COACHELLA VALLEY PREMIERE  Filmmaker Guest Invited   A young man must—as a last resort—kidnap his own newborn daughter to prevent her custody from falling into the wrong hands.  Outrunning the authorities, he sacrifices his citizenship and career by retreating to Europe after leaving his child in the care of his close friends in Mexico.  Decades later, he must find a way home—whatever the cost.   Starring:  Sam Trammell ("True Blood", "This is Us"), Juan Manuel Bernal ("Perect Obedience") and Sofia…

U.S. PREMIERE   The story of a traditional Catholic family in northern France, part of society but subject to all its changes. A wealthy family with close ties to a church that is facing up to the modernizing approach of Pope Francis.  Madeleine de Waquin-Fournier is head of the clan, while Charles, a brilliant young priest with a bright future ahead of him, falls in love with a novice nun. Genre:  Drama Running Time:  85 min. Director(s) : Marion SARRAULT Author(s)…

 STREAKER (FLITZER) by Peter Luisi Strip and Run 1970’s-style streaking is alive and well in Switzerland.  In order to get out of a financial crisis, high school teacher Balz Naef (53) starts an illegal sports betting business, recruiting and training streakers  – people who run naked through a football field.  He has people placing bets on how long streakers can last on the soccer field before being taken off by security.  While he and his team help streaking become the new trend sport,…

The film centers on a random act of theft that has put Tom Hammond's life into a tailspin.  Starring and directed by Danny Huston. Genre:  Drama Running Time:  85 min Director: Danny Huston Country:  United Kingdom Language:  English Cast: Danny Huston, Sarita Choudhury, Stacy Martin, Jonah Hauer-King Producers: Simon Astaire, Farah Abushwesha, Cat Villiers Trailer by Afroline Eleftheriou:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se4oDJbm4OA

An aging Jewish tailor leaves his life in Argentina to embark on a journey back through time and halfway around the world, in the bittersweet road movie THE LAST SUIT. Eighty-eight-year-old Holocaust survivor Abraham Bursztein (Miguel Ángel Solá) is about to be put out to pasture by his children, who have sold his house in the suburbs of Buenos Aires and booked him into a retirement home. Refusing to bow to family pressure, he sets off on an adventure from which…

Based on the true story of Elisabeth Eidenbenz (1913-2011) and her female co-workers who saved the lives of almost 600 infants in World War II. In the early 1940's, refugees from all over Europe seek shelter in South Western France, escaping persecution from the Nazis and from Franco's regime in Spain. Among them, there are countless women, some of them pregnant, and their little children. The camps are in horrendous shape with refugees holding out with no protection from the…

Eli, an outcast teen, connects with his isolated grandfather Samuel for the first time, and uncovers his surprising past, when he makes his grandpa the subject of an animated art project for school. Starring Ryan Ochoa (Disney xD's PAIR OF KINGS, Nickelodeon's iCARLY, THE PERFECT GAME), Liza Lapira (CRAZY STUPID LOVE) and the iconic Hal Linden (BARNEY MILLER), "The Samuel Project" was filmed in San Diego, and directed by Marc Fusco.   Running Time:  92 min Distributor:  Menemsha Films    

  COACHELLA VALLEY PREMIERE Filmmaker Guests Expected  Julia Butler and Daniel Mentz, Directors Elaine Partnow, Lead Actress  SLIPAWAY is a touching and thought-provoking film, shot on a vintage sailboat in the middle of the ocean.   A spiritual journey of compassion, redemption and unconditional friendship between two solitary souls at opposite ends of life.  It has traveled the world, winning 23 international film festivals, over 20 nominations, and it was shortlisted by the Academy for an Award consideration. Directors:  Julia…

1973.  Six years after returning from the Six Day War with a battle shock, Menashe realizes he will never be the man he used to be before the war.  He can’t communicate with his surroundings, and spends his days driving away in his red track for long hours.  The young family he created collapses due to his lack of communication with his wife, Daphna, and their little son, Shlomi. At a time when PTSD is still not recognized as a medical condition, Daphna, his wife,…

Playing on the Thai obsession with academic achievement and test taking, Bad Genius is a comedic heist thriller that plays out in a prestigious high school.  Genius student Lynn arrives on a full scholarship.  When her friend Grace needs a few test answers, Lynn helps her out, leading to an elaborate cheating scheme to help out other rich-kid students.  Soon busted and having lost her scholarship, there is nothing else for Lynn to do but plan to crack the international U.S. university…