BAHAMAS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL UNVEILS OFFICIAL 2012 PROGRAM

Dustin Hoffman Directorial Debut “QUARTET” and Motown Australian Comedy “THE SAPPHIRES” To Bookend Festival as Opening And Closing Night Films, Respectively

Festival Founder and Executive Director Leslie Vanderpool today announced the final program details for the 9th edition of the Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF), which takes place December 6-9, 2012 in Nassau.

BIFF will begin with QUARTET and end with a quartet of four Australian aborigine Singers called THE SAPPHIRES.

Weinstein Company’ “QUARTET” starring, Maggie Smith, will open the festival with a red carpet screening at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island on Thursday, December 6th while Australian Comedy “ THE SAPPHIRES” starring Chris O’Dowd will close the festival with an evening screening on Sunday, December 9th – also at the Atlantis Theater.

This year, the Festival will showcase 78 films from 26 different countries, including 45 features and 33 short films of which several are international premieres and all are Bahamian premieres. The four competition categories at BIFF are Spirit of Freedom: Narrative & Documentary; New Visions; and Short Film. Special sections include Caribbean Spotlight and Self Discovery as well as a World Cinema showcase.

The official BIFF lineup is comprised of the following films:

SPIRIT OF FREEDOM (NARRATIVE)

A.L.F. (France) Director: Jerome Lescure

APARTMENT IN ATHENS, APPARTAMENTO AD ATENE (Italy) Director: Ruggero Dipaola

CHANCE (USA) Director: Evan Kaufmann

GRASSROOTS (USA) Director: Stephen Gyllenhaal

HABIBI (Gaza) Director: Susan Youssef

MEHERJAAN (Bangladesh) Director: Rubaiyat Hossain

MR. SOPHISTICATION (USA) Director: Danny Green

THE DESTINY OF LESSER ANIMALS (Ghana) Director: Deron Albright





SPIRIT OF FREEDOM (DOCUMENTARY) ARISE (USA) Director: Lori Joyce & Candice Orlando

DOLPHIN BOY (Israel) Director: Dani Menkin

GREEDY LYING BASTARDS (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Peru, Switzerland, Uganda, UK) Director: Craig Rosebraugh

HAITI UNTOLD (Haiti, Canada) Director: Dan Shannon

THE IRAN JOB (Iran, USA), Director: Till Schauder

THIS AIN’T CALIFORNIA (Germany) Director: Marten Persiel

UPRISING (Egypt, USA) Director: Fredrik Stanton

RISING FROM ASHES (Rwanda, South Africa, United Kingdom) Director: T.C. Johnstone

WOMANISH WAYS, FREEDOM, HUMAN RIGHTS & DEMOCRACY, (Bahamas) Marion Bethel & Maria Govan





