THE OBENSON REPORT

Hours after the film’s debut last night, the North American rights to Scott Sanders’ “Black Dynamite,” an homage to the blaxpolitation films starring Michael Jai White, was sold to Sony Worldwide Acquisitions Group for $2 million. While the deal has yet to be announced, insiders said that the pact closed in the wee hours of Monday morning here in Park City. The film debuted on Sunday night at 11:30 p.m. and the deal with Sony Worldwide Acquisitions Group was negotiated at the Endeavor Independent condo where Graham Taylor, Alexis Garcia, Mark Ankner and Liesl Copland negotiated the pact repping the filmmakers.

The film will be released theatrically later this year.

BLACK DYNAMITE is straight up pure comedic genius and totally bad ass!

Expertly towing the line between satire and spoof, Scott Sanders’ film utilizes a wonderfully crafted retro aesthetic and a massive cast to transport us back to the campy world of 70s blaxploitation. The pitch is perfect and the leading man is the quintessential badass, causing the movie to attain a palpable momentum. Not affraid to bang on the fourth wall with boom mics appearing in shots and camera crews visible in windows — clear callbacks to classics such as Dolamite — Sanders’ film shamelessly kicks and punches the hell out of its audience, leaving only the stiffest and humorless viewer without loads of laughs. Its real brilliance though, is in the details.

PARK CITY - The Sundance Film Festival has its first major deal. Senator Distribution snapped up North American rights to Antoine Fuqua's cop drama "Brooklyn's Finest" on Saturday evening.

The Marco Weber/Mark Urman banner (Weber is CEO, and Urman is president) is believed to have paid in the low- to mid-seven figures for rights to the pic, which played strongly at its Eccles debut Friday night.

Sony Pictures, which has a deal with Senator, will partner with the outfit, with Senator handling theatrical and Sony handling all ancillary rights.

CAA and WMA are co-repping rights to the morality tale, which stars Richard Gere, Don Cheadle and Ethan Hawke as cops at very different stages of their career, each faced with moral dilemmas.

While billed as a thriller, it also operates as a character study of its trio of complex protagonists.

A number of distributors were circling the picture, though some were concerned about the length and potential for backend deals for the many star actors.

Fuqua will edit the film as part of the deal, insiders said.

Hawke and Cheadle’s storylines are probably worthy of a film in their own right, but I found Gere’s arc completely uninteresting. And that was one of the problems I had with this film — the stories are almost completely unrelated in every single way. Most of the times with these type of films, the character are more connected, either by story or theme. But in Brooklyn’s Finest, the characters intersect for seconds and the climax takes place in the same location, but for the most part, the film is comprised of three completely unconnected storylines with themes that are only broadly connected.

Whatever happened to Wendell B. Harris Jr.? It’s a question that might be asked with greater frequency if only more people had heard of the 1990 winner of the Sundance Film Festival’s dramatic Grand Jury Prize. Indeed, of all the post-Sundance disappearing acts — and there have been many — Harris’ may be the most intriguing, in large part because his debut (and, to date, only) feature film, Chameleon Street, is among the best and least known prize-winners in the festival’s 25-year history.

Arriving just one year after Steven Soderbergh’s Sex, Lies, and Videotape (see related stories) turned the heretofore triple-A Sundance into a major-league ball club, Chameleon Street was one of a crop of 1990 competition titles that heightened the excitement then building around the American independent-film movement. Also in the running that year were Charles Burnett’s To Sleep With Anger, the first films of iconic indie auteurs Whit Stillman (Metropolitan) and Hal Hartley (The Unbelievable Truth), and eventual Audience Award winner Longtime Companion. But the jury, which included Soderbergh, Kathryn Bigelow and film critic Armond White among its members, reserved its highest honor for Harris’ ferociously original, mordantly funny take on the life of African-American con artist William Douglas Street, whose impersonations included a lawyer, a Time magazine reporter and a gynecological surgeon (performing three-dozen successful hysterectomies). Adding to the powerful impression made by the film was the fact that its charismatic, skin-shedding protagonist was played by none other than Harris himself.

