Bernews.com » Films/Movies

Free Screening Of “In The Hour Of Victory”

Deb — Sat, 18 May 2013 16:05:34 +0000

Afflare Films and TenTen Publications in conjunction with the Division of Liberal Arts of the Bermuda College are announced a free public screening of the award-winning film, ‘In the Hour of Victory.’

The film will be shown at 7:00pm on Tuesday [May 21] at Room G301 North Hall at the Bermuda College.

The film won the top Platinum Remi Award in the ‘Feature Documentaries’ category, at the recently concluded WorldFest Houston International Film Festival in April 2013.

“In The Hour Of Victory” Trailer:

The film has now been entered in a number of film festivals in Canada, USA, the UK and the Caribbean and further international screenings are anticipated.

In the Hour of Victory was co-directed by Bermudians Lucinda Spurling and Andrew Kirkpatrick and stars Bermudians Ben Beasley as Major Toby Smith and Catherine Hay as his wife, Faith. Steve Gallant, a former Bermudian resident, composed the musical score for the film.

Jonathan Smith, author of the book and speaking for the publishers, TenTen Publications, added: “We are pleased that the Bermuda College will host this free public screening. We thought that this was an ideal opportunity, particularly during Heritage Month, to share the compelling story of this film. I keep running into Bermudians who say they haven’t had the chance to see it – well here’s your chance!”

Video Trailers: Weekend Film Series Previews

Deb — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:04:43 +0000

Award-winning films from two of the world’s top film festivals will screen at the Weekend Film Series on Sunday May 19.

A River Changes Course, winner of the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema Documentary category at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, will screen at 3 p.m., while French dramedy In the House – winner of the FIPRESCI International Critics’ Prize at the Toronto International Film Festival — will screen at 5.15 p.m.

A River Changes Course, a sellout at March’s edition of Bermuda Docs, had its world premiere at Sundance in January. Since then, it has won additional awards at the Atlanta, RiverRun, Full Frame and Yale Environmental festivals as well as having a sold out screening at Lincoln Centre in New York.

The cinematically spectacular and sensory journey is a profound portrait of Cambodians marching from their ancient culture into a globalised economy, with a focus on the human cost of this transformation. Khmer-American filmmaker Kalyanee Mam charts the lives of three Cambodians and their families who have lived off the land and the sea, but must adapt to a new reality caused by deforestation, overfishing and the burden of debt on a farming life.

Beautiful, tender, sometimes hilarious – but also heart-breaking – the film is a breathtaking and unprecedented journey from the remote, mountainous jungles and floating cities of the Cambodian countryside to the bustling garment factories of modern Phnom Penh, telling a universal story of struggle, survival, love, family, and hope.

In the House also won the top film prize at the prestigious San Sebastian Film Festival, and has been hailed by The New York Times as “one of the year’s outstanding films”. The poignant and funny comedy of manners is as thought-provoking as it is entertaining. Stylish and brilliantly acted, director Francoise Ozon [Potiche, 8 Women, Swimming Pool] has made a film that is elegant and eloquent, witty and naughty.

Sixteen-year-old Claude [Ernst Unhauer] insinuates himself into the house of fellow high school student Rapha [Bastien Ughetto], writing about his family in essays that blur the lines between reality and fiction for his jaded literature teacher Germain [Fabrice Luchini]. Intrigued by this gifted and unusual student, Germain rediscovers his taste for teaching, but the boy’s intrusion sparks a series of uncontrollable events.

Kristin Scott-Thomas plays Germain’s wife, Jeanne, a contemporary art gallery director who avidly follows Claude’s semi-imaginary escapades, while Emmanuelle Seigner plays Rapha’s mom, Claude’s object of desire insinuates himself into a friend’s

The ‘Weekend Film Series’, sponsored by Gosling’s, is a joint production of Bermuda Documentary Film Festival director Duncan Hall and the BUEI. Tickets are on sale now at the Oceans Gift Shop at the BUEI, or by calling 294-0204.

Movie Siren Who Was Castaway In Bermuda

Bernews — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:30:23 +0000

She remains best remembered for being Truly Scrumptious in name and appearance in the children’s classic “Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang” [1968] — but almost a decade earlier Sally Ann Howes’ comic turn as an English aristocrat who is stripped of her pretensions [and most of her heavy Edwardian couture] in Bermuda endeared her to an older movie audience.

A witty adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s 1903 play of the same name, “The Admirable Crichton” is about an aristocratic Edwardian family and their servants who finds themselves marooned on a South Seas island — and how the normal social roles are reversed during the struggle to survive.

With Bermuda standing in for the imaginary Pacific island, the 1957 movie was directed by Lewis Gilbert and also starred Kenneth More and Diane Cilento.

At Loam Hall in 1905 England, Lord Henry Loam [Cecil Parker], the socially conscious master of the estate, preaches equality for all, even though he enjoys a life of privilege. To prove his point, Loam instructs his three haughty daughters, Lady Mary [Ms Howes], Catherine [Mary Haystead] and Agatha [Miranda Connell], to entertain the staff at tea that afternoon.

When Loam’s impeccable butler, William Crichton [Mr. More], informs his underlings that their attendance is required at tea, they are only slightly more mortified that Loam’s daughters. Also attending the soirée that afternoon is George Brocklehurst [Peter Graves], Mary’s snobbish fiancé and his mother, the pompous Lady Emily Brocklehurst [Martita Hunt]. The party abruptly ends, however, when word comes that Catherine has been arrested for attending a suffragette meeting, causing Loam promptly to renounce all attempts at equality.

To escape the scandal of Catherine’s arrest, Crichton suggests that the family take a cruise, with the staff in attendance. Also joining the group is Alex Wooley [Gerald Harper], the second son of a Lord, a vicar [Jack Watling] and Eliza [Ms Cilento], the servant known as “Tweeny” because she has not yet achieved the position of lady’s maid.

Once at sea, Lady Mary questions Crichton about his ambition, and he replies that he is content to be a butler, the highest rank in the hierarchy of servitude. One blustery night, a storm hits, and after the engines explode, the captain gives the order to abandon ship. When the lifeboats are launched, Crichton goes below deck to rescue the sleeping Eliza.

After jumping overboard, the two are picked up by the boat carrying Loam, his daughters, the vicar and Wooley, who have become separated from the others.

Spotting an island in the distance, the group eagerly makes their way to land. Upon reaching shore, the inept vicar and Wooley tie the craft to a turtle who then tows it out to sea.

After surveying the island, Crichton reports that it is deserted and begins to take charge of the situation, assigning sleeping quarters and kindling a fire.

Eliza, who is smitten by Crichton, describes herself as a bumbling oaf compared to the polished butler. Soon after, they see the “Bluebell”, their abandoned yacht, approaching the shore and watch as it founders on some rocks.

Swimming to the wreck, Crichton retrieves the basic necessities, prompting the others to order him to return to the boat and bring back frilly dresses and a formal dining service. When Crichton questions their frivolity, Loam fires the butler for insubordination, and Crichton leaves the camp followed by Eliza.

Hungry and helpless, that night Loam and his fellow aristocrats smell the scent of roasting pork and follow it to Crichton’s camp, where the butler beneficently offers them a pork chop.

Only Lady Mary resists Crichton’s authority.

One day while swimming to the wreck, she begins to flounder in the water. Crichton, nearby, presses her to continue on, and upon reaching the boat, she sobs on his shoulder.

Two years later, life on the island is thriving under the benevolent rule of Crichton, whom everyone now addresses as “Guv.”

Even Loam treats his former butler with deference, happily pressing his pants and running his errands.

As Crichton rallies the others to build a boat to sail back to England, it becomes obvious that no one wants to leave the idyllic life on the island.

Later, Crichton confides to Mary, with whom he has fallen in love, that he is afraid of losing her once they return to civilization. When Crichton informs Eliza that he and Mary have become engaged, the heartbroken Eliza puts on a brave front.

On their wedding day, Mary and Crichton are in the midst of exchanging their vows when a ship is spotted offshore.

Although Mary opposes lighting the beacon they have built to signal passing ships, Crichton, putting the welfare of the others above his own happiness, orders the beacon lit. By the time the ship’s crew arrives on the island, Crichton has reverted to his role as butler. Some time later, a ball is held at Loam Hall to celebrate the return of the survivors.

Lord Loam now takes total credit for their success and Wooley has published a book about the adventure, painting himself as the hero. While they all fear that Crichton will expose their incompetence, Lady Brocklehurst, suspecting that something is amiss, decides to uncover what really happened and so assembles the survivors in the drawing room.

When she asks Crichton if they were all equals on the island, he assures her that the social order was preserved.

After the celebration ends, Crichton announces that he plans to leave service because there are “too many Lady Brocklehursts in England.” Crichton explains that he plans to finance a business with the pearls that he pried from the oysters on the island.

When Mary begs him to return to the island with her, he replies that they cannot fight civilization.

Afterward, on the servants’ staircase, Eliza asks Crichton to take her with him. Later, Crichton bids the family farewell and is then joined by his fiancée, Eliza.

Shot at various picturesque locations around the island — including Grape and Horseshoe Bays — between September and December 1956, some of the interiors were filmed at the movie and television production facility built in the old flying boat hangers on Darrell’s Island.

The film was the third most popular movie at the British box office in 1957 and was a critical and popular hit in the US as well where it was released under the title “Paradise Lagoon.”

Ms Howes, now 82 and living in West Palm Beach, was recently greeted by 1,500 adoring fans when she attended a January Turner Classic Movies screening of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” in Florida.

Born into a theatrical family, she made her acting debut as a teenager and went on to appear on Broadway and in the West End in such musical productions “My Fair Lady”, “The Sound Of Music” and “Caprice” as well as dramas like an adaptation of James Joyce’s “The Dead.”

Long-time friends, such as Robert Osborne, host of Turner Classic Movies, rave about her.

“Sally Ann is extremely attractive, level-headed, talented, a credit to both the theatrical profession and womanhood in general,” says Mr. Osborne. “I’ve never heard even a hint of temper tantrums or diva behavior from her; it’s clearly not part of her DNA. She has great respect for the profession that’s always been an integral part of her life and it shows in her work on stage and her outlook off. I’ve been an enormous fan of hers since I saw her light up a theatre in a magnificent production of ‘The Sound of Music,’ and years later she had the same effect on me watching her on Broadway in James Joyce’s ‘The Dead.’

Clips from Portuguese language print of “The Admirable Crichton”

“The one downside is that she consistently preferred to work on stage rather than in films, so we don’t have the huge collection of films to enjoy that we should have. The great plus is the joy she exudes as a human being.”

Ms Howes also considers herself a creature of the stage. “I would have liked a film career, but I didn’t pursue it — I just loved connecting with an audience. The theater is a drug. The problem is that to be remembered, you have to do films.

“I’m pretty well retired now. If anybody asked me my greatest success, it would be my marriage. That is my rock. I’ve seen so much unhappiness in show business — women being ruined by career. I see a lot of lonely actresses, but Douglas [Rae, her husband of 42 years] and I never stop talking. He’s fun.

“The joy of my marriage is like the joy of the theatre — being with creative people. It’s always exciting. I’ve always thought it’s a sin to be dull.”

Gallery of images of Ms Howes from “The Admirable Crichton” Bermuda location shoot:

Video: Merlin’s Excellent Bermuda Adventure

Bernews — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:48:26 +0000

The 1963 Walt Disney animated fantasy “Sword In The Stone” features perhaps the quirkiest plug for Bermuda’s tourism industry ever committed to celluloid — with the eccentric magician Merlin departing for a vacation on the island several hundred years before it was discovered.

