Who is Edward ‘Snowden’? A hero or traitor? [PG]

 “The modern battlefield is everywhere.” Run. Hide. Live. To tell the truth. “There’s something going inside the government that’s really wrong and I can’t ignore it…I just want to get this data to the world.” In Academy Award®-winning director Oliver Stone’s ‘Snowden,’ CIA employee Edward Snowden leaks thousands of classified documents to the press.

“You wanted to be Special Forces? Find the terrorists in the internet haystack.” One nation under surveillance for liberty and justice for all. “The NSA is really tracking every cell phone in the world.” ‘Snowden,’ the politically charged, thriller starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley, reveals the personal story of Edward Snowden, who exposed illegal surveillance activities by the 

NSA and became one of the most wanted men in the world.

 “Did you access an unauthorized program?” He is considered a hero by some and a traitor by others. No matter which you believe, ‘Snowden’ tells the story of why he did it, who he left behind, and how he pulled it off. “I feel like I was made to do this and if I don’t do it then I don’t know anybody else who can.”

  “Most Americans don’t want freedom. They want security.” ‘Snowden’ is written and directed by Oliver Stone. The script is based on the books The Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the World’s Most Wanted Man by Luke Harding and Time of the Octopus by Anatoly Kucherena.

 “They’re gonna come for me. They’re gonna come for all of you too.”  ‘Snowden’ which is slated to hit theaters September 16, 2016, also stars Shailene Woodley as Snowden’s girlfriend, Zachary Quinto as journalist Glenn Greenwald, Nicolas Cage, Melissa Leo, Tom Wilkinson, Scott Eastwood, Timothy Olyphant, Rhys Ifans and Joely Richardson.

“SNOWDEN” is released and distributed by CAPTIVE CINEMA.

Showing SEPTEMBER 28.

Hip Hop Dance Queen Parris Goebel shines in “Born To Dance”

Parris Goebel is the reigning queen of the international hip hop dance scene. The triple award-winning dancer and choreographer from New Zealand has several times won the world championships with her The Royal Family megacrew and famed all-female crew ReQuest at competitions held in the U.S. Her explosive, exact and erotically charged movement style pulsates with the rhythms of Maori and Polynesian dance traditions she learned growing up in Auckland: hip hop as ancestral soul.
 

Jennifer Lopez, who saw Goebel dance on video, was so impressed by her elbow-popping, foot-stomping, hip-circling moves she hired the 23-year-old diamond-toothed Kiwi with the bleached blonde hair to choreograph her 2012 Dance Again world tour. Since then, Goebel has worked with Canada’s Cirque du Soleil, choreographing its 2013 Michael Jackson tribute show in Las Vegas, hip hop’s Missy Elliott and Korean pop star, Taeyang. An electrifying performer in her own right, Goebel danced with J-Lo on the season 11 finale of American Idol and appeared in the fifth installment of the U.S dance film franchise, Step Up. Earlier this year, Goebel choreographed Nicki Minaj’s PinkPrint tour and a video for Beyoncé.

Her latest venture is Born to Dance, New Zealand’s first hip hop dance film, directed by actor Tammy Davis of Whale Rider and Black Sheep fame from a script by acclaimed Maori writer Hone Kouka, Steve Barr and Casey Whelan. Goebel choreographed the energized dance sequences performed by members of her own Palace Dance Studios, including Tia-Taharoa Maipi making his screen debut as Tu, the film’s dance-mad male lead. Goebel dances herself in one sequence in which she raunchily fronts a female crew that decimates the men in a forward-charge dance battle.

Look at those smiling faces, those adoring eyes, all focused on you. You are a hip hop dance role model! What does that mean to you?
 
When you work so hard at something you gain a profile, and there are pros and cons associated with that. I get a lot of attention and sometimes it’s hard for me to really handle that. You don’t really know what to do when everyone’s looking at you. But the positive thing about that is being able to reach and touch kids from all over the world. I didn’t aim to be a role model or someone that people want to look up to. That wasn’t my goal. But to be in this position now I have this responsibility to tell the kids and to show the kids that no matter where you are from, what you look like or what age you are, you can do whatever it is you want to do if you put your mind to it. I just feel this huge responsibility about doing that. So it’s more than the fame. It’s hoping that kids will look at me and say, 'If she can do it then I can do it, too.'


Why hip hop and not any other form of dance?

It just spoke to me. I believe that we are all born with a purpose and I was born to do this. It definitely is it. It’s so effortless to me. I do enjoy other styles but for me hip hop is in my blood. The first time I took a hip hop class I just lit up. I’ll never forget it. It was like love at first sight. When I went to that first class, I was like, ‘This is what I love, and I’m going to do it.’ I was only 10 but I just knew. It was like a switch went off, and I will never forget that feeling. Knowing all of a sudden that this is what you were born to do is a very cool feeling and no one can give that you. No one can tell you that this is something you need to do. You’ve got to discover that in yourself.


