EXCLUSIVE: The Naples Movie Competition – thought-about one of many high regional festivals within the U.S. – introduced the lineup immediately for its 17th version, operating October 23-26 within the city on Florida’s Gulf coast.
The occasion, a program of Artis-Naples, a multidisciplinary arts group, presents a slate of 60 worldwide fiction and nonfiction movies chosen from amongst 1,000 submissions. 5 world premieres and one U.S. premiere are on this system. Greater than $15,000 in prize cash will likely be awarded to juried and viewers prize winners throughout a variety of classes.
‘On a String’
Naples Worldwide Movie Competition
On a String, chosen for Narrative Competitors, marks the directorial debut of actress-filmmaker Isabel Hagen. Logline: “A Juilliard-trained violist nonetheless dwelling at residence together with her mother and father in New York Metropolis makes cash taking part in gigs with mates till her poisonous ex reappears and informs her of a gap for a violist in a prestigious orchestra.”
ZDF/Arte
Documentary Competitors features a movie with a Florida tie-in: Apollo 1, directed by Mark Craig, “seems again on the tragedy that killed astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee on January 27, 1967, in Cape Canaveral, Florida.”
Famous filmmaker Patrick Creadon (Wordplay, I.O.U.S.A, Hesburgh) brings The Pantone Man to Naples, a documentary that additionally boasts a Florida connection. The movie facilities on 96-year-old Palm Seaside resident Larry Herbert who created the Pantone Matching System, “which revolutionized the worldwide use of colour, enhancing creative expression and industrial manufacturing.”
Syntaxis Productions
Insurgent With a Clause, from director Brandt Johnson, introduces audiences to a grammar guru who “takes her pop-up grammar recommendation on a highway journey throughout all 50 states to point out that comma fights can carry us nearer collectively in a divided time.”
‘The Princess Bride’
Twentieth Century Fox
NIFF closes on Sunday, October 26 not with a brand new movie, however a traditional offered in novel vogue. The screening of beloved 1987 journey comedy The Princess Bride, directed by Rob Reiner, will function a dwell efficiency of Mark Knopfler’s rating by the Naples Philharmonic, performed by Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly.
“Annually, the Naples Worldwide Movie Competition affirms the position of movie as an important artwork kind inside our multidisciplinary mission,” stated Artis—Naples CEO and President Kathleen van Bergen. “This yr’s lineup presents tales and views that cross cultures and experiences, reminding us of the numerous methods the humanities can deepen our understanding of ourselves and one another. NIFF continues to be a spot for filmmakers and movie lovers to return collectively in significant dialogue, sparking conversations that proceed lengthy after the pageant ends.”
Naples Worldwide Movie Competition
David Filner, EVP, creative operations, commented, “Our workforce has spent the previous a number of months shaping a lineup that displays the wealthy and different spirit of impartial cinema. From highly effective documentaries to creative narrative options and brief movies, these picks invite audiences into an expertise that’s as participating as it’s numerous. NIFF stays an area the place filmmakers and movie lovers share within the discovery and pleasure that solely cinema can encourage.”
The Naples Worldwide Movie Competition made MovieMaker journal’s checklist of Prime 25 Coolest Movie Festivals within the World in 2019, and final yr earned the journal’s rating as one of many “Prime 50 Movie Festivals Definitely worth the Submission Charge.”
“NIFF is greater than a pageant,” famous Competition Producer Shannon Franklin. “It has earned a fame as a welcoming vacation spot for each rising and established filmmakers who know their work will likely be embraced and celebrated right here. The heat of the Southwest Florida neighborhood makes the expertise really particular for everybody, and we stay up for the vitality and sense of celebration this yr’s pageant will carry.”
That is the complete lineup introduced immediately:
OPENING NIGHT SHORT FILMS
A Buddy of Dorothy EAST COAST PREMIERE
Director: Lee Knight; Nation: U.Ok. | Operating time: 21 minutes
A lonely widow’s quiet life is upended when a teenage boy by chance kicks a ball into her backyard, resulting in a blossoming friendship neither may have imagined.
Drop Off
Director: Ric Serena; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 3 minutes
A pair unravels as parenting takes its toll, resulting in a debate about unloading their kids at a close-by fireplace station.
