November 2022 - Unspool Hollywood

View New Trailer: Shinzô Katayama’s MISSING available Friday, November 18th on all major VOD platforms in the US and Canada

MISSING (Sagasu/さがす)

Directed by: Shinzô Katayama
Starring: Aoi Ito, Hiroya Shimizu, Misato Morita, Jirô Satô
Country: Japan
Language: In Japanese with English Subtitles)
Run time: 2 hours 4 minutes

MISSING will open theatrically in New York (Film Noir, Brooklyn), Los Angeles (Laemmle Glendale), Columbus (Gateway) and major cities on November 4, 2022.

A VOD/ Cable release will follow in the US and Canada on November 18, 2022:
Platforms: iTunes/Apple, Amazon, Google Play, Microsoft, YouTube, Vudu, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum, Verizon Fios, Cox, Direct TV, Dish Network and many more.

The Blu Ray release for the film will be on December 6, 2022.

OFFICIAL SELECTION: Busan International Film Festival, Fantasia International Film Festival, Fantastic Fest and many more.

Depressed and in debt following the death of his wife, Santoshi (Jiro Sato) tells his young daughter he has found a way out. Pointing to a reward note, he vows to find the infamous serial killer “No Name” (Hiroya Shimizu) and cash in, claiming to have seen the man in the flesh a few days earlier. Kaeda (Aoi Ito) cannot take her aloof father serious. But when he goes missing without a trace, she starts to fear the worst—and must begin looking for him.

After working as an assistant director for Japanese films, including Nobuhiro Yamashita’s works, filmmaker Shinzô Katayama crossed paths with Bong Joon-Ho while shooting “TOKYO!” (2008) and served as his assistant director on “Mother” (2009). In 2019, his debut feature, “Siblings of the Cape ” was selected by numerous domestic and international film festivals. He now is one of the most promising, emerging directors in Japan, and his second feature, MISSING (“Sagasu /さがす”) will be his commercial film debut.

ABOUT DARK STAR PICTURES

Dark Star Pictures is a new-age North American distribution company, focused on bringing unique and targeted content to audiences across the country. We are committed to releasing auteur-driven, original cinema in the theatrical, digital, and home video space.
Website: https://darkstarpics.com

PR CONTACT- FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

EMMA GRIFFITHS
EMMA GRIFFITHS PR
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DOC NYC New York Premiere of the Illuminating Documentary “Finding Her Beat” Featuring LIVE Taiko Drumming Performance! Wednesday, November 16th, 2022

DOC NYC New York Premiere of the Illuminating Documentary “Finding Her Beat” Featuring LIVE Taiko Drumming Performance! Wednesday, November 16^th, 2022 at the IFC Center, 323 6th Avenue, New York, NY 10014

DOC NYC Film Page: https://www.docnyc.net/film/finding-her-beat/

NYC Premiere: Wed, November 16^th at 7pm at the IFC Center

2^nd Screening: Thursday, November 17^th at 12pm at the IFC Center

**Also Part of DOC NYC Virtual Cinemas As well Through November 27^th**

Filmmaking Team Onsite for the Screening and Q&A: Co-Director, Producer & Editor Dawn Mikkelson (“Risking Light,” “The Red Tail”), Co-Director, Director of Photography & Editor: Keri Pickett (“First Daughter and the Black Snake,” “The Fabulous Ice Age”), Field Producer & Cinematographer: Caroline Stucky, and Producer & Featured Artist: Jennifer Weir (Executive Director of TAM, Artistic Director of Enso Daiko), and Featured Artist: Megan Chao-Smith , among others.

About “Finding Her Beat”
In the midst of a frozen Minnesota winter, a Japanese drum master and Korean adoptee from North Dakota join forces to assemble the world’s best Taiko drummers in a bold effort to claim a cultural spotlight that has historically been reserved only for men. Their rhythm revolution includes rock stars from the world of Taiko: Tiffany Tamaribuchi, Kaoly Asano, Chieko Kojima, Megan Chao-Smith, and Jennifer Weir. Through grueling rehearsals, Jennifer weaves together their disparate voices and styles. Vulnerability, pain, and joys are shared—and we quickly see the bonds of friendship form as these talented women navigate their way through differences in culture, age, language, and performing styles. As the clock ticks toward their first performance, it becomes clear that their story has become much larger than Taiko.