Tell me about being a female in the hip hop industry. Does it pose challenges?

I mean being a female is a challenge in itself. I talk to women all over the world about this, actually, and when I come across specific women who are also similar to me in the sense of trying to get somewhere with their talent, I always connect with them on this, and they always express to me how hard it is to really make a name for themselves or get a job. Even just to make noise in the industry is hard for a female, for some reason. But I feel it is like that with anything – sport, art, business. A woman just has to work a lot harder just to make noise and get herself noticed. That’s my personal opinion, anyway.


Now that you are making noise, how are people in your industry reacting?

For me to be in this position is really cool – you know, like? I’m really comfortable where I’m at in the sense of feeling like people are really paying attention to what I’m doing, what I’m saying. I’m in a position where, whatever I do, people are going to watch and they’re going to listen, whether they like hip hop or not. So that’s an amazing power to have, and I know that I can change the world with that power. It was a struggle at the beginning. But now, at this age, and at this time of my life, I really don’t feel the struggle any more. I’m in a really confident place where I worked hard as a female and where people, when they think of strong females in the hip hop industry, think of me. I’m really happy about that.


How did New Zealand, of all places, become an epicentre of the world-wide hip hop dance culture?

When I was growing up, hip hop wasn’t as popular but I worked really hard to make it so. I opened a studio to give an opportunity for other kids to shine. I’ve poured my heart and soul into my studio and the kids who dance there. I teach my kids to work really hard and to be the best they can be. So for me their best is good enough. And their best so happens to be the best in the world. Which is crazy, right? But being the best in the world doesn’t really matter. As long as it’s their best. That’s always the goal. But it is really cool that they’ve reached a level where they’re kind of like killing the game internationally.


 
How did you first get the attention of Jennifer Lopez, Cirque du Soleil and other artists who have hired you to choreograph their shows?
 
All through YouTube, actually. I would say that 90 percent of my work has been booked through YouTube. I’m a YouTube baby. Like, I was born into that, and my involvement in the industry basically has come from me posting my work on YouTube. You know, ‘Hey, this is me. I’m Parris. This is my style.’ And then I started getting a following, and my postings went viral, and artists started to pay attention.

I know you didn’t write Born to Dance but how much does the film, about a hip hop dancer who first gains attention on YouTube, mirror your own experience?

Not intensely, but I can relate to him. I’m also a young kid from New Zealand with a dream to make it in dance, so this is also my story. Before all this, before sitting here and being able to talk about myself as a successful person, 10 years ago I was just a young girl in New Zealand with a dream, a stereo in her room and a mirror, you know? No one knew my name.

Born to Dance showcases that style of yours. How do you think audiences outside New Zealand will react to the film?

I think people will love it. I mean, it’s hard not to like it, you know? Like, it’s for everyone. It’s for all ages, all ethnicity. And everyone can relate to it because everyone has a dream and a lot of people do come from nothing and make something of themselves. And everyone loves dance and on top of it is this growing fascination with New Zealand. People are drawn to our country, our culture and our talent. So I know for a fact that this film will do very well.

And how will it impact the future of hip hop dance, do you think?
I hope it’s going to do something cool. For me, the goal was to choreograph it in a fresh and innovative way not seen in a dance movie before. I wanted to take it from a different angle, and I did that. I hope that other artists and dancers who will be watching will be inspired to try something new as well. I for one have always wanted to dance my own path.

“Born To Dance” is released and distributed by CAPTIVE CINEMA.

SHOWING MAY 25. NATIONWIDE!

Captive Cinema : Spy Thriller “Newcomer” explodes cinemas soon!

Alex (James Floyd) is a determined intelligence operative looking for work. His turbulent past means he has trouble finding it, but his gift for observing and analyzing lead him to be employed by a private intelligence company in Serbia. However, on his first mission, something goes terribly wrong and his entire team are killed by a mysterious agent. The blame is put squarely on Alex’s shoulders and, hunted by his employers, he goes on the run with just an audio recording of that fateful night to help him piece together what happened and clear his name. He will get some help in his mission but, with a shadowy private contractor on their tail, the dangers might prove too high for everyone.

“Newcomer” is released and distributed by CAPTIVE CINEMA.

Espionage begins June 15, 2016 in cinemas nationwide.

Captive Cinema brings the adventures of ‘Savva: A Warrior’s Tail’ in cinemas!

