When I recently interviewed Cam Archer about his latest short, His Image, the director told me that he has been revisiting old projects, creating new high-definition scans and working on new edits. The first of those projects to see the light of day is out October 26, and a trailer has just dropped. Via video label Altered Innocence comes a 15th anniversary edition of Archer’s debut feature, Wild Tigers I Have Known, in what’s billed as a “2021 Edit and Mix.” Bonus features on the disk include: -Pull-out Poster by Michael Gillette -Deleted Scenes -A 2021 Interview with Lou Stumpf (who […]
The post Trailer Watch: Wild Tigers I Have Known (15th Anniversary Edition) first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Trailer Watch: Wild Tigers I Have Known (15th Anniversary Edition) first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 9/1/2021
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
When I recently interviewed Cam Archer about his latest short, His Image, the director told me that he has been revisiting old projects, creating new high-definition scans and working on new edits. The first of those projects to see the light of day is out October 26, and a trailer has just dropped. Via video label Altered Innocence comes a 15th anniversary edition of Archer’s debut feature, Wild Tigers I Have Known, in what’s billed as a “2021 Edit and Mix.” Bonus features on the disk include: -Pull-out Poster by Michael Gillette -Deleted Scenes -A 2021 Interview with Lou Stumpf (who […]
The post Trailer Watch: Wild Tigers I Have Known (15th Anniversary Edition) first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Trailer Watch: Wild Tigers I Have Known (15th Anniversary Edition) first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 9/1/2021
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Exclusive: Former Avalon manager Olivia Wingate has launched the solo production company Wingate Media, bringing all her projects and team with her, we hear.
The company will be headquartered in New York, focused on developing, incubating and producing premium and cutting-edge projects aimed toward a worldwide audience, and committed to prioritizing unique and underrepresented artists and perspectives.
A London native, Wingate has been New York based, with a presence in Los Angeles and London, for more than 25 years. Her career has spanned theater, film, comedy, documentary and scripted drama. Wingate Media combines all her experience to incubate and elevate stories that will aim to inspire and provoke debate.
Prior to starting the company, Wingate was SVP Scripted Development at Left/Right, the studio that behind Bobcat Goldthwait’s Misfits & Monsters, Joe Mande’s award-winning Standup Special (Netflix) and more. Before that, Wingate ran Avalon’s New York office and represented clients including Marc Maron,...
The company will be headquartered in New York, focused on developing, incubating and producing premium and cutting-edge projects aimed toward a worldwide audience, and committed to prioritizing unique and underrepresented artists and perspectives.
A London native, Wingate has been New York based, with a presence in Los Angeles and London, for more than 25 years. Her career has spanned theater, film, comedy, documentary and scripted drama. Wingate Media combines all her experience to incubate and elevate stories that will aim to inspire and provoke debate.
Prior to starting the company, Wingate was SVP Scripted Development at Left/Right, the studio that behind Bobcat Goldthwait’s Misfits & Monsters, Joe Mande’s award-winning Standup Special (Netflix) and more. Before that, Wingate ran Avalon’s New York office and represented clients including Marc Maron,...
- 7/20/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
“Dreamy visuals of teenhood — cool hair, telephones, starkly lit bedrooms, troubled outsiders — are laid over structured soundtracks that blend distinctive background ambiences with catchy songs,” is how Mike Plante described the early short films of Cam Archer for Filmmaker in 2006. The occasion was the release of Archer’s first feature, Wild Tigers I Have Known, which joined an emerging body of work that Plante called “art films for teens.” But when we next caught up with Archer, it was just after the Cannes Directors Fortnight premiere of his second feature, Shit Year, starring Ellen Barkin, and his focus had […]
The post “Every Image is Goodbye”: Cam Archer on Grief, Walks Home and His MoMA-Premiering Short, His Image first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Every Image is Goodbye”: Cam Archer on Grief, Walks Home and His MoMA-Premiering Short, His Image first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 4/2/2021
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
“Dreamy visuals of teenhood — cool hair, telephones, starkly lit bedrooms, troubled outsiders — are laid over structured soundtracks that blend distinctive background ambiences with catchy songs,” is how Mike Plante described the early short films of Cam Archer for Filmmaker in 2006. The occasion was the release of Archer’s first feature, Wild Tigers I Have Known, which joined an emerging body of work that Plante called “art films for teens.” But when we next caught up with Archer, it was just after the Cannes Directors Fortnight premiere of his second feature, Shit Year, starring Ellen Barkin, and his focus had […]
The post “Every Image is Goodbye”: Cam Archer on Grief, Walks Home and His MoMA-Premiering Short, His Image first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “Every Image is Goodbye”: Cam Archer on Grief, Walks Home and His MoMA-Premiering Short, His Image first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 4/2/2021
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Palo Alto 2: Demeestere Crafts Franco’s Prose for Portrait of Preadolescent Angst
Director Gabrielle Demeestere adapts James Franco’s A California Childhood for her directorial debut, Yosemite, a mid-1980s set triptych on three young boys in the suburban climes of Palo Alto. If this sounds a bit familiar, it may be because Demeestere is the second woman director to adapt Franco’s prose for a debut, following Gia Coppola’s 2013 title Palo Alto, based on Franco’s earlier short story collection Palo Alto Stories. Franco also happens to appear as a peripheral character in both. Demeestere’s film premiered at the 2015 Slamdance Film Festival, and probably won’t be assisted by the presence of Franco during its limited theatrical release due to the actor/writer/director’s multiple cinematic offerings during any given period. Still, Demeestere scores points with this low-key slow burn which features naturalistic performances from...
