This year’s Raindance Film Festival lineup includes 105 features and over 138 shorts and 64 UK Premieres, 13 International Premieres, 5 European Premieres, 19 World Premieres and 24 Directorial Debuts from 38 countries with another exceptional year of internationally acclaimed films, special live events, exclusive Q&As and masterclasses. The festival will take place from 26th September to 7th October at its home of Apollo Cinema in Piccadilly Circus.
FESTIVAL OPEN:
Wednesday 26th September is the International Premiere of HERE COMES THE DEVIL – a fantasy horror film from Mexico. In this film, a married couple on a family trip lose their children while exploring some caves near Tijuana. Their children eventually reappear without any explanation, but it is clear that something terrifying has changed them.
The Opening Night afterparty will feature the band The Real Tuesday Weld which was reviewed by The Sunday Times as, “beautiful…giddily recalls Gainsbourg, Pulp, Cole Porter, early Disney soundtracks and seedy postwar revue bars” and received their Album of the Week.
UK HOMEGROWN STRAND:
The best in British filmmaking talent will be showcased, including three World Premieres:
Love Tomorrow written and directed by Christopher Payne, produced by Stephanie Moon and co-produced by Emmy Award-winning dance producers/filmmakers The BalletBoyz. Love Tomorrow is about a tentative friendship that grows into something more between two dancers that meet by chance on the streets of London;.
City Slacker, a comedy starring Tom Conti from the writer of Dummy which previously screened at Raindance, and Confine about a heist gone wrong which stars Daisy Lowe and Alfie Allen and is directed by Tobias Tobbell.
Also in this year’s UK strand is String Caesar, featuring Derek Jacobi who stars as Caesar alongside real life prisoners, bringing the classic Julius Caesar into the 21st Century.
AMERICAN INDIE STRAND:
This year includes many exciting films, including the World Premiere of Dark Hearts directed by Rudol Buitendach, former prize winner at Raindance and starring Sonja Kinski, daughter of Nastassja Kinski.
Also showing, The Grief Tourist directed by Suri Krishnama and starring Melanie Griffith and Michael Cudlitz.
Mon Ami which recently screened to great acclaim at Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival is said to be Fargo meets Dumb and Dumber in a horror movie disguised as a buddy comedy. Me and You At the Zoo, screened at Sundance, provides a cautionary tale as it chronicles several years in the endlessly self-recorded life of Chris Crocker, known for his 2007 “Leave Britney Alone!” YouTube rant.
EUROPEAN STRAND:
From Europe comes Heavy Girls, an ultra-low budget feature from Germany about love and dementia; The Practical Guide to Belgrade with Singing and Crying a contemporary romantic comedy from Serbia and Vegetarian Cannibal a multiple award-winner at the Pula Film Festival.
Raindance also offers an extraordinary Documentary strand, which includes the multi-award winning Zero Killed a documentary/feature hybrid directed by Michal Kosakowski who asked people with different backgrounds about their murder fantasies.
There will also be a unique spotlight n Quebec this year including 4 Features and 1 Documentary.
Continuing the festival’s longstanding affiliation with music, this year features My Father and the Man in Black, the untold story of Johnny Cash and his talented but troubled manager Saul Holiff. Also Soundbreaker about Finland’s most daring contemporary musician Kimmo Pohjonen.
In addition to the numerous films and shorts, Raindance will welcome American novelist and journalist Chuck Palahniuk to the festival, best known for his novel and later adapted to film, Fight Club. Palahniuk will introduce his own short film Romance which is based on one of his stories.
FESTIVAL CLOSE:
Raindance Film Festival Award winners will be announced on Saturday 6 October, 6pm at the Apollo Cinema West End.
On Sunday 7th October is the UK Premiere of 7 CRATES, from Paraguay and fresh from its screening in Toronto Film Festival’s vanguard section. The film centers around Victor, a seventeen year old, who lives in Asunción and dreams of having a TV set. In order to earn 100 dollars he agrees to deliver seven boxes. It sounds like an easy enough job, but the boxes contain something everyone wants.
A full list of confirmed Features can be found here.