Bali, Indonesia— Participants of the 4th annual BALINALE International Film Festival held on Bali from 12 -17 October had rave reviews for the solid line up of films, workshops and forums.
The final day of films saw the cinema full with happy smiling faces for its Free Children’s Program hosted by Indonesian actor and Friend of the Festival Jajang C Noer (7 Hearts 7 Loves 7 Women). BALINALE travelled 50 children down from Salam Children’s Home in Tabanan North Bali to join in the festivities for the screening of BIRTH (South Korea) and THE DREAMER (Indonesia) with more than half the audience never having been inside of a cinema. Amidst a glitch in the final 10 minutes of the screening saw Jajang take the stage and give an enlivening talk to the children about following their hearts and their dreams.
Filmmaking is a medium, a canvas used as a form of communication & expression and the award winning writers, actors, producers and directors from around the globe who participated in the program shared their wealth of wisdom and experience, skill and creativity during the festival’s workshops and forums providing a look into the minds behind the films presented. A Film Industry Forum held at the Bali Hyatt included;
David Michôd, Writer / Director ANIMAL KINGDOM (Australia)
David began his directing career in short films, with EZRA WHITE, LL.B. in 2006 being one of the first to make an impact. In 2010 his debut feature film, ANIMAL KINGDOM won the World Cinema Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
Chelsie Preston-Crayford, Actor HOME BY CHRISTMAS (New Zealand)
Awarded ‘best performance in a short film’ at the 2007 New Zealand Screen Awards for her role in Peter Salmon’s FOG and winner of the audience vote at Cannes Film Festival Critics Week, Chelsie’s feature film work includes Taika Waititi’s EAGLE vs SHARK, (Official Selection, Sundance Film Festival) and Anthony McCarten’s SHOW OF HANDS.
Erin Heidenreich, Executive Producer MADE IN INDIA (USA/India)
As one of the founders of Cinetic Media in 2001, Erin helped grow the company into the largest independent sales and financing outfit representing hundreds of successful and award winning and nominated films including SUPER SIZE ME, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS, SPELLBOUND, JESUS CAMP and NAPOLEON DYNAMITE.
Rachel Perkins, Writer/Director BRAN NUE DAE (Australia)
Rachel is an Arrernte woman from the Central Desert region east of Alice Springs. Her career spans ten years of specialization in indigenous film & television. While at SBS she produced & directed a four part, one hour documentary series, BLOOD BROTHERS for which she was awarded the innagural ‘Tudawali’ award for excellence in Indigenous film & television
Jan Chapman, Executive Producer
Jan’s most recent film released in 2010 is “Giff the Invisible” with previous credits being Bright Star (2009) and The Piano (1993). Jan was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal in the 2001 Queen’s New Years Honours List for her services to the Australian society and Australian film production. Along with the A.O. (Officer of the Order of Australia) in the 2004 Queen’s New Years Honours List for her services to the Australian film industry.
Donna Smith, Executive Producer
A respected film producer, former Universal Pictures Senior Vice President and completion bond veteran, Donna is President and Chief Executive Officer of Cinema Completions International. The first woman ever to serve as head of physical production for a major movie studio, Donna supervised every picture made at Universal from 1989-96.
Lee Chang-dong, Writer/Director POETRY (Korea)
After debuting as a novelist in 1983, Chang-Dong started his film career with To the Starry Island as script writer and assistant director. In 1999, he made his directing debut with Green Fish (1996) and in 1999 Peppermint Candy was invited to the Directors’ Fortnight of 2000. His film Oasis was premiered at competition of 2002 Venice Film Festival and won the Best Director’s Award and the Marcello Mastroianni Award for leading actress. Secret Sunshine, was presented in Competition at the Festival de Cannes 2007, winning critical acclaim and also the Award for Best Actress for Jeon Do-Yeon.
Anthony Anderson, Producer Anthony established a career as a film lawyer in private practice and subsequently worked in-house in business affairs at Columbia Tri-Star and Shanahan Management. He produced several short dramas; Pentuphouse (1998) and Flowergirl (1999) with Cate Shortland, and executive produced Joy (2000). He was also associate producer on Strap On Olympia (1995) and The Visitor (2001). Somersault (2004) is his first feature film winning numerous awards both in Australia and internationally, and Accidents Happen (2009).
Xiao Lu Xue, Writer/Director OCEAN HEAVEN (China)
Cast as one of the next up and coming talented directors in the film industry. She has had success as a writer on Together (2002) before her first time directing/screenwriting debut in Ocean Heaven (2010) of which is heralding strong global reviews. Xaio sensitivities as a director worked well in an effort to bring out the best in the Jet Li character Wang Xingchang without overdoing the emotional attachments by keeping the overtone of the film light.
The Festival Closing Party and Awards Presentation held at the Holiday Inn Baruna ENVY Bar had many of the Filmmakers, Festival Friends, Supporters and Sponsors there to see this year’s much anticipated winners of the 2010 Audience Choice Awards. In attendance to accept the award for Best Overall Film was Xiao Lu Xue for OCEAN HEAVEN, China. The other drum rolls went out to:
Best Feature Film – THE SOCIAL NETWORK, USA
Best Short Film – MANUAL PRACTICO DEL AMIGO IMAGINARIO, Spain
Best Documentary – EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP, USA / UK
BALINALE is achieving its goals of bringing together Films and their Makers as a gathering of global creativity to be enjoyed by all. Each year the list of films featured in the festival gets longer and more exciting. With the success of BALINALE 2010, the organizers are looking to grow and expand the festival’s workshops, film forums and the variety of films shown.
ABOUT BALINALE
BALINALE International Film Festival was established in 2007 by Deborah Gabinetti, director of Bali Film Center. The foundation works towards developing understanding and respect for freedom of expression, human rights and intellectual property rights and fosters cross-cultural respect and tolerance through filmmaking workshops, seminars and film festivals.
BALINALE gives Indonesian filmmakers an opportunity to present their work to a global audience while networking with international filmmakers. The festival also provides an opportunity to invite foreign filmmakers to screen their films while experiencing Indonesia’s accommodating culture and diverse locations for possible film locations and story ideas.
Workshops and seminars are an important part of the festival’s commitment to the community, a number of which are offered free of charge to Indonesian students and young filmmakers.