Focus of the Film: Through the perspective of the five main artists, “Finding Her Beat” explores the individual themes of cultural and racial identity, the challenges professional marginalized gender artists face, the artist’s passion for a subculture that was designed to keep them on the outside, and the burgeoning hope that this historic event marks the beginning of a new era of taiko - for everyone. Told both verbally and nonverbally, in silence and thundering percussion, the film organically unfolds in the lived moments of these artists. By providing a character-driven format, not only is the subject matter fresh to the majority of audiences, but it creates a challenge and narrative tension for Japanese artists whose traditional culture stresses the importance of the separation between private and public lives. “Finding Her Beat” artists opened their hearts, followed by a massive public experience - the last before COVID-19 changed the world of performing arts. This is an important story of women paving their own road by banging their own drum.

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DOC NYC World Premiere Today Nov 12th: “Lazaro and The Shark” in the International Competition section ahead of our debut screening on Saturday, November 12th at 5:15pm at the Cinépolis Chelsea in NYC

World Premiere: Saturday, November 12^th at 5:15pm at the Cinépolis Chelsea

2^nd Screening: Monday, November 14^th at 2:15pm at the Cinépolis Chelsea

Filmmaking Team Onsite for the Screening and Q&A: Director William Sabourin O’Reilly (“A Crooked Line,” “Chasing Dreams: A Leah Chase Story”); Producer Bryan Bailey (“New Orleans Pie,” “A Crooked Line”), and Executive Producer Tomas Montoya Gonzalez.

Lazaro and The Shark: Cuba Under the Surface is a feature documentary that brings us to the world of Conga Competitions in the Carnival of Santiago de Cuba - one of the poorest Carnival in the world. Lázaro, the leader of the Conga de Los Hoyos, is determined to win the coveted award bestowed to the neighborhood that presents the most spectacular Conga. Like leaders of rival congas, Lazaro must join with his neighbors and scour the strictly rationed marketplace to find the necessary materials to create a show-stopping performance. Director William Sabourin O'Reilly, an Afro-Cuban native to Havana, offers a rare window into communist Cuba, a country that is often romanticized, and almost always portrayed through the eyes of an outsider.

Sabourin seamlessly weaves wrenching moments of senseless police violence with intimate scenes of distant lovers aching to reunite. As the competition approaches, we see much more than Lazaro’s desire to win a local honor. We are immersed in the essential fight of the Cuban nation: to continue to live in the legacy of a revolution that has left its people in a constant struggle of poverty, or embrace a more dangerous, vital vision of living in freedom.

Focus of the Film: A breath-taking and visceral view into director William Sabourin O’Reilly (“A Crooked Line,” “Chasing Dreams: A Leah chase Story”) native Cuba. A country and a people stuck at a crossroads, after six decades of Communist rule, Cuba is an island nation sunken into a perpetual economic downturn resulting in poverty and political crisis. Freedom and Democracy are non-existent to generations of Cubans. This reality becomes particularly heartbreaking when one bears witness to the energy, passion, and joy of the Cuban people, displayed in the annual Conga competitions.

DOC NYC page for the film and our screening schedule: https://www.docnyc.net/film/lazaro-and-the-shark-cuba-under-the-surface/

“Lazaro and The Shark” tells a vibrant story of contemporary life in Cuba, marked by generational conflicts and the suspense of a competition. The film is a declaration of love to Cuba’s people and culture. The music and dancing featured throughout the film emphasizes the undeniable and exhilarating presence and importance of the rich Afro-Cuban legacy on the Eastern part of the island. Stripped of the exotic gaze of an outsider, the film brings the audience to life in Santiago, to fathom the real racial, cultural, and social diversity of this fascinating country. These Cuban street parades are saturated with so much drama, love, pain, powerful music and ecstatic joy, as entire communities struggle to express themselves while facing harsh police brutality and repression. “Lazaro and The Shark” illuminates the realities of the Cuban people through a combination of drama, color, sound, and motion, recreating the magic of that colorful world. The evolution of these festivities, the Conga groups, and the competition between them is both provocative and entertaining.

About the Filmmaking Team: “Lazaro and The Shark” is directed by William Sabourin O’Reilly (“A Crooked Line,” “Chasing Dreams: A Leah Chase Story”); produced by Bryan Bailey (“New Orleans Pie,” “A Crooked Line”), Bhagavan Ishaya & Antonia Zennaro (“Parade”); executive produced by Tomas Montoya Gonzalez; with cinematography by William Sabourin O'Reilly; edited by Halil Efrat, Daniel Diez, & Carlos Larrondo; with original music by Alexey Marti, Jose Maria Vitier, Willy Keys & La Crema.

