[Bears Armed]

Film Festival 2017

This festival is being co-hosted by the Confederal Film Institute and the BA Tourism Agency (BATA).

Categories

Best New IDU Film: A film whose makers are based in any IDU member nation, produced at any time during the last four years but not [officially] released outside its nation of origin more than one year ago. Your post should include a synopsis of the film, language(s) spoken, list of major characters & their actors, relevant production & background detail, and so on.

Best IDU ?Classic? Film: A film whose makers are based in any IDU member nation, produced and released more than four years ago. Posts should include, in addition to what is listed under ?Best New IDU Film?, some information about why this is regarded as a "classic" in your nation.

Best Actor in an IDU film: An actor, of any sapient species [& personal details], who has appeared during the past eight years either in at least one film produced in any nation that is sending an official entry for at least one other category here or in an independently submitted film that has been accepted as an entry. For simplicity?s sake, entry details in the former case must cite one specific film for reference here (which can, but need not, does not have to be, one that is also being submitted in another category) instead of being based on ?lifetime? achievement claims.

Best Non-IDU Film: A film whose makers? home nation is outside the IDU, produced at any time during the last eight years but not [officially] released outside its nation of origin more than two years ago. Your post should include a synopsis of the film, language(s) spoken, list of major characters & their actors, relevant production & background detail, and so on.

Judging
Each and every nation that has sent any official entries will be able to cast one vote in each category, and is free to decide for itself how its choice is determined. The exhibitors associated with any independently submitted film that is accepted for entry here will not receive voting rights, but will be entitled to speak in promotion of their works.
(OOC: You can certainly submit entries using more than one nation, but you still get only one vote per [b]player no matter how many of your nations are involved?)[/b]
The judges? decisions are final.

Prizes
Firstly, of course, there is the prestige (with its accompanying potential increases in both profits and subsequent opportunities) that goes with being entitled to describe one?s film as having won its category here.
Secondly, each category?s winner will receive both a gold-plated porcelain statuette [approximately 1? tall] of a Bear presenting a bunch of flowers and a golden ?rose? that can be worn as a badge of honour, in both cases with the basic details of the award given on an attached panel.
Thirdly, the exhibitors associated with any winning entry will have their travel costs [both ways] between their homelands & Council Groves for this event reimbursed, ?within reason?.
Fourthly, the nation that wins the ?Best New IDU Film? category (or whose entry is highest placed out of the ?national? entries, if an independently submitted film wins instead) will have the right of first refusal on hosting next year?s version of this competition. If two or more nations are voted winners jointly then it?s up to those nations? own governments to decide between themselves who gets this right, except that if Bears Armed is among their number then we will surrender this right.

Further Rules
The starting date for posting entries is one week from today, there will be a fortnight for that process, and judging will then be open for one week & one day [i.e. to around the middle of Sunday afternoon, GMT] after that.
Whilst I appreciate the enthusiasm, please do not place ?reserved? posts in the ?Entries? thread unless you definitely are going to post actual entries between then & the final deadline: There?s no actual penalty OOC for doing so, of course, but IC the governments of any nations that post such reservations and then fail to submit their entries in time will be billed for the unused hotel rooms?
Also, please remember that ? because of this event?s international nature ? entries? details need to include not only what you might consider the ?usual? information to mention when describing a film but also an explanation of any national or international ?rating? system under which those films have been classified works.
Any questions about the rules that are asked more than halfway through the period for entries might not get answered.

Venue
This event will take place in the city of Council Groves, which is the capital of Bears Armed. Most showings of films will take place at the National Film Theatre, in the Akademe district which is situated just a short distance west of the main settlement itself (and also contains National University?s first campus), probably in the afternoon and early evening. Other cinemas [in the city & its suburbs] and times may also be added to the schedule if the number of entries seems to require this.
Films may be entered either by national agencies or (subject to preliminary vetting by the CFI) independently.
Films that are entered by national agencies may be accompanied by up to eight ?official? exhibitors and/or judges for the first film per nation plus (for IDu nations, as those [unlike outsiders] can submit entries to more than one category) up to four exhibitors or judges more for each second or third film. These people will all be provided with good-quality hotel accommodation in or close to the city, with transport between those hotels and the NFT or other cinemas used, with guaranteed seating at screenings of all entries, and with free entrance to all of the city?s cinemas ? not just those that are actually showing the films to be judged ? during the festival?s duration. Any further costs (e.g. upgrades to accommodation, room service beyond a reasonable allowance, meals out [other than during the optional outings to nearby sites of cultural importance that will be laid on], other sightseeing trips, and so on?) will have to be met either by the people concerned or by whatever agencies sent them here. Additional exhibitors may also be sent, and exhibitors allowed to bring guests, at the relevant agencies? discussion: Accommodation can be reserved through official channels for up to one extra person per ?official? exhibitor or judge. These additional guests, and up to four people accompanying each [accepted] independently submitted film, will also be guaranteed seats at the screenings of entries, and free admission to the city?s other cinemas as well during this Festival: If an independently submitted film wins one of the awards then its designated exhibitors [up to four in number] will have their reasonable expenses refunded, up to the same level of spending that they would have received if they were ?official? exhibitors instead.
The city?s hoteliers have experience with hosting Humans and members of other sapient species, not just with providing for Bears, and in fact the main hotel that will be used for this purpose ? the ?Hotel Exodus? ? is owned and run by a consortium of families from one of this nation?s own [immigrant] Human minority-groups. Visitors who have special dietary needs should specify these when booking places.
The festival will formally conclude with a banquet at the ?Hall for The Strangers?*, admission to which will be free for all ?accepted guests? (i.e. the ?official? exhibitors & guests, any accompanying people for whom their sending nations reserved accommodation through official channels, and up to four exhibitors per accepted independently submitted film) at which the results will be announced, and each of the official attendees will be presented with a basket of souvenirs before they depart. If any of these people wish to stay in the country for a while afterwards, as tourists or to discuss potential business opportunities, then this can easily be arranged.

(* i.e. the ?Foreign Ministry?)

:Bear:

[Bears Armed]

(reserved: BA entry)

:Bear:

[Laeral]

Reserved for Laeralian entries.
Brushstrokes (2017)
Category: Best New IDU Film

Based partially on true events, Brushstrokes is a period drama focusing on the story of a young man who comes to the opulent colonial court of Duc Jean-Baptiste I, featuring themes of race, family, and loyalty.

Synopsis: The opening credits feature the camera panning down slowly toward an empty country road in mid-winter. As the camera moves, several lines of text are written on the screen in such a way as if it has been written with an ink brush. (The text, which appears one sentence at a time, reads: "In 1703, foreign conquerors appeared upon the shores of Laeral. The native R?n (1) people were unable to resist the superior technology of the invaders, and were soon violently forced into servitude. The power of the colonial regime suppressed dissent, and an entire people were subjugated. The Years of Woe began. It is now 1731, and Duc Jean-Baptiste and his followers believe they have quenched the fire of Laeralian resistance...")Snow covers the ground and trees, and the camera stops in front of a simple plum blossom, lightly coated in snow. The plum blossom, national symbol of Laeral and of the spirit and resilience of the Laeralian people, falls to the ground.

A horse-drawn carriage appears, moving quickly down the road. Inside, we see a nobleman of French descent and sitting across from him, a Laeralian adolescent of around 16. We learn that the young man, a poor villager named Yang Chia-hao, is being taken to the famed Autumn Court of the Laeralian colonial monarchy by the nobleman, the Marquis of Corday. Chia-hao asks why the Marquis has chosen him, and the Marquis replies that he is to serve as his personal secretary. When Chia-hao asks why he was chosen rather than someone who had been formally educated, the Marquis simply replies that he owes the boy's family a favor.

The carriage arrives at the Autumn Court of the Dukes of Laeral. The four courts of the monarchy are associated with opulence, intrigue, and lavish events in the Laeralian mindset, and the films plays heavily from this association, with the camera often emphasizing the luxurious furnishings and clothing. The Marquis takes Chia-hao inside, and into a new life.

The following half an hour is sometimes comical as Yang Chia-hao is introduced to the Marquis' family and staff, and adapts to life at Court in general. The Marquis tells Chia-hao that in order to succeed or be accepted at the court, he will need to adopt a new name. Chia-hao chooses the name Corvin, meaning 'dark-haired'. We are introduced to the Marquess, a woman who is kindly, but rather patronizing to Corvin. We are also introduced to the Marquis' only other servant- a sullen young woman named Li Hui-ju, whom the Marquis introduces as the Marquess's personal maid. This is rather bewildering to Corvin. Hui-ju seems determined to snub him, and seems to be an extremely bad servant: surly and uncaring. She also refuses to be addressed by her Christian name, ?lisabeth (2).

Corvin is also shown working as the Marquis' secretary. In a series of scenes, we see:
1). Corvin being shown to an ornate writing desk, and given paper and a fountain pen. He struggles to shape the words using the pen, although the Marquis compliments him on his penmanship.
2). Corvin still struggling to use the unfamiliar pen, while Hui-ju, who occasionally walks through the scene, watches the Marquis demonstrating the use of the fountain pen with a studious or impassive face.
3). Corvin is still struggling, and asks to use an ink brush, which is what his father trained him to use. The Marquis ultimately agrees to procure an ink brush.
4). The Marquis is dictating a letter, and Corvin is using the ink brush to write the French words.

In between scenes 1 and 2 above, Corvin is sent upon an errand to fetch a horse from the court stables. He goes to the stables, and asks the stable boys to help him saddle the horse. They do not respond, and instead remain where they are, leaning against a wall. Corvin asks again, more loudly, and the boys continue to ignore him. As he turns away, he sees one of the boys squint his eyes, in imitation of his own. Corvin grits his teeth, and turns toward the horse. He struggles to saddle the horse, having no idea how to do it. We hear one of the boys call out a racial slur towards him, and the other stable boys laugh. We see Corvin clench his jaw, his back going stiff, but he saddles the horse, stares straight ahead, and walks the horse out as the stable boys continue to mock him.

When Corvin brings the horse to the Marquis, the Marquis asks why the horse is so badly saddled. Corvin replies that there was no one at the stable to help him. The Marquis only nods in return.