Adapted from the novel by T.H. White [1906-1964], “Sword In The Stone” tells the story of the childhood and education of the orphan Wart — the boy who grows up to be King Arthur.

Merlin — who tutors the 12-year-old to be a just and wise monarch rather than the knight’s squire he originally aspires to be — lives backwards in time, frequently complaining about the Dark Ages’ lack of modern conveniences like plumbing and electricity to his befuddled ward.

At one point the legendary enchanter departs for a vacation in 20th century Bermuda — magically transporting himself through time and space with the incantation “Blow me to Bermuda!” — and returns later wearing shorts, sunglasses and tennis shoes [pictured above].

Released to theatres on Christmas Day, 1963 by Buena Vista Distribution, “Sword In The Stone” was the last feature length animated film presided over by Walt Disney before his death three years later.

The novel of the same name was first published in 1938 as a stand-alone book. It was then later republished in 1958 as the first book of T.H. White’s tetralogy “The Once and Future King” which also inspired the 1960 Broadway musical “Camelot.”

The movie’s Bermuda references are taken directly from the book which included many such anachronisms because author Mr. White wanted contemporary readers to more easily identify with the Arthurian myths.

J. K. Rowling has said that T. H. White’s writing strongly influenced her Harry Potter books; several critics have compared Rowling’s character Albus Dumbledore to Mr. White’s absent-minded Merlyn [as the name is spelled in the "Once And Future King" books].

Ms Rowling herself has described Mr. White’s Wart as “Harry’s spiritual ancestor.”

Former school teacher Mr. White modelled Merlyn’s philosophy on that of legendary British headmaster J.F. Roxburgh, who broke with traditional teaching methods to encourage children to think for themselves and pursue their own interests.

Mr. White worked under Mr. Roxburgh [1888-1954] at the British public school Stowe for four years and one literary scholar has said: “Roxburgh when speaking to boys always addressed them as if they were adults and treated them like reasonable human beings …the unconventional special relationship between teacher and taught clearly both influenced White’s attitude to his own pupils and largeky accounts for the confidential tone which dominates the narration of ‘Sword In The Stone’ …

“… In 1930 Roxburgh’s book on education, Eleutheros [meaning 'a free man'] appeared.He shocked the headmasters of other public schools by advocating in it a degree of personal freedom for his boys which went far beyond contemporary norms. The influence of this, as of many other of his ideas, can be seen in the education of Wart …”

Library Screenings Of “Django Unchained”

Bernews — Wed, 01 May 2013 09:43:33 +0000

The Bermuda National Library will be featuring “Django Unchained” — director Quentin Tarantino’s Oscar-winning Western/revenge fantasy — at its “Saturday’s Selection” screenings this weekend [May 4].

The critically acclaimed 2012 film stars Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson.

Set in the antebellum era of the Deep South and Old West, the film follows a freed slave [Mr. Foxx] who treks across the United States with a bounty hunter [Mr. Waltz] on a mission to rescue his wife [Ms Washington] from a cruel plantation owner [Mr. DiCaprio].

“Django Unchained” won Academy Awards earlier this year for Mr. Tarantino’s original screenplay and Mr. Waltz’s supporting role.

The Library will showing the R-rated film at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

BIFF Wins Rave Review From “Filmmaker”

Bernews — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 20:26:54 +0000

While “Sweet 16″ was the theme of this year’s Bermuda International Film Festival [BIFF}, the "vibe seemed more smooth continuation than a coming of age" says "Filmmaker" magazine's Lauren Wissot in a rave review of the recently completed event.

In a review posted online on at the quarterly film magazine's website on Thursday [Apr. 25], Ms Wissot said BIFF once again showcased some of the best and most adventurous independent productions of the past year for Bermuda audiences.

“Like its March 2012 edition, this April BIFF screened an international selection of prestige flicks …,” she said. “In addition to opening night’s ‘Ginger & Rosa’, Bermudians could catch everything from ‘The Act of Killing’ and ‘West of Memphis’, to ‘Rust and Bone’ and ‘Amour’. Not to mention ‘Laurence Anyways’, ‘Beyond the Hills’, ‘Chicken with Plums’, ‘The Angels’ Share’ – and, luckily, [director Thomas] Vinterberg’s ‘The Hunt’, my top pick at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January, where many of these titles also had played.

“Once again the main venue was the cozy Liberty Theatre, though the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute too served up screen time. Mostly I alternated between the feature-length films in the evening and the afternoon shorts programmes.

“Yet I also found myself popping into the festival lounge at Margarita’s for nearly all of the free and enlightening ‘Chats with …’ ’lunchtime discussions. This funky little bar and eatery not far from the scenic harbor proved the perfect place to reconnect with old friends like NYC publicist Susan Norget [who, full disclosure, served on this year’s jury at my recommendation], and make new ones like Cannes-winning director Julia Loktev [who, in turn, served on this year’s jury at Susan’s suggestion].

“Interviewed by National Public Radio’s Peter Rainer, a longtime BIFF-icionado, Susan offered a quite fascinating glimpse into the fast-changing world of indie film publicity. Unlike the Hollywood press-relations machine, whose job it is to keep all but a select friendly few critics away from its films, Susan spoke of her role more as a facilitator, making it as easy as possible for all interested journalists to view the flicks she represents. [And the fact that she only reps films she truly feels passionate about gives her humble operation a built-in integrity missing in the corporate PR firms, at least to my mind].”

For the full review, visit the “Filmmaker” website here.

New Animated Short Is “Homage To Bermuda”

Bernews — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:40:49 +0000

Screening at eight US and international film festivals in the coming weeks, the new animated Bermuda-based short “Telling A You” is set on the island in the 1960s and involves an accidental street corner “meet-cute” between a woman and a man who never forgets this briefest of encounters.

German director/writer Margarethe Baillou — a part-time Bermuda resident — said the man lovingly stores away every detail of the incident, turning a seemingly ordinary moment in time into an extraordinary moment in two people’s lives.

“The plot for ‘Telling A You’ came to me during one of my favorite pastimes: people watching,” she said. “At times of massive streams of information, overstimulation of all senses and people’s constant focus on their smartphones, the guarded modern person has to practice seeing small, precious moments in life that can be anything from amusing to touching or even life-changing: ‘Telling A You’ tells a romantic version of such a moment.

“A man and a woman meet in an everyday moment, yet both take the time and have the courage to stop in time, live in the moment and, whether it will just be making a memory or the beginning of a love story, they take note of one another and witness each other, thus connecting in a most fundamental way. I am often under the impression people have stopped taking time to taste moments like that, for reasons ranging from ‘lack of time’ to sheer fear of disappointment.”

A graduate of the American University in Paris and Columbia University, she said she chose the 1960s as time period for “Telling A You” because of her admiration of its fashion: feminine, elegant dresses and handbags for the ladies and handsome suits ["or, in our case, suit jacket and Bermuda shorts"), ties and hats for men. Even the scooter and scooter helmet designs are based on 1960s originals.

"After three years of deciding on a location, I chose Bermuda as the backdrop for 'Telling A You' due to its captivating colour palette, unique architectural structures and the mere fact that Bermudians still take their time doing things, which I have learned to recognise as a virtuous characteristic rather than an irritating one," she said. "Adding to the anthropological aspect of a specifically located project, we cast two gifted local actors whose voices flavor the audience's journey to Bermuda.

"In sum, 'Telling A You' is my personal audio-visual homage to that tiny country in the middle of the Atlantic, famous for its hospitality, pastel cottages and tranquil steadfastness in today’s hectic world."

The five-minute film features the vocal talents of Bermuda residents Dimitri Philpott and Lexy Correia and Cha’Von K. Clarke of CKC Spotlight Talent Agency and CKC Books was casting director, line producer and publicist for the short film.

New York composer Jody Gray, who scored the film, said: "What an honour for Spotlight Talent Agency and the featured actors to participate in one of Bermuda's first animated narrative shorts! 'Telling A You' is a great tale about the enchantment of love at first sight, and the colourful dialogue brings passion, honour and honesty through the characters.

"The Bermudian voices and setting make this project a true celebration of Bermuda, its people and its warm beauty. To make history on a project that is sure to welcome warm accolades and an enthusiastic audience is an extraordinary opportunity for the participants and the island as a whole."

"Telling A You's" animations and sound design were done by Ireland's Treehouse Republic and Tinpot Productions.

"Modern technology successfully ensured a fantastic workflow between the islands of Manhattan, Bermuda and Ireland for our romantic short film, exemplifying that a love story really has no borders," said Ms Baillou, who also served as the film's producer and production designer.

Ms Baillou heads MYRA [Movement. Youth. Resources. Art.] Entertainment, LLC, an independent, boutique-style film production company based in New York City.

Projects include feature films, documentaries, short films and video art.

Intended to contribute to the well-being of society, and children in particular, all projects are violence-free and aim to be of entertaining, inspirational and educational in character.

Production wrapped on “Telling A You” in January and the short film has already screend at festivals in Hawaii and California.

Between now and June, the film is slated to be shown at festivals in Michigan, Texas, New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Jersey and France.

Bermuda Documentary Wins Top Festival Award

Bernews — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 20:45:48 +0000

Bermudian made documentary “In the Hour of Victory” has won the top award in the “Feature Documentaries” category at WorldFest Houston International Film Festival, the oldest independent film festival in the world.

The film, co-directed by local documentarians Lucinda Spurling and Andrew Kirkpatrick of Afflare Films and based on the book of the same name by Jonathan Smith, tells the story of Bermudian Major Toby Smith during World War II [1939-1945].

Untouched for 50 years, a family finds a bundle of letters setting them on a journey into their past, and the rediscovery of a tragic love story amid the turmoil of World War II.

“Only about 10 percent of the near 2,000 films submitted for the festival even made it to screening, so to emerge with the top award is testament to what a great story this is and the hard work of the directors,” said an announcement posted at the book’s official Facebook page today [Apr. 23].

Earlier this month it was announced that “In The Hour of Victory” had been selected to screen at the prestigious 46th Annual WorldFest in Texas and that it had also been selected as a finalist in the feature-length documentary category.

Trailer for “In The Hour of Victory”

Major Toby Smith lost his life at the Battle of Overloon during the final Allied push for victory in 19445. The film weaves a haunting portrait etched in Major Smith’s own words through the letters he lovingly and dutifully wrote his wife and five children as he agonised over loyalty to them and the war against the Nazis during four years of service abroad.

At the time the film was selected for the Texas festival, Ms Spurling said: “Our acceptance into WorldFest Houston and to be a finalist for one of their top awards is a great validation of all of our hard work and Jonathan Smith’s vision and commitment to the project. We hope this screening will be the first in a series of international screenings. Our ultimate goal is also for the film to be broadcast internationally. Both Jonathan and I will be attending WorldFest [they are pictured together at the festival at top].”

Former Police Commissioner and Progressive Labour Party Senator Jonathan Smith, author and speaking for the publisher, TenTen Publications, added: “We are delighted that our film, a Bermuda film, has been selected.”

“To read a soldier’s story seven decades later is one thing. To have it screened in front of an international audience is another. We’ve been committed to this project since inception. We knew there was a compelling story of love, leadership, courage and commitment there; now it’s time to share it with a global audience.”

“In the Hour of Victory” also screened at this year’s Bermuda International Film Festival [BIFF] on April 13.

Copies of the book and DVD of “In the Hour of Victory” are available at The Book Mart, Brown & Co., The Bermuda Book Store, Queen Street, Hamilton.

DemBiez: New Documentary On Homelessness

Bernews — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 15:43:02 +0000

In February singers Jumar Hayward and Cahlii Smith of the DemBiez production team took to the streets of Hamilton — literally — to gain a first-hand understanding of what life is like for Bermuda’s homeless population.

