LOS ANGELES:
Variety
Camerimage, the film festival devoted to cinematography, has selected 10 titles to compete in its Directors’ Debuts Competition. With a focus on discovery, the selection committee has nominated first or second non-documentary feature films made by young directors and cinematographers. The range is eclectic, spanning intimate drama, family intrigue, war stories, tales of loss, and horror fiction.
Three titles come from the US, starting with Reed Morano’s “Meadowland,” a study of parental grief and loss that premiered at Tribeca. The film stars Olivia Wilde and Luke Wilson. Although “Meadowland” is Morano’s first feature as director, she has worked as a cinematographer on more than 15 movies, as well as TV series like HBO’s “Looking.” Recent movie credits include Rob Reiner’s “And So It Goes,” starring Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton, Mark Jackson’s “War Story,” starring Catherine Keener, and Daniel Radcliffe starrer “Kill Your Darlings.” She’s best know for “Frozen River.” Morano’s next feature as director is Afghanistan War drama “Lioness,” starring Ellen Page.
The other US titles are “Shelter,” directed by British actor Paul Bettany, who delivers a study of homelessness in New York; and Chloe Zhao’s Sundance Dramatic Competition entry “Songs My Brothers Taught Me,” which looks at young people’s lives on a Native American reservation. (RTRS)