For most of the two decades that followed, however, news of Harris was so scarce that one might have assumed the triple-threat writer-director-actor to be but the latest in Douglas Street’s series of chameleonic guises. He appeared only twice more as an actor — in Soderbergh’s Out of Sight (1998) as the FBI agent who smells something fishy in Jennifer Lopez’s story, and as a college professor in the 2000 Tom Green comedy Road Trip. Meanwhile, unlike many of his Sundance contemporaries — some of whom continued to trudge forth in the indie trenches, some of whom graduated to Hollywood features or segued into television — Harris amassed no additional writing or directing credits. As for Chameleon Street, it grossed just over $200,000 during a small 1991 theatrical release by the Maine-based distributor Northern Arts Entertainment (after the film’s sales agent botched a prospective meeting with Harvey Weinstein) and, like its maker, soon faded from the scene. Until its belated DVD release in 2007, the film was available only on an out-of-print VHS edition.

... Unfortunately, it [the film] wasn’t the uncensored expose that I naively believed it might be. I realized this fact during the opening credit sequence when the name Mike Tyson came on screen, preceded by the words “Executive Producer”.

The film is a look at the life of one of the most famous fighters in Boxing History, as told through an interview with Tyson himself. And there lies the film’s main problem. Situations dealing with abuse and rape charges deserve to show the other side of the story (especially when Tyson claims they never happened). But the documentary never strays from the one on one interview with Tyson himself.

I was also surprised at the lack of additional footage from Tyson’s many years in the public spotlight. Most of the film is comprised of a talking head interview with Tyson, and some overused footage of Mike looking out into an ocean sunset. The editor also chose to sometimes split the interview footage into a shattered split screen, probably in an attempt to spice things up. As you might expect, the result is more annoying than anything else.

To his credit, Mike comes off as incredibly honest and forthcoming. And we get stories about how the boxer contracted gonorrhea from a prostitute before a championship fight and how he likes to woo strong women, CEO types, and dominate them in the bed room. We also get commentary on some of his fights, giving us a look into the skill and psychology.

And Tyson comes off like a sensitive tough guy who has seen the errors of his ways, but each and every time he falls into the same traps. And the finale comes off almost like a scripted infomercial which shouts “Look, I’m better now, I’m not a bad guys! See!” The film gives a fascinating look at a man with a serve confidence and trust issues from the point of view from that same man who now thinks he’s cured. It’s not a bad cable documentary but as a theatrical release, I can’t recommend it.

“Toe to Toe” is smart, honest storytelling about Tosha (Sonequa Martin), a driven African American student on full scholarship at a Washington D.C. prep school and her competitive relationship with Jesse (Louisa Krause), a troubled white student from wealth.

... “Toe to Toe” is the most driven of the American movies so far at Sundance; a well told, swift-moving story with standout lead performances, solid commercial elements and high prospects for enthusiastic word-of-mouth.

While much about the relationship between Tosha and Jesse feels honest and believable, Abt does occasionally fall into the trap of dramatic exaggeration in order to heighten the film’s emotional climax (there is a lesbian subplot that feels out of place). It’s a common misstep for someone tackling his or her first feature drama. To Abt’s credit, the film’s poignant moments far outweigh its stumbles. By “Toe to Toe’s” surprising finish, one walks away with new thoughts and feelings about race, diversity as well as questions about how today’s teens will address class and race differently from their parents.

Abt moves us with her storytelling, and as a welcome bonus, makes us think;

[...]

“Toe to Toe” is complex and multi-layered and I expect unanimous praise for Martin and Krause, both beautifully confused as two teen friends battling to overcome the troubles in their lives. I also expect praise for Abt, the storyteller who holds all the angst, successes and setbacks together, making this girl’s tale capable of engaging all audiences.

If that doesn’t earn Abt a shot at directing future feature dramas, nothing does.

