15th Raindance Film Festival  will run September 25 - October 7th

Feature Films and Feature Documentaries Screening

 

 

THE AMAZING LIVES OF THE FAST FOOD GRIFTERS [TACHIGUISHI RESTUDEN] Japan 104'
Director: Mamoru Osuii
Principal Cast: Kaito Kissuoji, Mako Hyodo, Tosuio Suzuki, Shinji Higuchi
Short Synopsis: Hit Japanese blockbuster from the director of Ghost in the Shell.

THE AMAZING GRACE Nigeria 83'
Director: Jeta Amata
Director of Photography: Joseph Taylor
Principal Cast: Nick Moran, Scott Cleverdon, Mbong Odungide
Short Synopsis: The story of the world's most popular hymn, and also the first Nigerian film to be shot on 35mm.

LA ANTENA Argentina 90'
Director: Esteban Sapir
Director of Photography: Cristian Cottet
Principal Cast: Alejandro Urdapilleta, Valeria Bertuccelli, Julieta Cardinali
Short Synopsis: The cinema of Fritz Lang meets Tim Burton in this beautiful Argentinian movie.

BAKUSHI: THE INCREDIBLE LIVES OF THE ROPE-MASTERS Japan 94'
Director: Ryuchi Hiroki (attending the festival)
Short Synopsis: A documentary focussing on a strain of this erotic art form peculiar to Japan known as kinbaku.

BEING MICHAEL MADSEN USA 88'
Director: Michael Mongillo
Principal Cast: Michael Madsen, Jason Alan Smith, David Carradine, Virginia Madsen, Daryl Hannah
Short Synopsis: Actor Michael Madsen decides to turn the tables on the notorious paparazzo, Billy Dant, by hiring a trio of up-and-coming documentary filmmakers to chronicle Dant's life, loves, and troubles.

BOG OF BEASTS [BAIXIO DAS BESTAS] Brazil 83'
Director: Claudio Assis
Principal Cast: Mariah Teixeira, Fernando Teixeira, Samuel Vieira
Print Source Email: marthe@medialuna.deShort Synopsis: A study of sexual manifestation in a poverty stricken Brazillian villiage.

BOLINAO 52 Philippines / Japan 58'
Director: Duc Nguyen
Principal Cast: Tung Trinh, William Cloonan
Short Synopsis: Documentary focusing on the refugee survivors of the Vietnam War.

BOOK OF REVELATION, THE Australia 119'
Director: Ana Kokkinos
Principal Cast: Tom Long, Greta Scacchi, Colin Friels.
Short Synopsis: An erotic mystery about power and sex, the entanglement of victim and perpetrator, and a man's struggle to regain his lost self.

BREATH [SOOM] South Korea
Director: Kim Di-Duk
Principal Cast: Chang Chen, Ha Jung-Woo, Kim Di-Duk
Short Synopsis: A love story involving a convicted prisoner who slowly falls for a woman who decorates his prison cell. From acclaimed director Kim Di-Duk.

BUNNY CHOW South Africa 92'
Director: John Barker
Principal Cast: David Kizuuka, Kim Engelbrecht, Kagiso Lediga, Joey Raddien
Short Synopsis: A light hearted investogation of modern South Africa.

CHILDREN [BORN] Iceland 93'
Director: Ragnar Bragason
Principal Cast: Gisili Orn Garoarsson, Nina Dogg Filippusdottir, Olafur Darru Olafsson
Short Synopsis: Karitas is a single mother of four who desperately tries to make ends meet. Fighting a losing battle with her ex-husband for custody over her three daughters, she's oblivious to what's going on with her twelve year old son Gudmund, a victim of brutal bullying at school and whose life is on the fast track to destruction.

CONGORAMA Canada 105'
Director: Philippe Falardeau
Principal Cast: Olivier Gourmet, Paul Ahmarani, Pean-Pierre Cassel, Gabriel Arcand
Short Synopsis: An eccentric Belgian inventor travels to Quebec to search for his family.