Director Gabrielle Demeestere adapts James Franco’s A California Childhood for her directorial debut, Yosemite, a mid-1980s set triptych on three young boys in the suburban climes of Palo Alto. If this sounds a bit familiar, it may be because Demeestere is the second woman director to adapt Franco’s prose for a debut, following Gia Coppola’s 2013 title Palo Alto, based on Franco’s earlier short story collection Palo Alto Stories. Franco also happens to appear as a peripheral character in both. Demeestere’s film premiered at the 2015 Slamdance Film Festival, and probably won’t be assisted by the presence of Franco during its limited theatrical release due to the actor/writer/director’s multiple cinematic offerings during any given period. Still, Demeestere scores points with this low-key slow burn which features naturalistic performances from...
- 12/31/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Eric Lavallee: Name me three of your favorite “2014 discoveries” …
Nick Case: 1.) Favorite Musician: Keegan DeWitt. Keegan is the lead singer for the Nashville-based band Wild Cub and is quickly becoming one of my favorite film composers. His work on Listen Up Philip and Land Ho! were two of the more memorable scores for me in 2014. 2. Favorite Multi-Hyphenate: Andre Hyland a.k.a bLonNd cHiLi. Andre is a very talentedwriter/director/actor/comedian. His short Funnel, which premiered at Sundance was probably my favorite short in 2014. I also highly recommend checking out his Youtube channel as there are some real gems particularly his Running Late series. 3. Most Memorable Film Experience: Rich Hill. Beautifully heartbreaking. See it.
Lavallee: Was wondering what lured you to Take Me to the River and what are you hoping auds will take away from this film experience?
Case: During one of my early conversations with Matt...
Nick Case: 1.) Favorite Musician: Keegan DeWitt. Keegan is the lead singer for the Nashville-based band Wild Cub and is quickly becoming one of my favorite film composers. His work on Listen Up Philip and Land Ho! were two of the more memorable scores for me in 2014. 2. Favorite Multi-Hyphenate: Andre Hyland a.k.a bLonNd cHiLi. Andre is a very talentedwriter/director/actor/comedian. His short Funnel, which premiered at Sundance was probably my favorite short in 2014. I also highly recommend checking out his Youtube channel as there are some real gems particularly his Running Late series. 3. Most Memorable Film Experience: Rich Hill. Beautifully heartbreaking. See it.
Lavallee: Was wondering what lured you to Take Me to the River and what are you hoping auds will take away from this film experience?
Case: During one of my early conversations with Matt...
- 1/30/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Guitarist and musician Mick Turner's resume speaks for itself. Not only has he earned acclaim as a member of instrumental outfit Dirty Three but he's also logged time as part of The Tren Brothers, while working with an array of artists and groups including Cat Power, Boxhead Ensemble, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and even contributed to the score of John Hillcoat's "The Proposition." But he's also been turning out records under his own name and so coming soon is his latest album Don't Tell The Driver, and he's got a pretty special video to go with it. Cam Archer directed the spot for "The Bird Catcher," and his collaboration with Turner began a few years ago when the filmmaker used some of his tracks for his feature "Shit Year." "I did the music for the film rather than the other way around. Without me actually seeing it, we talked...
- 11/12/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
The above scene at the Creative Capital retreat this weekend brought back a lot of memories. The arts funding organization’s semi-annual retreat was held at Williams College in Williamstown Massachusetts, and on the final evening the outdoor barbecue got drizzled out. So, it was moved indoors, and afterwards the cafeteria space became a party space, where artist grantees and consultants danced to Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love.” A level up, Cinemad’s Mike Plante set up his microphones and recorded a podcast. The ’80s music, the party, and radio — it was like one of my own evenings in college, where I’d wander from Wollman Auditorium upstairs to Wkcr to do my radio show at Columbia. And yeah, there may have been a whiskey bottle involved as well.
Here’s Plante:
In this accidental ode to Drunk History, Cinemad sits down at the Creative Capital retreat with filmmakers Cam Archer...
Here’s Plante:
In this accidental ode to Drunk History, Cinemad sits down at the Creative Capital retreat with filmmakers Cam Archer...
- 7/31/2012
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
The historic 50th annual Ann Arbor Film Festival wrapped up on April 1 with a whole gaggle of awards going to numerous filmmakers, celebrating the best in experimental, animation, documentary, Lgbt, international, music video and more categories.
The big winner of the event was Hayoun Kwon for her animated short film Lack of Evidence (Manque de Preuves), about a Nigerian child who survives a ritualistic murder by his own father. The Seoul-born, Paris-based filmmaker took home the Ken Burns Award for Best of the Festival.
On the experimental film front, Betzy Bromberg won the Stan Brakhage Film at Wit’s End award for her feature-length experimental film Voluptuous Sleep; while Sylvia Schedelbauer won the Gus Van Sant Award for Best Experimental Film for her short film Sounding Glass; and Robert Todd won the Kodak/Colorlab Award for Best Cinematography for two films, Undergrowth and Within.
Renown animator Don Hertzfeldt shared the...
The big winner of the event was Hayoun Kwon for her animated short film Lack of Evidence (Manque de Preuves), about a Nigerian child who survives a ritualistic murder by his own father. The Seoul-born, Paris-based filmmaker took home the Ken Burns Award for Best of the Festival.
On the experimental film front, Betzy Bromberg won the Stan Brakhage Film at Wit’s End award for her feature-length experimental film Voluptuous Sleep; while Sylvia Schedelbauer won the Gus Van Sant Award for Best Experimental Film for her short film Sounding Glass; and Robert Todd won the Kodak/Colorlab Award for Best Cinematography for two films, Undergrowth and Within.
Renown animator Don Hertzfeldt shared the...
