RAINDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2015 – FEATURE FILMS
Work in progress, more features coming soon
1 World 100 Lonely (USA, 97’)
Director: Brian McGuire
Cast: Robert Murphy, Farah Mokrani, Lara Heller
Synopsis: 1 World 100 Lonely, a brazenly dark, yet deeply human dramatic comedy that follows 3 intertwining romantic (or not so romantic) connections, all starting from the internet.
Alice in Marialand (Mexico, 80’)
Director: Jesús Magana Vasquez
Cast: Barbara Mori, Stephanie Sigman, Claudio Lafarga
Synopsis: Losing his partner is a fatal crash, Tanatiuh discovers new love, despire being haunted by his past.
Amsterdam Express (Albania/UK/Netherlands, 91’)
Director: Fatmir Koci
Cast: Blerim Destani, Flonja Kodheli, James Biberi
Synopsis: A young Albanian immigrant looking for honest work falls into the Amsterdam criminal underworld.
An Open Secret (USA, 99’)
Director: Amy Berg
Cast: Evan Henzi, Michael Egan III, Mark Ryan
Synopsis: An investigation into accusations of teenagers being sexually abused within the film industry.
Asleep (Japan, 91’)
Director: Shingo Wakagi
Cast: Sakura Ando, Mitsuki Tanimura, Arata Iura
Synopsis: Reeling from the suicide of her friend, a young woman struggles against the lethargy that threatens to engulf her.
Barbarous Mexico (Mexico, 90’)
Synopsis: An anthology of the horror genre, created by 8 directors from the four corners of Mexico.
Bob and The Trees (USA/France, 91’)
Director: Diego ONgaro
Cast: Bob Tarasuk, Matt Gallagher, Polly MacIntyre
Synopsis: Bob, a fifty-something year old logger with a soft spot for golf and gangsta rap struggles to make ends meet in a changed economy. When a beloved cow of his gets wounded and a job goes awry, Bob begins to heed the instincts of his ever darkening self.
Bounce: How the Ball Taught the World to Play (USA/Brazil/UK, 76’)
Director: Jerome Thelia
Cast: Manuel Aguilar-Moreno, Magnus Baillie, Marc Berkoff
Synopsis: ‘Bounce’ is a feature documentary that takes us to the far reaches of the globe and the deep recesses of our ancient past to answer the question: Why do we play ball?
Broken Land (Switzerland, 75’)
Director: Stéphanie Barbey, Luc Peter
Cast: Richard Hodges, Zack Taylor, John Ladd, Robin and John Warren
Synopsis: Casting a fresh eye over a heavily-debated issues, ‘Broken Land’ tells the stories of 7 Americans living within a stone’s throw of the Mexico – US border.
Burning, Burning (Canada, 85’)
Director: Hrant Alianak
Cast: Karyn Dwyer, Marc Gomes, Matthew Edison
Synopsis: A woman walks across the city to the edge of town. She has surreal encounters with real and imaginary characters as she seeks atonement, remembering the unhappy incidents in her life that have brought her to this present state of despair.
Cash Only (USA/Albania, 88’)
Director: Malik Bader
Cast: Nickola Shreli, Stivi Paskoski, Danijela Stajnfeld
Synopsis: A landlord tries to turn his life around after his wife’s death.
Chorus (Canada, 96’)
Director: François Delisle
Cast: Sébastien Ricard, Fanny Mallette, Geneviève Bujold
Synopsis: After discovering the truth about their son, a couple try to come to terms with their lives.
Cosmic Whistleblowers (UK, 75’)
Director: Simon Sharman
Cast: Simon Sharman, Donald Schmitt, Jaime Maussan
Synopsis: One man's 2 year investigation into the Roswell UFO conspiracy becomes a journey of discovery uncovering the strange and secretive world of the UFO investigators.
Crocodile (Philippines, 83’)
Director: Francis Xavier E. Pasion
Cast: Angeli Bayani, Karl Medina, Jolina Espana
Synopsis: Divana struggles with her overwhelming gried after a crocodile kills her daughter.