Later on, the Marquis is sitting in bed reading as Corvin is writing a letter to his family back home. The Marquis sees the letter and admires the calligraphy, suggesting that Corvin should show his calligraphy to some 'acquaintances of mine with an interest in Laeralian culture'. Corvin agrees to make a demonstration piece, ultimately making the character for 'endure'. We see a small group of the nobility admiring the piece, and afterward, the Marquis tells Corvin that he should sell his work professionally. Corvin begins to write calligraphy and paint simple paintings in his spare time, and begins to sell them, often using exoticism as a sales tactic in order to do so. He begins to become known as a painter, and the wealthy and powerful begin to approach him for portraits, still life paintings, and calligraphy. We see him learning to paint in the Western style, as a way of increasing business. We see Corvin being paid large sums of money, and him sending it home to his family. He is invited to balls where he never would have been able to go before, and even embarks on a short-lived romance with a noblewoman which is ended when he finds that she is only interested in him to show him off to her friends and to rebel against her controlling parents. Around this time, the people of the Court, including Duc Jean-Baptiste (who has in fact never been seen in the movie so far) move to the Winter Court, which is located further south for warmth during the winter. The characters follow the Court there, except for Hui-ju, who leaves on an unspecified errand for several months.

Corvin decides to take a stroll in one of the palace gardens one night, and while he is there, runs into Hui-ju. He has been so busy with his life as a celebrated artist that he has not seen her recently. He begins to tell her about the successes he's had in the months that she's been gone, rambling on and on as she becomes steadily more angry. She accuses him of selling out to the colonialists, and of betraying his family and who he is. She continues in this vein for about a minute, ending by asking why he is content to 'be their little native lapdog' when atrocities are being committed against people like him every day. She ends by accusing him of 'prostituting' his life and talents, before turning on her heel and walking away as Corvin stands behind her, watching her go.

The following day, the Marquis asks Corvin to meet with him privately. In a deserted room in a corner of the Court, the Marquis reveals that another nobleman, the Comte de Beaupr?, has offered Corvin an incredible sum, 6000 livres, for a painting that Corvin had produced. The Marquis tells him that he is free to leave and establish himself as an independent artist at any time, and gives him a purse containing the money. Corvin bids farewell to the Marquis and Marquess, although Hui-ju is once again missing. He uses the money to rent a small 'shop' venue within the grounds of the Court, where he can sell his work to the nobility. We see him painting large pictures with an assortment of ink brushes and we see him selling those same paintings to wealthy buyers, helped by the fad for 'aboriginal' artwork at the time. He then receives a letter from home, telling him that his father is sick. Corvin closes the shop and hurries home. When he arrives in his hometown of Hengshan, he is shocked to see so many beggars upon the streets as well as soldiers patrolling to enforce levies upon the townsfolk. His father is sick in bed- the soldiers had forced him to work in road construction, and the hard labor and tainted drinking water have left him with an unknown, but deadly, disease (likely cholera). Corvin, moved by the plight of his hometown, helps his father recover from the disease and decides to give some of the money he has made to the people of Hengshan.

We see Corvin continuing to paint, and he uses many of the funds to help his hometown. He establishes a medical clinic, and works to buy food for the village, purchasing a carriage and horses in order to do so. Scenes of Corvin painting and selling his goods in the lavish surroundings of the Winter Court are then followed by scenes of him visiting Hengshan to oversee his charitable efforts. Around this time, Corvin meets a fellow artist named Beno?t Maugnier, who specializes in portraiture. The two begin to work together, and a romantic relationship is hinted at (see 'Production and Filming'). Later on, a man whom Corvin's clinic had been taking care of is released, and then forced to work on the roads once more, and he ultimately dies.

Saddened by what he has seen in his hometown, Corvin returns with Beno?t to the Winter Court. While they are returning, Beno?t states that given how many of the townspeople are sick or poor because of the forced road-building and high taxation, it could be more worthwhile to use their network of influential art buyers to try and stop this from happening. Corvin agrees with him, but is unsure how to make it work.

When they return to the shop Corvin has rented, they hear a knock at the door several days later. It is Hui-ju, who is very dirty and bruised, with a still-bleeding cut on her arm. Corvin has many questions to ask her, but she refuses to answer, only asking to stay with him for a few days.

Once she has recovered, she reveals that she has been working for a group of individuals dedicated to ensuring social change within Laeral, called the Peach Garden Congress (3). She says that she had been injured in the course of working for that goal. Corvin and Beno?t offer to assist that group, and she says that she will see what she can do. She then leaves, over their objections.

They do not hear back from Hui-ju, and so begin to organize a charity art show. However, she returns, saying that she needs them to help her convey a message. Apparently, an influential ally of the group is being closely watched by agents of the monarchy (the secretive 'Quatri?me Bureau' (4)), and a message is needed to be conveyed to him. Corvin suggests that he could perhaps hide a message within a work of his calligraphy. We see Corvin working ferociously on a poem in calligraphy, using tiny brushstrokes to hide a message within the picture of a fallen plum blossom in the lower corner of the painting. Having concealed a coded message, he then gives it to Hui-ju to deliver. At this point, the camera follows Hui-ju as she sneaks through the palace's deserted corridors disguised as a courier. A sentry stops her, she shows him the calligraphy, and he lets her pass. She then gives it as a 'gift' to the nobleman, returns to Corvin and congratulates him.

Corvin continues to do similar work for the Peach Garden Congress, concealing messages in works of art. He begins by simply providing funding for this organization as well as producing more messages hidden in art. He meanwhile continues his normal art career, designing new works as well. His success results in him gaining a prestigious commission, to illustrate an entire book for Duc Jean-Baptiste himself. This was an extraordinary honor, and would involve the illustration of a copy of a work of French literature, La Princesse de Cl?ves (5). Corvin will receie a vast sum of money for it, and will present it to the Duc himself in three months' time. Soon, however, Hui-ju approaches him. As the book is intended for Duc Jean-Baptiste himself, Hui-ju suggests that Corvin mix poison with his paint. When the Duc touches the book, the poison would seep through his skin, killing him in a way that would appear natural. She gives Corvin the vial of poison to mix with his paint, and urges him to place it in, so as to strike a blow against the monarchy.

Corvin, however, is unsure. He begins to work on his first illustration without mixing the poison in, telling himself he will put it in later. However, he becomes unsure if killing the Duc would be the right thing to do. Over several sleepless nights, he remembers his father urging him to 'act honorably', but also the cruelties inflicted by the Duc's men. As he continues working, moving further and further through the book, he sends his parents a letter, asking their advice. His father urges him not to use the poison, while his mother encourages him to. Corvin worries about possibly killing innocents, and cannot decide...

After taking a walk through a palace garden to reflect, he decides to use the poison. He mixes the poison with his paint, and begins the grim task of painting the remaining illustrations, using gloves to avoid coming in contact with the poisoned paint. The camera follows his brushstrokes as his illustrations become ever grimmer...

Finally, Corvin finishes the book and prepares for the formal ball at which he is to present it. We see the various characters dressing for the ball- Corvin, grim-faced, as the guest of honor, with the copy of La Princesse de Cl?ves contained in a gilded presentation box. Hui-ju, in a simple servant's outfit, concealing a dagger among her clothing. The Marquis and Marquess, dressing formally for the event. Beno?t, unsure of why Corvin has been so withdrawn lately, dressing himself. Duc Jean-Baptiste, being dressed by servants, unaware of the plot against his life.

The ball begins, with hundreds of nobility dancing and talking inside a massive ballroom. Corvin tries to smile at the admirers which surround him, congratulating him on having risen so far. The Duc enters the ballroom, speaking to his hangers-on and cronies. Corvin dancing with various noblewomen. Hui-ju tending the refreshments, pausing occasionally to shoot a glance at Corvin's box. The Marquis, aware of the plot, keeping an eye on Corvin with a worried expression. Beno?t, beginning to suspect that more is afoot than he knows, speaks to the Marquis, asking if the Congress has something planned for the night. The Marquis, denying all.

At last, the moment of presentation arrives. The musicians play as the Duc appears on the dais, and a carpet is laid out before Corvin. The Duc gives a speech to the assembled crowd, and they applaud, including Beno?t, the Marquis, and Hui-ju. The Duc beckons for Corvin to come forward, and he begins to walk slowly toward the Duc, afraid of what he is about to do. Corvin finally arrives at the dais, and, on his knees, presents the gilded box to the Duc. The Duc compliments Corvinfor creating the illustrations, and Corvin can only bear to nod. Finally, the Duc opens the cover, begins to turn the pages, admiring the illustrations. From around the ballroom, Hui-ju, the Marquis, and the other members of the Peach Garden Congress are watching intently.
Then, the Duc touches one of the illustrations.
Corvin gulps, and Hui-ju relishes a tight smile, certain she is about to see the Duc die. But then- he doesn't. The Duc continues to look through the book, touching more of the illustrations and complimenting Corvin on the artistry. Corvin struggles to conceal his shock, while the expression on Hui-ju's face changes from shock to anger to hard resolve. And then, the moment passes. The Duc finishes looking at the book and places it back in the presentation box before handing it to a servant. Corvin leaves the dais, trying to process what has just happened. Behind him, the Duc, eager to rejoin the festivities, walks down to speak with a cluster of advisers. As he is talking with those advisers, his group walks past Hui-ju. She leaps toward the Duc with her dagger in hand, seeking to kill him herself. She buries her dagger in the Duc's chest, pulling it out and stabbing him in the throat as he falls. As guards stationed around the perimeter of the room run toward the scene, she drops her dagger and surrenders. Guests begin to crowd around the Duc's body as Hui-ju is led away by a dozen guards. She looks Corvin in the eye and smiles, as Corvin can only gasp.

Following the ball, it is heard that Hui-ju has committed suicide in her cell before her inevitable trial and execution. The closing scenes of the movie see Corvin, Beno?t, and a group of previously un-introduced members of the Peach Garden Congress, including the Marquis, sitting around an table somewhere within the Court, raising a glass to Hui-ju's memory. The credits roll.