CRAZY LOVE USA 92'
Directors: Dan Klores, Fisher Stevens
Principal Cast: Linda Pugach, Burt Pugach, Jimmy Breslin
Short Synopsis: Sixteen years after Linda Riss has acid thrown in her face by Burt Pagach, the couple marry.

THE CREAM [LA CRÈME] France 83'
Director: Reynald Bertrand
Principal Cast: Laurent Legeay, Nicolas Abraham, Marie-Anne Pauly
Short Synopsis: A man discovers a facial cream which makes him irresistable to others around him, but soon learns that it also has consequences.

DAY WATCH [DNEVNOY DOZOR] Russia 140'
Original Format: 35mm
Director: Timur Bekmambetov
Principal Cast: Konstantin Khabenski, Maria Poroshina, Vladimir Menshov
Short Synopsis: Excellent sequel to the groundbreaking Russian hit Night Watch.

DAY ZERO USA 90'
Director: Bryan Gunnar Cole
Principal Cast: Elijah Wood, Chris Klein, Ginnifer Goodwin
Short Synopsis: The draft is back - what would you do if called to serve? In NYC in the near future, three best friends must grapple with everything they believe after they
are given thirty days to report for duty.

THE DEVIL DARED ME TO New Zealand 75'
Director: Chris Stapp
Principal Cast: Bonnie Soper, Chriss Stapp, Phil Brough
Short Synopsis: Live fast, die faster - A stunt-fuelled action-comedy.

DOLINA Hungary 122'
Director: Zoltán Kamondi
Principal Cast: Adriano Giannini, Piroska Molnár, Stefania Rivi, János Derzsi
Short Synopsis: At one time Dolina was a flourishing little place, but now everything shows the signs of destruction and poverty, even though the inhabitants are doing their best to smarten things up a bit for the arrival of a high-ranking guest in the person of the Archbishop.

DRINK UP! [DE BARES] Spain 93'

Director: Mario Iglesias

Principal Cast: Emma Alvarez Leon, Javier Alabala, Nancho Novo, Jesus Cabrero

Short Synopsis: Oscar walks into a bar. The bar's walls are covered in photographs. The pictures are the door to the lives of people that could be any one of us.

EX-DRUMMER Belgium 90'

Director: Koen Mortier

Principal Cast: Norman Baert, Francois Beukelaers, Dolores Bouckaert

Short Synopsis: A low-key Belgian rock band take on a formerly famous drummer to complete their line-up in a "battle of the bands" contest.

EXHIBIT A UK 85'

Director: Dom Rotheroe

Principal Cast: Angela Forrest, Bradley Cole, Brittany Ashworth

Short Synopsis: The story of a normal family disintegrating into an unimaginable nightmare.

FLAMES IN THE LOOKING GLASS UK / India 48'

Director: Shona Charlton

Principal Cast: Bobby a.k.a. Badu

Short Synopsis: A ground-breaking documentary, following the glamorous, dark and defiant lives of three Hijras, Indian Transgenders, living with AIDS.

FRANK & CINDY USA 73'

Director: G.J Echternkamp

Principal Cast: Frank Garcia, Cindy Brown

Short Synopsis: FRANK & CINDY is a deeply personal documentary about Frank Garcia, an 80's one-hit wonder musician and his blonde bombshell wife Cindy, who makes him live in the basement.

THE GOODTIMESKID USA 77'

Director: Azazel Jacobs

Principal Cast: Sara Diaz, Geraldo Naranjo, Azazel Jacobs

Short Synopsis: A story about stolen love and stolen identities, shot on stolen film.

IDENTITY (w/ How I Produced a Cherry Boy) Japan 83'

Director: Tetsuaki Matsue

Principal Cast: Hiromi Aikawa, Jitta Hanaoka

Short Synopsis: A documentary focusing on performers working in Japan's huge adult video (AV) industry.

I'M A CYBORG BUT THAT'S OK [SAIBOGUJIMAN KWENCHANA]
South Korea 105'

Director: Park Chan-Wook

Principal Cast: Lim Su-Jeong, Rain, Choi Hie-Jin

Short Synopsis: A girl who thinks she is a combat cyborg checks into a mental hospital, where she encounters other psychotics. From the director of Oldboy and Lady Vengeance.

