October 13, 2020
Jacksonville, Florida - The 2021 Jacksonville Film Festival will showcase six days of international independent films at the San Marco Theatre, February 5-10, 2021.
The 2021 Official Selection consists of 86 films from 19 countries, 27% of which are by women directors. Jax Film Festival selected these films out of 409 film submissions from a record of 45 countries. Of the films selected, 40 are from the United States and 46 are International.
Programming Director, Tim Driscoll, states, “Our theme, 'The Turning Point' is about emphasizing representation in film and hearing stories from the marginalized and maligned. It is through new stories, new voices and new ideas that we will build better bridges to empalthy, to understanding and even to better understand ourselves.”
Festival Director, Niki Logoreci, says, “A Film Festival is an experience. From day one, our goal has been to showcase great films from all over the world. With this goal, we want to inspire new filmmakers and encourage current filmmakers to elevate their work. We are becoming a bridge between international and local filmmaking.”
Jacksonville, Florida Spotlighted Films
The Grey Area – US – Directors: Keagan Anfuso & Drew L. Brown
The Jacksonville Film Festival will be presenting a Sneak Peak Showing of The Grey Area, which is co-directed by Jacksonville Filmmakers.
Synopsis: Our western culture has very specific expectations of the genders, particularly women in how they should look and act. What happens when a woman who is socially considered "masculine" pushes against society's standards? The Grey Area shines a light on the unobserved effects of gender stereotyping.
Coming Home – US – Director: Kevin A. Kimball
Coming Home is directed by Kevin Kimball, who resides in Jacksonville, FL. The film was a semi-finalist for best cinematography of a short film for Los Angeles Cinematography Awards.
Synopsis: Technical Sergeant Jack Ward, and Senior Airman Danny Spiro wait out a delay at the airport on their last leg home from a long deployment overseas. While Sergeant Ward has been through all this before, Airman Spiro is dealing with the reality of returning home for the first time to a baby girl who doesn’t know him and a wife who may no longer need him.
Other Spotlighted Films:
Beast Beast – US – Director: Danny Madden
Beast Beast showed at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. It won the Grand Jury Award for the US in Progress event presented by Champs-Elysées Film Festival.
Synopsis: Three interweaving stories of youth navigating identity, first love, petty crime, and gun violence in a southern town.
Ian, A Moving Story – Argentina – Director: Abel Goldfarb
Ian has won numerous awards: Best Foreign Short at Concours de Courts (France), Americas Award for the Best Animated Film at The Americas Film Festival NY (USA), Horizonte Special Award at Kurzfilmtage Thalmässing (Germany), Toshima City Award at Tokyo Anime Award Festival (Japan), as well as nearly two dozen more awards.
Synopsis: Ian was born with cerebral palsy. Like all kids, he wants to have friends, but discrimination and bullying keep him from his beloved playground. Ian won't give up easily, accomplishing something that will surprise everyone.
The Official Film Selection for the 2021 Jacksonville Film Festival are:
IN-COMPETITION FILMS:
Feature Narrative
Come Come Rain – India – Director: Shafaq Khan
Broken Down – US – Director: Jessy Cale Williamson
Beast Beast – US – Director: Danny Madden
Feature Documentary
Strings Attached – US – Director: Bruce Broder
Knots: A Forced Marriage Story – US – Director: Kate Ryan Brewer
White Noise – US – Director: Daniel Lombroso
Short Narrative
A Separation – US – Director: Yalan Hu
Call on Me – US – Director: Pia Cook
Godmother – Iran – Director: Afshin Akhlaghifeyzasar
The Helping Hand – US – Director: Brenden Hubbard
One – Spain – Director: Javier Marco Rico
Well – Spain – Director: Diego Puertas
Bodies – Iran – Director: Morvarid Kashiyan
Discovery – Russia – Director: Mikhail Saburov
Ms. Rossi – Italy – Director: Pat Battistini
Horn – Iran – Director: Ghasideh Golmakani
I’m Happy, I Promise – US – Director: Mimi Cave
Show & Tell – US – Director: Sakshi Gurnani
The Camel Boy – France – Director: Chabname Zariâb