“Push” Premieres

A standing ovation greeted Lee Daniels’ “Push: Based on the novel by Sapphire” tonight at the Racquet Club, even as insiders worried that a delayed screening of Antoine Fuqua’s “Brooklyn’s Finest” over at the Eccles held up some buyers. Buoyed by positive reaction after a test screening in Harlem earlier this week, Lee Daniels seemed anxiously optimistic while chatting casually with indieWIRE prior to the screening. After the showing, he was showered by well-wishers, some of whom posed for photos with Mo’Nique and Mariah Carey. Daniels also cast Lenny Kravitz in a key role. “If you are gonna tell a bold story, go all the way, be bold,” Daniels said on Friday night. indieWIRE offers a first take on the film in this latest dispatch from the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW

“Push: Based on the novel by Sapphire” is a movie of many textures, each one illuminating the emotionally gripping narrative at its core. Lee Daniels directs with bold strokes that could go wrong at any moment, but generally serve to illuminate a troubled life and the justified desire to escape it. The story of a troubled Harlem teen named Precious (Gabourey Sidibe) impregnated by her absent father, “Push” progresses with a steadily engaging series of starts and stops in the frayed world of its talented star. While fending off her dysfunctional mother (Monique, in a stunningly psychotic turn), Precious gradually learns to surpass her aimless fantasies and come to grips with the troubles at hand. Using lavishly photographed sequences, Daniels contrasts Precious’s daily woes with the happier existence inside her head, but these moments gradually give way to the protagonist’s fulfillment of her actual goals.

Moved to an alternative school to meet her special needs, Precious learns from more caring adults (including Mariah Carey as a trenchant social worker) about her obvious potential to mature. A spunky character with an increasing ability to editorialize about her new environment (“they talk like TV channels I don’t watch,” she says of her newfound mentors), Precious makes the ideal heroine of modern times. “Push” does not function exclusively as a story of race, but as a universal depiction of real world struggle. The only question is whether distributors can push themselves to get it out there.

At age seven, Oakdale's Mystery Team was a band of kid detectives dedicated to solving child-sized mysteries (like who put their finger in the pie, and who stole the tricycle), and the town loved them for it. Now they're eighteen years old, about to graduate from high school, yet they're still storming the playground to bust little kids, and the town of Oakdale is sick to death of it. When a little girl sees their sign advertising "Mysteries Solved, Ten Cents," she asks the gang to find out who killed her parents. The Team embarks on a mystery that takes them deep into a violent conspiracy that sees their lives threatened, their friendship strained and tests their claim that they're "real detectives."

- In high school, I lobbied hard for the part of Max Detweiler in the "Sound of Music" and convinced my drama teacher that a black student could do this role. That took a lot of fast talking! (And that was also something that left an lasting impression on me; namely that roles should be cast based on talent and not color.)

- In LA, I was a talent manager for many years. I represented many African-American actors. After a while, I became disheartened over the shortage of roles for African Americans. I decided I was going to do something about it by producing my own films that included meaningful and compelling roles for black actors. So, I jumped into producing with my first film "Monster's Ball."

- While I am not a musician, I love music... I believe my love for music has made me partial to working with musicians in my films. I find musicians to be wonderfully talented and soulful.

- Why would anyone care about a poor, 300-pound, uneducated black girl as dark as night? The answer to this question is what this film is ultimately about.

- Future projects? I am still searching for this answer. My family and friends want me to direct a big studio action movie; my boyfriend wants me to make a musical; my investors have expressed interest in a childrens's movie; but I do not know...I still feel drawn to dark movies with endless human carnage...so maybe a drug movie!

Brooklyn's Finest, Antoine Fuqua's latest directorial effort about three unconnected Brooklyn cops who wind up at the same deadly location. Cast: Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, Don Cheadle, Ellen Barkin.

Endgame, a British entry and political thriller in which a businessman initiates covert discussions between the African National Congress and white intellectuals to try and find a peaceful solution to the Apartheid regime. Cast: William Hurt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jonny Lee Miller, Mark Strong.