Studying The best way to Drive
Director: Tyler Cunningham; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 10 minutes
A latest L.A. transplant and struggling actress-turned-babysitter should chauffeur a precocious preteen to a celebration in Laurel Canyon. There’s only one downside: She barely is aware of easy methods to drive.
Retirement Plan
Director:John Kelly; Nation: Eire | Operating Time: 7 minutes
Missing enthusiasm in his overstimulated midlife, Ray (Domhnall Gleeson) goals of the sweetness and pleasure he’ll discover in retirement.
The Singers
Director: Sam Davis; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 18 minutes
The Singers explores the complexities of masculinity and the ability of vulnerability by way of artwork as a pub of downtrodden patrons unexpectedly connects by way of an impromptu sing-off.
Willow and Wu
Director: Kathy Meng; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 14 minutes
On her time without work—and recent off a breakup—Willow, a younger, overworked assistant, is assigned to assist her high-powered boss’ husband with a weird job that’s clearly past her job duties.
Xmas Tree EAST COAST PREMIERE
Director: Herman Karlsson; Nation: Finland | Operating Time: quarter-hour
When somebody steals the costly Christmas tree Marco bought, he refuses to purchase one other one. As an alternative, he decides to steal one from a close-by property owned by a neighbor. Sadly, his plan goes awry.
CLOSING NIGHT FILM PRESENTATION
The Princess Bride
Director: Rob Reiner; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 98 minutes
A fairy story journey about a stupendous younger lady and her one real love who should discover her after an extended separation and save her from the evils of the legendary kingdom of Florin.
NARRATIVE COMPETITION FEATURES
Glad As Larry
Director: Hugo André; Nation: U.Ok. | Operating Time: 87 minutes
Unhappy with life after years of writing novels extra attention-grabbing than his personal life, Larry goes on one final journey earlier than his scheduled demise. However Dale, an uninvited companion, disrupts his closing chapter.
Mistura
Director: Ricardo de Montreuil; Nation: Peru | Operating Time: 97 minutes
A prejudiced lady’s life unravels after her husband leaves her. Out of necessity, she opens a restaurant, the place a various workforce slowly transforms her, main her to find Peru’s outstanding delicacies and other people.
On a String
Director: Isabel Hagen; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 78 minutes
A Juilliard-trained violist nonetheless dwelling at residence together with her mother and father in New York Metropolis makes cash taking part in gigs with mates till her poisonous ex reappears and informs her of a gap for a violist in a prestigious orchestra.
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION FEATURES
Apollo 1
Director: Mark Craig; Nations: U.Ok./Germany | Operating Time: 102 minutes
As a brand new era readies a return to the moon, Apollo 1 seems again on the tragedy that killed astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee on January 27, 1967, in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Coroner to the Stars
Administrators: Ben Hethcoat, Keita Ideno; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 83 minutes
Study Dr. Thomas Noguchi, the previous Los Angeles County chief medical examiner-coroner, whose groundbreaking autopsies from Marilyn Monroe to John Belushi without end formed American tradition.
Jimmy & The Demons
Director: Cindy Meehl; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 93 minutes
Go contained in the thoughts of celebrated sculptor James Grashow, age 79, as he pours time, labor, creativity, ardour and his well being into his magnum opus: a towering sculpture of Jesus and demons.
ADDITIONAL NARRATIVE FEATURES
Do Us Half EAST COAST PREMIERE
Director: Reed Arnold; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 93 minutes
When Rose, Ryan’s never-quite-requited love and greatest good friend from school, exhibits as much as his marriage ceremony unannounced, decided to rectify her best mistake, Ryan’s greatest man, Mark, should navigate a minefield of secrets and techniques to stop the previous from rewriting the long run.
The Simple Type
Director: Katy Chevigny; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 98 minutes
On this genre-bending debut narrative function, veteran documentary filmmaker Katy Chevigny follows a rising middle-aged nation music singer as she navigates the music business whereas attempting to free herself from the on a regular basis points holding her again.
For Worse
Director: Amy Landecker; Nation: U.S. |Operating Time: 85 minutes
Recent off a messy divorce, a 50-year-old sober mother tries to rebuild her life and stumbles into a brand new starting after discovering herself at a Gen Z marriage ceremony behaving like a drunk 25-year-old bridesmaid.
Group – The Schopenhauer Undertaking WORLD PREMIERE
Director: Alexis Lloyd; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 119 minutes
The members of a remedy group take care of its dissolution after a newcomer reveals his intentions to put in writing a TV collection primarily based on his expertise on this world premiere from French filmmaker Alexis Lloyd (30 Beats) that’s been known as “the closest illustration of what group appears like.”
