Brooklyn, NY [May, 2009] – The Brooklyn International Film Festival (BiFF) is proud to announce the film line up for its 12th annual festival, themed OPEN SOURCE. 

BiFF will present over 120 film premieres that were selected over 2,786 submissions coming from 111 countries. The films will be combined in 81 film programs and each film will be shown twice. BiFF will operate two screening rooms side by side throughout the festival.

On June 5th, the opening night film (TBD at press time) will be shown at 8pm at the Brooklyn Heights Cinema and the after-party will be celebrated at The powerHouse Arena from 10pm to 1am. 

Highlights of feature films to be shown include: 

Sea Legs | World Premiere 

Director: Craig Butta 

Narrative Feature / United States, 2009 82 min 

Using the power of gesture and a sparse script, writer/editor/director/actor and New York native, Craig Butta has created a vivid journey through the funk, vitality and downward spiraling world of Coney Island. A visual ode to a lost town, Sea Legs is Butta’s first feature film. 

The Timekeeper | World Premiere 

Director: Louis Bélanger 

Narrative Feature / Canada, 2009 102min 

In Canada’s North-West Territories, a gang of asylum and prison inmates are hard at work on a railroad thanks to a cruel foreman. Then arrives young, moralistic Martin Bishop, the men’s new Timekeeper who wants to use his position of power for good. Attempting to apply order, his actions result only in his exclusion from an isolated community of beasts and beasts-yet-to-be.   

Pig Hunt | NY Premiere 

Director: Jim Isaac 

Narrative Feature / United States, 2008, 100min 

A dark, punkabilly comic thriller with one seriously cool monster at its core, this indie horror features performances by blues harp legend Charlie Musselwhite, and ex-Primus front man Les Claypool. Bold, bloody and bad, Pig Hunt is unforgettable fun. 

Borderline | NY Premiere 

Director: Lyne Charlebois   

Narrative Feature / Canada, 2008, 110min 

Borderline is a sexually-charged drama about Kiki, a former wild-child facing her 30th birthday. Looking back at her life growing-up with her grandmother, bi-polar mother and her over-indulgence with men, she comes to realize that solace lies not in sex and alcohol but in her own self- dependence.  

Dr. Alemán | US Premiere 

Director: Tom Schreiber  

Narrative Feature / Germany, 2008, 102min 

August Diehl (Inglorious Basterds, The Counterfeiters) plays bored med student Marc who swaps the German suburbs for an hospital internship in Colombia. But once there he finds himself stuck in a raging gang war, healing shotgun wounds by day and fraternizing with violent locals by night. And when gang leader El Juez, selects Marc to be his personal doctor, Marc finds he has a life-changing choice to make.  

The Last Lullaby | East Coast Premiere 

Director: Jeffery Goodman  

Narrative Feature / United States, 2008, 93min 

Co-written by the creator of The Road to Perdition graphic novel (Max Allan Collins) and starring Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan, Heat) and Sasha Alexander (NCIS, daughter-in-law of Sophia Loren), The Last Lullaby is a beautifully shot film noir that confidently spins the genre into subtle and meditative directions. 

Cryptic | New York Premiere  

Director: John Weiner, Danny Kuchuck   

Narrative Feature | United States, 2008, 83min 

A Twilight Zone-esque sci-fi-thriller which sees 19-year-old Jessie discover a way to use her old cell phone to communicate with her younger self Discovering a cryptic message, she changes her past, and cannot help but alter her present herself as a result.  

On June 7th and 14th, BiFF will present the 5th annual kidsfilmfest (www.kidsfilmfest.org).

On Sunday, June 7th, 2009 at the Brooklyn Heights Cinema at 1pm and Sunday, June 14th, at 2pm and 5pm at the New Museum in Manhattan. 

BiFF 2009 Brooklyn Heights Cinema Schedule: 

Weekends (June 6, 7, 13, 14): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10pm shows 

Weekdays (June 8, 9, 10, 11, 12): 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10pm shows 

BiFF was established in 1998 as the first international competitive film festival in New York. 

BiFF’s primary goal is to connect filmmakers to distribution companies and expose them to the media. Many films that have premiered at BiFF in past years went on to be released theatrically and/or are available at video stores near you.  

BiFF will award the winners with prizes totaling over $50,000 in film services, products, and cash. A single prize of $5,000 cash, the “Diane Seligman Award”, will be given to Best Documentary.  

For full film lineup and general info please visit www.brooklynfilmfestival.org 

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Tags: Brooklyn