They are in the process of completing a full-length documentary on their two-day odyssey of homelessness and posted a 20 minute segment at their Facebook page yesterday [Apr. 20].

“Facebook only lets you upload a maximum of 20 minute of video,” said a Dembiez spokesman.”… But we are getting a longer version on Dvd’s to take schools and so people can view it.

“Also working on having it debut on some local stations … A special thanks to AlickFilms Donryco for editing the video! We hope we can spread a little hope and restore faith in Bermuda in various ways. Even though we are a music label there are so many ways to reach out and everyone can use their talent towards something positive.”

DemBiez was officially launched last December when Mr. Smith, Mr. Hayward, Shomari Warner and Coshaun Evans discovered they had a talent for creating and writing music together.

The production team is currently signing local talent from ages 14 to 20 under and assisting them with song writing, singing, music videos and photo shoots.

Segment from forthcoming DemBiez documentary on homelessness

Aspiring Bermuda Filmmaker Uploads New Short

Bernews — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 10:22:04 +0000

Directed and co-written by aspiring Bermudian filmmaker Kyle Dill, the short film “Breathe” was recently uploaded on YouTube.

Former Berkeley Institute student Mr. Dill — who is now enrolled to study at the Vancouver Film School — crafted the plot with Talisa Marks, who also produced.

The story focuses on Tasha, who has experienced her boyfriend cheating on her more than once in her relationship, and she’s jealous. But after she removes herself from the situation, she realises past continues to haunt her.

The four-and-a-half minute short features an array of Bermuda talent both in front of and behind the camera and was shot at various locations around the island.

“Breathe”, directed and co-written by Kyle Dill

Outerbridge Among 2013 BIFF Award Winners

Deb — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 18:17:45 +0000

The winners of the jury and audience choice awards were announced last night [Apr. 18] at the Wrap Party of the “Sweet 16th” annual Bermuda International Film Festival [BIFF] held at Margaritas, with aspiring Bermuda movie producer Bayard Outerbridge [pictured] walking away with a prize for his American Film Institute thesis film “Machsom.”

“Machsom,” which premiered at BIFF during its Bermovies festival-within-a-festival at BUEI, won with a Special Jury Prize. The film, also known as “Checkpoint,” tracks the daily life of a 19-year-old Israeli soldier stationed at one of West Bank’s most dangerous checkpoints.

Juror Julia Loktev said “Machsom” demonstrated “an appreciation of restraint and contradiction. It addressed an important subject, which could have been easily overdone and clichéd, but the angle it took was not obvious and thought-provoking.”

Mr. Outerbridge is the first Bermudian to attend the prestigious American Film Institute Conservatory’s Master of Fine Arts programme; “Machsom” involved Mr. Outerbridge and fellow students Jonas Sacks, Frederic Richter, Xue [Fox] Yin and Joel Novoa taking on the cinematographic, writing, editing, directing and production chores of an original film as a thesis requirement.

The jury selected the British short film, “Indoor,” as the winner of the coveted Bermuda Shorts Award from over 30 contenders, selected to screen in-competition by the BIFF programming team from over 500 entries received from all over the world. As BIFF is one of a small number of Academy Award qualifying film festivals worldwide, “Indoor” is now eligible for a Short Film – Live Action Oscar nomination in 2014.

Directed by Adam Townley and Simon Atkinson, the 15-minute film is about a young boy in a windswept seaside community encouraging a girl, who initially refuses to go outside and with good reason, to join him on a kite-flying mission. The film screened to the public as part of the Fantasia short film package at BIFF.

BIFF’s Andrew Stoneham with 2013 jurors Julia Loktev and Eva Orner

The 2013 BIFF jury comprised of Academy and Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker, Eva Orner; multi industry award-winning feature and documentary filmmaker, Julia Loktev; and reputable independent film publicist, Susan Norget.

Lead juror, Eva Orner, said “Indoor” was a “surprising, fresh and sweet short film based on an original idea. The children’s acting abilities were extraordinary. We like the fact that the film maintained its simplicity and was self-contained as many filmmakers make the mistake of trying to squeeze too much into a short. Townley and Atkinson set a definite tone and maintained it and the end result was a beautiful and complete story.”

The jury also gave a Special Prize to “Brave Girl” directed by Erin Galey, which screened to the public in front of a feature at BUEI. It tells the tale of a 13-year-old Nepali girl, travelling with a family friend from her Himalyan home to her first job in the city.

Julia Loktev said: “This was an ambitious film that tackles something really significant. As it takes you on a journey, you think you know which direction it will take but then it holds back from taking a predictable corner. The acting performances were very natural and avoided melodrama.”

In addition, BIFF also ran a balloting system to identify the winners of the Audience Choice Best Feature and Best Short at BIFF 2013. Audience members scored each film on a scale of one to five and the votes were counted at the conclusion of the festival.

The audience selected Closing Film, “Girl Most Likely,” which screened last night at 7pm as the best feature of BIFF 2013. Starring Kristen Wiig, Annette Bening, Matt Dillon and Darren Criss from Glee, Girl Most Likely premiered at Toronto International Film Festival and is not released in the US until July so BIFF programmers were thrilled to have secured it for Bermuda audiences to see this week.

This charming comedy sees Wiig take on the role of Imogene, a special sort of underachiever, as a playwright once thought to be destined for greatness, but who has spent most of her twenties and thirties frittering away her talent and opportunities. Things can only go up from here, and they do in this wildly quirky and weirdly optimistic comic character study.

The audience voted British short, “This is Vanity,” as the best short of this year’s festival. The film screened to the public as part of the “Reel Britannia” short film package at BIFF.

Loosely based on a true story, it follows a young mother struggling to protect herself and her disabled teenage daughter from the constant violence and abuse from the local kids on the estate where they live.

The film’s director, Oliver Goodrum, and writer, Alexander Craig, came to Bermuda to attend BIFF 2013 and participated in a Q&A session following the screening of their film.

Over 50 short, fictional features and documentaries films screened at BIFF 2013, held from April 12-18. The lineup included Oscar and Golden Globe award-winning Foreign Language film, “Amour” as well as several Cannes award winners.

Over 2,000 cinema seats were filled by BIFF during festival week. BIFF 2013 also included an education element with BIFF Kids “Books to Film” sessions attended by primary school students and the Reel Kids documentary screenings and Director’s Q&A via Skype attended by local middle and high school students.

Library To Screen Documentary “Life & Debt”

Bernews — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:45:14 +0000

Continuing its “Saturday Selections” film series, the Bermuda National Library will be showing director Stephanie Black’s 2001 documentary film “Life & Debt” tomorrow [Apr. 20].

The film focusses on the economic and social situation in Jamaica, and specifically the impact of International Monetary Fund and the World Bank’s globalisation policies on the island nation

Incoporating excerpts from the award-winning non-fiction text “A Small Place” by Jamaica Kincaid, “Life & Debt” weaves a tapestry of sequences focussing on the stories of individual Jamaicans whose strategies for survival and parameters of day-to-day existence are determined by the US and other foreign economic agendas.

By combining traditional documentary telling with a stylised narrative framework, the complexity of international lending, structural adjustment policies and free trade will be understood in the context of the day-to-day realities of the people whose lives they impact.

The Library is offering two showings of this film at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Kristen Wiig Stars In BIFF Closing Night Film

Bernews — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:02:36 +0000

The 2013 Bermuda International Film Festival wraps up tonight [Apr. 18] with a screening of the forthcoming Kristen Wiig-Annette Bening comedy “Girl Most Likely” as its closing movie.

“Girl Most Likely” — then provisionally titled “Imogene” — premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival last September and doesn’t get released in the US until July. Comedienne Ms Wiig — a longtime “Saturday Night Live” cast member and the star and co-writer of the hit movie “Bridesmaids” received rhapsodic reviews in Toronto for her performance in the quirky “Girl Most Likely.”

“We are really excited about this year’s closing film,” said a BIFF spokesman. “We are thrilled to have secured it for Bermuda audiences to see this week.”

It takes a special sort of underachiever to match the feats of Imogene [Kristen Wiig], a playwright once thought to be destined for greatness, but who has spent most of her twenties and thirties frittering away her talent and opportunities. She’s just about hit bottom, having staged a suicide attempt in a desperate bid to hold on to her philandering boyfriend — it’s about the only thing she’s staged in a very long time. And it’s not a hit.

Things can only go up from here, and they do in this wildly quirky and weirdly optimistic comic character study.

After her fake suicide attempt, Imogene is remanded to the custody of her mother [Annette Bening], a blowsy, overbearing gambling addict with a friendly but somewhat seedy goof of a boyfriend [Matt Dillon] who claims to be working for the Central Intelligence Agency.

The film screens at the Liberty Theatre at 7 p.m. and tickets are available at www.premierticketsglobal.com

Following the screening, BIFF will be holding its annual wrap party at the Margarita Bar & Grill on Bermudiana Road from 9 p.m. until the wee hours.

Preview trailer for “Girl Most Likely”

Photos: BIFF 2013 “Sweet Sixteen” Launch Party

Bernews — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:22:36 +0000

The Bermuda International Film Festival kicked off the 2013 event by throwing itself a “Sweet 16″-themed launch party last Friday [Apr. 12]. Margaritas on Bermudiana Road hosted the Hollywood-inspired party to mark the sixteenth anniversary of BIFF.

BIFF attendees rubbed shoulders with visiting film directors and actors, jury members, the overseas film media and other movie industry movers and shakers.

“There was no cover charge as BIFF wanted the public to come along, soak up the atmosphere and celebrate one of the island most exciting cultural events,” said a film festival spokesman.

BIFF wraps up tomorrow [Apr. 18] with this year’s closing film “Girl Most Likely” starring Kristen Wiig, Annette Bening and Matt Dillon.

The comedy, which premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, doesn’t get released in the US until July.

That screening will be followed by a wrap party at Margaritas from 9 p.m. until the wee hours.

Photos courtesy of BIFF, click to enlarge:

– Photographs courtesy of the Bermuda International Film Festival

Irving Berlin And Bermuda’s Easter Parade

Bernews — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 15:51:48 +0000

Quintessential American songwriter Irving Berlin [pictured] — and his battered piano — arrived in Bermuda in 1933 in time for the Easter season and the annual floral pageant which used to wind its way through the streets of Hamilton.

He left the island five weeks later with one of his hallmark songs sketched out — the seasonal classic “Easter Parade.”

The precursor to the modern Heritage Day Parade, the Bermuda Floral Pageant — also known as the Easter Parade — was established in the 1930s as both a carnival-type celebration of spring and to showcase the island’s still-vibrant agricultural industry.

Boasting dozens of floats decorated with freshly cut flowers, marching bands, majorettes and equestrians the Bermuda Easter Parade became widely celebrated internationally; consultants from Pasadena visited the island to study the local event when that California city’s was attempting to rejuvenate its venerable Parade of Roses in the 1950s.

Vintage post card of a Bermuda floral pageant

It’s been said of Irving Berlin that he was the American songbook, having written such classic standards as “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”, “White Christmas”, “God Bless America” and “There’s No Business Like Show Business” over the course of a career which spanned more than seven decades.

The Russian born songwriter first emerged as a Tin Pan Alley tunesmith in pre-World War One New York City, selling his ragtime compositions to band leaders before he began to specialise in simple, romantic ballads which made him a staple of Broadway and Hollywood musicals for decades.

Mr. Berlin [1888-1989] — a regular visitor to Bermuda from the ’30s through the ’60s — came to the island in 1933 with collaborator Moss Hart to work on the Broadway revue “As Thousands Cheer.”

A starring vehicle for African-American singer/actress Ethel Waters, “As Thousand Cheer” consisted of a series of musical sketches lampooning the headlines and celebrities of the day.

