Carmel International Film Festival

MIIS Theater, Carmel Int’l Film Fest
The Carmel International Film Festival is honored to be partnering with the Middlebury Institute for International Studies. We have put together an eclectic line up of film programs that we think will appeal to a broad range of audiences – but in all cases these films, whether shorts, documentaries or feature films, are provocative and thought provoking. And it’s affordable as well! Five dollars cash at the door for students and faculty! We hope you enjoy and take part!

FRIDAY, October 21

Pearl of Africa (Documentary)
5:30 pm

A film about love, hate and being transgender in one of the world’s most transphobic places.

Uganda is a small land-locked country in East Africa. Once named THE PEARL OF AFRICA by Winston Churchill. A country blessed with its diversity in ethnicity, gender, flora and fauna. Yet in all this richness it struggles to recognise & appreciate this diversity. Enter the life of Cleopatra Kambugu, a 27 year old Ugandan Transgender Woman. She’s biologically born male, but against all odds transitioning into the woman she knows she was born to be.

In the film we get to follow her as she questions gender expression and identity, reshape attitudes and uncover the realities of a people whose existence has been shrouded in myth and prejudice. In a feature length documentary we embark on a life-changing journey. We follow Cleo who seeks to shine light on the intricate concepts of her gender identity. She rewrites the story of a transgender woman that has for long been shrouded in darkness and misunderstood.

A remarkable film from filmmaker Jonny von Wallström –a Swedish cinematographer turned self-shooting director. Born in Sandviken, a small industrial city in the middle of Sweden. He hated going to school and as a kid he dreamed of becoming a professional football player. It wasn’t until he was 17 that he discovered his love for art, which has taken him on a quest around the world, trying to understand the world we live in.

Imperfect Sky, (Feature) Filmmakers in attendance
7:30 pm

A story of two brothers, love, family, but sadly enough, also heroin. The film follows the younger brother, Abel as he sets out to New York for an early college acceptance program. But not before making an unannounced visit to Los Angles to visit his estranged older brother Skyler who is battling addiction. What unfolds is a gripping and realistic and almost documentary-like view of the life of heroin in South Central LosAngeles.
Director: Graham Streeter
Cast: Sam Lucas Smith, Blake Scott Lewis, Tim Bagley, Amy Hill

SATURDAY, October 22

Shorts Program
10:00 am
A line-up of short films often produced by young filmmakers on their way up.

Shorts Program, Chapman University
12:30 pm
A shorts program from one of the top film schools in California

Remember Me (feature) – Filmmakers in attendance
3:00 PM
Academy Award winner Rita Moreno and silver screen newcomer Steve Goldbloom
star in this coming-of-age-at-30 comedy about Vincent, a self-involved grandson, who
stops by his grandparents’ house for lunch and ends up on a road trip with his
insufferable cousin to take their seemingly frail grandmother to assisted living.
Along the way it becomes clear that their grandmother is not so frail, but was instead
over-medicated. When she returns to her feisty, vibrant self, Vincent must decide what
it means to really live.

Steve Goldbloom is a writer, producer, and performer based in Los Angeles. In 2014, Steve created and hosted the PBS series Everything but the News, which lampooned Silicon Valley and public broadcasting. The show earned critical acclaim and was ranked best digital series by USA Today in its first year. In February 2016, Goldbloom launched a new sketch series with AOL entitled On the Brink of Greatness. He serves as a writer/performer on the show which comments on tech culture through scripted and unscripted reports. Steve’s work off camera includes creating the series Brief but
Spectacular, a weekly interview series for PBS NewsHour. REMEMBER ME is Steve’s
feature film debut.
Director: Steve Goldbloom
Principal Cast: Rita Moreno, Steve Goldbloom, Ray Reinhardt, Joel Kelley Dauten
Running Time: 1 hour 23 minutes
U.S.A.

Winning (Documentary)
5:30 pm

One film. Five legendary athletes. The compelling and inspiring story of the journeys of some of the most iconic figures in sports - tennis champion, Martina Navratilova, golf great, Jack Nicklaus, Olympic gymnast, Nadia Comaneci, track and field star, Edwin Moses, and Dutch Paralympian, Esther Vergeer - their dreams, challenges and triumphs. Through candid interviews and footage of their most exciting championship moments, the film explores why some athletes achieve greatness.
Jacqueline Joseph

Director Jacqueline was hired by Arthur Ashe to run his Foundation and then managed digital strategy and produced websites for Wimbledon, U.S. Open, French Open, Australian Open, The Masters and Fortune 500 companies before focusing on film. Jacqueline has directed narrative and documentary shorts, worked as a videographer on a feature film and produced multi-lingual TV PSAs that aired globally. “WINNING” is her first feature film.

Director: Jacqueline Joseph
Running Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
U.S.A.

Manhattan Undying (Feature)
8:30 pm

Max is a talented young painter with a cult following for his hyper-realist style. Frustrated, he is squandering his life with drugs and excess until he learns that he has only weeks to live with advanced lung cancer. He decides to work on one last masterpiece instead of clinging to life with rigorous medical treatment. Vivian is a beautiful vampire preying on men who objectify women. She yearns to see her herself and understand the infatuation of her victims. Vivian and Max’s paths cross when she appears in his studio so he can paint her portrait. Max seeks to find immortality in his final work inspired by Vivian while Vivian struggles to model for him. Their deep understanding and common plight develops into an impossible love. They both face a challenge of choosing between immortality or eternal love.

Director Babak Payami was born in Tehran, Iran in 1966. He wrote, produced and directed
his debut feature film “One More Day.” It premiered in the official Panorama Special
program of the Berlinale 2000 and won the Best Artistic Contribution Award at the
Tokyo IFF. For his second feature, “Secret Ballot,” Payami won several honors
including the Silver Lion for Best Director at the 2001 Venice Film Festival, the
FIPRESCI prize at the London Film Festival and the NETPAC Award at the
Rotterdam Film Festival. His next film was “Silence Between Two Thoughts,” which
would also go on to screen at the Venice Film Festival.
Running Time: 1 hour 29 minutes
Production Location: Canada
Filming Location: U.S.A., Canada

For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit http://carmelfilmfest.com/