Notes:
(1): R?n, meaning 'people', is a term sometimes used to describe people of native Laeralian descent.
(2): During the colonial period, and in fact until fairly recently, many people were forced to take 'Christian' names in order to succeed and in order to avoid discrimination. However, in the 1980s and 90s, the R?n Pride movement championed the use of traditional names rather than European-style names.
(3): Many organizations in Laeralian culture, strangely enough, choose names based on an object (such as a type of flower) or article of clothing. This includes groups such as the Society of the Red Rose, the White Scarves, and the Order of the White Glove. The Peach Garden Congress was an informal association of colonial nobles opposed to the goals of Duc Jean-Baptiste. Many of its members were involved for purely ideological reasons, and did not intend to resort to force in order to achieve their goals.
(4): The 'Quatri?me Bureau' (Fourth Bureau) was a shadowy intelligence organization during the colonial period with a fearsome reputation, with the stated goal of preventing those who were plotting against the Crown.
(5): La Princesse de Cl?ves was a 1678 French novel written by the Comtesse de La Fayette (a relation of the well-known Marquis de La Fayette). It was a historical intrigue/romance novel that took place at the court of King Henri II, and was based on true events. It was also the favorite book of Duc Jean-Baptiste I of Laeral.

Characters:
Corvin: Hsu Chen-huan, a relatively young actor formerly involved in theater. This was his first major production.
Li Hui-ju: Aurelie Liao, an actress seen previously in movies and television.
Marquis de Corday: Olivier Beauvais, an actor who has had a long career in film.
Beno?t Maugnier: Laurent Rouillard
Duc Jean-Baptiste I: Paul Bonnell, an actor notoriously cast in villainous roles.

Production and Filming: Some scenes of Brushstrokes were filmed on location at the actual Autumn and Winter Courts, mostly exterior scenes. The Courts were restored in the 1990s, and are major tourist attractions today. The garden scenes are all on location. Many of the inside scenes at the court, including the final ball scene, were filmed on a soundstage. The movie was praised for its' attention to detail and historical accuracy, with many props being based on actual objects and a team of historians were hired in order to assure historical accuracy. The costumes were generally praised as well. The film caused some minor controversy for portraying Corvin being in a homosexual relationship with Beno?t, which is an interpretation the majority of historians agree upon today. Corvin never married, and recently discovered letters between him and Beno?t point to them having been in a relationship. Regardless, a small number of Laeralites threatened to boycott the movie, although the film did not in fact focus very much on Corvin's romantic life, preferring instead to focus on his life and art.

Language: Brushstrokes is in French, although English subtitles are provided for the showing.
Brushstrokes was rated 15+for distribution in Laeral.

Aurelie Liao
Category:Best Actor in an IDU Film
Birthdate: April 9th, 1983 in Jinhua province.
Occupation: Actress

Aurelie Liao is the second child of a middle-class family in Jinhua. She received above-average, although not spectacular, grades at school and was accepted to the University of Nanhai, where she majored in Acting and minored in Linguistics, receiving a Master's degree in the former. She took up modeling for several years after college, being unable to find a job. Her frst on-screen appearance was in 30-second advertisement for Chatime, a popular teahouse chain. Her notable film and TV roles are outlined below:

Champion of Chance
Aurelie Liao's breakout role was in Champion of Chance, a 2007 action/comedy movie about Devlin Chen, an Laeralite who travels the globe as an international high-stakes gambler with near-supernatural powers involving gambling. In this movie, Liao played Chen's girlfriend Yi-ling, the former mistress of villainous gang leader Hsu 'Tiger' Tsung-han. The movie was wildly successful due to its' blend of action and comedy, and became popular, despite being badly received by critics.

Liao also appeared in Champion of Chance's Return, which featured Devlin Chen being challenged to a high-stakes gambling match for 250 million Marks by an evil Separatist mob boss. This role, although relatively minor, did serve to increase her profile within Laeral.

In 2010, a television show was produced based on the popular movie series, entitled Champion of Chance, where Liao made frequent appearances throughout all four seasons.

In 2012, likely seeking to make audiences think of her in a role besides that of 'Devlin Chen's girlfriend', Aurelie Liao joined a relatively highbrow film, Madame Gao. This film was a biopic about noted fashion designer and radical feminist V?ronique Gao, with Aurelie Liao in the title role. As her first 'serious' role, she managed to convey both the passion and irritability that made Gao such a polarizing figure in her lifetime.

The 2015 science-fiction TV show Travellers featured Liao as well. The show centered upon a feudal future in which humanity has spread to all corners of the galaxy with the help of faster-than-light travel. A vast confederation rules the galaxy, yet upon the fringes of its control, four ragtag merchant/mercenaries must defeat an entrenched conspiracy. Aurelie Liao portrayed Lady Dame Vanai Cord?, an elegant and refined, yet somewhat stuffy, member of the minor aristocracy. As the show continues, Cord? struggles with her own personal biases, and must learn to coexist with her less law-abiding colleagues and allies. The show, while mainly noted for its spectacular visuals, was also known for having surprisingly good acting for a science-fiction show. While Cord? was not widely seen as an especially sympathetic character, many viewers empathized with the difficulties she faced in overcoming the worst facets of her personality.

2016's Brushstrokes marks another of Liao's influential movies. A high-budget historical drama, Liao starred as female lead Li Hui-ju, a servant and revolutionary. The character is noted for being sullen, prickly, and difficult to deal with, but also a women fiercely devoted to her ideals. Liao played her part well, portraying the many aspects of the role in various scenes, including her sullen early parts, the reveal of her identity as a passionate revolutionary in the 'second act' and her shockingly brutal final scene. This performance also quieted many of her critics, who had dismissed her as just a 'pretty face' with little acting talent.

Noted film critic Lionel Sermier, known for harsh judgments of most modern films in his column for Le Monde Laeralien, described her performance as "a major departure from Liao's previous roles, scintillating in her demeanor". He went on to describe her as "an icon of grace yet not serenity". Many reviewers noted that Liao, who had often previously played roles involving a great level of elegance and grace, was now in her first character who was conflicted and struggling to suppress her own demons without at least maintaining a facade of inner peace and poise, as she did in her role as Vanai Cord?. This new role, a departure from the norm for Liao, will likely lead to her being given more morally ambiguous roles in the future.


Aurelie Liao
Liao at the 2015 Laeralsford Film Festival

[Verwood]

Damnation Creek

Synopsis

Waking in the small town of Damnation Creek in the old west Storrow Skilbeck, a notorious gun slinger, helps defend the citizens who are being terrorised by the Carlson gang.

Developing an infatuation for Martha Cartwright whose husband is away on business Skilbeck works hard to keep the town safe and eventually leads a group of reluctant deputies to take the fight to the Carlsons.

In an unexpected twist, Johnson, the town's ageing Sheriff reveals the truth to Skilbeck's time in Damnation Creek.

Due to occasional moderate violence and infrequent strong language Damnation Creek has been classified as a '15' film in the Archipelago and we advise the film should receive an equivalent rating in other nations in which it is shown.

Background info

The production by Suburban Cohort studios does every credit to the classic novel by Listin El Diablo Damnation Creek upon which it is based.

Filmed on location in the deserts of the south west Damnation Creek is a brilliant production by Suburban Cohort studio sees Skilbeck navigate a moral maze in which he searches for ultimate truth whilst battling to keep the small town citizens safe.

Cast

Bruce Tyler: Storrow Skilbeck
Claudia Gray: Martha Cartwright
James Rowe: Sheriff Johnson
Jack Wilson: Charles Carlson

Synopsis

All his life Storrow Skilbeck had been a gunslinger in the Old West - a good man who had spent his life doing bad things for the right reasons.

Knocked into the Cactus River during a gun battle Skilbeck is swept away and wakes in a guest house run by Martha Cartwright in the small town of Damnation Creek.

His intention to return home is diverted when the Carlson gang ride in and shoot up the town when the citizens of Damnation Creek refuse to pay extortion money demanded by the thugs.

Using the Silver Dollar saloon as his base Skilbeck teams up with Sheriff Johnson, a retired war veteran, and helps organise a group of reluctant deputies tasked with bringing the Carlson gang to justice. He also finds himself developing an attraction for Cartwright whose husband is away working on the railroad.

The story follows Skilbeck as he defends the town against the Carlsons whilst battling with his conscience over his feelings for Cartwright who is increasingly happy to indulge him.

A second attack on the town results in several buildings burned down and the gang's leader, Charles Carlson taking personal payment from Cartwright.

The story culminates in a shoot out with the Carlsons at Whitewater Falls in which McClean has to decide whether or not to spare the life of the gang's leader who he finds at his mercy.

Back at the Silver Dollar Johnson reveals that Damnation Creek is in actual fact Skilbeck's perception of purgatory where he was faced with a number of ethical dilemmas each of which had a number of solutions - the tally taken Johnson hands Skilbeck a ticket for the Rockport stage coach which, ready to depart, will take him onto his final destination.

The movie ends with Skilbeck boarding the stage, his final destination still a mystery, moments before the end credits roll.

[Libertas Omnium Maximus]

Featured Actress : Melisa McDade for her role as Anne Frank in ?Camp? a warime drama about Anne Frank?s journey, and other Jews experiences during World War 2.

Melisa McDade
Age: 15
Height: 5? 4?
Nominated for Best Featured Actor for The IDU Film Festival

Memo: Though young, McDade is able to pull of a spectacular performance in ?Camp?. She is now widely regarded as the best child actor of LOM. She is said to be responsible entirely for the movies 96% score on rotten tomatoes. She currently lives in the Ltudenim District.



Classic Film: Tops and Tips
A musical (1965) about a waitress (Joan Dowling) at a diner in a small town, and her struggles to break into show business. Featuring Award Winning Actors: Scott Lang, Elizabeth Stein, Joan Dowling, and John Macroy. The movie is a beloved house hold classic that has inspired generations of aspiring singers.

[Legionas]

Film:Stalingrad
Category:Best new IDU film

Plot[edit]
In August 1942, German soldiers enjoy leave in Cervo, Liguria, Italy after fighting in North Africa. An assembly is then held and several of the men are awarded medals, including Unteroffizier Manfred "Rollo" Rohleder (Jochen Nickel) and Obergefreiter Fritz Reiser (Dominique Horwitz), who are both introduced to Leutnant Hans von Witzland (Thomas Kretschmann), their new platoon commander. The unit is promptly sent to the Eastern Front to participate in the Battle of Stalingrad.

