Nassau, Bahamas – December 9, 2014 – After a successful and glamorous run in Nassau, the 11th annual Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) is headed to Harbour Island to bring “The Best of the Fest” to the people of Eleuthera.
BIFF announced today the final programme details of the 30-plus festival fan favorites in Harbour Island screening at the Pink Sands Resort from December 10-14.
Founder Leslie Vanderpool said that the BIFF team is excited to bring the films to Harbour Island and hopes that in the coming years the festival can expand to other islands.
“We are ecstatic to be coming back to beautiful Harbour Island. Thanks to Valentine’s Resort, Pink Sands Resort, The Landings Hotel, and of course the ‘Briland people who always welcome us so warmly,” said Ms. Vanderpool. “I stress that this is your festival Bahamas! We bring Hollywood, and the world, to The Bahamas with these films and we have made this leg of the festival open to the public because we want all Bahamians to have access. Our sponsors have been so good to us, and with continued support I hope that we can expand and bring these amazing films, and amazing talents, to more islands and more Bahamians.”
“Best of the Fest” opens on December 10th at the Pink Sands Resort with a showing of BIG IN JAPAN, a comedy starring Seattle-based rock trio TENNIS PRO, who will also perform a live set at the opening reception. Tennis Pro entertained the guests at the closing night party at the Ocean Club.
“The Best of the Fest” closing night, on December 14th will feature the film LIKE SUNDAY LIKE RAIN starring, starring Leighton Meester (Gossip Girls), Debra Messing (Will And Grace) and Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day).
The programmed screenings will feature crowd favorites from the Nassau festival, BIFF awardees and honorable mentions, and films from BIFF’s Youth Film Workshop – an RBC sponsored programme aimed at developing film literacy within elementary and high school children.
The selection for the Harbour Island festival includes films from all corners of the world, including The Bahamas. 6 Bahamian films will be shown over the 5 days of the festival. The Bahamian films showing are: “When Pigs Swim,” a short documentary on the world famous swimming pigs of Exuma, directed by Charles Allan Smith; “Caliente’s Demise,” An animated short film about Chickcharney, directed by Jason Evans; “The Long Con,” directed by Kreimild Saunders; “Sleepwalkers,” a full length horror film by Ryan Lightbourn; “The Current” a documentary on adaptive water athletes by Bahamian Kurt Miller with Hans Rosenwinkel; and “The Barefoot Bandit Documentary”.
The official BIFF Harbour Island lineup is as follows:
December 10
Opening Night
Big In Japan – Pink Sands Resort
6:30 PM
December 11
Short Film Section – 11:00 AM
Animal Cookies
Danny & The Wild Bunch
37 degrees 4s
When Pigs Swim
Last Days Of Summer
Youth Film Workshop & The Current – 12:15 PM
Lake Los Angeles – 1:45 PM
Short Film Section – 3:30 PM
A Spring Has Passed By
El Bostan El Sayed Street
Tobacco Burn
One Armed Man
Still – 5:15 PM
Vessel – 7:00 PM
CRU – 8:45 PM
December 12
Short Film Section – 11:00 AM
Mr. Invisible
Caliente Demise
Tribute
Bis Gleich
Short Film Section – 12:30 PM
Long Con
Salvatore
Leave Keys In Car
Where We Go From Here
Distance
Sombras De Azul – 1:45 PM
Four Corners – 3:30 PM
Ring Di Alarm – 5:45 PM
The Barefoot Bandit Documentary – 7:15 PM
Sleepwalkers – 9:00 PM
December 13
Tu Seras Un Homme – 11:00 AM
Short Film Section – 12:45 PM
I Know You
La Donna
I’m in the corner with the bluebells
Into The Silent Sea
Life Itself – 4:00 PM
December 14
Closing Night
Like Sunday Like Rain
Pink Sands Resort
6:15 PM
About the Opening and Closing Night Films:
LIKE SUNDAY LIKE RAIN, directed by Frank Whaley, tells the story of Reggie, a 12 year old rich prodigy who lives in a castle in New York, surrounded by wealth but living a lonely life as his parents are frequently absent. Eleanor is a young musician going through the pains of growing up, who is having problems with her boyfriend and was recently fired from her job. Making matters worse, she finds herself with no place to live and far from her unsupportive family. In a desperate attempt to find a new job, she finds herself at the home of Barbara, Reggie’s mom, and is hired to take care of the young boy. She is surprised by Reggie’s intelligence and street smarts but is worried about his odd behavior of avoiding riding in cars, skipping summer camp and only having one friend, Raj. Little by little they both learn about each other lives until an emergency forces Eleanor to visit her family in Upstate New York. After unsuccessfully trying to find a replacement, she takes Reggie with her where he is exposed to a whole different world. This is a beautiful story about discovery and acceptance.
BIG IN JAPAN, directed by John Jeffcoat, Things are looking bleak for the members of rock band Tennis Pro. They’ve been struggling to connect to an audience in the Seattle music scene, with a recent run of shows drawing sparse crowds and uninspiring day jobs that are quickly eclipsing their dreams. So when an opportunity arises to take their act on the road to Japan – where the allure of a second chance at recognition awaits them – they can’t refuse. Embarking on their Tokyo musical odyssey, the guys experience all the thrills and setbacks of taking their music into unknown territory (at least to them) and in the process learn a thing or two about themselves. It’s just possible they won’t fade away.