Doc Edge Festival winners unveiled

Doc Edge Festival winners unveiled

 DOC EDGE FESTIVAL CELEBRATES THE WINNERS

It’s been a momentous year for the 11th Documentary Edge International Film Festival (Doc Edge) with a smorgasbord of film screenings, the introduction of Docs 4 Schools, and a bevy of international guests coming to NZ for the Festival and Screen Edge Forum.
Ahead of Wellington’s final weekend and before the Festival opens in Auckland on the 18^th May, the Festival Judges are proud to announce the 2016 award winners from last night, 12th May.

Miners Shot Down was declared overall winner of Best International Feature Documentary, jurors calling it “an extraordinarily nuanced microcosm of post-Apartheid South Africa.” Filmed over seven days in August 2012, Miners Shot Down focuses on workers in one of South Africa’s biggest platinum mines as they strike for better wages. The International documentaries this year packed a powerful punch with incredible footage illuminating our world, and the real-life struggles and successes people are facing. This made it an incredibly tough choice for the judges to pick a winner. A special mention was given to Among The Believers with jurors noting that the “access and balancing of the tensions between two such extreme worlds is a remarkable achievement”, and Sonita, a “striking” film with a “phenomenal teenager” as the main subject.

The Best New Zealand Feature Documentary was taken out by Loving in Limbo, with director Susan Parker winning Best New Zealand Director as well. The global love story follows Kiwi Hap Cameron and his American love, Mandy Tod, over seven years and several continents as they battle to stay together whilst facing long distance separation, immigration bans and family issues. Awards were also handed out across the NZ feature films for excellent editing, cinematography and to highlight emerging filmmaker, Lisa Burd for her film Monterey.

Mohammed Naqvi and Hemal Trivedi, co-directors of Among The Believers, won the award for Best International Director. Jurors were impressed by the filmmakers’ ability to give the audience a deeper and more insightful look into radical Islam, commenting that “[Among The Believers] takes us way beyond the news bites and daily news stories that populate our main stream media and provides an intimate view of this volatile world providing rare and surprisingly sympathetic insight into both the radical and the moderates.”

The short films ranging from 6 minutes to 40 minutes impressed the judges too. The 2016 Academy Award® Documentary (Short Subject) winner A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, won Best International Short Documentary at the Doc Edge Awards, judges hailing it as “an example of activist filmmaking at its best.” From NZ On the Backs of Women won Best New Zealand Short Documentary, with humorous short film An Animated Guy receiving a special mention.

Marti Friedlander is one of New Zealand's most acclaimed photographers, with a career spanning over 50 years. This year Friedlander was awarded the Doc Edge Superhero Award for her dedication and skill in documenting Aotearoa through still images. A set of black and white images, taken by Friedlander in the 70s, were chosen to grace the covers of the programme and website. Forty years on and Friedlander is keen to find the grinning kids from the images, which were taken in Grey Lynn, Auckland.

Full list of Winners Doc Edge Awards 2016:
Best International Feature - Miners Shot Down

                         -  Special Mention – Sonita

                         -  Special Mention – Among the Believers
Best New Zealand Feature – Loving in Limbo
Best International Short – A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness
Best New Zealand Short – On the Backs of Women
                          - Special Mention – An Animated Guy
Best International Feature Director - Mohammed Naqvi and Hemal Trivedi, Among The Believers
Best New Zealand Director – Susan Parker, Loving in Limbo
Best New Zealand Editing – The Sound of Her Guitar
Best New Zealand Cinematography - A Kick to Heaven
Best New Zealand Emerging Filmmaker - Lisa Burd, Monterey
Doc Edge Superhero Award - Marti Friedlander

NEW ZEALAND ON AIR AWARDS:
Best TV Documentary or Series  - Target Zero,  Producer/Director: Kathleen Mantel
Best NZ Online Documentary or Web Series  - Loading Docs - Notable Pictures - Julia Parnell
 

Images for winning films available in this dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jjprbf16n0esy3e/AACD__SB-ylNshAryCpr2Zo3a?dl=0

 

For the full programme and the latest news regarding the 2016 season visit
www.docedge.nz

KEY DATES:
4-15 May 2016 - Doc Edge Festival: Wellington – The Roxy, Miramar
18-29 May 2016 - Doc Edge Festival: Auckland – Q Theatre, Auckland CBD
13 May 2016 Screen Edge Forum: Wellington – Park Road Post, Miramar
18 May 2016 Screen Edge Forum: Auckland – AUT, Auckland CBD

Win a double pass to see Money Monster

Win a double pass to see Money Monster

To celebrate the release of Money Monster, in cinemas 2nd June, I've got double passes to see the movie to giveaway!