NEW VISIONS BETWEEN FRIENDS (Trinidad & Tobago) Director: Omari Jackson

BETWEEN US (USA) Director: Dan Mirvish

BREAKFAST WITH CURTIS (USA) Director: Laura Colella

DEAD DAD (USA) Director: Ken J. Adachi

DEAD MAN’S BURDEN (USA) Director: Jared Moshe

MAYBE TOMORROW (USA) Director: Michael Wolfe

MY BROTHER JACK (USA) Director: Stephen Dest

REDLEGS (USA) Director: Brandon Harris

THE TAIWAN OYSTER (USA) Director: Mitchell Jarrett

THE STORY OF LUKE (USA) Director: Alonso Mayo

MULBERRY CHILD (USA) Director: Susan Morgan Cooper

SELF DISCOVERY

ART MACHINE (USA) Director: Doug Karr

INOCENTE (USA) Director: Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine

I AM NOT A ROCK STAR (Canada) Director: Bobbi Jo Krals- Hart





CARIBBEAN SPOTLIGHT

BREATHE (Bahamas, USA) Director Martin Khodabakshian

JACKSON (Bahamas, USA) Director: Karen Arthur & Thomas Neuwirth

NORMAN SOLOMON (Bahamas) Director: Maria Govan

SHE (Bahamas) Director: Kareem Mortimer



WORLD CINEMA

BEWARE OF MR. BAKER (USA) Director: Jay Bulger BITTERSWEET MONDAY

CAN’T STAND LOSING YOU (USA) Director: Andy Grieve

CITY MONKEY (China) Director: Kong Lingchen

FRENCH IMMERSION (Canada) Director: Kevin Tierney

GO LALA GO (China) Director: Xu Jinglei

IRVINE WELSH’S ECSTACY (Canada) Director: Rob Heydon

REGIN OF THE ASSASSINS (China) Director: Su Chao, John Woo

REVOLUTION (USA) Director: Robert Stewart RULES OF THE GAME

WITHOUT A NET (Brazil) Director: Kelly J. Richardson

SPECIAL SCREENING

QUARTET (USA, UK) Director: Dustin Hoffman

THE SAPPHIRES (Australia) Director: Wayne Blair



SHORTS ALEKESAM (USA) Director: Jason Berg

AMOS (USA) Director: Taylor Maxwell

APOCRIFO (Mexico) Director: Ernesto Fundora

ATLANTIS (USA) Director: Matthew Ornstein

BASEBALL IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA (Haiti, USA) Director, David Drag & Bryn Mooser

BEACHED (Guyana) Director: Kojo McPherson

BLACK IRISH (USA) Director: Anika Poitier

BRIGIDY BRAM (Bahamas) Director: Toby Lunn

BURNING HEARTS (Japan) Director: James McFay

BUSTED IN BRINGHAM (USA) Director Talibah Newman

CADAVER (USA) Director: Jonah Ansell

CRESENDO (German) Director: Alonso Alvarez Barreda

DELIVERY (France) Director: Fabien – Mariano Ortiz

DOCKET # 32357 (USA) Director: Randy Wilkins

FIGHT SCENE (USA) Director: Jim Ford

HOMEBODY (USA) Director: Kate Marks

HOURGLASS (Norway) Director: Pedro Collantes

JOCYLEN & THE COYOTE (El Salvador) Director: Pilar Colome,

LE NID (France) Director: Aurelien Drach

LEGACY (USA) Director: Maya Anand

MISSION OF MERMAIDS (USA) Director: Susan Rockefeller

ONE NIGHT STAND (China) Director: Michael Thai

OYSTER ROCKEFELLER (USA) Director: Charles Rogers

PEARL (USA) Director: Dan Butler

PLAY THROUGH (USA) Director: Paul Wagner

PRIVATE SUN (Palestine) Director: Rami Alayan

RAISE YOUR HANDS, (USA) Director: Elliot Kotek

RED AMBER GREEN (Jamaica) Director: Christopher Byfield

SOLACE (USA) Director: Tchaiko Omawale

THUGZ THE MUSICAL (USA) Director: Liam Sullivan

TO MUSIC (USA) Director: Sophie Kohn

TRAVIS PORTER: RED ROCK (Bahamas, USA) Director: Ryan Lightbourn

TU & EU (Portugal, USA) Director: Edward Shieh

VALSE FAVORITE (France) Director: Deborah Helpert

VICTOR (Philippines) Director: Jarell M. Serencio

The festival is proud to announce the return of the Filmmaker’s Residency Program. For the eighth year BIFF has broadened the program to include filmmakers from around the world to submit screenplays that are based in The Bahamas or Caribbean region. The Filmmakers’ Residency Program nurtures screenwriters by providing them with an unrivaled opportunity to spend a week with accomplished professionals who make a living working in the industry from Los Angeles and New York.

BIFF 2012 begins Thursday, December 6th in Nassau and runs through Sunday, December 9th and for the first time expands to Harbour Island and Governor’s Harbour “Island Hopping” December 10 – 14. For additional information please visit our website www.bintlfilmfest.com

About the Opening and Closing Night Films:

QUARTET, directed by Dustin Hoffman, Cecily, Reggie and Wilfred are in a home for retired opera singers. Every year, on October 10, there is a concert to celebrate Verdi's birthday and they take part. Jean, who used to be married to Reggie, arrives at the home and disrupts their equilibrium. She still acts like a diva, but she refuses to sing. Still, the show must go on... and it does.