From Gregory Poirier, the writer of The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride and National Treasure: Book of Secrets, A Warrior’s Tail is as heart-warming, thrilling and imaginative as they come and is a family adventure for all ages.


Nine-year old Savva lives with his mum in a small village in a forest once protected by a pack of regal white wolves. When the wolves leave under mysterious circumstances the village is left at constant risk of attack from ruthless hyenas and only a powerful magician can help. Escaping the hyenas in search of the magician, Savva finds himself in a magical world he had only heard stories of, meeting a host of new friends who are also seeking the magician, including the white wolf Angee, the hilarious Puffy and a very odd mosquito; all of whom must evade a treacherous simian army led by the evil Mum JoZee on their path overcoming the forces of evil and reclaiming Savva’s village.

Features vocal talent including Milla Jovovich, Whoopi Goldberg, Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci.

“Savva: A Warrior’s Tail” is released and distributed by CAPTIVE CINEMA

SHOWING IN CINEMAS ON JUNE 22, NATIONWIDE

‘Born to Dance’ biggest hip-hop dance movie storms in Philippine cinemas! [PG]

 

An ambitious young man from Auckland dreams of being a professional hip-hop dancer.

Born to Dance is a movie about Auckland teenagers with dreams of hip-hop dance stardom, and its shot through with dance sequences that tell the story of their desires in vivid, explosive fashion.

Director Tammy Davis, making his feature debut, says he was drawn to the script of Born to Dance because of the way it showed "young Maori and Pacific Island kids aspiring to be the best they can be". Yet he freely admits that he didn't know how much dance talent was in his home town, ready to take on the world.

Much of this energy comes from a dynamic young dancer-choreographer, Parris Goebel, whose credits include choreography for Janet Jackson, Cirque du Soleil and Nicki Minaj, and the development of her own ferocious dance style that she calls Polyswagg. Her talents are most recently shown in a wonderful video that she created and danced in, alongside female members of her Royal Family crew, for Justin Bieber's Sorry. It has had more than 63 million YouTube views. "When I first met Parris and the kids," Davis says, "they were just amazing, and they blew me off my feet. I had no idea they even existed." Goebel choreographed the film, and also makes an appearance leading a terrific face-off dance sequence in a club.

Born to Dance stars Tia Maipi as Tu, dreaming of a career as a dancer, who hopes that his crew, 2PK, can make its way to the national championships. He's also drawn to the possibilities offered by K-Crew, world champion dancers who are auditioning for new members.

His loyalties are torn. He continues to practice with his friends, yet in secret he's taking part in the long-drawn-out auditions, and he's attracted to Sasha (Kherington Payne) a K-Crew member who's the girlfriend of its overbearing leader, Kane (Jordan Vaha'akolo). With all this and more, going on, something's got to give.

The casting process for Born to Dance involved not only finding the best dancers, Davis says, but also finding people who were a good fit, dramatically, for a range of roles. To play Tu, Davis says, "We needed someone who had self-belief". Yet he didn't want this to be too prominent. "Tia was only 17 turning 18 when he shot the film, he was very shy. And I liked that about him, it was like he hadn't fully realized his potential, which was so similar to the plotline of the film. So I tried to harness that, and not push him too far from what he really is." Working on a movie, Davis says, "I always find my relationship to the script, because that's really important. For me, it was Tu, I've been that kid before, I was Tu and I still am, making this film was a dream of mine."

When Davis was Tu's age, he says, he hadn't found out what he wanted to do. "I had left school and was working on a farm, driving tractors. Then I went up the mountain putting chains on cars and now boarding every day." He'd had contact with the film world, however, through a family connection, his half-brother, Julian Arahanga, who played Nig in Once Were Warriors, and Apoc in The Matrix.

He went to drama school at 19, but still hadn't really thought about acting. "My brother had friends who were gaffers and grips and I thought I'd go that way, but then I started performing on stage and I thought, oh, this is cool too." Davis' film roles include Whale Rider and Black Sheep, and he's been in a host of New Zealand TV series, most notably in the long-running Outrageous Fortune. Right now, he's focusing on working behind the camera. "I've written five one-hour dramas I'm pitching at the moment that I want to make, and then I've got another feature, based on Ebony Society, a short film I made." Ebony Society, which was selected for Sundance and Berlin, is a disarming tale of two boys who find more than they bargained for when they take part in a house break-in over Christmas. There's talk of a second Born to Dance film, he says, but his own projects are his priority right now.

“Born to Dance” is released and distributed by CAPTIVE CINEMA.

SHOWING MAY 25, 2016!

Now Showing: Intruders from Captive Cinema [R16]

“INTRUDERS” is now showing in theaters. released and distributed by CAPTIVE CINEMA.