IN PRAISE OF LOVE [ELOGE DE L'AMOUR] France/Switzerland 97'

Director: Jean-Luc Godard

Principal Cast: Bruno Putzulu, Cecile Camp, Jean Davy, Francoise Verny, Audrey Klebaner

Short Synopsis: A chance to see Godard's Cannes hit from 2001.

IN SEARCH OF A MIDNIGHT KISS USA 98'

Director: Alex Holdridge

Principal Cast: Scoot McNairy, Sara Simmonds, Brian McGuire

Short Synopsis: A rollicking comic ride and tender journey though love, sex, and modern romance in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve.  

THE INHERITANCE UK 57'

Director: Charlie Belleville

Principal Cast: Tim Barrow, Fraser Sivewright, Imogen Toner, Tom Hardy

Short Synopsis: Two brothers' road trip through Scotland to discover their inheritance.

IT'S ONLY TALK  Japan 126'

Director: Ryuchi Hiroki (attending the festival)

Principal Cast: Shinobu Terajima, Etsushi Toyakawa, Akira Emoto

Short Synopsis: Ryuchi Hiroki's second collaboration with the winning team of actress Shinobu Terajima and screenwriter Haruhiko Arai has been cited by many critics as the best Japanese film of its year.

KENEDI IS GETTING MARRIED [KENEDI SE ZENI] Serbia 80'

Director: Zelimir Zilnik

Principal Cast: Kenedi Hasani, Beni Haliti, Max Steiner

Short Synopsis: Acclaimed Serbian feature focusing on the drastic lengths a man will go to attain legal status in the EU.

THE KILLING OF JOHN LENNON UK 114'

Director: Andrew Piddington

Principal Cast: Jonas Ball, Thomas A. McMahon, Joe Abbate, Robert C. Kirk

Short Synopsis: A dramatisation of Mark Chapman's plan to murder John Lennon

LIFE IN LOOPS (A MEGACITIES RMX) Austria 79'

Director: Timo Novotny

Short Synopsis: A remix of images and sounds, using a films original material and mixing it with new imagery.

M [EMU] Japan 110'

Director: Ryuchi Hiroki (attending the festival)

Principal Cast: Miwon, Kengo Koura, Tomorowo Taguchi

Short Synopsis: Described as a Belle de Jour for the internet age, Hiroki's psychotic drama comes to Raindance.

MALA NOCHE USA 78'

Director: Gus Van Sant

Principal Cast: Doug Cooeyate, Sam Downey, Nyla McCarthy

Short Synopsis: Based on the Walt Curtis autobiographical novel of the same name, Mala Noche is a story of amour fou. Gus Van Sant's first feature.

MANUFACTURING DISSENT Canada 74'

Director: Debbie Melnyk, Rick Caine

Principal Cast: Michael Moore, Mick Jagger, Janeane Garofolo

Print Source Email: mark.roberts@liberationentertainment.co.uk

Short Synopsis: Manufacturing Dissent, a documentary that seeks to separate fact, fiction and legend, tracks Michael Moore on tour during the release of the explosive Fahrenheit 9/11

NOTRE MUSIQUE France/Switzerland 80'

Director: Jean-Luc Godard

Principal Cast: Sarah Adler, Nade Dieu, Rony Kramer, Simon Eine

Short Synopsis: Godard's acclaimed 2004 documentary dealing with war through the themes of heaven, hell and purgatory.

OFF THE GRID: LIFE ON THE MESA USA 64'

Director: Jeremy Stulberg, Randy Stulberg

Short Synopsis: Documentary that follows a hardscrabble community of hippies, teenage runaways, war veterans and drop-outs who live on the fringe and off the grid, without electricity or running water, along the mesas of New Mexico.

OH SAIGON USA / Vietnam 58'

Director: Doan Hoang

Principal Cast: Hoàng Nam, Vân Tran, Hoàng (Hai) Dú'c

Short Synopsis: A complex portrait of a Vietnamese refugee family attempting to survive their wounds after being politically and physically separated by the Vietnam War.