Datuna: Portrait of America (USA, 77’)
Director: Brian Bayerl
Cast: David Datuna
Synopsis: David Datuna, an émigré from the former USSR, pursues his dream of freedom in America, creating the first art using wearable technology, while battling cancer.
David Vaughan: Black on Canvas (UK, 55’)
Director: Dean Brocklehurst
Synopsis: A documentary film piecing together the life of the little known but hugely influential British artist David Vaughan, told through items found in a household skip.
Deadly Virtues (UK, 87’)
Director: Ate de Jong
Cast: Edward Akrout, Megan Maczko, Matt Barber
Synopsis: A stranger breaks into the house of a couple, ties up the husband and, having a whole weekend at his hand, plays a slow game with the woman, a game of threats, fear, obedience - and intimacy.
Deep Web: the Hunt for Dread Pirate Roberts (USA, 91’)
Director: Alex Winter
Cast: Narrated by Keanu Reeves
Synopsis: Deep Web explores the hidden underbelly of the internet, the man that might have created an empire there, the scary reality about what depraved things are just a mouse click away, and the struggle for digital freedom.
Digital Dissidents (Germany/Norway, 90’)
Director: Cyril Tuschi
Cast: Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, Thomas Drake
Synopsis: Digital Dissidents are the warriors of the digital age: Whistleblowers, hackers and activists fight side by side for transparency and privacy in the digital world. Why are they doing it? What are their motives?
Driving with Selvi (Canada, 72’)
Director: Elisa Paloschi
Synopsis: Selvi escapes an abusive marriage to become south India’s first female taxi driver.
Echoes of war (USA, 100’)
Director: Kane Senes
Cast: James Badge Dale, Ethan Embry, William Forsythe
Synopsis: A Civil War veteran returns home to the quiet countryside, only to find himself embroiled in a conflict between his family and the brutish cattle rancher harassing them.
El Ganzo (USA/Mexico, 89’)
Director: Steve Balderson
Cast: Susan Traylor, Anslem Richardson, Mark Booker
Synopsis: A brief and intense companionship between two travelers: a struggling artist on the verge of a break-through and a mysterious woman with a hidden and unknown past.
Elvira (Mexico, 90’)
Director: Manolo Caro
Cast: Cecilia Suárez, Carlos Bardem, Luis Gerardo
Synopsis: After Gustavo fails to return home from buying cigarettes, his wife Elvira begins her secret mission to uncover his life-long secret.
Fire (Spain, 103’)
Director: Luís Marías
Cast: Jose Coronado, Aida Folch, Leyre Berrocal
Synopsis: After a bomb obliterates life as he knew it, Carlos’s only cure is revenge.
Fires on the Plain (Japan, 87’)
Director: Shinya Tsukamoto
Cast: Shinya Tsukamoto, Lily Franky, Tatsuya Nakamura
Synopsis: In the final stages of WWII, the Japanese occupation army in the Philippines is rapidly losing ground, facing local resistance combined with an American offensive. The final few Japanese survivors, almost wiped out, have now crossed over the threshold into a realm where there are no friends, enemies or God.
God's Acre (UK, 88’)
Director: J.P. Davidson
Cast: Matthew Jure, Richard Pepple, Amy Strange
Synopsis: Malcolm lost everything to the recession. He needs to renovate and sell his last house fast, but a dark secret hides within its walls.
Gored (USA, 76’)
Director: Ido Mizrahy
Cast: Antonio Barrera, Maider Sanchez-Martin
Synopsis: Antonio Barrera is the most gored matador in modern bullfighting. After a career of hardship, he is forced to define his legacy in his final performance.
Hadwin's Judgement (UK / Canada, 88’)
Director: Sasha Snow
Synopsis: Thomas Grant Hadwin was logger in British Columbia, fighting to change the logging industry’s practices. His frustration culminated in a sacrilegious act of vandalism that would turn Hadwin into a hate figure.