Cinematic Red PR (Annie@CinematicRedPR.com & Cell: 310-995-3834)

THE COMPUTER ACCENT (Doc featuring Grammy nominated band YACHT) Theatrical Openings in Los Angeles November 16th and San Francisco November 17th

Directed and Produced by: Riel Roch-Decter & Sebastian Pardo
Featuring: YACHT
Feature Documentary
Run Time: 1 hour 23 minutes
Country: USA

“An entertaining and thought-provoking exploration of the intersection of art, technology and human intuition” - CPH:DOX

OPENING THEATRICALLY:

OCTOBER 21- NEW YORK (METROGRAPH)

NOVEMBER 17- SAN FRANCISCO (ROXIE THEATER)

NOVEMBER 16- LOS ANGELES (LAEMMLE THEATERS)
Including: Laemmle Noho, Laemmle Glendale, Laemmle Newhall, Laemmle Monica.

With Film Screenings and Performances throughout October and November in major cities including: Portland, Bellingham, Austin, Minneapolis and more.

THE COMPUTER ACCENT is a documentary following the boundary-pushing pop group YACHT as they try something terrifying and new: handing over the reins of their entire creative process to ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. Working with technologists and leading AI researchers, YACHT uses cutting-edge data analysis tools, machine learning, neural networks, sci-fi instruments, and generative composition strategies to create a new kind of human-machine album—music, lyrics, artwork, videos, and all. Putting AI to the test in the name of art, YACHT are guides through the brave new world of machine intelligence. Along the way, they’ll question their own roles in a future where software anticipates, generates, and synthesizes human work.

Sebastian Pardo and Riel Roch-Decter founded MEMORY at the start of 2014 and together have produced and distributed award-winning fiction and non-fiction films. They have collaborated with multi-hyphenate filmmakers and artists to bring their debut films to fruition, such as: Celia Rowlson-Hall’s MA, Carson Mell’s ANOTHER EVIL, Dean Fleischer-Camp’s FRAUD, Theo Anthony’s RAT FILM, Marnie Ellen Hertzler’s CRESTONE and Zia Anger’s MY FIRST FILM project. In 2016, MEMORY was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film, and in 2020 MEMORY was awarded the Cinereach Producing Award for their work in “shaping new ways of filmmaking.” MEMORY’s latest production, Theo Anthony’s ALL LIGHT, EVERYWHERE won a Special Jury Prize for Non-Fiction Experimentation at Sundance 2021. THE COMPUTER ACCENT, which world premiered at CPH:DOX 2022, is their debut feature film as a directing team.

YACHT began in 2002, as the design studio Young Americans Challenging High Technology, but the group is neither young nor American. For 20 years, Jona Bechtolt, Claire L. Evans and Robert Kieswetter have shape-shifted through multiple lineups and musical styles, releasing albums internationally on DFA RECORDS and DOWNTOWN RECORDS. YACHT have created and sold unplayable compact discs, published a philosophical handbook, built a 62-foot video installation for Dolby, designed an eyewear collection, created a fragrance, campaigned against NSA surveillance, programmed large- scale public art activations, and have been commissioned to speak, curate, and perform by organizations including THE GETTY CENTER, ADOBE, TEDx, WIRED, MOMA LACMA, RHIZOME, VICE, and more. Their seventh album, Chain Tripping, was nominated for a GRAMMY Award for Best Immersive Audio Album.

Also featuring:
Kenric Allado McDowell, founder of Artists in Machine Intelligence
Research scientists Douglas Eck, Jesse Engel, Adam Roberts of Google Magenta
AI music experimentalists Dadabots
Algorithmic music pioneer Dr. David Cope
Creative technologist and poet Ross Goodwin
AI art curators Luba Elliott and Josette Melchor
Creative Computing researcher Dr. Rebecca Fiebrink

WEBSITE: https://memory.is/the-computer-accent

SOCIAL MEDIA: IG: @memory.is / Twitter: @memorypresents

First Run Features Presents FREE PUPPIES!

A film by Samantha Wishman & Christina Thomas
Run time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Language: English

A true story about the heartbreak and heroism of dog rescue in America

Releasing on VOD on major platforms and DVD in the US and Canada on December 13.

US VOD Platforms: iTunes/Apple, Amazon and key major platforms.
Canada VOD Platforms: iTunes/Apple

When Hurricane Katrina left more than 250,000 pets stranded, the infrastructure of a nation-wide dog rescue effort was born. Since then, millions of Southern rescue dogs have been transported to new homes thanks to the tireless efforts of a grassroots network of dog rescuers. And while the media has popularized the image of dogs climbing out of transport trucks into the arms of eager adopters, little attention has been paid to the other side of the story.

FREE PUPPIES! travels across the country's political divide to explore one of the many areas where no public animal services exist, and volunteers -- many of them women -- step in. The story follows rescuers Monda Wooten, Ann Brown, and Ruth Smith, and the network of independent “rescue ladies” who patrol vast rural counties in the Tennessee Valley caring for stray and surrendered dogs.

Their grassroots efforts to start up a spay-and-neuter program, rescue countless dogs from euthanasia and neglect, and place them in loving "forever homes" will pluck at the heartstrings of any dog person.