OLD PLACE, THE France/Switzerland 49'

Director: Jean-Luc Godard, Anne-Marie Meiville

Principal Cast: Jean-Luc Godard, Anne-Marie Meiville

Short Synopsis:  A rare chance to see Godard and Anne-Marie Meiville's documentary about art and its' place in history.

ONE TWO ANOTHER [CHASUN SA NUIT] France 90'

Director: Pascal Arnold, Jean-Marc Barr

Principal Cast: Lizzie Brochere, Arthur Dupont, Pierre Perrier

Short Synopsis: Enigmatic mystery and erotic coming-of age story.

PARANOID PARK USA

Director: Gus Van Sant

Principal Cast: Gabe Nevins, Daniel Liu, Taylor Momsen

Short Synopsis: A teenage skateboarder's life begins to fray after he is involved in the accidental death of a security guard.

PARENTS [FORELDRAR] Iceland 89'

Original Format: 35mm

Director: Ragnar Bragason

Principal Cast: Gisili Orn Garoarsson, Nina Dogg Filippusdottir, Olafur Darru Olafsson

Short Synopsis: Dark secrets are slowly revealed in the suburban modern day Reykjavik when a desperate trip of a dentist, a successful businessman and a young mother running away from her past meet by chance.

PHANTOM LOVE USA 87'

Director: Nina Menkes

Principal Cast: Marina Choif, Juliete Marquis, Laura Liguori, Noel Olken

Short Synopsis: A surreal drama about an alienated family set in Koreatown, Los Angeles and Rishikesh, India.

PRISONER/TERRORIST [YUHEISHA/TERORISUTO] Japan 113'

Director: Masao Adachi

Principal Cast: Tomorowo Taguchi, Arata, Taka Okubo

Short Synopsis: Tackling the immensely emotive subject of terrorism through an abstract, existentialist framework.

RED LIKE THE SKY [ROSSO COME IL CIELO] Italy 95'

Director: Christiano Bortone

Principal Cast: Paolo Sassanelli, Luca Capriotti, Marco Cocci, Simone Colombari, Rosanna Gentile

Short Synopsis: A film inspired by the true story of Mirco Mencacci, one of the most gifted Italian sound editors working today.

SHELTER ME [RIPARO] Italy 98'

Director: Marco S. Puccioni

Principal Cast: Maria de Medeiros, Antonia Liskov, Mounir Ouadi

Short Synopsis: Will Love Survive Class Differences?

SOUTH COAST UK 85'

Director: Will Jewell

Principal Cast: Norman Cook, Buzz, Dirty Diggers

Short Synopsis: This ain't East Coast, this ain't West Coast, this is South Coast! Forget bling. Forget gangstas, this character documentary exposes quintessentially British seaside hip hop.

THIS IS NOLLYWOOD Nigeria 55'

Director: Franco Sacchi

Short Synopsis: An exploration of Nigeria's flourishing film industry.

THIS FILTHY WORLD USA 86'

Director: Jeff Garlin

Principal Cast: John Waters

Short Synopsis: This Filthy World is John Waters' one-man show, a vaudeville act that celebrates the film career and tastes of the man William Burroughs once called "the Pope of Trash".

TOVARISCH: I AM NOT DEAD UK 83'

Director: Stuart Urban

Short Synopsis: Garri Urban, one of the twentieth century's most extraordinary survivors, who endured both the extremes of Nazism and Communism.

TURKS IN SPACE [DNYAYI KURTARAN ADM'IN OGLU] Turkey 103'

Director: Kartal Tibet

Principal Cast: Mehmet Ali Erbil, Cüneyt Arkin, Deniz Zeki

Short Synopsis: Turks in Space is the sequel of Trash-cult movie "Man who saved the world". High-budget futuristic entertainment with hilarious innuendos to the original.

TWENTY TO LIFE: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JOHN SINCLAIR USA 96'

Director: Steve Gebhardt

Short Synopsis: Twenty to Life is the real-life story of John Sinclair. His exploits have since reverberated throughout the international underground for 40 years.