- 4/2/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
It’s the 50th anniversary of the Ann Arbor Film Festival and they’re preparing an all-out blowout on March 27 to April 1 to celebrate! The fest is crammed to the gills with the latest and greatest in experimental and avant-garde film, in addition to a celebration of classic work from Ann Arbors past.
Filmmaker Bruce Baillie was there at the first Aaff — and numerous times since. He’s back this year with a major retrospective of his entire career that spans three separate programs. Baillie, who’ll be in attendance of course, will present a brand-new restored version of his epic pseudo-Western Quick Billy, plus screenings of his classic short movies such as Castro Street, Yellow Horse, Quixote, To Parsifal and more.
There’s also a program dedicated to the films of the late Robert Nelson, including Bleu Shut and Special Warning, as well as sprinklings of underground classics throughout...
Filmmaker Bruce Baillie was there at the first Aaff — and numerous times since. He’s back this year with a major retrospective of his entire career that spans three separate programs. Baillie, who’ll be in attendance of course, will present a brand-new restored version of his epic pseudo-Western Quick Billy, plus screenings of his classic short movies such as Castro Street, Yellow Horse, Quixote, To Parsifal and more.
There’s also a program dedicated to the films of the late Robert Nelson, including Bleu Shut and Special Warning, as well as sprinklings of underground classics throughout...
- 3/7/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy, the producing duo behind Gotham Award Best Picture winner and Oscar nominee Beginners, have signed an output and development deal with sales, finance, and production company K5 Media Group.
The deal marks an alliance between two rising indie powerhouses. Knudsen and Van Hoy have been building their reputation for the past ten years. In 2004, they founded production company Parts & Labor and steadily accumulated a body of festival circuit sleeper hits including Kelly Reichardt’s Old Joy, Cam Archer’s Wild Tigers I Have Known, and Nik Fackler’s Lovely, Still. More recently, the duo produced Bradley Rust Gray’s Exploding Girl, Aaron Katz’s Cold Weather, Braden King’s Here, and of course, Mike Mill’s Beginners.
K5, whose offices are located in London, Munich, and Los Angeles have recently put out Vehicle 19 starring Paul Walker and Night Train to Lisbon starring Jeremy Irons.
The deal marks an alliance between two rising indie powerhouses. Knudsen and Van Hoy have been building their reputation for the past ten years. In 2004, they founded production company Parts & Labor and steadily accumulated a body of festival circuit sleeper hits including Kelly Reichardt’s Old Joy, Cam Archer’s Wild Tigers I Have Known, and Nik Fackler’s Lovely, Still. More recently, the duo produced Bradley Rust Gray’s Exploding Girl, Aaron Katz’s Cold Weather, Braden King’s Here, and of course, Mike Mill’s Beginners.
K5, whose offices are located in London, Munich, and Los Angeles have recently put out Vehicle 19 starring Paul Walker and Night Train to Lisbon starring Jeremy Irons.
- 2/1/2012
- by Dan Schoenbrun
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
At a reception last night at the Ronald Feldman Gallery in New York, Creative Capital announced its 2012 Film & Video and Visual Arts grantees. Among the media artists are a number of names familiar to Filmmaker readers, including 25 New Face directors Cam Archer, Matt Porterfield and Yance Ford. Others who received grants include L.A.-based director Nina Menkes, veteran experimental filmmaker Ken Jacobs, and Rooftop Films head Mark Elijah Rosenberg, who, as a director, will tell “a multimedia, fictional story of an astronaut heading to Mars alone on a one-way mission.”
“Our grantees span artists from 27 years old to 77,” said Creative Capital Director Ruby Lerner at the event, before going on to explain the organization’s unique mission, which involves not only granting artists funds for their projects but also working with them to hone their professional skill sets. For Creative Capital, both making work and making a living while making work are prioritized,...
“Our grantees span artists from 27 years old to 77,” said Creative Capital Director Ruby Lerner at the event, before going on to explain the organization’s unique mission, which involves not only granting artists funds for their projects but also working with them to hone their professional skill sets. For Creative Capital, both making work and making a living while making work are prioritized,...
- 1/13/2012
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Today, Creative Capital announced its 2012 grant recipients. The grantees will receive up to $50,000 in direct funding and advisory services valued at more than $40,000. New projects from Cam Archer ("Shit Year"), Jake Yuzna ("Open"), Nina Menkes ("Dissolution") Matt Porterfield ("Putty Hill"), Yance Ford (Pov), Mark Elijah Rosenberg (Rooftop Films), and archivist Rick Prelinger are all amongst this year's grantees. The complete list of film and video grant recipients are: Cam Archer, Robert Bahar & Almudena Carracedo, Amy Belk and Matt Porterfield, Brad Butler, Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel, Eric Dyer, Daniel Eisenberg, Yance Ford, Brian L. Frye and Penny Lane, Sonali Gulati, Kenneth Jacobs, Nina Menkes, Akosua Adoma Owusu, Brian Pera, Rick Prelinger, Michael Robinson, Mark Elijah Rosenberg, Norbert Shieh, Stacey Steers, Deborah Stratman, Jesse Sugarmann, Christopher...
- 1/12/2012
- Indiewire
1. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Back in February I called Chris Ware’s poster “definitely an early contender for the best of 2011” and eight months later nothing has come close in terms of ingenuity, beauty and sheer graphic skill. It’s fitting that Uncle Boonmee was also one of the year’s best films. Read all about it here.