Omaha
Director: Cole Webley; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 83 minutes
Following a tragedy, two kids embark on a cross-country journey with their father, encountering an unfamiliar world. As their journey unfolds, one youngster discovers issues may not be what they appear.
Pilgrim
Administrators: Scout Purdy and Doug Purdy; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 111 minutes
An overachieving teen and her man-child father resolve to hike the California coast on this heartwarming story of connection and discovery.
Appears Like Love
Director: Yana Klimova-Yusupova; Nation: Russia | Operating Time: 92 minutes
Whenever you journey to an unfamiliar place, you by no means know what or who you’ll love. As Liza explores Saint Petersburg for the primary time, she turns into smitten with the town’s sights, bohemian events and two new mates.
ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
Nervousness Membership
Director: Wendy Lobel; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 86 minutes
Nervousness Membership takes the viewers backstage to satisfy with a few of immediately’s most sensible (and anxious) comedians as they candidly share their private struggles with the world’s most prevalent psychological well being situation: anxiousness.
Dream Contact Consider EAST COAST PREMIERE
Director: Jenna Naranjo Winters; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 85 minutes
This movie explores the inspiring life story of blind, Indigenous sculptor Michael Naranjo. With no eyes and the usage of one hand, Naranjo, a veteran who suffered his accidents in a Vietnam grenade assault, creates sculptures coveted by collectors worldwide.
The Pantone Man
Director: Patrick Creadon; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 80 minutes
At age 96, Palm Seaside resident Larry Herbert displays on his life, from his Despair-era Brooklyn upbringing to creating the Pantone Matching System, which revolutionized the worldwide use of colour, enhancing creative expression and industrial manufacturing.
Insurgent With a Clause
Director: Brandt Johnson; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 86 minutes
A grammar guru takes her pop-up grammar recommendation on a highway journey throughout all 50 states to point out that comma fights can carry us nearer collectively in a divided time.
Remembering Large: Juan “Chi Chi” Rodriguez Story
Administrators: Marisol Gonzalez, Alina Mogollon-Volk; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 84 minutes
From the sugarcane plantation to the PGA Corridor of Fame, this documentary function follows the gorgeous rise of a poor Puerto Rican child to turning into one in every of skilled golf’s hottest gamers in historical past.
Silver Screamers
Director: Sean Cisterna; Nation: Canada | Operating Time: 94 minutes
A bunch of seniors dwelling in a retirement neighborhood band collectively on a unprecedented journey—making a horror movie. Alongside the way in which, the seniors problem stereotypes, defy expectations and uncover how the timeless energy of creativity can construct lasting friendships.
Thaw
Director: Robin Hauser; Nations: U.S./Barbados | Operating Time: 86 minutes
Egg freezing is a billion-dollar business that offers girls the liberty to pause their organic clocks and prolong their reproductive selections. Thaw follows three American girls as they navigate their choices and query what “selection” means on this new period of eggs on ice.
The Stamp Thief
Director: Dan Sturman; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 103 minutes
Half detective story, half heist movie and half untold historical past, The Stamp Thief investigates a Holocaust-era rumor {that a} mysterious Nazi stole priceless stamp collections from focus camp victims and buried them in a Polish city.
The True Story of Tamara de Lempicka & The Artwork of Survival
Director: Julie Rubio; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 96 minutes
From her rise on the earth of artwork in Nineteen Twenties Paris and fleeing fascism within the Forties, this documentary traces the turbulent and decadent life and profession of one of many twentieth century’s most revered feminine artists, the preeminent Artwork Deco painter Tamara de Lempicka.
SHORT FILM PACKAGE: A FAMILY AFFAIR
Child Blues
Director: Helen Komini Knudsen; Nation: Norway | Operating Time: 10 minutes
What goes on within the thoughts of a sleep-deprived mom as she takes her napping child on a stroll? Observe Marte on her stroll to a close-by espresso store as she tries to keep away from the threats that will awaken her new child.
The Body U.S. PREMIERE
Director: Óskar Þór Ámundason; Nation: Iceland | Operating Time: 17 minutes
Eva and Halldór’s mom stopped talking since falling unwell. Eva has been taking good care of her with the assistance of nurse Védís, however when Halldór visits, the family steadiness is disrupted with unexpected penalties.