Passing Strange, Spike Lee's documentary on the stage musical of the same name, about the international exploits of a young man from Los Angeles who leaves home to find himself and "the real." A theatrical stage production of the Tony-Award winning book by Stew. Cast: De'Adre Aziza, Daniel Breaker, Eisa Davis, Colman Domingo, Stew.

Tyson - An intimate look at the complex life of former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson.

Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy - a documentary by Robert Townsend (where has he been?), using rare archival clips along with provocative interviews with many of today's leading comedians and social critics. The film celebrates the incredible cultural influence and social impact black comedy has wielded during the past 400 years. Cast: Chris Rock, Bill Cosby, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Steve Harvey, Dick Gregory.

Black Dynamite, a film I've talked about previously on this blog. When "The Man" murders his brother, pumps heroin into local orphanages and floods the ghetto with adulterated malt liquor, 1970s African-American action legend Black Dynamite is the one hero willing to take him on. Cast: Michael Jai White, Tommy Davidson, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Byron Minns, James McManus. Directed by Scott Sanders.

The Carter - a documentary directed by Adam Bhala Lough, who brought us 2002 critically acclaimed Bomb The System, considered a tribute to graphiti artists and New York City. The Carter is an in-depth, intimate look at Dwayne "Lil Wayne" Carter Jr., proclaimed by many as the "greatest rapper alive." Cast: Lil Wayne, Brian Williams, Cortez Bryant.

The films screening in Documentary Competition are:

Art & Copy (Director: Doug Pray; Screenwriter: Timothy J. Sexton)--Rare interviews with the most influential advertising creative minds of our age illustrate the wide-reaching effect advertising and creativity have on modern culture. World Premiere

Boy Interrupted (Director: Dana Perry)-- An intimate look at the life, mental illness and death of a young man told from the point of view of the filmmaker: his mother. World Premiere

The Cove (Director: Louie Psihoyos; Screenwriter: Mark Monroe)--Dolphins are dying, whales are disappearing, and the oceans are growing sick. The horrors of a secret cove nestled off a small, coastal village in Japan are revealed by a group of activists led by Ric O'Barry, the man behind Flipper. World Premiere

Crude (Director: Joe Berlinger)--The inside story of the "Amazon Chernobyl" case in the rainforest of Ecuador, the largest oil-related environmental lawsuit in the world. World Premiere

Dirt the Movie (Directors: Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow)--The story of the relationship between humans and dirt, Dirt The Movie humorously details how humans are rapidly destroying the last natural resource on earth. World Premiere

The General (El General) (Director: Natalia Almada)--As great-granddaughter of Mexican President Plutarco Elias Calles, one of Mexico's most controversial revolutionary figures, filmmaker Natalia Almada paints an intimate portrait of Mexico. World Premiere

Good Hair (Director: Jeff Stilson)--Comedian Chris Rock turns documentary filmmaker when he sets out to examine the culture of African-American hair and hairstyles. World Premiere

Over the Hills and Far Away (Director: Michel Scott)--Over the Hills and Far Away chronicles the journey of the Isaacson family as they travel through Mongolia in search of a mysterious shaman they believe can heal their autistic son. World Premiere

The Reckoning: The Battle for the International Criminal Court (Director: Pamela Yates)--A battle of monumental proportions unfolds as International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo faces down warlords, genocidal dictators and world superpowers in bringing perpetrators of crimes against humanity to justice. World Premiere

Reporter (Director: Eric Daniel Metzgar)--Set in Africa, this documentary chronicles, in verite fashion, the haunting, physically grueling and shocking voyage of Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist, Nicholas Kristof. World Premiere

The September Issue (Director: R.J. Cutler)--With unprecedented access, director R.J. Cutler and his crew shot for nine months as they captured Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour and her team preparing the 2007 Vogue September issue, widely accepted as the "fashion bible" for the year's trends. World Premiere

Sergio (Director: Greg Barker)--Chasing the Flame examines the role of the United Nations and the international community through the life and experiences of Sergio Vieira de Mello, the U.N.'s High Commissioner for Human Rights, including interviews with those who knew and worked with him over the course of his extraordinary career. World Premiere

Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech (Director: Liz Garbus)--An exploration of the history and current state of free speech in America narrated by the filmmaker's father, First Amendment attorney Martin Garbus. World Premiere

We Live in Public (Director: Ondi Timoner)--We Live in Public is the story of the Internet's revolutionary impact on human interaction as told through the eyes of maverick web pioneer, Josh Harris and his transgressive art project that shocked New York. World Premiere

When You're Strange (Director: Tom DiCillo)--The first feature documentary about The Doors, When You're Strange enters the dark and dangerous world of one of America's most influential bands using only footage shot between 1966 and 1971. World Premiere

William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe (Directors: Sarah Kunstler and Emily Kunstler)--With clients including Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and the Chicago 10, the late civil rights attorney William Kunstler was one of the most famous lawyers of the 20th century. Filmmakers Emily and Sarah Kunstler explore their father's life from movement hero to "the most hated lawyer in America." World Premiere

The films screening in Dramatic Competition are:

Adam (Director and Screenwriter: Max Mayer)--A strange and lyrical love story between a somewhat socially dysfunctional young man and the woman of his dreams. Cast: Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne, Peter Gallagher, Amy Irving, Frankie Faison. World Premiere

Amreeka (Director and Screenwriter: Cherien Dabis)--When a divorced Palestinian woman and her teenage son move to rural Illinois at the outset of the Iraq war, they find their new lives replete with challenges. Cast: Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem, Hiam Abbass, Yussuf Abu-Warda, Alia Shawkat. World Premiere.

Big Fan (Director and Screenwriter: Robert Siegel)--The world of a parking garage attendant who happens to be the New York Giants' biggest fan is turned upside down after an altercation with his favorite player. Cast: Patton Oswalt, Michael Rapaport, Kevin Corrigan, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Matt Servitto. World Premiere.

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (Director and Screenwriter: John Krasinski)--When her boyfriend leaves with little explanation, a doctoral candidate in anthropology tries to remedy her heartache by interviewing men about their behavior. Cast: Julianne Nicholson, John Krasinski, Timothy Hutton, Dominic Cooper, Christopher Meloni, Rashida Jones. World Premiere

Cold Souls (Director and Screenwrtier: Sophie Barthes)--In the midst of an existential crisis, a famous American actor explores soul extraction as a relief from the burdens of daily life. Cast: Paul Giamatti, Dina Korzun, David Strathairn, Emily Watson, Lauren Ambrose, Oksana Lada. World Premiere

Dare (Director: Adam Salky; Screenwriter: David Brind)--Three very different teenagers discover that, even in the safe world of a suburban prep school, no one is who she or he appears to be. Cast: Emmy Rossum, Zach Gilford, Ashley Springer, Ana Gasteyer, Alan Cumming, Sandra Bernhard, Rooney Mara. World Premiere

Don't Let Me Drown (Director: Cruz Angeles; Screenwriters: Cruz Angeles and Maria Topete)--Two Latino teens whose lives are affected by the attack on the World Trade Center discover that love is the only thing that keeps them from drowning. Cast: E.J. Bonilla, Gleendilys Inoa, Damian Alcazar, Ricardo Chavira, Gina Torres. World Premiere

The Dream of the Romans (Director and Screenwriter: John Hindman)--A reclusive author of a groundbreaking spiritual book awakens to new truths when two strangers enter his life. Cast: Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham, Lou Pucci, Olivia Thirlby. World Premiere

The Greatest (Director and Screenwriter: Shana Feste)-- After the tragic loss of their teenage son, a family is again thrown into turmoil by the arrival of a young woman. Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Susan Sarandon, Carey Mulligan, Johnny Simmons, Aaron Johnson, Zoe Kravitz. World Premiere.

Humpday (Director and Screenwriter: Lynn Shelton)--A farcical comedy about straight male bonding gone a little too far. Cast: Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard, Alycia Delmore, Lynn Shelton, Trina Willard. World Premiere.