The Irving Berlin hits which came from the revue included “Easter Parade”, “Heat Wave,” “Suppertime” and “Harlem On My Mind.”

“There, in the most idyllic land [Bermuda] that one can possibly imagine and one designed by nature for the convenience and inspiration of writers,” Moss Hart later said, ” we completed the first act and laid out the second in less than a month.”

While on the island, Mr. Berlin and Mr. Hart began studying newspapers to find topical material for their sketches and Bermuda colour slipped into more than one song in a show that became the sensation of the 1933 Broadway season.

In a partial reprise of “Heat Wave” performed at the finale of the show, the lyrics include a direct reference to what was still Bermuda’s most celebrated agricultural export in the early 20th century:

“Not for all the onions in Bermuda
Or the cheeses that are made by the Swiss
Would I exchange that first kiss
That you gave me …”

While in Bermuda, Mr. Berlin worked on the ancient second-hand piano he had bought in 1909.

Mr. Berlin once said the instrument had a “varied and exciting career” since he insisted on shipping it with him whenever he travelled — including to Bermuda when he was working on “As Thousands Cheer.”

“I took it to Bermuda when I went there with Moss Hart to write,” he said. “It arrived at Hamilton pier with half the hammers out of place and a British tuner sweated over it for a week before he could get it in working condition …”

Mr. Berlin originally wrote the melody for what became “Easter Parade” in 1917, under the title “Smile and Show Your Dimple.” The song flopped but the composer filed away the melody for later use.

After being featured in “As Thousands Cheers”, “Easter Parade” was sung by Bing Crosby in the film Holiday Inn [1942] and was performed by Judy Garland and Fred Astaire in the 1948 musical film of the same name, which was constructed around the song.

The song was also featured in the 1976 animated special “The First Easter Rabbit” produced by Bermudian Arthur Rankin and has since become a standard.

“Easter Parade” performed by Judy Garland and Fred Astaire

Film Writer: BIFF’s “All-Star Game Philosophy”

Bernews — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 14:48:02 +0000

Independent film website Indiewire says that in relative terms if the venerable New York Film Festival were as successful as the Bermuda International Film Festival [BIFF] – which opened on Friday [Apr. 12] — about two million people would crowd into the Lincoln Center for its annual screenings.

In a glowing piece about BIFF — which celebrates its sixteenth anniversary in 2013 — Indiewire’s John Anderson today [Apr. 14] said that a number of legitimate comparisons could be drawn between the long-established New York event and the boutique-scale Bermuda film festival.

“… The two fests really do [have] real-world things in common, like a combination of curatorial flair and all-star game philosophy: With population of only 64,000, and no year-round arthouse on the island, BIFF serves a hungry little audience with what amounts to a menu of [the last year’s] greatest hits, which otherwise wouldn’t get here.

“Like “Amour,” “Rust and Bone,” “The Law in These Parts,” “West of Memphis,” “Beyond the Hills,” and the sensational [in every sense] “The Act of Killing,” which doesn’t even open stateside for another six weeks.”

Mr. Anderson went on to praise BIFF’s annual selection of short films — an Oscar-qualifying festival, it received 500 submissions this year before winnowing the final field down to 30.

“As someone who has juried about 50 hours of shorts in the last two months, this writer can say safely the quality is rather high,” said Mr. Anderson.

National Museum Salutes BIFF Opening Day

Bernews — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 16:39:00 +0000

To salute the opening day of the 2013 Bermuda International Film Festival [BIFF], the Bermuda National Museum yesterday [Apr.12] uploaded a gallery of rare production sketches and storyboards from the locally produced 1977 blockbuster “The Deep” at its Facebook page.

Based on the bestselling novel by Peter Benchley and shot primarily in Bermuda in the summer of 1976, ”The Deep” starred the late Robert Shaw as St. David’s treasure diver Romer Treece — a character modelled on the real Bermudian maritime explorer and historian Teddy Tucker.

Co-starring Oscar winner Louis Gossett Jr., Jacqueline Bisset and Nick Nolte, the film’s production crew was based at Dockyard.

Full-scale interior sets of Romer Treece’s lighthouse home were constructed in empty Royal Navy warehouses at Dockyard which served as vast ersatz sound stages for the production crew.

The National Museum itself [then the Bermuda Maritime Museum] stood in for the Hamilton Library in scenes involving Ms Bisset and Mr. Nolte’s characters researching the graves of ships wrecked on Bermuda’s reefs.

“At a mere 22 miles long and an average of one mile wide, water is almost everywhere you look in Bermuda,” said “The Deep’s” producer Peter Guber in an account of the making of the film. “The South Shore is one gorgeous pink beach after another, all overlooking that vast turquoise sea.

“… Bermuda looks like a gorgeous botanical garden gone mad. And the rainbow-coloured Bermudian houses fit right into this picture postcard of a landscape, nestling cozily amid the greenery like Easter eggs in a bed of moss.

“All in all, Bermuda has such a clean, bright almost unnaturally colourful beauty, that it inspired our production designer Tony Masters to sputter bemusedly, on an early location recce, ‘It’s hard to find locations that look real here — this whole place looks like one giant movie set’!”

Anthony Masters’ production sketch from “The Deep”

But Mr. Masters — who won an Academy Award for his work on Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece “2001: A Space Odyssey” — eventually found his locations: a full-scale replica of the St. David’s Lighthouse was constructed at a desolate spot on Coney Island; Marley Beaches and Ariel Sands substituted for Mr. Benchley’s fictional cottage colony, The Orange Grove Club; and the Southampton Arms bar became the hang-out for Treece’s treacherous sidekick, Adam Coffin [played by Eli Wallach].

Louis Gossett Jr. and henchman plot some villainy at Cup Match in “The Deep”

A chase sequence [Mr. Nolte and Ms Bisset being pursued on rental Mobylettes by a forwarding van — quite a comedown for director Peter Yates, who choreographed Steve McQueen’s legendary high-speed pursuit of the villains in “Bullitt”] was staged on Langton Hill and near Mangrove Bay.

And Wellington Oval was cast as itself for the Cup Match sequence.

While underwater footage for the film was shot in the waters off the British Virgin Islands and Australia, most of the diving sequences were filmed in a huge tank constructed at the West End — what was then the largest set of its kind in the world.

Bermuda National Museum sketches and storyboards from “The Deep”

– Drawings courtesy of the Bermuda National Museum

Video: Jonathan Winters’ “Passage To Bermuda”

Bernews — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 13:57:38 +0000

Antic funnyman Jonathan Winters — whose inspired flights of comedic fancy were once famously recruited in the service of Bermuda’s sedate tourism industry — died on Thursday [Apr. 11] at his home in California. He was 87.

In 1963 Mr. Winters [pictured] was deliberately cast very much against type when he hosted and narrated “Passage To Bermuda”, a half-hour promotional film produced by the island’s Trade Development Board.

Widely shown in cinemas, on US and Canadian TV as well as at service club meetings, “Passage To Bermuda” was a good-humoured effort to shake up the island’s staid marketing by injecting some of Mr. Winters’ frenetic energy into the proceedings.

Mr. Winters visited island on a number of other occasions to participate in the Bermuda Light Tackle Fishing Tournament.

“A one-man sketch factory, Mr. Winters could re-enact Hollywood movies, complete with sound effects, or create sublime comic nonsense with simple props like a pen-and-pencil set,” said a “New York Times” obituary of the groundbreaking comic. “The unpredictable, often surreal quality of his humor had a powerful influence on later comedians like Robin Williams but made him hard to package as an entertainer. His brilliant turns as a guest on programs like ‘The Steve Allen Show’ and ‘The Tonight Show’ — in both the Jack Paar and Johnny Carson eras — kept him in constant demand.

Jonathan Winters 1963 tourism promotional film “Passage To Bermuda”

“But a successful television series eluded him, as did a Hollywood career, despite memorable performances in films like ‘It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World’, ‘The Loved One’ and ‘The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming’ …”

A pioneer of improvisational stand-up comedy in the early 1960s with a gift for mimicry, various personlities and a seemingly bottomless reservoir of creative energy, one-time “Tonight Show” host Jack Paars said of Mr. Winters, “If you were to ask me the funniest 25 people I’ve ever known, I’d say, ‘Here they are — Jonathan Winters’.”

Mr. Winters received 11 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album nominations during his career, and won the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Comedy Album in 1996.

In 1991, Mr. Winters earned an Emmy Award for his supporting role in “Davis Rules.”

In 2002, he earned an Emmy nomination as a guest star in a comedy series for “Life With Bonnie.”

In 1999, he was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humour and in 2008 Mr. Winters was presented with a Pioneer TV Land Award by Robin Williams.

Jonathan Winters in the St. George’s stocks in “Passage To Bermuda” [1963]

“Bermuda Triangle” Action Franchise Planned

Bernews — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 10:15:29 +0000

Hollywood studio Warner Brothers has closed a mid-six figure deal for “The Bermuda Triangle”, an original script by “12 Rounds” screenwriter Daniel Kunka.

While the plot is being kept under wraps, the Deadline Hollywood entertainment website reports the intention is “to use the Bermuda Triangle mythology – planes and ships mysteriously vanishing — and turn it into a tent pole action franchise.”

The film will be a co-production between Atlas Entertainment and Madhouse Entertainment. Atlas’s Charles Roven and Richard Suckle will produce with Madhouse’s Adam Kolbrenner. Andy Horwitz of Atlas and Robyn Meisinger of Madhouse executive producing. Jon Berg will shepherd the project at Warner Brothers, which will distribute the finished film.

Prolific screenwriter Mr. Kunka most recently sold “Crime Of The Century” to Universal with Dan Trachtenberg directing and Chris Morgan producing, and he also sold “Agent Ox” to Sony Pictures and Original Film.

Atlas has the Superman franchise relaunch “Man Of Steel” coming this summer; Madhouse is producing the Hugh Jackman-Jake Gyllenhaal picture “Prisoners” for Alcon Entertainment.

The Bermuda Triangle has become one of Hollywood’s hottest properties in recent years, with at least six major film projects announced that are due to be set in the mysterious stretch of Atlantic bounded by the island, Miami and Puerto Rico.

One multi-million fantasy film with a Bermuda Triangle-themed plot — Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters – will be released in August.

The term “Bermuda Triangle” was coined in the February, 1964 issue of “Argosy”; the magazine carried an article by Vincent Gaddis entitled “The Deadly Bermuda Triangle” which argued that the US Navy’s Flight 19 and other disappearances were part of a pattern of strange events in the region.

Bermudian Film Shortlisted For WorldFest Award

Bernews — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 17:32:52 +0000

Bermudian made documentary ‘In the Hour of Victory’ has been selected to screen at the prestigious 46th Annual WorldFest Houston International Film Festival in Texas later this month, and has also been selected as a finalist for one of their top awards.

The film, which is based on the book of the same title by Jonathan Smith, tells the story of Bermudian Major ‘Toby’ Smith during World War II. Untouched for fifty years, a family finds a bundle of letters setting them on a journey into their past, and the rediscovery of a tragic love story amid the turmoil of World War II.

Trailer for In The Hour Of Victory:

Major Toby Smith lost his life at the Battle of Overloon during the final Allied push for victory. The film weaves a haunting portrait etched in Major Smith’s own words through the letters he lovingly and dutifully wrote his wife and five children as he agonized over loyalty to them and the war against the Nazis during four years of service abroad. This firsthand account uniquely re-captures the war-time era and its impact on a family, leaving a lasting legacy of what it means to serve ones King and Country.