U & ME & TENNESSEE UK 90'

Director: Paul Birchard

Principal Cast: Konrad Hopkins, Paul Birchard

Short Synopsis: U & Me  & Tennesse tells the story of the romance between the late Tennessee and Konrad Hopkins in the early 1950's. Disturbing, shocking, hilarious and sobering.

UNCLE'S PARADISE [OJISAN TENGOKU/ZETSURIN ZETSUJO] Japan 67'

Director: Shinji Imaoka

Principal Cast: Shiro Shimomoto, Mutsuo Yoshioka, Minami Aoyama

Short Synopsis: The latest example of the Japanese pink film niche.

UP AT LOU'S FISH Japan 67' / 32'

Director: Alex Brook Lynn, Corinna Mantio

Principal Cast: Barbara Mensch, Edward Koch, Evita Mendiola, John Avlon, Joseph Fordstat

Short Synopsis: New York's Fulton Fish Market has survived for over 180 years at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge. This film captures the lives and history of the men and women of the market during their relocation to the Bronx.

URANYA Greece 95'

Director: Costas Kapakai

Principal Cast: Aris Tsapis, Andreas Kyriakis, Maria Grazia Cucinotta

Short Synopsis: In a small village a group of teenagers grow up with dreams, prejudices, secrets and lies, eager to discover love as well as the whole world.

VALERIE Germany 83'

Director: Birgit Möller

Principal Cast: Agata Buzek, Devid Striesow, Birol Ünel, Guntbert Warns, Anne Sarah Hartung

Short Synopsis: A selfish glamour model finds herself living out of her vehicle in a car park.

VIVA USA 120'

Director: Anna Biller

Principal Cast: Anna Biller, Jared Sanford, Bridget Brno, Chad England

Short Synopsis: Two suburban couples experiment with sex, drugs and bohemia in early 1970's Los Angeles.

WEIRDSVILLE Canada 90'

Director: Allan Moyle

Principal Cast: Scott Speedman, Wes Bentley, Taryn Manning

Short Synopsis: Stoners Dexter and Royce deal with drug debt, a heist, dead bodies, Satanists and dwarves and all in one slightly surreal night in Weirdsville.

WHAT THE SNOW BRINGS [YUKI NI NEGAUKOTO] Japan 112'

Director: Kichitaro Negishi

Principal Cast: Yusuke Iseya, Koichi Sato

Short Synopsis: Hit Japanese drama focusing on the troubled relationship between two brothers.

YOKOHAMA MARY Japan 92'

Director: Takahiro Nakamura

Principal Cast: Michiko Godai, Genjiro Negato, Yoko Yamazaki

Short Synopsis: Compelling documentary about Japan's oldest prostitute.

FESTIVAL JURY

Andrea Arnold was the recipient of the 2005 Oscar for Best Short Film for Wasp. Her feature debut, 2006's Red Road, was the only first feature to be nominated for the Palm D'Or at Cannes and picked up the Cannes Jury Prize, five Scottish BAFTA's, two BIFAs, The Sutherland Trophy, Best British Newcomer at The London Film Critics Awards and The Carl Foreman Award at the UK BAFTA's.

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.

Jonathan Harvey an instructor of Cinematography at the NFTS and is currently in production on Amy Heckerling's new film.

Mick Jones is a musician and music producer. He was the lead guitarist in The Clash, who were among the pioneers of the punk rock movement in the 1970s. He and the rest of the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. He has since gone on to perform with General Public and Big Audio Dynamite, while also producing both albums by The Libertines.

Ed King is the content Producer of the MySpace Film Channel and MyMovie MashUp, the World's First User Generated Feature Film.

Sandy Lieberson was the president of 20th Century Fox from 1979-1980 and MGM International from 1989-1993. He is also a renowned film producer whose credits include Nicolas Roeg and Donald Cammell's Performance and Terry Gilliam's Jabberwocky.

Anthony Quinn has been a film critic of The Independent since 1998. Before that he was a film critic of The Mail on Sunday and arts editor of Harpers & Queen. He also writes for The Daily Telegraph and The New York Times.