Paper Heart (Director: Nicolas Jasenovec)--Even though performer Charlyne Yi doesn't believe in love, she bravely embarks on a quest to discover its true nature--a journey that takes on surprising urgency when she meets unlikely fellow traveler, actor Michael Cera. Cast: Charlyne Yi, Michael Cera, Nicolas Jasenovec, Jake Johnson. World Premiere.

Peter and Vandy (Director and Screenwriter: Jay DiPietro)--Juxtaposing a couple's romantic beginnings with the twisted-manipulative-regular couple they have become, Peter and Vandy is a contemporary Manhattan love story with no beginning and no end. Cast: Jess Weixler, Jason Ritter, Jesse L. Martin, Tracie Thoms. World Premiere

Push (Director and Screenwriter: Lee Daniels)--Based on the acclaimed, best-selling novel by Sapphire, Push is the redemptive story of Precious Jones, a young girl in Harlem struggling to overcome tremendous obstacles and discover her own voice. Cast: Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe, Paula Patton, Mo'Nique Imes, Lenny Kravitz. World Premiere

Sin Nombre/U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Cary Fukunaga)--A teenaged Mexican gang member maneuvers to outrun his violent past and elude unforgiving former associates in this thriller set among Central American migrants seeking to cross over to the United States. Cast: Paulina Gaitan, Diana Garcia, Damayanti Quintanar, Karl Braun. World Premiere

Taking Chance (Director: Ross Katz; Screenwriters: Ross Katz, Michael Strobl)--Based on real-life events, Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, a volunteer military escort officer, accompanies the body of 19-year-old Marine Chance Phelps back to his hometown of Dubois, Wyoming. Cast: Tom Aldredge, Sherman Alpert, Nicholas Art, Kevin Bacon, Blanche Baker. World Premiere

Toe to Toe (Director and Screenwriter: Emily Abt)--The story of an inter-racial friendship put to the test by the intense pressures of a competitive Washington, D.C. prep school. Cast: Sonequa Martin, Louisa Krause, Silvestre Rasuk, Anwan Glover, Gaius Charles. World Premiere

Films screening in World Cinema Documentary Competition are:

211:Anna / Italy (Directors:Paolo Serbandini & Giovanna Massimetti)--The story of Anna Politkovskaya, a Russian journalist and human rights activist who risked her life to report the truth about the Chechen conflict and President Vladimir Putin. World Premiere

Afghan Star / Afghanistan/UK (Director: Havana Marking)--After 30 years of war and Taliban rule, Pop Idol has come to television in Afghanistan: millions are watching and voting for their favorite singer. This film follows the dramatic stories of four contestants as they risk their lives to sing. North American Premiere

Big River Man / USA (Director: John Maringouin)--An overweight, wine-swilling Slovenian world-record-holding endurance swimmer resolves to brave the mighty Amazon--in nothing but a Speedo(R). World Premiere

Burma VJ / Denmark (Director: Anders Oestergaard)--In September 2007, Burmese journalists risking life imprisonment to report from inside their sealed-off country are suddenly thrown onto the global stage as their pocket camera images of the Saffron Revolution make headlines everywhere. World Premiere

The End of the Line / UK (Director: Rupert Murray)--Based on the book by journalist Charles Clover, The End of the Line reveals the devastating effect that global overfishing is having on fish stocks and the health of our oceans. World Premiere

The Glass House / USA (Director: Hamid Rahmanian)--The Glass House follows four teenage girls striving to overcome drug addiction, abandonment and abuse by attending a rehabilitation center in Tehran. North American Premiere

Kimjongilia / France/USA (Director: N.C. Heikin)--Defectors from North Korea finally speak out about the terrifying reality of their lives--and escapes. World Premiere

Let's Make Money /Austria/China/South Africa/Spain/Switzerland/U.S.A. (Director: Erwin Wagenhofer)--From the factories of India, to financial markets in Singapore, to massive housing developments in Spain and offshore banks in Jersey, Let's Make Money reveals complex and shocking workings of global money flow. World Premiere

