Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at the Cannes Film Festival
2014 Finalists: Emerging Filmmaker Showcase Presented by American Express
About the Showcase:
Since 1989, The American Pavilion has offered opportunities in Cannes to film students from around the world. The 2014 Emerging Filmmaker Showcase will provide an opportunity for young filmmakers to have their works seen by Cannes Festival and Film Market attendees. Prizes will be awarded to filmmakers and the top twenty-one films will be screened in a special “Emerging Filmmaker” showcase at The American Pavilion in Cannes.
WINNERS ANNOUNCED!
Emerging Filmmaker Showcase – Best Documentary
FOREST MAN directed by William Douglas McMaster
Emerging Filmmaker Showcase – Best Short Film
TUESDAY directed by Oscar Lalo
Emerging Filmmaker Showcase – Best Student Documentary
PAPER STATE: UNDOCUMENTED, UNAFRAID, UNDETERRED Directed by Elena Gaby, (Vassar College)
Emerging Filmmaker Showcase – Best Student Film
STILL LIFE directed by Martin Sharpe, (AIE Melbourne)
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Screening of 2014 Finalists
Student Short Films & Documentaries: May 20, 2014 (1:00 pm – 3:30 pm)
Emerging Filmmaker Short Films & Documentaries: May 20, 2014 (4:00 pm – 6:15 pm)
Screenings will take place at The American Pavilion Roger Ebert Conference Center
STUDENT FILMS
THE WILD WILD TEST
A senile old man has to re-take his driving test, but he thinks he is in a western film the whole time.
Writer/Director: Jeff Bryson
STRANDED
A stranded man and a silly seagull engage in a chase that lands them both in an unexpected place.
Writer/Director: Donia Liechti, Vicky Penzes
SOLIDARITY
Two undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles, dealing with loss, unknowingly connect through collective action.
Writer/Director: Dustin Brown
Producer: Dustin Brown, Mantas Valantiejus
Cast: Mantas Valantiejus, Elpidia Carrillo
CARRY ON
Trailer | Website
In 1944 Japanese occupied China, a Chinese father tries to save his daughter during the war. When the Japanese troop loots the village, the father stuffs his daughter into a large bag disguised as food, but a Japanese army officer spots his secret.
Producer/Writer/Director: Yatao Li
Cast: Cheng Chang, Miura Kenichi
1893
Environment modeling of the old St. Pancras Midland Station in London.
Director: Ryan Chong
SPACEBOUND
A young astronaut and his dog embark on one last adventure together through space.
Writer/Director: Ellen Su, Kyle Moy
SINKING
One seven year-old recalls the day she hid in a sink cabinet from a gunman who entered her school.
Writer/Director: Joseph Scott Rodriguez
Producer: Molly Castro
Cast: Mandy Goodwin, Dominique Prokapus, Carson Grant
WINI + GEORGE
An unlikely friendship changes one young boy’s life forever. When a shy 9-year-old outcast, first meets his 75-year-old reclusive neighbor, he’s immediately frightened by her. But soon enough, these two realize that they have more in common with each other than they do with the rest of the world.
Writer/Director: Benjamin Monie
Producer: Connor Flanagan, Jenny Koreny, Lindsey Villarreal
Cast: Will Babbitt, Katharine Ross
STILL LIFE
A bored and weary security guard does his nightly rounds of a dark and deserted art gallery when strange things start to happen..
Writer/Director: Martin Sharpe
EMERGING FILMMAKER SHORT FILMS
THE CORNER TABLE
A mysterious old foreigner visits India after 25 long years and becomes a regular at a charming town cafe. The conversations at the corner table with the gentleman and a young café waitress reveals a mystery on how strangers can sometimes become friends in the most unexpected way!
Writer/Director: Manjari Makijany
Producer: Manjari Makijany, Emmanuel Pappas
Cast: Tom Alter, Vinati Makijany, Pushtiie Shakti, Krishna Chaturvedi, Reuben Karkaria, Bhavna Pani, Vikrant Makijany
SINCERITY (SINCERIDAD)
Trailer | Website
A young man decides to tell his parents a secret he’s been keeping to himself.
Director: Andrea Casaseca Ferrer
Writer: Maria Rodriguez Mora
Producer: Idoia Kareaga
Cast: Gerald B. Fillmore, Javier Laorden, Kiti Manver
UPS & DOWNS
Harry is embarrassed and ashamed of his brother Josh who suffers from Down’s Syndrome. At Harry’s 18th birthday party, Josh is told to stay away from Harry’s friends, but as Harry’s heavy drinking results in danger, only his brother can help.
Director: Stuart Fryer
Writer: Adam Cohen
Producer: Charlotte Woodhead
Cast: Bobby Lockwood, Otto Baxter, Edward Ashley, Sophie Coward, Vanessa Bailey
THE USUAL
Set in the 1930s, a privileged couple learns, through a series of events, the meaning of pay-it-forward, when they unexpectedly find themselves the ones in need.
Writer/Director: Dawn Higginbotham
Producer: Dawn Higginbotham, Kumari Bakhru, Claire Risoli, Sharen Davis and Renee O’Connor
Cast: Renee O’Connor, Mackenzie Astin, Russell Sams, Raymond O’Connor, Dustin Quick, Robert Pullman
TUESDAY
A man who takes an unexpected turn, struggles to keep all the pieces of his life together.
Writer/Director: Oscar Lalo
Producer: Laura Bunbury, Lisa Bunbury
Cast: Oscar Lalo, Liv Southard
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
What happens when one man decides to embellish his online status?
Writer/Director: Shaun Higton
Producer: Andrew Adam Higton
Cast: Espen Alknes, Benedicte Westbye
TODAY’S THE DAY
Trailer | Website
With the clock ticking away, Cloud Walker, a self-doubting intern at the most respected dance agency in LA must ask the boss for his consent to attend the biggest the audition of the year. Struggling with his inner fears, Cloud’s dreams are quickly slipping away. It’s up to him to follow his heart or live the rest of his life in regret.
Director: Daniel Campos
Writer: Daniel Campos, Tamara Levinson
Producer: Spencer Susser, Tova Dann
Cast: Daniel Campos, Danny DeVito
EMERGING STUDENT DOCUMENTARIES
EVICTION
Trailer | Website
In the midst of an ongoing battle between impoverished Cambodians and powerful private companies over increasingly valuable land, a 72-year-old grandmother struggles to protect her home, family and community from land grabbing that often amounts to violent forced evictions.
Director: Garret Atlakson
Producer: Philip Atlakson, Mony Rath
Cast: Nget Khun
PAPER STATE: UNDOCUMENTED, UNAFRAID, UNDETERRED
Four undocumented teenagers in Hudson Valley, NY, struggle to rise above their legal status and make the transition from high school to college.
Writer/Director: Elena Gaby
Producer: Ashlei Hardenburg
EMERGING DOCUMENTARIES
BEING DIFFERENT IF YOU’RE A WEDDELL SEAL IN ANTARCTICA
Trailer | Website
Being different can mean a matter of life or death if you’re a Weddell seal pup in Antarctica. Ecologists from Montana State University return every year to study this iconic Antarctic marine predator, the southernmost mammal on Earth.
Writer/Director: Mary Lynn Price
HUMANEXUS
Humanexus is a reflection on mankind’s long search for ways to connect each other, from cave drawings to tweeting.
Director: Ying-Fang Shen
Producer: Katy Borner
FOREST MAN
The incredible story of Jadav Payeng, an Indian man who single-handedly planted nearly 1400 acres of forest to save his island, Majuli.
Writer/Director: William Douglas McMaster
Producer: William Douglas McMaster, Mike Ritchie