Iggy Pop is an influential musician whose career has spanned over thirty years. He broke onto the music scene with The Stooges in 1967, before going solo, releasing albums such as The Idiot and Lust for Life. Films include Jim Jarmusch's Coffee & Cigarettes (Raindance 2004) and John Waters' Cry-Baby.

Jemma Rodgers Founder of Junction films and BAFTA Award winning producer for The League of Gentlemen, Double Take for BBC2 and Murphy's Law starring James Nesbitt; Jemma has developed several scripts under the Junction Films label across both comedy and drama. These include the first ever produced original screenplay by Irvine Welsh and his screenwriting partner Dean Cavanagh, Wedding Belles.

Tessa Ross has been the Head of Drama for Channel 4 since 2000 and the Head of Film4 from 2002, combining the two roles in 2004 to become Controller of Film and Drama. Projects she has commissioned include This is England, The Last King of Scotland, The Motorcycle Diaries, The Road to Guantanamo and Shameless. Future releases from Film4 include Michael Winterbottom's Geneva, Harmony Korine's Mister Lonely and the adaptation of Monica Ali's Brick Lane.

Davide Scalenghe manages the VC2 (Viewer Created Content) Outreach department at Current TV. He started his career at CNN International, before moving on to work at TimeOut then subsequently MTV International, where he worked on shows such as The Osbournes and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

Brian Tufano is one of the UK's leading cinematographers. His work has included such significant films as Quadrophenia, Shallow Grave, Trainspotting and East Is East. More recent projects have included the teen drama Kidulthood and Amy Heckerling's forthcoming I Could Never Be Your Woman. He is currently filming an adaptation of David Hare's play My Zinc Bed, starring Uma Thurman and Paddy Considine.

Joe Utichi is the editor of Rotten Tomatoes UK.

Penny Woolcock - Writer / Director whose films include the recent Exodus retelling the story of Moses for our times, Mischief, The Principle of Lust and The Death of Klinghoffer. She has also made documentaries for television including The Wet House and Shakespeare on the Estate. She's currently developing a musical about gangs in Birmingham.

FESTIVAL JURY PRIZES

To recognise the outstanding achievements of the filmmakers showcased at the 15th Raindance Film Festival, a number of jury prizes are being awarded. The winners will be announced before the screening of the Closing Night Film at the Cineworld Haymarket on Sunday 7 October at 7:30PM.

The prizes this year are as follows:

OFFICIAL SELECTION FEATURE

OFFICIAL SELECTION SHORT

UK FEATURE

BEST DEBUT FEATURE

BEST DOCUMENTARY

UK SHORT sponsored by Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines supports the Best UK Short Film Award with a prize of 2 return tickets to anywhere in the US. The prize was designed to give UK filmmakers the opportunity to attend screenings of their film in US festivals. Last year's winner, Osbert Parker, used his tickets to fly to Aspen Shorts Fest where he was awarded the best animation prize for his short film.

DIESEL FILM OF THE FESTIVAL

For the fourth year running we are very excited to announce the Diesel Film of the Festival prize. The winners of last year's award, Kasimir Burgess and Edwin McGill (Australia), was selected for their unique and original style of filmmaking as well as demonstrating a strong passion for their art. Diesel supported their win by funding their project to produce the 15th Raindance Film Festival trailer, which can be seen at www.raindance.co.uk.

TISCALI SHORT FILM AWARD

The Tiscali Short Film Award for the best UK short under ten minutes by a debut filmmaker, has been narrowed down to only five. The winner will be presented with a cheque for ₤1000. Viewers can watch each of the entries and vote for your favourite at www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/shortfilms/raindance.html

SAE DIGITAL SHORT FILM AWARD

Back for the second year, the winner of the SAE Digital Short Film Award is chosen from a strict rule of criteria - the film must have been entirely shot and edited using only digital means of production and must demonstrate a unique approach to filmmaking utilising new digital technology.

