ROGER SPOTTISWOODE TO HEAD THE JURY OF DIRECTORS' DEBUTS COMPETITION

Wednesday November 7th, 2012

In today's world filmmakers not only have to find within themselves the creativity necessary for making widely acclaimed movies, but also follow their artistic conscience. Like many other directors, Roger Spottiswoode has divided his career between films for the wider audience and others which appeal to a more specialized audience. We are pleased to announce that during the 20th edition of the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography PLUS CAMERIMAGE, Roger Spottiswoode will be the Head of the Jury of Directors' Debuts Competition.

Roger Spottiswoode
Spottiswoode started his career in the 1970s as an editor for Sam Peckinpah, for whom he edited Straw Dogs, The Getaway, and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Afterwards he edited The Gambler for Karel Reisz and Hard Times for Walter Hill. He wrote the original script of 48 Hours and soon afterwards started to direct. In the 70's, Arthur Krim, Eric Pleskow and Mike Medavoy had left United Artists to form Orion, a new company that continued the tradition of supporting filmmakers. Under Fire, a vision of politics and photojournalism in Nicaragua during the civil war, was financed and distributed by them. Spottiswoode's career has included a number of politically and socially engaged films interspersed between more commercial Hollywood films. And the Band Played On, made for HBO, was the story of the politics behind the onset of the AIDS epidemic in the early 80s; Hiroshima was an exploration of the events and decisions in Tokyo and Washington leading to Hiroshima. Shake Hands with the Devil tells the story of UN involvement in Rwanda before and during the genocide, while The Children of Huang Shi was based on the life of a little known English journalist in China at the time of the Rape of Nanjing. Beyond Right & Wrong is a series of recent interviews in Rwanda, Palestine, Israel and Northern Ireland and looks at questions of reconciliation and justice.

Still from "Under Fire"
In short, Roger Spottiswoode has found a number of topics which are not always considered popular. He has also made films about unusual characters such as God's Favorite, about the fall of Manuel Noriega and Spinning Boris, a behind the scenes look at American political consultants as they achieved in the impossible to get Boris Yeltsin re-elected in 1984. We are honored that Roger Spottiswoode will be again our guest, and that he agreed to be the Head of the Jury of Directors' Debuts Competition.

FINANCED BY THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND NATIONAL HERITAGE OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND AS PART OF THE TASK: CO-ORGANIZATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF THE ART OF CINEMATOGRAPHY EnergaCAMERIMAGE 2024

CO-FINANCED BY: THE CITY OF TORUŃ AND KUJAWSKO-POMORSKIE REGION

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