THE SAPPHIRES, directed by Wayne Blair, 1968 was the year that changed the world. And for four young Aboriginal sisters from a remote mission this is the year that would change their lives forever. Around the globe, there was protest and revolution in the streets. Indigenous Australians finally secured the right to vote. There were drugs and the shock of a brutal assassination. And there was Vietnam. The sisters, Cynthia, Gail, Julie and Kay are discovered by Dave, a talent scout with a kind heart, very little rhythm but a great knowledge of soul music. Billed as Australia's answer to 'The Supremes', Dave secures the sisters their first true gig, and fly's them to Vietnam to sing for the American troops. Based on a true story, THE SAPPHIRES is a triumphant celebration of youthful emotion, family and music.

BIFF Goes Island Hopping with the BIFF Best of Fest Eleuthera, December 10 - 14 2012: The Best of the Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) goes island hopping to Harbour Island & Governor’s Harbour, December 10 - 14 2012 and will be open to the public. Hotel Partners Coral Sands, Harbour Island, The Landings and Pineapple Fields Govenor’s Harbour, Eleuthera, Global Princess Theater, Governors Harbour Eleuthera, The Haynes Public Library and many more.

About the Bahamas International Film Festival

The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) is a nonprofit organization committed to providing the local community and international festivalgoers with a diverse presentation of films from the Bahamas and around the world. In addition to showcasing films that might not otherwise be released theatrically, BIFF provides unique cultural experiences, educational programs, and forums for exploring the past, present and future of cinema. BIFF aims to raise the level of filmmaking, participation and education throughout the Bahamas and the world. For more information visit www.bintlfilmfest.com or call 242 - 356-5939

BIFF 2012 Sponsors: Atlantis, RBC Royal Bank, Esso, BTC powered by Lime, Coldwell Banker / Lightbourne Realty, Carrousel Yacht Enterprises, Ministry Of Tourism, Bahamas Ferries, Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board, Bahamas Air, Majestic Tours, Bahamas Tourism Channel, Bahamas Airport Advertising Ltd., Bahamas Sol, Dermalogica Bahamas & Caribbean, Bahama Hand Print, Kings Realty, Orico, SandyToes, Bahama Divers, The Sign Post, IDYA Studio, Coles Of Nassau, Breezes Resort & Spa, Lilo Studios, Paintball Arena, Best Buy Furniture, Master Technicians, Self Drive Boat Adventures, Sheraton, Breezes, Coral Sands Resort in Harbour Island, Pineapple Fields Hotel in Governor's Harbour, Moet & Chandon, Caribbean Bottling Company, Sir Speedy, Heineken, Jolly Roger, The Bahamas Weekly, Alumaworx, Jim Whitehead Nassau Florist, Sherman Williams and many more. Among the Friends of the Festival are: Dr. & Mrs. Vanderpool, Mr. & Mrs Gregory Cleare, Mr. Raymond Winder, Mr. & Mrs. Paul King, Mr. James Lyle, Mrs. Meta Gail Charles and Dr. Lorne Charles, The Nassau Guardian, Tribune.

Sir Sydney's family reflect on the reasons for him being honoured

Ms. Stephanie Portier

Ms. Stephanie Portier, Sir Sydney's niece, reflects on childhood memories of her Uncle's contribution to Nation Building (BIS Photo / Gena Gibbs).

(Nassau, Bahamas) International Civil Rights Activist Sir Sydney Portier was immortalized when the Paradise Island Bridge was named in honour of the 1964 Hollywood Silver Screen Oscar Winner for his lifetime dedication to Nation Building and subtle investment to Bahamain social and political reform. He was born in Miami two months premature but he grew up in Cat Island, The Bahamas. His parents returned to Miami when Sir Sydney was 15 years old to begin his journey that met his measure and brought him home to The Bahamas, to stay grounded in California, connected to his roots in The Bahamas, and remain occupied with Nation Building and freedom fighting, easing the resistance against the trap of Hollywood's notorious pitfalls.