Happy Purim (Israel, 60’)
Director: Ori Gruder
Cast: Rabbi Motta Frank, Rabbi Yirmi Damen, Rebbetzin Tzvia Elyahu
Synopsis: A documentary that gives first of its kind look into the happiest day in the Jewish calendar - Purim, as celebrated in the Ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem quarters.
History of Now (Austria, 93’)
Director: Nadiv Molcho
Cast: Nadiv Molcho, Aya Beldi
Synopsis: A young couple reunite after a year apart and reflect upon the highs and lows of their relationship.
Horizons (Switzerland, 70’)
Director: Eileen Hofer
Cast: Alicia Alonso, Viengsay Valdés, Amanda de Jesús
Synopsis: A poignant documentary offering an insight into the lives of three Cuban dancers: a ballerina assoluta, a rising star and an aspiring starlette.
If It Be Love (UK, 90’)
Director: Filip L. Firlej
Cast: Alice Bird, Vinta Morgan, Neve Faulkner
Synopsis: If It Be Love weaves together four portraits of varying and contrasting faces of love - the passion of Antony & Cleopatra, the tragic rejection of Ophelia by Hamlet, the haunting manipulation of Macbeth by his Lady, and the jealousy of Othello.
Kicking Off (UK, 85’)
Director: Matt Wilde
Cast: Greg McHugh, Warren Brown, Alistair Petrie
Synopsis: Devastated by the relegation of their beloved football team, two fans take the only reasonable action open to them…they kidnap the referee.
Kid Kulafu (Philippines, 108’)
Director: Paul Soriano
Cast: Buboy Villar, Alessandra de Rossi, Cesar Montano
Synopsis: The untold truth about the humble beginnings of one of the greatest boxers of all time - Emmanuel "Manny" Pacquiao.
Le Dep (Canada, 77’)
Director: Sonia Bonspille Boileau
Cast: Eve Ringuette, Charles Buckell Robertson
Synopsis: Lydia, a young Innu girl, is working at her father’s general store in rural Quebec when a robber bursts in. In a clever twist, Lydia recognises her assailant and talks him down. She has a long night ahead of her.
Little Buddho (Serbia, 95’)
Director: Danilo Beckovic
Synopsis: Airhead rich kid Buddho becomes an accidental gangster in this dark Balkan comedy.
Love/ Me/ Do (UK, 88’)
Director: Martin Stitt
Cast: Jack Gordon, Rebecca Calder, Max Wrottesley
Synopsis: A bitter investment banker and a frustrated actor are united by their deepest and darkest desires and are driven to commit a heinous crime.
Meet Pursuit Delange (UK, 108’)
Director: Howard Webster
Cast: Jason Flemyng, Robert Portal, Ben Starr
Synopsis: Meet Pursuit Delange tells the story of three old school friends who are forced by circumstance to live together in genteel poverty in an old groundsman's hut tacked onto the back of a ramshackle cricket pavilion.
Mile End (UK, 141’)
Director: Graham Higgins
Cast: Alex Humes, Mark Arnold, Heidi Agerholm Balle, Valmike Rampersad, Mary Jane Lowe
Synopsis: Paul and John are running mates. Steadily John exerts his influence, drawing Paul into a sinister game of envy and revenge.
Newcomer (USA, 98’)
Director: Kai Barry
Cast: James Floyd, Anthony LaPaglia, Noémie Merlant
Synopsis: On his first mission, an intelligence operative gets his whole squad killed. Hunted by everyone, he must piece together what happened to exonerate himself.
Next to Me (Serbia, 95’)
Director: Stevan Filipović
Cast: Hristina Popović, Slaven Došlo, Nikola Glišić
Synopsis: A group of students is forced to spend one winter night in highschool, without their mobile phones or internet access.
Next Year (Belgium, 108’)
Director: Vania Leturcq
Cast: Constance Rousseau, Jenna Thiam, Kevin Azaïs
Synopsis: Friendships are pushed to the limit when Aude and Clotilde graduate from school and leave their provincial Belgian village for a new life in Paris.
Obon Brothers (Japan, 107’)
Director: Akira Osaki
Cast: Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Ken Mitsuishi, Aoba Kawai
Synopsis: A failed film director returns to his hometown to deal with a broken marriage, ill brother and other life troubles.
