THE 16TH RAINDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

The 16th Raindance Film Festival's programme is today announced by festival patron Ken Loach, with the full line-up which includes 75 features and over 100 shorts alongside a host of live events, exclusive Q&As and masterclasses. The Raindance Film Festival will take place from 1-12 October 2008 in London's West End with some of the film industry's most exciting filmmakers sitting on this year's jury including Oscar-winning Peter Capaldi (Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life), Beastie Boys' filmmaker Adam Yauch (Awesome I F***ing Shot That), Rebecca O'Brien (The Wind that Shakes the Barley) and Nicolas Roeg (Walkabout, Don't Look Now, Puffball).

Book-ending the fortnight long Festival, the UK premiere of breakout new writer-director Clark Gregg and maverick author Chuck Palahniuk's (Flight Club) CHOKE, starring Sam Rockwell (Jesse James, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind), Anjelica Huston (The Darjeeling Limited, The Royal Tenenbaums) and Kelly MacDonald (No Country for Old Men, Trainspotting), opens the event on Wednesday 1st October, and the Closing Gala on Sunday 12th October brings the festival to an end with the World premiere of Mark Tonderai's directorial debut HUSH, starring William Ash, Christine Bottomley and Guy Burnet.

Anjelica Huston is expected to guest appear for the Opening Night Gala as well as screen goddess Faye Dunaway for her new film FLICK, directed by David Howard and with expected appearances from co-stars Michelle Ryan (Bionic Woman), Liz Smith (The Royle Family) and Mark Benton (Murphy's Law).

80's superstar Corey Feldman (Stand By Me, The Goonies) will feature at the festival promoting his new film THE BIRTHDAY, and will participate in a special retrospective event. Cult director Jeremy Podeswa (Six Feet Under, Queer as Folk) will also be in attendance with his new film FUGITIVE PIECES.

Raindance has a strong reputation for it's interest of music in film and in the past has featured jurors such as Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Marky Ramone and Mick Jones (The Clash) and has previously programmed films such as: Billy Childish Is Dead, The Devil & Daniel Johnston, Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man, Neil Young: Heart of Gold and documentaries on The Ramones, Lambchop and Johnny Thunders. This year is no different with films dedicated to Patti Smith, The Beatles, The Arctic Monkeys and a documentary by Beastie Boys' hip-hop legend Adam Yauch.

The festival will host a special event with Giles Martin, son of the legendary music producer Sir George Martin, in aid of the London Premiere of ALL TOGETHER NOW, a new film charting the creation of The Beatles/Cirque du Soleil collaboration LOVE.

The Arctic Monkeys will attend the London Premiere of their new documentary ARCTIC MONKEYS LIVE AT THE APOLLO with director Richard Ayoade (The Mighty Boosh, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace).

Adam Yauch from old school hip-hop megagroup the Beastie Boys features on this year's Raindance jury with the European Premiere of his basketball directed documentary GUNNIN FOR THAT #1 SPOT.

Les Claypool (Primus, Fearless Frog Brigade) will also be doing a guest Q&A at the screening of ELECTRIC APRICOT: QUEST FOR FESTEROO, a mockumentary film he directed.

Strongly anticipated UK features for this year's festival include Matthew Thompson's directorial debut DUMMY, David Howard's FLICK starring Faye Dunaway, Michelle Ryan, Liz Smith and Mark Benton, as well as Peter Greenaway's NIGHTWATCHING, starring Martin Freeman, Emily Holmes and Eva Birthistle.

Acclaimed director and Raindance patron, Mike Figgis will be in attendance presenting a new short film for Sony Ericsson entitled "Life Captured". The international competition gives participants the chance to take part in the creation of this pioneering new film made entirely out of still mobile phone images. Mike will nominate five Outstanding Achievers who will win a VIP trip for them and a friend to attend the film's red carpet premiere at the Raindance Film Festival in London on Thursday, 2nd October 2008. 

Feature films, documentaries and shorts from around the globe will transport cinema-goers to: Australia, Canada, Palestine, USA, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Brazil, Italy, Serbia, Japan, Kenya, France, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Sovenia, Czech Republic, Austria, Mexico, Columbia, Uraguay, Spain and Argentina.

New to this year's Festival Awards is the AUDIENCE AWARD, which will be given to the best feature film at the 16th Raindance Film Festival as selected by you. Also new is the DAILYMOTION SHORT CIRCUIT AWARD created with Raindance.tv to search for budding new talent. 60 second short films will be considered by a judging panel led by director Michael Winterbottom. Visit www.dailymotion.com for more details. In addition is the BEST UK SHORT FILM AWARD sponsored by Delta Airlines with a prize of 2 return tickets to anywhere in the US and designed to give UK filmmakers the opportunity to attend screenings of their film in US festivals.