In the Hour of Victory was co-directed by Andrew Kirkpatrick and Lucinda Spurling of Afflare Films. Ms Spurling said, “Our acceptance into WorldFest Houston and to be a finalist for one of their top awards is a great validation of all of our hard work and Jonathan Smith’s vision and commitment to the project. We hope this screening will be the first in a series of international screenings. Our ultimate goal is also for the film to be broadcast internationally. Both Jonathan and I will be attending WorldFest.”

Former Police Commissioner and PLP Senator Jonathan Smith, author and speaking for the publishers, TenTen Publications, added: “We are delighted that our film, a Bermuda film, has been selected.”

‘In the Hour of Victory’ was nominated to receive one of the prestigious REMI awards in one of its feature film categories at this year’s WorldFest 2013. The film also screens at this year’s Bermuda International Film Festival at BUEI at 3:45pm on Saturday, April 13th.

Copies of the book and DVD of In the Hour of Victory are available at The Book Mart, Brown & Co., The Bermuda Book Store, Queen Street, Hamilton

Short Film Festival: BIFF Appoints All-Female Jury

Deb — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:09:12 +0000

An all-female jury will preside over this year’s short film competition which forms part of Bermuda International Film Festival [BIFF] being held April 12-18. BIFF is one of a small number of Academy Award qualifying festivals worldwide, the winner of the Bermuda Shorts Award will therefore be considered for the Short Film [Live Action] Oscar in 2014.

The 2013 jury is headed up by Academy and Emmy Award-winning Australian documentary filmmaker, Eva Orner.

Ms Orner’s most recently wrapped feature, “The Network”, will be screening at BIFF 2013.

The film, which had its world premiere at SXSW in March, goes behind the scenes at the largest and most successful television network in Afghanistan – one of the most unstable and dangerous places on the planet.

Ms Orner’s producing credits include “Taxi to the Dark Side”, “Gonzo: The Life and Works of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson”, “The Human Behaviour Experiments” and “Herbie Handcock’s Possibilities.”

Her work has screened at leading film festivals around the world including Cannes, Sundance, Tribeca and Sydney. She has worked with people as varied as Johnny Depp to Sheryl Crow and Graydon Carter.

Trailer for Eva Orner’s “The network” [2012] is screening at BIFF

BIFF also welcomes multi-award-winning film director, Julia Loktev, to the jury. Her latest film “The Loneliest Planet” [2011], about an engaged couple’s backpacking trip that become derailed, won the Grand Jury Prize at the AFI Film Festival and was selected for many film festivals included New York, Toronto and Locarno.

Ms Loktev’s first documentary feature, “Moment of Impact” [1998], won several prizes including the Directing Award at Sundance and the Grand Prize at Cinema Du Reel in Paris. Her fictional debut, “Day Night Day Night” [2006] premiered at Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes where it won the Youth Prize and went on to win the Louve D’Or at Montreal Festival du Nouveau Cinema, Best New Director at Chicago International Film Festival and the Someone to Watch prize at the Independent Spirit Award.

Born in Russia but now based in New York, Ms Loktev also makes multiple-screen video visual art installations that have been exhibited in London, New York, Munich, Spain and Japan. She was recently awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Susan Norget, a highly successful New York-based film publicist, rounds out the jury. Her company, Susan Norget Film Promotion, is committed to representing the work of the world’s most visionary foreign filmmakers, American independents and documentarians. Award-winning directors championed by the company range from established favourites including Lars Von Trier ["Melancholia", "Dogville", "Dancer in the Dark"]; Werner Herzog, whose “Into the Abyss” screened at BIFF 2012; and the Dardennes Brothers, who directed “A Kid with a Bike” that screened at Bifflix in May 2012. The agency also represents newer talent like Andrea Arnold, whose “Wuthering Heights” screened at BIFF 2012 and whose short film, “Wasp”, won the Bermuda Shorts Award in 2004 and went on to win the Short Film Oscar.

Films that Ms Norget’s agency has promoted have consistently been honoured with top international awards, including four Best Documentary Oscars, three Golden Globes, several top Cannes and Sundance awards, as well as dozens of Independent Spirit and Gotham Award prizes. Other films represented by her agency with a BIFF connection include Beyond the Hills, which screens at BIFF 2013; Pina, which screened at BIFF 2012; and Certified Copy, which screened at BIFFlix in October 2011.

The jury will watch 30 shorts screening at BIFF 2013 either before a feature presentation or as part of four themed short film programmes [see www.biff.bm for scheduling information]. The competition shorts were selected from over 500 entries by BIFF’s programming team of David O’Beirne, Andrew Stoneham, Alex MacDonald and Dawn Robinson. Entries were received from all over the world and feature a huge array of characters including a rogue scientist, a Somali refugee, a World War I soldier, an explorer in the North Pole, a professional safecracker and the Queen’s dog walker.

David O’Beirne, BIFF’s Programming Director, said: “We were bowled over by the quality and volume of short films submitted this year. We are using well-known industry software, Withoutabox, for the first time this year to allow online submissions, which has helped to streamline the process and offer budding filmmakers across the globe a chance to screen in Bermuda. Feedback tells us that BIFF has a great reputation amongst filmmakers and that is something we are very proud of. We are delighted to once again be welcoming several overseas filmmakers to the island to attend their screenings and offer Q&A sessions.”

During festival week, over 50 films will screen at BIFF 2013. Tickets are available online at www.ptix.bm or at the BIFF Box Office located at Freisenbruch-Meyer, 75 Front St, Hamilton, open weekdays 11am-2pm.

BIFF’s Hamilton Box Office Opens Today

Bernews — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 14:07:17 +0000

The physical Bermuda International Film Festival [BIFF] box office opens today [Apr. 8] in the main lobby at Freisenbruch Meyer at 75 Front Street, Hamilton.

Opening hours are 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. weekdays.

The online BIFF Box Office remains open on a 24-hour-a-day basis at www.ptix.bm and a fully interactive online guide featuring the entire 2013 line-up can be accessed at www. biff.bm/film-guide

Now in its 16th year, BIFF 2013 runs from Friday, April 12 until Thursday, April 18.

Actress Recalls Her “Bermuda Love Triangle”

Bernews — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 14:15:58 +0000

She played one of the most captivating and intriguing femme fatales in the history of daytime television — and the mystery of Cassandra Rawlins was finally resolved at the conclusion of what remains one of the medium’s top-rated storylines, “The Bermuda Love Triangle”, shot on location on the island.

With her sculpted Scandinavian features and lion’s mane of tawny blonde hair, Norwegian-American actress Nina Arvsesen was an immediate stand-out when she joined CBS’ “The Young & The Restless” in 1988 — a daytime drama never wanting for alluring actresses.

But it was the fact she was a throwback to the classic 1940s film noir anti-heroines played by the likes Gene Tierney, Barbara Stanwyck and Rita Hayworth rather than just her classical elegance which grabbed the attention of audiences — and sent the venerable soap opera’s ratings ticking upwards.

Ms Arvesen brought an edgy intensity and enigmatic quality — what’s been referred to as “beauty lurking in the shadows” – to the role of Cassandra; her impenetrable air of mystery stood in stark contrast to the actress’ super-abundance of outdoor good looks and the furlongs of toned legs which seemed to go on forever.

Born in the United States to a Norwegian career diplomat and his former actress wife, Ms Arvesen grew up all over the world as a result of her father’s international postings.

“Before I moved back to the United States, I’d had my own talk show in Norway for three years and I had worked as an actress in Egypt, Brazil, Costa Rica and Norway,” she told Bernews. “I made the decision to leave Norway in 1986 to pursue my dream of pursuing an acting career in the United States ..

“But the casting directors in the United States refused to accept my overseas acting credits, so when I moved to the US I had to start all over again as an actress; I finally got my first US acting credit — and my Screen Actors Guild [SAG] membership card — in the 1987 movie “Dragnet” with Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks.”

Ms Arvesen — a classically trained pianist who also studied ballet as a youngster — joined the cast of “The Young & The Restless” the following year.

“I’d been testing for soaps for quite some time,” she said. “I’d read for the ABC soaps in New York, for ‘General Hospital and ‘Bold and the Beautiful’ when they were first casting.

“Then I heard ‘Young and the Restless’ was casting for Cassandra. I went to the audition and wound up getting the part.”

Originally conceived by series creator William Bell as a scheming Black Widow-type murderess, the character of Cassandra became more nuanced — and far more compelling — as her role expanded.

In the 1990 “Bermuda Triangle” storyline, haunted architect Cassandra Rawlins is meeting a mysterious stranger called Adrian Hunter who blackmails her into marriage after she tells him she is desperate to leave Genoa City and start a new life.

Having already committed the perfect crime by-framing Cassandra’s former lover — private detective Paul Williams [Doug Davidson] — for the death of her former husband George, Cassandra takes off with Adrian for a Bermuda vacation.

But things go downhill fast when she arrives on the island; Cassandra starts hearing the voice of Paul, who she believes has committed suicide.

But Paul — very much alive and actually on the island with his policeman father Carl — are in hot pursuit of the pair. Paul and his dad torment Cassandra — who they still believe may have been involved in her husband’s murder — by staging a series of ghostly visions of Paul to try and send her over the edge.

To make matter worse Adrian is plotting to kill Cassandra so he can inherit the George Rawlins multi-million dollar estate.

The show made a great choice for its first shoot outside the United States,” said Ms Arvesen. “This was my first opporrtunity to get to go to Bermuda.

“The trip to Bermuda was the ultimate adventure for me — I think Bermuda is the most beautiful island in the world! And I still receive thousands of fan letters and emails from fans all over the world who want to see ‘The Young and the Restless’ return to the Bermuda to for another storyline .”

CBS Studio Centre, located in Studio City, California, shipped the cast and crew and a dozen truckloads of equipment to Bermuda for the location shoot.

“Life in Bermuda was great, I really enjoyed it,” said Ms Arvesen. “I was lucky enough to work in Bermuda for for 10 days.

“But it was hard work. The cast and crew actually worked 18 hours a day in Bermuda. After we first arrived in Bermuda, the shooting of the outdoor scenes had to be cancelled and re-arranged due to a few rainy days.”

Ms Arvesen — who speaks six languages fluently as a result of her peripatetic childhood — said she still looks back with fondness at her days in Bermuda.

“I had an opportunity to meet some of the best people in Bermuda,” she said. “Bermuda truly put me on the map I made headlines in all the newspapers in 1990 when ‘The Bermuda Love Triangle’ achieved the number one ratings status.”

Bermudian Wendi Nixon-Fiedler, whose production house Panatel helped to coordinate the local end of the daytime drama’s Bermuda shoot, said the island not only gained worldwide exposure thanks to the picturesque footage featured in the “Young & The Restless” episodes but also received a welcome boost to the economy.

“I remember this well,” she has posted. “We [ended up] employing 150-plus Bermudians for this production from personal assistants/runners, wardrobe, stylists, camera crew, gaffer, grips, caterers and some serious Bermuda on-camera talent [ranging from veteran hotel and nightclub entertainer Gene Steede to lawyer/playwright Warren Cabral].

“It was demanding and great fun!”

Ms Arvesen — who went on to appear in the NBC soap opera “Santa Barbara” after leaving “The Young & The Restless” — is now retired from acting and runs a dance studio in Santa Monica, California.

But her days in Bermuda are never far from her thoughts — or those of the legions of “Young & The Restless” fans around the world.

“The’ Bermuda Love Triangle’ storyline and the elaborate George Rawlins murder mystery seems to have made the greatest impact on ‘Young & The Restless’ viewers worldwide who still remember its vivid characters,” she said. “After more than 20 years, the Bermuda plot has demonstrated it still has remarkable staying power!”