"Sir Sydney Portier is my uncle; he's my father's youngest brother. So, I feel that we are close as a family, even though he lives far away. He is somebody who keeps in touch and is proud to claim his heritage," said Sister Stephanie Portier, Senior Nursing Officer at Princess Margaret Hospital Administration Office.

"I remember when the PLP won te first election in 1967. I remember him being very much involved in that. I remember seeing him, walking the streets with all the persons working at the different polls on walkie talkies. He provided walkie talkies for them, as you know they didn't have cell phones at that time. They needed to have telephones to be communicating, and they were communicating about what was happening at different stages in the election and what was happening at different polls."

Sir Sydney added to the momentum of the Bahamian suffrage movement by providing cars to make connecting with one another more accessible. First he struggled in the civil rights movement in the United States, which was not corelative to the struggle for Majority Rule in The Bahamas. The experience became relative to Sir Sydney's core being and transformed into a calling he discovered in his mid-thirties.

"He was a part of that as a Bahamian. He felt as though it was his duty to be a part of that and make a great contribution. The helicopters flying over head and everybody up and down; it was really exciting; I was a child at the time, but I remember that clearly. It was so exciting at that time. And when we won, it was my father and those who were campaigning up and down. They were so happy. It was such a great victory at that time and a time of pride for The Bahamas and being Bahamian," said Ms. Portier.

His family members recall Sir Sydney's excitement to be involved as a Bahamian-American champion for international human and civil rights. Especially, witnessing the historical social drama unfolding in an offshore British colony, just a breath away from the American 50 states which also united to rid themselves of the scourging stigma. Sir Sydney was not a movie director at the time, but his Hollywood career and talent as an actor, greatly influenced his national impact as a Bahamian. Sir Sydney formed a production company to prepare for his biggest and latest contribution to The Bahamas. The National Performing Arts Centre which will be located near the waterfront and named also in his honour.

"He was not a movie director at that time. He was just involved in making movies at that time and being in movies at that time. His contribution and involvement was great here," said Ms. Portier.

"He always wanted to be in front of the camera. Eventually, being involved in the movie business for so long and making contributions at home, he decided to form his own company so he could be more involved at home and that would include directing, editing and whatever else was involved in movie making and he did that."

His beloved niece, Stephanie Portier, recalls her Uncle Syd's passion for being a perfectionist, making movies, intense research and study, traveling, serving his country in Japan as an international delegate in an ambassadorial position. She said he never forgot where he came from and he was always accessible to his family, so he appreciates that the Government wants to honour his life. His achievements alone publicly redefine the conditions of Nation Building and what personal actions qualifies a lifetime dedicated to Public or National Service.

"Being around him, he was just normal. He was just my uncle. When he is with family and being around him, he was normal and part of the family that he was. He didn't act any different. He loved family and he loved being involved with his family. We could pick up the phone and call him at anytime. He loved knowing what is going on with them and letting him know what is going on here," said Ms. Portier.

"He keeps involved and he keeps abreast of what is happening in the country. He has never forgotten his roots, no matter where he went or what he did. I think he took The Bahamas and the Bahamas culture and the history of The Bahamas with him. He likes to talk about The Bahamas and Cat Island where he spent some of his youth."

During a Civil Rights Roundtable discussion in 1963, Sir Sydney defended the civil rights movement, as not a "Negro problem" but rather a "Negro question," since the word "problem" implies that black people are individual contributors to phenomenal public drama of civic distractions and deviations from traditional social order, intended to reverse the diversity of personalized inequity. His acquaintance with writer James Baldwin triggered his ultimate destiny to be a silent and neutral benefactor that commandered the development of Bahamian political culture and majority rule democracy. His Hollywood experience made him establish his universal connection to be aware of his global mission to include The Bahamas in the world.