ADOBE ANIMATION AWARD

2007 marks the creation of the Adobe Animation Award for the best-animated short film. The award winning film will be chosen for its originality and technical proficiency by the Raindance jury and an Adobe animation specialist.

CANON BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARD

This year sees the introduction of a brand new award that focuses on the photography of a film and the work of the cinematographer. The Canon Best Cinematography Award goes to the best cinematographer in a short film with the winner taking home a brand new Canon XH A1 HD camera. The award will be chosen by a panel of established cinematographers.

FESTIVAL SPONSORS

Our sponsors share a passion for cinema and the arts and without their very generous contributions, and without the help and support of the hard working people behind them, Raindance would not be able to survive.

PRINCIPAL SPONSOR

Cineworld Cinemas

Since 2002, for five years running, Cineworld Cinemas is proud to once again be the principal sponsor of the Raindance Film Festival. The landmark Cineworld Haymarket hosts the opening and closing night gala celebrations with the bulk of the festival taking place at the Trocadero. Festival screenings take place at Cineworld Shaftesbury. Cineworld staff and Unlimited pass-holders are amongst the festival's staunchest supporters.

                                             

MAJOR SPONSORS

Tiscali

Back for their fourth year as a major supporter of the festival, Tiscali are once again holding the Tiscali Short Film Award competition, which is open to first time, UK filmmakers. The award voting takes place online at Tiscali.co.uk with the winner taking home £1000 in cash.

Tiscali are also introducing an innovative online scheme with Raindance, hosting virtual screenings of selected features and short films from the festival on Tiscali.co.uk. These screenings will take place simultaneously with the off-line festival allowing film fans that are unable to travel to Central London the chance to enjoy the Raindance experience as it happens.

Delta Air Lines

After a successful debut year, Raindance welcomes Delta as the official airline of the festival. Delta supports the Best UK Short Film Award with a prize of 2 return tickets to anywhere in the US. The prize was designed to give UK filmmakers the opportunity to attend screenings of their film in US festivals. Last year's winner, Osbert Parker, used his tickets to fly to Aspen Shorts Fest where he was awarded the best animation prize for his short film.

New for this year, Delta are enabling three US filmmakers to fly to London to attend their films' screenings at Raindance Film Festival.

Diesel

In 2004, Diesel introduced the Diesel Film of the Festival Award to a film chosen for showing bravery and originality in filmmaking. Part of the award is a cash budget to the winning filmmaker to produce the cinema trailer for the next year's festival. That year, Cam Archer won the award that got him noticed by Gus Van Sant who ended up producing his debut feature film, which premiered at Sundance in 2006.

The award proved such a success, that the 2005 winner, the Japanese director Kosai Sekine won 3 Gold Palms at the 2006 Cannes Advertising Festival. The trailer for this year's festival has been created by last year's winners, the Australian based Kasimir Burgess and Edwin McGill.

The Rex Cinema + Bar

The Rex Cinema + Bar is hosting this year's Festival Lounge with special events, advance screenings, and a networking centre ironically sited in the same premises as the debut Raindance Film Festival in 1993. Stylish, decadent, yet relaxed, the Rex is the perfect match for Raindance.

Canon

Canon, the imaging specialists, has long been known for their support of independent filmmakers. Canon enables two exciting debut programmes this year:

Canon Best Cinematography Award goes to the best cinematographer in a short film, and the winner walks with a brand new Canon XH A1 HD camera.

Indie filmmaker Jonathan Caouette (Tarnation) will be creating the 15th Raindance Film Festival Documentary to be screened on closing night

Adobe

2007 marks the creation of the Adobe Animation Award for best animated short film, the Adobe Masterclass series in the festival lounge on topics such as creative manipulation of audio, HD, and visual effects. Raindance will also throw the Adobe Filmmakers Networking Party

You don't need to be a filmmaker to benefit from Adobe's sponsorship. Drop in the festival lounge for Adobe's daily demos.

MAIN SPONSORS

Fossil

Raindance is pleased to announce that the fashion jewellery and watch designer, Fossil, will once again be sponsoring the Closing Night Party on October 7th.

Additionally, Fossil has kindly supplied the 15th limited edition festival carrier bag.