The Empire Strikes Back At Lucas In Bermuda

Bernews — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 12:03:52 +0000

The empire struck back when “Star Wars” creator George Lucas was in Bermuda recently — with the acclaimed filmmaker falling under the spell of “Downton Abbey”, the phenomenally successful period drama about a wealthy household’s struggle to adapt as the sun slowly sets on the British Empire.

Peter Bradshaw — a columnist for the UK’s “Guardian” newspaper — was talking with the director of “American Graffiti” and “Star Wars” along with fellow film journalists Philip Franch and Nick James at a reception hosted by the Queen on Wednesday [Apr. 3]

“Lucas talked animatedly with Philip about ‘American Graffiti’ for a while but it was a whimsical question from Nick that opened up a new avenue,” Mr. Bradshaw reports.”Was Lucas a ‘Downton Abbey’ fan? Was he ever! ‘I just watched a boxset of season one with my fiancée in Bermuda,’ he told me, adding that Dame Maggie Smith is his favourite.”

Mr. Lucas’ soon to be bride is DreamWorks animation chairman Mellody Hobson, who he proposed to in January. They are seen together above.

The couple have dated since 2006. This will be her first marriage; Mr. Lucas was married to film editor Marcia Lou Griffin, whom he divorced in 1983.

Debuting on Britain’s ITV in 2010 and America’s PBS in 2011 “Downton Abbey” is set at a fictional country estate and depicts the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the post-Edwardian era — with the great events in history having an effect on their lives and on the British social hierarchy.

Film and theatrical legend Dame Maggie Smith plays the waspish Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham in the show, a part that has won her two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe.

Dame Maggie Smith in “Downton Abbey”

Producer, screenwriter, director and entrepreneur, Mr. Lucas recently sold his LucasFilm Limited to the Walt Disney Company in a multi-billion dollar deal.

He remains best known as the creator of the space opera franchise “Star Wars” and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones. In recent years Mr. Lucas has been considering making a final chapter of the Indiana Jones series set in the Bermuda Triangle.

Mr. Lucas was in the UK to attend a ceremony hosted by the Queen at Windsor Castle to celebrate the British film industry.

Others in attendance included director Christopher Nolan, actor Idris Elba and “Wallander” star Sir Kenneth Branagh, who hosted the event.

BIFF To Showcase Bermuda Filmmakers

Bernews — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:20:24 +0000

The Bermuda International Film Festival [BIFF] today [Apr.4] announced that it will be hosting a festival-within-a-festival during this year’s annual event to highlight the work of local filmmakers.

The special “Bermovies” event will take place on Saturday, April 13, and comprises eight film with a Bermuda connection as part of the BIFF 2013 programme.

The festival-within-a-festival will be held in the Tradewinds Auditorium of the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute.

The day’s line-up begins at 1 pm with a short film package entitled “Local Flavours” featuring:

“Appetite for Extinction “directed by Robert Zuill, which looks at the oceanic predator, the invasive lionfish and its impact on Bermuda’s waters and coral reefs;

Bermudian Robert Zuill, a former CNN producer, looks at the invasive lionfish in his new film

“Entry By Sea”, directed by Kev Lombard is about Bermuda’s sea glass;

“Life (Anonymous)” directed by Kara Smith and Karli Powell chronicles a day in the life of an urban drug addict;

“Osbourne’s Day Out” directed by Milton Raposo covers the story of Osbourne the Dusky Shark’s return to to ocean after six years living in the North Rock tank at Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo.

This showcase will be followed at 3.45pm by the international debut of “Machsom”, Bermudian Bayard Outerbridge’s recently completed American Film Institute thesis film.

“Machsom” — the Hebrew word for “checkpoint” — puts a human face on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict

The ambitious production tracks the daily life of a 19-year-old Israeli soldier stationed at one of West Bank’s most dangerous checkpoints.

Following its premiere at the American Film Institute in March, it was announced that “Machsom” has been selected as one of five films to screen at the Directors Guild of America Showcase.

“The annual private screening, well attended by industry folk, will be held at the Director’s Guild of America theatre in Hollywood,” said Mr. Outerbridge.

Photos: Grace Kelly’s 1949 Bermuda Trip

Bernews — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:21:20 +0000

She was Hollywood royalty before becoming the genuine article by marrying Monaco’s Prince Rainier in 1956 — but just a few years earlier aspiring actress Grace Kelly was paying her way through drama school by accepting modelling assignments, including one in Bermuda in 1949.

Her fairytale marriage to Prince Rainier was billed as the “Wedding of the Century” by the press and she wore one of the most elegant and best-remembered bridal gowns of all time.

But on her Bermuda shoot — modelling honeymoon fashions for a British Pathé newsreel report — her wardrobe was entirely more modest, consisting of the casual and evening wear a middle class post-World War Two American bride might expect to take with her to the island after her nuptials.

Of Irish and German descent, Grace Kelly [1929-1982] was born in Philadelphia and began modelling with her mother and sisters as a teenager at local fashion events.

Because of low mathematics scores, shey was rejected by Bennington College in July 1947. To the dismay of her parents—her father viewed acting as “a slim cut above streetwalker”— Grace Kelly decided to pursue her dreams of a career in the theatre.

Grace Kelly sailing in the Great Sound

Accepted into the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, she lived in Manhattan’s Barbizon Hotel for Women — a prestigious establishment which barred men from entering after 10 pm — and worked as a model to support her studies.

With her blonde hair, porcelain complexion, blue-green eyes, and 5’8” perfect poise, Grace Kelly became one of the highest-paid models in New York City at the time.

After graduation from the Academy in 1949, Grace Kelly appeared in two plays at the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, Pennsylvania, and then in her first Broadway play, The Father. Kelly received good reviews for her “essence of freshness.” She retained an agent, Edith Van Cleve, and began acting in television dramas in 1950, including the “Philco Television Playhouse” and the “Kraft Theatre”.

Grace Kelly on a rented bicycle outside the Princess Hotel

She made her film debut in a small role in the 1951 film Fourteen Hours. She was noticed during a visit to the set by Gary Cooper, who subsequently starred with her in High Noon.

The veteran leading man — a frequent visitor to the island who had built a Bermuda-style house in Hollywood — was charmed by Grace Kelly and said that she was “different from all these actresses we’ve been seeing so much of.”

In the autumn of 1952, Grace Kelly tested for the film “Mogambo” [1953], enticed by it being filmed in Africa and starring legendary film star Clark Gable.

After the test, shey was offered the part and a seven-year contract at MGM. The film was nominated for two Oscars: Best Actress for Ava Gardner and Best Supporting Actress for Grace Kelly. Neither actress won, but Grace Kelly did win a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.

Grace Kelly cycling along Pitts Bay Road

By the 1950s, director Alfred Hitchcock had made a name for himself in Hollywood making suspenseful motion pictures featuring very cool blondes as his leading ladies

She followed this part with a role in another Hitchcock picture, “Rear Window” [1954] and then made two films back-to-back for MGM – ”The Country Girl”, in which played the wearied wife of an alcoholic, and “Green Fire.”

“Green Fire” was a box-office failure but “The Country Girl” was a critical and box-office success and Grace Kelly won the Academy Award for Best Actress.

In 1955 she accepted another assignment from Alfred Hitchcock and flew to the French Riviera to star alongside Cary Grant in “To Catch a Thief” [1955].

That spring, while attending the Cannes Film Festival, Grace Kelly was asked to appear in a photo session at the Palace of Monaco with Prince Rainier III. She obliged and met the prince.

Grace Kelly in the back of a Bermuda horse-drawn carriage

They discovered they had a lot in common; both were uncomfortable celebrities, devout Catholics, and desired a family.

A whirlwind romance ensued an the royal wedding of 26-year-old Miss Grace Patricia Kelly to 32-year-old His Serene Highness Prince Rainier III of Monaco was held in that tiny principality on April 19, 1956.

The Prince and Princess of Monaco had three children: Princess Caroline, born 1957; Prince Albert, born in 1958; and Princess Stéphanie, born in 1965.

In addition to motherhood, Princess Grace, as she was known, supervised the renovation of a crumbling medical facility into a first-rate hospital and founded the Princess Grace Foundation in 1964 to help those with special needs. Princess Grace of Monaco became loved and cherished by the people of her adopted homeland.

She and Prince Rainier paid at least one private visit to Bermuda in the 1970s to stay with friends.

Princess Grace began suffering from severe headaches and abnormally high blood pressure in 1982.

Grace Kelly on a Bermuda buggy ride

On September 13 of that year, Princess Grace and 17-year-old Stéphanie were returning to Monaco from their country home, Roc-Agel. Princess Grace, who was driving, blacked out for a second.

When she came to, she accidentally pressed her foot on the accelerator instead of the brake, driving the car over an embankment.

As the women were pulled from the wreckage, it was discovered that Stéphanie had sustained minor injuries but Princess Grace was unresponsive.

She was placed on mechanical life support at the hospital in Monaco. Doctors concluded that she had suffered a massive stroke, which had caused irreversible brain damage.

The day following the accident, Princess Grace’s family made the decision to remove her from the artificial devices that were keeping her heart and lungs going. Grace Kelly died on September 14, 1982, at the age of 52.

Brief footage of Grace Kelly on Bermuda modelling shoot begins at the :57 mark

Video: Percy Jackson And The Bermuda Triangle

Bernews — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 14:51:41 +0000

After discovering his Olympian roots in the 2010 movie “Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief,” actor Logan Lerman is packing his bags once again for Camp Half-Blood and a journey into the Bermuda Triangle in pursuit of the mythical Golden Fleece in the series’ latest installment “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters.”

Based on the second book in the hugely popular young adult series, trouble arises in the form of Chronos, “a force so evil three of his sons — Zeus, Hades and Poseidon — destroyed him,” a trailer for the upcoming fantasy film tells us. “He’s fated to rise again to exact his vengeance on Olympus and the world.”

More than 20 million copies of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson books have been sold around the world and as of 2011 — which are centred around the ancient Greek gods and demi-gods co-existing with mortals in the modern world — the series had been on the “New York Times” best seller list for children’s book series for 223 weeks.

Newly released “Percy Jackson and the Sea Of Monsters” trailer

The only thing that can rescue Camp Half-Blood — an earthly sanctuary and training ground for the godlings — is the Golden Fleece, which must be fetched from the Sea of Monsters, known to humans as the Bermuda Triangle.

So Percy, with the help of Annabeth [Alexandra Daddario], Grover [Brandon T. Jackson] and Tyson [Douglas Smith], he embarks on an epic quest to retrieve the magical item.

“Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters” opens in August.

Capote’s Holly Golightly: An All-Bermudian Girl

Bernews — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:10:05 +0000

Holly Golightly — the cheerfully non-conformist heroine of Truman Capote’s novella “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” — was witty, naive, achingly beautiful and part Bermudian, at least in spirit.

A composite of Bermuda-born Oona O’Neill [pictured] and her girls-about-town friends Gloria Vanderbilt and Carol Marcus, the part of New York café society fixture Holly was played by Audrey Hepburn in the classic 1961 film adaptation.

Now Mr. Capote’s 1958 typed manuscript of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” — rife with the author’s handwritten edits — is being offered for sale by a New Hampshire auction house which expects it to fetch at least $250,000 later this month.

“It’s obviously quite a treasure, quite a find for us,” RR Auctions vice president Bobby Livingston said of the Capote manuscript. He said the source of the manuscript wants to remain anonymous.

Mr. Livingston said the auction was not timed to a new Broadway adaption of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” now playing at New York City’s Cort Theater, saying that was just “serendipitous.”

Author Capote — in creating his “American geisha” Holly Golightly character — is said to have found inspiration in his close friendships with heiress and future designer Gloria Vanderbilt and the vivacious, poised and and stylish Oona O’Neill.