About Money Monster

In the real-time, high stakes thriller Money Monster, George Clooney and Julia Roberts star as financial TV host Lee Gates and his producer Patty, who are put in an extreme situation when an irate investor who has lost everything (Jack O’Connell) forcefully takes over their studio. 

During a tense stand-off broadcast to millions on live TV, Lee and Patty must work furiously against the clock to unravel the mystery behind a conspiracy at the heart of today's fast-paced, high-tech global markets.

Money Monster is Directed by:Jodie Foster, with a Screenplay by: Jamie Linden and Alan DiFiore & Jim Kouf

Story by:Alan DiFiore & Jim Kouf, Produced by:Daniel Dubiecki, Lara Alameddine, George Clooney, Grant Heslov. Executive Producers: Kerry Orent, Tim Crane, Regina Sculley, Ben Waisbren

Money Monster stars:

George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jack O’Connell, Dominic West, Caitriona Balfe, Giancarlo Esposito

Money Monster ©2016 CTMG. All rights Reserved. In Cinemas 2nd June.

To enter simply email to this address: darrensworldofentertainment@gmail.com and in the subject line put MONEY MONSTER. 

Please include your name and address and good luck! NB Competition closes 2 June - editor's decision final!

HITMAN - First Elusive Target

HITMAN - First Elusive Target

First Elusive Target coming Friday 13^th of May

SYDNEY, 13^TH May 2016 – Later today will see the first Elusive Target appear in HITMAN™. Elusive Targets are part of the live content being published for HITMAN in-between episodes and represent a new game mode debuting for players. The Elusive Targets are specially crafted, unique targets, which come with particular rules:

• An Elusive Target is a once in a lifetime experience
• They are available for a limited time only in game – this first Elusive Target will last 48 hours
• Intel on the target will be limited
• They will not appear in instinct mode, or the mini map and their locations will not be revealed to you – you’ll have to go and find them
• Plan accordingly before you engage your target
• Your target can only die once
• If you die during the mission, that’s it
• When the time runs out, they are gone for good
• If you fail, there are no second chances

As this is the first Elusive Target we wanted to let players know in advance, however there may not be so much warning next time so keep your ears close to the ground, visit the forums or follow HITMAN on social media to ensure you don’t miss out – Bonne chance .

HITMAN is available on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Windows PC.

Final Fantasy XV: Big Bang animation

Final Fantasy XV: Big Bang animation

FINAL FANTASY XV ‘BIG BANG’ Animation

SYDNEY, 13^TH May 2016 - The legendary Final Fantasy artist Yoshitaka Amano expands the Final Fantasy XV universe with a Big Bang!

Yoshitaka Amano is world renowned for his work on the Final Fantasy franchise. His artwork is synonymous with the identity of the series and for Final Fantasy XV he has created another masterpiece called “Big Bang”. This tapestry depicts the universe of Final Fantasy XV and for the first time ever, Amano’s artwork has been brought to life. Join us on a journey through this magnificent piece of art like never before!

Watch the Final Fantasy XV ‘Big Bang’ animation video at: https://youtu.be/g7VR_Lq44zs

Final Fantasy XV will be released worldwide on September 30, 2016 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.




Meanwhile....

 

LEGENDARY ROLE-PLAYING CLASSICS, FINAL FANTASY X/X-2 HD REMASTER,

ARRIVES ON PC TODAY

Available Now via Steam With a 20% Discount

SYDNEY, 13^TH May 2016 –   Square Enix Ltd., today announced that FINAL FANTASY® X/X-2 HD Remaster, two fan favourites in the FINAL FANTASY series, is now available on STEAM®. FINAL FANTASY X/X-2 HD Remaster brings two timeless classic forward to the current generation of fans, both old and new alike, now completely remastered in stunning High Definition. FINAL FANTASY X/X-2 HD Remaster for STEAM offers various new features including;

• Characters, monsters, and environments have been refined in HD detail - providing a richer and deeper FINAL FANTASY visual experience.
• Remastered and rearranged BGM
• International Edition content
• Auto-save functionality and 5 game boosters including high speed and no encounter modes
• Full Steam Trading Cards and achievements.

FINAL FANTASY X tells the story of Tidus, a star blitzball player who journeys with a young and beautiful summoner named Yuna on her quest to save the world of Spira from an endless cycle of destruction wrought by the colossal menace known as Sin.

FINAL FANTASY X-2 returns to the world of Spira two years after the beginning of the Eternal Calm. Having been shown a mysterious but familiar image in a sphere, Yuna becomes a Sphere Hunter and, along with her companions Rikku and Paine, embarks on a quest around the world to find the answers to the mystery within.

