Acclaimed
actors Carrie Fisher and Richard Dreyfuss will co-chair
the Jury at the 2007 Bermuda International Film Festival,
March 16-24.
The
festival jury is charged with the duty of deciding the
winning films in three categories: Mary-Jean Mitchell
Green Award for Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary,
and the M3 Wireless Bermuda Shorts Award.
Ms.
Fisher and Mr. Dreyfuss will be joined on the jury by
documentary filmmaker Stanley Nelson, actor Ben Newmark,
film festival director Tamara Tarasova, short filmmaker
Vito Rocco and Bermudian filmmaker Lucinda Spurling.
“We
are delighted to have assembled such a fine and diverse
group as jurors for our 10th anniversary festival,” says
festival director Aideen Ratteray Pryse.
The
members of the jury are:
Carrie
Fisher
Since
her feature debut opposite Warren Beatty in Shampoo in
1975, Carrie Fisher has been a compelling force in the
film industry. She attained international recognition
as Princess Leia, a role that made her a cultural icon,
in the box office sensation Star Wars and the smash hit
sequels The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
Other acting credits include The Blues Brothers, Garbo
Talks, The Man with One Red Shoe, Hannah and Her Sisters,
The Burbs, This is My Life, When Harry Met Sally, Austin
Powers, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, along with Charlie’s
Angels II, Wonderland, Stateside, Undiscovered, Romancing
The Bride, the upcoming Cougar Club and Fanboys, as well
as previously hosting the Oxygen Network’s popular hit
show, Conversations from the Edge.
Richard
Dreyfuss
Richard
Dreyfuss is one of the most talented and popular American
actors of his generation. He has appeared in more than
40 feature films, including The Graduate, American Graffiti,
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Jaws, Close Encounters
of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life is it
Anyway?, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Stand By Me, Tin
Men, Stakeout, Moon Over Parador, The American President
and Mr. Holland’s Opus. His most recent film is Suburban
Girl, also featuring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alec Baldwin,
which is due for release later this year.
Stanley
Nelson
Award-winning
documentary filmmaker Stanley Nelson is executive producer
of Firelight Media, a not-for-profit documentary production
company dedicated to giving a voice to people and issues
that are marginalised in popular culture. His 2003 film,
The Murder of Emmett Till, earned him a Special Jury Prize
at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, a coveted award from
the International Documentary Association and the highest
honour in broadcast journalism, the George Foster Peabody
award, among many others. His films include A Place of
Our Own (2004), Sweet Honey in the Rock: Raise Your Voice
(2005) and his most recent production, Jonestown: The
Life and Death of People’s Temple (2006).
Tamara
Tarasova
Tamara
Tarasova wears a multitude of hats in the Russian film
industry. She is the producer and co-owner of the Kinoshock
Short Film Festival in Anapa, a spa town on the Black
Sea.. In addition to her festival activities, Tamara is
also engaged in film distribution with Cascade Film, Russia’s
largest film distribution company. She is a graduate of
the All-Union State Institute in cinematography, and following
graduation worked as a producer of the Moscow International
Film Festival
Ben
Newmark
Ben starred
in the 2007 Academy Award-winning short film, West Bank
Story. This pro-peace, musical comedy is about the Israelis
and Palestinians. In his latest TV appearance he played
Will's son on the series finale of Will and Grace. He
has written a pilot with his brother, entitled The Wilton,
which they shot and starred in, using their friends as
the actors, editors and the director so that they would
have a visual presentation to help them pitch them show.
That method worked and CAA came on board, packaging and
selling it to the CW Network and Warner Brothers Studios.
Ben is currently developing other show ideas with his
brother.
Lucinda
Spurling
Lucinda
Spurling is a seasoned producer and editor with more than
10 years of experience in the film industry. She specialises
in documentary film production and has a diverse portfolio
complete with award winning works, such as Rare Bird,
which, following its premiere at BIFF 2006, was accepted
to international film festivals and will be distributed
to international television networks this year. She is
currently working on a new project, The Lion and the Mouse,
a documentary exploring the political and personal
relationship between the United States and Bermuda from
the colonial period through World War II.
Vito
Rocco
Vito
Rocco’s film, Goodbye Cruel World, won the Bermuda Shorts
Award at BIFF 2005. His short films, music videos and
work for television and the theatre have won numerous
awards, including Best Film at the BAFTA Short Film Showcase,
Best Live Action Film at the Palm Springs Film Festival,
Best Direction and Best Film at the New York No Spot Creativity
Film Festival, as well as nominations for Best Short at
the Berlin and Tribeca Film Festivals and MTV Best Video
at the Ericksson Music Awards. He is currently developing
his first feature film, Faintheart, a comedy set in the
world of battle re-enactments.
Tickets
to BIFF 2007 are available now from the festival web site,
www.biff.bm , or from the box office
at #6 Passenger Terminal, Front Street, Hamilton. The
box office is open daily, except Sunday, from 10 a.m.
to 6 p.m.
The mission of the Bermuda International Film Festival
is to advance the love of independent film from around
the world, and create a community welcoming to filmmakers
and filmgoers.
Media
Contact:
Duncan
Hall
Deputy
Festival Director
Bermuda
International Film Festival
Tel:
293-3456
Fax:
293-7769
E-mail:
deputydirector@biff.bm