Nollywood Babylon / Canada (Directors: Ben Addelman and Samir Mallal)--Welcome to the wacky world of Nollywood, Nigeria's bustling home-grown movie industry. U.S. Premiere

Old Partner / South Korea (Director: Chung-ryoul Lee)--A humble octogenarian farmer lives out his final days with his spitfire wife and his loyal old ox in the Korean countryside. World Premiere

Prom Night in Mississippi / Canada (Director: Paul Saltzman)--When a small-town Mississippi high school resolves to hold its first integrated senior prom, strong emotions fly and traditions are challenged to their core. World Premiere

The Queen and I (Drottningen och jag) /Sweden (Director: Nahid Persson Sarvestani)-- Swedish filmmaker Sarvestani, an Iranian exile who helped overthrow the Shah's regime in 1979, confronts her own assumptions and complex truths about Iran when she enters the life of the Shah's widow. World Premiere

Quest for Honor / Kurdistan / USA (Director: Mary Ann Bruni)--A former teacher and tireless activist works with local lawmen, Kurdish government agencies and her colleagues to investigate and eradicate honor killings in the tribal regions of Kurdistan. World Premiere

Rough Aunties / UK (Director: Kim Longinotto)--Fearless, feisty and unwavering, the 'Rough Aunties' protect and care for the abused, neglected and forgotten children of Durban, South Africa. World Premiere

Thriller in Manila / UK (Director: John Dower)--A tale of betrayal stoked by the racial politics of 1970s America, Thriller in Manila chronicles the most intense and bitter sporting rivalry ever: the 1975 final match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. World Premiere

Tibet in Song / USA (Director: Ngawang Choephel)--Through the story of Tibetan music, this film depicts the determined efforts of Tibetan people, both in Tibet and in exile, to preserve their unique cultural identity. Choephel served six years of an 18-year prison sentence for filming in Tibet. World Premiere

Films screening in World Cinema Dramatic Competition are:

Before Tomorrow (Le Jour Avant Lendemain) / Canada (Directors: Madeline Piujuq & Marie-Helene Cousineau)--A wise old woman fights to survive impossible circumstances with her young grandson in the Canadian arctic. Cast: Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq, Paul-Dylan Ivalu, Madeline Piujuq Ivalu, Mary Qulitalik, Tumasie Sivuarapik. U.S. Premiere

Bronson / UK (Director: Nicolas Winding Refn; Screenwriter: Brock Norman Brock)--Bronson traces the transformation of Mickey Peterson into Britain's most notorious, dangerous, and charismatic prisoner, Charles Bronson. Cast: Tom Hardy. World Premiere

Carmo, Hit the Road / Spain (Director and Screenwriter: Murilo Pasta)-- A lonely, handicapped smuggler and a beautiful girl embark on a reckless ride through a South American border landscape. Cast: Mariana Loureiro, Fele Martinez,Seu Jorge. World Premiere

The Clone Returns (Kuron Wa Kokyo-Wo Mezasu) / Japan (Director and Screenwriter: Kanji Nakajima) --A Japanese astronaut who dies during a mission is subsequently resurrected as a clone and returns to his childhood home. Cast: Mitsuhiro Oikawa, Eri Ishida, Hiromi Nagasaku. North American Premiere

Dada's Dance / China (Director: Zhang Yuan; Screenwriter: Li Xiaofeng)--Dada is a flirtatious young woman who lives with her mother in a small town. Having to fend off the constant advances of her mother's boyfriend who tells her she is adopted, she undertakes a journey in search of her birth mother. Cast: Li Xinyun, Li Xiaofeng, Gai Ge, Chen Jun. World Premiere

An Education / UK (Director: Lone Scherfig; Screenwriter: Nick Hornby)--In the early 60s, a sharp 16-year-old with sights set on Oxford meets a handsome older man whose sophistication enraptures and sidetracks both her and her parents. Cast: Peter Sarsgaard, Carey Mulligan, Alfred Molina, Emma Thompson. World Premiere