Witzland's platoon joins a company commanded by Hauptmann Hermann Musk (Karel Heřm?nek). Musk leads an assault on a factory, which results in heavy casualties and the survivors being surrounded in a decrepit building. After a botched ceasefire to rescue some wounded outside, they capture Kolya, a young Russian boy. The Russians attack again the next day, and Kolya escapes in the confusion. With the radio not working, von Witzland, Reiser, Rollo, Emigholtz (Heinz Emigholz), "GeGe" M?ller (Sebastian Rudolph) and W?lk (Zdenek Vencl) enter the sewers to go for help. Witzland gets separated from the others and captures a Russian soldier named Irina (Dana V?vrov?), who offers to lead him to safety, but instead she pushes him into the water and escapes. His men rescue him, and Emigholtz is found severely wounded by an explosive trap; they take him to a crowded aid station, where Reiser forces an orderly at gunpoint to work on him. Emigholtz dies anyway, and they are arrested by Hauptmann Haller (Dieter Okras), who has already clashed with von Witzland. They end up in a penal battalion disarming land mines.

Four weeks later, a brutal winter has set in and the Soviets have surrounded the German Sixth Army. Hauptmann Musk thus reassigns the penal battalion ? which includes disgraced fellow officer Otto (Sylvester Groth) ? to combat duty. Witzland's platoon defends a position from a Russian tank column, and emerge victorious after a bloody battle (during which W?lk is killed). Hauptman Haller later orders von Witzland and his men to execute some unarmed civilians, including Kolya, whom Witzland tries to save but to no avail.

Witzland, GeGe, and Reiser decide to desert and head towards Pitomnik Airfield in hopes of catching a plane back to Germany, stealing medical tags from some dead bodies along the way to feign being wounded. By the time they arrive, the last transport leaves without them as the base is shelled by Russian artillery. They rejoin the others in the shelter, where they find Musk suffering from severe trench foot. A German aircraft suddenly drops a container full of supplies, and the men rush out to devour its contents. Haller appears and holds them at gunpoint, but is quickly subdued; he accidentally shoots GeGe as he falls, killing him. Haller then pleads for his life, telling them about the supplies he is hoarding in a nearby house before being executed by Otto.

In the house's cellar they find shelves stocked full of food and liquor, and Irina tied to a bed. Von Witzland cuts Irina free and befriends her; she reveals she was a German collaborator, and both share in their despair and disillusionment. As the rest of the men gorge themselves, a deluded and dying Musk tries to rally them to rejoin the fighting. Otto becomes hysterical and commits suicide. Rollo, the only one to obey the order, is last seen carrying Musk's corpse outside, only to find the Sixth Army surrendering to the Russians.

Irina offers to help Witzland and Reiser avoid capture, but while trudging through the snow they are shot at by the Soviets; Irina is killed and Witzland is mortally wounded. The Germans get away, but Witzland eventually becomes too weak and dies in Reiser's arms. Reiser cradles his body, reflecting on his time spent in North Africa before freezing to death.

Cast[edit]
Dominique Horwitz as Obergefreiter Fritz Reiser
Thomas Kretschmann as Leutnant Hans von Witzland
Jochen Nickel as Unteroffizier Manfred "Rollo" Rohleder
Sebastian Rudolph as GeGe M?ller (nicknamed GeGe to distinguish him from other M?llers)
Dana V?vrov? as Irina
Martin Benrath as General Hentz
Sylvester Groth as Otto
Karel Heřm?nek as Hauptmann Hermann Musk
Heinz Emigholz as Edgar Emigholz
Ferdinand Schuster as Double Edgar
Oliver Broumis as HGM (M?ller)
Dieter Okras as Hauptmann Haller
Zdenek Vencl as W?lk
Mark Kuhn as Unteroffizier Pfl?ger
Thorsten Bolloff as Feldmann
Alexander Wachholz as Pfarrer Renner
J. Alfred Mehnert as Lupo
Ulrike Arnold as Viola
Christian Knoepfle as Dieter
Flip Cap as Ludwig
Jaroslav Tomsa as Opa Erwin (Grandpa Erwin)
Pavel Mang as Kolja
Otto Sevc?k as Major Kock (as Oto Sevcik)
Jophi Ries as Schr?der

[Lauchenoiria]

Name: The Economics of Love (2017)

Category: Best New IDU Film

Background Info: The Economics of Love focuses on the unlikely love story between a member of parliament and a revolutionary during the Lauchenoirian communist revolution of 1952. Following the recent referendum which resulted in a transition back to capitalism, interest in the beginning of the communist era has increased dramatically. While the tale of this secret romance is widely known, historians have recently cast doubt upon it?s credibility.

Synopsis: The opening credits feature a rally by the leader of the Communist Party, Mateo Villanueva (Gomez), four months before the overthrow of the Lauchenoirian government. After Villanueva?s speech ends, the camera follows a young man, Rowan Duncan (Jamieson), holding a communist flag as he walks across the street and enters the Communist Party headquarters. He is informed that he needs to accompany Villanueva to a meeting at parliament.

They travel to the parliament and attend a meeting where the Lauchenoirian government offers concessions to the communists in a closed door meeting, but Villanueva refuses and storms out. In the corridor outside the meeting, Duncan drops a pile of paperwork which is picked up by an MP from the majority Liberal Party, Josephine Gardiner (Peters). They introduce themselves and then, as a government minister approaches suddenly part ways. Gardiner later draws a note from her pocket inviting her to meet in secret.

They meet a few days later and begin by discussing the political issues in a cafe just outside the city limits of Buttercity. Their relationship quickly progresses and they kiss as they leave. Over the next few months they continue to meet in secret every week. During a parliamentary recess, the two sneak away together and spend time on a small island halfway between the mainland and the island of Aeluria.

Meanwhile, the Communists are gaining support, and the Lauchenoirian government is clamping down on free speech in an effort to try and decrease the attention they are getting. Gardiner speaks in parliament against the new draconian measures and is expelled from her party. Meanwhile Duncan is involved in communist meetings where greater and greater numbers of people are calling for violent action to be taken against the government.

The communists hold a rally outside parliament, where Villanueva calls for their supporters to rise up and storm the parliament building. Duncan panics and tries to get inside the building to find Gardiner but he cannot get through the crowd. Bullets are fired by both sides and eventually the doors of the parliament are broken and the communists storm the building. Duncan searches through room by room, and eventually finds Gardiner, who has been shot and is dying on the floor. He holds her but she tells him to leave, angry at the violent overthrow of the government she believes Duncan was involved in.


Cast:
Lucas Jamieson - Rowan Duncan
June Peters - Josephine Gardiner
Esteban Gomez - Mateo Villanueva
Lawrence Reid - Prime Minister Thomas Horsburgh
Lucia Anderson - Sophie Ross, a communist who is the main voice calling for violent revolution


Production and Filming: Filming took place in late 2016 before the release in April 2017. Most was filmed in a studio, however there were some on-location filming outside of the parliament and on Butterfly Island where many of the romantic scenes were shot. Production began after the referendum on the economic system due to take place in August 2017 was announced, however as they could not know the result, the film is careful to maintain some kind of balance in the communism vs capitalism debate. Nevertheless, many pro-communist activists criticised the film for appearing too pro-capitalism in the referendum year. Historians have praised the film for being relatively accurate in it?s depiction of the rallies and timescale of the revolution, though have cast doubt upon the relationship. It is known that Gardiner and Duncan were in contact, however many historians interpret this as a purely political relationship and dispute claims it was also romantic in nature. It is known she was thrown out the Liberal Party for being too sympathetic to communists, however the romance is seen by many historians as pure speculation.

Language: English, although Spanish subtitles are provided.

[Nordic Republic of Skoden]

Classics of the IDU
Film: Snowfall
Nation: Skoden
Directed by acclaimed director Karl Johanesberg and featuring an all-star cast including Oskar winner Michael Johansson, famous for his role in films such as Full Metal Coat and Saving Corporal Bryan, as well as the famed Russian actor Vladimir Crutin, Snowfall was a 2011 box-office hit, critically acclaimed on the international level for it?s humanisation of both Skoden and the Russian Mafia Government. This was a cultural milestone, as the Skodenian populace often holds very negative opinions of the RMG, to the point of near-racism, due to the rash of terrorist attacks from the country. The film is originally filmed in Swedish, but Russian and English options are available. Snowfall?s setting is the front-line of a hypothetical war between the Russian Mafia Government and Skoden, which have been at high hostilities in the real world, hence the inspiration for the film. Filmed in the snowy taiga of Northern Skoden, Snowfall follows the tales of two characters. One character, Frank Orsson, is a soldier of the Skodenian Armed Forces. He is a fresh enlist with no experience of war, forced into the conflict through Skodenian compulsory enlistment. The second character, Nikolai Tchernenko, is a Junior Sergeant in the RMG Armed Forces. Both characters have each suffered through enough turmoils of war that each decide to desert their respective armies at roughly the same time, with their minds in effectively the same place. As both are fleeing, they encounter one another. Each mistakes the other for a member of the opposing army. Tchernenko is the first to his pistol, and shoots Orsson in the chest three times. Upon reaching the wounded Skodenian, it becomes revealed that both are deserters, and could easily have worked together had circumstances been different. Medical supplies were unavailable, and Orsson is cared for with very makeshift medical supplies fashioned from sticks, torn fatigues, and snow. Orsson tells Tchernenko the events leading up to his escape, flashing back to a week prior. It highlights the atrocities he had seen- prisoner executions, people he knew dying in battle-, and the horrible actions he was forced to conduct- slaughtering russians on their knees, begging for mercy. The sequence, totalling around 45 minutes, concludes with Orsson deserting his post, sprinting through the snow into the seemingly infinite Taiga. The scene cuts back to the present. Orsson?s condition has only gotten worse. The snow is stained red with Orsson?s blood. Tchernenko looks at Orsson, feeling empathy for him. He tells Orsson his tale. Rather than from the viewpoint of an enlisted soldier, Tchernenko?s story is from the viewpoint of a Non-Commissioned Officer. He must watch as his subordinates, those he was sworn to protect, were killed in battle. He had to give orders he felt shouldn't have been given that often resulted in death. He felt responsible for every soldier killed under his command. By Russian law, he is required to stay in service until his tour is over, with the only exception being death. After deducting that there was no legal way to go home, he deserts his camp. The scene once again cuts to the present day. Orsson has died, succumbed to his wounds. a Skodenian patrol comes upon the body of Orsson, and Tchernenko, in Russian uniform, sitting in front of a tree nearby. The patrol understandably believes Tchernenko killed Orsson. Tchernenko?s eyes meet those of the man in front of the patrol. The Skodesman's eyes are swimming with rage. Tchernenko?s are full of acceptance, welcoming death. He has nothing more to lose. The scene goes into slow-motion. The skodenian frontman flicks the safety of his rifle. Tchernenko smiles. The frontman?s finger moves to the trigger. Tchernenko?s eyes close shut. The scene fades to black? roll credits.

