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OFFICIAL SELECTION: FERRARA FILM FESTIVAL 2020, LINE-UP AND INDEPENDENT JURY ANNOUNCED
FERRARA, ITALY. – Arthur Balder’s AMERICAN MIRROR: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY has been announced as part of the final line up of films that will be screened during the 2020 Ferrara Film Festival, Italy, as the program press release shows on the festival’s official site.
The film is again part of a cinema competition that brings it back to Italy, a country were it has conquered great success among the critics. First the film was declared winner of the Fabrique Du Cinema Awards in Rome (Best International Documentary), afterwards the film went on to win the Premio Giura of Asti Film Festival, and was part of the exclusive official selection The Outsiders, a collection of the best international independent films.
The major awards of the festival are the Golden Dragons, a bronze sculpture enshrined on a plinth that has been inspired by the saint patron of the city of Ferrara, Saint George fighting the legendary Dragon. The film festival, whose director and founder is Maximilian Law, keeps a record of all past Golden Dragon Award winners on its official site.
The film that won the Best Documentary award at the Ferrara Film festival was Roberta Grossman’s WHO WILL WRITE OUR HISTORY, the extraordinary film that uniquely tells the feat of a number of Jewish writers who vowed to defeat Nazi lies and propaganda in 1940 with their own pens, days after the Nazis sealed 450,000 Jews in the Warsaw ghetto.
Ferrara Film Festival announced in recent weeks through its official site the 2020 independent jury on a press release. Among its members stands out the presence of prominent cinema academicians and members of the University of Ferrara and the Italian Philosophical Society.
FERRARA FILM FESTIVAL 2020 INDEPENDENT JURY MEMBERS:
ALBERTO BOSCHI
Alberto Boschi is a professor at the University of Ferrara. He teaches History of Cinema and Theories and Technique of Audiovisual Language at the Department of Humanities of the University of Ferrara. He has published numerous articles and essays in volume and in magazines, including the monographs “Theories of cinema: the classical period” (1998), “Alfred Hitchcock: Intrigue international” (2008), “Alfred Hitchcock: Knot in the throat” (2009 ).
MAURIZIO VILLANI
Maurizio Villani is permanent professor of History of Philosophy at the ISSR of Ferrara and member of the Board of Directors of the Italian Philosophical Society. He has written philosophy texts and manuals. He is president of the Cineclub Fedic Ferrara, editor of the magazine Carte di Cinema, and is the author of essays on the relationship between cinema and philosophy.
CHIARA IEZZI
Chiara Iezzi is an Italian actress. Her first work is in the “Under” series alongside Gianmarco Tognazzi and Giorgio Colangeli. She later played the role of Victoria Williams in the teen series produced by Walt Disney Italia and broadcast on Disney Channel “Alex & Co” in the second season; in parallel he is in the cast of the film for the cinema “The Broken Key” by Louis Nero with international actors such as Geraldine Chaplin and William Baldwin, recently also visible on Amazon prime US. He has recently taken part in a film acting with actor Ray Abruzzo (“Sopranos”, “Dinasty”, “Transparent”), returning from an award for a short film (“Rollercoaster”) of which she is the protagonist and selected in the field Rai Cinema Channel.
PAOLA LAVINI
Paola Lavini trained both as an actress and as a singer and musical performer both in Italy and in America. She affirms herself in the panorama of cinematography with some of the most important directors that Italy boasts in the world, including Francesco Munzi (‘Black souls’), Alice Rohrwacher (‘Heavenly body’), Marco Pontecorvo (‘Unstable weather with probable brightenings’) with Turturro, Marco Tullio Giordana (‘Sanguepazzo’), Pupi Avati, Marco Bellocchio, Michael Radford (director of ‘Il Postino’) and Giorgio Rights with ‘I wanted to hide’. In 2019 he filmed ‘Cetto c’e, undoubtedly’ by and with Antonio Albanese, great collection before Christmas 2019, ‘L’isola del Perdono’ in Tunisia with Claudia Cardinale by Ridha Behi and an international project ‘The Big other’ with directed by Jan Schomburg. He is filming ‘Anima bella’ by Dario Albertini. She also engages in various comedies at the cinema with Salemme, Maurizio Casagrande, Paolo Cevoli and Federico Moccia’s ‘Excuse but I call you love’. He wins various prizes with the film ‘Terra bruciata’ by Luca Gianfrancesco and in particular as the best performer of 2018 at the Ferrara Film Festival. She boasts singing collaborations with Maestro Vince Tempera of Sanremo and with an orchestra of artists from all over the Mediterranean, on the theme of integration and peace, expressing himself in various languages. Participate in the soundtrack of the docu-film “I would like to tell young people … Gina Borellini, a legacy of all” by Francesco Zarzana. In competition in Cannes and Venice with various projects.
