. Gabriel, the debut film from 25 New Face Lou Howe, which I can’t recommend enough, will open the Narrative section, with Dior and I and Onur Turkel’s Summer of Blood kicking off the Docs and Viewpoints, respectively. Other notable titles include Keith Miller’s latest, Five Star; Junebug scribe Angus MacLachlan’s directorial debut Goodbye to All That; d.p. Jody Lee Lipes’s Ballet 422; the Golden Bear-winning Black Coal, Thin Ice; Sundance hit The Overnighters and British prison...

The 13th Tribeca Film Festival has announced half its slate for next month’s New York celebration, which runs April 16-27. Culled from more than 6,000 submissions, Tribeca 2014 includes 55 world premieres, 37 first-time filmmakers, and 22 female directors. “Variously inspired by individual interests and experience and driven by an intense sensibility of style, the array of new filmmaking voices in this year’s competition is especially impressive and I think memorable,” said Frederic Boyer, Tribeca’s artistic director. “The range of American subcultures and international genres represented here are both eclectic and wide reaching.”

On April 17, Gabriel will open the World Narrative competition,...

Tribeca Film Festival top brass have announced (4) the World Narrative and Documentary Competition film selections and Viewpoints titles, comprising 47 of the 89 features that will screen at the festival over April 16-27.

The World Narrative Feature Competition will open with the world premiere of Lou Howe’s Gabriel starring Rory Culkin, while the corresponding documentary category kicks off with the world premiere of Frédéric Tcheng’s Dior And I (pictured).

Viewpoints opens with the world premiere of Onur Tukel’s Summer Of Blood and the section includes the North American premiere of Diao Yinan’s Berlin Golden Bear winner Black Coal, Thin Ice as well as the Us premiere of David Mackenzie’s Starred Up.

All three sections will commence on April 17. As previously announced, the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival will open with documentary Time Is Illmatic a day earlier.

Overall the festival will screen features from 32 countries including 55 world premieres, six international premieres, 12 North American...

Two years after the death of Trayvon Martin, filmmaker Alex Mallis releases online After Trayvon, a short doc shot last summer after the day’s wrap of his latest feature. Mallis, who associate produced and was a cinematographer on Keith Miller’s film, Welcome to Pine Hill, introduces it here: Last summer, a day after George Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder in the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, our cast and crew wrapped a day of filming in Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn for the upcoming feature, Five Star. Informal conversations throughout the day, between takes, and a fully equipped film crew, […]...

Two years after the death of Trayvon Martin, filmmaker Alex Mallis releases online After Trayvon, a short doc shot last summer after the day’s wrap of his latest feature. Mallis, who associate produced and was a cinematographer on Keith Miller’s film, Welcome to Pine Hill, introduces it here: Last summer, a day after George Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder in the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, our cast and crew wrapped a day of filming in Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn for the upcoming feature, Five Star. Informal conversations throughout the day, between takes, and a fully equipped film crew, […]...

Oscilloscope Laboratories is opening Keith Miller's quietly absorbing work of cinema verite, Welcome To Pine Hill, in Los Angeles at the Arena Cinema today, June 7th. Pine Hill follows a recently reformed drug dealer, now working as a claims adjuster by day and bouncer by night, who receives some earth-shattering news, forcing him to make peace with those around him, as well as himself. The film received enough votes to appear on the S&A Best of 2012 list, a film that blurs the boundaries between documentary and fiction, presenting an atmospheric depiction of a journey to self-discovery and spiritual redemption, taken by an unlikely cinematic lead...

Hosting screenings of such films as Christopher Nolan‘s Following and Oren Peli‘s Paranormal Activity, Slamdance Film Festival has been a birthplace for discoveries akin to its neighbor Sundance Film Festival. Today we have new trailers for one of last year’s most acclaimed premieres, Welcome to Pine Hill. While Keith Miller’s drama quietly shuffled into theaters a few [...]...

Following its early 2013 New York City run, Oscilloscope Laboratories has announced that it will open Keith Miller's quietly absorbing work of cinema verite, Welcome To Pine Hill, theatrically in Los Angeles at the Arena Cinema on June 7th; prior to this, the film will premiere on VOD on June 4th. Pine Hill follows a recently reformed drug dealer, now working as a claims adjuster by day and bouncer by night, who receives some earth-shattering news, forcing him to make peace with those around him, as well as himself. It's a work of film art that received enough votes to appear on the S&A Best of 2012 list, a film that blurs the boundaries...

A film that blurs the lines between reality and fiction, “Welcome to Pine Hill” asks audiences to absorb what’s on screen and relinquish their desire to know what really happened. Winner of the top prize at Slamdance 2012, Keith Miller's first feature is an extension of his earlier short film “Prince/William.” The film opens with the short, a recreation of a real-life event where Miller found a dog and ran into the original owner soon after. The two men erupt into an argument over the ownership of the dog, ultimately representing a clash between two separate worlds that raises notions of race and class. “Pine Hill” follows the dog’s original owner Shannon, an ex-drug dealer who has transitioned into a new life working a corporate job only to soon discover he has a rare form of cancer. With a poignant performance from first time actor Shannon Harper,...