[Gnejs]

Title:
Seaside

Category:
Best New IDU Film

Synopsis:
Bj?rnar Tegn?r, a retired local councilor and former Mayor of the southern municipality of S?rfold, is setting out on a long train ride from Esaias to Port Kejm. He is to receive a commendation for 50 years of service in a public office. His son-in-law Audun accompanies him. The elderly Bj?rnar is dependent on Audun assisting him, although there is little love between the two men.

During the trip, Bj?rnar is plagued by both nightmares and daydreams, mirroring situations from his own life. The pair are seated in the same cabin as a disaffected and estranged married couple, who are travelling to attend their daughter's graduation from the University of Port Kejm. The couple, who exchanges even the most trivial of remarks with utter bitterness and contempt, reminds both Bj?rnar and Audun of their own unhappy marriages. In a feverish dream, his ex-wife accuses him of not wanting to have the baby she is carrying. Upon waking up, Bj?rnar finds Audun missing. He receives a phone call from his daughter, Ann, who tells him that Audun is leaving her, due to him finding out that she is pregnant.

Bj?rnar roams the train alone. He is struck by sadness and aloofness as he recognizes how his own life is mirrored by that of his child. While reminiscing about his childhood by the sea and getting lost in the notoriously thick fog of southern Gnejs, he gradually begins to accept the consequences of his past actions. Dozing off in the train bistro, he dreams of the Iapetus Sea.

Bj?rnar arrives at his destination and is given his award in a ceremony at the Storting (Parliament of Gnejs). That night, he phones his ex-wife to discuss how they should handle Ann's divorce and how they can support her during and after her pregnancy. She prosaically informs him that they have no daughter and requests that he stop contacting her. Bj?rnar looks around the room, which is seemingly being filled with thick fog. His eyes lands on the commemorative plaque, which reads "For assiduity and righteousness in service of the Union, honour is bestowed upon this Hero of The People, Bj?rnar Audun Tegn?r."

[Nordic Republic of Skoden]

[Mis-post, post deleted]

[Russian Mafia Government]

Title:
The Golden Mirror
Category:
Best New IDU Film
Synopsis:


SOUNDTRACK: You can listen to a segment via this URL:The Golden Mirror Sound Clip 1 HQ
The second one, which is the last minute of a bathroom death, can be found here: The Golden Mirror Sound Track 2 HQ
The third and final clip depicts a hidden scene where the uncle frees the girl, in exchange for his life. Final Sound Clip-3- Get Out [HD]
The soundtrack is performed by the ever famous Shoebill Orchestra, conducted by the Minister Of Congressional Affairs himself.

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Title:
Come Home; based on a true story
Category:
Best IDU Classic Film

Based partially on true events, Come Home is a dramatization focusing on the story of a couple illegally adopting, featuring family, action, and romance. This film was based off of true events.

Synopsis:

The film starts out in a bedroom. The bedroom contains a bed in the middle of the room, a laptop on the bed, and a girl who is in her mid-30s, whose name is Catherine, sitting on the bed. She is looking at a website. The website is one of the many love-finding sites provided online by one of the largest companies in RMG, Ezco Corp. She browses through the matches made on her profile and notices something different. She sees a man, whose profile had a "perfect"- tag match for Catherine. His name is Jones, and he was in his early 40?s. Catherine clicked on the ?Set Up A Date" button. He was a tall man, dark black hair, a solid muscle build, and had deep blue eyes. Catherine sent the request to him, and almost immediately he accepted. Their date, set in one of RMG?s most beautiful river, full of color from the amount of fish, was scheduled for that night. The two laugh as they ate, drank, and asked each other awkward questions. As they get to know each other, the sky turns to a beautiful sunset, and a cut to a silhouette of them dancing in the river, laughing, with a beautiful shot of the river and mountains behind them fills the entire screen with color. The wind was noticeable, and it created a gorgeous romantic scene with a beautiful modern piano melody in the background. The two go on four more dates, and they become more connected, more in love, and it climaxes when on the 12th date, and fall shifted to winter, Jones, asked Catherine out on a date. He takes them to the original hotel from the first date, and they sat at the same table at the same restaurant. The same music that brought viewers to tears on their first date played as the camera pans from a beautiful barren, snow-covered mountain range, past the frozen lake, onto the balcony where Catherine and Jones were sitting. Jones' gets down on his knees, and says the ever infamous line ?do you want to marry me?? and it ends with the camera going up as she says "yes," and they kiss. They then start to begin to talk about life together, and the scene closes with amazing, emotionally romantic music, and a fade to black.


The fade is interrupted by the sound of an alarm, and it is the next morning. You see a significant amount of dust in the windowsill to the right as the sun shines through. Catherine, slowly but surely, gets up and as she begins her morning activities, gets a call. It?s Jones? phone number, and a lady whose voice Catherine does not recognize is speaking. The lady says slowly with a shaking voice that the owner of the phone she is using just got in a car accident and is being transported to Snow Mountain Hospital. Jones wanted her to call this number and inform the person what happened. Catherine grabs her keys, and speeds through the roads, as the music keeps a steady beat with tension building, traffic and red lights make her frustrated that she can?t get to the hospital sooner. The tension is building through the music and ends with a cut as Catherine pulls into the parking lot of the hospital. She goes to the front counter and asks to see Jones and confronts a doctor. The doctor directed Catherine to Jones' room and informed Catherine, with a relief of tension from the music, that Jones will live, and she begins to cry of joy. Catherine enters slowly into the room where Jones lies, unconscious. A time-lapse shows Jones, going from surgery to surgery, while Catherine waits and sits there all throughout the nights, some crying, some too tired to cry anymore, and the scene fades to black. The cut shows a bright light, and Catherine, awoken by a bright light, wasn?t sure what the bright light was at first but quickly realized it was the sun. The room, had a hospital bed with Jones in it, a painting on their left of a bright red flower in a vase that was keeping Catherine's attention until a grunt snapped her attention over to Jones who was trying to sit up, coughing. She immediately hugged Jones, carefully, and the shot pans out the window as the two embrace. The scene cuts to a doctor's office, where Catherine, asks the damage done by the accident, and what Jones can and cannot do. The doctor slowly said that he could not have children due to the severity of the injury, but otherwise he is okay. She then goes back and tells Jones that he cannot bear children as he is becoming more aware, and his face does nothing but smile. The scene ends with them embracing as the sunset happens through the window of their room.


The cut leads the viewers back to Catherine?s house, where they both sit. They are both sitting with a lawyer and are wondering about places where they can adopt. They look at a couple of areas, including Skoden, The Provinces of Laurel, and The Free Stuff. All the options are possible, and discussing where they want to travel to adopt, but often found themselves at a dead end. You see Catherine reach for a newspaper, and on the second page is a picture of a child, from Bigtopia, that is up for adoption, but recently the government shut off adoption access to everyone except Bigtopian citizens. She handed the newspaper on the table and wondered about taking the idea to court as if that would do something. The lawyer immediately turns it down, saying it would be stupid to adopt from a place where it is impossible. It shows them looking online for what they can do, and they find nothing. Jones then insists that they look at something a little bit more possible. The scene ends with Catherine sitting in her room in the dark, Jones fast asleep, as she lays down, and falls asleep herself. Catherine wakes up the next morning and talks to her lawyer about what they can do legally, and he says nothing. Catherine, flustered, looks online again. A montage of her searching anything Jones and her can do ends when nothing turns up. When her husband has finally been fully healed, he wants to help Catherine, but he has focused the lawyer on getting them an actual adoptable child. The two are shown arguing as time goes on, which eventually ends up with a huge argument, which draws the two together and the last words are Jones whispering ?we?re going to get a child from Bitopia.?


While adopting was illegal, visiting, was not. Catherine and Jones scheduled a flight, and Jones finally convinced the lawyer to help them in getting a child. They planned a direct flight to Bigtopia, that was expected to arrive early next morning by plane. They go to the airport, get on a plane, and the sequence ends when the camera cuts to them landing in Bigotopa. Once they landed in Bigtopia, Jones and Catherine realize what an actual dump it is. The camera pans from an expensive, modern looking airport, to a dump of land in front of them with some of the buildings still having smoke radiating off of them. Soldiers were passing either side of Jones and Catherine, leading them to a coach bus. They got on and realized how impossible it would be to go anywhere without permission. The camera follows the bus through what seems like a war zone. However, the landscape quickly changes from destroyed land to an incredibly modern city. There were people everywhere, but all of them appeared to have dressed the same. People were going to different places and had the same expression and the same posture. Once they got off the bus and walked to the middle of an entrance to a large courtyard, there was a significantly tall and wide pole with Bigtopia?s flag on it. It put Catherine and Jones in awe. The camera then cuts to show the bus going through alleyways that seemed busy with city life. People with briefcases were everywhere, and at one point they saw kids, who seemed to be kindergarteners, who were lining up to go on a bus when one of the kids met, eye to eye, with Catherine. The kid waves and she began to wave back, but she gets interrupted by a teacher hurriedly leading the kid to a bus. They get to their extremely modern hotel and can't help but notice, excluding Jones and her, the twelve other tourists on the bus were the only guests in the hotel. Tons of staff seemed to be busy. Some of them had trays, others had towels and bedsheets, but all of them seemed to be doing it in a pattern where no tourist could tell where one of any of the staff were they headed. A representative for Bigtopia stepped out and interrupted all of their awe to the architecture and busyness of the place, and showed every one of them to their room. He told them they had the next week packed full of different, fun, activities which Jones did not like, but eventually agreed to because he realized there was no way to escape their schedule.