ALESSANDRA MANIAS
Over 15 years of experience in Italy in the field of Advertising Communication, Set Design and Art Direction for photo shoots, art installations, videos, stands, catalogs for Italian brands in the furniture and design sector. In 2016 Alessandra moved to live in Los Angeles where she immediately started working as a Production Designer in the Cinema, TV, Theater and Music Video sector, with a strong Italian / European style. A degree in Architecture, an MBA (Business Administration) master and a master in Neuro-Linguistic Programming are the perfect mix for a Production Designer focused on details, psychology, budget and, most importantly, to give a soul to the project. Alessandra has done about 20 projects in Los Angeles over the past three years and for spring 2020 there are two new films and a play starring Anne Archer.
ROSARIO PETIX
At 18, Rosario Petìx attended a professional course with the teachers of the U. Spadaro academy at the School of Dramatic Art of the Catania stable theater, a structure with which he began to start his acting career immediately taking part in numerous and important productions. He continues his activity by taking part in national tours alongside protagonists of the Italian theater such as M. D’apporto and Gianfranco Iannuzzo and with directors of the caliber of R. Guicciardini, M. Bolognini and P. Rossi Castaldi. In his theatrical career, he faces various authors, from Shakespeare to Pirandello, from Wilder to Sciascia and to the ancient drama festival of S. Miniato, playing the role of a blind narrator in a text by J.P. Sartre, wins the award for best supporting actress for his marked versatility. Over the past decade he has starred in fifteen films.
WINNER: REMI AWARD BY 53RD WORLDFEST HOUSTON 2020
HOUSTON, TX. – Arthur Balder’s AMERICAN MIRROR: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY wins Remi Award as part of the Official Selection of the 53rd WorldFest Houston.
This new award is welcome by the team of Da Vinci Films as a new recognition for their work and dedication to a project that took 5 years in the making.
WorldFest is one of the oldest and largest film & video competitions in the world, with more than 4,500 category entries received from 74 countries in 2019. Actually WorldFest is 12 Major film & video competitions in one event, unlike Cannes, Sundance and Toronto, which are just 2 competitions for shorts and features only. Because of our 12 major competitions and the 200+ sub-categories, WorldFest does give a lot of awards, but they are both earned and deserved. No awards are given in any category unless the scores from the juries are high enough to place for honors. Overall only 15-20% of the total category entries actually win an award at WorldFest. However, everyone attending the Grand Awards Gala wins an award, as we only invite the actual winners, which makes for a delightful and enjoyable evening, since there are no disappointed “nominees” that do not win anything. Those that do not win an award are informed by email or letters prior to the festival. Read more here.
MOST AWARDED FILM AT JAIPUR INTL’ FILM FESTIVAL, INDIA: BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE, BEST EDITING, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY, BEST SOUND, & RED ROSE AWARD FOR BEST RELEASED FILM
JAIPUR, INDIA. – During the closing and award ceremony of Jaipur International Film Festival on January 21st, 2020, the director of the festival Hanu Roj presented Arthur Balder with the Best Documentary Feature, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound and the Red Rose for Best Released Film awards for his work in AMERICAN MIRROR: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY, which became most awarded film of the event and most awarded film in the history of the festival (13 editions until now).
Jaipur International Film Festival is a fast-growing, competitive cinematic event that is now counted among the ten biggest festivals in India. 2020’s edition screened 219 films from 64 countries.
At the same time, the festival hosts in parallel a Co-Production Market “to meet the global partners that will move projects forward: Co-Producers, Sales Agents, Distributors, Financers, Directors, Film Festival Organizers, Film Commissions and Film Fraternity Members.”