Five Minutes of Heaven / UK / (Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel; Screenwriter: Guy Hibbert)--Two men from the same town but from different sides of the Irish political divide discover that the past is never dead--in fact it isn't even past. Cast: Liam Neeson, James Nesbitt, Anamaria Marinca. World Premiere

A French Gigolo (Cliente) / France (Director and Screenwriter: Josiane Balasko)--An attractive, successful 50-something woman regularly treats herself to the sexual services of young men selected on Internet sites. When one particular escort becomes a habit, the relationship gets a bit more complicated. Cast: Nathalie Baye, Eric Caravaca, Isabelle Carre, Josiane Balasko. World Premiere

Heart of Time (Corazon Del Tiempo) / Mexico (Director and Screenwriter: Alberto Cortes)--In La Esperanza de San Pedro, Chiapas, in the midst of the Zapatista struggle, a young woman makes serious waves when she falls in love with a revolutionary fighter from the mountains. Cast: Rocio Barrios. North American Premiere

Louise-Michel / France (Directors: Benoit Delepine and Gustave Kervern)--When a French factory is abruptly closed by its corrupt management, a group of disgruntled female workers pool their paltry compensation money and hire a hit man to knock off the corrupt executive behind the closure. Cast: Yolande Moreau, Bouli Lanners. North American Premiere

Lulu and Jim (Lulu und Jimi)/Germany (Director: Oskar Roehler)--Bright garish colors, rock and roll and wild dance numbers mark this road movie about lovers fleeing from the evil powers of a 1950s deeply bigoted German society. Cast: Jennifer Decker, Ray Fearon, Katrin SaB, Rolf Zacher, Udo Kier. World Premiere

The Maid (La Nana) / Chile (Director and Screenwriter: Sebastian Silva)--When her mistress brings on another servant to help with the chores, a bitter and introverted maid wreaks havoc on the household. Cast: Catalina Saavedra, Claudia Celedon, Mariana Loyola, Alejandro Goic, Andrea Garcia-Huidobro. North American Premiere

One Day in a Life (Un Altro Pianeta) / Italy (Director and Screenwriter: Stefano Tummolini)-- One languid summer day, a man heads to the beach in search of sunshine and bit of peace, but finds himself tangled up in the dramas of an eclectic group of nearby sunbathers. Cast: Antonio Merone, Lucia Mascino. World Premiere

Unmade Beds / UK (Director and Screenwriter: Alexis Dos Santos)--Two young foreigners find romance in the vibrant, artistic underground of London's East End. Cast: Deborah Francois, Fernando Tielve. World Premiere

Victoria Day/Canada (Director and Screenwriter: David Bezmozgis)--Over the course of one week in 1988, the search for a missing teammate, parental expectations, a burgeoning sexual awakening and the rock concert of the century all threaten to jolt a sixteen year old into adulthood. Cast: Mark Rendall, Sergiy Kotelenets, Nataliya Alyexeyenko, Holly Deveaux, John Mavrogiannis. World Premiere

Zion and His Brother (Zion Ve-Achiv) / France / Israel (Director and Screenwriter: Eran Merav) The disappearance of a young boy sends a wedge between two teenage brothers whose loyalty had been unshakeable, in this gritty story of a working class Tel Aviv single-parent family. Cast: Reuven Badalov, Ronit Elkabetz, Tzahi Grad. World Premiere

FIN

Brooklyn’s Finest - Training Day director Antoine Fuqua’s cop tale about three unconnected Brooklyn cops who wind up at the same deadly location after enduring vastly different career paths. The film stars Don Cheadle, Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, Ellen Barkin, Jesse Williams and Lili Taylor.

Living in Brooklyn, I heard so much about this, and the ex-transit worker turned screenwriter's sudden rise to stardom. Director Antoine Fuqua's last directorial effort was 2007's Shooter (Mark Wahlberg) which I didn't see. Box office receipts show a successful run, earning over $95 million on a $60 million budget. Critics were split however.