Raindance Film Festival 2017 Line-Up Announced

The Raindance Film Festival today announced the majority of its highly anticipated line-up, which includes world, international, European and UK premieres.  Celebrating its 25^th year, the Festival will take place in London’s West End from September 20th – October 1^st, 2017.

Elliot Grove, Raindance Founder, “This year’s 25^th anniversary Festival has been made possible by a dynamic relationship with Lexus, who like Raindance, champion pioneering technology, innovation and craftsmanship.”

Raindance Founder Elliot Grove was joined by jury member, actor Jamie Campbell Bower (Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 & 2) as they revealed this year’s competition films in the UK Features, Documentaries, Shorts and Web Series categories, as well as the programme for the hotly anticipated Virtual Reality strand.

The UK Premiere of Atsuko Hirayanagi’s Oh Lucy! (USA), starring Josh Hartnett, has been announced as the opening night film. The film is a drama-comedy and tells the story of Setsuko Kawashima, a lonely, chain-smoking office lady in Tokyo who is past her prime and adopts an American alter ego. The Festival’s Closing Night film will be announced later in the month.

The Festival received a record-breaking number of submissions this year from over 120 countries, the highest it has received to date and will screen over 200 projects – including features, shorts, webfest, VR and music videos. A champion of independent filmmaking, Raindance is the largest independent film festival in Europe and has consistently been a great supporter of the UK film industry.

Along with Jamie Campbell Bower, this year’s competition films will be judged by a panel of industry members and film journalists including, Ex-BIFA director Johanna Von Fischer and acclaimed Spanish producer Rosa Bosch, and some of the best names in British talent, including Jack O’Connell (Money Monster, Unbroken), Sean Bean (Game Of Thrones, The Lord Of The Rings trilogy), Christopher Eccleston (Thor, Dr Who), Ewen Bremner (Wonder Woman, Trainspotting), Celia Imrie (Bridget Jones series, Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Training Day, Broadchurch), Nicholas Lyndhurst (A United Kingdom, Only Fools and Horses), Hakeem Kae-Kazim (Hotel Rwanda, Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End), Josh Whitehouse (Poldark, Northern Soul), Neil Marshall (Westworld, Game Of Thrones) and Rachel Portman (One Day, Chocolat).

To recognize the outstanding achievements of this year’s filmmakers, the jury will go through each of the Feature Films, selected for Official Competition, in the following categories; Best Film, Best Director, Best screenplay, Best Performance. Films nominated in these categories include the international premiere of Zachary Cotler and Magdalena Zyzak’s feature debut, Maya Dardel (USA), starring Lena Olin and Rosanna Arquette, which tells the story of a famous writer, who states her intention to end her own life during an interview on NPR, and invites male writers to compete to become the executor of her estate; The Constitution (Croatia), directed by Rajko Grlic, follows four people who live in the same building but avoid each other due to differences in their assets, sexual habits, nationality and religion; Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s, Mukoku (Japan), tells the story of a security guard, whose best days are behind, until a chance encounter changes everything.

A full list of nominated UK Features, Documentaries, Short films and Web Series are listed below, as well as the list of films featured in the VR Arcade:

IN COMPETITION INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILMS

Winner to receive $10,000 CDN in-kind in audio/video post production services at Urban Post Production INC.

Maya Dardel, Zachary Cotler and Magdalena Zyzak, USAMukoku, Kazuyoshi Kumakiri, Japan, UK Premiere

Noise, Koichiro Miki, Japan, European Premiere

The Constitution, Rajko Grlc, Croatia, UK Premiere

Hello Again! Tom Gustafson, USA, UK Premiere

The Traveller, Hadi Ghandour, France / Lebanon, UK Premiere

Swaying Mariko, Koji Segawa, Japan, International Premiere

High & Outside: A Baseball Noir, Evald Johnson, USA, World Premiere

Black Hollow Cage, Sadrac González-Perellón, Spain, UK Premiere

Djam, Tony Gatlif, France

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

The Family I Had, Katie Green and Carlyle Rubin, USA, UK Premiere

RiverBlue: Can Fashion Save the Planet? David McIlvride and Roger Williams, Canada, UK Premiere

On Yoga The Architecture of Peace, Heitor Dhalia, Brazil / USA, UK Premiere

Bluefin, John Hopkins, Canada, European Premiere

Speak Up, Stéphane de Freitas and Ladj Ly, France, UK Premiere

BEST DEBUT – DISCOVERY AWARD

Winner to receive $10,000 CDN in-kind  in audio/video post production services at Urban Post Production INC.

A Trip to the Moon, Joaquin Cambre, Argentina, UK Premiere

I Still Hide To Smoke, Rayhana Obermeyer, Franc

Scaffolding, Matan Yair, Israel / Poland, UK Premiere

Children of the Night, Andrea De Sica, Italy, UK Premiere

The Story of a Satellite, Sonia Albert-Sobrinoa and Miriam Albert-Sobrino, Spain, European Premiere

BEST UK FEATURE

Winner to receive $10,000 CDN in-kind in audio/video post production services at Urban Post Production INC.