"Truly, truly inspiring in the most powerful sense of that word." -NPR's "Talking Animals"

Filmmaker Biography - Samantha Wishman
Samantha Wishman is a filmmaker from New York City. After graduating from Columbia Law School, she moved to LA to make a short film about pitching a script for a feminist softball comedy in Hollywood, which went on to play at a number of festivals. She adopted a rescue dog named Billie Hollydale before returning home to make FREE PUPPIES!.

Filmmaker Biography - Christina Thomas
Christina Thomas is a producer, director and editor from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After graduating from The University of Pennsylvania she moved to Los Angeles where she has worked on several productions including commercials, shorts and features. FREE PUPPIES! is her documentary directorial debut. She enjoys giving equal attention to her dogs Harvey and Ruphus.

WEBSITE/ SOCIAL MEDIA:
Website: freepuppies.us
Instagram: @wefreepuppies

PR CONTACT:
Emma Griffiths (EG PR)
W: www.eg-pr.com
E: emma@eg-pr.com

View New Trailer: DOC NYC 2022- LOST ANGEL: THE GENIUS OF JUDEE SILL (World Premiere)

AN ONWARDS AND UPWARDS PRODUCTION

LOST ANGEL: THE GENIUS OF JUDEE SILL

DOC NYC 2022 (World Premiere- Sonic Cinema)

WORLD PREMIERE- Sunday, November 13 at 8:00PM (SVA Theatre)

Directed by: Andy Brown and Brian Lindstrom
Produced by: Peter Kenney (Joes' Violin) and Brian Lindstrom
Executive Produced by: Cheryl Strayed, Peter Kenney and Dan Braun
Featuring: David Geffen, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, JD Souther, Shawn Colvin, Weyes Blood, Big Thief, Fleet Foxes and many more.
Feature Documentary
Run time: 1 hour 21 minutes
County: USA

LOST ANGEL: THE GENIUS OF JUDEE SILL is an intimate documentary portrait of a one-of-a-kind singer-songwriter from 1970s LA – Judee Sill. It charts her life from a troubled adolescence of addiction, armed robbery and prison through her meteoric rise in the music world and early tragic death.

In two years, Judee went from living in a car to a deal with Asylum Records and the cover of Rolling Stone. As told by David Geffen, Linda Ronstadt, JD Souther, Jackson Browne and Graham Nash -- along with Judee herself -- the film explores Judee’s unique musical style and the inspiring recent rediscovery of her singular music fostered by Shawn Colvin, Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes, Adrianne Lenker and Buck Meek of Big Thief, and Weyes Blood.

Brian Lindstrom (Director, Producer)
Brian Lindstrom’s award-winning films explore the inner resources of marginalized people. His 2019 New York Times Op-Doc We Are Forbidden, produced with his wife, Cheryl Strayed, is a participatory film empowering teen girls in Nepal to share their experiences of menstrual stigma. Mothering Inside follows incarcerated moms and their children. It was instrumental in the advocacy movement which made Oregon the first state to pass a Bill of Rights for the Children of Incarcerated Parents. His film Alien Boy: The Life & Death of James Chasse is an intense examination of police brutality in the death of a non-violent man experiencing mental illness (iTunes, Amazon, Hulu+, Kanopy; distributed by Breaking Glass Pictures). Finding Normal (2007) follows longtime heroin and crack addicts trying to rebuild their lives with the help of recovery mentors. It was selected by The Oregonian as one of the top ten films of the year. In 2016, Lindstrom was awarded the Media Arts Fellowship by the Regional Arts & Culture Council in Portland, Oregon. This award is partially funding his documentary-in-progress about the only marathon program in the country for incarcerated youth.

Andy Brown (Director)
Andy Brown is an actor and screenwriter from New York City. This is his first documentary. His acting credits include The Daytrippers (1996) and a recurring role in the MTV series Austin Stories (1996) for which he also wrote. He co-wrote, co-directed and co-starred in the independent feature Pop Life(2002).

As a writer-director, Andy also co-created the series The Horrible, Terrible Misadventures of David Atkins, which won an award at the New York Television Festival. He has also worked in series development for Marshall Brickman and Castle Rock Entertainment.

SOCIAL MEDIA:
@JudeeDoc
@JudeeSillDoc

DOC NYC 2022 WEBSITE:
https://www.docnyc.net/film/lost-angel-the-genius-of-judee-sill/

PR CONTACT:

EG PR
Emma Griffiths
E: emma@eg-pr.com

SALES CONTACT:
(Available in all territories)

SUBMARINE ENTERTAINMENT
Ben Schwartz
E: schwartz@submarine.com