Summit Home Entertainment has acquired the documentary “Brothers at War” directed by Jake Rademacher. The film chronicles Rademacher’s attempts to understand the experience, sacrifice, and motivation of his two brothers serving in Iraq. Summit plans to release the film onto DVD in conjunction with the home entertainment debut of Summit’s “The Hurt Locker,” which is set to arrive in stores January 12, 2010.
“‘Brothers at War’ is a powerful documentary which is a perfect compliment to ‘The Hurt Locker,’” said Steve Nickerson, Summit’s President of Home Entertainment in a statement. “The latter is a dramatization of the modern American soldier and combat in the 21st century, while the documentary tells a similar story, but with real people in very real situations.” [Andy Lauer]
The Museum of Modern Art will present a 10-film retrospective of the French screenwriter, director, and actor Jacques Tati December 18 through January 2, 2010. “Jacques Tati” features newly struck 35mm prints of his six feature films, including restorations of “M. Hulot’s Holiday” (1953), “Mon Oncle” (1958), and “Playtime” (1967), his long-dreamed-of colorized version of “Jour de fête” (1949), “Traffic” (1971), and the rarely screened “Parade” (1974), as well as three short sketch comedies. Complementing these is Claude Autant-Lara’s wartime fantasy “Sylvie et le fantôme” (1945), featuring a performance by Tati. The opening night screening of “Playtime” on December 18 will be introduced by authors/theater directors Macha Makeïeff and Jérôme Deschamps, the founders of Les Films de Mon Oncle. [Andy Lauer]
The Los Angeles Film Festival has received a $30,000 grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for the 2010 installment of the festival. The Academy’s grant will fund the festival’s international spotlight, which focused on films and filmmakers from Mexico this past year. “The Academy Foundation’s generous support enables us to continue to cultivate audiences for diverse filmmaking cultures and to expose L.A.‘s movie loving public to voices and stories beyond our own backyards,” said Festival Director Rebecca Yeldham. “We are always looking for more opportunities to create memorable film-going experiences for both filmmakers and audiences, and the Academy shares our vision for the future of LAFF.” The 2010 installment of the LAFF will run from June 17-27. For a complete list of grant recipients, click here. [Bryce J Renninger]
Prolific auteur Werner Herzog has been chosen by the Berlinale to head the 2010 jury. Herzog’s first feature, “Signs of Life,” won the Silver Bear for the best first film at the Berlinale 1968 as well as the German Film Prize for Best First Film. Herzog had two films (“Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” and “My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done”) in this year’s Venice Film Festival. In a prepared statement, Berlinale Director Dieter Kosslick said, “Werner Herzog’s films convey the artistic strength of cinema. We are very pleased to have this outstanding director as Jury President for the 60th anniversary of the festival.” Not only is Herzog tied to Germany as one of the leading directors in New German Cinema, but he also recently donated a large collection of his screenplays, photos, posters, production materials and props to Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen. [Bryce J Renninger]
Alex Karpovsky’s doc feature “Trust Us, This Is All Made Up” has been picked up by B-Side Entertainment, the company said Wednesday. The film explores ong-form improvisation of Second City alumni TJ Jagodowski and David Pasquesi, and had its world premiere at the 2009 SXSW Film Festival. This acquisition brings B-Side’s current 2009 slate to nine films.
Jagodowski and Pasquesi have become living legends in their field, recognized by audiences around the world for their character-driven, hilarious and original performances. “Trust Us” illustrates the beauty of improvisation and the comedic bond between one of the most celebrated improv duos, featuring a live performance recorded at New York’s Barrow Street Theatre.
“Individually, TJ and David are masters of their craft. Together, they take improv to another level,” remarked director Alex Karpovsky in a statement. “It was amazing to get a front row seat to true creative genius at work. I look forward to working with B-Side to share TJ and David’s artistic energy and comedic wit with the world.” [Brian Brooks]
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