Carol Marcus — who went on to marry novelist William Saroyan twice and, later, the actor Walter Matthau — had fallen in with a teenage Truman Capote in the early 1940s and introduced the aspiring writer to a circle of friends which included Oona O’Neill ands Gloria Vanderbilt. The group prowled such celebrated nightclubs as El Morocco and the Stork Club.

The friendship of the three women and their association with Truman Capote is chronicled in Aram Saroyan’s “Trio” and also in Carol Marcus Matthau’s bestselling memoir, “Among the Porcupines.”

Oona O’Neill was born in Bermuda in 1925. Her mother, Agnes Boulton, wrote short stories; her father Eugene O’Neill, a chronic alcoholic, was the only American playwright to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.

The original, hand-corrected manuscript of “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” is to be auctioned later this month

Eugene O’Neill — whose plays include “Mourning Becomes Electra”, “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” and “Moon For the Misbegotten” — had settled his family in Bermuda in 1925 to try and find peace of mind and to overcome his drinking problem.

But Oona O’Neill was barely a toddler when her father ran off with another woman. She and her older brother, Shane, were raised by their mother at the family home “Spithead” on Harbour Road in Warwick until they later moved to the US.

Her formal education ended at Brearley, an exclusive girls’ school in New York City. Accepted by Vassar College, she chose instead to seek an acting career, and following a fleeting appearance in summer stock, went to Hollywood and met her future husband, the British-born comic genius Charles Chaplin.

Although he He was 36 years her senior and thrice divorced, they married when she turned 18 in 1943. Immediately, her father disowned and disinherited her. The marriage, however, endured; she had eight children, and remained with her husband for 34 years until his death in 1977.

Oona O’Neill — sitting — with her mother, brother and half-sister on a Bermuda fishing expedition

The couple and some of their children famously spent time on the island in 1972 when Charles Chaplin — effectively exiled from the US for his political views in 1952 — made a triumphant return to America to accept the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences’lifetime achievement Oscar.

The family broke the trip from Europe to California with an extended stop-over in Bermuda.

It was something of a bittersweet homecoming for Oona: “Spithead” had been sold in the early 1950s so her dying mother could afford to pay for medical care and her brother, Shane, raised and educated in Bermuda like her, had left the island to live in New York years earlier.

But nevertheless, she seemed to enjoy introducing her family to her childhood home: the Chaplins took in the major tourism sights, dined at the Henry VIII restaurant on South Shore and visited such out-of-the-way spots as the old Astor Estate on Ferry Reach where Oona had played as child.

Oona O’Neill remained a close friend of Truman Capote’s until his death in 1984. He visited the Chaplin family at their home in Switzerland on a number of occasions; she was reportedly delighted by the fact she was widely considered to be Holly Golightly — or at least some aspects of her — by another name following the extraordinary success of both the book and film versions of “Breakfast At Tiffany’s.”

While “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” was not Truman Capote’s debut novel — he had received critical acclaim for his book “Other Voices, Other Rooms” a decade earlier — the novella sealed his fame, fortune and future.

When “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” was published, Norman Mailer said that Truman Capote was “the most perfect writer of my generation … I would not have changed two words in ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’.”

Oona O’Neill died in 1991 at the age of 66. She is buried alongside her husband at a cemetery in Vevey, Switzerland.

Opening scene of the film adaptation of “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” [1961]

Actor Kevin Costner Sues Bankrupt Distributor

Bernews — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 12:07:40 +0000

Morgan Creek Production Inc. on Friday [Mar. 29] sued actor Kevin Costner in New York bankruptcy court looking to halt a California lawsuit he launched against the studio over profits from the blockbuster 1991 movie “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” saying the estate of the company’s bankrupt Bermuda partner couldn’t afford the California litigation.

The film studio is asking a judge to find that an automatic stay protects it from Costner’s lawsuit because the assets at issue are actually owned by bankrupt Bermuda-based distribution company Inverness Distribution Ltd.

According to Morgan Creek’s complaint, Mr. Costner’s agreement on “Prince of Thieves” allowed it to assign its rights and obligations to the picture.

That’s what the film company says it has done, and under the deal with Inverness, the debtor “expressly assumed all of the Morgan Creek Counterparties’ obligations,” including payment obligations on “Prince of Thieves.

“The Defendants are aware of the Debtor’s chapter 11 case and of the assignment of the distribution rights to the Debtor,” the complaint continues. “However, to avoid the impact of the Debtor’s bankruptcy on the Defendants’ enforcement rights and without regard to the automatic stay, the Defendants filed a complaint in a California state court against the Morgan Creek Counterparties without joining the Debtor notwithstanding the potential adverse effect such filing would have on the Debtor’s estate and attempts to reorganise.”

Morgan Creek says that Inverness is the “real party defendant” in Mr. Costner’s action, and that if he prevails, Inverness “is obligated to indemnify the Morgan Creek Counterparties for all losses suffered.”

In the new complaint filed in bankruptcy court, Morgan Creek identifies $12.5 million in funds withdrawn from the debtor’s bank account “without accounting for any royalties or other amounts owed Costner under the Costner Agreements” and that a portion of that money is likely derived from “Prince of Thieves.”

Morgan Creek warns, “The Defendants’ rights to any such monies may disturb the settled expectations of the parties in the bankruptcy case with respect to their claims to cash held by the Debtor.

Bermuda-based Inverness Distribution Ltd., filed Chapter 11 papers in US Bankruptcy Court in New York in December 2011. It had already had filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection. Under Chapter 15, Inverness was shielded from lawsuits from creditors in the US.

Now run by liquidators appointed by officials in Bermuda, court filings at the time showed that Inverness had liabilities of between $50 million and $100 million and had fewer than 50 creditors.

Among the other Morgan Creek films which Inverness has foreign rights to are “The Last of the Mohicans” and “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.”

Loving Story, The Central Park Five To Screen

Bernews — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 15:20:22 +0000

A documentary film that was short-listed for the Best Documentary Academy Award, and another that was considered the best documentary of 2012 by the New York Film Critics Circle, will screen at the Weekend Film Series on Sunday April 7. “The Loving Story” will screen at 3 p.m., while “The Central Park Five” will screen at 5.15 p.m.

“The Loving Story”, a sellout at March’s edition of Bermuda Docs, was short-listed for the Oscar. It tells the story of Mildred Jeter, who was part-black and part-Native American, and Richard Loving, who was white. When their marriage was declared illegal by the courts in their home state of Virginia in 1958, they fought back – and, in the landmark 1967 US Supreme Court case of Loving v. Virginia, America’s laws against inter-racial marriage were finally struck down.

“The Loving Story” trailer:

Telling the story in their own words, the history-making couple make a powerful statement about the quiet, enduring power of love in this engaging and riveting documentary that is a journey into the heart of race relations in the United States.

“The Central Park Five” won the New York film critics’ annual award, an audience choice prize at the Chicago International Film Festival – and the 2012 Freedom of Expression Award from the US National Board of Review.

The film tells the story of five black and Latino teenagers from Harlem who were arrested and charged with brutally attacking and raping a white female jogger in Central Park. Convicted, the five would spend years in prison for a crime they didn’t commit before the truth about what really happened became clear.

“The Central Park Five” trailer:

Set against a backdrop of a city beset by violence and racial tension, “The Central Park Five” finally gives this story of injustice the attention it deserves, telling the story of that horrific crime, the rush to judgment by the police, an outraged public, and the five lives upended by this miscarriage of justice.

The “Weekend Film Series”, sponsored by Gosling’s, is a joint production of Bermuda Documentary Film Festival director Duncan Hall and the BUEI. Tickets are on sale now at the Oceans Gift Shop at the BUEI, or by calling 297-7314.

Videos: BIFF Unveils Trio Of Festival Highlights

Bernews — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 12:54:08 +0000

The Bermuda International Film Festival has unveiled three highlights of the upcoming event, the acclaimed productions which have been selected as the special opening, centrepiece and closing night screenings.

In opening film “Ginger and Rosa”, two teenage girls, best friends since they were toddlers, are driven apart by a scandalous betrayal in 1962 London.

Sally Potter has crafted an intimate, riveting coming-of-age story—one made all the more powerful by a revelatory performance by Elle Fanning as the bright, anxious Ginger, increasingly affected by both the misery of her parents [deftly played by Alessandro Nivola and Christina Hendricks] and the era’s all-too-real fears of nuclear destruction.

As her private dramas unfold against the backdrop of broader historical terrors, Ginger proves to be one of cinema’s most fascinating and formidable young heroines.

Talented newcomer Alice Englert, the daughter of filmmaker Jane Campion, makes her impressive feature film debut as the troubled Rosa.

“Ginger and Rosa” screens at 7:00 pm on Friday, Apr 12 at the Liberty Theatre.

“Ginger and Rosa” trailer

This year BIFF is following in the footsteps of many great international film festivals and marking the middle of festival week with a Centrepiece Film.

“Unfinished Song” is a touching and joyful story that brings together two icons of British cinema, Vanessa Redgrave and Terence Stamp, and a new generation of talent represented by the effervescent and always impressive Gemma Arterton.

Arthur [Stamp] is not an easy man to warm to. Grumpy and awkward at the best of times, he’s reached a point in his life so grim there seems little reason to smile anymore: his beloved wife Marion [Redgrave] is terminally ill.

The indomitable Marion, however, refuses to let her condition get her down, and she continues to take great pleasure in singing with the somewhat unconventional local seniors’ choir.

“Unfinished Song” screens at the Liberty Theatre on Monday, April 15 at 7:00 pm.

“Unfinished Song” trailer

Closing film “The Girl Most Likely” takes as its theme former American President Calvin Coolidge’s observation that his country’s most common commodity is unrealised potential.

Few of us can claim not to possess it, but it takes a special sort of underachiever to match the feats of Imogene [Kristen Wiig], a playwright once thought to be destined for greatness, but who has spent most of her twenties and thirties frittering away her talent and opportunities.

As Imogene begins, she’s just about hit bottom, having staged a suicide attempt in a desperate bid to hold on to her philandering boyfriend — it’s about the only thing she’s staged in a very long time. And it’s not a hit.

Things can only go up from here, and they do in this wildly quirky and weirdly optimistic comic character study.

This unexpected homecoming forces Imogene to confront her lingering feelings about her long-dead father, but it also finds her developing a surprising intimacy with her mother’s lodger, the much-younger Lee [Darren Criss], a singer currently exhibiting his talents in a Backstreet Boys cover band. Lee would seem anything but substantial on the surface, yet his sincerity and intelligence is arresting, and he may be just what the doctor ordered for our recovering heroine.

“The Girl Most Likely” screens at 7:00 pm on Thursday, April 18 at the Liberty Theatre.

Kristen Wiig and Christopher Fitzgerald discuss “The Girl Most Likely” at Toronto film festival

BIFF 2013 runs from Friday, April 12-Thursday, April 18. Tickets are now on sale at www.ptix.bm.

The fully interactive online guide featuring the entire BIFF line-up can be accessed at www. biff.bm/film-guide

Tickets for the opening, centrepiece and closing films are $25 and all other films are $15.

Video: Hootie & The Blowfish Bermuda Song

Bernews — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 21:12:50 +0000

After the phenomenal success of their debut album “Cracked Rear View” in 1994 — it sold 16 million copies and spawned four hit singles — the band Hootie & The Blowfish retreated to Bermuda to work on their follow-up release “Fairweather Johnson”, saluting the tranquility they found on the island in a track titled “Tucker’s Town.”

Released as a single in North America — with the video shot on location in Bermuda — alternative/roots rock band Hootie & The Blowfish hoped “Tucker’s Town” would go some way to repaying the debt they felt they owed Bermuda when they found sanctuary here after unexpectedly rocketing to superstardom in North America.

