Two LFS graduates have been selected for the 19^th session of the prestigious Cannes Residence Paz Fabrega (c 151) and Oliver Hermanus (c 161).  LFS graduates have been selected every year for the past five years.

from screendaily

The Cannes Residence has announced participants for its autumn session, which runs from October 1 to February 15.

The six film-makers will go to Paris to develop their scripts and meet with industry executives and fellow film-makers for guidance. They were selected from 170 candidates by Cannes Film Festival president Gilles Jacob and his jury. The participants are: Costa Rica’s Paz Fabrega, Ioana Uricaru from Romania, Bani Khosnoudi of Iran, China’s Zhang Yue, Oliver Hermanus from South Africa and Andrew Legge of Ireland.

The Cannes Cinefondation Residence has seen 64 of the projects it has shepherded since 2000 completed and, for the most part, released theatrically. In total, 89% of the films taking part in scheme have been made including those currently in pre-production. 

-    Paz Fabrega (Costa Rican, 30 ) observes in Todos Nosotros (2nd feature) the behaviour of a middle class when faced with social inequality.

-    Oliver Hermanus (South African, 26) looks closely in Two Lovers (2nd feature) at the current-day relationship between Amina (20), from a devout Muslim family, and Raf (41), an Afrikaner whose baby she is expecting.

More info at http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/theResidence/theResidenceNewsRead/56859.html

Moon sweeps up at Sitges

UK production Moon, by Duncan Jones, son of legendary singer David Bowie, was the major winner at the 42nd Sitges International Fantasy Film Festival, where it scooped all the main prizes, including Best Film, Best Actor (Sam Rockwell), Best Screenplay (Nathan Parker) and Best Production Design (Hideki Arichi - ex-student also). This decision met with unprecedented approval from the critics in attendance.

Full story at http://cineuropa.org/newsdetail.aspx?lang=en&documentID=113954

Duncan Jones, who graduated from LFS in 2001, has segued from a highly successful career in advertising to direct his debut feature MOON, which won the Michael Powell Award at Edinburgh and also played to great acclaim at Sundance, Philadelphia, Cleveland, San Francisco, Tribeca and Seattle. Starring Sam Rockwell, MOON was released theatrically in the US on 12 June and in the UK on 17 July. Other LFS associates involved with the film include editor Nicolas Gaster and art director Hideki Arichi. http://www.moonthemovie.com/

The feature film debut of LFS graduate Max Jacoby (c.137) , DUST, has its world premiere at the Pusan International Film Festival on 13 and 14 October. The cinematographer Fredrik Bäckar is also a LFS graduate.

It will be presented in the Flash Forward section that showcases first and second films of promising new talents from outside Asia.

DUST, is an English-language production filmed with Luxembourg money and on location in Luxembourg. Its story is set in an indefinite time, when most of humanity seems to have either died or disappeared. Two siblings, played by British thespians Olly Alexander and Catherine Steadman, live a life of relative tranquility in a large house in the abandoned countryside. Their daily routine is disturbed when another human being (Andrew Hawley) suddenly shows up. The film will be released in Luxembourg in November.

Jacoby’s 2005 short film Butterflies, adapted from an Ian McEwan short story, won the UIP Venezia award at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for a European Film Award.

Full story at http://cineuropa.org/newsdetail.aspx?lang=en&documentID=113931

Giacomo Cimini C.161 graduation film ‘La città nel cielo’ (City in the Sky) was selected by the 66th Venice Film Festival, 2-12th September as a special event and has been accepted to the French Sci-Fi Festival Utopiales. The LFS team are Giacomo Cimini (writer/director/producer), Kerry O’Brien (editor/producer), Gareth Munden (DoP/producer) and Rob Watkins(associate producer). More information from the festival website and also the film website.
http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/festival/lineup/official_selection/corto_cortissimo/citta.html
www.lacittanelcielo.com