National Screen Services

It's easy to sit in a cinema, watch a movie and forget how everything arrived in the cinema on time for the screening. National Screen Services makes certain that prints, posters and marketing materials are distributed to cinemas across the country. This year NSS has sponsored the printing of our leaflets and flyers.

HMV

Raindance has always been associated with cutting edge music films. HMV has agreed to sponsor the screening of Performance, chosen by jury member Mick Jones, co-founder and lead guitarist of The Clash.

SAE

The international digital training college with British campuses in Glasgow, Liverpool and London, returns to Raindance for the 2nd year running.

Raindance created the SAE Best Digital Short Film Award - honouring a short film made using only digital means, and SAE will also be hosting a special event on digital filmmaking.

SUPPORTING PARTNERS

Bitch Rabbit (since 1998)

Raindance has enjoyed the premium design services of Bitch Rabbit since 1998. Bitch Rabbit have helped to give Raindance a truly unique style.

Cobra (since 2006)

Back for their second year, Cobra is once again the Official beer sponsor of the festival and all special events in 2007.

ImageNet (since 2006)

Raindance utilises the powerful PR tools of ImageNet to assist us in promoting the festival to a wider audience

Kodak (since 2006)

Kodak sponsors a special cinematography masterclass. Last year's event featured cinematographer Phil Meheux (Casino Royale, Scum).

Gibson and Epiphone Guitars (since 2006)

Gibson and Epiphone are back to support the strong musical element that makes Raindance unique to other film festivals. There will be guitar giveaways at select screenings.

Thistle Hotels (debut year)

For their introductory year, Thistle Hotels is proud to be the official hotel supporter of the 15th Raindance Film Festival. By offering filmmakers and other visitors to Raindance a discounted rate on their central London hotels, Thistle is making it easier for international filmmakers to attend the festival.

CULTURAL PARTNERS

Sasakawa Foundation (since 2001)

Supports our critically acclaimed Way Out East programme, Making it possible to import/export heavy film prints and pay screening fees.

Italian Cultural Institute (since 2002)

Makes it possible to meet the import/export costs of Italian films screened at Raindance. The ICI also assists Raindance is sourcing the best new Italian films.

Daiwa Foundation (debut year)

Thanks to the generous support of Daiwa Foundation, Raindance is able to fund the trip of prolific indie Japanese filmmaker Ryuichi Hiroki to the festival who will be screening 3 of his films and holding Q&A's

Instituto Cervantes (since 2005)

Makes it possible to meet the import/export costs of Spanish speaking films screened at Raindance. Cervantes also helps Raindance to source the newest and most cutting edge films from Spain and Spanish speaking countries.

MEDIA PARTNERS

The Independent (since 2006)

A big supporter of Raindance, The Independent helps to promote the festival to a wider audience. One of the newspapers most respected freelance critics Anthony Quinn is on our jury for the 2nd year.

Rotten Tomatoes (debut year)

Who said indie film had a small audience? Rotten Tomatoes boasts over 25 million visitors each month, and are covering Raindance on their international website.

Shooting People (since 1999)

Shooting People and Raindance go back ages, and this year, Shooting People is once again getting behind the premiere indie festival in the UK, hosting oanel discussions, and filmmaker Q&A's.

Plan B Magazine (since 2005)

What better media support could Raindance expect, than from a cool magazine run by passionate people who love to DJ at Raindance parties? Answer: Plan B.

FURTHER SUPPORT

British Independent Film Awards (1998)

Raindance founded BIFA in 1998 to celebrate and promote British films and filmmakers. Raindance is a qualifying film festival for British films seeking consideration for the annual event, this year on November 28th at The Roundhouse.

Raindance.TV (2007)

A quality Web 2.0 service with over 100 hours of quality shorts, features and documentaries screening on http://www.raindance.tv/ and 14 additional platforms including Joost (launching Friday 17 August)

Independent Film Trust (2004)

A charity whose goals are to raise money to support the Raindance Film Festival, the British Independent Film Awards, and other independent film projects in the UK deemed worthy by the trustees.