One Night in Oslo (Norway, 83’)
Director: Eirik Svensson
Cast: Samakab Omar Mohammed, Alhoul Thea, Sophie Lochnaes
Synopsis: 15 year-olds Sam and Amir have decided that this night will be legendary.
Our Everyday Story (Bosnia and Herzegovina, 89’)
Director: Ines Tanovic
Cast: Uliks Fehmiu, Emir Hadzihafizbegovic, Jasna Ornela Bery
Synopsis: A moody drama examining the effect of devastating news on family relationships.
Out of My Hand (USA/Liberia, 88’)
Director: Takeshi Fukunaga
Cast: Bishop Blay, Zenobia Taylor, Duke Murphy Dennis
Synopsis: A struggling Liberian rubber plantation worker risks everything to discover a new life as a Yellow Cab driver in New York City.
Princess (Israel, 92’)
Director: Tali Shalom Ezer
Cast: Keren Mor, Ori Pfeffer, Shira Haas
Synopsis: While her mother is away from home, 12-year-old Adar’s role-playing games with her stepfather move into dangerous territory. Seeking an escape, Adar finds Alan—an ethereal boy who joins her on a dark journey between reality and fantasy.
Racket (Bosnia and Herzegovina, 80’)
Director: Admir Buljugic
Cast: Adnan Haskovic, Izudin Bajrovic, Dragan Marinkovic
Synopsis: Amil, a photographer and traveller finds himself shooting bullets instead of frames as he returns to Bosnia and the corruption that is encroaching upon his father’s life.
Reality (France, 87’)
Director: Quentin Dupieux
Cast: Alain Chabat, Elodie Bouchez, Jonathan Lambert
Synopsis: A series of whimsical, slightly unnerving tales wash in and out of each other in the latest feature by musician-turned-filmmaker Quentin Dupieux.
Rickie Lee Jones: The Other Side of Desire (Canada, 70’)
Director: Gail Harvey
Cast: Rickie Lee Jones, David Crosby, Rosanna Arquette
Synopsis: An intimate portrait of poet-musician, rock star Rickie Lee Jones, the film portrays Jones through extensive and intimate interviews, with footage of her at home, in the studio and on stage.
Rolling (Japan, 93’)
Director: Masanori Tominaga
Cast: Takahiro Miura, Elisa Yanagi, Yohta Kawase
Synopsis: A washed-out teacher tries to blackmail his former students with an illicit recording.
Roma Termini (Italy/France, 78’)
Director: Bartolomeo Pampaloni
Cast: Stefano Pili, Gianluca Masala, Antonio Allegra
Synopsis: Roma Termini, Rome's central station: an urban crossroad where thousands of lives collide without touching each other. Four portraits of men who spend their day in the station, solitary unseen beings, trapped there by life.
Sailing to Paradise (Slovenia, 83’)
Director: Blaz Zavrsnik
Cast: Ajda Smrekar, Klemen Janezic
Synopsis: A young man struggling with the death of his parents meets an extroverted girl who joins him on his sailing trip. While spending time together, the dark secrets they are both running away from start to show.
Set the Thames on Fire (UK, 90’)
Director: Ben Charles Edwards
Cast: Sadie Frost, Noel Fielding, Lily Loveless
Synopsis: A dark and whimsical comedy about a compulsive liar and a piano player living on the margins of society in a dystopian London.
Shelter (USA, 105’)
Director: Paul Bettany
Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Anthony Mackie, Bruce Altman
Synopsis: Hannah and Tahir fall in love while homeless on the streets of New York. Shelter explores how they got there, and as we learn about their pasts we realize they need each other to build a future.
Shih (Spain/Mexico/Argentina, 97’)
Director: Bruno Zaffora, Rafael Ortega Velderrain
Cast: Paola Shih, Jimmy Shih, Yvonne Parra
Synopsis: Paola Shih, a half Taiwanese-half Venezuelan young woman, returns to Taiwan to meet with her father after twenty years of separation.