The band also gave a concert in Bermuda to thank their local friends and fans for respecting their privacy while they recuperated from a gruelling tour schedule and wrote and rehearsed songs for their second album.

The Bermuda single cracked the Top 40 in the US — peaking at number 38 — on the Billboard chart but reached number two in Canada where the band was as especially popular, scoring three number one singles in the 1990s.

“Fairweather Johnson” entered the US charts at number one when it was released on April 23, 1996 and went on to sell more than 2,361,000 copies.

Formed by friends Darius Rucker, Dean Felber, Jim Sonefeld and Mark Bryan.when they were students at the University of South Carolina, Hootie & The Blowfish went on to record another three studio albums and chart a dozen more singles before going on hiatus in 2010.

“Tucker’s Town” [1996] by Hootie & The Blowfish

In December, 2000 Hootie frontman Darius Rucker married longtime girlfriend Beth Ann Leonard in Bermuda.

Mr. Rucker — who once performed an impromptu gig at a Hamilton pub while the band was working on the “Fairweather Johnson” songs — has referred to Bermuda as “paradise” in interviews.

He and his wife — who now have a son and a daughter — still visit the island when his touring schedule allows.

In recent years Mr. Rucker, now 47, has launched a hugely successful solo career as a Country & Western artist, becoming the first African American to chart number one hits the Hot Country Songs charts since Charley Pride in 1983. In 2009, he became the first African American to win the New Artist Award from the Country Music Association, and only the second African American to win any award from the association.

His second C&W album, “Charleston, SC 1966″, was released in 2010 and included the number-one singles “Come Back Song” and “This.”

Exploring Bermuda’s Most Famous Shipwreck

Bernews — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 16:20:07 +0000

She remains the most famous of the hundreds of ships to have come to grief on Bermuda’s reefs — the four-masted, 192-foot long wooden hulled schooner “Constellation” immortalised in Peter Benchley’s bestselling novel “The Deep” and the subsequent 1977 film adaptation.

Built and launched in 1918, in July, 1943 the “Constellation” — renamed the “Goliath” in Mr. Benchley’s book — was bound for Venezuela when she headed for Bermuda for repairs after floundering for several days.

On July 31, while waiting for a local pilot to bring her into port, the “Constellation” [pictured above] was driven by a strong current onto the reef to the north east of the island where she sank in 30 feet of water. The ship was a total loss though some salvage was carried out at the time of her sinking by local sailor and shipwright Albert [Bert] Darrell.

“The ‘Constellation’, a four-masted schooner on her way from New York to Venezuela when she sank in 1943, loaded down with an inventory so diverse that it must have resembled a floating K-Mart,” said Mr. Becnhley. “She carried a cargo of Scotch whiskey [which vanished within about five minutes of its discovery], tennis rackets, cement, radios, cosmetics, yo-yos, cheap glassware, barrels of crockery, crucifixes and medicinal drugs: hundreds of thousands of ampoules of adrenaline, iodine, penicillin, opium in alcohol, morphine and heroin.

“For decades after the sinking, a probing hand could free a cache of ampoules from the sand, and they would float and dance like tiny Tinkerbells in the shallow, sun-dappled water.”

Opening sequence of “The Deep” [1977]

The bestselling author of “Jaws” and other maritime novels continued: “In the mid-1970′s, I used the ‘Constellation’ as a model for an adventure story called ‘The Deep’, and after the film was shot in Bermuda, the ship became a major tourist attraction.

“Divers would find ampoules on the wreck and take them home as souvenirs, a practice that gave customs officials migraines and caused innumerable planes to be delayed, for although the Food and Drug Administration declared that the drugs had long since become inert, United States Customs officials tested the narcotics and found them to be active indeed.”

The “Constellation” sits in 35 feet of water some four miles north northwest from Daniels Head and centres around a massive pile of cement bags with remnants of her general cargo broken and strewn on the bottom.

“Goods from the ship were salvaged at the time of her sinking as were many parts of the ship,” says a report on the wreck posted by Bermuda’s Department of Conservation Services. “A portion of her rigging could be seen until [recently] as part of the flagpole at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and some of her sails were discovered in near perfect condition under Bert Darrell’s Boat Shed on Harbour Road in the 1990s prior to its destruction.

Divers explore the wreck of the “Constellation”

“Anyone riding the Paget ferry can see the 40-foot remains of the lower parts of one of her massive masts resting on the rocks below Harbour Road just prior to the Belmont ferry dock.”

The “Constellation” is extensively dived by the local dive operators and toured by the glass bottom boats. The wreck was surveyed by the Bermuda Maritime Museum in 1996.

This wreck is part of the Bermuda Shipwreck Certificate Program instituted by the Department of Tourism.

It is also buoyed under the Bermuda Dive Sites program established by the Marine Environmental Committee of the Bermuda National Trust in association with the Ministry of the Environment and is a protected site with a 300 metre no fishing limitation.

Former Premiers Featured In BIFF Documentary

Bernews — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 11:26:27 +0000

This year’s Special Presentation at the Bermuda International Film Festival [BIFF] will be “Femme: Women Healing the World”, a feature documentary which includes interviews with two of the island’s former Premiers.

Directed by long-time BIFF supporter, Emmanuel Itier, “Femme” is a quest to look for the most important and influential women around the world, in our daily lives and through religion, spirituality, science, history, politics, philosophy and entertainment.

It incorporates interviews with various leaders in each field — including former Bermuda Premiers Dame Jennifer Smith and Dame Pamela Gordon — as well as the ordinary women living in the many geographical areas that the film visits.

Trailer for Emmanuel Itier’s ”Femme: Women Healing the World”

Producer/actor/director/writer Mr. Itier grew up in France and moved in the US in the late 1980s.

He has directed “Tell Me No Lies”, “Scarecrow” and The Invocation [featuring Deepak Chopra, Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama]. Mr. Itier acted as a co-producer and financing consultant for “Johnny Mnemonic”, “Another 9½ Weeks”, “Shattered” Image”, “The Dentist” and “Progeny.”

“Femme: Women Healing the World” will screen at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute’s Tradewinds Auditorium on Saturday, April 13 at 6:30 pm. Tickets for this and all other BIFF films are available at www.ptix.bm.

Arthur Rankin Easter Basket Of Holiday Specials

Bernews — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 15:30:31 +0000

Although their names are now as synonomous wih Christmas as snowflakes and carols, Bermudian filmmaker Arthur Rankin Jr. and American partner Jules Bass also made animated seasonal specials for Thanksgiving, Halloween and … Easter.

There were actually three Rankin-Bass Easter specials, to be exact.

The first — “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” — premiered in 1971 on ABC and was based on a 1957 novel by Priscilla and Otto Friedrich entitled “The Easter Bunny That Overslept.”

In that production, which starred the voice talent of Casey Kasem, Vincent Price, and Danny Kaye, Peter is a young bunny in April Valley, which is the central hub for all things Easter.

“The Chief Easter Bunny names Peter his successor, but the citizens of April Valley, including the evil rabbit Irontail [isn't there always an evil rabbit somewhere] declare this monarchy unconstitutional,” said Richard Keller in a retrospective report on Rankin-Bass Easter shows published at the “Huffington Post” website. “So, the Chief Easter Bunny decides to hold a contest between Irontail and Peter to see who can deliver the most eggs. Whoever does gets the Chief Bunny position.

Rankin Bass 1971 special “Here Comes Peter Cottontail”

“As there is a lesson to be learned in all Rankin-Bass holiday shows, Peter parties all night, gets up late — courtesy of Irontail messing with his alarm clock — and doesn’t deliver any eggs.

“Irontail becomes the Chief Easter Bunny and Peter leaves April Valley in shame. But, as with many Rankin-Bass stories, Peter realises the errors of his ways, hooks up with girl bunny Donna, and redeems himself.

“In the end he takes his rightful place as Chief Easter Bunny.”

Two more Rankin-Bass Easter specials aired in the 1970s. In 1976 came “The First Easter Bunny” which told the story — narrated by Burl Ives — of how a little girl’s stuffed rabbit came to life to become the first Easter Bunny.

Loosely adapted from “The Velveteen Rabbit”, a children’s book by Margery Williams, the special featured the Irving Berlin song “Easter Parade.”

One year later “The Easter Bunny is Comin’ to Town” premiered, featuring another origin story for this famous fuzzy creature.

In this special, Fred Astaire returns as mail carrier S.D. Kluger from “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” to tell the story of Sunny, a rabbit adopted by the kid population of Kidville who decides to deliver eggs to the children of the next town — only to find out that there are no kids.

Scene from the 1976 Rankin-Bass special “The First Easter Bunny”

American-born, Bermudian director, producer and writer Arthur Rankin is perhaps best known for his animation work.

In the early 1960s he and Mr. Bass founded the film production company Videocraft International — later called Rankin-Bass — and the two worked closely together for many years, co-directing and producing a wide array of stop motion animated features and cartoons, perhaps most famously the holiday-themed TV specials.

In 1977 Mr. Rankin and Mr. Bass produced a Peabody Award-winning version of J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit”. The pair also teamed on a wide variety of animated TV series, including “ThunderCats” and “Silverhawks.”

In the late ’70s Mr. Rankin also shot two made-for-television movies on location in Bermuda, the supernatural fantasy “The Bermuda Depths” and the “King Kong”-inspired “Ivory Ape.”

Now retired, in recent years Mr. Rankin has taught classes on showbusiness at the Bermuda College and directed plays at City Hall.

In 2010 at the age of 65, his wife Olga Rankin became the oldest newly-qualified lawyer ever called to the Bermuda Bar.

Charity Screening Of New Animated Comedy

Bernews — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 11:28:57 +0000

The Eliza DoLittle Society [TEDS] is presenting a fund-raising screening of the new Dreamworks movie “The Croods” on Saturday [Mar. 30].

An animated comedy adventure set in the pre-historic era, “The Croods” follows the world’s first family as they embark on a journey of a lifetime when the cave that has always shielded them from danger is destroyed.

Travelling across a spectacular landscape, the Croods discover an incredible new world filled with fantastic creatures — and their outlook is changed forever.

The movie starts at 10am at Liberty Theatre and tickets are $15 per person, including the movie, popcorn, drink and snack.

To reserve seats, contact info@elizadolittle.bm and pay at the door.

Moviegoers are also asked to bring non-perishable food items for TEDS’ Food Bank collection, which will go towards feeding Bermuda’s hungry.

The Eliza DoLittle Society is a registered charity that was originally founded in 2000 to address the needs of Bermuda’s homeless population.

The principal aim of the society is to assist individuals who are in need of “a hand up, not just a hand out”.

Led by a volunteer board of directors, an Executive Director was hired on April 1, 2010 to establish and coordinate a new program called Daily Bread. The program was modelled on the 25 year old Second Harvest program in Toronto, Ontario.

Daily Bread was officially launched on July 22, 2010 and the first food collections and deliveries started on September 6, 2010.

The Daily Bread programme was established to coordinate and support efforts of churches, agencies and any other organization which has the same goal of reducing, and hopefully eliminating, hunger in Bermuda.

The focus of the Eliza DoLittle Society has shifted from serving just the homeless to serving anyone in Bermuda who is food insecure and/or hungry.

TEDS started with three feeding centres at the end of 2010 and today are supporting nine feeding centres and make countless deliveries to charities and agencies that provide food aid to Bermuda’s hungry.

The group isare now providing food for over 1,000 meals each week and are supported by hundreds of dedicated volunteers and generous food and financial donors. TEDS is also an approved Duke of Edinburgh Award Activity provider.

Trailer for the Dreamworks animated film “The Croods”

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