In Another Life, Jason Wingard, World Premiere

Stooge, Madeleine Farley, World Premiere

The Dark Mile, Gary Love, UK Premiere

Edie, Simon Hunter 

Isolani, R. Paul Wilson, World Premiere

BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM

Game, Jeannie Donohoe, USA, UK Premiere

Goddess, Karishma Dube, India / USA

Lethe, Dea Kulumbegahsvili, France / Georgia

 Mixtape Marauders, Peter Edlund, USA, International Premiere 

Viola, Franca, Marta Savina, Italy, UK Premiere

The Break Up List, Aaron Khoo, Singapore

Jezebel, Julien Bittner, France

 Save Me, Fab Filippo and Dylan Pearce, Canada

Clash of the Narratives, Robin Forestier-Walker

BEST INTERACTIVE NARRATIVE VR EXPERIENCE

Life Of Us, Chris Milk and Aaron Koblin, USA

Manifest 99, Adam Volker and Bohdon Sayre, USA, World Premiere

Ray, Rafael Pavón, Spain, World Premiere

Treehugger: Wawona, Robin McNicholas, Barney Steel and Ersin Han Ersin, UK

BEST MOBILE INTERACTIVE VR EXPERIENCE

Horizons, Yuli Levtov, UK

In the Eyes of the Animal, Robin McNicholas, Barney Steel and Ersin Han Ersin, UK

The Unfinished, Balthazar Auxietre, France, International Premiere

Virtual Virtual Reality, Samantha Gorman and Adam Veal, USA, UK Premiere

BEST CINEMATIC NARRATIVE VR EXPERIENCE

Alteration, Jérome Blanquet, France, UK Premiere

Broken Night, Alon Benari and Tal Zubalsky, USA, UK Premiere

The Tragic Story of Betty Corrigall, Peter Boyd Maclean, UK, European Premiere

UTURN, Nathalie Mathe and Ryan Lynch, USA, European Premiere

BEST DOCUMENTARY VR EXPERIENCE

First Impressions, Francesca Panetta and Nicole Jackson, UK

Iranian Kurdish Female Fighters, Namak Khoshnaw, Iraq, UK, World Premiere

Songs of Vine, Maira Clancy and Blake Montgomery, USA, Peru, European Premiere

¡Viva La Evolución!, Fifer Garbesi, Cuba, UK Premiere

BEST ANIMATION VR EXPERIENCE

Arden’s Wake, Eugene Chung, USA, UK Premiere

Dear Angelica, Wesley Allsbrook and Saschka Unseld, USA, UK Premiere

Rain or Shine, Felix Massie, UK

Song of the Sea, Jerrica Cleland and Tomm Moore, Ireland, UK, Denmark, International Premiere

BEST MUSIC VR EXPERIENCE

Beethoven’s Fifth, Jessica Brillhart, USA

Mind Enterprises: Chapita, Eran Amir, UK

Peroration Six, Fabien Coupez, USA, World Premiere

Reeps One: Does Not Exist, John Hendicott and Gawain Liddiard, UK, USA, UK Premiere

BEST BRANDED VR EXPERIENCE

Manchester City – Match Day, Adam May, UK, World Premiere

Snatch VR Heist Experience, Rafael Pavón and Nicolás Alcalá, Spain, USA, UK Premiere

The Chainsmokers Paris VR, Brynley Gibson and Russell Harding, UK, European Premiere

Welcome To Laphroaig, Darren Emerson, UK, World Premiere

BEST SENSUAL VR EXPERIENCE

Come! (Viens!), Michel Reilhac, France

In My Shoes: Intimacy, Jane Gauntlett and Andrew Somerville, UK

Second Date, Jennifer Lyon Bell, Netherlands, USA, World Premiere

Through You, Saschka Unseld and Lily Baldwin, USA

BEST SOCIAL IMPACT VR EXPERIENCE

42 Days, Animal Equality, USA, Spain

Aftershock: Nepal’s Untold Water Story, Catherine Feltham, UK

Munduruku: The Fight to Defend the Heart of the Amazon, James Manisty and Grace Boyle, UK, Brazil

You Are There. On the road to ending Polio, Peter Collis and Vanessa Moussa, UK, USA, France, Switzerland

BEST SOUND DESIGN VR EXPERIENCE

Life Of Us, Chris Milk and Aaron Koblin, USA

Reeps One: Does Not Exist, John Hendicott and Gawain Liddiard, UK, USA, UK Premiere

The Resistance of Honey, Peter Boyd Maclean, UK, UK Premiere

The Tragic Story of Betty Corrigall, Peter Boyd Maclean, UK, European Premiere

Other Festival prizes include:

Film Of The Festival

Winner to receive $20,000 CDN in-kind in audio/video post production services at Urban Post Production INC

Raindance  Co-Production Forum Winner

Winner to receive $20,000 CDN in-kind in audio/video post production services at Urban Post Production IN

Best Animated Short

Winner to receive $10,000 CDN in-kind in audio/video post production services at Urban Post Production INC