All award winners will be announced before the screening of the Closing Night Film HUSH at the Cineworld Trocadero on Sunday 12 October at 7:30PM.

Festival patron Ken Loach commented on The 16th Raindance Film Festival line-up: "It's good news that Raindance looks set for another lovely festival.  Let's hope you make some mischief."

Elliot Grove, Director of The Raindance Film Festival said: "We are especially pleased to welcome Ken Loach as festival patron for our 16th Anniversary of The Raindance Film Festival. We are excited to present a fantastic line-up of international films which represent the true nature of the festival and excellence within independent filmmaking."

For the full Festival programme please go to www.raindance.co.uk

The Raindance Film Festival runs from Wednesday 1st October to Sunday 12th October 2008.

Tickets can be booked online at www.raindance.co.uk or by telephone on: 0871 200 2000 from 10th September.

Festival programmes will be available from 29th September.

Raindance.tv will host further exclusive material via www.raindance.tv with trailers and filmmaker interviews.

THE FESTIVAL JURY

Peter Capaldi was the recipient of the 1995 Oscar� for Best Live Action Short Film for Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life. He is also a respected film and television actor, recently known for his performance as the political spin-doctor Malcolm Tucker in the BBC sitcom The Thick of It. Other notable credits include Stephen Frears' Dangerous Liaisons, Channel 4's Peep Show, and E4's Skins.

Oli Harbottle was the producer of the Raindance Film Festival for three years from 2003 to 2005. He is now the film release coordinator at Dogwoof Pictures, one of the leading art house distributors of independent film in the UK.

Kim Newman is an established journalist and film critic, contributing regularly to Empire and Sight and Sound magazines. He is also a respected fiction writer, reveling in themes of horror and alternative histories. His best-known novel is 1992's Anno Dracula.

Rebecca O'Brien has been an independent film producer for twenty years.  She has produced ten feature films with Ken Loach, including "Land and Freedom", "Sweet Sixteen" and "My Name is Joe". In 2006 "The Wind that Shakes the Barley", won the Palme d'Or in Cannes.  Their latest film "Looking for Eric", written by regular collaborator Paul Laverty, has just finished shooting and will be launched in 2009.

Nicolas Roeg is a world-renowned film director whose career spans four decades. His debut Performance (co-directed with Donald Cammell) introduced audiences to his experimental and influential approach to filmmaking, which was expanded upon in his later works Walkabout, Don't Look Now and The Man Who Fell To Earth. His latest film, Puffball, was released in cinemas earlier this year.

Joe Utichi is the editor of Rotten Tomatoes UK, the influential reviews website that brings together critics' views from around the world.

Adam Yauch is a founding member of the influential hip-hop trio the Beastie Boys. Starting life as a hardcore punk band, they are one of the longest-lived hip hop acts, who continue to enjoy commercial and critical success in 2008, more than 20 years after the release of their debut album. He is also the director of Gunnin' For That #1 Spot, a basketball documentary screening at Raindance this year.

2008 FESTIVAL LINEUP

Feature Films and Feature Documentaries

ACOLYTES Australia

Director: Jon Hewitt
Principal Cast: Joel Edgerton, Michael Dorman, Sebastian Gregory

ADRIFT IN TOKYO (TEN-TEN) Japan

Director: Satoshi Miki
Pincipal Cast: Joe Odagiri, Tomokazu Miura, Ittoku Kishibe

AFTER-CRASS USA

Director: Marian Wallace
Principal Cast: Gee Vaucher, Penny Rimbaud, V. Vale

AGILE, MOBILE, HOSTILE: A YEAR WITH ANDRE WILLIAMS USA

Director: Tricia Todd, Eric Matthies
Principal Cast: Andre Williams, Jon Sinclair, Jon Spencer

ALL TOGETHER NOW UK

Director: Adrian Wills
Principal Cast: Sir Paul McCartney, Geroge Martin, Ringo Starr

A�O U�A Mexico

Director: Jon�s Cuar�n
Principal Cast: Eireann Harper, Diego Cata�o

ARCTIC MONKEYS LIVE AT THE APOLLO UK

Director: Richard Ayoade
Principal Cast: Alex Turner, Jamie Cook, Matt Helders, Nick O'Malley

ART AND APATHY Canada, Palestine

Director: Jessica Habie
Principal Cast: N/A

THE AUTEUR USA

Director: James Westby
Principal Cast: Melik Malkasian, Katherine Flynn, John Breen

BLACKSPOT New Zealand

Director: Ben Hawker
Principal Cast: Luke Hawker, Simon Smith, Camille Keenan

THE BLUE TOWER UK

Director: Smita Bhide
Principal Cast: Abhin Galeya, Alice O'Connell, Indira Joshi

