BIFF Announces 2020 Feature Film Line-Up

The Bermuda International Film Festival announced the feature film line-up for the 23rd edition of the event.

The festival will open on Friday March 20 at 6.30pm with a screening of Hero, directed by Frances-Anne Solomon, winner of the top narrative film award at February’s Pan-African Film and Arts Festival in Los Angeles.

Inspired by the extraordinary life and times of West Indian lawyer Ulric Cross, the film tells the hitherto untold story of those Caribbean professionals who helped to liberate Africa from colonialism.

Actor Peter Williams, who features in the film, and Ulric Cross’ son, Dr Richard Finch, will attend the festival and participate in a Q and A session after the film.

BIFF will close on Thursday March 26 at 8.45pm with the screening of A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, directed by Marielle Heller.

Tom Hanks was nominated for the Best Actor in a Supporting Role Academy Award® for his role in the true story of a real-life friendship between Fred Rogers and the journalist Tom Junod, who overcame his skepticism, and learned about kindness, love and forgiveness from America’s most beloved neighbour.

The festival will screen an additional 14 feature films.

Included in the festival’s documentary line-up are:

• Maiden, winner of the Best Documentary of 2019 Award from the National Board of Review, tells the exhilarating story of the first all-female crew to take part in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race. Friday March 20, 9pm.

• Fabric, Bermudian filmmaker Milton Raposo’s groundbreaking film about the history of the Portuguese community in Bermuda. Mr Raposo will take part in a Q and A following the film. Saturday March 21, 4pm.

• WeRiseUP, a profound personal journey of inquiry, reflection, and action that explores how we can redesign success at the personal, collective and universal levels to create a thriving future for humanity. Director Michael Shaun Conaway will take part in a Q and A. Saturday March 21, 6.30pm.

• The Price of Cheap, a Bermuda-Canada co-production from Wishing Step Pictures that follows a grassroots activist who goes on raids to rescue underage children from unsafe and labour intensive textile factories in Tamil Nadu, India. Producers Kim Carter and Zabi Yaqeen will take part in a Q and A. Sunday March 22, 2pm.

• Honeyland, the first film to be nominated for both a Best Documentary and Best International Film Oscar®. The winner of more than 30 awards, including a triple win at the Sundance Film Festival, it tells the story of a beekeeper in North Macedonia who uses ancient beekeeping traditions to maintain a delicate balance between nature and humanity. Sunday March 22, 4pm.

• Toxic Beauty, an award-winning film about the effect that everyday cosmetics and personal care products have on our health. Director Phyllis Ellis and executive producer Cheryl Staurulakis, a Bermuda resident, will take part in a Q and A after the film. Sunday March 22, 6pm.

• Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, directed by Stanley Nelson, is the story of the life and career of the musical giant and jazz icon Miles Davis whose impact on American music reverberates today. Tuesday March 24, 6pm.

• The River and the Wall, an award winner at the prestigious SXSW Film Festival follows five friends as they embark on an immersive adventure through the wilds of the Texas borderlands, travelling 1200 miles from El Paso to the Gulf of Mexico on foot, and by horse, mountain bike and canoe. Wednesday March 25, 6pm.

• For Sama, also Oscar®-nominated for Best Documentary and the winner of more than 50 awards including Best Documentary at the European Film Awards, is an intimate and epic journey into the female experience of war, and is a love letter from a young mother to her daughter, Sama, as the Syrian city of Aleppo comes under siege. Thursday March 26, 6pm.

The festival’s narrative features line-up also includes:

• The Report, featuring Adam Driver and his Bermudian wife, actress Joanne Tucker plus Annette Bening and Jon Hamm. The political intrigue thriller sees Mr Driver deliver a powerhouse performance as Daniel J. Jones, who investigates the CIA’s detention and interrogation programme. Saturday March 21, 9pm.

• Premature, the story of a passionate summer romance set against the backdrop of Harlem as 17-year-old poet Ayanna [rising star Zora Howard] meets charming music producer Isaiah [Joshua Boone] and must confront the complexities of the adult world, whether she is ready or not. Sunday March 22, 8.30pm.

• Portrait of a Lady on Fire, winner of the Best Screenplay and Queer Palm awards at the Cannes Film Festival, and more than 30 additional awards, is a love story set in late 18th century France between a painter and the woman whose portrait she is commissioned to paint. Monday March 23, 8.45pm.

• The Souvenir, winner of the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema-Dramatic category at the Sundance Film Festival and featuring Honor Swinton Byrne and Tom Burke in a beautifully crafted Martin Scorsese-produced portrait of self-discovery. Tuesday March 24, 8.45pm.

• Pain and Glory, directed by Pedro Almodovar and starring Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas, who won the Best Actor prize at the Cannes Film Festival for his performance in a film about a series of reencounters experienced by Salvador Mallo, a film director in physical decline. Wednesday March 25, 8.45pm.

Tickets to festival films and parties go on sale Friday March 6 here, where there are synopses and trailers for all features.

All films will screen at Speciality Cinema in Hamilton.

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