2. The Trip
Not the official poster for Michael Winterbottom’s foodie road trip, nor even the wonderful teaser poster which channelled Vik Muniz in a couple of dirty plates, but one of eight strikingly varied and witty alternative posters designed by Mojo, for what purpose I’m not entirely sure. All of them were terrific—you can see them here—and I’m ranking them second for the collective effort, but my favorite was this take on the great 1932 Dubonnet posters of A.M. Cassandre (whose Triplex poster...
Back in February I called Chris Ware’s poster “definitely an early contender for the best of 2011” and eight months later nothing has come close in terms of ingenuity, beauty and sheer graphic skill. It’s fitting that Uncle Boonmee was also one of the year’s best films. Read all about it here.
2. The Trip
Not the official poster for Michael Winterbottom’s foodie road trip, nor even the wonderful teaser poster which channelled Vik Muniz in a couple of dirty plates, but one of eight strikingly varied and witty alternative posters designed by Mojo, for what purpose I’m not entirely sure. All of them were terrific—you can see them here—and I’m ranking them second for the collective effort, but my favorite was this take on the great 1932 Dubonnet posters of A.M. Cassandre (whose Triplex poster...
- 12/30/2011
- MUBI
Boundary-busting filmmaker Cam Archer — one of Filmmaker‘s 25 New Faces and director of, most recently, Shit Year — is making his first doc, Criminal Thoughts. He talks about it and his career in an unguarded video for Kickstarter.
In the video, Archer is up-front about the exploratory nature of his project, which appeals to me. As more and more Kickstarter campaigns seem like pre-buys for existing products/projects, Cam’s appeal to us to assist him during his creative process is striking. From the page:
Criminal Thoughts, my first feature length documentary, will be an exciting, creative departure for me. in the past, my work has been almost exclusively narrative. though i still consider all of that work to be of me, the fictional element, as far as i am concerned, builds a wall, or a mask, which keeps us from getting to know one another. i’d like to remove...
In the video, Archer is up-front about the exploratory nature of his project, which appeals to me. As more and more Kickstarter campaigns seem like pre-buys for existing products/projects, Cam’s appeal to us to assist him during his creative process is striking. From the page:
Criminal Thoughts, my first feature length documentary, will be an exciting, creative departure for me. in the past, my work has been almost exclusively narrative. though i still consider all of that work to be of me, the fictional element, as far as i am concerned, builds a wall, or a mask, which keeps us from getting to know one another. i’d like to remove...
- 12/9/2011
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Considered by some as a young Johnny Depp, Luke Grimes has been reportedly tapped for a key role in action sequel Taken 2 as a fresh face to the franchise. Grimes, who you might know from ABC series Brothers & Sisters or movies such as Assassination of a High School President has closed a deal [...]
Continue reading Taken 2 Adds Luke Grimes on FilmoFilia.
Related posts:Shit Year by Cam Archer, Cannes 2010 Directors’ Fortnight Us & Them Adds Two New Cast Members Rade Serbedzija Cast as Taken 2′s VIllain...
Continue reading Taken 2 Adds Luke Grimes on FilmoFilia.
Related posts:Shit Year by Cam Archer, Cannes 2010 Directors’ Fortnight Us & Them Adds Two New Cast Members Rade Serbedzija Cast as Taken 2′s VIllain...
- 11/9/2011
- by Nick Martin
- Filmofilia
Today on indieWIRE, we had interviews "Shit Year" director Cam Archer and "Weekend" director Andrew Haigh, a major announcement was made by our parent company SnagFilms, a trailer for David Fincher's latest dropped and more. SnagFilms Launches New Site, New Platforms, New Distribution—and Its First Narrative Films SnagFilms has launched a major upgrade of its website while announcing its first collection of 400 narrative titles that will include films like ...
- 9/22/2011
- Indiewire
Cam Archer was just 20 when he made his first short, "Bobbycrush," which screened at Sundance in 2004. Since then, he's crafted a body of work that makes him one of America's most promising young filmmakers. His first feature, the gay coming-of-age tale "Wild Tigers I Have Known," was produced by Gus Van Sant, premiered at Sundance in 2006 and got some good reviews in its 2007 release via IFC ...
- 9/22/2011
- Indiewire
Cam Archer was just 20 when he made his first short, "Bobbycrush," which screened at Sundance in 2004. Since then, he's crafted a body of work that makes him one of America's most promising young filmmakers. His first feature, the gay coming-of-age tale "Wild Tigers I Have Known," was produced by Gus Van Sant, premiered at Sundance in 2006 and got some good reviews in its 2007 release via IFC ...
- 9/22/2011
- indieWIRE - People
Cam Archer was just 20 when he made his first short, "Bobbycrush," which screened at Sundance in 2004. Since then, he's crafted a body of work that makes him one of America's most promising young filmmakers. His first feature, the gay coming-of-age tale "Wild Tigers I Have Known," was produced by Gus Van Sant, premiered at Sundance in 2006 and got some good reviews in its 2007 release via IFC ...
- 9/22/2011
- indieWIRE - People
"I imagine those who had written off Cam Archer as yet another Gus Van Sant acolyte after seeing his debut, Wild Tigers I Have Known (2006), will be in for a shock when confronted with his latest film, Shit Year (2011), a mature work with a distinct, idiosyncratic approach to difficult questions." Travis Jeppesen for Artforum: "The film is ostensibly about Colleen West (Ellen Barkin), a middle-aged actress retiring from the industry and settling into a life of intensive self-isolation in a forest cabin. This deceptively simple premise serves as a convincing departure point for a prolonged meditation on solitude."
Archer "appears to have watched John Cassavetes's Opening Night, about a middle-aged actress, and rather more than a few avant-garde films as well," suggests Manohla Dargis in the New York Times. "Shot in handsome, often vividly contrasting black and white, [Shit Year] weighs in as an attempt at poetic expressionism, a bid to...