Hāfu
Director: Josh Wolff; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 16 minutes
Emi, a Japanese American and bride-to-be, reconnects together with her lately relocated grandmother. As the 2 find out about one another, Emi begins to embrace a aspect of her she by no means knew, opening a door that may by no means be closed.
Mildred 4 a Million
Director:Kimmie P. Callaway; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 21 minutes
A gregarious great-grandmother who desperately desires the eye of her tech-obsessed great-granddaughter units out on a quest to get 1,000,000 followers on TikTok.
Timeless WORLD PREMIERE
Administrators: Stevo Chang, Rachel Mathieu; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 11 minutes
When an overworked lady encounters a freak accident that leaves time frozen, she thinks she’s lastly discovered the liberty to discover Paris, her dream metropolis, alone.
SHORTS PACKAGE: TWISTS AND TURNS
Midway Haunted
Director: Sam Rudykoff; Nation: Canada | Operating Time: 17 minutes
Jess, a tenant dwelling in a haunted home (as a result of she will’t afford the rest), groups up with a ghost to cease an actual property developer from demolishing the house they share.
The Protagonist Gene
Director: Kyle Leland Cullerton; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 8 minutes
When the timid Lisa meets together with her doctor and is medically recognized as a supporting character, she takes issues into her personal fingers, swallowing an experimental serum to realize major character vitality.
Distant Strutting EAST COAST PREMIERE
Director: Lorna Fitzsimons; Nation: Eire | Operating Time: 12 minutes
Mia, a deaf, proficient younger IT skilled, navigates the complexities of her profession and private life by shifting between actual and imaginary worlds. In the true world, she works remotely, daydreaming about working in a vibrant workplace with enjoyable colleagues.
Rolling Movie, Rocking Historical past, Al Maysles Captures the Beatle
Director: Bart Weiss; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 11 minutes
Al and David Maysles directed among the best documentary movies ever (Gimme Shelter/Gray Gardens), however their work capturing intimate moments of the Beatles’ arrival in New York Metropolis in 1964 hasn’t been instructed till now.
The Second Time Round
Director:Jack Howard; Nation: U.Ok. | Operating Time: 12 minutes
Left alone closing a café on a stormy night time, a younger waitress opens the door to let a mysterious older lady inside, whereas additionally opening her thoughts to the assumption that this second issues greater than she is aware of.
Wilhelm Scream
Director: Anna Quinlan; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 12 minutes
Moreover making motion pictures, the one factor Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Quentin Tarantino and a whole lot of different filmmakers have in widespread is that all of them used a sound impact known as the “Wilhelm Scream,” probably the most notorious inside joke in cinema historical past.
SHORTS PACKAGE: INTERNATIONAL ART OF ANIMATION
Éiru
Director: Giovanna Ferrari; Nation: Eire | Operating Time: 13 minutes
Decided to be a warrior, the smallest youngster of an Iron Age clan is thrust into motion after a properly runs dry. With nobody smaller, she descends into it, hoping to carry water again to her individuals and turn out to be the village’s very unlikely hero.
Hurikán
Director: Jan Saska; Nations: Czech Republic, France, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina | Operating Time: 13 minutes
In one in every of Prague’s wildest districts, Hurikán faces robbers, cops and his personal thirst as he rushes to discover a new keg to save lots of his favourite beer stand from closing whereas additionally impressing a sexy bartender.
Line 12
Administrators: Sarah Schulz, Christopher Schmier; Nation: Germany | Operating Time: 8 minutes
The meticulous and reliable practice conductor on Line 12 has his fastidiously deliberate day upended when he finds a stowaway and carefree musician hiding in his machine room. Then disaster strikes, and the 2 should overcome their variations to save lots of the practice from derailment.
Ovary-Performing
Director: Ida Melum; Nation: U.Ok. | Operating Time: 12 minutes
Whereas caught at her sister’s child bathe, a 30-something lady is pressured to resolve whether or not she desires to have youngsters or not after unexpectedly giving beginning to her reproductive organs.
Patterns
Director: Alex Glawion; Nation: Germany | Operating Time: 8 minutes
A traveler’s constructive mindset goes awry after encountering a barrage of noise and impolite individuals throughout his morning commute, forcing him to placed on his headphones and escape right into a vibrant, patterned world the place he briefly meets a energetic lady earlier than returning to actual life.