Co-production treaties are gaining great momentum in the industry. India, with other countries, signed an audio-visual co-production treaty that aims to bring the film industries of the two countries together like – Canada, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, UK, China and Republic of Korea &c.
OFFICIAL SELECTION: JAIPUR INTL’ FILM FESTIVAL’S OPENING NIGHT FILM
JAIPUR, INDIA. – Arthur Balder’s AMERICAN MIRROR: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY has been invited to be part of the competitive 13th Jaipur International Film Festival, to take place January 16-21, 2020, as part of its official selection. The film will share the privilege of being part of one of the biggest cinematic events in India, alongside with 219 films from 61 countries.
The film will be the curtain-raiser of the 2020 edition during its opening night ceremony, and the director and producerof the film, Arthur Balder, will be in attendance.
WINNER: PREMIO GIURA ASTI DOC FROM ASTI FILM FESTIVAL 2019, ITALY
ASTI, ITALY. – Arthur Balder was presented with the Premio Giura of the ASTIDOC competitive international official selection of documentary films at the Asti Film Festival, 2019, in Italy, Torino Piemonte Film Commission, for AMERICAN MIRROR: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY.
Organized by Sciarada Produzioni with the Cinema Circle Vertigo, under the patronage of the Comune, Regione and Torino Piemonte Film Commission, the festival had Riccardo Costa and Filippo Mazzarella as artistic directors. Here are the winners of the three sections in the competition: “The first beautiful thing” dedicated to the first-time directors’ films, the short films of “Asti Short” and the documentaries of “Asti Doc”, with the novelty of this year: the opening to international cinema with foreign productions, from the United States to Israel.
Italy, where so many of the best cinema authors have been born in the world, hails the extraordinary quality of Arthur Balder’s AMERICAN MIRROR: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY. Asti Film Festival 2019 brought the Premio Giura of the ASTDOC international competition. Piemonte news report on the great cinematic event.
The film won Best International Documentary at from the cinema magazine Fabrique Du Cinema, Rome, was part of ‘The Outsiders’, a selection of the best independent films around the world in 2019 by the 24th Milano Film Festival, and very soon new participations in Italy will be announced.
WINNER: BEST DOCUMENTARY AWARD FROM NEAR NAZARETH FILM FESTIVAL 2019, ISRAEL
AFULA, ISRAEL. – Arthur Balder’s AMERICAN MIRROR: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY was presented with the laurels of Best Documentary Award from the Near Nazareth Film Festival, organized by the city of Afula in Israel.
Near Nazareth Film Festival boasts one of the largest best-reviewed film festivals on the circuit platforms. See more information on this event in the local media.
THE HINDUSTAN TIMES, INDIA: FIRST LIST OF 2019 FILMS FOR JIFF 2020 OUT
JAIPUR, INDIA. – The Hindustan Times in its paper edition celebrated the first announcement related to the official selection of films that will be part of the Jaipur International Film Festival 2020 with an article on its paper edition. The newspaper, one of the biggest in circulation in India, hailed, among other films, Arthur Balder’s AMERICAN MIRROR: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY.
WINNER: BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE AT UK FILM FESTIVAL 2019
LONDON, GREAT BRITAIN. – Arthur Balder’s AMERICAN MIRROR: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY wins Best Documentary Feature award 2019 as part of the official selection of the UK Film Festival, sponsored by Edgewater TV and the leading screenwriting platform FinalDraft. Led by a jury of well-respected industry professionals, the UK Film Festival has quickly established a tradition of discovering and promoting new films – some of which have later gone on to be BAFTA and Oscar nominees and winners. Their exciting screening events have created a networking hub that continues to connect new filmmakers to industry including television exposure by leading British broadcaster, Channel 4.
Read more about the mission of UK Film Festival on the high-end culture and arts magazine MIRO’s interview of the festival’s director, Murray Woodfield.
Murray’s screen credits include the recent short film A Confession (winner of the Crystal Bear at the Berlin Film Festival 2015); Mike (winner of the Crystal Bear at the Berlin Film Festival 2014); as well as Over the Rainbow for SelecTV on ITV; and 30 Somehow on Channel 4.