Watch the ‘FINAL FANTASY X | X-2 HD Remaster for Steam

Alice Through The Looking Glass: Film Review

Alice Through The Looking Glass: Film Review

Cast: Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham-Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen, Anne Hathaway
Director: James Bobin

If 2010's Alice In Wonderland was a mish-mash of concepts and colours, this sequel six years after the last is a drab dour psychological piece.

When Alice (Mia Wasikowska) returns to land after years away at sea, she finds that she has to head back to Wonderland to escape the confines of Victorian life. However, when she arrives there, she discovers her friend the Hatter (Depp) is no longer the man he used to be due to deep-rooted psychological issues.

When told by the White Queen (Hathaway) and her chums that she may be able to save things if she heads back in time. So setting out to steal the Chronosphere, guarded by time himself (Sacha Baron Cohen), Alice heads off on a dangerous mission to change the past and future.

Essentially riffing on Back To The Future 2, and feeling like every time travel cliche you've seen, the FX laden fantasy Alice Through The Looking Glass is anything but a colourful blast back into Lewis Carroll's world, preferring more to be a Daddy issues film and a sibling rivalry exploration.

With Baron Cohen providing an extended riff on Werner Herzog / Christoph Waltz as Time (and his minions coming together like Transformers when it's needed), and Depp looking like a sullen faced Beetlejuice reject, the film has Tim Burton's breath all over it, even if the Muppets and Flight of The Conchords' James Bobin is directing it.

The themes of escape for Alice and of damage for The Hatter are perfectly fine, but give the whole thing a wash of deep darkness whose hues it's hard to escape. It's a psychologically oppressive piece that darts back and forth through time and is anchored by a relatively strong Wasikowska who has little to really work with.

Despite being told she could do six impossible things before breakfast, Alice this time around is slightly thwarted by a plot that's more about showcasing its effects and costumes than it is about delving into character. Consequently, characters like Hathaway's White Queen waft ethereally in and out without much depth or commanding much attention.

Depp's nicely muted and forlorn as the Hatter whose world is crumbling at the loss of his family, but really he looks like Edward Scissorhands in another get up, and his zaniness that zinged the first film is much missed here.

Moving away from the book's original story was perhaps a brave and bold move, but the fact the film hardly stays in one place for long enough as the protagonists zoom through time in gyroscopes does little to fully engage, despite period details and settings doing much to create an atmosphere that's almost stifled by the over-complicated yet somehow underwritten moments.

Even though the darker and dourer elements of this Alice, What's The Hatter piece are welcome, the film's whole lasting impression, despite the politics of Alice wanting more from her life than conforming or what society sets down for her (a commendable message to young girls), is one of missing Burton's original vision for - and his whimsical touches on - the cinematic Wonderland.

The Spanish Film Festival is coming

The Spanish Film Festival is coming

Spanish Affair 2 movie to open the NZ leg of the Spanish Film Festival.

17 Spanish language films spanning genres from romantic comedies to thrillers will take the stage at the Academy Theatre this May as the Spanish Film Festival returns to Auckland after a hiatus of several years.

The New Zealand Spanish Film Festival will run between May 19th- 5th June at the Academy Cinema in Auckland CBD.

Opening the festival with a gala screening on May 19th  is the Spanish romantic comedy Spanish Affair 2. The film tells the story of Rafael, a Sevillian who has never left Andalucia who decides to leave his homeland to follow Amaia, a Basque girl unlike any other women he has ever known. The film was the highest grossing film for 2015 at the Spanish box office.

Also making its New Zealand premiere at the Spanish Film Festival is the Oscar nominated Colombian film Embrace of the Serpent.  Directed by Ciro Guerra, Embrace of the Serpent film won the Art Cinema Award in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival and it was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards.

 

Embrace of the Serpent

Other festival highlights include Penelope Cruz's starring turn as a woman fighting breast cancer in acclaimed director Julio Mediums (Sex and Lucia, Chaotic Ana) newest feature, Ma Ma, and an indepth behind the scenes portrayal of one of the biggest soccer clubs in the world, FC Barcelona, in Barça Dreams.

Penelope Cruz in Ma Ma 

My Big Night brings together a cast of Spanish superstars, and a hilarious story that could only come from the mind of cult director and former comic book artist Alex de la Iglesia (Witching and Bitching). Eva No Duerme, starring Gael Garcia Bernal, brings an incredible true story to the festival, telling of the movement of Eva Peron’s body through the Argentinean political revolution.

The Spanish film festival runs from Thursday 19th May - Sunday 5th June

More information here - http://www.spanishfilmfestival.com/

Assassin's Creed - Trailer 1 launches

Assassin's Creed - Trailer 1 launches

Watch the first trailer for ‪ Assassin's Creed starring Michael Fassbender

In cinemas January 1^st, 2017