Scars We Love
Director: Raphaël Jouzeau; Nation: France | Operating Time: quarter-hour
Regardless of breaking apart, Gaspard remains to be in love with Leïla. When the 2 meet in a café to seek out some closure, they delve into their previous and start to grasp what led to their demise.
Vinny
Director: Declan Boyle; Nation: Eire | Operating Time: 3 minutes
A vinyl report named Vinny takes viewers on a nostalgic journey as he struggles to stay related regardless of modifications in type and codecs, positioning him as a relic of the previous. Is he destined for a lifetime of amassing mud on a shelf, or will he someway make a comeback?
SHORTS PACKAGE: FLORIDA STORIES
George V
Administrators: Dennis Scholl, Dia Kontaxis; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 12 minutes
When a Ukrainian immigrant retires to Nineteen Seventies South Seaside, he discovers a hidden expertise for high quality artwork. Many years later, a younger good friend’s devotion to preserving his work ends in a celebrated museum exhibition.
The Little Brown Fowl
Director: KT Bryden; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 33 minutes
As soon as all the way down to 80 within the wild, the Florida grasshopper sparrow is prone to extinction. Biologist Fabiola ‘Fabby’ Baeza-Tarin and an sudden workforce work collectively to guard the sparrows, their shrinking habitat and the headwaters of the Everglades.
Lynda Fay Braun WORLD PREMIERE
Director: Jacopo Fantastichini; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 6 minutes
Within the wake of Hurricane Ian, Naples-based summary painter Lynda Braun transforms destruction into inspiration, revealing how resilience and creativity can uncover magnificence within the ignored patterns of on a regular basis life.
Parker & Sammy
Administrators: Guto Barra, Peter DiMario; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 33 minutes
Naples residents Parker Seward and Sammy Callari take over the silver display screen on this movie a couple of friendship that develops between a younger man with Down syndrome and an ex-cage fighter.
SHORTS PACKAGE: STUDENT FILMMAKER SHOWCASE
Holy Cow (School) WORLD PREMIERE
Director: Karthik Swaminathan; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 2 minutes
A younger boy in India turns into annoyed by cows within the highway impeding his solution to faculty. However after he rejects the sacred animal, a holy cow exhibits as much as train him a lesson.
Irrational Geographic (School)
Director: Katie Gibbs; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 2 minutes
Regardless of their potential to converse like people, two animals on the set of a wildlife documentary will not be being cooperative. Be part of the movie crew as they try and seize an intense chase scene between the 2.
The Lonely Lifetime of Lint (School)
Director: Sarah Sklar; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 4 minutes
A lint creature within the dryer vent of a nook laundromat turns into conscious of its isolation and loneliness and units out to make a good friend.
Midnight Monsters (School) WORLD PREMIERE
Director: Lauren Greatest; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 2 minutes
A child bunny should overcome her worry of the darkish to confront a sinister wolf made fully of shadows after she believes the massive, dangerous wolf stole her beloved carrot plushie whereas she slept.
Pulpitum (Ok-12)
Director: Caleb Reese Paul; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: quarter-hour
Decided to seek out her lacking sister, Claire investigates the mysterious church rituals of her small city and battles fragmented visions, cryptic encounters, ever-present surveillance, and a dangerously unorthodox society.
Veil of Valor (School)
Director: Emily Rice; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 8 minutes
The quiet resilience of a navy partner is examined after her husband deploys, leaving her to care for his or her younger daughter and face her personal battle with loneliness.
What the Heaven! (School)
Director: Richard Yan; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 13 minutes
When a Chinese language American movie pupil is visited by the ghost of his lately deceased father, the coed isn’t solely pressured to confront the supernatural however is enlisted by the ghost to resolve unfinished enterprise earlier than he can cross on to the afterlife.
The place We Left Off (Ok-12)
Director: Hunter Nickless; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 10 minutes
Childhood sweethearts Vivian and Grant grew up believing they’d their future all deliberate out. However when a secret involves life, their plans to attend the identical school—and dwell out their fortunately ever after—are upended.
Wrestle-Off (School)
Director: Sabatino Ciatti Jr.; Nation: U.S. | Operating Time: 19 minutes
Highschool wrestler Alex battles with the grief of her father’s passing and the hostility of her teammates as she competes for a varsity spot on an all-male wrestling workforce.