"He's still is his own man. He still maintains his Bahamian identity, even though he was involved with movies and Bahamian politics. He is surrounded with friends because of his position and because of where he is, where he lived and what he was doing. So, that was part of his life," said Ms. Portier.

"He said one time while we were discussing movies that 'right now, I am a son of the world. I am a Bahamian and I am doing what I do, but I am a son of the world. I can't say that I belong to any one person right now. I belong to everybody because of my career and my travels'."

Sir Sydney helped the PLP achieve majority rule in 1967 by providing the momentum and financial support necessary to draw grassroots Bahamians to participate in creating their history. He supplied mobilization tools, such as hired helicopters and Walkie Talkies, to ease the unforeseen obstacles of transportation and communication impediments, as the Bahamian nation mended its political and social divide, based on racial differentiation and educational disparity. Sir Sydney was there and walked alongside his people fighting to define their humanity and seize their right to economic freedom.

"Even though he might have been born in Miami due to circumstances as my grandparents were merchants and they harvested and exported tomatoes and things they grew. This is why we were in Florida at that time, when he was born. So, they stayed in Florida for quite a while, but they came back home and they went back home to Cat Island. And, then they moved back to Nassau, so he grew up in The Bahamas, right on East Street, off East Street," said Ms. Portier.

"He was just a part of his family. He came home and we were living through Deveaux Street, off East Street. We were all there...my uncle Carl, my uncle Cedric, my father, uncle Sydney. We always sit on the wall in front of the yard and we would always have a good time and talk about home, and Cat Island, talk about what he was doing and how he was making movies and what he did to get where he is right now. We sat around like any other family on the wall under the almond tree, drinking lemonade, and we talked about family. He was always involved in family. He didn't forget his family and he didn't forget where he came from."

On August 28,1963, Sir Sydney appeared on television in a Roundtable discussion formed to analyze the attraction of almost 200,000 people to March on the Mall in Washington, D.C. The global impact of that historical day when American citizens were made witnesses of Dr. Martin Luther King's Passion as he ministered to grieving White and Black Americans. Sir Sydney was apart of the phenonmenon that day that woke those 50 states up from the abusive American nightmare, which Dr King showed human and civil rights supporters thatbitbwas keeping them from embracing their American Dream. This group of Hollywood panelists involved movers and shakers of the image building industry including Sir Sydney Portier, Marlon Brando, James Baldwin, Harry Belafonte, Charlton Heston, Joseph Minklewitz, and Moderator David Schoenbloom. Sir Sydney found time to invite his famous friends to his family home in The Bahamas to give them a taste of a natural universal freedom.

"As a child, I remember him coming home and he always came home alot and he would go to visit friends. Mr. Bowleg, the teacher, he used to live right up East Street, by the big jumper church, and I remember my uncle going to make sure visit them before he go just to tell him he was leaving. He made sure he kept in touch with people who meant something to him," said Ms. Portier.

"We still lived on Deveaux Street, off East Street and he would bring all his friends. And my mother would cook and they would all come and have dinner at our house. That was something that we throughly enjoyed. My mother would entertain them and my father and my uncle Carl, and he was just a jovial person, so he loved to laugh and he loved to sit down with his brothers and just talk about life and being a family."

The nature of his life over at least 36 years has been such that the urgency that was evident during the March on Washington had been bubbling in him for most of the years he came into adulthood. He said he became interested in the civil rights struggle out of a necessity to survive. He said his interest started many years ago and never as intensely as it was that day. He said it was not a rare experience for him, but he found it necessary for self-protection after living in New York and other places in America,over a 20 year period of being away from The Caribbean. He said he found it necessary to perpetuate his survival and involve himself in any activity that would ease his burden. By keeping his mind occupied with the events unfolding in The Bahamas, he was able to exercise his dual citizenship rights and achieve a balance with contributing to the Bahamas as well.

"I don't think it was a matter of him wanting to be involved in politics. I think he just wanted to be a part of whatever was happening in The Bahamas in terms of development and making Bahamian people aware of who they are and being proud of who they are. And, their contribution to their own country and the development of their country and also their growth and development to help people get along," said Ms. Portier.