The Pains of the Sea – Iran – Director: Mohammadreza Masoudi
Three Blades – France – Director: Matthieu Maunier-Rossi
Small World – US – Director: Jim Ford
Gifts from Babylon – Netherlands – Director: Bas Ackermann
Faraway, So Close – US – Director: Gustavo Milan
Dry Leaves – India – Director: Ali Sohail Jaura
I Hope They Remember My Name – Canada – Director: Patrick Weiers
Listen – US – Director: Jhanelle Elissa
The Latent Circle – Iran – Director: Mohammad Homafar
Stucco – US – Directors: Janina Gavankar & Russo Schelling
Tea Time – US – Director: Tara Price
Waffle – US – Director: Carlyn Hudson
Ashmina – UK – Director: Dekel Berenson
Ekaant – India – Director: Swapnil Pagare
The Doe – France – Director: Jennifer Lumbroso
2nd Class – Sweden – Director: Jimmy Olsson
Coming Home – US – Director: Kevin A. Kimball
Eat Your Heart Out – US – Director: Giovanni Tortorici
The Mirror – Australia – Director: Joel Kohn
Myosotis Love – US – Director: Charlie LaTourette
The Group of Eight – Russia – Director: Ivan Sosnin
Archibald’s Syndrome – France – Daniel Perez
Alina – US – Director: Rami Kodeih
Short Documentary
Charlotte Mansfield, a Woman Photographer Goes to War – US – Director: Brian Graves
Dieorama – US – Director: Kevin Staake
By the River – Australia – Director: Daniel Braga Ulvestadd
Call Center Blues – US – Director: Geeta Gandbhir
Affurmative Action – US – Director: Travis Wood
Modern Whore – Canada – Director: Nicole Bazuin
Student Shorts
Party Busters – Germany – Director: Patrick Büchting
Flohplage – Germany – Directors: Christoph Hans & Markus Ott
Massacre – US – Director: Samir Arellano
No Exit – US – Director: Auden Lincoln-Vogel
Pasture – US – Director: Graham Holford
Last Day – US – Director: Szu-Wei Chen
Sentience – France – Director: Guillaume Bierry
Give it Back! – Israel – Director: Ruchama Ehrenhalt
Love, Death & Tomatoes – Turkey – Director: Balahan Gürel
One More Please – US – Director: Aleksei Borovikov
Keep Me in the Dark – US – Director: Erica Matz
Exist! – Belgium – Director: Luca Zuberbühler
Misplaced Call – Russia – Director: Elizaveta Pichugina
Wolves of Walter E. Middle – US – Director: Brenna Adams
Out of Stock – US – Director: Bryan Taira
Tree #3 – US – Director: Omer Ben-Shachar
Student Documentary
Ramak Niakan Safi: This is Life – US – Director: Jack Trent
Moksha – UK – Director: Jithin Majeed
Animal Calling – Canada – Director: Candice Dixon
In Circles – US – Director: Christina Kelso
Why We Fly – US – Director: Allie Marsh
Deeper than Blue – Canada – Director: Devon Robertson
Animation
Division Series – Korea – Director: Ho Kwon Kim
Tiny Duel – Mexico – Director: Mauricio Guerra Bonilla
One Left – Austria – Director: Sebastian Doringer
Adrift – US – Director: Alexa Boushey
The Holes – Iran – Director: Rozhan Abedi
The Rotation – Iran – Director: Hazhir As’adi
Identity Crisis – US -- Director: Natalie Nichols
Stick to Manual – US – Directors: Christian Antonini & Tanice Arnold
You Can Fly! – Korea – Director: Sung Bae Park
Malakout – Iran – Director: Farnoosh Abedi
Echo – Iran – Director: Barzan Rostami
Talent Scout – Spain – Director: José Herrera
The Masterpiece – UK – Director: Christopher Satola
Ian, A Moving Story – Argentina – Director: Abel Goldfarb
OUT-OF-COMPETITION FILMS:
The Grey Area – US – Directors: Keagan Anfuso & Drew L. Brown
Finding Her Voice – US – Director: Elizabeth Arceneaux
For a list of the films with the synopses, please visit https://jacksonvillefilmfestival.com/2021.
Ticket information and the detailed schedule for the 2021 Jacksonville Film Festival: The Turning Point will be announced later this Fall. Visit jacksonvillefilmfestival.com for more info.
WHAT: 2021 Jacksonville Film Festival: The Turning Point
WHEN: Friday, February 5 - Wednesday, February 10, 2021
WHERE: San Marco Theatre
1996 San Marco Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32207
Jacksonville Film Festival is an annual international film festival that showcases in-competition and out-of-competition American and International independent films. The festival celebrates Jacksonville’s glorious moviemaking past by serving as a destination for the independent film community and encouraging a new generation of filmmakers to utilize the city as their canvas.