Dear Programmers:

Some exciting news to share with you on two of our newest 2019 films!

Following a rapturous world premiere at Sundance, MIDNIGHT TRAVELER is racking up some early, well-deserved awards. At Sundance, the film was named with a World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award. A couple of weeks later, it earned three awards at the Berlinale for Special Mention, Panorama Jury Prize; Second Place, Panorama Audience Award; and Special Mention, Peace Prize.

We’re also proud to announce that actor/activist Martin Sheen has boarded our documentary THE MAP TO PARADISE as Executive Producer. The film outlines the perils threatening Earth’s oceans while offering solutions that are beginning to work around the world. Sheen, who earned a degree in oceanography from the National University of Ireland in Galway, has made saving the oceans his top cause. He was recognized in 2017 for his decades of involvement with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a non-profit marine conservation organization that is highlighted in the film.

Please email us at festivals@thefilmcollaborative.org for screeners.

All best,

The Film Collaborative

2019 | USA / Qatar / Canada / UK | 87 min.

Director Hassan Fazili
Writer Emelie Mahdavian
Producers Emelie Mahdavian, Su Kim
Co-Producers Fatima Hussaini, Ahmad Imami
Editor Emelie Mahdavian
co-editor Kristina Motwani
consulting editor Nels Bangerter
Cinematographers Hassan Fazili, Fatima Hussaini, Nargis Fazili, Zahra Fazili
Music Grethen Jude
Cast Nargis Fazili, Zahra Fazili, Fatima Hussaini, Hassan Fazili

ABOUT THE FILM:
In 2015, after Hassan Fazili’s documentary Peace aired on Afghan national television, the Taliban assassinated the film’s main subject and put a price on Hassan’s head. Hassan looked at his wife and his daughters, and he knew they had to flee their home. Over the course of their multi-year saga in search of safety, the family grasped onto the only means they had to assert control over their situation: their camera-phones.

Hassan and his wife Fatima are both filmmakers, and they are educating their daughters and encouraging them to be artists. The whole family shot this autobiographical film, which follows them from when they sought and were rejected for refugee protection through their journey along the notorious Balkan smuggling route. As they experienced increasingly degrading circumstances, the family latched on to filmmaking as a way to not just survive, but retain their humanity.

MIDNIGHT TRAVELER is a gripping vérité story made by a family on the run. Their unique access and artistic vision provide an intimate portrait of a loving family and the myriad fellow travelers they meet on their odyssey.

FESTIVALS
2019: Sundance (World Premiere), Berlinale

AWARDS
World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for No Borders (Sundance), Special Mention, Panorama Jury Prize (Berlinale), Second Place, Panorama Audience Award (Berlinale), Special Mention, Peace Prize (Berlinale)

FESTIVAL TERRITORIES
North America

EXHIBITION FORMATS
DCP, Blu-Ray

MORE INFO:
Facebook Page

Email us for screeners or streaming links.

2019 | Australia | 95 min.

Directors Danielle Ryan, James Sherwood
Executive Producer Martin Sheen
Music Daniel Clive McCallum
Animator Anna Outridge
Illustrator Mia Grimaldi
Cast Prince Albert II of Monaco, Tommy Remengesau (President of Palau), Tony Burke (Australia’s Former Environment Minister), Enric Sala (National Geographic Explorer), Captain Paul Watson, Mario Pascobello, Ari Friedlaender, Michael Sutton, Guiseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, Mary Jean Samson Tabanera, Frank Talbot, Nicola Benyon, Georgios Troupis, Keobel Sakuma, Ruffino, Cindy Walter, Gerald Tuayon, Laurent Martin, Kip Evans, Pat Hutchings, Dave Gumban Alboa, John Day, Aki, Charles Littnan

ABOUT THE FILM:
THE MAP TO PARADISE is an adventure-filled and spectacularly gorgeous tale about the birth of the global movement to protect the sea. From underwater worlds of ice to glistening coral sanctuaries, discover what it takes to build a movement and to create positive change.

Filmed across six continents, the filmmakers have set out to challenge the mainstream narrative of hard-hitting environmental documentaries with a “doom and gloom” message, and replace it with one of hope and courage. Along the way, we meet a prince, a president, a pirate, and also an island chief—among others—who are all playing a role in the quest to save the planet.

Mixing colorful character-driven stories and hand-rendered animations, THE MAP TO PARADISE is a rare urgent environmental wake-up call that retains a sense of awe and wonder for the kind of beauty that is still possible.

FESTIVALS
2019: Santa Barbara International (World Premiere)

FESTIVAL TERRITORIES
The World

EXHIBITION FORMATS
DCP, Blu-Ray

MORE INFO:
themaptoparadise.com

Email us for screeners or streaming links.