"This is why he was so interested in helping to build schools and he did and offering scholarships to give the Bahamian children opportunity for higher education. He was Gong Ho on that. It was not a matter of wanting to be in front line politics, no that was not what he wanted to be. He never was interested in that, but he was interested in what was happening in the country as a whole and where the country was going. He was neutral in reference to that and he wouldn't side with any one person. He was just looking at the positive aspect with whatever the government was doing and what they wanted to do for the country and where they wanted to take the country. Now, he was all for that."

In 1963, Sir Sydney said he was forced to participate in American civil rights politics because it was his conviction that the country has to successfully negotiatiate the "Negro" question; it is not a problem but rather the unsettled question of the Negro in America. Through this analysis he decided that the best way to effect change at home in The Bahamas was to positively support the progress of good citizenry. Sir Sydney spoke about America and said we must as a country successfully negotiate that before we can with any degree of honesty try to become eligible for participation in the future. He transferred that belief into action by participating in the civil rights struggle at home in The Bahamas.

"In the end, for him, it was about The Government. It was not whether he was PLP or FNM, he didn't take sides like that. He felt like as a son of the soil, it was his duty and his right to want to make a contribution in whatever way he could do it," said Ms. Portier.

After reflecting on the parallel struggle of black America, Sir Sydney stated that the stamina and texture of our endeavour to solve the Negro question would exemplify for him the kind of interest the country as a whole has in doing the things that are necessary for us to be entitled to a future. This belief translated into the Bahamian sense of entitlement that is experienced by the last three generations since Majority Rule and Independence.

"I think at the time when I was growing up and even in the latter years, Bahamian people were and they just enjoyed that. They were excited about it and appreciated that to see a black man like that on the screen in such a role because when you saw movies, even with the black and white film, some that they are showing now. You saw the black man in the background. He was never in front of the camera. But to see somebody in front of the camera, in a starring role and leading role, that was exciting. That was something that people appreciated. They were excited about it," said Ms. Portier.

Ms Portier spoke about the intimate side to Sir Sydney that only his family got to see. She explained that what people saw in him on the silver screen was the same person his parents raised in Cat Island. he struggled to belong to Hollywood and it paid off when they accepted him for being a natural in all he did.

"He is an upright person and he is very up front, and he is very frank and honest. What you see on the screen is him. He is portraying a role, but that is him. He is just natural. He had to struggle to learn and to get in the movie and to make sure he is educated. He educated himself to be at their level and if it was something that he thought was right and he wanted, he would stand up for it and he would stand up to anybody because he had integrity," said Ms. Portier.

"He was proud of his upbringing whatever it was and his parents contributed to him, Evelyn and Reginald, his parents. That is who he is and that wasn't something that he went there to adapt from somebody else. He was really himself and he stood up for what he thought was right and what he wanted. I think it was respect that he earned, and his persistence and commitment. That was what he wanted and it came from within. It wasn't something like he was pretending or he had to depend on somebody to make him. He was his own person and he always maintained that.

Ms Portier said that "Lillies of The Field" was one of his favorite movies. She said he hasn't changed in all these years. Sir Sydney joins a long list of Bahamians that have made significant contributions to building the country, however since Bahamian history is not taught to the younger generations. Unfortunately, Bahamian children don't know who these people are and what they did to make this country what it is today.



Sir Sydney in To Sir With Love

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Doors Open November 8th to December 9th from 9am - 6pm Daily. Come down and purchase your tickets! The Coldwell Banker / Lightbourn Realty BIFF Festival Lounge location: Downtown Bay Street, Fort Nassau Building adjacent to the Hilton Hotel Across from McDonalds...

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Austrian-born Ruzowitzky directed his first feature film, Tempo, in 1996. He has also directed The Inheritors, Anatomy, All the Queen's Men, Anatomy 2, Lilly the Witch, and The Counterfeiters, which won the Oscar for best foreign-language film. Meet the director at the screening of Deadfall on...