Archer "appears to have watched John Cassavetes's Opening Night, about a middle-aged actress, and rather more than a few avant-garde films as well," suggests Manohla Dargis in the New York Times. "Shot in handsome, often vividly contrasting black and white, [Shit Year] weighs in as an attempt at poetic expressionism, a bid to...
- 9/21/2011
- MUBI
Ellen Barkin puts on a bold, candid performance in Cam Archer's "Shit Year," but the enigmatic movie is composed of too many fragments to sustain her efforts. An experimental account of fictional actress Colleen West, this obsessively non-linear character snapshot never settles down and consequently loses focus. The sum of its parts is both imaginative and emotionally remote. [Editor's Note: This review was originally published during indieWIRE's coverage of the ...
- 9/21/2011
- Indiewire
This post was originally published when Shit Year premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010. The film opens today at the IFC Center.
It is both accurate and reductive to call Cam Archer’s Shit Year, which premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in the Director’s Fortnight section, the story of a retiring actress grappling with the emotions produced by her move away from the Hollywood spotlight. Of course, on narrative terms, that is what it’s about. Ellen Barkin plays the actress, who has just given her final talk-show interview, moved to a cabin in the woods, and now spends her days avoiding her neighbors and flashing back to a brief affair she had with a younger actor (Luke Grimes) on the set of her last film. In an eerily composed performance, Barkin projects the steely emotional control of a woman determined not to descend into...
It is both accurate and reductive to call Cam Archer’s Shit Year, which premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in the Director’s Fortnight section, the story of a retiring actress grappling with the emotions produced by her move away from the Hollywood spotlight. Of course, on narrative terms, that is what it’s about. Ellen Barkin plays the actress, who has just given her final talk-show interview, moved to a cabin in the woods, and now spends her days avoiding her neighbors and flashing back to a brief affair she had with a younger actor (Luke Grimes) on the set of her last film. In an eerily composed performance, Barkin projects the steely emotional control of a woman determined not to descend into...
- 9/19/2011
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Cinemad has released the U.S. trailer for Santa Cruz filmmaker Cam Archer's sophomore feature "Shit Year," and it's a sight to behold. The film features Ellen Barkin as Colleen West, a Hollywood actress whose retirement leaves her flustered and in the arms of Luke Grimes, a young actor she falls for. The trailer - which calls the film "a cam archer time mess revenge joke film love lapse of you" ...
- 9/8/2011
- Indiewire
Microdistributor Cinemad Presents will release Cam Archer's "Shit Year," starring Ellen Barkin, in the U.S. this fall. In the black-and-white experimental film, Barkin plays a retiring actress slowly losing her grip on reality. It was an entry in the 2010 Cannes Film Festival's Director's Fortnight. "Ellen Barkin puts on a bold, candid performance in Cam Archer’s “Shit Year,” but the enigmatic movie is composed of too many fragments to sustain ...
- 8/31/2011
- Indiewire
Micro-distributor Cinemad Presents have added what I imagine is their first Cannes title to their humble slate. Cam Archer's 2010 Cannes preemed Shit Year (Directors' Fortnight) will be brought to market next month with a booking at the IFC in NYC with other venues/cities to follow. Here's coverage of what the world premiere screening looked like back in May of '10. Gist: Colleen West (Ellen Barkin), a once renowned actress, comes unhinged as she confronts retirement and life at the twilight of her career. Haunted, she plummets into a hallucinatory affair with Harvey (Luke Grimes), a much younger actor who she met doing a small play. Worth Noting: This is Cinemad's second time working with Archer - before getting into the distribution business, the decade old blog previously showcased his short film, above below in the short film compilation called, Cinemad: 2009 Short Film Almanac. Do We Care?: I...
- 8/30/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
The IFC Center, one of New York's finest independent film theaters, has announced its August-September lineup, which launches this weekend with the opening of Raul Ruiz's much-discussed "Mysteries of Lisbon" and includes ten Us theatrical premieres as well as IFC's regular slate of midnight repertory films and weekend classics. Highlights include Göran Olsson's documentary "The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975," Cam Archer's "Shit Year," Cameron Crowe's rockumentary "Pearl Jam Twenty" and ...
- 8/4/2011
- Indiewire
Indie avant-garde rock band Xiu Xiu has been known to get quirky underground film directors to make their music videos. Embedded into this post are two great examples. Above is the quietly beautiful video for the song “The Fox and the Rabbit” directed by Cam Archer. And below is the frighteningly deranged video for “Bog People” directed by Bob Moricz. Both videos are very different, but are appropriately fitting for the songs they accompany.
Each video also unmistakably fits in perfectly with its respective director’s filmography. Archer’s short films, such as above below, are emotionally painful examinations of alienated teenagers, while Moricz’s work, such as his webseries Overdose in the Hospital of Love, are typically psychedelic, violent melodramas. While these two directors choose very different subject matter to explore, their visuals for these two particular songs are devastatingly enhanced by the sadness of the music, giving them...
Each video also unmistakably fits in perfectly with its respective director’s filmography. Archer’s short films, such as above below, are emotionally painful examinations of alienated teenagers, while Moricz’s work, such as his webseries Overdose in the Hospital of Love, are typically psychedelic, violent melodramas. While these two directors choose very different subject matter to explore, their visuals for these two particular songs are devastatingly enhanced by the sadness of the music, giving them...
- 1/24/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Independent producers Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy delivered a keynote address at the Producers Lunch at the Sundance Film Festival Sunday afternoon. Their recent credits include Cam Archer's "Shit Year" and Aaron Katz's "Cold Weather." Their production company, Parts and Labor, is based in New York City. indieWIRE is publishing their full speech below, courtesy of the producers and the Sundance Institute. Sundance Producers Lunch 1/23/11 Jay Van Hoy: ...