BONNE ANN�E Costa Rica

Director: Alexander Berberich

CHOKE USA [OPENING NIGHT GALA]

Director: Clark Gregg
Principal Cast: Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly MacDonald 

CHRIS & DON USA

Director: Tina Mascara, Guido Santi
Principal Cast: N/A

CLUBBED UK

Director: Neil Thompson
Principal Cast: Mel Raido, Shaun Parkes, Scot Williams

CRAWFORD USA

Director: David Modigliani
Principal Cast: None Provided

CRAZY USA

Director: Rick Bieber
Principal Cast: Waylon Payne, Ali Larter, Lane Garrison

THE DAISY CHAIN UK

Director: Aisling Walsh
Principal Cast: Samantha Morton, Steven Mackintosh, Mhairy Anderson

DUMMY UK

Director: Matthew Thompson
Principal Cast: Aaron Johnson, Thomas Grant, Emma Catherwood

THE EARS Japan

Director: Hiromu Nakamura

Principal Cast: Tomachika Izumi,Tamaki Kaiho

ELECTRIC APRICOT USA

Director: Les Claypool   

Principal Cast:  Seth Green, Dian Bachar, Sam Maccarone

THE END USA/UK

Director: Nicola Collins

Principal Cast: N/A

EST�MAGO Brazil/Italy

Director: Marcos Jorge

Principal Cast: Jo�o Miguel, Fabiula Nascimento, Babu Santana

THE 4TH MAN Serbia

Director: Dejan Zecevic

Principal Cast: Nikola Kojo, Marija Karan, Dragan Petrovic Pele

FINE, TOTALLY FINE (ZEN ZEN DAIJ�BU) Japan

Director: Y�suke Fujita

Principal Cast: Yoshiyoshi Arakawa, Yoshino Kimura, Yoshinori Okada

FLICK UK

Director: David Howard

Principal Cast: Faye Dunaway, Liz Smith

GARDENS OF THE NIGHT USA

Director: Damian Harris

Principal Cast: Tom Arnold, Gillian Jacobs, Evan Ross, John Malkovich

GOLIATH USA

Director: David Zellner

Principal Cast: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner, Caroline O'Connor

GUNNIN' FOR THAT #1 SPOT USA

Director: Adam Yauch

Principal Cast: 

HIP HOP COLONY Kenya

Director: Michael Wanguhu

Principal Cast: Bamboo, Harry Kimani, Tedd Josiah

HUSH UK [CLOSING NIGHT GALA]