The start of the week was fun for Catherine and Jones. They ventured to a theme park and did all sorts of crazy rides, that seemed like they were bustling with people. There were all types of trips, and they began to enjoy and get comfortable in Bogtopia. The whole time though, they never realized that the only rides that started were the ones that they got on. They later went on to a museum that held the history of the Bigtopian settlers. It was an interactive adventure, but the more the past revealed itself, the darker the undertone became apparent. It seems that the historical Bigtopian citizens and government were trying to accomplish something extremely dark, but neither Catherine or Jones could figure out what their goal was. Then they went to a piece that shattered Catherine. It was an old newspaper article, barely visible, but the headline, apparently written; read ?Orphanage Fire, 122 dead, accident or on purpose?? The small text was only in fragments. It was putting the accusation on the government for burning down the orphanage. It showed government officials right outside the orphanage with flamethrowers, and it continued with a photo of paramedics removing the remains of a half-burnt child, one whose life, the article emphasized, is currently lost, because of the government. The rest of the night happened in a blur for Catherine. They had a nice dinner in a gorgeous underwater glass restaurant, but she couldn?t forget what she saw at the museum. The image of the half-burnt child running through her mind on repeat. The next morning, the staff delivered the national newspaper to each of their rooms. It was all happy news, about social equality, and contained articles that described their beautiful country, and how it was run by their great leader, and it made Catherine and Jones realize just how messed and skewed up Bigtopia is. They weren't even trying to hide the propaganda. She flipped through the newspaper, story after story of overly used propaganda, until the very last page. It was about a bus that had been turned over and left everyone dead. The coach happened to be full of kindergarten-aged kids and was in transit to an orphanage. The shocking part was the girl who was seen in the photo to memorate the kids who died, was the same child Catherine had waved to yesterday afternoon.


The next week seemed to become darker and darker for Catherine, while Jones was having fun, she never felt so alone. She then, on the third to last night, planned with Jones that they would sneak out, and get a smuggler to get them to the most massive orphanage in Bigtopia, steal a kid, and run away from the country. They designed it with a black market specialist who also knew how to smuggle people across borders and other places they found online. He agreed that he would hide them and get them and the child out of the country safely. They enjoyed their last day, which was nothing special. They went to the same amusement park, a different museum, and ate at the same underwater hotel, with the same 12 guests. Today, because it was their last day, they made sure their plot was in place. Both Catherine and Jones bought solid black cloths, cut out masks and taped orange tape over their wrists to let the smuggler know it was them. Unfortunately, they were unaware that the Government knew about this plan, and had set up an ambush in the orphanage for Jones and Catherine. The project would be to have them led into the room with the children, and as they grabbed a child, they would shoot the child. Each child Jones and Catherine tried to take; the army was ordered to shoot. They would blame the deaths of the children of Catherine and Jones and have them killed.


Catherine and Jones couldn't help but feel like 11:00 in the night was coming quickly. They were to await a message on the computer, stating that the hotel?s alarm has been disabled, and security had left. They both sat eagerly waiting for their equipment, and the computer changes to one of the Bigtopian General?s computer. He was awaiting the message to have his men set up in the orphanage. At 11:00 both the general and Catherine and Jones get their Email. The next sequence was that of the General of Bigtopia leading his ambushers into the orphanage, and at the same time of Jones and Catherine leaving their room, and rushing to the orphanage. A black van was seen pulling into a lot of the hotel, and at the same time, a line of military vehicles was pulling into the orphanage. As Jones and Catherine left the hotel, the military personnel entered the orphanage and began to set up. As Jones and Catherine snuck by the receptionist, the military started to creep by the kids sleeping in their beds and set up. Catherine and Jones both quickly got their bags into the vehicle, and at the same time, the last of the troops were seen unloading their cars. The music was calm, but building up. The van immediately pulled out of the hotel, and as soon as Catherine slammed her door shut, the last of the military pulled the last van door shut. The final team was just about set up in the orphanage. As the van that Catherine and Jones were in, pulled out the camera showed from above a vast modern city with no one but them on the street. Big electric billboards flew by them, and Catherine was watching, and as Catherine was watching, it switched to the General watching the same type of advertisements in his vehicle, which was leaving for the orphanage as well. A view of the top of the whole orphanage is now shown to the viewer. As the last of the military vehicles pulled away from the back, Catherine and Jones's car pulls into the front, and as Catherine and Jones's vehicle pull into the front, the General?s vehicle pulls into the back. Both the general, Jones and Catherine exit the car. As Catherine and Jones enter the front, the General opens the end of the truck and is seen going to the first operating station inside the orphanage, from a door in the back, as there were three of them total.


The orphanage was nothing Catherine and Jones expected. Jones was given a nonlethal towel to knock out one of the kids that they would sneak away with. They immediately upon entering noticed just how big the place was, and how many rooms there were. From their source of information, the best place to go would be the big room with the kids, since the beds were all bunk beds, it would be easy to hide among the rows of kids, and it would be easy not to get noticed by the security cameras. As Catherine and Jones sneak through the orphanage, they see photos along the stairwell wall, all of the kids, which made Catherine smile because all the kids seemed healthy, and all of them smiled. The images were black and white and appeared old. There were toys scattered everywhere, and Catherine and Jones had to try not to step on them. As Catherine drew closer to the stairwell with the pictures, she read one with a description and her smile got swept away, almost falling back in Jones' arms, and he had to hold her from making noise. Those kids were the same kids who perished in the fire from the museum. This orphanage was the same orphanage that burned down all those years ago. She got that out in a whisper to Jones. He convinced her to stay strong, and they went up the stairwell, wholly covered with pictures, of kids. They went upstairs and noticed four hallways. At the end of the fourth hall, Jones saw a blue door, with old red paint outlining the words ?Big Room.? He knew this was the room. He leads Catherine to the door, and with one breath, and silence, they open the door.


They, upon entrance, were now confronted with tons of rows of bunk beds. Each one had a face barely visible, but all of them were noticeable enough to where Catherine knew who they were; Kids. Tons and tons of kids. Each one carried a toy with them; each seemed sound asleep as they crept through the seemingly never-ending hallways of bunk beds. Crouched down, Catherine noticed a girl who had black, curly hair. She looked at Jones, and nodded twice, which meant that that was the child they would get. Jones sneaks up to the girl, and with a swift move, he puts the towel over her mouth. The kid raises an arm, but it falls, limp. Jones takes the girl gently out of bed, and Catherine grabs her toy she was sleeping with and her belongings in a little basket under her bed. They begin creeping to the door and make it about halfway until Catherine notices a green dot in the room on the wall. It was barely visible, and she was confused at first, but then realized what it was; a sniper?s scope. She quietly notified Jones, and he saw it, and he immediately knew what it was, but before he can do anything, the dot was now headed their way. Jones immediately knew someone recognized and is trying to ambush their plans, as they quickly stray down another aisle of bunk beds, and they notice more and more green dots. They were being closed in on by soldiers. Both Catherine and Jones saw more, and more green dots, each one scanning the room. Both in horror did the only thing they knew how to do, and that was to keep moving. This place is now maze that was designed not to be escapable. Then, out of nowhere, a green dot hits Catherine on the shoulder, and she, along with Jones, staring directly at her, freezes.


The green dot grew brighter, as they assumed the soldier was approaching. Jones, grabs a camera and attaches it to his vest, which the smuggler advised them to do if they think trouble would happen. The camera was small, but it was enough for what they needed. As soon as Jones put on the camera and turned it on, they both realized the green dot had moved on. With a silent sigh of relief, Jones and Catherine continued walking through the green dots, and the camera shows a visual of the room from the roof. The room had a total of 70 soldiers and two escapees. Catherine notices from light precisely what the soldiers were doing. Since all the beds were full, they were checking the bunk beds to make sure every kid was in one, and as she glances, she sees a soldier as he is about to land on the empty one containing the girl that Jones has in his arms. With a slight movement, all the dots turn red. At that point, the soldiers knew the suspects were here. The missing girl was spotted missing, and Catherine and Jones knew that if they got located, they would get shot on the spot, and with that in mind, they continued dodging and weaving lasers with little moments of almost being caught. They eventually work their way, to the big blue door, but there was a problem. A big, bright, red laser was now is pointed at the door. Jones and Catherine looked at each other, and knowing this could be the end, hugged, kissed, and took deep breaths. Jones slowly reached for the door handle and turned it silently. With one swift look at each other, Catherine and Jones embraced the love they had for another. All the soldier's lasers were moving, but they would always barely miss Catherine and Jones. After one final kiss, Jones; hand on the doorknob, and a big laser pointed at the door that would break all hell after they opened it, with a swift gesture, opened the door.


The red dot immediately seemed to open fire, and the military started shooting invisible bullets. Both Catherine and Jones could hear the bullets hitting things, but it wasn?t at them. Jones opened his eyes and made eye contact with a kid who was lying awake and then with a sudden quit sound, and a visible thud, closed his eyes, Jones thought that he went back to sleep, but he was wrong, and he realized it as well. The military wasn't shooting him, or Catherine, or the girl; they were killing the other kids. Catherine and Jones stood, doorway open, as one by one, little sounds, a kid at a time, got assassinated. The kid Jones was looking at, eventually fell off of the bunk. Catherine did nothing but cry, and Jones, in fear thought they were caught. Catherine stood up, in tears, somehow, through their bravery, and immediately the shots stopped, and a bright light blinded both Catherine and Jones. The military had caught them. Jones, holding the girl, felt a thump in his hands, looked down, and saw the child they were carrying, was now covered in blood. Catherine and Jones immediately ran, but as they did, one by one, a child was shot. They heard the thumps; kids fell out of their bunk beds from room to room. Jones and Catherine ran down the stairs, not looking back and ran into a smaller place, and grabbed a child, and ran to the front of the orphanage; the problem, though, was that the military had locked the door.