- 1/24/2011
- indieWIRE - People
Independent producers Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy delivered a keynote address at the Producers Lunch at the Sundance Film Festival Sunday afternoon. Their recent credits include Cam Archer's "Shit Year" and Aaron Katz's "Cold Weather." Their production company, Parts and Labor, is based in New York City. indieWIRE is publishing their full speech below, courtesy of the producers and the Sundance Institute. Sundance Producers Lunch 1/23/11 Jay Van Hoy: ...
- 1/24/2011
- Indiewire
Independent producers Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy delivered a keynote address at the Producers Lunch at the Sundance Film Festival Sunday afternoon. Their recent credits include Cam Archer's "Shit Year" and Aaron Katz's "Cold Weather." They are currently in Park City with their film "Here" by Braden King. Their production company, Parts and Labor, is based in New York City. indieWIRE is publishing their full speech below, courtesy of ...
- 1/24/2011
- indieWIRE - People
Originally printed in our Fall 2010 issue, we asked a number of leading independent producers about their producing models and how they’re finding everything from financing to material to office space. Jay Van Hoy & Lars Knudsen’s latest film, Braden King’s Here, premieres at Sundance on Friday.
For Parts and Labor’s Jay Van Hoy and Lars Knudsen, independent film success is all about work. Very hard work.
Midway through our conversation about their recent producing successes, Jay Van Hoy and Lars Knudsen realized that they hadn’t had a day off in 18 months. “You did seven-day weeks for a year-and-a-half?” I asked. “Well, there was one weekend during SXSW…” Jay replied.
For Van Hoy and Knudsen, whose Parts and Labor is one of New York City’s most active and auteurcentric production companies, getting films made is simply about doing the work. (And no, a weekend of downtime...
For Parts and Labor’s Jay Van Hoy and Lars Knudsen, independent film success is all about work. Very hard work.
Midway through our conversation about their recent producing successes, Jay Van Hoy and Lars Knudsen realized that they hadn’t had a day off in 18 months. “You did seven-day weeks for a year-and-a-half?” I asked. “Well, there was one weekend during SXSW…” Jay replied.
For Van Hoy and Knudsen, whose Parts and Labor is one of New York City’s most active and auteurcentric production companies, getting films made is simply about doing the work. (And no, a weekend of downtime...
- 1/20/2011
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
East Hampton, NY (October 10th, 2010) – The Hamptons International Film Festival announced tonight their audience, jury and special prizes at their awards ceremony. Tom Hooper’s The King’S Speech and Jill Andresevic’s Love Etc. take the audience awards honored tonight among the film industries finest. Mamas And Papas, directed by Alice Nellis, was selected by the jury as the winner of The Golden Starfish Narrative Feature Award. The Documentary Golden Starfish went to Aaron Schock’s Circo. Mamas And Papas also took home the Zicherman Screenplay Award. Another winner in the Narrative category, Xavier Dolan’s Heartbeats took the Kodak Award for Best Cinematography. The festival’s Brizzolara Family Conflict and Resolution Award was presented to Lisa Gossel’s My So Called Enemy. Special awards went to The House Of Suh, directed by Iris Shim, which was the winner of the Investigation Discovery Award for Excellence in Journalism, and No Tomorrow,...
- 10/11/2010
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Kudos to the AFI Fest for setting up an important sidebar that will expose the best that the next generation of filmmakers have to offer. Bumping up their crop of exciting new auteur cinema, sections labeled "Young Americans" and "New Auteurs" (Cannes heavy) are showcases you'll want to keep an eye on - I can vouch on a good chunk of titles already selected. Among the half dozen included names in "Young Americans" section we find a pair of filmmakers in Alistair Banks Griffin and David Robert Mitchell who were included in our own American New Wave 25 feature this summer. Two Gates Of Sleep, one of my top discoveries of the year from this year's Cannes will finally receive its North American premiere. Filling out the section, we also have the North American premiere for the Locarno preemed Kitao Sakurai's Aardvark (Sakurai was the cinematographer on You Wont Miss...
- 10/5/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
Quickly establishing itself as one of the premiere events for genre cinema in Canada is the edgy Temps 0 program at Montreal's Festival du Nouveau Cinema and this year is no exception. Though the official press conference isn't until tomorrow morning we've got an early look at the lineup and it's a good one. Voila!
The Last Circus (Alex de la Iglesia)
La Casa Muda (The Silent House) (Gustavo Hernandez) North-American Premiere
Chatroom (Hideo Nakata) North-American Premiere
Colorful (Keiichi Hara) North American Premiere
Confessions (Tetsuya Nakashima)
David Wants to Fly (David Sieveking)
Doman Seman (Go Shibata) Canadian Premiere
Enter the Void (Gaspar Noé) Director will be present
Headless Family (Kote Aramboy) International Premiere
Hisss (Jennifer Chambers Lynch) Canadian Premiere
The Intruder (Thanadol Nualsuth, Thammanoon Sakulboonthanom) North American Premiere
Kaboom (Gregg Araki)
Mad Dog Morgan (Philippe Mora) In 35mm with director present
Monsters (Gareth Edwards)
Outrage (Takeshi Kitano)
Raavanan (Tamil Version) (Mani Ratnam...