Sila and the Gatekeepers of the Arctic (USA/Greenland/Switzerland, 63’)
Director: Corina Gamma
Synopsis: This documentary explores the Greenlandic concept of Sila, meaning weather and consciousness, and illustrates the impact our over-industrialized world has on an isolated Arctic community.
Slum-Polis (Japan, 112’)
Director: Ken Ninomiya
Cast: Horyu Nishimura, Hidenobu Abera, Ryoko Ono
Synopsis: In a post-apocalyptic future Japan, poor areas where gangs and drugs rule over all, called Slum-Polis, are shut-off from society.
Social Suicide (UK, 92’)
Director: Bruce Webb
Cast: Jackson Bews, India Eisley, Neve McIntosh
Synopsis: The Usual Suspects meets Romeo and Juliet in this thriller which examines the extreme lengths teenagers go for internet notoriety.
Star (Russia, 128’)
Director: Anna Melikyan
Cast: Tina Dalakishvili, Severija Janusauskaite, Pavel Tabakov
Synopsis: The lowly lives of an aspiring actress, an alienated teenager and a cruel stepmother collide in this satirical modern-day fairytale.
Sumé - The Sound of a Revolution (Greenland/Denmark/Norway, 73’)
Director: Inuk Silis Høegh
Cast: Malik Høegh, Per Berthelsen
Synopsis: In the 1970s, the Greenlandic rock band Sumé released three albums that changed Greenland's history.
Swansong (UK, 72’)
Director: Douglas Ray
Cast: Eva Birthistle, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Paul Hilton
Synopsis: An ex-rock star kidnaps his wife and her lover after learning of their affair, only to discover he's not the only psychopath amongst them...
Taking Stock (UK, 75’)
Director: Maeve Murphy
Cast: Kelly Brook, Scot Williams, Georgia Groome
Synopsis: Kate unfairly loses her shop job. Inspired by Bonnie Parker, she comes up with a plot to rob the shop, but who is her Clyde?
That's It (Japan, 90’)
Director: Gakuryu Ishii
Cast: Shota Sometani, Erina Mizuno, Go Ayano
Synopsis: Samao Daikoku is searching for his identity whilst battling the criminal underworld and trying to save the woman he loves.
The Arms Drop (Denmark / Sweden / UK / Indie, 94’)
Director: Andreas Koefoed
Cast: Musta Ali, Mikhali Belinson, Sami Darr
Synopsis: In December 1995, tons of weapons fall from the sky into West Bengal; this tense documentary traces two men involved in the arms drop and the array of problems and cpnpiracies that ensue.
The Birth Of Saké (USA/Japan, 90’)
Director: Erik Shirai
Cast: Tereyuki "Toji" Yamamoto, Yasayuki Yoshida, Chikahiro Yamazaki
Synopsis: A beautiful and immersive portrait of life at the 144-year old Yoshida Brewery, a producer of world class sake.
The Case of the Three Sided Dream (USA, 88’)
Director: Adam Kahan
Cast: Akua Dixon, Dorthaan Kirk, Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Synopsis: Jazz legend Rahsaan Roland Kirk teaches us that all you need to create music is passion and a garden hose
The Demons (Canada, 90’)
Director: Philippe Lesage
Cast: Laurent Lucas, Pascale Bussieres, Benedicte Decary
Synopsis: Little by little, childhood imaginary demons mix with demons of a disturbing reality.
The Healer (UK, 90’)
Director: James Erskine
Cast: Oscar Jaenada, Valibor Topic, Melia Kreiling
Synopsis: James Erskine's thrilling film tells the dark story of life as an illegal immigrant in the unforgiving city of London.
The Incident (Mexico, 100’)
Director: Isaac Ezban
Cast: Raúl Méndez, Nailea Norvind, Hernán Mendoza
Synopsis: Two parallel stories about characters trapped in illogical endless spaces: two brothers and a detective locked on an infinite staircase, and a family locked on an infinite road - for a very long time.