Director: Mark Tonderai

Principal Cast: William Ash, Christine Bottomley, Guy Burnet

INDESTRUCTIBLE USA

Director: Ben Byer

Principal Cast: Ben Byer, Barbara Byer, John Byer

IS FAUST SCH�N? France

Director: Julien Perrin

Principal Cast: Jean-Herv� P�ron, Zappi Diermaier

IT'S HARD TO BE NICE Bosnia & Herzegovina

Director: Srdjan Vuleti�

Principal Cast: Sasa Petrovic, Senad Basic, Emir Hadzihafizbegovic

L...LIKE LOVE Slovenia, Czech Republic, Austria, Serbia

Director: Janka Glogovac

Principal Cast: Lucija Serbedzija, Labina Mitevska, Rade Serbedzija

LAY DOWN YOUR HEARTS UK

Director: John Simpson

LEFT EAR Australia

Director: Andrew Wholley

Principal Cast: Lech Mackiewicz, Clare Mackey, Helena Malczewska

A LIFE IN THE DEATH OF JOE MEEK USA

Director: Susan Stahman, Howard S. Berger

Principal Cast: Alex Kapranos, Keith Strickland, Steve Howe

LITTLE ASHES UK

Director: Paul Morrison

Principal Cast: Javier Beltr�n, Robert Pattinson, Matthew McNulty

MESSAGE TO THE WORLD UK

Director: Caroline Caplan

MIDNIGHT MADNESS UK

Director: Charles Henri Belleville

THE MILKY WAY (A VIA LACTEA) Brazil

Director: Lina Chamie

Principal Cast: Marco Ricca, Alice Braga, Fernando Alves Pinto

NIGHTWATCHING UK

Director: Peter Greenaway

Principal Cast: Martin Freeman, Emily Holmes, Jodhi May

NO THROUGH ROAD Australia

Director: Sam Barrett

Principal Cast: James Helm

NOW, I� (IMA, BOKU WA) Japan

Director: Yasutomo Chikuma

Principal Cast: Yasutomo Chikuma, Yoshiharu Fujisawa, Masato Shiga

OBITUARY FOR ESCOBAR Serbia

Director: Milorad Milinkovic

Principal Cast: Vojin Cetkovic, Tamara Garbajs, Zijah Sokolovic

ONE DAY REMOVALS UK

Director: Mark Stirton

Principal Cast: Patrick Wright, Scott Ironside

PATTI SMITH DREAM OF LIFE USA

Director: Steven Sebring

Principal Cast: Patti Smith, Tom Verlaine, Michael Stipe

A PERMANENT PART-TIMER IN DISTRESS (S�NAN FURLIT�) Japan

Director: Hiroki Iwabuchi

Principal Cast: N/A

PRODUCTION OFFICE Canada

Director: Deborah Marks, Steve Solomos

Principal Cast: Shauna McDonald, Brandon McGibbon, Maury Chaykin

PVC-1 Columbia

Director: Spiros Stathoulopoulos

Principal Cast: Daniel P�ez, Hugo Pereira, Alberto Sornoza

THE RIND [LA CASCARA] Uraguay, Spain, Argentina

Director: Carlos Ameglio

Principal Cast: Juan Alari, Martin Voss, Walter Reyno

SENSELESS UK

Director: Simon Hynd

Principal Cast: Jason Behr, Emma Catherwood, Joe Ferrera

SEVEN SIGNS USA

Director: JD Wilkes

Principal Cast: JD Wilkes, Slim Cessna, Scott Biram

TENDER THROBBING TWILIGHT [TASOGARE] Japan

Director: Shinji Imaoka

Principal Cast: Masaru Taga, Tasuko Namikibashi, Kenji Yoshioka

THE TOUR (TURNEJA) Serbia

Director: Goran Markovic

Principal Cast: Dragan Nikolic, Mira Furlan, Josif Tatic

THIS WORLD OF OURS (ORETACHI NO SEKAI) Japan

Director: Ryo Nakajima

Principal Cast: Yoshihiko Taniguchi, Arisa Hata, Satoshi Okutsu

TODAY, THE SAME DAY IS DIFFERENT [HOY EL DIA SE REPITE DIFERENTE] Spain

Director: Xavier Baig, Oscar Moreno

Principal Cast: Toni, Julio, Pruvi

TOKYO: WINGS OF DEFEAT Japan

Director: Risa Morimoto

Principal Cast: Takehiko Ena, Shigeyoshi Hamazono, Kazuo Nakajima

TURTLES ARE SURPRISINGLY FAST SWIMMERS (KAME WA IGAI TO HAYAKU OYOGU) Japan

Director: Satoshi Miki

Principal Cast: Juri Ueno, Y� Aoi, Ryo Iwamatsu

TWILIGHT PHANTOM [AKO-KURO] Japan

Director: Tsukasa Kishimoto

Principal Cast:  Msaki Tamaru, Shugo Oshinari, Erika

WATCH OUT USA

Director: Steve Balderson

Principal Cast: Matt Riddlehoover, Peter Stickles, Jillian Lauren

WELLNESS USA

Director: Jake Mahaffy

Principal Cast: Jeff Clark & Paul Mahaffy

WETLANDS PRESERVED USA

Director: Dean Budnick

Principal Cast: Dave Matthews, Bob Weir, Blues Traveler

WHO IS KK DOWNEY? Canada

Director: Pat Kiely, Darren Curtis

Principal Cast: Darren Curtis, Kristin Adams, Matt Silver

WILD BLUE YONDER USA

Director: Celia Maysles

ZEBRA CROSSINGS UK

Director: Samuel Holland

Principal Cast: Lee Turnbull, Greg Wakeman, Aaron White

FESTIVAL JURY PRIZES

To recognise the outstanding achievements of the filmmakers showcased at the 16th Raindance Film Festival in 2008, a number of jury prizes will be awarded. The winners will be announced before the screening of the Closing Night Film HUSH at the Cineworld Trocadero on Sunday 12 October at 7:30PM. The nominees are:

UK FEATURE

The Blue Tower

Dummy

Flick

Senseless

Zebra Crossings

UK SHORT *

Broken

Like People Do

Ottica Zero

Player

Red Sands

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

Adrift in Tokyo [Japan]

Estomago [Brazil]

Goliath [USA]

The Tour [Serbia/]

Watch Out [USA]

INTERNATIONAL SHORT

A Juicy Turkey [France]

Little Minx Exquisite Corpse: Cara [USA]

Small Collection [USA]

The Tournament [Italy]

Trouble Sens [France]

DEBUT FEATURE

No Through Road [Australia]

Production Office [Canada]

PVC-1 [Colombia]

The Rind [Uruguay]

This World of Ours [Japan]

Who is KK Downey? [Canada]

DOCUMENTARY

Agile, Mobile, Hostile [USA]

Indestructible [USA]

Today, The Same Day Is Different [Spain]

Tokyo Wings of Defeat [Japan]

Wild Blue Yonder [USA]