The Last Circus (Alex de la Iglesia)
La Casa Muda (The Silent House) (Gustavo Hernandez) North-American Premiere
Chatroom (Hideo Nakata) North-American Premiere
Colorful (Keiichi Hara) North American Premiere
Confessions (Tetsuya Nakashima)
David Wants to Fly (David Sieveking)
Doman Seman (Go Shibata) Canadian Premiere
Enter the Void (Gaspar Noé) Director will be present
Headless Family (Kote Aramboy) International Premiere
Hisss (Jennifer Chambers Lynch) Canadian Premiere
The Intruder (Thanadol Nualsuth, Thammanoon Sakulboonthanom) North American Premiere
Kaboom (Gregg Araki)
Mad Dog Morgan (Philippe Mora) In 35mm with director present
Monsters (Gareth Edwards)
Outrage (Takeshi Kitano)
Raavanan (Tamil Version) (Mani Ratnam...
- 9/27/2010
- Screen Anarchy
Five films will compete for one of the North American film festival circuit's most generous awards, the Golden Starfish narrative feature prize, worth $125,000 in cash and in-kind services, at the 18th Hamptons International Film Festival. Xavier Dolan's "Heartbeats", Hilda Hidalgo's "Of Love and Other Demons," Alice Nellis' "Mamas and Papas," Nikolaj Steen's "Old Boys" and Cam Archer's "Shit Year" will vie for the award. The festival takes place from October ...
- 9/16/2010
- Indiewire
With both our “25 New Faces” feature and the Ifp’s Narrative Lab coming up, I’ve been kind of backlogged here on the blog. But, I just posted a couple of things: first, Livia Bloom’s recap of Cannes in our Festival Coverage section, and then my interview with Shit Year director Cam Archer, conducted in Cannes after the premiere of his film in the Director’s Fortnight section. And, in a separate post, Bloom wonders why there were not any female directors in Competition in Cannes this year. You can check them out at the links.
- 6/2/2010
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
It is both accurate and reductive to call Cam Archer’s Shit Year, which premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in the Director’s Fortnight section, the story of a retiring actress grappling with the emotions produced by her move away from the Hollywood spotlight. Of course, on narrative terms, that is what it’s about. Ellen Barkin plays the actress, who has just given her final talk-show interview, moved to a cabin in the woods, and now spends her days avoiding her neighbors and flashing back to a brief affair she had with a younger actor (Luke Grimes) on the set of her last film. In an eerily composed performance, Barkin projects the steely emotional control of a woman determined not to descend into the...
- 6/2/2010
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine_Web Exclusives
While prepping for an American Pavilion Q & A with Cam Archer and David Robert Mitchell, writer-directors of two micro-budget indies, one film put me to sleep while the other didn't. I fought to stay alert during Archer's sophomore feature Shit Year (Director's Fortnight), a non-linear black-and-white 16 mm meditation on a retired actress (Ellen Barkin) who goes loony when stripped of her anchoring identity. "I made 35 movies in 30 years," she says. "Being someone else can be very addictive. It's funny how familiar being a stranger can be." She later wails, "I am surrounded by a world of nothing. How can something become nothing?" The movie is incantatory, narcoleptic, as Archer uses long, static shots. Many folks walked out at my screening. On the ...
- 5/23/2010
- Thompson on Hollywood
You see, that’s exactly the thing about the Cannes Film Festival – you can even see a movie with title like this – Shit Year and have a freedom to write “shit” all over the report. Just joking.
Shit Year
But I still like this Cam Archer’s new project, with lovely Ellen Barkin in the leading role. Actually, everything about Shit Year looked perfect from the first moment, especially this picture with Ellen’s double-sad-clown-with-cigarette face. I mean, is there better way to describe something titled Shit Year? Guess not.
So, here’s the synopsis part: “Renowned actress Collen West abandons her successful career for a secluded life in the hills. But the quiet and peace of mind she longed for is disrupted by the noisy construction of neighboring housing developments. Before long, Colleen discovers that she really can’t stand herself now that she has given up the only...
Shit Year
But I still like this Cam Archer’s new project, with lovely Ellen Barkin in the leading role. Actually, everything about Shit Year looked perfect from the first moment, especially this picture with Ellen’s double-sad-clown-with-cigarette face. I mean, is there better way to describe something titled Shit Year? Guess not.
So, here’s the synopsis part: “Renowned actress Collen West abandons her successful career for a secluded life in the hills. But the quiet and peace of mind she longed for is disrupted by the noisy construction of neighboring housing developments. Before long, Colleen discovers that she really can’t stand herself now that she has given up the only...
- 5/19/2010
- by Fiona
- Filmofilia
"Premiering at the Directors' Fortnight, Shit Year, Cam Archer's second feature (after 2006's mildly experimental gay coming-of-age tale Wild Tigers I Have Known), is more satisfying to say than to watch," writes Melissa Anderson for Artforum. "Ellen Barkin stars as Colleen West, a just-retired actress still recovering from her breakup with Harvey (Luke Grimes), a perfectly sculpted ephebe who costarred with her in a play. Archer's film, mistaking willful incomprehensibility for artfulness, unfolds as a series of disjointed, dead-end vignettes (some involving Colleen's experiments with 'simulations' to bring Harvey back, others including craft projects with apples supervised by an irritatingly buoyant neighbor) that Barkin, ever game, can enliven only so much."...
- 5/19/2010
- MUBI
By Roger Friedman
hollywoodnews.com: Ellen Barkin either lost a bet or she’s being blackmailed. Either way, her presence in “Shit Year” at the Cannes Directors Fortnight is puzzling.
Cam Archer’s movie isn’t really even a movie. It’s a self indulgent raft ride into outer space, in which improvisation and meaningless yabbering take the place of movie making. I actually started to think during the interminable hour spent in the theater that “Cam Archer” might be a pseudonym for “Yoko Ono.” Looking at a fly would have been more fun.