Murray is also Director of the UK Film Festival. The festival screens in the heart of London and celebrates the cultural diversity of films made in the UK and from around the World. The festival which is held at the end of November champions great films but in particular seeks work from those filmmakers who might not yet have had the chance for a prestigious public screening of their films.
FILM REVIEW: “ONE OF THIS YEAR’S TALLINN BLACK NIGHTS PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS” by Jenna Jylhä, Estonia
“Award-winning AMERICAN MIRROR is one of this year’s Tallinn Black Nights program highlights“
Jenna Jylhä
Reporting on Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Talinna24.ee, Estonia
“Tämänvuotisen festivaaliohjelmiston kohokohtia ovat muun muassa kansainvälisen Los Angelesin dokumenttielokuvafestivaaleilla palkintoja kahminut American Mirror: Intimations of Immortality, pukudraama (…)”
FILM REVIEW: “It leaves you breathless and enthralled long after you watch it” By Dragan Elcic, RTRS.tv
By Dragan Elcic
Director, film critic, Professor of Film Directing at and Dean of the Academy of Arts of Belgrade, Serbia. His films have been selected for the Oscars representing Serbia. As published by RTRS.tv
“American Mirror: Intimations of Immortality crosses borders and expands the forms of modern documentary film making.“
Branko Lazic, film director, Bosnia-Herzegovina, published by RTRS.tv.
“A film that transcends genres and establishes its own rules of film narration.“
Srdjan Savic, film critic, Serbia, published by RTRS.tv
OFFICIAL SELECTION: ASTI FILM FESTIVAL, DOC INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION 2019
ASTI, ITALY. – Arthur Balder’s AMERICAN MIRROR: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY is part of the international documentary competitive official selection of the 9th Asti Film Festival, Italy, to take place 4-9 December 2019.
Read more about this Italian cinematic event following the Italian media outlet La Voce Di Asti about 2019 the festival full program.
WINNER: JURY GRAND PRIX OF FIRST FRAME / PRVI KADAR FILM FESTIVAL, SARAJEVO
SARAJEVO, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA. – The jury of the 13th Prvi Kadar International Film Festival awarded Arthur Balder’s AMERICAN MIRROR: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY with the Grand Prix, Best Picture of the Festival 2019.
The Jury President was Dragan Elcic, director, film critic, Professor of Film Directing at and Dean of Belgrade Academy of Arts, Serbia. His films have been selected for Oscars representing Serbia. The other two members where Branko Lazic, film director, Srdjan Savic, film critic.
In a joint statement, published, among others, by RTRS.tv, the jury stated about the film publicly: “American Mirror: Intimations of Immortality crosses borders and expands the forms of modern documentary film making. It’s a dynamic, visually sumptuous, cleverly directed film that leaves you breathless and enthralled long after you watch it. A film that transcends genres and establishes its own rules of film narration.”
Dragan Elcic was born in Sarajevo in 1959. He is the director of numerous documentaries, television shows, series, etc. He is a professor of directing at the Belgrade Academy of Arts and is one of the most awarded documentaries directors in Serbia.
He has directed over 250 documentaries and short films, 200 different documentaries, one feature film, two feature documentaries, two TV dramas, 4 TV films and seven feature TV series with a total of 106 episodes of various lengths.
Elcic won 57 awards. Selection of awards: Representative of Serbia for the Academy Award / 2001; Special Award at the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen – Germany / 1999; Grand Prix – Belgrade Documentary and Short Film Festival / Belgrade / 1996; the Golden Knight Award / Moscow / 1996; award for directing the documentary Alpe Adria, Trieste, Italy
1984 Graduated Political Science from the Faculty of Political Science in Sarajevo Graduated in Performing Arts from the Faculty of Philosophy in Sarajevo.
1996. Under the mentorship of Professor Stefan Stefanov, he specialized at the Slavic University in Sofia. Topic Title: “Polyphony on Film”.
1998. Ph.D. Master’s degree in Moscow. Master’s thesis title: Documentary film in extreme conditions.
A 2001 Head of the Department of Television Directing “Sava Mrmak” at the Belgrade Academy of Arts.