The Judgement (Bulgaria / Germany / Croatia, 107’)
Director: Stephan Komandarev
Cast: Assen Blatechki, Ovanes Torosian, Ina Nikolova
Synopsis: Lowly Mityo finds an opportunity to earn money quickly through smuggling immigrants in this compelling tale of fathers, sons and repressed pasts.
The Kids from the Marx and Engels Street (Montenegro/Croatia, 96’)
Director: Nikola Vukcevic
Cast: Momcilo Otasevic, Goran Bogdan, Emir Hadzihafizbegovic
Synopsis: Stanko returns to his home town after fifteen years to kill the man who murdered his father.
The Lives of Hamilton Fish (USA, 90’)
Director: Rachel Mason
Cast: Theodore Bouloukos, Bill Weeden, Rachel Mason
Synopsis: A politician and a murderer, who share the same name, die within a single day of each other.
The Poet of Havana (France, 97’)
Director: Ron Chapman
Cast: Carlos Varela, Benicio Del Toro, Jackson Browne
Synopsis: A documentary highlighting the cultural, political and social significance of renowned musician, singer-songwriter Carlos Varela, one of Cuba’s most influential artists and a passionate voice for individual freedoms.
The Reaper (Croatia/Slovenia, 98’)
Director: Zvonimir Juric
Cast: Ivo Gregurevic, Mirjana Karanovic, Igor Kovac
Synopsis: A labourer in a small Croatian village has a series of fateful encounters over the course of a single night.
The Return (UK, 92’)
Director: Oliver Nias
Cast: Sam Donnelly, Amie Burns Walker, Robert Goodman
Synopsis: When a small time criminal returns to London he unravels a catastrophic secret as he goes head-to-head with one of London’s most notorious gangsters.
The Serbian Lawyer (Germany/UK/Serbia, 86’)
Director: Aleksandar Nikolic
Cast: Marko Sladojevic, Tina Drolec, Nikola Knezevic
Synopsis: Ten years after fleeing the regime in Serbia, Marko finds himself defending some of the very people that he fought against while he lived there, including the notorious Radovan Karadzic.
The Weight Of Chains 2 (Canada/Serbia, 123’)
Director: Boris Malagurski
Cast: Noam Chomsky, Oliver Stone, Carla Del Ponte
Synopsis: This documentary analyzes the concept of neoliberalism, neoliberal reforms in the Balkans and their effects on politics, economics, military, culture, education and the media.
Too Late (USA, 107’)
Director: Dennis Hauck
Cast: John Hawkes, Jeff Fahey, Robert Forster
Synopsis: Warranting comparisons to Pulp Fiction, Short Cuts and LA Confidential, Too Late is a sexy, smart noir detective thriller starring Academy Award nominee John Hawkes.
Voice of the Eagle: The Enigma of Robbie Basho (UK, 80’)
Director: Liam Barker
Cast: Pete Townshend, Country Joe McDonald, William Ackerman
Synopsis: A documentary feature on the extraordinary life and visionary music of the American guitarist and singer Robbie Basho.
Wasp (UK/France, 72’)
Director: Philippe Audi-Dor
Cast: Simon Haycock, Elly Condron, Hugo Bolton
Synopsis: James and Olivier’s relationship finds itself challenged by the arrival of James’s old friend, Caroline.
We Will Be World Champions (Serbia, 126’)
Director: Darko Bajic
Cast: Strahinja Blažić, Aleksandar Radojićić, Miloš Biković
Synopsis: The founders of the Yugoslav Basketball School help their team win a gold medal at the Championships in Ljubljana in 1970.
Yallah! Underground (Czech Republic / Germany / UK, 85’)
Director: Farid Eslam
Cast: Marc Codsi, Karim Adel Eissa, Ibrahim Farouk
Synopsis: Yallah! Underground follows some of today's most important and progressive underground artists from Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan and Israel through years of rapid change from 2009 to 2013.
Youth (Spain, 58’)
Director: Paul Elliott, Sean Lamberth
Cast: Youth, Paul McCartney, Boy George
Synopsis: Youth is the story of the award winning record producer, Killing Joke Bass player, Musician, Songwriter and Artist known simply as Youth.