The next moments happened in a blur, Jones broke a window next to the door, and another bright flash blinded both of them. It was a massive camera, taking a picture of both of them, with Jones covered in blood, and Catherine, crying with the child in her hand. Catherine, through her tears, had never felt so selfish, killing all these kids so that she could "adopt" one. A stomp of boots walked over, and a face of one recognizable to Catherine and Jones was seen; it was the General from the newspaper article from yesterday morning. He started to say something but was interrupted. He looked down, saw blood rushing out of his stomach, and collapsed. Behind him; was the smuggler. He yelled for them to get in the car, and Jones and Catherine in tears, out of fear, ran in the car. Immediately military vehicles started following them, and Catherine, through tears, was calming the child down. Jones was helping the smuggler get away from the Military. With the camera following the chase from an above view, through several street blocks, they drove, but the never lost the Military vehicles. The smuggler eventually told Jones to grab his bag, get the giant metal plate out of it, and throw it at the Military vehicle. The metal plate, as he threw it, began to release spikes, and went in between the military cars following in two lines, and blew out each of their tires, and one by one crashed. They got away, and Jones couldn?t help, feeling so fatigued, that he closed his eyes, and with an exhaling breath the scene closed to black, with the intense music throughout the last scenes dying down to a calm, and fade to silence.


Catherine and Jones woke up to a loud sound and a bright light. Jones immediately awoke and took immediate notice of his clothes; they changed. He was wearing jeans and a T-Shirt. They changed Catherine's clothes as well. She was wearing a touristy dress, with yellow flowers with a solid navy blue color background. She awoke shortly after, and when she did, she awoke to herself screaming. Jones ran over, and she began to cry., telling him that it was all their fault, and from another room, a familiar figure entered. It was the smuggler. He was happy to see they were doing well and told them that he had their clothes changed and that they were on a plane back to RMG. Hw informed them that the kid that Catherine took was asleep in a separate bed, with his basket and favorite toy. When asked where he got that, the smuggler said he had some help from friends. He the smuggler revealed his name, and it was Isakov. Isakov explained that they were meant to go into the orphanage, everything that happened last night, was supposed to happen. He later held up the camera Jones had turned on. Isakov told them that they were to release it to the world wide web once they got home. And he also explained one thing; none of the military personnel killed the kids. They were all shot with tranquilizers, which made them fall asleep. The soldiers were only ordered to kill the children Jones and Catherine grabbed, and the sedatives were to make Catherine and Jones feel guilt so they could frame them, and have them killed. The kids falling off their bunks were to just scare them into not leaving so they could catch them. Isakov pointed towards the room with the sleeping boy; the one they got was named Jamie, and he was three years old. He was lucky he survived, but he has a happy, new family Isakov explained. Catherine and Jones sighed a sigh of relief but got pissed he didn't inform them of the whole situation. Catherine later piped up that the soldiers had to make kids fall asleep, to make them seem dead, to find Catherine and Jones, and how ridiculous that sounded. She was sure the military of all things needed nothing but a camera to locate them. Isakov explained it was a last minute decision by the general, and he was thankful he made it. Isakov had planned for this, and in doing so, as soon as Catherine and Jones entered the orphanage he jammed every single camera, night vision goggle, and security camera of the military and orphanage. He explained to them he knew they were coming a long time before they did. Isakov told the lawyer they hired got in touch with him before they were coming. He explained that he made it practically impossible for them to get in touch with anyone else, in fear of someone backstabbing them. They knew about the whole trip, how touched Catherine would be by the article in the museum and knew you wouldn?t leave without her getting an orphan. Catherine and Jones expressed relief, but resentment to what Isakov said. With some arguing and disagreement, Catherine and Jones eventually agreed to upload the footage to the web through an anonymous account. This video would pressure an entire reformation of Bigtopia?s government, and get way bigger and stronger forums of democracy involved. In fact, he would engage no other than the International Democratic Union. Both Jones and Catherine agreed, with reluctance, and anger, but they are glad they are safe.


The plane was expected to land in half an hour, so they grabbed breakfast, while Jones and Catherine ate, Jamie woke up. Catherine sat Jamie on her lap, and they ate breakfast on the plane, and smiles, slowly but surely arose around. Before the plane landed, Isakov gave the camera and a USB cord to Jones. Jones took it and hugged Isakov thanking him for everything, with Catherine shortly following. Isakov also gave them RMG adoption papers, already filled out, which they would just hand them in, and then they would have a son. They all looked out the window and strapped in as they began decently, and looked at huge mountains, and forests, and what was most likely a basket weaving village, but most of all, it was home.
The screen fades to black, with Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings in C Major, Op. 48／I. Pezzo in forma di Sonatina growing;

Roll Credits.


Here is the soundtrack (completely made by me) from the scene of Catherine and Jones dancing in the river, and you can find it here.

Historical Context:
This film is based on the time when parents would steal from orphanages that were blocked in countries. In Bigtopia's case, overpopulation with blocked adoption, it was not uncommon for kids to be smuggled across borders, so they had a chance for adoption. This could have been done commercially or by individuals. This story happened to be the most famous, and a film was made about it. The story did, in fact, cause adoption to be made legal due to the scrutiny the Government of Bigtopia was experiencing.

[Separatist Peoples]

Three films submitted under Best New IDU Film category:

Title: The Stapler

Synopsis: Rob Shneider was an animal. [a shot of him on all fours running through the forest] Then he was a woman. [Rob steps out of a shower and inspects his new breasts. He's shocked] And now Rob Schneider is... [a shot of him sitting on a desk dressed as a stapler, stapling papers together] a stapler. [he's showing being a stapler in front of some cheering frat boys from Gamma Gamma Delta] And he's about to find out... [he's shown trying to catch a bus as a stapler] that being a stapler [he's shown with a woman, still as a stapler. He tries to get close to her, but falls off the sofa] is harder than it looks. Rob Schneider is... The Stapler. [title graphics show up] Rated PG-13.


Title: Rob Schneider is a Carrot

Synopsis:Rob Schneider is a Wall Street executive [Rob walks into the scene with a briefcase, then he's in a hot tub with a beautiful woman] With everything going for him. [now in his office, he gets up and straddles his desk. He then pretends the desk is a horse] Only problem is, he's about to become... [he walks up to a mirror and looks at himself] a carrot!

Rob Schneider: I'm a carrot!

It's 24-carrot comedy. [hops away from a pursuing rabbit]

Rob Schneider: Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh ohh!

Rob Schneider is a Carrot. Rated PG-13.


Title: Da Derp Dee Derp Da Teetley Derpee Derpee Dumb.

Synopsis: [First scene is a disco dance floor. Rob Schneider is dancing around like John Travolta]

Rob Schneider derp de derp. [next scene: he's walking down a city street when a pretty woman passes by. He looks back at her] Derp de derpity derpy derp. [he runs into a light standard. Next scene: he's a lab technician working with nitrogen. He drinks a strange liquid] Until one day, the derpa derpa derpaderp. [Rob is shown dancing like a monkey on the street] Derp de derp. [he's in a house begging like a dog in front of a woman] da teedily dumb.

Rob Schneider: [rises a bit, then starts falling backwards down the stairs] Whoa! [hits the ground floor landing]

From the creators of Der, and Tum Ta Tittaly Tum Ta Too, Rob Schneider is Da Derp Dee Derp Da Teetley Derpee Derpee Dumb. Rated PG-13.

[Comhar]

Best IDU Classic Film - The Silent Heroes

Title
The Silent Heroes

Genre
War Drama

Language
Comharian Creole (internationally released with English subtitles)

National Release
December 2009

International Release
July 2017

Rating
R - For acts of war and violence

Director
Marcus Johnson

Cast
Rebecca Miller: Katy Urgell
Brian Miller: Daniel Lewis
Mrs. Miller: Beverly Thompson
Mr. Miller: John Fuller
Lt. Baker: Kevin O'Connell
Jennifer Jackson: Sarah McNeill
Mrs. Jackson: Roberta York
Donna Granger: Kim Smith
Mrs. Granger: Marciella Wolf
Gen. Krazinski: Nathan Garcia
Adjutant Marshall: Michael Williamson

Synopsis
This movie is based on true events. In pre-independent Comhar a group of rebels stand up against the army of occupation. One incident between an innocent teenage girl and a cruel soldier, sparks the small town of Forestshire to begin an undercover resistance against the monarchy. Dissatisfaction spreads and the country is thrown into a revolutionary fervor of protests and clashes with police. A bloodless coup of the local military guard ensues. This drama intertwines the stories of three families in Forestshire in their quest for independence, freedom, and love.

Production Details
Principal filming was done in the historic center of Forestshire, with urban scenes filmed in Comhar City. Some footage was also captured in the National Museum in Greenvale. The film was shot in standard definition, which was common at the time of production. The sweeping musical score was composed by maestro Antone Hall with performances by the Comhar Symphony Orchestra. Costumes were designed by Della Detoire.

Classic Designation
This film is considered a classic because it represents the first widely released film in Comharian Creole. While under a monarchy until 1990, Comhar citizens were dissuaded from speaking in their native language. The film topics of independence and resistance to the traditional monarchist state were deemed to be political dissent, which was not allowed under the former administration. Even years after independence, these topics were still taboo.

[Ocean Man Productions]

Best Non-IDU Film Submission:

Movie Title: Discovery

Languages Spoken: English with Russian and French translations

Major Characters and Roles:

Doctor Alexander Blakovich- Walter Myers
Derek Langdon- Wesley Merlo
Maria Blakovich- Torri Davis
Johnson Blakovich- Donald Drake
Christopher Blakovich- Jacob Robinson
Andrew Simon- Michael Abbott

Synopsis:

Doctor Alexander Blakovich, or just Alex by his friends and colleagues, is a Nobel-winning biochemist who revolutionized the foundations of biochemistry and teaches at Stanford University. After many year, Alex and his lab assistant, Derek Langdon, have finished the creation of one of the most powerful microscopes in the world, which the named CYCLPS-1, and is capable of seeing past the electrons of an atom. When Alex first tests the CYCLPS-1 with a sample of uranium, the microscope sees past both atom and their electrons until only darkness could be seen. Then, as Alex was about to end the experiment in success, Derek notices several small pinpricks of light the microscope was picking up, and they both moved to investigate. Looking further, both scientists discover the presence of hundreds of galaxies within the sample and are astonished by their discovery. The next day, they carefully introduce other scientists in their department to their discovery and learned that they both discovered a more condensed form of life.