2001 – 2006 Associate Professor at the Department of Television Directing “Sava Mrmak” in Belgrade.
Since 2006 he has been full-time professor at the Department of Television Directing “Sava Mrmak” in Belgrade.
OFFICIAL SELECTION: SANCTUARY INTL FILM FESTIVAL 2019, GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA
SANCTUARY COVE, AUSTRALIA. – Arthur Balder’s AMERICAN MIRROR: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY keeps being selected by great cinematic events in Australia, and now is part of the Official Selection of Sanctuary International Film Festival 2019.
FILM REVIEW JCC2019: “A MASTERPIECE” LE QUOTIDIENNE, BY Ph.D. MERIAM AZIZI
CARTHAGE, TUNISIA. – “Arthur Balder’s American Mirror: A masterpiece of extreme poetry” as read at Le Quotidienne, during Journées Cinématographiques Du Carthage 30rd edition, Number 7, Friday 1st November 2019 By Mariem Azizi Film Critic, PhD in Filmic Adaptation.
“American Mirror de Arthur Balder: Un chef-d’oeuvre d’une extrême poésie” Le Quotidienne, Journées Cinématographiques Du Carthage 30ème édition, Nombre 7, Vendredi 1 Novembre 2019 Par Mariem Azizi Critique de film, doctorat en Adaptation Cinématographique.
OFFICIAL SELECTION: 23RD TALLINN BLACK NIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL
TALLINN, ESTONIA. – Arthur Balder’s AMERICAN MIRROR: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY is part of the Official Selection of the 23rd Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Estonia, one of the fifteen A-class FIAPF (Fédération Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films; English: International Federation of Film Producers Associations) accredited competitive feature film festivals in the world.
See the screenings schedule on the official site of the festival.
OFFICIAL SELECTION & FILM REVIEW: EAU CLAIRE FILM FESTIVAL, WI PREMIERE
EAU CLAIRE, WI. – Eau Claire World Film Festival will host the Wisconsin premiere of Arthur Balder’s AMERICAN MIRROR: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY. Get a look at the schedule next weekend here at the great Pablo Center Theatre.
OFFICIAL SELECTION: SELECTED AMONG BEST WORLD FILMS AT 25TH CAMINHOS DO CINEMA
COIMBRA, PORTUGAL. – Da Vinci Films is proud to announce that the selection committee of the 25th Caminhos Do Cinema, to be held in November 2019 in Coimbra, Portugal, has selected Arthur Balder’s AMERICAN MIRROR: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY has part of its Official Selection.
FINALIST: BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY & BEST ACTRESS AT BLOW-UP ARTHOUSE CHICAGO
CHICAGO, IL. – BLOW-UP Chicago International Arthouse Film Festival 2019 announced final list of nominees and winners. Arthur Balder’s AMERICAN MIRROR: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY received three Finalist positions for: the Dziga Vertov Award for Best Documentary Film, the John Alcott Award for Best Cinematography and the Monica Vitti Award for Best Actress.
WINNER: BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARD AT SYDNEY INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA. – Arthur Balder’s AMERICAN MIRROR: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY won Best Cinematography Award at Sydney Independent Film Festival 2019. The film also was additionally Finalist in two categories: Best Documentary Film, and Best Music Score (Mark Petrie).
AMERICAN MIRROR: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY has won the Best Cinematography awards consistently at DOC LA (Los Angeles Documentary Film Festival presented by Parajanov-Vartanov Institute), Pomegranate Film Festival Toronto, European Cinematography Awards and the Canadian Cinematography Awards; the film also was nominated for the John Alcott Award for Best Cinematography at the BLOW-UP Chicago Arthouse International Film Festival 2019.
Mark Petrie’s original score for AMERICAN MIRROR: INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY has been finalist for Best Original Score/Soundtrack at Burbank International Film Festival, International Sound & Music Film Festival (Croatia), FIMUCINEMA (Festival International Music for Cinema of Tenerife) and won Best Original Soundtrack at DOC LA (Los Angeles Documentary Film Festival presented by Parajanov-Vartanov Institute).