To read more go to showbiz411.com...
hollywoodnews.com: Ellen Barkin either lost a bet or she’s being blackmailed. Either way, her presence in “Shit Year” at the Cannes Directors Fortnight is puzzling.
Cam Archer’s movie isn’t really even a movie. It’s a self indulgent raft ride into outer space, in which improvisation and meaningless yabbering take the place of movie making. I actually started to think during the interminable hour spent in the theater that “Cam Archer” might be a pseudonym for “Yoko Ono.” Looking at a fly would have been more fun.
To read more go to showbiz411.com...
- 5/18/2010
- by Roger Friedman
- Hollywoodnews.com
Ellen Barkin puts on a bold, candid performance in Cam Archer's "Shit Year," but the enigmatic movie is composed of too many fragments to sustain her efforts. An experimental account of fictional actress Colleen West, this obsessively non-linear character snapshot never settles down and consequently loses focus. The sum of its parts is both imaginative and emotionally remote. Shot on grainy 16mm, the black-and-white story drifts around through several disconnected parts, ...
- 5/17/2010
- Indiewire
We've been talking about this one for so long, glad to have finally seen Cam Archer's sophomore pic and the verdict? Think Jim Jarmusch's early days and Anton Corbijn videos from the late 80's but with a tone that is slightly surreal, slightly candid in the notion of retirement and slightly distilled - the shades of B&W have a dreamy, docu-like quality and makes this a purely art-house theatres. - We've been talking about this one for so long, glad to have finally seen Cam Archer's sophomore pic and the verdict? Think Jim Jarmusch's early days and Anton Corbijn videos from the late 80's but with a tone that is slightly surreal, slightly candid in the notion of retirement and slightly distilled - the shades of B&W have a dreamy, docu-like quality and makes this a purely art-house theatres. Nice to see Melora...
- 5/16/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
We've been talking about this one for so long, glad to have finally seen Cam Archer's sophomore pic and the verdict? Think Jim Jarmusch's early days and Anton Corbijn videos from the late 80's but with a tone that is slightly surreal, slightly candid in the notion of retirement and slightly distilled - the shades of B&W have a dreamy, docu-like quality and makes this a purely art-house theatres. Nice to see Melora Waters - I had lost track of her since PTA's Magnolia. On hand for the world premiere night were stars Ellen Barkin, Luke Grimes and producing pair Parts and Labor's Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy. Shit Year was part of the Director's Fortnight - Cannes FIlm Festival 2010 - here is some footage from the film's premiere. ...
- 5/16/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
If I had to pick just twelve (my actual screening schedule is north of 40) then I'd go with the dozen titles below. - If I had to pick just twelve (my actual screening schedule is north of 40) then I'd go with the dozen titles below. All Good Children directed by Alicia Duffy (Director's Fortnight)On the basis of her short film and the clip I saw for this one, this feature debut may just bring us the next Lynne Ramsay, Andrea Arnold.Biutiful directed by Alejandro Gonzales Innaritu (Main Comp)First screenplay sans Guillermo Arriaga, I'm expecting this to be the fresh start and move away from mapped out narratives and multiple character collision course - big question: is this an English or Spanish spoken film? Carlos directed by Olivier Assayas (Out of Competition) Of the list you find on this page, this is the...
- 5/13/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
If I had to pick just twelve (my actual screening schedule is north of 40) then I'd go with the dozen titles below. All Good Children directed by Alicia Duffy (Director's Fortnight)On the basis of her short film and the clip I saw for this one, this feature debut may just bring us the next Lynne Ramsay, Andrea Arnold.Biutiful directed by Alejandro Gonzales Innaritu (Main Comp)First screenplay sans Guillermo Arriaga, I'm expecting this to be the fresh start and move away from mapped out narratives and multiple character collision course - big question: is this an English or Spanish spoken film? Carlos directed by Olivier Assayas (Out of Competition) Of the list you find on this page, this is the film in Cannes that I won't be watching - 5 hour 33 minutes should have been broken down by the festival. Will seek it out post festival.Inside Job directed...
- 5/12/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
The German sales co. known for providing the fest circuit and art-house plexes with subtitled stuff from around the globe will set fire to the Director's Fortnight section this year. If I'm counting right, the Match Factory supply the section with a trio of titles (five total in the fest) including the much discussed on this site Cam Archer's sophomore feature, and they nabbed a Main Comp spot for one of the most celebrated directors of the decade in Apichatpong Weerasethakul latest – a sort of “ghost” story. - The German sales co. known for providing the fest circuit and art-house plexes with subtitled stuff from around the globe will set fire to the Director's Fortnight section this year. If I'm counting right, The Match Factory supply the fest with a five titles including The Light Thief (see pic above), The City Below, the including the much discussed...
- 5/12/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
The German sales co. known for providing the fest circuit and art-house plexes with subtitled stuff from around the globe will set fire to the Director's Fortnight section this year. If I'm counting right, The Match Factory supply the fest with a five titles including The Light Thief (see pic above), The City Below, the including the much discussed on this site Cam Archer's sophomore feature, and they nabbed a Main Comp spot for one of the most celebrated directors of the decade in Apichatpong Weerasethakul latest – a sort of “ghost” story. Everything Will Be Fine (Alting Bliver Godt Igen) by Christoffer Boe - Completed Shit Year by Cam Archer - Completed The City Below (Unter Dir Die Stadt) by Christoph HOCHHÄUSLER - Completed The Light Thief by Aktan Arym Kubat - Completed Uncle Boonmee Who Nn Recall His Past Lives (Loong Boonmee Raleuk Chaat) by Apichatpong Weerasethakul -...
- 5/11/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
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