Suddenly, the doors to their lab are thrown open and a dozen men wearing black kevlar and assault rifles attempt to kidnap both men. Derek provides a distraction with the other scientists and allows Alex the chance to escape, where he returns home and finds his wife, Maria, and their three-year old son, Christopher, seated in the living room with a sharp dressed man drinking tea from a porcelain cup. The man introduces himself as Andrew Simon, the CEO of Simon Industries, a bio-company based on developing shady technologies for the right price. Andrew tells Alex that his company had discovered the presence of life within atoms half a decade earlier and were using it to power their most popular power source on the market, the Neur-X Battery. He tries to persuade Alex into joining their Neur-X division and further the technology for the safety of him, his family, and Derek. As he talks, Alex slowly sneaks toward his fireplace and attacks Andrew with an iron poker, knocking him out. Alex and his family quickly get into their family van and drive away as Simon-Industry Agents pursue them. A chase ensues as they drive to the safest place they know; Alex?s distant-brother Johnson, an ex-military nut who lives in a bunker on the outskirts of Stanford, California and could protect them from Simon Industries. After arriving, a gunfight ensues as Johnson?s home-made turrets attack the Agents and causes them to retreat back into the city. Johnson takes Alex and his family inside, and they explain everything, from the CYCLPS-1 discovery to Andrew Simons? threat, and Johnson promises to protect them as long as he can.

Later at night, Johnson and Alex meet at the entrance to the bunker while Maria and Chris slept and discussed what they would do next, knowing that they couldn?t stay in the bunker forever. Both brothers agree that the best course of action would be to return to the Univeristy, steal the research Alex had done on the micro-galaxies, and publish them on the news to discredit Simon Industries. They both take Johnson?s pick-up truck, loaded with heavy weapons, back into Stanford and sneak back into Alex?s lab. When they arrive, the lab had already been broken down and the CYCLPS-1 missing, presumably by Andrew Simons. So, in a last ditch effort to stop Simon Industries, both brothers sneak into their head building in San Diego with Johnson calling his fellow military nuts in the area to create a distraction for the company. Both brothers fight through the docking bay of the building and make their way through the varying levels of the facility until they reached the Neur-X division laboratory with the CYCLPS-1 inside. As Alex tries to move as much data as he could to a flash drive, a shot rings and Johnson falls with a bullet in his shoulder. Both men look to see Derek walk into the lab, aiming a pistol at both men. He blames Alex for abandoning him and tells them that Andrew offered the position of head scientist to the Neur-X project, as long as he stopped Alex from ruining the project. Johnson tries to tackle him, but Derek shoots him again, and Johnson go unconscious from his wounds and presumed dead. Derek pistol-whips Alex and drags him into a tube connected to the CYCLPS-1, telling him that if he loved his discovery so much, he should become a part of it.

Alex sees a flash of white light, and opens his eyes to find himself in a prehistoric world that mirrored earth, within one of the tiny galaxies that he found earlier. He screams in anger, but calms down and watches as the sun of this new galaxy rises in the distance. Now accepting his fate, Alex promises himself to find a way back home so he could get revenge on Derek and Andrew and stop their project for good. As the sun glows brighter, it overlays Alex and then glows less as it transitions to Johnson, limping with his wounds back to the bunker. As he arrives, he finds Maria and Chris still sleeping and smiles to himself. He sits down in a fold-out chair, watching them, and pulls out the flash drive with as much data from Simon Industries as it could hold. He promises to somehow get his brother back, one way or another, and slowly dies within the bunker.
-END-


Production & Background Details:

Director: Jean Leopold Lafayette, appearing for the first time in the IDU Film Festival.

Studio/Producers: Ocean-Man Productions and Moon-Men Studios based in San Diego.

Release Date: Simultaneously along with Film Festival submissions.

Running Time: 128 Minutes.

[Bears Armed]

Best IDU Film, 2017: Bears Armed?s entry

?RBP?

Year of cinematic release: 2017
Parawood Studios
Producer: Jerra SilverBear
Director: Hrikkarth Attendrobe Jr.
Script: Jharge o SouthWoods
Soundtrack: Jarrn Carpenter, arranger/composer
Head of Cinematography: Dru?sirrae Terroy

Synopsis
This is a ?biopic? about Lord Rubert Barrdenn-Pale, the founder of Scouting, focussing mainly on the two-eights of year from the Siege of Marrfehk?Ing(during which he began work on the book ?Scouting for Cubs?, the original inspiration for this movement) until the Scouts had become nationally accepted after the famous first camp on Pudsey Island, but also with several flashbacks to episodes earlier in his life (such as the time when, as a youth, he used his own trained skill in fieldcraft to rescue a young girl named Marra True ? who eventually became his wife ? from a mob of Woozles?.). That story as a whole is framed by a pair of scenes that are set at his funeral &at his ashes? interment on Pudsey Island.

Cast
Rubert Barrdenn-Pale [as adult]:Arri o GreenGables
Rubert Barrdenn-Pale [as youth]:SarrnoMerryheart
Marra True [as adult]: Sweetbriar Silverbear
Marra True [as girl]:Karra-Violet Lightning
Major Jarroth Rangh?harr (RBP?s second-in-command at Marrfehk?Ing, a Harr?aynau humanoid):EmmhrrithWestwalker
Arronh White (original publisher of ?Scouting for Cubs?):Arri ?Not That One? Potter
Urrth?hrra o GoodSword (founder of the ?1st Sun Valley Scouts? troop):KarronaSunBless?d
Urr?hrron o Sunset [formerly a founding member of 1st Sun Valley Troop; here as an adult, as the first successor to RBP as ?Chief Scout?]:JherroRedsmith
[?recruits? at the first camp on Pudsey Island]: current members of the ?1st Council Groves Scout Group?.


_______________________________________________________________


Best IDU Classic Film: Bears Armed?s entry

?Bearren and Lursienne?

Year of cinematic release: 1938
Studio: Furrnurr Cousins
Producer: Arrh?veh Furrnurr
Director: Erron Troutcatcher
Script: Kham?s-den & Green
(Script [1934 version]: [various Furrnurr Cousins staff, exact shares of the work disputed?])
Soundtrack: BerrichGoldencorn
Head of Cinematography: Kameron ?Camera? Whitebear

Synopsis
This is an earlier rendition of the same story from Ursine history?s ?Heroic Age? that was the basis of last year?s blockbuster hit (and winner of the ?Best IDU Film? award at that year?s IDU International Film Festival) by the same title. It was basically a technicolour re-make of a black-&-white film from four years previously, which had been not only the first ?talkie? film on this subject but also the first dramatic production about it that was officially approved [as this one was, too] by the heroes? surviving descendants, but with more songs ? including some whose lyrics came from an epic poem created by a bard who actually knew the heroes ? and with a slight ?lightening? in tone to make it more ?family-friendly?. It was the greatest cinematic hit in its original year of release, remained in circulation nonstop [showing in at least some cinemas on any given date, in between newer films] for three years after that and intermittently for quite a while longer, and has been shown on television at least once a year? normally on public holidays ? ever since the BABC began television broadcasts in 1951.
(OOC: Think of the Tolkienian story, as adapted to this setting [as described in my entry for last year for last year], with general production values & mood comparable to RL?s ?The Wizard of Oz? and with its popularity ?at home? boosted by the fact that it?s not only a brilliant film in its own right but is based closely on a key part of the ?national epic??)

Cast
Lursienne: Urra Flowers
Bearren: Borrin o Jherran
The Vivimancer: Borriss Bahroff


_______________________________________________________________

Best Actor in an IDU Film: Bears Armed?s entry

Barrwen ?Evenstar? vah-Bearren, for her role as the legendary heroine Lursienne?who was actually her great-grandmother ? in last year?s blockbuster hit The Tale of Bearren and Lursienne (which won ?Best IDU film?, 2016).

Barrwen is of mixed Ursine and ?TrueBear? ancestry (with ?TrueBears? basically being this setting?s closest Ursine counterpart to Tolkien?s Elves): She is very attractive by Ursine standards, is slightly taller than the average Ursine (@ 7?3?), has relatively long fur in a shade that is very close to the middle of the ?brown? range (with distinct tufts this rising from the tips of her ears, as is usual for TrueBears), can switch easily between walking on all fours (as is typical for TrueBears) or on just her hind-paws (as is typical for Ursines), and ? although most TrueBears typically communicate by mental projection, rather than by actual speech ? a lovely voice. (Lursienne also had this trait?) It has been said, by some of the [very few] survivors from the Heroic Age still alive today who had actually met Lursienne back then, that there?s a very strong resemblance between them.
This was her first film role, and first professional acting job, but she?s bright and has been involved with dramatics on an amateur level since she was a student back in Shakes-Bears? time. Here are extracts from some reviews of her performance:

?Luminous. She makes one realize how meeting Lursienne must have affected not only Bearren but the Purple Empire?s forces and even its leaders, for true.? (by Greggh White, leading Cinema reviewer, in ?The Bear Necessities?; published in Council Groves, this is Bears Armed?s most widely-read daily broadsheet)

?Wonderful! A ?Five-Stars? performance! Lady Barrwen would have made this film worth watching for her own scenes alone, if it weren?t a masterpiece anyhows? which it certainly is! If you can only see one film this year, see this one!? (by Morrg?harnCarrarray, Arts Editor of ?The Akademe Observer?; this is a weekly paper, named for & published in the suburb of Council Groves that also houses both National University?s largest campus and the National Film Theatre, which is aimed mainly at students, academics, and the ?with-it? in general?)

?Mizz vah-Bearren gives a splendid performance, as the legendary heroine Lursienne, redeeming the film?s setting in outdated tradition by providing an inspiration to achieve for all young she-bears? (by BollyTurnbee, in ?The Groan?; also published in Council Groves, this daily broadsheet is the nation?s self-styled ?Leading Newspaper for the Thinking Bear? but has ? to its staff?s irritation ? significantly fewer readers than the ?Bear Necessities?; non-supporters sometimes refer to it by the [slightly derogatory] nickname ?the Gorna?, which commemorates an incident of infamously bad typesetting ? a few decades ago, by now ? in its front page?s title-line?) (British readers, think in terms of ?the Guardian??)

(OOC: Imagine if a company filming the story of ?Beren and Luthien? actually on location in Middle-Earth had somehow persuaded Arwen ?Evenstar? [the daughter of Elrond] to fill the role of her own great-grandmother Luthien, and she?d turned in an Oscar-worthy performance. Okay? Like that.)

:Bear: